#anyways. can you see the basis for power & control from these ideas?

[grandpa-boyfriend]

it's so insane how rick loves morty in his own way but it's so subtle and so so so so much based implicit meanings rather than outright gestures. but it becomes so clear when you view his "expressions" of love in their simplest form.

creating rickbot? rick didn't want morty to be lonely or to worry about him, even when rick himself was upset at morty for "treating" him like he's "boring" during the knights of the sun episode

the fear hole episode at the end? he carries a picture of morty in his wallet. he LIKES being able to see an image of morty whenever he wants. it might even bring him comfort. him putting it on the board was to also show how proud he was of morty, at the end, to the extent that he would willing part with something he obviously LIKES. (tho tbh he prob just grabbed another picture at home and put it in his wallet. it was clearly a school photo and they prob do have multiple of those)

like, this is something that is really coming across more overtly in the later seasons. in the earlier seasons, we saw rick go through cycles of controlling morty and then discarding him when they either got too emotionally close, when morty expressed anger/displeasure with rick, and/or when rick felt like he needed to "punish" morty for either of the two previous things (think the vat of acid or the two crows).

rick's toxic treatment and abuse of morty can be considered him "caring" about morty in his own fucked up way, even though it's not true love and care as it disregards morty's autonomy and feelings. however, for someone like rick to willingly exert control over another person instead of just abandoning them the moment they express something he doesn't like? that's basically him admitting he wants morty in his life.

rick becoming much more soft and caring in his own way in these recent seasons is a very subtle thing - but, it's like, once you see it, then a lot of things start clicking into place in regards to his character development and his relationship with morty.

[seeker-of-stories19]

Ghostsoap Shifter AU

- Ghost is a very large black Jaguar

- Soap is a border collie

- As if Ghost weren’t deadly enough already he often shifts on missions to take care of enemies

- Shifters are rare enough no one makes the connection and no one who sees him shifted ever lives

- Most people laugh at the rumors which are about as outrageous as any of the other ones surrounding Ghost

- Of course some people theorize that the rumors are more than that but there’s not really any way to prove it and they mostly don’t worry about it too much because it’s not something that makes him more vulnerable since he already stands out on the battlefield

- Soap is the opposite, absolutely everyone knows he’s a shifter and mostly no one cares since shifting into dogs, cats, bunnies, and other small animals is much more common than exotic animals

- It’s not much use on most missions but occasionally he’ll shift if there are kids around to cheer them up or heard them toward safety

- He also shifts to comfort his team members if someone is particularly upset, almost always Ghost but sometimes he does it for Gaz too and on a very rare occasion Price

- Walks all over the base in his dog form, usually following and herding Ghost around which absolutely baffles everyone because they act fairly professional otherwise

- Soap also looks ridiculously small next to him when shifted because he’s so big

- Gaz thinks the whole thing is hilarious and after he walks in on Soap in his dog form laying on Ghost on the couch in the 141 rec room one too many times he buys Soap a PTSD service dog vest as a joke

- Ghost gives him an absolute death glare but Soap beams at him

- He thinks it’s hilarious because he has admittedly been performing Service dog tasks for Simon on a semi regular basis for months at that point

- Doing deep pressure therapy and behavior interruption and grounding tasks for disassociation when Simon is struggling, especially after nightmares

- No one cares at all what they do on base because Price is pretty much in charge anyway and everyone else is too scared of Ghost to protest

- But when they go on leave Simon has a really hard time with his PTSD and Soap has the brilliant idea to put on the vest and tag along for some errands since he can’t exactly lay down on top of Simon in public in his human form if he gets overwhelmed

- It helps a ton and they’re able to go more places, sometimes with Soap tagging along just as a dog and sometimes bringing the vest as an emergency measure and shifting if Simon needs help or comfort

- Soap definitely does a bunch of research into different Psychiatric service dog tasks

- They both agree that Gaz can never know

- But it definitely makes Simon really happy even if he doesn’t want to admit it he ends up sending Soap different ideas of tasks that would help him

- He loves to see Soap find joy in his animal side

- His relationship with his shifter form is much more complex, no one else in his family was a shifter and he tried to hide it from them, even when his mom found out she tried really hard to hide it from his dad

- But eventually he found out when he scared Simon enough that he shifted into a little Jaguar cub

- From that moment on it was his life’s purpose to force Simon into shifting, and he loved to hurt and scare Simon when he was in that form especially as a kid because he liked the power of having control over such a dangerous animal

- By the time he was old enough to join the military he already had a whole separate set of scars on his jaguar form and he swore never to let that part of himself be hurt again

- Lied on his enlistment paperwork about his assigned gender at birth and about being a shifter

- The one thing he’s always liked about his shifter form is that it was always male, even when he was a kid and hadn’t been anywhere close to starting to transition

- He thinks it’s because shifter forms are supposed to be connected to you on a soul level and it helped him process his gender

- He wants to protect himself from any further harm to that part of himself and doesn’t want to find out if the rumors about how the military uses shifters is true

- The entire time he’s with Roba nothing scares him more than losing control of his emotions and shifting but eventually it happens when Roba cuts his face open and he reacts similarly to his dad

- Tests all kinds of horrible drugs on him and hurts him and makes him kill people in his jaguar form, by the time he’s buried he thinks he’s too injured to shift but he forces himself to do it one final time to dig himself out and escape

- After that he never wants to shift again but after hunting down Roba and killing all his men he transforms one final time to kill the man, tearing him apart desperate to show him that he didn’t truly master a jaguar the way he’d tried so many times

- He tries to shift after he gets shot by Sparks and Washington but for the first time instead of his body forcing it on him he can’t do it no matter how hard he tries

- He’s too late to save his family, if he’d been able to shift he could’ve saved them and the failure haunts him

- It’s years before he accidentally shifts again in front of Price after a particularly grueling mission and the man is beyond shocked to suddenly find his sergeant turning into a massive black Jaguar

- It’s takes months after that for Price to slowly help him break through his fears, he promises not to exploit his shifted form on missions but insists that he shift at least once a week for his own sanity, it’s dangerous to just ignore it

- He doesn’t have much choice but to agree but unlike for most shifters his form is no longer a safe place to hide or rest it’s just another reminder of the horrible things that have happened to him

- After that he stops caring about his Jaguar form and what happens to it, feels a sense of bitterness that this incredible ability couldn’t protect him and instead of shifting peacefully on his own he starts doing it on missions, just using it to kill as many hostiles as possible

- He knows the violence bothers Price on some level but the Captain never says anything when he rips people limb from limb with his teeth and transforms back covered in blood

- The first time Soap sees him shifted is in Las Almas when he brutally kills a few Shadows who tried to track them to Alejandro’s safe house

- Rudy is shocked and understandably cautious of the massive animal that just tore five people apart viciously but Soap looks reverent and almost excited

- Is very happy to realize there’s another shifter on the team

- Isn’t the slightest bit intimidated by Ghosts shifted form and before he can even shift back he’s touching his broad muscled shoulders, stroking the black fur gently, whispering a brief praise to him for protecting them

- He’s too shocked to shift back and Soap just casually leads him around to the side of the house where there’s a hose

- He m apologizes for the water being cold and calmly washes the blood out of Ghosts fur while he stands there in shock

- He shifts back and they go on with the mission but he has no idea what to think about what happened and can’t get it out of his head

- Soap regularly interacts with him in his shifted form during and after missions and it becomes routine for him to give him absentminded pets

- On the battlefield Soap is the only one who specifically utilizes his shifted form in mission plans

- He gains his own reputation for having a trained Jaguar and there are some truly ridiculous stories passed around base about it

- Slowly over time he finds it normal to spend time with Soap while shifted but never outside of missions

- When Soap starts asking him to shift around the base in their rooms or the rec room he can’t fathom doing it for himself

- The first time he shifts around Johnny outside of a mission is when they’re cuddling together on leave and it’s a complete accident

- It’s very common for strong emotions to trigger a shift but for him it’s almost always been fear and the few times it wasn’t fear it was anger

- He’s never shifted from a positive emotion so he’s shocked and beyond confused when he goes from purring into Johnny’s chest wrapped in fluffy blankets while the rain pours down outside to laying half across his boyfriends body as his Jaguar self

- Soap is ecstatic and immediately shifts as well, curling into Simon’s much larger body and gently licking one of his paws, snuggling under his chin fearlessly

- They get fur and dog hair all over the bed but he doesn’t even care because it feels amazing to be shifted like this

- He hasn’t shifted once in his entire life where he was truly safe, even as a kid it was in the locked bathroom when his shifted form was still just a clumsy black kitten and he wanted to spend all his time in any body other than his own

- It’s still painful but he starts opening up too Soap about his relationship with his shifted form and Johnny is absolutely devastated

- His border collie form is so precious to him and the stress relief of not having to think the way he does as a human, of just herding and protecting settles something inside him

- He can’t imagine being so viciously abused in his dog form that it became a trap of all the worst animal mentalities

- Instead of getting a more simplified thought process and the pleasure of giving in to more of his instincts and trapping people into giving him physical affection Ghost is stuck in the flight or fight of an abused animal, scared, violent, lashing out

- He makes it his life’s mission to get Simon relaxed and happy enough to have him shift from positive emotions

- It doesn’t happen too much at first because he still has so much trauma attached to his shifter form but slowly over time he can get Simon into a headspace where he shifts more often around their flat

- The first time it happens on base for any reason other than a nightmare is when he’s giving Simon a scalp massage, twirling his curls around his fingers and rubbing his fingers against his scalp while Si lets out deep rumbling purrs

- He’s heavy enough when he shifts to half crush him but he doesn’t move much except to wiggle up enough that most of the weight is resting on his legs and not his stomach

- Simon always acts like he should be scared of him like this but it’s all he can do not to coo at him when he blinks heavy lidded green eyes at him and bats at his side clumsily with a heavy paw

- When the door opens Gaz let’s out a high pitched scream of shock and nearly jumps into Price’s arms while Simon barely moves

- It’s the animal mindset kicking in differently than fear and violence and panic and he recognizes it immediately as being how he’s always understood his shifted form

- Still very much human but fewer thoughts and more instinct, making it easier to let go of anxiety then it ever is as a human

- Price looks absolutely shocked to see Simon casually shifted, bumping his large black head against Johnnys side to get his attention

- He quickly goes back to petting him

- When he shifts back he’s clearly a bit unnerved by it but just says something along the lines of never letting Gaz live down his reaction

- It’s months later that Johnny is having a difficult time with some recruits, just the type of people who like to pick at authority to try and make themselves seem tough

- Especially against the supposedly deadly SAS sergeant

- They know of Ghost and have heard enough rumors to be suitably terrified but they certainly don’t know how protective he is over Soap

- Rather than trailing around after Soap like his namesake and scaring all the recruits like he usually does if situations like this arise he takes a different route with this particular group after hearing Soap complain about some of the particularly unpleasant harassment he’s been facing

- Soap is halfway through yelling at the group of especially rude recruits when Ghost pads over to him and buts his head against the man’s chest

- He’s so shocked he freezes and the recruits are scrambling away when Johnnys face breaks into a brilliant smile as Ghost head-buts his thighs and stomach a few times before looping his strong lithe body around Johnnys back

- Soap just continues yelling at the recruits who are now cowering because he’s just casually got a massive black Jaguar draped around him

- When he finishes yelling he gives them one more warning before writing them up for insubordination and the practically run away the second they’re dismissed

- As soon as they’re out of sight Johnny breaks out into the most delighted laughter and hugs Ghost as hard as he can, pressing kisses to his snout and beaming at him

- Ghost just pushes him down and paws at him for pets, purring and butting his massive head against his chest

- Since he doesn’t have anything to do immediately he walks towards Ghosts room and lets himself in with the spare key while the few people around stare at him being followed by a massive jaguar

- People notice of course but it’s a small enough base that despite the people filtering through regularly it really is the 141s base and anyone who knows anything knows it’s a bit unregulated and very much left to the discretion of John Price

- Not to mention they’re too scared of Ghost to create any issues anyway

- So whatever chaos the 141 comes up with is mostly just ignored

- But people are definitely freaked out by a fucking Jaguar of all things just trotting after Sergeant McTavish through the hallways

- Soap of course thinks it’s hilarious and collapses laughing the second he gets the door closed

- He’s so incredibly proud of Simon he just showers him with love the rest of the night, petting him, kissing his snout, snuggling into his chest

- It makes Simon feel more loved than he has in a long time when Johnny gets so excited at one point that he accidentally shifts as well

- They love being shifted together but they also love when one of them is shifted and the other can give them love in their human form

- Soap starts transforming even more to help Simon and he can see the man slowly becoming more receptive to his shifter form

- He doesn’t transform in front of people on base again and a lot of people think those recruits were making it up

- Soap thinks it’s hilarious

- But he’s also so flattered that Ghost would transform in a semi public place for him since he knows how hard it is for him

- He doesn’t expect that Simon will ever be as comfortable as he is with his shifter form but when he starts shifting more in front of Price and Gaz in the 141 rec room he’s ecstatic

- Price and Gaz never quite get used to it but there’s nothing he likes more than seeing Simon sprawled across the couch in a patch of sunlight, tail flicking lazily as he licks him with his rough tongue

- But nothing is better than seeing Simon at home in there flat shifting comfortably just to get some pets, acting for all intents and purposes like a glorified house cat

- He’s such an attention seeker when shifted, if Soap ignores him he’ll break mugs and vases on purpose which has him feeling absolutely humiliated when he shifts back and his thoughts are more human

- Sometimes he still shifts after nightmares and things and Johnny will cuddle him close and soothe him with kisses and snuggles as he yowls and whimpers like a trapped animal

- But overwhelmingly he shifts for positive reasons and on purpose which he never could’ve imagined in the past

- It feels like he’s finally found the peace in his shifted form that he was searching for at five years old locked in the bathroom with clumsy paws, he feels like a kitten again with Johnny who is so sweet and attentive and everything he could ever hope for

- It affects their relationship significantly and they’re both incredibly happy and they work well together

- Although they never escape the cat and dog jokes from the people who know about both of them

[yuri-is-online]

@karmablacks I'm technically studying law so I got too defense brained thinking about this :/ right anyway. When accusing someone of murder you must consider, did they have the means? The motive? The opportunity? Of the five persons of interest MC finds listed, I think all of them made that short list because they have the means to have committed a murder. That leaves motive and opportunity, which leads me to be comfortable excluding Alan, wanting more information on Jiro, Towa, and Ed, and ambivalent about Rui.

