#we're at peace there and nothing and nobody is bothering us

[jenna-louise-jamie]

nature is healing. my tumblr dash is no longer showing me scams and instead beautiful photos of nature in which i can imagine me and my darling mutuals hanging out.

[skyethel]

What does Judith Butler know about loading her son’s corpse in a cab? What does she know about the horror of turning a taxi into a hearse?

im so mad. i've been in mourning and a state of constant rage for palestine for the past few years, and these past weeks have been especially devastating. while im not palestinian myself, i have friends and family that are, and i cant help but be on edge about the things they cant afford to think about right now.

i read their 'thought piece'. its nothing new on that front, and thats why it makes me so mad. im really struggling to connect with the blind, white-american privilege of calling for non-violence in the face of a genocidal apartheid regime. the fucking gall of these so-called western intellectuals to preach how rampant anti-intellectualism has become just to turn around and buy into some colonial playbook of peace shit is hilarious. people i thought were with me on this, not only on palestinian liberation but on liberation full stop, have been a constant disappointment. i cut off so many ppl i called friends over the absolute lack of grace and empathy they handled this with. when are white western 'activists' going to stop treating us like timed bombs of irrationality?

this part in particular kept coming up and made me feel like i was going insane:

"When, however, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee issues a statement claiming that ‘the apartheid regime is the only one to blame’ for the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israeli targets, it makes an error. It is wrong to apportion responsibility in that way, and nothing should exonerate Hamas from responsibility for the hideous killings they have perpetrated...The necessity of separating an understanding of the pervasive and relentless violence of the Israeli state from any justification of violence is crucial if we are to consider what other ways there are to throw off colonial rule"

literally nobody is asking anyone to 'exonerate' hamas. hamas is a military organization fighting the US-backed israeli occupation with smuggled weapons that is active in 365 km² at best. hamas is not even in the orbit when it comes to comparisons to israel.

israel said it with its own mouth that hamas is a product of israeli occupation. this isnt a matter of opinion, right? or am i too far left to think that a brutal occupation will radicalize its victims? and they gave them the means to become a 'terrorist organization'? how are you claiming to care about palestinians if you don't bother unsubscribing from the very schools of thought that constructed the occupation in the first place?

some of you 'leftists' have been lying about what you've been reading because where are the frantz fanon quotes you like to throw around, huh? where's the malcolm x, the angela davis? where are your insta posts with chomsky's books?

holy shit WHAT OTHER WAYS?

keep our communities out of your mouth. we are not some thought experiment you can exercise your conscience on. we're watching an ethnic cleansing unfold, and instead of supporting palestinians so many of you are playing out your own little fantasies of the 'progressive' solidarity you fail to show. sometimes, you need to fucking stop and listen instead of consulting the higher morality police on whether you need to 'contextualize' your incompetence.

[iluvshinytwink]

TV In Black And White - Jude Bellingham

"Nobody does have to know that our love's alive."

Synopsis: In which the media doesn't know you and Jude are dating when a rumor sparks that Jude is dating someone.

Now Playing . . . TV in black and white by Lana Del Rey (unreleased)

a/n: lana's unreleased songs are so 😻😻

The "Secret Dating Life" was fun to you. The adrenaline of running away from paparazzi's when you and Jude go out was ethereal. The feeling when Jude randomly grabs your hand before bolting away as your legs desperately tries to keep up was amusing to you.

But one of your favorite "Secret Dating Life" move was when Jude would sneak into your house.

You were laying on your bed, scrolling through social media when you hear a clink at your window. You chuckled before rolling your eyes knowing who made that clink. You set your phone down before standing up and making your way to your window.

You pushed the curtains aside, opening your window. Your arms rested as you looked down. A figure stood below, the hood of his jacket on as the figure's arm comes up and waves you a hello. "Hi, Romeo1" you greeted with a smile. "Oh, Juliet!" Jude said fakely making you burst into laughter. "Open thy door!" Jude shouted. You walk away from the window with a laugh.

You quickly go down the stairs, running to your front door with a bright smile. You hand was on the doorknob and you twisted it, pulling it towards you.

There revealed your boyfriend. His yellow jacket with his hood hovering over his hand and his hands dug deep into his jacket. A soft smile appeared on your face. "Hi, Juliet." Jude whispered, looking into your eyes. "Hi, Romeo." you whispered back.

The two of you were at your bed, Jude stuck to you, his eyes closed as his head was on your shoulder. You were back to your social media scrolling when a particular post made you stop your mindless scrolling.

The post claimed that up and coming star Jude Bellingham had a girlfriend and posted below was a picture of a random girl and a picture of you and Jude which was a little blurry.

Your eyebrows knitted as you scrolled through the comments which supported the two.

Who even is this? You thought to yourself.

Jude's eyes fluttered open, his eyes reading the post you were also reading.

"Crazy, right?" Jude chuckled which made you flinch. "I thought you were asleep." you sighed. "I read that too." Jude said. "Who even is that?" Jude giggled, lifting his head to look at you.

But your face didn't express happiness, it expressed a worry, a sort of sadness.

"What's wrong?" Jude asked, thumb touching your chin. "Nothing, Jude. Nothing." you shook your head. Something was definitely wrong. "If you want me to tell the press about us, I can, baby." Jude whispered in reassurance. "What? I don't want you to do that." you stammered. "Well, you seem bothered that they don't know about us. I can let them know." Jude softly smiled. "No, Jude." you shook your head once more. "I like being undercover." you confessed with a smile, taking his fingers into yours.

"I like running away from paparazzi's even if I fall behind." you rolled your eyes. "I like us hanging out in the night because that's the only time we get peace." you whispered, looking into Jude's eyes. Jude's eyes softened as a smile appeared his face.

"It's okay if they don't know about us." you smiled, clenching Jude's hand.

"We're like criminals in a way." Jude chuckled. "How's that? 'Cause I stole your heart?" you laughed, Jude laughed with you. "No." Jude rolled his eyes. "I like running away with you." Jude said, averting your gaze to hide his blush. "I like throwing pebbles at your window." Jude shook his head in embarrassment. "I like being your Romeo." Jude ended, finally looking at your eyes.

Your eyes softened before you connect your lips with his. Jude's eyes widened in shock but quickly kissed back.

You pull back with a smile. "You're so cheesy." you said.

[actuallycassidyiambusy]

Duuuude you're brave for posting your art on Twitter. People over there are fucking crybabies and will literally harass you for drawing fake people in a way they don't like.

I'm not one of them. I love your art and the way you draw. Bluffy is my new favorite ship because of you. I'm just saying you're bold as fuck and I seriously envy your courage.

This pisses me off for several reasons. First, I'll be clear. Anon, you did not piss me off in any way, so do not be put off by the aggression of my reply.

Nobody should be fucking scared to post their art anywhere. Art of fictional characters doing WHATEVER is exactly what it is. Art and fiction. I am so goddamn tired of these prissy fucking babies coming at artists who are simply enjoying themselves. "Antis" and the whole "proship dni" community who base their morality on how you portray fiction can suck a fat fucking cock. They so desperately tell us not to interact with them, but the moment we post something we're proud of, all of a sudden they wanna talk. All of a sudden, interaction is okay. As long as it's an attack from THEM. As long as they can degrade, threaten and make us feel like we don't have any right to enjoy something that literally doesn't fucking hurt them.

