#Lumi takes this as a challenge

[xstarlightxstarbrightx]

Thoughts on how Mondstadt went [3]:

kaeya trusts lumi after the whole 'helped save Mondstadt AND Dvalin' thing'. like CLEARLY she's a good person, absolutely super sweet and also really cool (she fought a dragon yall just WAIT till Liyue).

also, i'm sorry, i know the joke is that the only thing ppl have ever done to help the traveler is put up missing persons posters, but i cannot fathom that Jean would sit there, after the ENTIRE THING, and just put up posters.

i just imagine, like: Jean: how tf do i repay her??? she needs more than posters,,, Kaeya: yo i got an idea Jean: where tf did u come from Kaeya: dw abt it, we should send an envoy w/ the Traveler to help her out on her journey.

bc Kaeya would totally think of a good way to help her out bc she DID save Mondstadt, ok. like he loves Mondstadt ofc he'd want to repay her.

anyway Jean's like 'k u can go, its not like u have any horses or cavalry to worry abt'. this was NOT Kaeya's intent btw, he totally imagined Jean sending someone else bc that's just what he figured she'd do, so he was like 'i'm flattered but maybe we let lumine decide that??' bc he figures like Lumine would ask for someone like Amber or somethin

little does he know that Lumine is smitten w/ him now, and so ofc she chooses him as the envoy????

anyway these are my thoughts on Mondstadt, thank god this quest series was so short, not that i remember much of it since i did it like 2-ish years ago lmfao. i'm gonna go die for a bit again lmfao

[gffa]

So, I fucking loved The Living Force, I found it to be one of the most Jedi-positive books out there, and look I can't guarantee you that you'll feel the same way, this book only gets the Lumi stamp of approval, not the "you'll definitely love this as a fan of the Jedi" stamp of approval, so take that as you will. But this book took such care to give the Jedi Council members different fun personalities, that even when Saesee was a total grump, he was a funny grump and one who clearly dove right into helping people, that even when it was Qui-Gon who issued the challenge, the book showed it as an excuse for the Jedi Council members to take some time off to go do what they were choosing to do, that their good acts were their own, not Qui-Gon's. This book took such care to give moments to the Jedi discussing why they put their efforts where they did and showed that they all loved helping people, none of them felt this was beneath them for a moment, only that they felt they could help more people by doing their regular Council duties most of the time. The discussions they had weren't about castigating themselves, but about discussing where their balance should be, that their work as a Council was always seen as necessary, that they very much did need to look towards the future, but that they as individual Jedi sometimes needed a reason to do something more individual. Because of that good-faith feeling in the narrative, other things also came off really good-naturedly, like Ki-Adi-Mundi often was stilted or just did not understand the point of some of this ridiculousness, but he was never painted as uncaring, but instead very much came off to me like he was on the spectrum and that that was fine, it was part of the feeling of how each of these characters is allowed a different personality and allowed to see duty and the Force and their lives differently, that there was emphasis put on how the Council prized those differences because it helped make them stronger.

And the author clearly had an absolute blast writing Yarael and Even Piell especially, they were hilariously fun and there is SO MUCH FUNNY BANTER, like there's so much friendly teasing between characters, there's so many little moments that show these people care about each other and have fun with each other, that there's no doubt that this Council is full of life and light. I also really enjoyed Mace and Depa's dynamic, that it's clear he cared about her and still worried about her, but he trusted her to take care of herself, that Depa's part of the storyline was a bit more subdued in a lot of ways, but she was thoroughly competent and trusted to understand what she was getting into. Mace does fuss over her a bit in the end, but she's strong enough to stand up for herself and he takes it in stride because she's a Jedi Master now and knows what she's doing, that she's trusted to be right about what's going on and how this should be handled, as well as her deep care for the people she gets involved with around her.

The only real heads up I would give (other than to caution that the opening chapters might make you side-eye a bit, but I ask a little patience with the book) is that it's in a specific worldbuilding genre, that it's not really about the spiritual aspect of the Jedi Order worldbuilding, but instead more about administrative worldbuilding and the action plot. But if you're into that (and I was so into that because I love worldbuilding detail!) and into the Jedi Council being hilarious and getting time to basically take a vacation, then I hope you'll enjoy this book with me, too. I know what the interview from the author said, but honestly I felt none of that with the book, it felt like a story that really understood the increasing complexity of the galaxy around them and that there weren't any easy answers, that the future does matter, even if so too does the present, that what the Council does as a Council is vital to the good work the Jedi Order does, but that this provides them with the breathing space to balance it with their own individual ways of being a Jedi, which is simply giving them some breathing room and letting them flourish on their own!

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Follow The Buzzards: The Debut of The Wyatt Family

Since Monday Night RAW is in Baltimore tonight and the in ring debut of The Wyatt Sicks is tonight as well, I decided to write about the debut of the legendary stable , The Wyatt Family.

The Wyatt Family consisted of the late , Bray Wyatt ( Windham Rotunda ), Luke Harper ( Jon Huber aka Brodie Lee ), and Erick Rowan. The stable first debuted in 2012 on WWE’s third and developmental brand , NXT. Therefore, the Bray Wyatt character would debut in Florida Championship Wrestling in 2012. Rotunda was known as Husky Harris on the game show version of NXT before this. However , in 2013 , the WWE Universe would witness the eerie trio come to Monday Night RAW. Thus, the anticipation for their debut would come through spooky vignettes with Rowan sporting a sheep mask and Wyatt explaining who they were and where they came from. They started to air on May 27. Nevertheless, the WWE Universe would have to wait until July to see the Wyatts debut.

On the July 8 , 2013 episode of Monday Night RAW , would be the night that change everything. The Wyatt Family would make their debut targeting Kane. Before they debuted , Kane had a match against Christian. After the match, he would be in the ring watching one of the vignettes. Soon, the lights would go out after Bray whispering his signature catchphrase, “ We’re here! ” . The lantern would soon be blown out and the trio would make their way to the ring .

Wyatt could be found sitting in a rocking chair as he watched Rowan and Harper attack the future WWE Hall of Famer. The Wyatts not only targeted Kane , they targeted Justin Gabriel , 3MB , and R-Truth all while telling him to ‘ Follow The Buzzards ’ . Kane decided to call out Bray and challenge him to a match at Summerslam. The stipulation of the match would be a Ring of Fire match. Wyatt would be declared the winner due to his stablemates getting involved. Thus , they would attack Kane for a second time and end the segment for their match by carrying him to the back.

Luke Harper would be signed to All Elite Wrestling in 2020 , going under the name , Mr. Brodie Lee. He would be the leader of the faction , The Dark Order. He would start out as being known as the ‘ Unseen Leader ’. Sadly , Lee would pass away on December 26, 2020 at the age of 41. Bray Wyatt would be released by WWE in 2020 and return in 2022. He would also pass away on August 28,2023 at the age of 36.

