#i stole this from isa

[conways]

[basilpaste]

hey gang. isaloops 'falling action'

i wont go too crazy with the explanation because there is a Fic that will cover it that i will (hopefully) write but uh!!

yknow whats neat? when a in world with magic healing you cant heal wounds if you wont let them be healed. so sometimes even if someone tries they stay. much to think about.

[dullahandyke]

big sparkly image of org xiii in my mind. no thoughts just the org

[elsa-fogen]

older sister

I'm kinda afraid to post this idk why but there are almost no winx fans in my discord sooo............ here it goes

Isa (or Isolde) is more important to Icy's story than other siblings, so here she is (other siblings don't even have names yet).

Isa was the youngest out of Icy's older siblings, and while others were already adults, Isa was a teenager when Icy was a kid. they have around 12 years age gap and Icy always looked up to her and wanted to be closer. But as i said, Isa was a teenager, a teenager who thought that Icy "stole" mother from her and was kinda jealous. Plus, their mom treated Icy not as strict as older children and Isa was the one who would always point that out, demanding that Icy would be treated the same way she was and would get same punishments as her in her childhood (it never happened...).

Something something spoiler something, I don't want to tell everything just like that! But Isa dies when Icy was around 15 (much later than everyone else lmao) and this of course inflicted some more trauma for Icy (as if she wasn't traumatized enough)

you can guess who Icy takes inspiration from in her witch style))

lmao i've just realized that Isa is literally how i treat my sister-- damn i didn't intend that. woops i guess

[barcalover86]

She is my girl- Pablo Gavi

Summary: You meet Gavi's childhood best friend who is making you feel uncomfortable and unworthy.

Request here!

2nd Masterlist

"How much time do we have left?" you asked Gavi for the hundred time this last 10 minutes.

"With 30 seconds less than you asked me last time." he replied already annoyed, but with a smile on his face.

"You know how I am when I am nervous!"

"I know, amor." he laughed at the memory when you met his parents for the first time.

For days, Gavi begged you to meet his childhood best friend, Isa. You wanted to get to know her as well, but you were afraid that she won't like you. Afraid that you might be left behind when they are together. You told him several times that is better if he goes alone so that the two of them can enjoy their time alone, but Gavi wanted you to be there with him.

She wasn't living far away from Barcelona, 2h drive, but it seemed way longer for you, being all nervous.

You had to meet her at her house before some others friends of Gavi were waiting for you at a cafe.

When your boyfriend and Isa saw eachother after a very long time, they smiled and hugged eachother like there was no tomorrow.

You smiled awkwardly back at the brunette girl and went to hug her too, a thing that you love to do when you meet new people, but she turned her back on you and started to talk with your boyfriend.

You wanted to think that she didn't know your hugging intention, but you knew she did it on purpose.

Isa took Gavi's hand, trying to guide him to the living room, but he immediately took it out of her grip, holding yours instead, which made you a bit calmer.

While you laid on the couch, Gavi started to introduce you with a smile on his face.

"Aha, so you stoll his heart? Well, only between us, I stole it first!" she started to laugh hard. "He had a crush on me when we were kids, remember, Pablito?"

He slowly nodded, not wanting to remember those days.

"Actually, y/n is the only one that ever had my heart, Isa."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say, niño. But we both know the truth."

After that, they started to talk about football. Suddenly, Isa was so much into this sport than she ever was, and that was weird. You remember Gavi telling you how much she hated football.

In 20 minutes, you didn't say a word, and you started to be left behind, something that you were afraid of since the beginning. Gavi seemed to see your uncomfortable so he hold your hand and put you closer to him.

At that, Isa rolled her eyes and this was the moment you wanted to go.

"You are really a baby, aren't you?" she said to you and you looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You want all his attention, don't you see that we were enjoying our talk? Is she always like this? Putting herself on other people business?"

"Isa, she didn't do anything. I put her close to me. She didn't even talk!"

Suddenly, her face changed into a nice one. She went to you and hugged you, which took you by surprise.

"I was only joking, I hope you didn't get offended."

You only smiled politely, without saying anything anymore.

Now, you weren't that close to Gavi, but didn't want to make a scene. You started to feel so embarrassed and unwanted in all this situation. You just wanted to go home.

After a while, you even started to control your breath, hoping that it wasn't too loud or too fast. Everything became so uncomfortable and you felt like you wanted to cry right there.

Isa was getting closer and closer to Gavi by every minute. You even started to be a bit jealous of them. They looked so comfortable and good together. They were definitely enjoying their time.

When she hugged your boyfriend and started to make circles in his hair, you talked for the first time after a while.

"When are we going to meet the others?"

Gavi pulled out, finally happy to hear your voice before standing.

"Right now."

Isa was so angry and looked into your eyes like she was about to kill you.

"I don't even know why she is here" she said.

"Isa, be nicer to her, please. Do it for me"

"Just for you." She said, but you knew that she wasn't stopping there.

She even made a scene that she wanted to stay next to Pablo in the car, making the excuse that 'they didn't see eachother for a very long time'.

You agreed to it, wanting desperately to have a bit of peace and silence.

You were the left ones that came into the cafe, and when you saw Gavi's friends, you smiled, seeing that they were looking kind.

They were so nice to you, and for the first time, you started to feel better this evening.

As you expected, Isa was standing next to Pablo, while you were on the opposite of them two.

You were talking with a nice girl that was telling you stories about your boyfriend's childhood.

"I don't even know why you are so nice to her, Ava. She doesn't even belong here."

"Isa! How can you talk about her like that! She is my girl, after all! I chose to be with her!" said Pablo, but that didn't stop you for feeling bad.

"You are so rude!" said Ava, the girl that was besides you.

"Oh? Then see this"

After she said that, she took the bottle of water and threw it all over your head.

Everyone looked at you and you started to be so embarrassed, that you left the table.

"Go cry!"

"That's enough! I had enough with you. How can you be so rude to that girl! She did nothing to you nor anyone. She is literally an angel!"

"An angel? I am supposed to be your angel, Pablo! Don't you see it!? We would make a better couple than you with her!"

"Oh, stop dreaming!"

After that, he ran after you and hugged you.

"I'll get you wet as well, I'm sorry."

"What!? Sorry for what!? Cariño, I'm sorry for making you come here. You don't deserve any of this."

He kissed your head and put you in his car, changing your clothes with his hoodie. You also had to get off your underwear, that it was also wet, leaving you half naked. Gavi didn't mind at all.

Before you went home, he hugged you in his car, trying to make you calm down a bit. He apologised before listening to what you had to say.

He told you stories about what stupid things he did with his friends and you couldn't stop laughing, which made him calmed to see you being better.

When you arrived home, he helped you take a hot bath and wash your hair before making you some dinner. Or at least, trying to do it, because after all, you were the one that had to prepare something for the both of you.

| I hope you like this. I tried to make it as good as possible and I'm sorry you had to wait this long. Right now I'm writing 3 requests so be patient with me, please. Have a nice day and love yourself!♥️

[lialovesstuff]

One thing I love about boonboomger is the small pieces of information they throw out there that you don’t think are important, until like 20 episodes later it emerges again as a significant plot point.

One of the most significant ones was when Genba officially joined the team, he said that he had something important to do and then like 20 episodes later it was revealed he was out to get revenge on those who stole his home from him.

Another was in last weeks episode where it was revealed that Taiya’s childhood neighbour was a victim of abuse and he often times heard screaming coming from the house next door. He always said how whenever he hears screams he always comes running, which I always thought was just a catch phrase until this episode.

Also where Ishiro at some point just casually mentions that the ISA hire him from time to time and then in episode 29 it gets revealed that he was hired to investigate boondorios appearance on earth.

These are probably the three biggest instances that I’ve personally noticed, but I’m sure there are more.

What I love about it is that it makes it feel like although there are filler episodes in boonboomger they always feel like they are contributing to the story in some way. I think this is also supported by the fact that there are more enemies in the ISA and Taiyas mentor than just simply the Hashirians.

[prism-empurress]

Participated in a sprint in a discord server that I'm in! My first sprint ever. ...I actually got 1st place, with 591 words. I don't count words usually, I normally count letters, that's something I need to wean from in the future... But I wrote...Isafrin fluff! It may be...too sweet and fluffy, but...it's what I wanted to write. that and the ending is just sudden... Isabeau and Siffrin have their first kiss in a romantic garden~ ----

Isabeau and Siffrin were sitting on a bench, overlooking a beautiful garden. The sun was warm on their faces, and there was the gentlest of breezes. Birds piou-piou'd in the distance…it was the perfect day. Siffrin leaned against Isabeau, hand intertwined with his. Their heart was racing, recalling the loops. Especially…that one. They still felt guilty to this day, even though the loops ended three months ago.

