Jump Start My Kaleidoscope Heart

because there was next to zero info about the clone wars, people went wild with their theories. one theory was that the clones were on the bad side and that Obi-Wan fought against the clones (which we know to be wrong in both ways, as Obi-Wan fought alongside the clones, and there was no good or bad side as both sides were being controlled and manipulated by Palpatine). but my favorite is the theory that Obi-Wan was himself a clone designated with the code OB1. which is honestly just hilarious to imagine. just a bunch of Ewan McGregors running around in clone armor swinging lightsabers and shit on the battlefield.

Did he have some high-level idea of the backstory? Maybe a half-filled notebook with some scribbled bullet points? Entirely possible.

I cannot explain how unlikely more Star Wars movies felt back when they were writing the books, and I think that if there was extant lore that could have been shared with the appropriate authors about the Clone Wars, it would have been.

Huh. A generational divide.

Like, I don't actually mind watching videos if I know what the video is about and I want to watch it and I have the time to do so. If a friend sends me a video and describes it, I can then watch the video if it appeals to me.

But I have a hard time processing audio and visual at the same time. It's why I watch EVERYTHING with subtitles, because it's the only way I'll be able to understand everything. And a LOT, dare I say MOST, videos people make either don't have captions, or the captions are "auto" added by some kind of algorithm, and aren't correct. I'm 100% guilty of this! But most of my videos are cute animal videos that don't have audio words that matter. It's different when it's, like, an instructional video that is trying to explain something, and I need to know what's going on and the only way to do that is to watch/listen at the same time.

I also don't have a huge amount of spare time that I'm not doing or supposed to be doing or about to be doing something else in. I don't scroll algorithmic content out of boredom. I don't trawl the internet for videos. I follow like 30 accounts on tumblr, and at least a third of them are secondary accounts for the others, and some of them literally post maybe once a month, some less. That's all I have time for keeping track of. Most of the 'stuff I'm doing online' is research or learning, and I want to be able to skim to see what's there, to know if it is going to be worth my time to slow down and carefully read. With how search results are these days, half the links I click are garbage and a quick scan of the page can mean a huge difference in wasted time. I can't quick scan a video to find out if I'm about to waste the next 10 minutes of my life watching it through or not, I just have to waste the time and be mad about it after. And instead of doing that, I will simply not watch the video.

With videos, sure there are some things that are better or only able to be shown properly on video (a good example, I think, would be something like learning sign language... actually seeing someone do the motions is way easier than reading text describing hand motions. I've done instructional videos on how to ear tag mice and how to gavage feed peafowl and how to clip a chicken's beak, where describing the motions may not necessarily make sense.... but in those cases having a text description AND the video is still best). But if it's something that doesn't NEED to be a video-only thing, but someone made it a video, and I don't understand something, then I'm stuck rewinding over and over again, trying to get to the right spot. And "rewind" functions on internet videos are atrocious, if you've ever tried to use them there's no precision to it. So if (WHEN) I rewind a few seconds too far back, my brain immediately goes "whoops too far we know this part skip it" and half the time only tunes back to focus after what I needed to hear already passed. Which means i miss it. Again. And again. and again. And then I get frustrated at having to deal with a video. If it was just fucking WORDS on the PAGE, I could re-read it until I get it.

And that kind of experience isn't necessarily generational. It's probably /correlated/ because folks my age and older didn't grow up with endless video feeds from around the world. Instructions were printed where we could read them so that's how our brains got wired to absorb info. But someone with audio processing issues like me, or that is deaf/HoH, isn't necessarily old. Someone that is blind or has tracking issues or attention issues or can't read or whatever that makes watching videos easier for them isn't necessarily young. And people with just general preferences can fall into any generation.

Human 1: (points at animal) What’s that?

Human 2: Cow.

Human 1: (points at bug) What’s that?

Human 2: … little cow.

Human 1: But it’s so much smaller. Who would have use for such a small cow?

Also! Stress tolerance is such an important skill that having a learning disability in that area is a major symptom of a whole lot of other disabilities/mental illnesses! Struggling with it is a huge part of life! It sucks!

Am I saying everyone with misophonia needs to listen to chewing noises all day? No. But you need to find ways to tolerate it enough that you don't treat others like shit if they make a mouth noise near you.

No, you don't have to read the fic with your trigger tags. But you do need to be able to handle scrolling past the tags without being upset.

It is hard! But not having it also makes you so so so easy to manipulate. That grandma is racist AF because her mom raised her to be uncomfortable around black people and she never fought that discomfort. Trans people make so many cis people uncomfortable and that discomfort turns into bigotry real fast.

I will not be falling for white Kevin propaganda, absolutely not

1) We know she was writing a scene where Xaden and Garrick talked about killing wyvern last summer. Given the context, its safe to assume that scene takes place during IF after Xaden finds out Violet’s being tortured

2) in her insta post just now, she posted videos from the alex warren concert she attended and left little snippets of commentary with each video. on the video of him performing eternity, she said the song matched with “Sept. Empyrean (but probably not who you might think)”

3) eternity is one of my favorite songs so i KNOW these lyrics, and it’s a song that’s always come across to me as being about loss and grief, and missing someone who’s already passed on and wishing they could see them again.

