#I'm calling their ship gears of war

[megamindsecretlair]

Qimir x reader 🥺

Ask and receive, anon! Have you been peeking at my drafts??

We Are the Night - Chapter 1

Masterlist Chapter 2

Pairing: Qimir x Jedi!Black!Fem!/ Plus Size reader

Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, You are in charge of your own reading experience. Intentional use of AAVE. Tame, nothing explicit. There's teasing though, if you squint. Possible dark elements, but always consensual. Corruption kink. I spit on Star Wars canon. I will borrow some of Osha's backstory, but some things will be changed.

Summary: You end up crash landing onto the planet that Qimir calls home. He rescues you, but you have no way of going home, no way of letting anyone know where you are. Qimir talks a good game, but can you trust him?

AO3 Link

Word Count: 3,406

A/N: Ahhhhhh, this show has rotted my brain and I'm not even an enemies to lovers girlie! But I need that man like a bad habit! Toss a coin to your bloggers by leaving a comment, reblog, or unhinged howling in my asks.

Taglist: @amethyst09 @ciaqui @we-outsiiiide @browngirldominion @iv0rysoap @thecookiebratz @harmshake @00aijia00 @judymfmoody @multiversefanfics @tvchi

Loud, obnoxious beeping roused you into consciousness. Your eyes were gritty, dry, seemingly glued shut. But you forced them open anyway. Light from overhead seared your retinas and you shut it with a groan. You licked your dry lips and tried to turn your head.

Stars, your head was killing you. Achy. Unsettling. The beeps and alarms weren’t going anywhere, however, and you were the only one in this tin can. You didn’t remember passing out. 

You wracked your brain trying to think of what happened. But the last thing you remembered was…talking to…setting coordinates for…fuck, it was on the tip of your tongue to say it but you couldn’t find the words. 

The alarms were starting to pulse in time with your headache. You took a few deep breaths, staring up at your ceiling, which was just a glass dome overlooking the galaxy. You were speeding somewhere and it couldn’t be anywhere good if the alarms had anything to say about it. 

Tears pricked your eyes but you didn’t have time for any of that. You grunted and groaned as you climbed off of your floor. Just sitting up knocked the breath out of you. Struggling to your feet took tremendous strength that you just didn’t have. 

Your hand clutched onto the vinyl pilot’s seat as you pulled yourself to standing. A sharp pain pierced your side. The ship lurched to the right and you stumbled, knocking your shoulder against the side of the cockpit. You cried out. Everything hurt!

You gritted your teeth and found the energy to look down, inspecting yourself. You still wore the same outfit, cargo pants, a black t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and your utility vest. A dark red stain spread across the expanse of your cargo pants. Your shirt soaked up much of the blood, too dark to distinguish between the two. 

You lifted the edges of your shirt to reveal a gushing wound in your side. The sight of your own blood nearly made you swoon. There was so much. You looked towards the floor where you had been laying. There was a generous pool there. Your heart sank. How long were you out?

The ship lurched again, metal ripping, gears shifting, and you stumbled forward. Your navigation panels were all over the place. Red buttons flashed, the alarm screeched, and the other screens blinked on and off. If nothing else, you were in deep fucking trouble. 

You cried out as you flopped into the pilot’s seat. The ship you were in was careening decidedly down, though you weren’t sure why. Out of the corner of your eye, there was movement. You looked to the right to see a bit of smoke. 

You leaned your face against the window, trying to look as far as you could at the gaping hole in the escape pod’s wing. Escape pod? The hell? 

The ship gave a decidedly crude groan and shutter that did not sound good at all. You flipped through your switches trying to turn the damn alarm off. You were woozy, feeling lightheaded and sick, but you needed to think. Now that you were awake, the pains and aches in your body started vying for your attention.

Your foot hurt like hell, your side was killing you, and there was a damn crick in your neck. Focus. Focus. 

You pressed the button to open a wide range channel. “H-Hello? Anyone out there? I’m in trouble,” you said. Your voice was strained, dry, and you coughed from disuse. You knew that you didn’t want to draw the attention of bad characters like pirates or opportunists. But anything was better than imminent death. 

“Please, I don’t know where I am,” you said into the comms. Nothing. No static. Tears gathered in your eyes once more. If you weren’t a failed Jedi, maybe you could figure out a way out of this. Maybe you could have used the Force, meditated and connected with someone, anyone, who could come rescue you. 

You hung your head. There’s no use crying when your life was in the balance. So you swiped at your tears, careful not to smear blood on your face, and refocused on the job at hand. One of these damn switches had to turn off the alarms. 

You grabbed hold of the steering wheel, pulling back on it. No such luck. The ship gave a shudder, a groan, a keening whine and then boom! The ship spun out of control. As the ship twisted and turned, more black smoke emanated from the right wing. Said wing was flung from the ship, spinning away from you faster and faster.

“Oh shit,” you whispered. It wasn’t necessarily needed to fly, but it kept your ship balanced and steady upon take off and arrival. How the hell were you going to land now? 

Shit, shit, shit! You strapped on the seatbelts on your seat and held on as the ship spun and spun. Spun so fast it was a dizzying array of stars overhead, making you sick, Making your stomach flip and flop and threatened to upchuck whatever your last meal was. Whenever that was. 

The ship stopped spinning as if it had been yanked by an invisible chain. Now, it just careened forward, plummeting as you felt the drop in your stomach. A blue planet loomed before you. The sun was on the far side of the planet, illuminating wondrous and endless blue. 

Shit. The last thing you needed was to land on an ocean planet. No land for miles in any direction, no navigational charts to pull you to safety, and no way to communicate that you were there. You didn’t want to die alone on a planet like that. Starved. Pathetic. 

You closed your eyes as the ship rushed towards that planet as if it were calling you there. A beacon. You had nothing but precious few seconds to think about your life’s choices and how you arrived here. At the forefront of it all, if you had just stayed with your mothers, would you have still ended up here? 

The front end of the ship began to burn up as your shields started to break down. The force and speed of your descent made the cabin burn up from entering the atmosphere. 

It was all in sickening high resolution. You watched your final moments like a holo-program, can’t watch but unable to look away. Metal plates began to break away from your ship. One flew into the windshield with a hard thud. The ship dropped down, so that you were nearly vertical staring at the expanse of water.

As you got closer, you realized that there was something worse than heading for a planet made of water. That same planet having jagged and rocky islands. You were too far away to scan for any signs of life. Equipment too badly damaged to run a digital scan. 

You prayed and prayed and hoped that the Force had mercy on you as you went crashing down. You missed a large island by yards, plunging into the murky, deep ocean. Your body snagged against the seatbelt, digging into your chest and sending fresh waves of pain down your body from the wound in your side. The inertia after the initial crash smacked you head first against the window to your left. 

Darkness filled your eyes as you blinked, watching as the ocean swallowed you whole. Alone. With no one to even know you were there.

When you awoke, you sucked in a deep breath of air as if you had been drowning. You settled back against the bed with a soft sigh, trying to recall such a horrid dream. As if you had been lost on a random planet, alone and afraid.

You flipped over in bed, side protesting in pain. You looked down at yourself. Your vest was gone and your shirt had been cut across the hem, giving you a midriff. You went to sit up, but a sudden rush of nausea made you lay back down and take deep breaths.

Your head swam with a headache that hurt enough to make you chew bricks. You rubbed your head, feeling your feverish wet skin. Your vision swam. It could be shock or it could be because you tried sitting up, but you closed your eyes and immediately fell back asleep.

When you woke up again, it was slower this time. A soft, rushing sound was off in the distance. You blinked your eyes a few times and let your vision settle naturally on the room around you.

You were in some kind of cave? Underground surely. Natural by the look of the jagged rocks surrounding you. You were lying on a bed. Not the most comfortable mattress in the world, but it beat even the Jedi temple in terms of stiffness. 

How did you get here? You had no memory of climbing into this place. Or finding a bed. Or stitching yourself up. Your hands floated over your side, feeling a faint scar as if you hadn’t had anything there at all. 

You remembered being in pain. You remembered being on the ship. It was all still so fuzzy, but you remembered that you were desperately trying to escape a different planet. You were on a ship with Sol.

Fear punched you in the throat and then dragged icy nails across your chest. Sol. Yord. Jecki. A sob caught in your throat as you thought about the horrible, awful cruelty of it all. The merchant who was not a merchant. 

You winced as you recalled your last few hours. Or was it days? You, Sol, and Jecki had barely gotten away. Your sister attacked you on the way back to the ship, fighting to get away from her master. 

Mae went on about her misconceptions about you. Spit had flown from her mouth with the absolute venom pouring off of her in waves. How she blamed you for everything. You for leaving. You for abandoning them. You for groveling like some dog before the Jedi. 

“Shut up!” You had yelled and you fought and fought. Mae was always better at using the Force. She had knocked you flat on your back. You had came to moments later, Mae nowhere in sight.

You ran for the shore as best as you were able, wound in your side preventing you from jogging faster. You had to get to Sol and Jecki before Mae did. 

You found Jecki’s body lying face down on the ground, three neat wounds in her chest still smoking. You covered your mouth with your hand, biting back tears and a scream. You were going to kill Mae, if it was the last thing you did. 

Escaping the planet was a blur. Sol hadn’t left yet. But Mae found you on the ship first. She beat you again, catching you unawares like a newborn baby. She pushed you into an escape pod, hit the eject button too quick for you to stop her. Next thing you knew, you were thrust off into space, banging on the window as if it would make a difference. Once more, you were looking up to Mae as she looked down on you. The pod went into hyperspace, off to who knew where. 

You curled in on yourself as you relived those moments. The fear, the anger, the betrayal. Mae was going to complete her goal. She was going to kill Sol and leave you with no one again.

“You’re awake,” a soft voice said.

You flinched, sitting up in bed nausea be damned. A man stood in the entrance to the cave-like room, wearing a white shirt and dark pants. His hair hung in tendrils in front of his face and he had short facial hair. 

He carried a bowl with steam rising from it. “Thought you might be up and brought you some soup,” he said.

“You,” you whispered.

How could it be? You had escaped. You were far from him. How was this murderer here? Walking freely when your friends were dead? 

“It’s not poison if that’s what you think. That’s no fun,” he said. His voice was deceptively calm and relaxed. One would almost call it lazy. 

He placed the bowl beside you and then backed away slowly, hands out, palm side up. He moved across the room until he sat down on a stump, picking up tools.

“Where am I?” 

“I could tell you…” he said, letting his words hang in the air.

“So?” You asked.

He looked back at you and smirked. “Wrong question,” he said.

“What?” You lowered the blanket from your chest, having covered yourself when Qimir entered the room. His back was towards you, there was nothing he was going to do for the moment. 

“Ask me what you really want to know,” he said. 

You ran your tongue over your canine as you looked at him in an all new light. How the hell did he know what you wanted to ask before you did? 

“How did you find me?” You asked.

“I felt you,” he said, looking up at you through his eyelashes. 

You slowly lifted the blanket back up to your chest, feeling his words rush over your skin. He was repulsive. A murderer. Evil. His words shouldn’t sound like…that or affect you like…that. 

“Not many can find this planet. It’s long forgotten on most star maps. Early this morning, I felt an approaching presence. I went outside and saw your ship, lit up like a star. Wasn’t hard to find the wreckage from there,” he said.

You wanted to call him a liar. That was what evil murderers did. But you felt nothing but the truth from him. “Thank you,” you said and looked away from him, hugging your middle.

He saluted you with two fingers from his temple and returned to whatever it was he was doing. You felt silly looking at his back. His wide back. You’ve gotten a few glances at a rough, razed scar on his back. You wondered about it but kept your mouth shut in case he was sensitive about it. 

You sighed and rolled your eyes. You were worried about his feelings? He was the one who had kidnapped you, brought you to this cave, and offered you poisonous soup. You didn’t trust him as far as you could throw him. 

“What is that?” You asked. Your curiosity would always get the better of you. That helmet scared the absolute taste of your mouth, but you were also deeply intrigued by it. The shape, the color. The teeth.

“Eat your soup and I’ll tell you,” he said. How the hell could he know you weren’t eating? His back was still turned towards you.

“You project your emotions,” he said. Your name slipped from his lips softly. You shook your head. 

“I do not,” you said.

Qimir chuckled and went back to fiddling with his helmet. You waited a few more moments, looking between his helmet and the bowl of soup. You didn’t want to risk sudden death, but you also really wanted to know about his helmet.

You kissed your teeth and grabbed the bowl of soup. It looked sort of appetizing, filled with soft fish and veggies. You grabbed the spoon, swirling the soup around and around the bowl. 

“You can do it,” he said. Your eyes flicked to him, and he was half turned in your direction. You scowled at him as he smirked at you. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, rising to his bait. You drank straight from the bowl, letting the herbs, spices, and flavor explode on your tongue. It wasn’t half bad for a planet with no land animals. 

Qimir smirked when you came up for air. He tapped the top of his helmet. “Cartosis. Handy against lightsabers,” he said.

“How do you have a lightsaber?” You asked. When you left the Order, you had to give yours up. You felt terrible. You had worked so hard on finding the right crystal, building your saber from the ground up. Designing it to fit perfectly in your hand. 

“You’re full of questions,” he said. 

“You’re full of non-answers,” you countered.

He tilted his head and conceded the point. “I used to be like you. Young, stars in my eyes, believing in the Order.”

“Is that how you got the scar?” You asked. Fine. You couldn’t help it. 

“I believed in someone I shouldn’t have,” he said. 

He grabbed his tools, gathered them in a box, and then stood up from his seat. “It’s like a sensory deprivation headpiece, like we used as Younglings. You should try it on,” he said. He smirked at you like he knew what your answer was going to be. 

“I’m not trying that thing on,” you said.

He smirked and you hated that look on his face. “What are you so afraid of? That you might look into the Force and have it stare right back?” 

“Is that what it’s for?” You asked. You didn’t need to get into the gritty details of your connection to the Force or lack thereof. It was about mental discipline. It all but faded from your fingertips the moment you stepped out of the temple for good.

“If you’re that curious, take a look,” he said. He smirked one final time, heading off to wherever he came from. 

“How long are you going to keep me here?” You asked.

He stopped at the entrance to the room and looked sideways at you. “That depends on you,” he said.

He left the room, leaving you to stew in your thoughts. You finished off the rest of the soup. If it was poison, at least it tasted good on the way down. Left to your own devices, there was nothing to do but either go back to sleep or stare at the helmet.

You looked at its crude design. Designed to incite fear and command respect. You recalled how fluidly he moved. How precise he was in his maddening dance of ruthlessness. How sure of himself he was.

You’d never been sure of anything in your life. You always felt like an outcast. An outsider. You floated between groups of people, never belonging to any of them. Strangely, way deep down inside, you felt a certain…pull here. A deep settling in your bones.

You shook your head, fighting off that wayward thought. You had to focus on getting out of here. Of finding his ship and escaping before he grew tired of you and killed you. 

Your eyes flitted to the helmet once more. As if it were silently calling you. Taunting you. If you strained to listen, you could just make out a voice. 

Screw it. What was the worst that could happen?

You placed the bowl on the chair in front of you and crossed the rocky floor towards Qimir’s workbench. You grabbed the helmet and sat down, staring at it. Slowly, you brought it over your head. It was larger than you thought it would be, but somehow so small you started to hyperventilate. 

All you could hear was the sound of your rapidly increasing breaths. You couldn’t see anything out of the helmet. Only feel. Hear. Your hands clutched the side of the helmet, feeling like it was crushing your skull with every breath that you took.

You felt a lazy eye open somewhere. Like you were staring at some great beast, who’s body spanned the universe. And it turned that eye on you. In a panic, you screeched and tore off the helmet, tossing it onto the desk and backed away from it. You nearly fell off of the ledge trying to get away.

You stared at the visage. The harsh smile gleaming silver. It was turned on its side, face plate towards you. Mocking you. 

You turned your back from it and leaned against a stony wall. Jagged pieces of rock bit into your palm but you welcomed the pain. Welcomed the reminder that you were alive, by the grace of Qimir, but alive. And you still had your wits about you. You were not going to let him corrupt you.

You believed in right from wrong. You believed in the side of the Jedi. If nothing else, you knew that you would never, ever side with the likes of Qimir.

Masterlist | Chapter 2

[armoralor]

[TW: homophobia, threats of physical violence, SA, gun violence]

IMPORTANT: do not interact with the person mentioned below. please do not send hate or harass ANY of the accounts mentioned. the point of this post is to warn the community of a serious threat, not to dog pile or stir a hate mob. his accounts have been reported and local authorities have been made aware of his potential for harm. Last updated: 01/30/2024. New information begins close to the bottom, starting at the red text.

Some of you may already be familiar with the homophobic incel that was previously filling the Ahsoka & Sabine Wren tags with vile misogyny. He's gone by many names due to banning and deactivations: @sabezrastan01, @longlivetheemporer, @imperialloyalist01, @standorando, and @imperialsycophant. Here's the guy that gave us this classic:

Now, as meme worthy as that post was- it's unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. Despite his exile from this social media site, he continues to be active on Instagram and TikTok. He also continues to get support from some of the same folks that have been painting sapphics and wolfwren shippers out as vicious bullies.

I didn't intend to find everything I did, but this man constantly comments under official Star Wars media posts calling queer women "degenerates" and "beasts," so it's been hard to miss. It honestly hurts to reread this shit again, but I want to warn anyone who 1) may interact with him without realizing he's a incel neo nazi 2) may be harmed by his continued harassment.

First thing to remember about him- he doesn't just complain about shipping, he has wished death and harm upon multiple people. On top of the two screenshots below, he also discussed wanting to put a bullet in Dave Filoni's head (the alt account was taken down before I thought to screenshot):

He wrote "these people need to be beaten" on a dozen anti-wolfwren posts before his most recent account was taken down. He has embraced the common anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric of queer people being pedophiles and rapists:

He repeatedly brings rape up unprompted, especially when talking to nonbinary folks and women:

Plus buys into the "woke agenda" causing queer relationships to happen in media:

You'll notice the irony of him "worrying" wolfwren shippers are going to threaten the actors, despite him previously threatening to kill Dave Filoni and beat wolfwren shippers. He seems to be projecting a lot of his own desires and wishes onto other people, which will become even more obvious further down this post.

Now, thankfully his last tumblr account was taken down for inciting violence, but as i mentioned before, it's hard to miss him on other platforms:

Out of morbid curiosity I clicked on his account, and it's unfortunately what you would expect for from an incel. His follower and following list is littered with white nationalists, militia groups, tactical gear stores, weapon vendors, alt-right religious orgs, and 4chan neo nazis.

Instagram Followers:

Instagram Following:

It's clean he's unhinged and a danger to those who don't share similar interests. He seems to make allowances for anyone who ships sabezra, but otherwise is a diehard supporter of alt-right Christian nationalist beliefs.

One of his previous account names on Instagram was @cajunminuteman, with a confederate flag as his pfp. In current alt right groups, a minuteman is a person who is ready to pick up a gun and fight on a minutes' notice, typically in a militia against the government. His previous account also followed a number of Christian Southern Nationalist accounts:

There are a number of shippers that continue to interact with this man. Most sabezra shippers I've chatted with are very sweet, some of you even share discord servers with me and have so much love for this fandom. I'm only asking those of you who choose to ignore this man's threats of violence to revaluate how far you are willing to go to support a fictional ship.

Wolfwren shippers have bore the brunt of fandom hate and harassment since Ahsoka started airing. We continue to get called degenerates, rapists, pedophiles, and threatened with physical violence. This is not the same, or in any way equivalent, to silly jokes made about fictional ships being made canon. It's exhausting to get constant harassment in real life AND online.

Are there mean wolfwren shippers? Absolutely. I'm sorry queer people sometimes cheer on cishet ships not becoming canon, I know it sucks when it's over something you like. No, enjoying cishet ships doesn't make you any less queer, and I'm sorry there was an asshole out there that said that shit. But can we PLEASE stop acting like sapphics and wolfwren enjoyers are ALWAYS bullies? That we're somehow always the ones threatening people? It plays into the alt-right rhetoric of the LGBTQIA+ community being predators and I'm so sick of it, especially when there is so much outright vile hate for queers.

If there are any wolfwrens sending hate and/or threats, I am begging for an example or name so they can be reported properly. None of us condone any of the nasty shit that's been sent, we deal with enough hate irl. This man's closest friends aren't much better, joking about wanting to hurt wolfwren shippers and how the LGBTQIA+ community is a bad thing:

The most recent return to tumblr was under account @imperialsycophant where he tried to pretend he wasn't the same incel loser:

He eventually went mask off, realizing that most people weren't foolded:

On January 24 2024, his most recent Instagram account (@imperialloyalist01) was taken down. Less than 24 hours later, a sabezra shipper DM'd me asking me to delete this post. I explained to the shipper that the point of this post was to warn the fandom as a whole of this guy's behaviour, and at multiple points I make it clear everyone should stay away + not engage any of the accounts involved.

Everything included in this thread is public information taken from public posts or public accounts. The shipper who DM'd me still demanded I remove this post, as it could "hurt their friends."

The context of who the incel associates himself with is helpful when conveying the severity & underlying motives of his actions. There are approximately two non alt-right/neo-nazi accounts in the following/follower lists I shared. Those who were following @imperialloyalist01 up until January 24th were both privately and publicly made aware they were following a person threatening harm against others, but they continued to like, comment, and follow the account. This does not mean any of them should be harassed or bothered. It simply provides additional context to the situation and will hopefully aid others in forming their own opinions on who they wish to befriend.

When I reminded the shipper who DM'd me that their friends were continuing to make jokes about hitting/hurting wolfwren shippers, AND tagging wolfwren in those edits, I did not get a response. However, what I did get was mass spam reported.

Shortly after I sent the above message and the sabezra shipper realized I would not be taking this post down, my account was hate reported and temporarily terminated. Tumblr has an automated feature that bans accounts immediately (out of safety) if they are reported by a large group of people at the same time (which is fair, say someone posts torture or something terrible). Thankfully, after I emailed the abuse support team and explained the situation, they reinstated my account:

I will not be sharing the name of the sabezra shippers who tried to take down my account. I already get harassed enough, and I don't want anyone to go through the same shit. Please remember that a small group of bad people do NOT represent an entire community. There are plenty of sweet sabezra shippers that do not support this kind of disgusting and hateful behaviour.

Key takeaways: don't send hate or threats. Let people have their fun online while they attempt to avoid the Horrors of real life. Please don't support people spewing vile hate JUST because they like the same fictional ships as you.

Other posts related to him: (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

[kometqh]

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧

Fives x F!Reader x Echo Pt. 1 After the events of the Citadel, Fives is forced to embark on a journey - inform people of Echo's passing. Fives knew his brother like the inside of his pocket, but who knew Echo had been hiding a gem all this time? Certainly not Fives. Word Count: 2886 Warnings: Echo's death, swearing, sad Fives, alcohol consumption A/N: I'm missing fives because he didn't get enough screen time and it's called 'The Clone Wars' for a reason :c

"I'm sorry," His voice carried a certain lightness to it, spinning in your ear canal like a pearly white feather on a windy, gloomy day. Though his words, oh his words, they pierced through your heart like a rusty dagger, the bitter metal permeating through the organ like a chartreuse, acidic poison. "There was nothing we could do to save him."

You were always afraid that one day, after a long, dreadful mission, he just wouldn't be back.

No matter how many times your best friend reassured you, that fear just lingered somewhere deep within your subconscious, sharpening its' shiny black talons, awaiting the day it could re-emerge into your heart.

Fives swallowed harshly, counting down the number of awfully loud heartbeats echoing in his head. He could feel a tension headache rising as he eyed you wearily, ready to offer comfort if you were to start crying, or having a go at him.

Your lack of response worried him. It was like you knew as soon as the door opened, his fist stuck in mid-air as the gears turned in his head. By the time he had gone over the pleasantries and the uncomfortable silence, your eyes had seemingly lost their spark, your face paled in the early sunshine of the Coruscantian morning, and your voice lost that high-pitched note to it when you spoke.

And now, here he was, his neck feeling awfully warm, his gut twisting as he thought of every whichever way to escape this hellhole. He hadn't even had the time to mourn his brothers death, yet alone truly understand it and now he had to go making rounds to people, informing them of it?

The Republic was cruel, and shitty, and full of shit and-

"H-How did he..?" His gaze was laser focused on his hands, the tension in his shoulders worsening as he looked up from his lap. You had unshed tears trudging the edges of your waterline, your eyelashes already wet from having to blink away thick, hopeless tears.

The green of the wallpaper that peered round the corner seemed much more inviting to look at than your eyes were, Fives thought. The colour was that of pine trees, lighter swirls of white decorating the expanse of the wall behind you. It used to be Echo's favourite colour. His brother always said how it brought joy for him to see that dreaded colour, how it always made him feel hopeful in an otherwise unsure battle. Fives, even though having made fun of Echo for being such a sap, had also secretly shared the same opinion.

But now all he felt when he saw the colour was disgust, nausea, and worst of all, guilt.

"Fives..?" Your voice gently lulled him out of his thoughts, like a lighthouse at sea, calling out to his ship, and his eyes widened as he realised you had reached your hand over to his, your thumb rubbing at his armoured forearm. Kriff, he didn't even take his bloody armour off.

His lips opened and closed, his eyelashes fluttering as Fives tried to map his way around, trying to find the right words to say.

Eventually, he settled on a fairly common pair.

"I-I'm sorry," He winced at the shakiness of his voice, scrunching his eyes shut. How the hell was he supposed to say it? For some odd reason, you were the one comforting him, rather than the other way around. What kind of soldier was he? What kind of man was he?

"He.. He died heroically," His voice was soft, trembling. Fives couldn't bring himself to speak any louder, afraid that the deeply buried emotions in his chest would come crashing down, like waves against a rocky shore, "He was the bravest man on that battlefield, ready and willing to do anything to complete the mission. He was so.. He was so inspiring. What happened next.. I- I couldn't get to him.. in time." He took in a shallow, shaky breath, forcing his eyes shut as tears began to prickle at his eyes.

"I couldn't save him."

"Fives it's-"

"The droid blasted the ship just as he reached the entrance and I wanted to help him, to get him out of there, but someone screamed my name and all I remember is seeing his body fly, and his helmet drop at my feet. I wish it were me instead of-"

"He would never forgive himself for that and you know it." Your voice tore through his tangent, sharp, snappy and cold as ice. It was as if you had thrown cold water in his face. You knew Echo, you knew he would never let his brother sacrifice himself for him, "He was a good soldier and he died as one." You whispered, peering down at the man seated in your small, pale yellow kitchen.

The wrinkles on his forehead and the tired bags under his eyes told you everything. He desperately needed a safe place, and some well deserved rest.

Has he even had the time to process Echo's death? You truly doubted it just by seeing his reluctance, the difficulty he felt of talking about this. As though it was the first time.

You couldn't let Fives go back to the GAR. Not in this condition, not yet. You were afraid he would simply shut down if he were surrounded by countless faces and voices, similar and the same as Echo's. He would have constant nightmares, constant night terrors, constant guilt.

But what about you? What about your time alone, your time to process the news of your best friends death?

That wasn't your priority right now, you could wallow in the bubbling feelings of grief and despair after you've taken care of his brother, his twin.

Taking in a deep breath, you kneeled beside Fives, placing a reassuring hand on his thigh.

"Stay here for the night. You can be gone by morning and we never have to talk of this again." You offered, squeezing his thigh to get his attention. You could tell by the way his eyes widened that he wasn't expecting such an offer, and by the quick downturn of his lips, that he was about to reject it.

"It's not for my comfort, it's for your own," You interjected, determination seeping from each word you said, "I- I don't think you'll be able to sleep there-" You paused, getting up from the floor with a huff, "Here's the plan; I'll draw you a bath, make you some food and then you can go sleep in my room, how's that?" You asked, leaning against the countertop behind you.

A few moments of silence passed, Fives completely stunned and speechless. Where was Echo hiding this.. t-this gem? He had never met such a compassionate woman, person, ever.

All he was familiar with were the one night stands with numerous different women he'd met at 79s. Did Echo meet you there too? Were you really just friends?

Shaking his head, Fives stood up from his seat, looking, no, glaring at that stupidly green wallpaper behind you. At that grisly irritating reminder of hope. Of Echo. "I-I couldn't take such a-advantage of your kindness, ma'am. I appreciate it, but I'll be fine." He stated.

A frown replaced the hopefulness on your face as you noticed the awful change in his demeanour. You weren't talking to Fives, the man, anymore. No, you were talking to Fives the ARC Trooper, CT-5555. You could tell by the way his eyebrows furrowed, how his gaze hardened, how his chest puffed up and his shoulders stood to attention.

He's just like Echo.

Neither men preferred to face the difficulty of opening up to others, you noted. But whilst Echo would stutter and refuse, Fives completely shut down, solidified into a steel-strong soldier. But neither of them seemed to like accepting help, whether it be from a friend or a stranger.

Funny.

They truly were like twins, born of the same strand of DNA, or whatever the Kaminoans did, you thought.

With a heavy, disapproving sigh, you gave a slight nod of your head.

It seemed to surprise Fives, as you noticed that momentarily, miniscule raise of his thick brows. He definitely wanted you to be more pushy, but you had learned from Echo that that often led to nowhere.

"Do you have anywhere else to go? Anyone else to inform?" Your voice was soft when it reached his ears, and a defeated expression rested on your face. Since you wouldn't need to take care of Fives, your mind felt at ease enough to let in the new, yet still familiar feelings.

It took him a moment to respond, his throat having gone completely dry.

"Just a couple of friends, really. You were number one on that list so.. I- I guess I'll leave you to it." He half muttered, looking up at you. The kitchens' yellowy dandelion wallpaper behind your frame did very little to brighten up your features. Instead, it seemed to dull them, deep shadows were casted over your features as you frowned.

"Are you sure? You can stay longer if you'd like-"

"No! No, it's okay. Really. I'm on a tight schedule anyway, y'know, ARC Trooper things and all that." Fives insisted as he finally rose from his seat, rubbing his nape with one hand awkwardly.

This was his chance to get out of there, to escape the stuffy, small kitchen. It was like a rainy cloud had settled itself over your shoulders, and he wanted to be gone by the time it began to pour.

"Alright. I won't keep you here any longer. I-I'm sure you've wasted enough time here already." You muttered out as you followed suit, rising from your seat, albeit slower than Fives. 

Did you want to be alone? You weren't too sure. Some of your focus was still locked onto the man before you, worry gnawing away at your conscious. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." You followed up, rounding the rectangular, wooden table seated in the middle of your small kitchen.

Echo used to always nag at you, complaining it was too short for tall people like him. Interestingly enough, Fives had no intention of mentioning the height of the table.

Although Echo had told you many stories about Fives and the Domino Squad, it felt like the two had switched personalities. Your Echo seemed to behave more like Fives when around you, and Fives behaved more like Echo from the stories. 

Your arms were crossed over your chest as you led Fives to the door, and you caught a peek of his expression as you quickly peered over your shoulder. 

He seemed to tower over you as you bid your goodbyes, thanking him for coming all this way, and wishing for him to stay safe and get well. Your chest felt heavier as you unlocked the door, moving aside, observing him as he stepped out.

The dull greyness of the corridor outside did nothing but crumble any resolve that may have lingered within his chest. 

A lone, glaringly white light bulb flickered from time to time, doing very little to actually brighten up the space. It also seemed to wash out Fives' features, make his sun-kissed skin look paler, his eyes more somber, his frown look deadlier.

If anyone were to come by him, they'd tremble on the spot.

The corners of his lips seemed to twitch, just slightly, as he thought over what to say. What do you say to someone you're not sure you'll see again?

Your vocie beat him to is as you bid a short, yet comforting goodbye.

That was it then.

He waved you goodbye as he descended down the stairs, his gaze locking with yours one last time before he disappeared behind the concrete railing.

The distant sound of a hum accompanied your thoughts, the electrical cables working hard to provide light to that narrow corridor, becoming background noise to your running thoughts.

Would he be okay?

Maybe you should have given him your comm number, in case he'd wanna reach out. It was too late though, as his figure had already disappeared down the long staircase, the warmth of his gloved hands still lingering on yours.

The loud boom of the music bounced of the walls of 79s, and Fives' head. It was like a headache that just kept on going, and Fives was refusing to take pain meds, nullifiers. He didn't want the pain to stop. It was the only thing that kept him awake, aware, attentive to the fact that this was reality.

Many of his brothers had died; Domino Squad to be specific. Their deaths were all too sudden, just like Echo's. But he got past them, keeping his brothers memory alive on each and every mission he was sent to. But through all that, he had Echo by his side. And now, Echo was gone. 

How was he meant to get over his death? 

How was he meant to carry on?

How many of his brothers had gone through the same situation, lost their closest friends? Were forced to continue on into battle as though nothing had happened? Were they really, truly that expendable? Did they not mean anything to the Republic? To the Jedi?

Fives wasn't just a number. Echo wasn't just a number. Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait weren't just numbers. They were men, they were men with feelings and they were men who were filled with hopes and dreams for their futures. 

Echo wasn't just a number.

He suppressed a sob as he leaned forward, reaching for another shot glass, the pinkish liquid sparkled in the dim lights of 79s. 

Usually, he took his shots with pride. 

And now? Now he took them with shame, slamming the clear glass onto the table as he roughly wiped at his eyes. God. It burned so bad. But it also eased the pain, bit by bit until all he felt was fire burning through his lungs, and dizziness tugging at his vision. 

He couldn't go back to the GAR in this state. But who cared? He and the 501st had come back, completely and utterly wasted, many times too many. And nobody even batted an eyelash. On Kamino they'd get a thorough discplining, maybe even a smack on the back of the head. 

He was sure the old geezers back there would be more than happy to hand his ass back to him.

Kriff it, he thought.

One more shot.

The liquid burned, the taste smacking at his tastebuds like a blaster to the back of his head.

Another.

It went on for long enough for the barman to stop him, shaking his head disapprovingly at the trooper.

Getting up from his seat, Fives wished the liquid tasted as good as it looked. He thanked the barman and made his way to the exit. 

Where was he going? 

He wasn't sure. He just knew he needed to move. Or rather stumble.

Waking up to loud banging on your front door certainly wasn't your preferred method, but it was definitely an effective one.

"Kriffing hell, what time is it?" You mumbled, rubbing the sleep crust from your tired eyes. The old, digital clock on your bedside table read 0300, in big, bold neon green numbers, casting a gentle green glow on the otherwise pitch-black room.

Your heart pounded wildly, almost as harshly as whatever idiot was pounding on your door at bloody 3AM in the morning.

You already had a hard day, falling into your bedsheets just moments after Fives had left, thick, shiny tears quickly staining the soft material of your duvet a shade darker for the foreseeable future.

"Who do you think you are-" Your voice harshly cut through as you ripped your front door open, leaning forwards, just narrowly missing a black, gloved fist to your face. Your frown quickly dropped as you noticed the idiot behind the awful disruption, and your anger seemed to evaporate into thin air. "Fives?"

As he looked up, the sight of his honey-gold eyes and tear streaked face, had your heart dropping in an instant.

The sound of humming electricity above your head filled the silent hallway, mimicking the white noise inside of Fives's head as his drunken mind tried to scramble up some words.

The smell of strong vodka and whatever else invaded your senses, you couldn't help how fast your hand flew to cover your nose.

"Y/n..- I-I'm sorry-" He hiccupped, pressing one arm onto your doorframe, his figure towering over you. "I couldn't- I couldn't save him, he's dead. He's dead because of me!" Fives gasped out, his eyes squeezing shut as more tears pooled at his waterline.

"What? No no no!" You exclaimed, quickly opening your arms for him to fall into. "Shh, come on, it's okay." You whispered, easing him into your apartment with slow steps. You shut the door behind, seating him down on your sofa before you went back to lock your front door.

His sobs and hiccupped breaths filled the still silence of your small, colourful apartment. Rubbing at your sore eyes, you quickly fetched a glass of water for him before kneeling at his side.

"Here, drink this," You lifted the glass to his lips, letting him take slow sips, "Slowly, you'll feel sick."

You watched him carefully, taking the water away as he gasped out. Your sofa looked too small for the trooper, his frame easily taking up over almost half of the space. A grunt escaped his lips, and panic flooded you. 

This way going to be a long night..

[thewebcomicsreview]

Woah, it's a hamsteak! Bit early this month, maybe they're splitting it into two parts (Edit: Apparently yes, per a newspost). They've been teasing a big [S] page for a while, probably where the game starts in Meat and The Point is revealed in Candy, and these updates seem like they're getting everyone in position for that. We're now done with the Ship and with DIrk, and we won't see either until the [S] comes, but we still need to pick up the kids and see what Karkat is up to, so I'm expecting this is a setup-heavy update for an [S] page...next month, on 6/12? Let's see.

KARKAT: KEPT YOU WAITING, HUH?

Candy Karkat is blatantly Solid Snake and I'm a bit surprised the old team never had him riff a Snake catchphrase. New team popping that cherry right off. Also, wow, Karkles got swole.

MEENAH: took you long enough bossman KARKAT: I THOUGHT I ASKED YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT WHEN WE'RE ALONE. MEENAH: big bossman KARKAT: NOT BETTER. MEENAH: sweetie-pirate KARKAT: BOSSMAN IT IS.

We're just going all-in on the Metal Gear references, but Meenah loses fishpoints for not calling him Big Bass. It's right there, Meenah.

KARKAT: AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED THERE'S AN ESCALATING, LARGE-SCALE MILITARY CONFLICT UNDERWAY;

Is there? I hadn't noticed, because the war is entirely fucking offscreen in HS2, to the point where I'm really unclear on if it's huge open battles (as in the epilogues) or a terrorist insurgency (as implied by Jane's focus on PR, the lack of any on-screen fighting, and even here Karket saying he was blowing up "Crockercorp" supply depots instead of "human" supply depots). "Escalating" is an interesting word, though. I have a theory that Jane and Rose both don't consider any of Earth C's population "Real", and in Jane's mind she's basically just been larping as a bad guy up until her dad died and she got serious, and this is why Jane was seemingly cool with helping Jade raise Yiffy, even though Jade is a commander in the anti-Jane rebel army. Jane's going to just stop being evil on a dime and everyone but Rose and Jane are going to be baffled.

There was a writer commentary where they kept making jokes about doing this, but I guess it's real. Why is the Carapacian naked?

These guys, who are not guaranteed to survive to the end of the update, are already fucking great.

KARKAT: ALRIGHT, COMPANIES 1 THROUGH 3 ARE IN PLACE. KARKAT: 4 THROUGH 6 ARE EN ROUTE.

Is this the first 413 in HS2? I'm surprised they're not using 612, the troll number.

KARKAT: ALSO THIS COVERT-OPS SUIT IS TIGHT AS ALL FUCK. MEENAH: well if its any consolation that may be rough for you but its a pretty great time to be your rear admire-all 38) KARKAT: MUCH OBLIGED.

The ship no one expected!

KARKAT: NOT LIKE DAVE. MEENAH: how you feelin about that

I know Karkat hasn't had a lot of screen time in HS2, and I know they've justified why this is coming up now, but as far as Karkat knows Candy Dave A. Married Jade, and then B. Died fifteen years ago. Has this really not come up in fifteen years?

SOLLUX: there's like a bazillion m0oks swarming ar0und my crib and none 0f the grubereats dudes are accepting orders right n0w. SOLLUX: probably 0n account 0f your inc0nvenient ass war. SOLLUX: could y0u pick me something up? SOLLUX: i'm assuming you're 0n your way.

Is this...the first on-screen interaction between Karkat and Sollux since Cascade in 2011? It was worth the wait.

KARKAT: MAYBE YOU'D GIVE MORE OF A FUCK ABOUT THE REPRODUCTIVE FUTURE OF OUR SPECIES IF ARADIA WAS EVER ACTUALLY THERE LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO GET SOME. MEENAH: ohhh snapper KARKAT: ANYWAY YEAH I CAN PROBABLY SWING THAT.

This is maybe the most Karkat interaction ever. He's furious for extremely good reasons, he's constantly insulting his friends, of course he'll swing his A-team war truck by McDonalds on the way to the war zone to get Sollux something. Doesn't even occur to him not to.

KARKAT: AND WE NEVER LET IT GO. LOB 4: Well said, sir! KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK. KARKAT: HOW LONG HAVE YOU ALL BEEN LISTENING? TER 2: Pretty much since the beginning, sir!

It's cool and thematic that these guys talk in Dave's colors but I'm unbelievably sad they don't have names.

KARKAT: COMMANDERS HARLEY, MARYAM, AND LALONDE ARE INBOUND, AND NOT LONG AFTER THEY GET HERE THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BATSHIT STUPID!

Last time we saw Vrissy, she was seeing Yiffy for the first time. I was expecting an update following up on that before the big everything coming together, but maybe they won't get a chance to talk yet

Because this sure feels like the last page before an [S]

Edit: But it isn't, the news post said another update this month.

[ming-sik]

solemnly going back to the start of the rewrite im gonna post whenever i finish it and deleting the paragraph where i was like "so this is just gonna be a vague summary :) i might add more details later but this is just to get the AU solid in my head :)" because that is a lie. im doing summaries at the chapter level and therefore have only gotten to p3v5 in 19,000 words. im incapable of not doing this btw but to give you a taste of what im actually cooking i will do, my utmost, to summarize things in less than a thousand words:

rozemyne is born with laynoble mana that she only manages to compress to mednoble mana before her baptism, at which point she has devouring clumps, which work the same way as CAD and will also clump up if she consumes too much mana-rich stuff or channels too much mana into her body, so she's primarily reliant on magic tools and then her schtappe to get anything done. there is no cure for mana clumps, so using magic without one will always be life threatening, as mana toxicity cannot be treated with mana-rich potions or mana-infused spells. if the mana clumps add up too much, she will have a heart attack.

i'm calling this medscholar AU atp because its what's diverged almost everything substantially

hard difficulty spike on everything by taking away myne's infinite money mana and healing

hard spike on worldbuilding so you can look forward to shit like this and i have 5 dictionaries open right now

most of part 1 is about developing an alphabet and deciding how myne is going to be trapped in either the temple or a noble contract after her baptism

part 2 she loses contact with everyone in the lower city because she enters as a grey priest. she becomes ferdinand's attendant and after learning the biblical language he allows her to become his pupil and eventually join noble society. meanwhile gilberta company develops paper based on a huge bundle of drawings and instructions myne left behind. bindewald happens then sylvester makes giebe illgner adopt her and makes a contract saying he'll take her on as a medscholar when she comes of age and can be put in charge of the printing industry.

part 3 elvira put in charge of the industry and the gang prints three whole books but in the process establishes good relations with liesegang after rozemyne invents chocolate and hartmut is introduced as is charlotte. wilfried is sent to the temple. georgine starts her scheming and plotting after someone sneaks through that veronica was imprisoned.

rozemyne enters the RA as hartmut's apprentice scholar, proving herself a star student and learning about the gods during which she starts to make contact with the gods, hartmut is taken on as charlotte's attendant on sylvester's orders. charlotte and sylvester's conflict starts to kick into high gear until charlotte snaps and contacts georgine who starts doing her thing. wilfried and gil start agitating for the rights of priests/shrine maidens. rozemyne becomes increasingly aware of the situation the royal family is in and wonders if a revolution is on the horizon. sylvester demands to know the details, hears about a world without feudalism, and after a very messy arc he decides to look into that, as well as start to try and rescue his daughter from georgine's faction. also rozemyne's like going to school and stuff, taking the scholar course, meeting the characters, participating in shenanigans. all goes wrong when hartmut is forced into a marriage with detlinde and rozemyne's shipped off to ahrensbach with him.

or does it? hartmut makes contact with lanzenave and discovers that they overthrew their colonial royal family and now have rebuilt enough that they could potentially afford another war. they're playing with fire, but they have no idea when an opportunity like a zent without a grutrissheit directly after a civil war that means population and mana are at an all-time low might come again. despite georgine's schemes and plots, after she's finally thwarted and sylvester is forced to kill her, with the combined might of the gods and idk put interesting tactics here they eventually pull it off in a climactic battle where they fight both dunkelfelger and the sovereign knight's order. then they abolish the monarchy and institute a democratic centralist party and sylvester turns directly to the screen to criticize feudalism as a system just to be safe

[paracosm-draw]

A little fandom crossover but I've been obsessed with the concept of Warlock Darth Vader and Fae Obi-Wan who fall in love with each other 👀 

It's Sunday prompt day !! 🥳

I'm so excited about this new concept and I received very interesting prompts to write about, I can't wait to post them all !

This one was the first I wrote about, thank you for sending it, it gave me so many ideas, I got a little carried away aha. I couldn't write the whole falling in love process or I had to write a whole fic but I hope you'll still enjoy it !! 💕

TW : mention of heavily scarred body (kinda suitless Vader)

___________

When Vader first sets foot on Aldhani, he immediately feels like the atmosphere is different than any other planet he’d ever landed on. And he has visited a lot, conquered a lot.

This one would make no exception.

Stepping off the metallic bridge of his ship, he presses the sole of his boots on the wet ground, tall grass lazily dancing in the wind around his legs.

The view is breathtaking, a soothing break in the dark turmoils of the war.

Framing the valley in which he landed are mountains, rising high enough to be crowned by the clouds. The early morning light is painting them in shades of orange and the only sounds he can hear are the singing of the birds, the light breeze playing with his hair and his own breathing, loud and unnatural.

Closing his eyes, he lets his mind wander, searching for any living presence in the area.

It’s an easy mission, the population being mainly made up of farmers and religious people, none of them bearing any kind of power. That's why he came alone, on the orders of his master, counting on his magic and lightsaber alone to convince them to join the Empire.

When he’s done scanning his surroundings for any advanced intelligent form - he hasn’t found any - he decides that his best chance is to leave his ship behind and to follow the river deeper in the valley until he finds a village.

Before leaving, he decides to change his heavy suit and coat for something lighter and more practical. He adjusts the lightsaber to his tunic belt, wraps himself in a long dark cape and checks that his portable oxygenator is fully charged. Once he’s done making sure it’s carefully strapped to his mouth and nose and working fine, converting the right amount of air into his oxygen needs, he grabs his traveling bag and heads to the river.

The walk is pretty gentle on his mechanic joints, far more comfortable than walking on the rough stone banks of Mustafar or worst, in the sand. Here he doesn’t even think about his next steps as he strolls along the riverside, leaving space for his head to think and his senses to explore.

The Force is strong in here, almost palpable, pure life energy flowing into every being, from the smallest flower to the highest mountain. It’s neither good nor bad he realises. It’s nothing and it’s everything at the same time. It doesn’t care about the war, it doesn’t care about politics, about pain and hope. It exists only to serve a purpose : giving life and keeping the gears of the universe turning.

The thought keeps him wondering for a while.

The sun is high when he’s confronted to a choice. He's deep down in the bottom of the valley and in front of him the river is sinking between trees marking the edges of a forest. He can continue following it or try to avoid the woods in which he might get lost.

He hesitates for a second, deciding to rely on his instincts. The call of the forest is strong, as if the Force is even denser here, flowing through the sap of the old trees and impregnating the very ground. He can almost feel it buzzing around him.

So he follows it.

The cover of the trees is welcomed as the sun starts to hit harder in the middle of the day. He has dropped the cape and rolled up his sleeves, exposing one delicately crafted mechanic arm, the other one being only torn flesh and burned skin. Still functional but painful and unsightly. He doesn't really care, he has learned how to wield his lightsaber with his other hand.

The scars on his body and face are another thing, though. They make him suffer every minute, a painful reminder of what he had to endure to become as powerful as he is today. They took away any sense of comfort he had taken for granted for too long, forcing him to rely on a machine to draw breath after breath and keep himself alive. They also took away the privilege of being perceived as “normal” in other people eyes, not that he seeks any kind of contact with any kind of people, but some looks still hurt, even years later.

He's on the edge of the slippery path to self-loathing when something makes him stops right in his tracks. A feeling.

Looking around, he realises that the river has given life to the beginning of a lake. From where he is, he can see it entirely ; a calm body of water enclosed by ancient trees, their reddish foliage reflecting in the water like a mirror.

For a moment he just stays there, staring at the gorgeous sight. It looks like a dream.

Light pierces through the branches, illuminating the myriad of insects flying over the surface of the lake, diving through the shades of blue to highlight the silver scales of the fish hiding in the shadows.

The Force is so thick in here, bathing every creature in vital energy, he can taste it on the back of his tongue.

And then he realises why he had stopped in the first place. He had felt something. Something bigger than the frogs and the deers wandering around. Something with a consciousness so vast and complex he wonders why he’s only feeling it just now.

It is there, right in the middle of the lake.

Someone.

Vader’s heart misses a beat as he crouches down behind the trunk of an elder tree.

There’s a creature immerged in the deep waters, swimming gracefully between the water lilies. A man, as far as he can tell. The sun, where it pierces through the leaves, is kissing his pale skin and making his wet hair look like a flaming crown.

Vader’s eyes are stuck to his silhouette, and the time seems to stretch out as he follows him slowly getting back to the bank.

And then the man climbs out of the water and he doesn’t know if he’s chocked out by the fact that he’s completely naked or if it’s because of the pair of wings sticking out of his back. His face still heats up all the same.

Saying that this creature is the most beautiful person he’s layed his eyes on is an understatement.

He’s gorgeous, droplets of water running down his skin like little beads of light, bronze hair sticking on the back of his neck, his body lean and strong.

And there’s the wings. Vader still has a hard time believing his own eyes.

They’re tall, rising up a few inches above his head and falling to his bare feet, where he notices a bracelet around one of his ankles.

They look incredibly thin and fragile, for they’re mostly transparent. But when they're playing with the light, they’re suddenly painted in a million color, like a diamond in a beam. He’s never seen something like that before, it’s hypnotizing.

Just when he leans a bit closer on the tree, his scarred hand rips on the bark and he loses his balance, putting a knee on the ground with a loud thud, and the echo of the sound seems to ripple in the Force.

Immediately the man turns his head in his direction, scrutinizing the shadows where he hides.

“Who’s there ?” He asks warily, swiftly picking up a piece of clothes on the ground and putting it on.

Vader feels a tingle of regret when the beige tunic drapes almost all of his body, covering his arms and falling just above his knees. He watches him tighten it at the waist with another blue piece of fabric, and feels his cheeks burning up again when the man picks up a thinner leather belt that he fixes around his thigh, lifting the tunic in the process. He notices the dagger in the sheath just before the piece of clothes falls back again, hiding the pretty thigh and the weapon with it. He’s so fascinated by the whole sight that he needs a second to realise that the wings are gone.

“I can feel you.” The man says again, and this time he’s moving in his direction. “Show yourself.”

Vader can understand what he says without any problems. His accent informs him that he’s probably not a native from this planet.

He weights his choices for a while. The stranger doesn't seem to be dangerous, and his weapon is no match again his lightsaber. Maybe he can even lead him to the nearest village.

He steps out of the shadow of the tree with his hands up, showing no sign of hostily.

“I’m sorry.” He says. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The man stops in his tracks and his eyes widen when they land on Vader’s face, his lips parting in a horrified grimace.

Vader is used to that kind of reaction, but he can’t help feeling sharply self-conscious about his looks under the creature's gaze. It almost makes him want to hide under his hood.

They stare at each other for a long while, none of them daring to move or to speak. Vader feels like the stranger’s eyes are piercing right through him, dissecting every one of his scars, reading every bad decisions leading to them like an open book. He has to force himself not to squirm under his gaze.

Then the man takes a step closer, reducing the distance between them from another meter. From where he stands Vader can see his face better, he can tell that his eyes are the same color as the lake, fierce and suspicious, or that he looks like he’s in his late thirties. His skin seems as soft as his own is damaged, studded with a galaxy of freckles on his nose and cheeks. A beard is framing his perfect face, sharing bronze and golden hues with the hair falling on his shoulders.

He looks like the Sun personified and Vader cannot take his eyes of him.

“Who are you, stranger ?” The man asks, pulling him out of his thoughts. “State your name and business.”

His voice is firmer and colder, but it still sounds like music to Vader’s ears. He sees his hand getting closer to his thigh when he doesn’t answer and decides to speak then.

