#also Rex leaves at least one bite on Mark at all times

[himbionn]

No one:

Absolutely no one:

Me: what if the two bitches that hate each other became supernatural and kissed

[stargazingthenightaway]

See Something You Like? Part 1

Pairing: Rebels Rex x Female Reader

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: NSFW 18+ Sexual tension, dirty thoughts, praise kink, size kink, Oral (female receiving) unwanted attention (not from main character) Dom!Rex

A/N: So I’ve decided to write a few, but what I thought would be a one shot has turned into this monster, so I’ve decided to break it down. Not sure how long it’ll be, but I get the feeling it’ll be at least 3 parts. This is inspired by @samrubio art especially her Rex pieces, go check it out! Also, if I missed any warning tags, let me know :)

It was a rarity for the firing range to be this empty. Usually it was crammed to the walls with training drills for new recruits, post mission vent sessions with the faceless targets or if you were unlucky, the cocky fly-boys trying to one-up each other, seeing who had the better ‘blaster’. If you were really unlucky, instead of leaving, their attention would turn to whoever they thought would enjoy their company, which consisted of what barely passed as a conversation before leading to the real objective, servicing the dangly bit between their legs. Their limp pick up line “I’ve got another blaster you can handle sweet cheeks” was in just as much need of an overhaul as their piloting skills. Sadly, you’ve been on the receiving end of these lack-lustre ‘invitations’ far too often and are quick to shut them down. It’s become so repetitive you can time it to the second when they make their appearance. All these boys are the same, give them a flight suit, a ship and they think they’re the Maker’s gift to the galaxy. 

‘They’re just so immature’ you think to yourself, a scowl on your face. Your last rebuffed fly-boy hasn’t gotten the memo that you’re not interested and continues to pester you. As if you’d want to spend 30 seconds listening to a dying bantha grunt into your ear, fumbling to get himself off and counting down until you’re smothered in dissatisfaction. Hard. Pass.

The only reason you have some peace is because they’re out on a mission, but you will take the reprieve. It’s a joy to have an opportunity to fit in some blaster practice without an audience. While you weren’t the worst shot in the rebellion, you certainly weren’t the best, but with enough practice you hope you’ll be placed on some off-planet missions. 

Sliding into an empty booth, you pick up one of the safety helmets, placing it on your head and type in one of the easier simulation codes on the keypad on the side of the wall. As the program calibrates, you remove the blaster from its holster on your thigh, flicking off the safety and settling into your stance. Breathe in, breathe out, shoot. This mantra helps get a rhythm going and soon you’re oblivious to everything around you except your target. The steady stream of blaster fire rings out, mixed with the sounds of high tings for each successful hit and clunky thunks with each miss. It’s pleasing to note that with each round there are more tings than there are thunks. Soon you’re drifting off with the repetitive movements, your thoughts going through your encounters with him.

Captain Rex, member of the Ghost crew and key participant of the rebellion. A legend in his own right. You had first seen him in passing, bringing up some data pads needed for a debrief and you just happened to look in his direction as you were leaving, and stars did you look. He was thick everywhere. His armour did nothing to hide his size as your gaze travelled from his barrel chest, to his thick waist, finally ending at his powerful thighs. Rex has the kind of body that makes you want to rub yourself all over him like a nexu in heat. As he spoke with Agent Fulcrum, Rex crossed his arms over his chest, pulling his shirt tight over his biceps, and your mouth watered. You were so busy ogling that Rex had finished his conversation and looked over your way.

Seeing you staring he gives you a small smirk and a wink before mouthing “see something you like?” You swear he flexed his arms a bit as he did that.

The smirk on his face grows as you feel your face heat up, hightailing it out of the debriefing room and making your way back to your office. It’s quite a while before your blush goes away, and more than one person asks if you’re feeling well. 

The next time you saw him was a bit more hands-on and it still makes you clench your thighs together when you recall this particular memory. You’d been paired as sparring partners, and if you thought Rex looked good in his armour, he was downright edible stripped down to a simple training shirt and grey sweatpants. The shirt stretched in all the right places and the pants were loose enough to provide movement where it was needed, but just snug enough to tease you about what he was packing.

You were so distracted that he easily put you on your back, repeatedly. Each time he knocked you over his thighs would bracket your own, your hands pinned by your head and the rest of his body caging you in. How in the Sith hells were you supposed to concentrate if this was exactly where you wanted to be! You clawed at whatever self-restraint you still possessed to not rub up against him, but maker he made it difficult. 

After the final throw Rex settled on your thighs and smirked down at you “What’s the matter mesh’la?” He took in your flushed cheeks, “You seem distracted, I didn’t think you’d take everything I gave you so easily.” 

Your face was on fire, your brain traitorously giving you ideas of what else you’d take from him, and how well you’d enjoy it.

“Surely you can get me on my back.” You eyes snapped up to his, “all you need to do is use your hips and thrust.”

Fuck.

You felt yourself get wet as a throb built up between your legs from just his voice alone. You needed to finish whatever this had become so you could finish your own needs, preferably in the privacy of your own bunk. With a strength that surprised even you, you took Rex’s advice to thrust your hips up, bracing you leg to provide enough leverage to push him over. The look of surprise on his face that you took his words to heart was something you would never forget. 

As you settled over his waist, his hands came up to your sides, sliding down to rest on your hips, keeping you in place. 

“Knew you could do it” His surprise had turned into a beatific smile, looking up at you as his hands squeezed your hips. “Good girl.”

The triumphant words die on your lips as you look down at him and see exactly how you’re positioned. Your hands are braced on his chest and your thighs have splayed out to the sides to fit over his waist. There is a pleasant ache along your inner thighs from the stretch. If anyone saw the suggestive scene of the pair of you right now, the gossip hotline would be buzzing for months. You made a motion to move but Rex’s hands keep you snug against himself. His thumbs had made their way under the edge of your shirt and traced light circles over your skin. Arousal flooded your veins and you felt your slick starting to soak your panties. 

You look back up to Rex’s face and he tightens his grip “See something you like mesh’la?”

Before you could answer the door burst open, causing the two of you to startle, zoning back in to the present. Chatter filled the room as Wolffe and Gregor brought in the next group of ‘shinies’ for sparring practice. The bubble of intimacy had burst and you hurriedly got off Rex, babbling some thanks about the advice before bolting out of the room. That was six weeks ago, the Ghost having left on a mission, taking Rex with them.

The buzzer in your booth goes off, signalling the end of the simulation. You’re not ready to head back to the responsibilities of intelligence just yet, so you up the intensity of another exercise and when you’re happy with your rhythm, let your thoughts turn back to Rex. 

He’d become the prominent figure in all your fantasies. Before that, neither your toys or your hands would work to get you off, leaving you frustrated and horny. In a fit of desperation you thought back to your spar, but instead of sitting on Rex’s waist you were sitting on his face.

You imagined how his arms would wrap around your thighs, muscles flexing to make sure you stay exactly where he wants you to, and that’s on his tongue. Moans fill the room as he slowly eats you out, long licks up your folds to harsh sucks on your clit. The vibrations from his groans sending you spiralling to the edge, only for him to back off when you’re so close, leaving you sobbing and trembling with need. He’d leave little nibbles and bites along your inner thighs as he waits for the trembling to stop, and his beard, fuck. Rex would nuzzle the side of his face along your legs, leaving more marks that you were his. Letting you know that he was the only one that could give you the satisfaction you craved. You’d squirm, just to feel him tighten his hold, knowing that he controlled your pleasure. 

“Look at me,” he’d growl before licking up your slit, drinking you down, “want you to keep your eyes on me when you cum on my tongue.” This sends another rush of slick from your core, the feeling in your belly coiled tight, waiting to snap. You yelp as there’s a sharp bite to your thigh.

“You like it when I tell you to watch” Rex grins from between your thighs, and you can see the evidence of your arousal glistening on his beard. Stars that is hot. There is a feral look in his golden eyes “Next time I’ll make sure to fuck you in front of a mirror, show you how wet you get for me.”

Your needy whine of approval turns into a lascivious moan as Rex plunges his tongue into your heat, rapidly bringing your orgasm back to the edge, but this time he doesn’t stop. His tongue speeds up, alternating between fluttering around your opening and pushing in as far as he can, nose pressed into your clit. All too soon you’re flying over the edge into sweet oblivion.

With a choked scream you cum, legs clamped tight around Rex’s head, his arms pulling you closer as his tongue working furiously to collect everything that you give him. He groans in delight and that sets off another small orgasm which has you seeing white. When you finally come down from your high you look back down at Rex, a blissed out expression on your face. 

Rex has to practically lift you off him, moving you down so that you’re straddling his waist and conveniently nestling his cock between your folds, and that’s another part of him you’re all too eager to get to know. 

As you bask in the afterglow of your orgasm, Rex puts a hand around the back of your neck, pulling your closer. You don’t need to be force sensitive to feel how smug he is, it’s written all over his face and the possessive arm draped around your waist. 

He nuzzles your nose when you’re close enough, before whispering two devastating words “Good girl.”

A blaring sound yanks you out of your daydream, and you realize that you’ve stopped shooting at the targets. The noise is the warning alarm that the simulation will shut off after 30 more seconds of inactivity. What it is is an inconvenience. You slam the pause button a little more forcefully than you need to, too riled up from your own fantasy simulation. It seems to have worked a little too well, judging by ache between your legs. 

Putting the safety back on your blaster, you drop it onto the shelf in front of the booth opening. Thinking back, there was something in Rex’s eyes as he called you “good girl”  that you can’t quite put your finger on. Discovering that you enjoyed being praised was one thing, but it seemed that Rex was holding something back, something that had to do with that phrase. Not knowing what it was set you on edge, that it could be something about you and that feeling didn’t sit well. 

There was just something about him that makes you crave his attention, wanting to please him so he’d call you “good girl” again. You shiver as you think about how he looked between your thighs, how wide you had to stretch to fit him between you legs. 

You groan to yourself, knowing you’re well and truly gone on this man, and that you’d let him do whatever he wanted, just as long as you could be his good girl. You lean forward against the small shelf, burying your head in your arms.

“Fuuuuck me.” 

“Am I interrupting something, mesh’la?”

To be continued

[jeontaehui]

Are there any chaotic Taehui moments during hot sauce promotions?

TAEHEE BEING CHAOTIC DURING HOT SAUCE ERA — A THREAD BY USER MRKSVTT

1. someone pls save her

🌶️ NCT DREAM has the hottest striking skills I Hot Sauce Bowling

haechan has been keeping his laughter all to himself since the past minute, causing jeno to become curious as to what he was laughing about. 

“no, just look at noona,” haechan whispers to the latter, their eyes subtly giving short glances to taehee as they stood on their side, “she’s so quiet.”  

as if mark had read his mind, the dreamies hear the familiar laugh of their leader and turn their heads to him, “taehee, calm down! your eyes are literally shaking right now.” 

the boys chuckle at the nervous grin that appears on her lips, her meek voice trying to brush them off, “no, guys, it’s fine. it’s fine!” 

“she’s convincing herself,” jisung comments with a giggle, “noona, i’ll make yours!” 

“okay,” she replies, the worry in her tone causing mark to let out one more laugh. “do you want me to eat yours?” he asks, standing up, and as if she had a sudden change in demeanor taehee waves him off with her hand. “i’m not a baby,” she tells him. 

“jiji noona,” jisung calls, catching the attention of the elder. he raises two of his fingers, letting taehee know that she was about to choose between two options. she groans. 

“option 1, i’ll pick the least spicy sauce but place a ton of drops,” the snort that comes out of haechan and renjun shows that they like his idea, “or option two, i’ll get the spiciest one and place just a few.” 

“wouldn’t that be the same thing though?” she wonders, finally standing up and scanning the various bottles of hot sauce scattered on the table. jisung shakes his head (cutely, if i may add), “okay, then i’ll go with option 1.”

taehee proceeds to watch jisung get to work, obviously dreading the fact that she was the last to eat among their team. 

“but even if jisung places just a tiny drop,” haechan explains to the camera, “taehee noona’s gonna cry.” 

shouts of protest begin to come from the said girl, but he continues, “like her spice tolerance is really really really really really low.” 

“... 5, 6, 7, 8,” jisung finishes, looking proud at what he had accomplished before handing it over to a nervous taehee. as if to tease her further, mark reaches for the box of tissues on the table and places it in front of her. “these are for your tears,” he jokes. 

a few moments tick by and taehee brings the plate up to her nose, “oh the smell— it’s burning.” chenle laughs, commenting on how his noona was so cute. 

they wait in anticipation as taehee grabs the soft taco and sniffs it again, and it seems that all the walls she had built up until now collapse. 

“AGHHH,” taehee suddenly groans, jeno and mark bursting into laughter once more. “WHAT DO I DO?! I CAN’T EVEN HANDLE THE LESS SPICY SAMYANG RAMEN!!! MARK!!!” she exclaims, brows furrowing in panic as she held tightly onto mark’s arm with her free hand.

“we won’t judge you if you cry, noona,” renjun chuckles. “well, you’re doing a really great job at it so far,” she retaliates.

quickly taking a bite, taehee places the plate down and chews on her food silently, serious eyes looking straight at the camera. “how is it?” mark prompts, but taehee doesn’t answer.

it takes exactly ten seconds of silence until her eyes are filled to the brim with tears, and it worsens all the more as she swallows the food in her mouth, leaving a scorching hot feeling on her tongue down to her throat.

the boys erupt into laughter once more, chenle screaming out on how adorable she was being right now, and she gulps down on nothing to soothe the pain in her mouth.

before taehee can even move to get herself a glass of milk, mark is already handing one in front of her, his, “here you go,” graced with a chuckle.

she downs the contents of the glass quickly, sighing in relief as the spiciness that lingered in her mouth starts to go away.

as if her almost crying in front of the camera wasn’t enough, taehee stumbles back as her head spins, and she would’ve fallen on her bum if mark didn’t hold her up by the waist.

haechan smiles at her endearingly but it comes off as a teasing one, “wah.. are you okay? do you need to sit down?”

taehee just looks up the ceiling and stays unmoving, her eyelids fluttering shut, “the world is spinning so i have decided to not move until it stops.”

2. bless jaemin and taehee 

SUB)역대급헤각장!🔥눈떠보니 좋아하는 SM아이돌이 내앞에 있다면!!?? (feat.NCT DREAM) If My fave IDOLS are watching me..?

“you close your hand first,” taehee tells jaemin after having failed two attempts of their assigned challenge, “and then like da da da...” but jaemin couldn’t hear the beats properly since the rest of dream were also practicing on the sidelines, wanting to do the challenge too. 

taehee plasters an annoyed smile on her face as she rolled her eyes, but jaemin was the first to snap, “BE QUIET!”

“STAY STILL!” taehee adds (much like this) as she raises her hands up in the air, the gesture making everyone in the room laugh. 

3. idk how to explain this but i cant get it out of my head

시즈니이2관왕 (210528)

“‘taehee unnie, please cover your abs so you won’t get cold’,” renjun reads with a polite tone, to which jisung laughs at.

“summer is coming though?” haechan wonders from his seat, “do you want to see mine instead?”

while the others shake their heads against his suggestion, taehee clicks her tongue and raises her brows at him challengingly. “don’t say that,” she tells him, “they’re (the fan) mine.”

“okay okay,” haechan chuckles, and the threatening glare that was on taehee’s face is quickly replaced with a bright smile after hearing his response.

“czennies, i’ll work harder so you can see them more in the future too!” she exclaims, raising her fist up in the air before exaggerating a giggle, “ahihi.”

“what the heck is ‘ahihi’?” jeno snorts, “this noona, really.”

4. i sometimes wonder what goes on in her mind

REACTION to '맛 (Hot Sauce)' with Pinkfong REDREX | NCT DREAM Reaction

"WOAHH!” the sight of the red dinosaur mascot that was walking towards them makes the members’ eyes light up in surprise. “it’s a dinosaur!” haechan shouts, his voice going a pitch higher like a child seeing these extinct creatures in the museum for the first time.

meanwhile, mark, jisung, and taehee poke at its fake teeth in interest, fingers prodding at each tooth that were too dull to be sharp. “its teeth hurt me,” mark winces as he delivers his joke. 

it wasn’t long before taehee’s curiosity got the best of her as she opened the t-rex’s mouth big and wide, her sudden movements causing the rest of dream to erupt in laughter. “noona, what are you doing?” chenle asks with a fond smile. 

taehee pulls away from the mascot, laughing after seeing the surprised eyes of the staff wearing it. “he got so surprised,” taehee chuckles with a grin, before proceeding to imitate what she saw to the camera — eyes as big as saucers and a gasp slipping past her lips.

5. our clumsy baby pls be careful

7 (210413)

“what kind of dog will be created?”

“how far are we taking this?”

“the marriage...”

as the rest continue to explain haechan and daegal’s supposed marriage to jaemin, taehee scoots closer to jisung, who was on the floor, to read the comments the fans were sending. 

“what the,” she mutters, amusement in her tone after reading a comment someone had said about buttholes and teeth and dentists. not noticing that she was right by his ear, jisung jolts in surprise at hearing her voice and the phone, that was also taehee’s, falls from his hands and onto the floor beside him. 

taehee went to pick it up quickly — too quickly, in fact, that she hit her nose on the marble table quite harshly as she bent down to reach the object. 

“OH!” all heads turn to their corner when jisung shouts, taehee recoiling in pain as she held her nose. “why?” mark asks in concern, “what happened?”

while jisung explains through held laughter the situation taehee was in, the female member slowly leans into the couch and meets the eyes of a concerned renjun. 

“can i see?” he asks, and taehee carefully removes her hands just an inch away from her nose bridge that she was pressing against in hopes of relieving the pain. “is it bleeding?”

after noting that her nose was fine and that only a very tiny bruise was starting to form on her bridge, renjun decides to answer, “no, but your nose is starting to look like rudolph.” 

the two-tone haired boy proceeds to sing the infamous christmas song, much to the amusement of haechan and jeno, and taehee slaps his shoulder in retaliation. “stop being annoying!” she groans, causing renjun to release a hearty laugh off his chest, hand comeing down to pat on the top of taehee’s head. “it’s okay, baby,” he coos.

“do you want to get some ice for it?” mark speaks up again, worried gaze still looking over her. taehee removes her fingers from her face again and makes eye contact with him, “do you want to kiss it better instead?”

though it sounded more than a threat than an actual attempt at flirting, jeno sighs, “and she’s back.”

6. clumsy baby pt. 2 (ft. chenle)

[Un Cut] Take #1｜‘맛 (Hot Sauce)’ Jacket Behind the Scene

after seeing mark throw a chip in the air and successfully catching it in his mouth, jaemin turns to taehee who sat beside him on the carpet floor. “can you do that?” he asks, and taehee shakes her head no. “if i do it, i might choke,” yet she’s already grabbing a chip from the yellow bag the latter is currently holding, “watch.”

the food does in fact get stuck in her throat, but only for a short while until she’s coughing it out. “are you crazy?!” jaemin shouts, the amused grin he was wearing contrasting to his scolding tone. taehee could only give him a smile back as she chewed, a mischievous glint present in her eyes. 

at the same time, chenle watches the two with a bemused expression, before turning to the camera and sighing. “you know those people in school who are like, good in tests and get high grades or something?” he asks, “but then they’re super dumb when it comes to things outside of school?”

chenle laughs, “that’s taehee noona.”

“she’s good at dancing, surfing, skateboarding — all the things that require balance,” he explains, “but she’s the clumsiest person i know, as in the clumsiest.”

“it’s alright,” chenle shrugs innocently, “it’s cute.”

7. u can literally hear ‘all i did was try my best this the kinda thanks i get’ #SMFreeTaehee 

💚시즈니 Fㅏ워🏆💚ㅣ맛 (Hot Sauce) 음악방송 대기실 비하인드 #3

“tmi?” jeno repeats before facing jaemin, “tmi.”

