Oh. I Like This One

oh. I like this one

One of the reasons that the headcanon that Qui-Gon "repudiated" Feemor post-Xanatos really bothers me is that the characterization we get of Qui-Gon really lends itself more to the idea that he might've CLUNG to Feemor rather than pushed him away. There's zero indication that Qui-Gon has cut off all contact with the people he had relationships with prior to Xanatos (Yoda, Mace, Tahl) and one of the reasons he's so disinclined to take a new apprentice is the fear that he'll make the same mistakes he did with Xanatos and cause their fall. But if he has a whole other apprentice that he WAS successful with, wouldn't he instead cling to that proof that he's not actually a failure? Even just as a comfort?

I propose an AU where Qui-Gon actually ends up partnering with Feemor post-Xanatos in order to always have that comfort nearby. Feemor wants Qui-Gon to get back into the saddle of teaching but knows Qui-Gon well enough to understand that throwing him into that saddle won't go well for anybody, so he decides on a trickier plan and takes a Padawan of his own (his first Padawan since he became a Knight) and ask for Qui-Gon's assistance. Since Qui-Gon is partnering with him, it's inevitable that they'd end up basically sharing the responsibility of teaching any Padawan that Feemor takes, but Feemor intentionally makes sure Qui-Gon knows that he's nervous about it and will want his Master's guidance.

So instead of becoming Qui-Gon's Padawan, Obi-Wan ends up becoming FEEMOR'S Padawan. Qui-Gon sees right through all of this of course, but he can't really do anything about it and he doesn't really mind helping Feemor with a Padawan the way he would if he had sole responsibility. He bonds with Obi-Wan relatively easily and the three of them become an incredible team.

And then you can get real angsty with it and say that Feemor died before the events of TPM, so Qui-Gon obviously took over Obi-Wan's apprenticeship on his own afterwards.

masculine men do not objectify women. i'm tired of people labeling the shock and discomfort women feel when they hear objectifying talk just us being "sensitive" or "not used to being around real men!!"

masculine men do not objectify women. that is a deeply emasculated, weak, porn-addled, slave-to-sin, ungodly, disrespectful, anti-jesus mentality.

God created masculinity, God gets to define it. God also says it's better to gouge your eye out if you lust after a woman. God also says women are made in His image. God also says we all should be meek. God also says we have a responsibility toward the oppressed.

REAL masculine men do not see women like that. and if that's idealistic and "no men actually are like that", then no men are masculine.

Because JK Rowling never wrote anything about magic in the Americas, I love to come up with worldbuilding and headcanons about how the Wizarding world would operate in the US. Of course as some have postulated there would be numerous Wizarding schools in various states, much like the collegiate system. They would be attended by teens and young adults. Magic at younger ages would be mostly learned at home or in private day schools, (a large city like New York could easily host more than one magic elementary school) where the children could go home to their parents at night.

The Salem Witches Institute (Salem Oregon) is one of the foremost of these, not to be confused with the venerable Salem Witches' Academy (Salem, Massachusetts).

What else. Oh of course, virtually every adult wizard in the US knows how to apparate and does so on a regular basis, complaints from the UK that this is an extraordinarily difficult magic go ignored, although Apparition incidents is the leading magic-based cause of death in the US exceeding even dark magic. Floo powder exists as a niche commodity but is called "chimney powder" since nobody in the US knows what a flue is.

Speaking of dark magic, there are some cultural variations between Britain and the US on what is considered Dark, as well as across different regions of the United States. Potentially lethal hexes are generally more socially tolerated in the US, studied for self-defense purposes, and there are no legal restrictions on studying the Dark Arts on a purely theoretical level.

(Magical guns are also not unheard of.)

What else.

In the moments after Eustace and his cousins stumbled back into Lucy’s guest room, he became uncomfortably aware that everything was different.

Eustace stared down at his arms and found none of the tan he had grown accustomed to seeing. His eyes felt strained and out of focus. It took him nearly a full minute to realize it was because his vision had returned to normal, as though he’d never tasted the waters of the Last Sea. A glance in the mirror on the back of the door revealed that his hair was neatly combed, not ruffled and wind-tossed. There wasn’t a freckle on his face.

Perhaps, Eustace should have been less startled by the physical transformation—after all, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as his undragoning had been—but if anything, this time there was a greater awareness that came with it. Everything was different, his body seemed to sing.

If he had shaken himself from his private reverie a few moments sooner, perhaps Eustace would have seen the moment when Edmund and Lucy sank down onto the bed in one synchronous motion and wrapped their arms around each other. Lucy shook soundlessly as Edmund twined his fingers into her hair, but she was smiling too.

When Eustace went out of the guest room to shakily make some tea, he stepped over Lucy’s suitcase, which was piled high with light-weight dresses in bright, vibrant colors. He glanced into his own bedroom and saw the stack of books that Edmund had left piled on the dresser. I don’t really know my cousins at all, he thought.

Eustace couldn’t know, in that moment, that Edmund would be lending him favorite books for the rest of their all-too-brief lives. He couldn’t know that Lucy’s Narnian brightness would find its way into his stocking at Christmas this year, and the next, and the next. He couldn’t know that Peter and Professor Digory were waiting for him somewhere in a little study, that they’d give him stories about Narnia and words of Greek with equal enthusiasm in a week’s time.

When he returned to the spare bedroom with three cups of tea, Edmund and Lucy were still wrapped around each other like the cords of a rope. Silently, Eustace put their cups down on the end table and focused hard on feeling different.

Keep reading

nothing has filled me with as much rage towards the current administration as watching the effects of their policies play out in real time in my own back yard. I always knew they didn't care, but it's things like this that make me believe they're out to get us.

Who didn’t see this coming?

And here’s a stretch…who do you think were slashing those tires on the relief trucks?

A Nice Meal For When You Can Chop But Can't Think

If you can chop vegetables right now but don't have brains for a lot of measuring and planning, here's an easy and absolutely delicious stir-up. It's the best when I'm tired, and it's so savoury and umami.

Get yourself carrots, celery, a bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Chop up as much as you want, following your heart. Fry in a bit of olive oil, high heat at first, then turning it down when you think it might be a good idea to do so.

(Putting the onions, celery, and carrots in first and chopping up the rest while they get a headstart seems to go well, but you do you. Do what your brainless head can handle.)

Finally, crush and chop some garlic and add in. Put in herbs of your choice and some soy sauce. I also like chopping up fresh green onions. But use what you have.

BUT IF YOU WANT IT TO BE AMAZING -

Put in the garlic and herbs, but instead of the soy sauce, chop some bacon and splash some red wine. It's beautiful, and homey, and though it's not a ratatouille it will make you feel like this guy: