#i've been thinking way too much about these book

[multi-babii]

during my tsc reread i kept thinking about the possibility of jeremy, cat and laila finding out about the mafia thing. and at first i thought that they will probably not know because jean wants to protect them but when the part of the truth comes out during nathan's trial they'll know. and because they already know about riko they might start digging deeper into things.

like how exactly is jean going to explain why his mafia parents let him move across the world like that?? if he had normal (read not mafia related) parents it could be explained that they let him go because it was his dream or whatever but when the truth is out?? i don't think so

[heavyhitterheaux]

“I hate having to share you.”

Joe had been sitting on the couch and pouting for close to an hour as he looked over at you and baby uno cuddled up on the floor together as you were reading a book to him. He also noticed that his eyes were getting heavy indicating that it would soon be time for his nap.

He honestly couldn't wait because as much as he loved having him here and watching him, he hadn't had you to himself all week since both of you had been so busy. So when he woke up, he was excited to spend the day with you all to come downstairs to see you holding his nephew and his mood instantly turned sour.

Because of this, he immediately sent a text to Ja'Marr

Joe- Come get your kid so I can get laid 😫

Uno- What the hell!?

Joe- He's cockblocking me right now and he has stolen my wife's attention

Uno- Take it up with your wife, she begged to take him and wouldn’t give up until I said yes

Joe- Idk how much I believe that

Uno- Either way I'll get him tomorrow

Joe- TOMORROW!? What the hell is wrong with later today?

Uno- I have a date. Have fun Uncle Joey. Bye!

Joe- 😒

He was taken out of his thoughts when you came and sat in his lap. Startling him, he looked at you and then was looking around for his nephew.

“Where’s baby uno?”

“Upstairs sleeping. You okay? You looked like you were thinking about something.”

“I'm fine.” He mumbled as you wrapped your arms around his neck and leaned down to kiss him which he happily accepted and kissed you back.

“Are you sure? You've been pouting all morning so don't think I haven't noticed.”

Letting out a sigh, he finally confessed.

“I hate having to share you.”Joe mumbled and you let out a small laugh, leading him to make a face at you.

“Joey… Are you jealous of a two year old?” You asked not being able to keep it in any longer.

“No… yes… maybe.”

“You are too cute for your own good.” You told him as you got more comfortable and ran a hand through his hair.

“I literally haven't seen you this entire week. Can you blame me for missing my wife?” Joe asked as he kissed the tip of your nose.

“No I can't blame you, I've missed you all week too.”

“But yet you volunteered to watch our nephew.”

“To let Ja'Marr go on his date and besides, it's only for one night. And we want to get as much practice in as we can before having our own, right?”

“I guess, but making the baby is the fun part, I hear.”

“Hmm, I think I've heard that once or twice before.”

“But…. He's sleeping so…” Joe started to say as he trailed off and his right hand started to make its way underneath your shirt.

“You mean to tell me that you absolutely cannot wait under any circumstances?” You asked and he replied by shaking his head no.

“As soon as I saw that he was here, I told your twin to come and get his kid so that I could get laid.” He confessed, making you laugh once more.

“Why am I not surprised? But if we do, we have to be really quiet because the last thing I want to deal with is a grumpy cranky baby. If that's the case, you have to watch him for the rest of the day.”

“Why are you telling me that when you're the main one who has a volume control problem with her voice? Especially when I suck on your clit.” Joe asked as he kissed the shell of your ear and started to make his way down your neck.

“I see you don't have a smart ass comeback for me.” He added as both hands reached up behind you to undo your bra.

“Shut up before I change my mind and you know that I'm never going to let you live this down, right?”

“Maybe but, I got what I wanted in the end so I call this a win.” Joe told you as he was trying to get your shirt above your head.

[shayminlucario07]

People really will take any excuse they can to be racist to authors of color.

This this the same author who called out Cait Corrain for maliciously attacking POC authors that were direct competition, by the way. Xiran does not have some evil, twisted agenda to destroy as much competition as possible. If they did, they wouldn't have said shit about Cait Corrain! If you enjoy reading and writing as much as you claim to, you *have* to have the critical thinking skills necessary to understand that.

(Also, from my own observations as a bookseller- the idea that similar books are "competition" is ridiculous and only something publishing executives who don't understand the industry would believe. Because from everything I've seen- which is a lot, because I've been selling books for a few years now- books that are supposedly competing with each other often get each other more sales. We're literally told to sell people on smaller titles by using the bigger titles those readers have enjoyed to recommend the smaller titles based on similarities. The amount of books I've sold by comparing them to something like Fourth Wing or ACOTAR is too much to count. Plot twist: People who like one thing are very likely to enjoy another similar thing! That's the entire reason why books put review quotes from other authors on their covers. Christopher Paolini wasn't quoted on the cover of Onyx Storm for no reason, he was there because he's one of the biggest authors of Dragon Fantasy, and his name has capital i Influence.)

