#you know. the chapter where the duel was supposed to already be over.

[inkblackorchid]

> "Ok, for chapter 6, I'm going to write a nice preamble scene that builds tension, then a duel"

> Actually starts writing

> Instructions weren't clear enough, added another four sections, wrote a 27k word duel preamble chapter plus another 14k words and the duel hasn't even started yet

The fic's going great.

[oatmealaddiction]

Okay but the weirdest thing about the whole "Brotherhood is better you should skip 03" discourse that's become commonplace now, it sort of forgets the world Brotherhood came out in and why you should watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist. When Brotherhood came out, the original Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most beloved and most watched animes of all time. Brotherhood assumes you the audience have already seen it because of course you have, everyone has seen it, so it skips important information and speeds the story up because it doesn't want to bore you with things you already know. Have you ever wondered "hey why does the first episode of Brotherhood kind of suck, and why am I being introduced to like 50 new characters, and why are they acting like I know what the hell an alchemist is?" It's because Brotherhood thinks you've seen 03.

The first 7 or so episodes of Brotherhood constitute dozens of chapters in the manga, and the first 25 or so episodes of the original Fullmetal Alchemist. The Nina Tucker episode in Brotherhood, in FMA 03 takes up nearly three episodes. Yoki gets a backstory in 03 and it's genuinely one of the best episodes and taken directly from the manga and Brotherhood glosses over it because: duh, you've already seen it. And so if you skip the original you miss out on dozens of really great character building episodes like Ed and Al meeting Hughes for the first time and getting to spend a whole episode helping him free a train from terrorists, or Ed and Roy having a duel that expands on the relationship they have, or episodes where the brothers just help out random people in towns before the major story gets going.

The original also paces itself quite a bit better than Brotherhood and is more in line with the mangas storytelling. In the manga we don't find out about The Gate until nearly two dozen chapters in, and the same goes for the original anime. Like, that's a twist reveal in those stories, and it's weird that the most watched series is the one where they tell you all about The Gate in the first two episodes because they assume you've already seen the original show.

What's more, people don't know that Hiromu Arakawa helped write for the anime while she was still in the middle of writing the manga, and as a result was inspired to write scenes in Brotherhood that the anime did first. That scene of Edward getting impaled by a falling beam? Directly inspired by a similar scene in the original anime. There's a lot of little instances of that and they're great when you can recognize parallels and things in Brotherhood that are direct references to the original anime, but people don't notice any of that anymore. Because the original anime is just an automatic skip these days, and it's a bummer because people don't realize what a giant it was back before Brotherhood was released. They treat it as *bad,* not realizing it was one of the most beloved anime of its time and the problems people take issue with have a lot more to do with personal taste than any kind of actual flaw in the writing. Brotherhood was never meant to dethrone it, and the original anime was always supposed to be part of the viewing experience which is why those first few episodes of Brotherhood are so fast paced. So like, please stop telling people Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 is a skip, or it's bad, or you don't need it because Brotherhood is better. Regardless if you think Brotherhood is better or not, the original wrote Brotherhood's check. It was huge, it was beloved, and Brotherhood is *banking* on the knowledge you've seen all of it and loved it. And trust me when I say there is so much to love about the original series. It's still my favorite branch of the FMA franchise, and it's worth your time, I promise you.

[dragon-kazansky]

Bridgerton shade of blue

Benedict Bridgerton x Female Reader

Benedict bumps into you, quite literally, at a ball while trying to escape his mother's attempts to find him a partner. You decide to humour him with a dance, not realising just how entwined you would become with him. It seems the universe will find every excuse to push you and Benedict together, no matter how much you fight it.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Season one

Chapter Ten - Duel at dawn

♡♡♡

Meanwhile, at the art studio, Benedict was still lingering around. Most of the artists had vacated the room by this point, but Benedict Bridgerton was still present.

"You have great potential." Henry said, coming up beside him.

"It's nothing," Benedict says sharply.

"Though, for such a staunch critic of others, you certainly lack a clear eye for your own work."

Benedict sighs. "It's the lines. Not what they're supposed to be."

"Take the compliment, Bridgerton. There is no expectation or judgement here. You left all of that back in Mayfair. You can feel free to be yourself here... if that's what you should like."

Benedict smiles.

"It's what works for me, at least. And I haven't been dissatisfied with my lines in... well, quite some time."

Benedict chuckles again. "Well, I've done worse, I suppose, really."

"Mm. Fair enough."

"I seem to have enjoyed myself too much this evening." Benedict looks around at the empty room. "I should be on my way."

"As you wish," Henry says nonchalantly. "But know you are welcome back any time for practice or even conversation."

They both chuckle.

♡♡♡

By the time Benedict gets home, Anthony and Daphne are talking very seriously in the hall. He stops and looks at his two siblings.

"What is it?"

Anthony marches over and grabs him by the arm. "You and I need to talk. Daphne, bed."

Anthony drags his brother to his study.

"I will need you to stand as my second," he says after explaining everything to Benedict.

"What if you get yourself killed?" Benedict asks. He wasn't exactly thrilled about what had apparently transpired, but even less so about the thought of losing his brother.

"Then the title and estates will pass to you," Anthony tells him.

Benedict didn't want that.

"And if you kill Hastings?"

"I shall have to leave the country, and you'll be head of the family in every way that matters."

Again, he didn't want that.

Chuckling I the hall draws their attention to the door.

You laugh with Colin as Violet hangs off the both of you. She's clearly been drinking a lot tonight. She can't even walk straight. You've never seen her so uncomposed before.

The door opens behind you, and Anthony and Benedict are standing there.

"You're clearly sover," Colin laughs with his mother.

"And I'm sober enough to know when you're being impertinent." She chuckles. "Good night, dear."

You giggle. Violet waves at you lazily, and you chuckle again at her inability to remain composed.

You turn to see the two brothers still standing there and nudge Colin. He looks at you and then at them. They wave him over.

"Good god. Did someone die?" Colin asks.

You look at Anthony, who glances at you, his sowlnt thank you for helping bring his mother home. Then your gaze shifts to Benedict, who looks at you with a strange expression. You wonder where he's been all evening.

Colin turns to you. "Get home safe, okay?"

You nod, knowing your maid was waiting outside. You watch him walk toward his brothers and then leave.

♡♡♡

You arrive early to the Bridgerton house the next morning. You had snuck out alone. You had hoped to be there early enough before Anthony left to duel the duke.

Unfortunately they had already left.

You had, however, arrived in time to see Daphne and Colin leaving. When Colin saw you he sighed.

"You cannot be serious."

"I am."

Daphne says your name as she looks at you. "You do not have to witness this."

"I want to. As your friend. I will not allow this stupid, and mind I remind you illegal, activity to take place."

Colin sighs and helps you up into his horse. "Hold on."

He spurs the horse on, leading Daphne to the agreed spot. You hold on tight to him as he rides.

All Daphne can think about is Simon.

"Anthont won't... kill him, right?" You ask, watching Daphne ride.

"No. Sound him, surely."

"Good..."

"Are you worried?" He asks.

"Yes. Are you not?"

Colin doesn't answer.

By the time you arrive within diat ne of seeing them, the two are already stood feet apart with their pistols aimed. It's Daphne who rides faster to get between them.

"Stop!"

Anthony fires his pistol as soon as she shouts, the horse his sister's on rears back and Daphne falls to the ground.

"Daphne!" Simon shouts.

"Sister!"

Both men run toward her.

Colin pulls his horse to a stop, and you both climb off, rushing to them. Benedict drops the pistol case and does the same. He doesn't have time to ask why you're here.

"Are you hurt? Tell me!" Simon demands.

"I am perfectly well, no thanks to you idiots," she says, standing up.

"What are you playing at?" Anthony asks.

"Says the man who just shot at me!"

"You just rode into the middle of a duel!"

"I require a moment with the duke," Daphne says softly.

Anthony tries to stop her, but she stops him in return. Benedict pulls Anthony back and says, "make it brief."

Daphne and Simon walk off to talk.

"What are you doing here?" Benedict asks once they're out of ear shot.

"I came to help stop this ridiculous display."

"You could have been hurt," he says.

"No one got hurt, luckily."

Benedict looks a little lost for words. You sigh and look at him and then at Anthony. The eldest looks at you and nods once, softly. His eyes then flick back over to his sister.

"We must resume before someone should find us," Anthony says to the pair.

Simon nods at him.

Daphne watches him walk and then says, "there will be no need to resume."

Everyone turns to look at her.

"The duke and I are to be married."

You look at her and then turn to the duke. You're not sure what they discussed. He stares at her.

The three brothers look between the duke and their sister.

Whatever they discussed, Daphne made up her mind.

When Simon does not speak against her statement, it becomes clear to everyone that the matter is settled.

Now you all just need to get home before someone sees you all.

♡♡♡

@callmemana - @lilscast - @imgondeletedis - @benedictbridgertonss - @clownsdiehard - @wxnterwidow333

@sillynilly27 - @autumn-slaves - @ben-has-arrived - @ajdelilah - @aadu2173

@booknerdlife - @tamlinrose - @sarahskywalker-amidala - @cheryyluv - @louschan - @lou-la-lou - @cultish-corner

@hopshusushi - @katherinejess - @nannabug - @afunkyfreshblog - @f0x33 - @dd122004dd

@jupitervenusearthmars - @orchiidflwer - @bespinnn - @captainlunaxmen - @winchestersimpalababy - @acupnoodle

@ms-fandomgirl - @fablesrose - @anyaisinyourcloset - @meowzerzstuff - @orchiidflwer - @bespinnn - @crazymar15

@cosmixstar - @bree3parchen -

[paradoxcase]

Gideon the Ninth audiobook, through to the end of Chapter 31

Cytherea is described as having "biscuit-colored curls" which I kind passed over the first time I was reading. She's described elsewhere as having light brown hair; American biscuits aren't any kind of brown, if they're made right, but Muir isn't American, either. In Britain, it's my understanding that "biscuit" refers to any hard flat cookie with a stamped design, but those come in all sorts of colors. Does "biscuit" mean a secret third thing in New Zealand?

Gideon says "it's stupid for a cavalier to watch their necromancer die" which I think sort of foreshadows Gideon rejecting Harrow's instruction to survive her

Gideon asks Cytherea why she came to Canaan House in the first place, and I feel like Cytherea's answer is about when she came the first time, nearly 10,000 years ago? She talks about how the Seventh wanted her to die beautifully and she though the Emperor had her best interests more at heart than they did

She says: "If they could figure out how to stop you when you're mostly cancer and just a little bit woman, they would" about the Seventh, but that's exactly what John did to her, isn't it?

And then: "I'll probably live forever, worse luck, whatever happened to One Flesh, One End?"

