#but just know that they HAAAAAATE each other alright

[giggles-and-freckles]

Hey there! Can I get brand new neighbors au with Anakin and Satine?

from this prompt list

“You walk up this every day?”

Anakin passes him on the stairs and laughs. “Getting old on me, Obi-Wan?”

“No,” he cries. “These are steep.”

“Give me the box,” Anakin instructs, dropping his own load at the top of the stairs and coming back down toward Obi-Wan.

“I can handle it.”

“You’re wheezing. Give it here.”

Obi-Wan clutches the large box closer to his chest. “I am quite capable of carrying a box up some stairs, thank you.”

“Then stop complaining so much and do it, old man.” Anakin bounds down the rest of the steps to retrieve the last things from the car and manages to catch back up to Obi-Wan, skipping a few steps along the way, just to annoy Obi-Wan.

“I’d say don’t mind the mess, but I know you will,” Anakin calls over his shoulder as he unlocks the door and leads the way in.

“Good heavens, Anakin, you’ve lived here for a week.”

He flops onto the couch and grins. “And you missed me so much you’re already here to visit.”

“You asked me to drive up with your last things,” Obi-Wan reminds him, taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

The truth is, Anakin wanted to call Obi-Wan the second he drove off in the first place. 

Sure, he’s excited about a fresh start. Classes haven’t started yet, but he’s already met some new people and they seem great.

But it’s also terrifying and Anakin hasn’t felt this lonely in years.

“We can order take-out later. I found this place around the corner with great burgers. Nothing like Dex’s, of course, but I’ll survive off of it for the next five years.”

“A degree is typically acquired in four years.”

“But I’m not typical, Obi-Wan. I’m above average.”

Obi-Wan closes his eyes and leans back on the couch. “I don’t think you understand what that means.”

“Of course I —” He’s cut off.

Obi-Wan shoots back up. “What the blazes…”

“You’re kidding.” Anakin stands and storms toward the window, throwing back the curtain to get a view of the street. Just as he expected.

Her.

“What is it?’ Obi-Wan asks, coming up behind Anakin to see out the window.

She continues to lay on her horn.

“Oh,” Obi-Wan says. “Am I in her parking spot? I’ll go move—”

Anakin’s hand shoots out to grab Obi-Wan. “Don’t you dare.”

“But —”

“I’ll handle this.”

If he was flying up and down the stairs earlier, it’s nothing compared to the speed with which he descends them now, billowing toward her car.

She sees him coming and times her horn honking to his footsteps.

“Satine! It’s a Saturday morning! Half the neighbourhood is still sleeping!”

She rolls down her passenger window. “I don’t understand how it concerns me that they’ve decided to waste away their days. What does concern me is this piece of trash in my spot.”

“It’s my —” He fumbles for a word, never knowing how to refer to Obi-Wan when speaking with a stranger. Father? Mentor? Brother? “Friend. He was helping me move.”

She smiles and claps her hands together. “Oh, you’re moving already? Delightful!”

Anakin smiles sweetly in return. “If I were to move, who would stop you from running over puppies and eating children?”

“Is there a problem?”

Anakin groans and looks over his shoulder. “Go inside, Obi-Wan. I’ve got this.”

“The only thing you’ve got is an ego the size of Texas and an apparently tragic barber, if that dreadful haircut is anything to show for it,” she points out, then leans forward in her seat to see around Anakin. “You there,” she calls. “This is your…vehicle?”

Obi-Wan comes to stand beside Anakin. “It is. I was unloading some boxes earlier and parked here for convenience. I didn’t realise this was assigned parking. It’s completely my mistake. If you’ll give me a moment to fetch my keys, I’ll get out of your way.”

She purses her lips into a thin line, clearly unsure of how to respond to Obi-Wan’s kindness. She gives a curt nod. “I should appreciate that.”

Obi-Wan walks back toward the house to retrieve his keys and Satine resumes her glaring.

“Your friend is not a student,” she says.

“Great observation, genius.”

“I’m surprised you have peers who know how to speak in complete sentences.”

“He does his own taxes and everything.”

Obi-Wan returns then, jingling his keys in victory.

“Thank you for being so patient. Again, I’m sorry to have set your morning back.” He turns toward Anakin. “Is there a metered area somewhere nearby? Or —”

Satine opens her car door and steps out. “Oh, never mind that.”

Obi-Wan looks at her — too closely, Anakin thinks. “I’m sorry?”

