#at the end of this series I should make a master post of all grace's pjs

[guardian-angle22]

911 lone star fashion -> every grace outfit

↳ 4.11

[tinycheesecakedetective]

So with Wild Life finally drawing to a close, I can safely say it's my third favorite life series so far. I could just feel the energy the lifers had through the screen, god I love them.

But with Wild Life finally over, my brain immediately started thinking of the next one, if there will be a next one. And I got a lot of ideas.

Dumb ideas.

Ideas that smell faintly of a 3 AM weed session.

Those sleep depraved ideas that sound good at the time but then you start writing them down and they make no effing sense.

That's what this post is for! It's for my brain to spit out every crack induced, repetitive, and stupid idea into one post so that I can channel the excess hype into other stuff. also (car)met propaganda c'mon it's a blend of the car and the comet, it's right THERE-

BETTING LIFE Probably the most cohesive of the bunch. All players will get a random amount of lives, ranging from 4 to 7. They then spawn in a world where they can only access the bare essentials, meaning no diamonds, gold, TNT, etc. The highest set of armor and tools you can get naturally is iron, and the only weapons you can make are flint and steel.

If this sounds harsh, it is. But, there is a way you can get your hands on some decent stuff. By betting your life away! The players can choose to bet on literally anything, from whoever can tame a horse first to who will lose a life that session. All it costs is your health points. The minimum amount of hit points you can bet is 3, and the most is an entire life(hence the high amount of lives you can get!) The higher you bet, the bigger the payout. You could play it safe by betting the bare minimum or not bet at all, or you could go all in and risk everything for some seriously powerful items.

LORE LIFE It's third life again, but... but lore- Imagine if Third Life's world had a built in story, and the players had to solve it while also surviving with three lives and a dream. Like, the spawn had an underground chamber recording the history of a curse or a kingdom or something. Then there could be two winners: the normal winner and the Lore Master, the person who uncovers the most story. Again, it's not required to figure out the story or to play into it but it's there.

CURSED LIFE Ah, now we're getting into the real crackhead tomfuckery. Cursed Life starts off with the players having 4 lives. And a curse they have to deal with for the entire series. Said curse could range from something as practical as being stuck with leather armor to something as crazy as pseudo vampirism and needing to avoid the daylight and suck life points from other players. Data packs may or may not be included, but it would sure enhance the setting.

REVERSE LIFE All players start off red, with the goal being to reach 6 lives first. To prevent any early perma-deaths, the first 3 sessions have a grace period and the world is set to peaceful. In order to gain a life, players will have to complete tasks placed around the server. Once the grace period ends, the players will have to face the cruel and uncaring world. And other players. It's still a life series, and any red name can still snuff out the competition. Last man standing or first to get 6 lives wins.

TOURNAMENT LIFE You must participate in at least one tournament every session. All tournaments must be held in the arena, and can range from water clutching to fights to the deaths. If it's a competition, it counts. Red names aren't exempt from this, they just lose the privilege of choice. All players have 3 lives.

BUILD LIFE 3rd Life, but you can get access to building materials and create the sickest bases.

MEDIEVAL/FANTASY LIFE 3rd life, but everyone's been isekai'd. Mythical creatures are everywhere, everyone belongs to a different kingdom, and Rendog finally gets to live out his fantasy dreams. Think of Empires SMP, but with far more bloodshed.

DANGANLIFE ...It's literally Danganronpa. One life, 16 participants. Every session, the lifers receive a new motive to murder. Should someone choose to try their luck, a trial will be held to find the culprit. If they correctly find the culprit, they get rewarded and the killer is executed. Guess wrong, and the person with the most votes dies, the rest experiencing a punishment worse than death.

HARD LIFE Take betting life and remove the gambling aspect. Now you have a series where everyone has a limited range of resources to choose from, forcing them to get creative with kills and to be frugal with whatever valuables they do have.

EVO LIFE 3rd Life, except it's old Minecraft. Bless their poor souls.

APOCALYPSE LIFE Imagine Gem's boogeyman curse, but it was altered to be a looming threat for the entire season. Every session, a patient zero was chosen, and their goal for the day was to pass on their curse like a hot potato. Members left uninfected get rewards while the person stuck holding onto the curse gets punished. For reasons, the curse only lasts half of the session.

And that's all for now! If you have any more suggestions, feel free to share them here!

[foxybananaaaz]

Let's talk about my FIRST theory for House of Flame and Shadow that I just thought about this morning while talking with my friend.

Also also, I have not seen this theory out there. I haven't seen many theories at all(on purpose). SO THIS MEANS, if this theory is already out there, I did NOT steal it. It would be nice to know, though, so I can make an edit, stating that I was not the first to come up with it.

⚠️ Spoilers for Entire SJM!Verse ⚠️

Continue reading below the cut

《 The Hind knelt before her undying masters and contemplated how it would feel to tear out their throats. 》

- House of Flame and Shadow, first sentence(officially released)

Lidia is a new POV this book! Which got me thinking... who else might be new POVs?

Sadly, I feel it's unlikely our ACOTAR gang will get POVs... But who knows? We might be surprised with just one of them getting it.

If so, if we are graced with a POV from one of our ACOTAR characters, I feel it might be Amren, though. This is because she was the one to understand Bryce's language first. She was also the one to recognize the Star Sword. So, if we are lucky enough where we do get an ACOTAR POV, it will probably be Amren.

Which, okay? I'm not sure how I personally feel about that. She really annoyed me in Silver Flames. After the scene where she was telling Rhys about using Nesta and her swords to become High King, that's when Amren started annoying me. It seemed she cared more about power than politics.

Politically speaking, it's better for Rhys to stay High Lord. He knows this. Of course, he knows this. He's great at politics. But for power? High King is better.

And with this in mind, where it seems Amren cares more about power? Think about how powerful Bryce is. Also, remember the fact that there IS a war brewing amongst the courts of Prythian. The scene mentioned above takes place because Amren and Rhys know about it, AFTER Eris tells them how his father is itching for it. I kind of feel how the war was shoved to the side, though.

This is because we have Koschei. He was there helping Briallyn in Silver Flames. All signs are pointing to Elucien being endgame, and it's also obvious that the next book will be Azriel, given his bonus chapter, and that he will end up with Gwyn. So that leaves the last book being Eluciens' book.

Now, Lucien lives in the Human Lands, with Jurien, and who else? Oh yeah! Vassa!! Who is currently cursed, and on borrowed time with her freedom from Koschei, because the deal Papa Archeron made with him.

Given that Koschei was tied to Briallyn, it's safe to assume he will have something to do with the villain of Azriels' book. And with Lucien being friends with Vassa, and it being the last book, this would be where we face down with him.

But I've made a few posts about that already. This post isn't about that, though.

So, what about the war, that's been foreshadowed, you know, the one Eris mentioned, and the one that led Amren to her idea that Rhys should be High King before it's too late?

When's that plot going to happen?

I honestly feel that it might just happen with Bryce in Prythian?

"Oh, but you can't have one series plot happen in another series! The readers who don't read Crescent City will wonder where that plot went!" To which I respond with... Illyrian Uprising, from Frost and Starlight. Where did it go in Silver Flames?

I know it didn't go to another series, but this wouldn't be the first time someone wondered where a plot from her books went. It even happened in the same series.

Also, sidenote, I've made a few posts mentioning this war and gotten replies saying, "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about the war being foreshadowed!"

Would it be at all a smart move? No. But when you think about it, it would make sense.

Think of how pushy Amren was with the High King business, after learning just how powerful Nesta truly was, if she could feel the power coming off simple weapons she made. Again, this is coming after the information Eris gave them about his father's itching for a war amongst the courts.

Now, enter Bryce Quinlan, or I guess, legally, it's Bryce Danaan(Nope! Nooo DO NOT LIKE THAT!) now? Either way, she's always going to be Bryce Adelaide Quinlan to the family that loves her, and to us.

Anyway, now that Bryce is with us in Prythian, and I've already mentioned that it feels that Amren cares more about power than politics, just remember how powerful Bryce is. How far down she went when making the drop. She even passed her father's depth.

So, of course, when Amren learns this, she will be on Rhys' ear, telling him to make a deal. Help her if she helps them stop the war amongst courts before it happens(not yet knowing how to do that). She will also want to help Bryce learn how to use her powers without someone like Hunt activating her. Just like she wanted to help Nesta.

Also, the fact that it's confirmed by Sarah, that Amren was an Angel(potentially an ArchAngel?), could she be from the world of Crescent City before it became more modernized, with all the technology.

Is being from the same world how she can understand Bryce? If so, she would know how terrifying the Asteri are, and hearing Bryces story, she would want to come up with a way to serve their purpose gaining more power, but ALSO keep Bryce safe from the Asteri for as long as possible.

Once Bryces end of this deal is completed, then Nesta will use the Harp to help get Bryce to wherever it is she needs to go.

Thus ending the hypothetical Amren POV chapters. Though, obviously, we would have Prythian in both Bryce and Amren, so.. yeah.

ALSO ALSO,

I'd like to think Nesta would tag along with Bryce, after learning that she needs to go to Hel, then back to Lunathian. This way, Bryce wouldn't be stranded again, in case she couldn't activate the horn.

Bonus points if, by using the Harp, they drop into Terresen, literally right in front of the royal family, and Aelins just there like

But we know she will, because she's Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius, the Fire Breathing Bitch Queen. And if her kingdom or friends are in danger, then I almost feel sorry for the ones putting them in danger.

[nounpolycule]

What is Esther Most Correct About?: The Tournament

[Image description: a double-sided bracket with 64 spots total, color coded so that each pair of options is the same color. The bracket shows the pairs that are described below. End image description.]

(link to my normal pinned post here)

We all know and love that I am correct about everything (or at least admire the confidence. Or maybe just put up with it. If not that then what are you doing here?), but what am I most correct about?

Round Two (link) (link but chronological):

"twelveriverrose autism4autism4autism stone butchfemme telepathy sex" vs "Jack and Rose had karaoke nights"

"Donna Noble is Jewish" vs "tentooriverrose"

"Rose regularly took naps on the jumpseat in the TARDIS" vs "Jack and Rose had a scrapbook in s1"

"Lots of River fans are wrong about River" vs "River is often wrong about River"

"Bad Wolf as disability" vs "Rose is autistic"

"elevenrose would be Worse than tenrose" vs "Immortal Rose would keep the Doctor's jackets after each regeneration"

"The Doctor and Clara are Pointedly a secret third thing" vs "Rose and Clara are exes"

"Grace should've been a companion instead of Graham" vs "13 should have hung out more"

"River carried pictures of the Doctor specifically because of the audio Signs" vs "River should have actually been giving back the diamond in THORS"

"Mia is short for Stayuexisumigorkefloryan" vs "Pete's World sucks" AND "Pete Tyler sucks"

"Gomez!Master comes after Dhawan!Master in their personal timeline" vs "Rose and Martha would have been besties"

"Jack and Rose should have gotten a more meaningful reunion" vs "Jack created the Bad Wolf computer virus"

"Rose realized she was bisexual before series 2" vs "Rose came out to Mickey in Pete's World"

"The implied pre-Winner Takes All breakup is canon" vs "You do keep turning up. Like a bad wolf." is the best "bad wolf" drop"

"The Doctor is a butch dyke" vs "rosetosh. not sorry."

