#rex exe is broken and no longer working

[dreamyourselfxbackagain]

“you are the peace i crave in this chaotic world.” (Tabris for Rex)

Rex blinked in surprise, not completely sure he had actually heard her correctly, because that definitely didn't make sense. "What?" well better to get some clarity on it, least know if he had heard right or not. Obviously he couldn't have, after all that had never been a word anyone had associated with the clones. The Republic had them created and used for war, the Separatists saw them as enemies, and to everyone else they were just soldiers. "You might have to explain that one to me?"

@apotelesma-rp

[bltzgore]

show me your anxiety-riddled ocs I need them for science

Oh there are so so many XD

I'll keep it to 7 of my favorites, and do my best to keep these short but still give enough background.

Tw: nonhuman characters, mentions of burning and family death, learning disability related stress, lab rat content, and dehumanizing circumstance for nonhuman characters such as being owned or abused

Fear not, I threw in a little fluff

Among the ones I go after the most:

Rook - a scrapy fierce little creature, who's response to fear is anger. He's always afraid, always worried this fleeting period of freedom with his found family will end, or later on as he develops more self awareness, that they will get sick of him and abandon him. This manifests as him getting frustrated easier, snapping at people, and occasionally just going after them. Luckily his caretaker is an ex gladiator, and an ex hit woman, so she can take it.

Enzo - a member of the same cast as Rook. He came from very dehumanizing circumstance before he got sold off. He is a people pleaser because that's how he learned to survive. So at first he was pretty nervous around his rescuer/caretaker, but that wore off pretty quickly. He took to worry about her and the others in their found family, that they'd get hurt, or found (they're on the run) not to mention he harbors alot of insecurity, very low self worth. This is something the caretaker helps amend, as she doesn't want to see him get hurt or taken advantage of.

One of my favorite symbolic demonstrations of his healing over time is his singing. Hear me out. He's a siren type creature, so he loves to sing, he's meant to. But the people who own him before punish him for it for various reasons. The longer he spends with caretaker the stronger his voice gets, it starts out with gentle songs, and moves up to powerful rock lyrics and stuff depending on his mood.

Cam (or Rally, I'm having a hard time picking a name) - a fire elemental in a world where elementals are considered highly dangerous. His family helps him hide it, but one day a fire starts in his house (he believes he started it while he was sleeping). In his fear he accidentally makes it much worse, and his parents do not make it out. He's stuck in the house in a state of panic and fear and general mourning because he can't process that his fire is just what took his family, when his caretaker to be (another elemental named Rafiki/Rafi/Raf) runs in to save him. From then on he's deeply scared that he will hurt someone again, or worse.

Thing is, we learn that he wasn't the original cause of the fire. It was an agent of the government hoping to send him into a panic. When Cam discovers this, he goes after them, getting caught and put under the control of this mind control device called the halo (its a metal ring that is affixed to the head). Then, he is forced to go after his friends. He burns Rafiki severely enough that it even gives her trauma.

Rex - a post-wolf (meaning after wolf, not one who works with mail) supersoldier. Who develops high levels of anxiety around his technical studies when he struggles with reading due to dyslexia and adhd.

Static - a very sweet bean who is among the first humans to begin developing superpowers in one of my universes due to the presence of an alien virus on earth. He's in the army when he begins developing powers, the army that advocates for killing or catching such people. He is terrified that he will be the next one dragged off to some black ops base and pulled apart like some lab rat. He finds a group of others who are hiding their powers and they do a great job protecting and hiding each other.

But one day he comes crawling back to base to get the medic while having a broken leg. The medic tends to him, then runs off to rescue his friends. But this is about the time that the higherups have put together a few things. They show up and drag him off. It is his nightmare realized. And of course his friends find and save him, but he certainly had anxiety before, it is tripped after, he has a severe case of ptsd.

Taboo - is a scorpion humanoid, he named himself as such because he thought he was just unlucky when he was little and didn't realize people were afraid of him. He is an absolute cinnamon roll (who could kill you.) And the thought of people being scared of him makes him occasionally to nervous to act and really really sad (poor boi).

Flux - Flux does not remember what he used to be. He was sure he used to have flesh parts instead of metal ones but he doesn't anymore. He is a rescued lab rat, who was pulled apart and put back together so much his trauma response became appease. So even after rescue he constantly fears that he will do something wrong, and wind up back on that table. Thing is, he could never figure out what the criteria was that got him back there at the lab, and th le rules with these new people make even less sense!

I hope this helped with your science 😁

[thetransgendert-rex]

Updated Pinned Post, December 16th, 2024!

I have officially left Facebook!

I'm Will Saville, AKA The Transgender T-Rex (the original, and the one and only) #TheTransgenderTRex

I'm a disabled, autistic gamer, inventor, and writer.

Currently writing a book series called A Tikevatian Odyssey, and working on a board game invention called Killer In The Keep, but as a creative autistic, there are bound to be other projects in my future

I am a cat dad to #LordOnyxBlepman #CallieRound and #HarveySquare

I unfortunately had to permanently surrender our cat Tiggy when we were in New Hampshire (September 1st, 2024), and I received word that he was very quickly adopted 😭

I am a house designer on EverQuest 2on the Halls Of Fate Server.

Former Facebook blogger known as The Transgender T-Rex. After I took down my blog, the bigots who have been harassing and stalking me (and doxxed me forcing me to flee Michigan and go to Massachusetts) made a fake blog pretending to be me, and accusing ME of being the imposter. This is a lie. The fake blog harasses other creators, is racist, derogatory, and deplorable. That is NOT who I am as a person!

Below is the fake blog's link.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562846354777&mibextid=ZbWKwL

You can also get updates for my book series, short stories, poetry, songs, my board game, other projects, etc. by visiting the link below 🥰

www.Linktr.ee/thetransgendertrex

Former last names: Canon, Wilson, Newton, and Blake-Newton

Deadname: Bethany Lauren

Former chosen names: Blake and Andrew/Drew

Reason for final chosen name: Ancestry family tree found repetition for the name William Saville and I reclaimed it. I ended up finding out a friend of mine from EQ2 was a cousin of mine because of this choice! Blake was the only part of my former name that I chose for myself, it's what I would have named a son if I could have biological children. Andrew was chosen to honor my daughter Andrea Marjorie Canon that I miscarried at 17 weeks in November 8, 2013 (her father Shawn Gero unalived himself in 2022), and for my step mother who always wanted a daughter named Andrea, so I named my daughter for her. When I lost her, I was devastated. I later chose Andrew, the masculine version of the name, for my daughter and for Cyndi. Newton was my ex Gareth's last name, and I have filed for a fault divorce because he's an incarcerated pedophile that I turned in as soon as I realized what he was. I hope he rots there! We are now DIVORCED officially, and I am changing my name legally to William Blake Saville now that the divorce is finally over.

On September 19th, 2024 I moved into my 1 bedroom fully ADA accessible apartment with my Section 8 Voucher (I'm on Social Security and am a full time wheelchair user)! I was struck by an F150 Ford Sport when I was 18 and have a broken back and tailbone, hip dysplasia, and herniated disks. I also have advanced Multiple Sclerosis, Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and I'm Autistic with ADHD.

Yes, there is a lot wrong with me, every day is a struggle but I try my absolute best.

