#sorry for azur laneing she's just so pretty

[arachnestwilight]

Ageless Phoenix.

[general-kalani]

" ⭐"

{ Prompt from here! }

ALRIGHT SO I'll do this by current fandoms AND characters I write in so LETS BEGIN

Under a read more because it's long!!

Don't want to read it? Here's the overview:

Most likely people I'd throw at Audrey: Knoxx, Hammerlock and Wainwright, Mordecai, Steele, TK, Zane(?), Harlock, Bruno(?), Muckenberger, Reinhard and Kircheis, Kesler, Sheryl(?), Gloval, Claudia and Roy, Domel, Berger, Dietz, Gimleh(?), Vance, Sanada, Nazca(?)

Hmu if you wanna discuss anything!!

Azur Lane: Honestly if Audrey wasn't SUPER out of place there, the Belorussiya would've taken Audrey under cannons and protected the shit out of her. So we ignore Azur Lane for that reason of it being WAY too much of a crossover lmfao

Borderlands: We still DO have the potential of Knoxx and Audrey I mean really that's just super funny potential and Steele is also in this area (albeit a little injured).

Vince is a little shit WAY too often so he'd die in the first meeting.

Hammerlock and Wainwright would adopt her on the spot I am SO SORRY LMFAO they'd only glance at her and be like "well she's in the family now."

We don't talk about my man Blake we know her distrust of Hyperion ;-;.

Katagawa would also die on first meeting with her.

Mordecai would be a real threat for teaching her how to fire a sniper and revolvers that's a fact so THAT'S a big potential!!!

TK MY MAN CAN WE JUST APPRECIATE HIM PLEASE-

Ned should not be allowed in the same galaxy as her honestly I fear for her if I throw Ned in there LMFAO.

And Zane is. Zane so yk wild shenanigans there

Far Cry: Honestly if I wasn't afraid of how triggering Far Cry 5 is (and possibly even more trauma for Audrey SHE DOES NOT NEED MORE) I'd already be saying "Joseph and John Seed!" Because I have the most muse for them rn

Harlock / Leijiverse: Honestly I feel like Harlock would be a great parental figure! Ignoring the whole 'dark matter' immortality thing, being a pirate and a few other things.

Emeraldas??? Complete opposite, she'd see Audrey as the child she abandoned back on Earth (Mayu) years ago and feel guilt so she'll turn her back on Audrey unfortunately

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Anton and Oberstein is VERY "uh oh" territory because Oberstein would see the kid and either: Question why she's not in school, wonder why she's not ALREADY in the military (trust me I was blindsided when I found out there was like. A 13 yr IN THE MILITARY-) or just ignore her.

Bruno? PROBABLY adopt but don't count on it because he's a busy man and he sometimes forgets to self-care.

Bittenfeld is an immediate no because he's so brash and aggressive they wouldn't mix well!

Muckenberger would adopt on sight he can't handle orphans being orphans AND would try to keep her out of the war!

We don't look at Ovlesser though.

Reinhard and Kircheis are PERFECT to adopt her and spoil her. Especially with the Kaiser bs Reinhard has, man has a lot of money. Unfortunately though she'd have a LOT of expectations (as well as if she was with Muckenberger) since Reinhard and Kircheis are wonderful, amazing commanders and well. She'd need to fill that expectation.

Kesler my SON he would adopt her, make sure she was safe and make sure that while she is kept away from the war, she at least has a father figure in her life. Reinhard and Kircheis as well as Muckenberger can try but they're all a mess compared to Kesler and his AMAZING parental skills. Personal hc ofcofc

Schenkopf we do not let her anywhere near Audrey. Not because of anything HORRENDOUS but she doesn't need to see a man constantly hit on her adopted parents. And he's a bad parent LMFAO

Macross Frontier: SOOOO Sheryl would be amazing if Audrey wanted to yk ASPIRE to be a singer (like replace Ranka with Audrey type thing LMFAO) but past that??? Once again it's not the greatest for potential writing

Robotech: Oh my man Gloval KNOWS how it was to grow up pretty lonely. Man grew up on vodka and stale bread in his childhood he would adopt Audrey and well, the SDF-1 DOES have a civilian habitat on board so he can def keep care of her. And not him? Someone else on board could totally do it!

Claudia is the best aunt Audrey would ever get (with her boyfriend Roy ofc) and there is no changing my mind that they wouldn't spoil her badly. Roy can even teach her to fly and that's more threatening to me than anything else I've written so far LMFAO

Lisa would be atrocious. Both because she doesn't like kids and finds them a nuisance but also because she's a woman focused on work and nothing else. Sorry Audrey ;-;

Breetai, Khyron and Exedore; all 3 don't know what the fuck Audrey is, wants, but depending on verse they're either seeing her as a threat or just ignoring her because they really don't know what the fuck to do with her

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion: The consensus from all of them is similar to Azur Lane, in that it just WOULDN'T work out. Extra worse because they're spaceships, not ships like in Azur Lane.

Space Battleship Yamato: Dessler would honestly see her and wonder why she's not in the military and then, depending on verse, hurt her because she's Terron and he's lost his gd sanity so that's a no-go LMFAO

Domel would treat her the best. He's had a kid before, he knows to be gentle and stuff with them. Plus bird. Who doesn't want bird??? Would keep her out of the military, no child soldiers with him around no sirree

Berger is the weirdest older sibling platonic relationship because he's so depressed but tries to be strong about it ESPECIALLY with her around. Mans has a DEATHWISH but I love him because he's just a lil guy who I adore so much, probably has the most potential ngl

Heiny and Wolf are ignored for this experiment-

Dietz already has a kid, Melda so he would probably just adopt her on the spot too and not even blink an eye until two days later because he was apparently drunk when he just adopted her (he was sober, he's lying)

Gimleh we ignore because he would either: Indoctrinate her into the Blue Shadow, put her in as a child soldier, or kill her. There's no in-between.

Gettoh just nods at her and walks off-

VANCE has such pops material. Literally his nickname (thank you Odyssey) so whether she'd like it or not he'd be the most natural to call a dad because of his personality. Would also keep her out of the military and would spoil her

The Talans Ghader and Velte are also ignored for this experiment-

Sanada!!! He has a Borderlands verse as well as lotgh verse but she'd hate him JUST on those verses so we stick to sby verse; which is that while he's quite stoic, serious and focused on work. He'd probably make her a lab assistant and run her through the ropes and while he would give others a stern word here or there he's much more 'gentle' in his weird science sense with her

Gairen, Zwordar and Nazca is just child soldiers round three, absolutely no except with Nazca because AGAIN weird older brother-younger sister platonic relationship yk

[wyrmmaster]

Sorry, maybe because i just came from kancolle fanfic reading, but why are the Yamato sisters useless in the Azur lane world? Arent the Yamatos among the most heavily armed and reinforced units in the Japanese side? Or arethe jokes about hotel yamato on point for the ship girls?

Yeah, Kancolle will definitely skew your perspective even before the fanfic, lol.

The Yamato-class were on paper the greatest battleships ever, with the biggest guns and heaviest armor.

That was debatable already, but really didn't matter when the reality for most of the war was that battleships were nigh obsolete for ship to ship combat and completely ineffective to the Japanese war effort. The Yamato-class in particular were too expensive to deploy long-range due to dwindling supplies. For the most part they were kept close to the mainland out of submarine range.

Then things got worse.

Shinano was set to be converted into an aircraft carrier after Midway, but was too far along to become a full fleet carrier, so they settled on something close to a support carrier. She was sent out in desperation for a full fitting too early, and was sank en route by Archerfish.

Musashi was caught out on patrol by Intrepid and sank rather quickly, and Yamato - who was basically just a glorified propaganda piece - was ordered to beach herself on Okinawa and be a stationary artillery battery until she was destroyed completely, but didn't even make it that far before she was sank by aircraft.

All three of them utterly and completely useless paper tigers.

For AL specifically, they're shaping up to be the same in lore while being pretty good in gameplay.

As far as lore goes they're strong alright but Shinano's power is her dreams and she spends hardly any time awake and aware of where and when she is.

Musashi is majestic and imposing but indolent and pretty much latches onto Akagi because it gives her someone to support without her having to make the decisions. Her use begins and ends as Akagi's rubber stamp convincing people to follow her. When something comes to her specifically and threatens someone she cares for, she can be plenty menacing - but that doesn't really matter, especially not when Akagi's been granted god-tier power and has a plan already.

We know very little of Yamato, but what we do know is that she's as imposing as Musashi but "calming" to be around, and has been completely and utterly absent from the story despite all of the utterly insane bad shit we've seen. Not a stretch to assume she'll be similar to Musashi.

Even if you want to look at their lore strength and even if you're going to compare them solely to battleships in gameplay, the Black Dragon is around.

Technically Shinano wins as the most useful Yamato because her dreams verify Akagi's mindset and she's also the strongest carrier in the game when Big E doesn't proc her skill.

[fenheart87]

Long Lost to the Present

This is Part One of my gift for the Naruto/Boruto exchange! Part Two is about half done, I just wanted to get the bulk out before our deadline. Happy Holidays! @whynoteswhispered

Sasuke mentally checked through his belongings a final time before letting out a small sigh, his mother had been tight lipped about where exactly they would be taking their winter family vacation so if he needed anything, he would just buy it. Truthfully, he was prepared for pretty much any weather they would encounter over the two weeks. The youngest Uchiha zipped the suitcase and set it on the ground, clicking the button to release the handle and grabbing his backpack with his laptop and other electronics to swing over one shoulder. A final glance determined Sasuke had everything he would need and with a barely contained sigh, he made his way down stairs where everyone would meet before loading up and leaving.

