#and probably indicated the limits of her writing tbh

[pynkhues]

What is your opinion on Shonda Rhimes as a writer like are you a fan of her work? What are your thoughts?

I like her overall. Funnily enough, I actually did a TV writing workshop last year and we read a few pilots in it including the Grey's Anatomy one, and honestly, that is a perfect hour of TV. The bible she created for the first season is also often used as a reference point in TV writing workshops because of how good it is too.

I think it's pretty impossible to deny her instincts when it comes to what makes compulsive TV. Even putting her own writing aside, shows she's produced like How to Get Away with Murder, Inventing Anna and, of course, Bridgerton, have all entered the pop culture zeitgeist in a way that frankly demonstrates that. I think other writers and producers would kill to have the runs on the board that she does, and I think that shows a real skill and intuitiveness on her part as both a creative person and as a strategic businesswoman.

Her writing itself though I do find varies pretty broadly. Inventing Anna was, I thought, a disaster both in the episode she wrote and the overall pacing and story, which reflects on her as showrunner (a bummer too, because I'd read the article literally the day in was released and was hyped for an adaptation!), but I thought the episodes she wrote for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story really showed her strength in getting to the heart of a relationship and her ability to deliver affecting stories in even the soapiest settings.

So yeah, I guess I'd say my opinion of her writing varies project to project, but I respect her position in the industry and have a lot of admiration for what she's built.

[fleur-magistrale]

I. Something about her:

I go by with Livvy Anasha Shaw, I like it when people call me; Livvy or more simply Ivy. It’s cute tbh. A passionate and introspective individual with an ESFJ personality type according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Born under the zodiac sign Aquarius, I find myself drawn to the duality and versatility that life has to offer. When it comes to music, I consider myself a casual listener, and I find solace in the captivating melodies and heartfelt lyrics of artists like Taylor Swift, Keshi, Gracie Abrams, Ariana Grande and of course Avril Lavigne. However, my musical interests go beyond that, as I'm particularly captivated by the talents and creativity of groups like ENHYPEN, STAYC, and AESPA, NEWJEANS who never cease to amaze me with their performances and innovative concepts. And of course, I can't forget to mention my love for cats – those majestic creatures who effortlessly blend grace, independence, and adorableness all in one.

II. She has new interests now.

Ever since discovering the captivating world of music, I have found a new passion that has ignited my creativity and imagination: writing based on songs. Exploring the depths of lyrical storytelling and the emotions conveyed through melodies has opened up a whole new realm of inspiration for me. Each song becomes a muse, weaving intricate narratives and evoking a multitude of feelings that I can't help but translate into words on a page. Whether it's delving into the raw vulnerability of a heartbreak ballad or unraveling the empowering message of an anthem, I find myself immersing in the melodies and lyrics, allowing them to guide my pen as it dances across the paper, giving birth to stories, poems, and reflections that are deeply intertwined with the essence of each song. It's a beautiful symbiosis, where music breathes life into my writing, and my words pay homage to the power of music itself.

III. Find me on @/heesoile.

I enjoy making genuine friends and being around my mutual. A bit energetic when it comes to people I admire or most likely anyone, but my social battery tends to run short quickly so you will probably find me popping in and out of the chat and mostly in lurking mode. There is no age limit to my page and I don’t mind befriending someone with completely different interests. I always well-versed in being friendly so come say hello through dms if you’re keen on a chat Xx

[trappper-johnathan]

Radar would probably like fantasy novels if his hero comics are anything to go by. Anything with superpowers or magic would probably be up his alley.

I'll be honest, even though Trapper is one of my faves, I'm not entirely sure what he'd like. I can see him being a mixed bag: if it's good, he'll read it, if it's not, he'll stop and find something else. He's a very lighthearted guy so I can see him liking lighthearted reading, something to distract from the horrors. Maybe shorter novels since he's a surgeon and has two children at home, so it wouldn't take him super long to finish in his limited free time. I can see him reading kids novels to his girls when it's bedtime.

If I remember correctly, Klinger has a (smutty) romance novel that he makes Charles read him in Operation Friendship, so it's safe to say Klinger likes romance books. I can see him designing his own dresses based on descriptions or pictures (from the cover) of the lead heroine's outfits. He ALSO likes poetry and had a poetry book in Springtime that he gave to Radar. He's a romantic sweetheart and I love him so so much Klinger best character <33

I can see Charles liking (auto)biographies and other nonfiction books, potentially anything about history. He mentioned having a butterfly collection (?) so maybe he enjoys reading up about them as well. I can see him having a guilty pleasure book genre as well, but I'm not sure what that would be, it's been a while since I've seen the later seasons. He seemed to be uncomfortable with Klinger's smut, so maybe not romance.. maybe mystery? He'd probably pride himself on figuring out the killer before the detective. Or maybe he'd like super nerdy fantasy novels like The Hobbit, something that's super long and detailed.

Henry strikes me also as a smutty romance novel guy, but maybe a bit more private about it than Klinger. Would throw it across the room if someone found it in his stuff and be like, "haha that's crazy who put that there??" Not to make fishing and golf his whole personality but fishing and golf strategy books? So he can git gud at his hobbies, of course. Maybe he even reads fish nature guides (?) so he can ID whatever he catches.

Hawkeye is for sure a mixed genre kind of guy. He'll read whatever he can get his hands on. A personal headcanon of mine is that he's neurodivergent in some way (I'm no expert so I can't name what he's got with 100% certainty but I did write a fic where he had ADHD similar to that of a friend of mine so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ ) so I can see him fixating on a certain genre or book series for a long time before eventually moving on to the next obsession. He just loves reading!

Father Mulcahy obviously reads the bible, and I would imagine he enjoys it since it's his whole everything. He seems well versed on other religions as well so it's safe to say he likes reading about theology, mythology, etc. I can also see him being a history nerd. He's just a very well-read, smart guy if his extensive vocabulary is any indication.

Ack, I haven't a clue about Frank. He reads the bible, I know that, but I'm not sure if he actually enjoys it or does it cause that's what he was taught to do :/ He probably wanted to read superhero or fantasy stuff as a kid but was super limited due to his stifling, unloving upbringing. All his pleasures are probably guilty pleasures tbh.. He and Margaret read military manuals together as foreplay or something sgddhdgsh

Okay now onto Margaret. She's strict but I'm not sure that that applies to her reading material. She probably reads romance, though she hides her smuttier ones. She liked reading army manuals and procedure books cause she was an army brat and she wanted to please her dad, but after her arc she now does everything for herself rather than to please others. She'll read almost anything written by a female author because male authors can be such a fucking headache sometimes, she puts up with men enough in her daily life why should her fiction be dictated by them too?? And fuck it, she likes Frankenstein by Mary Shelley cause it's my favorite book <3

We know BJ likes mystery novels and Potter likes cowboy novels, but what kinds of books does everyone else like?

[thcwidow]

so it begins. finals week. send help.

[dianapocalypse]

so I’m having a very interesting (for me) mass effect legendary edition playthru and i wanna talk about it even tho no one but me will be interested so UNDER THE CUT WE GO!

this probably isn’t interesting to anyone but me but I wanted to write it down for posterity lol

so this time around, I spent a LONG TIME staring at the character creator, not even making anything. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make my ‘main’ Shepard, play Jane just for the new model in ME1, or make a new Shep entirely. and if I did the last one, did I want to play differently this time??

i ended up making a shepard that was PRETTY similar to my main one. they’re both vanguards (didn’t want to learn a new kit bc my ability to hold a controller is pretty limited these days), both earthborn, same haircut but different overall appearances. this time I went war hero instead of sole survivor, since I’ve played those sidequests so many times at this point. I hit start and named her Kieran, not really knowing what I was going for with this shep and expecting I’d mostly make the same choices, romance garrus, etc

so the first few hours of the game I played p much like I always do. more paragon options than usual, but I attribute that more to me changing than character choices. I also started picking the middle options I always ignore just to see what they are. grabbed Liara, did bring down the sky, nothing new or unusual until I start talking to garrus.

is it just me, or does garrus.... kinda hit different in 2021? don’t get me wrong, still one of my favorite fictonal characters of all time, but also... garrus is a loose canon police officer who thinks regulations that, presumably, are in place to protect peoples’ rights, should be ignored for what he deems is the greater good. while we as players know garrus’s morals are in the right place, uh... if I met someone like that in real life I’d expect them to be a complete jackass. im also american so that contributes to my ill feelings towards police officers, and c-sec in the games is generally portrayed as being a much less awful organization than the american police state, but I’ve definitely gone from always supporting Garrus when he thinks a fucker needs to die to being like... garrus rules are there for a reason, people have RIGHTS

and then like. kieran shepard is earthborn, she was in gangs. she... probably doesn’t like cops either? my last shep was, too, but tbh I didn’t think about it all that much. for the first time I’m playing a shepard that does not trust garrus and that’s WILD.

so then I’m doing sidequests on the citadel, and earthborns get a gang member from their past who tries to blackmail shep into busting one of their members out of prison. for the first time ever, I actually didn’t have the paragon or renegade points necessary to resolve the situation in a ‘good’ way for me. I got to the end of it, and my only options were to bribe him to leave me alone, or shoot him.

i’ll say in my defense, I thought shoot him would be more ‘shoot him in the leg to show him i meant business’, but shep straight up killed him, and I was like, woah. I’m gonna have to figure out how to make THAT work with this character arc!

and the turian cop who he wants you to talk to, he’s right there, and says “wow, I guess maybe the first human spectre will get things done!�� or something, indicating like. that was the Right Thing To Do by his standards. just kill a dude in public for threatening blackmail.

so in role playing games, i try to justify decisions my characters make, even if it’s a decision that I didn’t make on purpose--it’s more fun for me to try to gather these disparate character choices and cohere them into a character than to try to get it ‘right’ for the character i’m playing, if that makes sense. so here, even tho I was definitely not intending to kill that dude, I wanted to find a way to make it work for Kieran Shepard. and it’s kinda ended up shaping the whole way I’m playing her, and it’s cool and interesting bc this is a shepard unlike any I’ve played before! i’m always so focused on min/maxing my character, especially their paragon/renegade points to get the ‘best’ outcomes, that ive never been faced with something like that.

so I think this is where I’ve landed:

Kieran Shepard grows up on the streets, she does not trust authority. all she has is her crew, and herself, more importantly. she does some bad shit, she gets into trouble, she’s strong-headed and stubborn. later in life, she gets recruited to the alliance military. frankly, I think she keeps a lot of the same attitude and distrust of authority, but this is a paycheck, and I think since the Tenth Street Reds are getting really human supremacist and xenophobic, she gets out and needs to go Somewhere that her past won’t follow her--space. off earth.

mostly she’s a shithead at first. gets into trouble with the brass all the time. but she’s got a really good head for tactics. she knows how to think like a merc gang, she thinks of strategies in simulations that higher ups wouldn’t ever consider. think like. star trek 2009 captain kirk basically lmao.

and then anderson gets a hold of her. for the first time in her life, she has like, a Parental Figure, someone who knows she can do better and expects her to. and she FLOURISHES. suddenly she’s got motivation, she’s straightening up. she’s positioned on elysium and the skyllian blitz starts, and one thing she knows how to do, something she’s always been good at, it surviving, and rallying people around her to fight, not roll over and die. her skills from her life as a gangster marry with her skills as a soldier and she rallies the colonists to beat back the invasion. with her STREET SMARTS!

now she’s a war hero, and she’s starting to feel the impostor syndrome set in. she gets a medal, she gets accolades, promotions--she’s just a scrappy former criminal and she doesn’t deserve this. she doesn’t deserve any of it, or anderson’s regard. she starts spending her time trying to be The Perfect Soldier to make up for her past. for the first time, it’s a point of embarrassment to her, not a point of pride. it’s public record, sure, but she needs her entire existence to refute it. she needs to be Commander Shepard now, she needs to be The First Human Spectre, she needs to be PERFECT.

and then Finch shows up, and he’s threatening her, he wants to drag her back into the Life and he’ll blackmail her if she doesn’t comply. she knows if she bribes him he’ll be back in a month for more, he’ll never stop. so she panics. she shoots this guy, kills him in cold blood, in public. old habits die hard. and the cop practically CONGRATULATES her for it.

kieran, now, is in full blown panic mode about Who She Is. she is very much not a fan of the ‘law and order’ of C-Sec, but she’s also not a fan of the spectres and how they operate, but now she’s becoming the thing she as a teen would have hated the most. and she’s being congratulated for it. can she be trusted with this kind of responsibility?? can anyone???

anyway that’s the last thing I did but I think... honestly? the only character that could help her sort out these feelings? is kaidan alenko.

so. i think this is it. this is the playthru i finally romance kaidan.

[bitchiha]

hey!!! can you maybe do any of the boys that your heart would like and the request is; “them seeing/meeting your ex boyfriend for the first time” | so like the shisuirequest??

A/N: Yes I can write this for you!! I chose to write it for Kiba, Naruto and Sai! Bc Sai doesn’t get enough love =(^.^)=

✎ Meeting their s/o’s ex boyfriend!

Kiba

So allow me to paint the scene: it all starts when Kiba is walking you home from one of your routine walks together. He’s got his arm around your waist and he’s telling you about how Hianata almost passed out this morning when Naruto said hi to her. You both laugh as he finishes the memory and Akamaru trails behind you two panting happily.

You live on a pretty busy village street. So you normally see people you know all the time around your house. They’re always passing by to get groceries or go to one of the food stands nearby. So when someone calls out your name you turn around casually — expecting to see Shino or something.

But who you did not expect to see was your ex boyfriend running up to you, pushing passed people on the crowded street without batting an eye. He was kind of a douchebag.

Kiba immediately stops laughing as he feels your back tensing up around his arm. Akamaru starts growling lowly as a response to sensing both yours and Kibas alert.

Tbh tho.. The reason you’re probably the most panicked is because this is Kiba Inuzuka, you’re hotheaded boyfriend who’s just a smidge bit possessive... and he’s meeting your ex boyfriend who’s overconfident and well, for lack of better words - a douchebag.

Your ex walks up to you two and sizes up Kiba and omfg that pisses your boyfriend off. “Y/n, who’s this guy.” Definitely shows his canines (is it an accident? or did he do it to intimidate this dude? You’ll never know.)

Anyways, your ex is cocky as shit — let’s call him Makki. So he interrupts you before you even get the chance to explain to Kiba who he is, “-Oh y/n, you’ve never mentioned me? I’m Makki, her ex boyfriend.”

Dude probably eats up the pissed off look on Kibas face. Like he’s yikes lmfao he’s really pissed off.

Like who does this cocky shit think he is?? Kiba is ready to fight lol “Oh yeah buddy, that’s real good for yo-“

Your ex just cuts him off... like blatantly ignores Kiba and turns to you, “It’s been a while y/n, you still look as gorgeous as ever...” he winks at you and Kiba growls LMFAOO, but Makki just ignores him. “We’d been together for so long y/n, so how come I never knew you liked... dogs so much.” He stares at Kiba right when he says dogs and he gives him this appalled expression on his face

Kibas confused for a second bc dogs are cute....“But there’s nothing wrong with dogs- oh wait! Hey were you trying to insult me you knucklehead!”

HOLD KIBA BACK HOLD KIBA BACK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

So you’ve got your boyfriend held back, but you forgot about Akamaru.. rookie mistake. Now that giant dog is running towards Makki and the boy starts sprinting for dear life.

Kiba has a good laughing fit at the sight, “that’ll show him.” But you’re concerned because yes your ex is a douchebag and you did enjoy watching him run away scared, but you don’t want Akamaru to get in trouble for this. So you tell Kiba to go find Akamaru this instant.

“All right all right I’ll get em now... See you tomorrow, same time as today?” You nod hurriedly, wanting him to go Asap. You watch him run off before opening the door to your house and going inside.

Which was another rookie mistake.

Once you were inside he stopped running. He placed his hands behind his neck in a relaxed way as he strolled down the street, whistling like he didn’t have a dog to chase down.

“Have at em’ Akamaru”

Naruto

Yup.. you guessed it, this takes place at Ichirakus. It’s a Friday night and you two had no missions or other commitments to take care of, so he swung by your place and insisted you two go out for ramen.

So there you two sat, chatting away between mouthfuls of ramen when your ex boyfriend slides into the seat next to you.

Narutos oblivious tbh.

Like your ex just sits an elbow on the table and looks at you with a smirk, “hey, y/n, long time no see.” And you’re like.. ew wtf are you doing here.

Unlike Kiba, Naruto can’t pick up on your distaste, he just thinks it’s an old friend of yours. “Hey babe, who’s this guy?”

Your ex just introduces himself by his name and you decide to leave it at that, if you tell Naruto he’s your ex he will just get difficult to handle. So, you introduce Naruto as Naruto to avoid your ex getting all competitive too.

So you kinda avoid all relationship talk altogether and just completely skip over that fact. Honestly you’re half glad you did because Naruto actually gets along with him. Like for starters they both like ramen, are knuckleheaded and very loud. You definitely have a type. And they’re super funny too, so the whole time they’re just kinda laughing with eachother.

Had a good 15 minute long conversation about their favourite instant noodle brand and roasted you for the brand you liked. “Really y/n, that’s shameful.” They both say it in unison.

Also, your ex didnt have the intention to come into Ichirakus and crash your date, it was just a coincidence. So there was no ulterior motives to his presence and he’s not the type of guy to do it tbh. To top it all off he ends up paying for the ramen. Your ex literally pays for both you and Narutos ramen.

Such a weird experience for you tbh, but it’s also kinda funny to watch them both oblivious to your relationship with them.

At the end of the night when your ex heads home, you tell Naruto. Like you’re strolling through the busy Friday night rush and you finally spring it on him because he won’t shut up about your ex.

“Wow that guy was so cool y/n, never knew you had friends like that!” “Well actually Naruto, hes sorta my ex boyfriend.”

His eyes pop out of his head. “WHAT and you’re just telling me this now??” He’s in his head like: damn I should have showed off more or I should have made more jokes to prove that I’m the better one. He’s also like: shit he’s so cool how can he compete???!!1!1!1

Tries to hate your ex from then on, but they’re just so alike he literally cannot.

Luckily you don’t ever run into him like that again.

Sai

So.. let’s just be real here.. if you’re dating Sai you clearly have a type. You go for those emo little artsy boys. The only problem is that your ex boyfriend was an emo preppy rich art boy. You couldn’t stand his attitude anymore so you two broke up.

The only problem is that you live in the Leaf village and there’s very limited art events, so you would always bump into him. Luckily you hadn’t run into him with Sai around.. until now lol

You’re with Sai at an art exhibit that you managed to get him to submit work for. He was hesitant at first, but he gave in because you kept asking, and if he was being honest he wouldn’t mind showing some of his pieces.

So there you two are, standing together like that emo art couple that you are when your ex boyfriend walks in. He literally looks like the definition of avant garde. When he sees you he’s prepared to make some condescending comment, but then he sees Sai and he’s like: oh shit

Let’s be real here if anyone saw you and Sai together it would be an “oh shit” moment. You’re just an art power couple. That doesn’t mean your exes snobbiness would let him back down though.

So, this dude wants to prove he’s superior. When he walks up to the two of you he flat out interrupts the conversation and is like, “y/n, nice to see you,” then he turns to Sai and jusy gets down to business “so? You like art, then?”

Sai doesn’t comprehend the hostility in your ex’s tone so he answers it with a smile, prepared to tell him that this is actually his exhibit before he’s Interrupted again. “-Oh so you like art then? Okay, describe what mediums are used here.” your ex points at one of Sai’s paintings, not aware that he literally fucking painted it because he didn’t let Sai finish speaking.

So of course Sai answers and goes into a whole ramble about what mediums and why and how they bring out the details. Your ex kinda stands there like: “oh shit” again bc damn, he knows his shit.

He just points at another painting and is like, “what about this one.” And as your ex turns to study it better himself he realizes it’s literally you. It’s a painting that Sai did of you when you two first met eachother, you’re laying on the grass laughing and there’s orange hues dancing across your face indicating that the sun is setting. It’s one of Sais absolute favourites.

It’s such a bomb ass fucking painting and your ex just kinda stares at it confused and shook and you have to explain, “my boyfriends work is in this exhibit, he painted that one of me.”

