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@satnavnewton
People who are totally unafraid to be themselves honestly scare me a little, but not...like...in a bad way?
They scare me the way skydivers and base jumpers scare me; like I cannot relate to that level of confidence and willingness to take your life in your hands. I respect it and am intimidated by it equally.
My toxic trait is being very good at giving others advice that I straight up 100% will never take myself.
I GOT A FUCKING RAISE THE POTATO WORKED WTF
This potato works. Every. Fucking. Time.
Reblogging because it’s a damn potato and I want to encourage people to assume potatoes are magical.
About a decade ago, I was single and not coping with it well. I've never been confident enough to love myself when I don't have someone to love me. And my solution to that was to stay up regularly until about 3am reading Arkos and Bumbleby fanfic. Because I wasn't happy, but of my favourite people in my favourite show got to be happy, then I could be happy for a while vicariously. Was that healthy? No. But that was that.
I have been in a relationship for over 6 years now. Im happy, and I'm even working on loving me independent of my partner. I'm healthier emotionally but even now some of those ships still take me back to that moment when I read fanfic about them. Every time I read a kiss or a confession it's like I'm telling my younger lonely self crying himself to sleep 'it's going to be OK because they're going to be happy.' I don't need them to be anymore, because I can make my own happiness, but he did.
Well, younger me, 'It's going to be OK. Blake and Yang are going to be happy.'
Maybe I can let the sad memories go now.
When I'm done with this PhD, I will gladly sell my soul to just teach forever and literally never do another piece of research in my life.
Can't believe I pay to do this instead of being paid.
I for one, am very much looking forward to the Rings of Power series, because its more Tolkein-inspired content, and if its not especially lore accurate, then it'll at least be a cool story and the books are sat on my shelf, as unspoilt and wonderful as ever.
We get to go back to Middle Earth again, and thats just fine by me.
Virtual Reality Novel Theme Ideas
I've thrown this idea around before but I figured I'd develop it a bit more. A few years back I was obsessed with Sword Art Online and Log Horizon, but the thing that I could never get over was how all the players in these games appeared to be unified in their attitude to it (laughing coffin notwithstanding but they never get much critical examination and they're murderous nutters anyway). In SAO they all want to get out. In LH they're all cool with staying in and starting a new life.
But why not both?
A concept: 10,000 players get trapped inside the world of a video game. It becomes apparent that, should they beat the final boss, the game will crash and they will all return to the real world, but if they are killed in game, their body will die; aincrad-arc style. But this world is magical, fantastical, and crucially; entirely un-tethered to one's past life. Its a totally new beginning.
The protagonist (i'll call her Blaze) is fighting hard to get out. She misses her family. She's been fighting with her mother and doesn't want an argument to be her mum's last memory of her. Blaze has got a life outside of the game that is of paramount importance to her; her basketball, her swimming, her degree, the cute girl from her politics class that she hadn't worked up the courage to talk to - this world she's stuck in feels fake, it's unfulfilling and there's a real possibility that she might die.
Her principal ally (I'll call him Hawk) is more ambivalent, he could go either way. He's older and wiser, and has his own rewarding life to get back to and a husband he misses; but this life has its rewards too. He and Blaze didn't know each other outside the game but he quickly becomes a loyal friend to her, and aids her goal.
But then there's the rival (I'll call him Colt). He's fully assimilated into their new world and is fighting to stay. At first they just clash verbally with the protagonist. Then it gets violent. By the end it is all out warfare. Colt kills several players close to Blaze to prevent her party reaching the final boss. When she finally defeats him, she spares his life...leaving him sobbing and pleading and broken in the dirt. Blaze tries to press him for answers but he's too far gone to supply any. He just mumbles incoherently.
Blaze presses on. Beats the final boss and every player in the game is unplugged. Life returns to normal. Six months go by in the real world. After three years spent in virtual reality, she has to play a lot of catchup academically but her new basketball team are really welcoming, and whilst the cute girl from the politics class is long gone, shes had several very rewarding dates with the shy female barista with the blue hair and at the campus coffee shop, and it's teetering on the edge of a true romance.
