#day in the life of pando

[pandoa]

i, too, am part of the poor who remain in the abyss known as the styx towers

sobs

I wish all of you a good "Diasomnia is coming and coming strong" (and also tag your spoilers). And my feelings and prayers to my fellow players/watchers that are still in ch6 despite knowing a bit of what's going to happen, myself included

so this is from a popular old video in Brazil and as I was watching it for the first time, I just saw this scene and... suddenly had a epiphany. feel free to use it as template for something if you like it <3

[dreamspelunker]

A Case for Disney’s “Strange World”

No one seems to know anything about this movie. I didn’t before I saw it yesterday. I went to the movies on a whim and chose this one because the pickings were a bit slim and this one looked like the best out of the bunch.

Guys. This movie is good.

Disney has done this film real dirty by not marketing it properly. I mean, it probably won’t ever take over the world by storm like Encanto did, but it deserves better than what it’s getting. As I said on my Twitter, it is 100% a stunningly beautiful solarpunk film and everyone needs to go see it.

Here’s a brief synopsis since the trailer was garbage and no one saw it anyway:

***The Spoiler-Free Zone***

The story mostly focuses on Searcher, the son of famous explorer Jaeger Clade whose mission in life is to find a passage over the impassable mountains that surrounds their community of Avalonia. While on an expedition to try and scale the peaks, Searcher finds Pando, a mysterious plant that generates a renewable source of electricity. Searcher, tired of exploring and wanting to quit the life, takes the Pando back to Avalonia. Jaeger, still determined to find a way through the mountains, keeps going alone, never to return.

25 years later, Pando has transformed Avalonia into a bustling sci-fi uptopia. Searcher is renowned for having discovered Pando, and now lives a quiet life growing Pando crops with his wife and teenage son. One day, however, the Pando starts dying. In search of a cure, one of Jaeger’s former crew comes to Searcher asking for his help to lead an expedition down underground to figure out what’s killing it and save the society they’ve built with it.

If that sounds like a movie you’d like to see, stop reading now and go see it. Because from here, I’ll be busting out spoilers to talk about themes and why this movie is solarpunk. So I’ll be writing as if you, dear reader, have seen the film.

***The Spoiler Zone***

First of all, this movie is goddamn gorgeous. I really liked the opening comic-panel sequence and all, but I fell in love with the visuals once the story opened up and began showing us Searcher’s farm and Avalonia. Aesthetically, this is about as solarpunk as you can get. Art nouveau-inspired stained glass windows, visible mending on clothes, and really cool-looking tech that’s not at all in conflict with its environment.

That’s not even touching on the world inside Avalonia. I loved the shades of pinks and purples. And the creature design! Absolute chef’s kiss. That whole part of the movie reminded me of this one book I’ve read called ‘Expedition’ by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, which is just about exploring the ecosystem of alien life-forms on a planet called Darwin IV. It’s mostly a collection of really detailed sci-fi paintings of alien creatures. Fantastic stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone at the Disney studio had a copy and passed it around for inspiration during production.

In terms of the characters, i thought everyone was engaging and all the voice actors gave really good performances. I really liked Jaeger in particular (yes, he comes back, of course), but all three of the main characters were really well developed.

But, of course, there is The Gay Character. We all know about HIM.

I kid, I kid, I capitalize with irony. They did a good job with him, actually.

I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter respond to the idea of Ethan Clade with a very cynical shrug without having seen the movie. I have to say, I think people would be genuinely pleased with his portrayal if they gave the movie a chance. There’s no goofy wink-wink LeFou-ing about here. He’s a main character throughout the movie, his love interest is presented upfront with sincerity, and everyone within the world accepts it as normal. He’s not fighting anyone to be gay or trying to hide it, nor is it his one defining trait. He just has a crush on a dude and his dad embarrasses him a bit in front of him. Normal teenage stuff. His character arc is about sorting out his identify in relation to his family, especially his dad. Being gay literally has nothing to do with his character any more than his mom and dad being straight. Which is how it should be.

The story is a fun ride. It’s really well-paced. I was never bored, personally. There are some really great action scenes, some cute comedy with a three-legged dog and a goo creature called Splat, and the emotional beats all made sense with the characters and moved the story forward. It has a lot of qualities that reminded me of Up! and some parts of The Incredibles without directly being a rip-off of either of those. It’s its own thing, and I look forward to being able to watch it again on DVD/streaming.

***I know some of you kept reading anyway so for real, this is where I’m about to get into True Spoilers so save yourselves now y’allllllll***

Ultimately, this is a movie about legacy. Specifically, the legacy we want to leave our children (i.e. those who will come after us). I love the way this movie manages to take the existential crisis we face now in our blessed, beautiful world and condense it into a story where that issue of legacy, of our priorities, and of who we want to be is made clear.

Jaeger Clade is the society that brought us to where we are now. He’s a loud, brash, bush-whacking old man who’s driven to overcome obstacles. Searcher Clade is us now. Not looking to conquer for conquering’s sake, but complacent and only interested in continuing the status quo. He’s proud of what he’s made and sees no reason to change. Ethan Clade is who we should want to be. Someone looking for a third option, who wants to co-exist with the world around them, and be curious without being destructive.

These three outlooks correlate directly to the reveal that Avalonia is actually a living creature, and Pando is a disease that is literally wrapped around the living, beating heart of their world and slowly killing it. It was Jaeger’s drive to explore that led to the discovery of Pando. Searcher was unintentionally making the problem worse by growing more and more Pando to fuel their society. And throughout the movie, everyone is working together to save Pando, and it’s Ethan alone who tries to get them to stop and think more about what they’re looking at, and that things might not be as simple and straight-forward as they appear.

And this is why I think this movie is solarpunk, and not just aesthetically. Obviously, there are direct parallels to our use of fossil fuels, but I think it’s important that in the universe of Strange World, Pando is not an obvious poison or something they have to destructively mine to get. It’s a plant. Something that appears so innocuous at first, but under the surface, grows into a huge, overwhelming problem. No one is an evil bad guy looking to make profit off Pando or keep on destroying the world because it makes them money to do so. Everyone in the movie does what they do because they think they’re doing the right thing. What is the right and wrong answer isn’t always clear, and rather than being a result of them being outright evil, it’s just because they don’t fully understand the consequences.

While I was in the theater watching this, I thought about the Himalayan blackberries that have taken over the Pacific Northwest. It was introduced in the late 1800s by a botanist named Luther Burbank. He prized it for how much produce one blackberry bush could make in a single season, as opposed to the native blackberries that made smaller berries in smaller quantities. His intent was genuinely for the good. He wanted to propagate a crop that could accessibly feed the growing urban areas of the PNW. Create a food forest, in a sense. He sold the seeds because it was easy to grow and would feed people.

Obviously, it’s not bad to want to feed people. But now the damn plant has invested everything, and while the berries are still very much edible (and people do still eat them), it’s also created impenetrable thickets that kill everything around them and interfere with the ability of wildlife to get around. It got out of control. Even though the intent was meant well, the outcome created a problem that is now essentially impossible to overcome. People try anyway, because we have to, but the odds are not in our favor.

Solarpunk isn’t about growing more plants or having more trees in our cities or building solar panels and wind farms everywhere. Well, it’s not JUST that. Of course those things are good things, but every solution offered needs the proper context to work. And that’s the real nature of the movement, right? It’s finding solutions that lead to the best outcomes for everyone. Being invested in our world, learning about it, falling in love with it, discovering the intricacies of how everything is interconnected and how we fit into that. Everything we do will have inevitable impacts on everything around us, but what those impacts are can change radically depending on how carefully we consider our actions. We know we have to change. The question is, how do we change? How do we change for everyone?

And that is the ending message of the film. The heroes choose to save Avalonia. They destroy the Pando, knowing that it means they can’t have their society the way it was anymore. They choose that, because it is right to do. And the movie ends with the resilience of humanity as they come together and try to find a different solution to build their society on, the third solution of people like Ethan Clade who bring together the bravery and curiosity of Jaeger with the steadfastness and dedication of Searcher, and create a world that’s built on understanding and co-existence. In a world that constantly feels like it could teeter over at any minute, that’s a beautiful message to see in a goddamn Disney film.

P.S. I just want to say before I go that I really really really want Ethan’s boyfriend’s sweater. When you see it, you’ll understand, but I NEED the sweater in my life more than air.

[literaticat]

Dear Jen, Do you know why are all the editors are leaving Chronicle? Should authors be wary of subbing there? What is going on??? Thanks

(Jenn, or Jennifer. Thx!)

Yes, there's been a fair amount of churn at Chronicle. I can give you a little timeline, but please know (ESPECIALLY if you are any of the people I'm alluding to!) -- I TRULY LOVE CHRONICLE, I love every editor who was there and is there, I count them among my friends, I have MANY successful and beautiful books with Chronicle, more coming, and I hope to have many more in the future. I am not talking trash or giving any particular "inside scoop" here, this is just an outside perspective that I think/hope is at least relatively accurate and neutral.

So first of all: Many editors leave the publishers they start with at some point, because sometimes, that's how you get a promotion if you are in a rut where you are, and if you are in NYC, you can just apply to another job down the street. This tended to happen LESS often at Chronicle than at most NYC publishers, because pre-pandemic especially, if you live in San Francisco and you want to stay in San Francisco... that's the publisher in San Francisco! So many editors who started there never left the way a NYC editor might. But then the pando happened, and lots of work got remote, and it was less imperative to be tethered to one location. This is where our tale begins.

A couple (few?) years back they lost an editor who had a lot of books. (For a good reason, she got a different job, yay for her). However, they didn't replace her, and all those books got assigned to the remaining editors on top of their pretty full workloads. That's a lot -- but OK, so far so good.

Then there was some kind of upper-management rearrangement or something (way above the editor's pay grade, nothing to do with them) -- but the result is, they lost a couple of key managerial positions and didn't replace them for a while, so there was a power vacuum -- nobody was really in charge or able to hire more people to help.

Meanwhile (at least as far as I can tell), there were too many books and not enough editors, burnout / fatigue / life changes happened to cause a diabolical domino effect where one editor left so the others had EVEN MORE books and burnt out even faster, another left, burnout faster, another one left. So now, very unfortunately, many of the "original" Chronicle editors (by which I mean people that had been there about as long as I've been agenting or longer) are gone.

The good news is, there's a new boss, who seems to know what's what, there are still a couple folks left who have institutional knowledge, and there has been at least one great new hire, with I'm sure more on the horizon.

SO: The metaphorical Good Ship Chronicle hit a storm and sustained some damage, lost a captain and some crew, and was starting to capsize, but now has somebody new at the helm and is in the process of being righted. This is not a process that will or can happen quickly -- but it's happening. The passengers on board are hanging tight. I don't know if new passengers need to be WARY per se -- but I would suspect that the ship wouldn't really WANT to take on a bunch of new passengers until there's some more crew on board and they are sure it is smooth sailing. So, you know. Expect delays. (publishing, amirite?!)

(PS: I don't know too much about boats, but you get the picture!)

(PPS: Do you know the difference between "flotsam" and "jetsam"? THAT, I do know. Flotsam describes debris of a boat -- after a shipwreck, say -- cargo or bits of wood or whatever that are floating around. Jetsam describes things that are deliberately thrown off a boat by sailors when they have to lighten the load because they are in distress and sinking or something. You can remember because "floating = flotsam / jettison = jetsam". That's your fun fact for the day!)