Jasper is my legal caregiver, a caregiver's income is not counted towards mine as they are considered "medical equipment/reasonable accommodation" and although added to my lease, their income is completely their own.

Live-In Aide income not counted proof

https://finkrosnerershow-levenberg.com/section-8-housing-rules-for-live-in-caregivers/#:~:text=(See%20%C2%A7%20982.402(b)(,her%20income%20is%20not%20counted.

I no longer have to ask for help on a regular basis like I used to, unless I lose my benefits. I only ask for help if I have no choice now. Jasper's money is their own to do with what they please, just like it was back in Michigan, we have come to the agreement that I pay rent, utilities, phone, and Internet while they handle pet costs.

I struggled with rent in Michigan because our former house in Pontiac was $313 a month, with not a single included utility. Our former landlord also charged an extra $50 PER month PER cat despite them being ESAs as legally allowed to do because they didn't own a large amount of properties. Landlords don't have to go by the Fair Housing Act if they aren't a multi-property owner over a certain limit before they have to adhere to the law. All cats here have ESA papers that qualify them under the fair housing act as reasonable accommodations. I only had to ask for as much help as I did before now because that for survival when I was homeless, and before that it was because our old house in was out of my financial means, but finding housing in Michigan that takes section 8 is nearly impossible. My rent at my apartment is $175 a month, all utilities but electricity and Internet are included. My laundry facility is in the building, and I have an ADA apartment that I can do upkeep on, and take care of myself easier because I can use my wheelchair in my unit. So I'm able to not only meet all of my needs with my SSI by being on the section 8, voucher, I can buy healthy foods to lose weight (already down to 390lbs and I was at 520lbs when I moved to Massachusetts because of having to eat processed food all the time because of the house being inaccessible) I have keto food and snacks, Soylent, and slim fast as well. And I've been doing wheelchair yoga.

I'm thriving now. And I'm also able to help fund other queers now and provide mutual aid instead of needing it all the time.

Which is exactly as I prefer.

I also have the money to spoil the hell out of the cats with a treat dispenser filled with supplement treats that help with hairballs, joints, energy, etc. and they have gravity dishes, and a much better litter system. They each get 2 servings of wet food a day now. This is always what I wanted.

I am living within my means now, and am able to give back to the community and do fun stuff.

ESA Information links

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/assistance_animals

https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/fair-housing-act-and-assistance-animals#:~:text=Even%20if%20a%20lease%20says,which%20includes%20emotional%20support%20animals.

I have survived so much trauma. I want to learn how to live rather than survive but life keeps throwing punches.

I moved to Massachusetts because that's what Jasper and the friend we had staying with us wanted, I was outvoted. We may or may not stay in Massachusetts, but I won't be updating this post if we leave, all updates will be on my link tree!

Based on my experiences while waiting for housing before moving in, and other issues I have noticed when I lived in Massachusetts before, I plan on getting involved in local government so that what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else. There is no reason someone in a wheelchair should ever have to spend a SINGLE night, let alone 25 nights, on the streets because of their disabilities making them a liability.

Here is the link to my last pinned post on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1By2M4MKq4/

There have been a lot of false accusations about me that I'm no longer willing to refute on a daily basis. The below posts show that those false accusations have been recanted. Those who know me know what I am and am not capable of, and who I am as a person, and know my character. That is all I am willing to say on the matter of past accusations.

Post about Jasper recanting their "groomer" accusations about me, and admitting to doctoring screenshots in an effort to cause me to lose housing and friends out of anger. Me grieving my father, and making it very clear that I have NOT been a part of trying to take down the bigots in any way. I just want a quiet life.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/193jNd4zrh/

I have forgiven Jasper, and they know they have to earn back trust with me, but we both made mistakes while we were together and after we broke up. Getting back together is most likely in the cards, but we are taking things SLOW. However, they were over here spending the night when my step mother reached out to tell me that My father passed away, and Jasper kept me sane while the emotions kicked my ass. Because even though he was a bad father to me, I still grieve him because I loved him regardless of the pain. I grieve the father I had, and the father I WISH I had, the father a child SHOULD have.

Below are posts related to my dad

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CoRYA8Rqn/

[clouds-rambles]

Birthday Love Letter

Happy birthday to one of my main comfort characters. I love you so much Xiao and I’ll do anything for you.

You and Xiao have been partners of millennia, as much as Xiao dislikes the constant, yearly, birthdays he can’t say no to you or your gifts. Also suspend your disbelief for some of these things lmao

Pairing(s);  Xiao x reader

Warnings; fluff, angst, hurt no comfort

Keep reading under the cut!

My love Xiao,

It’s a shame that I’ve broken millennia long tradition of bothering you on your birthday but as you’re aware our line of work can drive us apart for longer periods of time. And it’s likely you can’t really comprehend the pile of work I have right now in the office since Rex Lapis’ death. As much as he deserves retirement I am very tired of this constant influx of paperwork, I cannot wait to get back on the field again.

Anyway, enough about me. I hope you’re having a good birthday and I hope before reading this Goldet has already surprised you with the almond tofu you love to eat. I know, I know, you like making the tofu but take it as a gift from me while you wait for me to come back to Wangshu. 

I have another gift for you but you can’t receive it until I get back from my work. I promise it’s worth the wait though.

You know Ganyu keeps asking about you. Is it true that you haven’t seen here in the better part of 300 years? As much as I don’t like nagging you, especially on this day, you should really visit her. She talks about you like the children of Liyue talk about their older siblings. As cute as it is in foresight, in hindsight I’ve heard the same story about you three times since being back. And the kicker? I was there when the thing happened. Please Ganyu I’m begging I know the story, I know it well I was there.

Zhongli also misses you, he mentions how often Ganyu and I visit but you’re yet to go. It makes me a little sad, even if you just stop by for a cup of tea I think that will make him more than happy. He’s a mortal now Xiao, I would hate to see you so distraught if you didn’t get to see him before his mortal life is over.

Enough about me nagging. I’ll be home soon enough, as much as you hate to admit it I love your hugs and I’m dearly missing them. You won’t say you are but I know how you melt into my hugs. It makes me want to love and cherish you forever more.

You know I remember your first birthday we celebrated, do you? We had known each other for 100 years, which in reality is a short time, but that was my first 100 years being blessed with mortality. Everything I did was fast for no reason. Not the point. I travelled up Jueyen Karst to pick you a bunch of flowers after taking a decade to pry your birthday out of you and I presented them to you. I remember when we first started really opening up to each other you told me about how you had chosen to preserve the flowers. Do you have them still, or have they decayed completely? I don’t understand much about flowers so I’m not sure how long flowers keep. Have you kept other things I’ve given you. I have, if you look in our room in the Inn you should find most of the things you’ve given me. That’s our little secret though hehe. 

I should wrap up this letter before I get too engrossed and write you a books worth of letter. 

I love you Xiao, and I hope you have a great birthday and I hope you liked the tofu I made. I’ll see you soon

[name]

The last letter that he had ever received from you five years ago to the day. Five more birthdays he hasn’t spent with you. Five years in terms of immortals shouldn’t feel this long, some centuries have blinked past before he can often not find memories of random centuries. So why have these five years been so painful? Xiao has been alone before, not in a long time but he has done it.