"Sasuke! Are you ready dear?" Mikoto asked, passing off her luggage to her husband. "Oh, I can't wait till we get there!"

"I'm ready." Sasuke nodded to his father and brother, taking his turn to load his suitcase into the SUV they rented. "Now if only you would tell us where we are going…"

“So, I was talking with Kushina," dread settled instantly into his stomach at the mention of the redhead, "and we agreed that it has been sometime since we last shared a holiday together and we will be spending our first week with them at Jiraiya’s house in the mountains then continue to our cabin for the other week."

"It has been a while since we’ve seen Minato and Kushina… I wonder if she ever got better at cooking." Fugaku said gruffly, a tiny sliver of humor shone through that statement.

"Hopefully we can see Naruto too, no one is sure what he’s been up to these days." Itachi chimed in, staring none too discreetly at Sasuke.

That statement didn't seem like the Naruto Sasuke knew and for a moment he had to remind himself that they had parted ways years ago. While the blond always said Sasuke was his best friend, the raven was unsure until he changed schools what exactly Naruto meant to him. That first year apart had been hell, every time a notification came through or a phone would ring set him on edge so badly, he withdrew into nothing but music only from his iPod.

"I wouldn't have the slightest idea."

"Ah, that's right." Itachi words caused the younger's feathers to ruffle but before the boy could engage in their passive aggressive argument their mother stepped between them.

"Seven days boys, I do hope I will be bringing home two sons and not leaving any to be adopted by the Namikazes." The warning was very real under her cheerful tone and both of her children backed down, following her and their father out to the car.

Sasuke was dreading this trip now, his dread easily outweighed any excitement he had previously. What was supposed to be a simple holiday trip with his family, including his ever-busy father, was now turning into a nightmare from hell. The raven was sure his elder brother had to have some hand in it. The first family trip in a handful of years and now Sasuke would have to suffer the distracting presence of one Naruto Uzumaki or risk upsetting his mother.

"You don't look excited like I thought you would…" Itachi spoke casually, face showing nothing of his amusement unless you knew how to find the slight look in his eyes.

"What am I supposed to be excited for exactly?”

“Aw, you’re hurting his feelings and we haven’t even left yet. How cruel little brother.”

“Itachi, be nice! Sasuke is finally home and I know while he loves me,” Mikoto smiled brightly and pulled her younger son into a hug, “you being mean is exactly why we cut this from two weeks to just one.”

Sasuke lingered in a half hug from his mother, a feeling of warmth that always accompanied the action sank into his tense form and relaxed the harsh lines. Identical eyes locked into a staring contest for a long moment before their father snorted and drew their attention.

"The drive is a long one, if you can't handle it then you can stay and keep the office in order." He advised, making his point with a glare before entering the car.

"Truce little brother?"

"Hn." This ride was going to be a long one indeed.

The weather seemed suspended, the snow twinkling as the sun was reflected off it and the air mild for this time of year in the mountains. Sasuke tried to remember if he had ever been to Jiraiya’s cabin before but was coming up with nothing but bits of when Naruto had shared his summer adventures.

"Sasuke! How was your summer? I bet it wasn't cooler than mine! Peavy sage and I found this pond and there's these Sakura trees and in the water there's a bunch of tadpoles! We had to keep cleaning out the petals, I feel like my back has aged twenty years."

He had to rouse himself from memory lane as they pulled up the long drive. The logs were well kept and the cabin seemed quite spacious, hopefully it would be easier to avoid a certain blond. There were various trees in bloom or dormancy, nothing like the well-kept grounds of the Uchiha main house. Sasuke could certainly see the frog motif with the at times gaudy decor and after hearing stories for years, it wasn't as bad as he was expecting.

"Looks like he did get a key after all." Itachi mused quietly, almost quiet enough for his younger brother to miss it. At the look of inquiry, he continued lightly, "Jiraiya has been having some… Extra responsibilities as of late and wasn't sure he would be here when we arrived. The good news is the house has been cleaned and aired out for us already."

"Do you remember which room is yours Sasuke?"

"It's the one to the left of the gar-" he had to pause, that was Naruto's usual room and he no longer was welcome to share like they had always planned. The silence was heavy for a moment, never had Sasuke wished things had turned out differently more than at that particular moment. "No, I do not."

"It's next to mine, we have a wonderful view of the mountains." Itachi offered, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a light squeeze for reassurance.

"I'm fine." The younger shook off the hand and climbed out of the car, pulling his phone out as an excuse to ignore his family.

The sliding door opened, the wooden panels that made up the shade clattering angrily. A large box made its way out first then the blond holding it, carefully stepping out to the deck and nearly dropping the box with a curse. With a deep all body sigh, Naruto stood up straight and raised his face to the sun, the natural light highlighting his figure. Sasuke stated for a long moment, trying to blend the young gangly knucklehead he remembered with this adult version complete with an attractive solid build.

"Oh my, is that really my little sunflower?! Naruto, I did not give you permission to grow up without me!" Mikoto called out, leaving Fugaku to grab the bags as she hurried to the deck. Blue eyes found once familiar black orbs first before breaking their gaze and a shy smile breaking out on the tanned face.

"Ah well ya know sunflowers are, just sprout up when no one's watching." Naruto accepted the hug stiffly until she whispered in his ear that caused him to melt into the long hug.

"Keep that in mind or I will negotiate with your mother on swapping you for Sasuke."

"Aha, not the best idea Mrs. Uchiha." A long look complete with a delicate eyebrow raise had the blond sputtering with a red face. "Fine fine, I'm sorry Mimi. Please don't look at me like that." And he still pouted the same and no it wasn't cute.

"Like what sunflower?" Her tone was playful and the quick fingers to slide through his golden mop were painfully familiar.

"Mother, we've been here less than ten minutes and you're already terrorizing the poor boy."

"Oi! I am a man now, I know Teme takes after the beauty in the family but if he can pass for a man then you shouldn't have any issues seeing I am too."

"I'm not the Uchiha that likes to check you out when you're not looking." Itachi commented as he passed Naruto, leaving him blushing and splattering again.

"Naruto." The reaction was instant, gone was the blush and sputtering, spine perfectly straight complete with a respectful but curious gaze. It was rare that the eldest Uchiha addressed the blond and it had been forever since Naruto had been comfortable around the dark-haired family. "I do hope you are not causing your parents trouble."

"Of course not, I did manage to grow up in my time away. Hurt like hell to leave for almost three years and have only Jiraiya as company but it was worth all the long phone calls from ma." Yet another mystery and by the look in the azure eyes, a big piece to explain the inner calm where there used to be boundless energy.

"I forgot to ask, did Kushina get the recipe I sent her?"

"I think so but you'll have to ask her Mimi. They got delayed helping granny with her uh situation."

"Same rooms as last time?"

"Yup, I think the only one that doesn't have the sheets put on is Teme's. I can do that real quick if you want?" The question was directed at Sasuke but Naruto's gaze was looking somewhere over his shoulder before returning to his father. He was expecting things to be awkward but not painful like this.

"I'm sure Sasuke can manage, don't let us keep from whatever it was you were doing son."

"Ah, cleaning up everything, I knew I would need to get here a few days early but I didn't know it was this bad. Steer clear of the kitchen for now, there's a lot of manuscripts lying about and I haven't had time to clean it yet. I figured the rooms were the priority since you always go for a family dinner first thing." Naruto smiled brightly before stepping through a different door that led outside. It made Sasuke recall another memory where the blond had gushed about the house.

"Oh my God, why do I always get lost?"

"Maybe because you're a Dobe?"

"Shut it Teme! I spent all summer with Peavy Sage and like his house has more doors than walls I swear! He says it's because he doesn't want to break his creative pacing so he likes having tons of options to get out of the house."

"Sounds like more options to break into the house."

"Oi! Shut up you're such a bastard."

"You know my father."

"Ugh, add prissy to the list too."

Suddenly it felt like he didn't belong here and the young photographer couldn't stay a moment longer. Leaving his luggage halfway to the door and taking only his back pack he left to the woods. Pulling on every memory he had of Naruto describing the surrounding foliage, Sasuke actually found the waterfall that fed the lake the hyper boy always spoke of. The waterfall was loud in a soothing way, the water pure and clear in a way that couldn't be found anywhere but in nature. Lush green grass filled out the banks that lined the sides of the small lake and the pine trees slightly weighed with the melting snow. This place brought peace to Sasuke's troubled mind and immediately pulled at his artistic brain. Even though he had to keep the photos for his private portfolio, this beauty didn't deserve to be disturbed without reason.

With a smooth but careful move, Sasuke slipped his arm through the strap and unzipped his pack. From the top he retrieved his camera case and withdrew his camera. Quickly the raven secured the strap around his neck and zipped up his backpack. Checking the settings and with a few test shots, the photographer was fully in control as he captured the serene surroundings. As always, Sasuke lost himself in the beauty around him and it took spotting a sliver of blond hair to break him free. Pretending to check the photo he had taken, the young photographer carefully aimed and zoomed in on the blond. The picture Naruto made took away Sasuke’s breath as he clicked the shutter button.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to stare Dobe?”

“Hey I’m not the one who left his luggage for everyone else to take care of or ran out of the house instead of going out to dinner.”

