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And I'm sorry if that was a bit harsh. Without wishing to go into the gritty details, I'll just say that past experiences have made me a little suspicious of this sort of thing. But enthusiasm is good! The more wrong I am to be suspicious, the happier I'll be. {= )

~Neshomeh

And only because I wrote it. But it would be funny if there were more. {= )

... You know, I think it might be pretty common to set up one's characters for pairing off and/or (possibly) having kids? I don't know why, but I see it all the time, and even I seem to be doing it fairly consistently, though less formally. Either there are relationships or there are pointedly not relationships. Must be a human thing?

You're welcome!

~Neshomeh

... just how many previous examples there are?

It's an interesting quirk of my writings that there are very few simple friendships between my agents. Mostly they're either partners/ex-partners, or related in some way. (This is a knock-on effect from the time period I thought I needed to get every single one of them married off.) It's quite refreshing to get to just write Agents hS and Kaitlyn running into each other and being... friends.

Article! Thank you! I've been putting that off since forever, because I know it's going to be a nightmare to write. Maybe this will be the prompt to get me doing so. Thank you!

hS

Hehe. Another instance of a self-appointed friend of a grouchy person ambushing him in the Cafeteria to give him some love whether he likes it or not. A fine tradition. I love it. And of course, Kaitlyn has her own unique approach to the situation. ^^

Yay for more Agent!hS, too! ... Did I tell you I started <a href="https://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/Huinesoron(agent)">an article for him? I forgot about it for a while. >.>

~Neshomeh

Over the past couple of days, I've posted (with permission) a series of interludes co-written with me and someone who's since left the PPC (they were made in 2015 while they were still with us). Since there were two of us, we basically beta-read each others' work during the writing process. Go us!

These stories are now available for viewing on my AO3 account, where I've been uploading backups and updates for all of my missions published thus far!

"Red Meets Blue": Two Nursery residents find out about each others' existence, just before one of them is hauled away. Takes place in March of 2015.

"Highway To The Danger Room": Sarah and Lapis visit the Danger Room in the DoSAT. It doesn't go too well. Takes place in August of 2015.

"Nobody's Perfect": What happened during Lapis' FicPsych appointment after "Earth, Wind, and Ire"? Well, now you know.

"Switcheroo Special" and "The Day After": The 2015 Body Swap Event, from the perspective of the characters belonging to me and my co-author.

We hope you enjoy!

"Hey! When's your birthday?"

Agent Huinesoron yelped, his chair toppling backwards. Flinging out one arm, he caught at the edge of the table, giving himself just enough leverage to pivot the chair up onto one leg. He span, kicked down with both feet, and brought the seat back upright, facing the woman who had come up behind him.

Agent Kaitlyn gaped. "That... was seriously impressive, you know that?"

The elf scowled his best Noldorin scowl. "You can't just sneak up behind people!"

"Wait." Kaitlyn held up a hand. "I snuck up on you? What happened to 'you breathe so loud that they could shoot you in the dark'?"

"That requires me to not be eating." Huinesoron flicked one foot against the floor, setting the chair spinning once more, and landed back facing the table. He sighed softly, then gestured at the next seat along. "Please, sit."

Kaitlyn swung down into the chair and squirmed to get, if not comfortable, at least not in actual pain. "Thanks. So when is your birthday?"

Huinesoron shook his head slowly. "You interrupt my first proper meal in days to ask that? I don't-" He stopped, grimaced. "Please, clarify your reason for me."

"Well, at least you're trying," Kaitlyn murmured. "I see a friend eating a thoroughly miserable salad with a face like a... moping... face..." She waved a hand through the air. "Forget the simile. Point is, I figured no-one remembering your birthday would be the most tragic reason for that, so I wanted to check and make sure."

Huinesoron's brow was deeply furrowed. "I don't think I followed all of that."

Kaitlyn winked at him. "That's what you get for trying to work in a foreign language," she said. "So when's your birthday?"

The elf carefully refrained from rolling his eyes. "First of all," he said, "elves don't celebrate birthdays - we celebrate the day of your begetting." Kaitlyn opened her mouth, a malicious twinkle in her eyes, and he hurried on. "Secondly, I was born before the Moon or Sun first rose; we kept no count of the years in that time, nor is it simple to convert from days of the Sun to days of the Trees."

"Hmm." Kaitlyn mulled this over. "So you don't know when your birthday is?"