Just the weight of your death weighs heavy on his shoulders, your death is much heavier than the others he’s collected. He had known you the longest, fought the most battles with you, loved you the most, cherished you the most...

Xiao remembers when he got word of your death. Two weeks after his birthday the ex-geo archon himself turns up at the Inn. Zhongli had made it clear that if the adepti wanted to see him or not was up to them, so seeing the ex archon before Xiao was more than baffling.

When the news was delivered that you were assassinated in your sleep by an unknown assailment sounded like a sick joke. And in all honesty it was just a sick joke until your funeral a week and a half later.

So many people turned up wanting to wish the now dead adepti well wishes and comfort in the afterlife. So many flowers, so many people, so much chatter. As much as he hates the latter two Xiao endured the service wanting to say goodbye like everyone else.

Xiao didn’t notice himself hyperventilating until Zhongli had embraced him and helped him settle his breaths. Zhongli couldn’t find himself to utter words of comfort for the person that Xiao has spent millennia with. Yours and his relationship was beyond mortal comprehension since you had spent many hundreds of generations together.

 Xiao shakes his head and wipes his eyes. If only he went to see you on his birthday. You were still alive on his birthday just tucked away in the harbour. If only Xiao’s aversion of crowds and people were what kept him away from you over the Rex Lapis crisis. If only he had-

The blaming of the self isn’t a healthy thing to do, Xiao had blamed himself for almost everything that resulted in your death within the first year of your death. There wasn’t much else to blame himself about.

Xiao had even contemplated joining you but was hit by the realisation that one you would want him to keep living and two if he dies there’s no telling what millennia long repressed, festering demons would unleash upon the country he has sworn to protect.

Xiao turns and notices that Goldet had snuck up when he was lost in self pity and thought and had left him some tofu, just how he liked it.

Maybe if he can’t be with you the least he could do is enjoy his birthday just like how you ‘made’ him do all these years.

Xiao cries tonight more than he wants to, and if Goldet heard his weeps, she doesn’t mention anything. 

[thatringboy]

@yokelish @yoruzumy0 hey bitches, may I present to you:

It Takes Two

1,960 words - Fluff

Summary: Xiao and Hu Tao decide to open the Memory of Dust

Read it under the cut!

Xiao considered himself to be pleasantly distanced from most humans. He interacted with Qiqi of Bubu Pharmacy sometimes and he considered the Traveler from another world a nice companion. However, he had no excuse for why he spent his down time with the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as much as he did.

Nor did he have an excuse for why they had broken into Zhongli’s apartment and were rifling through his things.

“Director Hu,” he hissed as she opened up a dresser drawer and began searching what seemed to be a shirt drawer. “I put up with many of your antics, but this is going too far.”

She pulled her head up and her red eyes glowed mischievously. “But, Sir Alatus, you were the one with a key to the front door.”

“YOU PUNCHED IN THE WINDOW!”

“Tsk tsk, too many details. Now, help me find juicy things to hold over Mr. Zhongli’s head so that I can keep him from accepting commissions somewhere else. He’s too good for my business to lose.”

Xiao wasn't sure how to explain that the ex-archon had no plans to stop working at the funeral parlor and watched Tao shut the drawer and move to a small wooden desk covered in papers.

“Ooh, this is a fancy paperweight!” She lifted up a strangely shaped rock that glowed with Geo energy.

The adepti crossed the room and examined it. “It looks like a puzzle. Perhaps like that multi-colored cube Yanfei owns?”

Tao tossed the rock between her hands and looked over the ways the different rocks hooked together. This was child’s play for her. She could solve it in an hour tops. “Do you think he hides candy in here?”

Xiao took the puzzle and turned it over. His immortal eyes could easily pick out where the rocks needed to slide to unlock the center. “I believe the Lord of Geo would hold much more valuable things within this… whatever it is than sweets.”

She snatched it back and began fiddling with the locks and stone clasps. “Mr. Zhongli won’t be back from Ghuili Assembly until night, wanna find out?”

As much as the yaksha wanted to protest, the pleading look on Tao’s face and his own curiosity (which he blamed on Barbatos’ influence) won. They sat down on the floor and took turns sliding and unlocking parts of the strange stone. With each twist, the orange energy inside grew brighter and brighter.

It took them maybe thirty minutes to work a hole large enough in the stone to find the center. As Tao slid the last rock into place, the entire contraption began to vibrate and shot out of her hands. She squealed and Xiao’s hand shot out to pull his spear into existence. The sphere spun around in the air above them and became engulfed in the glow of pure Geo magic.

“What in Rex Lapis?” Xiao whispered and shielded his eyes from the light.

Tao grabbed Xiao’s spear arm and shook him violently while pointing at the floating thing. “Look, Gao-Xiao, look! It’s a person!”

“Huh?”

He opened his eyes and sure enough, the rock had vanished and where it had been floating now stood a young woman with long silky hair and a beautiful robe with billowing sleeves. She opened her eyes and Xiao was taken aback by how much the color resembled the petals of a Glaze Lily.

She blinked a few times and looked around. When she spoke, her words were soft and filled Tao’s heart with nostalgia like she had never experienced before. “May I ask where I am?”

Tao cleared her throat and let go of the adepti next to her. “You’re in, uh, Liyue Harbor?”

The woman smiled and turned her eyes to Xiao. “It is good to see you, Xiao. Do you remember me?”

He felt his throat go dry. Xiao let his weapon disappear and fell to his knees before her, biting his tongue to keep himself from making any noises. “My lady.”

She snorted playfully and tugged on his hair to make him stand back up. “Get up, you drama queen, since when have I ever required you to be so formal? So where is he? I do not feel Morax’s presence here.”

Tao reached over and tugged on her sleeve. “Yeah, hi, I’m Tao. I’m the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Whomst are you?”

“My name is Guizhong, my little peach.” Her eyes were as soft as silk.

Hu Tao’s jaw dropped dramatically as her words came out as sputters. Xiao got back to his feet with wide eyes.

“But how can you be here? You…”

“Died? Yeah, that happens sometimes.” Guizhong fluffed her hair with a smirk. “Anyways, where’s Morax? I need to ask him why it took him almost four thousand years to unlock the Memory of Dust.”

“He’s, umm, Rex Lapis is out today. We are the ones that freed you, Lady Guizhong. Were you trapped in there for over three thousand years?” Xiao cocked his head to the side.

The god looked around again. “That seems to be the case, yes. I put a piece of my soul inside the Memory of Dust as a failsafe in case anything happened to me during the Archon War. So tell me, Xiao, what all has happened in my absence? Why are you not accompanied by the other yakshas?”