“the tmi for today is,” the other starts, eyes wandering around the room until they finally settle on a certain member, “there’s an album that i’ve been listening to ever since it came out, and i’m not even the one playing it.”

a confused hum sounds out of jeno at his member’s statement, his brows furrowing together as he tries to make sense of what jaemin had just said, so when the latter tries to imitate the familiar intro of olivia rodrigo’s ‘brutal’, he finally nods in understanding and agrees with him.

“ahhh,” jeno smiles, looking at the camera, “that’s right, i’ve been hearing it too.”

“this person,” jaemin continues, “plays the music so loud. they don’t use the speakers so it’s not that concerning—“

“that concerning?”

“—to others except when you’re next to them. they play the whole album so loudly in their airpods! then you go like, ‘huh? what?’ and when you look at them, they just have this look on and you go, ‘wow, they’re really going through it’,” he finishes. while he was describing the person’s expression as they listened to their music, jaemin’s mouth forms into a slight frown and his eyes go blank, jeno doing his own version after.

the video cuts to a zoom in on taehee, eyes fixed on one of the white fluorescent lights of their waiting room and mouth pressed into a thin line as she had her airpods on. “look at her right now,” jaemin mumbles from behind camera.

“she’s contemplating her life decisions,” jeno chuckles, “‘what am i doing?’, ‘why am i here?’, ‘who am i?’”

8. miss seeing baekhyun and taehee together :(

💚시즈니 Fㅏ워🏆💚ㅣ맛 (Hot Sauce) 음악방송 대기실 비하인드 #3

haechan summons the rest of the members by playing baekhyun’s ‘bambi’, not knowing that taehee had too much of her sugar intake for the day and currently felt stoked for their stage more than ever.

“BAMBI BAM..BI ~~ !!!!” taehee sings loudly, quickly popping into frame before moonwalking to the side.

“what’s with you today?” mark asks, bemused at the current state of his best friend. “taehee— ah, you can’t do that here,” the smile on his face quickly fades as he puts on a serious expression, his tone reminding taehee of the time haechan was told to do a dance he thought was sexy until the members tried to stop him.

that didn’t hinder her though from going all out on busting the choreography to the second verse, even exaggerating them before renjun and mark had to push her out of the waiting room.

“do you bet she’s still dancing outside?” renjun asks, brushing his hands off after closing the door, and he bursts out laughing after hearing the rest of the members agree with his question.

they open the door literally 15 minutes later to reveal taehee, both hands full as she waited patiently on her phone. “where did you get that?” mark chuckles, referring to the grape flavored juice can on her left.

“the vending machine,” taehee shrugs.

“did you dance all the way there?”

“yup.”

mark’s eyes seem to look at her with endearment, “really?”

“mhmm.... i sang too.”

9. i think we all have an idea of what she’s singing here

[Un Cut] Take #2｜‘고래 (Dive Into You) + Rainbow (책갈피) +Diggity’ Track Video Behind the Scene

before filming the choreography parts of the track video for ‘diggity’, the members wait for the director’s cue to start as they all engage themselves in their own conversations — haechan asking jisung for a hug, jeno and mark talking about anything under the sun, and chenle and renjun singing the lyrics to the songs in their album.

meanwhile, jaemin studies taehee with an unreadable expression, the latter dancing idly to the current song stuck in her head at the time.

“she made some plans with my mmm tonight. she not with him tonight. she not with jim tonight,” and it almost seems like taehee had no absolute clue of the words that flew out of her mouth, like she was in some sort of trance, “she in the gym tonight.”

“workout in that nana,” she pretends to throw something in the air, and reading her mind, jaemin simultaneously ‘hits the woah’ with her as they both shout, “AYEE!”

10. dude didnt even hesitate

7DREAM return! 7+맛=Show #우정의_A컷Z컷 #우정월드컵

“alright! the next one is for taehee .... would you rather keep your friendship ring and miss a chance to meet taylor swift or lose it and get a chance to collab with taylor sw—”

“COLLAB WITH TAYLOR SWIFT!!!!”

jeno and jaemin were the only ones laughing as the rest of the dreamies looked at her in disbelief. haechan’s hand even comes up to rub the back of his neck as if his blood pressure was going up, yet the proud grin that was on taehee’s lips does not falter.

“don’t you have to think about this first?” mark tells her, pulling her raised arm by the elbow until it was placed by her side.

“she didn’t even hesitate,” renjun gasps, “noona!”

“a ring is a ring—“

“it’s a symbol of our friendship!” haechan argues, meeting eyes with her.

the host begins to laugh at the ruckus taehee’s answer had caused, and the female idol retaliated, “mark and jisung have lost their rings a couple of times but why are you only reacting like this to me?!”

“you answered right away!” the brown haired vocalist says right back before his lips turn into a little pout.

“okay, okay,” taehee nods turning back to their host, “can you please ask the question again?”

even the group of staff behind the camera burst out laughing, “again?”

mark pushes taehee’s shoulder playfully as he shook with uncontrollable laughter, her polite expression remaining on her features as she waited patiently for the emcee to repeat the question.

“taehee-ssi, would you rather keep your friendship ring and miss a chance to meet taylor swift or lose it and get a chance to collab with taylor swift?”

“mmm,” taehee pretends to ponder, her brows furrowing together as she juts out her bottom lip into a pout, “a collaboration with my favorite artist seems like a once in a lifetime experience....”

“but, haechan’s right, the ring is a symbol of our friendship, which i value so much,” taehee says into the mic, some of the dreamies’ chuckles fading in the background. “we’ve been through a lot together — we’ve been happy and sad and all sorts of things together, and seeing how close we are now, i could say that this,” she gestures to all of them, “would stand the test of time.”

“ohhh,” the boys hum, nodding impressed at her answer. “not only a lifetime but would stand the test of time,” the emcee emphasizes.

“so i will pick option b.”

“NOONA!”

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 11

Prompt: Hallucinations

Warnings: illicit drug and alcohol use

Read on AO3

I Carry On

In her defense, Ahsoka literally just left the Jedi Order. Like, hours before walked down the steps of the Temple, leaving her Master standing there looking as though he had been punched in the gut. She took no pleasure in his disappointment, but she knew she had to leave.

Ahsoka just wasn't sure where to go.

Her whole life has been spent either in that Temple or on a Star Destroyer in the middle of a galactic war. Not exactly the usual upbringing. As she walked through the streets of Coruscant, stripped of her lightsaber and her identity, Ahsoka had the overwhelming desire to buy a blaster.

Apparently, it is difficult to be a seventeen-year-old girl and buy a blaster. Legally, at least.

Which is how she ended up a few levels lower than she has ever been. Which is also how she ended up getting a bargain-- a lightly used blaster with no (traceable) criminal history, as well as a pamphlet for a club opening a few levels up.

A part of her was hesitant. She's been in plenty of cantinas, and she is of the age of responsibility for drinking, but a night club is a different story. But the prospect of spending the night alone with nothing but her old life as a Jedi on her mind seemed like a horrible idea.

As it turns out, a nightclub is an incredible place to escape reality. Lights of every color flash through the darkened multilevel club. A wrap-around bar covers three sides of the first level while the center is a massive dance floor filled with what seems like every species in the galaxy. Ahsoka marvels at the upper stories of additional bar and VIP seating that tower above her, all also filled with people.

It's loud. The music shakes the ground and makes her ears ring. People are constantly shoving into her, and the accompanying scent of sweat and alcohol is strong enough to put down a banta.

Strangely enough, she loves it. The chaos energizes her a well as the feeling of being close to so many people. Though they are strangers to her, she feels comforted by brushing arms with those she passes, or the grins of other young women with rosy cheeks and glossy eyes. When Ahsoka goes into the fresher to relieve herself, she discovers a whole other aspect to club life that quickly becomes her favorite part.

"Oh my gosh, I love your face paint!" a human woman about her age squeals as she comes out of the stall. Ahsoka doesn't have the heart to tell the stumbling girl that her markings aren't painted-- she has a feeling the concept won't stick-- so she smiles instead.

"Oh, uh, thank you!"

The woman grins, pulling at the hem of her short black skirt. "My name is Caly."

"I'm Ahsoka."

To her surprise, Caly embraces her tightly. "Such a pretty name Ahsoka! You're so pretty too. Are you here with people?"

"Uh, not really."

Caly pulls away, looking at her with wide brown eyes. "You're here alone? Damn girl, look at you being an independent gal. Do you want to hang with my friends?"

Ahsoka didn't really expect such warm kindness from the club refresher, but she can feel Caly's genuine feelings in the Force. Light lines her Force presence, and so Ahsoka agrees. Caly guides her through the crowd to a group of other sentients near the corner of the dance floor. Most look to be human, but there are also a few humanoids and a Twi'lek in the group. Their introductions are cut short by the song changing, and another girl Caly called Raan squealing in delight.

"It's our song!" she yells, and as though this is their battle cry they go running onto the dance floor, forming a circle amongst their group. Ahsoka follows, completely starstruck with the entire encounter. From what she can tell, most of the friends are around her age range. Much of the club seems to be young, as far as she can tell, which leads her to believe that if she weren't a Jedi, this is how she'd be spending her free time-- dancing and drinking with friends.

But you're not a Jedi. Not anymore, the less fun part of her brain tells her. Ahsoka decides to shut up that voice by downing the rest of her drink.

Drinking is another thing she isn't accustomed to, but she's had a few brews with the troopers before. She quite likes the warm buzz that the alcohol gives her as it settles in her stomach, and she goes to order another. When Ahsoka returns, "their song" has ended, and they have reunited back in the original spot. Caly smiles when she returns.

"Ahsoka! There you are. We were just about to move upstairs."

"What's upstairs?"

"A place to sit. Watch the fun. Have some fun," she says with a wink. Ahsoka suspects she is supposed to know what that means, but she doesn't. But with two drinks in her system now, she is willing to find out what it is her agemates do on a night out. So she follows them. Ahsoka settles between Caly and Raan in a couched area at the corner of the club. The music is quieter, but the lights still shift colors every few moments.

"What brings you to a club alone, Ahsoka?" Caly asks, taking a little box from the person next to her and taking out a small tablet, and setting it on her tongue.

"I... had a bit of a bad day."

The girl looks at her with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, what happened?" she asks as she passes the small box to Ahsoka. She stares at the colorful tablets inside a moment and then looks back up at Caly. "Do you want one?"

"What is it?"

"Dreamdust!" she pauses. "You don't have to have one, just if you want one. It might help with your bad day."

Ahsoka has heard of dreamdust, actually. A padawan she once knew told her all about his escapades with different drugs and how they felt. He tried dreamdust and said it made him feel amazing, close to the Force. And if it will silence the voice in the back of her head that plagues her with reminders of Anakin and Master Obi-Wan and Rex and the war, then she will accept the chemical fix. She takes a tablet from the box, popping it onto her tongue as Caly had done, and passes it to Raan.

"I got fired," Ahsoka says to Caly, before sighing. "Or, I guess I quit."

She giggles. "How do you get fired and quit?"

"They were going to fire me, and then I quit when they decided not to."

"Well hell yeah, sounds like they didn't appreciate you. I'm sure they'll miss you once you're gone and they know what they lost."

Ahsoka sighs. "I doubt it, but maybe."

Caly wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Getting fired sucks but you'll find somewhere else. Gotta find a place for the next chapter to start anyway."

A voice hollers from the other side of the circle. "Cal, are you getting philosophical again?" The others laugh. Picking up strays from the fresher must be a common occurrence.

"What, you want to receive my wisdom as well?" she grins.

"I get far too much of your wisdom."

"Then why are you still so dumb?"

Another roar of laughter and Ahsoka melts back into the comfortable couch. She can't help the smile that comes to her face watching the group of friends bicker. Though all of this was to get her Jedi life out of her mind, it's only managing to make her heart ache with the idea that she won't ever again get to spectate on one of Anakin and Obi-wan's sass battles. Or sit in the mess with the clone troopers as they try to teach her curses in Mando'a. Or getting to see her crechémates when she goes back to the temple and catching up on all their adventures with a bottle of Jawa juice and a game of sabacc. Suddenly her life is divided into before and after.

She knows she can't take it back and go back to the way things were. She won't let herself give the council that satisfaction.

"Well doing what the council says, yeah, that's one thing," a familiar voice rings out. Ahsoka's body feels heavy and tired, but she looks up slowly. Standing at the end of the table is none other than Anakin. She nearly jumps with surprise, but her body doesn't seem to want to respond. "How we go about doing it, that's another idea."

"Master?" she squints at his distorted figure. His hair is shorter, cheeks rounder, and all of him seems to be transparent to the lights that shine from the dance floor. It's all wrong, but from the way the walls are melting away she has a feeling nothing is as it seems.

"Ahsoka," he frowns. "What in blazes are you doing here?"

It's Anakin's body and lips moving, but her master has never had a core accent. He crosses his arms, jetting out his hip like Master Kenobi does sometimes, but it just looks awkward on Anakin. It makes her giggle until she feels a nudge at her side.

"What are you laughing at, young one?"

Master Plo. Caly is gone and Master Plo now sits next to her. "Master Koon what are you--" She looks to her other side where Raan was just a moment earlier but it's Chancellor Palpatine, staring at her with his dark, beady eyes. Panic fills her to the brim and she moves for Master Koon's comfort, but the space next to her is empty. She looks for Anakin, Obi-Wan, anyone but she is alone with the Chancellor.

"You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself," he says, a menacing smile stretching across his features.

"No," she says, jumping to her feet. Somehow he still seems to be standing higher than her. A platform that continues to rise.

"This court," his words echo off the walls, growing louder with each repeat. "Will decide your fate."

She turns to run, but she slams into a wall, staggering backward as the bitter bite of the whistling winds and heat of the lava pits fight for dominance.

"You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself."

"It's not true! She cries, turning around and around only to realize she is in a cell and not a night club. The impenetrable walls of the Citadel are closing in on her, pulling her into the darkness of their keep. She bangs her fists against the walls as though her strength could really break through solid rock and steel. Finally, she stands back, taking a deep breath, and then putting all her weight into a running start. Her shoulder smashes into the wall, but the rock and durasteel shatter like transperisteel, and she is falling, faster and faster through the open air. Ahsoka closes her eyes, reaching out with the Force to grab onto something--anything-- and her breath is nearly knocked out of her when the Force responds immediately. She's suspended midair, the Force pulsating around her with life and the rest of the world frozen in a moment of time. She walks through the nothingness to the nearest solid ground, only to find herself atop a rocky cliff of a lava planet.

"What about me?" Anakin yells, his eyes shimmering a bright gold as he looms over her. When did she fall over again? How did she get on the floor? And why is he staring at her with such malice? "I believed in you! I stood by you!"

"What are you going to do?" she bellows, realizing his lightsaber is in his hand, and there is dangerous darkness surrounding her master. A darkness she has never felt before, like needles going through her bones. She reaches through the Force, expecting to find their bond, but instead, she feels an eerie nothingness that makes her audibly gasp. Anakin shakes his head, a tear dripping down his cheek.

"What you made me do," he says in a low voice, looking past her and igniting his saber. She has to roll out of the way to avoid his pursuit, expecting the burning light of his weapon to slice her in two. But he doesn't. She opens her eyes and his lightsaber is smashing against the readied weapon of Master Kenobi. They fight furiously, desperately. Not like when they spar, but when they go up against real enemies with real motivations to kill.

"Stop it!" Ahsoka yells, but they pay her no attention. She pulls herself to her feet, tears streaming down her face. "Masters, please! I'm sorry!"

"Stay out of this!"

"Stop it!" she repeasts.

"Be at peace, Ahsoka," Master Obi-Wan's voice feels like it's speaking directly into her mind. Her eyes grow heavy, and the lava around her bubbles and spreads until it explodes into a brilliant geyser of bright yellow and red molten rock. "And sleep."

Before she makes it to her knees, the world turns muddy, and then a dark blue. Lights flash overhead, and it takes her a moment to realize it's the lights of ships and speeders flying through the Corescanti night. She's lying on her back, the faint smell of tobacco reaching her senses, making her cringe.

"Good morning," a soft voice says. Ahsoka sits up, already feeling a horrible headache pulsating in her temples. Caly sits next to her, taking a drag of a death stick. Where they are sitting is a whole other question.

It's a rooftop of some sort, somewhere in the Upper Crest by the looks of it. Caly is no longer in the party attire Ahsoka met her in, but a pair of baggy pants and a tight-fitting long-sleeved shirt. Her short blonde hair is pushed back with a thick piece of cloth tied at the nape of her neck.

"What happened? When did we--"

"Bad trip. You needed air," Caly says, shaking her head. "You should have told me you were a Jedi."

The words hit harder than they should. Ahsoka tries to bite back the urge to cry but she doesn't seem to have any control over her emotions currently. The tears are coming before she can try to hide them. Caly scoots closer to her, rubbing circles on her back.

"I'm not a Jedi," she says between sobbing gasps. "Not anymore."

And they sit there in the cool dawn air, only the sound of speeders and Ahsoka's crying to fill the space. She expects nothing of this girl that she met in the fresher of a club, but yet, the kindness of a stranger seems to be the only thing Ahsoka has to hold onto. Caly, ever the one to continuously surprise her, pulls her into a tight embrace, tucking Ahsoka's head into her shoulder.

"What I told you earlier still applies. This is your next chapter, Ahsoka."

"It started out pretty shitty."

Caly laughs. Squeezes Ahsoka a little tighter. "It was just a bad trip. Jedi-- uh, Force-users, react to dreamdust a little dramatically. You didn't know."

"How do you know so much about Jedi?" she sniffles as she pulls out of the hug. "And how we react to dreamdust?"

"You're not the first to break away from the Temple for a night of fun," she winks. "Usually they are a bit more obvious."

"Baggy robes?"

"Oh, yes, you know the ones."

Ahsoka manages to smile, wiping away the stray tears. "Thank you, Caly. You've been... a great friend when you had no obligation to be."

"Well I did provide you with drugs that made you nearly punch a security guard... so don't thank me before you find out you've been banned indefinitely from that club."

"Probably for the best,"

They laugh. It's comfortable but not familiar. Not the laughs she's used to sharing. After a long time of just staring at the morning traffic begin to pick up, Caly stands.

"I gotta go. But I'm glad you're okay." Ahsoka is far from okay, but she's better than she was before. She smiles, thanking Caly once again. The girl from the nightclub starts to walk off, but then she stops, looking back. "Do you know what you'll do now, Ahsoka?"

The former Jedi smiles solemnly. Over Caly's shoulder, she can see the Jedi Temple in the distance. By some miracle, she doesn't feel the urge to sob just by looking at it. It's a tug at her heartstrings, the same feeling she gets from a sad song or when the troopers talk about their fallen. Dull, painful, but every time she looks or thinks about it she knows the pain will lessen.

"For now, I will carry on."

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Divine duo part 2

The two pairs found themselves at the cafeteria in Rex's chaldea eating lunch this time. Just like in Faye's chaldea Rex and Quetz were eating very "healthy" meals, while Faye and Eresh were partaking in the stew that was enjoyed in Babylonia.

Eresh found herself right in front of the hungry Quetzalcoatl, watching her devour a sandwich mercilessly.

Eresh: you're really enjoying that sandwich huh?

Quetz: well like we said at breakfast we need the energy. After you guys leave we're going full force with our training!

Faye: how often do you two train?

Rex: every day that we can, it's best to turn these things into routine.

While the four were talking a familiar pair of figures were coming to the group, tho slowly and with a lot of struggling from one of the two. Eventually Faye and Eresh notice the two.

Faye: ...hey, is that... Ishtar?

Rex, looking over: oh yeah! What's she doing?