One day Blaze gets an email from Hawk who she's never yet met in person, and she's invited out for coffee. When they arrive, they're shocked to find Hawk in a wheelchair; he smiles and patiently explains that, whilst the virtual world had given them all working legs, in reality he's been paralysed from the waist down since childhood - but it doesn't bother him especially. He starts to tell her about how much fun wheelchair rugby is, but Blaze can't help but feel uncomfortable. She tries to tell herself it's probably internalised ableism and she needs to get a lid on it; but she can't help but note the odd, quick, sad glances between him and his husband. Eventually the words come out, with a smile and a shrug and a sting; 'It was nice to be able to run...' But he backpedals as she starts to well up, and reassures her that he's happy to be home, he's got his family back; they're thinking of adopting and that wouldn't have been possible without her. 'It was nice to run', he says, 'and I'll miss that, but my heart is home.'
A week later, Blaze is walking home when she realises that a man is waiting for her outside her block of flats. He's dishevelled, clothes wearing thin, and clearly hungover. She's on the verge of running when he calls her 'Blaze' - her username. It's at that point that she recognises Colt. He doesn't approach her, doesn't shout, he holds his hands palm-out and never comes closer than 4 or 5 meters. He's not here to hurt her, he claims. But he needs to talk to her. 'You took everything from me' he claims, 'you left me gibbering in the dirt as my world fell apart. The least you can do is listen to what you cost me.'
She had always taken Colt for a lunatic. Some role-playing idiot who caught Stockholm syndrome for the virtual world they were trapped in, gone off the rails as a result and had murdered her friends for it. But she had never known him fully. Even before he betrayed them, she had kept him at a thorough distance. So she had never known why he fought so bitterly to hold onto that fake world.
Colt, in the 'real' world, had lost everything. His wife had died in childbirth, followed by their baby, and he'd been cripped by medical dept. Homelessness had followed, and unable to cope with the grief, he had found his only solace in the bottom of a bottle, and every day he wondered if he had the fortitude to get to the next and was less and less sure of the answer. Being accidentally transported to that virtual world had been a godsend; his virtual body could not feel the effects of his alcoholism, and his avatar was not beholden to debt and hardships of his body. He had a fresh start in a beautiful, fantastical realm. A whole new life. Striking up conversations with the world's inhabitants had brought its own rewards as well; he'd found comfort and friendship in one of the virtual world's native inhabitants. Amazed at the sentience of her AI, he quickly forgot where the line between virtual and human life stood, and they fell in love fast, married and settled down. Over the three years spent in this virtual world, he had righted the course of his existence and was determined to hang onto this second chance at a meaningful life. Now he was here; his wife and his life had not come back to this world with him. Every day was torture and in his mind he had Blaze to thank for it.
----
I don't know how I want this story to end. But the theme of the story is that whether life has meaning is solely determined by the person living it. For Blaze to achieve a meaningful life, she needs to get home. For Colt to do so, he needs to stay - there's nothing for him in the real world. For Hawk, he's not entirely sure either way. But in a zero-sum situation, someone always loses. Is it worth forcing someone else to live a meaningless life to preserve the meaning in your own? Likewise is it fair on you to consign yourself to a meaningless life to preserve the meaning for another? How do we exercise agency in that regard? This is what I want to explore.
There are two casting ideas living rent free in my head:
1) Temuera Morrison as an older, haunted, jaded Commander Cody in an episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
2) Oscar Isaac as Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic Movie 3, with dialogue that emotionally hits you in the guts.
I need them like I need air in my lungs
World leader tries to end racism by getting Matt Damon to beat up Kiwis. #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly
'Average actor dies on screen 5 times in their career, factoid is actually a statistical error. Sean Bean, who lives in deepest Yorkshire and dies 10,000 times per movie, is an outlier and should not have been counted.
Do you ever stop and wonder how the politics of the wizarding world correlates to the muggle one? When a war starts in one world, does it affect the other? When a government collapses in one, what about the other? The only allusions we get are that Newt worked with dragons on the 'Eastern Front' in WW1 - suggesting some wizarding involvement in the first world war, and that Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in 1945, the year WW2 ended (which I doubt is a coincidence).
I'm not as well read as some Potter fans, been a long time since I kept up with the lore. So this might have an obvious answer but; what COUNTRIES actually exist as political entities in the wizarding world? Does the British Ministry of magic still claim jurisdiction over Aquitaine and Anjou? Do Poland and Lithuania have separate ministries or are they still a Commonwealth in the wizarding world? Is there a German Ministry of Magic? If so, which version? The H.R.E, the German Empire? Was there a West and East Germany in the wizarding world - or was the Iron Curtain only a muggle thing? Is the Russian Ministry of magic still run by Wizarding Bolsheviks - was it ever? Did the Russian ministry win the Cold War? Was there even a Cold War in the wizarding world? When Sykes and Picot starting redrawing the borders in the middle east, were new ministries of magic set up for Jordan? Syria? Iraq? Palestine? Or are they all still run from Istanbul? How far did decolonisation go in the wizarding world?