[f1-disaster-bi]

pls after sad today I have soft and cute prince and pauper pando au pretty pls

I got you @f1-birb 😘

"You're home!" Pierre had barely gotten inside the door when there were arms wrapping tightly around him. Curls tickled his cheek, and Pierre didn't hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around Lando, sighing softly as he did because he was finally home. He'd been away for over two weeks. This was the longest he had been away in the last year, and it had been hard but Pierre knew Lando loved and supported him. It might be hard to be apart, but Lando would never resent or stop him from doing what needed to be done to help those in need, even if it kept them apart at times. "I missed you", Pierre whispered into his curls as he felt Lando place a kiss on his shoulder. "I missed you too", Lando smiled and as he pulled back he frowned. One of his hands came up to cup Pierre's cheek, and while Pierre leaned into it, he knew what Lando was looking at, "What happened to your face, love?" Pierre turned his head to press a kiss against Lando's palm. His hand reached up to wrap around Lando's wrist, gently squeezing it in reassurance. "Those in power did not take kindly to what I had to say", Pierre replied softly as Lando looked at him with worried eyes, "I'm okay, it's just a bruise, and with Max and Lewis's help, it was easy to help free them from those contracts" Lando nodded softly, probably having already heard the tales that always followed where ever Pierre went. It never took long for news to travel no matter how far Pierre travelled from their home. Still, the worry lingered on his husbands face and Pierre tucked him back into his arms, kissing him softly as Lando's hand slipped from his cheel to his neck, squeezing softly to reassure him before they seperated. "Promise you're okay?", Lando whispered, waiting until Pierre nodded before he smiled, "Good, because I'm not the only one that missed you, and think I hear them coming" Pierre could only grin down at his husband as he heard the sound of little feet running through the hallway as Lando stepped aside with a laugh. Pierre had enough time time to crouch down before two little bodies were colliding with his own. "Papa!" Little arms grabbed at him, and Pierre didn't flinch when a wayward elbow hit his bruised ribs. He was too busy kissing the twin's foreheads, holding them close against his chest as they clung to him, chattering excitedly over each other in excitement. "They've been checking the local stables for your horse every day after we get back from the school", Lando smiled and there was nothing but pure love in his gaze that had Pierre's heart skipping a beat with how much he adored the family they had created. It had been over two years now since Lando had found the twins abandoned outside the orphange his own Papa, Sebastian, ran with Lando's help. They'd only been two years old and had instantly bonded with Lando and Pierre. They hadn't been looking to expand their family, not at that moment, but it felt right. "We missed you", Claudia mumbled, her little face tucked into his neck and her arms tight around his neck. Her twin, Julian, had let go of Pierre to wrap himself around Lando's leg, smiling as Lando played with his hair, soothing down his little waves and curls. Pierre kissed their daughter's temple softly, his hand reaching out Lando who offered his own hand instantly, squeezing Pierre's softly because he knew exactly how and what Pierre was feeling. He knew that this was everything Pierre had grown up thinking he would never have because all his life until he was an adult and able to fight back, people had let Pierre down and made him feel less than but here he was. A local hero. A husband to the sweetest, kindest and bravest person he had ever met. A father to two adorable four year olds that would never suffer the way Pierre had. He had a family who loved him, and Pierre would never not be excited to come home to this.

[f1-birb]

pando university au - instagram edition - christmas time pt 1

pierregasly

liked by georgerussell, charlesleclerc and others

pierregasly he may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is the cutest (guess which way the wind was blowing)

view 132 comments

landonorris it hit me in the face ☹️☹️☹️

alex_albon literally not surprised

georgerussell remember when he smacked the gazebo flap after it had rained

alex_albon that noise was my text tone for a month

landonorris I hate both of you 😭

maxfewtrll at least he covered his hands this time!

Story via lilymhe

landonorris

liked by charlesleclerc, lilymhe and others

landonorris Pear took me to see the reindeer ❤️

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lilymhe aww no selfie?

pierregasly I thought they were going to adopt you, they kept pulling on your sleeve

georgerussell why am I not even surprised Lando nearly got kidnapped by a reindeer

alex_albon just a day in the life of Landon Orris

georgerussell

liked by landonorris, pierregasly, misansoni and others

georgerussell First Christmas market with you 🎄

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misansoni 💕

lilymhe cute cute cute

landonorris did you bring us anything?

georgerussell yes you gremlin

charlesleclerc ooooooo what did you get us?

georgerussell a. you don't even live with us, b. lebkuchen

landonorris you're the best Georgie

Story via pierregasly

part 2, part 3, part 4

[lemonidae]

Love Me Not by Pando

나를 사랑하지 않아도 / Even If You Don't Love Me

Jiwook’s more than used to poverty’s myriad of miseries. All his life he’s had to deal with debt, so he’s used to barely getting by. Now he’s determined to get out of this financial hell hole and when he gets into Daehan High school, things look like they’re taking a turn for the better. This prestigious school usually only welcomes the wealthy, but Jiwook managed to get in by pure grit. Now there’s nothing stopping him from his hike toward success…or is there? On his first day back to school, he somehow grabs the attention of Ju Seung-eon, who is everything that Jiwook isn’t. Despite their differences, Seung-eon starts to take a special interest in Jiwook. Little do they know what consequences a little curiosity will bring…

110 Chapters + Extras

[all-the-things-2020]

Further Along the Way - Chapter Six

Summary: Din starts his new job.

Rating: PG

Din spent the weekend going over his class rosters and the notes that Dunbar had left. He had approximately 250 students, mostly the first and second year students who were required to learn basic fighting and weapons skills, but there were about 50 upperclassmen who were in the advanced classes. Each basic class had between 45 and 50 students, and he would have an assistant in those, a young corporal who had been covering the classes since Captain Dunbar had left. He wasn’t as worried about them; it was the two advanced classes, with roughly 25 students each that he was concerned about.

Mariana helped him go over Dunbar’s notes. “In every class, there are three kinds of students,” she said. “There are the ones who are going to do well no matter who the teacher is because they just get it; you don’t have to worry about them. And there are the ones who need a little bit of guidance to grasp the concept but will be okay once you give them a nudge. Then there are the ones who are going to struggle no matter what because they just don’t get it; those are the ones you have to concentrate on.”