But as I said, your ex is a douchebag and he’s not going to let your boyfriend get a compliment from him so he just goes, “hmph, it’s nothing special.”

And that kinda bothers Sai because that’s his girlfriend in that painting therefore it is very special.

You know where this is going. Naruto said the same line to him before LOL

So Sai hits him with this signature line, “just like your dick.” AND HE SAYS IT W THE FAKE SMILE LMFAO

Now your ex is literally dead. Like he’s flamed. On the floor straight up incinerated. And your trying to hide your laughter.

Security has to escort the guy out.

Very memorable moment for the two of you.

10/10

[zukkacore]

Btw this is gonna be rly incoherent but tbh I think the fact that too many idiot white ppl w too much influence in media write terrible storylines w/ antagonists that are the worst most villainaized strawmen of an ideology/social movement that is either real or an allegory for a real thing has really harmed our ability to talk abt the portrayal of activism & the representation of basically any anti-establishment characters in media.

Like. Yes it’s obviously shitty writing when antagonists are like. People who have good points but also do bad things like kill people to show they have gone “too far” (gag), but that’s the irritating thing about it. Any indication from the antagonists to criticize or change the status quo of the world is met with SO MUCH resistance, it creates this like..... idk, knee jerk reaction from anyone w half any sense b/c we know villainizing social justice causes is um.... wrong and bad. Because these antagonists are so obviously strawmen, they’re so flat that it removes the stories of literally any nuance. But idk, I feel like In an attempt to overcompensate we act like no activist movement has ever been incomplete or flawed & that media has no right to portray a movement which isn’t 100% palatable—which I feel like doesn’t do anyone any favors bc it’s just not reflective of history, and it’s not even reflective of modernity. And I don’t mean this in a “well there’s always two sides of the story, why can’t you sympathize with oppressors too!” kind of way. I mean more that participants & leaders in activist movements have intersecting identities that give them both privlege as an oppressor & marginalization as an oppressed person and that like... is important to shape the kind of activism they participate in and influence. I mean,

1) plenty of awful people who had bigoted views have been championed as the leaders of social movements—first wave feminism in America being a prime example bc they were mostly uh, racist white women who had no intention of fighting for suffrage for poc... I think we can all agree that anyone opposing women’s suffrage would be seen as uh, wrong, both then and now but also keeping in mind the limitations of first wave feminism is also important bc otherwise you’re just glorifying a revisionist history

2) tbh the bigger a movement gets the more it usually gets watered down to be more palatable and nonthreatening, and also the more it’s likely gonna be co-opted by capitalist companies being opportunistic, the less power it has, so like, any bite that used to exist is probably long gone. (Again, examples: more and more mainstream normalization of lgbt acceptance & feminism is a good thing but let’s not act like things like pinkwashing & rainbow capitalism aren’t exhausting & just putting a fresh coat of paint on an old problem...)

3) as much as I hate the individualist explanation when it comes to antagonists in media “this singular person is a moral failure” or whatever, sometimes ppl irl.,,. Just straight up co-opt social movements bc they’re opportunistic & see it as a way to gain social capital. Like. I think we all can probably name a celebrity that maintained a woke personal brand then turned out to be a piece of shit...

But like, idk, at the same time, I don’t think most western white writers have the nuance to portray the complications of reality when they’re still out here being like “well Vulture made some points but he kills ppl so spidey has to stop him :(((((“ & “Bane made some points when we made him an obvious parallel to the occupy wall street movement but also he has a bomb :((((“ & “The earth queen is a horrible person who conscripted an Airbender army and abuses her power but zaheer wanting to kill world leaders bc we don’t understand anarchism :((((“

Anyway y’all are free to disagree with me I guess

[simspaghetti]

About Me

Thought I’d do a little ‘About Me’ post that I’m gonna update whenever I feel like things have changed in my life a bit - last update was 28/09/21

Plus my blog is very un-personal so I thought this way my followers could get to know me a bit better

(feel free to use these questions if you want - but tag me pls mostly because I’m nosy!)

Name/Gender/Pronouns: 👋

You can call me Rin and I go by she/her pronouns (also they/them I don’t mind)

S I M S  S T U F F

How long have you been playing the sims?: 🕑

I think I started in about 2013-14 and I’ve been addicted ever since holy sh- that was 7/8 years ago I have a problem with this damn game!

When and why did you join simblr?: 🗓

This blog officially started in March 2020

I started posting because I already had the first generation of the Breathe Legacy written up on my desktop and it seemed a bit of a waste of time if I wasn't sharing it with anyone - so I shared it! :)

You may notice if you go into my archive that I have a post all the way back from 2017 - I’ve had a couple of tries at creating a simblr but this is the only one that’s stuck so far (also that post was a really pretty screenshot, so I kept it and deleted all the rest)

If you were a sim what would your traits be?: 💚

I’m gonna use the TS3 traits system so probably:

📚  Bookworm

💻 Computer whiz

🍰  Natural Cook

💤  Night Owl

😸  Cat Person

Who’s your favourite EA sim?: 🎈

Probably Agnes Crumplebottom, but I also love Cassandra Goth and Claire Ursine

R A N D O M  A S K S

How old are you?: 🔍

I’m 19 at the moment

Where are you from?: 🍃

I’m from the middle of nowhere in the UK, which is why some of my spellings may be odd if you’re not British

What do you want to do with your life?: 📝

Not sure what I want to do as a career, but I’ve always loved writing, telling stories etc (hence this blog) and I’d love to do something in publishing or editing (or my dream job would be working on a tv show)

What’s your sexuality?

I like people all over the gender spectrum, ass is ass! :D (I don’t really care for labels but I guess I fall in the bi/pan area if I had to put a name on it)

Faves (books, music, media etc): 🌟

Books: My favourite book ever is probably Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (which I would very much recommend to anyone who has experienced a difficult family situation) also Normal People is really good, and I also love classics esp stuff from the Victorian era but I won’t go into them here because we’ll be here forever

Music: At the moment my favourite bands/artists are Kate Bush, Mother Mother, Sir Chloe, The Marias and cheesy 80s music

TV: My favourite shows are RuPaul’s Drag Race, Normal People, Good Girls, Bojack Horseman, Peep Show and The IT Crowd - If you want some semi-underrated good recommendations I’d suggest Inside No. 9, Lovesick (the british one), Living with Yourself and Maniac

Films: (this is a bit of a weird mix) La La Land, Legally Blonde, Misery, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Gone Girl, Submarine and idk what else - I watch more TV than films tbh so my favourites are pretty limited because I haven’t really seen that many

Do you have any pets?: 🐾

Yep, I have cats and dogs and I love them all to bits

Favourite Weather + Season: ☔️

Autumn (basic ik, but lets be real, it’s the prettiest one.)

My favorite weather is heavy rain, I always crack open my window when it rains bc I love the smell and the sounds! Also storms - I know they scare some people but I love thunder, it makes me feel so peaceful and cosy

Some things you love/hate: 💔

Love: Quiet snowy mornings, chai tea, ben and jerry’s ice cream, pretty people, cosy cottages in the countryside, how dogs react when they go to the beach

Hate: Bigots/racists/sexists/homophobes/transphobes/etc - basically anyone who doesn’t accept people for who they are and/or doesn’t respect peoples religions and cultures, if you are any of those, get off my blog, please and thank you.

What’s an unpopular opinion you have?: 👀

I don’t trust people if they don’t like cats, especially people who actively hate them or say that they’ve ‘never met a cat who likes them’ - thats a red flag for me! I can’t explain why I have this opinion but I haven’t been wrong about it yet lol, it’s just a pretty good indicator of someone’s character in my experience 😸

Favourite Celebrity/Popular Figure?: ✨

Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (but your dad just calls her Katya)

Do you have any non-sims hobbies?: 🎹

I've played the piano as long as I can remember, I like to read, I occasionally draw/paint stuff, and I sew and modify a lot of my own clothes and make cushions and things - basically anything crafty is right up my street 

[fyrapartnersearch]

supalonely!

hey all! i'm VERY lazy right now and i'm going to make this super short and sweet. please don't judge my brevity here as an indicator of my writing ability!!

quick details name: bren pronouns: she/her age: 25+ timezone: est

basics pairings: mxf, fxf preferences: doubling, canonxoc, ocxoc, canonxcanon length: matches partner, quality > quantity, can do rapid fire or longer posts frequency: few times a week (probably more during quarantine) special extras: obsessing about your oc, pinboards, playlists, face claims limits: i'm pretty vanilla tbh, but if you work with me we can set up boundaries

current cravings (bold will be my preference)

FANDOMS

she-ra*******

- catra x adora - catra x scorpia - catra x oc - literally ANYONE

star trek: tng

- any canon x oc

bnha

- canon x oc - oc x oc

game of thrones

- margaery tyrell x anyone - any canon x oc

dc comics

-gotham / rogues gallery

- teen titans

ORIGINAL IDEAS / GRAB BAG - science fiction / military academy / group of scavengers / mass effect vibes - med. fantasy / game of thrones vibes / war / politicking / olenna tyrell energy - post apocalyptic / zombies / survivors / found family - superpowers / kids with abilities / mutants / heroes vs villains - lesbian witches / southern gothic / small towns / ghosts - dnd / mega fantasy / mermaids / lotr-esque

contact: anthuriiums@gmail.com

[joannalannister]

I recently saw an answer to an ask where you said the Lannister are small people, probably ever since The Hedge Knight. Do you think Joanna was small as well?

First, I really like this question, it’s a good one! Thank you for asking it!

Second, I assume you are referring to this post? (My friends, it really helps me if you supply the post number please!) 

“you said the Lannister[s] are small people” Let’s elaborate on that before we proceed. 

While the Lannisters are, on average, physically tall, I was using “small” metaphorically to indicate small moral stature and refer to character flaws, to indicate a person who is, on average, mean, or petty, or malicious, or lacking integrity, or contemptible, or bigoted, or pathetic, etc. 

(Note that I am saying “on average” to indicate a general tendency which allows for exceptions.) 

Tywin is a prime example of a man who is of small moral stature. See also. Basically the polar opposite of Brienne, who is a person of great moral stature. 