Siffrin and Isabeau just began dating, perhaps two months ago. Was it too soon to ask for a kiss?

Siffrin stole a glance at Isabeau, who was smiling down at the few bees gathering pollen from the lovely blooms. The sunlight looked like it radiated directly from him. Siffrin yearned to put their lips together, properly, this time.

Isabeau turned to look at Siffrin, "Hey, are you alright?"

Siffrin snapped out of his thoughts, "Oh! Uhm! Yes. Yes. I'm okay."

Isabeau smiled at Siffrin warmly, leaning over slightly and pressing their foreheads together.

"I love spending time with you like this. No worries, no need to do anything…just the two of us. Relaxing."

Siffrin melted upon contact, but refrained from squealing out loud.

"I like this too," They clumsily spat out. "But I feel like…I need to do something else. Something impressive."

"You already have." Isabeau booped their nose playfully. "You spend your coin on art supplies for the little artist. It was so sweet."

"How is that impressive, Isa?" Siffrin snorted.

"Just looks like you're…letting go of the past, I suppose. Or making peace with it. Either or."

A few days ago, Siffrin gifted the drawing one with a set of pencils plus a nice wooden surface so that they didn't have to draw on the uneven ground anymore. The kid was overjoyed, and drew themself making a flower crown for Siffrin. Said picture now hung on the fridge in the family's new home.

"I know that's hard to do," Isabeau continued. "It was…hard for me, too, to let go of my past. Change is destruction, you know."

"CanIkissyou?" Siffrin spat out suddenly.

Isabeau's cheeks went dark.

"Huh??? Uhm!"

"W-we don't have to!" Siffrin exclaimed. "You just…I mean…you look…really nice."

"Siffrin, I'd love that." Isabeau wrapped an arm around them. "Do you want to initiate?"

Siffrin nodded, taking a deep breath in and out. Then, slowly…

Their lips met, and fireworks erupted all around. Isabeau's lips were so soft and warm against Siffrin's, making them shake excitedly like a dog.

They held onto the kiss for a few seconds, then finally separated.

"W-was that…good?" Siffrin timidly put their pointer fingers together.

"It was perfect." Isabeau's eyes gleamed. "You did great."

Siffrin leaned against Isabeau again, clinging to him and basking in him entirely. Isabeau softly rubbed their back, chuckling.

"I love you, Sif."

"I love you too, Isa." Siffrin said, mumbled by Isabeau's sweater.

"Can I kiss you on the cheek?" Isabeau asked, lightly tracing a finger on Siffrin's face.

Siffrin nodded, reluctantly pulling himself from the warmth of Isabeau, and mentally prepared for the kiss. Isabeau approached them slowly, and planted a gentle kiss just underneath of Siffrin's scarred eye.

Siffrin nearly yelped from excitement. He yearned for thousands of kisses right then and there, but he knew he had to pace himself.

"But why my blind eye?" Siffrin asked.

"I just think…all of you deserves love, Siffrin. Even the parts you don't like."

[strayheartless]

Things heard in the land of departure pt. 5

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Sora: SLEEP! Why hath thou forsaken me!? For it is the morn, and I remain fatigued! Oh woe is me I say, woe is me indeed! *dramatic flop on the grass*

Kairi: Woooooooow…

Vanitas: *sings “everybody wants to be a cat” while wailing on a practice dummy*

Roxas: have I told you lately how much I hate you?

Riku: it’s been ten minutes in counting so I’m gunna lock in ‘yes’ as my answer.

Kairi: that’s a pretty skirt Xion!

Xion: thanks! I stole it from a dead body in port royal!

Ventus: 🎶zipity doo da, zipity day! My oh my, what an absolute emotionally exausting day!🎶

Lea: well colour me green and call me a tonberry.

Isa: *sighs and reaches for the green paint*

Ventus: we can explain!

Sora: no we can’t.

Ventus: yeah, no actually, he’s right we can’t.

Terra: and what do we say, when the going gets tough?

Riku: the tough ask for a hug?

Terra: yeah they do buddy, come here!

Roxas: we’re you dropped on your head as a child?!

Sora: …I mean, yeah probably?

Aqua: my philosophy is, “if I don’t finish all the wine in my glass, but keep topping it up, I’ve only really had one glass.”

Ventus: why are you wearing sunglesses in the rain?

Vanitas: so my eyes don’t give away that most of the moisture on my face is ✨salty✨.

Aqua: okay, the enemy has Sora surrounded and he’s too weak defend himself, what do you do?

Kairi: decimate every living thing

Riku: unleash the darkest part of my heart and level the battle field.

Roxas: skate board in with a potion and a can of woopass.

Xion: panic?

Ventus: and/or cry?

Vanitas: let the brat die.

Sora: incorrect! The answer was stay back and allow rage form to finish the job!

Aqua: *is speechless*

Isa:… something idiotic is occurring, I can feel it.

Roxas, Lea and Xion: *cycle past on a tandum wearing regency attire*

Aqua: nothing gets past those keen moon senses of your huh?

[jaembun]

call this place my home.

an evening in with the roommate you might be in love with ！⠀⸻⠀lee donghyuck x gnr ⠀ fluff pre-slash ⠀ cw drinking ⠀ wc 1.9k ⠀ now playing . . ☆

생각⠀stole roomie hyuck from isa.. i need him so bad

a typical tuesday night for you normally consisted of exactly this: nothing. it was your nominated day of rest, the day you let yourself relax and turn on whatever trashy soap opera renjun had convinced you to watch that week on the basis that ‘it gets good after a few episodes, you just have to trust the process.’ you tugged on your favourite hoodie; a little threadbare from continual use but still ever comfortable, got warm under all the covers on your bed, and settled down ready to not move for at least a few hours, or if not then until you got hungry enough to go and find something to sustain yourself with.

that had been the original plan for that night as well, just the same as any other—until, of course, your somewhat-of-a-wild-card roommate donghyuck had to switch things up.

you were in the middle of scoffing over one of the scorned housewife’s confessionals when a yell of your name came from outside your door, prompting you to pause the show and wait for a moment in case hyuck elaborated on his shout. he didn’t, and so you yelled back a “what?” and awaited his reply.

“i need you in here!” was all the information he was willing to provide, and you heaved a sigh of surrender before slowly extracting yourself up out of your position buried within the various blankets and stuffed toys covering your bed to go and see what donghyuck wanted with you.

“what?” you groaned for the second time, coming to a pause in the doorway when you saw the pure amount of stuff covering your kitchen counters, ranging from pots to pans to a lonely onion gone stray from a pair further away and some steaks, all mixed in amongst other various ingredients and sauces. he wanted help with dinner, then.

but to your surprise, a simper of “keep me company?” paired with a pleading look and a pout was his request instead. you agreed fairly easily, on the term that he let you mix some of your own song choices in with his usual cooking playlist. your reward was his sunshine smile, eyes creasing up along with it, and you had to pretend to be interested in the shelf that held all of the albums the pair of you had accumulated over the years so he wouldn’t see the way your cheeks suddenly felt a bit hotter to the touch nor the grin that you failed to bite back.

your unfortunate crush on your roommate had been something that you were trying to actively pretend wasn’t there, but after nearly five months of trying to ignore it to no avail you decided that method wasn’t working out and had given in, accepting your fate. you were doomed to want donghyuck as far more than a friend for however long your heart could put up with it.

“yah! are you even listening?”

hyuck’s voice snapped you out of your momentary daze, and you turned back to see him brandishing an apron at you. you took it slowly, unsure of what he actually wanted you to do with it until he rolled his eyes at your confusion and gestured at himself.

“tie it for me, idiot.”

you brightened in realisation and hurried to comply, looping the strap over his neck and waiting for him to turn so you could tie the two strips of fabric hanging at his sides together. your touches were fleeting and you kept your head down, not letting yourself focus on anything other than the knot you were attempting lest you got distracted again. once it was done you looked up to find donghyuck peering at you from over his shoulder, eyes bright with an emotion you couldn’t read behind the thick black frames of his glasses. he looked lost in thought, but he shook himself out of it when you patted him on the shoulder and darted away from you, towards the fridge.

you quirked an eyebrow and was about to ask what more he could possibly want to get out before starting to make dinner when he turned around again, this time with an unopened bottle of red wine in hand. he handed that off to you as well, before starting to mess around with the settings on the stove and peeling back the plastic packaging the meat had came in.

