#shortly after: power goes WAYYY up

[julystruck]

ABSOLUTELY GIRLFLOPPING THROUGH LIFE 💯 🔥💯 🔥💯 🔥💯 🔥💯 🔥💯 🔥

[rosyredlipstick]

hey. can you talk about the timeline in space fic? because palpatine clearly hasn’t been in power for as long as he was in star wars ?? so it’s only been a couple years since the empire began right? idk if it was mentioned how long ago order 66 happened but it’s not 19 years im guessing

i mean, the luke/padme/leia counterparts are all alive and know thalia, so there

did the clone wars happen? was it wayyy before thalia? or are the stormtroopers actually clones… THAT WOULD BE COOL- (i just cried a lot at the end of clone wars… and during…and even now) (or maybe the idea of clone wars doesn’t really fit in a world where the star fleet also exists?)

anyway, yeah, is there a timeline (even if it’s a nico centric one)

i guess yavin hasn’t happened yet either tho so idk what i’m asking HHAA

THANK YOU. I adore this fic and i want more press conferences for sure

HELLO yes i would LOVE to talk about the timeline in space fic haha yes so the timeline is condensed x10 when compared to canon and not everything lines up buuuut i will try and include what i can <3 <3

honestly i havent tried mapping this out outside of my head so lets see how this works out haha

 This timeline starts about eleven years ago from chap 8!

Thalia found on Tatooine by Jedi, leaves for training, Jason is left alone on Tatooine. 

Thalia trains with Jedi Council/Yoda. Her training is very accelerated yes <3 

During this time, the Jedi Council assists the Galatic Senate with their abilities. Rumors about the Sith are circulating at this time/Palpatine is still operating v covertly at this point, notices Thalia’s power.  

Thalia becomes a Jedi master

Very shortly after, Annabeth appeals to the Council for Thalia to take her as a student. As a Force-sensitive Alderaan Princess, she has at least enough pull to plead her case.

(this is how Annabeth and Thalia officially meet lmao)

thalia does NOT want a student. And yet -

Thalia takes Annabeth as her padawan/apprentice and dedicates hours to training. They’re sent on missions to gather information, to guard Senate members, to hunt down bounties, whatever the Council needs.

This is the Clone Wars era, but a much shorter version.

During this period, Thalia is sent on a mission to San Francisco, Earth. Cue Starfleet job, meeting Reyna. 

One mission, they end up without a ship and need to get across the galaxy quick. Percy and Grover are drafted in a dive bar and get tangled up in their mission, end up staying. After a year, Percy leaves Alliance. 

Percy’s gone for almost six months, then Thalia tracks him down. Annabeth ran off on a solo mission and got herself in trouble. 

Annabeth is found dead (or very very near it) and Thalia revives her. They never speak of it, return to Council. 

Thalia starts getting nightmares, what she thinks are future visions, of Jason/Annabeth/Reyna dying.

During a base evacuation off Hoth, Thalia is presumed dead. Her death announcement is sent to Jason on Tatooine. He runs away shortly after, solo-travels. 

After a few months, Jason tries to start his life over, gets a ticket to a new colony planet. Meets Nico on ship there. 

Where’s Thalia ?? uhh my heart says somewhere. Likely, she managed a quick escape from Hoth and pulled a Luke to run back to Yoda, tell him about her visions.

Random but this is also when percy stuffs annabeth (frozen) into a tan-tan lmao

Thalia returns / discovers Jason is gone and goes searching for him, with and without Annabeth. 

During this time, Palpatine connects with her mind. She begins to speak with him--he assists in Thalia's search.

After months of searching, Thalia discovers Jason on the Tarsus list, dead. Palpatine is the one who delivers the list.

Thalia does not handle this news well.

She does in fact Anakin an entire settlement of raiders a la Shmi death in AotC. 

Palpatine connection grows stronger. 

Shortly after, order 66 wipes out all the Jedi across the galaxy—Thalia and Annabeth barely survive. 

Clone armies turn on the Jedi. 

Palpatine serves Thalia with an offer to join him, gain power.

Thalia accepts, thinking Annabeth will follow her. 

Uhh. Wrong. 

They part ways. Annabeth is left with nothing but the pieces of the Jedi Order, the patchwork Alliance. Throws herself into it while Thalia trains as Palpatine’s Apprentice. 

A few years later, Alderaan is the first planet that the Death Star takes out. And, unrelated, there’s a semi-nearby prison break. 