All these lead to more questions; When muggle governments go to war - how many wizards enlist? When new muggle nations are created, do wizarding governments arise with them? When muggle governments are plunged into debt or enjoy economic booms, how does that translate to the wizards living incognito amongst them? How do wizards concieve of their nationalities? I have so many questions...
John Boyega deserved Better
So, let’s give some context to those who are not aware of what John Boyega has gone through since being cast in Star Wars so many years ago.
And feel free to add anything I miss.
After being cast in The Force Awakens, there had been a large backlash and a call to Boycott Episode VII
Then after The Force Awakens, John had to deal with toxic fans constantly claiming he was not the Male Lead of the Sequel Trilogy over and over again even though that went against what he was told by The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams when he was cast and what TFA clearly setup.
Finn’s character would then be erased and sidelined in the sequel to TFA, The Last Jedi, much to the celebration of certain fans who claimed it was better that Finn not be in the main conflict of the trilogy.
During this time, John would still be routinely harassed by the bigots who were against his casting as well as people going to his social media accounts to verbally attack him.
Then we having the shipping community…which I will not go too deeply into this beyond the fact that one group of shippers have made John Boyega’s life a living hell, even demanding that Disney blacklists him from ever getting work and influencers in that community sending their followers after Boyega. Then we have another group of shippers who legitimately accused John of queerbaiting on multiple occasions through the years.
Then there was the backlash John Boyega received when he had said that his character Finn and Kelly Marie Tran’s character deserved better in The Last Jedi and that the movie was not for him. Citing that as a Black man playing a Black character, being removed from the central conflict of the trilogy was something he creatively disagreed with. This had earned him the hate of fans of The Last Jedi to large degrees that spread from SW influencers to actors and critics that were close with the director of TLJ.
Then John had been falsely accused of bullying Kelly Marie Tran and once again a group in the Star Wars community went again him.
Then, after months of re-shoots. re-writes and multiple story changes on the final film of the Skywalker saga, The Rise of Skywalker, John Boyega gave his honest thoughts on a creative choice in the film he disagreed with. That earned him the most harassment from the same community who went after him with false claims of bullying Kelly Marie Tran and that he wasn’t the male lead of the trilogy.
I covered a good deal of that one in this video https://youtu.be/WLFVKUX4qDs
And finally, after giving his support to the Black Lives Matter cause, John had been attacked once again by toxic Star Wars fans who either claimed HE was being racist against white people or that fighting for BLM didn’t earn him “Redemption” for the false things they accused him of.
John Boyega has endured nothing but constant attacks for years and has gotten almost next to no support from the online community in the way that he should.
The man has fought against racism, fought for his own place in the film industry, and even started his own production company to give people who never had a shot a chance.
If there is one thing John Boyega is, he is a hero. And if he is anything else, then he’s a role model.
REBLOG THIS SO EVERYONE KNOWS:
JOHN BOYEGA DESERVED BETTER
'Show me, Grandfather...I'm so close, to completing what you began...I need your wisdom just once more.' Kylo begs the charred helmet, still bearing the scuff marks where he had dropped it on Kijimi. 'Please...I can still feel the call to the light...the call to her...help me to find my strength in the Dark Side one last time.'
He hears the deep, bass whisper within his mind, metallic, menacing, the voice that had struck fear into an entire Galaxy for twenty years. Even after Exegol he still isnt sure if this is a true vision - or just some other scheme of Palpatine; but he cares not. He needs the voice to center him, to fight off the last of Ben Solo clawing at his conscience...and the voice delivers, as it always does.
'Your hatred remains strong. Unleash it. Do not trammel your emotions. The force is yours, bend it to your will. Break it, as you will break your enemies and....' silence, sudden, deafening in its absence...
'Lord Vader?' He asks, unsure
There is nothing for a solid minute until...
'No.'
Kylo doesn't recognise the voice, not entirely; the powerful, metallic tone of Vader is there, yet mixed in...another voice...younger, fairer, softer...
'No...No more, No More' it comes again, but with each syllable the cyborg voice gives way; and the younger speaker emerges.
'Grandfath...' he begins to ask, but is cut off
'No...Get out....of my grandson's head, you MONSTER.'
