#if they make a prequel I want them addressed too

[inalandofsadclowns]

So we know Merlin had shared all of his magic and destiny related worries with Gaius, dilemmas like laying his secret out to Arthur, Morgana, or anyone ever, or the trusting Morgana and Mordred against the profecies, and there's a steady pattern of Gaius raising serious and eventually prevailing doubts in Merlin about doing all of these things. Right, Gaius has a fine ability to talk Merlin down from doing and saying stuff.

If only Merlin had mentioned his consultations with the shifty, vengeful, lying dragon as well...Wouldn't Gaius caution Merlin against that, too? Then imagine if Merlin's conscience wasn't overpowered by fear of the ominous words of a centuries old magical creature. It's possible that without Kilgarrah's constant presence in the equation Merlin would never have come to doubt Morgana and Mordred so irreversibly. That would have done more good than stabbing Morgana in the back instead of opening up to her I think. But seriously, why didn't he mention the dragon then?

I had always found it odd that during his most impressionable era Merlin never talked about Kilgarrah to Gaius. It's also out of character for him not to discuss it. Maybe Kilgarrah put a spell over Merlin that keeps him from mentioning his own input to the greatest warlock's decisions or manipulated him otherwise, maybe he even "warned" Merlin not to do so?

What I'm thinking is Gaius once used to known Kilgarrah personally before the great purge and had some juicy conflict with him that we don't know about.

[feeder86]

Feeder 86: The Top Ten

Can you believe that the Feeder86 ‘Orginal Gainer Stories’ blog will soon be posting the two hundredth story? I thought of many ways to celebrate. But then I stopped and realised that I would probably be best using the time to address one of the questions I get asked about most frequently. Which of the stories do I personally like the most?

This was not an easy list to make as I very rarely go back to re-read my own work after I have finished editing and posting them. This is not because I do not like them, but because I always see bits that I want to change. Nevertheless, this project was the perfect opportunity to revisit a few oldies that I remember being very proud of at the time. 

Hopefully you will see this list for what it is: a glimpse into how I write, my motivations and drive; rather than just a self indulgent pat on the back for myself. Yuck!

So, with that being said, let us begin...

#10 The Feeders’ Formula: This tale certainly had to be placed into the list. After all, it is the one that kicked off ‘Original Gainer Stories’ all those years ago. There are many amazing examples of instant body weight transformation stories out there. I felt that I needed to write this one as my contribution to the genre. It went down well at the time. I swiftly wrote a Part Two, then followed it up with others (The Feeders’ Formation, The Feeders’ Formalities, The Feeders’ Foreclosure, The Feeders’ Forecast, The Feeders’ Former Years), becoming something of an ongoing saga in recent years; focusing on the different Feeders from that very first meeting. As a writer who sometimes struggles to find the ending, these are wonderful to write as they all have the same inevitable conclusion. There is also so much freedom to be had when you’re working with characters who are pretty much pure evil. I know so much more about the Feeders than I’ve ever written down, so it is great to tease out those little details with each new installment. The newest of these tales (The Feeders’ Foreplay) was the darkest yet, but seems to have provoked a very favourable reaction from many. Who knows what the Feeders may get up to next? I do! And you can find out too, once we start a whole new sweeps season of stories this April! Come with me into The Feeders' Fortress!

#9 Only One: Where do I start? Only One has my absolute favourite type of feeder. Ben is big, sexy and very in control. He’s one of those rare types of guys who always stays on top and is a step ahead of absoultely everyone he meets. Who wouldn’t fall for him? I certainly did! In fact, I loved him so much that I wrote an entire prequel for him (and none of you even noticed!) Check out Rewire if you want to see how Ben became the man we know and love.

#8 The Wright Boys: The idea of a weight gain that cannot be stopped or controlled is a tempting one for many. How much easier would it be if you didn’t have to second guess your choices or face the pressure to lose weight? This was the first tale of what I see as ‘The Curses’ saga that eventually bled into many other stories (including another one on this list!) and culminated in Wright vs Beckett. However, this story remains my personal favourite of these. If you’re a fan of looking for crossovers between my stories, these are some of the most explicitly linked. I followed it up with a spin-off tale (The Wright Boys: DNA), but continue to have ideas about how I could go back to these boys in the future. Watch this space.

#7 Making Monsters: The title of this story really does give away how I felt about it at the time. This is quite the saga, spread over into not just two, but three parts! It began as a story that was very similar to Blackmailed; a tale that I had written previously about a guy voyeristically enjoying seeing his friend fatten up her boyfriend. However, this story evolved even further for me, with Tommy’s love of eating and gaining weight being both his greatest love, and his biggest shame. His denial only heightened the tension for me, and, when he does eventually give in, the gains feel all the more satisfying as a result.

#6 The Pig Feed: It’s not easy to write a gainer story where there isn’t another character spurring the events along and encouraging things. In this tale however, that role is given to a very tasty and surprisingly addictive pig feed mixture that Steve gets himself hooked on. It’s a story that I really enjoyed writing and still feel very happy with. I have considered writing more stories around this interesting feed. However, I am yet to do so; deciding (for now at least) that things are perhaps best left as they are. But, feel free to let me know your thoughts on this.

#5 Farm Boy: Whether you grew up in a big city, or a small rural community, like Hayden in this story, we can all relate to having desires and attractions that those around us don’t understand. And, thanks to how well connected we are these days, we now know what it’s like to realise that you’re not actually alone, and the whirlwind of excited emotions that follow. I enjoyed writing this story because I, quite simply, fell completely in love with Hayden. As kinky as he was, he still retained that fresh faced innocence throughout. If any of my characters were destined to be together forever, I imagine that these two would be my top choice.

#4 Keeping a Crush: This is one of those stories that I wrote in a matter of hours, and I was so pleased with it when I was done. Getting the train to go to work is not necessarily something that many Americans have to do, and so the location had to be switched to the UK (quite refreshing, I thought!). For me, it’s one of those really rare instances where placing very solid restrictions on the structure of a story (In this case, having it all take place during the commute to and from work) and finding that it actually elevates the sexual tension and mood. All scenes take place in public settings. All conversations could, in theory, be overheard. These days, so many people meet online and flirt for weeks by messaging back and forth, before they even see each other for the first time. Nowadays, for better or for worse, the actual, real fantasy is finding a connection with someone you just see in the real world; perhaps with a person you literally just met on the way to work...

If you’ve not read this one, I really would highly recommend it.

#3 To the Max: Stories with a magical element to them are either loved or hated. However, I find that this tale walks that line very successfully. Ned gets his hands on a love potion and makes straight guy, Max, fall for him. I’m sure we’ve all been there with that fantasy! However, it is in the consequences of inviting someone into your life, someone that you actually know very little about, that the entire eroticism of this story is based. I won’t spoil it for those who have not read it, but believe me when I say that things soon start getting very interesting indeed…

#2 Tommy’s Two Hundred. Don’t recognise this one? Well, that's because none of you have read it yet. 

Now, I’m not just saying this because I want you all to come back for the two hundreth story, but this is genuinely one of my absolute favourites. For my big milestone stories in the past, I have written something specifically for that event (Wright vs Beckett, The Seven Feeders of Finn). However, this is just a tale that I adored writing and decided to hold back for you all, especially for this occasion. It’s a story of domination and submission within a fairly open, but very kinky, relationship. Strapping Hunter plays the part of a very controlling feeder, making me break many of my own rules and stretching my boundaries to the absolute limits. You’ll either love him, or you’ll hate him. That’s all I’m going to say…

Also, this story is going to be the first Feeder86 story that will be fully illustrated. It’s all thanks to the amazing talents of Spellwell9 who was given an advanced copy and asked to imagine the characters in four different scenes. I cannot wait for you to see this!

Put it in your diary. All will be revealed from Friday 5th April…

#1 F80 Control: This is perhaps a controvercial choice (especially as my #1). I have previously admitted that this story strays a little from its purpose of being a gainer story. In other words, I get very caught up in the background story that is being told. However, I feel that the science fiction genre is surprisingly underused in tales of weight gain. Yet, the combination of Aritificial Intelligence and submission seemed, to me, to be the perfect blend. It really is a beast of a story if you can follow it all the way through to its conclusion. 

With the advent of improved artificial intelligence software in recent years, I felt the time was right to develop the world further, with the addition of F80 Ctrl Alt Del; a spin-off tale set slightly before the main story. Then, unable to help myself, I followed this up again with another companion story, F80: Kidnap and Control. 

The reason I chose this universe as my favourite is because this is where I am happiest writing. With AI, I don’t need to consider the morality or motivations - I know exactly what their aims are and I can see multiple ways in which it will cause conflict with humanity (and their waistlines!) I would also love to write more for this world one day, and I even left a little unused subplot in the last story that I think would provide the perfect starting-off point for another chapter. Will I ever write it? Well, we’ll have to wait and see…

So, there you have it! The the complete list!

This was a much harder exercise than I expected when I first embarked upon it. Stories like: Jiggle the Jock, Meticulous, Rule Number One, Freaks, Leftovers I and II, Ethan: The Secret Feeder and, not fogetting The Consequences I, II and III all crept in and out of the list, unfortunatley missing out on the final cut. There are many, many others, of course. But this list cannot go on forever...

So, why not tell me which ones were your favourites? Feel free to write in the comments and post a link to any other stories that you have enjoyed from myself, or from other authors. Hopefully, if we all work together, this could become a great resource for people in the future, filled with signposts and reccommendations.  

Also, don’t forget the Feeder86 Contents page where you can find links and descriptions of all the 200 stories posted so far (as well as plot outlines for upcoming tales as well). Please continue to enjoy the vast catalogue of stories, and even have a go yourself! I love supporting the many new gainer fiction writers who contact me. So please do get in touch if you need advice, or to talk through your ideas. Let’s all encourage a whole new generation of people to get typing away! I’m sure you will cheer them on just as much as I will.

Thank you to everyone who supports the stories blog here on Tumblr. Keep checking in every Friday througout April for a whole new sweeps season to celebrate this milestone. Stories will include: Tommy's Two Hundred, Train for a Gain, The Feeders' Fortress and The 1% (a companion story to The 5%). For now, I thank you all for taking time out to sit and read the very bizarre tales that sprout from my mind. You are all wonderful.

Happy 200 stories!

Feeder86

[mavrintarou]

[3:45PM] Suna Rintarou (prequel of DD) [2]

Happy birthday to Suna Rintarou! I know I've made him a clingy fox but I honestly think this man is a clingy fox when he's in love.

Warning: clingy man and smut (18+)

Prequel (part 1) Prequel (part 3)

.

“So, what’s going on with you and this woman?” Osamu inquired, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

The glass cup froze at Rin’s lips, and the whiff of yeast in the beer hit his senses. Gulping his beer, he set the cup down. “It’s going…”

When he woke up alone in his bed two days ago, he was slapped in the face with disappointment and anger.

“Haah…” a bitter laugh escapes his dry lips, lips that he could still taste her from hours ago.

Rin slams his fist into the pillow she was sleeping on out of anger and frustration.

He frowned when his fist came into contact with what seemed to be a piece of paper.

Hey sleepy head,

I tried to wake you up but you wouldn’t budge. I was called in for an overnight flight, there was no one else near that could do it so I had to go.

I’ll text you when I land in Istanbul.

Y/n

Rin waited for her text like an obedient puppy that entire day.

Looking back, he can’t remember the last time he was excited to receive a text message.

[**note: The green color text is dialogue text message exchanged in the past]

Hey.

After leaving him hanging for over 15 hours, he can’t say he was elastic to receive a Hey from her.

Hey you. He texted back.

She quickly responded As I promised, I’d text you when I landed. Were you upset when I wasn’t there when you woke up?

Yes. He texted back. Very upset.

A little taste of your own medicine? :P

Rin let out a scoff.

Don’t be mad, I left you a note though, right?

She did, unlike him.

You did, not mad at all, sad but not mad. When can I see you again? He sounded desperate and was desperate, but he didn’t care.

I thought you said one date.

He chewed his lip, and quickly typed I didn’t specify…

You mean you haven’t had your full fill of me yet?

“No,” Rin answered out loud, his fingers quickly typing his response. Fuck no. If I didn’t make it very clear, Y/l/n Y/f/n, I’m very interested in you and want to get to know you more. He doesn’t know where this confidence is coming from, but he is going to piggyback off of it before he loses it. I don’t mean it as in your body, that’s a bonus. I know we are very compatible in bed, you can’t deny that. But I want to get to know you on a mental and emotional level too. And other physical levels too.

When he didn’t see her respond quickly, he groaned. She had the power to put him on his toes, he was willing to admit he was wrapped around her fingers.

His phone finally dinged a notification.

I’ll be home on the 25th.

It’s the 25th and he hasn’t heard from her, the last time they spoke was more than 48 hours ago.

Boundaries, his conscience is always reminding him. As if the universe is watching him and shaking their heads, they have been sending all sorts of videos and posts about dating. He’s been seeing them all over his social media platforms. He began watching dating tips and it opened his eyes.

But today was his birthday, and she said she would be home on his birthday. She didn’t specifically say on his birthday but on the 25th, his birthday, so he was going to convince himself she was returning for his birthday.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

Hey, are you free for a call?