Most of this is directly from my notes so i hope its not TOO messy haha but yes this is the general order of events!!!! THANK YOU FOR READING

[otome-reviews]

SLBP Masamune Act 1 Route Review [SPOILERS]

“If I were to list all the things I love about you...I could no sooner name all the stars in the sky.”

I’ve been eager to go through Masamune’s route since downloading SLBP almost a year ago. Dude is consistently one of the sweetest warlords in his event stories. Also...have you seen his face?! Total eyepatch cutie <3

So how was his route, you ask? Well. Not what I expected, for starters. When MC first meets Masamune, he’s covered in blood after returning from a battle where he’s cut down literally all his enemies, and rumors abound (“They say that Lord Masamune is a cannibal...and there is a demon that lives in his right eye that makes him crave human blood”). He’s cold, and not very talkative. He’s ruthless. Oh, and he doesn’t like women! Bit of an awkward time to be MC, no?

But if you’ve been following any of Masamune’s ES’s, you’ll know he’s just a shy and misunderstood sweetheart under that scary, standoffish exterior. And MC doesn’t exactly learn this the usual way! Instead, girl accidentally stumbles into a role as Masamune’s cook after realizing most of poor M’s food gets poisoned by would-be-assassins. Then shortly afterwards, she gets promoted to become Masamune’s page. ...His male page, lmao. Which leads to fun moments, such as Masamune giving MC a pretty hairpin to give to MC’s “twin sister,” or MC having to lie about a scar after being invited to the onsen... 😂

The hidden gender thing is really well done in this story, imho. Poor Masamune has an understandable reason to be suspicious of women, after all (tl;dr his mom’s a mega-bitch who hates him for an utterly stupid reason). So with MC masquerading as a man, M is able to let his shields down around MC without pesky gender biases getting in the way. And yes, his reaction to MC’s inevitable gender reveal is as wonderfully angsty (but cute) as one can hope for. ^_^

In short, the romance trajectory is utterly delightful. One small thing I didn’t love: how the external plot is resolved. TL;DR towards the end of the route, Masamune’s bitch mom conspires with her evil brother to attempt a coup and have MC kidnapped and poisoned (as revenge for something Masamune is forced to do earlier in the story). Masamune’s reaction is amazingly wonderful, but what does a (temporarily) dying MC do before losing consciousness? Strong-arm Masamune into pardoning his mother for her awful crimes. Like...wtf?! Masamune’s mother is a treasonous criminal at this point, and MC just wants everyone to what, hold hands and sing Kumbaya?! Ugh.

I think MC has some weird misconceptions regarding M’s mom. She’s somehow convinced that Masamune really loves her, and that their relationship is worth salvaging. But I really didn’t get that sense from Masamune himself in this route, and a previous event story from Masamune’s POV also suggests that he isn’t quite as hung up on his mother as MC thinks. So, I don’t get it. M’s mom goes way wayyy beyond the evil mother-in-law trope and in a realistic setting she would’ve been exiled long ago!

That was a bit of a long rant, but if you haven’t read Masamune’s route yet, please don’t let that deter you at all!! I feel strongly about it, sure, but truth is, it’s such a small part of an otherwise incredible tale. Masamune has an amazing shy boy personality - you can’t help but want to give him a big hug. His retainers Kojuro and Shigezane are next level awesome. My favorite part of Masamune’s story is how MC helped him grow as a person. By the end of the route, Masamune’s been brought out of his shell (to some extent), and his retainers trust and like him way more. And none of that would’ve been possible without MC’s help! <3

At the end of the day, Masamune is a fan favorite for good reason. His adorable misunderstood personality really enhances the story. I nitpicked a lot several paragraphs ago, but the truth is, Masamune’s route is a fantastic read that has something for everybody. If you haven’t gone through it yet, I highly recommend you give it a whirl! :)

Choice quotes:

“Are you afraid? If you are...I won’t do anything.” - gotta love a guy who seeks consent!

“I swear...I will do everything in my power to give you the greatest happiness this world can offer.” 💕

Personality: 10/10. Masamune is a shy sweetheart who’s been forced by circumstance to sometimes be ruthless. And before MC he bears that burden all by himself, the poor guy. Quiet, emotionally hurt Masamune tugs at my heartstrings like none other. And happy, romantic Masamune has got to be the cutest thing ever!

