#and so there’s not a whole lot between them yet at this point but obi wan is definitely side eyeing Cody ahah

[david-talks-sw]

When 'Star Wars' dilutes the impact of a "Kurosawa samurai standoff"...

It's no secret that one of the major inspirations for Star Wars was Akira Kurosawa movies. The Hidden Fortress influenced the basic structure of the first film, was a basis for Lucas' character archetypes and his use of narrative POVs.

But, really, all of Kurosawa's films were an influence on the making of Star Wars. Including the duels seen in his and other samurai films from the 60s.

Dunno if you've seen a kendo fight, but they're pretty similar.

The duelists size each other up, and there's a lot of mind games going on before the strike actually happens.

If you hold your sword this way, the other guy adjusts his stance.

You move your foot that way, the adversary responds accordingly.

Cinematically, this process allows you to play with a whole treasure trove of elements to build up the drama and suspense. We see this slow-yet-tense approach to dueling reflected all over the Original Trilogy. And we've seen it again in recent Disney-released content.

The perfect and first real example of this in Star Wars is the fight between Ben Kenobi and Maul, in Rebels.

The tension increases more...

... and more until the two fighters move, the music swells...

... and then it reaches its climax.

Beautifully executed.

Dave Filoni's done his homework, it shows, and while it's an awesome homage, narratively it also holds weight. There's a reason why this fight is so quick:

This time, Obi-Wan isn't fighting to avenge the death of his master, he's not fighting to save his own life... he's fighting to protect Luke's. And that means there's no time to fuck about. He'll end the conflict swiftly and decisively, he won't let it come to a prolonged acrobatic fight. So he lures Maul in by making him think he's taking Qui-Gon's form, and strikes true when Maul, increasingly consumed by his own rage to the point of blindness, falls for it.

Again: a wonderful fight and an excellent homage.

Then we get to Luke's stand-off with Kylo on Crait, in The Last Jedi.

An interesting take on the trope, also with meaningful narrative impact. As Rian Johnson writes in the TLJ screenplay:

"This is not like a saber fight. This like an old-fashioned samurai duel."

Here too, the tension gets built up...

... and every time we're close to getting that climax, Luke dodges.

It leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction, which is exactly what Kylo is feeling as he boils with rage.

Suddenly, we do get the climax...

... and a twist. Luke was never actually there. Boom. Those inserts during the build-up phase? If you look at them again they're clues (Luke doesn't leave a mark on the ground, salt doesn't land on his clothes, etc). Luke wasn't engaging because he wasn't actually there, he was buying time for the Resistance to escape.

Okay. Cool.

Next time we see a "Kurosawa" duel... it's here, in The Mandalorian.

Again, a lot of posing, slow movements and patience, as is expected from the trope.

But we know nothing about the opponent Ahsoka is fighting other than her name is Morgan... so no emotional impact, there.

At some point, Ahsoka loses a lightsaber. The apprentice to the Chosen One is struggling against some rando.

We find out later on that Morgan is a Nightsister from Dathomir, and that's cool... but we already know how Jedi-trained folks fare against the Dathomiri.

If you ask me, it feels like manufactured stakes. But that's beside the point. In fact, y'know what? It's fine.

Though the impact of this duel isn't as great as its predecessors, the whole episode is filled with visual homages to Kurosawa's work.

It makes sense that the duel would be too. Also it's the first time we're seeing Ahsoka in live action, in a lightsaber duel, the hype is real. Let's cut 'em some slack.

So we come to the series Ahsoka... where almost every duel in the the show has the Kurosawa posturing and tip-toeing and... I dunno. I was bored?

Like, the primary purpose of this approach to duels is that it's meant to be suspenseful and intense... and now it's not.

Because we know Ahsoka is gonna beat the crap outta these droids...

... so why even bother faking some semblance of "what's her next move gonna be?" suspense? There's a hole right behind her, gee, I truly wonder.

Oh, you think putting her against an Inquisitor's gonna make us fear for her life, wonder if she's gonna get outta this situation unscathed?

She was wiping the floor with two of them at the same time, a decade prior. At 17, she was killing Inquisitors while disarmed.

Do you really expect your audience to fear for her life in a fight against Marrok?

So we get to the fight with Baylan, and the posturing and studying opponent's next move would be welcome here (two Order 66 survivors, knew Anakin, both well-trained former Jedi)...

... if we hadn't literally seen that same dynamic with Marrok who, again, we knew was gonna die.

No tension was built in either moment, the only thing it achieved was me pressing >> on my keyboard.

It's not captivating anymore, it's just slow and un-dynamic.

Bottom line:

Tributes to Kurosawa are nice. They're part of what makes Star Wars what it is. But c'mon, we get it already.

Lightsaber duelists don't need to tiptoe around each other and change poses at every fight. Because when the actually meaningful duels come up (like the one with Baylan), the impact will be lessened.

The "Kurosawa samurai duel" is artistic and interesting, but it should be used sparingly in order to maintain its charm and not get old and trope-y. AKA too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.

#ahsoka series #ahsoka tano #baylan skoll #marrok #ahsoka #star wars #meta #sw negativity #long post

[gffa]

Aww, you're too nice to me, thank you!!  I’ve mostly seen commentary in the same vein and I understand why, so many of us are sitting here like :| and braced for the worst interpretations, because Ahsoka’s character is often polarized and Jedi discussion is often polarized.  Pitting them against each other, probably leaves a lot of people not wanting to touch it with a ten foot pole. For me, I think I have to establish my view of Ahsoka’s character in the first place and where she’s at at this point in time:  She left the Jedi Order because she couldn’t trust herself or the Council, she needed time away to consider what she wanted and she wasn’t ready to really deal with all of that. Out of all of the Jedi, I think Ahsoka has the strongest reason to be angry and hurt about the war and the relationship the Jedi have with the Republic, because she was such a victim of the whole thing.  She was the one who Tarkin set his sights on, she was the one who was framed and put on trial, she was the one who had the bonds between herself and her family ripped apart because the weight of the entire government came down on them. Everyone made mistakes in that arc, everyone did what they thought was best.  No one was perfect in that arc--Ahsoka didn’t trust anyone and that mistrust isn’t what saved her, it was Anakin’s actions that saved her.  Ahsoka immediately didn’t trust anyone to help her, didn’t even try to contact them, was hurt that Anakin didn’t come to see her, even when he pointed out that would have made it worse for her.  And he’s right, but that doesn’t negate that she was left all alone.  The Jedi tried desperately to keep everything with Ahsoka in house, but their hands were forced, the other road would have been worse, but that doesn’t negate that she was left all alone. Obi-Wan says in the Crystal Crisis arc that they all made mistakes, that Ahsoka let her emotions cloud her judgement in her most critical moment, and I think that’s both spot on (that’s why she left, because she realized she couldn’t trust herself, that’s why she was so hesitant to help with Maul because she still wasn’t there yet) and informs much of what Obi-Wan sees with her.

Ahsoka isn’t being fair in her treatment of Obi-Wan. She’s angry about what happened with Barriss, she’s angry about what happened with the Jedi, she’s angry about them being drawn into this war that hurt her so terribly on such a personal level, she’s angry that she feels obligated to work with the Jedi again when she’s not ready.

When you look at Ahsoka’s arguments, they tend to fall apart pretty quickly--she’s angry that the Jedi want to help the people on Coruscant?  The heart of the Republic?  Where trillions of people live?  Where Trace and Rafa live?  The two characters she just met who informed so much of what she wants to be as a Jedi?  Or how she entirely ignores that the Republic’s treaties with Mandalore mean that this is an invasion and politics have genuine consequences in Star Wars, you can’t just invade other countries!  And she’s being unfair about how she’s making it clear that she’s not a Jedi, she’s a citizen, but then turns around and wants to be privy to classified information that only Jedi agents should have. This isn’t to come down on Ahsoka, because these things make me like her more, these things make my heart ache for her, because I see her as a young woman who was thrown back into a situation she wasn’t ready for and she’s doing her absolute damnedest to be professional about it. But this is her family, these are the people she loves underneath it all, this is Anakin who so badly wants her to come back and is kind of stepping all over her boundaries--he even reworks her lightsabers to change the crystal’s color!  It’s such a sweet gesture!  But it’s also So Very Much before she’s ready for it.  It’s so clear that he thinks she’s coming back and everything will be like it was before and she’s just not sure, so she has to be the one to set down boundaries with him and that’s another thing that tears at her heart.

That’s why I think she’s so gentle when Mace lobs the “Citizen.” remark back at her, because I don’t think she was angry about that, she doesn’t respond angrily at all, but almost relieved.  It’s a tense moment, but he’s holding her boundary for her, it’s a reminder that she’s not ready to be back yet and I think part of her might have been grateful for it, because she’s so mixed up about what she wants and who she is at this point. Then you have the scene with Obi-Wan and I think she probably was angry with him, both because he was on the Council and she’s still mad at them, but also because this is Obi-Wan and she knows him, she loves him, he’s tearing at her heart and making her want to come back and that’s more confusing feelings.  And he probably seems so calm and collected, all the more so when this is dealing with something that has deeply personal meaning for him because of Satine, while she feels jumbled up and unsteady.  Her emotions are still threatening to cloud her judgment, and then he’s there saying he’ll refuse to do so, and it’s hard not to feel a riot of emotions about that. But also she knows he cares, she trusts him with her message to Anakin, she doesn’t even have to spell it out, because she knows that Obi-Wan knows.  And I think some part of her treats Obi-Wan the way Anakin does--she’s being unfair with him because she knows he’s a rock that will weather her storm.  Even when they’re clashing, she trusts him to understand her and her feelings and where she’s coming from.  She trusts him to be there even when they fight.

With Obi-Wan, he’s also having a really rough time of it because he’s got a real shitshow on his hands--he has everything with Satine’s memory here, he has a political shitstorm with the invasion of Mandalore they’re doing, he has Anakin’s unstable moods and Anakin emotionally zipping off to be like, “I knew!  I knew there was a reason why everything happened, it was meant to!” and undercurrent of mania, and he has his own guilt about what happened with Ahsoka, while also recognizing that the other roads probably would have been worse and that she’s allowed her upset feelings. I do think Obi-Wan is probably frustrated and disappointed with Ahsoka, because she’s coming from an emotional place in the sense of letting it cloud her view of the reality of the situation, and they can’t afford that right now.  And I think he’s frustrated that she’s not being fair about this, because what’s he supposed to do in response to her?  They’re in the middle of a war and this is why Jedi train their whole lives, because people’s lives are on the line, they have to be clear and focused or people will die.  They have to make hard choices because they’ve been put in a position of responsibility and wishing circumstances were less shitty doesn’t actually make the war any less shitty.  They still have to protect the trillion innocent people who live on Coruscant, they can’t just abandon them because it wouldn’t be the most popular decision. At the same time, he understands where she’s coming from, that she’s hurt about everything and she’s not ready for this and yet she still came to help anyway.  And I think he’s probably frustrated that she’s implying that he’s the one being obstinate and not helping, when the situation is nowhere near as clear-cut as Bo-Katan tries to say it is, he’s perfectly willing to compromise when offered an acceptable path to helping both Mandalore and Coruscant, after all. But also he loves her and he knows that she’s a caring, good person, he doesn’t even have to ask what her message to Anakin is, he knows.  He’s even willing to tell her about his concerns about Anakin and his mission to spy on Palpatine, he asks her to speak with Anakin, asks for her help, because he knows how important she is.

I don’t think Obi-Wan was as open or reaching out as much as he theoretically could be, but like Ahsoka, he’s going through A Lot right now and has a ton on his plate and none of them are really ready to deal with that while everything is still in flames around them.  But it’s also why they end on soft notes with each other, because they know that they’re both important to Anakin, that Anakin is important to both of them, that the Jedi are important to both of them, that they’re important to each other. And boy does it hurt that neither of them can see what’s coming with Anakin, that they’re both unable to see that he’s on the verge of falling.

But that’s how people who love each other are. That’s how family is with each other--they get frustrated and upset and needle each other and disappointed in each other because they love each other. And I think you see that all throughout Obi-Wan and Ahsoka’s scenes, they’re both characters who have made mistakes and aren’t at their calmest here, they’re tense with each other, but it’s coming from a place of deep caring about everyone in that room.

I think they both acted the way they did because they thought they would have time to sort it out, they trusted that their family would be there when they had that time. Ahsoka puts off catching up with Anakin because she’s not ready yet and there’ll be time later. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan needle each other because they’re frustrated and there’ll be time to come back together later. Ahsoka says softly, “Not yet.” when Yoda asks if she’s going to be a Jedi again, she looks so hopeful when talking to Rex about the end of the war and she can come back to the Jedi in a way she trusts, she really thought there would be more time. Obi-Wan says they’re close to the end of the war, he’s off to defeat Grievous finally, this was supposed to be the end, there would be time for the slow, long repair of their relationships. They act the way they do because they weren’t ready to let everything go just yet, not because they didn’t care.  They thought there would be more time.

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #meta #long post

[smokeybrandreviews]

Lack of Conviction

Episode five of Ahsoka really hammered home how goddamn ridiculous the entire Clone War situation truly was. Watching Ahsoka on the front lines of that Geonosis battle, a fight where she was canonically fourteen or fifteen, was ludicrous back in the original show, but seeing the character in that situation portrayed by the age appropriate Ariana Greenblatt was f*cking jarring. Greenblatt is sixteen years old, splitting the difference of Aksoka’s age range throughout the Clone Wars. She’s as close to a real, teenage, Tano, that we’re going to get and it is wildly apparent that she is a CHILD. The goddamn Jedi Order, was sending child soldiers to fight in a trade war against an analogous Sith overlord and his army of drones. I don’t care how good at space wizarding your teenager is, they are still just a goddamn teenager! And Ahsoka wasn’t the only one. Barris Offee immediately comes to mind! The age you become a Padawan Learner to a Master Jedi is around twelve. That means there were children as young as twelve taking laser shots to the face, not to mention the wholesale slaughter of these cats during Order Sixty-Six, because of a goddamn trade dispute. How f*cking ridiculous is that? Anakin even said the quiet part out loud when addressing Ahsoka’s hesitation. He told her that Obi-Wan trained him to be a peacekeeper, but Anakin was training Ahsoka to be a soldier. That sh*t was the intent. That was the plan. That was the whole dynamic; Train an army of child astro-sorcerers in the ways of war, by throwing them headlong into one. From anyone’s point of view, that’s f*cked up and lends credence to everything Poppa Paps was talking about. Imagine trying to convince the ludicrously powerful Chosen One you’re in the right, when the only other person outside of his mom and wife whom he genuinely loved, was put in his charge to turn her into a weapon. And then when she turned out to be a fantastic one, they cast her aside the second someone gets murdered in those hallowed Council halls. Cats give Anakin sh*t for slaying them Younglings but how are the Jedi any goddamn different? They literally use children until they are used up. I can only imagine the trauma the kids who survived will have to endure. Hell, we’ve seen a few of them already. Ahsoka, Cade from those absolutely dope games, Hera's dead baby daddy, and that one chick from Kenobi; None of who are healthy, well adjusted, stand-up adults! Absolutely emotional train wrecks, the lot of them!

More than that, this episode proved to me just how much of Anakin is in Ahsoka. They mirror each other as much as Ahsoka and Sabine. It's wild to see in live action, especially getting that from Hayden who finally got to play a complex version of Anakin. Clone Wars went a long way to redeeming that character but seeing him actually force a catharsis in Ahsoka was rough. I've seen them cross lightsabers before and it broke my f*cking heart. I've spoken at length about that, but seeing it here? Knowing this is training from a fully fledged Jedi Master Anakin? I cannot articulate how amazing that is. He pushed Ahsoka to her limits. Forced her to confront the grief and guilt she had for being a weapon, for abandoning Anakin. Hayden gave this role so much depth, so much emotion, it was just breathtaking to witness. Seeing him flit between Vader and Sky Guy was almost too much but it very necessary. It was necessary for Ahsoka. She had to see that, to come to terms with that, in order to move forward. She is everything Anakin is, even Vader, as demonstrated by those Sith eyes when she contemplated the unthinkable. Interestingly enough, even channeling the Dark Side like a champ, you can tell Anakin was concerned for his Padawan. Not that he would be killed, Anakin is beyond even that at this point, but that his Padawan, would fall like he did. Ahsoka did not. She chose life and Sky Guy gave her that smirk, telling Snips there was hope for her yet. F*cking everything. That last exchange was f*cking everything. Especially when you take into account that Anakin pulled her into the World Between Worlds to save her life. As a goddamn Force Ghost. What the f*ck does THAT even mean??

#Ahsoka #Star Wars #Star Wars: Ahsoka #Lucasfilm #Sky Guy #Snips

[jessicas-pi]

multiple boom emojis = i can send mulitple asks, right? 😁

📕

i have literally never said no to another ask so. yknow. yeah absolutely.

Okay for this one i've got this AU that's been bouncing around in my head since i went through a brief yet intense korkie obsession a few days ago.

I call this the Korkie And Ahsoka's List Of Lies AU.

basically: after Satine's death, Korkie steps up to lead a faction of New Mandalorians who basically decide WE'RE GONNA HAVE PEACE, DANGIT!! It seemed like a great idea... except... Korkie is seventeen and has no idea how to run a nonlethal-but-not-exactly-pacifistic-either revolution.

And then he thinks... hey... wasn't Ahsoka just kicked out of the Jedi order? Maybe she'd want a job as his advisor...

So some of his friends go to coruscant and find Ahsoka and basically recruit her. She goes to Mandalore and cheerfully reunites with her old friend, and they get down to business to defeat the death watch.

Ahsoka, who doesn't have lightsabers, starts training with a pair of beskar blades. it's a difficult transition because beskar weighs a lot but lightsaber blades weigh nothing. Eventually she figures it out and she gets really good at it and several Mandalorians get crushes on her because She's So Cool!!!!

Korkie also finds her some armor. she looks even more fabulous now. more mandalorians get crushes on her.

The New New Mandalorians move to take back Mandalore. Ahsoka duels Maul with her beskar swords and wins and even more mandalorians get crushes on her. she's officially a celebrity heartthrob at this point.

She plans to leave afterwards, but Korkie asks her if... maybe... she could stay?

Ahsoka agrees.

Now, here's the thing.

Korkie is technically a clan leader now. Ahsoka owns the darksaber by right of combat. they decide it would work best if they co-ran Mandalore.

They make this announcement standing side-by-side, and the picture of it makes the news.

On Coruscant, Anakin happens to glance at the cover of some Mando'a gossip magazine and sees the photo.

Anakin cannot read Mando'a.

Anakin does not know what the headline says.

Anakin assumes they got married.

Now, Anakin has been having bad dreams lately. He's very worried about Padme, and their unborn children. But he's also too distracted by thinking ahsoka??? snips??? My Padawan??? got married??? do i send her a card??? do i call to tell her congratulations??? to pay attention to palpatine's tale of Plagueis the Wise. He completely spaces it out.

Anyway, padme ends up giving birth just fine, and Anakin is so relieved but also really worried about telling Obi-Wan (who ALREADY KNOWS) and so anakin decides he's just. he's gonna pay a visit to ahsoka on mandalore.

so he goes and meets Ahsoka and congratulates her on her marriage... in front of a bunch of people.

suddenly rumors are FLYING that the co-mand'alors got married in secret somehow. Korkie and Ahsoka quickly consult each other on what to do and they prepare a whole speech announcement about the misunderstanding when suddenly an aide runs up and tells them that apparently, mandalorians love a love story, because they're seeing a huge spike in popularity! even with other factions of Mandalorians!

Korkie and Ahsoka share a look.

"Are we thinking the same thing?"

"We're thinking the same thing."

Korkie and Ahsoka stay up all night rewriting their announcement and practicing their "sappy happy in love" faces (and getting the giggles because of it.) They get korkie's friends--Lagos, Soinee, and Amis--to help them out. none of his friends are actually helpful and they all give conflicting advice.

The announcement goes well (barely. ahsoka almost got the giggles again.) and the mandalorian people are suitably convinced of the love story.

Given Ahsoka's popularity, the Mandalorians become interested in her family as well, and a few notice a slight resemblance between Korkie and Obi-Wan, but there's no big deal until someone unearths that Obi-Wan and the Duchess were in love once.

The rumor mill explodes.

Mandalorians don't really have a problem with the idea that obi-wan's grandpadawan may have married his secret son; given that korkie and ahsoka are separated by two "adoptions" (padawanships) and weren't raised as family or anything. In fact, they find the connection between the two of them to be kind of romantic. like, star crossed lovers were kept apart yet the next generations found a way back together... anyway, it's yet another popularity boost.

but here's the thing.

Korkie isn't a Kenobi.

Korkie knows he's not a Kenobi.

Korkie could even prove he's not a Kenobi.

But... why ruin the dramatic romantic tale that the people of Mandalore have invented?

So Korkie Is A Kenobi gets added to the list of Things We're Pretending Are True (aka the List Of Lies in the title), alongside Korkie And Ahsoka Are Married and Korkie And Ahsoka Are Responsible Adults.

Which they aren't. at all.