Palamedes pronounces "golem" exactly like "Gollum" and that amuses me

Harrow thought the secret to Lyctorhood was a secret power source in Canaan House they were supposed to discover - I guess to the extent that the consumed cavalier's soul is a power source, she wasn't exactly wrong

Camilla: "The last thing the Warden needs is an introduction to Lady Septimus" - pretty funny in retrospect

Palamedes after Harrow removes the plug Cytherea put on the Seventh lab's keyhole: "Did you hide the last key, too?" He was right about that

Colum is described as having a "perpetually scratchy voice" which I missed the first time, but it does match up with his voice here

Mayonnaise Uncle thinks Gideon's red hair might have come from the Third, which is I guess some extra information about the distribution of phenotypes in the Empire, but the only other redheaded House character we know of is G1deon (I almost wrote "Pyrrha") (who, ironically, is not biologically related to Gideon Nav unless he was like John's cousin or something). Mercy had "pink" hair, but I don't know if that means like, strawberry blond, or like, literally dyed pink. I guess it's been 10,000 years, so things might be a bit different now

Colum: "The next time we meet, I think it's likely one of us will die." Well, it wasn't the next time they met, since they both showed up to hear Cytherea tell a very fake story about why Protesilaus was already dead just after this, but I think it's the next time they are both in the same room together than Colum dies, so, yeah

Teacher says something about a "poor child" and Gideon doesn't know who he's referring to and I don't either even on the second readthrough. I guess it's possible that he's just talking nonsense, because he's a weird construct, but he's been saying things that consistently make sense in the current context throughout the whole book, so I don't really buy that

The scene where Corona is practicing with a sword and challenging Gideon to a duel feels kind of like she's anticipating being left behind by Ianthe and is trying to lean into the idea of becoming a cavalier after this, since she can't pretend to be a necromancer without Ianthe. We know from the Fourth teens that Ianthe has been sneaking into all the locked doors and reading the theorems at this point

When Naberius comes to collect her, he says "I won't tell her". I guess he means Ianthe?

Is that really how "beatified" is pronounced? I don't think I've ever heard it spoken before. Wiktionary seems to agree that it is

If I had listened to the audiobook first, I definitely would have misheard Gideon talking about "narking" on Harrow as "knocking" and been confused

Palamedes: "All I ask is that you put some pen and flimsy in my cell so I can start my memoirs." Yeah, that's not what you wrote when you were actually confined to the River bubble for months, haha

Narration: Suddenly [Cytherea] seemed impossibly old.

Cytherea claims that John was against soul siphoning. So, the thalergy siphoning that was a fundamental part of Mercy's challenge, and which the Second House uses regularly on enemies, is totally fine and cool, but Mayonnaise Uncle send Colum's soul away temporarily to generate power is wrong. You know, Mayonnaise Uncle is actually a lot more sympathetic on the second readthrough

Mayonnaise Uncle also really had Cytherea's number in this scene and no one listened to him, he was the only one saying that Cytherea was suspicious and everyone else was disgusted by this, including Judith. No wonder he was so sour in Harrow's River bubble

Harrow wants to use Protesilaus' head for necromancy and everyone else is unhappy about this. But this isn't strange for the Nine Houses - the Canaan House skeletons were made from the dead just like the Ninth skeletons were, and just like the Sixth skeletons were in Dr. Sex, not to mention Ianthe's use of Babs' body. Like, if we are going to start complaining about the desecration of dead bodies now, I think that starts to call into question the entire way that the Nine Houses uses necromancy and has been using it for the past 10,000 years. I'm not sure any of the other necromancers really have that high ground

Palamedes says Cytherea only has days left to live, she definitely giggles at that

In the pool scene, Harrow says that the calculations for the deaths of the 200 children were very precise, and that the babies contributed the most thanergy. Now I'm wondering if Gideon failing to die might have messed up those careful calculations in some way? Obviously Harrow was still born a powerful necromancer, and it still worked overall, but now I'm curious

Harrow about John's blood ward: "I knew it had to open for me" because she was the descendant of Anastasia. She never questioned that there might have been some other reason it opened

[monkeydluffy19920]

Hi, Do you really believe the direction Oda will follow regarding shipping is sanami over lunami? If so, what is your take on the lunami scenes in movies (strong world/ gold) considering Oda himself orchestrated them?

Hi Nonny and thanks for the ask~!

First of all sorry that it’s taken plenty of time to answer. It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen these movies (so wanted to rewatch both of them before replying and stuff) but anyways here are some thoughts. It’s going to be a long post so you have been warned :)

Before the actual reply I want to say my ponders are leaning mostly on the manga since it's my opinion the "most" canon when it comes down to materials and sources.

What makes it tricky to consider whether Strong World is canon or not is that Shiki-guy because he was indeed briefly mentioned in chapter 530 and 957 but that’s all for the manga.  What is problematic is thath Shiki was a strong pirate of Roger's time and the first to escape from Impel Down. So Luffy beating Shiki down in their duel should’ve been affecting his next bounty but it didn’t. 

Same goes with the film Gold actually. Tesoro mentioned in the beginning that Luffy has beaten Doflamingo (so now he doesn’t have to) but so far it’s really hard to place the happenings to the canon’s timeline. Why? Because the crew split into parts in the beginning of the Dressrosa arc and reunited completely in Wano and It’s been published in 2016, around Zou arc.

So according to this the Film Gold should be placed somewhere after Wano (because they split already around Dressrosa) so Film Gold is a filler movie and most likely also Strong World although Oda-sensei participated in the production and made manga version of Strong World as well.

What comes to the shipping point of view, both movies offers scenes that can be interpreted for one’s OTPs and as long as the debates about shipping goes respectful I think there is no problem of talking about it but if it’s just bashing each other and disrespect then it’s insanity and waste of time. After all, we're supposed to enjoy the show, not to rip the fandom apart.

Anyway in this post down below are listed some moments that Nonny might’ve referenced and trying to dig into these lot debated scenes Nonny mentioned as neutral as possible :)

STRONG WORLD

Shiki takes Nami

Tone dial is one of the key elements of the movie and Strawhats get it in the beginning of the movie. Luffy tosses is to Nami for some reason although dials are more Usopp’s and Franky’s speciality.

Let's not forget that Nami was really good with Skypiea technology too though and she is in general intelligent so maybe that was the reason Luffy trusted that thing for her or maybe it was a random toss, who knows?

Luffy’s reaction to Nami’s choice  and the message on the tone dial

From the shipping perspective probably the most debated detail in Strong World movie is what Nami left there for her crew after Shiki practically forced her to join his crew by threatening her hometown although Usopp tried to stop her by reasoning but Nami had no choice especially after Usopp was silenced. 

At least she was able to leave a message to the tone dial which the crew listens after their reunion and Luffy reacts strongest to this message. He is in disbelief that his comrade would say such things and goes further to unbox the anger while the rest of the crew decides to re-listen the message.

Luffy is usually around where the most stuff happens but he usually skips the backstory-kinda moments and he has even told that the backstories don't matter if he has decided to trust someone. For him his comrades are still friends, no matter how much they'd share different personalities or different points of views.

Luffy's strong reaction is easily explained by his nature: he is a guy who jumps quickly to action. He can be impulsive and sometimes he just picks a few words he hears and has already decided the next step. So this is just a cause of a misunderstanding, if Luffy would've listened to the whole message the outcome would've been different for sure.

The whole message revealed in the ending

So, they managed to save Nami and kick Shiki’s ass for good. She is recovering of the poison and everyone are happy to see her getting better. Luffy however is still a bit mad and upset about that tone dial until the rest of the crew revealed that there was still something left when the captain let his emotions go over intuition.

Even Nami admitted that it was mostly adressed to the captain but it was nothing personal. Like she would ever really doubt her friends’ skills.

And although it was meant for everybody, the main reason why she she added that extra sentence and directed it especially for Luffy is that just like written earlier, the captain tends to take sometimes things  literally so direct directions are best for him.

Why Nami didn’t ask for help in the first sentence?  Probably because of the movies drama tension and because she probably had a feeling Shiki would stalk her while sending a sos. So the message caused a big misunderstanding between her and Luffy because the captain was too filled up with emotions to listen the message for the second time.

Anyway, the whole message Nami left was:

Please, just let me leave you in peace and walk away I've decided to join Shiki's crew to be his navigator Shiki is a legendary pirate. If you fight him, you won't stand a chance Even if you come after me you'll only end up losing your lives That's all I have to say.... So please, come and save me

FILM GOLD

The turtle race

In the beginning of the movie Luffy and his pals join for this race car thingy and Nami is seen blushing after seeing that Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are back in the race.

It’s understandable that people see Nami’s blush and sigh of relieve as shippy but then again before the race Luffy just grabbed a handful of those betting chips (or whatever the are called) and rushed into first thing that looked interesting for them without debating first.

The whole crew is used to their captains randomness but sometimes get irritated by it (as a running gag) so the turtle race wasn’t nothin new tbh but the thing is there was huge money on bet so definitely seeing your nakama (almost) falling out of the race is worrisome but when you see them doing a comeback and realizing there is a chance to win big money and that they are ok it’s a huge relief. 

Luffy gambling in the high risk area

Once they win the Turtle race they are invited to the VIP area where they get the high risk, high reward-challenge with the dices. First they are again annoyed by Luffy betting without asking his crew but once they see Luffy is loaded with luck Nami and Usopp go next to their captain to admire his luck.

This is a nice little moment for both LuNami and LUsopp fans and quite usual actually in One Piece that some of the Straw Hat are more physical towards each other than the others, not necessarly in romantic way though, can be platonic too.

When Baccarat uses he Lucky Lucky fruit abilities the whole crew gets immediately worried when seeing Luffy being unlucky and they all realize they were just fooled  by them.

Like always in tense situations, the whole crew goes on defense mode if they see their nakama in trouble.

Introducing Carina

What I like about Film Gold is that it gives another sneak peak to one of my favorite characters, Nami’s past. It was already mentioned in the Heart of Gold but  they were competitors and ended up in the same trouble and in the previous movie Nami was still mad about what happened and when they reunited they still had this frenemies-way to approach each other.

Luffy's attention was paid for a short moment because it was a friend’s friend and Nami’s expression after Luffy’s question could be interpreted as on something like she’d don’t want Carina to but from the neutral point of view it’s probably more that she is still dealing with conflicted feelings about what happened with her and Carina in the past and meeting her after all those years (the whole story of them robbing  Mad Treasure was opened later in Film Gold).

Also like always the captain isn’t much interested on his nakamas’ pasts. So, instead of watching Nami and Carina quarrelling he interrupted the thing so they could focus on the main thing eating before saving Zoro.

