#then i'm just a person in a world and molded by it. not a cosmic mistake

[misophoria]

the threads in my tapestry have been weaved through poison and still carry residues

[cosmicjoke]

I have just come to notice something about this fandom from seeing your comments and reblogs about the reactions to the discussion of bad boy as well as seeing other reblogs from other blogs. My realization is that some if not most self shippers are no different from some radical shippers out there. When you, cosmic, complain about the mischaracterization of Levi, I know it is from a genuine place because you have always only discussed canon Levi. I once thought that was the same about self shippers who come at and attack non self shippers for mischaracterizing Levi's character whenever he's put in a ship with other characters in the show, but after bad boy and their weird reactions to the discussion of Levi's trauma in bad boy because for whatever reason it somehow affects the way they always potray Levi as a walking sex God domineering 24/7, I have come to realize that their cry of mischaracterization was simply jealousy of the characters Levi is shipped with(which is crazy because imagine being jealous of cartoon characters) and not genuine dislike for mischaracterization of Levi's character like they use to hide behind and it's interesting to see such self exposure to say the least. Because why else are they so adverse to Levi's canon trauma if they are such champions of keeping Levi's character in the canon realm.

Yeah, it's interesting.

I'm sure it's a minority, just like with people who ship Levi with other characters. But, as always, it's a LOUD minority, and they give a bad name to the entire community in the process of acting the way they do.

But this is partly why I've never enjoyed shipping discourse, or talking about ships, whether that be self-shipping or shipping Levi with other characters. Because, outside of all of it, Levi isn't romantically involved with anyone, and in truth, shows no romantic leanings or inclinations toward anyone. He's one of the ONLY characters, in fact, who doesn't. Almost every other, major character is shown, at some point, showing some sort of romantic interest in someone, or having reference made to a past romantic interest.

But not Levi.

I can't think of a character, then, whom shipping discourse, of ANY kind, could apply to less.

It has literally zero bearing on his character.

And so I don't understand the obsession with placing Levi into romantic fantasies at all, or seeing him through the lens of romantic interest, or why these people insist on bringing their shipping fantasies into discussions revolving around Levi's ACTUAL canon character. There's no place for it there, at all.

If Levi's actual, canonically established character contradicts whatever version of him you've come up with in your head while shipping him with... whoever, then you need to be able to admit that Levi himself isn't who you're fantasizing about, whether that's with yourself, or another character.

And if you can't do that, and instead you rage against anyone for daring to discuss who Levi actually is in canon, and what he's been through in canon, because it disrupts your ability to envision him in your preferred ship, then you need to take a step back and engage in some self-reflection.

I get the feeling sometimes that shippers think Levi belongs exclusively to them, and so they can mold him into whatever they want him to be.

But Levi is a character completely separate from any of us. He exists in a fully established world, and is a fully developed person within that world.

People engage in so much projection, and it's incredibly irritating. They can't see past themselves, and often treat Levi as an avatar for their own thoughts and feelings. They think Levi should be whatever they are, or whatever they desire him to be. But, again, Levi isn't any of us. Levi is Levi.

If these people can't accept that, then maybe they need to move on to some other character that more closely resembles themselves, or whatever fantasy they've conjured in their heads about him.

[corpsesoldier]

I don't find ellie's motivations during tlou2 that opaque tbh. like yeah the revenge quest drags and you're exhausted at the end of it and tired of witnessing the bloodshed. I'm pretty sure that's the reaction the game is trying to draw out of you (I died during the confrontation on the beach because I didn’t want to choke abby so I stopped mashing buttons lmao). but ellie's determination to see it through is, I think, another expression of her survivor's guilt.

I think ellie is, fundamentally, someone who is living in the blank pages past the end of her story. riley gets bitten and ellie doesn't die. tess gets bitten, sam gets bitten, and ellie doesn't die. she thinks she has a chance to create a world where that won't happen anymore, to anyone, but joel saves her and she doesn't die. she's left to navigate the aftermath with no sense of purpose. she's just supposed to keep going, and she's doesn't know how.

and then joel is killed in front of her and ellie doesn't die. again. everyone I've cared for has either died or left me. everyone fucking except for you. ellie struggles with what joel did to and for her, and ellie is allowed to leave him, because she knows joel won't ever leave her. she thought she had time to come back to him. to figure out all that out. she hadn't forgiven joel yet, but she wanted to try. and then suddenly all that possibility is gone.

I think the revenge quest is partly a way for ellie to align herself with joel posthumously. now that she doesn’t have the option to heal and grow her relationship with the living joel, she engages instead with his legacy. we know the kind of man joel is (was?), and so does ellie—violent, vengeful, often selfish. the kind of man that regards the necessity of violence with equanimity. in joel's absence, ellie molds herself in his image. this is what joel would do, she thinks. if it had been me, she thinks.

and that's to say nothing of the sunk cost of killing more and more of abby's friends on her quest to find abby herself. once you've hunted down one, two, three people who pose you no threat, once you've tortured someone, once you've killed a pregnant woman, what does that make you if you stop now? what does it mean if you decide you don't need to kill abby after all? if abby's death is not absolutely necessary, then what of the violence leading up to it, and the person executing said violence? even if ellie felt early in her revenge that she wanted to stop, that it wasn't worth it, she wasn't ready to confront the reality of what she had done. framing her revenge as necessary let her pretend she was the hero a little longer.

and I think part of the reason she persists as long as she does is because of her lack of purpose, and, frankly, her desire to die. again, fundamentally, ellie lives. even when she doesn't want to. even when she doesn't believe she deserves to. she can't save riley, she can't save the world, she can't even save joel who, regardless of the tenor of their relationship at the time, is a foundational pillar of ellie's life. so what can she do? maybe this one last thing. ellie's own life, her own happiness, isn't important. it was her death that was supposed to be important, but she woke up and it had passed her by. now she's got a cosmic debt she can never repay. I don’t think she expects to come back from seattle, but she also can’t stand to let down someone she cares about again, even if it's only their ghost. what’s her life in the blank endpapers worth compared to another failure?

and ultimately she lets abby go. because she sees lev. she sees abby turn away from her entirely because her boy needs her. and because ellie remembers joel as he was after the bloodshed, the kind of man he was trying so hard to be for her. there's something there about what we leave our children. something about the kind of person you become to protect them, and about the kind of person they really need, and where those modes diverge. what kind of father is abby? what kind of father does ellie want to be? joel at the end of tlou, bloodied, lying to her? or joel standing on his porch in jackson, waiting for when she's ready to come back?

[mymarifae]

there's like. an unfortunate hole in my brain and heart in which berdly occupies. like he's annoying and he's a jerk but there's a lot about him that really. really, stands out in a strange way.

i've talked about how he has two jobs and the immense amount of stress he has to be under, and i mentioned that his home life probably isn't great. i didn't really expand on it because frankly, the fact that he feels the need to hold two jobs at his age says plenty. but to look at it a bit more...

he says everyone always forgot him when he was younger. no one remembered his name. so um... who was taking care of him? obviously you could say "well he was clearly just talking about other kids his age" and write this off pretty quickly, but ... no, he wasn't. i say this because for one, he's very well-spoken; he speaks clearly and firmly, and never leaves room for confusion or that sort of ambiguity. he said what he said. no one remembered his name.

second, that spelling bee was the first time in his life that he was noticed and praised, nooooot by other kids his age, but by adults. the audience of a spelling bee is going to primarily be composed of parents and faculty, not so much other children. besides, what kind of child audience would respond to the winner of a spelling bee Like That akfjdngldj? anyway. this dumb little spelling bee was the turning point in berdly's life. i don't think being noticed by other kids his age was the issue. i think he was sincerely neglected. that was the point of the bluebird of misfortune sequence.

i don't like making conclusions like this about characters so young unless that's just. what's on the table. i'd looooove to say "no he just struggled with making friends but he definitely had parents/caretakers who remembered he existed" and leave it at that but i can't and it's because of queen actually.

