Like– the world already ended, a long time ago, and the characters are surrounded by the ruins of dead countries. They spend most of their time journeying through places that are either abandoned (Moria) soon to be abandoned (Rivendell/Lorien) or half-destroyed and falling into decay (Rohan/Gondor.) The villains are creatures that Used to be Human; I feel like Lotr’s orcs/ringwraiths have more in common with zombies than they do with DnD-style orcs, because they’re a state that “normal” people enter when they’re corrupted by a supernatural force.

Even the Shire is surrounded by ruins– the ruins of watchtowers, the ruins of the old Northern Kingdom, the ruined city near the Grey Havens. The people around there have an idiom “when the king comes back” that means the same thing as an idiom like “when pigs fly”–  “when a completely ridiculous improbable thing happens.” They’re so used to the disintegrated state of the world that the idea of a central government is fairy-tale-like and bizarre. They have their little mayors and thains; they don’t need anything else.

So yeah! I see people try to “modern-real-world- au” versions of Hobbiton by making it “a peaceful suburb” but to me, a modern au version of Hobbiton would be more like…….

You are a hobbit.

You don’t know much history, but you understand that there were Wars a long time ago that destroyed a great amount of life on earth.

You live in a little hole in the ground. You don’t know that long ago these holes used to be called “bunkers;” you decorate them with flowers.

When you want to say that something won’t happen, you’ll sarcastically say things “lol yeah SURE that will happen! And tomorrow pigs will fly, Parliament will come back into session, there will be a president in the White House, there will be a prime minister making speeches, and diplomats will intercede between all of them! ha! XD”

If you journey even a little outside of your home, you’ll find the ruins of old cities and skyscrapers. There are messages in the ruins that are written in languages you don’t speak. Human beings used to live here; they don’t anymore.

I’m a political science major and TCW is, generally-speaking, a great example of well done political science in a kids show.

But fandom, you have to think about how some of these things would play out within an actual military structure. I know we want to think Obi-Wan should/could have told Anakin, that things could go so much better and that maybe Anakin’s trust wouldn’t have been so damaged. I think this is not only not the case, but a disheartening misunderstanding of the material and the nature of the arc itself.

This post follows a bit of a structure:

I. Choices: Anakin’s Matter.

II. The International/Galactic System: Why All The Secrecy?

III. The Republic: The UN With Teeth

IV. Deception Arc: Why Obi-Wan?

V. Keeping The Secret & The Importance of Operational Security

VI. The Force in All of This

VII. Character Reactions: Anger, Duty, Frustration

VIII. Fandom Reactions: Obi-Wan Isn’t Guilty. Please, Stop Acting Like He Is.

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I wake up in the morning. The white lace curtains sway in the breeze. The cuckoo clock in my room tells me that it’s seven o’clock. ‘If you sleep longer, you’ll be late!’ Mama cries out. I nod off thinking, ‘Just let me sleep three more minutes.’ I’m late, just like every other day. Teacher makes me stand in the hall. I fail another test. On the way home from school I eat crepes with my friends. A party dress decorating a show window catches my eye. Such little things delight my heart… It’s that… that ordinary life I want back… I want it back.

Ari's parents at the end of the book: yes homo

Tumblr and Pinterest have a lot of examples of beautiful notes that honestly just make me want to go study. But it seems like a lot of work, right? Why do people put in so much time just for the aesthetics of class notes?

Well, I’ll tell you!

I’m no master at calligraphy like some of these artists, but I do try to make my notes look as nice as I can. Here’s why:

I like to draw and decorate, so using colors and rulers to make something look nicer is a bit of a break for my brain after transposing a whole chapter of dense notes

It makes me want to look at my notes more (humorous, I know, but it’s true)

I can use it to direct the eye to important tidbits while not overwhelming the smaller details of the page

Rewriting ugly notes taken during class reinforces the information, especially when they’re rewritten nicely

The more time you spend with input, the more solid it is in your brain

Using color helps locate the information later on, and sometimes recall it in your head

The way I avoid being ^^^^ this meme, is I take notes in class then later rewrite the information in a totally separate place with pretty markers.

It doesn’t matter how awful your class notes look as long as you can read them later.

Basically,

You’re notes don’t have to look a certain way if they work for you. Don’t feel emasculated when the kid next to you whips out a pack of of 12 Tombow markers during a teacher’s lecture. I personally, think it’s ineffective to do this during class, but again, different strokes for different folks.