She pulls a small, genuine smile. Anakin didn’t know she was capable of those. “You’re visiting. It isn’t right that you park blocks away. Besides, my car is small. I’m fine here.”

“Are you certain? It’s really no trouble —”

She waves him off. “Nonsense.” Her smile grows as she offers a hand. “I’m Satine.”

“Obi-Wan,” he says, flashing a smile of his own.

Anakin hates this.

“Well, now that that’s all sorted,” he says, clapping his hands, “Obi-Wan and I have some boxes to unpack.”

“There’s only a few things, Anakin. It won’t take us but a half hour.”

Obi-Wan knows this. Anakin knows this. But Satine didn’t have to know this.

“Are you here for the weekend?” Satine asks.

“Just the day, I’m afraid,” Obi-Wan replies. “I have some things to get done before the work week begins.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a teacher.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. What do you teach?”

Lovely. She said it was lovely. 

Anakin needs to lie down.

[laufire]

Top 5 toxic ships

just five......... alright I'll try lol.

in no particular order, and trying to go with different "types":

Ruby & Sam (Supernatural). Sometimes that seducer/betrayer dynamic hits JUST RIGHT. And they included BLOODSHARING so they win. Similar dynamics can be found in the central "couple" in Lust, Caution, Sherlock/Jamie Moriarty in Elementary... Potentially Helo/Athena and Six/Gaius in Battlestar Galactica... we'll see.

Helly R & Helena (Severance). They have that mirror-images, I-created-you thing that's just *chef's kiss*. AND they combine it with one of my favourite we-share-a-body-and-are-NOT-happy about it cases. The toxicity is OFF-THE-CHARTS. The body horror. The haaaaaate. Everything. It's hard to find something as !!!!! as these two but there are traces of it in Elena/Katherine, Eleanor/Max, Black Swan, Buffy/Faith, Cersei-Sansa... it really works for me lol.

Eleanor & Henry (The Lion in Winter). YOU KNOW what kind of marriages I'm talking about lol. They hate each other but they are the only ones who GET the other, truly. And I do think the husband's infidelity adds a certain layer to it, because something like that is seen as denigrating for the woman (ew), yet it's undeniable these are THE ONES for them in a way nobody else is. It's not that she's lesser and he cheated, it's that he's a pig lol. Alicia/Peter in The Good Wife fit the bill; maybe Jason/Medea LOL, or Catherine/Henry in Reign.

Jennifer & Needy (Jennifer's Body). Toxic teen girlfriendism is just so especial <3. Shoutout to other examples like Jackie/Shauna or even Lilly/Veronica... there are other toxic teen girlfriendism films I must watch asap to add them to the list.

Merteuil & Valmont (Dangerous Liaisons). Love a good awful couple of manipulators that destroy each other <333. There's some overlap with #3 but here I think it's key that their ending is frustrated; there are divorce vibes, they separate or never quite find the moment of synchronicity, iykwim (although ig you could say The Handmaiden has a happy example). Elena/Stefan if I could set aside my Caroline-related-issues lol. Bela/Dean in a better world, Asriel and Marisa! Catherine/Heathcliff. Silverflint at their best (worst); actually, Avon/Stringer too, so ig this is what it takes for me to ship slash xD

[daisworld-app]

Lockdown Fluff getting to you? Five lovely diets to shed those not-so-loved kilos

It’s been a great deal of time since the initial lockdown. A lot of things changed after the 2020 lockdown phase was over. But what remained constant was first, the Corona Virus and second, the extra fat we all accumulated because of the cooking and eating spree we had during the lockdown last year.

 As we scroll through the Insta feeds all we see are people doing yoga, the Zumba and the Suryanamaskars at home, which does inspire us to do something. Sure. But that’s the ideal world!

 In the real world, people get inspired alright but after spending just 30 precious minutes of their day in a downward dog position, they give up. But let’s not blame just the lockdown, we haaaaaate exercising. So, even while the gyms and parks opened up temporarily before the 2nd wave hit us, we still excused ourselves from exercising. Not that we scored even pre-lockdown – Busy schedules, unending projects, ever-scary deadline – there was nothing that encouraged us to keep that workout regimen going.

 And whats worse? Those non-Insta-worthy photos and many many discarded selfies that picked a raw nerve within us - often making us feel miserable about our own lack of self-love. Well, let’s not beat ourselves up and let’s recollect that there exists an 80/20 rule – 80 per cent of the recipe to lose weight and look good is, Nutrition or Diet. So even while you skimp on that 20, let’s get you 80% up there at least.

 But in this area, be warned crash diets are not the way to go. So if you’re looking for a 5-day-5-kg crash diet, stop reading right here.

Over the decades, we have seen and heard our friends follow so many of these diet fads:-

 The dramatic reduction of the bread and pasta under the Atkins and Keto diets – low carb, high protein, high-powered diets that start the process of ketosis in your body.

Vegan and vegetarian diets that insist you only eat plant-based food – so no eggs, meat, dairy, seafood for you while on this regime.

 The Paleo diet that takes you back to the stone ages eating foods only that can be hunted or gathered – so eat nothing that came in a tin/box/plastic bag/foil wrap.

Vegan diets prescribing to eat nothing but raw plants in their uncooked, natural forms.  

The Whole 30 diet where you go through a 30-day detox by eating 3 “Clean” meals a day-  free of inflammatory foods like beverages, baked goods, junk stuff, legumes, dairy, sugar, sweeteners etc.

 Since these were generic diet plans read off the internet, they worked for some while failed miserably for the others. One has to accept that every individual has unique body requirements, what may slim me down may not work for you at all, making you tired, hungry and discouraged by the process.

 So rather than blindly following a diet, check out a convenient diet plan to suit your body type and your goal. Here are some of the trending ones this season you could check out and see what fits you best.

And oh, did you know that summer is the best season to lose weight?!!

 The Mediterranean Diet

One of the most popular diets for many years, the Mediterranean diet comprises of the food eaten in the Mediterranean region including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, olive oil and healthy fats. Red wine, eggs, and dairy products are included in a moderate amount, while red meat and saturated fats are consumed less. It has numerous health benefits like weight loss, reduced cholesterol, reduced risk of cancer and other chronic illnesses, and diabetes control. Fairly convenient to follow, it always remains one of the top trending diets of most years. Although a little bit of activity is warranted with it to take full benefit of the Mediterranean culture.

The DASH Diet

Sounds like hype but it isn’t. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension where the purpose is to control blood pressure through diet. So this is serious business. The diet includes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean fish and meat, low-fat dairy products, all of which are low in sodium. This diet not only reduces blood pressure but also helps reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, ensuring a healthy heart and promoting weight loss.

 But be careful of going overboard, low sodium is not good for your general health either.

 The WW Freestyle

Do not mistake this as a form of sport. WW Freestyle, among the most popular diets, is a program designed on a SmartPoints system. Here, each food and beverage item is assigned a point based on its nutritional value. The dieter’s current weight and goal decides the number of points that one can consume daily.

 Formerly called Weight Watchers, this diet program has over 200 SmartPoint foods, starting with fruits and vegetables at 0 points. Online chats, workshops, weight check meetings and the support of weight management experts keep dieters motivated through this community approach program. Who knows maybe you could make some friends online who follow the same regime. Worth a try, huh?

The Flexitarian Diet

The dietitian, Dawn Jackson Blatner introduced the word ‘Flexitarian’ in her 2009 book, "The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life,".

 As the name hints, ‘flexitarian’ is a combination of two words: flexible and vegetarian. In her book, the dietitian suggests ways of following a healthy vegetarian diet without sacrificing meat. The idea is to include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy products and proteins like beans, eggs, etc. in your diet. A wholesome diet with low consumption of meat ensures weight loss and reduced risk of heart diseases, cancer and diabetes.

 The Intermittent Fasting 

Fasting is a tradition existing for centuries. But the intermittent fasting fad gained momentum just a years ago. In the simplest terms, intermittent fasting means assigning time slots for food consumption and fasting the rest of the hours of one’s day.

 The most popular methods within this diet plan are the 16/8 method, the 5:2 method, and the Eat Stop Eat method.

 In the 16/8 method, dieters only eat during an 8-hour time window (e.g. 12 noon - 8 pm) and do not eat anything outside that time window (e.g. from 8 pm till the next day at noon).

 In the 5:2 method, dieters have a normal diet for five days of the week and restrict their food consumption for the remaining two days.

 The Eat Stop Eat plan is similar to the 5:2 plan though more rigorous. In this plan, the dieters eat everything during the week except for one or two days of complete fasting. Research has proven weight loss, better metabolism and reduced diseases with intermittent fasting methods, making it one of the top favourites of weight-watchers for years now.

 You should be able to follow any of the above diets provided when you know what your goal is. Sit down, chart your daily activity and decide on a realistic goal - weight loss, healthy lifestyle, better drive, higher energy, regular bowel movements could be one or many of your objectives.

