#❪ verse : on my command. ❫

[spiderbitesandvampirevenom]

[jigsaw voice] hello non-transfem lesbian hornyposter. before you is a computer logged into tumblr dot com. your task is to write a hornypost about a transfem lesbian without making her an aggressive dom-top or a sexual predator. should you fail in this task, the computer will explode into a pile of hammers, killing you instantly. you have 30 minutes.

[mango-mya]

Love it when a man is absolutely pathetic but can also kill me if they wanted to

[pencildragons]

snippet from my upcoming foxquin fic sinner, sinner (come to dinner) for foxquinweek !!!!!

“Commander Fox,” says the Chancellor, smiling his kindly smile. Fox stands very still and stares straight ahead, past Palpatine and through the great transparisteel window at the city below, skyline exploding in the brilliance of the sun’s final dying rays. The fanciful part of him that will one day be responsible for his death imagines that, if he’s just still enough, Palpatine will forget him entirely. It’s ridiculous, he knows, he knows, of course he knows, but he clings to it anyway, endeavours to move as little as possible, turns trying to hide even the slight rise and fall of his chest into some sort of test of how good his impression of being a block of stone is. “Sir,” says Fox. “Commander Fox,” Palpatine says again, still smiling that awful fucking smile, but sadder, now, mournful, bushy eyebrows doing something terrible and expressive. “You have disappointed me.” “Yes, sir.” “I gave you a very simple directive, Commander, and still you failed.” Fox is barely breathing now. Only a few klicks away, the spire of the Jedi Temple burns in a halo of pink-red, spearing through the cloud-strewn sky. It looks like one of the paintings hung in the Senate rotunda corridors, the ones that like as not cost more to procure than he did. His throat is dry. He tries to swallow. It sticks. It is likely he is dehydrated. There is a little light flashing on top of the spire, warning away in-atmo transports and low-flying starships. Orange-blue-green. Orange-blue-green. He stares at it, so he doesn’t have to look at Palpatine. “Yes, sir.” “Such inadequacy is, of course, unacceptable, Commander, as I’m sure you’re aware. I really had hoped it would not come to this, you understand.” Liar, Fox thinks. You love this. “But there is only one way to learn, and that is through experiencing consequences of your actions. Perhaps next time you will not take your sworn duty so lightly, hmm?” “Yes, sir.” “Draw your blaster, please, Commander.” Fox blinks and, in his surprise, breaks his stillness to turn his head to face Palpatine properly. “…Sir?” “Must I repeat myself twice? Draw your blaster from your holster.” Slowly, Fox draws. He wonders if this is some sort of test, if he’s going to be punished further for making his weapon naked in front of the Supreme Chancellor of the entire fucking Republic. (In the light of the dusk spilling through the window into the opulent office, Palpatine’s eyes seem almost gold. It is for but a brief moment, just the rays of the fat sun catching oddly, and then they return to that sharp, ice-chip grey like nothing at all happened.) “Good,” says Palpatine, and smiles again. Like this, he looks like some natborn’s father’s father—grandfather, he believes the term is—all benevolent wrinkles and knowing looks. “Set it to kill.” Fox sets it to kill. It is not a difficult thing. He is just as much a weapon as the blaster in his hands, well-oiled, clean, smooth. Efficient. He was designed for this. It is easier to follow orders mindlessly; his brain, like all their brains (except, perhaps, Kote’s, but Kote’s a little fucked up and is an outlier for everything else, anyway), is primed for command, made to obey. A perfect, thoughtless gun, with just enough ruthlessness and self-determination to set them apart from the CIS’ droids. That’s the idea, anyway. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Kaminoans failed in the execution of something. “Turn around, Commander,” Palpatine murmurs, words soft and smooth and rich as the heavy velvet-fabric from his home planet that he has all his clothes cut from. “And fire at will.”

rbs deeply appreciated :]

[loch-genesis]

another day of wishing there was locked tomb visual media so i could make a Commander Wake/Kiriona Gaia/Gideon Nav edit to Clara Bow

[tup-ika-5385]

Knockout Ch. 22:

Chapter Summary:

Time is running out while Fives, Tup, Dogma, Rex, Fox, and the others report to the jedi about the inhibitor chips and try to find a solution to help their vode.

Chapter 22: Shatter

Trailing after General Windu in the early morning light, Tup, Fives, Hardcase, and the others wandered further into the Jedi Temple’s quiet hallways— a sharp contrast from Coruscant’s constant noise. 

The meditation room was unremarkable, at least compared to the high vaulted ceilings, thousand-year old mosaics, and other monuments to an earlier age that still had Tup’s head spinning. But when General Windu paused in front of the door, opening it with a wave of his hand and moving to select a well-worn mug from a low table nearby and fill it with caf, Tup knew this was where they’d give their report to the Jedi— once General Windu was awake enough to hear it, at least. 

“I thought the debriefing room for the Jedi Shadows would be more… y’know, shadowy.” Tup commented, walking alongside Fives and Hardcase as they stepped into the unmarked meditation room. 