“Are you going?” His voice was neutral, a complete contrast to his inner feelings. On one hand, the raven had no idea how close the blond was with the family anymore and yet it was both disappointing and relieving if the Uzumaki were to join the Uchiha dinner.

“I can’t, Pervy Sage needs my help. I might not be here when you guys get back so the spare key is-”

“‘Under the ‘speak no evil’ toad by the huge ass sliding door’ I remember.” Dutifully Sasuke kept checking his camera and carefully packing it away while ignoring the piercing blue eyes.

“Uh yeah… Cool. I’ll uh be back later. Uh if you, I mean my memory isn’t as good as yours but yanno if you and Mimi still like super spicy curry there’s a place about twenty minutes out. It’s a little hole in the wall but authentic and good portions. Don’t stay out much longer and freeze your heart any more than it is Teme.”

Left alone by the waterfall, he finally packed everything up properly and followed the footprints back, thankful the snow hadn’t melted yet. If only the same could be said about his heart, seeing the blond should not throw his emotions back in time when Sasuke wanted nothing more than to cross lines that they never would. Thankfully he only had a week, right? Maybe then he could finally let go.

Naruto was trying his hardest to not just steal the car keys and drive far far away from Tsunade as the gas tank would allow. He was already exhausted mentally due to seeing Sasuke and boy was he a sight to see. The youngest Uchiha had always favored his mother’s looks and his father in personality, after all this time though Sasuke just seemed like so much more somehow and the blond was really trying to keep his heart in his chest this time. At the very least it was only for maybe a week so he could play it safe and be fine! Totally. As if he didn’t have a hard enough time the last time, denial really suited him then and now. Absently the blond wondered where they went for dinner.

"Fine! As if I care, I'll go just to shut you up and then I can drink in peace!" Tsunade announced loudly as she emerged from her front door.

"Oi granny, tis the season and all that but we need to get a move on so I can finish cleaning the house for the Uchihas."

"Oh, is that why you really broke up with your boyfriend? I didn't know you were talking to the Uchiha brat again." Fucking hell, Naruto hoped she would be able to control her mouth when they were actually around Sasuke's family or this would be a very bad vacation.

"I'm not the one who invited them, Pervy sage started it by deciding to invite us to his cabin and mom got the bright idea to invite Mikoto which includes the whole Uchiha family. Now hurry the fuck up before I leave you, I have shit to do and I need to leave before mom makes it here." Naruto pushed himself off the car and opened the door, sliding in the driver's seat and starting the car with the slam of the door.

"Jeez give the kid a break Tsunade, this isn't anyone's ideal vacation setup. Naruto had no idea that Sasuke was coming and by what Kushina and Mikoto were loudly discussing the Uchiha boy had no clue either after being guilty in going on the vacation in the first place." Jiraiya sighed after his explanation and got in the car, leaving Tsunade to follow suit.

“Tis the season so I'll behave but you still need to give me all the details just so we're clear.” Her tone left no room for argument as she buckled in and immediately cranked the radio. Naruto took it for what it was worth and reversed the car, secretly hoping he would be able to actually talk to Sasuke when everyone returned to the cabin. Naruto really hoped no one had looked through the gift he had brought yet, the impulsive decision to bring the gift for Sasuke was starting to seem like a bad one. Shaking off the feeling, he drove his godparents back to Jiraiya’s cabin.

[always-la-belle-epoque]

@metatxt​ + anon, this is for you!!! Prompt is Paris. Wrote this in probably 15 mins so it’s not really edited. 

“The city looks so pretty from up here.” Hecate peers over the railing and gazes down at the sprawl of Paris below them. Beside her, Pippa leans into close her, her hand coming up to cover Hecate’s on the cool metal of the banister.

“It’s not the only thing that looks pretty.” Pippa’s looking up at her through her lashes. And Hecate knows that look far too well by now.

“Pipsqueak,” she shifts a bit, blushing, but Pippa presses closer still. “There are people -”

“People who are more interested in taking selfies with Sacre Coeur than anything we might get up to,” Pippa smirks, hand now slipping along Hecate’s waist. “They can’t see us anyway, we’re quite invisible to Ordinaries.”

Hecate shudders as Pippa’s mouth connects with her neck, as her tongue flicks out and traces the skin just below Hecate’s ear. “Pippa -”

It’s futile. It’s always has been where Pippa is concerned. Still, she guides her back a little, compromising to bring their mouths together in a kiss instead. Pippa parts her lips, licks into her mouth, spins her so she rests against the banister. The city of Paris falls away below and Hecate feels like she might topple down the endless steps of Montmartre and shatter into a thousand pieces at the way Pippa is pressing tightly against her. At the way her body and mouth move, tipping her closer towards reeling, starbursts of delight. 

“Pippa -” she gasps again but Pippa merely hums. 

Her brain is going numb, the argument that this is terribly, terribly indecent dying on her lips as Pippa claims them, as Pippa brushes her tongue across Hecate’s bottom lip and her knees go weak and wobbly. Pippa changes tempo, shifting the kiss to a slow, desperately infuriating pace, and Hecate can’t help the small noise she makes as a warm and needy heat begins to pulse through her, starting in her stomach and radiating in tingles to the tips of her fingers.

“Oh-ho-ho!”

The voice is right beside them - all too loud and all too familiar - and Hecate rips her mouth away, hand coming up to wipe away the evidence of Pippa’s affections as she spins around, stumbling back against the railing as her eyes alight on one Miss Dimity Drill.

And Julie Hubble.

Julie is blushing, looking apologetic, but Dimity is clearly delighted. Utterly pleased with herself in a way that has Hecate’s jaw clenching. To her left, Pippa’s also covering her mouth, though her eyes look far happier than any emotion Hecate can imagine feeling in the present circumstance.

“I heard Paris is for lovers,” Dimity grins, hand reaching for Julie. “Good to know it’s true. Well Met, Hecate. Miss Pentangle. What brings you here?”

Dimity’s eyes slide between them and Hecate wants to hex her. As if she doesn’t already know. As if she hasn’t just caught them snogging like a pair of randy sixth years and isn’t trying to force Hecate to admit to it.

Pippa saves the day, as Pippa so often does. “Oh, Hecate had never been to Paris. It’s one of my favorite cities. And this is one of my favorite views. We were just - “ she gestures to the sparkling city below, lights winking on as the twilight rises up around them - “taking in the sights.”

Dimity’s smile becomes wolfish. “The sights, eh?” She tugs a still blushing Julie closer. “Do you like the sights, Jules? Julie’s never been here either. Told her to save on the airfare and come with me for a weekend by broom.”

“I’m sorry about her,” Julie mumbles, but it doesn’t stop the fact that a moment later they’re kissing, far more enthusiastically than Hecate thinks is dignified for a public arena.

“You were just as bad.” Dimity doesn’t even bother to detach her mouth from Julie’s and the words come out garbled. But in the look she sends her, the message is clear.

“I - I - “ Hecate feels her back grow stiff, her fingers clenching in indignation. But Pippa’s hand is on her arm, sliding down to lace through her fingers to diffuse the tension. Suddenly her voice is in Hecate’s ear, warm and full of promise.

“Let’s go back to our hotel, Hiccup,” Pippa breathes. “We have a bathtub. With a view of the Eiffel Tour.”

And Hecate’s finds she too distracted to give any more thought to how obscene it is that Dimity is now whispering to Julie between kisses, and Julie is laughing, and they’re up against the again railing and kissing wildly. 

“Come on.” Pippa tugs her gently away, and Hecate gazes up at the azure sky that frames the creamy turrets of the basilica.

“Sacre Coeur,” she whispers, taking Pippa’s hand. “That’s what your heart is to me.”

“Sacred?”

Blushing, Hecate turns them once they’ve passed into a quiet lane that leads down to the neighborhood below. “Yes.” She draws Pippa to her and kisses her forehead. “My sacred heart.”

Pippa’s eyes glow in the lamp light and they melt into each other's arms even as they melt into the transfer.

And only once does Hecate Hardbroom think of Dimity Drill for the rest of the evening. 

Because yes, she supposes she’s right about one thing. 

Paris is for lovers.

[whiskeyworen]

I’m actually playing a phone game.

Never really thought it’d happen; most phone games I’ve played have some seriously evil Pay Wall barriers in them that stop any kind of advancement after a certain point and... well, sorry, but I don’t like playing those games. And I’m certainly not gonna buy their currency using my credit card when their parent company might cease to exist next week, but my information is secretly retained. That said, my friend introduced me to Azur Lane. After about three days of quizzing him about the way it plays, if it has pay walls, how hard it was on data, I was finally curious enough to start playing, and bored enough to give it a chance (I was on overnights, and dear god I needed something). So here I am, about a month later, still playing, still having fun at my own speed. The characters entertain me with their personalities, the gameplay is interesting and challenging in places, but still leaves me the option of auto-battling if I don’t feel like slogging. Pretty much everything that is in the pay section of the game is also available for regular in-game purchase, it just takes you longer. It’s fun. I am pleased. It also gets the rusty gears in my head turning, trying to figure out what kind of world they live in, where ships are ships until they have something called a ‘Wisdom Cube’ installed, which causes them to change into a living being. I’m sure there’s good story material there, but I’m not the one to write about it. Most of the girls in-game are definite waifu-bait. Well, except the Destroyers. The majority of them are just cute little things. I actually feel sorry for them most of the time, given how they’re supposed to go into battle and such. Some conclusions I’ve reached so far: (as if anyone cares! XD) - Z23 would probably be the one I’d get along with best. I never use the term waifu in regards to a character I like for myself, but if I did, she would probably qualify. She’s bright, tough, sharp as a tack, a bit tied up in rules and regs, and has a very sweet sensitive side. (the fact her nickname is Zed is something I find absolutely adorable though. And very Canadian in spite of her Ironblood origins. Granted, she was called that by Illustrious, but whatever.) -Portland makes me uncomfortable. She’s one step away from a Siscon regarding her sister Indianapolis. -I will never, EVER put the Arc Royal in a formation with Destroyers in the vanguard. Were it in my power, she wouldn’t be allowed within 100km of a Destroyer. *shudders* She legitimately sets off every warning bell in my head when she talks, mostly because she tries to convince the player that her ‘interest’ in the Destroyers ‘isn’t a crime’. Fuck that shit. Keep her away from the Destroyers. -Repulse is that slightly tomboy gal that everyone gets along with, which is great. She could be your best friend, or more, or less, and it wouldn’t really change your relationship to her. - I wondered why most of the Destroyers were all nervous little things or anti-social, until I got the Arc Royal. Now I understand and I feel sorry for that. They don’t deserve her ‘attentions’. -Tennessee scares me a bit, in that she reminds me of people I used to know. Tough, serious, ready to lay a beatdown...but she’d also be the kind that’s fair. If she beat you down, she’d also help you back up afterward and get you medical treatment. There’d be no hard feelings. She might even tell you why she beat you down the way she did. (her design kicks ass, btw). - The Ajax is unappealling to me, strictly due to her personality. She’s a sadist. She’s literally an “I’m going to step on you with my bare feet and grind the heel in, and you will like it, little piggy.” sadist. No joke about the ‘little piggy’ thing; she actually calls the player that in her dialogues. Her expression is... well, I’m just gonna call it evil, but that doesn’t do it justice. It’s the look of someone who believes they are above everyone else, and that it’s so very FUNNY that the Lessers think they can talk as equals. Very condescending. -Kent and Suffolk have the biggest goddamned Fuck-Off Multi-combi-weapon/Hulls. Big ass rifle units with secondary trigger handles half way up the body. I would dearly love to see those two animated and bringing those things to bear. ��S’bout it, really. In my offline time when I’m at home, if I’m not playing Guild Wars 2 or some other game, and I’m not writing, I’m usually messing around on Azur Lane. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I find it fun. Then again I’m also a sucker for pretty anime girls, and neat looking weapons. So...whatever.

[elaineleri]

See Past the Storm

Elin growled under her breath as the rain continued to pour relentlessly. It was as if the Universe was against her. First, a letter arrived to tell her that her grand-aunt had died and had left her a house at some obscure countryside. Then, as she was trying to navigate the unfamiliar road, she found herself lost—no thanks to the stranger who had given some vague and useless instruction under his breath. Her bad mood must have clouded her thoughts; she was better at making decisions than this. Going in the opposite direction would have been more logical than following a set of directions that she knew wasn't right.

Yes, something was definitely wrong with her head.

Something in the shape of a grand-aunt she didn’t know existed.

So many questions were running through her mind with no one to ask. It frustrated her, and the storm didn’t help.

At that moment, as if to taunt her, the rain fell even harder. They hit the car with such passionate frenzy, she wondered whether it was going to be the reason she went mad first.

“Shit!” She came to a stop and let out a wail. Her head thumped against the headrest, her hands still gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles had turned white. To make things worse, her stomach decided to cramp with hunger, letting out a familiar groan.

Alone, hungry, and lost. This day couldn’t get any more catastrophic.

After a few minutes, she let out a huge breath, forcing her fingers to relax. It wouldn’t do to drown in self-pity. Her main mission here was to sell the house, and go back home. Drowning wouldn’t solve anything. Elin began looking around, tried to squint past the opening between each wiper cycle. The sight of the menacing storm cloud made panic rise. It didn’t look like the rain was going to stop soon.

She picked up her phone, unlocked it. Still no signal. Her fingers went up to her scalp. She gave her long hair a tug, then another—and another. She could get out of the rented car and try to find someone for help, but—no, what if she didn’t find anyone and only ended up soaked to the bone? She worried her lips impatiently. The tank was still pretty full. She could go on for another thirty minutes before choosing whether to stop. That could work.

She looked up again, at how the raindrops blurred the dirt road in front of her even though the wipers were already working double-time, and sighed. There was no use trying. She’d only be wasting gas.

When she couldn’t think of anything else, she decided it was time to give up. Now that she’d finally made a choice, Elin found that she was more exhausted than she’d thought. She’d taken a twelve-hour flight, and had been driving for nearly five hours with only one stop at the gas station. Her shoulders were stiff, her back sore. If she was honest, her head was pounding as well.

She slid open the windows the tiniest bit, turned off the ignition, and tried to sleep.

***

Someone was knocking on the window. Grimacing, she lifted herself from the reclined seat, turned the car on, then lowered the window. The glares of the sunlight hurt her eyes. She had to blink a few times before they could focus on the figure in front of her.

“Hello. Are you lost?” the old lady asked. She had a short stature and a head of windswept silver hair. A warm smile spread across her features, highlighting her high cheekbones and the deep wrinkles around her bright, almond eyes.

Elin gaped, then huffed out a laugh. “Will—” She gulped and failed to resist the tugging at her lips. It was almost too good to be true. “Yes, will you help me, please? I’m trying to get to Sunflower Cottage.”

“Sunflower Cottage?” She straightened, thought for a moment, then bent to look at her again. “It’s quite a long way. Would you like me to sit with you? I’m better at giving directions when I’m seeing what’s in front of me.” She chuckled, exposing a set of crooked teeth. “And no, before you ask, it’s no trouble. You could just take me home after as a trade. How about that?”

“Yes. Yes, of course. Please.” Elin quickly shifted her backpack to the backseat, exited the car, and helped the lady in. Whatever sleepiness remained quickly evaporated. Having hope had never felt so good.

“Thank you for helping me, auntie.”

“Auntie? No, call me Granny Wren. Everyone does.”

She looked abashedly at her. “Sorry, that’s what I call those your age where I come from. Granny Wren it is. I’m Elin.”

“Ha. That’s funny. Pretty name you have there, by the way. Now, we’ll want to go forward.”

“On it.”

They rumbled down the dirt road, and Elin took her time to take in the sights. All around, they were surrounded by a large field. It stretched on further than the eyes could see. The dark clouds had completely disappeared, giving way to clear azure sky. A stream flowed not too far off, cutting through the verdant landscape.

“Have you been living here for long, Granny Wren?” asked Elin as she continued to admire the view.

“I used to. I grew up here, got married, then left. I moved around a lot after that. Oh, we take a left here. That’s right. Now tell me about yourself. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-nine.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No.”

She looked shocked. “No? Why?”

Elin glanced at her, incredulous. “Why? Do you have someone in mind for me?”

“Maybe. Are you choosing not to have one, or you just never got around to finding one? Turn another left here.”

“Can’t find one.” She paused. “I just broke up, actually. He said I'm spending too much time at work.” It hadn’t been a peaceful break-up either. There had been so much shouting and arguing over who was right and wrong, who caused the relationship to deteriorate. Elin was quite glad that it was over, but she felt guilty too. These days, happy memories from before kept surfacing, and she wondered why she hadn’t tried harder to hold on to it before it was too late.

“Oh? What are you working as?”

“At human resources.”

“You should quit.”

Elin couldn’t hold back the giggle that bubbled up at Granny’s pout. “It’s not that easy.”

“The job messes with your life. I can tell you’re not getting enough sleep, so it’s not good for your health either. What other reason do you need?”

That stumped her. “It’s not easy to find another job.”

“When you have no good health, there might as well not be a life. You’re wasting away, child.” Granny tutted with a furrowed brow.

Elin shook her head with a sad smile. They talked about other things, about the rainstorm, about Elin being an orphan; she was adopted into a Singaporean family when she was seven. She’d flown back to the orphanage to look for her biological parents years later, only to learn that they had died a long time ago. Then there was Granny’s story about her life, how she’d moved from the city to stay with her sister after her husband died—and good thing too, since her sister really needed the care. She was suffering heavily from dementia, and to have a familiar face had helped her a lot.

“My sister never married, and she was living alone. She had the village to look out for her, but it was difficult for them. There were times when Carys would forget. She’d be so frightened she wouldn’t come out from her room at all,” Granny regaled sadly.

“Then it’s great that she had you to take care of her,” Elin said reassuringly.

“Yes, it’s a good thing.” After a while, she said abruptly, “I have a granddaughter.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Does she visit often?”

Hesitantly, Granny said, “She doesn’t— She doesn’t know I exist.”

Elin took in her pursed lips and downcast eyes. “Why not?”

Granny Wren let out a nervous breath. “I made my daughter give her up. I even made the orphanage agree not to disclose too much about the family. If Janice wanted to see her, she would go find her herself.” She sighed. “I’d love to see her—but I’m not strong enough to face her. I know she’ll blame me, but it would be nice for her to know that it was for the best at the time. My daughter was so young then—too young to even take care of herself, let alone take care of an innocent child.” A helpless single mom.

Elin brought a hand to hers. It was cold and wrinkled. “I’m sure she’ll understand. Pretty sure she’d love to see you too. The Universe knows I would.”

Granny held her hand and smiled. “Thank you.” She gave her hand a pat, then proceeded to take it hostage, peering at it this way and that. It made Elin laugh.

When they made another right turn, Granny’s expression brightened. “Ah, here we are.”

