#jeks original

[jeksburyofficial]

A collection of comics I made for my advanced art course so far! Expect more in the future!

[asingularcoffeebean]

Tumblr user @thejeksburyguy, member of the The Glass Scientists fandom, publicly announced today that he condones murder

How dare he be such a cruel father to me I didn't even do anything

[redrobinhoods]

seconds and years | epilogue

AO3 Link | 1,300 words (approx) | Prologue, Chapter 18

Author Note: A big thank you to everyone who has read this fic and any of the other fics in this series! <3

I'm so excited to finally wrap Foxes and Senators up after just over two years of writing it, most of which I confess was finishing this fic. The last two years have changed my life for both the better and the worse and with the ending of this series, I can close that chapter in my life and move onto the next one.

It was hot on the rooftop, sunlight beating down onto reinforced plating as the man lay there, his rifle waiting at his side. But he liked the heat.

Down below, crowds bustled on the busy street. The work week was over for most beings, leaving them free to return home for a few days rest or, in one particular case, to grab a drink with buddies.

The comm on his wrist buzzed and he slowly brought the rifle to his shoulder, careful lest the setting sun catch the muzzle. He waited with crosshairs on the street corner, finger on the trigger-guard, for his target.

The man appeared less than a minute later.

The bounty hunter took in a slow breath as he tracked the target, exhaling as he pressed his finger to the trigger. When his breath stopped, he fired.

He pushed himself back from the edge of the building as the crowd began to panic, packing up the rifle out of sight from the street below. Before he could sling the rifle on his back he heard a shout from below.

“Here! Give him here!”

“We��ll take him to the medical center.”

From his perch, the bounty hunter could watch as the speeder took off towards the medical center. It would not reach it.

The bounty hunter was waiting when the speeder pulled up to the Misfit II and the two beings disembarked.

“Did you stop for caf or something?” Thire asked as they approached.

Ilven shook his head. “Got caught in a traffic jam, actually.”

“Apparently someone was assassinated and there’s a lot of beings freaking out.” Jek continued.

“An assassination?” Thire raised his brows in mock surprise. “The whole galaxy is going to shit.”

“Right? Give us a hand to get him in the cooler.”

-

Wolffe almost didn’t recognize the man approaching him. The red tattoo of the purge troopers that cut across the right side of his face had changed. The ‘45’ had been filled in, the square extended upwards into his hairline and downwards to meet with the line running down his cheek. Only the pixelation over his brow remained unchanged.

“You look well.” Thire said as he stopped before him.

Wolffe took a moment to take in the black light armor Thire wore before meeting his gaze. “So do you. Civvies suit you.”

Thire’s brows raised. “I don’t think either of us is wearing civvies, Wolffe.”

“Touché.” Wolffe had sold his stormtrooper armor for scrap, exchanging the credits it brought him for tactical clothing left over from the Separatist civilians who had resisted the early days of the Empire. Grey was grey, but the few grey shirts he had found in the exact shade of the 104th had been swiftly purchased.

Thire flicked his finger against Wolffe’s chest, a grin forming at the sound of the impact on a plastoid breastplate. “Subtle.”

Wolffe made a show of hiking his bag onto his shoulders. “Are we going to stand here all day?”

“I’m just enjoying the peace and quiet.” Thire laughed as they turned towards the Misfit II.

-

Fox couldn’t help the wide grin stretching across his face as the four commanders disembarked from the speeder. “You all made it.”

“We couldn’t reach a consensus on who to throw out the airlock.” Wolffe said, returning Fox’s grin as he embraced him. “I rescind all ‘silver fox’ jokes from the war, I can feel grey hair coming in.”

“Why do you think I let Stone and Thorn snatch those two up?” Fox said, looking towards Jek and Thire.

“Because you were too busy throwing Kilo into the bin.” Jek retorted as Fox threw his arms around the two of them.

Fox looked over their shoulders to see Ilven standing a polite distance back, watching them. Fox fixed him with a glare. “Get in here. Just because you’re a poor Corrie doesn’t mean you get to skimp on your duties.”

He could hear Wolffe and Riyo talking behind him as they tugged Ilven into the embrace.

“I hate you.” Ilven grumbled as he obliged.

“I will drown you in the lake.” Fox whispered in return, squeezing the three of them. His Corries. “Right after we chuck Jek in the bin, for old times’ sake.”

Jek’s shoulder shook in a chuckle. “I feel so loved.”

“And what do I get to suffer?” Thire asked as the embrace ended.

Fox frowned. “Therapy.”

-

It had been a long time since Fox had heard them laugh like this. Dinner had come and gone; they had fallen into old kitchen routines from the Misfit that had Riyo shaking her head from the countertop as she directed them with Jek laughing at her side. But the fog of tension that had been present on the ship was gone. Though the cooling evening air had brought its own fog with it, it stayed wrapped around the trees surrounding the small clearing, dancing among them in the light of the fire.

Riyo’s head lay in his lap and he stroked her hair idly as they talked. Thire and Ilven had taken up a similar position with the addition of the tookas, Thire’s head resting against the side of Ilven’s thigh, Astera purred on his chest as he stroked his hands through her yellow fur while Phengari slept, merely a white ball of fur, upon his shoulder. Not to be outdone, Wolffe had lain himself down with his head resting on Jek’s calf, feet nearly in the fire as Jek balanced small twigs from the ground around them on top of his head.

A year had passed by since he had last seen them. A year that had allowed him and Riyo to fall back into their old routine. They had saved enough to purchase the garage they had once rented, and their business had no signs of stopping soon. The first few months home, their days had been filled with repairs that had gone unfinished in their absence, weeks of broken and lagging equipment.

They had nearly missed the three-year anniversary of Fox’s death.

They hadn’t missed the two-year anniversary of Thire’s.

Wolffe had been the one to notice. He had said nothing the day they had decided to travel to Boonta, the day their starship had set before the moons of Iego. It had been brought to Fox’s attention only a few weeks ago, when Wolffe commed him with the idea of a reunion. Now Fox sat an armlength away from Thire, watching the light of the fire dancing through the curls in his hair. He would be all right.

They would all be all right.

Fox bent down to press a kiss to Riyo’s forehead as she laughed with Jek, Wolffe scowling at them. The Empire had failed to take this from them. The Empire had failed to keep any of them apart. Wolffe had brought them rumors of Cody’s movements and of a forming rebellion that kept the purge troopers occupied in the absence of Jedi. Thire had brought a list of bounties for imperial targets, some already claimed. Fox had shared his clean bill of health after the administration of the YMC-delta.

The Empire’s war machine was slowing as it met resistance. Perhaps that resistance would win, perhaps it would merely hold, perhaps it may only be delaying the inevitable. But, for now, they were safe.

Fox kept his gaze on Riyo’s face as the conversation continued to flow. She glowed in the light of the fire, the golden light dancing off the marks on her cheeks. For the first time, he truly accepted the future Numidian Prime held for them. The sleepless nights, the patter of small feet, a family. Not only brothers, but uncles to his children. Their children.

His oath for the Republic had been burned away when he had taken his vows with her, promises of ruin replaced by those of peace.

In that peace, it was time to build anew.

[inquartata30]

Tessellation: Chapter 40

Fandom: Mass Effect

Relationship(s): Original Asari Character | Thaia Kallistrate/Lexi T’Perro; Cora Harper/Janae (background)

Rating: M

Characters: Lexi T’Perro, Thaia Kallistrate, The Entire Tempest Crew, Lots of People from the Nexus, Also the Initiative People in General, And Some Outcasts, Everyone, Basically.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Mutual Pining, Not So Secret Crush, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst, Angst and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Longfic

Summary: After becoming fast best friends—if she’s sharing the jail cell with you, she’s your best friend—in the weeks before the Initiative’s departure from the Milky Way, Lexi and Thaia agree to resume their friendship in Andromeda. With Lexi assigned to the Hyperion and Thaia to the Nexus, they know it might be difficult to find each other again. Then everything goes to shit in the Heleus Cluster. In the mess the Initiative’s become and the mission to salvage it, they both have to recover who they were as they discover what they are.

Ark Paarchero, 2820. It was easy to forget—at least for Ryder—the sheer size of the Initiative’s arks. Without trams and elevators, it was a slow, unsettling slog through a ship sixteen football fields long containing two arkholds that were almost three football fields tall apiece. Plus each of those arkholds held thirty decks apiece. Ryder got tired just thinking about it. The dim standby lighting and the kett equipment scattered through the eerily empty corridors didn’t help it be less creepy, either. Another thing that didn’t help was the unease building up in her gut at not having heard from Thaia and Cora for the entire trip from arkhold to arkhold. Ryder and her team had finished their morning PT-like group run and drawn to a collective halt at the entrance to the cryobay containing the pods for Jeks Arlan and Vadim Escondar and still nothing. “We should’ve heard from Armali by now,” Ryder said as they walked through the doorway into the sterile, empty medical bay lit only by emergency lights. “What if they’re dead?” Drack shrugged. “Archon would’ve been bragging already. They’re fine.” “That doesn’t help me feel better.” “I dunno,” Peebee said, checking over equipment covered like it would have been during transit, labels and seals indicating an intact stasis state. “I think he has a pretty good point. Whenever the Archon gets one over on us, he doesn’t really keep it to himself.”

read the rest of Chapter 40 on AO3

[eriexplosion]

Clone Wars - Ambush

And for now, back to the very start!

