No I don't think a lot of people understand when I say Bail and Breha Organa are criminaly underrated.

This two knew the freaking most important and dangerous secrets in the entire galaxy. They BOTH knew about the rebelion, knew about important imperial figures that supported the rebelion in secret, they knew about the Alliance plans and next steps, they were SO DEEP into it. And they BOTH knew about Vader, they knew that he was once Anakin Skywalker, that he had a relationship with Padme and had two children together, they knew what happen on Mustafar, they knew the location of the other twin, they knew about Palpatine being a Sith, and they hide Leia from Palpatine and Vader for 20 freaking years, and they did it like it was nothing, like it was another family thing.

headcanon post idea: everyone’s reactions when you tell them you’re proud of them (ex. after a tough mission or bc they’ve been having a hard time mentally/emotionally)

Although she’s used to the spotlight from being royalty and a revered leader in the rebellion, Leia isn’t very used to genuine praise. She’s usually the one praising someone else (or yelling at them, more likely) and the most she’s gotten in the last few years is a quick “good work” when she delivered the plans for the first Death Star before the Battle of Yavin. So when you first make her look you in the eye and genuinely tell her that you’re proud of her, she freezes for a minute. The last time she really heard that from someone who meant it was her parents, so it hits her a bit harder than she expected and she doesn’t completely know what to do with the feeling. She’s so used to being the rock for everyone else – and keeping her inner thoughts a secret was part of her job and how she stayed safe for a long time – that she takes a while to show any sort of big emotion in front of people, and even then will only do so in private. She gives you a small smile, nod, and quiet thanks before redirecting the attention to you, how much you helped, and says how she’s proud of you. But she will concede to an “I’m proud of us” before giving your shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

Luke also hasn’t heard a genuine “I’m proud of you” in a long time (not that the OT gang isn’t proud of him, they just typically don’t say it in words), but he tends to be a bit more emotionally available than his sister on a more regular basis. He can’t keep the emotion off his face and for a second, you’re afraid you said the wrong thing as his big, blue eyes start getting glassy. It means the galaxy to him, especially from someone who knows everything that happened with Owen, Beru, his father, and the emperor, not to mention all the weight on his shoulders in regard to rebuilding the Jedi Order from scratch. He collects himself soon after, but still gives you a warm smile and “thank you” before wrapping you in a tight hug. He tells you he’s proud of you as well and there isn’t anyone else he’d rather have on his team, holding the hug for a bit longer than you expected (but you, of course, would never be the first to let go).

Han pretends to be affection-averse, even though he isn’t – but, hey, he’s got a reputation to maintain. He splutters for a minute before recovering and saying something along the lines of, “Yeah, I am aware how awesome I am, kid, and I’m glad you’ve finally realized it, too. Ya know, I’m gonna remind you that you acknowledged my greatness next time you get on me for somethin’ – in fact, here,” he holds his comm right in front of your mouth and hits record, “why don’t you say that again so I have some proof?” You bat the comm away and tell him how insufferable he is before you both go back to what you were doing before. But, when he thinks you’re not looking, you can see the dopiest smile across his face.

Lando takes it the most in stride. He looks surprised for a minute, before smiling, thanking you, and putting a hand on your shoulder and giving it an affection squeeze and light shake. “You’re not so bad yourself,” he says before remarking on how you two make a great team, even going so far as to list specifics of exactly why you work so well together. He wraps his arm around your shoulders as the two of you walk back to base, a new spring in his step that you can’t deny is adorable.

Chewie (platonic) immediately says something in Shyriiwook that you think (hope?) sounds happy before enveloping you in a bear hug that almost crushes your ribs. You hang on for dear life, half laughing and half struggling to breathe, patting the Wookiee’s back before begging him to put you down before he accidentally crushes you. He mumbles something that almost sounds like the cadence of an apology in his language before setting you down and affectionately petting your head.

R2D2 (platonic) chirps, whistles, and wobbles on his two outer legs happily and is then adorably glued to your side the rest of the day. Han and Lando tease you about how you’ve found yourself your own personal servant, but Leia and Luke think it’s adorable, and even Luke comments on how much R2 loves you when he’s out of earshot. C3PO translates at some point, telling you how much R2 appreciates the compliment and that he enjoys working with you before the astromech is zipping away again to refill your water bottle for the third time.

C3PO (platonic) gives you a surprised “oh, my” before thanking you profusely. He even gives you a little bow and says, “You’re too kind. I enjoy our work together as well and you do a marvelous job at everything you set your mind to.” You give him a smile and a thanks before turning back to what you were previously doing, laughing quietly to you overhear him walking down the hall going, “Oh, Master Luke, you won’t believe what just happened!”

Thinking about what a sweet, kind, silly and gentle hearted person Poe is until you piss him off and once that switch is flipped, he's a force to be reckoned with

Oh, did you mean? my most favorite? facet? of his character? that makes me lose my marbles? and also happens to be maybe my favorite character trope of all time? that? Okay I hope you were expecting an infodump because what-ho! that's what's happening, I have come prepared and with receipts, let's fucking go on how Poe Dameron is a goddamned force of nature and how the galaxy should be really fucking thankful his loyalty is first and foremost to the Resistance and to the Light, because if it wasn't...well, I'd dread to think, but it wouldn't be good for anyone else.

The fun thing for me, is that it has always been a part of Poe's character, right from The Force Awakens -- it's subtle, but it's there, hidden between the sassy quips in the face in danger and the professionality of Commander Dameron; little fleeting moments that tell you that Poe Dameron is not someone to be trifled with at all, including one of his very first scenes:

I'm 90% certain that Poe's gaze actually lands first on Tekka's body here, before lifting it up to glare at Ren - and that's more than just a defiant glare, that's a look of loathing. Which fits, considering that I do believe the Force Awakens novelization confirms that Poe rushes in without thinking, and acts on sheer anger/rage when he goes to shoot Ren after Ren kills Tekka.

(More lengthy thoughts under the cut, I was not kidding, I saved a dozen images for this).

And that look is far from the only moment in TFA that clearly goes "oh. yeah, Poe can be scary when he wants to be", there's this frankly delightful moment during the trench run when Poe sees a fellow pilot perish while covering him:

and then moments later, when Poe flies into the heart of Starkiller to destroy the oscillator, we get this shot:

that's far more than just determination/focus, he's angry. and he has every goddamned right to be - he was just held captive and tortured for (??) days, and this monstrosity just destroyed an entire fucking planetary system, and the very Republic that Poe has spent his entire adult life believing the inherent values of, that he thought could genuinely improve. Never mind the detail that Poe probably likely spent time on the Hosnian System, if he didn't live there temporarily during his time in the Defense Fleet.

But these shots makes it clear where the comic gets the idea from that the First Order might, y'know, actually be. A little bit terrified of Poe Dameron:

He's a serious threat, and ruthless when it comes to the First Order. People joke a lot about Poe being reckless, but I don't see a lot of recognition for the fact that he can be ruthless - he sees point b and dives straight at it, and he's absolutely relentless in his determination to take the First Order down.

The quickest possible way to enrage Poe is inaction or injustice. We see this clearly in the Last Jedi, when he believes Holdo is essentially leading them to their deaths and has thrown the Resistance away:

but we also see it as far back as Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka:

This conversation carries on for a page or so more, I think, with Poe arguing against the New Republic's decision to not act or investigate further (it's also what prompts him into going rogue to investigate on his own, which leads Leia into recruiting him for the Resistance).

