#foxiyoweek

[kotemf]

Self defense

  "Again," Fox ordered mercilessly.

  Riyo was starting to regret her decision to ask Fox to train her. Fox wasn't holding back. Alright, he probably was. He definitely was. Riyo has seen him in an actual fight. But he could still be a tiny little bit more careful when shoving her to the ground.

  "Wait, I'll just go get a drink."

  "We had a break eighteen minutes ago." Did Fox really not get that for anyone who wasn't a biologically enhanced clone trained for combat for their whole life, this was exhausting?

  "Well, I think eighteen minutes of training is enough." Riyo didn't really think Fox was going to take her training this seriously.

  "Alright, we will continue later," Fox agreed reluctantly. He observed her impatiently the whole time she was drinking her water.

  "You know, maybe you should take the training a little more slowly."

  "More slowly? We've been training for almost an hour and I only learned you the most basic stuff."

  "Maybe that's enough?"

  "But you wanted me to train you."

  "Yeah. I didn't think you would take it so seriously."

  "Of course I'm taking it seriously, I need to give you a good training!"

  Oh. "I just wanted you to show me some basics." And maybe admire her gym clothes. It wasn't every day that Riyo, as a representative of Pantora, got to wear tight leggings and a sports bra. In their busy schedule of working late into the night, it was also the most of her Fox got to see in a while. So yes, maybe she did expect him to look a little more interested. But she definitely wasn't disappointed in any way.

  "Well, we could practice the kicks some more."

  "What about getting out of grip? Can we practice that a bit?"

  Fox looked her over. He hesitated. "Sure."

  "That sounded pretty hesitant for a 'sure'."

  Fox just shrugged and indicated for her to take a stance.

  It was a while later that they finally got to getting out of a grip. Honestly, Riyo lacked the motivation to get out of Fox's grip. She still fought against him, even when she knew that she could never beat him if he didn't purposefully give her a chance.

  He gave her a chance thought, going as far to angle himself just right so she could use one of the moves he just taught her to tackle him to the ground.

  "Good job," Fox praised. She had him 'pinned' to the ground, sitting on his chest. Not that Fox couldn't just shake her off and get up.

  "Really."

  "Well, it's not exactly the level of skill I'm used to but for a first lesson, I think this is pretty good."

  "You think?" Riyo tilted her way sideways in a way that she knew Fox found cute. She hoped he still found it cute, even with her hair messy, face shiny with sweat and breathing heavily. Fox for his part looked like always, as if they didn't just train combat for about half an hour.

  He chuckled. "I'm sure."

  "You better be."

  "Was that a threat?"

  "Maybe."

  There was a beat of silence.

  "Do you want me to let you go?" Riyo asked. Fox could free himself, she was sure, but he didn't look like he was going to do it.

  "Not really."

  "Oh? Since when do you enjoy lying on the ground with me on top of you?"

  "Since the very day I met you. The cloths might be doing a thing or two, though."

  Oh... So Fox actually liked her clothes. Good to know. "Maybe we should repeat this sometimes."

  "Definitely."

[wolviecat]

She was there by accident - her friend needed someone to go with her, and she had nothing better to do. And then the music started and she was caught. (Not to mention the lead singer, looking at her from the stage with stars in his eyes.)

For @foxiyoweek prompt SINGER

[graaaaceeliz]

My contribution to @foxiyoweek 2023 Day One: Enemy Lines

You stand up strong in midst of devil’s force,

On battlements o’er fierce Ares’ fields,

Your gold eyes watch your soldiers’ vicious course

Leaving no choice for others but to yield:

In your two hands burn hell’s own hottest fires

Which burn your own skin as much as your foe,

Make mine reflect wonder as do sapphires

Reflect a pyre-light: the debt we all owe

Is painted on my skin which worships yours

As a flowers worships he who waters,

As our people worship the ocean shores,

And paint foxes across heaven’s quarters.

Wherever you strike ‘hind enemy’s lines

With you goes my heart - for you it pines.

This is the first of a handful of 14 line Shakespearean style sonnets, which differ from Petrarchan sonnets in the rhyme scheme and somewhat in the content structure. Each line is in iambic pentameter, which means five pairs of syllables, with the last two a rhyming couplet. I would love to talk about it.

Please spare a moment of pity for how hard it is to rhyme in this pattern.