Real talk, part of the reason I was putting this off is because it STILL gives me such conflicted feelings regarding the Jedi & the clones relationship. And about Yoda, who is not my favorite but I hesitate to say I DISLIKE him because I do think he has fascinating angles but also I want to dropkick him like a little green football much of the time. I don't tend to talk about him much because I get Rambly.

However, his turn will come in a second, first things first: VENTRESS. Honestly it's still hilarious to me how if I had actually watched this show as a kid this woman would have single handedly led me to my sexuality like 7 years earlier than I managed it.

One of the clones kneeling to present Yoda with the communicator is SO cute. When the clones interact with beings much smaller than them........... I feel. But okay the first Complicated Feeling with Yoda is that I genuinely like him during the moment when he's marveling over the beauty of the moon and being a little playful. Kind of like I genuinely like him in the Original Trilogy when he's being a touch senile. Which just drives home how much I do not like him during most of his serious moments where his whole reputation for wisdom is used mostly to lead the plot around or say shit like his 'when our loved ones die we should be happy for them' advice to Anakin which, shockingly, didn't improve his Anxieties.

And he acknowledges the clones as individuals! It's a really sweet scene actually, and it starts the show out with the confirmation that yes these are people, they are full people with individual personalities. And then it gets helpfully ignored and Yoda never shows any concern about the clones as individuals again. Especially with the decision to retcon Jek in as one of the clones that Yoda straight up decapitates without pause or reflection.

Likeeee, this really undermines the feeling of the scene and sets an entirely different tone for Yoda's character to me, because it's such a strong moment in episode, so for it to never really come up with Yoda in particular again it's just. It's a weird decision, character tone wise.

Anyway this kind of ended up making me more resentful of Yoda in the long run? Because we get the immediate and obvious proof that he knows the clones are individuals, all of them unique and valuable, and then he proceeds to keep leading the Jedi through using them as tools for the rest of the war and ends up executing one of these same clones years later without pause or concern. If they had threaded this through a little more and given us more scenes like this it might not feel so stark? But that's also a big issue with the writing of the Jedi in general, where they lightly brush against the moral issues of the clones and then suddenly go "OH LOOK, LIGHTSABERS" and ignore it for 20 episodes.

My headcanon way of interpreting this is that Yoda was still very open early on but soon enough he starts realizing how many clones are going to die in this war. Each of them unique in the force. And since he's not really willing to push back against the Senate, for a variety of reasons, his other option is to just. Retreat back emotionally from the clones as individuals. Can't be consumed by negativity if you simply refuse to feel those bad things!

That said 'the force resides in all lifeforms' - increasingly loving this kind of drop in now that we know anyone can learn to use the force to some degree.

Another thing I enjoy is that I think that Yoda is actually really served design wise by the early season TCW animation. He looks good when he's stylized in the wood carving fashion.

This is much more of a flashy fight episode than a plot one, but any time clones are onscreen of course I can collect a pile of Thoughts about them. We also get a lot of battle droid comedy relief because they may be godawful fighters but at least they're funny. I think it does work better several episodes into the watch than it did as the very first episode, because watching the TCW movie (which was mostly excuses for long fights) and THEN this was a slog, but interspersing with other episodes that had a bit more substance to them made it feel like less of one.

Still. Vibrating about the clones even more in this watch because of having Hidden Enemy be so early on and calling attention to the clones horrifying situation makes my complicated feelings on Yoda acknowledging their individuality once and never again SO much stronger. Just. GAH. MY BOYS?

On a final note. Shout out to this fucking. Face. Ventress makes when she gets her lightsabers back.

Ventress the instant she's called 'young one': >:<

[panther-os]

"so which boys are back in town?" well.... almost all of them?

this was a very nice little set up for the finale. i was worried we were gonna get another plot heavy episode and the end would be super rushed, but that's not the case. they even name dropped the title of episode 15 which had me immediately like 👀

tarkin is a bastard as always. crosshair refusing to give up the batch - including omega - breaks my heart. i also love how they show how fucked up he is by the torture by the way he misses shots - two of them. his whole thing is that he never misses. i'm also getting the sense that emerie only has this job because it pays the bills (her line about her access card not getting crosshair outside makes me think she's not even free to leave) and that she might be an ally next week.

it was good to see riyo with an obviously established halfway home setup in the martez' garage for deserted or rescued clones, but there's still no cody :( and rex was only there in spirit. no phee this episode either which hurted my little tephee shipper heart.

i'm super glad we got to see new clones! i would already die for fireball and the fact that he's wearing 41st ranger armor (like gree and jek in rots) and he and howzer clearly know each other has me 👀 about howzer possibly being assigned there before ryloth.

"fireball" also is the name of a clone pilot captain in the 501st's gold squadron. he showed up in clone wars gambit and we know he had bright red hair with a black streak, liked to play turbodarts, and went by fib for short. so it could also be that he wasn't originally a pilot, was crosstrained, and then got transferred back to ground in the 41st later in the war and so we have a fifth captain to add to keeli, rex, howzer, and wilco's fanon squad.

(i would also die for nemec but i forgot his name and was consumed by fireball's wiki page and various writer-of-fanfic-shaped thoughts)

it was also great to see gregor wearing his gold again and fucking bizarre to see echo without a kama.

speaking of echo, his exchange with hunter was enlightening. echo's really intense about this, even moreso than before, and part of me wonders if that's because he's doing this because fives would, because he's come across so many apathetic brothers he tried to recruit and defaulted to the schpiel, or because both.

by far the best moment, though - even better than tech teaching omega to fly and the "tech turn" - was omega throwing herself into echo's arms and the way he just caught and held her. it's so obvious he misses her too. that's his kid your honor.

this is... actually my new favorite episode, just barely ahead of last week's.

[clonemedickix]

It’s by far not the best Echo drawing out there, but man his eyes captivate regardless. Love me some Echo. And speaking of, just posted up a new chapter on AO3 🥰

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence | Adult content | Sexual Content | UNDER 18 DNI

Category: F/M

Fandoms: Star Wars - All Media Types Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon) Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media TypesGame of Thrones (TV) The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Relationship: CT-7567 | Rex/Original Female Character

Characters: CT-7567 | Rex | CC-2224 | Cody | CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo |CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives | Clone Troopers (Star Wars) | Clone Force 99 | Bad BatchHunter (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) | Tech (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) | Crosshair (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) | Wrecker (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) | Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) | Cut Lawquane | Suu Lawquane | CC-3636 | Wolffe | CC-5576-39 | Gregor | Cid (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)

Additional Tags: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions | Slow Romance | Adventure & Romance | WarPost-Star Wars: The Clone Wars | References to Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) | Clone Trooper Culture (Star Wars) | Clones | Inspired by Game of Thrones | Dragons | Inspired by The Lord of the Rings | The Silmarillion References | Dragon Riders | Battle | Goddesses | Swords | Lightsabers (Star Wars) | Jedi Culture & Tradition (Star Wars) | Jedi Code (Star Wars) | Explicit Sexual Content | Sexual Content | Implied Sexual Content | Sexual Tension | Sexual Humor | Blood and Injury | Blood and Violence | Serious Injuries | Medical Procedures | Medical Trauma | Explicit Language | Mild Language | Medical Professionals | Emergency Medical Technicians | Medical Conditions | Medical Jargon | Original Character(s) | LoveLove Triangles

Okay guys it’s a hard chapter. I’ll just preface it that way - covers the loss of Tech

Excerpt:

When he landed, Echo and Boost went over the data again, hoping they could make some headway with the encryption. “I don’t know, Echo. You probably could have saved yourself some time and just gone straight to Tech with this.” Boost looked pretty defeated, looking at the technology and coding before him. “This is similar to our old encryption, but definitely more advanced. Maybe if I had a lot more time, I could crack it, but Tech would be far faster.” Echo sighed and nodded, knowing Boost was right. He stood and walked out of the hut where they kept their main computer and radio system, a disgusted, tired look on his face. He brushed his hand over his eyes, covering them for a moment, then decided to go look for Lara.

He found her on the basketball court, playing ball with Jek and Shaeeah, while Suu Lawquane watched with a smile from the sideline. Lara was dribbling the ball, bent over in a rather aggressive stance, watching the two children with careful eyes, looking for an opening in their defense to charge past them with the ball. The two kids were giggling and smiling, watching her, waiting for her to make her move, and when Lara finally did, they both grabbed her in a tight hug, holding on for their lives as Lara dragged them to the goal, laughing all the way. Echo couldn’t help but smile at the scene; she really did have a way with kids that was heartwarming. “Y’all are both such little cheaters - this isn’t football!!!”, Lara laughed helplessly. She stood and turned to see Echo there, next to Suu, his arms folded over his chest with a bemused look on his face. Lara handed the basketball to Shaeeah gravely and said “I need to go talk to Echo over there. You two practice hard, okay?” Lara straightened and breezed over to Echo with a happy smile, her gait and posture one of complete contentment, albeit somewhat unbalanced - she looked like she was smuggling a basketball under her shirt these days.

Echo smiled back at her, turning to intercept her so they could walk and talk. Lara was really heavy with child now, many months into her pregnancy. Everyone smiled that saw her when she walked by, her maternal glow lighting her like a candle from within. She hadn’t stopped going on missions as yet, but she’d basically stopped a couple months back, delegating the leadership more fully to Primer and Boost. She had promoted Primer to Captain (he’d deserved it for years, and really she felt herself a bad leader for that oversight), and Boost to Lieutenant as well, then brought along a couple of new sergeants out of necessity, by name of Falco and Phoenix. Cody had started taking his own small contingent of Dragons and clones out on missions, as did Rex. Overall, the Dragon Company had only ever consisted of one hundred clones, serving under General Lin and Primer. Now, they usually found themselves in groups of five, answering to whichever leader they got assigned to that day. Lara had taught them nothing, if not flexibility. Whether she liked it or not, Lara found herself being pushed firmly and lovingly back from active leadership by the clones, all of them naturally wanting to protect their beloved leader and her valuable baby.

“What’s up, Echo?” Lara asked as they walked along. She could tell something was troubling him; she could sense it within her even if it hadn’t been written all over his face.

“We got a new group of clones out - they’re settling in with the quarter master now - one of them even brought a girl with him.” He said this with a little smile and glanced over at Lara, who smiled back at the news. It was always good to hear that the clones were finding love and making families. “I was able to get a snippet of information off the computer of the ship we raided to rescue them. But I can’t crack the encryption on it.” He looked off over the sea, the irritation plain on his handsome face. “I have a very bad feeling about all of this, where they’re sending our brothers. I don’t know what it is, but for the first time I’m really a little scared.”

They’d reached Lara’s favorite spot on the hill, and stopped to look out over the fabulous sunset. “What are you afraid of, my Echo?” She asked him quietly, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked over at him, the tiniest smile on the corner of her lips - she still called him that, after all this time.

“I don’t know. With all the secrecy, I feel like there has to be some element of disposal to it. They’re taking us clones, and killing us off somewhere, where no one will say anything, hoping no one notices until it’s all over with. And who knows what they are doing to them there, before they’re killed? There have always been a lot of people in this galaxy who don’t even see us as people, so why would they care if they’re experimenting on us and then killing us?” His words made sense, and his sense of foreboding affected Lara, too.

“How are you going to get the information off the disk you made? I assume you already went to Boost with it.” She knew Boost was pretty good with code; if he and Echo together couldn’t break it, that really only left one option. And one barrier.

“I’m going to have to get Tech to look at it.” He said it a little reluctantly; he hadn’t seen Omega since he’d parted ways with the Batch on Coruscant. Tech and Wrecker had both told him how much she missed him, and how hard the adjustment had been for her, without him. To a large extent it was one reason the Batch hadn’t returned to Nidhogg for a good while; they didn’t want to upset the girl further. He saw Lara sigh, place her hand on her belly and then move to sit a bit heavily on the ground. It was strange seeing her moving in a slightly unbalanced way, her typically fit and trim figure distorted by the shape of the baby.

“Sorry, Echo, I just need to sit for a minute. If I don’t keep moving constantly, this thing makes my back annoyed,” she said as she rubbed her belly, a slightly amused, but strangely loving look on her face. Lara crossed her legs under herself for comfort, and watched as Echo sat with her immediately. “I’m sure Tech won’t refuse you. And you know Omega will be overjoyed to see you. Wrecker told me just the other day she’s been doing pretty well lately - Tech is even giving her flying lessons.” She smiled at Echo, the mischief fully apparent in her eyes. She could just imagine what that looked like - she’d been completely stunned that Tech could pull his fingernails out of the ship’s yoke long enough to trust Omega with the controls.

Echo laughed as well. It didn’t surprise him in the least that Wrecker had maintained contact with Lara. What had surprised him more was that Wrecker hadn’t put up more of a fight about wanting to stay on Nidhogg with the Dragon Company, so that he could be closer to his General. “Well, I might have go see that for myself. I have missed Omega. I wish Hunter had been more amenable to staying here. I hear they really like it on that island.”

Lara snorted a little. “I think it’s funny how Hunter ran from one beach side home to another. But yes, from everything Wrecker has told me, they like it on Pabu. And they’re eagerly taking bets behind Tech’s back about whether he’s going to ever make a move on that Phee chick. I need to meet this woman; anyone who’s able to get Tech’s attention off his data pad for more than sixty seconds is a hero in my book.”

Echo looked at her with an ironic expression. “The man used to stare at you for hours, Lara, like you were a mystery he had to solve. I think you already won that particular fight.”

“Well, everybody knows I’m a hero in my own book, Echo.” She gave him a mockingly serious look and then smiled and laughed. “I hope for his sake he actually does go for her. You all deserve happiness with someone who’ll love you back…” Lara looked at Echo very meaningfully while he gazed back with a ‘what?’, look on his own face.

“I do have someone that loves me back.” Echo pointed out.

“I mean physically, Echo.” Lara rolled her eyes at him and looked off in the distance. Silence reigned between them for a while, as Echo tried to come up with a rejoinder that would make sense, and put the argument to rest.

“I…don’t need that Lara. I can still feel the touch of you on my skin, the taste of you on my lips. The memories of our time together were part of what kept me alive on Skako Minor. There is no other touch I want, if I can’t have yours.” Echo reached over and took her hand with his, his expression serious, if not a little sad. “Letting you go was the hardest, but best choice I made in my life, and I’m pretty sure if I had to do it all over again, I’d make the same choice.” Lara met his eyes, her face sad, but understanding. She knew Echo would always be hers; she wondered quietly sometimes if she’d ruined him for others, tainting him with her love. Echo sensed the thought within her - he could see it on her face as well. “Hey. Lara.” He squeezed her hand softly. “I’ll always be the first man you made love to - really, truly made love to, in your long life. Rex can’t take that one away from me.” He gave her a slightly salacious smirk and she laughed.

“Very true, Echo. Touché.” She smiled suddenly, her gaze going unfocused, and looked at her belly, as if listening to something within her. Lara reached over for his hand and clamped it onto a spot on her abdomen, her smile so beautiful and quietly happy he stared, speechless. Echo felt a sudden nudge against his the palm of his hand and his focus changed to their joined fingers, his face going blank with shock. He looked up at Lara carefully, the question in his eyes obvious. “Yes. That was the baby.” Lara put some pressure on his hand, pressing it down a bit on that spot and he felt a sudden sharp jab from within her. Lara laughed. “It kicked you,” she giggled softly. Echo wished for a heartbreaking moment he still had two hands, so he could put the other on her as well. The thought flashed through him like a flare, but the after burn of it was clear on his face. Lara reached her hand up to his cheek and pressed her forehead against his, wishing she could make him see - make him know - how very unchanged her love was for him, no matter what the Techno Union had done. She had no words at that moment, so she stayed silent, he content to feel her touch, his hand resting against her belly, feeling the sudden swirls of movement within. Echo had always known Lara was a miracle, that everything about her was miraculous; here was further proof in his mind.

Eventually Echo removed his hand, and the two settled in to just sitting with each other quietly. Suddenly Lara spoke, the laughter just noticeable in her voice. “Do you remember that time I woke Fives up with a bag of frozen marbles down the front of his briefs?” Echo’s head whipped around, his eyes startled but already alight with remembered hilarity at the incident. Fives had been notoriously hard to wake up in the morning, often setting his alarm to full volume, then sleeping through it anyway. It drove Lara nuts, listening to it for long minutes waiting on Fives to notice it.

“I can still remember the sound of his head hitting the bottom of my bunk!” He snorted and then burst out laughing, Lara doing the same.

Lara just about couldn’t speak for giggling. “I swear to god he literally levitated off the bed…” She was laughing so hard she leaned forward, placing her hand on the ground to support herself, shaking from the memory.

“He screamed like a little girl - it was the funniest sound I’ve heard in my life.” Echo felt tears run down his cheeks, gasping for air, seeing Lara was also crying with laughter. “Lord, Lara. Those were simpler days.”

She took a deep, steadying breath, suddenly burst into giggles again, and covered her face as a reflex. “Whooo… okay. I’m done. Okay.” Lara looked at Echo helplessly and smiled. “They really were, weren’t they?”

Echo could still feel a laugh or two threatening to escape, but he realized - this was the first time he’d even so much as heard Lara mention Fives’ name since Floston. They’d had so many good memories together - the nights at 79s when they went dancing, the evenings they spent in the Dragon Cave watching TV shows and movies from Earth on her iPad. Days spent helping her dream up naughty pranks to pull on Master Windu, and what horrible supplies she could route through the quarter master to his office. Granted, the pranks had mostly been Lara and Fives, but Echo had usually been there to listen and shake his head at them. He felt Lara go silent and looked over at her, seeing the sudden swell of missing Fives hit her; it was like watching the sun be covered by dark clouds. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a breath and tried to smile bravely, but Echo could see how the loss of Fives still stung her like a near fresh wound.

[prapasara]

Discovering 9 Different Varieties of Thai Rice 🌾

Have you ever wondered what makes Thai cuisine so enchanting ?

Perhaps it's the delicate balance of flavors, the aromatic herbs and spices, or maybe it's the humble grain that serves as the foundation of every meal: rice.

Join us on a journey through Thailand's vibrant landscapes as we uncover the stories behind ninet unique varieties of Thai rice, each with its own history, flavor, and special place in the heart of Thai culture.