On June 17,2024 , the Wyatt Sicks would debut. Bo Dallas ( Taylor Rotunda ) , would revise his role as Uncle Howdy and form a new group , The Wyatt Sicks. Their debut would be similar to how Bray made his return. The members of this faction would be Uncle Howdy as the leader, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis , Joe Gacy , and Erick Rowan. Rowan is one of the founders of the original Wyatt Family. Thus, Dallas would take on the faction as his brother did before him.

My Final Thoughts:

I remember when The Wyatt Family debuted. I was a little freaked out by them , however , I got used to them. Bray Wyatt was a once in a lifetime wrestler and will always be. Luke Harper/Brodie Lee was one of those wrestlers who I enjoyed watching and will always be the greatest TNT Champion of all time . Again , I’m so proud of Taylor for carrying on his brother’s name and legacy. I’ll be doing a tribute article for Bray in a few weeks and one for Luke in December. Be on the lookout for those!

Love You All,

- Kay

[evereinefaust]

*.·:·.✧ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐭 ✧.·:·.*

Being an actress for a character in a mobile video game comes with many pros and cons. Yet, despite the minor setbacks the girl would often encounter during her time working for Clover, [Y/n] is still passionate about her acting career and even being an equally dedicated gamer of Lord of Heroes. Especially when she could finally see the fruits of her labor being displayed on a golden platter.

As an avid anime fan and hobbyist illustrator herself, the young [h/c]ette knew that a successful RPG such as LOH would receive countless fan art about the characters. Most of the illustrations are cute and fluffy drawings, something that the artist would draw to show love and support for the game and their favorite characters.

However, [Y/n] has been very familiar with the fan community long enough to know that it's not all cute and fluffy and innocent. In every fandom, those kinds of illustrations are just scratching the surface...

"I'm bored..."

A certain [h/c]-haired teen slumped against the comfy cushion of the couch, her half-lidded hues staring at the screen of her device. Soft music resonated in the lounge as a couple of actors relaxed and unwind from their busy schedules in the morning. Her [e/c] orbs then glanced around the room, seeing her colleagues doing their own thing.

Vanessa, Bianca, and Lumie were seated by the dining table, their soft chatters providing some sort of life in the quiet room. Raligon was reading a book right next to the bookshelf, sitting on a chair alone while drinking a cup of tea. On the adjacent couch, Charlotte was sleeping peacefully on her aunt's lap. While the silver-haired woman was reading a novel as she lovingly stroked her niece's blonde locks.

Seated on each side of the young actress were Joshua and Johan. The blonde bespectacled man was — unsurprisingly — reading a book as well, fully engrossed in his reading. Meanwhile, the pinkette was scrolling through his phone, often eliciting a tired yawn now and then.

By the other couch were the last remaining duo — Astrid and Mikhail. They had been playing a couple of card games for a while now, and by the looks on the silver-haired man's face, it seemed that he wouldn't stop until he got a few more wins against the woman. But one look on Astrid's face would tell that she, too, enjoying her time and the challenge.

"It seems that nobody wants to be bothered..."

If this were like every other day, [Y/n] would undoubtedly try and bother her co-workers to no end just for entertainment. But, she knows that the group wanted nothing more than to relax from a hectic day of work. Even the girl felt so tired from a few hours of shooting and other things that needed to be done. And that's why she decided to take a break and find ways to ease her boredom.

"Maybe I could find some fan art..." she murmured to herself, proceeding to open a specific app.

Despite its popularity, Lord of Heroes doesn't have that many people who know the game. Of course, it has a respectable fanbase but outside of it, not many would even know what it is. Although it upsets the girl that there is not a lot of fan fiction written about the game, she's still glad that there's a lot of fan art she could go by.

Opening her Pinterest first, she typed in Lord of Heroes and pressed search. After a second, her screen was flooded with various illustrations of familiar faces. A smile emerged on her face at that, ready to dive into the rabbit hole that is Pinterest.

Since the app has many pictures coming from other websites, there's a lot to go by and one could get lost in the many related pictures and pins of the app. [Y/n] was sure that she wouldn't be able to see every fan art there was and would come upon the same illustration a couple of times. However, if she could get lucky, she would discover completely unexpected fan art of certain characters.

[Y/n] would let out a light chuckle or grin widely while scrolling through Pinterest, a faint pink hue smeared across her cheeks. Just seeing fan art of herself coupled with other characters made her heart swell, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she tried to control her fangirling.

Curious by her constant chuckling and murmuring, the pink-haired man tilted his head in her direction, trying to see what is she busying herself on her phone. Joshua shifted in his seat, inching closer to the girl which caught her attention.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice a bit hoarse from not speaking for a while.

At his inquiry, the girl just grinned, showing him what was on her phone. "Oh, nothing much. Just looking at some fanart of us."

"Hm... I see."

"Huh... There's a lot of fan art about Joshua," the girl slightly turned her head towards the pink-haired man beside her, her cheeks almost touching his. Soon, she smiled. "You must be loved by everyone, huh?"

Joshua's roseate orbs glanced at her from the corner of his eye. One end of his lips curved upward into a minuscule smile, expression softening. The closeness didn't bother him, instead, it provided a gentle warmth that he thoroughly enjoyed.

"I'm pretty sure you have a lot more fan art than me," he claimed, pointing at her screen. "See? There's three fan art of your character already."

"You're right," she tittered, feeling jittery from the man's words. "Everyone loves me~"

The girl returned to her admiring soon after. Most of the time, she would find various fan art of a singular character, other times, she would find character shipping or even a story-styled illustration. Most of the solo character fan art she would see was all laced with some sort of story if it was not just a simple illustration of the character.

She would notice this pattern with characters that have some sort of a tragic backstory such as the monarch, Joshua, Johan, and others. There's even various sad and tragic fan art about her in-game character which made her heart thump in pain. Nonetheless, she enjoyed seeing such a backstory being portrayed in a wonderful illustration made by their fans.

"These fan art will make me cry..."

Deciding not to stare any longer at somber fan art, the girl then moved on and scrolled through other fan art. After a while of scrolling and pictures repeating, the [h/c]ette then went to Twitter, where all LOH fan artists would post their work. Using the tag to easily sort through many tweets, [Y/n] finally found what she was looking for. And oh boy, she wasn't ready to find out what was waiting for her...

"I know that there will be a couple of NSFW fan art but I didn't expect this..."

The girl's eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape as she stared at her screen, dumbfounded. She resisted the urge to laugh out loud or even let out a squeal from what she just saw. One user made a sketch of the female monarch — her older sister — and Kartis... Both naked.

Both of them were in side view. The illustration didn't show any of their private parts as Zelda was holding what seemed to be a blanket to cover her body, while Kartis' leg covered his. [Y/n] read the speech bubbles on the illustration and had to purse her lips just to ensure that she wouldn't burst out laughing.

"Are you alright, [Y/n]? Your expression keeps changing every second."

