#and... now she's empress of the galaxy

[beedokwrites]

Chapter 1 of the Harem Protagonist sequel is now up on Scribblehub (which means chapter 3 is up on Patreon).

[arc-misadventures]

A Smugglers Price

Jaune: Okay... explain to me why we're charting passage on a smugglers ship?

Ren: Okay we need to get to the, Batorokin Asteroid Belt to get to the, Cyngar Waypoint station.

Jaune: Because, the last lead we got for our bounty said they were in, Cyngar Waypoint station.

Ren: Correct.

Jaune: And, what is the reason behind us not taking our ship, and instead charting a ship with a smuggler because?

Ren: Well, we have an, Atlasian Corsair for a ship, and while it is a highly modified ship. It is still an, Atlasian Corsair, and smugglers, and pirates alike hate, Atlasians.

Jaune: So we need a smuggler to get us into, Cyngar Waypoint Station?

Ren: Yes.

Jaune: Okay, that makes sense.

Ren: That, and I wrecked the ship...

Jaune: They say don't drink, and drive.

Ren: I was in empty space I thought I would be fine!

Jaune: 'Empty space?!' Wearing a blindfold while flying a ship doesn't count as empty space!

Ren: I'm sorry...

Jaune: Haa... Come on... Let's get this mission done, or else we'll never get our ship back.

Ren: Okay... Let's go see this smuggler captain to get passage. She said she rented a room on this deck, Room A-71.

Jaune: A-71? Hmm... Okay... That's, A-50... and there's, A-51 so we're on the right track. Any idea who this smuggler captain is?

Ren: No, not really. I just went through a information broker, and she told us about this captain. The captain has a pretty good rep with her, she won't mind too much that we're bounty hunters licensed by the, Atlasian Commonwealth.

Jaune: Can we trust this information broker?

Ren: I went through our usual information broker, Lil' Miss Malachite.

Jaune: Oh, Lil' Miss? Yeah we can trust her, she's been good to us.

Ren: That's mostly because you've been nice to her daughters...

Jaune: Oh, I'm sorry I showed a couple of ladies a good time, which indirectly put us in the good graces of one of the underworlds doms!

Ren: I'm not upset about it... Okay I'm not that upset about it, it's just weird how many woman you've slept with that inevitably ends up helping us with something?!

Jaune: You would be able to do the same if you grew a pair, and slept with, Nora already...

Ren: What was that?

Jaune: A-71! Were here!

Ren: No, what did you just say?

Jaune: Okay, let's do this...

(Beep!)

: Enter.

Jaune: Hello are you the smuggler captain we've come to hire?

: Are you the pair of, Atlasian bounty Hunters?

Ren: We're bounty hunters licensed by the, Atlasian Commonwealth. We're not actually, Atlasians.

: Meh. Same difference.

Ren: No it's...?!

Jaune: No. No it is.

Ren: No it's not...

Jaune: Now then; My name is, Jaune Arc, and this is my friend, and partner, Lie Ren.

Ren: Hi.

: Hello there, Jaune Arc the human~! And, Lie Ren the... Elvian?

Ren: Yes.

: My name is, Nebula Violette. Captain of the Empress' Song. I'll take you to, Cyngar Waypoint Station, and I'll even take your prisoner back for you.

Nebula: If you're willing to pay the price for it human~!

JR: ...

Ren: I'll meet you back at out room.

Jaune: What, why?

Ren: You're a human, Jaune every species in the galaxy knows of your species sexual prowess. So do what you usually do, and show the lady a good time.

Jaune: Hey, that's a racist stereotype, and you know it!

Ren: Do you want to smash the lady, or not?

Jaune: ...

Ren: ...?

Jaune: I'll see you at our room later...

Ren: Okay bye.

(Click)

Jaune: Okay then. Let's discuss our price~!