“See, that’s just what someone would say if they were trying to infiltrate the Jedi Shadows!” Fives responded, nodding sagely. “But— if they hide the Jedi Shadows in plain sight, say in a brightly-lit meditation room— nobody would expect it!” Fives rubbed his chin in thought, looking vaguely reminiscent of General Kenobi.

“Ohh…That’s pretty smart! I never would’ve thought of that” Tup exclaimed, nodding in thanks at Fives’ explanation before looking around at the new space.

“Exactly!” Hardcase grinned, having listened to Fives’ and Tup’s commentary. Elbowing Fives as he entered the room, Hardcase chuckled. “Told ya Jedi were mind-readers, vod!”

General Windu was the one to respond, now fully-caffeinated and ready to hear their report. “One doesn’t need to be a mind-reader to engage in subterfuge, troopers. Only predict others’ expectations and respond accordingly.” He offered a mug to Commander Fox as well, who accepted it with practiced ease— almost like they’d done this before. Which, they probably had, now that Tup was thinking about it.

Taking a seat at one of the circular platforms, General Windu left the others to awkwardly shuffle in around him, unsure if they were allowed to sit down for a formal briefing. After all, only Rex– and Fox, apparently– had ever entered the Jedi temple before, and none of them were well-versed in natborn customs.

Commander Fox answered that question by taking a seat on the platform adjacent to General Windu’s. This was followed by an order from General Windu to “stand easy.” The command was a notch down from even the “at ease” that General Skywalker tended to use when he wanted them to relax, so the small group hesitantly took a seat on the various meditation platforms in the room before turning to face General Windu.

Dogma had gone with the injured troopers, still a little jumpy around unfamiliar lightsabers and feeling responsible for them as the squad’s remaining medic, but Tup wished for a moment that his batchmate was here with them. After all, it was Dogma who first noticed that he was feeling off, when everything first started; Dogma who had scanned for the chip, making sure he stayed in one piece even when everything else was falling apart.

But as they continued their briefing, Tup found himself grateful that Dogma had chosen to step out for this one. General Windu was a good General– all his battle plans were well-thought out, and he had lower casualty counts than most Jedi Generals, but his unerringly sharp gaze couldn’t help but send a chill down Tup’s spine— like he was standing next to a shield generator, close enough to make his hair stand on end. General Skywalker tried to hide it most of the time, but some Jedi just exuded power in a way that Tup couldn’t explain, and General Windu was definitely one of them.

He seemed to be better at keeping an even temper, at least, but Tup could swear that he saw the General’s eyebrow twitch when they told him about the Kaminoan’s betrayal, and a nod of sympathy when Hardcase struggled through the explanation of Kix’s loss. But the General stayed quiet throughout, listening to their debriefing patiently with the occasional question, but he held his peace even when it wasn’t quite as formal as it should have been. 

Finally, when they had finished, General Windu spoke. “So, you’re saying that every clone has an inhibitor chip implanted in their heads by the Kaminoans, who have apparently been working with the Separatists since the start of the war— and that the activation of these chips could systematically dismantle the entire republic from the inside.”

“Yes, sir.” Fives responded gravely, and Tup swallowed thickly. When it was all laid out like that, they could see just how bad it was. 

“What methods have you used to deactivate the chips?” General Windu asked. “You said surgery was an effective means of removing them?”

Fives was the one to respond this time. “Yessir. Tup’s was removed once it started going haywire, and Commander Wolffe reported no negative side-effects after his own surgery. He’s the only one who had it activated before being removed, but we’ve all had ours removed as well, minus Captain Rex. Although…” Fives trailed off, lost in thought. 

“What is it, trooper?”

“Dogma received an order without his chip activating.” Tup interjected, remembering what the 104th’s CMO had said when he’d removed their chips. “Apparently his was missing some key components.” He explained while Hardcase nodded in agreement, earning a look of intrigue from General Windu.  

“Dogma has the remaining chips in his medkit for analysis in medical. We should check back with him, and see how the other troopers are doing.” Rex spoke up finally, anxious to return to his injured troopers.

General Windu nodded, also wanting to get a better look at these inhibitor chips. “I’ll lead the way.”

________________________________________________

Jesse was difficult to watch.

He’d woken up only a little before they’d joined Dogma in medbay, and when he wasn’t struggling against his restraints, the ARC eyes were searching every corner of the isolation ward he’d been placed in. If not for the Jedi healers’ ability to sense warnings in the force, Jesse likely would’ve already escaped, and through the one-way glass, Tup could see where the ARC’s skin blanched as he pressed against the padded restraints. 

“Why isn’t he sedated already?” Captain Rex asked, and Tup had to agree. Keeping Jesse awake and restrained sounded cruel. 

A Jedi Healer had already been in the room with Dogma when they had joined him, a Mon Calamari with a calm demeanor. According to her name tag, she specialized in neurology, and Tup couldn’t help but feel at-ease when she nodded at them in greeting.

