#i still want to finish the entire thing before posting it in batches and i got quite a chunk to go still

[lordsardine]

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well the fic is getting somewhere

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[haru-natsuka]

First Night Interview (Heartslabyul and Scarabia Ver.)

Question: How did you spend your first night with your wife?

Ace looked at the question in horrified.

Ace: WH-WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT! WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU?!

Deuce: Bet you were just sleeping like a log. *

Deuce smirked at Ace as he folded his arms, literally mocking him. Irritated with Deuce remark, Ace did not back down.

Ace: HUH! EXCUSE ME! We diiddd it all night longggg! Tch! (I'd be dead if my wife knew about this) Bet you struggle to even hold your wife's hands.

Deuce: ME-ME?! Me... My wife and I... spend a heated night *blush furiously*. It's the first night of the wedding after all. It's bound to happen. *Super proud face*. How about Trey-senpai and Cater-senpai?

Trey: I don't think I can say much. My marriage happened during Christmas so both of us were busy with all the orders from the bakery. We just passed out late at night and wake up early tomorrow morning for another batch of orders.

Cater: That's sounds pretty tiring. Good, you have a supportive wife. You should buy her a cute gift as a reward.

Trey: I already did.

Cater: What did you give? Something branded? Expensive? Trending?

Trey: There is no need to buy when I can just provide the thing for my wife.

Cater: You must bake something and use your unique magic to impress her.

Trey: Something like that. Now, stop focusing the conversation on me, Cater. It's your turn. Don't avoid to answer.

Cater: Uhuu..Did I get caught? I also have nothing special to share. I only remember taking multiple pictures of my wife. She's too beautiful and photogenic for me to stop.

Deuce: Really senpai? But I don't notice you update anything in magicam that night.

Cater: Not everything should be posted, Deuce-chan. It's a memory that I want to keep for myself.

Deuce: Please drop the chan :(

Riddle, who was listening to the conversation could not hold himself back anymore

Riddle: All of you... I tried to ignore it but I couldn't anymore. DID YOU GUYS BREAK THE CURFEW?! This is an embarrassment for ex-students from Heartslabyul. A DISGRACE!

Everyone was shocked with the ex-dorm leader outburst.

Deuce: Riddle-senpai, do you still follow all the 180 rules?

Riddle: It's 810! How can you forget about the rules! This matter is not something to take lightly!

Cater: That's Riddle for you I guess.

Riddle: My wife is not like you rule breakers at all. She follows all the rules really well. It was right for me to rely on my mother in choosing my partner.

Ace: YOU IMPLY THE SAME RULES TO YOUR WIFE???!!!

Riddle: It's something to be expected alright. When the clock hit 10, we go sleep punctually. It has been 1 month of marriage and we always did that.

Trey: Did you really just sleep, Riddle?

Riddle: I don't see anything worth to do except that. Besides, I finished all my tasks early before bed.

Trey: Your wife don't say anything? Like giving you the cold shoulders.

Riddle: When I think about it... She did act differently the next day but I don't know why. I tried to ask but she always said she's busy or I need to figure it out by myself.

Ace: Congratulation on having the first couple fight

Riddle: Wh-what do you mean by that, Ace?

Cater: Just ignore him, Riddle. Let me help you solving the problems. I already share some links with you. You just need to watch and you will understand your wife better.

Riddle: Will it works? *About to click the link*

Cater: *Close Riddle's phone as fast as he can* Please remember to not watch it in public.

Kalim: What are you guys doing? Can I join too?

Trey: I don't think you should involve yourself in the conversation Kalim. This will taint your innocence

Ace: We talking about everyone's first night. Please share with us your experience too, senpai

Trey: Ace! You-!

Kalim: Ohh about that! Of course, I spent the entire night with my beautiful wife. She teaches me a lot of ways to cuddle. We keep each other close not only that night but the entire next 2 days! And we-!

Jamil: KALIM! STOP TALKING! (Immediately cover his mouth and drag him away before he can describe the entire situation. Meanwhile, Riddle was busy taking notes inside his head. Cuddle all night doesn't sound so bad)

Cater: What about you, Jamil?

Jamil: I don't want to share anything but my wife admit I'm a husband material *Smug smile*

END

This is my first time focusing my writing on dialogue more instead of description. How was it? While doing this, I got some ideas to write one-shot for everyone of them in regards of their first night. Might be writing a new series huhuhuhu.

[laura1633]

10. An Alpha discovers an Omega is faking their heat.

Could we have this with omega Max and alpha Charles? 🥰

Part four of the omegaverse prompt game. I am going to do another batch of these next week as I want to focus on a non-omegaverse one shot I am working on and get that posted and there are a couple other things I am working on that I want to get finished ❤️

Thanks for the request, I wasn't sure where this was going when I started writing 😂 I will add it to the collection on ao3 in a little bit.

TW: this focuses on Max having issues with his heats and sexual function.

Charles takes his time as he slowly kisses his way up Max’s neck. The alpha makes sure that the press of his lips against the warmth of the omega’s skin is light and gentle. In fact everything is soft and delicate, from the way he coos over how pretty Max is to the way he runs his hands up and over the curves of the omega’s body. Charles isn’t entirely sure how Max likes to be treated in his heat but he’s currently treating him like precious cargo. 

“You like that?” Charles hums as he licks over Max’s scenting gland and hears the omega moan happily.

Max is brilliantly responsive to all of Charles’ touches. In fact Max is really present in the moment considering he is in his heat. Charles is used to omegas being rather out of control once their heat sweeps  up through their body. Max is completely different, he is lucid and engaged. 

“Feels good” Max’s eyes flutter open as he smiles up at Charles. 

“This all still okay?” Charles asks he runs his nose up along the length of Max’s neck and takes in some more of the omegas’s sweet scent.  

Max nods and lets out a long slow exhale as he shifts beneath Charles. After the omega’s initial reservations about spending a heat together he seems to be relaxing into things bit by bit. 

“You look hot like this” Charles grins as he nips at Max’s earlobe and smiles to himself at the little squeak it elicits. 

Charles had joked once that Max was like a musical instrument, it’s not far from the truth though, the omega makes a whole array of noises depending on where and how Charles touches him. From gentle purring right up to raucous squealing. Max has quite a range. 

The alpha soothes his palms up over Max’s stomach and cups his hand against the omega’s chest as he brings his tongue down and around their nipple. The omega arches in response and pushes his body upwards towards Charles’ mouth. 

The thing with Max, Charles has learnt, is that it takes him a while to get warmed up. He’s always a little skittish and nervous when they get into bed but a nice slow pace seems to work wonders. Except today everything feels a little off. Max is starting to melt against Charles’ touch but the omega’s body seems to be cooling down. 

Which would be fine - 

Except Charles is almost certain that ‘heats’ are named literally and that the warmth of Max’s skin shouldn’t be fading quite so quickly. He decides it’s best not to make comment seen as he is under the impression that Max has had to work up quite a lot of courage to spend his heat with someone. 

“You think maybe you’d like me to use my tongue today?” Charles runs his fingers along the top of Max’s panties and imagines easing them down with his teeth before dipping his tongue inside the omega,  “I can stop if you don’t like it” 

“No tongue” Max suddenly tries to wiggle out from underneath Charles in a panic. 

“Wait , it’s okay, I’m not gonna do something you doing want!” Charles reaches out to hold Max still but thinks better of it and lets the omega jump up to their feet, “Sweetie I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know that” Max smiles. It’s fake though, Charles can tell instantly. Max’s eyes are dull and even though his lips are curling upwards the happiness doesn’t reach any other part of his expression, “Just give me two minutes and I’ll be back.”

Max dashes off to the bathroom before Charles can say anything more. Unfortunately this is not an unusual experience, they’ll just be getting into things and Max will disappear for a short time before returning back. Charles hasn’t quite been able to work out why and Max is more than a little reluctant to discuss it.

The alpha lies back on the bed and tries not to worry. He’s been with shy omegas before, omegas who get nervous around oral sex or just sex in general. Max is different somehow. Not that different is bad, it’s just that Charles would rather like to figure out what is going on in Max’s mind sometimes. 

The alpha stretches out his arms and is just about to call through to see if everything is fine when he hears a clattering followed by a string of expletives, as he dashes through to the bathroom he gets a less than welcoming reception. 

“Get out!!” Max whines as Charles stands in the doorway trying to work out what the fuck is going on. The omega has patches stuck to various parts of their body and there is lubricant and a bottle of scent enhancer leaking on the floor. Max looks like he is caught somewhere between fury and tears.

“What is going on?!” Charles surveys everything again and suddenly recognises the patches adorning Max’s body. Heat patches, the type he uses for aching muscles. It’s then that it hits him that the omega looks to be desperately trying to increase the temperature of their skin. 

“Are you not in heat?”

“Charles, leave me alone!!” Max whines as he barges past Charles and darts right back into his nest so he can bury his body against the various sheets and cushions. As he peeks back out his eyes are watery. 

“Tell me what is happening” Charles can’t work out if the weird feeling he has beneath his skin is anger or embarrassment. Most likely both. Anger that Max doesn’t trust him enough to be honest and embarrassed that he didn’t work out immediately that the omega was faking his heat. 

In his defence it seems a ludicrous thing to do. He’s never heard of anyone even attempting to do such a thing. 

“I’m so sorry” Max’s whines have quickly turned to sobs. Not the small sniffly kind either, full body wracking sobs. 

Charles’ brain can’t catch up. He’d suggested helping Max through a heat but that was all it was - a suggestion. He would never have forced the issue. The fact that Max would even think he had to fake anything stings, especially when Charles would like to think he’s been incredibly patient over the the whole thing. 

“Why did you lie to me?”

Max curls himself up tighter in the grey fleecy blanket he has wrapped around himself. Charles recognises it immediately as Max’s comfort blanket. It’s all torn and tatty and ripped up one side. Max carries it everywhere with him and right now he is gripping hold of it for dear life.

“I would never make you spend a heat with me. Is that what you think?” Charles tries really hard to keep his voice calm but he’s shaking underneath the surface. Nothing is making sense, “Or is it something else? You can talk to me.”

“I didn’t mean to lie” Max chokes out through sobs, the omegas eyes still peering out from behind his comfort blanket, “I didn’t want you to see me in heat. It’s awful.” 

“Max..” Charles perches himself down on the edge of the nest. He’s known from the start that Max can sometimes get self conscious over his body. Charles hasn’t been able to figure out why because every inch of Max is perfect to him but then again Charles gets self-conscious too so he supposes it’s just human nature, “I think you would look beautiful in heat. I can imagine you all rosy faced.” 

“No” Max shakes his head vigorously, “I really don’t look good.”

“Ask most alphas, they’ll tell you how pretty omegas in heat are. I know it might not feel like it when you are hot and uncomfortable - “ 

“And wet” Max interjects, “Really wet right?”

“Well hopefully” Charles laughs awkwardly, he certainly hopes he gets his omega wet, “I mean wet is always good no?”

Max makes another choked out little sound, “Does it feel different when an omega is really wet?”

“Yes” Charles smiles, he wasn’t planning on getting into a sort of semi-biology lesson but clearly Max is worried about how his body changes during heat and Charles knows that as a good alpha he should do whatever he can to make an omega feel better, “But in the best possible way. I love it, the messier the better.” 

“That’s what I thought” Max pauses for the briefest of seconds and then starts sobbing uncontrollably.

“Max sweetie” Charles inches closer and rubs his hand down Max’s back over the top of the blanket that is still pulled tight around the omega’s body, “however you are in heat it will be fine by me.” 

“My body is not normal” Max sniffs, “I do not have proper heats. I am not sexy. I get sick. My muscles ache. It’s horrible. The last thing I want is sex. I can barely move.” Max punches out each thought between sobs.

Charles feels his stomach flip, he’s never heard of an omega being anything other than horny during heat. He immediately thinks to how he has been going on about helping Max through it and knotting him and keeping him full and the whole time his mate seems to have been curled over in pain each time a heat hits, “Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my god, I could have been helping you all this time.”

“It is not how heats are meant to be” Max says sadly, “I didn’t want you to look at me the way everyone else has looked at me when they found out.” Max is still peeking out from within his blanket, tears dripping down off his face and soaking through the material. 

“Someone said something to you?” Who said something to you?” Charles tries to suppress the growl that is vibrating up from his chest. 

“It doesn’t matter now” Max sighs, “They were right. It is weird.”

Charles wraps his arms around the omega’s body and feels his heart clench when Max immediately leans right into him looking for comfort, “It’s not weird to me. I would have been there to ease you through it” 

“I don’t get wet” Max chokes out.

“I didn’t mean ease you through it with sex”  Charles slowly starts to peel the blanket away from Max so that he can hold the omega to his chest. Often skin to skin contact is just as comforting to the omega as the blanket and once again Max puts up no resistance to setting the fleece aside so he can press up against his alpha.

“I don’t mean like that” Max mumbles quietly where he has buried himself into the crook of Charles' neck, “I don’t ever get wet. I don’t produce slick” 

“That’s not true, you’ve been wet  when we - “ 

“No” Max shakes his head, “that was why I had to - , to the bathroom. Lubricant.” 

Charles pauses as he thinks back to the last few times they’ve had sex. Max has definitely been wet. Except Charles can’t be sure that it was produced by the omega’s body because Max did in fact dash off to the bathroom midway through foreplay each time. Charles suddenly feels like the worst alpha of all time for not realising. 

“Are you breaking up with me now?” Max sounds so quiet and cautious, “Please don’t leave me” 

Charles clutches his arms tighter around Max and  hugs him almost impossibly tight against his body, “I am not going to leave you. Oh my god why would you think that?”

“Just - , experience” Max shrugs like it’s what he was expecting to happen all along. 

“Sweetheart I know you don’t want to talk about it now but I am going to need names” Charles tries to keep his tone light, “I think I need to have a few quiet words with some people.”

There are very few things that get Charles genuinely apocalyptic with rage but he has quickly learnt that top of his list is anyone hurting Max. Ever. Whether it’s past, present or future. Maybe it’s the alpha side of him but there is a protective instinct that vibrates through his body. Clearly Max has not had the experiences he should have been having with alphas. 

“So it’s not over?”

“No it’s not over” Charles shuffles up against the headboard so he can coax Max right into his lap. The omega clambers on without asking and snuggles up against him, “I feel like you should be asking me that. I should have realised what was happening, I’m meant to be looking after you.”

“You do look after me” Max mumbles, the tips of the omega’s ears turning pinker as he starts to blush, “I just wanted to be wet for you. You said it yourself, being wet is better.”

“I didn’t mean that, not really” Charles tries to backtrack on his earlier statement, “I think you are perfect just as you are. I want to make you feel good, not worry about things.”

“It does feel good” the blush has fully crept its way on to Max’s cheeks, “and I really did want you to .. you know… but I thought you might taste the lube and then I …you know it was just… I would like it though.”

“Oh” Charles doesn’t quite manages to hold back the rumbling noise he makes as he realises what Max means, “You want me to eat you out?”

Max blushes further.

“We can do that” Charles smiles and lets Max rest against him for a while as the omega’s sobs start to slowly subside, “I just need to ask one thing and you don’t have to answer, but have you been to see someone about this?”

Max blinks a few times as he looks back at Charles “I got checked out. I was embarrassed but I am of course not stupid. The wetness, it is not serious, it is what it is the doctor said.”  

Charles runs his nose up Max’s neck and inhales the omega’s scent that also seems to be settling back into the familiar sweet notes ,“and your heats?”

“He said it is really rare and there is nothing they can do” Max frowns, “but I guess I am just special” 

“You are special” Charles kisses the tip of Max’s nose and chuckles lightly at the way Max’s face scrunches up, “and your next heat, I would love to look after you. Make you food. Keep you comfortable”  

“You are not disappointed?” 

“No” Charles answers immediately but feels like a complete dick because he supposes there is a part of him that wanted to see what Max was like when he was in full heat and desperate and dripping for him. He’d rather die than tell Max that, he decides some lies are for the greater good. Besides, he’s now focused on how he is best going to care for Max in his heats. The omega is so tactile and gentle and Charles really would love nothing more than being able to return that type of energy when the omega needs it most, “I could never be disappointed with you, you're my special omega and I’m going to treat you like a princess.”

“Princess” Max huffs and laughs but snuggles in closer to Charles.

Charles closes his eyes and hugs Max close, he doesn’t need his omega to be wet and he doesn’t need him in some heat ravaged desperation, he just wants him to be happy and right now Max is purring contently against him which seems like a pretty good start.

[archivistofnerddom]

The Bad Batch and Costco headcanons:

Because I have it in my head that they would be the family that needs to buy things in bulk. Once it was there, the headcanons followed.

Hunter

He’s usually the one responsible for their food purchases. The grocery list he takes is long, extensive, and heavily annotated with everyone’s preferences.

The most tired dad in Costco award goes to him. Trying to corral the rest of the Batch is a losing game, so he’s figured out how to divide and conquer, sending everyone out to pick up certain things. (They don’t always follow through with what they were supposed to get though, hence why he wins the most tired dad award.)

He’s willing to stop and try samples though. Hunter needs snacks to get through this gauntlet with the full family. Plus, focusing on food keeps him sane and his senses in line.

Even still, he’s always down to get a hot meal from Costco’s kitchen after check-out. It’s the only time that day the whole family agrees on anything and is in the same place in the store.

He’s usually in possession of one of the family’s membership cards and definitely has one of their debit cards. There will be few surprise purchases on his watch. (There are always surprise purchases on his watch.)

Crosshair

Disappears almost as soon as they walk in the door. He appears out of nowhere to deposit what he wants in one of their carts (because they have many) and disappears again. (Coffee and dark chocolate are pretty much the only consistent items he adds.)

He can usually be found hanging near the check-out lanes with a mountain of coolers and boxes at the ready for when they’re checking out.

It’s an unspoken rule in their local Costco that no one tries to filch any of the cardboard boxes from his horde. Legend has it he will throw hands to defend his stash. Few dare to test that assumption.

The one responsible for ordering food so that it’s ready to eat once the rest of the family is through the check-out line. Don’t ask how he always times it perfectly. It’s a mystery not even Tech could solve.

Unsurprisingly, he usually garners a following of moody teenagers who just don’t want to be there. He gives off the same energy most of the time, even if he’s just trying to catch a nap. It’s a crapshot if Crosshair actually likes that the moody punk kids want to hang with him. They’re just afraid enough of him to ask.

Tech

Tech can be found in the auto section and the electronics section. He knows precisely what they meet and has already shopped the best deals.

He needs several texts and alarms so that he doesn’t get lost in conversation. (Hunter isn’t above sending Wrecker to go re-claim Tech, if he doesn’t show up after a timely fashion.)

Like Crosshair, he’ll just drop whatever non-electronic items he wants (such as snacks and what have you) into the cart after he’s finished his assigned tasks before he disappears. He usually winds up hanging with Crosshair to wait for the rest of the family.

Tech is only sometimes in charge of the family Costco membership card and debit car. He can’t be left fully unattended though, if only because he’ll go overboard with purchases.

Can be used to distract the moody punk kids who want to vibe with Crosshair, while also having Crosshair use his shoulder as a pillow.

Wrecker

He has to go with Hunter, if only because he’s usually on cart duty. (Wrecker also needs to be supervised, or else he’ll grab all the snacks.) Being on cart duty doesn’t stop him from having a great time. He’s that guy who can push the most improbably packed cart with true expertise.