“would you open that, too? and pour us a couple glasses. my phone’s charging by the sofa if you wanna set the music up.”

hyuck set to work with his jobs and in turn you diligently began yours. it was with a practiced rhythm that you grabbed a pair of the fancy wine glasses (a housewarming gift from jaemin) from their spot on one of the high shelves, and slipped past where your roommate was chopping vegetables to grab the bottle opener. he gave you a wide grin when you placed his glass in front of him, one that you returned fully before leaving your own on the kitchen island and wandering over to where his phone was charging.

“what’s your password?” you called over your shoulder, unplugging his phone from the cable so you could set it up nearer the speaker. his screen lit up when you disconnected the charger, and you froze when you saw that his lockscreen was none other than a picture of the two of you. it’d been taken on his birthday the year before, in the warm low lighting of the bar you’d all found yourselves in after his celebratory dinner. you had your arms around each other’s shoulders, and donghyuck had pressed his cheek to yours so hard that it had hurt a little, but he’d been so happy you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him. there was matching smiles on your faces and twin peace signs being made with your free hands, although where hyuck had added a wink you had stuck to just beaming at the camera.

you liked the picture, of course—hell, it’d been your wallpaper for a while too, until you’d hung out with jeno a while ago and decided the photo of the pair of you in matching spa robes and face masks was a suitable enough replacement—but to see donghyuck using it came as somewhat of a (pleasant) surprise. the last time you’d seen it his lockscreen had been the picture of the whole of your friendgroup crammed into a singular booth while at karaoke, after all. 

“oh, it’s—“ he froze from where he was busying himself with one of the pans on the stove, eyes widening. his voice sounded quieter than usual when he replied, and his cheeks looked a little redder. “um. i’ll do it.”

you weren’t sure what made him so opposed to telling you, but you didn’t question it and handed the phone over; taking the chance to slide into one of the stools sat behind the island and take your first drink from your glass. the brightness from his screen was turned all the way up and reflected onto his glasses, and you didn’t mean to look, but the six digits he typed in to unlock his phone felt familiar.

you turned the combination over in your mind while he passed it back so you could turn some music on, and only when you had pressed play on his instructed playlist did the answer come to you. the date you met, down to the day exactly. again—you knew, and knew he did too, but what you didn’t know was that he’d use it for something like that.

you didn’t want to think too deep into it. that would only lead to things like false hope and daydreams and thoughts that the times where donghyuck looked a little far away were times when he was having exactly the same thoughts about you. instead you necked down the remnants of your wine in almost one go and shivered after you swallowed and the alcohol rushed through your system, reaching for the bottle to top yourself up. hyuck noticed your empty glass and laughed from where he was frying the meat and vegetables.

“calm down, lightweight. wouldn’t want you getting too drunk—aren’t you working tomorrow?”

you scoffed at the jab, flipping him the bird. “lightweight my ass, i could drink you under the table.”

to prove your point you took a prolonged sip from your second glass, and then shook your head in answer to his question. “we’re shut tomorrow. something about too many people being out sick.”

hyuck nodded in understanding and then went back to pouring things into the pan, stirring as he went. it sizzled from the heat and both looked and smelled almost done, and you felt your stomach ache a little in anticipation. you weren’t even all that mad about your usual tuesday night plans being derailed, now more looking forward to sitting down and enjoying a meal with donghyuck than watching rich people gossip about one another (although you had to admit that said gossip was entertaining).

the pair of you made idle chat and swapped insults at each other’s music choices while they played, draining a few more glasses of wine between you as you went, until finally hyuck was shutting off the heat and presenting you the food with a flourish, looking highly proud of himself despite how his glasses had fogged up slightly from the steam. he was setting about grabbing two pairs of chopsticks when you stopped him in his tracks.

“please tell me you weren’t actually expecting us to eat out of the pot.”

he wilted under your flat stare, and you rolled your eyes. “maybe? i just don’t want to bother you for too long with washing up afterwards. i know tuesdays are usually your designated soap opera nights.”

his logic didn’t make much sense but the reasoning behind it was sweet, and you willed yourself not to melt after hearing it, deciding not to mention that you didn’t actually mind in place of trying to keep a firm resolve despite the mirth slowly creeping into your next words.

“and yet you made me keep you company while you cooked?”

donghyuck pouted again as he was called out, setting his half-full glass down a little too carelessly to complain at you.

“i didn’t want to be lonely! i like having you around, you know? even if your music taste is..” he trailed off and pulled a disgusted face, miming throwing up, and in response you balled up the dishcloth left on the counter in your reach and threw it right between his eyes to distract him from the fact that his words had (again) made it hard for you not to do something stupid; like confess your feelings right then and there, or pull him into a kiss by the front of his apron.

“my music taste is fine, thank you very much. now help me set the table, and then we can eat.”

he gave you a mock salute and reached behind himself to fiddle with the knot you’d tied for him earlier, slipping his apron off and hanging it up before returning to your side.

you jostled each other on the way to the curlery drawer, poked more fun at the songs you had queued up to play while you ate, fought playfully over who got to pour who more wine, and then as you finally sat down together at the table you had the sudden thought that, if you got to spend more nights with hyuck like this—smiley, playful, with flushed cheeks and skin warm to the touch from the alcohol—then the worries that came with the possibility of you ruining your friendship with a few simple words could be put aside for just a little while longer.

[leastrifedraws]

Thinking about how tragic Axel is

Axel has got to be one of my favorites if not my favorite in kingdom hearts (surprise surprise I stole his name) and out of what I’ve seen people talk about how tragic Saïx and Roxas are and mention Axel when they do that but I feel like Axel doesn’t really get talked about individually typically only side by side with Saïx and Roxas

(Side note. Xion should also be talked about more but this post is about Axel rn and I will potentially talk about Xion in a later post)

Axel lost everything important in his life and the worst part is that for the most part that only happened cause he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s nothing specific about Axel himself that requires him to be in the organization he was simply in proximity to Apprentice Xehanort at the time of the organization’s creation.

Starting with the first things he lost, his heart, his home world, and Isa, this doesn’t get talked about enough either these two lost their home. And they were only teenagers which is at a crucial point in development and loosing their hearts I like to headcanon essentially stopped this. (Again a post for a later time which will include Ienzo). Axel lost all of those crucial growing up years which will definitely affect him down the line and it kind of does. He also lost Isa. Maybe Saïx didn’t jump right on into the organization with clipboard in hand, but from what we can gather he was already trying to get in with Xehanort as he could’ve been their link to X, so I imagine Saïx would close himself off from Axel pretty quickly to prove himself to Xemnas. Leaving Axel alone. As opposed to members 2-6 (who were already close and who continue to be close as we can see in the 358manga and Lexeaus clearly cares about Zexion in CoM) who all still had each other in some sort of way, Axel didn’t have anyone because his only line of support in the organization would have been Saïx, but Saïx turned him away in favor of Xemnas (I know Saïx was doing this for him and Axel and did secretly care, but this is from Axel’s perspective and from his point of view Saïx is just cutting him off)

So for 10+ years not only has Axel lost his heart and his world, and his only line of support and I don’t think without hearts it’s very easy to bond with the others

Any of the others, not just the apprentices. We don’t get any indication Axel is close to anyone up until he meets Roxas and Xion. There’s nothing in any of the games indicating he has, nothing I’ve seen in the mangas (he does hang out in groups, but not often and never one on one with anyone other than Saïx, Roxas, or Xion) and I don’t have any of the other books.

“Why does he bond with Roxas and Xion then and not the others?” Thank you me for asking, the answer for Roxas is because of Ventus, and Xion is because he didn’t get much of a choice.

The following paragraph is mostly speculation/headcanon, but I feel like makes sense.

Axel who just lost everything from his old life including his best friend is now presented with this kid who looks exactly like someone he knew when he still had a heart. New name and outfit but this is the closest he’s gotten to having anything from his old life. And on top of that he was also ordered to watch over Roxas so he was kinda just pushed into spending time with him and when Roxas starts showing more emotion of course Axel is going to be invested. And Axel was incredibly hesitant to be friends with Xion but because of Roxas he did and he started to bond with her as well.

Things finally start looking up and then of course he looses everything again. And this time he looses one the things that he was put such a strong importance on. His memories. Not only did he loose Xion but he lost the memories of her. He tells Saïx he wants everyone he meets to remember him and he is constantly telling people to memorize things, and memories are incredibly important in this universe and Axel understands that. He’s also started to develop a heart again it seems when we see how desperate he was for Roxas not to fight against Xemnas. He will miss Roxas when no one else will.

Twice has Axel lost everything.

Throughout Kingdom Hearts 2 we see him trying to fix things in multiple different failed ways, tries going and getting Roxas and bringing him back, kidnaps Kairi, and then helps Sora in the end before falling to the Heartless, and it’s so sad especially because at this point Axel still believes Saïx doesn’t care about him despite Saïx showing (tiny) concern about Axel to Sora. Axel is just struggling to stay afloat at this point until he finally gives out at the end just to make sure Sora can stop Xemnas.

And then he wakes up to find out Xemnas hasn’t been stopped. Lea is alive again with his heart and emotions back, but he still has no one. Isa is still gone and not with the rest of them, and Roxas and Xion are still trapped in Sora’s heart. So deciding to try and do the right thing in hopes of getting Roxas out of Sora’s heart he becomes a keyblade wielder which causes him to come face to face with all of his mistakes. He has to face Kairi now being able to feel guilt. And it’s clear Lea is beating himself up over it. He’s on the right track but he’s still not doing good. Ie. breaks into tears over not remembering who Xion is and missing someone he doesn’t know. (Man that scene 😭)

Then he has to fight Saïx and Xion. He has to fight his best friend and the ending of that fight. Ahhh. Axel has to hold Saïx in his arms dying and even if he knows Isa will come back it’s still sad.

And finally we get to the end(ish) of his arc and he’s doing alright now with heart and friends back, but he’s still carrying the weight of so much and please I am fragile about this man.

I will go feral about the character who’s name I chose for so long and you cannot stop me anyway yeah he’s so traumatized and I need people to talk about that more because I feel like people focus on Saïx’s tragedy than Axel’s even though they’ve both lost so much

[stabbyfoxandrew]

1 & 15 for the oc ask game for each of the polycule?

1. How did you choose their name?

Ashley- I wanted to name him straight up Lee. But then I have a character who goes by "Lee" as a nickname and they're in the same huge, connected story. So I didn't want it to be weird. And I was like... "Okay, so names that are sort of like Lee..." And I considered Leo, but I didn't like it. :') I considered Leon, hated it. Considered removing the whole Lee element and picking something totally different. But then I thought of Ashley. And I loved it! He's got options with Ashley, you know. :D

Isa- straight up stole it from another character and then built around it. So his name is Isaiah. But he goes by Isa (pronounced like eye-zuh). Because his dad is Isaiah. :)

Aaron- gave them the name I wanted to use because I'm not masc enough to pull off. :')

OC Askbox Game

(I answered 15 earlier, but I put it under the cut for you!)

15. Is your character’s first instinct fight or flight? Is there something that could force them to do the opposite?

Ashley- when he was younger: fawn. Now: fight. To switch him back to fawn, one would have to remind him of his mom.

Isa- when he was younger: flight. Now: fight. To switch him back to flight, one would have to threaten the people he loves. You know, use them against him.

Aaron- when they were younger: freeze. Now: fight. I don’t think there’s a way to switch them back. The monster’s been unleashed and it bites.

[basilpaste]

1 10 and 11 for isat ask game:3

isat ask game!

1- favorite character?

haha. no idea. who knows. mystery

FUCK SHIT GODDAMN. YOu didnt see that. (this isnt even all of my isas. lird.)

10- any headcanons about the in-game world?

mmmm. some, yeah! most of my headcanons are like.... for phrases and stuff? my favorite is the phrase "craft me curious" instead of "colour me curious" and its sister-terms.

i also have poterian religion concepts for? connie reasons???

poterian rejuvenation! the idea that everything passes eventually. things come and go and you can chose to move the cycle or just to be moved by it.

11- any character headcanons?

i for sure have talked about some of these before but: chronic illness mira, dermatillomania (or general ocd really) sif, a LOT of thoughts. about isabeaus family and his stuff.

isa says at the end of act five in the falling action that the closest hes ever been with anyone is the party. he also has... a big family. and was a timid smart kid in his youth. i think he was an 'older middle child', who kind of got forgotten in the wave.

ALSO. this is an idea i stole from my dear pal pix pixxyofice but... isa seems to know a lot more about the forgotten island than some of the other members of the party? it is my personal headcanon that, perhaps, one of his oldest siblings moved there. sort of the same thing as the daydreaming one (glances at osis). d. dont worry about that actually.

[alxor-of-hellsite]

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

58: I have one friend, Isa, who is very much both. she likes to cuss me out in spanish but loves the friend group like we are her children.

96: i haven’t finished setting up my PC all the way (i got it two years ago :]) if that says anything.

24: does myself count? but besides myself *maybe*, depends on situation.

84: Yes. so many. not any super specific designs in mind as of current, but i really want a sun tattoo of some kind on my left shoulder

46: I’m addicted to brake fluid, but it’s okay because I can stop at any time.

32: one time me & my cousins got really fucking delirious & one of them stole a banana from my grandmas pantry & hid it in a box of chips, it is now an inside joke.

49: YES!!! CDs, Tchaikovsky ballet suites collection. rarely have the opportunity to buy them though.

66: VERY COLORFUL & with hidden meanings in flower language

70: My mother used a ouija board when she was a teen & tells me it “changed her life & she can never go back” & she says if she ever finds out i have used one she will freak out & that it would be worse than if i did all of the drugs & was a serial killer & it will make her cry. My family has a lot of ghost stories (please ask me about them i need to tell the ghost stories)… So i haven’t used one but i really really want to incredibly bad & will jump at the opportunity. I think about it daily & really want to buy one.

74: Good poet, likes tea, super duper kind & amazing & wonderful, has really pretty eyes, currently has red hair >:)

[fictionkinfessions]

looking at the tag for our source on this blog and seeing it’s 99% siffrins lamenting being lonely is so. yeah that’s fitting. we went through all that trouble and for what??? none of our family is here apparently! we lost them Again! because i guess we don’t blinding deserve that! it’s just siffrin and siffrin and miserable siffrin over and over again. i saw maybe one isa in the tag and my heart melted a little just knowing he’s out there at all even if i’m never going to get to talk to him or hug him or hold his sweaty hands ever again. stars

which, like, i get it.i can see why so many people have flocked to him. i’m not upset about the fact that there’s so many sifs around, i love y’all and i am holding your hands in solidarity forever and ever ok. i love talking to doubles and seeing how things went differently between us (my friend who also kins him didn’t lose the whole eyeball can you believe that. they still have the eyeball. they’re blind in it but they didn’t need to get it completely removed from the socket!!! incredible! i feel cheated out of an eyeball) and just generally getting that experience of talking to yourself even if it’ll never be to the degree that it was between me and loop. i love it. i loved that story and i still do

but it still makes my heart hurt a little knowing that there’s so many of us and so little of our family out there in comparison? i feel like understudy #73848955793. even if a blinding miracle happens and i meet ANYONE from my canon who wasn’t me (save for loop lmao) the odds that they’ll be My family member feels. like next to nothing. i feel so alone. i’m a nobody again. i’m scared. i’m a nobody in a sea of nobodies. i miss them so much. i’m never going to see my family again the universe put me through all that torture and left me broken and i didn’t even get to keep them in the end. they’re gone. forever. i’m never going to. hhrgghhh. loop i think i am understanding you more now than i ever did back then. i’m so sorry

i was already the worse siffrin when there were only the two of us in the world. me and loop. loop was so much better than me. brighter. they made it through 10x the amount of loops i did without breaking and they did it completely alone in a worse version of the house with a worse king. and they still did better than me. and still had the capacity to care about me their little copy who stole everything from them and wasn’t even grateful about it! and now it’s like. wow. i am now the worse siffrin out of a Billion other siffrins. no wonder my family was taken from me again. im truly the last of us who deserves them. i’m never going to see them again i

stars i miss them. i miss them so much. i miss you loop i miss you isa i miss you mira and bonbon and odile i miss you!!!!!!! what did i do wrong!!!!!!!! besides literally everything i’ve ever done!!!!!!

the universe leads!!!!!!! and i have no blinding choice but to follow it into this miserable half-life of a half-life. it’s. mmmmmm

i miss my family!!!

- siffrin

x

[mylifeisactuallyamess]

Sanctuary part 2

Chapter 9: Paths Unknown

A/N: This chapter follows the episode very closely, I wanted to add it in because all I could think about was how much Tech would have loved it 🥹

Warnings: 18+, that icky plant thing, canon action, some feelings, mentions of experiments.

Word Count: 6.4k+

Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10

Masterlist

5 months after Stitch was taken.

Tech glanced at his brothers, passing a look through their helmets at the scream that sounded from the chamber behind the closed door.

“That did not go as he expected,” Tech quipped but Hunter scowled. It had been months without Omega, even longer without you. The toll taken was obvious on all of them; from the scuffed and unkempt armour to the worry lines that marked all their faces. Hunter had been relentless, using every contact and ounce of knowledge they had between them to find some solid intel.