Eventually the goddess was finally at the table with the other hooded figure. It was Ishtar for sure, but she looked different, with red tattoos all over her and shining blue bull like horn ornaments in place of the crown Faye and Eresh were used to.

Ishtar: hello master! Is this that Faye person you mentioned?

Rex: why yes it is.

Ishtar: it's so good to see you Faye! And you two other sister!

As she says this she shakes the hands of both Faye and Eresh.

Faye: Ishtar... are you planning something?

Ishtar: ...normally I'd be offended but I'll cut to the chase. Yes I am! I've brought the Ereshkigal of our world to meet you!

Faye: oh!

The hooded figure hid behind Ishtar, it was clear that she was the other Ereshkigal. While mostly covered, you could see a glimpse of her arm which showed a mark similar to Ishtar's tattoos but black in color. While the Eresh of Faye's world could be shy, this one definitely seemed way more timid.

Eresh: hey. No need to hide! We won't bite!

The other Eresh peaked out a bit, showing more of her face from under the hood.

Faye: why hello there Ereshkigal! It's nice to meet you!

The hooded Eresh blushed but just barely managed to say a few words.

Hood Eresh: h-h-hello F-faye. I've h-heard about y-you from m-master...

Faye: that's so nice to hear!

Rex: Faye, you should say that thing you say to Eresh.

Faye: oh! OK!

The more timid Eresh blushed even harder and immediately shook her head towards Rex, clearly too panicked by what he requested of Faye.

But then Faye grabbed the other Eresh's hand and looked her in the eyes

Faye: you're quite beautiful today my goddess!

Immediately Rex's Eresh fainted, only to be caught by her sister.

Ishtar: oh my! Looks like she couldn't handle it! Well I'll take her to the infirmary to make sure she's fine, but I will be bringing her back!

After this was said Ishtar carried her sister off.

Quetz: goodness, I knew she'd be excited to see you but I didn't think she'd faint!

Faye: I'm surprised too! Rex your Eresh makes mine look like Irkalla!

Rex: yeah... was never sure why she was like that.

Eventually the group finished up and Rex decided to take them to Quetz's temple room. When they reached the room they saw 4 other figures in the room. Before the group could get very far into the temple room the four that were already in there approach them.

The group were the other Quetzes, it seemed they had similar intentions to Irkalla in Faye's chaldea. From left to right Faye and Eresh saw Kuku, Ququ, Slayer and Xiu. They all had different hairstyles from the original, Kuku had a shorter spikey looking ponytail. Ququ had her hair in a long more traditional ponytail and Xiu had a more high up pony tail with an actual fire at the end of it.

First Kuku spoke up

Kuku: so this is the other master? Interesting.

Ququ: she's kinda cute, not as cute as mi amor tho.

Xiu: noticeably shorter too.

Those three seemed just as lively as Quetz but Slayer, who was completely decked out in her armor, stood there silently. It seemed like she was scanning the pair.

Rex: ok ladies! Please don't bother the two too much! They're guests and we should respect them! Also Slayer please take off your helmet.

Slayer did take it off, begrudgingly. She looked like Quetz like the others, with her hair done in a bun to prevent it getting in the way while wearing the helmet, and a bit scarred on her face too.

Faye: it's so nice to meet you all!

Ququ: nice to meet you too Faye!

Quetz: what are you all doing in here anyways?

Xiu: we wanted to meet Faye and knew you'd show her the temple.

Rex: that's nice to hear.

Rex showed Faye and Eresh around the place, it was huge! Eventually he took the pair to the special mural.

Faye: oh! Is this meant to be Quetz's family?

Rex: yeah....

Faye observed the mural, she wasn't nearly as familiar with the mesoamerican pantheon but eventually she noticed the interesting figure at the center next to the serpent.

Faye: huh... I didn't expect there to be a... T-rex as part of the family...

Rex: well... not yet...

Faye: hmm?

Quetz: hehehe, that's actually mi amor!

Eresh: huh?! That's meant to be Rex?!

Quetz: si! He's eventually going to join me in my heavenly domain!

Faye: really!? You can do that!?

Quetz: my family's ok with it! So it'll happen!

Faye immediately grabbed Eresh's hands to ask her a question.

Faye: my goddess!

Eresh: huh!?

Faye: do you think you can do the same?!

Eresh, blushing: uuuuhhh... w-well maybe... if I can convince father... but I'm not sure...

Faye: I'm sure you can! Or at least get your sister to help!

Eresh: Faye calm down! We're not even married yet and now you're talking about all this?!

Faye calmed down after Eresh said this.

Faye: yeah... sorry about that.

After a bit it was time for the two to leave. But while they were about to leave Ishtar returned with the other Eresh.

Ishtar: wait! Before you go! She has something to say!

Faye: hmm? What is it?

Hood Eresh: u-um, w-well... c-can c-can I-I...

Ishtar: oh for the love of- can she go with you?!

Faye: huh?!

Eresh: what?!

Faye: you want to come with us?

Hood Eresh: yes! I do! I'm sorry Rex but I want to be Faye's servant!

Rex: I'm not even surprised honestly.

Quetz: si... it seems Faye has a similar effect on Ereshes as mi amor has on me's.

Faye: well... I'm fine with it... are you really ok with it Rex?

Rex: well... for the most part... but let's be fair and make it a trade.

Faye: trade?

Rex: yeah, should be obvious.

Eresh: Quetz is that OK?

Quetz: sure... I'm fine with it... I'm still number one!

Faye: ok then!

Faye contacted her Da Vinci

Faye: Da Vinci! Get Quetzalcoatl!

Da Vinci: alright!

After a bit of waiting Faye's Samba Qutez came in

Samba Quetz: what is it master?

Faye: you said you'd like for Rex to bring you with him, were you for real?

Samba Quetz: ...si, I was.

Faye: then get ready, you're coming to join him!

Samba Quetz: que?! For real?!

Faye: yeah! He's giving me his Eresh so you're joining him!

Samba Quetz: o-okay!

Faye's Quetz was sent to Rex's chaldea. The two masters switching contracts with the servants and finally Faye was leaving with both of her goddesses. But of course the new Eresh had to say bye to her sister.

Hood Eresh: bye sis!

Ishtar: goodbye sister! Make sure to call often!

Hood Eresh: of course!

Faye: seeya Rex! This was too fun! And I got the best souvenir from it all!

Rex: you say that but I think I got the better end of the deal! Goodbye for now!

Faye: bye!

And like that the other master returned to her world. Now Rex has Another Quetzalcoatl with him.

Samba Quetz: this is pretty exciting! So what now?!

Rex: lucha training!

Samba Quetz: !!! I already love you mi amor!!!!

Quetz: ...*sigh* well let's get started!

A/N: well there's the second part of the crossover. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! Thanks again to @hasereshdoneanythingwrong for letting me use their master and servant and for the ok for the trade at the end!

Tags but not spammy

@hasishtardoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong

[elsanna-shenanigans]

February Contest Submission #6: A Museum Date with You

words: ca. 3300 setting: mAU lemon: no cw: none

“Psst, Anna. Wake up, my dear sister.”

Anna grunts when she’s been woken up by Elsa. “Elsa, it’s Sunday and the sun hasn’t risen yet,” she grumbled at her sister.

“It’s also Valentine’s Day and you remembered what we’re planning to do today?”

“A date?” she answers sheepishly.

Anna receives a smooch from Elsa which makes her mouth twitch upward. Her drowsiness withers away as it is replaced by love and adoration with her sister. She sits up and stretches her up high until her back pops.

“Okay, I’m awake,” she says while her eyes are still half-lidded.

“Good girl,” Elsa stands beside the bed. “I’ll prepare breakfast and bring it here. Hope you’re ready once I’m back.”

Anna nod vigorously in agreement. Elsa just shakes her head at Anna’s response. Elsa saunters her way out from their bedroom with a wide sway of her hips. Anna’s half-lidded eyes are instantaneously fully open with some drool at her mouth.

Today is going to be a great day.

—

Valentine’s Day has arrived and so does their date to the museum. Elsa drives them there since it’s thirty minutes away from their home. It’s been a while since they went out because they have been busy for the last few months. Glad Elsa used this opportunity to go out. If not, they spend time at home and frack all day.

The idea came when they were having a lovely evening snuggling. Elsa told her sister that she wanted to have a museum date for Valentine’s Day, which rendered Anna speechless. Judging Anna’s reaction, Elsa turned her back and curled into a ball with a mock sobbed.  Anna rolled her eyes at her sister. She comforted her big sister with soothing words. Oh, and also consoled her with some massages.

While Elsa’s driving, Anna notices something peculiar. She smiles all this time, which is fine, but a trip to a museum? What’s so exciting at the museum? As far as she knows, a museum is a place where dead people and animals are showcased to the public. Okay, that’s too dark for what’s supposed to be a happy day. Then again, the origin of Valentine’s Day wasn’t happy, either. Anna shakes the thought away. What matters now is Elsa has something to show her, judging by her mood, and she can’t wait to see it.

Still, Anna can’t help but wonder what could it be. Could it be that a new exhibition opened that she isn’t aware of? Perhaps. Or a famous portrait arrived and opened for display. She isn���t a fan of portraits of someone she doesn’t know. Wouldn’t be cool if it’s a portrait of Elsa, because she’s pretty and she definitely will buy a portrait of her sister?

While she’s in her reverie, she doesn’t realize the car has stopped. It’s only after her sister pats her shoulder that she jumps out of her seat. Elsa chuckles at her reaction, “We’re here.”

Anna looks at the front window. The museum is packed with people. They’re lucky today that Elsa was able to find a parking spot right in front of the entrance despite the crowds. The parking lot is already half-full, even though they’d arrived so early today. Elsa and Anna walk to the entrance while holding each other’s hands, swinging their clasped hands back and forth. She likes to hold Elsa’s hand because of the chilling sensation when their skin touches. She feels safe to have Elsa holding her.

They swiftly enter the museum because Elsa had already purchased the tickets beforehand. Now, she’s scanning their tickets at the turnstiles to enter. After the check-in, they walk along the hall and it has an amazing light show. There’s one light circling the wall among the crowd and it’s seeking Anna’s attention. As she gets closer and almost touches the light, the light moves aside. Anna tries to follow the light, but it’s slowly increasing its speed. Without knowing it, she’s running to follow the light. She pulls her sister along for the chase, racing down the halls after the light.

They dive into the light and it blinds them momentarily as the hall is darker than the outside. As Anna’s eyes adjust to the brightness, she sees a skeleton-like creature in front of her. She struggles to remember what the creature is; it seems so familiar to her… When she recovers, her jaw drops at what she recognizes.

A… A… T-Rex!

The skeleton stands tall in the middle of the museum. Floodlights from an alcove above the skeleton shine down on it, creating a shadow that makes the creature feel more intimidating. She turns towards her sister, who’s smiling softly at her.

“Surprise!” Elsa smiles brightly, “Remember the story you told me about how much you love dinosaurs and would love to see them? Well, this is the closest thing we can ever get.”

“Oh, thank you so much. This is the best date ever!” Anna exclaims.

“You’re welcome. Now, care to tell me more about the creature that we’re looking at?” Elsa asks curiously.

“Glad you asked,” Anna says with a grin, “This is Tyrannosaurus-rex. T-rex for short. It was the largest predator in North America. The most striking feature of Tyrannosaurus is its giant skull,” she raises her hand to the air, “It’s colossal. Tyrannosaurs were built for hunting prey. Their body structure helps them chase their prey down and their huge teeth are their main weapon.” Suddenly, an idea comes to Anna’s mind with a grin. “And their favorite point of attack is the prey’s neck. Like this” She dashes towards Elsa and bites her neck, teeth digging into the soft flesh.

“ANNA!” she screams.

Anna retracts from her bite and licks her lips. She grins when she sees how beet-red Elsa is, then realizes there were people around them, giving odd looks to the sisters.

Shoot. Sisters don’t give love bites. Then again, if she says we’re lovers, it would also cause a scandal. She glances at Elsa and she is still embarrassed. She won’t help her at the moment. Guess it’s up to her now to ease the odd looks of the people around here. Here goes nothing.

“Sorry, everyone! Just wanted to show my friend how the T-Rex attacks their prey.” she smiles sheepishly.

The crowds resume their visit. She sighs in relief as her excuse works.

“Good call, Anna.”

“Thanks. Our usual excuse didn’t seem to fit at that moment. I had come up with something else.” She looks at her sister pensively, “I hope you don’t mind when I call you my friend.”

“Anna,” she put her hand on her shoulder, “I am your friend, girlfriend, best friend, lover, and sister. Of course, I don’t mind.”

“Oh, what if I call you my ex-,”

Elsa places a finger across her sister’s lips. “Let’s not go there. If not, the Ice Queen shall return and we both don’t want that, do we?”

Anna shakes her head vigorously. Elsa lets go of her lips and carefully inspects the mark on her neck with her fingers, “As much as I love when you’re marking me, at least find a room before committing such a scandalous act.”

Anna bites her lips. She adores that Elsa loves her perverted acts. It makes her feel hot inside.

“Hehe, sorry. I saw the opportunity and just couldn’t help it.”

“It’s okay,” she smooches Anna, “I forgive you.” She then whispers, “But do remember when we’re back home.”

Urgh. Elsa. Don’t turn me on right now!

“So, the dinosaurs?” Elsa tries to avert the conversation.

“Oh yeah. Even though it’s a formidable predator, some dinosaurs can force them to back off.”

“Oh? Which dinosaurs can pose a threat to the mighty T-Rex?”

“Here, let me show you.” She drags Elsa to the next exhibition. “This is the Triceratops. The reason why it is called that is that it has two long horns with a short, stout nose that acts as a third horn. It also has a shield-like bone crest which prevents T-Rex from biting them at the neck.” She coughs at the remark, stifling a giggle. Elsa just rolls her eyes.

“As you can see, this dinosaur can do offensive moves with its horns, just like any animal with the same feature. They will point their horns towards the enemy like this.” Anna puts her fingers on her scalp, mimicking a horn. “And they charge!” She intends to poke her arm but Elsa turns at the last second and she ends up squishing her nose onto her sister’s breast. It’s soft as silk and she doesn’t feel any lines underneath it. Oh my…

“Let me guess, they’ll charge at the enemy’s breast,” she says, smirking.

Anna chuckles, “Well, sort of. The softer the spot, the easier to pierce through.”

“Interesting.”

They stand there for a while, Anna’s face still buried on the chest.

“Umm, Anna. Do you mind?”

“Whoops, sorry,” Anna says in a very un-sorry way. She rubs the wrinkled spot on Elsa’s shirt. “Don’t want to leave it untidy.” She caresses the area until it’s smooth as butter.

Elsa shakes her head. “You can stop now.”

“Yeah, maybe I should.” She lifts her hand from Elsa’s breast. Her ministrations have caused a protrusion underneath the shirt and it’s a sight to behold.

“Are there any other dinosaurs that can rival T-Rex’s supremacy?” Elsa returns to the conversation.

“There are. C’mon, follow me.” She drags her sister to the next exhibition.

“This is Ankylosaurs. This thing is built like a tank. It has armor all over its body. Imagine a tortoise, but with spikes all over the body. Not only that, the tail can be used as an offensive weapon, like a mace. The hard shell at the end of the tail can be whipped at the enemy,” she once again smirks, “Like this…” she swings her hips into  Elsa’s, causing her to lose her balance.

“Yes, I can feel that,” Elsa mutters as she regains her balance, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asks curiously.

Oh, she knows very well what Elsa’s talking about, but Anna just ignores it, “Of course. I love to show my love of dinosaurs with you,” she smiles innocently.

Elsa embraces her little sister, “Of course you are.”

“Mommy, mommy. Those girls are cute together,” says a child in the distance.

They freeze at the moment self-consciously.

“Yes, dear. People will act cutely when they love each other,” mutters the mother.

“Big sis and I love each other. Can we act like that?” the child asks innocently.

The mother proceeds to lecture the child about the difference between romantic and familial love. Meanwhile, the queer sisters listen to the whole conversation, quietly chuckling to each other.

“Poor mother. Little did she know, we love each other in both ways.”

“Agreed. Let’s not forget, not everyone will experience the love that we share.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m lucky to have fallen in love with you.”

Elsa rests her forehead on her sister’s and looks at her in adoration, “I’m also lucky to have fallen in love with you.”

Anna’s eyes turn misty to hear those lovely words from her sister, “Thank you. It means a lot coming for you.”

“You are welcome. C’mon. We have a lot of places to visit.”

It’s Elsa’s turn to drag her sister along, which Anna happily follows.

—

They continue their exploration in the museum, walking through section after section until they arrive in the 19th-century era. It is full of portraits of past monarchies. The hall has many rooms filled with portraits of monarchs from different kingdoms. As they stand before the Norwegian monarchy room, Elsa stops in front of the closed doors, turning to Anna.

“There’s something I want to show you. I want you to look at it and tell what you see.”

Anna is weirded out by the serious tone of her sister. “Elsa, what’s the matter? Why so serious?”

She let out a sigh “I’m sorry. This portrait has been bothering me for quite a while now and I want to show you.”

“It’s okay,” Anna says as she holds her sister’s hand on the door handle, “I’m here for you. We can do this together,” she assures Elsa.

“Together.” She turns the latch of the mahogany door and they walk in to see a portrait of a royal family.

Anna tilts her head a bit. The portrait looks familiar. Anna walks closer to it. It has an illustration of what she assumes are two queens as well as a prince and princess. The two queens look like them and she reads the description. Wait, it can’t be.

She turns around to face her sister, “Elsa? Is that… us?”

“No, Anna. That’s not us. Although the resemblance is eerily familiar,”

“But who are they?”

“They are the rulers of the kingdom of Arendelle. Queen Elsa of Arendelle and the queen’s wife, Queen Anna of Arendelle.”

Anna’s eyes widen when she hears the names. “Wait, the queens had the same and also were lesbians?”

“The first in their kingdom. Not only that, but they were also sisters.”

Anna’s goosebumps rose from the revelation. She gulps, “So, not only they have the same names as we do, but they are sisters and married too? Just like us?”

“Yes, it is. Scary, huh?”

Anna subconsciously hugs her sister’s arm. “What does this mean, Elsa? Are we some kind of reincarnation of them?”

“I can’t say for sure, but one thing that can comfort you is that no matter what time or era, we still are together.”

“That’s good to hear,” Anna exhales slowly. She looks again at the portrait. “It looks like they have children. How is that possible if they are both women?”

“Those are Princess Elsi and Prince Annar. Get this, Queen Anna was given birth to them! Thanks to Queen Elsa.”

Anna gives her a puzzled look. “What? How?”

“There were rumors that Queen Elsa had a magical power to bring life into this world. She was able to bring a snowman to life along with snow monsters and snowgies, little tiny snowmen. They said she used the same power with her wife which led to the birth of two offspring.”

“Really? Can it be true?”

“I can’t tell for sure. However, if we look at their children, they both bear a striking resemblance to their parents. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s hard to refute the rumor when the result is so obvious.”

Anna is shaken by the explanation. “Is this why you wanted to bring me to the museum? To show me there’s someone who was pretty much like us?”

“My plan was more about the dinosaurs, but since we’re here, I wanted to show you this.”

Anna hugs her sister, “Thanks for showing me this. I feel reassured that someone has done it before - had a family despite being two women - and I think it’s possible to follow in their footsteps.”

“You’re welcome, Anna.”

They hug for a while until Anna speaks, “Say. Do you think we could have a baby too?” she asks wistfully.

“Finish your studies first, then we can talk about having a baby,” Elsa chuckles when her sister grumbles while crossing her arms, “Aww, don’t be mad.” Elsa tries to coax her, “You do know your studies are really important, right?”

Anna sighs, “Yeah, yeah. I know. It’s just so boring and I’m too lazy to do all the assignments.”