Instead of replying, he called her.

“Hey,” he breathed. He hurried out of the bar and shuffled away from the loud noise coming from the entrance of the bar.

“Am I… catching you at a bad time?”

God, I missed her voice, Rin thought.  

“No,” his breath is visible against the cold January night air. “Are you home?”

“Yeah,” she sounded like she was shuffling around, “just ended my shift. Are you… still down to meet?”

Rin looked at his watch, it was already 10 PM, was she… implying…

“I’m out at the bar at the moment, do you want to come out?”

It was a moment of silence before she replied, “sure, text me the address.”

Twenty minutes later, Rin kept looking at the door, his eyes instantly at the door every time it opened but would look away disappointed when it wasn’t the person he was waiting for.

Atsumu followed his gaze, “are you waiting on your girl? Is she coming here?”

The corner of Rin’s mouth curved into a smirk, his girl. “Yeah, she’s coming.”

At last, the person he’d been waiting for walked through the door and glanced around the place. Standing up, Rin marches over towards her.

Y/n smiles the moment their eyes meet, “hey – “

The rest of her words are cut off as Rin pulls her into a hug. It was a full-on bear hug, his face nuzzling into the crook of her neck and shoulder. “Missed you…”

Y/n pulls back and frowns, “had a lot to drink already?”

He nodded his head, his bangs flapping.

Y/n reached to brush his bangs away, “where’s your table at?”

He shook his head, grabbing her hands and bringing them to his chest. “Let’s go…”

“Go where? Shouldn’t we at least say hang out for a little bit – “

“No, we can go, go anywhere… I’ve had enough drinks for the night.” It was true, he didn’t want to drink anymore now that Y/n was here right beside him. He just wants alone time with her.

He groaned when he heard his name being called by Miya twins. Looking over his shoulder, he cast a glare at them to shut up but that only taunts them to shout his name even more.

Before he could do something, Y/n dragged him towards the table.

“Oho! You’re Suna’s girl?” Atsumu’s loud voice rang throughout the bar. “I’m Atsumu, this is Osamu, we’re high school buddies of Suna’s.”

Y/n smiled at them returning the greeting and all Rin could think about was how he was not happy to share her smile with his friends. Her smile was his and his only.

“Okay, Suna, stop glaring at us, go.” Osamu waved his hand in a shooing manner. “Happy birthday by the way.”

Rin watched Y/n’s eyes widen before she looked at him, “that’s right, it’s your birthday!” She leaned over and waved at a waitress, “a round of beer and shots at table 3 please!”

.

“Rin…” Y/n shakes him by his chin, “put in your passcode…”He opened his tired eyes and stared at his door lock, his mouth opened but Y/n covered his mouth before he could speak. “Just press it, don’t say it.”

He moved her hand, mumbling, “how do you not know…”

Y/n frowned, “I don’t know and I shouldn’t know your passcode, we’re not that close yet.”

Rin stood on his own and held a finger, “watch,” he used that finger to press his passcode in. “Now, you know.”

Y/n looks away with a smile tugging at her lips, “get inside.” She pulls at the door and drags him inside.

.

His head was pounding. He stares at the ceiling contemplating his life choices from last night.

A sigh of relief comes from his left and his head turns immediately.

He was 99% sure it was Y/n with her back facing him but there was that 1% that left him feeling uneasy. He couldn’t remember how he made it home but he was sure that he remembered seeing Y/n come to the bar… it was everything after that that he had no recollection of.

It was most definitely Y/n, she fit perfectly beside him just as he remembered. Carefully, he leaned over to get a glimpse and silently sighed in relief when it was her.

His brows frowned when he noticed the fresh blue-purple bruise on her right cheekbone. Without thinking, he flipped her on her back, waking her up. “What happened to your face?” He carefully cupped her face, his breath hitching when she flinched. “Who hurt you? Who gave you this bruise?”

“You, you did,” Y/n murmured, closing her eyes. “I’m very tired, I haven’t slept in over 24 hours. So let me sleep please.” She shifts and wiggles until she can pull the covers over her.

That’s when Rin realized they had been sleeping on top of his comforters instead of under.

He rolled her on her back again, “I’ll let you sleep in a bit but tell me, how did I give you this bruise? Did – did I hit you?”

She opened her left eye and stared at him. Genuine concern was written on his face making her think twice before she teased him. She didn’t doubt at all that he would ever lay his hand on a woman in violent ways, she can only imagine all the things running in his head. “No, Rin, you did not hit me. You head-butt me instead, on accident of course.”

She explained how she brought him inside and was trying to get him in bed when he tripped and knocked the both of them on his bed. His head collided with her cheek painfully hard making her see stars for a few seconds. He knocked out, locking her beneath him. She had no choice but to just throw his comforters over them instead of getting under.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, eyes on her bruise. “Can I… sleep beside you?”

“Sure,” she smiled tiredly and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep once again.

She must have been so tired and she still came out to the bar. He thought to himself. As gently as possible without waking her up, he pulled the comforters up to her chin. She was so deeply asleep she didn’t stir when he pressed a kiss to her temple and a faint one to the bruise.

.

Y/n was not used to having someone cuddle against her, let alone a 6’3 grown man.

But she didn’t have the heart to wake him up.

Looking at her watch, it was the late afternoon already. They had slept their entire day away.

That was something she was used to, whenever she would return from flying halfway around the world. She would need half a day to a whole day to readjust to the time zone.

Except this last flight. She left in a hurry as soon as she could and dropped off her luggage at home. She should have showered and would have but he had called her.

She quickly sprayed some perfume and left her place to meet him.

Y/n couldn’t count how many times she had reread his text message.

I don’t mean it as in your body, that’s a bonus. I know we are very compatible in bed, you can’t deny that. But I want to get to know you on a mental and emotional level too.

If she was honest with herself, she would say Rin was head over heels for her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to it, but she had never had someone younger than her show this much interest in her. She would admit that she did not realize how much younger he was to her. She thought he was her age if not older.

With her lifestyle revolving around her career, having a committed relationship was not a priority for her. If it wasn’t for his persistence and foolishness in kneeling in front of her in public, she would not have given him a second chance.

It’s an unspoken rule that you don’t have second times with the same person that was meant to be a one-night stand.

But Y/n herself… couldn’t help but give in to him.

Enjoy it while you can, she told herself.

A low groan rumbled from the body that was squishing her, “are you hungry?”

Y/n thought for a second before responding, “yes, now that you mentioned it.”

Rin lifts his head off her shoulder, his hair flopped upward messily. His eyes zeroed in on her bruise. “God, I’m so sorry.”

“Did it get uglier?” Her tone is teasing, she reaches to touch it but Rin catches her wrist.

“No, take this as a compliment but you can make a bruise look beautiful.” He kissed her knuckles. “Come, let’s go get something to eat.”

.

Rin didn’t want to part from her. He had a feeling they would go their way after this meal.

He had ordered food and had it delivered to his place to avoid having Y/n go out in public with the bruise on her cheek.

So he took his merry time eating his hangover Miso soup.

He turned a blind eye each time she would tilt her watch to check the time.

“Are you regretting your life choices with alcohol and beer?” Y/n teased watching him sigh and stare at his soup. Y/n frowned when he looked up at her like a child afraid to ask a question. “What?”

“Are you going to leave after this?” He finally asked the question that had been eating him up inside.

“Do you not have work tomorrow?”

He shook his head, “no, I have the rest of the week off.” He waited a heartbeat before asking, “what about you?”

It was Y/n’s longer time off. Once a month, she’ll get four to five days off before resuming her hectic schedule again. Usually with her time off, she spent the time relaxing and running any errands she needed to while home.

Without any set plans, she caught on to his clear obvious hint. Y/n, in a playful yet earnest manner, narrowed her eyes at him and inquired, “why do you ask?”

“Because I want to hang out with you.” He answered right away. “We could do anything you want…” He looked at her with waiting eyes, “I just want to be with you.”

Y/n couldn’t resist the delight of being desired by someone, particularly someone as captivating as Rintarou. His charm and voice had her completely enchanted, and the more time she spent with him, the more spellbound she became. Is he completely unaware that his words to her evoked sensations in her heart that she had only fantasized about?

Being the one to break the intense staring going on between them, she could feel her face warming up. “I have tomorrow off as well,” she stated, locking eyes with him once more, this time with more confidence. “So, what should we do?”

.

Rintarou did not peg Y/n as one to enjoy horror films. His intentions after she allowed him to choose a film, a horror film, was to have her cuddle against him so he could wrap his arms protectively around her.

Instead, he sat beside her, pouting as Y/n’s full undivided attention was set on the film.

It was like she forgot he was there. Like she forgot she was supposed to cuddle beside him and let him make her feel safe.

After they finished their meals, Y/n was going to go back to her place to change and shower and return but Rin held on to the end of her shirt like a lost puppy

“Just use my bathroom…” he begged, staring at her with puppy begging eyes.

“What about clothes?”

You don’t need clothes, he wanted to say. “Just use my clothes…” After those words left his lips, he realized he may not survive if he saw her wearing his clothes.

Y/n sighed, she did not like clingy behaviors but she couldn’t bring herself to say no or deny him.

“Fine…”

His invisible puppy ears perked up and his tails wagged excitedly. “Want to shower together?”

“Don’t push your luck,” she laughed.

After her quick shower, she came out wearing a baggy shirt of his with his sweatpants.

Rin looked away and tried to distract his mind with other thoughts to prevent a boner from happening.  

His fists had been clutching tightly to his sweatpants for almost the last hour, did she not realize what she was doing to him sitting next to him wearing his clothes?

He cleared his throat for the fourth time and slowly, her chin turned towards him but her eyes couldn’t leave the screen.

The plot of the film had finally reached the truth behind all the paranormal activities.

“Y/n,” Rin whispered.

Her chin was still tilted in his direction except her eyes. “Hmm?”

“Is this film that good?” He’d heard good reviews on this film, but all he could watch was her.

She hummed after a few seconds.

“Can we cuddle?”

At last, her eyes finally left the screen and looked at him. She scooted closer and curled against his side after fully comprehending his question. “Is that why you huffin’ and puffin’ over there?”

He hummed after a few seconds, a smile on his face, finally satisfied. He hooked an arm beneath her knees and threw her legs over his lap. “This is much better.”

Ten minutes into the film, she felt his head rest against the crook of her neck and shoulder. His warm breath was steadily fanning her neck and collarbone.

He had fallen asleep.

As soon as the film was over, Y/n reached for the remote without moving too much to wake him up.

“Is it finally over?”

“Yep,” she answered, “that was one hell of a plot twist that you missed out on.”

Rin’s arms tightened around her and he hummed against her neck, rubbing his nose against her pulse. “Tell me about it, please?”

Turning off the TV, Y/n saw their reflection on the TV screen. With their height difference, his neck was awkwardly angled so his head could rest on her shoulder.

“If you’re tired, go to bed.”

He shook his head, squeezing her waist. “I’m tired but I don’t want to go to bed.” When she lifted her hand and threaded her fingers through his hair, he nearly let out a moan when her nails began massaging his scalp.

His lips pressed against her pulse in a kiss before he nipped the skin there but was immediately stopped by Y/n who shifted away and gripped his chin, “don’t mark me.”

Rin didn’t mask his disappointment and muttered, “fine.”

Her lips curved as she squeezed his cheeks, making his lips pucker, “tell me,” her voice dropped an octave lower, “why are you hard?”

With his lips still puckered he responded, “blame it on your thighs.” He pulls away from her grip and squeezes her thigh which is pressed against his cock. Ever since he pulled her legs over his lap, he couldn’t get the thought of her riding him out of his head, which was why he had to force himself to sleep the rest of the film.

His little nap only worsened as he had enough time to dream about Y/n riding him.

“It’s so… squishy…” he squeezed harder, making her squirm in his lap. “And soft…” He leaned forward until their lips were closed, “and I want to bury my face between them…” He didn’t miss the hitch in her breath. “So what do you say, Y/n?”

“Less talking and more doing, Rin…”

In an instant, she’s flipped onto her back on the couch with Rin kneeling in between her legs. His fingers grip the waistband of his sweatpants on her and frowned, “no panties?” The smirk on her face answered his question. Tugging off his sweatpants, he confirmed his suspicion. “Can’t believe you sat on my lap practically with no panties.” Hooking both her legs over his shoulders, he grins happily at her before his face disappears in between her legs.

Y/n buckled against his lips, thighs crushing against his head. “Rin,” she choked out his name and moaned loudly when two fingers thrust knuckles deep. “Oh God…”

She looked down at the man, his eyes were already on her, staring straight at her as he feasted on her.  

With his other free hand, he slipped it inside his shirt she was wearing and groaned when his palm touched her tit. She was wearing no bra beneath his shirt. His cock twitched, nearly cumming from being excited.

“Rin… Rin please…”

He suckled her clit before letting it go with a pop. “Please?”

Widening her legs, and freeing his head, she begged, “you… I want you.”

Rin lets out a shaky laugh and straightens himself. Hearing her say she wanted him nearly undoes him in ways he has never realized. He pushed his waistband down and frees his cock.