“We attempted sedation, but he refused. Unless a patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to provide consent, we must respect their decisions.” Jedi Healer Bant replied, sounding apologetic but firm, and Tup’s estimation of the other Jedi went up in his mind. 

Consent was a new concept to the clones, even though their Jedi Generals tried to encourage it. Even some medics occasionally forgot at-times, having internalized the Kaminoan’s training and insistence on seeing them as products instead of people. And in the heat of battle, it was hard to ask for consent over the ringing of blasterfire. But…

“...Is he able to provide consent?” Tup wondered aloud, saying what they all were thinking. Jesse was definitely acting differently than he usually would.

“Have you been briefed on this trooper’s situation?” General Windu interjected, to which Healer Bant nodded. “We have been trying to determine the extent of Lieutenant Jesse’s cognitive changes, and I admit that I’ve been having trouble. His force signature is dimmed compared to most, but it’s difficult to pinpoint just how much of his autonomy is impacted, especially because I’ve never met him before today.”

At that, General Windu’s gaze lightened and he offered, “Perhaps I could be of some assistance.”

“Sir?” Captain Rex questioned, and Tup wasn’t an expert, but most medics required training, and he assumed that Jedi medics were the same. How could General Windu help when Healer Bant couldn’t?

Sensing their confusion, Healer Bant explained. “Master Windu has the ability to see shatterpoints in the force in order to better direct his focus and dueling skills. Yes, that would be most welcome.” She responded, turning to General Windu with the last part. 

They waited on pins and needles as the General closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing as he focused on Jesse. 

“It’s strange,” General Windu commented after a long moment. “I can sense the usual shatterpoints I would find in a humanoid life form– the heart, the brain– but there’s almost a sense of double-vision with a shatterpoint right here.” He motioned to his own right temple, earning a look of shock from the surrounding troopers.

“And us?” Dogma interrupted, pushing aside his trepidation at addressing a Jedi General directly, but he had to know.

Windu closed his eyes again for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t sense it.”

“Not at all, sir? Rex still has his in.” Fives interjected, and General Windu shook his head again.

“Your minds are loud– chaotic and clouded, much like any other strong-willed individual, regardless of force sensitivity. Jesse’s mind is… quiet. Sensing the disturbance in him is… easier. Perhaps in sleep, I could sense the difference.”

“General Vos could do it.” Commander Fox said, sounding smug as he crossed his arms, and General Windu looked almost amused at the comment before moving on.

 “What of the remaining inhibitor chips?” The General asked, turning back to Dogma who flinched instinctively at being addressed before motioning towards a nearby tray table.

“Here, sir.”

Another moment was spent analyzing the chips before General Windu pointed at two in particular. “This was yours?” He asked Tup, who nodded after glancing at his own chip, concealing a shudder. He still couldn’t believe that had been rotting away inside his head.

“And this one?” General Windu asked, pointing to another that looked indistinguishable from the others to the naked eye, but Dogma nodded in affirmation. “Mine, sir.”

“Trooper Tup’s inhibitor chip and yours were both lacking the shatterpoint in all the others, one because it already went off, and one because it lacked one in the first place.”

With General Windu focusing again on the remaining chips, the troopers went quiet as the room’s pressure increased, and then with an almost audible pop, it dissipated at the same time that Windu’s hand twitched, skin turning more ashen than before.

Healer Bant, who had been looking at the readout for the inhibitor chips, turned sharply to look at General Windu. “What did you do?”

Windu raised his hands placatingly, color already returning, although he still looked like he could use another strong cup of kaff. “I attempted to disentangle the shatterpoint inside one of the chips.” 

“You’re only a week recovered from that last bout of force-exhaustion, Master Windu.” She responded reproachfully.

“And I did not break any restrictions, seeing as they were removed three days ago.” He responded placatingly, earning an unamused look from the healer before she returned to her datapad once she was sure that he wouldn’t keel over in a dead faint. 

“Well, whatever you did, this one is no longer conducting an electrical signal.” She commented, pointing to one of the chips on her readout, and all the clones rushed forward to look.

General Windu looked almost pleased at that, nodding in satisfaction.

“What exactly are you targeting when you do your force shattering?” Fives spoke up, curious as the General turned to the next inhibitor chip, focus renewed.

Eyes still closed, Windu responded. “I am finding the weak points in a system’s makeup. But in this case, I have to be careful to focus on the inorganic components of the chips. All life forms have midichlorians, which can also be a marker of force-sensitivity, but in this case, I’m using them to determine what’s living and what’s not.”

“Are you able to replicate it inside a trooper?” This time, it was Rex who spoke up.

General Windu paused, thinking it over for a moment. “Not while they’re awake… but sleeping, it would be possible, although not at the scale required.”

“But what you’re doing is just separating the organic from the inorganic, right?” Fives started pacing, now deep in thought. “We just need to find something that can attack the chip part of the inhibitor chips without damaging the organic parts.”

