#as if the jedi could have spared the clones from having to fight and freed them all by just saying no

[antianakin]

Well, for one, this post asked for bad Anakin Skywalker takes, not bad Jedi takes. This entire thread started because I had to see a bad Jedi take, so thanks for this, this is totally helping my fandom experience right now.

This is an EXHAUSTING conversation to have to keep having over and over again. I've definitely addressed it before, as have a few other people within the anti-Jedi community on Tumblr, but fine. Let's go through it again.

Generally when this topic comes up, there's a few follow-up questions it's helpful to try to answer.

If the Jedi refused to lead the clones from a moral standpoint, what is the alternative for the clones now, and is it better or worse for them in the long run?

Were the clones INTENDED to be seen as slaves or (also) closer to a draft and the writing of their situation is just done very messily and in a way that's very uncomfortable due to how close it seems to slavery? Follow-up to that, if it's uncomfortably close to slavery, perhaps this is where we discuss how close a draft is to slavery which brings up some interesting discussions about the Jedi having also been drafted and how much power the Jedi truly have in this situation.

Let's start with the first one because it's honestly just easier.

So the scenario is that the Jedi choose to refuse to fight in the war at all (because presumably fighting WITH the slave army is equally as bad as LEADING the slave army so long as we do not see the Jedi as slaves themselves because it still means they're supporting the use of the slave army). What becomes of the clones? Well, they still have to fight the war. The Jedi refusing to fight won't save the clones from that. But who will lead them now?

If your answer is "a bunch of fascist pricks who are probably in Palpatine's pocket," you'd be right! It'll just be a lot more people like Tarkin or Yularen.

How does this change the clones' experience? It means there's no longer a superior officer with heightened reflexes and instincts on the ground with them anymore, standing in front of them and blocking fire so that more men can survive. It means there's no longer a superior officer whose primary priority is going to be to preserve as much life as possible and will choose to surrender a fight to save more clones rather than push forward to victory regardless of the cost. It means there's no longer a superior officer whose teachings and morals allow them to inspire and encourage individuality amongst the clones, so it's entirely possible that all of those beautiful armor designs and different hair styles wouldn't even happen if the Jedi weren't leading them.

So I'm going to say that it's entirely canon that the Jedi leading the clones makes life better for them overall. If the Jedi refused their draft entirely the way you argue they should've on moral grounds, it leaves the clones in a way worse place overall. We can probably assume the Jedi are least SOMEWHAT aware of this, which means they're left with the choice of choosing to go along with the draft to do what they can for the clones even if it goes against their own morals, or they dodge the draft to try to adhere to their morals and ultimately leave the clones to fend for themselves against people less capable of protecting them and less willing to care for them. Which, once you look at it that way, sounds pretty selfish doesn't it? It's kind-of a lose/lose situation for the Jedi where they're damned if they do (support the slave army) and damned if they don't (abandoning people they could help for the sake of their own well-being).

The argument from the anti-Jedi crowd on this always seems to be just "well they shouldn't have done it" and never seems to actually address what the Jedi should've done INSTEAD. And I imagine that this is because the options there are pretty slim on the ground. "Dodge the draft!" Cool, how does this help the slaves you're so worried about? What does this allow the Jedi to actually DO to help the clones instead? Is this actually making life BETTER for the clones overall or is it actually making life WORSE? "The Jedi took down the Zyggerian slave empire in canon!" Yes, with the support of the Republic we must assume. Something they will NOT have in this case if they try to free the clones. So now we're just heading into "the Jedi should've destroyed the Republic themselves because it was basically a lost cause" and oh whoops now we're just saying Dooku was right and look at where that led.

I recognize that you say above you don't really give a damn about how kind the Jedi were to the clones and that it doesn't matter to you at all, so this was all probably a huge waste of time on my part, but it DOES matter to me on this topic and, I'd argue, it seems to matter in canon to the clones.

So that's the Watsonian analysis I have. In universe, the Jedi are faced with a nearly impossible lose/lose situation and they choose what is arguably the lesser of two evils by putting themselves in the position to actually do some good for the clones and save as many as they can.

Now let's hit that second point and dive a little deeper into a more Doylist analysis. Does the writing support the interpretation of the clones as slaves or is it just really badly written in the most uncomfortable way possible?

Now, this is where I will readily admit that the writing sucks, it's definitely racist, and I don't support the way they've chosen to depict the clones and their situation. But this is also where I will point out that there is a major difference between "the writing of the clones isn't done well and it has some perhaps unintended implications about the Jedi that the writers never meant to come across that way" and "the Jedi are intended to be viewed as slave owners and I am going to critique them based on that." Because I don't personally believe the second one and land way more in the realm of the first.

To begin with, I don't think that Lucas intended to write the clones as fully sentient beings. The dialogue we hear in Attack of the Clones about it when the Kaminoans are talking to Obi-Wan about them seems to imply more that the clones are sort-of sub-sentient, somewhere between a droid's programming and full sentience. What the fuck that means is anyone's guess, we're definitely in space magic bullshit territory here. But the implication IS THERE that the clones are perhaps not actually entirely sentient. So the reason that Cody seems perfectly friendly with Obi-Wan one moment and then immediately happy to shoot him down the next moment isn't because he's been mind controlled, but because he's just... not entirely sentient and he's just going to do as ordered, whether that means being loyal to the Jedi or killing them all. It's left a little unclear within the films, but that's the implication I got based on that dialogue from Attack of the Clones.

Which means that when TCW decided to make them fully sentient and sort-of change the narrative there, it's faced with a few difficulties. It's one thing to have an army of droids, or human-like men who are perhaps not fully sentient anyway. Can they truly be slaves if they aren't really sentient? Star Wars obviously faces this same question about the droids themselves, and the general consensus is that absolutely nobody intended the droids to come off like slaves because this would make Luke and Leia slave owners and that seems like a really obviously wrong interpretation doesn't it? Star Wars is by no means advocating for slavery by making two of its primary heroes droid owners. Subsequently, we can make the same argument here. Star Wars is not advocating for slavery by making the obvious good guys slave owners via leading the clones. That is not and never has been the message of the prequels, part of which is helped by making the clones less than human.

This is where the godawful racist writing bit comes in, obviously, and like I said earlier, I'm not denying any of that. It's absolutely fuck off racist to have written the clones this way, especially given who they chose to cast in the role. But if we choose to believe that Lucas was NOT intending the Jedi to be seen as slave owners in the prequels just because they led the clones in war, then it follows that the clones are NOT intended to be seen as slaves.

And this continues in The Clone Wars, despite the fact that the clones are now fully sentient. Granted, this is ALSO a really uncomfortable writing choice because while we could sort-of write off the fact that the clones weren't fully sentient and so the morals behind using them as an army is kind-of gray and nebulous, once the clones BECOME fully sentient, you lose that argument. You definitely do. And once again, I'm not denying that this was an absolutely terrible writing choice to have made given that they don't address it enough within the show to really dig into the morals behind it. Because all of the other characters still sort-of act like the clones are somewhere between droid and sentient in terms of them being in an army.

I will point out here that the ONLY characters who we see regularly advocate for the clones are the Jedi. So from a more Doylist standpoint, even if we are intended to see the clones as slaves (which I'm not convinced of), the Jedi are the only ones who we see doing a damn thing about that at all and arguing back about the clones' rights. Shaak Ti has an entire line where she tells Lama Su that the clones are people, not objects and fights for the Domino Squad to not just be "cast off." She practically bends over backwards to help Tup and Fives as much as she can.

And yes, the Jedi accept the explanation they're given about the "aggression inhibitor" chips, but we also see the Jedi actively looking into the creation of the clones and they discover that the clones are a literal Sith trap for them (even if they don't know how). When they don't have any further information to go on, they end up deciding that the clones are sentient people who have earned their trust. You could condemn that choice, obviously, call them idiots for not looking further or not assuming mind control I guess. But the Jedi ARE looking into things canonically, and when offered the choice between abandoning the clones for their own self preservation and trusting the clones enough to keep working with them, they choose to trust the clones. I'd argue the bigger issue here is not "The Jedi chose to ignore the chips that are a human rights issue regardless of whether they're mind control chips or not" but that the Jedi are now canonically given WAY too much information, making it seem a little silly that they don't connect things together that seem fairly obvious. Narratively, they obviously are incapable of connecting things completely since they need to be caught by surprise and all killed in Order 66. But once they know a chip EXISTS that had at least SOMETHING to do with a clone murdering a Jedi and then find out the clones are a Sith trap, it stops being quite as understandable that they didn't put those pieces together and look further into the chip issue.

Regardless, the reason they accept the "aggression inhibitor" explanation and don't look further is because the narrative prevents them from doing so. They CAN'T look further into the issue because they'd inevitably figure everything out and then the story doesn't happen. They're literally just prevented by the writing from doing the thing you want them to do. That's not the writers intending to make the Jedi out to be cruel and uncaring, it's just the writers of this show being kind-of stupid about how much information they're giving the Jedi and how unrealistic it is that they DON'T look into it more.

All of that tells me that even if we as the audience are expected to interpret the clones as slaves, we're NOT expected to interpret the Jedi as slave owners who should be condemned for their treatment of the clones.

Which brings us to Slick. Yes, Slick explicitly calls them slaves and condemns the Jedi for it. But do you recall what ELSE Slick does in that episode? He teams up with Asajj Ventress (someone who you could argue DOES enslave people quite a lot by virtue of being a Sith working for the Separatists) to help MURDER a bunch of his own brothers for money. So by no means does the narrative present Slick as a reliable source of information. He's a traitor who is basically in this for himself and that's it. He tries to excuse his actions with some grandiose cause, but Rex and Cody themselves see right through it. Neither of them seems to agree with Slick and they're both far more reliable and trustworthy characters. If we were meant to know that Slick was right, we'd have heard Rex and Cody say something similar to back it up, and we don't.

The best parallel to make here is to Anakin's comments about the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. Anakin says he should've known the Jedi were plotting to take over and that from his perspective the Jedi were evil. We have literally watched the Jedi trying to arrest Palpatine because HE'S plotting to take over, so we know Anakin's LYING. Anakin says he's brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to his new Empire, but we've seen what the Empire does, we saw how Anakin just murderred children, so we know that Anakin's LYING. Anakin is making excuses for his own atrocities to justify them to both himself and Obi-Wan (and Padme).

Slick's comments about the Jedi enslaving the clones aren't intended to be taken as true. He's just betrayed EVERYBODY and caused the deaths of hundreds of clones because Ventress (a Sith who works with the Separatists who we know are ACTUAL enslavers of innocent Republic civlians) promised him money in return. He's making up excuses for his actions to justify them both to himself and to the people around him (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and Cody). And you'll notice that nobody in that scene is buying what he's selling. This is why this comment really never has any follow-through, they never discuss the clones as slaves in any other episode really, even when it would make sense to do so (like Umbara or Zyggeria). You as the audience are supposed to just automatically recognize that Slick is LYING, so there's no real follow-up needed to this acccusation.

The problem here is predominantly that the change to the clones' level of sentience leads to them feeling a LOT more like literal slaves, so Slick's accusation doesn't seem as obviously inaccurate as Anakin's accusations do. In fact, it starts to ring as entirely true because, well, I don't know what ELSE you'd call sentient human beings who are considered products (something we know the Kaminoans call them, even though the Jedi themselves disagree). And this is an issue I am placing squarely at the feet of the writers for not recognizing. There is no way a more adult audience isn't going to hear Slick call the clones slaves and think that that's a lie when everything we're seeing says it's true. That's an issue, and I'll never deny that it isn't. But I still don't think that it's what was INTENDED to be understood by this scene.

The final piece of evidence I'll use to back that argument up is Cut Lawquane. The episode he shows up in is called "The Deserter." Not "The Escapee" or "The Runaway" or "The Freedman" or anything that might bring to mind slavery, but "Deserter" which is a lot more indicative of a DRAFT. Cut himself does condemn the Republic and some of the ways the clones were treated in general, but as I recall, Cut has exactly nothing negative to say about the Jedi specifically nor does he ever really refer to the clones as slaves. All of which tells me that the clones were being used as a metaphor for a DRAFT, but the writing was done so clumsily that what they ended up writing instead was a slave army. And that now comes with a ton of really unfortunate implications that are never addressed because the writers didn't recognize it enough to address it.

The point of the narrative is not to condemn the Jedi, it never has been. The Jedi are placed in an impossible situation with nothing but lose/lose options of evil and lesser evil. Who are we to condemn them for doing the best they can to keep choosing a lesser evil? Condemning them for being forced to make an impossible choice IS propaganda because that's literally what Palpatine intends to do by putting them in that situation to begin with. If the Jedi had refused to fight, refused to lead the clones, I imagine people who hate the Jedi both in universe and in fandom would be calling them cowards who abandoned their responsibility to the galaxy, selfish elitists who prioritized their own morals over people's lives. They can't win. And that's the whole fucking point. That's the tragedy of the prequels. The Jedi can't win, it doesn't MATTER what they choose to do or not do, they'll always lose. And if you missed that, you might have missed the entire point of the narrative.

I'm in the mood for bad faith Anakin Skywalker takes today, so if you have any of those to share, please do!

[knightprincess]

Forgive Me (Echo x Medic Reader) Part 13

Note: Season 7 & TBB Echo Words: 1.1K Warning: None

"Just like old times" commented Rex, affectionately patting Echo on the shoulder before boarding the Marauder. The rescue mission had been a success, they'd freed Echo from his long-standing imprisonment and helped defend the village of the natives. Echo could only sigh as he looked to the towers in the distance, as he accepted the truth for what it was. Nothing was going to be the same as before. How could it be? He was different, the blast at the Citadel had damaged his body, and the Techno Union had played havoc with his mind, using his strategic skills to the advantage of the separatists and forcing him to serve the enemy. 

On top of that, he had so much guilt for what he'd been forced to do, all the times he'd cost his brothers their precious lives. Yet despite his best attempts to ignore the glaringly obvious, he knew Fives was gone. He knew the other Arc Trooper would have been right there at Rex's side, being the first to voluntarily break the rules, as they did so many times as a cadet. He knew there was a chance others he called friends and brothers were gone too. The only question was if he was responsible for their deaths, as he held himself accountable for so many others. 

As Echo boarded the modified attack shuttle, his thoughts turned to (Y/N). Silently he questioned if she was still with the GAR let alone serving with the 501st. He wondered if she'd found the love she searched for if she was happy or even remembered him. At the same time, he tried to think of ways to thank her. The moments he was conscious during his captivity, she'd both kept him company and been his weapon to defend against the Techno Union. Snap had become the hope that kept him going, the reason he continued his fight. 

"Is Snap still ..." trailed Echo, finding himself unable to complete his question. Rex came to sit at his side, a small grin creeping across his lips. The legendary captain knew she'd be waiting eagerly for their return. Anakin could only watch on, wishing he could be so open for his love for Padme, yet also recognize the love Echo had for the talented medic for the gift it truly was. The remaining members of the Bad Batch, on the other hand, tried to ignore the conversation, finding it wasn't their place to say anything. Even when all of them had built a friendship with her. 

"She's on Anaxes, waiting for our return" announced Anakin, confirming (Y/N) was still working with the GAR and still beloved by the many troopers. Although the general failed to mention just how much she'd changed, she'd become cold to several Jedi over the years, particularly those who refused to treat clones as the living beings they were. Many a time Snap blurted out what she was thinking, but she'd also prevented some troopers from getting into fights with those who so often looked down upon them. 

"Me and some of the boys have been teaching her to use a blaster" commented Rex, recalling it was Wolffe's idea to train her to use the smaller blasters, he made the notion after it became clear Octavious wasn't going to leave her be. Cody had seconded it, with the three of them and Jesse helping to train her, during their spare time. Kix made a comment about how she could kick their asses and patch them up. 

"Sounds like a dangerous combination" replied Echo, recalling Jesse's mention of the idea before, Fives had agreed with it, saying it would give them peace of mind. Once again Echo signed, he longed for the day of rescue, to see his brothers again and reunite with Snap, to selfishly tell her everything he should have back then. But he couldn't push away the drowning thoughts. What if Snap had moved on and found someone else? What if she saw him now and rejected him? What if she'd changed and no longer cared? Had Snap changed? 

"We're prepared to be dragged kicking and screaming for the customary check-up" jokingly spoke Hunter, Anakin could only nod from his spot near the communications panel. Crosshair countered Hunter's comment with a simple "Speak for yourself". The comment managed to pull a small chuckle from Wrecker and launch Tech into a lecture about it being mandatory. The simple exchange reminded Echo of the relationship he'd shared with Fives, Jesse, Kix, and Hardcase before the Citidal, Hevy, Droidbait, and Cutup before that. 

"Snap will be thrilled to see you Echo, she's not been the same since the Citidal mission" reassuringly voiced Anakin while confirming Echo's suspicions the war had changed (Y/N) as well. Something that wasn't surprising to anyone who'd experienced any part of the war firsthand. "She'll be the medic checking all of us over" laughed the Jedi Knight, the way Hunter and Tech both turned to Crosshair with identical I told you so expressions not going unnoticed. 

"What happened with the bill the senate was trying to pass? Civvi medics protection ..." trailed Rex, recalling hearing rumors about it some time ago. Snap had made it clear she didn't need protection, as it would only serve to distract those around her and give her someone else to patch up when something inevitably went wrong. Anakin and Obi-Wan had both given her identical dad looks, the same kind any parent would give a disobeying child. 

"They passed it weeks ago" replied Anakin, recalling there'd been some trouble convincing Snap to accept the protector or find someone up for the task outside of the undesirable option of Octavius. "Wolffe and Gregor volunteered as Snap's protectors until a permanent solution can be found. Pretty sure Gregor has more fun winding her up" commented the hero of the republic, recalling the number of times he'd seen Gregor purposely winding (Y/N) up lately, Wolffe did as well when he was around, but more often than not he took his duty seriously. Normally scaring some poor soul off when both were on shore leave. 

"She has an army of big brothers" voiced Echo, a small chuckle escaping him. Although he didn't voice the follow-up comment suggesting the civvi medic was the toughest one. "Is Octavius still in the GAR?" asked the Arc Trooper, recalling hearing whispers he'd joined the GAR before, Rex and Anakin both nodded, whereas Wrecker frowned, suggesting members of the batch had come across the rude cryptographer. No doubt they experienced the same treatment as other clones before and after them, if not worse treatment due to their irregular appearance and abilities. 

"Her sister Isolde was among the ranks as well. Like Snap in the medical field. She was assigned to the medical station near Naboo" announced Anakin, recalling crossing paths with the ghastly woman, her entitled behavior, and main character syndrome doing little in the way of good bedside manners. Even the Kaminoans had shuddered at her endless audacity and unfavorable behavior, as had the brashest of senators. 

Masterlist

[qvnthesia]

in action. (a tbb hunter one-shot)

a hunter/jedi!reader (afab) fic.

the pitch: seeing hunter in action inspired a different flame in you, one that you wanted everything to do with.

a/n: okay look — i know i know i was supposed to update my tvd fic but IT’S HUNTER COME ON this man has captivated my heart my soul my body my legs—*ahem* anyways, i hope you enjoy this fic! dedicated to @/xajnie on tbbtwt, thank you for fuelling the hunter admiration <33 i’ve had to change the plot 4 times — FOUR TIMES (fuck writer's block) — so, once again, i hope you enjoy this fic!

word count: 1, 426

theme/warning: fluff, and references to smut. implied enemies to lovers dynamic. reader is an adrenaline junkie <33 (yes i’m projecting yes i’ve become a whore for this man yes i’m not ashamed) — putting an 18+ warning just to be on the safe side 💗

You were staring.

Here’s the thing—Jedi weren't supposed to stare like that. They were supposed to observe, analyse their environments and maintain peace and harmony accordingly.

Granted, you had spectacularly failed at that mindful endeavour when you had stormed through the Zygerrian stronghold. You cut through hordes of clankers with a brazen and bold strut, freed civilians fleeing behind you for cover as you advanced forward. You supposed your lightsaber would have yielded some ‘yielding’ results from the enemy, but your master’s warning about your thrill-seeking tendencies rang in your brain, and you were too late. Now enslaved to the cruel species, you didn't have much of a leeway, much to your amused chagrin, with a shock collar saddled around your neck, sharp electric cords having forced you on your knees with your bound wrists lying between your legs.

Now, however, you weren't regretting being bound at all.

There was a reason the clones had more advantages than the Separatists. They were men, they were alive, they were people who had thoughts and dreams of their own. Every trooper you had been graced with the privilege of serving alongside with had their own quirks, distinguished by their own art, moral and valour.

The sargeant was more.

As the de-facto commanding officer of the Bad Batch, Hunter had had his initial doubts about you. He was a man who wasn't used to deferring his leadership, especially not to someone who had gone from Captain to Commander to General within a span of months. But you were a Jedi, and he never voiced his doubts even though you could still feel the bitter edges of his annoyance and his purposefully positioned distance reduced to nothing but professionalism and workplace discipline.

You thought that being a Jedi, you’d stick to the military civility and get the job done.

But the Sargeant made it hard to be a stickler for the rules.

You centered yourself in the Force, ignoring the deep tug from your pulsing womanhood as Hunter battled a horde of Zygerrian slavers, hand-to-hand.

This wasn't the first time you’d watched him fight. Sure, he fought for the good of the Republic, but you’d be lying if you said watching him kick ass wasn't a scrumptious treat for your sore eyes.

Aside from the clankers begging for mercy, he spared none as he sank his knife into the droids. His pauldrons strained against his biceps as he wrapped his arms around the commando ones until their circuitry sparked and fizzled into haphazard disassembly. There were moments where it was just comfortable silence, you working on your lightsaber again while he kept twirling his knife until he sheathed it under his forearms and got up to receive the latest mission briefing. Your veins always swam with his every move, your gaze drinking every smug tug of his chapped lips as he gave a two-fingered salute and decimated battalions, his fingers curling in the exact way you’d imagined him inside you.