He tugs Y/n until she is flat on her back and her ass is hanging off the couch before hiking her legs over his shoulders. Rin pulls the end of his shirt to his lips and bites down on the material before guiding his cock to the wet and glossy pussy.

“Argh,” he lets out a low growl and pushes until he is fully inside her.

He starts with slow and steady thrusts, savoring how her pussy is tightly hugging his cock.

Y/n’s lewd soft moans hypnotize him making him want to slow down or else he may just cum embarrassingly fast.

“Rin – Rin,” she reaches to rub her clit but he slapped her hand away.

His shirt drops as he growled, “I’ll do it…” he spread her legs apart and became thrilled at the sight of his cock moving in and out of her pussy. His thumb found the swollen clit and he began circling it. He felt her clench tighter around his cock. “Are you going to cum?”

Y/n’s hands clutched her chest, she nodded, teeth biting down on her lower lip.

“I can’t hear you?”

“Yes!” She shouted.

He flashed her a satisfied lopsided grin before quickening his pace. Leaning forward he wrapped his other hand behind her head, bringing her lips to his.

They were both near their orgasm and with a few more thrusts they both whimpered in sync.

“Ah,” he groaned against her lips. A sheer thin of sweat is visible across his face. He opened his eyes, staring at her closed one. At some point her hands have gripped the collar of his shirt in a tight fist, keeping close to her.

Where he only wants to be.

Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her deeply and passionately.

Y/n moaned, pulling a way to gasp for a breath. His face flushed making him adorable in her eyes…

“You…” he breathed, “you make me feel things… do things… I’ve never done it before.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her nose, “now, can we shower together?”

.

Rin hated waking up early on his days off.

But it all changed now with this woman still in his arms, in his bed, sleeping soundlessly.

After their shower, they both got ready for bed.

The moment she settled into his bed, Rin initiated his attack.

“What the - !” She exclaimed when he threw half his body on her, locking her with his limbs.

“I can’t trust you not disappearing in the morning,” he murmured, burying his face into her chest. “Don’t leave me like last time… wake me up because I want to see you go if you have to go…”

At some point through the night, they shifted, she was now laying over him.

His hand pressed against the back of her head protectively as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Morning…”  

.

.

.

E/n: This man. I would never be able to say no to this man, ever.

>>> @queenelleee @mfreedomstuff @erintaro @callmeraider @chaotic-fangirl-blog @wolffmaiden @cloud-lyy @krooes

[david-talks-sw]

When a Star Wars writer engages with the material but not the narrative.

I'm writing a long post about the Jedi and the clone troopers and there's a whole section that I had to remove because it was too long:

Karen Traviss' take on the Jedi and the clones.

I already wrote about why Karen Traviss' take on the Jedi and Yoda doesn't track with what George Lucas had established in his narrative of the Prequels. Since then, I've been able to do more research.

It's no secret that one of the reasons Traviss listed for criticizing the Jedi in the Expanded Universe books she wrote is their treatment of the clones (or at least what she understood it to be).

In 2008, she wrote a now-deleted blog post about it (it was really long, so I'm only including the part relevant to my point, if you want the full context you can look it up, this is old stuff).

So if you ask me, in the above quote, Traviss is essentially doing the equivalent of saying:

"Batman is a psycho elitist who beats up the mentally ill and indoctrinates kids, turning them into child soldiers for his unending crazy vigilante war on crime, and if you can't recognize that then you scare the living crap out of me."

Like... you can argue that, and a couple of comics have argued that.

But by and large, the general consensus is that Batman is a superhero, the Robins are his sons and daughter, and the "mentally ill" are in fact the Joker and Two-Face aka mass murderers.

So if you make that argument, that's you applying your real-life values and conclusions to a narrative that deliberately doesn't acknowledge those points, in-universe, in order to tell the story it wants to tell.

It's counting on your suspension of disbelief, defined as "the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoying its narrative."

The Jedi accepting the clones and the clones being slaves isn't a "delicate point". It's barely a point at all!

It's never addressed in the film (because of course it isn't, the Prequels are about Anakin and the Republic, not the clones).

It's only addressed once by Slick, an unreliable narrator, in The Clone Wars.

That's it. Hell, in 2008, when The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy was asked to comment on the relationship between clones and Jedi, he explicitly said he'd "rather not get into" that particular point.

I recently got Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of 'Attack of the Clones' and nowhere is that detail touched on by Lucas at any point.

Nobody wants to touch on that point with a 10ft pole, because it's not relevant to the story.

So while Traviss acknowledges the Jedi are fictional characters, she doesn't follow that thread through to the end by acknowledging that fictional characters don't have free will, they must abide by the story and the whim of the writer.

She's engaging with the material, but refusing to engage with the narrative. She's having her cake and eating it too.

My reason for saying all this is that in the book Star Wars on Trial, she elaborates on her thought process upon discovering this detail.

Shortly before to this, she acknowledges twice that she knew nothing about Star Wars, beside seeing the original films in her youth.

Another writer who saw the new films and saw Mace Windu argue against there being a war...

... the worry on his face at the prospect of the Jedi being thrown at the Separatists...

... and the sheer melancholy on Yoda's face upon announcing the Clone War had begun...

... might have instead wondered how the Jedi, so opposed to war, could've ended up being generals.

Because while we don't see the Jedi openly protest the use of the clones in the film... they're not exactly giddy about it, either. All they can do is watch powerlessly as it gets voted by the Senate.

"The Jedi are there. But the Jedi aren't really allowed to be involved in the political process. They're there, but they can't suddenly step up and say, "No, no. You can't do that." They have to let the political process go." - George Lucas, Attack of the Clones, Commentary #2, 2002

We also don't see them take on the role of generals, either.

We only see them begrudgingly lead troops on Geonosis, specifically.

But they're not referred to as "generals" yet.

Another writer might have imagined a scene where after Geonosis, Mace Windu talks to Palpatine thinking the Jedi will go back to their roles as diplomats, and that what we saw in Attack of the Clones was a one-time thing to save Obi-Wan, but Palpatine politely goes:

"Ha! No. Didn't you hear? The Senate was so impressed by your performance on Geonosis that they voted to make you all generals in the GAR. Now, get back to the front."

Another writer might've elected to write them having that "big moral debate" she mentions.

Instead, Traviss immediately jumps on the "Jedi are elitists" train.

Because her personal experience with the military makes her sympathize with the clones and her personal belief is that - while the story may frame the Jedi as "the good guys" - nobody is that good a guy, real life people aren't that pure and selfless. There's gotta be something off about them and aHA! That's what it is!

That's her choosing to take that line of thought instead of one more in-line with the story, because she perceives it as unrealistic. But like... Star Wars isn't real life, it's a fairy tale.

That's like saying:

"The hunter in Little Red Riding Hood commits animal cruelty by cutting the Wolf open. He should've let nature take its course, the wolf earned that meal fair and square. If you think the hunter should've saved Red Riding Hood and her Grandma, then clearly you're the kind of monster who thinks one life is worth more than others."

... no?

The story's narrative clearly portrays the wolf as the villain of the tale and frames the Hunter saving Red Riding Hood as a good thing.

Disagreeing with that narrative is absolutely fine, but anybody who acknowledges the wolf is the bad guy in the story isn't automatically an animal hater and/or a bad person. Just because you say "the wolf is the villain" doesn't mean that you think that, in real life, killing wolves for shits and giggles is good.

Conversely, the narrative of the Prequels asks you to suspend your disbelief and not consider the implications that having a clone army entails. Because the use of clones doesn't have a direct impact on either Anakin or the Senate's stories.

Edit: I finished the post this one here originally spun out of!

You can find it here:

[galedekarios]

I think the reason some Galemancers think the astral scene is the “lesser choice” is because you get 5 extra approval points if you choose the bed scene. Both are good! But that’s what I would think. Also, I believe the astral scene pushes him towards the crown more vs the bed.

thank you for your message, anon, and for trying to explain!

however, i think there's some confusion and (unintentionally, i'm sure) false information here that i'd like very, very much to clear up:

a) approval points

both choices have the exact same approval points attached to them: five in both cases.

astral sea scene:

Player: I'll remind you we're newly acquainted, not newlyweds. Gale: Then we'll start writing the prequel. Gale: What do you say? Player: I think that sounds delightful - but I don't see a bed. ['Gale 5']

old ways scene:

Player: I don't need illusions. I want the Gale standing right in front of me. Gale: Are you sure...? I could conjure up any sight that you could dream of, and a few you could not. I could use the Weave to make us feel sensations beyond reckoning. I could do more than woo you. I could wow you. Player: You don't need to impress me, Gale. I'm no goddess., FEMALE ['Gale 5'] Player: You don't need to impress me, Gale. I'm no god., MALE ['Gale 5'] Player: You don't need to impress me, Gale. I'm no deity. ['Gale 5']

you can net five approval points in the last night alive scene in other ways too:

telling gale you love him:

Player: I'm in love with you too. ['Gale 5']

2. leaning in for a kiss:

Player: Lean in for a kiss. ['Gale 5']

3. gale also doesn't mind if you change your mind during the astral sea scene and want to return to the 'real' world:

Player: It's beautiful, but it's you I want to be with. The man, not the illusion. ['Gale 5'] - Player: I want to be with the real Gale - the man, not the fantasy. ['Gale 5']

these are NOT extra points. you will ONLY get these if you didn't choose the "Player: I think that sounds delightful - but I don't see a bed. ['Gale 5']" option in the same dialogue tree i listed above to follow through to the astral sea scene, but instead return to the "old ways" scene (gale snaps his fingers and the illusion of waterdeep disappears).

4. the friendship version of the scene also allows the player to not five approval points if the player chooses to stay with gale under the stars:

Gale: Yes... but there is so much to live for, and so few moments in which to house it all.Approval_AtLeast_30_For_Sp6 Gale: Damn you. Damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures... this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn't. Gale: If there is a way - any way - to save all that's grown dear to me, I want to seize it. I just cannot fathom what that might be, other than to fail Mystra and condemn the world. Gale: Stay with me, will you? I don't want to think of it any more, but I don't want to be alone either. Player: Stay with him and watch the stars in silence. ['Gale 5']

the second part i want to address because that is (again, i'm sure it's completely unintentional so no worries, anon, and/or a misconception/misunderstanding) false information:

b) choosing the astral sea scene pushes gale towards the crown

that is completely factually wrong and i felt it was important to clear that up. there is not a singular flag in the entirety of the scene's files that determines pushing gale away or towards godhood, away or towards the crown.

not one.

which makes sense because at that point in time, neither gale nor the protag even know about the crown. it's only at the end of act 2 that you find out about it, and it triggers gale's act 3 choice to pursue the crown (and godhood) or not to.

the only flags set in gale's act 2 romance scene is if you push him towards sacrificing himself or making him understand that he doesn't have to do that and that you'll find another way with him.

i've detailed that in a meta post about those flags.

if you would like to check the file for youself, you need to open "CAMP_GalesLastNightAlive_SD_ROM", which contains gale's act 2 romance scene.

the only other flags that appear in this scene are the following:

ORI_State_Partnered = False / True

ORI_State_DatingGale

CAMP_GalesLastNightAlive_SD_ROM_Event_CollateralDamage = False / True

ORI_Gale_Event_PushTowardsDeath

ORI_Gale_Event_PushAwayFromDeath

as well as the flags for approval (to determine which scene variation you get -> low approval, friendship, romance) and for karlach, as she has special dialogue in this romance scene with gale, depending on whatever or not she got the second upgrade that allows her to be able to touch.

again, my goal here is just to clear up misinformation about the scene. none of the two versions have a disparity in approval or have a 'negative' consequence attached to them in terms of flags.

what i, personally, find interesting and what i would like to add at the end of this post are the devnotes. we don't have that many in this scene, however, gale makes it clear that if you pick the 'old ways' scene - which is, in and of itself, a perfectly valid choice to make btw depending on how you rp your character, and i have two characters myself who have different ways of doing this scene - the devnote makes it very clear that gale is bowing to the player's preference.

it's not his wish. it's the player's wish.

and it's a wish that he respects to the utmost:

Player: It's beautiful, but its you I want to be with. The man, not the illusion. Gale: The old ways then. If that is what you wish, so be it. devnote: Tactful, bowing to the player's desires Gale: A small gesture towards your comfort.

all in all, i think personal preference is something else entirely, but i do think - looking at everything i've laid out here - it's very sad to see one scene painted as the 'lesser' for reasons that are factually wrong.

if ppl are interested to read a post taking on a more favourable reading of the astral sea version of gale's act 2 romance scene and want to understand why some people might prefer it, i'd greatly recommend this meta by @clericofgale. i've also talked about my own feelings (this is my personal opinion) in the tags of this post:

#i've spoken about this already but the amount of times i had to read derisive takes on the astral sea scene #because people think that making gale understand that he is more than his magic #is the same as separating him entirely from it #it does him a great disservice when it's such a great part of his life #you are romancing a wizard and a wizard comes with magic #i think it's also important to note that gale believes this is his quite possibly last night #the scene is literally titled that in the files: 'last night alive' #it's not a show it's love and acceptance and vulnerability #he is trying to share what he can and as much as he can with the person he loves in what little time may be left to him #he shows you his home and bares his soul to you in hopes you'll accept him in his entirety for who he is and the things he holds dear #when you deny him he acquiesces but he is doing so on your wishes and your comfort alone - not for his

again, thank you for your message, anon! 🖤

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! Do you have any tips how to not lose interest in a story and be enough interested to start/do write if? Personally I just get hyperfixated on a story idea I have, do the brainstorming, even the planning, sometimes world building and if I get serious I make lists about almost everything but never end up writing even if I have interest still, but at most cases at the point I could start writing I just loose interest and get bored of a story when I'm done figuring out what it'll be about and maybe because I don't really like thinking about the climax or the end of the story...