Appearance: 10/10. He’s cute with or without the eyepatch!! <3

MC: 7/10. I really liked the way MC brought out the best in Masamune and supported him when others didn’t. But girl has got to stop being so naive about his evil mom!

Plot/Payoff: 9/10. Except for that one small thing, Masamune’s route is excellent. The romance trajectory (with a hidden gender reveal) was super well done - the balance between cute and drama was perfect. The external plot (barring the resolution) was also nicely set up. I really liked how the final conflict didn’t involve an actual battle/fighting!

Personal enjoyment: 9/10. I really enjoyed getting to know more about Masamune! If you like reading about misunderstood sweethearts, you will love his route. I am SO excited for Act 2!!

Masterlist

[vocatharsis]

Cogs’ TS2 Apocalypse Run (XI)

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Out of intense nostalgia, I started revisiting The Sims 2 early this year. I got the online Ultimate Edition with all DLC via Origin -- after making my case to support -- and had a lot of fun with it! After stumbling across a variety of old challenge runs, I decided that I would try out an apocalypse challenge (specifically Phaenoh’s tiered, mod-enforced version on Mod The Sims, check it out, it’s great). On my first attempt, I failed quite badly. But this time, things are going much better. 

I’ve resolved to see this attempt all the way through, and document it in post form. If you like any games from the Sims series, nostalgic videogame reflections and/or challenge run blogging, feel free to read on!

THE SMITHS’ FREE STATE, PART 11 -- SIMS FALLING OVER

Teenage romcoms are back, baby -- boot camp: fun? -- grow old, stop wearing smart clothes to work -- another tragic fashion victim of the apocalypse.

Welcome! It’s my first one of these in about a month, ‘cos I’ve been on uni holidays and with the advent of the dreaded Steam summer sale this year I’ve been romping my way through a bunch of delicious indie titles (including Frostpunk, A Hat In Time, Subnautica, and now Darkest Dungeon - all great). It occurs to me that I have a bit of an image backlog, so I’ll use this post as an opportunity to refresh my memory as I’ll get back into the Apocalypse once I’ve finished the last little bit of Darkest. 

So, quick recap: Aaron & Forseti, the aspiring law and order twins, have made it to teenhood. Juan, spouse to Panoptica (heir of the household’s second generation), made it to the top of the Architecture career track, which means I’m finally allowed to extend the house beyond its initial 8x8 square and put down John’s military obstacle course. This thing builds Body skill wayyy faster than Yoga, so it’ll be great for Aaron, who needs to work out to top Law Enforcement. 

Oh, and Amanda Carlson -- Forseti’s intended future spouse -- came over to build up the relationship meter, only to get scared by Sake’s ghost and wet herself.

Sake doesn’t seem to ever spook members of the household... perhaps ghost pets don’t harass Sims they were friends with in life? If this is the case, then I’ll have to be very careful with future generations...

Aaron’s hitting it off with Tosha Go, a teen townie who walked down the street at some point. They’ve been flirting for a while, so it’s about time for the first ever teen romance of the apocalypse!

N’awww. 

(Odd observation: Whenever another Sim uses the bathroom, everyone always seems to get a thought bubble over their head with a cross superimposed on that person’s portrait. I mean, it’s not like you need those facilities right now?)

The adults are getting themselves some handy extra aspiration points by grinding Body skill points on the obstacle course (thank you, Knowledge), and I’ve definitely taken way too many pictures of people using it, because it just gives so many good photo opps:

But while they were doing this, I noticed something unexpected. According to the career rewards panel I accessed this object from, the course doesn’t raise Fun. Which I guess would make sense to me; fallin’ on yer arse trying to climb a wall made of wood doesn’t seem like my idea of a good time. Then... why is Juan’s maxed-out fun meter not going down while he spends hours crawling around in the dirt...?

You know what this means? The obstacle course, for whatever reason, is Fun. This means I can start training Aaron up while he’s still a teen. (Showbiz Pet rules - which I can’t lift for a while - prevent children and teens from skilling with any object that doesn’t increase the Fun need at the same time.) And that means more adorable pictures of People Falling Over.

John’s getting on in his old age, and wants to max out all of his skills. I figure I might as well oblige; he can’t sleep in anymore now that he’s an Elder, and he needs something to pass his remaining time.