Vader has given way entirely now; and realisation hits Kylo Ren with the force of a tidal wave. No sooner does he recognise the voice of his grandfather, his true grandfather, then he feels suddenly loose - like a puppet with his strings cut. He sways, struggles to stand, fails and crashes to the floor, feeling the shadows drain from his mind; the darkness fleeing before the new presence...he feels something else...fear....pure, sudden, naked fear...what's more, he knows the fear isnt his own...
'Get out you wretch...you will not take him, not like you took me....GET OUT!'
The last syllable hits Kylo like a turbo laser, and he collapses to the ground once again. He stays down for several minutes, panting, desperate for air...he fumbles to remove his mask, hurling it aside and sucking in lungfuls of oxygen; like a drowning man finally coming to the surface, Kylo Ren breathes...feeling the weight of the shadow finally leave his shoulders.
'Hello Ben.'
He looks up, and can barely believe his eyes.
A young man, younger than Kylo by a year or two, stands before him. Standing a few inches taller than his grandson, Curly hair falling in a messy heap to his shoulders, eyes sparkling with barely disguised pride. Anakin Skywalker, haloed with light, gazes fondly into the eyes of his grandson; child of the daughter he never had the chance to love. Kylo winces at the use of his given name, shame bubbling to the surface of his soul.
'Ben Solo is dead...I killed him'
'Anakin Skywalker was dead once,' The Ghost replies, still smiling kindly. 'Betrayed and murdered...until I found a reason to live again.'
'What does Ben....what do I have to live for?' His voice wavers, 'its...its too late for me.'
Anakin does not respond at first, but the kind smile never passes from his face. There is no judgement there, no mockery. Just understanding. Ben recognises that smile...but worn on another face, one that would smile down at him as she bounced him on her knee...
'You know the answer to that.'
And he does. He knows precisely that
'The Dark Side feeds off your insecurity as much as your rage; the more you convince yourself that it is too late, that you are alone, that you have nobody to turn to, the more it sinks its teeth in....'
Anakin's smile finally fades...even in the afterlife, the guilt continues to gnaw at him.
'Palpatine backed me into a corner, made me feel as though I had no choice but to give in, preyed on my fears, got inside my head and ate away at my conscience, until I was convinced I had no choice but to turn...I couldnt lose her...'
A single, silver tear rolls down Anakin's face at the memory.
'...but the truth was, I had never been alone. There was always another choice. And Palpatine put decades of blood on my hands because I was too terrified to realise that...'
There is steel in those eyes now. And a fierce resolve that transcends lifetimes.
'But it wasnt too late for me in the end. I found my way back. And so will you.'
The wall behind Anakin gets more and more visible as he speaks, the vision is fading - Ben desperately reaches out, throws out a hand in the vain hope that he can make this moment last.
'Grandfather! Dont go! Please, I have...I have so much to ask you.' But it isnt enough, by the time he is finished speaking, the Ghost is gone; the smile disappearing last; Leia's smile, calling him home.
'Remember Ben, you have never been alone.'
The Bar opposite the Jedi Temple - A Headcanon.
Jedi dont have much in the way of money; they recieve a small stipend to spend on personal effects - a droid or two to tinker with (Anakin), esoteric poetry books that arent in the Jedi Archive (Yoda), daft buddy cop films or rom-coms (Obi-Wan); but they dont have much in the way of regular spending money.
Several enterprising businessmen realised however that what a Jedi couldnt supply in cash, they could do so in services, which has led to a small collection of restaurants, bars and nightclubs within a square mile of the Temple setting up shop - allowing free entry and drinks to Jedi (over the drinking age of course) in exchange for keeping the peace.
None of these establishments need Bouncers - who is going to start a bar fight with a Jedi Master within earshot? Drugs are kept out of the establishment; 'you dont want to sell me deathsticks'. Rude customers are politely shown the door by a smiling Knight telling them that manners cost nothing whilst keeping their lightsaber very, very visible. Predatory behaviour is quietly dealt with by a wave of the hand and a mesmerising 'You wish to respect this woman's personal space'.
These businesses all help smuggle Jedi off coruscant after Order 66 and they act as fronts for rebel activity on Coruscant from the declaration of the new order to the founding of the New Republic.
So what you're telling me is that all life in the galaxy is surrounded and empowered by a conscious, living energy that gives you superpowers - but that it can only be used for good if you abnegate all your worldly desires, forego all passionate attachments, separate yourself from your family, live a simple life and swear to lay down not only your own life, but also the lives of everyone you've ever felt friendship, love or any bond with at all if the greater good demands it - and if you dont do all of these things and look at the small picture in life, even just having one relationship with one person, you will be forever damned and the dark side will consume you and turn you into a self-created pitiless rage monster?