Hyperfixation on Planning Story, But Can't Write It

I do have some tips on rekindling your interest in your story, which I'll link below, but first I think it's worth addressing the specific issues you mentioned: that you don't like to think about the climax or end of the story.

Have you thought at all about why you feel that way? There are a few potential reasons I can think of:

1 - Your story doesn't have a conflict, so your story doesn't have a natural climax or ending. Stories revolve around conflict, or in other words a problem that needs to be solved. This problem could be in the character's heart and mind (internal conflict), in the character's situation/life/world (external conflict), or you can have both at the same time. Many stories these days have a parallel internal and external conflict. Stories are ultimately about someone (or a bunch of someones) trying to solve a problem. In order to solve that problem, they need to reach a particular goal or accomplish a particular thing. The bulk of the story will be their struggle to reach this goal as they overcome the obstacles along the way. The climax of the story is where they face down the cause of the conflict once and for all, whether that's a villain (like an evil wizard or corrupt corporation) or a force (like illness or a natural disaster) and try to solve the problem once and for all. Everything after that is the aftermath... whether they succeeded or failed, patching up their "wounds" from the "battle" (again, it doesn't have to be actual wounds or an actual battle), and settling into the post-conflict life. That's your ending.

2 - You have a conflict, but haven't figured out how it would be resolved, so the climax and ending are fuzzy. If you have a conflict but aren't sure how it would be resolved, it might help to think of the conflict as a problem that needs to be solved. For example, in The Hunger Games, the conflict was the Hunger Games Event... the problem was that Katniss volunteered to compete which put her life at risk. So the solution to the problem was to survive the event.

3 - You know what the climax and ending are, but you are enjoying the characters and world and don't want the story to end. This is one I think many writers can relate to. It can be really hard to let go of a story when you've enjoyed writing it, have gotten attached to the characters, and feel comfortable/familiar with the world. It can also be a little scary to think about diving into a whole new story. But, we do have to learn to let go of stories when they're finished and let them come to their natural conclusion. You can always go back to the world and characters, even if just for yourself, later on. It wouldn't be weird to write "fan-fiction" of your own story, and many writers turn these kinds of stories into prequels, sequels, companion series, and companion short stories that their readers enjoy, too.

Here are some tips for getting excited about your story again if you just need your motivation rekindled:

Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Getting Excited About Your Story Again Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists Feeling Unmotivated with WIP

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[trans-cuchulainn]

hello and welcome to the niche corner

hello i'm néide and this is my blog, which mostly consists of me being grumpy about niche things. i have multiple degrees in medieval irish literature and while sometimes i use these to be vaguely educational, more often i use them to write incredibly specific fic about characters nobody else cares about, and this fic can be found on ao3 (for logged-in users)

so this is a guide to my incredibly specific fanfiction, which i feel also gives a reasonably good introduction to the kind of thing i'm likely to be yelling about on this blog

i am reliably informed that you don't actually need to know anything about the source material to have fun with these fics (or suffer from the angst), but also they can be more fun if you do. some have bibliographies/refs/explanations so i also know a few people have used them as a way to get started with medieval Irish lit which will never not be extremely funny to me

current WIP: chasing someone else's dream (16k, WIP): a cú chulainn/láeg reincarnation fic. they have been reincarnated, not for the first time. they've also been cursed, and thus, unlike in every life before this one, they've never met. ngl this fic contains some of the best prose i ever wrote, please read it

group chats of the ulster cycle, or, the in loco parentis series

a modern AU of the ulster cycle. sort of a college AU, turned into a ballet AU halfway through. consists of:

in loco parentis (135k, complete): my magnum opus. cú chulainn and láeg are university flatmates; group chats featuring all your favourite ulster cycle characters and also some you probably never gave a shit about; cú chulainn as a tiny trans ballet dancer and ferdia as his pas de deux partner; baking; everybody hating on conchobar; nobody dies; way more feelings about both ballet and shostakovich than anybody was expecting, including me; and much more. comes with explanatory notes / bibliography because i'm just Like That

getting the dee (9k, in progress/abandoned): a prequel to ILP, sort of a longes mac nuislenn fic except nobody dies and there are more sex toys. naoise/deirdre with guest appearances from conall. one day i'll go back to this but also i'm a coward

valentáin's day (4k oneshot, complete): a prequel to ILP, featuring láeg and cormac in the pub on valentine's day making fun of all their friends in relationships. they make out, fortunately their friendship survives the experience.

and when you move, i move (2.5k oneshot, complete): a sequel to ILP. just a horny lil cú chulainn/ferdia oneshot set a few months after ILP wraps up.

miscellaneous ulster cycle oneshots

i will be honest, most of these are sad fics of oidheadh con culainn ("the death of cú chulainn") because i just love writing angst, but there's a couple of others in there

a moment's silence (3k): smutty cú/láeg fic set during táin bó cúailnge, inspired by this picture. the most explicit fic i've written

to walk this world alone (6k): extremely niche fic featuring láeg after cú chulainn's death. some otherworldly happenings. sad but not as sad as it was originally going to be.

counterweight (3k): cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. this one's pretty sad too.

dindsenchas (3.5k): missing scenes between cú chulainn and láeg during táin bó cúailnge. narrated by the landscape of ulster and addressed in second person to cú chulainn himself because the best sex scenes are the ones narrated by a tree.

in one dwelling place (2k): láeg/cú chulainn/emer. vaguely smutty, vaguely fluffy.

we'll say goodbye, today (2k): cú chulainn and láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. big sad hours.

glorious as the sunrise (3k): this is just angst. cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn again. not particularly shippy but they love each other very much.

a marriage of inconvenience (3k): modern AU. cú chulainn wants to marry emer but unfortunately never bothered to get divorced after he married láeg for househunting purposes. a very silly fic.

of grief and glory (1.7k): cú chulainn deals with the aftermath of táin bó cúailnge, especially fer diad's death. more sad times lol.

flight risk (2.3k): teenage cú chulainn and láeg steal a spaceship. they get caught. fun scifi AU.

other medieval lit fics (non ulster cycle)

patron saint of toasties (2.5k): finn cycle fic. oisín took time out of uni to travel and now all his friends have graduated and he's lonely enough to text the christian union's "text a toastie" hotline. which is how he meets patrick. very silly modern AU gen fic mostly taking the piss out of st patrick

two birds of a feather (2.8k): yonec (marie de france) | togail bruidne da derga crossover fic. bird dad support group. conaire and yonec hang out and bond over their dads having maybe been birds. stupidest thing i ever wrote and i adore it.

quiver and shake (1.8k): fourth branch of the mabinogi fic. gwydion and gilfaethwy's special brotherly bonding time. canon typical content warnings apply.

other

absent thee from felicity (11k, WIP): hamlet | romeo & juliet crossover modern AU in which horatio and benvolio attempt to deal with the aftermath of their respective tragedies. sad at first, will gradually get sillier. haven't updated in a couple of years but that doesn't mean it's permanently abandoned, i'm just busy

a guild doctor and an abolitionist walk into a bar (5.5k, complete): mortimer sark/daragh vernant (the butterfly assassin by finn longman). in which they become friends while coparenting their fucked up assassin child and pretending they're not doing that. blatant pro-mortimer propaganda tbh and i'm not sorry

if you've never read any of my fics before and are wondering where to start, i firmly believe the reincarnation fic (current WIP) is a good one because it has a solid mix of angst, shenanigans, and weird fuckery, so you can experience the tonal whiplash of the rest of my fics all in one place! but it is a WIP and i make zero promises about upload schedule, it happens when it happens, so not so good if you're impatient haha. plenty of others to get you started though

[rainintheevening]

I guess a really big thing that I want folks to remember when criticizing the Jedi about anything to do with the war, whether it's about the clones, or whatever, is that Palpatine set everything up. Literally everything.

Palpatine is really the one writing the narrative. He's doing it long before Anakin comes into the picture, he is planning everything. He wants to destabilize the Republic till they beg for one person to run everything and save them. And at the centre of that is tearing down the Jedi.

Everything that notably goes wrong in the Republic from before Episode 1, is being engineered by Palpatine.

The corruption in the Senate, the Trade Federation, Naboo Crisis, Dooku’s fall and the birth of the separatist movement, the clone army, ALL OF IT WAS SET UP BY PALPATINE.

None of it was happening naturally. Palpatine was putting people where he wanted them, was setting this and that and the other thing up, and he had back up plans for everything. Even his back-ups had back-ups! That man was playing out the culmination of the longest long game in history, and he was not about to mess it up.

The Jedi had already seen a decline in the numbers of Force-sensitives coming to the Temple, even in those being born I think. Gotta wonder if the Sith had something to do with that too.

Rising crime and chaos across the galaxy, keep the Jedi busy, and worn down, and then that hits a whole other level after Dooku’s Raxus Address and the start of the seperatist crisis. They're always on the move then, hardly ever home.

And they're Jedi, they can see the big picture enough to know that the Republic is splintering apart, and there is only so much that can be done to save it.

The Jedi did not make the clones, Palpatine and Dooku did under Sifo-Dyas's name. You wanna talk about who 'owns' the clones? Palpatine and Dooku, probably more Dooku, he's the one with the money. And of course Palpatine made them human. Because he knew it would hurt the Jedi on a whole other level.

Palpatine was also hard at work twisting public perception of the Jedi, and that culminated in the war.

Palpatine set up the war so that there would be NO perfect morally correct choice for the Jedi.

This is an enormous part of the tragedy of the Prequels. How do good people make choices when there are no good choices? How do you choose when it seems you have no choice?

Palpatine set it up so that no matter what choice the Jedi made, they could be dragged and vilified for it, because that was what he wanted.

Breaking the Order apart as one person's 'least of the evils' clashed with another's, and every choice cost someone's life.

Physically scattering them across the galaxy so they're often alone to process the pain and horrors of war.

He was playing one-man chess with the Jedi and the clones vs Dooku and the droids. They were ALL pawns in his game.

Did the individual choices of the Jedi, and the senators, and the Republic citizens matter? Yes. Yes, they did. Our choices always matter.

Because it was a near thing at the climax! Palpatine was mortal and there were absolutely moments when his plan hung in the balance of another's choice. There were close calls, there were near misses. He had his weaknesses. It's those close calls that make the tragedy even more desperate, isn't it? Those are the moments that grab us by the scruff and make us write fix-it fics, yeah? Because we all want him to fail. We all want the bad guy to lose. We all want to see that our choices can make a difference.

(In the end it was those choices of people trying their best in the face of a conspiracy so vast I doubt anyone other than Palpatine and whoever he chose to brag about it to grasped it, it was individual choices that took him down in the end.)

(Because sometimes evil wins, but it never wins forever. The Jedi were not destroyed because they were morally corrupt, Palpatine created a morally corrupt environment, and crushed them in it. But their spark lived on, and it lit a brand new fire decades later.)

Anyway, all this to say, I absolutely do want to hear about what exactly the Jedi 'should' have done, particularly to help me write different perspectives into my stories. (And I'll only debate directly with an individual if I am invited.) But when it comes to 'how' they were supposed to have done those things, I really hope people will stop and consider whether or not Palpatine would have allowed it.

I'm not saying you have to like the Jedi, but I do hope y'all have at least some sympathy, and acknowledgement of the impossible situation they are put in. (Not unlike the situations more and more of us are being put into in this world.)

[lovesongbracket]

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

Demolition Lovers

Written By: Matt Pelissier, Mikey Way, Ray Toro & Gerard Way

Artist: My Chemical Romance

Released: 2002

The Demolition Lovers are the couple seen on the cover for MCR’s next album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. This song, along with much of the album, is a prequel to the story of Three Cheers… in which a man makes a deal with the devil to get his dead lover back by killing 1,000 evil men and giving the devil their souls in exchange for her. This song is most likely where the lover dies. The two “Demolition Lovers” are featured on the cover of the album.