It was as if the war suddenly ceased to matter, your Code rendered obsolete within a span of seconds as he brgan filling your thoughts. His breath mixing with yours, fingers tangled in his hair, all resistance forgotten, his skin on yours, bodies joined, his light inside you, rendering you delirious and needy with pleasure. His smoky voice filling your ears with the filthiest of murmurs as he claimed every inch of you, gazing down upon you with a dark, heavy-lidded stare that he’d directed at you whenever he disagreed with you and your near-suicidal yet successful strategies.

You’d committed his every move to your memory. It wasn't hard to forget, being sensitive to everything down to the molecules around.

It was then you sensed it, panic flooding your limbs as a yellow whip cracked the air.

“HUNTER—”

Your warning died, lips parting in sharp, rippling surprise as the whip curled around Hunter’s arm. The electricity travelled up his body, and you struggled against the bonds, being hit with electricity tailored to make you kneel.

That’s when you heard it. A low growl. The strangled primal voice ripping out of Hunter’s throat as he stood up on his two feet. Your mind practically exploded as you stared openly, mental shields frayed from something between pain and admiration, the kind inspired by a promise of the forever you’d sworn not to chase.

Gripping the blazing whip, Hunter yanked the Zygerrian man towards him, stopping an imminent collision as he bent the slaver’s wrists with a painful wrench and delivered a sharp kick to his chest, careening the scum across the dark bridge of the facility until his body collided with the console and fell to the floor with a useless crumple.

You let out an exhale, relieved. Your legs were trembling from the exertion employed from resisting being beaten into submission. But you stood up on your two feet, shaky.

“Right on time, huh?”

You met his helmet, stark, and sighed again.

“Okay, I know you're mad and yes, I should’ve take the offer for backup—”

You’re cut off as his helmet hits the ground with a thud and he makes straight for you. Before you can say anything, his fingers rip off the collar your neck and undo your restraints.

“Hunter—”

Your confusion muffles into shock as he pulls you towards him and brings your lips into his.

Your heart nearly explodes, its pace picking up as your eyelids instantly droop shut, your palms pressing his chest plate, arms snaking around his neck until your fingers threaded through his dark locks. His fingers grip under your thigh, feet shuffling until he pins you against a wall, his solid body trapping yours under his heat. His mouth slants over yours, and he groans into the kiss as your tongue meets the hot wet of his mouth. Your back digs against his hands as they roamed across the expanse of your robes.

He was so close to you, so unbearably far away with the layers between as you snaked one leg around his waist and his length pressed against you. You arched your back at the contact, flames igniting up your body as you grinded against him, the lines between need and want blurring so intensely between your desires to be one with him and have him stay just like this.

His hands cupped your face and he flinched. Your brows stitched together as he drew back, hurt tautly woven on your face.

Hunter probably sensed your emotions, he always did, always on the lookout for something different, something hopefully not life-threatening. He simply held out a hand now coated with your blood. His eyes roved over to the bleeding gash from the side of your face, and he let out a weary sigh.

“When will you start listening to me?”

“Now where’s the fun in that, Sarge?” you grinned.

“Tsk,” his other hand traced the edge of your jaw until his thumb pressed your lower lip. “Don’t tempt me.”

Your grin grew wider and you let out a breathy laugh, your tongue flicking out to give his thumb a lick. A thrilling shiver ran down your spine, your mind hazy with your victory, once his intense brown-grey eyes refocused on you.

“Call it a favour, Hunter.”

He hummed, “What if I don't see it as a favour, Mesh’la?”

Your smile melted, the fire in your blown-out eyes sparking brighter, your gaze flickering between wonder at the use of that endearing term.

A handful of seconds passed between the two of you, and a smirk tugged at his lips.

Your scent had been on him the entire campaign, driving him into absolute overdrive everytime he watched you cut down enemies with your saber and decimate battalions as if you were cutting through butter and not fighting an intergalactic war. But today, he’d had trouble fighting against those slavers with the thoughts that were running in your head and driving him wild. He’d felt the weight of your gaze on his soul, the curiosity turning into animosity masking your passionate frenzy. And he would be a fucking fool if he didn’t admit not a day went by where he hadn’t thought of doing things to you that turned your bratty self into a whimpering, moaning mess all over him.

He noted your evidently aroused state, the warm blood rushing beneath your skin, and the wetness pooling your trousers.

This was going to take a while, and Hunter wasn't going to waste a single second of finally getting to have some action with you.

thank you so so much for reading! please do point out any grammatical mistakes if there are any. this is the first time i'm writing for hunter so i hope you enjoyed this fic!

if you'd like to be added to the hunter tag list (since i do have a shit ton of fics planned—this man has a chokehold on me as bad as hayden does), drop a comment below! reviews are extremely appreciated 💗✨

this fic has NOT been cross-posted to my ao3. any/all forms of plagiarism will not be tolerated.

[ivorydragoness44]

Unedited Notes for my Beauty and the Beast Darth Maul x senator!Reader AU...thing

Beauty and the Beast/Beauty and the Zabrak???

Darth Maul x Reader AU

Gaston? : Badguy senator?

Planet: Musta Dathomir? Cursed on Lotho Minor or Dathomir? Mandalore, with Mandos as helpers? He took over Mandalore in his vengeance campaign. Savage his main stooge? The Reader a senator ad no other senators believe their aid-person bcuz their claims seem wild and unrealistic. Maybe the aid was seen in Mandalore and Mandos assumed suspicious activity. Their droid hurries back to the ship to alert the Reader who rushes to the citadel. She demands the charges and release of her aid (Maybe somehow sneaking her way to the prison cells to find her did). The switch, Aid is escorted out/removed. The Aid rushes to their ship instructing/telling the droid that they must hurry to Coruscant for help. (There is enough (funds) going to the war effort as it is).

After Satine/Kenobi thing

Savage??

Mando library. Mando’a (?)

Ballroom/Dance → saber training in the throne room (of different area).

Fighting choreography is like a dance. Balcony for air. Overlooking city.

Snow, no.

Wanting to join for dinner for valuable info., meanwhile she is trying to create ‘rope’ to escape.

Be Our Guest: sneaking her food, one Mando speaks loudly though. (A few mandos helping her out) (In her room or not?? If not, she would have to sneak back without Maul spotting or sensing her.)

Curse Breaks: Maul gets his OG legs back & Savage goes small. (If Savage is still alive)

Wolves: Citizens?

OR the Gaston-badguy IS SIDIOUS/PALPATINE!

instead of marriage with the Reader, he wants her to promote/fund a new law the she knows is wrong even though he is ‘playing his cards’ and saying all of the positives that would come of it.

Firstly, she declines a dinner meeting. Like, she knows that it is a political thing to do, but she has boundaries.

The Reader’s Aid acts as Maurice, a dear friend of hers. (Or an actual character??)

And R2 unit or BB unit droid acts as Phillipe.

They(Aid) may go to Mandalore to speak with someone there to get intel OR for a good/supply/exchange etc. The Aid got too close to the citadel, was recognized and there fore captured (suspicious activity).

Almec(?) has the Reader released from her cell and given a room. Maul is stunned/surprised and angered by this news.

Mando-given cybernetic legs for Maul? (As opposed to the other ones)

(Intro/Prologue) Nightsister magick-Force enchantment combo on Maul to have his physical body be healed (legs given back) only when he learns to love another. Palpatine used and abused him so much and Mother Talzin pretty much knew that upon healing his mind. Like, she is not doing this to help him, she does not believe that he even has the ability to have a true friend. Using him to get to Sidious.

Final battle scene, the Reader can run to retrieve Savage’s old lightsaber (if in-canon not alive) or the darksaber to help aid Maul who does not want to bother with his old master (again).

“I am no beast/monster.”

Epic duel!

Sidious Force-Pushing the Reader away getting/becoming furious. Maul happy that she has returned. Maul trying to get to her to protect her; Sidious reveals himself again and attacks Maul.

Maybe an early Siege of Mandalore with Ahsoka, and Clones to get Maul, Kenobi and Skywalker to retrieve Palpatine, who the Reader said upon escaping/being freed by Republic Troopers, was going to Mandalore. Kenobi & Skywalker going to ‘save/protect’ Palpatine but find out through viewing the duwl between Maul and Sidious everyone’s true nature.

Maul gets his legs back. Reader wants the Mando vs Clones fight to stop. Maul must go to Coruscant for trial — she wants to help speak on his behalf; like she has technically already started Darkside rehab. “Please spare him Master Kenobi. He knew no other way of life. —He could help against Count Dooku and General Grevious.” “I will be no Jedi. But I will help where I can.” A hand to the Reader’s back(?).

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

This looks more organized on my Pages document lol

Anyway, I hope this gives you more of a clear (maybe not, bcuz it's a little everywhere and vague) idea of what I was going for. (I'm trying to keep to canon as best as I can, probably bcuz I don't want to accidentally confuse myself or something haha)

Feel free to let me know your thoughts and suggestions. Like character cameos (Padmé? Specific Clone Trooper?), interactions, like hesitant fluff or something between Maul and Reader bcuz I believe that he would not want to hurt his S/O.

I hope your day is going well :)

[fanficsforheartandsoul]

In Her Arms | Ahsoka Tano x Fem!Reader | Star Wars

Notes: Lol I said only 1k per request but well... I got too invested xD I hope this is somewhat what you wanted :) Their relationship is rather platonic here, although it is implied both Ahsoka and the Reader are in love with each other, I hope that’s fine too.

Fandoms: Star Wars, The Clone Wars

Warnings: Slight Self-Consciousness, Angst, Mention of Death, Slight OOC, Fluff

Summary: Y/N has a hard time dealing with the war and the problems that come with it, but Ahsoka, with whom she had a fall-out, approaches her and helps. 

Word Count: 2′334

Taglist: @jessigurl-design

If you want to be tagged in my stories send me a pm with the fandom/character name! Or comment on the fic :)

Masterlist

Being a Jedi was hard. Being 17 was hard too. 

Especially in times of war, where one saw more death and blood than a person should ever see. 

But she knew nothing else. 

Her padawan training began with the war, although that wasn't something she had liked. And she struggled because of it. 

Y/N couldn't handle the cries of her injured friends, the blood-curling screams when someone got shot, the stern and lifeless look in the eyes of the clones when they knew they had lost that one fight. 

Y/N struggled. 

And the worst part of it all was that her friends, who also went through the same horrible things, seemingly did not as much as she did. Of course, she wouldn't want anyone to go through the recurring nightmares, insomnia, and the exhausting days she had to experience in the last few weeks. 

But the fact that she seemed to be the only one who had such troubles adapting to life in war made her feel somewhat broken. 

She needed to be fixed. 

But her insecurities did not let her seek out the help she needed. 

Master is busy with the clones and battle strategies. The council... She doubted that the council would bother with her little anxiety attack. And her friends, especially a certain Togruta... She couldn't tell them either. After all, they were not that close anymore. 

The times of giggles, pranks, and late-night ghost stories were over. 

They would also not understand, because they were able to function well on the battlefield, unlike her. 

How many times did she drop her lightsaber in the middle of a battle already?! 

A loud groan escaped her lips, and she closed the datapad and leaned back in her seat. She ran her hands over her face and sighed. 

Once again, could she not find a better method to meditate. The archives were as vast as the sea on Kamino, but in her desperate times, there seemed to be no book that could help her. 

