#these are old thoughts i just wanted to collate them

[kindwhispers]

Ballroom e Youkoso: Dreams, Passion, & Self-discovery through the art of dancing

Spoilers ahead!

This will always be one of my top favourites of mine. One of the many things I loved about this manga– aside from my obvious adoration in its magnificent art (especially its motion art) is how it explores the intricacies of finding your own dreams for yourself. Tatara is on a constant pursuit of understanding himself as he digs into ballroom on a deeper lens; the becoming of a pair with Chinatsu being the fire that ignited Tatara’s self-discovery, how his realizations in staying in the ballroom world & encountering more people- especially Bres arc- is foisting him to ruminate on his dreams, purpose, motivation, and the courage to keep up despite it being a place that is still so enigmatic & distant from his own grasp.

There are lots of chapters that have been introspective & I really love ALL of the characters (they’re all so beautiful) i can’t wait to see how Tatara’s experiences in ballroom will mould his growth as a dancer & as himself. I still don’t understand why they cut a certain scene from the manga in the anime considering Tatara’s feelings & admiration for Shizuku is imperative for his quest in entering ballroom dancing. esp. how he views his own motivation as asinine (and acknowledges it as part of his self discovery).

One of my favourite chapters includes the one with Chinatsu- Tatara on his quest for the essence of dancing, confronting his qualms about himself leading up to a harmonious moment with Chinatsu and becoming one with her. Their growth as a dynamic has been wonderful, I love them so much (and before everything has been said and done, I am a platonic!chitara admirer). I also love the way Tatara has been recognizing ballroom as a bridge that connects him to the people he admires until he met these people who provoke his convictions to himself… now that he’s gained awareness, he HAS to fundamentally think about his own dreams for himself.

After Bres, I really love how discernible Tatara’s growth is as seen through different lenses (Chinatsu, Kiyoharu, Marisa). His ruminations abt his motivations in ballroom and seeking what’s beyond it allowed him to flourish & I can’t wait to see how it’ll pan out for him. Also side note, I just wanna reiterate how much I appreciate Tatara & Kurauchi’s relationship. They met not too long ago but the influence they’ve had on each other through their conversations alone have been so meaningful, and how much of their multifaceted layers of themselves are being constantly uncovered.

I want to see him face his love for Shizuku & realize it’s fine that his feelings for her, wherever it might come from, is his reason why he dances! That after all, ballroom is the pathway that makes way for him to reach the people he admires. So happy that he always has convos with Kurauchi that hinders him from running away from his feelings & finally confront it.

& Tatara on his feelings for Shizuku: I think, whether it comes from a place of profound admiration or romantic love, it’s a lot deeper (doesn't mean it's romantic, it also doesn't necessarily have to be, but it's definitely an immense feeling that is significant to him). I’d love to see how Tatara will address these feelings & if this will bloom into a new approach w dancing.

Tatara has been building his self-confidence through dancing, & to me he is constantly learning to love ballroom through the people he started it for & the people he dance with. Which is so interesting!!! I’d love to see more of his growth as a leader too, and Tatara who has his own sense of pride as a dancer.

[gffa]

STAR WARS PREQUELS - A TIMELINE

So, what's this about, huh? After recently sitting down with Star Wars Timelines, I was genuinely surprised at just how much they were willing to nail down to a specific year and sequence of events, which admittedly is a reference book and those are pretty low on the canon totem pole so be prepared for future retcons down the road, but it's shockingly useful information to have! Because the more I paged through it, the more I realized just how useful it would be for fic writers, especially for anything that might be referenced by a prequels character. Do you want to know how old the Jedi Order basically is? What the eras were called, if a prequels character wanted to reference them? What year did Dooku leave the Jedi? When did Naboo join the Republic? When was the Republic founded? When was the Jedi Temple built? When was Yaddle born? When did the Togruta ally with the Republic? Was Anakin born on Tatooine? When did Plo discover Ahsoka? When did Anakin get his first kyber crystal? When did Obi-Wan join the Jedi Council? WHEN DOES THE MANDALORIAN CIVIL WAR TAKE PLACE?? Some of this is SO INTERESTING to have nailed down into place--like just how old Huyang is or that the Jedi Temple was constructed on Coruscant BEFORE the Republic existed! Useful for me to know, but also my prequels-era characters to know! This book is willing to tell us A LOT and I collated everything I thought would be useful for a prequels character to know! ERAS:

c.5,000 BBY– 1,032 BBY: Ancient conflicts "The Jedi and Sith wage a series of wars throughout their history so ruinous that at points each is brought to the brink of destruction."

c.500 BBY–330 BBY: "The Age of Exploration" "After centuries of governing in regions near the galactic Core, the Republic sets out to explore the Outer Rim. This era of exploration on the frontier presents many adventures and opportunities for the Republic and the Jedi Order alike, but growth also leads them to uncover new mysteries and dangers. Soon the Jedi Order’s very connection to the Force is put to the test."

c.500 BBY–100 BBY: "The High Republic" The four hundred years that are collectively referred to as the High Republic era.

TIMELINE:

c.25,025 BBY: BIRTH OF THE JEDI

"The Jedi Order is founded. Among the earliest locations, and likely the first, is a temple constructed on the planet of Ahch-To. Later, the temple retains the most treasured Jedi texts and earliest writings on the Order’s faith. For eons, these noble protectors stand united by their ability to harness the power of the Force itself for good."

c.25,020 BBY: Professor Huyang powered up "The architect droid Professor Huyang begins training Jedi younglings in the delicate art of lightsaber construction."

c.20,000 BBY: Dawn of the Republic

"The foundation of the Republic is formed through an alliance including Coruscant, Corellia, and Alderaan, prompted by the dawn of hyperspace travel."

c.5,000 BBY: Creeping darkness

"A dark-side sect splinters from the Jedi, causing the formation of the Sith. This fracture is the genesis of a millennia-long rivalry."

c.5,000 BBY–1,032 BBY: "The Sith battle the Jedi in numerous conflicts for thousands of years before their struggle comes to an end, resulting in the destruction of the Sith Empire."

c.5,000 BBY–1,032 BBY: "The Sith build shrines on planets, including Malachor and Moraband. They covet these locations for their connection to the dark side of the Force."

c.1,050 BBY: A Mandalorian Jedi

"Tarre Vizsla becomes the first of the Mandalorian warriors to be inducted as a member of the Jedi Order. The unique lightsaber he constructs comes to be known as the Darksaber, later stolen to be used as a symbol to unite his planet."

c.1,032 BBY: Coruscant Temple erected

"The main Jedi Temple on Coruscant is constructed at the same location where there was once a Sith shrine."

c.1,032 BBY: "Darth Bane, the last surviving Sith, recognizes that infighting and back-stabbing ultimately led to the downfall of the Sith Empire. He declares the Rule of Two, whereby there can only be a sole master and single apprentice of the Sith. The practice safeguards the inherently selfish Order from self-destruction, thus ensuring the survival of the Sith for centuries to come."

1,000 BBY: Reformation of the Republic

"The first incarnation of the democratic alliance of planets, the Galactic Republic, is reformed."

c.972 BBY: Rules of war

"The Galactic Accord of Systems establishes a set of rules of engagement, in the event another war should break out."

896 BBY: Yoda is born

"The future Jedi Master Yoda is born."

832 BBY: Construction of Theed

"Naboo’s capital city, Theed, is built. The floating city on the banks of the river Solleu becomes the jewel of the metropolis."

867 BBY: Naboo joins the Republic

"The planet of Naboo officially joins the Galactic Republic. The event will be commemorated annually with The Festival of Light."

796 BBY: Students of Yoda

"Master Yoda begins training Jedi. He will maintain this regular practice, teaching the newest members of the Order, for about 800 years."

600 BBY:

Jabba Desilijic Tiure is born.

509 BBY:

Yaddle is born.

c.392 BBY: PATHFINDERS

"The Republic and the Jedi establish Pathfinder teams to explore new hyperspace lanes in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. A team of Pathfinders typically includes two Jedi, a master and their apprentice, who work together with their Republic allies to discover new ways through dangerous and unexplored places. They work with communications teams who lay the groundwork for the infrastructure needed for Republic growth. In return for their efforts, the Jedi Order hopes to gain new understanding of the galaxy, new cultures, and the Force."

c.383 BBY: THE HYPERSPACE RUSH

"Independent explorers also race to discover new paths through hyperspace. These prospectors risk their lives in perilous, uncharted corners of the Outer Rim, hoping to find safer, shorter routes. Families like the Grafs and San Tekkas earn great fame and fortune by selling their knowledge of these new hyperlanes."

382 BB The First High Republic book of Phase II

The High Republic: Path of Deceit kicks off the second phase of books, set 150 years before the previous phase.

382 BBY: Battle of Jedha

"The Path of the Open Hand instigates a battle on the sacred moon of Jedha."

232 BBY The First High Republic book of Phase I:

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi, which kicks off the original era of the High Republic (out of universe, not in universe), starting with the Great Hyperspace Disaster where a ship explodes in hyperspace over the planet Hetzal Prime. This ignites an intergalactic conflict with the Nihil that draws the Jedi and the Republic into a massive connected, long-running series of battles against them.

232 BBY:

"Dignitaries and Jedi gather at the Starlight Beacon for its official dedication ceremony."

The Great Hyperspace Disaster (the Legacy Run explodes in hyperspace) happens and the Jedi rush to help mitigate the disaster and evacuate as many people as they can.

"The brave deeds of the Jedi Order [in the Great Hyperspace Disaster] are cast across the galaxy via holotransmissions, making Kriss and her fellow Jedi heroes."

The Emergences: "Though Hetzal has been saved by the heroics of the Jedi, fragments of the Legacy Run continue to threaten the frontier. Fear grips the Outer Rim as blazing wreckage of the ship appears with little warning from hyperspace. As the Republic seeks answers to these Emergences, a group of Jedi stranded in a forgotten corner of space unknowingly cause a far older and more sinister threat to emerge: the Drengir."

"Wreckage from the Legacy Run scatters through hyperspace, endangering the Outer Rim. The first of the Emergences after the Great Hyperspace disaster occurs at Ab Dalis, killing 20 million beings."

"The Nihil strike on Elphrona, intending to ransom well-connected homesteaders and capture a Jedi for Marchion Ro’s evil machinations."

"The Jedi Council votes to join the Republic against the Nihil."

232 BBY: A BEACON OF HOPE

"With the Great Disaster behind them, the Republic and Jedi refocus on the opening of the Starlight Beacon. This towering space station located in the Outer Rim is one of Chancellor Lina Soh’s Great Works, meant to provide a symbol of hope in a dark corner of the galaxy. This shining example of Republic unity and progress serves as a vital base for the ongoing struggles with the Nihil and Drengir."

"One of Chancellor Lina Soh’s Great Works, the Starlight Beacon, begins operation after a dedication ceremony attended by Republic dignitaries and prominent members of the Jedi Order. The station is to be just one of many beacons, serving to connect, inspire, and serve the Republic’s growth in the Galactic Frontier. The Jedi maintain a permanent presence on the station under the leadership of Marshal Kriss and the watchful eye of the exacting Jedi Master Estala Maru."

"Hunting the Nihil - Though it lacks a formal military, the Republic forms a special task force to hunt the Nihil, with Joss and Pikka Adren among the first volunteers."

"The Jedi broker the Ayelina-Ludmere trade agreement."

232 BBY: GROWTH OF THE DRENGIR

"The carnivorous Drengir take root across wide swaths of the frontier. Their lust for living flesh, which they consider “meats,” leads them to attack hundreds of worlds. Defenseless settlers and the Jedi alike struggle to repel these horrifying plantlike creatures."

