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reasonsforhope · 1 year

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A wild about post appears!

Hey! Call me Cactus. They/them, late twenties. I also run Direct Action for Hope, for petitions/campaigns/protests that don’t fit on a good news blog, as well as my own takes and activism.

Queer, trans, disabled, white, USian, for context. (Please let me know if I accidentally post something offensive, btw! I promise I have like. an actual ability to take that kind of feedback gracefully and work to remedy the situation)

Some Info about This Blog

Actual good news only!

No heartwarming stories that aren’t actually news. No stories that other sources THINK are heartwarming, but that are actually super depressing and dystopic!

All websites/sources are at least preliminarily vetted by me

If I don’t think a source and/or a news story I find is accurate or reliable enough, I find a new, better source with a new, better article

Relatedly, any links that have the url web.archive go to an Internet Archive copy of a paywalled article. Usually this is the LA Times, NY Times, or Washington Post. Not a weird suspicious link, I promise!

All posts are cited and dated at the end!

All posts should be tagged, including for major/common content warnings. I can’t promise that I won’t miss any warnings, but I am definitely keeping an eye on this

Filter the tag “not news” if you only want to see the news articles/posts

Feel free to send me articles to look at or submit posts! I’ll vet these before I feature them. That said, you might be waiting A While, because despite many efforts to the contrary I am the worst about checking/answering messages. Sorry about that

Posts are generally long because I have Many Words And Endless Details Disease. Hopefully the thoroughness and the bolded highlights make up for that

A couple people have asked me if I could share their donation posts, so I wanted to pin this up: I’m sorry, but unfortunately, I will not be sharing any donation posts, because I don’t have the time or skills to vet all of them and weed out any potential scams. If you’re struggling, please check out this post, which lists communities designed for donation posts and mutual aid. You’re much more likely to get help there than on tumblr. You can also find other mutual aid resource lists and wikis here, here, and here

If you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, especially around climate anxiety or climate grief, there’s a really, really thorough directory of crisis hotlines by country that you can find here. Seriously, they have so many countries I wouldn’t have expected them to list - try it, if it might help

Tip Jar

I put a lot of work and passion into this blog—and a not inconsiderable amount of time. Also, I’ve been too disabled to work much at all for most of the past year...rip. (but thankfully doing better now!) So, if you want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee!

Good News Source

You can find a comprehensive list of all the websites I’ve bookmarked as sources for this blog here!

Note about Gaza

I will be posting good news (as much good news as there can be in this sort of situation) about the ongoing genocide in Gaza, because one of the most important ways to help is to refuse to be silent. Palestinians in Gaza have asked us to please keep talking about it, that it really does help, so I’m going to listen.

And honestly, my disabilities significantly interfere with my ability to take irl action like going to protests, so using what platform I have here really is all the more important to me. (Though I am also setting a notif on my phone to remind me to call my representatives every few days, and I encourage you to do the same if feasible.)

All that said! It is completely legitimate to need a break from horrific news (a huge part of why I started this blog), and it’s also legitimate to say “I need to find out about this stuff Not from my tumblr dash.”

If news about the war/genocide (esp on social media specifically) is making you spiral and shit, then I genuinely encourage you to filter out these posts. I’m not judging. I have significant filters around what Israel/Palestine stuff I see on here myself, because I want to be very intentional about the times I do engage with it. (Which is every few days and via the Actual News.)

I’m committing to fact-checking this stuff before posting, fyi, even with reblogs.

So, tl;dr:

I will be posting about Palestine and Gaza

I will still only post good news, eg: about successful protests, aid reaching Gaza, progress toward ceasefire

I’ll only post actual, concrete news, not just Politicians Saying Words

If you need to not find about this shit from tumblr and/or my tumblr, then filter out the tags “Palestine” and “cw war”

If you don't want to see my posts on this blog about the Israel-Palestine War, then block the tags "Palestine" and "cw war"

if you need a break, then take a break

#about #me #not news #reasonsforhope

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dotchi18 · 1 year

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hello, hello lovely!! i saw that your requests were open and i had to send in an ask!

what do you think about a college!au for the obey me! boys? i'm off to orientation tomorrow, so what about a meet cute with yandere!mammon where he meets his darling for the first time during orientation?

also, how have you been? it's been forever and half, only slightly because i'm still working through your asks (it's almost finished though, i promise you!)

Hello Hello Handsomeness! 💕🥰

Thank you for dropping by again, I always love seeing you! 💖

And are you kidding? I love the idea!

A small basic rundown of majors and why they decided to do what they do (This is off-the-cuff and may be subject to change):

Lucifer - Political Science as his Major and Public Administration as his Minor (In a Human!AU I still see Lucifer still as a person who strives to be at the top. Already born rich, this was kind of a given he was going to be doing this. Very diligent. (I know you see him as someone that becomes a Therapist, and I love it, but I personally see him more of a public servant who needs therapy))

Mammon - Accounting and Finance Major. (He really didn't want to pick anything, or even go to college- too much work- but Lucifer threatened him over it, so now here he is. Doesn't care that much whether things work out or not. )

Leviathan - Digital Art and Animation Major (Also doesn't want to be there, but has also been forced into picking something and go. Moderately good at keeping on track, mostly out of fear for any repercussions )

Satan - Archives and Archival Administration as a Major, Literary Arts as a Minor (For the love of Books 💗 Also has a few classes for Art Appreciation. Is Good with his grades because he likes what he's involved in )

Asmodeus - Fashion Design as a Major and Fashion Photography as a Minor (Because C'mon, it's Asmo. Has fabulous grades, Darling! ✨)

Beelzebub - Culinary Arts as a Major, Physical Therapy as a Minor (A lot of people think that Physical things would be Beel's best bet all things considered, but anything that gets him close to food works for him. (I base this on him getting the job in Hell's Kitchen in NB ) Physical Therapy is something that Beel is also interested in thanks to his years in Fangol and his friends that needed it. He works very hard.)

Belphegor - Law Degree (Belphie is an enigma. He can sleep and still absorb information (Somehow?? Even though he for sure is human here??) And he can destroy lives with a high-paying job he can also support Beel with. )

All of it is a rather win-win for him. He puts in no effort and he still gets good grades, it's kind of infuriating honestly (Even if I still have a soft-spot for him 💖)

And in Human!AU I see all the brothers around the same age (Either within a four year span or just one depending) for convenience sake.

For College!AU I see them all within the four year gap.)

Also, I'm doing pretty good myself, hard at work and having my head filled with Yandere thoughts, which is pretty good!

How have you been? I don't mind how long you take on that stuff, you take your time Sweetness <3

(I really forgot that I sent you more than one, so please take your time ;,; )

I hope you've been having a good time with college as it's starting and I hope you're having a good time with life 💖

Now, for your request!! (Forgive me if I get this wrong, for a multitude of reasons I might get this wrong T.T)

College!AU Yandere!Mammon x College!AU Reader

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

" You have your schedule Mammon, stay on track and don't just leave campus because you got the basic things done, you still need to check out your classes." Lucifer's lecture had Mammon yawning into his hand, shaking his head to clear it.

" Yeah Yeah, I got it. You gonna hassle everyone else with this stuff too?"

" When their time comes, yes, but this year it's just you and Levi. Try not to embarrass yourself." The Eldest of the brothers tapped the schedule again before turning, going to Levi whom was leaving his counselor's office, eyeing the exits.

Mammon glanced to it himself, I mean he could go out shopping with Goldie instead, but decided to save himself the hassle this time around and-

Out the exit he goes.

Heading towards the parking lot, he only gets to the sidewalk when he sees you.

You seemed to be running late to Orientation, a bag slung over your shoulder as you jogged to campus, your eyes on the prize, though a sinking pit in his stomach told him that he was not it as you looked to your bag for something, digging your hand in it as you tried to walk past him.

Almost on instinct he moves and your shoulder strikes his, nearly sending him spinning with you into opposite directions, as if a pair of pool balls that hit and bounced off each other and it's only by a small saving grace that he doesn't stumble.

" Sorry." Your response was distracted and automatic before you fully seemed to register him.

You had some absolutely stunning eyes, and Mammon couldn't help but feel even more smitten as apology registered in your face.

Don't apologize for meeting him, you both hadn't even properly greeted one another and he already felt like he was exceedingly lucky he hadn't left earlier and missed you.