Y/N removed her card from the computer and then stood up. White dots swirled over her vision for a moment, her head felt dizzy, and she froze. What was that? She clenched her jaw. 

No, I'm fine. She told herself. 

But it was a lie. And she wasn't the only one who knew it.

-

"Why do I always have to do the things you don't want to do?"

"Because you are my padawan."

Anakin's laughing face made her scowl, but she wasn't that bothered with him sending her to the Archives of the temple. Mainly because she was able to see a dear friend of hers that she hadn't seen in a long time. 

In the last few days of research, Ahsoka had caught glimpses of Y/N, with whom she had shared a room and sometimes even a bed when she was part of the Clawmouse Clan. 

The girl was only slightly older than her, and they had been best friends when they had learned everything a youngling needed to know. 

Them becoming padawans changed their relationship, though, and they saw each other less and less. 

Ahsoka didn't really know why because they never addressed it, but she was sure it had something to do with her being Anakin's, The Chosen One's padawan. And the war obviously. 

Y/N's Master was also a Jedi Guardian, like Anakin himself, and they both fought at the frontlines of the war. 

When Ahsoka first heard about it, she was concerned about her friend's safety. 

Y/N L/N was never a person who she saw fighting against droids. 

Y/N was heartwarming, a little shy and quirky, but kind and more selfless than anyone she had ever met. Her place was not between dying clones and short-circuiting droids. 

Ahsoka had always believed that her dear friend would choose the route of becoming a Jedi Consular, a Healer, to be exact. Her gentleness and sunny attitude had seemed perfect for that path. But the war probably thwarted her plans. 

She wasn't sure, but she could imagine that the pressure of her peers accepting the guidance of a Jedi Guardian made her do the same, not that she thought Y/N's Master had been a bad choice. He was just a little too stern, a little too demanding, in her opinion. 

But what right did she have to say something? 

They were not that close anymore, and that fact hurt Ahsoka more than all the pain she had gone through during her time as a soldier.

"Hey, hey, if you really don't want to go, I'll take care of it. No need to make such a face, Snips." 

She snapped out of her thoughts, and Anakin observed her with a slightly guilty expression. 

"No, it's fine. Gonna go now, bye." 

Before her Master could say anything else, she already left the room. 

-

She arrived a few minutes later in the Archives, greeted Jocasta Nu, and then let her eyes roam across the giant halls. 

A familiar force presence flickered in the back, and Ahsoka determinedly walked over there. But with every step she took, her confidence faltered a little. 

We haven't talked in a while, what am I even going to tell her? "Hey Y/N, I miss you greatly and would love to talk about our time as younglings and maybe sleep in the same bed again and caress your hair", yeah of course. 

She abruptly stopped when another thought crossed her mind, and a blush swept across her face. 

Stop it! 

She shook her head to concentrate when she suddenly felt a wave of dread coming from the corner where her friend stayed. 

It hit Ahsoka like a brick, and her embarrassing thoughts stopped immediately. 

What...? 

Worry bubbled in her chest, the Togruta slowly walked closer to Y/N's location, and when she glanced around a shelf, she saw the girl hunched over a datapad. 

Ahsoka was momentarily distracted by the unkempt hair when Y/N groaned. 

It wasn't a "shit-I-don't-want-to-do-this"-groan, it was more like "I'm-exhausted-to-death"-one. 

She contemplated whether to step out of her hiding place and address the girl when she sighed again and then stood up. 

Ahsoka only watched as Y/N suddenly tensed and froze. Her breath shook, and the Togruta could see her shake hands before they clenched to fists and her friend hurried out of the library. 

Ahsoka stood unmoving behind the shelf, her eyes blinking slowly, her breath taken from the alarming anxiety in Y/N's force presence. 

She needed to research for their next planetary mission in the Outer Rim but when she caught a glimpse of the storm brooding in her beloved friend's mind, she could not disregard it. 

She followed the girl, her feet driven by her worries.

-

"Y/N?"

A soft knock on her door made the girl jump. What..? 

"Ahsoka?" 

Her voice clearly showed her surprise. 

The Togruta's response sounded a little awkward, but she ignored it, too busy calming her pounding heart. 

"Y-Yeah... Do you - uhh, have a moment to talk?" 

Talk? Talk about what? Does she... Has she realized..?! 

Panic emerged and clawed at her mind, it momentarily distracted her, and before she could even answer, her hand had already pressed the button to open the door to her room. 

She came face to face with Ahsoka, her former best friend now slightly taller than her in height. 

Y/N rubbed her eyes tiredly. Maybe, the Togruta before her was just her imagination? 

But the force presence of her friend was wrapping itself around her. 

Ahsoka looked formidable with her new robes. They complimented her skin tone and the blue of her montrals. 

Y/N forced herself to look Ahsoka in the eyes and smile, although it felt fake and probably also looked unnatural. 

"Hi", she greeted her weakly. 

"Can I come in?" 

They acted very awkwardly as if they hadn't bathed together before and talked about the cutest younglings in their classes. But how could they not? Their friendship had changed. 

Instead of answering, Y/N backed out off the door frame, and Ahsoka entered her room. 

She closed the door and then watched anxiously as the Togruta's eyes scanned everything as if to take a holographic photo. 

She realized that she once again hadn't made the bed, because she had been too tired to do it, and it had seemed like a bother. Then there were the various books about meditating. They stacked next to her cot and towered over her nightstand. 

Her spare clothes laid scattered across the floor, and the robe from last week still hadn't been washed. The brown bloodstains looked unsightly on the beige robe. 

She sighed inwardly. That's not how she wanted to present herself especially not to Ahso - a hand suddenly grabbed hers. When Y/N looked up, her eyes meet blue. 

"Were you hurt? Did you get injured?!" 

She blinked. 

"Wha-What?" 

Ahsoka's face was suddenly way too close to hers, and she breathed in shakily. The Togruta's eyes were unwavering.

"There's blood on your robes." 

Oh. She saw them. 

Her mouth was too dry for her to speak, so she only shook her head. 

No, she wasn't injured, that blood belonged to a clone. She was fine.

"But you are hurting." 

These words resounded way louder in her head than they were actually said. 

Ahsoka's tone was soft. It was neither a question nor an accusation. Only a statement. 

It was true. 

The fact that her friend, whom she had not seen in a long time, could guess her emotional state with just a glance shook her to her core. 

Silence reigned over them, her friend waited for her to speak, but she couldn't. 

Y/N breathed out slowly, and she freed herself from the Togrutas grip, her hands now holding herself as if she would break if she didn't. 

She gasped for air before she squeezed out from her lips: 

"I'm- I'm just so tired." 

Her eyes avoided Ahsoka's, and she faltered. 

Her knees suddenly felt too weak, she stumbled, but before she could fall, two warm hands grabbed her and brought her into Ahsoka's arms. 

Her whole weight was supported by the other girl, and they sank to the floor. 

Y/N was tense at first. When was the last time she had such close contact with anyone, especially Ahsoka? It must have been years. 

That thought, the warmth from the embrace of the Togruta, and her desperation caused her eyes to water. In a matter of seconds, tears rushed across her cheeks, and she soaked Ahsoka's shirt. 

A sob escaped her lips, and the other padawan pressed her closer to herself. 

"I got you, Y/N. You hear me? You're not alone." 

-

That her heart wasn't pounding loudly would be a lie. 

Such close physical contact with the person she liked caused butterflies to explode in her chest, but the Togruta ignored them, her concern for her friend too deep to abuse that moment of intimacy. 

She had a general idea of what Y/N meant with being tired. 

She knew how exhausting the war was, and also wanted it to finally come to an end. 

But for her it was different. She had Anakin and Obi-Wan as pillars. They were her emotional support, and she could always talk with them about her worries. 

It hurt Ahsoka to admit it, but it seemed like Y/N did not see her as that kind of support for her. 

She knew the girl was always kind to others, sometimes too kind, and too selfless. Maybe she believed that she would inconvenience others if she told them about her worries. 

Her grip tightened around the waist of her friend, and she bit her lips. 

Please no. 

Was she really that kind of a bad friend? How could she not notice? 

Guilt panged in her chest, and she ran her fingers through Y/N's hair. Her shirt got wetter and wetter, and with every teardrop, her determination grew. 

"Y/N?", she asked carefully. 

The girl in her arms shifted, and Y/N looked up at her, her eyes and cheeks red, clearly embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry", she croaked, Ahsoka wanted to hold her against her chest again, but she stopped herself and whispered: 

"You can tell me everything you know? I'm always here for you. You can take your time, but please don't shut me out. I want to know how you feel. I want you to be happy, okay?" 

Her voice slightly trembled when she said the last part and her eyes began to sting. 

The girl's eyes turned round and then, Ahsoka could watch it like slow-motion, the corner of her lips lifted, and she presented one of her signature smiles. Slightly weaker, slightly less happy, but still giving hope as always. 

"Okay. I'll... I'll tell you... But not right now. I'm... I feel like I’m able to sleep now. I had trouble doing it for a few weeks now, and I- I just get these nightmares and..." 

A worried expression swept across Y/N's face again and Ahsoka grabbed her cheeks. She stared at her with wide eyes. “You said tomorrow, right? It’ll be fine if we talk about it tomorrow. No need to stress now.” She smiled to reassure her. Ahsoka breathed out slowly and then muttered:

"If you want some emotional support...", her face burned when she said that, "should I stay with you?"

The padawan bit her lips and then nodded shyly. 

Ahsoka blessed the force, and they stood up together and moved to Y/N's bed. 

Her friend slipped under the covers, ignoring the fact that she still wore her outer robes and lifted the covers welcomingly for her. Ahsoka took her boots off and joined her. 

Two arms slung around her, and her heart sped up again when Y/N snuggled closer to her. 

She laid still for a while, tense, with a fast heartbeat, but with a small grin on her lips. 

"Y/N?" 

Maybe she could tell her friend one day. How much she liked her. So much that it would break her if the other was unhappy and suffering. Y/N’s happiness meant the world for her.

Instead of a response, she heard a soft snore coming from her chest, and Ahsoka smiled. 

If she could ease her friend's worries, she would gladly be a body pillow for the rest of her life. 

She pressed a light kiss on Y/N's hair. 

"May tomorrow be a better day for you, because I’ll help you." 

[evabellasworld]

Storm of the Republic

Chapter 21

AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

——————————————————————————————

Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.

————————————————————————————

With their hands cuffed, Odd Eye could only blink towards the soggy ground as Tarot and Mina were sitting beside her, not saying a single word. “So, what do we do now?” Mina asked, trying to wrangle herself free. “How do we get out of here?”

The commander of the 666th Battalion turned towards Tarot with a stony expression on her face. “Can you shuffle the cards for us?”

Tarot turned to the other Mina, gesturing towards his utility belt. “Could you help me get my tarot cards? I don’t think I can reach them with those handcuffs around me.”

“Seriously?” the other Mina rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “You were given two hands and a brain. At least utilise it.”

“I’ll give you a reading if you take my tarot cards for me.”

“Yes, vod,” she gave a nod, as she looked left and right and reached for his pocket, slowly taking out the deck of cards with her hands. As she handed it to him, Tarot glanced at Odd Eye, smiling. “So, what questions do you have for me, Commander?”