1. Khao Hom Mali 105

First on our journey is Khao Hom Mali 105, perhaps the most celebrated of Thailand's rice varieties. With its long, slender grains and an enchanting aroma reminiscent of pandan leaves, this jasmine rice isn't just a staple—it's a symbol of Thai heritage.

Khao Hom Mali 105 originated in Bang Khla District, Chachoengsao province in 1954. This variety was officially registered as Khao Dawk Mali 105 in 1959. Its delicate fragrance and soft texture when cooked make it the perfect companion to spicy curries and stir-fries.

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2. Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula

Next, we venture to the vast plains of Thung Kula Rong Hai, spanning over 2 million rai (aroung 0.79 acres) across five provinces: Surin, Roi Et, Sisaket, Yasothon, and Maha Sarakham where Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula rice is grown. A premium jasmine rice variety celebrated for its exceptional fragrance and quality. Originally, the Thung Kula Rong Hai plain was arid. However, through land development efforts by government and other organizations, the area has become fertile again and is now a major producer of Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula.

When cooked, the rice is soft, fluffy, and exudes a natural sweetness. This variety has even earned Geographical Indication (GI) status, marking it as unique to this region.

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3. Khao Sang Yod

Khao Sang Yod, originated from Phatthalung Province is a nutritious rice with long grains that range from white and red to dark red. Khao Sang Yod is renowned for its exceptionally high nutritional content. When cooked, the rice becomes chewy, exceptionally soft and maintains its tenderness even when cooled.

Khao Sang Yod Muang Phatthalung is the first rice variety of Thailand that has been registered as Geographical Indication (GI) in 2016.

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4. Khao Riceberry

Introducing Riceberry, a modern gem in Thailand's rice repertoire. This purple-hued rice is a crossbreed between Khao Hom Mali 105 and a local black rice (Khao Jao Hom Nil) variety, developed by the Rice Science Center at Kasetsart University.

With its slightly chewy texture and mild, nutty flavor, Riceberry is not only delicious but also a nutritional powerhouse—rich in antioxidants like anthocyanin, fiber, and essential vitamins. It's become a favorite among health enthusiasts and gourmet chefs alike.

Did you know that the deep purple color of Riceberry comes from its high anthocyanin content, the same antioxidant found in blueberries.

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5. Khao Mun Poo

Khao Mun Poo, also known as Thai red rice, named for its distinctive reddish-orange hue that resembles the color of crab fat—'Mun Poo' translates to 'crab fat' in Thai. This rice offers a soft, slightly sticky texture when cooked, with a subtle earthy flavor.

Khao Mun Poo is cherished for both its taste and health benefits. The distinctive orange-red hue is attributed to its high levels of carotenoids, which are antioxidants that play a vital role in maintaining optimal eye health.

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6. Khao Jek Chuey Sao Hai

As we continue our journey, we arrive in the Sao Hai district of Saraburi province, home to Khao Jek Chuey Sao Hai, a rice variety steeped in legend and tradition. With long, firm grains and a distinctive taste, this rice is less sticky than typical Thai varieties, making it perfect for fried rice and dishes where separate grains are desired. Historically, this rice was favored by Chinese traders.

Khao Jek Chuey Sao Hai also earned Geographical Indication (GI) status.

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3 Popular Thai Sticky Rice Varieties

1. Khao Niao Kor Khor 6

Venturing into the realm of sticky rice, we first encounter Khao Niao Kor Khor 6 (RD6). Developed by Thailand's Rice Department (hence the 'Kor Khor'), this variety features short, plump grains that become wonderfully sticky when cooked. Its exceptional stickiness makes it ideal for forming into balls to dip into dishes like som tum or Nam Jim Jaew (Thai BBQ dipping sauce).

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2. Khao Niao Dam

Khao Niao Dam, or black sticky rice, an eye-catching grain with a deep purple-black hue. When cooked, it transforms into a glossy, sticky delight with a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. Rich in antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, this rice is as nutritious as it is delicious. It's often used in Thai desserts like black sticky rice pudding or combined with coconut milk for a luscious treat.

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3. Khao Niao Khiaw Ngu

Lastly, we explore Khao Niao Khiaw Ngu, intriguingly named 'snake fang glutinous rice' due to its slender, pointed grains. This variety offers a delicate aroma and is slightly less sticky than other glutinous rice types, resulting in a soft, chewy texture when cooked. It's ideal for dishes that require a balance between stickiness and grain separation, like certain traditional sweets or for making steamed sticky rice, a key ingredient in the renowned mango sticky rice. Cultivated mainly in northern Thailand, this rice carries cultural significance in local ceremonies.

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As we've journeyed through the rich tapestry of Thai rice varieties, it's clear that these grains are more than just food—they're the embodiment of Thailand's culture. Some are newly developed from the wisdom of the Thai people, adapting to meet the demands of modern consumption trends.

From the fragrant fields of Khao Hom Mali to the vibrant hues of Khao Riceberry, each variety tells a story of the land and its people. So next time you savor a Thai dish, remember that the humble rice at its heart carries generations of tradition and flavor, answering the question of what truly makes Thai cuisine so enchanting.

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ชวนรู้จัก 9 สายพันธุ์ข้าวไทย ดังไกลไปทั่วโลก

ทุกท่านเคย���ึกสงสัยไหมว่า นอกจากวิธีการปรุงอาหารไทยและส่วนผสมอย่างสมุนไพรและเครื่องเทศแล้ว อะไรคือส่วนประกอบสำคัญที่ทำให้อาหารไทยเป็นที่นิยมได้มากขนาดนี้ ?

องค์ประกอบสำคัญในแทบจะทุกเมนูอาหารไทยที่ขาดไม่ได้ คือ ข้าว ที่เปรียบเสมือนพื้นฐานของอาหารไทย

ในโพสนี้เพจ Thai SELECT ขอชวนทุกท่านมาร่วมรู้จัก 9 สายพันธุ์ข้าวไทยที่ดังไกลไปทั่วโลกด้วยกัน

1. ข้าวหอมมะลิ 105

ข้าวหอมมะลิ 105 เป็นสายพันธุ์ข้าวที่มีชื่อเสียงมากของประเทศไทย เป็นที่ต้องการของตลาด ขายได้ราคาดี ด้วยจุดเด่นที่ตัวเมล็ดข้าวสารมีลักษณะเรียวยาวสวย และมีกลิ่นหอมที่ชวนให้นึกถึงกลิ่นของใบเตย เมื่อนำมาหุง ตัวข้าวจะมีความนุ่มเหนียว และมีกลิ่นหอมมาก

ข้าวหอมมะลิ 105 มีแหล่งกำเนิดจากอำเภอบางคล้า จังหวัดฉะเชิงเทรา เมื่อปี พ.ศ. 2497 และได้รับการจดทะเบียนอย่างเป็นทางการในชื่อของ "ข้าวดอกมะลิ 105" เมื่อปี พ.ศ. 2502 และด้วยจุดเด่นของกลิ่นที่หอมและเนื้อสัมผัสนุ่ม จึงเหมาะเป็นอย่างยิ่งกับการทานคู่เมนูประเภทแกงไทยและผัดต่าง ๆ

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2. ข้าวหอมมะลิทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้

ข้าวหอมมะลิทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้ เป็นหนึ่งในข้าวหอมมะลิชั้นเลิศของไทย ซึ่งจะปลูกในพื้นที่ทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้ ที่ราบขนาดใหญ่กว่า 2 ล้านไร่ ที่ครอบคลุมพื้นที่ 5 จังหวัด ได้แก่ จังหวัดสุรินทร์ ร้อยเอ็ด ศรีสะเกษ ยโสธร และมหาสารคามเท่านั้น โดยข้าวสายพันธุ์นี้มีชื่อเสียงในด้านกลิ่นหอมและคุณภาพยอดเยี่ยม ซึ่งแต่เดิมสภาพแวดล้อมในพื้นที่ทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้นั้น มีสภาพแห้งแล้ง ผืนดินแตกระแหง แต่ด้วยการพัฒนาที่ดินจากส่วนราชการและหน่วยงานต่าง ๆ ส่งผลให้สามารถพลิกฟื้นผืนดินให้กลับมาเขียวชอุ่ม เป็นแหล่งผลิตข้าวหอมพิเศษที่ไม่มีที่ใดเหมือน โดยตัวเมล็ดข้าวเมื่อหุงสุกจะมีความนุ่มฟู และมีกลิ่นหอมเด่นตามธรรมชาติ

ทุกท่านทราบไหมว่า ข้าวหอมมะลิทุ่งกุลาร้องไห้ ยังได้รับสถานะสิ่งบ่งชี้ทางภูมิศาสตร์ (GI) ทำให้เป็นข้าวที่มีเอกลักษณ์เฉพาะในภาคอีสานของไทยอีกด้วย

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3. ข้าวสังข์หยด

ข้าวสังข์หยด เป็นข้าวสายพันธุ์พื้นเมือง ที่มีแหล่งปลูกดั้งเดิมจากจังหวัดพัทลุง ข้าวสังข์หยดถือเป็นข้าวที่มีคุณค่าทางอาหารสูงมาก ตัวเมล็ดข้าวมีลักษณะเรียวยาว และมีเยื่อหุ้มเมล็ดสีขาวปนแดงถึงแดงเข้ม เมื่อหุงสุก ข้าวจะมีความนุ่มมาก และยังสามารถคงความนุ่มได้อยู่แม้จะเย็นตัวลงแล้ว