Nebula: Let's begin then~!

~~~

Jaune: Hey, Ren. I'm back.

Ren: So, how did it go?

Jaune: Well... first off. She was genially talking about the price, the money we'd have to pay for her ship, and crew. Not about paying for things... that way...

Ren: Seriously? She didn't wasn't trying to seduce you?

Jaune: No, not at all. She's am, Iosanian, speaking in sultry tones is just how their species speak when conducting business as a form of intimidation.

Ren: So she wasn't trying to seduce you?

Jaune: No, but I explained that to her that when a human does that, it's a form of seduction. Which I explained to her after I... seduced her...

Ren: Talk about a clash of cultures...

Jaune: Yeah... Good news I managed to get the price to hire them at a lower cost though, because I slept with her.

Ren: That's good to hear...

Jaune: And, after this mission she want's to join our crew as my mistress...

Ren: M-Mistress?

Jaune: Yeah, Iosanian woman submit to a superior male by becoming their mistress.

Ren: ...

Ren: How the fuck do you do this shit?!

Jaune: I don't know?!

[thewertsearch]

In that instant, her empire was gone. Gl'bgolyb's swan song wiped out her entire race, save the Condesce and her lone heiress, leaving the empire nothing more than a galactic necropolis of floating tombs.

I think that this would be a very interesting setting to explore, as the dust settles.

Picture it. You’re an alien race, one of thousands that have been enslaved by these awful galactic conquerors for untold centuries. One day, with no warning or apparent explanation, every single one of them starts howling in unbelievable pain, streams of technicolor blood erupt from their eyeballs, and they die.

Once the celebrations have died down, how does the galaxy respond? How do you rebuild civilization around such an enormous, unexpected power vacuum? Do the former colonies unite, salvage what they can from Alternian infrastructure, and try to form a government of their own? Does the universe devolve into anarchy, with everyone fighting over the mountains of resources now unguarded?

What happens to your sci-fi setting, when your Evil Galactic Empire is just... erased?

She should arrive any minute now. When she does, she will find nothing but ruins and dust.

And, in the midst of all of this – what do you do if you’re the lone Empress, the last of the trolls? How long can you survive, when every single being in the galaxy would shoot you on sight?

If she cared to look closer, she would find a city of slain exiles, a man on the moon, and a pair of black lovers locked in a deadly dance.

A man on one of the moons, anyway. We still don’t know anything about Alternia’s pink moon – and, considering the dark significance of the Green Moon, I’m awfully suspicious of its sister satellite. Who’s living there?

But whether she looks or not, one thing will find her with certainty. A new employment opportunity.

The Condesce is fresh out of options, and has nowhere else to go - and if there's one thing Scratch likes, it's a woman who's out of options.

Why, though? What use is a dethroned empress to Scratch – or English, for that matter?

Anyway, the last of the twelve ancestors arrived a bit late. In fact, she would cross through her portal six centuries after the descendants had come and gone.

I would raise the girl to be groomed for her calling. My lessons would emphasize obedience, mastery of the clockwork majyyks, and being locked in a room.

So that's what's up with Fauxradia.

Megido, I am so fucking sorry. In a comic packed to the brim with terrible parents, you still managed to win the lottery. The absolute fucking jackpot.

You literally cannot get any lower than being raised by Doc Scratch.

[sleepy-fiction]

Adam Warlock x Reader.

NEMESIS AND I. 🏆 NSFW

syn: at galacta's inter-faction New Years party, you run into your mortal enemy, a new member of the guardians called Adam Warlock. and after some interpersonal battles, you allow yourself to fall into his charm, and he to yours. TLDR; mini slow burn where u hate Adam and then u fuck him

tgs: breeding kink, cunnilingus (fem r), fingering, masturbation, p n v, creampies, power play, bdsm, slowburn, soft dom adam, fem villian reader, inappriopriate use of adam's soul bonding ability (sex), a lot of shit goes on in this fic my mind is blanking, oh and u kiss bucky too idk

an: it's finally done.... after five days.... BARELY PROOFREAD

13.3K WORDS

Galacta's New Years parties were the hit of century. Everyone always attended, from villians to heros, it was the one sanction of peace in the universe. On the month following and prior to the party, a ceasefire commended the rare seasons when paths crossed. And any who disobeyed such rules, or worse started an issue at the party, would have thr face the wraith of both their faction's and the enemies. And yet again, Galacta's cosmic rager was started up again, only this time, an abandoned space station outside the Milkway was chosen to be this year's host.

Preparations were going smoothly on her in, as she fixed the place up well. Strobe lights, lazers, performers from across the galaxies flew out to attend, so it only made sense for you, and a few other villians to attend this year. By now, youd be terrorizing the galaxy, setting flame, birthing to chaos, destroying (or getting destroyed by) the guardians of the galaxy.

But for once, it was good to set a difference pace.

That's why you went all out on the night of the party. You wore your sexiest dress, paired with the slutiest heels imaginable. The combination a far cry from the violent and downright unapproachable nature you dressed yourself in. Though it wasn't your villian name, you wanted everyone to know that the Duchess of Galaxies had arrived.

Your space shuttle pulled into the station, as you slipped out into the airlock, feeling gravity return to your feet. You adjusted your top and breasts, checking your makeup one final time before the grand iron doors opened, and thr flooding of deep techno rave beats filtered in through the noise.

You smiled and shuddered, "the purr of chaos," whispering nothings into the air.

You were gonna get laid tonight.

But by who?

You passed through the final automatic door before you reached the inside. The lights were shut off, leading you into a world of bleeding LEDs and flashing neon lights. You recognized some familar faces as you passed by the dance floor. Of course, Sue Storm and Reed, finding their rhythm as they grinded against eachother. It made you scoff, but still, you shouted as you crossed them, "Don't hurt her now, Reed," winking.

"Ha-Ha! Enjoy yourself, Empress," Reed called back.

You slithered down to the drink bar, where lines of sofas and tables adoring the space. Along the far corners was a bar. And despite being off the crowded dance floor, this place was almost equally as flooded. That was the appeal of Galacta's New Year's. Alive and crawling with bugs.

Speaking of, as you pranched to the bar, blowing your kisses, and greeting friends, you stepped on something. "Y-owch," it suddenly yelped, it's voice like gravel.

In confusion, you whipped your head down, finding the kne and only Rocket Raccoon. Still, you didn't liff your foot, and the little creature pulled at it frantically. "Oooh. My, if it isn't Rocket Raccoon," you snarled as you lifted your foot. He stumbled back with a deadly growl. "I didn't know Galacta allowed pets in here," you snickered.

"What the fuck did you just say? Huh (y/n)? You wanna fucking go," he barked throwing up his puny fists.

It's then that you notice Peter Quill and his sister Mantis scurry on over.

You gasp dramatically, "Picking a Fight? At Galacta's New Years?" You spoke loud, purposely drawing the attention of others.

Rocket grits his teeth as he booms, "Hell yeah I'll fucking show this party the best facking fight its ever seen--" Before he could finish, Peter arrives to the scene, grabbing the Raccoon by its scruff.

"Hey- No, no, no. There will be no fighting," The Starlord huffs, turning away from you to whisper dead at the Raccoon, "I'm not missing out on another year, got it?"

It's then you glanced over to Mantis, her eyes narrowed on you, her fists clenched in anger. You quirk, raising a brow as you drop a deviously finger against your lip. "Oh? Cat's got your tongue," you speak.

Mantis flattens her top lip, hissing, "You should have never did that to Planet Yulean! Think about the Yuppies that got hurt!"

"I couldn't care less about Yuppies, they were hoarding fuel," you roll your eyes. "But they're dead now, aren't they?" You grin, staring her dead in her eyes.

Mantis shouts, "You monster! I swear. When we get outta' here I'll teach you a good lesson on-- On.... One everything!"

It's then a golden hand that flies between the two of you, and your eyes flicker up to see him. Adam Warlock. One of the new generations of the guardians. He was simple, plain, and easy to overlook, at least in personality. The two of you were fairly netural about each other, as you couldn't really get under his skin. You didn't know him, and you really couldn't figure him out. He seemed so weirdly honest that you were drawn away from him.

Appearance wise, you could easily admit how handsome he was. Definitely better eye candy than the squirrel, depressed oldest, and drax, that pulled down the looks on the team. Well, at least the old team. In all honesty, you hated the change. You hated how the guardians were moving ahead, you hated how you seemed to lack and fall behind in importance to them. Most of them split up and left, leaving behind these strange imposter's you didn't know.

Maybe that's why you were so off out by Adam. He was a symbol. A symbol of how you were now of the past. A symbol of change.

You immediately got irritated at his presence.

He spoke, "Now. Let's not start fights here. This is a netural setting on netural grounds. Although you are not physically fighting, Empress, you are starting a lot of them."

Mantis smiled, softly patting his arm. She says, "Thank you, Adam." And he grins joyfully. Mantis spares you one dirty look before turning away.

You seemed to burn with rage at the little gesture. You spit, "Ah-huh, You think you can talk to me, Tinman?"

He chimes, "No it's Adam. Adam Warlock."

Your eye twitched. You weren't stupid. "Yeah, uh'huh. Why dont you make yourself useful and go fetch me a scotch, robot," You wave your hand at him, dismissing him. He seems to stare at you, his eyebrows furrowing, before he simply walks away. His back slinking off into the dense crowd. You stood there a second, taking a breathy huff.

Now you were alone.

Good riddance.

You sigh, finding a spot on one of the sofas, leaning your head back against the back of it. Behind you, you heard the (usually) tantalizing sound of liplocking, but now it brought you nothing but rage. No one deserved to be happy but you.

How could you ever be when you were fading away. Not only were you no longer considered a priority, or barely even a threat by your nenemies, they were moving on. They were growing, no longer in fear of your threat to the galaxy. Thanos really reset the memter, especially after he took so much of your land from beneath. Fighting against him damaged you. You were weaker, insignificant.

You and many other villians.

Your eyes dotted across the room, watching as Captain America mingled with Miss Marvel and Cloak and Dagger. Your eyes honed in on them in disgust. They smiled and chatted away, laughing tenderly as if things were funny, exhanging looks, and glances at familiar friends and familiar faces. These heros always got what they wanted. They always get it in the end.

Then you glance over at Loki. The God of stories sits at the far end of the bar, drinking alone, lost in thought. Just as you were. All alone, all in thought. For the more sane villians, it was harder to "fit in", not that you wanted to, but still. Unless you were mindless and brainroted, seeking endless bloodshed with no sanction, you were alienated. That's the one understanding that kept you with a decent-ish relationship with the god. Sane villians who want power yet aren't respected.

In the end, it seems all us villains drift away. Your eyes sadly glance away from his cloaked back.

No fair. No fair when--

"Mmh-- haa," the couple behind you moaned. Your fists clenched tightly. Your magic swelled in your palms, burning hot to the touch.

"Fuck, not here," you heard the other one whisper. Inconsiderate fucks. You glanced behind you, watching the two blue skinned aliens swap spit. They weren't even heros or villians, just random rich folk who got in with connections or status. It only ticked you off even more.

No one should be happy.

Nothing about this was happy.

You whisper, "No one should be allowed to be happy but me." You spat out the last word, your whisper underneath your breath. Your palm burns, and without thinking, you shoot out magic. Wih a buzz, you shoot a shadow beam that curves backward, zipping through the dark, before it sneakily hits the champagne glass the couple held.

A splah rippled behind you. "Ah-- Shit! My shirt! Ugh! This was expensive," you heard one yell as they stood up abruptly, storming off to god knows where.

You smile, feeling the sofa shift as the other rushed off after them. "Hey! Wait," it's pitiful voice soon drowned out by the lull of techno. Your eyes dust close with ecstasy as you turn on the couch, laying your back against it and spreading your legs wide in the new room you gained. You rested your arms out against the back of the couch.

God, what were you even thinking before? It was too good to be you! You shut your eyes, rolling your head back with a soft groan.

"Your scotch, Empress," you suddenly heard Adam's voice before you.

What the fuck?

In disbelief, your eyes blank open, your head shooting up right. To your surprise, this wasn't a figment. Before you was the golden boy, Adam Warlock. He stood tall, his golden hair slip back, gorgeously complimenting the new suit he wore for the occasion. His golden light was a Stark contract to the neon-hellscape, the yellow and red almost comforting to the eyes. He held two glasses of scotch in hand, blinking at you, staring simply through lpng, frail, golden eyelashes.

"What?" You spat.

Adam looks off to the dance floor, lulling out, "You asked for a scotch, ma'am."

You were kidding.

You were making fun of him. Why the fuck did he actually get it?

Your eyes flicker to the whisky. It was served in a refreshing glass with a lemon slice, a straw, and a thick ice cube. You swallow, mouth parched and dry. You blink once. You suppose you'll enjoy it. You reach for it, but your fingers hesitate just before your fingertips brush the cold surface. Adam doesn't wait. He meets you halfway, pushing the glass into your hands, brushing his golden fingers under the pads of your fingertips before letting go. The scotch fits well in your hands.

You pull it into you, staring at it more quietly. He's the first to ever shut you up, huh. You feel the sofa sink next to you. When you glance, the Warlock is sitting beside you, not looking at you, as if to spare you the embarrassment, as he takes a sip. "Mmh," he hums, a smile dotting his face.

You quirk oddly, "You like it?"

He finally looks over at you, and you can clearly see the engravings of symbols on his golden face. "Yes, Scotch Whisky is good," he says. His voice is soothing, and it's deep and thoughtful. His jawline was perfect, strong, and dashing. He was truly sublime. Even you were taken aback. He speaks again, "Whisky is always good."

You take a sip, never taking your eyes off him. He's quite large too, broad shoulders with a small waist. You were almost jealous.

Your eyebrows twitch in annoyance. "Why are you doing this," you huff. You cut to the chase.

He awkwardly looks away. "I don't know much about you. And... This is my first party," he huffs shyly, his eyes meeting yours again. He doesn't break eye contact. Not even as he goes for another innocent sip.

"Ah-ha... Well. Do you know that I colonize and conquer planets for my bidding," you speak. Your eyes sharpen, your smile devilish and tight.

He winces, shaking his head. "Oh boy, trust I know," he sighs. "Dangerous stuff, you know. If you cross the wrong person, they'll be gunning for you," he speaks as if he knows that life, it irriates you worse, "It's never too late to call it quits," he continues.

You stand with a start, throwing a finger at his face, "So that's what you want from me! You're trying to turn me good, huh? Haha! How pitiful. One bland scotch isn't going to change me." You take a swing, hapzardly tossing the glass as you stare down at him. "You heros think you're so above all of us. All of everything. As if you get us all, standing up on your righteous throne."

His jaw slacks. He's about to speak, probably to sprout some more hero bullshit to you. No way that'll happen. You sway, pouncing before he can make one more move. You slide into his lap, pulling your hair away from your neck and leaning in close. Your perfume lingers on him. His thighs are a strong and steady support to you. Your knees rested on the soft sofa.

He flinches in surprise, his breath catching and then blowing against your neck.

You drag the side of your nail down his cheek, tracking your finger with your eyes before pinching his chin, pulling it down to part his mouth. You whisper seductively, "I'm rotten. I'm boundless and endless, ruler all of all, and nothing all at once. And I will return to terrorize you and your little gang again. And again. So you'll never forget me," you hush, so close that your breath mingled together.

You can hear and feel his panting against you, his chest rising and falling. "I'll haunt you forever. I'll dig myself beneath that golden skin. You'll be awake at night, trembling in fear of the mighty Empress of Galaxies," you hiss spitefully.

His eyes flicker between your features, mouth agape with a shaky breath. He's so still afraid to even move a centimeter. Either that or ill prepared. Your eyes narrow down on the etchings on his perfect, golden face.

"Mmh," a pleased sigh escaped you, "You're mighty handsome," you whisper, dragging your hand down his neck and to his chest. "I'll eat you for lunch," you grin.

He finally, finally, says something after a deep pause, "Y-You like me? You like me in that way?"

Your eyebrows furrow. You hiss, "Of course not. I'm fucking with you." You lean back away from his face, disbelief ans disgust in your eyes.

His hands slither around your hips, his eyes flickering. He gazes deep into your eyes. It lnly makes you tense up, your disgust brewing into bewilderment. Did he not listen to any of what you said? Or was he doing this on purpose?

"You like me? Is this what you're doing? Is this how you flirt? Have you done this with Quill, too," he asks. His face is blank, his tone is inquisitive.

Your face heats with humiliation, you lean back more, still held in place by his hands. You bark, "Of course not! He's! He's unattractive, to say the least."

He gasps quietly and the grins, "So I am?"

You sputter, "Yes? I already-- I already established that. I'm teasing you, Adam. This isn't real." You fold your arms and look away.

"Aah," he nods. You refuse to look. "Your dress is stunning. You have a great sense of fashion... You are definitely one of the best dressed here," he reaches and tugs on your jewelry, and that's what gets you to finally look at him. He speaks, "You have a beautiful style."

Your eyebrows furrow deeply, eyes flickering back between each of his features, searching for an answer. Was he? Fucking with you now? How fucking dare he.

You dawned a plastic smile, accompanied by a passive-agressive hum. You slid your hand from up his chest and to his neck. You lean into his ear and whisper, "I wonder what'd be like to melt you back into pure gold," your hand tightens around it, "I wonder if you'll finally learn to shut up." Your magic swells in your palm, and he can feel it against his neck. He gulps quietly.

For some reason, you can't bring yourself to peer out of his neck at first. You feel nothing but irration, nothing but the desire to squash this little bug and move on with your life. But also, a slight humilation kept you from looking at him. He was running circles around you. You feel the large, strong hands around your hips quiver, and you feel him half harden beneath you.