[Verse 1] Hand in mine, into your icy blues And then I'd say to you, "We could take to the highway With this trunk of ammunition, too" I'd end my days with you, in a hail of bullets [Chorus] I'm trying, I'm trying To let you know just how much you mean to me And after all the things We put each other through and [Verse 2] I would drive on to the end with you A liquor store or two keeps the gas tank full And I feel like there's nothing left to do But prove myself to you, and we'll keep it running [Chorus] But this time, I mean it I'll let you know just how much you mean to me As snow falls on desert sky Until the end of everything I'm trying, I'm trying To let you know how much you mean As days fade and nights grow And we grow cold [Post-Chorus] Until the end, until this pool of blood Until this, I mean this, I mean this, until the end of [Chorus] I'm trying, I'm trying To let you know how much you mean As days fade and nights grow And we grow cold But this time, we'll show them We'll show them all how much we mean As snow falls on desert sky Until the end of every… [Interlude] All we are, all we are is bullets, I mean this All we are, all we are is bullets, I mean this All we are, all we are is bullets, I mean this All we are, all we are is bullets, I mean this [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] As lead rains will pass on through Our phantoms forever, forever Like scarecrows that fuel this flame We're burning forever and ever Know how much I want to show you You're the only one Like a bed of roses There's a dozen reasons in this gun [Outro] And as we're falling down, and in this pool of blood And as we're touching hands, and as we're falling down And in this pool of blood, and as we're falling down I'll see your eyes, and in this pool of blood I'll meet your eyes, I mean this forever!

I Will Follow You into the Dark

Written By: Benjamin Gibbard

Artist: Death Cab for Cutie

Released: 2006

Even on a concept album whose main theme is death, “I’ll Follow You Into The Dark” is a standout moving song about the transcendental power of love, even when that boundary is death. This song was recorded unexpectedly while the band was having technical difficulties in studio. Chris Walla, Death Cab for Cutie’s lead guitarist and producer, said the following. “We were going to track the vocal for another song and there was something screwy happening with the headphone mix. We were having problems, so I said, “Ben, this is gonna be a few minutes. Take a break.” Ben’s version of taking a break while we addressed the headphone problem was to pick up this Stella guitar that he loves and start playing this song we were planning on recording sometime later during the sessions. He was still coming through the vocal mic as he was playing this, and it was sounding really cool to me, so I went up and said, “Let’s track this real quick,” and we did and that’s what’s on the record. It was a mono recording with no effects. Nothing. I added a little compression and de-essed it a bit. It’s really weird. It’s totally there and it’s happening.”

[Verse 1] Love of mine, someday you will die But I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark [Chorus] If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied Illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark [Verse 2] In Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black And I held my tongue as she told me, "Son Fear is the heart of love," so I never went back [Chorus] If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied Illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark [Verse 3] You and me have seen everything to see From Bangkok to Calgary and the soles of your shoes Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now But it's nothing to cry about 'cause we'll hold each other soon In the blackest of rooms [Chorus] And if Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied And illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks Then I'll follow you into the dark [Outro] Then I'll follow you into the dark

[absolutebl]

hi there 🖐🏼 what are your recs for bl movies with great acting?

BL Movies with GREAT Acting

Specifically Movies? Do KBLs that were cut into movies count? Hum, I'm gonna make a judgement call given how few actual movies I have to work with and say if it holds as a "movie going experience" I can count it. I should say in order to really push this into the superlative acting space the BL aspect on many of these is... light.

His

Japan 2020 Viki

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out as gay. It addresses the consequences of life choices disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and ended badly. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him, already brokenhearted because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite way, tried to pretend to be something he was not and ended up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. The acting is killer, Miyazawa Hio is sulky in the best possible way, the filming is beautiful and the setting unique and interesting...

I'm not wild about the ending. Moody arthouse smackdoodle is going to pretend that "ambiguous" is somehow unique and special rather than bog standard commonplace for narratives of this type. But endings are my hangup, not yours?

This is not really BL (the prequel was), so few of the tropes are used. You do not need to have watched the prequel.

Your Name Engraved Herein

Taiwan 2020 Netflix

This movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing. It’s a self acceptance journey that goes emotionally array on the alter of history, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. I would say it's not really BL, no real trope drops at all.

Okay those two I chose more on the strength of the acting than BL. These others are not going to be at the same standard/style.

If you want moee of the above level of drama, things get very sad in the BL world, so Love of Siam, Dew, Eternal Yesterday, Goodbye Mother, etc...

Restart After Come Back Home (Risutato wa tadaima no ato de)

Japan 2020 Gaga?

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning. The acting is a touch stiff, in that Japanese reserved way.

This is the only BL movie, as a movie, that I could pull. There are others, I jsut don't think the acting is good enough.

So here are some highly rated short bingable series that are movie length (1.5-2.5 hours) but not really movies - BUT with killer acting. So they still might satisfy the itch. I places them in order of acting and filming quality, not my own personal preference.

From Japan

Old Fashion Cupcake

Tokyo in April is...

Life: Love on the Line (director's cut)

My Beautiful Man

I Cannot Reach You

Seven Days

From Taiwan

Red Balloon

We Best Love (esp part 2)

About Youth

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

From Korea

To My Star

Long Time No See

The New Employee

Where Your Eyes Linger

More like this?

I want to shout out The Eighth Sense here too. It's longer than movie length but so well acted.

(source)

[alhaithamhabibi]

𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐊𝐀𝐈'𝐃!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄

ᴍᴇᴇɴᴀ ɴᴏᴛᴇs : didn't expect the nanny!reader to blow up so without further ado, i present you the prequel! idc if lante is ooc in it but it's an alternative timeline and there's always a butterfly effect even if one doesn't want to change a story with their presence. also once again, another long post.

part one is here

❥ honestly, you were nearly done with the novel, with a couple or so pages left. you wanted to reach the ending as soon as possible but perhaps reading the entire novel in one night wasn't a smart idea. and eventually, you just gave into your body's exhaustion and slept.

❥ but when you woke up again, you could hear a woman humming and someone playing with your hair. normally you would wake up and freak out. but the presence was so calming and soothing, you ended up snuggling up to them.

❥ though a scream woke you up completely as you shot up from the bed yet you were held against the woman, clutching you tightly as she whispered words of reassurance. and as you frantically look around, you noticed this wasn't your home and that your body was smaller than it used to be.

❥ clearly, you weren't in your world, and despite your surroundings not showing much, it also showed that. especially with the screams and weapons being used outside the door. not to mention, you're so small. where in the world are you??

❥ so you did as your body naturally reacted to its next scream. hold the woman, assuming she's your mother, tightly and pretend it's a dream. cause it is. right? eventually, you fell back to sleep. but the next time you woke up, you were wrong. ( big surprise )

❥ though you were still confused, you were able to figure out some things quickly enough. the woman that held you was indeed your mother in this world. she's a nanny to one of the many endless children here and your father is probably dead or something. oh well.

❥ as for yourself, you knew you were seven years old and currently a mess on the inside. after that night you won't up into this world, your mother had you stay in your shared room. she would bring meals but it was evident she was scared of what would happen to you if you left.

"mother, i feel rather tired staying here all day. can't i go to work with you?" the question left your lips before you can take it back. you didn't want to seem like a whiny child who only knew how to complain. especially when she overworked herself to provide for both of you.

your mother was too sweet and good for this world so obviously you wanted to protect her. especially in this strange hellish household. but how could you when you don't know the world well enough?

"my little light," your mother brought you closer to her embrace which you eagerly accepted. you looked up at her as she gazed down at you so affectionately and so softly. "just for a few more days. till he leaves alright?"

you didn't know who your mother was referencing but you took it, knowing she would evade the subject. certain subjects seem to be taboo even with the slightest whispers. but you nuzzled into her embrace anyway, "whatever you want, mother, i'll listen to you."

❥ still, it's fine, right? you could try to figure out more about the world you were in despite being unable to leave and find a way out of there. hopefully. wrong once again. because the day your mother deemed it was safe, she took you to her workplace.

❥ well, a room but that counts! only for you to meet certain crimson eyes that belong to a boy who seems to be a few years older than you. and then your mother addressed his full name. lante fucking agriche. why is the female lead's father of the novel you read right in front of you?

❥ is it considered too early to write wills at this age? it is? how unfortunate. new goal! find a way out of this mansion. yet it was thwarted by your mother who told you both that lante's mother chose her to become his nanny at her deathbed and she promised to.

❥ so yeah, the plan isn't it. for now. all you could do is help your mother and make sure that both of you survive. lante can take care of himself, you were sure of it. but the novel never really mentioned lante's backstory since it was more focused on his daughter.

"young master, this is my daughter y/n. she will be joining me to learn as well," your mother dutifully bowed down in respect to the curly-haired boy with scarlet eyes while you just straight up stared at him, dumbfounded.

fuck.

"your daughter doesn't seem to be the bright one, nanny " he coldly remarked as he eyed - no, glared at you. you fumbled a bit before also bowing down to him as your mother gave your age as an excuse.

with a scoff, he only turned back to his book and went back to reading.

"i only wish for you to get along, that's all," your mother attempted to reason with you both. but you were sure that there was nothing that could bond you both together. especially when he was one of the villains in the novel.

"at the very least, both of you stay together so my heart will rest at ease." with just one glance at lante who briefly looked at you before your mother, you both knew it was better to listen to her. maybe you could use him to escape.

❥ but the settings were no different. the black agriche ruled the underworld, his father had many mistresses and wives as he drowned himself in indulgence and treated his kids like crap. even having one of them killed just because they minorly inconvenienced him as you witness. it was utterly horrifying.

❥ and you could see the signs of abuse emerging whenever lante came back from his father's office. the way his half-siblings tried to kill him one way or the other. the lack of health he had just to stay on top. the bruises, cuts, and broken bones that your mother had to attend to, quietly and secretly, into the night.

❥ you felt sorry for him. he was a bastard of a father but no children should ever be placed in this situation. and you could see the small slips of genuine care he held for your mother and occasionally you. well, you weren't exactly affectionate as your mother but you still followed her lead.

❥ lante always did like to show off his intelligence when it came to you and his mother. a brat in some ways, occasionally telling you what he knows. but as much as you hate to admit it, you learned a lot more about the world and the settings from him rather than your own experience.

"such childish handwriting. how will the others ever understand this? a hopeless one, truly," lante criticized as you wrote on the paper the foreign language your small body as acquired.

"perhaps it's because i'm still a child?" you scoffed at him yet you went back to your words and tried to them neatly as possible. don't let him get to you, you reasoned yourself to not strangle him, it's for mother's sanity that i can deal with him.

"and yet when i was your age, my writing brought others down to their knees," he smirked as you glared at him openly now. with your focus on him now, he was able to snatch your papers with one hand and push you at arm's length with the other.

"since you will be a future servant, writing is essential as you become your master's tool. use this," lante muttered as gave the papers back after writing something on it. "the next time i catch you, i expect your writing to be adequate."

you widened your eyes as the writing became easier and you started to understand the words. so carried away, you ended up completing the papers and looked up to see the spot lante took empty. he must have left, you thought as you begin to rush to your mother to show your hard work.

❥ to be honest, you didn't think he held you in high regard as he would for his father and your mother. it was that night you heard a knock in your room and you cautiously opened it, finding lante limping and bleeding. your mother was out, helping the maids with the night shift. so it was just you.

❥ you ushered him quickly into your bed as you clumsily applied the medicine to his wounds. of course, you knew who was the caused of the wounds in which you began to curse out lante's father, absolutely sleep-deprived at this point.

❥ it took lante by surprise but it's not like he disagreed or anything. he just quietly listened to your rambling, not finding you a nuisance for once. after you finished the treatment, you hesitantly offered to escort him back to his room which he haughtily refused.

❥ but you were still stubborn enough to ignore his words and go with him regardless. he called you an idiot but at this point, anyone who didn't listen to him was an idiot and not worth his time to dirty his hands with. it must be your mother's blessing he still let your off the hook.

❥ by the time you got to his room, you entered the room and fixed up his bed for him as he changed in the bathroom. by the time he got out, you were sitting down on the chair beside his bed with a book in your hands.

"you're only twelve, y/n. do you plan on reading me to sleep?" lante grumbled as he tried to get himself comfortable on the bed. the wounds still burn and the crazed eyes of his father haven't left his mind.

"don't be ridiculous," you scoffed as you moved the book from your hands to adjust the blanket as your mother did for you. "i'm reading so it can help me stay up. and so you don't bleed to death if your wounds open up." just as you finished, his hand shot out to catch your small wrist.

"why? why do your curse as my father? why do you act as if you care for me? why bother?" and for a moment, you didn't look lante as the female lead's father but at him as a person. as another kid trying to survive in this cursed household. really...what was the author thinking when creating this sort of setting?

"because," you sighed, "mother cares for you. i see how much you risk for mother and you have my gratitude for that. because if something happens to me or i die, i know mother will be taken care of." it was rather amusing to see that rare shocked expression on his face but you paid no mind to it as you continued, gently prying his hand off your wrist.

"and your father is a bastard who deserves to be stabbed. don't look at me like that, lante, we both know he is one. but it's ridiculous the way he makes the children of the house fight like enemies for his sick pleasure. i never want that on anyone. especially you."

you squeezed his hand softly, yet there was not a smile on your face but a firm look of resolution. it wasn't like your mother's soft look when she gazed at him, he thought, but somehow it still feels like it. like mother, like daughter.

❥ after that, your relationship with him gets better. he's still an insufferable bastard who likes to boast his knowledge and his strength. but if you were curious about something or needed help ( not that you would ever ask ), he'll answer your questions and help you.

