1) i’m not sure i can write this as it should be written, so it’ll probably stay as a disjointed set of ideas for now – if i do write it i’ll look for a beta read because its something i personally have no experience with.
2) i know i can’t go as fully dark-ish as the original poster suggested – i just can’t do it. so this is my take on their concept
(found here)
so thus under the cut are the ideas i had (and if someone wants to take ‘em and run please feel free)
AU: Padmé survives after Revenge of the Sith. She helps create the Rebellion in an effort to destroy the Empire and leads the mission against their new creation – a superweapon that’s capable of destroying planets.
I think about these pages a lot, every time I read meta about Steve not being as… expressive or emotive in the MCU as other characters.
Steve is an artist. And a bookworm. Who loves fantasy most of all. This is canon, none of these things are indicators of someone who is stoic and taciturn by nature. So what we can deduce from this is that Steve learned to keep things close to the chest through nurture not nature.
Why?
Three factors, all summed up above.
1) Steve was heavily bullied as a child. Picked on, beat up, tormented. There have been depictions of this in almost every single Cap run I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of Cap. I could show you panels that would make you cry, where a child!Steve is laid out on the pavement bleeding because his childhood bullies got a hold of him.
This is not solely indigenous to 616!Steve, as in the MCU!Steve also indicated to Peggy that he was beat up a lot as a child.
Someone who is targeted by that kind of physical and mental abuse learns to keep it all in, so as not to show any weakness less his tormentors use that against him.
2) Steve lived through the Great Depression during his most informative years. The small, sickly child of a single mother. The dialogue here breaks my heart:
“And with every broken bone or black eye I knew I was letting my mother down. Sure I was scared of the bullies waiting for me but my REAL fear was that I’d get home and she wouldn’t be there. I knew it was irrational, she was a GREAT mother, but that’s just how life felt back then, like it could all fall apart at any moment.”
Loss. Steve’s greatest fear and the heartbreaking thing is that it’s he’s had to live through again and again and again. And it all started because he was raised during a time when the bulk of America had lost everything and were starving in the streets. If we look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the most basic necessities for survival weren’t being met for a very large population of people: food, water, safety.
Steve’s words here are actually very accurate. I have a 96-year-old grandmother who can personally collaborate the sentiment expressed here. In fact she told me that it was very common for children to be sent away to relatives who could feed them, for families to be split up because the parents could no longer afford to provide basic necessities. And in other families children were actually put to work in factories. In fact, Steve worked. As early as six he was selling newspapers when he wasn’t in school (Remender’s run, Cap vol. 7).
3) War. The most destructive war in recent history no less.
The highest suicide rate in the country goes to veterans. This is fact.
In 2014, an average of 20 Veterans died from suicide each day. 6 of the 20 were
users of VA services.
Any war related issues such as PTSD and Survivals Guilt would have been even worse during WW2 because no one recognized PTSD as being valid. In fact General Patton once slapped soldiers who were bed ridden due to exhibiting PTSD symptoms. This is also fact.
So, as a soldier, your choices were try your hardest to keep a stiff upper lip or exhibit your symptoms and be considered a coward and a traitor.
And yet despite all of this Steve said this…
“And I think THAT was what shaped me. How the whole world felt unfair… unjust. That’s why I tried over and over again to enlist before we were even in the war. Because I wanted to punch Hitler in the jaw.”
This is it, this is the essence of Steve Rogers.
The underdog. The defender of the maligned and the targeted.
Steve Rogers took his pain and rather than letting it make him bitter like others would in his circumstances, he became determined to help others.
….I just think that maybe we, as a fandom, should not assume that the silent type aren’t grappling with unimaginable pain just because they’re silent. I think we should recognize that perhaps the silence, itself, is also a symptom.
Post-battle ‘OMG we’re alive, I can’t believe it, let’s bang’ is a fun trope and all, but do you know what I wanna see more of in my threads?