Thank you for reading and please check out everyone else's #foxiyoweek2023 contributions!

[muguathepapaya]

for foxiyo week 2023, not with any theme, this is just all my brain offered me ;v;

continuing on coastguard!fox and rep!Riyo concept by @carrinth here

more from me here

@foxiyoweek

[hrtiu]

Happy Foxiyo Week! Sorry this isn't related to any of the prompts ><

@foxiyoweek

[countessofbiscuit]

can’t let go …

i was too busy for @foxiyoweek this year … and so were they 😉 spicier version below the cut 🫦

[lonewolflupe]

Your Soothing Presence (Foxiyo Week)

This is my entry for the first day of Foxiyo Week 2024 (@foxiyoweek), using the prompts DATE NIGHT and "One dance - just one, that's all".

I am so sorry if this seemed rushed. I started writing this a little while ago, but of course I waited until the last moment to finish it *classic Lupe*. But I wanted to post it today anyway because of the prompt! Happy Foxiyo week everyone <3 (I might edit this later and come up with a better title if I can find the motivation/inspiration, but I hope you'll enjoy this anyway!)

Summary: Commander Fox needs some soothing when he finds himself in a situation he wasn't trained for Rating: Teen and up Tags: fluff (and lots of nerves, poor Fox) Words: 1.664 Pairing: CC-1010 Commander Fox x Senator Riyo Chuchi Read this one-shot here on AO3

Just act like it's any other evening.

But it wasn't like any other evening. Normally, he would stand stiff and stoic, not easily affected by the wild occurrences on an average shift. But tonight, his hands felt itchy and sweaty below his blacks. His armour barely seemed to fit, the rims of it etching into his skin. He had this strange feeling inside his guts - something he hadn't experienced before. It was not like the dread or fear for his men's safety he was used to. No, this feeling was different. Not nearly as unpleasant.

It was a recurring task for him to accompany senators around Coruscant, and this particular evening started off no differently. He was granted a few greetings from politicians as he walked through the corridor, his mind set on one office and one alone. When he reached the door, he hesitated a bit longer than usual before announcing his presence. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. It didn't take long before the door whooshed open, the Senator behind it looking up at him with her sparkling golden eyes.

“Commander Fox,” she greeted him, her voice diplomatic as always, but with a subtle sweetness to it. Fox returned the greeting with a quick nod before addressing her. “Are you ready to leave, Senator Chuchi?” A subtle smile appeared on her face, and it made the strange feeling in his guts grow even stronger. “More ready than ever, Commander,” she replied, before stepping outside the office.

The walk through the Senate Building’s corridors was almost like any other; the Senator in the front, leading the way, with Fox just behind them, his eyes sharp on his visor as he continuously checked their surroundings. But still, everything felt off and out of place. He even felt an uncomfortable pressure on his chest whenever he crossed paths with any Coruscant Guards, as they nodded to him respectfully.

Fox was able to breathe a bit when they made it outside, feeling like there were less eyes on them as they emerged in the darkness of the evening. But there was only so much room to breathe; the short cab flight towards Coruscant’s entertainment district did make his throat tighten, making him unable to speak. His head was spinning and he silently scolded himself for his behaviour, like he was some lovestruck cadet.

When they finally made it to the district, their appearances turned out inconspicuous between all the colourful people walking the Coruscanti streets. Fox let the Senator guide him, as she knew exactly where they were headed; Fox followed behind without question.

When they made it inside the refined establishment, they were welcomed by a dimly lit room. The place was almost abandoned; an old Ithorian male was sitting at the bar, lost in thoughts as he stared into his drink, whilst an elegantly dressed Weequay bartender kept cleaning the already shining bar. The slow Bith jazz playing in the background made for a relaxed mood.

But to Fox, relaxing was a luxury he could not afford, and thus, he was not used to it. As he kept scanning their surroundings, expecting danger behind every corner, he suddenly felt the Senator subtly touching his gloved fingers to snap him back into the present. “It’s alright, Fox,” she whispered calmingly, just loud enough for him to hear. He gazed down through his visor and met her reassuring eyes as they looked right up at him. Although she couldn’t see his eyes through his visor, she knew perfectly well where to find them.