Hardcase spoke up, having let the others take the lead until now. “Easier said than done, vod. Scans show that the inorganic components of the chips are all silicon, which can resist pretty high temperatures, so we can’t fry it without frying the surrounding brain tissue. Unless you know of a way to break down a datachip without injuring the rest of the brain, we’re stuck with surgically removing every last chip in the GAR.”

“Actually…” General Windu intervened, looking thoughtful. “On my home planet, Haruun Kal, there is a fungus that metabolizes most silicate products, including most technology. I’m not sure of its long-term effects, but…”

“But it might be worth a shot!” Fives finished, and for the moment, they felt a little more hopeful– at least until Jesse chose that moment to rattle his restraints against the bed rails, letting out a noise of pure rage that sent a shiver up Dogma’s spine.

“You’re all traitors!!!” He roared before slumping against the bed once more.

The room was silent for a long moment after that.

“How’s that comm’s blackout, Fox?” Rex asked, changing the subject after he’d managed to pry his eyes away from his trooper on the other side of the glass. If they were going to help Jesse, they needed time, and it was growing shorter the longer they waited.

“Still running strong for another couple hours.” Fox sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion. “We’ll need to figure out what we’re planning on reporting back. If we make the Chancellor wait much longer, heads are going to roll.” 

“What are we going to tell them? We can’t turn Rex in!” Hardcase protested, refusing to lose another brother in this mission, still reeling from Jesse’s outburst.

General Windu spoke up, a sardonic note in his tone. “Captain Rex has been in the Jedi Temple’s Halls of Healing for the past cycle. A patrol found his speeder crashed near the premises, likely a hit-and-run, but he wasn’t wearing his armor, so the Halls were unable to identify him until he woke up approximately an hour ago.”

Tup’s eyes widened as the General continued, and by the end of his explanation, he could almost swear that the General was smiling. “That could work!” 

Commander Fox looked similarly relieved, smirking as he followed General Windu’s suggestion to its logical conclusion. “At any given time, there’s approximately 10,000 troopers on Coruscant’s surface, so it’s nearly impossible to identify a single trooper by looks alone. A common mistake for natborns.”

Commander Fox made a considering noise as he continued to brainstorm. “We’d need to be able to corroborate the story, and Rex doesn’t exactly look fresh out of a speeder crash, but that can be fixed.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Rex sighed, resigned to his fate.

Fives, on the other hand, almost looked excited. “General, any chance we could see a more practical application of that shatterpoint ability of yours? We don’t wanna hurt Rex– just, rough him up a little.” 

General Windu looked almost amused at the comment before turning back to Captain Rex, looking just a little too smug to come off as sympathetic. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

_____________________________________________

AO3 Link TBD (once it comes back online, oof):

[mythical-illustrator]

Let's actually meet my Oc, I’ve talked about her in a few asks but mostly she’s been in discord 🫠 but I finally feel comfortable sharing her in her entirety with y'all.

So here we go on this fine OC Sunday

Meet Helena Hemlock.

Helena is my spider verse/ Star Wars crossover OC

She lives and works and protects Coursant.

Helena is an engineering assistant and a welder. She works for the Galactic military and mostly works on ships but recently got a job as a scientist/engineering assistant.

Though her boss seems to be coming undone at the seams.

She use to do underground street boxing for money. Hasn't seen or cared to see since her mom died and Dad dropped her off on her uncle's door step and left. He's much closer than she knows.

Lives with her Aunt who runs a weapons shop/gun range. She got bitten at 15 and her uncle died after a failed robbery.

A blurb from her introduction Spider Verse style:

Alright, lets do this. My name is helena Hemlock, and for the last 10 years I have been coursants one and only spider-woman, the only spider-woman in the galaxy actually to my knowledge.

I won't bore you with my sad life- to sum up Mom died, Dad left, went to live with my aunt, got bit by a freaky spider, gained superpowers, got into a lot of fights, lost my uncle...and well then I became an Ubran legend.

The one and only Krykna

Under the cut is more of her story and some WIP art I’ve got done for her.

Her story will have Star Wars villains taking the place of normal spider man villains

Doctor Ock- a Quarren scientist working for the Galactic military

Dr. Hemlock, taking on the role of Norman Osborn.

Palpatine as himself

The Couri guards as themselves

The ship for the story is Helena and Fox . She’ll be working pretty clone with the Coursant guards. Thorn is having a blast, Fox not so much. Really he just hates getting rescued by a vigilante

Thank you @sinfulsalutations for being civilian #2 to be rescued 😊

One day I might actually write her story and post it but for now -her story is getting told in art form so ...have some art

Art master list

Tag list

@anxiouspineapple99 @clonemedickix @sev-on-kamino @dangraccoon @523rdrebel @secondaryrealm @multi-fan-dom-madness @wizardofrozz @starrylothcat @dickarchivist @dystopicjumpsuit

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

*points* you've been talking a lot about ruju lately so let's do fear, guilt, hunt, and secret for him (for that ask meme) >:)

oc asks: not-so-nice edition

Ty so much for giving me an excuse to talk about The Rat™ even if this is very, VERY late... And long. Whoops. This is going under a cut, I think all of your dashes will thank me for that later.