They can come at me from right and fucking left, I'll still fucking post whatever the hell I want. They know where the block button is. They know how to filter tags. If they'd rather come onto my post that had nothing to do with them in the first place, and bitch at me, I'll gladly post more. Shit, I'll post it AGAIN and tag them if they want to play around. I don't put up with hate and I certainly don't put up with people who wanna cry and come at me for something that's fucking FAKE.

LET PEOPLE FUCKING ENJOY THINGS. FOR FUCK'S SAKE. Anons come into my inbox or people dm me asking me to light someone up for bullying or threatening that they receive. What do you fuckers gain by screenshotting and blasting artists who don't even fucking know you? What do you gain by bitching and crying at artists who just want to enjoy their ships or literally anything else? Screenshot me, bitch. Go ahead. Post your petty little comments about how wrong I am and how you're morally superior because you would NEVER. Go off about a fictional piece that "hurts" you while you continue to hurt the artist who created it even more. OR, and this is just a mere suggestion, you can move on from your high school stage, grow the fuck up, and learn how to scroll past shit you don't like. It's the fucking internet, sweetheart.

Post whatever the fuck you want. INDULGE in that shit. Enjoy your kinks and your fantasies. Enjoy your fictional characters kissing and falling in love in seventeen different ways. Draw it, write it, read it, post it. And if someone wants to bother you, hell, you know where the block button is too. No shame in blocking people and keeping your peace. Surround yourself with people who fucking encourage you and all your weird shit. It makes you happy. That's what matters.

Once again anon, I am not mad at you lmao. I'm mad at people who can't separate fiction from reality, and feel the need to drag those who CAN through the mud.

[rosewoodroad]

Scattered thoughts on SoTO

Tl;dr: Lukewarm climax, lukewarm ending. Isgarren is still rude.

Finished the final chapter in an hour and a half. A lot of drama was condensed into those 3 instances, but it felt like there was zero point to the first two where we were just at the camp. It got a bit juicier in the third instance in Eparch's palace. Like, three drops of juice juicier.

The most interesting bits of the story I can recall are:

Eparch ate his entire army! At the time, I was like "oh shit" but in hindsight, I was really hoping for Eparch to be planning a massive attack or something. There was so much build up as to why he wasn't retaliating against Peitha. But no, his great plan was just to eat his own soldiers. I guess it makes sense with his character, but I think if the execution and consequences of the reveal was better, it would have been a real slap to the face.

Eparch's first contact with Tyria was the Maguuma Jungle and Mordremoth, the latter of which he was scared of. This is a real neat detail imho, and helps paint a better picture of the power hierarchy between our antagonists. Eparch truly isn't that big of a threat in the end.

Eparch's final battle was a letdown for all his intrigue. Heitor was harder than him. I literally stood there and tanked all his hits, there was zero mechanic to the encounter. It sure made the speedkilling achievement easy, though.

Meh battle aside, Snargle is always a pleasant surprise.

Isgarren is such an asshat. It makes him an interesting character, but I'm upset they didn't do more with him. Like, what was all that talk about the Commander being similar to Isgarren before? Everyone is like, "you remind me of him" but they never show how?? I thought they were gonna do some real in depth introspection into his personality by the time the story ends but I guess that's it. We're supposed to see the two of them as twins for some reason, but maybe the Fractal will shed some light?

Sounds like Zojja is leaving us for good this time. The exchange between Zojja and the Commander is the only element of the chapter that made me feel things :( Also, I love how the Commander's lines here mirrored their monologue in the prologue: "See? Everyone's doing just fine, Aurene" to "Everyone will be fine, Zojja."

I think my biggest disappointment with the ending is the lack of implications in the epilogue. We could talk with a bunch of people but they're all about the future with the Kryptis and whether peace is possible and whatever. Nothing about, or from, mainland Tyria. No hints for the next expac. No mention of our guild members. No Ivan, who sent us on the mission to begin with and heard nothing from us since. No Taimi, who really ought to be spamming calls on the comms device now that she knows Zojja is back. What is the point of the communicator device in our bags when it's literally used for the prologue and nowhere else???

Peitha's king now. I love how they kept the 'king' title instead of making her queen. But... that's it for her, I guess. I knew she wouldn't betray us, but I admit it's also sort of boring how the story just ended there. I think it could have benefited from more post-story achievements where we help out with turbulent politics or diplomacy instead of going on another treasure (or kryptis) hunt binge. Right now, it feels like the equivalent of brushing dirt off our pants and going, "welp that's done."

Nobody's gonna mention what Eparch said about Kryptis' predatorial nature, huh? They drop his (very, very tiny violin) sympathetic backstory and motivations, and then proceed not to bring its implications up at the peace treaty scene. Absolutely nobody is bothered by Kryptis possibly needing to feed off mortals.

All in all, honestly a forgettable ending. Looking back, the expac started off really strong thanks to the intrigue behind the Wizards and Isgarren. But once that intrigue is solved and we go delving into Nayos, it just feels like a rehash of all our previous adventures where we fight to overcome some Great Force of Evil- just that the Commander isn't in the spotlight anymore. I would've preferred it if the past three chapters were spent with the wizards instead, solving dumb magical problems (or even fighting to keep the Astral Ward a secret!) instead of partaking in a generic military storyline for the 9th time. Like, instead of Eparch, we could have been hunting down a whistleblower, or a traitor maybe, something that keeps the intrigue there.

At least it's acknowledged that the Commander is tired of this stuff too. They need a nap.

[blackjackkent]

Unlike Hector, I don't imagine Rakha makes a deliberate effort to actively engage further with Naaber. However - I also don't imagine that stops him. :P

Screenshots taken in Carm's Garms notwithstanding, I picture the ensuing series of conversations to take place while Rakha and co. walk down the street in Wyrm's Crossing, with Naaber trotting double-time to keep up with Rakha's longer strides, keeping up a running commentary all the way to Danthelon's. (In-game it's right across the street, but go with me on this.)

Rakha... surprisingly, isn't entirely annoyed. Baffled, yes, but we already established that she is very struck by people being actively excited about her presence, and Naaber is nothing if not excited. She doesn't really look at him and answers in her usual clipped manner - but she doesn't push him away or attack, and given this is Rakha, that speaks volumes.

The whole rest of the party trails along behind and gets increasingly irritated, with the exception (and I cannot emphasize this enough) of Jaheira, who thinks this is the funniest thing that has happened to her at least since Minsc disappeared.

Here we go:

"Roar! Roar! ROOOOOOOAR! Are you scared? Did you wet your pants? Did you? Did you?"

"Not even slightly."

"Appreciate the honesty. *Sigh* Oh well! Back to the Naabing board!"

-----

"Happy birthday to youuuuu! Happy birthday to youuuuuu! Happy biiiiiirthday dear.......?"

"I was sculpted from a slice of Bhaal's own dead flesh. I have no birthday."

"It's not your birthday? Shoot. What did you think anyway? Could I be a good bard?!"

"All the bards I've met play an instrument."

"Oh. I don't have one of those. Balls. Back to the Naabing board then!"

(A/N: Some odd and uncertain generous instinct buried deep in Rakha's rotted psyche considers giving him Alfira's lute. And for some reason, she has a strange and almost panicky response to the thought and keeps it to herself.)