Post-battle: -Lacing their bloodstained fingers together and giving a reassuring squeeze to let the other know they’re alright -forehead touches accompanied by relieved chuckles and shared breath –’OMG we’re alive, I can’t believe it’ bear hugs that nearly crush the life out of each other, but ‘holy shit we’re alive so I don’t care if it feels like you’re about to break my back just don’t let go!’ -Bloodied fingertips reaching up to clean away dirt from the other’s features, only to smear it across their nose or cheek, causing them both to laugh and stare at each other adoringly -Anxiously checking each other over before the dust even settles, thanking whatever higher power exists that neither are badly wounded -Carefully cleaning and bandaging each others wounds once they’ve made it to a safe place -Falling asleep in each other’s arms from sheer exhaustion, as the adrenaline finally wears off on the ride home -Finally finding each other on the battlefield, practically leaping at one another in relief, before backpedaling in discomfort from all the wounds they didn’t realize they had, only to chuckle about it and pull each other into a soft, affectionate kiss, smiling like idiots through it all because ‘dammit, we survived!’
Seriously, I just want more post-battle fluff that doesn’t automatically lead to sex. Because, let’s be realistic, there’s no way either one of them has the energy for that post-battle.
Oh my GOD I had no idea any of these were Things but I desperately need them now
it’s time to face facts: charles xavier’s liberalism does nothing for the mutant cause.
if you didn’t know about their powers, charles xavier and erik lehnsherr would look like a pair of distinguished elder gentlemen. the difference between the two is that for as long as he’s been in the public eye, erik lehnsherr has always explicitly identified himself as the mutant magneto, while for years, professor xavier put on the facade of being a “normal” flatscan scientist.
but it doesn’t end there: as leader of the brotherhood, magneto never required his allies to wear masks or hide who they were. meanwhile, professor x almost always appears in public with only the most attractive (by conventional flatscan standards) of his students. he even goes as far as providing holographic image inducers for his less “palatable” students.
what all this tells us is that charles xavier only cares about you if your powers and appearance wouldn’t cause a stir at the country club, while magneto fights for the rights of all mutants
Vintage Leverage. The post-war economy boom provides many advantages for soldiers coming home and their families, but it also increases the number of companies, as well despicable individuals, who prey on innocents. Veterans who were promised education and business loans, but fell victims to scams; women losing their jobs on false pretenses; families robbed of insurance money. They had no one to turn to, until a group of former soldiers assembled an unusual team specializing in recovering compensation for their victimized clients. Staging elaborate cons, they provide… leverage.
Religious vampires trying to find ways to balance their ideologies with their needs
Sirens learning sign language so they can communicate without enchanting anyone
Disabled fairies who can’t fly pushing for accessibility
Spirits helping save people from fires and other natural disasters because they can access areas too dangerous for the living
Dragons becoming foster parents and providing super safe homes for “hordes” of children until they grow up
Female werewolves with facial hair and body hair not letting anyone make them feel bad about it
Fae snatching children from abusive homes and raising them in safety while the changeling wreaks havoc
Liberated genies using their power to fight for human rights
Witchy cooking shows where witches try to make specific potions or find creative magical solutions to problems
Psychic psychologists and medical doctors who are able to figure out exactly how to help even if their patient is non-verbal, young, or afraid of being honest because they’re with an abuser
Psychic teachers knowing just what to do to help students with learning disabilities
Yes please.
I just slammed the reblog button so hard my phone broke.
Ok, I am now imagining the first time Obi-Wan and the 212th suddenly get called into battle before they’ve had a chance to wash off and the Seppies are like “Wait. We thought they were joking about the dead Jedi General and his Ghost Battalion!” right up until the shots start to hit…
Also, Ahsoka would really like to know who the Master is that keeps showing up and playing along with the joke – he’s always in blue before just about anyone else but he never really says anything, just grins at their antics, and seems to disappear every time she decides to go talk to him. There can’t be that many older human males taller than Skyguy in the Order right?
!!! YES TO BOTH THINGS. Force-Ghosting Oneself becomes a v frequently used Ghost Company battle tactic. Waxer takes to it with gleeful enthusiasm.
and whenever Obi Wan is being Ridiculous during a mission and risking himself unnecessarily, all Cody has to do is pull out some force ghost dust and be like “you know what’s going to happen if you go through with that idea? THIS” and throw a handful of blue dust at Obi’s face
omg all these fake force ghosts with Qui Gon’s very real one, and none of the clones or ahsoka realize :’) the question here is whether Obi Wan knows yet or not. the potential for shenanigans!