Excluding Alan

Alan specifically says he thinks that he killed Dante during the Clash, unless Dante was the victim of the One Eyed Sleeping Beauty Murder (which I will henceforth be abbreviating as OES murder because fuck typing all that) then I see no reason he would not have said as much during Episodes 2 and 5. If he started the Clash then I think that would factor into his guilt and weigh on him immensely, it would be something he thinks about regularly. Dante does not only have one eye, he's got four and we know from Haku that multiple people went past the point of no return during the Clash. We are looking at a murder that specifically started a war, not one that resulted from it.

Profile Jiro

We know the least about him out of everyone on the list, but there is just enough to understand why he's there. He was in a coma for a very long time and still hasn't healed, if he is on the suspect list presumably he was not in a coma during the murder but might have entered it after. His combat skills are good enough to protect Yuri who has none, he has multiple wounds on his body that aren't closing, and he outright refuses to spar with Luca on the basis of it being a "bad idea." I am very comfortable with him having the means to commit a murder, the question is whether or not he would have seen it as a murder. One of his first voicelines is about "giving them death because that is what they wanted." If he did kill our victim, there is a chance it was a mercy kill that other parties disagreed on, hence the Clash.

Also did you catch the bloody gloves he's holding in the teaser? I did, it made me wonder if we will learn more about the murder in the next Episode.

Profile Towa

He would have been a first year during the Clash, meaning that while he might not be new to life he was new to Darkwick and we have all seen how he acts towards new people he doesn't like. Haru felt the need to tell him not to use lightning underwater, he's not exactly the most familiar with how to treat things gently and with care. Sure, Towa is currently interested in romance and love, but Ed accuses him of not always being that way and refusing to see anything weaker than him as having value. We don't know why that changed, and until we do he remains someone who wouldn't necessarily need a specific motive for murder and has the powers to kill someone. The main problem with Towa is that if he was the person who murdered the victim, his method would be very easy to identify. He controls the weather and likes poisonous flowers, we need to know how the victim died before we can determine how strong or weak of a suspect Towa is.

Profile Ed

This bitch has been technically undead for 400 + slutty slutty years, and the one time he stopped watching tiddy streamers to help Rui with a mission he leveled an entire building. Chances are pretty good he's killed someone before and wouldn't have a problem doing it again. This is where we look at motive and opportunity, Ed is really only ever active at night and claims he cannot go out into the sun. Was our victim murdered during the day? Then that makes it less likely to be Ed. There is technically a difference between just killing someone and murdering them, murder implies a degree of intent. You wanted that person to be dead, who would Ed have enough of a vendetta against to actually want dead? And was our victim someone who would fit that description?

Ambivalence about Rui

Rui kills people by touching them and draining their life force. Based off of what we see he does to Ed and the butterfly on the homescreen, it looks like this causes them to disintegrate. While I have no doubt that Rui has killed people on accident before, is this case really one where that's what could have happened? From what we have seen of him I don't think he is someone who would have the motive to murder someone. Means and opportunity sure, not motive. But again, as with Towa, how can he be under the same level of suspicion as the others if his would be method of murder is so specific? I could see him as the murderer if it was an accident, and it's one of the reasons he feels the need to repent. Which rounds out my thoughts and brings me to:

What I Want to Know

I want the name, year, and age of the victim, when they died (estimated), and the suspected cause of death. Also why is this murder called what it is, why did it cause the Clash, and most importantly:

What could have possibly happened to that body that your suspect list has such a wide variety of possible murder methods, or are Darkwick investigators just that dumb and afraid of ghouls that they immediately accused who they think are the five most dangerous (in no particular order) without taking any of that into account? And is that murder what Taiga, Tohma, and Alan all are talking about when they say there is a spy intent on making the ghouls look bad?

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HIIII FINALLY BACK THINKING ABT. GRAYSCALE WIBBY.!!!!!!!!

actually i'm. more gonna b thinkign abt like canon wiwi in worm terms bc i hav.e. fucking. NO clue how grayscale arc will translate and i'm genuinely thinking i gotta revamp his entire powerset maybe but we'll see!! i'm SO so so so excited to get ur essay on it………

anyway. new haven wards at least a 7 or so!!!!!!!!! they could fucking kill people very very very easily!!!!! they are genuinely terrifying & they r teenagers!!! clingy sad teenagers who it would take several other capes and a ton of armed soldiers and maybe like a tank to bring down!!!! a big part of my reasoning for this & them being insanely fucking op is like… they're the heirs to the triumvirate-equivalent!!! they're out here being hand picked & groomed for the roles of shit like "level cities" and "throw yourself into leviathan" and "fight the slaughterhouse 9"-- they have to be. so scary and have so much on their shoulders & also be fucked up teenagers. to me. i feel incredibly normal about this btw. also i'm sure they all feel so normal about this i'm sure grayscale wiwi sees so much protocol being enacted because of him & feels normal about it!!! im sure people love having his powers used on him and think he's cool and great and not a sick twisted fuck!!! im sure everyone's reactions to him r awesome and have a good effect on his psyche!!!! (also i have. thoughts. on like. vigilante or rogue nhw. head in hands.)

anyway anyway anyway. BACK TO WIWI. I AM PUTTING HIM AT A 9 OR 10. THIS IS. MMM. DEFINITELY WEIGHTED WITH A CONSIDERATION TO THE PANIC AND COLLATERAL DAMAGE VARIABLE. it is genuinely fucking insane to me that william wisp can create perfect simulacra of people that are such close and perfect imitations people Can Not Tell Them Apart. and also that he can create and control MANY SIMULTANEOUSLY. WHILE BEING A DISTANCE AWAY FROM THEM. and they can ATTACK YOU. even more fucking insane is that he can do it with the environment too & can create illusions that massive without anyone even noticing??………. like. just. think about it for a second. grayscale arc is literally already worm world but think about the fucking shit someone could do when they could create such visually perfect copies that no one can tell unless they touch them or he fucks up somehow. think about the shit he could do by faking an entire environment or explosions or anything else perfectly. literally going insane thinking about this & how well it's used in grayscale arc & fucking imagine if that's just. what he did every day!!! god. anyway everything u say about wibby causes me such immense pain i cannot stop fucking thinking about "what do u think he'd do if he saw civilians being evacuated because of him". head in hands. this is literally so incoherent btw sorry but like. wiwi................

GOD. DUDE. I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY IN REGARDS TO WIBBY BUT I CANT TELL YOU YET. GOD. i feel really normal about wibby and david. they have a normal and healthy sibling relationship (<< me when i lie)

i would suggest . not . totally overhauling your ideas for wibbys powers yet. maybe altering them a little but . keep them as is for now. smile. i have some ideas. im like. on the CUSP of learning more about cauldron and the artificial powers i think though so on the basis that i dont want to sound silly about my mutuals favorite piece of media i think i will hold off on that for juuuust a little longer. side note unrelated question. i know hatchet face's power was. like. cancelling out other capes powers. is there something in worm that like. temporarily or permanently removes someones powers. that would be so fucked up! but i am Thinking. how would we go about wibby power loss arc. WOULD we even need to do this. many thoughts head full.

um . hi. roswell my beautiful friend and mutual. "groomed for roles such as 'level cities' and 'throw yourself at leviathan' or 'fight the slaughterhouse 9'" do you want me to die? do you want me to die. also thats got me thinking- do you think part of the reason they chose dakota was his anger for the s9 and what they did to his parents. actually on that note would that be his trigger event???????? i dont remember if we've talked about trigger events for nhw yet. speaking of which i think wibby getting the smoke powers should be a secondary trigger event for him. i still think about that moment a lot and it hurts me so bad. mallard conway im going to kick your ass. would the smoke powers be classified as Master since theyre like... controlling minions or whatever?????? you are the worm master (<< awesome title i just came up with) id love ur thoughts on power mechanics.

im so fucking tempted to give u a little bit of the wibby david essay here but theres a specific scene in grey i need you to hear before i go full tilt into that. for now i will just say. remember the "i thought you were the first good thing to come out of deadwood. the first thing that wasnt sick and twisted" line? yeah. god. uhhhhh finding out the older sibling youve looked up to for basically your whole life is actually a horrible piece of shit person and would throw you to the wolves if it benefited him in some way. but instead he turns you into the wolf and sets you loose on people who you used to think were your friends and you dont even realize it until its too late (yes i used the wolf metaphor on purpose be so proud of me)

ANYWAY. UM. YEAH. greyscale wibby fucking. stalking through a building and all of davids hired guards see the shit hes doing and decide its better to abandon their orders and face davids wrath later than to stick around for this horrifying cape shit theyre not equipped to deal with in the slightest. wibby starts hearing radio calls of hired hands telling each other to get the fuck out of there and he realizes the reason they sound so scared is because of him. and yet. he has to keep going he HAS TO or else this will all be for nothing and hes already done so much damage he CANT let it be for nothing. but all these people are afraid of him now

[overcomingprocastination]

10 books on procastination

The 10 best books on procrastination

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity—David Allen (2002) Getting Things Done by David Allen Getting Things Done—David Allen Have you ever wished you had one of those perfectly-organized, smooth-flowing lives we see others apparently living? Chances are it's just a facade, and they're just as much of a mess as you are, but that doesn't stop us from wishing for it anyway.

Getting Things Done is a book on overcoming procrastination by reorganizing your life into something you can control. With his experience in management and coaching, and his use of well-known methods like the 4 Ds of time management, productivity consultant David Allen is the perfect person to teach us how to do this.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones—James Clear (2018) Atomic Habits by James Clear Atomic Habits—James Clear If you're looking for a book that is clearly written, easy to understand, and well-researched that will put you on the path toward personal improvement and better habits, you can't go wrong with Atomic Habits.

This book is about how the smallest changes can have great results, and in it, habit formation expert James Clear tells us exactly how to implement this idea—mastering the little behaviors that create great change in our lives.

If you're worried that you lack the motivation and drive to put these ideas into place, James has covered that, too! This book is an excellent choice for people who are ready to get started on making a change.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment—Eckhart Tolle (2004) The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now—Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now is not specifically about procrastination, but by teaching us the importance of being fully present in each current moment, Tolle encourages us to let go of the past regrets and future anxieties that so often contribute to the habit of procrastination.

The book tells us that by cultivating awareness and mindfulness, we can gain insights into our own patterns of resistance, avoidance, and procrastination.

The Power of Now is an excellent book for those on a more spiritual journey toward self-betterment. It offers a perspective that can help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself, your thoughts, and your behavior, helping you to address any underlying issues related to procrastination.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business—Charles Duhigg (2014) The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit—Charles Duhigg If you've ever tried to do research into how habits work and how they affect procrastination tendencies, you might have found yourself completely overwhelmed by the vast amount of information out there. It's difficult to even begin to sort through it, let alone make sense of it.

Luckily, Charles Duhigg, an award-winning business reporter, has already done the work for you. _The Power of Habit _discusses a number of scientific discoveries around habits, their effect on our behavior, and how we can work toward changing them.

