#aayla had so much try in her

[theadventurek9]

Oh buddy boy

I've had a lot of talks with various people about Ryker's current state with his ability to learn and focus during his current teenagehood.

His drive to work has plummeted. Anything that's not tug or chase type play he doesn't really want to do it. I chose the bad path of trying to keep working on things, working on trying to keep things easy and fun but it still has stressed him out.

Food refusal is becoming more common, signs of stress with any training scenario, and overall harm to our relationship. What I thought was slow moving with training isn't slow enough for him. I've been taking things so much slower with him than I did Aayla. Yet it hasn't been enough. I think I've been getting more frustrated with him and while I try and not let that affect my training, I know it does. He is so very sensitive.

So we are going to be taking a break from anything beyond the essentials of continuing LLW, ability to disengage from dogs, and husbandry needs. He has been thoroughly enjoying our agility class so we will keep doing that but that is it. No more obedience for now, no more tricks or anything like that. Just structured play, maintaining good dog skills and letting him mentally mature a bit more.

I need to focus on Aayla for nationals and need to reset myself anyways. I need to get a better relationship with Ryker and let go of my dreams and goals for right now. Maybe he won't be a great sport dog and that will be okay. He is a great family member and gets along so well with everyone.

[blackkatmagic]

In this trying time (3 hr AO3 maintenance) do you have any wips to share?

“Kidnapped?” Padmé asks, frowning. “On Naboo? Are you sure?”

Aayla Secura isn't someone Padmé has more than a passing familiarity with, just a fleeting impression of contained mirth and good humor, beauty and tempered ferocity in a fight. Even that small amount of knowledge of her person, though, is enough to know that this serious, almost grim cast to her features is unusual. She curls her arms across her chest, blue eyes dark and mouth pulled tight, and her voice has an edge of certainty, as immovable as stone as she says, “I'm sure, Senator. I just don’t have proof that the Senate will accept.”

Padmé manages not to grimace, though it’s a close thing. With the war turning in the Separatists’ favor, there's almost no chance that the Senate would approve any Jedi leaving their post for any reason, and particularly one with a frontline role like Aayla. The 327th has had some of the most dangerous assignments of the whole war, but—

Clearly it hasn’t been enough to win her any favors from the Senate. Not even a friendly ear.

It feels, a little, like addressing the full Senate when she was fourteen, standing before them and practically begging for them to help Naboo, only to have all the faces there turn away as one. Smaller stakes, maybe, than a full planet being on the line, but Aayla is seeking help for her Master, and Padmé can understand that.

But…word that there was a Shadow on Naboo stirs something like alarm, deep in her chest, though she controls it, locks it behind an iron wall where a Jedi will only feel the vaguest traces of it. After Anakin, she has practice at that sort of thing. Useful, now, knowing that someone else was poking around on her homeworld.

“Why would a Jedi Shadow be on Naboo?” she asks, and when Aayla's eyes narrow, she raises a hand. “Knight Secura, I just want to understand. My planet is hardly a front in the war, and we’re well-removed from most supply lines. It seems a strange place for a Jedi to go when the Separatists have just started a push on all fronts, and the Republic is back on its heels.”

Just for a moment, there’s a flicker of self-consciousness that she buries as best she can, a vivid awareness of the comm in the bottom drawer of her desk, the code she memorized before destroying the note. But—there's no way any Jedi could know about anything relating to her personal matters. Even a Shadow. Most of them are far too busy to look into a single Senator’s life. It’s one of the only reasons, Padmé is sure, that her marriage to Anakin survived as long as it did. Not that it matters any longer.

Finding out just why Quinlan Vos was on Naboo needs to be a priority, though. Padmé can't risk anything else slipping through the cracks.

Aayla signs, lekku curling, and her tense posture eases, just a for a moment. “I'm sorry, Senator Amidala. Quinlan never even mentioned to me that he would be on Naboo, much less what he was doing there. But the last message I got from him was alarming. It must have been important, and I think it put him in danger.”

Padmé curls her fingers against her palm, not letting her nails dig in even though she wants to. She’s seen Jedi working often enough not to doubt Aayla's assertion, even if there isn't proof most of the Senate would accept, but—

Naboo shouldn’t be drawing any eyes, let alone dangerous ones. Not now. Not yet.

“Naboo's security forces haven't alerted me to any strange activity recently,” she says, frowning, but she pushes up from her desk, steps around it to face Aayla more squarely. “What leads you to believe Master Vos is on Naboo?”

For a moment, Aayla hesitates. Then, with a breath, she pulls a comm out of one pocket and holds it up, letting the blue glow flicker to life.

“This,” she says grimly. “I was in a battle when I received it, so it was left as a message. If I had known, I would have answered, but—”

She breaks off, and Padmé doesn’t need to be an empath to feel the self-recrimination that vibrates through the silence.

“—need you to contact Tholme,” Vos is saying when the message starts, clear despite the faint buzz of the image, his words quick and almost desperate. He’s curled over, hunched, with one hand pressed against his side in a way that makes it clear he’s injured, and Padmé frowns. She doesn’t know Vos well, either, but she’s only ever seen him cheerful and laughing, perfectly willing to tease Obi-Wan and good-natured about being teased in return. This is about as far from that as she can imagine.

“Please, Aayla,” Vos says, urgent. “Tell him it’s about the Mask—”

A blaster shot, the crack so loud and close it makes Padmé flinch and twitch back. Vos jerks too, spinning to the side and out of frame, and in his place a figure arrows across the field of the projector, so quick that Padmé can't pick out details. A blaster fires again, and there's a cry, a splash—

Aayla freezes the image there, one fractured, half-blurred shot of curved earth and white pillars and a wide stretch of water, and Padmé goes still, alarm rising.

That’s Naboo. That’s Theed. She knows it down to the last stone, and particularly that space.

“That’s beneath the Royal Palace,” she says, and keeps it even through force of will. “Knight Secura, what was Master Vos doing in Naboo's palace? What Mask is he talking about?”

He can't have known. He can't. Apailana is the only other person besides Sabé who knows, and she wouldn’t betray Padmé for anything.

Aayla switches off the projector, shaking her head. “I don’t know,” she says grimly, lekku twisting with worry as she meets Padmé’s eyes, desperation just hidden behind a Jedi's serenity. “But I would like your help to find out, Senator.”

.

The last time Padmé traveled to Naboo with a Jedi, it was Anakin accompanying her as they fled from Jango Fett's assassination attempts, and nothing about that trip sits easily in her memory.

This trip, Padmé thinks ruefully, looks to be just as stressful, if for rather different reasons.

“You're sure your men can spare you, Knight Secura?” she asks, even though she knows what the answer will be. Sabé, at her right hand, is managing to keep a perfectly blank face, but Padmé knows her well enough to see the way tension lingers in the perfectly straight line of her spine, in the angle of her chin as she carries Padmé’s bag aboard the star skiff.

The slant of Aayla's mouth is rueful. “At least temporarily,” she says. “The 327th is on leave awaiting a resupply and a new batch of recruits. Until then, I can help look for my Master.”

At the very least, the skiff is quick enough that it won't be as long a trip as the one with Anakin, undercover as refugees on a public transport. Padmé forces herself to focus on that and smiles, making it as warm as possible. “We welcome your help, Knight Secura. A Jedi is always a valuable ally to have.”

Sabé, at the edge of the cockpit, slants her a look, but Padmé pretends not to see it.

Aayla glances back towards the entrance to the port, a handful of seconds before a clone trooper in gold-marked armor rounds the corner, moving quickly. “If you’ll excuse me, Senator,” she says politely. “I’ll meet you on Naboo once I've finished seeing to matters here.”

Some part of Padmé was expecting Aayla to push onboard, settle in, ignore all niceties in the name of what she wants. Jarring, almost, to realize that she isn't going to, and it makes her waver, just for an instant. Makes her hesitate, nerves curling in her stomach, because the lack of that is somehow just as unsettling as the presence of it.

But—better. Better this way. Padmé needs to speak to Sabé somewhere there's no chance of being overheard, and hyperspace is the best option.

“Very well,” she says. “I need to meet with the queen once I arrive, and I’ll inform her you intend to join us.”

“Thank you.” Aayla bows, polite, and then straightens, giving Padmé a smile that’s bright and warm and full of relief, so pretty it hits like a blow, makes Padmé’s breath want to catch. “Thank you again, Senator Amidala. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you were willing to help. And that you believed me.”

“I trust the Jedi,” Padmé says, and—her throat feels just a little tight around the lie. That curl of attraction makes her turn her face away, uneasy, and she brushes down the skirt of her dress, doesn’t let her fingers dig into the blaster-proof fabric. Not lightsaber-proof, though. She needs to look into that, see what Yané has come up with. One more thing to do while she’s on Naboo, even if she hadn’t planned to return for at least a few months.

“The Jedi trust you as well, Senator,” Aayla murmurs. “We count you as one of our greatest allies in the Senate. Please, excuse me.”

She turns, moves quickly to meet her clone commander, and Padmé watches her for a long second, trying not to let her gaze linger on the fall of Aayla's lekku, the sway of her movements, perfectly graceful and controlled.

Her throat feels tight again, and she turns away, takes a breath. Dangerous, something in the back of her mind whispers. Too dangerous. Not something she can risk again, no matter how pretty Aayla is.

Sabé is waiting for her at the top of the ramp, her gaze fixed on Aayla's back. There's no attraction in her face, though, just buried wariness, and as Padmé makes her way onto the skiff, she deliberately closes the door and then says quietly, “My lady, will the Jedi be joining us?”

Padmé shakes her head. “She’ll join us on Naboo,” she says. “You have a copy of the message?”

“Of course.” Sabé follows her up to the cockpit, sliding into the copilot’s seat without hesitation. “Teckla and Dormé have everything settled here. Your presence shouldn’t be missed.”

Not unless Anakin comes looking for her again, Padmé thinks grimly. He can tell when it’s a Handmaiden playing her, and she doesn’t trust that he won't say something to give Dormé away. She should have made herself more than clear enough last time he confronted her, but—

Anakin has never been good at taking no for an answer. That’s the problem.

[fanfic-obsessed]

Well...That Esclated Quickly

Here is another idea that came to me during my walk to work.  I want you to know, though it goes in a humorous direction it really is not a full fix-it. 

When Order 66 went live, some of the chips did not activate. There is no rhyme nor reason as to which chips activate and which did not. Not a huge amount compared to the whole, but some. Enough that a few hundred Jedi and a Few thousand Clones regroup in the aftermath. 

While you can fill in most of the blanks the following are included in my idea

Obi Wan Kenobi and a company’s worth of 212th clones, including Cody: Obi Wan was still shot off the cliff, to the horrified eyes of the still free clones. The still free clones don't have enough numbers to take on their brethren who appear to have gone insane, but do have enough to steal one of the midsized transport ships, one capable of hyperspace flight.  They reluctantly allow Obi Wan to go to Coruscant on his own, with the rationale that one person can sneak to the surface much easier than a whole company, while the clones establish a regroup point.  From there Obi Wan goes on the Mustafar, which ends as it did in canon. Obi Wan brings Padme to the transport ship where she still dies of complications of her pregnancy

Fox, Hound, a dozen other members of the CG, and the Younglings: Fox and the few members of the CG that were unaffected by O66 raced to beat the 501st to the Temple. They made it just a few minutes before their enslaved brothers. Just barely in time to evacuate the children in the creche with the help (and insistent sacrifice) of the adult Jedi.  While there were a few Creche Masters evacuated with the children, it was now basically just Fox and his CG functionally in charge of baby Jedi ranging from Babies to Pre teens. They connect with remains of the 212th before the events of Mustafar. 

