#third rewrite

[thateldribitch]

Bungou x Chekhov

Season 5/ Manga Spoilers Ahead! (Big Ones)

For those who don't want spoilers, have a Chuuya.

Without Further Ado!

Chekhov's Guns I'm Pretty Sure Asagiri hasn't Fired Yet (Because I haven't fully read the Manga):

Q/Kyuusaku: where the fuck did he go?

Defected Guild Members: Are they ever going to come back? Did they ever make their own organization? Are they going to fuck Francis up if they find out he's alive?

Is Simp Reverend Mc Brainwashed a trap? Because I'm pretty sure he's a trap. He was waaaaaaay too easy to catch. (He better not kill Lucy.)

Speaking of--where's his girlfriend(?) ? Didn't Yosano heal her??

Where are Naomi and the receptionist?

Where the fuck is Catsman mc Plotface (does HE have the receptionists?)

Is Tanizaki going to join the mafia? (Because I really feel like he fits in too well with the Mafia, considering his sliiiiiiiiiiiight murderous tendencies.)

Speaking of the Mafia:

How many people in the Port Mafia are vampires? Is Koyou a vampire? Is Paul Verlaine a vampire? Is MORI a vampire? (Would this also make Elise a vampire?)

How are the Hunting Dogs going to react when they FINALLY find out the truth about their boss?

I feel like their whole "need surgery every month to not disintegrate" thing is also a fucking Chekhov's gun if I've ever seen one.

Side Note:

Can the vampire ability bring anybody back to life, and could it, theoretically, bring back Odasaku? Not that I think that's necessarily a Chekhov's Gun, but an interesting point--

[swedenis-h]

They went together au! (X)

[rewrite-canon]

im going crazy with how people are starting to agree with snow that sejanus was really stupid and deserved what was coming to him. reading the books first should be a pre requisite to the movie idcccc if that takes away the wider audience, the wider audience all have smooth brains anyway.

“why was he colluding with rebels when he could’ve just thought about it pragmatically 🙄” i’m in your fucking walls. sejanus was never dumb, snow just kept pushing that perception of him through the book to deflect the fact that sejanus was an actual good person. snow thought himself the personification of good and benevolence, which was why everything he did had to have some half-assed excuse as to why he was justified in doing it. it was why he was actually tweaking in the woods when lucy gray left him, because he wanted to rid himself of her but he didn’t have an actual reason so he convinced himself of the most random scenario ever to justify trying to shoot at her. so we can establish that snow was an evil broke boy who clearly wasn’t good— then sejanus was a direct confrontation of snow’s own shortcomings towards that (i don’t think i have to detail how sejanus was genuine, it was obvious). coriolanus and sejanus are like the direct opposite characters of each other, and snow knew and took pride in this to an extent. which is why snow couldn’t admit that sejanus was good to himself, thus sejanus was deemed ‘stupid’ to protect his own deluded self actualisation (but this also includes other aspects like how the war made the plinths rich and the snows poor, leading to resentment and jealousy from snow).

“but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t doing dumb things throughout the book” was it really that dumb? a rebellion will always include some level of risk but i don’t hear anyone calling heavensbee stupid because it actually worked out for him. plus sejanus is district, so if we use our common sense of who he is as a character and emotional intelligence of his situation, it’s pretty easy to see why he would get in touch with rebels. he’s literally always yearned for the districts, he never once cared about his money or safety, which isn’t stupid, it’s sad. this was his way of dealing with the guilt of profiting from his people’s suffering— again, not stupid. you could argue he was reckless, especially when he went into the arena, but most people who simply cast him as a ‘dumb character’ ignore how troubled he is and fall into the very filtered lens of snow who was just concentrating on his stupidity.

sejanus’ growing radical actions had nothing to do with stupidity and everything to do with feeling helpless and like nothing was changing. he tried minor/low-risk things such as attempting to change the perception of the districts in the capitol, advocating against the hunger games etc etc. of course it didn’t work, so his options grew limited to more radical courses of action. its a natural line of thought— activists literally do it in real life when they feel as if their cause isn’t getting enough attention (eg. setting themselves on fire). sejanus is a desperate character who is so selfless in light of snow’s constant self-preservation. snow will always put himself first and be paranoid that he will be betrayed like he’s betrayed others, so he never understands sejanus’ disposition to help and trust people, so he labels him dumb. omg. like. sejanus is so not-stupid i’m actually gonna start freaking out!! this is defamatory leave my boo alone!! plz go read a book and work on media literacy i am begging!!!