Guess who will still sneak in special treats and surprises for Omega into the cart? This guy.

Wrecker gets geared up for the post-Costco run family meal. He’ll eat an entire pizza all by himself, if left unattended and unsupervised. (Crosshair buys extra for him because of that.)

He’s the most enthusiastic about trying samples and will always encourage Hunter to stop and try. Wrecker knows when his brother needs a break from the chaos.

Wrecker and the Costco employees who run the sample stations always get along. He’s so nice to them and complimentary to them. This is the guy who will always wind up getting extra samples handed to him.

Echo

He’s usually on Omega duty, if only to make sure she doesn’t sneak off on them.

Echo also is usually responsible for stocking up their pharmacy needs and buying some clothes in bulk for the family. With how hard their lives are, getting clothes in bulk is necessary.

He’s always in charge of one of their membership cards and a debit card. Echo is the most responsible one on that front.

That doesn’t stop him from conspiring with Omega to find some fun things for the cart. It’s always something random, but will brighten up their chaotic lives.

Echo is most likely to pass out once he eats though. He’s happy to get off his feet and to have a chance to relax. Walking around Costco takes effort sometimes, especially with his prosthetics.

Omega

Like Wrecker, she makes friends with everyone who gives out samples. She’s the reason why Echo stays fed before they check-out.

Omega would walk out with so many large squishy toys, if she could get away with it. That’s why she and Wrecker can’t be in Costco together and unsupervised. They’d have so many comfy squishy toys and hammocks if they were.

Somehow, she gets covered in stickers and starts sharing them with her brothers. It doesn’t matter where she got them. Omega has stickers books and she shares them. Little kids love her because she inevitably turns into the feral sticker fairy of Costco. (Who knows how the parents to said little kids feel about that.)

Omega is very serious about making sure her brothers all walk away from each Costco trip with a surprise in the cart. She gets sneaky about getting them past Echo and Hunter. (Wrecker provides distractions as appropriate.)

Remember those moody punk kids who were hanging around Crosshair (and inevitably Tech)? Well, Omega chats all of them up. She’s the best person to embarrass the crap out of her brothers with stories. Omega makes her brothers look either way cooler or significantly less cool when she shares stories with the punk kids.

[vertumnanaturalis]

While this particular sheet isn't fully finished & public yet, I did wanna post these publicly while I was thinking about it - My headcanon calendar, approximate dates for when IWATEX takes place, and characters indivudual birthdays on both the Vertumnan Calendar and the traditional Gregorian Calendar! I get a bit rambly with this so the explaination behind my reasonings for things is below the cut:

The Vertumnan calendar is simple: 12 months of 30 days between the four normal seasons (Quiet, Pollen, Dust, and Wet), followed by a slightly shorter 28 day month for the already uniquely short Glow season, for a total of 388 days on an average year. Leap years with a single extra day would still occur just much less often than on Earth, only needed once every 17 years (aka 16 average years followed by 1 leap year), with that final extra day being added onto the end of Glow. This also matches with the years on Earth "laping" the years on Vertumna every 16/17 years; A character's 16th birthday on Vertumna would've been their 17th on Earth, their 32nd Vertumnan birthday would've been their 34th Earthern one, ect ect.

This also goes by several key things that aren't against canon information but contridictory to what was in early forms of the design document; the first is that days on Vertumna are nearly identical in length to days on Earth, still following a day divided into 24 hours of 60 minutes with each minute being composed of 60 seconds; the second is that weeks are assembled into batches of 7 days and (currently) follow the modern naming scheme for Sunday through Saturday.

The reason for keeping the day such a near identical length is that in practice it is actually incredibly hard to permanantly readjust the average humans sleep cycle to something longer (or shorter!) than their natural circadian rhythm. Even just an hour longer would have a cumulative effect on people's sleep cycles, getting more and more tired an hour "earlier" than the day before. This only stop becoming a problem if the days were almost perfectly twice as long as one on Earth, but having days that long - especially on a planet with two suns - would likely cook the planet to deadly temperatures during the day, while leaving the far side to drop insanely low each night. And yeah, sure, this one could be waved away by having each of the characters genetically modified to have a circadian rhythem that matches the length of their new day, but that requires both reader/writer and all characters to start adapting to a whole new lingustic system for describing units of time, which is also my entire reasoning for keeping the modern week setup. In theory, building up a whole new system of hours and names for week days is a lot of fun! And it can be, I've done it before, I'm halfway doing it again!

Which is how I learned that actually using said system casually and naturally is a WHOLE different beast, and not one I particularly want to explore in this fandom worldbuilding exercise. I think that in-universe the days of the week would be renamed over time, the same way that I think each given month would eventually have a more unique (and easier to use/identify) name than "Early Pollen" or "Mid Wet". Another headcanon of mine is that the founders actually did attempt to rename them before launch Onesday Twosday Threesday ect ect... But that between the adults deeply ingrained existing habit of calling things by their current names & the younger Earthborn colonists + spaceborn kids having secondhand exposure to the concept through media brought from Earth, it never actually caught on (except for Twosday taking over Tuesday, despite it being the third day of the week).

On another point entirely; The Gregorian calendar dates seen here are all founded on the age 11/year 2 Valentines day event. I ended up settling on that day being February 14th, 2204. Theres a few reasons for picking that year in particular; when I first started toying with the idea, it would've put their landing date during 2203, and I thought that it was a nice pun on the then-current-year 2023 (and, now having hammered it out further, having the landing year be 2202 is a nice nod to the game being released in 2022); One of the early humanties class events has a reference to space travel being "a passtime of billionaires in a previous century", and the standard english usage where I'm from would have this imply that more than a century had passed since that point, but it doesn't automatically mean it that either (think about using that phrasing to talk about something today; if you were talking about things that happend between 1900 and 1999, would you say that they happened in the previous century or a previous century?); the third reason is that its a shout out to one of my other favorite games, Stellaris (a space exploration/empire management sim), which always has the starting year of 2200.

Again, a lot of this is conjecture & opinions, just headcanoning pure and simple, but I've put a lot of thought into this over the past year. I'll eventually have a public copy of a calendar covering all 10 years of the canon game & update the npc sheet to have their local and Earth birthdays (as yes, I have gone and given them all specific birthdates, though I haven't finished calculating the Gregorian dates for the unimportant characters yet), but I'm in the middle of a frustrating medication adjustment & dealing with other personal issues that make it fall lower on my priority list rn.

If you have any questions or thoughts on any of this I absolutely wanna hear them, and as always all of this stuff is free for people to use-as-is or remix or takes part of to incorperate into their own headcanon system freely, and if you ever make anything based on or inspired by or referencing any of this stuff I very much would like to see it.

[moodymisty]

Hi! So I may or may not be the anon that requested the helmet kink ask not too long ago and I couldn’t get it out of my head! 🙈🤍 you’re writing is just so dang good!!

I was wondering if you had anything in the works for the best big boy, Wrecker? I feel like there just isn’t enough love out there for that big ol’ softie and he deserves to be smothered in kisses all over that hunk of a man

Welcome back hun! I'm glad you like my stuff! And I'm so happy you liked that last thing I wrote, it makes me 'uwu'

I do not actually, I just finished up the last thing I posted for Wrecker a little bit back but I wasn't that happy with it, and I've been currently working on drafting chapters for my Tech fic I want to do.

But... I love my big boy (and incredible genius like this man can rig a bomb out of TRASH like how in the galaxy-) Wrecker so I want to give him some fluff. You give me the perfect escape ramp to do so LOL

I am so sorry to all the people sitting in my inbox while I work on their stuff and I do this one in a day the stars just aligned here while I'm stuck in a hotel for a sporting event

Relationships: Wrecker/Fem!Reader

Warnings: None really, just some overwhelming fluff and irritating Echo(poor baby)

“So...”

After he cracks the silence you glance up at Wrecker, noticing the way he only looks at you in the eyes for a second, before glancing away to the side.

You’re sitting sideways on his lap, leaned back against the arm of the co-pilot’s seat while the main seat sits empty. All the while the Marauder coasts through hyperspace, stars streaking past the viewports. Wrecker’s left hand sits against your hip and he adjusts it, and by extension you, shifting your body slighting closer to him while he speaks.

“What was Kamino like before we got back? After Order 66 and all that.”

You purse your lips for a moment, trying to find a way to describe it.

“Like normal, at first. Just more hectic.” Wrecker’s brow furrows as he looks down at you. You remember not entirely knowing what had happened, only that the war had ended; Until little pieces had begun to fall into place.

“Granted, I didn’t spend that much time there before I hitched a ride with you guys.” You feel his other hand on the small of your back, his fingers twitching.

“Why you ask?” Wrecker’s head perks, looking down at you before away with a bit of an abashed expression. It’s, incredibly obvious he’s trying to lie.

“What? I was just curious…”

All you have to do is stare at him for a moment with a slightly suspicious expression before he cracks in half.

“Ok! Ok ok geez…” He swallows harshly and clenches his teeth for a moment, trying to find the words. And when he does, they come out quieter than you had expected.

“Do ya, regret coming with us?”

You look up at him, having a decent idea what brought this on. So he’s still thinking about earlier.

A little while ago Tech had been surfing open Imperial channels for any unencrypted chatter, and had came across all of the Batch’s bounty postings; Though much to their surprise, you were included with them. They had you marked as a co-conspirator, and with that had effectively ruined any chance of you trying to live a normal life.

Needless to say, you’d taken it far better than the Batch had.

You’d been avoiding talking about it at all around Wrecker, knowing how he was probably taking it. But it seemed he’d been still thinking and stewing about it since Tech had first shown them all.

“No, I don’t.”

You attempt to lean up and give him a kiss, but given the height difference with you sitting on his lap, it’s a struggle. You wrap a hand around the back of his neck, and tug downwards.

“Come down here. I can’t reach you up there.”