Yoda, who did still have to kill his commander in order to escape, but was able to bring a few clones with him.  They still end up being collected by Bail Organa.

Ahsoka, Rex, Jesse and  a portion of the maintenance team for their battalion: They do not meet up with the rest for quite some time (at least three years). Rex’s chip did activate but he was able to get Ahsoka the message about Fives. After Rex is freed they find Jesse and the other free clones (soft shells all) looking on in horror at their controlled brethren. With the help of the maintenance team they are able to escape from the ship without freeing Maul or crashing into the moon.  By the time they are able to look past the immediate situation, the Temple is already burning and it has been announced that the Jedi are traitors. These 25 or so go to ground in Mandalorian space and try to figure out how to free the clones from the chips (beyond surgery which really does not work with the numbers they have to deal with). They do not realize anyone else has survived. 

Aayla survived, due to one of the clones (not Bly) pushing her out of the way and sacrificing his life for her. Bly’s chip does work. She escapes with two dozen free clones and six chipped clones tied up in the back (Including Bly, even the clones agree they cannot save everyone and hopefully it means that they can figure out what is going wrong).

Shaak Ti, 10 Veteran clones, 40 ‘Shinies’, 300 child and teenage cadets, three junior Kaminoan Scientists (not Nala Se) none of which knew about the chip or Order 66, and Omega.  Shaak Ti had been working with a few Kaminoan Scientists to see the clones as sentients in their own right and the reactions of the clones under the chip's control horrified a few of those scientists.  Between them and Omega, who had been paying attention and used this as a chance to escape the lab (the Bad Batch being off planet at the time) they were able to evacuate anyone not under the control of the chip. 

All of these people (Barring Ahsoka and Co) converge on the ship that had been stolen by the free 212th clones. Had less children survived (about a third of the living Jedi are children under the age of 11, plus the cadets) they all would likely have split into small groups and made their own way through the galaxy. But there was just no way to break into small enough groups to be safe AND still make sure the children (and to some extent the Shinies) were taken care of.  They were also too large a group to go anywhere in the Republic, or even anywhere in Mandalorian space (There were an awful lot of uninhabited planets in the galaxy but most were uninhabited for a reason). Thus there was only one thing they could do.

Take over the Hutt Empire.

To be fair the take over part did start out accidentally. The actual goal was to find a place to lay low in the Hutt Empire, possibly the only place Palpatine’s Empire could not reach quite yet(at least until Palpatine solidified his rule). 

So they found a planet within the Hutt Empire to lay low on, While Bail Organa left to begin planting the seeds for the rebellion (No Leia as the twins were not being split up). As much as I want it to be Tattoine, it just has too small a population to not have a couple of thousand people (Most of whom hide their very distinctive faces) showing not be noticeable. So they choose a planet with a higher population. 

This is where the trouble began. All of our adults are deeply traumatized, trained warriors who are not used to sitting by, universally feeling useless. They are facing an insurmountable task, still mostly directionless, and deeply angry at life.  

It starts with the local Hutt’s minions trying to shake down some newcomers, who were not looking for a target to vent their spleen but found one just the same. It does not end well for the minions. Nor the next six attempts, with different groups of Clones and Jedi each time.  No one has told Command yet, but they look at each other and ‘shit we can’t keep drawing attention to ourselves but we can’t leave either’

The solution (Commander Cody himself would like to reiterate this was not the correct solution)? Take out the Hutt. Then they realize that taking out the Hutt has just drawn more attention to this city as the other Hutts for the planet try to figure out who took out this one.

The next Solution? Take out the rest of the Hutts on the planet. 

They have now drawn even more attention to the planet from yet more Hutts. This is the one thing that is critical they do not have. 

The next Solution? Try three to make this plan work (Commander Cody reminds you that trying the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results, is the definition of insanity) and take out the Hutts looking for answers. 

By the time that these small groups have admitted to Command (Obi Wan, Cody, Yoda, Shaak Ti, Fox) what is going on, a few months later, they have accidentally taken over the Hutt Empire.

The Hutt Empire that is still nominally allied with Palpatine’s Empire. The Hutt Empire that has to stay allied to Palpatine’s Empire if they do not want to draw the attention of the entire Imperial Forces to the largest concentration of living Jedi and free Clones in the galaxy.  The Hutt Empire that no longer has any active Hutts. 

In this the human centric leaning of Palpatine’s Empire is actually helpful.  They very rarely wanted to deal with other species, so it was easy to appoint someone unknown but human to deal with the com calls and visits. It does mean that they have to make up a Hutt that they essentially have to play ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ with, a couple of times a year when a representative insists on meeting with the Hutt in charge. 

Also the fact that Palpatine’s Empire is more interested in enslaving their own citizens for free as opposed to buying them from the Hutts means that they can shut down the slave trade within Hutt Space (over time).  Fox both loves and hates running a criminal empire. 

It should be noted that, even with Bly and the five other chipped clones, no one actually knows what is going on until Rex and Co find their way back to them.  We are going with the thought that a level 5 atomic scan is a ludicrously high level of scanning. Like sitting on a Nuclear Reactor to get an X-Ray kind of ludicrous, so not only does no one think to do that level of scanning to see what is wrong, but they do not even have that kind of equipment readily available.  The reports about Fives from Rex never made it to any kind of centralized repository, there is no way to know why most clones suddenly started to kill Jedi. Bly and Co spend the three years before Rex shows up in a makeshift brig, they can function almost normally until a Jedi is brought up or in the room with them. 

Bail laughs his ass off when he is told, through several intermediaries and coded messages, that the Jedi and the Clones accidentally took over a criminal empire.  Then he starts funneling the Path and the people his rebellion are rescuing into Hutt Space to find the Jedi. 

Three years in Rex, Ahsoka, the clones with them (now having grown to nearly another thousand) arrive with the news that they can disable the chips from a distance of about a large cruiser. 

That is how the Hutt Empire became freedom fighters.

[somethingsteff]

Ahh ty for tagging me in the wip game! Slightly afraid to go through my own docs since my obikin ideas have gotten out of control lmaooo

I’m very curious about the Long Way Round AU from your post 👀 would love to see anything you’re open to sharing!!

Lollll, I love that though, and I support your chaotic obikin ideas! I just posted a little about the Long Way Round AU here, but I'll add another of my favorite details!

I love that Ewan first met his daughter Jamyan on his trip with Charlie and I really wanted to include that. But since in this story Obi-Wan and Anakin are just meeting and getting together it felt like having Obi-Wan do the adopting would be too forced. BUT. I have Quin married to Asajj and while he and Obi-Wan are playing with the kids in the orphanage he meets Aayla and immediately falls in love with her. She's the sweetest, smartest, sassiest little girl and she reminds him so much of Asajj. That night he calls her, completely ignoring the fact that he and Obi-Wan had agreed to stick to themselves and not call home, and tells her about Aayla. Asajj can just hear how much Quin already loves her and she sounds amazing. So they decide right then that they're going to start the process of trying to adopt her. Quin talks to the orphanage the next day before they move on and gives them Asajj's contact information, telling them that they want to come back as soon as he gets back to NYC so that they can spend some more time with Aayla and see if she would be interested in starting the adoption process. When they all do get to NYC, Quin and Asajj don't even stay the night there. They almost immediately get on a plane and go out to the orphanage so that they can see their little girl.

[grievedeeply]

I saw you want requests after playing Survivor

👁👄👁

One shot of Cal running across fem reader that he knew when he was a padiwan (assumed dead)? And realizing why he was always so flustered and agitated by her 🤭🤭

this is so cute i loooove these reunion prompts i'm getting!!

fem!reader (no pronouns used) | tws/tags: death, sorta in depth order 66, use of y/n

JOIN MY NEW TAGLIST!!

they never left — cal kestis

you remembered the day clear in your mind as though it had happened yesterday. the purge. the clones tore through your master as though they were never even there. their last words to you ring true in your mind even ten years later, "run," and you did. you ran, using the force to reach into places they couldn't. you snuck past those who used to be your friends. you thought they cared for you. why had they all had a sudden change of heart? whatever the reason was, you knew you couldn't dwell. it wouldn't do you any good to be miserable.. even if that's all you wanted to do, sometimes.

over the years, you hid your abilities and tucked away your lightsaber for good. you swore to never use the force ever again. your family was gone. the order was gone, your master was gone.. and you couldn't reach out into the force to attempt to sense anyone. it was too risky.

cal. was he gone, too? he was another padawan under the tutelage of jedi master jaro tapal, a kind but intimidating lasat who you had met a few times. but cal.. cal was warm. he was inviting, he was friendly. he was everything an introverted child like yourself needed in a friend. the two of you quickly became rule breakers, sneaking out past curfews and past the temple guards who— looking back on it now— definitely saw you. you snuck out so often to spend time together, knowing that the likelihood of being assigned together on a mission was slim to none, it was the next best thing. maybe even better. at least there wasn't a risk of death, now.

you managed to get on each others nerves often, too. disagreeing and arguing and avoiding each other until you both forgot what happened. though, as you grew older, cal found himself getting more and more.. flustered.. when you were around. his face was constantly red, his palms were sweaty, his chest so tight it practically hurt to breath, and it irritated him. you irritated him. was it your fault? he didn't know. it only happened around you, so it had to be your fault, so he tried to avoid you.

it wasn't as though he treated you poorly. he could never do that. his heart and soul were too kind, too gentle. he didn't have a mean bone in his body.. but he wished you would just go away sometimes, to get that sinking feeling in his stomach to fade as it always did when you left.

now, cal knows what that feeling was. it was the beginnings of a crush. attachment and relationships were forbidden in the order. attachment made you selfish. it lead to jealousy, anger and resentment. a path to the dark side of the force. but now.. the jedi order was no more. it was destroyed years ago, but you hadn't lived to see it.

he heard your name. whispered in hushed voices by people on every planet he visited. your name, and the names of plenty of other jedi. plo koon, aayla secura.. anakin skywalker. but he focused on solely on you. you were killed alongside your master during the purge. you died, and he wasn't there to protect you. he reached into the force over and over, desperately trying to find a trace of you throughout it as time went on, but he found nothing. your death was confirmed, and there was nothing he could do about it.

you were glad word of your death spread fast. it was much easier to hide, and you had to move less often. your life proved more relaxed.. or as relaxed as it could be. despite your supposed death, your world would never be safe as long as you were force sensitive.

this time, kohbo was the world of choice. it was a nice, relatively backwater world in the outer rim. imperial presence, but as long as you kept your head down, you would fit in well. people from all sorts of backgrounds flocked to it. it wasn't like you would be out of place, and that fact was a relief. you'd stick to yourself as you always did, and everything would be well.

you stood, back pressed against the cold stone of the wall as you stared up towards the landing platform. a ship, a S-161 'stinger' XL, sat on the dock. you'd heard that it'd crashed out in the gorge a little ways away from rambler's reach. whoever piloted it knew greez in some way or another, and he'd managed to fix it, along with someone else you didn't know the name of. you didn't much care for their name, anyway. keeping your head down, staying out of trouble, that was the main goal.

until turgle fell off of the platform, screaming as he hurtled towards the ground. before you could even think, you reached out your hand and looked deep into the force, watching as he floated to the ground. his eyes were still closed and he yelped as you caught him, but other than that, he looked confused until his eyes landed on you, your hand extended out in his direction. he might be clumsy, but he wasn't exactly stupid.

you cringed, awkwardly sinking in on yourself as you turned around, ready to go back to your ship and leave koboh and everyone else on this planet behind.. until you heard turgle's voice call out your name.