She laid out the roster for the third year class. “Like here. These three are naturals. They’re going to be fine. I wouldn’t worry about them.” She put a check mark next to their names on the printout, then looked back at the notes. She put a star next to two more names. “These two … they’re the ones you’re going to have to spend extra time on. Everyone else improved from one skills test to the next, even if it was just a little bit, but they didn’t. This one even got worse. Fighting isn’t their strong suit, so it’s going to take some extra work to get them up to speed.”

Din nodded. “Glenna Laren and Pando Florenz. Looks like she’s okay with weapons but her hand to hand skills are practically non-existent. And he’s decent at hand to hand but can’t shoot straight to save his life.”

“So, put them together and you get one decent fighter and … well, me,” Mariana laughed. “And you managed to teach me how to shoot, more or less, so I think you’ll be okay there.”

She pulled out the roster for the fourth year class and put check marks next to five names. “These are your standouts in this class. You’ll have fun with them. But these three …” She starred three names. “Nandoo Bendar, Helix Shandilon, and Klaarmat X’intari. They consistently score low on every assessment.”

Din grunted. “Klaarmat is Bendaski. He should be able to fight rings around these kids, and Bendaski eyesight is legendary among sharpshooters. Garrick told me there aren’t many non-humans in the city, and some of the locals are pretty xenophobic.” He tapped his data pad. “His grades in other classes are okay, but not great. But his intake scores were very high.”

“What about the other two?” Mariana asked.

“Looks like Shandilon is a bit of a slacker, but Bendar had decent grades and progress reports.” He clicked deeper in Shandilon’s record. “Hmm … Shandilon’s parents donated a lot of money to the Academy. There’s a note here from one of his instructors last year saying he technically failed the class but was allowed to pass over the objection of the instructor. Who was not asked back this year.”

Mariana frowned. “There’s one at every school. At least he’s in his final year, so you’ll only have to deal with him until the end of the term. But still … be careful with that one.”

Din rubbed his hand over his face. “I hate politics,” he muttered.

“Welcome to academia,” Mariana said wryly, kissing his cheek.

**********************************

The first three class periods of the day went by easily enough. Corporal Fennic had them well in hand and all Din had to do was introduce himself and watch as the students ran through the exercises. The fourth period, which preceded the lunch break, was his third year class. Fennic shooed the last of the younglings out and gave Din a nod. “Good luck, sir,” he said.

The students began to trickle in, all of them openly curious about their new instructor. Din stood quietly until the final bell rang and then pulled out his data pad to take roll call. Each cadet barked out a crisp “Here, sir,” and stood at attention as he called their names.

Glenna Laren was tall and lanky, with a long blonde braid that reached halfway down her back. She looked awkward, as if she hadn’t grown into her limbs yet, which probably explained her lack of skill at hand to hand fighting. She avoided eye contact, and blushed when Din did catch her eye for a moment. Well, she saw the holovid, he sighed.

Pando Florenz was compact, dark haired and a bit nervous. Even standing at attention, the boy could not quite stay still, one hand fidgeting at his side and one foot tapping gently against the floor. No wonder he had a hard time hitting a target; that infinitesimal moment of stillness that was necessary before pulling the trigger was likely nearly impossible for Florenz.

“Good morning, cadets,” Din began once he’d finished taking roll.

“Good morning, sir,” they chorused.

“At ease,” Din said. He watched as they all transitioned into a more relaxed stance. Florenz’ foot kept tapping.

“As you know, I’m your new weapons master, Mr. Djarin,” Din went on. “As this is our first day together, I’d like to take the time to assess where you all are in your training and find out what your goals are. If I can’t get to all of you today, we’ll continue tomorrow. But first, I’m sure you’re all curious about me.”

The class perked up at that. Din clasped his hands behind his back, mimicking their at ease position, and began to walk back and forth in front of them, like his old drill instructor had done. “Colonel Braxden told you that I’m not with the Thantosian military, so you may be wondering what my qualifications are. My parents were killed during the Clone Wars, and I was taken in as a foundling by a clan of Mandalorians.” There was a sharp intake of breath from several of the cadets. “I was raised by them and swore the Creed as soon as I was old enough. I was trained in all the ways of combat known to the Mando’ade. I’ve fought as a soldier, as a mercenary, and spent many years as a member of the Guild of Bounty Hunters.”

A tall dark-skinned cadet raised his hand. “Yes, Cadet … Robbins, is it?”

“Yes, sir. May I ask a question, sir?”

“Of course.”

“If you’re a Mandalorian, where’s your helmet?” The cadet next to him tried to shush him, but Din waved his hand.

“No, it’s a legitimate question,” he said. “I’m dar’manda, which means I’ve abandoned the Creed. That’s why I no longer wear a helmet or armor.” He rubbed his thumb against his ring.

“May I ask why?” Robbins went on.

“I decided to abandon the Creed once I took on the responsibility of a family,” Din said carefully. “I adopted a foundling, and I got married. Neither my son nor my wife are Mando’ade, and I felt it was best if I wasn’t either.”

Robbins nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. Sorry for being nosy, sir, but I’ve always heard that Mandalorians are these incredibly dedicated warriors and …”

“And you wondered why anyone would give that up,” Din finished for him. “Many would not. Others have given it up for less.” He looked each of the cadets in the eye. “We are all individuals. We all have our own reasons for everything we do. I’m sure you all have a different reason for choosing the Academy, a different reason for choosing the officer training track. Whatever your reason, I will respect it. And I will respect your differences.” He nodded at them. “But I will still expect you all to do your best, even if something doesn’t come easily or naturally to you. Combat training is a valuable skill; it can literally mean the difference between life and death.”

“Yes, sir,” the cadets murmured.

“Very well,” Din said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get started. Cadet Bex, you’re up first.”

****************************

After lunch, Din had another second year class, which he mostly turned over to Fennic so that he had time to go over the fourth year class roster one more time. Because of Shandilon and Klaarmat, this was going to be his toughest class.