My theory is that all the “fake” exorcisms had just enough in them to help make certain places more… permeable to the Force. The process is exacerbated whenever the Force juggernaut that is Anakin Skywalker is around, so Qui-Gon has quite a few options for manifestation these days. He prefers the Temple grounds, but has been known to show up on the Negotiator from time to time, and he very much approves of Commander Cody and his men.
As far as being recognised, the issue is that it’s not totally there yet, and no one is actively looking for him, so most of the time any Jedi who does notice him assumes the same thing as Ahsoka. The exceptions are people who knew him in life, but given all the other nonsense going on Mace just thinks he’s hallucinating it…
It all comes to a head when in an unrelated conversation turns to whether or not Master Kenobi can be considered short for a Jedi, and his rebuttal that “Yes Anakin but you are an anomaly” leads to Ahsoka finally asking about the strange Jedi and…
Out come the incense and candles, and this time, with the Jedi involved actually focusing on trying to make it work for real, a pale blue figure begins to emerge.
No one says a word. No one living.
“It is good to see you again Obi-Wan. Please don’t be so hasty to join me.”
Qui-Gon Jinn smiles, and for the first time in decades, it is reciprocated.
i am so!!! there are lots of tears and Heartfelt Conversations and maybe Qui Gon’s presence actually manages to make Obi Wan (a tiny bit) more careful. also I love that literally the second sentence Qui Gon says to Obi Wan is to call him out on his Unnecessary Risks.
plus, now Ghost Company’s force ghost trick gains a lot more credibility when a actual ghost is sometimes breezing through things alongside them
“You don’t want to die, little one. It’s all medics up here and they’re waiting just for you,” is enough for Obi-Wan’s self-preservation instinct to kick in.
😀 Why do I think that Ghost company makes a make-shift ancestor altar just to commute with Qui-Gon and snitch on Obi-Wan?:D
Makeshift? Hell no. By the time they’re done with it the shrine is an integral part of wherever they’re stationed, able to be quickly packed for transportation and capable of surviving a direct hit from a tank. They may not always be able to see him unless one of the generals of the commander is around, but “General Jinn” is always watching out for them, and it’s polite to thank him and keep him in the loop about General Kenobi’s wellbeing…
The 501st don’t take long to requisition a version of their own. It quite literally doubles their chances of being able to find someone to talk General Skywalker out of whatever ridiculous plan he’s come up with this time.
(Also, Jinn tells the best jokes – the stories about his time as a Padawan are particularly great, if only to see Dooku turn ghastly pale when they interrupt one of his monologues to sing a certain Huttese folk song. )
And it’s nice to see the way their Jedi all seem… Happier. As far as the Clones are concerned, those altars are critical military equipment!
….is it standard procedure for the clones to cover themselves in force ghost blue before these Talks? i feel like it is. Qui Gon lowkey thinks of Ghost Company (and the 501st) as family, so of course he’s always going to be there to listen and do what Must Be Done! plus it amuses him endlessly to watch Obi Wan telling Anakin off for the same things Obi used to do
Covering yourself with pale blue talk is an integral part of the Afternoon Tea With Qui-Gon Rite. They have to buy it in galons.
Qui-Gon, of course, visits Dooku. Some call it infiltration. Other call it sabotage. The less trustfull folk accuse Qui-Gon of betrayal.
Dooku calls it “1001 reasons why retirement via lightsaber is a great option” because nothing gets on his nerves as this semicorporeal library of every possible emarrassing moment of Dooku’s life that happily reminds Dooku, Obi-Wan, Anakin and literally everyone willing to listen.
RETIREMENT VIA LIGHTSABER. Dooku pausing midfight to tell Obi Wan to PLEASE JUST TAKE YOUR MASTER BACK, I HAVENT HAD A MOMENT OF PEACE,,
Well maybe if you stopped the whole war thing and the sith thing and the chopping off grandpadawans’ arms thing, Obi Wan tells him, in no hurry to call his master back
@norcumi *dazed* Wow, didn’t realize I was going to kick off a thing like this…
Innit WILD when folks latch on to a thing? Go you, and yay everyone contributing!
There's a Mirror on the Wall 