“Will we get out of this situation?” Odd Eye asked the deck, hoping she would get a yes as an answer.

He shuffled the cards for her, provoking no form of attention from the battle droids. They may have gotten hold of their blaster, but they will never take away his treasured possession that his late general had gifted.

As he finished shuffling the cards, he pulled out the Temperance card from the deck, which made him frown. “Oh dear,” Tarot bared his teeth. “I’m afraid I have bad news for you.”

She breathed in frustration. “Seriously? We’re not getting out of here? Did you even shuffle the cards properly?”

“Of course I did, commander,” Tarot insisted. “I’ve been doing readings for the entire battalion for years and I have never been wrong in my entire career, ever.”

“Entire career, my ass. No one has ever paid you to do a reading for them.”

“Well, I’m planning to become a professional tarot reader once the war is over. Besides, I could earn a lot of money for predicting other people’s future, you know.���

“The only thing you’re always fixated on is your future,” Odd Eye raised her voice. “Right now, we’re being captured by the Imps and that’s the only thing running in your head right now? How do you become an ARC Trooper with that kind of attitude?”

“Okay guys, let’s not argue too much,” Erina stepped in between them, squeezing both their hands. “Right now, we’ll have to think of a way to get ourselves out of this sticky situation. Can we work on this together?”

Before Odd Eye and Tarot could answer their general, two battle droids approached them, pointing their weapons in front of their faces. “Silence, Republic dogs, or we’ll shoot.”

The former could only smirk as she glanced at them, before pouncing on one droid and disarmed it, shooting both the droids with agility. Erina was speechless as watched the commander freed herself, before the latter tossed a blaster towards her. “What are you waiting for? This is our chance to take them down. Come on.”

“You’re insane,” the general remarked, as she shifted her focus towards Raul, who was trembling to himself. Pulling the trigger, she shot her partner’s handcuffs, making him exclaim through his throat.

“Makers, Eri. You could have killed me.”

“Just be grateful that you can fight. Now don’t just stand there. Grab something and fight those Imperial scum, goddamit.”

“Yes, dear,” Raul saluted as he jumped on a droid and stomped its head, snatching a blaster from its hands. The Imperials opened fire towards the clones, but the latter fought back with their combined strength and their brains, taking them down like what they did in their training simulation.

Mina got back her twin pistols and took down the Super Battle Droids, before moving on with the B1 units. Nygma and Beetle, on the other hand, collected some explosives from the droid’s camp and tossed them towards an army, making the ground shatter.

Watching the battle, Faven’s legs were shaking as Hyewon unlocked her handcuffs with a safety pin, before doing the same for Boil and Faven. “We should join the party,” the purple-haired clone gestured. “Come on, guys.”

“When did you learn how to pick locks?” Boil asked her. “I don’t even know how to do that.”

“I learned it from an escaped artist. He failed to escape from prison, though.”

“How ironic,” Faven snorted, tossing their weapons towards them. “But we have a job to finish and we don’t have time to loiter around like.”

The two of them nodded and joined the battle, gunning down their enemies swiftly. The droid army had called for reinforcement at their camp, but Boil could not care, for he was determined to win this minor battle. He was humiliated for getting ambushed by the Empire, and now, he is getting his sweet revenge against them.

“Hey, you three,” Mina pointed her fingers at Faven, Boil, and Faven. “Don’t just stand there and shoot. I need you all to sabotage their tanks right now. We need to everything we can to cripple those scumbags. Got it?”

“Yes, general,” Hyewon acknowledged, looking at her siblings. “How the fuck are we going to do that? We won’t even last for two seconds.”

“It’s easy,” Faven picked up three bombs from the box they carried moments ago. “We run towards them, plant them on the bottom of the tank, and run for safety. Understood?”

“I won’t fail you, pal.”

“That’s the spirit,” Boil cheered them up, as they brave themselves through the crossfire, avoiding every blast as they could.

Hyewon shielded herself from the attacks with her arms while Faven blasted the droids while running in the dark, hoping she could knock on a tree and die instantly. Meanwhile, Boil kept on sprinting towards the first tank, without looking back.

“I won,” he laughed, much to Faven’s exasperation.

“Not everything is a game, you know. For all we know, someone could die right now.”

“I love this game,” Hyewon smiled underneath her helmet, as she threw a bomb on the second tank, before winking at the former. “You can do it, Fav.”

She could only roll her eyes as she was the last one to finish her task given by the commander. Ducking behind the tree for safety, Faven covered her ears as three of the tanks blew up, sweeping away most of the droid army.

“Take that, you motherfucking clankers,” Boil screamed in joy as Hyewon cheered in a high-pitched voice.

“That is one hell of an explosion,” she bellowed. “I’ve never had this much fun since I beat someone in a poker game.”

But they spoke too soon. As the trio helped each other up, they were surrounded with reinforcements from the Imperials, prompting them to raise their hands in the air.

“Looks like we spoke too soon,” Faven said, deadpanned, as they were led back to the 666th and the 197th Battalion, who were forced to surrender.

Odd Eye stretched her lips wide, realising that she had to lose to the droid army for the second time in one day. “I can’t believe your deck is accurate.”

“I’m sorry, commander,” Tarot apologised. “Sometimes, I can’t always control the answers shown on my cards.”

“Looks like the concentration camps seem fun,” Raul showed his optimism, making Erina roll her eyes.

“You have to work to death in a concentration camp till you die, Raul. It’s not a delightful spot for vacation.”

“We shared the same blanket and you still can’t tell the difference between my normal voice and my sarcastic voice?” the general gasped dramatically. “That’s just absurd.”

“Are you using my words against me?”

“Well, I mean, you said that to me first, so it’s only fair if I-“

“Quiet, you too,” the B1 commanded. “Or we’ll shoot.”

Mina sighed in defeat when she watched the droid commander taken down, prompting her to turn around. The remaining members of the  212th Attack Battalion and the Coruscant Guards had arrived, with General Obi-Wan Kenobi And Commander Thire leading.

“My apologies for being late,” Obi-Wan greeted, as his troops moved into an attack position. “We were held back by the enemies on the beachfront.”

“No worries, General Kenobi,” smiled Erina. “You made it just in time.”

“Alright soldiers, let’s finish this battle and call it a day,” the soft-spoken Jedi ordered.

“Right away, sir,” Cody bobbed his head as they fired at the droids, sparing no one.

[mahizli]

Free (Rex & Obi-Wan, 20 BBY)

Part 9 of ‘Sparks of Hope - A Star Wars Advent Calendar’.

***

All he had to do was raise his hand.

A sweep of his palm against the sensor, and the door would glide open – he just had to take a few steps, stand tall, helmet still firmly in hand, and deliver his report.

This was no foreign ship, this was the Negotiator, almost as familiar to him as the Resolute. And the General he had to face was not Krell – there would be no contempt on his face, no delight in reminding him he was nothing but a number. CT-7567, expandable and laboratory-bred.

Rex knew what he would find there – the dead body of a General who no longer deserved to be called a Jetii. And General Kenobi – kind-eyed, smart, shrewd, and calm.

Rex was not ready for his gentleness. For the light General Kenobi carried, even after days and days on this planet of darkness and horror. Of deaths, orchestrated and belittled because Krell could.

Vode killing vode, adding numbers to casualties.

Rex had told Dogma he had to think for himself. That the vode were not droids, but free-thinking Men. Free-thinking Men bound by duty and honour, just like Jetii were supposed to be. Just like General Kenobi was.

But what was so deeply, utterly different between a Jetii General and a Clone-Captain, was the fact that the former was not only free-thinking, but free.

And Rex did not want to begrudge General Kenobi this – yet here he stood, trembling fingers clutched around his scratched helmet, heart heavy with the loss of his vode, ears still ringing with the shot he had been unable to fire, because he had been afraid.

Duty, honour, free-will for Hardcase, Fives, Jesse and Tup, but no freedom.

Rex lifted his hand and let the door slide.

The lifeless body of Pong Krell was stretched out on a medical cot, but someone had spread out a dark brown cloak on his form, and his body and face were hidden from view, leaving only General Kenobi, standing upright at the body’s feet.

Rex met his eyes – and breathed out.

Because General Kenobi’s face was pinched and battered, a thin smudge of dirt streaking his cheekbone. There was no misplaced pity in his grey eyes – but there was the echo of the horror Rex still felt, as well as steely resolve.

And pain.

“General”, Rex began, but then his voice failed him, because Waxer’s face was suddenly before him, clad in white and golden, a last silent tear running down his cheek.

Something warm wrapped itself around his chest – not squeezing, rather like an outstretched palm, and Rex realized it was the Jetii General, reaching out for him. For the Man he was, weaving a link between them through that Force Rex could not really feel, but was part of himself as well.

“I told Boil”, General Kenobi said, very softly. “I told the whole Ghost Company. I told the Jedi Council. And Captain, as sure as I stand here before you, I will tell the Chancellor himself.

- What about… Dogma?”, Rex managed to grit out, voice rough but posture still impeccable. “They will court-martial him. And they will kill him.

- Not if the Jedi Council proves that Pong Krell must have been unbalanced for a very long time. Then the blame will fall on the one who let Krell stay in command, in place of General Skywalker.

- But… sir…”

Rex stared at him, golden eyes growing wide, heart beating wildly.

“Do not worry, Rex. The order to appoint Krell on Umbara came from the Senate. And the one working along with Krell…

- That would be you, sir – but you are not to blame!

- Oh, I think I am…”, General Kenobi said, very softly. “And, as much as it pains me, I think I have grown quite… indispensable to the Senate. So you see, my dear Captain, they can blame me as much as they like, I am afraid I will still remain exactly where I am. And Dogma will be spared.

- General… He jammed your communications. He lied to you. There was no way, no way you could have known it was an ambush!

- But I knew Krell.”

The Jetii stood very upright, slightly shorter but so determined. Calm, yet burning with an icy fire Rex had learned to respect.

“Our Code teaches us forgiveness. Belief in redemption. I trust the Force to know what to do with his remains, and I will not let the words I speak now cloud his journey. But I have experienced Pong Krell’s cruelty, a very long time ago. And I still let him take command. I still chose to believe he might have changed, because, as he said, I was naive.”

The warm presence against Rex’s chest was still there. And the Captain stepped forward, until he stood next to the General. Turning his back to Krell’s body. Fingers finally loosening their deadly grip around his helmet.

“What did he do to you, sir?”, Rex asked softly.

The flagship was buzzing softly around them. It was the only sound beside their breathing, and the hum of the ventilation system.

“He tried to choke me to death when I was six years old”, the General replied, voice calm, but Rex felt the warmth against his chest quiver slightly. “He was teaching us hand-to-hand combat. And I… was afraid. He was frightening me like… nothing I had ever experienced before. He thought I was weak, you see. That the Temple should be rid of late arrivals like me. He kept ignoring my yielding signals, and one day, as he was teaching us headlocks, he squeezed and would not stop until my… the one who would become my Master barged in and freed me.”