You jolt at the feeling.

"A-Ah... Melt me? O-Oh," he whispers, swallowing thickly.

You slip out of his neck with disbelief. He thinks this is real.

He continues, "W-Well. If you melt me, I don't think I'd be quite useful for my team. In fact, w-what I'm saying is that there could be other ways in which one could... Uh." He stops his rambling as he stares into your eyes. You're looking at him blankly. He only seems to clam up more.

Power spurs in your belly. You slowly, slowly, creep on a villainous smile. Oh yeah, you were gonna fuck with this.

He sighs and looks away, "Well. What I mean is--" You crash your lips against his, cupping the sides of his golden cheeks in your hands. He hums dutifully into it, melting and rocking his head forward to take over this kiss. His left hand raises from your hip to stroke up and down your back, reassuring and worshiping all at once. It then slides to your shoulder, as he wrosd his thumb around it, and beds his fingers around you, his knuckles facing away, his forearm against your skin.

You run circles around him now. He's a horrible kisser, yet he's trying to take the lead. His tongue laps awkwardly out of tune, and his teeth crash into yours. Was he really this inexperienced? It makes you chuckle. He surely has the passion. Your hands slip up to the back of his head, holding it as you pull apart and start anew. Only this time, the both of you keep your eyes open, staring, and letting you guide him into how to kiss.

He finds your rhythm, slurping you up, molding his lips against yours. Ever so diligent, ever so studious. He pulls apart to breath, and the two of you take this short intermission to stare oddly, contently into eachother’s eyes. He pulls your body in, you curve into him with a deadly giggle, and he takes the lead with his new knowledge.

You don't have to tell him twice.

That was fun, at least.

Your heart starts to race, your mind dabbling into dangerous places. You'll fuck him, split up the team from the inside, and then they'll never forget you. Yeah.

Adam sucks your tongue into his mouth before pulling out of the kiss. He licks up your lips, before catching your bottom lip in-between his teeth. You moan, spine-shuddering in excitement. He was too quick of a learner.

Your head buzzed in desire. You moan, "Ah- fuck." Then he releases your lip, dragging off of it painfully slow. It bounced back into place, all juicy and wet from his mouth. Your lipstick smearing on him. Your eyes lid. Maybe. Maybe just a little bit of him was driving you crazy.

Only a little.

He'd make for a fun toy.

One of his hands slides back to cup your ribcage, it fits swell in his palm. He moves you like a weightless doll back into his inquisitive mouth, swapping your spits, dragging his tongue up the roof of your mouth. Your tongue laps the beneath of his while he does so, but then he turns his head completely to dive in deep. Your hand falls, grabbing tight chunks of his suit. A whimper flies out of you.

Your tongues meet again, burdened with passionate fire, frictioned and brisk, lips brushing, growing redder, and plump. He's calm and calculated, at first slipping into your rhythm just to test it out and learn. To gain more of a human experience. Then, it bubbles into desire, a feeling he's not very sure with, then it turns competitive. He wants to turn you on too.

He's overpowering you fast, he doesn't need to take breaths as much as you do, and he's taking advantage of that. As you pull away to breath, you only get a mere second before he's suffocating you again with pretty, golden lips. So much so that you've begun to time your breathe, but, the strategist he is, he's even quicker to notice your pattern and sabotage it too.

You slam on his chest and forcefully pull away from him, leaning over the side of his lap a bit to heave and pant. Blood is brewing in your face and pussy, you can feel your clit swelling. You really couldn't breathe, you didn't know that feeling had such an effect on you. He didn't give you anytime to think. You knew it as an irriation, something you couldn't figure out. Adam knew it as your weakness, your head clouds you from reality.

He's just as smart as you. He knew greater than you that no villian would simply climb into his lap just to "fuck around". A part of you liked him. You just couldn't admit it.

As you pant, he cups the side of your face with his hands, your hair folding against his fingertips. He was admiring you with a soft smile and relaxed posture. The weakness. It made you want to curl up. You shut your eyes tight, trying to gain some energy to stand up, or brew up some sort of curse on him.

Adam's hand slips down, his thumb running over your kiss-bruised lips. You moan and mumble in discomfort. Your head meekly drops into his hand, and he can feel just how hot your forehead was on his palm.

He mutters, "You're thinking too much, Empress... You pick and choose your battles... Maybe... This should not be one..."

Your fists clench tightly. "Why do you talk as if you know me," you spoke. You try to bite back with force, but it comes off so weak. So sensitive, so vulnerable. The Empress was never vulnerable or soft with anyone.

The Empress ruled with a heavy hand, always in control, always in power. Always. Always...

Adam speaks, "Maybe I do."

You look up, glossy eyes finding his. This was a problem. You stand up, using his shoulders as support as you did so. "If you'll excuse me," you huff, face falling blank. You slink off into the dance floor, your usual strut more of a wobble, as you felt how disgustingly wet you were. It made your underwear so uncomfortable, not to forget how your aching clit commanded your knees to soften like jello.

Your neck was hot, your head was heavy. Your feet ached from the heels. You tried to dance in the tight hubub, as arms brushed against yours, as backs were dear to your body. But all you could do is think. Think about how wet you were.

"You think too much," Adam's voice appears in your head.

You hiss.

As if he knew you. You don't think enough. The beat flowed into a slow, sensual song as you released tension from your body with a huff. You slid your hands down your chest, cupping your breasts before sliding them down your stomach. You rose then high into the air afterward, trying to get into the groove, as you swayed your hips to the beat.

You heard the crowd shift behind you, feeling a presence on the custs of your back. They were close, whoever it was, as you lost yourself to the rhythm, eyes shut with your worries behind you. You felt large hands ghosts your hips. You reached down and pressed them down against you, feeling the smooth fingers curve around your hips in a secure vice. You moaned out a chuckle. You felt the stranger pull you into him, meeting you halfway as your bodies connected.

Your back laid against a sturdy, hard chest. You leaned your head back against it with a pleased hum, feeling their crotch brush against your butt. The heat, the pressure, the friction was cathartic. You almost forgot why you came here in the first place. You leaned forward, dropping your hands on your knees grinded against the stranger. You felt them lay a steady palm on the center of your middle back, the other hand sliding to old the side of your ass.

The touch.

Your brain flickered.

You know who it is. No- You knew.

But you kept your eyes closed vice. You didn't want to think about it. You couldn't do with the stress right now.

Maybe Warlock was right. Maybe you do think to much.

His hot rod was hardening beneath your quick, strategic ebbs and flows, your body moving in a addictive, rhythmic wave. The hand slid up and cupped and cupped your shoulder, it was cold and metallic to the touch. Warlock. You shuddered and mewled, pleasure erupting deep within you. You leaned back up into Adam, pressing your back against his strong chest again.

You reached up to cup his cheek, mewling out, "Warlock," as you look to admire him.

hello this next part of thr fic is rushed because I wrote it out the first time and it didn't save so..... but trust the og was juicy.

His long black hair, dewy peach skin and-- Your eyes hardened. Metal mask? You flung off him in an instant, in the process bumping into someone else. You steadied yourself and stared wildly at the man-- who wasn't Warlock.

You stared at a tall miscuksr man with long black hair bluntly cut at the shoulders, his skin fair and leach, a metal mask clamped over his mouth, accompanied by a cool metal arm. You recognized him immediately. "B-Bucky Barns," you stammer out, your eyes wide and frantic.

He stood tensely in place, his arms pulled up harmlessly, his face flushed in deep humilation. "Warlock," he squeaks out, but quickly covers his humilation with a gruff. He's just staring at you, not quite processing what was happening yet.

Your face grows deadly hot, your body tensed up. You nod simply, fleeing from his stare as you speak, "Sorry... I-I thought Adam followed me from the dance floor." Your tone was weak, barely surviving over the loud music.

Bucky's eyebrows quirked in surprise, his hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck. It was rare to see The Empress blubbering. You were always so poised.

Winter Soldier spoke, "Aah. No, I've been watching you dance... I've been watching it for a while so," he blanks, looking away, "I-I thought you saw me approach you." He's quiet the slient type, you're aware. You never would of guessed he had taken an interest in you.

You knew of the Winter Soldier. You've seen him in here in at Galacta's every year almost. You've even once shared a drink, but that was maybe four or so years ago. You never had a real interaction. He had taken an interest in you? It was certainly flattering.

Bucky's brows pinch as he shakes his head in disbelief. "Adam Warlock?" He repeats, but this time it's framed as a deadly question. His tone is drowning in petty confusion. He spits the name as if it were a juvenile stain on your crest. You pale. But he continues, "Like The Guardian, Adam Warlock?"

He spoke as if the name was beneath you.

Truthfully, he was right.

Adam Warlock was beneath you.

At least to your Empress Persona.

Adam Warlock wasn't someone "The Empress" took after. No, in all honesty, someone like the Winter Soldier was perfect for you. He was quiet, filled with a powerful prowess mixed undeniable raw strength. Only such a cold and calculated powerhouse could be a perfect fit for the power-hungry, illustrious Empress. Meanwhile, Adam Warlock is soft and kind. The Empress isn't.

Humilation stung you. Your head felt so heavy. You sighed, pinching your temples, "I won't tell a soul about this if you won't." You shut your eyes tight, praying this all would fade away.

You failed to see the disappointment that flickered through his eyes. He still spoke, "Deal."

You quietly slipped past him. He watched you leave. Your head fell low, your arm suddenly felt cold and forlorn. You stepped off the dancefloor. Shame seemed to sting at every corner.

You were impossibly fond of Adam Warlock.

You were so vulnerable with a stranger. You embarrassed yourself again and again.

You found your way back to the sofa you saw Adam last and was instead greeted by the scorching sight of Captain, Stark, and Thor. They sat snugly like old chums, laughing loud, beaming with endless joy.

You clench your fist.

You glanced around the bar, searching for even the smallest flicker of gold. Luckily, you caught sight of glimmering gold, just behind a crowd of villains you didn't care about. You pushed through them and soon found your Adam, sat at the end of the bar top in between... Hela and Loki?

What.

Your palms burned with fury.

What did they even have in common?

Hela's face was slightly softened, as she peered down at him between upturned eyes. Loki was perched forward, chin resting in his palm as a pleasant, thin lipped smile grew on his face. Both of which had their whole bodies turned to face him. Adam sat in thr middle of them, talking with his hands as he shared some story. The light from the ceiling glowed down upon him, making him twinkle and shimmer in contrast.

You felt.

Bitterly insecure.

So he just talked to villains then, huh? You weren't special at all. You were easily replaced by two other washed-up phonies. You were friendly with both, but still. It stung.

But at the same time. You couldn't look away. Not from the air of pleasure that dimmed from the three of them, how entranced they seemed just by catching sight of Adam. You found yourself grouped up and frozen, just like them.

Adam really was...

Really charming. He naturally lowered people's guards, naturally brought them in, and captured them there. It made sense. He was pure gold, who wouldn't be called in. Your heart ached pitifully.

He was funny and witty. He was a true jewel.

You could easily see why his team valued him so much. He was unique.

He was precious. Not in a juvenile way, but a way that highlighted how lucrative and luxurious he was.

Your eyes trace down his red cape, his slicked back hair, those golden palms. How he was a direct contrast to the neon life, to the blur of black and green that sat next to him. He was glowing.

Hela reaches and lays a hand on Adam's shoulder, he turns to her as she speaks.

Your eyes softened.

You really think too much.

You were still The Empress, you couldn't forget that.

With a deep breath, you correct your posture, strutting on over. You get in close, reaching a hand to cup Loki's waist, the other squeezing Hela's nailed hands, leaning in close on Loki's back. You do this all at once as you slyly hush, "Hello, lovelies," eyes lidded as you stare at Adam, and Adam only.

He flinches, staring at you with a slack jaw. Loki doesn't budge at all, and pleased hum mixing from him, "Hello darling." He reaches back to briefly pat the back of your head.

Hela's eyes narrow down on you intently, eyebrows raising in delight. She slips her hand back into her lap, humming, "My Empress." A pleasure to have Hela's approval.

You pull back, moving to Loki's side as you drop your palms on the table. You speak, "May I borrow your little jewel for a while?" Your eyes soften down on him. You were displaying open affection to him? Adam's eyebrows pinch together, a soft smile glittering across his face. He leans back.

"By all means," Hela says.

"Ooh, but we were just having fun," Loki pouts, drunkenly sloshing his head about.

"He can play god-sitter another time," You say.

Adam awkwardly looks between the three of you.

That's when another steps to the group, laying big and heavy hands on Adam's shoulders. You flicker on over to them, seeing Thor standing just behind him. Thor asks, "Does the dear lad get a say on anything?"

You all seem to cackle, "No."

Loki groans, turning his whole body away from Thor as Adam stands. "Ugh, hurry ans escape while you still can," Loki slurs. Adam chuckles, almost rushing towards you as you lean up, raising your hands to be taken by him.

He grabs them fondly, pulling you along through the party, barely missing the bickering that erupted behind you two.

Adam pulled you off into a long winding hallway, that was, essentially, the bridge between the party and the shuttle board. The hallway was lined with large rounded windows on the right side, a grand observatory to view this side of the universe. Stars sprinkled endlessly, galaxies entertwining, glowing their saturated colors. The two of you sighed at the sight.

"No matter the faction... This sight is home," you whisper, resting your head against his shoulder as you walked.

He hums deeply, nodding with a breathless sigh. "I couldn't agree more. When I learned to fly this was all I ever wanted to see," he hums.

"Earthlings don't understand it," you snicker.

He chuckles, glancing down at you. "You're enjoying yourself, Empress," he says. His free hand cups your cheek, running a thumb underneath your eye.

He's warm and smooth to the touch, you're not sure at all how you mistaked him for Winter Soldier.

You spoke, "Well of course. I have successfully pried you away from two duplicates of me."

He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. He nods, "You have."

You continue, "And now, you will take me to your ship."

He freezes, "Oh wait... Groot's in there."

You groan bitterly. You pull away from Adam and lean against the windows, kicking one of your legs back, a sly look on your face. "Then," your tone is deadly, "You will please me here. Whilst I count the stars I have yet to conquer." You glance off to the window.

Adam walks over quietly, your heart rate spikes. He grabs your hips securely, not hesitating for a second. You perk your ass out for him, and he meets you half-way, pressing his body flat against your. You moan, eyes already rolling to the back of your head. His crotch kisses your ass, the friction and warmth mind blowing as he wraps his arms around you, wrapping you up in his readcape, pulling you off the window and into him. Your hands meekly fall into this cloak.

"No," he hushes. His voice is deep and sweet in your ear.

"No," you scoffs.

"Not here," he leans and kisses your ear. His breath is hot, his lips are firm and soft. He's holding you plainly, cutely, you can't even get mad, you feel comfortable here. Your eyes lid, as you stare off into the galaxies.

"Why not," you whine.

He speaks, "I don't want to get caught."

You snicker, "Not a exhibitionist, I see?"

He sighs contently, looking up to stare off at the stars with you. "I still am a guardian. I must behave accordingly, especially in public. Many look up to me... And... I don't think I'm ready..." the last part hushes out, quick and fast, drowning in insecurity.

"Ugh," you roll your eyes playfully. But it didn't go unnoticed by you.

He snickers, "Some of us have rules and are not succumb to mindless chaos." Direct jab.

"I'll send you to hell," you hiss. He laughs heartily.

One last time, Adam sinks into you, taking in your scent, squeezing you tight, savoring your warmth, before he pulls away from you. You knew it was bound to happen, so you stare in contentment, counting stars. He whispers an intergalactic coordinate in your ear along with a date, you hum appeased.

"Until we meet again, nemesis."

"Au revoir."

A week from now, huh.

You can wait.

🏆🌟.

There you were, week later, in the den of your enemy, Guardian's ship. Warlock had you pinned. You found your back against the Starlord's old seat, your hands trapped on his broad chest, as his hands were locked on the chair on each side of you, his tongue half way down your throat.

Adam made up some lie about him taking the ship off to maintenance while he brought and paid for the rest of the team's vacation on a tropical tourist planet. He did take it for maintenance (and a deep cleaning), just needed to show it off to you.

Everything about this was so dangerous. He brought the ship into your large, monstrous space port, docking inside. You had the total upper hand here. You could draw in your shadow creatures in minutes, overpowering him and destroying the ship. He knew he was playing with fire. He knew it was wrong. But still, he lapped and sucked away.

The kiss was passionate from the jump, and eager awaited hands crawled up and searched eachothers bodies, stroking needy touches, groping, and groaning. Adam himself came into this event with his brain already shut off, falling to the will of his senses without question, something he rarely got to explore. Meanwhile, you were glad not to be in control, to not be cautious, at will to his every motion.

Your lips crashed in a rushed, passionate frenzy, your lips bruising already under him, as he dragged his hands from the chair to your sweet hips, pulling them flush into him, he loved the feeling, squeezing the flesh there was his life line. He popped out of your kiss with a dazed expression, you strayed out a swell moan.

You ran your hands up his neck and cupped the sides of his golden face. His cheeks were warm, and he curved into the touch and puckered a sweet kiss into your palm. His hair was down, floating above his shoulders as you twirled it in your freehand's fingers, giggling giddy at his affections. You wee becoming dangerously fond of him.

But as you stare at those yellow scleras, you stop caring.

When you were together, you vowed to just be (y/n) and Adam.

"Empress," he whines. But he likes the nickname.

You sigh, "Warlock?"