The living force is a fucking edgelord drama queen.
so a racist got utterly demolished in less than 30 seconds on the New Zealand morning news on Monday and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen
who knew a white guy could be capable of such an iconic response, he knows what’s up and is having none of that shit, every other white guy take notes tbh
I love that he said Pakeha
Can someone write what its being said in this?
Male co-host: We have had a whole heap of feedback regarding Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis’s proposal to institute a prison run on Māori values into New Zealand. He’s looking at potentially establishing this prison up north. It isn’t Labour policy just yet, it’s just an idea of Kelvin Davis’s. And this has been really really divisive on our Facebook page this morning. (sarcastically) Here I think we have the single greatest email, the single greatest message we have ever had on breakfast.
(clears throat deliberately) “’Janice’ says: Good morning. I’m sick of hearing that Māori need different treatment. If they don’t want to live in our society, then maybe we should put them all on an island and leave them to it.”
Male co-host: “Janice. That is LITERALLY what happened! That is the history of our country. Last I checked, Māori WERE on an island, they were left to it, and then Pākehā (Māori term for white New Zealanders) turned up and look how that worked out. But thank you very much for that brilliant insight. Goodness me. Unbelievable. Unbelievable, they actually-“
Female co-host: “Actually, you can’t even get angry, you just actually need to laugh and then screw it up and put it under the desk. Just when you thought-“
Male co-host: (mimicking letter) “’Put them all on an island, leave them to it.’ Yeah. What a great idea that is Janice.
I really need “What a great idea that is, Janice.” to be a meme filled with those stupid complete cognitive dissonance bigoted statements.
Janice is clearly Karen’s Kiwi Cousin.
I will never not reblog. AND remind everyone that John Tame is NOT a ‘white guy’ (as OP came to realise), he is Maori. And absolutely taking none of that colonialist shit :-)
Darth Marr never fully understood the Wrath. He was cordially familiar with his predecessor - Lord Scourge. The pure blood had filled every room he entered with his presence. Pure, honed Darkness, of the kind that made even Darth Marr tremble privately. There was no mistaking the Emperor's personal enforcer; he radiated willpower, rage and utter, bloody minded surity.
His replacement is as far from Scourge's personality as a lightsabre was from a stick.
Darth Kereniss is something else entirely. No aura of dread precedes him into a room, anybody who had not met him would struggle to find him threatening. Dressed like a rockstar and with the personality to match, flirtatious, charming and exceedingly quick witted. Everything about him is disarming to say the least.
Soldiers who serve under him are shocked at his polite touch and calm demeanour. When he leads them into battle, he fights cleanly and efficiently. No wasted movement, no bloodthirsty rampage. No senseless violence - all who surrender are spared, civilians are not to be harmed. He administers a quick death to enemies who refuse to be taken alive. In an order of sadists and narcissists, he is neither cruel nor self-obsessed.
He meditates to ambient music, he is often spotted in art galleries, he has strong opinions on Jedi philosophy, and the Dromund Kaas opera.
Before Marr knew the Wrath, he had made the mistake of confusing him for a Jedi. This did not last long. In an order of force wielded utterly enslaved to their emotions, constantly attuned to their rage, some who cannot go a day without shedding blood - just so they have sensations to revel in. The Wrath is an island of utter calm; kind, polite, affectionate, tranquil.
Until he is unleashed.
Kereniss lives by a single motto 'Rage is never to be wasted.' Every ounce of anger, every morsel of hate, from a stunned toe to a a treacherous betrayal, everything is suppressed. A bottomless well of dread, menace and fathomless rage sits, dammed within the fortress of his soul. If rage will not serve him at the very second he feels it, it is saved for later; he smiles and goes about his day, earmarking his hatred as fuel for a later, more necessary use. He taps into it at times, skims a little off the top to put extra force behind his blows. But mostly it sits, waits and festers. Imagine all the anger you have ever felt in your life, all condensed into a single, unstoppable force - held back only by the immovable object of one's will.
Marr has seen the Wrath open the floodgates only once. Once was enough.
An ambush, trapped in a locked room with thirty Jedi. Thirty Jedi who realised too late that they had instead locked themselves in with him.
After four minutes, what was left of the Republic's finest was being scraped off the walls.
Marr hopes never to see brutality like that again.
A Sith fears nothing. But the Wrath scares him.