I'll stick to just his Commander verse for this batch!

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

At his core, what Ruju fears most is feeling helpless.

There aren't a lot of times in the present that he's truly cornered, but in his youth it was a lot more obvious; he learned early on just how cruel his peers could be, and how eager they were to circle even the smallest hint of blood in the water. So he stopped showing the world he was scared. He buried it all deep, deep down and put on the air of confidence and aggression worn by so many Inquest because, well, nobody dares to mess with THEM, right? Better to blend in with the sharks than wind up as chum for the real deal.

But helplessness is more complicated than just being cornered in a fight. He's afraid of so much more than that; that his choices won't matter, that everything he's done will be for nothing, that forces he can't control will steamroll it all no matter what he does, that he just plain isn't enough for the role he's trying to fill. That fear only grew more and more as each dragon fell, the next picking up more and more new powers from each one he's taken down. What if he's just making it worse? What if that monstrous version of himself from the Infinity Ball was right-- what if the future really is unavoidable?

What if the one obstacle he'll never be able to surpass is himself?

Ruju doesn't let anyone see the deeper layers of his motivation, though. He pushes harder, fights fiercer, burns brighter. He won't let anyone see him falter. At its worst, it creates a vicious cycle of intense impulsiveness and aggressive independence, rushing past everyone else to reduce the number of variables and just deal with it. His solutions are direct and violent; as long as it works, he doesn't really care what the consequences are. And more importantly, it gives an outlet to his burning need to do something.

It takes a long time and a lot of work for Ruju to start trusting and leaning on others more instead. Even then, though, his most natural instinct is still to bristle like a cornered animal-- and if you jam your hand where it shouldn't be, he might not pause long enough to consider whether you're a friend or a foe. Watch your fingers, he bites.

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

While there's lots of little things-- rude remarks, losing his temper, impulsive choices, and so on-- those he usually apologizes for shortly after. He hates leaving things to fester. Ruju knows himself well enough to recognize that if he doesn't deal with it right then, he'll default to option 2 which isn't particularly great for anybody.

By far Ruju's heaviest guilt is the knowledge he bears of the future, and what he might become for reasons not even he understands. The only person who knows prior to EoD is Zojja-- and he had no more contact with her than anybody else by that point. While he wants to believe that he's fighting to make the world better, there's always a part of him that's afraid the 'Sovereign' was right and the path he's following is going to doom the entirety of Tyria. Ruju hopes that he's making better choices this time, but how can he know for sure?

What if he's just leading all these people right to their doom?

But he handles that just about as well as he handles his guilt about being a notorious college bully: avoidance. He just tries not to think about it, focusing on the future and keeping himself busy and hoping it never comes up again. It doesn't work particularly well, though, once the void finally shows itself-- and at that point he cracks.

Ruju has something that his other, doomed version didn't, though.

When he falters, he has people who care enough to catch him.

And once everything is out in the open, he does confront it; it's a complicated conversation (and one not even Taimi dares to make more than a single jab about) but it does lead to Ruju becoming much more honest moving forward. After all it's not like he can get any worse than THAT, right? 'Possibly causing the apocalypse' is a bit hard to beat.

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

The shadow looming over Ruju's shoulder has always been his own-- his past and his future. He never really felt its weight until the Infinity Ball showed him one of his potential futures in all its grisly, self-destructive glory, but knowing what he does now? Ruju is keenly aware of his own impulsiveness and is in a constant fight to choose a better path; in more ways than one he really is his own worst enemy.

And if not that, there's his unstable magic to worry about, too. His fiery disposition isn't just in personality; Ruju's power is destructive, and at times it can be a genuine challenge to keep it in check.

But as time progressed and he gained meaningful bonds of trust, learning to lean on his friends and allies... He's gradually come to realize that the best way to keep himself in check is to rely on people who can catch him when he stumbles. Ruju has found exactly the support network that his doomed timeline never had-- and together they ensure that the future he witnessed will never come to pass.

The Doomed Sovereign was wrong; there may be no delaying the future, but that doesn't mean you can't choose how it goes.

By the time the Dragon Cycle ends, he finally knows they've won.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

There's actually a reason Ruju's magic is so potent and unstable.

His parents worked at the Crucible of Eternity, with his mother being a high-ranking researcher working directly under Kudu. As a refresher crash course: Kudu's whole deal was controlling and weaponizing dragon corruption, with him even applying Branded corruption to HIMSELF so that he could control powerful dragon minions.

His mother wanted to be home more, but her position also required long hours-- so she took to bringing some research materials to her home lab, continuing her studies right under their roof. While she was out, Ruju got into her lab and tried to 'assist' with her research; after all, if all her work was done then she'd have more time to spend with her family, right? But, well, he didn't exactly know what any of this stuff was, or just how dangerous it could be.