When the bell rang for the final period of the day, the second years scurried off. Fennic gave Din a fist bump and said, “See you tomorrow, boss.”

The senior cadets arrived promptly and stood respectfully against the wall until the final bell rang. Klaarmat was easy to pick out, the only non-human in the class. He stood a bit further apart from the rest of the class. Din hadn’t seen many Bendaski but the boy looked typical for the species. Greenish skin with a vaguely reptilian look to it, a slight ridge running from the top of the head down the back, keen orange eyes like a predatory bird, and delicately cupped ears that looked far too fragile for the rest of his body.

As Din pulled out his data pad to take roll, a final student sauntered in, a tall boy with light brown, almost blond hair and an arrogant look about him. His uniform jacket had one button undone and his tie was crooked. He slipped into place beside one of the girls, whispering something she apparently found distasteful.

“Cadet Helix Shandilon, I presume,” Din said, raising an eyebrow.

“Got it in one,” Shandilon said with a grin. “You’re sharp.”

Din stepped closer. The boy was only a few inches shorter than he was, but Din was much bulkier and although the smirk stayed on Shandilon’s face, he did take a half-step back, much to Din’s satisfaction. “Is this how you address all your instructors, Cadet?” He spoke evenly but with a hint of a growl.

“No,” Shandilon said. “Just the ones I don’t like.”

Din barked out a laugh. “How do you know you don’t like me? You just met me.” He circled the boy, who was beginning to sweat just a little. Good, thought Din. Be afraid.

“You’re a civilian,” the cadet said with a shrug. “Most of them don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t see why Braxden hires non-military personnel to teach us if we’re supposed to be learning how to be officers.”

“I can assure you that I know what I’m doing,” Din said, coming to a stop in front of the boy. “I learned how to fight from the Mando’ade who took me in as a foundling. I fought the Empire, I chased bounties from one side of the galaxy to another. I even took down a Moff using only a borrowed lightsaber.” He stepped closer, looking the boy in the eye. “I was the Mand’alor, the supreme leader of the Mando’ade.”

Shandilon swallowed, but then lifted his chin. “And yet here you are, teaching combat skills to a bunch of kids on Thantos Prime. Guess you weren’t a very good Mand’alor, then, huh?”

The other cadets shifted nervously. Din simply laughed. “You’re right, I wasn’t. It wasn’t what I wanted to be. So I gave up the Darksaber to someone who was better suited to the job.”

Shandilon’s eyes narrowed a bit as he absorbed this information. “And they kicked you out? ‘Cause I don’t see a helmet or beskar or anything.”

“I renounced the Creed,” Din said quietly. “Of my own volition. I gave up that life to make a better one for my family.” He held up his left hand. “And I do still wear beskar, just not as much as I used to.”

He stepped back so that he could address the entire class. “I adopted a foundling of my own, and I found my riddur. My son and my wife are more important to me than anything else. I know how to fight, and I’ll teach you everything I know, so that you can protect yourselves, your planet, and your own families. I’m not that kind of warrior anymore, but believe me, I will do anything to protect them.” He looked pointedly at Shandilon. “Whether you like me or not, I am your instructor, and I expect to be treated with respect. Which means you will address me as ‘Mr. Djarin’ or ‘Sir,’ is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the class chorused. Shandilon hesitated just a moment, so that his “sir” rang out clearly, just a tinge of mockery in his tone.

“Now,” said Din, “I’ll take roll and then we’ll start getting to know each other. I want to meet with each of you individually to see where you stand, what you already know and what you want to learn before you leave.”

He turned his back on Shandilon and consulted his data pad.

**************************************

“How’d it go?” Mariana asked as soon as he walked in the door.

“Not bad,” Din admitted. “You were right about Shandilon. He’s got an attitude the size of the Death Star, but hopefully I put him in his place. It’ll take me a few days to get a handle on all of the third and fourth year cadets, but I got a good start. And Fennic is amazing. He runs the lower level classes so well I hardly have to do anything.”

Ad’ika toddled in with Froggy in his hand. “Da!,” he cried. Din swooped him up into his arms, which made the child laugh.

“I missed you, ad,” Din said.

Mariana cleared her throat pointedly. “And I missed you, too, cyar’ika,” he said with a wink. “And you,” he said, stroking her belly with his free hand. “I missed you all.”

“Well, we didn’t miss you much,” Mariana said playfully. “We played blocks, and watched frog vids, and cleaned the ‘fresher, and walked to the market to get some cakes for dessert, and Ad’ika helped me prep the veggies for dinner by floating them from the basket into my hand.”

“Did you do that?” He asked the child. Ad’ika nodded and gestured with his tiny, three-fingered hand. Din smiled over his head at Mariana, who smiled back. He had told his students the truth: nothing was as important to him as this right here: his family.

[wolfsbanesbite]

Em, it's birb, please may I have pando with song 19 in these trying (for me) times <3

Friday I'm in love - The Cure

Lando looked forward to Fridays.

He loved being an F1 driver and the chaotic life he led. But Fridays seemed much more special for him. Much more fun.

Because on Fridays he was in love. It was the one day of his busy week he could see Pierre and no one would say anything.

Thursday was always so busy with media, Saturday was busy with quail and of course Sunday was busy with the race.

But Friday free practice sessions meant Lando and Pierre could meet up between sessions and talk. It wasn't anything special but for Pierre and Lando it meant they could share a quick kiss and soft words. It wasn't much but it was something and that's all that mattered.