-----

"Bless us with your gentle - no, holy - spirit - no, soul - no, spirit... your powers... your divine powers... bother."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm praying! Is that not how it goes?"

"What god are you praying to?"

"There's more than one? Shit."

-----

"*Sniff. Sniff.*"

Sniff him back.

"Ah ha! You fell for it! I'm pretending to be a dog. Everyone likes dogs!"

"Carry on then."

"*Bark! Bark!*"

-----

"Behold, mundane meddler! You step in the domain of a master speller. For I am to be a most mighty WIZARD!"

"Show me what you can do."

"Wizard. W-I-Z-A-R-D. Wizard!"

"That's spelling. Wizards cast spells."

"Ooooooooooh! Whooooopsie!"

(A/N: The line in-game is "That's spelling. Wizards cast spells. Idiot." But once again, I don't actually think Rakha is upset here, just thoroughly bewildered.)

-----

"Know any fiendish philanthropists? Fickle fae financiers? Eldritch employers? I want to make a pact!"

Given Wyll's situation, Rakha doesn't find this one particularly funny. "Here's a pact for you. Give up."

"That's not a pact. That's just an order... Oh-ho! Very good! You nearly had me there!"

-----

"Ommmmmmmm. Ammmmmmmmm. Ummmmmmmm."

Back quietly away.

"Oh hi! I didn't see you there! I was in deep meditation, see. Isn't peace and quiet just the best? I've decided to be a monk! I'm going to be the best monk there ever was!"

"I doubt you'll find peace. But the rest of us might. If we're lucky."

"Haha! You're funny! And mean."

-----

"BOO! Bet you didn't even see me coming. I'm a shadow. A master of sneakery. A rogue!"

"No, you're not. I see you. You're right there."

"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried I was getting too good at it and nobody would ever see me again! Hello! Hi!"

-----

"If not a rogue, then a ranger. I'm great at chasing things down."

"You're great at nothing. In fact, you're the worst person I've ever met."

"Oh pish. I'm great at being your friend! And that's all that matters. Friendship! Yay!"

(A/N: I know I'm reading way too much into this, but Rakha doesn't even feel super natural at calling her closest companions 'friends'. This is an extremely jarring comment for her to hear and gives her a strange muddled feeling.)

-----

"Perhaps the answer was deep within me all along... an ancient spark of arcana... Yes, I was born to be a sorcerer! I can feel it!"

[WILD MAGIC] "Does your magic come from the thrumming scream of chaos itself?"

"Let me focus. I can feel the power deep within me... it's coming up! It's coming up! *Burp.* Oops. Just indigestion. Haha."

-----

At this point, presumably, Naaber darts a few steps forward so he can drop to his knees in front of her.

"My liege. I swear to you an undying oath of absolute devotion. I am but your humble paladin."

"I don't accept."

"Really? But I'm ready to do ANYTHING!"

"Please just go away."

"But you're the one who keeps talking to me! I - I don't want to - all right. An oath's an oath I suppose."

-----

"These roles sure are restrictive, aren't they? Maybe the adventuring life's just not for me."

"I really like talking to you. There's not a lot of people that want to talk to me so I bought you a present. Here!"

"Now, what are we going to talk about if not about the adventuring life?"

"Wait. Wait. What if I mix the classes-- Oh, Naaber, you GENIUS!"

-----

Look, okay, I know I'm reading too much into this. I KNOW I'm reading too much into this. But...

No one has ever gotten Rakha a present before.

She stands there a long time and just stares at the amulet as the boy darts off into the crowd.

"Praise be," Minthara says sardonically. "The ordeal is over."

"Chk. He will not last a week on the road," Lae'zel scoffs.

"Admirable patience, cub," Jaheira puts in with a soft snort.

Wyll looks at Rakha. "Seems like you made a new friend," he says with a slight smile, the first she's seen from him since the South Span checkpoint.

Rakha doesn't say anything, just turns the amulet over in her hands as if memorizing every side of it. Then she puts it into her pocket and wordlessly trudges into Danthelon's Dancing Axe.

[religious-extremist]

As for people, they are never satisfied. Nothing is enough.

This began right after the fall of our forebears, when Cain slew Abel out of envy, because Abel's sacrifice was pleasing to God and Cain's wasn't. That is when it all started. Today there is no peace. Everyone behaves as though they will live forever. It really seems as though the end is very near. The factories pollute the environment so much that very soon life will not be possible.

Animals have the joy of living, but we have taken it away from them. They have joy, and we have so much besides joy, yet we are never satisfied. The animals never worry about the future, they do not stack food in granaries and barns, yet the Lord always feeds them. They nibble a twig here, peck at a seed there, they find protection in a hole or a burrow, and they are grateful to God. Not so us men. The birds are always singing praises to the Lord. They begin their song early, at three oclock in the morning, and don't stop until nine. At nine they calm down a little bit-it's only then that they go looking for food to feed their young. Then they start singing again. Nobody tells them to sing—they just do. And what about us? We're always frowning, always pouting; we don't feel like singing or doing anything else. We should follow the example of the birds. They're always joyful whereas we're always bothered by something. What is it that bothers us? Nothing, really.... Isn't that right?

Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives by Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

[etherfabric]

Tarot Story for @fishnapple

@fishnapple Thank you so much for joining me in this new experiment 🙏 I'm excited and curious what will come out, and how you will receive it :)

I plan to pull 3 cards from my 3 main decks, Thoth, Hermetic and RWS, and then just do some semi-automatic writing, with the intention of a short story to emerge. Let's go!

*shuffling*

(I put which cards I pulled at the end)

Having two mothers can be a blessing, and a curse. The princess was dragging her rusty sword behind her after a long day of fighting practice, and tried not to think too hard about the upcoming conversation at the dinner table. Despite her efforts to expel any energy that could manifest into a filial tantrum (the wooden figures on the training ground, hacked into rough splinters, bore witness to that) she still felt like a dry fuse next to a bonfire.

She was convinced that a father present would understand instinctively why she can't give in any longer. Why she was thankful for her rage, for it was giving her the necessary force to break what suffocated her. She was more than willing to accept any collateral damage on either side. Her vision was clear, her path free, her capabilities on par, so why hold back? Her grip around the sword tightened, her breath fanning the ember closer to the fuse.

She knew that her lack of effort to close the door silently behind her would haunt her not too far into the future, but she had passed the moment of lucidity to choose her actions according to peace. Now all there was left was the reality of her anger. The reality of the Queens, with their relentless prayers about forgiveness. And the infuriating pull she felt on her heartstrings anytime she had provoked them to recite it. It was slowing her down, robbing her of her vigor, and she hated them for it. A hate that was disturbing home life for quite some time now.

"Didn't the rain bother you?" The elegant timbre of the Moon Queen carried effortlessly across the hallway. Somehow, it was always hard to tell from which room her voice came from. This time was no different. The princess threw her sword in a corner, hearing only taunting in the question. Anything seemed to be an attack on her abilities and judgement these days. Even silence. She felt trapped, constantly. Today, she would break free for good. Today, she won't be swayed again. Enough is enough.

The lack of reply didn't register tangibly with the Moon Queen, but she rarely showed reactivity to open affronts like these. With slow steps, straining with the attempt to gain some calmness, the princess inched closer to the dining room. She whispered to herself: "It is yours. They can't take it. This is yours…" As soon as she stood in the doorframe, two heads, one framed with silver hair, the other full of golden curls, turned towards her, meeting her with the same loving gaze that used to be everything she had to know when she had been cooing in the cradle, looking up to the benevolent Gods of her world. What used to be a source of safety, now felt like a prison, where the only escape was to become the villain she strived to defeat as long as she was able to set a conscious intention.