"It's weird to think Martha still has a grudge after 15 years" vs Heaven Sent

Round One (link) (link but chronological) (Recap of Matches 1-16) (Recap of Matches 17-32) (Bonus Match):

17. "River carried pictures of the Doctor specifically because of the audio Signs" vs "Pottery is one of River's special interests"

1. "twelveriverrose autism4autism4autism stone butchfemme telepathy sex" vs "The Eleventh Doctor is a stone top"

2. "Jack and Rose had karaoke nights" vs "Jack and Rose had movie nights"

3. "Donna Noble is Jewish" vs "The lining of Ten's coat looks like old bowling alley carpet"

4. "tentooriverrose" vs "eleventooriverrose"

5. "Rose regularly took naps on the jumpseat in the TARDIS" vs "Eleventoo survived"

6. "Jack and Rose had a scrapbook in s1" vs "AUs where Turn Left is the same but Rose isn't in the s4 finale"

7. "River has futuristic tattoos" vs "Lots of River fans are wrong about River"

8. "River jumping off of buildings is hot" vs "River is often wrong about River"

9. "Bad Wolf as disability" vs "Rose has telepathy synesthesia"

10. "Rose is autistic" vs "AUs where River is not the Ponds' daughter"

11. "elevenrose would be Worse than tenrose" vs "twelverose would be plenty intimate even without frequent hugs"

12. "tentoorose are Not normal about their relationship" vs "Immortal Rose would keep the Doctor's jackets after each regeneration"

13. "Clara sucks, that's what makes her fun" vs "The Doctor and Clara are Pointedly a secret third thing"

14. "Rose and Clara are exes" vs "s8 is (mostly) good"

15. "Outing Yaz wasn't a #AllyMoment" vs "Grace should've been a companion instead of Graham"

16. "13 should have hung out more" vs "Ace would not flirt with Graham"

18. "The fan audio Exhausted Supplies is canon" vs "River should have actually been giving back the diamond in THORS"

19. "Mia is short for Stayuexisumigorkefloryan" vs "Rose develops major anxiety around cars"

20. "Pete's World sucks" vs "Pete Tyler sucks" (tie)

21. "Sarah Jane vouched for Rose in the Turn Left parallel universe" vs "Gomez!Master comes after Dhawan!Master in their personal timeline"

22. "Rose and Sarah Jane were besties" vs "Rose and Martha would have been besties"

23. "Jack and Rose should have gotten a more meaningful reunion" vs "Jack thinks Rose looks like Billie Piper - no one else really sees it"

24. "Rose blames Jack for every zombie she meets" vs "Jack created the Bad Wolf computer virus"

25. "Rose realized she was bisexual before series 2" vs "Jack says Rose's type is arsonists"

26. "Rose and Mickey made up in Pete's World" vs "Rose came out to Mickey in Pete's World"

27. "The implied pre-Winner Takes All breakup is canon" vs "No Hot Ashes >>>>>>>>"

28. "You do keep turning up. Like a bad wolf." is the best "bad wolf" drop" vs "The Clockwise Man was a better use of clockwork droids than GitF"

29. "The Doctor is a butch dyke" vs "Eleventoo deserves more love"

30. "rosetosh. not sorry." vs "Rose met the Tarot Girl in Pete's World"

31. "It's weird to think Martha still has a grudge after 15 years" vs "Ten's gender 🤝Thirteen's gender"

31. Top Secret Match #32

[loopy777]

What's your favorite, and least favorite episodes from each of atla and LOK 3 respective seasons?

I think I've answered an Ask like this before, although perhaps not broken down by seasons like this. I'm purposefully not looking at that post because I'm sure my answers are going to shift a little. Even AtLA's worst stuff isn't so bad that I won't watch it, and it has so much good stuff that it's hard to be certain of favorites.

AtLA: Book 1 - Water

Favorite: Jet I make this choice under duress. I grimaced as I glanced over the list and saw "The Storm," "The Blue Spirit," and "The Waterbending Master." And I don't even think "Jet" is flawless. But the work it did for Sokka's character, solidifying him as a favorite in the cast for me, as well as the greatness of that final act, make it currently my personal favorite.

Least Favorite: The Great Divide I know- big surprise, right? I even think this episode has some good lines, and I love how Aang solves the main conflict with a blatant lie. But it's just so weak, and unlike the weak early episodes in the season (looking at you especially, "The King of Omashu"), it doesn't introduce a fun character.

AtLA: Book 2 - Earth

Favorite: Zuko Alone Honorable mentions to "The Chase" (it's paced perfectly and gives every character in the main cast a solid moment, capped by a great final fight), "Appa's Lost Days" (the entire fandom agreeing this episode is heart-wrenching perfection might be the one thing we're all united on), and "The Crossroads of Destiny" (which I shouldn't have to explain). But I have to go with "Zuko Alone" for being my favorite kind of cowboy story, making its points in a minimalist style that doesn't need dialogue, and perfectly setting up the backgrounds of our antagonists to show how they've been harmed by Fire Nation society and why they do what they do. This episode is a master-class in character exploration, and it looms over the entire franchise with the quality and grace of its writing.

Least Favorite: The Swamp Ask again in a few months and it will be "Avatar Day." Both of these episodes are pointless for the gAang, both contain just enough progress for Zuko's subplot that you can't skip them, and both do something critical for the wider themes of the show that really make the stupidity of the main plots stand out. But today I'm more annoyed at the completely unnecessary prophecy about Toph than I am at Avatar Day's silliness. And the scene with Kyoshi is really cool, even if it's not as profound as the lesson about connections and the tree.

AtLA: Book 3 - Fire

Favorite: Avatar Aang The ending is just so good. Aang finishing the fight by taking away Ozai's bending is perfect. Katara's defeat of Azula by turning her aggression against her is perfect. The drama and music and animation is great. It's almost unfair that material like this has to go against the other hits in this season.

Least Favorite: The Beach I'm sorry, I know it does good stuff with the Fire Teens, but it's done in a ham-handed way that it should be ashamed to be in the same series as "Zuko Alone" and "The Southern Raiders." It's so bad that there are major fans here on Tumblr who claim that Mai and Ty Lee are lying through their teeth with every word they say during the big 'confession' scene. (Honestly, the fandom talk about Ty Lee these days has nearly killed my drive to do that 'Mai and Ty Lee in Samurai Champloo' road trip adventure idea.) And I just. Don't. Find. It. Funny.

LoK: Book 1 - Air

Favorite: The Voice in the Night This might be my favorite Korra-centric story in all of LoK. Later attempts to focus on her character were damaged by the terrible writing and plots, and the earlier stuff lacked some weight due to just getting to know the cast. This episode is at the sweet spot where we're familiar with the cast and the story can make the most of the potential, before the later burden of the terrible story can drag things down. This episode is focused on Korra dealing with her fear while having to be a hero to the city, relying more on character dynamics than plot, and all the stronger for it.

Least Favorite: The Spirit of Competition What if 'The Beach' starred less interesting characters, focused more on immature romance, and tried to squeeze drama out of tired old cliches of character dynamics? And the sense of humor was equally flat? This episode.

LoK: Book 2 - Spirit

Favorite: Beginnings, Part 1 Despite the problems with the whole 'Good Light Spirit vs Evil Light Spirit' thing, I like most of the setup and depiction. I just wish it had been treated as a legend, and the events and visuals hadn't been confirmed. Imagine if we could have had multiple versions of the story of Wan and Raava, each one slightly different depending on the point of revisiting the story!

Least Favorite: Civil Wars, Part 1 This might be the most grating episode of LoK, ever. Between the childishness of the whole Water Tribe troubles and the extra-childishness of Tenzin and his siblings screaming at each other, I think it's possible for a viewer to have a headache by the end from clenching their teeth so much.

LoK: Book 3 - Change

Favorite: The Stakeout This is the only good season of LoK, and I think my favorite scene in the whole thing is Korra's conversation with Zaheer. I love a villain who can convincingly argue his point, even if you know he's willfully blind to the failures of his perspective. The staging, the delivery, the dialogue- it's all the very peak of LoK.

Least Favorite: Old Wounds This episode wanted to be "Zuko Alone" and failed so, so hard. The framing story -- Lin being subjected to literally painful memories by acupuncture -- is awkwardly and pointlessly implemented. The finale is just Lin and Suyin screaming their feelings at each other and then feeling better, something even more dumb than "The Beach" by not even being an homage to a beloved 80s movie. And even aside from the quality, I cannot abide anything that doesn't acknowledge Suyin as a terrible person as both a child and adult. The whole thing makes everyone involved less compelling, and it's a chore to sit through when the rest of the season is so good.

LoK: Book 4 - Balance

Favorite: Beyond the Wilds I'll admit that I've only ever watched most of LoK once, so I don't remember much of this book. But this episode has the scene with Zaheer in it, so that's why I picked it. Despite the fandom reputation, I think this season is back to being terrible, and while I don't have any real complaints about "Korra Alone," by that point I was so tired of Korra as a character that I bounced off it pretty hard. I still overall like Korra as a character, but I can only care so much about her pain and suffering after being forced to watch "The Spirit of Competition." There's a reason horror movies go with immature teenagers as their victims of choice- it's not like they're real people we can feel empathy for.

Least Favorite: The Calling Again, I'm not familiar with how most of this season breaks down, and I was very tempted to ding the finale for that stupid giant mecha and the emptiness of everything with Mako in it. And if I remembered better which episodes have the most Prince Wu in them, they would have been major contenders. So, in the end, I picked the one with the most Meelo in it. I hate that kid.

[timeagainreviews]

The End of an Error

In October 2018, my partner and I visited the city of Nottingham for a convention. As we walked down the streets of that beautiful city, we saw a large billboard with Jodie Whittaker’s orange visage advertising the Doctor Who series eleven premiere. I was so excited that I took a picture and posted it to my Instagram. At the bottom of the billboard were the words “It’s about time.” It was a clever little tagline making both a pun about the program’s time travel element and highlighting how they had finally cast a woman in the role of the Doctor. Earlier this month I took the same trip down to Nottingham and wondered if I would again see a giant Jodie Whittaker, but alas, there was nothing. We did finally get an air date for her final episode that weekend. And I remember thinking “It’s about time.”

Up until the announcement of the release date, the fandom had been quite vocal about the lack of advertising around the centenary episode. Various fan outlets had done more promotion for the show than the BBC itself, which is a far cry from just four years ago. Fan anticipation felt more like frustration, and it’s easy to see why. After a steady decline in ratings and viewership, it feels as though the BBC has very little faith in one of its biggest flagship series. After all, why throw good money after bad? Perhaps they knew it wasn’t worth it. Compare the tepid fan reaction to official photos of the Master as Rasputin and the Cyber Time Lords in Doctor Who Magazine to the excited buzz around some fuzzy pictures of Beep the Meep.

Judging by social media, there are two types of anticipation for Sunday’s upcoming episode. The first type comes from people excited to see the thrilling conclusion to the Chris Chibnall era. The other type comes from people like myself who are thrilled to see the conclusion of the Chris Chibnall era. We’re basically excited about the same thing, but for totally different reasons. They want to see Jodie and Mandip kiss, while we want to see the end credits roll. While I wouldn't mind seeing them kiss, I'm more excited to get what has been an awful four years over with.

It was exactly 1,475 days ago when I had written my first article about my hopes and expectations leading into the Chibnall era. I was so full of hope back then. I even referred to Chibnall as things like “Mr Chibnall.” Even then, however, he was always my greatest worry- the weakest link in a strong chain of talent. At the beginning of every series since I have done an article of this sort. It’s become a bit of a tradition. While “The Power of the Doctor,” is not the beginning of a new series, I felt it merited some reflection before the episode aired. I don’t want my final review of the Chibnall era to become a dissection of it in its entirety either. I’d like to be able to talk about the story on its own merit, if possible.

Three nice things about Chris Chibnall

Growing up, my mom often quoted Thumper from the movie “Bambi’, when he said “If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.” While I don’t exactly agree with the sentiment, it is a lesson from my childhood that has always reminded me to be kind when possible. No good criticism comes from a place of cruelty, so I thought I might take the time to say three positive things about Chris Chibnall. 

Firstly, the man has an eye for talent. You cannot say that for the last four years, Doctor Who has looked like shit, except where it definitely should (e.g. Sontarans). The shots of the TARDIS in the time vortex are some of the coolest shots to ever grace the screen during a Doctor Who episode. A lot of the visuals felt like callbacks to the first three Doctors’ respective eras. Something which I often praised despite the quality of the episodes involved. Speaking of callbacks to the classics, the music was also a thing to behold. While some people miss Murray Gold, I really enjoyed Segun Akinola’s ambient scores which often felt like homages to the Radiophonic Workshop. His presence as the show’s composer will go greatly missed. Chibnall also gave us great actors in the form of Jo Martin, Bradley Walsh, and even Jodie Whittaker when given the proper material, which is really the crux of the matter. So many people were firing on all cylinders, but it amounts to very little when in service of mediocre writing.

Secondly, the man had ideas. I often times hear people trying to say Chris Chibnall has no good ideas, and I always reply with how wrong that is. Chris Chibnall is a man with loads of ideas, but sadly, not much time and/or ability to explore these ideas. The Doctor becoming a Weeping Angel is a great idea. It’s unfortunate then that it was used primarily as a cliffhanger ending. The idea of the Doctor being a woman is also a great idea. It’s unfortunate then that it rarely ever came up narratively. Even the timeless child storyline has the capacity to be interesting, but instead, it’s a confusing mess that contradicts far too much of what came before. Herein lies the problem of being an ideas man while not being able to go beyond the initial premise- once you do it, you can never do it again. If you fail to explore a brilliant idea, you’ve done nothing but waste its potential.

Thirdly, he has given me and others a greater appreciation for previous eras of Doctor Who. While I said I appreciate the callbacks to the aesthetics of classic stories, the real gift he has given us as fans is that of hindsight. A middling story like “The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky,” seems like a work of art by comparison to the Chibnall era. We see Donna comparing her travels with the Doctor to the quaint neighbourhood where she lives and it tells us more about her character visually than any two Chibnall characters stopping the action dead in its tracks to tell each other how they feel. Simple things like basic character development now feel like precious gems comparatively. I know about as much about Astrid Peth in one episode as I do about Yaz over thirty-one episodes. It’s not that we expect Russell T Davies to blow our minds, but some character development is going to feel like that dank shit compared to the mids Chibnall’s been selling.

