#side note: am I the only one who thought cc made a mistake trying to describe james as handsome in cordelia's eyes

[tleeaves]

The art is lovely and now I'm gonna ramble because that's what I do when I care about something.

For the love of women, please PLEASE can fan artists remember to add muscle to their Shadowhunter ladies? I'll commend Bowater for cleverly giving James that sculpted and lean look without making him a beefcake (nothing against beefcakes, I'd love to hug them), but Cordelia is once again suffering from Arms And Shoulders Too Slender It's Hard To Even Imagine Her Picking Up A Sword. There is some there, yes, but artists shouldn't be afraid of giving particularly Female Main Characters weight and toned muscle. Cordelia is supposed to be nearly the same height as James as far as I can remember, and she's curvy, and full, and she wields a sword like it's second nature to her. Please explain why she looks so tiny in James' lap.

Also I'm pretty sure marriage runes are supposed to go over the heart whenever possible (thinking about Will's parabatai rune being over his heart instead -- he didn't get Tessa to draw over the scar, did he??) and... either I'm looking at the picture wrong or James' rune is not over where his heart should be.

For the matter, where are their other runes and scars?? James' Voyance rune isn't even on his hand. And I'm pretty sure he's right handed. I could have that wrong though.

Another thing: no one can ever decide what Cordelia's hair looks like and it's the funniest thing to me. This is what happens when all you do is vaguely say the colour is like fire but also like rose petals but also a flowing river of those things but also is Red (probably for redhead, but then from there I never understand where the rose petal analogy comes from considering the typical rose is a deep bloody colour -- I do acknowledge the existence of those light orange varieties though which might more closely resemble red hair). In the end, I'm glad readers can infer what they want and imagine the characters how they like.

Anyone else think James looks like he's built like a tennis player? Oddly specific, maybe, but it was a thought I had. Mostly the arms and somewhat narrow body.

James' hair is nice, his eyes are an interesting take on gold in the shadows. Bowater managed to also make him look closely related to his father, so bravo for that.

In the end, the focus is obviously on the marriage runes and not other physical aspects outside of it being clear that this is James and Cordelia. Bowater's style is very beautiful and elegant. Love the way fabric and lighting is done too. I'll add also that it is possible to be a smaller person who is slender but still strong so I mean Cordelia's not necessarily done wrong, I just interpret her appearance differently. Obviously, they're both hot and they're both attractive and I have my qualms with the series, chronicles, and author -- the fandom I am so-so on, though I'm still here, aren't I? And I'm taking the time to ramble about my thoughts on a piece of fanart -- but this is good. Gorgeous, even. Both James and Cordelia are beautiful.

#side note: am I the only one who thought cc made a mistake trying to describe james as handsome in cordelia's eyes #as opposed to matthew being the beautiful one #when there has always been a deep and aching strange beauty to james?? #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #vaguely crediting charlie bowater though it isn't like you can't find a dozen more copies of this with the credit #also yes I mercilessly picked this apart because I am still trying to find avenues to express my dissatisfaction with tlh #I search for flaws what else can I say #I am aware of it but it's hard to turn those thoughts processes off #maybe I'll write a post at some point all about the authors I once Loved that I am now deeply critical of #a lot of people would hate me for it but eh #also we all know about the marvelisation of cinema #but is it time to talk about the marvelisation of book series/worlds? #or perhaps it has a better and more book-focused name? the jkr approach? rick riordan's marvel-esque flaw? the sjm plague? the clare affair? #we'll workshop it #maybe it's the curse of middleschool-YA series and the issue of aginh readers in fandoms #and I don't mean this as discriminatory against anyone older in fandom because there is not really a limit nor should there be #for most media #but the issue of when the readers grow up amd authors try to accomodate for that -- not necessarily by making their work more adult -- #but by making MORE because there is also an influx of new fans and they want to stay relevant while retaining the old #it's a whole thing though I'd need to sit down to properly organise my thoughts to talk about it

[txbbo]

I've been debating making this because this is definitely not what my blog is known for and I was worried that people wouldn't want to see it, but with the amount of shit im seeing on twitter it's compelled me to make this because I'm so frustrated.

I feel like I could make 100 posts about 'Cancel Culture' and it wouldn't be enough, so I'm just going to focus on what caused me to write this tonight - the Tommy situation. *Warning for a VERY long post below*

To be clear, Tommy has been in 'hot water' on twitter for the past couple weeks, roughly starting with the KSI collaboration where he made a joke about dream stans.

Last week, when the SBI 'exposing account' got made and twitter hyped it up, someone made a Tommy account and made a thread of things he needed to be '''educated''' on: https://twitter.com/idktommyinnit/status/1379158964148002821?s=20

I'll let you read it for yourself (and come to your own conclusion) but to me.... half of this stuff does not require a twitter thread? Breaking it down accusation by accusation:

1) 'The Mexican accent' - the clips show he is clearly only doing it when copying big Q (who famously exaggerates his own accent) and there is zero malicious intent (Big Q is also IN the 3 clips mentioned in the thread, and obviously didn't tell Tommy it was offensive). There's debates in the comments from people who think it is offensive and people who don't, so I'm not trying to pick a side. To avoid accidentally offending anyone, maybe it is best for him to stop, but the way twitter acts as if he was purposefully doing this to offend people is just not true.

2- 'Making a slave joke' - Even saying that feels wrong, because it suggests Tommy is doing something awful. Instead, they are referring to the 'bit' that Tommy, Techno, Tubbo and Ant were involved in, when Tommy and Techno took Tubbo and Ant as their slave. People are taking this vod and using it to accuse Tommy of being insensitive to Black people, but I think people are just assuming the worst. Slavery existed long before the transatlantic slave trade and still exists today. This is a role-play server - Tommy 'forced' Ant to work for him and used the word slave, which to me is exactly what was happening? People 'murder' others on the SMP, people 'kidnap' on the SMP, people are 'terrorists' on the SMP, and all happen without issue. To add, Ant is a WHITE man. Tommy taking a WHITE man as a slave is not something uber problematic.