“Believe me. Those will be a thing of the past once you finish your degree.”

“Do you think they sell a copy of the portrait? I want to buy a portrait of my sister,” she gives Elsa a huge grin.

Elsa rolls her eyes at her sister’s remarks. “I’m sure they do have them in the souvenirs shop.”

—

After the museum trip, the sisters enjoyed a romantic dinner at their favorite pizza shop. They dined while enjoying the golden hour, the sun low on the horizon. They sat side by side, embracing each other while enjoying the view and the ambiance of the restaurant; singing along to soft musical chimes playing one of their favorite songs in the background.

They ordered their favorite, pineapple pizza (because that’s the best kind of pizza there is) and fed each other alternating bites, giggling the entire time.  At one point, Anna ‘accidentally’ smeared some tomato sauce on Elsa’s cheek and proceeded to lick it off her, much to her sister’s chagrin. Anna struggled to rein in her laughter and kept licking Elsa long after the sauce was gone, claiming she couldn’t tell the difference between the sauce and Elsa’s blush.

After dinner, they head home, eager to enjoy the rest of the evening together. Elsa can barely contain her eagerness, smiling, constantly staring at Anna on the drive home while still keeping the car on the road. Anna couldn’t help but grin alongside her big sister. Seeing her happy like this is a sight to behold.

Once they are home, Elsa and Annas go straight to the bedroom to snuggle. The museum date was exhausting after walking all day. But all in all, it was a fun day.

Anna rests her ear on Elsa’s chest. The quiet evening helps her to listen to her sister’s beating heart. She tries to count the beats but every time she does that she loses into the rhythm. It’s mesmerizing. The only song she ever needs.

Anna remembers back what she sees at the museum. Yes, the dinosaur is amazing. How sweet Elsa is to remember her favorite species. But the portrait is what’s stuck in her. She still couldn’t believe there’s someone before them who’s identical to them. The only difference is they don’t have a child yet. Elsa has said they will talk about this once she finishes her study but having a little chat won’t hurt, right?

“Hey, Elsa?”

“Hmm?” she hums.

“Do you think we could name our future child Elsi or Annar?”

Elsa looks at her sister, “Looks like someone eager to have a child.”

“Noo,” Elsa raises her eyebrow, “Maybe. Look, I just want to have a little convo, alright?”

“Sure, Anna,” she smirks. Anna proceeds to slap her breast out of spite.

“So, about the child?”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking by now. Having a child. Our child. Would it be crazy?”

“Anna, our marriage is already crazy. Everything after this would be even crazier.”

“Hehe, I’m glad.”

“Why do you want to name our future child that?”

“Well, other than following the people who had done it before. I think that names are so cute. It’s like Elsa replacing the ‘A’ with an ‘I’ and Anna with additional ‘R’.”

She smiles, “We could also relate with our late parents. The ‘I’ in Iduna and the ‘R’ in Agnarr.”

Anna claps her hand, “Oh my gosh, what a coincidence. They both resemble our names and our parents’ ones. I’m pretty sure that was their intention.”

“Agree.”

“Do you think our future baby will be a pure-blood one?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you remember the rumor the queen used her magical power to her sister to give birth. I wonder if we could…” Anna’s been interrupted by a kiss.

Elsa places her hand on her cheek after they kiss, “We’ll find a way,”  she says assuredly.

“Okay,” she hugs her sister, “Thank you for considering.”

“You’re welcome. Anything for my sister,” she yawns. “Good night, Anna.”

“Good night kiss?”

She smiles and kisses her sister good night. “I love you, Anna.”

“I love you too, Elsa.”

[kill-the-feels]

Only if For a Night

a/n: hey y’all! while the next part Rex/Mechanic!reader is fighting me, enjoy this little piece for Captain Keeli as a late late valentine’s gift! the poor captain deserved better, and i haven’t stopped thinking about giving him a lil’ attention since i watched the episode in which he saves ryloth and lives meets his end.

word count: 1.4k

warnings: angst, suggestive content, and enough fluff to rot your teeth

Wartime romances have a way of cutting through all the bantha fodder. And yet, you still don’t know what to call this... thing... you have with the clone captain standing across from you.

Captain Keeli.

It’s distracting, though, whatever this thinks is, and you sort of hate the fact that he’s always on the bridge.

And why wouldn’t he be?

Keeli leads his men into battle along side the Jedi General, so obviously he has to know the plans.

It would just help if he weren’t watching you.

(Never mind the fact that he is watching you do your, you know, job. You’re one of the strategists and you’re good.)

You finish outlining the plan, then glance around to see if anyone has any questions.

Keeli is looking pointedly away from you, watching Master Di instead. When no one speaks up, you thank them for their time, then turn back to your datapad, marking down some ideas you thought of while speaking.

It’s your job to analyze the enemy and predict their fight patterns, and your job to come up with a plan of attack that best benefits everyone. It’s stressful at points, but you enjoy it, especially with the additional challenge of coordinating protection for civilians.

It’s how you and Keeli met.

This isn’t your first rodeo, and you two met in the midst of another battle, while you were trying to evacuate a planet and keep clones alive.

It was...memorable, to say the least.

Your job requires a level head, so getting in people’s faces and yelling isn’t in the typical way you do your job.

But no one was listening to you, and you yelled and it all turned out to be for nothing.

(You still remember how shocked you felt when he found you after the fact, letting you cry and assuring you it wasn’t your fault, that you’d tried your best. That it was what clones were meant to do. Die.

And he still remembers the conviction on your face when you swore vehemently and hissed not. on. my. watch.)

Your relationship spiraled from there, and now you consider him a good friend that also sometimes finds his way to your bed.

(Ok, finds his way there most nights.)

But at the same time, clones aren’t meant for love and officer relationships are forbidden so it’s all been on the down low.

Which is (you hope) the reason he’s avoiding your gaze.

Sure enough, when you finally manage to make it out of the briefing - everyone wants to talk contingencies - and back to your quarters, he’s casually waiting outside.

“You’re very distracting,” you remark, punching in the code to your door. He huffs out a laugh, hands coming to rest on your hips. It’s almost instinctual at this point, and it should scare you how well you’ve come know each other’s bodies.

“You thought that was distracting?” He teases, voice muffled by his helmet. The door opens and you slip inside, half tempted to close it in his face to mess with him.

“I don’t get a convenient little helmet to hide my face,” you say. There’s a blush creeping onto your cheeks. His thumbs are rubbing distracting circles that you can just barely feel through the heavy fabric of your clothes.

You let him in.

“You’d look nice in my helmet,” Keeli says, tugging it off.

Finally.

“Liar.” You waste no time; practically flying into his arms. He holds you tight against him, and you relish in the feeling.

“You think I’m distracting?” Keeli murmurs, repeating just early question. “You oughta see yourself up there in front of everyone. Cheeks flushed, determination in your eyes. Better be glad I have the helmet and amor on.”

His words send a pleasantly warm tingle all through your body, and then you’re leaning in.

You kiss, and Keeli bites your lip, coaxing a moan out of you that he’s quick to meet with his tongue. His hand fists in your hair, tugging your head back, and breaking away to peppers soft bites and kisses down your neck and the top of your chest.

Keeli backs the two of you up until your legs hit the small cot you call a bed.

“You staying?” You pant, kissing his jaw and tugging at the straps on his armor.

“Do you have to ask?” Keeli returns, lifting up your own shirt.

*****

When the two of you have settled back down, a comfortable silence fills the room. Neither of you are quick to break it. Instead, you lay your head on his chest, listening to his heart beat as he traces absent patterns on your bare shoulder.

It’s too soon to say anything that even comes close to a declaration of feelings, but being here, like this, with him, always leaves you feeling melancholy.

Wistful.

You have to keep reigning in your mind, because it’s wont to run rampant with the idea of settling down. With the idea of...love. Ideally, the war won’t last forever. Ideally, you’ll be able to act on these feelings one day.

But also, you’re not naive. You know Keeli is, above all, a soldier.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” He asks, fingers drifting down to your sides. You look up at him, cheeks slightly pink in the aftermath.

“Nothing important,” you answer. He watches you for a beat, eyes unreadable. In the distance, you hear the sounds of the ever-busy cruiser. In a matter of moments, you’ll have to separate.

But for now, you’re here, content with being held.

“Liar,” he murmurs, shifting until he can bury his nose in your hair.

“Do you ever think about what life after all this will be like?” It slips out, before you can stop it. Keeli pauses. From this position, you can’t see his face, but you feel his muscles tense.

It’s a tactless question, because, no, of course he doesn’t think about after the war. He’s meant to die in the war.

“Sometimes,” he answers finally. It’s strained, like it hurts him to admit it. You push yourself back some to look in his eyes.

“Keeli, forget I said anything,” you say. You’re eager to move past the awkward moment. “It was a stupid question. No one thinks about that stuff these days. We don’t have to talk.” He tucks an arm behind his head, expression turning thoughtful.

“You’re saying you’ve never thought about it?” His question takes you by surprise.

“You have?” you manage to stammer out.

His other arm tightens around your shoulders, fingers playing lazily with your hair.

“Maybe a little. Not in depth, really, but a little. What it would be like to settle down, have a family. Leave the war behind.” His voice is far away, and it brings an unexpected lump to your throat. You close your eyes, head coming back to a rest over his heart.

“Could you? Leave the war behind, I mean.” It’s something you’ve asked yourself a hundred times since the incident that left you crying on him.

Your job depends on war and making order of the chaos that comes from of it, but sometimes, it wears on your very soul.

And yet, it’s also your passion.

Keeli’s passion.

“I don’t know,” he admits finally. Wearily. “I don’t know.”

*****

You drift off to sleep, waking only to the alarm you’ve set to tell you to prepare to send off the forces. Keeli is already awake, strapping on armor.

You help him with the chest piece, then pull him in for a long, lingering kiss before he slips on his helmet.

“I’ll be on the bridge monitoring things,” you say, hugging him tight. You don’t say anything else. You can’t.

It’s too final.

“We’ll talk when Ryloth is secure. When I come back. Plan for the future and all that,” he whispers, cradling you in his arms. His voice is tender, and it comes close to breaking your heart.

“I’ll be waiting.”

*****

He does not come back.

The war continues on.

[whirlybirbs]

;   ---   SHATTERED HILT   /   01

summary: ru’kali survives order 66. cal kestis does, too. while cal spends his days on bracca, stripping starships for parts, ru spends her days earning her protection from the empire in the fighting pits on ordo eris; both do what it takes to survive. but, when a wayward quest and a plethora of owed debts lead cal kestis straight back to his fellow padawan -- a once shy girl turned raging fire -- the pit fighter is left with a choice: leave, or spend the rest of her life a pawn in a game much bigger than her. pairing: cal kestis / original female character, ru’kali lof word count: 2k a/n: i cannot remember the last time i wrote something that wasn’t a reader-insert, and i’m not sure how this will do -- feedback is genuinely appreciated on this, since i know i’m mostly a reader writer! everyone loved ru from her intro to my clone trooper squad, which you can read here! 

Ru’kali Lof startles awake to the sound of three loud, rough bangs on the door to her quarters. 

She wonders bitterly, as she blinks up at the ceiling, if she can just ignore the sound. With any luck, they’ll leave her alone and Ru can go back to bed --

Then, the knocks come again. Louder and faster. 

“Rise ‘n’ shine, sweetheart!”

Ru snarls.

Beneath the durasteel door, she can see the long shadow of someone shifting back and forth in their boots -- immediately, the Mirialan, as she stands and throws herself to the door, knows it’s Atticus. The sheer bombastic chaos that follows the bounty hunter swims through the force to greet her before she even opens the door.

When she does, he’s got an arm on the doorframe and he’s leering. 

Atticus Rex isn’t much to look at, nor is he kind nor smart, but he’s muscle -- his head is shaved in a tight buzz, littered with scars, and his muzzled grin is picked clean with a toothpick that hangs from his lips. 

He smells like day-old ale and sweat.

“Where y’ been, Ru?”

It leaks out of him like a jab. She has to restrain the snarl that threatens to leap across her face. Her attitude is sharp and wants to go straight for the Haxion Brood Lieutenant’s throat. 

“Asleep,” she bites, crossing her arms and cocking a hip as she goes to hit the switch and shut the door, “Do you mind?”

Atticus snorts, hand planted on the frame and forcing the door to stay open. 

Ru leans back, peering into her room, to eye the chronometer hanging on the wall. The digits read 1038 -- it’s late, and she’d finally fallen asleep after she’d managed to quiet down the usual roaring river in her mind. Not an easy task. 

"Get dressed,” the Bounty Hunter chirps, “S’ fight night, sunshine.”

--

Fight nights were common.

But, fight nights were Ru fought? Those were rare -- and though she’s sure Sorc Tormo would put her in the ring every night if he could, she’s also aware that to the Umbaran crime-lord she’s an asset. A big asset. A big, money-making asset that draws a big crowd and big bets.

Huge bets.

(The exact kind of bets that got Greez Dritus into this mess in the first place, and by proxy his new-found friend.)

Ordo Eris, on fight nights, becomes more like a city than the cold, lonely, terrible astroid colony it really is. The space station fills with scoundrels and thugs from all across the galaxy who traverse the rocky space around the arena’s hub to get a spot around the ring -- Ru eyes the growing crowd, nearly every attendee with credits in hand, as the lift carries her upwards to the top level of the arena’s loge.

Beside her Atticus flicks the smoldering bud of his deathstick down the shaft.

Speaking of Sorc Tormo, the sleaze ball greets Ru’kali with wide open arms and a devious grin. 

“Ah! My prized warrior princess!”

Ru cross her arms and swaggers forward -- the small rope of lucky beads tied to her sash tinkers as she does, knocking against the chromium smelted hilt of one of her two sabers. One is hers from when she was a Padawan. The other is a recent build and it’s temperamental. Using a stolen, mined kyber crystal is to blame, no doubt.

Master Yoda was right -- the crystals are supposed to pick the Jedi. 

Atticus meanders along behind you. Skulking as per usual.

Ru looks out past the arena to the screens bolted up along the pit. Pale blue eyes narrow tightly, the deep scar over her right eye warping slightly as she does. The broadcast is in the lower levels. Some idiot running around on the walls. Plugging wires in. 

A show, for sure.

Ru raise a brow.

“What’s all this about?” she asks, turning to eye Sorc Tormo.

The Umbaran man is eccentric, to say the least. His facial hair runs right down his chin in one fine line, green in color. That same green, punchy and vomit-reminiscent, echoes in his Canto Bight-esque outfit. Large, pompous sleeves and pants that are three sizes too tight. All green. 

He looks like seventy kliks of bad road, honestly. 

Hell, everyone on Ordo Eris does. 

Ru’kali is no exception -- she’s rougher than she was when she first arrived here. Littered in scars and bitter. The years of pit fighting have settled in her stance and though she’s athletic, she’s a rogue brawler with enough crackling, dangerous rage to power an entire Star Destroyer.

Fighting takes the edge off. Makes her feel less afraid. 

“Well,” the lone, pale fingers of the Umbaran curl around Ru’kali’s pale pink shoulders, nails drumming against the diamond shaped markings there, “I am glad you asked, my dear. We have a special contender for you --”

“Cut to the chase, Tormo.”

The egg shaped head of the Umbaran rolls as he steps away, waving off Ru’s evident irritation; the crime-lord gestures to the screen. “He’s friends with someone who owes me a lotta money. He was carrying this around --”

His fingers snap twice.

“Atticus --”

Ru’kali was not expecting Atticus Rex to procure, from the back of his belt, a lightsaber.

And she certainly wasn’t expecting him to hand it to Tormo and for the Umbaran to ignite it, presenting a glimmering yellow blade. 

The Mirialan’s face falls -- anger bubbles up there, warping the navy tattooed features of her face as she steps forward and yanks the hilt from the hands of the crime-lord.

Her lips twitches.

“What?” she sneers vengefully, “Did he pull this from a corpse, then?”

She has seen another Jedi’s saber three times now in this station. Once on the belt of a traveler who’d laughed in her face and waved the blue thing around, proudly proclaiming they’d bought it off clone trooper for drinking money. The second time, on a bounty hunter -- he’d murdered a Jedi Knight for Imperial credits, kept the blade though. The third, was now. 

Ru could only assume the weapon to be another stolen relic, a ground-in-the-dirt memory of her life before Ordo Eris. This contender probably had no idea how to use it, let alone the life this saber had before now.

A laxidasical wave. “Maybe. Don’t care. But! My sweet, sweet, Jedi -- I want you to kill him. Seeing two saber swordsmen dueling... Goodness, me oh my, that will certainly bring in the money, won’t it, Atticus?”

“Sure will.”

And it does.

--

Cal Kestis is having a pretty shit day.

Not that he’d ever say so -- no, because, sure, it might be terrible and he might be navigating some wild underground dungeon maze, but Cal has BD-1 back on his shoulder and that’s all that matters. 

He’s got a mission, he’s got BD-1, and despite being a little sore, he’s good. All good. Everything’s good. Totally good. 

As he rides the lift to the upper levels of this... place... Cal wonders if he’s gonna eat that sentiment.

The first thing he hears is the chants -- raucous roars of a large crowd. Before him lays a large square space, illuminated by stark spotlights and swarmed with drone droids, each with blinking red lights on their helms to show their recording status. 

It becomes abundantly clear to Cal that he’s suddenly in the spotlight. And, that the itching feeling that he was being watched was correct. 

The redheaded Jedi steps out from under the bay, suddenly exposed to the bright light of the arena. 

Around him on the upper decks are hundreds of people, all clamoring to get a view of him -- the large screens on the sides of the loge show him squinting, raising a hand and grimacing into the light. 

BD-1 gives a worried boowoop. 

“I got a bad feeling about this too, lil’ buddy.”

Suddenly, a holo-projection fizzles in before Cal -- large and tall and to the excitement of the crowd. The man’s appearance is met with a rise in cheers, rolling off the voices of the spectators with thirst for action. 

Sorc Tormo laughs.

“Ah, finally he arrives!” 

The projection waves wildly, spinning about, and Cal watches carefully as this eccentric ego-maniac waves his hand with a grandiose flourishes as he speaks. 

“We had action on how long it would take for you to get here!”

Yeah, well, BD-1 was kinda his priority.

Irritation bites at Cal’s features. The Jedi scowls. His stance is tense.

“And who are you?” Cal calls out, voice rising over the roar of the crowd.

“Ha ha ha! Who am I? I’m Sorc Tormo, baby! I’m the boss of this operation!”

The crowd goes wild at that, whoops and hollers serenading the arena to the tune of the crimelord’s name. A television drone swoops close to Cal’s head and the Jedi side-steps it with a disgusted look on his face. 

“Right,” Cal snarks, “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“Maybe not you, but to your friend Greezy Four-arms it does! You’ve got him to thank for gettin’ you into this pickle!”

Of course. 

Cere had made a comment off-hand about the pilot’s penchant for gambling -- not that Cal was any stranger to the concept. Back on Bracca, Prauf had muscled Cal into tagging along to a few card games here and there. And though the redhead never partook in wagering his entire week’s pay on precious metals, Prauf had once or twice. On those nights that Prauf lost -- because he always lost -- there was nothing that could lift the Abednedo’s mood. 

Not even a signature Cal Kestis smile 'n’ pat on the back. 

Cal could use one of those right about now. 

“Yeah, well, once I’m finished with you, I will thank Greez,” it comes out just as cocky as it feels -- and maybe Cal shouldn’t had tried the attitude. 

Either way, when this Sorc Tormo guy laughs and waves his hand, proclaiming, “No, no, my friend, you won’t be fighting me...”

Suddenly, the air becomes electric.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the crime-lord turns on a heel, gesturing to the crowd with the all the practiced cool of an entertainer, “Our lovely little guest will be going head to head with our favorite...”