“I think I’m lost.” He half lies. “My ship crashed half a day of walk from here and I’m looking for the nearest village to repair it.”

The man raises an eyebrow and takes another careful step closer.

“I heard no such thing as the crash of a ship. And you didn’t tell me your name.”

“Is it really that imp-”

Vader cannot end his sentence that a root breaks out from the soil and wraps itself around his legs, pinning him to the ground and growing bigger by the second, curling up around his waist and pressing his arms to his side like one of those snakes he saw once in an archive. The pressure is strong enough to immobilize him but it feels like they could break his bones at any moment. When they reach his throat, the instinctive rush of magic flowing through his body makes his skin tingle, ready to be used at full power to defend himself.

“I can feel the darkness in you.” The man growls.

His dagger is in his hand now, and there’s something irradiating from him in the Force. It takes Vader a second to understand that he’s also using some kind of magic to control the roots. It makes him re-evaluate the situation and his opponent.

“Alright.” He says, struggling as one of the roots wraps itself tighter around his throat. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The man frowns and slides in front of him, close enough for Vader to see every details of his face, like the little mole under his right eye or the pink shade of his lips, twisted in an upset line.

“What are you ?” He enquires, making no move to ease the pressure on the other’s body.

“I’m- I'm a warlock.” Vader decides to reveal. It’s a half-truth, but the stranger doesn't need to know more. He doesn’t need too convinced, though.

“Liar.” He hisses a few inches from his face and Vader can feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on as his self-preservation instinct begins to doubt whether he's the predator in this situation. “You reek of the dark side. Why are you here ?”

As he asks questions, the man grabs the sides of his cape and pulls them apart to search him. It doesn’t take long until he finds his lightsaber, that he takes with a disgusted look on his face.

“You’re a Sith.” He growls, narrowing his eyes to look at him more closely, hostility clearly written on his features. “You’re siding with the Empire. You’re here to enslave us.”

Vader doesn’t deny it, there’s no use.

“Don’t kill me.” He just asks softly, and he doesn't even have a good excuse to add.

“And why would I let you live ?” The man snarls. “When you come here bringing chaos, pain and destruction ?”

He takes a step back suddenly, looking around in alert.

“Are there others like you ?”

“I came alone.” Vader replies, he had stopped struggling and the roots had stopped tightening, making it uncomfortable but not impossible to breathe. “I swear.”

“Why should I trust you ?” The man asks again, crossing his arms against his chest.

“I’ll let you read in my mind.” Vader says. “You’ll see I'm telling the truth.”

It’s a risky move. He doesn’t know how powerful the stranger is, and he already made the mistake of underestimating him once. But he doesn't want to engage in a fight.

The man gives him a suspicious look. He has no reason to trust him, but he seems conflicted. Vader can almost hear his thoughts. He’s not sure he’s strong enough to kill him if he tried, but he doesn't want to put his village in danger by bringing him there as a prisoner. It’s a dead end. Maybe he can offer a solution.

“I could… Tell the Empire that I found no-one here.” He says carefully. “That you already fled to another system to seek the help of the rebellion.”

The man's eyebrows shot up at his words.

“And why exactly would you do that ?”

“It would be a waste to destroy a planet like that. Where the Force is so strong and balanced.” Vader replies, and then coughs as his oxygenator finally has a hard time providing enough oxygen in his state.

The man observes him for a while, pondering.

“So you’ll just fly back to your emperor and lie to his face for the sake of one planet out of the hundreds you probably already doomed ? This is absurd.”

“This- This planet is no use for the Empire.” Vader says and, oh, black dots are dancing around his vision now. “I- I can’t breathe.”

He sees the man straighten, peering at him to evaluate if he’s trying to fool him or if he’s really in distress.

That’s when his legs give way under his weight that he has a glimpse of the stranger rushing to him before everything goes black.

When he comes back to his senses, he’s lying on his back on a pile of soft leaves, under the cover of what looks like a weeping willow. It takes a second for his brain to kick in, and when it does his first reflex is to get up. That’s when he realizes that his hands are tied in front of him, and that he’s not alone.

“I thought you were dead for a while.” The man sitting a few meters away from him says.

He’s building a fire camp with dry wood and terse grass. He added another layer on his shoulders and Vader shivers when the chill air of the evening slips under his thin tunic. He must have blacked out for a few hours. Without thinking, he closes his eyes and concentrates on the fire camp. A second later, a spark ignites in his center and flames start to consume the dry wood.

He can’t help but smirk when he hears the man gasp at his little trick.

“What-”

“Relax.” He says, slowly sitting up on the ground. “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m just cold.”

The stranger makes a face but doesn’t reply. Instead he picks up his dagger and starts to peel some edible roots piled up by his side.

Vader watches him in silence for a while. He’s still as fascinated by the stranger. He wants to know more about him. About his story.

“What’s your name ?” He finally asks, trying to find a more comfortable position for his metallic joints. At least his oxygenator is working fine again.

The man raises his head in his direction, his blue eyes staring at him with a mix of curiosity and defiance.

“You didn’t tell me yours.”

“Ah, fair enough.” Vader replies with a light smile. He hesitates for a millisecond. “Anakin. My name is Anakin.”

“Anakin.” The man repeats, and it’s strange to hear it in the mouth of someone else. To hear it again after such a long time. Maybe it’s not as dead as he thought. “I’m Obi-Wan.”

Vader thinks that it’s a beautiful name for a beautiful man he met on a beautiful planet.

Now he doesn’t have to get back to the emperor just yet, does he ? He can take a few days away from the war, from the horrors and the pain. He can pretend that he’s not a monster for a while. He can bathe in the beauty and the calm of this planet, let it heal him even if he doesn’t deserve it. The best he can do is to avoid corrupting it.

“Obi-Wan.” He tastes the name on his tongue and decides that he likes it. “Tell me more about you.”

[iheartgod175]

Some Thoughts...

While I've still got some Zula Patrol brain rot, I've been rediscovering some old shows from Playhouse Disney (the fact that I called it that versus Disney Junior should tell you how old I am, haha XD). Special Agent Oso was one of them, and I remember watching an episode because Phil Lewis was in the series. But I didn't care for it, even though the theme song is a total bop. Then I started rewatching the episodes. And then I stumbled upon that lore video by Athena P. And then I realized I'm in too deep XD

Watching the show, I understand why folks initially disliked Oso. On one hand, his incompetence is not something a secret agent should have. On the other hand, he's a cinnamon roll. He just needs a little extra help, that's all. Not to mention that during season 2, he gets a lot more independent and competent, with his overconfidence being one of his main flaws. He's a himbo, plain and simple. That's probably why I like him.

I read that the show's creator, Ford Riley, has a son with autism and that his son's autism therapy was the main reason he implemented the "three special steps" into the show. As an autistic woman myself, I just wanted to say kudos to this guy for creating a show geared to teaching autistic children, and sorry for my initial criticism.

I also discovered that there were ships for this show: Wolfie/Dottie and Oso/Dottie. After confirming their ages (because for some reason, the Disney Junior wiki's got Dottie as an eleven-year-old while Oso and Wolfie are in their twenties--which is, uh...SUPER WEIRD O.O), my general consensus is this: Oso/Dottie is a solid "nah" for me. To me, they're more like siblings rather than a couple. Wolfie/Dottie, though...I see the vision. You've got me, folks. (I totally didn't come up with that after seeing the "One Unique Pair" video xD) If you enjoy Oso/Dottie, that's cool! I won't bite your head off for it, lol XD

If I had to pick a character I liked aside from Oso, I'd say that Wolfie is my favorite. And not just because Phil Lewis plays him. He's just too darn cool. Oh, and he has the patience of a saint.

Those dark theories are something else, though. And of course, I now want to write a story with my own spin on those dark theories. Yesterday, I spent about two hours writing up page after page of a proposed fan fic where Oso uncovers the true purpose of U.N.I.Q.U.E. and, uh...doesn't take it well. And he messes up everything for everybody so badly that outside forces (aka the Super Readers) have to get involved. To put it simply, he becomes this fic's Origami Tobiichi. (@0range-flames, this is why I had that Super Why: Infinity War joke XD)

I decided that in this story, Jack is gonna be heavily involved. Playing Revue Starlight gave me an idea of how Jack could be a fighter, heavily inspired by Fumi's Orpheus card.

Speaking of Disney Junior, I'm thinking of writing more Callie/Peck. As of last night, my Wattpad story, Time After Time, is now the number one Sheriff Callie story. That filled me with such indescribable happiness, that I felt inspired to work on a Callie/Peck one-shot for the first time in forever.

That being said, while I haven't forgotten the Disney fandom or the fans who've read this story, I'm writing this purely for free. Badgering me about updating this story (or my Wattpad story collection) will not make me write it faster. Please show some consideration for your fellow authors!

The response to the Bula/Firestorm WIP has been really heartwarming. 12 notes already?! You guys are awesome!

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Y'all out here arguing about canon ships meanwhile we out here shipping Hobie with everything single one OC I come across.

I'm serious. So uhhh here's

Hobie's Beaus - Hobie x Fandom!OCs Headcanons

[headcanons about my OC and other OCs who are emotionally involved with Hobie being besties]

It's not even like 'Oh him and Diane have a separate storyline universe-'

No they all have a unique and separate relationship with him. No they're not poly. Hobie is just everywhere where he needs to be. Even if it means being two places at once.

Hobie doesn't believe in logic.

Ansi sleeps in his bed nearly every night. When Mariah is there she'll take the couch or floor and they'll have a sleep over but Ansi is there way more and it's not unusual to hear Ansi in the background when Diane calls Hobie on the UniPhone (phone Hobie made her so they can talk across universes) or Ansi being the one to pick up the phone.

When Mariah and Ansi have bad flares the same day they lay around the boathouse and Hobie becomes the residential maid for the day.

It usually ends up with them watching The Princess Bride, the First Star Wars, or Halloween (the last two being Mariahs comfort movies)

Diane goes to Hobie's shows and vice versa - but he also hours to Josephine's show every Friday, and picks her up after practice when he can.

When Asa's kids run up to Diane asking for their mommy Diane knows that means they need Hobie

Wade Ansi and Diane be sitting on Hobies bedroom floor gushing about him and how cool he is then Hobie comes back in the room with the pizza like 'what are y'all talking about'

And they're like 'not u. loser...as if' because they all love him to death but they all think he's a dork

Diane standing next to Maitreyi at the food court and catches her looking at Hobie and she loudly goes "You have a crush on Hobie???!!! Me too 😄 You should join our Hobie fanclub!! For people who have LOVE him and crushes on Hobie-"

And Maitreyi is probably like "sis keep it down before he hears you PLEASE 😭"

His place is DROWNING in their stuff. Jo's ballet gear and pointe shoes on his dresser, Diane's makeup COVERS his bathroom counter. Maitreyi goes all out for Diwali on the boathouse.

They all hang out together and it's a SWELL ASS TIME.

Diane and Jo are both performers so sometimes they use the training rooms as dance practice rooms and run into each other.

The gang will be in a random disagreement about something like whether you put ketchup in the fridge or not and they'll call Asa to be the tiebreaker

Maitreyi may not be the most friendly but neither is Hobies MJ Mariah, so Mariah tries to be friends by sitting in silence with her. Chilling.

Mariah and Wade are both talkative as HELL so the two of them will talk up a storm and Hobie can hardly get a word in

All the SpiderBeaus eat lunch together with him and once a week they all have dinner on the houseboat with Wade and Mariah

There are no shipping wars we have ascended. All of this at once in my head

[OCs mentioned:

Mine:

Disco-Spider Diane, Mariah-Janet Waters Earth-138

Others:

@spidey-bie's Ansi

@qirarey123's Josephine

@autisticarach's Asa

@thewolfsoul's Wade

@hobiebrownismygod's Maitreyi

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Something I might get thrown out of the fandom for: Buffy is really frustrating me in season seven (as I go through it again, but by reading it this time in the "Chosen" novelization, that is actually a novelization of the entire season). And before anyone comes at me, this isn't me bashing her. Also, Buffy is my favorite character in the series, so I feel like I'm allowed to say this.

But back to my point, I feel like she frustrated me some the first time I watched the season, too, but I think I somehow tampered down those emotions, because things like her being thrown out of her own house (that will forever be stupid) made me feel like the others were moreso in the wrong.

And this whole thing... I feel like it's not an easy issue. Or that you can really say that one side is more in the right or wrong than the other is, as I definitely get where both sides are coming from.

I also understand now, as I think many fans do, that I think Buffy is partly supposed to be wrong this season (at least in some ways). Like, she's surely saying and doing all the right things to help them win this war, yes. But in doing so, she's forgotten what it was like to be in the Potentials' shoes, when she was a sixteen-year-old girl facing down her Watcher and a Prophecy about her fate, throwing books at said Watcher and telling him she didn't want to die. Buffy's almost like the Watchers' Council to the Potentials in this season, which is something that should never happen and partly why she realizes that she needs to share the Slayer power by the end of it, not have it all herself.