231 BBY: THE REPUBLIC FAIR

"Chancellor Lina Soh’s next Great Work is a magnificent fair on Valo. Meant to celebrate the Republic and its many achievements, the event turns into a tragedy. The Nihil mount a merciless raid on the fairgoers, destroy the event, and nearly kill the chancellor. The Jedi defenders mount a valiant defense but are outnumbered."

231 BBY: FIGHT FOR THE FRONTIER

"The Jedi march across the frontier as they seek justice for the attack on the Valo fair. With the Drengir threat seemingly settled, they turn their attention to the scattered Nihil forces. The Jedi believe that they are gaining the upper hand, but are unaware of who leads the raiders and their ultimate goal. The Nihil Tempest Runners bear the brunt of the assault while the Eye of the Nihil, Marchion Ro, prepares a new weapon to fight the Jedi."

"The Republic-Togruta Alliance is formed."

230 BBY: FALL OF STARLIGHT

"The Nameless wreak havoc among the Jedi, who fight valiantly in Starlight’s final moments. Master Estala Maru sacrifices his own life to delay the top half of the station from burning up in Eiram’s atmosphere. Below, Master Stellan Gios stays behind to ensure the lower portion will not strike a populated city on the planet’s surface."

"The Jedi recall their members to safety on Coruscant."

"The Republic readies a Defense Coalition fleet to strike at Nihil space. The Jedi, concerned that they cannot yet combat the Nameless, remain on Coruscant."

c.200 BBY:

"Births: Chewbacca— Wookiee hero and copilot born on Kashyyyk."

102 BBY:

"Serenno foundling Dooku’s family abandons him as an infant after discovering his Force abilities. The Jedi bring him to Coruscant to join the Order." (Dooku is born this year.)

Sifo-Dyas was also born in 102 BBY.

86 BBY:

Dooku becomes Yoda’s Padawan.

Sifo-Dyas becomes Lene Kostana’s Padawan.

84 BBY:

Sheev Palpatine is born on Naboo.

c.80 BBY:

Rael Averross becomes Dooku’s Padawan

72 BBY:

Mace Windu is born. (Take with a grain of salt, it's from a De Agostini booklet and never appeared anywhere else that I can find.)

c.70 BBY:

"Averross is knighted and encourages Dooku to take another Padawan."

68 BBY:

Qui-Gon Jinn becomes Dooku’s Padawan.

c.58 BBY:

"After attaining the rank of Jedi Master, Dooku is offered a seat on the Jedi Council."

Qui-Gon becomes a Jedi Knight.

57 BBY:

Obi-Wan Kenobi is born on Stewjon.

54 BBY:

"Obi-Wan Kenobi begins his Jedi training." (Presumably this means he was 3 years old when he was adopted by the Jedi and began his training then.)

52 BBY:

Palpatine is elected Senator of Naboo.

50 BBY:

"The Nightsisters sell Asajj Ventress to Hal’Sted."

46 BBY:

Padme Naberrie is born on Naboo.

44 BBY:

Obi-Wan Kenobi becomes Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan.

"Stranded on remote Rattatak, the Jedi Knight Ky Narec discovers Asajj Ventress and trains her as his Padawan."

c.44 BBY - "Amid concerns about the corrosive effects of dynasties, the Naboo Reformations limit monarchs to a maximum of two two-year terms."

42 BBY:

Rael Averross introduces Dooku to Palpatine.

Dooku leave the Jedi Order and returns to Serenno to reclaim his title.

c.42 BBY: "Civil war engulfs Mandalore, a planet with a proud honor code and a war-torn history. Its clans form factions, with the conflict evolving to pit tradition-minded clan fighters against New Mandalorians who see the warrior past as a dead end."

c.42 BBY: "Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan protect Duchess Satine Kryze during the Mandalorian Civil War. Obi-Wan and Satine fall in love and he offers to leave the Jedi Order to be with her. They decide that their duties won’t allow them to follow their hearts."

c.42 BBY: "The Mandalorian Civil War ends with Satine’s New Mandalorians ascendant, though traditionalists—including Satine’s sister Bo-Katan—organize to resist her rule."

41 BBY:

Anakin Skywalker is born.

"Distant secret Ancient Jedi lore leads Obi-Wan to the Force-imbued planet Lenahra, where he forges a deeper connection with the living Force." (These are the events of the Padawan novel.)

c.41 BBY: "Holiday interrupted While visiting Kashyyyk, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan foil a Trandoshan raid aimed at taking Wookiee prisoners during Life Day celebrations." (These are the events of Star Wars Adventures 2020, issues 3-4. Unclear if this is before or after the novel Padawan.)

40 BBY:

c.40 BBY - Maul becomes Sidious’ apprentice.

Qui-Gon is offered a seat on the Jedi Council. He does not accept by the end of Master and Apprentice.

"Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan visit strategically located Pijal to oversee the signing of a treaty between its monarchy and the Czerka Corporation." (These are the events of the Master and Apprentice novel.)

39 BBY:

c.39 BBY: Sifo-Dyas joins the Jedi High Council.

38 BBY:

c.38 BBY - "Shmi and Anakin Skywalker are brought to Tatooine. Their enslaver, Gardulla the Hutt, soon loses them to Watto in a bet."

37 BBY:

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan mediate a conflict on Bri’n. (Age of Republic - Qui-Gon Jinn #1)

36 BBY:

Orson Krennic and Galen Erso meet.

Ahsoka Tano is born.

34 BBY:

"Mace Windu helps overthrow the warlord Guattako." (These are the events of Age of Republic - Special #1)

"A skilled mechanic, Anakin begins gathering spare parts to build a protocol droid, C-3PO, to help Shmi with household chores."

"Sidious tests Maul on Malachor."

33 BBY:

"Plo Koon discovers a Force-sensitive Togruta toddler named Ahsoka Tano. He brings 'Little ‘Soka' to Coruscant for training."

"Sifo-Dyas orders a secret clone army to be created on Kamino."

"Eager to test his abilities against the Jedi Order, Darth Maul kills the Twi’lek Padawan Eldra Kaitis on Drazkel’s moon." (These are the events of Darth Maul 2017)

Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus is born.

32 BBY: THE PHANTOM MENACE

"The former Padmé Naberrie is just 14 when elected and has barely taken office when the Trade Federation blockades and then invades Naboo."

The events of The Phantom Menace take place, the Trade Federation invades Naboo, Valorum sends Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to help Naboo, Anakin Skywalker is adopted into the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon Jinn dies.

"Count Dooku pledges himself to the ways of the Sith, replacing Maul as Sidious’ apprentice and taking the name Darth Tyranus."

"Palpatine is elected supreme chancellor."

"Obi-Wan takes Anakin as his Padawan."

"The Sith take over Sifo-Dyas’ project to create a clone army, ordering inhibitor chips implanted in the clones to ensure their obedience."

"With Sifo-Dyas dead, Dooku takes over the clone project, altering it to serve the Sith’s purpose. In his guise as Tyranus, Dooku recruits the bounty hunter Jango Fett as the genetic template for the Kaminoans’ clone army. He then instructs the Kaminoans to secretly implant inhibitor chips in the clones’ brains to ensure their obedience. The clones will fight for the Republic, but the Sith will be their true masters."

Han Solo is born.

Boba Fett is born.

Yaddle is killed by Dooku.

31 BBY:

"Kuat Drive Yards receives an order from a secret buyer to create massive numbers of warships and weapons."

30 BBY:

"Sidious’ minions begin constructing a massive Observatory on Jakku, the first of several built as part of the Sith Lord’s decades-spanning Contingency project. As Palpatine, Sidious orders the secret establishment of bases, shipyards, and colonies in the galaxy’s Unknown Regions."

29 BBY:

c.29 BBY: "Anakin seeks out his first kyber crystal on Ilum and creates a lightsaber, an important step in his Padawan training."

"Anakin goes on a mission in Coruscant’s underlevels with a disguised Chancellor Palpatine, whom he comes to see as a mentor."

"Influenced by Palpatine, Anakin tells Obi-Wan he wishes to suspend his Jedi training and surrenders his lightsaber. With Anakin’s path undecided, Yoda sends him and Obi-Wan to Carnelion IV to investigate a distress signal. [Eventually] Anakin decides to remain Obi-Wan’s Padawan." (These are the events of Obi-Wan & Anakin 2016)

Hera Syndulla is born.

28 BBY:

Queen Amidala's final year as Queen of Naboo, where her successor, Queen Réillata, asks her to be Senator for Naboo and Padme agrees, taking office that year.

"Remembering her experience after fleeing Naboo, Padmé sends Sabé on a mission to investigate how to end slavery on Tatooine." (This ultimately doesn't really go anywhere/accomplish much, unfortunately.)

"Padmé becomes friends with two young fellow senators: Rush Clovis of Scipio and Mina Bonteri of Raxus." (These are the events of Queen's Shadow.)

c.28 BBY: "Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent to retrieve a Holocron from Dallenor, leading to a confrontation with the Krypder Riders." (These are the events of Age of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi #1.)

27 BBY:

c.27 BBY: "Cliegg Lars buys Shmi Skywalker’s freedom from Watto. They marry and live on Cliegg’s moisture farm."

26 BBY:

"While on a mission to Sullust, Dooku kills the Jedi Knight Jak’zin and forces the Kaldana Syndicate to serve Sidious’ interests." (These are the events of Age of the Republic - Count Dooku #1.)

"Obi-Wan and Anakin rescue Yoda from raiders on Glee Anselm, but discover the incident was actually a test engineered by the Jedi Council [to help them get along better]." (These are the events of Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure.)

24 BBY:

c.24 BBY - "Dooku founds the Confederacy of Independent Systems, attracting planets that wish to secede from the Republic and beginning the Separatist Movement."

"The Senate passes the Emergency Powers Act, allowing Palpatine to remain in office for the duration of the Separatist Crisis."

"Palpatine forms the Loyalist Committee to advise him during the Separatist Crisis. Senators belonging to the committee include Bail Organa of Alderaan, Padmé Amidala of Naboo, Ask Aak of Malastare, and Orn Free Taa of Ryloth."

"The Senate begins debating the Military Creation Act, which would allow the Republic to create military forces for its defense."

"Adrift after the death of Ky Narec, a grief-stricken Asajj Ventress embraces the dark side and becomes a warlord on Rattatak."

"Osika Kirske imprisons Ventress on Rattatak, forcing her to fight as a gladiator. Dooku frees her and offers to make her his apprentice in hopes of one day supplanting Sidious. Ventress agrees to serve as the count’s agent and assassin." (These are part of the events of Dooku: Jedi Lost.)

22 BBY–19 BBY: The Clone Wars

"A political crisis propels the Jedi Order into a galaxy-wide war against the Separatists, secretly led by the Sith."

22 BBY: ATTACK OF THE CLONES:

"Obi-Wan and Anakin help defuse a crisis on Ansion." (Mentioned in Attack of the Clones: "He's just returned from a border dispute on Ansion," Mace says of Obi-Wan.)

The events of Attack of the Clones take place, Padme is attacked for her stance against the Military Creation Act in the Senate, Jar Jar introduces a motion to give Palpatine emergency powers as Chancellor, including the discovery of the clone army, Shmi Skywalker dies, Obi-Wan and Anakin and Padme are held captive by the Separatists and rescued by the Jedi, many who die in the arena, as well as Jango Fett dies, and the start of the Clone Wars.

Anakin and Padme are secretly married on Naboo.

Poggle the Lesser gives the Death Star plans to Dooku.

The Clone Wars begin on Geonosis.

22 BBY: THE CLONE WARS:

"Mace Windu leads a Jedi mission to Hissrich. As a member of Windu’s team, Jedi Prosset Dibs accuses the Order of wanting Hissrich for the Republic. He duels Windu and is defeated. Dibs is found guilty of treason and confined to the Jedi Archives in hopes that he’ll find his way back to the light." (These are the events of Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu.)

"Padmé and Captain Typho help Sticks’ squad of clone troopers free Separatist hostages on the embattled planet Hebekrr Minor." (These are the events of Queen's Hope.)

"Anakin becomes a Jedi Knight."

"Obi-Wan becomes a Jedi Master and is elevated to the Jedi Council."

"Obi-Wan investigates a bombing on Cato Neimoidia and discovers the attack bears the hallmarks of both a Republic and Separatist operation. He brings this disquieting hint that someone is manipulating both sides of the war back to Coruscant. Anakin duels Ventress on Cato Neimoidia." (These are the events of Brotherhood.)

"Captain Rex, formally designated CT-7567, is assigned to Anakin Skywalker, who saves his life during the Battle of Arantara. A mutual respect soon blossoms between the brash, bold young Jedi general and the sturdy, by-the-book clone officer."

"Anakin’s troops run afoul of hostile wildlife while searching for Separatist forces on Benglor." (These are the events of Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales #1.)

"The Techno Union’s Wat Tambor destroys the Nexus trading post on Quarmendy to keep Plo Koon’s troops from reclaiming it." (These are the events of Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales #2.)

"Yoda assigns Ahsoka Tano to Anakin as his Padawan, hoping to teach Skywalker how to let go of his emotional attachments."

"The Separatist battlecruiser Malevolence terrorizes the galaxy’s inner systems before it is tracked and destroyed at the Dead Moon of Antar."

21 BBY: THE CLONE WARS:

"The Republic invades Geonosis for a second time to destroy a dangerous new droid foundry constructed by Poggle the Lesser."

"Padmé and Jar Jar discover a bioweapons lab in Naboo’s swamps and must stop Nuvo Vindi from releasing the Blue Shadow Virus."

"General Grievous and Asajj Ventress lead a Separatist invasion on Kamino, with the Republic’s clones fiercely defending their birthworld."

"Sabine Wren is born on Mandalore but raised on neighboring Krownest."

20 BBY: THE CLONE WARS:

"Anakin experiences a disturbing vision of his future in the Force realm known as Mortis and must make a wrenching decision."

"The Republic defends Mon Cala during a Separatist-engineered civil war between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren."

"Republic forces suffer heavy casualties while storming Umbara, a strategically located world with advanced technology that has become a Separatist stronghold."

"Maul returns from exile, bent on obtaining revenge against the long list of those he believes have wronged him."

19 BBY: THE CLONE WARS:

"Maul forms the Shadow Collective, forging several of the galaxy’s crime syndicates into a single underworld organization under his leadership."

"Mandalore’s Duchess Satine Kryze is overthrown by Death Watch’s Pre Vizsla, whose own rule is quickly ended by Maul. Maul has manipulated events to bring Obi-Wan to Mandalore, and now has the hated Jedi at his mercy. He strikes Satine down in the throne room."

"Responding to a disturbance in the Force, Darth Sidious arrives on Mandalore. Maul swears fealty to his old master, but Sidious rejects him. He kills Savage, blasts Maul with lightning, and takes his former apprentice prisoner."

"Anakin and Ahsoka return from Cato Neimoidia to investigate a bombing at the Jedi Temple amid rumors that a Jedi was involved."

"Ahsoka is expelled from the Jedi Order, which believes her guilty of the Temple bombing. She is then arrested by the Republic and prosecuted by Admiral Tarkin before a military tribunal, with Palpatine presiding and Padmé representing the defense. [She] leaves the Jedi Order."

"During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, the clone trooper Tup turns his blaster on Jedi General Tiplar, forcing a Republic retreat. Fives and AZI-3 discover a tumor in Tup’s brain. He dies after its extraction. Palpatine and Nala Se insist the tumor be sent to a Republic medical facility, but Shaak Ti decides it must go to the Jedi Temple first. Kix helps Fives arrange a meeting with Anakin and Rex. Fives tells them about the inhibitor chips and the plot against the Jedi, but his story sounds like a paranoid conspiracy and he becomes agitated. Commander Fox and clone troopers arrive, sent by Palpatine, and try to arrest Fives. When Fives resists, Fox shoots him dead. Tup’s action is blamed on a parasitic infection, and the inhibitor chips are delivered to Dooku."

"Padmé travels to Scipio to expedite a Banking Clan loan for the Republic and discovers Rush Clovis is serving as their representative. The Banking Clan is dissolved and Palpatine takes over its holdings."

"Plo Koon discovers the crash site of Sifo-Dyas’ ship, prompting the Council to investigate the Jedi’s long-ago disappearance."

"On Oba Diah, spice kingpin Lom Pyke tells Anakin and Obi-Wan that the Pykes were paid by Tyranus to kill Sifo-Dyas. Dooku arrives and is identified as Tyranus. He kills the Pyke leader and duels with Anakin, but escapes."

"The Jedi are disturbed to learn Dooku was responsible for the creation of the clone army, but decide to keep this revelation secret."

"Yoda obeys Qui-Gon’s voice and travels to Dagobah, where Qui-Gon’s spirit tells him to learn how to retain his identity after death."

"Anakin teams up with a mysterious Chiss military officer, Thrawn, to locate Padmé and destroy a cortosis mine." [Thrawn: Alliances]

"Yoda helps Kashyyyk’s Wookiees defend their planet against Separatist raiders, earning the honor 'Defender of the Home Tree.'"

"Mandalorian commandos free Maul from Stygeon Prime. Sidious and Dooku allow him to escape in hopes of drawing out Mother Talzin. Maul lures Grievous and Dooku into a confrontation on Ord Mantell and takes them both prisoner—a dangerous gambit of Talzin’s aimed at luring her old enemy Sidious into the fight. Grievous and Sidious come to Dooku’s aid on Dathomir. Grievous kills Mother Talzin and the Mandalorians drag Maul away to safety."

- "Ventress asks the Jedi to help abduct Vos from Dooku’s service in hopes of saving him. Vos returns to the Jedi, claiming his turn to the dark side was a ruse. But his true loyalties are unclear. Vos defeats Dooku on Christophsis, but agrees to join him to defeat Sidious. His secret hope is to kill both Sith Lords. Ventress confronts Vos and Dooku, saving Quinlan before Dooku attacks her with a devastating blast of lightning. The count escapes. Vos and Obi-Wan return Ventress to the waters of Dathomir. [Ventress dies.]"

"Having left the Jedi Order, Ahsoka befriends Trace Martez, a mechanic in the Coruscant underlevels, and her sister Rafa. Ahsoka discovers the Pykes are working for Maul, who is on Mandalore. She uses the Force to escape with the Martez sisters, and the Pykes conclude they were targeted by the Jedi. Ahsoka returns to Coruscant, where Bo-Katan Kryze recruits her to fight Maul."

"Separatists commanded by Admiral Trench invade the Republic stronghold of Anaxes and repeatedly defeat clone counterattacks. Rex is disturbed that the Separatists seem to be adapting rapidly to his strategies and suspects Trench is using some new combat algorithm. He proposes raiding the Separatists’ cyber center to discover their secret. The mission succeeds with assistance from an unorthodox unit of genetically altered clones known as the Bad Batch."

"Anakin joins Rex’s clones and the Bad Batch to raid the Techno Union’s facility on Skako Minor, fighting their way through Wat Tambor’s droid legions. They discover Echo confined in a stasis chamber and hooked up to Separatist computers. Anakin confronts Trench to obtain the rest of the sequence to disarm the bomb, saving Anaxes. He then kills the admiral. Echo joins the Bad Batch."

"Grievous launches a Separatist counteroffensive. The Republic sends Aayla Secura to Felucia and Plo Koon to Cato Neimoidia to hold the line."

"Obi-Wan and Anakin rout Separatist forces on Yerbana. ["Old Friends Not Forgotten"] Ahsoka and Bo-Katan approach the Jedi to propose a joint mission to capture Maul and free Mandalore from his crime syndicate. The Jedi agree and split the 501st in two, with Rex leading troops under Ahsoka’s command."

"A Separatist armada launches a sneak attack on Coruscant, hammering the Republic warships of the Coruscant Home Defense Fleet. Grievous ambushes Palpatine in the Federal District, killing Roron Corobb and knocking Shaak Ti unconscious, then kidnapping the chancellor. The Open Circle Fleet arrives from Yerbana."

19 BBY: REVENGE OF THE SITH:

"Anakin and Obi-Wan fly through the titanic space battle, dodging salvos of laser fire exchanged by Republic and Separatist capital ships in an effort to reach the Invisible Hand, where Palpatine is being held. With the Separatists cut off from their jump point, the battle degenerates into a brutal slugging match, with ships burning up in orbit and debris raining down upon the Coruscant cityscape below. Anakin and Obi-Wan rescue Palpatine above Coruscant. Anakin kills Dooku and Sidious plots to make the Jedi his new apprentice."

"Grievous retreats to Utapau, where the Separatist Council is in hiding. Sidious orders him to relocate the Separatist leaders to Mustafar."

"On Mandalore, Republic forces take the docks of the capital, Sundari. Prime Minister Almec orders Gar Saxon to retreat into the undercity. Bo-Katan’s commandos capture Almec. Ahsoka confronts Maul in the undercity. He is disappointed to see her, having hoped to lure Obi-Wan into his trap."

"Anakin dreams of Padmé’s death in childbirth. Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his personal representative, to the alarm of Yoda and Mace Windu."

"Bail Organa meets secretly with Padmé, Mon Mothma, and other senators determined to resist Palpatine if he doesn’t surrender his wartime powers."

"Yoda heads to Kashyyyk to bolster its defense."

"On Maul’s command, Saxon shoots Almec before Ahsoka can finish questioning him, then makes his getaway."

"At Coruscant’s Galaxies Opera House, Palpatine plays on Anakin’s anger and doubt about the Jedi’s integrity, guessing that they asked him to be their spy. He tells Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis, a Sith Lord who could save people from dying. Anakin, fearful his nightmares are a premonition of Padmé’s fate, is intrigued—particularly when Palpatine tells him it is not a power that can be learned from the Jedi."

"Obi-Wan travels to Utapau to hunt for Grievous."

"Clone troopers, Bo-Katan’s commandos, and Saxon’s warriors battle in the streets of Sundari, with the Republic’s forces winning the day."

"Ahsoka confronts Maul again, who tells her Sidious is behind everything and Anakin is the key to destroying the Sith. Maul reveals that he had hoped to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin to Mandalore in order to kill Anakin, so Sidious could not take the Jedi as his new apprentice. Ahsoka and Maul duel. Maul is captured by Rex’s clones, with Saxon apprehended as well."

"On Utapau, Obi-Wan confronts Grievous. He duels the Separatist warlord and then chases him through the city’s winding tunnels and warrens."

"Palpatine reveals his true identity to Anakin and begs him to use his knowledge to save Padmé. Anakin vows to turn him over to the Jedi."

"Obi-Wan corners Grievous in a hangar on Utapau and kills the mechanical monster with a shot from a blaster."

"Imprisoned in a device that prevents him from using the Force, Maul is brought aboard a Jedi Cruiser destined for Coruscant, escorted by Ahsoka."