" Ha! Ya don't gotta apologize, as if a little tap could hurt The Great Mammon! Ya runnin' late?" His voice was confident and boastful before ending in a tease for you as he placed a hand on his hip the other one holding the same piece of paper you were.

With that it clicked in his mind that you must be holding your own schedule, meaning you didn't wait until the last moment to properly get all of your things dialed in, and maybe he could reasonably hang out with you without seeming weird by hanging around the Counselor's office he had already been in.

" Yeah, I guess you're already done?" You also noticed his paper, along with him just outside the entrance to the college, and he tried to think as fast on his feet as he could.

" Psh, No, I was just... steppin' out for some fresh air." He waved a hand as if to shoo away the thought, sending you a small grin.

You didn't seem to believe what he said, however the grin that curled on your face showed that you were still rather charmed by that, " Oh?"

' Run with it, take the opportunity and don't let go. ' He told himself as he grinned, stepping a bit closer and turning so the two of you were side to side.

" Mhmm, But now that that's over I'm headin' back, ya wouldn't mind taggin' along with me, right? Come on, let's go!"

You joined his side hesitantly, intrigued but cautious as he decided to engage you in small talk, learning your name before properly introducing himself, showing off his classes and learning that he shared two classes with you!

Maybe this whole 'Going to College' thing wasn't going to be as horrible as he thought.

In fact, he was quite looking forward to it.

#Obey me Mammon #College!AU #Soft Yandere #Yandere Mammon x Reader #I hope the Nicknames are okay #I can change them or take them down if you want :3

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pffbts · 6 months

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a goodbye letter.

hello everyone, it's been a long time, isn't it?

i haven't written anything in months and tbh even if i wanted to further give life to all my wips, i wish i had even a drop of motivation and energy to do so. some of you might have as well forgotten about my little blog, which had its own humble beginnings. and tbh i don't mind at all. it's been, i don't know almost 5+ years that i've had this blog. i started it out during the last two years of my high school, when i was struggling very much to cope with all the pressure and anxiety. this little corner of the internet became my comfort space. i could pour my heart out into snippets of letters and the love that i received from all of you who were there from the beginning only fueled my passion to write more and of course, helped me immensely in escaping the cruelty of my reality.

since then, i have graduated school. my reality is still harsh but i'm surviving. i have also graduated from my college with two degrees that i was doing simultaneously. currently, i'm preparing to sit down for my master's 1st-year exam coming months and job surfing at the same time. tbh i wish i had enough energy and positivity to motivate myself to pen down something. but it seems like we have to finally pull the curtains down on this blog.

yes, there is a lot of stuff that's still pending to be completed as you will know if you care to check my masterlist. but i'm not going to give you any false hope by saying that someday i will magically come back and finish and place them all in front of you. it would be too selfish of me to keep you on your toes like that.

i know i've let down a lot of you. many have told me me how much, especially my letters have helped you guys during hard times. even though i know i shouldn't even bother to think like this considering i know none of you in-person. still, it's the crippling humanity in me. honestly, i feel sad for myself. my life took so many things away from me. even the capacity to keep this comfort space alive for myself. some of you have left a long time ago. probably life has happened to you all too. i have also met some of you during the latter part of my journey here and i'm very glad that you all loved my work even with all my incompetency in keeping up with the schedules. you guys were too kind to me.

this actually came too suddenly - this realization that something needs to end. i don't think there will come any other time in the future when i'll read fanfics or write them myself. but it's a bit too much to delete the whole blog considering the reblogs will still exist in the tumblr algorithm. therefore, the letters will still be up along with the fics.

although i don't think i will stop writing. i have my substack where i will experiment with my creative writing but that's just my way of growing up as a writer. these days i'm too busy both in my head and physically, i wish i can overcome becoming a moss. my produce is sparse but my want is bigger than that. although for fanfics, there's no want anymore. i've had my fill and i'm sad to say, this is where we part.

pffbts is thus archived. all my posts will remain. if you send in any mundane sweet ask, i will answer them as soon as possible. kindly please don't send in any requests for fics (i've had to delete a couple of them from my ask box and it felt terrible.) i'm not completely going away. as a person, i will stay. it's just the fanfic writing part of me that will take a permanent leave. i'm almost 24 and it's been almost 10 years that i've started out in creating fanfics. i think it's enough, nah? plus writing this post for you all has strangely made me feel calm, as a certain baggage has been let down from my shoulders.

thank you to you all from the past & the present. i hope you all stay well and healthy. it has been truly a good time to have you all with me.

-K.

#a:pffbts #personal

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hardly-an-escape · 5 months

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man... I'm seeing the recency bias in fanfic firsthand this weekend and I'm having mixed feelings about it. putting it under a cut because it's rambly and long.

I don't track my kudos as closely as some folks do, but I've noticed that the AO3 emails have been slowing down lately. which makes sense, as the last time I posted there was in October and I haven't been super active on tumblr lately either.

but I posed a fic yesterday and almost immediately started getting kudos on other works of mine as well – and it's super obvious why, of course: people who enjoyed the fic I'd just posted clicked on my profile to see what else I've written, and checked out my other, older fics. same thing actually happened to a lesser extent here on tumblr, with likes popping up on older posts, presumably because people found my fic masterlist via my pinned post (which includes things like ficlets that aren't on AO3, AU ideas, etc.)

on the one hand, this is awesome! this is exactly how an archive is supposed to function, after all, just like how you go to the C shelf at the library to find more books by Agatha Christie.

on the other, it's hard not to take that info and translate it into "I must continue to produce work so that my older work will get noticed, too." I must keep my name up there among the most recent posts, I must stay visible. or maybe I'm not doing a good job of self promotion; maybe I should try to circulate my own older fics more, maybe I should tag my stuff better, etc. etc.

of course this is only anxious internal pressure, and it's fairly easy to ignore. I'm not in fandom for clout or "engagement," I'm in it for fun. and that kind of thinking is the opposite of fun, so I try not to give in to it. but it's hard sometimes. I mean, I want people to read what I write, and enjoy it, and react to it. I get a lot of satisfaction and validation from others' reactions to my writing, and I'm not going to pretend that that isn't part of the reason why I post my fic!

but I'm also a slow writer, and not very prolific when it comes down to it (for a lot of reasons, ranging from ADHD to a busy real life to my mental health). and it does bum me out a little when there's such a clear difference between the number of reactions I get to my work when I've posted something recently vs when it's been a couple of months since I shared something new. the joy of getting that attention is tempered by this bittersweet, "wow... I could get that feeling even more often if I was just... better." if I wrote faster. if I posted more.

but it also drives home how important it is to circulate posts and older fics! to go past that first page on AO3, to really dive into the tags for fandoms or pairings you love and seek out some older stuff. it drives home the importance of things like rec lists and masterlists, which enable us to collect and share works that may have fallen out of view.

(and yes, it drives home for me personally that I can always be doing more to lift up my fellow writers, to reblog and comment on things I like, so everyone can get that good feeling of knowing someone enjoyed something they wrote.)

anyway. lots of thoughts and feelings over here. and I want to be clear that this is all my own personal stuff – please don't take any of this as judgement or criticism of how anyone else engages in fandom. just barfing my thoughts into the void.

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the-lavender-creator · 10 months

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could I please have some more of my favorite pathetic wet cat- I mean Toralei? Preferably something angsty. I just want her to suffer. A lot. Preferably thunder angst. If you can’t tell by now I’m a whore for thunder angst. And proud of it. Anyway. I want angst. Like a gallon of it. Oooo let me think. Okay so remember when you wrote the thunder fic and there was a line where Clawdeen was all like ‘I don’t know who told you it was bad to be afraid. But they’re wrong’. Or something like that.

WELL TIME TO FIND OUT! So! I’m obviously gonna blame Raterina- Oop I mean Caterina (no I don’t. Im lying) anyway. Let’s say Raterina shows up to check on her daughters progress. Idk like a literal queen leader of the were society would. Make sure the school is up to her daughter’s standards and all.

Well you guessed it! Theirs another storm! Except this time Toralei can’t slink away to her room with Clawdeen. Cause her mom is here! And like. The boo crew is too. And the group hadn’t been like. Officially told Toralei is scare of thunder or anything. But like. They kinda just. Know from past experiences. (Like the origin fic) and just other times toralei has been on edge specifically during a storm. And they might make a comment about it whenever toraleis being especially mean, but they never like truly make fun of her for it. Cause that would be so unlike monster high.