The girl jolted in surprise at Johan's sudden voice, her heart rate fluctuated in that moment. Furthermore, she almost let her phone slip from her grasp. With a red hue masking her entire face, she faced the man sheepishly. Johan tilted his head in confusion, but a faint concern flashed over his facade.

"I-I'm fine, Johan... You just surprised me," she replied to his previous question, rubbing her flushed cheek and trying to reassure the man. "And I was just admiring some fan art on my phone..."

"Fan art, huh..." he mused. After a while, he placed a bookmark in his book and closed it. Setting it on the table, he then gave her his full attention, curious about the reason why [Y/n] was acting this way. "Can I also see some?"

"Mhm! Sure, just give me a moment," she beamed before hurriedly tapping away from Twitter to find a safe and not-so-suggestive fan art of her friends.

Going back to Pinterest for the sake of multiple pictures shown at once, the girl ensured that there was nothing inappropriate coming up in the feed to show her colleague. Then, she moved closer to Johan and gave him her device, allowing him to admire the fan art at his own pace.

"Wow... There's a lot of talented artists making beautiful fan art," he marveled, dark gray pools sparkling in awe.

His comment made the girl grin, leaning against his shoulder to try and see as well. "Hehe~ I know, right?"

The two continued scrolling through the app, admiring each fan art and discussing the content of it. So far, everything was good and the fan art they encountered was adorable and brought a warm feeling to both. Johan would also emit a couple of chuckles here and there when seeing funny fan art featuring himself and others.

However, the wholesome fan art admiration session quickly turned into something else instead... Accidentally going through related pin after pin, Johan eventually found the dark side of the fan art community — the shipping and obscene imagining of their favorite characters.

A deep red hue flushed Johan's cheeks, his dark gray hues widening a bit as he stared at the image on the phone. "...Is this what others draw us as?"

One look at his flustered expression told [Y/n] everything. Although it was unfortunate that she couldn't save the man from the dark side of the fandom community, she knew that Johan wouldn't be insulted or even change his views on his fans. After all, it is inevitable since they're actors in this industry.

The corner of her lips curved up, sending him an apologetic look. "Unfortunately, a lot of our fans are heavy shippers. So this is just the tip of the iceberg."

"I see..."

"The most popular ships are about the monarchs since they can be shipped with almost everyone," she informed, puckering her lips while still looking at the screen. "Then second was me, then there's some select shipping that is exclusive to certain pairs but is nonetheless still very popular."

"Let me guess, I'm one of those selected ships," Johan said, glancing down at her to hear her answers.

"Yup! You're mostly shipped with big bro and big sis since that's an obvious choice," she playfully rolled her eyes. "Then second would our ship, then you and Joshua. Though, since there's a lot of fujoshi and fudanshi in the community, your ship with Joshua topped everything."

He sighed. Nonetheless, a small smile appeared on his lips. "I see..."

"What are you two talking about?" Joshua's voice chimed into the conversation when he heard his name being called.

"Oh, nothing much. Just about your ship with Johan and the multiple fan arts made because of it~" [Y/n] chirped, her bright disposition contrasting the pinkette's dumbfounded visage.

"Ooh~ Fan arts?" soon, Astrid's cheery voice joined in as well. The three turned in her direction as she strode towards them. A large grin emerged on her lips, eyes fixated on the phone in Johan's hold. "I see that [Y/n] introduced you to our fan arts."

"Well, he let the curiosity get the best of him," the younger actress snickered.

"It's been a while since I saw any fan art of myself~ Lemme see if there's any addition to Lord X Astrid or [Y/n] X Astrid~"

[Y/n] chuckled. "Oh boy, you would be surprised by how many fan art ships I have with almost everyone."

"Eh~? I see~" Astrid squinted her eyes, her lips forming into a smirk.

When Astrid decided to join and look for fan art in [Y/n]'s phone, one by one, everyone in the room got curious about the whole ordeal and asked about it. Despite not wanting to expose her friends and colleagues about the fan art situation, the [h/c]ette actress can't help but watch from the sidelines as the others consciously decide to take this particular rabbit hole trip.

And to witness their various reactions to discovering who they were shipped with and some provocative illustrations was such a sight to behold... [Y/n] just hoped that those images wouldn't scar them for quite some time...

[tartagla-archived]

" we should fight. again. um. if you want? " she's bad at this romance thing. \ hi tartag have ur stupid not - yet - wife, lumine.

ㅤㅤ❛❛ huh .. you want to fight again .. ? ❜❜ he tilts his head , he's not against it really . sparring with lumine was always a fun challenge and almost always ended up with them exhausted and laughing after with no clear winner .

ㅤㅤhe coudln't lie and say he didn't love that .

ㅤㅤ❛❛ if you want , sure . you know i'm always up to have an excuse to spend time with you lumi . even if it's sparring . ❜❜

ㅤㅤit wasn't the best excuse to spend time with her , he could probably just ask her to hang out - maybe take her out to lunch or something but he could never bring himself to say that out loud .

[phoenix-d-shunko]

Whispering Inferno, Part 12

Sick so the quality might be a little...heh.

In the dimly lit alleyways of the city, the shadows danced eerily as Zeke, known as the Cimmerian in the world of supervillains, fixed a menacing glare on the fake headquarters of the hero agency. The narrow alley, adorned with graffiti-covered walls, echoed with the distant sounds of the city nightlife. Unbeknownst to Zeke's legions, the structure before him was a clever ruse, designed to minimize collateral damage while still appeasing the bloodthirsty desires of those who admired his destructive prowess.

As Zeke approached the fake hero agency headquarters, the night air crackled with tension, and the distant hum of traffic added an urban soundtrack to the impending confrontation. His eyes glowed with a fiery intensity, revealing the storm of emotions within. Grant, a shadowy figure with a knack for gathering information, whispered strategic insights into Zeke's ear, the secrets shared amidst the ambient sounds of the city.

"They're here, My Lord. Galeon's squad is formidable, but we have the element of surprise," Grant murmured into the concealed communication device, his voice calculated and precise, weaving seamlessly into the night.

"I guess I'll play with them before I make them do what I want... but then it's that arrogant fool," Zeke muttered, his frustration mingling with the cool breeze that swept through the alley.

Meanwhile, inside the hero agency's fake headquarters, Galeon, the charismatic leader of the superhero squad, gathered the team. The room's artificial lighting cast a stark contrast to the dark streets outside, and the air was charged with a mix of anticipation and apprehension.

"We divide into three. Team 1 - Tempisol, Citlalin, and Cor Magia, you're with me. We'll weaken him to the best of our capabilities. Team 2 will step in only if we need backup. Ama, Cruift. Bring Valorian and Nocturna's clones with you. With that, we'll have a good number of hitters and support with healers. That should take care of Cimmerian. We'll hit them in the heart, and that should make those scum retreat," Galeon directed, his voice a rallying call in the confined space.

"You're taking him way too lightly. It's the Cimmerian. There's going to be way more damage. And even if these buildings are fake, they still do have people in them," Amateral spat out in anger, her frustration at Galeon's arrogance palpable. The room's atmosphere tightened with the tension between the two leaders.