The basis of this forward-thinking book, with its fresh and bold perspective, is that, no matter what it is we are trying to accomplish, the answer to getting it right is in understanding and changing our self-destructive habits.

The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play—Neil A. Fiore (2007) The Now Habit by Neil A. Fiore The Now Habit—Neil Fiore The Now Habit by Dr. Neil Fiore is an incredibly useful book that is the result of the author's expertise as a top productivity expert and licensed psychologist. It's not just about beating procrastination—it's about reclaiming your time, reducing stress, and finding a healthy balance between work and play.

In this book, Dr. Fiore shares a number of practical strategies that can help you reduce procrastination, understand why you put things off, and develop a positive mindset that will help you do better in the future.

This book will help you lower your stress levels and anxiety, limit or stop your procrastination, be less perfectionist, and find more time in your life for "guilt-free play." It does this by teaching you to get started on tasks sooner and finish them faster.

By learning how to start tasks promptly, take small steps, and overcome self-imposed barriers, you can boost your productivity and lead a more fulfilling life. This book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to overcome procrastination, increase productivity, and find more joy in both work and leisure.

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time—Brian Tracy (2017) Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy Eat That Frog—Brian Tracy There are some strange expressions in the English language, and "eating the frog" is definitely one of them. Don't panic—it has nothing to do with actually consuming amphibians.

The original expression states that if your job is to eat a frog, you'd best do it first thing in the morning. It means that you should always get the most challenging task out of the way as quickly as possible.

These tasks are often the ones that have the greatest impact on our lives, which is why we should do them first rather than leaving them for later, as procrastinators often do.

Through his practical advice and proven strategies, Tracy guides us through how we can organize our lives and accomplish important tasks more efficiently. He emphasizes the importance of prioritizing our tasks based on their significance and impact.

He states that by focusing on the most critical tasks early on, we can overcome procrastination tendencies and increase our productivity.

The book offers practical tips for setting goals, breaking tasks into manageable steps, and maintaining focus when the inevitable distractions come along.

By following Tracy's advice, we can develop the mindset and habits necessary to tackle our biggest challenges head-on, ultimately leading us to greater success, fulfillment, and a more organized and productive life.

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change—Timothy A. Pychyl (2013) Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl Solving the Procrastination Puzzle—Timothy Pychyl Ironically, what often stops people from reading books like these that can help them change their lives is time. When you already feel overwhelmed, it's hard to imagine finding time in your day to read a book. That's why this particular book is so useful.

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle brings clarity to many of the questions we have about how to reduce procrastination. It is a concise guide to changing your habits that will help you eliminate procrastination from your life by presenting you with a number of precise and easy-to-implement strategies for change.

If you are someone who tends to sabotage your own goals with procrastination and lack of motivation, this book is the perfect quick read—that incorporates science and humor—to set you on the path toward change.

The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy—Chris Bailey (2016) The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey The Productivity Project—Chris Bailey If you're looking for a book written by someone who is talking from their own experience—not just from their studies or the experiences of other people—Chris Bailey is the author for you.

As a young man, just out of business school, Bailey took a year off from normal life to conduct a series of experiments on himself that would give him the insights and self-knowledge he shares with us in The Productivity Project.

He came up with numerous little experiments that he believed would have an impact on his productivity and overall life. He wrote about his experiences in his blog and later put them into book form for us to benefit from.

Among the experiments he conducted were things like:

Getting minimal sleep for a few weeks Completely isolating himself from the world for 10 days Working 90 hours a week Cutting out sugar and caffeine completely Limiting his smartphone use to 1 hour a day for 3 months Waking up early every day for 3 months after always having been a late riser Putting on 10 lbs of muscle mass As a result of his experiments, Bailey has some interesting and often counterintuitive insights for us, which he shares in this book

How to Stop Procrastinating: A Simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks—S.J. Scott (2018) How to Stop Procrastinating by S.J. Scott How to Stop Procrastinating—Steve Scott This book is an invaluable resource for anyone who is wanting to overcome procrastination and learn some effective strategies for tackling challenging tasks. With his clear and concise writing style, Scott provides his readers with practical guidance and easy-to-follow steps that will help prevent the habit of postponing important tasks.

How to Stop Procrastinating takes a deep look at the underlying causes of procrastination and offers insights into the psychological and emotional aspects of ourselves that contribute to this behavior.

Drawing from both his research and personal experience, the author emphasizes the importance of taking small, manageable steps toward completing any task, highlighting the fact that consistent effort has a cumulative impact.

Scott also addresses a number of common obstacles, like lack of motivation and difficulty initiating tasks, providing us with practical solutions and techniques we can use to overcome these barriers.

With its focus on habit formation and the cultivation of a proactive mindset, How to Stop Procrastinating empowers us to break free from the cycle of delay and work towards a more productive and fulfilling approach to work and life.

10.10. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself—Kristin Neff (2015) Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff Self-Compassion—Kristin Neff This book is not specifically about overcoming procrastination or improving time management, but its emphasis on the practice of self-compassion empowers its readers to overcome the self-critical tendencies that often fuel procrastination.

Self-Compassion teaches us that by being kind to ourselves, recognizing our fragile humanity, and working on being more mindful, we can break free from the cycle of self-sabotage.

In the book, Neff provides some practical exercises and personal anecdotes to guide us in developing self-compassion as a powerful tool for self-improvement.

With its compassionate perspective, Self-Compassion is a transformative read for anyone wanting to understand their inner struggles and learn the art of self-acceptance, along with its importance in ending habits like procrastination.

[hiraya-rawr]

Hii so uhm never done one of these but I ABSOLUTELY love your work, especially the Creator!Reader ones with drunk creator and Diluc being my favorite atm (seriously DILUC PLEASE DROP FOR ME ALREADY I JUST WANT TO SPOIL YOU) anyway 2 questions, what is SAGAU (completely new to Genshin fandom and barely returning to Tumblr so I need a LOT of updating) and can we have more Creator!reader 🥺

YES!! Diluc come home 😭 I have so much to spoil you with!

SAGAU GUIDE

As for SAGAU, it's a pretty broad AU and it's the acronym for Self-Aware Genshin AU. I was pretty confused when I stumbled into it as well.

The basis of SAGAU is generally about a reader getting transmigrated into the world of Genshin.

Moreover, the reader is usually dubbed as the Creator. Whether Reader is truly a high god-like creator or just an average person in our world depends on the writer. Regardless, because we have great knowledge of the world through the game, the characters see Reader as a sort of creator. This is also supported by the fact that we control them when playing.

Some writers like to imply that MC truly is a god and that they just lived on earth to recover, that's why MC was called back to Teyvat.

SAGAU is the umbrella word for several different AUs; here are some of the AUs I'm aware of:

Soft AU - A classic Creator!Reader arriving in Teyvat. The characters care and love you!

Imposter AU - They hunt you down because you wear the same face as their divine creator. You're seen as a heretic and it's sacrilegious. In truth, you're the true creator but you're too confused to understand why your beloved characters are like this!

Reverse Imposter AU - You're an actual imposter in this one. There's a true divine god and they're not very happy with you having a similar face.

Cult AU - Supports the violence in the Imposter AU. Their worship of the creator is cult-like, bordering yandere, so they hunt you down. It makes more sense for our loving characters to be violent this way.

Villain AU - Usually after the imposter AU. Reader turns to either the Fatui, the Abyss, Boss enemies, or goes solo as a villain. They're angry for being hunted down and they finally use their god-powers to fight back.

Consort AU - More romance-based. Your godliness is recognized and they want you to have a consort (this may breach into a Harem AU).

Unnamed - characters are aware that they're in a game and that you play them through a screen.

Flower AU - Teyvat is sensitive to creator reader, and nature yiels to them. Can be called Disney AU or other similar things.

Friendship lvl AU - their likability or ability to recognize you as their god relies on your friendship level with them in-game

Credits to all the writers who started a respective AU; I'm not quite sure who started who but if you'd want acknowledgment just tell me :>

The imposter AU is one of the more popular SAGAU works. Some writers (including myself) like to think that Teyvat has a cruel fake god ruling them, that way I won't need the Cult AU and my beloved characters won't be so wild. The work you just read was Soft AU :)

Other SAGAU terms/ideas that you may need to know are:

Golden blood - reader bleeds gold as a sign of their godliness/other-word identity.

Star-themed - reader may have star-like qualities in their eyes and blood. Used as a replacement from the gold blood au.

Vessels - When we control them while playing, the characters believe you are using them as vessels to see the world.

Acolytes - Basically your worshippers.

Consort - chosen spouse of a ruler.

___

Want to explore SAGAU more? Listing down some of the SAGAU writers I know below ((there's a lot more out there not listed!)) (don't forget to check their dni :> )

@dewdrop-writes @probablynotasquid @ranalatus @chocoenvy @neetra @saryneid @just-a-new-gi-writer @versadies @xiaophilia

___

And finally — so happy you like my work! 🥰 and there'll definitely be more creator!reader. Thank you very much!

Note that I'm actually not aware of the origins of SAGAU and most AUs, I entered the Tumblr genshin fandom pretty late too :> but hope my general knowledge helps!

[storiesofsvu]

Journey to the Past Ch 22

Bryan Kneef x reader Sorry this one took so damn long to get out. I kept getting stuck with it and working out the logistics of everything for this chapter. plus like... life... am i right? ANYWAYS, here ya go. enjoy this chapter. we enter the final plot arc now.

“Bryan!” Your shriek turned into a giggle as the man wrapped around your waist from behind, pulling you flush to him, his lips burying into your neck as they made home against your skin.

“What?” He chuckled, teeth scraping into you and you let out a soft moan, followed by a laugh as your hand tugged into his hair, pulling him off you.

“I have to go!”

“Oh come on.” He nearly whined, “it’s just a girl’s night.”

“And we spent half the morning fucking.” You laughed, turning in his arms to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “I’ve barely seen Kim this month. Besides…” you kissed him once more, “it’ll give me a chance to go through my apartment, see what I’m moving in versus what I’ll give away.”

“Fine.” He grinned, cupping your chin in his hand with a wicked grin, “I’ll accept that.”

“Thought you might.” With a grin you popped up on your toes to kiss him again before squeezing at his arm, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He left a kiss on the tip of your nose that you let out a giggle at before you were finally able to turn from the apartment and disappear down the hallway to embark on your evening plans.

*

You managed to get to your place with enough time to spare, ordering some take out that would get there shortly after Kim would and cracking a bottle of wine that you poured a glass out of to drink in the meantime. You meandered into the bedroom, starting to make sure all of your personal belongings were removed, sorting through the clothes you’d left to either take home or be donated. It wasn’t long after that that you heard the knock on the door, followed by Kim’s voice and you called out to let her know you were in the bedroom.

“What’s…. going on?” She asked with a raised brow as she perched in your bedroom doorway, eyeing the piles of clothes and belongings strewn across the bed.

“Figured I should take some time to clean my shit out and you could probably help with that.” You gestured to the bottle of wine and empty glass, “grab some wine.”

“Oh fuck, I haven’t eaten since breakfast, I should probably wait for dinner first.”

“Raid the fridge?”  You suggested, “grab a non booze drink or some snacks?”

“You’re an angel.” She shot you a grin before darting off down the hallway, returning with a sparkling water and a power bar, settling at the foot of your bed, “So… you just get the urge to clean out or?”

“Well…” You grinned at her, pausing for a sip of wine, “I’m trying to downsize a bit, not really with the clothes but more with the other shit. And to figure out what I own that are super personal versus stuff I’d be okay with strangers being around on a regular basis.”

“What are you talking about?” She laughed and you felt a brief heat sink into your cheeks.

“I’m moving into Bry’s place.”

“Are you serious!?”

“Oh don’t sound so shocked!” You laughed.

“I just didn’t ever see you selling this place!”

“I’m not, at least not yet.” You laughed, tossing another pair of pants into a suitcase, “I still kinda want my own space, I figured I’ll list it on Airbnb, that way I can control who and when stay here and when I’ll be able to have time on my own, or if we wanna have a super drunk weekend or something.”

“I mean… that’s probably the smartest choice, you can make bank with that shit.”

“Exactly.”

“He really asked you to move in?” Kim took a sip of her drink, casting you a knowing look and you rolled your eyes.

“Are you judging?” You suddenly stalled, “oh god. Do you think it’s a bad idea?”

“No!” She shot back, “I think it’s a fucking great idea. Have you guys talked about any more of a future yet or is that like, on the back burner?”

“A bit of both.” You laughed, your head shooting down the hall as a loud knock echoed through your apartment, “I guess the rest of this will have to wait.” You tossed down a pair of pants, “movie and dinner?”

“Always.” Kim shot you a grin, following you down the hall and picking up what you’d need from the kitchen for dinner before making herself at home on the couch and picking out a movie while you paid for the take out.