He should be happy the Imperials don’t seem to be focussing on his squad anymore but it meant they had what they wanted. And it boiled his blood. Hunter would blaze through this galaxy if he thought it would lead him straight to the rest of his family. But they still needed to be careful and clever.

This current move was dangerous and reckless, if they really analysed it. But this is what they were bred for. Combat, covert missions, tipping the scales in their favour.

“Who stands before me next?” A female commanded.

“I can make a deal,” the desperate Pyke chatted right before Hunter shoved him forcefully through the opening door. They had come to Devaron to chase up the only current lead they had. It chafed on Hunter’s pride, to do the dirty work of others for just a scrap of intel. But he’d do anything for Omega.

The chamber was large, members of the syndicate watched from the sides which Tech took in with great interest. Hunter didn’t care, focussing on the female sat on the throne. He shoved the Pyke again, forcing him out onto the red barrier that he had no doubt the last visitor had fallen through.

“The mercenaries we discussed,” Roland informed Isa Durand.

“Such courage to demand an audience with me.” Her voice echoed through the cavernous chamber, as regal and commanding as her posture on the throne. Tech stood relaxed, his brown eyes taking in new details as he studied everything around them. They had no plan to get out if this went badly. Wrecker was nervous about the drop below his feet but he did nothing except shift a foot on the barrier.

“You’d be dead if my son hadn’t convinced me to consider your offer.”

Hunter pulled the severed horn from his belt, showing what was in his hand. “And we’re here to deliver.” He tossed the horn to Roland, trying not to remember the discussion Tech and Wrecker had on the way here, wondering if the Devaronian was going to try and reattach it. “You asked for the Pyke who disgraced your family.”

“He’s all yours,” Wrecker told them, slapping the Pyke on his back.

“It won’t be traced back you,” Hunter’s helmet tipped towards Tech. “We made sure of it.”

Isa regarded them for a moment and Hunter felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of his face.

“Take him below.” The Pyke protested, threatened, but it was pointless. He was dragged beyond the door and sealed from sight. “Impressive. Your willingness to cross the Pykes shows how desperate you are.” Hunter hated she pointed that out, grateful to the helmet covering his face. “Tell me, why is the intel you’ve requested of such value to you?” Roland had told them to be honest. He said his mother did not appreciate liars and she wouldn’t hesitate to send them below if she thought they were hiding anything.

“Doctor Hemlock stole someone from us. We heard your syndicate had the connections needed to find the Imperial’s base. And since we’ve upheld our end of the bargain,” Hunter ignored the sharp inhale from Tech at his temper starting to come through in his words. “Now it’s your turn.”

Hunter saw Tech’s fingers flex. He wouldn’t have time to do anything if Isa decided to send them into the depths and it irked him. But Hunter didn’t want anything risking this exchange.

The floor extended from the throne dais, meeting the force field beneath their feet so Roland could cross the space to speak to them.

“Hemlock’s whereabouts have been well guarded by the Empire, but one of our sources came across these coordinates linked to his laboratory.”

“And they’ve been verified?” Hunter asked. Too many times had they hoped, only for it to be smashed into a dead end.

“Take what you came for and go, before my generosity runs out,” Isa demanded. Tech reached for the chip, depositing it in a pouch on his belt.

“I hope you find who you’re looking for,” Roland told them quietly. The heaviness in his gaze conveyed he knew exactly who it was.

None of them spoke on the way out to the ship. Hands never straying far from their weapons until the ramp had closed firmly behind them. Tech guided the Marauder easily out of the atmosphere, using the coordinates in the chip to programme their hyperspace jump. Only when the blue and white lights rushed over the canopy, did they breathe easily.

“That went smoother than I thought,” Wrecker broke the silence in the cockpit.

“Indeed. Still, this could be another dead end,” Tech let out a brief sigh.

“No point thinking like that until we’ve visited the coordinates for ourselves,” Hunter murmured. “Wrecker, contact Echo and find out if they can come with us. Tech, what do we know about where we are heading?” Tech grabbed his datapad, moving to the console in the hold where he as able to bring up the details.

“Setron. A jungle planet, with no known occupied settlements. A perfect place, it seems, to hide a secret laboratory.”

“Sounds promising.” Hunter crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. His gaze drifted to the doll Wrecker had given to Omega, propped up like it was looking for her return. Tech continued to research the planet, looking for a landing site and about any possible threatening creatures or plants they should be aware of.

Wrecker came through from the cockpit, drawing their attention. “Echo said he and Rex need two rotations before they can meet us at the coordinates.”

Hunter frowned, an expression he couldn’t seem to shift these days. He knew he couldn’t just drop these things on Rex and Echo, they had their own fight going on. Yet the frustration was still there.

“That’s not good enough. We’re going now.”

“It would be practical to wait for backup,” Tech said, knowing exactly how reckless his brother was becoming the longer their search went on. “The last few encounters we have had with the Empire, have not always ended in our favour.”

“I know they haven’t.” Hunter stalked into the cockpit. Wrecker sighed and shared a look with Tech before they joined him. “Omega and Stitch have been waiting for us for a long time. I’m not…I can’t make them wait another day.”

Tech couldn’t deny it. Hunter was right, you had been gone for too long. He prided himself on his memory and holding onto facts and details. But for some reason, anything to do with you was not as easy to recall as it once had been. He needed you here, back in the ship with him. Where you belonged.

His attention was directed to the flashing light on the console. “Approaching Setron. I am not detecting any ships.”

“Surely that’s a good thing?” Wrecker asked.

“Perhaps,” Tech answered, bringing the ship smoothly out of hyperspace. “I would have anticipated some form of orbital activity.”

“Maybe it’s that secret they can’t have ships hanging around.”

“Means they will other ways of deterring visitors,” Hunter added. “Eyes open.”

“They always are,” Wrecker sighed.

The ship descended into the atmosphere, drifting through the thick misty, cloud cover to find a clearing in the jungle large enough to house the ship.

“I have run a rudimentary scan of the surrounding area and found no Imperial activity so far.” Tech put on his helmet, checked his blasters and grabbed the datapad.

“Sounds like this could be…” Wrecker stopped mid sentence, glaring at them both as they stared at him. “Fine, I won’t say it,” he grumbled, notching his helmet up so it rested on his forehead.

The ramp opened, letting the stuffy air from the jungle filter into the ship. Tech set his goggles to record, while his datapad caught the fauna noises that warbled through the heavy trees.

Wrecker let out a disgusted sound. “Smells like rancid Jotaz out here.”

“For once, Wrecker. I am inclined to agree,” Tech’s nose wrinkled and wished his helmet filtered out the smell.

“Anything?” Hunter asked.

“Negative,” Tech replied, lifting the datapad higher. “The signal could be being jammed.”

“Mmm. My thoughts too. Let’s move, keep an eye out for anything.” Hunter took the lead through the jungle. Pausing every now and again to sort through his senses. Even though the scanner was potentially being jammed, his enhanced senses were not and Tech watched him closely. Noticing the quickened pace and the sharp change of direction until they broke out of the trees and onto a rocky outcropping.

Below them was the base, and not how they expected to find it. “Fascinating,” Tech breathed. His eyes widening at the buildings and how they had been completely devoured by vines.

“That’s the lab?” Wrecker asked in disbelief.

“They destroyed it,” Hunter pointed out. “Another orbital bombardment.” The reminder of Kamino’s destruction was always there. The explosions that rocked their feet, the water rushing in, the booms as buildings fell into the sea to be swallowed up and never seen again.

“But Omega!” Wrecker panicked. “Stitch…if they were here…”

“We don’t know if they were,” Hunter cut across him.

“The intel we have could be incorrect,” Tech offered, hoping to soften the sharpness of Hunter.

“Whatever this is, let’s get down there and check it out.” He took the lead again, leaving Tech and Wrecker to fall into step.

“I really thought this was going to be it,” Wrecker admitted softly. Tech had no words for him, he couldn’t. Logically he knew there was a high probability Omega and you would not be here. But he had still dared allow a fragment of hope to kindle.

“We might yet find something inside,” Tech finally said.

“Yeah,” Wrecker mumbled. “Maybe.”

The jungle terrain was not easy. Roots the thickness of Wrecker’s arms curled over the ground, slick with soft moss and surrounded by sticky mud. The way down was treacherous, but they’d encountered worse. Finally it levelled out and they slowed to a walk until Hunter raised his fist.

Tech immediately drew his blasters and Wrecker hunkered down. “We’re not alone,” Hunter eased out, drawing his own weapon.

