#in my batch of currently in use ones lol

[fagbearentertainment]

The best part of making an oc is decided what flavor of trans they are

[sysig]

Many months of paper review (Patreon)

[qlossytbh]

𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 - 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 you and conrad had established no strings attached, that is until valentines fold up and conrad suddenly seeks more out of you.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 implications of sex, fwb, lots of fluff towards the end

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 3.1k by

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 back at it lol. i’m taking request!! feel free to send in any requests for any of the characters on my masterlist

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Valentines day. 

Some people are apprehensive when it comes to deciding what to spend the day doing on this particular holiday. For the lucky, it might be spending the day with their significant other or sitting around, basking in the simplicity of spending time with the person you love. For others, it was spending the day watching sappy rom-cons or moping around about the very fact of being single.

For you, Valentine's Day was the perfect excuse to show everyone how much you loved and cared for them. You were an overall extremely affectionate person, giving intricate gifts was a part of who you were. It was an extreme love language of yours— the feeling of running around, planning and buying different parts and pieces for each gift was something you found loads of fun in doing. 

For example, you had just finished baking and packing up your usual valentine themed cookie boxes to send out to all of your coworkers who worked with you at the local dog shelter. You had also sent out all of the small valentine themed envelopes to your family, who lived down the street from Susannah’s house here in Cousins, which reminded you not to forget her and Laurel's bouquets. You also put together the little treat bags with the group's favorite candy and other small things; one for Jeremiah, one for Steven, one for Belly, and one for Conrad.

It maybe was a lot, but you couldn't help yourself. You loved Valentine's Day. 

It was currently around four in the afternoon, and you were rushing around the kitchen of the Fisher household, scrolling through your tablet, checking off a few of the things you had left to do. 

Jeremiah walked into the room along with Belly, Steven, and Conrad.

"Hello Jeremiah." You looked up from your tablet and caught Jeremiah reaching for a cookie from one of the batches you were going to give out to your neighbours later on. His face twisted, laughing in embarrassment. You shook your head, looking down at the screen with a smile. 

"I left a batch of red velvet cupcakes near the fridge," Jeremiah and Stevens faces lit up. 

"You are the best person to step foot on this planet," Steven praised as they rounded the corner in attempts to get their hands on one of the cupcakes. 

"Seem's like you've been busy," Belly said, scanning the room as you set the tablet down on the counter. "I'll never get how you do it."

You shrugged, pulling your hand back and letting down the messy bun you had whipped up a few hours ago. "What can I say? Its Valentine’s Day."

"Not a valid answer, you don't see me running around gifting people random lovey shit, huh?" Conrad butted in as he leaned against the wall. You shot a glare at him.

"Well, you don't do lovey shit anyways," You teased with a smile, looking at your feet. "I dont know, I like seeing people happy, thats really all there is to it."

Belly looked at you with a smile. "That and your mind works at like, a thousand miles per hour."

It was true, you had a tendency to always need to be moving around. You barely sat still, not being able to stand the feeling of not being productive. You were always doing something, or you always had something to do. It was the main reason why you always ended burnt out. You loved doing things constantly, but it came with the heavy price of not knowing when you should stop doing things and rest. 

"People only usually do this stuff when they have boyfriends and shit like that," Belly insinuated. 

"You trying to tell us something, Y/n?" She said, gesturing towards her and Conrad. 

You cleared your throat, feeling a heat wave spread itself against your cheeks. You looked down only momentarily before shooting the pair a smile. "I do this every year Belly, if I had a special someone, you'd be able to tell."

It had been half true, given how you and Conrad weren't necessarily dating. 

It was complicated, at least if you explained it to others. You and Conrad had been best friends since you started coming to Cousins, which was since you were a baby. You loved Belly and Steven, and you loved Jeremiah, but things always felt different with Conrad. 

People had told you that Conrad was never an open book, and it surprised you at first, because he had always been more than open with you. It took very little, if not nothing, to guess with just a glance at what was going on in his head.

Many of the words that people used to describe Conrad Fisher, were the complete opposite of what you knew him to be. Conrad had a side of him that was reserved for only you, and you eventually started noticing it throughout your friendship. 

The two of you had many things that you preferred to leave unspoken. It had always worked like that with the two of you. When it came to how you felt about him, you couldn't put much into words. Words didn't do it justice most of the time.

But you and Conrad had been involved in this, thing, for about a year now. It started last summer, the two of you having one too many drinks at a party and hooking up accidentally. Or so you'd like to say it like that, because no one hooks up with their best friend drunk and says it was an accident. The two of you, not being able to communicate properly, ignored what happened that night for weeks.

But then it happened again

and again, 

and then again.

And none of the following times included alcohol. But for some reason, each time you saw each other after any sexual rendezvous, things would go completely back to normal. You guessed that was just your relationship with Conrad, it never got awkward or weird. 

You did however end up talking about it with him. 

"Can we talk?" You said, knocking on Conrad's door softly. He was lying down in his bed, book in hand. He sat up, placing it on the nightstand beside his bed. You looked at each other before he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair

"Sure," You walked in, feeling the cool air of the air conditioning hit your legs. You closed the door behind you, swallowing thickly as you could sense this conversation was going somewhere. You couldn't decipher if it was for the better or for the worse. 

You sat on the edge of his bed and looked into his eyes in silence. His gaze was just as locked on you as you were on him. That was before smiles started to grow on each of your faces before you threw your head back, laughing at the ridicule the situation presented. 

"I really don't know why we should talk about this," You said, turning to the side. 

Conrad sighed. "No, we probably should."

You looked at Conrad and focused on the blue in his eyes. "I dont regret what happened."

"Neither do I."

 "Is there a particular reason as to why it happened again after the first time?" You shifted your body and fiddled with your fingers. "And the second and third..

Conrad sighed heavily through his nose. He didn't get what was happening to him at all. He knew he cared about you; he knew he loved being near you and spending time with you. And he enjoyed what had happened between you two, 

A lot. 

But he didn't feel the need to put a title on what the two of you were. At this point, he was definitely opposed to the idea of dating, but he wasn't opposed to the idea of you. Maybe in the future? He didnt know, he was truly lost. 

And so were you. Which you hated. You couldn't stand not knowing what you wanted or what you were feeling. You needed to put titles onto everything—every feeling, every emotion, every situation—thats how your mind worked. But you knew you didn't want a relationship at this point in your life, but you loved spending time with Conrad the way you have recently.

"I don't know," He settled. "I don't see myself in a relationship, but I do love doing all the things we've been doing. 

You look at him and see a glint of something flashes through his eyes. "A lot."

You felt a rush of adrenaline pump through your veins as your cheeks went hot. You reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "I do too."

"I say," He pushed his body closer to yours, his knees lightly grazing against yours. You watched his movements with a sharp intensity. "Let's just be the friends we’ve been since we could talk, and ocacionally thing."

He placed a hand on your thigh. "Things have been normal so far, would you want to keep doing things?"

You nodded and smiled as he leaned forward. You said in a whisper, "What things are we talking about specifically?"

"Should I say it?" His breath fanned over your own. He then pressed a chaste kiss onto your lips, allowing your eyes to flutter close in delight as you smiled through the kiss. "Or do you want me to show you,"

With that you pressed your lips onto his, hungry for whatever you could have of him. 

For the rest of the summer it continued. The two of your manadged to keep it a secret, not wanting any complications of anyone else trying to put a name to whatever it was the two of you had. 

You didn't even know what it was. Friends with benefits? It was more than that, given how you two cuddled occasionally, kissed occasionally, and went on occasional dates. It stressed you out more to try to figure out what it was than just enjoying it. 

Plus, you knew Conrad cared for you, and you cared for him. That was all that really mattered to you anyway. 

Even when summer ended, you two talked all the time, which was not out of the norm for the two of you. The only difference was the occasional sexting. 

Things were occasional between the two of you, if you couldn't tell by now.

Winter break in Cousin's was your favorite, and when your college gave the students a week off, you were ecstatic. Every year, you never manadged to catch the Conklin and Fisher family, given how they were always given a few weeks off in January instead of February. You grabbed your keys, packed a bag, and headed straight for Cousin's.

Things with Conrad this week had been amazing, but you could tell things were a bit more romatic. Before it was easy to difirenciate when you were only friends and when you were in need of physical touch or intimacy, but now things were all fused and mixed together. 

It didnt bother you enough to talk about it though and neither did he, so you left it at that

You put the last bits of the dishes into the dryer before brushing your hands against the fabric of your cotton shorts. Jeremiah walked into the room with his keys in his hand. "Were headed out."

You looked over at him, grabing your phone and scanning it for any new messages. "Sounds okay,"

"We'll probably be back late, you and Conrad going to be okay?" You deadpanned at the boy.

"We'll be fine," You walked over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and leading him towards the front door, where Steven and Belly stood. "You go have fun with Steven and Belly, god knows you need to take the poor girl out."

"Thank you," Belly said, agreeing with you. "Mom said she'd be back with Susanah in a few hours." 

You nodded, feeling the breeze of the cold air hit your bare shoulders as Steven opened the front door. Steven jumped. "Oh shit! Almost forgot." 

"That monstrousity came for you today," Steven said, pointing over to your left. "It had a small card, some sappy bullshit on it." 

"For me?" You looked over to the side, letting your jaw slack slightly. Placed perfectly in the middle of the table was a huge bouquet full of red roses and white tulips, both of your favorite flowers. They were carefully wrapped in white and silver paper, adorned almost perfectly with a pink satin bow. 

You never got much on Valentine's Day; you were used to giving the presents, not receiving them. You looked at the group aprehensively once more before walking carefully over to the table. You picked up the small card, reading it carefully: 'Happy Valentines Day pretty girl'

You felt your heart thump against your chest. You let out a small chuckle as your cheeks turned red, knowing exactly who these were from. "Dumbass.."

"What was that about not having a boyfriend?" Belly butted in, causing you to snap out of your lovesick trance. You turned to the three of them, who were eyeing you as you stumbled on your words. 

"Just- uhm, some guy thats been bothering me," You nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of your neck. The three of them looked at each other. 

"Conrad's gonna be pissed." Steven whispered before closing the door and heading out. You laughed to yourself and looked up the stairs, shaking your head. If only they knew. You placed the card down, looking back at the flowers once more before heading upstairs. 

You turned the corner, knocking softly on Conrad's door. With a hum on his side, you pushed the door open. He was standing near his bed with his shirt in his hand, and off of his body.

"Hey," He said, tossing the shirt into his already open closet. "I was just heading to bed." 

You smiled to yourself while crossing your arms, leaning against the door frame. "I thought you didn't do that lovey valentines day shit" 

He paused, looking at you with a perplexed look on his face. You rolled your eyes, walking into the room and closing the door behind you. Conrad eyed you carefully as you made your way to him. "Are you talking about the flowers?"

"Yes Conrad, I'm talking about the flowers," You said, placing a kiss onto his lips. He smiled into the kiss, letting his hands reach your waist, giving you the space your wrap your arms around his neck. You smiled widely into the kiss, not being able to contain your giddiness. 

Your heart was beating wrapidly in your chest, a feeling only Conrad gave you. You pushed into the kiss, deepening it as you directed his body towards his bed. The back of his knees hit the matress, forcing him to sit on the matress, which gave you the space to crawl onto his lap. 

You pulled away, looking down at the blonde boy whom you were currently straddling. "I'm guessing you liked them?”

"How'd you know roses and tulips were my favorite?" You said, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear as you admired the facial features you had grown to love. 

"I pay attention," He leaned forward, kissing the spot on your jaw just below your ear, causing a small giggle to erupt from your chest. 

"Thank you," You whispered, pulling away from him and looking into his eyes deeply. "You didn't have to, really."

He stared back at you, heart fluttering wildly. A feeling he was used to feeling around you, something only you brought out in him. It seemed that no matter how many girls would pop into his life or would come up to him at any frat party, you were always the first one on his mind. You were the only one on his mind.

"Of course I did," He kissed your cheek. "Its not even a quarter of what you deserve."

There it was again. He His your jaw again, trsiling soft delicate kissing up your neck. They were affectionate, none trying to iniciate something. Just soft pecks adorned with love and adoration. You let your hands enravel themselves into his hair, sighing in contentment. 

"Things have changed haven’t they?" You whispered as you pulled his body closer to yours. 

"Mhm," He agreed. You looked at the wall in front of you.

"Can we talk about it?" 

Conrad pulled away, looking at you with a look on his face. You stared back in silence. "Talk to me,"

You sighed, not really knowing what to say. Your heart fluttered at the sight of his attention, listening closely to what you had to say. 

The thing is you didnt know what to say. All you knew is that you cared about the boy in front of you a lot, and this ocassional thing has been going on for so long now. You knew you didnt want to end anything, fuck no. But you wanted more and you were scared it was a one paged thing. 

"Whyd you sent me the flowers?" You asked, paying close attention to his features. He smiled to himself, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. 

"Becuase," He started. "You love Valentines day, and you love recieving gifts, giving them as well, but not a lot of people know you like recieving them as well."

He continued. "You hate the color orange, you say it makes you squirmy and uncomfortable. Your favorite movies Rapunzel, great choice by the way,"

"You give so much to the people you love and I can vouch for that." He grabbed your hands, carresing them softly in his own. 

You looked at him in silence. "I don't want to do this thing occasionally anymore, I want it always.”

You and Conrad had always had a strong relationship, and its been a long time since it stopped being just platonic. You knew everything about him and so did he. Hell, it probably stopped being platonic before you even had sex with him for the first time.

Both of you could’ve saved yourselves months of time if you’d let yourself feel what you were meant to feel for each other sooner.

“So this mean what exactly? That you’re officially asking me to be your ‘girlfriend’” You asked, saying the word that felt so foreign. You knitted your eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

“If that’s something you want,” He said, hope and anxiety flooding his gaze. You stared down at him, smiling softly. You leaned in.

“I’d like that.” You closed the gap between the two of you, sighing deeply into the kiss.

Something inside you felt satisfied. As if your body had been longing for a confirmation that Conrad really was just yours.

He had always been.

You pulled away, hands resting at his bare shoulders as your foreheads rested against each other.

“Can we watch Tangled now?” You asked, voice laced with excitement. He rolled his eyes, pecking your lips softly.

“Duh.”

[hugmekenobi]

S3: The Bad Batch (6)

Chapter Six: Infiltration

Gif by @timetodiverge

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.

Chapter Summary: A reunion with Rex unveils some more intel

Masterlist for S1 and S2

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, light spice (making out, dirty talk, teasing touches, praise, nickname 'sweetheart'), I make up Fireball lore, brief call back to Order 66, general threatening atmosphere, I also dance around the M-count stuff (please be nice and just accept it lol), suggestions of misuse of the Force for interrogation purposes, brief mention of food and referenced character deaths

Word Count: 4.3K

Author's notes: Don't get excited about CX-2 because I still haven't thought about a way around his fate in S3 finale and my current plan is probably going to be very boring lol. Also Ch7 is out too!

The meeting between Senator Chuchi and Senator Singh had started promising until a rather crude assassination attempt disrupted matters.

Unfortunately, Greer had fallen victim to the black armoured assassin– the grim silver lining being that he was the only casualty and they’d managed to capture the shadow clone sent after the senators.

--

As the ship flew through hyperspace, Rex and Howzer stared at the unconscious assassin- both of them wondering how such a change was possible. There was a distinct different to the clones that had remained loyal to the Empire and these shadow clones.

“Think he’ll cooperate?” Howzer asked apprehensively.

“I wouldn’t count on it, but we have to try.” Rex replied.

“We recovered this from his gear.” Howzer pulled out the puck. “It’s a data puck. Highly encrypted.”

“Have Fireball find out what’s on it when we get back to base camp.”

--

Teth

Rex stepped into the interrogation room to join the two other clones already in there and he saw that the clone assassin still unconscious. “Did you extract the device?”

Howzer handed it to him, “The electro capsule was implanted in one of his teeth. Just like you said. His identifying number’s been wiped too.” Howzer stared on the clone, “What exactly did the Empire do to him?”

No sooner had Howzer finished his sentence, did the clone open his eyes.

Rex knelt in front of him, “What’s your name, trooper?” He was met with stony silence, so he tried a different approach. “Listen, no matter what they did to you, no matter what you’ve done, you’re still a clone. Still one of us. I can help you, but we need answers.” Again, he was met with no reply, and he got the sinking feeling that whatever the Empire had done to him couldn’t be easily undone.

--

Tantiss

Scorch entered the communications office to stand in front of the holographic image of CX-2.

“Why have I been activated?” Came the modulated voice that had an air of contempt to it.

“One of the other operatives has gone dark. His internal homing device remains intact. So, we know he’s alive.”

“My orders?”

“He’s been compromised. Track him down and neutralize him.”

--

“We know there are others like you. Where are you based? Coruscant? Daro?” Rex asked. They’d been at this for hours now and all they’d gotten out of the clone was a series of hateful glares. “Tantiss?” That finally got a different reaction, the clone’s eye’s widening gave him away. “Oh, yeah, we know about Tantiss. And the clones imprisoned there. Were you one of them? Tell us where it is.” He said, more force behind his words now but again, the clone stayed quiet.

Rex shared a glance with Howzer who jutted his head and the two of them came together closer by the door.

“You need to push him harder.” Howzer stated in a hushed voice.

It had been what he’d been hoping to avoid but it was looking like all other alternatives were ineffective. Rex sighed but before he could do anything else, the door whirred open, and Fireball called his name.

“Rex.”

Rex and Howzer left the clone in the room with Nemec and met up with Fireball.

“The data puck was a target register.” Fireball revealed.

“Who was he after?” Howzer asked.

“Senator Singh. But that wasn’t the only person on his list.” He activated the device and showed the first image.

Rex saw the slight unease in Fireballs face as he changed to the next image and noticed a distinct sinking feeling in his stomach as he recognised the two targets. “Contact Echo and Hunter. We need to let them know.”

Fireball nodded and went of to do just that.

“We should bring them here.” Howzer insisted.

“No. No. I- I don’t want to involve them in this.”

“It’s too late for that.” Howzer said simply. “Crosshair is with them. This is our chance to question him.”

“Echo’s already done that.”

“But we haven’t. He knows more than he’s saying. If you want to locate Tantiss, then we need him to talk.” He moved away from him.

Rex thought through Howzer’s words and whilst he didn’t want to drag you all into this, he had to admit that Howzer was right.

Howzer paused after a couple of paces and turned around. “Rex.”

Rex angled himself to face him.

“You’ve talked about the kid before, but the woman, who is she?”

--

Strong hands gripped your hips as they backed you into the wall of the Marauder and an agreeable groan left your throat at the enthusiastic insistence of the man currently kissing you with such fervour and hunger, it made your head spin. You attempted to weave your fingers in his dark locks, but you didn’t get very far.

Not breaking away from you, Hunter gathered your wrists in one of his own hands and raised your arms above your head. His hold was strong as pressed them into the metal wall, not to hurt but to send the message that that’s precisely where you were going to keep them for this time alone that the two of you had managed to coordinate for yourselves.

You were utterly powerless to resist- not that you wanted to. You had to pull away for air eventually, but Hunter never faltered, he just turned his attentions to the rest of you and your body arched into him to rid yourselves of any offensive gaps between you.

Hunter pressed doting kisses to the skin of your neck, teeth scraping along your pulse point. “What do you want, sweetheart?” He murmured seductively.

Breathless whimpers were the only noises that came from your mouth. You were overwhelmed by him, by the feeling of his body pushing against yours, by the sensation of his touch, by his lips. Words were hopeless a hopeless venture with him against you like this.

Hunter grinned against your skin before he kissed the hollow of your throat. He pushed his thigh between your legs and relished in the soft moan that left your lips. He trailed his lips across your jaw as he rasped, “Tell me what you want.” He kissed the sensitive spot behind your ear.

Your entire body was pliant against him, and you couldn’t fathom one single word of basic due to his ministrations.

Hunter continued what he was doing, and he moved to the underside of your jaw, “Do you want my fingers?” He hovered his lips a mere few inches from yours before whispering in a low voice, “Do you want my mouth?”

And when he felt your pulse quicken at that last one, he brought his lips back to yours and kissed you deeply, teasingly. “You want my mouth, sweetheart?” He uttered softly against your lips whilst simultaneously applying more pressure between your legs with this. He swallowed your moan with another kiss before he started to lower himself to his knees.

Your hands scrambled for purchase against the wall, and you just about managed a nod as he mouthed his way down your still clothed body. You inhaled shakily as you felt his gloved hands dip under your layers stroke against the bare skin of your stomach before they suggestively toyed with the waistband of your leggings. “Yes, that’s what I want.” You panted, the dark lust you saw behind his brown eyes had you weak at the knees.

Hunter smirked up at you. “Good girl.” With that he properly took a hold of the waistband and got ready to pull them down.

And then the most objectionable and devastating of sounds materialised around you and the delicious anticipation of what was about to happen instantly evaporated as reality came crashing down around you.

Hunter paused what he was about to do and exhaled a deeply dissatisfied sigh as he readjusted your clothing.

“And I want that to be a software glitch and not our comms going off.” You grumbled; the words punctuated by you lightly banging the back of your head against the wall in annoyance.

“Hunter, (Y/N), do either of you copy?”

Hunter hung his head in his own disappointment before he stood up tall. He kissed your cheek before pressing his comm, “Yeah, we copy, Echo.” He confirmed.

“What’s going on?” You asked as both you and Hunter slipped back into your squad roles.

“Rex got in touch. We need go. Now.”

You two grabbed your gear and hurried out the Marauder to head for Echo’s ship.

--

“So, where exactly are we headed?” Hunter asked Echo as the ship travelled through hyperspace.

“It’s a base of sorts.”

“I thought your rendezvous with Gregor was top priority.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll pick him up after dropping you lot off.”

“Any idea why Rex wants us there so urgently?” You asked as you rubbed Batcher’s belly. The hound’s demands of attention were the distraction you needed from the growing nerves surrounding going to a base made entirely up of clones and although you knew they had no loyalty to the Empire, you weren’t sure how far that sentiment would extend with regards to you.

“He didn’t say. But it must be important.”

Hunter pondered over this for a moment before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced around his chair and thoughtfully observed Crosshair and Omega- who had a toothpick of her own- and she was mirroring the way Crosshair was using it. The behaviour was typically exhibited by her when she felt particularly close to someone or looked up to them in some way. Clearly their experience in Tantiss had it had brought them close in ways he hadn’t considered or in ways they- particularly Crosshair- were yet to fully realise.

You and Wrecker had been paying Batcher some attention, but you stopped as you noticed the way Hunter had looked between Crosshair and Omega. You saw what he saw but as you reached into the Force around him to get a gauge of his feelings, it wasn’t jealousy or hurt behind his eyes, it was more contemplative. She’ll have to learn to be a moody teenager from someone. You smiled over at him as he half-turned to face you.

You felt a wet nose nudge your palm and you went back to petting Batcher.

--

Teth

Rex and Howzer watched as the ship landed. Once the doors opened, they went to meet up with the oncoming group.

“They don’t look happy to see us.” Wrecker said. “Just like old times, huh?” He remarked cheerfully with a nudge to Crosshair’s back.

“Are you alright?” Echo asked as he saw you had yet to follow the others out.

“Yup.” You answered distantly as your hand subconsciously came to unclip and reclip your lightsaber to your belt.

Echo picked up on your tense fidgeting. “Rex assured me that it wouldn’t be an issue.”

“I know, I know.” You inhaled a calming breath and jogged to catch up with the group.

--

“Thanks for coming.” Rex said as Hunter’s squad came to a halt in front of him. He then nodded at you and Omega.

You had heard the hushed whispers and murmurs from the surrounding clones as you’d approached the rest of the group and you saw the brief moment of shock that flashed across the features of the clone next to Rex. “They already knew before I walked out here.” You guessed, their reactions and shared looks told you that it wasn’t just because they only just noticed the lightsaber on your belt.

“I, uh, filled a few of them in before your arrival. Word travels fast but some of them still didn’t believe it and, well, some of us knew already. I’ve been to quite a few Outer Rim planets… you haven’t exactly been laying low in recent months.” Rex replied, glancing curiously as you.

You sighed, “Fair point. It’s certainly been an… interesting time.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” Rex reassured you. “We all have that past to contend with.”

“Well, that’s comforting I suppose.” You said lightly before you fell into place beside Hunter.

“It’s good to see you, Rex.” Hunter said sincerely.

“Wish I felt the same.”

You all glanced to the hostile voice of the clone beside Rex who was glaring at Crosshair.

“I have unfinished business with this one.” Howzer stated as he kept his sights firmly on Crosshair. “Remember me?”

Crosshair just stared at him blankly.

“Surprised I’m alive? Most of my squad from Ryloth is dead because of you.” Howzer spat.

“Easy Howzer.” Rex cautioned. “I know you two have history. But we’re all on the same side now.”

Howzer only released a doubtful scoff, but he eased off.

“Why’d you call us here, Captain?” Hunter asked.

“We have something to show you. Follow me.” He led the way to the base.

You got ready to follow behind, but Echo’s voice made you and Wrecker pause.

“Omega!”

Omega turned and ran back to the ship.

“I was planning on giving you this after I made a few more modifications. But, uh, now’s as good a time as any.”

Omega released an excited gasp as she examined the weapon. “An energy crossbow. Where did you get it?” She eagerly took it from him.

Echo laughed, “Well, I’ve made a few interesting contacts across the galaxy.”

She activated it and the green glow of energy hummed strongly before she turned it off. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Echo.”

“Well, I won’t be gone long. You better head inside and, uh, keep them in line.”

They shared in a salute before Omega dashed off the ship to rejoin you and Wrecker and the three of you made your own way to the building.

--

“Your numbers are growing.” Hunter commented as he saw the clones in the room.

“Well, we need all the help we can get. Once we find the exact coordinates of the Tantiss Base, we have to hit it hard if we’re gonna pull our brothers out of there.” Rex said, coming to a stop by the centre console. “I have questions about the facility but that’s not the only reason why I sent for you.” He picked up the puck and chucked it to Hunter. “We recovered a target list from an Imperial operative. And both of them are on it.”

“Not a surprise. You’ve got a Jedi and someone who escaped Imperial custody.” Crosshair replied, sounding bored as he put a toothpick between his lips.

“So did you. But you’re not on the list.” Howzer retorted.

“Guess I’m not as valuable to them.”

“Or you’re feeding them information.” Howzer accused.

Hunter frowned at that and came to his brother’s defence. “You’re gonna have to back down, Captain.” He warned sternly.

“You expect us to believe he was held on Tantiss for months, but he doesn’t know how to get back there?” Howzer said angrily.

Crosshair removed his toothpick and faced up against Howzer. “Whether you believe me or not, it’s the truth.” He waited for his words to sink in before speaking again, “But I’m not loyal to the Empire any longer.”

That wasn’t enough for Howzer. “Your squad may trust you. But I don’t.”

Any further argument was cut short as the doors whirred open again and they all looked to see you, Wrecker and Omega come in.

You almost ran into the clone that was exiting at the same time and your eyes widened as you saw his face. “Fireball?!” You gasped as you recognised the clone that had been your trusty second in command of the battalion you had been assigned during the war.

“General?” Fireball replied, completely stunned as he instinctively straightened his posture. When he’d seen your holo-image, part of him still couldn’t believe it. Even with Rex’s confirmation, he still had his doubts but that all vanished that very second as he heard your voice. As he saw your face. As you were standing in front of him. It really was you.

You couldn’t help it; you gave him a quick hug. “It’s been years! I’d heard Master Tobar Ka-Teen took over from me…” You trailed off and cursed yourself as you realised the added effect of your words and you immediately became apologetic. “Fireball-”

“About that day… I did- and Order 66- I couldn’t- And I know if it had been you, I know I wouldn’t have been able to resist-” He stuttered.

You placed a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Fireball. I’m not holding anything against you.”

Fireball released a sigh of relief before he said, “There’s something else you need to know, General.” He jutted his head over to the others before he headed out the room.

You then saw the way Rex, Hunter, Crosshair and Howzer were all glancing between you and Omega. You felt the tension in the Force around them as you approached. “What’s going on?”

“The Empire’s targeting you-” Crosshair started to say.

Wrecker let out a dry chuckle. “No surprise there.”

“Yeah, we already knew that.” You replied with an unconcerned shrug.

“And Omega… again.” Crosshair added.

That got your attention and achieved a sufficient amount of worry. You came to stand just beside Wrecker and behind the young girl. Your voice was serious as you asked, “Do we know why?”

“Not yet.” Rex answered before he addressed Omega, “Why were they after you before?”

“To force Nala Se to cooperate and conduct certain experiments.”

“Which were what?”

“She was working on something involving M-Count? I don’t know what that means, but they were taking blood samples from everyone, even me.”

“They were looking at your M-count?” You repeated. You thought through the possibilities but dismissed the main one that ran through your head because surely you would’ve sensed if she had that particular potential. You racked your brain for other theories but came up empty.

“Uh huh.” Omega glanced up at you curiously.

Her inquisitive look matched the expression the rest of them were giving you. “I know how it can be significant, but I have no idea as to how it would relate to her or any clone that matter.” You admitted ruefully.

Rex took a knee in front of Omega. “What else can you tell us?”

“When we escaped, there wasn’t enough time to free the other clones. We have to find a way to get them out.” She said resolutely.

Rex rested a hand on her shoulder. “We will.”

The door opened again, and Fireball re-entered holding a bowl of food. “Chow time!” He announced. “Gregor’s recipe, with a few spicy modifications.”

“Oh, now you’re talking.” Wrecker said eagerly, leading the way as he, Batcher and Omega went to the table.

You watched them go with a small smile before Crosshair’s voice brought you back to the discussion at hand.

“Wait. There’s more you should know.” He paused for a second as he readied himself for what he was about to say. “Not all of the clones on Tantiss are prisoners. Some are loyal to the Empire. There is a division of clones trained as specialised operatives and initiated into a secret deep cover program run by Hemlock.” His voice grew quieter as he recalled the time spent in that room. “Their identities are erased. They undergo conditioning. The few that make it through come out different.”

“If the program’s so secretive, how do you know about it?” Howzer questioned suspiciously.

“Because they tried to make me into one of them.”

“Tried?”

“It didn’t work. Being defective is in my nature.” He finished his explanation.

“You’ve encountered one before. The assassin on Coruscant.” Hunter said.

“We’ve known they existed but never knew exactly what they were.” Rex said cagily.

It wasn’t just their visual mannerisms that gave them away, you felt the evasiveness around them. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Rex hesitated a moment before he said, “We captured one. I’ve tried questioning him, but he hasn’t been very cooperative.”

“This is where you come in.” Howzer said to you.

You noticed the grimace on Rex’s face and regarded the clone captain warily. “What do you expect me to do about it?”

“Well, you’re a Jedi, aren’t you?”

You gave a single slow nod of your head as you awaited further information.

“You’ve got certain… skillsets.” He took half a step closer to you. “Ones of persuasion that we don’t have.”

You realised what he was getting at. You shook your head. “That only works on the weak-minded and from what Crosshair just described, he’s anything but. No clone is.”

“You could make it work though if you really had to. You could get him to say what we needed him to.”

“Captain-” You objected as you sensed his growing desperation- it was rolling off him in waves.

“But could you do it?” He took another step towards you.

“Doing so verges on torture, Captain.” You attempted to explain. You felt Hunter gravitate closer to you in response to Howzer’s movement.

“But could you do it?” He asked again.

You remembered the last time three Jedi tried that- against Cad Bane of all people- and the impact had nearly been disastrous. You held his stare with a strong one of your own and spoke steadily and with plenty of conviction behind your words. “One, I don’t have that kind of power.”

“But-”

“Two, even if I wanted to, it could destroy his mind and you get nothing.”

“The time for debate is long gone. We need the information.” Howzer insisted. “It’s a risk-”

Further debate was silenced as Crosshair interrupted, traces of panic in his voice. “You have one here? Alive?”

Rex nodded.

“Impossible. The Empire would be on top of us already. They have ways of tracking their operatives.”

“We scanned him. He’s clear.” Howzer said.

“It’s not the kind of tracker your scans would pick up.” Crosshair asserted. “Hemlock’s smarter than that.”

“Where’s the operative? Show us.” Hunter requested.

--

Sneaking into the base had been all to easy and as he scanned the room ahead with the scope of his sniper rifle, he saw the other two targets in the room, but they weren’t his first priority. He’d bide his time with them. He retreated back outside.

First, he had to give Scorch the news about the targets and his location for the Recovery Strike Team.

Then there was the other operative to take care of.

Then he could get his hands on the next set of targets that were so easily within his grasp.

--

The five of you stood in the interrogation room and studied the cuffed clone in front of you.

You weren’t sure if it was solely because of the look of pure disgust he gave you as you walked in, but there was disturbance in the Force that you couldn’t just dismiss. Your guard was up.

Crosshair inhaled a sharp breath as the clone then looked directly at him, “We need to leave. Now.”

You glanced at Crosshair and saw a level of fear you’d never witnessed from the clone before. It sent a chill down your spine.

“If you want answers so badly, why aren’t you asking him?” The clone sneered as he looked at the familiar clone ahead of him. “Right, brother?”

“He’s lying.” Crosshair shifted uncomfortably as all of your eyes fixed on him.

The dark, menacing voice of the operative spoke up again. “You’re right about one thing. They are coming for all of you.”

An explosion suddenly rang outside.

“Comms are down.” Rex said as he attempted to check in with those patrolling the perimeter. Another dark chuckle from the assassin clone told him their time was up. “We move out. Now!”

Howzer opened the door but just as he went to press the button, you sensed what was about to come.

“Rex!” You shoved him down just as the shots fired and dove to cover but you couldn’t stop them as they hit the operative in the centre of his chest. You tugged your coverings up just as the others put on their helmets.

“We’ve got a shooter out here!” Wrecker yelled as he put his helmet on and provided a round of cover fire for you all to get out of that room and to better cover.

“Shots coming from the back of the room!” Omega yelled from her position.

“Nemec, we need to get comms online” Rex said.

Nemec went to the centre console at a crouch, but a shot made contact with the exposed wire and all he saw was the light of an explosion as his body was flung backwards into a crate. He struggled to get back up as he fought for consciousness.

“Backup plan. Into the command post!” Rex ordered before looking at Wrecker and Omega. “I’ll cover you!” He timed it out. “Go!” He stood up and fired on the assailant as he helped Nemec to his feet.