There’s a crescendo of excitement. Cal notices an uptick on the counter on the broadcast screens -- he realize, quickly, that they’re bets and currently, someone named Fropolo’f is betting the most money against him. Real confidence booster that is. 

“Someone get baby his toy! He’s gonna need it!”

His lightsaber is launched from the loge, and the Jedi catches it quickly, igniting it on instinct as his skin crawls in anticipation. The redhead looks around, eyes cast on the crowds of smugglers and thugs lining the balcony.

The wide angle shot of fear on his face is painted across the rumbling arena’s screens.

Before Cal can bite in a retort, the echo of boots on durasteel begins -- coordinated and rhythmic. Boom... boom... boom... boom, boom, boom.

“You know her well -- a pure whirlwind of rage! She’s pink, she’s tatted, she’s daaaaaaaangerous!” 

Boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom.

BD makes a nervous boo-weeeeeeeep as the pace picks up. Cal swallows, gloved fist tightening nervously around the hilt of his glowing, golden blade. Green eyes dart around the square expanse of the arena, trying to get a gauge on where this opponent might appear from --

“Give it up for our girl...”

Boomboomboom, boomboomboom. 

“RUUUUUUUU’KALLLLI!”

The roar is deafening. 

Suddenly, the paneling in the floor separates, and from it emerges --

“...Ru?”

Ru’kali Lof is suddenly staring face-to-face with a ghost.

Her stance, wide-set with double blades humming in a hot white, seems to crack when she finally sees the face of her opponent.

She’s a handful of meters away but she’d know that flash of red hair anywhere.

Cal Kestis.

Cal fucking Kestis.

Oh, this is bad. 

This is really bad. 

[neocity-sarai]

Redemption [PART 3]

❃ pairing: reader x mark lee, reader x haechan (divergent! au)

❃ alerts: making out, suggestive content, language, violence/ injuries, death, blood, angst, light smut

❃ song rec: beating heart by ellie goulding

When morning comes, the sun that streams through the windows of Haechan’s suite seems taunting rather than comforting. You sit up on the bed, beginning to get dressed in the protective gear that Evelyn gave you a few nights ago. You shudder from the memory of last night’s events: the way Rex was injured and the way Haechan made you feel when his lips were pressed on the hollow of your neck. You ghost your fingers over your lips, almost wishing what it would be like if you didn’t hold yourself back. 

Like on cue, Haechan opens the door before making his way over to you. Somehow, he looks different. His hair is gelled up, exposing his forehead while he’s dressed in black vests and black arm bands that wrap around his wrists. Daggers sit securely in the sheathes that are tied to the side of his pants. 

“Y/n?”

“Haechan.”

Haechan looks concerned, judging by the way his lips are pressed into a thin line and the way his brows are furrowed. 

He pauses before continuing, “Hear me out. I think you should stay.”

You huff with impatience, hitting the bed, “How many times have we been over this? I already told you that I’m not staying. I’m not letting you fight my battles.”

“But what if you get hurt? What do I do then? What if you end up dead?”

“Then let me. Isn’t that what you said? Taking the system down is what you're made to do? Prepared to die for?”

Haechan’s eyes darken, flashed with hurt, “I said that but you’re different- they didn’t take your family.”

“God! Haechan, it’s no different! They took away my family, the only faction I’ve ever considered a home, they even took Mark away! They’re probably all dead now!”

The room is too silent, too still. You don’t even register the moisture in your nose, tears running from your eyes.

You stare down to the ground, Haechan standing a few feet away from you. He doesn’t know what to say either. He turns around, his back facing you as he forms fists with his hands.

His voice is quiet but stern, “Who’s Mark?”

Sitting on the bed, you grip the comforter tightly. You mutter back at him, “He’s just- He- that’s not even important. My point is you’re not the only one who lost people. I did too. Now, it’s time to go home. I can’t stay here any longer.”

“So, what you’re saying is that there was someone else? All along?”

You flick your eyes to Haechan’s figure, anger burning through your heart, “Are you really going to start right now?”

Haechan’s voice cracks, choking a bit, “Y/N, do you even care about me?”

You’re beyond shocked at this point. You stare at him, tears hot and fast down your cheeks. Your voice squeaks- you hate how it makes you sound weak, “You’re standing there and asking me that? Of course, I care about you. If I didn’t, do you think I would’ve stayed? I would’ve helped you and Rex? After we almost-”

Haechan cuts you off coldly, “I don’t know, it seems convenient that you stayed, it’s not like you could’ve gone anywhere else. Were you just using me for food and a warm bed?”

Haechan’s words break the dam entirely. Your chest hurts as if he has pressed his dagger into the axis of your heart. You can’t believe you’re hearing such words that come from Haechan’s mouth. You can’t bring yourself to say anything else. Haechan steps towards the door, not even sparing a glance to look back at you, “I’ll be waiting by the weaponry with Evelyn. The choice is yours. I can’t force you to do anything.”

With a slam, Haechan leaves you alone in the brightly-lit suite. Breaking down, you don’t even try to suppress any of your sobs. It wracks your whole body, shaking from the lack of air in your lungs. When you seem to get a hold of yourself, your eyes turn angry despite being swollen and red from the tears. You feel the rim of your nails against your palm, your heart beating fast. You decide right then and there, you’re ready to come home. You shouldn’t have stayed as long as you did even if you loved Haechan. Even if your family and Mark aren’t alive, there isn’t a point to living a life at the Arms peacefully knowing Jeanine took everything from you. You’re prepared to take back your home, even if it means dying there.

[11 AM]

Like Haechan had said, the rest of the Arms are by the weaponry. You spot Haechan and Evelyn conversing ahead of the pack as they’re both loaded with rifles and guns of all sorts. A burly man looks down at your small figure, “You coming with us?”

You try to straighten your back to seem larger than you are, “I am. Give me a hefty one.”

He chuckles at you, “Guns aren’t toys little girl.”

Without any hesitation, you grab at the handgun that is in a holster at your belt- pointing the gun straight at the man, “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

The man freezes, his eyes widened and his hands put up at you, “Alright- I’ll get you one, jesus fuck.”

The other members of the Arms have their hawk eyes on you, glares shot in your direction. When the burly man hands you a gun fit for a sniper, you smile at him daintily, “Thanks Reg.” before putting your handgun back in it’s holster. You are not in the mood to show any mercy at this point.

Slinging your larger gun over your shoulder, you see Evelyn standing on one of the tables in the warehouse-like room as the crowd of soldiers gathers around her. Her voice is bellowing, “Arms of Arson! You have come to be with me today for the moment we have waited all our lives for. We’re going to take back what’s rightfully ours!”

The crowd cheers wildly, weapons hoisted to the air in pledging allegiance to Evelyn. She sweeps a hair out of her face, a wicked grin slashed on her face. You take note of the smear of lipstick under her lip. Next to her, Haechan stares down at the ground as he clutches his gun tightly, eyes sharpened and glaring. 

Evelyn continues, “When I started the Arms, I knew I wanted to take down the system. I knew they took your families and your homes. This is our time! The moment we’ve been waiting for! Know that this might cost you your life, though, it will never be in vain when we reach the new world! A world ruled by us!”

The cheers are ear-deafening, people stomping on the ground and people hooting Evelyn’s name. Still, no matter how many people surround you, your eyes always land on Haechan. Part of you still wants to talk to him. It’s the first time you’ve admitted it to yourself: You love Mark, but you also love Haechan. You love them in different ways.

Another woman by Evelyn points to the exit, “Move out!”

Like an army of soldiers, everyone marches together in unison towards the path that leads through the forest. You take the time to decide what you’ll do when you get there. Will you try to head for your family first? Will you try to find Mark? Could he help? If you find Mark, he can help you find your family. It’s worth a shot, he has to be alive.

By the time the army of Evelyn’s soldiers makes it out of the forest, you find yourself in a familiar spot. Even in an ocean of people, the wall still looks as melancholy as ever. As always, there’s no one guarding the wall- it makes things easier. Evelyn turns back to the crowd, barking orders, “We’re splitting up. The plan is to be smart about this. Most likely, Erudite, Dauntless, and Candor are the most guarded. Smaller groups will head to Amity and Abnegation. My team, we’re going directly for Jeanine. Kill anyone who defends her.”

Without a second thought, you step forward as you wave your hands around, “Evelyn, everyone in dauntless is under a sim- how can we just kill them?”

Haechan doesn’t look shocked. In fact, he scoffs at you and it makes you wince. Evelyn’s expression is stern, “Dauntless soldiers killed my sister, we show them no mercy.”

“So one life for so many? How is that fair?”

You feel isolated the moment the crowd steps away from you, parting like two oceans as Evelyn makes her way to you. Evelyn towers over you, her eyes lit with fire, “My sister was my whole world. They murdered her for being more than one thing- uncontrollable. It’s an injustice. They all deserve to burn.”

You bite your lip, stepping back from her a bit. You can't bring yourself to say anything else. Evelyn runs her index finger along your chin, “Keep up y/n. You can fight with us or do your own thing. It doesn’t matter.”

She turns back, the surrounding soldiers muttering curses and insults at you. Everyone starts to march after Evelyn, passing you as you stand in your place. You can’t save Dauntless. But maybe, you can reach people who can.

Getting past the wall isn’t a difficult feat. There’s so many soldiers in the Arms that any guards stationed are gunned down in a matter of seconds. You manage to catch up to Evelyn, Haechan, and her entourage of elites. Haechan notices that you’re next to him, moving a bit away from you with indifference. 

“What do you want y/n?”

“Haechan, please.”

“Don’t make this hard on me.”

“Just tell Evelyn that this isn’t right. Killing everyone won’t solve anything! What’s a world of rule when there aren't innocents? Why kill the people who have nothing to do with her sister’s death?”

For a moment, Haechan stops walking. People whisper as they pass you both, their eyes lurking on you. Haechan looks angry, “You really don’t understand do you? I won’t convince Evelyn so you can run back to whoever. It’s the faction system that’s the injustice, not just the people who brutally murdered her sister and my parents. I mean, look at you- you can’t even admit you’re one of us.”

You stare at him, venom on your tongue, you remember his words. “You’re divergent y/n.” They echo in your mind. Shaking your head, “Fine. I knew you wouldn’t help me, I thought that if you cared about me- you would at least try. You’re so blind to see that there are innocent lives on the line. I’m sorry Evelyn and you have suffered. Making others suffer won’t solve that. It can’t bring them back.”

You turn away from Haechan, advancing beyond Evelyn and her troop. Haechan calls your name, his hands curled into fists. Evelyn stops him firmly, “Let her go. She’s gone awol. She won’t stand with us, we don’t need her.”

Though Haechan shuts his mouth, he wants nothing more but to chase after you and tell you he’s sorry. He wants to tell you that he doesn’t want to doubt your care for him, he just wants to protect you is all. He’s done a bad job of showing it.

Tears prick at your eyes, your legs aching for running so hard. When you manage to make it into the Dauntless sector- the first thing you do is make your way to your family’s home. So far, the sector looks empty, almost like a ghost town. No Dauntless children play on the street and no elderly sit on their lawns. You hide behind one of the houses, your gun pressed against your chest as you spot some Dauntless guards patrolling some of the homes. You manage to maneuver your way through the allies to get your house, pulling on the handle of the side door that leads into your home. Expecting it to be locked, you jut the butt of your gun onto the rusty lock, making sure not to make too much noise. You quietly slip in, the comfort of your home enveloping you. Everything’s the same. The family photos on the wall in your living room, the furniture, and all. Everything is in the same place as your family left it. Though, there’s no sign of them. You call out, “Mom? Dad?”

There’s no answer. You walk upstairs, your fingers tracing the grey wallpaper that’s starting to peel. When you make it into your loft, there’s a familiar feeling that encases your heart. You feel safe in this house. You call out for them again, “Mom? Dad? You here?”

You step into your old bedroom, the one that you grew up in as a little girl. It’s still the same. Your bed is made, pictures and drawings hang above your desk as a string of crystals hangs on the frame of your window. You smile down at your pile of journals and books that your uncle gave you in the past. Flipping the pages, you take note of all the doodles you made in your notebook- how it was your dream to become one of the dauntless leaders. Then, that’s when you feel a presence against your neck. You feel someone’s body press up against yours, lips barely brushing past your ear, “Well, hi, y/n.”

You recognize that voice. You drop your journal, turning around so that your back is pressed to the rim of your cedar-wood desk. 

“Mark?”

You’re met with the view of Mark. He looks mostly the same as when you first got separated. His cheeks are still prominent, muscles carved out more, and features slightly more darkened. His skin looks tanner. His hair is now a darker black color, his lips pink and smooth. You’re not sure if you should hug him or cry. Though, there is something that sticks out to you. You gaze into his eyes, his hands trapping you by the desk- fingers grasping the rim. They seem changed. You notice the amethyst ring that encircles his pupils. It glows when he stares back at you. His tone isn’t as warm as it was before, “So you decided to come back.”

You gulp back the lump in your throat, “I was figuring out a way to come back. What happened to you?”

Mark gives you a smirk, his eyes sharp, “Nothing, y/n. I’ve been here. You left, Jeanine’s been taking care of everyone. We’ve been better than ever.”

You frown at his response, “I left? Do you remember what happened that day?”

The boy in front of you chuckles, a hand running through his jet black hair. The crystals cast light onto the strands, causing them to look a shade of hazel. 

“I remember that you abandoned me and Jeanine took me under her wing, she taught me the ways of the system. Society isn’t fair to people, only the strongest get the choice.”

It’s hard to fathom the Mark you knew has disappeared. The warm innocence that wrapped his personality seems to be absent. 

“You don’t really believe that do you? What did they do to you? I didn’t abandon you, Mark, I didn’t.”

Mark comes as close as he can to you, his eyes unwavering from yours. His whisper comes out in a husky tone, “You did, you left me and I-”

For a moment, Mark pauses. It looks like he’s fighting something inside of him, the way he starts to grit his teeth and tighten his grip until his knuckles turn white. Mark grimaces, pressing his fingers to his temples. 

You take it upon yourself to get Mark to remember. He has to remember. You place your hand over his, causing him to freeze. He stares back at your hand and back to you, eyes widened and lips parted.

“Just close your eyes.” you say.

Hesitantly, he follows your orders. In a small, swift motion you stop before your lips land on his, watching Mark hold still. Then, when you crash your lips onto his, Mark whimpers from the sudden impact. He’s stiff before relaxing into it, gliding his lips along yours. You grip his hand as your other hand moves to cup his cheek. Small noises come out of Mark’s lips, yearning for your taste. You missed him. Though you were apart, you never stopped thinking about Mark. He bumps his nose against yours as your teeth knack together from the lyrical, syncopated movement. Mark thinks you taste sweet, plush and soft. Pulling away, your voice barely comes out in a whisper, “Do you remember now?”

Eyes half-lidded, he blinks slowly, “Y/n?”

You clutch his arms, hands squeezing tighter, “Mark? Do you remember?”

“Oh my god.”

Mark collapses into your arms, his figure heaving in your grasp. You realize he’s crying when you feel tears on your shoulder, sniffles apparent from the boy resting his chin on yours. 

“Hey. Hey, I’m here now. I’m sorry I left you alone.”

Mark lifts his head up, eye-level to you, “I missed you.”

You reach up to touch Mark’s face, “I missed you more than you know. What happened?”

Mark shakes his head somberly, “It’s no good. Jeanine and Erudite have taken over all of the factions and now it’s just some messed up slave system. She made me one of her pawns- I had to do her dirty work, things I would never-”

You intertwine your fingers with Mark’s. He looks down to his feet, tears trailing down his cheeks. His doe, brown eyes replace the robotic, violet eyes he had a few short moments ago. You sigh at the sight. 

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to help you.”

Mark nods, yanking down the collar of his black sweater. Your heart stops from the sight of so many puncture marks. They must be from injected syringes that cause Mark to be under Jeanine’s simulation.

“Jeanine did this to you?”

Mark doesn’t say another word. You can tell by his frown and his warm eyes that he would never hurt anyone. Instantly your blood boils with anger, “I’m going to kill Jeanine.”

He snaps his head back up, “You will?”

Nodding, you place your hand on your gun that sits on your desk, “I brought some friends along with me. They’re here to bring the system down.”

Mark is shocked, his jaw completely open, “That’s why you were gone?”

“Yes. It’s the resistance. They’re real Mark. They’re real.”

Instantly, Mark presses his forehead against yours, “Your family is safe too, you know. My family is hiding out with them in Amity. I was able to get to them in time before you know-”

You lean to kiss him again, his words in between his kisses, “Just.” his lips on yours, “In. Case.” 

You part from him, “What is it?”

He slowly nods, “Just in case we don’t make it, I just want to spend some time with you. The simulation controls me within intervals. I’m not safe y/n. I’m a danger to you.”

“No, you’re not. We’ll handle it together.”

Immediately, Mark smashes his lips onto yours once more. You feel the temperature of your bodies rise, Mark more passionate than the last. It ignites a burning sensation in the pit of your stomach. It makes your toes curl, Mark’s teeth sinking into your bottom lip as he makes a groaning noise. Mark picks you up, forcibly wrapping your legs on his waist- it causes you to yelp. He places you on top of your desk, back against the wall. Pulling back on Mark’s hair, you allow him to find purchase on your waist, kissing burning marks on your neck. Your chests are heaving from colliding, Mark hastily ripping his sweater off of him. You do the same, lust filling the air suffocatingly. You let Mark undo your protective layers and the belt of your pants- leaving you naked from him. Your body shakes from the sight of Mark discarding his pants and under layers, his calloused hands tracing around your thighs. You’re sure his nails make crescents in your skin. Before Mark continues, he proceeds to carry you like a koala to your bed, setting you down as delicately as he can. Mark relishes the face you make, showing him how much you want him. He chuckles, “Did you miss me that much?”

You huff out, “Of course I-”

Suddenly, you feel a force sink further and deeper into you, it causes tears to gloss your eyes and for you to gasp. Mark tosses his head back, enjoying the pleasure when he shuts his eyes. When he begins to move back and forth, you grip the fabric of your blanket as hard as you can, “Oh my god, M-Mark, please-”

“Say it, y/n.”

You shut your eyes too, your skin hot as flames, M-“Mark, I-I love y-you.”

“I know that y/n. I know, and I love you too.”

When you’re both tired, Mark collapses onto the bed next to you- both of you still high on ecstasy of feeling each other’s touch, each other’s closeness. After that, you spend an hour admiring Mark under the sunset lighting, sweeping his hair out of his eyes and kissing his cheeks. 

“We should get going, it’s time.”

You nod, proceeding to get dressed. Still, you blush at the sight of being unclothed in front of Mark. Slipping your pants on, Mark presses a kiss to the base of your nape- teeth grazing the spot. You laugh at him, “You still want more?”

“I can never get enough of you y/n.”

“There’s time for that later.”

“I’m taking you up on that.”

Both of you exit your home, guns in hand and alert for any soldiers that might come your way. Mark whispers in your ear as both of you crouch behind a wall, “If the time comes, I go too far under during the sim- you know what to do.”

You glare ahead of you, “It won’t come to that. I’ll make sure of it.”

[Erudite: 7PM]

“There it is.”

You allow Mark to lead you to Erudite’s headquarters, something he’s grown to know like the back of his hand. 

You whisper, “What’s the plan?”

Mark crouches beside you in the shadows, “Jeanine is on the 10th floor of the tower. All we have to do is get up there without being seen.”

You gaze around the tower and the glass pyramid structure that is Erudite’s main sector. People dressed in blue and white suits breeze through the glass tunnels and floors of the tower, eyes down at their electronic devices. 

“I got it. I know what to do.”