Buuuuut Caterina notices Toralei’s clear discomfort with the storm and immediately berates her. Probably very loudly and meanly. Basically shaming the fear out of her. Probably some stupid high class talk about how rulers don’t fear sounds or what not. Emotional manipulating bullshit on how it’s weak and bad to feel. That stuff.

And like. Toralei was already on edge and now her moms berrating her for it. So she’s probably a good five seconds from crying. And the Boo crew has seen all of this and they all kinda unanimously think ‘Ok. We don’t really like toralei but we all agree we don’t like her mom much more’ so they all kinda burst into action. Half of them slide in to defend Toralei. The others secretly create some distraction. And then once Raterina is thoroughly distracted, that’s when Clawdeen slides in and slips away with Toralei unnoticed. Where they deal with the storm together. (Oh and Clawdeen of course has to stare very clearly that everything toraleis mom just said was utter bullshit and fear is not weak and Toralei is not a weak monster for feeling it).

Famn. That was long. So sorry about that. Did I mention I love thunder angst?

you of course don’t have to write this. I just thought it would be a fun new part of the Toradeen series (featuring the boo crew somewhat accepting toralei as their own and defending the fuck out of her)

Much love! Thanks for putting up with my rambly prompts! ❤️❤️❤️

This one was originally meant to apply to my Furious Fur and Calming Claws series, but I decided to do something a little different! (Also, please send future prompts to my writing blog @vwritesawholelothm!)

Many thanks to @hodgepodgeoffandoms for beta reading!

Fandom: Monster High (Cartoon 2022) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Toralei Stripe/Clawdeen Wolf, Minor Cleo de Nile/Frankie Stein Characters: Toralei Stripe, Clawdeen Wolf, Catarina Stripe, Frankie Stein, Lagoona Blue, Meowlody (Monster High), Purrsephone (Monster High), Cleo de Nile, Draculaura (Monster High), Headless Headmistress Bloodgood Additional Tags: Thunder and Lightning, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Catarina Stripe is a Bad Mother, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Childhood Memories, now that i think about it this is basically the plot of Descendants lmao, canon is a mere suggestion at best

Summary: The talisman owed to Catarina Stripe pops back up when Serena Wolf's daughter finds her way to Monster High. Like mother like daughter, Toralei takes it upon herself to snatch the pendant right under Clawdeen's nose, to present to her mother in a bid for love.

How fitting that her means of stealing involves inspiring a certain love, as well.

#mr-walkingrainbow #and next time um. be a bit more polite when asking for updates #thanks for following the delevlopment of this fic! I'm very tired lmao #this is what I get for taking up a big project while also working on a bunch of other ones lol #toradeen #toralei x clawdeen #toralei stripe

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spyglassrealms · 2 years

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About this blog

Heya! I'm Spyglass, but most folks just call me Spy.

he/him

adult (not very good at it yet)

autistic

I am a creative polymath, existential nihilist, science nerd, wistful wannabe-futurist, and –most importantly– AWARD-WINNING WORLDBUILDER! I contain multitudes. Check out my other internet haunts here. Also, make sure to skim the Realms Overview to familiarize yourself with my various worldbuilding projects.

I don't really do fandoms, ergo I don't reblog any fandom stuff (with rare exceptions, which are tagged appropriately). I also don't reblog anything nsfw (except the odd dirty jokes and shitposts) –no mature content here. Consider this blog PG-13 with a big ol' asterisk and footnote. I try my best to ensure this blog is a safe space for all flavors of marginalized folks. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Link system

Links are color-coded! This is for my own reference as well as reader convenience. Green links are links to this blog or my other sites Red links are links to YouTube specifically Blue links are links to any other sites

Tag system

In no particular order. Tagging is a little haphazard, so I may have missed some things in my archive, but this covers the bulk of the content you'll see here.

Personal tags:

#spyglass' realms - My worldbuilding stuff, also typically tagged with #worldbuilding. Further organized into world-specific tags; see the overview post.

#spy writes - My writing, of all sorts but usually fiction. Typically also tagged with #spyglass' realms and relevant world-specific tags.

#spy arts - My visual art, both digital and traditional. Typically also tagged with #spyglass' realms and relevant world-specific tags.

#spy has thoughts - Tag for posts where I think out loud or when I add significant commentary to reblogs.

#spy answers asks - The internet asks me things, and I answer. Usually. Don't be a creep in my inbox, please.

#my life is a sitcom and i am my own laugh track - Funny stories from my own life. Random factoids about my life go under #new spy lore unlocked instead.

#spy is funny - Haha! Comedy. Meant to tag posts where I'm making a joke, usually in a reblog, but I sometimes forget to use it.

#spy's smash hits - Posts (and reblogs) of mine that have over 500 notes, plus a few personal favorite posts too.

Categorization tags:

#shitpost rb - Reblogs of stuff I find funny, usually without any commentary. My most used tag... to my great chagrin. Variant companion tags are #advanced shitposting for particularly high-brow science-based funnies and #coprolitepost for specifically palaeontology-related funnies.

#important post - Stuff I think is important: activism, life advice, mental health, the like. Usually mental health posts are also tagged with #mental health post (go figure).

#science - Cool science posts. Always tagged with the specific field(s) of study involved; most frequently #space science, #biology, and #palaeontology.

#speculative biology - Usually accompanied by #specbio, #specevo, and #speculative evolution. Speculative biology is the imagining of fictional life forms and ecologies that could exist elsewhere in space and time –a scientifically-minded creative exercise in "what if." It is both a science and an art, and a key aspect of high-end worldbuilding. It's also one of my chief interests and I made a large in-depth post about it here!

#worldbuilding. - Worldbuilding stuff in general, both mine and others! I reblog a lot of my friends' work that gets tagged with this.

#art reblog - Cool art, either from my friends or just random stuff that's crossed my dash. Art that I think is really cool gets the additional tag #rad art, and I also have additional tags for #space art and #paleoart.

#tabletop stuff - My catch-all tabletop gaming tag; not always D&D specifically, but most of the time. Often accompanied by #absolutely horrible dnd ideas that i must try out asap -my tag for, well, what it says on the tin.

#videogames - Dude, I could be gaming. What it says on the tin; always tagged alongside the specific game tags like #the elder scrolls, #no man's sky, #minecraft, and #pokemon. I reserve the videogames tag for specifically game-related stuff, so there may be posts like fan art or funnies with the specific game tags and not the videogames tag.

#toddposting - Okay, this one is really specific and I'm including it here for fun. Toddposts (also sometimes tagged with #tesposting) are funny posts about The Elder Scrolls games –usually Skyrim– and memes about Todd Howard. Sorry Mr. Howard but it's still fun to dunk on you.

#beaſt - Animals doin' animal things. Largely of the mammalian variety, but I do love and reblog all manner of beaſts!

#Glock function - I was funny on the internet one time!! ONE!!! The whole saga can be found in this tag. Tor, what a week. No, I didn't make it up. Apollo, please have mercy and stay thy dodgeball.

#about

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latin-dr-robotnik · 2 years

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hey, there’s a story written by @cutegirlmayra im looking for :( it’s been a while but it was so good. in it, sonic leaves in the snow i think? and amy moves on with her life somewhat. after waiting for him and giving up. some years pass and sonic is back and she works as a waitress and he dresses up as to not be recognized. she’s not pleased obviously. after that he confesses his feelings and i remember this line that went along the lines of “the moment you cried when your flowers died” sonic reveals he had been watching over her all those years and she forgives him? please help! i’m so desperate :( could you help me?

I read this a day or two ago and since then I've been thinking about it a lot. I remember the exact fic you're looking for, but where do we start searching Mayra's vast archive? :P

Anyway, after searching around for a bit and trying to keep myself from crying after revisiting such old memories, I found it:

“I ran to your window in the deepest of nights, staring in and making sure you were alright. Some days I watched from a distance to see you lose your first job. The moment you cried when your garden died.”

I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since that prompt! Back then I wasn't running this blog in particular, but I was around Mayra's stuff and you bet I READ IT THE VERY DAY IT WAS POSTED. That 2016-2018 era was my absolute favorite, every day I would check for new prompts and stuff, lots of incredible stories.

Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane, Anon. It's been years since I last read that prompt, and HOOOLY crap I forgot a lot of details, it was like reading it for the first time all over again, and feeling the same things too.