“Freeze!” Two young boys stepped into view, makeshift weapons in their hands. Tech held his weapons steady, trying to figure out what teenagers were doing out here.

Wrecker laughed at them, already deciding they weren’t a threat. “Blaster beats stick, kid.”

“Tech, do you see it?” Hunter asked, not taking his eyes off them.

“Both adolescent males,” he said, casting a sideways glance at Hunter when he held out a hand and relaxed.

“They’re regs.”

“And who are you?” One of them demanded.

Wrecker kicked his helmet up, while Hunter removed his entirely to address them face to face.

“We’re clones. Same as you.”

“You don’t look like clones,” the kid answered back.

“They must be 99s,” the other one said. “Defectives.”

Tech holstered his blasters and pulled out the datapad to run another scan of the area. Something wasn’t quite right but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Defective and effective,” Wrecker told them with a smirk.

“What are you two doing out here?”

“What’s it look like?” The one on the left snapped at Hunter. “Surviving. Or trying to. No thanks to the Empire.”

“They send you to finish us off?”

“Do we look like we’re with the Empire?” Wrecker sounded offended by their words. The boys looked them over, Tech avoided meeting their scrutinising stares, concentrating on the scanner and why it still wasn’t picking anything up.

“What do you want?” One finally asked.

“We’re looking for a young girl. She’s a clone. We think she was sent to the lab here,” Hunter explained. “And an adult, female. A medic but she would have come in as a prisoner.”

“Never saw anyone like that, but Mox might know about them.”

“He won’t talk to them,” the other boy interrupted.

“Please,” Hunter stepped forward. “We have to find them. They’re, part of our squad.” The boys looked at each other until one gave a quick sigh.

“Stick to the trail. Follow our steps. And don’t touch the vines.” Tech looked up at the broken building. He knew those vines weren’t natural, their colouring did not match the other vines within the jungle and if he had to guess, he’d say they seemed to be originating from the building itself.

They all walked in silence for a bit until Wrecker couldn’t take it anymore. “So, er. How did you end up here?”

“When the Empire transferred us off Kamino, we thought we were getting more training. Instead they made us prisoners. Took samples of our blood.”

Tech frowned, his datapad was recording everything so he’d be able to come back to this later. Anything the cadets could give them might help in trying to work out what exactly Hemlock wanted.

“Do you know what they were looking for?” Tech asked them.

“No idea,” one replied.

“They didn’t tell us anything.”

“At least we escaped before they destroyed the facility.”

Tech followed the cadets through the flora, taking care when pushing it aside, the warning about the vines still held his curiosity. “Wrecker!” He shouted, already knowing he was too late.

“What?!” The large clone demanded, letting the thick dark vine go after he’d pushed it aside.

“Behind you!” Hunter called out. Tech rushed forward, watching the vine begin to slither and slide, the end waving in the air.

“Run!” The cadets took off while the others pulled their weapons.

“I do not see our blasters doing any considerable damage,” Tech said as they moved back a few paces.

“We’ll see about that.” Wrecker let loose a few bolts, the vine almost crying out from the burn.

“Don’t shoot! It gets hostile when you shoot!” A cadet called from behind them.

“You mean, it’s not already hostile?” Wrecker shouted.

“I feel this situation has the potential to escalate,” Tech said pragmatically just as a vine from behind grabbed Wrecker, pinning his arms and swinging him back into a tree.

“Hunter!” The vine started to drag Wrecker up. Tech continued to provide cover fire while Hunter pulled his blade free and sliced through the plant holding Wrecker with one swipe. The other vines retreated as abruptly as they had appeared.

“That will not be the end of it,” Tech stated calmly.

“Come on!” The cadets called and rushed off, not waiting to see if the others followed.

They reached a clearing where Wrecker doubled over to catch his breath. Tech was already moving around with his datapad, pressing buttons on his vambrace to cycle through the different scans he could perform and see if the vines showed up.

“What was that stuff?” Wrecker huffed.

“Slither vines.” Tech cocked his head at the reply, not something he’d heard of before. “The Empire made it. It’s some kind of experimental weapon, until they lost control of it.”

“Intriguing,” Tech whispered. He knew Hemlock was interested in experimenting on humanoids, he had no idea the Empire’s interest stretched outside of that category.

He ignored the pang in his chest when his thoughts turned to you, as they always did. He held onto the fact the Empire was so desperate for you they sent out a bounty. Which meant they wanted you for a reason. So you still had to be alive.

“Probably why they ordered a Base Delta Zero on their own facility,” one of the cadets was saying when Tech focused on the conversation again.

“We’ll be safe on the crag. The slither vines haven’t spread there.”

“Yet.”

By the time they made it to the cadet’s camp, darkness had fallen. The other cadet, Mox, had lit a fire seemingly waiting for the others to come back.

“Who are they?” He instantly demanded, pointing the stick at the adults.

“Clones. We found them by the overlook.” Tech stood to the side, his back to the fire so he could put his visor down and scan the surrounding area for heat signatures. He found the lack of signal very peculiar.

“What do you want?” Mox queried suspiciously.

“We’re looking for a young girl. She was taken by an Imperial named Hemlock. And possibly an adult, female medic that would have been brought in as a prisoner. Their names are Omega and Stitch.”

After determining the clones weren’t a threat, Mox sat back down. “Never saw a girl around the lab. Only adults we saw were the scientists, no medics. But I know Hemlock. He was in charge, until things changed. One day the Imperials started packing up and shipped out. So we made our move and escaped.”

“We were the only ones to make it out before the orbital bombardment,” one of the other cadets continued the story.

“Even the clone troopers left us to die,” the other chimed in. “Said they were following orders.”

“They were,” Tech spoke up. “Every clone trooper had a chip inserted by the Kaminoans. It is what allowed the Emperor to use them to devastating effect and eradicate the Jedi.” There was a beat of silence as they absorbed his pragmatic words.

“What about you?” Mox insisted.

“We are defective clones, the chip did not work on us. Well, not all of us,” Tech amended. “We have since had ours removed.”

The boys looked at each other and Tech wondered how long they had been out here for. He admired their tenacity, although it was a trait all the clones shared as well as their survival skills.

“We can take you to someplace safe,” Hunter offered. “But we need to find out if Omega and Stitch were here or where Hemlock took them.”

“There is a possibility the Imperials left behind some intel that could help us,” Tech lifted his visor and turned to the cadets. “Is there a control panel or a data socket that I could access?”

The boys glanced at each other until one responded. “One of the control room panels was still intact during our last scout. I tried to use it to send a signal, but there was no power.”

Hunter looked at Tech who gave a slight nod in return. Anything was worth an attempt right now. “Can you take us there?”

“No way,” the other cadet refused vehemently. “That area is covered in slither vines. It’s toxic.”

“Stak’s right,” Mox agreed, standing up the address them. “Going near those ruins is a suicide mission. You’re on your own.”

Tech wanted to shrug and tell them, they had faced worse odds, when the cadet who’d spoken about the panel stepped in front of them.

“They need help, Mox. I’ll go with them.” When no protests came, he grabbed a blaster and a com out of the crate. With a gesture he started to lead the Batch back down to the jungle floor. The remaining cadets watched them leave with grim expressions.

“I can get you inside the ruins, but you won’t be able to get anything from the console without a power source.”

“I have already thought of a solution to that particular problem,” Tech told the cadet. “We must return to the ship to retrieve it.”

The torch lights dipped over the uneven ground with every step. “This clone you’re looking for…”

“Omega,” Hunter supplied her name in the cadet’s pause.

“How long has she been gone?”

“Too long. But we’re not giving up.”

“The other one. The medic. Is she a clone too?” Tech could feel Hunter’s gaze on him through the gloom, as though he could break apart at the mere mention of you. “She is not,” he answered.

“But she’s just as important to us,” Wrecker added.

“I wish the other clones felt that way about us,” the cadet sighed wistfully. “You may be defective, but at least you’re loyal.”

The ship materialised in the darkness, highlighted by the torches. The ramp lowered, everything about the ship sounded loud and out of place in this part of the jungle. Tech walked up the ramp with Wrecker just behind him.

“Gotta job for you, Gonky.” The droid beeped in excitement and Tech’s mouth twisted into a grimace.

“It will neither be fun or exciting. But it is important,” he told Gonky while attaching a leather harness to him. “Ready?” Wrecker nodded, dropping to his knees and slipping his arms through the straps. Gonky honked, his feet waving around Wrecker’s helmet. “Yes, I’m making sure they are tight enough,” Tech reassured the droid with a gentle pat on the metal casing.

“Right,” Wrecker stood up slowly, finding his balance and shrugging the straps to a more comfortable position. Tech followed him down the ramp, mentally checking his pack for everything he could possibly need.