In fact, they're a pair of almost-eighteen-year-olds (is that pretty young to be getting married? yeah, definitely, but wookiepedia says that mandalorians married as young as 16 so we're gonna assume it's not considered too young on Mandalore) who have realized that for the first time in their lives, they don't have adults telling them what to do, and while they do have to responsibly rule mandalore, that doesn't mean they can't be wildly immature in their free time.

They have water gun fights inside the palace. They text each other dumb dad jokes during long, boring meetings. They jump on the beds. They have really unhealthy sugar-filled cereal for breakfast. They dress up in cheesy superhero costumes and sneak out at night to do heroic vigilante work. Soinee helps them set up a secret Space Tumblr account called korkie-kenobi-truther and they post korkie kenobi memes.

All is well...

Except for the fact that Palpatine is still alive and nobody knows he's the Sith lord.

That is gonna be an issue.

...to be continued, because this got really really long oh my goodness i totally got carried away i'm sorry about that-

#thank you for the ask!! #star wars au #ahsoka tano #korkie kryze

[antianakin]

@theneutralmime

I'm not completely clear on the scenario you're presenting here, whether Obi-Wan is staying on Kamino with Jango the whole time and just never comes back from Kamino, or if he's taken Jango back to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple but has since gone back to Kamino to investigate it. I'm also not clear if you're asking whether the thing being stopped is just the battle on Geonosis or the whole war.

It's hard to know precisely what Jango does or does not know in canon since we spend so little time with him and he's not exactly honest or forthcoming in most of his scenes. He's aware that the person who hired him is named "Tyranus" and that this person is on Geonosis and that this is a place he can flee to if needed (or perhaps even a place he's been TOLD to flee to if he gets discovered). Things he COULD know but aren't confirmed would be Tyranus's identity as Count Dooku (though everyone on Geonosis calls him Dooku and Dooku doesn't seem like he's hiding it much so I'd be willing to bet that Jango has that information) and the existence of the chips and what their purpose is (his vague line about "they'll do their job well" seems to imply that he DOES, but since the chips didn't exist yet in canon when that line was written it's hard to use that as any kind of proof). He also is clearly aware of the connection between the person who hired him and the Separatists, which would be a pretty major piece of information given that it raises a LOT of questions about the clones and their origins. The one major thing Jango WOULDN'T be able to know is Palpatine's identity, this does not seem like information he would've ever been privy to and there is no evidence that he does.

So while he doesn't have ALL the pieces, he has enough to give the Jedi a bit of a headstart regarding the clones' potential to be a trap, especially if he has information about the chips and what's on them.

Of course the biggest question is whether Jango would be cooperative enough to hand them all of this information or not. Dooku is never going to leave him alive now that he's a loose end in the Republic's hands, and I find it hard to believe that Jango wouldn't be aware of that. Dooku is also never going to believe that Jango didn't give the Jedi any information, even if Jango keeps his mouth shut, and Jango could easily be aware of that, too. Which leaves Jango in a position where he either escapes on his own and just hopes he can keep himself off of Dooku's radar for the rest of his life, or he makes a deal with the Republic and hopes that the Republic and the Jedi will be able to keep him safe from Dooku in exchange for information.

At this point, the choice Jango makes is entirely dependent on your interpretation of his character. In canon, he chooses to jump into the arena to fight Mace without being ordered to by anybody and he never shows any attempt to flee with Boba once the Jedi show up, so to me this says that he isn't prioritizing self preservation and he seems fairly arrogant about his own abilities. So based on that, it seems like the option where he tries to escape on his own and just hopes he can stay off of Dooku's radar for the rest of his life is the most likely option. He might not succeed at escaping, but it also means he wouldn't make a deal with Obi-Wan/the Jedi/Republic for protection.

Whether Obi-Wan keeps Jango on Geonosis for this interrogation or brings him back to Coruscant, it would effectively stop the Battle of Geonosis from happening because his arrival on Geonosis is obviously the catalyst for that. However, this wouldn't necessarily stop the WAR from starting. Neither Dooku nor Palpatine were planning on Obi-Wan finding Kamino by following Jango after his attempted assassination of Padme and then getting to Geonosis by following Jango a second time. The war would presumably have been started some other way had Obi-Wan never gone to Geonosis, so Jango's capture on Kamino wouldn't change that, especially if he's uncooperative. But it MIGHT save those nearly 200 Jedi who died in that arena, at least temporarily.

The major change that might happen if Obi-Wan brought Jango back to Coruscant rather than attempting to interrogate him alone on Kamino would be the access that Palpatine would now have to Jango. I imagine that if Jango were brought to Coruscant, that Palpatine would EASILY be able to make an argument for why Jango should be turned over to Republic custody instead of Jedi custody and then Jango is probably just going to be immediately murdered in transit and all of that information goes away anyway.

If Obi-Wan stays on Kamino to interrogate Jango and continue to investigate Kamino and the clones, then the information Palpatine has is probably much more limited and depends on how much Obi-Wan passes along to the Council and how much the Council chooses to pass along to Palpatine. It's possible Palpatine could tell Dooku to get in contact with the Kaminoans (as per TCW we know that Lama Su and Nala Se are in direct contact with Dooku about the plan) and find a way for them to eliminate the loose end that Jango now represents, but that depends on Palpatine knowing Jango has been captured at all. The Jedi would have a little bit of extra time to try to get through to Jango and investigate what's happening on Kamino before the war starts if the Battle of Geonosis is avoided entirely. I can't say if that would be enough time to figure out anything of any real worth, but it's more of a headstart than they had in canon.

If we assume the best case scenario and say that Obi-Wan/the Jedi have a chance to interrogate Jango before Palpatine is able to interfere and Jango chooses to be cooperative for some reason, this opens up the fun option of how the Jedi react to the knowledge that the clones are a Separatist trap before they really get to know them. In canon, they DO investigate the clones' origins and discover that they are a Sith trap of some kind, but they've been fighting alongside the clones for about two years at the time and so they make the choice to trust that the clones will not turn against them because it's really the only option they have at this point until they get any more specific information about it.

In this AU though, they HAVEN'T been fighting alongside the clones at all, so while I'm sure they'd be horrified at the existence of the chips in general and fight to have them removed or nullified or something, it could make for a somewhat different dynamic between them when they end up still having to fight in a war together. It's probably a little harder to trust an entire army of people affiliated with both sides of a war and engineered to ultimately betray the Jedi. I've seen a crack version of this scenario but not one taken seriously and it's a fascinating AU concept.

#star wars #obi-wan kenobi #jango fett

[shootingstarpilot]

☔️☔️

For the WIP ask game 😊

ask game

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

god bless you, anon <3

so. the first one i have in mind is a time-travel au- an as of yet undetermined amount of time after order 66 goes through, the clones wake up back on kamino- just in time to see obi-wan turning away from the overlooking window.

obviously, mass chaos ensues. cody manages to wrangle most of ghost together, and they immediately go hunting for their jedi. all the way there, they're trying to figure what to say- he won't know them, he has no reason to trust him, and they'd shot him down- they can't not go looking for him, but what are they supposed to say-?

except then it all becomes a moot point, because they round the corner and hear the distinctive hiss-snap of a lightsaber, and obi-wan's voice, cold as ice-

"you are going to tell me everything you know about the chips, prime minister, and you are going to tell me now."

yeah. he got sent back too.

cody and co burst in, obi-wan whips around to face them, and for a moment he looks absolutely shattered before he wipes his expression clean and says, "co- commander. i can explain-"

and cody's voice cracks when he says, "obi-wan-"

and that's when obi-wan realizes.

anyway. of course there are hugs. and maybe smooches.

but i have a secret motivation for this. yes, i am fucking around with my own ocs' timelines here. but i don't care, because i have an Image in my head and it will not go away:

when everything goes down, helix takes half a second to reorient himself and immediately establishes his priorities. he can hear cody shouting, makes a note of it, but there's something higher on his list-

well. two somethings.

he goes for stitch first.

he finds him in the barracks. they're mostly empty, by now, but helix knows stitch and knows his instinct to retreat into small spaces and knows the way his head fills up with so much noise sometimes that it makes it impossible for him to do anything else, and if anything would be Noisy it would be this-

he screams stitch's name when he hits the cadet barracks- screams again, no response, but something is pushing him onwards, down the endless rows of bunks, and then he sees a tiny lump huddled under a blanket-

and he knows.

the relief nearly throttles him. he hears a tiny little sniffle and sits down on the edge of the bed, puts a hand on what he guesses to be a shoulder, and the lump stops breathing-

the blanket shifts. a head pops up.

my point. my point is. give me helix hugging actual tiny toddler stitch or give me death.

so. they find each other. they're missing their third.

needle's not in the barracks. he's not in the mess. he's not in any of the winding, endless hallways. he's not, when they meet up, with cody and company.

then stitch goes very still.

"what's the date?"

helix tells him. stitch goes white.

"we have to run," he says. "we have to run now."

stitch is right.

helix hits the hallway leading to the decomm rooms just in time to see the doors slide open and a bloody-nosed needle comes staggering out with a blaster held loosely in one hand. helix sees behind him, through the door, on the floor- the unmoving bodies of two longnecks.

needle's cloudy gaze focuses on them.

"it was gonna be me," he croaks. "couldn't let them wipe me."

stitch shrieks needle's name from where he's propped on helix's hip, and helix lunges forward just in time to catch him when his knees buckle.

there's a whole lot of information slotting into place all at once, and helix carefully sets aside the horror of it and holds onto needle (if he's even still? yet? their needle-) and tries to figure out-

then he feels the huff of a ragged laugh against his shoulder, and knows.

"actual baby," needle murmurs. the hug is returned at last- the two of them, clinging to each other, with stitch sandwiched between them- "can't tell me you're not a baby anymore. tiny baby."

stitch hiccups. "needle?"

"my baby," needle says, and helix can hear the smile in his voice.

stitch bursts into tears.

they do, eventually, go find the others. there are more hugs, unneeded apologies, even more hugs-

and, soon enough, plans.

palpatine won't know what hit him.

i don't think i'm organized enough to actually write this- to stick with the canon timeline, i mean- but the playground is fun as FUCK.

(anakin gets arrested as soon as he returns from tatooine, too. fuck him.)

#ask game #tagging as #shoulder the sky #because it does involve my sts medics #i will eventually reblog this with a second one #i just wanted to get this out into the world first <3 #thanks anon!!

[meshlasolus]

Come What May

Episode 1/?

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Padawan!Reader (little one)

Warnings: not much in this one, it’s kinda just easing us into the new setting tbh. Maybe mentions of slight depression, talk about the past?? Slight spice? Idek at this point.

A/n: whats up whores, i missed ya… here it is, the beginning of our new story. I wanted to just kinda jump right in off the bat with this one, so there’s not a lot of delay with the action lol

The humble abode is quiet most days, as you spend more time outside than in. The dreary dry weather of Tatooine had not yet driven you to insanity, so you preferred the outdoor setting to the small home you’d slowly been learning to love. The sand was something to work through for sure, but other than that, it wasn’t the worst place to be. You often thought about your planet of origin, the muddy slave planet Mimban, run worse and tirelessly now by the empire. The whole galaxy had changed so much in a year, you could hardly fathom it. The emperor whom sat at the helm of it all only watched with a demented satisfaction as the legendary forces grew over all corners of the galaxy, but you watched with sadness, knowing the once pure and progressive democracy had been demolished for good. Many good people had died, and you and your husband were left to pick up the pieces. Nothing could be done, no one could be saved. Nothing else matters.

He was working in a small manufacturing plant in Mos Eisley, bringing home credits that provided little luxury. You didn’t realize how much the order gave you until it was all stripped away, gone in an instant and taking everything down along for the ride.

The pain from the past was slowly dulling. It was there every morning when you woke up, and every night before you drifted off to sleep in the arms of your love, but the moments in between weren’t as hard as they used to be. This was the hand you’d been dealt, it was up to you to decide how to play them.

You meditated almost daily, before your shift in the cantina, and after you closed up shop, kicking the drunkards to the curb in order to get home in time to see Obi. He came home earlier then you, but also left very early in the morning, most times while you were still asleep. His sweet kisses to the side of your face, or on your bare shoulder before he left were always felt, even while dreaming. He was everything. Your one reason to keep going, your true lifeline.

“How was work?” You cralwed up behind him, as he was sitting hunched over on the edge of the bed. He was being dragged through the ringer at his place of employment, but he didn’t think it would benefit you to know. He braved through his days, with you on his mind. You were worth the large amounts of upset he encountered daily.

“Better than yesterday,” he admitted, it was the truth. He leaned into your touch as you let your hands wander the expanse of his shoulders. He feels every movement individually, and it calms him. Your force presence has always been strong and commanding, but among all things it was calm, and it was peaceful… and it gave him hope.

“You’re warm, are you feeling okay?” You wanted to check in on him, because though you sensed he was being honest, there had to be something else he wasn’t telling you.

“This whole planet is warm, my love.”

You chuckled into his neck at his response, and shook your head.

“I mean you seem feverish, Obi,” you corrected, and he huffed. Maybe another distraction could deter you from digging deeper. He looked over his shoulder at you, barely catching your eyeline as he smirked.

“I guess that’s simply the effect you have on me,” he turned more, forcing you back from him and into the worn mattress. You knew where this was headed, and though you held no real protest, you just had to tease him.

“I have that effect on most people, don’t take it personally.”

Of course, he is unbothered by this. He nose dives into your neck, nuzzling there as he placed the most gentle kisses upon your skin. He knows he doesn’t have to worry about you having that effect on anyone else. He knows you’re his for the long run, and he isn’t even going to think about how badly you would injure anyone that ever tried anything. You’re his, and he’s yours.

-

Work was slow, it seemed there was far more commotion happening outside than in the cantina, which was unusual for this time of day. After work, the crowds came rambunctiously piling in to drink their misery away. You often put on the show of their lifetime just to put smiled on some of their dreary faces. You’d gotten quite good at the tricks up your sleeve, tossing drinks and flipping the mixer in the air. The force may have been a contributing factor in your newly developed skill, but your boss didn’t need to know that, or anyone else for that matter.

You knew that if another force sensitive being ever entered those walls, they would feel your signature immediately, but you never worried about it, never thinking it could be a bad thing.

The force, through all the troubles and woes it allowed you to go through, was still your center. The way of which you lived your life around. You may not be a Jedi any longer, but heck, you still acted like one. You even still wore your Padawan braid like it was the most natural thing in the world. No one ever questioned it, so why should you have to hide it away? You still believed that someday, you and Obi-Wan would have the time and be comfortable enough in your living arrangements that you could travel to a beautiful planet, where he could invoke upon you the trials himself. Even if it were never official, you’d be a knight, and could think of the title with pride.

The cantina was ablaze with wld noise for only a second as the door opened up. You recognized the patron, as she was a regular in the bar. She stumbled in, her wild curls bouncing as she shook it off and strolled up too the bar. Her youthful face was strewn together in a look worn to make her seem ten years older. You knew she couldn’t be much older than you, if she was at all.

“Boy, it’s crazy outside. Glad to see this place still intact,” She said, leaning on the countertop as you slid her the usual.

“What’s going on?” Usually you never bothered to ask about town drama, or even little altercations that may ensure. It wasn’t any of your business, and you no longer felt the need to step into citizen affairs. It didn’t concern you anymore. You were not a keeper of the peace, you’re just a bar tender.

“Imps, what else?” She rolled her eyes, slamming the drink back and setting her glass back down. You wasted no time in refilling it. She hated Imperials, you knew that. She only ever complained to you about them, and as much as the topic was. Sour one for you, you listened. No one hated the empire more than you and Obi. You both understood the people’s pain. It’s only been a year, but it’s taken so much. “And don’t get me started on those nasty new troopers. They got em’ just about everywhere, now.”

“What do you mean by everywhere?” You turned to her with a more pointed expression. You saw the ships fly in this morning on the way over, but figured it was just another routine check in. A one stop, to pass through and make sure everything was the way they wanted it to be. Now they were staying? “Peli, what do you mean by everywhere?”

She sighed, staring at her drink for a moment, and just turning the glass in her hand. Everything was going downhill, the panic of the people was setting in, and freedom was becoming something you had to earn, as decided by the Empire.

“They stationed a couple hundred around Mos Eisley this afternoon, no one has the option of turning them away. If the Empire deems your place of work necessary, it’s getting watched like a hawk,” She explained. Your face went pale, and you closed your eyes for a moment, trying to reach out through the force and feel the outside presences around you. It was so crowded, there were troopers every corner. “They even put a squad in my dad’s landing pad. I always wanted to work it someday… Probably gonna get claimed by the Imps before then.”

You tried your best to hide your sudden fear. There weren’t any troopers in here yet, there was a chance you could be overreacting over nothing.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. They’ll probably clear out soon,” you reassured with a forced smile. The young woman before you had lived here all her life, long before you ever set foot in the sand. She knew that this wasn’t just a routine check in, and that there were bigger forces at play.

“I don’t know, it seems pretty serious. People aren’t taking it well, there’s been riots all day… It’s strange,” she paused, finally taking a swig of her freshly poured drink while she pondered her words. “It’s like they’re looking for someone.”

Your blood ran cold and your gaze hardened against the counter-top. You took a deep breath in, and had to regain your sense of self before you looked up and responded, nonchalantly as possible.

“I wonder who it could be.”

“Whoever it is, they must be important for the entire town to get invaded,” she finished her drink, throwing some credits down after her glass and shaking her head with a roll of her eyes. “I gotta get back to the pad, wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Peli,” you took the credits and nodded to her, waiting until she was gone to turn your back on the door. You wait to hear the door close after she was out of it, but instead, it stayed open longer than usual, and brisk footsteps were heard coming up behind you. You turned around, keeping your guard up just incase there was a trooper, or an unwanted patron, but it was quickly let down again and replaced with a smile when you saw the familiar face. “Obi, what are you doing here? I don’t finish for another hour.”

He raised a finger to his mouth, indicating the need for silence as he scoped out the room for remaining drinkers. There weren’t many, knew figured as much. He turned back to you with an aggressive stare, pulling you by your forearm so that he could calmly whisper in your ear.

“Don’t make a scene, go get your things from the back and come right back here.”

His urgency was one you recognized, but it had not been used since the war. He pulled back and looked at you with a heavy weight in his eyes. You didn’t question him, you only nodded, and did what he said. You ‘things’ were not much, but when he said the word you knew exactly what he meant. You always carried it with you, knowing there could possibly come a time when you’d need it. Your lightsaber, concealed in a flask case that was never touched. You grabbed it off of the wall, pulling the strap over your head to lay across your body, and grabbed the jacket you’d gotten for the cold nights. You slid it on your arms and went back to Obi.

“What’s going on?” You asked under your breath, never letting your voice raise, even in the uncertainty. He was quick to wrap an arm around your shoulders, ushering you to the door as casually as possible before murmuring silently.

“We’re being hunted.”

-

Tags:

@cool-h-posts @honestlywtfisgoingon @fandomstanner24 @elvenrin @b0xerdancer @theatrelove3000

#obi wan kenobi #obi wan star wars #obi wan and anakin #obi wan x reader #Obi wan x little one #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan kenobi x little one #Little one #HoM #hom sequel #obi wan series #obi wan x padawan #obi wan kenobi x padawan!reader #anakin skywalker #ewan mcgregor #hayden christensen #anakin skywalker x reader

[jedi-enthusiast]

✿ ★

Ask Game

Alright and you said bloodshed, crimson clover for the fic in another ask so here we go!

★ - What was the scene you most wanted to write? what was the hardest scene to write?

The scene---or rather chapter---that I've most wanted to write hasn't come up yet, as I've been busy working on the prequel to this fic. It will be coming up soon, though, once I get back to working on BCC.

Let's just say...Cody and his brothers have some shocking revelations ;)

The hardest scene to write so far was honestly the middle part of chapter four, the in-between point of Anakin running off and then Cody witnessing Obi-Wan's Weird Force Bullshit™️

Mostly because I couldn't exactly figure out what I wanted to have happen during that brief period of time, but I knew I had to have something because just jumping right into the action would've been jarring.

So I just cut it shorter than I wanted it and had it split between Anakin panicking on comm and then the dynamic duo Booking It to Anakin's position.

✿ - Did anything major change when you started writing this fic to when you finished?

Well, I'm not done with it yet, so who knows! But so far everything is mostly going exactly how I planned it out, since I typically outline all my fics before writing them.

I think the only thing that's really changed is how much I plan on featuring the other Jedi and what's going on in their lives---since at first I was just gonna have them appear here and there, but now I plan on featuring their POVs a lot more.

Mostly to give better insight into Jedi culture as a whole, as well as to highlight Anakin being...Anakin, and his Fall to the Dark Side.

#star wars #sw prequels #the clone wars #ao3 fanfic #codywan fanfic #codywan #fanfic #pro jedi #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #anti anakin skywalker

[wendingways]

ROTS Padmé time travels to AOTC AU

AU where Padmé dies at the end of ROTS and wakes up in 22 BBY, on the night of Zam Wesell's assassination attempt.