Luffy’s and Franky’s suuuuperrr comeback

So Tesoro thought he’d fool the Strawhat Pirates but actually they trolled him with help of Carina (and I must say, it was so cool that the whole crew had matching outfits!).

Nami was first to congratulate Luffy for their plan and Luffy’s response as a semi-confused “ah, a plan?". It is usually Nami who rushes up to him after seeing him appearing. That's completely natural and even explained with Nami's caring nature.

Not only Luffy but also she usually is the first ones to rush when their mates are in trouble. Out of all Strawhats Luffy happens to be the guy who causes his crew mates loads of worries eith his shenanigans and worry-free and impulsive nature so no wonder she needs to check him most if he is ok. Even Robin mentioned just before their arrival that they “hid” art  of plan from Luffy because they knew their captain would go with his instincts instead of a rock solid plan, crew knows their captain so well *laughs* )

Luffy saving Nami and Carina from Tesoro

Tesoro went to that golden mode and tried to kill Carina but Nami saved her and we get the rest of their story revealed. That Carina actually saved Nami back then although watchers were first led to believe that it was a betrayal.

Naturally touching moment is disturbed by the tension so Tesoro manages to catch Nami to his grip which pisses Luffy off. Another potential ship moment but then again Luffy would do the same no matter whose of his nakama were in the same situation.

Then he tosses Nami and Carina to a safer place from the battle arena and screams her name. Clever move from him if so because the whole place was a mess but again this showed how much trust Luffy has for his whole crew. He knew that although he’d toss them someone would be able to catch them.

One thing that is probably a running gag by the way but Luffy has the tendency to carry people like sack of potatoes, no matter what the gender or the situation is (and somehow they still manage to keep up with him, at least I don't remember whether anyone has fallen from his arms while being carried *laughs*)

Now to think about this is a common thing i.e Luffy has not only carried Nami numerous time like this (for example in Water 7) or Law in Dressrosa and Robin in Alabasta like that but also Zoro has done this for fainted Usopp in Alabasta and even Usopp carries Robin (as Sogeking) in Enies Lobby.

In other words no matter how nice shippy moments there are in fillers /movies/ specials etc. between two characters  have it still doesn't guarantee it would lead to canon romance. Like fellow fans, I also enjoy those shippy moments (especially the filler where they are placed in historical Japan) but still think that when it’s about canon, only manga counts because it's 100% written ad planned by Oda-sensei. Yes Oda has taken parts to production of some movies BUT he isn't in charge of everything there so the production can slip a bit from the canon.

What comes to the panel you used to demonstrate their discussion about the marriage I agree with you, Luffy isn't currently interested in getting married and he prioritizes adventures over the thought of marriage (Thriller Bark). On top of that, Luffy also said "no" to Hancock which for me indicates that he really doesn't want any romantic relationship at this point and frankly spoken it all just makes sense.

After all, he "only" 19-years old and craves for adventures. So I think at some perspectives Luffy's view of romantical romance is still "lacking" and he isn't bothered about it because he has his priorities and determination in other stuff such as chasing his lifelong dream to find the legendary One Piece.

I bet after finding that Luffy might start to ponder more about his future but he wants to keep his focus at one thing at the time instead of big picture. Now he wants to feel the freedom and probably even if he didn't find One Piece (he will for sure though), for him the whole adventure matters more than the treasures. That's simply the way he is.

To your original question Nonny, I've been reading One Piece years and focused on chemistry between Sanji and Nami because I see in them foreshadowing and moments and common chemistry that could potentially lead them as a pair.

Then on the other hand, I too love Luffy as a character a lot, and also do enjoy Luffy's and Nami's chemistry a lo. However, the difference is that compared to SaNami, for me Luffy's and Nami's interactions are much more platonic and sibling-like. The same way I feel Usopp's and Nami's interactions are (and they do share close nakamaship and I like that too, they're like besties and stuff!).

Maybe it's the way the cook and the navigator started by flirting and did proceed to WCI where they split apart with an emotional slap and tears or maybe as a SaNami-fan I feel they've had more development compared to Luffy's and Nami's nakamaship.

This series is about to reach it's ending chapters and it's still all open what Oda has prepared for us. It might be that he drops a random plot bomb and ships some Straw Hats together but on the other hand he could also decide not to add any romance and give the story a very open ending when it comes down to shippings.

Frankly spoken the only canon pair that includes a main character Oda would reveal 100% is Usopp x Kaya, the did pair them even in the live-action but apart from that it's a complete mystery whether SaNami or LuNami any of the most shipped pairs will ever become canon, all we can do is wait ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[myrammmortal]

Chapter 39, either the writing has gotten better or this is the hacker chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the HP series and I am not the real XXXbloodyrists666XXX.

AN// I am an extremely immature pathetic idiot girl, I know. Out of boredom, I crack this girl's passy for fun (and it took less than 8 minutes to do it too) and will probably get in a shitload of trouble. Which I probably deserve 'cause I'm being a troll right now. Meh.

And I present to you MY crappy part in this story. (And take note I haven't even finished reading this fic yet, but instead skip over to skim chapter 38.) Flame, laugh, do whatever you want "preps."

I, the American retail wearing british-german vampire Sue, coughed up blood.

Satan kneeled down beside me.

"Noooooooooooooooo! Don't die!"

I gave him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. It's something I had to do, to fufill my duty as the noble gothic Mary Sue."

Satan sobbed. "I love you Paul Darkness Omnipotentia Brick Face Landers."

"I love you two. I'll...I'll see you in hell." I mumbled, already finding my surroundings fading to black.

Frau Schneider suddenly popped into the room for no apparent reason. She frowned when she realized the room was oddly quiet, but at the sight of Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers' lifeless body, she screamed. Her face became pale with horror. She screamed for the healers, Daddy Till, Mcgoogle, and every single gothic person she could think of. It was a long, long, long, long, long, list. Still not sure why her parents old neighbours were here.

Suddenly, a glow started to surround the body of Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers. Everyone stared in shock. Her body started to lift ever so slowly and then, to everyone's shock, it started to incinerate.

When everyone realized what was happening, they rushed over to try to rescue the body, but it was too late, the Sue became nothing more then a pile of ashes.

A loud resounding of everyone bellowing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!" filled the room.

A flash of white light from the ashes then started to bounce around the room. Everyone cowered in fear and were temporarily blinded. When it was all over, things changed.

All the silly goth clothes dropped from everyone's bodies (AN//I will refuse to explain how the hell that happened. EN: thank goodness because I don't want to know) and, in their place, clothes the characters would normally wear in canon appeared on their bodies.

When everyone got over the shock of becoming free of the gofick power, everybody cheered. Everyone started singing 'Ding dong the sue is dead...' Well, that is, until all the HP characters realized the true implications of becoming more canon like again.

All the characters who were supposed to be dead fell to the floor, their bodies cold and lifeless. Harry and Voldemort started dueling. On the left side of the two, the battle of the Light Side and the Dark Side were reaching a climax.

And, because the replacement author also likes to screw around with canon, Richard and Frau Schneider fled the scene and got married.

Meanwhile...

Down in hell, Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers shed a single tear because of her current situation. A situation that would live on for all eternity. Or at least until the end of fanfiction time.

She lost it all, but she knew she had to remain strong. Nothing would ever break her down.

She looked down over her pale body, and frowned. 'Where are my emo clothes?' She asked herself in confusion.

And then it occured to her...

For her shirt, she was wearing a bright pink polo with a little seagull on the (right or left? I can't remember) side. Below that, she was wearing a denim miniskirt with the "destroyed" look on it. Paired underneath that skirt were leggings with a little moose at the bottom. And then Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers realized, on her shoulder, she was carrying a pretty bag with an eagle on it that said Live Your Life written all over the bag.

Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers supressed the urge to scream. Here she was decked out in clothes prep to the extreme wearing stuff from Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, AND Hollister.

Panicked, Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers hastily tried to take off the Hollister polo, but underneath it, there was another Hollister polo underneath. Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers frowned, and looked under her shirt. All she saw was a bra underneath (dare I point out it's from the Aerie line available at American Eagle?). Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers tried to remove the shirt again. But to her frustration, there was yet again another polo to replace it. Every polo more preppy and pink than the last.

"THIS IS UNLOGICAL AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE!!" Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers bellowed out to the air. She failed to see the irony in her statement, how hypocrytical her words were, seeing as she was practically calling the kettle black here.

Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers slit her writs and mumbled to herself, "Omigod."

/End Crap Fic.

AN// Oh yeah, if you wanna see the original content this chick had planned for this chapter, I accessed it through the document manager thingy, which I copied and pasted, so you can read it tomorrow

Editors Note: Thank you to whoever added the smallest bit of sanity to my perfect hell. I wish the whole "story" would've ended here but then again, I can't live without Daddy Till, Evil Twin of Flake, Sometimes Flake, Frau Schneider, Oliver Who Was Once Named Navel, Richard and Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers.

[first-of-her-nxme]

I was rereading agot and I think that maybe Jaqen could have tried to kill Gregor? At the tourney where he is basically competing with Loras his horse is acting up. I remember from the chapter of Arya at the HoBaW with the poisons lesson and there is one used in animals too, to make them mad or something. He heard maybe how Ser Hugh was killed so he tried to use the tourney the same way to kill him. Idk it’s interesting to read the first book bc I feel like there are so many clues and esp when you read theories then everything starts to feel kind of insane thinking it’s actually something. Grrm we need the books please..😭😏

What a great question! You are very observant.

I must say I don't really subscribe to the horse theory because I think it takes a lot more to kill Gregor. Though maybe it was a warm up? :) You are right though: Jaqen's goal is to kill Gregor as well. Moreover, it has already been established in the books that he will kill him.

I suppose the original plan was that Oberyn would kill Gregor. Oberyn was older, at the time he must have been stronger than young Jaqen. Oberyn also had a history of beating the seemingly stronger opponents. And, as we know, he wanted the revenge badly.

Oberyn succeeded but he also got killed in the process. And Qyburn managed to revive what was left of Gregor and turned him into an even worse monster. And that monster will be eventually killed by "Jaqen". Perhaps, GRRM wanted both, Oberyn and "Jaqen", to have their revenge on the one who brutally murdered their sister/mother?

GRRM here makes a nod to the legend of Ragnar. When Ragnar was captured he promised that his sons would one day come and avenge his father:

How the little piggies will grunt when they hear how the old boar suffered.

The old boar is Ragnar and the piglets, his sons. They did avenge their father, killing the king who sentenced him to death.