If you can’t tell, I told a bit of a lie. Those three things weren’t exactly nice, which I promise wasn’t actually by design. I have been trying to come up with three genuinely nice things to say about Chris Chibnall for months now. Every nice point I came up with always had a sort of caveat. It’s like when the Army tells prospective recruits that they have over 200 jobs and that you only need to find the right one for you. At the end of the day, it all still leads to being in the fucking Army. As much positive spin as you try to put on the situation, it’s all leading back to the reality of the situation- it sucks.

My “hopes” for the centenary

I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it- I never watch Doctor Who hoping it will be bad. I want to love and enjoy the show as much as the rest of us. But unlike my initial article “The Eve of the Thirteenth,” my expectations are less rooted in hope and more rooted in reality. I would love to enjoy this episode of Doctor Who, but history has shown me time and time again that it’s going to be a mess. With the return of the Master, Bell and Vinder, the writing off of two companions, the re-introduction of at least two classic companions, the Lone Cyberman, the Cyber Time Lords, the likely inclusion of the Fugitive Doctor,  and the death and regeneration of the Doctor, there are a lot of plot threads to tie up. Chris Chibnall couldn’t contain a single story within six episodes, how the hell is he going to manage ninety minutes? Oh God, this is going to be a mess, isn’t it?

All worries and logic aside, if I were to hope against hope, my two biggest desires for the centenary are that the Fugitive Doctor gets a proper send-off, and that Chibnall does no further damage to the show’s mythology. Jo Martin’s Doctor has been a fan favourite, but I have often been left underwhelmed by the show’s portrayal of her character. Unlike the War Doctor, she’s never really gotten a chance for her character to develop. While I don’t mind her being shrouded in mystery, I don’t exactly feel as though the show has given her any proper screen time to be the Doctor. In fact, I’m not even convinced she even is the Doctor, at least not from this universe. If it turns out that, yes, she is the Doctor, I’ll just chalk it up to bad writing and hope someone better comes along and actually gives her something worthy of Jo Martin’s talent. Seriously, why did Jodie Whittaker speak over her monologue in Flux? What a waste of potential. I want so much to like the Fugitive Doctor, but the story has been so piss-poor that I worry it’s up to Big Finish and RTD to do her any sort of justice.

You may laugh at my worry about Chibnall’s ability to damage the mythology of Doctor Who with only one episode left, but considering “The Timeless Children,” was only a single episode, you may understand my reservations. This is further compounded by the fact that Sophie Aldred is returning as Ace, one of my favourite companions from classic Doctor Who. Chibnall screwed up UNIT, the Time Lords, and the Doctor. He even managed to get Tegan wrong by handing her a giant gun and having her joyously blasting away despite her entire reason for leaving the Doctor was gun violence. With any other writer, I would be ecstatic over the return of Ace. With Chibnall, I’m very nervous.

This brings me to my deepest hope for Chibnall’s final story- I hope it’s simply just bad. I hope it’s a mediocre mess that’s boring and unfulfilling. History has shown me the futility of hoping it will secretly be good. So my only real hope is that it’s at the very least- not ruinous. I’ll still be happy to see Sophie Aldred, regardless of who is writing. I’m excited to see Jodie’s farewell. I’m hopeful that the Timeless Child storyline might miraculously make some sort of awesome sense. Maybe it ends in such a way that it actually fixes its many problems and truly does add more mystery to the show. I hope that we never see that stupid fob watch again. I hope they fix the issue of the flux wiping out 99.9% of the universe instead of ignoring it. I hope the Master is lying. I hope the Timeless Child is actually someone interesting like Susan or the Master.  I hope that the best part of the episode won’t be the end credits. I hope that when it’s all over, I’ll have more to say than “It’s about time.”

[vrabbiit]

🎹 Roxanne Wolf HCs - I 🎹

Third of the series with everyone’s favourite (or at least, she should be) - Roxy herself! Chica and Monty have already been done, and last on our list after this is the man himself, Freddy!

Contains

General Headcanons

Shipping Headcanons (SFW)

General Headcanons

Known as the “cool, if not a bit self-centred” one around the Pizzaplex, Roxy certainly knows her worth. She carries herself in such a way that it’s impossible to ignore her, and despite the fact that her personality should, by all accounts, make her unlikeable, it is almost impossible to dislike her. Her personality is absolutely aimed at older kids and teens who she takes on an older sibling vibe towards. She absolutely calls kids “brat”, but it has somewhat of an affectionate tone to it.

The most competitive of the bunch by far, but also incredibly dedicated - she is the best at racing in the Pizzaplex and she didn’t get to that point by sitting around and looking pretty (although she certainly does do that). She can often be found doing laps in Roxy Raceway, perfecting her muscle memory of the course until she could probably do it blind (ouch).

In the impossible scenario that she does lose in a race, she’d probably be distraught but be enough of a graceful loser to congratulate whoever beat her - after all, they’d have to be extremely special to beat her of all people. Surprisingly, I don’t see her as the type to cry cheater - she values good manners and sportsmanship above anything else. She’s confident because she knows she deserves to be at the top, she’s earned it fair and square.

Probably comedically bad at anything that’s not of her main interests. While Chica would count as a jack of all trades, Roxy truly is a master of one - racing. As such, she tends to avoid playing things she isn’t confident in to avoid her ego being bruised. She does practise mini golf a lot, though, if only to be able to beat Monty and fuel their friendly rivalry.

Despite everything, she does still get insecure sometimes, especially when compared to others. She won’t ever show it, but she knows she’s a replacement for the fan favourite of decades, and she worries a lot as to whether she can fill Foxy’s shoes. Like mentioned in Monty’s post, though, the two are each other’s support network, and she can always rely on him whenever the pressure of being the “new guys” builds too much to handle.

Despite coming across as self-centred, she really is warm-hearted, and the people she cares about she will defend until the end, although you’d better consider yourself lucky to end up on that short list of people. She has the view that the majority of the world isn’t worth her time, so it’s better to focus on the few people who are than to give anyone else a second glance.

Shipping Headcanons

While she’s far from reserved, she probably denies her feelings for you for a while - she doesn’t need a relationship or anyone else. It’s not that she doesn’t view you as worth her time, she’s already cemented you in her list of people she cares about before realising she likes you. It’s just that she doesn’t feel the need to date anyone. As time goes by, however, she definitely reconsiders when she spends more time with you. She wouldn’t show it, but she’d spend more and more time worrying outside of seeing you, about whether you liked her back, whether she was misreading the signs, etc.

Eventually, you’d probably be the first to confess or Monty would (affectionately) bully her into it. As soon as she receives confirmation that you feel the same way, her nerves are eased completely and she is eager to make you feel loved.

If you are dating Roxy, she is absolutely going to show you off. She has high standards, after all, and anyone who can meet those absolutely deserves all of the attention they can get. If you’re insecure, she’ll do whatever she can to get you to see yourself the way she does.

Her love language is words of affirmation - she isn’t shy in general, but especially not about how she feels about you. She will be your biggest supporter, and she will be loud about it. It’s actually really endearing, but tell her that and she’ll deny it. She’s showing you off in a cool way, there’s nothing cute or endearing about it, it’s cool. Conversely, however, she’ll tell you all about how cute she thinks you are, if you’re so inclined. She feels a lot of pride in flustering you and knowing that she caused that.

Is probably the least touchy out of the Glamrocks, but that doesn’t mean she avoids any sort of physical contact. She’ll lean on you whenever you’re sitting together, and have an arm around you in public, but she’s more than content to just be in the same room as you.

Overall, probably the most low-key love interest in the Pizzaplex. The two of you would be a power couple, of course, and it would be obvious how absolutely gone she is for you to anyone in the building, but between the two of you, you both value your independence and know that you still care without having to make any grand gestures (although she absolutely will on special occasions).

[growup-thatbeautiful]

Clone Wars Character on TikTok

Anakin- Poor Anakin, man does not have a that many creative ideas, but his life and ideas are strange enough that he gets a lot of followers easily. He’s also almost constantly videoing things too, so he’s able to get real time. There are so so many videos showing the reactions that Obi-Wan has because of his dumbass plans.

Everyone, literally everyone, thought he was an f-boy until he made a post, super confused, saying that he has a wife?? That he loves so much? So, coincidentally, the next videos he posts are him and his wife, who doesn’t show her face but there’s a poll going on about who it is. Most people have figured it, though, because some of his videos are him just listening to Mrs. Skywalker rant about people in the Senate when she comes home to him.

He also tries to convince everyone that he’s the best husband in the world by videoing himself cooking her dinner, which he always burns. In those videos, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, staples on Anakin’s account, are heard in the background giving him absolutely terrible advice on how to fix it. They usually end up with burnt pans and a whole bunch of frantic clips of Obi-Wan trying to turn off the oven, “My dear, your time is up.” And Anakin in the background “Force, that’s not going to kriffing work, Master. I’m coming in with the water gun.” (No one questions why there’s a water gun.) Ahsoka is just….chilling in the background. She’s just as clueless as the rest of them, but it’s funnier to watch them almost burn down Padame’s kitchen before she tries to step in and make things worse.

Ahsoka-Her feed is a more controlled chaos than Anakin’s, but chaos nonetheless. She does a lot of dance challenges with Fives, and is sometimes able to rope in Anakin, who tries really hard but is terrible at it, and Rex, who doesn’t actually dance and just stands there staring at the camera. There was one time she got Obi-Wan to do it with her, and he absolutely crushed it. All that grace has to help him somewhere else, right? Because she does dance videos, though, sometimes she get inappropriate comments or duets, which Rex, Obi-Wan, Plo, Fives, and Anakin all duet or make a video about explaining that she’s a minor and how unacceptable this is. Well, that’s what every but Rex does. Rex won’t let anyone, anyone, talk to his little sister like that, so he makes a super menacing video of him cleaning his guns.

Needless to say, she does a lot of videos with Rex. They do a lot of random videos of their conversations and pointless arguments. They also do so a lot of competitions with each other, rather it’s staring contests or sparring matches. Their sparring match videos are actually super popular, and they get more and more intense and complicated as they go on. There are never any weapons involved, but they get to show off combat skills and have huge fights across the ship or compound. Their usually filmed by a hysterical Anakin or Fives. Obi-Wan has made his disapproval clear, but there’s a video on Ahsoka’s account of him betting on the outcome.

Obi-Wan- Mostly on Cottagecore TikTok and posts aesthetic videos of him meditating, making fancy, pretty tea drinks, or any other mundane thing he does. He also posts self-defense videos to teach people how to protect themselves, and gives tips of how to use the force and how to help meditate. I think he posts once a week, but posts a bunch at one time because he’ll have one day of silence where he can get stuff for himself done. Basically, his account is to comfort people, to help people, in perfect Obi-Wan fashion.

He also posts encouraging videos to cheer people up when they need it. Cute messages like “Today’s going to be a good day” with that award winning Negotiator smile that get galaxy wide comments and duets. Sometimes the messages border on him illegally sharing decisions that the Senate’s made, like when he announced on his feed that a certain Planet should get ready to party because a certain vote had gone a certain way.

Sometimes, though, he posts videos of Ahsoka, Anakin, or Cody doing incredibly stupid things. It’s become a series, he shows the person do or say the stupidest things, and then he zooms in on someone else’s face. The most common duo is Anakin and Rex, but sometimes there’s Waxer and Cody, once or twice, Obi-Wan and Cody.

Rex- He doesn’t post a lot, and when he does he’s usually not really in them. People only know him specifically because he’s in so many of Ahsoka’s videos. His are mostly “the stuff I have to deal with videos” showing petty fights between some of the 501st or some animal that a soldier decided they wanted to sneak into the ship. That, of course, lead to a blowup on his account, so he started posting lots of content with his brothers. Ahsoka has the notion that he’s doing it to help the way people see Clones, but he does seem to enjoy it a lot.

He, like Obi-Wan, posts hand to hand combat training video to help people in the galaxy, put his training to more use. He makes sure to show how to hold your first in a punch, how to safely clean a blaster, how to take a punch. Some of his posts are to teach people about clones and mando’a traditions. But he’s not all serious. He likes making videos of him and his brothers when they go out to do things for fun or they go out to 79’s.

This one might be a bit far fetched, but I think he would also post videos of him and Ahsoka doing mundane things together, repainting their armour, making bracelets or some stuff on the floors of the bunks during hyperspace. It’s calmer than what Ahsoka posts, and purposely so.