Also, I think something is lost in the paraphrasing, because I think this tendency toward “smallness” predates THK. I said previously, “Even in the days of Duncan the Tall […], House Lannister would not stand for a cause that was right and just, and they have only grown smaller since.) It’s THK which gives us a very concrete historical example that we actually “see” happening in real (story) time, with the Lannisters refusing Dunk’s call, but if the histories can be believed, examples abound. 

Now, do I think Joanna exhibited this tendency toward “smallness”? Sure, at least initially. 

That’s just how I personally imagine her, given that GRRM isn’t particularly interested in exploring pre-series female characters, especially ones who are not Targaryens. 

We don’t know a lot about Joanna, but we know something about the people around her, like Tywin and Genna and Kevan, and these people are … not … shining beacons of light in the series. 

Personally, I think Tywin’s love is conditional, and if you oppose him or if you disappoint him or if you’re not largely on board with his program of dehumanization and Lannister Superiority, he finds that very, very frustrating. If Tywin is frustrated, he tells you to fuck off, to get away from him, he disowns you, he won’t speak to you (ask Jaime (who frustrated Tywin’s ambitions), ask Tyrion (there is not enough parenthetical space here to tell you all the ways Tyrion is at odds with Tywin), ask Genna (who, in her own words, disappointed Tywin)). 

If you’re not on board, you’re not compatible with Tywin, in Tywin’s mind. That is who Tywin is in the books. 

“Ser Kevan was his brother’s vanguard in council, Tyrion knew from long experience; he never had a thought that Lord Tywin had not had first. It has all been settled beforehand, he concluded, and this discussion’s no more than show.”

(From my understanding, the people in the vanguard are the people at the front of your army, leading the way. In more modern terms, Kevan is like Tywin’s tank, advancing Tywin’s ideas in the political arena and drawing enemy fire without taking significant damage, which allows Tywin to follow up with a kill shot from relative cover. In short, this is a concerted effort.)

Like … Tywin isn’t just a person, he’s also an ideology. And Kevan is on fucking board, ride or die, a true believer, loyal to the end, and this is what makes Tywin trust him and rely on him.

(This is why I’m not a fan of those “oh, poor Kevan” interpretations… but that’s just me.) 

Genna was on fucking board too, she still resents Ellyn Tarbeck “that scheming bitch”

One of the few things we know about Joanna is that Tywin allowed himself to be vulnerable around her. The walls came down for her, the drawbridge lowered. For her, and only her. “Only Lady Joanna truly knows the man beneath the armor.” It’s only for Joanna that Tywin allowed his soft underbelly to be exposed. That implies a level of trust that we never see again in Tywin. 

Also consider marriage vows in Westeros: “One flesh, one heart, one soul.” 

I live in a largely secular place, so it’s easy to brush something like this off, yeah yeah yeah w/e. But to a Westerosi, these mean something - you’re combining two people into one. (These wedding vows are taken directly from Milton’s Paradise Lost, about Adam and Eve.) 

So when Tywin, a literalist, marries Joanna, he is allowing her to become a part of himself. 

That’s why I have a really, really, really hard time believing that Tywin fell in love with someone who was not “on board”. At least, initially. 

I think that – initially – Joanna was a very bigoted person - someone who was classist, racist, misogynistic, etc. 

But the reason that Joanna – or at least the Joanna that I imagine, cuz idk wtf george thinks, if anything – the reason that Joanna captivates me in a way that Tywin never can is because I’m interested in exploring the question, can Joanna change? 

Can Joanna grow? 

In the series, GRRM is interested in exploring how Jaime and Tyrion change throughout the books, and he has these men court Heroism and Villainy both, and they straddle the line between them. 

But GRRM really isn’t that interested in exploring that kind of thing with Cersei in the text, imo, and that always seems kind of sad to me. 

So I suppose, in my own writing, I make up for that with Joanna. 

Like, in my fanfiction, the first scene where Tywin and Joanna interact is basically Tywin scandalized that Joanna is seemingly not dehumanizing this person, and Joanna reassuring him that it’s not what it looks like and basically “don’t be an idiot, Tywin, of course i’m not treating This Person like a human being, this is just the most convenient thing for me” 

And I want to know how she grows from that - how does she eventually come to see This Person as a friend? 

And we know that Joanna and the Princess of Dorne became friends, but how did they start? 

Aerys was obviously racist, and I think Tywin was racist, but eventually we get to a point where, imo, Joanna wanted to marry her son to the Princess’s daughter, Elia, so how do we get there? 

And what about Tytos’s mistress, what about Lynora Hill, what about Ellyn Tarbeck? What do these people mean to Joanna, how does she see them, what does she do? 

What of Toad? 

GRRM has seeded this era with so many interesting people, so many people for Joanna to run up against and push back against.

So I suppose, IN MY OWN WRITING, I imagine Joanna as small, and I find that the interesting thing is to watch her grow, and also to explore the limits of her growth. 

Because her relationship with Tywin is a big factor in her life. If Joanna can see the Princess of Dorne as a human being, and Tywin can’t …. 

And how does that make Joanna see herself, how does that change her…

…Joanna’s growth, Joanna’s disillusionment, her own realizations …

…I’m trying to find the right words, because I haven’t written this part yet…

Tywin ruled, and Joanna willingly assisted him in bricking up her own cage. Because Tywin is the living embodiment of Westerosi patriarchy, and Joanna helped him. She was complicit. And even a love as “deep and long-abiding” as Tywin’s can’t save her. 

I suppose that’s why I find Tywin/Joanna so sad. 

Sadder than GRRM imagined.  I don’t think this is a story GRRM could write, tbh. 

So yes. Small. But growth is possible. 

[rainymeadows]

I rewatched Eternal Diva and this time I took notes as I went through

Dive under the cut if you dare to experience my mad in-the-moment ramblings (warning for spoilers for pretty much the entire prequel trilogy)

-          Don Paolo’s voice sounds like what Papyrus’s voice probably should

-          Winter Layton is precious in that giant coat

-          Janice is so pretty omg an angel

-          Layton geeking out over the Detrogan is goddamn adorable

-          I love how everything is greyed out in Janice’s flashback

-          Suuuuuuuuper subtle indication that maybe “Janice” seeing how young this little girl was is what prompted her to find a way to put an end to this whole thing

-          Whether it’s a moped or the Laytonmobile, Emmy drives like crazy XD

-          Bitch you ain’t on Top Gear

-          God her big sister relationship with Luke is adorable tho

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaah Layton smiling at their banter dad’s so happy for his son

-          They did such a good job reusing the game’s music for this movie

-          The opera house looks so cool but so precarious – my first thought upon seeing it was “when is this thing going to sink”

-          I MEAN IT’S ON A CLIFF

-          Janice’s voice is so pretty TToTT

-          I like that they kept the Japanese vocals for her singing

-          SONG OF THE SEA-SHADOWING

-          I hate that Layton and Luke were the ONLY people to honestly applaud the performance. Everyone else is a DICK

-          First time I saw this dude, I thought “that’s a puppet, no ordinary person moves like that even in animation”

-          Once again, Layton putting a polite and gentlemanly spin on “fucked if I know, my dude”

-          Lol I love that even the people who didn’t applaud and thus apparently knew what they were in for weren’t down for dying

-          Fuking cowards

-          Layton is always DTF (down to fight)

-          GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          FUCK YES

-          This dude’s manliness is infectious

-          “Gee, I wonder who’s behind this-“ *Descole’s theme starts playing* “-oh well never mind”

-          Honestly who else but Descole would be this fucking extra tho

-          Gotta admit I love the twist of the opera house being a ship, I was totally expecting it to just go plunging into the ocean at a moment’s notice

-          Aaaaah the CG in this movie is really well done

-          Layton’s angry face is kinda ridiculous but I love it

-          I love that it’s pointed out like “where tf did all these sharks come from”

-          I prefer Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea, but this one’s pretty too

-          Lol as if a MAN-EATING SHARK could keep down GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          I’m surprised he can see over the top of his chest hair

-          God, the detrogan is such a cool instrument and I really wish something like it existed irl

-          Ah, it’s only like fifteen sharks, Grosky will be fine

-          I love the air of mystery surrounding Oswald Whistler

-          Layton’s hat is made of 100% pure uncut husband material

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE HOW PUZZLES ARE USED IN THIS MOVIE IT’S SO GOOOOOOOD

-          I’m so glad they didn’t scrap it entirely coz I mean they’re so integral not only to the Layton games, but Layton himself

-          This music box tune kinda gives me Gravity Falls vibes tbh

-          I think the backing melody sounds pretty identical to the tune’s intro

-          I love that this movie actually lets us see inside Layton’s head and his thought process, it’s so much better than just having him put everything together seemingly offscreen

-          Tbh any puzzle where “the night sky” is the solution is bound to be a good puzzle

-          I just fucking love the implied MASSACRES in this movie

-          God Luke is so goddamn precious

-          Pffft pumpkin dude is so subtly duplicitous

-          Okay I have ot pause for a bit to rant about layton’s design because it’s SO GOOD. Warm colours make him seem welcoming and kinda comfy and the simple facial features, while a bit Ditto-esque, do combine nicely with his overall shape to scream “friend”. Professor Layton is friend shaped. And of course there’s the popped collar to show that he’s cool, the high collared shirt gives a scholarly vibe, his shoes which I stg are plimsolls show a practical side and of course the quintessential top hat shows that he’s a Gentleman first and foremost. Add the amazing voice to that and BOI I DIE

-          Although I can’t help imagining that gif with the teddy bear slapping eyebrows onto its face to look angry whenever he gets mad

-          Luke is not friend shaped. Luke is son shaped.