ข้าวสังข์หยด ของเมืองพัทลุง ยังเป็นข้าวสายพันธุ์แรกของประเทศไทยที่ได้รับการรับรองสถานะสิ่งบ่งชี้ทางภูมิศาสตร์ (GI) ในปี 2549 ส่งผลให้เป็นข้าวที่ได้รับความนิยมอย่างมาก

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4. ข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี่

ข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี่ อาจเปรียบได้กับเพชรเม็ดงามในวงการข้าวของไทย ข้าวสีม่วงนี้เป็นการผสมข้ามสายพันธุ์ระหว่างข้าวหอมมะลิสายพันธุ์ 105 และข้าวเจ้าดำ (ข้าวเจ้าหอมนิล) พัฒนาโดยมหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์

ด้วยเนื้อสัมผัสที่หนึบเล็กน้อยพร้อมด้วยรสชาติหอมกลิ่นถั่วอ่อน ๆ จึงทำให้ข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี่ ไม่เพียงแต่มอบความอร่อยคู่กับจานอาหารไทย แต่ยังอุดมไปด้วยคุณค่าทางโภชนาการที่สูง มีสารต้านอนุมูลอิสระอย่างแอนโทไซยานิน ไฟเบอร์ และวิตามินที่จำเป็น ทำให้ข้าวสายพันธุ์ใหม่ชนิดนี้ กลายเป็นที่ชื่นชอบของกลุ่มผู้บริโภคยุคใหม่ที่ใส่ใจสุขภาพ

ทุกท่านทราบไหมว่า “สีม่วงเข้ม” ของข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี่ เป็นสีที่เกิดมาจากธรรมชาติ เกี่ยวเนื่องกับปริมาณแอนโทไซยานินสูง (รงค์วัตถุหรือสารสี) ซึ่งเป็นสารต้านอนุมูลอิสระเดียวกับที่พบในบลูเบอร์รี่ นั่นเอง

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5. ข้าวมันปู / ข้าวแดง

ข้าวมันปู หรือที่รู้จักกันว่า "ข้าวแดง" ได้รับชื่อนี้จากสีแดงส้มที่โดดเด่น คล้ายกับมันปู เนื้อข้าวนุ่ม เหนียวนิด ๆ เมื่อหุงสุกจะมีรสชาติออกธรรมชาติ มีความเฝื่อน ๆ เล็กน้อย

ข้าวมันปูนั้น ได้รับความนิยมทั้งในด้านรสชาติและคุณค่าทางโภชนาการ ซึ่งสีแดงส้มของข้าวมันปู มาจากสารแคโรทีน ที่มีอยู่สูงในเมล็ดซึ่งเป็นสารต้านอนุมูลอิสระที่ช่วยบำรุงสายตาได้ดี

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6. ข้าวเจ๊กเชยเสาไห้

หนึ่งในสายพันธุ์ข้าวพื้นเมืองในภาคกลางของไทยที่มีชื่อเสียงมาจากอำเภอเสาไห้ จังหวัดสระบุรี ด้วยลักษณะพิเศษของเมล็ดข้าวที่ยาว แข็ง และเมื่อหุงสุกแล้วจะนุ่มร่วน ไม่แฉะ ไม่แข็งกระด้าง และมีความเหนียวน้อยกว่าข้าวสายพันธุ์ไทยทั่วไป จึงทำให้เหมาะสำหรับใช้ไปทำเมนูข้าวผัด โดยในอดีต ข้าวชนิดนี้ได้รับความนิยมอย่างมากจากพ่อค้าชาวจีน

ข้าวเจ๊กเชยเสาไห้ เป็นอีกหนึ่งสายพันธุ์ข้าวไทยที่ได้รับการรับรองสถานะสิ่งบ่งชี้ทางภูมิศาสตร์ (GI)

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ชวนส่อง 3 สายพันธุ์ข้าวเหนียวไทยยอดนิยม

1. ข้าวเหนียว กข 6

ข้าวเหนียว กข 6 ถูกพัฒนาโดยกรมการข้าวของประเทศไทย (ดังนั้นจึงมีชื่อย่อว่า 'กข') สายพันธุ์นี้มีเมล็ดสั้น อวบอ้วน ที่จะเหนียวหนึบเมื่อหุงสุก โดยความเหนียวที่เป็นจุดเด่นนี้เอง จึงทำให้เหมาะสำหรับการปั้นเป็นก้อนเพื่อทานคู่กับส้มตำ หรือจิ้มกับน้ำจิ้มแจ่วสูตรจัดจ้าน

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2. ข้าวเหนียวดำ

ข้าวเหนียวดำ หรือข้าวก่ำเป็นข้าวที่มีเมล็ดสีม่วงจนไปถึงดำเข้ม เมื่อหุงสุก จะกลายเป็นข้าวเหนียวที่มีลักษณะมันวาว มีรสหวานเล็กน้อยและรสหอมถั่ว ข้าวเหนียวสายพันธุ์นี้ อุดมไปด้วยสารต้านอนุมูลอิสระ โดยเฉพาะแอนโทไซยานิน โดยข้าวเหนียวชนิดนี้มักนิยมใช้ในขนมไทยอย่างข้าวเหนียวดำเปียก หรือนำไปทานคู่กับน้ำกะทิสำหรับของหวานก็ได้เช่นกัน

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3. ข้าวเหนียวเขี้ยวงู

จุดที่ทำให้ข้าวเหนียวไทยสายพันธุ์นี้เป็นที่สนใจ คือตัวลักษณะของเมล็ดที่เรียวยาวและแหลม คล้ายเขี้ยวงู จึงเป็นที่��าของชื่อที่เรียกว่า "ข้าวเหนียวเขี้ยวงู" นั่นเอง

ข้าวเหนียวสายพันธุ์นี้มีกลิ่นหอมอ่อน ๆ และเหนียวน้อยกว่าข้าวเหนียวชนิดอื่น ๆ เมื่อหุงสุกจะให้เนื้อสัมผัสเหนียวนุ่ม เมล็ดเรียงตัวสวย ไม่เละ จึงเหมาะสำหรับการนำไปทำ ข้าวเหนียวมูน ในเมนูข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง หรือเมนูขนมไทยอื่น ๆ โดยข้าวเหนียวสายพันธุ์นี้นิยมปลูกมากในภาคเหนือของไทย

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หากทุกท่านอ่านจนถึงตรงนี้ เราคงจะเห็นได้ชัดว่าข้าวสายพันธุ์ไทยยอดนิยมเหล่านี้เป็นผลผลิตที่สะท้อนไปถึงวัฒนธรรมและวิถีชีวิตของคนไทยที่เกี่ยวข้องกับภาคการเกษตรมาแต่ช้านาน หรือข้าวสายพันธุ์ที่คิดค้นมาใหม่มาจากภูมิปัญญาของคนไทย ที่ปรับตัวรับกับเทรนด์ความต้องก��รบริโภคสมัยใหม่

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#Thaifood #ThaiSELECT

#DITP #กรมส่งเสริมการค้าระหว่างประเทศ

#ThaiCuisine #อาหารไทย #ข้าวไทย #ThaiRice

[danger-xylophones]

For Freedom and Our Brothers Prologue (Captain Rex x OC)

(The Ice General Rewrite)

original gif posted by ahsokastars

warnings: communal showers, swearing

masterlist

The showers were relatively hot this time, a relief to the soldiers and general who were indulging in the soothing properties of the water after a rough battle. To Linn's left was Jekyll who silently worked on scrubbing down, ignoring the chatter of his brothers. And to her right was Commander Fritz who was keeping the conversation flowing between the exhausted brothers.

A loud peal of laughter rippled through the gathered men just as Linn reached to scrub the caked on sand off of her legs and she couldn't help but offer a tiny grin at the sound of her men relaxing.

Her shower passed by uneventfully, the men had quieted down - focused on their own task of scrubbing down and Linn soon found herself turning off the water to wrap a towel around her torso. She wasn't the first one to finish showering - Jekyll had beat her to it and now stood by the large mirror, shaving cream on his face. Linn joined him to clean her face.

"Hey, Ice," Linn's head snapped up at the call, soap suds still covering her face to meet the gaze of one of her younger soldiers - Boom, "I heard the 501st was in the area, you know anything about that?" He asked while securing his towel around his waist.

She looked away from the mirror, returning to the task of cleaning her face - all too aware that the collective attention of the men was now on her. "Not really," she started slowly, speaking between passes of her washcloth over her face, "I thought they'd be en route to Coruscant after Kamino."

"Oh yeah," Fritz spoke up, stepping up to the mirror himself to shave like his brother, "Kamino sounded like a hell of a fight."

"We should have been there." Jekyll piped up, flicking shaving cream into the sink. "Kamino's-"

Linn sighed, "Jek, we've been over this."

"I'm just saying-"

"Jekyll, we were already engaged when the attack started. There was no way we could've pulled out and made it to Kamino in time." With a hand on the edge of the sink, Linn met his eye - a stony look in hers. He met her gaze unflinchingly.