[pandoa]

♡ Blossom Grove Prompt Event: The Conclusion ♡

i.... i finally... finished

guys oh my god I ACTUALLY FINISHED????? MY FIRST WRITING EVENT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO ONLY GO ON FOR TWO MONTHS- IT'S A MIRACLE

it's been a long time coming, in all honesty, and i am proud (and relieved lol) to say that Blossom Grove: a 100 Followers Special has finally ended. it would have ended sooner, but because life does what it does, requests were always held back throughout these 7-ish months </3

not many of you will get to read this, but i'd still like to thank every single one of you who requested, followed, liked, commented, reblogged, and simply enjoyed the things that i wrote for you all. i think this goes to all writers and artists alike when i say that your presence and little comments make our day so much brighter, so thank you so so much for just enjoying the thing we all make.

i swear when planning this event back in late july, i thought like 10 of you guys would request MAX. i was a really small blog with a dry inbox, so that seemed the most likely at the time. but after getting 30 instead of 10 i knew this would take longer than i thought lolol

throughout the event, i noticed a lot of the things many of you tended to like. some of those included the popularly-requested yellow pansies and anemones prompts, as well as octavinelle gaining the most rqs for this event lmao. which is kinda funny because i feel like octavinelle is the main dorm i struggle writing for the most but anyways 💀

what will i be doing now?

there is one more non-event request i'm working on, but then after that all rqs will be finished. afterward, i'll mainly be writing a lot of the drafts/ideas i had that i wanted to work on during the event but didn't have a chance to. because of this, regular requests will still be closed lol (sorry). they'll be open whenever i feel like i'm ready to take requests again; i'm giving myself a break <3 i'll also be reorganizing the blog because some of my rules are outdated and i want to put some things into order

guys we went from 100 followers to 500. 500. 500 people saw this blog and made it their choice to follow it for whatever reason, and i love each and every one of you regardless of whether you interact or not. and because i'm chronically checking all of my notifs, i know for sure that i've seen your name at least once in my life. you're somewhere there in my memories and i hold you precious to my heart. oh and before i close this, i'd also like to show my mutuals some appreciation too <33 all of you are lovely souls that are a big part of my motivation to keep writing and i'm extremely honored to be mutuals with such amazing people~

and finally, to everyone, thank you for being patient and staying here with me throughout this whole event. Blossom Grove will always be special to me and i can't wait to show you all what else i have in store ♡♡

—sincerely yours, pando

→ → ♡Twisted Wonderland Masterlist♡

[peoplehavealwaysbeenpeople]

hello! I just came across this blog looking for posts for a blog I started recently, @evidence-of-life!! Quite pleased to see a fellow blog of similar concept :3 keep up the good work, and have a wonderful day!

-Pando

Ooh, hello, nice to meet you! Love your name.

[torisaysyeet]

How I would Fix Disney's "Strange World", Part 1

All information shared is either paraphrased from the story of Strange World or is my own personal opinion! This is not made to say I am a better writer than those who worked on Strange World, rather me sharing an opinion on what I think would improve the story.

Strange World was a movie that struck me as interesting when I saw the previews, like. a week before it's theatrical (or Disney Plus) release. Then when I decided to sit down and watch it, i managed to get the full story while skipping through it. Spoilers if you care.

Generational trauma father and son, son grows up and is successful in life and love, son is Protag now, Protag faces his barrier preventing his continuation of the status quo, Protag's son gets mad that his father won't put his life at risk.

Protag heads out on his journey, wife shows up, Protag discovers his son and for some reason their dog on the ship, they get attacked (a man is brutally killed and nobody talks about it ever), they end up in the "Strange World" and are of course separated, ship is damaged; Protag meets his father who was assumed dead for 25 years, we find out Protag's son has left the ship to find his father, Protag's son meets Splat - the unofficial mascot for the movie that will likely be a lot of toys - and nearly dies, Protag finds his son, they make a great chase to get back to the ship.

They fix the ship, head out, Protag's son tries to introduce Protag and grandfather to a modern game, "hilarious" argument ensues, (I blank on what exactly happens in this void of time), they cross a sea of acid, get to the main part of the conflict.

Protag and son find out that the thing their home has been this whole time was a giant creature rather than an island, and they've been experiencing it's internal functions attempting to keep it alive from the discovery the Protag made 25 years ago. They both go back to help the creature and put an end to the sapping of the creatures energy, Protag's father tries to go and finish his lifelong goal but then shows up miraculously to save the day, sudden creature death fakeout, then it's all fine. The supposed detrimental loss to the island's only power source is not detrimental at all, the son gets a scene with his same sex crush, and the movie's over.

So. it's something. It all of course keeps on the Generational Trauma train, but it does the lazy version - "I'm not you, Dad, so stop trying to make me be you!" x 2. Couldn't even give the son and Protag a unique conflict, just the same thing as before.

Now, how would I fix it?

I think I would start with the characters. They're not all bad, just off.

Jaegar Clade - Jaegar is a character you AREN'T supposed to like, I would say. He's driven and focused on his journeys, but is entirely selfish and only focuses on his fame. On the surface to everyone else it looks like he's driven to help the people of their home get off the island. However I'd write him to only desire to achieve the one thing that would make him the MOST famous on the island. Maybe he dies, maybe he doesn't. I haven't yet decided. Jaegar is not bothered that he's attempting to force his son into the same profession he loves, when Searcher clearly prefers science and plant-studies.

Searcher Clade - I hate his name and now so does he - after the intro, he goes by Archer. He seems like a down-to-earth guy but is entirely driven by profit, to ensure his family can be comfortable in the future and to keep him at home more often. After finding Pando at 15, the thought of riches and fame got to his head, just like it did his father. Archer's character arc is driven by his son, Ethan, convincing him that the family and the life of the creature they live on is more important than the riches and fame the Clade's already have. When Archer finally comes to terms with the fact that he loves his son and wife more than his fame and riches, he and Ethan work to remove Pando from the creature's heart and succeed without a fake-out death. Archer in the epilogue has used his wealth to aid those on the island to find a smoother transition from Pando energy to natural energy. Archer also supports Ethan and knows that he has a personal passion; he still plans to pass the farm on to Ethan in the future, but makes it clear it's ownership he's passing down, not necessarily the work unless Ethan wants it. Archer WILL NOT try to force Ethan to be something he isn't.