(Also, shout-out to Timeless Game, I revisited it while searching for that prompt and my goodness it's still one of my all-time favorites, period. I still remember the first night I read it)

#ask latin dr robotnik #cutegirlmayra #sonic the hedgehog #sonamy #the way mayra builds up a lot of drama before the sweet sweet release is something i can't get enough even today #i've learned a lot from her writing style over the last 6 or so years #and i remember telling her years ago how much i love her stories #i mean she's also one of severals reasons why i decided to start running this specific blog haha i owe her a lot

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ravenart357 · 1 year

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So I have been working on this book since like September and I am finally having the confidence so slowly post the chapters. I’m still working on it but if you guys want to check it out, go ahead! It is on Archive of Our Own! There is a lot of drama in my book and lots and lots of chapters because it is an in depth story. Lots of erotic moments, saddness, death, all that good stuff! Here is a snippet of my favorite moment between Cardinal and my OC.

Also this is the first book I have ever written so please don’t judge it if it sounds bad 😅

“You wouldn't have done it if I hadn't of avoided you though. I really am a monster. A stupid, pathetic monster. I am no better than the demons I try to hide from. I am no better than this thing inside me."

Pain was shooting through every word he said. Cardinal pulled my arms up to his lips and kissed every wound. "I am so sorry mi amore. I promise I will try to be more open. It is just. Nobody has ever, uh, liked me like you have. Let alone try to help me or reach out to me. I mean, you even came to mass even though I know you don't accept my religion. Nobody has done that. I-I can't comprehend these feelings I have for you. It is like every time I see a bowl of pasta and it turns me on, but not in that way."

I gave Cardinal a strong embrace, listening to his heartbeat as the warmth filled my body. "I think I know what that is Cardinal." I whispered softly.

"What is it?"

"It is love. I think I love you," I said into his chest with my face becoming flushed.

I heard his heart skip a beat and then begin beating faster than a race horse. He placed his hand on my head and rubbed it with gentle circles. "Mi amore. I think I love you too."

#the band ghost #papa emeritus #cardinal copia #ghost bc #ghost fanfiction #novel writing #papa emeritus iv #popia #papa emeritus lll #copia #dracopia #copia my beloved #papa primo #papa secondo #papa emeritus x reader #copia x oc #papa emeritus zero #papa emeritus secondo

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bread--quest · 2 years

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ok so i want to post my observations/stories about my coworkers but obviously i don't want to dox them but also i can't just keep saying "my coworker" because a) that makes it sound like theres only one which would get confusing and b) what if theres multiple of them in a story. so i thought it over and decided the most simple american way was to rank them all by how much i like them and refer to them as such. if you are interested in hearing stories of my fun job adventures it will be helpful for you to internalize the following list:

coworker #1 (they/them): my favorite one. fellow intern. they're really cool. they taught me how to play speed (card game) and used they/them pronouns for me and lied to our boss once (told her we were talking about intern projects when we had actually been discussing ofmd). they have a tumblr and are really good at fashion. i have a crush on them and i hope they never find this post love and light

coworker #2 (she/her): also an intern! was on myspace right before it died and also on neopets. this garners her more respect from me then almost any of my actually older coworkers. from florida which is one point not in her favor but it's chill. i introduced her to picrew yesterday and she loved it

coworker #3 (he/him): one of the interpreters/tour guides. i thought he was like mid to late twenties until yesterday but he's actually 18 it's just that he has an entire beard and the manner and bearing of a camp counselor. anyway he's really nice and fun to talk to

coworker #4 (she/her): like the second-in-command after my boss kinda. she's pretty cool, comes around to check on everyone. wears sunglasses even though she doesn't seem like a person to wear sunglasses but she makes it work

coworker #5 (she/her): another of the interpreters. she's the youngest person here but very capable. she seems cool

coworker #6 (she/her): probably the oldest person here? she's really cool, talks for a bit too long sometimes but y'know she has a lot to talk about so i don't mind.

coworker #7 (she/her): older woman. seems nice

coworker #8 (she/her): my school librarian which is awkward. she keeps asking me about school stuff and im like im sorry School Sonder isnt here right now this is Work Sonder please call back later

coworker #9 (she/her): older woman. new here. very nervous about being new here. keeps making other people do a certain demonstration for her because she's not confident in it. i keep trying to explain the concept of "fake it (confidence) till you make it (through the demonstration)" to her but its not working

coworker #10 (he/him): a young adult with the energy of a teen boy who has just entered puberty. doesn't seem to have a sense of what's appropriate for what conversations always. funny in a "i would like to study him" kind of way

coworker #11 (he/him): middle-aged guy who talks a LOT about boats. has a lot of opinions on boats. may be from massachusetts. keeps trying to make suggestions to make our tours be more accurate (read: have more details about boats). his main redeeming quality is that he seems to have some level of self-awareness about the fact that he talks way too much about boats but he is making no effort to change this

my boss (she/her): separate from the others because she's my boss. she's pretty nice and i like her but i'm a little scared of her in the way youre scared of authority figures who you both want and need to like you. sometimes she assigns me projects and then forgets about them entirely which is honestly kind of relatable

archivist (she/her): on the same level as my boss but not actually my boss because i don't work in the archives so i'm not intimidated by her. very nice. likes doctor who. sometimes she stops talking mid-sentence and stares blankly ahead for like 10 seconds before resuming her sentence. i don't think anyone at this museum is neurotypical

#jobder #< will be my job stories/coworker observations tag so you can block it if you wish #listen these are basically the only people aside from my family im seeing all summer #im GONNA find them interesting #upd8z #i hope to god none of them ever find this lmao #and also that i didnt put any too revealing information in the post

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gffa · 3 years

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Su'cuy! I really appreciate how thorough and well thought-out your theories and opinions about Star Wars are, I know that you are pro-Jedi, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I love the Jedi both individually and as a whole, but I've always thought that the Jedi Council's approach to certain issues throughout the Prequels seemed a bit... questionable. Here are some examples of what I mean:

1. The way they handled Anakin joining the Order seems harsh to me. I've always thought that if Anakin had been able to keep in contact with Shmi through the beginning of his padawanship, he could've slowly grown apart from her, (rather than being somewhat unceremoniously torn away from her) and that would have helped enormously with his 'attachment' issues. I get that the Jedi only operate within the Republic's jurisdiction, so they couldn't have gone to Tatooine and overthrown the Hutts and free all the slaves like Ani wanted them to, but if everything Qui-Gon did was legal, then there's no way they couldn't at the very least send a Jedi to check up on Shmi. So why didn't they?

2. Obi-Wan clearly knew beforehand about Anakin's feelings for Padme and his issues with following the Jedi Code, so why on earth did anyone think it was a good idea to send him alone with Padme to a resort??

3. (Oh look another one dealing with Anakin's Issues) Pretending for a moment that killing a Jedi really was the best way to handle the events of the Deception arc, why Obi-Wan? Just... why?? He's not trained for undercover missions, he's a councilmember and a High General so he has a lot of responsibilities, many of which can't just be handed off to other people, and his padawan is Anakin "I'm Mentally Unstable and Everyone Knows It" Skywalker. There's no way in all nine Corellian hells that Obi-Wan was the best candidate for the job.

I'll stop here, because otherwise this ask will probably just turn into a rant

I will re-iterate the fact that I love the Jedi Order, and if there's important information I'm missing here, or perspectives I haven't considered, than I would love to know what they are because I don't like how poorly these instances reflect on Jedi like Yoda and Mace and Plo. TYSM for taking the time to read this ridiculously long ask, and please know that if you reply it will blow my mind because I may or may not look up to you as a learned Star Wars scholar that I am lucky to share in a fandom with

