OnceThereWasAPondering
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The player character of Need for Speed: Heat had to come from somewhere, maybe this was their beginning.
Showing up in Palm City without even a car to race in? She just rolls into town and then takes over the scene like she was fated to be there.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,080
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 11
- Hits:
- 187
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Tea & Fire by AppoApples
Fandoms: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
02 May 2026
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Summary
If you could go back, what would you change? I would have left. Obi-Wan has been in hiding for ten years on Tatooine when one meditation brings him into the past. Even if he can undo the mistakes of the past, he finds himself still on verge of shattering.
Instead of fixing mistakes, he decides to go on the war path, to spite Dooku, to kark with Sidious, to put a pipe bomb in the extremism of the New Mandalorians and Death Watch, but most importantly, to save his men.
His vode.
Jango Fett can either step up or step aside, because just like Obi-Wan never stopped being a Jedi, he never stopped being one of the best military minds this galaxy has ever seen.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 127,813
- Chapters:
- 37/37
- Collections:
- 34
- Comments:
- 4,207
- Kudos:
- 8,573
- Bookmarks:
- 3,110
- Hits:
- 295,403
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
19 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
This fic went by quicker than I wanted it to, it was definitely a binge read that I wouldn't have minded staying in the universe if for longer. Jango and Obi-Wan are both incredibly damaged individuals, and this fic doesn't shy away from their imbalances going into falling into eachother. The romantic aspect definitely has some fade-to-black scenes that take it right up to the line of being a Mature fic. I really enjoyed the badass action bits as well as cute kid POVs from the clones. Overall, I think more could have been shown with the haunting of Dooku and the fall of Sidious from power, but at the end of the day most of the story was based around ruthless pragmatism that leant itself well to the use of timeskips.
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sadness as a gift by bombshells
Fandoms: Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types
15 Apr 2026
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Good riddance, he thinks. Or maybe feels obligated to think. He’s not sure. It feels like a natural thing to think about a brother who hit you and insulted you and extorted you for most of your short, miserable time together. He’s thought about it before, Alexei dying. The life he lived had not been conductive to longevity.
I am the last Rozanov, he thinks, and that is an emotion he can parse, finally: closure. Like setting the last piece down in a puzzle.
It’s only after the first puff of smoke escapes his lips that Ilya remembers Alexei’s daughter.
Or:
Two years after he gets married, Ilya Rozanov receives the news that his older brother has died.- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 26,745
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 262
- Kudos:
- 2,033
- Bookmarks:
- 568
- Hits:
- 14,214
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
16 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
This isn't a story of Illya suddenly needing to adopt his niece, this is a story of Illya dealing with grieving the circumstances of his family, and having the opportunity to see himself in a different light through the lens of his niece. Shane is lovely and supportive, Svetlana is a queen, and there is a mess of unhealed trauma to be dealt with.
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"And is like I said, very easy to do. You just lay back and let someone else do work. Could do it in my sleep, would not be problem at all for me to come hands-free.”
Hollander scowled, full competitive personality shining through. “Prove it.”
“Fine, I will,” Ilya snapped back.
Hollander's eyes went wide, and so did Ilya's when he realized what he had promised. His words hung in the air between them, suddenly heavy with implication.
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Ilya doesn't think switching with Hollander one time for the sake of settling a bet will change anything about their arrangement, and it certainly wouldn't make him discover anything about himself. Afterall, it would only be one time, right?- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 23,870
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 792
- Kudos:
- 4,133
- Bookmarks:
- 1,319
- Hits:
- 60,007
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
15 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
Oh how the turns have tabled~
According the author notes, this author puts a lot of thought into Illya's complex background and makes deliberate decisions based on them, and it really shows. The level of vulnerability and the emotions that come along with it are incredibly well written and easy to empathize with. As noted, in the spirit of Tierney's version of Heated Rivalry, the story of this relationship is communicated through sex, it's not just smut; but also it's still really hot sex. -
The Rules of Feminism by goldenraeofsun
Fandoms: Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types, Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
12 Jun 2026
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After his Boxing Day fight with Ilya, Shane has a game plan to fix everything. He will come out as Ilya’s boyfriend to a few people, get himself used to the idea that everyone won’t hate him for it, and then think about telling more.
Rose even has the perfect group in mind for Shane. After all, they were so kind when she and Shane were dating.
Shane really isn’t prepared to enter his WAG era, but for Ilya’s sake, he will try.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 27,020
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Comments:
- 490
- Kudos:
- 3,684
- Bookmarks:
- 851
- Hits:
- 33,776
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
15 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
This was a fun Shane-joins-the-WAG-chat fic; it was unique in the way it set the premise of Shane joining, as well as the big reveal. I really appreciated Rose's characterization here, and the ladies were the right amount of fun and supportive. It was well formatted, and brought a smile to my face.
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Summary
It should not have ended like this.
"Hatake Kakashi died," said the Sage of the Six Paths, and it hit Tobirama like a punch he’d subconsciously anticipated but couldn’t dodge.
In that moment, he knew with crystal clarity that everything had just gone very, very wrong.Or: When team seven failed to seal Kaguya, Tobirama decided to take a page from Madara's book and burn this timeline down to build the world anew.
Series
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 49,887
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 161
- Kudos:
- 464
- Bookmarks:
- 147
- Hits:
- 7,146
Bookmarked by OnceThereWasAPondering
12 Jun 2026
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Bookmarker's Notes
I liked how this author handled the destruction of the shinobi world as well as Tobirama's ruminations on how to fix it. Tobirama in general is characterized as a very logical driven person, so seeing him at the end of the rope and choosing the "Naruto" way was quite entertaining. The final author note implies a sequel is in the works which would be interesting; with the Zetsu problem taken care of, and Izuna being a friendly menace, this universe will absolutely have changes unfold in its story.