And we've even seen it in material as recent as Free Fall, which means this is a character trait Poe has had his entire life:

(these do not paint my girl in a great light but like she's fucked up okay!! and being groomed into taking her mother's place it's fine, it's fine, she's my fucked up little blorbo)

anyway. so this is Poe when he's, probably about 16? 16 going on 17 here, and this is probably the angriest he's ever been considering how shocked he is about the chill in his own voice (which if you were ever curious why I say Poe's anger runs cold, it's because of this scene right here). He's so enraged by the injustice being carried out by Sotin, that he's genuinely - for the first time in the book - considering actually killing someone. And he gets into a screaming match about what the right decision is with Zorii.

(he also gets to punch Sotin later, by the way, if you even care. It's glorious. I love my favorite character who decides murder is okay if said murder is in question a guy who deals in the slave trade)

But also.

My favorite instance of this, ever, which rewrote my fucking goddamned brainchemistry in 2017 when I read it and made me have to step away from my computer and honest to god pace the length of my house to walk it off, is his confrontation with Terex in issue #13 of the Poe comics.

Because you know what?

This entire fucking exchange is personal, and almost/pretty much outright vindictive? Like at this point, Poe has solidly won this round - Terex has finally been defeated, and all Poe has to do is hand him over to the First Order. He knows, in doing so, Terex will likely be killed, and after who knows how long of Terex's bullshit meaning Poe couldn't trust his squadron, and the fact that L'ulo just died - well, Poe's not real broken up about it, which is fun in itself.

But then he asks Malarus if he can have a moment with Terex before he hands him over and Poe....uses that moment to gloat.

And y'all know me i don't use words like that for Poe but like. he kind of does? he asks a moment alone with terex specifically so that he can taunt Terex that he won, that Terex didn't beat him, and that in trying to take Poe down, Terex cost himself everything (a fact Poe happily rubs in his face), and even adds that "and when I give you to the First Order, I bet they'll take the rest."

So like. Yeah.

Poe knew full well they'd likely kill him, and spends the next few issues full heartedly believing that Terex was dead. And he taunts Terex with it here in this moment. It is TRULY glorious and honestly had 17 year old me's little head spinning because it was such a subversion of what I thought Poe would do -- but he did! He didn't try to figure out a way to spare Terex's life, and he used his final moments with Terex to make sure Terex knew that Poe was fully aware of what the choice he was making meant.

It's fucking DELICIOUS.

And I also love this panel from earlier into the issue:

Because again, it's a great illustration of how Poe can come off cold because of the art choices Phil Noto made here: look at the jacket. It's zipped up all the way to Poe's neck (a rarity for Poe), and just generally gives him this very closed off, cold appearance because he's at his wit's end in this issue, and he is angry about the circumstances Terex has forced him into.

So...yeah. Poe Dameron is a sweet, compassionate, silly guy who makes the worst fucking puns you've ever heard this side of the galaxy. He loves his droid, wears his mother's wedding ring with the intent to give it to the right partner someday, and loves all of his friends full heartedly and is generally the most tactile, affectionate person you will ever meet. He's pretty much everyone's best friend, because he has that kind of charisma and ability to make anyone feel like they're the most important person in the galaxy.

But Poe Dameron is also the man that the First Order seems genuinely intimidated/afraid of. He's the man that destroyed Starkiller base, and toppled the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy when he was just 17 years old. He is not someone you ever, ever want to piss off, because for all his warmth and love, Poe has an anger that runs cold, and when he hates something - it's just like when he loves something, he doesn't go half-way.

General Organa isn't the only Resistance general that can be absolutely terrifying in her own right as much as she can be gentle and loving. It's just that Leia's the only one anyone ever notices, because...well, Poe's silly and funny and usually kind of easy going.

And the fact that people underestimate him is what makes him that much more dangerous.

Found this one in my drafts so added it into my list.

Fair warning this really made me sad and I'm the damn author. But this was inspired by the death of the hydro archon in genshin impact and some amazing theories I saw about the knight of dawn. So either way enjoy and tell me what you think!

......................

The castle was quiet.

Everyone had been evacuated due to the coming battle. 

Everyone except a few loyal servants and the royal couple.

The knight of dawn sits upon the steps before the empty throne, it has been empty for some time, neglected by the dragon princess regrettably slain by his own two hands. In his arms lay a sleeping newborn babe just barely a few days old, with silken golden hair like his own and boisterous lungs to match his mother’s. His son rests peacefully, oblivious to the heavy stillness that plagues this dark castle, absent of life and light as the torches had been left cold, the knight draws a soft finger across his son’s cheek.

I wonder how he’ll look in ten years. His beloved, Leia jokingly believed that their baby shall grow to be the spitting image of his father, he dearly hoped not; call him vain but he was well aware of his fine features. And the troubles that came with it. The infatuation of others are not something he’d wish upon anyone.   

It was nice out here, in the blissful silence. For once the knight was free from all worries and troubles, free from all the heavy expectations, free from the thought of what’s to come. Here, it was just him and his child.

The calm before the storm. His mind supplies unhelpfully, the knight’s content smile falls and he sighs through his nose. Yes, it all floods back to him why exactly the castle is as it is, their enemy comes at the ready to rid them off the map, and he’s to hold them off as best he can so that everyone else can run to safety. Thus that thankfully includes his wife and son.

Personally he was worried that Henrik would deny them sanctuary, with the birth of the knight’s son there was a new heir that could challenge him for the throne, and the knight  knew full well how greedy for power Henrik was, knew that he now saw the knight as a broken tool the day he married his beloved.

He knew that this night would also be his last, the odds were too high in their enemy's favour and he was too weak from the endless battles prior, perhaps this was simply another reason why Henrik thought to have him lead the charge, what better way to be rid of a brittle blade than to use it up until it shatters to smithereens?

All he could do was fight long enough so that his family was safe, and by the seven he will fight till his sword can no longer stay in his grasp. Fighting’s all you're good for anyways.

He’s heard what the three great fairies plan to do to keep his son safe, and he is thankful for their help, but a selfish part of him only wishes for another way, to keep his son from a long, unbearably lonely slumber. He’s only agreed for the promise of his boy living a happy, peaceful life with someone who will truly love the child as he surely does, one devoid of the pain and sorrows of war. 

A world in a time of peace, what a pleasant thought. He’d only wish that he’d get to experience it with his family, but if his son gets to live through such a life then he shall be content with that. I wonder what you’ll do when you're older, will he carry a sword like his father? Or perhaps have a more quiet hobby? Will he make any friends? Someone who he can compete with, to help each other reach new heights? What will his favourite food be? Will he have an affinity for animals as well? The knight wasn’t sure about blessings being inherited but he'd love to see what becomes of it. He lifts his child up to his cheek, one of the only places deprived of glistening cold silver, breathing in the milky scent that all infants had, and felt his heart twist painfully as eyes beautiful as the rising dawn slowly blink up at him.

He’d love to see who this tiny little babe becomes, even if only for a moment…

Oh! Birds and other wildlife seem to have flocked down to one of the windows, as silent as possible as to not startle the infant, just watching them. The knight knew why they were there, they were there to say farewell, among them were the families of various animal friends he’s made in the past, of the ones who helped care for him when he was young. He stands up with his baby in his arms and goes to greet his old friends, the smallest of the birds gather round the babe’s blanket while a deer sniffed at his golden hair. Sweet giggles fill the room and as the knight smiles fondly at the scene he almost fails to notice a strange new arrival.