Silence fell again around them. And Rex realized, then, that he was not alone in carrying the tremendous weight of what just happened. That General Kenobi knew, in his very bones, what it felt like to be helpless, forced to obey without being able to retaliate. That the child he had been had known what it felt like to be freed from oppression, but that the Jetii he had become had never sought revenge – only fairness. Peace.

“He had no right to do that, General”, Rex said, aloud and firmly.

“No. He had no right to use Clones as bait. No right to lead so many men to their deaths”, the Jetii replied, but Rex shook his head.

“He had no right to hurt and doubt you”, Rex answered, softly, and the General looked up at him, with a surprised, almost startled look. “You make us proud. Proud to serve what we have been made for.

- I do not think of you as made for, Rex”, Kenobi let out, facing him with that earnest, determined look Rex was so familiar with. “I think you are sentient Men, just like I am. I think you matter. And if the Republic is willing to condemn Dogma, then it must be willing to condemn me, as well.”

Me sol mav, an mav.

The Mando’a words echoed softly through the Force between them, and Rex knew. That, just like General Skywalker, they were all one for the Jetii General. Far from expendable.

Esteemed, and worthy to be trusted.

He stayed next to the Jetii General, standing vigil grimly, back turned yet looking ahead. Facing his actions, the deaths, the losses, the defiance – knowing than he was more than a number, more than just the 501st Legion’s Captain, but someone determined to fight for a greater purpose.

CT-7567 did not need to be freed.

Rex already was.

[rogueclonesftw]

hello! i don't know anything about your OC's, but i saw your post. could you perhaps list all of them with a short summary? 🙏🏻💕

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry this took so long to answer. I moved house and it was A Lot. My OCs are legion so for the sake of everyone else’s dashes I’m putting this under a read more

These are just for the clone wars era I’m leaving the rebels out of it

Thanks for asking!! Feel free to ask about anyone if you want to know more.

fair warning this is long af

I’m splitting it into sections to make this easier

Heretics

Jedi

Bela Rant

Togruta Jedi Master and mother Master of four Padawans children. Not a favourite of the Council due to differences in interpretation of the Code. Had an ongoing feud with Qui Gon Jinn that lasted until he died. She died in the war ten years later and Col took over her command.

Alask Racor

Grumpy Twi’lek first Padawan of Bela, had two Padawans of his own but was killed by pirates before the second was knighted.

Reya Meraska

Alask’s first Padawan. A human from Jedha and compassion incarnate. Had an uneventful apprenticeship and grew up to be comparatively quiet compared to the rest.

Ben Edo

Reya’s first and so far only Padawan. The model of a perfect Jedi except for thinking their interpretation of the Code is bullshit. Would have made one hell of a politician if he could stand the Senate. From Dantooine.

Tol Koden

Alask’s second Padawan, a very polite Zabrak. Alask died when he was 17 and Jos took over his training. He and Ben are the same age and were raised basically together.

Jos Vel

Stubborn and opinionated Kiffar. Bela’s second Padawan. Had her own (equally stubborn and opinionated) Padawan and then took over Tol’s training when Alask died.

Harlan Konshi

Jos’s Padawan. Also a Kiffar. Would also make a fine politician because being raised by Jos taught him to argue. He’s a bit of a jackass but in a charming way. Like, he’s a prick but you still like him.

Azaana Tyl

Harlan’s sweet, quiet, shy Togruta Padawan. Jos laughed so hard when she heard about that. Harlan is trying to teach her self-confidence. The baby of the family.

Col Blackmoor

Bela’s third and most disastrous Padawan. The former Temple Problem Child (now Temple Problem Adult). Not that he spends much time in the Temple. Was so far out on the Outer Rim he didn’t find out there was a war on until he had to come back and take over Bela’s legion. The worst case of ADHD the Temple has ever seen.

Lena Sola

Col took her in after an incident with her former Master almost saw her kicked out of the Order. Col intervened. She’s still uncomfortable around most Jedi, but they’re working on it. Sweet kid. Kage.

Aden Jadus

Bela’s final Padawan, knighted just before Geonosis. Yes, she’s from Tatooine. No, that does not mean she knows Skywalker. Stop asking.

Not-Jedi

Vale

The oldest of the bunch, Reya’s Commander. Has enough Big Dad Energy to build a deck at 20 paces. Meat grills in his presence and the shinies all fear his disappointed frown.

Nill

Jos’s Commander. Deeply claustrophobic. A nice, likeable guy unless you piss him off. Caffeine demon.

Jax

Clone Commander and Col Wrangler in Chief, Col regards his Commander with barely disguised awe. He considers him his closest friend. For his part, Jax thinks similarly highly of Col. He likes to draw when he gets spare time (rarely). Grew up with Sonny and Cody. Very protective of Lena.

Crater

Professional Ray of Sunshine, the exact opposite of his twin. Crater and Crash grew up with Wolffe. Crater was assigned to Ben, and he likes his General, really, but the man never sleeps. It’s starting to stress him out.

Click

Professional Salt Mine assigned to the Galaxy’s Politest Jedi because apparently the GAR runs on irony. Makes Wolffe look like a ray of happy, happy sunshine.

Pip

The perpetual optimist to Aden’s incredible pessimist. Remains stubbornly cheerful by choice, because if he doesn’t laugh he doesn’t think he’ll ever stop crying.

Dexter

Professional Grouchy Bastard. Likes Harlan well enough but will absolutely tell him he’s full of shit. If Azaana likes you, Dexter will tolerate your existence. If you make Azaana sad they will never find your body. A training accident left him with scars and a deep growl in his voice that makes him sound angrier than he is.

Stitch

Col’s CMO and the only person Jax legitimately fears. Deeply wishes his siblings and General would get injured less and look after themselves more. Is willing to enforce this with sedatives.

Zip

The Right Hand of God (Stitch’s second in command). He who wields the big needles.

Layne

Cheerful but stressed Captain of a company of reckless idiots who really should know better but apparently don’t. He should be used to it. He grew up with Rex.

Trip and Tap

Two survivors of Krell reassigned to Col. Tap has a nervous habit of tapping his fingers. Trip can trip over thin air.

Jazz, Snap and Void

A trio. Jazz likes to wander off. Void likes to hide. Snap likes to complain they’re giving him grey hair from the stress of having them disappearing all the time.

Ray and Rico

The product of an embryo that split, Ray and Rico lived in fear of being culled as defects on Kamino. They’ve since left Kamino, but the fear hasn’t left them.

Lys

A tired medic who would like Dexter to drink something that isn’t caf please.

Tyke

The medic with the most agreeable Jedi (Tol). He barely has to bully him into seeking medical attention at all. Such a shame that his Commander seems determined to make up for it by being a complete bastard. If Click wants to get tackled in the hallway, that’s his lookout.

Rill

Has a particular interest in medical research. Or he would if he ever had the time. 

Corrie

The youngest CMO in the GAR. Just barely 18, only on the field for six months and never meant to be CMO at all. But she’s the only medic Pip’s got left after that clusterfuck, so they’re all doing their best. She might be young but she will absolutely yell at a commander you see if she doesn’t.

New Dawn Crew

Not-Clones

Mira Vin 

A female Kiffar former Jedi whose Master died on Geonosis. The Council were going to knight her and make her a General, so she told Windu to stick it up his ass and ran away to the Outer Rim to harass slavers and save “defective” clones.

Kell Vekarr

An Alderaanian former Jedi who was rescued from slavers as a child. Finally took the 20 remaining members of his command and ran when the rest were killed over Ando. Jaster’s boyfriend. Autistic.

Jaster Toran

True Mandalorian bounty hunter who was betrayed by a client and sold into slavery. Joined the crew upon his rescue four years later. Kell’s boyfriend. Autistic.

Riye Toran

Jaster’s older sister who joined the crew to look for him and then stuck around because she liked it there.

Volya’tar

Twi’lek former slave who freed herself and stole a ship. Pilot, mechanic and Mira’s best friend.

Pash Colton

Dyspraxic dyslexic Corellian with more brains than sense. An engineering genius who has wisdom as his dump stat. Also sometimes a smuggler.

Jaina Bell

Tiny and terrifying. Orphaned at a young age and grew up to be a smuggler, mechanic and pilot.

Ela

Nonbinary Lorrdian. Has a long horrendous Lorrdian name they never use. Joined the crew because slavers suck and anything that makes their lives difficult is a good thing. Stuck around for the people.

Black Company

Halcyon

An ARC Captain known for his green hair and endless patience. Considers Kell a close friend but calls him Commander regardless. Used to fight Rex a lot as a kid. Please let this man rest.

Bones

Halcyon’s batchmate and Black Company’s CMO. A cranky bugger, but that’s understandable considering what he deals with daily.

Pax

The peacemaker between his idiot brothers and everyone else for as long as they can remember. A chill guy, but even chill guys have limits.

Tracyn and Carud

Two of the Nightmare Children. Their names are fire and smoke and they cause a lot of both, raising Pax’s blood pressure and driving Bones into apoplectic rage.

Isa

Jaro’s long suffering sister. Usually has to track him down to make him go to sleep. Has a weekly commiseration session with Ari (alcohol optional but recommended).

Jaro

Named for the Mando’a word for reckless and boy howdy is it accurate. The ADHD doesn’t help.

Ari

Rio’s batchmate and she loves her brother dearly but she is so done with his shit.

Rio

The last of the original Nightmare Children, ADHD disaster and source of most of Bones’s workload.

Kee and Jam

Nonbinary comms officers who bicker very cheerfully. Usually with each other. Often at high volume through the halls of the ship.

Torin

Gay artist baby.

Kol

Gay artist bastard.

Charly

Honestly he’s just here for a laugh and his brothers respect him for it. You’ve got to find your joy where you can get it these days.

Dys

Takes great delight in moving Set’s things just a couple of centimetres. Just enough to annoy him. Will deck anyone else who tries the same thing.

Set

Also known as Corporal Square Corners. Everything has to be neat and tidy. He was a godsend before inspections. Now he’s just the reason people have somewhere to sit.

Slip

Known for giving his trainers the slip and disappearing into the bowels of Kamino when they were doing training exercises he didn’t like and then getting stuck and having to be retrieved by Chase.

Chase

More like chase-ing his brother through the halls of Kamino to keep him out of trouble. There’s a running joke that he should have ended up in search and rescue.

Bright

Was he named for his bright red hair or as an ironic comment on his general outlook on life? Who knows? Not him. A pessimist if there ever was one.

Impulse

Full name Have-You-Ever-Heard-Of-Impulse-Control and no, he hasn’t.

Cuyan Squad

Sonny

A naturally blond, autistic, Force-sensitive Commander who survived Kamino by the skin of his teeth. Grew up with Cody and Jax. Hyper efficient Can, will and has broken people’s faces for saying shit about the Coruscant Guard.

Zak

Force-sensitive Captain who despises soup and has incredible claustrophobia. Good with kids though. Autistic.

Ru

Force-sensitive autistic Lieutenant. Quieter than Zak, and fully supports his vendetta against soup. Has his own vendetta against food that stabs you in the mouth.

Bang

Force-sensitive bomb-tech. Partially deafened in an explosion which also gave him some pretty intense scarring. Gets nervous when he can’t see people behind him.

Bit

Force-sensitive techie with a penchant for weapons modification and data slicing. Gives the best hugs in the squad.