You brought the bag to the coffee table and started to scoop things out onto plates, the two of you splitting things up as evenly as you could before settling into the movie Kim had picked. Conversation flowed easily between the two of you, commentary on the movie while you complimented the food, digging into takeout containers for more. You fell into the usual routine, laughter taking over when you weren’t paying full attention to the movie. It was a few hours later, the movie over, you were on your second glass of wine, about to offer Kim one when you noticed.

“You still nursing that Perrier?”

“It’s been a weird week.” She laughed, practically avoiding your gaze and you smacked at her leg.

“What is going on?” You asked and she took a heavy breath, letting it out slowly.

“Something that I really don’t want to do but I need your help with.”

“Okay?” You raised a brow in her direction and she huffed, her shoulders sagging before looking up at you in defeat, “do we need to immediately rephase into attorney client privilege or is it something else?”

“I think I’m late…”

“Like your period?”

“Yeah.” She huffed, “I forgot to track last month’s so I’m not sure when this one’s supposed to come and I’ve lost track of time and have no clue anymore. Plus the guy I’m seeing… it’s just super casual, he doesn’t want anything past a casual relationship and I’m fine with that, but this would throw a loop into things…”

“Okay, well you don’t have to really worry about things yet.” You assured her, squeezing at her hand, “either give it another week and wait for your period, or we can run down to the store and get a test for you to take now.”

“I’ve already got one…” She admitted, glancing up to you with a sheepish look on her face, “I think I’m just way too up in my head and freaked out to want to do it.”

“You could wait the week?”

“And send my stress levels through the roof?” She laughed, “I don’t think that’s ideal.”

“Okay, then…You know where the bathroom is.”

“Yeah, but they only sell these things in multiple packs and I’m trying not to freak out, don’t make me be the only one, please….so what do you say?”

“That you’re being ridiculous, but you’re lucky I have two bathrooms.”

“Oh thank fucking god.” Kim let out a heavy breath, “I just like, didn’t know what to do and then this tik tok trend popped up where groups of friends all take—”

“Babe… do you seriously think I have enough time to engage in tik tok?”

“You’re right.” She barked out a laugh, moving from the couch to dig through her purse. She pulled out the box, ripping it open and handing you a wrapped test.

“Take the hallway bathroom, we’ll set a timer, I’m sure it’s fine.” You gave her arm a squeeze and shot her a reassuring smile before you made your way into the bedroom and crossed through to the en suite.

This certainly wasn’t the first time a friend had come to you freaking out about something like this, or even asking you about your own experience. So with someone like Kim, you weren’t about to tell her no, she was your best friend and you finally knew why she had been acting so weird all week. You didn’t take long, popping the top off the test and quickly doing what you needed to do before putting the cap back on and wandering back out to the main part of the apartment to be the emotional support you knew would be needed. Wondering if Kim would finally be wanting wine or if it would be a night of non alcoholic fun. You placed your test down on the island, letting out a soft sigh as you refilled your wine glass, picking up your phone to kill the time. You smiled at a couple of texts from Bryan, shooting off a couple of replies to him, a few about how you couldn’t wait to come home to him daily, and it didn’t take long after that for things to get dirty.

“Sorry.” Kim’s voice nearly made you jump, her own test sliding onto the counter across the sink from yours, “I may or may not have freaked out again.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about.” You assured her, squeezing at her arm, “besides, this is just step one, you never know what’s going to happen after this and there are always a million ways things can go.”

“I guess.” She let out a huff, taking a swig of her soda right before the alarm on your phone went off and she nearly jumped, looking to you, “fuck, do I really have to?”

“Just flip it over.” You let out a chuckle.

“Fine.”  Kim shot you a glare before doing so, her eyes settling on the small stick before she let out a heavy sigh of relief, “oh thank fucking god!”

“See! You’re fine!” You swatted at her arm, handing her a glass of wine and she laughed, glancing toward your unturned test.

“Are you gonna look?”

“I don’t see why.” You laughed, but you turned back to it, flipping it over and it suddenly felt like your entire world stilled at the sight of a little pink plus sign staring back at you. You felt absolutely frozen, pure shock taking over your entire system as your eyes widened briefly before you finally felt like you could breathe again. You blinked a couple of times, making sure you weren’t seeing something before you finally spoke, Kim’s relief not even realizing your awkwardness. “Are you sure yours was on that side of the sink?”

“What?” She glanced up over the rim of her wine glass, her eyes widening over the panic written across your face.

“Did you put your test down on that side of the sink or did you move around afterwards?”

“I… I don’t think so. I came in, put it down and waited.. I think?” She winced, “why?” You let out a heavy breath, running a hand over your face.

“Because this one’s positive.” You flipped the test over to face her and she let out a small gasp.

“Oh fuck.”

“Where did you get these?”

“CVS.”

“So like, not the dollar store?”

“No.” She laughed, “but I’ve heard they’re all the same accuracy…”

“This has to be a false positive.” You murmured, “fuck, oh fuck… you said these came in packs, right?”

“Yeah…” Kim replied cautiously, placing her wine glass down on the island, “you think we should do a round two?”

“Well considering this says that one of us is pregnant, yeah, I do.”

“I’m like ninety eight percent sure that I put mine down on this side.” She gestured to the island, “like you said, it’s probably a false positive, I mean, when was your last period?”

“I don’t keep track.” You admitted with a huff.

“Are you serious?”

“Kim! I’ve got shitty ovaries, or a uterus or whatever, my periods have been all over the place for like, ten years. I miss them regularly; it’s never been a concern.”

“Are you and Bryan using condoms?”

“No.” You groaned, “why would we?! Once we said we were exclusive it went out the window.” You let out a weary sigh, “what the fuck?”

“Hey, hey…” Kim grabbed at your arm, “you’re lucky these things come in packs…” she rustled through her bag for a minute, pulling out the box once again, “round two.”

“Christ…” You muttered, taking one of the tests from her before you both retreated back to the bathrooms you’d been in prior.

This time when you returned to the kitchen, the air was much more tense, only a few words exchanged between the two of you as you waited for the timer to go off. When it did you both let out a low breath, flipping over the very separated tests to make sure you knew whose was whose.

“Oh my god…” You whispered, a hand coming up to your mouth as the bright plus sign stared back at you, “this… I think this is actually real…” Kim’s hand came up to yours, gently taking the test from you as she flipped it to look at it.

“Oh shit….” She muttered, “you’re pregnant…”

“Yeah…” You glanced up at her, “I really didn’t think it was ever possible…. I mean they told me it wasn’t…”

“Maybe it’s a fluke… like you said.” She squeezed at you hand, “call your doctor, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Oh I know.” You huffed out a breath, a million thoughts swirling around in your brain, going a mile a minute, “it just seems so fucking surreal.”

“Does Bryan want kids?” She asked and you were suddenly sent crashing back to reality, remembering it wasn’t just your future you were thinking of.

“Oh god… I… I don’t even know. We very briefly talked about it, he seemed wary…. But maybe?”

“Okay, forget I asked.” She grabbed your arm, tugging you away from the tests and back toward the couch, “we’re gonna forget all of this, you’re going to make a doctor’s appointment and we’re going to finish this take out and watch the rest of this movie, okay?”

“Okay…” you let out a soft sigh, dropping down onto the couch beside her, letting yourself get distracted with the media in front of you rather than dwell on your thoughts and worries.

*

Bryan was in the kitchen, packing up his own dinner into Tupperware and doing a couple of dishes, rinsing out the bowl while he tried to decide if he was having another glass of wine or was going to swap to scotch. The noise from the front door pulled his attention, glancing up, his brow furrowing as you appeared around the corner, dropping a duffle bag onto the floor with a little sigh.

“I didn’t expect you home tonight.” He greeted with a warm smile, crossing through the space to kiss you softly.

“Guess I just missed you.” You replied with a soft smile, pecking him gently before moving through the room slowly.

“Wine?” He asked, crossing back to the island and lifting the bottle in your direction, causing you to stall, shaking your head.

“No, thank you.” You gave him your best smile, “I’m not feeling great.”

Bryan’s head shot up to look at you, watching the way you dropped against the arm of the couch, letting out a gentle sigh and he crossed the room to you a hand gently cupping at your cheek, “you okay sweetheart?”

“Yeah.” You smiled, leaning into the embrace, “just tired.”

“Alright.” He leant in, kissing you tenderly and you hummed against his lips, tugging him back for a second.

“Can…. can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” His thumb stroked across your cheek; his eyes soft as he gazed across at you.

“You want a future here, right?” You glanced up to him, your heart beating a million miles a minute as you did your best not to hold your breath.

“Are you fucking with me?” Bryan laughed, “of course I do. You’re all I ever wanted….”

“Okay.” You let out a shaky breath, smiling at the way he squeezed at your hand, “I just… fuck, Bry,” you let out a small laugh, sinking further into the arm of the couch as Bryan moved forward, his hand continuing to stroke at your cheek. “I don’t want to freak you out or anything, and I know it’s fast and kinda weird, we haven’t technically been together that long..”

“But time doesn’t really mean anything?” He murmured with a raised brow and you laughed softly.

“No, no it doesn’t.” You let out a breath, the wheels in your head spinning as you tried to put your words together. Considering how he’d reacted to a minor inconvenience before you were serious when you said you didn’t want to freak him out, and something like this might send him running for the hills. Kim was right, you should wait until after going to the doctor to bother bringing it up, there was still a decent chance it was false, you sighed, glancing back up at Bryan and you could feel the adoration pouring from his eyes onto you, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, and I love you more than anyone ever. I don’t need you to say the same back right now but there is no one else in the world I would rather spend the rest of my life with.”

Bryan let out a soft chuckle, nuzzling against you softly, “if you want me to buy you a ring, I will.” His lips hit yours softly, “because you are, without a doubt, the absolute love of my life, and I would give everything to spend my life with you.”

“I don’t need a ring.” You laughed softly, your hand coming up to catch his cheek, redirecting his next kiss to your lips, “but how about some cuddles? I honestly am fucking exhausted.”

“Whatever my girl wants, she gets.” Bryan smiled, kissing you gently before helping you up and guiding you down the hallway.

You couldn’t help but smile at the way he helped you out of your clothes, shifting you into comfortable pyjamas, making sure you were okay, a bottle of water by your bedside before he changed himself. He then wrapped you in his arms, pressing a soft kiss to your head, his hands ghosting over your body until they settled in a very affectionate manner. You weren’t totally sure, but you thought that you might have fully broken into Bryan Kneef’s soft side, one that wasn’t going to be reserved for just you anymore.

As you finally drifted off to sleep your thoughts shifted from whether Bryan would be as receptive to this news as you were or if he would go against his word and disappear out of your lives to ones of a long happy future with him. He had you tucked so tightly in his arms, nuzzling you deeper into the embrace with each breath, lips gently brushing against the top of your head, you felt safe, protected and most importantly, loved. And exactly where you needed to be.

__________________

@detective-giggles @plaidbooks @thatesqcrush @witches-unruly-heartt @beccabarba @bisexual-dreamer02 @amelia-song-pond @madamsnape921 @whimsicallymad @mrsrafaelbarba @mysticfalls01 @ssaic-jareau @caracalwithchips @barbasbodaciousbeard @alwaysachorusgirl @beardedbarba @michael-rooker @rafivadafreddy @lustvolle-liebe @anlin2058 @fandom-princess-forevermore @tinyboxxtink @alexusonfire @xovalliegirlxo @nobody-important12122 @somethingimaginative177 @momlifebehard @misscharlielulu @fighterkimburgess

[humanwheatleyslefttoenail]

why do you ship chell and glados if glados is basically her mom

Okay this is actually a pretty common misconception in the fandom that unfortunately a lot of people have taken as canon, but I’m feeling nice so I’ll answer your question.

Basically, anon is referencing a theory from around 2012 that Caroline is Chell’s mom. The evidence for the theory is as follows:

- The turret opera calls Chell “bambina”, which means “little girl” in Italian

- Chell’s name can be found on a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day science project

- GLaDOS references the possibility of Chell being adopted multiple times

- GLaDOS is significantly nicer to Chell after discovering she’s Caroline 

And, anon, you’re right, it does sound like a pretty good argument at first glance. The problem is that a lot of these points don’t actually hold up to scrutiny.

For example, although “bambina” literally translates to “little girl,” it’s often used in the same way “baby girl” is used in English - it can mean child, but contextually it’s usually a flirtatious term. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary)

For Chell’s science project, it doesn’t work as evidence for the theory because GLaDOS killed the scientists around 1998-ish, when Caroline had presumably been uploaded several years earlier and Cave was already dead. Also, Chell’s in her 20′s, and since we know from Lab Rat/Portal 2 that people don’t age in stasis, and that Doug put Chell at the top of the test subject list only weeks after the takeover, Chell was 28 at the time of the takeover. The science project is really only an Easter egg and doesn’t actually fit into the canon timeline let alone prove anything about Caroline and Cave. 