"I suppose not." Huinesoron picked up his fork, twirling it between his fingers. "I fully expect to be called away soon, so if you don't mind, I'll eat while we talk-"

"No!" Kaitlyn snatched the plate away with a look of disgust. "You can't eat this! It's way too depressing-looking."

Huinesoron examined his salad, which consisted in large part of slightly wilted lettuce. "I suppose," he allowed, "but have you seen the purported meat in this place? I'd rather my food didn't actively attack me."

"Who said anything about meat?" Kaitlyn asked, grinning. "Have you seen the mushrooms? I think there must be a hobbit working in the kitchens; I'll get them to whip you up a special birthday-sized portion."

The elf blinked. "But it's not my birthday."

"Nah-uh!" Kaitlyn swung an accusing finger towards him. "You don't know that, you just got through telling me you don't know that. So it might be."

"... fine." Huinesoron put down his fork and smiled politely at her. "So I'm familiar with mortal traditions - this means I get a present, yes?"

Kaitlyn sniffed and tossed her hair. "Only if one follows human customs," she said. "Myself, I much prefer to take the Hobbittest path in all things - which means you owe me a present." She smirked, held out her hand towards him. "Come on - don't be stingy, birthday boy; it only comes round once a year, after all!"

~

^_^

(Technically speaking, this should be considered a Driftwood side-story.)

hS

Allah Skywalker, also known as Allah Gold, was sent by the Presbyterian Church to seduce Speaker D so he can find compromising information about him. This backfired, since Gold, resentful of his lack of respect among members of the Church, joined forces with Speaker D in his plan to form the Empire of the First Choice "to ensure the future safety with prospers". This was all part of D's long scheme to further his own power by legalizing religion.

Here is the beginning of an explanation for what I just said:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebOriginal/TheStarWarGatherings

Albeit extremely poorly conveyed.

What I'm doing right now is more practice than anything else. If I get Permission, I'll edit everything I wrote thoroughly before I post it.

I wasn't lying or trying to deceive you. I've felt like it would be okay to practice writing missions so long as I don't post them, and featuring Sean really was just an idea - if you guys said no, I would have scrapped what I wrote and started anew. I wasn't pretending anything, which is why I said several times here and in the chat that I've already staryed writing. O really am very sorry if it seemed like I was trying to trick you

So... part of the point of Permission is checking that you're set to write decent PPC missions. If you're writing them in advance, please give them a thorough second draft before you post them afterwards, because the discussion around your Permission request (which will hopefully be successful!) will definitely contain points that the PGs think you need to keep in mind when writing.

hS

What you mean by that seems to be 'this is a summary of the point I was trying to make'. I think it's characteristic of people who try to explain their reasoning, and then want to make sure that their actual argument didn't get lost in the flood. I do it (or related terms) a lot in work emails, which probably means I need to write shorter work emails. -_-

hS

... did intend to be silly, though.

hS

He cut his hand off in defence of Palpatine (who had ostensibly surrendered), and Palpatine murdered him by throwing him off a building.

After that, I guess Anakin's guilt for his role in Windu's death and his mistrust of the Jedi - and presumably he expected that he wouldn't exactly be welcomed back into the Order after defending a Sith Lord against a Jedi Master - led to him deciding "what the hell" and jumping off the slippery slope.

Actually, a comparison comes to mind - Redcloak, from The Order of the Stick. Like Anakin, Redcloak has a goal, and an exquisitely monstrous person offering him a path to that goal. And they both end up doing terrible things for that person in order to achieve their goal - Redcloak kills his own little brother; Anakin in complicit in the death of Mace Windu. That then leaves them with no excuse for their behaviour, so they cling to achieving their goals instead, in the service of the evil creature who they pretend to themselves can help them achieve it.

So that's it - Anakin defends a Sith from a Jedi in the heat of the moment, then continues to serve Palpatine because that gives him an excuse for his inexcusable behaviour - "it's to save my wife".

Of course, it's a selfish goal, because Anakin is ultimately pretty selfish.

And another thought, about the younglings - Anakin's super arrogant, and arrogance hates being judged. Wiping out the Jedi order was possibly, on Anakin's part, a desperate attempt to avoid being judged for his actions. In that light, the apprentices weren't children - they were part of the group which would seek to judge Anakin for his actions, and thus targets.

Of course, this was all ultimately precipitated by Palpatine's (and Jar Jar's) careful stroking of his ego and infatuation with Padmé. There was probably some subtle Force Suggestion involved, too.