Xiao rocked back and forth on his heels uncomfortably and didn’t meet her eyes. Hu Tao stepped over and linked her arm in Guizhong’s. “I’m not sure I know everything that happened, but I can at least tell you what happened in the past month or so!”

~~~~~ “What a splendid meal! I swear, Mister Zhongli, we should enjoy such fine dining more often!” Childe wiped his face on a silk napkin with a wide smile.

Zhongli nodded and reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet to pay for the food, but stopped. “Oh, well, this is certainly awkward now.”

“No Mora again? I took you for a working man.” The Harbinger winked and pulled out his own wallet. “You are lucky to be dining with someone as generous as myself.”

Childe leaned across the table and his voice dropped tremendously. “And of course, you understand what I require in return.”

Zhongli shook his head. “I’m not fighting you.”

The younger man laughed and fell back in his seat. “Such stubbornness! Oh how I wish to beat it out of you!”

“Perhaps I could treat you to some quality tea and more chopstick-using lessons instead?” The ex-Archon felt himself grinning.

Childe’s smile only grew. “Deal!”

The walk back to Zhongli’s apartment was pleasant. Zhongli quite enjoyed all of Childe’s stories from his childhood in Snezhnaya and because he was no longer duty bound to Liyue as its Archon, he silently promised to one day visit the icy country of the North.

However, all pleasantries fell away when they approached the front door and noticed that a window was smashed, the sound of conversation floating out into the air of the night. Childe smirked and pulled out his swords. “Looks like I’ll get my fight after all!”

Zhongli recognized one of the voices, but he couldn't place it. He pulled his key out of his coat pocket and unlocked the door quietly. They slipped inside and looked around for the intruders. However, Zhongli froze when he caught sight of who sat at his dinner table without a care in the world.

“And then, after this guy almost floods the entire city, Zhongli still asks him out to dinner!” Hu Tao laughed.

Xiao crossed his arms and grumbled from across the table. “It is as they say, ‘love is blind’.”

“I for one think this Childe man sounds pleasant. He certainly isn't any more dangerous than Morax’s other exes.” The second woman giggled.

Zhongli dropped his keys as Childe slipped behind him. “What’s this? A party for us?”

The yaksha gasped and jumped to his feet, bowing lowly at the hip. “My lord! Forgive the intrusion! I shall repair your window at once!”

Tao coughed loudly from her seat. “Simp.”

Guizhong slid out of her seat gracefully and stood before Zhongli. “Hey there, old timer.”

He crossed the distance between them and engulfed her in a hug. “Are you really here?

“Uh… yes? My question is why did it take you three thousand and seven hundred years to unlock the Memory of Dust?!” She hugged him back, but gave him a wicked pinch.

He let go and looked around. “It was an impossible puzzle--”

Xiao rubbed the back of his neck. “Director Hu and I solved it in half an hour.”

“And out popped the pretty god!” Tao grabbed a cup of tea from the table and downed it in a single gulp. “Oh, hi twink!”

“Hi yourself, shortie!” Childe waved at her from the doorway. “Anyways, can someone introduce me to this lovely woman here?”

She moved a gaping Zhongli out of her way to shake Childe’s hand. “Hi, I’m Guizhong!”

“Guizhong? As in the God of Dust? Nice to meet you, I’m Childe, but I also go by Tartaglia!”

Hu Tao moved over to Xiao and pinched his elbow, prompting him to hand her three Mora. “I told you they would hit it off.”

Guizhong turned back to Zhongli to see a tear streaking down his cheek. She frowned and grabbed his arm. “Oh no, Morax! Don't be sad! I’m back!”

“I’m not sad…” He examined every inch of her face. How could he had forgotten how kind her eyes were? “This may be the happiest day of my life.”

Childe cleared his throat loudly. “So… about that tea and those lessons you promised me?”

The ex-Archon remembered his existence. “Oh, right, my apologies, Childe. Do you still wish to learn how to use chopsticks?”

Guizhong gasped loudly. “You don't know how to use chopsticks?! It’s a good thing that I’m a god of wisdom! Xiao, get in that kitchen and find us some pairs to use at once!”

The adepti gulped and moved to follow her orders. “Yes ma’am.”

Childe was dragged to the table by the woman with the large sleeves and forcefully sat down. Xiao returned with chopsticks and Hu Tao took the seat next to him with a large smile.

As Guizhong began her instructions, Zhongli watched the scene unfold with deep emotions in his eyes. He had fantasised for centuries about what the Memory of Dust held within - that perhaps it was some sort of parting wisdom from his oldest friend, but this? Having a piece of her soul be trapped within it, waiting for him to unlock it?

He chuckled to himself, of course it would. That was how Guizhong’s fantastic mind worked.

“Forgive my interruption, but how did you two unlock the Memory of Dust? I tried and failed for almost four thousand years to solve the puzzle.” He glanced at his desk where the contraption would have sat.

Guizhong’s laugh was like bells ringing in his ears. “Morax, you old fool, you simply needed two people to solve it. To acknowledge that you need assistance is the most wise thing a person can do.”

Zhongli sat down in an empty chair and watched Childe drop his chopsticks to crack his knuckles. “Then I see that even I still have much to learn from you. I take it you will be returning to Juyuin Karst?”

She snorted. “Oh gods no! I’m staying with you, partner! You think I can afford to travel around whenever I want to? In this economy? No sir, you’ve just got yourself a new roommate and you can blame little Conqueror of Demons and your boss for that!”

[captainrexisboo]

Comfort pt3: Waiting

Remember thirty minutes ago I saidI was writing a part three? Yeah, that part three I’ve actually been working on all day. It’s been a time my guys. Anyways.

Warnings: diet violence (like one slap), emotional stress, emotional vulnerability, The F Bomb (scanandalous), and discussion of sex (ohhhhh shit). 

Notes: Rex x Reader, reader is a woman. Tagging: @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life @000ayfh @pinkiemme @midnightredemption @simping-for-fives I love love love you guys, thanks so much for your comments!! cries

And if you missed it, here’s pt 2

Also!! Pt4!!!

~

“Coruscant.”

You breathed out the word like you couldn’t believe the planet existed, even if you had lived there your whole life. Rex looked to you, standing next to you on the bridge as you looked at all the lights, as if the planet itself was covered in stars. He leaned to you, giving you a hushed tone, “You gonna be alright?”

It was your fleet’s first time back on Coruscant since the break up. Your first time back to base. It’d be a lot harder to avoid the nat born Sergeant now that you weren’t off-world. On the flagship, you could just forward his transmissions, claim you were busy, or even block his calls and blame it on a bad signal. You had been stressing about coming back for a while, Rex knew you weren’t alright, but this was his little reminder that he was here for you. You squeezed your eyes shut, counting to 10 and breathing deep. When you opened your eyes you looked up into Rex’s concerned gaze, and...your mouth was hanging open, but no words came out. You exhaled a wry chuckle after a beat, “I hesitated too long for there to be a good answer, Captain.”

Rex nodded to you, rubbing his hand over his chin, “Do you need one of us to walk with you? Run as interference, in case he tries anything?”

You scoffed, “He’s not a dangerous man, sir. We didn’t break up for anything other than our individual development, he’s just...needy. But not dangerous.”

“Well, ‘needy’ can turn into danger really quickly.”

Rex understood there wasn’t any bad blood sitting between you and this training officer, but he also knew that said officer attempted to call you multiple times during this deployment, and that just didn’t sit well with him. You had agreed not to talk to each other until you both felt like you had good space between the two of you again, and yet he was trying to give you regular transmissions- Rex found it rather disrespectful. And he said as such, “It’s the first time you’ve seen each other since then. I really think you should have someone with you, just in case emotions run high.”