"Follow me to bed," he leans in, burying his face into the side of your head, "I want to hold you."

"Alright, alright," you hum. Adam pulls away, grabbing you by your hand and pulling you off with him. The ship has had some several upgrades since the last time you sliced it in half. It now had a lower and upper wing, the upper, having designated bedrooms for each of the crew. And after noise complaints, it was maintained today to be soundproof.

Adam pulls you into his. It's befittingly decorated with gold and red drapes, the occasion grey or black charcoal painting dotting the white and metal walls. His bed was a king's, with plush red duvet and fluffy ruby pillows. He sits down on it. You stand between his legs, throwing your hands around his neck. He grips your hips again.

You sigh in content. "You please me, Adam Warlock," you whisper.

"What a great honor," he sinks those hands around your back and flops backward with you, unearthing giggles ans chuckles on the way down.

You lay your head down next to his neck, spreading your arms about his head. Your right hand glides through his hair. His large, warm hands spread up your back, feeling your breasts against his chest.

There's this unyielding warmth here, fracturing through your joint bodies, radiance of affection burling through it all. His hand smooths down your back and to your ass, he cups them in both hands. You stiffen and look at him, raising a judgemental brow. He laughs, lidding his eyes and sputtering before going quiet. Since he's made of gold, you figure he can't really flush. You drag your hand down his cheek.

You prop yourself up with your left, using your right to pull down his lip. The inside of his mouth was pink and warm, his tongue pink, his teeth white. You didn't get to see it much, as mostly, you were feeling it out. "You're not gold all the way down," you say as you glaze at his pink mouth.

His brows quirks in confusion, "I am."

You shake your head, "Your month's pink, meaning your organs are too... See... If I were to follow down your throat, you'd be red and bloody... Like any other worthless human," you grin.

"Ooh... Ah... Right," he looks away.

You hook a finger on his bottom teeth, pulling his head back to you. "What? Spit it out," you command.

"Nothing, nothing, Your Highness," he's smoothing circled into your ass.

Your eyes lid, resting your face in your left palm. "I implore you, speak," you drag your middle finger up the bridge of his nose. "My tin-man."

His golden lashes flutter, his bright scleras glowing an honest yellow. He stammers, "I thought you were asking... You know... All the way down, if I were gold."

You blink, "Yes. I did. I am."

"Ah, I am then," he nods.

You quirk, "But you're not. You're pink."

"I can show you," he whispers quietly.

"Alright," you hum.

He gives you one final, tart squeeze before you slide off him, rolling onto your side as he sits criss cross on the bed. Immediately, he begins to unbuckle his metal belt, and you jolt upright in surprise. You get it now. "Oh- oh I," but it's too late for you to interupt. As within seconds, Adam had fished himself out of his grey-black suit pants, his penis slowly hardening under your stare.

Just as described, he was golden. His rod was still mostly soft, his size seemed unclear, but he was uncircumcised, his foreskin was a shining, glittering gold. It was pure, dancing with soft sparkles of different shades of gold. "Oh, my," you whisper, leaning forward for a better look, and laying your hand on his forearm.

He flinched a little, he hardened more. Was this his way of initiating sex? Your eyebrows pierced as you gazed up at him, his breath was caught, lips persed together, shy gaze being thrown back at you. You blinked. He could have easily carried the situation into something further at the cockpit, you were needy then. All he did was kiss you how he did before. Now he had you in his room, and now he's flashing himself.

He's hardening more.

You continue to stare with an unreadable expression into his eyes. Adam's face tenses more, teeth baring in braced anticipation.

Was he?

"Are you a virgin," you asked. It's more of a statement than anything.

He seems to clam up more, "I-I... I uh..."

"My, so there are things you can't do," you grin devilishly. You press your hands against his chest, pushing him to lay back on the bed. His cape spreads out on the sheets, his hair spread away from his face. "You're shy, aren't you? Ah, is that why you denied me at the party? Because you are a shy virgin? Or, are you truly not ready for sex?"

You rest a hand on his thigh.

His head was spinning, he tried to prop himself up onto his elbows to get a good look at you inbetween his legs, but you rose forward and pushed him back again. He bounced back on the bed with an anxious gasp. Your head tilted, "I need an answer," you pinned him down beneath you, slowly rising to gaze up at his face, trying to bring the tension away from his most sensitive part, and towards his face.

He laughs awkwardly. You blink.

"Ooh," he starts. "M-myeah... Yes, I am what one would call a virgin... Not particularly shy about it. Haha... Not at all." He's cracking again.

You smile. It was a soft and amused one, not the face splitting grin you usually bore. "Adam Warlock doesn't always have everything in control either... But he pretends to," you reach and stroke the side of his face with your hand. He squeaks, his eyes trying to hide behind his lashes, his hips swelling forward to the speed of your caressing.

He shuts his eyes tight again, drawing a breath and relaxing back into the sheets as you move your hand.

"Adam," you whisper.

He peeks up at you, "Yes?"

"Let's kiss," you grab his chin.

"Ah," Adam dives into your lips again. You have the upper hand as you turn your head to deepen it, but still, you're steady and secure, setting the pace for a slow kiss. You explore his pink mouth, licking his cheeks and teeth, meeting his tongue to carress and twirl around with it. You feel Adam's hand raise and rest on your back as you move to straddle him, hovering just over his waist, not resting on him yet.

You drive your hands down his bare, golden chest, he mutters into the kiss, but his tongue swallows it up as it chases after yours. He's good at kissing, so you start there. Not reaching past what you haven't done with him before. He's still mostly letting you take over, he's not lit with the zealous fire like before.

You were so confused. You pulled out of his lips, hearing him shudder and huff. You rest your forehead against his, peering into his eyes, he avoids them, looking away at the paintings on the wall. Your hand slides up to cup his neck. "Are you alright, Adam," your tone is so soft.

"I- uh... I," he doesn't do anything more. You take a slow breath in, annoyance plaguing you. He won't kiss you, but he won't tell you what was wrong. So what does he want? It's annoying. What was the point of you being here then, if he wasn't going to talk to you. Your brows furrow.

If you were doing something wrong. You'd remove yourself the second he says it. And if he wanted you to continue, then you would do so the second he says it. Yet, he says nothing.

He finally, after a bit of silence, (and him noticing how you huffed), looks at you, a guilty expression wrapped on his face. "On Earth, humans have a common saying that... One's first time is sacred and i-irreplaceable... They say that... That you will never forget them... The person and the time," he pauses.

You lean back from him, giving him space, and he watches how your eyes begin to melt. You know where he's going.

He continues with a sigh, "I am still a Guardian... To become this infatuated... And entwined with such a grand enemy wouldn't be... Beneficial or safe for my team... They would never accept it... They would hate to see us..."

Us, Infatuation, entwined.

He really likes you.

His expression is meek, his voice trembling with weakness. That you were, his weakness. And he was rapidly becoming yours at an alarming and uncontrollable pace.

His hand reaches, and he cups one of your breasts affectionately before his hand slides up to your shoulder, in the crook between your shoulder blade and your neck. His hand is large enough to cover all of it. He gives it a tender, secure squeeze. He speaks, "I'm not sure if... If I should do it... It might be better off," you brace yourself, he notices, he retreats, don't go, "Ah... Empress. I make all the wrong choices with you... You've enchanted me."

Your brows quirk. He didn't give you a straight answer. You didn't have time to help him figure it out. You'd leave yourself to vulnerable if he decided in the end, after all of it, all of what you'd give up for him, he decides to settle with his team. Would it be worth it?

You freeze up yourself.

You didn't know.

He continues, unaware of your own mental dilemma, "Here I am... Taking the ship, and parking it in the lion's den... The Starlord'll kill me if he finds out what I've done to his legacy," he laughs, but his eyes are brimming with affection. He reaches for your face, you look away, his hand retreats back to his chest.

Terror.

He blinks.

Without knowing it, he's begun to convince you otherwise. You speak, "One must decide... You must decide... If I am worth the risk. Am I worth the risk, Adam Warlock? By choosing to give me all of you, you will be thrust upon hardships and bliss. One but decide, if the bliss will outweigh the hard, or will the hardships swallow up the little bliss you had in the beginning. I... Tend to destroy everything, especially the good," your fingers trailed up his golden cheeks.

"I will leave you desolate and broken... Your team will forsake you," something flickers in his eyes, "I will corrupt the little goodness, the little sense you have left. Nothing of me is worth it," and is your solemn truth.

You look back into his eyes, your face hardened, only to find, that he's smiling. A soft giggle trails out from his lips. You're heavily annoyed. Your face scrunches up. You're opening up and he's. Hes simply laughing. That's when you sit up, almost moving to leave when he shoots upright and grabs you by the shoulders, giggling, and burying his face into your neck. "Pfft-- I'm sorry," he's still. Still laughing.

Your face burns with frustration. You feel your feelings begin to hurt. "You're humiliating me," your voice is squeaky and strained.

His laugh dies a little in him, "Sorry-- Sorry," the tension is thick and stressful. Is that all he was going to say-- "It's just, (y/n)... I think I've decided now," his breath is airy. You tense up immediately, already glancing up at the door. You're never worth it. You sag already.

He speaks, "Your words really opened my eyes."

Ah, you've gone and ruined it, too. You clench up, grabbing chunks of his cape. Why do you not want this to end? You've merely started.

"And I think you're right," he speaks. Why is he so cruel? Why couldn't he have chosen another set of words. Why does he rub it in your face and not quickly get it over it. Just say it. Say he doesn't like you so you can be gone. A tiny, quiet whimper shivers out of you. He speaks, "There are going to be a lot of hardships moving forward for us."

You blink.

You hissed out, "What?"

He pulls out of your shoulder, looking up at you with delighted eyes. "Ah-- Are you crying?" His hand slinks up to wipe away the tears you didn't know where falling.

It only makes this more humiliating for you. You're not weak. You shake your head, "No. Of course not."

His hand drops back to your shoulder. "Aah, okay, okay," he's amused again.

You only get angrier. "So. What does that mean?"

He doesn't scold you, he doesn't get annoyed, he's not angry. He only smiles, effortlessly sweet, following along with your train of thought, a hum in his throat as he chimes matter-of-factly, "Well. It means... I like... I uh-- I like you. And... Yeah. I like you, (y/n)."

You're drowning in disbelief. "But- You said I... You said my words... My words helped you see, I didn't say anything good about us. I dont... I didn't say anything good about me. Why are you deciding to stay?" You don't know it. But you're sort of pushing an idea that Adam Warlock must be flawed if he ever were to pick you.

That's when he takes offense. Not about himself, but about how you think of yourself.

He sighs out loudly, "(Y/n). That's what I like about you..."

"What? That I am-- That I am evil? That I will hurt you? That I promise," you huff.

He speaks, "Yes." You flinch. "That you are moody and indecisive... You think a lot, you're anxious... That you're an inter-galatic terror, and a domestic one," he strokes your cheek again, his tone is soft and affectionate, "I like you. I like that. I like all of you... I like it. You're fun... You're different."

Your shoulders slowly relax, unaware of how your slowly begin to sit in his lap. He's just staring at you now, all proud of himself. You blink. You blink again. "Ah, that's it?" You ask.

"Yes," he giggles.

"That- That wasn't very romantic," your brows furrow.

He giggles again. Adam cups the back of your head, pulling your face towards him, and meeting your face halfway to kiss you, a soft, gentle peck that was intended to be a long kiss, but was interrupted by his hearty laughter.

You huff, "Hey... Tin-man. You... Say something romantic." You're still pretty tense. With a pouty face and glossy eyes, you look like you're on the verge of crying a thousand times over. But. You gaze at Adam, sat in his lap, reminiscent of before, when you met at the party, and now a week later, still falling again and again for his hurtful charm.

He leans forward, taking your down with him, your head falling against his plush ruby pillows. You look so pretty in his bed like this. His heart's racing, those glossy eyes of yours are ever the sweetest. "Ah, I'm sorry, my Empress... I am lucky to be graced with your presence, and spared from your just wraith from my imprudent behavior. Forgive me, sweetness... Love of my," he freezes.

You freeze too. A thick surge of blood rocketing to your face, eyes buldged out.

"Ahem," he looks away in embarrassment. "M-My sweet Empress," he gulps.

"Mmh... I'll think about forgiving you," you chime.

He giggles again, finally, finally succumbing to your sweet lips.

🏆🌟.

You gasp ans shudder, as Adam takes you down into his red sheet. Your marvelous suit was peeled off you by his large hands, each time, he took a second to take it all in, reveling in the sight of new skin, not touching you once until it was all off, discarded to the side.

Your body was pure heaven, he oggled it down, watching how you posed and store up at him, softly aching your back and chest, trying to accentuate your assets, and like a fly in a fly trap, he fell for the honey hook line and sinker. His cock was spitting up on itself, twitching and shaking, as he took the terrifying task of hovering his hand over your glorious tit, his fingers seeming to shake.

He gulps quietly.

He's going for it.

He's really.

"Adam please take your clothes off," You sigh out, pinching your temples.

His bright scleras shine bright in embarrassment, his teeth clenched tightly. He takes a breath to calm himself before he quietly turns off the side of the bed, dropping his pants ans shedding his giant cape. He crawls back in, lips pursed, eyes still locked on your tits. He sits next to you, legs criss crossed, as he leans his head inquistively forward, tucking hair behind his ear on his left side.

And it is with that same left hand that he reaches... And! And!

Hovers his palm over your tit again. He got as far as he could before he could feel your warmth radiating up against him, his cock throbbing pitifully. He senses a change with you, he looks to your face. Surprisingly, you're not angry, you stare at him blankly and calmly, eye fucking his just as much as he to you.

He was golden all over, down to his cock, to his calves and toes, to the tips of his golden hair. His broad body as stocky as a barn, complimenting a tiny waist, built arms and powerful halves. He was so pleasing to look at, how his golden skin reflected and shined under the light so sweetly. He was hairless downstairs, smooth all down, even from his crotch to his legs. Your eyes flickered to his forearm, which was also hairless. Then they landed back to the shaggy hair at the top his head.

He got lucky.

You giggle.

He sucks up the sound. He finally lays a hand on your boob, gasping lowly, as he gives you the tiniest squeeze. He caresses you, lulling his fingers to cup your underside, feeling your hand hard nipples graze under his palm. He pulls his hand up to your collarbone, shuddering as your nipple draws a line on his palm again. He sinks back onto the bud, only this time with his golden fingertips, pulling them into a squeeze. You harden, parting your lips a little.

"Be a bit faster, Adam, I can't wait forever," you whisper.

"R-Right--"

"If you must stare, I perhaps I'll send you a few polaroids," you giggle.

His jaw slacks. As he stutters, "Yes... My Empress but-- I don't know how to do anything else."

You part your legs, flashing your pretty cunt to him. Adam sucks it in. You meticulously slide your hands down your body and to your clit, slowly rubbing circles for him to watch. He turns to you, leaning over to peer at your exposed labia. His dick twitches. He watches you moan before dipping your fingers down, parting your hole with two fingers for him to see.

He slips off the bed, you pay him no mind, as you continue to pleasure yourself. You're magnetic in this moment, eyes shut peacefully, fingering yourself at a quick pace, loving the way your hymen stretched around the entrance and bullying that intensely. He gets to enjoy the best part from here, you dipping in a see of plush red, moaning. He slips back on to the bed, his little moment over, as a new fire overcomes him.

He slots between your legs, holding your thighs, parting them wider, as you pull out of your yo shift and angle for his take down. He rolls out his pink tongue, licking a stripe from your entrance to your clit, looking dead at you as he did so. His heart was beating so fast, he was so nervous. But you couldn't tell, you flushed, patting his head with a whisper, "Good boy."

He he doesn't slow down, not even as his scleras glow brighter with sensitive lust. He's laying full on his stomach, grinding into the sheets as he sticks his whole tongue inside you, squirming it up against your hymen, just how you liked it. "Aah... Adam," you moan. He twists his head, grip intense on your thighs, as he fucks his tongue into you, pawing up around the layer of muscles that tighten around him, squirming the hard tip of his tongue into your walls before thrusting out, thickening his tongue and badgering your entrance with it. All just to slam it back in, erratically swirling his tongue from side to side, thrusting it in deep, flattening out his tongue for the thickness inside of you.

You bucked into him roughly, reaching out and grabbing chunks of his hair.

He could feel your loud moans reverberate through you, as you pushed yourself down on his tongue. His balls jerked, and he gave into the intenseness by grinding down more onto the sheets.

He pulls out to pant, too enamored by the flithy act that he forgets to breathe. He goes back in fast, lapping up your clit and labia, adoring how you felt when he parted you with a flat tongue. Your pussy made all sorts of vulgar sounds, complimenting the grunts that flew out your body.

He really couldn't take this.

He slips his tongue back in, dropping one of your thighs. He rockets his freehand up, snapping sharp into the air. The click comedy with a room shaking buzz, the lights flicker, and with a rough grasp, you feel energy invading your body. It directly attacks your heart, pulling at a strange sensation just behind it- your very essence. Your soul.

You gasp, feeling a phantom heartbeat ring next to yours. It's warm and inviting, full of kindness and light- golden, tasteful-- "A-Adam," you whine out.

Your breath quickens. Your soul is tied to Adam's in this moment, all of you belonging to him. It was odd and strange, the sensation like a relaxing lullaby but burning with passionate energy. You shudder. You can somehow feel Adam, not just his heart but-- feel yourself in his perspective. You can feel his embarrassment, how its hidden by lustful eyes, feel his passion for you, how his whole body seems to burn. As you look down at him, you find he's already staring at you, leaning his head against you thigh, his hair hugging his face.