The two brothers have slightly different attitudes to all the exercise they’re now doing:

Panoptica and Juan are drawing ever closer to Elderhood, so I took a few romantic pictures of the two of them in their top-rank work uniforms. (There’ll be more romantic diversity, definitely, once adoption becomes a valid method for lifting restrictions - I think Law is the thing for that? So -- next generation, basically.)

I love this goddamn power couple, just look at them

Here’s hoping they get decent clothes to die in when their hair turns grey!

Forseti is the first of the two twins to max out the Body skill, no doubt due to his ultra-Active personality...

He’s not even gonna be using those Body skill points for anything, yet look how triumphant he is. (He mastered the skill almost immediately after I took that image.)

Well, Panoptica and Juan’re gonna grey up, so let’s get Juan to go first. 

Whatever clothes he gets as an elder, I don’t really think they’ll be better than what he’s currently got. (If he’s lucky, he’ll get something John-tier. But there are many, many outfits in this game.)

Swoon all you want, girl; this is the last time his thought bubble’s gonna look like that good.

The whole family are here to celebrate. And Jessica Picaso is here, because she followed John home from work

And now: will Juan’s clothes age gracefully?

No! They won’t! :)

Looks like boxer shorts and a polo shirt, more or less. I think this is better than poor Kent’s obnoxious orange suspenders, though? (The suspenders which, coupled with those old world blues, drove the poor man to red aspiration levels?)

Now, much as I love Juan, I took way more pictures of Panoptica’s ghost-clothes presentation aging-up ceremony, for the simple reason that Panoptica is all-round awesome.

(The best picture from this scene is hands-down the one I used as a preview above the cut. She did the little ‘pretend boxing’ animation, and it was just a great last bit of magic.)

I’m thinking, will she at least get better death clothes than her spouse? 

She does.

Not bad, not bad!! Certainly more apropos than what Shelmerdine got stuck with.

Juan’s happy with it too, it seems.

just make your wife’s sixtieth birthday awkward by making raunchy remarks in front of yer two kids, just do it

Buuuut those two are both good now. In fact, since they had their kids pretty early on, we’re actually one day off Aaron & Forseti reaching adulthood. I’m thinking I’ll invite Tosha over, so I can use that ‘select NPCs to age up’ feature. Give them some adulthood sweetheart time while I wait for Forseti to unlock the ability to move Sims out. (That way, I can actually marry off both twins, and have their children count as able to lift restrictions.)

The twins’ll be aging up within the same 24 hours, so I invited Amanda Carlson as well. 

Amanda will (ideally) lift Business restrictions, since she starts off as a President (rank 8). Tosha, meanwhile, I’m thinking Journalism (doesn’t lift much, but I can get it out of the way with a married-in character, yeah?)

Hm! Ok, he was in his athletic outfit when he blew out the candles - I don’t know what his everyday apparel looks like yet.

Everyone’s celebrati-- wait

What. The hell is that. 

I’m terrified. But intrigued at the same time. I’ll get him to have a shower and thus change into his daywear so I can see the full extent of the damage shortly, but first, we need to age up his girlf...

Cute!

Ubercute!

(I mean-- since Townies tend to be at green aspiration by default, I did get a notification in the top right-hand corner of her going wow that part of my life was shit to go along with this dashing smile. But I suppose being a Townie means only half-existing, and becoming playable is like being selected to receive a soul, so, comparatively, her adulthood will be infinity times better.)

While I’m getting Forseti set up to blow out his birthday candles, Aaron goes to take a shower. Let us now take a moment to lament how the apocalyse has claimed another helpless fashion victim. 

A suit made out of what might be fake snakeskin, and a wreath made out of what the remaining restrictions dictate must be some scavenged AstroTurf. Law and order will be returned to the Free State, perhaps, but taste will remain a site of anarchy for some time.

Now for Forseti to make the transition. I have so many awesome shots of everyone posing for this birthday:

A staple of this Apoc Run is getting excited for new outfits! 

Or, in this case, an alternate palette of the exact same outfit. 

Still -- here we are! Both twins have made it to adulthood, and are ready to start bringing Law and Enforcement back to society. 

I’ll need to do one more post to get through my current batch of snapshots, but after that, I’m officially back to doing this. If you’ve been reading these updates, thanks for reading this one; hope it was enjoyable! 

[theherblifeblog]

Spotlight Series: Anna Korte, SoothSayer

You know that piece of jewellery that you wear all the time, with everything? It looks so cool with jeans and t-shirt but it also goes perfectly with a dress? Oh ya, my latest obsession is with my Soothayer Tamper Necklace. Its a sold brass cylinder pendant that looks cute and is also useful as a tamper for packing my joints. I love a workhorse product.  