“Lead the way, kid.” Wrecker’s melancholy mood had lifted with the possibility that this trip wasn’t a complete waste of time.

“Name’s Deke,” the cadet offered.

“I’m Wrecker, Hunter, Tech and this Gonky,” he replied, gesturing to the droid on his back.

“I don’t really know what we’ll find down there,” Deke admitted. “But it probably won’t be pleasant.”

“Nothing ever is,” Hunter huffed a despondent sigh.

The journey down to the entrance was hard work. Their torches only lit up a few feet in front of them and it made the jungle seem to stretch out around them forever.

Wrecker tripped a couple of times, not used to having the weight of Gonky on his back and the ground was unfamiliar. “I don’t like this,” the big clone mumbled to himself.

“It is only going to get more stimulating once we are inside,” Tech informed him.

“Part o’ me thinks you’re enjoying this.”

“I have never seen flora that reacts like these, slither vines. There is an obvious connection within the plant itself, that allows it to deal with any threats swiftly and efficiently. I would really like to see the point of origin. Is it a single specimen that has spread over the entire building, or multiple plants that have grown and connected together?” Tech mused. “From what I have witnessed so far, it almost seems to be verging on sentience.” The group came to a stop but it took Tech three more paces before he realised he was the only one moving. “Is there a problem?” He asked, pausing to look at them over his shoulder.

Hunter shook his head, approaching Tech so he could pat his spaulder fondly. “No, no problem. It’s nice to see you so interested in something again.”

“Does it have to be killer vines though?” Wrecker groaned.

“I do not see anything else remotely interesting other than these vines,” Tech defended himself while feeling the ghost of a smile forming.

“You won’t be saying that when it’s crushing your ribs.” Wrecker knocked affectionately into Tech, nearly losing his balance in the process.

“At this rate, you will not make it to the lab in one piece. Or Gonky. And we need him.”

“Do you want to carry the droid?” Wrecker called over his shoulder. Now Tech did smile, rolling his eyes before following the others. It had been a while since they had had the energy to poke fun at each other.

“This is it,” Deke told them once they had caught up to him. “There’s slither vines everywhere in there. Interesting or not,” he said with a glance at Tech. “Be careful where you step.” He took the lead, with Hunter behind him, then Wrecker and Tech brought up the rear.

Tech looked up as they entered the large entrance of the compound. Vines climbed to the walls, slithering slowly along the ceiling and encroaching on the floor. They had to watch their feet carefully, making sure they didn’t touch any of the tendrils in their path.

“Fascinating,” Tech breathed. The vines seemed to be emitting noxious spores. Deke had mentioned the air here was toxic, clouds of it bloomed sporadically from random parts of the vines. Tech wanted a closer look but he couldn’t get distracted from the main objective.

Deke lead them in silence. Metal creaked above the group and Wrecker paused, his torch light wavering slightly. “I don’t like this,” he hissed to Tech. A deep rolling sound echoed down the corridor. “I really don’t like this.”

“How much further is the console?” Hunter growled. He was just as anxious as Wrecker, feeling that something was going to happen, deep in his gut. He never ignored that feeling.

“Hard to tell,” Deke answered. “More vines have spread down here. We had to stop scavenging the site because of it.”

Tech nudged Wrecker, getting an agitated growl in response before they continued. Hunter looked around, mulling over his next question. “What other experiments were going on in this place?”

“Nothing good. They didn’t exactly tell us what was going on.” Deke paused, swinging his light around.

“Do you hear that?” Tech asked. His visor came down but nothing showed up on the screen. He checked the datapad, tracing the spike in sounds with his eyes.

“Let’s keep moving,” Wrecker urged.

“Wait…” Hunter made them stop, casting his torch light around.

“The sounds…” Tech shook his head. “I assumed they were from an animal. But I was wrong.” He looked up as he spoke, noticing the activity in the plant had increased. “It is the vines.”

Deke cried out as his body hit the floor. Vines wrapped around his legs and began to drag him away. He was lifted into the air, Wrecker grabbed his arms to keep him within reach while Hunter sliced through the violent tendrils with his blade, until Deke dropped to the floor. They crowded together, weapons drawn looking for more vines ready to attack them.

“Look out!” Tech’s warning was just in time as a piece of the vine broke off and launched itself at Hunter. The blast rang out loudly, but vine creature seemed undamaged. It skitted away on misshapen legs, crawling into a hiding place.

“Go! Keep moving!” Hunter shouted.

“Still finding it interesting?”

Tech spared Wrecker a glance, the corners of his eyes creasing with his smile. “Even more so,” he admitted. “Did you see? It had thorns, like teeth.”

Wrecker groaned. “I didn’t. I’m going to have nightmares.”

Their pace eventually slowed as the corridor opened up. Tech looked up when they all stopped. A huge hole broke the roof apart, clearly a wound from the orbital bombardment. Stars littered the sky, a single piece of beauty in this rotten place.

“Ergh,” Wrecker was looking down, where the ground dropped away at their feet. Something bubbled and hissed, liquid oozed in the pit creating a putrid swamp that made even Tech’s eyes water. “I didn’t think it could smell any worse. But I was wrong.”

“We’re in agreement on that,” Hunter said, swinging his torch to further out.

“There’s the console,” Deke pointed to a control panel almost completely hidden by the debris from the roof. “Come on.” He dropped down first, followed by Tech. Then Hunter with Wrecker dropping last, the force of his extra mass created a ringing echo through the whole place.

One by one, they made it across, jumping from piece to piece until they reached the other side. Tech gestured to Wrecker and the pair of them lifted the durasteel strut, tossing it into the fetid quagmire where it sank down out of sight.

“I don’t even wanna know how deep that is,” Wrecker muttered to himself while Tech helped him shrug off Gonky.

The droid chatted a little and Tech inspected the console. Standard Imperial control panel, this would be easy enough to get data from. He pulled the lead from the console, plugging it into Gonky and feeding the battery droid’s power into it.

“Do your thing little guy,” Wrecker patted the droid.

“Well?” Hunter asked from the side, his torch roaming slowly over the swamp.

“Power has been restored. I will be able to download any information they left behind.” Tech plugged in his datapad to the console and started to cycle through the data.

“Something’s coming,” Hunter said slowly. “We need to make this quick.”

Wrecker went to stand next to him at the edge. “Is it more of those things?”

“No. Something…else.” Wrecker pulled out his knife, refusing to be caught unawares again.

Deke stood beside Tech. “I am familiar with this system, most of this data looks to be useless.”

“I am confident there will be something of note in here,” Tech informed him as he pressed another button and opened a separate file. “I just need time.”

A deep rumbling growl grated through the pit. The debris they were standing shifted and Tech adjusted his balance, spreading his legs wider. A large air bubble rose to the surface, exploding in a shower of rancid water and sludge.

Tech barely flinched when Hunter and Wrecker opened fire at whatever had snuck up behind him. Water splashed on his armour and the screen of the datapad, which he just wiped and carried on going through the data. The ground shifted beneath his feet, making him glance to the side. A huge tentacle rose out of the water, wider than Wrecker and set on crushing them all.

“Tech!” Hunter shouted, his armour lit up by the blaster bolts as he fired. “Times up!”

It wasn’t enough to go through everything, but Tech could definitely see his time had run out. Wrecker hastily grabbed Gonky, attaching him back onto the harness while Tech unplugged him from the console. He tucked the datapad away and pulled his own blasters. Deke was talking into his com, backing away, no doubt asking his brothers for help.

“Look out!” Wrecker shouted and the group split. A tentacle came crashing down, Tech’s eyes widened when he saw it wasn’t the limb of some creature. This was a thick vine, twisted and gnarled by whatever experiments it had been subjected to. Tech stood there for a moment, watching the vine rise up once more ready to crash down again.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Hunter’s shout made him move, following the others to climb up and out. The vine came down again, dislodging the durasteel they were climbing. Deke cried out. He began to fall but Hunter reacted quickly, lunging forward to grab his ankle before he went completely out of sight. Tech jumped over, getting to his knees to help pull the cadet up, shooting at the vine at the same time to deter it striking again.

“In here!” They followed Wrecker into another corridor only to be faced with more putrid water. A vine pursued, attempting to seek them out and only getting hot blaster bolts in return. It made the vine recoil, but Tech could see it did no real damage.

Hunter looked behind them, silently making the decision to jump to the floating debris and the others followed. They kept firing as more vines appeared out of the water.

“It’s everywhere!” Deke cried. Tech wasn’t beginning to see a way of this until they were bathed in light.

Light from the Marauder.