"Then form a team 3 and let Stella, Psyren, sound kid, and Lumi help with the boring stuff. It'll make the newbies look good in papers too," Cruift added with a smirk, the subtle insinuation hanging in the air. The "newbies" swallowed their pride, resigned to their assigned roles.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Team 1, follow me." Galeon's confidence resonated as he led her team into the dark streets turned battlefield. The Cimmerian stood alone, a silhouette against the backdrop of the city's night. The fact that he stood unaccompanied irritated Galeon deeply.

"You'll need more people if you want to storm the agency." Galeon's steely gaze met Zeke's, his declaration hanging in the air like a challenge.

"Hmm, I don't see anyone worthy enough of trying to stop me," Cimmerian mused, reveling in the ease with which Galeon played into his hands.

"You'll know it after this hits you!" Galeon boomed, the skies tearing apart instantly, making way for a lightning bolt that crackled around Zeke, engulfing him. Galeon had orchestrated the move perfectly. Perfectly for him.

"Now to deal with the biggest threat here," Zeke muttered, his movements swift and purposeful. In one fluid motion, he dove towards Tempisol, charging with Galeon's lightning and impaling him in the stomach.

"Surprised, Galeon? Faraday cage, remember?" Zeke's cold voice cut through the chaos, the revelation leaving Galeon stunned. The reports about Cimmerian's lethality in anger were proving accurate.

"Can't ever forget that annoying trick of yours," Galeon bit back, attempting to regain composure. But his brave façade faltered as he found himself unable to move.

Citlalin, sensing Galeon's hesitation, summoned a crystal binding on the Cimmerian. Simultaneously, Cor Magia attempted to heal Tempisol, only to realize the emotional turmoil within him.

"I can't... do it... he's... he's The Cimmerian is so filled with anger... I can't help but produce venom!!... I'll poison Tempisol if I try healing him with a potion now!" Cor Magia's almost desperate cry resonated in the room, his emotional vulnerability laid bare.

Citlalin, aware of Cor Magia's susceptibility to emotions, doubled the thickness of his bounds for good measure. The atmosphere in the room was thick with a cocktail of fear and determination.

"At least someone's rightfully scared," Cimmerian taunted, his enjoyment of the situation evident in his tone.

"It's not the only thing I'll do," Citlalin replied, launching a barrage of crystal shards at the Cimmerian. Galeon, breaking out of his fear-induced halt, conjured wind blades and fired them from all angles.

However, the Cimmerian effortlessly blocked every assault, his hands bound with an unsettling ease that frustrated Citlalin and fueled Galeon's anger.

"This got boring too quick," Cimmerian yawned teasingly. "Let's get to the point, shall we?" With one quick motion, Citlalin's bounds shattered into tiny, glittering pieces. In the next second, Galeon found himself pinned by the shoulder using a massive skewer, and Citlalin was pushed to the ground, skewers sticking out in all directions.

"Now, I'm not here for you, Galeon. Bring me Incendra, and your squad can walk away intact," Cimmerian walked menacingly towards a writhing Galeon.

"I don't care what you want me to do. I'm not doing it," Galeon retorted defiantly.

"Could you not be stupid for once? I'm giving your squad a chance to walk away free. I'm asking so little of you," Cimmerian retorted, frustration tinging his tone.

Galeon looked away in protest, prompting Cimmerian to seize the opportunity and grab Galeon's comms.

"Seriously, Ama, you gave up squad leadership to this?" With that, he took the comms and smashed it into pieces in his fist.

"Galeon..." A small voice cried out, breaking through the chaos. Both the Cimmerian and Galeon whipped their heads around to see who it was.

"Do... what he says... he's too angry..." It was Cor Magia, his form huddled in a corner, emotionally shocked.

"What? No! Why should I listen to you? You idiot. You didn't even do anything," Galeon blurted out, offended that a squad member had dared to look down on him.

"... no... Nooooo... you made him angrier..." Galeon whipped his head back to see a snarling Cimmerian.

"He's right... you're scum. Hero? You? What a wicked joke. It's people like you... like you who leave injured civilians behind... like her, like that Incendra. You defeat the very purpose you seem to stand for!" Zeke wanted to knock the daylights out of Galeon, making his gauntlet heavier, wanting to leave a mark. A mark that would remind Galeon that even a villain took him for scum for ages to come. But at the very last moment, he felt his fist being held back. It was a strand of sunshine, melting his gauntlet off, slowly.

Amateral.

[miloscat]

[Review] Child of Eden (PS3)

The cooler Rez.

After United Game Artists (the studio behind Rez) was dissolved into Sonic Team, Tetsuya Mizuguchi left Sega and founded Q Entertainment. They made other games with his signature flashy light show style, like Lumines and Every Extend, but in 2011 they followed up his original "synaesthetic" game with another rail shooter, Child of Eden. If you ask me it's a more successful expression of Rez's aims, and a more engaging shooter as well.

In addition to Rez's eight-target homing shot (which can now get multiple locks on stronger enemies like Kachi's shot in Sin & Punishment 2), there's a new rapid-fire shot which is specifically for destroying projectiles and damaging certain enemies. A strong use of colour coding helps with gameplay readability, so it's clear when there are hazards to shoot down or targets to lock on to, and responding with the right choice of weapon is satisfying. There's also a score multiplier system that turns CoE into a true rhythm hybrid game, as you're rewarded with a score combo when you get full target locks that are released to the beat of the backing track.

You will want to get good scores as this grants you stars which are necessary to unlock new levels. Again there are only five, plus a unique bonus marathon challenge unlocked after you clear them; I couldn't get more than a third of the way through this but it's a nice extra that hearkens back to Rez's more abstracted visual style. Luckily the unlock stars are cumulative, so you don't have to perfect stages to open up later ones, simply play them through a few times. This felt like a chore at first but I did get into improving my score as I flew through the rich virtual environments.

While the setting is similar to Rez (a cyberspace world vaguely under attack, an avatar character to save) the levels have memorably stronger theming, such as evolution or technology, and the bump in console generation certainly helps to make more fleshed-out and visually impressive worlds and setpieces. I also found the music landed better with more of a pop and vocal tinge, especially given the story.

You see, Child of Eden is something of a tie-in to Mizuguchi's house-pop band Genki Rockets, who needless to say handled the soundtrack. Their virtual frontwoman Lumi, played in their shows and this game by Rei Yasuda, is the central character, an AI recreation of a woman born in the far-future year of 2019. Lumi has a constant presence in the game as a live-action integrated FMV character, appearing on menu screens, in gameplay, and in the intro movie as a white-dress-clad personality-less object of innocence soon imperilled.

I'm not keen on the damsel-in-distress imagery, and I thought the concept would have landed better if she had been rendered in the cool sketchy "Take On Me" rotoscope style as seen in the unlockable music videos (well, you can only watch partial clips of them in the gallery, for some strange reason...). Either way, she provides a central figure to hang the game around which works well enough, especially because the implied player character has reduced presence as the game is presented from the first person perspective.