Padmé wakes up, rolls over, and realises she hasn’t been able to do that this easily for months. Remembers everything that happened in the past couple of days. And realises her babies are nowhere in sight.  And it’s dark, but this looks a hell of a lot like her room in the senate apartment complex.  And oh shit, what’s that shadow moving along the wall?

She doesn’t know how she got back here, or where her children are, but she does know the galaxy is not a safe place for her right now, and shadow-skulkers are rarely up to any good.  So, she grabs her blaster from under her pillow and shoots. Voila, dead assassin bugs.

Anakin predictably comes running (and Obi-Wan too).  Padmé turns the blaster on him.  But he’s very young.  Obi-Wan is also very young.  And Padmé is very confused.

Anakin is like, “Hey, what are you pointing that thing at me for?  I’m supposed to be protecting you!”

And then her eyes focus on the long braid hanging over his shoulder.  Short hair. 

I hold that finding Padmé aiming a blaster at him would make Anakin a little less prone to AOTC-type creepiness.

And then it all starts to maybe-kind of-sort of make sense.  No kids.  Young Anakin.  The dead bugs on the floor.  Is it really possible that the Force sent her back in time as she died?

Obi-Wan still goes out the window after the droid.  Anakin stays behind, however, because Padmé’s Force presence feels distinctly rattled, and she still looks frazzled, and he’s not at all sure she should be left alone.

Padmé, alone with Anakin and not exactly comfortable with it, tries for humor.  She points to the bugs.  “Want a midnight snack?”  Anakin just stares at her.  Oh, right.  She hasn’t found out about that particular dietary habit of his yet, in this timeline.

Anakin is a little perplexed as to why there’s the slight ring of an inside joke to her words?

They clean up the bug carcasses, he returns to the living room, and she goes back to bed and has a long cry.

She hears a clattering from the kitchen, and a little later, Anakin knocks on her door.  “You okay?  I thought… I brought you tea?  Obi-Wan always says this one’s good for when you’re feeling… uh… unsettled.”

Padmé is torn between equally strong desires to deal him a good, hard slap and to bury her face in his tunic and pretend the next three years haven’t already happened.  Neither of which is appropriate at this juncture, so she compromises, and graciously accepts the tea.

She still goes into refuge.

Debates not even trying to show up for MCA vote, because she knows clones are already there, on Kamino.  She knows Palpatine will weasel his way into getting an army even if the majority votes against MCA.  And hell, she knows the vote will fail.  So what’s the point?

But decides the point is to strengthen her faction and demonstrate her position.  She needs to build her coalition.  The good news is she already knows who she’ll be able to trust, so she can get them together faster, and then focus on recruiting more difficult allies.

She wears much more sensible clothes for refugeeing.

On the way to Naboo, she asks Anakin if he’s heard from Shmi lately.  A perfectly normal conversation topic.

“No.  I’ve been having dreams, though.  Of Mom, she’s hurt, she’s dying, and—Obi-Wan says it’s nothing, but I just… they feel real.”

“I have a friend who’s spent time on Tatooine,” Padmé said.  “I’ll ask her if she can get in touch with your mom, if that will give you some peace of mind.”

“Really?  You would do that?”

“Of course. 

Then she calls Sabé, and she’s like, “Hey, I need you to meet me and a friend in Mos Espa, and pretend that you found out that Shmi Skywalker was freed by and married Cliegg Lars, and lives on his moisture farm near Anchorhead.”

Sabé is like, “Ohhh… kaayyy….”

“I’ll tell you the whole story,” Padmé says, “but later, in person.  First, there’s something I need you to help me with.”

A couple days into their trip, Padmé tells Anakin that Sabé reported Shmi is no longer with Watto, but she was able to find out where she went.

And Padmé’s like, “You know… we could always go to Tatooine instead.  I’d probably be safer there than on Naboo, really.  No one will think to look for a spoiled Mid-Rimmer on that dustball.”

Padmé and Anakin arrive in Mos Espa, and Sabé takes them straight to the Lars farm.

Padmé praying that a few extra days will buy them enough time to save Shmi.  She knows she should be grateful for the chance she was given, but damn it, why couldn't the Force have dropped her even just a little farther back in time?

When Anakin heads out to go to Tusken camp, Padmé is like, "We're coming with you.”

He protests, because she needs to stay safe, but she’s like, “If you want to talk about unsafe, how about running off without backup?  Sabé was a queen’s bodyguard, don’t forget, and I have the same training.”  And three years more practical experience.

Anakin relents, mostly because no way he’s going to out-stubborn both Padmé and Sabé. 

Padmé gets water, maybe other med things, blanket?  And then she and Sabé head out with Anakin.  She’s determined that there will be no slaughter today.

They get there, Shmi’s not good.

Padmé her hand on Anakin’s shoulder as they approach.  Steady.  I’m here.  Sabé is here.  You’re not alone.  Shmi’s going to be okay.  I hope.  If she isn’t, Sabé has orders to shoot Anakin with a stun bolt while Padmé distracts him.  After that… Padmé supposes she would have to call the Jedi, and she and Sabé would just have to keep stunning Anakin until one of the Order arrives to deal with him.  Tough love.  She prays it won’t come to that.

“Sabé, stand guard.  Anakin, help me get your mother loose.  Give her a little of the water.”  She needs to keep him focused on being useful, and not on thoughts of bloody vengeance. Has she always been this unrattled in a crisis, or is she keeping her cool only through her determination to change the future?  Padmé doesn’t even know.

Man, if Anakin fell in love with Padmé before, he really will now that she's helped save his mom.

She has a bit of euphoria from averting disaster, and then she sees Anakin staring moodily out, saber in hand.  Oh, no.

“I hate them.”

“I know.”

“Jedi aren’t supposed to hate, but I want them to hurt.  Like they hurt her.”

“I know.  I've hated the Neimoidians ever since they invaded my planet.  Hating those who harm us is a natural reaction.  Just... it doesn't mean we have to act on it, you know?  Because then we aren't acting any better than the people we hate."

She places one hand over his, and with the other gently tugs on the lightsaber.  “Let me keep this for you.  Just until you’ve got some distance from all of this.  I don’t want you to do something you might regret, Ani.”

He lets go, and she hooks the saber to her own belt.

“Come on.  Let’s get your mom home.”

He gives a jerky nod.  “Okay.”

Padmé tries to draw Anakin out, have actual conversations instead of terrible flirting, and give him options so he doesn't feel that he's stuck in the Jedi Order.

"Anakin... I know, years ago, Master Jinn said you would be a Jedi one day, and I know you wanted to then, but... people change, you know?  And there's nothing wrong with that.  I just want to make sure... that you know you aren't trapped, if you find it's not for you.  I have lots of connections, if you ever need them, or even if your family does."

She takes a moment, lies down, stretched out in the sun, on the sand.  Just being.

Anakin wanders over.  "What the kriff are you doing?"

"I'm enjoying being alive.  It's something I didn't appreciate often enough, before I... before now, I guess."  Teasingly, she adds, "Why don't you come join me, Ani?"

His nose wrinkles in disgust.  “No thank you.  I hate sand.  It’s coarse, and rough, and irritating—and it gets everywhere.”

“If you say so.”

She gets up, and proceeds to shake sand out of her clothes.  And hair.  Anakin gives her an I-told-you-so look, as Beru tells her not to track sand inside because it gets everywhere and she just cleaned the floors.  And then a wounded look, as he dodges a handful of sand she tosses at him.

“Sorry,” she tells him, only half meaning it.  “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

“A long time?”

Oh, kriff.

“Yes.  Five minutes feels like forever when you’re waiting to throw sand at someone.”

Padmé tells Sabé everything?  And then she's not keeping secrets from her like before.

"You're not getting together with that idiot Jedi again."

"Not right away."

"Not ever, you hear me, Padmé Amidala?  I will fight you, knock you out cold, and carry you away to some hidden corner of the galaxy before I let you throw your life away like that."

"If you tried to fight me, you’d lose.  I've had more practical experience than you at this point, Sabe.  But I'll be careful, I promise.  I'll only do it if I see that I can trust him.  And only once Palpatine is out of the way.  I, we've, already kept Anakin from the first step toward the Sith.  We can do the rest.  Shorten the war.  Save the Republic."

A few days later, Anakin finds Padmé in the kitchen, reading from her datapad.

“I just wanted to say—thank you, Padmé.  You… you really are an angel.  If you hadn’t suggested calling Sabé, and if you hadn’t been there tonight—well, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“I know.  It’s terribly cliché, but that’s what friends are for.”

“Friends?”

She can see the disappointment he tries to hide.

“Yes, Ani.  I hope I can call you my friend.”

“It’s just… I thought, maybe…”

She lays the datapad aside and gestures for him to join her at the table.

“I was in a whirlwind romance once.  It ended very badly.  I can’t do that again.  I won’t.  I… I like you very much.  But I need you to give me time, and space.”

Geonosis happens.  Padmé tells Anakin to be careful before they part and he fights Dooku.

“Be careful, Ani.  Try to come back in one piece, okay?”

And Anakin, being in a much more balanced frame of mind than he was in the original timeline, actually heeds her and isn’t quite so arrogant when it comes to fighting Dooku.

As the war goes on, Padmé builds an anti-war, anti-Palpatine coalition.  It goes faster this time, because she knows who she should reach out to and what arguments to use

Gives them all more time to spend on recruiting other senators to the cause.

She also does some work to dig up dirt on Palpatine.

Has the Handmaidens quietly investigate his estate, financial affairs, or whatever on Naboo, too?

Padmé gets closer to the Jedi Order, spends more time with Ahsoka when she can, and gets Ahsoka to introduce her to Barriss.

Tells Barriss if she ever needs a confidante outside the Order, she’s here.

Consequently, Barriss goes to Padmé when she’s struggling, and Padmé talks to Anakin and Obi-Wan about getting her transferred out of active service.

Becomes either involved in Senate duties, working with Padmé’s coalition, or healing

Padmé also finds some way to minimize the damage from the Rako Hardeen incident.

She invites Satine to Coruscant for a political meeting of some sort, just before she would be imprisoned/Maul would appear

Maybe she and Anakin are a little matchmakery with Satine and Obi-Wan.

The war ends, maybe a little ahead of schedule or maybe not.  Palpatine is outed as a Sith.  Anakin has a bit of a struggle with that, but not nearly as much, and he’s able to do his Chosen One thing and help defeat him.

The Jedi look at the closeness of the crew, Barriss shares how she was floundering until Padmé stepped in.  The Jedi review their stances on attachment, etc.

Padmé and Anakin, who’ve been building a close relationship over the course of the war, marry.  Not secretly.  Shmi gets to be there.  And Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Rex and the rest of the 501st, and the Naberrie family.  Probably Satine, as well.

And let’s say Luke and Leia are just fated to exist, because it’s hard to imagine a SW universe without them.

I’m posting this as a bullet point AU, because frankly, I’ve been getting what seems like a crap ton of plot ideas lately, and there’s just no way I’m going to be able to write fics for them all.

If anyone wants to pick this up and run with it, flesh it out, make a oneshot or a multichapter fic or whatever, be my guest! (Please just make sure to notify and credit me!)

#padmé amidala #anakin skywalker #time travel au #star wars #star wars au #aotc #aotc au #shmi skywalker lives #anidala #building a better anidala #fix it #fic ideas #up for adoption

[tomicaleto]

how about “who the hell did this to you?” for obikin?

Hi Nixie! Thank you for sending this prompt, I'm sorry it took me so long to answer!

hurt meme

So lately it feels like I'm always saying I'm having trouble writing or coming up with ways to fill prompts I'm sent and this is no exception lol.

This needs a bit of context: so I somehow have fallen in a Ben 10 frenzy, I been watching breakdown videos and having a lot of nostalgia. So this is a Ben 10 AU of sorts. The original series had Ben and his cousin Gwen at 10 years old, in one episode we meet Kevin, an 11 years old that becomes a villain that occasionally shows up. Then we get the Alien Force series where Gwen and Ben are uhh 15/16 and we get a sort of redeemed Kevin at 16/17. Gwen and Kevin have a thing, it's great and I shipped them so much.

So basically this AU is set in a kind of Alien Force setting. Ahsoka, only mentioned here, is Ben, in the sense that she has the omnitrix, but is still a Togruta. Obi-Wan and Anakin fill Gwen and Kevin's role. Anakin is kinda a redeemed villain (like Kevin) but has Gwen's power set (he's an energy being called anodite) while Obi-Wan is like Gwen (in the sense that he's not a former villain and his Jedi backstory which I haven't thought about yet ties him with Ahsoka) but he has Kevin's powers (he can absorb energy and matter)

That's a very lengthy introduction but otherwise this may not make much sense.

Oh! Also, Anakin and Obi-Wan are kinda established but it's complicated

“Who the hell did this to you?”

Obi-Wan checked his watch, only five minutes left of the class. His students were finishing taking notes so he cleared his throat to grab their attention. “If there are any questions left, this is the time to ask them.” 

As he finished speaking, three different hands got up in the air and he pointed at the nearest one. “Yes, professor, we’ve mentioned that Plato’s allegory of the sun was later…” 

By the time he finally reached the doors of the university, he was dreading his walk back home, the often peaceful time tainted by his tired body. He would have to talk with Ahsoka about patrolling so late in the night, he was not a young man anymore. But he was pleasantly surprised when he looked up and found Anakin’s car waiting for him at the entrance, as students stared at the yellow details Anakin had painted on it. 

His steps now eager, he approached the car and leaned down, forearm on the driver’s door, and smirked. Anakin’s tinted window began going down and he was ready to open the conversation with a teasing remark when he saw Anakin’s torn clothes and black eye. The words dried in his mouth and his whole expression shifted into a serious one. 

“Before you say anything,” Anakin said, most likely having figured out Obi-Wan’s burning concern, “get into the car, I’ll tell you on the way and I don’t want to make a scene.” 

Of course he didn’t, Anakin, despite being quite unsubtle when expressing his emotions more often than not, was still extremely private. He didn’t like Obi-Wan’s students whispering as they stared, nevermind that Obi-Wan knew that half of the time they were gossiping about the ‘handsome man that kept visiting professor Kenobi’ or that Anakin was around the same age as them. 

So he simply nodded and circled around the car, getting into his designated passenger seat and buckling his seatbelt. Anakin started the car then, and pulled away from the university building with ease. 

They stayed quiet around three seconds before Obi-Wan turned towards Anakin and hissed: “Who the hell did this to you?” 

“Let’s just say I found doctor Vindi.”

“Did he attack you? Why didn’t you call me or Ahsoka?” He asked, torn between worry and anger. Anakin could be proud at times, but Obi-Wan had thought their little team had grown on him. 

“Ahsoka is at class, she wouldn’t have picked up and I didn’t want to interrupt your students either, I know they have an exam soon.” It was touching that Anakin paid Obi-Wan enough attention to remember when he was planning to quiz his students. But still. “And before you say that this was worth interrupting your class, let me say that I wasn’t exactly looking up the dude, alright, I kinda came across him accidentally and I wasn’t prepared.” 

Obi-Wan’s frown –when had he begun frowning?– eased a bit and it made Anakin's shoulders relax. “Even then, it’s quite strange for you to get surprised like that, were you low on energy? Did your spells fail or something? Should we be worried about your mana or your anodite form?” 

Anakin snorted and immediately stopped, one of his hands leaving the wheel to grab at his ribs. “My powers are fine.” He stubbornly said. “It’s just… there were plenty of civilians, alright? I had to multitask.” 

It made sense. But Obi-Wan still worried. “Let’s go to my place so I can put some ice on that eye and check that your ribs aren’t broken. You’ll call Ahsoka and we’ll plan there.” 

Anakin sent him a side-eyed look. “As you wish.” He answered softly.

#obikin #Anakin Skywalker #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Star Wars #SW #The Clone Wars #TCW #ROTS #Revenge of the Sith #Prequel trilogy #Star Wars AU #Ben 10 AU #Tomi's fics #asks #nixie-deangel #Ask Game #Hurt meme ask game

[magicalforcesau]

Dancing with Ghosts in Your Garden~ Year 3: June

Ao3 link

Though all of the horror of Dooku’s attack was over for the time being, leaving behind only a myriad of memories and questions in its wake, there was still a very critical and very scary beast that lay before them: finals. Anakin knew he didn’t even have it as horribly as he could too. He could be a fifth year and taking his OWLS or he could be a seventh year tackling NEWTS. Still, that didn’t make him all the less excited for test taking season.

Especially for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Nobody really knew what the protocol was going to be, since the year itself was a wash. At least last year when they lost Professor Fisto, he had prepared them and taught them a whole lot so they would be ready anyway. Now, the only people who really had any grasp on the course material were those who had attended Obi-Wan’s tutoring sessions.

As Obi-Wan was discussing the concept of a personatus with Anakin as well as other transformative beings such as changelings and werewolves, he was never more grateful to have him as a resource. They’d all been working around the clock for their respective exams, practically living in the library for much longer than he fancied.

It had been a revolving cycle of wake up, eat, study, sleep, and that didn’t include the classes they already had. Thankfully, there wasn’t much new material being passed at this point in the year. Most professors had transitioned into reviewing the content of their exams.

Obi-Wan had reportedly already gotten a near-perfect score on his sixth year makeup exam for Magical Creatures, so that felt like one bridge was crossed. Anakin didn’t even know why he was worrying when he’d been able to teach everyone else how to do the work that Gunray couldn’t accomplish even in his dreams.

With Gunray gone, Anakin didn’t understand why they hadn’t resumed the more extensive classroom sessions, especially with Obi-Wan’s natural talent for teaching. Though Anakin admittedly didn’t always listen to his former mentor, he could respect that he generally knew what he was talking about.

However, he knew Obi-Wan wouldn’t so easily go for it. He was way too humble to assume it was he that the grades of younger students relied on. Not to mention, the threat of detention or worse had been enough to ward him off for the time being. He hadn’t wanted to rustle any feathers and that was understandable at the time when Gunray and the Ministry had their hands in the Hogwarts bucket. Now, this was not the case.

So, he had gotten to work in assembling his arguments, using valuable sleeping or more importantly, playing time, to develop his tactic. It only took one night’s time, thankfully, but he couldn’t see how Obi-Wan could possibly deny that he was needed.

Not one to hold back exactly what he’d been thinking, Anakin cut off his diatribe on the differences between a personatus and a changeling- which Anakin didn’t think he was going to grasp today anyway, and kickstarted the topic.

“You should start up the DADA classes again,” He said.

Obi-Wan frowned, though he looked more flustered than displeased, “Anakin, I am not in the position to make that sort of decision. That’s why they’re reducing the content on the exam so that it’s a bit more fair.”

“Even with that in mind, we’re still not going to get it!” Anakin insisted, “I mean, they didn’t even get us a replacement yet.”

“Supposedly, something is in the works,” He corrected, “You have to be mindful that it’s quite intimidating for any professor to hop in during the final hour. Excluding the fact that the subject wasn’t taught all year to begin with. It’s a setup for failure.”

“Which is why we need you,” Anakin said, “You clearly could care less if you’re a failure! You didn’t care about losing the tournament and you really don’t care what your parents think of you.”

Something twitched on Obi-Wan’s face, like his nose had itched, but he retained a neutral expression and shook his head, “I still wouldn’t want to lead anyone down the wrong track.”

“Oh come on, the only reason anyone knows even a fraction of this dribble is because of you.” He argued. “Rex didn’t know the difference between a vanishing cabinet and a vanity cabinet before you came along!”

“What’s so vain about a cabinet anyway?” Rex grumbled from beside him before straightening, “He’s got a point there, Kenobi.”

“I’m truly flattered that the two of you want me to teach,” Obi-Wan tried a different approach, “But not only do I have my own NEWTS to worry about-”

“As if you’re not going to ace those,” Cody snorted from beside Obi-Wan, who earned a reproachful look from him. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all, mate.”

“It’s not fair that I’m the only one who gets to hear all this stuff. Plus, you liked doing it, I know that you did.” Anakin knew he was teetering on whining, but he was not above such things when he believed he was pursuing what was right. “Don’t tell me you’re scared!”

“Of course I enjoyed it,” He said, his mouth tight with restraint, “I’m not frightened for me or the consequences that could befall me. I wouldn’t want to do anything that might get Headmaster Yoda in trouble.”

That much was as fair a point as any, even if the political discourse that had taken shape seemed to be utter chaos with Minister Valorum’s mysterious statement of resignation followed by practically vanishing off the face of the earth. The only thing that kept it from being explored as a missing person’s report was that Yoda and other reputable sources said that Valorum had been discussing resignation for months now.

Apparently, he’d felt so shameful that he left behind his wife and children without so much as a second thought. No, Anakin didn’t know why he ever believed that man would ever care to find his mother. Clearly, he had no regard for what loyalty really was.

“I thought you might say that,” Anakin smirked as he pulled the scroll he’d been working on and unrolled it until the entire table was draped in parchment, the end hitting the stone floor with a clunk. Signatures of all different varieties ranging from first to seventh years alike littered the pages. Some people Anakin didn’t even know were on there. “So, I brought in some reinforcements.”

“All of these people want me back?” Obi-Wan asked in disbelief, filtering through them all, paying mind to each name as though committing them to memory. However, it was the three fingered claw with green ink print next to it that captured Obi-Wan’s attention. He looked up at Anakin with wide-eyed shock, “ Yoda signed this?”