"you," you heard him come up behind you, out of breath and looking red in the face, "you saved me!" he exclaimed, "with your.. your force magic." he said, eyes wide in disbelief. he stared you down, and you pursed your lips as you stared right back at him. "you're a jedi, aren't you?" he spoke up again, and all you could do was roll your eyes. "ha, of course not. you're just seeing things." you insisted to him with a simple shrug of your shoulders, turning on your heel to leave once again. by now, greez was hot on turgle's tail, his expression wide eyed and excited.

"oh, come on! i saw you," he retorted, "you saved me from imminent death.. and i am in your debt." he told you with a nod of his head, and you sighed. "you don't owe me anything, okay? just keep this quiet and we're even." you responded, and he nodded once again, eagerly. he stood there for a few moments until you raised your eyebrows, waiting for him to leave. finally taking the hint, he skipped away from you and into the cantina.

you let out a groan. turgle could barely be trusted. he would blabber about you eventually, and you didn't want to be around when he did. this place wasn't safe anymore. once more, you turned to leave, but heard the sound of greez clearing his throat. you weren't out of the woods, yet.

you shut your eyes, but glanced over your shoulder at him. his arms were crossed over his chest, but he wore a smile.

"there's someone i think you should meet, kid."

you furrowed your brow. you couldn't exactly say no, could you?

greez led you into the cantina through the back entrance, clambering up the steps through heavy breaths. who could he possibly want you to meet? a million questions ran through your mind as you came out into the main area of the cantina, and he gestured for you to take a seat next to him at the bar. you did so after a moment's hesitation, and you sat there, hunched over in your seat, feeling completely exposed. still, no one looked at you any differently as they did before.

"what am i doing here?" you asked, letting your elbow rest uncomfortably against the bar. greez spared you a glance, but kept at his drink. "someone i want you to meet, s'all." he reassured you, finally turning his chair to face you. you blinked a few times. his words did nothing to reassure you, for all you knew, he could be turning you in to the raiders or even the empire. you sighed, but decided to keep your mouth shut.

you watched the door as people entered and exited, waving goodbye to moran as he left for the night. over the few months you'd been staying on koboh, he was the only one you spoke to regularly. he came off as prickly, but the truth was, he was a sad, lonely man who needed a friend. even if making connections, getting attached, wad a bad idea.. moran was there for you when you needed someone, even if he didn't know it. he returned your wave with a smile, and the door slid shut behind him.

"it's been hours, who am i waiting for?" you spoke up again for the first time since you'd arrived. "any minute now," he reassured you, a knowing grin spread across his lips. what was he even talking abou-

the door slid open.. red hair. you froze in your seat, your hands suddenly felt sweaty and your heart fell into your stomach. the boy you once knew was now a man, but you would recognize his face anywhere. cal. he was alive. you practically jumped out of your seat and rushed into him without thinking, arms wrapped around his midsection in a tight hug. "cal.." you muttered his name under your breath, finally finding your voice as you pulled away to get a better look at him.

he had matured, grown into his features. he carried a newly fashioned saber on his belt, and on his shoulders was a cute BD unit. his cheeks were covered in freckles, his eyes still that same beautiful green, splattered with specks of blue.

"i thought.. i thought you were-" cal said, his voice barely a whisper. "i'm sorry," you told him, "i.. wish i knew you were alive." you continued after a pause, still taking in his new look. he looked.. handsome.

"i tried to find you," he swallowed, "through the force."

that feeling was back. the feeling from ten years ago. his palms were sweaty, and his heart pounded against his ribcage. a crush that never faded, that only grew once he saw how you'd grown. you were incredible then.. but now? you were stunning. his breath hitched in his throat, but he lifted his hand to your face. "i.. i'm so glad you're okay." he whispered to you, and you nodded, a small smile on your lips.

"okay, kids. break it up. you can.. make out later, or whatever." greez cut into the moment, his grating voice ringing unpleasantly in cal's ears. he chuckled awkwardly under his breath but took a few steps away from you. still, his eyes never left your face.

"we aren't.. we weren't-" you said, cheeks flushed in embarrassment at his suggestion. "uhuh.. whatever." he responded, eyes flickering back and forth between the two of you, and you felt as though he saw right through you. for a man as strange as he was, he read people incredibly well. "figured you'd get along. glad i was right." he continued before you had the chance to dig yourself further into the hole in your mind you were forming.

"i'll leave you two alone," he laughed, glancing knowingly between you and cal, a smirk on his face. still, he stayed true to his word and climbed out of his chair, walking out of the front entrance with a skip in his step.

you watched as he left, only turning back to cal once the door closed behind him. your mouth felt dry, and you licked your lips. "you.. um, you have a new lightsaber?" you asked, glancing down at the weapon hanging from his hip. he nodded, "my.. my first one, i lost it during the purge." you didn't reply to his words verbally, but sat your hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"and who's this?" you asked, a smile on your features as you glanced at the BD unit. "oh," cal said, matching your expression even though it seemed as though he forgot the droid was there at all. "this is BD-1," he told you, and you directed your grin at him, "you've been taking care of cal while i've been gone?" you teased, but the droid replied in completely serious beeps, much to his dismay.

"how long have you been here?" cal asked you after a pause, and you glanced around at your surroundings. the cantina needed some work.. and a deep cleaning. you turned your attention back to him, but a sigh fell from your lips. "a couple of months now." his gaze was soft as he stared into your eyes, and he took your hands into his own, grounding himself into this moment. "i heard you were dead, y/n." he muttered. "i.. i know." you spoke, your heart aching at the thought of him mourning for you. "the force.. i couldn't.. i couldn't feel you." he told you, and you said nothing in response, averting your gaze to his hands in your own.

this.. this moment reminded you of your childhood, running around the gardens of the temple with your hands entwined, completely ignoring your assigned training to play for awhile. except now, cal's hands were rough, and so were yours.

"i cut myself off from the force." you explained to him, "i had to hide. i've been hiding.. up until today." you could hear his breathing through the silence of the empty cantina, and he didn't say anything else. instead, he dropped your hands and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest.

"i love you." cal whispered into your neck, and you swore your breathing stopped. "what?" your arms fell to your sides, but he didn't pull away. "i love you." he repeated himself, pulling away to look into your eyes. his face was red, but the expression he wore was serious. "how could you.. how could you say that?" you asked, brows furrowed. his hands gripped your shoulders, and he let out a breathless chuckle.

"i've known it for years. when we were kids.. i had the biggest crush on you, and it bothered me. it bothered me how flustered i'd get around you even when you did.. absolutely nothing but smile." he explained, a growing smile forming across his face. "and irritated me. so i stayed away from you, thinking you were the one who bothered me all along." he said.

"but now the order doesn't exist anymore. the code is gone. but my.. my feelings for you- they never left." cal's voice fell to a whisper, "and seeing you now, it just makes me realize it all.. all over again." he took in a deep breath, but kept his eyes trained on your face. "so.."

"cal," you shut your eyes, shaking your head, "you actually felt that way that entire time when i thought you just started hating me for no reason?" you sighed, his lack of response telling you everything you needed to know.

you took a step closer to him, pressing your lips to his for a few seconds before pulling away. to cal, it wasn't nearly long enough. he leaned after your lips, eyes already completely closed as he'd relaxed into your touch. "i love you too. i always have." you told him, the feeling of his lips burned into your memory. they were chapped and dry.. but they fit against yours perfectly.

"really?"

"really."

he grinned, and kissed you again.

tags: @starwalkerwriting @war-in-time

[youeverjustmarryabountyhunter]

Recently became obsessed with cowboy au's again so I did what any reasonable person would do and made a silly Clone Wars au for pure self indulgence.

Please enjoy my silly little headcannons and maybe one day I'll actually write the thing (I've said this several times before...but one day!)

•Usually with modern au's I try to justify why Jango has so many damn kids but not this time. The man just does okay? Also he's not attracted to women so like..who knows! My favorite plot point is Jango just has a bunch of kids and no one knows why and they just have to accept that

•Jango/Myles supremacy. They're married, thank you. Silas is their third wheel that's just always sorta there.

•Good dad Jango! Always good dad Jango. I just love him okay? It's like a little treat for myself.

•Ages are like...semi...cannon? For the clones the alphas are all adults, as are the commanders. After that, Rex, Kix, Jesse and whoever else I deem to be in that like age range- are 18/19/20. Domino squad, are teenagers. Tup, Dogma, Wooley, Comet are like..ranging from preteen's to 8. Boba is the baby at 3 years old. Don't ask me about Omega or the bad batch please I haven't decided what I'm doing with them yet, probably gonna make them Arla's kiddos like the other modern au of mine. These are also like..just a general guidelines of ages I haven't really fleshed anything out.

•Boba LOVES animals. It's a good thing they live on a farm. He just..befriends all of the animals even the ones that he isn't supposed to (raccoons) Jango nearly had a heart attack. Boba was fine though, just a little grumpy that Jango took him away from the raccoon.

•It's a miracle Boba knows how to walk because he's just constantly being carried/demanding to be carried. If he has the option to be in someone's arms he will be. Spoiled little thing. Honestly all of the Fett kids are probably spoiled, but they like to tease Boba about it cause he's the baby.

•Real talk though, I think Boba is a little sweety. He just loves his aliit(family) so much and wants to spend all his time with them.

•Mando'a is a language because I said so. Mandalorians are still a culture. That's just my go to for all modern au's tbh.

•Jaster is the best grandpa EVER. He's the reason they're all spoiled. Auntie Zam ALSO spoils them rotten. Uncle Bossk does as well it's just a lot less. Hondo...is Hondo let's be honest here. They're spoiled sure but Jango would really like to know WHERE Hondo got everything from (he would not like the answer)

•I haven't figured out how or anything but Codywan IS happening. Same with Blyla (is that Aayla and Bly's ship name?? Gonna pretend it is-)

•In the vain of keeping ages semi cannon Fennec is 19 and a farmhand 👌. She's like..not legally adopted but she might as well be. Jango's baby girl right there. Boba follows her around like a puppy and it only annoys her a little. She's definitely the reason he knows bad words let's be honest.

•I'm leaning towards most face tattoos are just birthmarks. As far as names go those are just their names. No one ever said Jango was good at naming things. Isn't there a comic in legends where they have a pet eel and it's name is just eel?

•Everything I know about 3 year olds comes from the times I have babysat actually 3 year olds and google. So in that spirit, Boba does have a paci in the art depicted below simple because I wanted to draw a pacifier- but Jango is also trying to ween him off it so he doesn't mess up his teeth.

This au has consumed me like..ugh I'm obsessed with it. There may or may not be a pinterest board just entirely dedicated to it. You don't understand how in love with this silly little au I am-

If you made it this far through the post- have some traditional art that may or may not get turned digital eventually! (There was one of Myles and Jango but I literally cannot decide on Myles hairstyle and couldn't erase it anymore for fear of ripping the paper so...)

Join me next time (maybe-) for when I inevitably think of more headcannons for this au.