Fives-Oh man. Fives’ account is a wreck. Half of the videos are him running away from something he’s done and the other half are him running into things that he shouldn’t about to be doing. Shakily filmed, someone (usually himself) screaming in the background, you can hear him panting and out of breath. A lot of the times Anakin is with him or chasing after him, and as you can almost always hear Rex cursing and yelling at them to stop, especially if they haven’t done the thing yet because that means they have a plan. When Fives has a plan it ends up being worse than when he makes it up on the spot. 

He also posts videos of him giving people in the streets compliments, because he’s sweet like that. He usually gets pretty funny reactions most of the time, and the few times they’re bad reactions he simply flips the camera and grimaces, then, of course, starts laughing because he’s not going to let one person put him down.

He also has a series of him painting the Bi flag all over the ship and waiting to see people’s reactions. The cutest was that one time Ahsoka walked past and ran her fingers along it softly and smiling. Also notable was the time Obi-Wan caught him midway through and just pretended he didn’t see him. All of those are posted with the persons permission, of course.

Aayla and Bly- They share an account where they do ALL of the couple-y stuff. Any couples challenge that they’re asked to do, they do. It’s hard to do the challenges like “You could’ve been nicer to me today” because they’re both on it all the time and have definitely heard of it, but they make do with all kinds of others. Aayla and Bly are definitely one of those couples that adopts all the kids that follow their account, and they’re ready to fight anyone who says anything bad the Clones or the Jedi.

There’s also a large amount of videos that some of the 327th takes of them cuddling together, training together, polishing weapons together. Basically, their account is them being cute and the rest of the 327th either being incredibly supportive of them or gagging at all the PDA. They start a trend where they go up in front of random people around the ship and start making out to get the reaction. Some examples of the best reactions are franticly running outside of the room, slapping Bly across the back of the head, and wild cheering.

Cody: You’re kidding, right? He does not have time to do the TikTok, nor does he understand TikTok at all. He is in most of Obi-Wan’s videos, and he’s sometimes in Rex’s too. Most of the time he’s telling all of them not to do whatever they’re about to do, or he’s sitting on the floor and crying with Rex.

Anakin actually started making videos called “When you see your dad and your other dad be romantic.” Where it’s just him finding Obi-Wan and Cody doing cute things in random places, followed by Anakin or Ahsoka making faces at the camera.

Plo- Parent side of TikTok for sure. His account features so many, so many, videos of him doing fun things with the 104th. He may seem like an extremely serious man, but put him with all of his kids and has almost no impulse control. They ask to stop at that restaurant they saw on the way to their mission, and he makes it happen. Everyone pretends not to notice because they wouldn’t dare go against him.

This account is also mostly run by everyone in the 104th because A. Plo doesn’t have a password and B. That’s how they get a bunch of footage. The phone is passed around throughout the day, but all of the content focuses on the Plo’s Bros relationships. Anything that he does, from giving a shiny a thumbs up when he comes up with a new plan, to teaching some of the older clones who are a little overworked how to take deep breaths. All the followers also a learn the Plo is absolutely terrible at any kind of card games, which is shown when they post video after video of the bets he looses.

Next for Star Wars I’ll be doing Bad Batch, then, because this got so long, I’ll do one with some more characters! Sorry it’s so long, this ran away from me a bit.

Some clone wars beautiful mutuals @radbatch (Who is the absolute best person to talk to about Ahsoka ever period end of story) of course and @maiseey (Who is now my my mutual? How?)

[cancankenobi]

The bigge wait for the Obi-Wan series

Day 49: Here is a list of my very favourite Obi-Wan fics on AO3, which I will very likely reread forever until the show finally drops. Give these stories some love, some kudos, some comments - they're all worth a read, I promise (MIND THE RESPECTIVE TAGS, FOLKS):

Always in motion is the future by arrowupmysleeve: (G) I love Obi-Wan inserting himself in Mandalorian business, you love Obi-Wan inserting himself in Mandalorian business - this is a fixit for the whole Galidraan disaster, featuring Padawan!Obi and bestest space buir!Jaster Mereel. It's eventual jangobi, and also a series, and the second part is in progress.

The Weeds in the Wilderness by ealcynn : (T) This one is a WIP as I publish this post, but I still would recommend you give it a go. It has such great worldbuilding, and such an interesting cast of OCs - it's Obi-Wan who doesn't remember who he is, stuck on a planet full of strangers as he tries to remember himself. No ship, just vibes.

For the Right Price by ShaeTiann: (M) This is the Epic. The long read you should try. If you're on the fence about Sith!Obi or Grey!Obi, then I think this fic will probably do a good job at convincing you of the appeal. This is Obi-Wan toeing the line between Light and Dark, making friends, falling in love, making his own path. It's a jangobi masterpiece, who also happens to be a series in progress.

An Elegant Weapon by RomanMoray: (T) Cody wielding a saber. Must I say more? This is codywan, and very dear to my heart. Featuring a Force-sensitive Cody, the inherent eroticism of training your commander in the arts of lightsaber combat, and Cody picking up Obi-Wan's saber - and his heart.

dark magics by savorvrymoment: (E) Oh, so you like both Maul and spicy times? I have just the fic for you: this is a wonderful work, which happened to be my intro into the Obi/Maul rarepair hell. It's got the perfect amount of angst, the perfect amount of tension. Truly perfect.

Don’t be afraid. by spqr: (T) THE FEELS. It's a burgeoning obikin with all the angst, feat. Padawan!Obi and Master!Anakin. Gorgeous, with the fluffy ending we all deserve. A re-read for sure.

i'll orbit your flickering star by sunskippa: (T) If you're looking for a longer codywan read, look no further! This is a great fic that follows the Clone Wars events through the eyes of our dearest Commander, as he falls in love with Obi-Wan. They way Cody is written is lovely: It has no flaw in my eyes.

diogenes (what makes a man?) by someawkwardprose: (T) Codywan, again, because I am in codywan brainrot, always. Also a very, very lovely portrayal of Cody. Also a retelling of the Clone Wars events through Cody's eyes, including his love for his General. I've recently re-read this, and Gods, it's good.

Binary System by Cimila: (E) You know these Open/Ambiguous endings that are somehow both incredibly satisfying and also leaves you just craving some more? Yeah? This is it - Soulmates AU, jangobi, Obi-Wan in the desert with baby!Anakin in tow. It's great. Also Spicy.

Late Night Bounty Call by eltrut07: (E) a/b/o jangobi, anyone? This is a WIP as I'm making this post, but it's being updated still! It's got Omega!Obi and Alpha!Jango hooking up (and falling in love, probably - eventually) during the Clone Wars, and baby Boba being confused. Lovely, lovely - and also spicy.

Honestly anything by glimmerglanger, though especially:

Make Your Bed (Lie in It): (T) Codywan, featuring Cody ending up in his General's bed and Vice-Versa, through the Clone Wars and beyond Order 66.

Currents and Tides: (E) MERPEOPLE! FORBBIDEN LOVE! THE 1940s! It's a codywan two-parter with plenty of snippets attached, and it is a masterpiece.

A Slow Fall Towards Grace: (E) a/b/o, endgame codywan: the angst, the eventual fluff, Obi and his kids. It's rough sometimes, guys, but it ends well.

Now with a part 2!

Part 1 / Part 2

Anyways these are just a fraction of the enormous amount of great Obi fics out there. Go dig in AO3, find the gems, give kudos. People are so freaking talented out there!

[loveelle]

(Not) Girls Chat

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Request by @its-craig-mcmorris​:  Hey! Could you maybe make a Charlie x reader, where reader has a crush on Charlie and all the girls on set know. So Charlie post a picture on Instagram and the reader screenshots it and sends it in what she thinks is the girls group chat say how good looking he is but she accidentally sent it to the whole cast GC, including Charlie and just what ever follows? Thanks🙃

A/N: I’m really slow on getting requests out, but here is one! Thank you for requesting and I really hope everyone likes it! Also if anyone is interested and didn’t know, I’m currently in the middle of posting a Reggie x Reader series that you should check out! (It’s enemies to lovers :))

WC: 2.4K

MASTER

---

Good vibes graced your eyes this morning as you opened Instagram to pass the time while you laid on the couch and was greeted first thing with a photo Charlie posted. It was a simple photo, one of him smiling and being goofy. He posted it with others of him, Jeremy, and Owen but this one caught your eye as it was focused on him. You didn’t know what looked better, Charlie’s smile or just Charlie. He looked good.

He looked really good.

Maybe it was dumb to have a crush on your cast mate, especially one who plays your ex in season 2 of Julie and the Phantoms, but you were closer with Charlie than anyone in the cast and a crush was just bound to form. This post however, despite Charlie having no knowledge of your crush on him, was just teasing.

You screenshot the photo, for yourself and to send to your girls’ chat. Your girls are your outlet, Madi figured out about your crush within a week of you figuring it out and promised that she would never tell Charlie, apparently telling it to the girls was a different story. You didn’t mind she said anything, in fact after she told Jadah, you told the rest of your friends during girls’ night.

Since then, they’ve been all for hearing you freak out about your crush on Charlie and constantly tell you to tell him. You work quickly to send the group the picture so they know exactly what you’re talking about followed by the message:

Do you guys see this? Like actually see this?? How is he so fucking hot? Who gave him the right to look so fucking good???

When the picture and message sent, you turn off your phone and drop it on your chest, hiding your smile in your palm despite no one being there to see it. You couldn’t help it; Charlie has that effect on you.

You were still sitting with your hand over your mouth when your phone buzzed with a text. You thought it was the girls who messaged but you weren’t prepared for the call that followed shortly after. With a deep breath you picked up your phone, panic setting in when Charlie’s contact fills your screen and you see the picture of him kissing your cheek as you snap a selfie from your hike just last month.

You took a moment to collect yourself before answering, putting the phone on speaker. “Hey! What’s up?”

There was a hesitation on Charlie’s end as you furrow your brows and wait for him to respond. “Uh, hey.”

Something was definitely wrong with him. Charlie is normally full of energy when he calls you or answers your calls. “‘Uh hey?’” you repeat with confusion and offer a soft laugh despite the worry that’s filling you. “Is everything okay? Or am I supposed to pretend that wasn’t a weird way for you to answer the phone?”

“That depends.”

He’s giving short answers. “On?”

“Whether you’re also going to pretend you didn’t send that message in the group chat?” Nothing could’ve prepared you for the feeling on your heart sinking in your chest, a knot forming instantly in your stomach. You were silent for too long. “Y/N?”

You end the call.

Oh no.

There was no way you sent the picture to the wrong chat. You clicked on your most recent conversation and you know the last conversation you were a part of was Savannah talking about a girl’s night soon. You were positive.

Your fingers have never trembled as much as they were in this moment as you pull open your messages and right there, at the top of your messages was the group chat, the one with all your friends from the cast. Turns out, Owen sent a message you hadn’t seen mere seconds before you opened the chat to send it and you mistakenly clicked on that one.

Great.

That’s so…

“Fuuuck!” You shout loudly, grabbing one your throw pillows and burying your face in it before letting out a scream. You were fucked. How were you supposed to explain this? How were you supposed to explain screenshotting your best friends Instagram picture and sending it to the (wrong) group chat with the message about how hot he looks? Your phone rang again and dread washed over your body as Charlie’s contact reappeared, followed by your quick press to the decline button.

Is it possible to delete a message that people have already seen? Probably not. Maybe… maybe if you just avoid Charlie for… well, forever. You’ll never be able to outlive this feeling.

The third ring of your phone, and seeing Charlie’s contact once again, made you let out a startling sob, your heart racing faster than your driving after a long day of recording as you decline the call. Not wanting to decline a 4th time, you power your phone off and grab the blanket draped across the back of the couch. It hid you under perfectly as you bury your face in the pillow again, letting out another guttural scream.

This was a dream, right? There’s absolutely no way you actually sent that message and no way Charlie actually saw that message, right?

Please let this be a dream.

Constant knocking just a half hour later pulled you from your crisis, tears shed and unshed donning your face as you. Your blanket was pulled over your shoulders as you quickly trudge your way to the door, just wanting the pounding to go away.

You yank the door open, eyes on the ground so whoever it was would know you weren’t in the mood. “Please come back another time because right now, I’m having an existential-” you finally look up, catching sight of the wide smiling Charlie standing in your doorway “- crisis.” You finish in a whisper, tugging the blanket tighter around you.

“That’s an interesting thing to say when you open the door.” He joked and if you were in a more joyful, you would’ve laughed.

“Please go away.” You blurt out before processing and Charlie’s face fell and within seconds, the door closed in his face.

You press your back against the door, eyes clasp shut as you try to think of how you were going to get out of this. “Can you move away from the door so I can open it?” Charlie’s soft voice carried through the door’s barrier and you furrow your eyes, glancing down to the doors handle that hadn’t even tried to move.

