Solitaire-06

Just an unapologetic nerd and proud socialist

[solitaire-06]

Headcanon where Anakin survives Myrkr because Jacen and Jaina save his life rather than abandon him, but then he has to placed into a medically-induced coma in order to ensure he lasts long enough to make it back to friendly territory. Lowie carries him on his back, Jacen and Jaina split command of the team (with Jacen being captured the same way, uncertain if his brother’s going to make it) and Tahiri is entrusted with Anakin’s lightsaber just before he gets put under as a sign of his trust.

As Anakin is forced to have extensive surgery in order to recover, Jaina still undergoes her ‘dark side arc’, since Anakin being comatose constantly reminds her of just how close she came to losing him (not to mention she’s already struggling with Jacen’s supposed death). Meanwhile, Tahiri is wracked with psychological problems as she’s forced to join Corran (Anakin’s master in this setting) and the Wraiths on a mission to Coruscant to investigate rumours of the Jedi-supporting heresy among the Yuuzhan Vong, since Riina has resurfaced in her mind and Anakin, the only person who fully trusted her despite her having been Shaped, is now virtually dead to the world. However, meeting Nen Yim and learning of the Jeedai heresy that she and Anakin unwittingly inspired allows her to gradually come to terms with her dual identity, ultimately merging her two personalities into a single being much like what happens in the canonical events of the Force Heretic trilogy.

As this is happening, Anakin is essentially trapped in a ‘limbo’ between life and death due to the intense nature of his injuries, observing the war’s events but unable to do anything about it. This causes him to struggle with both the dark side and his own doubts about himself, all the while a mysterious Force ghost tries guiding him through his own memories to help Anakin confront his demons regarding Chewie’s death, Tahiri’s shaping and other personal tragedies of the war. This ghost - eventually revealed to be the spirit of Anakin Skywalker - has a final conversation with Anakin Solo about not allowing the pressures of prophecy and expectations define him as the elder Anakin did, with the elder Anakin reminding his grandson that his master, Obi-Wan’s name lives on as well, and that the legacy of the Jedi extends far beyond just the two of them. The scent then cuts to a young Ben Skywalker sleeping in Mara’s arms as Anakin regains consciousness, with a renewed spirit and a body that (thanks to extensive internal cybernetic modifications) is stronger than ever before. He and Tahiri subsequently reunite when she, the Wraiths and Corran return with a number of Jeedai heretics (or Freed Ones, as they come to be called), and the pair then go on to help the rogue Yuuzhan Vong develop as a fighting force while their leadership becomes an unofficial member of the Galactic Alliance, ultimately helping to establish the new Yuuzhan Vong government once the war ends.

[seasalt-caramelstars]

a very happy pride month to juhani from knights of the old republic, star wars’ first queer character and one of - if not the first - positive portrayals of a lesbian woman in a video game!!

[houndmother]

we simply do not give enough attention to the fact that the US is. Shooting itself in the foot at every turn. not in a individual incompetence way, not an an orange idiot in the White House Way, but in a “the US spent a century designing a world order where everyone was either reliant on the US or terrified of the US (often both) and now people at every level of federal government are destroying that system” way. While USAID very much did in fact contribute to like, food and medicine and whatever to people in need around the globe, this was not out of the kindness of American hearts, this is an arm of liberal empire. the carrot so to speak. and as for the stick, the point of having a military the size of the US military is not to use it. It’s to park on peoples lawns until they stand down. when you use it, and then lose, or deliver anything other than immediate and crushing defeat, you illustrate to the people whose lawn you’re parked on that spending billions of dollars isn’t enough to win a war necessarily. Iran could have closed the strait at any point, but they didnt bc the USA would bomb the shit out of them. When they get bombed first, there’s no reason not to close the strait. The US played its hand and it came up wanting. this is to say nothing of the damage to alliances with other liberal democratic countries. the people currently in power swallowed USA propaganda hook line and sinker, believed in it so completely, that theyre shaking the foundation of what lent that propaganda its believability. to say nothing of the fact that their aims are despicable, their methods are just. an embarrassment to empire building. they took a perfectly good empire and started lopping shit off. they’re trying to increase the output of a machine by ripping cogs out of its still-running engine.

[mckitterick]

[rip-quizilla]

[amnhnyc]

You won’t find this pigeon on the streets of New York City. Meet the Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans)! This colorful bird can be found throughout Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests. It hangs out in small flocks in the treetops, foraging mainly for fruit. Distinguishing males from females isn’t too difficult: Females lack pink necks and are mostly olive-green in color!