Ret'urcye mhi,

Ashara

Hi! Thank you for the very kind comments and, oh, you flatter me far too much, I am but a single nerd on the internet who enjoys flailing about Star Wars, hardly a scholar or anything. 😂 But you are still very nice to say so and I hope that I can live up to the good faith you've extended! Ultimately, a lot of this stuff comes down to differences in interpretation, so when I talk confidently about my views, of course I do think I’m right (😂), but if you disagree, eh, that’s no bother to me, because you’ve been nothing but sweet about it and that’s fine. (And I say this both as a way to set the tone, but also as a way to clarify that, just because I talk in firm statements, that doesn’t mean I think there’s no room for anyone else’s views or just simply to disagree with me and that’s valid. As long as we treat each other kindly, we’re good!) With the Jedi Council’s treatment of Anakin, I think it’s important to establish what “attachment” is first, because it’s not “caring about others”, it’s specifically more in alignment with Buddhism (as Buddhism is the heaviest influence in the Jedi’s philosophy), it’s about not clinging and grasping onto someone so hard that your fear of losing them outweighs your ability to be reasonable. It’s about not loving them for your sake, regardless of what’s best for them or what would make them happy, because you can’t live without them. It’s about not burning down the galaxy because you’re afraid to live without them. In Star Wars Archives 1999-2005, George Lucas says: “[Jedi Knights] do not grow attachments, because attachment is a path to the dark side. You can love people, but you can’t want to possess them. They’re not yours. Accept that they have a fate. Even those you love most are going to die. You can’t do anything about that. Protect them with your lightsaber, but if they die they were going to die, there’s nothing you can do. All you can do is accept that fact.” That’s what attachment is within Star Wars, it’s a path to the dark side, that’s just how the worldbuilding within the narrative works. Whatever we think of that on a writing level, within the narrative itself, attachment actually is a thing to be overcome. And it’s the very heart of Anakin Skywalker’s story, that attachment led to his fall, so when I talk about how the Jedi are trying to nudge him away from that path, it’s an important motivation because it’s absolutely what led to Anakin’s fall and they were working to prevent the source of it. Like, he doesn’t become Darth Vader because he was separated from his mom, he becomes Darth Vader because he can’t let go of things, that distinction is the center of his story. And if GL had meant differently, that guy is not subtle, he would have said so. Instead, he says: “He turns into Darth Vader because he gets attached to things. He can’t let go of his mother; he can’t let go of his girlfriend. He can’t let go of things. It makes you greedy. And when you are greedy, you are on the path to the Dark Side, because you fear you’re going to lose things, that you’re not going to have the power you need.” - George Lucas, Time Magazine, 2002 Which you are probably aware of and I don’t mean to come across as lecturing, but I chose to go over it again for a reason, in that it’s important to remember that the Jedi aren’t just saying, “No contact with your bio-family! That’s attachment!”, but instead that the worldbuilding that comes with what “attachment” means in Star Wars is illustrating what the Jedi’s goal is--work towards being able to let go when it’s time. Protect people, love them, but accept that you can’t stop death from happening. 1. So, with that in mind, what evidence do we have that Anakin wasn’t allowed to contact Shmi? Yes, Tatooine Ghost (which was written in 2003, before Revenge of the Sith even existed) said so, but it’s very tricky to rely on Legends material because GL has repeatedly expressed that the books weren’t part of his worldbuilding, that he wasn’t involved with them, that they should just go do whatever as long as it was an interesting story. (And, like, it’s fair to also dismiss current Lucasfilm canon materials, because they’re not from the primary source, either. Everyone draws their own sandbox lines!) What, within the movies or TV, said Anakin wasn’t allowed to contact his mother? I’m not making any definitive statements either way, I think it might be reasonable to speculate that the Jedi felt Anakin was relying too heavily on his attachments (as GL has been very clear that this is a major issue for Anakin all his life), that he wasn’t working towards letting go in a healthy way, so they may have tried to put some distance there to make it easier for him, which I think was the point the Jedi were making in Dooku: Jedi Lost when Dooku did the same with his sister. I think it may be reasonable to point to Heir of the Jedi showed a Jedi Knight that was in contact with his family and there were no issues there. I think it’s fair to point out that the Jedi weren’t exactly stopping anyone from keeping connections to their birth worlds (the various cultural clothing Jedi wore, the statues they prayed to, etc.), so I don’t see why they would forbid Anakin from keeping contact with her or, as Skywalker: A Family At War pointed out, he could still feel her in the galaxy, so he knew she was okay, and yet he was still leaning into that attachment to her. I think it’s fair to point out that the Jedi were fine with letting people leave, spoke warmly of them afterwards, even would accept them back if they wanted (Obi-Wan & Anakin, s7 of TCW where Yoda asked if Ahsoka was coming back yet), which doesn’t seem to jive with the idea that they felt you had to only ever be in contact with Jedi. None of that seems in line with the idea that they wanted to cut Jedi off and would punish anyone for contacting someone outside the Jedi Order, unless there was a very specific reason for it. Ultimately, we don’t have enough about that time period from the movies or TCW to say for sure what happened or didn’t happen, whether he had contact with her or not, or the reasons and specific context behind it. 2. Obi-Wan totally did object to sending Anakin alone with Padme, though! 😂 He said Anakin wasn’t ready for it, that his emotions around Padme made him confused and he wasn’t going to be able to protect her, but Mace very kindly and warmly said, “Obi-Wan, you must have faith that he will choose the right path.” And Mace is absolutely right. I mean, yes, Obi-Wan was probably right to be concerned, but the bigger point is: Anakin was 19 years old, he was an adult, he’d been a Jedi for 10 years at this point. You have to eventually trust people to make their own decisions, to walk the right path on their own, and Anakin had the training and wisdom (or should have) to make that choice for himself. Sending him on a mission to escort Padme, even knowing that it would be a temptation for him, was one they had to let Anakin decide for himself how to navigate it. If he was tempted into breaking his vows at this point, then no amount of holding him back or hand-holding him was going to make a difference. 3. The real answer is the most unsatisfying one: Because Obi-Wan Kenobi is a major character and therefore he was the most fun to write on that arc and to give the show drama. I fully believe that the primary driving force behind choosing Obi-Wan for it wasn’t based on in-universe worldbuilding, but “Who would provide the most interesting, fun story to tell?” and they wanted to use it as a way to show Anakin’s growing distrust with the Jedi Order. But if we’re going to look at it from the Watsonian perspective rather than the Doylist one, I assume it’s because Obi-Wan was really good at his job, like, that guy was really good at everything he needed to be doing on that job. And the Jedi Council were apparently on the side of telling Anakin ahead of time, it was Obi-Wan who said not to tell him, and I think it fits very well with what Obi-Wan and the Jedi have been trying to teach Anakin--that sometimes shit happens and you have to be able to face it and make peace with it. They have to have faith that he’s going to choose the right path. Like, a driving reason (via word of god commentary) that Yoda assigned Ahsoka to Anakin as a Padawan (other than that they were a good match) is because eventually he would have to let her go, he would have to let her be Knighted and no longer interacting with her in the same way. The Jedi were trying to provide paths for Anakin to face his attachment issues, and while I don’t think the “Deception” instance was very nice (and I do think it was a mistake and Obi-Wan was wrong to not tell Anakin, but also not totally wrong because Anakin absolutely was shit at keeping secrets and the Chancellor’s life was on the line in this mission, as far as the Jedi knew), it was meant in the vein of, “Someday, you’re going to lose people, Anakin, you have to accept that that’s going to happen.” and it’s not that I think Obi-Wan planned it as a test, but that he chose to listen to Mace’s wisdom and have faith that Anakin would choose the right path. As I see it, in the big picture of “What happened to Anakin Skywalker? Why did he become Darth Vader?” the answer GL gave was: “When you start to care about yourself and the things that you own and the things that you have and you’re greedy and you want things all the time and you don’t want to give them up because you’re afraid to give them up, you turn to the dark side. And that’s what happened to Anakin.” --George Lucas Q&A: Field Museum, Chicago 5/8/2010 Anakin’s fall was about his attachment to people, that’s entirely what was happening in ROTS, where his turn towards Palpatine was a justification for wanting to hold onto Padme, where the big confrontation with Obi-Wan starts because Anakin didn’t care about what she wanted or her horror at what he was doing or her choice to back away from him, he literally choked her in anger and screamed at Obi-Wan:

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!” Anakin doesn’t want to protect her, he wants to keep her, wants her to not be taken from him, like she’s something to be possessed, not because she made her own choices or because anyone else was actually trying to do so, but because he himself and his fears already did that. And that’s exactly what GL has always said was Anakin’s problem. His attachment to her, his inability to accept that she might have a fate that he couldn’t control, drove him to this. He absolutely should have tried to protect her, to love her, to fight to help her, that’s what the Jedi do--like, that’s the whole reason they became soldiers in the war, because they were fighting to help people! But you have to accept that sometimes things are beyond your control and all you can do is work to accept that, that’s how the Force and the worldbuilding and narrative of Star Wars works. And that’s what the Jedi were trying to help Anakin with, to prevent his attachment tendencies from getting out of control--but, at a certain point, they had given him the training and they had to trust him to make the right choices, whether that was as a Jedi or on a different path. (And I’ve always liked the quote from the A New Hope anthology, “Master & Apprentice”, where Obi-Wan says: “Anakin became a Jedi Knight. He served valiantly in the Clone Wars. His fall to darkness was more his choice than anyone else’s failure. Yes, I bear some responsibility–and perhaps you do, too–but Anakin had the training and wisdom to choose a better path. He did not.”)

