#Gnost-Dural is amused

[keldae]

Kiss prompt #9. “War’s End” kiss

She's fine, Theron tried to tell himself as he paced on board the Republic flagship just departing Corellia for Carrick Station. Sure, the Meridian Complex had taken damage during the battle, but it was still mostly intact. Tau and Arn were both being dug out of the debris, but reports indicated they would both recover just fine. And his tough, stubborn little wife had survived more perilous situations than this before, a couple of which Theron himself had been responsible for. It couldn't have been worse than the Umbara incident despite the Empire's best efforts, right? She's fine, he repeated to himself like a mantra. She's fine, she's fine…

The turbolift doors behind him hissed open, and he heard hurried footsteps coming toward him as his favourite voice called out his name. He whirled around to see the very welcome sight of his petite redhead rushing toward him, and barely had time to take a step forward before Xaja had leapt into his arms, making him grunt as he caught her, the momentum spinning them both around. The discomfort of having a hundred pounds of Jedi leaping into his chest was a small price to pay for having her safely with him; the feeling of relief countering his anxiety was a dizzying contrast. 

"Thank the Force you're okay," he finally murmured as he stopped spinning them around, burying his face in the side of her neck, feeling her clinging to his shoulders. He could smell sweat and burned ozone, the odour lingering in her messy hair. But he couldn't smell blood or burned flesh, and Xaja didn't appear to be flinching from his tight hold on her. No significant injuries to report today, it seemed.

"So are you," Xaja whispered as she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes before frowning. She reached up, gingerly touching a scrape along Theron’s temple over his implants, courtesy of some flying debris that he had dodged most of. "You are okay, right? Hells, tell me you're not hurt--" 

"Baby, I'm totally fine. Just some bruises." Theron smiled and nuzzled her nose, then furrowed his brow worriedly. "I'm not the one who just about had the entire blasted shipyard brought down on their head. Are you sure you're not--"

Apparently Xaja had decided there was only one adequate way to both convince Theron that she was fine and assure herself that he wasn't badly hurt. Disregarding the Alliance and Republic soldiers nearby, she cupped his face with slim fingers and pulled him into a hot, fierce kiss. Theron quickly decided he could get used to this method of assurance as he kissed her back, tightening his arms around her, ignoring the whistles and catcalls from their audience. Kriff 'em. His wife was all that mattered right now.

He finally pulled back for air as Xaja rested her forehead against his, eyes only slowly opening. "Convinced that I'm fine yet?" she finally murmured with a smile.

"Mmm… getting there." Theron smirked as he kissed her again. "I'm gonna need to… do a full check later, just to be on the safe side. I'm sure you understand."

Xaja softly laughed, her thumbs tracing over his cheekbones. "I expect nothing less, love," she breathed out. "Of course, I'll need to give you the full once-over too, as a precaution…" Green eyes darted down, then back up. "Maybe the twice-over if you ask nicely," she added with a wink.

Theron grinned and leaned in for another kiss. "Oh, please do. We both know how--"

"I do hate to interrupt," Master Gnost-Dural's voice dryly interjected from only a couple of short metres away, startling Theron into dropping Xaja as she squeaked in surprise, "but the Chancellor has requested a holoconference. She particularly would like to speak to you, Commander Taerich, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Right," Xaja mumbled, her face blushing to the colour of Theron's old jacket as she looked anywhere except at Gnost-Dural. "I'll, uh, be right there." 

"Of course." If Theron hadn't known Gnost-Dural for so long, he would have accused the old Jedi of sounding not a little bit smugly amused. Could Kel Dor smirk under their masks? That sounded suspiciously like the tone of voice that went along with a smirk. "I'll let General Daeruun know you'll be along shortly." Theron watched as the old Jedi stepped back and started walking away, feeling his eyes narrow -- the swish of robes didn’t quite mask the sound of the old man's quiet chuckle. 

The spy shook his head and gently tilted Xaja’s head back up to face him with a finger curled under her chin. “Everyone else seems to have made it out okay,” he assured her. “I’ll check in with your brothers while you’re debriefing -- Sorand should have a status update for Odessen’s forces.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Theron.” Xaja smiled and stretched up on tip-toe to kiss Theron’s cheek. “I’ll let you know when I’m out. Hopefully this won’t be a prolonged chat.”