Mark raises an eyebrow, “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, Jeanine doesn’t know I’m here. She also doesn’t know you’re helping me. You can just walk in there and not be suspected. For me, I’ll take out an Erudite member and wear the uniform. I don’t think anyone knows my face.”

“Except Jeanine?”

“Right, except her.”

Mark nods, “Let’s go then.”

“Cover for me.”

Mark swivels his head back and forth, aiming his gun around any exposed areas where enemies might attack from. You hide by a silver sculpture before waiting for anyone to walk out of the double doors. On cue, an Erudite man exits out onto the street as you slam the edge of your gun to the back of his head- his body falling in time for Mark to catch him. You retreat back into an alley nearby as you strip the man of his uniform. Once you’re dressed, you grab the man’s tablet before nodding at Mark, “Let’s go.”

Once you’re in Erudite, it’s everything you’ve imagined it to be. It’s a wide space with high, reflective ceilings. Long, silver tables hold different devices of liquids bubbling are round-shaped glasses and twisty tubes that tangle in a network. Some are dressed in lab gear, recording their discoveries with every second they glance at the lab equipment. Mark whispers to you, “Don’t stare too long, people will catch on.”

Thankfully, no one recognizes you yet. You and Mark take the first elevator that you see up to the 10th floor. Though some people enter your elevator, you put on the best fake smile that has ever graced your lips. Arriving at the upper deck, walking past Erudite council members and science students, you finally make it to Jeanine’s office. Her name is spelled out on a gold plaque, marking her as the leader of Erudite. You eye Mark for a little longer, “I have to get her to stop the simulations. This isn’t right.”

“Are you ready to do this if she refuses?”

“I have to be.”

Mark opens the door first, telling you to stay behind him for a bit. 

“Who’s there?” Jeanine sits at her desk, pressing buttons on a floating, virtual screen that glows white. 

“It’s Mark.”

“Ah- what brings you in?”

When you step out from behind Mark, you pull out the handgun that you hid under the navy blue trench coat before aiming it right at Jeanine. Jeanine freezes in her spot, eyes unmoving.

“I found you Jeanine! Shut down the sim, now!”

You press your finger dangerously on the trigger, “I’m not asking twice Jeanine!”

At first, Jeanine’s gears turn in her mind, “If it isn’t y/n? Long time no see?”

“Quit the games! Less talking!”

Before you can move to press the barrel to Jeanine’s head, she bursts out into laughter. She starts to cackle maniacally. Now, you understand why. You feel another gun press on the fabric that covers your back. No. No. This can’t be real. 

Jeanine speaks, “Thank you for bringing her to me Mark. You’re very useful.”

You turn your head to look back at him, Mark’s eyes the same warm brown. Was he under another sim? It can’t be, his irises aren’t violet. 

“Mark? What is she- what?”

Mark gives you an egotistical, arrogant smirk, “You just got yourself fooled y/n.”

By now, your jaw is wide open. You tear your eyes away from Mark to Jeanine, “I don’t understand.”

Jeanine walks over to you, stooping to your level from her heels, “I was one step ahead y/n. That’s all there is to it.”

Craning your head to look at Mark, he still keeps his gun on you. You pray this is some sort of act- some sort of play in Mark’s plan. When he doesn’t waver, you begin to raise your voice, “Were you planning to turn me in this whole time? I don’t even recognize you anymore!”

He looks to the ground, not wanting to meet your eyes. You’re appalled. You’re even disgusted. In normal circumstances, you’d try to give Mark the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to conclusions. Even if Mark had an explanation, he’s still here- threatening to kill you in the command of Jeanine. 

A virtual screen becomes projected into the air from a button Jeanine had just pressed. You feel your heart sink when many camera views show what’s happening in other sections. Evelyn leads a whole squadron of a hundred soldiers into Dauntless, the other elites leading their troops in Erudite and Candor. They all move like pre-programmed robots, slashing down and killing everyone in their path: dauntless innocents under a sim, erudite members, and others. It’s a mass slaughter. Neither side would stop for anything. Jeanine chuckles, “See, y/n. This is human nature. We fight for control and we kill each other to get it. No matter the side, everyone wants power.”

Biting your lip, blood sits on your tongue. You curl your fingers around your gun, gripping the handle of it. “Jeanine, I’m not asking you again. Shut down the sim!”

Jeanine smooths her hair back, not one out of place, “You’re in no place to make demands y/n. Mark?”

In a flash second, Mark puts you on your knees as he presses his gun to your back still. You question whether or not you should run for it and take Jeanine out first but Mark would have the advantage since you’re kneeling right in front of him. Mark walks in front of you, purple swirls clouding his vision before he pins you to the ground. One hand holds your wrist and the other points his gun at you, “I’m sorry y/n.”

Jeanine doesn’t even spare a second glance. She just faces the window, watching the faction system and the Arms bring the world into destruction. Clamping your eyes shut, you feel the cool metal of the barrel on your forehead. You pray that your family gets out safe and that your friends do too- even Haechan, the boy you wish you could talk to one last time. You even pray for Mark, the person who will end your life here and now. Surely, this is as far as you can go. When Mark is close to releasing the trigger, you hear the door swing wide open. A voice screams, tackling Mark to the ground and off of you as Jeanine watches in shock.

Haechan struggles to hold Mark down. 

The mahogany haired boy screams at you, “Y/n! The syringe!” 

You look to the metal stand next to Jeanine’s desk, a violet-colored syringe sits in a canister. Making no hesitation to grab it, you point your gun at a stiff Jeanine who presses her back against the wall. She doesn’t look so tough anymore. You amble to her,shooting one precise bullet into her foot. It causes her to scream while she falls to the ground, blood staining her prim-proper white socks. She grunts in pain which is enough to make you laugh, “Not so high and mighty now huh Jeanine? You underestimate me, don’t you know I’m divergent?”

You stab the syringe into the juncture of her neck, causing her to lose consciousness for a few moments. Then, like an instantaneous reaction, Jeanine lights up before blinking her eyes several times- stuck in a  daze from the simulation you’ve induced on her. You grab her by her hair, not caring how painful it is, “Shut the sim down! That’s an order!”

“As you wish.”

Like a man made invention, Jeanine nimbly moves her fingers across the virtual screen as you hold her figure up so she doesn’t collapse. The screen reads: “Cancel operation: Simulation Dauntless?”

“Proceed cancellation.”

When Jeanine presses a glowing red button, the people on the screens seem to pause their fire and bloodshed. Various dauntless soldiers, initiates, and leaders stop where they are- their faces riddled with confusion. Same with the other faction members- they beg Evelyn and her troops to spare their lives. For a moment, Evelyn looks around as if she’s checking to see if anyone is watching. Immediately, she resumes as she had before. Like no spare thoughts exchanged, she continues to gun down the dauntless soldiers in front of her despite their release of the simulation- bodies falling like dominoes. Jeanine still stands entranced, staring at the virtual screen.

“A little help here!”

You swivel around to see Haechan trying to force back Mark’s ravaging hands in an attempt to choke him. Looking back at the screen and back to Mark, the simulation should have stopped. Once Jeanine put the exit code, Mark should’ve gone back to normal. No, she gave him a different kind of sim- a stronger one. You shake Jeanine violently, “Where the fuck is the antidote to Mark’s sim?!”

Stiffly, Jeanine points to an amber-colored cylinder in the same compartment as the violet ones. Your fingers fumble trying to slide the tube of liquid into an injection gun before stabbing it into Mark’s neck vein. He lets out a pained groan as he collapses and falls on top of Haechan. It doesn’t take much time for Haechan to push him off, a grimacing smirk on his face, “I always gotta save your ass don’t I?”

You launch yourself into Haechan’s figure, arms wrapping around him, “Thank you. Thank you for saving my life.”

Haechan shakes his head, “I’m still mad at you. Don’t forget that.”

Next to you both, Mark rises from the floor as he wipes his face with his hands, “What happened?”

He adjusts his blurry vision as he sees you hugging Haechan, “Y/n?”

Awkwardly, you detach from Haechan and crawl over to Mark, cupping your hand to his cheek, “Are you normal Mark now?”

He raises an eyebrow, “I was under sim again- wasn’t I?”

Slowly you nod, “You almost killed both of us.”

Mark freezes in his place, eyes widened with shock, “I-what?”

“It’s over now. At least, I think it is. Jeanine gave you a sim that disguised you. She made you seem like you weren’t under one when you were. I was scared.”

Mark looks like he’s about to burst into tears when he places his head in his hands, “I’m so sorry. I would never want to hurt you. I would never. I can’t.”

You hold his hand gingerly, “Let’s talk about this later.”

You hear Haechan speak from behind you, “This is a nice reunion but we should really get going- there’s a war going on out there.”

Once you gather your things and you’re ready to leave, Haechan motions a hand at Jeanine, “Should we just leave her?”

You reply to him, “What else can we do with her? Take her to Evelyn?”

“I think that’s the only option we have.”

With that, you, Mark, Haechan, and Jeanine hurry off to find Evelyn. Near the headquarters entrance, you spot staggering figures emerging from the foggy mist of gun smoke and bloodlust. You recognize it to be Evelyn’s body as well as a couple of her entourage next to her. They’re gnashed with the blood of war and soot from fighting, hands dirty with red. Evelyn bellows loudly, “Traitors!”

Haechan holds up his hands, “Evelyn, it’s not what you think alright! Just listen!”

Evelyn still stands where she is as she holds her bleeding wound from her arm, her gun still pointed at you. You’re all surrounded. Haechan tries his best to explain, “Evelyn, hear me out! Y/n stopped the sim! There’s no more reason to kill any more innocents!”

Evelyn stifffens, her teeth grit out of burning fury, “Is this your way of defending her? I’ll have her head for killing my sister.”

Without a second thought, Evelyn fires a Jeanine causing Jeanine to crash to the ground. Though you’ve never liked Jeanine, she had more use than to be killed off so quickly. You could’ve used her to sway the faction system- to gain information. Evelyn and her soldiers make their way closer to you, her eyes blazing with animosity, “I should’ve known you would interfere. You lowly girl- you should’ve stayed out of it! If I acquired control over the sim, the Arms would have ruled Chicago! But you had to screw up our plans!”

You scream back at her, “Who even are you?! How are you any different than Jeanine?!”

“Don’t compare me to that bitch!”

Like an immediate reaction, Evelyn fires her gun at you- it’s so fast that you don’t have time to react. It’s all happening too fast, too sudden. There’s not enough time to think. Before you can even move your feet, you witness Haechan’s body come crashing down in front of you- a silver bullet piercing the flesh of his heart.

“HAECHAN! NO!”

You dive to the ground, cradling Haechan’s fallen body. Blood starts to spread like wildfire across the fabric of his vest, blood trailing down his lips, “Haechan- listen to me. Stay with me okay?”

Haechan can’t even answer you, his eyes are squeezed shut from the pain. Blood stains your hands red. Evelyn aims her gun at you once again, “You two better stay out of my way!”

In another quick second, Mark leaps towards you in one big stride before firing at Evelyn. The sound of the whining noise makes your head dizzy. You feel dehydrated and exhausted, you almost might collapse right there. But, you can’t. 

With a thud, Evelyn sinks to her knees as she clutches her chest- eyeing the crimson that comes from her wound. Falling to the ground, her body shakes from the coughs that slip out of her throat. You press your hands down on Haechan’s flowing wound, your chest heaving from aches. “Stay with me! Haechan, don’t shut your eyes!”

Haechan’s eyes are fluttering, his breath turning shallower and shallower by the second. Mark drops next to you, setting down his gun. You don’t even realize the tears that start running down your cheeks, your nose running too. Haechan manages to gather every last bit of strength in him, “Y/n?”

You gaze down at him, clutching his hand in yours. Lifting his arm, he touches your face- blood smearing your cheek. You can’t even care. Your voice is extremely shaky and frail, “I’m here. We’re going to get you out of here! Just stay-”

Haechan swipes his thumb across your cheek, “P-princess, there’s n-no time.”

You shudder at the memory of Haechan’s pet name he gave to you when you first met. You choke on your own saliva, “Don’t say that! We can-”

Haechan blinks slowly, “I’m s-sorry for e-earlier, I n-never meant to hurt y-you.”

You place your hand on his, molding into his touch, “I know. You’d never hurt me, I know.”

Sobbing, you cry harder. Haechan looks to Mark, his mind becoming loose and disoriented, “You’re the g-guy who-o saved me back then.”

You look at Haechan and back to Mark. Mark’s eyes are glossy with tears, leaning closer to Haechan’s body, “You were that kid I found in that closet that day?”

When you look back to Haechan for his answer, his eyes are wide open and bereft of life. His skin feels cold and dark, his soul disappearing into nothing. That’s when you break down. You practically scream into Haechan’s chest, clutching his cold hand in yours. Your hair is matted with sweat, your hands are covered with Haechan’s blood. Thankfully, Mark doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t judge you. He lets you cry it out and lets you collapse into his chest, holding you until there are no more tears left. By the end, you’re sure that no matter where you go or how long you live, you’ll always remember the boy who smiled at your playful jokes. The one who would let his dog lead him into the forest. The boy who saved your life. The boy who caught you from a tree. 

It’s imperative to say that the day the faction system fell was a painful memory. All the lives that were lost and the amount of destruction to Chicago was a result of humans trying to control all other humans. The plan was never to fight for anyone’s freedom, not for the good of the people. The goal was always power. Revenge. It killed them. So, in Haechan’s name, you and Mark decided to do something for the people that day. Climbing to the top of Erudite’s broadcasting tower, you blared your voice onto the streets, within the neighborhoods, and through every building in between Chicago. Though your hands were shaking, you tried your best to sound strong. At least Mark was by your side, his hand on your shoulder comfortingly.You began, “I am sure most of you must feel lost. You must feel hurt. You must feel afraid. These are all things I am feeling right now. Though, right now- what we need is unity. We don’t need to kill any more lives that can be salvaged. We need not injure those that can be healed. This is a time of rebuilding and we’re going to start from the ground up. Not only will the faction system be abolished, but the Arms of Arson are welcome to stay if you abide by our rules. Not the rules that give one person power but a democracy that gives us order and peace for the good of the people. The choice is yours.”

[7 months later]

After the war, some of the members of the Arms chose to stay. Though they joined the resistance, not all of them wanted revenge. Not all of them wanted to serve under Evelyn. Weeks later, you and Mark had brought together council members from each of the factions and settled on a peace treaty that abolished any chance of one person becoming a ruler over Chicago. Over time, people got used to coexisting without labels or categories. They didn’t let their group name define who they were, rather, the people they would become. What was left of Dauntless was announced to be top of security in Chicago in which you and Mark headed as former Dauntless leaders. Accomplices of Jeanine and corrupt members of all factions were put on trial by Candor, Abnegation and Candor voting democratically on their punishments. You made sure no Divergents would be touched. No matter the age, no matter how big the percentage of divergence, Mark built a security branch that was solely meant for protecting Divergents. Everything seemed to fall into place after you and Mark reunited with your families- your parents praising you for how proud they were. For once, you embraced it. You held onto the fact you didn’t fit in one place. You wanted to be strong but also kind, intelligent, honest, and selfless without being ostracized.

 Not long after, Mark asked you to marry him. It wasn’t all that romantic but it was sweet. You had been on security detail on a Wednesday evening but he had gotten your friends Lucas, Selene, Taeyong, and your other colleagues to be in on a candle-lit ceremony that he set up in his old dauntless suite. You said yes, kissing the cheek of the boy who lived next door. 

Looking back, throughout all the hardship comes prosperity. This was something that was encompassed by many people in your life: Mark, your friends, your family, and even Haechan. They’d all be engraved in your memory for as long as you lived, no matter where you went or how Chicago would change. There was one thing that stuck to you though. A mantra that was repeated during the days of the faction system: “faction before blood.”

Mark rests his chin on your shoulder, gazing out into the skyline of his suite balcony, leaning in to kiss you deeply- lips dancing on lips. You hold up your obsidian colored band on your ring finger, “How did I get this lucky?”

He pulls you tighter to him, arms wrapped around your waist, “I don’t know, how did I?”

You knew then, it wasn’t factions nor divergence that prevailed. It would always be love that would set you free.

[PART 1: Simulations] [PART 2: Borderlands]

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the third ep of Hypmic Rhythm Anima (as always, spoilers beware but not only for the anime itself but for future things covered in the Drama CD and the Manga. If you’re an anime only, those are marked with a *)

Right off the bat. Super disappointed that it isn’t a MTC episode. I wanted an MTC episode. :((((

Still got my MTC crumbs this week tho and I think I can hold out until next week which hopefully will give me the MTC episode I so desperately want (Yes, i have a division bias and i’m not afraid to show it)

Jakurai entertaining kids are just so cute. I think its very very precious.

* Also. What kind of doctor is Jakurai anyways? So far we know that he’s a councilor/therapist (helps Doppo w/ his anxiety), a pediatrician (he helped a kid), a family doctor (I think i might be wrong on this one), a surgeon (In the FP vs MTC manga he’s shown preforming surgery), a hitman/assassin (:/ yeah evil line records seems intent on retconning this one), a battle field medic (he’s state to be one during WWIII) and now he’s getting called into the orthopedic (things concerning the musculoskeletal system) and gastroenterology (working w. the digestive system) department, two things that have nothing in common with each other. And I’m sure I’m missing some. There is no way in hell this man can do all that he’s 35 for fucks sake. You’d be old and grey before you could learn and complete the credentials needed to work half of these jobs

Nice to now that theres some hints of jakurai’s past. I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of the detective later in the story, esp for Matenrou

Doppo being overworked as usual *sigh*. When will the man ever rest? Never... Though im a bit skeptical as to why one of his co-workers calls him doppo. this is a work environment, usually he’d be called “Kanonzaka” for the least amount of informality. seems sus to me. Though his depiction of his insecurities is nice

I love how his first reaction is to call Hifumi and as him if he’s killed anyone. Peak bromance guys. 

Honestly Doppo’s method of trying to calm down is nice but not at all effective. He has the right mindset of calming down and letting his body breath, but the way he goes about it is... eh. 

Tom and Iris’ argument is hilarious and I really want to see more of them and Rex! Can’t wait to see what happens with these three new characters

Iasdgfjsd;flkasjdflkasdjfkasdlvn ajsdk, MTCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

MY BPOYS OH MY GOD RIOU NEVER CHANGE

fsajghasdf i love them asdhfoiksldjfasdfj riou’s food looks so so so so so good omgggggg

Samatoki respecting the fuck outta Jakurai is amazing and I never get tired of their father-child kind of relationship (yes jakurai is a dad to TDD fight me.)

The Riou and Samatoki interactionnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah my heart!! they know each other so well and play off each others strengths. its so cute and I love how Samatoki knows his teammates well enough to know when to play each of his pieces. He isn’t just some brute who speaks through his fists, but he does use his head too. I think this is one of the reasons why he’s also high up on the Yakuza ladder since he’s not only brawny but also brainy

EAT RIOUS FOOD SAMATOKI

ah yes, Jyuto kneeing a bitch. just what I needed to see on a stressful friday thank you for feeding me

I love MTC, im very happy with the MTC crumbs. Since MTR showed up in BB’s ep last week, i really really hope that next week’s ep will be MTC

There it is. Jakurai’s “Jitsuni Kyoumibukai” line

lolololololol the sound effects for MTR is hilarious. Though please give Doppo a break, man deserves it

Jaku’s hair man. its beautiful

Again, please give Doppo a break, he deserves with the 4 joints that they attacked

They say 3 times, but they attacked 4 places?? Did they not report one of them?

Ahhhhh the DoHifu interaction on the temple grounds is both hilarious and cute. Though I can’t help but feel bad for Doppo

* Huh, Jaku did you get that from your hitman days loll

Oh man host mode. Though I like how Doppo recognizes when Host Mode is  a legitimate shield that Hifumi needs and is willing to give him that shield when he needs it. God I love their dynamic]

wow... yet another female stalker for Hifumi... very original. This is pretty similar to the stalker girl from the manga and CD

Lol callback to when Doppo was in the toilet and trying to calm down. 

pffft the girl is so weird. I can’t stand her or Uwabami. 