3- 'His reply to Techno's 'murder is bad' tweet'. - I get people saying that Techno's initial tweet was insensitive, but saying Tommy's agreement to this from almost over a year ago is something notable and worth addressing is just super nitpicky and is clearly only in there to pad out the thread. It also makes me wonder what other CC's interacted with it and if THEY should be cancelled too (according to twitter).

4 - 'The saying slurs' tweet / jokes about 'whats the worst word you know' - This one I can kinda see how people might not like it. However, it's clearly a 'poke' at his friends, making them seem like bad people. To me, its in the same vein as 'Tubbo is a Tory' or when Tubbo shoots back that 'Tommy is a Nigel Farage fan'. They're obviously not, but its making fun of your friends by saying they are, and mockingly making them out out to be bad people.

5- 'Covid jokes' - People are taking jokes he made about him 'having covid' and saying he shouldn't joke about this, even going as far to linking it to asian hate crimes. I don't even know how to explain that that this is just? not a 'cancellable offence'? I'm sorry but if I hear anyone in my family coughing I make a little joke that 'they better not have covid' and I know other people do. I have someone in my family who is extremely vulnerable to Covid and if they caught it, would quite literally die, but I can understand that jokes like these are harmless. The whole internet had a running joke that we were in a 'panoramic' or 'Panera' or 'insert any word that sounds like pandemic.

This thread got a lot of attention and anything he tweeted afterwards was spammed with the link and there were so many people upset that he hadn't addressed it. I saw so many people say how 'upset' and 'disappointed' they were in him.

Going on to today, this happened: https://twitter.com/khasiid/status/1380611890104139776?s=20

I get it, it looks bad. But for context (which the tweet doesn't give), the reply was only up for less than a minute. It was obvious to me, even BEFORE Tommy addressed it in his stream (clip here: https://twitter.com/cowrpse/status/1380640046202593283?s=20 ) that it was a mistake. In the clip, he clearly acknowledges his mistake and seems embarrassed. To me, this situation should just be laid to rest because a mistake does not need this much attention, but twitter disagrees.

In case it wasn't obvious by now, the tide is turning against Tommy and people are less willing to ignore genuine mistakes and assume the worst.

Today, during his birthday stream people were clearly already waiting for him to mess up. Around half way through, he started saying 'finna' out of context and Tubbo joined in. This led to tons of tweets telling him he was misusing AAVE, and while there were plenty of people willing to be patient and educate, there were also people seeing this as an example of him being a 'bad person' and someone who should be 'without a platform'. I think people forget that not everyone has the same internet upbringing as they do. In general, I think its noted that the misuse of AAVE is something that has just recently been brought to attention. I learned about it through tiktok and stan twitter, and I don't think it's unimaginable that a British 17 year old boy (who is not active on either) has never heard of 'African American Vernacular English'.

Just for a fuller picture, today has also brought about another 'criticism' that I just had to address.

1) 'Tommy made a KKK joke' - Like the 'slavery' point, saying this is extremely misleading. It makes people think the worst. Here's the clip: https://twitter.com/ghostburz/status/1380673589612011522?s=20

Here, Tommy and Tubbo are both joking about Tubbo's 'bit' of naming his alt streams 'aaaaaaaaaa', 'bbbbbbb', 'cccccc', etc and how it would've been bad if it was 'kkkkkkkk' (for obvious reasons). That is literally it. It is a less than 20 second clip. Acknowledging that people woulda thought about the 'KKK' is not him 'not understanding Black issues', its a throwaway joke about the obvious.

Lastly, someone on twitter has made a tommyinnit (address asap) doc - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tZEZtBzikS-EYYkssfFtwVOoFqOwCK0zhStLe6H1wCc/edit

I've basically already covered everything in this document, but I wanted to mention how extremely 'guilt trippy' the whole thing is. I struggled to come up with the perfect word for the situation, and I am open to hearing other peoples opinion, but as I have mentioned none of these things Tommy has been accused of were done with malicious intent, and some I believe don't even need addressed at all.

'slavery is a source of astronomical trauma for black people, and isn’t something to be taken lightly if you’re to look into the horrors of the slave trade."

and "Oftentimes they are the last words we hear before we die and it really is not Tommy’s place to joke about words that affect us so negatively."

Are extremely emotional words for a 17-year-old boy to hear on his birthday, for stuff that I believe has been taken out of context and blown out of proportion.

I really feel bad for him, because such a large proportion of twitter (which ofc is the loudest side of the fanbase) is angry at him and is demanding (as the document says) ''either a stream or twitter thread/twitlonger to addressing this' and 'a long and serious apology instead of a short statement pre-stream'.

We all know how twitter works, and unless his apology is perfect (which to me means apologising for stuff that he should't have to, as explained in the thread), twitter will continue with this weird hyper focus on everything he does, and it's not going to end well.

Twitter's mentality of 'putting everything this person has done that could ever be considered problematic' into one neat little thread is so unhelpful and counter intuitive. I got overwhelmed reading some of the stuff people were saying about him, I can't imagine how he feels.

I feel like I have more to say but at risk of writing an essay longer than my actual work I have to do, I'm going to end here.