"Told of Palpatine’s identity, Windu orders Anakin to wait at the Jedi Temple while he arrests Sidious with Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin. Sidious kills Tiin, Fisto, and Kolar and duels Windu. He attacks Mace using lightning, which the Jedi Master deflects back at Sidious. Anakin arrives and pleads that Sidious be allowed to stand trial, but Windu says he’s too dangerous to be spared. Anakin makes a fateful decision, stopping Windu’s attack by severing his hand. Sidious blasts Windu with lightning, sending him through the broken window. Anakin pledges allegiance to Sidious, who grants him the name Darth Vader. He tells Anakin to go to the Jedi Temple and kill everyone there—that will make him strong enough with the dark side to save Padmé."

"Ahsoka and Maul sense a strong disturbance in the Force."

19 BBY: ORDER 66

"Sidious issues Order 66. Clone troopers across the galaxy obey their inhibitor chips and attack the Jedi, decimating the Order."

"Commander Cody targets Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau. The Jedi survives the attack, escapes offworld, and is rescued by Senator Organa. Aboard the Jedi Cruiser Tribunal, Rex manages to tell Ahsoka to “find Fives” before trying to kill her. She evades Rex’s fire and flees from his troopers. Commander Grey and his clone battalion execute Depa Billaba on Kaller. oda avoids death by killing Commander Gree and Captain Jek, and then escapes Kashyyyk with help from Chewbacca and Tarfful. On a Jedi Cruiser above Bracca, Jaro Tapal is cut down by clones from the 13th battalion, sabotaging the warship before he dies. Captain Jag downs Plo Koon’s starfighter during a patrol flight on contested Cato Neimoidia. Ki-Adi-Mundi is cut down by Commander Bacara’s Galactic Marines during infantry maneuvers on Mygeeto. Luminara Unduli is captured on Kashyyyk. After her execution, the Inquisitors spread rumors of her survival to ensnare other fugitive Jedi. Stass Allie is blasted by Commander Neyo while flying BARC speeders in a mop-up operation on Saleucami. Commander Bly gives the order to shoot Aayla Secura amid Felucia’s colorful fungi."

"Ahsoka prevents other clones from killing the imprisoned Maul. She releases him to create a diversion. While Maul wreaks havoc aboard the Tribunal, Ahsoka activates a trio of astromechs to help her evade Rex’s troops. Ahsoka locates Fives’ records, learning what happened to him and that Rex suspected the clones’ inhibitor chips have some ulterior purpose. Ahsoka subdues Rex and removes his inhibitor chip. Maul destroys the Tribunal’s hyperdrive, sending the doomed Jedi Cruiser careening toward the surface of a remote moon."

"Bail Organa arrives at the Jedi Temple to investigate the uprising and is confronted by clone troopers. He retreats under fire."

"Anakin, now known as Darth Vader and backed by the 501st Legion, marches on the Jedi Temple and slaughters its defenders. He shows no mercy, believing that the dark side is the only pathway to the unnatural powers he must command to save Padmé. As his rage and lust for power swell, not even younglings hiding in the Jedi Council chambers are safe from his lightsaber. Elsewhere, young Grogu survives a clone trooper attack but is haunted by his memories of the event."

"Anakin obeys Sidious’ command and kills the Separatist leaders on Mustafar, shutting down their droid armies and ending the Clone Wars."

"The Senate holds a special session, during which Palpatine—now scarred after his battle with Mace—details the Jedi plot to kill him and take control of the Senate. He proclaims the Republic is to be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire."

"Obi-Wan and Yoda fight their way into the Jedi Temple and recalibrate a signal to warn any surviving Jedi away."

"Padmé arrives on Mustafar, unknowingly bringing along Obi-Wan as a stowaway. Anakin uses the Force to choke her. As C-3PO and R2-D2 tend to Padmé, Anakin and Obi-Wan fight a running duel through the lava flows of Mustafar’s mining complex."

"On Coruscant, Yoda confronts Sidious and the two duel in the Senate Chamber, with Sidious hurling Senate pods at his Jedi enemy. Ascendant with dark-side power, Sidious proves too tough a foe for Yoda, who flees their duel, evading clone troopers sent to hunt him, and is whisked away by Bail Organa in an airspeeder. Sidious senses his new apprentice is in danger and hurries to Mustafar."

"Anakin is left maimed and burned after dueling Obi-Wan on Mustafar. Obi-Wan takes Anakin’s lightsaber and leaves him to die. Anakin survives and is encased in life-preserving black armor. As Darth Vader, he becomes the subject of rumors as the Emperor’s servant and enforcer"

Padme gives birth to Luke and Leia, then she dies. Bail Organa takes Leia to Alderaan and Obi-Wan takes Luke to the Lars' farm on Tatooine, going into exile there, while Yoda is on Dagobah.

"Ahsoka and Rex bury the clones at the Tribunal’s crash site. She leaves her lightsaber behind to find a new path."

19 BBY: GALAXY IN DARKNESS

"Tarkin tells Lama Su that the Kaminoans’ contracts are void and the need for future clones is being questioned."

"Padmé, appearing to still be pregnant, is laid to rest after a solemn funeral procession on Naboo."

"Mas Amedda presides at an Imperial rally held before Coruscant’s Jedi Temple to celebrate the defeat of the Order."

"Sidious abandons Vader on the desert planet Gattering with orders to seize a Jedi’s lightsaber and make it his own. Vader travels to a dark-side locus on Mustafar and bends Infil’a’s kyber crystal to his will, making it bleed red. By compelling the Force to serve his purposes, Vader takes an essential step in his journey as a Sith."

"Sidious puts Vader in charge of the Inquisitors, Force users who once served the light but were seduced or brutalized into following the dark side and are now responsible for hunting down and killing the galaxy’s fugitive Jedi. Vader proves a ruthless taskmaster, brutalizing his new underlings in combat training sessions and eliminating those who fail to live up to the standards demanded by him and the Emperor."

"Sidious orders Vader to lure the Jedi Order’s fugitive archivist Jocasta Nu to Coruscant’s Jedi Temple and capture her. An enraged Vader kills Commander Fox after clone troopers under his command fire on the Sith Lord at the Jedi Temple. Nu explains to Vader what he’s failed to realize: Sidious wants the memory crystal and its list so he can find a potential replacement for his apprentice. Vader kills Nu, tells Sidious she died trying to escape, and crushes the crystal."

"The Empire builds up its forces and begins enlisting and training conscript stormtroopers to replace the Republic’s clone soldiers."

"The Empire bombards Kamino’s cities, destroying all traces of the cloning program that played a critical role in the Clone Wars."

SOURCES & NOTES:

Star Wars Timelines by Kristin Baver, Jason Fry, Cole Horton, Amy Richau, and Clayton Sandell is the primary source for much of this, anything in quotation marks is sourced from here unless otherwise noted. This timeline is only quoting a small minority of what's available in the book, so it's recommended that you check it out for yourselves!

I have done my best to put everything in order even within the specific years, noting where I'm not 100% sure of the sequence of events.

If a "c.[YEAR]" is included, the spot is estimated, not hard fact, but in general it's a pretty trustworthy placement! Except for birthdays--they're not placed directly on the timeline, so I just kind of threw them in at the end most times.

Observation: Holy crap, the Clone Wars was NUTS.

[apostleofgreed]

My friend's thoughts on read Gideon the Ninth (she's doing audio book)... Spoilers obviously

Oh my God I'm less than an hour in and I'm sick of the word ass

The gals have just arrived at wherever it is they've gone to

Like it's taken 7 chapters to get the information of "I tried to run away, did not succeed, that Slag I hate who killed her parents wants me to be her guard dog, were off lets go"

I can't believe this bitch just said "yo"

Gideon is full cockney

"He had upsetting biceps" mood

I need you to know he's incredibly Welsh (regarding Magnus)

Yeah Magnus is my fave tbh I'm like just make the book about him

Oh what the fuck (Magnus died)

Are you joking me this is a travesty it's rude (Still Magnus)

I think I like Harrow because she's just unapologetically a bitch and Im here for that

70% of this book is everyone arguing

If they were that committed to killing like 200 other kids why not just... Stab her???

I'm like Gideon you just had a bath for the first time are you sure you wanna try the pool babygirl

Cause she sounds like she's old Gideon stop being a gentraphile (about Dulcinea)

I've been listening to this whole thing like weird flex that you fancy her but ok

(At this point she told me I'd need to give her the plot for the next two books as she wasn't invested enough to get them)

Nah I got like 2 hours left. More people have died and the CEO of the universe is en route

To be fair I'd be fuming if I was the emperor and I'd paid for all of my world rules to go on an all expenses paid trip to my second home and they all start dying for real and ruining the house

V glad Naberius Tern is dead

Oh lawd everyone really do be dying

"I want to die! Why was I born so attractive?" Is such a big mood

She has bought and finished Harrow. I'll collate her thoughts soon.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Rose's Day of Asks - the sequel

Hi!!! So this was always a curiosity of mine. How did you get started with the the thai communal wardrobe? And how many are on the list at the moment?

Have a wonderful night. Rose💛

Rose! I'm so honoured that you sent me this on your Day of Asks - the sequel!

How did I get started with the thai communal wardrobe? And how many are on the list at the moment?

The short answers?

I liked noticing the shared clothing across series and wanted to a) collect them (ie document them by writing a list) and b) post about them in a consistent format.

Approximately 230 (!).

And the long answers:

I think it was about this time last year, or maybe a bit earlier, when I first started documenting the shared clothing across different series. I had been noticing several items of shared clothing for a while but I think the desire to document them stemmed from the stripy linin shirt having appeared in so many shows in such a short period of time. Other notable items included the yellow-soled shoes, this stripy t-shirt, and this polo shirt.

I wanted to post them in a consistent way (ie the format I currently use, with the header and then sub-headings of each show in chronological order), which meant I needed to write them down in a list to make sure I had all the info correct. At first, I just used a word document but after a few months switched to a spreadsheet because it made it easier to set out and find the information.

I started with the ones I already knew but decided to scan through a lot of shows to see if I could find some more. I think this took the total to around 45 items of clothing, so I decided to do the BL Advent last December as a way to post them all. However, in preparing for that I went from 45 to 90.

As new series came out, and as I kept scanning through old series, by the end of March this year the total had risen to 126 and I put it to a vote as to how to continue posting the rest - the consensus being that I should go chronologically down through my list. Which is what I've been doing since then. I queued up a lot of posts, had a little break during the summer, but now I have more queued up.

Things got quieter over the end of spring and into summer and the list stayed around 150/160 for a couple of months. A few new ones did crop up over this time, like this new popular one (they're the same top just in different colours and with the pattern inverted on the grey/brown one):

But then Peaceful Property hit. And hit big.

At the same time, The Trainee went mad, and because I had noticed a few shirts from Last Twilight in both shows, I did another scan through of that and found A LOT of new ones. BUT ALSO, because of that, I realised I had seen this shirt recently and that led me to discover that Monster Next Door and Knock Knock Boys had a lot of shared clothing, and some of which they also share with Cooking Crush.

So I think since the end of August, I've added about 50 new items onto the list taking it up to around 230. Previous to hitting 200, I had thought I would make a post to mark it...but then I got swamped by all the new ones and I've been busy trying to document them all...to the point where I'm beginning to question my sanity over the amount of time I'm spending on doing all this!

Here's my current folder situation and which basically shows the list, although 80 of them don't currently have a number/place on the list because I'm waiting to finish collating all the new ones from Monster Next Door, Knock Knock Boys, and Cooking Crush:

Let's end on a few stats:

So far, 21 characters have worn the Mustard Sneakers brand yellow-soled shoes.