Time seemed to slow, for squeaking pleasantly to the child from above on the window sill, was a tiny bat. It was so peculiar, normally they preferred to keep to themselves. Usually the knight was not one who typically believed in signs or omens, but something about this bat stirred something in his chest, and he suddenly recalled that day when he was thrown into the waterways, of that fae who held the princess’s egg with such tenderness, the bat is now nuzzling his babe with a similar softness and he too reaches out a finger to stroke it’s fur, which it didn’t take too kindly to, snapping at his hand with such an insulted look upon its face that the knight nearly laughed, somehow the look reminded him of the tales told of the general of the right, its with this thought that he wonders if the general had made it to safety that day. If my guess is right he may as well have, he thought once the bat finally let him scritch under its chin, he knew deep in his heart that if it was to be fated then he could think of no one better to take care of his child despite their being enemies. 

I wonder what name he’ll give you.

Beyond the horizon the knight could faintly see the first rays of dawn stretching across the pinkening sky. 

Ah, it appears our time together is coming to a close. 

While he knew what was to come, faced with death he still found himself a little afraid. Was this what the Princess felt when she had to leave her egg? He thinks feeling his breath stutter and fingers curl tighter around his bundle.

He presses one final gentle kiss to the babe’s forehead. I apologise for leaving you like this my son, he tucks his treasured ring around the boy’s neck, please forgive your fool of a father.

The hour of his execution is almost here.

In a way this felt deserving, it was just like that day, leaving slashed bodies in his wake, the glare of dawn beating down upon rivers of red and iron. Only this time he knew full well what he was fighting for.

I pray that he won’t become what I was.

His strength wanes, his helmet laid cracked and caved in on the floor like scrap metal, leaving his determination visible to all.

My dearest little one.

Should you ever raise a sword like I.

The morning sun gazes down upon the knight, upon the gleaming sword painted a lustrous crimson in his chest, his failing vision fixed on the beautiful briar crawling along the castle, he gives one last smile for his sleeping son.

I pray that you will carry it with pride and for a life you truly strive for.

Let’s Talk About Jay Kelso

Warning: spoilers for That 90s Show

So I just binged T90S, and I’m not really sure how to feel, particularly about Jay. On one hand, I did really like his character, but not as much as I thought I would. And part of me thinks that’s my own fault for creating this idea in my mind of exactly what I thought he would be like without the show even being out yet, but part of me feels justified in my disappointment in the way his character was written and I’m wondering if anyone else agrees with me on this.

Jay started out really strong, he was flirty and charismatic, yet cheesy and respectful. The first two episodes have kind of blurred together at this point since I pulled an all nighter to watch this and I’m coming down from my caffeine high, but I saw a lot of potential for his character that I really didn’t see fulfilled in the rest of the series. Let me preface this by saying that I do not blame Mace Coronel, who plays Jay, AT ALL for this. I adore Mace and believe he’s beyond talented and did the best he could with what he was given. I blame it on lazy writing. As much as I love both T70S and T90S, a lot of the writing REALLY pisses me off (especially the treatment of Jackie in both shows, but that’s a topic for another time).

In my opinion, Jay peaked in episode three and it was all kind of downhill from there. Again, I still enjoyed his character, but it wasn’t what I expected or wanted from him. And maybe I am just projecting and set unreasonable expectations for his character, but I have a strong feeling the fandom will agree with me on this. Ep3 Jay really felt like the fanon Jay that I had imagined in my mind and had seen in posts from other users on here. He was still a charismatic flirt, but he was also slightly awkward, incredibly sweet, and a little dorky like I had imagined him. Between what I’d seen in trailers, official character descriptions, other tumblr users’ fan theories, and my own imagination, I imagined Jay having the charm of Kelso but much more depth. I saw him as being a bit of a nerd who loves girls but, unlike his father, isn’t a womanizer and genuinely respects them. I imagined him as very introspective, poetic, and intelligent, which I didn’t really see much of at all after episode three. Kelso himself even says in the pilot that Jay has his good looks and Jackie’s brains. And Jackie was always truly intelligent, even though she usually wasn’t treated that way. He was also described as always having a camera with him and constantly taking videos and photos of his friends which, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we saw that even once in this season. In my mind, Jay Kelso was a goofy film geek who’s popular with the ladies due to his good looks and charisma, but in a much more unconventional way than his father is. But as the series progressed, I felt like he became more and more like Kelso. Which sucks because I despise Kelso with a passion.

Let’s talk about what I liked about Jay in episode three. When Leia tries to get Jay to kiss her, he turns her down because he doesn’t want her to be a meaningless fling and because he can tell this isn’t really what she wants. So I was like okay, consent king, respecting women, we love to see it. I also fully expected Jay to be a virgin for a couple reasons. First of all, in the original series, all of the core cast (except maybe Hyde) were virgins at the beginning of the series, EVEN KELSO, and besides Jackie, they were all older than the T90S crew at 17/18, whereas the next gen of Point Place kids are all 14-16, maybe some of them 17. But in T90S it’s heavily implied that the whole gang beside Leia (and possibly Ozzie, since his boyfriend lives in Canada) have all lost their virginity. Secondly, it would be such a plot twist. A Kelso being a virgin? Unspeakable! I fully expected this grand reveal of Jay saying he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes of his father and that he’s waiting for the right person, someone he’s truly in love with, and that person being Leia (though I am glad that Jay and Leia didn’t have sex for multiple reasons. The age of the characters, their lack of chemistry, and the age difference between the actors, to name a few). I was also genuinely surprised at Jay’s lack of daddy issues. All the posts with spoilers from before the show was out from people who had seen tapings suggested Kelso being an absent father who doesn’t really love or care for Jay, which led me to believe Jay would want to be as little like his father as possible, but there was literally nothing about that in the show. Also, a bit off topic, but can we talk about how awful the circumstances of Jay and Leia getting together were? Sure they developed genuine feelings for each other eventually, but it literally starts with Leia being like “hey, I want my first kiss, and my only option’s Jay. Eh, might as well, better than nothing.”

All of these hopes were crushed in episode four when we find out that not only has Jay had sex, which okay, fine, whatever, but he’s also a player who’s broken multiple girls hearts, and it’s implied that he does this on purpose. So basically Kelso 2.0. Cool. While I do have critiques for the other episodes, I did genuinely enjoy them, whereas I absolutely despise episode four to the point where I hardly even consider it canon. Between the horrible light it painted Jay in and the insensitive and disgusting Menendez brothers joke that made me actually pause the show for a good ten minutes to process it and almost give up on the show completely, episode four was horrendous. When Nikki suggests that Jay has feelings for Leia and actually sees her as a person and not just a sex object, Jay seems genuinely surprised at best, if not disgusted. While him telling Leia in the previous episode that he doesn’t want her to be a meaningless hookup implied that he treated all women with this level of respect, this seems to flip the script to say that he sees only Leia this way, because she’s “different.” Why, because she’s the main character, because she’s a “pure” nerdy virgin, because she’s “not like other girls?” Why is Leia put on a pedestal and treated like she deserves better than other girls whereas the rest aren’t worthy of basic respect? (If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is exactly how Donna was treated in the original series as opposed to every single other girl on the show, particularly Jackie.) Because Leia is “special” she “deserves” to be treated with basic human decency, unlike “other girls,” because fuck them, right? At the rave, we see what could have been a cute moment where Leia and Jay confess their feelings for each other, but instead, Jay takes advantage of her vulnerability and arrogantly declares that he “knew it” when Leia admits her feelings rather than telling her he feels the same way. However it’s hard to hold all of this against Jay considering how out of character this seems for him. Episodes 1-3 paint him as kind and empathetic, whereas episodes 5-10 continue that sort of personality for him, but also turn him into a one note love interest that doesn’t have much else to his character. Episode four Jay literally feels like an entirely different character than the rest of the series.