Elin took in the small cottage standing in the midst of the sunflowers with its blue roof and bricked walls. Other houses dotted the surrounding area, but none of them, she felt, could grab her attention like this one.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t believe I left.” Granny’s voice held a tone of reverence.

Elin turned to her sharply. “You’ve stayed here before?”

“Who wouldn’t want to have a look at these cottages and sunflowers for a time in their lives? It’s not often we see a field like this.” She patted her shoulder playfully, looking at her with mock annoyance. “Your grand-aunt is lucky. Imagine seeing this view everyday.”

It was vastly different from the city, where everything moved so quickly. It was only now that Elin registered how relaxed she had been on the empty road. She would never have been able to talk and drive at the same time in the city, where one had to constantly look out for idiots who swerved and changed lanes without so much as a signal—worse yet, those crossing the roads as if they owned them.

Granny Wren and Elin got down from the car. They walked to stand in front of the house, enjoying its quaint design. There was a rusty blue letterbox not too far off with a faded ��Sunflower Cottage’ painted on it in white blocky letters. This was really it.

Elin saw a man tending to the plants that decorated the place, and felt her heart thump heavily in her chest. Was this one of her grand-aunt’s friends?

She turned to Granny Wren, intending to ask her if she needed a lift home—only to realise that she was gone. Frowning, she turned around, trying to look for her. It suddenly occurred to her as well that she hadn’t told her anything about her grand-aunt. How had she known anything about that?

“May I help you?” a voice asked suspiciously.

Elin turned back front. It was the middle-aged man she saw earlier. The shade from his straw hat made him look almost severe.

“Hello. Good morning. I received a letter the other day about the passing of my grand-aunt, and it says that she’s left Sunflower Cottage to me?” She dug through her pockets and fished out a rather crumpled piece of paper. She handed it over with a grimace, hot with embarrassment.

He looked disapproving as he took the paper from her. After reading it through, he looked at her again. His dark eyes assessed her intensely. The temptation to fidget was so strong, she had to clamp her jaws tight to resist its call.

After what felt like forever, he let out a sigh. “You look just like her.”

“What?”

“The shape of your eyes, like your grandmother. Cheekbones too.”

Elin blinked. “Erm…”

“I’m an artist. I’ve painted their portraits countless times. I’m sorry if I frightened you. Do you want to come in?” She nodded, feeling slightly dazed. As they walked upon the damp soil, he explained, “Your grandmother gave me the responsibility of caring for the house until you arrived. She wanted me to pass you the key, not some estate agent who will be here spouting nonsense into your ears.” Nonsense that she’d drink up. With reasons unknown, she felt suddenly guilty.

“Wait. My grandmother?” It finally dawned on her what he’d just said. “But my grand-aunt was the one who left this house to me. It said so on the letter.”

“Before your grandmother came to take care of your grand-aunt, your grand-aunt did own this house.” His features softened. “I believe your grandmother wanted you to know that.”

Elin let out a shaky breath. She felt so cold all of a sudden. The day couldn’t get any more bizarre. She had a grandmother all along, one who hadn’t thought of reaching out until she passed. It felt like she was being played. All this time, she’d been searching for her family; she hadn’t had any luck for so many years. Then, within a span of three days, she found out she had two.

And now she really had no one left.

As thoughts filled her mind, the man, who’d introduced himself as Jackson, pushed open the heavy wooden door. The gentle scent of roses filled her nostrils. It was everything she'd imagined. Photo frames filled the walls, sofas with floral prints on them encompassed the fireplace and clutters of vintage pieces stuffed glass cabinets. Her goose pimples subsided, replaced with a warm homeliness in her heart.

“This is yours.” Jackson held out a silver key.

Hesitantly, Elin took it from him. Something caught her eye then. It was a photograph standing just beside him on one of the rustic drawers. She moved closer to have a look. Two women in their seventies sat side by side. The background helped her see it was a photo taken right here in the living room. Her mouth dropped open when she saw who one of those women was.

Elin pointed at her. “Who’s this?” she asked breathily.

Even before he answered, she already knew the answer. Hearing it, only to confirm her hunch, made her drop to the floor and burst into tears.

https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/.

In response to the prompt "Write a character driving in the rain."

On my Reedsy account: https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/4oiiwn/

[imseriousirius]

@ethereal-wishes Happy Secret Santa!!! No sure what time zone you're in but hopefully this dosen't come too late for you

 ​Summer breeze brushed passed her dress as she walked down the dusty lane. Belle breathed deely, glad to finally be alone. After reading, spinning was her thing, her escape. Sitting behind the wheel, listening to the whir of the bobbin she could almost forget. She knew her father meant well, he loved her really.He genuinely believed that marrying Gaston was her only chance for a marginally better life. But if she heard one more speech about ‘oblgation’ and 'womanly responsibilities’ she’d scream, or cry. Or both.

She reached the market square just before midday. She made her way to her usual spot beside the fountain and began to empty the contents of her market bag onto the rickety stand. By the time she was finished, she had worked up a fine sweat and sat back, the square was,full, she saw all sorts of people. Wealthy ladies shopping for fine silks that they didn’t need, to pennyless peasants selling whatever the could to get by another day. It wasn’t long before people started to form a queue in front of her stall, her wool was in demand across the land. The next few hours sped by in a flurry of orders, crowds and coins She decided to close up for a few hours and wander around, maybe find a place to read for a while. 

                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few minutes of aimless wandering, she decided on an old, wooden bench, hidden by a cluster of trees, barely 10 minutes had passed when she heard footsteps approaching. What she didn’t realise was that her hiding spot was not as effective as she had originally thought.

'Hello?’

She jumped about a foot, and dropped her book. Bending down quickly, she scooped it up and shoved it back into her sachel. She was about to give the mystery visitant  a piece of her mind. But he beat her to it

'I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you’,

He spoke with a strong accent, she wasn’t sure how but she thought it sounded somewhat familiar. He was rather well dressed for this part of the forest, complete with waistcoat and cravats. Suddenly, she was very consious of her torn dress, she hadn't had tme to mend it last nigt. He hadn’t noticed, as he was currently struggling to tear his eyes away from her face. She was remarkably beautiful. Thick, chessnut brown hair fell gently about her face, her eyes held an uncommon astuteness and he seemed to loose himself in seas of azure blue.

'Are you lost?'

'Ahh-umm' he could feel himself turning red, even her voice was lovely.

'Would you like me to fetch someone to bring you home?'

'Ahh(pull yourself together man!)no, no thank you, I'm not lost'

He wasn't sure she believed him, 

'I'm Belle by the way' she said  'Belle French'

He had to be careful here, if he said his real name, there was a chance she'd recognise him, and he wanted to avoid that, just once he wanted to be called somthing besides 'Your Majesty'

''Gideon Gold'' 

She began to stroll back towards the market, he knew that he should probably avoid any public areas, but he felt strangely drawn towards this woman and found himself following her.

''I saw a book in your bag earlier he'd noticed her hurridly shoving in into the satchel and he was intrigued, it was unusual for to be able to read I hope you don't mind me asking what you were reading?'

She gave him a sidelong look, narrowing her eyes as though to weigh him up, see if she could trst him. Apparantly he passed the test because she reached into the satchel and pulled out a beautiful leather bound book. The cover was beautiful, complete with gold lettering and guilded edges.

''Her Handsome Hero''

''It was my mothers, she was the one who taught me how to read. My father's always said that it was a waste of time, that good men would never be interested if I always had my head in a book, she always said we just had to wait for the right one to come along.''

He had to say that he agreed with her mother. There was an air of intellegence and understanding that he had never before seen.

They chatted on for several minutes, until they reached the edge of the forest, he knew that going any further would be too dangerous, what if he was recognised?

''I'm afraid, this is where I have to bid you farewell.

She grinned cheekily  '' Oh! And I've so enjoyed talking to you, I don't tink I've  ever met anyone with the same interest in books as I have before''

''I could say the same to you, I think that you, quite possibly  th stangest, most interesting person I have ever had the pleasure of talking to''

He smiled and bowed deeply.  She looked down at this, trying to hide her burning cheeks. She couldn't believe that he, obvoiusly a man of great prestige and wealth(she wasn't exactly sure what he did for a living. She had asked, but he'd seemed rather vague and uncomfortable)   She wasn't sure why she was so pleased at this, she really shouldn't get so attached to a man she met less than an hour earlier, but, all of a sudden she felt a lot better than he had that morning.

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belle felt unusually lighthearted as she closed up the stall that evening. Usually, a day of relentless bartering and arguing with customers, thawarting rouge teenagers from stealing her goods and enduring sanctimonious glares from snooty rich folk would have dampened her spirits, but scenes from earlier kept replaying in her mind, and she found it quite impossible to remain unhappy for long. She decided to take a longer route home, she knew the minute she arrived, all daydreams and encounters with strange men would be left at the door, and her father would once again be nagging her, Gaston would be plaguing her, and, once again, she would be trapped in a life she didn't want.

She stepped aside to let a carrige by, but instead of passing by, it screeched to a halt. The door swung open to reveal two young men. They were leather cad, tall, and they looked like trouble. Without meaning to, she caught the eye of one.

''Ello love, on your way back from the market?''

''And what if am?''

''Well, I was just going to offer you a lift''

''Well, that's very kind of you, but I'd really rather walk''

He began to walk closer,

''Oh come on love, it's been ages since us lads have had a pretty girl like you''

Closer

She began to panic, she'd heard stories from girls who'd been in similar situations and she did not like the way this was going at all.