The items of clothing worn by most characters (11) are the stripy linin shirt and the stripy t-shirt (mentioned above) but the stripy t-shirt has been worn in more series (10 compared to the linin shirt's 6).

The show with the most items of shared clothing with another series is, of course, Only Friends with 64 (and counting!)...and even though I'm not sure this will ever be beaten, Peaceful Property might be able to if it keeps going the way it started.

The show with the next number of items is Last Twilight with 41.

The actors who have currently worn the most shared items of clothing are Sea (41), Book (31), and Gun (28).

[bullet-prooflove]

I was told not to love him

You’d been warned about getting involved with Meisner. He’s mission oriented, dedicated to the cause, focused. There’s no room for anything else, for anybody else.

“You scratch an itch.” Sebastian had told you late one night when you were collating the intelligence reports. “He’ll never he able to love you.”

He’s right, you know he is because the name that Meisner calls when he’s fucking you it isn’t yours. It’s hers. The woman he’s fighting for, the one he’s mourning.

It’s why he slips from your sheets in the aftermath, why he won’t look at you, speak to you.

“You don’t realise how much you look like her.” Sebastian says as he drops down into the seat beside you and opens his wallet. The picture he pulls out is creased and faded, it comes from an old polaroid camera. It’s an image of the three of them, Sebastian, Meisner and her, Lyra, the woman he’d thought he was going to marry. “My sister was the love of his life, I’m sorry but he’s never gotten over her death.”

The two of you are similar, the eyes, the lips, the hair…

Yours is a little longer but the colouring is the same. He likes to run his fingers through it as he kisses you, tug it just a little at the height of climax because it makes you moan like a whore.

Now you know it’s not just something you like, she must have liked it as well.

His Lyra, the woman you can never replace.

You leave that night, your duffle bag slung over your shoulder as you slip the note underneath his door.

I’m sorry but I can’t be who you want me to be.

[okarawrites]

Hey! I see that FF7 request are open! Could I get any person(s) of your choosing with a s/o that has the same powers as Noctis Lucis Caelum and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret from FF15? S/o can summon weapons of old, teleport to a thrown weapon and can summon like Shiva, Ifrit etc without the need of using Materia. They are also a pureblood Cetra so they are being hunted but no one can catch them bc they're too powerful. Just the person(s) of your choosing (whoever would fit in this scenario) meeting them. Thank you! Have a great day or night!

Hey! Thanks for the request. I couldn't help but match this with Rude. Thought it qould be interesting to have that conflict with him being a Turk. Also have done this as a little blurb, and I'm a bit rusty but I hope you enjoy! (It's a bit angsty)

Goodbye my love.

Rude first heard about you when your file was brought into to Turks office. Of course Shinra were more than keen to get a hold of you to progress their mission to access the promised land.

Rude was assigned a mission to follow a lead on your whereabouts and whilst usually partnered up for missions, Tseng had thought a different more covert approach may be needed, so he was sent alone. Following information that a mysterious woman had been spotted in Wutai appearing to be able to summon Shiva without materia, Rude began his travels.

He had first met you in a small Inn about 20 miles south of Wutai. Not know what you looked like, Rude knew he had to take a more conversational approach to get more information.

He would say that the reason he approaches you was because you were say alone, but in truth, Rude is just a sucker for a pretty face.

You were taken aback by how easy it was for you to fall into easy conversation, that it felt entirely natural when he asked if you had heard anything about the mysterious woman.

You knew that you had messed up by showcasing your talents out in public, and deep down knew that all conversation around the subject should be avoided. However, you felt that as your vague response of hearing about it, but not knowing much was enough to end that conversation,, you couldn't help but indulge in his company for a bit longer.

He had told you he was traveling to Wutai on business, giving details on how the bank he worked for back in Midgar was having some issues with their partnership in Wutai.

He stayed in the area for about a week and you ended up spending every evening together. It was all a bit of a whirlwind romance.

The two of you stayed in touch and he eventually asked you to visit him in the city. It was here that it all came crumbling down.

You were on high alert being so close to Shinra HQ and that extra vigilance allowed you to see the cracks in Rudes story.

When the day finally came that you finally confronted him, it was hard for you both. Rude stood in silence as you showed him all of your collated information that proved who he really was and who he worked for.

Getting close to anyone was always a risk in his line of work, but what he wasn't expecting was for you to trust him to tell him who you really were. However, he knew that even if he wanted to try and bring you in, he was not match for your power.

After everything had been said you stood for a moment in silence. You could see a tear threatening to fall down his cheek. You both knew that although you had fallen for one another, this could never be.

You kissed him, tears now flowing before you took a step back. "Goodbye my love" was the last thing you said to him before leaving, never to be seen by him again.

[tar-maitime]

come home with me

Rating: G Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekano Additional: modern AU WC: 750

For @russingonweek Day 3 - Song Prompt: Rescue from Thangorodrim

Fingon gazed assessingly upward, then let out a resigned sign. He’d expected about as much, but he’d hoped otherwise.

Above him, the second window from the right on the third floor of the Thangorodrim Building still had its lights on and its blinds open, despite the recent sunset, and he thought he could see a flash of coppery movement. Maedhros was still working away, then.

The first time she’d come home significantly after what were supposed to be normal working hours Fingon hadn’t said anything, not wanting to be creepy and controlling about how Maedhros spent her time. After it happened a few more times, he’d expressed concern, only for Maedhros to reassure him, between yawns, that this was par for the course when things were busy at the law firm she worked at.

Fingon had accepted the explanation and done everything he could to be supportive, making sure that on the nights she came home late, she had a warm meal and no demands on her time waiting for her. It had only happened a few days a month at first, and he’d gotten as used to it as Maedhros seemed to be.

But over the past couple of weeks, she’d been home late every night, a few times even after the belated summer nightfall. Fingon had hardly seen her, and when he had she’d been darkly hinting at needing to go in on Saturday, as well as half-mentioned tidbits about the way her boss had been treating her that were setting Fingon’s alarm bells ringing.

It was time to stage a rescue.

He crossed the street, walked inside, and took the elevator to the third floor, where he was shortly able to locate the half-glass door whose sign proclaimed the offices of Bauglir and Gorthaur, Attorneys at Law. Both these dubious gentlemen, he assessed as soon as he walked in, were long gone, leaving their private offices off to the side dark, and so had their secretary Thuringwethil, but Maedhros was still in her cubby of an office with the door ajar.

Fingon crossed over and knocked lightly on the doorframe. “Russe? All right there?”

She looked up, startled, from where she’d been hunched and squinting at her computer. “Oh! Finno. What are you doing here, it’s...” She glanced at the time and blanched. “Oh, almost ten. I’m so sorry, I meant to be home earlier, it’s just that Bauglir’s got me going through all these old court reports and collating information for this case, and I’m supposed to have ten pages to him by Wednesday, but there’s just not that much...look, I just need another hour with this and then I’ll head home. Promise.”

Fingon gave her a look, eyebrow raised in silent query, and Maedhros went slightly red. “All right, maybe an hour and a half. I meant to have this done earlier, but I had to double-check Snaga’s work because he never does it right and then they blame me.”

“Russe.” Fingon came and leaned his hands on the desk, looking into her eyes. “It’s almost ten. It’s a Friday. Come on home. You’ll have two more days to get this done, and if you can’t, then that’s on them for putting so much on your plate. Not on you.”

Maedhros looked dubiously from the open office door, to the work piled on her desk, to Fingon. “I want to,” she admitted. “I just don’t think they’ll take it well.”

“They don’t have any right to keep you here so late. I bet it’s illegal to try and make you,” Fingon countered. “Unless you’re actually chained to this desk, there’s no reason you can’t just leave. And if you are,” he made a show of checking, “we’ll figure out something to do about that, too.”

That got a tired laugh from her, which was what he had wanted to achieve. “All right,” Maedhros said finally, “all right. I’m not going to be able to focus much longer, anyway. If they get nasty about it on Monday, I’ll...I don’t know.”

“You could leave altogether,” Fingon suggested cheerfully, only half-joking.

Maedhros snorted. “Now that’s just ridiculous. What else would I do?”

As long as she came home to get some rest today, figuring that question out could wait. “All right, all right.” He took her hand as she got up from the desk. “Come on, let’s go home. We’ll heat something up and...just crash. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Maedhros huffed out a long breath. “Crashing sounds good. Honestly, this week felt like it lasted thirty years.”

[gncrezan]

i'm obsessed with aki, like it's not even funny. I JUST NEED MORE OF HIM IN MY LIFE LAWD HAVE MERCY. would you happen to have a bit more information on the loml...? if not it's aight big love <33

YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK ME ABOUT HIM i'm so sorry it took so long to reply i have been so everywhere but i have been meaning to find like sketches and stuff i have around of him :)

collated a bunch of old sketches of his family!! aki was originally going to be a part of a big like. chinese-zodiac inspired thing and his family in particular were the snakes (he's got the character in his last name lol) and him and his siblings all got snake characteristics . there is however nothing new under the sun and even though i thought this was cool my friend was like "oh like fruits basket" and i shelved the idea LOL

in the end he just existed in a vaccum, i had nothing to do with him, before i dragged him out of there with the intention to drop him into a simpler slice-of-life story with a bunch of terrible postgrad students. that story mainly revolves around like.. biomed researchers basically?? aki would have been an ex-STEM student who dropped out because he didn't want to do medicine anymore, but kept in touch with his friends from the course (the other cast might eventually also be forced into IFs LOL)

more under the cut!

i eventually completely veered off the zodiac-course and kept his base design and turned those scales into tattoos! he's got more in infamous, but in this universe it's just those snakes winding around his arms!!!! infamous tattoos are kind of not set in stone cause i plan to add more (inspired by the bandmates) and the tattoos are supposed to be based off them!! there was no way he'd stop at just seven's initials, he has a little thing for all of them!!!! bc we're only really two chapters into infamous tho i just want more time to "know" the bandmates and then give more him more tats (i have been reading asks about them and trying to assign stuff LMFMFMFAOOO)

what he has and i consistently draw him w are seven's initials, the snakes (leftover design from the kind of concept he was based off of), lotuses/flowers (could change!! i'm thinking rn that he gets everyone's favorite flower/plant tattooed), wave designs (i'm praying someone's a water sign), and he's also got the opening notes of their first song that they played as a band :)

the original version of him is also based vaguely off a friend i made in uni who did hair/makeup and which i still think is so cool and gave him that !!!! more specifically he sort of dropped out of a good-asian-kid stem course to do this, which freaked his parents out when they realised he was just Leaving to go cut people's hair. aki's pretty great at it, and is lucky enough to work at a good stylist agency <3

kills it at karaoke with his friends in this universe too :) his genuine passion for working as a stylist and love for his job translates into music for infamous, which despite how "i'm-so-cool-and-chill-about-everything" he tries to seem, is his biggest worry. he really really wants to succeed and stick it to his parents, and can't imagine what else he'd ever do. music is all he has and really gets lost in songwriting/singing :)

his stage name akiya is also a reference to the word for abandoned/empty houses in rural areas in japan. they're cheap to buy, but cost a lot to repair and flip. this is a stealth dig at his parents lol but aki passes it off as a portmanteau of his first/last name: he is secretly emo like this </3

also their band name, snakebites, in general is like 1) "what's cool when we are 16 and making this band when we are in high school" and 2) the band's shared birth year being the year of the snake (2001/i'm projecting) (they're still like 25/26 which makes infamous oddly take place in the future for me, 2027ish???) and luckily i don't believe the year it takes place matters to anyone so i'm just going with it <3 don't think about it too hard this is deep lore that only makes sense to me

their fandom name also call themselves snakes, and they lean into this for their promo materials (each member gets a government assigned snake breed) LMFAO !! aki lightly thinks its cringe but it's not hurting anyone, so he just told maya that he thought the name was great LOLLLLL !!! they have a vaguely edgy image because of this (and because ya know. lots of drama surrounding seven leaving) even though they're much more an indie rock band (sounding more like hippo campus, yona yona weekenders, young the giant) with a reputation for being wholesome

there's also a fun game their fans like to play called "using aki's hair, what era of snakebites is this" LOL <3

i hope this was kind of understandable <3 thank you for letting me cry about my boy <3

[duckprintspress]

Changes to the Kickstarter Backer Survey System

I'm in a FB group for authors who use Kickstarter, and I just posted this there, and thought - enough other presses and other folks who use Kickstarter follow me here that this information might be useful to others? So I'm cross-posting it here.