"We're having duck today", the Solar Queen sang as her only daughter pulled back a chair. "Your favorite!" The princess stared at one of her empty glasses.

"You should've taken a coat with you", the Moon Queen said as she studied the hue of her child's face. "You need warmth for good circulation."

Nobody had seen an arm move, but the shattering at the wall was proof enough that the empty glass had been thrown. The fuse was lit ablaze. Nothing other than a scream was possible.

"IF YOU BELIEVE IN PEACE SO MUCH, THEN WHY DO I HAVE TO FIGHT YOU EVERY DAY?"

Her panting was the only sound for a while after that. The silence in the kitchen next door was telling. Everything had frozen, except the Queens' faces. They looked at each other with a mixture of sorrowful recognition and subtle determination, like they had to tell a lamb about wolfs. The Solar Queen was fidgeting with a corner of her napkin, lost in thought it seemed, but after feeling the Moon Queen's hand on top of hers, she exuded nothing but clear focus and called for one of the servants, her voice like golden bells. The princess furrowed her brows in confusion; the usual rhythm of their evenings so far had been tantrum, pacification, counter-tantrum, philosophical discussion about right and wrong, final tantrum to leave the table. What had changed?

With a swift stride, a heavy wooden chest was placed next to her dish. It was longer than her arm, and her bepuzzlement left enough room for her to feel sorry watching the man trying his best to seem unbothered by the acidic athmosphere. He retracted backwards, which would have seemed silly in any other circumstances, but he managed to make it look appropriate. She looked back at her mothers. Another nonverbal encouragement was exchanged between them, and this time, the Moon Queen spoke.

"The swordsmith finished it this morning, about an hour after you had left. It should serve you well."

Watching the clouds of suspicion break into a dawn of delight on her daughter's face was like a soothing balm on a nasty burn right on her heart. The tears started to well up in all of their faces, for different reasons, but also the very same ones. It was finally over.

"What made you change your mind?", the princess sniffled as she finally dared to lay hands on her treasure chest, tracing the hinges with her thumbs.

The Queens smiled at each other, not without a hint of humor. They may or may not had practiced saying it in unison.

"Peace and forgiveness."

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

The cards were truly magical, I pulled one of each deck, face down, and revealed them slowly. The Empress, The Princess of Swords, and... The Empress again! The sheer mathematical probability is astounding to me. First I thought there would be abstract themes showing up I had to somehow craft into the rhythm or maybe even moral of the story, but this spread read like "These are your protagonists, go!" Intimidating at first, but it was a great exercise to see what a positive mindset can accomplish.

I am very curious about your feedback, please don't hold back and let me know. I'm super nervous but also feel revitalized in an ancient part of me. Thank you again for making this experience possible for me, it means more than I can say! 🙏🦋

[wrestlersownmyheart]

"Her Outlaw Hero" (Sons Of Anarchy-Chibs Chapter fic) Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Original Characters in this story. I am only using Kurt Sutter's characters from Sons of Anarchy. He created the characters and the show—I am in no way taking any credit for his creations. This story is for entertainment only. Content/Warnings: Violence against both men and women including rape. Summary:

Adelaide Watson is fleeing Tennessee—on the run from her violent past.

When she has a car accident on a lonely road in Charming, California, she has no choice but to walk to town for help. But help comes to her instead. In a very unexpected way.

NOTE: I couldn't bear the ending to Sons Of Anarchy, so this is what I came up with. Jax didn't die. He instead does prison time. And there's a few other tweaks I came up with. Hope this doesn't bother anyone, and hope that this story is enjoyed!

Chapter 2

"This is killin' me inside, brother," Chibs Telford said, his Scottish accent thickening even more with the emotion in his tone. He and Jackson Teller stood outside the chapel of their newly renovated club house. He looked Jax in the eye, and whispered, "Are ya sure this is what ya want, Jackie boy? You can do your prison time and come back, ya know that, right? The club won't be the same without a Teller—without you."

"This is exactly what I want, Chibs," Jax said softly, a bittersweet smile crossing his face. "I want to pay my debt to society. Then I want to come home to my wife and take our boys, and go somewhere nobody knows us. We need a fresh start." He grinned at his comrade, true peace on his face for the first time in ages. "You'll do great as Prez, I know you will. I'm depending on you to keep the club clean, brother," he said, grasping the older man's shoulder. "It's time we changed our ways and did some good for society. At the very least—not do any more bad than we've already done."

"I get it, Jax. I get it," Chibs replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I guess inside, I'm just an 'ol softie. I hate to see ya go. But, I do promise to keep the club legit. We're done with the outlaw life—even though that's all we'll ever be seen as."

Jax nodded, "Yeah, I know. But you'll know the truth—you all will." He patted Chibs on the back hard, and nudged him to through the chapel door. "Now, go get the votes done, Prez," he said, trying to sound light-hearted. "Patterson and her lap dogs will be here soon to cart me off."

Chibs puffed out a sigh as he closed the chapel's doors behind him. He sat in the VP's chair at the reaper table and scooted the chair nearer the table. Giving a nod to the other club members, he finally managed to speak over the lump in his throat.

"Okay, fellas. We're having this meeting because Jax wishes to step down as president—due to his serving prison time. And he also wants to be excommunicated from the club upon his release."

One could have heard a pin drop on the floor.

It was no surprise because Jax had spoken to each member and voiced his wishes, but it was still difficult for the men to imagine not only the Sons of Anarchy being minus Jax Teller, but to imagine the club excommunicating him. Excommunication from the club was the equivalent to the military issuing a soldier a dishonorable discharge.

But that's what they were asked to do, and that's what they planned to do. Difficult as it may be for them. The club life was seldom an easy one.

"We'll vote them both at the same time because we're short on time. All those…All those in favor," Chibs stammered out. He swallowed hard to gain his composure and began again. "All those in favor of Jackson Teller stepping down as President from the Sons of Anarchy, and all those in favor of excommunicating him." He turned his gaze to his left and wordlessly indicated that it was time for Quinn to begin the vote.

"Yea, and yea," Quinn said a dead look in his eyes. Ignoring his emotions was the only way for him to say the words without choking up.

"Yes, and yes," Bobby stated with little hesitation. The older man knew what it meant to Jax to leave the club and start a new life. As much as Jax loved the club, it'd almost cost him his family.

"Y-yea, and yea," Juice stuttered out, and then breathed out a loud sigh.

"Yes, and yes," voted Montez, looking down at the table as he spoke.

Rat glanced around the table and then down at his hands, obviously conflicted. He felt Tig place his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. Glancing up into the older man's vivid blue eyes, he knew what he had to do.

"Yea, and yea," he finally spoke.

Tig nodded in appreciation of the younger man's devotion to their club then turned his gaze on Chibs. "Yea, and yea," he said, after taking a deep breath.

Chibs nodded in solidarity to his fellow club brother and then shifted his dark eyes to Happy.

Happy uttered a soft curse before speaking louder, "Yea, and yea."