Her stomach turned, he seemed to sense her discomfort, and sneered. Now less then a foot away, he began to eye her unpleasantly. She was assaulted by the smell of stale sweat and alcohol. She had nowhere to run, they were both at least a full foot taller her than her, and there was no way she could outrun them both.

''I'd step away if I were you'

The man spun around so fast he almost fell over. Standing there sword face contorted with rage, was the man she had met in he forest earlier. Gideon?

''You.....you're''

''I said, step away''

''You're the bloody king''

''Yes, and you're Killian Jones pirate, thief, general scum. And that lady is my friend, so I'd advise you and your friend to get back in your carrige and drive very far away.''

Jones paused for a minute, seemingly weighing up his options. Apparantly e thought the better of it and he reluctantly began making his way back to hsi friend.

''And Jones?''

''Hmm?''

''If I ever hear of you behaving like this towards any woman, I will personally hunt you down, and carry out your execution myself.''

He didn't lower his sword until the carrige was out of sight. He began to make his wa towards her,

''Are you alright?''

Belle wasn't so sure, it was less to do with what had happened and more to do with the fact that the man she had been talking to was the KING, the king had held her mothers book. The king had bowed to HER.

It wasn't until she looked up and saw a very concerned face that she realised she hadn't actually answered him

''I'm okay, thank you very much..your majesty?''

He winced,

''Yes I, ah, may have forgotten to mention some of the details surounding my occupation.''

She tittered ''Yes, just a few''

''Can you forgive me for being unthruhful?''

She laughed for real this time ''Of course, you just saved me

They stood in silence for a few moments, he was really starting to like her he wanted to see her again, but he didn't want to seem innapropriate or forward.

''Well, I'd better make my way home, I have to start my spinning work for next weeks market besides, my father will worry if I'm not home soon.

 ''You spin?''

''Yes, thats what I sell at the market''

How had he not realised, this was perfect,

''Well, it seems I'm in luck, just last week I was notified that we were in desparate need of a decent spinner. Our regular gentleman has left to help run his fathers businss I don't suppose you'd be interested. Unfortunatley, you would be required to see me quite often, fittings, meetings......'' he grinned

She chuckled ''Just when I thought I'd be rid of you. I'd love to''

He smiled. It was a good day

[xtremedespair3d]

Anime Summer 2019 Final Impressions + Plans for Fall

Summer sure was the hottest season of the year yet, it was an extremely unbearable hell, but that aside, there were lots of things this season, had some really sweet vacations, I’m back on school studying fine arts, and of course, all the good anime shows I watched.

Though, I must say, Fridays this season were my least favorite because they’re so packed with a lot of shows to watch, things get a lot worse when I have school now and I wouldn’t even have the time to watch everything after arriving at home at 3 PM.

Now that the Summer season is coming to a close, we’re finally moving on to Fall and the upcoming lineup is definitely the hottest yet, and most importantly: My birthday is this Friday, October 4th, and I’m going to become 20 years old, so I hope y’all don’t disappoint me with the birthday messages and potential surprises (which I’m always looking for ;-;).

Since it’s my 20th birthday, it’s a big milestone for me and I hope I get to activate my moral superiority, and if I see any of you whiny crybabies say some negative shit about things I really hold dear the most in my life, you’re gonna be hella sorry. 🙂💢 

Ahem, excuse my weird behavior right there. Anyways, before we talk more about my birthday presents and everything, let’s talk about the shows I watched this Summer!

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for “Granbelm.” (About time I had discussed something with spoilers, it’s been forever)

1.- Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter: This is the anime I’ve been dying to watch and it finally came out... albeit with a little surprise: It’s in full Chinese! Dub and all!

I guess it makes sense they released it on full Chinese on BiliBili (Think of it as China’s equivalent of NicoNico or something) because it’s a Chinese game, but even Azur Lane, which it’s a Chinese game too, is huge in Japan now (Sorry Kancolle, you have sunk) that its upcoming anime is a full-fledged 30 minute TV series on national Japanese TV. But even so, the Chinese dub so far is relatively fine.

The series has even spawned two Grand Theft Auto dubbed parodies (1, 2) and they lead me to create my own parody using Team Fortress 2 sound clips, there should be more parodies like these!

Anyways, the wait for this series has absolutely been worth it and can’t wait to watch the Japanese dub!

10/10 - Rank: S++ - 100%

2.- The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II: All I can think of this series is: This is the perfect definition of a Nasuverse with multiverse and different incarnations of some characters a la comic books, (By that I mean there’s characters from Fate/Apocrypha like Caules and Flat,  for example. All within the realm of the Stay Night/Zero continuity (?)) having some MCU-styled worldbuilding or something. (Okay, maybe I’m going too far with these childish meaningless comparisons, it’s just that I want the Nasuverse to be something other than standalone universe after standalone universe)

Now, me personally, having never read the novels, I did enjoy the series as it is, but it does get somewhat problematic that the first half is anime original while the second half is adapted from the novels for non-readers. It’s really weird how they decided to make the series half anime original half adaptation. This is beyond for me to call it “Semi-original” (I usually use this term for anime series based on intellectual properties but have a completely original storyline, such as Danganronpa 3 and Katsugeki Touken Ranbu).

Here’s a helpful timeline made by Karoshi to help you where the anime fits within the Case Files LN series.

Moving on, the animation is really great, the opening is awesome and with the instrumental only theme, it feels as if I’m watching a Netflix or HBO show, which is really neat. TROYCA did a good job on the visuals, the actions scenes and everything, they’re replicating the Ufotable style nicely.

Everyone must be like “A breath of fresh air after the fuckery we had with Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Extra Last Encore” or 4chan people still hating on Case Files, sure, but I won’t really acknowledge it because I don’t care about Apocrypha and Last Encore anymore, but I will always defend them no matter what. I may have not read the Apocrypha LNs but there’s no reason to call the anime crap for no reason, and with Last Encore, I have played the original Fate/Extra game and while I was surprised and mad that it was a completely different story, in the end, the story is still close to the game and it’s an interesting alternate take on the Fate/Extra story. You can’t convince me otherwise, so get out of my sight, please.

I really hope this is the last time I rant about recent adaptations of different Fate series, because for me, Fate is a franchise that shouldn’t be disserviced on something like this, not even from the most dedicated Fate or general Type-Moon fans. (except the 2006 series because it aged like crap; Same with the MCU and other big franchises, inb4 Karoshi and everyone else crucifies me for stupid statements like these. Except Karoshi flat out told me he doesn’t use Tumblr at all to even read this post, so I’m glad)

Case Files may be over, but there’s another Fate series coming out this Saturday...

9/10 - 93% - Rank: A++

3.- Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru: Having dropped out of the gym days prior, I immediately felt bad for doing so and watching the series made my desire to go back to the gym grow even more, though I don’t think I would have liked to given that I have school now and wouldn’t have time to have my break at all. At least the series did show exercises I can do at home. Even if I spent 1 year at the gym, I still have a fat belly despite having a decently fit body. Somebody help me. ;_;

I just realized I’m more like Hibiki, she works out but then she still eats a lot of fat afterwards. 😅

I’d definitely recommend this show for people who want to workout either at the gym or occasionally at home. This has some pretty good fan service, comedy and over-the-top muscles galore.

8.5/10 - 87% - Rank: A+

4.- Danmachi S2: I wasn’t fond of the beginning arc in a sense I didn’t want to see Bell suffer, but then the next arc is just way better (Not gonna lie, I’d really love to go in the City of Lust with the Ishtar Familia. 🤤)

After One-Punch Man 2 and even Okaa-san Online, Danmachi is and continues to look one of the better looking anime I’ve recently watched. There’s a bit of weird quality errors here and there, but overall, the visuals still look impressive. Hell, even the opening looks amazing (though Case Files beat it as the best looking opening of the season).

After the series ended, a new OVA AND season 3 got announced for 2020. I’m glad I won’t have to wait for another 2 or 4 years. For 2 years, I would have to get a new season of Sword Oratoria like in 2017, but Sword Oratoria is rather forgettable, so I’m sticking with the base series, instead. Anyways, looking forward for more Danmachi next year.

8/10 - 84% - Rank: A

5.- Fire Force: Even though I never saw Soul Eater, but even so, this series is interesting, it had a strong start but the last few episodes, the animation has been TERRIBLE. The way the characters move, the flow and everything is just god damn slow.

It’s a damn shame how David Production of all studios is getting a troublesome series with decaying animation quality or something. Even JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Cells at Work had decaying qualities or something.

Since this is a two-cour series (for the better or for worse), I hope the animation would get better, but if it continues to be the way it is, I don’t really know what to say, and maybe David Production shouldn’t have picked this series up in the first place, Bones should have adapted Fire Force so it can give Soul Eater vibes, but I guess they were too busy with Mob Psycho 100 and My Hero Academia. Even so, the series still had some decent moments.

One thing worth pointing out is that the ending theme, veil by Keina Suda, reminded me of the song シャルル... But then I discovered that シャルル  was made by Keina Suda too, that took me by surprise.

7.5/10 - 75% - Rank: B

6.- Tejina Sempai: I wasn’t much convinced on wanting to see the series before it came out, but when I’ve seen crossover fan arts with the titual character and Hotaru Shidare from Dagashi Kashi, even pKjd’s tweet about it, got me interested, I saw the first episode and I loved it, I had laughed a lot on it, but like on the second half of the show, the series has kinda lost me and couldn’t even find it funny anymore, a little bit, but it wasn’t working out for me anymore.