“Sure did,” Anakin grinned and then pointed out several other professors, “Windu was a bit of a hard sell, since he hates all that is fun and good with this earth, but he gave in with my words of persuasion.”

“Anakin kept saying “please please please” over and over again,” Rex corrected.

“Whatever works,” He shrugged and then looked pleadingly at Obi-Wan, who was back to inspecting the petition perhaps for any traces of fraud, but mostly with reverence and honor to have been considered worthy by so many. “Look, Obi-Wan, everyone loved you as the substitute teacher. Do you know how hard that is? Subs are usually the targets of pranks, taunting, and sometimes even attack!”

“To be fair, he’s undergone quite a bit of that on his own,” Cody said.

“But the point is, I’m not the only one who thinks so,” Anakin said, “So, what do you say?”

After another moment of silence, just Obi-Wan quietly sifting through each signature in amazement, he sighed heavily. He looked unbelievably moved, though wasn’t teary eyed. Anakin was grateful for this. He wasn’t the sort who dealt with criers very well. Instead, Obi-Wan seemed to ponder just about every course of action that led him here and whether or not he deserved to be in such a place.

As if he wasn’t the Head Boy of the bloody school.

“I say class will be in session this Thursday,” He cleared his throat, trying to maintain all appearances of sternness, “Don’t think that just because I’m extending my reach means you can reduce your time studying.”

“Yeah okay” Anakin rolled his eyes. “And you’re welcome, by the way.”

“I’ll thank you if you show up on time,” Obi-Wan quipped.

“Ah, no promises there then,” He smirked.

It was a beautiful day, one that obligated basically everyone to be outside, whether it be for studying or for recreational activities. Several classes were even held outside that day to commemorate such lovely conditions. Obi-Wan had followed that line of thought and had done the same thing for his DADA group, which had kickstarted again rather seamlessly.

It had been a lot of running around and obstacle courses today, which only increased the momentum and excitement that was already at play, but Obi-Wan was just happy to see everyone so eager to learn. Yes, he knew that finals were rapidly approaching and no one wanted to fail, but it was still exhilarating to make a difference.

And to be able to do so out in the light.

“Good job with those hex-deflections,” He smiled, clapping his hands together as the fourth year group began to gather their things, “Next class, we’re going to discuss hex-breakers and the intricacies of replacing negative energy with positive energy.”

His mood was only heightened when the sea of students parted and he noticed Satine Kryze leaning against the oak tree not far from where he’d been teaching, watching him with quiet amusement as he left his things behind and jogged towards her.

She was dressed for the weather- choosing knee socks over stockings and lacking a gray sweater or vest on top of her white button-up. Her tie was loosened a tad and her sleeves were even pushed up in a show of rare informality. It suited her, just as anything did, and he couldn’t help but fixate on how lovely she looked with her hair pushed from her face with a navy headband.

The sun caught her hair perfectly, making it look like it literally glowed a bright yellow, but it was the toothy smile she offered him that caused him to pick up the pace in shortening the distance between him.

“Good morning, professor,” She teased loftily, though her hands cradled his face in acceptance of the quick kiss he bestowed on her mouth.

“I missed you at breakfast this morning,” He said, propping an arm against the tree so that he leaned in her space, “Catching up on some beauty rest?”

“Have you noticed a need for it?” She arched an eyebrow at him.

“Not at all,” He smirked, “I was just going to ask you your secret on the matter.”

“Very smooth,” She retorted.

“I thought so,” He said, “So, what kept you from the most important meal of the day?”

“Actually, I was conferring with Almec, the Minister of Muggle Relations for the Ministry of Magic,” She said casually, adding a shrug to the end in hopes of seeming even less affected by this very pivotal news. “You know, discussing the state of the world and what can and should be done about it.”

“Oh is that all?” He laughed a bit, though his mind went in several different directions for all the possibilities, “When did you set this up? What did he say? What did you say? How did it go?”

“Calm down,” She chuckled, placing her hands on his chest, though Obi-Wan could tell she was absolutely buzzing with excitement beneath her carefully crafted exterior, “He was quite impressed with my paper on the Muggle Protection Act and why it’s grossly outdated.”

“Truly some of your best work,” He vehemently agreed, “Your choice in utilizing a second person point of view was bold, but dearly worked for your exquisitely personal perspective, my dear.”

“Almec felt so too,” She said, “Though he wasn’t quite as intricate with his feedback or notes as you were.”

“Glad I’m not being replaced quite so soon out the gates from school,” He joked.

“Never,” She tugged gently on the knot of his tie, “But anyway, he said that he’d never met someone quite as passionate and knowledgeable about the history of wizards and muggles and their respective differences.”

“I learn something new from you every single day,” He said.

“Sometimes it’s something simple like the fact that rubber bands exist, but yes, I rest my case.” She said brightly, “I did offer some counsel on how I believe the Ministry should be reacting to Dooku’s stance. It’s the time to get ahead of the subject and to fight bigotry from high points first.”

“Like with my parents,” Obi-Wan scoffed.

“I didn’t mention them, but I was certainly thinking it,” She grimaced before practically bouncing back into her good mood, “He loved everything I had to say and completely agreed on all accounts. And… That he just had to have me on board for his internship program this fall.”

“Oh my God!” Obi-Wan was so taken by excitement that he picked her up into his arms, shaking her just a bit before setting her back down, “That’s amazing news!”

She laughed, “I know and this will actually be a perfect tract for me to enter if I want to pursue a law path, which is basically the only way to get any standings of power around here for any real change.”

“Indeed,” Aside from being born into it, you had to forge your own path by fighting the good fight with lawyers on occasion. Satine would be absolutely brilliant at whatever she put her mind to and Obi-Wan couldn’t seem to stop smiling at the image of her defending those who could not defend themselves. “Congratulations! I’m so proud of you!”

“Thank you,” She beamed, more radiant than the sun above them and he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so warm, “It’s a year long program and with Almec’s recommendation, I could truly get into one of the better wizarding law firms for muggle outreach programs.”

“I have been doing my research and it seems the best are those that are based in muggle areas.” He said, “Which is interesting and not surprising.”

“I have to try and stay central to the Ministry,” She said, “As much as I loathe politics, I don’t want to drift too far to the outskirts. That’s how people are forgotten about.”

“I’d never forget you,” He said, “Though I wouldn’t necessarily mind seeing you around the office every now and then anyway.”

“Oh no?” She smirked, looping her arms around his neck and bringing him closer, “You wouldn’t be ashamed to be the Auror with the loud, anti-violence, difficult girlfriend? I certainly won’t be making your life easier, I imagine.”

“Nothing new there anyway,” He laughed when she playfully tugged at his hair, “Besides, I couldn’t be more proud and humbled to even be considered in your orbit, let alone a part of it.”

“Yeah?”

He pressed his forehead to hers, looking deep into crystalline eyes, “I am positively thrilled for you and cannot wait to see you change and make the world better just by you being in it, just as you’ve made mine better.”

“Oh, you sap,” She sighed dreamily and kissed him again, more thoroughly and much more distractedly, before he could have the chance or presence of mind to respond. Oftentimes, when she kissed him like this, his brain simply stopped and melted into a pile of useless goo. He’d very nearly forgotten what they were even talking about when they broke away quite flushed and with swollen lips.

“Shall we go break the news to Cody and friends?” He finally asked after a moment or two of just staring at each other and briefly considering forgoing all responsibility for the day and resuming where they left off.

“Indeed,” She cleared her throat and reached for his hand, “Though I highly doubt he’s going to understand most of what we’re talking about.”

“He’ll be excited anyway.” He said with a smile, “It’s your future, after all.”

When Padmé found Satine, she’d been walking hand in hand with Obi-Wan debating casually about the pros and cons of having a corner or central booth in an office space. Sensing that this conversation, though engrossing to the top two students of the school, wasn’t all that imminent at the moment, she and Bail Organa practically rushed them before they’d been able to cross through the main archway.

“What’s going on here?” Obi-Wan was the first to ask, a slight pinkness to his cheeks likely from being in the sun all day. Both halves of the couple looked immediately wary as they gaged how surprised both she and Bail looked. To be fair, they’d had more than their share of surprises this year alone.

“They’ve officially introduced who is going to be the new DADA professor for next term!” Bail beat her to the punch, “And you’ll never guess who they’ve gotten!”

“You’re right, we won’t, because at this rate, I’d call anyone crazy for taking up that position with how horrible its reputation is getting,” Satine drawled, “I mean seriously! There’s been treachery, murder, and incompetance in the past three years!”

“That is a pretty horrible track record,” Padmé agreed, “But it’s not like we can’t have a DADA class, right?”

“Right,” Obi-Wan said before Satine could likely go off on a full scale debate about how they should really reconsider the curriculum of the subject and how it was framed to be more about offense than actual defense at times. He, like the rest of them, was not prepared for such a tirade at the moment. “So, who’d they manage to get?”

“You’ll like this one, Kenobi, it’s Eno Cordova!” Bail said.

Just as Bail had predicted, Obi-Wan’s intrigue had piqued, “Spanish archaeologist and explorer of the dark and infamous Zeffo Vaults?”

“Is there another?” Satine gasped, her distaste for the subject already gone and replaced with interest, “But wait, how does that add up? I thought he went missing in the vaults years ago.”

“Like any spectacular explorer,” Bail, a big fan in his own right, went on to explain, “He’d recently found his way out, surviving on little more than his own wits.”

“If anyone could, it would be Cordova,” Obi-Wan pinched his chin, “I’ve read a great deal about him through the years. He’s the only known human to survive the scourge of a sarlacc pit’s stomach!”

“How horrid,” Satine shivered but then snapped back into enthusiasm, “Well, we ought to meet him, right? It’s not as though we will have many other opportunities since we are graduating.”

“That’s actually why we were looking for you,” Padmé said and focused on Obi-Wan, “Especially you. With Cordova being around, everyone is uncertain about the fate of your recently resumed classes.”

Satine looked to Obi-Wan too, her expression understanding of either outcome and sympathetic to Obi-Wan’s own feelings on the matter. She knew better than either Bail or Padmé did, but it seemed obvious that Obi-Wan liked teaching the study sessions. They’d learned a lot from him too, but knew that most would drift towards someone with official qualifications.

“Oh!” Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. The thought hadn’t come to him, obviously, but he played it off with nonchalance, “Don’t worry about me! I was always of the understanding that my position on the matter would be temporary and I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that someone so qualified will be stepping in.”

“I mean, I don’t see why they couldn’t have waited until next year,” Padmé said, “There’s been enough chaos here, not including bringing in a whole new professor.”

“Maybe to spare everyone from Windu’s DADA summer school,” Bail suggested, “And while I’d normally agree, Cordova isn’t just any replacement.”

“He is amazing,” Obi-Wan said, “He’s made just about every issue of “Archeologist Annual” for the past fifty years.”

“In all fairness, how many archeologists are there, really?” Satine asked. “He does have a fair bit to catch up on. It’s a heavy task, taking over at this rate.”

“He will more than manage,” Obi-Wan smiled dutifully, “Better than I ever could.”

Satine looked to have her doubts about that, though Padmé’s heart always warmed at the seamless confidence the two had in each other. Though they did quarrel a fair share before and after they got together, there was one thing that was never disputed and that was their faith in the other.

“I’m sure people are going to miss it all the same,” Bail said earnestly, “Though I am admittedly a bit saddened that I won’t get to experience Cordova’s lesson plan in full.”

“Instead they had that fake, Gunray this year,” Padmé scoffed before rolling her eyes, “Last Anakin said, he was moving his things into Gunray’s old office.”

“And there are lots of artifacts,” Bail said and Padmé couldn’t help but smile at how giddy he seemed. Obi-Wan was excited too, pulling Satine by the hand in that direction to go meet the new professor with haste, leading them all with charge. However, he was a bit quieter than before.

“No one would blame you for being disappointed,” Satine murmured from ahead, keeping her voice low in an attempt to spare him from explaining to the rest of the party.

“I’m not,” He answered, “This is good news.”

“If you say so,” She agreed mildly, though if Padmé knew Satine like she thought that she did, the discussion wouldn’t be permanently closed. As they made their way to through the halls in relative quiet save for Bail Organa’s occasional bursts of facts about the remarkable accomplishments of Eno Cordova, Padmé couldn’t help but ponder the fact that of this group, she was really going to be the only person affected by this change in professors. She wasn’t sure she could handle yet another change and hoped that Professor Cordova, with all the challenges he’d overcome, was ready for the true challenge of teaching.

Padmé had never actually seen pictures of Eno Cordova, so she didn’t know what she was expecting really. Upon seeing him in person, she decided it wasn’t what he actually was. When she thought of exciting explorers, she thought of tall, dark and handsome. However, this was not the case, for while he did have a dark tan complexion, he was also short, bald, and rather skinny.

This did not deter the older kids’ eagerness to meet him. She thought that Bail might launch himself at the man for a moment, but seeing as he was always more of a diplomat at heart, had been able to reel it in.

“Sorry to intrude, sir,” Padmé spoke when she found that Bail might pass out first, “I’m Padmé Amidala and we just wanted to introduce-”

“Dr. Cordova, it is an honor,” Bail said, sticking out his hand for the new professor to shake, completely cutting off Padmé, “My name is Bail Organa and I have always been a huge fan of your work.”

His eyes lit up and the wrinkles around his eyes scrunched even further as he smiled warmly and returned the handshake, “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Organa.”

He also nodded at Padmé, “And you too, Miss Amidala. Your parents are wonderful people.”

“Thank you,” She smiled, “I think so too.”

“I look forward to having you in class!” He said.

“I’ve read just about all of your books, sir,” Bail said, “I’m extremely disappointed that I won’t have you in class.”

“A seventh year, yes?” Cordova nodded sagely and then wagged a finger at him, “You have been greatly deprived of the wonders of the world this year, Bail. Can I call you Bail?”

“You can call me whatever you want,” Bail said in an enthralled voice that caused Padmé and Satine to snort.

“Then you shall call me Eno,” He said, “I’ve seen too much of this beautiful rock not to share my findings. So please, come to my summer catch-up session. All are welcome.”

“I- I will, yes! There is nothing that would make me happier,” He said.

“Aside from your recent engagement, you mean?” Padmé gave him a gentle shove.

“Engagement?” Cordova’s brown eyes rounded and he patted Bail on the shoulder, “There is no greater thing to explore than that of love.”

“You should come to the wedding,” Bail said instantly, “I don’t know when it is or where it is or really anything other than who I’m marrying, but you should come.”

“That’s a pretty big deal seeing as he hasn’t invited any of us yet,” Obi-Wan snarked.

He glanced over to Obi-Wan and Satine and moved to exchange matching gestures with them, “And you must be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Satine Kryze, Head Boy and Head Girl, respectively.”

“I told you all he was a genius,” Bail whispered.

“That’s amazing,” Obi-Wan grinned, a bit starstruck in his own right, “How did you know that?”

“I make it a point to do my research,” He winked at him before flicking to his Head Boy button, causing the boy to blush and for Satine to roll her eyes, “Not to mention, you performed admirably in the tournament.”

“Thank you, sir,” He said, “I trust that the department couldn’t be in better hands.”

“Your approval is more meaningful than you know, Obi-Wan,” Smiled Cordova, “Because I have heard you make a mighty mean professor on your own.”

“I don’t know about-”

“-He does,” Satine confirmed resolutely, “He’s been tutoring a big chunk of the student body for their exams, and frankly, everyone is taking to them quite well.”

“And you’ve no interest in teaching, Obi-Wan?” He asked.

“Well…” Feeling a bit under the microscope, Obi-Wan scratched the back of his neck and searched the small office for his answer. It was a bit tough being asked by the newly hired professor why he didn’t go for his job. “It’s not that I don’t, it’s that I believe my calling is to pursue the path of an Auror.”

“Then you must answer it,” He made a tight fist, “And extradite every piece of knowledge you can from it. That is the only way to make life experience.”

“Yes, absolutely,” Obi-Wan nodded firmly.

“And you, Miss Kryze? Your name is not familiar to me as all these others are,” He said and Padmé could see Satine stiffen ever so slightly. However, any rigidity evaporated when he scratched his white goatee after studying her for a moment, “The best treasures are often those unheard of.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Satine said, “What has pulled you over to teaching?”

“I’m getting too old for rock climbing and dwelling in the bellies of beasts, my dear.” He said kindly, “Not that I expect teaching to be any easier.”

“Not at this school,” Satine said.

“You’ll find your position in particular to be most exciting,” Padmé said.

“Well, that’s good then,” He clapped his hands together jovially, “I can’t quit cold turkey, after all!”

“So, when do you think you’ll be starting?” Bail asked, “Today?”

He laughed, “Absolutely not.”

“Tomorrow then,” Obi-Wan said with just as much eagerness to see what the old explorer had to relay.

“You see, I am mostly just moving some of my belongings here.” He explained. “I still have to finish some loose ends regarding my findings in the Zeffa Vaults. So, I don’t expect to start until summertime.”

“But what about exams?” Padmé asked.

“I think there’s someone here who is more than up to the task,” He nodded towards Obi-Wan, “At least until I grab the reins this July.”

“Are you sure?” He asked incredulously.

“Positive, my boy,” He clasped his shoulder and then looked to Satine, who was watching Obi-wan with a bright smile, “And I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way.”

He took a deep and settling breath, “I’ll try to ensure none of them fail, sir.”

“Eno.” He corrected and looked at each of them with sincerity and kindness, “I can tell just by looking at all of you that you are promised for infinite greatness. It is just waiting for you right outside that door. I cannot wait to see all you explore. Whether it be the highest of peaks or the lowest of realms. It will be tremendous.”

What they didn’t hear when they left and the door shut and locked behind them, was a wary Rael Aveross rip off the Cordova face with contempt, sliding it to the side of his desk. He leaned over a map that had been recovered from the actual Eno Cordova’s dead body, “Now, Cordova, what were you actually doing in the Zeffo Vaults? And what does it have to do with immortality?”

“Big day for you, mate,” Fives said as he clapped Cody on the back in passing to the loo. Echo reiterated this statement by digging his hands into Cody’s shoulders, as though he were revving him up for battle. This was anything but the case and only further irritated him, earning Echo a prompt shove to the ground when he tried to tickle him.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Cody gripped the red and gold fabric so tightly between his fingers that it could have disintegrated beneath his touch if he were a more powerful wizard. Cody never was great shakes at magic at the end of the day. He was good enough to pass, but his strengths had always lied with a broomstick in the air.

“You’re giving your jersey away, not your lungs,” Echo grumbled as he climbed to his feet again.

“That’s easy for you to say, you get to wear yours today,” Cody fired at him, “I’m the only one on the squad who won’t.”

“I thought it was supposed to symbolize welcoming newcomers,” Skywalker, also dressed in his Quidditch jersey on top of his collared shirt and tie. Though his timing was as uncouthe as usual, the kid was right. Traditionally every year on the last day of class, the graduating seventh year’s gave their jerseys to someone they cared about to wear for the day.

He knew it was meant to be a passing of the torch, but it still made him feel unwell to part with his jersey, which had been through a lot with him for the past six years.

“You know you’ll get it back at the end of the day, right?” Rex asked, hoisting himself on his own bed so he could tie his shoes. “It’s not like you’ll never have the chance to wear it again.”

Graduation would be the last official time. The idea was for a team photo with and without the graduating teammates would be taken and hung in the locker room. Then, the captain for next year would be announced. Logically, Cody knew that this day was coming, but he hadn’t made peace with just how soon it all snuck up on him. It felt like mere days before he had just landed his spot in second year.

“Not if Cody sleeps in it,” Fives snorted and then softened when he saw the look on his face, “Ease up, mate, it’s going to be alright. One step at a time.”

He knew it was all in good humor that his friends and family teased him for how focused he was on Quidditch, just as he teased them for their intense interests. However, a small part of Cody was having a hard time reconciling who he would be if he wasn’t on Gryffindor’s Quidditch team.

What if he didn’t land a slot on a professional team? What if this was the only jersey he would ever own that represented his love for the sport? What if he never got to be a part of a team ever again?

“Any idea who you’re giving it to?” Skywalker asked and then winced, “Sorry, lending it to?”

“I know a bunch of girls who would be interested,” Caleb said, leaning against the bedpost, “Though I know that’s not going to be your style.”

“Anyone who I would trust with it would already have one!” Cody complained, finding another frustration with the tradition, “My brothers have their own and I’m the only graduating seventh year! It’s not like I can just trade with someone else. Satine no doubt is wearing Kenobi’s since that’s what the couples all do!”

“Some people give it to a favorite professor,” Suggested Ackbar, but then shook his large amphibious head as he remembered who he’d been speaking with.

“What about your date to the Yule Ball?” Skywalker asked.

“You mean the one that Cody ditched?” Fives asked.

“And went back to Beauxbatons?” Echo supplied.

“You lot aren’t helping,” Cody said.

“It’s not supposed to be easy, Cody,” Caleb said with a somber look in his green eyes, “Letting go, that is. If it were, we’d all be good at it. This is just a chapter for you, it’s not the ending point.”

