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nevertheless-moving · 3 years

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Suicidal Misunderstanding XII

Part I - - - - - - Part II - - - - - - - - - - - - Part X - - - - - - Part XI

Star Wars Time Travel AU #27

“We cannot delay much longer” Master Ki-Adi-Mundi said gravely. “Rumors are spreading like wildfire throughout the temple, and Master Kenobi’s absence is not going unnoticed among the troops.”

Master Fisto sighed and his hologram rippled. “As much as I dislike deliberate falsehoods, I think it might be best for morale if we keep- the truth, as we understand, under wraps as much as possible. Young Ashoka is deeply shaken. I myself...” the Nautolan sighed again, running a hand through his tendrils anxiously.

“Not to mention the fact that Master Kenobi might have a valid reason for mistrusting the Chancellor so strongly” Master Gallia added darkly. “Of course I’m not saying we should charge him with anything based on Kenobi’s scattered words alone, but given the chance that this was proceeded by some hypernaturally prescient event, some form of precaution seems warranted.”

Yoda hummed in reply, looking weary. “Fallen ill, Obi-Wan has, tell the Chancellor and the Admiralty, we shall. Incapable of visitors. Still unknown to us, the cause is. Overwork, we suspect. Truth, it may be?” he finished, turning to Master Windu.

Mace leaned back. “I’ve shared everything relevant. We still don’t know anything with absolute certainty. It is my hope that the healers will call upon our more powerful telepaths for assistance later today, should their other efforts continue to prove unsuccessful.” he added with a glance at Master Koon.

"In the mean time,” Master Tiin interjected. “We must discuss the situation in the Expansion Region! As much as we had hoped to delay the Unumbran until Master Kenobi was capable of leading the 212th-”

“That is no longer plausible, if ever it was.” Plo-Koon interrupted softly.

“You may be best suited for the task, Master Tiin” Windu offered. “Your 407th was intended to accompany the 212th, in any case.”

Saesee Tiin reared back, alarmed. “I’m honored, but as I’ve already explained to the council, my skills as a pilot and Shocktroop leader are best utilized at a lower command level. I’m certain there’s a better suited replacement for Kenobi, at least for the short term. What about Skywalker? He is Kenobi’s protegee, and more familiar with working directly with the 212th.”

“You are a veteran with considerable more experience than young Skywalker. You would truly trust his judgement over your own?” Shaak Tii asked skeptically.

“As a General? Absolutely. I’ve seen what he’s capable of.” Master Tiin confirmed.

Koon pushed back, disapproving. “Regardless of his skill, I don’t believe he is in the best mindset for such a task at the moment.”

“Will he be held back from the front entirely?” Master Koth asked, frowning. “That would mean reworking our forces considerably.”

Before Mace was forced to add his own concerns about Anakin’s role in the war, they were interrupted by a priority message from the Chancellor’s office.

Exchanging looks, the assembled council straightened in their seats, nodding one by one at Master Windu, who finally accepted the incoming call.

A full scale live holo of Chancellor Palpatine opened at the front of the room.

“Ah, I see the full council is here. I thank you humbly for accepting my call so quickly.” He said to the room with a smooth bow of the head.

Exchanging a glance with Mace, Master Yoda answered, “Of course, Chancellor. Serve the senate, we do. Help you how, can we?”

A troubled expression crossed Palpatine’s expression. “I recently heard the most terrible rumor about poor General Kenobi. I was hoping the Council could clear up the truth of the matter.”

“Hmm. Dangerous things, rumors are. Careful with them, you are wise to be.” Yoda said. Everyone in the room expertly stifled a smile at Yoda’s unrivaled skill at vague topic evasion.

The Chancellor was far too practiced a politician to allow irritation to cross his expression. “Thank you for that wisdom Master Yoda. Now what exactly is the condition of the High General of the Third System Army?”

Yoda’s ears drooped. “Plagued by sickness, Master Kenobi is. Unable to wake him, our best healers are.”

Palpatine gasped. “How horrid! Surely this must be some insidious Separatist plot! What else could have felled such a powerful Jedi.”

“Immune to illness, Not even the Jedi are. Still investigating the cause, are we. Discussing who should care for his troops, when you called, we were.”

“Oh, how dreadful, that we are forced to discuss such mundanities as troop movements when a good friend’s life might hang in the balance! Please, if there’s anything I or the Senate can do to help, you have my personal support in accessing the finest healers.”

“Very kind of you, that is. But well cared for, Master Kenobi is. Will help, a rest from the stress of war, we hope. Do our best to keep the news contained, we shall. Risk inspiring fear in the public, we do not wish.”

“Indeed! That is very wise thing to fear. Do not worry, I will ensure that any security leaks are taken care myself if need be.”

Master Windu finally spoke, tone and posture absolutely neutral. “Thank you, Chancellor. If there’s nothing else, we will return to planning our strategy during Master Kenobi’s unfortunate but necessary leave of absence from the front.”

“Of course! When you are finished, would you be so kind as to send General Skywalker to brief me on what you decide?”

“That won’t be necessary, Chancellor. I’m more than happy to come in person to brief you myself” Windu replied in the same placid voice.

“Oh, I’m certain that as Master of the Order you have more important tasks to do than talk to an old man such as myself! And as you know, I consider Anakin a friend of mine. It will do me good to check in on him myself, I’m sure you understand.”

“As you have so kindly reminded us in the past, nothing outweighs a Jedi’s duty to the Senate of the Republic. As Master of the Order, I consider discussing the matter with you a top priority. And as for Skywalker- your concern is of course appreciated. I’m sure, given your friendship, you will respect our decision to give the young man some time off from council obligations to meditate over his concern for his friend and former Master. We would be happy to pass on an informal invitation to meet with you, if you wish.”

Palpatine was silent for a moment. “How...very kind of you to respect their close bond with one another. Yes, please do pass on my personal invitation of support to Anakin. And my offer of non-Jedi medical consultation.”

“I will do so as soon as our meeting has finished. Thank you again Chancellor.”

Palpatine nodded briefly then closed the connection, hologram winking out of existence.

“Unaware, I was, a leave of absence from his duties, we were giving Knight Skywalker.” Yoda said with a raised brow.

“The full matter will need to wait until Master Kenobi wakes, but for now, trust me when I say that we should at least discuss possible replacement leadership for both the 212th and the 501st.”

The council grumbled at that, but Mace quelled any arguments with a severe look.

“Very well.” Shaak Tii relented, pulling up a datapad. “Jedi Masters currently without troops to command include several shadows that we could hypothetically pull from their duties, as well as Master Krell after the tragic loss of his last division...”

---

“My Lord! This is an unexpected honor! How may I-”

“Save your simpering, Tyrannus.” The hooded figure hissed. “It appears we have a new player in the game.”

“To whom are you referring, my lord?” Dooku responded, thinking quickly. Of course both Sith were constantly instigating power plays amongst the Republic and Seperatist leadership, but nothing dramatic came to mean.”

“You mean to tell me you don’t know?” Sideous replied with a wicked smirk. “How disappointing. I had thought your spy network better than that, particularly when it comes to your favorite lineage member.”

Dooku paused. “I was aware that Kenobi had missed the most recent major mixed war briefing. Do you mean to tell me he has begun to move against you, my lord?”

“My, my. Your sources truly are failing you, Darth Tyrannus. Quite the opposite is true. It appears that someone has managed to land a blow where our combined efforts had previously proven fruitless.”

“A blow against Kenobi? On Coruscant? That is...an interesting development”

“Indeed. Find out everything you can. Whoever has succeeded has done so in such a manner as to utterly rattle the High Council. I’ve never seen them so deliciously shaken.”

“I see. And what of your favorite of my lineage? I assume you are managing to use the situation against him gracefully as ever.”

Palpatine’s smirk fell into twisted snarl. “The boy is despondent of course. My lack of warning means that I was unable to position myself advantageously in advance. And now he is refusing to answer messages, while the council has chosen to give him time off. Bah. Of all the times to attend to their Chosen one’s emotional wellbeing...”

Dooku drew himself up, expression betraying nothing. “Forgive me my lord, but any information you can provide me would help in my search to find our ‘new player’ as it were. I have never known the council to be so...soft with a knight when his former Master was simply in sickbay. Do you mean to tell me that Obi-Wan Kenobi has passed into the force?” His tone, haughtily impassive throughout the conversation, grew a touch disbelieving at the very end.

“My sources tell me he is ‘unwakeable’ but given the boy’s anger and grief, not to mention the fact that his force signature is practically non-existent... I suspect his condition may very well be critical. Find out the rest. Do not fail me again, Tyrannus.”

The connection cutoff abruptly, leaving Dooku alone in the dimly lit room. He strode out, sealing the private chamber behind him and calling out.

“Ventress! Attend me at once- I have an urgent assignment for you...”

Part XIII

#star wars #my au #star wars au no 27 #suicidal misunderstanding au #oh no my plot got more plot in it help #star wars au #star wars fanfic #jedi council #is in this one and WOW did i have a lotta wookiepedia tabs open #srsly feel free to tell me if i spelled anyones name wrong i TRIED but still do your thing

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k-kuja · 5 years

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which are hirako's most important relationships and why?

Relationship, singular.

I’m joking, but I’m also not joking because every single relationship he did have, he was prepared to sacrifice without hesitation for one (1) tall glass of sad.

He was profoundly affected when Arima told him, “You’re like me, you have that same emptiness,” I imagine for two main reasons: first of all, it was an admission of weakness on Arima’s part (the unstoppable shinagami is human after all!) and a way of bridging a gap in their personal relationship, allowing them to speak openly and honestly about their individual emotional struggles ( —I mean, that never actually happened, but there was at least a foundation there); on top of that, another human being tells Take that they relate to him. Someone he deeply respects, someone from whom he desperately needs validation, someone who he sees as the opposite to himself - charismatic, skilled, useful, with a strong sense of purpose - sees themselves in him.

And then in addition to that, Arima genuinely trusts him. Like, a lot. He trusted him with his blindside, with his past, with his peers (the Garden kids), with his plan… Arima sort of provides for him posthumously in a sense too, at least in Take’s mind, by offering him an objective and… kind of a surrogate family.

For the record, I’m aware that that’s a little bit of a stretch but (!) I do think it’s an interesting thought when you consider his decision to appoint Akira (who was always coded as cold and distant) as a ‘parent’ to Haise, esp after losing Kureo, Seidou and Amon. She developed more maternal characteristics and formed genuine, positive relationships with him and the Qs; I like the idea that he wanted both Hirako and the Garden kids to experience a similar sense of family, and it’s super sad that that never materialised.

So whatever sense of purpose he eventually finds comes from his relationship with Arima, and the trust Arima places in him. We’re never given any real glimpse into his personal life but, in terms of work, he doesn’t care about promotion (it seems that both he and Arima actively tried to remain paired for as long as possible), he doesn’t care about CCG protocol (he challenges his superior officer, Hachi, twice) and he isn’t particularly interested in killing ghouls either (he suggests imprisoning Irimi rather than killing her and, when Haise says he wants to apologise to Hirako for letting Orochi escape, Arima straight up says, “I don’t think Take cares.”)

There’s a reason why he never wrestles with his decision to defect like, say, Akira does - his loyalty was never to the CCG. It was solely to Kishou.

To be clear though, he’s loyal to a fault and it’s a big part of what negatively affects his contribution to Goat/the Dragon War.

Aside from Arima, I think the relationship that’s most important to him is with Koori, and forgive my incredible laziness here but I’m gonna direct people to this great meta by @linkspooky because it perfectly explains how the two foil each other in their pursuit of Arima’s legacy. They share a mutual respect for one another and they’re established as equals, but for competing reasons.

His relationship with Kuramoto is really interesting bc Kuramoto kind of inherits two of Take’s biggest weaknesses: (1) he believes he’s only useful as a follower and doesn’t believe he’s capable of assuming a position of leadership (a fear that’s immediately realised when he loses almost his entire squad during his first mission as Sq Leader). Obviously Take does assume leadership of S0, but he constantly defers - even after Arima’s death, he describes himself as “merely an underling”; any 'decision’ he does make is just an earlier command from Arima, and, other than that, he simply responds to Kaneki’s directions rather than co-operating with him to make more practical decisions.

Anyway, Kuramoto’s lack of self-belief is the result of (2) never having received the validation he requires from his superior (sounds familiar wow), to the point where he becomes depressed after Take’s defection and seems to blame himself for some reason (”I thought he believed in me”). In spite of that, Kuramoto remains as steadfastly loyal to Hirako as the latter does to Arima; there’s never a conversation about how hurt or confused Kuramoto was. He makes a few friendly jibes but he happily accepts Take back and re assumes his position as subordinate without any issue.

It’s proof of Hirako’s painful lack of self-awareness, as well as his inability to understand the needs of anyone around him other than Arima, I think. Where Arima consciously distances himself from his subordinates and deliberately withholds praise (or whatever) from others in spite of their need for it, Take is completely oblivious to those needs.

I also think the relationship between Take and Renji is kind of rewarding, even if it is really brief. [Yeah, I know, yawn, Áine likes Homo.]

First of all, it underlines once again that Hirako doesn’t have any deep-rooted hatred for ghouls and, in fact, he’s quite comfortable talking to one as an equal. He’s friendly and complimentary, even. It makes me wonder a lot more about his past and why he enrolled in the Academy in the first place.

Their conversation in the café is… super muddy, and it’s both good and bad in a way that reflects the moral grey that carries through to the end of the manga imo. Hirako listens to Renji as he explains why he’s hurt and angry and struggling to come to terms with this new alliance. Cool. And then responds by basically saying “what’s done is done, your sister’s dead, my boyfriend’s friend’s dead, we just have to forget about it and blindly move forward based on our single commonality”, which is... not really very productive, and absolutely not Good Détente, like that’s… not how conflict resolution works. But it’s something I guess, and an uneasy alliance that they both agree too, which it’s indicative of how the ghoul/non-ghoul conflict is handled (or not handled) right up until the end of the story..

I think there’s a general perception that Take buries his thoughts/feelings and doesn’t speak because he’s repressing them, so I think it’s refreshing and interesting to see him communicate very openly and directly with a total stranger about lacking a sense of purpose in life, desperately seeking validation, honestly admitting to now knowing where to go from here...

As someone who is incredibly open about pretty much everything but uncomfortable putting themselves at the centre of a conversation, and also needs space to actually gather whatever thoughts need to be expressed before being able to actually communicate them to others, it was weirdly relatable to see him suddenly so comfortable and frank. It’s more of a personal reading I guess, I think a lot of people prob read that as a little out of character.

#you sent this like #probably a month ago #and i'm only responding now #with a load of half baked badly structured thoughts i am so sorry

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