In order: Jango and Boba, Jango braiding Fennec's hair, and Cody!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Sixteen

You and Alpha prepare for an unexpected departure.

Word Count: 4,200

Warnings: Worrying, stress, impending goodbyes, mentions of past attack on Kamino, flirtation, nerves, tears, general references to the stress of living in a galaxy at war

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Burcyan (Friendship)

“Limit!” you greeted happily, setting your tray down on the surface of your lunch table. You continued to smile at him as you took a seat beside Alpha. “I thought you forgot about us.” 

Limit stammered half an excuse, clearly flustered by your teasing accusation. 

Alpha rolled his eyes, half-smiling to soften it. “He’s been busy.” 

“I know that.” You patted Limit’s hand where it rested on top of the table. “They’ve really had you working like crazy.” 

It was the truth, too. When Limit had finished taking inventory, rotating all supplies, and ordering new items during the lockdown, the Kaminoans had assigned him to work on a total reorganization of the medbay supplies. And when had that had been done, they had him teaching basic medic classes for the recruits and offering some advanced first aid courses to the ARCs-in-training. 

Amid all of it, Limit had truly blossomed. You had worried about how the stress would impact him, but he had risen above it all. The troopers and cadets all adored him, and they sought him out just as much as they did Alpha. More, actually, since Limit had never shouted at anyone, as far as you were aware. 

“I finally got a-away,” Limit explained with a smile, finally relaxing with your friendly touch to reassure him that you weren’t really upset. 

“And I’m glad,” you admitted, taking a bite of your lunch. “I was a little worried that the Kaminoans would keep putting you to work further and further away from the general public. Working with the troopers in the medbay is really where you shine.” 

There was a moment of quiet - an uncomfortable pause in a conversation that had been filled with the comfortable air of a long friendship. 

Limit laughed, the sound a little too quiet to be casual. “No, no mo-more work on the inventory. It shoul-sh-... It will be good for the next fe-ew years.”

You frowned, letting your fork settle on the tray as you gave Limit a hard look. “What’s going on?” 

“No-nothing,” Limit denied nervously. 

“Limit,” you warned. “Something is happening. I can tell. What is it?” 

“I don’t-” Limit started, giving a desperate look over at Alpha. 

“Is it something bad?” You frowned, drumming your fingers on the table. “You’ve been in the medbay… Is something going on in there? Is someone hurt? Worse than normal, I mean? You never get this nervous unless it’s something really bad. Was there a training accident? Or have you heard something else? Did they find out that Dengar wasn’t the only spy?” 

“Neverd’ika,” Alpha interrupted, rough fingers touching the back of your hand to draw your attention. “Udesii.” 

Between the physical contact and the soothing Mando’a, you managed to stop and take a deep breath. 

Alpha nodded at you approvingly, pulling slowly away from you. If there wasn’t so much danger in being seen, you would have held his hand to keep the comforting contact between you. “Limit, you should probably just tell her.” 

You were instantly on-edge again. “So there is something! Tell me, Limit, please.” 

Limit tried to avoid your pleading eyes, but gave in with a sigh. “The Kaminoans saw th- saw the work I did during the lo-lockdown, and they heard ab… about how I helped during the attack. They d-decided to cl- clea- They said I’ve been cleared for duty.” 

You sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, trying to process everything you felt about that, but you snapped out of it when Limit peeked up at you. “Congratulations, Limit! That’s…” 

“That’s great,” Alpha finished when you flagged. “Do they know where you’re going to end up?” 

Limit looked nearly as grateful for Alpha’s interruption as you had been. “I’ll be in the 327th, ser-serving with General Aayla Secura.” 

“Ah, you’ll be with Aftermath.” Alpha gave a satisfied sort of rumble, deep in his chest. “Good. Seems like a dependable group of vode.” 

“When do you leave?” you asked, trying not to sound as close to tears as you were feeling.

From the stricken look on Limit’s face, you hadn’t succeeded. “I’ll ship out w-with the ARCs. Makes the- makes the most sense. Fewer transports.” 

Your stomach dropped, and you took a bite of your lunch in an effort to disguise whatever expression your face had fallen into. The food tasted even more bland than usual, but you chewed slowly to give yourself time to think. 

If Limit was leaving when the ARCs left, that only gave you a few days with him. The next ARC graduation was scheduled to take place in four days. 

“Congratulations, Limit,” you offered. “It’s about time the Kaminoans recognized what a talented medic and soldier they have in you.” 

Limit’s face tightened imperceptibly, as if he was also trying to hide his expression. Alpha - never one for hiding his true feelings - snorted aloud. “Not exactly what happened, little one.” 

“What-?” you started, only to be distracted when a broad smile spread across Limit’s face. “If they didn’t, then..?” 

“It was a group effort,” Alpha said vaguely. 

You stared hard at Limit until he gave a real explanation. “Taun- Taun We received pet- peti- petitions from the captain, but also from General Ti, Commander C- Colt, and some of the ARC troopers.” 

For a strange moment, you pictured Salvo and Maw going to specifically request that Limit be sent out with a battalion, but Limit clarified, “That is, some of the ARC tr- troopers from the last group.”

“Yeah, the ones who you saved from that explosion,” Alpha added. “They haven’t forgotten about that part, and neither should you.” 

Limit shook his head. “Just did wha- what any man would do t-to save his brothers.” 

“And that’s why you belong out there, taking care of them.” 

Limit and Alpha both looked surprised at your declaration. It must have seemed like an abrupt change of your position, but you meant it. Limit was one of the best parts of Kamino, had been ever since you had met him, but there was only so much he could do in Tipoca City. He needed the chance to help more people. Who were you to be upset that he was leaving?

You smiled at them, hoping it looked natural. You were sad to see Limit go, but you never wanted him to think you weren’t happy for him. “I’m just a little sad that you won’t get your own graduation or goodbye party.” 

“It’s b- better like this,” Limit assured you. “With ev-erything that’s hap- happened on Kamino lately, I’m happier thi- this way. I d-don’t want to… want to draw too much attention.” 

You studied him, but he seemed to be telling the truth. “Fine. But I hope you know that I’ll want the three of us to spend as much time together as possible before you ship out.” 

Limit’s smile was sudden and bright, so genuinely sincere that it made your heart ache to see it. “I c-can agree to… agree to that.”

—

You and Limit did your best to do exactly that. You ate meals together, you visited him in the medbay, and he spent one peaceful evening chatting with you and Alpha. 

Through all of it, you were trying to come up with an idea for a present. Before you had left home - or even back on Coruscant - a friend leaving for an adventure like this one would be met with celebration and a gift to make sure they started their next chapter with a reminder of how deeply they were loved. 

But Limit was surprisingly hard to find a present for. As a clone trooper and a medic, he had to follow strict guidelines about personal belongings and what he could expect to bring from one duty station to the next. 

You had considered buying him some medical equipment - maybe a medscanner? - but discarded the idea just as quickly. Beyond the requirements about personal belongings and the fact that the 327th definitely had a medscanner, there simply wasn’t time to order anything for delivery to Kamino. 

Whatever you decided on, it had to be something you already owned or something that you could make. Nothing jumped out at you from either category, and you were beyond frustrated. Time had been limited from the beginning and you were quickly running out of it. Limit would leave the day after the next, and you were no closer to an idea than you had been when you first thought of it. 

Your only saving grace was that Limit did still have duties in the medbay. The Kaminoans had never been a sentimental species and they didn’t seem likely to start then. They kept Limit just as busy as he always had been, so you had time to brainstorm. 

You would rather have spent time with him, of course, but you couldn’t say it wasn’t convenient. 

You were on your way back to your office after a quick trip to a supply closet, muttering gift options to yourself, when a voice behind you made you jump. 

“What are you talking about?” 

You whirled, pressing a hand to your chest as you stared up at Alpha. “Where did you come from?” 

Alpha jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “ARC training wrapped up early. They have their final test tomorrow morning, so I give ‘em the chance to do some individual practice the day before. They know where they’re struggling. Now, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” 

Alpha clearly wasn’t going to let you get away with that non-explanation, folding his arms across his chest as he continued to silently watch you. 

You sighed, toying with the identification card you had taken to wearing after the Null ARC incident. “I just… I want to give Limit something when he leaves. But I can’t figure out what and I’m almost out of time.” 

“You don’t-”

“Don’t tell me I don’t have to get him anything,” you interrupted hastily. “It’s a nat-born thing, I guess. But I need to make sure he has something from his friends here when he’s out in the field.”

Alpha was silent for a moment. “You didn’t get anything for the last ARCs when they graduated and everything was fine.” 

“That’s different,” you dismissed. You lasted exactly eight steps before you asked, “Stars, should I have gotten them something? What if they were expecting me to-” 

“No,” Alpha denied, cutting you off mid-guilty question. 

Then it was his turn to be quiet. If you hadn’t known him well, you would have wondered if he wasn’t going to answer you at all, but you had spent the last few months analyzing his facial expressions and their meanings. He was thinking about something. 

“I may have an idea,” he told you. “But I’ll have to be the one who sets it up. I’ll need your help at the end, but most of it will be on me. Do you trust me?” 

“With my life.” 

Your automatic answer made Alpha smile, the expression wide enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes. “Glad to hear it. But do you trust me with Limit’s gift?” 

Part of you wanted to tease him, to wait a moment while you pretended to think about it. But you could never lie about this, even for something as minor as teasing him. “Of course I do, Alpha.” 

The playful smile faded from Alpha’s face, replaced with a warm softness in his eyes. He glanced away long enough to make sure no one was around, then pulled you into a gentle keldabe.

You held the contact between his forehead and yours, letting your eyes fall shut as you breathed in the heat and scent of Alpha that surrounded you when he was this close. His nose briefly brushed yours before he pulled away. 

“Give me six hours,” Alpha requested, disappearing the moment he saw your nod. 

—

You woke up early for the graduation. 

Alpha had been gone the night before, completing whatever set of traditions and rituals he did with each ARC group before they left, but you got a call from him as you were finishing getting dressed. 

“You awake, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked. 

“Almost ready, actually,” you replied, deciding not to tell him about the array of alarms you had set for that morning. “I wouldn’t be late for this.” 

“Good,” he answered. “Same hangar bay as last time.” 

The hangar bay in question was easy to find. You were fairly sure they used it for ARC graduations because it was on an upper level of one of the outlying stilt-cities. The location meant that the departing transport wouldn’t fly over or past anywhere else, keeping security tight and preventing any noise disturbances for the laboratories or training areas. 

In any case, it was a bit of a trek to get there and you were glad that you had left early. You needed enough time to make sure Limit got his gift before the ceremony started. 

Alpha had delivered on his promise, setting up most of the moving pieces for Limit’s gift before he got back to you. It had been perfect, and you had gladly finished your part that night. Since Alpha had been busy with the ARCs most of the previous day, everything needed to be finished even earlier than you had planned. You were still a little surprised that you and Alpha - mostly Alpha - had pulled it off at all. 

The ARCs were gathered on one side of the large space, a little closer to the door than Alpha and Limit were. When you stepped inside, they called greetings to you. 

Despite Alpha’s best efforts, the ARCs had met you and learned a little about your role on Kamino. You weren’t sure how much they knew about your relationship with Alpha, but you trusted that they all understood the stakes of secrecy. 

“No one told me we were going to have a beautiful spectator,” Fives crowed. “If I had known, I would have finished the final mission even faster.”