"Besides," Fritz laid a hand on his brother's shoulder, a scheming look in his eye, "the 501st got it covered." Jekyll's face twisted into a grimace so potent it turned comical and prompted his brothers to start laughing. "Lighten up, vod." Fritz beamed at his angry brother, clapping his shoulder harder than necessary before he returned to shaving his face.

Linn raised a hand in truce, offering a handshake to the angry lieutenant. He eventually shook it, letting the matter rest once more.

"Damn them fivers," Boom continued, leaning a shoulder on the wall just beside the mirror, "can't believe half of the osik I hear about them."

"Well, believe it, shiny." Fritz huffed, "Craziest sons of bitches I ever met." He muttered while starting to pack up his stuff.

"You've met them?" Boom asked in disbelief.

Fritz shrugged. "Had a few rounds with Captain Rex 'while back. Told me more than I'd ever like to know." Tightening his towel, Fritz turned to the younger man. "I consider us lucky we haven't had to run a mission with them."

"Why? They seem like a riot."

"Cause their general's insane." Jekyll muttered under his breath. And Linn found herself agreeing with him as she rubbed her moisturizer in.

Boom snorted, "They're a Jedi."

"You've met Ice." Fritz didn't miss a beat and Linn found herself sending him a glare in the reflection. He flashed her a toothy grin in reply.

When Boom turned his curious gaze to her, Linn relented. "The 501st is commanded by Anakin Skywalker - the most reckless Jedi to ever exist." She explained simply, picking up her things as she got ready to head back to her room aboard the ship.

"More reckless than you, vod?" Jekyll jabbed this time and as if the servant of some cosmic comedic timing, the blaster burn on her side began to prickle once more. She didn't suffer an answer and instead ducked into a changing stall to dress.

The laughter of the brothers echoed behind her as she shut the door and changed back into her robes in record timing. As she clipped her lightsaber to her hip, Linn finally stepped out and excused herself from the brothers.

Upon reaching her room, Linn set her fresher bag aside and started on her relaxing routine only to be interrupted by a chirping comm. A heavy sigh slipped past her pale lips but she reached for the comm all the same and keyed it on.

"Master Yoda!" She gasped in surprise, immediately bowing her head to the small hologram in her palm.

"At ease, be, Master Mineleat." Yoda's froggy voice croaked out. "New orders, have I, for you."

"Of course, Master." Linn settled, allowing the Jedi master room to talk.

He bowed his head. "To planet Zeffo, you must go. Growing, separatist interest, is." Linn's own head tilted to the side. "Fear, I do, separatist influence, on the people."

"I understand, Master." Linn acknowledged, bowing her head once more. "I'll set a course immediately. It'll take us a few days to get back onto the Veragi Trade Route but we should be able to get there within the week."

"Very Good, Master Mineleat." Yoda hummed. "One thing more, I have, for you." At Linn's prompting nod, he continued. "Joining you, Skywalker, will be. Already on the way, the 501st is."

Linn was silent for a moment, stewing in shock. "I see..." She finally choked out. "Forgive me, master, but if this is just a courtesy visit to reestablish relations, why are we being joined?"

"Nothing to forgive, next steps together, you must be ready for. A test, this is. To see if Skywalker and you work together, well, hmm." Yoda finished and Linn felt her trepidation spike.

"I...understand, Master Yoda." She finally sighed. She didn't like the thought of having to work with the young Jedi. But, the will of Master Yoda was stronger than any argument she could come up with. "Is there anything else?"

"Nothing more to say, have I. Rest, Master Mineleat. A long journey lies ahead." Bidding the grand master goodbye, Linn keyed the comm off and fell onto her bed with an exaggerated huff. Fantastic. She thought bitterly.

Raising her comm once more, she contacted the bridge. "Bridge, this is General Mineleat. We've had a change of plans. Get us back on the Veragi Trade Route. We're heading to Zeffo."

Taglist:

[winterfest-gift-exchange]

An Un-Chance Met Acquaintance

This fic was written by Wolves_have_no_kings for Foolish_Beloved and can be found on AO3.

This story about Jek and Amber’s first meeting is lovely, sad and nostalgic all at the same time and introduces a lot of really great ideas, including Jek’s backstory ;-;

Thank you very much for this amazing pinch hitting gift, and for sharing with us your version of how these two amazing characters met ♥

Books: The Liveship Traders

Rating: Mature

Characters: Jek, Amber

Summary: Amber and Jek: The Origin Story.

Excerpt:

Amber only planned to have one drink. When she arrived at the tavern, it was nearly empty. A tall, muscular young woman sat nearby, her eyes scanning the room with a steady gaze. Amber caught her eye and nodded, and the woman nodded back, almost smiling. 

Amber ordered an ale, plunking her coins down on the bar and sitting with her back to the wall. She drained it, and ordered another. Then another. Then another.

She thought of Fitz — her catalyst. Her friend. 

Alive. My catalyst is alive. He has served his purpose and can finally live in peace.

[evajellion]

Any Easter Eggs about Pecca's KH origins? Cause if 4 confirms Star Wars world, the possibilities!

Yea, Pecca's weird arm thing was inspired by Jek-14 from the LEGO series, lol.

You can watch it here. Which I recommend because Disney has been shitty about this series.

They have a similar origin story too- except Pecca isn't a clone of Jango and is just an incarnate of various sins fused into one feral person.

I mentioned that Pecca is genderfluid, you can use all pronouns for them/him/her- but technically more like intersex? In the sense that Pecca has both male and female anatomy. (Atum does not)

But if you just asked Pecca their pronouns they would get confused…

[jeksburyofficial]

An original comic I made for a summer course, written, drawn, and inked by me. My handlettering could use some work, definitely.

CW: violence, prejudice, unethical experimentation

This is my first ever completed comic. Ten pages and a script, all done within four weeks. It was a lot of work, but I'm proud of it, even if my lettering needs more practice.

[tablestakesyogi]

Jek's Miracle

Martina, Jek, Elo and Ike Martina and Jek are people you can count on.  They are poor by western standards, but they have big hearts. They are raising four kids of their own, but also have taken care of dozens of their nieces, nephews and aunties who come from even leaner circumstances. It’s who they are, and it’s what is expected in their community. Martina is originally from the island of Sumba. Thanks to our friend Ibu Gedong, she lived with us in Berkeley for three years, and helped raise Max when he was a baby. She had met Jek before coming to America and planned to marry him.  However, Martina was a careful young woman, and vowed to make sure that Jek didn’t play around too much while she was away.  Fortunately, he lived up to her high expectations, and she married him and moved to his home island of Flores.  We have visited them several times over the past several years at their simple home in Maumere and have admired their generosity and the love and service they give to their family and community. 

Jek and his daughter Ike talking to a fisherman I’ve traveled to many places in the world that are destitute, so I wasn’t particularly shocked that Maumere was poor but it was also very dry. Probably poor because it’s dry since there’s very little rainfall on the coastal plain where it sits and only a few puny streams flow down from the mountains. That means meager water resources to grow food or support industry.  Martina and Jek rank among the middle class in Maumere mainly because Jek earned a college degree and worked for many years for development organizations building schools and hospitals throughout eastern Indonesia. Martina is an enterprising woman who has raised pigs and chickens and ran a small snack shop outside their front door. Jek had also bought a two-hectare piece of land he hoped to farm which is located a mile from their house. Middle class in Maumere means they live in a simple tin house with an outdoor kitchen where they cook over a wood fire. Importantly, however, they can afford to take care of their family members from both Flores and Sumba who need a home and a meal.

Martina, Jek with their family + Ibu and Pak When I visited them in 2019, they were having a hard time. A few months before Jek had refused to allow a corrupt government official to skim money off a hospital project he was directing. The price he paid for this honesty was his job. He decided to focus on turning his property into a farm and he was raising goats and trying to grow corn.  But there wasn’t enough water and the crops died, and soon after so did the goats.  Martina’s pig business also hit hard times after a wave of Asian swine flu killed all her animals. In April 2023, I visited them again with my Balinese friends Puji and Putu joining me.  I warned them that they would see a generous but very poor family.  However, when we arrived, I noticed a new brick house under construction next door. I inquired if they had new neighbors, but Martina said it was their new house.  In the backyard, the pig stalls were once again full of grunting, hungry and growing animals. After a sumptuous meal, we all decided to take a walk up to the farm.  Again, I warned Puji and Putu that we were likely to see a tangle of dry and dying crops and some skinny goats.  It was getting dark when we arrived, but as we rounded the last hill, the landscape was bathed in bright lights from a structure above the farm. And instead of the scrubby goat pasture I’d seen before there was row after row of healthy corn stalks with pipes and irrigation ditches bringing the plants a bountiful supply of water. 

I was flummoxed by the transformation of the farm, not to mention the new house and thriving pig farm. It took a while for Jek to tell me the story because my Indonesian language skills are weak.  But here’s what he told me: About a year before he was stressed because after losing his job and the pig farm, there just wasn’t enough money to provide for his family.  He had hoped to make a go of farming, but there was no chance due to the lack of water.  So, he had gone up to the top of the farm and sat on a rock where he often meditated.  This time he asked God for a miracle. He specifically asked for water to help grow his crops and feed his family. Jek and Martina have close relationship with God and Jesus.  Like most of the other people on Flores they are Catholic, a religion which arrived with the Portuguese colonists.  It’s a different kind of Catholicism though because it overlays the original animist religion that was here before. It’s a religion alive with ancestors and spirits which are everyday parts of Martina and Jek’s life.