[pinkshgum]

AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i read @thisnameisnotspokenfor wish rewrite AU and GOSH IS IT GOOD!!!!!!!! Asha and Cepheus have my heart!!!!!!! EVERYONE GO READ IT RIGHT NOW!!!!

seriously every chapter had me frothing at the mouth kicking my feet!!!! so i decided to draw some scenes from chapters 8, 23 and 29!

i commented on chapter 28 about how amazing this fic is but i'll say it again!! the worldbuilding, the characters and the references to past disney films!!!!! gahhhhhhh!!!!!1111!!1 (also, fellow treasure planet enjoyer, gotta respect that)

[waymond-wang]

THE CREATOR (2023) dir. Gareth Edwards ↳ Wanna play a game? It's called, "Save your friend Joshua from being killed by the fuckin' police".

[shepscapades]

Extremely slightly obsessed with the implications of TIES not being in 3rd Life-

Like literally ALL of them were in Dogwarts at one point or another, and I feel like the fact that there were so many of them was kinda what elevated Dogwarts to be as powerful as it was. So either people who weren't part of Dogwarts initially were a part of it in dbhc or they weren't NEARLY as much of a threat to the other factions as they were in canon.

The Crastle Alliance as well involved Impulse and Tango, so they're also cut in half in dbhc (which kinda makes me ponder a world in which Dogwarts and the Crastle fused into a single faction 👀)

Jimmy wouldn't have lost his life in Dare to Flare but honestly he'd've prolly lost it anyways to something else so that's not too much of a difference XD

There's probably also more butterfly effect stuff that I've missed by not watching TIES' povs but I am very interested in seeing what you have in mind (if you ever choose to expand on it in the future). I'm very curious how the clock plays into it...

(Also as an added ponderance, I can't help but wonder if Etho Hopper Clocks have another name in this universe since Etho wasn't alive to make them (or, for the funny route, if Etho was named after the clock instead of the other way around XD)

HM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s crazy that you would say all of those things in that order (i’m making really big eyes at you and nodding furiously. You’re following the exact train of thought that started this immensely deep rabbit hole)

[jetii]

Upcoming Release Schedule

We’re about to reach the end of my last schedule, so I thought I'd go ahead and create a new list with what I'm working on. Below is a look ahead at the fics I have drafted and waiting to post. Feel free to send me an ask if you'd like to preview a snippet or know more about any of these. 💙

Chapters of Event Horizon, my Rex x Jedi!Reader longfic, are posted on Fridays. Requests are posted as I complete them.

Join the Taglist | Back to Masterlist | Request Guidelines

Key: ✧ smut | ꥟ angst | ✵ fluff, etc.

Upcoming Fics:

9/18 A Little More (Echo x fem!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: There's something between you and Echo, but despite your best efforts, he's yet to make a move. A night out at 79s changes everything. Words: 15k+

9/25 Few Fates Worse Than Death (Wrecker x Jedi!Reader) ꥟✵

Summary: You refused to believe that Wrecker would ever hurt you, but on Bracca, his nightmare finally comes true. Words: 8k+

10/2 In Parallel (part of the Tech x Sarad series) ✵✧

Summary: It's been over a week since Sarad has returned, and Tech is eager for some time alone to reconnect uninterrupted. If only the universe was so kind. Words: 5k+

10/9 Too Sweet (Fox x Doctor!Reader) ✵ 10/16 Too Sweet part 2 (Fox x Doctor!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: Fox has no time for romance. He doesn't even have time for sleep, let alone dates. But when a horrible day at work leads him to you, he suddenly finds himself in danger of reevaluating his priorities. Words: 10k+

10/23 By Your Name (Wrecker x Jedi!Reader) ꥟ 10/30 By Your Name part 2 (Wrecker x Jedi!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: Ever since you were assigned to the squad, Wrecker has delighted in calling you pet names in Mando'a — ana'dee, cyar'ika, mesh'la, the list goes on. Little does he know, you understand every single one of them, and it's starting to become a problem. Words: 15k+

11/6 Secrets (Cody x fem!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: After a long month apart, Cody is finally on his way home to you. And he's not going to let anything stop him from telling you how he feels. Words: 11k+

11/13 Thief (Tech x Jedi!Reader) ✧

Summary: You catch Tech stealing your lightsaber, unwittingly starting a game between you that quickly escalates out of control. Words: 10k+

11/20 Casual (Crosshair x fem!Reader) ꥟✧

Summary: You've always known what this thing between you and Crosshair is, but it hasn't stopped you from hoping he'll realize he wants the same. Words: 10k+

11/27 Ad Infinitum (part of the Tech x Sarad series) ✵

Summary: After much prodding from Crosshair and the rest of his family, Tech decides to finally propose to Sarad. Words: 5k+

12/4 The Handmaiden (Rex x Named!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: As Senator Amidala's most trusted handmaiden, you and Rex have formed an unlikely friendship while safeguarding the secret of her relationship with Anakin. When your trip home to Naboo conveniently coincides with some much-needed time off for Rex, you're determined to make the most of the opportunity. Words: 20k+

12/11 The One that Got Away (Fives x Jedi!Reader) ✵✧

Summary: After he spots you across the bar, Fives is convinced that you’re the one, even if he knows next to nothing about you. Like the fact that you’re a Jedi. Words: 10k+

Requests in Queue:

500 Follower Celebration List

[cloudysarts]

went through the old official character instagrams......why dont we see them getting along and being friends in the show ever. its so important to me

~i dont support vivziepop or her shows + this art/redesign is from my rewrite~

[essektheylyss]

I am absolutely agonizing over pov and narrators for this draft that I am literally nearly done with, and it did make me wonder how much importance other writers give these things. So I am running a poll.

To preface, the following notes and elaborations on the options:

"Crucial" would mean that it has a significant impact on your writing process up to and including impacting your ability to progress.

"Important but not crucial" would mean that you consider it, and it does have an impact on the story you're telling, but it does not significantly hinder your process.

"Inconsequential" would be something like, you kinda just pick something and go with it, and do not find yourself rethinking that later.

I ran out of room with the options regarding one or both being important at the start, but that can be either crucial or merely important. If you mess around with your pov or narrators within, say, the first 10% of a draft, but don't really worry about it once you feel like you've settled on something, these are the options for you.

If you feel so inclined, elaborate in the tags on what kinds of things you weigh when you think about one or both of these! I'm curious!

[juustozzi]

And at the end of the week We’ll set things on fire

accidental part 3 of the galaxy kyouten saga, oops..

[yuridovewing]

oh god another reason yellowfangs secret is inaccurate and shouldnt count: boulder is just a regular allycat and joins shadowclan when yellowfangs a baby on a whim when in tpb its a massive plotpoint that hes ex bloodclan and scourge knows him personally and theres no way in hell that that works with the timeline

[colorful-pickle]

The year of the princess indeed.

[silverskye13]

“Part of our work for the Order of Remembrance is preserving history! And that includes the history of the Colosseum, transcripts from matches, fighting styles that have been developed, the making of arms and armor-- everything we can save.” Flipside seemed to realize his excitement, and coughed apologetically. “Uhm… we-- I use them to study when I don't have a sparring partner.”

“Huh, resourceful,” Helsknight hummed, his gaze passing over the bookshelves. He missed the look of star-struck awe that swept over Flipside at the thoughtless compliment. Tanguish saw it though, and had to stifle a chuckle.

RnS Ch34 -- 4933 words

[lt-natrace]

just saying

Description: your childhood best friend, bob, is getting really sick of the men you date

Content: being cheated on, mentions of the bird strike, mentions of alcohol, going through a man’s phone, little woman quotes, thinking no one will ever love you like you deserve, little bobby being hurt for like 3 minutes but i fix it, childhood best friends to lovers

Word Count: 2.8k

I wrote this for @jostystyles playlist writing challenge and it was supposed to be posted like 3 weeks ago but life happens sometimes. I chose the song just saying but specifically the lyric "he says he loves you but it's all an act". This also wasn't beta'd so any mistakes are mine and you should just ignore them.

“He just gives me a weird feeling, okay?” Bob said once again, earning an eye roll from you as you walked from the bathroom to your closet.

“Bob,” you started, causing him to look up at you, “I’m not having this conversation again.”

He let out a huff of annoyance and crossed his arms like he used when you’d fight as children. After two decades of being Bob’s best friend, he’s never really changed his habits or learned to let you make your own mistakes. Despite what everyone may think looking at your career paths, a wizzo for the navy and a freelance writer, he was the more reserved and anxious one in the friendship. Even as kids, he would be the one to ask if something was a good idea and as teenagers he would always scold you for making bad choices. It was one of the things that made your friendship work so well.

“Whatever,” he replied flatly, standing up from where he was sitting on your bed, “I have to meet Phoenix for lunch, be safe tonight.”

You gave him a small smile and mumbled out an “I will” as he turned to walk out your front door, leaving you alone with your thoughts. He was your best friend but he drove you insane with how critical he was of the guys you went out with. Bob has always found something wrong or suspicious with each of the guys you’ve dated; Jason made you cry too much, Ethan was too flirty, Zach was too old and so on and so forth. Maybe he ended up being right about every single one of them but Carter was different, seriously. He had a stable job at his Dad’s company, took you to nice dinners and the sex wasn’t bad. Despite all these facts, Bob didn’t like him. All it took was one dinner with him and Bob called you on the way home to tell you everything he thought was wrong. It didn’t matter, Bob wasn’t the boss of you and didn’t get to have a say in who you dated, even if it started fights between the two of you.

—-------

A few hours had passed since Bob left your apartment and the sound of loud banging on the front door pulled you from your research. You closed your laptop screen slightly and walked towards the door, slowly checking the peep hole to see who was waiting on the other side. To your surprise you were met with the sight of Bob, frantically fixing his glasses and trying to catch his breath. He jumped slightly as you opened the front door, letting out a sigh of relief as his eyes met yours.

 “Oh thank goodness you haven’t left yet.” He said, pushing past you and turning to face you as he got a few steps into your apartment, “I need to tell you something, it’s really important.”

You’d seen Bob shaken up many times in your life, but this was a whole new level. His hands were shaking, his face was flushed from what you assumed was him running up the multiple flights of stairs and he was pacing back and forth. You watched him for a moment, trying to take in his energy and figure out what could possibly have gotten him so worked up. He stared at you until you motioned him to speak.

“Carter,” he started and you let out a groan of frustration, “No, I’m serious, you need to listen to me. He was at lunch with some girl, she had dark hair and-”

“Jesus Christ,” you cut him off as before verifying the time on your watch, “He was probably getting lunch with a coworker or a business partner.”

“Do you hold hands and pay for business partner’s lunches?” He pushed back as he took a few more steps and began to lean onto the counter. It wasn’t until this moment that you realized how much broader he had gotten on his most recent deployment. You walked to the other side of the island and matched his motion in a sad attempt to stand your ground against him, “He wouldn’t do that to me, he loves me.” You tried, unsure of who you were trying to convince at this point.

“Do you even hear yourself right now? That douchebag has you so wrapped around his fucking finger that you would do anything to defend him, he says he loves you but it’s all an act, he has someone behind your back!” Bob snapped back, his voice suddenly taking up the kitchen. He was never one to raise his voice, especially at a woman and his actions only made you angrier.

“You know what, I know what this is about. You’re jealous,” your voice was laced with venom as you spoke and Bob let out a small laugh, “Yeah, you’re jealous that I’ve found someone I wanna tell everything to and you haven’t. I can’t be that for you forever Bob, it’s time to grow up.”

Bob swore he’d felt his heart break when he had to watch you go to prom with the quarterback or when he couldn’t find Phoenix after their ejection. But this feeling as he watched you walk away from him was worse than heartbreak, this made his stomach turn and he had to fight back the bile rising in his throat. Before you could say anything else, Bob was storming out of your apartment and slamming the door so hard you swore the hinges came off. You and Bob had fought before but never anything like this. You wanted to run after him and tell him you didn’t mean any of it but you couldn’t. Your feet stayed planted in your kitchen, the silence somehow louder than the argument that had just taken place. 

As if on cue, your phone began to ring and a picture of Carter from the last date you two had gone on flashed across the screen. For a moment, you debated ignoring it, Bob’s accusations still heavy in the back of your mind. You pushed them back as you answered the call and tried to hide the shake in your voice.

—----

It’s been nearly a month since your fight with Bob. The two of you had spoken a few times but mainly conversations in passing about your days or if the other was going out that weekend. Bob had tried to make amends a few times but you ignored every attempt, he had no right to step into your relationship and throw accusations like that with not even a grainy picture to back it up. Above all, you were upset that he put such an idea into your mind in the first place. Now you felt like you were putting Carter’s every action under a microscope and looking for a flaw in it, even if you genuinely believed he was innocent. 

You cursed Bob again as you tried desperately to see if Carter had left his location turned on. To your dismay, he hadn’t. He was supposed to pick you up for dinner over an hour ago. It wasn’t the first time he was late but it was the first time he didn’t have an excuse. He had a tough job and was usually forced to stay late at the office working on whatever he did all day. It wasn’t that you didn’t care to ask, he just assured you it was complicated and difficult to understand. Usually you’d pace for a little and then clean up a bit so it looked nice when he got here, but not this time. You sat on the couch, your heels ditched as you refreshed his location again. 

After a few more moments, you heard the spare key clicking the lock of your front door open and sprang to your feet as he opened the door. He was still in his work suit with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of expensive wine in one hand and take out from your favorite restaurant in the other. You couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed at the canceled plans after the effort you had put in getting ready but you could never turn down a night in, especially after what you assumed was a hard day on his part.

“Woman, my god you look good. If I knew this was what was waiting for me I would have told them to cancel the meeting all together.” He said as you made your way over to him and reached up to kiss his cheek, “Let me grab a quick shower and we can eat, feel free to open that bottle up.”

Usually this action would have warmed your heart but you can’t help but hear Bob’s voice repeating over and over in your mind. You’ve never been the jealous type, if someone wanted to go out and ruin what you had they could go ahead and do it, their loss. However, the sight of his phone sitting on the counter, lost under the flowers caused something to change in your mind. It’s an invasion of privacy absolutely, but what if it just unlocked when you moved it?

A text lighting up his screen pulled you from your thoughts. A picture from someone named Brett flashed across the screen. Against what you were raised to believe was right or wrong, you unlocked it. The picture filled the screen and you saw a t-shirt that you had bought him on someone who was definitely not Brett. She had dark brown hair that fell to one side and the hem was pulled up slightly to reveal black lace. You listened for a second to see if the water was still running before scrolling through more messages. Most of them were plans to meet up at some point but one in particular caught your eye. It was from almost a month ago and he was reassuring her that Bob hadn’t noticed they were at the restaurant. Your stomach turned and you held back a dry heave as you grabbed your phone to take pictures of the messages. 

You pushed back your tears as you heard the water turn off and quickly put the phone back to where it was, preparing yourself to watch his every move as you poured a heavy glass of wine. It only took him a moment to appear back in the kitchen, his suit traded for a pair of sweats and you made your way to him, holding your arms out for a hug. He put his arms around you and you could feel his gaze behind you on the counter, frantic eyes hoping to see his phone in the same spot.

“Oh honey, some guy named Brett texted you while you were upstairs.” You said as you pulled away.

He saw him tense for a moment before quickly relaxing in an attempt to not raise suspicions. He made his way towards the cupboard to grab a glass and you continued, “he said he found one of your shirts, I think it was the one I got you from that concert a few months ago.”

The glass slipped from his hands and he turned around quickly, “It’s not what you think.”

You stared blankly at him as you attempted to control your breathing and stay calm. He really thought you were stupid and would believe him.

“Not what I think?” you questioned, your voice cracking at the end, “What it looks like is while I’ve put my dreams on hold to be your housewife in training, you’ve been going out and fucking an intern while I wait at home, hoping you’ll be home before dinner gets cold.”

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. You spoke up again before he got a chance to reply, “Get out”

His face twisted in confusion, assuming he misheard you, “What did you say?”

“I’m telling you to get out, I want my spare key on the counter now and I’ll leave your stuff at your house later.” You replied, shocked at how much you were able to hide the shakiness of your voice. In the nearly year of dating, you had never talked back to him and the shock on his face told you that no one ever had.

It didn’t take long for the anger and shock to fade into embarrassment. In fact by the time your feet felt the cool bathroom tile, a few tears had begun to fall. The sight of the makeup and outfit you spent too much time on in an attempt to impress Carter only made them fall harder. They weren’t out of sadness for the situation but instead for how you treated Bob when he tried to warn you. You stared at your phone for a moment, debating if it was too late to call him. You decided to give it a try anyways and the sight of Bob’s contact photo caused your heart to break even further as the fear that you might have ruined everything hit you. It was an old photo from college that you took as he subtly flipped you off and you wondered if the two of you could ever go back to how it was then.

He picked up on the second ring and the sound of his slight drawl caused a small smile to appear on your face, “Hello?”

You sniffled deeply and heard rustling coming through the speaker, “Are you okay?”

Before you could reply, you heard Bob’s front door slamming and his shoes hitting the pavement quickly. The call was disconnected as he got into his truck and you were left in silence with your thoughts again. You debated changing but couldn’t convince your body to get up and face yourself in the mirror.

The sound of your front door being opened a few minutes later caused you to lift your head from the bathroom floor, “Carter, I told you-” you started before seeing who had opened the door, “Bob? You came.”

“You called.” He replied, kneeling down next to you and pushing your hair off of your face. You couldn’t imagine how you must have looked, mascara beginning to smear under your eyes, your hair getting caught on your dampened cheeks. Despite this, Bob’s face didn’t falter, he only used his hands to push your hair off your face and his thumbs to wipe your cheeks. 

“You were right,” you started as you sat up slightly, your eyes unable to meet his, “I feel so stupid.”

Bob’s body tensed, his jaw clenching as he wrapped his arms around you. This isn’t the first break up Bob had held you through and at this point, it won’t be the last. Despite all the times your exes had tried to get Bob out of your life, he has always been there to pick up the pieces they left you in. 

“I’m scared no one will ever love me,” you whispered so quietly, if it wasn’t for your head against Bob’s neck he probably wouldn’t have heard you. 

You felt Bob’s breath hitch at your admission and another wave of embarrassment washed over you. It was a thought that circled your mind but it was usually late into the night after Carter had turned his back to you and he thought you couldn’t hear him texting on his phone. Bob didn’t say anything for a few minutes and the pit in your stomach only grew. Eventually he spoke, his voice nearly as quiet as yours.

“I have loved you ever since I have known you”

His words hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. His once calm heartbeat was now pounding against yours as the two of you stayed holding each other on the cold tile. The embarrassment and anger from earlier faded to anxious butterflies as you sat up straight to look into his eyes. Half of you expected to wake up and be laying next to Carter, all of this having been a dream. But there he was, the man you have loved since you were a teenager, admitting he felt the same in his spiderman pajama pants. 

Bob cut you off as you opened your mouth, “I’ve waited far too long to tell you and I know this is horrible timing and if you don’t feel the same that’s fine but I have to tell you before I lose you to someone-”

“Shut up,” you mumbled before closing the small gap between the two of you. The kiss was light and slow, unlike any other man you’d ever been with. There was no rush to go to work or get into bed, just this moment and you were determined to make it last.

The two of you sat in a comfortable silence for a while, both trying to absorb the events from the night. Eventually Bob helped you up from the ground, wiped the smeared makeup off and helped you into bed. Not the first time he had done so but the first time it was followed by him crawling in next to you and holding you close. 

[ominousvibez]

future snippet

working on something in the background as per usual, here's a little snippet from the latest idea that's suplexed me into writing it

Word Count: 1514

A Council discussion on possible movement towards a plan regarding instability in Timeline Alpha B-NHA

Date: 7th-8th July LST (Living Standard Time), year 249 A.P. (After Pariah)

Recorded by Council Recordkeeper Friar Tech; arbitrated by Council Peacekeeper Renegade Rose

Since the abdication of the throne by the former King, recorded in denizen history books as Nova Statera; the bringer of Balance, the Council of Ancients convenes every year following the holiday truce. Formed by Nova Statera and the strongest of the Ancients, the meetings are meant to discuss a litany of problems that may plagues the Infinite Realms, and possible solutions that can be done to remedy those issues.

The following discussion begins swiftly. Amongst the attending council members are such;.

Clockwork, Ancient of Time and Foresight; Equinox, Ancient of Space and Curiosity. Nocturne, Ancient of Night and Dreams; Pandora, Ancient of Day and Hope; and the three Observant representatives, Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru. In attendance are Friar Tech, the Council’s recordkeeper, the Ancient of Technology and Knowledge, and Renegade Rose, the Ancient of the Wild and Pestilence, the Council’s peacekeeper.

“I bring to the table a concern regarding the balance of one of the Alpha timelines, Alpha B-HNA.” Clockwork, is always terse with their words. It is rare for them to bring up a concern quickly after the beginning of the meeting.

In reality, the balance one of the Alpha timelines—one of many timelines that are intertwined closely with the Infinite Realms, as compared to the other Omega timelines—is a dire topic.

“Was the small change we offered not enough for stability?” Equinox asks, brows furrowing in confusion. The rings of ectoplasmic stardust and particles that form around his head spin with anxiety as he leans back in his Council seat.

To that, Mizaru, speaks up, her one eye sealed shut. “It was too minor of a change to affect the timeline as a whole. It swayed the destabilization, but only by a few centuries, at most.”

“We introduced the next step of human evolution early in that timeline, I would argue that it wasn’t a minor change.” Equinox replies, crossing his arms. “What has changed since our last meeting that has prevented its improvement?”

“There are many ways that the timeline could have gone right and gone wrong.” Clockwork explains. “Meandering timelines have broken off from the Alpha timeline, and managed to stabilize themselves, for the time being. However, there is a core issue with the main timeline that we have yet to properly address.”

“If it is what I think you’re suggesting—”

“It is the best option, Equinox.” Pandora interrupts. Her golden armor shines bright in the light of the Council’s meeting room. “Without a Champion—”

“Other timelines have existed just fine without a Champion. Why should this one need one as well?”

“I hesitate to agree with Equinox, but he does have a point.” Nocturne speaks up. Usually, they are rather quiet, only adding their own opinion when they deem necessary. Even if when they deem necessary is when it is least appreciated. “Other Alpha timelines have persisted and kept their stability.”

“The issue comes down to the nature of this Alpha timeline.” Clockwork says. They unconsciously shift in appearance from their adult form to their elder form. “Other Alpha timelines have no need for a Champion because they have not crossed the threshold into the Infinite Realms in such a dramatic way. While this timeline’s history and connection to ours faded centuries ago, there is still leftover energy in their realm that is impacting them. We had voted to interfere last year to speed up the process of our energy affecting the humans that still reside in it, thinking that speeding up the evolution of the human race in that realm would help to stabilize it completely. But the connection still exists, and where a connection exists, a Champion must be chosen.”

“Do we have any say in who that Champion may be, or will the Realms decide herself?” Equinox asks, his tone turning dark. The stars that make up the fabric of his cape flicker out, one by one.

The Council is silent. The question was rhetorical, anyway; Equinox knows that they have no choice. They all know who the chosen Champion will become. They cannot put a name or a face to it, but they know, deep down in their cores, that the Realms longs for another champion, just like she had many centuries ago.

“I’m sorry, but I have to refuse the notion.” Equinox breaks the silence, which explodes into an uproar.

“What do you mean, refuse—”

“Just because you were once the King, Equinox—”

“The collapse of an Alpha timeline could jeporadize the existence of the Realms!”

From atop her bench above the Council, the Arbiter Renegade Rose slams her gavel down loudly, three times, ushering in order. She doesn’t even need to use any of her words, though her words were like venom when she spoke.

All the Ancients slowly quiet down.

Mizaru clears her throat. “It is a necessary action we may have to do, Equinox, for the better of the Realms.”

“I have pledged myself to the Realms since the day I took the throne those centuries ago. I created this council to leave the control of the Realms in the hands of more than one capable ancient, so decisions could be agreed upon unanimously instead of by a higher figure.” Equinox says, standing up as he does. His voice cracks as he continues, “I have given my life and my afterlife to her, and it has caused me much so pain. As much as I love her, I cannot on good conscience allow her to do to another child what she has done to me.”

The silence is nearly deafening, as the Ancients all watch as Equinox wipes away at the tears that are slowly spilling down his face. Most of the Ancients do not remember their Deaths, but since Equinox is the youngest among him, the wounds are still, ironically, fresh, despite centuries of time.

Equinox turns to Clockwork. “Is this the only way?”

“Time does not deal in absolutes.” Clockwork responds as they shift from their elder form to their child form. “There may be other ways to stabilize the Alpha timeline that do not involve allowing a new Champion to be chosen. But this… It may be the best solution to lead to the safest stability.”

A beat of silence. From the corner of the council room, recordkeeper Friar Tech glances up from his seat, and he meets the glance of Renegade Rose. While they both had known Equinox in life, death, and afterlife, they had both been alive at the time most of what he experienced occurred.

Being chosen as a Champion for the Infinite Realms is not an easy feat. It involves a lot of pain and suffering, to become an impossibility.

Equinox sighs, falling back to his seat. “I still cannot condone the action, but I am aware that I will be outvoted by the Council. If we must go through with this, may I make a suggestion?”

“What shall it be, young Ancient?” Pandora asks, seated to his right. She leans in close, resting one of her four hands on his shoulder. Condolences? Pity? Her expression is unreadable.

“When they are chosen, I would like to speak to them. I would prefer to do it in just one dream, if you would allow me, Nocturne.”

“And whatever would you say to them?” Kikazaru, the prickliest of the Observant representatives, asks, eye narrowing.

“Nothing that could jeopardize the timeline any further. I believe we all learned the consequences of that a long time ago.” At that, Equinox nervously glances to his left, where Clockwork smirks and shifts from their child form to their adult form. “I just… I want to apologize to them, when the time comes.”

Nocturne, the Ancient of Dreams, hums on that, for a moment. “Equinox, you are the Ancient I like the least.”

“I am keenly aware of that.”

“But, if this will allow us to stabilize the Alpha timeline, I suppose I shall allow it… with my supervision, of course.”

“Nocturne—” Kikazaru scoffs.

Pandora interrupts. “All in favor of allowing the Realms to choose the new Champion of Balance, say aye.”

“Aye.”

“Aye for the three of us.”

“Aye.”

“Aye. All opposing?”

Equinox is the only one to speak. “Nay.”

“Then it is settled. We shall allow the Realms to choose her new Champion and allow Equinox one visit to their dreams shortly thereafter.” Pandora says. “Discussion settled. Are there any other pending issues we ought to attend to?”

“Well.” The quietest of the Observants, Iwazaru, says. “Um. There is the one issue of that sorcerer’s compounding paperwork in Timeline Beta D-C?”

All of the Ancients glance at Iwazaru, who shrinks down a bit in their seat. They nervously laugh.

“Or, we could, um. Just… wait on that a little bit longer. I am sure it can settle itself out on its own, eventually…?”

[stayatsam]

incoherent naruto rant incoming

ill never understand why the series sets up perfect conditions for some sort of movement for mass societal change but then goes "that's okay though!"

like the chunin exams has people dying before its even over with the third hokage going "we do these exams because you are human weapons and the last stage is so public so we can show off your skills to potential clients, not for your personal growth." but then an arc later they have the old fart give some speech about the need for peace and cooperation and not conflict, for some reason

or how rampant nepotism is? the first hokage and second were brothers. the third was the first's student, the fourth was HIS student, the fifth was HIS student, etc. etc.

the whole point of the akatsuki is theyre a group of people disillusioned with this reality and then turned to violence and mass murder, originally starting as an anti-war organization in a world where the economies of the major villages are centered around war

i swear to god in an alternate reality we could've had a series about how change is good instead of like. the uchiha are inherently bound to hatred conspiracy theory is true actually and space aliens try to take over the world suddenly but in the end everything goes back to normal :)

i genuinely can't tell if the stuff above was purposefully set up for what COULD have been a plot like that but fell apart or if kishimoto wasn't reading what he was writing