“How did-” You cleared your throat, “How did you know I was leaning against the door?”

Charlie doesn’t answer your question, however. “I’m opening the door.”

You move quickly, falling back on the couch as Charlie pushes the door open slowly before realizing you weren’t behind it anymore. He stays silent, only moving to sit next to you on the couch. You had no clue what to say, or how to even start the conversation. You just kept your eyes glued to your phone on the coffee table in front of you, the black screen staring back at you like you knew Charlie was doing at this very moment.

“Can we talk about-”

“No.” you stop him before he can say anymore and he nods, moving his arm to drape behind you. He didn’t seem to mind your detached attitude as he leaned forward to grab your phone and found it powered off.

“So, this is why my next 3 calls went straight to voicemail.” He mumbles with a small smirk and you squeeze your eyes closed before sighing.

“I meant it for the girls chat.” You say quickly, hoping Charlie understands, but the expression he gives you proved he didn’t. You repeat yourself slower, watching the realization strike him as he chuckles, his long hair shaking with his head.

“That wasn’t girl chat.” Charlie states needlessly and you narrow your eyes at him, your lips falling into a thin line.

“Wow, thanks. I never would’ve noticed.” The way Charlie’s smile broke through his face caused your own smile to slip into appearance and there was no chance you could hold it back, your eyes closing as the last of your tears slipped free. Charlie’s thumb swiped over your cheek before you could open your eyes and you took a deep breath.

“Were you crying?” He whispers, continuing to dry your tears as you sit there embarrassed.

“No.” you lie and Charlie sees right through it.

“You’re a great actress,” He tells you as your eyes meet his, the corners of his eyes wrinkled from his smile, “but you can’t lie to save your life.”

You scoff, your jaw falling open. “I can so lie!”

“Another lie. What are the odds.” His smirk caused a flutter of butterflies in your stomach as you relent, forcing your eyes away from him. Charlie doesn’t need to hear you say anything to know you were mortified about everything that happened today, but he doesn’t think you should be.

“I’m sorry.” Charlie barely heard you.

“For what?” He matches your level, feeling you lean back into his arm, sitting situated on the couch behind your head.

“For sending that message. For… for making things awkward now.”

“Nothing’s going to be awkward.”

“You already sounded awkward when you called me!”

Charlie didn’t know what to say, so instead he chuckles at you. “Y/N, a guy finding out his crush thinks he’s hot is like every guy’s dream. I wasn’t sure if you were just messing with me.”

“Well, yeah but-” you had cut off your sentence, the argument that spurred to your head falling silent as you take in Charlie’s words. You looked to him again. “Wait a minute, did you say you have a crush on me?”

He nods, reaching forward to grab your hand. “Yeah. You’re also lucky Madi picks up her phone otherwise, I would totally not have had the courage to tell you.” Charlie blushed and you let your smile grow wide, imagining Charlie actually having a crush on you. It sounds dumb, but in the whole time you’ve crushed on him, you’ve never sat back and thought about what he felt about you or what he was thinking when you went off on a tandem about anything, or paused the movie during one of your movie nights to info dump on him. You were so focused on your crush and not letting him find out that you never imagined Charlie could’ve been in the same boat.

“You’re not just saying that, right?” You ask nervous Charlie was just saying this to spare you some embarrassment. The shake of his head along with his smile was something you believed right away, but in addition, Charlie had back up.

“Turn your phone on.” He hands you your phone, the black screen no longer looking daunting as you listen to him, giving your phone a minute to start back up. Once it was ready, you were about to ask Charlie the point of doing so before messages you miss coming through. The first few were all from Madi, Savannah, and Jadah almost trying to spam the chat with messages to distract from your mistake, as if Charlie hadn’t already seen it. But then eventually you hit a certain message from Owen that makes your eyes scan the screen several times in confusion.

Since Y/N’s already outed herself, I think it’s time to out Charlie! :)

The simple sentence was followed by several, and by several, I mean more than you could count, screenshots of the guy’s group chat texts. More specifically, texts from Charlie to the group chat… all about you.

I’m not whipped Jer, I just thought she looked cute today!

She’s wearing my jacket 😃 She’s wearing my jacket!! She’s looks gorgeous in it, better than me wtf

I can’t hang tonight because Y/N and I are hanging out

The last message was followed by Owen complaining about him ditching them for his ‘girlfriend’, to which Charlie replied,

She’s not my girlfriend… yet

“Wow.” You bite your lip, feeling Charlie’s gaze on the side of your face.

He nods and takes your phone from you, slipping his hand into yours now that it was empty. “Do you see how stupid it is to be embarrassed for sending a message to the wrong chat? I’ve almost done it a hundred times by now.”

“Yeah, and you were so confident with that last text too.” You chuckle, feeling stupid for crying over your text now.

“Was the confidence misplaced?” Charlie’s voice softens and you realize he had gotten nervous, despite no need to be. You decide to ease his nerves, bringing your hand up to cup his jaw and your lips meet his softly. Charlie’s lips fit with yours as he returns the kiss, bringing you closer as the kiss deepens.

Charlie’s phone rings.

He ignores it and you do as well as the call stops, giving you both only a few fleeting seconds before it’s ringing again. Charlie groans as he pulls away and rips his phone out of his pocket to see Owen’s contact lighting up the screen. He sends you a knowing look before he answers it and you could hear Owen’s voice through the device pressed to Charlie’s ear.

“How’s it going?” He practically yelled and you stifle a laugh, watching Charlie wince.

“It was going great.” Charlie says flatly, his hand finding yours again.

“Was?”

“Yeah, we were in the middle of kissing.” You squeeze his hand, earning a smile from the man who squeezes you back.

“Were? Why’d you stop?”

You roll your eyes at your friend and take the phone from him and Charlie’s brow raises. “Owen, I love you buddy, but I’m going to hang up so I can go back to kissing my boyfriend. Is that alright?”

Owen’s laugh echoes in your ear and you realize he was messing with you, knowing exactly why you guys stopped. “Have fun!” He sang out to you and you pursed your lips to keep your smile at bay. “Make sure to use a cond-”

You hang up before he could finish the sentence.

Charlie’s laugh was the next one you hear as you hand him back his phone. “Boyfriend?” He says with a cocky confidence and you nodded, cupping his jaw again.

“If that’s alright with you.” You shrug and Charlie licks his lips, dragging the bottom between his teeth as he nods quickly. You chuckle too, running your hand through his hair as his lips meet yours once more.

.

.

.

.

Requested tags: @rh-girlonfire​ // @mah-gah-lee​ //

[tornbetween2loves]

A Glimpse Into Christmas Future, Part 3

Happy New Year to you all! This is the next part in this flash-forward of My Heart Torn Apart, 5 Years Later. Sorry for the posting delay, the holidays provided some unexpected setbacks for me and my family.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry, except for my OC's, which I claim as my own.

Warnings: This fic contains spoilers. If you don't want to know the outcome of MHTA, 5 years later, please don't read. Liam x Riley x Drake are in a polyamorous relationship in this story. If you don't agree with that, please don't read. This story is adult-themed. Please do not read if you're under the age of 18. You should read previous parts of this story first. They can be found on my master list.

One more reminder: This story takes place after the original TRR series. It does not take into consideration anything that happened in TRH or any following series. It does not follow canon.

Liam smiled as he surveyed the beautiful disaster that was his living room. Scraps of wrapping paper and ribbon were strewn about, along with toys and clothes and candy wrappers. Breakfast dishes and coffee mugs littered the coffee table. His heart swelled as he held up his phone to take a picture of his family huddled together on the couch. Drake and Riley sat at each end with their legs stretched out on the ottoman, heads tipped back and eyes closed. Grace was curled up under Drake’s arm, her legs tucked under her to make room for Beth, who was under Riley’s arm. Liam had covered them with blankets and couldn’t resist snapping a picture of his snoozing family. They looked so peaceful. He sighed as he thought back to the conversation last night.

“You never signed the papers Liam,” Drake said. “Technically, you never abdicated. Legally, you are still the king of Cordonia.”

Liam sighed and shook his head. “No. It’s not that simple. I may not have abdicated, but I abandoned my throne and my country.”

“Yes, but you did so under duress. Out of fear for the safety of your family. We could go back. Fight for your birthright to rule Cordonia.” Riley placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “A birthright you never gave up, my king.”

Riley stirred and yawned as she opened one eye to look at Liam. “Go make the call, my king. It’s early morning in Cordonia by now. Drake and I will take care of this mess when we’re done napping.” A wide grin spread across his face as Liam jumped up. He kissed Riley on the cheek quickly then headed to their bedroom.

He stopped outside of Henry’s room and knocked softly. There was no answer. He opened the door and peeked inside. His son laid on the bed with headphones on as he played a game on his laptop. Liam smiled and closed the door, then headed to the bedroom. He got down on his hands and knees and pulled a lock box out from under the bed. He fished the key out of the nightstand drawer and sat on the bed to open the box. All of their important documents were inside, birth certificates, Liam’s coronation papers, marriage licenses. A large manila envelope was at the bottom. He pulled it out and turned it over in his hands as he remembered when he received it.

They had been at the safe house for almost a week. There was no word from anyone at the palace. Liam paced back and forth across the living room, unable to clear his head. He kept thinking about the night they fled the palace. Everything was left behind. Liam had grabbed the lockbox with their important documents from his desk drawer, but everything else was left. Cell phones, computers, tablets, pictures. They had been forced from their home. Why hadn’t Bastien contacted him? Why was there no tv in this safehouse? There was one phone line, and Liam had tried to call the palace several times on various numbers to no avail. He had tried to contact Bastien through the guards posted here at the safehouse. But everything was oddly quiet. It made him crazy not knowing what was happening to his country.

A knock at the door startled Liam from his thoughts. The guard approached the door as he waved Liam into the other room. He moved into the kitchen as a lump formed at the back of his throat and his stomach tied up in knots. Something was wrong. Bastien appeared in the doorway a moment later. “Bas! My god, you look awful,” Liam wrapped an arm around the guard’s shoulders and eased him into a chair. He was covered in dried blood and dirt and looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “You need to rest. Are you hungry? I’ll get Riley to make you something,” Liam turned to head into the other room, but Bastien stopped him. “No! I’m afraid there’s no time.” His eyes grew moist as he locked his gaze on the king. “I’m so sorry, your majesty. We–we’ve lost the palace. The terrorists now have access to sensitve information regarding you and your family.” he shifted his gaze to the floor, then back up. “It is time. You have to flee. Before it’s too late.”

Tears coursed down Liam’s cheeks. “Flee? To where? This is our home, Bastien. How–” his voice cracked. “Please, Liam. You must ensure the safety of your family. Get them all together. I have an escape plan in place.” Things moved so quickly after that it was all a blur. They woke the children in the middle of the night and loaded into an SUV with Bastien.

“It’s going to be quite a battle,” Bastien explained. “The duchies have secured their borders and are building their own armies. Any members of the Royal Guard who weren’t captured have joined the duchies.” Liam shot a sideways glance at Bastien. “And you, Bastien? What will come of you?” He swallowed audibly. “Sir, I will be joining the army at Lythikos. Olivia and I will do whatever we can to get rid of these terrorists. When it is safe, you can return.”

Liam shook his head. “This does not seem right. We should stay and fight too.” Bastien shook his head. “You don’t understand. There is a price on your head. On all of your heads, even the childrens’. You must go.” Bastien pulled into the back entrance of Cordonia’s airport, directly onto the tarmac. He pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to the king. “There’s passports in there for all of you. There’s also bank cards to allow you to access an American bank account that has been set up for you. All under assumed names, of course.”

He pulled out a small cell phone. “This is a burner phone. There are 2 numbers programmed into it. No one has this number, including me.” His steel-grey gaze sent a shiver down the King’s spine. “When you’re ready, call these numbers.” Liam shot him a questioning look. “Ready? For what?” Bastien smiled. “You’ll know when you are ready.”

Liam sighed as he turned the phone over in his hands. That was almost a year ago. They fled to America just after the new year. He had thought about calling the numbers on this phone every single day since they arrived here. He plugged the phone into a charger and waited for it to turn on.

He highlighted the first number and pressed send. His stomach churned as he waited for an answer. Liam had purposely avoided any news about Cordonia, it was just too painful for him to see his people struggle without him. He had no idea what had happened since they left. His focus had been on his family, he wanted to provide them the most normal existence possible.

The phone rang and rang. Liam sighed as he hung up. No answer was not a good sign. He dialed the other number and waited anxiously as it rang.