#anakin skywalker #jedi order #meta #long post

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nevertheless-moving · 3 years

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INFODUMP AU continued

(Star Wars AU #22)

Possible Continuations from INFODUMP. I headcanon that exchange taking place about a year before episode II and episode IV

A) Anakin Force Shenanigans

Anakin walks up: “master- who’s this guy?

“You can SEE him/me?”

Obi-Wan urgently cry/yelling at Anakin to either wear a condom with Padme or at least take her to a healer if you’re worried about her pregnancy (seriously healer BEFORE evil sith wtf)

(its been a number of years for Ben so he’s pretty much puzzled out the ‘doing this for padme’ bit)

just before obi-wan fades out anakin panics because ben hasn’t told him how he gets together with padme

yanks him into this timeline and now Old Ben has to deal with Obi-Wan and Anakin freaking out over all the info he just vomited at them AND everything else

B) Brush Off

Obi-Wan practices some good old fashioned repression to mostly convince himself it was all a weird dream

yoda always says in motion, the future is anyway

he mostly puts it out of his head until a year later when Anakin VERY obliquely references having dreams of his mother

“...what kind of dreams, exactly?”

end-up rescuing Shmi shortly after her capture, Obi-Wan’s there to make sure Anakin doesn’t go off the deep end

Council is a little disapproving of their side mission because now Anakin is even more attached/devoted Obi-Wan

Obi-Wan is a LITTLE freaked out but Shmi being in danger isn’t exactly a hard prediction to make considering they left her on Tatooine but...

almost immediately after they get specially requested to protect Senator Amidala.

things proceed like canon and when Dex says the dart is from Kamino, Obi-Wan has a little panic attack attack

the whole trip to Kamino he’s just thinking pleasenoclonearmy pleasenoclonearmy pleasenoawFUCK THAT’S A CLONE ARMY

good news here is when he’s bullshitting his way through the meeting/ inspection he very confidently brings up removing the control chips

at first there’s some hemming and hawing ‘oh you mean the inhibitor chips, are you sure you want them removed we’ve already installed them’

“I DEMAND they be removed- I- can i speak to your manger? Do I need to take my business elsewhere??”

Nala Se is very reluctant, “I was ensured by certain high level parties that the chips were intended to be an important safeguard...”

*Obi-Wan sweating, but all-in at this point* “Well, uh, Master Dooku and Chancellor Palpatine themselves told me they were concerned about the chips being abused by the wrong parties, and sent me to supervise, so,”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were read-in on the project architecture to that extent, well here are our options-”

Obi-Wan still chases to Jango to Genosis because he’s got a mission and ‘this might as well happen’

Still gets captured in that stupid rotating energy field by Dooku

“What if I told you the senate was now controlled by a dark lord of the sith?”

“...I would say that I would be very interested in any holo-recordings or legal documents you might have to that effect”

“oh?”

“would very much like some sort of proof to bring before a court of law, yeah.”

The rescue attempt actually goes well this time! Anakin is well rested and practically glowing after his week-long all-expense paid vacation at Varykino

They all manage to escape and intercept reinforcement mid-flight

The council is pleased Obi-Wan is safe and not surprised to find Anakin there, but it doesn’t really change their mission as the senate has ordered them to take out the federation army before they can attack...

“The Senate ordered it?”

“Yes, much has happened, while gone you were. Were given to the chancellor, emergency powers. Drafted a military, he has. Generals, the Jedi have been made. Uneasy we are, but serve the senate, we do.”

“Oh kark, the Chancellor ordered it? We DEFINITELY can not invade.” Obi-Wan's starting to have another panic attack, not sure how to get out of the sith trap

Anakin’s a little offended. “Obi-Wan! The Chancellor is a good man; the Jedi must do this, for the good of -”

“PALPATINE’S A SITH LORD”

“what”

C) He tries, ok? (inspired by @ourhitofsucrose )

Very similar to B except for the full year between the ‘vision’ and aotc, Obi-Wan is desperately trying to follow the future’s warnings but failing hysterically

kamino and genosis have both erased from the archives and it doesn’t occur to him to ask dex so he doesn’t even have a direction to go on

tries to find some proof about Palpatine but he is a sneaky bastard

tries to separate palpatine from anakin but he’s like I’M AN ADULT NOW YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO

tentatively brings up Dooku falling ‘in a vision’ to the council because that is something they can check up on- Yoda gets really offended

‘garbage planet on the outer rim’ is not a lot to go on

when he tries to get help searching because he knows that the sith who killed Qui-Gon is still alive and planning to kill his ex-girlfriend even Anakin is like... ‘ok buddy, i think you might be under too much stress, maybe we should visit the healers...”

best he can do for Shmi is leaving her an emergency beacon

A+ success in relationship repair with Anakin tho! through the application of a very awkward hug and a mumbled “you know I love you, right?”

Anakin drags him to the healers immediately, and after a drug test and an overnight stay finally responds by bursting into tears and ugly crying on Obi-Wan’s robes because “YOU’RE A FATHER TO ME BUT I THOUGHT YOU HAATED ME”

Obi-Wan is uncomfortably patting him on the back “Of course I don’t hate you! You’re my padawan! Why would you think that?”

Then when Shmi activates her emergency comm the same night Anakin has his first nightmare about his Mom and they fly to her rescue he’s even more OBI-WAN 5EVER than canon or scenario B because

“You...checked in on my mom?? Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry Anakin, I knew the council wouldn’t approve...”

hugs Anakin again since that is the only piece of advice he can follow from his future self and he just thinks ‘well its a long shot but hopefully this is enough to prevent any lava planet incidents’

it is

Seriously in this version of events Anakin actively RESISTS being knighted because he was already obsessed with Obi-Wan in canon and now with hugs + verbal affection + protecting Mom proactively he is ALL IN FOR OBI NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN

low-key ruins palpatine’s plans by itself because now when he tries to drive a wedge between them with his bullshit ‘your master doesn’t truly trust you’ Anakin gets huffy and responds with a space powerpoint presentation

i mean other stuff is going to go down once we get to the armies but already the stage is set for him to go running to Obi-Wan the minute he has a nightmare about Padme dying and him responding “J. Force Christ, lets just... go to a healer, fuck’s sake Anakin I hope it doesn’t need to be said but do NOT turn to the darkside over this”

canon would definitely diverge before that point but its also very funny to me to imagine RotS playing out more or less the same but when he gets to Palpatine’s big offer he just goes ‘sorry dad told me no’

#star wars #my au #INFODUMP au #star wars au no 22 #star wars au

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fortruthseekers · 3 years

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REFRESHER ON MY INSIDER SOURCES: BTW, this is Purv aka @p-redux. This is my original Tumblr blog I’ve revived to archive past source info.

In 2014, I first posted my insider source info. I didn’t have a Tumblr blog, so I posted everything on my old Twitter account, all the details the sources gave me then. The fandom, especially shippers, went into an uproar because my source info sunk the ship. The SamCait ship had barely started sailing and I sunk it before it had made it out into open sea. Shippers have never forgiven me for that. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Throughout the years, I’ve reiterated my source info, but summarized it because most people had already heard it, and I didn’t see a need to keep rehashing it. The more time past, the more it became clear Sam and Cait weren’t a couple, and that the info I had shared with the fandom AHEAD of time was true. Cait was seen with Tony a lot. And Sam was seen with different girlfriends or dates. But since I’m turning this account @fortruthseekers into an archive account, I’m going to post the original source DETAILS again, for newbies. This post is going to be LONG, very long, because I go into detail. Read it if you need a refresher on what I said previously about sources, or if you’ve never read the source details before. Click on Keep Reading to find the rest.