I'm setting up backer surveys using the new system for the first time. I know some people here had questions about it so I thought I'd post a few notes on it and how it's different. I'm no expert, this is just my observations. I hadn't seen anyone post something like this, so apologies if it is duplicative, I definitely don't see every post people make in the group. :D

Item-specific SKUs. They've created a SKU system for variants and such, so it should now be possible to, for example, set up all the sizes and colors for a t-shirt and then have it spit out a question where backers can pick which variant they want. I think this will make it much easier to offer rewards of things like clothing, which I'll own I've personally avoided in part because the back-end logistics of gathering backer info about them looked like such a hassle. It looks like it'll generate multiple-choice options for variants automatically. I'm not using that part so I'm not testing it, unfortunately. I wonder if this could also be used to simplify the add-ons. For example, right now, I create separate add-ons for each of our e-books and it can get cluttered. But theoretically this system could be used to say, "this is the e-book add-on, buy the number of e-books you want, tell us which specific books you want on your survey." I'm not sure I'll go this route on future campaigns (it's already too late for this one) - while putting our full back catalog as add-ons is clunky, it ensures that each individual item is before the backer's eyes when they back, and I don't think losing that would necessarily be beneficial - but it's interesting to consider.

Item-specific questions. This is an addition I really like. It's always been a challenge to collect information for customized add-ons. For example, I always offer a premium backer list and book signing, and getting info on what name people want to use and what inscription they'd like has been frustrating, as I've had to rely on messaging. The new system fixes all of that. I think it'll make it much easier to get this information accurately and quickly without having to pester people to answer their messages. Note that it looks like currently for the questions, only open-ended is an option - you can't add an item-specific question that's multiple choice.

Addresses. All addresses are collected automatically from everyone, which I definitely don't like. Before, e-books always offered an anonymous option for our backers, and I don't like that that's now gone. This new survey system would definitely be improved if we could specify which levels we need addresses for. You can opt out of getting addresses, but it's all or nothing (get all backer addresses or get no backer addresses).

There's a "Backer Question" section, where you can add additional questions (open ended, multiple choice w multiple responses, multiple choice w one response, required or optional). This is more like the old system, and it can be used for questions that aren't item-specific. For example, I'm using it for our optional mailing list sign-up question.

Previews. It does offer comprehensive previewing to see how all the item-specific questions collate together, so it's very easy to be sure that everything is how it should be. You can even add multiple add-ons to the theoretical "order" that the backer has, to be sure all your questions are there and what you'd like.

Character limit. The creator-entered questions have a limit of 255 characters. That's. not many. I know I'm wordy (see: this post) but I wish the limit was a little higher.

E-mail header. The old system had space to put in a header/introduction for your backer survey message. I'm not seeing that here? I'm a little confused by that, but I've poked around a lot and haven't found it, so I think that's gone.

Bonus backers. It looks like bonus backers will now receive a survey, containing any of the "backer questions not tied to specific rewards" questions. So in my case, that means they'll have the chance to sign up for our newsletter, which ain't a bad thing!

Cost to use the new system. Someone on FB had asked if using this system added to the cost of using Kickstarter? I see absolutely zero evidence that it does. They're not asking me to opt into additional charges, warning that using this will add to expenses, etc. I had and continue to have every reason to think this is base KS functionality now, covered by the fee already paid when the campaign backs. There's also no way that I can see to "opt out" of using the new system/continue using the old system.

Over all, compared to the old system, I like this one better. It was always frustrating and could be time-consuming to have multiple levels that were similar and have to make entirely new surveys for each. This will make it easier to mix-and-match rewards across different levels, and MUCH easier to get information for add-ons only a few people have - I no longer have to nag people by KS message for their customization information, which will save me a LOT of time. The variant functionality will also be great for any item, like clothing, that has sizing, color variants, etc.

The main area for improvement would be functionality for choosing which levels require snail mail addresses - with how this is structured I don't really see why they can't just offer us check boxes for "these are your backer levels, check the ones you need addresses for."

That's everything that I can see at the moment, but if people have questions or thoughts, I'm willing to poke at it more. My campaign doesn't end for another two weeks so I've got a little time to finish setting them up and play with the settings. :D

[cature]

💌 ) BEST BELOVED. okay time to be normal. here’s a tag for my comfort characters, never specified by name or dug into in any meaningful depth. i am putting them in my mouth and chewing. i am asking at all times to be reading illuminated treatsies on their actions and their subtexts and their costume designs and their leimotifs and to hold their beating heart in my hands (just to look at it!) and yeah, okay, also sometimes to suck their soul out of their body twice a day for the rest of my life.

💎 ) OLD MONEY. this is quite literally just my blair waldorf tag. it’s the newspapers in print and the purses that don’t carry cash and lipstick made custom and champagne from the valley and not just imitation. it’s the world that gatsby could entertain but never enter. it’s the girls who aren’t daisy. it’s a white winter in the city, but every path you walk on is still clean and dried. the grand vizier, the high pope, the dark curl-spilled queen to serena’s lion-haired king among men, morgan le fey come again to wear chanel.

🔏 ) POETRY. another normal tag! i am a horrific poet with barely a handful of daily lit deviations (i hope reading that phrase gave you flashbacks) under my belt, but the self-published poetry scene is finally recovering from the mass damage that instagram and richard siken fanfic did to it. and i for one am fucking pumped. other quotes with particularly good cadence will also be thrown in here just to jazz things up a bit.

📖 ) MEDIA. i’m on a normal tag roll. these are the stories that are important to me in ways unrelated to comfort characters or my deep abiding need to get plowed by questionable anime men. a lot of my favorite posts end up untagged on my sideblog because they’re not as structured as i like my main to be, so the ones that do make the cut are guaranteed to have been heralded by me physically showing one of my spices my phone.

🥠 ) LITTLE THOUGHTS. essentially a text post tag. a lot of them have tended to be sweet or sad rather than silly, but i like collecting the ones that make me react. fortune cookie emoji feels self-explanatory from there. as with my media tag anything that i like enough to have but not enough to revisit or incorporate into my bird’s nest goes over on a sideblog, so these reblogs are fun treats for me to pick back through.

🪶 ) HOPE AS AN ACTION. “empathy isn’t just something that happens to us - a meteor shower of synapses firing across the brain - it’s also a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It’s made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse. sometimes we care for another because we know we should, or because it’s asked for, but this doesn’t make our caring hollow. this confession of effort chafes against the notion that empathy should always rise unbidden, that genuine means the same thing as unwilled, that intentionality is the enemy of love. but i believe in intention and i believe in work. i believe in waking up in the middle of the night and packing our bags and leaving our worst selves for our better ones.” - leslie jamison.

🫖 ) LIKE REAL PEOPLE DO. domesticity, and family, and growing, and trying your best, and singing without thinking about it, and cooking for eachother, and existing in the world as a participant. being housebound on and off for years has not been good to me even as being happily married and content in my triangle has been a massive act of healing. somewhere in between the two i’m holding on fiercely to celebration of the things i can still do together with them and trying to believe that it can be enough.

🍫 ) BITTERNESS. kind of discourse, kind of venting. i’m not overly invested in collating my opinions daily any more, but i have been saying certain things for actively years now while waiting for the wider zeitgeist to catch up to me and it’s always a pleasure to see a widely accepted and welcome new take from the last three months that i got into a fight in my 2018 dms for suggesting. sometimes i just want to hit people i have blocked with a car. being a sex worker who has to ebeg will do that to otherwise perfectly lovely friendships more than you’d think. sometimes you are all just so, so illiterate. essentially a dump for anything that pisses me off.

🔖 ) AUDIENCE ASIDES. this one is for “reblog and tag yourself” memes and is functionally an about me tag that i fill up only with uquiz answers, disjointed facts from my childhood, and either/or games. they’re fun! not everything has to be complicated. scroll around this tag for interaction bait or just to hang out. maybe one day i’ll port my vent app “which major arcana are you” tag meme over here as a uquiz of some kind. that’d be fun, i think. (i’m the moon, btw. just in case you were wondering. mine was the moon.

🫕 ) BESTIES. this is a catch-all tag for my assorted friends to opt-into that is 110% just about being, yknow, kind of a cunt. all of the references to insane internet-specific drama go here, all of the polycule jokes go here, all of the “hey i know you’re high so i invited a thousand people over” jokes go here, and so does all of the sweet stuff. fondue emoji because that way people can dip in and choose to be included in it or not, and also i am too lazy to tag for each individual 🌈/🐰/🎲/📿/🐱/🐻/fruit code/tumblr mutual/etc vibe.

🕰️ ) FIRST FOLIO. because despite the lobotomy i am in fact a washed-out imitation of both english and art history qualification-havers, and sometimes a bitch wants to talk about the way the world shaped a colour choice or a turn of phrase or an adaptational choice between book and stage or stage and dance. constantly fellating the macmillan romeo juliet choreography, my own imaginary staging of ibsen’s fruen fra havet, and prospero’s final lines in the tempest. this is a dump tag for anything that i would pin to a board like a butterfly if given the chance to do so together with my loved ones.

🌪️ ) OIL ROOM. oh, hey, a normal tag again. an art tag, even, for things that rattle around in my brain for a few days after, or things that i’d spend useless hours trying to dig back up on pinterest to add to a board for a fictional character that has (in a similar manner) started to haunt me. probably going to lean more modern sculpture than traditional oil, but to be fair that is because traditional oils find their way into my other tags and didn’t need an invented catch-all for me to skim back through circa pinterest o'clock in six weeks when i get back to that.

🍳 ) THE AI-KYŌGEN. nice little oc tag for my brats. a truly insane overabundance of girls who are crocodiles in the rivers of their own narrative, girls who are self sufficient because they were grown from seed in total darkness, boys who damn themselves and then damn the world in revenge for it, girls who wear their lives wholecloth like a costume every morning until it fits or it kills them, girls who were too young for the tasks they were trapped with and succeeded anyway, girls who died but didn’t because they only remember how to get back up. and clumbo, my orc detective.

📚 ) DEAD INTERNET. short stories, flash fiction, and other pieces i am trying to scrounge up via the wayback machine. i'm an unabashed pirate who lived off of e-begging for 5 yesrs solid and do not have the money to support authors i like. what i can do is collate every short story i've personally cared for onto an un-searchable blog and cross-index my thoughts on them here.

🧦 ) BULLDOZE VENICE. disability talk, encompassing everything from my mental health conditions / sanism to physical disability justice, marriage equality, institutional ableism, and how developmental disability is treated by the wider populace. i don't believe in "mental age" and i don't steal the terms nonverbal/nonspeaking for autistics with high support needs who suffer the most under the pseudo-aba assumptions that you can make yourself speak if needed.