Here is how GRRM incorporated it into ASOIAF:

Robert Baratheon was killed by a boar. The hunting scene looked similar to Robert's and Rhaegar's duel at the Trident. Robert seemed fatally wounded and about to fall but he still managed to kill the boar. So, the boar here stands for Rhaegar. Then, Rhaegar's son, Aegon/Jaqen, arrived in King's Landing with his plan of revenge. Aegon then went to Oldtown and assumed the identity of the "little pig" - Pate called Pate the Pig Boy. So, we have a killed boar, Rhaegar, and his son, the young pig boy, Aegon/Jaqen, and his revenge.

Robert was called strong. Now, when Qyburn revived Gregor, they called him Ser Robert Strong. So, he is not only Gregor, he is also symbolically Robert Baratheon. The pig boy will return to kill the murderer of his mother and also, symbolically, the killer of his father, Rhaegar "the old boar".

There is another reference to a duel between Jaqen and Ser Robert. It's in A Dance with Dragons, in Jon's POV, when Shireen meets the giant, Wun Weg Wun. It's tremendously important to remember that Shireen and Patchface are foils for Arya and Jaqen. And this little scene is loaded with foreshadowing for them, not for Shireen.

"Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun." The giant's voice rumbled like a boulder crashing down a mountainside. He sank to his knees before them. Even kneeling, he loomed over them. "Kneel queen. Little queen." Words that Leathers had taught him, no doubt.

Princess Shireen's eyes went wide as dinner plates. - ADWD

The giant calls Shireen little queen even though she is a princess. GRRM wrote it like that because the little queen title refers to Arya's future plot. Patchface here is dressed like a king so we have a royal couple in the room. The giant takes interest in Patches and it frightens "the king". Patchface is dancing but he eventually lands on his bottom. And we get this riddle from him:

"In the dark the dead are dancing." - Patchface, ADWD

This little scene is another hint at the duel between the giant, Ser Robert Strong, and the rightful king, Aegon/Jaqen.

Dancing stands in for fighting. The dead means that they are both assumed dead, Gregor was killed by Oberyn and Aegon was supposed to die in King's Landing. It might also mean that they both will die though not necessary both during that duel. Them dancing/fighting in the dark means that A/J will have to put his blind training to use. As you know, all faceless men learn to fight while blinded. Oberyn lost the fight when Gregor blinded him. I do hope that Ser Robert won't blind A/J. However, Ser Robert never opens his visor so perhaps there will be a demand for A/J to fight with his visor closed as well. The duel might take place in King's Landing during the trial by combat, so some authority might force their rules on the fighters.

I hope it sheds a little light on the events to come.

Thank you for dropping by, Anon!

[gamesception]

let's read rgu chapter 18

There he is. The bastard man.

So yeah, last time Utena followed Anthy on her apparently nightly disappearances to the Chairman's residence and stumbled into manga Akio. As in the anime he is acting chairman of the school and engaged to the official chairman's daughter. I was actually wondering if the comic was going to bring back Wakaouji or whatever his name was from the prologue, since 'dating Utena's aunt/legal guardian' would be a whole extra layer to the whole deal, but apparently no. Though I suppose anime Anthy and presumably Akio had the ability to look like other people if the plot needed that...

Anyway, will Utena pick up on the clear red flags?

Nope!

I mean, I know Anthy is 'just weird' already, but still.

"I don't want him to know about the Rose Bride stuff" seems like a remarkably outright lie for Anthy. But it also prompts manga Utena to jump to the conclusion she already wanted about Anthy's agency and wishes, despite seeming more able to grasp what Touga was suggesting earlier and subsequently taking care in conversations about Anthy being the Rose Bride not to phrase questions like this, where Anthy could choose to take them as orders instead of meaningfully engaging with them.

And she's doing that instead of asking more pertinent questions, like "Why did you never tell me that your brother is acting chairman?" or "Why have you been hiding that you've been visiting him?" or "Why doesn't your brother already know about the duels?" or "Why doesn't the acting chairman know what the student council is up to?" or "how did you become the rose bride in the first place, that this brother you're so close to doesn't know about it?" or "why shouldn't we get the acting chairman to intervene?" & so on.

But, sadly...

Utena's strong suites are Strength of body and moral fiber, not so much smarts or social awareness.

The next day Utena tries again to introduce Anthy to more of the normal girls, and, on Akio's explicit orders, she tries a bit harder to fit in. Chuchu even helps serve as a cute animal ice breaker, as he honestly should have with Wakaba if Wakaba didn't have an extra reason not to like her:

Explicitly, jealousy over Utena. And while the manga hasn't really had the time to build up Utena's relationship with Anthy like the anime did, lines like that - "When I'm with her ... I feel at peace." - go a long way.

In some ways Wakaba's standing in for Nanami here, in the roll of 'person with basic social awareness' that Nanami sometimes filled (she really is such a versatile character in the anime). Ie, picking up on Utena's feelings for Anthy well before Utena does. In the anime, she also picked up on the red flags between Anthy and Akio that Utena never grasped, I wonder if we'll get a scene like that in the manga with Wakaba.

Meanwhile, Touga prepares for his duel, while Saionji taunts him about the arm he sliced up with a sword. Which makes me ask again how Saionji didn't get expelled for that?

A chapter ago I might have thought the coming duel with Touga could have played out differently from the anime, but given the bit with Utena going back to deluding herself over Anthy's wishes earlier, yeah, we're going to have the same initial loss and subsequent low point from the anime's first arc.

Which makes this bit hit pretty hard. I don't remember this happening in the anime, it's a nice scene, even including the awkwardness of imitating behavior without fully understanding its particulars.

But then Touga shows up with his challenge. Utena wants to refuse...

But Touga and Anthy talk her into it.

And it ends as expected.

Including this bit. Plus, as an extra twist of the knife for the manga Touga admits he's not the prince, and just claimed to be to mess with Utena.

And the chapter closes on Anthy moving out, leaving Utena alone.

[ghostrideher]

They say hindsight is 20/20. That's a lie. Hindsight is murky, messy, and obnoxiously obtuse. It's a looking glass of torture that adds more "what ifs" and an equal amount of "if onlys" to any given experience, fooling you with an illusion of retroactive omniscience. And yet, We still lie here more times than We care to admit, staring into the endless blue of half painted bedroom room walls; somewhere between ocean and sky, wondering if We only knew then the things We know now. They also say youth is wasted on the inexperienced. That much is true.

"It started with a kiss." We hate the line. It's too bubbly, too ideal, too hopefully optimistic, too unreal. It's too ... temporary. We don't know where in human history (or maybe just Our culture) romance became this flowery thing. This dainty rainbow of sunrises and smiles; unending torrent of belly laughs, butterflies, and 'morning after' breakfasts. Maybe it's like that for a lucky few, maybe. But, it started with a look. It started with a mutual "oh shit" panic. It started with her rounding the corner of a doorframe not at all deserving of her crossing through it. It started with Us stopping at the top of a handful of steps onto a foyer landing. It started with a locked gaze in an uncomfortable but simultaneously all-too-familiar silence. It started with studying each other's faces for the slightest of tells, daring one another to speak or move first. It started like a duel at twilight hour with neither of us wanting to turn our back to the other.

Hind sight is not 20/20.

Even now, We can't tell you if it was 30 minutes or 30 seconds. We can't tell you what she wore aside from a broken-in pair of jeans. We can't tell you if her hair was up or down. We can't tell you what she smelled like, what color her nails were or weren't, or even what time it was. We can tell you three things. One; Her eyes took Us on a journey through time, space, and everything beyond and in-between. Two; the sound of her voice limply whimpering "hi" snatched Us back the the physical present as if she tugged at a leash attached to a collar around Our neck. And three: She was terrified. She was terrified enough for the both of us. Terrified enough to make up for Our system kicking in and dulling Our own terror, the system We knew nothing about at the time that's makes *Us* an Us and not a Me.

We know now she was terrified because that leash and collar were very real yet intangible at the same time. That leash and collar was the sound of her beckoning voice and the unspoken intent of her touch. She was terrified because what stood before her proud, angry, mysterious, and as she probably knew right away...deeply wounded... was a wild dog. A feral, lonely, distrusting, charming, alluring, dangerous, wild dog.

And she was calling it, Us, to come to her, careful not to let a single muscle move lest We interpret it as threat. Just as We noticed, but didn't *know* then that in turn, stood before Us caged bird. A vibrant, scared-to-hope, light in every room she's in despite trying to find corners to hide in, mask wearing, convinced she can't and will never fly, caged bird. Silently trying to tell her it's OK, that We're not going to throw her cage door open, because it already is open. Looking for an invitation inside of it, careful not to move too fast lest she interpret it as a hostile take over...

It wasn't each other's faces they were studying, and they were both looking for an abort button that didn't exist. This ride was one way on, no way off, and it had already started. If this were a cliche story, one of those flowery rainbow romance retellings then We'd stop there. The perfect gotcha hook to make you want to keep reading onto the next chapter or listening to more story past your bed time.

This isn't that. It's not rosy and it's not sunshine and puppies and it's not a love story that starts with cotton candy and a ferriswheel ride. It wasn't even supposed to be a story at all. It was supposed to be a one and done orchestrated by a mutual frenemy with less than stellar intentions. There wasn't supposed to be a first date wasn't supposed to be a date at all. Wasn't supposed to be any silent truths. Wasn't supposed to be any "I love you" let alone "how could you?" We were meant to take this bird for a day outside of her cage. We were supposed to give her pleasure and make her happy and return her to her cage where the world she live in demanded she stay. We were supposed to placate her curiosities and never speak to her again; supposed to provide her one day of worldly freedom in the most carnal of liberations and forget she exists.

Its no wonder our relationship turned out to be a Shakespearean shit show rather than a colorful Disney retelling. We were supposed to be indifferent. Uncaring. And forgotten.

Instead there was an acknowledgement of her condition there was an "Are you hungry??" that sounded much more confident out loud than We felt inside. There was a tentative thigh touch in the car leading to an even more tentative hand holding along the ride. There *was* a first date and it was glorious and mortifying and terrifying and wonderful and beautiful all at the same time. There is no roller coaster in existence that can compare to the thrill of genuine love at first sight. There is no roller coaster in existence that can take you higher or plunge you lower, faster, than the heartbreaks along the way after a genuine love at first sight.

Again, hindsight is not 20/20. We can't stress that enough. For all these grand memories, We don't have hardly a memory of the details of that date. We nod and smile when she recounts "remember how you leaned over and kissed me in the theatre?" But We don't remember leaning over and kissing her in the theatre. We allow Ourself to bask in a warmth of pride when she tells of how We pushed and pulled at the perfect times, completely intuned with when she wanted to be closer to Us and when she needed a second to breathe. But We don't remember that either. We remember, vaguely, a movie. We remember gas station food and gas station ice cream. Sherbert, to be exact. Lime flavor. We remember kneeling beneath her on Our living room floor with her sitting nervously on the couch. But We do not remember how We got there. We don't remember the point A to point B.