Some truths about the publishing industry because I certainly got blindsided when going in. Now I'm so broken by this industry I struggle to encourage aspiring writers lmao

[revelboo]

Man I've spent hour binging your masterlist, your writing is just that good!

May I possibly ask for some tiny ES Starscream leftovers? Can't get enough of him ;-;

Sure!

Disaster Hearts Pt 3

Earthspark Starscream x Reader

• “Right?” He growls, absently reaching to adjust the blanket he’d dumped on you after transforming and plopping you on top of a long metal desk in what is apparently his home hidden within the mountain range bordering the town. Just high enough in the mountains that you’re not just booking it out of here on foot if you’re left unsupervised long enough to make a jail break. Not if you have any hopes of surviving. Watching him fiddling with an alien computer system that seems to mostly be cobbled together from scrap, you’re pretty much resigned to being his captive audience. Listening to him rant as he works, bleeding out what sounds like decades worth of poison and bitterness. Making you his very unqualified psychologist.

• “It’s hard to be betrayed like that. Hurt by someone who should be protecting you,” you say, expression empty and his servos still. Studying you as you stare at absolutely nothing before you seem to shake yourself. “You have every right to be upset,” you add, offering him a small, hollow smile. And you understand him. He’s sure of it now, had suspected as much from the get go. Knows all too well that these things leave scars that can’t always be seen, that never really manage to heal completely. “Can I ask what you’re working on?”

• Wings flicking slightly, you think he’s pleased that you asked, slowly leaving his body language. And how to keep him happy. “There are miles of tunnels under this town. A labyrinth of them,” he murmurs, blue optics studying you to make you uncomfortable. But he doesn’t pry. Doesn’t ask and you’re grateful for that, because he sees too much. Doing something to the tangle of alien gibberish on the screen, it resolves into complex, intersecting lines. Tunnels. His attention shifting to it instead of you as he taps a servo against the screen. “Too old to be the work of you lot.”

• How long has it been since he’s given in to scientific curiosity rather than playing strategist? He missed this, probing mysteries and talking things out with someone. Having someone to bounce idea off of. And maybe he’d missed this even as he’d given up on it for the sake of the war when he’d chosen his side. His Trine had never taken much interest in scientific endeavors, but your little face is upturned, studying the maps. “There’s an order to it. It’s not random,” you say, pointing a tiny hand.

• “Exactly,” he growls, lips twitching into an almost smile. Excited about this. About having a mystery to solve and he’s not as scary smiling. Not so intimidating. “This could be Cybertronian. We seeded so many worlds with energon and this world is no exception, but this I’ve never seen before. There could be ancient Cybertronian tech down there. A way home.” Optics fixed on the screen, there’s a desperate hunger in his voice that almost hurts. Longing for home. For normal. Hoping that he can still return home, that there is still a home to return to and your eyes burn and blur. Knowing how bad it hurts when you’re wrong, when there’s no going back.

Previous

[ao3cassandraic]

Flooding the zone

Like many in the US right now, I'm having trouble holding my shit together. It's a day-by-day, night-by-nightmare thing. I do not read mainstream news. I have what social media I have left (including this hellsite) filtered to hell and back, because it doesn't take much to send me into a spiral.

So if that's you too right now, I feel you, and I swear I'm not writing this post to make it worse.

I'm writing it to ask us to think about what we're saying and doing and how we're spending our energy.

I'm not a political scientist, but I read a few. I'm not a labor theorist, but I am a union member and officer. Our situation in the US rhymes with other situations, geographically and historically, and one thing that's crystal clear is there are ways to stop this shit and it takes numbers and actions and often time.

The numbers are maybe smaller than you think? That one surprised me. Active resistance from maybe 5% of the population has stopped coups cold.

The rub is, best I can tell, that it's hard to say exactly which actions are gonna turn the tide, never mind when -- this shit's complicated and contextual and frequently opportunistic (as with President Yoon's faceplant in South Korea) such that even hindsight gets a bit murky.

So it seems to me that what it makes sense to do is flood the zone, as they say in American football, and keep flooding it. And yeah, that's a Steve Bannonism too, but what our enemies lack in ethics and care they make up for in cold hard strategy, so why not steal it from them?

(Part of my thinking is George Lakoff, too. Smart dude. Decent one, too. Check him out.)

Flood the zone with truth. Flood the zone with defiance -- it's our country too! Flood the zone with hope.

And not just once, but many times, because we can never know in advance the one time that'll put us over the top. Also because like almost any serious endeavor, resistance takes practice. As we practice, we get habituated to the practice and we get stronger and better at the practice!