i'm not the first person to point this out, but if queen parallels noelle's mother, who's to say she doesn't parallel Something for berdly too? ralsei keeps telling us that darkners only exist to assist lightners, and from what we've seen so far, the dark worlds really do mold themselves around the lightners who step inside... (i dont like this and i think ralsei's Wrong but in a cosmic-universe-story sort of sense. he's probably right.) since they were the first ones there, i think berdly and noelle (mostly noelle) are really important to how cyber world has currently arranged itself. and queen is likely the first darkner either of them met, so it only makes sense that she represents something major for both of them.

queen is unequivocally a mother figure. that's just a core part of her personality. she's a mom. sooooo we have this parental figure who, when it comes to berdly.......

cannot remember his name.

who avoids him and ignores him when she cannot reasonably avoid him.

isn't that interesting? and *gestures at her wine glass of battery acid* i don't think she's shown Drinking and drinking a lot for simple comedic reasons. that could be another parallel to noelle's mother but i kind of doubt it. just considering what we know about her so far. i think it says something more about berdly's um, parents? than noelle's.

despite aaaaaaalllllll this. berdly kinda insta-clings to queen. he desperately seeks her approval and just... attention. but he's not stupid. in the alley when he and kris first form trucies, he knows queen is avoiding him - we can see this from his overworld sprites and facial expressions. he's just not going to admit it out loud, especially not in front of kris. he knows that noelle is the important one here, that once again, he really doesn't matter. he'll always just be a forgettable little bluebird.

but wouldn't it be nice? if he could do something really spectacular? maybe then queen will pay attention to him. he might learn what it's like to have an adoring parent.

berdly's character arc feels largely incomplete / neglected (......well.), but there really is a lot there, beneath the snootiness and annoying exterior. he's just a kid, y'know? going through some shit. just like all the other characters. i think he's very much a side character and i super doubt there will ever be a circumstance in which he joins kris's party like noelle did, but it'd be nice to see a bit more resolution for all these concerning little details. pick your head up, kiddo; you're going to be alright...

[meeko-mar]

Spoilers for TOH as of King's Tide :3

I'm sensing the similarity between King and The Collector... and that is, they're very significant beings, but they are also CHILDREN.

King is a baby Titan, an organic being that grows to be extremely huge. Part of the life cycle of this world seems to be a decomposing Titan body becomes home to many sentient, demonic, and humanoid, creatures and fuels a whole magic system. A titan can become an entire continent.

And he's just a kid who is just NOW coming to realize that fact, and his significance in the world.

The Collector, is also just a kid, or at least, presents that way. He is a Cosmic being, with an EXTREME amount of power over reality itself. But he still seems to be, and acts like, a child.

We've seen King progress over the series and especially MATURE as he grows to figure out his place in the world. He starts out wanting control! Subjects to rule over! He wants to command armies of demons because he thinks he is the King of Demons!

But He has learned through their adventures, maturity, he fully realizes his part of a family, and that family means far more to him. He is handed his vision of Grandeur, practically on a silver platter(though is also nearly literally KILLED for it), but somehow, it only means pressure, because as a Titan, amongst people who worship the Titan they live on, he feels the need to protect people, especially his adoptive family, and his best friends.

He is taking his role as Titan, the last remaining one, no less, to be that of a protector, which, judging by his stress, is something he realizes takes a lot more responsibility than simply lording over others.

(Insert that moment in the CATTS hideout with Darius saying "Titan Help us," and King nervously replying "I'll do my best" for exhibit A)

The Collector, meanwhile, is essentially a Trickster God, has an untold history, esp. with the Titans and King's father, and has been locked away for unknown reasons, for an indeterminate amount of time, and seems to just want to be let OUT, see something fun, play games. He's naive, and has trusted Belos for the last few hundreds of years, Only to be betrayed by him in the final hour.

King is the BEST person to match the Collector.