He gives a wide and excited smile knowing what you’re trying to do, and eagerly dives in for a kiss. You can feel him almost groan happily as your soft lips press against his own, and your hand stays on the back of his neck. Wrecker doesn’t think there will ever be a day where he’ll get over how small and cute you are compared to him. Once you pull back, you smile at him.

“I wasn’t going to work for the Empire. So I was going to end up on a bounty board either way, honestly. I’m incapable of keeping my mouth shut.” Needless to say that makes Wrecker laugh, feeling the way your hands grab at the seams of his armor to keep him close. As if he was going to pull away anyways.

“Besides; I can’t think of a better place than being here with you.” He smiles again, you can feel it against your lips as you kiss the corner of his mouth.

“Even if it is in this smelly ship.”

Wrecker can’t exactly deny that, even if he’s long since lost the ability to smell it.

“Well, you’re stuck with us now!” The hand on your thigh moves to cradle your cheek, effectively smushing your face against his own as he kisses your cheek. It makes you laugh, even as you attempt to shush him. As much as you’re glad you managed to cheer him up, or at least divert his attention away from thinking about your bounty, his voice tends to echo in the around the compact ship.

“Hey! People are trying to sleep big guy, we can’t yell!”

It’s absolutely not the first time you’ve told him to be quiet, but Wrecker seems largely incapable of doing so. Even his whispering is loud; Much like his personality.

Though it’s not like you mind; It’s just the four others sleeping, or at least attempting to, in the back of the Marauder might not have the same opinion.

Speaking of...

It seems like it’s time for a shift change; As Echo comes into the cockpit looking at something in his hand, before going down the one step and noticing the two of you snuggling in the co-pilot’s seat. His shoulders drop and he sighs, letting out a crestfallen:

“Really?”

Echo always looks tired, but now he looks extremely so. Or disappointed, more like.

“What?” Wrecker stares him down. “Got a problem?” Echo thrusts out his good hand, the datapad in it pointing at the two of you.

“Yes! That’s my seat!”

“Well, we sure weren’t going to take Tech’s.”

You’re attempting not to smile at him, before awkwardly shuffling outward to try and get off of Wrecker’s lap and onto the ground. It takes a moment, before your boots finally touch the floor. Wrecker vacates the seat as well and Echo takes his claim back, flopping down datapad still in his hand.

But there really isn’t any other places in the cramped living space of the Marauder to go, so you just end up back at Wrecker’s bunk, both sitting on it limbs tangled together. Wrecker leans against the wall one leg dangling off the edge of the bunk, and you lay back against his chest. It’s moments before he’s complaining again.

“At least Kamino wasn’t this boring.”

You can feel the way he groans, head thumping against the wall before he suddenly speaks up.

“Want to play Sabacc?”

You jolt forward, about to speak; Though Tech interjects before you have the chance. He’s sitting in his bunk like he had planned to sleep, and either gave up, or an idea struck. Either way his head perks up from the project in his lap, looking over at the two of you.

“Oh, are you going to play? I would like to t-” You quickly cut him off, before anyone else gets any ideas.

“No! We are not playing Sabacc. Not after the last time.” Tech goes back to working on his current project.

“We will be back on Ord Mantell in two standard rotations. We will not have to keep ourselves occupied in hyperspace for much longer.” You can feel Wrecker’s hand against the side of your leg; Wanting to rest on your thigh but resisting the urge to. You would’ve slapped it away if he had, as you’d made him promise to keep affection to a bare minimum while on the Marauder.

“Because he’s so bored…” Wrecker sounds like he’s rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, because he has a project. When Tech actually gets bored he starts digging into the walls.” You can see Tech’s eyes glance over at you for a moment, but he can’t exactly refute your claim. Specially since you’ve seen him literally digging for wires in the walls of the old Kamino barracks before.

After a moment passes however, your hand drifts down to subtly touch his own that’s laying beside your thigh. It lingers, hidden, wrapping your fingers around his own with a soft but noticeable touch. Wrecker’s looking down at you curiously when you glance back.

“How about once we land, we get something to eat?”

Wrecker is all for that, and instantly starts thinking about food that isn’t in a pre-made ration packet. Once you turn around and give him ‘a look’ however, he realizes you might not be entirely talking about food. Then Wrecker becomes much more quiet, looking down at you with a nervous but eager smile.

You’ve been stuck in this ship for a bit, and it’s been awhile since the two of you have actually been alone. As in actually alone, without risk of someone storming in. Your hand dares to trail up to his wrist for a bit,

“Y-Yeah, sounds good to me.”

[betterthantheywerebefore]

Whilst my hands hurt too much to do fine motor control tasks, I DID still take the time to make myself a painting station.

It's made entirely of scrap and leftovers from things at my last job, so aside from fixings I already had it cost me nothing at all. The base of it is a perfectly good piece of MDF that was part of a pallet that had just been thrown in the trash. The idea that individual people are the ones creating the most waste in this world when businesses throw away the insane amount of resources they do is an insultingly stupid one, but I digress

This has allowed me to paint in the living room, where my monkey-lizard brain is less likely to be distracted by the computer, now that it is out of sight.

I've spent a good amount of time painting the first batch of models that I did already show you - I wasn't remotely happy with them when I posted them, but at the time I just wanted to have finished something. Well, I've gone back at them with techniques I was too amateurish to consider trying before (shading, edge highlights, being conscious of varnish texture, etc) and now I can say I'm pretty happy with them. Comparison pictures will be coming at some point soon!

[bleachbleachbleach]

10/2 - 10/8/2023

Welp, I've lost track of my dash entirely. I was looking at B3's Activity and thinking, "Man, people are liking really old reblogs?" but it turned out they just felt like old posts because our queue was posting a batch of things I happened to write the tags for, and so had initially encountered several months ago, LOL.

Last week's update, I was like "I'm going to try not to be bitter" and then immediately went off to be VERY BITTER so I made a new rule that if I have already worked 12 hours and it is before 10pm, then I am going to fuckkkkk ittttttt and write my damn fanfic, no matter what's not done. I am now in a much better mood!! And I am finally actually almost done with Renji's chapter. Like, finish-an-earlier-drafted-scene almost done.

In this week's scenes, Renji and Akon finally finishing talking about movies and Nemu and futsal; Renji talks about bones; Rukia expresses her desire that he stop talking about bones; I discovered that just because I cut 1500 words of bugs out of Matsumoto's chapter does not mean I will not then write (different) bugs into Renji's; and that inasmuch as my private subtitled for this chapter is "Renji Opens His Big Mouth," Matsumoto's chapter is still longer, and therefore "Matsumoto Opens Her Big Mouth Bigger."

Overall, the writing time was very enjoyable, though "enjoyable" and "good" are regrettably not mutually inclusive categories. The three top issues are, I think:

I don't think some of the descriptions of action and/or lore are actually coherent enough to be follow-able

The order information appears--or more specifically, the point at which it appears--will need to be re-worked. The perils of writing non-linearly.

As usual, I feel like I got a little magpie-brained with the THEMES and MEANINGS and got the narrative thrust muddled because I a) got carried away with a new, absurd extended metaphor I thought was cool and b) have not actually pinned down ~what I make of it all.

I'm pretty sure I said all of these things after I finished Kensei's chapter, which is the one that chronologically follows this Renji one, so I guess after I finish, it will be time to return to the Kensei trenches and see if I know what to do about the messes I left there.

I think finishing my one scene and revising Kensei's chapter feels doable for next week, though I also have a LOT of fanfic reading I want to catch up on, and am sorely overdue on!

[maybeimamuppet]

2, 5, 9, 11, 16 for the fic asks?

hello darling friend tysm for the ask!!

2, will you participate in any fandom exchanges or fic challenges, etc?

if i’m asked to absolutely!! i think they seem so fun but being in smaller fandoms i think they’re a lot harder to figure out. i’ve actually considered forming a few of my own for like halloween or the holidays and stuff but i’m kind of the only cadnis writer still somewhat consistently active and everyone else who writes for mean girls is into very different things (which is great we love to see it but it makes group stuff hard lol) and matilda i haven’t checked up on in so long i have no idea what’s going on in that little corner anymore whoops

5, which wip is first on your list to complete this year? will you post a snippet?

we are continuing my beloved series of ‘someone has to write all the cliche fics for this ship and by golly it might as well be me”! from the looks of things the first one to be finished will be a college au (professor/student) that i’m honestly really proud of. i’ve been hammering away at it for a while lol. but we also have a few more like that and obviously plenty more that aren’t that i’m not gonna spoil just yet but i’m very excited for them :)))

“As long as I’m your professor, this can’t happen, no matter how badly I want it to,” Cady says with a sniffle. She gently presses a kiss to the corner of Janis’ lips before she pulls away and takes a couple steps back. “I’m so sorry, Janis.”

Janis watches her go for a minute, barely feeling the frigid rain slamming against her face. Cady hunches in on herself and clicks off. “What about when you’re not my professor anymore?!”

Cady freezes and turns to look at her. “What?”

“Once I graduate,” Janis begs. “Can we be together then?”

“…Technically, yes, we could,” Cady says. “But-”

“Wait for me,” Janis says. “Please.”

Cady bites her lip, but she nods after a second. “Okay.”

“You will?” Janis asks, finally feeling hopeful enough to smile for the first time in what feels like years.

“I’ll wait,” Cady agrees. “If you’re willing to do the same. Come to me once you graduate, and… we’ll see what happens. Okay?”

“Okay,” Janis says, smiling around a sob. Cady does the same before she continues walking away.

unproofread snippet brought to you by maybeimamuppet :)

9, short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in january?

i’m really hoping to have that and the next chapter of pt done by the end of the month!! my third writing birthday is at the beginning of march and i’m really hoping to have a batch of fics ready to crank out by then :)) matilda is kind of wonky for the time being bc i have very few wips and i need time to sort through which requests i can actually do/want to do so they might be a while but focusing on my meanies for a while will be a nice change i think!