Tink

If it’s broken Tink can fix it. The resident ADHD Force-sensitive techie. Has a tendency to hyperfocus on projects to the exclusion of all else.

Flow

De facto squad medic because he’s the best at Force-healing of the lot of them. He does not appreciate this, this is not what he trained for, you’re voiding his warranty, vode please. Dyed his hair purple because he could.

Edge

Thrill seeker with electric blue hair and boundless energy. The ADHD doesn’t help with the fidgeting, but he likes to go fast so Force-augmented speed is pretty great.

Ry and Cas

True twins born from the same tube, they’re the Fred and George Weasley of clones. They’ve got the red hair and everything. Judicious use of the Force makes pranks far easier.

Other

Caj, Chess and Blade

The brothers in charge of the homebrew alcohol. The taste is a work in progress, but the last batch didn’t make anyone go blind.

Rictor and Sike

Survivors of Krell who deal with their trauma in very different ways. Rictor is terrified of authority in case they turn out like Krell. Sike figures if he survived that he can survive anything and mouths off constantly.

Kano and Oly

Batchmates who were reconditioned separately (for nightmares and injury, respectively) and reunited upon Kano’s rescue. Oly had been with the crew for months by then. They both cried.

Sitrep, Conn and Sig

Three more nonbinary comms officers. A cheerful bunch who like to argue. Usually with each other. The problems started when they started arguing with their General.

Aran, Orar and Tay

Three heavy gunners who fight TJ a lot because the little twerp is asking for it (literally). Tay is relentlessly cheerful, Aran the exact opposite, and you’re lucky to get three words out of Orar in a row.

Ani, Mirdir and Dajun

Techies and mechanics who prefer wires to people. Mirdir and Dajun have known each other since birth and bicker a lot. Ani mostly ignores them.

Dane

A captain who finally snapped and told his General where he could stick his suicidal orders.

Sprint

Full name Slow-Down-There��s-No-Need-To-Sprint, a six foot ball of energy and barely contained enthusiasm. Usually found hurtling around the place at ludicrous speeds.

Crash

An anxious, autistic pilot who has never crashed his ship. He has, however, crashed himself into doors, siblings, training sergeants.

Rainer

A really chill guy who got shipped off for being too violent after a misunderstanding about a sparring match. TJ’s favourite sparring partner.

TJ

Likes to fight, does not care if his opponent could physically snap him in half. Sometimes he just has to beat his brain into submission via getting the crap beaten out of his body. Usually succeeds in provoking the heavy gunners into fighting him.

Zero

TJ’s perpetually worried brother. Really wishes TJ would chill. Dyslexic and has a recurring leg injury that won’t heal. Gets bored easily.

Brook and Storm

A pair of total nerds who get so engrossed in arguing that they don’t realise they’re about to walk into a tree. Frequently wander off and have to be returned.

Jai, Tala, Teek, Niko and Galaar

Five ARCs who got sent back to Kamino for telling their General to go kriff himself. Jai is Force-sensitive. Galaar is just a prick with a terrible sense of humour.

[greensword101]

Inquisitor!Kanan AU Pt. 1

Alright, this is going to sound stupid, but I’ve skimmed through a few fics where Kanan is an Inquisitor but is either a reluctant recruit or immediately becomes conflicted when he meets Ezra, his space son.

That didn’t make sense to me. An Inquisitor was a Jedi that fell to the Dark Side. And those who fall typically do so in a sense of “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions” at times or because they are disillusioned like Bariss was in the Clone Wars. In the event that Kanan ever turned to the Dark Side, I believe it would be for good intentions or because of his earlier characteristics as a Padawan (i.e. curiosity). It could be justified as Kanan was fourteen when Order 66 happened, but what if his master fell to the Dark Side prior to this right around the time she took him on as a student? Cue him becoming the Anakin to her Palpatine, except Depa genuinely cares about her student (ironic).

In this au, Depa Billiba had begun to lose faith in the Jedi Order right as she meets Caleb and she sees him as a kindred sou, especially after she learns more about the boy. One who is questioning the way of the Jedi in ways that the Council is very uncomfortable dealing with. Naturally, this feeling of isolation leads to Caleb trusting Billiba, especially when she states that the Jedi are afraid of people like him.

“But why?” Caleb asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Because, my Padawan,” Depa smiled, “the most dangerous weapon one can have is a weapon that can think for itself.”

Caleb, having never known his parents, having been considered an outcast by his peers, puts his faith in the first person to openly express faith in him and encourages his curiosity. Thus begins the decent of Master and Padawan to the Dark Side. Depa, who was drawn towards it due to her disillusionment of the Jedi and Caleb, who’s hunger for knowledge of all kinds would become insatiable as his understanding of the Dark Side grew.

When the Jedi Purge occurs, Caleb and Depa are spared from the slaughter, having deserted their Clone comrades and killing those who have attempted to take their lives. They go into hiding, taking work as bounty hunters or stealing whatever they can. Usually, it would be Jedi archives or artifacts that the Council wouldn’t have wanted falling into the wrong hands.

It doesn’t take long for them to be put under the Emperor’s radar and he orders them to be hunted down to join him as his assassins or die. Naturally, Depa and Caleb agree to serve as Inquisitors, out of pragmatism and because they felt flattered that their abilities were acknowledged by the Emperor himself.

Depa and Caleb stand out among the Inquisitors, being the only Former Jedi to be a part of the Master/Apprentice dynamic before the Republic fell. Caleb stands out due to being the youngest, but somehow just as brutal as the rest of their comrades as the First Sister and First Brother. The First Sister and First Brother quickly become a dreaded duo, due to their strong bond to one another and meshing together fighting styles of Light and Dark. After all, the First Brother considers “know thy enemy” to be the greatest teacher (after Depa, of course).

As the Empire looms over the galaxy, the Emperor soon realizes what a great threat the duo would become if they continued without challenge. Never mind the fact that overthrowing the Emperor never crossed either minds of the First Brother and Sister. They are content with knowledge for knowledge’s sake, freedom to act as they please, and with staying as a team. The Seventh Sister made the mistake of suggesting the First Brother was being groomed to be the First Sister’s boy toy. Her screams still echo to this day in the old buildings of Coruscant.

Through Vader, the Emperor sets up an “accident” to occur on one of the duo’s missions together. Caleb survives at the cost of his beloved mentor, who’s last words to him were “Run!” When he learns that the First Brother survived, the Emperor placed blame on Vader (true from a certain point of view) and redirects anger at his apprentice. It is a clever plan that he knew would lead to the First Brother either killing Vader and taking over as the Emperor’s apprentice or Vader dealing with a potential rival a move is made against him. Caleb knows this himself and he goes through a drastic change in personality.

His thirst for knowledge, unbeknownst to the Emperor, would lead to him desperately searching for hidden knowledge of the Force, such as saving the ones he loves most from certain death. At the same time, he becomes ruthless as an Inquisitor, isolating himself from others and seeking comfort in pleasures of the flesh and drink when the memory of his beloved mentor burns too painfully in his mind to function.

Jump to “Spark of Rebellion” time and without meeting Kanan, the chances of Hera meeting the rest of Ghost seem impossible now, right? Wrong! The Force works in mysterious ways, after all, and while she doesn’t find her crew through one person, she still manages to find the like of Ezra by herself on Lothal.

Ezra is still the same kid from canon: trusting no one, hard to think about others, a thief. And he managed to steal Hera’s heart when he tries to run off with her ship. Chopper stops him and a deal is made: work as her employee and Hera would forget about the kid trying to steal her baby. She also promises actual payment which manages to keep Ezra invested and maybe allows him to open up to her.

And through Ezra, they still manage to find Zeb and Sabine. Ezra has a brief crush on Sabine that evolves into a platonic friendship. Sabine still views the Ghost crew as a family. Zeb still smells. Chopper is Chopper. Hera is suddenly like a single mom with the distant uncle that suddenly decides to help her raise the kids.

Without a second actual adult - no, Zeb, you may be the oldest but you are at the same mental age as Ezra sometimes - Hera is probably more stressed than usual. She loves her crew to death, but it can be a bit much sometimes without a second hand to help.

But they are still the same force - no pun intended - to be reckoned with and get under the radars of both the Empire and Rebel alliance.

Ezra doesn’t know about his Force abilities for a while, not even when they are executing a rescue mission to extract an old Jedi Master named Luminara. It’s trickier without Kanan to do the mind trick on Stormtroopers, but Sabine and Zeb manage to distract the two guards in the end while Ezra sneaks in.

The first thing he notices is how weak and frail this “Luminara” lady is. The second is how he seems to feel her presence in his very bones, like an old memory. The third is another presence, a colder one that makes him shiver.

Enter the First Brother. The years since he’s turned have changed him drastically. He wears the Inquisitor uniform, with a black cape. His skin tone is pale as snow, like he hasn’t seen the sun in years. His hair is long and not held down by a ponytail (imagine it a bit like a lion’s mane) and his yellow eyes. piercing and seeming to see through Ezra.

He’s expecting a Jedi risking discovery to rescue the body of Luminara, someone who would hopefully give him a decent challenge. He’s not expecting a teenage boy who is clearly not a Jedi and clearly has never seen what a lightsaber looks like when the First Brother pulls one out.

Ezra in canon was aware of the Force existing and had been pleading with his mentor to actually teach him. Here, he’s thrown into a massive loop and straight up terrified of this new enemy who clearly wasn’t a Stormtrooper. His typical maneuvering doesn’t work when the First Brother is able to pin him down without making physical contact. To Caleb, this is just him barely using Force Stasis. To Ezra, it’s like he’s walked into a nightmare.

Ezra, now frozen both literal and in fear, has a new enemy blocking his only exit and no way to warn his team about the danger they’re in.

“How did you know Luminara?” The First Brother asked.

Ezra doesn’t respond, he isn’t sure his mouth can work and his mind is numb.

“You can still talk if you want to, kid,” the man added in a surprisingly gentle voice.

Somehow, Ezra finds his courage, “I don’t know her. I was trying to rescue her.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s a prisoner of the Empire,” Ezra tries and fails to snarl defiantly at the man, “She doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“You’re partially right,” the First Brother admitted, “She didn’t deserve the fate she got. But the Empire needed a honey pot to draw in the flies.”

“D-didn’t...?”

“Luminara is dead, been that way for a long time.” Out of the corner of Ezra’s eye, he notices the pale Mirialan’s body fading away like dust in the wind. His heart stills.

After a tense moment, Ezra collapses to the ground, having been freed.

“I don’t take pleasure in snuffing younglings,” the First Brother said dismissively. “Take your friends and leave this place.”

Ezra doesn’t even bother asking how the hell he knew Ezra didn’t come alone and simply runs out of the cell. He finds Sabine and Zeb and they all flee in one piece. He doesn’t speak for the rest of the day, too shaken from his experience with the new enemy to do anything.

He has no experience with the Force. He understands he is different, but not why. And he certainly doesn’t expect to see that man again after today.

Meanwhile, the First Brother, for the first time in years, feels something close to excitement. Someone who could use the Force, someone who clearly didn’t know about the Force until just then, someone that was on the side of the rebels.