****************************************

Bastien stood in the King’s office and took in the view of the garden maze. The maze had almost been destroyed during the occupation. He sighed as he thought about the turmoil that had torn apart his country for the past decade. Once the journal of Michael Drammir had been made public, a wave of political unrest swept across Cordonia. Several people stepped forward and staked a claim to the throne, while others questioned the ability of the king and queen to present a strong, united front to neighboring countries. Terrorist cells began forming and several attempts were made to overthrow the government. Many of Cordonia’s noble houses were no longer loyal to the crown. It seemed like peace would never settle over the country again.

Bastien had a plan that could not be executed until the Royal Family was out of the picture. He knew that the only way to gain the support of Lythikos or the Duke of Ramsford would be if the Rhys’ bloodline was removed for good. He made that happen. He sent the Royal family off to America, then once control of the capital was reinstated he released the report that the entire family had been massacred at the safe house. No one questioned the head of the King’s guard. No autopsies were performed on the bodies that were all brutally mutilated beyond recognition. Funeral services were held, caskets were placed in the Rhys’ family tomb. The entire country mourned the loss of their leaders. Once again, random people stepped forward to make claims to the throne. But the people were tired of the fighting and the monarchy.

People protested on the palace lawn during council meetings. They wanted representation. They wanted democracy. The first election in Cordonian history was scheduled to take place in just a few days. Each duchy had nominated a candidate, debates were scheduled, and a primary election took place.

The final election would decide between two candidates: Olivia Nevrakis, Duchess of Lythikos and Madeline Drammir, Duchess of Fydelia. Bastien was confident that no matter the outcome, peace would be restored to Cordonia. It had been suggested that he run himself, but Bastien was not a politician. He belonged in the background, protector of lives and secrets.

The sound of his phone ringing interrupted his thoughts. The color drained from his face when he saw the number. “Shit,” he mumbled as he turned around and bumped right into Olivia. He jumped as he ignored the call. “You love to sneak up on me don’t you,” he snickered as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently. She winked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Will you ever stop being so jumpy? What are you afraid of, Bas?” He laughed out loud as he locked his steel-grey eyes on her emerald pools. “I fear nothing sweetheart, I just like to be prepared for anything at any time.” He kissed her again, long and hard, then pulled away breathless. “And you keep me on my toes, my temptress.” They kissed again, then Olivia pulled away reluctantly. “See you in a couple hours? It is Christmas, you know.” Bastien nodded as he placed his hand on the small of Olivia’s back and led her to the door. He closed the door behind her and locked it, then sat in the chair behind the desk.

How was he going to handle this situation? Of course when he gave Liam that burner phone he didn’t know how events would unfold. And then when news broke of the royal family’s deaths he thought for sure that they decided to just stay gone. He figured someone would have called then. But now? There’s no way they could be allowed back into the country. All the progress that had been made would be gone in an instant. He would have to stop it. One way or another.

He picked up his phone and called back the number.

@ask-kennaandval @nestledonthaveone @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @blackcatkita @lovingchoices14 @mrsnazariowrites @leelee10898 @darley1101 @innerpostmentality @texaskitten30 @lodberg @alesana45 @mom2000aggie @blog-just-here-to-read @angelasscribbles @indiacater @tessa-liam @twinkle-320 @imjusthereforliam @gkittylove99 @21-wishes @parisa-kh @killerkennacrisp @lyannacyrill706 @princess-geek @peonierose @karahalloway @kat-tia801 @aussiegurl1234 @jovialyouthmusic

[torchwood-99]

I posted 7,284 times in 2022

765 posts created (11%)

6,519 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@toshsato

@universe-on-her-shoulders

@the-11-doctor

@this-is-quite-homoerotic

@costumeloverz71

I tagged 1,152 of my posts in 2022

#torchwood - 231 posts

#gwen cooper - 198 posts

#bridgerton - 190 posts

#eloise bridgerton - 160 posts

#asoiaf - 98 posts

#incorrect quote - 96 posts

#a song of ice and fire - 92 posts

#downton abbey - 90 posts

#owen harper - 82 posts

#ianto jones - 75 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#including fans who vague me but insist they wouldn't give a shit about fans of other characters if only they would treat their faves well

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

An attitude a lot of Philoise fans hold towards Eloise is that her rejection of marriage is something she needs to ‘mature’ out of. Ask any tomboy, being expected to ‘mature and embrace femininity’ was a very frustrating struggle, and  Eloise is being held to the same standard.

So I was wondering why Eloise finding long term love with Theo, even marriage, was not so irritating to me as her marrying Sir Philip would be. And that’s because marrying Theo would be nothing like the marriages she has been raised to expect, and therefore, nothing like the marriages she has been objecting to. There would be no sense of her growing out of her ‘silly, immature rejection of marriage’ and her ‘growing up and settling down’. Her dislike of the life offered to her would be vindicated, instead of dismissed as childish.

 Marrying Sir Philip, becoming Lady Crane, settling down in a quiet country estate to raise children, that epitomises the life Eloise has vocally objected to the entire time we’ve known her. The only saving grace is that she would not be expected to attend balls.

But marriage to Theo, it utterly rejects the lifestyle Eloise opposes, and would be nothing like how Eloise has been raised to see marriage. For one, it goes against the concept that a woman should marry a husband to support her. Eloise would not be marrying someone wealthy to keep her in a lavish lifestyle. Marrying Theo, who cannot financially support her, would be declaring that she has no intention of being ‘kept’ or taken care of. 

Theo is her equal. Rank and money and gender all play their part to make it not so, but in themselves, in their passions and their fire and their strength of will, they are equal. When we see them together, there is no deference or submission from either side. If Eloise married Theo, he would be her husband, but not her Lord and Master.

And finally, marrying Theo would not mean retiring into the life of a fine lady, hidden away on a estate. It would mean taking her place firmly in the world of social politics that we first saw her venture into last series. Fighting for those causes would become her life. 

426 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

#4

The entire Cardiff population: You’re the worst secret organization I have ever heard of.

Torchwood: But you have heard of us!

498 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

#3

See the full post

501 notes - Posted April 2, 2022

#2

Jace proving he would be the superior king over Aegon regardless of blood because he returns Aegon’s chauvinism with chivalry. Aegon makes crude comments about being able to please Baela in bed more, Jace pleases Aegon’s wife more by treating her with kindness and respect. Not only does this show Jace has a good heart and excellent tact, but he can also gain the upper hand by being good. 

Jace, the hero Westeros needed, but in the end, didn’t deserve.

671 notes - Posted October 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I swear every attempt at a period piece that tries to be ‘modern’ and ‘bold’ and ‘daring’ just end up doing the same thing as each other.

You know what would actually be daring and bold for a period movie would be to allow the characters clothing, behaviour and attitude to represent (or at least capture the spirit) of the time period they are in and trust the audience to still be able to relate and empathise with people from such a different world, who still go through such innately human experiences. 

5,050 notes - Posted June 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[stanning-reyna]

I posted 2,277 times in 2021

782 posts created (34%)

1495 posts reblogged (66%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.9 posts.

I added 2,981 tags in 2021

#percy jackson - 394 posts

#heroes of olympus - 383 posts

#hoo fandom - 328 posts

#hoo series - 310 posts

#pjo fandom - 298 posts

#pjo - 285 posts

#annabeth chase - 279 posts

#pjo series - 274 posts

#percy jackson and the olympians - 257 posts

#jason grace - 173 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#the echo scene is iconic because it’s just these two teens working together like ‘ok guess we’re friends now let’s go kick monster butt’

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

You know the scene in SON where 

Hazel: *points at monsters* What are those?

Percy: Canadians

Frank: 😐

Headcanon that it’s now an inside joke with them and whenever someone asks what sort of monsters they’re facing Frank goes “New Yorkers”. Hazel has an issue with it because it makes her die of laughter right before they go into battle

And him and Percy just keep going back and forth with it and it gets so specific that eventually it’s like

Percy, seeing a gorgon: That’s super rare, it’s a ‘wishapollowasmydad’

Frank: There’s a ‘startedtheapocalypsewithmynosebleed’ coming from behind

1370 notes • Posted 2021-04-25 23:37:55 GMT

#4

Headcanon that a lot of girls that go to school with Percy really like him, like in a friendly way. At first everyone in his classes thought he was a weirdo or scary, but then a girl worked with him on a project, got to talking, and when he didn’t sexualize her or treat her like she’s dumb she went “woah. I want to befriend that.”

And so she’d say hi to him in the hallway, and introduced her to the rest of her friends, and before you know it he’s inducted into the group. They realize he’s not as scary as he looks and that he’s really funny. They also all appreciate that when they’re in public with him other guys don’t catcall and harass them because Percy gives off generally threatening vibes

1912 notes • Posted 2021-04-27 14:39:14 GMT

#3

Annabeth’s gonna get her master’s degree, go work at an architecture firm, end up running the place, and make a whole lotta dough so that Percy can be the trophy husband who married rich

2758 notes • Posted 2021-06-16 00:39:44 GMT

#2

Friendly reminder that we cannot bully any of the kids auditioning for the role of Percy. They are 12 year olds and we need to be kind and supportive to each and every one. We can, however, bully all the adults working at disney and absolutely should

4240 notes • Posted 2021-04-27 21:53:17 GMT

#1

Reasons Percy should be a poc:

- Having poc protagonists is so important, it tells young poc watching that they get to be the hero too

- There is no short supply of white protagonists in disney, it’s not taking away representation from anyone

- And simply why not

- Seriously why shouldn’t Percy be latino

- Or any ethnicity for that matter

4934 notes • Posted 2021-04-27 20:00:55 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[delicioussshame]

In the never ending series of “things that aren’t wips because I can’t, I have to finish something before starting something else”, have this thing I posted as a wip before, featuring a version of PIDW where LBH collected his harem... differently, with guest star NYY.

Luo Binghe immediately recognises the man dressed in cultivator garb as Yingying’s shizun.

Beautiful and serene, she said. The perfect image of an untouchable immortal, dressed in white and pale greens. Always holding a fan of exquisite manufacture.

But more than her vivid descriptions of her shizun’s loveliness, he remembers what she said next.

She’d been lying on her side, her long cascading hair not managing to hide her luscious curves.

Luo Binghe had known she wouldn’t be ready for another round just yet, and so had been pleased to listen to her lighthearted pillow talk.

Today’s topic had been her exasperation with her shizun’s lack of sex life.

“Sometimes I can’t believe how obtuse he is. Liu-shishu has been courting him for years, and I don’t think he ever noticed. And don’t get me started on the sect master! All Shizun would have to do is bat his eyelashes and the sect master would drop everything to worship him! But no, he never takes him on it. For a while I thought maybe Shizun just preferred women, but more than one female disciple has tried her hand at him, all to no avail.”

Luo Binghe could imagine the type. Cultivators could be lofty. They think they’re above the needs of the flesh.

He always enjoys teaching them how wrong they are.

If the demonic part of his heritage revels in desecrating those pompous righteous cultivators, no one else could tell. Luo Binghe was too good at his chosen hobby to let his personal feelings interfere.

“I love and respect Shizun more than anyone. Without him, I would never have become the kind of cultivator who can afford A-Luo’s company. So I am motivated by filial piety and nothing else when I say that I have never met anyone who needs to get laid more than Shen Qingqiu.”

Luo Binghe had laughed. “Oh? Is Yingying going to replace me with her old teacher?”

Her scandalised look had sent him into another bout of laughter. “A-Luo! I would never!”

“Then why is she telling me this? Does she want me to take care of him?”

Ning Yingying had stared at him, a glint in her eyes. Luo Binghe could see the plans form in her head as she spoke. “Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would do wonders for Shizun, and I know A-Luo loves breaking people like him.”

Luo Binghe had blinked, inwardly caught off-guard. He wasn’t blind. He knew Ning Yingying was a lot more observant than she appeared. It wasn’t the first time she had made that kind of comment. “Yingying knows me so well. Should I be worried?”

She had swapped at him. He could have easily evaded the blow, but he didn’t bother. “A-Luo doesn’t have anything to fear from me. But honestly, if I sent Shizun your way, would you take care of him? I really think he could benefit from it. And Shizun is very beautiful! Many will definitely be jealous if they ever find out.”

Luo Binghe had nothing against the idea of taking a peak lord to bed. He bet Xin Mo would love to feed on such high-quality cultivation. “I would be honored to entertain your teacher.”

He could tell from the way she had brightened he was about to be thoroughly thanked.

She had paid him too, both for herself and for her shizun’s future visit. Generously enough that Luo Binghe had wondered if he should praise her filial piety to her shizun.

She didn’t lie either. Shen Qingqiu really is exquisite.

Not as handsome as Luo Binghe himself, but nobody is. “You must be Shen Qingqiu.”

“Luo Binghe, I presume.” Luo Binghe cannot quite decipher the look he’s being given, which is rare enough to catch his attention. He’s pretty certain there’s some attraction there, but the rest? Trepidation? Outright fear? Disdain? Excitement?