What King already learned about family and love, and morality and kindness being above ruler-ship, is what The Collector is lacking. He is currently nothing but a chaos child, a trickster god, not unlike King's beginning as a "tiny, dethroned Demon Lord."

It drives me bonkers when I hear takes about the Collector being "defeated" traditionally, or locked away again, to end his reign...

He's literally just a kid who hasn't learned the way that King has been allowed to. He was straight up locked away, and yeah, he's definitely dangerous and OP BUT

He's still literally a kid who is woefully understimulated, and lacking all that guidance and growth that King had.

And you know what, Props to King, because through the glimpses he's seen through the In-Between, and what all with Belos, I think he REALIZES that.

That's why he had to let go of Luz, and keep his pinky promise.

Granted, we don't know the full story on Collector and the Titans, why he was locked away in the first place, why Kings father didn't want him playing with King...But I feel like King's going to break the code on that and be what The Collector needs...

Basically, a friend. A found family. Someone who respects him, his power, but also tempers his more..."enthusiastic" traits of abject chaos.

At least, that's my optimistic take on the route this Found-Family-heavy story is gonna go with him.

IN SHORT, I love the Collector so far, and I think King has been molded and shaped for this challenge throughout the whole story. Luz was always meant to challenge Belos, King was likely always meant to match The Collector. I Do not accept Collector Slander. :3

[attollogame]

Can I just say I absolutely adore Attollo's world building. I find it so fascinating. I was wondering what was your process of coming up with the idea of Attollo and what kind of inspired you to make it a cybernoir? Attollo is one of the best stories I've ever read so in just really curious as to what goes on behind the scenes and the creation process? What was the process of creating all the different organisations and characters like? Did any of your previous experience from your daily life shape the world building in any way and if so how? (only if you're comfortable with sharing of course, if not please feel free to ignore.) Ok last question I promise is this your first time writing/delving in the cybernoir genre? If not then how has your experience writing it differed form your other works/genres you've previousky worked on? And if you have what do you feel differentiates the rest from Attollo? Is there a message or theme you hope to send across to your readers?

These are the asks that make me cry in every good way possible ;; I'm more than happy to answer these questions!! Cut below bc this got long <3

I've mentioned it a little in the past, but I've always been a big fan/fascinated with anything pertaining to cybernoir. The grittiness, the opportunity to tell so many stories, the taking of a city scape and altering it in a new way—it's always something I've always wanted to explore and delve into! Plus, as a fan of both crime and science (especially biohacking), it really just fell into place! The addition of cosmic horror also came from my love of that genre (s.o to my mother and sister for getting me into it and encouraging that love).

In terms of the actual creation, it was a very unplanned process, I have to confess! I started off with just the Crowes and Ovo because I knew that there had to be some sort of catalyst present, and seedy city organizations + governments are always the way to go with that. Creating them was actually a ton of fun; it involved a lot of research into organized crime and other aspects, and it was so cool to be able to mold that into something of my own. The Arcs, the Court of Ash, and the Voiceless all came after as secondary organizations. I had Ovo and Crowes, and then I thought oh, what if they had an antagonist? Boom, Arcs. Well who could they hire as hitmen of sorts? Boom, Voiceless. Well, we have the Elites, don't they need a group? Boom, Court of Ash. For characters it's very much the same way—I start with one, and then it's like, oh well who's their partner in the organization? Boom, new char. Who runs black market/trades? Boom, new char.

Basically, I start with one concept, and I find it often spirals outwards into new ones.

For personal life, I've actually mentioned this as well, but a lot of what happens in Attollo either involves my personal experiences or experiences of people that I've met either in passing or for a long time (and yes, this includes discovering a glory hole at a gas station). My experiences with migraines have leaked their way in the game, and I have no doubt other experiences will as well—it offers a sort of life to the characters that I enjoy expanding on!