11, would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

i don’t think i do!! at least not in fics lol i’m good with my romance and family fluff sorta genres i’m in but i am trying to write a few publishable like real actual books that are a little different so we’ll see how that goes!

16, do you have one fanfic that you wrote a ton for, ages ago, but never posted? will this be the year come hell or high water that it WILL get finished and posted?

UHHHH honestly most of my wips are kinda like that lol. i hyper focus on one and then get bored with it and move on to a new one and herein lies the cycle of Big Issues. so i have a lot of like half-done oneshots (including requests i literally got in 2021 and am sobbing trying to get done i feel so bad). i do have an entire folder of ‘unpublishable fics’ that will never see the light of day. they’re mostly just writing exercises but some of them are just really embarrassing so most of them stay there lol. and i have a multi-chapter The Good Place au i started years ago and couldn’t figure out other than the title but i only wrote a couple scenes for it but that probably also won’t ever see the light of day. ce la vie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 051: Never Let The Black Cat Cross Your Path (ASM 194-195)

MASTERPOST

In this post, we meet the Black Cat!

It's a fun one, but it's also frustrating.

Our story begins with us following Black Cat as she steals a document from the police headquarters and swiftly gets herself a lackey.

And while the director of the care facility where May lives is still being threatened by Uncle Ben's killer, Betty and Ned have it out. Jameson's not happy to learn that Peter's been playing for the other team.

By which I mean, he's photographing for the Globe now. Good for him! And the Globe treats him infinitely better than J.J. ever did.

Spidey visits Jonah, but they each have a surprise for each other and neither of them ends up saying it. Peter's convinced Jonah's seen his face under his mask when he was unconscious, but it's pretty clear that's not the case.

Spidey notices Black Cat and follows her to a meeting with a weapon dealer. He interrupts them, and there's a chase between him and Black Cat, who says "she's not slouch either" and I feel like I've read that expression dozens of times in Wolfman's run.

Meow.

Attagirl! It turns she wasn't lying about the scrapbook later...

And she actually kisses him! Oh, I'm into that. I'm very into that. Naturally, she gets away too. At her lair, Black Cat says she needed henchmen to free someone from prison. I figure it's her dad, from what little I know of her.

The next day...

The Peter/Ned conflict is not advancing, and the following scene was a classic Peter moment. Ok!

Well, everything's tied now!

Peter rushes to leave the Globe, but not without encountering April Maye, a blonde (one more!) girl who's basically Gwen Stacy #4. She had a clone, then we met #3 in the last Spectacular batch, and now this one. Could "April Maye" be an alias? Because it certainly seems a bit too ridiculous, Felicia.

Spidey goes to interrogate papa Hardy in his cell, but Black Cat's here too, and with her henchmen who promptly blow up his cell.

In #195, we get greeted with this cover:

Damn okay alright Marv, calm down! (This isn't actually a particularly exciting cover...)

Black Cat, her dad (shh!) and goons escape. Spidey too, albeit with a dislocated arm.

The goons are barely sent off that someone says that now, they'll work for him instead. Oooh, mystery! And we won't know until the next issue... it's probably Uncle Ben's killer.

So at ESU, Peter's arm is giving him trouble.

But I don't care, because it's much worse to see that everyone's characterization AND face is awful. Why is Harry laughing, he who's never done that before? Even Flash's behavior seems pretty juvenile. Are they back in middle school? Because Harry was never a bully in his screentime.

And then you've got Ned who looks like a 50 year old smoker, and Betty who, unsurprisingly, changes face every issue. What gives? Even Peter's just... ugh. And Betty and Ned are both infuriating in this last panel, like come on.

Ned grabs Peter's arm and asks him if he'll break up their marriage, as if it wasn't already dead and buried. Peter is an ass, both on purpose but also because he's pissed off. Betty slaps him, then...

Oh my goooosh, stop being dumbasses, all of you! And please look your age again. Ross, where are you? I miss you, babe.

Zzzz.

At the Hardy house, Felicia reveals herself to her dad, who's horrified because he never wanted his daughter to do the same thing as him.

As Felicia leaves her house after telling her mom about the news, she's surprised by Spidey, who figured out who she is.

To be fair, I'm entirely on Felicia's side here. First off, a thief? He was probably stealing the rich, so I don't care. And he's dying? Felicia wants him to finish his life next to his family, and I completely understand. Spidey is an ass. Not the first time.

Felicia ends up faking her death (most probably), just as her dad dies for real, away from his daughter.

Depressed, Peter goes home and finds a letter.

Well, Uncle Ben's killer's gonna suffer in an upcoming issue, I'm sure of it.

In the letters:

I don't know, I'm not convinced by Wolfman's tenure in Tomb of Dracula either.

YES. I FEEL THIS SO MUCH.

PREACH.

Anyway, see you next time!

[idleglowingpixels]

XXY -- July 7th. 2023 - Launch Update (Author's Note)

AO3 was glitching on me, so for whatever reason, it wouldn't post my full note, cutting me off about halfway through. I decided I'd just post the full note on here in a separate post to the update so anyone who wants to read it can.

Hello, everyone! After all this time, we've finally reached the conclusion to the first batch of chapters (I consider 7 an extra chapter, for reasons I'll get into when it releases lol). It feels like yesterday I had officially rebooted the fic by uploading Chapter 1 back in February. If you told me then that the job I started wasn't gonna work out, I think I'd cry haha. But if you also told me XXY would have the sheer amount of support it's gained over the last six months, I'd cry too (but happy tears <3).

Before I let myself get too sappy, let me talk about the happenings of this chapter. Butch closes out the first round of POVs, and we get a bit more insight into how he views things. This version of Butch is a lot more reserved than the Butch I've read in others' stories, as I interpreted his canon self to be less talkative than the others and more focused on the battles ahead. Don't get me wrong, I think I've taken that interpretation a lot harder than I anticipated, but I think having the parallel to Buttercup's outspoken nature is nice. He's also (albeit closeted) femme to foil Buttercup's tomboyish personality, which admittedly wouldn't make sense in canon, but it was a change that I felt worked well.

Speaking of Buttercup, while she's still harsh and snappy with his brothers, she's got a bit of a soft spot for Butch. But unlike the blues, who have openly expressed feelings for each other in front of everybody, they've kept the story between them hidden. And for the most part, it's still hidden… (Sorry guys :'D XD)

Also, XXY has its name officially! Roll credits! Yeah it's a mitosis motif, looks like middle school science class ingraining that stuff into my head was worth something haha. Their logo would look more like X><Y. It represents how though they're a full team now, they started as two separate teams (PPG & RRB). Science isn't even my favorite subject, I just thought of the name somewhere along the way and it stuck. XXY actually came from me merging XX and XY for the teams' acronym pattern (AAB), as well as the whole Chemical X and Y thing referring back to their genetic codes, but finding out XXY is an intersex variation was pretty cool too!

Now to the sappy part, sorry in advance lol. I know I say this a lot, but being able to share my work has been keeping me going during this near-drought period I've had with writing over the last few months. It's been so hard not feeling guilty for my lacking progress, but I know there's been people who have kept up with this fic since its original run in 2020-2021 who waited over an entire year through 2022 to see it reboot this year, and their patience made writing these new chapters all the more worth it.

Before the re-launch, the last chapter I wrote of the original (Chapter 4) was uploaded in September of 2021, and I had made numerous updates throughout the in-between period on that last chapter so everyone knew I was still working on it. I'm so very grateful for everyone who waited through that time frame for the soft-reset.

Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, all of you, for your support. Whether you've been here from the beginning, just finished your first read through the whole thing at 3am, or you stumbled upon this fic anywhere in between, I'm so grateful you're a part of this journey with me and appreciate the time you've taken to read through this. I hope you've enjoyed it so far.

As always, thanks so much for all the things, including hits, bookmarks, comments and kudos! Stay hydrated, and have an absolutely wonderful day or night!!! <3

[adreamingwitch]

Helllooo~

I feel kinda weird starting a tumblr without making a proper intro so that’s what this post will mostly be.

I’m Marie, the being behind ADreamingWitch, my new lil sticker/art shop. I’m 26y/o, a creative being, writer, & tarot reader. I love learning, particularly about psychology, and all things mystical/magical.

I’ve been making art and dabbling in various creative hobbies my entire life. I’ve mainly been a traditional pencil to paper kinda artist, but I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to get an iPad Pro last year and have been playing around with procreate for that entire time. I’m no expert by any means, the app certainly still has secrets for me to uncover… but I’m to the point where I’m pretty confident in the little things I create here and there.

Stickers came to be last late fall, when I was trying to figure out a way to put my art out there. I’ve never been that fond of sharing my work prior, but I wanted that to change. My in-laws graciously gifted me a Cricut maker for Christmas, which opened a plethora of creative doors. At first I thought about doing t-shirt designs, but then realized I’d have to also learn sublimation for that and well…I didn’t feel like buying all that extra stuff tbh. Then I came across the idea for making stickers with your cricut, and I was intrigued. I’d been a modest sticker collector, and loved the idea of putting my art or any other design I wanted onto a sticker. I went absolutely crazy drawing up designs for weeeeks, until Christmas finally came and I was able to start the real test work.

Oh sticker paper… there are SO MANY. Label paper, vinyl paper, glossy or matte… it was overwhelming. But after I got my first test batch printed I knew I was hooked. This shit was truly addicting. I bought more paper to test, watched copious amount of videos on comparisons and tips, learned how to make a sturdy sticker that would hold up in water by testing different sealer options… and then got to where I am now. A several month obsessive deep dive and hundreds of sticker prints later, I finally had something that I could consider a finished product.