Research what you can and cannot eat in each of these diet plans. Even if it’s difficult to gather ingredients to follow some of the diets to the absolute, be prepared to find alternatives and workarounds so that you don’t get demotivated once you have started out on a path.

 A realistic and practical plan based on your requirements would help you follow a diet plan for a long time. Restrictive dieting will only lead to excessive binge eating when you are off the diet. Instead, make small gradual changes to your lifestyle, give up some habits on a consistent basis (reduce smoking, drinking more water, stopping caffeine consumption, walking while talking on long phone calls etc.) and adapt newer ones as you go and you are sure to see longer-term sustained health benefits,

 ‘Cos that’s all that we at Dais World care for – “The health and well-being of our readers.”

 Eat well, be well, stay home, stay safe – wishing you great health!

You were reading a Dais Editorial©2021

[glorious-sea-pancakes]

To people wondering why Captive Prince is beloved

Alright so I know a lot of people think that captive prince, the book series, is problematic. The whole thing is hotly debated. 

As someone who loves the series fiercely and doesn’t think that it is problematic, I wanted to put in my two cents to the debate... because a lot of people who explain why it is a good series often fall short and don’t really explain adequately in my opinion. If I were someone on the fence that read a lot of the explanations I've seen, I wouldn’t be particularly convinced or happy. So I’ll do my best to articulate what I mean.

EDIT: wow this is long. Sorry? 

EDIT EDIT: And in retrospect the only thing I see with Captive Prince that actually does bother me is the lack of female characters. This is very much a male dominated story. But you know what? That’s a pretty small gripe because I’m cool with a boy-focused story. Plus it has an awesome gay power couple as the main characters.

HOKAY so first: A lot of people try too hard to avoid any kind of spoilers that they keep it TOO vague. So, without spoilers, I’m gonna be a little clearer 

Thing One: The premise.

Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. But when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave. Beautiful, manipulative, and deadly, his new master, Prince Laurent, epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country. For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else…

With this alone, I can see why people get the wrong idea. At a glance you think it’ll be a Stockholm syndrome kinkfest with tons of rape and Fifty Shades of Grey consent issues--hence it being problematic.

However, I am telling you right here and now, the two main characters hate each other’s guts. Laurent would sooner break his own fingers than touch Damen. The two main characters have sex and a romance eventually, but it isn’t until they develop real respect wwwayy later. Ridiculously later. By the time those two hold hands you’ve been screaming for entire books kiss already!

Sooo, the first thing that I assumed when I picked Captive Prince was that there would be immediate hate sex, but I am halfway book 2 and the sex is nowhere to be seen and instead I am so caught up in the political intrigue that I don’t even care-- cosetteferaud

They are physically attracted from the beginning, true, but they hate so strongly that they couldn’t be bothered to take much interest in pretty faces.

Damen frowned. Laurent was a nest of scorpions in the body of one person. Torveld looked at him and saw a buttercup.

So, no, this isn’t a stokholm kinkfest.

Things in this summary you should focus on: Not just the pleasure slave thing.

The real focus is on the political intrigue and twisty politicking with EXTREMELY slowburn romance on the side.

The first book is widely known as the darkest of the three. In places it is hard to read but you DO have to read it to fully appreciate the second and third books. You must know what is at stake, get plot threads going, really see what they’re working so hard for. Gotta meet the villain and understand why they’re so bad. You need that dark first book understand why they end up loving so deeply. You need to see them at their worst. And on that note, their worst…

Thing Two: Their hatred.

I mean it when I say they have anger and hate. The chasm yawning between them is an ugly one.

So Laurent haaaAAATES Damen. He treats Damen like garbage. And Damen hates him because of it. Laurent is actively TRYING to be a dick. He’s aware that he’s doing things that are mean. Laurent is trying to put down someone he genuinely sees as an enemy. So, yeah, Laurent does Problematic things. However that’s… to be expected? When you hate someone’s guts? If your goal is to make sure someone hates you there are some pretty clear ways to achieve that. He doesn’t want to like Damen. If you wince and think that, ouch, that was cruel and charged with a lot of ugly implications: know that Laurent is fully aware and is eyes open trying to create distance between them by using those things deliberately. You won’t completely know the why until later in the series. 

A thing to remember: you don’t yet know his motivations.

To me, the most important thing is not what the characters say or do but how the author frames those things.