It's such a simple, elegant design and I'm constantly being complimented on it so I knew I had to talk to the designer behind it. Anna Korte is based in Portland and also runs AK Studio where all pieces are handmade and include themes of themes of symbolism and mysticism which is also evident in her Soothsayer designs.

When did you launch Soothsayer?

In the Spring of 2016.

I read that the original tamper necklace design was something you created for a friend. What made you decide to create a collection around it?

Well, shortly after I created one for my friend, my boyfriend, Jeremy of OMFGCO, became a true believer;) and wears his square tamper necklace everyday! He was the one who encouraged me to get them out into the world. He is co-owner of the Quill vape pen and has some other wonderful products in the world in the cannabis industry. His agency also did all the branding and interiors for Serra so, he was already involved in the inspiring expansion of this industry.

 I love the imagery that you’ve created for the Soothsayer look books. Tell me about what inspires you.

Thank you! Mystical and Sacred Earth places are very powerful and so compelling to me. Not only visually and aesthetically, but spiritually, as well. These two sides of the brand are big inspirations for me personally.

It seems like you’re very well traveled. Where are some of the most exciting and/or inspirational places you’ve visited and what made them so?

Well, these images are what dreams are made of! I’ve traveled to many magical places in Mexico and sacred Native American locations in the states (being from the Southwest, both were already part of the culture there). I’ve also been to many countries in Europe… But it’s the places I haven’t been which excite and inspire me and the Soothsayer aesthetic- places in the Mediterranean and parts of what was Ancient Persia like Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, and Greece!

It's lovely that we are seeing more and more items designed for the cannabis lifestyle without being overtly counter culture in style. Was this intentional when you designed the tamper necklaces?

Oh, yes. It was quite natural and exciting for me to envision a line and brand in this earthy and exotic aesthetic. Being much different than the style of the cannabis industry had seen in the past. But also such a natural progression. It was clearly time for a new kind of spirit and design in this industry on many levels!

What is your vision for the company going forward?

One step at a time ;) I’m quite busy with my first business, AK Studio, so Soothsayer is a cherished project of mine operating in its own synchronistic flow as space allows ;) It is growing quite naturally and it’s lovely.

What are some of the challenges that took you by surprise with Soothsayer? What should cannabis entrepreneurs who are starting out prepare for?

There are always challenges in everything in life because that is the creative process! I choose to embrace them and encourage others to do so, as well. Look for the positive in every situation and the process will pass much quicker, with less pain and wayyy more gain. In my opinion, this is key to expanding yourself or anything in life.  

"There are always challenges in everything in life because that is the creative process!"  -- Anna Korte

I’d love to hear more about the story and the meaning behind the name Soothsayer, can you tell us about that?

Yes, thank you for asking! Soothsayer really fit the spirit of the brand as it originated from a Greek word meaning ‘one who speaks truth’. I am very interested in truth as a theme- especially regarding self-knowledge and self-guidance. Which is why our url is iamthesoothsayer.com- to bring our truth-seeking back to where it belongs, not outside of us, but inside <3 Know yourself and know your own truth. Take the time to commune with the inner-self. These are the mantras of Soothsayer <3  

Do you have any advice for young women looking to participate in the cannabis industry?

Indeed, I do! Appreciate and honor your unique perspective. Follow your passion always! Follow the highest directives of your heart and you will do well. And be sure to allow an open mind to the possibilities and opportunities of how your dreams might unfold! It is my experience that once you align with yourself in these ways, the rest unfolds easily and naturally (but, again, not without challenges- otherwise, there would be no growth. So enjoy the journey <3)

Who inspires you most and why?

Anyone who allows their true self to thrive, shine and be fully self-expressed. People who follow their passion and live by their heart indeed live the most naturally magical lives - this is truly inspiring and encouraging to me. They are living examples of what I believe we came here to do in the first place, but have gotten so off track from. However, we see this is changing. Large groups of people are transforming and expanding their perceptions of themselves and their world. Thus we are changing the world by allowing our natural self to lead rather than a distorted alternative which we’ve been brought up to believe in and live by. For me, this is truly an initiation and a strong call to so many of us now.

Which person (living or dead - this is imaginary) would you love to see wearing a tamper necklace?

Willy Nelson!

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