Yes, that's Mother Mary looking over Martina and I About two weeks after his prayer, Jek met a man walking around his property.  The man said he was a water surveyor and wanted to do a test well.  Jek agreed.  A few weeks after that he found out that there is a vast aquifer under his farm which would supply enough water for the entire town of Maumere.  The municipal water authority said they would like to lease the rights to the water.  While Jek considered this, the water agency also found an aquifer on another property.  That owner wanted a substantial sum of money for the water rights.  Jek didn’t think this discovery was about money.  “This was a gift from God and an answer to my prayer,” he told me. “I didn’t think it would be right to take money for what God had given.”  The water agency and Jek worked out an agreement in which he would lease them the rights to the water in exchange for water for his farm, and his house.  The rest would be sent by pipeline down to the thirsty town of Maumere. Jek was already well respected in Flores. But his gift of water to the people of Maumere was a very big deal on the island.  He was at his house one day when a delegation of local leaders arrived.  He served them tea while they asked him to be a candidate to the provincial parliament. He subsequently agreed and will be on the ballot this February when elections are held in Indonesia.

As a retired political consultant, I quizzed Jek how he planned to remind the voters of the bounty he had given to his community.  He failed to take my very valuable advice and reminded me: “Pak Dave this water was a miracle from God. It’s not for me to brag about.” Read the full article

[redrobinhoods]

seconds and years | the gift of chiron

AO3 Link | 2,600 words (approx) | Prologue, Chapter 16, Chapter 18

Chapter Summary: The assault on Chiron

“This is going to over real quick if this doesn’t work.” Fox hissed as he crouched beside Riyo, blaster in hand.

“We didn’t expect them to upgrade security after we left, we were security!” Ilven hissed back from where he and Wolffe stood around the terminal.

“I have my pen if we want to set an alarm off.” Wolffe volunteered.

“Do we want to take that risk?” Thire asked, crouched on the opposite side of the doorway from Fox and Riyo.

“Look, I’ve never used this system. I can tell you for a fact that this facial scanner was not here before.”

Thire’s breath froze and he turned to look at Wolffe. “Did you kill it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let me see it.” Thire stood to make his way over to the half-disassembled terminal. He crouched before it to take in the scanner before taking off his helmet. A moment later, the doors slid open. “Someone forgot to synch their tech with the roster.” He tapped the pixelated line across his right brow. “Or we’ve just tripped the alarm.”

Fox stood. “Let’s go.”

-

Riyo crouched between the wall supports, blaster in hand as Ilven reached for the door controls. All sentimental goodbyes had been said back on the ship, when Fox and Wolffe split from the group Fox had left her with just a squeeze of the hand. In full stormtrooper armor, they could blend in as they made their way towards the heart of the base. Riyo and her companions could not. Ilven might have had the two of them not been accompanying him. Thire’s purge trooper armor had not been mended and his blacks were visible through the hole in his side. Riyo’s dress was less subtle, Thire’s old Coruscant Guard armor stretched from her chest down to her wrists and thighs.

‘I didn’t want to just leave it in storage.’ Ilven had explained when he pulled Thire’s armor out of his bag that morning.

Thire had taken his old bracers, one Stone’s one Thorn’s, in his hands and held them for a moment before responding. ‘Give my breastplate and anything else that will fit to Riyo. Her protection is more important than our subtlety.’

Thire turned his helmet to Riyo and she nodded, turning her attention towards the door.

The blasterfire began the moment the door began to slide open. Eight shots later and Ilven beckoned for her to join them in the room.

She took a seat in front of a terminal with the camera feeds, searching through the images for Fox and Wolffe. She found them walking undisturbed down a hallway.

“Any sign of an alarm?” Thire asked as he leaned over another terminal, fingers flying across the keys, not bothering to push the dead stormtrooper seated before it to the ground.

“None yet.” She answered.

The door secured, Ilven moved to stand at the terminal beside Thire’s. “All systems are good. Oh, don’t delete that.”

“Too late.” Thire said.

“I worked hard on that, you know.”

“Oh well.”

“Just do your job and you can delete my months of labor later.”

Riyo would’ve bet on there being a smile under Thire’s helmet as he responded. “Very well.”

-

Fox and Wolffe paused before the locked door at the end of the hallway. They had to wait only seconds before the light on the keypad turned green and it opened before them.

“This is too easy.” Fox said as the door closed behind them.

“Just wait.” Wolffe said. “At some point we’ll screw up. That’s when the fun begins.”

They turned and walked swiftly down the new corridor, not acknowledging any stormtroopers or personnel they passed.

“Have you been here before?” Fox asked in a moment of solitude.

“No.” Wolffe responded. “We were not allowed to be in this section. But I know the layout. Synthesized compound storage is on our right in five doorways.”

Once again, the door slid open before them and they stepped inside.

-

The commander crouched behind the desk, gripping his blaster in his hand. Three beings from the sound of it. In the reflection of a monitor, he could see one in black armor leaning over a terminal. Another purge trooper, his mannerisms different from Twenty-Two’s. They had been betrayed from the inside.

He had never wanted to kill one of his brothers, and for a moment he considered facing the repercussions of his actions, but, perhaps, it would be a mercy for him to strike the blow. He could spare the purge trooper from the Empire’s wrath. The commander would die anyways, by their hands or those of his superior officers.

At least if he died here, they could not call him a traitor.

He’d seen what happened to traitors.

-

Fox and Wolffe took off their helmets as the door closed behind them, taking in the long rows of shelving. With a silent nod, they started their search.

It did not take them long to find the boxes they had been looking for and they began to empty one into their hip pouches. The vials of the green liquid were small, sliding into the cramped space without protest. Only once they had filled every pouch on their belts did they set the box back on the shelf and make their way back to the door from which they had entered.

The internal keypad flashed red as they attempted to open the door.

Fox raised his comm. “We need a code for the door to get out. Can you override it?”

They waited in silence for a few moments without response before Wolffe raised his comm. “Come in, team, can you override the door?”

He shook his head at Fox when there was no response.

“We’ll give them five minutes, then we’ll blast down this door ourselves.”

-

Riyo spared a glance at Thire and Ilven before turning her attention back to the monitors, to the empty hallway from which Fox and Wolffe had disappeared. Nobody had followed them, none had noticed two stormtroopers out of place.

She hadn’t seen Thire so relaxed in years, completely caught up in his task as his fingers continued to dart across the keys, filling the silent room with their sound.

A flash of movement caught her eye from the opposite side of the room and she reached for her blaster as the stormtrooper raised his.

“Thire!” Ilven shouted as the shot rang out, throwing himself at the clone and knocking the both of them to the ground.

“Don’t move!” Riyo yelled as she pointed her blaster at their foe. “Put the blaster down!”

The stormtrooper stood frozen, blaster still pointing towards the terminal where Thire had just stood.

She didn’t dare spare a glance to where Thire and Ilven lay on the ground. “This is your final warning, put the blaster down, now!” Somewhere in the background she could hear the chime of a comm and she hoped that Fox and Wolffe could hold on a few moments longer.

To her surprise, the stormtrooper obeyed her command. His blaster fell to the floor as his arm went limp.

“Keep your hands in the air.” She ordered, trying to hide the shake in her voice.

The stormtrooper slowly raised his hands before placing them on the sides of his helmet and slowly removing it from his head.

The blaster fell to Riyo’s side as she recognized the edges of the tattoo snaking across his neck.

Jek’s helmet fell to the floor as he slowly walked over to his fallen brothers.

Thire had sat himself up, cradling Ilven in his lap as he took in the blaster mark across his shoulder blade. As Jek neared the terminal, Thire reached for his blaster.

“Thire, don’t!” Riyo warned.

Thire’s finger hesitated on the trigger at her word and he waited until the man came fully into sight. Then he let his blaster fall to the ground as he let out a choked sound of surprise, pulling off his helmet.

Jek fell to his knees before them as Thire pulled him into an embrace, whispering words that Riyo could not hear as he embraced his two commanders with shaking arms.

-

Fox counted silently in his head as Wolffe paced back and forth.

“You called.” Riyo’s voice came over his comm.

He quickly reached for his comm. “Everything okay?”

“It is now. We have a surprise for you when you return.”

“Well then, can you open this door for us so we can leave?” Wolffe said with a roll of his eyes and a smile at Fox.

“Give us a moment.”

-

Jek buried his face into Thire’s shoulder, one arm wrapped around Thire’s back, the other resting on Ilven’s thigh. He couldn’t tell whose arm was whose as Ilven buried his face into Jek’s shoulder in return, his body shaking with laughter despite the burning mark across his back.

“I thought you were dead.” Jek said, his voice breaking.

Thire chuckled bitterly. “It’s a long story.”

Jek raised his head from Thire’s shoulder to press their foreheads together, letting their tears mingle on their cheeks. “Tell me everything, once we get your boyfriend patched up.”

“You’re the one that shot me, you asshat.” Ilven mumbled.

Jek felt a soft touch on his shoulder and he looked up to find Riyo standing over them, dressed in a familiar armor. “The dogs need assistance.” When Jek’s brows creased together in questioning she answered. “Wolffe and Fox are with us.”

“What for?”