#this was incredibly cathartic to write #turns out im not just a c! Tommy apologist LMAO #tommyinnit #dream smp #tommyinnit neg #tommyinnit critical #tommyinnit crit #Tommy crit #Tommy neg #twitter neg #cancel culture #mcyt crit #mcytwt crit

[aces-to-apples]

Written for Day 7: Sith of Codywan Week 2020 @codywanweek

Here on AO3

Chapters: 1/2

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: M/M

Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Boil (Star Wars), Original Clone Trooper Character(s), CC-2224 | Cody

Additional Tags: GFY, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emperor Cody, Sith Cody, Force-Sensitive Cody

“two can keep a secret (if one of them is dead)”

He wasn’t even able to enter Coruscant’s atmosphere before being intercepted, Obi-Wan noted with despair.

“General Kenobi,” the unknown trooper leading the squadron of fighters forming up around him greeted, “we were informed of your imminent arrival and have been ordered to escort you to the Senate Dome. The Emperor has been anxious for your return, sir.”

The dread that had been his constant companion ever since Cody had him shot off the side of the cliff on Utapau sank its claws ever deeper into his stomach. No contact, no information, not a single transmission from anyone in the galaxy, and the very first thing he heard upon returning to Coruscant confirmed all his worst fears.

They had been betrayed.

Obi-Wan had no doubt that he was being escorted to his own execution and, with that in mind, he acknowledged the troopers’ orders and prepared himself for what was to come. He was expertly surrounded by soldiers of the highest calibre who knew everything there was to know about Jedi battle tactics. To fight now would be suicide, and pointless, besides.

And, he had to admit, he had no desire to harm them.

After three years of fighting side by side, Obi-Wan had picked up both an eye and ear for spotting the differences between clones; the one leading his escort through the clouds of Coruscant sounded very young. Perhaps not a shiny, but one of the younger crop all the same, his training expedited and his assignment off Kamino received at perhaps only his eighth or ninth Standard year.

His continued use of honorifics and the trappings of rank, as he directed them through traffic and the landing process, baffled Obi-Wan perhaps more than anything else. The trooper—Lance, according to his wingman—sounded nothing less than ecstatic about Obi-Wan’s arrival and their orders to see him to the ‘Emperor.’

Obi-Wan shook his head and cooperated without a fuss. Going in blind as he was, it wouldn’t do to show his hand before completely necessary.

The troopers ‘escorting’ him landed as well, surrounding his little fighter more like an honor guard than a traditional one. As he leapt from the cockpit down to the landing pad, another squad approached from inside the Senate, wearing the bright red of the Coruscant Guard and—

“Boil?”

“General,” the man indeed wearing a familiar pattern of 212th gold on his armor said, nodding at Lance and his men in 501st blue. “We’ll take it from here, Corporal. You and your squadron can report to the minister before heading back to the barracks."

"Yessir," Corporal Lance acknowledged, his men saluting smartly behind him. Before leaving with the rest of them, he pulled off his bucket and aimed a bright, relieved smile at Obi-Wan. "Welcome back, General. We're glad to see you're alright."

He looked just as young as Obi-Wan had predicted, perhaps even still due one last growth cycle. The thought was… a terribly uncomfortable one.

"Thank you, Lance," he said at length, unsure how to react to the lad’s obvious, uncomplicated happiness. Obi-Wan watched the squadron take their leave, expecting to be forcibly escorted away from the landing site at any moment, but Boil and the Guard seemed content to let him dally. After several long moments, he finally faced the troopers. “Well now, I hear there’s an Emperor who wishes to speak with me?”

Boil nodded and led the way into the Senate building. The members of the Coruscant Guard fell into position around them, tight and defensive.

The Senate was quieter than Obi-Wan could ever remember it being. Normally a bustling place of politics and intrigue, with aides rushing about and Senators playing their games, the stillness seemed unnatural.

Inside the lift to the Chancellor’s suite, Boil coughed.

“General Kenobi,” he said, gruff as ever but also tinged with embarrassment. “I wanted to apologize for, er—that is, erm—” He took a deep breath. “I was the one who shot you down! Sir.”

The admission came in a rush, the words forced out in such a way that they all slurred together, barely comprehensible. When Obi-Wan riddled out what he was saying, the discomfort in his gut twisted into a new configuration of knots. He didn’t know how to respond.

Sergeant Boil had been a steady and trusted member of the 212th since the beginning of the war. That he was the one to turn a cannon onto Obi-Wan and fire was yet another blow, not crippling, but damaging all the same.

Eventually he merely said, “I see,” his tone neutral and even.

The lift doors slid open a moment later and Boil caught his elbow before he could follow the Guard members as they filed out into the receiving room. “Just,” he began, before cutting himself off. “If you could, sir, try to keep an open mind. We know you won’t agree but—this is for the best, General.”

Too confused and heartsick to reply, Obi-Wan allowed himself to be nudged out of the lift and watched the door close over the face of his beloved friend.

Again, the Guard allowed him to take his time, pulling the Force tight around him and taking a few meditative breaths. He may not know precisely what was going on but the longer he was on Coruscant, the less anything made sense. Boil’s apology mixed with the expectation of his return and the plea for his understanding were all pieces to a puzzle.

The shape of which he couldn’t even begin to see.

But, as both Anakin and Mace were fond of saying, the show must go on. It wouldn’t do to keep the Emperor waiting, especially as his office had apparently replaced the Chancellor’s.

“If you would be so kind,” he said, stepping up to the trooper acting as secretary, smiling as if the galaxy hadn’t gone mad while he was away, “I believe I have an appointment.”

A cough that suspiciously resembled a laugh came from one of the Guards flanking him, followed by the distinct impact of plastoid on plastoid. The secretary suppressed a smile as well, helmetless and distinguished from his many brothers only by the impressive number of piercings he’d managed to fit on both of his ears and a single eyebrow.

“I’ll let the Emperor know you’ve arrived, General Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan bowed slightly and stepped away from the desk.

A moment later, the secretary nodded to the other troopers, who began to file back into the lift without fanfare. At Obi-Wan’s look of bewilderment, the secretary merely smirked and tapped at his undecorated ear, indicating an earpiece. “The Emperor will see you now, sir.”