“If your whole life is hinged to that shirt, then maybe you need to live more,” Scoffed Gerrara as he passed and exited the dormitory.

Well, he knew one person that wasn’t getting the jersey.

“Don’t listen to him, Cody, you know he’s just jealous not to be on the team,” Caleb rolled his eyes.

Cody looked back down to the shirt, tracing a finger over the golden fabric that spelled out his last name, matching the three other Fetts in this room. Though he thought it was silly when they were really little and their parents would dress them up in the same outfits, now, he could see why they did it. It made them look like the unit that they were.

“I’ll figure it out,” He sighed, still finding the idea of parting with the jersey very difficult. Most people thought this through to some degree, especially those that didn’t have an easy answer lined up. He slung it over his shoulder, walking to class while raking his brain to figure out who he should give it to.

Breakfast was expectedly a bit of a mad house on the last day of classes. Not because anyone was in a rush to go complete any last minute assignments, but because it meant that the onset of summer had arrived. The last hurdle of the year would be exams and then underclassmen could be free from school for a couple of months.

Satine had never been thrilled about the end of classes, but she’d always looked forward to the time free with her family and friends back home. However, now that there was a finality to her final day of classes in Hogwarts, she found herself quite nostalgic over every rapidly passing moment. Each class today would be her last of that subject in this setting. She’d prepared handwritten cards for each professor, thanking them for their dedication and patience through the years. She hadn’t even realized that the homework she did last night for Charms was the last she’d ever complete and submit. The detention she’d given to Sebulba for dumping his omelet on a second year could have been the last time she ever issued one at this hour (though she did have strong doubts about that judging by the feral energy in the room).

This would be the last breakfast before class with friends.

Oh, that thought nearly made her cry if her somber moment hadn’t been interrupted by the obnoxious way Aayla and Stass dropped their bags dangerously close to her bowl of oatmeal.

“I can’t believe that arsehole !” Aayla said, clearly heated about something or someone.

“I don’t think he meant anything by it, Aayla,” Stass shot Satine a pleading look that told her this line of frustration had been going on for quite some time.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” She fired, clutching her fork a bit too tight for comfort, “He doesn’t even know he’s messing with my head!”

“What are you on about?” Satine asked.

“Eeth Koth, the know-it-all bastard we call our Quidditch captain!” She groaned, finding distaste in even mentioning his name, “You know he gave his Quidditch jersey to that ditzy Koyi Mateil?”

“What’s wrong with Koyi?” Stass asked. “I thought you were always pretty unified with the other twi’leks.”

“She’s bad for the brand. Not only is she a rich girl who cheats on tests, but she’s also someone who doesn’t know anything about quidditch.” She huffed, “Her and Miraj Scintel are the sort who have been clambering for upperclassmen jerseys just for the clout.”

“Clout?” Satine wrinkled her nose, “I thought you were supposed to give the jersey to someone you cared about as tradition and to show the players are moving on.”

“That is the intent,” Stass nodded, “But being in the know enough to wear someone’s jersey today? Kind of a big deal.”

“That’s so juvenile,” She crossed her arms. “The only person it should matter to is the wearer and the person who gave it them.”

“Kinda easy for you to say as you’re wearing the Kenobi jersey as we speak,” Aayla snarked as she gestured to the slightly loose-fitting Ravenclaw jersey that Satine wore on top of her regular uniform. “I’m just saying. It makes a statement.”

“Well, I don’t care about any of that,” Satine looked around her, catching the eyes of more people than she expected, who had eyed her with a sense of awe that needn’t be there, “And neither should you.”

“Yeah, well you also hate the sport,” Stass laughed, “That doesn’t exactly add to your enthusiasm.”

“No, certainly not,” She agreed and looked to Aayla, “Remind me why you’re upset again!”

“Because he didn’t give it to me!”

“So,” Satine pressed. Last she checked, nothing had happened between Aayla and Eeth at the dance, nor did Aayla want anything to happen. Since then, the subject had mostly cooled down and they’d returned to normal.

“So, I was ready to give mine to him!” She stabbed at her eggs, “It’s only right! He’s the one who asked me to be his stupid date and then his stupid valentine!”

“I didn’t know that!” Satine’s eyes widened, “About the valentine part, anyway.”

“Do you know how embarrassing that is?” She asked, “Besides, I’m pretty sure it was a big joke.”

“But… What if it wasn’t?” Stass asked slowly, “What if you're the only one who has been acting like this is a big platonic joke?”

“And Eeth might actually like you.” Satine finished.

“Then he’s even more of a fool than I thought!” She said, “I mean, really, who waits seven years to make a move?”

“Good morning, ladies,” Obi-Wan said cheerily as he dropped into the seat beside Satine, “How are we this morning?”

“Nevermind,” Aayla snorted and Satine shot her a withering look while Stass could only laugh. Ben, for his part, looked between the three of them with alert blue eyes, visibly confused to what he walked into.

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

“No, absolutely not.” Aayla said.

“That’s a bit of a loaded question,” Stass admitted.

“Yes, please pay them no mind,” Satine said and took a bite of her toast.

After surveying all three girls, he sighed, “Good, I thought my morning was going a bit too smooth for comfort.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know why Eeth Koth is a no good prick, would you?” Aayla asked with the casual aplomb of someone asking how the weather was.

Ben spluttered as he sipped at his pumpkin juice, nearly spilling on one of his best robes, which Satine had noticed he’d pulled out for the last day of classes.

“Aayla!” Satine chastised.

“What?” She shrugged, “I’m in need of the male perspective and Kenobi is about as close as it gets at the moment.”

“I- Hey!” He furrowed his brow.

“Trust me when I say in this moment, that’s a compliment,” Aayla added sagely.

“I’m not sure I chose the right seat this morning,” He muttered as he built up a plate of breakfast foods, quietly pardoning himself as he reached across from Satine to take a cinnamon bun. Before he could debate over it mentally in his head, Satine went ahead and grabbed him a blueberry muffin as well. The last time he thought too much about it, the food disappeared.

“Just as I’m not sure Eeth Koth chose the right person to give his Quidditch jersey to,” She said, “But we all have to live with our mistakes, don’t we?”

“Ah, that’s what this is about,” He said and looked to immediately regret it when Aayla pounded a fist against the table. Even Stass looked interested at Obi-Wan’s apparent knowledge of the subject.

“So he did say something this morning.” Aayla said.

“You must understand that I can’t just spill the secrets of the boy’s dormitory,” He explained, “Eeth is my friend and everything that was and wasn’t said was in confidence. A confidence that I, as his teammate and friend, respect.”

“We’re supposed to be friends too!” Aayla urged and then pointed to Satine, “And not only that, but I’ve got control over whether or not Satine will ever kiss you ever again!”

“No, you don’t.” Satine said, “Ben you don’t have to say anything to them. This is all silly nonsense anyway.”

“Treachery is silly nonsense?” Aayla gasped, “Betrayal? Mutiny? Are those silly words to you, Satine?”

“Okay, you need to calm down,” Stass said, placing a hand on their friend’s shoulder, “Damn, maybe you do like Koth.”

“I do not!”

“It kind of seems like you might,” Obi-Wan weighed in, “But you know, you don’t have to give your jersey to someone you fancy.”

“You did,” She crossed her arms and looked to Satine, who really was tired of this conversation, and felt that their last breakfast before class could be served to better purposes.

“Well, yes,” Obi-Wan smiled a bit shyly at her, briefly appreciating the view of Satine in his jersey before turning back to Aayla, “But many people give it to close friends, family, professors even.”

“If only Kit were still here,” Aayla said softly.

“Way to go, Kenobi,” Stass grimaced.

“Just, don’t play into the headgames,” Obi-Wan said, “It should be about who you want to give it to and who will wear it proudly, not out of some weird jealousy scheme.”

“Wait a second, is Koth doing this to make me jealous?”

“No, I didn’t mean-”

“But you kinda did,” Aayla said, “Oh that jerk .”

“Once again, that’s not what I was saying. I just meant that you seemed a bit jealous-” Obi-Wan desperately tried to course correct and Satine rested a hand on his back.

“Give it up, dear, quit while you’re ahead.” She said.

“He is so not getting this jersey now,” Laughed Aayla, “Well, the jokes on him. If he wants to give his away to someone who’s nothing more than a pretty face, that’s fine by me. I’ll give mine to someone I care about.”

“That is what I was trying to say,” Obi-Wan said.

“Yes, I know, but she’s realizing that on her own now,” Satine added as they watched Aayla connect the dots and somehow twist in her head that giving her jersey to someone meaningful would be the biggest revenge of all. It just went to show that even the brightest of Ravenclaws failed to see the forest through the trees at times.

“Here, Stass!” She handed the blue fabric over dramatically to their friend, who looked completely and utterly dumbfounded.

“What?” She looked at her with wide eyes, “Me?”

“Yeah, I mean you’re my best friend,” She smiled, “You’ve been there for me through thick and thin ever since we fought over bedspace in first year.”

“I still say you cheated during that coin toss,” Stass commented.

“I’ll never tell,” She smirked, “But anyway, I can’t think of anyone else who would wear it better, especially not that slug, Koth.”

“Thank you, Aayla,” She said with a bit of a watery smile, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” She said and then frowned after they were staring at each other for a long beat, “Don’t get any snot on it, okay?”

“And the moment is ruined,” Satine beamed at the two of them before reaching across the table and squeezing Aayla’s hand, “I think you chose the better person, if you ask me.”

“Me too,” Obi-Wan smiled, “Don’t tell Eeth I said that though.”

Cody hadn’t bothered going to breakfast that morning, instead opting to take a walk around the pitches, just giving himself a few lasting moments of peace before he had to come to terms with this rite of passage that he hadn’t realized he’d been dreading.

“Hey captain!” A voice from several meters back called and he turned to see the Head Boy and Head Girl jogging to catch up with him. Kenobi’s robe billowed in the warm summer breeze while Kryze expectedly wore Kenobi’s Quidditch jersey. As much as he loved seeing them, it did serve as a reminder of his own indecision.

Still, he stopped and waited for them. It would be impossible to get away even if he was the most athletic of the three of them.

“What makes you think you can skip breakfast on the last day of classes?” Satine admonished, though her tone was as light as the day around them. She watched him through careful and understanding eyes, suspecting that something was amiss.

“I just wanted to get some fresh air,” he shrugged and looked up at the magnificent hoops that towered above them, so high from here that it looked like the clouds might drift through their openings. He remembered standing here as a first year student with ambitions and dreams that stretched even higher. He’d been so hopeful, so excited, and hadn’t considered a time where he wouldn’t be wearing the crimson jersey that was slung over his shoulder.

“Taking it all in?” Kenobi asked with equal kindness as his girlfriend.

“Yeah, something like that,” He said quietly.

At first, he expected a lecture of some nature, as it wasn’t completely out of line for the two of them. Then again, even after seven years, it wasn’t impossible for this quick friends to truly surprise him.

“May we join you?” Kenobi asked.

“Yeah, of course, I don’t own the field,” He added, trying to maintain some levity. He was already feeling so heavy at heart and didn’t want them to experience the same thing.

“I would argue differently,” Satine said, “I’ve watched all your matches, after all.”

He smiled, thinking about how much he felt like his truest self when he was alongside his team, playing the sport he loved, hovering above an energetic crowd. Even when the conditions were dreadful, Cody only saw it as more of a challenge.

They walked for a while, mostly in silence, their hands dangling at their sides as they made their way around the perimeter of the field. It was a bit smaller than a professional scale, but it served its purpose in teaching children the crucial aspects of the game. He couldn’t help but revel in the memory of the first time he’d ever actually played. He’d failed miserably, at least from a technical standpoint. However, he’d scored more than any other underclassmen due to being a bit of a show-off back then.

It had been the best moment of his life. Well, save for the day he got captain. That day still played as the memory when he conjured his patronus for class.

He didn’t see how it could be topped, as it was the culmination of all his ambitions. Even if he’d been a bit of a dick about it, perhaps Gerrara was onto something. Maybe he did have to live more.

“You know, this isn’t the end for you,” Satine said, “There’s going to be plenty of life and Quidditch in store for you.”

“But not with this,” He said, the red fabric balled up in his hands, “And I know it’s kind of lame, but-”

“-It is not lame!” She asserted, a level of familiar fierceness overcoming her, “You know, just this morning, I very nearly started crying in my breakfast simply because I didn’t take last night to treasure that it was the last time I’d be doing homework. I love learning and education, Cody, but even for me that’s a stretch.”

“And you know, as I was fastening my Head Boy pin today, I couldn’t help but think about how my time in the role is waning and if I really was the best I could be,” Kenobi said, fiddling with the blue pin ever so slightly, “Or how my last patrol is coming up.”

“So, we’re all lame,” Cody deduced.

“No, we’re just feeling the shifting plates beneath us,” Satine explained, “It’s totally normal to experience growing pains, to be unsure of the future and afraid of letting go. But the most important thing to note is that you’re never alone in doing it.”

He looked at each of them, so earnest and wise in their own ways. He used to think that there would come a point where he would simply feel stupid or inferior parading around with two of the smartest kids in school. However, whether it was from his own strengths or their humility, he never felt that way. At the end of the day, they were all going through the same thing, and even when their paths took them in different directions, he knew it would be worth it.

He took in a deep breath then released it, “I never thought I’d grow up to be so sappy.”

“I did,” Kenobi smiled, “Ever since that first match where you saved the bandages they gave you when you busted your head open.”

“Your first Quidditch injury is a big deal!” He said and then frowned, “What ever happened to those?”

“Yeah big mystery,” Satine coughed before leading them along, “I don’t think anyone would blame you for not participating in this tradition, you know.”

“But I’m the captain,” He said, “And the only graduating member of the team. Deep down, I want to do this, but it’s also about who . I’m not just going to toss it at some Quidditch groupie, you know?”

“Many appreciate that care and consideration,” Obi-Wan said smartly and though Cody didn’t understand the context of Satine’s exasperated look, he didn’t bother himself with whatever debate they’d found themselves in that day.

“I’d give it to you, Kenobi, but you’re kind of the enemy.” Cody said.

“Gee, thanks, our friendship has always meant so much to me too,” He replied sarcastically, which Cody gave him a playful shove to the side. Kenobi fell almost immediately right back in step with them as they walked back to the castle.

“Come off it,” He said, and then looked to Satine, “And you’re obviously spoken for.”

“No one speaks for me, thank you,” She stuck her chin up, “But if I could wear two at the same time, you know that I would.”

“And as I said to the guys earlier, my brothers have their own!” He sighed.

Satine frowned, stopping in her place, “ All of them?”

“Yeah, you’ve seen the team,” He said, “There are rumors everywhere that I play favoritism since half the starting team are Fetts.”

“Cody,” Kenobi shook his head, catching on to whatever Kryze was trying to spell out for him, “It doesn’t have to be a student. It can be anyone. A professor, coach, staff member.”

Cody stared at both of them like they’d truly lost it before the dots connected in his head and he snapped his fingers together.

“Oh!”

Ninety Nine had slept in uncharacteristically late that morning. Soft, summer days had that effect on him and he couldn’t be upset that they were approaching better weather. Though he’d lived in the UK his entire life, he did grow tired of the dreary days that came in plenty. He yawned and stretched, ready to prepare himself for the day.

He’d be staying at the castle all summer, cleaning and readying it for the next batch of eager young wizards who would be arriving come September. So, there was really no rush to wake up early in the month of June. It was a much more relaxed schedule.

He’d always fancied himself a heavy sleeper, which in many ways was a blessing, seeing as he grew up with so many little brothers running around. So, it was to no surprise that he missed the knock that must have come at his door.

Sitting on his front step was a package wrapped in brown paper and twine. It was addressed to him in quick handwriting without any direct indication of who it had been from. He grabbed it by the string, dropping it on his coffee table before getting to work cutting the twine. As it slowly unraveled before him, he removed a Gryffindor team Quidditch jersey.

“What in the-” It was just then that he noticed the letter that had been dropped to the ground in his haste.

“Dear Ninety-Nine,

Today is a day where graduating Quidditch players give their jerseys to someone they care about. It serves as a reminder that though our time playing Quidditch for Hogwarts is done, we carry the memories we made through the people who got us to where we are. There is no one more deserving than you.

So, while it’s usually only for the day, I want you to keep it for good, because you’ve always been a part of the squad.

Love,

Cody”

His eyes had grown too blurry to read thoroughly and had to scan the page several times before he understood the message in full. It was too girly to be Cody’s handwriting, as his was notoriously atrocious, but the sentiment was still there. The heart was still obvious.

He picked up the jersey again and tugged it over his head, something he never imagined he would get the chance to do.

The first thing that came to his mind, was how terribly it smelled.

He coughed, “Oh, Cody,” He smelled his armpits, getting a proper whiff of dirt and body odor before immediately pulling it off.

“We’ll be washing this first.”

Obi-Wan had tried not to allow himself to grow too much melancholy over their approaching departure from Hogwarts, even if there were plenty of signs lingering in just about every direction he turned. All the seventh years were starting to develop “graduation goggles” as Cody had referred to it. Obi-Wan, for the most part, remained level. To be sad something was ending meant that it was lucky to be had at all.

Still, as he gathered up his belongings and stowed them away in his trunk, leaving just a few sets of clothes to get him through the final couple of days, he could not help but take a quiet moment to himself, letting it sink in that this would be the last time he packed to leave Hogwarts for the summer.

It did not sting as deeply as it could have, for he was also reminded that he would not be returning to cold marble floors and stone walls, but to a series of adventures at the Fett household. He would only receive more freedom, even if a small part of him feared what that could mean. By large, though, he was excited for what came next.

It was only when he sifted through the variety of books he’d collected over the year, as he did every year, he felt a pang at his chest. Most were in relation to the TriWizard Tournament or magical restraining orders. However, there was a fair few that had allowed him to escape into a new world when such a thing was necessary.

It dawned on him then that he hadn’t read nearly as much as an extracurricular in the past few months. Logically, this was due to the tightening time crunch that two tasks, near death experiences, and NEWTs could bring. However, he also knew it was because he did not need the escapism anymore, not in the direction he was going. That was liberating in its own right, and while he would always read likely a bit too much, it would be purely for enjoyment.

“Knock knock,” A perky voice interrupted his train of thought and he looked up to see Satine standing in the doorway of his bedroom, a golden glow of light pouring in from the hallway behind her.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, not at all displeased to ever be offered the opportunity to see her, especially as she practically lit up at the sight of him. However, there were rules forbidding this: two students of opposite genders in any sleeping quarters alone together.

“Head Girl business,” She stated and for a moment, he straightened, just in case anything serious had transpired, but her own smile gave her away, “I request the assistance of the Head Boy for library duty.”

Ah, how in the blazes could he forget? Every year, he and Satine offered their assistance to Madame Nu to sort through the influx of overdue library books. He and Satine often took guesses about what each book was about by the titles alone, making a fun game of it. It was always a joy to spend time with the wise librarian, not to mention get a closer look at the compendium.

“Do you think she’ll let me touch it this year?” He asked, not caring if he sounded like a child in a candy store. Especially when Satine’s own elation lit her features so beautifully that he could hardly resist crossing the room in two strides and kissing her soundly. He might have, if he wasn’t eagerly awaiting the answer to his question,

“She promised us third year that she would, after you wrote that lengthy proposal about it,” She said, “Personally, I was convinced, so I do hope she holds true to her promise.”

“Well, what are we doing lollygagging then?” He pushed himself to his feet, “We’ve got books to sort!”

“I wasn’t the one daydreaming,” She reminded him.

“I was not daydreaming!” He scoffed, bending down to retrieve some of his collection, “I was organizing while reminiscing!”

“Oh that’s very different,” She teased, a gleam in her eyes as she stepped further into the room to look at the books in his arms, eyes scanning over each title before piquing with interest at a book towards the center of the pile. Skillfully, without displacing any of the others, she removed it and rolled it around her hands, “I was wondering what happened to this!”

Upon catching what she’d referred to, Obi-Wan felt his cheeks stain pink. Pride and Prejudice , the book she’d gifted him just before the start of the school year. He’d intended on sharing his notes with her, except for one, which still felt a bit embarrassing looking back on it.

“Well, you know I’ve read it,” He said, moving to take it back, but ultimately failing as she slipped out of reach and flipped it open, “Is now really the time for this? Madame Nu is expecting us.”

“Up until I reminded you, you’d forgotten,” She said archly and then nudged him as she took a seat at the foot of his bed, “What’s the problem? You know I like reading your notes.”

Realizing there would be no talking her out of this, Obi-Wan did the one thing he could think to do: he didn’t think at all. So, when he swiped the book from her hands and made a run for it, he hadn’t anticipated the potential quickness of her reflexes as she instinctively stuck a leg out to trip him, sending him tumbling to the floor with a heavy thunk.

Satine leapt into action from there, climbing on top of him in a duel for the book. Suddenly quite grateful that they didn’t have an audience, since Satine crawling up the length of Obi-Wan’s form in the middle of his bedroom floor until she was straddling him, was hardly becoming for anyone, but especially the Head Boy and Girl. This was all good and fine when they were children, but now that they saw each other in a different light, it added another element of awkwardness on top. One that caused Obi-Wan’s pulse to increase dramatically.