The cadets in the ship lowered the cables, but they couldn’t stop firing. Hunter threw one of the little vine crawlers off his arm and Tech shot it. They needed to get on the ship and move it out of the reach of the vines.

“Go!” Deke didn’t hesitate. Grabbing a cable the same time as Wrecker. They both started to lift, Hunter swiftly looked up, shoving Tech towards the cable and shot at a thick vine. He grabbed it, holding on with one hand and his feet, still shooting while Hunter jumped to grab the very end of the cable just in time.

“Osik.” A very fitting word Tech felt, for the current situation. Vines wrapped around the wings of his ship, his grip almost slipping on the cable as he climbed up as fast as he could. The engines struggled against the strength of the vines, flaring with a whine to keep the ship in the air.

“What is that?” Tech looked down at Wrecker’s gasp and realised his assumption at it being just a plant, was incorrect. A circle of serrated teeth rose ominously from the black water. Snarls rumbled through the air as they waved in anticipation of a meal.

“Aim for the mouth!” The cadets started shooting but it made no difference. The creature wasn’t letting go. Tech carried on climbing, heaving himself over the edge of the opening and into the ship.

“We need more firepower!” Hunter yelled through the com as the ship groaned, listing to the side and nearly throwing Tech and the cadets off their feet.

“Incoming.” Tech quickly dragged out the case of explosives, tossing one to a cadet who caught it easily. Mox helped Tech move the crate, giving one last push to ease it over the edge and straight into the open maw of the breast. Stak leaned out, activating the thermal detonator before dropping it down with the rest of the explosives.

Time seemed to stand still as the explosive beeped its count down, rattling round the teeth of the creature until it was finally sucked in with the rest. A bright yellow glow lit it up from within, billowing outwards with the force of the explosion and the vines dropped limply away from the ship.

Tech was already in the pilots chair, pulling away as Hunter and Wrecker pulled themselves up and into the ship.

“I’ve never been so happy to leave a planet before,” Wrecker moaned from the floor. The cadets worked together to free him of Gonky, gently easing to droid to his feet.

Hunter leaned against the hull. He pushed off his helmet, breathing heavily as he regarded his brother. “I dunno,” he said. “It didn’t seem that bad to me.” Wrecker laughed. Hysteria mingled with relief, and Hunter joined in. A sound that hadn’t been heard since you had been taken. He eventually helped Wrecker off the floor, who cracked his back and rolled his shoulders.

“I miss Stitch.” He said that every time his body ached, desperate for the moment he could ask you to do that thing you did with his neck and your hands.

Tech punched the ship into lightspeed, keen to start filtering through the data they had downloaded.

“Did you get much?” Deke asked eagerly.

“I am about to find out.” Tech plugged the datapad in and they both watched the information scroll onto the screen. “It will take me a while to sort through it all.”

“Kids! You hungry?” The boys gravitated to Wrecker who had got the ration box out in the cockpit and started sharing the food around.

Hunter watched them for a beat, a small relieved smile on his face before he turned to watch Tech. “Want some help?”

“It will not take me long,” Tech answered, adjusting his goggles and tapping on the controls of his datapad. “It keeps my mind occupied.”

Hunter nodded. He knew Tech needed this, needed to feel busy. The few days after you had been taken were Tech’s worst. But straight after Omega, he shut off completely. This visit to Setron had been the first time Hunter had finally seen an inkling of his brother shining through the blankness. It had been unnerving, like he was travelling with someone he didn’t know. Hunter supposed this was all new to them, these feelings. Tech most of all.

He walked through to the cockpit, listening to Wrecker tell the boys some tales from the war. He found himself relaxing, joining in with the details because Wrecker only seemed to remember the glorious explosions. They talked about the droids, their memories of Kamino. Because at the end of it all, it had been their home.

Hunter stiffened when Tech came through, the datapad in his hand and a look in his eye. “You found something?”

“I have,” Tech started. “But it could be nothing. I have scoured all the data downloaded, Hemlock transferred his entire base of operations and his experiments to a new location. He never recorded if Omega and Stitch were there, but he does mention a sector.”

“That’s great!” Wrecker’s face split into a beaming smile.

“Still means we have a lot of space to cover,” Hunter said. “But it’s something.”

“Yeah it is!” Stak stumbled under the weight of Wrecker’s joyful back slap.

“It is certainly a lead we cannot ignore,” Tech added.

“What about us?” Deke asked.

Hunter leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. “We’ll drop you three off someplace safe. There are good people there, they’ll take care of you.”

“We’re cadets without an army,” Mox sighed. “I don’t know where we fit anymore.”

“You have time to figure it out,” Hunter told them. “Make your own path. Be something other than a soldier.” The war was over. The Republic was finished. He could help these boys to live a normal life, something so many of the clones would never have the chance to experience for themselves.

“What about you?” Mox inquired.

“Our mission is not over yet.”

“Not until we have Omega and Stitch back on this ship,” Wrecker growled.

“Back where they belong,” Hunter stated firmly, meeting his brother’s eyes, both of them nodding in agreement.

“We could help…” Stak started but Hunter shook his head.

“You’ve suffered enough and this is our mission.”

“Why? Worried you’ll miss us,” Wrecker joked, nudging Deke hard enough so he stumbled into Mox.

“It doesn’t feel right,” Stak continued, his nose scrunching slightly. “To sit back and do nothing.”

“Ah, get used to it kid.” Wrecker kicked his leg up, planting it on the console and leaning back in the chair. “As soon as you see those blue waters and those big, big fish. You’ll never want to leave.” The boys all turned to him, asking questions in a jumbled mass that made the large clone chuckle to himself before he began to tell them all about Pabu.

[magic-is-something-we-create]

LAKIA K'RON - The Millennium Saga [Firebreathers ; Echoseers ; Goddess-Touched]

[Lakia's] gaze falls back to the coals, her head ducking just enough for the shadows to hide her expression. In the low light, the scarring on her face looks almost like magma. “Not much to tell,” she finally says, bitterness caking her tongue. “[Actaea] broke my spine before I had a chance to feel any of it, and twisted the knife anyway. Not a great way to wake up, that.” Guilt punches any lingering curiosity from my mind swifter than I can take a breath. For asking, for thinking, for not giving her an easy way out. I can’t find a single thing to say other than a weak, “I’m sorry.” She scoffs, meets my eyes. “You know, first time I ever heard her say that was after I got back up.” Her unscarred lips twist into a smirk that only ignites the anger behind her eyes. “Too bad the part of me that would’ve forgiven her was the one that stayed dead.”

Basics:

She/her - Cis girl Demiromantic Lesbian - 18 [~20 on Earth] Rill Ehlf - Plant Mage Dyslexic; ADHD- an CPTSD-coded.

Where she begins:

We first meet Lakia when she declares that she's commandeered her father's ship while he was away, demoting him to second mate and promoting Isa to first. That playful moment is over quickly, however, when she meets the rest of the party and immediately resorts to insults and vulgarities that only barely veil her awkwardness in the face of peers.

For a while, Ember assumes that's all she is: a vaguely abrasive, awkward girl with some anger issues and dreams of glory.

And then they see her in battle, and it chills them to their core.

She sinks a ship with a kelp-made kraken. She leaps into the fray with vicious glee instead of the desperation of the others. She kills without flinching, and she's still a child.

Soon, they realize that glory is not her dream.

Vengeance is.

What she finds herself confronting:

Her hatred for Actaea has only managed to strengthen in the months since she stole away from Impalfahr in the dead of night to follow her brother and father in exile. And though she fears her grandmother as any sane person should, eventually, her slights against family and the world at large become too large for Lakia to care about that fear anymore.

And if no one else is willing to deal with the impossible problem, well, she's already done the impossible twice.

She'll find a way to do it again.

And the stories they tell of her will be incredible.

Important connections:

Family: K'Ron Actaea (grandmother), Elar (father) and Isa. Rillmother Veratrum (32nd generation).

Friends: Lu'Syr Typha (she wants to be a Whiptail Knight like him, someday); eventually Dusk Timber, Quartz, Slate, and Iggy Meywin.

Rival: K'Syr Dawn (for taking her place as Lu'Syr Typha's squire)

Enemies: K'Ron Actaea (she wants Actaea dead more than anyone alive), Tieling of Nimia (for never noticing what Actaea did to them), every single person who helped Actaea (she has a list)

MUSIC

Themes - El Dorado by Thomas Bergersen and Two Steps From Hell, Hymn of the High Seas by Antti Martikainen, Iron Fable by Pauli Hausmann

Vibes - There Was Time by Koethe, Warbringer by TheFatRat, Everen Maxwell, and Lindsey Stirling, parents by YUNGBLUD