In either episode four or five, forgive me for not remembering, we meet Serena, who could essentially be replaced with a piece of cardboard and nothing would change. Serena literally only exists to be “the other woman” getting in the way of Jay and Leia’s relationship. While Leia, thankfully, isn’t unkind to her just because she’s with Jay, the writers are. Unlike Leia, apparently Serena doesn’t deserve a happy ending, a good boyfriend, or a shred of respect. She’s older, she dresses in a more conventionally attractive way, and her personality is nonexistent. It’s unclear if Jay *technically* cheated on Serena; while Leia calls her Jay’s girlfriend, it’s important to take into account that Leia is an unreliable narrator and it’s entirely possible that Jay and Serena were just casually going out and not official (especially considering they were just going on their first date a day or two before Leia’s birthday), but it’s also a very real possibility that Jay did cheat on her when he kisses Leia on her birthday. Regardless of if they were official or not, it’s pretty shitty that Jay entirely casts her aside as soon as Leia shows interest. Serena who, right? No seriously, that’s literally what he says. If the roles were reversed and it was Leia he did this to, Jay would be seen as a total asshole, but since it’s Serena, we’re not supposed to care. For my swifties out there, Leia is Betty, Jay is James, and Serena is Augustine - just a “summer thing.” So not only is Jay a “player” and a “man whore” as he’s called by his own friend group, he’s also likely a cheater. Sure, he’s Kelso’s son, but that doesn’t mean he has to be a carbon copy. It’s like the writers copy and pasted Kelso into the 90s, edited a few things, and said “yeah, that’s good enough, no one will be able to tell.”

While this may sound like I hate Jay, I really don’t. In fact, he’s still probably my favorite character in the reboot, although I’m probably a bit biased due to my affections for him from before the show came out (and my eight year long crush on Mace Coronel, but that’s irrelevant.) Jay does prove himself throughout the rest of the season, showing that he does care about Leia and exhibiting empathy his father could never muster, but he still doesn’t feel like his own character. While Kelso habitually cheats on Jackie and then blames her for it, admits to using her for sex and money while she’s 15 and he’s 18, and hounds her into sex until she eventually gives in and says yes so he’ll leave her alone (ie: rape), Jay is genuinely kindhearted and would never do those sorts of things (or at least I hope he wouldn’t, but it wouldn’t shock me if the writers decide to ruin his character in later seasons.) Like Red says when Kitty points out that Jay is better than Michael, the bar isn’t all that high. However, Jay does prove himself to be a good boyfriend who genuinely cares about Leia (I don’t use the word love since their relationship developed so quickly and they’re so young, so it’s unlikely that it’s real love, despite the fact that they believe it is). He exhibits true selflessness throughout the series and continually puts himself in the line of fire (usually from Red) to protect Leia.

Nevertheless, good person or not, Jay doesn’t feel original. He seems to exist only to be Leia’s love interest boy toy. Jay lacks the soul I imagined him to have before watching the show. While it’s nice to see the female characters fleshed out for once, as was very lacking on T70S, the male characters lack dimension in comparison. Leia, Gwen, and Nikki, all have their own personalities, values, and ambitions, whereas Ozzie tends to be the sassy token gay friend (although let’s bffr, none of these new kids are straight, but the writers don’t want to admit it), Jay not only feels like Kelso Lite ™, but as the series progresses, him and Nate seem to morph into basically the same person. Two well intended, yet dumb horndogs who lack depth or any true personality of their own beyond being love interests for their girlfriends and comic relief. Again, I love, love, LOVE Mace Coronel, and have since seeing him on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn on Nickelodeon, and don’t blame him at all for the way his character is written. Now if you follow my blog, you probably already know that I absolutely adore not only Mace, but also his NRDD costar Aidan Gallagher, who I fell for after seeing him in The Umbrella Academy. However, Mace was the one I had a crush on as a child and it was very exciting to rediscover him when I first found out about T90S. While Aidan’s NRDD character Nicky Harper and TUA character Five Hargreeves share the same cunning spirit, they’re extremely different in most ways and I was incredibly excited to see Mace show this same sort of range on T90S. And I do believe that Mace has that range, but he unfortunately seems to be being typecast, considering Jay basically feels like teenage Dicky Harper in the 90s. Maybe I’m being overdramatic, but I was really hoping for more for Jay’s character and I was slightly disappointed, and I hope he gets fleshed out more and more deeply explored in later seasons.

Thanks for reading my long ass rant lmao. TLDR; I love Jay Kelso (and Mace Coronel) but hate how he was portrayed. Justice for Jay (oh, and for Serena)

Tagging my favorite T70S/T90S blogs for engagement: @thestupidhelmet @lily-267 @thatseventiesbitch @einsteinsugly @that90sshowgoldencouple

Okay, I have this thing I wrote initially as the opener of a ficlet for one of the prompts I have y’all choose for me blindly and it simply was going to be too long, so I ended up doing something else, but some of it amuses me a lot and I just feel like posting it here. Happy Sunday. Have 600+ words of a fic that was going nowhere, I guess?

(Maybe it’ll go somewhere eventually. I did this once before and it ended up in part of Terrified Without You.)

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They were the government’s worst-kept secret, or so the latest interviewers claimed. Leia would argue that was because they weren’t a secret at all. They hadn’t hidden their relationship — anyone from the Alliance who went about claiming ignorance of her affection for Han Solo was being intentionally obtuse in her opinion — but she also didn’t take time out of her day to answer questions about her love life.

“It’s insulting,” she told Luke over lunch. “My mother was never asked personal questions about my father during interviews about policies, at least not by Alderaanian interviewers.”

“Alderaan was special,” Luke said noncommittally, but Leia could practically hear him think, Playing nice might not hurt, though.

Or, she actually heard the thought, which meant he either let it slip or was shielding incredibly sloppily. Probably the latter. Luke was a gifted fighter and a much more patient Force-user than Leia, but even he admitted his shielding capabilities on his best days were weaker than hers on her worst.

They had a deal to let the other know if they suspected a thought came through unintentionally, and Leia was rarely subtle about doing so. She looked her brother in the eye and said, “I was perfectly nice. They’re the ones who said the interview was going to be centered on the war tribunals and instead prepared fifteen questions about my relationship with Han.”

Luke grimaced, likely because of his slip-up, but pressed on regardless. “Were they maybe trying to humanize you a little? Make you sound relatable?”

Leia shook her head. She had assumed that was the case with the first Han-centered question, which was why she answered it in the first place. But it had quickly become apparent that the team asking her questions had far more inquiries about her personal life than they did about her work to end galaxy-wide fascism.

“I asked to see their list of questions after I confirmed that Han and I maintain a close relationship,” she told Luke. “I didn’t make that number up: fifteen questions about us. Four related to the work I’m doing.”

He shot her a look. “‘Maintain a close relationship?’”

Leia blinked. “We do.”

“You’re engaged!”

She took a bite of the soup in front of her before looking at her brother. Leia knew she sounded ridiculous, but Luke was the one pointing it out; doubling down seemed like the only logical option. “I would argue that planning to marry is one of the closest relationships I could possibly maintain.”

Leia! Luke’s thought was pointed, chastising, and stung like an electric shock. “Are you hiding your relationship?” he asked. “Because you’re doing a terrible job if that’s what you’re attempting to do.”