Wishing the voting would've taken a little longer, Chibs battled for the strength to do what he knew he had to. Wiping at a tear, and clearing his throat he managed to say softly, "Yes, and yes." He picked up the gavel and then cleared his throat once more, "Jackson Teller steps down as President and will hereby be excommunicated from the Sons Of Anarchy." He tapped the gavel on the table and then slid it over to Jax's empty place—the seat that would very soon be his.

But he couldn't be happy about it.

0000000

Jax stood at the MC's bar before his family and friends with a beer in his hand. Tara stood at his side with Thomas in her arms and Abel standing beside her.

"I wish it hadn't come to this," Tara whispered, jostling Thomas on her hip. "I hate you have to do more time just to ensure we get to leave Charming."

"I hate it too, babe, but nothing's for free," Jax replied, ruffling Abel's blond hair as he spoke. "Besides, I'd be kidding myself if I thought I was gonna get out of this with no prison time. If I'm lucky, I'll get out in seven years on good behavior. After that, we can get out of here and go anywhere you want to go."

Tara looked sad for a moment and seemed to have trouble with her words.

"What is it? You can tell me," Jax prodded her with a soft kiss to her mouth.

She smiled softly up at him, "I've just been thinking… Gemma and I had a long talk yesterday. We started out kind of heated—like we usually do," she chuckled slightly, "But I think we really got through to each other. She agrees that she's been way too possessive of the boys, and I realize that I was wrong to keep her from seeing them as much."

"So…" Jax said slowly, "What exactly does this mean?"

Tara smiled happily, "We are working on our differences. And I think… While you're in prison, I think I want to stay in Charming."

Jax grinned happily, "Really? That's what you want?"

She laughed, "Yes. Charming is our home. I used to have trouble accepting that, but it is. You have the club on the right track, and Chibs will keep it that way. The club is our family too. And I've been selfish to try and keep you from it. The guys have always been good to all of us. I can't make you turn your back on them and leave them behind."

Jax chuckled and slung his arm around her shoulders, "Well, they already held a vote—I'm stepping down as President, and I'll be excommunicated upon my prison release."

"Oh, no," Tara exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! I should've-"

"Don't sweat it, babe," Jax told her. "I was ready to leave the club, and the excommunication was my idea. These guys will always be my family. I can still hang with them."

"Are you sure that's okay with you?"

"It's totally okay," Jax promised her. "This is our happy ending, Tara. Let's be thankful because this all could've ended so much worse."

"I know," Tara agreed, touching her forehead to Jax's. "I hate that you are going to prison, but I'm just so glad the worst part is over."

"Me too," Jax agreed. "Now, I'd better make my parting speech. Patterson will be here soon."

Giving him an encouraging smile, Tara moved herself and the boys aside so Jax could speak to their large group of family and friends.

"Well, everyone," he started, "I just want to start by saying, I love you all. You've all been there for me, in one way or another, and I can't thank you enough." He paused then, and swallowed hard. "You guys are as much my family as my mother, wife and sons. I wanted to make the Sons Of Anarchy legitimate, and fulfill my father's legacy, and with these men's help," he gestured to the rest of the club members, "Well, I think we've achieved that. And I couldn't be happier. I just wish I could be here for the next seven years instead of prison so I could enjoy it. Which reminds me, my wife just made me even happier when she informed me that she'll be staying here with my sons and we'll continue to live here instead of moving off somewhere."

The large crowd roared and hooted their approval. Jax laughed and let them carry on for a moment before he raised his hand and indicated he had more to say.

"Also, I'm stepping down as President of the Sons of Anarchy, and I will be excommunicated upon my return—by my own wishes," he clarified when he heard several gasps. "This is what's easiest for the club, and what's best for the club."

"Actually, Jackie boy, we took another vote a little while ago."

Jax turned toward Chibs' voice, and found the Scotsman to be wearing the grin of a Cheshire cat.

"As the new president, I proposed we vote to veto the last vote—the one that excommunicates you, brother. We can't have that. The vote passed. When you get out of prison, you are welcome to have a vote, and a seat at the reaper table if you want it, or you're free to leave the club without being excommunicated. Either way, you're family. We can't punish you—not when you've done so much good for this club."

Jax was clearly moved as he walked over to Chibs and grabbed him in a rough bear hug.

"Thank you, brother," he whispered in his ear. He pecked him on the cheek and then proceeded to hug the rest of his brothers. "I can't thank you guys enough. I couldn't ask for better brothers."

"Likewise," Tig said, returning his hug.

The sound of a car pulling up outside shifted the light-hearted atmosphere into a sadder one.

"That's my ride," Jax quipped with a chuckle. Immediately, Tara and Gemma shot forward to have a last hug and kiss from the man they both loved.

"I love you," Tara said, kissing him softly on the mouth. "And I'll be here when you get back."

"I know, darlin'," he smiled. "I know you will. And I love you too."

"You be careful," Gemma said, reaching out to hug him, "I love you, baby."

"Love you too, Mom," Jax returned, kissing her cheek. "You two get along and take care of my boys."

"We will," Gemma said, "You just worry about you. Everything will be fine here."

Tara nodded her agreement and kissed him one last time before he knelt down to Abel to say goodbye.

"You take care of your brother and Mommy while Daddy's gone, okay, big guy?"

Abel nodded and smiled up at his dad, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, son," he replied. Then he held Thomas for a moment as D.A. Tyne Patterson walked in with an officer to make Jax's arrest official.

Within minutes, Jax was cuffed, read his rights and unceremoniously escorted out the doors of the club's front door.

His family and friends watched in heartbroken silence as he was driven away, and Tara began her long wait for a new beginning with her husband.

If you want on my tag list just let me know! 🙂

Tagging: @mrsfilipchibstelford

[mytalemyworld]

Okaaaay, I wrote the good things now it's ranting time.

I hate him here seriously.

Thank goodness, he hasn't adopted Deniz yet -when Alya falls in love with him and trusts him completely, it will happen but not now definitely- otherwise it would be a huge crisis.

By the way the only good thing about this scene is the fact that he is still looking for clues about the death of Boran. I am glad that they randomly give some pieces, especially about what Cihan thinks. Because the mystery around who killed this guy is one of the things that can be used as an exciting factor to keep the curiosity alive. And he said something insteresting here: Maybe some other people -not Baybars family- was after Boran and they killed him.

Sooo, he is not stupid, he thinks of all possibilities.

From the very beginning I've always thought that Boran was murdered to make these two family turn against each other. That way, while they're fighting, they'll slowly lose powers and someone will take advantage of it. And this person should be someone close to Albora family not Baybars family. For example Ecmel -the guy is a complete nutcase btw, he wants to get rid of his own nephews, Sadakat must have hurt his man pride so bad and he probably didn't even like his own brother when he was alive- or someone from those mafia men... Remember, that bald guy even implied that Azem (Cihan's father) might be killed because of this business. So someone tries to gain power.

This is my theory of course.

Also Alya is right, he might be worried about Deniz's safety but the kid can't live forever like that. He can't even go outside if a bodyguard army doesn't protect him. Remember when he just wanted to eat an icecream, they even stood in front of the car so inside of it wasn't seen and looked around if there was any threat. This is something Alya can't accept. He's making it hard for her and probably this will be one of the reasons she might run away again.

The second thing I really don't like that...

How could he go to Mine after this? He even watched her face for like 1 minute. (Gosh, the guy is falling for her hard.)