While I was underwhelmed by Rez, I found Child of Eden genuinely impressive; it actually is what I was hoping that Rez would be. It's a shame that it's now a lot less accessible than Rez. I suppose it's also worth mentioning that just as Rez Infinite has its VR support, Child of Eden is compatible with the flash-in-the-pan 3DTV technology, as well as having optional Playstation Move motion controls, which seems like it would work pretty well (the 360 version instead has Kinect support, which probably doesn't work as well). I still found it plenty immersive without the gimmicks, playing on a 2D telly with a stock Dualshock 3. Good stuff.

[artsyaech]

I love themed neopronouns lists! If you’re taking requests, could you do one about like, clear and/or iridescent colors? Thanks!

this was a fun challenge, hope you like these

clear/clears/clearself

lucid/lucids/lucidself

vivid/vivids/vividself

light/lights/lightself

fair/fairs/fairself

luculent/luculents/luculentself

pellucid/pellucids/pellucidself

cloud/clouds/cloudself

lumi/lumis/lumiself

hue/hues/hueself

ochre/ochres/ochreself

mauve/mauves/mauveself

lurid/lurids/luridself

iris/irises/irisself

prism/prisms/prismself

[lumyart]

“i'm a bit tired of having to edit 10-20k chapters” maybe you could take it as a writing challenge! you know like you did with improving your writing?? maybe you can focus on writing just 5k-7k chapters the challenge being your ability to say more in less yada yada?? just an idea i love your writing and the way you push yourself and your desire to be better so… yeah. also i very very personally think your shorter chapters are usually richer for some reason?? so maybe that’s the right path dear lumy! good luck 🖤✨

that's exactly what i'm doing with OoS, yes! told myself i would only write chapters between 5-7k and started outlining all of my chapters very precisely with less content but (i hope) better written scenes, and for now it's been going really well😊 i don't mind writing very long chapters, love it even, but because i usually write a lot faster when i'm doing it my writing obviously loses quality

i think that's why i love writing OoS so much, and because i'm trying to improve while writing, not only is the editing shorter because the word count is, but also because there’s just less things to modify😊

i'm happy it's working because i spent literal years trying to write shorter fics/chapters and always failed so😭❤️

[jcmarchi]

Inclusive Governance: How Generative AI is Making Public Services Accessible to All

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/inclusive-governance-how-generative-ai-is-making-public-services-accessible-to-all/

Inclusive Governance: How Generative AI is Making Public Services Accessible to All

While the public sector continues to evolve with advancing technology, its core objective remains unchanged: ensuring that all citizens, regardless of socio-economic status, physical abilities, or geographic location, have equal access to public services. This objective, commonly known as inclusive governance, has led the sector to continually embrace advanced technologies to improve citizen engagement, streamline operations, and make informed decisions. In the 1990s, the advent of the internet led the public sector to adopt e-government, making public services available online and allowing governments to interact with citizens through websites. Today, generative AI is taking on a similar transformative role, changing how users interact with services, offering personalized experiences, improving accessibility and streamlining the workplaces. Recognizing its potential, the public sector is increasingly investing in generative AI, with productivity gains estimated to reach $1.75 trillion annually by 2033, according to BCG. This article explores how generative AI is shaping the future of public services and advancing the goals of inclusive governance.

Enhancing Accessibility

Generative AI is making public services more accessible by reducing the barriers that have long affected marginalized and underserved communities. Traditional public service models often struggle to reach these groups due to a lack of personalized assistance, language barriers, and challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. Generative AI is helping address these issues in several ways:

Generative AI-powered tools like chatbots and virtual assistants are providing personalized support, making it easier for people to navigate complex bureaucratic systems. For example, in Heidelberg, Germany, the city has introduced Lumi, a chatbot that assists citizens and visitors with various inquiries, from changing addresses to getting information on waste collection. Lumi pulls from publicly available city data and improves over time based on user interactions.

Generative AI-powered translation tools are also removing language barriers, ensuring that non-native speakers can access important information and services in their preferred language. This is especially important in multicultural societies where language diversity is significant. For instance, the cities of Stockton and Fairfield in California have introduced a translation tool that residents can use via mobile or web channels, allowing them to communicate with local governments in 71 languages through Amazon Translate. In India, the Jugalbandi project uses generative AI-powered chatbots on WhatsApp and Telegram to help rural residents access government services in their own languages. These chatbots can respond in both text and speech, currently supporting 10 languages and covering 171 government programs, making it easier for citizens to get the information they need.

Generative AI-driven assistive technologies are also improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities. This is vital as in 2023, people with at least one disability made up 13 percent of the U.S. population, and their participation in the workforce increased from 21.3 to 22.5 percent between 2022 and 2023. To support these individuals, the U.S. Department of Justice recently issued guidelines requiring state and local governments to ensure their websites and mobile apps are accessible. Organizations are responding by developing generative AI-powered screen readers like VoiceOver for iOS and TalkBack for Android, allowing visually impaired individuals to navigate government websites and access information more independently.

Enhancing Citizen Engagement

Besides accessibility, another crucial aspect of inclusive governance is to establish an effective engagement with the citizens. Government organizations handle a wide range of functions, from public health initiatives to tourism promotion. When citizens contact agencies with inquiries, human agents often face the challenge of quickly finding and summarizing this data, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. This can sometimes fall short of citizens’ expectations for effective and engaging interactions.

Generative AI-powered virtual assistants are helping to address these challenges by providing personalized responses to citizen inquiries. For example, EMMA is a chatbot developed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Department of Homeland Security. EMMA assists users with a range of services, including immigration, green cards, and passports, and supports both English and Spanish. The English version even allows for voice interactions, guiding users through the website. EMMA handles around 1 million interactions each month, showing its value in improving citizen engagement.

Similarly, the Australian Government uses a chatbot named Alex to help individuals and businesses with tax-related issues, like property rights, income, deductions, and filing returns. Alex efficiently directs users to relevant content, saving time and improving the overall user experience.

Making Inclusive Decision

A key aspect of inclusive governance is fair and unbiased decision-making irrespective of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or personal connections of citizens. Generative AI is helping public sector in making inclusive decisions. One notable example of inclusive decision-making in the public sector is the growing use of generative AI-powered automated recruitment process. This system screen resumes and applications in a way that minimizes human bias. By hiding personal details and focusing solely on relevant qualifications and experience, generative AI helps to ensure that all candidates are evaluated based on their merit alone.

For instance, New York City’s use of generative AI-driven recruitment platforms has led to a more diverse pool of candidates by standardizing evaluations and removing personal identifiers. Similarly, the UK’s Civil Service uses AI to filter applications and assess diversity, which improves the fairness of its hiring practices.

Developing Inclusive Policies

Generative AI is transforming policy development by enabling a more inclusive approach through data analysis. By examining extensive datasets, AI helps identify the needs and preferences of various population groups, ensuring that policies reflect the interests of all citizens and lead to more equitable outcomes.

For example, the City of Los Angeles utilizes AI-driven analytics to better understand community needs and optimize resource allocation. By analyzing data related to housing, transportation, and public health, the city can make informed decisions that address the requirements of its diverse and often marginalized populations.

Similarly, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) leverages generative AI to forecast patient demand for healthcare services. This analysis of patient data and trends allows the NHS to allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that vulnerable groups receive the timely care they need.

Ensuring Responsible Use of Generative AI in Public Sector

While generative AI holds immense potential for transforming public sector, it must be used responsibly to ensure that this technology benefits all citizens fairly and equitably. To achieve this, public sector agencies are crafting policies that address these challenges. Examples of such policies include the EU’s AI Act, which aims to regulate high-risk AI applications, and the U.S. Algorithmic Accountability Act, which focuses on transparency and fairness in AI systems. Some key guidelines of these policies are:

Ensure Transparency and Explainability: Generative AI systems should be designed to operate transparently. This requires providing clear explanations of how generative AI make decisions and ensuring that their processes are understandable to non-experts. Transparency helps build trust and allows citizens to comprehend how and why decisions are made.

Ensure Fairness and Unbiasedness: Generative AI systems can inadvertently perpetuate or amplify biases present in the data they are trained on. To mitigate this risk, it is important to regularly evaluate AI models for potential biases and take corrective measures to address any identified issues.

Prioritize Data Privacy and Security: A major challenge in implementing generative AI in the public sector is ensuring the security of sensitive data. Public sector data is often highly sensitive and must be always protected. To effectively use generative AI, it is crucial to ensure that data privacy and security measures are rigorously maintained.

Fostering Accountability: Accountability is a crucial aspect of using generative AI in promoting inclusive governance. This includes setting up independent bodies or committees to monitor the deployment and effects of AI systems. It also involves creating feedback channels for the public to ensure that community input leads to necessary adjustments and improvements.

The Bottom Line

Generative AI is transforming the public sector by enhancing accessibility, improving citizen engagement, and fostering inclusive decision-making. Its ability to provide personalized support, overcome language barriers, and assist those with disabilities makes public services more equitable and efficient. As public sector agencies increasingly integrate generative AI, they must navigate challenges related to transparency, fairness, and data security. Responsible implementation, guided by robust policies and ethical standards, is essential to ensuring that generative AI truly advances the goal of inclusive governance, making services more accessible and equitable for all citizens.

[lumimatrimony]

Finding Love Across Borders: International Matches on Lumi Matrimony

In today’s globalized world, love knows no boundaries. With more people traveling, studying, and working abroad, international relationships are becoming increasingly common. For those seeking meaningful connections across borders, Lumi Matrimony, the best free matrimony app in India, is making it easier than ever to find love across continents.

The Rise of International Matches

As more Indians move abroad for education, work, or personal reasons, the demand for matrimony services that cater to international matches has surged. Lumi Matrimony stands out among matrimony sites by offering a platform that connects users globally, helping them find compatible partners, whether they’re in India or anywhere else in the world.

Lumi Matrimony understands the unique challenges of finding love internationally. Language barriers, cultural differences, and time zone gaps can make the process daunting. But with Lumi’s advanced features, including multi-language support and location-based matching, these hurdles become manageable, allowing love to flourish regardless of distance.

Why Lumi Matrimony is the Preferred Choice for International Matches

Lumi Matrimony isn’t just another online matrimonial site; it’s a comprehensive platform designed with the user’s needs in mind. Here’s why it’s the preferred choice for international matches:

Global Reach: Lumi’s extensive network spans across countries, making it easy for users to connect with potential partners around the world. Whether you’re in New York, London, or Dubai, Lumi brings global connections to your fingertips.

User-Friendly Interface: Lumi’s intuitive design ensures a seamless experience, allowing users to navigate the app with ease, search for profiles, and start meaningful conversations, regardless of where they are.

Cultural Sensitivity: Understanding and respecting cultural differences is crucial in international relationships. Lumi offers tailored matching that considers cultural backgrounds, ensuring more harmonious connections.

Safety and Security: Lumi prioritizes user safety with robust verification processes, ensuring that all profiles are genuine. This is particularly important for international matches, where trust is key.

Free Access: Lumi is one of the best free matrimony apps in India, offering premium features at no cost. This includes a free chat option, allowing users to connect and communicate with potential matches without any financial barriers. This makes Lumi accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or financial situation.

Tips for Finding Love Across Borders on Lumi Matrimony

Be Open-Minded: When seeking an international match, be open to different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. This openness can lead to more meaningful connections.

Explore Advanced Filters: Lumi offers advanced search filters that allow you to narrow down potential matches based on specific criteria like location, interests, and lifestyle preferences. Utilize these filters to find partners who align with your ideal match criteria.

Consider Time Zones: Communication is key in any relationship, but it’s especially important in international ones. Be mindful of time zone differences to maintain regular contact.

Trust Lumi’s Matching Algorithm: Lumi’s advanced algorithm takes into account various factors like cultural background, interests, and lifestyle preferences to suggest the best matches.

Conclusion

Finding love across borders may seem challenging, but with the right platform, it’s entirely possible. Lumi Matrimony, the free matrimony app in India, is designed to help you navigate these challenges, offering a safe, secure, and user-friendly environment for finding your perfect match, no matter where they are in the world. Additionally, Lumi provides a single contact purchase feature at just ₹199, making it even easier to connect with potential partners. Whether you’re looking for a partner in your hometown or halfway across the globe, Lumi Matrimony is the free matrimony app that brings love closer to you. Join today and start your journey towards finding love without boundaries.

The article "Finding Love Across Borders: International Matches on Lumi Matrimony" originally Published on Quora

[tidalshores]

I decided to take on pencilcat's Improvement Hell challenge today! Or, well, starting today, at least. I think I'd implode trying to do all 30 prompts in 24 hours, heh. (Er, significantly less than 24 hours now, given the day's almost over for me lol) This is my Day 1 drawing! The prompt said to draw a self-portrait, but I don't really feel comfortable putting my face up on the internet, even if it's just a drawing. Or, um, even if no one actually sees it. ...So instead of a portrait of my physical self, I decided to just draw my fursona lol So, with that said, this is Lumi! She's essentially supposed to be a night light in the form of a soft, huggable kobold companion, designed to be a friend to help comfort those who are scared of the dark. I love her to bits. And I think she represents more about me than my reflection ever could :) Genuinely excited to get started on this challenge though! I've never done one of these 30-day prompt thingies before but I've always wanted to! I may take a little longer than 30 days, but I'll try my best regardless ^-^ It's about the journey anyways, so like... fuck it.

[cute-victini]

The Disney Princess Challenge

Gen 1 - Snow White (part 4)

Just a pregnant mother taking care of her baby. She gave birth to her 3 child, but I forgot to take picture🥲. But is a boy name Henry. Who also aged up to an infant.

The twins aged to toddlers. Something funny/interesting happen when they aged up, their eyes are becoming 2 tones. Cinderella is blue/black while Florian is green/black.

They are Best Friends 😃🥰 so Cute!!!

She gave birth again. Is a baby girl named Lumi, who is now an infant, while baby Henry aged up to a toddler. And it happened again when Snow's kids aged to toddler they have an extra colour for their eyes, Henry has now one eyes green like is brother and the other black, like the parents.

She was promoted on her work, and has another baby boy call Phillip.

She is now 3/4 of her aspiration 5/7 children The Twins are with they toddlers skill all 3 - 5 She is still a YA but will be an Adult in “3 weeks”

LAST || NEXT

[fluidbydigitalcanvas]

Pixel Lights

Expoziție de artă digitală

[RO]

Expoziția Pixel Lights oferă o perspectivă sumară asupra realității digital(izat)e a unei tinere generații de artiști. Acceptând provocarea de a arăta cum 1 și 0 le modelează lumi, cele 8 lucrări selectate vorbesc despre un schimb continuu între fizic și virtual, dar și între trecut și prezent, memorie și realitate, emoționalitate și raționalitate.

Pixelii, mai mult decât un instrument de exprimare, devin un instrument de distorsiune și mutație, exprimă vise și anxietăți legate de realitatea post-digitală a artiștilor și spun povești codificate despre anticipare, luptă, conexiuni.

Lucrările creează un dialog coerent, un context fluid în care publicul este încurajat să intre în dialog, să înțeleagă această nouă realitate și să ia o poziție activă. Mai mult decât o concluzie finală, expoziția dezvăluie un proces în devenire, construit pe baza întrebărilor tinerilor artiști despre identitate digitală, despre reflectarea trecutului în imaginarul colectiv actual, despre relațiile post-digitale și despre modul în care se conectează unii cu celălalți sau despre cum să-și navigheze anxietățile digitale.

Artiști selectați:

Teodora Cernescu

Diana Chiru

Dragoș Dogioiu

Alexandru Daniel Florea

Denis Flueraru 

Nicoleta Mureș

Mara Oglakci

Adrian Oncu

Pixel Lights este parte din Fluid, proiect organizat de artouching în colaborare cu Marginal, în cadrul programului cultural național Timișoara - Capitală Europeană a Culturii în anul 2023 și finanțat prin programul Opening+, derulat de Centrul de Proiecte al Municipiului Timișoara, cu sume alocate de la bugetul de stat, prin bugetul Ministerului Culturii.

artouching (www.artouching.com) este un studio de artă și design din Timișoara, de tip artist run space, creat de Livia Mateiaș și Marius Jurca. Are ca obiectiv crearea de experiențe Heartouching, mai exact experiențe care să atingă sufletul participanților. Folosim arta și designul ca forme de expresie pentru a aduce valoare oamenilor, produselor și societății.

DIGITAL:CANVAS\ este un spatiu alternativ, dezvoltat în cadrul studioului artouching. Găzduiește evenimente de tip one day show - expoziții solo, expoziții de grup, artist talk-uri, workshop-uri sau performace-uri audio-vizuale în care arta, tehnologia și știința se întrepătrund într-un mod inedit.

Marginal (www.marginal.ro) este o organizație non-profit din București, care funcționează ca o platformă transdisciplinară pentru susținerea, promovarea și extinderea rețelelor de colaborare între artiști și agenți din alte domenii, cu accent pe științe umaniste și cu implicații din zona științei și tehnologiei în structurile social-culturale contemporane.

Parteneri: Facultatea de Arte și Design din cadrul Universității de Vest Timișoara; UNArte - Universitatea Națională de Arte București, Uniunea Artiștilor Plastici Filiala Timișoara

Parteneri Media: Ornella Studio Design, Vivo Media, Propagarta, Radio România Cultural, Tvr Timișoara, Radio Timișoara

[EN]

The Pixel Lights exhibition offers a glimpse into the digital(ized) reality of a young generation of artists. Taking on the challenge of showing how 1s and 0s shape their world, the 8 selected works talk about a continuous exchange between physical and virtual, but also between past and present, memory and reality, emotionality and rationality. 

Pixels, more than a tool for expression, become a tool for distorsion and mutation, expressing dreams and anxieties related to their post-digital reality and telling coded stories about anticipation, struggle, connections. 

The works create a coherent dialogue, a fluid and blue-tinted context where the public is encouraged to come into dialogue, to understand this new reality and to take a stace. More thanthen a final conclusion, the exhibition reveals a process in the making, built upon the young artists' questions about digital identity, about the reflection of the past in their collective imaginary, about post digital relationships and how they connect to each other or about how to navigate their digital anxieties.

Selected artists:

Teodora Cernescu

Diana Chiru

Dragoș Dogioiu

Alexandru Daniel Florea

Denis Flueraru 

Nicoleta Mureș

Mara Oglakci

Adrian Oncu

Pixel Lights is part of Fluid, project organised by artouching in collab with Marginal, in the framework of Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023 and funded through the program Opening+, run by the Projects Center of Timișoara, with amounts allocated from the state budget, through the Ministry of Culture.

artouching (www.artouching.com) is an artist-run studio from Timișoara RO, created by Livia Mateiaș and Marius Jurca. Its main objective is to create hearttouching experiences, more precisely experiences that touch the soul of the participants. We use art and design as forms of expression to bring value to people, products and society. DIGITAL:CANVAS\ is an alternative space, developed within the framework of artouching. It hosts one day show events - solo or group exhibitions, artist talks, workshops or audio-visual performances where art, technology and science intertwine in a unique way.

Marginal (www.marginal.ro) is a non-profit organisation from Bucharest RO, that functions as a transdisciplinary platform to support, promote and expand collaboration networks between artists and agents from other fields, with focus on the humanities and the implications of science and technology in contemporary social-cultural structures.

Partners: The Art and Design University (within UVT - The West University Timisoara), UNArte - the National University of Arts Bucharest

Media partners: Ornella Studio Design, Vivo Media, Propagarta, Radio Romania Cultural, Tvr Timișoara, Radio Timișoara

[jasminesilk]

Safira brought a stray dog home and her parents actually let her keep it! She named her Shark and they are already besties.

[david-talks-sw]

Random train of thought on mentors, protagonists, “Weapons Factory” and “Old Friends Not Forgotten”

I wrote this ‘bout half a year ago, and even then, the “Weapons Factory” episode has plenty of amazing meta written about it on Tumblr. Finally decided to update and post it when I noticed something while rewatching Season 7. For other takes on this subject, check out these: Lumi’s meta on “Weapon’s Factory”. JediMasterBailey’s meta on “Weapons Factory”.

Wrong protagonists & the mentor archetype

Stories gotta have conflict. “Character wants something and something is in their way so they need to overcome that obstacle in order to get what they want.”