He let out a deep sigh, trying to rid his nerves with it, before granting her an appreciative nod. Her pastel purple lips slid into a small yet genuine smile before she turned around and guided him to a booth in the back of the establishment. They sat down side by side, Fox making sure he had a clear view of the room in front of them. He almost didn’t notice how the Senator gently put her hand on his vambrace.

“I think you can take your helmet off by now,” she said to him, and when he looked at her, he noticed how she was looking at him in full anticipation. “But what if anyone recognises me?” he returned in all seriousness, making no preparations to take the helmet off. He watched how her cheeks lifted when her lips slid into a broad smile, a playful flicker in her eyes. “I think your armour might have given you away,” she chuckled at him. He followed her eyes down to his chest, as if he didn’t believe her. But as soon as he took in the combination of white and red, the credit dropped. Of course; obviously, she was correct.

Just as he was taking off his helmet, a Twi’lek waitress walked up to their booth and welcomed them to the establishment. Her smooth welcoming faltered for a brief moment when she noticed how Fox slid his hand through his luscious greying curls, making them bounce from his scalp once his fingers moved aside. She regained herself quickly and asked about their preferred drinks. “I-I’m still on duty,” Fox stammered awkwardly, whilst readjusting his already neatly fitting armpieces. The Senator chuckled at his side before turning towards the waitress. “I’d like a Coruscopolitan, please, and one Pantoran Passion for my friend here,” she addressed the waitress kindly.

The waitress repeated the order before rushing off towards the bar to get their drinks. Fox was still fidgeting with his armour pieces, until the Senator’s hand on top of his calmed him down. “Relax, nothing will happen, we’re totally fine,” she soothed him, whilst carefully moving a bit closer towards him. He cleared his throat before slowly shaking his head. “I, er- I'm not sure if this was a good idea. I don't want to get you into trouble if.. If people find out,” he stammered nervously, still not looking her in the eyes. She leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze. “Fox, it's nuna-ball night. No one is going to pay attention to a couple on a date.”

Her choice of the words ‘couple’ and ‘date’ shook him from his nervous state and finally made him look into her eyes. His breathing slowed down in an instant, his overflowing thoughts suddenly clearing as he focussed on her. Her big, golden eyes worked soothingly on him, and without thinking, he reached for her cheek. With the softest touch, he caressed the yellow markings on her blue skin. She chuckled affectionately before she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

Their moment was interrupted by the waitress returning with their drinks. She shot Fox a quick look before leaving them again, but it was totally lost on him. It wasn’t on the Senator, who found amusement in Fox’s ignorance. She couldn’t help but laugh, making the Commander look at her in confusement. “What?” he asked puzzled, but she only answered him with a broad smile. She nodded towards the drink in front of him. “What do you think of it?”

His gaze slid towards the beverage, carefully examining it. The drink itself was as blue as a Pantoran’s skin, and it was garnished with the peel of a golden fruit. “I, er- I like its colour. I think that’s my favourite colour,” he observed slowly, before glancing at her. “It’s nearly as pretty as you are,” he mumbled, before awkwardly taking a sip of the beverage. He missed how the Senator’s cheeks coloured a shade of indigo.

“The taste is good, too,” Fox started, before slowly continuing: “It’s nearly as good as-” “-as caf?” she interrupted him with a smile. He looked at her in surprise, only to realise it wasn’t a secret how much the Marshal Commander of the Coruscant Guard liked his caf. So for the first time that evening, he allowed a smile on his face. “Yes, as caf,” he concluded, before taking another sip of his beverage.

After some more sips, some hearty small talk and some gentle laughter, it was the Senator’s turn to clear her throat. “Fox, would you like to dance?” The Commander nearly choked on his drink, not prepared for the question. He looked at her, waiting to find out if she was joking, but by the expectant look in her eyes, he knew she was being serious. “I-I-I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. What if.. What if someone sees us together?” he objected cautiously, for he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

But instead of being hurt, the Senator managed a playful smile on her face. “We’ve already been together all evening. I don’t think a dance would make anything more suspicious,” she elaborated, and deep down, he knew she was right. His eyes darted around nervously, trying to come up with some logical excuse, but he was pulled from his train of thoughts when the Senator cupped his chin in her hand and guided his gaze towards her. “One dance - just one, that's all,” she said softly, and right there, he knew he couldn’t refuse. His eyes softened before he nodded at her.

His heart was beating so fast, he was afraid it would come thumping outside his chest. He was trained for so many situations and scenarios, but nothing had prepared him for this. But without the need to discuss it out loud, she understood, and she gently guided his hands to the right spots when they made it to the floor. And everything after just came naturally. He tightened the grasp around her waist to pull her closer as they slow-danced to the music, as the two of them shuffled over the floor. The Senator gently rested her head on his chest plate, just below his shoulder. He put his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Riyo,” he whispered, and for a moment, Fox seemed to forget everything else in the galaxy.

According to Wookieepedia, Pantorans' skins turn indigo when they blush omg 💙

Fox taglist: @peggy7447 @ghostymarni

[missinashkin]

Foxiyo Week 2024 Day 2 - Self Defense

Happy Foxiyo Week everyone!!! I’m pretty proud of how this came out, please enjoy some fluff!

@foxiyoweek

[plainshobbit]

Day 2: Solace 

(Yes, this is a few days late. Oops!)

I humbly present a little Post-Rebelion AU drabble: 

Fox stood on a wooden deck overlooking the Pantoran marsh and let the nocturnal serenade of marsh creatures wash over him. This was his home now. Their home. 

After the Empire had finally been defeated, Riyo elected to leave the nurturing of the fledgling New Republic to other hands.  

His wife had subsequently relocated them to this secluded spot in the marshlands of her home world. 

Surrounded by nature -- wild and free living things -- it had quickly became a place of healing. 

On nights like these, when specters of Fox' past haunted his sleeping hours, he slipped outside and let the landscape anchor him back to the present. 

Light steps approached and slender arms wrapped around Fox' bare torso.  He felt a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades and then the softness of Riyo's hair as she laid her head against his back. 

No words needed to be spoken in this moment. All was understood. Riyo had her own ghosts to contend with after all. 

Fox covered her slender arms with his broad ones, tenderly caressing the limbs that embraced him. They stood together like this for quite some time -- each gathering strength from the other. 

Turning in her arms to face Riyo, Fox looked into the bright golden eyes shining in the moonlight.

Eyes that knew him better than anyone else. Sometimes better than he knew himself.

Years ago, in the beginning, that had terrified him. It felt dangerous to be seen so clearly by a nat-born.

Later, after he had learned to trust and respect – and in time love Riyo, her ability to know him so well frightened him for another reason. Fox was beginning to fear what the war and the influence of Palpatine were doing to him. Who they were turning him into.

Would those eyes look at him differently if they saw. Would they turn away in disgust?

They never did.

Riyo continued to see the man beneath the mask. And her eyes with their steady gaze were a beacon guiding him back home if he began to lose himself.

Now the wars were only memory and Fox could spend his days losing himself to the comfort and love that shined in those same golden eyes.

@foxiyoweek

[redroverrider]

Foxiyo Week Day 2: Solace

Commander Fox drove his speeder quickly through the air of Coruscant. He was almost to his destination, and he couldn’t get there soon enough.

It had been the hardest day he had been through in a while. Several of his men had been killed on the lower levels, and he had been placing the blame squarely on himself the whole day.

Parking the speeder in the apartment building, He jumped out and rushed into the stairwell. He knew the building well. It was one of the buildings that contained suites for the senators when they were on Coruscant. The particular suite he was going to, home to the only senator he liked, was almost at the very top of the building.

He had called her earlier and asked if they could meet after he was off-duty. She said she would be elated to, and told him to come to her apartment whenever he was ready. 

Almost there, he told himself. He speed-walked out of the stairwell and into the hallway, walked halfway down the hall, and knocked on the door, hoping to the powers that be that she was home. 

Thankfully, after only a few seconds, the door opened, and the woman looked up at him.

“There you are!” She said, smiling. But the smile quickly faded when she saw the state of him. His whole body seemed to be shaking, and she knew that something was wrong. They had known each other for almost a year, and had been an official, but still secret, coulple for about a month now, and she still surprised him with how well she could read him.

She pulled him out of the hall and into her apartment, closing the door behind her. “What’s the matter?” She asked, the concern clear in her voice.

“I lost a lot of men today.” Fox said, He said it quickly, as if he was embarrassed that this was troubling him, and his voice was slightly muffled by his helmet.

Riyo reached her hands up to his head. “Here,” she said, “let me.” And she pulled his helmet off of his head, reaching her arms as far as she could stretch them to do so.

The sight of his face broke her heart even more. His eyes were strained and red, as if he had been crying or was about to. She sighed, and immediately pulled him into a hug. He slowly returned the embrace, and they stood like that for a few moments. 

“Come here,” she said, pulling him towards the couch. They sat down on it, and she pulled his body into hers, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. 

“It is not your fault,” she assured him, knowing he would be blaming himself for this. “And I know those men would not want you to think that.” 

Fox gave a slow nod, her words giving him a bit of reassurance. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. Fox shook his head slightly, afraid that dwelling on it would cause him even more stress. “Okay.” Riyo said. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just this.” Fox said quietly, leaning into her embrace a bit more. And Riyo was more than happy to do so, wrapping her arms tighter around him and rubbing her hand across his back.

She wished he wasn’t always so stoic around other people, and that he could find ways to show more emotion around his troops or other civilians. But for now, if he needed her to be his source of solace, she could do that. She was more than happy to.

@foxiyoweek

[bart1607]

Foxiyo Week 2023, Day 5, Masked, Rebellion AU

This is my next fic for Foxiyo Week 2023! And I know, this is very short! 😅

Summary: Fox is captured during one mission and waits for rescue.

Warnings: Mentions of tortures

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Word count: 494

Link to AO3:

@foxiyoweek

[wolviecat]

The new army was made of conscripts, but their armor was designed so they looked identical - even more than the clones used to. Sometimes, she found herself watching the see of white masks, waiting for a familiar voice to sound through the voicecoder.

for @foxiyoweek prompts ENEMYLINES and REBELION ERA

[graaaaceeliz]

Another foxiyo sonnet! This is for the prompt Redemption, which is @foxiyoweek day 3. Enjoy.

A pen in my hand becomes a knife,

So I shall not write you loving poems.

A brush in my hand can’t imitate life,

So I will not paint to catch your beauty.

A song in my mouth becomes only hurts,

So I dare not sing to you of true love.

A blessing in my speech becomes a curse,

So I must not name you sent from above.

But who can argue that our love is pure?

Who dares lecture us that we do not know

How we look at each other and are sure

Our two hearts make the sweetest music grow?

There are no sweet nothings inside my heart,

Regardless – nothing lacking on my part!

[foxiyoweek]

hi! I was wondering if there is a certain way we must tag works for Foxiyo week if we publish it over on ao3. Is there a Foxiyo week specific tag you would like us to use?

thank you!!

Hi! Yes!

You can tag us here at @foxiyoweek or use the #foxiyoweek2024 tag!

[mysteriousfoxio]

Foxio Week 2023 Day One Six: Behind Enemy Lines Caf

Here is the first (and so far only published) chapter of The Cerulean Palace Incident.

Summary:

Fox is undercover in the lower levels of Coruscant, but the mission is interrupted when a certain young Pantoran senator needs rescuing from the Cerulean Palace nightclub.

(Inspired by a pivotal scene in The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.)

He's undercover so that counts as "Behind Enemy Lines", right.

More chapters are on their way, but sadly not in time for Foxiyo Week. 😔

[Originally published for The Blue Castle Fanwork Challenge, but with the upcoming Foxiyo Week in mind.]

P.S. There is an Easter Egg for another fabulous Foxiyo fic in this chapter. Hint: It's by author @amukmuk 😉

@foxiyoweek

[sticks-and-souls]

I posted 626 times in 2022

That's 514 more posts than 2021!

9 posts created (1%)

617 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gffa

@muguathepapaya

@gizkalord

@ialreadyreadthatfanfic

@captaingondolin

I tagged 603 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#a queue by any other name - 147 posts

#andor spoilers - 118 posts

#andor - 109 posts

#star wars - 89 posts

#anakin skywalker - 75 posts

#ahsoka tano - 60 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 59 posts

#the clone wars - 55 posts

#meta - 41 posts

#andor meta - 41 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#in fact to go from ‘not walking’ to ‘walking’ you must first do a lot of physical therapy in the ‘partial walking’ phase of things

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Off Duty

@foxiyoweek Day 5: Leadership. AO3 link here.

“And so then I said, ‘Actually, your account doesn’t supercede everyone’s here!’” 

Riyo realized belatedly that Senator Drythe believed his comment to be some kind of punchline and she forced out a simpering laugh. 