This is my first time writing anything cybernoir, and in fact, this was my first take on horror too! I used to only write one-shot stories that were usually one off angst, or character analysis, so this is also my first take on a full blown project (intimidating!). I find this is actually a lot easier to write and a lot more fulfilling than the one shots; those I could blast out in a day, but this one is a clear labor of love. I also found I still do a lot of character analysis/introspection in this story as well so... not that different, thankfully!

In terms of message, I only have one that I hope readers can pick up from Attollo: There are liars, and deceivers, and people with only their interests in mind among us; but there are also people with good hearts, who will extend a helping hand to you when needed. They may not have a motorcycle helmet, or speak to you through a radio, but they exist—and I hope Attollo will help you to find them.

[fialleril]

I just had to deal with all this transphobic bullshit in therapy (because why should my doctors bother to actually respect me) and I cried all day and I just feel awful. If it's not too much trouble, could I get a snippet of Anakin totally destroying someone who absolutely deserves it? Verbally, physically, I don't really care, I'm just in serious need of a revenge fantasy. I don't care what universe it's in. I love all your fics and I'd really appreciate it if you could take the time. Thanks!

Posting this publicly with permission - I hope it helps! (And I hope you can get access to a therapist who will respect you.)

This is another snippet from the Jedi reformation AU. In which Anakin and a couple of Padme’s former handmaidens plot to help a group of enslaved people escape from the palace of the king of Brundia. A king who just so happens to also be Anakin’s Jedi assignment at the time. Also, at least one character has now officially migrated to this fic from Anabasis.

Takes place less than a year before AOTC. Warnings for discussion of slavery.

Anakin’s transponder goes off almost the minute they dock onBrundia. He hesitates a moment after settling the ship and powering down, justlong enough that Obi-Wan looks over at him with a raised brow.

“I know you’re not excited about this mission, padawan,” hesays dryly. “But I do hope I won’t have to drag you off the ship. We don’t wantto keep His Majesty waiting.”

“Of course not, Master,” Anakin mutters, exaggerating hissigh just that much more than necessary. It makes Obi-Wan roll his eyes, and hemisses the way Anakin taps twice against a pouch on his utility belt as he pullshimself to his feet with a groan.

King Marlonartan the Seventh, formally styled His RoyalHighness, Lord of the Fifteen Mysteries, Prince of the Infinite Isles, Augustand Radiant Fount of Wisdom, Crown of Justice and Throne of Mercy, King Ordainedby All the Powers of the Cosmic Oneness, Marlonartan, Seventh of that Line, isnot someone who likes to be kept waiting. He’s also, apparently, one of thosepeople who believes that on time is in fact late. It’s a common belief amongMasters, though they never seem to apply it to themselves.

Obi-Wan and Anakin present themselves before the AugustPresence at exactly 17:00 galactic standard time, just as they were scheduled.The Fount of Wisdom glares down at them from his jewel encrusted throne and mutters,peevishly, “I had understood that Jedi were always punctual. You disappoint me,Master Kenobi. I would expect to be shown more respect by the emissaries of theSupreme Chancellor.”

“I do apologize, Your Highness,” Obi-Wan says, bowingdeeply. His annoyance is obvious in the Force, though nothing of it shows inhis outward bearing. Anakin follows his lead, teeth gritted to hold back ascoff. He’s already imagining how he’ll describe this scene to Kitster.

Their assignment is simple enough: they’re on securitydetail for the duration of Brundia’s week-long celebration of the Exalted andMost Holy Day of the Birth of the King. The Council believes that KingMarlonartan, who has a history of predicting threats against his person, mayactually have reason to be concerned this time, so they’ve sent Obi-Wan andAnakin to babysit.

“This assignment is fairly routine, and we don’t expect muchresistance,” Master Windu had said. “But Brundia is a strategic world in ourefforts to combat the spread of the Separatist movement.” Then his eyes hadnarrowed and he’d added, “And Padawan Skywalker could use the practice indiplomacy.”

Obi-Wan had agreed of course, his embarrassment not quitehidden in the Force, and Anakin had bowed and said, “Yes, Master,” and that wasthat.