Until now two unnatural acts have happened. First one is Sadakat shooting Alya and Cihan becoming a neutral element. Second one is him going to Mine for no reason. Both of them were written so the plot could move but honestly these didn't make sense and especially the timing of the second act was so wrong.

The song played here was saying "how could you know what I've been running from?" They especially wanted that this moment and those lyrics could match but it left a bad taste in my mouth, because if he was afraid of feeling something, they should have given us some bits or thoughts, but no, on the contrary he found the peace only by watching them. There was no negative feelings, no worries, nothing about her seemed to be bothering him.

Maybe they wanted us to think that he just wanted to be away from his problems and worries for a night, but honestly, it still did not sit right with me.

His brother was arrested, nobody would think of staying outside.

So the editing department gave their all especially in these scenes but no, thank you, I don't want to conclude anything.

So why did this happen?

Because Mine was needed to create a tension, because Alya shouldn't find him in the mansion, because Alya should be suspicious of them…Ooofff, seriously so elementary level and like I said it didn't sit right with me.

And since this seems to have happened twice, and mostly is damaging his character, I am a little concerned. Right now we're okay with so many things, because there's still room for the character development, we don't expect anything from them. But like I said, for the plot, it may happen again and that's what I am worried about.

[mrs-monaghan]

Why do you think there is always a fight between jkkrs and tkkrs about who jk loves, but never between vminers and tkkrs about who tae loves, neither vminers and jkkrs about who jm loves.

Why do we have 3 shippers but only 2 combinations are fighting.

Also, why vminers don't think jkk or tkk a threat, and jkkrs and tkkrs don't think vmin is a threat?

And why do jkkrs and tkkrs consider each other a threat? Why are they not sure who jk loves. jm or tae? But certain that the other part of their ship loves jk.

Thank u for this anon. Honestly I'm laughing so hard rn. I appreciate this so much. Your ask is so funny to me i keep reading it just to laugh. Idk if its the way you type or what, but you're funny.

Vminers are a really calm bunch. They mind their own business, they don't fight no one unless you go to their spaces. They just live in their bubble shipping in peace and don't bother nobody. That being said they're not a threat. Just like tkkrs they are only recently getting moments. It used to be quite dry over there. But, Vmin isn't real and there is nothing sus about them so neither jkkrs nor tkkrs will have an issue with them. And Vminers are threatened by Jikook. All shippers of Jimin and JK are threatened by Jikook.

Which brings me to your other question. Jkkrs wouldn't have an issue with the vermin if they weren't so fucking toxic. Like u said, u don't see us fighting with Vminers, or Minimonis or Hopekookers, etc. Thats because we don't have a reason to. All ships are valid. People chose to believe what they wanna believe in and that's fine. But it's when they start to hate on Jimin that it crosses a line! Jinkookers do hate on Jimin but not as much as the vermin. So we will always fight with them because they not only disrespect Jimin, but also JK. The other half of their ship. They're all clearly V solos because they turn on JK in a heartbeat. So we will always have issues with them.

But make no mistake, its not because we are threated by tkk. There is nothing there. That's literally one of JK's weakest ships. There is nothing to be threatened by. If vermin shipped tkk in peace without bringing Jimin into it, trust me, there wouldn't be any issues.

As for why they fight us and why they attack Jimin, its because Jikook is their biggest threat. I would even go as far as to say they see what we see, and they know Jikook is real. But they are V biased and they wanna ship him. They must ship him and it has to be with JK for some reason. Even though Jin would make more sense??? I mean Jennie would be the right way to go but if we're talking a BTS member Jin would be their best bet. But alas! They chose to ship V with the person who reciprocates their fav the least. The person who is in love with someone else and will there4 never treat V like they want him to. JK is too busy treating Jimin the way they wish he treated V. And they see it. And they hate it. So they retaliate and take it out on Jimin.

And so here we are.

[the-consortium]

Excuse me. Mr Duco? What's your relationship between Herik? Is it like a love hate kinda deal?

A disbelieving, raucous laugh. It echoes from the atrium's soaring galleries and fades into the archways as if it doesn't know where to go. From higher up comes the startled rustle of small claws. Whatever lives in the unused, long-neglected palace rooms is not used to such outbursts of emotion and reacts with surprise.

Duco shakes his head once more, his laughter bubbling out, becoming a grating chuckle, and finally petering out altogether.

In the back of the lab, a door opens briefly. Light falls in and a dark silhouette can be made out. Duco just waves it off, not even bothering to answer. The door closes again, taking the light with it. The lab atrium itself is shrouded in semi-darkness. The Night Lord prefers to work with less light, which otherwise only hurts his eyes. Everything around him is shadows and towering black shapes, interspersed with the points of light from the medical equipment. A miniature version of one of the hive cities on Nostramo. It's not that he's homesick. No, it's perfectly fine for the Night Haunter to have blown up the wretched crap hole. Duco remembers the hard edges of light from the tumbling debris spinning in the last remnants of athmosphere. The tumor was completely removed.

Not that it helped his legion much. The cancer had long since metastasized.

Duco blinks in annoyance. Pushes aside the melancholy. Things have happened, you can't change them. Curze is dead, the Legion is shattered, and now what to say?

He leans against one of the tiled tables and begins to write in his methodical, choppy way.

"I don't think I have any relationship with Herik at all. Or at least nothing beyond the usual professional attachment. On the one hand, the Consortium is a very typical warband - us against the rest of the galaxy. But on the other hand, we are scientists and rivalry in any form is in our blood. Herik doesn't enjoy these fights and mostly avoids them by retreating to the planet where he conducts his experiments. There is nothing of interest there for anyone but him, so he has his peace there. I have a hunch that the Chief Apothecary is also storing something there that Herik is protecting for him - but that's not something I need to worry about.

But currently the Chief Apothecary has a project using Herik's expertise with avian creatures, and so Herik needs to stay on Urum. And for some reason, he's decided that I'm the least likely of all his colleagues to be a pain in the ass. So we spend work time together.

I don't mind. He's quite pleasant to deal with. Like all of Fulgrim's sons, he's a fucking diva, but that's occasionally amusing. He's damn good at what he does. But that's to be expected, of course. Nobody here is just mediocre in his field. Mediocrity does not survive on Urum.

It's safe to say that so far we haven't tried to kill each other. And by the standards of the Eye of Terror, that means we're practically married."

He chuckles again and sends the reply. Looks into the darkness of the high galleries and tilts his head. Listens for the creatures that move there and are way too easy prey.

[c-40]

A-T-3 213 Puff Daddy Samples

Here are some of the tracks from 1983 Sean Combs (and Chucky Thompson) has sampled on his productions. Most of of P Diddy's productions are from the 1990's so at the time the tracks from 1983 were roughly between 10 and 15-years-old, I remember they were definitely considered 'oldies' at the time, but a contemporary equivalent would be using Hold On, We're Going Home by Drake, Get Lucky by Daft Punk, Low by Flo Rida, or Milkshake by Kelis (didn't Beyoncé do this?)