You purse your lips together, scrunching them off to the side in a sour pucker, and hands coming up to rub at your arms. If the two of you weren’t surrounded by other soldiers and staff Rex would probably lay an arm around you, give your shoulder a squeeze to pull you into a hug. But that’s not professional. Instead, he brings his hands to hold behind his back, one squeezing the other to pretend it’s your own. After a minute of you contemplating his words, you sighed, “Okay Captain, you’re right. Since we both have our respective reports to fill out, would you mind escorting me to the GAR administrative office? I can pick up what’s waiting for Admiral Yularen and General Skywalker, then we can make our way to your office so we can fill out our parts?”

Rex smiled at you, giving you a slight nod, “That sounds fine, miss.”

He was glad that you had decided this.

Especially when you both rounded the corner at the base to see your ex standing outside the administrative office, knowing that would be the first place you went once you landed. Your heart jumped into your throat, and you started wringing your fingers together, nearly hiding behind Rex while you two stood in the crowd. Still helmetless, Rex eyed the Sergeant while you and him were still unnoticed. He whispered to you, voice low, “Do you need me to go talk to him? Ask him to move along?”

A slight growl punctuated the end of Rex’s request, it was so soft you were unsure if it was even there or not, but the way he clenched his fists and puffed his chest verified your suspicion as correct. When did he get so protective over you? You glanced around him to see his face in the signature soldier snarl all clones seem to have perfected, but something different sat behind his gaze. A wildfire, one that was distinctly different from his battle hardened stare. You brought your hand up to tug at his wrist, a resolve coming over you. As soon as your fingers brushed against him, his gaze was pulled down to you, features softening but stare still burning. He wanted to fight for you, but this was not his fight to have. It was yours alone.

You steeled yourself, imitating the Captain’s posture, and swallowed down any emotion from choking your voice as you declared, “No, Rex. I’ll handle him, please wait for me here.”

Wait for you. After all the times you were made to wait for him, he could gladly return the favor.

“Sergeant Aurin,” you greeted sharply as you marched up to him. Your hands were held behind your back, chin high and stare flat, taking note of how he seemed to gulp down air at the sight of your guarded self, “Can I help you?”

“Y/N,” he whispered low, trying his best to keep things private in the bustling halls, “Why haven’t you answered my calls? It’s been months, and-”

“And I said I’d contact you when I was ready,” you snapped. You wanted to keep this visit short, hopefully make yourself clear, “Is that all, Sergeant?”

His brows furrowed, and jaw clenched, “Can we talk later? I just feel like we need to, and I want some answers-”

“I don’t have answers,” you could feel yourself breaking, letting out a shuddering breath as your nails dug into your palm, “Not yet, at least. Even if I did, I don’t owe you anything.”

He opened his mouth to give you a rebuttal before some familiar armor caught his eye over your form. He nearly didn’t recognize the trooper without the unmistakable helmet, but he knew that he was the clone that interrupted you that day. He locked eyes with the clone, who gave him a deep scowl in return. Aurin looked between the two of you, suddenly seeing red, “Did you already move on?”

“What?” you shook your head, blinking at him in confusion.

“You’re with him, aren’t you?” he looked back down to you, voice gaining volume, pointing an accusing finger at Rex behind you, “Was I that easy to move on from? You couldn’t grieve what we had first before going and fucking some-”

A ringing smack reverberated down the hallway, and Rex’s jaw hung open in surprise. A red mark was forming on Aurin’s cheek, and Rex could hear your tear strained voice from the silence that now graced the hallway, time nearly freezing with your audience, “I already told you I don’t owe you anything. The Captain and I have work to do, so if there’s no GAR related business that you have with me, please do not stall me any longer.”

You walked past Aurin, who brought up a hand up to his cheek, and closed the door to the administrative office behind you. At the shut of the door, the world seemed to come back to life again, GAR officials and clone troopers moving along again as if nothing had transpired. Aurin looked back up to the Captain after a beat. Rex was standing with his arms crossed, biting back a smirk as best he could, even as the nat born began to march up to him. He stopped just short of Rex, who continued to glare at him down his nose, “Sergeant.”

“Captain,” he ground out through grit teeth. He was huffing with angry breath, eyes shifting between sadness and confusion as he cleared his throat, “I trust you’ll keep her safe?”

Rex let a breath of a deep chuckle escape him, “She’s perfectly capable of keeping herself safe, she’s made that very clear to me. Especially just now.”

Aurin hadn’t stopped gingerly rubbing at the stinging flesh, barely being able to look Rex in the eyes, voice broken and near pleading, “Just...how long did it take for her to forget me?”

Rex felt his chest contract. It became painfully obvious to him that this break up had greatly hurt the both of you, but while you had Rex to keep you steady, Aurin didn’t seem to have anyone. Rex exhaled slowly, picking his next words carefully, “It’s not my place to tell you. She’ll talk with you when she’s ready, it’s in your best interest to respect her space and give her time.”

Aurin let out a low grunt, “Time. Time...well. She’s worth waiting for.”

That was something Rex could agree with.

Aurin left before you came out of the office, flimsiplasts and datapads in hand as you stiffly walked towards Rex. Before he could ask anything, you held up a finger, “Your office, please, I don’t want to stay out here much longer.”

He nodded to you without a question, leading you to the wings that held offices for the clone battalion leaders. You kept your face hidden from him, and that made him particularly worried, so he got you there as fast as he could, to a door labelled 501-7567. He punched in his code, ushering you inside before shutting the door behind you. As soon as the door shut, you dropped the reports on his desk and turned around to face him, dam ready to break. You had been blinking back fat tears the entire walk, your lashes already wet and shining, brows knit together and lips trembling fiercely. You let out a choked sound as a hand came up to cover your mouth, “Rex, I- I-”

He shushed you, taking you in his arms as was now normal. His hand found its way into your hair, the other one wrapping around your form and pulling you in. You wrapped your arms around his neck as a violent sob racked through you, and he rubbed your back in practiced motions, “Everything will be alright, Y/N. Everything will be alright…”

The two of you stayed like that even after your breathing had settled. Rex’s nose was buried in your hair as he gently swayed you, keeping you grounded. When you spoke again, your voice was hoarse and muffled against his armor, “Am I a bad person?”

“Absolutely not,” Rex snorted, “I would’ve done a lot worse than just slap him-”

“No, not that,” you croaked out a lame giggle, “That actually was a little thrilling. I mean…”

You took a shuddering breath, stopping the slow rocking tempo Rex had, and leaning away from him to look into his kind honey-colored stare, “I… I don’t feel bad about leaving him. Everything went back to normal for me so quickly, I just continued living like he was never a part of me. And when I wasn’t normal, when I couldn’t just pull through, I had you. Aurin has no one… I was the one who helped him pull through, but I can’t do that for him now, and…”

Your throat felt thick with emotion again, and you felt another wave of tears threatening to fall. All Rex could do was hold you.