He was so in her personal space that it was taking a constant, conscious effort to not lean to the far side of her dinner chair. Worse still that her political strategy for the evening dictated that she now tilt her head towards him and ask a follow up question. She had serious reservations that if their faces got any closer the frustrated screaming in her head would verbalize itself. 

The Chancellor’s dinner was a prime opportunity for her to make friends with the swing voters on the relief bill scheduled for next week. If Pantorans were forced to narrow their meager rations again, her people would begin to starve. She needed to convince more senators that the Republic funds were worth the resources to feed her people while the war blocked their supply routes on her outer rim planet. Didn’t Republic politicians understand that saving people from the Separatist control was actually pointless if they died of starvation during the process? Not enough of them did.

Which brought her to Senator Drythe. Wealthy, influential, tenured senator of cush, inner-rim Fenlaith. When she had discovered he would be her dinner partner at the beginning of the evening she had believed herself lucky. More than an hour into forced laughs and batted eyelashes as he monologued his favorite political exploits, inching ever closer to her, and she now wondered if suffering through this would fail to reward her with getting a word in at all.

To just royally top off the entire debacle, the Chancellor had taken precautions against the increased frequency of bounty hunter attacks and ordered that the safety of the dinner guests be overseen by the Coruscant Guard rather than just the Senate Guard. Her “lucky” seating arrangements had her positioned directly across and slightly to the right from where none other than Marshal Commander Fox was standing guard. He and his squad stood unmoving at textbook attention around the perimeter of the cozy dining room but she knew he was taking in every detail. And given that the last time they had both had a moment off at the same time—regrettably more than three weeks ago—they’d spent it entwined in a state of dishabille with one another, she felt relatively confident that at least a portion of his attention was on her and her dinner partner. 

“You know, Riyo—can I call you Riyo?—,” Drythe angled his body towards hers, his knee finally making contact with her own under the table. “I bet there’s more to you than that quiet face suggests.”

She forced her expression from becoming wooden. This is hell, she thought. I have literally died and I am now in hell. Goddess, please forgive me my past transgressions. 

“Please, Senator, I could—”

“—Call me Gerek,” he interrupted.

Do it for your people! She screamed internally. “...Gerek, ” she said aloud, fluttering her gaze at him, “I could hardly have been elected Senator of Pantora without the capacity to speak passionately on their behalf.” Like I literally did in front of you and the rest of the Senate just this afternoon. “Being the voice of—”

“Oh ho! Of course! That reminds me of my own election! It was against the leader of a very vocal extremist group and…”

-----

Riyo closed the door to her apartment gently with a soft click before leaning exhaustedly against it. Three hours, she thought, staring emptily at her ceiling. Three hours of self-debasement and political flattery and for what? 

With a disgusted sigh, she pushed herself from her door and set her keys on the dining table. 

Marris, her handservant, came swiftly around the corner. “Welcome home, Senator, did you have a nice evening?”

“It was...awful,” she responded. She felt exhausted with shame and humiliation. “I’m going to take a shower.” As if water could wash away what she was feeling. I can pretend. 

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Marris followed her into her bedroom and waited for her to sit at her vanity. “Was no one willing to listen?” she asked, as she began to remove Riyo’s hairpins. 

Marris had been employed by Riyo’s family for years before Riyo had been elected senator and moved to Coruscant and, despite being younger than her own mother, she exuded maternal comfort. The loose outline of her suffocating evening in the presence of Drythe came tumbling out to Marris’s sympathetic tutting. “...and then we were two of the last people to leave because he literally would not stop talking.”

Her dress came off next and Riyo caught a whiff of Drythe’s cologne as Marris helped lift it over her head. “Ugh,” she gagged. “Bag it for dry cleaning.”

Marris was clearly holding in a smile but her eyes remained full of compassion. “That he found you such a captive audience, I’m sure didn’t hurt your goals for the bill. Maybe it will look different in the morning.”

Riyo managed a weak smile before stepping into the bathroom and starting the hot water. She hadn’t mentioned Fox to Marris because she wasn’t sure Marris knew how serious their relationship had become, but having omitted him from her tale made the gnawing guilt when she thought about him that much more noticeable now. As if not even mentioning him meant his feelings really didn’t matter. She wanted to message him. She should message him. But what would she even say? Sorry I flirted with a powerful creep while you were forced to watch for hours? Sorry you must now think I’m a disgusting flake with horrible taste in men? Would he even respond? 