I can attest to this myself. I spent most of my adult life pretty lousy at civic engagement (never mind resistance), if I'm honest. I voted routinely, but that was about it. I started switching it up in 2011 (I'm a Sconnie and Scott Walker sure did happen), though -- protests, donations, working the polls, union membership and then service, contacting my legislators, more protests, campaign work, some other stuff.

And now a lot of the above list is plain old routine, for me? It's ordinary as weather. It's just part of how I live my life. I bet civic engagement, including in the form of resistance, can become that way for you, too.

I believe a fair few of us can step onto the same road I've been on if we redirect some of our existing efforts -- because doomscrolling is an effort, venting is an effort, doomsaying and amplifying doomsayers is an effort. Let me gently suggest:

Instead of doomscrolling or ruminating: meditation, spiritual or religious practice if you have one, exercise if it's available to you, reading books or fanfic, doing puzzles or brainteasers (I have developed such a Squaredle habit).

If you can't scratch the doomscroll itch unless you're looking at something political, try Mariame Kaba or Rebecca Solnit or even Ezra Klein. If the problem is the doomscroll finding you, filters and blocks and getting away from algorithm-personalized platforms can likely help, and that last is a good idea all by itself.

Instead of venting to social media or into the void: vent at elected officials! You don't have to start with phone calls, or do them at all (I rarely do) -- remember, we're flooding the zone, and the zone's pretty big. Email or Resistbot or postcards are totally fine. More fun in groups -- postcard with friends!

If you can, try to angle your conversational contributions online and off-, including what you reblog/retoot/boost, away from venting and toward action and hope. This doesn't have to be because you're actually feeling hope -- it absolutely can be (and for me often is) a conscious strategy to develop fellow travelers and discipline my own mind and hands.

Instead of doomsaying, express hope and love and solidarity. Again, you don't always have to feel it -- it's a conscious organizing strategy, get me? If it helps you feel more hope and more solidarity yourself, and it may (especially as others respond to it), that's a grateful bonus.

Or consider a swear-jar strategy. Catch yourself doomsaying? Make a donation or email a legislator or whatever -- just decide on a useful action you'll take when you slip up, and hold yourself to it. Every time.

It's not hard to find people who say that all the above is performative, it's not action, it's not effective, ka-blah-ka-blah-ka-blah. I say that we damned well don't know that and that lots of small efforts from lots of people is totally how zones get flooded.

I also say that everyone starts somewhere, and that the zone ain't gonna flood itself.

Redirect even a little effort to flood the zone with me, please? Thank you. And my love to you and to all of us in these times.

[hawksbacktattoo]

Wanna Be Yours | Miguel x Fem!Reader

Summary: reader finally confesses her feelings

Warnings: p in v, unprotected sex, creamp!e, dirty talk, smut with plot

Word count: 1.4k

Not proof read

Head lent on Miguel's shoulder while they talked with their friends, yn laughed when Hawk cracked another joke. She loved spending time with her friends, they were the light to her very dull life.

The seven of them rent a cabin for the weekend, just wanting some time to get away from the Valley. Too much toxic stuff stirring up again and they all needed a breather.

"So how's everything between you and Tory been?" Sam questioned, legs kicked up on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Pretty good, my mom invited her for dinner next week. I'm happy everything worked out." Robby gleamed, kissing Tory and pulling her closer to his side.

"What about you and hawk? Bit of an unexpected turn of events huh?" Tory chuckle, arms crossed over her chest. "For sure, couldn't stand him for a while but he has a good heart." She teased the boy, earning a offended look from Hawk. "I'm joking, I'm joking."

The group had always been pretty close but with graduation coming up, everyone had to focus on their own things. It felt good to catch up and see how things turned out for everyone. Demetri still head over heels for yasmine, which everyone was still shocked about happening.

"What about you yn, you got anyone wrapped around your finger yet?" Sam added, everyone's attention turning to her. Lifting her head from Miguel's shoulder, she glanced over at him clearing her throat.

"Uhm, no not really. Just been focusing on other things, heh." She awkwardly answered, nippling on bottom lip. "Boo, lame! No way there not someone you're interested in with the way you've been all googoo eyed recently." Hawk poked, head cocked to the side in disbelief.

She and Miguel had been spending a decent amount of time together since the whole karate thing ended. She will admit, she has been all giddy recently. "I'm sure she's telling the truth, she's been stuck with me for a while." Miguel chuckled, arm snaking over her shoulder.

She hates when he treated her like nothing but a friend. Of course he doesn't know her feelings but it still pings her heart in moments like this.

Tory looked over at yn, a smirk creeping up her lips. She was the only one who knew about her feelings for Miguel, swearing to yn that she wouldn't tell anyone. Clearing her throat, Tory took the heat off the two suggesting they should hit the beach before it gets any later.

The sand felt warm under her feet, eyes squinting from the bright sun beaming down on them. Hawk, Demetri, Robby and Miguel take off sprinting to the water, throwing the things down before diving in and splashing each other. The girls snickering at their childish friends. Sam followed not to longer after, hopping onto Hawks back.

Laying on her stomach, eyes scanning over words in her book. "When are you gonna tell him how you feel?" Tory suddenly spoke, rubbing sun screen on her legs. Pausing, yn lifted her self up on her elbows and looked up at her. "I've been meaning to for a while now. I'm just worried he won't feel the same, ya know?" Yn didn't want to risk her friendship with Miguel because of her own feelings. He meant the world to her.

"I think you worry too much, you'll never know unless you try." She stood, helping yn up with her and they headed towards the water. "The sooner the better." She finished, dipping herself into the cool water.

Sighing she stepped into the water, the temperature change making her shiver. The group played around for a while, playing Marco Polo, chicken and just splashing around until it fell dark.

Back at the cabin, everyone went up to their rooms besides yn. Turning on the backlight, she climbed into the hot tub. A sigh of relief falling from her lips as she sunk down into the warm water. Head resting on the edge of the hot tub she looked up at the sky, admiring how pretty the stars look.

Hearing the sliding door close, she turned her head to see a smiling miguel making his way over. "I see we had the same idea." He chuckled, kicking his sandals off and slipping in next to her. Yn just chuckled in response, focus turning back to the stars above them.

They sat in silence for some time, just enjoying the quiet air and the warm water. Thinking to herself, yn decided it's now or never. Arms slouching to her sides as she sat up.

"Hey mig, can I talk to you about something?" Her words almost came out as a whisper, nervousness washing over her when he looked down at her. "Yeah what's up?" He smiled, resting his arms on the edge.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling hard, her lips pierced together. Her heart was pounding in her chest but she knew it was for the best. "There's no other way to put this but.. I have feeling for you. I have for a while now, I've been trying to find rhe courage to tell you but I just didn't want to risk everything we already have." She spoke quick. Eyes snapping away from him and to the water to calm her nerves.

Miguel didn't say anything for a while, tongue gliding over his teeth as he thought. The silence was killing yn, heart racing faster from anticipation. "Glad you had the confidence I didn't." He finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Yns head snapped up, lips parting to speak only to be met with a kiss instead. Her eyes were wide, freezing momentarily as she tried to process everything that was happening. Pulling away from her lips, Miguel sighed relieved. "You don't know how much I've wanted to make you mine." He hummed, forehead pressed against hers.

"Then show me." She whispered and he listened. Pulling her into his lap he kissed her again, this time it was full of determination. Fingers finding the loop of her bikini top and pulling it. The thin fabric dropping into the water between them. "Make me scream for you." She muttered, fingers tangled in his curls as she nibbled on his lip.

The look of desire in his eyes was to die for. Yn squeaked feeling miguel rip her bottoms off of her. Yanking his swim shorts down, he lined himself before saying, "I'll have you screaming my name." And guiding her down his length.

He slid in so easily, a hungry groan rumbling in his throat. Biting down on her lip, yn sighed as he bottomed out, fingers digging deep into her hips. "Fvck me hard Diaz." She teased, tongue gliding over his jawline.

Brows furrowing, Miguel lifted her up before slamming her back down on to his cvck. Smirking when she moaned and gripped on to his shoulders. He repeated this a few more times, loving the way she cried when his hips slammed into hers. "Where's that cocky attitude now." He scoffed, wrapping his arms around her torso before fucking up into her fast.

The water splashed out of the hot tub on top the concrete every time Miguel thrusted up. Yn began biting down on her hand as her moan ripped through her. The way his tip brushed against her g spot had her seeing stars. "Yes Miguel fvck!" She cried out, head falling into her crook of his neck.

Moving her hips to meet his thrust, yn tremble in his arms. The way he sounded beneath her was magical, sucking in air and letting out a shakey breath. She could tell his was getting close.

Eyes closing, Miguel threw his head back. "Fvck yn, just like that." He moaned, hips stopping as she began slamming herself down onto him, fingers raking down his bare chest.

Feeling his climax rush through him, Miguel gripped her hips holding her still. Breathless moans spewing from his lips. "Sh!t.." He huffed out, holding her closer to his chest.

"So does this mean I'm yours." Yn spoke, voice hoarse and quiet. "Of course." He smiled, pressing a kiss for her forehead before splashing her with water.

"I'm gonna be sick." Demetri groaned, the two snapping their heads in that direction. There stood their group of friends, towels at hand and ready to get in the hot tub. "Well there goes that idea." Robby laughed, tossing Miguel his towel before heading back into the house, the rest following behind him.

Yn and Miguel looked at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Demetri isn't gonna let us live this down." Miguel laughed out, pulling his shorts up and stepping out the tub. "Trust me I know." Yn smiled, taking Miguel's hand as he helped her out, covering her with the towel.

"You're so beautiful." He praised, arms wrapping around her with a accomplished smile.

[actualaster]

Fun fact: covid can trigger flares in some chronic conditions!

We never actually figured out if I had long covid or not because it triggered a flare of my autoimmune condition that took several months to calm back down, and I was exceedingly lucky to get things back under control safely enough in time for an important surgery to go forwards (of the "you have to schedule like half a year out because they're booked up so full" type).

Also first covid was right up there with influenza for worst illness I've ever had. Influenza I was so sick my family had to cancel their vacation plans to stay home with me in case I needed to go to the hospital. Covid first timeI had a fever so bad that I was in some of the worst pain of my life (and I had a tooth go so bad I couldn't eat or drink and at one point half my face muscles stopped working due to the pain).

Second time was very "mild" but I've had way less energy ever since (and I was already chronically exhausted to start with) and a lot of days where my brain just doesn't work and I can't hold more than one thought in my head at a time (as in "I can't figure out how to set down something I'm holding because that requires considering where is a good spot to put it and opening my hand to let go and that was too much for my brain")

And I've been masking all along with covid (I masked when I had influenza, too, and that was pre-covid) so I don't even wanna think about how many times I'd have caught it if I wasn't.

Listen to her. Please.

[eowynstwin]

I just love love love the way you write! Especially sex scenes! You make them so intimate when they need to be, and absolutely filthy simultaneously.

Have you taken any inspiration from published books? And by that, I mean have there been any notable books that have helped you navigate your writing process, or is it all just organically from the brain?

<3

gasp I love this question. I'm going to ramble.

So the first books that spring to mind are The Locked Tomb books by Tamsyn Muir, I love how simultaneously sincere and irreverent she is!! She has this way of describing things that i find really evocative and charming, and the charm contrasts really sharply with the subject matter (gore and grief and cosmic horror), so it makes it lowkey really funny.

Example, while giving a seminar about not getting swallowed by the ninth layer of hell, a character draws diagrams on a whiteboard with a "chubby marker." Chubby marker has always stuck with me because it's not a pair of words I would normally put together, and that's been pretty keystone to me. It taught me that the way you describe things matters just as much as describing them at all.

I also think about timing a lot thanks to The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. She's another writer who knows how many times she can make you laugh without undermining the seriousness of the things she writes about, and she is so so so good at character banter and relationships.

There's a bit in Blue Lily, Lily Blue where one character is harassing his friends by rickrolling them with a horrible song, and it's not really important to the plot, but it sort of embroiders the friendships that are important to the plot. Fucking with your friends is a time-honored tradition and it just makes everything feel a bit more real and precious—it makes you really believe in the verisimilitude of the relationships, like they have lives outside of the prose itself.

Then there's Robert MacFarlane! I've only just gotten into him. I'm reading Underland, and I started listening to The Old Ways audiobook but I'm gonna find the book at the library instead. i love the way he sets his scenes, or establishes his details. He's got an economy of detail that I've really been loving.

What I mean is—"The cave is dark and quiet around me" will become "Quiet cave, dark around me" or something similar. He eschews articles like "this" "the" "that" "is" and "are" because they're not necessary, and they'd slow down the pacing. It lends to a very dreamlike quality to his prose, I feel.

I feel like that's a commonality between nature writers too lol because I also love Robin Wall Kimmerer (who he quotes in Underland!!) so I'm going to search out others in that genre.

Honorable mention—I do love Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry for getting the cadence of a western too. Especially when listening to the audiobook. The narrator for that one is GREAT.

For sex scenes—lmao I've honestly never read any in published work that do anything for me. Fanfiction smut still blows trad pub AND self pub out of the water. I suspect that may be because very explicit sex scenes (ironically) put a good majority of readers off—I couldn't say why, though, other than to speculate that a lot of romance readers don't really have a good relationship with their own sexuality. (Hot take.)

How I write sex is instead influenced by the way my friends in this fandom write it, and it's also me thinking about what is noteworthy to ME about sex. I think about the smell, the weight of another person's body, where I want them to put their hands on me.

Sex is also sometimes the vehicle for the narrative, rather than the point in and of itself, so I ask myself "how do I characterize this interaction to serve the story?" It's a conversation, after all; two (or more) bodies navigating each other.

I think that's it! Dear god that got long.

[crim-bat]

Star Wars Rant: The Jedi Dogma Lie You Fell For

The older I get and the more of a movie centric perspective I take in star wars (books and comics and games are good, but they either tell stories that aren't relevant or fill in the gaps), the more I've come to believe that the writers lacked the media literacy as much as the fans in regards to how dogmatic the jedi actually were

Palpatine said the order had a narrow and dogmatic view of the force once and the fanbase and writers immediately went "YEAH HE WAS RIGHT" without understanding what was going on and 20 years of telephone later it's become accepted as fact so much that it's permanently poisoned the well.

In the prequel trilogy list of things "explaining" jedi dogma, we have...

The jedi did not want to train Anakin as he was a ball of Trauma. This is fair when your magic system runs on being able to not need let your emotions control you. Anakin needed help, not jedi training.

The jedi not believing Qui Gon when he said there was a sith afoot. The sith have been gone for a thousand years, or so they think. That, enough, is reason to not be sure about it. In the EU/Legends, Dark Jedi cropped up every couple of years so it could have easily been one of those instead. One of them was Qui's former student. AND the jedi didn't just say "that's not a problem, ignore it". They very pointedly say to go investigate the problem. And Qui is good enough at his job that they kept him on the case

The jedi don't allow marriage. It's a monastic order and they are free to leave. There is literally no penalty for just bouncing as long as you don't burn the bridges yourself

In AOTC, we see Obi Wan being especially down on Anakin the whole movie and the other jedi in the scenes, Mace and Yoda, express concern and try to defend Anakin from his own master. Genuinely, Obi Wan is the bigger problem here than any other jedi. He's my favorite, but he's an asshole in AOTC

On Dooku, Mace doesn't think Dooku would do assassination because that is, at that time, super out of how the jedi operate. Dooku was a jedi so it should not have been in his character.

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin goes to Yoda for advise about Padme but is vague as fuck so he gets vague jedi advise about detaching yourself from the situation and being happy they're going to jedi heaven. He Cannot Give Better Advise because Anakin is being Anakin.

Same movie, Mace says he doesn't trust Anakin with spying on Palpatine because he doesn't think he can handle it. And Anakin is only treated like a shitheal in the film when he acts like one. Yes, there's the undercurrent of him trying to save Padme but the movie doesn't at all explain that he's trying to get into the archives. No one can help him because he's not letting them.

Same movie, Palpatine points out the Dogmatic and Narrow view of the jedi according to the force.

There is really no part of the prequels that doesn't make sense and doesn't exonerate the "dogma" of the jedi in some way unless you're looking at what writers did after the fact.

Do the jedi have issues within the films?

Yes

Are they too beholden to the state?

Probably

But those are different issues and the official writers and the fans have both permanently poisoned the well because they took the big bad of 9 films at face value without criticism

[bluewrite]

quick random thoughts no one asked for on "The Naturals" series

i just finished reading the last book of The Naturals. it took me a week and a half to read the whole series but in actuality it only took me 4 days, one for each book (the rest of the days was the time i had to wait before each book came lol).

i. am not. doing well.

i already miss all of my babies🥹

i loved this wholes series so fucking much.

the plot is pure genius. the plot twists even better. the CHARACTERS. omg the characters. i've always said that the most important thing to me in a book is the characters: everything else can suck but if i manage to get attached to the characters, it's bound to be one of my fav books. AND THIS SERIES IS ONE OF MY FAVS fr. cassie, dean, lia, sloane, michael, agent sterling and even briggs all carved a special place for themselves in my heart<3

i LOVED NEEDED LIVED MELTED INTO WHATEVER the found family. oh my goodness. literally the best thing ever. i'm always such a huuuge sucker for the found family trope but still, this one was even too good to be true. i felt a part of it. and now that i've finished these books i miss it :") i'm craving it irl even more than usual.

also, kudos to the writing style cos it had me sucked into these books and the stories. from the moment i read the first few sentences i was LOCKED IN. couldn't tear my eyes away from those pages not even if i wanted to. i've been babbling about these books for a week and half straight to whoever would listen to me and even to those that wouldn't. that's how much i liked them and how GOOD they are.

another thing that really got me locked in was the naturals' abilities. that was the coolest thing ever. as someone used to reading fantasy books (or in general, books that contain even the slightest bit of magic and fanstical bits to them) i looove reading about people with unusual characteristics that end up being their biggest source of power. but this was even better because there was nothing magical about it. all these kids (still can't put my mind to the fact that they were so younger than me, in my mind i'm still 16 like the protagonists of all my books lol) had these natural abilities that made them special but it's not because they're magical or some shit. as sloane put it, if they'd had normal childhoods they wouldn't have been naturals. it's not just some intrinsic part of them, it's also the traumas that they had to live through, the weird and hard childhoods they had.

aaaaa i would have sm to say about this series but my thoughts are a mess as always. i just feel so deeply about these books. i won't stop thinking about them and the characters for AGES.

anyways.

thanks for coming to my ted talk :)

oh wAIT. kidding. i'm not done yet. i had to dedicate even a brief sentence to my babies per eccellenza, dean and cassie🥹 the romance was just a subplot (which is what i love most about books like these, where romance is there, is well written but it's not the centre and it's not the plot itself) but i loved it sm. the way cassie and dean just understand each other AAAA. and the way they're always there for each other. UNMATCHED. it was so lovely to see them grow together. i'm so soft for them<3

[giggggi-088]

doing this for my pjo dr <3 1 - i'd say the vibe of my dr is very nostalgic, 'vintage' in a way. like how it was back when everything was simpler. early 2000s vibes, bridge to Terabithia, percy jackson movie, any feel-good movie from that era. but also that own, almost intangible modern mythological kind of vibe you get by reading the books. 2 - any of my magic items, i have this thing of perfume that creates this rlly dense, thick pink sparkly perfume mist which is very helpful when anyone needs to get away or slow something down. it is overwhelmingly sickly sweet and perfumey like the scent when you spray wayyyy too much, which is great cause monsters hate the smell of it. and lowkey.. my PURSE!! 3 - probably whatever is offered up to me at the time. if we're talking about my mortal school, i'll probably just carpool or ride with my dad but for quests i'll take whatever i can get😭 pegasi are very helpful too, literally a live saver cause i have a very close bond with my pegasus and i just love them in general 4 - oh boyy do i have songs.. there are a lot that remind me of this dr, but i think the songs that best captures the vibe i'm talking about is welcome and goodbye by dream,ivory. for me this is the one i'd put at the top of the list, just because it embodies literally everything to a t?!! like seriously. the lyrics, the nostalgic & comforting yet bittersweet energy, the voice. i'm also adding hit me with your best shot by pat benetar, for.. 🤭 reasons.. i will not disclose.. IDKK idk what it is but this song is sooo me and my s/o coded

Like i can FEEL the training montage and also anything with a pop-punky kind of vibe, songs like all the small things, american idiot, my own worst enemy, LIGHT EM UP etc etc 5 - honestly i wouldnt say there's drama drama i mean at camp i feel like there are more important things to focus on 😭 there are RIVALRIES sure but its usually just stuff like 'ohhh my godly parent is better than yours' 'i heard you were talking smack about me/my skills'. there's definitely some romance drama though, nothing too serious but cmon. its a camp full of teenagers theres bound to be some crazy relationships and love triangles. as for me i like to think i get along with a lot of people except maybe drew or most the ares kids/clarisse 6 - my bed is near the back of cabin 10, and i have a window beside it with lace curtains. from my cabin i get a view of part of the canoe lake. 7 - i smell like sweet vanilla/vanilla cupcakes, and apples. the air at camp smells of a million different things that go together so well, though. fresh, and of grass fields, nature and barbeque and fresh strawberries. the smell of being out miles away, i've always been a country girl and i love the countryside so i love that naturey aspect of my dr even if we're in new york

8- i honestly don't know LOL. probably 'percy jackson and the olympians' in that movie trailer voiceover, im still mourning the fact we never got a 3rd movie 😞

9 - honestly i'm extremely similar to how i am here. i think people in my dr would describe me as friendly, kind, very stylish, kinda reserved at first but sociable, positive, poised, caring and a little soft spoken but sweet. i have a funny/upbeat side too but that doesn't really show until i'm comfortable with you or i trust you, so most the time i'm pretty chill and mellow, laid back. i believe others would describe me as a happy and agreeable person.

10 - a lotttt of pop & rnb but also some rock too. i'd say my favorite artists are cyndi lauper, brandy norwood, mariah carey, britney spears, alanis morenette, beyonce, sade and i cannot forget MS PAT BENETAR!!

11 - unexpected, adventurous, cozy, nostalgic, dangerous

12 - any of my friends/siblings tbh, hazel, reyna, piper, and ofc annabeth. tbh anyone but my dr starts in the lightning thief so i have to say chiron. am i the only one who thinks he has such a comforting father figure vibe?? 😭

13 - i have an adorable weiner dog/dachshund named prada. he's a boy and he's like my purse puppy, i carry him around everywhere. i'm an animal lover lol i have a fancy pink canopied dog bed for him. i also have a pegasus named sasha, she's a diva i love her. i bedazzle her hoofs and paint them different colors, i spend a lot of my time in the stables taking care of her and giving her sugar cubes and ribbons for her mane.

some photos if ur interested :)