“And you’re worried about him,” Rex finished for you, voice barely above a whisper. You nodded, not wanting to speak because then the sobbing would begin again. Rex brushed some strands of hair out of your face before cupping your cheek, gently thumbing away the tear stains as you leaned into his touch. You sniffled, shoulders shaking and lips quivering with each trembling breath, and Rex continued, “I don’t think you’re a bad person at all. In fact you are such a good person, that you still want to take care of someone that you have absolutely no obligation to. And… I know it hurts. Not being able to fully be there for someone you care so much for, but you have to trust that if they’re the person you think they are- or the person you want them to be- then they’ll find their own way too.”

You breathed a heavy sigh at the end of his words, a hand coming up to hold the large one that still stroked your cheek. Letting your eyelids get heavy, you let a dry chuckle leave you, “I slapped him because he accused us of having sex.”

… ah.

“I, uh- sorry,” Rex stumbled, clearing his throat as his eyebrows shot up in surprise, “That was- I didn’t realize that’s what was being, ah, being discussed. I-I assume you told him otherwise?”

You smiled at how flustered he got, “Actually, I told him I didn’t owe him anything. It’s none of his business, right?”

Rex felt his face grow hotter as you looked up at him, a sly grin taking over and fluttering your lashes at him. He cleared his throat twice more, suddenly finding the dark gray floor to be so much more interesting, “You’re right, uh, yeah. I guess I just feel... I-I don’t know. I’m a clone, not exactly Mister Coruscant, thought you’d be a little appalled at the thought.”

“Are you kidding?” you let out a puff of laughter, before locking his gaze again, “I didn’t want him disrespecting you like that. You’re not some scavenger, waiting in the wings to rip my heart out. You’re a kind, understanding Captain who just wants the best for the people he loves. I admire that, Rex. I admire you.”

Rex could melt in this moment, you seemed to be the only person to make him do so. You smiled softly at him, looking down at the ground now as you took on a shy tone, “Besides, don’t sell yourself short. You’re at the top of a lot of nat born’s lists on the flagship- honestly, mine included.”

Rex felt him spine and joints stiffen, eyes going wide and grip tightening as he froze in place. Melting one moment, frozen the next. Yeah, you’re definitely the only one to make him feel like this, even as you giggled at the tortured groan that passed through him. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to embarrass you,” your words were lighter now, smile brighter, “I just thought you should know. You’re a looker, Cap.”

You ended your sentence with an exaggerated wink, and that had Rex laughing with you, his forehead coming down to rest on yours. The reports were all but forgotten at this point, the two of you just thinking about how lucky you were to have the other in their life.

[flashthescalesian-art]

Jesse Lives

I have no excuse for this other than I’ve had it sitting around forever and I’m still not over the finale. Send help.

Also my writing motivation has been wack, I’m so sorry

—————

Rex was stumbling through the smoking ruins of the cruiser, on alert for any potential survivors, although he doubted anyone could have survived the crash. Hopping down into a hole in what was left of the hangar floor, he spotted a familiar helmet a short distance away from a pile of debris. Jesse… His heart sank.

Then he heard a muffled cough. He snapped his head up toward the pile of debris and crept closer, steeling himself for the sight of a dying brother too far gone to save. “Is someone alive in there?” He asked, searching for a glimpse of whoever just coughed.

“R-...Re-ex?” A voice croaked before coughing again.

The only clone in the entire 332nd who would have recognized Rex by voice alone was Jesse. “Yeah, it’s me, Jesse, I’m here,” Rex replied, now searching harder for a glimpse of his brother. “Stay with me, okay? I’m gonna get you out of here.” He started pulling away debris, being careful not to cause more to fall. He was going to need help. Praying his comlink still worked, he tried to contact Ahsoka. “Ahsoka, I need your help. I found Jesse. He’s pinned under some debris and I can’t get him out.”

“Rex, we won’t be able to get all the bodies out, y-“

“He’s alive, Ahsoka. Please hurry,” Rex pleaded as Jesse began coughing again. “Stay with me, Jesse, we’re gonna get you out.” He moved another chunk of metal and found a hand, so he gently tapped the palm, getting a feeble tap in response. “Hey, vod, hang in there.” Now that he knew where to take debris from, he started pulling the pieces of metal off from where he knew Jesse’s head was.

Ahsoka hurried over just as Rex uncovered Jesse’s head. “C’mander?” Jesse slurred, squinting up at her.

Rex knelt next to him, frowning at the deep gash on the left side of Jesse’s head that was leaving a puddle of blood around him. “Shhh, don’t speak right now. We’re gonna get you out of here.” Jesse’s gaze moved to Rex’s face, his pupils dilated and mismatched.

“I can lift the debris off him, so you’re going to have to pull him out,” Ahsoka said after a moment.

Rex nodded and hooked his fingers under the collar of Jesse’s armor, supporting his head and neck with his other hand. “Ready when you are.”

Ahsoka nodded and lifted her hands, the debris shifting and rising with them. Jesse let out a pained gasp that was cut short by Rex pulling him backward. He tried to cry out, wheezing instead. “He’s out,” Rex said once Jesse’s legs were clear of the debris. Ahsoka lowered her hands slowly, then knelt next to Jesse, opposite from Rex. Jesse’s armor was cracked almost all over and his right thigh had a chunk of durasteel lodged in it.

“Get his head patched up, I’ll get him out of his armor to see what else we can do for him. We’ll get his leg taken care of when you’re done with his head.” Ahsoka started unbuckling Jesse’s chestplate, so Rex took a bacta patch out of his belt and carefully put it over Jesse’s bloody head wound.

It took a bit to get Jesse’s thigh armor cut off, but they got it off. “This doesn’t look too deep to patch up. We just have to go quick once we get that out of his leg,” Rex said, rubbing his hand lightly over Jesse’s chest, feeling his brother’s shallow breathing.

Just as they moved to pull the metal out of Jesse’s thigh, he shot upright, lunging for Rex’s pistols. Rex grabbed him tightly and held him while Ahsoka took the pistols out of Rex’s holsters and pushed them across the floor, well out of Jesse’s reach. “Jesse, what the kriff are you doing?!” Rex didn’t understand. Jesse had been fine, why was he getting violent now?

“Traitor!” Jesse snarled, trying to fight Rex’s grasp. Then all at once, he went limp again, gasping and coughing. “R-Rex… I dunno wha’ h-happen’… I…” He sounded extremely upset.

“Shhh, stay quiet, Jess. You done fighting me?” Rex asked, getting a nod in response. “Okay, I’m gonna set you down again, then Ahsoka and I will patch your leg up so we can get going.” Jesse nodded again, so Rex eased him back to the floor. His eyes were so confused and pained. “You’ll be okay, vod. Just try to relax for us.”

-

Getting Jesse situated at least semi-comfortably in Rex’s lap in the Y-wing was a challenge. Jesse might not have more than a few external wounds, but he was badly bruised all over, including internally, so everything hurt. They had needed to splint his left wrist because it was broken, but it was surprisingly the only broken bone Jesse had received.

Jesse was quiet for a while, his head resting against Rex’s shoulder, so Rex was startled when Jesse’s hand suddenly clawed at his neck. “Kark! Jesse, it’s me, stop!” Rex grabbed his brother’s wrist, thankful Ahsoka had decided to put Jesse’s injured arm in a sling to keep him from using it.

“Traitor! You’re helping a Jedi!” Jesse spat, struggling weakly against Rex’s grasp.

“I know you don’t believe that, Jess. Stop fighting me, vod, we’re gonna get you help so this’ll stop happening,” Rex murmured gently. He hated seeing Jesse like this.

“Rex, you okay back there?” Ahsoka asked.

Jesse squirmed harder, so Rex held him tighter. “I’m fine, kid. He’s too weak to fight me much. Hopefully he’ll come out of this before he hurts himself.”

After a few minutes, the anger in Jesse’s eyes disappeared. “I- I tried t’hurt you ‘gain, di’n’t I?” He whimpered, tears welling in his eyes.