“Good luck,” Theron winked as he finally stepped back and released her from his hold. “Knowing your luck talking with Republic Chancellors…”

Xaja laughed as she started walking toward the turbolifts. “She can’t be any worse than Saresh,” she called back with a wink, blowing a kiss back to Theron before turning away. He lingered for a moment, watching her walk away (and subconsciously analyzing her stride for a limp), his gaze fond. Being back among Republic forces was good for her -- there was a lightness to her step that hadn't been there since the Zakuulan war, and an open, happy smile as she interacted with other Jedi. Much though he'd enjoyed Odessen's independence, it was comfortable to be openly working with the Republic again.

He wasn't surprised to hear the news, a couple of hours later, that Xaja had accepted the offer for Odessen to join the Republic. Despite Lana's reservations with their new citizenships, he decided it was worth it to see Xaja all but skipping with joy when they met back up in Carrick Station. That was a light to her eyes that he hadn't even seen after Vaylin's defeat or Valkorion's destruction. Nothing quite outdid the feeling of returning home.

[chaoticriderlessb]

Totally headcanoning ("headcanoning"? ...yeah, that works) that our SWTOR characters are like Lana's danger-magnet children, and she'll sometimes rant about us to one of her allies or Master Gnost Dural (who totally finds the whole thing amusing) like the concerned and exhausted mother that she is.

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR: On Companions, Agency and Opinions

I always scratch my head when people say Lana has no personality or agrees with the PC with everything they do. I mean, they're entitled to that opinion. I just don't get it.  Lana complains a lot in KOTFE and KOTET, depending on the choices you make. If you save the sun reactor, she yells at you. If you accept Valkorion's power she has a lot to say about it. If you don't tell her Valkorion is in your mind, there's an entire scene of her telling you off about it. If you don't save the Imperials from the Eternal Fleet ship, she's unhappy. In the traitor arc, if you choose to leave Theron behind she argues with you about it and it's made very clear that she's in extreme disagreement with it.  In Onslaught she's perhaps more neutral, but not really - she pretty actively trolls Arn and Tau for her own amusement, is seen debating Gnost-Dural on his level, and has that whole ongoing thing about Corellian whiskey. Considering the character had like ten lines in the entire expac, they packed a lot in.  In Echoes of Oblivion, she's vocal that she's not happy with the situation. And unlike some of the other companions, most of the time she actually respects and abides by the Commander's decision that she should not come along.  What Lana doesn't have is the agency in the game to leave, actively oppose the PC or hold a permanent grudge. Although, for the latter, I think that may be changing. If you choose to kill Theron, there's a bit of awkwardness between Lana and the PC when Theron's name comes up at the end of another expac.  She's really not the only companion in that position. With only a few exceptions, the companions do not have the agency to leave a PC or openly fight them. There are other companions that you can literally kick across the room and choke and in the next scene they're smiling and happy to see you. In Ossus and Onslaught you can be a complete asshole to some of the new companions and they really don't react in any lasting way, at least as of yet. FWIW I don't think that's really realistic. I think the way they had things in Dragon Age where the companions actually did change their behavior based on how you treated them and your decisions, to the point of leaving if they were angry enough, is actually way better.  And there are some cases where Bioware kind of tests the waters with this: Ashara openly disagrees and debates with the PC in the class story. In her reunion she lets the PC know that she won't be abused by them again if they attack her, and is openly snarky.  Akaavi will tell the PC off to their face in the class story.  Khem Val criticizes the PC numerous times in the Inquisitor's story and has uncomplimentary things to say during the reunion.  Kaliyo all but rolls her eyes at the PC depending on what they say. In KNOTE, if the Imperial Agent says they were in carbonite and were rescued, Kaliyo literally calls them pathetic. She also has a lot to say about the raid on the Spire.  Aric Jorgan openly disagrees with the PC if they don't take his side in the Spire assault assignments.  Elara Dorne breaks up with the male Trooper if he does certain things in KOFTE, and if a Trooper at all goes with the Empire, she wishes them dead to their face.  If a SW kept the collar on Vette in the class story (OMG WHO CAN DO THAT) she tells them off in KOTFE.  Lokin will literally sic rakghouls on you if you piss him off in KOTFE.  In KOTFE, Xalek walks away and refuses to be recruited if you won't duel with him.  Theron criticizes the PC in KOTFE if they kill Kaliyo or Aric, and he also has very strong reactions to a Commander's decisions on Onslaught.  But there are a lot of complaints about some of these instances where companions do express their own opinions or there are consequences for them. In the one instance where Bioware really ran with it, the playerbase wasn't happy.  Ahem, Koth. Koth had no issue telling the PC when they were pissing him off. He didn't back down. He remembered things the PC had done and didn't let them go, whether they were positive or negative. Even his opinion about Valkorion - yeah, it wasn't something we agreed with, was it? He wasn't smiling and nodding with the PC; he was letting the PC know how Valkorion appeared to him, and yeah, it was frustrating but it was realistic, given that he had grown up in a society where people were conditioned their entire lives to accept Valkorion as a benevolent god. 