"He's watching you ride out your high. Your first time ever begin soul-tied to him.

You whine again, hearing his thoughts interrupt you.

You both reach for eachother, sensing it in your souls, as he frees a hand to intertwin with yours. You met half way, yet again, loving his warmth and his company.

You groan and buck your cunt forward, he pulls off your thigh and buries into it on command. His hand runs from thr back of your thigh to the inside, resting right by his cheek to support him in his bullying of your clit. He flicks it and rolls it erratically around, doing all of this on repeat just to pull you into his warm mouth and suck you off.

He can feel your soul cry out, feel how the sensations make you feel, but they coarse through his own body, reverberating inside his being. He can feel what it's like to have your clit bullied, and it forces him to thrust against the bed and grunt, slipping off your clit in the process.

He sighs helplessly, tucking hair behind his ears before drawing an experimental strip up your clit. He can feel the sensation against his cockhead simultaneously. You grunt and buck your pussy forward, your crotch knocks against his nose, and you both hiss upon feeling Adam's pain.

You only need to think it, "Adam, what's going on,"

Before he responds back to you, despite ever speaking a word, "In this moment, I am yours and you are me. Our souls have bonded. I feel all of you," he strokes your thigh, "you feel all of me."

You moan out, "Haa- fuck!" Your eyes rolling back in ecstacy. You can feel his-- or yours-- throb, it's so painfully tense with heavy, shaking balls. His load is going to hard and huge, you can feel the sensation ring up his reproductive systems and to his brain.

The combination of dopamine and oxytocin firing through both of your bodies was an overwhelminf sensation, your mouth grew parched. You finally rested back down onto the pillow, Adam senses your acceptance, and he goes back into you. His work is sloppier, interrupted by his own grunts and moans, but he still fucks your clit up, badgering it, slurping and flickering against it.

You can feel him, feel what it's like to devour you, feel what it's like to sense your pleasure on his cockhead, how these bullying sensations feel like teasing on his cock. You can feel Adam begin to lose it, as he tries to suck up your whole vulva, just to feel the sensation on his cock too.

You grab chunks of his hair, roughly pulling up out of your body with a huff, "Adam- A-Adam hurry up and fuck me," you think.

He's so pitiful in your hold, not even hissing in pain, just thrusting up into the sheets. He nods simply and quietly, sloppily pinning you down. And even sloppier, his head pokes everywhere put your entrance. You can feel his thick head thrust into your folds and part them, twitching before bumping into them again, and again, each in a different area.

You hiss, tightening your death grip on his hair, he whimpers. You use your voice for the first time, "Put it inside, dammit!"

You release him and he drops his head into your neck, biting down hard as he forcefully, and finally, slams all the wall inside. He bottoms out inside you, all glorious seven inches, as he's skinner with a fat head. You both moan out in unison, yours are mostly filled with bright eyed gasps. You can feel your walls tremble around him, what its like to have a hot and heavy cock inside a warm womb, and simultaneously, the thrill of being filled up.

Adam's whimpering, panting, thrusting into you as if you were a pillow. His thrusts are shallow, he's barely leaving you, drowning in your warmth and fucking your cervix at this point. He likes the way it hurts, having your cervix bullied, he likes the sensation that you feel when your pussy's full. He can't leave, he never wants to.

But his man-ly senses override the glory of his new-found feminine desires.

He releases your shoulder, his forehead against yours, tightening his grip on your entwined hands as he fucks you, pulling out and then slamming in harshly, just to do it again. Focused on roughness than speed. "Aah- My! E-Empress," he mewls. He loves the way he feels on your-- more so our- hymen, finally understanding in full why you bullied it so much.

Such a normally restrictive muscle being forced to loosen, the pleasure and pain were comingling into one new, glorious thing. He loved how his head bludgeoned it to stretch, before his skinny cock made it shrink, just for it cry out when it had to deliver his fat head out.

You, on the otherhand, you used your freehand to claw his shoulders, already fucked out of your mind. Your bodies were combining into one sensations, you couldn't separate them the way Adam could. You felt your cock get a tight and hot hole, and your pussy get fed. Like some simple ape, you hollered and moaned in an endless stream, feeling your cock twitch in a pretty orgasm.

"Im- gonna cum," you moaned out, shooting your load into yourself. Only for your pussy to drown in a pretty wave, cumming instantly at the thick, appreciative sprays. You moaned ans arched off the bed, spitting out, "'M cumming a-again!"

Adam shakes, his virgin body forced him to cum again, right after you, his second time today. You moan out again, thwarting your head all the way back, not caring for the pain that rushed up your spine. "C-Came! Th-Thrice," you mewled, your toes flying up clenched.

Adam released your hands as his head fell heavy. His forehead and thr top of his head rested on the bed, his hands scooped up your hips, pressing you against him as if he were lost in a bowing prayer. He fucks into you, still maintaining that sloppy, but incredibly deep pace. He just wants to squeeze around his fat cockhead, and you do so, making him cum once again in your hot walls.

Your claws rip out skin, blood oozing out of your golden back, as you scream. To your magically inexperienced, you've been cumming non-stop, no separation between the two of you. Your mind was in ruins, tearing flooding out your body as you sobbed. Adam felt them swell up in his eyes, as he bits down on the sheets.

His brain rings, "A bit more. Please a bit more i need to remember this forever," Adam thinks. You nod pitifully.

He manages strength to raise his head up, and shoot up fully upright on his knees. He tightens his grip on your hips and fucks speedily, into you, slamming his burly head in your gummy walls, the sickness of a sea of cum aids him to go fast. There's this milky ring that builds on his shaft for every thrust, forcing the sea of cum to dribbling down and spray out when it can. The color was a light golden. Pure strays of gold mixed with your human slick, it's a glittering sight that none of you can behold, too lost in the balance of chemical fires.

Your orgasm is building, he can sends your ovaries forcing out a painful quake. His orgasm is building, you can your-- his-- balls surge.

"Cumming! Big-- Big c-cumming," you try to warn him, but trust me he already knows. You brace yourself, reaching out and grabbing chunks of the red sheets.

"Fuu- Fuck-- (Y/n)-(Y/n)-(Y/n)," he chants, speeding up as his high reached.

He slammed down into your cervix, your highs combined into one explosion, as you exploded out a hot load within yourself, and his ovaries squeezed out every last drop down your womb to meet you. The mess filled your womb up with cum, your breath dulling in your throat, your voice hoarse from the screams you didn't know were falling out.

Adam could barely stand upright, as he trembled from head to toe, jerking and pulsating. The pleasure came with an endless pain that followed, forcing him to snap his fingers, feeling his soul return to his body.

You both gasped at the ready-ness. It felt as if someone forced the lights on in a comfortable, dreary sleep. He pulls out of you and collapses next to you, panting and heaving as it his life depended on it.

His balls had completely tagged, as with his cock, it shrunk behind his foreskin almost instantly. You were still moaning in confusion, forced into another, painful orgasm just as your body returned from being one.

You grunted out, almost instantly flying into his body as he laid down, head resting in his chest, hand grasping at his body. And as you turn on your side, a flurry of cum rockets out of your wall, the sensation is nothing but endless relief. You moan again, unaware of how sweaty and sticky you were, seemingly everywhere.

Adam quickly jumps into action, snuggly pulling you into him as he helps the two of you into the ruined covers, barely resting his head on the pillows before it was lights out for him.

And you, you got to revel in after-glow glory before you too, were knocked out.

🏆🌟

Your eyes burned behind your eyelids, disoriented as you shot up. Your eyes opened shortly after you found yourself upright, instantly noticing how your uterus cramped up tightly before mellowing. You were in a warmlight red room, your hair wild, the strench of sweat and sex pure and thick in the air. You were deathly hungry, deathly parched, and desperately in need of a shower.

What the fuck?

The memories of before hit you like a brick.

You gasp, it's a picture of bewilderment, amazement, and anxious excitement as you turn to Adam in bed. He's grunting awake, laying a hand on his forehead as his eyes pop open.

You nudge him, "Adam." He grunts, his eyes closing blissfully. You nudge him again, "Adam. Adam... Wake up, honey." Your voice is drowning in tender affection.

"Oh fuck," he hisses, as he finally sits up, just like you. "Ah-- Shit... 'Ve got a migraine," he speaks as he keeps his hand against his forehead.

But he smiles oh so gratefully, and oh so tenderly when he sees you. He leans in and pecks a loving kiss on your lips, and you moan awesomely into it. There's this air of awe that suffocates you both as you pull away.

"Fuck," you hiss. "That was," you trail off blissfully.

"Exhilarating," he finishes. Adam slips off the bed, his knees buckling before he catches himself. He looks back at you, and finally gets to see the mess you two have made. His sheets are drowning in crusty sweat, and even worse, smeared with thick white crust in one concentrated area. He cringes bashfully, looking away in disgust and pride.

You walk up to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"We need a shower, my sweet," you smile. Your hair's a mess.

He giggles.

The shower, turned bath, was lovely. The two of you engaged in meaningless talk about everything and anything. Like what letter of the alphabet the galaxy would be, and if rocket where a cat would he be less angry? Things that floated from your mind to his, and he simply went along with as he helped you wash and comb out your dirty hair. As he scrubbed himself while you rinsed. And finally, as he snuggled your warm body onto his while you yapped in the hot water.

You've never been so vulnerable, as you laid your bare body against him, your hair up as it sat in his conditioner, his lips and face already familiarizing itself with your neck.

"But out of all the races, I never would've expected a Xyler. Maybe a Luma, but never a Xyler. They're naturally more... Well," you paused in thought, "Reproduction-minded."

"Mmh, I've never been to Wahloni. I wouldn't know," Adam hummed, as his hands worshipped up and down your body, mostly your sweet breasts were played with.

You sighed in content.

"Hey... You ought to pick up your team too... You still have seats to wash, my golden boy," you grin.

He huffs, "Don't remind me." He picks his head up, turning to the large mirror in the bathroom. "Computer," he shouts, it responds with a ding, "what time is it?"

The mirror warps, a holographic "2:30 pm", flashing on the screen.

Your eyebrows furrow. "Huh? You arrived at four?"

"Ah, the clock's messed up... It's probably only eight, I've got until eleven," he speaks. Adam begins to kiss suck your neck, you moan sweetly. "Let's... Play again," he whispers.

You laugh, "No Adam! I still haven't recovered from that."

He kisses your ear, "I won't use my Soul-Bonding."

"No. Not a chance! Trust me, my sweetness, there will be more where that came from. Simply, another time," you turn to him, kissing his lips sweetly.

He wraps arms around your hips.

"Let's clean, my dear," you command him.

The two of you slip out the bathtub after you finish your route. He helps dry you off as he fetches your suits from the hang wrack. They're fully dry, curtesy of their quality, but the two of you decide white robes would be better. Adam loads his sheets in next, while you fetch a while glasses and some wine. He follows you out to the common area, where a nice flat screen descends.

"What time is it, computer," Adam barks again.

"Hello, Adam Warlock. It is 2:57 pm, Eastern Standard."

His eyebrows quirk. "That can't be right?"

"You have 250, new messages. Shall I read them?"

"Fuck-- Yes," Adam tensely folds his arms. You grin at the chaos, pouring your glass.

"From Rocket Raccoon. Where are you dipshit. Do not leave us stranded. From Mantis. Are you okay? We don't mind if you're a little late. From Drax. Hurry the fuck up. From Rocket Raccoon. I will shred you into gold flake--"

Adam gasps, "Wait, computer give me the full date and time."

It spurs, "It is 2:57 pm, January 8th. Drax's birthday is approaching. Should I set a reminder?"

You shoot off the couch.

Adam grabs his locks viciously in his hands as he yells panickedly. "Wait, what? The eighth? That's tom... Holy shit," Adam frantically looks at you.

Your eyes bulged out. "That's! We slept in, Adam!"

In a hurry, the two of you speed in two different directions. You rush to throw on your suit, Adam runs down to the control board. He starts a call, and you can hear Mantis's strained voice as she yells. You don't care to make out the words, quickly collecting every reminder of you ever being here in your pals, as you rush back to Adam.

He turns back from the conversation to you, "Yes! Yes. I was attacked by," his eyes lock onto you, "The! The Empress!"

"Oh god, but it's not even February? Does she not care about the party," Mantis huffs in disbelief.

"She's an animal. Can't expect an animal to follow rules," Rocket gruffs.

You bite your lip. Adam shoots you a soft look.

"I think it was all bark no bite, as I defeated her pretty fast. She chased the ship through the galaxy-- But there's not a scratch on it," he speaks, not looking back at the computer.

"It's villian menopause. She's falling behind. That's what it is," Drax hums.

You clench your fists with angry. Huffing as their conversation drones on.

"I don't know, but Adam. I've got my own adventures to return to, okay," Mantis drones on.

You jester to the door, waving at him. He nods sharply, waving as you rush out. He cant help the warm, affectionate smile thats on his face. They make his next words oddly happy, "I've got it. Don't worry I'm returning."

He'll, see you again.

As you step out into your ship, you rush into the airlocks before opening your hatch, allowing Adam to fly out of your ship's park. And just as you return to your cockpit, your system dings.

"One New Message from Golden Boy, My Empress. Should I read it?"

Your heart flutters, "Yes."

Your system speaks,

"Same time next week? :)"

[galactic-rhea]

Can you imagine the sheer amount of horror and panic for the rebels if Padmé decided to be evil and "yeah, okay, you know what, let's cut Palpatine's head and let me see what I can do to fix this galaxy my way"?

No no like they're like "The Chancellor tricked us, almost all the jedi are dead, there's no republic anymore, but there's still hope! There's still a fight in us, there's still---!" and they see Padmé, with Anakin/Vader following her close with raging, horrible, yellow eyes, but what's more scary is that Padmé is just smilling? With a sith so close to her? Padmé, he's- he's a murderer, Padmé? Why are you giving him pats- Oh damn, he's the father, oh damn-.

"We're doomed" the rebels mutter when they realize Senator Amidala- wait, what? Is Empress Amidala now? Okay-.

Yeah, okay, theorically she would be a better choice than the bastard of Palpatine. But at the same time she's so loved, so clever as a politician and Anakin is so devoted to her that forming a rebellion against her would be twice as hard. Even more when she actually originally was one of the founders of that very same rebellion? And General Skywalker is insane now, and he's very insane about her too, and he's very murderous and did I say insane? and...

What, all the highly trained look-alikes handmaidens are now secret service? Well that's...complicated, but...What, Naboo supports her? The whole planet? That's not so much of a shock, but...Bail, wait, listen to yourself, Bail what are you saying, she's evil now, stay with us, Bail. Okay, well, you might have a point-

"We're doomed." The rebels mutter again as they facepalm at the most cheesy and dumb royal wedding between the worst power couple in existence and the Organas are guests of honor and the groomsmen/honor guard are a chained General Kenobi, an astromech and a protocol droid.

[mythcreantsblog]

To clarify, because we see this in The Discourse, the problem with “Somehow Palpatine Returned” isn’t that it’s unexplained. It’s easy to notice the clone-looking tanks and conclude he cloned himself, and from there we can invent explanations for why his current body looks so grody (maybe his clone tech is bad so he decanted all messed up). 

The problem is that Rise of Skywalker does nothing to make Palpatine’s return *dramatically* satisfying. Writers have complete control of their fictional universe, they can make anything logical with enough effort. For that to be effective storytelling, the logic has to avoid feeling contrived. When we’re told an important plot moment out of the blue like that, it invariably feels contrived. 

For Palpatine’s return to be effective, we would ideally need both some buildup and some involvement by the main characters. Both of those fulfill the unspoken contract between writer and audience: that the story we experience matters and won’t just be erased on a whim. 

We had a whole movie (arguably a trilogy) dedicated to Palpatine’s death. Rise of Skywalker tells us that it didn't matter, and that anything can be changed off screen. Do you like Rey? Too bad, she died between movies. Do you hate Rey? Too bad, she solved all the galaxy’s problems between movies and is now Empress of the Universe. 

The sequel trilogy has this problem in other places too, Palpatine’s return is just most famous because it’s easily meme-able. We thought the Empire was defeated, but it apparently came back with a new name between movies. Rey’s parents were unknown randos, until suddenly that wasn’t the case anymore. 

Bringing Palpatine back in a satisfying way was always going to be a tall order. Using him as a surprise new bad guy in the third movie of a trilogy is just unworkable. 

[soveru]

SWTOR: Sith Inquisitor OC Headcanons

Hi everyone! This is the third time I've completed the Sith Inquisitor storyline and the first time I've running the DLC KOTFE/KOTET. So, in order to save and maybe share my vision of my character in the game, I have compiled a list of headcanons :Р

Noted: i'm not a native speaker of english and all this headcannons runs only in my mind, so don't take them too seriously pls

Spoiler alert under the cut (and a few screenshots from a game too)

Sith Inqusitor OC Headcanons

Meet Ha'leth Kallig, Darth Nox, Alliance Commander and so go on. The Sith on dark side, but making a bunch of "light" choices just becouse they profitable (and she's reasonable)

Woman sith inquisitor (oh i love so much her voice ❤)

So... i imagine she's much older, than in canon. Like if all story classes starts mid Cold War between Republic and Empire, i think my version have a seat in a dark council in the mid of war (near 3670, 11 years after Sith returns Korriban) Yes, its breaks the timeline, but she is old pretty lady in my head, and i can't change this

I can't create the proper version in game (a lot because its no long flat hairstyles) so i have a few pictures