You smiled at his outrageous flirting, shaking your head as he flexed. “We both know you like cutting it close for dramatic effect.” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Salvo grumbled, giving an amused huff as Fives elbowed him in the side. “We barely finished under the time limit, and not for dramatic effect.”

“We would have been faster if someone hadn’t decided to try for the optional objective,” Maw interrupted. 

Aftermath scowled. “We made it, didn’t we? And it countered the civilian casualty.” 

“You guys lost a civilian?” you asked, caught between amusement and horror. It was all simulated, of course, and you knew they had passed, but that was one of the biggest point deductions a group could get.

“Not lost,” Echo clarified. “We recovered the hostage, but he was injured during exfil. Non-fatally.”

You managed to (mostly) smother your smile. “I’m glad to hear you passed. Sorry I couldn’t be there to see it.” 

“We didn’t need the distraction.” To your surprise, the flirtatious remark came from Maw. You glanced at him in surprised amusement. 

A deep, weary sigh sounded from behind you and then Alpha was stepping between you and the ARCs. “That’s enough of that. Say goodbye, men.” 

“Bye and congratulations!” you called. 

Fives ducked around Alpha’s side to shake your hand. “Nice to meet you. You’re good for him, you know.” 

Fives had just tipped his head to indicate Alpha when he was grabbed by the back of the collar and peeled away from you. 

“Fives,” Alpha said conversationally, “it would be shame to finish training and pass your final mission, but never make it to graduation, wouldn’t it?” 

“A terrible waste of potential,” Fives agreed, having to stare upward to meet Alpha’s eyes. 

“Then let’s avoid any more theatrics. It’s not worth the paperwork.” Alpha turned back to you, jerking his head toward Limit. “We need you over here.” 

You frowned, but followed behind Alpha willingly enough as he led the way to where Limit was standing. That had been a little more intense than you had expected; Alpha rarely got physical with the troopers, unless they were in a training session.

As soon as Alpha stepped out of your line of vision, you understood. 

Limit looked… scared. He was about as pale as you’d seen any of the troopers get. His face was drawn into tight lines of concern, and his fingers were trembling. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if he couldn’t bring himself to stand still for too long. 

“Hey,” you greeted gently. “Big day, huh?” 

Limit blinked at you in confusion and even Alpha looked a little underwhelmed at your attempt to soothe your friend. 

You wracked your brain for anything that might actually help instead of sending Limit into a deeper spiral, but you doubted that talking about nerves had ever helped anyone overcome them. Instead, you decided to redirect the conversation to another course. 

“I know I’ve said this before, Limit, but I’m so proud of you,” you told him, taking one of his hands in yours and giving the back of it a little pat. “When I first met you, you wouldn’t even boss Alpha around and now I’ve seen you take charge of any situation that happens in the medbay! You’ve come so far, and I’m glad you’re going to have the chance to keep growing.” 

In an interesting reversal, Limit’s face had gone from pale to almost painfully red. Some of the effect was negated by the deep tan of his skin, but he was clearly embarrassed by your praise. But embarrassed was better than nervous, wasn’t it? 

“I d- don’t know about tha- about that,” he protested weakly. 

“It’s true, though,” you countered. “You’ve helped most people on Kamino at this point. It just makes sense that you’d need to branch out to a whole battalion.” 

“But…” Limit looked away, drawing a deep breath as he did. In a voice almost too low for you to hear, he admitted, “This will b- will be my first t-time off of- off- being away from Kamino. I’m a little w- worr- worried.” 

You softened, doing your best not to aww aloud. Thankfully, Alpha interrupted before you could.

With a hand on Limit’s shoulder, he said, “You’ll be fine, kid.” 

Limit visibly relaxed. For half a second, you were offended at how Alpha’s four words had a greater effect than your speech had, but you smiled warmly at your boyfriend a moment later. He had such an influence on these men - how could you begrudge him for connecting with them? 

“But we have something for you,” you told him, eyeing Alpha in hopes that he wouldn’t mind you being the one to reveal it. “We want to make sure you get it before you go.” 

“Some-something?” Limit repeated, brow furrowing in confusion. “For m- me?” 

You went to retrieve the gift from where Alpha had left it leaning against a nearby wall, but it was heavier than you expected. You huffed inelegantly as you lugged it back over to where Alpha and Limit were standing. 

Limit accepted the gift easily enough that you felt foolish for struggling as hard as you had. Alpha had covered it with a rough piece of fabric, but Limit unwrapped it like the cloth was something precious. When he could clearly see it, he frowned, glancing between you and Alpha with growing befuddlement. 

“A chestplate?” he asked, thumbs stroking over the white plastoid. “I w-was already issued one when I… when I got my orders. I’m sorry.” 

Alpha chuckled - a real, warm chuckle, unlike the sardonic laugh he sometimes gave in response to ARC-in-training silliness. “Turn it over, vod.” 

Limit did, and you watched his eyes go wide. You knew what he was seeing: in the greenish-yellow of his new battalion was a kar’ta beskar - a Mandalorian Iron Heart. 

Surrounding it were handprints, multicolored and multi-directional. Some of them overlapped due to the limited space on the inside of the chestplate, but all were clearly visible. Each one was painstakingly painted the exact color of the corresponding trooper’s battalion. Alpha’s handprint was near the top, painted in black. Your handprint was its mirror image, but in emerald green. 

“Who-?” Limit started, his voice breaking before he could finish the question. Limit’s eyes were bright with tears and you lost the fight against your own as he glanced from you to Alpha. 

Alpha tugged you to his side, his hand finding yours unerringly. “Ours, of course. The kids. The last ARC class. Just some of the people you’ve helped. The first of many, I’d assume.”

Limit nodded a few times, swallowing hard before he spoke. “And th- the blue?” 

You frowned, taking a step closer to look at the inside of the armor. Sure enough, there was a thin brushstroke tracing the outline of the chestplate, painted in a deep and vivid blue. 

Alpha grunted. “Learn your heritage, vod. Everything means something to the Mandos. Even colors.” 

“I’ll learn,” Limit promised. 

“Can you explain it now?” you pried. “I want to know, too. And someone hasn’t gotten to that point in Mando’a lessons yet.” 

Alpha looked exasperated and you scowled at him. “Are you seriously telling me that it was more important to teach me how to curse in Mando’a than to explain that there’s a color language?” 

“Not a language,” Alpha corrected. “Symbolism. Blue is reliable.” 

Limit’s breath caught, but you nodded. “Reliable is the perfect way to describe you, Limit. We all rely on you. And I’m not sure what we’re going to do without you.” 

“The general is coming,” Maw warned, ducking back into the room. You hadn’t realized that the ARCs were paying attention to anything other than their own conversation, but your little group had their full attention. 

Limit looked scared, and you stepped forward to wrap him in a tight hug. He melted into it, hugging you just as tightly in return. When you let go, Alpha stepped forward to offer him a handshake. 

“You’ll be amazing, Limit,” you told him. 

A hand came down on Limit’s shoulder. You glanced up to find Aftermath offering Limit a nod. Aftermath turned to you. “I’ll keep an eye out for him, ma’am.” 

“Thank you,” you managed through a throat that had gone tight. 

Shaak Ti and Commander Colt swept into the room and the ARCs fell into a neat line. Limit came to stand beside you. You put a hand on his back only to find that Alpha’s was already there, offering silent support from Limit’s other side. With a slight adjustment, you pressed your palm slightly lower. 

The ARC graduation passed in a blur. It followed much of the same format as the previous one you had attended. You weren’t sure how Shaak Ti found the time to learn so much about each man and his strengths and weaknesses, but they seemed to be true. 

When each man had been given his kama and was congratulated by their general, commander, and captain, they headed for the ship. 

“Limit,” Shaak Ti greeted, stopping in front of him. 

Limit’s spine straightened. “General.” 

“You have been a shining example of duty and brotherhood for as long as I have known you,” she told him warmly. “I look forward to seeing the wonders you work for your brothers in the outside galaxy.” 

“Yes, Gen- General,” Limit agreed, cheeks slightly reddened. 

Colt clapped him on the shoulder. “Best head for the ship, vod. And if you need anything, I’m only a comm away.” 

Limit nodded. “Thank you, Commander.” 

Colt smiled, following Shaak Ti from the room as Limit turned back to you and Alpha. “I do- don’t know how I can… how I can thank you-” 

“So don’t,” Alpha interrupted. “There are some debts too big for words. But at least these go both ways.” 

Limit nodded, giving a quick salute. Alpha returned it while you offered a sad wave, and then Limit was gone.

The ship had long since disappeared into the distance when Alpha finally spoke. 

“Are you going to be okay, neverd’ika?” 

“I think so,” you said, offering a tight smile. “It’s never going to get easier, is it? Knowing there are people out there in the galaxy who I can’t keep safe.” 

“No,” Alpha confirmed, voice not unkind. “It never does get easier, little one. All you can do is trust that they know how to look after themselves. And, if it comes down to it, that they gave their lives for something greater than themselves.” 

That made you shed a few more tears and Alpha pulled you in for a hug. When he spoke, it rumbled through you in a way that managed to be just as comforting as the hug itself. “I’m sorry. What can I do?” 

“Are you done for the day?” you asked, leaning your chin on his chest to look up at him. Alpha nodded, and you hugged him a little tighter. “Can we go back to my quarters? I just want to hold you for a while. Is that okay?” 

“That sounds perfect,” Alpha agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

---

Author's Note - I didn't want to get too deep in the weeds about how Alpha pulled it off, but I feel like it could stand to be explained: I imagine Alpha contacted the original ARCs and had them send an image of their hand. Alpha then would have brought it back to full-size, projected it onto the inside of the chestplate, traced the outlines, and painted them with the correct colors. (I can't fully explain without giving away personally identifiable information, but I can verify that this works, both with painting and woodcarving specific designs onto a surface.)

Anyway! Sorry about Limit. I've written one-shots of him with the 327th, so I knew this was going to happen eventually. Still hurts, though. Thank you for reading!

[spacelesbiandisasterii]

A small update on my WIP!

Aka "The war within me"

Ok, so for the people that happened to read "The War Within Me" first chapter two months ago (I can't fuckin believe it's been two months) I just wanted to say that I didn't abandoned the project.

Between staying with my grandpa in the hospital (he crashed his motorcycle on a car) and then having Dengue myself (bc I was in the hospital the house I lived was empty and the mosquitos procreate like crazy in the summer I ended up being exposed) I quickly learn that AO3 curse is real and didn't get much time to write.

On top of that Chapter two was already a bit difficult bc it was set to explore Barriss and Anakin relationship and I didn't get to see the two of them interacting on the Star Wars media I consumed. I know they do interact in the novels, but I didn't read any yet (Shame on me!) so it's being kinda tricky, y'know? Mostly of what I wrote I ended up deleting right after because it didn't feel right.

Luckily now I feel like I got the vibe I wanted to pass with them, and I also very proud of the situation that I put them into.

For those that don't remember, Luminara departed to arrest Nute Gunray with the mysterious new Padawan of Anakin Skywalker (I wonder who that could be) while Barriss it's tasked to meet Anakin on the Aargonar System/Planet so they can create a distraction to keep the Seps occupied while Master Unduly gets that sleemo safely to prison.

Great plan, right?

Still, Aargonar will be a little though for Barriss for obvious reasons, and Anakin... Well, he will be doing what he's thing while trying to learn how to be a teacher figure, since it's just been a couple of month since he got his Padawan and now he got to deal with Barriss too (at least for a day).