❥ in some ways, you were also able to help out lante whether you helps with his wounds or gave a distraction to keep his father's negative attention away from him or provide him information about his other half siblings. and he never said it verbally but you knew he was glad to have someone on his side as well.

❥ it made your mother delightful that the two of you were able to get along despite the occasional bickers. she always told you both you resembled more of actual siblings to which the both of you expressed your disdain for each other much to her amusement.

❥ if anything, it was her who brought you both closer together, and wanted to protect her. simply for lante who never experience familial love, and wanted to monopolize her for himself, and for you who wanted this saintly loving figure to get the hell out of here so she can be happy.

❥ but despite the constant torment and death lingering in the household, you were naive to believe that it wouldn't touch your mother or yourself. until the night your mother's bloody figure was held in your arms the night of your fifteenth birthday.

"mother," you croaked, a lump in your throat preventing you to speak any further. the once lively eyes filled with love and warmth dulled as she struggled to keep living.

you didn't know how it all began as you were quietly celebrating your birthday with your mother and lante. next thing you knew, there were screams about assassins and such. lante went off first, followed by your mother and then you. and all you could see was people running, blood, and dead bodies.

you were separated from your mother in all this chaos only to be reunited with her as lante good you both to stay put in his room as he led them away and fended them off.

and it was a good idea at first only for you to realize the assassins would kill you regardless of status. and you knew it the moment that you saw the assassin head for your way, it was over for you. till your mother stepped in the way and cleanly sliced off his head with a sword she took from the floor.

you marveled at your mother's work but as she staggered forward, you realize only then that she was injured as well. severely. so you could only hold her and uttered the words she wanted to hear the most. all you could do is keep the wound from bleeding. you may have your medical knowledge but you knew there was no way she could live longer with such a deep stab. you were...helpless.

the door slammed open revealing lante, bloody and sweaty, as rushed by your side, to hold your mother's hand. "nanny..." he quietly whispered. it broke your heart, even more, when lante displayed his vulnerability before her. begging her to stay and not leave him alone. you wished you could say the same but your throat remained clogged and the tears you desperately tried to hide ran down your cheeks and onto your mother's.

"lante...y/n...my precious children..." and she breathed one last time with a smile.

❥ the next day, the workers who were still alive took the bodies and had them eaten by the monsters the house had raised. but somehow lante was able to send your mother's body to be cleaned and buried properly with a headstone. and you were beyond grateful for that.

❥ that day, both of you remained passive and stoic under others' watchful eyes only to break down behind closed doors. well, moreso of you than lante. he could only hold you and let his silence comfort you through your trembling body. there was no denying he changed after watching mother pass. but so had you.

❥ no one knew who the enemy was but the duke was evident in not caring whose lives the assassins took other than wanting to teach the assassin caught alive a lesson. and hours later, he was drinking and sleeping with other women again. it was a brutal slap to your face that you had to remember this was the world.

❥ though now you officially served under lante, you were his trusted right hand and confidante despite being a maid. you told him of what you knew from the servants who gossip and in turn, he taught you how to handle business in the household.

❥ the more you learned, the more the ache of wanting to leave the house as years passed by. this placed was filled with memories of both good and bad. and it was painful enough. not only that, lante's change became more evident to that in the novel. he was even more possessive of you but you thought it was because of your mother's death.

❥ eventually, you gained the courage to ask him to resign quietly from the black agriche and live quietly once again. much to your surprise, lante rejected it and left you with that. he kept himself busy with missions and such. but you were still a stubborn one. slowly, you got yourself ready to leave the place. with or without his permission.

❥ the night before your departure, you were violently woken from your bed with screams and wails. blood stained the walls and the floors as servants attempted to run away. with every hallway you turned, you noticed an agriche child on the ground, dead.

❥ you couldn't find lante in his room so you headed to the duke's office instead, not caring if you get killed on the spot. as you opened the door slowly, you held back your screams as you watched lante knock his father down to the ground with a powerful blow.

not trusting your voice, you quietly attempted to leave the room without lante noticing. but it failed as his father groaned in your direction in which lante's head snapped up. he didn't even look bothered at all which shouldn't surprise you. but you were taken aback by that crazy expression on his face.

"it's alright, y/n., come on over," lante extended his hand to you. against the rational side of your mind, you hesitantly walked over to them and took lante's hand. to which he placed the bloodied sword in yours. it was surprisingly heavy and if lante wasn't still holding your hand, you were sure it would be dropped.

"...lante?" you asked, as you turned your head to face him before looking down at the half-unconscious man below you both.

"it was because of him we lost someone we cherished. it was because of this bastard she's not here with us right now. we deserve this. it's only right we take everything away from him and end this. so you and i will do this together."

before you could ask further, lante raised his and your hand that held the sword.

your senses more heightened than ever. the stench of blood and iron clouding this mansion, the rage of the man beneath you for being the main problem for the household, sleepless nights that left you exhausted, the screams that occurred daily as one was dragged to their death, your mother's dead body in your arms, the bloody chaos surrounding this house, the tension between the residents, and realizing this place was no longer home if mother wasn't here.

and you both strike the sword straight into the older man's chest.

it took a while for you to register what you just did and you stepped back from the corpse, only to collapse on your knees. you were gonna get killed for this when the others find out. everything you worked for is gone. and you couldn't...

"y/n," lante kneeled on one knee as he placed bloody hands on either side of your face. there was some sort of maniac glint in his eyes as he proudly smiled at you. it was terrifying. "you can't leave me. not now. not ever. you are to stay by my side."

as you weakly protested, his next words sealed the deal as he held you close. "this is what mother wished for"

[andhereisthetea]

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: REVOLUTION comic Issue No. 1 by Dark Horse Comics (available here)

Summary:

"Journey to the earliest days of one of the universe’s most consequential, and fraught, team ups in this first issue of the official four-part prequel to the Netflix streaming event. Hordak is an ambitious general, eager to make his mark; Skeletor is an aspiring mage, hungry for power. Joining forces, melding ancient Eternian magic with advanced Horde technology, could bring them all their evil hearts’ desire…but they’ll have to survive each other first."

I'm going to proudly admit that I've sacrificed hours of sleep writing this, sorry for the bad spelling.

Okay, Masters of the Universe Revolution prequel comics was released early past month (May 15th) and as a MOTU/She-Ra fan I just had to check on it after watching the last season. And oh boy, there is a lot to unpack here….

The story of this prequel arc is centered around Keldor's origin and life as Hordak's apprentice, very much like "The Secret Origin of Skeletor" from the Minicomics era (which you can find here in @emperorsfoot blog), which took a lot from the He-Man 200x show and comics. I would say this is a rightful continuity to what the 200x never did, but with a pitch of new plot material and new perspectives to add.

For once, the writers also took a focus in Hordak's mysterious backtory and point of view through the issue, now is not only Keldor who shows his perspective of the story but also Hordak has something to say; both are the protagonists, not only one of them, which also shows us a glimpse of their future relationship as apprentice-master.

Lets start.

The story begins with a tale told by an unknown figure, (whose identity is addressed in the next pages) about a big battle (the first balled in the Universe) between the forces of Zoar (our beloved Preternian God from which the Goddess' powers belong) and Ka, God who would be the representation of Serpos in this continuity (the deity of the Snakemen). As the tale says, both turned against each other... until Ha'vok arrived.

According to this unknown person, Ha'vok is a deity and power who brings balance between Zoar and Ka, but entered a type of... stagnacy over time. Now, who is the champion?

Now, the first scene of the issue, oh boy. I love when the Horde has a good intro.

The Horde has always been a favorite of mine, and the introduction of two new female characters (you know, because the writers can't use any of the female characters belonging to the She-Ra continuity due to copyright reasons) has put a smile on my face for real. These two characters were designed by Alex Gimenez, but he couldn't continue with the comic project unfortunately:

They are a cool new addition to the Horde team, and I am very happy to see the original Horde members around too.

We are in Anwat Gar... the Island which was already mentioned by the 200x show as a site with great technology, as well as in the Revelation prequel comics, showing us is the site where the Gar lived in this continuity.

The Horde is attacking the place for an unknown reason, and at some point is mentioned that magic is actually forbidden in that place, contrary to what is seem during Randor's rule in the present.

Meanwhile, where is Hordak?

You see it right??! for old MOTU fans, this is the Fright Zone playset!

Apparently, Hordak has used the attack as a type of distraction to get to this place, he is looking for answers, and only magical entities can give it to him:

I want to take a moment to appreciate the call back to She-Ra's classic comics because these Fortune Sisters are a tribute to the 'Enchanted Sisters' who canonically ended up tricking Hordak in the classic comics:

Also, some dialogue of the scene:

Who the hell is Gaull?!

Soooo I had to go back to the He-Man character encyclopedia, remembering that Hordak's father was caller "Seferus-kur" also known as Horde Supreme, killed by Horde Prime (Anillis Kur) and Hordak (Hec-tor Kur), this info is ONLY in the MOTU 2008 bios and also to the 200x continuity (that is the story they wanted to use for the comics), so I guess they have choosen to retcon Hordak's origin story and also add a name for his father, because contrary to DC's interpretation, Prime is Hordak's older brother here:

Note to add, Revolution's continuity choose to go by a technological background for Hordak rather than magic, making the Horde a highly technological empire which despises magic.

More dialogue, Hordak's prompting to Eternia's ChatGPT

Man... the future will kick you in the ass.

Also, FINALLY the introduction to our second important protagonist in this issue...

Keldor's backstory is very similar to his 200x one, the only difference is that in this continuity he knows who his mother is, as if he had been raised by her rather than with Miro's. In fact, he was pushed to go and live with her by his father in the end. And surprise, she is a magic user, which was already pointed out as something forbidden in Anwat Gar, but Keldor doesn't care and uses his magic to attack the Horde invaders.

Saryn (Keldor's mother in 200x, here we don't have a name yet but I guess they will go with her original one) is the first magic teacher of Keldor, and she taught him for most of his young life, together with the magic history of Eternia, so we can already imagine who was narrating the story of Eternia's deities in the begining:

She taught him two things 1) we are made to defy and surpass our teachers 2) Keldor is destined to exceed Miro (Randor's and Keldor's father) at all cost and become a champion.

As well, she maintains a kind of telepathic connection with Keldor, where she constantly tells him he is destined to be a champion. But if she communicates with Keldor this way, where is she? apparently in some type of expedition:

Meanwhile Hordak has become frustrated by the Fortune Sister, who are trying to follow his indications, but going around the destiny of... someone else, who will accompany him through a parallel path:

"Grayskull's heir, yet unborn, will ground the ascendat bat, and in the fierce and final battle, Des-"

Screams internally... Hordak shut up and let the magic women speak.

Interesting thing, there seems to be a disagreement between some of the Fortune Sisters here, I wonder why?

*snorts* I really love this panel so much, Hordak is just so arrogant he thinks he would get it right away... man what if this was charged by some type of magic that would have killed you in an instant?!

Now we get to Anwat Gar again, where Keldor is trying to reach his mother while battling the Horde, meanwhile the citizens are more concerned about a magic user saving them than the whole Horde army around destroying the city, so we can say they have their priorities.

Finally Hordak arrives, helping a wounded Keldor and telling him it was all a distraction, as well Hordak tells him some interesting things:

"My name is Hordak, Supreme commander of the Horde fleet, Next in line to the Emperor's throne" hmmm...

Is important to highlight, is not Hordak who convinced Keldor to join the Horde, but his mother:

Finally, Keldor is recruited by Hordak to join the Horde, telling him they had uncovered a great power, and manipulating him (quite easily) to search for his rightful destiny.

Some things I liked about this issue:

The illustrations and art are ways better than most MOTU comics I've seem, even DC comics gets short in quality.

I liked the subtle call backs to the classic comics, the use of new characters, especially with the copyright issue, I believe the Fortune Sisters are going to reemplace Shadow Weaver, and the new Hordewomen are here to stay. We can see they cared for this story, especially with how much Lore they are trying to inplement here, blending most of the past continuities to create a new logic.

I liked that the Horde is a technological empire, just like the classic Filmation shows, and Hordak clrearly is the same arrogant and proud commander, still I can see he is more cunning and intelligent here, not the buffoon he was in the 80s, he is a good blend between his past continuities, including 2018. There is ambition in what he says, but his arrogance takes the worst of him.

If I have to point out what disappointed me the most... I do believe Keldor's introduction. He seems to be too young maybe, still focused in his mother's teaching and being seem as a rightful heir by Miro, his father. He is easily manipulated both by his mother (we don't know if she is good or bad yet) and by Hordak. he is desesperate to have his destiny and legacy.

I don't trust the Fortune sisters, or the only one of them who presented Hordak's with the Ha'vok staff, is evident she is going to be an antagonist in the future, and maybe she is Keldor's mother trying to led his son into a path for power using Hordak, which could be Keldor's undoing.

Thanks to @pennamesmith @lemaistrechat and @kuurankaiho for talking with me about this issue, is always good when there are more MOTU material to explore XD

[destiel-wings]

I've gathered some of my thoughts about The Winchesters season finale and here's why i think it gave me some peace

(yes, this does contain a destiel interpretation, too 💚💙)

Did i want to see Cas in it? Yes.