The ensuing lab accident destroyed basically all the records they had so far, along with making him deathly ill from exposure to multiple heavily altered strains of dragon corruption. They didn't expect him to survive, let alone make a full recovery seemingly unscathed.

But when he did recover, while Ruju didn't show any obviously visible signs of dragon corruption... He did develop some extremely unusual qualities that they couldn't quite explain. A lot of the top secret research that the asura kept under wraps about dragon minions? They confirmed it from secretly studying him. The biggest breakthroughs were confirmations of dragon minions absorbing magic-- something they directly observed from him accidentally draining nearby power sources and reacting to ambient magic-- and being able to stabilize strains enough for Kudu to weaponize.

Ruju never knew about this until he got into the records at the Crucible of Eternity, though. Zojja saw it too, but they never really talked about it; after all, what was there to say?

And after seeing how the world felt about the sylvari... He decided that there was no way he could EVER tell anyone what he was.

If they couldn't even handle the comparatively stable liberated minions of a dragon, they definitely wouldn't be able to handle a medically inexplicable volatile freak like him. Most running theories in the present are that it has to do with being the Champion of Aurene, and he's certainly not about to tell them otherwise.

[unitleada]

So that's why you stopped coming home. The words rung in her ears long after she'd slammed her phone onto the table and sat down, head in her hands. 'Does Moira know Kate? No, it's alright. I'll tell her. One of us is just a wee bit more trustworthy when it comes to these things.' She should've seen it coming. She should've prepared for it. Stupidly idiotic not to have. Who'd been the one to break the news she wondered. Because apparently, they'd seen fit to put their own spin on it. There were a half a dozen names she could think of who would have loved to cause this, each a more crass, gossip mongering little... The knock at the door jolted her to her senses, hurriedly dropping her hands away. The door opened. Her heart sank as she saw him standing there. She had to tell him. No way around it. Hullo darling. I know you prefer the quiet life but I've caused a bit of a mess... nasty rumours and the like. ❝ She knows. ❞ Kate swallowed thickly, realising she'd said too much and not enough in the same breath. A small, bitter smile, gesturing for him to sit. God please do sit down. ❝ Sorry, I'm not making any sense. ... it's. it's Siobhan. She knows. About us. Well, not exactly. There's more... ❞

@strtravels

[unitlead]

❝ FOR GOD'S SAKE HOWARD!? ❞ The sharp reprimand slipped out of it's own accord, heart thudding in her chest, so fast she was sure it was going to bloody jump out of her throat. As if the situation wasn't tense enough already, there was UNIT's technical specialist and deputy quartermaster, popping out from underneath one of the panels in the floor?!  

Beside her, Kate could hear their new Australian recruit let out a scream and shout something about a galah on fire? .... she had no idea what that meant, except that Tegan was not impressed. That, she did understand. ❝ I suppose evacuating with the rest of the civilian staff wasn't high on your priorities today? ❞

@earthdcfended

[justana0kguy]

2024 MAY 02 Thursday

"As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete."

~ John 15:9-11

[mango-mya]

Noooo I don't have a type what do you meaan

[frostbitebakery]

IGMHC: Outtakes

THE THREE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERVENTION

“Hey, Ponds,” Fox says slowly, woodenly. “You got a moment?”

His oldest batch brother looks at him for a second before turning away from the comm and out of sight. “Mace, I’ll be right back.”

The mic doesn’t pick up the answer but a couple minutes of rustling later Ponds is somewhere else and alone.

“Lay it on me before my anxiety meds don’t work anymore,” Ponds says.

“You’ll need context but Cody is fucking a Sith,” Fox rushes out. “He’s not evil or a traitor,” he hurries to add as Ponds’ eyes grow wide with disbelief.

“Cody?” he asks incredulously, and Fox can only flap his hands. “Our middle tubie? Who pretends to love memorizing regulations and SOPs but actually really likes it? Spreadsheet Codes?”

Read The Rest On AO3

[glacialswordsman-a]

they had been away from mondstadt for months now , at first it was just to heal , calm their mind , and give their self time to reflect over what had happened . they also wanted to give kaeya space , give him time to calm down and get his thoughts together - because they knew that if they didn't talking would probably get no where . they wanted a chance , a chance to talk and work this out , the last few months had been painful , oddly enough staying away from him had been far more painful than the burn that they had received .

and yet they still find anxiety clouding their mind as they stand in front of his apartment , they want to run but they don't . instead they take a deep breath and reach out to knock against the door before stepping back to wait .

they've gone over what they'll say a thousand times , a thousand different ways . about how they want to talk this out , how they want to fix this - remind kaeya it isn't his fault because they know that he's probably been blaming himself . things that they've written in letters only to end up throwing them away rather than sending them off to mondstadt for him to read .

all of that however is thrown out the window when they finally set their eyes on him again .

their kaeya .