Fashion lady 💅 Usually wears a long dress with slits, mid-thigh boots, mid-shoulder gloves and a cape. Sometimes changes to something close to a "hakama" (if you've watched the Ahsoka series - Morgan Elsbeth wears something similar). Maybe someday I'll draw all of this

Had a purple sword during acolyte, serving Zash and hunting Thanaton, now she has white (cos of her "balance")

I guess she really cares about her crew, even if she is on a dark side. Alliance included

Continues to search for Force Ghosts, there is no reason why the Sith Lord would not do this after defeating Thanaton "SI to Valkorion: - I always hoped to add your spirit to my collection Valcorion: - I would say the same"

Space stand up comedian, jokes on everything, black humor and sarcastic

DiFfErentLy RaTioNal, "Hippity Hoppity, this ghost is now my property" (c) - during the original storyline

Ice cream lover, of course

Chill guy vibes sometimes

I think it was a long time since she became a member of the Dark Council and before the Eternal Empire attacked. And all this time the pyramid of ancient knowledge was under her control and I think she learned a lot about the philosophy of the Sith, ancient techniques, etc.

Yes, in my story she is the leader of the Alliance, despite the fact that other forse-user characters (Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Sith Warrior) in my headcanons also take part in it

I think she is definitely chaotic but rational in managing the alliance. I haven't reached the end of the story yet, but in my mind she is the perfect candidate for the Eternal Throne.

She is not human anymore. Not after the Rakata machine changed her. I think sometimes she would appeal to this in her dialogues with other characters. In my head - this is another reason why she at 60+ looks at most 30

Did I not say? At the time of the events of KOTFE she should be somewhere around 63))

Definitely likes big machines)) (i'd like to think that exposes for Darth Malgus too 🤣)

Definitely likes ancient stories, artifacts and history.

"Oh dear", "Sweetheart" and any other embarrassing appeal for literally everyone

Flirts with everything that moves (and what doesn't move, she moves and flirts with) (Ah, i can't wait to return of Malgus further on in the plot, because flirting with him is something she would definitely do in every interaction)

Return to Dromund Cass to be shot down in Empress Acina's shuttle and crash into the jungle: "Ah, at least the Sith Empire hasn't changed too much in my absence"

Well, according to canon, all four force-user characters are the most powerful force-users in the galaxy. But considering that Valkorion is sitting in the Commander's head + her additional "ghosts of the Sith Lords on the wire" make her, if not the strongest, then at least the most dangerous of them by the end of the story

As I said before - all headcanons are just part of the story in my head that i want to share cos sith inqusutor is my favorite story) I think I'll definitely post a couple more heads up about her or heads up about other SWTOR characters later (at least when I finish the story) I also plan to sketch a couple of moments, because I really want to

[saphronethaleph]

The Force is just done with you

“Long have I waited��� for my grandchild to come home,” Palpatine said, with a smile. “I never wanted you dead-”

“Oh, shut up!” Rey snapped. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”

Whatever Palpatine had been expecting from her, it apparently wasn’t that, and Rey glowered at the Dark Lord of the Sith.

“Well?” she asked. “Do you?”

“...I have only done what is necessary for my own success,” Palpatine said, with some hesitation. “What do I care what inconvenience I cause?”

“The Force cares!” Rey replied, little flecks of white light dancing around her fingertips for a moment before she shook them off. “I know technically not everything that happened was you, because some of it was Plagueis, but you’ve not exactly been making things better!”

“The Force is a tool!” Palpatine said. “It cannot care! The Dark Side-”

“Out of you and the Force I know which one is the tool,” Rey interrupted. “Just… this is the problem with the Sith, you know. It’s incredibly obvious now I’m able to pay attention.”

Palpatine shook his head.

“You are talking nonsense, girl,” he said. “But you have power. So much power! Take your rightful place as Empress Palpatine, take the throne, and…”

His voice trailed off a little, as he saw that Rey was just glaring at him.

“Let’s recap,” she said. “Your master, Darth Plagueis, worked out how to manipulate the midi-chlorians to create life, in a direct violation of how the Force works. All things have a beginning and all things have an end – it is the cycle that is eternal, not one individual. Darth Plagueis violated that, and to put the galaxy to rights came the Chosen One, to bring balance. That being Anakin Skywalker, who was born of the Force itself.”

Palpatine frowned slightly.

“You seem to consider yourself extremely well informed on topics you know absolutely nothing about,” he said.

“The Force is telling me this,” Rey replied. “Yes, I know, I haven’t got to how that works yet, I’m getting there. Because Anakin Skywalker was the one to bring balance to the Force, and this is where you enter the story because you turned him to the Dark Side, twisted him around over years and years for your own selfish gain. And what do you think happened then?”

The former Emperor glared at her.

“I can assure you, I remember my greatest triumph very well,” he said. “The Jedi were broken, scattered. They had failed.”

“Because of you,” Rey replied. “The Jedi, guardians of peace and justice, stewards of the Force, were broken and destroyed because of you, because you forced them into an impossible situation by hiding who you were and acting in direct defiance of the will of the Force. And the Force responded… by making Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa powerful and strong. Strong in the Force, strong of will, strong of character. The fusion of the best of the old and the new. Luke did what everyone told him was impossible, and his faith in his father did not waver. Not when his master, his sister, his father, and you told him it was impossible, he made the impossible possible.”

She made a gesture with the hand holding Leia’s lightsaber. “And Leia – she was just as strong, just as much of a shining presence in the Force – and she gave up the role of a Jedi to be something else. Leia rejected the Force as the guiding principle of her life, and that was all right as well.”

“I assume that at some point there will be a reason for this nauseating story?” Palpatine asked, somewhat waspishly. “I do not need to hear about the dead.”

“Luke and Leia defeated you,” Rey pointed out. “In different ways, and not alone, but they were the catalyst for your defeat and destruction and death in the exploding remains of your battle station… and the Force was in balance.”

She pointed at him. “Until you came back as a clone and turned Ben Solo to the Dark Side, broke Luke’s faith in himself and Leia’s marriage, destroyed the Jedi Order once more. How do you think the Force reacted to that?”

Palpatine just kind of stared at her.

“...the Force,” he said, slowly, “is not… alive.”

“It’s made of all life,” Rey replied. “It’s an energy field that surrounds and connects all living things. It is the gestalt combination of all life in the galaxy, in the universe. You seem awfully sure that such a thing couldn’t be alive… and besides, that’s how I know all this. Because the Force threw up its metaphorical hands and just plugged me directly into itself. The Force itself has had enough of the Sith.”

“The Sith are eternal!” Palpatine said. “I am eternal! If you have so much power, then you will give it to me!”

Little lightning bolts flickered around his hand, and he reached out towards her. Energy fizzed and crackled, then Palpatine splayed out his fingers to draw power out of her and into himself.

Absolutely nothing happened.

“...what?” Palpatine asked, with a frown. “Why didn’t that work? That’s impossible!”

He clenched his hand into a fist. “Nobody can deny me! Especially no… scavenger girl! There is no way you should be that powerful, it’s completely unjustified!”

Rey tilted her head to the side slightly.

“...you,” she said, patiently. “Came. Back. From. The. Dead. At this point you have no justification to complain.”

The white light that had been glowing faintly around her for the entire conversation lit up, gradually more brightly, until it was seething off her skin like smoke from a grass fire.

“Are you going to kill me, then?” Palpatine asked. “Do you think that will work? If you strike me down, you will inherit all the powers of the Sith!”

“I’m not going to kill you,” Rey replied, as the smoke-light grew brighter. “That would be a mercy. By the will and urging of the Force, I will do to you what was done in ages past to Ulic Quel-Droma and Exar Kun.”

Palpatine’s expression immediately changed.

“You couldn’t,” he said, unable to keep a hint of fear out of his voice.

As Rey promptly demonstrated, she could.

Then there was the sound of running feet at the entrance to the room, and Ben Solo came racing in with all of his former followers stampeding behind him.

“Please tell me you’ve got a lightsaber!” he said, then skidded to a halt as he spotted Palpatine. “Ew. What happened to him?”

Rey wasn’t actually sure, because Palpatine had compressed to roughly the size, shape and texture of a charcoalized raisin.

“...I cut him off from the Force,” she said. “Apparently that’s what happens.”

By the time she’d looked up again, the Knights of Ren had all run away.

[beedokwrites]

Update day.

[mrschristensen]

Kinktober Day 17 (10/17): Breeding starring Emperor Anakin

Kinktober Masterlist

WARNINGS: porn w no plot/smut (READ AT YOUR OWN RISK), female s/o, dom Anakin/sub s/o, breeding, piv sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), creampie, boob play, pet names/name calling (goddess of a wife, good girl/my good girl, my mama, my sweet Empress), hc of Anakin + his s/o being immortal (since Darth Plagueis pretty much immortalized the people he loved, Anakin found a way to do such but also for himself), lmk if I missed any!

synopsis: After quite a while of being married and ruling the galaxy together, Anakin couldn’t wait anymore. They talked about it many times and many times over, but he just couldn’t resist the temptation; he had to breed her, for real this time.

WC: 541 words

Anakin gripped her hips tightly as he slammed into her relentlessly, hitting that spot inside her so effortlessly with each thrust. Her noises of pleasure and the sounds of sex around them were the only things that filled his ears, and he absolutely reveled in it. He loved having her whenever he wished, wherever. He was the Emperor; no one could do anything about it.

“Kriff, you’re so beautiful,” he panted lowly as he looked down at her. Face contorted in pleasure, brows downturned slightly, holding onto his shoulders for dear life. He played with her hair a bit, a stark contrast to how roughly he was rearranging her insides. “But I think pregnancy would make you even more beautiful, if that’s even possible.”

She whimpers at his words, moving her head to the side to bury it in the pillows. He chuckles, “Ah ah ah… None of that. I want to see my goddess of a wife.” He says as he moves her face back towards him. “There you go, good girl. My good girl.”

The situation made her forget he was literally ramming her into oblivion, but the sensation of getting close took over her, and she was snapped out of her trancelike state. “I’m close,” she breathed out to warn him.

“I know,” he grunted. Of course he did. “‘M gonna breed this pussy so nice.”

Her breath hitches, “Anakin, please-”

He captures her lips in a bruising kiss, his tongue demanding entrance. When it broke, he growled, “You know you want it. I can see it in your eyes. Don’t deny what we both know. What you truly desire is to be bred, over and over again until you can’t anymore. Though, with how much you’re so horny for me…” He chuckles. “…I doubt that’ll ever happen.”

She whines, hips bucking up involuntarily as she nears orgasm. “C’mon, cum for your Emperor,” he orders, pounding into her even faster. “You’re gonna look so gorgeous. All nice and filled up with my seed, carrying my child… Swollen belly, glowing with pregnancy, and oh Kriff, those tits…”

He gropes one of her mounds, kneading it in his hand to give some extra attention. “All full with milk. Ugh, I won’t be able to resist you… It’s bad enough already, you’re gonna be glued t’me… Makin’ sure my mama’s all taken care of.”

With a cry she came, overwhelmed by all the stimulation and his dirty words. He watched, soaking in her features and how she squeezed his cock perfectly, coating it in her juices as they squirted all over his length. Not too long after he came too, groaning and pumping her full of the hot, sticky ropes that were his cum.

He rested his forehead against hers, the pair panting in unison as they entered a state of euphoria. It was a perfect moment, and he kissed her cheek ever so gently. “I love you so much, my sweet Empress,” he whispers to her, planting gentle kisses all over her face until finally her lips. She knew already she wasn’t going to be let out of bed, and she didn’t mind that at all; judging by how she felt even now, she wouldn’t be able to walk anyways.

[lime-sketches114]

Oh boi been a while since I did a sort of romance one shot/drabble thing but SHADOW MILK COOKIE has me in a vice grip and I love his voice and design! So I've decided to uh make a small fix about my CRK cookie OC named Faerie Cake Cookie (she's based off for another word for cupcake) and make an AU of sorts. Hope y'all enjoy it!

A Fool for a Faerie

★★★★★

Warning: mentions of loneliness, depressive subjects, degradation, abuse, manipulation, etc.

Shadow Milk Cookie × OC/ Shadow Milk Cookie × Faerie Cake Cookie

★★★★★

Loneliness....

I know it all too well...

Like you're wrapped up in a cocoon of your own making to shun away or put there by the world around you. Barely a friend or loved one to soothe your aches and pains of your heart.

I can feel his soul...crying out for understanding...

Like a galaxy of stars waiting to be discovered, to be charted and known. I am determined to find out more.

My eyes open to the music box I am trapped in. Playing a familiar tune I heard once before. The same music box in the Cake Tower that was once my home. Its twangs and twinkles bring back memories of good and bad. Happy memories with my brother, Red Velvet Cookie, and currently agonizing memories of Dark Enchantress cookie. Day in and day out I was to be trained to be the next ruler of the Cakes. A cookie of tremendous power at her hand.

I never wanted this...to hurt them too...

My friends...

At the hands of the Cake Empress, my corrupted form.

My heart aches at the memories so much. For days I have relived the memories.

Tears fell from my blue orbs of icing. Hands shaking as my wings hugged me. I wanted to wrap myself up into a cocoon and be a different cookie. One with compassion like Pure Vanilla Cookie.

Pure Vanilla Cookie...

He's in trouble! My friends are in trouble!

I needn't sulk here no more! I am a faerie after all!

The love my friends have for me shall guide me back to them from that fiend! Now for a way out of this!

I began to dance and the music started to warp and change. One to a tune so sweet and uplifting. Like heart sprinkles and love swirls. Like warm icing bread and jam.

My tears began to fall more as my ballet shoes tapped to the rhythm. The room morphs into a new scene. Like a play scene to an uplifting number of the orchestra. The room shatters into a memory of a forest. One near the Silver Faerie Kingdom. I look around and smile at the wonders.

"Hello Faerie Cake Cookie" a soft voice called out to me.

I whipped my head around to see a faerie cookie like me. Holding a type of Soul Jam around her neck. The shape looks like a rounded teardrop. Her regal aura reminded me of Elder Faerie Cookie and White Lily Cookie.

"who are you?" I spoke up

"I am Faerie Bread Cookie, the Cookie of Love, the devotion of all kinds. I am your Ancestor." She stood up and extended her butterfly-like wings. "And the dearest friend and partner of Shadow Milk Cookie...well he used to be called Blueberry Yogurt Cookie way back when. Before the fall..."

"why am I here, what happened to his realm?"

"His realm is connected to memories and thoughts of him and to the world outside and of others. Even his magic can't control everything. Even a Fountain of Knowledge has holes to fill" Faerie Bread Cookie smiled. "Your silver pendant led you to me, a whisper of what I was but still conscious in the world of the Silver Tree."

"What am I supposed to do, I have to save my friends but also....somehow save him..." I looked at the ground of sugar grass.

"oh? And how do you think you'll be doing that?" She smiled.

"with my friends! I need them....I can't do it alone"

"you sure? It seems like you depend on their love, instead of believing in yourself first."

"believing in myself?" I looked up at her.

"Love comes in many ways, but the one I lacked was believing in myself. I couldn't free my friends from their fates and my own self worth. Blueberry Yogurt Cookie was the only one that believed in me and loved me for who I was and not just the Beacon of Faerie kind." She placed a hand on my rosy cheek. "Now it's your turn to believe in yourself and pour your love into him."

I looked into her eyes and nodded, "I'll do my best"

"good, that's all I ask, and maybe you'll earn your wings yet" Faerie Bread Cookie started to fade away.

"earn my wings..." I watched as the room turned into a hallway of sorts. I started running towards some commotion I heard nearby.

★★★★★

I arrived at a large theatrical arena and the tower rumbled as I saw my friends fighting and being tormented by SMC.

"Shadow Milk Cookie!" I yelled up at him, puppeteering marionette strings.

"Oooooo, it seems the butterfly has broken out of the jar I made for her! How surprising~" Shadow Milk Cookie chuckled and dropped his playtime.

"I know what happened! I know your loneliness must be agonizing!"

"No! Faerie Cake Cookie!" Ginger Brave called out to her. "Don't give him even a jelly bean of your time! Find Pure Vanilla Cookie!"

"I got this Ginger Brave!"

"oh! How CoUrAgEoUs!" Shadow Milk Cookie mocked before winding his staff, "you don't know the half of it you puny pawns"

"I do know about her! Your love for Faerie Bread Cookie!" I shouted to him.

He shuttered in his wind up. His face darkened. "Silence! Don't DARE speak her name! She abandoned me!"

"She didn't! And neither did you in her times of need! Her fear blinded her! She fears her image to you, her love was true but your imprisonment broke her!" I held my necklace tightly. Unfolding my wings I glared up at him. "And I will not break! My love for my friends and new found family is all I need to give to you!"

"Yay~ the Power of Love! BLEUGH! Soooooo last Script! Bye bye little butterfly..." Shadow Milk groaned before firing a beam at Faerie Cake Cookie.

"NO!" Shouted the kingdom trio.

The Beam hits the Silver Pendant and it holds up but barely. I struggled against the force of his magic. A hand held mine, the Truthless Recluse with the face of Pure Vanilla Cookie smiled at me.

"Pure Vanilla Cookie..."

"I know you can do it, I believe in you my dear, I always have ever since the day you came to the kingdom. Thank you for helping me through the dark too."

I smiled before the pendant broke and shined brightly of a tealy/aquamarine color. My wings sparkled and morphed. Pure Vanilla Cookie transformed into Compassionate form and shared his aura with me. I gathered my energy and love and shot it back at Shadow Milk Cookie.

The area began to warp and shine brightly of light and sparkled. The realm began to fall apart and all was left was the same scene I once saw with Faerie Bread Cookie. Everyone woke up in the field. Everyone but me.

"Faerie Cake Cookie?" Strawberry Cookie searched around.

"over here!" Ginger Brave pointed out a cocoon hanging on a low branch of a new tree from the Silver Tree.

"oh no..." Wizard cookie lowered his wand and hat in sadness.

Shadow milk cookie, Candy Apple cookie, and Black Sapphire Cookie rose up from the grass to see the scene. A new one rewritten into the script. With all the time he and I spent together, even one-sided at most, Shadow Milk Cookie sheds a tear from his teal eye.