He’s sure he’s going to find out. He gestures for Shen Qingqiu to sit down as he moves to prepare tea. He could have one of his servants handle it, but Luo Binghe has always preferred taking care of things himself. That personal touch has seduced more than one client, if they didn’t visit him only for his food.

Shen Qingqiu drinks the offered tea in silence before he starts talking. “If you would please tell me your fee, I will be refunding Ning Yingying a corresponding amount. I am sorry for wasting your time, but I have no interest in procuring your services.”

Ooh, that’s cute. If Luo Binghe wasn’t an expert at perceiving the signs of physical attraction, he might even believe him. Shen Qingqiu is interested, he’s sure of it. He’s just a prude, like Yingying said. “Yingying won’t accept it. Why refuse her most thoughtful gift?”

“My disciple should put her money to better uses.”

“I assure you, employing me is money well spent. You could find that out yourself.”

Luo Binghe bites back his amusement as the man stumbles, obviously embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t… a credit to your profession. Please don’t take it personally. As I said, I have no interest in finding out myself.”

“But how will it look if you were to leave without finding out? My reputation will be hurt.”

“How could something this insignificant hurt the reputation of such a famous courtesan?”

Luo Binghe grins. “So even renowned cultivators have heard of me? Nothing bad, I hope?” And where did an isolated scholar like him caught wind of such lowbrow rumours, huh?

The sigh he’s answered with does not cloak a hint of amusement. “How many of the sect’s disciples have you seduced? You even managed to steal away Liu-shidi’s little sister, whose beauty and virtu are known across the land. Of course I have heard of you. More than I would have liked, if I am allowed to be honest.”

Ah. He should probably have expected that. Cang Qiong is full of eager young men and women. Apparently, Shen Qingqiu isn’t such a recluse that gossip doesn’t reach him. “I see. Still, you must have heard good things, or you wouldn’t have come into my parlour.”

Red is a good look on the man. Luo Binghe feels the first stirrings of desire rise into him. He just knows Shen Qingqiu would be stunning, lying despoiled on those formerly pristine robes, trying to discover what he’s begging for more of.

Not to mention he can almost hear Xin Mo purr. What a feast Shen Qingqiu will be.

Time to press on.

Luo Binghe reaches for the now empty cup of tea he’s certain Shen Qingqiu drained without tasting, making sure to caress the fingers still holding it with a touch just light enough to possibly be accidental, if one were very dumb or very blind. “Let me serve you again,” he says as he pours more tea with deliberate grace.

Instead, Shen Qingqiu rises from the table. “Don’t bother! I am obviously wasting your valuable time. If you won’t share with me how much Ning Yingying paid you, I will compensate her otherwise.”

Like Luo Binghe is letting him leave like this. “Would you have me waste the tea already prepared?”

“Drink it yourself! Surely it’s nothing compared to your usual breaches of propriety.”

Damn it. Luo Binghe miscalculated. Shen Qingqiu is too spooked to be open to further advances. Really, what a prude, to be so destabilised by a simple brush of hands.

If he can take a step back and defuse the tension enough for him not to leave… “You seem in such a hurry. Do you think I force myself on my visitors? I’m hurt.” As if he ever needed to use force to have someone.

Well, never without their consent, at least.

Shen Qingqiu doesn’t seem like he’d be into that, but then again, people can surprise you.

“I’m not scared! I just have no reason to be here any longer. Thank you for your time. I’ll be leaving my student in your care.” For a moment, there’s a glower in his eyes that Luo Binghe wouldn’t mind seeing more of. “Be good to her, or my next visit will be far less pleasant.”

Aww. Shen Qingqiu cares! How cute. “So I have to get a bit rough if I want to see you again?”

His outraged face almost makes him laugh. “Don’t you dare!”

“Or are you looking for an excuse for our paths to cross again? I assure you it’s unnecessary. I’d welcome you anytime.”

“I will keep that in mind,” says Shen Qingqiu absentmindedly, already crossing the door.

Luo Binghe lets him leave. Obviously, this will be going nowhere today.

Really, he’s offended. He cannot remember someone rejecting him so blatantly, ever. Worse, Xin Mo will be cranky. A treat was dangled in its metaphorical face, and then was cruelly taken away before it could have a taste.

He can’t let this humiliation stand.

He won’t have to. The delicate fan Shen Qingqiu came with, red spider lilies on a stark white background, is still on the table, forgotten in his haste to leave.

Luo Binghe’s customer service is impeccable. He’ll be returning the abandoned item himself.

It’s not like finding the peak lord of Qing Jing will be a challenge.

[cheelduh]

The Shackles of Duty

Pairing: Diluc x gn!reader

Synopsis: As a weapon of the Abyss, your obligation towards your Princess should be eternal.

Warnings: Unedited angst. Pls ignore any mistakes besties <3

Word count: 2k

You've never really given the weather any thought. It's not as if it matters to you. Stormy day or not, your responsibilities—no, your duty towards the Abyss will remain the same.

It's still raining. The mud thick underneath your boots, slippery against your heel, the putrid smell of grassy dew lingering miserably against the air.

"You know what you have to do." The Abyss Princess commands you, her loyal servant, hers to dispose if she so desires.

"The dragon...Stormterror." You explain, goosebumps forming on your skin as a result of the damp clothes that adorn your wet body. "Your brother, the honorary night, along with others, thwarted our plans by eliminating the fragments."

"Why?"

"You know why, your grace." Is all that you can give to her. "I shall follow him. Keep him away, from inciting another encounter—"

"No," Lumine declares, no room for argument. "Infiltrating their ranks is no easy task. You mustn't be relieved of your post, not yet at least. We need to extract as much information as possible to further avoid outcomes like these."

Exactly the answer you don't want to hear in the middle of this archon forsaken storm, all bruised and bumped up from Stormterror's confrontation.

Don't make me do this again. I don't know how much more I'll be able to take.

You bite your tongue, knowing full well the finality of her words. "As you wish, my princess."

The familiar redhead suddenly plagues your mind, stoic, and with years worth of anger at the world. The hero in the shadows, the man with an agonizing past, a sense of retribution albeit his severed connections with the knights of favonious.

Despite the obstacles of life and the intellect honed from his journey, he's reckless. Reckless enough to still believe that he can make a difference. That anyone can make a difference.

Diluc is reckless enough to love someone, reckless to think that his sworn brother would be the only one capable of betraying him.

—

"There's no point." Diluc whispers loud enough for you to hear him underneath the stars, adding onto the lull of night. "They all keep walking—no, running, aimlessly because of duty. They follow orders without knowing where they come from. It's utter chaos."

"But in all the chaos, there is calculation." You lean against the stone of the walls, and as always, you know how to speak to Diluc. How to open him up and read him like a book.

You're sure he can do the same with you, but he just isn't looking where he should be. You need him to look; to realize he's tangled up in your web of deceit and that there's no way out.

"How do you do that?" He says, aware all at once. "How do you give me so much yet so little?"

I want to give you everything, the pretty and the ugly things alike. I want to give you my secrets, fold them up in a dirty, black, envelope, and have you turn it to ash with the violent flames of your heart.

It's a lot of work hiding under false pretences.

"It's a beautiful night, my love." You say instead.

Diluc's never gotten used to the term of endearment, still new to receiving affection. It warms him up differently to his vision, pleasant yet unfamiliar. It takes a moment for him to come back to himself.

You briefly jolt at the pleasant warmth of his hand atop yours, a silent reassurance, one that worsens your guilt, weaves it into something that pierces your rotten core.

—

You don't know what you're thinking when you stand in front of Jean's office, fist hovering.

Is forgiveness why you're here? No, because you would've went to Diluc first. You would've confessed to him right then and there about what a vengeful weapon you are, a mindless soldier that will do anything for their queen.

You don't even get a chance to think of the various ways he'd kill you when the door is open, and you're met with the view of the acting Grandmaster herself. Another dear friend that will come to despise you.

"Y/N! I'm glad you're here—"

"I'm a servant of the Abyss." You cut her off, and don't stop yourself, letting the words run freely against the fast pace of your heart. "I've infiltrated Mondstadt under the orders of the abyss princess and used what I've learned to conspire against the archons."

Everything's spinning, so fast you can barely breathe.

Jean doesn't move, doesn't even blink as the confusion dawns on her face. You aren't looking for confusion.

"Don't pretend you're blindsided completely," You give her a humourless chuckle, and by the hush of your tone it's as if you're telling her a secret to any spectators. "You've known for a while now that there's been a traitor within your ranks. Every single attack from the Abyss—too clean, too unpredictable, one could say with coincidence."

"But the universe is rarely so lazy." Your voice is smooth, calm, the complete opposite to the flurries of emotions that bloom your being. "Varka knew that. And so do you."

"No," Jean finally speaks up, denying your claim incandescently. "We've fought together for years. You're one of our best, our most dependable. Everything we've done—everything you've done has been for Mondstadt. As always."

If only that were the truth.

You wave a hand over your right eye, releasing the magical bind to reveal the intricate marker. Jean's eyes widen, and she's far from her usual composed self.

"Still don't believe me?" You ask, knowing full well she's still in denial. It's not everyday your best mate, the one that fights alongside you, admits to being a traitorous scum of the abyss drenched in years worth of lies.

Ah the trials and tribulations of friendship.

"Fine then," With the flick of your wrist, it doesn't take much effort for the main doors to open up with a bang.

The acting grand master draws back at the shrill sound, teeth gritting.

She isn't the only one that's provoked. Wood and Wyratt, the only two guards on duty at this time let out shouts of surprise, reaching for their swords on instinct.

You summon your abysmal magic, which shapes into deep blue, if not black, appendages. They glitter, hiding the entire galaxy in them, with stars that burst into life. Breathtaking if not used on the battlefield.

In mere seconds, one latches on to Wyratt's leg, while the other takes Wood by his arm. All it takes is a jerk of your index finger, and they're sent flying outside the doors, which unceremoniously slam shut behind them. The lock clicks into place, cherry on top.

Jean materializes her sword, taking on a defensive position. You don't think you've ever seen the woman irritated, let alone as livid as she is right now.

That's more like it.

"Go on. Arrest me." You bring your wrists up, casual as ever. "We'd better hurry. They'll come after me soon enough, it's in your best interest to listen to everything I have to say if I'm willing to die over it." There's a tightness in your chest that you can't explain.

Jean hardens her gaze, not allowing herself to relax. You know what she's going to say. You've been her friend, her advisor, long enough to understand where most of her actions and decision stem from.

She says—well she says nothing, because she doesn't get a chance to when an abrupt screech erupts from her office, causing your ears to perk up and your blood to run cold. A series of heavy footsteps, footsteps you're all too familiar with follow.

Although you're fairly certain you know who it is, you glance over her shoulder anyways to meet the fiery red eyes that have reserved a place in your heart. The sole reason you're blowing the whistle.

You feel a sharp pang in your heart.

The pure, authentic, hurt in Diluc's hardened features are enough to have you gutted completely. Mouth dry with a rock in your throat, you don't so much as allow yourself to exhale.

You finally understand why you didn't go to him first. You were sure he'd be able to survive the betrayal, but you weren't sure you'd be able to survive it yourself.

Diluc. You want to tell him, tell him how sorry you are. Tell him how much of a piece of shit you are. Tell him that he doesn't deserve this, that he deserves so much better. Tell him that you love him, devastatingly so.

It isn't supposed to end this way. Things never go as planned.

You avert your gaze, clench your jaw shut, and wait.

"Jean." Diluc says, and there's grim finality in his voice. "We need a moment." His words send small pricks throughout your spine.

Jean regains her composure, mulling over his request, but any resistance is placated by a simple look from the redhead.

When she reluctantly leaves, the quiet is near unendurable.

"Why?" If the way Diluc's fixed gaze could set anything on fire, you would've been burned to the stake by now.

You'd calculated this moment countless of times, predicted exactly how this would go, lived through every outturn in the dead of the night as you struggled to find sleep in his arms.

Living through it is far more dreadful than you could've ever imagined it to be.

His body closes in at your lack of reply, hands gripping your forearm to pull you in and kick the door shut. "Why?" This time it's more firm.

You open your mouth to speak, like a fish out of water, and out comes nothing.

"I trusted you," Diluc says weakly, in a way that has your heart shattering a million times a second. Tightening his hold on your arm, he continues "You were the only one I...I should've known. I was foolish to think I could believe in you." a sharp exhale, and he pushes you back against the door, but it's not harsh at all. He's gentle, and somehow that makes everything so much more worse.

Your inability to reply sparks a different kind of rage in his heart.

"It must have been quite the show, watching everyone run in circles." He seethes, furious, wounded. "Was it all just a lie? Were my feelings ever returned? Or was I just another one of your fair games?"