14 - i honestly try to avoid it as much as possible, i'm not the type to take risks but i will stand up for myself when needed. if its just petty drama i rlly couldnt bring myself to care, a fight against a monster or enemy is a whole different story though and im willing to face that head on even if im not rlly that good a fighter and kinda 'weak' by demigod standards WE GOT THIS

live footage of me at camp half blood providing moral support during needlessly violent war games, circa 2007

hope you enjoyed reading this and i hope the questions give you inspo/motivation for ur dr too! 🙂

-ˋˏ QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DEVELOP ANY DR ˎˊ-

──────────────────

���-what is the overall vibe of this dr? (whimsical, cozy, etc)

ᰋ-what do you always have on you? (a phone, a lighter, etc)

ᰋ-how do you get around in this dr? (by bus, walking, riding a horse, etc)

ᰋ-is there a song that reminds you of this dr? (could be the lyrics, vibe or even voice)

ᰋ-is there any drama going on in this dr? are you involved?

ᰋ-whats the view from your window like?

ᰋ-what do you smell like? what does the air smell like?

ᰋ-if this dr was a movie, what would its title be?

ᰋ-how do other people from this dr describe you as?

ᰋ-what kind of music does your dr self listen to?

ᰋ-if you had to describe your dr in 3-5 random words, what would they be?

ᰋ-who from this dr would you most likely trust with a deep secret?

ᰋ-does your dr self have any pets?

ᰋ-how does your dr self handle conflict?

[icewindandboringhorror]

Pages from trying to keep a little sketchbook-scrapbook type thing going for two weeks lol. I gave myself specific rules in hopes they might all end up more cohesive/consistent seeming, but alas, scribbly chaos reigns, it seems

[hanzajesthanza]

"the michael kandel translation of "the witcher" short story can't hurt you!!"

the michael kandel translation of "the witcher" short story:

[longagoitwastuesday]

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as Heathcliff and Cathy seems like out of The Onion

[viillette]

it's so crazy how few historical fiction novels are like sharon kay penman's. the way that they're built out of the skeleton of the historical record seems so obvious, but there's so few people who are actually willing to commit to it in the way that she did. it seems like so often that's just a starting point which gets reformed to fit a coherent narrative, but she makes no real attempt to do that. there's themes and foils and patterns, but first and foremost it is a reconstruction. you can't really know what someone who lived that long ago was like, only what they did, and you can feel how she takes these isolated, dramatic events and builds a whole life around them. the books are nothing more than an answer to the question 'what might someone have been like, what could the history between these people have been, to possibly explain something like this?' the ability to string together a handful of facts and events from medieval chronicles to create people that feel so real, and psychology and relationships that develop so naturally that these distant, seemingly impenetrable choices suddenly feel so immediate and clear is just beyond belief. you know this probably wasn't actually how things happened, but it doesn't matter because it was something like this. the particulars are less important the crushing awareness that at one point all of this made sense. there was a time when all of this was right now. the world is unrecognizable and exactly the same. that's something which sounds very simple but is incredibly difficult to accomplish.

you come to know these people so well, their loves and hatreds and ambitions and failures, and those things are rarely resolved in the end. you know them from the time that they're children, you watch each one of them die, and none of it means anything in particular except that they were a human being. things which seem like they must be building to some tragic fallout end in anticlimax. things which seem utterly inconsequential in the moment manifest again decades later in cataclysmic disaster. and then you see it all play out again from the beginning with their children, and their children's children. all these uncanny echoes, this endlessly unfolding palimpsest of lives, each laid over the triumphs and mistakes of those who came before. i've never read anything so epic with so much mastery over the micro and macro levels of history. it's the minute, seemingly inconsequential everyday details, which build into a lifetime, which builds into generation of lives, which builds into the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires. it's the merciless endlessly turning wheel of fortune that replays the same songs in different keys again and again for all time. a person is both an individual with free will, and the prisoner of their blood and circumstances. somehow everything has infinite weight, is tied to everything that has come before and will come after, is the culmination of someone's entire existence—their pains and joys and fears and hopes—and yet is simultaneously completely meaningless, just one more victim of fate in an endless procession of lives and choices. the whole impotent tragedy of humanity is laid out in front of you and it's so repulsive and beautiful. it's deep love and unfathomable, senseless horror briefly and miraculously reverberating in a vacuum, an absurd aberration fading into silence.

if it's not obvious these books have made me cry like 10 different times

[im2tired4usernames]

Ugh I was excited for today until I found out I'd have to spend it with people that actively make me hate being alive hate the future and drain me off all energy physically mentally spiritually like a vampire I can't stand to be around her she is the definition of stupidity and even then that's generous as fuck this bitch has filled her brain with so much garbage I watch her brain cells die at alarming rates every single time she uses her vocal cords her giggles make me want to jam a sewing needle into my ear repeatedly so I can never have to hear it again its a friendly reminder that my parents decisions this time my dad's constantly makes me want to die