-          Precious bab shaped

-          Wpw a sea captain I would never have guessed other than the “sailor” accent and the fact that you’re wearing a sailor’s uniform

-          Ugh I love these quiet moments where things can sink in and characters can just talk to each other, I really wish more movieswould do this

-          I love that even if you don’t have a literal look at his thought processes, you can still see Layton THINKINg

-          Agh Amelia is SO CUTe this series is so good at designing beautiful women and cute girls while also making them look DISTINCT

-          I like that they hinted at her intelligence by having her solve the puzzles by herself

-          One advantage a film has over the games is that the visual novel format kinda limits the dialogue, coz it’s hard to convey one charafter talking over another

-          I really like the side characters. They’re simple, yes, but they don’t really need to be complex

-          I will admit that the limits of Layton’s simple facial features means it can be hard to tell who/what he’s looking at sometimes…

-          “that man” asked me to write an opera, huh

-          WHY DOES NOBODY ASK WHO

-          Fuck descole’s theme is SO GOOD

-          WHERE DOES HE GET THE FUNDING FOR ALL OF THIS THOUGH

-          And Grosky boards the ship just in time for it to blow up XD I love this dude

-          I can only imagine his gigantic pecs act as a flotation device

-          Layton preventing Luke from looking at the exploding ship THIS MAN IS SUCH A DAD HE’S SO GOOD

-          I love this scene with Emmy investigating because these parent’s appearances are just enough to make it ambiguous whether they’re Nina or Amelia’s parents

-          Seeing them all wrapped up in blankets is kinda cute tbh

-          LET. THEM. SLEEP.

-          I wonder what Layton uses to keep his hat on?

-          Lol Emmy pushing a fossil aside to look at the map

-          I can only assume, given that they set off from the White Cliffs of Dover, that this island is SOMEWHERE off the coast of mainland Europe in about the same region as Spain

-          Ugh I LOVE Emmy’s uppercrust accent, the fact that she sounds like such a refined lady is such a fun contrast to her literal arse-kicking

-          Also this is totally BBC news lol

-          I love the detail of the historian’s scrapbook being kinda hodgepodge with bits falling out

-          And I love the Ambrosia Seal being super detailed but the subtle incorporation of a sheet music design

-          Gotta admit I totally thought this little banquet was poisoned on my first watch

-          Lol I love that pumpkin guy just KEEPS POURING THE WINE

-          Ugh that beach looks SO PRETTY, I want to go there

-          Janice is totally crushing on Layton, pass it on

-          D’awwwwww luke trying to befriend ‘melina’ is SO CUTE this boy must be protected at all costs

-          Layton how did you hear what she was humming from all the way over there

-          Why do so many anime characters have inexplicable super senses

-          Those wolves’ eyeliner is on point lol

-          “I’m not built for running” lol mood

-          FUCKING HELL DESCOLE WHO IS FUNDING ALL YOUR SHIT

-          HOW MUCH DISPOSABLE INCOME DO YOU FUCKING HAVE

-          Admittedly on my first watch I wasn’t as familiar with descole’s theme, but I saw that castle and I just thought “it’s descole, only he can be that extra”

-          The twist of using the cages for personal protection rather than to trap the walls is simple, but so clever

-          I love that Mr Whistler was one of those accidentally trapped outside. Keeps suspicion off

-          And I love Layton saying “well that solved PART of our problem”

-          YOU SHUT UP LADY THE PROFESSOR IS AMAZING

-          And then he trips and falls lol that’s what you get for wearing old man shoes

-          “Even a good gentleman needs to get some exercise!” pfft

-          Oh hey, they found the starter house that Descole was using while he was building that castle. I wonder what texture pack he’s using?

-          And here Layton puts MacGuyver to shame in the most Ghibli way possible

-          I’d love to see someone try to build this thing XD someone call the Mythbusters

-          Bjut I adore how even LAYTON isn’t sure how this fucking thing works

-          Fucking NERD

-          Yeah, these filmmakers were TOTALLY influenced by Ghibli

-          This is so Castle In The Sky, it hurts

-          “Hang on tight! NOT TO THE PILOT!” – best line in the movie

-          You can’t escape it, Layton. You is a dad

-          DID YOU GUYS NOT SEE LAYTON LAPUTA-ING HIS WAY IN

-          It’s great how all those puzzles seem like they could be ripped straight out of the Layton games, complete with outside-the-box bizarre thinking required to solve em

-          I’m so proud of Luke for solving it!!!!! Such a good boy

-          RUDE

-          Yeah, just stand in the middle of the suspiciously empty room, I’m sure nothing will go wrong

-          That’s what you get for shoving Layton aside, bitches

-          Lol I guess luke could just step through the bars if his head was a bit smaller

-          DESCOLE HOLY FUCK YOU ARE THE KING OF EXTRA

-          “humble scientist” GOOD GRIEF WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT YOU DRAMA QUEEN

-          I love that Emmy can FLY A PLANE

-          Holy shit grosky there are better ways to signal for help

-          And LESS GROSS WAYS TO DRY YOURSELF OFF IN A PLANE

-          Yeah, see, you lost your knickers

-          Ugh, god. I adore this scene with Layton in Melina’s room. It’s so quiet, the soft evening lighting… aaaaaaaaaaah so peaceful, but you can still feel the tension in the air, especially after Melina comes in

-          Oh my god, Layton plays like an angel *swoon*

-          The lack of background music in this scene is what makes it so perfect, the tension is so REAL

-          Lol I love the historian just standing there like ‘welp there they go’

-          NOOOOOOOOO LUKE DON’T CRY

-          BIG SIS IS HERE

-          Oh fuck yes

-          EMMY I LOVE YOU

-          God she and grosky are so fantastic XD

-          WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT EMMY

-          Somehow emmy gives me Michelle of the Resistance vibes

-          God, I kinda love it when you can tell Layton’s already put it all together and is just biding his time

-          AAAAAAAAAAH I love the subtle resemblance between Layton and what you can see of Descole’s face

-          In hindsight, that… stole? Is that what it is? The fur thing isprobably to hide his face shape because it most likely ups his resemblance to Layton

-          But he’s totally wearing black converse like the extra hipster nerd he is

-          God, I can’t even imagine the nightmare of having your memories overridden and personality suppressed

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the summation. I love this part in pretty much every Layton thing

-          “Assisting you was the scientist, Jean Descole!” Descole: lol hi

-          LAYTON YOU ARE SUCH A DAD I LOVE YOU

-          Him being gentle with kids is so sweet

-          Also damn this backstory is a lot. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a loved one, but I’m not surprised a father would do anything he could to keep his daughter alive

-          “When did you realise I was involved” “ur an extra bitch who lives for drama, who else could it be”

-          That brief bit of Luke without his hat just makes him look even more BABY BOI MUST PROTECC

-          Okay real talk when did Janice get hold of the key

-          I’m guessing it was in the commotion when Mr Whistler grabbed Luke

-          SUCH A GOOD TWIST I LOVE IT

-          My heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaart goddammit

-          In hindsight, the hint of Janice wearing Melina’s pendant was really subtle and clever

-          GODDAMMIT DESCOLE CAN YOU STOP BEING EXTRA FOR LIKE TEN SECONDS

-          It’s kinda cool that he’s an archaeologist too though. It really does run in the family.

-          The way Descole and Whistler’s schemes intertwined was really cool

-          Yeah, it just wouldn’t be Descole if there wasn’t some over-the-top machinery

-          YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MAGIC MUSIC THIS IS MY SHIT

-          When escaping from a crumbling castle, do be sure to grab your boy.

-          AAAAAAAAAGH THE SCENERY IN THIS MOVIE IS SO FUCKING GOOD

-          Good lord, there it is. Descole just can’t function unless he has some ridiculous Humongous Mecha at his command

-          This thing looks especially monstrous and I love it

-          I don’t think I’ve seen ANY faults in this movie’s animation, jesus Christ

-          Descole, did you learn nothing from the attempted excavation of Troy? It’s very possible that your efforts to unearth Ambrosia will be what destroys it!

-          Aaaaaaaagh this flying scene is intense as FUCK

-          Layton and Luke are SUCH A GOOD TEAM

-          WHAT IS THIS MUSIC I LOVE IT

-          Luke you are SUCH A GOOD BOY

-          Sorry but you’ll never be mob tho

-          Mob is perfection

-          JESUS CHRIST DESCOLE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL A CHILD

-          I was about to ask where that explosion came from but then I realised it was probably a petrol-powered chainsaw

-          Layton who told you that you could look this goddamn epic

-          But I love that he’s taking on the sword-armed Descole with a PIPE

-          That footwork tho

-          Layton must be an amazing dancer

-          So cool that he’s patiently explaining why Descole was wrong

-          Sun, stars and sea. I feel like that’s a Dothraki term of endearment meant for oceanfairing

-          MORE MAGIC MUSIC I AM BLESSED

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE FUCKING COOLEST

-          I’M SUCH A SLUT FOR MAGIC MUSIC GODDAMMIT AND THIS IS DOUBLE TEAMING ME WITH SINGING AND PIANO

-          I do enjoy that despite its emergence, Ambrosia is still partially submerged. Some movies would’ve had it rise from the sea completely

-          Lol at Descole losing his shit because SOMEONE ELSE found the answer

-          Yeah, bad idea attacking someone right on top of your humongous mecha’s control panel

-          “DESCOLE!” dude he’s fine you really think he’d die

-          I was going to ask why Emmy didn’t use her plane but she probably couldn’t get to it in time

-          Yeah, this is SO Ghibli. The gigantic industrialised machine self-destructing on the ruins of an ancient civilisation lost to nature

-          Noooooooooo don’t do this to me movie, nothing kills me like sad flashbacks

-          Ow my heart

-          This hurts

-          “I’m sorry, Father. I’ve only ever brought you grief and sadness, haven’t I” as someone who’s struggled with depression this is a whole-ass mood

-          NO THIS HURTS STOP IT

-          Also the lil detail of Whistler’s waistcoat being the same shade of purple as Melina/Janice’s dress

-          NOOO DON’T MAKE LUKE SAD

-          “I’m so glad all of you were my very last memory.” Damn that line hits hard

-          GIVE THE GIRL A HUG, LAYTON

-          I said a hug, not a hand on the shoulder, she needs a HUG

-          Seeing the destroyed detrogan really hammers it home, huh

-          It’s very kind of Grosky to let Whistler play one last time in memory of his daughter

-          When I got into the Layton series, I was no expecting to be hit so hard with the FEELS

-          “Do you know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

-          GNU Ambrosia, I guess

-          Ugh it’s so PRETTY tho

-          Fucking sparkles and shit

-          D’awwwww, I love the image of Luke patching up the wolves, he’s so sweet

-          Knowing the truth about Emmy and seeing her being so happy with Layton and Luke makes it really painful :’(