🍱 ) TEXT POSTING. basically the same as my audience asides tag but for posts i personally am making to bitch about running a blog, or changes i am midway through making on this one, or polls about which of my previous tagging system sections i should port over to this blog en masse that day.

📟 ) MIXTAPE. i know i run ostensibly a sideblog for music but i do also like specific songs i want to put here and cross-reference into other tags. since the ancient websites i used to use to listen to just the songs on my rp blogs in another google chrome tab has gone totally under i will have to make that possible another way (that isn't using spotify, because i'm lazy sometimes).

🎫 ) TO REMEMBER. quotable bits that i am going to drop for years into bios. i used to try to run this as a sideblog on its own for cross-referencing but porting the entire mountain goats lyrical discography was hard and i quit. i still need somewhere to store the "spit his cum back at him like a camel" post that has haunted my dreams for a thousand years.

[razorsadness]

It’s the season of the scent of burn barrels and the sound of trains. It’s the month when all my ghosts come back to me.

I just don’t have much to say. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have a lot to say, but it’s all coming out in poetry or essays about past experiences, or in visual art. Not in journal entry form. I’ve been making copious notes for things-to-write re: my current life, but sometimes I need time to process it before I turn it into any kind of writing, even a journal entry. (Why do you think I’m always writing poems and essays about events from decades ago? Or writing epic-length journal entries about everything that happened in a particular day/week/month?)

It’s not that nothing is going on, currently. I’ve been doing a lot, feeling a lot. There’s of course all the general life-stuff: hustling for freelance gigs and then doing them, printing/collating/packing up zine orders, doing schoolwork with the kiddos. Even that stuff has been going quite well overall (there have been bad days, but not an unmanageable amount), and there have also been a lot of special, interesting, things. My and P.’s sex life has picked back up again after a couple months of it being pretty sparse and lackluster, and thank g-d for that. I’ve been embracing the delights of the season, in all their myriad forms. There have been trips to the north woods to chase the autumn; jaunts downtown for coffee and wandering or for fancy lunches and the art museum. I’ve been lurking in cemeteries, decorating my house for Halloween; I've been dressing up in some way or another, whether I'm going downtown or even just going to run errands, and some days, I dress up even just to stay at home. I’ve been painting pumpkins, making spooky art, writing poems about cryptids and graveyards and ghosts. I’ve been asking myself “what would the Great Pumpkin do?”; waking up in the morning and listening to goth and post-punk playlists while eating candy for breakfast, or drinking red wine or pumpkin beer while cooking dinner, and dancing around my kitchen when that one DJ on my favorite radio station who knows what's up plays Big Star and The 'Mats back-to-back. I've been reading horror and ghost stories and spooky poems, watching my favorite spooky films. I've been re-embracing my obsession with Peter Lorre, as I tend to do every year around this time. (Not that it ever really goes away, it’s just stronger this time of year.) I’ve been redecorating my altars to suit the season, and I’ve gotten back into tarot. I’ve been watching live videos of old favorite bands. My heart has been breaking every day over the state of the world, and I have been trying to do what I can while not getting down on myself for not being able to do more. And on days when it’s not raining, I’ve been sitting outside to watch the leaves fall, to listen to the trains, and to think of long lost friends and old flames.

Which leads me to the main thing I do want to get down. One of the old flames that’s been most heavy on my mind is “Harvey” (aka “Hertz,” neither are his real name but I have referred to him as one or the other in various writings over the years). There are many reasons for this, one being that he had the Inferno-connection too, so in the lead-up to Hallowmas, he is one of the people I think of when I listen to/think of the band. Another being that it was during October/November 2004 that our ‘thing,’ such as it was, was at its peak. After not having spoken for something like 12 or 13 years, we briefly reconnected after Jack’s death, because both of us needed to talk to someone who would get what we were feeling. The initial emails we exchanged were in no way romantic or flirtatious, but then after a while we admitted to each other that we still occasionally thought of one another That Way. And then we both stopped emailing again because, well, nothing good can come from opening all that up.

The night before last, I was thinking of him, and thought about sending him an email, and then I said to myself: “Not today, Satan.” He’s not Satan; Satan in this situation is my fucking feelings and complete inability to let the past be the past when it comes to certain people (such as Harvey). Satan is the fact that it doesn’t even make sense to still have these feelings; we barely had a relationship, we only kissed once, we never slept together. (Though that might be allonormativity talking; sex alone doesn’t make a relationship and lack of sex doesn’t mean a relationship wasn’t real. And I think the fact that we never fucked is part of the reason I have a hard time letting him go completely; there’s more to wonder about, more of a question of what might have been.) Satan is all the ways it could fuck up my life if we dredge all those feelings up again. So I didn’t email him, and I was so proud of myself for my willpower, and then I checked my inbox yesterday morning, and there was an email. From Harvey. And it fucking figures, because there are certain people in my life who seem to know when I’m thinking about contacting them and then contact me, and he has always been one of them. I haven’t even opened the email yet, because I’m scared. It could very well be an innocent ‘just saying hey’ message, except I doubt it is, because he sent it at like 3 a.m. his time and who is up in the middle of the night thinking of old flames only to send them a casual message? Ugh. I just. I’m not looking for advice, really, it just hurts.

[autogynocrat]

Autism anon from earlier, here are the supposed tells/abnormalities I have:

- eating food one at a time, rather than sampling a bit of everything. Say I have a plate with e.g. steak, rice, and carrots on it. I will eat ALL the rice, then ALL the carrots, then ALL the steak. I always figured this was normal, but apparently it’s a tell in kids

- I like making feelings “even” on both side. Like, let’s say I’m walking through a door and I brush my right hand on the doorframe. I’ll immediately touch my left hand to the doorway, or I won’t quite feel right.

- lists. Fucking lists. Excel spreadsheets. I make so many lists and spreadsheets and charts and I don’t even know what I’m doing with all this data. Collating things. Like I made this playlist once of just covers of this old song, and the playlist is eight hours and twenty eight minutes long, and I individually organized the songs by year. I didn’t do it all at once of course, it was a little at a time

- tendency to overexplain if I’m telling a story, even if I know the other person knows the info I’m telling. My sister pointed this out to me, that I do this. Let’s say I were to tell a story about work, I might lead into it with “so we get paychecks, right? Because that’s why we have jobs. Every couple weeks, we get these checks that have a momentary amount, as compensation for the work we did. If you work more hours, you get more money…” etc.

- tendency towards repetitive, compulsive behaviors. I once went a year only listening to one (1) album. While I like movies, I rarely watch new ones, I just rewatch the same few movies over and over again. Some movies, I nearly have memorized as a consequence. I once frequented a specific sushi restaurant so many times that I decided to stop going because I felt self-conscious, but I went back after a week and the lady behind the counter went “you wanted more sushi!” as soon as she saw me walk in. I’m very into ritual, like I’ll eat the same thing every day for a while. Or like, I’ve tried getting into anime, but I just rewatch the same anime instead of watching new ones. Regarding compulsive behaviors, there will be things where I’m like “I need to stop doing this because it’s bad/wastes time/is evil/whatever” and will still feel compelled to do it like some phantom hand is guiding me on a chessboard

- I cannot fucking talk to people. I have no idea how to fucking socialize. I cannot understand fucking social cues. I have sat in awkward silence with so many people so many fucking times, I’ve said the wrong thing so many fucking times

- I unintentionally verbalize my thoughts and talk to myself. It’s very fucking hard to just shut my mouth and keep it shut. Usually it’s a light whisper, if I’m alone I just talk. Or I’ll mouth words, like if I’m thinking or typing. I’m mouthing this right now

- I memorize a lot of trivial facts and will regurgitate them onto people. I guess that’s kinda infodumping? I don’t know, I wouldn’t call them hyperfixations though. I just read wikipedia a lot

You mentioned doing weird repetitive things with my hands, what kind of things? I do repetitive things with my hands too. I can describe it as like, I’ll press down each finger individually one after another with my thumb, then I make a fist with my thumb inside and squeeze and it cracks my fingers, then I do it with the other hand. I click my ankles too, over and over

I don’t know, you be the judge. Surely this isn’t normal at least. I’d say most of these I thought were normal, or at least were acceptable social quirks and not signs of anything greater

when i eat the sausage egg mcgriddle at mcdonalds i take it apart and eat each piece individually with a fork and knife. i dont do this with every food but some foods are too much things at one if you dont take them apart. for curry i dont eat the rice and curry seperate i need an equal amount if curry and rice on the fork with every bite otherwise its wrong. if i have an uneven amount of sauce and other food when i finish any food it really annoy me. the iced Machiato at mcdonalds i dont like it when they stir it ib prefer to drink the caramel milk layer and the espresso layer as separate layers.

making things even i relate to this i like to arrange all the square groceries in the comveyer belt so they're perfectly packed it is literally so fun when they're aligned perfectly edge to edge

im too disorganized to makelists but i love looking at them. also wikis. wikis are my favorite media format sometimes. spreadsheets can be so beautiful but i think well indented code looks cuter and more beautiful especially in an ide with colors

i dont think i over explain things unless its something im really into

i only listen to the same music over and over and over again until i get tired of it which is usually never. i already like my music why do i need more? mili is my favorite artist btw i like them bc they make cute songs and happy songs and sad songs and the themes in the songs are cool and i like momocashews voice. i repeat certain phrases alot for no real reason other than it feels good like i say "oh no how could this happen to me" alot in a silly voice i just like how it feels in my throat. i dont feel like im guided or controlled i wish i was controlled it would be easier for me. i do however feel like an npc in a bad videogame or simulation or something. ive kinda accepted that my job is a simulation tough and i pretend im an npc with no agency i just say my pre programmed lines and focus on being a good and efficient npc its like a videogame to me and it makes the day go by easier.

i cant talk to people either they have to talk to me first most of the time or i feel like i dont have permission to enter their social circle. also i usually dont know what to say an im afraid of people thinking im weirrd

i verbalize or post almost all my thoughts i usually talk to myself more when people arent around but i still do it when people are around too. if you ever see me making lots of small text posts im probably stream of consciousness posting im basically doing the digital version of vwrbakizing every thought that goes thru my head

i dont know if anything i said makes sense sorry for the long post

[hjremi]

under the cut is some random information i've collated about remi, feel free to read to learn more about him. will update as more information comes to light / i learn new things some of these do contain triggers, which are tagged below.

BASIC INFORMATION: NAME: remington clifford [ no korean name ] NICKNAME: remi BIRTHDATE: april 17, 2000 [ 23 years old ] ZODIAC: aries GENDER: nonbinary, he/him preferred SEXUALITY: bisexual OCCUPATION: freelance programmer LINKS: his full bio. please heed the tw. his pinterest. his tags. his playlist.