Was i disappointed that he wasn't? Actually, no (more on that later).

But I loved it. I was so stunned as I saw it and I felt like somehow it healed some of the wounds from the spn finale... but i couldn't quite understand why.

Here's why.

We basically watched Supernatural. Jensen reopened the finale and went further with it. What we saw in The Winchesters felt like a continuation of 15x20, even if it technically happened in between the last two scenes of the finale. But we got Bobby, we got Jack. They all actually talked, in a way that felt alive and real. Jack broke his rule of no interfering, showing that he still cared for Dean (just like he had broken his own rule off screen by saving Cas from the Empty). The Winchesters wasn't a prequel, but a sequel.

Dean got his own story, got to make something for himself (instead of just waiting for Sam on a bridge), and it's something that he wanted to do. He went back to look for hope and love, for a version of his parents where they could have a real chance.

We learn love (or we don't) and how to be in a happy relationship as kids by watching our parents, and Dean was doomed that way. He never had that example, to learn how to build a relationship and let himself be loved. He never learned that. So when he gets to heaven and he has the chance, before getting on that bridge, before meeting up with his family, with Sam... and yes, with Cas (even if we haven't seen him yet), he just needs a freaking minute. He needs a little time to himself. To reconnect. To understand. To reflect on love and what it means to love and be loved.

So he does what any fond child would do... he looks up at his parents. Only his parents that are right there in heaven didn't exactly have a happy ending (or even a happy middle), so he explores further, searching for a chance, a hope, a version of his own legacy where love was possible. Because if his parents can make it... so can he.

And we see all that through his own lenses (the weird use of the camera lenses with all those flares and glow resembles the aura of Dean's drive in heaven, thinking about it in retrospect).

screencaps of the glowy amber look and those camera flares, there's probably better examples but these are some of the best ones i could find

Dean's mission might have been the Akrida, but the reason he went looking, the real quest he was after, was hope. Hope for a happy ending. Hope for love, where said love was doomed from the start.

And it's not surprising that there were destiel parallels everywhere, because that was Dean's POV, and he's processing his own feelings. Which is something he needs to do before he sees Cas again.

And personally, I think Dean loves Cas back and he knew that before dying, but still, that doesn't mean that he's not afraid of messing it up. That he knows how to approach him, or face Cas, after all that's happened.

He may not even be doing all of this thinking consciously, but the Castiel subtext we've seen in The Winchesters, from a narrative POV, is Dean's.

We're seeing the parallels because he's seeing them, making them, it's his way of processing. Of seeing what he and Cas had, and what they could have. Looking for hope.

And, as he himself said before leaving again... i think he found it.

So i don't know how things are going to go on from here. I can't imagine how we could have Dean in a season two. I've been saying all along that The Winchesters might open the story for a SPN revival/s16, and i think it is perfectly possible that this might happen here.

The Winchesters might not have Dean anymore, becoming its own show (but still having lots of references and guest stars from Supernatural) and *as Jensen loves to say* when we get the revival, there will be the space to address Castiel's confession and give his character the importance that it needs.

It wouldn't have made sense to see Cas here in a little cameo, it wouldn't have been enough. But what we saw here, was the confirmation of Jensen reopening the finale, and his willingness to bring Dean back (as he's always stated), for whatever more he's allowed to do.

I love the way they handled it, we still got peace and hope (even if there were to be no s2), and i feel like we're all more confident that the bridge scene is not an ending, but a beginning of something more. Dean has said he's gonna go look for his family. That's not just Sam.

Of course he's gonna see Cas too. But i don't think any of us would've been satisfied to see him pop up randomly for a couple of minutes in TW, with little to no mention of what happened between them.

Also, i want to point out that this was supposed to be the midseason finale but they had to adapt it when they found out they didn't get a full season, we could've had much more (like more narrating voices as Jensen had teased) or even seeing more of Dean, instead of just seeing him in the pilot and the season finale. They even asked Misha to be there (and he refused for scheduling conflicts since he was busy filming Gotham Knights *but said he's absolutely willing to appear later*).

So i think there's still so much story to tell here and i am absolutely hopeful and trust that we will love it.

I think they did an amazing job in 13 episodes, and I can't wait to see what's next 💖

[antianakin]

The obi wan Kenobi show doesn’t work because it contradicts episode 4, which specifically states that the last time obi wan and vader met was in episode 3, having them duel again is just pointless and it contradicts an entire film, also why doesn’t Palpatine and the Empire arrest Bail Organa if they have suspicions he’s working with a Jedi? Bail Organa is smart and hes a good guy against the fascist empire and evil sith but in this show it makes him look not very smart.

I'm not sure why you're sending this message to ME, someone who's made it fairly clear that I LIKE the Kenobi show (and if I haven't, this is my definitive statement that I LOVE the Kenobi show and find it one of the best shows that D+ has released thus far), unless you're intentionally trying to start a debate/discussion about this.

I'm not going to change my mind about the Kenobi show and suddenly decide it's a bad show, so if you're trying to change my mind about it for some reason, it won't work. Much like the Prequel Trilogy, I'm perfectly willing to acknowledge the Kenobi show has flaws and isn't a perfectly written show, but it has a VISION and a PLAN, something that is all too rare within Star Wars these days.

It's also one of the VERY vanishingly few genuinely pro-Jedi and sort-of Jedi-centric stories out there. I'm unlikely to get very many of those, so Kenobi is a diamond in a rough for me. So I don't CARE what accusations people level at this show. Most of them are inaccurate or entirely based on personal taste alone. If the Kenobi show isn't for you, it isn't for you; there's PLENTY of Star Wars things that have come out that aren't for me but seem to have something in them that appeals to other people. Nothing anyone critiques about it is going to change the fact that there's a LOT I love about this show and the fact that it feels like it was made with fans like me in mind.

So if what you want is to just vent about a show that didn't work for you, maybe go to someone else to do it because you won't get it from me. (If you want to vent about, say, TBB or the Ahsoka show on the other hand, I'm exactly who you should talk to. Come vent at me about those shows any time.)

All that being said, this is my response to your specific accusations.

First, I'll address the Bail Organa thing because that just seems simpler. The ONLY person who has any suspicions that Bail is working with a Jedi during the Kenobi show is Reva, who leaves the whole Inquisitorius and the Empire by the end of the show. While there's perhaps some evidence of Obi-Wan wandering around with Leia, he's demonstrably not the person who TOOK Leia nor is he the person who RETURNED Leia, so there's zero evidence of Obi-Wan and Bail actually interacting beyond the message Bail sent to Obi-Wan that nobody saw except Reva and Obi-Wan, and that Reva took with her off of Jabiim, so it's never going to end up as evidence of anything.

The other reason Palpatine is not going after Bail Organa despite what are likely STRONG suspicions that Bail isn't loyal and is helping the Rebellion, is the same reason that the Senate doesn't get eliminated until ANH. Palpatine is still putting up a semblance of "democracy" to string people along with the idea that the Empire is a benevolent force working on behalf of the greater good. Bail is a well-known and well-liked and influential Senator on his own, AND he's the husband of the reigning monarch of Alderaan. Killing him without pretty serious evidence of wrong-doing could be a majorly bad political move for Palpatine. He also likely believes that, even if Bail IS working with the Rebellion, he's not that big of a threat. Why expend effort on killing someone who's not that big of a threat and when it might cause more people to turn against you for killing a well-liked dude without evidence of wrong-doing? What does Palpatine truly GAIN from this? He ONLY turns on Alderaan after two things happen: first, the Death Star is completed and he has a weapon that he can use to eliminate large swathes of enemies VERY quickly; second, Leia is caught working with the Rebels which implicates the entire royal family. So now not only does Palpatine have evidence of wrong-doing, he also has the means to stop CARING about what people think anyway because the Death Star means he can completely dismantle the ENTIRE SENATE and do whatever he wants to whoever he wants.

Now let's look at the accusation that the Kenobi show contradicts what's stated in ANH. Personally, I don't think it does. I'll grant that it contradicts what's IMPLIED by both ANH and ROTS and what most fans largely had assumed had happened. I'll even grant that the extra meeting during this time period is a little awkward narratively given that Obi-Wan had to win in order to survive at all but he also couldn't kill Anakin and people already had issues with this in ROTS where it's more easily explained away, so it's even harder to buy that Obi-Wan doesn't finish the job in THIS story.

But none of that means that it directly contradicts anything said in ANH. When Anakin first senses Obi-Wan's presence, all he says is he's feeling a presence he hasn't felt since... and then he fades off and never finishes that sentence. What he says during their actual fight is "I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete... When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master." There's NOTHING specific in this dialogue. The bit about having been a learner when Anakin left is already contradicted by the Prequels anyway since Anakin was technically already Knighted by the time he betrays everyone and joins the Sith and the bit about having "left" Obi-Wan is again contradicted by the Prequels first since their final confrontation has Obi-Wan leave Anakin, not the other way around (unless we count the initial betrayal and joining the Sith as Anakin "leaving" but they see each other after that, so). So anything you could claim the Kenobi show "contradicted" from ANH is something the Prequels already contradicted. Anakin also makes the claim here that he's a "Master" when Anakin is actually a Sith APPRENTICE and he wasn't ever a Jedi Master, either. Anakin is someone who exaggerates and manipulates the truth of things as he wants, so everything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt anyway. He's an unreliable narrator in the extreme.

Which makes it pretty easy to just say, "Well Anakin's lying about shit because this is what he wants to believe even if it isn't true." Sure, it doesn't match with the Kenobi show, but it doesn't match the Prequels either, so unless you're about to tell me that we have to toss out the entire Prequel Trilogy (something we're ALSO not going to agree on), then I think the Kenobi show should be given a pass for this.

Finally, like I said, I DO recognize there's some awkwardness introduced to the narrative in this show. There's weird timing for things, it does go against popular assumptions, etc. But just like a lot of people have done for shows THEY wanted to enjoy, I'm willing to come up with my own headcanons to make the Kenobi show work. I tend to view the Kenobi show as more of a character exploration via metaphor than a straightforward narrative. This show and the story it's telling are SO laser-focused on Obi-Wan's journey towards reclaiming his Jedi identity that it occasionally has to do some odd things to make the narrative fall into place to allow that journey to happen in exactly the way they want it. The plot came second to the character in this case (the opposite of the Ahsoka show where the plot is very basic and straightforward but the characters were completely left by the wayside which leaves the narrative an incomprehensible mess anyway; give me more shows with flaws like the Kenobi show over shows like the Ahsoka show ANY DAY). Whenever I recommend this show to people I tell them to focus on the character journey Obi-Wan goes on and to view the show more metaphorically than literally. It works for some people, it doesn't for others.

My personal favorite headcanon for the Kenobi show is that it's a representation of Obi-Wan's personal Force Ghost test, not unlike the one we know Yoda had in TCW season 6. In that, he's sent to several different places, some real and some not, in order to face different things he has to overcome before the Force decides he's ready to learn this skill. Sometimes he's led by a specific person through the test, sometimes he's not. This isn't ENTIRELY dissimilar to what happens to Obi-Wan in the Kenobi show where he keeps bouncing to different places and being guided by different characters towards the one major thing he has to face and overcome. And while Anakin's dialogue after the mask is sliced off doesn't make a TON of sense to me as something Anakin would actually say, it works for me as something that Obi-Wan has thought about HIMSELF. Anakin isn't really Anakin here, he's a manifestation of all of Obi-Wan's pain and fears and doubts. Anakin saying that he's not Obi-Wan's failure is something the real Anakin would NEVER say (except as a way to keep separating himself from the atrocities he's done), but it IS something Obi-Wan would need to come to accept. And who better for that lesson to come from than the face of the person who betrayed him, the person who destroyed his universe.

Much like Yoda's journey took him to both real places and some that seem somewhat less real, Obi-Wan's journey could be a mixture of both real events AND some things that are a little more metaphysical. The final confrontation on that moon could perhaps be one of those metaphysical things. He's drawn to that moon and it does work to draw the Empire away from the refugees, but it's not really Anakin he sees down there or something. Does anything in the show support this? No, of course not. But nothing really makes it impossible for it to be true, either. It makes things work better for me, something I'm willing to do because there's a LOT about this show that really really fucking works for me already, so I'm willing to put in a little extra effort to smooth over the things that don't work as well into something else. If you don't like the show enough to do that work, that's fine. But then I'm not the person to come venting to about it.

[david-talks-sw]

Why do a lot of SW fans dislike the Prequel Jedi?

This was going to be the conclusion to this answer about "why a lot of people dislike Mace"... but it's just too long, so I decided to make it a post in its own right.

So why is Mace-- scratch that, why are the Prequel Jedi considered to be "unlikable" by a big chunk of the fandom? Especially when compared to Anakin "I killed a group of children twice" Skywalker.

Overall... I'd say it's three things.

1) Some fans had different expectations.

I touched on this in a recent post: older fans, who are now at least in their 40s, grew up seeing Luke as the ultimate Jedi.

He's Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces, up there with King Arthur and Superman. He's, for lack of a better term, the chosen one.

So when the Prequels were announced and they knew they'd get to see the Jedi Knights in their heyday, they expected to see something like the Knights of the Round Table.