Anyways! Here's a sneak peek for chapter two, I hope I'll be posting the whole thing soon:

(ps: this is not edited and I'm bad at english)

The news that they would be serving under General Skywalker quickly brought the clones some questions about the man. Barriss was slightly surprised by how popular Anakin truly was among the troops, but the longer the clones talked the more it made sense to why they look up to him so much. "I heard the 501st destroyed a Seppie Super weapon." Klutz, one the skinnies that recently got into the 41st legion spoke up to his brothers. "A ship that destroyed entire fleets! Can you imagine that?" The Malevolence. Barriss heard some talks around the temple at the time. Not only Anakin had destroyed the ship that previously had killed Jedi and clones on multiple battles, but he also managed to save Master Plo Koon and a few clones on the process. People were impressed to say the least, and the 501st legion accumulated dozens of other impressive victories to further legitimize Anakin's leadership. "You know what people call him? The Hero with no fear!" Edger add causing a few gasps of surprise and admiration from his brothers. Barriss had to turn back so they couldn't see her scoff. Now that was just ridiculous. "Padawan Offee, you know him, right?" Klutz asked not bothering on hiding all his excitement. "Yes, I do." "Well, how's he like?" She took a deep breath. How to even begin explaining Anakin? He indeed was a very brave person, true to his values and loyal to his friends in a way that very few could be, but to call him "Hero with no fear", like it seems Republic Propaganda liked to do recently, was to ignore that fact that he was human, and a Jedi. There's no person without fear and, like Master Yoda like to say, there's no heros in war. She wished she could talk about her friend. The Anakin that used to visit her youngling clan with Master Kenobi to help instruct lightsabers lessions and always find excuses to make their classes end early. The one that always found something interesting for her and Aayla to do while their Masters engaged on heated conversation about their last mission. The one that was human before being a military hero. She wished Klutz and Edger knew that version of him, but they also needed to enter this mission trusting their General just as much they trusted Luminara. "He's one of the best Generals of the GAR." She said look at her soldiers. "It's not usual for a recently knighted Jedi get their own Legion to command right away, but Council found him worthy of it. I'm sure whatever we'll be facing on Aargonar Master Skywalker already have a plan so we can succeed in our mission." I hoped. Barriss knew Anakin could be quite unorthodox at times, but she didn't had a chance to serve by his side ever since he got knighted. Judging by the reports of his mission he probably had grown a lot as a Jedi on the time being, and she trusted that things would go smoothly under his command.

[feybarn]

Thanks for all the prompts you guys sent. I'm definitely not going to be able to hit them all at once. But I'm going to try to get to at least one or two a day...

Up first with @everfascinated's prompt.

It's Monday and I'm really feeling it lol Can Obi-Wan relax with your fav Jedi/Mando/clone? I'm working for the weekend, someone needs to just sit and read or have a nice day with people they love

Some Obi-Wan & Quinlan.

Obi-Wan glared at his interloper, currently looming over him and holding Obi-Wan’s datapad over his head. “What are you doing?”

“You are going to give me an ulcer,” Quinlan said. “Literally. An ulcer. I can feel it growing right now.” He pressed his free hand against his stomach and let out an exaggerated groan. “I never thought you were capable of such cruelty.”

Obi-Wan wasn’t amused. In the slightest. “I need to finish the report for my latest mission, Quin.”

“You need to take a break before you break down. This may come as a surprise to you, but things like fatigue and stress do affect you the same way they do the rest of us.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Quin. My datapad. Give it to me.”

Quinlan scoffed, turned off the datapad, and stuck it in his belt. “Not a chance.” 

Obi-Wan had somehow forgotten just how supremely irritating Quinlan could be. How he’d managed to forget that was something of a mystery, because Quinlan was… Quinlan. Apparently the back to back missions he and Anakin had been sent on the last year were getting to him. He didn’t know why he was being ‘specifically requested’ so often, but he’d really prefer it stop happening. “What do you want, Quin?”

“I want you to relax. For an evening. That’s it.”

The thought filled Obi-Wan with longing. As it was… “I can’t.” He had already received a message requesting that he and Anakin prepare for another mission in three days, there was too much to do in the next three days to relax. Mace had been apologetic, but the request for Obi-Wan had come straight from the Senate.

Beyond that, he’d agreed to teach several hand to hand courses for the senior padawans—which was less hand to hand and more how to fight dirty—had several meetings with Senators from former missions, and a meeting with the council.

“You can, actually,” Quinlan said. “Aayla is inviting Anakin to join her and a few other padawans for a night in the holo-room for the night. Star gazing, supposedly, but we both know that’s just code for gossip. That means the two of us are free for the night.”

“I’m not going cantina hopping, Quinlan.”

Quinlan rolled his eyes. “Give me some credit, Obi-Wan. I know when you’re in a cantina hopping mood. I have deigned to suffer this evening, all for your sake, and we’re going to do something you consider relaxing.”

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest, because this was sure to be good. Quinlan didn’t know the first thing about relaxing in a way that didn’t include chaos.

Obi-Wan would be lying if he said he didn’t at times egg Quinlan on, but he simply was too drained to do so.

“In this theoretical situation where I give in, what, exactly, do you plan on us doing?”

Quinlan’s expression shifted into one of exaggerated long-suffering. “We are going to watch the prime-time recording of the Phantasma Opera.” He shuddered. “I borrowed the recording from Windu and stole some tea from Depa and…” He paused for obvious emphasis. “I raided Siri’s kitchen for the little sugary monstrosities that you like. I risked my life for this evening.”

“Siri’s going to kill you,” Obi-Wan said. His mouth watered at the thought of the Alderaanian Delights Siri hoarded. “How about this, you give me those Alderaanian Delights and I get back to work. You can consider your mission accomplished.”

“Nope,” Quinlan said easily. “It’s everything or nothing.”

Obi-Wan was too professional to pout, but it was Quinlan; Quinlan had seen him do worse. He pouted.

Quinlan was unfazed. “So, I’m stealing your datapad and setting up in your quarters. You can choose to join me or you can languish here in the archives.” Quinlan sauntered away.

Obi-Wan groaned and buried his face in his arms on the table.

He was so tired. 

Quinlan was such a pest, really. Obi-Wan didn’t know how he put up with him.

He forced himself out of the chair.

Quinlan was wrong; Obi-Wan didn’t need a break. But… well, Quinlan had clearly gone through a great deal of work—risking Siri’s wrath on top of it all—to give Obi-Wan a break. And he really had wanted to see the Phantasma Opera for quite some time.

He made it to his quarters to find Quinlan sprawled over his couch, Phantasma Opera queued up, tea steeping, and Alderaanian Delights in a box on his chest.

Obi-Wan forced Quinlan to move his legs before he sat down. “I need my datapad back.”

“Tomorrow,” Quinlan said. “I’m teaching your class on fighting dirty, already cleared it with the Masters—who were quite pleased to have an expert Shadow, by the way—so you have time then.”

Obi-Wan stared at his best friend, because tonight had been… appreciated for the intent behind it, but some part of Obi-Wan had been on edge trying to figure out what to do with the time he was losing. This… this was more than he had thought he could ask for. Some of his tension released. 

“Thanks Quinlan,” he said quietly. 

Quinlan smirked at him. “Don’t thank me too soon. I’m going to tell all of the padawans about the time you won a cantina fight because you freaked out the Duros smuggler by threatening to bite him.”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Have I told Aayla the story of the time we almost poisoned Yoda when we brought him the wrong type of frog as a life day present?”

“Not yet,” Quinlan said, a gleeful look entered his eyes. Mostly because the story was more hilarious than embarrassing, Master Yoda had been delighted by their ‘murder attempt’. “But you can tell her tomorrow at dinner.”

Obi-Wan thought about protesting, but with Quinlan taking on Obi-Wan’s classes, his whole day tomorrow was suddenly free; he could spare another evening with Quinlan.

He leaned back against the sofa and relaxed as the Opera started.

His tension faded away. For the first time in ages, Obi-Wan just… relaxed. 

Kark. Quinlan had been right; he was going to be absolutely insufferable.

[padme-amitabha]

I read your opinions on Ahsoka and while I like her I agree, I think her fandom is making me dislike her, the final straw for me was reading takes that Ahsoka was Anakin's child more than Luke ever was because he spend more time with her than with Luke despite Anakin ALWAYS aknowledged Luke as his son, I mean remember the iconic "I'm your father" scene? And how after that he always called Luke in his mind as "my son"? Anakin may had not raised Luke, but he always loved his son, ever since Padmé told him that she was pregnant he considered his baby a blessing and the happiest moment of his life, so no wonder those feelings resurfaced when he found out that Luke lived between ANH and ESB, I mean, he came to the Light for him! His baby boy. I even read a Youtube comment saying that when Anakin said Luke before dying "Tell your sister...you were right..." now it refered to Ahsoka when those words were for Leia! Yes, we know Leia sees Bail as her father and has zero connection with Anakin, but even so, those final words were for her. Canonically Anakin saw Ahsoka as much a younger sister, he always refered Luke as his son and Leia as Luke's sister and thus, his daughter. I dislike reading how people are trying to server Anakin from his family (from Padmé to now Luke and Leia) to place Ahsoka in the picture, guys, you can have both! (sorry for the rant)

I totally get it. My issue with her character mainly started from the fact that she is shoehorned into anything that involves the skywalkers. Imagine if she was in the movies, I would think her arc would be very redundant in the PT because we are closely following the Jedi masters and council as well as politicians as they are central to the plot and conflict. The fact that she wasn't in it establishes she is an afterthought. And I think she wouldn't have been so bad if she was a character with a standalone arc and story but now she's just everywhere and I disliked her introduction as Anakin's padawan because the PT establishes Anakin is quite young and flawed and its his journey we are exploring from little Ani to Darth Vader throughout the six films. He is allowed to be an innocent kid, brooding emotional teenager and also a hero. He is the Chosen One but not once is he a Gary Stu, in fact he goes through phases that annoys other characters like Obi Wan. He isn't overpowered either because we see him suffer two huge defeats in the films. He makes mistakes and the wrong choices and can be selfish at times, and other times he tries to be a good padawan and follow the rules and sometimes he disregards them, he lets others boss him around too, he is scared but wants to be a good father and husband etc etc. you get the idea. He's not perfect and that's the point and I think Hayden nails the repressed monk persona. The only reason Ahsoka was introduced was part of "fixing" Anakin's character and to make him more fun but it seems so unbelievable the council would assign someone like Anakin with an impressionable youngling (who is strangely rebellious despite having the same upbringing as the rest?). I just don't see Anakin as being a big brother to anyone or bantering with kids when he seemed understandably awkward and reserved. Also, Ahsoka's thick plot armor and her continuously inflated significance just confirms how much of a creator's pet she was and her whole character (especially when she's interacting with Anakin) feels very fanficy and the fact that she has almost zero flaws and she takes over the roles of every other important person in Anakin's life in the original story. I try not to pay attention to Filoni's pet because it just feels like pure wish fulfillment for him at this point. We could just have more of other cool female jedi like Shaak Ti, Depa, Aayla, or Yaddle as they were preexisting characters and weren't dependent on the Skywalkers for their arc - because I doubt Ahsoka would have been popular at all if she wasn't Anakin's padawan or acting like an Anakin wannabe (and getting away with it almost always while Anakin the CO was given no special treatment). At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Ahsoka is revealed to be the new chosen one or she's some insanely overpowered demigod lol. And I mean I guess her fans like her for many reasons but she just feels like a Mary Sue to me like you know a character is doomed when a creator admits he's too attached to the character for anything drastic and openly shows favoritism. Let's be honest she is kind of a nepo baby and acts like one too in the SWU. I guess some people are just seeing her as one now but I always thought she would be a Mary Sue because even the emotional moments she has and the few hardships or "deep" moments she gets is just by interacting with the Skywalkers or just dealing with things everyone else is going through. So I don't really feel the emotional value if she tells Luke he is like her father when literally anyone else who knew him could have said that. At least characters like Boba don't rely on mentioning Anakin in everything they appear in. I don't think her arc would even be well developed if she was detached from the existing prequel characters so it's like she just reinforces the same emotions we should feel except she's supposed to be fun and badass so the audience and her fans would empathize with the events more.