“So soon?” Obi-Wan barely managed, darting a glance at the doors. “No other appointments? I’d think the brand new Galactic Emperor would be a busy man.”

The secretary’s smirk widened into a wolfish grin and he immediately began radiating a smug kind of satisfaction. “Between you and me, General Kenobi,” he said, leaning forward as if to share a secret, “the Emperor’s been anxious to see you. He’s been in a right snit about it, too. We expected you hours ago.”

With that puzzling bit of information, he pressed a few buttons and the doors to the Emperor’s office slid open. “Tell him Indigo says being his secretary is osik,” Indigo—presumably—said with a jaunty wave as Obi-Wan moved determinedly toward the office. “And that I want a raise—!”

The doors slid shut behind Obi-Wan before he could finish, and then it was just himself and whoever sat in the Chancellor’s chair, facing the wide transparisteel windows.

“Well, you wanted to see me,” he challenged, squaring his shoulders and placing a hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. “Here I am, Emperor.”

The figure in the seat turned and suddenly it felt as if the floor had fallen out from beneath Obi-Wan’s feet. Plastoid that had once been white was now matte black, and gold trim that was worn and chipped looked freshly applied, but there could be no mistake.

A wounded noise left his mouth without permission. “Cody?” Obi-Wan said, voice sounding small even to himself. “Commander?”

His commander, his lover, his truest friend beside Anakin, tilted his head at the non-question. “I’m afraid it’s Emperor, actually, Obi-Wan,” Cody replied after a moment, his face a mask of sympathy even as he blinked sharp, electrum eyes in lazy interest. “We have a lot to talk about.”

#star wars #the clone wars #sw fic #by apples #codywanweek2020 #codywanweek #obi-wan kenobi #commander cody #sith!cody #emperor!cody #i decided to do a chapter from obi's pov and one from cody's so cody's should be up tomorrow #codywan

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 7)

CW: mass execution

TL;DR Recap: Niner & Omega watch the Separatists murder Hokan’s old militia. Etain and Darman meet and it’s incredibly awkward. Hokan takes time to gloat. The truth finally comes out about Atin.

Beginning Kal Count: 10 Ending Kal Count: 12 (or 12.5)

THIS RECAP IS THE LONGEST YET. Everything seems to happen in this chapter.

So we open with Niner being bored, Fi being Fi, and Atin being cheerful because he’s up to his elbows in electronic guts. The scene starts pretty quiet before a massive tonal change, but it’s honestly the front half that’s my favorite, just for character reasons.

Niner is bored and grumpy, so logically he’s thinking about how to revise the training manual. Plus his little “if one precaution was good, two were better.” Good old Niner.  Fi being amused that Atin is made content by shredding a computer to pieces. I don’t know, it’s just the little things about their dynamic that makes me happy.

Niner is still upset with Atin, but he’s also curious. He doesn’t have long to think about it though, because the Separatist troops assigned to Uthan along with some of the battle droids assigned to the planet start approaching Hokan’s old Weequay militia. The squad watches as the Separatist officer and the droids proceed to murder every single one of Hokan’s old “associates” in visual range with no warning then retreat back to their base, which Niner finds understandably worrying. 

We switch then to Etain, who is frustrated and paranoid and is building herself an emergency exist by loosening the boards in the back wall of the barn where Jinart has been hiding her. She’s yet again frustrated that she can’t do more with her Force powers, and her lack of self-esteem really comes out in full measure.

“She wondered why Jedi blood had bothered to manifest itself in someone who was so fallible.” Sweetheart...

Jinart arrives to take her somewhere and lets Etain finally feel her presence in the Force. But when Etain mistakes Jinart for a Jedi and asks why Jinart didn’t tell her what she was... Jinart tells Etain to shut up.

“And given your competence, I’m the one who’s most at risk. Now, silence.”

Okay, listen, if you could give her even like three seconds of genuine explanation rather than just attacking her for not trusting you after her teacher was literally sold out and then tortured to death, then you wouldn’t need to tell her to STFU. I’m just saying, Jinart.

Anyway, Jinart tells Etain that there’s a soldier waiting up ahead for her, so Etain heads in that direction, despite Jinart still being extremely shady. She’s about to meet Darman, and while I love them both dearly, while this ship is my OTP, it’s... really fucking awkward.

Listen. This is just weird as hell, okay? I’m gonna admit it. I also pretend it ... wasn’t written like this. Because while Darman is naive and inexperienced, he still has enough neurological development (and enough experiences that go beyond the pale of normal adulthood even) that this weird framing of him as “childlike” just comes off creepy. So I ignore it. That’s really all I have to say about it.

Etain feels Darman’s scope or his attention through the scope or whatever, and decides “well, I’m going to fuck someone up before I die, if I can”, which to be fair, is a very Etain thing to do.

Darman sees her lighstaber is like “oh, finally a Jedi”, and tries to greet her politely. Except this is Etain, who really has no idea what the fuck is going on except that she’s been on this planet for three or more months, the only person she trusted was murdered, and there’s an evil Mandalorian somewhere who wants to hurt her badly.

So naturally when her vision clears (Darman blinded her with some kind of light), she see his helmet, assumes Jinart’s shadiness was in fact the prelude to a betrayal and that this is Hokan...

Darman getting worried now:

And Etain being Etain,she launches herself at him.  (ง'̀-'́)ง(ง'̀-'́)ง(ง'̀-'́)ง

It... doesn’t go well. Darman deflects most of her attacks pretty easily and literally dumps her in the river, continuing to try and calm her down to no avail, but she’s reached her breaking point and is pretty much in a blind rage.

“and when she was frightened and desperate and angry that was very hard indeed. She hadn’t know it until now.”