“It’s not your fault, Jesse. You didn’t hurt me anyway,” Rex soothed, tucking Jesse’s head against his neck. Jesse hiccupped and immediately tensed in pain. “Shhh, no crying, vod. You’ll hurt yourself worse.” Rex held him close, wanting to fix this for his brother, but unable to do anything more than what he was already doing. He could tell Jesse was tired and likely wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer. “Why don’t you drink some water for me?” Rex suggested, grabbing his canteen and taking the cap off before he put it to Jesse’s lips. “Just take a few sips for me.”

Jesse did as he was asked, then shuddered and tried to curl closer to Rex. “Mm cold, Rex,” he whined miserably.

Rex put the back of his hand to Jesse’s temple and frowned. He was actually a bit feverish. That wasn't a good sign. “I’ll grab a blanket for you, hang on.” He leaned over as far as he was able without hurting Jesse, fumbled for the backpack at his feet, then pulled a blanket out of it. “Here, let’s get you wrapped up.” Being careful not to hurt his shivering brother, Rex wrapped Jesse snugly in the thin blanket, securing Jesse’s arms as well. Might as well keep him from being able to grab me if he tries to hurt me again. “Is that alright, vod?” Jesse nodded and pressed his face into Rex’s neck.

After a few minutes, Rex could tell Jesse had fallen asleep. “We need to get him medical attention ASAP, he’s got a fever, and I don’t want it to get worse,” he said to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka was quiet for a moment. “What about Alderaan? We could try there.”

Rex didn’t know much about Alderaan other than who the Senator was, but anywhere with medical facilities would be a better option than the current situation. “Alderaan it is, then.” Hopefully Jesse can hold out that long...

[wanderinginksplot]

Commander

Kind of a cheat day cross-post from fanfiction.net. One-shot about the word ‘commander’ and all the things it has meant to Rex over the years. Written before the final season of Clone Wars premiered, so don’t roast the details I didn’t get right!

It started as a simple word, one mentioned during flash training as part of a long list of ranks in the military. If he had any true association with it, it was only that it seemed far from his reach, but CT-7567 - or Rex, as he soon became known - was filled with determination. Someday, he wouldn't in flash training or on Kamino. He wouldn't be a shiny anymore. He would be a real soldier, and after that...

Commander.

…

As he worked his way through the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic, 'Commander' no longer seemed like an unattainable goal. His first few battles had brought him acclaim, set him apart from the identical mass of his vode, and he had not allowed that recognition to fade in the following missions. Instead, he was steadily gaining ground on the rank. If he managed to survive a few more battles with the clankers, it would be a reality.

Commander Rex had a nice ring to it.

…

"Okay, men," General Skywalker began, pacing back and forth in front of his troops. The Jedi seemed to always be in motion. At first meeting, Rex had believed it to be a case of nerves, but after spending only a few minutes in Skywalker's presence, he knew better. The General wasn't constantly moving because he needed to work off nervous energy, but because he could scarcely hold himself in check. He was just that ready to tackle their next mission, as shown by his speech: "Taking Christophsis from the Separatists isn't gonna be easy, but the GAR chose us above all the other planetary landing battalions. Let's prove 'em right."

Not much of a speech, all things considered, but it did the trick for the men of the 501st. Even the inter-HUD chatter moved from anxious questions to confident bets on who could dismantle the most clankers. Rex shifted to the balls of his feet, squaring his shoulders. His men would take out as many clankers as they could, but he intended to best them all. If this mission was a success, the rank of commander was all but guaranteed to him. Skywalker had promised before the assignment was even handed down that a well-handled battle would be enough to give Rex that much-desired promotion.

Commander.

...

He had done everything right. Though it had broken something inside of him, Rex had arrested his vod, Slick, for conspiring against the GAR - the Republic as a whole, really - and what had it gotten him? The same title he'd had before, but with an added responsibility.

A kid.

Inside his helmet, HUD transmission firmly shut down for the moment, Rex let fly several curses in guttural Mando'a. Who thought it was a good idea to send a kid - a completely green kid at that - out into battle? The kriffin' Jedi, apparently.

She would be good for the General, as long as she didn't get herself blown up by rushing into a battle the way she had into the meeting with her Master. The first thing Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano had done after stepping off her transport was give Skywalker an insulting nickname. Strange kid, especially for someone who belonged to an order he had been told was filled with stuffy, rule-obsessed wizards. Maybe the Jedi couldn't handle the energy and pawned her off on the first person who needed a Padawan.

But then, the 501st was filled with misfits and oddities. The General himself was filled with so many attachments that Rex was shocked the Jedi didn't ban him from speaking to any being across the galaxy. All things considered, Padawan Tano was better suited to Torrent Company than any other division.

Yes, she would be good for the newly-christened Skyguy, and for the men as well. He had already noticed an improvement in attitude with the addition of her confident and curious nature to their already… eclectic battalion. If she stayed, and he believed she would, Padawan Tano would become the new commander of the 501st. He couldn't bring himself to dislike the kid, either. He was a clone, and that meant he had a clear expiration date. A title as important as 'commander' should belong to someone with a little more staying power. He was disappointed, but the best way he could serve his general and his men was by helping the Togrutan female acclimate to her new position as painlessly as possible. Lives depended on it.

…

Rex was tired beyond any post-battle weariness he had ever experienced before. The Kaminoans had warned the clones during flash training, told them about the effects of mental warfare, but he had never believed that it could take such a toll. The effort of keeping Asajj Ventress from mind-tricking him into betraying his General and soon-to-be Commander had taken a toll. He was wracked with such intense fatigue that his muscles literally shook with the effort of standing.

Numbly, he set a course for his bunk aboard the Resolute. He had never believed so completely that his life had come to an end as when Ventress had held him at the end of her red lightsabers.

"..ex? Captain? Captain!"

Rex dimly became aware that someone had been calling after him for a few minutes, but it had never broken through the fog in his mind. With the weariness in his entire being, Rex was slow to turn and slower to salute. "Commander Tano."

She pulled a face, the markings on her cheeks and forehead moving oddly with the expression. "Please don't call me that, Captain. I'm a Padawan, not a commander."

"With respect, sir, if you choose to stay with General Skywalker, you're both."

She blinked at him and the sight of her eyes closing made his own ache all the more fiercely. "Did you need something, Commander?"

"Yes, Captain. I need to speak with you about your run-in with Ventress."

"I will record every detail in my initial report, which will be filed tomorrow, well within GAR guidelines."

Commander Tano frowned. "That's not what I meant. I want- I need for you to know that it was me. I'm the reason we didn't come back to save you from Ventress right away. I insisted that we save Stinky- I mean, Rotta. I made Skyguy stick with our mission and you almost died. A lot of men did die. He would have given up on everything else to come back and so many men would still be here. It's my fault. I just- I'm sorry."

The fog cleared from his head slightly, enough that he could stare at the Padawan. The Commander, he reminded himself. It was clear that the guilt was eating her alive. She had just come to the front lines, come from a life on Coruscant where clones were regarded as little more than droids made of flesh and blood. Why should she feel guilty?