The plot is so convoluted holy shit. Is this a drama now? (I’ve never watched any c-dramas or k-dramas so I’m the furthest thing from a voice of authority but this seems like a drama show plot lmao.)

This is just a drama at this point lol. Misunderstandings, plot twists and cheesy shit all over the place. Its a badly written and hilarious drama thats for sure

Someone please write a fic where instead of the hypmic universe, the boys are all in a tv drama show plot and their hijinks bc it would fit perfectly. please

Ah, Doppochin snapped~ He’s very interesting once he gets fired up and thats when I really really like MTR. Don’t get me wrong, I love them normally but its when they get down to it that really makes me squeal in delight

Oh! So i think each character gets their own personalized intro w/ their speakers, not just the leaders. Thats honestly so so so cool. The 3D didn’t get in the way of the sequence and was really flashy and smooth. I love how they show the transformation and reveal of the mic and speaker. Honestly the Anime has so many good takes on thigs that aren’t touched on often in the franchise.

The rap was honestly fire this time around. I love it and have replayed it almost 20 times. According to the ending credits its called Welcome U which is so cute for such a funny and badass song. The strong base beat and imagery were so strong and included a lot of homages to things that really matches both Shinjuku, Matenrou and the lyric’s themes and they’re really small but important details! The humor was on point without sacrificing any of the amazingly cool elements and the three distinct styles of rap were integrated in such a catchy melody!

EG) the verse All Year Round features a quick shot of the four seasons and the things most prominently associated with each season. Spring has cherry blossoms and flower viewing, Summer has festivals, Fall and Winter have food that corresponds to events that happen in those seasons.

Doppo’s line of “The flea counters w/ a bite” is so so so cute bc he’s got a little w at the end and thats jp chatspeak for a laugh and skjdfhsdjfkslad adorable

Hifumi picking up right after and asking if Doppo is okay is just. Goals. And his gratutious english works really well and is super smooth! Very very good

Also the small homage to The Champions with Hifumi’s “Jump around” line and the format where Hifumi takes separate lines than Jaku and Doppo. Its a brilliant way to sneak these references in and they’ve kept that theme going from last episode

Foreshadowing with “We’re the true leader, Matenro!” Nice touch there lol.

Lol of course its attempted murder. Still gotta keep this PG 13 even though theres swearing abound

The ending w/ mimimi..... leaves me kind of torn since i don’t like how it ended but they did provide some nice advice. i guess

lsdf;jsalkdfjsldf Hifumi please you’ve known Doppo for over 25 years, you should know better than anyone what his charm points are. and shouldn’t you be the one who understands Doppo’s appeal? smh

SCREEEEEEE THAT TITLE OF THE NEXT EP. if its an MTC ep i will scream even more bc asudhfsdkjflasd A friend in need is a friend indeed this is just pushing my Poly!MTC agenda isn’t it

Final thoughts:

Please please please let next week be MTC please please please

DoHifu are goals, both romantically and platonically

The rap was fire and I’m going to keep listening to it on repeat. First ep was a bit of a disappointment in terms of CGI and raps but these latest two eps are really picking up the slack! I really hope they continue this for the next two!

JAKURAI WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR ARE YOU PLEASE TELL ME

[reynesofcastamere]

Broken Shards[β]

(A/N: This fic is for @awryen, who I also asked for prompts/requests and was given the option of a slightly more dark/cynical Ahsoka working with Maul, or him helping her deal with her nightmares. Once again, having no self-control-and a lot of free time-, I chose both. Also, smut was not requested but it wound up in here anyway! XD. Mention of previous Ahsoka/Barriss. Warnings for disturbing imagery, violence, death, depression/intrusive thoughts, blood and possible dub-con.(Potentially triggering sections will be marked with ****) Absolutely Not Safe For Work and unbeta’d as usual.) 

****

How could you do it?

The Temple burns, and the Jedi with it. But they do not fall. They stand, mouths gaping open in silent screams, empty eye sockets weeping blood in half a hundred colours. Her Master cuts them to pieces, again and again. He is not alone. Barriss stands beside him, eyes filled with grim conviction, the clone troopers flanking this tableau of horror and carnage like mindless automatons. Ahsoka can only watch, helpless and immobilized as the people she loves are burnt, broken and mutilated by their own comrades. Even the younglings...Her stomach churns.

There is only one body, one face that remains undefiled in all of this. Senator Amidala smiles, serene and welcoming. But she is just as dead as all the rest. Did you kill her too? The woman you loved, the one you trusted with your life: Did you even care, in the end? Anakin Skywalker stops to look back at her, eyes corrupted, turned to sickly, acidic yellow rimmed in old blood. ‘You weren’t here, Ahsoka.’ He pronounces with utter certainty, that her leaving was the one thing that sent him toppling into the Dark. ‘But it’s not too late.’ Black segments crawl, beetle-like, over him and Barriss, transforming them into her waking nightmares. Vader and the Seventh Sister. ‘Join us. And seize your destiny.’

NO!

****

“Ahsoka.” Her lids snap open, breathing stuttered and rapid, heartbeat going into overdrive as she sees another pair of awful, venomous eyes looming over her in the semi-darkness. She lashes out blindly, determined not to go down without a fight. The hands that catch her wrists are bare and callused. Strong. She needs to fight harder, to get out, get away- “Naak, cabur. Gar racin kyr’adiise munit dar. [Peace, guardian. Your pale corpses (are) long gone].” Her eyes well up with unbidden moisture, suddenly overwhelmed. Ahsoka is relieved at hearing a ruthless killer speak Mando’a to her in a hushed, hypnotic tone. Because it is better than the hiss and wheeze of the machines powering the...abomination that her Master has become. She can feel Maul’s hands move to cup her face, the pads of his thumbs brushing the tears that managed to escape. He seems more curious than anything else, head tilted slightly as he examines her. “Have you never seen anyone cry before?” Her voice is weak, despite the attempt at humour. “Not this close. I lost the ability some time ago.” He replies, calm and completely untroubled. As if it were normal, and she is somehow the strange one for not being able to control her body’s response to the terrors plaguing her sleep.  Perhaps she is. Her Master has willingly chained himself to a monster that devours galaxies to satiate his hunger for absolute power. Most of her friends and comrades-in-arms are either dead or missing, a fellow Padawan and former lover is hunting down Force-sensitive children for slaughter or brainwashing; Her current lover-enemy-ally is a former Sith assassin at the head of a criminal empire. And Ahsoka....Ahsoka lies, steals, and kills while she bargains with slavers and worse for anything that will help keep the Rebel Alliance alive and undetected just one day longer. What is the point?  Even control of the Force eludes her because she cannot find peace. The closest she comes to it these days is the brief oblivion of climax or a few hours of dreamless slumber. The rest is bitterness and pain wrapped in a dull grey haze.Which is why she is here. Maul at least makes her feel something. The sharp bite of anger, the rush of drive and ambition, the raw red strength of clinging to life and refusing to let go. She pulls away then, turning over and presenting herself to him. “Are you certain?” “I’m not in the mood to beg. Now-aaaaaAAAaaah-” Before she can issue an order, he has grasped her hips and is entering her roughly. She is not quite ready. Every shift and thrust hurts, but this is what she wants. To be used hard enough that she aches for days afterwards, just to hold on to some sliver of what keeps him burning so fiercely. Maul presses her down, forcing her to turn her head to avoid being smothered by the pillow, the peaks of her breasts rubbing against the sheets as she is made to lift her backside higher. The change in angle is enough to provoke another long, mangled stream of vowels. “Touch yourself.” He hisses, and oh, it feels as if he could pierce right through her and keep going.Every sharp plunge impacts her cervix, the sound of their bodies meeting only becoming more and more crude as her arousal builds. Ahsoka pants and reaches for herself in a half-dazed state as he growls and fucks her harder. The base of him slides against her fingertips a few times before she finds her nub, circling it with her middle finger as her other digits spread her folds open. “Now. You will tell me what is wrong.” Her stomach sinks even as he makes her moan. “W-what are you talking about?” “Your presence in the Force is practically non-existant, despite the ghosts that cling to your shoulders.” Maul snarls. “You are lost, listless, submissive...Before, you would have made me struggle for the privilege of having you like this.” She is trapped, something he emphasizes by leaning over, lips brushing against her jaw with each word. “You were glorious, Ahsoka Tano. And now you are a ruin, waiting to crumble.” He still hasn’t let up his pace, as if to discipline her for these ‘defects’. Her lips tighten as she buries her face in the pillow. It is none of his damned business why she is different, now. Besides, why should he care? Ahsoka expects him to keep going, and is mildly shocked when he stops, withdrawing from her core with a speed that borders on violent as he turns her over and yanks her upright. “Look at me.” A demand which she blatantly ignores until he manipulates the Dark Side to hold her chin in place, his hands gripping tightly to her upper arms.

There is anger in his sunburst gaze and in the power that roils and snaps around him, but beneath that...Oh. He is afraid...For her? The revelation hits with the force of a sudden blow to the chest, and only grows more solid as their foreheads come to rest together, his stare softening by slow degrees. “I-” Ahsoka swallows a choked sob. “You were right. Anakin- he-he was Sidious’s apprentice all along. I didn’t want to believe it, but Vader-” She can’t bring herself to say the words. “I failed him. If I hadn’t left-” “No.” Maul’s snarl cuts into her self-recrimination. “Your Master failed. And continues to fail every day that he allows Sidious to live.” He releases his grip to trace the outline of her lekku, then up her throat and along her jaw. “They think themselves untouchable, but they forget...The dark is generous, and it is patient, and soon, very soon, their stars will burn out.” His words are silk and poison on the air, and she wants- “Join me.”

“What, no offer to rule the galaxy this time?” She retorts dryly, trying to cover up the fact that she is wavering, kept on the edge of a steep cliff by the barest sliver of rock.

“You have rejected power, revenge, and almost every other shade of temptation placed before you. I can only offer myself.” There is some scrap of cautious hope in his gaze as he answers, the words devastatingly simple. Yet for someone like him, secrets and vulnerabilities so carefully safeguarded, it means everything. If she accepts, if she falls, her life will change irreversibly. There is no guarantee that she will be able to hold onto herself once she takes that final step. Maul has never been a moderating influence. And Rex...She’s not certain what he or anyone else she still calls ‘friend’ would think of this.  Perhaps...it is not impossible to find a middle ground. “Show me?” Ahsoka asks, breathless and uncertain, but willing to extend some degree of trust. “Breathe.” His hands sweep downwards to rest lightly at her sides, ribcage expanding and contracting under his fingertips. “Focus on your passions, your fury...And let them out.” Her eyes close as she matches his pattern of breathing, positioning herself on his lap and bracing her hands on his chest. She takes him inside her again. Gradually, gently as the Dark Side seeps in. It is cold at first, almost numbingly so. But after the first adjustment...Ahsoka can feel Maul much more intensely; The difference of being on the same wavelength as opposed to different signals. There is even a dizzying moment where she sees herself through him, sees her eyes open, burning gold with a ring of blue flickering around the pupil like a candle-flame. The surge of wonder-possession-desire-protection from her lover threatens to sweep her away for a moment. “Is...Is this what you feel all the time?” When he’s with her, at least. Considering his default state is prickly at best and downright murderous at worst.

“The intensity is the same, yes.” His head lowers to let his mouth pay homage to her breasts as they move together. This feels...right. A slow build-up of pleasure as emotions, thoughts, and sensations twist and weave together. There are words lurking within his head that have her dragging her nails over his torso. He really...Wants that, with her? Strangely, the idea isn’t repulsive. At the very least, it means that he desires an equal partner, not a subordinate. "Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde. [We are one when together, we are one when parted, we share all, we will raise warriors.]" Their voices merge in ancient oath, parting only when something else speaks through them.

“There is no Light-” “-without the Dark.” “Through passion, I gain focus.” “Through knowledge, I gain power.”

“Through serenity, I gain strength.”

“Through victory, I gain harmony.”

“There is only the Force.”

There are no words to describe what is happening to them right now. No defined point where she ends and he begins. Their awareness is scattered across galaxies, caught in the endless cycles of birth, death, and renewal before everything is once again narrowed to a single point and they cannot handle it... It feels as though years have passed when Ahsoka opens her eyes again.The Light practically hums without her even needing to reach for it, but the Dark is there too, vibrating in harmony. She is not...free from her burdens or her ghosts, but she has another purpose, now. And perhaps more than that. “I can feel your ambition, my Lady.” Maul’s voice is a teasing rumble next to one of her montrails. “Whatever are you planning?” “To lure Vader into a trap. He can either fall in line...Or get out of the way.” If she cannot persuade her former Master to topple Sidious, she will have to kill him. There is no other option. Of course, she will need to plan carefully to have any hope of success. But if the risk pays off...She kisses him one last time, brief but passionately, his grin full of visceral pleasure as they part. “I may have some...suggestions to that effect.” “Mm, I’m not surprised. But first, my Lord, I think we’re due another round of celebrating.” (A/N: Whoo! Okay, so going in order. Barriss Offee is the Seventh Sister in this fic and her and Ahsoka were previously involved because I’m a sucker for tragedy. The ‘dark is patient’ line is taken and bastardized from Matthew Stover. Yes, Ahsoka and Maul are married by Mandalorian custom in this fic and they’re speaking the version of the Gray Jedi code that I like best because it flows well. *insert ‘That’s not how the Force works!’ joke here* Also Ahsoka’s eye colour is back to normal after they ‘finish’;). Hopefully this works as a suitable compromise between the tropes that I wanted to incorporate. Cheers!)

[luna-the-apprentice]

Valdemar x Rex

Very NSFW. I decided to post the whole fic if you dont want to go to ao3

Moonlight shone in through a large window faintly illuminating a bedroom made of assorted pillows and blankets scattered on the floor.

Resting on a pile of pillows Valdemar was reading one of their many tomes while Rex lay curled up beside them, fine just relaxing in their presence. Valdemar shuffled around disturbing Rex but not gaining any more of a reaction than an irate tail whip. Almost as soon as Rex was comfortable Valdemar moved again. At this point, Rex could see the tension in their shoulders and the frustrated expression on their face. 

They let out a sigh and reached up, stroking a clawed hand along Valdemar's cheek, “I know there’s something wrong V… you’re never usually stressed like this. What’s gotten you so upset that you can’t relax while reading? Was it something when we visited the palace?”

Valdemar snorted, “nothing any of those mortals at the palace could do would ever truly upset me.”

Rex cocked their head and smiled at Valdemar, “Okay but that doesn’t completely answer my question. What’s wrong?”

They sat up, swinging their legs over Valdemar's lap.

Valdemar looked away, a blush spreading across their cheeks, “it’s nothing that you have to worry about.”

While their tone was cold Rex knew that this was just a façade.

“You’re avoiding the question,” Rex said as they slid up to be face to face with Valdemar.

The blush was deeper now and Valdemar was truly starting to show the signs of being flustered.

They turned their head away and broke Rex’s stare, “lately I’ve been experiencing all sorts of new feelings that I don’t want, but I can’t resist them. I want you so badly. It's never been worthwhile to study this so for once I know nothing. It’s caused me quite a lot of stress.”

It was mumbled but Rex could still understand. They were a bit flustered at this confession as well but they hid it and decided that it was truly time to go all in.

Rex gripped Valdemar’s face before leaning forward, planting a firm kiss on their lips. It didn’t take long for the couple to get their tongues in each other's mouths. 

Even the taste of blood off their sharp teeth didn’t deter them. They both moaned quietly as they fell back into the pillows, desperate for each other. Valdemar pushed their hips into Rex and pulled them close, digging their face into the crook of Rex’s neck. It was difficult for Rex to keep themselves from just tearing Valdemar’s clothes off and fucking them senseless right there, but they kept some semblance of control and ground against them.

Rex pulled back and smiled before cooing, “Aww I didn’t think It would be this easy to get you worked up.”

Valdemar shook their head and let out a soft laugh, “It’s only this easy because I’ve been holding this back for a while.”

Rex just laughed back and leaned in, planting kisses and bites along Valdemar's neck and working their way down their chest. Their hands slid from Valdemar’s chest down to their thighs and Rex dug their claws in, causing Valdemar to let out a whimper of enjoyment mixed with pain. Rex laid another kiss on Valdemar's chest before bringing their head downwards.

They kissed and marked Valdemar's inner thigh before asking them, “If you trust me to do this can I take all that stress away”

Valdemar gave a surprisingly soft smile before telling Rex in a breathy voice, “I trust you. You’re the only one to ever make me feel this way… as much as I hate it”

Rex rolled their eyes at that last remark before slipping their head under Valdemar's nightgown. They had already formed a pussy which was soaking through the lace panties they wore.

Rex’s claws tore through the panties with ease and they immediately got to work, flicking their forked tongue against Valdemar's clit and licking the outside in long strokes. When Valdemar wrapped their legs around Rex’s head they went all in, pushing their tongue as deep as it would go and licking aggressively. They switched between sucking and kissing on the outside and the rough licking all while their hand was busy rubbing Valdemar’s clit.

Valdemar shook and moaned,  pleading for Rex to go harder and get rougher. Rex was happy to oblige them even nipping at their pussy with their sharp canines. 

When Rex pulled away their face was covered in Valdemar’s fluids which they licked off before smirking at Valdemar.

Valdemar glared up at them, “why did you stop? You can’t just drag me close to climax and then stop.”

They continued to complain but Rex just shook their head,” I have more stuff planned love. I’m not just a one-trick pony”

They got up and pulled something out of a drawer on the other side of the room. 

Valdemar blushed as they realized Rex was holding a strap on.

“Sadly, unlike you, I can’t shapeshift and if I ever want to get the opportunity of railing you this will have to do,” Rex said as they put it on.

Valdemar smiled and laid back into the pillow pile, “I’ve always enjoyed how straightforward you are with me… many others would be too afraid to say such lewd things to my face”

Rex settled down in front of Valdemar and helped lift the nightdress over Valdemar’s head, “I have no shame, especially when it comes to how much I adore you”

They felt much more than adoration as they looked over Valdemar’s body splayed out in front of them for their enjoyment. Everything about them was too perfect for words. Every curve of their torso, every mark and scar and line of their thin hips was just so beautiful. The only thing Rex thought to do was to lean forward and capture them into another passionate kiss.

Valdemar moaned into Rex’s mouth as the head of the dildo pressed into their folds. Rex pulled out of the kiss to fully insert the strap on and began to slowly thrust, holding Valdemar’s hips against them. They picked up speed quickly moving their hands to pin Valdemar’s wrists above their head. Rex could feel themselves grow even wetter around the strap on as they watched Valdemar’s face contort with pleasure. Besides a few requests for Rex to go “faster and harder” neither of them bothered to say anything, letting their cries of pleasure make it known how they were feeling. Rex had never seen Valdemar so wantonly emotional and they would never admit how much they liked it.

Eventually, Rex let go of Valdemar’s wrists and let them stroke their body. They shuddered as Valdemar’s cold hands snuck up their torso and came to rest groping their chest. Valdemar looked at Rex in a way they had never looked at them before, at least not when Rex was looking. Since Rex hadn’t gotten the chance to pleasure themselves, Valdemar's lustful gaze almost sent them over the edge. The pressure building up inside of them was almost painful to bear, but for now, their job was just to make their lover feel good.

They continued to thrust and stroke until Valdemar cried that they were going to cum. Rex pushed harder as Valdemar’s back arched into them and cum dribbled onto their legs. When Valdemar had finally finished Rex slowly pulled out and both of them just sat panting and sweaty.