But I definitely think she's making the wrong calls about Spike... and it grinds my gears to watch. Her emotions are clouding her judgement, and I just- I feel like the Buffy of old would have never done this. Ugh! I hate to make comparisons, but I'm sorry. Buffy was never this stupid when it came to Angel. As she said in S3 about him, "I'd never put you guys in danger. If I thought Angel was going to hurt anyone--" But meanwhile, with Spike, he's a sleeper agent liability, that she knows well about, and she does nothing and leaves him with the girls as a danger to them?! Even preferring it that way?! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spike has a soul now and needs a chance to prove himself, but save that until after this fight. For now, send him away, like even Spike has thought was best to do! I swear! Also, Spike's needed muscle according to Buffy, which is one of the reasons she wants him there. But, honestly, at least where I'm at in this book... the points where Buffy is saying that, he's maybe helped in two fights? And, you know, if these shows weren't so adamant about keeping the two apart for no good reason, Buffy could call Angel for a little extra demon muscle: someone who is much safer, as he's not a sleeper agent for the First. Well, he's safe this season during the parts when he's not Angelus, anyway.

I also can't believe that Spike almost killed Robin and Buffy was somehow okay with this, took Spike's side, and said that if Robin came after Spike again, she'd let him kill him. Uhh, Buffy: your whole thing as the Slayer is supposed to be about protecting humans?! And the reasons they gave for this just really didn't work for me. Oh. She needs Spike's muscle to help win the war against the First, so she can't accept Robin having a personal vendetta against Spike right now. And while she and Giles are arguing about Spike, she's pretty much saying even with the Spike and Robin going on right now, he's surely not a danger and would never hurt Robin... and then she finds out she's wrong about that. And that he beat up Robin something fierce. And Spike confirms that he let him go only because of what he did to Nikki, but if he comes after him again, he'll kill him, and Buffy still acts like she did? I can't. I just can't. I just really feels like the writers of the show were on a super S*puffy shipping kick and lost all sense. I could go even further with this, but I won't.

There's also a part of me that feels that Buffy was maybe wrong with how she treated the Potentials (which I got into above, a little bit). I wanted to get into how she acted after Chloe's death (and how I agree with parts of it and not with others), but now I don't know if I feel like it, so I spent so much on other things here. Maybe another day.

Like, I do get why she needed them to shape up, because otherwise they would be dead. It's not a slumber party. And Giles' need to coddle them at first is frustrating, when he never did that for her and as Buffy says, they're the next generation. If she or Faith dies, which they very well could in this fight, they need to be able to carry the torch.

But as I said above, Buffy is forgetting how wrong all of this is and what it was like for her when she didn't want any of this, and is not taking their feelings and trauma into account enough.

And... there's a side of me that wasn't sure if I thought taking the Potentials into battle--at least as often as Buffy wanted to do--was a good idea. Because, yes: they have some slight powers and are the next generation. But they're not fully-fledged Slayers with all the powers like she and Faith are. And aren't we trying to keep these girls alive to keep the Slayer line alive? Taking them into a lot of battles increases the chance of losing them? Though I also understand that Buffy was trying to train them (and take out the First's armies), but she could also do that through patrolling and stuff. But I do patrolling is not exactly the same as real life experience in huge fights.

But in that vein... I'm also thinking the girls complaining so much that Buffy is crazy for taking them out like that, and that they came there for protection, is unfounded. When, again, they're the next generation (and, I know: they never asked for it). But people like Xander and Dawn with no powers have been out fighting the good fight for years, even younger than the Potentials are now. Yes, the threat has never been this big, but still.

Like I said, there's no easy answer here and it's all a huge mess, until Buffy shares the power.

[melishade]

Number 10?

This ask game

Arcee and Wheeljack talking after chapter 78. I'll just add that to the Autobot Anthology.

Emblem

Lobbing

Ice Skating

Wheeljack continued working on updating the 3D gear in the Jackhammer. His ship was parked right next to the neutral ship, just so he could have access to the materials to craft the devices. He knew that he needed to go over the schematics with Hanji, but they were busy trying to do damage control with the Restorationists.

Wheeljack sighed as he leaned back. This blows, and he still hasn't attacked anyone yet. He really wanted to shove a grenade down Silverback's throat.

"Hey," a voice called out to him. Wheeljack raised his helm to see Arcee standing at the entrance of his ship.

"Hey," Wheeljack greeted as he set his project down and out of sight, "How was your time with Sasha?"

"It was okay." Arcee shrugged, "I ended up picking hay out of my joints because I helped out on her family's farm."

"I thought she was a huntress," Wheeljack recalled.

"She is, but her family had to change to farming in order to make a living," Arcee explained.

Wheeljack chuckled. "Humans are better at adapting to new situation than we are."

"To be fair, they haven't been at war for four million years." Arcee sat down next to Wheeljack.

"...you doing okay?" Wheeljack asked her.

"No," Arcee confessed, "I acted like a hypocrite and lost it when it came to Megatron."

"I wish I could have seen that," Wheeljack lamented with a smile.

"It was stupid of me," Arcee sighed, "Wheeljack, I'm not okay. I've...never been okay. And I thought I could be but I can't. I almost made things worse."

Wheeljack merely nudged her with his arm. "Anything you've done, I'm pretty sure I've done worse."

Arcee chuckled. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better...Are you...okay?"

Wheeljack paused for a moment before sighing in defeat. "No. All this pretty much sucks."

Arcee leaned against Wheeljack's arm and sighed. "Yeah...at least you're here."

"Really?" Wheeljack asked her.

"Yeah," Arcee answered, "You make the quiet bearable."

"Good to know...I'm glad you joined me through all this," Wheeljack said, patting her servo in comfort, "Maybe leaving Cybertron wasn't so bad after all."

"After this, I'm never leaving home again," Arcee declared, causing Wheeljack to snicker.

"I'm sure the Bots will be happy to hear that," Wheeljack said. Nothing else was said after that. The two just sat in the comfort of silence, enjoying each other's company.

(Free game: 44-46,14, 7, 19,23,26, 32,34-37,39.)

[dvilsdesire]

LYCO'S BOX OF CURIOSITIES (as always, pick your faves & no pressure!! 😌)

💕 — single or taken?

❓ — three adjectives that describe you

❤️ — what are some of your best qualities?

💔 — what are some of your worst qualities?

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

🍝 — favorite food(s)?

😖 — what annoys you?

🎶 — favorite song at the moment?

🗒 — what is/are your favorite genre(s)/theme(s) to write

🤔 — what genre(s)/theme(s) do you struggle to write the most?

😤 — what do you dislike the most about being part of the rpc?

🎉 — what are some of your favorite things to do with your irl friends?

😗 — what are some of your favorite things to do when you have some time to yourself?

💯 — share three random facts about yourself that your mutuals may not know about you.

An old meme I forgot about! :O

💕 — single or taken?

Taken.

❓ — three adjectives that describe you

No, I suck at these LOL.

❤️ — what are some of your best qualities?

I am a very honest person, if you ask for my help, I won't beat around the bush. I will tell you how it is and offer you a solution on how to fix it (sometimes people don't like that tho...). I have exceptionally strong work ethic, and I tend to see things from multiple perspectives. I generally have very strong morals, and I'm a lawful person. I try to be decent and understanding.

💔 — what are some of your worst qualities?

The memory of a fish, you're talking to me? You better make sure I'm listening because I tend to zone out and listen to the static inside my head X'D. DO NOT DISRUPT MY ROUTINE, I am a creature of habit and I will become unreasonably angry when it's disturbed. Sensory overload will also make me unreasonably angry. Antisocial as fuck, don't tend to reach out to people because I'm hopeless at it, and I also suck at talking about myself. I'm boring as fuck lol. XD Also, I can be apathetic about many things as well.

🎮 — favourite video game(s)?

OH BOY I have so many! Loads from the 90's, early 2000s. Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dead Space, Alien: Isolation, GTA: Vice City (that soundtrack!), Half Life, Donkey Kong 2, Gears of War, The Witcher 3, the list could go on tbh...

🍝 — favourite food(s)?

Sushi, chocolate.

😖 — what annoys you?

What doesn't? I'm in my 30's lol XD The sound of crying babies, people chewing, dogs barking non stop. People being cunts for no reason? General lack of logical brain power. Blog police.

🎶 — favourite song at the moment?

This outstanding cover of Don't Pay the Ferryman by Domian.

🗒 — what is/are your favourite genre(s)/theme(s) to write

Slow burn, angst, putting my muses through hell and back (I love my muses suffering because I am evil...). But also happy endings <3

🤔 — what genre(s)/theme(s) do you struggle to write the most?

Anything that is already established in the media? Like rewriting some kind of a scene that's already played out in game? I just can't... I don't know how to when it's already been done? Can we just move on and plot that we've already been there, done that? :'D I'm just BAD at it.

😤 — what do you dislike the most about being part of the rpc?

Blog policing is probably my biggest one. Just let people enjoy what they want, write what they want, who gives a fuck? It doesn't involve you, so move on? You don't like something, a ship or a theme, cool, good for you... move the fuck on with your life. I'm so over the purity culture? Or whatever the fuck it's called? How did some of you people ever survive the internet before 2010? You don't know shit about the person behind the computer screen, so get off your high horse. Some people like to write dark themes and they might be curing cancer at the same time. Who are you to judge over fictional characters? Also maybe don't let a stranger on the internet impact your life so much, because that's on you. :/

🎉 — what are some of your favourite things to do with your irl friends?

Friends? What are those? lol. Honestly, I tend to have an extremely small friend group, but I do like going camping and adventures in the bush, going out and eating to socialise is good, too. Playing games. Going to metal concerts :D

😗 — what are some of your favourite things to do when you have some time to yourself?

Play video games, write, draw, nature photography. I am a silly bird man.

💯 — share three random facts about yourself that your mutuals may not know about you.

Again, I'm bad at these, lol. XD

[atonalginger]

Snippet Sunday

@silurisanguine reminded me today is Sunday! Thank you :) Today's snippet is from the upcoming Stowaway story with Goose and Ruby, once again in Cooper's POV. I've got what I consider to be the first chunk done, which is the first 24-28 hours, and awaiting edits. Not sure when I'm going to upload it to ao3 but I'll let y'all know ;)

anyway the snippet:

They were too late. All any of them could find were a few stray pieces of debris shot off of the Golden Squid, a shattered engine, pieces of a landing gear, and several shrapneled radiators. Not the whole ship, though, which gave Cooper a small pang of hope.

Atomic had jumped to Porrima III where both satellites for the Crimson Fleet and Freestar Collective were maintained. Miss Devine down at the Red Mile preferred the business of the Fleet and Freestar and so it was a logical arrangement. While she checked the satellites Cooper and Ashta were forced to wait, passing the time by collecting the pieces of Goose’s ship and scanning the system for ship movements.

Please let this be proof he got away, Cooper found himself repeating in his head, please let them be safe. Please, please, please.

“How did we not see it?” Ashta said over the open comms.

Cooper wasn’t sure if he meant to say it out loud or if he even remembered the line was open. He thought about keeping his mouth shut, Ashta Morph was known for his temper, but he just couldn’t help himself, “from what our people were able to gather, Agent Stone was a top tier infiltrator. Once they got the first thread they traced her back to several other jobs getting into both corporate operations and even a remote FC base we lost years back in Narion.”

“Yes but she didn’t even change her fucking name for this,” Ashta snarled, “how did our people miss this?”

“She wasn’t the first slipped in,” Cooper pointed out, “she already had someone covering for her when she showed up with interest.”

“Right,” Ashta let out a forceful sigh and the sound of something hard shattering in the distance, “all the added security fucking worthless.”

“Not all of it,” Cooper said as he pulled in the last piece of the engine, “the only reason Freestar intelligence was able to catch her was because of Crimson intelligence. Voss’s people were instrumental from what I was told when they gave me the slate to deliver.”

“That’s something,” Ashta grumbled.

The War Bard jumped back into orbit, her large sky blue hull blocking the view of the planet below. There were fresh scorch marks on the broadside of the ship, her shields rippling as they came back online.

“Sharks were in the fucking waters,” Atomic snarled through clenched teeth, “they hit the satellites and made a move for the Red Mile. Luckily there were enough pirates and militia on shore leave down there to run them off but we’re still down two sats.”

“Please tell me you were able to pull anything off those things,” Ashta sounded wound tight, fighting his urge to snap at his partner.

Atomic was quiet except for a weary breath, then in a quiet tone, “most of the stored messages were corrupted beyond saving. Which means both the Fleet and Militia are out hundreds of reports that were bouncing in and out of those two sats. But,” she said quickly before Ashta could say anything, “there was something from Ruby in there. She remembered my security lessons and not only encrypted her distress call so only FC and Fleet operators could listen but set error correcting codes so it’s not completely junked. I haven’t had a chance to listen because a few small sharks popped in and started nipping at my flank but I can play it now."

The playback was rough, with static cutting parts out of Ruby’s tiny shaking voice:

This is the CF -kzzt- Squid. Our captain, Goose, was -kzzt- mole, Leslie Stone. Our position -kzzt- rima system is comprom -kzzt-. I will be scatter jump -kzzt- pha Andraste at the -kzzt- Please -kzzt- immediately, -kzzt- Goose -kzzt- shark used a toxin -kzzt- This message will -kzzt-

[jeffgerstmann]

why does playstation still outsell xbox 2:1? is microsoft STILL paying for the 2013 drm debacle?