My main hope is to share my art and creations with people all around, and spread some of that love and joy I feel making them! I make everything from a place of love (cheesy i know) and honestly pour my all into it. I can’t half-ass things I care about, it just isn’t me. If I’m gonna put it out there, you best believe I spent a lot of time perfecting it before that. I just wanna reach all the other potential witchy, creative, or dreamer people out there. Sooo that’s what I’m here for. 🫶🏻

Well, that was a bit long for an intro about stickers, but if you read it all I thank you very much!! I really am excited for this new journey and to see what other ideas come to life for me in the future. Until then I hope y’all enjoy my little creations 🥹✨🫶🏻

[arlothia]

Oh my goodness @eclec-tech thank you so much!!! And thank you for the follow, too! And I love your username on here!! It's perfect!! I have some of your fics on my "read for later" list (a couple of them you included above!!) and I really need to get to those! And those you haven't posted yet look awesome!!

Okay, the first lines of my last 10 fics, here we go - under the cut because it got long :P

(oh, and just as a heads up, all my fics are locked to AO3 users only to help battle the AI scourge. If you want to read them and don't have an account, please, Please, PLEASE let me know and I'll send you a google link or PDF or something! It's no trouble at all 🙂)

1) Failure

Crosshair and Tech were just finishing their part of the two-pronged attack while Hunter and Wrecker were in the Marauder doing their half of the plan. The two of them raced for their speeder bikes, Crosshair covering their getaway from the Separatist communication tower and picking off random droid sentries as they went. Once they reached their bikes, Tech brought out his data pad and three things happened in quick succession.

2) "I'm still here."

Omega had finally learned enough about the ship and about flying for Tech to feel comfortable teaching her about atmospheric flying. There was a lot of open space outside Ord Mantell City, so it was the ideal space for her to practice. She was a fast learner, and after an hour of practice, he’d instructed her to land the ship and make the necessary post flight checks outside the ship while he handled the ones within.

Tech was just finishing up when he heard it - a sort of high pitched muffled sound, but unmistakably one filled with distress. And then he’d heard the voices.

3) Voice

“Woohoo! Yea-!” 

Wrecker’s shout of excitement at watching the bomb explode was cut off by a secondary explosion, this one much closer than the first and catching the big adolescent in it’s blast wave. The force of it blew him off his feet and sent him crashing to the ground nearly ten feet from where he’d been standing.

4) Holding On

“Get it off me! Get it off!”

Rex bolted upright from where he’d been sleeping on the forest floor. He had called in the Bad Batch to help him with a mission on Kashyyyk to take care of an infestation of Kinraths near one of the Wookiee bases. They'd made camp for the night, but that had only been three hours ago. Getting to his feet, Rex looked around for the source of the yelling. It didn't take long.

Echo was thrashing on the ground, swinging his arm wildly as he tried to dislodge... What was that?

5) Tiny Trouble

Wrecker came out of the office and into the bar. Hunter and Echo were finishing business with Cid and Tech was still on the ship doing...something.

"Hey, Omega! Ready to get some Mantell Mix?" But the young girl at the holochess table didn't respond. In fact, she looked like she was asleep.

6) Bounty

"Hunter, we found Lanith," Echo said over the comms. "We're heading back to the ship now."

"Copy that. I'm on my way." And it was about time, too.

Cid had given them a mission that had been dangerously close to bounty hunting - a client who wanted the retrieval of someone on the run, a man named Draze Lanith. But, she'd said, the client was trying to help him, not just collect a bounty. So really, it was a rescue mission. Though, a rescue mission for someone who really didn't want to be found given that he was a wanted fugitive.

7) Frozen

Their only means of ingress into the facility was through a garbage shoot that opened up over the river. Normally, the river was deep and swift. But in the middle of winter, it was entirely frozen. Or, at least, mostly frozen…

It only took one wrong step on a thinner portion of ice for Echo to go crashing into the freezing water below. For a moment, he was able to cling to the edge of the hole, gasping as the cold stole the breath from his lungs. He scrambled for purchase, but before the others could reach him, the current carried him away and he was gone.

8) Hanging by a Threat

“The more you struggle the tighter its grip will become,” Tech warned.

“Do you know of any other way for me to reach my knife?” Hunter growled back.

The large alien plant growing from the underside of a high ledge continued to squeeze and twist Hunter, its tentacles wrapped around both his legs and one of his arms, while his other arm was pinned to his chest by another tentacle wrapping around his torso from over his right shoulder. They’d accidentally triggered the plant as they’d been walking through this canyon. They’d passed what they’d assumed were simple vines, but had turned out to be the limbs the organism appeared to use for catching, killing, and eating its prey. Because of course the plant was carnivorous.

9) Their Wrecker

The mission had been going rather smoothly; they'd gotten into the Separatist base without much incident. Their intel said their target - some high level Separatist personnel - would be in the control tower. What it hadn't said was that he would be guarded by IG-100 MagnaGuards. They had to find out the hard way.

10) Break

Crosshair stood atop one of the towers in the training room, picking off the reprogrammed B-1 battle droids that threatened to swarm where his squad was pinned down. He loved being up high, seeing the entire battlefield, finding the best vantage point to help his brothers.

He'd just created an opening Wrecker could use to charge through, ripping through the droids with his bare hands as he liked to do, when he heard a humming sound. Looking up, Crosshair saw five flying droids emerging from a hatch at the far end of the room.

---------

And true to form, this is where tag games go to die - anyone who wants to join in the fun and show off their work GO FOR IT!!! :D

Creator Self-Promotion

Rules: post the first lines of your last 10 fics you posted. If you have less than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics.

"But K, I don't write but I still create can I still play?"

Post your last 10 pieces and give us a play by play. What was the inspiration? Any fun facts you can share with us?

Anyway let's get on with it

1. Fishing for Compliments - Merman!Crosshair x F!Reader

A sigh passed the young woman’s lips as the sun began to disappear beneath the waves. The waves rocked her quaint vessel as if it were a mother soothing her child. Her meal as well as a plate of identical food remained untouched as she kept her gaze to the depths. Every ripple of its surface a reminder of the mounting minutes that her company kept her waiting.

2. Drop Me a Line - Wrecker x F!Reader

The young woman stifled a yawn as she continued to work the mass of dough to her standards to be plopped into pans to bake. She continued working the dough sparing glances to the chrono on the wall as the sky outside began to lighten with the sunrise. Her pulse spiked when the chrono was checked again. She abandoned the lump of dough as she snatched up a pastry box. The bell chiming as the door opened and closed.

3. Budding Romance - Rex x F!Reader

“And you’re sure you’ll have them there.”

“A bit of faith would be nice, Anakin.”

4. Skin in the Game - Wrecker x OC (Rina) (18+ Please view responsibly)

Wrecker was on the hunt. Thankfully the Marauder held only a few spaces to hide away as he searched the ship. His target tucked away by the sensors. Vibroblade twirling between his fingers while his idle gaze stared at the screen. The demolitions expert took a breath, hoping to find answers.

5. Hair Support - Tup x Reader

The days of the Clone Wars tended to drag on in between assignments. Thankfully, the Republic saw it fit to dispatch your research team with a clone legion escort to ensure the lush jungle planet would not eat you and your colleagues alive. It was in the sweltering heat of the afternoon that one of your study binges was interrupted. You shook your head knowing who dared tread into your tent.

6. Interrogations - Echo x F!Reader (18+ Please view responsibly)

The former arc trooper sighed. Another fruitless attempt at slipping free of his bonds. The chair he was bound to chilled any amount of exposed skin. The room kept dark to prevent him from gathering his bearings. He bided his time, waiting for the tell-tale clicking of his keeper. It was a whisper at first but grew louder as the automatic doors parted.

7. Personal Tastes - Hunter x F!Reader

Strands of meat sizzled and spat as she flipped the tangled mass. Her work distracting from the pair of eyes watching you from the doorway. Her culinary tasks from the staccato chops of a knife to peppers to the accented clink of a mortar and pestle offered a calming tune.

8. Just This Once, Everyone Lives - Rex x Reader

Your bottom lip remained captured between your teeth as the speeder came to a stop. The building looming over the city streets twinkled in the night. A beacon for personnel to gather while dressed to the nines. A hand curled around yours, smoothing over your knuckles.

9. Keep Away - UniversityAU Wrecker x Reader

You filed out with your fellow undergrads as your last class for the afternoon let out. the professor's voice offering mention of the end of the first sprint. You traversed amongst the student body's current before veering off to a corridor. The current loosening its grasp the closer you ventured toward the sanctuary of paper and ink.

10. Nothing Fight - Crosshair x F!Reader

It could be easy to say Clone Force 99 had a culture separate from the sea of clones. Clone medics would be reassigned in the blink of an eye and nat born medics often assigned whoever pissed off the higher ups. This led to your current long term assignment. Having a medic on board being the main reason one of your patients was released to his squad early pending observations.

NPT - @photogirl894 @rain-on-kamino @tecker @techs-stitches @littlemissmanga @annwayne @fakegingerrights @merkitty49 @moodymisty @starrylothcat

Wanna promote your work here too? Do it!

[comatose--overdose]

hello! first of all i LOVE and adore you cat!Jason posts SO MUCH i might burst in to tears every time i read it. And i just had this little idea of if Roy was the one got turned into cat next time like that ginger long hair cat that shed every where, what would Jason do🤔🤔 anyway thank you in advance 💞

I'm eating dirt??? I'm going feral??? I'm so friggin happy you like my self indulgent shitposts omfg???

If it's Roy's turn to be a kitty, well you know how every orange cat is a himbo??? That to the max. He doesn't bother pretending to be a regular cat, but he's finally getting a breather and by God does that mean he's tossing away his brain cells for a while. The lights are on but no one's home. He's lazing about and lounging all over his Jaybird and cuddling up with Lian. Mom is giving him scritches and Dad is feeding him steak. Life is good.