And so much of the playerbase hated him for it.  Leaving and taking the Gravestone was completely in character for him, IMHO. He left the Zakuulan navy because they were killing civilians, he's not going to let you do it too. I personally feel that planting the bomb on the ship was out of character for him and just made him look bad. I think he would have cared about the rest of his crew's safety, since that is an ongoing theme for him. I don't think he really would have asked the Commander to rally the entire Eternal Alliance fleet around him with the knowledge that the Gravestone might be about to destroy them all.  But the way he called the Commander out, reacted to their decisions and did things that suggested actual consequences? Great stuff.  I actually wish there was more reactivity to how the Commander interacts with the companions. But I also don't think that much of the playerbase would stand for it if they really went there with other characters.

[vespertine-legacy]

undefined

So, I was probably not supposed to have a companion out at all before heading over to the conversation with General Daeruun and Master Gnost-Dural, but I don’t play by the rules, so Cershaa had Elara with her, and I did not realize that Elara is part of that conversation by default, so I briefly had TWO ELARAS and I can’t tell you how excited Cershaa was at that prospect. I’m not sure what green!Elara was supposed to be inspecting, but it amused me greatly that companion!Elara ended up standing right there to be prodded by herself.

[elveny]

Fictober - Day 15

Fandom: SWTOR

Pairing: Female Jedi Knight / Theron Shan

Prompt: “I thought you had forgotten.”

Warnings: implied sexual content

Words: 1076

“You’re kidding,” Jiune giggled, shaking her head at Theron who was sitting opposite of her at the end of the bed. They both had a bunch of pillows propped up behind them, comfortably leaning against the bed. A heavy blanket covered their entangled legs that was covered in bang-corn, giving the air a sweet, caramelly smell.

“No, I’m not, I swear!” Theron protested, preparing to toss another piece of bang-corn. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Jiune nodded, sitting up a bit more in the bed. Her hair was open for once, falling in long, disheveled auburn waves over her naked shoulders, framing her face, two or three single corn pieces clinging to them. There was a warm glow on her skin from the sunlight falling through the window, playing with the freckles on her cheeks. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, clapped her hands together and nodded at him, a challenge in her storm-blue eyes.

“Are you sure?” Theron asked, a teasing glint in his eyes and Jiune shot him a glance that made him chuckle. “Alright, if you say so.” With a flourish he threw the bang-corn piece high up into the air and a second later, she caught it with her mouth with a triumphant squeal and Theron laughed at her delight as she added another line to the counter on her forearm that marked her successful catches.

“So what was that story?” Jiune insisted as she grabbed the bag of bang-corn, preparing to throw one at Theron.

“No, seriously, you can’t tell me you’ve never heard the story of how Master Gnost-Dural and I defeated Darth Karrid in our underwear. That’s basically a legend by now!”

Jiune stared at him, torn between disbelief and amusement and laughed as he amended, “Classified legend, maybe. Ha!” Another line went on his forearm and he sat up a bit more straight. “You want to hear it?”

“Do I want to hear it!” Jiune exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. “Of course I want to hear it, spare me no detail please!”