GLaDOS talking about Chell being adopted is a pretty strong point, I’ll admit, but also it’s important to remember that maybe half of what GLaDOS says is true. And even if we take what she says at face value, she also says there’s a man and a woman in stasis with Chell’s last name, which could not have been Cave and Caroline because they were already dead at that point. And the official book Final Hours Of Portal 2 confirms Cave and Caroline were not married and could not have shared the same name anyway. It was also the 50′s, an an unmarried couple of two likely famous people having a child would’ve been scandalous, and yet we see no hint of something like this affecting their company. 

Also, although GLaDOS is nicer to Chell after the Caroline reveal, that’s not necessarily indicative of a mother-daughter relationship, and neither is any of their interactions. It’s just. GLaDOS being friendlier. 

Finally, when this theory was made (and let’s be honest - it still is happening) Chell was constantly whitewashed to hell and back. 

Chell is Japanese-Brazilian, and Cave and Caroline are white, so it would be a near impossibility for her to be their biological child (and insisting otherwise is kinda. just. whitewashing). And although people will cry “adoption!”, based on what I’ve previously proven, that’s pretty much impossible. This theory that somehow she’s Cave and Caroline’s daughter erases an important part of her identity. [Disclaimer, I am white, but this is what I’ve heard from around the fandom]

With all that said, the idea that she’s the daughter of Cave and Caroline really doesn’t hold weight when you really analyze the canon. It’s surface level analysis that doesn’t hold up. And honestly? The idea kinda cheapens the story. It’s much more powerful that GLaDOS learns to care about Chell and becomes kinder than just. Oh, she remembered she’s related to Chell. 

But to actually answer your ask. 

Why do I ship them?

Well, they aren’t mother and daughter, I think that’s pretty obvious now. But if you actually look at a lot of subtext in Portal 2, without the lens of the mother theory, it’s actually pretty romantic! 

I know that sounds ridiculous, but bear with me!

Now - it’s totally okay if you don’t ship them. I get it. Their interactions in Portal 1 and the first half of Portal 2 are toxic if not outright well. Y’know. Murderous. I completely understand why that turns people off from shipping them, and ultimately, shipping is a personal thing. To each his own. 

But before you judge me, let me present my case.

Exhibit A: Portal 

Portal is kinda gay. No, really. Chell and GLaDOS are enemies in this game, but the entire focus is on their relationship (good or not) and the power struggle between them. They are opposites, two sides of the same coin, different representations of opposite ideologies. People have analyzed Portal as a relationship metaphor, or as a metaphor about women’s role in society - either way, the heart of Portal is the complicated dynamic between Chell and GLaDOS. 

That’s not necessarily enough to code a romance, but a lot of popular (and especially popular queer ones) ships begin with opposite ideologies, symbolic powers colliding. Portal cements their relationship as a toxic one, something on the verge of falling apart and hurting both parties in the end. The ending image, of Chell and GLaDOS side by side after the battle, reinforces the symbolic parallels between the two. 

The companion cube is also pretty symbolically important to this interpretation. It’s literally a representation of someone’s heart, and you are told to protect it and preserve it under GLaDOS’ orders, and then you have to destroy it regardless of how you actually feel about doing that. You are destroying GLaDOS’ heart, so to speak. 

There’s also the ending song, Still Alive. The lyrics speak for themselves.

They hint that GLaDOS’ feelings about Chell are more complicated than they may appear (if she’s not being sarcastic...) and she literally talks about Chell breaking her heart (also, think back to the companion cube. Yeah.). The entire song is structurally similar to many a breakup number, with the laments of “I’m glad it happened, but also leave.” 

At the end, we also see that the long promised cake GLaDOS was supposedly lying about was real the whole time. Before Portal 2 came out, it was mostly interpreted as a stinger ending (along with the nicer lyrics of Still Alive) to make you question GLaDOS’ true motives and intentions.

She actually did have a real cake waiting for you. (Side note - not really evidence, but in Argentina, “torta” means cake in Spanish. It’s also a slang term for lesbians. So. Do with that what you will). The cake is what GLaDOS offers you to lull you into the sense that she cares about you, so discovering that “the cake is a lie” wakes you up to the realization that she doesn’t. Except then the idea is subverted one last time, at the very end, showing that the cake is real and at least some of what she said she meant. 

You also see the companion cube. You know, GLaDOS’ symbolic heart?

Now, okay, you might be thinking I’m extrapolating a bit too much. And you might be right. But Portal is not the only game in the series, and if you’re asking me about Cave and Caroline you obviously know about Portal 2.

Exhibit B: Portal 2

If you thought Portal was gay, Portal 2 turns that up to 11.

Even before GLaDOS wakes up, you’re treated to some visual subtext. A few of Rattmann’s drawings representing the events of Portal 2 focus a lot on the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell, with more of the cake symbolism.

In this, you can see a face layered on top of GLaDOS. This could be foreshadowing about Caroline, and likely is, but also resembles his other drawing of Chell. It insists that Chell is a part of GLaDOS, or reinforces parallels between Chell and Caroline, hinting at something either way. 

In this picture, we also see Chell standing on top of GLaDOS, in the same position where the overlay of the feminine face was, again referencing the parallel. It also presents them as opposites, fundamental parts of the same thing and both connected to the same basis, but on opposing sides. 

When GLaDOS wakes up, she returns to her antagonistic role, but there are more hints to something deeper just like in Portal. 

Here, in her awakening lines, she references Chell not unlike an estranged ex. Also worth noting that GLaDOS is pretty much the personification of testing (in a sense, she is testing since she can control all of Aperture like an extension of her body), and insinuates that Chell loves to test. And that she reciprocates that feeling.

In test chamber 10, she says this:

It’s supposed to be threatening, but it does read as almost... sentimental. 

There’s also another chamber with companion cubes in Portal 2. I already talked about their symbolism in Portal, and the same pretty much applies to them here. However, GLaDOS says something interesting about them during this level:

Once again, meant to be intimidating, ends up coming off as “well, GLaDOS, why were you going to give Chell a heart shaped representation of yourself that says ‘I love you?’” And you might think I’m stretching the GLaDOS’ heart metaphor thing a little far here, and I might agree, if the companion cubes didn’t literally sing Cara Mia for you. 

Cara Mia is the turret opera from the end of the game, which is all about how much GLaDOS cares about Chell. More on that later. But the companion cubes play a song called Love as A Construct, and when you get close to them, they sing a specific part of the song that has the tune of Cara Mia. These things literally exist to sing about GLaDOS’ feelings. 

Which makes this line a lot more. For lack of a better term. Tsundere-ish.

Then, right before the escape, she starts talking about the confetti from her fake surprise. 

I really don’t have to explain this one. What else does GLaDOS consider an inconvenience but might miss anyway? Or, more aptly, who else?

Then, during the escape, she teases a (fake) final test chamber in front of you, and forms the panels in the shape of a heart. No, really. 

Up to this point, a lot of the points I’ve presented are interspersed with a fair amount of antagonization on GLaDOS’ behalf, more Foe Yay than anything actually hinting at something deeper than GLaDOS being conflicted about whether she loves or hates Chell. But things really ramp up after Wheatley’s betrayal, when the two of them are forced to team up. (I should also note here that “enemies to lovers” is a pretty classic queer romance trope.)

Here, GLaDOS is put on an equal level with Chell and they have to rely on each other if they want to survive. For the rest of the singleplayer campaign, GLaDOS becomes a lot nicer and even friendly to Chell. There comes a point where she starts referring to Chell as a teammate, calling them “we.” She begins to consider them one unit, two opposites unified. Here’s what she says after the lemon rant:

You can not only see her using we, but actively talking about how her and Chell are going to fight Wheatley together. There’s also that last line - “let’s explode with some dignity.” GLaDOS has fully accepted the very likely possibility that she and Chell might die together. That she might die on the same level, and the same team as Chell. And she seems... surprisingly okay with that, as long as she and Chell go together. 

It’s during the Old Aperture levels that Chell and GLaDOS also discover that they have a lot in common. This is the part of the game where GLaDOS figures out she’s Caroline, that she’s human. Or, that she’s like Chell. And Chell discovers (from what we can tell anyway) that Caroline is kind, that she’s funny and smart and so many of these things she never noticed about GLaDOS before. Now also with the knowledge she is fighting alongside another human being. 

You can also draw parallels between Chell and Caroline, both intelligent women ultimately betrayed by their seemingly innocuous male friends before being trapped in Aperture and forced to team up with one another in a way that will free both of them. We see that really, GLaDOS isn’t that different from Chell - she too has been imprisoned in this place against her will, but in a completely different way. Once again, the idea of two sides of the same coin applies here. 

I’ve written another meta about this before, but I also think the whole idea of repressing a part of your identity and hating it, before bonding with another woman and then realizing that it’s okay to be like her and to be on her side. It’s okay to be yourself and meeting her is what helps you discover this new part of yourself. Is kinda inherently gay. GLaDOS’ discovery of her own humanity just fits so well into a queer realization narrative, to me at least.

Then, Chell and GLaDOS escape Old Aperture and have to get through Wheatley’s tests. 

Here, GLaDOS isn’t just begrudgingly on Chell’s team. She’s actively helpful. She wants to help Chell solve tests, defends her from Wheatley’s insults, and makes jokes to lighten the mood. Things that can really only be explained by her caring about Chell, especially the part about the insults. See below.

After the two escape Wheatley’s testing track, right before the boss fight GLaDOS has a few other things to say.

GLaDOS is not going to betray Chell, because of some kind of conscience. But she could easily ignore that back in her body, and yet? Here she’s deciding not to, and for no good reason. She didn’t have to say that to Chell, but she did, because she cares and she wants Chell to live.

And then, moments before the fight:

The final lines imply that GLaDOS does not think of Chell as an enemy anymore, and that it doesn’t matter what Chell thinks because they are in this together and they are getting revenge together. It’s pretty heartwarming to be honest, to know that even in a fight that will almost certainly kill you, she is there rooting for you and caring about you, even if you don’t feel the same way about her. It no longer matters to GLaDOS whether you even reciprocate - you staying alive, you making it through is enough for her.

So Chell fights Wheatley and sends him into space, all well and good, and at this point, GLaDOS has the option to kill Chell. But not only does she not, she actively saves Chell, and holds her hand in the process. If you don’t believe me:

And not only that, but when Chell goes unconscious from her injuries, GLaDOS sits and waits for her to wake up. It’s also implied that GLaDOS carries her to the elevator, since it’s where she wakes up but not where she passed out. In the scene where Chell blacks out, you can also hear the part of Love As A Construct that sounds like Cara Mia. Yeah. Yeah.

If you think that this cannot possibly get any gayer, you are wrong again, because then GLaDOS makes her final speech. Which is really just a love confession, let’s be honest.

The “surge of emotion?” Do you mean love, GLaDOS? And the idea of GLaDOS considering Chell her best friend, despite everything these two have done to each other? The idea that GLaDOS, out of all people, forgives someone?

Except this isn’t even Chell’s final send-off. GLaDOS writes her an entire opera of turrets, that sing a literal love song. (Note what I said earlier about the use of the word “bambina”).

It really can’t get any more obvious than that. “My (affectionate romantic term here), my dear, I adore you.” How. Is. That. Heterosexual. In. Any. Way.

So Chell goes to the surface, set free by GLaDOS (think of the saying “if you love something, set it free), and you think that’s the end. Until GLaDOS gives you a companion cube so you aren’t alone on the journey, and from the burn marks, you know it’s your first companion cube. Her original heart, her first gift to you, a piece of her that she wants you to carry with you to remind you that she does care about you after everything. It also gives the lyrics to Still Alive a much more genuine meaning. 

Portal 2 ends, and then the ending song, another GLaDOS number plays. Just like Still Alive, Want You Gone is structurally a break up song and very obviously about GLaDOS missing Chell and “counting on” (read: caring about/loving) Chell’s tendencies and quirks. 

She’s accepted Chell completely, and yet also given Chell the one thing she wants most. Only wanting Chell gone can mean GLaDOS not wanting Chell in her life anymore, but can also mean she wants to give Chell the freedom she’s wanted for so, so long. It’s the best thing she can give.

In the co-op campaign, GLaDOS also references still caring about Chell.

And that’s the end of the Portal series. Except. Brace yourself. Despite the games being over, there is STILL more subtext somehow. It gets. Even gayer.

Exhibit C: Supplemental Evidence

Valve has made a lot of extra/cut content for the Portal series, and I’ll be looking at some of it below.

This official valentine from Valve shows GLaDOS offering a romantic partner cake, which as we’ve established before, is very symbolic of GLaDOS’ feelings about and/or relationship with Chell. 