A collective of errant warriors who go on exciting adventures, providing aid from place to place. Like Luke Skywalker.

Instead, they got this:

"A bunch of monk/diplomats who sit around talking about taxations and trading routes and measure the Force based on cell organisms."

"They're nothing like Luke Skywalker! What the hell?" (I address why this is inaccurate here)

Then the second film comes out:

"Wait, Jedi can't get married now? So were all those EU books about Luke and Mara Jade bullshit?" (also addressed in above link)

Then the third film comes out:

"Palpatine is right there, why can't they sense him or read his mind? They're Jedi!" (explanation why here)

Also Luke is no longer the Chosen One apparently? Anakin is? How does that work?

Plus, the way they speak, their jargon, is waaaaay too formal, gone are the OT characters talking informal English with American accents and quips. Even the way these new characters speak - and not just the Jedi, the Queen too - seems detached from reality and makes them harder to relate to. (but we're talking about diplomats and royalty, so how else would they be talking?)

2) How adult audiences perceive "morally pure" characters.

Even if one didn't have the pre-concieved notions about the Jedi... they don't seem to impact the adult viewers the right way.

Then again... neither does Barney the Dinosaur.

Many are the conspiracy theories and negative discourse surrounding him (there's even an upcoming documentary about it). You know why? Because he's not meant to be a character for adults, who have outgrown morally black or white characters and are unable to relate to them... his target demographic is children.

They see him and go "I love you, you love me". We see him and go "What the fuck is this guy hiding? What darkness lies beneath that mask of optimism and joy?"

Same goes for the Jedi.

So I'd say what we have, here, is a similar situation as the one in the recent Rick and Morty episode, "Juricksic Mort".

In the episode, a bunch of dinosaurs return to Earth and it turns out they're incredibly selfless, diplomatic, moral and spiritually advanced (kinda like the Jedi!)

Rick's reaction is - you guessed it - "what the fuck are they hiding?"

The dinosaurs turn Earth into a utopia, ending all wars, removing all conflict, bringing about world peace and giving everyone the chance to go on vacation... and everybody hates them for it and eventually wants to see them fail and step down from their pedestal.

The writing emphasizes their superior virtue so much that they actually come across as uptight and patronizing. This is done intentionally, so that it's difficult to find them likeable out-of-universe, and we relate to the earthlings in-universe who react the same way.

Why do the audience and the characters react this way to characters who - again - are good and moral?

Because as Moriarty says in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows... hidden within the unconscious is an insatiable desire for conflict.

It's why the presence of conflict is so crucial in storytelling.

It's why every scene in good movies presents some form of internal, external or philosophical conflict.

It's why protagonists need flaws to be interesting and relatable. Because we're flawed as well.

Also, the protagonist will eventually have overcome their flaws through an arc.

More importantly, the basis of all conflict, in storytelling, comes from something being out of balance.

And the Jedi are trained to not be that :D !

So on the one hand we have Anakin, a flawed, conflicted character who struggles with his inner balance, and on the other we have the Jedi, who are essentially presented as flawless and balanced.

What will a chunk of the audience do? They:

Won't like the Jedi.

Will project a flaw onto them (more on that in the next section).

Side with Anakin, the one that's as imperfect as the audience is.

Sometimes all of the above.

But the thing is, though... the Jedi we see in the Prequels are not flawless or perfect.

They are, for the most part, characters who have already completed their character arcs, characters who have already confronted their own inner flaws and overcome them.

And whenever these flaws resurface? Well, they've conquered them once, and they have the training, so they do it again.

Example, here's Yoda confronting and overcoming his hubris and inner fears:

Has he done it before, in his almost 900 years? Probably, yeah. But it's not a one-and-done sort of thing.

But the Prequels are not their movies. They're about Anakin.

He's meant to be the more interesting character. And they're meant to be the ones with less flaws, because they're mentor archetypes and the Prequels show an interesting situation wherein the protagonist fails to listen to the mentors and fails to overcome his own flaws, which leads him to - instead - be doomed by them.

3) Issues with the writing.

So, for the people who didn't like the changes but want to like the Prequels, there's a headcanon that seemingly fixes everything:

"The Prequel Jedi... are intentionally written as arrogant, hypocritical moralists. They are meant to come across as dispassionate. I mean, isn’t that what being a Jedi is, apparently? You purge yourself of attachments aka emotions, and act only logically (which was typically-encouraged behavior for a long time, in the US). They've become too systemic and lost their way." And guess what? With this interpretation, "Luke is special again! He's like Qui-Gon in that he found a middle ground between the unfeeling Jedi and the Sith, who have become slaves to their emotions. Like, sure, Anakin can be THE Chosen One, whatever, but Luke? Luke has found the balance, he succeeded where Obi-Wan, Yoda (who wanted Vader dead instead of believing he could be redeemed) and the other Jedi failed. So that's what the Prequels are about: the Jedi's failure."

The issue is, though... it doesn't align with what George intended. (as explained here and here).

But it does use most of the ingredients the films give us. Which - short of unleashing a barrage of George Lucas quotes, interviews and videos - makes it hard to disprove.

Because - seeing as the films aren't about the Jedi, they're about Anakin and his own inner demons - we don't see enough of the Jedi's culture and lifestyle and day-to-day unless it directly relates to Anakin.

So George's very clear idea of how awesome the Jedi are is never truly conveyed or fleshed out and as a result they feel like a group of people who always say "no" to the protagonist. The flawed, passionate and more relatable (by contrast) protagonist.

We get glimpses of it in The Clone Wars, but then it's tarnished by the fact that the Jedi are at war.

Then there's the reads that could easily be disproved... had George been more explicit about what he was going for.

"The Jedi Council bully a 9-year-old." This read could've been avoided had the scene ended with the Jedi telling Anakin that being afraid is normal, but his fear must be conquered otherwise it'll lead to the Dark Side. Which, they do, but in a vague way rather one with a kind empathetic smile.

"Obi-Wan is always berating Anakin, their relationship is tense." The whole movie partially features an arc where their relationship is on the rocks, so removing the tension isn't an option. However, the interpretation that it's been like this for a decade (rather than recently because Anakin reunited with Padmé) could've been avoided if, instead of just a minute-long elevator scene, we maybe saw a set-piece of them on a mission, maybe showing them working in tandem and joking as they escape that nest of gundarks.

More could've been done to frame the Jedi in the positive light thy were meant to be seen under. But again: the movies aren't meant to be about the Jedi.

Though it seems that a lot of people wanted them to be. And maybe that explains the hate re: the Jedi.

Older audiences wanted to see Campbell's Hero they grew up with again, they had a preconceived notion that the Jedi would be wandering, exciting adventurers... instead they got a bunch of "stale" diplomats whose whole job is to avoid conflict and adventure.

So instead of taking the story for what it was - a movie for kids - they projected a "morally gray" narrative that said these characters were flawed and weren't how they were supposed to be in-universe, when the truth is they weren't happy with the characters they witnessed out-of-universe.

[xiv-wolfram]

WolfBahn Ship Summary - Part 2

A Realm Reborn

Part 1 - Prequel I realized the comics are... a lot. So I decided to make a short summary of my Wolfram x Raubahn ship. As I started to write I realized it was also... a lot. So clearly WolfBahn is simply... a lot. Eh, this is still way less to read than the comics, enjoy.

13 years after Wolfram and Raubahn had broken up, Wolf knew full well that he was still in love and would never move on. Frequently hearing news about the famous Flame General of Ul'dah probably hadn't helped matters. He'd made a sort of peace with it and was living as an adventurer in Limsa Lominsa, helping others in order to atone for his past. He and his friend X’Rhun Tia, trained red mages on the rare occasion they had an apprentice. Otherwise, Wolfram's time was usually spent working for the guild or doing odd jobs for the Admiral to pay the bills while Rhun traveled.

During one such job, Wolf stumbled upon a plot by the Serpent Reaver pirates to kidnap people and have them enthralled by the Sahagain god Leviathan. After saving the day, Admiral Merlwyb threw a banquet with the adventurer as her honored guest. It was here that Wolf revealed a crystal he had found to the city leader and his new acquaintance Y’Shtola. They talked about the Warriors of Light that had helped during the Calamity. He was told he held a Crystal of Light and was the vessel of a higher power. Once getting some clarification Wolfram burst out laughing. Obviously, someone tainted like him wouldn't be chosen by a powerful and benevolent goddess. Despite his skepticism, Y'Shtola invited him to meet with the leader of her organization.

After meeting Minfillia, he was relieved to learn about the Echo - it meant the voidsent hadn't been getting stronger as it had claimed. Wolfram joined the Scions to study his mysterious power and help people on a larger scale. However, he couldn't deny that another motivation for joining the was to potentially see his ex-partner again (without the threat of jail, given the Scions' political standing). Having an Echo vision of Carteneau was honestly a bit too much Raubahn for Wolfram to shake off.

Wolf spent some time getting to know his new allies whilst aiding Limsa Lominsa and Gridania. Then he found himself in Thanalan face to face with the primal Ifrit and only had a brief moment to question why he wasn't being tempered before having to fight for his life. He made it out but many of the Immortal Flames weren't so lucky. He lamented not being strong enough to protect them. While thrilled and terrified at the idea - he would apologize to their leader in person.

Wolfram entered Ul'dah for the first time in over a decade. He attended a speech Flame General Aldynn was giving. Instead of the fear he assumed would invade his thoughts - Wolf felt nothing but pride in how far the gladiator had come. His cheers were the loudest.

Raubahn noticed Wolfram in the crowd and hardly believed his eyes. He had spent years lamenting his actions, trying to move on but plagued with regrets and wondering if his former love had survived the Calamity. Even if he’d betrayed his trust, the gladiator didn’t want him dead. Finally, he knew - Wolfram was alive and well! After he was done addressing the Ul'dahn citizens he walked up to Wolf, doing his best to hide a smile, and asked if the adventurer would like a private meeting.

The General had a busy schedule but they had a few moments to speak before his next obligation. Neither could hide their happiness to see each other again. Wolf even teased Rau a bit for being surprised that Wolf hadn’t wondered about him, forgetting that he was famous. Raubahn didn't blame Wolfram for his soldiers Ifrit had taken and was impressed that the man he used to know as a simple cook had defeated a primal. He extended an invitation to join his Grand Company and Wolfram said he would be happy to join the Immortal Flames. The gladiator was relieved to know the mage was alive and well after so long wondering. Their reunion felt wonderfully strange to both of them - any awkwardness was overshadowed by their pure joy. 

After returning to the Waking Sands to give Minfilia his report, Wolf went back to Ul'dah the next day to formally join the Grand Company. Raubahn had the day off but wanted to give Wolfram a tour of the headquarters. A new recruit receiving a tour from the General himself drew notice, but most assumed it was because he'd bested Ifrit. However, those who knew him best noted an odd change in their leader’s demeanor. Wolfram and Raubahn did some proper catching up, with Rau asking the mage what he’d been up to since he’d left Ul’dah. After hearing his journey of self-improvement, Raubahn told Wolf that he would have been happy to see him earlier and that his threat had been an empty one born from anger. Wolfram told the gladiator about his new life devoted to aiding others and was surprised to receive praise for the efforts he'd made to become a better person. Unfortunately due to some miscommunication and false assumptions about the other's preference, they ended up agreeing to keep things professional and not let anyone know about their past, despite them each secretly wishing to be friends. 

For most of the events of ARR they were coworkers who occasionally fell out of formality accidentally - like when Livia raided the Waking Sands and everyone thought the Scions were dead. Raubahn couldn't hide his relief when Wolf walked into the Alliance’s meeting to discuss the Black Wolf’s ultimatum. Merlwyb even teased Raubahn in private later for the most she'd ever seen him smile in a single sitting. Whenever someone caught on to their familiarity they admitted only that they had been friends years ago but asked that the information not be spread. The Monetarists were enough of a problem already and would absolutely use it to accuse the Scions of favoring the Royalists.

Things started to change between them the night before their attack on Castrum Meridianum. Raubahn took Wolfram aside to speak privately. He hesitantly asked if the mage had enough control over the voidsent to go into a building full of Garleans. Wolf was offended, assuming Rau was worried he would hurt the other Flames. He swore he would end his own life if he felt his control slipping rather than endanger anyone else. The General explained that's not what he meant - he didn't want Wolfram to risk himself and ordered him to flee the battle if he became panicked as he had occasionally in the past. The mage was furious at the suggestion and repeated back word for word something cruel that Raubahn had said to him when they broke up. The gladiator was horrified that those hateful words said in anger had stayed with Wolf all those years and started apologizing in an uncharacteristic panic, stating that if anything he said made Wolf not value his own life he was sorry and didn't mean any of it. Wolfram calmed down and explained that he was just bothered by the hypocrisy of suggesting he take such cowardly action by someone who’d called him selfish. He told the General that his harsh words were the catalyst that had set him on the path of atonement. If he was the hero people claimed him to be - it was because of Raubahn. While tense, that night helped resolve a bit of the pain from their past they were holding onto, helping them move forward and finally become more casual with each other.

Part 3 - A Ream Reborn Patches