Photo: Yi-Kai Tea, CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist

[elimentals]

it makes me real fucking emo to think of how Iroh always refers to Zuko as “Prince Zuko”. Not out of some false stuck-up sense of formality or to distance himself emotionally or something, but because Zuko has been kicked out of his home by his own father and stripped of his identity, has lost his birthright and nation and entire sense of self in one terrible blow, and all he really has left is his name and title, as defamed and mocked as it is. Iroh is probably the only person in the world to address Zuko as “Prince” and actually mean it. His nephew needs to believe he can return home, needs to maintain some scrap of hope to keep him going. The only time Iroh slips up is and just calls him “Zuko” is when he thinks Zuko’s been killed in the ship explosion.

similarly, it makes me real fucking emo to think of how Zuko only ever calls Iroh “Uncle”. Not Prince, not General, not the Dragon of the West, not even just Iroh – he calls him uncle. Because Iroh is the only member of his family who Zuko trusts enough to let his guard down completely. He knows he won’t be punished for being informal or vulnerable around him, knows that calling him “uncle” will never be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect. Even at his angriest, Zuko addresses Iroh as “Uncle”. In the end, his uncle is the only person with whom he feels truly safe.

[my-dailydreams]

[adoreandu]

Sometimes I like to imagine living in a world where large scale projects can only get done if enough people believe in them. You wanna build a data center here? Ok, you better persuade enough people that live around here that this is a good idea so they’ll volunteer to build it, otherwise it won’t happen. No, you don’t get to exploit the fact that people need to eat and you happen to have money with which to buy food. You having money doesn’t make your idea good. Convince people who already have enough to eat that your project is going to be beneficial to them, to their loved ones.

Wouldn’t that be fun, just for a change?

[isuggestrevolution]

this is my suggestion

[solitaire-06]

Sometimes I wonder if Fate of the Jedi made a mistake in killing off Ahri Raas so soon. Given that he’s the only real peer Vestara’s shown to have among the Lost Tribe, and Vestara’s struggles with wanting to better herself later down the line, it’s intriguing to see how Raas, her old friend and unrequited love, would have factored into that. Could he have joined her among the Jedi and further incentivise her to legitimately defect and seek redemption, or would he have stood in opposition of her, contrasting her in being blindly loyal to the Sith while she continually questioned them.

[creekfiend]

its so wild how dismissive ppl are about medieval bubonic plague PPE. that shit was seriously so fucking smart and we act like it doesn't count, bc people back then conceptualized the routes by which it worked differently than we do now. ppl just act like essentially it's an example of fundamentally getting something "wrong," and any benefits the PPE had must therefore have been incidental? when modern PPE for so many things has barely advanced from that very design, aside from materials and small details? BONKERS. BONKERS way to act about a technology that we have only improved on rather than rendered obsolete by reason of developing an alternative that is better. hubris, thy name is "human beings who are alive currently"

[fforsythiaaa]

Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.

[depsidase]

[theconcealedweapon]

[heyyoufriendthere]

This new fish species is called Snuffleupagus. You can probably guess why | CBC Radio

S. snuffleupagus, a newly described species of fish, is named after the beloved Sesame Street character, Mr. Snuffleupagus, to which it bear

SNUFFLEUPAGUS REAL

[brightnessrandom]

Fantastic article!! The guys looking for it were fish researchers who saw it one time, knew instantly it was an undescribed species, and then tried for nearly 20 years to find and document it!

It's a type of ghost pipefish, related to seahorses, and it floats around coral reefs looking like a piece of algae and hunting unsuspecting prey

They are, of course, named after Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street!

Later on it the project, they got citizen science involved, and people across the Pacific started reporting sightings of snuffy fish from all over!

Hooray for science and hooray for S. snuffleupagus !

[clementine-kesh]

not all character interpretations are valid some of you are sexist

[clementine-kesh]

not all character interpretations are valid some of you are racist

[twotailednekomata]

not all character interpretations are valid some of you are ableist

[solarishashernoseinabook]

not all character interpretations are valid some of you are aphobic

[solitaire-06]

Not all character interpretations are valid. Some of you are neuroablist.

[stworzonka]

I just met a mother of an autistic child who thinks vaccines cause autism but is still pro-vaccine. Didn't know ppl like her existed tbh

[madamross]

[limetimo]

[ID: reply by @ghostmishu2505: She really joined the war on autism on the side of autism /End ID]

[solitaire-06]

As someone who’s on the spectrum with severe trypanophobia, this is both hilarious and sad to me.

[disk-whorse]

the survivorship bias for trans men is so horrific to me when i actually sit down to think about it. its actually Not Surprising that the majority of the voice for trans mascs come from white educated people with supportive families and/or communities. because the trans mascs who dont have that tend to detransition to finally access resources or just fucking kill themselves. the poverty rates for trans men and the homelessness and the medical abuse and the vilification of masculinity in queer communities and the violent transphobia from transphobes and the Everything all compound together to make sure the only men that survive to talk about their experiences are the men who had it easy. and then queer people have the GALL to say “trans men have it easy because theyre men” like there isnt a pile of underprivileged dead bodies laying behind the most privileged trans men in the community who get to speak for all of us and loudly agree “of course trans men have it easy, havent you seen how easy I had it?”