He sincerely hoped his master was looking down on him in the afterlife, because he was going to become that kid’s new teacher whether the kid wanted him or not.

To be continued...

[doorsclosingslowly]

Thistle

Weeks ago, Maul decided against surrendering the Sith he saved to the Jedi Council. He should have foreseen the consequences.

1st draft | 1.8k | Jedi Maul AU | sequel to Lithops

“With—” Maul bites his tongue. Do not say with regret. Do not lie. They will surely know. They are watching him, twelve pairs of unmoving eyes in the sunlit familiarity of the Council Chambers. “Masters, I do not know where Savage Opress is.”

“And yet, the Sith was in your custody,” Master Tiin replies.

“He was just a slave. He gladly left Count Dooku’s service and told me everything he knows. I let him go because there was nothing to be gained from fear that was not already confessed to kindness.”

“Know not where your Padawan is, either, hmmm?”

“I do not, Master Yoda.”

It had been Gwyolduhbeccu’s idea, when they’d realized that they’d already spent two weeks on the beaches of Corellia and would need to make contact soon, or risk being counted among the Fallen. Risk being seen as no better than the blasted traitor Dooku. Despite Maul’s return, apparently they risk it anyway: the Council has been questioning Maul for an hour now, not about fallen Ventress and her Master Dooku’s falling-out or the information that Maul brought or the unseasonably cloudy weather on Corellia, but only, over and over, about where his brother is.

He genuinely doesn’t know Savage’s current whereabouts. He doesn’t even have a direct way of contacting either his Padawan or his brother; if he wants to rejoin them, he’ll place an ‘all-clear’ ad in coded Shyriiwook in the crackpot rag Coruscanti Socialite News, and Becs will reply with another ad that’ll direct Maul to another hint to puzzle out where she has brought Savage. There is no way for Maul to betray his brother’s location, by choice or accident or if the Council crack open his mind. He still doesn’t know whether that ability is an exaggeration of a rumor—knowing what Maul does of the brain’s workings, it should not produce results, especially not in him who has someone to protect—and he truly doesn’t want to find out.

(Maul had been beyond proud of his Padawan’s infosec instincts, but when Gwyolduhbeccu had realized that her proposed precautions were those of a terror cell that wants to convince their potential captors that there is nothing to be gained from torture, she’d flinched, hard. Maul had reassured her that they were still loyal to the Order, but it had not calmed her nerves.

“What does that make us?” she had warbled. “I assumed they might force you, and still we are loyal.”

They had unanimously agreed not to tell Savage of the plans for risk mitigation. He’d already lost one brother. He would never have let Maul enter the Temple.)

The Masters repeat their questions; and Maul his answer, for another half-hour. He feels small inside the Council Chambers, smaller and darker than he’s felt in all the years after Master Windu finished training Depa and chose to take on Maul as his new Padawan. He has not felt this unwelcome surrounded by circled chairs in decades, not even during that upbraiding he got when he posed as a goon for Jabba the Hutt five years ago and killed two farmers to keep his cover; two innocents that, after much prodding and soul-searching before the Council, he realized he could conceivably have spared. He feels like a child. Comfort born of over-familiarity with the Jedi’s inner sanctum, much leeway in behavior if not in movements, and smug superiority towards everyone else: those are the rewards of a Council Padawan, and only after their trust in him is gone he knows how much he’s basked in it. Here goes Maul again, it used to be, he was strange but now he’s freed from afternoon lessons to carry the top-secret Sith holocrons that Master Yoda wants to examine. Here he runs, fetching tea.

Here stands Maul, and he will not give to the Council the only thing they want.

Finally, they cease their questioning and file out of the council one by one; Eeth Koth glaring at Maul in open suspicion and Grandmaster Yoda umming and ahhing thoughtfully.

“We cleared Shaum Hii and Ciutric,” says Master Windu, once he is the only person left beside Maul. “Nothing to substantiate the idea that Dooku answers to another, yet. Apart from that, the intelligence you sent was mostly useless.”

Maul bares his teeth: a tick he thought he’d left behind decades ago. “That’s to be expected, Master,” he replies. “You cannot unearth what isn’t there. There would have been even less actionable information if the High Council had ‘interrogated’ Opress,” and Master Windu sighs at the contemptuous finger quotes.

“We are at war, Knight Maul.”

“I am aware.”

“We need to know of the Separatist locations. We need to know what this Sith acolyte knows.”

“We do know what he knows. Everything. He tried to cooperate.” He’d tried so hard that it was heartbreaking. Savage had gone through Maul’s interrogation notes obsessively, listening and re-listening and speaking amendments in his hushed shameful baritone, on the datapad they’d configured for him once they found out he was never taught how to read. He hadn’t slept or eaten, just talked. Pages and pages of info, most of them annotated with ‘I think’ or ‘this is what the place looked like but I didn’t ask what it was, no time, and no-one would have talked to me anyway’ or ‘can’t be sure of the words, too much pain.’

A desperate wish to be of use to the only people who’d been kind to him in months, an attempt to focus on something less painful than Feral’s death, terror of a failing memory, hatred for his slave master… Maul doesn’t know why his brother kept returning to the notes. He suspects the answer is because I asked, and the guilt made him tell Savage that sand and salty air ruin datapads and then book a beach vacation.

“As far as I can tell, he was electrocuted on a nigh-weekly basis. Training, they call it, and don’t, Master, it will not convince me that he fell. Electrocuted, over and over. The physiological ramifications of that… moreover, fear and dislocation alone aren’t conducive to forming well-preserved memories, either. The brain is a resourceful thing, but when it’s resources are focused on self-preservation, there is no space for accuracy.”

A spiel Maul has been repeating to anyone who’ll listen for years now, in order to justify his dark-adjacent spy missions. He’s sent out textbooks and invited experts, and his old Master must surely be tired of it. After all, he is his former Padawan’s favorite sounding-board and was the designated proofreader of all Maul’s student papers.

Maul will repeat it as often as he has to. Today, his brother’s well-being aligns with the greater strategic interests of the Order, and he will not give in. Pain does not gain intelligence.

“He could not have remembered anything more,” Maul says lightly, “and the venerable Count Dooku never deigned to talk strategy with his slave.”

“Control your hatred, Maul,” Master Windu chides, but he looks more tired than disapproving. This would have been a meditating offense, at least, before. Before Geonosis. Before exhaustion. The war has reduced them all. For the first time, it occurs to Maul that his specialization has shielded him from much of the horrors of the Separatist War. He has never seen a battlefield. His targets are the criminal and the stupid, and their venality remains unchanged. He has spied on the wretched for all his adult life; he has not lived in harmony and watched it go to ruin.

The cause of their dislike for the traitor may be different, but it’s no less personal: Master Windu has been fighting a war against his brother-padawan for years, now. He has counted the clones lost and the Jedi returned as ashes. He has carried the maimed and the soon-dead to safety, all dead for the defection of a man Master Windu hadn’t necessarily liked—Maul remembers hiding, being allowed to hide, in his Master’s robes as a young Padawan while they watched Dooku train—but one that he had admired.

Grandmaster Yoda’s Padawan before he took Master Windu… what Depa is to him, what Savage is to him, now, Dooku is—should be—to his Master, and suddenly, Maul hates him even more. The feeling is unproductive, and Maul flees into his argument.

“Savage remembered almost nothing with certainty, and that’s in a space where he felt safe, talking to someone he trusts. What could the High Council have done?”

“We feel we could have looked into his mind and seen it for ourselves.”

“And earned the Republic a year of cross-checking false intelligence, and into the bargain, a reputation for torturing its prisoners. A terrified man may sell out his grandpa’s best friend’s akk dog for a reprieve, but that does not make the dog a robber or the hours chasing it well-spent. Finding the dog does not compensate for the hundreds of people who will never talk to you because they are terrified,” and then Maul notices that the metaphor is but a side-track designed to keep himself from picturing Savage, alone and kneeling in the Council Chambers and in pain. “By the time you look into someone’s mind, you have hurt them. Information retrieval suffers in the conditions you want to create. Shall I send for Master Nu to retrieve the comprehensive study on the neuroscience of why torture does not—”

“I trust your assessment entirely, Maul,” Master Windu says. “As you well know.”

Maul’s hearts sink. There will be no mission after this. This is not the High Council’s verdict. I trust you entirely: the rest, or at least some of them, don’t. He should have been more prepared for this moment. Their distrust is not new, but the stakes raise with every day of war, and he chose not to give up Savage Opress after all. (He was born dark.)

The Temple is Maul’s home.

“Master Windu… I explained to you what does not work. Spying works. Lying works. Manipulation works. You need me.”

“The Council feels that we need loyalists. We need to be careful when tangling with the dark side. We need to prevent another Dooku.” Master Windu looks exhausted when he holds out his hand. “I will personally carry your saberstaff into storage. Scimitar will be cleared for take-off at twenty-three past midnight tonight. You know what we need now. You know how to reach Depa and your friends within the GAR.”

“But—”

“If we are both still alive when this war is won, I promise you the Order will take you back with open arms. May the force be with you, Knight Maul.”

“And also with you,” Maul whispers, and then he is alone.

The domed ceiling of the Chambers gapes above. It used to be the place where he spent uncounted mind-numbing afternoons serving biscuits and transcribing arguments and daydreaming of wiping the floor again with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Where he brought tea, always making sure that Master Windu’s mug was noticeably bigger than any other. It is not his anymore. It’s unwelcoming, sunlit and empty.

This was so quick and easy to write wtf? Kindling is still super hard but it turns out maybe that’s because having multiple connecting strands and writing about Maul’s cognitive dissonance between what he believes and how he treats his brother slowly breaking him away from the Sith is a bit harder than doing events?? I’ve also got a few words about stuff that happens before Lithops so maybe I’ll do that and take a break from tearing my hair out over Kindling

[mademoiselle-cookie]

#why is it always that when the topic of 'are the clones slaves' comes up that the only ones condemned are the jedi?#where is the condemnation for the senate that ACTUALLY chose to use them as their army?#where is the condemnation for the senate that forced that choice upon the jedi?#where is the condemnation for the senators who never ONCE stand up for the clones?#somehow it all comes down on the jedi alone#as if the jedi could have spared the clones from having to fight and freed them all by just saying no#add a little nuance back into this worldbuilding why don't you#look beyond the jedi for your vitriol because the options for where to aim it are honestly endless163 notes

I'm in the mood for bad faith Anakin Skywalker takes today, so if you have any of those to share, please do!

[vetinarivimesy]

excellent tags @antianakin #pro jedi#slavery#clones#jedi#why is it always that when the topic of 'are the clones slaves' comes up that the only ones condemned are the jedi?#where is the condemnation for the senate that ACTUALLY chose to use them as their army?#where is the condemnation for the senate that forced that choice upon the jedi?#where is the condemnation for the senators who never ONCE stand up for the clones?#somehow it all comes down on the jedi alone#as if the jedi could have spared the clones from having to fight and freed them all by just saying no#add a little nuance back into this worldbuilding why don't you#look beyond the jedi for your vitriol because the options for where to aim it are honestly endless

I'm in the mood for bad faith Anakin Skywalker takes today, so if you have any of those to share, please do!