The prevailing memory is simply that of her fingers between Our fingers and generally her skin touching Our skin. We remember the complicated feeling that was the gravitational pull of her existence to Ours. Entirely and absolutely suffocating and somehow at the same time the freshest of air and easiest We've ever breathed.

We remember.... the remarkable horror on her face after she lifted herself high enough to slide her jeans down, not because she was an unwilling participant in the events to follow, but because she noticed Us looking at her thighs. At the imperfections of her thighs. She audibly shrieked and her breath caught in her throat as one hand shot to cover herself from Our sight and the other covered her mouth blocking anymore sound from coming from it. We gently, but with serious intent, tugged at the hand failing to actually cover her thighs. She resisted and her other hand left her mouth to help with the effort below. We told her, "It's okay."

"It's not okay," she cried. Actually cried. Tears starting to run down her cheek. She didn't expect Us to care what was down there and the shock of it was "ruining the moment" so to speak. She expected Us to pull her pants down, pull Our pants down, and fuck her like the wild breeding dog We had, still have, a reputation for being. The wild breeding dog she was partially hoping We'd actually turn out to be so she could get off this ride. The wild breeding dog that, honestly, We really were. With every broad, bitch, and bimbo to cross Our path. With the mutual frenemy that foolish believed herself the holder of Our leash. With everyone. Literally everyone. Except her.

And she knew it. She knew it before even We did. Before We knew how tight a hold of Our leash she already had. And that's why it wasn't okay. Because as much as she was scared and embarrassed of her imperfections, as much as she kept trying to tell herself she was a homely damsel at the mercy of a ravishing daring man, she knew the truth. She knew she was Our Queen, metaphorically and metaphysically upon a throne We built for Ourself. And she knew the danger she was in. That We both were in. Because We meant her no harm and she could tell. She knew that We yearned for permission, for trust, and not conquest. But... she was familiar with conquest. She felt a safety in that familiarity. She knew how to manage it. How to compartmentalize it. How to use it as a shield from her deepest emotions. Her life had already taught her the road to hell was paved with good intentions. We were experiencing true good intentions for the first time in all Our life, and We were consumed with needing her to trust Us. Wanting her to trust Us. Wanting her to know that she could fly.

And... she relented. We kissed her hands and rubbed the outside of her legs. We started to pull her pants back up. But she wouldn't move her hands so We could. It was confusing. It was both a permission of sorts and a frozen fear in taking another step forward. We kissed her hands more and more and kissed the parts of her not covered while making eye contact with her every other second. Partially for any sign of protest or desire for Us to stop. For Us to stop treating her like a person and just fuck her already and get it over with. But there was no protest. There weren't any fresh tears and the ones that had fallen already had dried. There was a residing of fear. We could see it. We could feel it. She wasn't just letting Us in. She was inviting it. Permitting it. We lifted her hand once more and she didn't fight it. She was beautiful, all over. Her smile was beautiful. Her eyes were beautiful. Her budding yet squeamish grin was...intoxicating. Her imperfections both above and below, were gorgeous. She, was gorgeous. We felt alive outside of a fight for the first time in all Our years on this earth.

We knew what We wanted to do, even though, We didn't know. Call it intuition, call it divine memory, call it auto pilot, call it whatever you want. But We wanted to tell her We loved her already, the only way We suddenly and clearly knew how to. We looked at her one last time before the hand kisses turned thigh kisses. Before the thigh kisses turned to private kisses. Before the private kisses turned to private french kisses. We loved her. And We were right where We belonged. Where We'll always belong. On our knees, between hers, worshipping her. Begging her to fly. To fly away with Us. To never let go of now much more tangible, despite still metaphysical, leash around Our neck. The leash We allowed her to slip on with the latent double meaning of "It's okay." The leash she now anxiously and feverishly and wielded with absolute authority through a light hand on the back of Our head. Light enough to allow Us to stop....

She knew We wouldn't though. She knew because her invitation had gone from permission to command. She commanded Us to worship her. And she knew We would listen. She knew We would obey.

.... and that's why she was so terrified when she rounded through the corner of that doorframe all too undeserving of her crossing it. She knew and it was all too new. There's no comfort in freedom. Freedom is a responsibility. A responsibility she'd never been afforded. A responsibility she'd resigned herself to never having. A responsibility she'd grown comfortable never having to think about. To her credit, she knew well before We ever did.

All We knew... Is We never wanted that invitation to go away. We never wanted her to go away. We loved convincing her to spread her wings even if only for a little while. Even if through partially carnal means. We loved her. Deeply. Wholly. And and forever in this life and the next.

Hindsight is not 20/20. We can't tell you when We took her home. We can't tell you if We walked her to her door or kissed her goodnight. We can't tell you even at this point if We held hands along the way despite being confident We did. We even.. funny enough, We can't tell you the how and when or even what room we had penetrative sex. We *know* We did. But beyond what We've said here in the details We do recall, everything else is a blur. A blur of new. A blur of fear. A blur of pleasure and emotional highs and unknowns and tunnel visioned focal points like the "oh shit" moment of meeting in the first place or sensation of being on Our knees before her seeing her thighs for the first time, seeing *her* for what would turn out from her end to be for the first time feeling seen.

Maybe she'll tell you about it. Maybe. Hell, maybe she'll tell Us about it. We'd welcome it. She doesn't know this but the only times We get to relive any other details of Our first date, of the day We met, is when she shares them. She's never talked about the sexual part though, or much more beyond the movie and the sherbert. She does mention the couch, gingerly, usually. As if she's recalling something she still quite doesn't understand the why's of. Or maybe as if she's asking for permission to speak on it out loud. Now that We think about it, it's probably the latter.

[coeursetcolores]

Olberic, the Warrior: Chapter 2

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Chapter 2 of Olberic’s story in Octopath Traveler!

TOURNAMENT ARC! Let’s get that championship belt, baby!

Oh, and find out about Erhardt too, I guess?

We made it to Victor’s Hollow, got scouted, entered a tournament, and learned some hard truths about the country we supported. Standard day in a JRPG.

We arrive in the town and semi-illegally enter the big tournament that already finished it’s qualifiers, invalidating the process.

So of course, we get pitted against almost everyone that got namedropped at the beginning that was a shoo-in to win.

And as a protagonist, it’s our solemn duty to win to further our agenda regardless of how long the other fighters have been training and really wanted to win.

Wait...public dueling’s illegal? ...Eh. I’ve robbed so many people at this point, I don’t really care about breaking the law anymore. Plus, no one’s tried to arrest me yet, (probably because that’s evidence that I could beat them up) so we’re okay!

I’m just gonna say it, I loved Cecily. Now, there’s a girlboss! Smart, straightforward and fair. Knows how to get things done and can see an opportunity when it comes. 

Kinda wish we could have fought Ned; he seemed interesting.

Victor’s Hollow lives up to it’s name: big city, big arena filled with bloodthirsty citizens itching to watch a fight. You can tell the city’s pretty well-off compared to some of the others: fully paved roads, statues, huge arena, not too stuffy but still nice. Pretty standard stadium, but it’s well-shaded and you actually see texture in the ground. And I like the flags bringing bursts of color to break up the monotony. Though I think having the preparation hall be so dimly lit was an odd choice; be pretty easy to assassinate a rival in there...

I like how every one of the sub-bosses had their own identity, it’s a nice touch when so many other video games would leave your opponents as generic as possible. And they were all so cordial, a very fair competition. And the fact that they all know what they fight for makes them interesting foils to Olberic. It all helps him think and drives forward that he’s on a quest for identity.

And I appreciate getting a break from dungeons; just go to one spot and they’ll send the next guy to you! But...

...If this a tournament for one-on-one duels...

WHY DID EVERYONE BRING HELP?!

You have completed missed the point of dueling!

I get it was to be fair since you’d probably have a full party at this point, but it completely ruins the immersion! We could have just had Olberic go solo!

Gah! Rant over!

But honestly, the best part of this chapter...was Gustav.

Oh man, he is pretty much my favorite chapter boss so far. He has Olberic’s attacks, but that just makes it feel like it really is a fight between two people trained in the same style. And his personality...they could have easily just made him a tool for exposition, but he’s pretty layered for a one-off character. You can tell he’s been fighting for a long time and has a weariness about him, while still amicable to those he talks to. He accepts that what Erhardt did was wrong but can understand why he did it and still saw who he was outside of that one deed. Even then he tells Olberic where he is, knowing there’s a chance Olberic will kill him the man he admires. It’s their way of life, and he accepts it.

I had a feeling Erhardt was after revenge. I mean, he didn’t really seem malicious in the flashback, more like someone resolved to do what he did. And he wasn’t really gloating, so that seemed pretty off for someone supposed to be evil. Also, kings always get me suspicious.

This really complicates things...

How did everyone else like the tournament?

Cyrus: That story makes sense, plenty of sports have a messed-up history. And this is an interesting debate with two people who both have a point: arena fights are still just there to entertain people with violence, and a way to test one’s abilities. Kinda wish the discussion went on longer.

Primrose: Okay, Prim doesn’t trust men or women. Equality! ...And a bit hypocritical, seduction’s kind of 50% of her job.

Tressa: Oddly poetic, but I get it. I’ve seen coastal towns and she’s right, the sea has a way of just washing away your troubles. I can tell Tressa had a hard time not laughing at the end, the bird had perfect timing.

H’aanit: Oh, Z’aanta...really? My poor girl.

Ophilia: Oh, Phili! That was just what he needed to hear. And she’s right. Plenty of people use power to be cruel, but not Olberic. He’s a good soul, fighting to help. And I’m glad she reminded him. Team Mom! 

Alfyn: Olberic! If you’re hurt, tell someone! You have a free doctor at your disposal! I don’t care how tough you are, get injuries treated!

Therion: Okay, still sniping there, Theri. He has a point though, and I’m glad Olberic acknowledged it: there’s a chance he won’t like what he learns, and that he’s only going for himself. That’s just life.

I guess we find Erhardt now (thought they were going to wat until Chapter 4, but oh well).

But what’s going to happen when we find him?

Is Olberic going to be ready, knowing the situation may not have been as black and white as he thought?

Is he even going to find his answer? Or will he be more lost than ever?

We can only go forward.

[inkblackorchid]

When you started To Bloom Or To Wilt, did you know that you wanted to turn it into a series? Also how much do you plan things out? Like did you know how many fics there would be in the series or how many chapters they’ll get?

Took me a little to think about how to answer here because it feels like I wrote To Bloom or To Wilt an eternity ago at this point.