Theron grinned. “Alright, but would you -” he started but she interrupted him with a knowing nod, “I’ll even stop throwing bang-corn at you.” “Thank you. Hey!” Another piece met his forehead and fell onto the bed while Jiune giggled mischievously. He gave her a stern look that was completely rendered ineffective by several white crumbs hanging in his eyebrows and hair. “Do you want to hear the story?”

Quickly, the Jedi schooled her face into one of solemness and attentiveness, equally rendered ineffective by both the corn pieces in her hair and the amused twinkle in her eyes. “Sorry. I do. Please continue.”

Despite the mischievousness he could still read in her face, she kept the bang-corn to herself for the next few minutes and afterwards it was mostly forgotten. This was not a day for seriousness, so Theron kept the story light, embellishing the absurdities and playing down the more sinister parts. He was rewarded by her delighted interjections and continued amusement and by the end he had her laughing helplessly. Her cheerfulness was contagious and he found himself grinning and laughing along with her. When Jiune calmed down enough from her laughing fit to be able to sit up again and wiped her eyes as she took deep breaths, she found Theron looking at her. There was something like wonder in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips and he watched her as if she had done something extraordinary.

“What is it?” she asked curiously, pushing her hair back over her shoulders.

“I thought you had forgotten,” Theron answered quietly with a little shrug. She tilted her head in an unspoken question. “How to laugh,” he clarified and smiled. “I haven’t seen you laughing like this in… a very long time.”

For a moment she didn’t quite know how to answer, then she gave him a shrug back, her smile a bit lopsided.

“Maybe I did forget it for a while,” she finally mused and reached for his hand. When he put it into hers she looked down at their interwoven fingers and smiled again. “But you’re back. And I was right in my trust in you. That gives me plenty reason to laugh again.”

Theron let out a breath and something in his features softened. “Well then,” he said, shifting in the bed and moving over towards her until he lay next to her. Jiune looked up at him, the laughter having softened to a warm, bright smile. Theron picked the bang-corn pieces out of her hair, his fingers brushing over the skin of her neck and shoulders as he smiled down at her. “I guess I better make sure you always have a reason to laugh.” She tilted her head, sensing that there was more to come but for a long moment he just looked at her. Just when she thought he wouldn’t continue he murmured, “Marry me?”

Jiune paused, her eyes widening in astonishment. In all their time together, they had never discussed marriage and after everything that had happened the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. For a moment, the thought of the Jedi Council’s disapproval crossed her mind but then again… she had long stopped caring for the Council’s disapproval of her relationship with Theron. Even more so since Master Satele so obviously didn’t care about it whatsoever.

When she didn’t answer immediately, a shadow passed over Theron’s face and he started to draw back. “I’m sorry. It was a -“

Jiune quickly reached up, laying her hand on his cheek. “Of course I will,” she interrupted him. For a second he just stared at her, then he uttered a short laugh, disbelief in his eyes.

“You will? Really?”

She beamed up at him, all nervous happiness. This was really happening. “Yes!”

“Oh thank the Force,” he breathed, his whole face lighting up. “For a second there I thought you’d say no.”

Jiune laughed and put both her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. “For someone so smart you can be pretty dense sometimes,” she teased, caressing his face and brushing the corn crumbs out of his eyebrows and hair while he grinned a bit sheepishly. Her eyes shone bright and happy as she murmured, “My idiot spy fiancé.” Then she kissed him, soft touches that quickly turned heated as they lost themselves in each other.

[chaoticriderlessb]

More headcanons because I'm bored out of my fudgin' mind! First up, Plo Koon and Gnost Dural with a padawan who doesn't seem to do well as a padawan: they're a slow-learner, stubborn, tends to space-out/daydream, and are a danger-magnet.

Both Jedi Masters are, of course, very patient with their padawan, whom they see as their own son or daughter. Very rarely, the Kel Dor will become frustrated with them...and that's only slight frustration.

Lotta face-palming or rubbing of the temples.

Gnost Dural seems to have been a teacher, at some point. So during class, if he catches his padawan not paying attention...instead of being stern (which, the Jedi Master very rarely is), a simple and single clap of his hands will immediately snap his padawan's attention back to the lesson.

Sometimes, if a clap doesn't work, Gnost will take his padawan's chair, and drag them to the front of the class while secretly being amused at his padawan's protests and promises of behaving/paying attention (his padawan can be childish).