❛❛ starshine ... gods i've missed you . ❜❜ they reach out for a moment , before hesitating -- pulling their arms back towards their self . would he even want them to touch him , to hug him ? this wasn't apart of the plan , to be overwhelmed with emotion . they were suppose to be smart about all of this ...

❛❛ can ... can i hug you ? - i know i should be saying we need to talk , which we do need to talk but ... i just really want to hug you . is that okay ? ❜❜

( i told you. you would be getting an ask )

Cold.

Empty.

Lonely.

These past few months were hollow, save those three distinct feelings, ever since he had lost both his lover and then his brother within the same week.

There had been nary a word from Ajax ever since he had left, save Lumine’s assurances that he was safe in Fontaine. He was relieved to hear that the ginger had retreated to a place where they knew they’d be kept safe and secure, where Lumine would still be able to visit them here and there…yet it also tore Kaeya’s heart apart.

He will always be grateful to Lumine for going between them to check on them, but he knew very well that she was wearing herself ragged. It wasn’t fair to her, nor was it fair to Ajax. This was all Kaeya’s fault, after all, and yet they were the ones paying the price. Diluc, too, was paying the price.

Guilt devoured and swallowed Kaeya whole after all the events transpired, leaving him a man bereft of warmth, familiarity, comfort—of love. That from his brother, and that—or something akin to that—from Ajax. And yet, he made no move to reach for that which he yearned for again.

No, in fact, he kept to himself. Forced himself to put those masks back on, just as he learned to do when Diluc first left Mondstadt after that fateful night. It was a repeat of Kaeya’s mistakes, where he was unable to be honest until the very last second – until the worst possible moment. The only difference is that he wasn’t burned this time, unlike Ajax. Diluc kept his promise to not harm a hair on Kaeya's head again, whereas Kaeya couldn’t even divulge even a sliver of truth until it was too late.

How strange that every time Kaeya loses someone, it storms.

The Cavalry Captain was certain that neither of them wanted to see him again, anyway. Why would they? Ajax never wrote to him, and nor did Diluc (at least not directly). The pain he felt when Adelinde gave him his—once again—estranged brother’s regards was immense, and had left him frigid ever since. The temperature around his immediate self remained low, while his skin felt like that of a corpse.

Absolutely freezing.

The fact that neither of them wrote to him directly told him everything he needed to know: he’s no longer wanted. No longer worthy of their warmth.

There was an obvious pain that lingered in his eye more than ever before, if people were able to catch a glimpse of it. Otherwise, it was as though nothing was different. Or perhaps a better comparison is that it was as though everything was back the way it was since Diluc’s 18th birthday, only a touch worse. His mask of charming aloofness returned tenfold, those disarming smiles much broader, his teeth glinting a little more dangerously past curled lips. He still got his work done, was always exceptional when it came to bartering information from others through will or through force. But there was an edge, every time he tried to pull something out of someone. Every time he turned in his work to Jean.

And along with that edge came debilitating loneliness from the separation of two of the people he held closest to his heart. Whenever he finished his job for the day, he’d immediately return home and isolate himself for the rest of the evening. He never took the chance to leave the city again after the night Adelinde waited for him in his home.

Thus, here he was now, curled within his bed as his room was completely iced over, icicles hanging from his windowsill and ceiling (which he never found it in himself to properly remove), the glass panes frosted, his wooden furniture beginning to crack from the sheer cold. Every night it was like this, and tonight was no different.

Or so he thought.

Hearing the knocks, he blinked his eye open and slowly lifted his head from his fetal position, his gaze glancing towards his bedroom door. The knocking is coming from the entryway. Perhaps it’s Rosaria coming to check on him, or something. Again.

With a slow, heavy sigh through his nose, he was tempted to ignore the knocking outright, yet if it is Rosaria, she’d more than likely harass him after waiting outside too long, and he didn’t want to deal with her potential scolding. Unfurling his body, he sluggishly and reluctantly sat up before standing, the cold following him by leaving icy steps along the path he walked while small snowflakes drifted from his own person.

Rosaria was really the only one Kaeya allowed himself to simply be raw around now, and so when he opened his front door, he didn’t put on a mask and simply had an expression of mild irritation and shame. He hates being looked out after like this, as though he’s a pathetic animal, or as though he's danger to himself. “Rosie, please, wouldn’t this be the third time this week—?”

He paused, as his gaze finally lifted to meet deep, oceanic eyes littered with ripples and stars. His breath left him completely at the sight of Ajax—at the sound of their voice.

‘Starshine…’

What was once on his countenance had been completely wiped away, and instead replaced by shock, incredulity, as well as apprehension.

“… Childe?” he inquired, his voice oh so quiet and fragile. Kaeya’s heart squeezed much too tightly for his liking when the ginger asked to hug him, waiting patiently despite the yearning laced in their tone. Swallowing around the lump in his throat dryly, he’d glance around outside once to make sure there was no one else before motioning for the other to come into his apartment first.