He's not nearly as mischievous as Jason, but that doesn't mean he doesn't make a little trouble for Ollie just for the hell of it. Goodbye custom tailored suit, there's no getting the stain out of it after Roy knocks an entire pot of food onto it right as Ollie was about to leave for an event. In his defense, it wasn't entirely intentional, he only meant to spill a glass of water on him. An inconvenience that would go away soon enough. But, well... He isn't a small cat and he underestimated his momentum when he launched himself onto the counter, and damn, that surface was a little slippery, so BAM!! Right into the (thankfully cooled off) pot of chili. Ollie REALLY regretted how many peppers he put in that batch and giving Roy a bath afterwards wasn't fun. He felt pretty bad about it honestly and spent some time cuddling with Ollie on the couch, headbutting and nuzzling him in apology. Ollie missed the event, but he didn't really wanna go anyway.

(Jason took pictures of the incident and used them to barter for the chance to drive the batmobile. He threw in a "please Dad?" And Bruce was putty. As soon as Roy's human again, Jay's taking him for a ride.)

Roy tends to get things like shoes and bags and boxes stuck on his head and will just kind of flail around blindly until mom, dad, or Jay help him out. Connor, Mia, Artemis, and Emiko don't bother helping him, they're too busy taking pictures and recording videos to post on tiktok, that shit's gonna go viral. Thanks guys. Love you too.

Dick and Wally show up at one point and my GOD are they never going to let him live down falling into the toilet. Jay pulls him out and dries him off, and Roy makes sure to hack up a hairball right on Wally's jacket before he leaves.

He knew the squirrels were evil after they stole his hat before, but Christ, to be able to actually UNDERSTAND what they're saying?? The things they're planning?? Darkseid would quake with fear. He stays far away from them. That's a problem for human Roy later. He'll be prepared for the uprising.

He understands now, how terrible it feels to want garlic bread but not be allowed to eat garlic bread. Mia got Italian food! And ate it in front of him!! And all he could do was watch. She's more evil than the squirrels.

Tummy rubs. Oh the tummy rubs. He doesn't bother playing hard to get like Jay did. He doesn't bother with traps. He'll just walk up to someone and flop over and if you don't pet him he whines. It's the only thing (other than Lian) that can get Jason to put down his book. ...but that might be because Roy will crawl into his arms and put their noses together before rolling over and obscuring the pages. You Will Pay Attention To Me Jason. Look How Adorable And Fluffy I Am. You Cannot Resist, Jason. And truly, he can't. He's too cute. And opaque.

He's mostly annoyed that he can't tinker with his gear. He uh... He still tries but he doesn't get very far because of his lack of thumbs. Jason looks around for him for a while before finally walking into his workshop only to see him looking mournfully at his half finished projects.

"Ginger Snap? You good?"

He just meows pitifully. But some cuddles cheer him up, at least.

Jason makes sure he learns how fun the cat toys really are. While Jason enjoyed the kicker fish and catching the fairy, Roy loves tossing around the catnip mice and tugging on the little birdie attached to a bungie cord, though he's been smacked in the face by both multiple times. Connor and Mia have so many videos of it. They've been spread around the hero community. 5 million views on Tik Tok.

He curls up with Lian and keeps her warm during nap time. He has the overwhelming urge now and then to try to carry her by the scruff. He's a big cat, but he's not that big, though that doesn't stop him from trying to carry his kitten around anyway. It's an instinct thing. Jason notices and carries her around for him, following Roy's lead. Roy also steals every blanket in the house to pile on top of her and keep her comfy. It'll have to do. He doesn't put her down for a while after he turns back, satisfied he can actually hold her and carry her around again, even if he doesn't necessarily need to.

His siblings trap him under laundry baskets when he gets annoying with the zoomies. It slows him down but it doesn't stop him. It just makes him look like a turtle. They take it off him when he starts yelling. Or when Dinah does. Jason tries really hard not to laugh when he sees it the first time, but fails spectacularly. Roy gets a little huffy but can't stay mad cause well... It made his Jaybird laugh. Plus, despite laughing, Jay did move the basket, which makes him better than his traitorous little siblings.

Stick your hand into any given box and there's a high chance you're gonna come in contact with a mountain of fluff. Maybe teeth if you're a certain little brother who's taken to using a spray bottle to keep Roy off the kitchen counters.

None of their clothes will ever be free of orange cat hair. It's a curse. It's everywhere. It got in Jason's helmet??? ROY DID YOU SLEEP IN HIS HELMET???

(the answer is yes. Yes he did.)

Honestly Jason would just stick close and keep Roy company. He's glad there's someone who gets what it's like now too. This does mean Zatanna now has two people asking to turn them into cats later lmao

[Cat!Jason posts here]

[neon-junkie]

Oh hii!! ❤️ I saw your post about sock garters and I was wondering if you could write a quick fic of tech and a f!reader?? I didn't realize how badly I needed one til now 😅

Love your writing btw! I always recommend you to my tech simp friends ❤️❤️

yesssssss, oh my good lord. Tech wearing sock garters?! that's a sight that we can only dream of!!!!

Here you go! 1k words, reader is gender-neutral since no pronouns are mentioned, but they are wearing a dress!!

(art by eleth-art on Twitter)

Another series of missions completed. Another hoard of cheers and praise. And another awards ceremony to attend.

"Kriff," Wrecker curses, struggling to collect himself, and look somewhat presentable. "They don't make these things easy to put on, do they?!" he grumbles to himself, although his words are always loud enough to catch the attention of others.

Whilst the Batch don't pay him much attention, you aid his needs, letting out a deep sigh on your way over. "Come here, big guy," you motion, and begin working on fastening Wrecker's bow-tie, biting back a smile at the way that Wrecker awkwardly bends down to reach your height.

"We've got five minutes. Let's wrap it up," Hunter commands as he finishes pinning his hair up, freeing himself from his bandana, and keeping his hair off his pristine blazer.

You must admit, the Batch look rather pleasant all dolled up, sporting classic tuxedos. Of course, they're matte black, with a red bow-tie to match their colour scheme. You've picked out a fitting dress, blending in with their scheme, seeing as you're "somewhat of a Batcher, but not quite in the Republic's eyes," as Echo would put it.

However, the Empire is still giving you a medal for your efforts.

With Wrecker's bow-tie now fastened, the Batch are practically ready to set off. Hunter checks himself out in the mirror one last time before opening the Barrack's door; he makes his way out into the hallway, a silent attempt at hurrying his squad on. As much as the Batch don't enjoy playing by the rules, following the Kaminoan's orders is one that they tend to adhere by.

As you're about to follow, you notice that Tech is still having trouble. He's sitting on his work bench, a single shoe in hand, attempting to pick at the mysterious knot in his lace. Tech's brows continue to furrow the more that he picks at it, only for them to turn upwards as you outstretch a hand, and order, "hand it here."

Begrudgingly, Tech hands over his shoe, and you take a seat beside him as you begin unpicking at the knot in his lace. Through his round glasses, he watches you, and grumbles to himself when you manage to unpick the knot with ease.

"It seems my frustration had caught the best of me," Tech comments, and takes his shoe from your grasp with a sheepish, "thank you."

You watch as Tech slips his shoe on, finalizing his lavish outfit. A peek of fuzzy, tanned skin catches your eye, and although you've seen Tech's bare legs many times before, the item wrapped around them causes you to bite back a giggle.

"Tech?" you call out.

"Yes?" Tech replies without looking up from his in-depth knot tying, double-knotting his laces, of course.

"What are you wearing around your shins?"

Tech huffs as he finalizes the knot. He slips the hemline of his pants up, revealing a devilish pair of sock garters.

Oh, of course Tech would wear such an item! You chew on your bottom lip, attempting to hold back a giggle at his fashion choice; Tech, however, notices, and can't help but comment on it.

"How is this humorous to you?" Tech questions in a huff, furrowing his brows once again.

Tech's outrage is the final push that you need, and you burst out into laughter, chuckling at his fashion choices. "It's not that! It's… It's just-"

"-Sock garters are an excellent way of preventing socks from slipping down your leg. Do you really think I want to spend the entire ceremony pulling my socks up, hm?!"

Still with giggles in your system, you place a hand on Tech's shoulder, shaking your head as you reply, "no," over and over.

"I understand! I'm not laughing at you," you continue, attempting to cool Tech off. "I just… wasn't expecting you to wear such a thing."

Tech's brows only continue to furrow as you dig a deeper grave, with Tech standing at the top of it, sock garters on show, ready to push you in and bury you alive!

"Why not? What ever do you mean?!" Tech huffs, deeply offended at your nitpicking.

After taking in a series of deep breaths, your giggles come to an end, and the next words slip from your mouth before you can think them through. "Well, they're rather… slutty for you, Tech."

Tech's face instantly drops, and he begins stuttering in disbelief. "S-slutty?!" he whispers beneath his breath. "I fail to see why my practical clothing implies that I am a satyriasis!"

"I mean…" you groan. "They're garters, Tech. They're sexualised on women, so they might as well be sexualised on men," you explain with a mindless shrug.

"You two, come on!" A voice calls from outside. Ah, kriff! The ceremony! Hunter's patience is running dry, and you don't fancy explaining that you're late due to Tech's fashion choices.

With a groan, you rise from your seat, and turn to silently question if Tech's going to follow. His brows are still slightly furrowed, and only now do you notice how deeply red his cheeks are, barely covered by the thin rims of his round glasses.

Knowing that Tech is still in a huff, you gamble another impulse decision. You pull up the hemline of your dress, revealing your own garters, holding up a pair of stockings. "I guess this means we're both sluts, Tech," you say with a purr.

Tech looks like he's about to burst, but you're uncertain what from. Anger? Embarrassment? Arousal? Maker, you may never know!

Before he can even muster up a reply, you drop the hemline of your dress down, and head for the door, leaving Tech in a puddle of mixed emotions.

If anybody's going to be late, it'll be Tech. Although, his reasons are… understandable.