When it comes to teaching methods, Master Plo will simply stare at his padawan while acting all dead-serious (he's actually smirking behind his mask and having the time of his life) until his padawan decides to pay attention in order to avoid any sort of trouble. Their reward is a pet on the head.

If his padawan is spacing out, Plo will give light touches to get their attention. If the padawan is a youngling, a feather-light touch or tap to the nose or chin will do it. If the padawan is older, taps on the head or shoulder with Plo's claw will do the trick.

In battle, the padawan will usually find themselves in the thick of it, being stubborn and thinking he or she can fight off everyone. Because of their love for their padawan as a parental figure, both Plo and Gnost will immediately rush in to help out...although, the padawan does receive some slightly-stern talking-tos (although, that is more Gnost than Plo).

Padawan gets kidnapped? Extremely protective dad modes activated!

Despite not being the best padawan, Gnost and Plo will still place their trust in them.

The Kel Dor let their padawan take their time when it comes to learning (although math proves to be a bit of a huge problem), whether it be learning in a class, learning in a training arena, or just learning while out and about.

Gnost and Plo will feel very proud of their padawan if he or she succeeds in completing a mission on his or her own, or manages to save them if the Jedi Masters are in any sort of danger. Even drawing the enemy's attention or chasing them down will be enough.

Now, Gnost and Plo with a very dear younger friend who is stubborn, tends to space out, and is a danger-magnet.

Treatments are pretty much the same as if their friend was a padawan.

Both Plo and Gnost will let their friend cuddle and fall asleep on them when tired. Plo tends to be more fatherly about that than Gnost.

The friend spacing out isn't actually much of a problem, at all, since it's fairly simple for the two Jedi to get their attention back.

In battle, both Jedi will allow their friend to get in a few hits before fearing for his or her life, and yoinking them into safety.

In combat training, Plo is always amused and purposely makes it difficult for his dear friend, and will even show off, a bit. Gnost's teacher side will come out and take things more seriously.

Rewards are usually pets on the head or inviting their friend out to a meal.

If their friend wants to join them on the mission, Plo will gladly allow it...just as long as he or she stays close and doesn't cause trouble. Gnost is more reluctant, but does allow it. Although, he keeps a very close eye on them, knowing how much of a danger-magnet they are. The friend is not allowed to touch the lightsabers, whatsoever, and they are to do whatever the Jedi Masters tell them on these missions.

Yes, some shenanigans are involved, and that only causes the Kel Dor to shake their heads.

The Jedi Masters also make sure to keep their stubborn friend from ruining the mission by either holding them back...or locking them in someplace safe (Plo will, of course, find this very amusing).

Shenanigans happen outside of missions, as well, and the Kel Dor will sometimes wonder how their fates became intertwined with their friend's.

Despite everything, both Gnost and Plo see their friend as a very dear family member, one whom they will protect for as long as they live, and they know the friend will do the same.

[chaoticriderlessb]

On a late night like tonight....

Me: *casually sips remainder of coffee* Welp! I'll be back, later!

Gnost Dural: And where do you think you're going, at this time of night?

Plo: *pokes head seemingly out of curiosity*

Me: Nowhere special.

Gnost: You're going to check up on your Uncle Tol, aren't you?

Me: Ptch! No! Wha- What could possibly make you say such a silly thing, Uncle Gnost?

Gnost: Emjei, it is nearly 11pm, and I know you never go out, this late, unless it's for something important...and I saw you reading Tol's posts on Instaholo.

Me: ....

Gnost: You can't lie to me, my dear. Have you forgotten how well we can sense that?

Me: ....Uncle Tol says he misses me, so fine, yes, I'm going to visit him.

Gnost: Not at this hour, you are not.

Me: Yeah? Well...I'm an adult, so therefore, I can do whatever I want!

Gnost: Yes, but you are still living under our roof. Therefore, you still go by our rules.

Plo: *smirking out of total amusement as he watches on*

Me: Who's gonna make me?

Gnost: *raises an invisible brow and smirks behind his mask*

Me: *immediately senses her doom*

Me, an hour later, with Gnost sleeping, peacefully, nearby and on a separate bed: ....Crimney.