“No!” Leia insisted. “I honestly thought between the bracelet and the braid, people would get the idea.” She hadn’t exactly been subtle. The bracelet was obviously a Corellian commitment token, a discovery that could be made by any being with access to the HoloNet and three seconds of spare time, and anyone who hadn’t spotted the Alderaanian betrothal braid in her hair for the past two months was blind. “Luke, it’s not about hiding anything. It’s about keeping the press on task when they try to ambush me.”

Luke raised his eyebrows. “All right. I believe you,” he said, though Leia wasn’t sure if he actually believed her or if he just wanted to believe her.

She had nothing to prove to the press. Their pretenses were frustrating on a good day. But she also didn’t want to hold herself back to spite them. She wasn’t sure if Han would make it back planetside from the mission he had been on in time for the charity event she had to attend that evening, but if he did…well, it would be the first big event since the war had ended that they would be attending as a couple. They could get their confirmation there, she supposed.

VALPOGOSSIP TEACAP: APRIL 2024

You lot sure have be busy the last month. If I was of lesser mind or simply someone with something better to do, I would have resigned myself to my silence and let you all carry on. But business pays. And unfortunately for you, it's yours that pays me, and you're all not going to believe this.

It's always the ones in the most denial that scream the loudest and Abril is a banshee. While at La Fiesta De Vindimia, Abril confronted our favorite blonde bombshell, Mallory Jade, about song she assumed was about her. Now theres something about a fight over a song like Pretty Girls ending in a kiss that just doesn't feel all that... straight to me. But Abril was quick to prove all of us wrong by locking in with Giovanni !

Speaking of Giovanni, the timing of this is quite suspicious considering he had a bit of his own meet-not-so-cute with a Yazmin. The two getting off on the wrong food but helping each other find the right one another and getting all cozy enough to take a nap outside. I don't about you all, but I don't think i've ever been that comfortable. Wonder with Yazmin thinks of this. Or Abril for that matter.

We could also ask Aivryn for her opinion on the matter considering how upset she was when Abril's new beau launched to the world to see. Apparently, even as her best friend, Aivryn found out at the same time everyone else did. I can't help but wonder why that is.

In more confusing but entertaining news, Omar and Dante are going on a date to decide which one gets to take which...one... on a... date ? I think I'm reading that correctly. Yes, bowling date. Loser takes other on date. No, yeah that's right. Well, whatever love looks like for you. Whenever there's a Dominguez-Herrera involved we're sure it'll be healthy and sane.

Maybe it's the bowling date nerves that led Dante to break Drew's nose? We hope that's healing up just fine.

Every month we hope Alba will stand up, and this month they came really close ! It was much of a hunch, but hey we'll take it. After a cold war, Milani raised the first white flag but all it took was one. You'll get there Al, we believe in you !

The festival seemed to be a hub for rekindling kisses, as Arlo and Esme were spotted liplocked on one of the benches. Sad thing about Leia bearing eye witness. Has anyone checked on her? What is it about good wine that makes you want to relive the past? Maybe they can go on a double date with Mallory and Abril and relive the past together.

Speaking of rekindling, but this time no kisses, exes Elijah and Sariyah, and Luna and Enzo were both spotted with frowns on their faces and eyes that were looking everywhere but each other. What conversation has you guys that deep in thought? Maybe you should take a drive, we here that helps.

If you're looking for a palette cleanser from all the mess, look no further than Jasper and Hunter. Gentle conversations and cutely planned dates. We wish them nothing but the best and maybe they could teach our many ( many ) confused couples a thing or two.

We hope that's enough to hold you over until next month. And if I missed anything, don't hesitate to send in a little tip to us via our anon box.

Here's some things we're keeping a close eye on for next month:

Ysla and Adem seem to be getting extremely close to little Emmie. Is it all just for her benefit? Astrid and Kaito already have the perfect starter for next month's tea cap, I wonder what else they'll get up to. What's the history there? How is Sariyah involved? Why does vic hate birthdays so much and why does esme suddenly care so much about his? Ximena and Bryce seem to also be spending a lot more time together. Aksel and Sarah's dinner table keeps getting bigger and bigger whole Luna's looks to be getting smaller, why is that? Will Drew ever get his double date? Is Luna like... okay?

If you didn't make this rounds teacap don't worry, we're still watching closely.

I sometimes wonder how it would have gone if Poe and Din met. Poe would def appreciate Din's piloting skills and Din would appreciate how passionate Poe is about protecting the people he loves. And imagine if Grogu met Beebs!!

We've seen how R2 could understand Grogu, so BB might also understand him???

Grogu: patu!

BB-8: *aggressively agrees*

Poe could teach Din how to understand binary. I also feel like Poe would be one of the only people Din's ever met who doesn't harp on him about the helmet, probably doesn't even bring it up.

I just want them to meet so bad.

AAAAAAA SOOO TRUE poe would think Mando was so cool and he would so normal about din not taking off his helmet. depending on if they met in universe or in stone kind of au thing the dynamic could be different but no less interesting each time

like if they met up in the sequel trilogy movie era poe would be relentless about recruiting din so in awe of meeting one of the mandalorians who helped resettle mamdalore and I think poe's relentless idealism would not be exhausting to din as much as it would be inspiring. I think din has the tendency to assume most people either don't care about anyone else or are neutral, so poe's insistent belief on the goodness of people would be.. refreshing, maybe.

poe would have so much respect for din ngl while simultaneously this man has zero self preservation instincts and would end up putting his foot in his mouth, if very earnestly but accidental. thought maybe not toomuch, i think his experience with Leia and alderaan might help with that. poe gets upset when people don't care but I think he'd understand din's reluctance to come out of the shadows, yknow?

HOWEVER IF THEY MET WHEN POE WAS A KID, YKNOW, MANDO SHOW ERA, I-- [explodes] din would be so awkward and teeny poe would think he was sooooo cool (and also very shiny and definitely says as much) and din would be like [awkwardly holding poe] (also teeny poe snd grogu would be best friends)

and if they were for some reason a closer age to each other it. has the potential to get gay.

I just want to say that I absolutely adore What the Stars Let In and Hope Persevering, they were so epic and romantic and, in the case of Hope, a little bitter, and that I haven't read Blooms yet but I have it open in a tab that I haven't touched yet because I'm nervous to start it! Anyway!

So I'm a sucker for bad guys and bad guy redemption arcs, and I read this fic, can't recall the name I'm sorry, it wasn't DinLuke, BUT it was an AU where Maul never found Obi-Wan and lived and he senses a distressed Luke on Hoth and makes himself his mentor. Luke, sunshine baby that he is, takes to him despite knowing Maul's trying to turn him Dark and doesn't put up with his shit and Force ghost Obi-Wan gives Maul all kinds of shit and together they slowly drag Maul out of the dark and he becomes super protective of Luke and by extension Leia. It's great, I love it, shenanigans all over. Dad Maul ftw.

Anyway. I can't help but wonder in such a case, with Luke having a surrogate darkside uncle, how would said semi-reformed uncle react to Din trying to court Luke and if you may have a thought to share? It just seems like a funny concept to me and I want to see if anyone else agrees. I just imagine Force ghost Obi laughing in the background and Anakin not sure who he wants to kill more.

:D Hello! Thank you for joining in and giving my fics a chance! Sorry for the delay in a response--asks sometimes get pushed back since there can be a lot of them and I am usually scrambling to get weekly updates in. I want you to know I really appreciate you taking the time to say this! It really does make me so happy and excited!