Juicy Fruit - Mtume it's been sampled a lot a lot, Puffy used it on Juicy for The Notorious B.I.G. (1994). It's well documented Setsasonic's Talkin' All That Jazz is a response to James Mtume's rant on Bob Slade’s The Week In Review on NYC’s KISS-FM calling out ‘lazy’ Hip-Hop producers that never learned to play instruments, opting instead to take up ‘sampling’. Describing them as the “Glorification of mediocrity“

All Night Long - Mary Jane Girls It's been sampled more than Juicy Fruit, Puffy puts it to use on Mary J Blige's Mary Jane (All Night Long) (1994) taking music and vocal hooks. Mary Jane Girls were, of course, Rick James' girl group and All Night Long is by far their biggest hit. Kevie (Waterbed) Kev of the Furious 5 does a fun cover All Night Long (Waterbed), also from 1983

Stay With Me - DeBarge this must be one of Puffy's favourites as he uses it more than once, the biggie is One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix) by Biggie featuring Faith Evans (1994)

Between The Sheets - The Isley Bothers I've shared this already here. It's one of those tracks you know but don't necessarily know who it's by or what it's called, it's been sampled even more than All Night Long, it's probably best known for being the music to Big Poppa by The Notorious B.I.G (1994)

New Edition release their debut album Candy Girl in 1983 and Diddy samples two ballads off of it Jealous Girl which becomes Jealous Guy by Mase (1997) and Is This The End which is used for P Diddy's own track of the same name. The prepubescent New Edition were produced by Arthur Baker and released on his Streetwise label, songs were written and co-produced by Maurice Starr and his brother Michael Jonzun (of The Jonzun Crew)

Sean Combs has never been afraid to use the biggest samples wholesale, sometimes they're more like remixes than samples. Here are some of the pop hits from 1983 Puffy has used: Every Breath You Take - Police becomes the tribute/cash in I'll Be Missing You (1997), Let's Dance - David Bowie becomes P Diddy's Been Around The World (1997), Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - The Eurythmics is Nobody Do It Better Than Us by Lil' Kim... and in honourable fashion of doing a Les Dawson on a hip hop track lines from All Night Long - Lionel Richie and Break My Stride - Matthew Wilder get sung on Feelin’ So Good by Jennifer Lopez and Can't Nobody Hold Me Down by P. Diddy

Gotta Make It Up to You - Angela Bofill this one is a little more obscure 1983 quiet stormer from Angela Bofill. It's used to great effect on Faith Evan's Life Will Pass You By (1998)

A Garden Of Peace - Lonnie Liston Smith a solemn spiritual piece from Lonnie Liston Smith becomes the makeup song Rain by Total (1998)

Belladonna - Andreas Vollenweider this new age track is expertly flipped for I Got A Story To Tell by Biggie on his Life After Death album (1997)

There's three final tracks Sean Combs has used I wan't to feature in their own posts, the first is Transformation by Nona Hendryx which Puffy uses on Notorious B.I.G.'s posthumous eponymous track (1999) and Nothing Move But The Money by Mic Geronimo (1997), then there's Another Man - Barbara Mason used on Biggie's Another (1997), and White Lines - Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel which is something like a Phenomenon by LL Cool J

[the-firebird69]

He's about to depart to do laundry and he's probably one day short but he feels like doing it it's not a bad day it's not late it's a little early and should be all right but we know they have stupid things planned so people have to get up and start working it's annoying as hell it can work for no reason it's what they do a lot of it and we're moving out too

Thor Freya

Radiation levels are very high and they're high enough that people should not be doing this but they are it is absurd we're going to hold them accountable for it because it is making things extremely annoying and hostile here they want to do that who knows why they're losers no they're disgusting want to threaten for everything so they threaten their own people a lot and their own kin and it's ridiculous stuff they are going to get screwed today there's a few people mad at them they'll probably show up and explain how mad they are they're also sad that the whole thing is going to come to a close because they refuse to get control over themselves and they refuse to be civil to anyone it's not just our son and they are exposed as hostile losers and they're going to go down in history as people who are not productive in any way and ruined them is barbarism and they are forcing people to do stuff and they're using power in the wrong way and they won't change and they're really huge assholes you know they're massive assholes oh son says to them as they're walking by and stuff since you just a massive loser and a massive a****** and that's all you're ever going to be they get mad they huff and puff and it does nothing make stupid noises they run little skits and it does nothing and they get hurt and pinched and beat up for their trouble and then they say they were going to do it anyways anywhere and their instigating him he says it every time and they go down every time saying they're winning it's ridiculous they're they're disgustingly stupid so we are going to start to work now and to assist and others are moving right now

Thor Freya

I sort of say this I can't help what I'm doing and saying so he says don't show up go somewhere else there's tons of stuff that you should be doing not sitting there bothering me but you say they're going to try and capture me but they use me as an excuse he says and I sort of get that but I'm going to show up and try and bother him and what he says is you're going to be bothered there and afterwards it's very badly and he says I assume that you're too stupid to figure out what you're doing wrong because you're going to do it again and you can't tell all these groups are after you.. it's very rude what we're doing we're doing on purpose and he says the clans were doing it because they had a way out and you're saying you have a way out doesn't mean you have one cuz you get all mad when I see it and you're stupid you're too stupid to have it as cover I certainly see what he's saying it is what happened and we're copying them I sort of get it but yeah

We're going to be massively annoying

Trump

We're going to come down on you very hard and we're going to ask other people to come down on you and we're going to hire more

Mac Daddy

All I can say is rest in peace Trump you're going to die permanently and nobody has the attitude nobody talks about all this stuff you're not even a rebel you're a disgusting loser and you're a rogue person and you don't understand what it means or when I'm saying or what happens when I say it so you're a stupid person too

Zues

Very very dumb

Hera

Yeah that's why I'm going to be annoying and he says who cares you're trying to hurt me I'm going to bust you up you're annoying I'm going to throw it back at you and you're going to lose tons of stuff so who cares you piece of s*** I'm young and resilient and you're old and dying

Zues Hera

I do get that this is I doubt it you stupid b****

Olympus so the last line was our son saying that last part back to Trump and we don't think this guy's going to make it no we know he's not he's got a date to leave office and a date to die he's going to have nobody by then

[chaosthatsmellsgreen]

Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender thoughts part 1/5)

so... atla live action, huh. after finishing season 1, here are my thoughts in bulletpoint format; it's very long and most of it is spoiler-y, so it's under a cut. (and also in 4 more posts after this). fun fact i spent most of my day writing this, clearly ATLA is very important to me

my general opinion is pretty much "not as bad an adaptation as it could've been but not all that much to see here, on its own OR as an ATLA adaptation"

this is also obviously biased, i'm watching as someone who adores the OG ATLA, but in my comparisons, i'm trying my best to stay away from "they didn't did it the same way = bad" and compare the two in their intentions and execution in what they were trying to do and how they made me feel, but i may fail at that here and there because i have strong feelings.

visuals: this is the easy thing to praise; other than the nighttime scenes, the visuals are pretty well done. i mean... it's a lot of cgi, and it looks like cgi. but, well, i haven't seen big panning shots of fantasy cities done irl since LotR, and i'd be proper shocked if we ever saw them being done again. i thought the cgi was alright, the big shots of the cities were pretty. i really liked the bending as well, it had impact, both the moves and the visual effects of it were reminiscent of the animated show. also also, they did the thing!!! in the siege of the north!!! with the fish and the red and the blue and Yue's eyes!!!! yes yes. made me very happy.