Meridian Clade - I love Meridian, she's very spunky and goofy in the movie. I think it would be cool to have Meridian be one of the top engineers and designers that created a lot of the Pando-powered flying machines. She is fiercely protective of her family, which leads up to her and Archer having a disagreement about Ethan. While Meridian does continue to pilot the ship, she is frustrated that Archer won't listen to her or Ethan, whom she believes when he tells her they're living on a giant creature. She and Archer have a moment in the climax where he apologizes for not listening to his family, those who would never lie to him, and being blinded by wanting something he already had. Meridian doesn't necessarily forgive him, but she says they'll talk more later when lives aren't at stake. They end up patching the cracks caused by their disagreement and are able to return to their lives even happier than before.

Ethan Clade - well-known and popular son of Archer, Ethan is popular in Avalonia and has a large group of "friends," i.e. people who want to be on his good side thinking he'll give them money, and a close-knit group of best friends who both enjoy his company and genuinely like him as he is. Ethan takes a lot after his grandmother Penelope (who those who write the fandom wiki assumes was once an animal tamer, so I'm using that for the rewrite) and is an avid animal lover. He's the one that took in Legend, though Meridian named him and sometimes calls him "Leg End"; Ethan has a lot of animals he cares for on the farm and even in his room. Before they leave to enter the Strange World, Ethan is often busy caring for an injured rodent or a bird of some kind, perhaps even caring for orphaned baby animals of some sort. He is also NOT stupid and does not get upset when his father literally says "I will not risk my son's life." He stows away because he's curious, not because he's rebellious. Ethan is the first to realize the world is an internal ecosystem of a creature, and spends a long portion of the movie trying to convince everyone this world is alive and that keeping it alive is more important than Pando. Ethan and Archer do still find themselves outside the creature, and Archer realizes Ethan wasn't making anything up. He see's the beauty and majesty of the creature and sadly agrees to help Ethan save it. In the Epilogue, we find out Ethan is heading the research efforts of the creature they live on and the care to remove the Pando still hiding away on Avalonia. Also no, I love Legend but he doesn't go to the Strange World.

Callisto Mal - Outwardly, Callisto is a caring individual - she's often among the citizens of Avalonia finding interpersonal issues at the source and trying to fix it however it's necessary; she holds a brief memorial service to the pilot/crew that was killed as they entered the Strange World. However, Callisto is also driven by profits and success, though she's actually antagonistic about it. She actively silences Ethan and convinces Archer that Ethan is lying and making up the story about the creature. She thinks that without Pando, she won't be able to win elections anymore and earn money. Even after Archer and Ethan return from seeing the creature's face/eye, she is willing to kill the internal ecosystem and the two of them as well. Meridian is forced to knock her out to save her family. The crew jumps in to help the Clade's remove the Pando from the creatures heart, and then use their testimonies to prevent Callisto from being re-elected. They can't really have her arrested, but they can cause what she feared would come to pass to do so. The movie ends with her approaching Archer to apologize and offer a hand; Archer, being kinder than before, accepts her help.

With this post getting long, I'll explain the story changes in part 2 in a more concise manner. There are snippets in each character's rewrite, but they're all over the place.

[abigail-abridged-summaries]

Ronan studied his friend, understanding his life and deaths better than before. At some point, he thought, he'd ask Gansey to talk about it, what it felt like to be him now, but now wasn't the place. They had time. Years. Instead, he said, "Yeah. I missed you and Sargent droning on about shit."

"I missed your witty repartee."

"Aglionby taught me well. I'm glad you didn't get killed during that whole Pando thing last year."

"I'm glad you didn't get killed during that whole apocalypse thing," Gansey said. He paused, watching hummingbirds circle the flowers growing up over the garage roof. "It occurred to Blue and me the other day that being a teenager really sucked."

Ronan just drew his breath in through his nostrils and blew it out through his mouth. "Yeah."

After a moment, Gansey nodded to himself, and then he reached over to fist-bump Ronan. It felt like a language of a faraway country.

[literaticat]

I know you don’t speak for everyone, but from your experience, how do people feel about mentions of the pandemic? I want to write about someone who is trying to readjust to life after the worst of it, but I know some people just never want to hear about it again.

I mean, there are whole-ass books about the pandemic, never mind just mentions of it. (THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdrich and TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett are grownup bestsellers that come to mind! My client Stephanie Lucianovic's MG book HUMMINGBIRD SEASON came out recently and is set entirely in the Pando. ETC.)

So, while there are certainly people who don't want to hear about it, there are other people who don't mind. And I'm pretty sure few people would mind your MENTIONING it. Like, it was a real thing, so... books set in our world in the modern day might well mention it, and those characters might have been affected by it!

[f1-disaster-bi]

Pando and relief? 🩵

Hmmm

Pierre didn't feel the ball of fear in his chest ease away until he finally laid eyes on Lando again.

He didn't know why the young man he had been tasked to find and bring home was eliciting such strong emotions in him, but Pierre cared about him. He may have only known him for a few days, but there was something about Lando that made Pierre come to life in a way he hadn't felt in years.

It also meant that the guilt of basically being his jailer lingered in his bones and made his teeth ache yet the relief he felt at finding the other unscathed as he sat by the pond outweighed that feeling right now.

"I'm sorry for pushing you", Pierre admitted, sitting down beside him,leaving a little room between them as Lando held his knees to his chest, "And I'm sorry that I have to bring you back"

Lando just turned his head slightly, and looked at Pierre. His eyes were still a little red from the angry tears but it was the defeat in them that made Pierre want to turn around and pretend he had never found him.

"It's okay. You didn't say anything but the truth. I wasn't thinking when I ran, I just wanted out", Lando sighed and then he did something that surprised Pierre. He shifted closer, and rested his head on Pierre’s shoulders. Curls tickled his cheek and he felt the other relax slightly.

And Pierre, as he wrapped a lose around around the younger man, decided then and there that he wouldn't be like Lando’s family and forcing an unwanted reality on the younger.