There’s a lot of other concept art and official art that emphasizes their relationship too. See below.

There’s also some cut GLaDOS lines that are even gayer than the source material and again, sound like confessions or references to a breakup:

The idea of “discovering things about someone”... how much more obvious can it get?

The developers have even confirmed a lot of my commentary on Chell and GLaDOS’ relationship in The Final Hours Of Portal 2. See these quotes from the book/this post:

The devs literally describe it as a romance. They use terms like “cheating,” they wanted to write a romantic duet, JoCo purposefully wrote the endings like love songs. It is literally, blatantly said by the creators of the game that their relationship is interpreted romantically. By the creators of the game. 

And if Word of God confirmation isn’t enough for you, have a song written for a cut alternate ending by GLaDOS’ voice actress, Ellen McClain. The song is literally nothing but GLaDOS talking about caring about Chell, about not wanting her to die/leave GLaDOS alone, about wanting to bake a cake with Chell, about waiting for Chell to wake her up. It’s so genuinely sweet and sad, and really, really romantic in the most heartwrenching way possible. 

JoCo also came back for the Portal levels in Lego Dimensions, writing one final breakup song for GLaDOS to sing about Chell. It comes off as GLaDOS not wanting to admit she misses Chell even though she obviously does, trying to replace their relationship but failing, and even explicitly forgiving Chell/wanting her to come back.

Also, the “finally I understand,” as if only now GLaDOS understands just how deep her feelings for Chell are... What else can I say?

In Lego Dimensions, GLaDOS also outright rejects anyone who isn’t Chell.

In Conclusion:

Why do I ship Chell and GLaDOS? 

Well, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I ship them. 

Because I think it’s glaringly obvious Portal does.

[ganondoodle]

(had more thoughts as i was trying to fall asleep so here they are now)

additionally, i might be grasping at straws here BUT, the fact that the ancient hylians were kinda aesthetically "native" and then some alien god thing shows up with hyper advanced tech (isnt it just magic actually? like the shiekah stuff at least had something mechanical to it and sonau tech is just green stuff making stuff just magically work even if its just floating stone rings- WHICH is not boring or uncool but calling it tech is a little?? to me?? ALSO ALSO it kinda feels like- the people living in these lands could never come up with soemthing like that so OBVIOUSLY it was aliens idea which im not a fan of either- espeically considering how the shiekah play into this-

now they are basically just *cheap* copies of the sonau bc those were FIRST you see and while the royal family isnt the one doing it they are still in control of it *cough cough old hyrule king persecuting the shiekah bc he was scared of it AFTER IT SAVED HIS SHITTY KINGDOMS ASS* and the shiekah fully serving them (also with the design and theme like the third eye etc also now apprently being sonau in origin just makes it all more feel like the shiekah never came up with an original idea themselves and also kinda ... erases their history tracing back to skyward sword?? unless the sonau are actuall like a sepearet more better and godly version fo them that onyl now decided to gift hyrule with their presence?? it only gets worse)

and also they are now related to not only one god (allegedly- im a believer of hylia didnt reincarnate and its all a ruse to justify hyrule being the god given kingdom needing to exist into all eternity no matter the cost) but TWO.. or aliens .. i guess .... though it still feels like they just did away with zelda being always descended from the first zelda (which brings interesting conflicts with it for any zelda and the pressure such a legend has) bc now rauru is the cool new guy and actually she got her powers from him actuallly SOMEHOW even though we never see a kid of sonia-rauru even though that would be necessary unless now it counts as a spiritual successor bringing down the whole basis of the basic zelda lore with all that--- anywAY) and then just make a kingdom up out of thin air that aims to bring everyone under their control

and then have the evil irredeemable villain be a scary big brute from a desert (whos people also ... didnt change a bit from all back then to now?? am i remembering that right? they look exactly the same- .. though that goes for all of the little tiny bits we see of th eother *ancient* races if you count one person of each hidden under a sonau helmet adorned in sonau style clothing ... still such a big missed opportunity you could do so much with all those-) that hates tech and wages war against the (double?) god people in charge of refounding the god given kingdom that is also in charge of that tech (no matter how exploitative its operation might be- it still treated as a perfectly good thing that only brings good) bc he doesnt like it/wants to show that tech isnt the way to rule a kingdom?

that just feels off?? to me?? just me??

(obviosuly there are arguments on how that whole not liking tech thing can work and make sense but as a WHOLE package of what the game says and is it still ends up feeling like i said and we are just tying ourselves into knots trying to make any sense of this mess)

(just to say this, not saying gan should have accepted the tech either- i actually hate the whole sonau "tech" stuff bc of .. all and more reasons listed here but .. you get the point ... hopefully)

you know, i had a totk thought (uh oh)

soemthign thats really bothering me about the whole "actually, ganondorf didnt like the guy appearing out of nowhere marrying a hylian and just saying yep das our kingdom now and we can mine it barren under your nose and also i got laserbeam pebbles that i totally wont ever use on anyone come join me or die just bc of all of that but mainly bc the guy brought some weird tech with him that he dont like" - thing is that ......... we see almost not a single tech thing in the past (and for that matter see nothing of the oh so perfect and peaceful paradise hyrule was before big evil desert man didnt want to join our paradise- like what is the point about making the whole point of the game be -we need to restore hyrule to this paradise it once was- when you dont even see it or get to care about anything of it)

it might sound like a weird hangup but no really, the most we see is like two servant constructs, thats it, when they 'prepare for war' im pretty sure all you see is some lightly dressed ( ... is it just me or does their whole get up look alot like native american/other indingenous people too ... i still dont know how to feel about that- kinda adjacent to some of the sonau armor, the battery one i think??, also having that look...) hylians with spears, where the heck is all that tech?? is it implied to be all down in the mines hollowing out the underground (for no real reason either bc .... theres only two sonau left and no one else seems to want use nor need the tech otherwise there should have been more traces or soemthing left of it -unless it all just magically appeared out of nowhere in mostly prime condition while all shiekah tech jsut vaporized for bs non reasons just for it to be in tha game but oh dont you see its always been there lmao- so whats the point really????)

or up in the sky as most battle constructs are and they cant get them down in time bc *gestures vaguely*

or is it intentionally kept out of view bc idk seeing an army of robots on raurus side he can send out on a whim might not make him look as oh so good and perfect as they want him to look when he already got laserbeam pebbles (most of which hes been hoarding until ONE falls into hands not under his control) ?? like it just ... feels weird?? so many battle constructs that can even be a threat to link are jsut fully functioning strolling around in the present still, why wouldnt you want to use any of them to battle gan and if they DID why wouldnt you show that (no the 3 second unicorn cutscene doesnt count bc its just .. gan and his monsters isnt it) ?? (also ... why isnt there a big like battle ground , like fine you dont have to animate an army of monsters and robots clashing but... wouldnt it be cool to have you discover a giant flat plain in the underground (that magically got put under ground like gan just decided to stroll down there to get sealed lol) and its the only mostly empty field in the game littered with thousands of monster bones and dead constructs intermingled?? just to give it all a bit of weight?? evidence that it happened?? cool ass discovery????)

(also also i cannot let go of ganondorf apparently being sooooo anti tech but then clamgan uses the shiekah stuff??? shouldnt he also be against that then or is that suddendly fine bc- oh woops sorry, forgot clamgan is actually just something, not connected to gan at all actually, i mean why else would miasma turn into malice only to turn into miasma again haha none of that is connected actually what is a calamity anyway? also im sorry to bring this up again but i just cannot let go of the ppl in the present being so obsessed with using sonau tech in every part of their life now- they just lived through an apocalypse of a barely understood strange tech but CLEARLY this other even less understood strang tech is not dangerous at all lets make CARS OUT OF IT and what theres no danger in miasma and that tech existing at the same time LIKE SOMETHING ELSE BEFORE THAT IDK SEEMS LIKE A BAD COMBO--- oh sorry forgot that ceased to exist in both the world and peoples minds for *gestures vaguely* plot reasons- why why why are monsters mining the sonanium?? they dont even work with the yiga no that is also completely disconnected we dont wanna draw and interesting connections after all- whats the point if it means nothing but to be a loot box for the player-- actually, so much of totk is just a so built around throwing you into a box of toys with no substance to it- listen i know games are kinda like toys but if it doesnt make sense and offers you nothing interesting to think about even slightly whAT IS THE POINT)

[bigfan-fanfic]

The Star-Spangled Man (Male!Biotic!Reader x Steve Rogers)

Requested by @usngay21 for  Steve Rogers x Male Biotic Reader? Love your writing!!!

I suppose it isn't impossible to assume Captain America could be stuck in the ice for 230 years and come out in the Mass Effect times.

But boy, is it a huge culture shock.

Since the acknowledgement of humanity as an advanced galactic race with their own embassy on the Citadel, there has been a movement to stimulate trade and exchange of ideas.

And even though Earth has moved on from the idea of states and divisions and become just one planet in a Systems Alliance, it's still a major archaeological find assisted by the help of salarian and asari geological survey methods that allowed Captain Rogers' body to be retrieved.

Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier Serum was a feat of bioengineering on par with the manufacture of the genophage, and thus, Captain Rogers is still a marvel of science and humanity - in fact, Erskine's work is the basis upon which biotics were developed, so one could say Steve was, in fact, the first biotic.

It's definitely hard for Steve to accept that in 230 years, humanity has taken to the stars and made contact with other, way more advanced species, but the needs of one man pale in comparison to the political needs of humanity across the galaxy, and thus after a year or so of physical and mental therapy, Steve is appointed an honorary representative of the Systems Alliance and provided a modified Captain America suit by President Huerta himself.

It isn't long before Steve proves, that even out of his depth as he is, he is still the same person, and when he meets with the Council, he even impresses the Turian Councilor with his respect and interest in the customs of other species.

Of course, there are particular problems from the Terra Firma party who freak out that Steve publicly supports humans having to earn their place and work with other species to earn a place in galactic policy.

It's not long before you're placed to work with Steve. The Alliance has been eager to promote their success with the new fresh-off-the-line L4 biotic implants, and what better way than to form an honor squadron led by the first augmented human? You, about five other L4s, and Steve make up the Brooklyn Squad, named after Captain Rogers' hometown, an outdated name for one of the boroughs that used to make up Unity City.

The Brooklyn Squad serves as a part honor-guard, part ambassadorial endeavor. You often serve as security for delegates sent for talks with other species' governments, and Steve's presence is so well-received that it's not long before he's appointed to the staff at the Alliance embassy on the Citadel - it's a ceremonial position anyway due to most wanting to keep him in the line of sight for relations with other species, but not wanting him to end up in government or among policy makers.

Steve has been basically shoved around for a few years and not particularly happy of the lack of control he's had over his life. Probably would resign if not for his sense of duty and getting to be around you - he's become close with you and the other members of Brooklyn Squad, sort of a second chance at the Howling Commandos. Once he's removed from active duty for ambassadorship, he's pretty quick to ask you out now that it's no longer necessarily fraternization and pulls some strings to get you assigned to the embassy when you express interest in spending more time with him.

Steve is fascinated by the new world, although it's very much of a shock for him, as pretty much nothing is the same.

He likes it when you mess with him with your biotics - rubbing his back, smacking his ass, ruffling his hair - and when you're alone, pinning him down and manhandling him with your powers.

Steve is gentle and kind as ever, and sweet, but with the world so changed, he's also more outspoken, and resolves to do and advocate for what is right.

I can figure it's at this moment that Steve can sort of see himself starting to accept this new life... and of course, that's the moment that kicks off the Reaper War...

[pannyacottafugo]

people who say if fugo had joined the rest of the group he would’ve saved the others and defeated the boss are insanely stupid and wrong and i can literally debunk that entire concept.

abbacchio was left alone. you could argue that fugo could’ve stayed with him, in which case it’s highly likely that *both* of them would’ve died, considering they had no idea who the boss was and he caught abbacchio by surprise. so saying he could’ve saved abbacchio implies he would’ve known that within a group of children there was doppio (who they’d never seen before??) he would’ve just killed off fugo too, that is if he would’ve even been with abbacchio at the time, which there’s no guarantee because no one thought he was in danger by staying on his own.

narancia was also caught off guard and literally no one could’ve predicted it. and let’s say EVEN IF they had, fugo wouldn’t have been able to do anything. he has almost no control over his stand and diavolo was inside mista’s body, meaning that trish would’ve also died, and mista would have no body to return to. if fugo was able to save narancia, then any other member of the gang would be able to, his stand doesn’t help here at all. and if he was there, this arc would’ve looked different because there would be an extra person, however in order to kill diavolo they would still have to get the arrow back and therefore regardless of who was swapped with who, fugo has no real power over anyone else here.

and diavolo couldn’t have been beaten any other way besides the stand arrow. because if fugo had attempted to kill him using purple haze, he would’ve just used king crimson to avoid it. and not only that, the body swap lasted almost up until it was time to defeat the boss, which prevents fugo from being able to take action anyway without harming another member of the gang. plus they didn’t know which body was hosting diavolo, so they didn’t know who to attack.

i’d say there are other fights where he would’ve been useful (like i’m so confident that he would’ve instantly been able to tell narancia had a stand on his tongue lol), and obviously it would’ve been really great to see him more and have more use of purple haze. but the idea that if he hadn’t of stayed behind then people wouldn’t have died is literally insane. it’s like the entire basis of his guilt in purple haze feedback, and the whole point is that it’s *not* his fault and what’s happened’s happened. yet i see this being brought up all the time and it drives me mad lmao. just because his stand is powerful doesn’t mean if he’d been there he’d just fix everything like that just neglects any kind of strategic obstacles, or all of the flaws with purple haze, or the fact that the fights aren’t just two guys in an arena brawling lol.

not to mention the idea that he was “written out for being too op” when araki has literally explained why fugo was written out but people don’t listen!!!!! i do wish he was at least mentioned later on tho :<

[starkcanvas]

Small Ghost Mari idea.

Mari, now a spirit, is sent back a few months to a full two years in time to prevent her own death, but she sees the world through Sunny’s eyes and thoughts.

After realizing Sunny’s emotions towards the recital, the violin, and herself, she desperately attempts to tell her younger self about it in hopes that she can attempt to prevent her demise and repair the strained relationship.

This unfortunately doesn’t work, making her wonder if it’s fate for the argument to happen. The idea that it was fate makes her sick to her stomach.

By the time the argument happens, Mari makes the bold choice to take control of Sunny’s body and pushes herself down the stairs, ultimately resulting in her death.

In the end, she feels like she made no progress, making her believe that her trip into the past completely pointless.

But she feels like it doesn’t matter. She has a baby brother to protect. Mari returns to the present where she decides to help her brother forgive himself.

She has weak possession powers and can communicate via dreams. She hates both because she doesn’t like the idea of possessing people and because she knows that the people who she talks to will only think they’re dreaming about her…

She can see herself as SOMETHING and HellMari on rare occasions, which frightens her greatly, leading her to adopt her Headspace form as her go-to appearance.

Oh noooo ;-; god- the thought that she's supposed to die at such a young age and that there's literally nothing she can do about it hurts me. Especially due to slight personal family reasons, this hurts me even more 😭😭😭 although I do find the whole traveling back in time things to be a bit strange 🤔 yeah, I know she points out how it was a waste of time in the end but...

Usually in OMORI scenarios where character's travel back to the time of the accident, they're at least able to change one thing about it. Like Mari surviving but being crippled or knocked into a coma or it being Sunny taking the fall instead. Only difference here is that it's present Mari, as a ghost, just kinda experiencing things from Sunny's eyes and thoughts. Even possessing him during the argument and the only thing changed is that she kinda killed herself due to the circumstances.

So adding that detail in but not really going anywhere with it kinda throws you off- like you think you're gonna read a "Time-Travel Fix it" kinda story but it turns out THAT was the plot twist of the story and you're expectations are drastically changed lol

And I already think of how miserable Mari is as a ghost on a daily basis anyway and my heart aches enough as it is ;w; I love my girl and I just want her to be happy and not heartbroken for the rest of eternity. I can get her wanting to protect Sunny, but a lot of people assume she does that right away. Which I don't think is the case due to HOW YOUNG she is when she dies. She's 15. She's gonna be so scarred and traumatized just as much as Sunny is when having the weight of your entire future be RIPPED away from you with one sibling squabble gone wrong ;-;

She's probably just as bad as Hero in her first year- Heavy Depressed state. Her probably not even leaving the cemetary or even coming out from behind her tombstone ;-;

(As you can see, I take my Mari content, very, very seriously lol I can heavily relate to her and Sunny's circumstances of what it's like to lose a sibling so suddenly even if I was a bit too young to even understand what was happening at the time)

[pocketsizedowls]

I think there are two things that could add some nuance to this conversation: systemic sexism and purity culture.

While Lan Zhan chugs respect woman juice on a daily basis and the Lan Clan once had a woman leader (Lan Yi, granddaughter of Gusu Lan Founder Lan An), systemic sexism could very well exist in Lan Clan. This could manifest in a variety of ways, including but not limited to separating facilities by gender, giving men and women different lengths or styles of education (ex. boys are educated until 18 y/o while girls until 15, or boys go on night hunts while girls are healers, etc), or even ignoring/punishing disciples for the physical differences between men and women (ex. shaming women for being "weaker" in the athletic department or punishing women for not coming to class due to period cramps).

Just because the Lan Clan had a female leader at one point doesn't negate the possibility of sexism on a systemic level. Many queens have ruled throughout history, even if their respective countries still have ways to go in terms of gender equality today. Dowager Empress Wu Zetian, Mary Queen of Scots, and Tzarina Cathrine of Russia are all powerful female leaders whose legacies are still remembered today, but they are also remembered as controversial. Specifically, they are often remembered as "cruel." Lan Yi is also controversial and cruel according to the Lan history books because she invented the Cord Assassination Technique (the one that Lan Zhan used to kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter) specifically for killing dissidents. Why did she need to kill dissidents? We don't really know, but my theory is that she got desperate. As a lone woman in a position of power usually given to men, she had a lot to lose against people who speak out against her. As such, she killed them in order to keep her people silent. If you look into the stories of Wu Zetian, Mary, and Catherine, you'll see parallels to this too.

Next, purity culture.

Someone (I forgot who and where) once called the Lan Clan forehead ribbon a "chastity belt" and it made me laugh out loud. Especially in western fandoms, many parallels can be drawn between the Lan Clan and more conservative/rule-bound societies today, such as fundamental Christianity or one of those boarding high schools where you have a curfew at 12pm and an RA constantly circling the dorms. As such, it's easy to come up with silly headcanons such as "the Lan Clan believes abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy" or "the Lan Clan believes sex before marriage means you'll get pregnant and die." But this also means it's easy to come up with more serious interpretations such as "the Lan Clan disempowers women just like many fundie Christians do" and "the Lan Clan's idea of restraint/punishment is very similar to Catholic guilt." Are any of these things true or false? we have no idea. But I do think that MXTX must have gotten her ideas somewhere, and aside from traditional Confucianist ideals, conservative organized religion sounds pretty plausible to me.

Another important theory to bring to the purity culture conversation is "Lans only fall in love once," which was never actually confirmed by MXTX but sounds pretty believable to me. And if Lans do only fall in love once, it makes sense why the forehead ribbon is a thing. It's a mechanism for controlling a group of people whose tragic devotion is so genetic that they have another rule to keep skeletons buried in the closet - "no gossiping in the Cloud Recesses." We don't know really know the truth behind Qingheng-Jun and Madam Lan's love (?), only that nobody is allowed to talk about it and as a result, Lan Zhan is afraid of his feelings for Wei Ying because all he knows about his mother is that his father's love clipped her wings.

Anyways, I digress. That was really damn long. If you're still here, hello! And sorry! Because we have a little more to go!

So, is the Lan Clan sexist? I don't fucking know. Probably. If only MXTX put more female characters in her story, right? But that's a conversation for another day...

My personal theory is the third option on the poll, "Yes, but not intentionally." I believe systemic sexism exists in the Lan Clan, and it goes unaddressed in the story because, lo and behold, the main characters are men. Not only do they benefit from this system, they also don't notice it as much as a female cast would. So they don't talk about it. However, I do believe in the inherent goodness and empathy that exists in our male characters, specifically in the twin jades, as they were raised to believe in the good in others (ex. Xichen) and to always have integrity (ex. Wangji).

In modern society, I believe Xichen and Wangji would both be feminists. Xichen would debate with lawmakers about women's rights (i.e. changing things on a societal level), while Wangji would attend protests, walk girls home at night, and curb-stomp sexist frat bros. (i.e. bully incels until they cry). It takes them time to get there though, due to their upbringing in a more conservative and traditional household. Once they start learning about feminism, they'll start rethinking the importance of rules, punishment, and traditional masculinity in their lives.

TD;LR: Lan Clan is sexist but our boys are feminists! yay!

I Can’t Decide If the Lan Clan Are Sexist or Not

They’re the only clan to have been lead by a woman (I’m sorry I can’t wether she was named or not.) but we don’t know if that was because she was an only child, or perhaps had no brothers, or whether she was simply the oldest and everyone was just okay with it.

They seem to be the most heavily segregated, bathing in the cold ponds, classes and even meal times. (I think if I’m remembering right.)

(To be fair to them, I wouldn’t want to strip naked and get in a cold pond with a man, Lan or otherwise I just wouldn’t be comfortable.)

I think perhaps they aren’t intentionally sexist, but their level of segregation makes things that way.

The Lans have little interaction with women but seem to treat them well. (I’m using Lan Zhan’s treatment of Mianmian here at carp tower, when she sticks up for Wei Ying.)

[ivyindreamland]

WHY do you think Taylor is istp? .?…….?…

ok this is the stupid part about MBTI notation but basically if you're an introvert then whatever your last letter is is actually the opposite. like an ESTP really is a perceiver, but an ISTP is actually a judger even though they have the P for perceiving.

anyway... introverted judgers (we'll call this Ji) are meticulous perfectionists who spend lots of time honing and refining, focusing on precision and exactness. you see that tendency reflected in taylor's control freakery around her work, meticulous planning and crafting of her persona, the way she gets really into the nitty gritty of every aspect of her brand and her presentation. archetypally, Ji people kind of act as a compass pointing to a truth or ideal, not losing sight of underlying structure, values, or principles. for folks that are introverted, judgers, and thinkers (Ti - judging specifically means "thinking and/or feeling processes"), the part about structure and principles that stay true across different contexts is particularly emphasized. it also goes in hand with an extroverted approach to feeling (Fe) because everyone has a mechanism to explain thinking and feeling processes (that's right, you can't escape feeling!), and they're both on the same spectrum, so one would take an introverted approach and the other would take an extroverted approach.

extroverted judging (Je) is about influencing and persuading others, and articulating concepts in a way that is efficient/effective but not necessarily precise. Je and Ji balance each other this way - Ji, as a compass, stays true to principles and cares about exactness and precision, and Je actually moves those ideas out to the world. Ji perfectionism means without Je the idea might never actually "get out," while Je focus on influence and communication means that there might be a tendency to "rule for the sake of ruling" while losing sight of principles. everyone has both mechanisms to balance these issues but people might emphasize one or the other. both Je and Ji are working on a message, but Ji really cares about getting that message accurate and exact. i see Taylor as on the Ji side of the spectrum even though obviously she's a great communicator and gets a lot done in a short time; it would be a mistake to preclude someone from having Ji on the basis that they're an artist who got famous or something like that, anybody is capable of doing so. but what makes taylor really stand out is her perfectionistic approach to every aspect of her work. also - and this is Ti and Fe working together, taylor is really good at grasping the underlying structural mechanisms (Ti) of powerful ideas in the cultural lexicon, like "the all american girl" or "cottagecore" (Fe), and crafting with precision (Ji) an entire language, aesthetic, and concept around those ideas.

speaking of aesthetic... that's also part of why i'd consider taylor a sensor (the S in ISTP). "perceiving" refers to sensing and intuition. since taylor generally has an introverted approach to judging (for my purposes), she generally has an extroverted approach to Perceiving (Pe). so much of what taylor trades on is imagery and the visual, and she isn't esoteric about it; she draws on ideas that really exist in the world and talks about her actual real experiences. her writing is very focused on sensory imagery (autumn leaves falling down, there's a million more examples but I'm not gonna list all of them) and narrating events in a concrete way you can "see." for reasons like this i'd put her at Sensing over intuition, which can be more esoteric and conceptual rather than grounded in concrete reality. extroverted sensing is also less esoteric than introverted sensing; taylor's imagery is very real and grounded and the way she sets up her staging, music videos, etc, reflects this.

finally, that concrete reality focus that Se has is balanced by an introverted approach to intuition. introverted intuition (Ni) reflects a tendency to find a singular pattern or universal truth that underlies all sensory and concrete events. Ni shows how concrete experiences and events which seem disparate are actually just the same pattern playing out in different ways. you see the same kinds of characters popping up, the same kind of underlying stories (everything begins with birth and ends in death, after all). taylor, despite all the numerous aesthetics she's explored and different stories with different characters, has specific themes which resonate across ALL her stories no matter where they take place or who the characters are. it's the continuity that makes all her albums "about the same thing" at the end of the day no matter how many different directions she goes aesthetically. at the same time though, that's not really her focus, it plays more of a supporting role to the different aesthetic concepts and ideas.

so yeah, tl;dr taylor is meticulous, exacting, and "polished" in a way that i think stands out above her other characteristics and makes her unique among her peers, she draws on themes in the broad cultural lexicon to translate ideas about relationships and values, she's a go-getter aesthetically and focuses on concrete and literal imagery that can vary in the details, and no matter how much variance there is it all comes back to the same sort of underlying story. and that's why i think taylor is an ISTP.