FUN FACTS: -owns a used pickup that he loves half to death, it's got a myriad of problems that require a lot of upkeep, but he wouldn't trade it for the world -owns a bunch of vectors because he thinks they're cute, also carries a tamagotchi around with him on his lanyard with his keys, he really just likes little robot pets -does not know how to swim ?? not sure why he's on an island in that case -most of the burns / scars he has are on his arms / chest, but he does have a scar on one cheek / side of his jaw / in his hairline on his left side [ which incidentally is the side his hearing is worse on ] -is ambidextrous but favours his right hand lately as his left experiences some mobility issues -is literally 5'4 bless his heart -plays a lot of video games, and has participated in esports tournaments before [ nothing recently due to a lack of anonymity for contestants ] -basically picture the type of kid who would've been at the big hero 6 school and that's basically remi -previously went to MIT before coming to korea, misses that more than anything else in america as he had resources to do a lot of the things he wanted to readily available to him. -builds computers in his spare time, usually as commissions or he sells them after the fact -double major in computer science and robotics with a minor in electrical engineering, is also taking korean language and ksl classes to help communicate easier, since english is his first language, does plan to take asl classes later on -his thesis is about a hearing device capable of translating sign language to speech with gesture recognition, as well as translating other spoken languages in real time and potentially even being able to translate lip reading into speech, if he can figure out how to make it happen. at his previous school, he was dabbling in mixed reality / augmented reality, but there aren't resources to do so here in hanjeong. -is super passionate about the environment and especially about renewable energy omg, he's currently trying to get the grocery store he lives in switch to solar panels, as he uses quite a bit of electricity. he would prefer to use marine/offshore energy, since they're on an island and all, but has been assured by multiple people that anything he attempts to set up would mysteriously be destroyed, so he has settled for solar power. it's incredibly difficult to set up with the trade restrictions when it comes to sourcing things he needs, however, causing a growing amount of tension. -he's very ambivalent about the whole supernatural thing. tbh whenever he first found out he thought they were joking, and even now he doesn't really bother himself with it all that much, seeing as he doesn't really encounter it that often in his day-to-day life. -is very staunchly anti-government and anti-police. thinks the idea of modern monarchies [ three in the same place, even ! because they can't pretend that the captain's descendants aren't a form of modern monarchy ] is possibly the most idiotic thing he's ever heard, and refuses to acknowledge any of them. whatever they're doing doesn't concern him, anyway. -really badly wants to go ghost hunting, but doesn't want to go by himself because that's boring. -is afab, has not had any gender-affirming surgeries, he doesn't ever really bring it up though bc honestly it's not relevant in most situations. he might refer to it offhand though, feel free to have your character react however. THE GOOD: clever. strong-willed. spontaneous. easy-going. THE BAD: irresponsible. absurdist. flippant. impulsive. THE UGLY: physically cannot stop getting in over his head.

[wool-f]

Wellness: Through & Through | Part Three: Vision Boards 

It will come as no surprise to anybody that I am a huge fan of vision boards. 

I’ve been making them for years, and using them as visualisation tactics. I personally love the way it feels to collect the images, compile them into the categories that relate to my goals and motivations, the feeling of cutting them out and really looking. Imaging myself achieving these things and what it would feel like. The freedom and joy I would feel, on top of that which I already feel in this moment. 

Given that I love all these things about vision boards, I thought it only apt to discuss them in this part of my series Wellness: Through & Through. In my video dedicated to vision boards on my channel, I barely scratch the surface on how great vision boards are, and I have really enjoyed taking the time to deep dive into my I love them here. So let’s get into it. 

The first thing I love about creating a vision board is the thinking and imagination process. I always list my goals, aims and dreams in my notes app on my phone or as a list in my journal, and then really think on what I want for the year, month, week or whatever time period I’m making the vision board for. 

Once the list is done, I go through old magazines that I’ve had saving for that moment and through Pinterest, and find different images that reflect those goals. Once I’ve found these images, I print them all out, cut them out and then place them onto my chosen vision board.

This part in itself feels so powerful to me, the fact that I have thought up these goals and wishes and dreams and so easily found photos that represent all of them, and collating them together. A vision board is truly a life map when you really deep it - it’s what you want your life to look like, and you’re giving yourself a tangible thing to really visualise it and see that it is possible. 

The physicality of having the photos in your hands and putting them down onto a piece of paper that you can see everyday if you want to, and knowing that it’s you that will be living those dreams in the future is a potent part of manifestation. 

The second thing I love about vision boards is that they give you something to aspire to or work towards. If I’m having a down day and feeling unmotivated or uninspired to do something, I will take out ten minutes of my day and meditate in front of the vision board. Looking at the photos and reminding myself what I’m working towards pulls me out of most funks. 

It is also a great way to track your own progress in the same sense - whenever I do something or achieve something on my vision board I always tick it off, and express gratitude for my own hard-work and the results that has yielded. Ticking something off the list also reminds me how close and how easy it is for me to achieve my dreams when I put my mind and hands to work. 

The second thing I love is having something to look back on during the year and knowing that the goals and dreams documented on the board have already happened - time just has to catch up. Slowly I know everything always happens and comes true. It also reminds me of what I started from when I first made the vision board. 

The third thing that I love about vision boards is that it really connects me to my inner child. I feel like I’m back in primary school, going through old magazines of mine and my mums and tearing out pictures of things that inspire me, things I want to recreate and things I purely just like for the fun of it. Collages and image mosaics were just fun games to me as a child, I never imagined that I would be making them well into adulthood. 

From here, my advice is to try making a vision board and see if it’s right for you! I think it definitely is not a one size fits all practice, it’s either for you, or it’s not. But if you love it, you will love it - so give it a go! 

If you try out making a vision board, send me a photo or comment below! I always love seeing what people create, and hearing about what people aspire to! The more we talk about our dreams and goals out loud in positive ways, the more likely we are to work towards them and the more likely they are to happen!

If you are joining me on this group science experiment, investigating what wellness truly means and how I am achieving it, both physically and mentally, welcome! Comment below any suggestions or trends you are seeing to do with wellness that you’re too afraid to try yourself - I will try them. Also let me know if you tried pilates because of this post or my video! I’d love to hear your feedback :)

If you want to follow along with this experiment with me on a daily basis, please follow my Instagram and TikTok accounts, I am much more active on there and will have little updates throughout the weeks that I am posting the videos.

Leave any comments down below or in my questions box, and we can chat!

As always thank you for being hear and reading my musings, all my love,

G xx

[letrune]

The front is a legitimate business, stock trading and financial advice. Three workers cover for my actual business - taking blood money. Most of my clients come online, but I always was a sentimental woman, and liked face-to-face conversations. Someone looks for a hit, we find them, send an invitation. Seventh floor of the office just outside the city.

We get all sorts of people in the front, but this one is new. A kid with a fist-sized jar full of coins. About eight years old, boy. By the clothing, lower-to-middle class. Intriguing. As I am already up and walking that way, I can just stop and pull my best business woman behaviour. "Hey there. Why is this all?" "I wanna get my bike back." "We are a financial advisor office." I state, kid just stares at the big word. "We are helping people like mummy and daddy to know what to use their money for." "I heard you make bad people bleed." He states, matter-of-fact tone, not a single shred of uncertainty. I hold his hand. "I want to hire to get my bike back." "Well... Certainly a new thing. So, mom and pop knows it?" "Yes. They said you can make the bad people disappear." My eyes must have been very wide because I heard the keyboards not clacking. Shooting a glance at the clerks, they turn back to their jobs and I pull the kid along to my office.

"I got no candy but I can offer a mug of milk." "No, thank you miss." Wow, he is quite polite. Determination in the eyes. I close the blinder on the door. "Let's talk business then. You want to hire me, to get a bike back." He nods. "Who are the.... bad guys?" He gives me three names. Boys. He gives me a street. His. I am intrigued, and then he puts the jar on the table. I curiously examine it and open the top. "Quite a collection. Do you know how much, exactly?" "Seventeen dollars and fourty-nine cents. I counted it before I came here. "Well. I will keep it as collate-" I start, then stop and swap the word. "As a cover. I'll see what I can do, and if this works out, you get your bike back within, say... a week. Likely earlier."

Two days later, after a mysterious case with a big black car, some quick runs and three cracked windows, the bike is back to the rightful owner, and the bullies have the scare of their life. You don't need to know the details.

Three days after this case, I am back at the office and a woman knocks. "Hello, can I-" I stop and see the kid from before. "She is the woman, mum! She helped with the bike." "All right, I'll talk with her, sweetie." she looks at me. "In private." "Of course." I let her in, the kid sitting down outside - where it is safe. "Would you like coffee, tea, or something?" "I rather have an answer, please." "Well, if I can..." I say, feeling a little unease. "What did you guys do?" "Um, sorry, miss... I do not know what you mean. We are a financial advisor agency. We help people with taxes and bills." "My kid said that you guys can make the bad people disappear." "...Oh. I thought you said it to him, or he overheard or..." We both smile and can't hold back a laughter. "Oh, the most we do is making some lawbreakers meet the proper restitution." I lie and pull the drawer, removing a fist-sized jar, full of coins. "He hired us to help, and as we did absolutely nothing, I wish to hand you the jar. Seventeen dollars and eighty-five cents." "You put some in the jar." she states. I look shocked because she continues. "He's eight. I counted for him. I thought he was making some silly joke about coming here!" "And I thought you told him that we make the bad guys bleed..." I blurt out. Both of us feel some unease. "Kids these days..." I shrug and hand the jar over. "Don't tell the kid anything, please."

I walk them out and give a kid a gentle pat. "Always happy to welcome you back!" "Thank you! Goodbye lady." As they walk to the elevator, I hear the kid going "See mum? They can make the bad guys bleed!" I go back to my office, and quickly reconsider my life.

You are a notorious hitman. Seriously one bad mother!@#$er. And this little kid just gave you a big fistful of change to get his bike back from the neighborhood bullies.

[tysonchan]

Week 9 In Class Work WIP

Draft Rough Photobook

Thinking about composition and choosing photos for my theme concept of " Photo's of friends"

What and who will you portray?

Everyday type photo's with friends. Night life or events.

What might you communicate visually through the concept of portrayal?

Relationship with me as the camera person, showing their personalities through a series of images.

What is your position on your subject matter?

Just taking pictures of night i think is memorial to us. Starting at an event is a good place to start.

What is your voice? What is unique about your subject or your approach to it?

It really explores the idea of young people life, and how different my group is . We have different individuals who hangout together doing all sorts of dumb stuff and even cool stuff as well. i want to be able to catch those moments.

What do you have unique access to? A group of people, a place, a situation…?

I have a group of friends that's been with for the last 5 years so the connection we have is strong.

Consider the important role the title takes in communicating your intention and how audiences might ‘read’ the book. What is your working title? 

Currently I've been thinking of calling it "FTC" which is what our group stand for, but i have been also thinking about names that go well with the nostalgic theme.

What would you like readers to think and feel?

I want the readers to feel nostalgia, like a reboot into their young adult hood if they were old. But also for young people to take a look at how other young people spend their lives, could be how similar we are. They start the reminisce.

What is the role of the text within the book? How does the text relate to the story the images tell? How do they work together?

Text in this could be the names of people i show, or it could be the event of that day with a date of that image. So it is something we can remember when it happened.

How many shoots do you require to gain adequate coverage and successfully tell the story? 

I would probably need to take a decent amount, with some control of quality in the photo's. I wouldn't want to spam that same kind of photo over again. I would need different angles and type shots.

Do you need gear and support with your shoots? What is your plan?

I feel like carry a big camera wouldn't fit the theme of nostalgia as it isn't easy to take photo's with a group of people who run around and stuff. So i thought of using my Fujifilm digital camera.

What software and workflow will you use to edit, process, collate and design your photobook PDF?

i would use camera raw first to do post production then put them in LRC to create a photobook.

What is your research plan? 

I would use previous artist who relates to my concept but also do some research that it close to my concept of young adult lives.

What other photo books have you looked at? 

I have looked at Issei Suda- My Japan and some photobooks that i found in the library.

Are there decisions that have yet to be made? How will you resolve these?

The time that i have to make when taking these is quite hard. As i am a person who likes to focus on one thing at the time. So trying to take photo's during my free time while also focusing on my Major can be quite hard. So i would need to set some sort of schedule to take these photo's.