Later, when he messaged her with the news, Padmé respondedwith a long string of laughing faces. “Someday,” she wrote, “we’re going toattend the same diplomatic summit, and I’ll get to see the show in person.” Shealways calls it “the show,” mainly because she finds it absolutely hilariousthat the Council still believes Anakin causes diplomatic incidents out ofignorance, rather than out of very deliberate choice.

Padmé had offered a bit of teasing advice, too. “I’ve metKing Marlonartan before,” she wrote, followed by a grimacing face that made himlaugh for longer than it probably should have. “It’s pretty much impossible todo too much bowing and scraping, as far as he’s concerned, so you can get awaywith quite a lot there. Just…try not to call him a rich Core Worlder to hisface.”

“No promises,” Anakin wrote back, and he’s fighting a grinthinking about it now.

But he manages to mold his face into an expression of deepcontrition as he bows low, his right palm pressed to his brow, in the properdisplay of Brundian fealty. “Please forgive us, Most Merciful Highness,” hesays, eyes trained on the marble floor. “I am only a learner, and I fear my aweof your magnificent palace caused my Master to be delayed.”

He can feel Obi-Wan looking at him, and his Master’scuriosity prodding at the edges of his mind. Anakin hides a smirk and lets histhoughts fill with the pious desire to do well, to have a successful missionand meet the Council’s expectations. That makes Obi-Wan even more suspicious,but as a shield it’s effective, and a moment later his mind withdraws. Anakin’sglad that he’s looking down, so the laughter doesn’t show on his face.

The truth is, the obsequious bowing and constant use offlowery, inflated titles come easily. Resistance in the form of scrupulousobedience is a lesson older than his oldest memory, and in a place like this,where even the hint of a double meaning is completely lost not only on the kingbut on his Jedi Masters as well, it’s almost fun.

King Marlonartan nods graciously and offers his forgiveness,and then they’re dismissed to meet with the king’s security team.

“What was that, padawan?” Obi-Wan hisses the moment the ornatedoors of the throne room close behind them.

Anakin offers his best innocent, eager to please smile.“Diplomacy, Master,” he says. “I really am trying to do better. I know howimportant this mission is.”

Obi-Wan looks at him for a long moment with narrowed eyes.Finally he sighs. “Just try not to cause a diplomatic incident this time,” hesays wearily. “That’s all I ask.”

“Yes, Master,” Anakin says dutifully.

He doesn’t manage to slip away until nearly midnight, afterthey’ve gone over King Marlonartan’s security arrangements twice andestablished a shift for both regular guards and Jedi protectors.

Obi-Wan’s on watch now, and Anakin is supposed to besleeping. He’s going to be horribly tired through his shift, he knows, but he’srun on less sleep before and this is far more important.

Rabé and Yané are waiting for him in an all-night dinerthat’s half the city away from the palace and might as well be on anotherplanet. The streets here are narrow and dingy, lit by sporadic stabs of blindinglybright light that serve only to cast the rest of the street in deeper shadow.The air is full of myriad food smells, some more appetizing than others. It’s afar cry from the perfumed air of the palace. Anakin breathes it all in with asigh of pure relief.

He spots the two Naboo women instantly, though they’ve goneto some pains to make themselves unremarkable. Without the makeup and fineclothes, neither of them looks all that much like Padmé, which helps.

He slides into the booth next to Yané without a word, andjust manages to hold back a laugh when they both simply blink at him.

“Can we help you?” Rabé asks at last, her voice pointedlycold, and a snort of laughter escapes Anakin in spite of his best efforts.

“Well I hope so,” he says, grinning, as he reaches up to tapa finger against his padawan braid, tied up and around the short tail of hairat the base of his neck.

Their eyes widen, and Yané blurts, “Ani?”

“Uh, yeah,” he says, laughing again. “Do I really look thatdifferent without the braid?”

Rabé snorts. “It’s not the braid,” she says. “I swear, Ani,the last time I saw you, you were still shorter than me. What the hellhappened?”

That’s an exaggeration, of course, but she does look a good bit shorter than heremembers, so Anakin lets it go.