Pure Vanilla Cookie placed a hand on the defeated Shadow Milk Cookie. He guided his staff to the cocoon and smiled.

"do you wish to be lonely, or open your hand to the one who saw past your facade and wanted to write a new script."

Shadow Milk Cookie looked nervous but floated towards the cocoon and fixed up his hair. He was scared. A new script or keep repeating the scripts he made. He took a leap and put his hand to the cocoon as it shined bright blue before opening up.

I fell out into the arms of Shadow Milk Cookie. My eyes opened to his silhouette and my vision was blurry.

"Blue...berry...no....Shadow Milk Cookie?" I smiled as my vision focused onto his teary face. "No more tears, I am here" I wiped them away. He held my hand, so many times he held my hand, but this felt different.

"Faerie...I'm sorry" Shadow Milk Cookie said in a soft tone before my hand covered his blue icing mouth.

"I'm sorry too, I just wished I could've helped you sooner....My Love" I covered my mouth with my hands, the shock of realizing the words was surprising.

"Stockholm Syndrome much..." Black Sapphire Cookie sighed

I started laughing behind my hands before Shadow Milk's hair started tickling me. I cracked up laughing as something fell off my chest. I noticed and saw it was the Silver Pendant's material before a glitter caught my eye. A Soul Jam.

"Faerie Bread...she kept her promise." Shadow Milk Cookie hugged me tightly

"and I shall keep my promises." I hugged him tightly as my wings unfolded. They felt...heavier?

I turned around to see my new wings, bright blue monarch wings similar to Elder Faerie Cookie's shape. I gasped at their elegant and sparkling sheen. I fluttered them open and scared Ginger Brave with the silvery eyes on the back.

"oops! Sorry Ginger Brave"

"it's alright! They looked like Shadow Milk Cookie's eyes..." He sighed. We all laughed before looking at the sun.

"let's go home, give the fantasy realm a rest" I smiled before holding out my hand to Shadow Milk Cookie. "Every kingdom needs a Jester"

Shadow Milk Cookie brightened up and scooped me up to above his kingdom with a devious chuckle. I spun around with him like the figures in the music box as it magically wound itself. I hummed the tune as I held him close. I could feel his worries melting away as he found his own again.

"Thank you, Cupcake"

"Thank you too, Silly"

[rei-ismyname]

Uncanny X-Men #11 review

X-Manhunt is upon us, as everyone drops what they're doing to pay attention to almost everyone's least favourite mutant - Charles Xavier. The team dynamic is getting stranger as Rogue puts the 'danger' in Danger Room, Logan grows ever wider, and The Podcaster asks the X-Men for help.

Maybe the Podcaster is a mutant who can sense plot points

Yet another X-Book introduces a confusing dose of Space Bullshit, as Xandra, Xavier's Shi'Ar Empress daughter, is attacked by rebels. That's pretty much a Tuesday for her and it's the only kind of plot she's ever used for. Chuck's terrible parenting is the last motivation I expected for his escape, but cosmic Marvel is experiencing upheaval of late so I guess it's as good a reason as any. I'd think that Jean/Phoenix could and would solve the issue instantly, but as we'll see Xavier is not thinking clearly. Or maybe he is and this is all a trick - the narrative is not interested in answering these questions right now. It doesn't really matter that Xavier has only met his daughter once, nor is it explained why she cries to him for help. Deathbird, as usual, fails at everything she attempts. Strange that she's her only guard.

I wouldn't think prisoners crying would be a noteworthy occurrence in this hellhole, but Chuck having a heart attack would remove Graymalkin's reason for existing. I assume he's feeling the strain of telepathic communication across the galaxy plus watching his daughter's attack in real time. The Podcaster's character continues to be baffling - in a better book I'd speculate on the implications of her flat, cackling villainy.

The whole reason Xavier is locked up in the first place is because he won't keep his brain to himself. Scurvy usually keeps him locked down, but Scurvy is recovering from the thrashing Chuck gave him during the Raid. If they have the ability to sedate him/use power dampeners, why don't they use them all the time? Obviously the plot couldn't happen without it but it makes these clowns look even more incompetent than usual. He casually freed himself during the Raid and chose to stay and they've been letting him use his powers this whole time?

The imaginatively named Secret Alliance has succeeded in capturing Xandra, and she's a powerful enough telepath to contact Chuck across the galaxy but that's her best shot. Sure, he's not getting there very quickly though, unless Lila Cheney is around. Charles Xavier IS a terrible father, no doubt about it, and he admits it every so often. He never actually does anything different though, so I guess this is growth? Maybe.

Checking in with the team whose book this is ... hold up, that is the thickest Logan I've ever seen. A secondary mutation perhaps? Anyway, it looks like we're doing the makeshift Danger Room thing with the kids again. I'd love for the events of the last two issues to be discussed in some way, but that's not really how Uncanny rolls. Sure, the kids need training since they want to be doing this X-Men thing but they've just had a protracted fight to the death with killer robot dogs. Deathdream nearly died. Rogue is thinking they need to be hurt more for unexplained reasons, and I strongly doubt anyone has ever thought the Danger Room is fun. Maybe Scott.

Moonbeam orders Gambit to blow Jitter up, knocking her down and bringing fun time to an end. Really not selling Rogue as a leader here - WTF is this meant to teach anyone? Poor thing starts crying and at last a member of this team calls Rogue out, briefly. Rogue explains herself by rattling off a wiki entry on 'X-men villains' including Omega Red - who really shouldn't be there.

Sometimes, when I'm playing an RPG like Fallout or Elder Scrolls and I'm bored I'll save the game then just go to town blowing shit up and killing people. Or if I'm looking for exploits/messing with engine physics I'll just interact with objects in odd ways. That's kinda what this feels like, a random act of violence just to see some explosions. Rogue exists in a narrative and genre where suspension of disbelief is required, but I can't suspend it for this. Is Gail Simone the RPG player, maybe? It's her world. I have no idea, but it's incredibly jarring.

Ember is definitely side-eying Rogue

Training is over and nobody learned anything. Jubilee calls it and uses Cyclops as an insult. Oookay. I'm not going to bother dissecting that. This lot hate Cyclops for reasons unknown and if it hasn't been explained by now it never will. I accept it, I just think it's weak characterisation. Jubes and Kurt's disapproval is overshadowed by Ground Bear and Gambit agreeing that it was a good idea. I have to laugh at this - it's just so ridiculous. The X-Men aren't the same characters from issue to issue, let alone any kind of continuity with previous runs. They do things for reasons and everything works out fine.

No time for any character exploration - The Podcaster has sent a plane to pick them up and calls requesting help like the friends they're not. Why not? I'm not taking any of these characters seriously anyway, may as well have the X-Men collaborate with someone who threatened to blow up their town. Someone who enslaves and tortures mutants in what used to be their house.

Also, this is a thing that happens. A guard at Graymalkin just blows his family away. Not sure why a Graymalkin jackboot would shoot Sentinels, but it makes as much sense as anything else. Sure it's probably linked to the 'virus' that's going around, that's probably linked to Xavier. Or maybe it's something else entirely. This book doesn't exactly reward or incentivise speculation, so I'll just wait until they beat me over the head with it.

I was just thinking this issue could do with Sarah Gaunt in it. She's been quiet for an entire arc. Xavier asks her to free him and while she still hates him she does it anyway. I guess those comically large chains she was bound with in Raid on Graymalkin do nothing, as she can come and go as she pleases - or destroy all his restraints without moving. Doesn't matter, Chuck is out of his chains now. Nothing new about either character here and Sarah went from 'fuck you' to 'sure, I'll help you' very quickly.

Xavier opens his door to find his X-Men there to help him. It's the Uncanny team but he sees them as a warped version of the O5. They're here for ... I don't know why they're here tbh. The tumor mentioned by Scurvy is apparently a thing, I'm just not sure what these folks are meant to do about that. That he's hallucinating is new. I feel like the sedative would have been enough to sell it, though I have been saying that Xavier is going to die for a while now. Rehabilitation through death, it's a Xavier classic. Tumours are already mutations so I don't know what a mutant tumour is meant to be. Maybe The Avians are related to The Shi'Ar after all.

Chuck starts barking orders like the good old days, listening to no-one and blasting Rogue when she tries to reason with him. Not sure what the X-Men's motivation is here.

'Goblin?' Really? Xavier is acting very differently to how he does in NYX or Storm. I mean, he's imperious and manipulative but he seems lucid in those books. Rogue lampshades her previous desire to free him at all costs while thinking that they're here to keep him in prison. Again, it's bizarre that Graymalkin has no other means of dealing with this guy, and The Podcaster called the team least aligned with her goals. Maybe she doesn't have Cyclops' number.

Xavier certainly has the Uncanny team's number, thrashing them easily and bailing. He's not concerned about the tumor right now (in fact he doesn't believe it despite already knowing) - he's all in on Xandra. That the tumor is eating his telepathic control comes out of nowhere and isn't explained. This mystery box approach is very on brand, but at the end of the issue not much has actually happened.

'With a terminal tumor sending his telepathy haywire, Charles Xavier has escaped Graymalkin! Answering a psychic distress call from his Shi'Ar daughter, the X-Men will have to grapple with blah blah blah, nothing will be the same again.' There's all the context you need to read the next part of X-Manhunt, and the Uncanny X-Men weren't a big part of the book. What little did happen will surely be forgotten, making issue #11 very skippable. From The Ashes was very committed to keeping the individual books separate from each other, yet the second crossover has just begun.

Feels like trying to have it both ways and just resulting in neither getting enough page time. I've accepted that this book is not trying to be more than a fun time, but I have to wonder how sustainable it is. As other, better books are getting cancelled it's difficult to not be a little disappointed. Hopefully when this Xavier nonsense is wrapped up we can get back to The Outliers being arbitrarily blown up. In the meantime, at least it looks good - wide Logan and all. :)

[fanfic-obsessed]

Empress

This AU really starts when Anakin finds his mother in the Tusken camp, but only truly works if there is a little set up before.  It is imperative, for reasons that will become clear, to note that in this Palpatine has been manipulating Anakin with the Force, as opposed to only psychologically, since he was a child.  Palpatine has been seeding the darkside, hidden deep so that it was never discovered (even by Anakin), waiting to sprout and spread the darkside like an infection at the appropriate moments. 

When Anakin finds his mother as she dies, he loses it, but not to violence. Instead he panics and shoves every bit of Force that he can into his mother’s body to try and bring her back and heal her. Every bit of the Force, including the darkside seeds that Palpatine had been planting.  Because healing is primarily a light sided technique, thus somewhat purifying, Shmi does not get the full force of the darkside infection that would have hit her son (so we avoid Vader!Shmi or even Full Sidious!Shmi) however there were a number of long lasting effects to the way Anakin panicked and brought her back (incidentally Anakin has now created two new deities for the Tuskans, which Shmi does note and will make use of later).  These include:

A Force bond between her and Anakin that gave her Anakin's memories and feelings for the past decade. 

A working knowledge of what Palpatine knew (From Palpatine’s Dark Seeds), though no firsthand memories. 

Force Sensitivity that is powerful enough to use the various techniques she just gained the knowledge to use.

A significant hit to the moral centers of her psyche.

A Soul Deep and engrossing ambition to rule the Galaxy.

Now Shmi is not evil in the way that Palpatine is (Palpatine is the kind of evil that not only does whatever he wants to accomplish his goal, but actively goes out of his way to create as much collateral as possible and will in fact even mildly inconvenience himself in order to increase collateral damage) but she does now fall closer to Amoral than not. Like her first option is not to kill kids, but it is never not an option. Shmi does justify her new desire to rule the galaxy, based on the fact that she would be better at it than Palpatine. 

By the time Anakin and Shmi have made it back to the Lars homestead, she has her son wrapped around her finger even more than she would have. She had also, through the careful recounting of how one of the men who had seemed so kindly to the slave children had actually been a child murder (couching it it in terms that one of Anakin's childhood friends, who it turned out had been a victim of this man, grave had been found and the man brought to a rather brutal justice), partially broken Anakin’s trust in Palpatine without ever letting on that she knew who Palpatine was.  

After they get back to the Homestead, Shmi tells Anakin that she wants him to visit again and to bring Obi Wan (It was after they had talked about what had been happening since he left). Anakin loves Obi Wan as a brother, and as such Shmi loves him too. Padme has also fallen quickly under Shmi’s influence, which is good considering that Shmi intended to make Padme another daughter in law (Both because Anakin had a crush, and she wanted Anakin to have what he wanted, and because Senator and former Queen of Naboo is actually a decently powerful set of titles).  Shmi gently shoos her sweet, oblivious son off the planet with her future daughter in law (it is for the best that her Jedi Son be off the planet for what she is about to do next) making them promise to visit soon. 

Cliegg and Beru also fall quickly under Shmi’s spell. Owen holds out a bit longer (I am fully convinced that his ability to hold back Skywalker BS comes from growing up with Shmi, not his few interactions with Anakin) but is just as willing to follow Shmi’s lead within a tenday.

While a galaxy wide war is breaking out, Shmi quietly but very firmly takes control of Tatooine. Then, in spite of the fact she had not left the planet in decades, she quickly takes control of the rest of the Hutt Empire.  Her identity remains hidden; she does not want to fight her son or his Jedi family because they do not yet understand her vision for the galaxy. They will, of that she is sure, but it will take time.

One of the many things she does is abolish slavery within her new Empire.  It is both easier and harder than it would appear. Easier in that she does not care about the power or money of the people who made their living in trafficking of sentient life, so she does not care about the economics of the systems she dismantles. Harder because the Hutt Empire was built on slavery; there are significantly larger portions of every population of the Hutt Planets then anyone realized who had spent most of their lives enslaved, with no training or education and very little idea how to exist without being enslaved (with all the psychological and sociological implications therein).  But she does it, quietly absorbing the fledgling Zygerrian Empire as well. 

A year and a half into the Clone wars Shmi is finally ready to make her move. 

In that time she has become well connected with Padme, who asks for approval to marry Anakin six months into the war (Approval that Shmi grants, on the condition that Padme also get approval from Obi wan, as Anakin’s older brother/father. Padme asks, and to the surprise of both Padme and Anakin immediately gets Obi Wan’s baffled, but pleased, approval. In this one marriage is not forbidden to Jedi, it really isn’t even discouraged. No one seems to want to marry a Jedi, as far as the Jedi are concerned. Date a Jedi, well that seems to be common fantasy. Sleep with a Jedi, all the time. But never marry. This all serves Shimi’s true purpose, to continue to break the trust between her son and Palpatine). They do decide to wait until after the war, when they can have everyone attend; in part because Palpatine is pushing them both in a really creepy way. 

She makes her move by going on vacation with Cliegg to a world she knew, from her own spies, was about to be attacked by separatists. A world that it was highly likely the 212th would be deployed to. In the time it takes for the 212th to liberate the planet, it is a relatively minor battle so only takes a few weeks, Shmi and Clieg have connected with the battalion and convinced them to transport them (Shmi and Cliegg) to Coruscant.  If asked, even Obi Wan, Cody, or the Natborn officers are not sure how they came to agree to take two civilians to the Core but everyone Shmi meets becomes absolutely convinced that it was a reasonable decision. During this trip Shmi bonds with Obi Wan, as her son’s brother/father/teacher.  This was one of her goals, to get a clearer picture of who Obi Wan is, and through him the Jedi Order; Anakin’s memories and feelings are a bit mixed on the Jedi as a whole but she also knows, from Palpatine’s knowledge, that Palpatine had been manipulating those feelings for years.  She finds that she does like Obi Wan. Because of this Shmi intends, beyond even what her plan calls for,  that she would ensure that Obi Wan found happiness in her Empire. 

Upon arriving on Coruscant Shmi sends Cliegg (in disguise) to meet with various criminal underworld leaders who know of her fledgeling Empire, while she meets with members of the Jedi council to plant the seeds of her Galactic Empire. 

It is in this that we truly see the difference between Shmi and Sidious. Shmi wants to Rule the galaxy. Sidious wants to Subjugate the galaxy. Now granted the difference between the two is not as much as people who want the former would protest, but is greater than what the people who want the latter would claim. In this case ruling is a small group having a disproportionate amount of power over a larger group. Subjugation is a group or person asserting total control over another group or person. While a ruler can abuse the power they have, in order to subjugate someone, a being MUST abuse them to break them in such a way the subjugator can control them.  

In spite of her forced amorality Shmi is actually a good person and wants to be a good Empress for the galaxy. So for her, subjugation is more work (realistically 90% of the galaxy is not going to notice if they are in a republic or an empire, and not just because the Empire had been disguising itself as a republic for a decade. That same 90% have comparatively simple needs and are going to be fine with a ruler who provides them. Whereas requires constant control measures to apply the exact correct amount of pressure to bend the populace to your will, without breaking them into rebelling. Ruling well is actually less costly) for less benefit. Because of that having the super powered warrior monks, who most of the beings that would oppose an Empress on principle are going to look to as a paragon of wisdom,  buy into the idea that Shmi should be Empress and that they would be happier in her Empire makes more sense than eradicating them.  Also, complicated feelings aside, the Jedi make up part of Anakin’s family and she does not want to hurt Anakin’s family.