Tairn had considered just... sleeping through the day.

It was the day of bonds once again. Tairn hadn't bothered to attend any of the events around the day since he'd lost his previous rider; he didn't want more reminders than necessary.

This year, however, Codagh had brought his rider to see something that had both of them in a mood. Tairn didn't particularly care, except that the elder black's presence meant he was expected to defer to Codagh as the oldest of their den. Last night he'd been stuck herding sheep for Codagh. It was particularly ridiculous when there were only two of them in the den! Privately, Tairn thought having younger dragons round up the food for elders was silly ceremony anyway.

Now everyone was busy preparing to bond, or giving advice to someone who was preparing to bond, or already out with their riders doing... whatever it was humans did in preparation. Tairn had never particularly paid attention, even the one time he'd bothered to actually bond with one of them.

Tairn just wanted to be left alone to not think about riders at all, thank you very much. Sgaeyl had been reasonable, leaving him alone without making a big deal about it at all in fact. If only the other black dragon could be so reasonable.

Codagh had opinions. Opinions about Tairn's choice to "hide away like a hatchling" the last few years. Opinions about what the other den elders did while he was preening in Calldyr. Even opinions about which dragons were planning to bond this year, which was supposed to be a sacred choice and none of his damn business.

"And where's that mate of yours?" Codagh asked, dragging Tairn's attention back to the conversation.

"I'm sure you don't really care. Isn't it about time for you to be overseeing the newly bonded as they return?"

Codagh huffed and Tairn heroically restrained from rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose I need to see who's chosen the human princeling and make sure the ones who escaped me are dealt with. That shouldn't be too much lo--." Codagh's thought cut off. The larger dragon launched a few moments later and Tairn didn't bother to watch him go. Maybe next time Codagh was in the Vale, he'd feel the sudden need to visit anywhere else.

Well, whatever he was in such a hurry about, it wasn't Tairn's problem. He curled up in his den and went back to sleep.

It was after dark when he woke again, this time to the sound of arguing in the center of the Vale. He followed it and found Codagh yelling at a group of dragons, others arguing with him about the sanctity of the bonding ceremony, and then he caught a flash of blue he knew so well:

"You cannot control another dragon's bonding," Sgaeyl bared her teeth at the larger black dragon. Aimsir was clearly trying to intervene between them, but Codagh was altogether too close to his mate. Tairn roared from the side of the crowded clearing, and a path to the argument in the center quickly opened for him.

Tairn raged forward, too upset to even appreciate the half-step backward Codagh took. The tide of the argument turned then, as Tairn's strength and age both were nearly a match for his elder.

"It was well of you to defend Chradh and the others," he told her after, as they returned to the den. He'd felt her reaction to his threats to Codagh, and was looking forward to seeing that appreciation privately. "It's just as well that we've not..."

Sgaeyl had stopped. Tairn stretched his neck, looking back at her. "Sgaeyl?"

"We have. Or, I have. I've taken a new rider."

Tairn could only groan.

"Oh don't give me that, old man. You'll like him. He's as stubborn as you." Sgaeyl had caught up with him now, brushing her wing against his.

Now he thought he should have asked more questions earlier. "And why was Codagh so upset, exactly?"

"We've made sure all of the hatchlings left behind by the humans who wished to fight the venin were bonded."

That was definitely not everything, Tairn could feel things left unsaid rubbing up against their bond. He could also, now that he was paying attention, sense the tiny wisp of a human Sgaeyl was connected to.

'Bonding is nothing but trouble," Tairn grumbled.

"We need the humans," she said, and it was not a sentiment Tairn heard often. Sgaeyl had been rather busy lately; Tairn had been too distracted by his depression to question it.

He definitely needed to ask more questions.

Before he could, though, Sgaeyl twined her tail with his, tugging just so, and Tairn decided his day had seen enough frustration. He could save questions he didn't want to hear the answers to until tomorrow.

1. Have proof they're a teenager first. More than just a picture, have a video call with them.

2. If you want to meet up with them, have your parents or a trusted adult come with you. Even if they are a proven teenager, its still good to have supervision in case any issues happen.

3. If you are talking to an adult, and they start being sexual in any way, you run the fuck away. It doesn't matter if they're 40 or 20. An adult inherently has a power dynamic that teenagers do not. And its up to the adult to act responsible about it. There's exceptions of course, if you're 16 and dating an 18 year old, that's not a problem, we're not talking about that.

4. Being in a server with adults or ran by adults is not inherently bad. Talking to adults is not inherently a problem, and will likely happen in any number of Discord servers. It is only an issue when they are acting sexual and show predatory behavior.

5. Look out for grooming behavior. It can be difficult, because at first it seems like innocuous behavior, like complimenting or giving gifts. Especially if you feel lonely and have low self esteem. And groomers actively target people like that.

If they start trying to isolate you, talk sexual with you, state they depend on you for emotional needs, blame you for their own actions, try to be secretive about the relationship- Then you need to talk to people you trust, block the perpetrator, and call the police on them.