When Laurent does something conniving or insults people: the reader, Damen, and the author all understand he’s being a dick. The author isn’t glorifying Laurent’s behavior. That means everything. She NEVER excuses them for what they do. You’re meant to look on the bad things that happen and agree that oh, no, that was a bad thing.

Characters should be able to do bad things otherwise what is the point of the story? Not every book can be conflict free coffee shop aus. If you only want to read problem free stories like that, this is NOT the series for you.

More than that, there’s value in discussing the dark things like the ones that this book discusses. There’s value in seeing people hate and attempt to destroy each other. I’m serious!

When Laurent says something nasty you’re meant to be like OOF LAURENT OW not ‘Oh the author believes this and wants people to be like this.’ Because that would be dumb? People should be able to talk about real life issues and problematic stuff without being equated as sermons. Because if you believe that even depicting the Bad Thing is gonna spread it, then you’re silencing education about the Bad Thing that could allow people to avoid and learn from it. Censorship does not encourage equality, it encourages ignorance. Censorship and purist ideology just denies that people, good people, can do bad things. It also denies the knowledge that Badguys are human.

One of the reasons I love storytelling so much is because it is the number one way to think about and discuss difficult topics that happen in the real world all the time. I’m sorry, you can’t escape reality. It is out there. Constantly. We need to think about and see these bad things and create a conversation about them to understand them. On a cultural level, storytelling is how we learn and frame opinions. We started out telling myths through oral tradition around campfires to explain and teach—what makes novels any different? Novels are one of many modern-day oral tradition adaptions. You must appreciate that for what it is.

Captive Prince is no exception.

Thing Three: The Virtues (AKA why you should read it)

-Srslyarts

This is a mature book. It discusses sex and has graphic smut. It discusses rape. It discusses pedophilia. People die. The author condones NONE of these things. But, more than anything, she also managed to capture delicious, thorny, complex, hard to explain pain of emotional conflict. Which is so hard to write. And that emotional pain and complexity is so interesting and beautiful.

This is a book about hurting others the way you’ve been hurt. It’s about abuse, recovery, redemption, forgiveness. Its about privilege, growing up too quickly, entitlement, sexual objectification, slavery, having no choice, responsibility, putting your past in perspective, realizing the people you hate are human, realizing you were wrong, realizing people aren’t who you thought they were, that you’ve made mistakes, realizing you don’t like the person you used to be, learning how much you’re willing to give up. It talks about abuse survivors who don’t get sad but become angry instead. It’s about the long-term effects, the vulnerabilities, of abuse. It’s about good people doing bad things. It’s about falling in love with someone who has done the unforgivable and being terrified of it. This novel does not take the easy way out on anything.

The emotional complexity in this book is gorgeous. I’ve heard so many people say they were moved deeply by Laurent because they saw themselves in him.

More than that, this book is intelligently written. All the political intrigue, the focus of the story, is SO SMART. Seriously. I predicted so little. Normally when I crack open a book I can generally see where a story is going and what is implied way before the reveal. But these characters are wickedly smart and four steps ahead of you as a reader. And you get to see their thought process!! I’ve noticed a lot of authors will tiptoe around the How of characters outsmarting people because they can’t figure it out themselves. Myself included. Not this story. You see every step of Laurent’s spider web being woven and the hand Damen has in it. Pacat is incredibly intelligent and it shows through her characters.

Laurent is quick as a whip and sees through everything—I never would have noticed half of the things he sees. Nor would I be able to prepare and respond so well. It is so cool seeing him explain what is happening politically.  

Its even better because you’re reading from the perspective of Damen. Damen is a prince and a strategist. Damen is a master military man. However social subtleties aren’t his forte and a lot goes right over his head but not yours. Damen is notoriously honorable and oblivious. He thinks he knows what is going on but you will stop and squint. Even still, in the end both you and him are shocked silly by what actually happens. Moreover, Damen is a wonderful person and it is really cool being in his head. He’s every bit the noble prince who is quiet, thoughtful, serious, and honorable to a fault. He’s also a brat and inwardly very snarky despite being so good natured. 

The writing style is delicate and eloquent. She remains consistent with lingo fitting for the time. And, honestly, the humor is super dry and I flipping love it.

Lastly. It is a truly good love story. For how ugly their relationship started Lamen ends up becoming one of the healthiest most loving and sweet I’ve read.

PS: We don’t deserve Charls the Veretian Cloth Merchant or Damen’s left cheek dimple.

-typohime

And, finally, a word from the author: