The blindfold stays on.

I’m too in love with the idea of the Armorer being a Zabrak to let it go, but I cannot settle on what kind, so now she’s got nightsister colorings and nightbrother horns🤷‍♀️

Splintered Perspective [β]

(A/N: For reference, any fics I write that aren’t related to my main series will be marked with [ β ] in the title. I may just have to make a masterpost to organize these at some point. Anyway,the prompt for this was: ‘How Rex or some other person from Ahsoka’s past would react to her being enemies with benefits or in a relationship with Maul.’ I decided to go with multiple POVs for the fun of it. And so I didn’t break myself with The Sad. Poor Rex T_T. Perspectives are not in chronological order. Mentions of past Ahsoka/Barriss. Warnings for dehumanization, mentions of torture, death, violence, some ableism and possible misogyny.(Maybe? Your mileage may vary.) Unbeta’d.  ) Being one with the Force is...not exactly what she had been taught to expect. Barriss Offee is part of everything, all at once. Those in the Light, living and dead, she is all of them, and yet still herself, in a manner of speaking . Time is no longer such a rigid concept, nor is there any particular sense of urgency. What has happened was meant to be, and the future...Is forever shifting, ripples overlapping in a still pool. Which is why it comes as such a surprise when she can feel Master Plo’s disapproval like a storm on the edge of breaking. At first, she cannot determine what has woken his ire, but slowly the images come into focus. Ahsoka.

Barriss no longer possesses a heart, and yet she cannot deny the lance of bittersweet pain through her chest. There is relief that her friend is still alive, but also regret and something bordering on envy. A feeling that only sharpens when she notices the tattooed Zabrak that Ahsoka currently has pinned down. Wait. She knows him. Not personally, but...He is a Sith, a murderer, a monster. Why is Ahsoka-brash, kind, clever person that she is- smiling at him?  It is possible that she is misinterpreting this. Both of them appear rather bruised and a touch bloody, and the lack of lightsabres doesn’t mean-She misses the words exchanged between the pair of them, but...The kiss is unmistakeably passionate, bordering on obscene as the Force crackles around them. Somehow, this is not the worst of it. When they part for air, there is a...look, shared between their eyes, and Barriss experiences true dread. Long ago, she and Ahsoka had-been close. Intimately so. As much as anyone could be, following the Order’s mandate that attachment was forbidden. She’d harboured dreams then, of maybe and one day...But no. Too much had happened, and her rosy illusions had been cruelly shattered. Somehow, watching this unfold hurts worse. Because there is something genuine beneath the crude physical attraction on display. Master Plo does not say a word, but his righteous indignation is so strong that it is a miracle he does not physically manifest in front of them.

Her dearest companion does not belong in the Dark, with this...creature trapping her in his coils, dripping venom into her thoughts. Barriss can only hope Ahsoka will extricate herself before it is too late.

=====

The failed apprentice. A wretched vermin who simply refuses to die. Not for much longer. Darth Vader’s gaze narrows as he reviews the incident reports. A decade of nothing but the occasional annoyance and whispers from the dregs of the galaxy, and only now does Maul scurry out from beneath whatever rock he has been sheltering under. Why? There is no grand plan, no great advantage in breaking into an Imperial prison. Especially one that contains such...unimportant occupants. Then again...The swathe of carnage and destruction left behind had been almost a direct path between the Dathomirian’s entry point and the interrogation chambers. Not a calculated assault, but an act of rage and desperation. Vader had felt it at the time, how the Dark Side had howled and torn at itself like a half-crazed beast. And then there was the fate of the interrogator: Hands cut off, abdominal perforation, shattered jaw,and eyes torn from their sockets. He had suffered a great deal, however briefly. As for the prisoner with him- Records list a female Togruta, mid-to-late twenties, with blue eyes and orange skin. Possibly Force sensitive, but difficult to determine due to her physical state upon capture. The prisoner hadn’t been in possession of anything resembling lightsabres, but had been carrying a wealth of assorted small armaments. It couldn’t be. She died back when...We found her sabres among the graves. Anakin Skywalker is long dead, but sometimes his ghost is loud enough to be heard over the multitudes that inhabit Vader’s hulking, monstrous shell.

Graves required someone to dig them first. Which meant that either some unknown individuals had come along and taken pity on a multitude of strangers...Or that the survivours had done the work themselves. Yet, if Ahsoka Tano lives, and was temporarily imprisoned, it still does not explain the identity or methods of her unlikely rescuer. She was sent to capture him on Mandalore, why would Snips-? Why did she leave us? We needed her when Padme- The room around him warps and buckles in a single, furious moment of clarity. She chose that...animal. That thing, Oh, but she’d been richly rewarded, hadn’t she? One only had to look at the risks her...protector had taken just to secure her freedom. Approval and utter disgust war within him as he rises. So be it. Sentiment has already destroyed them, and it will be his pleasure to finish a task that should have been resolved long ago. Traitors to the Empire must all be purged.

===== Rex should probably be angry. Ahsoka is certainly looking at him like a shiny expecting a stern lecture for breaking regs. Instead he just feels...tired. He can’t be mad at her, not really. Maybe if he’d stuck around longer or managed to make contact more often, this wouldn’t have happened. Or maybe it would have. Maker knows his trio of Jedi could never stay out of trouble for long, and that war makes for strange alliances and even stranger...pairings.  Still, he has to ask, because he knows her, knows the depths of love and compassion that make her who she is, beneath the layers of soldier and spy.

“Is it serious?” Ahsoka fidgets with her lekku a bit. “I don’t know.” A long pause as she inhales. “It keeps happening, and...I want to murder him half the time, Rex. The problem is that he likes it.” The expression on her face perfectly sums up her opinion on that little tidbit of info. He might have laughed, under different circumstances. Instead, he takes her hands in his. “We’ve known each other for a long time. I might not understand why you’re doing this, or how it works-” He absolutely does not need to know the mechanics, as there are not enough drugs or alcohol in the galaxy to purge the associated mental images. “-but I trust your judgement. And your ability to slice his horns off and hang him from his ears over a pit of rathtars if he pushes you too far.” Rex grins, silently offering to be her backup should that ever happen. Kind of a surprise it hasn’t already, since Maul never karking shuts up and Ahsoka’s patience has a set limit for windbags. Her eyes are wet when she hugs him tightly. “You’ll be the first person I call, Captain. And I’m sorry.” He knows she’s not just apologizing for this, not with their history. “I’m sorry too, Commander.” Rex murmurs, hugging her back. They can stay like this for a while longer. Her superiors are just going to have to wait. He might not be such a ‘good’ soldier anymore, but he knows damned well how to be a good friend. And that’s what they both need, more than anything. People that will survive the disaster long enough to see it end, and come out smiling.

=====

“When I warned that you might be tempted by the Dark Side, I did not expect it to be quite so literal.”

“Master.” “Then again, I suppose there is a certain appeal. Ventress was certainly a...passionate opponent. Lovely sense of humour, too. I suppose you don’t get much of that with your-No, I suppose you are the better half in this equation.” “Master Kenobi.” “Come now, we haven’t spoken in ages, surely you can indulge your grand-master’s curiousity.” “You did not break comm silence after years of letting everyone think you were dead just to call me about my sex life.” “Well, no, but it is an unexpected bonus. How does that work, exactly?” “It sounds like you’re angling for a demonstration.” “Oh Maker, no. I’m not that eager to find out.” “Good, because I don’t particularly feel like dealing with him if he decides to drop everything just to hunt you down.” “Ah. He’s...still upset about that, is he?” “You have no idea.” “Well then. To business. And Ahsoka?” “Yes, Master?” “It is good to hear your voice again. Do take care of yourselves.” “You too, Master Kenobi. And don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

“One last question: When should I expect great-grand-padawans?”

“OBI-WAN!!!!” (A/N: Yes, I had to end with levity. Especially considering the characters involved. To clarify, Anakin isn’t upset because he has any sort of romantic inclination towards Ahsoka. It’s general Darksider possessiveness/jealousy mixed in with a lot of anger and some guilt. Looking after Ahsoka’s wellbeing was ‘his’ job, so far as he’s concerned. And now it’s apparently been usurped by That One Asshole. Also, if anyone’s going to recognize that level of...obsessive regard, it’s gonna be the OG Skywalker Drama King. Many thanks to the anonymous person who requested this, both for the prompt and your compliments. Cheers!) 

Rise of The Demon Huntress Part 3

 The front lines were in the city of Divitiae. Really nice place if you can ignore the raging demons killing every man, woman, and child in sight. We knew when we were getting close not because of the screams of those being slaughtered nor from the sight of fires spreading throughout the city, but from the scent of blood. Look, if anyone ever tells you blood isn't creepy, they're fucking insane (Or They're Alice. She actually enjoys the smell, then again, she's not the sanest person I know). It hit us like a wave, the metallic stench of death. As we got closer, the sounds we thought were sirens turned into the screams of the citizens and regular combat magicians (For reference, combat magicians are citizens who decide to defend a city if the need arises. They tend to do this until the military can arrive.) who were trying to hold off the demon onslaught.       "This is worse than the reports ever made it."  Alice said       Nero simply shook his head in sadness. "These people weren't meant to hold off such a large attack. They wouldn't have stood a chance."       "Well there may still be survivors. At worst, it overrun with demons and we all get brutally devoured. At best, we come across a fighting force and the douche who decided to cause this mess."       We wandered through the city encountering mainly dead people and demons. It was kind of a silver lining to say that it was an equal number of human and demon corpses, but at the quantity we were seeing, it was pretty bad. At one point there was a roving group of demons combing the streets looking for survivors. We had to avoid them as I didn't want to try and fight while getting Nero to the front lines. There was one strange occurrence that had all of us confused. There were several human corpses in a street and upon closer examination, they all had magical burns and weapon scratches (Demons leave a more ragged tear while weapons give a cleaner cut).         "Did they... kill each other?" I asked       Nero gave the bodies a long examination while me and Alice kept watch. "Whatever killed them was human. In fact most of them were killed with a combination of knife wounds and electrocution."       "Great. So one of our own decided to go rouge and start killing civilians? This just gets better and better." Alice said with a sigh. She turned to me and asked, "Do you think we should find them?"       "No. Hopefully whoever it is has moved far, far along."       I probably should've never said anything because the second I said that I felt a knife tip press against the back of my neck.       "Who are you?" A woman's voice asked from behind me.       "I think the better question is who are you? You kinda just came up from behind us and took me hostage."       "Nope, she got us all as hostages." Alice said as she slowly turned around to face me.       I had to do a double take, because last I remember, she was already facing me and was much farther away. Then it clicked instantly "That's not her." The shadow that was Alice dripped away and the real Alice came from behind our mysterious attacker and started to attack her instead.       "Stop fighting me or your healer gets it!!"         "Alice, stop!"       "Yes, please stop. I'd rather not die just yet." Nero said while being held hostage by a male attacker.       Alice stopped, but never sheathed her short sword. She grumbled something and came back to us.       "Now answer me: Who are you?" This strange woman asked us.       I guess it couldn't do any harm to tell her. Worst case scenario, we kill her. "I'm Melina Angelo," I pointed to Alice "the one who so kindly tried to murder you is Alice. That passive guy you have your goon pointing a knife at is Nero. And it's only courteous if you do the same and tell us your name."       The mysterious woman sighed and sheathed her knife. "I'm Natasha. Part of the actual group who is trying to stop the demon horde called the House of Knives."       This little statement piqued my interest as it would kind of explain the weird dead bodies we found. "So there's another group?"       "Yes, they're trying to help the demons invade our world. We don't know why, but we do know that these people all seem to reference meeting someone with strange eyes (Note: Strange eyes in the world of Favent means you have some really strange eyes. Like one neon green eye with a white spiral in it and another dull silver eye with purple rim around it) and the person offered them a well-paying job. We call them the "Controlled". You can tell them from other people because they're eyes are completely whited out. However, some still have normal eyes and will still religiously follow any order their leader gives."       "Well, shit. A cult basically?" I said       "In essence. Except they want the end of all humanity. Not enlightenment."       "We'll help you if you help us."       "It depends on what exactly it is you want."       "We want to find out who opened the Obice."       "Good. 'Cause the guy who did it is the leader. Kill him and you break the spell on the Controlled. Win-Win! I'll help you of course, because I remember the layout of the facility. I used to work there actually."       "Where is it?"       "You're not gonna like it. The weapon's facility 'Divitiae's Finest' is where their going and producing all of their equipment."       "Um... could you please call off your guy here? This knife is really digging into my throat." Nero complained       "Oh yeah, Marcus you can let him go. Head back to base and tell them I'm going to be doing a raid on the Controllers and to not worry."       Marcus let Nero go and proceeded to leave, but there was a more pressing concern here: What exactly was controlling these people? If it were a demon, that meant someone managed to do a controlled summon and did it basically across dimensions. They would be a powerful magician and a decent threat.       We were approaching the weapon facility, when that large group of demons decided now would be the perfect time to appear in front of us. And this time there was no hiding from them.       "Hey Alice, mind doing me a favor and getting it dark for them?" I glanced at Nero, "Please stay as far back from the combat as possible. But not so far we can't help you."       "I'll be back about one block." Nero said as he hurried along       I looked at Natasha, "I guess you do what you do best."       "Kill shit?"       "Oh yes!!" And we all ran at the horde of demons.       It was freakin' awesome! Alice had all of the demons near blinded by her Shadow Sorcery and Natasha was like a deadly dancer on the battlefield! She whirled her knives and always found her mark. Around her, graceful splashes of blackened blood sprayed from dead demons as they dropped like flies. Me? I just went and had fun (If you're gonna die, at least have your last moments having a blast). I changed my weapon into a scythe and started to spin it through demons. I really loved this blade! I could hear the bone shattering in the demons, but it left the cleanest cuts I'd ever seen. I swept through the demons like they were butter. At one point I changed it into a sword and it was unreal. I could cleave off entire limbs in a single, effortless swing and pierce the thick demon plating surrounding a demon's chest like it wasn't even there. Alice was like a ghost in the battle, appearing in one spot then killing another enemy elsewhere or making two enemies kill each other as they lunged their claws at her shadow image.        As epic as we were, however, we weren't invincible. I got dangerously close to dying as a demon faked a lunge and bit my arm. There aren't too many things in this world that hurt blindingly, but that is a whole new level of pain. I probably would have died because I couldn't get to my sword (It clattered out of my hand when I fell) and he was gnawing on my better (-ish) arm (I'm ambidextrous). He stopped biting my arm to attack my face, but I grabbed him by the throat and began to bash his brain matter on the concrete.         I had to save Alice from getting mauled to death. Even though she's a talented fighter, it's not her style to head-on fight someone. She tends to pick enemies off and use mass confusion. So when she got surrounded by five of the more vicious looking demons (Bloodier scales, sharper teeth, actually had horns, smelled really bad), I kinda jumped in to save her. She gave me the "Thank you" nod as a response.       Natasha saved my ass twice. Once when a strange demon that looked like a chicken (Writer's Note: Picture a velociraptor and you have a perfect idea. Act 2 will explain why this term doesn't exist) with arms knocked me over and tried to gut me with its claws. She simply jumped over it and slit its throat with both of her knives, then helped me up. Another time, it was more of a mutual assistance. We ended up back to back and began to just murder everything in sight. When she ducked I would back swing over her and kill all demons that were in front of her. When I did a side dodge, she would reach her knife out and impale whatever was in front of me (Luckily she never nicked me. I think her knives were poisoned.). It was glorious in-tandem killing!!       After maybe 30 minutes or so, we killed them all. About 75 demons slain because they chose the wrong corner to turn on.       "NEEERRROOOO!!!!!!" I called out "IT'S SAAAAFEEE!!!"       He came peeking around a corner and walked out, but he didn't walk like he normally did. Once I noticed the blood on his hands, demon blood, I rushed over to help, trying to remember any healing spells (Look! You try and remember thousands of incantations, spell circles, concoctions, and other stuff! Shit's hard! Then Healing classes only meet during the winter for 2 weeks. It's total bullshit, but I digress in my digression).         He had heavy, labored breathing which meant he was either losing a lot of blood or about to die. I was kinda hoping for the former. "Nero, where are you hurt?" I said in my professional voice       "My... my back. Snuck... away and....." He trailed off       I flipped him over and saw the four long scars going across his back. "Uhhh......"       Natasha came over and immediately saw what was wrong. "Sana" she whispered. Suddenly Nero was encased in a dim white light for a few seconds and once it dimmed everything on him was repaired, even his clothing. Some of his hair had even reversed from graying!!       "What spell is that?!!" I asked, incredulous at the results I just saw       "It's a Grandmaster level spell of healing. Don't ask how I know it and no, I'm not an ex-Grandmaster."       Alice suddenly warped in front of us carrying one beat-up, wimpy demon. "While you two were here chatting away, burning time away, I found us a demon to interrogate. He should know what to expect around here." She started to slowly strangle the demon, "IN PERFECT FUCKING DETAIL!!!!!"       I told you she was a bit psycho. We set up something resembling a camp and looted nearby stores (Yeah, I know it's a crime. Fucking hang me. Oh, wait you already are planning to kill me!) for supplies. We still had some way to go before we reached to weapons facility and a lot more to learn about this threat of the "Controllers".                                                  [End Part 3]

Eddie Jones needs to dodge a Wales reunion at Rugby World Cup

England and Wales must now avoid each other for as long as possible. That is the most important lesson they can learn from their warming-up double-header of the World Cup, which was closed on Saturday in Cardiff .

With the global hierarchy in motion, everyone is looking for clues as to what the fake war results of this month mean in the larger picture as a form guide to the World Cup.

The short answer is that they don't mean much, but one thing is pretty clear – the cross-border enemies who locked horns under a roof in the capital of Wales are best placed in a subsequent indoor meeting in the South Japanese evade the city of Oita.

Dan Biggar showed that he was a quality conductor and will cause problems if the sides meet again

Biggar was undoing in England four years ago and the two nations could meet in quarterfinals

In its current form, England prefers to meet Australia in the quarterfinals than Wales

That is where they could be on the weekend of 20-21 October before the quarterfinals of the World Cup. It would certainly be appropriate for Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland teams to stay separate. The last eight is too early for a new high-stakes installation of this rugby rivalry, for all the partisan passion it would generate.

The victory of England over Twickenham and the victory of Wales in Cardiff lacked the resonance of Six Nations results, but nevertheless provided certain indications.

One is that when a Red Rose team operates at a fiery peak of intensity, their strength can be very difficult for their neighbors to ward off. The other is that Dan Biggar is a crazy conductor who contributed four years ago to the death of England during the World Cup and can repeat that performance.

Eddie Jones exerted pressure on Wales by claiming that they are favorites to win the World Cup

These old enemies will know that the best solution to the threat they pose to each other is the day when it must be tackled.

The answer is to the top of difficult World Cup pools. England will struggle with Tonga, the United States and Argentina before a confrontation against France in Yokohama on October 12 to determine whether they qualify for the knockout phase in first or second place.

Unless Fiji disrupts a series of in Pool D, England goes to Oita to take on Wales or Australia. They will not admit it, but they will probably prefer to stand in line against the Wallabies, who they defeated six times out of six under head coach Jones.

Australia got a kickback in Auckland on Saturday, having the urge to beat the All Blacks seven days earlier. Their 36-0 capitulation in Eden Park suggests that despite the recent signs of a revival, Michael Cheika & # 39; s side remains brittle when the heat is on.

Jones made that point in the aftermath of his team's defeat. "I watched that match with great interest," he said about the mismatch of the Bledisloe Cup.

New Zealand remains the favorites to win the World Cup win after beating Australia in Auckland

& # 39; Psychology was reversed. Australia, the previous week, had everything to play for. They were free. They were hard. They played aggressively. This week they had to face the expectation. The story of the week was that the All Blacks in Auckland are unbeatable. You have to be able to deal with that and they struggled. & # 39;

Jones was also in amateur psychology mode when he responded to Wales & # 39; s position at No. 1 in the world rankings: & # 39; They are favorites for the World Cup so they have to deal with that. & # 39;

Jones knows that that is not true. Gatland knows that that is not true. Even the most avid fans of Wales know that that is not true.

New Zealand remains the reference and favorites of the tournament. The All Blacks last lost to Wales in 1953. If the two current teams played each other 10 times, one Welsh victory would still be greeted as a shock, regardless of the rankings.

But there is no escaping that Wales and other countries have closed the gap with the winners of the last two world cups. Kiwi aura has been eroded. Japan should organize a classic tournament. England and Wales can strongly challenge. They are both able to reach the semi-final, at least if they avoid each other in Oita.

Wales will be without Gareth Anscombe at the World Cup after he has sustained an ACL injury

Despite the majesty of France's 32-3 win over Scotland in Nice on Saturday, Gatland would, given the choice, certainly prefer the quarterfinals against the capricious Jacques Brunel side instead of Jones.

Wales will go to the Far East without Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Anscombe, but Biggar is a masterful deputy at number 10 and Captain Alun Wyn Jones continues to excel as a capricious ruthless and influential figure.

When England's third quarter revival ground to a halt on Saturday, the slot ahead contribution was an important factor. The maul of England, such a powerful weapon in Twickenham, was destroyed this time.

They were beaten on the floor and welcome their specialist openings, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, who are expected to be fit for the home game against Ireland on Saturday.

Again, the Jones team gave away unnecessary penalties, leaving their second half of the comeback behind. But he will comfort himself by knowing that various key figures are being reintegrated, including Captain Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Manu Tuilagi.

Anthony Watson looks sharp after his long injury discharge. His certainty under the high ball means that England should consider switching to full back, with Elliot Daly at the wing.

For now, Wales are more established than their neighbors, but for the best British contenders, World Cup hope would be strengthened by going their own way.

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