You began running with the others but paused as you realised Fireball had split off from the rest of you. You saw him grab a flamethrower and run directly towards the attacker. “Fireball!” You yelled in warning, but Hunter pulled your arm to get you to follow the rest of them back to the room.

Rex could only watch in dismay as Fireball took a shot to the shoulder and crashed into a crate of grenades, but the flamethrower was still activated.

The resulting series of violent explosions had the roof of the base collapsing and Rex was left with no choice but to sprint back to the room. He dived through the entrance just as it was completely blocked by rubble, and it was then he felt a stray piece of rock collide against his helmet and black spots clouded his vision.

--

The Recovery Strike Team entered the planet’s atmosphere.

“Commander, we’ve lost contact with the operative.”

“Prepare to land and set blasters to stun. Our orders are to retrieve the targets alive.”

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @arctrooper69, @dominoeffectsworld, @andreaaxy, @notgonnaedit, @nightmonkeysstuff

[xagave]

Absolutely, get ready for BABIES. The oldest foster we have right now is Lazarus who we got when he was 3 months old from a hoarding case. He had an extremely bad case of herpes that almost killed him and it turns out he has a really bad immune system so he's always getting sick. He's about 8 months old now and he's sort of a long term foster because he currently has FIP and treatment requires one shot every day for 80 days minimum. The meds are a bit expensive so shameless plug but if anyone wants to help us pay for the meds my wife's ko-fi is here

Here he is the day we brought Lazarus home ^

And here he is now! His FIP treatment is going very well so far ^ Our second oldest are Penny and Kazoo. We got Penny when she was 5 weeks old from a guy whose dog brought her home in his mouth (she was fine the dog was gentle.) We got Kazoo when he was 10 days old from some dudes in the next town over who didn't have time to bottlefeed a newborn. Kazoo is 2 weeks older than Penny and they became best friends!!

10 day old Kazoo and 5 week old Penny ^

Kazoo and Penny now ^

Kazoo and Penny at an adoption event ^ We're having a hard time finding them a home because we refuse to split up bonded pairs

Penny playing in the tub lol ^ Next are a batch of kittens we got from an irresponsible breeder who was fine with letting kittens get sick and starve to death. We originally only got 2 of them when they were 3 days old (breeder let mom cat get sick and die because she didn't want to pay for vet care and tried to pawn the babies off on the other nursing moms and it didn't work out) and they were born premature so they had a lot of health problems. They had rhinovirus and coccidia and the little brown kitten had an umbilical hernia that then became septic and THEN she started getting big pockets of infection in random places like under her chin and in her toes? But we managed to get them healthy and fat and thriving. My wife was able to convince the breeder to give us the remaining kittens 3 days ago and they're half the size of our first two because they've been sick and slowly starving this entire time (they're now 5 weeks old). They're still really sick and have Poop Liquid Until You Die disease so it's not fun on our end but we're working hard on getting them fat and healthy. They don't really have official names but we've been calling them Zoosmell Pooplord, Insufferable Prick, Flighty Broad, Farmstink Butlass, and Huss lol

The first two nuggets ^

They were sooooooo small ^

Finally fat and healthy at 3 weeks old! ^

The full litter now at 5 and a half weeks old ^

Comparison pic ^. Right kitten is the nugget we've had since he was 3 days old and left kitten is his brother who the breeder just now let us take. It's hard to tell with the fluff but he's borderline skeletal :( Next is a 3 month old kitten that a foster brought to an adoption event who was very clearly sick. Skinny and lethargic with a bad coccidia infection so we took him home that day 1.5 weeks ago and also sent the foster person home with some medicine to fix the coccidia in their other kittens. We've been calling him Christmas Tree Boy cause he's always got a poofy tail or Poop Boy because he hates sharing litter boxes and keeps pooping in random corners 😒 Didn't take long to get him healthy so this weekend he's getting yeeted into another adoption event and whoever adopts him needs to give special attention to his Litter Box Needs

^ He's very cute and loves playing with our other fosters but for the love of god we are TIRED of his Poop Surprises Someone who adopted a bonded trio from us a few months ago is returning them to us tomorrow because their fiance is allergic, so as of tomorrow we will have 12 fosters in our house. Sounds like a lot but we've had 30+ foster kittens crammed in here at the same time so it's a breath of fresh air in comparison💀

Edit: Not a foster kitten but honorable mention to my new betta who I named Gemini because You Know Why

He has a 5 gallon tank all to himself but I don't have a pic of him in it cause he's shy and he hides lol but it's the one behind the cup. Aiming to give him live plants soon

[faceofpoe]

What Happened to Bad Batch Season 3: Canceled Season 4/Condensed/Frankenstein'ed Plots Conspiracy Edition:

(aka: Poe Is Still On Her Bullshit)

(It's a puzzle, I like puzzles, but this one has been breaking my brain since May 1st/but really as far back as s3e8/9).

(And if you loved season 3, I am very glad, but this post is probably not for you lol)

We begin our tale with the episode Bad Territory (3.8), wherein with very little pushback, Hunter & Wrecker decide to venture off alone to find Fennec, despite the indignation at the idea of being left behind when infiltrating an Imperial outpost 3 episodes earlier.

(yes there are textual excuses for this; does it stand up to close scrutiny that we'd trust taking Omega more to an Imperial outpost we didn't know was abandoned rather than to see a bounty hunter who isn't known to currently be after her? you do you.)

We notably get this conversation with Fennec - this is important - while they're on Creepy Toxic Planet:

Fennec also has a jab about how Nala Se thought Omega would be safer with the Batch, rather than on Kamino, and how that obviously didn't work out so well.

Which... makes no sense in the context of the episode except maybe flimsily in a "well she's not here so she must be lost" way. But she looked into the squad, she knows there are/were more than 2, so Omega's absence isn't necessarily weird...

Unless this part of this episode was originally a hunt for Omega early season plot repurposed around a new intro/ending/motivations and with the Pabu scenes in between to carry on the Omega & Crosshair relationship development.

Now this episode builds up straight to The Harbinger, i.e. the Ventress episode, i.e. the episode that tells us twice in the script itself, that we are wasting valuable season time on a question that does not matter.

From the end of episode 7 and Rex's "you have to figure out why they're after her" spiel, we are never given a compelling reason to figure it out. As Crosshair tells us in 9 - it matters not at all. It's not like the answer would change anything. And from a viewer standpoint, we were given the answer at the end of episode 3, when Emerie rushes to stop the ship being shot down.

But I have another contender for a repurposed early season storyline:

The Juggernaut. Crosshair is with them in this episode. Crosshair is the driving force behind this episode.

The big action scene of this episode quite notably is Hunter & Wrecker centric, and when Crosshair is in the room (in the Juggernaut cockpit) (aside from the shot of him dragging Rampart out of the hold) - he is in the background, doesn't speak, and is not spoken to or acknowledged.

He is likewise just floating (lol get it?) in the background during the chaos approach to Erebus, while Phee actually has a conversation with Hunter & Wrecker.

(I've been trying to decide if Crosshair looks potentially added in later to the dramatic jump on the ramp scene as well)

(should emphasize when I say things like 'added in later' I know fuck-all about animation)

Were these sequences salvaged from an earlier hunt-for-Omega story where Phee was actually part of the search and repurposed for this hasty/bananas-pacing Rampart-driven conclusion? And thus the relegation of Phee to suspiciously-arrived-right-on-time taxi driver and what-the-hell-cavern-on-Pabu-is-big-enough-for-THAT-ship?

Taken with a couple of dropped threads such as:

A sector location for Tantiss that's never again mentioned after ep2

Hemlock's "other plans" for Crosshair at the end of ep1

The bag of 30k credits Crosshair makes sure to scoop up on Lau

I am thinking we were intended for a mid-season reunion. Few episodes hunting; few episodes building up Tantiss. Maybe 2 shorter episodes condensed into the long(er) season opener to get that 5 month time jump in there?

Which then prods my curiosity about other curiously dropped threads or just irrelevancies like:

Omega's crossbow

"All our operatives" Hemlock wants notified on Lau and how few that is/(or how quickly they get killed off??)/the fact that he's yanked 4 aside despite the crucial need to get Omega back so he can make them... idk extra badass Worst Batch operatives who all bring knives to gunfights?

(sorry my salt is showing lol I hate them so much)

What the hell does Hemlock show the Emperor (WITH Nala Se in tow) in ep 3 (and was that supposed to be the Vault)?

Everything about CX-2.

...weirdly I also kind of want to call Batcher a dropped thread? Like... I don't think she needs a bigger story and she deserves her days obliviously relaxing on Pabu while everyone else almost dies. But I do wonder if she wasn't envisioned for... some further role after ep 3. Besides therapy dog and snow shovel. But if not I'm not mad about it lol.

My instinctive thought wondering, if mid-season was meant to be a reunion after at the very least a Phee/Fennec/Durand sequence of hunting episodes and maybe another ep or 2 on Tantiss (or another ep on the run? or an earlier Emerie-centric episode?), what sort of season 3 (of 4) finale might that be building towards.

I have a hard time imagining it'd be Point of No Return and repeating the end of season 2 but maybe....

Or my first thought was:

building into a season 4 follow-through-on-Echo's-whole-story-since-season-1 plot, tying in his and Rex's side, the politics...

with a touch of

to tease us into season 4 with Crosshair's making peace with the "regs" as he completes a longer season redemption arc and CX-Tech (yes, CX-Tech) crawling out of the river (possibly after getting beat to hell starts cracking the conditioning a bit?).

(This potential finale thought does however leave hanging curious threads such as the CX-2 & Phee scene and the forever fascination with CX-2 shooting his own pilot in 3.11 so maybe not)

(but setting it at the end of the season does satisfy my 'doesn't Omega look a lot older between eps 5 & 6?' thing that's been bugging me for months lol)

Now. If they found out when they were already well on their way to done with season 3 (and started on 4?) that they were getting 4 canceled... how do you hastily jam a resolution into place?

Condense your reunion to one passage of time Tantiss ep/one hunting ep/escape ep/hijinks&reconnect ep.

Replace CX-Tech stakes with kids-in-the-basement stakes.

Maneuver Emerie & Omega to facilitate a nice smooth resolution to the kids plot to make way for a grittier action plot for everyone else. (I know I know no one else is on my episode 10 Emerie making no sense + lego brick vault vendetta but it is what it is)

Replace a bigger Tantiss clone assault with Tarkin shuttering it despite the emperor's eagerness in ep3 and going from "more prisoners than we thought!" to a manageable amount for a 4 man infiltration team + 1 evac shuttle.

Conveniently ignore the second mountain.

And have CX-2 cut off Crosshair's hand to emphasize no-really-he's-totes-mcEvil and deserves the spear and none of the clones are redeemable after all but then not have time to worry about the traumatic aftermath of it lol.

(+ keep your Ventress ep however you can fit it because someone said you had to) (I guess?)

Anyway all this to say: if a canceled 4th season is what happened, perhaps season 3 originally had room to breathe. Perhaps we got some actual Pabu time, and Omega meeting the cadets, and some reminder the Pabu friends existed before they just existed to be threatened in 3.11. Perhaps Phee was more than a ride to Erebus. Perhaps it took Hunter & Crosshair more than an episode to make nice. Perhaps the Ventress episode was... uh. Relevant? Force-sensitive Omega maybe?

Perhaps they took Omega and her 30k credits to Canto Bight, idk.

And perhaps, well - CX-Tech.

(Better late than dead)

[thecoffeelorian]

Fandom Friday, 07/12: Fanart

Hello again, everyone...and welcome back to another Fandom Friday: Fanart Edition.