-          The world needs more of Layton with a big, happy smile

-          Awww, Author Lady and Pumpkin Dude kept in touch

-          GROSKY GOT HIS UNDIES BACK

-          Ugh seeing Layton and Luke peacefully listening to that music is SO CUTE and SOFT

[hxhhasmysoul]

it amazes me that the group that claims moral and intellectual superiority in the fandom uses an acronym like mi/lf so flippantly.

it’s an acronym that comes from p/o/rn. it’s misogynistic and degrading. it’s feeds into at least two deeply sexist stereotypes and tropes. it’s at the cross section of: 1) many men viewing women attractive and fu/ckable only when they are very young (under 25) and all older women needing to be wives and mothers therefore nurturing and respectable and 2) judging a woman’s value solely based on her fu/ckablity which is deeply objectifying.

the first one polices woman’s role in society by age, it tries to enforce limitations of what a woman can be. it also allows to judge and disrespect a woman if she doesn’t fulfill these societal expectations. the second one is obvious, it’s dehumanising, it only sees a woman as someone to fulfill someone’s (usually a man’s) s/ex/ual desire. she’s worthless outside of that.

and the mi/l/f stereotype feeds off of these two things. the woman who is a m/i/lf is older so she is a mother, ergo she fulfills her societal role. but she can still be perceived as attractive and therefore fu/ckable so still useful to the man’s se/x/ual needs. and the titillation here comes from breaking the social taboo, the pure nurturing mother becomes defiled.

a side note mil/f and dil/f are terms often used in in/ce/st p/or/n, i thought in/ce/st is a no no, but apparently not really. it’s all posturing as always, or the analysis and understanding goes just skin deep. probably both. i’m sure the people who use will say that it’s a joke, they are being ironic or something. they are being as ironic as pewdiepie was when he asked people to write “kill all Jews”. this is not how irony works, you’re not reclaiming the term or using it as empowering. you’re just feeding into misogynistic stereotypes. you’re literally at the intellectual level of a far-right youtuber, congratulations .

the fact that in the hxh fandom the main character called a mil/f is mito is honestly upsetting. on several levels. she’s under 25, in no way she should be considered old, and the term is supposed to denote older women. this pushes the bar of acceptable youth and desirability of women even further down. when is a woman considered socially acceptably young and desirable? in her teens? this is just creepy.

also in mito’s case her motherhood is detrimental to her life. it robs her of her childhood, and of prospects of having her own adventures which, as her scenes with ging show, she clearly craves. those scenes already indicate the sexism behind the setup of whale island. ging can easily leave, he’s a boy he can have adventures. mito is a girl, she seems bound to the island by tradition and family responsibility. and then gon appears and ties her hands further. mito is already portrayed in a pretty sexist and unimaginative way by togashi, she is all the time doing house work or thinking about her child, nothing about her indicates that she has hobbies or even a job. a perfect docile house wife. 

and to be absolutely clear. i don’t think mito should be treated as a pure s/e/xless being. it’s sexist to view her like that, it feeds into all the stereotypes togashi boxed her into. so i’m not opposed to seeing mito in a s/e/xual context. people can hc her as whatever they want asexual/lesbian/bi/pan/straight. someone who desires s/e/x or someone who doesn’t. but she should be an agent in this, not an object. and the m/il/f label objectifies her. it does not give her agency in her own s/ex/uality. it just says: “i the fan would tap that”.

tl:dr  whenever i see this acronym used with mito it really makes me feel uneasy. but also breaks the irony-meter tbh.

_____

a little disclaimer on my stand on po/r/n, because i don’t want this post to me misconstrued or willfully misinterpreted, though i’m sure those who have the desire to do so will mange to misinterpret it anyway. i’m not against the idea of p/o/rn. i think it’s ok for consenting adults to film or otherwise share their se/x/u/al activities and fantasies with other consenting adults. it’s ok for them to make money off it. though the p/or/n industry as it exists rn is in no way ok. it’s extremely exploitative, even torturous to its performers usually women and lgbtq people. people who do s/e/x work deserve better. that’s why using a term produced by this industry does not sit right with me.

i know that there are some niche groups of women and lgbtq people who produce porn outside the mainstream industry, who do it respectfully towards each other and safely, also not feeding into the male gaze and cishet norms. i respect and support their efforts. but these projects exist on the fringes and i do not see them as a part of the general p/o/r/n industry.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

all the theories i never got to elaborate on

may you rest in peace you beautiful sons of bitches

minor spoilers regarding the cloth map.

this is it!! goodbye until I beat the game! 

finish mask of mayhem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (lol i never did)

That one about the Meta Guardian (Sentinel) being called the ‘meta’ guardian in the game files

Make a post on people who could get artificial siren powers from Tannis/Athenas, including, but not limited to: Maya/Lilith getting their powers back, Moze, Ellie, Moxxi, Lorelei, Ava unlocking her powers, Tannis herself, etc. Also, if the ‘universe-destroying power’ is creating more than 6 sirens, that’d be awesome. I do wish there was a scene where the entire party gets a new power/action skill for the final battle.

analyze all the new merch + maliwan joining the cult

all the cool broken shit you can do in bl2 like letting zer0′s hologram ragdoll and leaving claptrap to dance in captain flynt’s boss fight area without activating the fight (and breaking the game!)

also punk girl masterpost because... lord knows she’s a conundrum

The preview of the art book, notably the page describing the twins as being opposite color schemes (cause THAT’S not suspicious or foreshadowing in any way, im sure) i mean COME ON

think about how the twins got their siren powers bc apparently they were born into a ‘cage’… a vault... or a testing facility... two options here. maybe both tbh lol. compare the likelihood of hyperion testing (e-tech/slag experimentation/siren knowledge/old color scheme) vs atlas (color scheme matches more with white, typhon deleon connection, secret gortys project to open the vault of the traveller could have sister projects). also if typhon is their dad... that’s hilarious lol

and i know it’s been confirmed that the twins were conjoined and that’s probably how they got their shared powers/tattoos, but lemme ask something:

Troy’s tattoos appeared after birth. that’s been pointed out not only by me, but a bunch of other people in the fandom as well.

Tyreen says that “when we were born, our father had to cut him off me. now i’m the only thing keeping him alive”.

so what’s the truth? 

Tyreen says they were separated at birth. Troy’s tattoos would argue a completely different point: if Ty was a Siren at birth, you’d think her tattoos would have spread to Troy while they were conjoined. but clearly that’s not the case- since Troy has a full sleeve of normal tattoos that were overwritten by his red ones (of course we don’t know the details of siren tattoos interacting with normal tattoos. maybe they just don’t get inked because of the glowy/power/ethereal aspect of them. but there is the fact many of the cultists are mimicking troy’s tattoos on his arm, which makes me think they had a reference at one point)

now, i know that cut content is non-canon until confirmed by the devs, but given that we know the entire commander lilith dlc was written with borderlands 3′s plot in mind, i don’t think it’s coincidence we found that Angel’s powers/tattoos didn’t manifest until she was five.

maybe tyreen made troy and herself get these powers so she could heal him easier thru her knowledge of the vaults

or like as an experiment they (whomever they actually are- atlas, hyperion, undisclosed evil science company) forced siren powers to manifest in tyreen to see if she could keep her brother alive/to see what would happen and it ended up being she had to keep him alive because they were killing him

troy did a no no and touched a vault thing and got some powers and blew his arm off and tyreen now has to take care of him with her new siren powers like a disgruntled older sister

actually now that i think about it you’d think troy is the one in charge here because tyreen has to take care of him lol

plot twist troy becomes the leader and ty fucking hates it

either way i still would not be surprised if she kills him because... i mean. he’s the brains of the operation, yes, but once she wins, she doesn’t really need him anymore.

double plot twist she goes for the kill and he stabs her with his kickass sword and she’s all like :O

and the VHs are in the background like *sips juice from juice box awkwardly*

maybe when tyreen got her powers, troy got his even though they were seperated (or the other way around), since they had been conjoined at some point (even if they had been separated at the time).

“im the only thing keeping him alive” is making me do a thonk.

it does make me curious to know if he’s a new breed of Siren, like a different eridian timeline version. if the Eridians locked away all the Eridium and junk in the Destroyer’s vault, then maybe they needed a different power source for these kinds of Sirens (either before or after Eridium).

something like… idk… lifeforce..? being bottled into energy shots that can be shared amongst people, so it’s not entirely like siren powers (troy powering up enemies) which are unique to sirens. (i get the feeling the expanding health bar mechanic isn’t unique to ratches) (s- seraphs??)

And maybe Tyreen is dying similarly to Troy (be it from their powers being split up, complications from birth/surgery, weird experiments when they were kids), but she’s getting all her energy from the eridium in the background and thus doesn’t really feel it

meanwhile, Troy has to live off the red energy and that’s only obtained through tyreen atm. maybe the crystals are like an emergency supply, too. no- he won’t use it right during the intro cutscene, because Tyreen is Right There and she JUST absorbed someone’s life force. she can give it to him right away. no need to waste the ones around his neck. also to power up other people

Did the twins use the Eridian temple stargate system™ to get to Promethea faster than Sanctuary-III? 

Cause i can’t imagine Lily would be so surprised the twins beat us there if her teleportation powers allowed for bigg space travel… unless they have their own ship (and if they do, is it that blue and yellow one with the red symbols/writing?), but then, we probably would have seen it in orbit around the planet like we did the CoV satellite on pandora. unless the asteroid belt made them force land? but then wouldn’t sanc-iii have to land, too? is that an old moon of Promethea’s, by the way? it looks like someone just took that giant space gun and blew up Promethea’s moon. i feel bad for it :(

anyway

i would not be too surprised if the temples (we’ve seen one on Pandora, one i am guessing on Eden-6, and i am guessing one on Athenas- given the map i would guess the symbol indicates a temple so we can say Promethea, too) were a teleportation network so the twins could get from planet to planet quicker than we can. kinda explaining how they seem to be always 1 step ahead. i mean that and also they have typhon’s notes im assuming so of course they’re going to be one step ahead at all times.

[chocolate-sideburns-of-love]

I think I have the plot for Frozen 2 figured out.

Not that I've been reading a ton of spoilers or anything. Whenever I say something like "I have (show title) figured out!”, what I actually mean to say is that I’ve got the plot figured out as far as what I’D logically write if I were in the actual writers’ shoes. The chances of me being right are usually low (though I do often think my ideas are better tbh). I doubt my thoughts about it are all that original, but they do make some sense.

In the first film, we got very little backstory or information on Elsa’s powers, her parents, or Prince Hans. It’s mostly told from Anna’s limited POV. I loved that movie, but I’m getting a sense that Frozen II is told from Elsa’s POV and she’s a much more intense and serious person with a lot more knowledge than Anna, which explains the extreme tonal change in the Frozen II trailer.

An analysis of the trailer indicates that there are probably several other people with similar powers to Elsa’s. I’m guessing it’s three people, and they have the power to control wind, fire, and uhhh...something else. Maybe the last one can manipulate dirt (okay let’s just call that earthbending, why the hell not) or make plants grow and move. Who knows. The teaser shows autumn leaves in the wind with a title of ice letters turning to stone (a bit similar to Anna turning to ice in the first film). The girls are both shown in rocky locations. We see a ring of pink-tinged fire surrounding Elsa and Olaf at one point. So whatever is going on, these definitely appear to be seasonal and/or elemental powers. 

The other individuals might be chiefs/leaders/kings like Elsa, or they might not. My personal guess is that Elsa and Anna’s parents were on a trip to see one of these people for Elsa’s sake when their ship went down. Perhaps it was the wind witch (okay, airbender) which would explain why the main characters are in a new autumnal location with leaves strewn everywhere, and why the wind power is shown being used there by...somebody. 

Since Elsa is shown trying to walk on the sea to get somewhere there’s a possibility that the King and Queen of Arendelle could still be alive, which is why the girls are on this adventure in the first place. Could Elsa be trying to get to the sunken ship to find something important? Could one of the elemental witches/wizards/whatevers have caused the storm and intentionally sunk their ship? Did they really survive or is there just a hope that they did? Did one or both of them have elemental powers? We’ll find out, surely.

The trailer shows the wind power lifting what looks like a boy who might be from the Southern Isles (his clothes appear to match Hans’ style at least a little bit) while a Sami girl looks on. They both look to be around maybe 12. I’m guessing Kristoff might have something to do with the girl or her village, and we’ll learn more about his backstory and birth parents. I couldn’t really say one way or another if the girl or boy have any powers.

So far I’m just giving you a bunch of guesses, but my main theory actually has to do with Hans, his family, and the elemental “benders”. We know that there are 13 princes in the Southern Isles (which I just think of as Denmark in my headcanon). We know that Hans came to Arendelle with the intention of becoming king by marrying Elsa, but had to settle for Anna when he couldn’t get access to Elsa. I initially assumed this was some mission of personal ambition and one-upmanship for Hans. He seemed to want to show up his brothers by getting his own throne, which would have likely been his revenge for them teasing him about being so far away in line from becoming king at home. 

Buuuut now I have another idea. What if the current ruler of the Southern Isles (either Hans’ older brother or another relative like his father, mother, or uncle) knew about the individuals with elemental powers and why they have them?

Human Greed Vs. Mother Earth is a major theme in fiction, so perhaps long ago the (Disney fairy tale versions of the) Scandinavian kingdoms were in danger of being invaded by some powerful group of asshole-ish, warmongering people or creatures. Then let’s say that Odin and the Norse gods (or someone like that) gave the leaders of the Scandinavian tribes these elemental powers to help them defend their people. They defeat the evil, boom, everything’s cool, and life returns to normal for the most part, except the powers stay in the family lines. 

Hans’ family is in power in the Southern Isles. There are a LOT of princes, which seems like a very aggressive, competitive, toxic masculine environment to grow up in. I doubt Hans is the only rotten apple in this bunch. In fact, the whole family is pretty likely rotten. 

The current ruler of the Southern Isles knows about the elemental powers, and in fact might have one (please not the firebending though, goddammit, because that’s such a fanon thing). He or she sends off three (or four) of the princes to marry, capture or destroy the people who have these powers. With any of these outcomes, it means that the Southern Isles gains control of the whole region. 

Hans was given Arendelle because it should have been the easiest job. All he had to do was charm and marry the queen. If he had to kill her and usurp power there, the Southern Isles’ forces could have come to his aid. He managed to completely fuck up, however. 

A few years later, Anna and Elsa find out that their parents were on a mission to get Elsa help with controlling her powers. They suspect that there’s a lot more to the story and investigate, and wind up in the airbender’s kingdom with these kids. They find that Hans’ brothers are in control of this kingdom as well as the (possible) earthbender’s region. They have to stop them before they use the other three powers to overthrow Elsa and Arendelle and basically make the Southern Isles the most dangerous force on Earth. 

Hans might get redemption or he might not. Maybe Anna will just have to kick his ass some more. In any case I doubt that romance will be part of the resolution because Frozen isn’t about “true love wins all”, it’s about the bond between family, especially siblings. I have a hard time seeing Elsa being paired up with anybody, tbh. I think she’s popular because of her independence and her devotion to her sister, and Disney will likely stick with that. If I’m being honest, I’d like Anna and Kristoff to have relationship issues because of the differences in their lifestyles and personalities, and it would kind of be interesting and cool to see them break up but stay friends. ‘Cause that’s kinda what real life is like, and Disney seems to be more about keeping shit real these days.

Anyway that’s how I’D write it.

[purple-possibilities]

UUUHHH I WANT HIDAAAN!! for the character meme, pretty please? *///*

Yes… suuuure… you want Hidan just for the meme… not for your sin dungeon…

and i jizz—in—my pants

First impression

…

…

HOT.  like, hot as, no question, but how tf is he still alive with that pole through him?

I was, however, super pissed that we got to see our first super badass ninja lady (Nii Yugito) who was a jinchuuriki that could control her powers (the first one we see doing so consciously, if I remember correctly) and she just goes and dies after three seconds.  Like, fuck that shit.  Seriously.  It made me dislike Hidan at first.  Like, what is this pretty-boy psycho doing here, I wan’t more of that kickass cat lady (which ugh, now that I’m writing it out, i can’t believe they made one of the two female jinchuuriki a mother fucking Cat Lady.  Jesus Fucking Christ guys, seriously???)

Impression now

Jashin-sama be praised, Hidan was a great character.  He has a unique power that opens up this whole world I am super intrigued by, he’s hilarious, and I think I love him.  Like, I would never ever ever want to meet him, ever, because he would surly kill me, quite painfully.  But I will definitely admire him from afar.  Hidan is a little too hidanistic for me (get it?  It was a pun ok I’ll leave now).   

Favoruite moment

Can I just say every moment with Hidan?  No?  Why not?  He’s hilarious, psycho, and hot.  Like every word out of his mouth is hilarious.  

Ugh fine, I’ll pick one.  This:

I haven’t seen this episode yet but by god is it the funniest shit.  I’ve seen like a million different gif sets of this and am greatly looking forward to the moment where I get to watch the episode myself lol.

Idea for a story

I am super intrigued by Jashinism.  I think it would be so super interesting to explore the religion, and how the immortality works.  Like, I cannot express just how interesting I find the immortality Jashin has gifted Hidan, and I have so many questions about it that would be such a pleasure to explore.  

Like, what are the limits of his immortality? Maybe the body ages but cannot be killed.  So he could die from old age, but nothing else.  Or maybe he never dies but continues to age, until he can’t move without his bones breaking.  He eventually turns to dust, after years and years of suffering.  Like, he starves because he has no one to care for him, but he can’t actually die from starvation (or drowning or anything at all).  His ‘death’ is just the breakdown of his body, until his consciousness is left to haunt the living in his ashes. Or maybe Jashin-sama would never let that happen?  Who fucking knows?  I would love to explore that tho.

I’d like a Hidan origin story, where he’s a snot nosed brat causing all sorts of trouble, until he sees someone completing the Death Ritual, or whatever it’s called, and becomes a follower and practitioner of the religion.  Or maybe Jashin-sams sees something in Hidan, and sends him dreams of what to do.  Maybe Hidan is the only person screwed up enough to contact Jashin-sama (and just what had to happen to Hidan for him to gain that ability?  Was he tortured?  Was he just born a fucked up psychopath?).  Is Hidan the only Jashinist, or is there a huge cult of them?  Do they come from some other area, maybe outside the Shinobi Nations?  Maybe Jashin-sama is a man who developed the jutsu, taught Hidan, and Hidan thought he was a god?  Or maybe some human named Jashin told Hidan he was a god because he wanted followers?

I could go on forever.  There is just so much to explore with Hidan, it never ends.

Unpopular opinion

tbh I’m not sure what is popular or unpopular in terms of Hidan.  Hmmm…

I think it’s dumb that after “killing” Hidan they just left his body in a hole to be monitored by mother fucking deer.  Like, seriously, deer?  Ok, so they’re ninja deer, but like, there are so many unknowns about Hidan and his jutsu (and Jashin, really) that it just seems stupid.

I’ll give you one more since that one was kind of about Shikamaru and I’m not sure if that was even unpopular lol.

I like to think of Hidan as celibate.  I know I know, all you Hidan lovers (esp you Syn) are gonna hate me, but Hidan puts so much stress on mutual suffering, and I get the impression that the only pleasure he allows himself is from his ritual.  Like, our boy doesn’t even masturbate, that’s why he’s always so desperate for a good Sacrifice, lol.  

I think if Hidan did engage in something like sex, it would involve his ritual.  Like, idk if you can double team a Sacrifice but if you could I think it would be very intimate.  Hidan would connect with his partner through their victims blood, each feeling what the other two do.  And then with the death blow, Hidan and his partner would experience their own euphoria as well as each other’s.  We’re talking double simultaneous orgasm man.  Nothing more intimate than that.

…I am in you are in me…

I’m not saying Hidan has to be celibate or anything, because I love all the different interpretations, but this one is my personal favourite.

Favourite relationship

I mean, I think it has to be Kakuzu.  Like, who else does Hidan really interact with?  He had such short screen-time.  So Kakuzu.  Gotta love how Hidan is such a lil shit and Kakuzu is such a grump and they’re both so violent but they can’t kill each other.  It’s just perfect.  Plus there’s room for like, hidden attachment (or even love if you want to go that way) so it’s got a lot of potential to explore.  Those are the best kinds of relationships, because you can find so many different interpretations which always makes for interesting stories.

