From mikogalatea

[ladyofleithian]

Send me the name of a character and I will tell you my:

1: sexuality headcanon
2: otp
3: brotp
4: notp
5: first headcanon that pops into my head
6: one way in which I relate to this character
7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character
8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Comments

[reijamira]

Here's a character: Anakin Skywalker.

[solarbird]

If Star Wars specific: Mon Mothma

If not: Amélie Lacroix, of course. XD

[anoyo]

Murtagh (Eragon)

[kaoriva]

Kylo Ren!

[ladyofleithian]

1: sexuality headcanon:

Bisexual with a preference for men.

2: otp:

Kylo Ren/Poe. (Yeah, yeah, I know, worst-kept secret ever) And you're probably wondering why, but honestly, the moment they first met I had this weird inkling that there was something between them, perhaps even that they knew each other. (Considering the popular fandom trope of them being friends if not lovers in their youth -- which I think would actually work in canon, because it's something we haven't seen before in terms of a secondary-ish character and a villain -- I might have been slightly psychic. /joking. Or I was having a memory of another fandom) Then TV Tropes suggested hey-they-might-have-known-each-other and fuel got poured on the fire. And then I wrote The Broken Edge and fell absolutely in love with their love -- back when Kylo was Ben, that is and they were a lot more innocent...relatively. Even going through a rough patch, they were a joy (and addictive) to write.

3: brotp: I can't say. Maybe Kylo and Phasma?

4: notp: Kylo/Hux. I at first was just bewildered by that pairing but then it actually started making Hux into a fluffy bunny, which...Hux isn't. Same with Kylo, actually. The way I'd describe Kylo is that he's ruthless, occasionally capable of showing compassion, conflicted, can recognize a worthy enemy (such as with Poe and Rey and, according to the script, Finn), committed and loyal to Snoke in the sense that fish are wet, and emotionally immature. For Hux, I have some pity for him as supplemental material showed he was abused by his monster of a father, but he's still not exactly a fluffy bunny; he's still nasty. This is the same guy that blew up the Hosnian system, after all. And then there's the idea of them ruling the galaxy together with Hux as Emperor and Kylo as his consort, which freaks me out when they try and portray it as a good thing because Hux as Emperor would probably be worse than Palpatine, realistically.

(I'm sorry; I needed to get that off my chest. And yeah, I am aware of the hypocrisy here considering I wrote a whole AU like that except with Kylo and a turned-Dark-Side-Poe. So...I dunno. Maybe I'm a hypocrite. Maybe)

5: first headcanon that pops into my head:

Besides him and Poe knowing each other as kids, I never bought the fanon idea of him hating Rey after their duel (which I think was cut short anyway because of the planet splitting apart). I mean, when she pushed him out of her mind he had nothing but good things to say about her to Snoke, and when she summons Anakin's lightsaber, he has this look of amazement (not even fear, just amazement) on his face. (I also headcanon that he and Rey are cousins just to explain his strange behavior towards her in the film, because it definitely seemed more like a weird kinship than anything romantic) I think he even sees a bit of himself in her because they do share some similarities -- abandonment by their families (perceived in Kylo's case), temptation towards the Light/Force in general, etc.
6: one way in which I relate to this character:

I can definitely be snarky myself, and Kylo definitely has his share of good zingers (such as his one about Hux's troops) during the film.

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Not gonna lie, the first time I saw him wrecking a console, I got a case of the giggles. I still cringe a little when that part comes up.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Definitely problematic fave. I don't like metas that portray him as just a cinnamon roll because they really do strip away the layers of his character. One of the best things about Kylo's character is that he is a contradiction. He's ruthless, but can show some gentleness and even glimmers of humanity (e.g. his opposition to destroying the Hosnian system, and his objection when Snoke and Hux prepare to blow up the Ileneum system. I mean, to put it this way, when Alderaan was destroyed, Vader didn't seem to care. But when it looked like the Ileneum system would be destroyed, Kylo seemed to care), while not negating how ruthless he can be. And it can be unsettling; I mean, what do you make of someone who compliments you on enduring torture one minute before interrogating you personally? You'd probably be thrown for a loop. So Kylo is a problematic fave to the max, but he's got layers to him that make him interesting, and I like interesting characters. (And there's pretty much why I like Kylo)

[kaoriva]

Those are some very interesting reflections on Ben! I like the idea of Poe and Ben being childhood friends/sweethearts before Ben turned bad, I mean is very plausible, Poe is like...five years older than Ben? And he also is Leia's biggest fan, I'm not surprised in the least if they knew each other before. And admitely, it makes for a more interesting pairing IMO than the more popular Kylux one (glad to hear someone who doesn't likes them together)

Since I completely subscribe to the Rey Skywalker theory I also have plenty of headcanons for cousin!Ben and little Rey. I even suspect Ben had something to do with Rey's abandonment in Jakku, maybe to try to protect her from the Knights of Ren or Snoke after the new Jedi Academy was slaughtered, who knows. And yeah, I agree with you about fandom's interpretation of Ben: he's either demonized to extremes or justified, he's neither seen in shades of grey (but hey, it's Tumblr, since when people have seen on grey? It's all black or white for them) and that's what makes him a very interesting character.

[ladyofleithian]

Thanks!

Yeah, they really don't have much of an age gap, actually. Add in Poe's relationship with Leia and it's not implausible that Ben and Poe could have known each other before Ben went bad. And yeah, it really does.

And glad to find someone else who doesn't ship Kylux. I mean, my above complaints about it aside, it's just so bland and same-y, IMHO. Which is ironic to say about a ship that has these two characters in it, but it's true.

I'd definitely love to hear your headcanons! They sound intriguing.

And well-said, seriously! Tumblr does have a very simplistic view of things, which is frustrating as all heck.

[kaoriva]

Completely agree, plus the way Poe talked to Kylo in their first meeting in TFA makes me think he was messing with "little Ben" who tries to act all imposing and dangerous as Kylo Ren xD, it's very likely!

Kylux never caught my attention because 1) Hux, dark past or not, is a genocidal murderer who ordered the destruction of the Hosnian System, he's no better than Tarkin who ordered the destruction of Alderaan, so yeah, I don't like him and 2) I don't like him with Ben, who while isn't ready for a romantic relationship (first put him into therapy), doesn't needs someone like Hux. It's like people ship them to avoid the antis by pairing the two bad guys, and it's ok if some people are into that kind of ships YKINMK, but to me, it's a big no no.

Well, one of my headcanons is that 10 year old Ben was very vulnerable and confused, and while he ended being corrupted by Snoke, he still had a more peaceful time with his uncle Luke. When Rey was born Ben felt like he could be a good big brother to her and played with her, told her stories that his mother used to tell him when he was little and overall he came to care for her as a little sister, so when he joined the Knights of Ren the destroy Luke's Jedi Academy, he couldn't kill Rey (who as Luke Skywalker's daughter would had been a very likely target because her powers) and thus he managed to bring her to Jakku in a way or another and leave her there so nobody would find her, and made everyone believe he killed her. So when Snoke mentions in the script/novel of TFA that Ben feels compassion for Rey, is because he reunited with his "little sister" again and once again, can't bring himself to harm her (and that's why he wants to train her as well, he feels that he may not be alone anymore with the last family he has)

[On a side note, that's why this idea of BROTP!Reylo sounds more appealing to me than romantic!Reylo. Rey may not remember Ben and her early years with him, but Ben very much recalls his time as Rey's older cousin/big brother figure, and his conflict intensifies as he can't disobey Snoke (he even killed his own father for that) but on the other hand he can't harm Rey, innocent, vulnerable little Rey who now has grown into a strong and fearless young woman who is just as confused and lonely as he is. Think about it as the Rameses/Moses conflict in The Prince of Egypt)

That's one of the reasons why Tumblr sucks :p