It was for his own distraction at their compromising position that she was able to wiggle the book from his clutches.

“Okay, sir, what are you hiding from me?” She breathed deeply, her own cheeks bright red, and he was helpless as he watched her flip through the pages. There were a lot of regular notes, commenting on the archetypes, foreshadowing, wordplay, and more.

None of that was incriminating, though and it wasn’t until she looked back at the cover, near her own inscription, that she found what she’d unknowingly been looking for.

“Satine,” She read aloud, “In typical fashion, I return this book to you not with answers, but a question. Just one this time, though. I have scoured over every line, every word, of this book, but truthfully it is being around you every day that has allowed me to understand its meaning. Its true meaning. You see, it is you who makes me happier than I deserve- a fact I can only be content with should you afford me the opportunity to try and return the favor, regardless how long it may take or how hard it could be. Will you do me the honor of being my date to the Yule Ball?”

When her eyebrows shot to her hairline, he answered her silent question, “I had planned to give this to you before the first task.”

“Stupid Ventress,” She muttered in a low voice and they hung in suspended silence that started to unnerve him.

“So er… Will you?” He asked tentatively, trying for levity.

She lowered the book, her eyes wide before narrowing and for a moment, he wondered if she was angry with him for not giving this to her sooner. That didn’t seem to be the case when she bent down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. If it was, it was an angry reaction he hadn’t seen from her yet.

“You’re an idiot,” She sighed, shaking her head. “Why wouldn’t you want me to read this?”

“Because I don’t know, isn’t it a bit embarrassing?”

“How?” She furrowed her brow, “Don’t you know how long I agonized whether or not you read this? Whether or not you got the hint? I underlined the particularly romantic bits.”

“I know, I thought that was adorable,” He couldn’t help but smile, “Do you truly find me as infuriating as Mr. Darcy?”

“Absolutely,” She said vehemently, “Especially right now!”

“Hey, it’s a memory of a flubbed attempt at properly asking you,” He shrugged, very difficult to do while lying beneath her still. She shifted off of him so she said beside him on the floor and he sat up, running a hand through his hair, “Plus, a part of me thought you would have been displeased with defacing the book like that.”

She rolled her eyes and whacked him gently in the arm with it, “I’d have absolutely melted at this . I never needed fanfare or public displays of affection. I just needed you to understand the message I was trying to send.”

He felt a bit of pride at that- even if it hadn’t gone according to plans, it was nice to know that he knew her the way he thought he did.

“Well, I heard it,” He said, “Loud and clear. Even if a bit too late.”

“You weren’t too late,” She conceded, eyeing him softly, she nudged him in the ribs, “Almost, but not quite.”

“That is always good to hear,” He said with a nod, leaning back on his hands.

“So, you really loved it, hm?” She smirked, emulating his position beside him, “It seems you’ve analyzed and studied it to death, which I’m always hoping for. It provides for better discussion and debate.”

“Personally, no book or tome could ever compare to how much more enjoyable it is to analyze and study you,” He smiled, feeling that warm and gooey feeling that was starting to become a regular occurence washing over him by looking into her eyes, “Because I learn far more from you than I have from any book.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Her voice was grave, very serious considering she regarded him with enough heat to kindle a fire, “Are you telling me you love me more than reading?”

“I am,” He said, feeling the severity of his statement. In a sense, it betrayed how a younger version of him strongly felt, but that didn’t make it any less true. It should have been startling, but it was anything but that.

“I feel the same,” She said it as though she was just realizing that for herself and didn’t leave any more space between them as she kissed him- a difficult feat when they were both smiling so wide it almost hurt. “Though we don’t have to tell Madame Nu that later, right?”

“It can stay between us,” Obi-Wan laughed, holding her face in his hands and surveying every feature, “Can’t let anyone know we’ve gone too soft.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they’d never know otherwise,” She rolled her eyes again, but accepted another quick kiss. She looked a bit emotional still as she stood, extending a hand out to him, “Come now, Mr. Darcy, I do believe we’ve got some important business to attend to.”

“Yes indeed, dear Elizabeth,” He took her hand and climbed to his feet, “And though I yearn for yours more, I will be touching that compendium.”

NEWTs had been… invigorating. All the time Obi-Wan had spent working up towards his goals and then finally getting to show off all he knew, could there be anything better. Tests were always something to reach for. A simple way to know just how much they’d managed to learn in a set amount of time. Numerical value, letter value, logically devised. So it of course was a bittersweet moment as he handed off his final essay to Professor Windu before exiting the room.

He’d finished first, went ahead and triple checked his spelling and grammar, but there had been no real reason to further put off the inevitable. It wasn’t long before he was joined by Satine who looked equally dejected.

“I don’t know Ben,” She sighed leaning her head on his shoulder, “But I think that might have been the best damned essay I’ve ever written, and it’s going to be my last.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely,” He leaned his head on top of hers, “I can’t wait to read it when we get them back over the summer.”

“What about you,” She looked up at him through golden eyelashes, “Did you remember the sources you wanted to cite?”

“Yes of course,” He sighed, “Of course it’s not necessary, but how could I not reference the best damn wand mechanics paper ever written.”

“It’s a good thing you have a perfect memory,” She reminded him, “I couldn’t get away with remembering anything verbatim.”

“They’re not expecting it,” He assured her, “I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who’s doing it.”

“You’d better not beat me in the last minutes here,” Satine moved her head up to fix him with a faux glare, “I didn’t work this hard for 7 years just to fall behind you right at the end.”

“Oh please,” He rolled his eyes, “You’re infinitely more clever in your word choice.”

It was then that the bells rang from the clock tower and the doors opened wide. The Head Boy and Girl stepped back to the wall as excited chattering students with a little bit too much pent up energy rushed past. Cody amongst them, although he waded through the sea of seventh years to greet them with a wide gleeful grin.

“Now that that’s all finally over with-” He paused, eyeing their more sullen mood, “What did you forget to dot your ‘i’s or something?”

“That was our final test Cody,” Satine clutched Obi-Wan’s arm.

“Yeah? I know? Let’s go celebrate, yeah?” Cody threw a thumb behind him where most were rushing towards Hogwarts grounds.

“I’m going to miss them,” Obi-Wan gave a mournful look towards where Windu was leaving with stacks of parchment.

“ You’re going to miss them,” Satine let go of him and gave him a hard look, “ You get to take classes again next year.”

“You know it’s not the same,” He threw a hand towards the great doors, “These are standardized .”

“You’re both lunatics ,” Cody matched his tone with heavy sarcasm, “This is supposed to be the best part of leaving school behind.”

“Yes, but if I learn about the Banshee Barricade, how will I know if I get something incorrect?” Satine grabbed Cody’s arms to better shake some sense into him, literally.

“Don’t worry,” Obi-Wan put a gentle hand on her arm, “We could always still learn together.”

“But there will be no reason to study!” Satine realized in a near panicked voice while Cody just pressed his hands to his face.

But a thought occurred to Obi-Wan and he looked at Satine carefully, “What if… I made you a test?”

“You?” Satine put a hand over her heart, “You would do that for me?”

“I mean it seems only logical, if we can’t get them any other way-”

“That’s so kind of you,” Satine wrapped her arms around him and pressed a firm kiss to his cheek. Obi-Wan felt his cheeks go red, but he still wrapped his arms around her, “I’ll do the same for you of course, brilliant . What a brilliant idea!”

“I love you,” Obi-Wan said reverently.

“Oh I adore you,” Satine squeezed him so hard he might pop, “You’re absolutely brilliant you know!”

“I’d say you’re both absolutely delusional,” Cody was watching them with wary caution and at a distance that might save him from a creature with rabies, but not from two Ravenclaws.

“You sure you don’t want in?” Satine teased, “We could send you some by mail!”

“ Please no,” Cody begged.

“Oh but Cody learning never has to stop!” Obi-Wan added.

“Yeah in my nightmares maybe,” Cody rolled his eyes, but their friend didn’t complain as they continued to come up with ideas on the way outside. Nor did any of them complain when they settled down in the grass buying a couple butterbeers off Hondo to celebrate. After all, they did finish their NEWTs, they did make it through the year, and they certainly had all survived to tell the tale.

While usually quite elated once finals and exams were over for the school year, Anakin couldn’t help but feel a tad gloomy as he looked around him at all the faces that had made his Hogwarts experience what it was and how many of them wouldn’t be returning come fall. Though September felt ages away, he knew better than that, as he already couldn’t believe he was on the precipice of his fourth year. He’d told Rex he would catch up with him in celebration later that evening, but for once decided upon finding a quiet spot to clear his thoughts.

There were many parties going on that night, all of the unofficial variety in all four houses and while Anakin had been invited to all of them, he’d experienced enough excitement for one school year. After much wandering around and greeting various ghosts as he passed, he situated himself at the top of the North Tower, one leg strewn over the ledge as he leaned against the side wall.

Professor Sifo Dyas wouldn’t mind, and even if he would, classes were officially out of session and the only thing ahead of them was graduation for the upperclassmen and the train ride home for the rest of them. Those who wished to stay for the ceremony could do so, as long as they had transportation back home. Anakin had decided to skip the train this time for a number of obvious reasons. The Kenobis wouldn’t be present, but Rex ensured he could go home with them.

In his hands was an official envelope stamped and signed from the Ministry of Magic, no doubt from Valorum’s desk before he’d decided to resign. He’d actually received a number of letters, many from various columnists and sponsors asking how he’d managed to defeat Dooku or the Eye of Webbish Bog at such a young age. Now he had the (now-former) Minister of Magic writing to him. Not long ago, that had seemed like the golden ticket to finding his mother, but as he came up with dead ends and more questions, he’d found that quite the opposite.

Still, it was difficult to come to terms with opening the letter. It felt in a sense like giving up, especially if his suspicions did prove correct. He knew this shouldn’t change anything, because in spite of everything, he did still firmly believe his mother was out there. No one knew her like he did, not in the ways that matter.

He may not have known much about her time at Hogwarts, but he did know her heart, and he knew she would never ever just pick up and leave him without the slightest bit of notice. She wouldn’t have left him at all, unless there was a threat so big she didn’t want to drag it back to him.

Yeah, that possibility did sound like his mum. She’d been selfless and giving his entire life, dedicating everything to him.

But none of that was credible to the Ministry of Magic or even muggle law enforcement. Wizards viewed that she’d abandoned their world and her entire family. To muggles, they saw the narrative that was painted for them- a single mother who was behind on rent in a dingy part of town.

He took a deep breath and resisted the urge to crumple the letter in his hands and throw it into the furnace. That wouldn’t do him any good on the slim chance there was anything useful in it.

“Anakin?” A soft but welcome voice called from behind him. “What are you doing up here?”

He turned, looking over his shoulder to see Obi-Wan, who had a worried crease between his brows. He was dressed in prim Ravenclaw fashion, most likely for the last time, and his Head Boy button glinted in the moonlight. He looked so much older than he did before, wiser and ready for the coming future. Anakin could never imagine being ready for change, especially after everything that had happened so far.

Unless that change involved things returning to the same, which his mother in one way or another already taught him not to be possible.

“Oh, hey,” He said, not sure what else to say and he didn’t bother asking how Obi-Wan had found him, because he always seemed to, “Just taking a minute before going to watch Cody do a keg stand with butterbeer.”

“That does require quite the stomach to bear witness to,” Obi-Wan chuckled quietly before wordlessly sliding next to him on the ledge, their legs dangling and while untouching, he could feel the security that Obi-Wan’s presence often brought. It gave Anakin the courage to silently pass the letter over to him after a pregnant pause passed between them.

Looking down at the envelope and then back at Anakin, he raised his eyebrows in surprise before understanding what was expected of him and began carefully peeling the tab of the envelope. It didn’t rip beneath Obi-Wan’s touch; he was far too gentle for that. Instead, the clear seal popped off with ease and he removed the neatly folded letter.

Blue-gray eyes quickly scanned the page before reading it out loud, before giving Anakin a guarded look that asked if he really wanted to hear this right now and Anakin only nodded. It was better to hear it from Obi-Wan than anyone else- even himself.

He cleared his throat before beginning.

“Dear Mr. Skywalker,

Upon further investigation and thorough examination of case file #19051999, the disappearance of Shmi Skywalker, our Auror department reports that there are no signs of foul play presented, including the possibility of magical motive. While this case will not be permanently closed, it is no longer in active consideration.

We have taken appropriate measures and communicated the information we have received to the local muggle authorities, whom we have no doubt will be thorough in their search. I am writing you personally with my condolences on your loss and do hope that Ms. Skywalker chooses to return someday.

Please reach out to the Aurors should any additional information regarding possible magic-related evidence arises.

I wish you all the best in your search and believe you have quite a future in our world someday.

Sincerely,

Finis Valorum

Minister of Magic”

They sat in relative quiet for a long period of time. Obi-Wan seemed to be weighing on just what to say and continued staring at the letter or more accurately, the envelope with the seal on it. Anakin didn’t know how he was feeling.

“He must have written this before he resigned,” Obi-Wan ran his finger over the seal, his frown obscured by the bright moon, “I’m so sorry, Anakin.”

“It’s alright,” He sighed, “I can’t say I’m shocked by this. He didn’t even know who she was when I spoke to him. He probably just wrote this to clear his own conscience.”

“Maybe,” He nodded and then opened the letter, reading it over again, “There is one thing that comes from this, I suppose.”

“What’s that?” Anakin asked, peering over his shoulder to try and see what he was seeing.

“Case numbers aren’t released to the public,” He said, tapping the parchment, “Especially not with how tight lipped they’ve been about your mother’s disappearance.”

“Maybe they really do believe nothing related to magic or wizards happened to her,” Anakin said, even if he still had strong doubts that it wasn’t someone from the wizard world.

“It took them quite some time to make that assessment,” Obi-Wan pursed his lips, “I would be very interested to see what’s on that file.”

“They won’t tell me anything,” Anakin said glumly before looking up and over at Obi-Wan suddenly, realization dawning on him, “Are you still trying to be an Auror?”

“That’s certainly in the plans,” He said, “If they’ll have me.”

“Oh, they better,” Anakin said, “It sounds like a one-horse show over there. They need some brains! And I need someone I can actually trust on the inside.”

“There is something wrong about this,” Obi-Wan said, “And while I cannot promise the results you desire nor anything immediate, I swear to you I will do my best.”

“That’s more than anyone else has done for me all year, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said, “I mean, look at this letter. Could it be less personal? I’m surprised he even spelled our names right.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Obi-Wan said quietly, still looking at the seal, “Would you mind if I held onto this? I’d like to develop a file on my own.”

“Go right ahead, I was going to burn the damn thing before you got here,” Anakin admitted and then smiled at his mentor as he watched the gears already turning in his head. He hadn’t gotten his own acceptance letter yet, but he was already there. He was perfect for the position- everything an Auror should be.

And Anakin realized then that he wanted to be that way too.

“I can’t believe it used to bother me that you’re always saving me,” Anakin joked, “It’s becoming quite useful.”

“You are more than capable of saving yourself, my friend,” He said with a wry smile, “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Some might say I give myself too much of it,” He snorted.

“Well, some things could use improvement, as it could with everyone,” Obi-Wan nodded sagely, “Namely, remembering to comb your hair and writing your name on your homework.”

“At least I’m doing the homework now.” Anakin retorted.

“Yes, that is an upgrade I suppose,” Obi-Wan pinched his chin, “Not sure it’s very useful if you aren’t taking credit for your own hard work, though.”

“I’ll work on it,” He waved a hand at him, “But you know I wouldn’t have made it this far if it weren’t for you.”

“Anakin, you are a very bright wizard, even if you don’t always properly apply yourself,” Obi-Wan said, and at first it sounded like a lecture he’d doled out time and time again during their three years of knowing each other, “But you have taught me just as much, if not more, than I’ve taught you.”

“Really?” Anakin scoffed, “About what? Comic books?”

“I feel I’m much braver after knowing you,” Obi-Wan admitted, “As well as a bit more laid back than I’ve been in previous years.”

“You’ve been stricter ?”

This time, Obi-Wan outwardly laughed, “Yes, do ask Cody and Satine how rigid I used to be in the past. I’m sure they’ve got much more to say on the subject than I ever could. But everything changed when you came around. You challenged me, made me think outside of myself, and gave me something to be courageous for. I’m incredibly sorry if it ever came across that I doubted you.”

“No, I said it before!” Anakin said hastily, “I was being a-”

“-It was myself I doubted, always,” Obi-Wan continued, looking out to the stars, “And that’s still something I’m working on.”

“Still,” Anakin said in a quiet voice, “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you here. You’ve kind of made this place for me.”

“And you for me,” Obi-Wan smiled, “I’m certainly for the better thanks to being Anakin Skywalker’s mentor, but now we move on and I go off to pursue this quest of becoming an Auror and hopefully a good one at that while you make this place your own.”

“I’ll do my best,” Anakin echoed his previous statement, “I don’t want to fail you.”

“You could never fail me,” He promised, “It is I who could fail you.”

“Nonsense,” Anakin shook his head, “But now that you’re not going to be around and you won’t be my mentor anymore, what does that mean for us?”

“I suppose we’ll have no choice but to be friends,” Obi-Wan said with a sly smile, “But do be careful, because I’m just as much of a nag to my friends. If not more.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Cody and Satine have plenty to say on that too,” Anakin smiled, feeling a bit fuller and a bit better about the days that would follow. Obi-Wan would never really be gone, especially not when he needed him.

“Satine! You made it!” Padmé rushed over to the Head Girl.

“Padmé, hello!” Satine beamed as she entered Gryffindor’s common room alongside Cody to embrace the ongoing festivities that Hogwarts’ loudest house was throwing in commemoration of the graduating seventh years. Countless red balloons rained down from the ceiling, joining gold and crimson confetti that already obscured the carpet. Music blared loud enough to be heard over the raucous talking and singing that had taken shape since the party had begun. There was a cake that had largely been consumed, which Padmé wouldn’t be going anywhere near since Hondo grabbed a fistfull of cake with his bare hand.

All in all, it was fun, controlled chaos.

“Hi! I was wondering if you’d come here tonight!” She smiled and was extremely grateful that she had. She really didn’t want to wait and ask her question tomorrow, which would undoubtedly be even busier for Satine with graduation and rounding up the younger students. Admittedly, she’d been nervously putting it off.

“Ravenclaw house was doing trivia night!” She said excitedly, “It got a bit out of hand when the category of socio-economic politics came up, but that’s not atypical in the slightest.”

“No, of course not,” Padmé laughed. It was always funny how the houses tended to celebrate exactly as one might imagine.

“Besides, I had to go to Hufflepuff after that since that’s where the good food is,” She said, to which Cody instantly confirmed.

“They had just about every kind of meat you could imagine! And the appetizers were out of this world!” He said excitedly, “Kenobi’s going to lose his mind when he sees the sweets too.”

“Then, I felt obligated to pop into Slytherin’s cocktail hour.” She said, “Very lowkey, but elegant.”

“Stuffy, if you ask me,” Cody rolled his eyes and gestured to several Slytherins that were breaking it down on the makeshift dance floor at the center of the room, “That’s why the fun ones came here.”

“Cocktail hour doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it without actual cocktails either.” Satine smirked, “Despite Hondo’s grandest efforts, I did ensure they were clear of booze. It might be my final night, but that doesn’t mean anything is getting by me.”

“Yeah, if you’re going to be lame, you’ve got to be consistent with it,” Cody patted her on the back before parting from the two girls and going off to greet his Quidditch friends with a loud roar.

Satine rolled her eyes before smiling ruefully, “I’m not sure why I keep him around.”

Cody was now attempting to spin on his head, with all of his brothers egging him on. Even Ninety-Nine was in the mix, still wearing Cody’s jersey for the occasion.

Padmé grinned, “He’s got spirit, that’s for sure.”

“So do you, by the looks of it,” Satine looked at Padmé’s outfit, which had been made special by her friends.

“I better be!” Padmé said, clapping her hands together, “You’re looking at the prototype uniform for Hogwarts’ brand new cheerleading squad!”

“Oh!” Satine’s eyes widened, “I hadn’t heard of that.”

“It’s still in deliberation,” Padmé explained, “But, if all goes as planned, each Quidditch team will have a gaggle of gals cheering them on, instilling spirit!”

“Dressed like that? All year round?” Satine nodded slowly, “Whose idea was this?”

“You’ll never believe this, but Hondo was the one to suggest it!” She said, “And then Professor Saesee Tiin loved it.”

“Hondo suggesting girls in tiny skirts waving pom poms around for all to see?” Satine shook her head, “I can’t exactly say I’m shocked. I’d like to believe Professor Tiin’s enthusiasm comes from a place of school spirit.”

“Regardless, I think it’ll be fun!” She said, “I’ve never loved playing Quidditch, but it’s always a good time to watch. I think it’ll do me well to have a well-rounded batch of extracurriculars anyway if I stand a shot at making Head Girl.”

“I would argue you’re a very strong contender even without it,” Satine said.