Favourite headcanon

Hmmmm…. I like the idea that Hidan dreams of and has visions of Jashin-sama.  They paint his vision red with blood, with fire, with utter destruction and devastation.  All sounds except for the deep thrum of war drums, the painful screams of the Sacrificed, and the reverberations of Jashin-sama’s almost too deep to be heard voice are absent.  It can be utterly euphoric to communicate with Jashin-sama this way, or it can be the endless suffering of all the Sacrifices combined and multiplied.  Neither is an indicator of Jashin-sama’s mood, but the each is equally important to his dogma.  

The visions and dreams are not an indicator of Jashin-sama’s pleasure or displeasure–he is a god of suffering and so they are synonymous.  They do not deliver messages, or give aide, or instruction.  They simply serve the purpose of connecting Jashin-sama and all his followers.  If someone is mid sacrifice, sometimes Jashin-sama will connect his other followers to the one leading the ritual, so they may all feel the victim’s suffering in the truest form of connection.

Here is the ask.  Send me a character!  Sorry this took so long Syn!  I’m trying to go through my drafts and old asks now though, so hopefully I’ll get all this shit done lol!

Up next is Adult!Obito, then Rock Lee, and Ino. (If more are sent in after this, they’ll probably take a while, just fyi).

Already completed: Madara, Kakashi, Shino, Tenzou, Gai, Genma

[fialleril]

Please feel free to ignore this if you don't have anything you feel like parting with at the moment, but I'm having a bad mental health day and would really appreciate a snippet. I don't have a preference for anything in particular, except maybe something where someone is justified in their anger (aka like 3/4th of everything you write, which tbh is probably my favorite part of your fics - I love it when characters are allowed to be angry). I'd be happy with anything though really

Hi anon! I’m really sorry I’m replying to this late, but I hope you found some good coping strategies and I hope that you’ll still find something good in this snippet, late as it is.

Also I’m both amused and delighted by your description of my writing priorities. :)

So this is a bit from fairly early on in Anabasis, though it’s a bit spoilery for all that.

I’ve posted a lot of the bits with Anakin being angry, so here for a change of pace is some angry Padmé.

In which Padmé confronts the Jedi Council and meets Shmi and Kitster.

There’s nothing at all explicit here, but just to be safe, warnings for implications of harm to children and slavery.

The Council was still gathered when Padmé burst through thegreat doors, trailed by two distraught Jedi padawans, still trying to convinceher that the Council Chamber was off limits, and by a resigned Obi-Wan Kenobi.Sabé followed after them all, managing to keep up without breaking her leisurelystroll.

The five other members of the Council all looked up at herappearance, their eyes narrowing in disapproval, all except for Yan Dooku, whowas openly smirking. But all of Padmé’s attention was for the two who stood inthe center of the room, the woman and her son, who spun now to face her, swiftand silent in a way that was all too familiar.

Padmé stared at the woman. She was worn and drab and hereyes held an anger and a sorrow so deep that it had turned to silence. She hadAnakin’s face.

Her eyes were brown, not blue, and her hair was darker whereit wasn’t grey, but the resemblance was unmistakable. It was like looking atAnakin through a strangely distorted mirror.

Behind her, Padmé heard Sabé’s faint but audible sound ofsurprise. There could be no question about who this woman was.

“Most irregular this is, Senator Amidala,” said Yoda,frowning.

Padmé drew herself up with her most regal bearing and glaredat each of the Jedi in turn.

“It seems, Master Jedi,” she said, “that you have beenwithholding information relevant to my investigation.”

The atmosphere in the room grew distinctly colder.“Cooperated fully with the Senate, this Council has,” said Yoda.

“And will continue to do so,” added Mace. His eyes narrowed.“What is it you believe we’ve withheld, Senator?”

Padmé glanced at Shmi and Kitster. They were standing stiffand straight, close beside one another but not touching. It was a protectivestance, defiant but not afraid. These were people used to having the worldagainst them.

“It’s come to my attention,” said Padmé, “that the Jedi wereaware of Anakin’s presence on Tatooine. That he was identified as a child byMaster Ki-Adi-Mundi, and left there as a slave.” She paused, swallowing backthe horror of her own reflection, and met Master Windu’s eyes unflinchingly.“It’s my belief, based on the available evidence, that Palpatine was able todiscover Anakin because of the Jedi’s report.”

Shmi stiffened, her face turning to stone. Kitster claspedher hand and stared at Padmé with wide eyes.

“Palpatine?” Shmi whispered. “You mean the Emperor? The Emperor took my son?”

The Jedi looked at one another, but they said nothing.

Padmé met the other woman’s eyes with compassion, but herwords were cool and clipped. “Yes. He did.”

She turned on the Jedi, her eyes blazing. “Did you everintend to tell me, Master Jedi? Or did you think this was somehow irrelevant tothe Senate’s investigation?”

Mace Windu’s face was thunderous, while Yoda’s eyes hadnarrowed sharply and Obi-Wan looked openly distressed. Madame Nu and MasterGallia held more neutral expressions, yet they too seemed disturbed. But it wasDooku who spoke.

“I think you give us too much credit, Milady,” he said, notunkindly. “The vergeance that Master Mundi encountered on Tatooine was, forbetter or worse, merely a footnote in his report. I don’t believe anyone hasconnected that child with our Sith Lord until this very moment. Are youabsolutely certain they are the same?”

Padmé opened her mouth, ready to present her evidence, butbeside her Shmi had tensed and stood now thrumming with barely controlledemotion.

“Of course I’m certain!” Anakin’s mother snapped. “He is my son. I knew him then, and I know him now,even if he doesn’t remember me. I will always know him.” She trembled as shespoke, but her voice was steady and hard as steel. “I wanted a better life forhim. He deserved better than a slave’s life. And when the Jedi sent MasterMireus, when he said they’d reconsidered,I sent Anakin with him. I wanted him to be free.”

Padmé breathed in sharply, and at the sound all the rigidityseemed to melt from the older woman’s bones. Shmi gasped, her legs staggeringbeneath her, and Kitster caught her and held her against his chest, though hisown arms were trembling. They held each other up, shaking and sobbing like twotrees in a storm, and Padmé watched them, all her words forgotten.

“I sent him,” Shmi whispered, over and over again, a brokenlitany. “I sent him.”

Padmé started forward, and caught herself. She thought ofthe little boy in Senator Palpatine’s apartments all those years ago, with hisstrange and terrible eyes and the blood on his hands.

There was nothing she could say to this woman.

“Very troubling, this information is,” said Master Yodasoftly. “But deceit is the way of the Sith.”

Padmé tore her eyes from Shmi and Kitster Banai and turnedto stare at the Jedi. She hardly recognized the emotion that was roiling in hergut, but a laughing little voice in the back of her mind that sounded far toomuch like Anakin told her the Jedi wouldn’t like it.

Master Yoda was watching her closely with slow blinkingeyes, compassion gentling his aged face. The others appeared equally concerned,and equally removed. For the first time, Padmé realized that they might not betroubled for the same reasons she was, and the thought burned in her.

“And inattentiveness is the way of the Jedi, it seems,” shesnapped, too tired and far too horrified to hold her tongue. “If you’ll excuseme, Master Jedi, I need to make a report to the Senate. And this time, Anakin Skywalker will be morethan a footnote.”

She turned on her heel and stormed toward the door, ignoringthe words of the Jedi that followed her, ignoring the footsteps that indicatedObi-Wan, at least, intended to see her out.

But she stopped at the door, caught and held by someinvisible bond, and looked back.

Shmi and Kitster still stood in the center of the Councilchamber, looking small and alone in that immense space, their frail figureshaloed in the midafternoon light streaming through the many windows. Shmi wasshaking still, but Kitster had turned to watch Padmé, and his eyes met hersnow, dark and knowing.

If Anakin had been a footnote, these two had been utterlyforgotten. She was not about to make the same mistake.

“I would like to speak with you both,” she said, holdingKitster’s eyes and willing him to understand. “If you’re free?”

“This audience hasn’t ended, Senator,” said Mace Windusharply, but Kitster was already nodding.

“I think it has,” he said, speaking over his shoulder to themembers of the Jedi Council. “Come on, Mom. We won’t learn anything else here.”

“Padmé,” said Dooku, almost apologetically, but Padmé turnedaway from him and all the Jedi and marched out the door, Sabé falling in besideher and Kitster and Shmi following. Obi-Wan would follow too, she had no doubt,but she would deal with him later.

The corridor outside the Council chambers was deserted butfor a young Togruta girl who stood huddled into herself under her traditionalJedi robes. Padmé’s gaze lit on her briefly, and the girl looked away,something flashing in her eyes.

“Ahsoka,” she heard Obi-Wan say behind her, “you shouldn’t behere.”

If he was distracted, all the better. Padmé spared a silentthanks to the young padawan, and sped on down the corridor, wanting to lose herJedi escort. It was probably hopeless, but even a few moments might allow herto collect herself.

“Thank you,” said a quiet voice at her side, and Padméturned without slowing to find Kitster Banai walking beside her. To his right,Shmi Skywalker watched her with raw, reddened eyes.

“It’s Senator Amidala, isn’t it?” Kitster asked, smilingpolitely. But there was something guarded behind his gaze.

“Yes,” Padmé said, offering a warm smile of her own. “Andyou’re Kitster Banai. I saw you in TheTragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.” She hesitated. But after all, howcould it hurt? “Anakin loved that play, you know.”

His eyes widened and his smile warmed. “Oh,” he murmured. “I– yes. I’d forgotten he saw it.” But then his face twisted, the smile becominga rictus grin. “I didn’t recognize him. My own brother, and I didn’t – ” Hechoked, and stopped.

Padmé had no idea what to say to him, or to the woman besidehim with her carven face and her shadowed eyes. ��I’m sorry,” she said inanely,and then, “The hangar is this way.” It was utterly inadequate, but whateverelse she might have said, she couldn’t say it here.

Shmi seemed to understand. She nodded at Padmé, and now itwas she who took Kitster’s arm. They made their way to the hangar in absolutesilence. Even when Obi-Wan joined them once more, he said nothing, and Padméwas grateful.