Like do people even really like her screentime in Rebels except from her fight with Anakin? And that scene's so memorable because it's with Anakin, a much more realistic and developed character. It's really Anakin who carries the scene and the emotional impact. Replace Ahsoka with any other padawan and it seems like she has no inherent value. She only seems to shine in moments she is interacting with PT era characters due to the backstory and flashbacks and the rest of the time she's just a token strong female jedi character. What is Ahsoka when she is not breaking Jedi rules constantly like she's special or getting in Anakin's business or running into other characters and reminiscing about the past? I could watch a standalone show on Anakin, Padme, Obi Wan, Qui Gon, Yoda or even Dooku just in their solo adventures because they bring a slightly new perspective to the SWU and there's some room for individuality. I could be wrong maybe they explored some of her personal ambitions than being a Jedi and making Anakin proud but I'm really not interested when her role is just so interchangeable. Even Padme has an entire movie around her (TPM) where we see more about her. Despite being Anakin's love interest, we can see how she is a main character and can carry a film without any romance with Anakin. Same with Obi-Wan. He had an entire movie solving mysteries and plots while Anakin and Padme were romancing. That's why they should be the main prequel trio because its always been two force sensitives and a non-force sensitive member. Just like Han, Padme brings a new perspective and skills in the team.

I wouldn't be too bothered about such claims as they always existed. Ahsoka is closer to Anakin than Obi Wan, Padme, Leia and now more than Luke. It's sad and funny how far Filoni will bend space and time to make room for the OC. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist.

This channel has some good videos on her and I highly recommend these: part 1 and part 2

[pandora15]

okay i'm gonna rant a lot (like. a LOT) about the ahsoka series and most of it is like. pretty critical, so please skip if you love the series! (you're valid and there are things I did like about the show i'm just. frustrated and tired i guess)

i think i just really miss animated ahsoka and like. ahsoka having actual flaws y'know? and like being an actual character that I can relate to.

it bothers me SO much that she like. has no reverence or even respect for all the jedi who mentored her, to the point that she won't even mention them? instead she mentions anakin, who yes had a major role in her training, obviously, but he's also the source of a lot of her trauma. HE'S the one who stormed the temple and killed jedi. he's the one who spent years afterwards hunting down the rest and killing them — the same people who took ahsoka in when she was a child and raised her.

literally, anakin is the one who tried to kill HER in rebels.

but it's fine because "he's the only one who stood by her even when no one else would" right? and "he was a good master" because he left recordings for her and taught her to survive and —

like okay.

okay.

anakin and ahsoka's relationship is wonderful and important and I love their dynamic in TCW. seeing anakin be in a position of mentorship was really cool, and ahsoka's personality worked with his PERFECTLY.

but TCW also made it a point to see ahsoka be mentored by other jedi, and that was one of the things I loved most about it. we get to see ahsoka with plo koon, with aayla secura, with luminara unduli, with tera sinube, and it was amazing to see all these different jedi and how they're all wonderful and unique and AMAZING through the lens of ahsoka.

but now it's like. she doesn't even mention any of them? in rebels she did mention a few and I was happy to see that, but in the ahsoka series it's like. only anakin, the rest of the jedi don't even matter to her because "wow anakin was the only one who ever stood by me no one else did anything for me"

also damn i used to LOVE sabine. when I was watching rebels I was so in awe of her because she's so cool and interesting and intelligent and has that creative fun side to her as well? and the fact that tiya sircar is an american with bengali origins (just like me) made me feel like. really good about her and her character.

when natasha liu bordizzo was cast as sabine for ahsoka I was pretty disappointed — not because she wasn't asian because she absolutely is, but because to me, sabine was indian-coded. in rebels, her entire family (except for her father iirc) were all portrayed by indian voice actors. that could not have been a coincidence. it was something that I was grateful to see — that I can see interesting, intriguing characters in animation and in star wars that look like me.

but like, fine. I decided to look past it and try to be excited for the show.

but now I feel like sabine is like. a totally different character who she was in rebels. and I understand that the show tries to write off her change in personality as grief over what had happened to her family, but it just doesn't feel like a logical direction from where she is at the end of rebels to where she is at the beginning of ahsoka. maybe if the show decided to take more time to explain what happened during that time or even gave us some flashbacks to that time, i'd be more accepting of it but it doesn't. it just feels jarring to me.

more than that, sabine literally condemns the home galaxy to whatever thrawn will end up doing in his attempts to bring back the empire because she gave baylan the map. rebels sabine would never have done that. it's as though she completely forgot not only what kanan sacrificed when he died, but also ezra at the end of rebels.

and the fact that we don't see ezra finding out about what sabine did (and we likely never will) is INFURIATING to me. like????? this is such an important thing and he doesn't know about it?

and we think about the fact that sabine doing all of this for ezra is something that's like. so attachment-coded and such a central theme of star wars but then not really facing any consequences for doing that is like. hello????? it almost feels like the show is encouraging unhealthy attachment, which is extremely counter to what star wars and being a jedi is all about.

and to be clear, the concept of a character in their thirties who was previously considered non-force sensitive training to become a jedi but struggling to reach the force is definitely interesting. i feel like if it was done for a different character, I may have been more on board for it. the problem with it being sabine is that I feel like this arc is almost at the expense of the arc she had in rebels and it takes away from the aspects of her personality that I really enjoyed in rebels -- like her art??? her mandalorian identity????

i would've also been okay with her like. becoming someone like chirrut imwe — like being someone who believes in the force and the jedi way, and like seeking internal balance for herself, but her becoming force sensitive "because she trained and trained and really wanted it so badly for literal years" (even though rebels never showed us that she wanted to be a jedi, even when she was literally living with two of them and learned solely to use a lightsaber from kanan).

also no one tell chirrut imwe that he could've become force sensitive all this time, he just wasn't trying hard enough i guess. RIP.

okay another random topic change.

i'm eternally GRATEFUL that we didn't end up seeing ahsoka taking obi-wan's place on mustafar to fight anakin because that would've. i probably would've turned off my tv right then and there. (there was a leak about obi-wan's dead body being shown i'm assuming on mustafar but who knows. and genuinely i think that would've traumatized me. i'm not kidding.) i was so NERVOUS about this happening, and i'm really glad it didn't. here's hoping they don't do it in season 2 or whatever ends up coming next for ahsoka.

(ewan please stay away from the mando-verse shows i'm begging)

that being said, looking back at ahsoka's journey from start to where we are now, I just feel sad. I feel like we hit such a beautiful ending point to her arc at the end of rebels and now this show completely soured it for me. I have no idea how they're going to resolve it from here, and I'm getting this sinking feeling that we're never going to get to a beautiful ending point for her character now because we've gone way too far and there's no way to step it back.

I feel like sabine is like. a completely different character than who she was in rebels. literally, in my head, sabine from rebels is a different person. I think that's the only way I can make sense of this in my head. I can't connect the two together.

anyways, sorry for the long rant, now that it's been almost a week since the finale and I had time to reflect, I'm realizing that I'm not very happy about this series. there are things I did like (ie. ezra, huyang, baylan, shin, the music), but I feel like they really fumbled on the main two characters here and it's really unfortunate.

[theadventurek9]

Oh you know just me crying about Ryker and our relationship one day and moving to praise and giddy on the next.

Despite all that I overthink and worry over. We are starting to have more and more brilliant training sessions.

I've been working hard to change how I approach training sessions and working with Ryker. Praise and play actually are very high motivators for Ryker. Higher than Aayla. Probably higher than food is for him. He wants to be goofy and bouncy, so let's be goofy and bouncy.

I think with Aayla I did so much more goofy play with everything I taught her for the first three years of her life. I had just wanted a hiking buddy to train tricks with. Then I got into sports and figured that out. I had so much I taught incorrectly or sloppily that I had to go back and retrain a lot of things.

So I didn't want to make that mistake with my next dog. But I swung too far in the other direction, being too serious about training the little details. While I was trying to train everything with positive reinforcement and shaping, it was too much for Ryker in too serious of an environment. He found no joy, then got stressed and it all unravelled.

So here is to finding the middle ground. Focusing on foundations and working towards correct skills while incorporating a lot of play, goofiness and fun. More toy and play rewards, less food rewards.

[jadegretz]

Aayla Secura: Empyreal Guardian of Light by Jade Gretz

The dense jungle of Felucia swayed under the weight of its perpetual twilight, the luminescent flora casting eerie glows that danced with every whisper of the humid breeze. Aayla Secura, the blue-skinned Twi'lek Jedi Knight, moved with an agility and grace that belied the tension coiled within her. Her twin lekku, or head-tails, twitched in rhythm with her heightened senses, anticipating the danger she knew was lurking just ahead.

Aayla had been sent to Felucia to investigate reports of a rogue Jedi, one who had succumbed to the temptations of the dark side. The Council had been reluctant to believe the whispers at first, but the signs were unmistakable—a Jedi had turned, and it was Aayla's task to bring them back or, if necessary, eliminate the threat they posed.

The air was thick with moisture and the scent of exotic plants, but there was something else too, something acrid and foreboding. Aayla's cerulean eyes scanned the surroundings, alert for any movement. She reached out with the Force, seeking the presence that had evaded her so far. Then she felt it—a disturbance, dark and potent, like a festering wound in the Force.

"Welcome, Aayla," a voice called out, dripping with a mix of venom and nostalgia.

Emerging from the shadows was a figure cloaked in dark robes, his lightsaber igniting with a snap-hiss that echoed through the jungle. The crimson blade illuminated the sinister grin of his scarred face. This was Jakar Mor, a former Jedi Knight known for his skill and once close to Aayla during their training days.

"Jakar," Aayla responded, her voice steady but with a tinge of sadness. "You don't have to do this. We can help you."

"Help me?" Jakar's laugh was a harsh, mocking sound. "The Jedi are weak, bound by chains of their own making. I have seen the truth, Aayla. The dark side offers power without limits."

Aayla's lightsaber ignited, its blue blade a stark contrast to the crimson of Jakar's. "Power without limits comes at a cost, Jakar. You've lost yourself to the darkness."

"Then come, try to save me," Jakar sneered, launching him …(see the rest of the story at deviantart.com/jadegretzAI). For more supergirl, chun li, batgirl, tifa, lara croft, wonder woman, rogue and much more, please visit my page at www.deviantart.com/jadegretzai - Thanks for your support :)

[lamaenthel]

Bite Down On This

[read on ao3] [Febuwhump prompt: "Bite Down On This"]

Bly has to do the unthinkable to his General to save her life after a mortar strike wipes out their company.