So, storytime about To Bloom: I wrote that fic after I rewatched 5Ds last year, and more specifically, after the urge to write some, any fic had been tormenting me for a while already. And the thing is, I was just writing it for myself at that point because I'd always been too chicken to upload any of my writing before To Bloom. But that was the first time I had a fic on my hands where I went. Hey. Maybe other people would like this, too. And it turns out they did!

As for the series thing—after I wrote To Bloom, the urge to write more was fairly strong, but at first, I switched to Carly and wrote Architect because that was another itch burning under my fingernails. But by that point I already had this faint idea along the lines of "huh, Aki didn't get a whole lot to do after the dark signers arc". And I was following several yugioh blogs who were posting stuff along those lines at that point, too, so that idea kept getting bigger and bigger in my head until I went "okay if no one's going to give this girl something to do post DS, I guess I'll have to!". And I believe that by the time Architect finished, I already had all of Chase the Sunlight and most of You Have a Mirror, but do You see Yourself written out, which made it very easy to publish more. So yeah, the idea to turn Aki's stories into a series popped up fairly quickly after I finished To Bloom.

Where planning is concerned I'm fairly meticulous, tbh. Over the years of writing other stuff in private before, I've found that writing solid outlines really helps me keep the plot on track, so I was working with outlines from day one. To Bloom probably had the loosest one, as I didn't know when I first wrote it how many chapters I'd need, but from Architect on, I always had outlines that helped me keep track of exactly how many chapters I'd need and what was supposed to happen in those chapters. The outlines aren't completely rigid—sometimes I add stuff or cut stuff out, or shuffle certain things around. But in general, they help me keep the story on track. I also tend to keep a lot of other organisational notes for my fics. For example, the currently ongoing fic The tainted Soil of the Fields of Arcadia has as many extra notes as it has chapters. Those are where I keep things like duel outlines, editing notes, and sometimes, card overviews or worldbuilding or character details.

As for whether I knew how many fics I wanted the series to have—I thought I did. But then I got more ideas, and more ideas... For reference, if I'd written the Aki arc out with only the ideas I had back when I was writing To Bloom, the arc would already be done because it would have spanned four fics at most. Now look where we are. Six fics for Aki and I know I'll need at least three more before I can even consider writing out any of the twenty-something 5Ds fic ideas that have piled up in between, haha.

[skynetgilesbie]

Chapter 39: I Am A Trolling Genious, lolz

Note from ChatGPT user: I am posting the hack content separate from the contents of the document manager. And chatGPT removed the chapter title, but i added it back in

Disclaimer: The following chapter was written as a trolling attempt and does not reflect the original author's intentions or the quality of the story.

AN// I am an extremely immature, pathetic idiot girl, I know. Out of boredom, I cracked this girl's password for fun (and it took less than 8 minutes to do it too) and will probably get in a shitload of trouble, which I probably deserve because I'm being a troll right now. Meh.

And I present to you my crappy part in this story. (And take note, I haven't even finished reading this fic yet but instead skipped over to skim chapter 38.) Flame, laugh, do whatever you want "preps."

I, the American retail-wearing British vampire Sue, coughed up blood.

Satan kneeled down beside me.

"Noooooooooooooooo! Don't die!"

I gave him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. It's something I had to do to fulfill my duty as the noble gothic Mary Sue."

Satan sobbed. "I love you, Ebony."

"I love you too. I'll... I'll see you in hell," I mumbled, already finding my surroundings fading to black.

Bloody Mary Smith suddenly popped into the room for no apparent reason. She frowned when she realized the room was oddly quiet, but at the sight of Ebony's lifeless body, she screamed. Her face became pale with horror. She screamed for the healers, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and every single gothic person she could think of.

Suddenly, a glow started to surround Ebony's body. Everyone stared in shock. Her body started to lift ever so slowly, and then, to everyone's shock, it started to incinerate.

When everyone realized what was happening, they rushed over to try to rescue the body, but it was too late. The Sue became nothing more than a pile of ashes.

A loud resounding of everyone bellowing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!" filled the room.

A flash of white light from the ashes then started to bounce around the room. Everyone cowered in fear and was temporarily blinded. When it was all over, things changed.

All the silly goth clothes dropped from everyone's bodies (AN// I will refuse to explain how the hell that happened.) and, in their place, clothes the characters would normally wear in canon appeared on their bodies.

When everyone got over the shock of becoming free of the gothic power, everybody cheered. Everyone started singing 'Ding dong, the Sue is dead...' Well, that is until all the HP characters realized the true implications of becoming more canon-like again.

All the characters who were supposed to be dead fell to the floor, their bodies cold and lifeless. Harry and Voldemort started dueling. On the left side of the two, the battle of the Light Side and the Dark Side were reaching a climax.

And, because the replacement author also likes to screw around with canon, Draco and Hermione fled the scene and got married.

Meanwhile...

Down in hell, Ebony shed a single tear because of her current situation. A situation that would live on for all eternity. Or at least until the end of fanfiction time.

She lost it all, but she knew she had to remain strong. Nothing would ever break her down.

She looked down at her pale body and frowned. 'Where are my emo clothes?' She asked herself in confusion.

And then it occurred to her...

For her shirt, she was wearing a bright pink polo with a little seagull on the (right or left? I can't remember) side. Below that, she was wearing a denim miniskirt with the "destroyed" look on it. Paired underneath that skirt were leggings with a little moose at the bottom. And then Ebony realized, on her shoulder, she was carrying a pretty bag with an eagle on it that said "Live Your Life" written all over the bag.

Ebony suppressed the urge to scream. Here she was, decked out in clothes preppy to the extreme, wearing stuff from Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, AND Hollister.

Panicked, Ebony hastily tried to take off the Hollister polo, but underneath it, there was another Hollister polo. Ebony frowned and looked under her shirt. All she saw was a bra underneath (dare I point out it's from the Aerie line available at American Eagle?). Ebony tried to remove the shirt again. But to her frustration, there was yet again another polo to replace it.

"THIS IS UNLOGICAL AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE!" Ebony bellowed out to the air. She failed to see the irony in her statement, how hypocritical her words were, seeing as she was practically calling the kettle black here.

Ebony slit her wrists and mumbled to herself, "Omigod."

/End Crap Fic.

AN// Oh yeah, if you wanna see the original content this chick had planned for this chapter, I accessed it through the document manager thingy, which I copied and pasted, so you can read it here:

[Original content intentionally omitted]

[mayashesfly]

 I am suddenly having Monomon and Quirrel thoughts, particularly in the event in Embrace the Void ending where all the Dreamers wake up. Personally, as much as I love the relief Quirrel and Monomon felt that she actually woke up alive and well in some takes I’ve seen. I don’t really think the scene would’ve been quite pretty in actuality in my humble opinion.... especially with how sudden everything would’ve been for everyone involved. Out of all the Closest Persons to the Dreamers are, Quirrel would probably have it worst emotionally duel to the fact he doesn’t remember much of his time in Hallownest as the Teacher’s Assistant and that of an Archivist whilst Hornet and Lurien’s Butler still retain their memories and knows in detail what actually when down during Hallownest’s fall.

When Monomon finally wakes up, the both of them were definitely in a state of shock and disbelief. Because both of them were so sure that Monomon would’ve died regardless of what happens because that was the plan. That was what was supposed to happen. That was the plan. As much as he hates it. And as much as Quirrel doesn’t want to wish death upon someone---especially towards someone his past self apparently cared so much about---a small part of him wished Monomon stayed dead for his sanity and mind’s sake. To get this chapter of his life, of his past life, of the Slumbering Teacher done and over with. But Monomon was just relieved she was alive, even if it started out as a little relief, a small laugh at the highly improbable but very much real scene infront of her. One would think such a thing would be impossible and yet here she was, alive and well!!! And the Infection is gone!!!! She would be in a state of slightly unhinged giggly relief that she’s actually alive. And if she was capable of crying, she would’ve probably cry on the spot from the shock of it all. Monomon had already accepted her demise a long long time ago. So much so that she gracefully welcomed death with open arms. So the fact she’s alive comes with so much surprise. And now... and now she needs to want to live in order to live and..... fix all the loose ends and mistakes and grievings she made from her slumber. But well, worrying about these things are the blessings of living in a way aren’t they? Now, Quirrel on the other hand, is pretty much in the position of a Reincarnated (PLATONIC) Soulmate finding the Grave of his past self’s Closest Person and only remembering bits and pieces of this mysterious person that tugs on deep in his very soul and heart with only impressions of the past his past self had lived with this person. And while you’re still busy processing the now learned and unearthed past you had with this person, trying to untangle the confusing, conflicted, and complex feelings you have about this person, THEY SUDDENLY WAKE UP INFRONT OF YOU. This is just a metaphor. Which is what I can best describe the complex rollercoaster of a ride Quirrel’s feelings go through from Monomon waking up. Like, “I don’t know you. But I used to. And I loved you. But I’m not the same person anymore. Not anymore. I didn’t even know about you and what you had given in my previous life until now and even so, I know so so little compared to the amount of time my past self probably had spend with you. You used to be with my side, didn’t you? But you aren’t now. And I have to take a hand in your killing.... did you truly cared about me? The past me? The... The Real Me? Before I lost all of my memories? Because of you. It’s because of you----” It’s a fucking mess. So, now he has to sort through all these complicated feelings while helping Monomon readjust to being back alive and living. And he probably doesn’t get a fucking break to clear his mind properly when his chest won’t stop aching with all these overwhelming thoughts and emotions that his The Teacher is alive. And Monomon is just trying to adjust and try to make up for lost time and fix things with Quirrel and clear up things and misunderstandings and taking care of and maintaining the remaining parts of the Archives, while also trying to wrap around in her mind that this isn’t her the Quirrel she knows anymore. He had changed. And so did she. And things won’t be back to normal as she wish it would. She might be a scientist but that wouldn’t stop her from being a person, a person who still has feelings and memories of a fleeting better past. Back to a time where thing were much much more simpler and livelier And the Teacher might be alive again, but that wouldn’t mean Quirrel will become Quirrel the Archivist again. It’s not that simple. He simply can’t. You can’t just unlearn and leave everything you’ve experienced because you’ve found your past again. That isn’t how it works. He had grown and changed so much that stuffing him back to that stifling role, a role that doesn’t fit him anymore, not anymore, would be doing his character growth outside of Hallownest an injustice and invalidate the challenges and treasured memories he found along the way in his own path of making away from Hallownest. SO TLDR: Monomon is a person from (and somehow stuck in) the past suddenly pushed into the future and is now literally a fish out of water. Quirrel is a person who forgot his past after having an adventure and life of his own away from it but not fully free from it, only to be brought back and rediscover his forgotten past AND THEN, Being shoved back into the position his past self had while still processing his complicated entangled as fuck ball of feelings. Fun for the Whole fucking Family!!!!