Listen, it’s a very un-Jedi-like but very Etain thing to do, and also who can really blame her given what she thought was happening and the kind of time she’s had on this planet so far. But Darman is exasperated, and I’m pretty Etain was embarrassed looking back at this for the remainder of her very short life.

Anyway, Darman finally manages to calm her down enough to let him talk, and in the process, he tries to smooth things over by taking the blame. He didn’t identify himself, it’s his fault, etc. He introduces himself (with the wrong designation- KT uses CC 1136, which would make him a Commander, rather than RC 1136) but in doing so, he uses terms of ranks, confusing the hell out of her. She asks when they got a Grand Army and-

We get the iconic “handing her back her lightsaber from the river” scene, except the official art for that picture always neglects to depict the fact that as gentlemanly as he’s trying to be, she’s dripping wet with her hair plastered in her face and desperately trying to politely ask her not to either get herself shot or go after him with a lightsaber again.

Instead of “meet cute” it’s more of a “meet extremely awkward”.

Anyway, this is all coming on the heels of several really bad months for Etain and the utter dismissal she just got from Jinart, so her insecurity really comes out in this conversation. It’s not really pretty.

(Side note, for once I do have to give KT some points on effectively carrying a tiny world building thing: Dar was embarrassed when Jusik asked for his name, he’s embarrassed that Etain is doing it now, and he’s going to be embarrassed again when she asks the rest of his squad.)

“talking army gibberish” lmao.

Again, self-esteem issues. But to be honest, as embarrassed as I am for Etain in this scene (she really doesn’t give her best here) it’s probably because I can relate a hell of a lot to her emotions?

Like, imagine. You’ve already got major issues with your self-worth from a lifetime of not being good enough for the people and the system that raised you, you just got dragged by an old woman after months of struggling behind enemy lines, you failed in your mission to protect the one person who gave a shit about you, and some (to your knowledge) regular human just successfully took you down without too much struggle when Jedi are supposed to be more than human, the best of the best. Then he turns to you with wide-eyed confidence and insists you are now his commanding officer, and you almost feel worse because he’s trying to absolve you of any fault. 

I’d be kind of prickly and asshole-ish, too, if I’m honest.

Again, we start with her having trouble with some wounded pride. But... we end on that bomb shell, and I would not blame Etain for short-circuiting at being told a 10 year old had been “bred to serve [her]. It’s a hell of a lot.

Anyway, I’m aware I copied and pasted almost the entire scene, but there’s a lot there, okay? But next comes more Hokan, and he’s basically just gloating that he’s now more powerful than Ankkit.

*long, exasperated sigh*

Listen, I could write a college essay about characterization just focusing on this man’s use of the word decadent, holy fuck. Also, the gloating is “vulgar” but all he does for pretty much his entire appearance in this chapter is gloat.

You know who Hokan would have gotten on with? Vizsla. Wait- no. Even Vizsla kicked him out. Anyway, Hokan finishes gloating and then goes off to murder a farmer for not divulging important information quickly enough/trying to trade it for booze.

This chapter is long and I know I’ve made this post really long, but we cut back to Niner and Fi again. They’ve made their way to one of the rendezvous points, only to find the trees that should be there aren’t. Fi eventually guesses that they’ve been logging and makes a disparaging comment about intel. Niner gives a little bit more exposition on how terrible the Kaminoans were, including a rumor about clones with impaired eyesight who disappeared and a comment about how Jedi giving orders is different from Kaminoans because Kaminoans are the only things he fears.

Fi is sighing, and eventually Niner prods at him:

And we get our biggest Kal Count yet. Technically this is one continuing remembrance, but it’s also long as hell and includes lots of little memories, so I almost want to include it as 1.5 towards our Kal Count, bringing us to a total of 11 (or 11.5). I’m way more interested in their conversation before Kal is brought up than after, honestly. But the reminiscing gets broken up when Omega is suddenly shot at by a few Separatist officers and a bunch of battle droids:

Please, please imagine this moment with the cartoon B1 battle droid voices from The Clone Wars. Please, I’m begging you.

Atin saves Niner’s life, which is honestly the most positive thing that has happened between the two of them so far and marks a turning point for them in general. It’s also the first time we get to see Fi jump in as squad medic, but he’s super efficient about it. Also, he snarks at Atin as he’s actively trying to decide if Atin is dying or not:

Niner offers to carry Atin’s pack for him until he’s doing better, which means he’s probably carrying something like 300 lbs now, even if Atin did save his life. And I know my screenshots for this post have been ridiculously long, but Niner finally, finally reconciles with Atin enough to figure out why Atin has been an asshole about Darman this whole time (minus the Vau thing):

It’s a pretty nice closing line to the scene, honestly. Also, technically speaking our Kal Count just jumped to 12.

I’ll spare you most of the closing scene because it’s just Hokan being pissed and thinking it’s impossible clones could have done this, but:

a) Mandalorian. Honor. Complex. You’d think Mandalore the Ultimate had been in charge for the last few years instead of Jango.

b) seriously. What is it with the word “decadent”??????

But it’s over quickly with Hokan making the wry observation that if he didn’t know better he would think he was being haunted by Jango’s ghost.

#Rev Recaps RepComm #Republic Commando #Hard Contact #Etain Tur-Mukan #Darman Skirata #Niner Skirata #Atin Skirata #Fi Skirata #Ghez Hokan

[ciscoshairconditioner]

Texts Between Strangers

Note: female/woman ‘reader’

---

Hey, it was really nice meeting you last night. Maybe we can grab lunch tomorrow? This is Cisco btw.

The text pops up on your phone screen as you're scrolling through social media. You've been lounging in bed on this rainy Saturday morning planning on doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day but binge watch The Walking Dead and order thai take out later. You just stare at the text for a minute, blinking.