“The YMC-delta serum.”

Jek glanced at Thire and Ilven before he untangled himself from the pile, quickly unlocking the door to the storage room before he turned to Riyo. “Why?”

“It neutralizes the rapid aging in clones.”

-

Fox breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened before them.

That relief was gone the moment he and Wolffe stepped into the hallway, startling the man before them. His eyes darted from the box of vials in his hands to Wolffe’s pauldron. “Is there a problem, Commander?”

Wolffe straightened. “You tell me. We had reports of unauthorized access in this sector and yet we have found no additional security measures in place to prevent this.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Commander, this is the first I’m hearing of such.”

“You will receive a full report in due time.”

Fox crossed his arms, fighting down any sign of humor in his body language. They would certainly be receiving a report after today.

Without waiting for a response, Wolffe started back down the hallway with Fox following behind him.

-

Twenty-Two groaned as he rolled over in his bunk, wakened from his nap by the sound of his comm. “Speak.”

The voice of the lab manager sounded out. “Sir, I was just informed by a technician of reports of unauthorized access in the lab sector. Why didn’t this information reach us sooner?”

“That is a question for security.” Twenty-Two growled. He was not here to play base commander.

“Security is not answering their comms, sir.”

Twenty-Two’s gaze fell upon his helmet as he rose from the bunk, armor creaking with the movement. “Lock down your sector at once and sound the alarm.”

The screeching shout of the alarm began before he could put his helmet on.

By the time he’d stepped out of the room, the comm chatter had begun.

“Four beings, east ha-”

“We need reinforcements!”

“They’re moving towards the-”

“Six beings spotted!”

Twenty-Two withdrew his blaster from his belt. He could not run from this. He considered it, considering going further into the facility under the guise of guarding the laboratory spaces from the attackers. But it was clear from his conversation with the lab manager, they had already found what they have come for. But, perhaps.

He raised his comm. “Outer perimeter, engage the intruders. All other squads draw back. Sweep the facility for any hidden surprises. I’m moving in.”

Vader would forgive him for prioritizing such a facility as Chiron.

Twenty-Two would not forgive himself if they were caught.

There were only four beings he could imagine would be so foolish to invade Chiron and succeed.

The time it took Twenty-Two to cross from the barracks to east wing of the building gave him too much time to think, to doubt his call. But that doubt died quickly as he turned the corner, coming face to face with six beings. Wolffe went in front, helmetless, a smoking line across his pauldron from a close shot. Behind him followed Thire and Commander Jek, without a doubt the same Commander Jek of the Coruscant Guard. Between them and Fox, who had also lost his helmet in the scuffle to escape, stood the Pantoran woman and Commander Seeley, guarded on both sides by the guardsmen.

“Don’t!” Thire shouted as Wolffe raised his blaster at the purge trooper.

Twenty-Two stood firm in the hallway, looking down the barrel. This was not the worst way that he could die.

But the shot never came as Wolffe’s hand shook in hesitation. “Take off your helmet.” He growled.

Twenty-Two obliged and the blaster fell to Wolffe’s side.

Twenty-Two spoke first. “You need to leave.”

“Come with us.” Thire begged, slipping out from the group to approach Twenty-Two, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“No.” He stated firmly with a smile. “Someone has to clean up the mess you’ve all made.”

“And someone has to take the fall officially.” Thire protested.

“That won’t be me.” Twenty-Two assured him.

“Cody-” Wolffe started.

The name sounded strange after so long. “No.”

“-get off your high aiwha for once, get your shit together, and sign up for the fuckup list with the rest of us.”

“You know what Vader will do.” Thire said.

“I’ve made my peace with it. There’s nothing he can take from me now.” Twenty-Two looked from Thire back to Wolffe before turning his gaze to Fox. “You lot have something to lose.” He removed Thire’s hand from his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

“You don’t have to do this.” Fox said, even as he positioned himself between the purge trooper and the Pantoran.

“But I do.” Twenty-Two answered, stepping back from Thire. “I couldn’t save Kenobi, I couldn’t save Rex and Tano, I can’t save any of you. But I can give you a fighting chance. That’s more than most of us will ever get.”

“Please.” Thire begged.

Twenty-Two took one last look at the beings around him before turning his gaze to Thire. “Make it convincing.”

Thire’s lip set in a straight line before his hand shot out, the edge of the small knife he had palmed catching the edge of Twenty-Two’s throat. “For your helmet.” The knife plunged down into Twenty-Two’s leg, causing it to buckle under him. “For your lack of pursuit.”

Twenty-Two grit his teeth in pain as he looked up at the group before him, his brothers and those who would follow them into hell and back. “Get out of here.”

It didn’t take much acting as he leaned back against the wall in pain, watching the silent acknowledgment pass through Wolffe and Fox ask they started moving again. Twenty-Two watched their retreat until they disappeared around a corner.

He ripped a bandage from his belt, pressing it down on his thigh with a hiss.

This pain would pale compared to what Vader had in store for him.

Yet, Twenty-Two couldn’t help the laughter that escaped his chest. For Obi-Wan, for Rex and Ahsoka, for Bly.

He’d finally managed to save at least one being from the Empire.

[runawaymoonstoryteller]

Story post title: Going Numb TW: Depression

These are all original characters of mine! Enjoy! His gaze was blank as he stared at the wall in front of him. Even just moving his head to look at something else took too much effort. It felt like his head was made out of lead.. He felt empty and dead, the void inside of him taking over until he had nothing left, no energy nor the willpower to do anything. His eyes started to glaze over as he stared at the one spot on the wall continuously.. Then a hand appeared in his vision as well as a blurry face.. "Jek…hey bud can you hear me..?" He heard a man's voice speaking gently to him but he couldn't bring it within himself to care at the moment… He only continued to stare at the wall, the words bouncing off of his brain, multiplying in volume and number until he could only make out blurred noises and sounds.. It hurt his head.. "Jek you need to eat something.. C'mon bud, up and at 'em.." No response from Jek, he couldn't even blink or move his mouth to answer.. Something poked at his mouth and he felt the cold metal of a spoon mixed with some weird warm texture.. he accepted it with difficulty, his mind zoning out quickly as he ate.. Soon he had finished and the voice quickly disappeared along with the blurred face and gentle steady hand.. Jek couldn't even find the voice to say goodbye or thanks.. His gaze refocused on the wall as he lost himself in the empty void of his mind.. ... Jek couldn't tell when it started but he started hearing a crying sound.. It was coming from somewhere near him.. It sounded familiar to him.. Why couldn't he place it…? He fought to gain back control of his thoughts, even for just a moment as he strained to hear the voice that was crying.. It took so much effort he almost gave up.. But then he heard it.. "Mom…Mom…Mom…please.." It hit him like a ton of bricks. Katniss..? His brain struggled to put the name of the voice into words.. It hurt his head but he plowed forwards, trying his hardest to think clearly..! Then he heard it.. "Brother… Big brother.."

Big brother.. That was him.. She was calling out for him! It had taken him so long to place the fact that she had been calling out for him! She'd been speaking so softly that he'd barely been able to hear it.. That didn't matter now..! He had to go to her..! She needed him~! Katniss, his sister, was calling out for him~! Move darnit, move!! He struggled within his own body and mind, his head throbbed with pain and a kind of soul sucking energy that seemed to be blocking every attempt to get up or even call out to her.. It was like he was frozen, his body unable to do anything that he told it to do.. He struggled to keep his head clear as the fog rolled in over his mind, making every action and every thought impossible to act upon or even remember.. Usually he would've forgotten why he was moving by this point, but he had something- no someone to focus on! But the mind-numbing fog was persistent.. It was like he was being smothered, the fog talking over everything~! His body felt like it was made of lead, even moving his arm or twitching his hand seemed like an impossible task~ But he had to get to Katnisss~! She needed him and she was crying and-!

He blinked and it was as if he had suddenly been transported into another world.. The room was cast into shadow and the spot on the wall was almost too dark to see now.. He managed to blink again and he strained his ears to listen for Katniss's cries.. But there was nothing but silence.. His eyes strained in the darkness and finally, it hit him. He had been struggling to get up and go help Katniss, all day. The sun had now set and even though he strained and struggled, he couldn't hear the cries of his twin sister.. He felt as though he'd been punched. He couldn't even get up to help his sister, even when she called out his name..! He was useless… He felt his emotions well up inside of him, as his gaze began to blur once more, the world fading around him.. The void was back, sucking everything back in and leaving him with nothing.. His sister had needed him… And he'd done nothing.. He was nothing.. He wanted to cry… But the void sucked that out of him too, leaving him with the soul-crushing agony of being left alone with his own thoughts and guilt.. He just wanted it to stop~! The fog rolled in again, and he sank into the dark oblivion once more.. ====== Heyo, hope y'all enjoyed the angsty read! Sorry that my first real post on here is angst but, eh what can ya do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[marichulambino]

Happy #ValentinesDay #ValentinesDay2023 #HappyVDay Ako'y sa 'Yo written and originally performed by IAXE band #OPM (original Filipino music)

Happy #ValentinesDay #ValentinesDay2023 #HappyVDay Ako’y sa ‘Yo written and originally performed by IAXE band #OPM (original Filipino music) … And 24 years later, in 2019, the same IAXE frontman, Jek Manuel, performing the same song, also live :