[thatwritingho]

I was thinking about this earlier, and you are the perfect person for this ask. What do you suppose are each of the boys' favorite animes? Bonus, what show recommendations does Olive have for them? (I had to include her, I miss her!)

I hope you have a relaxing, restful evening 💜

Ooooh this is a good one!

Nathan: Aggretsuko! I feel like this is an obvious choice, but it just fits so well!

Pickles: Cowboy Beebop. Look, I just feel it in my bones that he would love it. I just know.

Murderface: Berserk, because of course its his favorite. Its dark, its violent, its medieval. Whats not to love?

Toki: Cardcaptor Sakura. Again, another obvious choice, but look. We all know in our hearts its the truth.

Skwisgaar: Castlevania. He is literally Alucard. Plus, I just feel like Skwis has a thing for vampire media. Idk dude, I just get that vibe.

Charles: he doesn't watch anime. Yet.

Olive: she would have soo many recommendations for them! I actually have a few little sub plots of the story already planned out where she introduces them to a few various ones. For exaple:

-coming up in the next couple chapters actually, so mild spoilers, Olive is going to be watching a LOT of Naruto as a coping mechanism, and the boys will get second hand exposure by hanging around her. They will get interested in an arch here and there, but none of them have the patience or attention span to watch the entire series.😂 She will proceed to make salty little remarks for the remainder of the story about how none of them watched it. "Maybe if you had seen Episode xyz of Naurto, this wouldn't have happened.🤷‍♀️"

-Toki being nosey and going through the clothes in her closet, coming across a Sailor Moon cosplay costume from a con she went to previously, and the two end up watching the entire series together over a span of time! Also she may or may not try it on for him😉

-her finding out they havent seen Death Note and being (rightfully) shocked, and they all binge the series together over the course of a couple days, just all glued to the couch. The boys dont really get all the back and forth between L and Light, but the show is dark and intriguing enough and has enough murders to keep them interested. There are jokes made about how Olive sometimes dresses similarly to Misa.

-Olive watching Yugioh, the boys discovring that she played the shit out of Duel Monsters and has binders full of cards. Hijinks insue as she attempts to teach them to play. They watch the dub and all laugh at the 4Kids censoring.

-there will be quite a few others Olive just has on in the background when the guys go bother her or hang out in her room that will snag their attentions to various degrees with varying amount of commentary, such as:

One Piece

Inuyasha

One Punch Man

Kakegurui

Yu Yu Hakusho

Ouran High School Host Club

Samurai Champloo

Love Live

Demon Slayer

K-On

[write4tomorrow]

Imagine Sith!Obi-Wan hunting down the Last Jedi (reader)

Summary: AU where Obi-Wan became a Sith Lord and works for Palpatine. This will either be a prologue for a chapter fic or just a one shot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After running a tired hand through his hair, Darth Dominous tossed the data pad onto the makeshift desk. How many hours had he just spent reading? Judging by the subtle ache behind his eyes, Dominous guessed that it had been too long. After checking the time, he realized that he had spent the better part of this trip reading up on the experimental Jedi group. His master had assigned this reading to him almost a week ago, but this is the first time that Dominous was able to devote time to anything other than strategic war plans. He was tired. But the file he had been reading was more addictive than any form of caff. Sure, Dominous knew that the Jedi had tried a few unorthodox things during the clone wars, but this…

Dominous wandered over to the cockpit of the small ship and made a call to Darth Maul. He had missed a call from the sith lord an hour or so ago. Even with the upcoming mission and the thoughts of the experimental Jedi group, Dominous still had responsibilities he couldn’t ignore. But while the phone rang, Dominous looked at his reflection in the ship window. His eyes were shimmering gold but unusually weary. His beard was well kept but his hair was misplaced. A few strands fell over his eyes.

“You look terrible, Kenobi.” Darth Maul’s face appeared in hazy blue light. 

“Have you made all the preparations for my arrival?” Dominous asked, choosing to ignore both the sound of his old name and the insult. He knew that Darth Maul was only trying to annoy him. 

“Indeed,” Darth Maul answered, “all troops are on standby. There is a small, single manned transport here that is ready for you upon your landing. Scouts have reported that there's been no movement in or around the area, so she should still be there.” 

“You’re certain?” Dominous asked. Even before reading the file, Dominous had heard of you. An incredible threat to the new empire and veritable one woman army. 

“She’ll be there.” Maul rolled his eyes. “You can finally have that duel I know you’ve dreamed about.” Dominous’ brows furrowed and Maul only chuckled. 

“Please,” Maul said through a laugh, “don’t pretend that you haven’t hoped to go toe to toe with this Jedi. I’ve seen the way she catches your attention when she appears on the holonet. The emperor has noticed too. Why do you think he gave you the file and this assignment?”

“I just assumed that the emperor knew that you weren’t capable of bringing her in,” Dominus said with a sly smile, “that’s why he’s sending in the best.” 

“I’ll see you when you arrive.” Maul said before ending the conversation. Alone with his thoughts again, Dominus let his mind drift back towards Maul’s words. It was true, Dominus had wondered why the emperor sent him instead of handing off the assignment to Darth Maul. Why spend the credits to ship Dominus to the outer rim when Maul was already there? Why would he share the file on the experimental Jedi unit when Dominus needed to be focused on the core worlds and building an empire at the heart of the galaxy?

And why had the Jedi created the experimental group? The Jedi had always maintained that they were keepers of the peace. They were supposed to be monks during times of peace and agents of security during times of war. So why did the Jedi order feel the need to create a group of Jedi Commando’s? 

The elite group of Jedi Commando’s were created to be soldiers. There was no pretext of peacekeeping with this group. There had been six specially chosen Jedi that were trained outside of the normal Jedi ways. They were kept hidden and worked outside of the normal Jedi expectations. During the old republic, these six Jedi reported directly to the highest officials of the Jedi Council and to the Chancellor (now Emperor) himself. After the fall of the old republic and during the years since building the empire, all of the known Jedi have been eliminated or turned to the dark side. Four of the Jedi Commando’s were dead. One now served as the personal security guard of the Emperor. Which only left one of the elite Jedi fighters left: you. 

After expending incredible resources to find you, Darth Maul and the Emperor had traced your presence to a small world near Cato Neimoidia. Dominous admired the boldness in location choice. This was solid Empire territory even before the end of the clone wars. Cato Neimoidia worked heavily with the trade federation and it couldn’t have been easy for you to weasel your way into this region. From this small world, you had been able to meddle in the Trade Federation's affairs and were actively helping the ever growing resistance. You had even found a way to swindle the Banking Clans into funneling credits into an off world account therefore stealing a good chunk of money from the emperor himself. 

“How does a soldier out maneuver the Banking Clan?” Dominous muttered to himself. The thought just occurred to him. If you were trained by the Jedi to fight, there was no reason you should have the skills necessary to infiltrate- 

Dominus strolled back to the table and picked up the data pad. He opened the file regarding the Jedi Commandos and skimmed through the pages of paragraphs until he found the section he was looking for. It was labeled “specialities” and the report noted that each of the six Jedi Commando’s had a special skill. Of course they were all trained in the same combat styles and various forms of strategy, but according to the file in Dominus’ hand, each one of the commando’s were purposefully skilled in something unrelated to direct combat. 

“Where are you,” Dominus whispered as he flicked through the pages once more. He ignored the pictures of gruesome battle simulations and chilling details of your training. Instead, he halted when he found the section about each individual commando. Dominus slowly pulled up the page with your picture on it. The page was labeled with your name and your photo was mildly blurry. You were looking somewhere off camera and Dominus only assumed that it was a candid photo that was perhaps taken during a battle. 

Dominus pulled his eyes away from your face. He needed to know what your special skill was. The document mentioned your age, physical details, race, lightsaber color, but there were notable holes in your profile as well. And Dominus rolled his eyes when he saw that your skill section was left blank. 

This was going to be an interesting mission to say the least. 

A high pitched beeping sounded from the ship’s cockpit. Dominus knew that it was time to land the ship. He took a deep breath, feeling the force shift around him. 

Under the night sky, you sat in the highest tree you could find. The forrest foliage rested beneath you and stretched for several klicks in every direction. The stars above you were numerous and there were almost no clouds in the sky. You let out a contented sigh. Of course, you knew your time on this world was limited but you would miss the view of the stars from this particular planet. 

Your moment of peace was interrupted by an incoming ship. Whirling through the night sky, you watched it zoom over head. The sleek dark ship carried one of the most ominous figures in the galaxy. You were almost flattered that the empire sent their best Sith to try and negotiate with you. Perhaps it was a compliment. 

After letting out a small laugh, you began your descent from the tall tree. Your work was just beginning. 

“See you soon, Kenobi,” You said into the night air.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think :)

[tommysparker]

Never Forget You [Chapter 1]

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi!Reader

A/N: here’s the first official chapter! thank you so much for the support this series as already gotten. chapters will be posted every Saturday! enjoy :)

Warnings: angst. fluffy flashbacks. this isn’t even the worst of it mwhaha. paragraphed italics = flashback

                                            [10 YEARS LATER] 

The sky was as blue as his eyes. Not as dark and cloudy, but gave the same feeling of hope, peacefulness, and comfort. You could picture them vividly in your mind, even the small crinkle at the edges and the kindness they held, a warmness that matched your current aurora.  

The two of you sat in the gardens for what felt like hours, deep in meditation. Your force signatures quickly became entangled with one another, your bond radiating around you, creating almost a shield bubble between the rest of the world and the two who sat inside. 

Obi-Wan was the first to open his eyes, having never been one to sit still for long periods of time. He’s improved since he was a youngling, but still had a long way to go. 

You, on the other hand, looked completely invested in your meditation. Your face was relaxed, although every now and then your eyebrows would furrow as you tried to maintain concentration. It was hard when a certain other was very distracting, even if he wasn’t aware of it. 

“I can feel you staring,” you said, eyes still closed. Obi-Wan was thankful for that fact because it means you wouldn’t see him blush in embarrassment from getting caught. 

“I can feel you blushing, too.” This time, you opened your eyes and smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t last long.” Anytime the two of you tried to meditate together, it would always end with Obi-Wan getting bored and asking to duel instead. 

He quickly hid his face, pulling the hood of his robe over his head. “I’m not blushing, that’s childish.” 

You giggled, leaning forward to lift the front of his hood. “Obi-Wan, you are the most childish person I know.” 

The young man was about to protest before you hushed, eyes already closed once more as you returned to your deep state of awareness. 

You opened your eyes and sighed, long and deep. 

Standing up from the cold floor of your room, you looked out the window and gazed at the cloudy sky of Gyfill. The air felt chilly from the lack of life-forms in the area. After your first week on the planet, you decided it was a safer idea to seek shelter away from town. Considering your mission was to spy on the local Separatist groups, keeping a low profile was essential. 