You definitely didn't give your number to anyone last night because all you did yesterday was pull a double shift at Jitters because they've been short staffed lately. A long day at work usually left you looking a bit wrecked so you're damn sure there wasn't anyone slipping their digits your way either.

This person has the wrong number.

You frown a little bit for them because you wonder if the wrong number was intentional. You've had to give a creepy dude the wrong number on purpose before just so he'd leave you alone. You finally reply after another minute.

Hi I didn't give my number to anyone. Sorry dude, they gave you a wrong number.

You figure that will be the end of that and roll out of bed only to shuffle your way to your comfy couch for some TV time. The notification on your cell pings again and you glance at it, brows raising when you see it's wrong number guy.

For real? This isn't [Girl's Name]? And you weren't at Stanley's Bar last night?

You've actually been to Stanley's a lot over the past couple years since you moved to Central City but last night was not one of them.

My name is definitely not [Girl's Name] and even though I love Stanley's for the sole fact drunk me can make peanut shell confetti rain everywhere during karaoke and not get in trouble, I for real wasn't there last night.

You felt like you were a tad on the sassy side with that text but he was a stranger who apparently one girl had already blown off so you figured he must not be worth much niceties anyways. You were always for girl power so even though you had no idea who [Girl's Name] was, you were going to go with her assessment of wrong number guy, what'd he say his name was? You scrolled up in the message feed, ah—Cisco.

Best peanuts in CC, read his next text which came with a peanut and praise hands emojis.

You laughed and said aloud “Agreed.” as you typed the same reply.

You're flicking through saved episodes of Walking Dead on your DVR, trying to find where you left off when another text comes through. You already have a suspicion its him again before even looking.

I must have heard her say the wrong numbers, it was so loud in there last night :(

Your brow furrows at this one. You remember why you avoid Stanley's on Friday nights. It's usually two for ones and they aways try to get local rock bands to come play. It tends to get too crowded, too hot and yes—too noisy, in there. You read over the text again and find yourself frowning along with his sad emoji.

Next time, you gotta just hand her your phone. No mistakes can be made then. Unless you have an embarassing wallpaper.

His reply is immediate, Pfft no way. It's followed by a screenshot of his actual phone background and a typed No shame along with it.

You're not sure if its a Harry Potter lightning bolt or a reference to Central City's local hero, The Flash. Either way, you're impressed. Wizards or Superheros, a cute guy could totally score your number if you peeped that wallpaper on his phone. Well, the jury is still out on if this guy is cute, you think.

You're right, that is legit. Maybe you did just hear the numbers wrong.

Of course I did. You make it sound like something else. You can't tell if his text was meant to sound cocky or confused.

You bite your lip and reply. Well...

??? is shot back instantly and you sigh.

You decide to just keep it real with him. Guys tend to be overbearing when picking up women. You sure you weren't reading her wrong?

I happen to read people's vibes quite accuratley. She totally was feelin all of this. There's even a smirking emoji.

Alight, cocky it is. You laugh and decide to challenge it. All of what? You send the eyes emoji along with it and wait patiently for him to chicken out.

That's when he sends a picture. Your phone drops into your lap and your mouth hangs open.

It's him.

It's the Jitters customer you've been crushing on for the past year. And that's his name? Cisco?Everytime he places an order to go he always thinks it's hilarious to use the name of a famous fictional character. You've been trying to psych yourself up for months just to work up the courage to ask him for his name and maybe out on a date.

Your mind races with all the daydreams and fantasies you've had starring him. They range from adorable ones where you accidentally bump into him, coffee spilling all over him and you both blushing profusely while you attempt to clean him up; to downright explicit ones where you're the only one on closing shift and he's the last customer so you lock the doors and ravish him right there in one of the plush accent chairs.

You take a smooth five minutes to freak the hell out.

What finally pulls you away from your panic is the muffled sound of your cellphone. You hurridely dig it out from the depths of the couch.

You pass out from all the hotness huh? Lol

You just stare at the message. All language escaping you in that moment. You hadn't attempted flirting since coming to live in Central City. You left a pretty toxic relationship behind and wanted a fresh start. You had spent the past couple years focusing on finishing your MA but now that graduation was right around the corner, you suppose you could actually start dabbling in that real life stuff again. How many hours had you spent making unrequeited heart eyes at a stranger in a coffee shop? You weren't too sure about the mechanics of fate and destiny or whatever.

“Of all the wrong numbers in all the towns in all the world he texts mine,” You blink, “Err, or something like that.” You say to your phone.

You're startled out of your dramatic monologue by another text from Cisco. My self confidence is increasingly deflating  :|

Crap. You realize you haven't sent anything back to him in fifteen minutes. You just type fast and without much thought because you're scared if you think too hard on it you'll back out. Being behind a screen is supposed to make people a little more fearless, right?

Haha no it shouldn't. Its just that I've actually seen that handsome face before. :)

“That's only mildy creepy.” You say to yourself upon rereading your message.

That's... not creepy at all. Is his response, follwed by a How?

Well, we do live in the same city and I work at a popular hang out. You decide to tease him.

Oh, are you that redhead from Big Belly Burger? I told you the offer was flattering but I don't date high schoolers.

You have a good laugh at that before replying, Um, not a BBB employee or a high schooler. I assure you, you're texting a grown woman.

Oh yeah? A grown woman who can do whatever she wants? ;)

You think there's a Beyonce reference in there. Yes is your simple reply.

Idk. I could be getting catfished rn.

You scoff at that. If anyone could be getting catfished, it's me. You texted first.

True, but I genuinely did think you were someone else.

It's followed by another text. Hold up. On reinspection, I've actually have been incredibly generous. Ive given you my name, wallpaper AND my picture. The only thing I know is one place you don't work and that you're karaoke friendly. I think you have to pay some dues miss.