Characters: CC-5052|Bly, Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos Wordcount: 868

" …hear me? Bly? Bly, are you alive?"

Bly blinks, takes a deep breath, and almost passes out again. He's face-down in a pile of… something. Something that smells like copper, fire, and human shit. He pushes himself up, his head spinning, and vomits on top of the bisected abdomen of the clone trooper he landed on.

"Get up!" He's yanked sideways, dragged on his back away from the body. Bodies. They're everywhere, he can see that now. "Get it together trooper, I need you."

"Yes, General," Bly tries to say; it comes out more of a blurry, slurred yrrrs gurnnnll.

"Hold on, Blue. We're coming. I got him. See? You were worried for nothing." General Vos tugs him up and forces him to walk on nerveless legs.

"Bly?" His stomach flips at how weak she sounds. "Oh, Bly, I—ah!" She breaks off with a shriek of agony. His stomach flips again.

"We're here. We're here, Blue." General Vos lets go of Bly's cuirass and drops down beside her. "I'm so sorry, honey. This is going to hurt. Bite down on this and take a deep breath, okay?"

Bly focuses on not falling down. His brain is unscrambling, reassembling his memories like scattered puzzle pieces. Aayla was leading their small scouting company from the front, trying to keep up with her old Master's massive stride. Bly was bringing up the rear, avoiding Vos and the looks he kept throwing over his shoulder. There was a whistle over their heads, then…

Mortar! Spread out!

He was at the rear. She was at the front. He was thrown back. She…

"It's okay, Blue. I know, I'm sorry it hurts. I've got you." Vos tightens the tourniquet around her ruined leg, right above what used to be her knee. 

They had some sausages once on Dantooine, made from roba hogs by the locals. They were so grateful for the Republic's arrival. They donated crates upon crates of fresh meat, vegetables, and fragrant blue rice. They'd never eaten so well. Aayla helped them all find sticks to cook the sausages on over the bonfire—her skin glows like midnight in the firelight—and laughed like a bell when he burned his mouth. 

Bard had overcooked his sausage. The end had burst open and split apart in strips, just like Aayla's leg.

"Get down here, Commander." General Vos adjusts them so that Aayla is cradled in his lap, his tree-trunk legs sticking straight out. He puts a hand on her forehead and whispers something Bly can't hear. Her head falls to the side, lekku drooping limp and lifeless. "Take my lightsaber and cut above the tourniquet," Vos orders, tossing it to the dirt in front of him. 

Bly's legs give out. He falls hard onto his shebs, head spinning. "What?"

"You heard me, Commander." Aayla stirs to life in his arms. Vos scowls and closes his eyes. "Sleep," he orders her, loud enough for Bly to hear this time.

There's two sabers laying in the dirt in front of him. Bly unsteadily reaches for the one on the right, grabs a handful of dirt instead. 

"Now!" Vos growls at him. "Sleep." His voice turns gentle when it's directed at her. He's like a father to me. "Good girl. It'll be over soon."

Aayla is dripping sweat and drooling around the leather strap her Master shoved in her mouth. Her head tosses from side to side, struggling to stay awake. Her lekku come to life only to curl up in tight, distressed spirals.

"I…" Bly swallows down a second surge of vomit. They need a medic. Where's their medic? He suddenly remembers the paintjob of the trooper he woke up on.

"Do it!" The Kiffar General—both of them—shoots him a glare that could melt beskar. "I can't keep her unaware much longer, Commander, she's fighting too hard. Do it before she wakes up!"

"Wake up, Commander," she whispers, her lek curling lovingly around his wrist. She trails a graceful finger down his nose, tickles his lips, chases the touch with a delicate kiss. 

"Do it, now!"

Bly pushes the button, goes blind from the green light. He blinks away the spots, stares down at his Aayla's beautiful leg—she hooks it over his hip, uses it to pull him closer as she cries out his name—and stops. "I can't," he says hoarsely. "I can't hurt a Jedi." My Jedi.

"You want her to be awake and screaming while you cut her leg off?" Vos' fury is incandescent, burning like a corona. "Do it, you useless son of a bitch!"

Bly's double vision isn't helped by his tears. "I can't."

"If you don't I will fucking gut you." Vos means it, but he still can't bring himself to bring down the beam. "Do it now, or so help me—"

"Bly," Aayla whimpers around the strap. Her big, beautiful brown eyes flicker open.

"SLEEP." Vos mouths the command directly against her ear cone. Her eyes close, her head falls limply to the side. Vos' eyes meet Bly's, and his vision is finally steady enough to see that the Kiffar is crying. "Do it. Do it while she's asleep, I'm begging you." 

Bly swallows hard, nods, and brings down the blade.

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @febuwhump, @soliloquy-of-nemo Divider: @saradika-graphics

[starwars-sims]

I keep adding more and more sims to my little Star Wars sims 4 world and then not updating y’all about it djsjdjs im so sorry

important updates (I use wicked whims so consider a lot of actual sexual acts and situations are going on);

Commander Bly and Aayla Secura literally cannot stop fucking. Which is on brand.

Shaak Ti is very very popular on SimHub for being the baddie that she is (she also slept with Quinlan Vos multiple times and took lots of pictures for her account lmao)

Rex and Mari are so in love and obsessed with each other he has romantic thoughts while at work and comes home just to sleep with her a bunch of times. They have 3 adult children but Rex keeps asking to try for baby so? Also on brand.

Satine stopped by Obi-wan’s hut and literally seduced him. So true bestie. (Korkie Kenobi is gonna happen I know it)

Wolffe and Zeeta have fully adult twins and another toddler and still go at it regularly anywhere in or around their house

Kit Fisto lives on the water in Sulani with his lesbian nautolan bestie minding his own business

Bo-Katan slept with Lando Calrissian despite her being a lesbian in game (I made those her preferences) and I think it just speaks to how strong Lando’s game is tbh

Barriss lives in a tiny home not far from Ahsoka which just felt so right for her she honestly ate living in her lil cube house lmaooo

Echo and Riyo Chuchi live in the cutest pink cottage in the whole game in Willow Creek and Riyo is constantly loving up on Echo and fawning over how cute he is. They’re the best couple I’m obsessed with their dynamic

Sabine went to college and is in her slut era. She quite literally had like a whole group sex thing going on it was crazy idk what happened but good for her.

Anakin and Padmé never leave their palace. They just spend all day taking care of toddler Luke and Leia and that feels very healing (I still fully plan on making a bunch of the handmaidens live next door)

The clones (Cody, Jesse, Fives, Kix and Hardcase) all share one house next door to Rex and Mari and I need to create some romance situations for them soon. They deserve it

The bad batch (Hunter, Tech, Crosshair and Wrecker and a dog that Hunter found and took home) all live in the coolest house in Willow Creek. Hunter fucks around with this one Targaryen lookin girl like ok king<3 I still need to make some partners for the other 3

Omega is grown and moved out on her own with Batcher to Brindleton Bay. She has a nice lil cape cod style house she’s killing it so cute

Han Solo just met and immediately became best friends with Chewbacca.

And that’s pretty much it. I have created a ton of other characters but most of them just sit there bc I don’t have any ideas or stories for them yet. I’ll keep yall updated.

[intermundia]

@ anon with the lovely hospital AU, apologies for the delay i was chewing on this for a couple days haha there's a whole season of grey's anatomy primetime soap worthy material. i love how fully you've filled out the AU with characters and unspooled all the drama. i can see why it would be difficult to write, it does have a big scope of imagination there. thank you for sharing it with meeeeeee

for everyone 700 words of lovely obikin hospital AU worldbuilding, continued beneath the cut!!

Shmi is a renowned heart surgeon. Best there is in the country (not just the state thank you very much) and she did it all while her son was young. Her grandmother (Grandma Mira) and her two cousins (Peli Moto and Beru Whitesun ) both helped her out a ton. She is admired and Skywalker is a name very well known in medical circles.

She decided to became a heart surgeon when her own mother (insert name here) died from a heart issue that no one wanted to touch surgically. Anakin was 9 years old. Anakin has his mom up on a pedestal - she is perfect and smart, the best surgeon, the best mom, she’s done it all. Anakin feels the pressure to be just as good as his mom. People expect him to be just as brilliant and successful as his mother. He expects it from himself. Shmi just wants him to be happy. Anakin is ready to start his residency at 25. His mother is in line to be chief of surgery at the hospital she works at (Twin Suns Medical Center). Its considered the hospital to intern at if you want your specialty to be heart surgery. Anakin isn’t really sure what he wants to specialize in, and he doesn’t want people to say that he got it easy during his internship. So he goes to the next best thing (it’s actually the number one hospital overall in the country but to Anakin is second to the hospital where shmi works because Shmi works there). He goes to Jedi Coruscant General Hospital. Chief Executive officer (in charge of whole hospital) : Breha Organa Chief of Surgery : Bail Organa (general surgeon) Brain Surgeon (top brain guy in the country) : Obi-Wan Kenobi 4th year resident: Padme Amidala (Anakin’s assigned resident) Heart Surgeon: Mace Windu Trauma Surgeon: Shaak Ti Pediatric Surgeon: Plo Koon Neonatal Surgeon: Siri Tachi Plastic Surgeon: Quinlan Vos Orthopedic Surgeon: Qui-Gon Jinn Head of the hospital board: Mon Mothma Cancer surgeon: Jocosta Nu Eye Surgeon: Dooku Vascular Surgeon: Wolffe Yoda - retired chief of surgery and general surgeon Anakin’s cohort: Aayla, Ferus Olin, Rex, Jesse, Echo, Fives 4th Year Residents: Sabe, Clovis, Bly 5th year residents: Depa Billaba, Bultar Swan, Cody Anakin’s running late on his first day, in the parking lot he’s too distracted trying to make sure he has everything in his bag that he bumps into a red head and spills the red head’s hot tea all of his shirt. “shit. Fuck. Sorry. Sorry.” Keeps walking but turns around to walk backwards to meet the really pretty blue eyes of the definitely pissed off red head “I owe you. I’ll bring you a … a coffee? Was it coffee during lunch. Sorry!” Ferus Olin, a childhood nemesis makes his appearance. He’s assigned to be Padme’s intern (the woman who gave him back his engagement ring when he was 22 and 27. He hadn’t realized she was back in town and that maybe it was purposeful that he didn’t know). Its turning out to be a truly shit day and then the pretty red head from the parking lot makes his appearance and anakin wants to sink into the ground. But. The red head picks him to help him with a surgery. … Its pretty much a grey’s anatomy AU. Obi-Wan and anakin start hooking up pretty much immediately. Ferus Olin and Anakin make nice and turn out to be pretty decent friends. Then. Anakin realizes that Padme had kids, with him. The twins. And never told him. 🤯. That’s smoothed over. He’s a dad now. He loves it. Obi-Wan’a supportive. Their secret relationship is starting to not be so secret anymore. Then. obi-wan’s ex wife (Satine Kryze) pop in with a kid. obi-wan’s kid. Obi-Wan never told him that he’d been married or that he had a kid. They break up. Anakin thinks about quitting. Then about transferring. Then gets side tracked because Aunt Beru (his mom’s cousin) got married and her husband’s dad was in a bad car crash. Its all hands on deck to save his life. Shmi makes an appearance at the hospital and Obi-Wan realizes that Anakin is Shmi’s son 🤯 Owen’s dad makes it. Anakin and Obi-Wan make up. Their relationship is outted but everything works out. There’s other small and big dramas but thats pretty much it lol