I think that's probably part of it, but I'd probably look at the entirety of the previous generation, not just the DRM shit. The Xbox One was an under-powered piece of tech. The PS4 did great, they had smart initiatives to court indies that also helped earn them a lot of goodwill, and all of that is still paying off for them this time around. Sony also has games and first-party franchises that people want to play, and unlike Microsoft, Sony has been able to produce and ship a pretty decent number of those games already. People used to always talk about how games like Uncharted and most of the first-party games were big, but not necessarily as big as Sony felt they could/should be, but even if that's actually true, those games add up. In a world where the differences in hardware between the two machines are kinda minor, being able to say HERE ARE OUR BIG EXCLUSIVE GAMES matters. Sony's also been pretty smart about which games they go after. Surely getting Final Fantasy would be enough to sway some number of people to buy a PS5 over an Xbox Series X.

I also think Microsoft probably needs to be smarter about advertising and educating the mass market about Game Pass? Like do people even know it exists? I guess I'm not the best judge of that since I don't really watch any TV at all, but like... there should be big Game Pass ads on sports games and shit like that. For the mainstream game player who kinda operates on a budget and has a different mindset than the "core" "player," I would think that selling them on "the Netflix for video games" or whatever would be kind of a no-brainer.

In short, Sony has better third-party support, particular with Japanese developers, and their first-party games seem like they're really resonating with people in a way that Microsoft's simply aren't anymore. Maybe Call of Duty or Fortnite are factors here, and their rise helped lower interest in things like Halo or Gears of War? Regardless, it really feels like Microsoft's first-party teams just don't have what the masses are looking for anymore and with due respect to Forza, Starfield is their only big bet (that we know of).

All of that said, though... Microsoft's fortunes in gaming have been spread out. Their first-party games appear on PC and even in third-party stores like Steam. Some percentage of people who might've bought an Xbox are now realizing they don't need to buy one at all. Microsoft has more or less said that they're OK with that trade-off, but it sure does make a lot of these comparison points look rough for them. Ultimately we don't really know what "success" looks like for the Xbox division anymore because their business is more diverse and weird than it used to be (or, to compare, the Xbox business turns on different metrics than Sony's does). They've always seemed like they're taking the long view on things, for whatever that's worth.

[noodleblade]

Miscellaneous Tag Game (stolen title <3)

thank you bestie:3 @searchingfortheuniverse I'll be working on this while im on and off phone calls~

A band you don’t like that many others do: UM idk...my music taste is all over the place and I really only know the bands i think?? oh- maybe Mother Mother, only because I have not bothered to listen to their music past Junkrat hype videos and that's probably tainted my view a little. For better or for worse.

A childhood memory that you remember vividly: during a summer in greece, idk how, but I got roped into selling watermelons off the side of the road. I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7, but I remember I would put the watermelon in a plastic bag and the farmers thought it was really funny because that's such a...united states thing...to bag 1 whole watermelon in plastic. Anyways, they paid me in cucumber slices with salt.

Least favorite animal and why: HUH LEAST. I'm not a huge fan of like reptiles? Specifically those smaller than a bread box. Too fast, too squirm. Im worried I'll crush them in my hands. (im thinking of specifically florida geckos...idk they are cute but i freak out trying to hold them).

Hot fandom take: just because something is popular and fandom-wide accepted doesn't mean it is good. and not agreeing with it/wanting to engage in it doesn't mean you or your own opinions are bad. the monopoly on accepted 1 true canon is boring.

Do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece: I try an rotate my jewelry around but I'm usually wearing a few rings, a necklace and a pair of earrings. My favorites are the rings. They are my mom's old ones and I typically wear the same two every day. One is a gold key of greece and the other is a thin black bar but the sides have really small thin heart cut outs.

A movie others liked but you didn’t: HMMMMM probably the new star wars trilogy. felt unnecessary and i just didn't like it? big shruggies

Three things you love about yourself: my writing- its something that I enjoy the most in the world and something that I can claim as mine. I also think I'm pretty funny in a sillay way which is poggers. I like my openness to trying things. Think that's helped make me more well-rounded. I hope so at least.

A place you hope to visit in the future and why: HMMMMM. I want to visit Japan again. For a new place, I want to go to South America. Peru maybe??? Mexico would also be nice. So that's what I'm gearing up towards next.

An actor that gets on your nerves and why: Uh Matt Smith? No reason behind this. but I see his block head and kind of just look away.

Things you’re excited for in the nearby future? I have a lot of little house projects I finally feel like tackling which is exciting. Ive lived in my house for almost 2.5 years and still havent felt like parts of it are complete yet.

Least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in: oof I lowkey kind of hate saying things I don't like on here. bad experiences in the past when people were upset I didn't like a thing they did and got mad at me. But uhhh not the biggest fan of most rodimus ships? but I think mega/rod is my least favorite of them. sorry!

What’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in? hahaahahahhahahah can you believe Game of Thrones wasn't the most toxic???? it was jjba. I got put on a ban list which was kind of funny. I also got kind of show-ponyed in a toxic discord server for a while which has completely ruined me in the ability to act normal on discord outside of my irl friends. that account is deleted but the ao3 is still circling around.

List three things you find beautiful about life: Friends and family- sometimes I want to kill but I really do love them so so much. I like creating things and creating things with people. I also really like my area as far as nature goes. the beach to swamp ratio sings to me.

Any dreams for the future? I want to go on a really long hike. Maybe like a 2 day one? (< says the person that has gone on a max 2 hour hike before). Also just working on my original fiction again. I miss those fellas.

How are you really feeling today? Motivated!!!! Im a little groggy still, but I've been really excited about life and betterment lately so its overcoming my sleepy brain.

Tags: feel free to do or not: @honkytonka, @elmonstro, @huanted-dennys, @feral-birb-husband, @solarstormstuff @anyone else who wants to!! I'd be happy to read them:3

[bunnywritesjunk]

Ruusaan | Captain Rex x Reader

Series summary: You missed your tropical planet, but coruscant had more to offer. You are a field medic in the 501st. you work closely with the captain in hopes of not losing your job. But how close is too close.

Chapter summary: Rex hasn't spoken to you in days. Hopefully this mission will give you guys some time to talk.

Pairing: Captain Rex x Reader

Warnings: Slavery, Suicide (Canon typical suicide), Rated R

Word count: 3k

Series Masterlist

Genre: Fluff and angst

A/n: Hello everyone, this is the start of a next arc. Rexy boy is getting a little serious ooooh. I'm gonna try to post chapter 9 really soon. I think after this chap or the next one y'all will finally get what you've been waiting for.

Chapter 8

Rex hasn't you in days. He needed time to process his newfound feelings. There’s only one person that could give him proper advice on how to continue. Rex hadn’t thought about relationships with anyone, especially before the war ended. Did he want a relationship? Would it get in the way of his duties? Before he could overthink he found General Skywalker. He was in the hangar speaking to a trooper and General Kenobi. Rex nodded at them in a small greeting.

“General, Trooper.” Rex said to the group.

“Morning Rex.” Skywalker greeted him back.

“General Skywalker, can we speak in private?”

“Sure.”

Obi-wan and the soldier left promptly.

“What is it, Rex?” Anakin asked.

Rex looked around, troops were buzzing around the hangar going in all directions.

“Uh, maybe somewhere more private.”

Anakin nodded and started leading him away to an empty hangar control room.

“Is there something I should be worried about?” Anakin asked the Captain.

“No sir”

Once they got to the control room, Anakin closed the door behind them and stood next to it looking at Rex.

“Well, I had a question for you. A hypothetical question.”

“Go on.” Said Anakin.

“Well say hypothetically, there’s a soldier who has taken a liking to someone on their team. Hypothetically the teammate is showing interest as well, but the soldier has not had any form of a real relationship before and has important duties to attend to. Should the soldier pursue the teammate or keep their distance?”

“Huh, and this is all hypothetical?”

Rex nodded.

Anakin smirked at the Captain.

“Well, I think the soldier should have as many experiences as possible.

Relationships with teammates can be complicated. Just keep doing your- I mean he should keep doing his job and keep the relationship quiet. I don’t think many people will mind.”

Rex looked down at his feet, thinking about what was said.

“This is all hypothetical of course.” Anakin winked at him and left the control room.

Rex replayed the questions that has been plaguing his mind for the past few days. He knew his body yearned for you. His mind was even more fond of the medic. He managed to control his urges but that didn’t stop his dreams from reminding him of his current issue.

What the General said did strike a chord with him. To have more experiences. Rex walked out of the control room and headed down through the hangar. He needed to talk to you, just not today. He was still reeling from the last time he saw you. He needed time to think about what he wanted to say to you. You worked with him, Rex wanted to be careful about how he went about explaining his feelings to you. He walked back to his bunk to check his holo-pad. There was an upcoming mission briefing soon. He made his way to the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slipping into your battle gear was no easy feat but you managed. You were being called to a special assignment. You weren't given the details yet but you were excited to get back into the field. After the Umbara incident, you got benched to make sure you're ok to go back into battle. Na'wi has been getting all the fun assignments, meanwhile, you're stuck on the ship. She even got called early to the mission you were getting ready for. Someone was supposed to contact you soon to brief you on the mission. You went through your pack to make sure you had all your supplies fully cleaned and stocked. You were a little nervous but you knew this mission would be better this time. Your holoprojector beeped in your pocket. You pulled it quickly and answered it. The holo materialized onto the device showing Na'wi and Anakin. You greeted them warmly.

“Hey girl, we're briefing you on the mission.” Na'wi said.

“Alright, hit me.” You responded. Anakin spoke.

“Well, This one is a little bit different from what you would normally do. But you can help us a lot.” You nodded waiting for him to continue.

“The people of the planet Shili have been kidnapped. We suspect it was Zygerrian Slavers with the help of Dooku.”

“Zygerrians?!” You exclaimed.

“Yeah, we figured that might strike a chord with you. We are going to Zygerria to infiltrate the system and get the Togruta people back to their home planet. Believe me, I have no desire to be civil with that scum. But, given your planetary history, you could prove useful.”

You looked down at your feet, processing the information you were given. Your planet has had issues with the Zygerrians for centuries. They saw your people as nothing but prizes to be won. Despite your planet remaining peaceful for all these years they still try to kidnap and enslave your people. They are a cunning and money-hungry planet.

“So you're going to use me as bait?” You asked.

“Not exactly. We need someone the Zygerrians will stop at nothing to have. You won't be sold, and you'll be with Rex, Ahsoka and I the whole time. Listen, you don't have to take this mission if it's too much.”

You knew the General wasn't trying to make you sound weak for turning the mission down but it bothered you anyway. You haven't seen action in weeks, not taking it would mean at least another few weeks benched.

“Alright, I'll help.”

“Great, you won't need your gear or armor, and wear something more...Traditional if you know what I mean.” Anakin said.

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, ok I can do that.”

“Hey, that wasn't my idea it was her's” He pointed to Na'wi.

“Well, the plan will work better if she doesn't look like a Republic nurse. The rest of the Squadron will be holding down the fort on Shili waiting for you guys to return.” Na'wi said.

“Don't worry, we'll be in costume too. Our shuttle will arrive in the hangar in about thirty minutes. Be ready by then.” Anakin said.

“Yes sir.”

You severed the connection and put your holoprojector back in your pocket. You stared at the wall for a second before making your way to your closet. You saved a few outfits from your planet for when you visit home. You picked an outfit that you didn't care if it got ruined. It was a long orange skirt with embroidery and beading on it. It came with a matching one-shoulder crop top. You also grabbed a pair of simple brown sandals. It was considered a casual piece of clothing for your family despite the hours it took to make. You remember the shop you got it from, a kind old woman sized and fit it for you. You're sure she wouldn't mind making you another one. You took off your field nurse uniform and slipped into the outfit.

You set the clothes aside and went back into your closet and pulled out a large jewelry box. Jewelry is a status symbol on your planet. The more beads, shells, and gems you wore, the more important you are. You chose pieces that had little sentimental value as they would probably be lost during the mission. The Zygerrians would know that. You placed gold cuffs on your pointed ears, making sure your hair was done in a way they were very visible. You placed gold bands on your arms and rings into your nostrils. Some had beads dangling from them. You fastened some shells into your hair as well. Lastly, you placed a gold cuff onto your tail, it has a band of red crystal running through it, a crystal that can only be found on your planet.

You pulled out a black cloak to hide your clothing while you walked to the hangar. Not that you were embarrassed by your culture, but more embarrassed by what you were about to do on this mission. You wanted to draw as little attention to yourself as possible.

You walked quickly to the hangar, luckily avoiding most people on your way. When you got there you saw a small ship that didn't look like a republic ship. Ahsoka, Anakin, and R2-D2 were standing near the entrance. Ahsoka noticed you first, giving you a small wave as you approached. Anakin turned towards you, He was wearing a typical Zygerrian slavers uniform. You grimaced slightly at the sight.

“Alright, we're all here. Let's get this over with.” The general said.

You followed them inside the ship and saw Rex and Obi-wan dressed similarly to Anakin. Anakin sat in the pilot's seat, Rex his co-pilot. Rex looked over his shoulder at you and nodded. You didn't acknowledge him back as you were still a little sore from your last encounter with him. He turned his attention back to the ship and started to take off. The flight would only be a few minutes long so you leaned on the wall as the other spoke. As the ship drew closer to Zygerria, more ships appeared trying to enter the planet's atmosphere.