In summary: Annie's an arrogant, selfish person who accidentally touched the slippery slope and then went "what the hell" because he didn't want his feelings hurt.

Okay, hearing that, I kinda want to pick up a copy myself just to see what it's like.

I loved it and barely remember anything abkut it now :(

It was a long road to the end of season two, but we've ended on just the right note to get me jazzed for season three. Bring it on!

~Neshomeh

More fun when you actually say it, though. {= )

I think that goes to my point that it's worth considering what you-general-inclusive mean when you say "I mean." Same with "like" or "so" or any of the other introductory filler words. Are you saying what a thing is like, or how it is? "So" what—is this really relevant? Are you saying what you mean, or not? Basically, I think these phrases have a function, less in and of themselves, but more in pointing out places where increased clarity may be warranted.

... And there's another one. "Basically." What's foundational about that statement? Have I figuratively gotten to the bottom-most level of some structure? I don't know! The word is completely superfluous nine out of ten times I want to use it, and yet I keep putting it in all the damn time. What's up with that?

This has been Neshomeh's Brain Fixating on a Trivial Question of Word Usage in Casual English. Thank you and enjoy your evening. {= )

~Neshomeh

Especially if what I'm trying to say is coming out mangled. "[blah blah blah] ack... words... [frustrated gestures] stuff... you get it?"

Sometimes people even get it!

~Neshomeh

No. :-P

Sidenote: Tomash uses "words" elongated when he can't think of what to say when talking to people. This habit has infected me.

It has a wikipedia page, so either I didn't dream of this, or Wikipedia's editors have a line into my dreams and consider them notable.

First, his upbringing. Anakin is an exceptional Jedi, immensely talented and extremely powerful. It teaches him a kind of arrogance, a belief that he really can do anything. And after all, why not? He's the Chosen One. Obi-Wan recognizes this, but his attempts to keep him humble only lead to Anakin feeling starved for recognition, which he receives not from his Master or from the Jedi, but from the Chancellor.

Which leads nicely into point two, the Clone Wars. Anakin's fatal flaw throughout the Prequel trilogy has always been his fear of loss. During the Clone Wars, Anakin loses friend after friend after friend, whther they be Clone Troopers or Jedi. In addition, his accomplishments as a general are still not recognized by the Jedi. Enter, Palpatine, who is there to encourage and manipulate him every single time the Jedi disappoint him. Over the course of the war his faith in the Council is shaken, his fear of loss is intensified, and his trust of Palpatine grows.

Finally, we come to the revelation that Palpatine is a Sith. Despite his trust in the Chancellor, despite his fear of losong Padmé, Anakin still does the right thing. He goes to Mace Windu and informs him of Palpatine's true nature. He sacrifices what he believes may be his only chance to save his wife, and Windu benches him. Anakin is one of the Order's best warriors, he knows Palpatine better than any other Jedi, he is without doubt their best chance at successfully taking Palpatine into custody, and Windu tells him to stay put.

So, when the final confrontation comes, Anakin walks in to find that not only was he right, the Masters who went to arrest the Chancellor did need his help, but the only survivor of the attempt is about to murder the Head of State of the Galactic Republic in cold blood, in violation of the Jedi Code. The same Code that has tormented Anakin ever since he began his relationship with Padmé, seems to be worth nothing even to a member of the Jedi Council.
At this point, Anakin has lost what little faith he has left in the Jedi, and once Windu is dead, he has, in his mind, already gone too far to go back on serving Palpatine. The rest, as they say, is history.

There's a quote from Knights of the Old Republic that I think could pretty well serve as the thesis statement for all of Star Wars, "Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled... but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love... that's what they should teach you to beware. But love itself will save you... not condemn you."
―Jolee Bindo

Fits pretty well, I think. Anakin fears losing Padmé, and his attempts to save her are what kill her. the Jedi fear that strong emotions will lead their members to the Dark Side, but their detachment only turns their members against them. Obi-Wan fears failing to teach Anakin, and his attempts to avoid that are what drive Anakin to Palpatine. The final act of the Original Trilogy is Luke overcoming his fear and anger to become a Jedi, and it's his father's love for him that saves him, and by extension, the galaxy.

Apologies if this a bit rambly and/or typo ridden, in a bit of rush at the moment, but I just couldn't help but chime in. What can I say, I'm a Prequel fan at heart.