Animation wise is a little decent, not as utterly poor but the showoverall is okay.

To add insult to injury, this is the one project artist Sky-Freedom has recently dedicated to make porn pictures on his Patreon and sell a doujin of it.

Long story short: Sky-Freedom was making a JK oneshota series on Patreon, but then on early July 2019, he was accused of plagiarism from another artist for one image (See here; and yes, I made this Twitter account to protest, but it didn’t work like I wanted), hence he cancelled the JK oneshota series and has since moved on making doujins of Azur Lane, and of course, Tejina Sempai.

Basically, an artist I’ve grown to hate has moved on to make porn of Tejina Sempai on his Patreon and a doujinshi. Sure, what he did about copying another artist and make money of it from Patreon was shitty, but since he won’t make that JK oneshota series anymore and can’t even care for his new stuff, hence why I hate him now (though not really because I’m still curious to know what he’s doing).

Sorry if I went a little bit off-topic, but this is the most important thing I wanted to address, something associated with Tejina Sempai, whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

7/10 - 71% - Rank: B-

7.- Okaa-san Online: This one I kinda have grown to have quite mixed feelings about this series.

In one hand, it recreates Pochi’s art style nicely but it doesn’t even come close, everything else is rather nice, but on the other hand, the poor animation kinda kills the interest and enjoyment of the series quite a bit. It seems like part of JC Staff has gotten worse in animation talent than One-Punch Man 2, but it certainly won’t top OPM2.

As for the story, writing and characters, there isn’t much for me to talk about, and it’s its nature to have characters with terrible puns as their names and such.

However, it does get a bit thought provoking about my relationship with my mom, but I wouldn’t like to get too personal about it (and it’s none of your business anyways).

The best girl of course is Mamako, not only she’s a genuinely good mother, someone I really shouldn’t fight so bad (I’m worse than her son, Masato), but also she’s a legit good MILF. 👌 

Okay okay, let’s not get too perverted again as I briefly did at Danmachi with the Ishtar Familia arc or something and let’s just move on to the score.

Also, why would HorribleSubs refer this series as “Okaa-san Online”? It certainly has a long ass title, but calling it “Okaa-san Online”? Really?

After Okaa-san Online, can we please get an Ane Naru Mono anime but with a better studio, please? Maybe it could be a hentai based on the NSFW version or it could be a TV series based on the SFW version, either is fine but give me something, please!

6/10 - 63% - Rank: C-

8.- Granbelm: I was honestly feeling super mixed around the first few episodes, and at times I even felt like dropping this, but I never drop any anime I wasn’t feeling interested, but then the second half of the series has been getting me interested now, especially when the series gave me the best anime villains ever:

Anna Fugo: The “obsessed for power” type of villain with a terrific performance by Yoko Hikasa.

Suishou Hakamada: The “servant of the most powerful boss, but the boss sucks, so screw this!” type of villain with a mysterious background, with a voice ranging from calm but terrifying to extreme when she gets angry, provided by Aoi Yuuki. Around episode 12, here’s a surprising info bomb: Suishou out of the blue reveals that she participated and won every single Granbelm for a thousand years to become the Princeps or something.

Another con I have to mention is the weak sound design. When the fight scenes happen, the mechas flying, the strikes and everything sound really off, they don’t sound like loud engines blasting off or even metal clashing very strongly or something.

I must say, even if the story wasn’t the most convincing I’ve ever watched but it has some redeeming qualities like the villains, the animation was pretty good. Certainly doesn’t involve sakuga, but at least it was pretty decent.

6.5/10 - 67% - Rank: C+

Overall:

I know Okaa-san Online should have been last for the poor animation and my lower score, but Granbelm was always destined to be in that spot because I was the least interested at it.

I have a history of rigging my own scores, so I don’t make the rules.

Spring 2019 ongoing:

Fruits Basket: The first season has ended, and now we’re gonna get season 2 around 2020. I’m excited to see how the story goes. (And before you tell me to read the manga, I’ll pass and I’m gonna wait and see how will the adaptation goes)

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Episode 19 and with the series ended, might as well say this now but this is totally my Anime of the Year, no denying it. I’m glad it’s not the end for Kimetsu no Yaiba yet, there’s going to be a movie of the Infinite Train arc... inb4 it becomes another vaporware like the Katsugeki Touken Ranbu movie or, hell, even Girls’ Work, and things get worse with the tax fraud on Ufotable, if that’s anything to go by.

They still have Heaven’s Feel III coming out in 2020, so there’s a pretty good chance that Ufotable can still work it out with the Kimetsu no Yaiba if they can.

Not quite a mediocre anime to give it a D or even an E like the past two seasons, in my opinion. Now, it’s finally the time to talk about my anticipated anime not only for the entire season in general, but for my birthday as well!

Anticipated:

1.- Azur Lane The Animation - October 3rd: I’m a big avid player of Azur Lane and I seriously can’t wait for the anime to come out! I don’t care if people are gonna compare this with the Kancolle anime, if it’s gonna be good, bad or worse than the Kancolle anime, etc. I just want to watch it, please!

October 3rd is just PAINFULLY a day close to my birthday, but you know what? I’m gonna watch the first episode on day 1 and then rewatch it on my birthday so I can be satisfied.

With the latest trailers, the anime looks impressive, it seems like the character designs are relatively close to the diverse art styles from the characters, but it’s still mixed in with a uniformal art style like Kancolle’s or something. Still nowhere near Chronicle Chain-tier, but it’s something.

This is definitely the one anime I’m super anticipated to watch and can’t wait to watch it, even if it’s an early birthday gift!

2.- Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter (Japanese Dub) - October 4th: Yes yes, the series already exists, albeit for Chinese audiences with Chinese dub and all and I just reviewed it, but hey, this is the Japanese dub we’re talking about and I was growing as desperate as I was to watch the series. As to how these news came to be, I was scrolling down my timeline and saw the Crunchyroll news post about the series, I was like “Yooo, the Japanese dub is finally coming out!”, I looked at the post, read through and at the bottom, I saw the broadcasts:

Tokyo MX: every Friday during the 25:00 time slot beginning on October 04, 2019.

BS11: every Saturday during the 20:55 time slot beginning on October 05, 2019.

Yep, you read that right: October 4th. This is my biggest surprise I’ve seen yet, and the road for my birthday (at the time of writing this, Sept. 25th) keeps getting better and better!

I actually had thought it was gonna come out on Fall but I expected on late October at best, to coincide with the Chinese release’s late July release, but I never thought they would definitely go for my birthday of all dates.

3.- High Score Girl - October 4th/16th: Every time I watch this show, I seriously cannot stop smiling for how good this is, and I’m glad it’s back for a second season as my birthday gift.

But what’s strange is that the first 3 episodes are going to be on my birthday while the rest of the series will be on October 16th onwards, it’s a little odd but hey, I get to see the first 3 episodes of my birthday, it’s definitely worth it.

4.- Blackfox - October 4th: I haven’t heard anything new about this lately and I genuinely lost interest on it because the fact that it’s a theatrical movie in Japan left me a sour taste in my mouth. Well, I would still see the film eventually in some way, whether the film would come out on Mexico or torrents from the Blu-Ray release, but at the same time, it’s just the usual “Japan getting an anime movie first and it’s going to take forever for it to come out on Mexico or won’t at all.”

That is until on September 27th, I was randomly reading the Wikipedia page for Blackfox and I noticed that, get this: Crunchyroll is going to stream the film on October 4th! My interest on Blackfox has regained!

With that said about Blackfox being a movie and coming out on Crunchyroll on October 4th, looks like I’m going to have two movies in one birthday, one of them being a certain mentally ill prince of crime clown. Given that I’m going to have all morning watching all these other anime that are coming out in my birthday, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch Blackfox too in favor of Joker.

5.- My Hero Academia season 4 - October 12th: I’m surprised that My Hero Academia took a long lap between seasons, maybe we all needed a break from MHA coming out in every Spring, especially when there was another Shonen Jump series, Kimetsu no Yaiba, and the competition would sure be hot, I think Kimetsu no Yaiba might have been suffocated with MHA or vice versa, who knows really.

Anyways, we’re finally getting into the Eri arc and boy, seeing this arc animated is gonna be intense.

6.- Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia - October 5th: I don’t really understand what’s the appeal with Babylonia (and Camelot) in comparison to the other storylines from FGO before Epic of Remnant and Cosmos in the Lostbelt. And I didn’t even bother to look at English translations or even videos or transcripts of the chapter released in the NA version. Now that it’s getting animated, I’ll have to wait and see because what I like the most of these adaptations is seeing the VN-like scenarios come to life, or pretty much any other media I like seeing being brought to life in general.

Some things I do have to compliment about the Babylonia anime is that they released episode 0 in the actual game (and at the same time, simulcasts were released which begs the question: How the fuck were they able to get an episode of the Babylonia anime straight from the game?), and, unlike Azur Lane which it’s another mobage with an anime coming out this Fall, it uses a uniformal art style and it tries to replicate the Takeuchi art style. Granblue Fantasy is an exception because it’s only one artist who does literally every single character ever.

7.- BEASTARS - October 8th: This is the next project from the studio that brought Houseki no Kuni, Orange. Looking forward to more of their CG greatness. (Sanzigen will always hold a special place in my heart, though)

8.- Tokunana - October 6th: I was randomly lurking on Yuuichiro Higashide’s (Fate/Apocrypha, Danganronpa 3, Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet writer)  website and I saw “Tokunana”, I visited the website and it showed me the trailer first, it looked pretty interesting and for some reason I thought it was like an old series of sorts, but nope, it’s actually a new series.

The full English title is Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit, and given that I watch CSI, NCSI and Hawaii Five-0 very early in the mornings before I go to school, I’m definitely gonna get some vibes from these shows or something, and this show has a pretty stellar cast too.

9.- Granblue Fantasy: The Animation season 2 - October 4th: I genuinely had enjoyed the first season when it came out, the animation looked nice too, but now reading some reactions on the anime in general has given me a sour taste, I refuse to believe it’s bad or anything...

I’m surprised that they’re changing studios from A-1 to MAPPA, I wanted Cygames Pictures because supposedly they were supposed to make anime based on their properties themselves, why MAPPA of all studios?

Also, this is coming out in my birthday and I’m not sure if I asked for this, but I’ll take it.

10.- Psycho-Pass 3 - October 24th: With news about Psycho-Pass 3 flying around, I had to binge the series on my Spring break, and yes, even Psycho-Pass 2, everyone says that it sucks and whatnot, but for me honestly, it wasn’t even that offensively bad, it does suck that there wasn’t a lot of Kogami, but the storyline and everything wasn’t really that bad, at least the movie gave more Kogami, though. And speaking of familiar faces, it seems like only Shion and Sho are returning and this whole season has an all-new cast, I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Before Pscyho-Pass 3 comes out, I forgot there were the Sinners of the System film trilogy released earlier this year and I got to watch them all this past Sunday as of the publishing of this post. Speaking of the films, they were 1 hour each and I think they were a test on how will Psycho-Pass 3 work with 1-hour length.

The series will have 8 episodes consisting of 1 hour, I’m not really sure if I’m prepared for that, and now that I think about it, it’s going to feel like watching a Netflix show.

11.- Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle - October 7th: So a new PSO2 anime is apparently happening, but this time it seems like it’s definitely gonna be more serialized and actually taking place in the game’s universe, because the 2016 series had a lot of meta shit and it was just ridiculous, but even so, I loved it.

And that’s all of the anime I’m looking forward this Fall, don’t forget that my birthday is soon and I’m looking forward for your messages! I’m sure going to have a great time in my 20th birthday with Azur Lane, Girls’ Frontline, High Score Girl, Granblue Fantasy, Blackfox (if I have the time) The Blacklist (if I have the time) and Joker!

Carrd.

Announcement for my (potential) retirement.

[dylan-hague]

Chapter 4

“I’m sorry for not saying anything sooner.”

“You’re a Jedi?”

The girl shook her head. “Only a learner! A Padawan!”

“You just shifted an entire ice field,” Beenine whined. “Don’t you think you could have maybe done that sooner??”

“I didn’t want you to know…”

“More importantly, what the hell are you doing out here?” Van asked. “The Jedi have been extinct for generations. Everybody knows that.”

“We’re back now,” the girl said. “Or… we were. Master Skywalker estab--”

“Skywalker?” Van bolted up from the floor. “Luke Skywalker? The guy from the stories? The Rebel Knight?? You mean he’s real??”

“He is. He established a new Jedi Order, started training us. We had a Temple on Yavin IV… not far from the old Rebel base.”

Beenine turned her head to the girl. “Had?”

The girl fell quiet. “That’s… that’s why I need your help. Why I need to get to Bonumaan.”

Van frowned. “What’s on Bonumaan?”

“Another student and I, we talked about this before we fled. We were going to Bonumaan to speak with someone there, someone who might know something about what was coming. We got separated.”

“What were you running from??” asked Van.

The girl ran a hand through her hair, pulling open her robe. Van could just see the glint of a weapon hanging from her belt underneath.

“Answer the question, please.” Beenine’s voice was flat now, stern. “What were you fleeing from?”

“... One of the other students. The strongest of us… he turned.” The girl grimaced in her recollection. “Attacked the Temple, burned it to the ground. Some of us left with him, some of us got away… but most of us didn’t make it out.”

Van didn’t offer a response. He didn’t know how to respond to that, really.

Beenine broke the silence. “So the Sith have returned, is that it?”

“No,” the girl replied. “He’s no Sith. the Sith died with Darth Vader, they’re gone forever.”

Van didn’t object verbally, but he wasn’t so sure. After all, Sith and Jedi were just religions, right? Aside from the superpowers, couldn’t anybody start professing belief in the Force or whatever?

“But he’s still dangerous,” she added. “And we think we know where he’s going.”

“Mind sharing with the class?” Beenine asked.

“On Ilum, there’s something forming,” the girl replied. “Some kind of base. Some of the Imperial remnants, they’ve come together. They’re uniting under one banner…”

Van’s eyes widened. “They’re trying to rebuild the Empire.”

The girl nodded, her jaw clenched. “We think he’s joining up with them.”

“So you have a contact on that orbital over Bonumaan, then? That’s why you need to go there?”

“Yes,” the girl said. “We have a contact in the Senate.”

“Heard that one before,” Beenine snarked, “from a Jockey who snuck onboard. Maybe provide us with a name.”

The girl’s brow furrowed. “... I don’t know if I can trust you with that information yet.”

Van crossed his arms. “I get that,” he said. “But uhh… this is pretty heavy. The Empire coming back, all that.”

“I know,” the girl said. “If it’s a matter of money, I can’t guarantee anything, but--”

“No no, that’s not, no.” Van looked back out the windscreen for a moment, then back to his passenger. “It’s just… I don’t even know your name. If we’re gonna, y’know, save the galaxy together or whatever--”

“I’m not asking you to, to—to join the fight or help us beat the Empire or anything,” she replied.

Van frowned. “What, do you not want my help?”

“That’s not what I said!”

“Well, do you though?”

The Jedi shrugged. “I w-I won’t say no, if you’re offering!”

“Focus, please,” Beenine snipped. “Master Jedi, we’re perfectly willing to take you to Bonumaan for the agreed upon fee, but we must know if the Empire is going to be pursuing us.”

The Jedi sighed, and her shoulders dropped. “... It wouldn’t surprise me if they are. The Destroyer we passed wasn’t salvage, it was new. Someone is building new warships.”

“Same with the TIE fighters. Those were fresh off the line…” Van looked down at his boots. If he was going to have Destroyers tailing him, he’d need a tougher hyperdrive. “Beenine, remind me. If I were to upgrade the Bird’s drive…”

“.9 past lightspeed would be the fastest I could keep up with, as we’ve discussed.”

Van scratched his chin. “With the .4 Nubian I’ve got now… 2000 might buy me a .6 with trade-in. Nothing too fancy or too new, but… well, the Nubian is still in pretty good condition...”

“We don’t have that kind of time.” the Jedi crossed her arms. “The First Order will be on us by the time we stop off, especially if--”

“If your ex-Jedi really is with them.”

Van stopped for a moment. “The First Order? Is that what they’re calling themselves?”

“Yes,” said the Jedi. “They claim they’ve ‘risen from the ashes of the Empire.’”

“Oh, shut me down…” groaned Beenine. “They can’t be serious.”

“They’ve razed Yavin IV to the ground,” the Jedi replied, her eyes cold. “It’s a dead moon now, like Katarr.”

“Or Alderaan. Finishing what the Empire started, sounds like…” Van shook his head. “Beenine, which way are we headed right now?”

“If we stay on our present course, we’ll pass the other way around Takodana opposite of the swing we had planned. this will take us out-of-lane and put us through Jockey territory, but it should theoretically get us to Bonumaan faster.”

“No, we’ve gotta redirect. We can’t go through Jockey space, they’ll light us up.”

“I agree.”

“Hold on now,” said the girl, “if it gets us to Bonumaan faster, then I’ll do what has to be done to protect us from any pirates.”

“They have fighters,” said Beenine.

“She did just clear us a path through the glaciers…”

The Jedi looked Van in the eyes and nodded. “I can do it.”

Van turned back to the console. So much for Life Day. “Beenine, keep us on present course. We get the Jedi to Bonumaan, then… then we see where we go from there.” He dropped back into his seat and punched a few commands into the console. “And send a message to my mother. Tell her I won’t make it home this year, and that I’m really sorry.”

“Of course,” said Beenine. “And please don’t be concerned about it, Captain. I’m sure your mother will understand.” A hum came from her direction as she went quiet.

The Jedi sat down in the passenger seat. “Thank you, Captain.”

Van leaned back and sighed. “... Hey, what’s your name, by the way?”

“Hmm?”

“Well, it looks like we’re stuck together for awhile. Might as well get to know each other.”

The Jedi fell quiet for a moment, and then… “Jenna. Jenna Metz.”

Jenna… Van likes that name. Coruscanti, he thought it was, but he could easily be mistaken. “Where you from, Jenna Metz?”

“Nar Shaddaa.”

Van turned and looked over his shoulder. “You grew up on Nar Shaddaa?”

Jenna nodded. “It wasn’t great. I was… really grateful when Master Skywalker found me.”

Van shook his head. Being a kid on the Smuggler’s Moon… couldn’t have been easy. Either her family were refugees or crooks, one of the two. Either way, a cozy temple on Yavin IV was probably a safer, more nurturing environment for a child’s upbringing. Van wondered how her parents felt about their baby girl going off to become some wizard-warrior-peacekeeper-thing… or, he thought, if her parents were even still in the picture. He thought, just for a moment to ask… but no. Best not risk opening up any old wounds.

The Bluebird sailed on through the azure swirl, its passengers settling into a passive but uneasy silence.