You wrench away from his hold as if it's burning you. The words are like needles, pinning into you with so much force it has you lurching in place, and then they twist deep within your blackened veins.

"Stop it." You should've just left. Should've just pushed back the nagging in your brain and jumped off a cliff or a something. Surely the unexpected death of a royal guard—no, the death of a fundamental piece in their plan would surely be enough to cripple them for at least a few days, if not weeks.

Anything but this.

You meet his gaze. "I do love you Diluc, that I am sure of. You don't have to believe me. I know I wouldn't."

"Is that all you have to say?" He all but hisses, gloved fingers closing in to form a fist. "You've betrayed everyone. Your friends, your family...me."

"You think I don't know that?" Your voice breaks when you look away. "I don't know what's right anymore, what's wrong. I don't even know what I've been fighting for this entire time." A sharp, mirthless laugh escapes your lips, "To allow myself to carry out orders I do not believe in is too much to bear. How long do I delude myself into thinking that this is all for Khaenri'ah? That this is all for a reason that is beyond me?"

There's a sliver of softness that shows in his features, but you're too busy calming the waves crashing in your head.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter anymore." You say, the sinking of your chest only expanding. "I've already contravened against the abyss, and for that they will come for me. The only thing I regret is that they couldn't get to me before you did."

A stricken look passes across his face, brows furrowed and desperation as clear as day when he reaches for you.

This time, you let his arms curl around your shaking figure, welcoming the comfort that you're undeserving of. "I won't let them."

"I'm sorry." You whisper shakily, fisting the fronts of his coat. "I'm so sorry Diluc."

Diluc hums as he strokes your hair soothingly, with the utmost of care. Although his trust in you has shattered, like irreplaceable fragments of glass, his love for you will remain constant.

Even with the storm that is fated to come.

[the-witty-pen-name]

Reunited

Part One of The Necklace (1/3)

Obi-Wan x Reader (f)

Warnings: none; fluff - maybe angst?

Word Count: 2k 

Based on this Request:

“If you still need that inspiration... maybe an obi-wan thing where he makes the reader a beautiful necklace when they were young padawans and they get separated bc reader goes om a long mission but when they meet again as adults she still wears it and then he confesses his feelings (a bit of anakin teasing his master about his obvious feelings sprinkled in perhaps😂)”

A/N: Thank you so much to @katevino for this suggestion! I absolutely adore this idea and I decided to turn it into a small series. Part two will be posted this Sunday! 

Italics are flashbacks by the way! 

I hope y’all enjoy! 

Preview: 

“How do you think she’ll react to seeing you again, Master?” Anakin asks with a smirk on his face. They both step into the turbolift simultaneously after a small handful of representatives walk out first.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to,” Obi-Wan said dismissively, and very obviously lying. He wanted anything but to be having this conversation right now.

“You can’t think me to be that naïve, Master,” Anakin chuckles as the doors slide closed. It was just the two of them. “I remember her anyways,” he continues, while Obi-Wan’s heart sinks into his stomach. “I know I was very young when she left but I remember distinctly the way you looked at her.”

“It’s nothing that should be of any concern,” Obi-Wan replies, looking up at the ceiling- this already feeling like the longest turbolift he’s ever been in. They’d only gone up one floor before they were stopped and more people entered.

“I think you’re in love with her,” Anakin says so casually, and Obi-Wan coughs nervously because of the shock of Anakin’s words.

“A Jedi holds no attachments, Anakin,” he says, trying his best to take control over this conversation.

“Of course, Master,” Anakin replies sarcastically, holding back a scoff. He bites his lip to hold back a smile and decides to spare his Master of further embarrassment for now.

“How do you think she’ll react to seeing you again, Master?” Anakin asks with a smirk on his face. They both step into the turbolift simultaneously after a small handful of representatives walk out first.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to,” Obi-Wan said dismissively, and very obviously lying. He wanted anything but to be having this conversation right now.

“You can’t think me to be that naïve, Master,” Anakin chuckles as the doors slide closed. It was just the two of them. “I remember her anyways,” he continues, while Obi-Wan’s heart sinks into his stomach. “I know I was very young when she left but I remember distinctly the way you looked at her.”

“It’s nothing that should be of any concern,” Obi-Wan replies, looking up at the ceiling- this already feeling like the longest turbolift he’s ever been in. They’d only gone up one floor before they were stopped and more people entered.

“I think you’re in love with her,” Anakin says so casually, and Obi-Wan coughs nervously because of the shock of Anakin’s words.

“A Jedi holds no attachments, Anakin,” he says, trying his best to take control over this conversation.

“Of course, Master,” Anakin replies sarcastically, holding back a scoff. He bites his lip to hold back a smile and decides to spare his Master of further embarrassment for now.

He sat on his bunk in the Padawan dormitories and the lamp next to his bunk was his only source of light. The night was pitch dark, not even any stars visible, and yet he sat in complete concentration as his hands worked with the beads he was working with. He knew he would get chastised if he was found up after curfew, but he was determined to finish this project before tomorrow.

He had created a necklace with a chain made of a thin strip of leather, and he was carefully feeding beads onto the material. The beads were dark jeweled tones, various dark greens and blues that complimented the dark brown of the leather. He had never made something so intricate before with just his hands, but it was his goal for it to be perfect. It had to be, for you. It was your thirteenth birthday and it needed to be special.

Traditionally, Padawans would receive a gift from their Masters, but he couldn’t help his desire to also present you with a gift. He knew it was wrong of him, but young Obi-Wan Kenobi harbored a very big crush on his dear friend. The guilt always affected him, but the feelings for you were much stronger than any guilt that tugs on his heartstrings.

The turbolift’s doors opened on the floor they needed and it snapped Obi-Wan out of his daydream where he had let himself wander into the past. He walked out first and Anakin followed. The were sent by the Jedi Consul to Coruscant as representatives for the Jedi Consul to meet with members of the Galactic Senate. There were rumors you would also be in attendance, accompanying the Senator from Alderaan, as you were sent there many years ago for your very extended mission with your late Master.

Walking into the conference room, Obi-Wan tried his best to keep a professional front. He was a very nervous wreck and he thought that his heart would leap from his chest. However, his heart deflated as his eyes scanned the room as there was no sign of you. Somehow, you not being there was in a way both better and worse for him. He hadn’t had this much trouble sorting out his emotions in years. He walked into the room and began shaking hands, introducing himself and Anakin to every Senator he had not yet met and catching up with the ones he’s known.

As people were getting seated around the oblong table, Obi-Wan noticed there were two seats across from him remained empty. He had only just sat down when the door opened again, two figures walking swiftly into the room, offering sincere apologies for their tardiness and then taking the two empty seats across from Obi-Wan and Anakin. A woman sat directly across from Anakin and a man Obi-Wan recognized as the Senator of Alderaan sat across from him. His fears and every other bottled-up emotion he had been dealing with bubbled to the surface again as he realized that the figure, he saw out of focus take the seat across from Anakin was you. The Vice Chair was sitting at one end of the table, and was making her opening remarks for the meeting when Obi-Wan made the fatal mistake of stealing a glance at you.

You were just as beautiful to him as ever. You didn’t look much different than when he last saw you all those years ago. Time, he decided, was much nicer to you than it was him. Your eyes were exactly as he remembered. Kind and incredibly expressive- intoxicating to him even. Of course, the last time he had seen you, you were a young, shy girl, and now you were a woman- holding yourself with confidence and grace, sitting up straight and doing a much better job of keeping yourself together on the outside than he was according to his perception.

And his heart stopped when he saw his necklace resting around your neck.

“Obi-Wan, it’s beautiful,” you marveled, pulling the necklace up out of the small box. “Help me put it on?” You asked, handing him the necklace before turning around and moving your hair out of the way.

“O-of course,” he replied nervously and fumbled with the clasp but did manage to help you get the necklace on.

“I love it,” you smile, holding your hand up to run your fingers across the smooth beads. “I’m never going to take it off.”

He grinned back at you, butterflies in his stomach looking at how it looked on you. Your whole face felt hot, and he knew he couldn’t help the blush rise on his face. Even at thirteen, he was in love with you. Of course, he was young and it wasn’t until much later on he realized he had loved you way back then. But nonetheless, he was undeniably in love with you.

“I think this is the best gift I’ve ever gotten,” you say with a smile. “Obi-Wan I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“I’m glad you like it,” he manages to stutter. He follows your lead as you take a seat. You both sat under the tree in the courtyard of the temple. You both sit in silence for a few moments before you decide to speak again.

“Does it ever both you that you can never form attachments with someone?” You ask softly. “We’re not allowed to fall in love?”

“I-I suppose it does,” Obi-Wan answers, his heart beating so fast. It was like you could read every thought in his mind he had managed to close off as best as he could. “Does it bother you?”

“Yeah,” You admit. You look up at the sky as the colors signify that the sun is beginning to set and you both would need to go to dinner soon. “It’s frustrating… the rule is written like it’s something you can chose. No matter how hard I try, I can’t help how I feel at times…”

“I know how you feel,” he says softly, looking at you with his heart on his sleeve. “I- I really do. You have no idea.”

“Obi-Wan?” You say softly, even though you were alone you spoke in a hushed tone like someone would possibly hear.

“Yes?”

“I feel- I feel like that about you,” you admit, unable to look at him in case he was to reject you. You knew you shouldn’t- you both did. The feelings you held for him were too strong for you to suppress. You had two hopes, perhaps he would feel the same or he would talk you into reason.

You never imagined he would confess he felt the same. You also never imagined that he would lean over and place a quick kiss on your lips as a response, just overcome with the relief to know you felt the same. It was the first kiss either of you ever experienced.

How desperately he wanted to just pull you into his arms now. Despite the room of people, and the very important conversation he should be engaging in- his focus is solely on you. Anakin nudges him when a Senator directs a question their way and he tries his best to answer. He felt Anakin’s struggle to maintain a professional stature and Obi-Wan knew after the meeting his apprentice would be unable to hold back his comments.

The meeting went on for ages, and Obi-Wan just felt uneasy the entire time. When the meeting adjourned, he wasn’t sure how to approach you. You and the Senator you accompanied lingered like many others to chat. Anakin, before Obi-Wan could even think of what to do, confidently walked over to you as soon as the senator you were speaking to walked away.

“Master (Y/L/N),” Anakin said, “I don’t know if you remember me. Anakin Skywalker- I was a Padawan at the Temple right before you left on your mission. I’m sure you remember my Master, Master Kenobi.”

“I do remember you,” you say with a smile, looking between the young apprentice and the man who loved. You tried your best to remain civil, and you clearly sensed the amusement of young Skywalker at your and Obi-Wan’s discomfort. “You’ve grown up quite a bit.”

“That was the plan,” Anakin jests, “I’m going to say hello to the Senator Amidala.” And just like that, it left the two of you to face each other for the first time in years.

“Obi-Wan,” you say breathlessly, finally allowing yourself to address him. He looked amazing. He’s traded his braid for a beard, and he looked so distinguished. He always held himself with pride but now he looked the part of a Jedi Master- with an apprentice!

“I’m so happy to see you again,” he says with a smile, one that was clouded with an undertone of sadness. “How long will you be staying in the city?” He asks.

“Just for a few days and then I am returning back to Alderaan,” you reply. “If you have the time, I’d love to catch up?”

“I’d like nothing more,” Obi-Wan says, making you smile. You hated that the first time seeing him is in a place where you can’t just collapse in his arms and just immediately make up for the years away from him. You didn’t even know if he still felt the same as you did. You never stopped loving him. He had promised you the same all those years ago, but you were not expecting him to still hold those same feelings. You both committed yourselves to the Jedi Order and you cannot expect him to go back on those terms you both must adhere.

“Tonight?” You ask, hopefully.

“Tonight,” he confirms. He wanted nothing more than to leave this conference room. Sweep you away from the politics and the mess of the galaxy, to express his undying love and how the time apart just made him long for you. He’d pull you into him and beg you to return to the Temple with him so you could be in his life again.

“You should reign in that apprentice of yours,” you joke, looking over at Anakin with Senator Amidala, “You looked at me the same way,” you say, turning back to him. He chuckles, looking over at the two of them. “So anyways,” you say quickly, before he can respond to your observation, “I’m going to be staying at the Temple while I’m here, I suppose I’ll see you both there later on?”

“Yes, undoubtedly,” Obi-Wan answers. “I hate to leave, but I need to reign in my apprentice.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to catch up,” you say nonchalantly.

“I’ll make sure to find you when we return,” he says, before heading towards Anakin and Senator Amidala.

You sigh, and begin your goodbyes, parting ways with the Alderaan Senator for the day. You start your journey back to the Temple, with Obi-Wan being the only thing on your mind.

Part Two