Before we begin, I would just like to say that I've gone back to including ten links for this half rather than seven, as they seem to gather a bit more attention than the Fanfictions do.

Also, in case I didn't mention it before, I try to bring in around two examples each week from each currently active part of the fandom, so that the most recent projects get represented in my updates. Basically setting out the freshest products first, to put it into baking terms.

Now that you all have a somewhat better idea of how I do this...here are my picks of the week.

THE ACOLYTE

The Acolyte Fanart--By @elainecreations

The Acolyte Fanart--By @aresielle

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @coldbrewarts

The Clone Wars Fanart--By @clone-trooper-cheese

THE BAD BATCH

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @amandamadeathing

The Bad Batch Fanart--By @kenosisofabrami

STAR WARS REBELS

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @mystical-salamander

Star Wars Rebels Fanart--By @moodboards-aesthetics

THE MANDALORIAN

The Mandalorian Fanart--By @instarwars

AHSOKA

Ahsoka Fanart--By @caccry

In conclusion, as part of my mission to poke around the Star Wars fandom and, on Friday every week, highlight those artists who might otherwise go unnoticed…I hope you will check out the links I have included for yourselves and like, comment on, and reblog them, as well as also giving the artists a few more followers to their Tumblr pages.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time.

An additional thank you goes to @djarrex for making the divider I used earlier in this post, but still want to give credit for.

And finally, so that I do not forget…this post will be continued in its second half: the Fanfiction Edition.

Thank you, good morning, and I'll see you in the next post!

The No-Pressure Tag List: @theweepingvulcan91 @libraryfordyslexics @olafur-neal @theunknownartist1 @bluedeedeedoop

@crazyinspirationaldreams @theosb0rnway @gun-roswell @melymigo @skellymom

@cinnamonsugar-pretzel @its-time-to-rise-above @vaderkin-is-a-lightning-rod @universitysunflowers

@tazmbc1 @thegreenspectr @leos-multifandom-corner @badbatchposts @sharpasanaro

@tlmtwelve @thatflatfrog @nadjem-mari @leenabb104104 @ithillia

@difuf @rott1ngbra1n @saviinika @everybirdfellsilent @algo-o-nada

@botherdv @justhereforthesherlock @sportlover4life @aelfgiure @typewriters-and-love-letters

@theweepingvulcan91 @maggie-dylan and anybody else who might be on the lookout for new and interesting fanart.

[bamfkeeper]

Rules for Requesting

Hi hi. I want to make a little post about the rules I have for requests. This will be a guide for everyone to use when my requests are open.

I write three different kinds of fanworks: headcannons, imagines, and fics. When I open requests, I will specify what I am open for. If I say one thing and I get requests for something else, I will ignore them.

Headcannons: Short, bulleted ideas that can be build into a scene but generally are just a collection of thoughts/ideas on a specific topic or scenario.

Imagines: Drabbles that are generally short but can range in length. Formatted like a collection of thoughts but somewhat written out like a fic.

Fics: Actual written out works with a solid storyline to follow and written as more of a narrative. These also vary in length but they are normally 1k and above.

General Things to Keep in Mind

I write SFW and NSFW. I don't have a lot of what I will not write, so if I receive a request with a topic I do not like, I will update the current list I have.

My blog is 18+ only, if I receive a request and your age is not in your bio or in a pinned post overlooking your blog, you will be removed and blocked.

My requests are not first come, first serve. If I don't feel that I can write for a specific topic or scenario well, then I won't.

If my requests are closed and I receive an ask, it will be ignored. I get burnt out and overwhelmed easily, so I take requests in batches.

I am not obligated to write every single request I receive. I will try to satisfy everyone's request, but if I don't like a specific request sent or if it makes me uncomfortable, I won't write it.

If I feel a request doesn't fit the character requested with it, I won't write it. I like to have creative freedom when writing characters but if it drastically differs from their character, I won't write it.

I also want to mention I don't necessarily like writing x oc works, since I want everyone to enjoy. However, I will try my best to loosely write around an oc's traits/powers if requested.

I am female, so my works are going to be defaulted as female readers. If you want a specific reader besides female, please include that in the request.

Topics I Will Write

Any genre, fluff, smut, hurt/comfort, angst, etc. I am open to writing darker genres like whump, but for those I will make a side blog so they aren't on here where most of my content is fun and filthy lol. I will wait to make a side blog for them if I end up getting requests for that genre.

NSFW topics, most kinks. Ask if you're unsure.

Pregnancy topics

Topics I Will Not Write

NSFW kinks that include scat, littles/little play or age play, anything to do with animals, etc.

Cheating with main character involved in the story. I can write past cheating situations, but having the specific character you request cheat I will not do.

Sexual assault/abuse. Like cheating I can work around and do fics that mention it in the past or as a hurt/comfort type of fic for aftermath but explicit scenes I will not do.

That is all, happy requesting.

*BAMF*

Dividers by @/adornedwithlight

[djarins-cyare]

Get to Know Me tag game

Rules: Answer + tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with!

Thanks for the tag, @mosssbawls. I'm sorry it took me so long to do this (I literally save everything I'm tagged in until I've got time to do it, lol). Maybe it's been so long that this will restart the tag game??

Favourite colour: Teal when I'm feeling bold, duck egg blue when I want something softer (she says, putting up a pink-themed post).

Last song: It would've been on the radio in the car last night, but I don't remember the last one. I know I was singing along to Fast Car by Tracy Chapman at one point in the journey, so I'll say that.

Currently reading: I'm hopping between some great fanfics right now. Let's see... Lovers' Crest by gingerlurk, Second Chances by DjarinMuse, and Back to You by Kyberblade. All are fabulous!

Currently watching: Well, The Acolyte is premiering… like, now, so despite it being the early hours of the morning here, I’m gonna check it out. Otherwise, I'm rewatching Bones from start to finish (one ep per evening while making dinner), and my current commuting entertainment is The Bad Batch (rewatching season 1 so I can binge seasons 2 and 3). I don't watch nearly as much stuff as I used to; these days I spend most of my time writing.

Currently craving: Sleep! Always tired, never sleeping!

Coffee or tea: I had to give up caffeine last year when dental surgery forced me to drink nothing but water, so neither these days. But I hate the taste of coffee, and I'm British, so I have to pick tea. It’s, like, the law.

I'm going to tag the folks whose fics I'm reading, bc ily guys: @gingerlurk @djarinmuse @kyberblade (no pressure 🫶🏻).

I know the rules say 9 tags, but I'm too tired to choose any more, so anyone else who sees this, consider yourselves tagged!

[drops-of-moonlights]

And the second batch of tonight is the Koopalings! FOR WHICH I HAVE A LOT OF WORDS SO YEAH LOL.

The Koopalings are kids that Bowser used to babysit when he was a teenager, as a sort of "prep for when he became king" (in actuality the other nobles just dumped the kids on him during their alone times lol). Larry is Ludwig's younger brother, Wendy and Roy are also siblings, but the other three aren't related. The older kids liked to make fun of how much of a worrywart Bowser was with them by calling him "dad" but they stopped around Junior's birth so as to not confuse the kid later on. (Junior still looks up to them as surrogate older siblings tho) they're also all different ages - Larry is 19, Lemmy is 20, Iggy is 21, Wendy is 23, Roy and Morton are 25, Ludwig is 26.

Larry I did not change all that much, I leaned into him being the more eager during sport games to make him a jock, currently in Koopa University with a tennis scholarship. Since he's the closest in age to Junior he's the one he tends to spend the most time with.

I changed Lemmy's hairstyle because the mohawk + rattail combo was too 80's for me and it was hell to draw so rainbow hair in a ponytail is my compromise lol. He's part of a local performing troupe and has honed his acrobat skills accordingly, sometimes getting top billing on shows.

Wendy got a bit more of a glowup than the rest lol - she has hair now and made her scales a bit darker to match Roy. She's studying to become a professional interior designer and decorator and has a side job as lifeguard.

As for Iggy, he works as a mechanic for the numerous Kart tournaments and considers himself the top kart designer and creator due to the speed at which he can finish his projects, flaunting his superiority which earns him the ire of his coworkers constantly. He's quick to accept criticism, though.

Morton runs a building and demolition company alongside Spike as co-owner, and has the most stable job out of all Koopalings sans Ludwig. He takes good care of his crew and is in charge of first aid alongside his planning and building work.

Roy for the most part works as a DJ in 3 different nightclubs, and can be summed up as "If Blanche Deveraux from Golden Girls was a man in his mid-20's" aka a bit of a slut. Despite this he has a degree in electricity and electronics, he just doesn't use it much except for quick fixes around his house and for friends.

Lastly, Ludwig is a permanent orchestral director and composer at Koopa Theatre, and likes to boast of the many plays he has composed for. He does sometimes go to Roy for advice when he hits a creative block, as he is so classically-trained deviating from that is hard for him and he doesn't all his work to sound the same.

[twstgarden]

❁ ❝ 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 ❞

━ second years + leona kingscholar + malleus draconia and second year! royal! gn! reader ━ being royalty sounds great until you have a sheltered upbringing due to your parents' constant worry over someone potentially harming you - the heir to the throne. so it was no wonder you never experienced things a normal person does, such as hanging out with friends and having dinner or visiting tourist spots in the country. upon revealing this information, your fellow second years and two of the other royal students of this campus decided to take a one-week trip to explore much of sage's island and give you a short taste of freedom. (f/n means first name)

requested by: @king-zi request type: oneshot requester's message: ◡̈⋆ʜᴇʟʟᴏ(●’◡’●)ﾉ it's me again, lol.. I heard requests were open again, I just finished reading the newest malleusxreader fic and I really enjoyed it(your writing makes me weak, in a good way), anyway here's the request: Could you do a platonic oneshot with the second years + Leona and Malleus (why?idk) where the reader is royalty and has never experienced going outside as they've been shielded away from prying eyes and the outside, and now that reader's in their second year, the second years and co decide to teach reader how to have fun and take a trip, maybe around sage island or maybe one of the boys hometowns to experience freedom? Apologies if this is confusing, anyway have a great evening/day/night florist's note: hii again! i love writing these types of fics where the reader just spends time w a group of students ahaha, thank you for the request!

this work does not contain spoilers for chapter 7, diasomnia's arc, but there will be mentions of the current twst jp event, stage in playful land: the dancing puppet and the fabled amusement park.

do not steal or translate without my permission.

"i've... never been to an amusement park..."

silence suddenly filled the room as your fellow second-years stared at you for a moment. the silence was then cut short by azul as he let out a sigh, "oh my, it seems the royal highness of our batch never went out of their castle."

you and the other second years have been conversing for a while about things they could do for the weekend and the upcoming break, and when it came to the point that it was your turn to speak, you barely had anything to share and told them the truth.

"i was raised in an overprotective household, so i was sheltered all my life. forgive me for not hearing of this... so-called 'playful land amusement park'."

"it's a 'mysterious' amusement park that shows up only once a year," spoke riddle. you nodded your head a little in understanding before humming in response, "hmm... well, if that's the case, the chances will be low for us to see it this weekend..."

kalim then gasped as he beamed at you, "oh, i know! why don't we tour around sage's island?! there's a lot of things to see here, f/n!" azul seemed to find this idea appealing as he nodded and verbalised his agreement, "yes, that's a great idea. this trip will also allow me to see new business opportunities and possible expansion for mostro lounge."

riddle sighed at azul's words, "you never change, huh... but kalim has a point. it would do good for us to explore..." you smiled a little at riddle, "you also will have a benefit from this trip, riddle."

"how long will the trip be?" asked jamil.

"one week!" exclaimed kalim.

jamil was about to respond until jade smiled and said, "one week sounds good. it just so happens that our break is approaching soon. shall we start planning the itinerary?" floyd seemed excited at the thought of exploring sage's island as he placed his arm on his brother's shoulder, "this is so exciting~ hehehehe~!"

"oh, is it alright if i invite two other people?" you asked as you tilted your head slightly in curiosity. ruggie seemed to have the idea on who you were thinking of, making him laugh, "shishishishi~ of course, you can!"

you then glanced at silver, hoping to hear an input from him, only to see him asleep while seated.

the day of the trip came and you were staring at your bag - which was empty aside from your wallet. "is this really all i could bring...?" you mumbled to yourself until you heard a knock on your door, snapping you out of your thoughts.

you opened the door, only to be greeted by the savanaclaw dorm leader standing with his arms crossed, "hey, we're about to leave."

"hang on, i still need to see what else i have to bring."

leona raised a brow in response before looking at your bag filled with only your wallet, "that's already enough, your highness." you could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he addressed you that way, making you sigh as you shrugged and grabbed your bag.

"okay, if you say so."

upon arrival to the gates of night raven college, you saw malleus standing with silver and the rest of the second years, making you smile as he finally received the invitation you extended to him. however, leona did not look pleased at all.

"the lizard's coming with us?"

malleus heard leona's remark and turned to face him, "it seems the big cat is joining us..."

"one trip. that's all i ask," you retorted before they could start their cat fight once more. jade then approached you and showed you the itinerary, "your majesty, we're starting off with the famous patisserie located at the foot of this mountain, then we'll head to the ports next."

your eyes stayed on the itinerary that jade was showing you before grabbing it and reading its contents, "hmm... a week's worth of exploration. this is great..." you then handed back the itinerary, "also, you don't have to address me that way. we're schoolmates, right?"

and with that, the day began. you and the rest of the second years started visiting the patisserie at the foot of the mountain to get something to eat.

you stood beside malleus as you both eyed the menu with great concentration.

"there's so much to serve... they start off with black coffee, then a frappe, a mocha, and 5 more drinks before they move on to the pastries?" you questioned, thinking that the patisserie will be serving the entire menu just like how most 5-star restaurants do.

malleus glanced at you, thinking the same way but at the same time, he had his doubts. ruggie was on the other side and he could hear everything you were saying, "ah, is that what happens when you're a closeted rich person? shishishi, n/n, you get to pick only what you want to get."

"really?"

"yes."

your eyes scanned the menu again before looking up at malleus, "what will you get? there's so many choices." the diasomnia dorm leader hummed as his eyes continued scanning the menu, "we can always get more than one..."

you nodded, "yes, you're right. then i'll have this..." you pointed at a drink and several pastries, making ruggie glance at you since he was only holding one muffin. you noticed his glances and smiled, "do you want anything, ruggie? i'll add it into my tab."

ruggie's eyes lit up as soon as you offered to pay it for him, making him point at the pastries he had been thinking of getting. leona, meanwhile, merely bought a single coffee and drank it with no other words.

your group ended up coming out of the patisserie satisfied. aside from what you ordered for yourself, you added a slice of cake for each person in the group to make sure they all had their fill.

"the cake you bought was so tasty!" exclaimed kalim as he beamed at you, while jamil gave you a small smile. "it was very generous of you, your highness. thank you."

"since you bought something for me, allow me to return the gratitude," spoke azul as he gave you a polite smile, but you knew all too well that he wanted to stay on your good side. well, not like it bothered you. "this trip is more than worth it. your presence alone brings me great joy knowing i am not alone in this journey," you spoke a tad bit formally.

"ah, you flatter me," spoke azul. floyd, on the other hand, had nothing to fear as he slumped his arm over your shoulders and spoke in a merry tone, "*chaetodon-sama is so generous~!"

you smiled at them and thanked them for their kind words before heading to the ports. your eyes scanned the area, seeing the fishermen and sailors preparing their boats to start their journey to the sea, while their families waved at them and wished them a good luck.

leona was standing beside you as he noticed you have been staring at the locals doing their own thing, "there's a lot to see in sage's island." his voice made you snap out of your thoughts as you glanced at him before looking back at them, your eyes staying on the woman nearby as she waved at her husband with a sweet smile.

"...it's definitely something that people of our status don't see much," you spoke softly, "being locked up in that castle has made me ignorant on the ways of the common folk..." leona stayed silent for a moment before he patted your head, and you can tell he was a little hesitant to do so, but you appreciated the gesture.

you looked up at him and smiled a little before looking back at the locals, "...i'd like to do this again when i'm back to my kingdom, to see what my people do on the daily..." leona hummed softly in response, "i'm sure you'll do well with it."

you merely hummed in response before looking back at your other schoolmates, seeing them speak to the sailors or talk amongst themselves, laughing and bickering playfully. it all brought a small smile on your face.

'a short taste of freedom with the people who made me feel what home was...'

*chaetodon - taken from chaetodon nippon, which is a japanese butterfly fish.

© twstgarden 2023 || please do not steal, translate without my permission, or use this to train a.i.

[tinywitchgoblin]

hi, if you're still doing them I'd love a ship with one of the bad batch please! SFW and NSFW would be great but no worries if its just SFW :)

I'm 19, AFAB using all pronouns, Leo and INFP personality. I'm 5'4, pretty curvy, I have dyed dark purple/blue hair and a decent few piercings and tattoos (my favourite are my snakebite lip piercings).

I'm currently at university studying philosophy, so I really enjoy having deep debates with people. I'm also really interested in history, and will ramble about it to anyone who will listen. I enjoy anything in the fantasy or horror genre too :) My hobbies are reading and all sorts of crafts (crochet, knitting, cross stitch etc) - I end up gifting random things i make to all my friends

I'm generally a pretty quiet person around people I don't know super well, but when I'm comfortable I have bursts of energy where I won't stop talking. I'm sarcastic and a little nihilistic sometimes but I try to be empathetic and considerate, and my friends say I'm pretty funny too. I have ADHD so I do fidget constantly and struggle to focus sometimes, but I also hyperfixate very heavily on things I'm interested in. My love languages are physical touch and quality time :)

sorry if this was way too much lol! thank you so much <33

When I tell you I was So Excited... you're my first NSFW ship request! Eek!!

MINORS DNI THIS IS TOO SPICY FOR YOU

I ship you with...

Crosshair!

As a sniper, Crosshair is naturally a very patient person. So when you go onto a rant about something history-related, he'll sit there and listen patiently, asking questions here and there but mostly willing to be a listening ear for you to infodump to. For your birthday, he buys you a book about one of your favorite historical time periods, and he's secretly really excited when he sees your positive reaction.

Crosshair absolutely LOVES horror movies, and doesn't get to watch them very often because his brothers HATE them, especially poor Wrecker. A favorite date night is staying in, ordering space doordash, and watching a horror movie. Crosshair especially loves the Saw movies; he finds them interesting. Tech, however, is not allowed within 50 feet of a saw movie because he will not shut tf up about the specific mechanisms of all the traps and how various scenes would actually occur.

SMUT BELOW THE BELT CUT

I 100% believe that Crosshair is an ass guy. He loves to smack your ass regardless of whether or not it's in the bedroom. Therefore, his favorite position is doggy style, with constant access to your butt (plus, he can pull your hair; win-win). He also loves when you ride him; he'll just lay back, popping a toothpick between his lips and enjoying the view.

Something Crosshair also enjoys is cockwarming. Specifically, doing so while he's cleaning his rifle. They're his two favorite activities combined into one! He loves feeling your pussy squeeze around him, pulling him as far into you as he can go. Even though he's typically very patient (as stated above), it's times like this where he will eventually cave, placing his beloved rifle to the side and slamming into you until you're boneless and breathless; only then will he come. He's very particular about that. He wants to be absolutely 100% sure that you get as much pleasure as you want, because where he lacks with words, he more than makes up with his dick actions.

-

Thanks for reading! If you want a ship request like this one, drop it in my ask box, and don't forget to reblog 💚 it may take a little bit, but I'll get to it!

[crosshairscrustysock]

Let’s get some fun recommendations goin around here! What’s a piece of clone content (art, fic, etc) that has stuck with you as being notably excellent? Tag it in your answer so we can all find some new fun to read! If you want, of course; feel free to ignore! 💕

I would love to introduce to you these excellent fics

[im very happy to spread some fun recommendations]

So for a short smutty read :

For a short fluff read :

As for longer reads:

- I am currently  reading these amazing fics <3

And soon to start this one :

And thanks for coming to my Ted talk, folks ,that's all tumblr seems to allow me to put :))

Lol I hope this list is what you were hoping for lol  :) I'm always happy to recommend fics <33333

(you should definitely check out these author's master lists of works- they're quite incredible )

[royalhighnesscreations]

I printed off another couple batches of my OoT Zelda stickers (I wanted to make a different sticker for personal use but didn't want to use an entire page of sticker paper for one small thing, so I thought why the heck not.) These next batches don't quite have the printing quality of the first batch (can't seem to get the right saturation), but they still look nice and the sticker quality itself seems to be pretty good (vinyl matte).

They're one of if not the latest item in my shop, so if you go to https://royalhighnesscreations.storenvy.com/ you should find them right away, but hey, have a look around! I have a lot of pieces on clearance and I'm trying to sell through some stock before I introduce new pieces (I sell mostly handmade jewelry, if you didn't already know).

As for art pieces, we currently only have these stickers, but I plan on designing more and might even attempt bookmarks in the future, for those of us who still read physical books in our year of 2024 lol.

[hugmekenobi]

Goes Both Ways

A Bad Batch Series interlude oneshot

Gif by @transkestis​

(no, the S2 fits aren’t here yet, this gif just worked the best)

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Summary: You and Hunter both realise there are trickier feelings that need navigating in a relationship but the two of you manage to work with them.

Warnings: Swearing, possessiveness/jealousy, reader doesn’t really stick the Jedi teachings (but we knew this anyway lol), pet name (sweetheart), Gregor being what I need in the form of a flirtatious plot device, Force communication working how I say it does, brief mention of death, no y/n, PDA in the form of making out, affectionate biting/marking, spicy and suggestive language and touches, awkwardness, getting caught/interrupted

Masterlist for S1 chapters

Word Count: 3.4K

Rating: 18+

Author’s notes: I can’t justify the main trope here, my brain just went into this headspace and took it and ran lol. Things get a bit spicier, but I appreciate this sorta thing isn’t for everyone but to those who do read, hope you enjoy :)

The three of them watched from the bar at the scene unfolding in front of them. They weren’t sure how exactly you would react once you came back from putting Omega in Cid’s room, but one thing was certain, you weren’t going to be very happy.

“Hey guys, what are we looking-” You stopped as you saw what it what they were staring at, or rather who they were staring at. “Who the fuck’s that?” You asked, attempting levity but it wasn’t very convincing.

“We don’t know. She appeared once you left.” Tech answered.

“Did she now?” You replied, your voice tense. The feelings bubbling within you were unfamiliar and you were still getting used to the whole relationship thing, but you could already tell you weren’t a fan of what was happening in front of you.

You continued to stare at the young woman currently standing by Hunter at the other end of the bar counter. She was being a little too touchy-feely for your liking, her hands kept wandering to Hunter’s chest and hands. Hunter, to his credit, kept inching away every time she did that, but she was not for dissuading.

“Are you alright?” Echo asked.

“Uh huh.” You replied stiffly.

“You sure?” Wrecker asked as he saw the way your jaw clenched.

You sucked air through your teeth. “Yup.”

“You know he’s not going to do anything.” Tech added.

“It’s not him I’m worried about.”

“Are you sure you-”

“Relax Echo, I’m not going to cause a scene.” You said calmy as you watched them.