[shenzuns]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST.

name.  kiwi  !

pronouns.  they  /  them  (  +  she  /  he  )

preference  of  communication.  uhhh probably... IMs or discord  ???  i give out my discord as much as i can, but i’m very bad at talking to people BHDFDJF

name  of  muse.  shen qingqiu, or shen yuan depending on who you get acquainted with...  first  ?  it’s very verse dependent, if you meet him when he’s transmigrated then it’s shen qingqiu bc by that point he’s given up his old identity as  “  shen yuan  “

rp  experience  /  how  long.  good god i’ve probably been here since i was like... 13? so...  8 years disgostang

best  experience.  shitposting  !  that’s literally all i do on a daily basis anyways, but my best rp experiences were when the community would kind of get together and do silly shit on the dash. i don’t see much of that anymore at all now lol, unfortunate  !  oh, and, in character games were THE shit like...  i still try to get those going when i can bc there’s nothing more fun than muses meeting each other for the first time to yell at each other about being the imposter or something.  also, when you kind of have a group of people who are in a specific verse, and matching urls, and just idk very community based things were always my type of beat  !

rp  pet  peeves  /  dealbreakers.  i...  don’t really have many actually  ?  it’s quite litchrally the basic principal that people have been touting for years, read rules  (  please god, i know he acts like a straight guy but my man is gay as all hell Do Not approach him romantically if ur muse is fem aligned  ), don’t try to play god without My permission, don’t forceship unless i say it’s cool cus i love forceshipping with my breasties, don’t... tell me what my muse is... or how he could be  /  act like... man.  uhhh, probably also like, feeling as though i have to diminish how powerful or mean a muse is otherwise me and someone’s mun will get off on the wrong foot like...  i’m sorry i don’t control my muse’s power level it’s on UR muse to not instigate a fight if u Know my muse is strong man.  uhhh...  when people complain about posting too much ooc like ok just say u don’t want to have fun or get to know the ppl behind the screen.  also, it kind of squicks me when ppl are like ‘oh ur character isn’t super canon’ like i already have phobias, don’t add to that man  ---  also canon divergencies exist.  and then other stuff is just stupid shit like, if we’re shipping and there’s no reciprocating amount of effort put in it just tanks me, and like.  fighting over ships too lawl like, i get if toxic ships aren’t ppls cups of tea but that doesn’t mean u have to kill someone over it  (  this does NOT include actually problematic ships, yall are adult enough to get what i mean here  )

fluff,  angst,  or  smut.  all i guess  ???  my fatal flaw is liking angst and smut but being too much of a baby to write it out and  /  or talk about it.  like, i’m very bad at writing angst but it’s all i give my muses so I Want To Learn.  and, re: smut i’m... weirdly shy  ?  which is funny bc it’s horny thoughts 24/7 here but i just get anxious and lock up even though i want to write smut. it’s fucked up and evil and i’m the bearer of the curse SFNFKMSF

plots  or  memes.  boooth...  i say tentatively, LIKE i’m kind of bad at plotting is the thing.  i prefer discussing character dynamics and then discussing how things can go from that.  also, s.qq is kind of difficult to plot with i’ve come to slowly realize  ???  but i also Have to plot with him to get anywhere, so u see it’s a pain.  BUT I LOVE MEMES i thrive on memes, it’s the best way i interact  !  i do try my best to send in stuff and i adore getting things in return  (  i’m just slow as fuck but i always smile when i get asks  )

long  or  short  replies.  UHHHH...  it really depends but i’ll be real, i talk too fucking much when i write SHDSFMKFDKM a bitch doesn’t know how to shut up and s.qq is an overthinker so he’s very introspective  (  TOO introspective u might say  ), so while i love the idea of short replies...  it never really works out that way for me </3

best  time  to  write.  man.  who even knows w/ me at this point LMAOO probably night though that’s when everything’s quiet for me and i can vibe, or like.  the early hours of daybreak.  but idk when my motivation, creativity and social battery are up there is usually when i start writing again

are  you  like  your  muse.  KIIIND OF  ???  my friend’s and i like to joke around that i’m kind of a shen yuan at times, i actually really latched onto his character BECAUSE of his neurosis but.  i dunno, i’m not as logic driven as he is, nor am i as stilted emotionally  /  with my affections.  so, yes and no  !  he can be difficult to write sometimes because of how different he is from me, i think.  i’ve never written a muse like him before, so it’s definitely a challenge, but a fun one  !  i also think it’s pretty natural to take on muses similar to you or put parts of yourself in a muse, bc how else are you supposed to understand them on a deeper level yk  ?  it helps with getting into a muses mental imo.

tagged.  @oftwilight​  thank u sybil, ily  !  <3

tagging.  @junshang​,  @feiyuie​,  @mellodiies​,  @kuurtaa​,  @chiheru​,  @hymnblood​,  @fuxian​,  @suender​  &  if ur reading this that’s it. ur tagged, @ me i want to see  !

[stonefreeak]

My goodness people, I’m so sorry for the delay! I’ve been working on the structuring of my files to get a better overview of what remains of the project, to hopefully be able to speed writing up (even as work really means that my free-time is much more limited than it was once upon a time, lmao. Sometimes I miss December of 2016 when this whole thing started, 33k in a month of updates, amirite?)

it’s taken me so long I’m wondering if anyone even remember this plot point at this point, lmao

Also: belated happy midsummers to all my fellow Swedes!

Bail taps his finger against this desk and stairs unseeingly at the datapad in front of him.

He hadn't been sure if the information Aleena Yashi gave him, though she's worked as an assistant to multiple senators over the years, was true. But everything checks out. He briefly wondered why she would come to him about it, rather than Senator Lobos who she's currently working for... But perhaps it's because he's known to have a favourable view of the Jedi that she's done so. Perhaps it's because all of this information mostly pertains to the Jedi and the laws surrounding them, and she wanted a prominent Senator who she could trust not to hide the information away because they don't care for the Jedi.

Bail, a Core World Senator well known for his good relationship with the Jedi and friendship with the current Supreme Chancellor, must have seemed like the best option for her. He wonders who else would have been on her list, before she settled on him, but he chose not to ask when she visited him. Perhaps it's better if he doesn't know; it hardly matters now anyway.

He looks down at the datapad again and considers his options.

He should probably discuss her findings with her, and see what exactly her goal is. If he's to do something about this, then he wants her involved even as he gathers support from other senators.

He has no doubt that Padmé will agree to add her support to Bail to help sort this mess out, but considering that they've both been involved with the investigation they're conducting into Jedi missions being altered... Well, Bail wants more Senators involved this time. Just to ensure that it cannot be taken as some form of conspiracy in favour of the Jedi. As ridiculous as that notion seems, Bail is not blind to the way many Senators look at the Jedi, nor to the fact that many of them don't seem to believe that they're really capable of what they say they are.

Few people besides the Jedi truly believe in the Force, after all.

Few people could believe in something they cannot know for themselves when others supposedly have a direct connection to it. Bail is one of the few who does believe them, he's seen what the Jedi can do first-hand. There's nothing else that can account for that kind of power besides this Force they talk of. They and other groups out there, it’s not only the Jedi, after all.

Besides, he knows many of them personally, and while Bail may not understand or follow all of their beliefs or traditions, he also knows that they're not a bunch of charlatans faking it for power of money—though he knows some of his fellow senators believe that to be the case. Even senators on Coruscant, who've seen Jedi in real life, seem to believe them little more than myth.

Bail has been kept up to date on the investigation into the Jedi missions, though he’s not taking an active role in it right now, and he’s certain that he has been kept in the loop to give legitimacy to the investigation. Give it a proper paper trail, even if it’s done with the Senate’s highest level of security. A strictly need-to-know basis, and until it’s finished, no one else needs to know.

Of course, Bail asked Obi-Wan in private if he would be allowed to tell Breha. As his Queen and the leader of Bail’s planet, he found it important to clue her in on it. Besides, it’s another step of legitimacy. After all, if Breha takes an active stance on it, then so does Alderaan.

If anyone wants to accuse the investigation at a later date for being a sham… Well, they will need to accuse Alderaan of engaging in it in the first place. Bail isn’t stupid enough to think that it’s not one of the primary reasons Obi-Wan agreed with Bail’s request.

They’re friends, and Obi-Wan likes Breha, but this is not about being friends. This is about political allyship and keeping sensitive information on as tight a lock-down as they can until the time  to reveal it comes.

Besides, as worried as Bail has become with Miss Yashi’s information, it’s even worse when considered together with the altered Jedi missions and not in the least… Well, the war time propaganda. There's no point in shying away from what it is, and the ramifications it has.

Considering how most of the war time propaganda—Bail can acknowledge it for what it is, there truly is no point in trying to deny the facts—focuses almost exclusively on the clones and their efforts in the war, it's hardly strange that the general population neither know nor understand them.

Further considering the information that Bail has now confirmed to be real and accurate... He understands that the omission of the Jedi is entirely deliberate. If you want to discredit and undermine the Jedi, why would you ever speak of their accomplishments and sacrifices? You wouldn't, as that would bring public support to them.

Bail sighs and rolls his shoulders.

He needs to build a following, he cannot properly push this alone. But he also understands why Miss Yashi brought it to him alone, first. A Core World Senator is far harder to make "disappear" than a Twi'lek Senatorial aide, no matter how awful that is to say. Bail can't go missing, and any attempt on his life would have a bit more trouble hitting its mark.

That's not to say that it would be impossible for someone to assassinate him, which is of course why he'll make sure that Breha is entirely up to speed on everything.

All of it together... There is some form of conspiracy to discredit or perhaps even get rid of the Jedi; Bail is sure of it. But he cannot see to what end. What are they trying to achieve?

For what reason would anyone work to discredit the Jedi? What is the end goal to strive for? There’s no way for the politicians to dissolve the Jedi Order, they are not in that way under Senate control. They could, of course, remove all of their backing, forcing the Jedi to become free agents, certainly…

But for what purpose? It would leave the Republic without the Jedi as peacekeepers, for the Jedi would hardly remain to do diplomacy work for the Senate without its backing. After all, what would the point be? Without the Senate’s backing, the Jedi would have far less ability to do anything.

How could they negotiate treaties if the Senate won’t honour them?

They could, perhaps, be a neutral third party within discussions. But there’s no reason for anyone to listen to their input in such a case. It’s hard enough to get disagreeing parties to listen to external input when you come with powerful backing that could make you listen even if you refuse.

How could they function with no funding? They would need to work on commission, at which point only those who can afford their help can get it. That would be the opposite of an improvement.

To not even begin to talk about how few of them there are, how few of them there were even before the war. Their population is not even a hundredth of a percent of Alderaan’s population, and Alderaan is only a single planet within the tens of thousands of star systems that make up the Republic—nevermind the entire galaxy. There’s just not enough of them, and hasn’t that always been a problem even while they’re working under the Republic? Too few, spread too thin.

No, if the Jedi became free agents, their ability to affect change would be greatly diminished. Bail is quite certain they’d work on much smaller scales, still trying to do what they can for the galaxy, bit by bit. Working with smaller communities on planets and moons… If they even had the ability to find out about disputes that may need their help in the first place.

Losing the Jedi as peacekeepers isn’t a win for the Republic either, as the budget for the Jedi was already miniscule even before it started being diminished—as Miss Yashi’s discovery shows. It cannot be an attempt at cost saving, or an idea of improvement for the Republic. Needing to train their own diplomats and ensure that they have skilled enough guards… That would be more expensive and it would not be able to guarantee that these diplomats are neutral in conflicts.

The Jedi have no specific allegiances the way diplomats and even Senators have. Even the least corrupt Senator will still place their own planet and star system first. It is part of their role, after all.

So no, it cannot be something like that. Not unless the people slowly enacting this are horribly misguided and foolish. Not to mention, Bail knows most Senators would simply call for making away with the Jedi entirely, rather than this slow plan to undercut them.

No… There must be something else going on here, some other primary goal whoever is pulling these strings is looking out to do.

He’ll need to figure it out, no doubt, Bail concludes.

But beyond that, he also needs to build a base to help him bring this information he’s been given to the Senate’s attention. He is quite sure already who he should be looking towards first: Senator Ach’ki Mandai of Haa’ndu.

Who better to help him bring this to Senate attention than the Senator who ensured a Jedi now sits as the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic?

—

(Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi masterpost)