[proxyoddo]

The Right Approach

One-shot: Tech x gn!reader

Words: 2K

Summary: Tech hasn't slept for a few days, and you're worried about him. No one has been able to convince him to a bunk, but Hunter thinks you might be able to get through to the goggled trooper.

AN: This week has been kicking my ass, and I've not had much time to focus on Derecho. Part 4 is almost done and will come soon, but I felt bad because I haven't posted in a while. So, have this kinda cute fluff with Tech that I wrote trying to get my mind into writing.

(I am also shite at titling things 😅 )

Warnings: None, only fluff and snuggles.

It had been four days, and Tech had not slept. With the repairs needed for the console in the cockpit, he had been working endlessly to be sure that the Havoc Marauder would be at 100% working capacity before they next took off from Kamino. The rest of the Batch did what they could to help, but much of it was intricate - more than one hand would not help.

Currently you were standing outside the ship, staring up the steps ready to stomp inside and give Tech a piece of your mind. How did he think he would get you all off the ground if he ran headlong into it himself?

You heard a clunk and a curse from inside, coming from Tech. You frowned, and were about to take the first step into the Marauder when a hand firmly grasped your shoulder.

“Y/N,” came Hunter's voice, and you sighed heavily before turning your head to face him. “You know he won’t stop. Especially if you’re just going to just tell him outright ‘get your ass to bed’.”

“Well what the kriff are we supposed to do then?” you asked with a slight hiss, frustration getting the best of you.

Hunter fixed you with a sympathetic gaze, and shrugged sadly. “Eventually he’ll just pass out in there-”

“And break something while he’s at it? Hurt himself?”

“There was a 'but' in that sentence, Y/N,” Hunter said, smiling a little and giving you a push towards the steps. “You might be able to get through to him.”

You looked at him incredulously, causing him to actually chuckle.

“Tech likes having you around. He’d probably listen to you if you approach it the right way. And based on how much you also seem to care about him, I figure you’re stubborn enough to get him to a bunk,” he said, as if he were just talking about the clouds passing through the sky. You could feel heat rising up your cheeks. “And yes, before you ask, I’ve known for a bit. Heightened senses, remember?”

You cursed internally. When you had joined the squad as their combat medic, you had taken an immediate liking to Tech. And with time, it just grew. Certainly he could talk for hours, and sometimes it was difficult to keep up with his excited chatter, but he was an amazing man. Strong, insatiably curious - and even with his oftentimes hard, matter-of-fact tone - incredibly caring. You had flirted with him from time to time, sometimes not even recognizing it yourself until afterwards. But the trooper seemed to be none the wiser to your actions. Never stopped your heart from racing whenever your hands accidentally touched though, or if he gave you one of those rare Tech smiles. That must be how Hunter knew; he could literally hear the thunder of your heart when the two of you were together.

“You really think I can get through to him?” you asked quietly.

“Worth a try,” Hunter said. “Besides, the rest of the squad are also getting antsy. If I have to listen to Crosshair go on about knocking Tech out with Gonky anymore, I might have to hide the droid.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Crosshair likes to sleep in his bunk,” Hunter replied. “At this point he’d go to whatever lengths, I would imagine.”

You laughed, and nodded to the sergeant. He waved you on before turning away, likely to head back to the others. Turning and looking into the ship, you steeled yourself before going up the steps and stopping outside the cockpit.

“Tech?” you called.

“Yes, Y/N?” came his voice, seemingly bright as if he was actually still getting a regular amount of sleep.

“How… How’s it going in there?”

Another loud clunking sound and dropping equipment had you stepping inside, looking to find Tech on the ground under the console. The plastoid that normally covered his chest and back was gone, propped up against the wall next to the console.

“It’s going fine!” Tech growled, tossing something out of the compartment he was in giving you just enough time to skirt out of the way before it clanged against the wall opposite of him.

“Hmm, sounds it…” you muttered, before squatting down. He continued on whatever he was working with while you thought for a moment. “Hey Tech-”

“Y/N, please, I am attempting to get the comm frequencies on this damnedable thing working in proper order,” he said, and you could see him turn to look at you for a moment with a reflection of his goggles. “While the Marauder still has functional comm capabilities, the extensive damage from our last encounter with the Separatists has weakened the signal strength, which poses a threat to us while in the field which as you can understand-”

“I have a question,” you interrupted. He stuttered to a halt, and there was silence for a few moments before his hands appeared at the lip of the console and he pulled himself out. The words “sleep deprivation” practically screamed at you from the features of his face.

“Yes?” He seemed intent to answer whatever it was that you were going to ask, even if he had been frustrated a moment ago. Maybe Hunter had been right, and you could get through to him.

You swallowed a little, his tired face filling you with resolve. “What happens to someone when they do not sleep for 4 or more days?”

Tech frowned a little, before going into his answer. “Typically after 3 days of no rest, a person’s urge to sleep will get worse and they will begin to experience microsleeps. Perception is also significantly impaired, and reaching 4 days without adequate rest will continue to distort it. In some, the urge to sleep will become unbearable. It can result in sleep deprivation psychosis.”

You nodded along throughout his entire explanation without saying anything. When he finished, the two of you stared at one another for a few moments of silence.

“Oh,” Tech said with quiet understanding.

“C’mon,” you said warmly, standing up and holding a hand out to him.

Tech shook his head, and you briefly considered going to find Gonky. “I understand your concern, and though it is appreciated, I just need to complete one last thing with the comms before I believe they will be properly functional,” he said. Tech began looking around before his eyes fell on his datapad behind you on one of the seats, and pointed to it. “Could you pass that to me?”

You took the datapad in your hand, but didn’t hand it to Tech. He looked at you with confusion as you began to step away.

“If you want the datapad, Tech,” you began, stepping out of the cockpit, “you’re going to need to come and get it.”

You smiled a little when you heard him getting up from the cockpit floor behind you. “Please, Y/N, I need to calibrate it.” You ignored him, continuing to the bunks before crawling up into the one you usually slept in. You sat back on the bunk, back leaning against the wall, holding the datapad up next to your head.

Tech entered the room, looking even more tired as he stared up at you. “I’m unsure what you are attempting to accomplish here other than getting on my nerves.” You just smiled in response, waving the datapad at him. With a big sigh from him, you watched as Tech pulled himself slowly up to the bunk, and then knelt in front of you between your feet.

“Give it,” he said, losing any formality. You shook your head, waving the datapad again.

In any other circumstance, Tech literally crawling into your lap with a determined expression like he currently had, would have left you breathless. But your intent to get him exactly where he was now, reaching for the datapad and face so very close to your own, helped you keep focus. When Tech’s fingers firmly grasped around the datapad, you let go and leaned forward. Your arms wrapped around his torso and your legs around his, pulling him directly into your embrace, his chin hitting your shoulder.

“Y/N?” Tech tentatively asked, a bit breathless against you.

“You need to sleep, Tech,” you whispered against his ear, arms squeezing just a little tighter as he tried to move. You felt his sharp intake of breath and he completely stilled in your arms, tensely holding himself up. “Relax.”

“I… I need to-” he began, but his sentence was broken by a soft groan as one of your hands began to run up and down his back. A soothing motion, fingertips ghosting over his side as your palm ran along his spine. Your other arm moved under his, your hand reaching up to the back of his neck and gently running through the short hair found at the base of his skull.

You leaned your head gently to the side, pressing against his. “Please, Tech,” you pleaded, and you felt him begin to relax in your arms.

“Cyar’ika...” he sighed, and his voice was thick with sleep. His resolve gone due to your ministrations, he finally let his whole body slump against you, and he turned his face into your neck. You could feel his warm breath and cool goggles against your skin and you couldn’t help the small shiver that spread through your body.

“That’s it, Tech,” you cooed, loosening the grip of your legs so he could settle more between them. In doing so he slid down your chest a little, making you glad that at some point he had decided to discard his chest plate. You heard the datapad hit the bunk’s thin mattress as Tech's arms wrapped around you, pressing his face more firmly into your chest with a deep breath.

You felt a gentle warmth spread through you as you both embraced one another. You couldn’t help but smile down at Tech, and you gently reached up to carefully slide the goggles from his face before setting them down on the bunk near the datapad. It was mere moments before you could tell Tech was asleep against you. Moving carefully, you pressed your lips against the top of his head and leaned back again.

“Comms will still be there when you get up,” you said to his sleeping form, before closing your eyes and feeling a bit drowsy yourself.

It was a while later that you woke to the sound of someone entering the Marauder. You had no idea how long you had been asleep, and you opened your eyes slowly, looking about the compartment to find Crosshair standing there. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was looking at you with a smirk. He just nodded when he saw your attention was on him, and climbed into the bunk below the one you currently occupied with Tech.

Speaking of, the usually goggled clone was still sleeping soundly against you. You smiled before gently running your fingers through his hair, feeling him sigh and snuggle more into your body.

“Hey Cross?” you called out, careful not to be too loud.

A grunt of acknowledgement was the sniper’s response.

“...what does ‘cyar’ika’ mean?” you asked after a moment’s pause. Tech had said it earlier, but you didn’t know what it was.

You were met with silence, and you were beginning to wonder if Crosshair was actually going to answer you. You resigned yourself to mystery when he finally spoke:

“It’s Mando’an. It means ‘darling,’ ‘beloved,’ or ‘sweetheart’.”

You froze. Tech had called you that? A blush creeped up your skin, and you knew if Crosshair had been looking at you he’d see just how red you were in the semi-darkness of the Marauder.

“Th-thanks,” you said back, before looking down at Tech. You didn’t think you had ever seen the trooper look as relaxed as peaceful as you did right now, and you couldn’t help but smile. Leaning down just a little, you hugged him a little tighter.

“Cyar’ika,” you soothed, and smiled more as Tech’s arms squeezed you tighter as well in response.