Good way to have conflict in your story is giving your protagonist a flaw they need to overcome.

Sometimes, that flaw is glaring, and the protagonist is outright wrong. When they realize they were wrong, we see that realization as a pay-off usually in a later scene. Examples of this in Star Wars:

From the moment he puts on the mask, Vader acts as if Anakin Skywalker is dead and there’s no way back for him from the darkness. When his son lays his life out on the line to save him, he realizes he must do the same to protect him and overcomes his inner darkness.

In TLJ, Luke firmly believes the Jedi should die out for the good of the galaxy. He realizes that’s a load of crap, and gets back in the fight.

Most of the time we see a Jedi Master... they’re not the protagonist. Usually, the protagonist is someone who isn’t a Jedi quite yet, someone young, who hasn’t arced yet, a learner.

So the archetype the Jedi fill more frequently is that of the wise mentor, someone who has already become the best version of themselves, and is now helping the protagonist with their arc.

The Jedi are Gandalf, Dumbledore, Jiminy Cricket... the voice of reason.

So, most of the time, when we’re seeing the Jedi (who strive to overcome their flaws), we’re seeing them from the eyes of flawed characters.

Like Anakin.

Anakin, Luminara & the lesson of “letting go”

Seeing as Anakin is our protagonist, he’s our lead POV character in most of the scenes we see the Jedi. We’re seeing events through his eyes.

And it’s easy to do because he’s flawed, and guess what, he’s emotional too… but we - the viewers - are also flawed and emotional. So any scene with him and the Jedi in it, we’re instantly gonna relate more to him than to the Jedi because we make an emotional connection with him.

He’s angry at the Jedi? If the writers do their job right, we’ll empathize and be angry too.

He feels they’re dispassionate and dogmatic? We will feel that too.

But if you look at things objectively... most of the time he’s in the wrong. Or at least he’s not following the rules correctly. And if he does learn, it’s temporary. After all, this is the guy who ends up becoming Vader. As Dave Filoni puts it:

“The challenge for us, creatively, is that unfortunately we can never solve any of [Anakin’s] problems fully. We can present them, we can start him to a path of understanding and hope that the audience understands that which the character of Anakin Skywalker cannot. That he can never take the final full step to being this more enlightened person, because he keeps getting pulled back down.” - Dave Filoni, 
The Clone Wars: 
“The Slaves of Zyggeria” video commentary, 2012

In this case, let’s take the Jedi rule of “letting go” of attachments.

In Anakin’s mind, “letting go” (accepting that there are things beyond your control ) is synonymous with “giving up”. Which isn’t the case, for a Jedi. To them, it’s a sign of maturity, not weakness or carelessness.

This is perfectly illustrated in the TCW episode “Weapons Factory”.

In the episode, Ahsoka and Barris are trapped beneath rubble, and are slowly dying from the lack of oxygen.

Above the ground, Anakin and Luminara search for them, but it’s pointless because the area to cover is large and they have no idea where the two Padawans are.

Like, here’s the facts:

They can sense that their Padawans are slowly dying beneath the debris.

Locating them is impossible.

None of the ships, troops and equipments will be able to dig around enough to find them in time.

The two Padawans are as good as dead, and whether they do make it out alive is beyond Anakin and Luminara’s control, and entirely up to the Padawans’ own resourcefulness.

And Anakin is basically getting angry at Luminara for prematurely mourning her apprentice, saying that she’s already given up on her Padawan, but he won’t give up on Ahsoka, no sir!

The interesting thing is that we feel what Anakin is saying, and most of the audience watching agrees with Anakin. Like, anybody I talk to about this episode remembers it as “oh yeah, Luminara didn’t give a fuck and was willing to let her Padawan die”:

But if you look at the scene objectively?

You can see that Luminara is very saddened by this.

But as opposed to Anakin, who is just pacing around going “what-do-I-do what-do-I-do what-do-I-do what-do-I-do”... she is getting ready to accept Barris’ sacrifice.

And Anakin hears this as “oh I’m just giving up and you should too”. When that’s not really the case. Anakin is completely right to care and to not give up on Ahsoka. But she’s talking about a completely different thing, they’re not on the same wavelength.

He’s talking about saving them... whereas she’s emotionally readying herself for the eventuality that they can’t. She’s not saying “stop looking for them”, she’s saying “it might not be enough”.

Again, those Padawans are as good as dead. Fact.

And then Ahsoka changes that fact by letting out that signal and letting them know that “yo, we’re here!”

Anakin and Luminara immediately and simultaneously go “oh shit they’re there!” and free them.

We even see Luminara react to the emerging Padawans before Anakin.

And that’s what a Jedi does.

She doesn’t shut out her emotions, so much as she looks at the facts and accepts them. The second the facts changed, she reacted at the same time as Anakin. The only difference was that she wasn’t losing her shit.

She isn’t talking about “giving up” or “not caring”, it’s about duty and pragmatism over hotheadedness. It’s about being ready to let go when there’s nothing else to do.

And one thing that I’d like to point out is that, while the episode is about having faith in your students, its narrative allows Luminara to make a fair point and get the last word.

Anakin may not understand it or agree with it, in this episode, but he soon will in the next season.

So, right there... the over-arching narrative is that Anakin has trouble letting go and accepting his own limits... and eventually he makes a meaningful first step towards being able to do that.

At the end of this post, there’s a quote where Lucas basically goes into the fact that, as a mentor, at some point the only thing you can do is hope you’ve trained your student the best you can, hope they’ll use your knowledge well, and let them go on their own path.

Anakin’s teachings got Ahsoka out of the rubble, on Geonosis.

Anakin’s teachings helped Ahsoka survive the Trandoshan hunters.

So not only were the mentor figures correct... slowly the protagonist is arcing and becoming one of them.

As mentioned before, though... it’s temporary. Overcoming your flaw doesn’t mean doing so forever.

The difference between this and Season 7

Skip to season 7, and we have another situation where the mentor figure is questioned:

But this time... the narrative doesn’t allow Obi-Wan to really make a meaningful point beyond “that’s not fair”.

In the dialogue, they acknowledge that Ahsoka isn’t trying to be, but we don’t see her come around to thinking “yeah, maybe I was childishly oversimplifying an incredibly complex situation”.

Just like Anakin in “Weapons Factory”, she’s emotionally framed as being morally right... but in this case, it’s left at that. There is no payoff, there is no realization, there is no moment of self-reflection.

She’s right, and that’s it.

And, lucky for her, the galaxy’s geo-political situation becomes much more black and white, following Order 66, so she’s not about to be put in as difficult a scenario as Obi-Wan and Anakin were, the day Coruscant was being attacked.

So... what changed?

Obi-Wan’s argument isn’t any less rational than Luminara’s or Plo Koon’s... yet for some reason we’re supposed to emotionally side with the irrational one? It feels a bit forced.

Am I missing something here? Why is the mentor framed as right before, but in Season 7, for seemingly no reason... they’re not?