Omg, that fic sounds amazing. If you ever remember the title/link please share!!

So, Uncle Maul for Luke and needing to deal with Din coming in to court his baby. I love it. I also love it because we can just say that Maul didn't find Obi-Wan but he still found Ezra. So there would be this other level of pettiness because he does have a soft spot for his other apprentice.

So, it wouldn't just be that Maul would have to share with Din, no, Maul would be meaner than that. He is manipulative and calculating and likes to go for someone's weakness.

"Luke, I have been around non-Force-users and Mandalorians far too much...this one," His nose would scrunch, "is beneath you. Perhaps we should call Ezra...i think he would take better care of you."

And oooh would it drive Din mad.

Maul would know exactly the insecurities and flaws to Din's character, maybe hyping them up more than what they had been, and would just twist the knife in.

Besides, it's good for people to have rivalry and he was close to turning Ezra dark here and there and his Luke deserved to be fought over.

"It is a better way to find you a mate. Whoever wins gets courting rights."

Din is all about to tackle Ezra to the ground for that. Poor guy is just "Maul, stop trying to get revenge over me because I never helped you find Kenobi."

"KENOBIIIIII"

that 90′s show review

hello im back

spoilers ahead

I watched That 70′s Show like it was a religion when I was younger so I had quite a few expectations going into this.

Guest appearances from the original cast were funny and very nostalgic. Red and Kitty seem like they never left the roles, love them in this. The show itself had likable characters who looked the ages they were supposed to be (15 to 16 years old). Leia was a great combination of Eric and Donna without feeling repetitive. She’s dorky and awkward like Eric but her actual interests are completely different and tends to lean towards Donna in how she treats her friends and her interests. I think Gwen is the most like Donna; into the feminist movement/women empowerment. She’s raised by one (messy) parent. Her rebellious streak does remind me of Hyde as well as her temperament. It’s a fresh take on older characters. Same with Jay. Similar to Kelso but mostly in his expressions and maturity - he has Jackie’s heart and head. They never clarify whether or not Jackie is his biological mom but in the very least she is helping raise him and it shows. Nikki is smart, driven, confident but cold. She doesn’t really remind me of one particular OG character but that adds to the new elements of this show. Nate and Ozzie also don’t remind me of anyone on the OG show but I know they modelled Ozzie after Fez. The only overlap, in my opinion, is that they are both flamboyant. Ozzie’s secure in his own skin, knowledgeable about current culture and not emotional. 

Jay and Leia remind me so much of Donna and Eric. It’s puppy love and first love for both of them. He calms her down when she’s stressed but doesn’t dismiss her concerns. I really thought this would be my ship on the show. But I think they both have a lot of maturing to do (again they’re 15) and I could actually see them breaking up over the school year. To move the plot forward, it’s probably for the best. Same with Nate and Nikki. I have to admit, Gwen and Nikki have more chemistry. Nate is the most emotionally intelligent one in the group and I think that's why the scenes with Leia actually work. They are both people who feel their emotions and act on them (e.g. both of their jealousy story lines). Its well established that they both have jealous streaks so that will be a fun dynamic to explore in a later season. It was a little rushed but thinking within the season’s timeline: she arrived July 4th and left end of August. That’s about 6 weeks in which she met everyone, started flirting with Jay, dating Jay, and got broken up with (and back together). I like the triangle dynamic, Nate and her have a better foundation as friends. She can go to him for advice and understanding. She’s had more of an emotionally connection with him. Gwen not being as into or interested in boys leads me to believe she is probably going to have a coming out plot later. I like her as Leia’s friend but I think Niki and her are a better match. The 90′s had embraced a lot of wlw energy and I want more of that on the show. 

Underrated duo’s I want to see more of next season: Ozzie and Kitty (I cried when he came out to her), Nate and Gwen (their sibling’s episode was adorable), Red and Nikki (she gets him lol), Leia and Nikki (big sister vibes), and Nikki and Gwen (they may be too powerful together).

I hated almost everything they did with the old characters. Eric and Donna were fine but they didn’t stay in touch with Jackie and Kelso?? Jackie and Kelso stayed in town but lost contact with Red and Kitty?? Both of them stepped in when Jackie’s dad was arrested and her mom was AWOL. Jay and Leia should already know each other!! He could have been her connection to meet everyone else. They could have been childhood friends to lovers like Eric and Donna were. Fez’s story lines were good, it was what I expected from him. He stayed around, stayed in touch with Kitty and, while being successful, still struggles with getting too emotionally attached to women. They didn’t mention Hyde once but I understood that. Saying something like “he’s in jail” or “he’s a deadbeat” would be out of character after his development in the OG. But if he wasn’t either of those things, he had no reason to not be involved with the Forman’s who took him in for a better life. 

All in all: potential is there. I would like this to get renewed to see more character development as there was little to none outside of Leia (again they are 15 and this is 6 weeks). I think it could be great like That 70′s Show. For now though it’s just a good, easy watch.

The more I sit on it, the more I realize that Obi-Wan Kenobi is some of my favorite Star Wars material period. It’s enhanced my love for the prequels and deepened so many scenes from them. I’m just happy that I got to see Ewan and Hayden back in these roles and getting a chance to expand them. I always used to have a disconnect between Anakin and Vader’s movements and attitudes, so I had a hard time seeing them as the same character. However, this series eliminated that problem for me. Having Hayden in the suit for most of the time immensely helped the character come through and I’m so glad they brought him back to do it. I also never knew I needed to see Obi-Wan and Leia together. Before the series premiered I was concerned that there wouldn’t be a good enough reason for Obi-Wan to leave Tatooine, but my worries were immediately put to rest with that first episode. Their connection is so heartwarming and it allowed Obi-Wan to feel a sense of love and purpose again. There are also so many scenes and characters returning that some will dismiss as cheap fan service, but to me this is the most natural fan service that Star Wars has done in quite a while. It feels that all of the references and characters brought back served a purpose to the story or Obi-Wan’s character. For instance, seeing Temuera Morrison as a clone trooper again was amazing, but ultimately it serves a purpose to remind Obi-Wan of what he used to stand for and the failure of the Jedi. None of it felt forced or stopped the momentum of the show for me at all. Finally, I absolutely love what they did with Reva. I love the idea of seeing a character who’s been directly impacted by the decisions of a main character. We’ve seen so many angles of Order 66 at this point, but we’ve never seen someone directly survive an encounter with Anakin and how that would traumatize them. Reva wants to kill Vader so badly, yet she comes dangerously close to becoming just like him. When she redeems herself, it means so much more because she does it on her own without anyone else doing the work for her. Obi-Wan certainly has an influence on her, but her decision is entirely on her own. It’s also great that she gets to live and choose a new path after having her life taken away from her. I really hope we get to see what she chooses sometime in the future. Ultimately this series perfectly aligns with Star Wars’ theme of hope. Hope in the time of despair and the hope to find the good in the worst of people.

I know my thoughts are kind of scattered around here, but I truly adore this series and I’m so excited to go back and watch it all at once now that it is complete.

(because Leia Organa sends droids with people to protect them and take their mind off things, and I have feelings about it)

He’s scared. Leia knows, even though she couldn’t explain to anyone else how she knows. She’s never been able to explain it, but she’s never been wrong either.

Luke isn’t the most scared she’s ever seen, not even close. In fact, it’s barely there. He’s excited. Determined. But beneath all of it, there’s a little sliver of fear. He might be fresh off a farm on Tatooine, but he’s also fresh off the Death Star. He isn’t stupid. He knows how dangerous this mission is.