“Jedi nutrition,” he says dryly. “It’s very exact.”

“I’ll say,” Rabé mutters, eyeing him up and down. “You oughtto market that diet.”

“A Jedi never strives for profit,” Anakin says piously.

“Oh, sure,” Yané says, nodding sagely. “That’s why you havea major fundraiser every year, and that charity gala in the Senate.”

“Well, the generosity of the people of the Republic isdifferent, of course.”

“Of course,” Rabé says. She smiles wryly and slides adatareader containing the diner’s menu across the table to him. “Are youeating?”

“Troona, yes,”Anakin says. “The king had a feast tonight, and Obi-Wan and I had to worksecurity. They served caviar and a bunch of little things on sticks thatprobably cost more than everything in this place. It was awful.”

“Poor baby,” Yané says, patting his arm. “We picked theright place, then. My sources tell me the Aldoshan curry here is enormous, andhotter than the lava pits of Mustafar.”

Anakin orders the curry, and when the waitress comes back afew minutes later to see how they like their meals, he asks if she has any hotsauce. Rabé and Yané stare at him, aghast, and even the waitress looksimpressed, but Anakin just shrugs them off. “I’ve been cooking for Obi-Wan foryears now, so everything’s been mild. I’m not going to miss my chance at realfood.”

“It’s amazing you have any taste buds left,” Rabé says witha laugh.

“Core Worlders are just weak,” Anakin says, grinning arounda mouthful of curry. “So, what have you got for me?”

“Big news,” says Yané, glancing around surreptitiouslybefore sliding a datastick to him. “We’ve got a group of twenty-three comingalong the Ryloth trail next week, and half of them need ID. But the moreimmediate concern is right here on Brundia. And it’s going to complicate thingsfor you.”

“Ah,” says Anakin. “I knew I had a bad feeling about thismission.”

Rabé rolls her eyes. “No, you just picked that up fromObi-Wan,” she says. “He always has a bad feeling about everything.”

Anakin snorts. “True. Okay, so approximately how many of theking’s servants are actually slaves?”

For a moment Rabé and Yané both just stare at him. Then Yanéshakes her head. “You picked up on that, huh? I don’t know why I’m surprised.Our sources say there are nineteen people working in the palace who…didn’texactly choose to work there.”

“How diplomatic of you,” Anakin says dryly. “And you’ve gota contact?”

“Dinsa Atray,” Rabé says. “She’s a Twi’lek woman, not mucholder than you. The information’s all there.” She gestures vaguely at him, buthe knows she means the datastick.

“You’ve got a transport ready?” he asks.

“Ready and waiting,” Yané says. “We just need thepassengers. But we haven’t been able to get admission to the palace, and Dinsaand her people can’t get out.”

Anakin smiles. Maybe there’s a reason he’s here on Brundiaafter all. Even if it does mean he’s almost certainly going to end up breakinghis promise to Obi-Wan. And he’s not likely to do himself any favors in MasterWindu’s eyes, either.

Oh well. He’s got a reputation by now, so they won’t exactlybe suspicious if another of his diplomatic missions goes awry.

“Leave that to me,” he says with a grin.

*

Dinsa Atray isn’t hard to spot, once he knows who to lookfor. She seems to be always present at every banquet the king holds, and heholds a lot. She’s Marlonartan’s personal server, it seems, and that could be aproblem. Anakin watches her, demure and silent as she serves her master anotherglass of sparkling wine, and wonders how he’s going to explain Marlonartan’sassassination, if she moves before he has a chance to talk to her.

One thing he knows for sure: if she does move, he’s notgoing to stop her.

But two days go by, and no one tries to kill the king, andfinally Anakin manages to catch Dinsa alone. They’ve just endured yet anotherfeast, and the king’s gone off to bed with Obi-Wan on guard duty. Anakin’smeant to be sleeping, but he has much more important things to do, and anywaythe food at tonight’s so-called feast was even worse than usual, so maybe hehas an ulterior motive for visiting the kitchens. Or maybe it will just make agood excuse.

Dinsa starts when she hears him enter, then spins aroundwith a knife in her hand. Startled or not, she holds the knife like someone whoknows what she’s doing.

But her eyes widen when she sees who he is, and she dropsthe knife on the counter and her eyes to the floor. “I’m so sorry, MasterJedi,” she whispers. “What can I help you with?”

Anakin winces. He can’t help but wonder how many Jedi she’smet before. How many Jedi have come here and left again. I didn’t come here to free slaves, the memory of Master Qui-Gonwhispers in his mind, and Anakin grits his teeth and blurts, “I came to helpyou. And my name is Anakin, not Master.”

He says it in Ryl, and he thinks it’s that more than thewords themselves that gets her attention.

Dinsa looks up sharply, eyes narrowed and expressionunreadable. She’s silent for a long moment. And then, slowly, she smiles.

“You have a Tatooine accent,” she says.

“Mos Espa,” he says, smiling back. “I learned fromGrandmother Imayli.”

Her brow arches again, and he knows she understands the fullsignificance of that. But all she says is, “I didn’t know there were any Jedifrom the Territories.” There’s not a trace of emotion in her voice.

Anakin is impressed, and maybe a little jealous. “There’snot,” he says, and tells himself there’s no hint of bitterness to his smile.But he can see in Dinsa’s eyes that she knows. “There’s just me.”

He tells her that he’s in contact with her transport, andasks what it will take to get everyone out.

Dinsa eyes him for another long moment. “All I really needis a thorough distraction,” she says.

“I’m good at distractions,” Anakin says with a grin.

“And the other Jedi?” Dinsa asks, and Anakin’s smile falls.

Obi-Wan is a true Jedi. He’ll prize the mission overeverything else, and his mission is what they were assigned by the Council: toprotect King Marlonartan. Assignment or not, that’s not Anakin’s mission.

“He’s…good at responding to distractions,” Anakin says atlast, and feels a little guilty for not feeling guilty.

Dinsa only nods. “I understand,” she says. “So we’ll givehim the kind of distraction he can react to.” She eyes him slyly and adds, “Ihave access to more than enough chemicals. All I really need is a detonator. Idon’t suppose you have one lying around?”

“Give me an hour and I will.”

*

The explosion goes off in the middle of the next evening’sfeast. Anakin will discover later that it takes out the majority of the RoyalAtrium, where they’d feasted only the night before. But tonight they are in theGilded Ballroom, on nearly the opposite side of the palace. The assassinationattempt has been foiled chiefly by the assassin’s bad information, and no oneis hurt in the blast.

Obi-Wan instantly springs into action, taking up position atthe king’s side and ushering him rapidly from the room and into a secure,undisclosed location. Anakin yells that he’s going to secure the perimeter, andignores Obi-Wan’s questioning glower as he dashes from the room.

It’s almost disappointingly easy to disable the securitycams when the palace is on lockdown. The array is pretty sophisticated, and thecoverage is extensive, but the entire system goes down if both the power andthe backup generator fail. Obviously, whoever set off the explosion must haveknown this. It’s unfortunate that, whoever they were, Anakin must have justmissed them – the system control room is dark and empty when he arrives. Atleast, that’s what he’ll tell Obi-Wan and the king later.

Anakin’s duty, of course, is to get everything up andrunning again. That will only take him a few minutes. So he takes his timeexamining the system and looking for clues in the room. The door hasn’t beenforced. It’s almost as though there wasn’t anyone here before him at all.

Less than ten minutes later, he gets a secure transmissionfrom Dinsa. “We’re out,” it says. Anakin smiles to himself and reboots thesecurity system.

An hour after that, there’s another transmission, this onefrom Yané. “And we’re off. Sorry for blowing up your mission.”

Anakin erases the message immediately, but he’s stilllaughing to himself about it days later as he and Obi-Wan are on their way backto Coruscant, King Marlonartan’s rather peevish thanks still ringing in theirears.