You understood to a degree, hell if you were in her position you’d probably try too, but he was taken now.

Now he was yours.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, where the fuck did that line of thought come from? You thought to yourself, shocked that you’d even gone down that road so quickly. That jealousy and possessiveness was something you’d been taught for years was a very bad thing, yet you jumped to it immediately. You took a deep breath. “It’s fine, I’m fine. He’ll come back over once he's done talking.”

The three of them regarded you suspiciously.

“Chill with the fourth degree. I’m okay.” You reiterated as you felt their eyes on you.

“You’ve still not looked away.” Tech pointed out.

“And that bar stool leg wasn’t bent like that before.” Echo said, indicating to the chair you were closest to.

You glanced down and sure enough, the leg has curved slightly. Clearly you weren’t as fine as you were trying to make yourself out to be. “Wrecker, stand in front of me.”

Wrecker did as you asked. “That better?”

You took another deep breath. “Yeah. Just gotta wait until they’re done.” You stole a swig from Echo’s drink and willed the streak of possessiveness that was residing with in you to go away.

--

“Okay, how long has it been? Seriously, what could she be saying that’s so interesting?” You asked irritably. “Also, Hunter isn’t exactly a conversationalist, what could she be so captivated by?

The others shared a smirk. It had been five minutes and you’d only lasted two before you’d moved past Wrecker to watch them again.

“I don’t think it’s his conversation skills she’s interested in.” Tech said simply as if he was answering a question about the weather.

You shot him a glare as Wrecker and Echo both shook their heads at him. “Sometimes Tech, I forget you’re the smartest one here. I know what she’s interested in but how many times does he need to back away for her to get the hint? Or better yet, why doesn’t he leave?”

“Maybe he’s just being polite?” Wrecker offered.

“Or they’re genuinely having a conversation?” Echo suggested.

You hid your head in your hands, but you couldn’t help but laugh. “Sometimes I really can’t talk to you boys.”

“Although I doubt a genuine conversation would involve that.” Tech said indicating over to them.

You lifted your head and that possessiveness you had been attempting to quash came to a head as you saw the way she looped an arm around the back of his neck and drew her closer to him. “Oh, for fucks sake.” You muttered. The Jedi were dead, and they weren’t perfect anyway, so you didn’t have to be. You downed the rest of your drink and began to walk over to him.

“I have 5 credits on her bumping into her and making her spill her drink.” Wrecker said as he watched you go.

“Nah, she’ll use her Jedi abilities for that.” Echo countered. “Tech?”

“I think she’ll rise above and merely ask her to leave.”

Echo and Wrecker just stared at him; eyebrows raised.

Tech sighed, “Fine. She’s using the Force.”

--

Hunter had been itching to leave for the past ten minutes but this woman was not getting the message. He had just taken her hands off him for what felt like the one hundredth time when he felt you next to him as you wrapped an arm around his waist.

He glanced at you and saw a hint of darkness in your eyes as well as something he couldn’t quite place. “Hey, how are-” Your lips on his abruptly cut him off and it was a kiss that was definitely not meant for a public space. It was deep and intense, and he was sure it had something to do with whatever it was that was lurking behind your eyes. After what was probably too long for a casual expression of affection, you pulled away and he found that all words had left his brain.

“You were stolen away from me. I had to come check on you.” You said sweetly as you gazed at him, pleased with the slightly dazed look on his face. Keeping your hand wrapped around him, you faced the woman, and you felt a hint of smugness as you saw the flash of irritation on her face. “I see you’ve met my Hunter.”

Your Hunter? He regarded you curiously, but your eyes were focused on the woman in front of you.

“Yeah, we just got chatting.” She said innocently.

“Oh, chatting, was it? Looked to me like you were hitting on him.” You said with fake politeness.

Oh, that’s what this was, Hunter realised. You were jealous. He worried for the woman across from him since he’d never seen you like this, so he didn’t know what to expect. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t-”

“Oh, don’t worry, I trust you.” You said, leaning up to plant a kiss on his neck and you smirked to yourself as you saw her frown out of the corner of your eye.

You faced her again. “Honey, you should really look for men that are interested in you. You’re not going to get what you’re looking for here, I can tell you that.”

“Oh, I’d never-” She began, placing her hand over her heart as if she was shocked by such an insinuation.

“No?” You asked as if you were willing to believe her.

“It’s just he never mentioned you, so I assumed-”

You could tell she was lying and that was confirmed by the way Hunter stiffened next to you. “See, I think he did, and you just don’t know when to quit.”

“Well, I didn’t think sewer rats were his type.” She sneered.

You were glad you could be done with the fake niceties. You placed a hand on Hunter’s chest as you sensed him getting ready to speak. “I think you better be going now.” You said coolly and with a subtle flick of your finger, her drink spilt on her lap.

She shouted in annoyance at the red puddle that was now forming on her lap.

“Oh, now that’s unfortunate. You better get outta here and sort that cause white and red? That’s a bitch to clean and I wouldn’t want your lovely dress to get ruined.” You said with a cat-like grin.

She glowered at you and walked out of the bar.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Hunter kidded into your hair as he kissed your temple.

You looked back at him and looped your arms around his neck.

Hunter’s hands found your waist and as he stared into your eyes, he saw that that hint of possessiveness hadn’t left yet, and he realised it wasn’t necessarily just the woman he had to worry about.

“She was trying to take something that wasn’t hers.” You said as your hands threaded themselves in his hair. You pulled on it and brought his lips down, so they were mere inches from yours.

Hunter had to bite back the groan that threatened to leave his mouth and instead he tightened his hold on your waist. “We can’t… not here.” He managed to rasp out.

“See, I think it should be here. How else are people going to know that you’re mine?” You purred as you moved your lips to his ear before you bit down on his neck, using your tongue to sooth the sting of it.

“Fuck.” Hunter hissed out and he had to grab the counter so as to stay upright.

“Did you like talking to her?” You continued to whisper as you kissed along his jaw.

“No.” He replied hoarsely. His brain was having to work overtime to form even the simplest of words.

“You didn’t leave.” You murmured as you traced your lips over his. You took them away as you saw him go to make something more of it. “Why didn’t you leave?” You asked again, your hand trailing up and down his chest- thankful that they’d all decided they could take a break tonight since his armour would’ve made this difficult- whilst you sucked a mark on his pulse point.

Hunter’s head fell back, and it took all the willpower he possessed not to let out a moan. “Didn’t- Maker- didn’t want to be- Fucking hell- rude.” He ground out as your lips and tongue continued to do things to his neck that left him unable to think straight.

“If there’s a next time, Sergeant…” You crooned, bringing his head back up. “Be rude.” You whispered before kissing him once more, gently biting his lip and relishing in the way he couldn’t keep it together anymore as you heard him groan and hold you tightly to him.

“Oi, you two! This is a public space. Do that in your own place!”

Hunter snapped back to the current moment. He broke away and he saw Cid standing behind you.

You didn’t seem bothered at all. “We will.” You said simply as you took Hunter’s hand and led him out the bar.

All Hunter could do was follow you, too hooked on whatever it was you were acting like to argue or even really think.

--

The others had turned away from the moment that was unfolding between the two of you now, but Wrecker handed the credits over to Echo and Tech.

Echo heard Cid shout and risked a glance over his shoulder and as he saw you lead Hunter out, he guessed they’d be banned from the Marauder for a while. He sighed.

Tech and Wrecker stopped their conversation and followed Echo’s gaze.

“Ah.” Tech said plainly.

“Guess we’re going to be here a while.” Wrecker grumbled.

--

Hunter watched as you laughed at whatever it was Gregor had said. He wasn’t that funny. His jaw went tight as he saw the way Gregor placed a quick hand on your back. He felt that cold stab of jealousy, something he thought he’d risen above since he knew that it was really nothing more than friendly banter between the two of you, you’d told him as much and he trusted you. Plus, Gregor was a brother, and he was doing what brothers do which was very successfully winding him up and Hunter knew he should’ve been better at ignoring it. But seeing the flirtatious repartee come so easily to Gregor and watching him lean in closer to you was doing enough so that the primal feeling of possessiveness was able to take over his brain.

He got up as he saw you pass the table and followed you as you headed into Cid’s office.

--

Echo, Tech, and Wrecker watched from another table as you picked up your communicator and gently nudged Gregor out of your path, making your way out of the bar. Their eyes then fell to Hunter, who stood upon seeing you leave and followed you out of the room. The scene was all too familiar, and they all shared a knowing look as the deja vu settled over them.

“Who knew he could get jealous too.” Wrecker said. “I figured he’d be better than that.”

“Not with her, he’s always had an issue with Gregor. He flirts with her. It’s innocent enough but it gets to him.” Echo said.

“Yeah. Remember when Gregor brought her those flowers? Hunter didn’t leave her side the entire day.” Tech reminded Wrecker.

Wrecker nodded his head in agreement as he remembered.

“Hey fellas.” Gregor said as he sat down next to Wrecker. “Where’s the Sergeant?”

“No idea.” They all said together, and they were thankful that Omega was out running errands with Cid.

--

You finished finding those datapads Cid had asked you to bring to her but just as you were turning to leave, you felt Hunter’s presence but before you could say anything, he’d whirled you around and brought his lips to yours. It was the kind of kiss that took your breath away and left your head spinning as he pulled away. Gathering yourself, you put the datapads down and stared at him as he kept a firm grip of your waist. “What was that for?”

Hunter didn’t answer. He just kissed you again and tangled his fingers in your hair.

You felt it then. You felt the possessiveness that was flowing through him, and this kiss definitely had that in it. It was rough but it felt really fucking good. You just didn’t know what had set this off. What’s going on? You managed to send as you kissed him back just as eagerly.

“I never like it when he flirts with you.” Hunter muttered as he followed your jawline with his lips.

Letting out a happy sigh, you tilted your head back and let him explore your neck. “Who? Gregor?” You watched as his gaze met yours and you nearly let out a groan at the sight. His eyes were dark, and he was breathing heavily. “He’s harmless.” You managed to say, though it was a struggle.

“He wants you and I don’t like what that does to me.” Hunter growled as he kissed you again and pressed himself tighter to you.

“What if I like what it does to you?” You whispered breathlessly as you broke away, a coy smile on your lips as you leaned forward.

No. He wasn’t going to let you turn this one around. It was his turn now. “I don’t like people coming for what’s mine.”

The guttural way he said that had tingles running down your spine and your toes curled as he made his own mark on you. You’re lucky I love you, had that come from anyone else, I’d have kicked their ass.

“I must not be doing a very good job if you’re still able to find a way to speak.” With that, he kissed you again and he tugged on your lip, delighting in the way your breathing hitched as he did that. He grabbed the backs of your thighs and picked you up and carried you over to the edge of Cid’s desk.

You were grateful that the mission you’d been on had been tamer and involved blending in because if he was wearing his armour right now, you wouldn’t have been able to grab fistfuls of his shirt to hold him close to you.

Hunter brought his lips back to your neck. “Do you like it when he flirts with you?” He rumbled against your skin whilst his hand began to steadily trail a path along the inside of your thigh.

You couldn’t help the moan that left your mouth, but you stopped his hand from going any higher. “Someone could-” You broke off with another groan as he bit the sensitive spot just behind your ear before he cooled the sting of it with his tongue. “Walk in.” You said, your voice hoarse with effort.

“Maybe that’s what I want.” Hunter crooned. “Maybe Gregor should see who you’re with so he could get the message that you’re mine.” He kissed you again before he repeated his question, “Do you like it when he flirts with you?” He needed you as speechless as he was when you were this way, so he made another mark on the junction where your neck and shoulder met.

“Fuck!” You couldn’t help but shout and you removed your grip on his wrist since you needed both hands to keep yourself upright.

“Answer me.” Hunter ordered as he slowly continued to move his hand upwards.

Right. Words. Come on. “I-um- shit-” His teasing touches were killing you. “No. I’m just being nice.” You managed gasp out as your head fell back.

“Hmm.” Hunter stopped just before he reached where he knew you were wanting him. He grabbed the back of your neck so that you were forced to look at him.

You could barely keep your breathing under control. You’d never seen him like this, and you were scared by how much you were loving it. You found the edges of his shirt and found that all worries of being discovered were rapidly leaving you.

“If I went higher, what I would find there, would that be because of me or because of Gregor?” He hummed against your lips as he moved his fingers in small circles at the juncture of your thigh.

You could only moan in reply and your head fell into the crook of his neck.

Hunter paused what he was doing, pleased that you were as wrecked as you’d made him.

“You.” You croaked out as you felt him stop. “Please, Hunter.” He’d reduced you to a begging mess, but you were too far gone to care. “It’s only you. I’m just being nice. I’m yours. Please just-”

Your words sent him over the edge, and he kissed you hungrily.

You were about to lift his shirt over his head when the office door opened.

“Kriffing hell! Not my office!”

You pushed Hunter away and jumped down from Cid’s desk and you wanted to curl up on the floor and die but Hunter… he looked cool as can be.

“You two, out!” Cid yelled, shooing you out the door.

“The datapads are there.” You said sheepishly as you pointed to the small pile on the end of her desk.

“Well, now I know why you never brought them to me.” Cid snapped. “What if it was the kid instead of me?”

“It wasn’t.” Hunter replied breezily as he re-entered the bar.

You glanced at him, confused as to how he could answer so casually, but then you saw the look on his face, and you could feel that he wasn’t done with you yet and the thought sent a thrill through your veins.

Hunter snaked an arm around your waist and began to hurry you out the parlour.

“Ready to hear the rest?”

You stopped and turned to face Gregor. Hunter’s arm had wrapped itself around your front and he was pressed into your back. “Not right now but yeah, Gregor, you can finish that story later tonight.” You let out a small yelp as you felt Hunter nip the back of your neck. “Tomorrow. Can talk tomorrow.” You corrected quickly and you let Hunter push you out the parlour.

Neither of you had noticed Omega squashed between Wrecker and Gregor.

“Um…” Wrecker said.

“I know, I know. ‘We’ll tell you when you’re older.’” Omega said grumpily as she crossed her arms and slouched.

“Just don’t go to the ship tonight. I think we gotta crash here.” Echo said.

“Those two…” Cid came in shaking her head.

“Hey, we gotta live with them.” Wrecker pointed out.

“So long as we don’t get our timings mixed up, we should be fine.” Tech said.

“We can only hope.” Echo muttered.

Masterlist

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy​, @tpwkcalli​, @fuckoffthanos​, @arctrooper69​ @graciexmarvel​, @flyingkangaroo​, @nightmonkeysstuff​, @a-streakofazure​, @ladytano420​, @dragonrider9905​, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf​, @yyourmotherr​, @xxeiraxx​

[freesia-writes]

Chapter 14: Incitation

During the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch is tasked with a variety of missions across the galaxy. An unexpected addition to their team throws a wrench in the mix, particularly for Tech, who finds a particular connection with this disillusioned Padawan-turned-mechanic named Vel throughout the events in this action-adventure romance.

COVER ART BY @zaana!! And this was my first fanfic ever, y'all! :D

Master List of Chapters

Author's Note: Another scene I noticed has similarities to TBB Season 2!! LOL. This was before the ipsium cave episode too, so the waterfall and goggle-adjusting was another happy coincidence, believe it or not. LOL

Days faded into weeks and weeks faded into months as Vel grew increasingly fonder of the Marauder crew. The next mission ended up being one of those "adaptation situations" that Hunter seemed to use as a rather all-encompassing phrase, and she found herself sprinting along the edge of a cliff behind Tech. He was simultaneously running and sending coordinates to the rest of the team, who had been split up and tasked with retrieving the ship for a quick pickup. 

They heard branches cracking behind them; they were still being pursued. Vel glanced over her shoulder, missing the fact that Tech had skidded to a halt in front of her, and she ran straight into him. They both tumbled to the ground, his datapad flying off the cliff into the water below. He scrabbled to grab hold of something as he continued to slip downward.

Vel, who had landed on her backside, felt time grind to a halt as he disappeared over the edge of the cliff. "Tech!" she screamed, scrambling to her hands and knees and crawling to where the ground gave way to nothing. She peered down, letting out an audible "Oh!" of relief as she saw him clinging to a thick tree root for dear life. She looked around frantically, searching for a vine or branch or anything she could throw to him.

"It's too slippery!" Tech yelled, fighting to regain his grip, and Vel felt her panic build to a crescendo, then pause. She had an idea. She returned to the edge, forcing herself to focus, fighting with all her might to center herself on the Force within. 

She could feel her heart beating, feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She stretched a hand toward him, willing with all her might that she might connect. She gasped as she felt an awareness of him and focused on pulling it upward with every fiber of her being. He suddenly found it easier to grasp the root, nearly getting an elbow over the top, and then...

He fell.

A long way down. And he landed with a loud splash into the water below. 

"No!" Vel shrieked, and without thinking, jumped off the precipice after him. 

They resurfaced after what felt like an eternity, coughing and spluttering in a sparkling pool below. The entire cliffside, now rising high into the air above them, was made up of a roaring waterfall that created shimmering rainbows of mist that disappeared as quickly as they appeared. They made the relatively short swim to shore, dragging themselves up onto the sand and coughing explosively.

Tech flung his helmet off next to him and tilted his goggles up at the bottom to let some water out before collapsing onto his stomach, chest heaving. Vel was experiencing a similar recovery nearby, although once she had regained her breath, it was gone again as she let out a frustrated yell from the core of her being. She punched the sand, angrily flipping her sopping wet hair out of her face and curling onto her side, dissolving into hefty sobs. 

Taking a moment to assess the situation, Tech pushed himself up to his hands and knees, crawling to her side and sitting on the sand. He was unsure of how to best approach this, not having a positive reason for her current emotional state. He reached out a tentative hand, touching her shoulder gently, bracing himself for an angry outburst or indignant rejection. 

But Vel rolled over, sitting up suddenly and melting into his chest. Tech lifted a leg to brace himself, putting an arm around her shoulders to hold her steady, and simply waited as she cried, considering possible responses. There weren't any opportunities to test them out, however, as Vel launched into mourning. She confessed a lifelong sense of failure, of unworthiness, of never being enough to be worth keeping around. She lamented her lack of specialness, her constant shortcoming, her futile pursuit of purpose, and Tech listened to it all, formulating counterpoints but reserving them for a better time. 

She exhausted herself of all the feelings and beliefs that had been rankling within for ages, then she fell silent, the crashing waterfall and her own shaky breaths the only sounds remaining. "I just want to be enough," she finished, after a quiet moment. 

"What if you are sufficient simply by being who you are?" Tech asked plainly, honey eyes observing her through thick glass. "I am not sure that being particularly unusual is always desirable. In fact, it has been my experience that quite the opposite is often true."

Vel sat up and steadied herself with a deep breath, eyes downcast. "I guess that's my best bet," she replied dejectedly.

Feeling uncharacteristically bold in his need to be understood and propelled by the previous positive experience of physical touch, Tech lifted a hand to her face, raising her chin with two gentle fingers to make eye contact to emphasize his words. Her eyes met his, intense and oversized in his adjusted goggles, and she found herself holding her breath unconsciously as she was enraptured by his earnestness. 

"I would posit instead that your 'best bet' is to fully realize your complete and total sufficiency. You are a fantastic mechanic, a quick learner, and a curious observer of life." Vel's mind was racing at his words, but his honey brown eyes enraptured her completely as he continued. "I do not find you to be lacking in any way," he stated matter-of-factly, desiring to convey a simple truth. He was entirely unaware of the tumultuous storm it was causing within her.

Overcome with affirmation of a deep longing that had been undermining her life for years, Vel let out a breath held far too long. Her hands reached up to either side of Tech's face, cupping his cheeks and leaning in. Her heart was pounding as waves of euphoria cascaded over her at his scent, his presence, just... him. His lips parted and he sucked in a short breath, questions and statements brimming yet, for once, inexplicably held at bay. Swimming with inexpressible gratitude and undeniable affection for him, she brought her lips to his in a tender kiss.

He stiffened for a moment, calculations and questions fighting for priority in his mind, but the novel sense of both delight and contentment kept him from pulling away to further analyze the situation. Vel pulled his face closer, gently yet with just enough strength to convey the deep sense of gratitude and need. His lips were so soft, his sharp features pressed against her own, and she felt herself melt in a way that she knew to be irreparable. Tech found himself still unable to move, simultaneously confused and relaxed, intrigued and alarmed. But as quickly as it began, it was over. Vel pulled back, hand moving toward her mouth as if in slow motion, as if her brain had just caught up with her body.

"I'm so sorry," she spluttered. "I just... that was... I didn't mean..." She dropped her hands to the ground, scooting away from him and turning her face away. "I'm sorry, Tech," she repeated. His eyes fell, darting back and forth in an attempt to wrangle a coherent thought before he raised his head to return his gaze to her.

"An apology is... unnecessary," he replied, adjusting his goggles with a hand that, she noted, had a bit of a tremor to it. "We have narrowly escaped a harrowing fate and it is completely natural to act in illogical ways following such an event."

"That's not it," Vel muttered, rising to her feet. She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and rubbing them with a single hand. How could she even begin to put words to it all?

"Then what precisely—" Tech began, but was interrupted by a voice from his wrist.

"Tech, come in", Hunter demanded, sounding strained, "We made it back to the ship. Where are you?"

"We took a slight unintentional detour," Tech replied, tapping quickly onto his wrist keypad, "But we are alright. Sending our coordinates now. There is a grassy knoll that should be sufficient for landing."

"Copy that," Hunter said. "Be right there."

Vel was pacing restlessly, then stopped to face the waterfall. She felt the incredible weight of the moment, wanting to determine the perfect words or actions before the team arrived on the Marauder. Coming up empty, she shook her head, as if resolving to shake the entire ordeal off, and picked up Tech's helmet. Returning to where he stood, still manipulating his wrist pad, she held it closely in front of her. "I'm sorry, again. And... I would appreciate it if you didn't share this with the others," she said slowly, hating the feeling of vulnerability. 

Tech stopped typing and observed her. His gaze felt heavy, laced with a million attempts to understand and connect. But his words were simple, "I would agree that discretion is the best course of action, all things considered."

Vel nodded, extending his helmet out to him. He took it gently, fitting it over his head in a swift movement of muscle memory. She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a need to say more, to explain somehow or find some kind of resolution. As she was searching for the right words, however, Tech spoke again. "However, I do find it difficult to reconcile the way you can be so proficient in nearly every mechanical wonder and full of appreciation for the way each part contributes to another, and yet you do not see your unique part in the world and the way you contribute to it."

As he finished, the steady hum of the ship grew closer, and the breeze began to grow as the large shape loomed above them. Vel stared at him wordlessly, and he met her gaze evenly. The landing gear met the grass with a less-than-graceful thud, and the stairs folded out to welcome them.

Tech turned and trotted toward the ship, as though he had simply imparted some universal wisdom, and Vel stared after him for a moment before following slowly behind.

———————————

Ayyyy we’ve got fanart for this chapter, courtesy of the illustrious @acruelerdonut!! 💕

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