If she had been the one forced to watch him flirt with someone else all night while she held her tongue, she would have been a mess. Every layer that she uncovered of Fox revealed a new reason that he kept distance from the people around him. Her heart physically ached at the notion that she might give him reasons to doubt her too. I’m so, so sorry.

She tried to force her thoughts away from him. Maybe Marris was right and this would all look better in the morning.

The real problem was that Marris was right about all of it and it was her own damn reaction that was what was wrong with the night. She should be thrilled about her evening with Drythe. Through the lens of her career, the evening was a resounding success! Acknowledging this only increased her frustration and she took a slow breath of the steamy shower air to try to ease the tightness in her chest. Building his ego was seventy-five percent of the battle and this was, technically, exactly where she should want him. Some politicians don’t like to talk about work during “social hours” and this wretched evening will hopefully have made him more receptive to her when she could—ugh—talk to him again tomorrow during working hours. Her whole body rejected the idea and she squeezed her eyes shut. I can’t. She wrapped her arms around herself as the hot water beat heavily down on her. Maybe she wasn’t as cut out for this as she thought. 

She had been raised to be a politician nearly her whole life and few circumstances had penetrated the thick skin she had developed, but this felt different and she suspected it had everything to do with Fox. In fact, she’d never had a problem with the social maneuvering required of being a politician until she’d begun falling—really falling—for Fox. She just so strongly admired how he was so direct and steadfast and action-oriented that she couldn’t help but look at her own world of manipulation, subterfuge, and endless talking as shameful by comparison. She’d seen firsthand how the meandering crawl of Senate productivity directly disadvantaged the very soldiers that allowed them to maintain this body of government. For her to then participate in lavish dinners that encapsulated the entire wretched process in full display of said disadvantaged clones, who were her personal friends, made her entirely complicit. The shame she had been experiencing all evening piqued as she was finally able to name it.

She shut the water off, still undecided on whether to call him, and wrapped her massive, fluffy towel around herself. My duty is to my people, not to my heart, she reminded herself. She could hear her mother’s sternly practical voice echoing in her mind, “Love is a luxury, Riyo, and your actions always need to serve those you lead before they serve yourself.” The sigh that issued from her lips was lonesome, leached of the frustration that had dominated her evening. If betraying Fox and betraying my heart saves the life of even just one of my people, I must do it. Whether she felt good about it didn’t matter; her feelings, hanging in the balance of the lives she advocated for, couldn’t tip the scales. 

From the bathroom counter, her comm blinked with a message waiting. The banner notification only informed her it was from Fox and she felt a nervous jolt pulse through her.  Rip the band-aid off, Riyo, she steeled herself. Delaying the inevitable doesn’t change it. 

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45 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#4

Nemik and Skeen, Cassian’s shadow selves as Clem and Kassa, died at the same time.

I love me a good foil character, and Skeen was set up nicely as one to Clem. Clem, Andor’s mercenary self, exhibiting many of the traits we see in Skeen that can all be summed up with the line “Everyone’s fighting their own rebellion.” We’ve seen this side of Andor in his exhausted oppression under the empire, his flight from Ferrix, his need to survive, and in doing this mission for the money.

But we’ve also seen him as Kassa, a member of a community, and a loving protector of his sister. And we see Kassa’s very real anger against the colonialism of the Empire as he shatters the pristine console of the ship on Kenari. Cassian is the perfect audience for Nemik’s manifesto because he’s lived that state of oppression his entire life until he became Clem out of sheer mental survival. “Do I look thankful to you?”

Skeen and Nemik die at the same time, and Cassian finally merges his two shadow selves within him. Killing Skeen, to protect himself but also to protect Vel, Nemik, and by extent Luthen’s rebellion; and then leaving with his share in order to survive, while also accepting the manifesto. Cassian is neither fully Clem nor Kassa but he is both of them, and this is the first glimpse that we see of that fully realized version of himself that we know from Rogue One.

150 notes - Posted October 13, 2022

#3

I am completely moved by the fact that Nemik’s description of how both oppression and rebellion manifest are effectively the same despite being at opposite ends of the spectrum. I’m talking about control versus freedom and the comparison of these two lines:

“It’s easier to hide behind 40 atrocities than a single incident.”