“Have you ever flown an X-Wing before?” Commander Dreis asks, and Luke shakes his head.

“No, but I can do it.” He isn’t bragging, and he isn’t lying. He knows he can fly an X-Wing just as she knows he’s telling the truth.

Dreis doesn’t look nearly as convinced, but he does a good job of hiding his doubts as he grins at Luke. “All right, then. Welcome to Red Squadron.”

Luke grins back, and the fear almost retreats. Almost, but not quite. He’s still reeling from the loss of Obi-Wan, and Leia understands, oh, she understands, why he’s doing this. To honour the memory of those he has lost. To fight. To save the galaxy, whatever it costs.

They don’t have enough pilots, Leia knows. A few are in sick bay; the man whose place Luke is taking is still recovering from losing his leg. They have the snubfighters, but they weren’t ready for this. She isn’t sure if there’s any way they could have been ready.

She wasn’t surprised when Luke volunteered. And she knows that Dreis didn’t want to accept--Luke is too young, too green, too eager, with stars in his eyes and fairly glowing with idealism. He doesn’t want to see that light go out. None of them do. All of them know it’s a risk they have to take.

“Have to see if we can scrounge up another astromech,” Dreis mutters, throwing a questioning look at one of his pilots. “Antilles, how many did you bring back?”

The name is a jolt for Leia, another reminder of everything she has lost - the Tantive IV’s captain was one of the first to be killed on this mission from hell, the first of so, so many.

She really hopes that Luke won’t be the next.

Antilles frowns. "I thought we were all good, but if he’s taking Hobbie’s X-Wing, we’ll need one more.”

And the answer comes to Leia all at once. No, she can’t go with him. No, she can’t away the risk, the danger, the fear. No, she can’t protect him.

But she can do the next-best thing.

She steps forward, and smiles. “He can take Artoo.”

julius' fd really was like all the named characters ignore ludger's existence while all the nameless neighbours are like "hey ludger how's your chill life with your brother and absolutely no one else :)"

Balan: You ever get lonely if you haven't seen your girlfriend in a while? If it were me, I think I'd go crazy pretty quickly.

Jude: I've never thought of Milla like that before, but still. I can tell she's doing her best out there in the spirit realm, and that means I can't slack off either!

Mary: I see. So there's someone out there important to you. Don't fret… I know your research will be a success! I believe in you, professor!

Girl: Hey, tell me where you bought that dolly! It's so cute!

Elize: Oh, this is my friend, Teepo! Would you like to try petting him?

Vera: Me?! There's no way I can do it! I've already been turned down once before!

Nova: Well you'll never know for sure with that attitude! You gotta be more persistent! If you're still into him, you need to let him know!

Alvin: Sure is peaceful out here. Maybe if things were like this back in the day when I was growing up, I'd have become a better man than I am now.

Yurgen: Investigative reporting? This is going to be tough. My partner was always really good at stuff like this, but I don't know if I can do it.

Leia's boss: We will hear what Alvin has to say too. We'll be combining both of your stories into the special feature. If you don't mind, would I be able to get your consent?

Leia: That's our Editor in Chief! Let's go get 'em!

Gaius: I haven't been here in some time. Has she already arrived?

Rowen: Yes, I've heard word that they've already arrived at the inn. Also, just in case, I should mention… Would it be too much to ask you to call him "Erston" while in town? (note: this was definitely misinterpreted by the translator 😂)

Bisley: I beg your pardon sir, but could you tell me the time? It appears that my watch has stopped. Wait a minute! Aren't you--never mind. Forgive me, I must be imagining things.

Rideaux: Yes, yes. I'll sign an autograph for anyone who wants one. Incidentally, you wouldn't mind telling me your names, would you? I need to know who to make these out to, of course.

Ivar: Damn it, why is it always Rideaux they go to first?! Look lady, we have work to do, so just make it quick!

Compared to:

"Hey, Ludger! When are you going to make me that mabo curry of yours again? When, huh? When?"

"I'm so sorry about her. She's always like this! But it looks like she really does enjoy the curry you make! Think I could get the recipe from you sometime?"

"Heya, Ludger. Is Julius doing okay? He seems busy with work as usual. Although you know, I have to say I do love a man who has such strong work ethic! Oh, Julius!"

"Ludger! Perfect timing! I just got some fresh fish in that I think you'd really enjoy! I'll just give them to you, so be sure to cook me something awesome with them, all right?"

"Oh hey, Ludger. I heard good things about the diner! I think that the next chance I get, I'll take my grandson there!"

"Hey, Ludger! I saw you eating with your brother at the usual place the other day. You guys mannerisms while eating are exactly the same! Guess you guys really are brothers!"

"Say Ludger, you haven't thought about living by yourself before, have you? Well, suppose if you did, it'd put Julius and Rollo out on the skids, huh. That Julius… he looks like he has it together, but he can be such a scatterbrain sometimes!"

"Whoa! Hold up, Ludger! Aren't you supposed to be at work today? Quit slacking off!"

Confession Time

I am about to do the unthinkable. I never thought it would come down to this...I had lost all hope for Disney and thus I created an ultra elaborate alternate script for Kenobi

The script included Obi-Wan Kenobi foolishly using his old alias from his “bounty hunting” days: Rako Hardeen. This would prevent him from being connected to Ben, and thus to Owen. It would get Vader’s attention, thus why the Inquisitors would be after him. It would make sense given how he would be going to a world full of bounty hunters, where Hardeen (the REAL Hardeen) would have been a relatively unknown bounty hunter with enough of a reputation. He manages to get Leia to Alderaan, where Vader is waiting for them, but Reva interferes, defending Obi-Wan as she finds the courage to finally put her life on the line for the greater good. Obi-Wan tries to save her, but is forced to watch someone else under his care be slain, taken by the Dark Side. With her dying breaths, Reva tells Obi-Wan to protect Leia, to save her the way he was unable to save Vader 

This is all summary, ofc. It’s vague and I left out major plotpoints for one simple reason: I was wrong

SHOCKING, I know lol. And some of this would’ve benefited the show regardless, I think. Rako Hardeen would be a way to show the audience how broken Obi-Wan is; the last time he used that identity, he had to pretend to be Anakin’s enemy, and now he IS Anakin’s enemy, and it also conceals Ben’s alias. That’s the biggest thing imo

However a majority of my script is actually undermined by Episode 5 of Kenobi. They turned Reva from a horribly written character to one of my favorites in the series, Tala’s sacrifice- despite being heartbreaking- feels super impactful and oddly necessary. And I don’t think the flashbacks or Vader’s rage were bad, either, it all added a lot of tension to the Kenobi versus Vader dynamic. All in one brilliant and insane episode

I love it. I love Kenobi Episode 5. It’s everything I’ve wanted from this show from Day 1

THAT BEING SAID. I have two major gripes with the series, still

1. A fantastic third act does NOT justify a sloppy first and second act. However good the show is now, I can’t justify recommending it to anyone simply because of how slow it was to really start and often it seemingly broke canon and had us wait a MONTH for answers. It frustrates me that we had to wait THIS long for ACTUALLY GOOD Kenobi content, especially since the writers were clearly capable of it. I know that if they tried actually making the earlier hooks make sense they would have spoiled it, but here’s the thing: it’s okay for the fans to be right sometimes! It’s okay for fans to predict what’s going to happen! Don’t waste your entire show trying to be unpredictable and epic if you’re just going to sacrifice most of it anyways

2. This kinda mirrors my first point, but...they’re still copying stuff??? Tala’s sacrifice was very, very similar to Hevy’s sacrifice in The Clone Wars, while also having Rogue One vibes. That was the big one for me. Vader’s grip on the shuttle was also similar to Rey’s grip on the First Order Transport and Starkiller bringing down the star destroyer, which I think most people noticed. This episode has been a lot better about being original, but it’s still not original

Kenobi Ep.5 Rating: 8/10

Kenobi Show Rating (not final): 6/10

Zoo au characters, and if you're feeling adventurous and achieving, drama between them, please? Normally I'd want to hear about Kylo (always), but I'm struck by Hux being pedantic about beetles. Also what's Poe doing? My cousins both work at a zoo so I'd love to see what they think about all this. They're nerds too.