You scoff for a second but then realize you have withheld more than what he's given up in this conversation. You're nervous as you type back, What do you want?

Simple. Even trade. Name, wallpaper, and picture. Gimme.

Another text bubble appears, Please :D

You text him your name and hold your breath wondering if it will spark any memory. You have taken his order countless times at Jitters.

:D One down, two to go!

You sigh and nervously smile to yourself. You snap a screenshot of your phone background, which is just a quote thats partially obscured by your apps. You picked it to ground yourself, to make you never forget your self worth again. You haven't changed it since you moved to Central City. It simply reads 'I am too full of life to be half loved.' You send it on it's way and then go scrolling through your recent selfies to find a picture of yourself looking somewhat decent.

That's some sage advice. You should send me the actual pic so I can pin that to my quotes board on pinterest :)

You smile while sending over the original for him.

Thanks! Now last but not least...

You've picked a picture you took right before going out to a show a couple of weeks ago. You felt confident that night because of your new show stopping outfit and the fact that your hair did absolutely what you wanted it to do. You held your breath as you sent the picture, knowing that for sure he'd have to know who you were. The awkward, babbling barrista that often times tripped over her own two feet.

A minute went by without a reponse. Your nerves were catapulting all over the place while you just sat there and stared at your phone.

Finally a new message notification pinged and you swallowed hard as you opened it. Then, your heart stopped for a second.

Its you. The text simply reads.

What's that supposed to mean? You think. Before you can form a reply, he's sent another text.

I mean, you work at Jitters. I've definitely seen that beautiful face before. :) He mimics your reply to him earlier.

You feel a blush blooming across your face along with what your sure is a goofy smile. Yeah, surprise haha

Would it be weird to say my original question still stands?

You blink in confusion. Excuse me?

It's just that, I've always thought you were cute and you laugh at all my made up names when I order. It's a beautiful laugh btw. You're mouth has dropped open and you just reread the message a few times and then reply.

Hold up. Why haven't you asked me out before?

I've um... had some bad luck in the past with Jitters barristas. Figured I'd steer clear for a while.

And now?

Well now fate has given me your number so I figure I should just go with it :D

You bite your lip to try and control the goofy smile that's forming. Lunch sounds great.

Your phone slips free of your graps and you look up to stare out the window. The sky is clear and bright.

#cisco ramon x reader #cisco imagine #cisco ramon fan fiction #cisco x reader #cisco ramon

[crayonghana37-blog]

High Altitude Ultralight Camping Test

Modern Hiker’s Corey Caffrey and Jonathan Legg hiked the 40 mile Capitol Peak Loop in Colorado’s Snowmass Wilderness to test out a new generation of lightweight gear from Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Six Moons Designs, Sierra Designs, Thermarest, Patagonia, Vargo and MSR.

JL: The start of a high mountain backpacking trip can be a system shock. Heading up the first ascent with a loaded pack, the body is in full protest and the mind full of self-doubt. The end of the trip is typically an achy knee descent. But … what if a chunk of weight was removed from the equation? What would ten fewer pounds do for the spirit and joints? A new wave of ultralight camping gear seeks to answer that question, moving past its fringe roots into the mainstream. Curiously, the less the equipment weighs, the heavier its price tag hangs. Should you pay more for something potentially less durable? Corey and I selected a rugged route with five high passes to give the latest ultralight designs a thorough test.

Our setup:

Jonathan – Pack: Six Moon Minimalist / Shelter: Six Moon Deschutes Tarp / Sleeping: Sierra Designs Nitro 800 (35˚)

Corey – Pack: Hyperlite Mountain Gear – Windrider / Shelter: Hyperlite Tarp w Echo Insert / Sleeping: Thermarest Corus Quilt + NeoAir Xlite

Bonus Gear: Vargo Outdoors BOT 700 & Dig Tool / MSR Pocket Rocket 2 / Patagonia Storm Racer

Ultralight Packs

JL: On my back was the 48L ç Minimalist , weighing just 36 oz (1020 g) with a thin stay configuration transferring weight directly to its hip belt. I’d selected the optional vest front with an array of pockets and attachment points.

The Minimalist‘s greatest asset is its imperceptibility. Once adjusted properly, the pack sat so snugly that I often forgot about it. The material felt ultra-durable and the side pockets held water bottles tightly. One of the side pockets is designed taller than the other to also fit an ultralight tent or hydration bladder.

The innovative vest lets you keep a lot of items within easy reach (sunblock, sunglasses, snacks, etc), however this seemed a bit extraneous with two deep hip containers built into the waist belt. The chest straps were a bit constrictive on my breath so I had them unclipped the majority of the hike. Perhaps with a lighter load the design would become useful when bombing downhill in a run.

Although the main compartment rolls shut like a dry bag, it was a mistake to assume this meant it was waterproof. After a harsh 30 minutes of rain and hail I found gear to be wet in all kinds of peculiar places throughout the pack. There is, however, one waterproof pocket on the top compartment ideal for protecting maps, permits, and electronics.

CC: I’d long been a fan of Hyperlite, but only from afar.  This was my first time wearing one for any length of time.  At just 32 oz, the Windrider is among the absolute lightest packs available.  

Coming fresh from the Outdoor Retailer show, I’d just seen the latest and greatest new suspension systems, articulating hips, shoulders and whatever other new tech was aimed at making your backpacking load easier to carry.  When I pulled the Windrider out of the box I couldn’t help but wonder if this super minimal, no-bells-and-whistles pack was somehow lacking in the construction required for a comfortable ride. I was wrong — the Hyperlite was one of the most comfortable packs I’ve worn for an extended period of time.  In 40 miles and 5 mountain passes it needed only minimal adjustments along the way. The pack really is “set it and forget it”.