Okay, so about sources. REAL sources. I live in Los Angeles and used to be in the industry many years ago. As a result, I still know people in the industry. And just by living in L.A., you meet people who know celebs. In 2014, I got who I call “my original industry source” through a friend who knew I was watching Outlander. And she thought it would be cool for me to talk to this industry person who had Outlander connections. My friend put me in touch with her so we could talk about our common interest. Initially, me talking to the source was just to schmooze about insider info, I wasn’t planning to make it public or create a celebrity insider info account. But I was surprised about how much she knew. At the time many people, including myself, thought Sam and Cait were most likely a couple, when the source told me she knew for sure they weren’t, I was floored. Then after she told me all the details of her interactions with Sam, Cait, and some of the Outlander cast, and the fact that she was friends with one of Cait’s besties, I knew I’d hit a huge source of info.

At first, the source didn’t want me to make the info public, she didn’t want to get in trouble, but she thought it was important that people knew the truth about whether or not Sam and Cait were a couple. She figured if they knew, then people wouldn’t get their hopes up and be disappointed when Sam and Cait became more famous, and would inevitably be seen with other people. As I said, that original industry source is good friends with one of Cait’s female best friends. And because she’s in the industry, she also had a connection to Sam through his talent agency. So, she had insider info on BOTH Cait and Sam. Jackpot.

Because I knew her full identity and knew I was talking to the real person on her real and blue check verified Twitter account, and my friend had introduced me to her, I could trust that her info was legit. She is also Instagram blue check verified and has made a name for herself in the industry. People would be shocked if they knew who she was. SHE is the one who told me 100% Sam and Cait were not dating and that 100% Sam is not gay. At first, she didn’t want me to post things publicly, but I begged and she finally relented, as long I would swear I would keep her identity private and would leave out some identifying details.

So, in 2014, I went public with all the details she told me. And through the years, EVERYTHING she told me turned out to be true. I didn’t have a Tumblr blog at the time, so all my source info was posted on my old Twitter account. I posted every detail of what she told me and I also posted some of her DMs with permission, and name blacked out. Unfortunately, all that is gone because I deleted my old Twitter account a long time ago.

The main points were: Sam and Cait weren’t a couple and never have been. When I said to her that I knew actors were different than regular people, but that when I saw Sam and Cait talking about watching the wedding scene together, while drinking a bottle of wine, that there was no way they didn’t hook up at some point. She said she’s been around a lot of actors and said Sam and Cait are both natural flirts and very touchy-feely people, and she didn’t see anything out of of the ordinary in their interactions–she reminded me their behavior is the norm when promoting a show.

She also said Sam isn’t gay per people she’s talked to who know him. She knew the director of Batman Live, the live show Sam starred in years ago. The director was a gay man, and when she asked him if Sam was gay, since he seemed too good to be true and was so good-looking, he said no. And he said he and other crew who were hoping Sam was gay were disappointed that he was straight. The director told her that the reason Sam didn’t seem to have much of a dating history, was because he had always been focused on his career and on working out. And that because he was traveling with the show, there wasn’t time for a committed relationship. Later, we found out that Sam had indeed been dating a woman named Katie Rebekah, but they broke up because she moved from London to Australia, and Sam started to tour with Batman Live. That’s the info I got in 2014. If Sam was gay, the gay director would have told my source and squeed about it.

This source used to work between New York and Los Angeles. She was in New York for one of her TV shows during the July 2014 premiere of Outlander and hung out with Cait and Cait’s bestie, as well as some of the other OL cast and crew. She also had some business meetings with Sam in NY. She confirmed Sam brought Amy Shiels as his “plus one” to the premiere and even skipped out on an unplanned event the cast was invited to because he “had a date.” When they saw him the next day and asked him how his date went, source said Sam replied “It was great!” Even though this source got info from Cait’s bestie…the bestie kept quiet about Cait and Tony, and simply said that Cait and Sam weren’t a couple….I found out about Tony from someone else...more on that later.

This source did share some info about what Cait thought about Sam. She said that Cait cared about Sam as a costar and friend, and they got along very well. But Cait said Sam was not her type, that Cait didn’t date actors, and that Cait referred to Sam as “a bro,” and that Cait was not into guys who spent so much time in the gym. She said Cait genuinely liked Sam as a person, but there was not more to it. And that Sam was just a big flirt, and that they were both trying to promote Outlander as much as possible because they knew it was their big break.

This is also the source who told me that Cait’s friend, the one the source is friends with, didn’t particularly care for Sam. To be very clear: I don’t feel this way about Sam, Cait doesn’t feel this way about Sam, and my source doesn’t feel this way about Sam. In fact, my source said Sam “was lovely” to her and “a sweetheart.” But one of Cait’s besties, just ONE FRIEND–not plural, the friend said that she thought Sam “could be self-absorbed,” and “douchy.” ONE of Cait’s friends said this. No one else said this. And that was way back in 2014. I’m sure Sam has matured since then, as people tend to do as they get older. BTW Cait has a lot of close friends, some of which aren’t well known to fans. Reiterating: Cait doesn’t feel that way about Sam, the source didn’t feel this way about Sam, and I, Purv, don’t feel this way about Sam, nor have I said anything like that about Sam.

Back to Sam being a natural flirt, remember, even Cait said “he could flirt with a lamppost.” Well, my source said that the times she saw Sam at business meetings, he was always very nice to her and would greet her with a big bear hug, tight enough that she could feel how hard his chest was. He would look down at her, right into her yes, hold her gaze, and smile big at her. And this was a woman he was not interested in romantically. He was just being friendly and sweet. Imagine how high the charm wattage is turned up for a woman he IS interested in. No wonder that Samshine has been hard to resist. This is also the source who said that Sam would always say goodbye to her by saying his now ubiquitous “Let’s get together for a wee dram when you’re in Scotland.” Of course, that “wee dram” never happened. I think that’s just Sam’s people pleasing qualities coming out, never wants to disappoint anyone. The source also said whenever he would text or e-mail her for business related stuff, he was always super enthusiastic and used a lot of exclamation points !!!!!!

Anyway, my original industry source “broke up” with me years ago because she didn’t want to chance anyone finding out who she was, as Outlander got bigger, and as she got bigger in the industry. I still sometimes look at her Twitter and IG all nostalgic, remembering when it all started...ah, memories...

My second major source was my Tony family source. My Tony source is someone from Glasgow who was friends with someone I’d known for awhile. My friend put me in contact with her. The Tony source approached me to tell me that she was shocked to find out a relative of hers (later found out it was her brother) had revealed “the lead actress from that new show Outlander is dating Tony McGill.” She was shocked because she and her family have known Tony and his family for years, all of them growing up in and around Glasgow. Her brother went to school with Tony and his brother, Joe. She then told me the whole backstory of Cait and Tony. She wanted me to keep the info to myself and she had no motivation or intention of making it public. But she finally agreed, after I gave my word that I would protect her identity and I have.

What she shared with me in late 2014 is that her brother found out their friend, Tony was dating Caitriona Balfe. At the time she said they’d been dating for about 9-10 months, that’s why I always put the start of their relationship around March 2014. She was told that by December 2014, the relationship was “dead serious” between them and that Cait had spent Christmas 2014 in London with Tony and his dad. And then Tony had flown to Ireland with Cait to spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s with her family and friends (we’ve all seen the pic and video on Donal Brophy’s IG). My source said that Cait and Tony had been friends for 9 years or so at the time (again, this was told to me in 2014) and had met years ago when Tony rented out a room to one of Cait’s friends. They hooked up briefly back then and then remained friends, until it turned romantic again around March 2014. The source said that she and her family knew Tony and his family from back in the day, and she told me what school Tony went to in Glasgow (something I haven’t and won’t make public). She said that Tony had moved from Glasgow years ago and had been living in London for awhile (again, this was told to me in 2014). Also, that he and his brother owned a bar/live music place in London, The Library in Islington (they later opened a second one, The Reading Room, which Cait posted from on IG) and a music production company. And that prior to that, Tony was the band manager for some Scottish bands, most notable, The Fratellis. She described Tony as “fun, clever and hysterically funny.”

The Tony source came into the picture after I had my Twitter account up, where I was posting insider info given by my first source. I had already posted that Sam and Cait weren’t dating. This second source is the one that filled in the missing puzzle piece I didn’t know was missing and told me she knew WHO Cait was dating. I would have NEVER known the name Tony McGill associated with Cait if not for this source. He was on no one’s radar. And he wasn’t on social media. This source told me details only an insider would know. And I also had her full identity, so I knew she was legit as well. Then ‘lo and behold Tony started showing up places with Cait. There is NO way I would have known about Tony without this inside family source. No way. Of course after my source told me about him, I did look him up online and there was hardly any information about him. Never in a million years would I have linked Tony McGill with Cait on my own. And I mentioned Tony McGill way before he started showing up places with Cait. How could it be that I said sources told me Tony McGill is dating Cait, and then a man identified as Tony McGill is seen out and about with Cait? The only way I knew about Tony is because the source told me.