“Looks like Zygerria is a popular place these days.” Anakin said.

“Whatever is happening is attracting plenty of high-class scum.” Obi-wan added.

As the ship lowered onto the planet your nerves heightened. You didn't know what you were in for, but you had to trust your Generals and your Captain. Ahsoka placed a hand on your shoulder as if she could feel your emotions.

“Hey, don't worry. I'm in the same boat as you are. I'll be right with you.” She said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I'm also gonna be a bargaining chip for the Zygerrians.”

You hummed. “I see, well I don't know if that makes me feel better but at least I'm not alone in that.”

Ahsoka smiled and went to the back of the ship. You felt the ship land with a thud. When Ahsoka emerged she was cloaked head to toe. You pulled the hood of your cloak up to match her a bit more. The group left the ship, The Generals and Captain leading while you and Ahsoka followed behind. The planet was warm and sunny, a contrast to what you were about to experience. Walking towards the capital you kept your head down, not wanting to draw any attention to yourself. The city was...less than hospitable. There were slave auctions and animal fights. It disgusts you. As you were walking a Twi'lek man fell onto the walking path. A Zygerrian told him to get up.

“Get up, you useless skug.” The Zygerrian spat.

“Master, the bonds, they're too heavy.” The Twi'lek said.

The Zygerrian growled. “Tell it to my whip.”

He unsheathed his weapon, about to lash the man. A hand grabbed the Zygerrians arm.

“You don't want to do that.” Ahsoka stopped the Slaver.

You helped the Twi'lek up onto his feet silently.

“You dare touch me?!” The Zygerrian said to Ahsoka.

“Excuse my slave, friend. She is freshly caught” Anakin interjected.

Two more guards approached.

“Hmm, what have we here? You wear Zygerrian armor but are not one of us. Who are you?” The Zygerrian asked.

“I've come for an audience with the queen.”

“Then you have an invitation. We cannot just let anyone in to speak with her majesty.”

“No invitation, but I do bring news. News the queen will be eager to hear.” Anakin said with a smirk.

“I doubt that you're nothing more than a Brigand.”

“I wouldn't say that, especially when the queen learns you prevented her from hearing the news about Bruno Denturri.”

An observation droid floats in between Anakin and the Zygerrian.

“Halt, cease all hostilities. This man is to be escorted to the palace by order of the queen.” The droid said.

While the standoff was happening, Obi-wan and Rex snuck off unnoticed. The walk to the palace was short. Standing in the throne room was nerve-inducing, knowing what the Zygerrians would do to get their hands on your people. And here you are on a silver platter. The Queen had a few pet birds around her.

“Make sure all preparations are complete for this evening.” The Queen said to one of her servants.

When she glanced down at Anakin her face lit up.

“And fetch refreshments.” She called to them.

The Zygerrian that escorted you introduced Anakin.

“My Queen, I present, Lars Quell.”

“Hmm so, you're the man who claims to be acquainted with Bruno Denturri?” She asked Anakin or Lars.

“Yes, your Highness. however, when I spoke with him, he failed to describe your beauty.”

You sighed. This was the plan huh?

The Queen chuckled. “Really? And did Bruno speak of my intense hatred of him? Or did that escape his memory as well?” The Queen asked with a scowl.

The Zygerrian guard raised his blaster at Anakin. Anakin gently pushed the blaster tip away from his face.

“He needed not speak of it, your majesty. In fact, Bruno Denturri will not be speaking...Ever again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bruno Denturri's dead by my hand. Here are two slaves from his palace, compensation for my efforts.”

Anakin grabbed Ahsoka's cloak and revealed her beautiful blue slave outfit. You would've wanted to know where she got it if it weren't for the circumstances.

“Unhand me, Brigand!” Ahsoka exclaimed.

“And this one I think you'll especially take a liking to.” Anakin walked up to you and took your cloak off.

The Queen gasped and stood up.

“An Igbo woman, she is rare. You impress me, Lars Quell, they are quite a prize. And to have defeated Bruno Denturri in combat? Well, you must be quite the warrior.” The Queen approached.

The servants bowed to her so you and Ahsoka followed suit. She circled you slowly, inspecting. She grabbed your tail and you fought the urge to pull away and hiss. She let go but replaced her grip on your face. Turning your head side to side and opening your mouth to see your teeth.

“What region are you from?” The Queen asked you.

“Yoruba.” You responded. Your tail flicked back and forth in annoyance.

The Queen hummed. “These slaves are certainly of fine stock. Bruno always knew how to choose a beautiful female.”

The Queen stalked over to Ahsoka and gripped her arm.

“Don't you dare touch me.” Ahsoka ripped out of the Queen's grasp.

The queen scowled “Though she will have to be processed. Her demeanor leaves much to be desired. I will bring in a friend of mine for the Igbo woman, he will pay nicely for her. What is your price for the Togruta?”

“With respect, how can I price the beauty of these slaves when I look upon the magnificence of your Highness, whose beauty would make the brightest star seem dull by comparison?” Anakin said.

Ahsoka looked at you and rolled her eyes. You shrugged in response.

“Lars Quell, you flatter me.” The Queen chuckled.

“No your majesty, however...” Anakin started whispering in the Queen's ear. She giggled.

“Lars, stop it, stop it! Hmm you are a bold one aren't you?”

“My reputation precedes me then.”

“Perhaps we can find a way to put a price on your slaves. Come walk with me.” Anakin and the queen linked arms and walked up the throne room steps.

You and Ahsoka followed. Beyond the throne room was a large balcony. The Queen's Twi'lek slave followed her with a tray of beverages. The queen took one and continued to speak to Anakin.

“Slavery is the natural order of things. The weak deserve nothing more than to kneel before the strong, bound to our service.” She continued.

“I will need men with your talents to spread our ways across the galaxy.”

Suddenly, The Twi'lek girl lunged at the queen with a knife. Anakin grabbed her forearm stopping her assault.

“Ah, let me go!” She screamed at Anakin. He released her and she fell back.

“You dare raise a hand against your master? Clearly, you require further processing.” The Queen said with venom.

The girl backed up to the balcony wall.

“No! I won't go back there!.” She said while climbing onto the wall.

“Wait, Stop!” Anakin lunged for the girl, but it was too late. She jumped.

You gasped and covered your mouth as you heard her body hit the ground. That poor girl was driven to kill herself because of these people.

The Queen sat on the balcony edge and sighed.

“Such a waste, but perhaps she was more trouble than she's worth.”

“But you Lars, you are proving quite resourceful, very well I will pay your price for this slave girl. It seems I am in need of a new servant.” She gestured to Ahsoka.

Anakin glanced once more at the body below. “She is my gift to you, your Highness.”

“You are a man of many surprises, it pleases me. My friend should be here shortly for the Igbo woman. Also, I wish you to be my guest at the slave auction, and to sit at my side.” The queen held her hand out for Anakin to take. He took it gently and led her away. Back inside the throne room, another Zygerrian guard entered.

“Your majesty, your guest is here.” He said.

Your heart pounded. You took a deep breath willing yourself to calm down. The man that entered was huge. He towered over the other Zygerrian guards and held authority. The Queen went to greet him.

“Ah, Jarok. Welcome, I have a wonderful surprise for you.” The Queen beckoned you over. You walked up to them calmly not looking him in the eye.

“Where did you catch her.” The Zygerrian now known as Jarok asked not taking her gaze off of you.

“She was acquired at Bruno Denturri's palace.” Anakin said.

Jarok placed a finger under your chin, lifting your head. You looked into his eyes.

“For years, I have been searching for one such as you.” His voice was firm and quiet.

“What is your price?”

[nonstandardrepertoire]

fuck it, i'm bored and don't want to work on my opera, here's a post that's been in my head for ages about my premise for Entirprise, but actually good

so like obviously the first season is just them building the ship. the writers knew it at the time, it was always obviously the right call, UPN just thought they could get seasons 15 to 21 of The Next Generation and it was bad. the first season is them building the ship, you get to know the characters, and you get to know the geopolitical situation, both on Earth and with the Earth/Vulcan relationship

and then you launch right into the thick of Andoria and Vulcan gearing up for a horrific interstellar war. you do not introduce a new random alien species we have never heard of every week, because we are in the heart of what will become Federation territory and seriously, what happened to all of those people Enterprise encountered? why have we never heard from any of them in chronologically subsequent Stars Trek? (the Doylist answer is obvious here, it's the Watsonian one that i'm interested in.) you also do Not introduce the Klingons (or not yet, anyway), because if their space empire is so old and also so close to Earth, why have they not . . . conquered Earth already. (this also spares you from having to address the brow ridges thing, but also like, you can just not address that. you can just ignore it. it is not a thing that you have to deal with literally ever oh my g-d TV makeup capabilities change in 20+ years, it's fine, we can move on)

anyway, we launch into a Tense interstellar moment in our neighborhood and Archer is like "hey uh. what if, instead of war, you tried . . . talking?", and this is where i need to step back and talk about my Secret Worldbuilding Headcanon for the Star Trek universe

ok ok ok ok ok so first of all, let us suppose there are two big patterns that play out in a general way on planets that develop sentient life: on some, there's really only a small habitable range, so the developing sentient species in question spends a long time as effectively a single community, at least until they render the technology necessary to make more of their planet habitable. on other planets, you get a whole bunch of habitable territory, and developing species spread out and develop a lot of different cultures. often, as on Earth, these different cultural groups come into conflict with each other. in some cases, this conflict leads to extinction, and in some cases it leads to one group that is militarily successful taking over the planet wholesale. when this culture then takes to the stars, they continue the pattern, and this is how you get the roots of the Klingon and Romulan empires

this neatly explains the predominance of planetary monocultures, but i think it can also help explain why there seem to be so many interplanetary conflicts that devolve into attempted or successful planet-scale genocides. (and like! we see a lot of these across the various shows of the franchise! the galaxy is full of death and destruction!) because i think a lot of those species that follow that first pattern effectively won't have any experience in dealing diplomatically with cultures that are truly different from them. sure, they may have had civil wars and other kinds of internal conflict, but they would still have been in conflict with beings that were fundamentally similar to theirs. so like, they have diplomacy, theoretically, but we would consider it very rudimentary and pro forma — Vulcan and Andoria try talking, sure, but like, they are Very bad at it, and that is what sets them on the path to war, and having not had conflicts on a planetary scale, they don't have a strong sense of Just How Bad things can get, and the temptation to escalate to the point of war crimes is . . . strong

but! Earth has just come thru WWIII/the Eugenics Wars and has, very unusually, galactically speaking, managed to do so with a good deal of cultural diversity intact. and we have, Finally, figured out how to negotiate a lasting, durable, global peace. so when a mostly human crew launches out into our interstellar neighborhood and finds two planets on the brink of what has the potential for being a nasty little war, said crew is like "fuck no, absolutely not, you may not understand how bad a war like this can really get, but we do, because we have just been thru yet another one in our long and bloody history, and we are not willing to stand by and let you stumble into the same horrors we just ended"

and that, not "being sort of logical but also sort of emotional" or "the ability to work thru trauma" is the contingent historical fact that makes Earth a key catalyst for the creation of the Federation. because we have strong, direct, recent experience with existential planetary war and also the specific honed ability to negotiate with people very different from ourselves to prevent it

so season 2 is all about talking Andoria and Vulcan down from blowing each other out of the sky. we're not at the Federation yet, but we are starting to lay the very low-level groundwork

then you can have a third season where you sort of do an entwined Terra Prime/Kir'Shara arc on Earth and Vulcan across the third season — on the Earth side, you can pick up on the political groundwork laid in the first season to explore reactions to (including backlash against) Earth becoming something of a diplomatic somebody in the stellar neighborhood while Vulcan is going "who are these 'humans' to start meddling in our affairs?" and etc etc etc i haven't pinned this out beat by beat but the Themes are there and i think they actually mesh really nicely together, especially if you give them a little more space to breathe (you could even bring in the Aenar in a more sustained way if you wanted to keep Andoria in the mix — "how do you organize a planetary political system when you have two polities that are not that intreested in merging?" is genuinely an interesting question to explore, i think, and could be a nice antidote to some of TNG's "one world government only" weirdness)

anyway if you want to do more seasons here probably you can, but the last season can still be actually building the Federation, leading up to the signing of the charter — give us the geopolitics of it! give us the delicate high-stakes negotiations! have somebody walk away from the table completely! idk, make compelling television!

and in all this, instead of having Archer be Generic Starfleet Good Boy #47 (into, uh, "guy who does torture a bunch"), you can lean into the idea that Vulcans and Andorians kind of look down on humans as incompetent newcomer rubes to the interstellar playing field: have Archer be folksy and charming, but clever, good at luring people into the positions he wants them in by letting them underestimate him and then outfoxing them, very "oh gosh, you seem to have wound up in an unwinnable diplomatic pickle, how convenient that we can get you out of it :)" or w/e. he can have a character that's very distinct from Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway without being the Vaguely Racist Guy Who Punches Diplomats

also make Hoshi and T'Pol gay you cowards ok bye