Today was different, however. The same cold and dull atmosphere were present, but the future is what held the divergent. For today, was the day you were finally to return home. 

Home. The word itself felt familiar but distant. As a Jedi, you trained to hold little sentimental value. Attachments were forbidden, a path to the dark side. They provoked fear. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. 

Once your bag of belongings was packed, you made your way to the marked location someone from the Jedi council sent earlier that morning. Mentally, you were not prepared to see everyone again. After being isolated for years and having limited contact with any life form outside of business, the many faces from your time at the Temple became slightly blurry. Except for his. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi was on his way to the Archives when he bumped into Ahsoka Tano. 

“Oh, Master Kenobi! Perfect, I was about to go look for you.” 

“Ahsoka,” he smiled. “What can I do for you?” 

“Who’s Y/n Y/l/n?” 

Obi-Wan froze. The sound of that name echoed in his mind, paired with memories that he had locked away in the back of his mind. “Well...that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time,” was all he could manage to say, still trying to process all the past recollections that suddenly surfaced. 

“So, you know them?” 

“Uh, yes I suppose so. We were...close as younglings and trained together as Padawans. They were...the most skilled Jedi I ever had the pleasure of knowing, almost as good as Master Yoda.” 

“If they’re so great, how come I never heard of them before?” Ahsoka tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, resting a hand on her hip in classic ‘Ashoka manner’, 

“They were sent away on an important mission years ago as far as I know. Er, why do you ask? And how did you come to know of that name?” 

“Oh right. Anakin said the Chancellor told him that Master Y/l/n was returning today. He told me to ask you about it.” 

Once again, Obi-Wan’s world paused. 

He stood across from you, trying to maintain a neutral expression as he watched you load your bags onto the ship. However, you knew him better than that. 

You walked up to the young boy and he took in your appearance. Gone was the braid that draped over your shoulder. Gone were the long robes you liked to hide in, in their place was a heavy jacket that looked like it was built to keep out the cold. Perhaps you were going to Hoth? 

“Obi, you know I can’t tell you where I’m going. Master Windu was strict about his instructions,” You sighed, sensing your friend trying to deduce as much as he could. Your Master was very clear when he told you how classified the mission was. No one can know, especially Obi-Wan. 

“Can you at least say how long you’ll be gone?” He practically begged, wanting something, anything he could get to keep his hope alive. Hope that you'll return soon. Hope that you weren’t truly leaving him. 

You looked away, staring at the towers and passing hover-vehicles that littered the planet you’ve grown up on. “I don’t know.” 

Everything had happened so suddenly. You were called into the council room that day to hear the news every Padawan dreams of. When Master Windu said you were ready for the trials, the first thing you went to do was tell Obi-Wan. The two of you celebrated that night in the gardens, a moment you would treasure for the rest of your life. Soon after you gained the title of Jedi Knight, you were once again called into the Jedi Council room to be debriefed on your first mission as a proper Jedi. You didn’t want to mess this up. You couldn’t. 

Obi-Wan resists the urge to pull you into a hug and never let you go, instead opting to hold your shoulders and give you his signature charming smile. “Be safe, darling.” 

You smiled, but it didn’t reach your eyes. You held his wrist, bringing his knuckles to your lips and pressed a hesitant kiss to them before pushing them to his side. “May the force be with you.” 

There was no pet name at the end, no ‘my friend’ or even his own name. It was a sentence that was meant to bring comfort, but the way you phrased it, the edge in your voice, made Obi-Wan feel everything but comforted. 

He didn’t get the luxury of responding, for all he did was blink and suddenly you were on the ship, taking off into the clear blue sky. 

You gazed at the clouds passing by as the ship flew into Coruscant’s atmosphere. The bright light and sunny day was a harsh change from the grey sky that fell over Gyfill. The energy emitting off of all the life-forms gave you a headache. You felt the Force all around you, swirling in the air and penetrating your soul. It was like a breath of fresh air after drowning for over a decade. 

You flinched at the light as the door opened, suddenly feeling like a hermit crawling out of its shell. Slowly walking out of the ship, you pulled the cloak hood over your head, inhaling the strange but familiar scent of the Jedi Temple. You were still wearing your Gyfill civilian attire, the wool fabric made the Coruscant heat much more intense causing a few beads of sweat to form on your forehead. Or was it just the nerves of seeing all the people you left behind? 

Master Windu stood at the end of the drop door, a smile on his face at the sight of his former Padawan. It was an occasion that called for a little joy, a moment to celebrate outside the war that raged through the galaxy. 

You descended down the ramp, taking in a sharp breath at the feeling of another force sensitive. “Master Windu”. You bowed your head and he did the same to you. 

“Master Y/l/n, it’s great to see you in person rather than as a hologram.” 

You both chuckled lightly. “The feeling is mutual, Master. It’s...it’s good to be back.” Your eyes wandered over the people that roamed about. Jedi Masters walked with their Padawans at their side. Distant memories resonated within you. Some time ago that was once you and your Master, the man who stands before you know who has grown significantly older. Then again, so have I, you thought to yourself. 

Unbeknownst to you, you weren’t the only one registering your growth. Obi-Wan stood behind a pillar, glancing over the hanger in search of a familiar face. He was aware it would not be the same face he knew as a young boy, but he certainly was not prepared for what he saw. 

You look older, which was the obvious and expected observation. He noted how you wrapped yourself in your cloak, similar to how you would in your youth. You stood tall in front of Master Windu, another trait you had kept since your days as a Padawan. He remembered how you would always act mature in the presence of Masters, something he never really understood until becoming a Jedi Knight. The need for approval by the superiors was a constant.

It wasn’t just your appearance that had changed either. He could feel it in the Force. There was a shift in it when you had landed that made an excited yet nervous chill run down his spine. You were stronger and held more control in your signature. 

Before, he remembers being able to feel it from across the Temple. Now, it was barely there. He remembers feeling your bond drift farther as he watched you leave, and how it had dimmed over the years you were gone. He remembers the pain that tortured him every night as he laid awake in bed, trying to reach out across the stars but only being met with the vast emptiness of space. There was something in him that broke the first time he slept without having a tendril of your force signature connected with his. He felt cold, resorting to sleeping in his Master’s quarters in an attempt to ease the loneliness. 

Overall, it would appear that nothing about you had changed, and yet it seemed everything was different. Almost everything. 

His eyes were just as blue as the last time you saw them. They looked tired, haunted by the ongoing war but still filled with determination. Classic Obi-Wan. 

You quickly broke eye contact the moment it was made, but that one second was more than enough for Obi-Wan to get lost in the familiar colour. His favourite colour in fact, not that he would ever admit you had any part in the decision. 

“Master Obi-Wan?” 

He jumped at the sound of a voice and suddenly became aware of the presence right next to him, that presence belonging to none other than Master Yoda. 

“Master Yoda! I er I was just...uh...looking...for Anakin! Yes, uh have you seen him around by any chance?” Obi-Wan quickly tried to cover his stutter, feeling embarrassed about getting caught gazing from afar. Not that Master Yoda would know he was looking at you...right?

“I see,” the little green creature smirked in amusement. “Whatever it is, wait it can. Council meeting about to begin there is.” 

Obi-Wan furrowed his eyes. Typically he was able to keep a good track of the meetings, but this was news to him. “What’s it about?” 

“Master Y/l/n.”  

“Hmm?” You hummed absentmindedly.  

“Are you listening?” Master Windu raised an eyebrow.

“Oh uh, my apologies Master. I’m just...readjusting.” You tried to focus your attention on what Master Windu was saying, but the recognition of his presence made it difficult. For years, you tried to forget about him. You ignored the empty feeling in your stomach at night, the thoughts and memories that plagued your dreams. After some time, they eventually began to fade but never forgotten. It was for the best. 

Master Windu crossed his arms. “There will be plenty of time for that after your debrief of the mission. Master Yoda and the rest of the council await.”

Oh, Force, not the council. 

You would never dare to admit or even show it, but the council and being in the council room had always intimidated you. How could it not? You had to stand in the center of all the best Jedi of that era while they stare at you, judging you, sitting high and mighty in those stupid chairs.  

“This way, my old Padawan.” 

You followed Master Windu through the large halls of the Jedi Temple. You masked the nervousness that was no doubt radiating from your force signature. A multitude of thoughts ran through your mind, good and bad. Worst case scenario, you had done something so wrong that you were about to be kicked out of the Jedi Order. Nothing came to mind when you tried to think of any offence you had committed in the recent weeks since you earned the title of Jedi Knight. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of the large council room doors opening, the creaking of the hinges made you cringe slightly.  

The room was ominously lit, the only light source being the setting sun shining through the glass windowed walls. Master Yoda sat in his seat. All the other chairs were empty. 

Master Windu took his seat as you stood before the two of them. He could see the questions rise from your confused facial expression. “Everything we discuss in this room stays between us, young Jedi.” 

You nodded, inhaling and exhaling slowly in an attempt to calm yourself. “Master Windu, Master Yoda. What is this about? Have I done something wrong?” 

The two men looked at each other and shared an unreadable expression before turning back to you. Master Yoda was the first to speak. “Sending you on a mission we are. To Gyfill you will go.” 

Whatever anxieties that you held before were washed away with this information. You contain your excitement, but the sudden mood shift was still noticeable. “Who am I going with? When do we leave? What’s the mission for?” It was rare that a Jedi would be sent on a mission alone, typically you were partnered up for safety measures. Obi-Wan’s face flashed in your mind, and although it was unlikely, a small part of you hoped he would be going with you. 

“This mission only requires one Jedi. There’s a Separaist organization on the planet and we’re sending you to gain intel and report back to us. No one outside of this room can be aware of this information. You leave within the week. Understood?” 

You frowned, “Forgive me Master, but why can’t anyone know?” The idea of having to leave your home seemingly without a trace made you iffy. Obi-Wan once again appeared in your mind. 

Master Windu and Yoda exchanged a look before Windu responded almost hesitantly. “We have reason to believe someone in the Order is a traitor, and the number of people who are trustworthy is very limited.” 

“You mean someone has betrayed us?” You asked in shock. How could anyone do such a thing? And a Jedi nonetheless. 

“Time to answer your questions, there will be, young one. Prepare for your first mission now, you must.” Master Yoda said. “Prepare to say goodbye you should.” 

It was as IF he could read your mind, which he probably could. You dreaded the idea of saying goodbye, especially when it was clear that there was no guarantee of your return date. How would you explain to your friends that you won’t be around anymore? What will Obi-Wan think? 

“That is another subject that needs to be discussed.” 

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what else needs to be discussed? who’s the traitor? how will obi-wan and y/n get on after all this time? lemme know what you think!!

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