Back in the day, when Cait and Tony weren’t yet living together yet, people wondered how they made their relationship work given the sometimes long distances? Well, when they first started dating around March 2014, Cait was filming Outlander Season 1, so Tony would go to Glasgow or Cait would go to London on weekends. Then when Season 1 wrapped and Cait went back to L.A. (where she had been living) in late Sept. 2014, Tony went to L.A. to visit her in October 2014 (both their birthdays are in October, Cait Oct. 4 and Tony Oct. 12, not Oct. 14 like some have said. Libra/Libra bond!). The Fratellis were also in L.A. Oct. 2014 and Tony helped them out with some business stuff, even though he was no longer managing them then. Then, as I’ve already stated, Cait and Tony spent time together Dec. 2014 and January 2015 for the holidays. Then Valentine’s Feb. 2015, Cait flew to London for the opening of Tony’s 2nd bar, The Reading Room. She posted a pic on IG. Then in April 2015, Tony flew to NY to join Cait for the premiere of the second half of Season 1. Eyewitness sources saw him sitting with Cait’s friends at the screening and then with Cait and her friends inside the after party. There was one PUBLIC pic on Twitter of Cait, Tony and Sam. And I and others have been shown private pics of Tony there. Many of us have seen them but we couldn’t make them public because they show the location where they were taken, thus identifying the source who took them, and she would get in trouble with her boss. After that, in May 2015, Cait went back to Glasgow to begin shooting OL Season 2, and this time, she brought her cat, Eddie with her. Per more than one source, Tony pretty much lived in Glasgow after that with Cait. One person who went to Tony’s bars in Glasgow and then reached out to me, said that she had asked about Tony and was told “he doesn’t come around much anymore because he moved back to Scotland.” They then moved into their new place in Glasgow, move out of that one and into a new one in Glasgow, and also have a place in London, and are now married and had their first son. THAT’s how Tony and Cait made it work.

My Tony source also parted ways with me, also due to fear of being found out. She didn’t formally break up with me, the way the original industry source did, she simply ghosted me. But I also see her pop up on Twitter or IG sometimes and get all wistful. Oh well...

After I posted the insider info from BOTH these sources, then people started to contact me with source info. They knew I was Anon and would keep them Anon--win/win. People who went to Hollywood parties, or premieres, or meet and greets, people who saw celebs at the market, or baseball games, or the beach, or at the gym, or walking down the street, or just happened to be at the right place at the right time, started sending me info. From all over the world, wherever Sam and Cait were. And if I could confirm it to be true, I would post it. If I couldn’t completely guarantee it, then I’d say it was speculation. And that’s what I still do. Granted, back in the day, I was somewhat naive, and did get burned and betrayed a few times. I admitted when that happened. I’m much more careful now. But for the most part, the MAJORITY of the info I’ve posted has been ACCURATE. People who have been here for years can corroborate that. I don’t post everything that is shared with me though. And because my sources are actual real humans, they can’t know everything or be everywhere…I don’t always get minute by minute info, that doesn’t mean I don’t have real sources.

As for me also being the first to let the fandom know that Sam was dating Abbie Salt in 2015...I had a couple of Abbie sources. One of them turned out to be super sketchy and once I figured that out, we parted ways. My Abbie sources approached me after I had already established my account as an insider info sharing account. The motivation was to debunk that Cody and Sam were still seeing each other since they no longer were, and Abbie had started seeing Sam.

BTW: as an aside...I was also the one that, through an eyewitness source, told the fandom that Sam and Cody Kennedy had gone to the Matthew Morrison Halloween party in October 2014, and the source had seen them kissing while waiting for the valet to bring their car around. You don’t know the LENGTHS that Extreme Shippers went to to disprove my source. They even Google Earthed the driveway from the street to the valet and measured it trying to prove that my source could not have seen where Sam and Cody were waiting for their car. Hahahah omg. Except, my source wasn’t on the street, she was right next to them. After all the bullshit from ES, it’s a wonder I’m still here, but here I am...the strongest bitch you’ll ever meet. But I digress...

Anyhoo, back to Sam and Abbie. I had no idea Abbie Salt existed or that she had dated Sam before and was friends with him…until my Abbie source contacted me to tell me that Sam was no longer dating Cody Kennedy and had resumed dating Abbie Salt. Abbie met Sam years ago when her sister, actress, Charlotte Salt starred with Sam in “A Princess For Christmas,” they dated briefly then, and then rekindled their romance in early 2015. Cody Kennedy’s mom later confirmed this by posting publicly in response to a fan Sam and Cody had broken up because “Sam went back to his old girlfriend in London.” Abbie lives in London. Again…I was surprised because I had no idea…but all the info checked out and then whadda you know, Abbie started showing up in Glasgow…in Sam’s flat (IG pics since deleted)…in L.A. in February 2015 at the London hotel, West Hollywood seen and photographed by an eyewitness for Oscars Week parties (the pic is of Sam and the fan, taken by Abbie, fan said Abbie was super sweet)... n NY when he was there for the OL premiere April 2015 (she posted on her IG, since deleted the pics), in Miami when he was there (eyewitness and Miami source proof that they were in Miami together, and NO that was not me, it was a source) and in Barbados together (Barbados source confirmation, and NO that was not me, it was a source, and pics from Abbie and Sam Tweeted he had been in Barbados). After that, Abbie was in Glasgow and Sam in London, where Abbie lives, on several occasions…not to mention she was photographed as his date in Monte Carlo for the TV Film Festival. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Abbie Salt sources told me about AHEAD of time, then started to spend all that time with Sam. I didn’t even know Abbie existed, how would I have ever known anything about her without sources?

I also told the fandom about Mackenzie Mauzy and Sam dating via a source who saw them in person, holding hands and leaving together at a Guns N Roses concert in Los Angeles April 1, 2016. A friend of someone I know in L.A. was there and recognized Sam. He told my friend that he’d seen “that Outlander dude, Sam Heughan holding hands with a blonde, leaving the Guns N Roses concert.” At first, I thought it may have been Cody Kennedy, but afterwards, sources came forth to confirm it was Mackenzie Mauzy. Later on, I was contacted by a different Mackenzie source and given more info, which I posted. That Mackenzie source ghosted me too because Mackenzie was probably asking questions as to who was doling out info. Also, by sheer providence, a fan was in the stands at the Dodgers baseball game in June 2016 and sent me a video of Sam and Mackenzie at the game together. Another source sent me the video of Sam and Mackenzie leaving their hotel together at San Diego Comic Con. I’ll repost all that in the archives. And someone I’ve known for years on Tumblr and trust completely came forward to share that she found out Sam and Mackenzie had broken up from one of Mackenzie’s relatives who live near her. Again, that was also by chance. Life can indeed be stranger than fiction. The relative told her Mackenzie wanted to get married and have kids and Sam wasn’t ready for that yet, so they broke up. That source came forth and identified herself on Tumblr, so that also proves my source info was legit.

In summary: I was the FIRST to let the fandom know Cait and Sam weren’t dating, Cait was dating Tony, and Sam was dating Abbie, and Sam was dating Mackenzie BEFORE anyone else knew. You can’t do ALL of that simply by scouring social media posts as haters would have you think. It’s just not possible. And reasonable people understand that.

Before Covid-19 hit, people who were attending industry events would contact me and say “Hey Purv, I’m going to the PCA, or the TCA, or the GoldenGlobes, or the Outlander Season premiere and after party, I’ll give you the scoop!” I’d say “Cool, thanks! Send pics or video and let me know what and who you see.” That’s it. No social media searches or data mining needed. There is no conspiracy involved. No one is “feeding” me info from Sam or Cait’s camps or non-shipper or shipper sides to propagate a certain “narrative.” It’s just different people, who are at the right place at the right time, or are privy to certain insider info, sharing it with me because they know I post info for fans who are into that. As I’ve said ad infinitum, I am quite simply THE MESSENGER.

Any questions, send me an Ask or a Direct Message on my MAIN account @p-redux Thanks!

#purvarchives #source #sources #realsources #samheughan #caitrionabalfe #p-redux #fortruthseekers #amyshiels #codykennedy #abbiesalt #mackenziemauzy #tonymcgill

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