Once they caught their breath Valdemar turned to Rex and asked, “can we go one more time?… I...I want to cum inside you.”

Rex smirked, looking down at them, “you’ve been good so I think you deserve it”

They didn’t get time to rest as Rex sat on top of them, grinding against their newly formed cock with their pussy. Valdemar moaned and begged for Rex to put it inside but they held off, torturing them with a little bit of pleasure.

When Rex had decided their begging was sufficient they moved up and slid themselves onto the almost too big cock. Valdemar let out a groan of pleasure as Rex took their dick all at once. Rex gasped at how good it felt filling them and began to rock against Valdemar, picking up speed as soon as they found a rhythm. In the throes of passion, they dug their nails into Valdemar’s chest and clawed them, leaving long red lines tracing over older scars. Valdemar let out a slight gasp as the marks stung and pulsed with heat.

Even through the overstimulation, Valdemar felt more pleasure than they ever had with this kind of activity. They could barely think or speak. The only thing they wanted was to see Rex pleased with them. Valdemar sat up and began to thrust into Rex, pulling them into a tight embrace and kissing their neck. Rex melted into the hug and nuzzled Valdemar, complimenting how good they felt inside of them. The only thing Valdemar could do in return was to moan and trail more kisses down Rex’s neck.

Rex lifted their head with a firm grip and bit down hard on Valdemar’s collarbone, shocking them out of their thoughts. It stung in a good kind of way. The kissing and biting continued hard enough to leave bruises on Valdemar’s neck and at this point, they were completely fine with that. They belonged to Rex. Rex also reached up and grabbed one of their horns, firmly stroking it which almost sent Valdemar over the edge. They panted as their partner roughed them up more.

Valdemar could see Rex’s cum starting to drip down their thighs and they could feel the pressure in their dick ready to burst. They made an aggressive thrust into Rex’s pussy, shooting copious amounts of viscous, black cum through them. Rex cried out as they were filled more than they thought possible by Valdemar. Still, Rex rocked a few more times letting their tight pussy drag out the last of the cum.

Valdemar’s cock grew soft and Rex lifted themselves off of it, a mixture of cum slowly dripping down their legs.

By now Valdemar could barely talk and just fell back with a sigh. Rex smiled at them and pushed some of their stray hairs away from their face, giving them a soft kiss on the cheek. They got up and came back with some warm rags and wiped up the mess they had both made. Rex didn’t bother to put any pajamas back on and lay down next to Valdemar, who rolled over and pulled them into their arms.

“You know, you’re pretty good for a measly half-demon” Valdemar mumbled. Rex snorted and shook their head, wrapping their arms around Valdemar and stroking their hair. Soon Valdemar was asleep. Rex pulled the blankets over them and snuggled closer to Valdemar, resting their head on top of their lover and slowly drifting off.

It was the first time in a long time that they both slept well.

[firefly-fez]

Fears and Friendship

Little drabble I wrote bc

- It’s a cute concept, but also a bad idea

- FRIENDSHIP FLUFF

- you don’t typically see the emotional effects / consequences of a paladin’s immunity to fear, so it’s fun to explore

Fears and Friendship

Vanora swiftly dismounted her steed, and knocked firmly on the door to Castle Sedgewick. She could feel the adrenaline of battle fading, the ache of her wounds becoming more noticeable as her heartbeat slowed to its normal rhythm. ...She probably should have waited for the rest of her party before coming all the way here, but whatever. They couldn’t be too far behind her.

The door stood shut. She knocked again. “It’s Vanora,” she called. “I have information for the royal family about…” she stopped herself before she finished her thought. She’d probably best not mention the plague, lest rumours grow. …”our investigations,” she finished, somewhat lamely.

The door swung open after a minute, and once she was inside, Ilse Albe revealed herself, making her person visible to the world once more. The princess had an alarmed expression on her face, but Vanora continued speaking the second the Princess became visible.

“It’s about the plague. We’ve determined - “

Isle cut her off. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Ah, you know. Injuries in combat. Life of an adventurer.” Vanora waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, I have information...” she lowered her voice so that only Isle could hear her, though they were alone in the room. “...about the plague.”

Isle looked at Vanora with concern. She surveyed Vanora’s appearance - indeed, she looked like hell. She hadn’t taken the time to heal any of her “injuries in combat”, and - what looked like bite marks from... something huge pierced several sections of her armour, the metal was stained with her blood. Not to mention, she was covered head to toe in a slimy-looking substance that absolutely stank.

Vanora continued on, undeterred and oblivious to the Princess’ alarm. “This is critical information, Ilse. May I request an audience with the King to discuss the matter? He’ll want to know what we’ve uncovered.”

Ilse looked at Vanora, at a loss for words. “I - Vanora... “ She assumed an authoritative tone appropriate for a Princess, but her tone included a genuine concern for the Paladin’s wellbeing. “The King is in a meeting right now, and you look -” Ilse reeled back from the stench. “I’m sorry, but is that vomit? What happened to you?”

Vanora looked down at her ghastly appearance and shrugged. “Yeah, I was swallowed by a T-Rex. I - “

“WHAT?” Ilse’s alarm only grew. Her eyes widened in shock.

“Yeah, a T-Rex. Look, I know I’m not-”

“Does this T-Rex have anything to do with the plague?”

Vanora considered the idea seriously. “Well, that’s the question, isn’t it.” She rubbed her temples, and Ilse noticed chunks of T-Rex stomach goo in her hair.

Ilse was confused, but she didn’t think Vanora was in the right state of mind to properly settle the matter. “Look, why don’t you go home, heal yourself” - she gestured to Vanora’s bloodstained armour.

“Can’t. Out of lay on hands. This is-”

“Wait, already?” Ilse interjected.

“Mmhm. Whiston died, so. That used up a lot.”

Isle stared at Vanora, her alarm increasing with every word of the conversation.

“The T-rex killed Whiston?”

“No, no. Different combat. There was an evil demigod trying to kill Hoolie.”

“...Okay.” Ilse took a moment to gather her words.

Vanora really didn’t seem herself. The life of a Princess can get pretty lonely sometimes, as authority can tend to isolate yourself from the people you rule. Ilse didn’t have many friends, but Vanora was among the few - or at least, she liked to think they were friends, anyway. It’s hard to tell why people are nice to you when you’re a princess. It takes time to develop a knack for knowing whose friendship is genuine, and whose is politically motivated. She’d always liked Vanora, though. They were so radically different from each other - a peasant and a princess, a Paladin and a Vigilante, one denying fear, one relying on it. Still, Vanora’s convictions impressed Ilse - but today, Vanora did not seem like herself. Yes, there were the injuries and the stench of T-Rex stomach bile. But it was more than that. Vanora seemed rattled. Almost… if she didn’t know better, her instincts told her Vanora was afraid. Or at least, she had been afraid. She reminded Ilse of a child awoken from a nightmare - the rush, the dominance of fear gone, but  disoriented and a little shaken from the immensity of the experience.

Maybe it was Vanora’s uncharacteristic nature, maybe it was the fact that no one else was there to see, maybe it was the fact that Isle wanted to believe that they were friends, but she dropped the Princess tone to her voice, and asked this time in a gentle way.

“Vanora?”

“Mm?” Vanora lifted her head, removing her hands from rubbing her temples. She really did look exhausted. Right, she would be - she always was, after a resurrection.

‘Are you okay?”

Vanora’s expression softened a little. She seemed to regain a little of her focus. “Been a hell of a day.”

“...It’s 10:00 in the morning.”

“Really?” Vanora’s surprise seemed genuine.

“You… seriously. Please, go home. Get some rest. Take a bath, swing by the Greenhouse, get Davina to heal you, and we can hear your news of the plague tomorrow.”

Vanora didn’t like that suggestion at all. She grew almost frantic as she spoke “No, please, the sooner the better. I don’t know how much longer…” her voice trailed off.

“You going to be somewhere tomorrow?”

Vanora sighed heavily. “Not if I can help it.”

Isle had no idea what she meant by that, but she decided not to press the issue.

“Like I said, the King is in a meeting right now. You can see him in three hours, privately, but you better be cleaned up before then, okay?”

Vanora looked relieved. “Thank you.”

She turned to leave, but she stopped when her hand reached the door. Something about the day’s events clearly unsettled her.

“Hey, Ilse...”

“Yes?”

‘How do you do it?”

“...I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You said once, that I shouldn’t underestimate fear. That you use it as a strength. How do you do it?”

That was an odd question for a Paladin to ask of anyone. It was also an odd question for a peasant to ask of a Princess. It was not, however, an odd question for a friend to ask of a friend. She hoped this was a sign Vanora was looking for advice from a friend. God knows, Ilse could use a friend to vent to from time to time. Of all the privileges Princesses get to indulge in, that isn’t typically one of them.

“Why do you ask? It’s… not something I’d expect you to need to know. You’re immune to fear.”

“Not today, I wasn’t.”

Hm. So an antipaladin was involved, Ilse thought. Interesting.

“...when was the last time you felt fear?”

“Not as long ago as you’d think. The Day of the Dog attack - around the time we first met, when the antipaladin attacked Dragonslayer Drum.”

That wasn’t long ago at all, really. Not in terms of a Paladin’s stint between fears, anyway. But Vanora was younger than most Paladins. She hadn’t been one long enough to have forgotten what fear felt like - she’d said so herself. This wasn’t about being unused to fear, then. This was something else.

‘And the time before that?”

“The plague.”

Ilse took a moment for the significance of that comment to sink in. She knew Vanora’s mother had died, she knew she’d recently resurrected a brother, but… right. It was the plague that took Vanora’s family away from her. It was the plague that made her a Paladin.

“Did you want to give it up?”

She sighed again. ‘I suppose I did. Fear… it’s very powerful, like you say. I remember a time when it could be a positive thing - keeps you alert, gets you out of danger faster… but - it didn’t stay a good thing. It’s… kind of like riding a horse, I think. If you’re not the one in control, it becomes dangerous very quickly. After the plague… I wasn’t the one in control anymore. Maybe even before that point. I don’t know.” She looked up. “Does that make any sense to you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it does.”

“You’re the one in control, the way you...interact, with fear. I was never any good at that. You can use fear to your advantage, but my relationship with it was… increasingly self-destructive. I didn’t become a Paladin for the sake of getting rid of it, or anything, but I certainly didn’t miss it when it was gone. Well, not for a while, anyway. It’s not as easy without fear as I thought it would be, though.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well… fear is powerful, but that makes it...distracting, sometimes. Maybe distracting isn’t the right word. But it - it pulls your focus in a specific direction. Like; say you find a dead body”, she proposed the scenario like it was a common occurrence. Maybe to her, it was. “When you see it, it’s normal to be afraid. You’re confronted with your own mortality, and it scares you. The fear is there, in the back of your mind.” She really did sound like she’d actually been in such a circumstance herself. Not uncommon for an adventurer...but if that’s the case, she shouldn’t know about the fear of it. Ilse wondered if she’d been present when her mother or brother died. “But there are other things you feel, too. Grief. Despair - the injustice of what happened to them, especially if they were someone innocent - someone young.” Hopelessness. If you feel fear as well, it has a tendency to pull your focus. When that veil is removed...it’s not as comfortable as it sounds.”

Ilse had never thought of it like that before. She was glad that Vanora’s demeanor seemed to be improving as she got this stuff off her chest, though.

“Advantages and disadvantages of fear aside, I was never any good at keeping fear in check. I used to manage it alright - but it was… it was just so constant. It takes strength and - well. No one can be strong forever.”

The gravity of Vanora’s life experiences hit Ilse hard. It would have been constant - not knowing when you’d eat again. Not knowing whether you’d last the night, shivering in the cold. No doctor to go to when you’re sick, never knowing how you were going to make it through the day - going minute by minute, hour by hour, challenge by challenge. Then facing something as terrifying as the plague. She really did try to understand the impact that could have on a person - a princess should know the plight of her people, after all, but here it was; before her eyes. Someone who, for years at a time, fought fear with no reprieve. No wonder Vanora had chosen to give it up.

‘I… I don’t really know what to say.” She wanted to have some good advice here, but she was a little lost for words.

Vanora seemed to realise she’d just blurted out her vulnerabilities to the Princess. Ilse recognised the “oh crap, you’re a princess. Why am I telling you this?” Look. It was a lonely look. “I’m sorry. Rough day. I… I should take your advice. I’ll…”

“It was the other way around, for me. I guess… fear was always in shorter supply than safety. I used to think to myself, “One day, this will be a bad memory”, and that helped me to believe I’ll get through it. That’s how I fought it when I was younger, anyway. These days… I think of why I can’t give up. All the things that helped me to feel safe, when I was a kid... they’re all the things I’m fighting for, now, really. A good life. A happy life. For everyone in the Kingdom. I have to be brave - for them.”

“You have to be brave for your community.”

Ilse laughed. “That’s a very Erastillian way to put it, but yes. Vanora, if you think of the people you took your oath for - they are why you can’t give in. I know…” an expression Vanora couldn’t quite place crossed Ilse’s face - “I know safety was never a big part of your childhood, but - everything you love about your community, your home - that’s why you can’t give in to fear. You’ve overcome a lot for the sake of serving them already.” She smiled. “You can overcome fear too.”

Vanora smiled back, warmly. She looked more herself now, though she still stank of T-Rex. “Thank you, my friend. You have given me some good advice - advice I should take.” She seemed to acknowledge the stink of the T-Rex vomit for the first time. She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. I should get myself cleaned up. I’ll be back in three hours to talk to the king.”

Ilse was glad she helped her friend, and in her heart she was happy to have heard Vanora use the word ‘friend’.

Vanora looked back one last time.

“Thank you”, she said again, in a sincere tone. She left the castle. Ilse closed the door shut behind her, hearing the cries of the party who had caught up with Vanora.

Davina was there, berating Vanora for running off before she could get healing. “Tell me you didn’t speak to the King like that.” Ixia said, horrified. Ilse laughed. They sounded happy, teasing each other with their usual banter, which disguised a lot of the difficulties they encountered throughout their day.

Ilse couldn’t help but feel ever so slightly jealous. She couldn’t josh around easily with peers and friends like that.

Of all the privileges princesses get, that is not one of them.

Still, Vanora had called her friend. She seemed to realise that her need to seek advice from someone was welcome, despite her tendency towards formal diplomacy.

Maybe one day, she’d have more regular company. She’d never had a friend confide in her before. A Paladin, too. Paladins are typically the ones people confide in.

That was progress.

[bookmawkish]

An easy day, part 2 (LokiXHeckyl)

@worldoftherandom did you say you wanted more of this one? XD

Part 1

All the Loki/Heckyl stuff

So, here’s the thing: Tony likes robot dinosaurs. Honestly, even without the kidnapping of a team member, he’d probably have gone through the portal because robot dinosaur.

He was expecting a fight on the other side. Probably a really cool one, with Loki kicking seven shades of shit out of a big metal rex and the opportunity for Thor to see if several tons of saurian bot could be effectively electrocuted.

What he wasn’t expecting was to end up in a really tacky little café, sat in a booth with a bunch of teenagers who up until a few moments ago had been dressed in Crayola-bright spandex jumpsuits. Staring at a particularly lack-lustre burger on a plastic plate.

It’s a dinosaur-themed café. Somehow even this can’t save it from being completely awful.  

Anyway, on one side of the booth there’s these teenagers, and they’re all cute and perky and adorably politically correct in the diversity stakes, and then on the other side there’s him, Thor, Loki (who looks as if he can’t quite decide whether to commit mass murder or to have a fit of uncontrollable hysterical laughter) and Heckyl (who is so on edge he’s actually gnawing his own knuckles and has the general overall demeanour of a man who has seen hell).

Thor is cheerfully chowing down on his burger with every indication of enjoyment. This isn’t unusual. Thor could end up on a planet populated by magic singing ants and he’d quickly make himself fully at home inside his very own musical anthill composing rousing ballads about the ultimate glory of syrup. And after all,  this here is just an Alternate Earth with alternate humans on it: Tony thinks he and Thor could do an Alternate Earth every weekend just for shits and giggles. Even if they’re weirdly, cartoonishly wholesome and contain robot dinosaurs.

Evidently not everyone thinks this other universe is okay, though. Turns out this is Heckyl’s home, or at least as close as he can get to claiming one, and evidently being back here is all kinds of hideous childhood trauma. Loki reaches out, lays his own hand over Heckyl’s in a gently unobtrusive effort to stop the biting. In Tony’s opinion it’s a very clear red flag of just how badly Heckyl is coping that he’s entirely ignored the burger and the shake placed in front of him in favour of chewing the crap out of his own hands. Heckyl isn’t a stress eater. He’s the complete opposite. When he’s feeling happy or superior or in control, he’s probably also going to be shoving copious amounts of sugar and grease down his face. But when he gets stressed or hurt or frightened, he shuts down entirely on little things like eating and sleeping and, you know, remembering not to auto-cannibalise.

One day Tony’s going to buy some expensive therapy packages for everyone at Avengers Tower and he suspects there’s going to be something (possibly several things) in the several million years of Heckyl’s past that has spawned this incapability to express negative emotions healthily, but for right now he just slips Loki a stick of gum to pass along in the hope that distraction (and minty freshness) will help. Honestly, it’s perfectly normal to be embarrassed about where you came from. And Tony can kind of understand the discomfort in some ways: he’d feel odd even swearing while he’s here. Like there’s some kind of G rating restriction slapped on your soul as soon as you turn up.

In a minute, he’s going to say “fuck” just to see if he can. Then maybe try and score some drugs. And feed them to the robot dinosaur.

“ - no longer your concern,” Loki is saying, in those tones of silken politeness that Tony just knows are a forerunner to Loki having to slap a bitch. “He is mine.”

Somehow it’s really abundantly clear that this has the double meaning of “my concern” and just plain “mine.”

“And mine,” puts in Thor, who has finished his food and is now beaming sunnily at the collection of Disney Channel wannabes in that way that’s both very very friendly and mildly threatening. Huge grins from anyone with huge muscles can always go either way. Don’t think Tony hasn’t noticed the swift and grateful look that Loki throws Thor at this point. Way to stick up for the potential brother-in-law, Blondie. Good job.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Tony adds, feeling that something’s expected of him, “I’m not taking responsibility for anything Goggles there has done to you in the past. He was a bad guy. I get that. But just walking into my city with your - admittedly very cool - Gojira toy and kidnapping him? That’s a big no-no. You‘re all grounded, kids.”

They’re all just…looking at him. Like nobody’s ever spoken to them like that before. Are they even real? They’d been wearing indecently tight body-stockings when Tony had arrived, like they were planning to star in a crazy modernist version of Rent. Do they even know that they’ve matched their regular clothing colours to their costumes? That’s, like, superhero secret identity 101. Make sure your Clark Kent doesn’t match your Superman.

But it’s really obvious that the kids don’t know how to handle this new and improved version of this season’s Big Bad (not to mention the fact that he apparently has friends and a rather protective partner) any better than Heckyl’s handling being back here in Animal Crossing.

It’s just…creepy. That’s the only word for it. And Heckyl’s just grinding that gum in his mouth like he’s trying to break his teeth on it.

“Okay, you know what? Fuck this,” says Tony, and really enjoys the looks on all of those wholesome young faces. “We’re leaving. And if I see any of you in my universe again, I’m going to sell you to Nickelodeon.” He points a stern finger, calling the Mark VII back around himself with a gesture. The faceplate closes with a very final click. “Promise.”

It’s easy to get home. The portal remains open, a ragged tear in reality big enough to shove a dinosaur through that Loki wastes no time in starting to close behind them as soon as they’re all safely on the New York side.

“Seriously, those guys were your nemeses?” Tony says, as they walk out through the empty, wrecked remains of McDonalds. Heckyl shudders, just once. “Dude. I’m amazed you’re even partially sane.”