"I'll tell them that I lost your trail, and I'll help you to the nearest town. I know some people that will take you in and help you get started on creating a life for yourself", Pierre offered as he closed his eyes, "You'd be free to make your own choices. Although you'd have to change your name"

Lando let out a soft breath and a warm hand covered Pierre’s.

"No, but thank you. My family might have hurt me, but they're still family. I shouldn't have run from my problems, it doesn't solve anything", Lando admitted as he curled closer to Pierre, "But maybe we could stay here a while longer?"

Pierre hid his smile in Lando’s curls and resisted the urge to kiss him.

"Of course, Lando"

[f1-birb]

Please ignore these if you don’t feel like answering them or you already answered them ❤️ Fancy a fun question chain to pass around f1blr?? Over to you, lovely!

Name (or what you want to be called on tumblr)

Where are you from?

Where do you live?

Any pets?

Favorite driver(s) currently on the grid, and why?

Favorite driver(s) not currently on the grid and why?

Favorite romantic driver pairing(s) (e.g. Maxiel, Carlando)

Driver you’re most attracted to physically

Driver whose personality you like best

Favorite driver friendship(s)

Favorite team principal

Favorite team

Least favorite team, if any

Driver(s) you dislike, if any

If you’re a fic writer: if you could only write about one f1 pairing for the rest of your life who are you choosing?

Please send this to 10 (or more!) other F1 tumblr users that you love and want to get to know better 🫶

Hi hi hi! This was sweet to see in my inbox, and thank you @chaossurvives for sending the same one 🫶

• Name (or what you want to be called on tumblr) ~ literally if you called me birb irl I'd respond at this point

• Where are you from? ~ I'm from the UK :)

• Where do you live? ~ also the UK

• Any pets? ~ sort of, there's my grumpy little old man but he's the family dog and lives with my parents, but I so so so want a dog when the time is right

• Favorite driver(s) currently on the grid, and why? ~ I mean it's pretty obvious but Lando, I've followed him since F3 because he stood out as a talent, and then he's grown into someone I just think I could vibe with, he's funny and sweet and sarcastic and as a driver exciting to watch. I also love Alex, he really do be just some guy in the most main character way

• Favorite driver(s) not currently on the grid and why? ~ Jenson Button, that man is the reason I love F1 and was My Guy, and I always enjoy his commentary. Kimi and Seb too, although I couldn't appreciate Seb until his Ferrari days lol

• Favorite romantic driver pairing(s) (e.g. Maxiel, Carlando) ~ pretty much any with Lando as a part of it 😅 but I'd say pando, dando and charlando as pairs, and 2019 rookie trio as an ot3

• Driver you're most attracted to physically ~ I would have to say Charles

• Driver whose personality you like best ~ Lando and Alex, idk I just feel like I could vibe with them the easiest

• Favorite driver friendship(s) ~ something so incredibly compelling about the 2019 rookie trio, Daniel and Lando I want to study it, Pierre and Charles and their intertwined everything, and Max and Lando because there's something about it

• Favorite team principal ~ Andrea Stella, that is my TP, but I have a begrudging liking for how fucking feral Toto and Christian can get, it's funny

• Favorite team ~ again, probably pretty obvious but McLaren, they've been my team since 2010 when JB joined and they've been my team since

• Least favorite team, if any ~ sorry if this offends but I am a raised Mercedes hater, it's just been the way since 2013 (not necessarily the drivers just Mercedes) and also Alpine (again not the drivers lol)

• Driver(s) you dislike, if any ~ there are definitely some I care less for but I'm not gonna name names, I don't like to post negativity about drivers if I can help it (even as small as answering q's like this) and you'll tell who I like/care more for based on who I post

• If you're a fic writer: if you could only write about one F1 pairing for the rest of your life who are you choosing? ~ I cannot answer this, like I've spent a solid 10 minutes thinking about it and still don't have an answer please don't make me choose 😭

[chenyann]

YAKO MY BELOVED MUTUAL AND FRIEND

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU WONDERFUL AND LOVELY SOUL <33 today is the day when we celebrate your debut to the world! and i cannot be thankful enough to be a part of your life. each time your user pops up in my dash, a stupid smile graces my face with your resplendence. you are simply beautiful and i pray that only good things will touch your life as you deserve all that is good and brilliant. a place in my heart will always be saved for you, yako. thank you for being such a shining person <3

now go have fun today!!!! spoil yourself, my dear yakonigiri~

AHHHH I SOON AS I SAW THE NOTIFICATION THAT YOU ASKED SOMETHING I STARTED SMILING!!

Pando words can't express how much I love you. You come in my inbox and grace it with your kindness, the amount of birthday wishes I got in like the past few hours is insane. Things come and go as they please in life, like age you will only be that age for a year and you can never turn that age ever again. This is not much of a step but a leap. Its been like 4 to 5 months since I came here on tumblr, the amount of people I've had the honor speaking to will always stick with me. But you pando has been here since my first month, you've graced me with so many things and given me joy that the world can't define yet. You support me, you listened to my rambles and most importantly you trust me. For that I will never forget you, you are someone who deserves only the best. Your kindness spreads like pollen, gracing everyone and thing it touches. For me to have the honor of that grace is something that will always make me think, if I were greedy enough I would put an umbrella over you so I can keep that everlasting kindness to myself (not in a creepy way I swear). But I'll be kind and let others experience the kindness you give to me.

If I were able to I would give you Venus, some says it's the planet of love. So if I were to give you Venus, it would be because I want you to experience all the love in the world. If I were able to I would ask for aphrodites blessing so if nobody could be able to give you that love she would grant it, giving you someone who loves you like you painted the world in vibrant colors instead of dull whites and greys. I want you to be happy in domain. I always will wish you the best and support your decisions. Because you are a star, shining above everyone and giving them happiness.

I will enjoy myself as much as I can, I'll make sure to fun and not let anything distract me from having fun. Thank you pando, for these amazing words and birthday wishes.

ALSO YAKONIGIRI CAME BACK FOR HER DAY VEIW