Once inside, he shut the door with a gentle ‘click’, his gaze nervous as it returned towards Ajax. He wants to hug them, terribly so. He wants to feel them, hold them, take in their scent, bury himself into them and never surface again as long as it kept him with them.

But that’s only for people who deserve it. Not Kaeya.

“M—maybe we should go sit down instead. Um. Do you, want anything…? Some tea, or something? O-or a blanket?”

[mandalorianbrainweasel]

If I might request another clone be subjected to Spar, perhaps Commander Fox?

“Uh, commander?”

Fox looks up from the documentation he’s filling out—most of his job is documentation and at this point it’s the part of the job he likes, especially because it looks like he’s about to be dealing with a part he doesn’t like. “Yes, Lieutenant?” he asks, trying hard not to sound too tired or annoyed.

“We found someone…out of bounds. In High General Fett’s office.”

Fox rockets out of his seat. “What?” he asks, panicked. “Apprehended? Did you check for explosives? Was anything taken?”

“Yes, apprehended. We did check for explosives and found nothing. Nothing was in their pockets but some things were out of place. They’re, uh, in an interrogation room right now, but you’re the only one on shift right now with the seniority to ask about that kind of stuff.”

Ugh. He is, isn’t he? 

“Alright,” he says, nodding and reaching for his bucket. “Let’s get this over with.”

Fox is expecting some kind of criminal, someone dressed for stealth or rough like a bounty hunter. He’s expecting some other species, or maybe one of those pale humans who tend to get really angry when a clone bumps into them on the street. And he is, for sure, expecting some kind of poor mood—whether it’s a completely neutral expression with anger and hate hidden behind the eyes or annoyance or anger at getting caught.

Instead, he gets a loudly dressed, dark skinned human-passing person, covered in gold jewellery and brightly dyed cloth, with a genuine, nearly sweet smile on their face.

He’s put off balance and immediately suspicious. “Hello,” he says, because he can at least pretend to be polite. “I’m Commander Fox.”

“Nice to meet you, Commander,” the prisoner says with cheerful amusement. 

Fox frowns under his bucket and laces his fingers together on the table as he sits across from them. “Name?”

The prisoner just smiles.

Fox sighs. “What were you doing in that office?”

Just. Smiles.

“Look,” he says, sighing. “Spies and saboteurs go to jail for a long time.”

“That’s good,” the prisoner says. They sound genuine. 

Fox turns off his vocoder and sighs messily as he leans back in his seat. How are they going to get information out of this person? But then there’s noise from outside and Fox jumps as the door behind him slides open. 

The prisoner’s entire face lights up. “Soo-coy gar or-tat! Did you get everything alright?”

Fox turns around to find a very, very annoyed High General Fett.

“I gave you my key card,” he says, aggravated.

“And the guards at your office are very, very good,” the prisoner says, almost like they’re admiring Fox’s men for taking them in. 

“You could have knocked them out.” What.

The prisoner shrugs. “I didn’t want to cause you any trouble.”

“I had to come down to the CG offices to pick you up.”

“You could have sent someone else. Or just commed. I can get home from here.”

Fett makes a whistling noise that Fox finds he’s intimately familiar with—he makes it at the shinies a lot. “There is a homicidal, immortal bounty hunter that is very protective over the fact he has your bounty right now.”

“Did you get your keycard back from the CG?”

Fett sighs. “Yes. I did. Come on, get up.”

“Uh, sir?” Fox interjects. “We—.”

“You did your job!” the prisoner tells him, and the binders tumble to the table as they get up to pat his shoulder. “So did your men! You simply…didn’t consider that I wasn’t someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.”

Fett looks unimpressed. Fox isn’t sure who with. “Commander Fox. This is my younger sibling, Akaanik’sha. Sometimes he goes to get things for me in my office; usually there are other people in the offices to let them in. I guess the men assigned today weren’t ones who have seen that happen before.”

“I’m not wearing beskar today, so that might affect it,” the younger Fett says, voice dimming as they head out of the room. 

Fox stares after them.

What.

No really, what?

Why the hell is someone who isn’t a contractor and isn’t an officer allowed to handle stuff in High General Fett’s office, related or not? Fox certainly doesn’t let most of his brothers rifle through his office and they’re all part of the GAR!

What the hell just happened?

(I’m accepting clones to subject to Spar for a while.)

[draklorn]

i need to think of a hc to write about so i can rotate devan around in my brain in a productive way

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

decided to use the beta event to make a mockup of Ruju's appearance as an actual Commander and snap some fun screens. there he's an elementalist (tempest) instead of a necromancer (reaper) and went to the College of Dynamics instead of Synergetics.

despite Ruju's arrogant beginnings, the Infinity Ball incident is a major wakeup call for him-- causing the reckless young asura to reflect on what he really wants out of life and what impact he wants to have on the world. Ruju might not be the ideal leader, fierce and headstrong with a fiery temper and frequently unstable magic, but he's determined to help build a better future than the one he saw.

someday he'll deserve the trust they've invested in him, and he's going to keep on working towards that goal until it's true.