“That kind of brings me to what I wanted to ask you, actually,” She said, feeling a bit of nerves creeping up on her, “So, I’ve officially put my hat in the ring to be a prefect.”

“That’s wonderful!” Satine immediately perked up at that.

“Yes, but… and there’s no rush on this, since I believe the deadline is actually in July. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you would maybe consider writing a letter of recommendation for me?”

“Oh, Padmé-” Satine started.

“-You know, since you have such a strong writing voice and have immeasurable respect around here.”

“Okay, but-” She tried again.

“-It would just really mean a lot to me.” Padmé went on, “I know it’s kind of embarrassing, but I really look up to you and-”

“-Padmé!” Satine placed two hands on her shoulders, making her focus, “Breathe!”

She did as the older girl instructed and breathed in and out for a moment.

“I’ve already written you a letter of recommendation,” Satine confirmed, a slow smile growing on her face.

“Wait,” Padmé shook her head, “What? You have? When?”

“Oh, I’ve had it drafted for months,” Satine scoffed, “I had to make sure it was perfect, of course.”

“You- You did?”

“I did,” She said, “And not because you look up to me or because I have any inflated sense of importance, but because I believe you truly deserve the role. I think you will go on to do wonderful things, just by being you.”

“Thank you so much!” Without thinking much on it, Padmé dove into her arms, relieved when she was immediately met with a reciprocated hug and a laugh.

“Don’t mention it,” Satine said, “But remember, it’s not my words that will get you in, but your own merit. I want this school taken care of in my absence.”

“I’ll do my best to be up for the job.”

“I’ve no doubts of that.”

“It’s kind of weird that this will probably be the last time this many Fetts will be in school at the same time as each other,” Rex said as he swept up confetti, “What with Cody graduating.”

“Then, it’s just two more years for us and we’re out,” Echo agreed, looking at Fives while they were all tasked with cleanup duty. It was one of the downsides to having such a great big party. Cleaning up, even with magic, was still a pain. Historically, the seventh years never helped.

“Then, it’s up to Rex to uphold our family’s legacy,” Fives said.

“Until all of our kids show up here,” Cody, on the other hand, did linger around, helping lift some heavier items to make himself useful. If Rex had to guess, he’d say it was to be with them for a bit longer.

“Oh man, then there’s going to be even more of us,” Fives grinned, tossing a bag of trash at the eldest Fett in the room, who caught it without looking and disposed of it.

“I think the new goal would be to accumulate enough to make up all four Quidditch teams,” Cody nodded and though he laughed as he said it, Rex really didn’t think he was completely joking. “Between seven of us? That’s gotta be possible even if everyone doesn’t end up with anyone.”

“Cody, that’s 28 kids without including backups,” Rex winced. “The rest of you can pick up the slack. I’m good.”

“We better get busy then,” Echo teased, to which Cody shoved him to the couch.

“Not until you graduate, you won’t be getting anything .” Cody said, “Dad would kill you where you stand!”

“As he should, since saddling up with imaginary friends is the true sign of insanity to begin with!” Laughed Fives, who was then tackled by Echo, leaving the two of them scrambling on the floor- caught between actual competition and just horsing around. It was no wonder to Rex why very few others participated in the cleanup tonight.

“Are you nervous to leave?” Rex asked for the first time.

“Nah, frankly, I don’t think it’ll be much different than all the other years,” He said, “Kryze is going to be the crier of the bunch, I’m sure. She and Kenobi were already bemoaning the fact that tests are over.”

“And I’m sure they did wonderfully.” Rex chuckled.

“No, they were just upset that they won’t have to take another one,” Cody rolled his eyes in good nature, “Besides, now that I’m certain that the team is going to be okay without me, I think I’m ready to try new things and never wear a tie ever again.”

“I’ll be sure to tease you the moment you do.” Rex said.

“You’re entitled to it, tiny.”

“I’m not tiny!” Rex insisted.

“You’ll always be tiny to me,” Cody’s eyes sparkled, “And without going too soft on you, I’ve enjoyed having you around these past couple of years. I missed you before that. It really feels like we’re all family.”

“We are.” Rex confirmed. “It is strange that I’ll be here all alone when they graduate,” He said quietly to Cody.

“What do you mean?” Cody asked. “You’ll have all your friends!”

“Yeah, I know,” He said, trying to figure out what he meant, because this was truthfully a realization he hadn’t obtained until Fives made his comment earlier. It hadn’t bothered him, per say, because it was only the truth, but as the baby, Rex had always been accompanied by someone . Many of his experiences at Hogwarts were with some sort of pretense. Very few were without previous input or guidance to some degree.

“The last Fett who was on his own at school was Boba during his first few years.” He said, “And then Dad before him.”

“What am I? Roadkill?” Ninety Nine laughed.

“Truthfully, I hadn’t realized you intended on staying that long,” Rex said.

“Brothers never leave each other behind, Rexy,” Ninety Nine smiled in his usual kind way and Rex instantly felt better about the prospect.

“Besides, you’re never alone anyway,” Cody said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I might be busy touring the world, but I’ll never be too busy to show up and beat a bloke’s face in for messing with my little brother!”

“Even if I think Rex stands quite well on his own as it is,” Ninety Nine nodded knowingly and Rex joined him.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Like he said, I’m never alone.”

“There you are.” A gentle voice stirred Obi-Wan out of his gaze, which had previously been stretching over the glorious expanse of water and surrounding mountains, appreciating how the golden sun glimmered splotches onto the surface.

Nothing was more impressive than turning to see Satine standing in the entryway of the astronomy tower, dressed in full graduation garbs. She held the cap in her hand, revealing golden locks that were perfectly curled to brush her shoulders. Her robes rivaled his in how particularly pressed and neat they looked and like him, adorned several tassels that indicated both her academic and extracurricular success. One was from a set of only two- the Head Student tassel, which he knew matched his own.

The graduation robes and cap were entirely black and the ties that poked through were similar to those that were given to them for their first day as first years- neutral and no longer indicative of house. However, this was replaced with an ornate navy stole that had the Ravenclaw house crest marked into the bottom.

“You look lovely.” He said with a swelling pride that threatened to expand his chest and she took the opportunity to walk forward, craning her head around to appreciate the magnificent space, before lacing their fingers the moment he was within reach.

“So do you.” She grinned.

“Are they waiting for us?” He asked.

“No, we have a minute,” She said. “I half-expected to find you in Qui-Gon’s old office.”

He nodded, because he’d considered lingering there too, but it didn’t feel quite right. He turned his head back towards the horizon.

“I’m not sure Qui-Gon would have wanted me to lament over the past.” He said carefully, “So, I wanted the highest point possible to finally consider the future.”

Satine nodded and looked out to whatever point he’d been gazing at, resting their still-joined hands on the railing. At first, he wondered if she was going to speak, because he had to admit that he felt content to just be here with her for as long as they were allowed. That was it, though, they would not be students of this school for much longer. Like so many before them, their sun was setting and the school would always remain. They had not defined it, but it had certainly defined them.

“Are you afraid?” She finally asked and it had not been the question he was expecting from her.

He turned to her again, running his thumb over her knuckles, and despite the fact that he would indisputably miss everything this place had given him, answered in resolution, “No.”

She eyed him suspiciously, clearly trying to detect any sense of denial or repressed emotions, which was fair, but Obi-Wan’s heart was not burdened with those weights any longer.

“I’ll miss it.” He said gently, barely audible over the soft breeze that rustled the leaves of the trees below them. “Of course I’ll miss it. Hogwarts gave me so many things. So much love that I never even believed I deserved.”

Had he not spirited along, she was a breath away from asserting that he did , and he smiled at her encouragingly, “But for the first time in my life… My future isn’t decided for me. For the first time, I’m free.”

A slow smile of realization spread across her lips and it matched the glimmer in her brilliant azure eyes, which seemed to soften the longer she looked at him. She squeezed his hand, “You are.”

“We are.” He corrected, “Seeing as I would like for you to be a part of whatever the future has in store for me.”

It used to be overwhelming for him to admit things like that, but he found that his heart felt so light and brimming with hope, that words of affirmation and love were like a second language to him. This sensation was only further emboldened by the look of pure delight that filled her gaze, which roamed his face in what he could only deduce was reverence.

“Oh? Keen on keeping me around?” She teased lightly, but he didn’t miss the way she’d scooted closer to him so their shoulders were touching.

He played along and shrugged, “I mean, lecturing tendencies aside, you’re a pretty good catch.”

Her jaw dropped, “ Lecturing tendencies? You’ve got a lot of nerve! If you didn’t go and self-sacrifice yourself at every left turn-”

Unable to prevent the chuckle that escaped his lips, he promptly cut her off with a kiss that turned whatever argument she’d been ready to fire off into a sigh. When they parted, he didn’t go far and observed, with deep satisfaction, how flustered she looked.

“That’s not always going to work.” She said in a low voice, but was betraying her own words with a smile that fought to break through.

“That implies that sometimes, it does.” He pointed out cheekily.

“Well, you’re lucky I’m not in much of a mood for quarreling.” She said.

“That’s a first.” He quipped.

“Are you trying to make me in the mood for quarreling?” She arched an eyebrow and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.

“Me? Never , my dear.” He assured with a laugh.

“Good, because they’ll want us down by the field soon.” She said, “I didn’t get you that watch so you could be needlessly late, Mr. Head Boy.”

“Actually, Mrs. Head Girl, if you had a watch of your own you would know that we have…” He looked at his wrist, “Approximately 15 seconds before we should be on our way.”

“Ah, silly me. Best to make every moment count then.” She retorted before tugging on his Head Student tassel and bringing his mouth back down to meet hers. And he really couldn’t think of a better way to kick off his final victory lap. Satine abruptly cut off the kiss with a pop and reached for his wrist to check his watch.

“Now, we’re running behind.” She tsked with fake disapproval.

“It’s okay, we’ve got all the time in the world.” He said as he unraveled them from their embrace and stuck out his arm, “How do you feel about one last patrol?”

She looped her arm in his, “I would love that.”

A graduation was a lesson in finality. Lining up like students, last name order, houses forgotten for the time being. Rows and rows of chairs to put them all at center stage as their loved ones and friends sat along the sides with cameras. Headmaster Yoda said a few words before letting Windu give a speech. He spoke of the talent that sat among them, of young minds now officially considered molded, and of future prospects that would hopefully reach the tallest mountains.

Then Obi-Wan was called to the stand. Hogwarts Head Boy and Salutatorian gave a quite passionate speech. It detailed the highs and lows that their graduating class had gone through. It covered everything from Maul to a particularly memorable prank that happened their fourth year.

“Hogwarts is a home to many, but today it is no longer our home. We all carved a life for ourselves here amid the stone walls and now it's time to do it one more time to form our futures.”

It was beautiful and Satine had to fan her eyes to keep her makeup from running. It would have looked rather odd considering she was called up next, Head Girl and Valedictorian. Satine had written her speech with similar tones, though hers focused more on the future than of the past. She did take time to highlight the muggleborn students among them. They of course had, had to work harder than a lot of their peers and she would not let them forget it.

“Moving forward I hope none of us will forget, where we came from does not dictate where we will go. It is your hardwork and dedicated passion that will define you.”

It felt like she was finishing her speech before it even began, walking back to her seat. Obi-Wan let his hand brush against hers as she passed, just a couple seats down. There was an invited guest, a kind eyed witch who brought her perspectives from the business of international travel. Her speech was honest, detailing the workplace life and how Hogwarts had prepared her for it. When Satine looked around at her peers she could tell they hoped they’d be prepared too.

And then names were called. Row by row, one by one each student walked across the stage as their name was announced. Students and audience alike, cheering as their friends and family made their way across to shake hands with Headmaster Yoda who was on a rather tall stool and receive their diploma from their Head of House.

“Cody Fett; Quidditch Captain!”

Satine cheered, clapping loudly as she watched him take the stage. Her first friend in a strange new world. He’d helped her up when she’d been knocked down and he’d taught her about Hogwarts. Cody never held any judgments. He was brave, loyal, and dedicated. Satine would always be grateful to him for making her feel welcomed in a world where she knew people wanted her gone.

Cody had shook Yoda’s hand and moved to Windu who had a few quiet words to say that she couldn’t make out. When he turned and held his diploma above his head she could tell he was a little misty eyed, though he would most certainly deny it. His family perhaps were the loudest cheerers of the day, Fives and Echo had found some kind of horribly loud horn and they used it for all it was worth until Professor Mundi silenced it from his spot alongside the other professors.

It was a long while and yet no time at all when she found herself standing, in line for the stage with her fellow K’s and surrounding letters.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, Head Boy, Salutatorian!”

Ben graced the stage with poise and grace, but in an entirely opposite way from when he’d approached the sorting hat their first year. He no longer made himself hold an air of disdain, instead he was smiling softly. His hair was not pressed back, it was styled, yes, but fell loosely. His robes were pressed, but no longer out of obligation, but out of preference.

“For the first time in my life… My future isn’t decided for me. For the first time, I’m free.”

He’d just told her that, high up in the school towers. The sentiment echoed in every step he took. He shook Professor Yoda’s hand. Then, in a way that was so painfully Obi-Wan, he stuck his hand out to Professor Windu, then Professor Ti, Professor Palpatine, and finally his actual Head of House, Professor Tahl. He took the diploma carefully in his hands and he turned to face the audience looking a tad shy for someone who had just given a speech. He let his eyes roam the crowd before finding her, off to his right. He smiled and waved the little roll at her and she grinned back giving a thumbs up, making sure to cheer as loudly as she could.

In barely a moment it was her own turn.

“Satine Kryze, Head Girl, Valedictorian!”

As she took the stage she was reminded of the first time she’d entered the Great Hall. It’s enchanted ceiling and floating candles had stolen her breath and amazed her. Magic continued to amaze her every day. Walking through that room for the first time, seeing the castle for the first time, her first night away from her mum and sitting in the Ravenclaw common room. It all was the opening chapter in a now well loved and completely cherished book. Here, crossing the stage and facing Headmaster Yoda, she was writing the last chapter. There would be an epilogue, she supposed right afterwards, but this here? This was the final chapter, the final page.

She shook Headmaster Yoda’s hand and nodded at the Heads of Houses before approaching her own. Professor Tahl shook her hand and handed her a small bit of rolled parchment that would mean without any debate, that she was a certified graduating witch. In primary school she’d been asked of course what she wanted to be when she grew up. Never in her wildest dreams did little logical, overly realistic Satine Kryze expect that the answer would be a witch.

She turned and gazed across the audience, she found Ben easily and then Cody, and then her mum. This was the final sentence, the final words. As she carefully stepped off the stage, the book was closed.

The festivities for graduation were much tamer than the festivities of the night before. A small luncheon had been provided and it was mostly time for mingling with family and friends. Really it was a time for final farewells. Obi-Wan was fine sitting back and observing, a ridiculously large slice of chocolate cake in front of him. He thought it was poetic justice, after all, it was another ridiculous rule of his parents he’d broken through. He didn’t have to wonder too much about what it would have been like if he hadn’t been allowed to go to school. He would be forever in the debt of Hogwarts, the castle itself and the professors who worked there. They’d given him the space to grow, they’d given him help when he needed it.

He let his eyes drift to Cody who was surrounded by his brothers and Satine who was hugging her mum tightly. Anakin had come too, he hadn’t expected it. The soon to be forth year was currently piling his plate up sky high at the buffet table. If there was one thing for certain, Obi-Wan no longer had to lay awake at night wondering what it would be like to be loved.

Things changed over the years, but after all this time, he certainly had grown to enjoy it.

“Oi,” Anakin slapped down his plate next to Obi-Wan’s, “Look how many sorts of meat they have!” He was currently debating between two of them, “I’m not even sure what half this is.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s bantha,” Obi-Wan suggested helpfully, but Anakin just shrugged and piled them all into a roll.

“Whatever it is I’m starving,” Anakin took a large bite, “Graduation ceremonies take forever!”

“Keep your mouth closed Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, shielding his cake from any flying condiments.

“Ben!” He whipped his head up at Satine’s call. She was standing next to Cody and her mum waving him over.

He didn’t waste any time joining them.

“I’m so proud of you,” Satine tried to say, but was definitely getting herself choked up.

“Come now, I’m second best,” He cheekily reminded her, “Someone seems to always be around to beat me to the punches.”

“I don’t think Satine’s throwing any punches mate,” Cody shook his head, “Though she’d be might dangerous if she did.”

“Oh shut up,” She sniffed, frantically swiping at her eyes to keep her makeup from running, “We’re going to get pictures now, okay? Cody don’t you dare complain,” She stopped him before he could start, “You’ll want one anyways.”

“It is our last chance to all be in one place,” Obi-Wan said wistfully, “Come fall we’ll be running around in all sorts of directions.”

“ Please don’t remind me right now, Obi-Wan,” Satine admonished swiping more furiously at her mascara, “Damn I knew I shouldn’t have worn this today.”

“Uh did you guys already forget?” Cody was looking between the two of them inquisitive and Obi-Wan racked his brain.

“I can’t think of anything I’ve forgotten,” Obi-Wan hesitated, “Satine?”

“No don’t worry I remembered to turn in all our library books,” Satine took a shaky breath, “I don’t want to think about that either.”

“Mates, my best mates in the whole world,” Cody sighed deeply, but eagerness to remind them poured through his words, “You’re forgetting that this is going to be the best summer of our lives. ”

Obi-Wan blinked blankly and shot a confused glance to Satine who shook her head, “Not that I’m not looking forward to hearing of your Quidditch workout, but what does that have to do with anything.”

“Oh bloody hell, I’m not talking about Quidditch… for once,” He grinned, “We’ve got all summer to do anything we want before real life starts next fall! And this is the first time we have complete access to this guy ,” He threw an arm around Obi-Wan, “It’s going to the summer.”

Obi-Wan had never considered the possibility of a summer where he could simply do whatever he wanted… but Cody was right, and he was free.

“I don’t even know what people do in the summer,” Obi-Wan said in his slow dawning realization.

“Don’t worry,” Satine grinned, throwing her arms around the two of them, “I have some ideas!”

Just on the edge of Loch Carron in the Scottish Highlands, a young girl runs through a spectacular field of shrubbery of all makes and colors with one destination in mind. The air is fresh and warm on her umber skin, with the ever present sprays of seasalt saving her from any lingering humidity. She doesn’t stop, though despite her focus, takes care to greet any familiar townspeople along her way. Most are fishermen, as that was and always will be a marketable trade in Plockton, but also she’s known them the majority of her life.

Whether or not they truly know her, is a whole other question.

Her dark hair whips behind her in tight braids as she sprints, her fists pumping to propel herself faster and towards the charming little cottage that rested on the outskirts of Plockton. A day hasn’t gone by where she doesn’t call this home, but right now, it also serves as a golden gate to new possibilities. She does not tire, even as she runs the entire distance from the schoolyard. She doesn’t know how she knows, but she knows today is the day.

The town is quaint and regarded as quite beautiful by visitors, and she never regretted growing amongst the quiet reverie offered to her. However, since she was a small girl, she has been forced to keep a secret about herself. One that is much bigger than her or her uncle that has raised her from her days as a small tot. It is one that will one day very soon be explored.

Though it likely takes her but a few minutes, she feels as though her trek along the visionary mountainside took years, but she finally cuts through to where the buildings start to gather and rounds the church at the end of her street to catch sight of home.

She sticks her hand through the mailbox posted at the front of their lawn, briefly disgruntled that it’s already empty. This does not reduce her fervor. Despite how many times she’s been scolded for it, she swings the screen door open with little care for if she rips it off its hinges and lets it slam with equal carelessness.

“Must you be so barbaric?” A muffled voice from the bathroom predictably calls down to her. “You’re like a bull in a china shop!”

“Sorry!” She calls, even if she’s anything but. She races towards the dining room table, not taking the time to kick off her shoes or put down her book bag as she normally would. She’s not bogged down by the weight, for not only is it the last day of school, but she simply could not be bothered.

How could she? On a day like today? There were so few moments in a person’s life where they knew everything was about to change tremendously for them. But this was one of them. In many ways, it felt like an origin story.

Instead, she scans the floral lined tablecloth, as the mail is as neatly organized as it always is, divided into piles. She hardly ever gets mail save for the occasional magazine that might wind up in her name due to some accidental subscriptions at the supermarket. Her heart doesn’t stop beating until she realizes that nothing is in her name and then all the excitement of the climactic build up falls and seeps from every pore on her body.

She drops into a seat- her usual when eating meals or doing homework, and tries not to be too disappointed. Today was only the first day she could receive her news. In retrospect, it was probably very rare to get yours in the first batch, even if she did feel her uncle could have something to say about getting hers sooner rather than later.

She blows out a heavy sigh, the exhaustion of her run finally catching up to her and the emerald green necklace around her neck suddenly seems to weigh a thousand pounds. She takes it off, watching her skin go from brown to orange and reaching to feel the familiar cool texture of striped montrails in lieu of hair on her head. She catches her reflection in the antique plates and cutlery on display and smiles, always liking her true appearances.

“Looking for something?” Her uncle appears, his face kind and understanding behind the breathing apparatus he regularly wore.