As far as organization goes, it doesn’t get much simpler. 1 large main compartment with a dry bag style closure, 3 large exterior pockets made of netting, and 2 generous hip belt pockets. If you like a pocket for everything, this isn’t your pack, but I found it to be adequate, and in exchange for the weight savings the simplicity was a welcome feature. I really loved the netting on the exterior pockets. The netting let me see exactly where everything was and access it quickly. For example, when we came to a water source, refilling was as easy as spotting my filter in the exterior pocket and grabbing it. No digging around and unpacking.

Ultralight Pack Takeaways:

Six Moon’s new vest straps are very innovative.  Definitely going to be an issue of personal preference, but if you run or day hike with a vest style pack you will find this familiar and helpful in spreading out the load.

While both packs are really light, the Dyneema material in the Hyperlite felt much stronger.

The downside of using Dyneema is price, at $340 the Hyperlite is more than $100 more expensive than the Six Moon.

Both packs were very comfortable, we recommend trying both to see which fits you best.

Ultralight Shelters:

JL: At the bottom of my pack sat a Six Moon Deschutes Plus Tarp, adding just 16 oz (450 g) to the tally. The first time I fumbled with the setup was in the pitch dark, but even with a janky setup it kept me safe from morning sprinkles. The fabric is light as tissue paper, it dries incredibly fast, and has a thoughtful mesh skirt for allowing a breeze in while keeping the mozzies out.

CC: For my shelter, I used a modular system: the Hyperlite Tarp w Echo Insert. I personally don’t love just sleeping under the tarp, so I thought this setup could be perfect: Tarp for when conditions are ideal with the option of adding the Insert when I wanted a little more protection from the elements and anything creepy and/or crawly. On this trip, both performed wonderfully. I did 2.5 nights with the tarp + insert and 1.5 under just the tarp. Why the .5? Well that night I had 3 visits from a little pika who apparently wanted to cuddle. After my third wake up call I decided enough was enough and added the insert. One great feature is that the insert doesn’t require additional setup, simply grab it and clip it to the tarp. Within a few minutes I was back under the shelter, this time with a little extra security that provided a great night’s sleep.

Ultralight Shelter Takeaways:

Similar to the packs, the Dyneema Fabric felt stronger than the Silnylon in the Six Moon shelter.

Again, you get what you pay for. The Hyperlite sleep system retails for ~$700, while the Six Moon is a more reasonable $250.  

The Six Moon single pole design makes one person setup much easier than the Hyperlite.  

In rain the Hyperlite held up slightly better, but it’s important to note that neither of these shelters are billed as bomber, storm shelters. In rain they did the job as expected.

Ultralight Sleep Systems

JL:  In late August the weather in the Rockies is already coming over the cold bend. Wildflowers are mostly gone, leaves are beginning to turn, and at 10,000 feet I was mummied up like King Tut in the bag with all my clothes on. I always got over the hump, but there were moments that a degree lower would have sent me over to Corey’s tent ready to little-spoon. The 35 degree Sierra Designs Nitro 800 (35˚) barely did the job, though I marveled at its feather-light weight and enjoyed the ability to pop my feet out of a convenient ventilation slot. The zipper tracks are advertised as anti-snag, but we all know how mischievous bag zippers are, especially if there is any urgency to get out.  Overall the features and weight of the bag were awesome, I just underestimated the temperature at altitude.

CC:  I have heard rumblings about sleeping quilts for a while now in the ultralight community. Since most of the insulating power of a sleeping bag is lost when you lay on it, why not simply remove the bottom of the sleeping bag and sleep directly on the mat? Armed with the Thermarest Corus Quilt and NeoAir Xlite, I set out to see what all the hype is about. As someone who typically sleeps on my side, I loved the quilt. I finally had room to toss and turn unencumbered by zippers. The quilt came with velcro loops that I attached to my pad, avoiding that middle of the night wake up call triggered by sliding off my pad and ending up on the cold ground. Like Jonathan, I tested the lower limits of the comfort range on the quilt at 35 degrees. Anything colder and I would opt for a full bag, but for the bulk of 3 season camping I am a fully converted quilt sleeper.

Ultralight Sleeping Takeaways:

The reality is neither of us brought enough sleeping bag for the trip. Our gear was rated to 35 degrees and with the temperature dipping into the mid 30s or even colder, we both wish we had brought something warmer. It was a good reminder to keep an eye on temps and bring the right gear for the job.  

The 800 fill down for the Nitro made for a super light and super comfortable sleeping experience.

The Corus Quilt is an awesome alternative to the traditional bag. If you love to toss and turn or are simply looking to shave some weight, give a quilt a try.

Bonus Gear / Shoutouts:

I wanted to give a couple other shoutouts to stand-out pieces of gear. For cooking, I used a single pot / cup set up in the Vargo Outdoors BOT 700. This titanium cup sealed tight, allowing me to cold soak food as I walked, resulting in meals that were either ready to eat (cold) or quickly warmed up, already hydrated with minimal fuel usage. To round out my ultralight cook setup, I brought along the MSR Pocket Rocket 2. The stove worked like a dream, however the built in lighter on the latest version, didn’t work from the start. I highly recommend the stove, but would suggest opting for the version without the built in lighter. For a shell, Patagonia sent over a Storm Racer lightweight shell to try. On days 4 of our hike, a light rainstorm quickly turned into a downpour / hailstorm. The shell was perfect, totally breathable and with a light stretch I was able to soldier on, my temperature perfectly regulated and my body dry.

Are you an ultralight backpacker?  Curious to learn more? Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!  

Modern Hiker occasionally receives products or services from companies for free or at-cost for review purposes. Modern Hiker may receive a percentage of sales via affiliate links from these companies but does not accept compensation for editorial reviews. Companies being reviewed are not allowed to exercise creative or editorial control over these posts.

Source: https://modernhiker.com/high-altitude-ultralight-camping-test/