So animal management at the zoo is split into 2 main sections with smaller within that. Thoe are LVI & Birds, and then mammals. LVI is reptiles, amphibs, inverts, etc and stands for lower vertebrate and invertebrates. This is the first time I'm writing some of this down so there may be some changes to what i've said before. Notably I put the KoR as maintenance but not anymore. It's long so rest under the cut

Kylo: Nepotism baby got an easy zoo internship because at the time his uncle was the assistant curator of mammals and his mother headed the education department. Some people hate him because of this. Zookeeping is not an easy industry to get into and he just walked in like he was owed the world. His internship was on the mammal section, focusing directly under Luke on the large carnivores. An incredibly boring section as everyone knows the small carnivores are where the interesting things happen. All big cats have going for them is that they're big. When he finished his placement, a role was created for him as the new primary keeper of the big cats. He turned it down. He instead walked straight into a job on the LVI & Birds section under curator Snoke. Turns out he had been spending his days off and his break times with Snoke, learning aviculture, and had become enamored with birds. Luke was not happy. Hux was not happy either as Snoke is currently without an assistant curator and it seems like he's grooming Kylo for the position even though Hux has been working for him for years. With him on the bird section (There's a lot of birds. Snoke likes his birds) he has some of the knights of ren. There's more of them in spring and summer to help man the bird walkthroughs and deal with the increased workload bird sections have then. Basically there's a strange overlap between the bird keeper section and animal training, even though the birds under snoke receive little to no training (Snoke doesn't deem it necessary for husbandry). Kylo himself goes over to animal training a few times a week, but not to train any animals, and always during his lunch breaks. Ren: Head of animal training/the show. He's kinda off on his own not under the jurisdiction of either curatorship, but works with them. Mostly enjoys the birds of prey and flying those. He is never seen without his falconer glove even when he's training ducks. Flirts with everyone and anyone. Once tried to bag both Luke and Leia at the same time. Luke seemed keen but Leia slapped him. It's ok though, he had Han and Luke when Leia and he were 'on a break'. He also had that big eyed son of hers. Multiple times. The kid's clingy but he's good for getting Rens dick wet. Luke: When Kylo started his internship he was the assistant curator/senior keeper of large carnivores. Not long after the internship was finished, Luke was promoted to curator of mammals as his predecessor (Yoda) retired. He holds resentment for Kylo ruining his big plans for him, where he would be curator and in a few years his nephew the assistant curator under him. Kylo had a knack for the job and Luke thought he was genuinely interested, just for Kylo to walk right over to the other curators section without any prior warning (As far as he knew.. Selective vision, everyone else saw him helping out on the birds whenever he wasn't with the cats) Luke I have working with big cats because I really think big cat keepers are boring. Not as bad as elephant keepers, but still up there with the boring and the big ego. Luke is just incredibly boring to me. It literally won't let me post more than this which is ??? as i see other people with stupid long posts and not even a cut like all the time zzz. I'll do more in a subsequent post.

[ riz ahmed, cis man, he/him. ] ✧･ﾟ is that [ bodhi rook ] who just stumbled into town? rumour has it that they’re the [ thirty-five ] year old originally hailing from [ star wars ]. if they had to choose a side they would consider themself [ good ]. i’ve also heard that they’re [ adaptable ] but [ anxious ] and have [ one ] child. i could almost swear i heard [ men on the moon - chelsea cutler ] playing when they appeared. tw: pregnancy mention, death

bodhi was born to a single mother, the two doing what they could to get by on jedha. however, even if times were tough, bodhi still found ways to get into trouble – namely betting illegally and being reckless with a speeder. he was quite clumsy and bad on his luck, never allowed to work with knives as a result of that clumsiness.

despite all of this, he had dreams of being a starfighter pilot. it was obvious he had a passion for piloting, but the passion didn’t match his skill level. he never qualified for the starfighter program after he enlisted, forced to take on the role of transporting cargo for the empire instead. it wasn’t something he was happy about, but he was at least thankful that he was off jedha and flying anything at all. it wasn’t a glamorous job, but he did get to see different worlds and casually learn about the empire’s secrets – not that he thought he would need to use that knowledge any time soon.

during this time, he met a fellow coworker that he slowly fell for. the two came from similar backgrounds and understood each other more than anyone else. eventually, they did enter a relationship together and were rather stable. they were together for a year before everything started to strain and shift. there was a sudden change in bodhi’s partner as she grew more irritable and dreamt of living somewhere more permanent. she mentioned that they needed to plan for the future, and that neither of them would be happy working on freight ships forever. and though he tried to be understanding, she wouldn’t say why she suddenly wanted to change their lives nor was he able to find a job that took care of them better than their current.

unable to find a solution and bodhi kept in the dark about her pregnancy, his partner ended things quickly and left their shared workspace. he was absolutely heartbroken and confused, resigning himself to a life of unhappy monotony working for the empire. fate, however, had a different plan for bodhi when galen erso approached him to deliver a message to the resistance. with nothing really holding him back and having a deep sense of doing what was right, bodhi agreed and defected.

bodhi ended up meeting the small, makeshift group that would deliver the plans of the deathstar to the resistance – the very thing that changed the course of the galaxy forever. bodhi never thought he would find himself in such a situation, but there wasn’t any turning back for him. he gave his life for the future of the galaxy, perishing with the others as the planet was destroyed and the message was sent to leia organa’s ship.

bodhi never met his child nor did he ever knew they existed. he’d always wanted a family one day, but never had the chance. he would want to be the best father he could be. coming to town, he doesn’t remember getting his mission from galen erso. he remembers his break up with his partner and how everything was falling apart for him.

                                       basics:                                           full name:  bodhi rook                                           nicknames:  n/a                                           gender:  cis man                                           pronouns:  he / him                                           sexuality:  bisexual                                           age:  35                                           occupation:  ensign                                           species:  human

                                       appearance:                                           faceclaim:  riz ahmed                                ��          height:  5′8'’                                           eyes:  brown                                           hair:  black                                           piercings:  n/a                                           tattoos:  n/a                                           other distinguishing features:  n/a                                           style:  casual

                                       personality:                                           traits:  adaptable, anxious, gentle, reserved                                           likes:  quiet mornings, gentle waves, the sound of birds                                           dislikes:  darkness, fog, loud parties                                           fears:  being alone forever                                           phobias:  small spaces                                           hobbies:  learning instruments, origami                                           skills:  combat, freight piloting                                           quirks:  n/a                                           pet peeves:  n/a

                                       family:                                           mother:  unknown                                           father:  unknown                                           siblings:  n/a                                           birth order:  only                                           spouse / lover:  n/a                                           children:  one                                           pets:  n/a                                           notable close relatives:  n/a