“I thought it might come today,” She shrugs. “But I guess I was just being impatient.”

“Perhaps,” Uncle Plo says, removing his hand from behind his back to reveal a letter with a cherry red seal on the back. He hands it out to her, “But I’m sure that’s something we’ll be able to assist you with at Hogwarts.”

The timing was perfect. All departing students were home at last for the summer, sharing the first of many meals alongside family and chattering about the conquests of an eventful school year. The travels of the day would render them exhausted early, many falling asleep even where they sat if they could not make the long climb to the safety of their beds.

Fireplaces were cooled and blankets were tucked tight. The full moon rose high across an otherwise oblique sky, glowing a strong yellow. Save for the song of the crickets, who came out to dominate the night, there was silence.

Until the heavy hand struck 12 and every radio in every wizarding household clicked on .

At first, there was merely a soft whirring that crackled through speakers, only loud enough to stir the lightest of sleepers. It drew on for a long minute, driving at the very least, the restless mice of the house, insane with the thought of whether this was a dream or reality. For those with stronger sleep defenses, the abrupt start of a children’s rhyme blasting through their house surely jostled them out of bed and tumbled towards the song.

Families briefly quarreled, surely, since they all demanded to know who would play such a prank and awake them from their precious rest. It was not as though everyone had off from responsibility the entire summer, after all. They switched every knob, pushed every button, and tried smothering the devices. However, the more they intensified their efforts, the more present the sounds grew.

“Ring around the rosie

A pocketful of posies

Ashes, ashes…”

Eventually though, it became abundantly clear that no one present had started it, for the song that played on the radio wasn’t on any station or recording in the actual mechanism. It was merely a conduit for a sound beyond their control.

The voice was high-pitched and distorted, with the vague sound of a piano out of key playing beneath the chorus. Repeatedly, this song was played, a click in between each time it circled around and around. It seemed endless and the underlying music delved into further chaos. It never sang the final line in the song, each time just cutting off and returning to the beginning again.

To the youth of the muggle world, this was but a chant sung by gleeful children on the schoolyard, dancing in circles in delight of good weather and better company. Even the youngest of witches and wizards of pure descent knew that there was nothing jovial surrounding the ominous warning of what was the black plague.

It was an omen, showcasing that darkness usually preyed on those most innocent before finding its way slowly to those more deserving. It was a threat but also a promise to take and take until there would be little left behind. They were losing their culture, their history, to hypocrisy and spinelessness.

They had to know what was coming and what the price would be to those who weren’t willing to stand against the true mark of evil: ignorance.

There was brief silence, just enough to sustain a sense of misplaced relief in the listening audience before Dooku’s voice filled their ears. He used his classroom voice, diffusing some of the dark reputation that had slandered his name these past few years. Many expected the Sith to sound like demons, to behave like invalids.

“I can remain silent no longer on the nefarious propaganda that has weighed down my reputation for these long years. I have hidden in the shadows for too long, simply for having differing beliefs from those in power.”

He paused, speaking slowly, but with increased momentum, knowing full and well he would have their attention next if he hadn’t already, “And I’ve watched as they try to make me out to be a monster, to group me and my cause in with the likes of Maul. It is not I who freed that satanic brute. It is not I that infiltrated Hogwarts with a useless squib teaching our children. It is not I that covers up fires and death and mutiny every single day by means of censorship.”

He breathed, addressing what was surely the elephant in the room in a voice lower than before, “And you might ask yourselves, Dooku, you had tried to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker that night in the graveyard. To which I admit, it may seem that way.”

Oh the madness those pearl-clutching plebs must have divulged into.

“But while my methods in this TriWizard tournament may hold the perceptions of cruelty to those unwilling to understand, it was meant to stand as proof of the inadequacy of this current administration. There was no protection on those boys in this watered down tournament. There was no accountability or proper investigation to the several claims of possible sabotage. Like with anything else, it was buried, just as their bodies would have been had I not seen my point already proven.”

The smile in his voice was evident as he spoke further, “What sort of Ministry do we have? That allows maniacs to run loose and target our most prized children? While protecting and even paying for the safety of those who do not? We spend more in the defense of muggles than we do in wizards.”

He could not see the responses from his audience, but there was a fear that radiated through the air that Dooku could practically smell. It was delicious and waiting to be consumed, “We delude ourselves with lies from the censorship that radiates through the Daily Prophet all the way to the top! We tell ourselves it’s all okay as though we stand a chance if there were to be revolution. The muggles are planning. Do you think they seek to share this world with us any longer?”

“I will no longer be operating from the shadows, hiding as though what I think is wrong, not when hypocrisy drenches our hands like blood. I have no shame nor fear to douse myself entirely if it means putting an end to this heinous ludicrousy. I know I am not the only one.”

He imagined applause, those standing from the safety of their own homes, away from judgment or the media to criticize how they felt. It was how true revolution was made.

“And I will be running for Minister of Magic, to ensure that nobody is.” He said gently, “We will target those who stand in our way of freedom. Because if we don’t make this stand, if we don’t rise …”

The song clicked on again, playing the final part and leaving everyone with that familiar whirring sound from earlier.

“We all fall down.”

#Obi-Wan Kenobi #Anakin Skywalker #obitine #anidala #the clone wars #tcw #star wars #magical forces au #hpau

[ban-joey]

list of star wars posts that irritated me. one was along the lines of “why are people so happy to not see jedi in something? they’re what make star wars unique from other scifi/fantasy” 1) wrong 2) let me explain

for one thing the need to have something so deeply entrenched in Multiple Genres be “unique” is very funny to me, because it’s not. og star wars is essentially an arthurian tale in space. add to that the fact that GL’s inspiration came directly from a bazillion ww1/2 films and you’re arguing a point about standing out that.. doesn’t really exist. sure the jedi are a “unique faction” to see in science fiction, but they’re also a religious order of space monks. even somebody who has never seen anything related to star wars could get some idea of the jedi based off that combination of words. 

second, why do you like the jedi so goddamn much? this is the thing that always frustrates me. there’s a difference between force-users and the capital J Jedi. you went from religious space monks in the original trilogy, to a fascinating shift in perspective in the prequels/clone wars in which they are religious space cops serving an increasingly fascist government when they’re supposedly not meant to get involved in government affairs unless it’s basically a human rights issue, but ultimately end up committing sooo many violations of that sort. they’re horrendous to the clones, to droids, regularly treating both groups the same--disposable and not-people. they’re not all-knowing and have absolutely no idea what’s coming for them when order 66 comes around, despite the unsubtle clues. hot take, obi-wan IS partially at fault for what ultimately happens to anakin--because he continued to uphold a dying system and ideology that actively drove people to the dark side and refused to connect on any emotional level with anyone because of the jedi code. 

i love the jedi for their flaws, and star wars is ultimately at its most interesting fantastical point when it criticizes them, as in TLJ. burning the codex was poignant and cool as hell. but limiting star wars to just the jedi is just dull. there’s so much more going on there, politically, sociologically, economically, etc. you get the bare minimum information about that packaged in bad writing in the prequels and the clone wars cartoon, little itty bitty morsels of finally fleshing this strange galaxy out in a way that makes some sort of disjointed sense. andor takes the whole thing at face-value and decides to turn it into something legible and personal in a way star wars hasn’t since the originals. it proves that you don’t need the jedi to make star wars cool, and yet every time there’s a red herring with luthen, I lose my fucking mind, because I love the idea of finally getting an INTERESTING jedi. but i would honestly prefer it if he wasn’t. 

star wars is cool and interesting because of all that (politics & logistics), having cool big huge ships and caring about that design in terms of speed and what those ships are used for (i.e. tie fighters were created to patrol planets, not chase after X-wings, which is why they eat it a lot), time scales that make no fucking sense apart from trying really hard to make space smaller than it is, unique sound design, differing designs of people and planets that star trek couldn’t come anywhere close to, and a lot more. 

also, just because this is the most obvious point. the jedi are fucking dead in andor. yeah yeah certain people escaped. they’re in hiding. do you remember how obi wan went to be a hermit for like 20 years. yall just fucking forget about order 66 as soon as you complain about there not being jedi in something. do you understand the scale of that situation. do you understand how many people were killed. fake fan

#i am just ranting a little bit. i am not a fan of the jedi. #as like an order. force users are interesting kind of but. fuck the jedi fr

[ladyxskywalker]

I can see how an older Obi Wan is doing the deed only with someone who he has known for a while and grown close to, maybe a friend who means a lot more to him? However, a young Obi Wan probably did it without the bond because of the code, but how can love hurt? He has seen how Anakin is with Padme and no one really cares.

So, when he grows older he's definitely on the lookout for someone who he has a close bond with - it's much better with a bond anyways as he'd find out when he's with finally with you.

All the sweet I love you 's in between? Yeah. These sweet kisses? Yeah. The heavy eye contact? Yeahhh...

just seeing this now 💖

I can definitely imagine an older obi wan allowing himself to feel more, to get swept up in some kind of real bond with another person, indulging in that sense of closeness without trying to hide it from anyone. fully enjoying falling in love & how that feels; giving in to a more sensual connection where unburdened intimacy is so welcome.

& maybe at first he doesn't know how to do that just yet? the whole opening up to someone else thing, can either take time, or wash over him completely to the point where he just wants to give you everything he has inside him all at once...

he tries to teach himself patience & doing things *right*, when meanwhile he's been doing everything right all along; perfect even...

his partner reassuring him that it's okay, they will set the pace with one another however that looks like...

the rush of that first collide; then waking up & loving each other in different ways that tend to slow down - savoring those moments when they have them

a younger obi wan probably would have been working against the constraints of time & maybe not having enough of it to devote to someone else, & also all of that guilt of keeping secrets that comes with all of that during training or war

padawan obi prob would have been flirty & mischievous, making friends & crushes, competing with them every chance he gets until finally that tension breaks & you both eventually unravel

there are so many different versions of him that I love & I can only imagine how qui gonn must have felt *observing* in the shadows - maybe even getting into a little well deserved trouble himself

... 🌸💗

#pxk anon box 💌 #obi anon 💌

[backhurtyy]

Now onto revenge of the sith. THIS is the Anakin I know with the long hair and everything. The infamous “kill him. Do it” line. Also I think the disconnect for me on why this is supposedly such a big thing is that. The Jedi kill people all the time esp aliens? Why should him killing a Sith Lord which are so ~dangerous and evil~ be any different? Also it’s that guy from clone wars the evil robot guy? Idk his name yet. OH general grievous of course, how is he coughing when he’s a robot? Anyway. Also I asked my dad if he knew who Ashoka is and he goes “I Ashoka my dishes in the sink” and I THOUGHT he was gonna make a dick joke and it almost killed me. Are we not supposed to know Palpatine is the other sith at this point? He’s way too recognizable in voice and what we see under the cloak for anyone not to know who he is immediately but they’re really pushing the secret identity thing it seems lol. I love Anakin but he is so many red flags wrapped up in one in general and with Padme especially he’s just. I used to love him a lot but now I’m like mmm he says words. Obi Wan mentioned Cody! Its that guy! Idk what that means but it’s that guy! The “hello there” “general kenobi” part happened but Grievous doesn’t pull out all four sabers until a little later I feel lied to. “Are you going to kill me” “I would certainly like to” I love this Tik tok audio. Also palpatine is the Sith Lord, who would’ve guessed that’s crazy. Also all of this bc Anakin wants to save Padme. She’s like I can just… get an abortion it’s no big deal and he’s like no! I will simply become evil there is no other way! Palp told Anakin to kill everyone and he’s walking down the hallway in like full dark attire and all I can think is “oh ani what have you gotten yourself into.” Also I realized at some point, Padme was definitely an awakening of some kind for me as a kid she’s just so pretty. Order 66 they said the thing, that’s not good. I forgot Anakin kills all those kids, god that’s. That’s bad. Obi Wan doesn’t want to kill him he’s convincing Yoda he can’t, this is breaking my heart. Not the shot of Anakin crying after killing everyone NELLIE this is so fucking sad. I used to quote the end of this movie all the time as a kid cause I thought it was FUNNY and NOW look at me I wanna cry. And to think, Anakin does get to kill Obi Wan in like episode 4. God this whole thing is killing me, Anakin is just so angry and Obi Wan just wants to help he’s so sad. The transitions between Padme giving birth and Anakin being operated on, damn. Vader’s theme softly playing as Anakin taking his first breath in the suit, ugh. Padme saying there’s good in him in her last breath, him immediately asking for her when he gets up. Padme and all the flowers in her hair in her casket, still with a baby bump I’m gonna lose it I cannot take this. I always loved that shot of her too idk why. This movie was my favorite one when I was a kid and now I see why I think it still is it’s just. Fuck man. The Whole Time I’m like ani please just talk to anyone about this have A conversation, someone will help and he just doesn’t 😩 - 🤍

‘DEWIT 😈😈😈’ yeah okay palpers let’s get you to bed

i think the difference is the context in which anakin kills dooku? like yeah the jedi kill people but typically only when there’s no other option (i.e, civilians are being endangered and the only way to save them is to take out the bad guy) or like. when obi wan is fighting maul in phantom menace and it’s the only way he can stop him and try to save naboo. but anakin has an unarmed man in front of him— yes, he’s a sith lord, but he’s still unarmed and taking him in as a prisoner would likely have ended the war had palpatine not been pulling strings— and also kills him from a place of rage, anger, frustration, and desire to end the war, with the urging of palpatine, who is technically a civilian. it’s not a way to protect anyone. it’s done purely for selfish reasons. or at least, that’s my understanding of it, i’m sure others have explained it better!!!

as for grievous he’s a cyborg so i think he used to be human or like some alien species, but something happened to him and his lungs and stuff were put into the metal body??? i did not fact check that so i could be wrong but i’m pretty sure that’s what happened to him lmao

it’s dumb for them to expect us to not know who palpatine is because like. the original trilogy established it was emperor palpatine??? so idk why they push it so hard. probably dramatic irony or something lmao

ladies if his name is anakin skywalker… 🚩🚩🚩

CODY MY MOST BELOVED I MISS HIM EVERYDAY!!!!! the biggest crime of this century was them not including more of cody in anything because he’s. the best. and idk if you’ve started watching clone wars yet but. if you haven’t you’ll get to see him a bit more!!! he’s obi wan’s husband commander and they have some awesome moments together 💖

anakin makes me so sad because. he loves so hard and so fiercely. and it brings the galaxy to its knees. like that quote that’s like ‘i love you to the point of ruin’ (is that real or did i make that up???) is just. that’s him. thats anakin skywalker. and it’s worse too because that love is only a bad thing because of palpatine!!! because palpatine abuses it and turns it into fear and preys on it and— like if palpers hadn’t been there he would have been the best brother to ahsoka and obi wan, the best husband, the best father, the best jedi…. GOD. IN TEARS.

bestie if the movie makes you sad you have GOT to read the revenge of the sith novelization by matthew stover because. that shit ruins my life daily. it is so fucking sad. i’m so— ani. obi. best friends and brothers who love each other even at the end.

#this movie. it’s so #it’s my favorite one and i think that’s a major cause for concern honestly #like hello mental illness wooooo!!!!! #but it’s also peak obi wan like. ‘another happy landing’ ‘hello there’ etc #answered #🤍 anon #long post #just in case lmaoooo

[cheeri-archive]

Hi! Could you please let us know your five fav OCs and why they're your fav. (5 may be a lot so you can choose how many you wanna write about)

*cracks open this can of worms*

1 - starting off with the one, the only, the gender-filled little windu itself.. OMURA VAAAAAANE Omura (using it/its pronouns) is my first self-insert I made for SW, and to be really honest.. it was just because I wanted Anakin to have at least one friend that wouldn't flake out, get killed, or otherwise disappear. It takes on a modified role of the Barsen'thor from Legends content - more specifically, The Old Republic. Modified because I gave the role more agency and flexibility than just being affiliated with the Jedi Order, but rather the Force as a whole. It acts as a Balancer. Omura itself has gone through a lot of changes between the different canons, but each time it comes out a little more mentally unstable I mean stronger. I did some posts on it, so skim #omura vane on my acc. Also I have forceblessed too, soon to be rife w content. Man I love Togrutas.

2 - Master Consular Jupso Onurimaa, because he hasn't suffered enough. He's a Mirialan Seer born in the later High Republic, and was given a prophecy detailing the tragedy that would befall the Order if Yoda was to become the Grandmaster and train four highly-powerful students. Each one of them would fall in some way, and in turn, the Order would be left crippled to the point of Dark manipulation. He left the Order for some twenty years and returned later to attempt to hold the Order together from the shadows, but was too late to make his own mark - his lineage suffered for it. But things, at least in my typical Cheeriverse canon, turn out okay in the end. He also gets revived by the Grim Reaper because she said he was too important to die. He's so tired.

3 - Hellir' Drovaddal, a Balosar Jedi Diplomat. He's a very good friend of Mace's and one of the top Diplomats in the Temple, often becoming a confidant as well. He also played with the Temple's band of musicians, on bass guitar. He becomes Obi-Wan Kenobi's Master after Qui-Gon is killed, and he's nothing short of a father to a young man who's been a Padawan for far too long and was given little say in his own path. Hellir' is extremely kind and understanding, a golden and patient soul who is always open to listening to every option before choosing the best path forward. That's why Mace trusted him with Kenobi, and Mace has yet to regret that choice every time he sees the younger Jedi blossoming and growing just a little more into his new role as a Jedi Ambassador. God, I love Hellir'.

4 - Somogyi, my most dearly beloved Crechemaster. She's Nelvaanian, and was entrusted to look after the Splintered Force creche (prophecy children) because she, despite not being extraordinary, was able to handle the antics of super-charged kids. She treated them like her own pups and raised them outside of their training. (It's also worth noting she actually has her own pups, who are roughly Anakin's age. The other crechemaster for their group, @keys-to-the-stars's Nelvaanian Judro, is her husband and the father of those pups. Fuck a no-attachment rule, we got PARENTS)

5 - Miz!!! Mizmizmizmizmiz. My other self-insert, my favorite punching bag, and a clone in need of about six consecutive naps. Miz is Clone Commander NCIS-1013, stationed on Coruscant as a head of a clone death-related criminal investigations team. He spent the vast majority of his life on Kamino under the thumb of a horrific researcher by the name of Teano Na, who sought to exploit his apparently overflowing compassion for his brothers in some rather unspeakable ways. I'm not saying it gets much better when he leaves Kamino, because I would be lying. But at least things change in a generally better trajectory. I just love this lil guy, he's so miserable but I love him :(

Some honorable mentions: * SWTOR Sniper, Agent Darrash Nealev / Cipher Nine * OG Triology, young Mandalorian Jhoka Skugh * Extremely long-lived cat Jedi Jacef <3

#cheeri’s ocs #cheeri's asks #oc tag #NCIS-1013 Miz #Somogyi #Jupso Onurimaa #Hellir' Drovaddal #Omura Vane #Darrash Nealev #Jhoka Skugh #Jacef

[solasan]

oohh tell me about join the rebellion!!!! please 💖

WIP GAME

im not 100% on the timeline for it ⁠— i started writing it between part iv and part v, and the continuity of those episodes kinda makes things complicated ⁠— but it's supposed to be set on the shuttle coming back from the mustafar system. they've kinda very technically had their reunion already, but they didn't exactly have long to talk or rly bask in each other's presence bc leia was missing, so it's their first official reunion conversation.

sivala feels like it's a given that he'll join the path and help them smuggle force-sensitives out of the empire (bc quinlan did and also why wouldn't he?) and obi-wan obviously has his own responsibilities re: luke and leia that he... can't rly tell her abt? once it becomes clear that he doesn't actually plan on joining them, siv kinda... loses her temper at him a bit. especially bc he can't actually give her a reason for staying away, so :/ things get dramatic and complicated

anyway this lil snippet is from before they argue bc i haven't reached that point yet sdhsdjkdsk:

“Leia’s trying to get some sleep, before we arrive,” he reports stiffly, and her whole body pulls taut. “I— Thank you. For helping us.”

Sivala forces a smile. Puts the boxes away.

“It’s what we do.”

“Your man Roken seems to disagree.”

“He’s not my man,” she dismisses. “And as for how Roken feels— well. I might not be in charge, but he certainly isn’t, either.”

Obi-Wan pauses, and in the silence, Sivala finds the strength to look at him. Slowly, at first. His wrist. The brown fabric of his cloak. His beard.

And then his eyes. Blue— she’d forgotten that. The details have grown a little fuzzy over the years, but still, she’s not sure she remembers him being so... shadowed. He has bruises under those eyes, and those are familiar to her, too, but not on him. Such exhaustion is one she’s far more used to seeing on her own face, in the fresher of her shabby apartment back on Daiyu.

It’s like meeting her reflection in a fractured surface; trying to match up his cracks to her own. When he smiles — tries to smile — she finds herself wondering if her own attempts at good humour are so… flimsy.

“Whatever your role, you’ve done a lot of good.”

She exhales.

“Thank you. We— well. We do what we can.”

“More than some,” he murmurs, his mouth a tight and bitter line.

#answered #shadowglens #ch: sivala sylwiri #my writing #THANK U FOR ASKING SOPHIE <3333333