tone: as expected, they went for a darker tone; it's the same fallacy as it always is: making something sadder, edgier and more brutal doesn't actually make it more grown-up. we all know how this one goes, and NATLA is no exception. it's a shame, since one of the greatest strengths of ATLA was that it could maintain a balance of being silly, heartwarming, tragic and epic at the same time. this show does have some great moments of levity, and there is definitely a heart that shines through, despite this being a lot heavier in tone, but it's not quite as well balanced as the OG

starting on "100 years ago": while i'm of the opinion that we didn't really need to see any of this, i think it could've been a great choice if used in the right ways; that is to show how Aang's life used to be joyful and carefree, by showing him having fun with other kids instead of being very much either alone or with Gyatso. as it stands i think they focused a little too much on showing the war itself as opposed to Aang and the airbenders

battle of the air temple: i liked the whole "comet festival" idea - i think it's a good way to explain how basically nobody escaped the genocide. i know the comics also give a good explanation, i'm frankly okay with either. the one thing i didn't love about the battle is what i usually don't love about battle scenes these days, even though it's a small thing: in the beginning we're only shown the airbenders winning and then it's suddenly flipped and it's only the firebenders winning. i wish more battle scenes showed changing odds, like we see both sides winning encounters up to a point and then it starts becoming obvious who's faring better. it's a small point but it would've made the battle far more interesting. it is also a questionable decision to make it a battle specifically, even though we know the air nomads were peaceful people - if Aang is to serve as an example, perhaps to the point of fault. however, this didn't bother me as much as i've seen it bother some other people

Gyatso: i loved him. we saw more of him now than we have before, and i thought he stayed very true to who he was shown to be in the original series. i adored his interactions with Aang. the spirit world stuff was sort of a cop-out; i think i wouldn't have minded it as much if it happened later, but part of the tragedy of what happened during the comet is that Aang doesn't get to talk to anyone he lost, he doesn't get to be told that he's done nothing wrong and be forgiven, he has to forgive himself and process his guilt without being able to talk to the people he's "let down". regardless, Gyatso was a very good mentor figure and the show does a good job of showing just how tragic his loss is to Aang

"we want GoT fans to like this": watching some of the scenes in this first section is ringing "we want fans of game of thrones to enjoy this show" bells, i mean i generally don't mind graphic violence much, i just don't super vibe with it in an ATLA adaptation, and they hold no punches here. also it's so. fucking. dark. in the sense of lighting? hello??? can i see the show i'm trying to watch??? pls??? i lowered the blinds and put my monitor on max brightness and i could still barely see details in nighttime scenes, throughout the whole show. very GoT, good job /s

animal companions: Momo is still nightmare fuel. i'm sorry. he's not cute, he's TERRIFYING. and seeing how he's barely in any scenes, at this point they could've just left him out and spare us the nightmares. tbh Appa has the same problem, but Appa looks much less like a sleep paralysis demon and has more cute moments, even though he's criminally underused.

acting: i'm pretty happy with everyone. i'm not saying they're all putting forth the performances of their lives, but they're all serviceable, i see problems in performance as being more in the exact script and direction than what the actors are doing. my favourite by far though is Ian Ousley's Sokka. very well done young sir, good job!

Sukka: i really enjoy 99% of Sokka and Suki's scenes together, they have a good chemistry, they're both so awkward and clearly have no idea how to talk to each other. however, i hate the little interaction where Sokka is cleaning himself up and Suki is like... creeping on him, idk, that one felt uncomfortable. every time i see a scene like this i kind of consider hey, what would people be saying if the gender roles were reversed? well we all know that. anyway, other than that, i loved watching their awkward teen mutual crush. i also loved watching them fight together against the fire nation soldiers. i actually thought they had more chemistry here than they did in the Kyoshi Island episode in the OG show, i always felt that Suki's interest came out of nowhere at the end of the episode in ATLA, and that they only really hit it off from book 2 onward

the state of the world: i like that there is more of a distrust of strangers in this adaptation - these are people who've lived their entire lives in a war-torn world, used to danger closing in from all sides, they'd be suspicious of any outsiders, and a lot of them would be vary, similar to Suki's mom, to the danger that harbouring the Avatar could bring. i also like how they used the situation to emphasize how Aang is pretty much the only person left who knows what it's like to live in a unified, peaceful world, where people travel and know other cultures

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[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

10/11/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription Part 3

 I'm talking about intimacy through an act of of touching, especially when women were forbidden to touch Or approach men in this way. So it is a very intimate act. I don't know if you've ever washed somebody's feet or if it had your feet washed can be very uncomfortable because, well, one, it's not every day that someone washes your feet. I mean, we as women Like to go. I like a pedicure, I'm not gonna lie. But in an act of humility, the motive is completely different.It is intended.To be a humble Act of Humility, Adoration, Intimacy. And perhaps it did make the other men in the room uncomfortable witnessing such an act. And the way to sort of Speak out of discomfort is to point out the fact that she's a Sinner. Hey, did you know that you're letting a Sinner wash your feet? I find such beauty and the fact that Jesus knew Who she was. And he never addressed her as a Sinner. He never acknowledged or validated the Pharisees words validating her as a Sinner, who Jesus chose to see her as and call her forth after that Was forgiven. In fact, I I would go a step further and say, Jesus actually turns it on Simon by pointing out to him that when I entered your house, you didn't bother To offer me water to wash my feet. You didn't bother to give me a kiss at the greeting when I first came in. You didn't anoint my head with olive oil. But she did those things, And she did them a step further than just normal hospitality. And then I think as we're listening, we might want to point out the final words of Jesus. He doesn't acknowledge her as a Sinner. He doesn't mention her sin. He tells her it's her faith. Her faith, It was nothing that Jesus did, even though he just forgave her. It was her faith that saved her, her faith that potentially did or did not consider the cost Of what she was about to do to Jesus, knowing that that would be scandalous in any other setting if she chose to do it anyways, faith that may or may not have considered that she would be exposed in a room full of men for her past sins, she chose to do it anyways. Her faith that Maybe or maybe not considered that Jesus could potentially outright reject her. She did it anyways, her faith that either said, I've got nothing to lose. I am going to Jesus. Or her faith That said, I have everything to lose and I'm going to Jesus. 

Prayer

Jesus, I sit in awe of you. Marveled, By your response.When the world tries to throw in our face our past, when fellow believers, people that we love and love us, try to throw our past and our face, oh I thank you how you meet us. I thank you how You show us compassion,  how You show up for us when Nobody else will sometimes. We get it so backwards. We are so consumed with what everybody else is doing. Show us your compassion.You give us your mercy.You lavish us in grace. And, oh, Father, I prayed We hear the risk that this woman took.In her act of faith, to get to you. To just get to you, And I pray that we would be people among the religious, we would be people among The world We would be people among the darkest that would take risks in our faith To get to you.To be with you. To show the world you by our love because you first loved us, by our compassion, because you were motivated by compassion that we and great faith would walk people to you. Where they can be healed. Where they can be whole. Were they can go in peace. I pray that we would rise above the noise, the messages that try to stop us.The people pointing fingers and shaming, Criticizing, judging, Condemning, that your voice would call us above that, and we would resonate the truth within us with the truth of who you have called us to me as you called this woman, Forgiven. May we rise in all faith, To who you say we are, Forgiven, Loved, Changed, free, Healed, Whole. I thank you for this now and pray this all, in great faith. In the name of the father, son, And the Holy Spirit, Amen.