Versus

“Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy.”

In the first, it is the deluge that is numbing and exhausting but in the second, the deluge becomes a movement. Every act of rebellion inspires more and more acts, and the true beauty of Nemik’s vision of rebellion is that it’s not coordinated. It’s entropy, it’s the call of freedom inside every individual, it’s every individual that becomes a collective. The constant rain becomes a flood that lifts all ships.

Oppression is exhausting but rebellion can exhaust oppression right back. And Nemik’s vision is so inspiring because he specifically identifies why the collective is the more powerful force.

For the Empire to have such tight control, it has to act as a single entity, but we’ve seen the internal discord in trying to exert control throughout the entire show, from the rivalry between Dedra and Blevin, all the way down to Dedra having to constantly repeat to the Ferrix ground unit that she wants Andor alive. These are the leaks and breaks that Nemik refers to. Oppression is constant effort; freedom is innate. And where the Empire is a single entity, the frontier of the rebellion is everywhere.

And what a message for a show to have in this era.

168 notes - Posted November 23, 2022

#2

Wa(te)r Born

Inspired by this post by @cobaltbeam. AO3 link here.

Rex isn’t unfamiliar with water. None of the clones are. Water is the only world they know until they’re conscripted into the war. But he’s never seen it quite like this. 

On Kamino, water is an angry thing. The drumming waves and unyielding typhoons of the surface beat the song of a vengeful god hellbent on destroying those who defy it. Under the surface is no better. If the dark waters pull you beneath the violence of the waves, then the cold, the pressure, or the demons of the deep will each try to claim you before the water itself invariably takes you as its own. Water is a force to be survived. 

But here, standing on the beach of a lagoon worlds away from Kamino, Rex thinks maybe he doesn’t know water after all. The ocean is as blue as a jewel and the way it glitters with the sun might be the prettiest thing he’s ever seen. The sound it makes as it laps gently against the white beach is a sigh that uncurls something in him he hadn’t realized he had been clenching.

Before he realizes what he’s doing, he has snapped off the armor below his knees and is rolling up his blacks. The sand is curiously soft. He didn’t know sand could be anything except gritty and coarse. Wiggling his feet further into it brings more revelations; it’s cool just an inch deep. He lingers a moment just sliding his feet back and forth, enjoying the orchestra of sensations moving around his toes and the cautious smile playing at his mouth.  

The sigh beckons him again and he looks up at the brilliant water before him. In five steps he’s at the edge of the surf and the next wave brings a shallow layer of water running up over the tops of his feet. He inhales sharply at the new sensations but the breath leaves him slowly, deliberately, as his tension uncurls another inch. The water is cool but not cold, and so clear he can see individual grains of sand swirling in the eddies around his ankles. The next wave whispers quietly over the beach and he realizes the water is burrowing his feet in the wet sand, asking him to stay. His toes are already submerged. 

The water is shallow and he wades out a few more steps. It burbles companionably at his progress. The uncomfortable humidity trapped under his armor wanes with each inch that the water climbs his exposed calves. He feels clean. With the susurration of the waves all around him now, the sounds of their camp back on the shore have muted rapidly. He can hear his own breath mingled with the sigh of the tide far easier than any voices or activity behind him. They’re a world away, too. 

Rex closes his eyes and lets his mind float. The air is salty, the sun a happy beacon, and he’s more at home in water than Kamino ever warned him he should be. 

Tomorrow they’ll pack up their camp and head to the next rendezvous. But maybe someday, when it’s all over, he could come back here. 

Maybe…maybe there is such a thing as water without rage. 

216 notes - Posted July 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The ISB is objectively evil but damn if they don’t do a good job of sprinkling in moments where you feel Dedra’s own struggle against oppression. Misunderstand me correctly, I do not condone anything she lives for or acts on, and her own privileges are aplenty.

But her genuine unease and fear when Syril stalks and accosts her? Real.

Her mentorship from a high-ranking male boss who sees her value in the workplace and lifts her up with his power? Real.

The subtle twist in her expression when she realizes her aide may be trying to usurp her? REAL.

She is a villain. She uses her own privilege to oppress many many others. But damn if you thought this show about oppression would let you out without an overt example that privilege is never all or nothing.

377 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

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