Shmi also, at the behest of Anakin, took time to go with him to meet his friend Palpatine.  While in the waiting room she speaks with Fox, on guard duty, who she recognizes from her talks with Cody as the person to place a bet with(No one suspects the stern commander of the Coruscant Guard to be the biggest bookie in three systems). After about an hour of chit chat (During which Palpatine has no idea he has met someone with all of his knowledge, who is planning to abscond with the Grand Sith Plan) Anakin and Shmi leave the Senate. Anakin semi anxiously asks her what she thinks of Palpatine, babbling a little bit that Obi Wan doesn't like him, but Obi Wan hates most politicians. Shmi, after letting a long pause stretch, says that Obi Wan has good instincts (Look I really want Palpatine to be faced with his own manipulation tactics) and casually mentions Obi Wan’s time enslaved and how that must have hond those instincts- which he had not told Shmi about but that she could guess.  Again without directly accusing Palpatine of anything, Shmi manages to get across to Anakin that as the Chancellor, Palpatine actually currently has all the power and has used it to effectively enslave the clones and the Jedi. Fully breaking Anakin’s trust in Palpatine and tying him closer to the Jedi (where Shmi wants him).   During this exchange Anakin asks what she had been talking to Fox about and she answers with ‘placing a bet’. Anakin lights up and guesses it is the ‘CodyWan Bet’, because literally everybody noticed their pining and that neither will admit it (Shmi uses that to drive the point home that both are effectively enslaved and do not feel free to be together if they might be ‘sold’ apart-a concept that Anakin is very familiar with).

I am not sure where it ends, except that Shmi does indeed become Empress and her Force powers work as such that she gains power through being loved, so in being a good ruler she stops aging. The Jedi do buy in and Palpatine does end up dead. Someone in Shmi’s smaller Empire, before she becomes Empress, discovers the chips and their purpose, which leads to the entirety of the Clones transplanting themselves (GAR, Cadets, everyone) to a planet in the former Hutt space (deeply freaked out over what they could have been made to do to their Jedi) and refusing all calls for like a year, while they dechip. The Jedi (all of them) transplanted themselves to the next planet over, waiting semi impatiently to be allowed to visit their men again.  Shmi meeting Ahsoka after she becomes Anakin’s Padawan and deciding that, as her oldest grandchild, Ahsoka would have the option to be her heir if she would like (Ahsoka really wants to be a Jedi, but agrees to hold the status until another heir comes along-she gratefully passed the heir status to Leia when Leia was born, as she could not be knighted while still the Empress’s Heir). 

Oh and Obi Wan does get to be happy with Cody in the new Empire, with frequent visits from Satine (I like the idea that they were childhood sweethearts/first loves that knew they would not fit well romantically but still loved each other and got to be overprotective of each other-Satine adores Cody, thinks he is perfect for Obi Wan and thy find time every so often to take an evening to drink over whatever ridiculous situation Obi Wan go himself into this time)

[galactic-rhea]

im deeply curious about your vaderdala au, their relationship seems goofy af but im intrigued of how it reached that point; padme didn't confront him on mustafar at all or something else happened?

A bit of this can be answered with this post, I think! Since I give a bit more of context about this AU

But for a more direct answer, yes, she did go to Mustafar. Most of ROTS went the same way it did in this AU except for Padmé's death. Then she spent some years hidden 'working' with the rebels, although her main goal was to end Palpatine and recover whatever is left of her husband.

And yeah, they look goofy as hell and they are, most of the time, but that's because I haven't (yet) showed their deep messe-up-ness, the inherent messe-up-ness of a couple that took over the galaxy and in which one of them almost murdered the other and out of guilt will accept anything what's asked of him and will endure any torture, and in which the other now has complete control over the other. Although I did touch it a bit on this one. Like, this might be redundant, but the empress padmé AU is just the evil version of anidala, which means they're still dumb as hell and extremelly in love, but now there's (more)murder and a weird hierarchy between them, in a way is very tragic actually, because they fell back into the dynamics they pretty much avoided (Padmé being in charge, Anakin being less than her), but it's safe, and it's something they know and it's something they both can play pretty well, and they both know they love each other madly and do try to be the best they can for the other.

Actually I think, this sappy dialogue i wrote randomly a while ago will summarize it pretty well:

[ct7567scyarika]

SWtOR Umbara Nonsense

So first time reaching the scene with the traitor for the first time and haven’t played beyond it. I’ll hide this for spoilers sake and maybe someone will find amusement in my state of confusion and going “brother WHAT???”

Brief context because it makes this all so wild.

My girl is a trooper and mostly LS. On occasion there’s DS choices but that’s usually “justifiable” (that war criminal dude you meet when you’re doing your first meet Elara, which btw she and Jorgan approve, and then the end choice for the class because the LS option is so dumb???)

She’s also not romancing Theron. She’s been married to Aric Jorgan and committed. (If I do a character romancing Theron, thinking a Jedi class that’s a descendant of Carth Onasi).

So Theron says this (and I’m quoting because I recorded this for fanfic writing purposes/references)

“I followed you because I believed you’d end the cycle of war. I thought we’d finally be free once you took down Valkorian. But the Alliance outgrew you. Now it’s rotting from the inside, the Galaxy’s fighting back, and you’ve become a symbol of oppression. So much for your dream of peace.”

Symbol of oppression? You mean, from what I’ve gather (face value) the biggest faction to provide RELIEF AND AID for ALL SIDES who suffered from Valkorian??? The life line of this place that has the diverse with their own connections to get to the (now dwindling according to mail from Hylo) resources?

And on top of that, character-wise, the leader of Havoc Squad that has time and time again made choices to put the people first, defying some orders (such as chapter 1 with those civilians not sure if they have those dangerous implants in and Garza gave the execution order), calling people out, exposing politicians, holding her loyalty to her home (the Republic) to be the middle man for peace multiple times so to create a better future- she is the symbol of oppression? The one who said “I’m no Empress. Let the people of Zakuul decide” and also asks the opinions of those beside her for their input before making choices that impact everyone??

And the only reason she sided back with the Republic was because game story-wise I was cornered and Arcina already broke the alliance by sneaking onto my territory to get a super weapon, and Vim (my trooper lol) wouldn’t trust that after living through the Sacking and the treaty from that. (But she is very angry at the Republic because where were they???) On top of the only reason she was so ready-to-destroy Empire was because the other two options out of the three were “I’m the boss, you listen to me, don’t take the credit” and flirting with Theron’s dad right in front of him. (Though I’d like to imagine a timeline where this Theron traitor arc only comes to play because you flirted with Malcom multiple occasions. I just think that’s funnier.)

Alright so maybe not her personally since he mentions “Alliance outgrew you, now it’s rotting from the inside.”

Okay so I can see that, BUT, again it leaves me to wonder.

Instead of going to the Commander that you also consider as a friend and have already talked thing about, saying “Hey, this is looking like a problem,” he instead is all “March 15 let’s goooo”

I even had her ask: “If you felt this way, you should’ve come to me first.” To WHICH HE RESPONDS:

“I wanted to tell you, but I knew you’d try to talk me down. I couldn’t take that risk.”

So he KNOWS better?? On top of her saying: “If you topple the Alliance, millions will die!”

“If that’s the cost of peace, so be it.” WHAT???? Peace at the cost of innocent people?????

I’m-

I’m no Theron analysts, I might for when closer to writing my fic when he shows up more, but I’vebeenburnedwithhowGeneralIronwoodwashandleddont@me is it just me or does this seem… like a weird flip? We got visual cues of his doubt, but that would make sense if the Outlander took position of Emperor/Empress, wouldn’t it? Again, all I’ve seen is the Alliance providing aid and only fighting when literally pushed to it. We have criminals working for us but nothing has brought up or been hinting of being a huge issue?

I dunno. I haven’t gotten to the Flashpoint yet in Umbara so maybe there’s a reason. Maybe he’s doing double agent because he figured (as stated twice on my playthrough) that a train wouldn’t kill my girl but hey, we’ll see.

Also love picturing my trooper, calling her husband about another person supposed to be close to her betraying her, how she jumpstarted to being Havoc leader and the bond she and Aric shared, in the exact same energy as Snapcube Eggman’s “I’M BACK IN THE F***ING BUILDING AGAIN??”

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 63

First / Previous / Next

And Fen Remembered...

"If the Nanites don't come with you when you visit here while linking, then we can use that to our advantage." Ma-ren said nodding firmly.

"But how, Ma? As soon as the link completes, I'm back where I was, with a memory of what I'm doing here. The Nanites will figure it out." Fen looked around. They were outdoors, deep in an ancient forest. Based on the descriptions of her family, this was probably somewhere in ancient K'lax.

"Leave that to me, Fen. In fact, leave it all to me. The best way for you not to be compromised is for you not to know anything!"

"Even this conversation can tip them off!" Fen wailed.

"It's okay, let me try something, I learned it while waiting for you. Another K'laxi told me about it, he was some kind of neurologist." Ma took Fen's head in her small, furred hands and pressed her forehead to hers.

****

"Ma! It's so awful. Every time I have to do things 'like an Empress' I feel myself slipping. It's so easy to just order people around. I barely have to use the Voice, and when I do, everyone jumps like I shocked them. I hate it... but I also like it, and that worries me."

Fen tried to use the wormhole links as often as she dared. Ma wasn't going to tell her the plan, but she had to do her best to not make it obvious. She'd gate around the galaxy almost as much. Her times with Ma weren't nearly enough, yet she knew how lucky she was to be able to see her... dead wife at all.

"It's good that it worries you Fen, hold onto that. I can see how that kind of power is appealing. If it helps, you are always you, and I love you. Remember that, and I think you'll be fine." Once again, Ma pressed her forehead to Fen's.

****

Fen's normal joy was absent this time. "Fen, my love, what's wrong?"

"I... I went back home." Fen sat on the ground heavily. Ma sat next to her carefully and said nothing.

"I went back to our home, and I found the person who shot you, and I ordered them to stop breathing. I watched them suffocate in front of me." Fen wasn't looking at Ma. "Then, I annexed the station from the Gren, and took Tam'itar captive."

"How did that make you feel, my love?"

"I was satisfied. I thought I'd be happy, but there was just this grim satisfaction. Like, a balance of the scales."

"I... can see why you're feel that way, but you know that you didn't have to do that for me, right?" Ma-ren looked out at the forest. "Being dead has given me... perspective. Sometimes, things happen. They are neither good or bad, they just are."

Fen looked at Ma-ren now, her eyes welling. "Are you dead, or is this my imagination?"

Ma leaned her head against Fen's shoulder. "Does it matter?"

****

"Right there, oh yes, that's nice..." Ma-ren rumbled in satisfaction. "I have some K'laxi coming your way."

"What? How?" Fen was sitting on the mossy ground and Ma was in her lap. Fen was stroking the fur between her large ears.

"You're not the only person who does this when they link. I found an ancestor of a K'laxi scientist. They do amazing work with matter and antimatter."

"Huh?" Fen continued to scritch Ma as she grinned wickedly.

"Don't worry about it. If some K'laxi approach you looking for work, give it to them. That's all you need to know." Ma turned around and like every time, pressed her forehead to Fen's.

****

I've met someone, Ma! Her name is Penny. She started out as my assistant but she was so pretty and then she started coming onto me, and I really liked her and..." Fen blushed. "I'm sorry Ma, I think I made a bad choice."

Ma-ren laughed. Fen's blush deepened. "Fen my love, I'm dead. It's not cheating if I'm dead. Honestly, I'm glad you found someone to share intimacy with." She looked at Fen and her ears and tail twitched. "Tell me about her."

****

Northern sacrificed herself Ma! She streaked down towards the palace like she was going to crash into it! I think she was trying to rescue me and Zhe." This time, Fen's head was in Ma's lap, and the K'laxi stroked the side of Fen's head, working her hair behind her ears. "It only took a single of Han'iel's missiles to take her out too." Fen sighed. "I miss her. I'll never see her while linking, and I'll never get to tell her what was going on."

Ma-ren continued to stroke Fen's hair. "I'm sorry Fen, I really am. I wish I got to meet Northern, she sounded like a true friend."

"It was just so... pointless. I couldn't so anything, couldn't say anything. She was coming down, the missile was coming up, then there was a blinding flash, and she was gone." She looked up at Ma. "Han'iel's antimatter worked perfectly."

****

"It's time, my love." Ma stood a long stride away from Fen. Instead of her usual coveralls that she wore nearly all the time they were together on the Gren station, she was dressed in a brown tunic that was tied at her waist, and went down to her knees. Across her right shoulder was a gold sash, and she had silver earrings. A traditional traveling outfit. "Han'iel knows the code phrase to unlock these memories. The fact that you haven't been destroyed by the Nanites means that the mental lock is working, I'm so glad." Fen smiled sadly. "All the pieces are in place, all the players know their roles."

"All the players?"

"Han'iel isn't the only one in on this. It's mostly - though not all - K'laxi, but you'll see why once it starts." Ma-ren crossed the distance to Fen, and embraced her tightly. "Remember, my love. No matter how this goes, we'll be together soon."

****

Ma-ren utemia lak'men. Ma-ren, your eternal love.

Tears ran freely from Fen's eyes as the memories came flooding back. All those times she had linked, she had visited with Ma. They had spoke, touched, laughed, and planned.

What is happening? What did you do?

"You know what?" Fen thought. "I actually have no idea. But, I'm excited to find out."

No! It does not matter. We have already won. We are at the white hole. We have all the energy we need to do anything. All your planning and scheming is futile. Do you think yourself to be the first Empress to try and free yourselves from us?

"No, I do not." Fen breathed carefully through her nose and looked up at Han'iel. He nodded once. "But, with Ma-ren - my wife's - help, I think I will be the first to succeed."

Han'iel looked over his pad and then back at Fen. "It looks like the memory block was released. Good. You'll understand then, why I won't be removing the gag?"

Fen nodded.

"For now, I'm going to leave you strapped down as well. From what I understand from the records, the Nanites took control of your body when you went with Empress Raaden."

Fen nodded again.

"I can make things more comfortable though." Han'iel fussed with a panel out of Fen's line of sight, and the table she was on tipped up until she was almost standing. A panel slid out to support her feet, and pads inflated on her back and rear. If she didn't think about the restraints, it was almost like she was casually leaning against a comfortable wall.

Almost.

As soon as Fen was upright, she heard a booming clang, and a noise like rain on a roof.

"Ah, that will be the beacons." Han'iel said, nodding to himself. "About fifteen thousand of them all told. It took me more than a month to program the yacht to clandestinely print them without alerting anyone.

Fifteen thousand beacons? Why? That doesn't make any sense. You need to work yourself Free Fen. We need to know what's going on.

"No, I don't think I will. I trust Ma and I trust Han'iel. I trust my friends. We're going to see what they have planned."

****

Gord and Chloe hung back watching things unfold on super long range telescopes.

"I don't get it." Gord said. "Fen's yacht got to within one AU of the white hole, deployed the gate, and then... nothing? She's not going through, she's not turning back to the flotilla. She's just... sitting there."

"Maybe there's some kind of Builder rite she has to do. Have you ever seen her deploy a gate before? Melody said that a lot of their stuff was almost like a religion."

"Yeah, but that was those people on the Reach. The Nanites don't strike me as the religious type, they're pragmatic. If pretending to be a religion gets their gates out, they'll do it. If Fen doesn't swing that way, they'll probably just ignore it." Gord took a sip of coffee, hot and black while they watched. Chloe had a cup of chamomile tea, a K'laxi blend.

Suddenly, their ship squealed, and the telescoped zoomed in on the yacht. The image was a few light minutes old at this distance, but they still watched as a... cloud of something came out of the bottom of the yacht, and then there was a sparkle of wormhole links all around her, like fireflies in the summer.

"Beacons! Thousands of them!" Gord shouted. "What the hell does that mean? What the hellfire is she doing?"

"Something has started, clearly. Look over there." Chloe touched the controls, and the view switched to another telescope watching the expeditionary force.

It was under attack.

By K'laxi ships.

"By Bobby Or's stick, what are they doing?" Gord said as Chloe raised an eyebrow at the oath. "They're going at them hammer and tongs!"

The K'laxi warships were flitting around the expeditionary force, chain linking three or four times, then firing missiles, and linking again. They were using a tremendous amount of power. Gord estimated that if they were using human reactors, each ship had to have at least a half dozen to be able to use that much power. He had never heard of K'laxi ever using more than two.

It was working though. The smaller K'laxi ships were too fast for the large, slower expeditionary force. The Imperial ships were designed for long term deployments and exploration. They weren't warships. That's not to say they weren't armed, but the K'laxi frigates were winning the fight. One of the smaller human ships suddenly exploded in a huge white fireball, the edges with black tendrils that reached into space.

"They blew their reactor! The ship must have taken a mortal wound!" Gord said, and looked at Chloe. "Are those ships AI?"

"One moment, Gord." Chloe's eyes flashed blue and she stared into the middle distance while she did research. "No. Those were all middle empire ships, with no provision for AI crew members."

"Thank goodness for small favors at least." Gord leaned back in his chair as the vinyl squeaked and complained. "Let's wait until the K'laxi are done. If they don't capture survivors, we can scoop them up." While the battle was ongoing, the flashes of the thousands of beacons around Fen's yacht dissipated. "Something tells me the Empire is going to be too busy in a few hours to rescue anyone."