"Listen, kid," he said gruffly, and her eyes lit with a spark of hope at the nickname. "That's why I think you're good for the General. He cares about his men and we respect him for it, but this is a war. The mission comes first, always, and if you had come back for us, the sluglet may have died and then where would we be?" Her lips quirked up and his did the same in reply. "It's a tricky balance to keep, but maybe working together will help both of you."

Those blue eyes began to shine and Rex fervently prayed to every god he could think of that she wouldn't cry. The Kaminoans had no flash training covering how to deal with a crying female. Thankfully, her voice was even when she spoke. "Thank you, Captain."

"You can call me Rex, sir," he offered, holding his hand out for her to shake. "Seems like we'll be working together for a while." She didn't move, staring at his hand instead. He softened his tone a bit before adding, "I hope so, anyway."

She smiled broadly at that and grasped his hand for a clumsy shake. "I hope so too." The silence threatened to grow awkward, but she dropped his hand and took a step back. "I'll let you get some sleep now. Thanks again, Rex."

Rex nodded and continued to his quarters. Maybe Commander Tano wouldn't be so bad after all.

...

"Did you see that, Rex?" the Commander asked excitedly, swiping dirt from her face with her forearm. "I took down three droids at once!"

"Yes, but you almost missed the one aiming at your back," Rex reminded, pausing in cleaning his deeces to make the point.

Far from discouraged, she only grinned saucily at him. "That's what I have you back there for."

Rex shook his head despairingly, but they both knew he was amused by her antics. General Skywalker's busy schedule and... ahem, involved battle plans often left the two working together and he had grown to respect Commander Tano's work ethic, spirited behavior, and caring nature. Her boundless energy made her exhausting to be around at times, but there was no one he would rather have at his back.

When had that happened?

"In all seriousness, little'un, that was some nice work. You're definitely getting better."

She sighed, growing visibly frustrated under the praise - an odd reaction for the flamboyant Togruta. "Could you tell Skyguy that? I've been asking him to let me dual-wield forever, but he says I haven't even mastered one blade yet."

"I'll talk to him, kid, but I know less about lightsabers than either of you. If you ever want to work on dual blasters, though…" He finished re-assembling his blaster and raised his eyebrows, pausing as if to offer her the weapon.

The Commander laughed. "I think I had better figure out the Jedi weapon before I try to branch out into clone territory."

"Fair enough," Rex conceded, tucking the blaster in his empty hip holster. "I have to go work on my reports. See you later, Commander."

"I've told you a thousand times; call me Ahsoka!" she called after him and Rex grinned, confident she couldn't see him. No matter how much she hated the formality, dropping distance between a commanding officer and their subordinate was always a bad idea.

He hadn't been lying; she was indeed improving quickly. Frighteningly so, in fact. The young Padawan had adjusted so thoroughly to her reckless master that General Kenobi seemed prone to a fit, but no one could deny their effectiveness. The 501st was being sent on more missions than they ever had before and - though some of the other legions mocked them for answering to a teenager - Rex could see the pride his men felt for their pair of Jedi. It was a pride he felt himself.

And with a sigh of regret for the late night that would be required to finish his reports, Rex performed a quick about-face and went in search of General Skywalker. Surely it couldn't hurt to let the kid dual-wield under the watchful eye of her master?

...

"How long until it's fully healed, Kix?" Rex asked, pacing the floor until he was shocked he hadn't worn a path through the durasteel.

Kix answered belatedly, his entire attention focused on tucking in the ends of the gauze he had placed over the bacta patch on Commander Tano's arm. "Rough-edged cut, worryingly deep, significant burns and bruising on the surrounding skin. With the bacta? Probably a standard week or so."

"A week?" the commander groaned, disbelieving. "Maybe Barriss will agree to practice her force-healing on me. I need to be at peak performance for our next mission."

"You won't be-" Rex snapped before remembering that the girl outranked him. "Commander, you cannot seriously intend to come with us on that mission. You're injured."

"It's a scratch, Rex," she disagreed.

"I have to side with the captain on this one," Kix interjected. "A fraction deeper and this injury could have severed a number of tendons in your arm. Even Jedi have trouble healing from that."

"But it wasn't deeper," Ahsoka pointed out. "And I'm leading half the 501st when we attack the Seppie facility. If I don't go on this mission, Skyguy and Master Kenobi will have to create an entirely new plan of attack."

Kix shot Rex a sympathetic glance and packed his equipment. It was Kix's medical bay, but they both knew Rex wasn't going to let this go and the resulting argument could last for hours.

When the clone medic had safely fled the medbay, Rex turned to Ahsoka, knowing that his expression was dark but unable to change it. "Commander, we need to talk about the risk you took out there."

Ahsoka glanced up from her arm, narrowing her eyes already. "It's the same risk all of us take every day: step on the battlefield, fight as well as you can, and if you get the chance to save someone else, do it."

Rex had to admire how she came at him full-force. The kid she had been when she first joined the 501st would have feigned ignorance for a while before finally conceding to his point. The little'un had grown, and it was clear her argument was already planned out and locked down.

Doggedly, he continued undaunted. "You aren't supposed to take the same risks as the rest of us. The Jedi are leaders-"

"Yes," she interrupted, "and the Jedi - the ones attached to the 501st, anyway - lead by example. It's the Jedi standard."

"That may be so, but it's a bad battlefield practice. The heads of the chain of command have to stay alive long enough to formulate changes in plan or coordinate the attack efforts. We can't have you risking yourself for a single man."

"Rex, do you know why Skyguy trusts you so much?"

It was an odd change in conversational topic, but Rex was curious about where she was leading. "Because I've never failed him."

"Well, yes, but also because you've proven that you can think on your feet. My Master and I both have total confidence that, if we both fell, you would be able to 'formulate changes in plan or coordinate the attack efforts'."

Rex grimaced at having his words parroted back at him. "Even if that were true, how many men do you think would keep fighting after you or the General fell? Some would fight harder, maybe, but a lot of them would lose hope altogether. You are our leaders and we respect you too much to allow you to risk your lives without protest."

She stared at him, unimpressed. "Give me the name of a single 501st soldier who hasn't risked his life to help another man."

"That isn't the point, sir. No one is ever expected to enter a situation where they have little chance of surviving. The point is to reduce casualties, not trade lives."

To his surprise, Ahsoka laughed. "Rex, I've seen you sprint through Seppie fire to retrieve men who didn't think they were going to live. And you did it without any backup. Face it, I did what any soldier would do. The only difference is that I'm a Jedi, so my man-saving reach is a little longer than yours."

He would have dropped it, he really would have, but Ahsoka tried to cross her arms and stopped with a stifled gasp and a muscle spasm he knew had to be involuntary. In his mind's eye, he watched as she began to dismantle a super battle droid. Swinging in from the side, she had neatly sliced off both of the SBD's forearm blasters and was ready to put a saber through its head to fry the programming when Skid stumbled in their path. The droid, malicious in its own mindless, drone-like way, reached to attack him with what remained of its arms, but Ahsoka had stepped in the way first. She had blocked one arm, but the other swung in unnoticed. Not only had the jagged metal sliced deeply into her arm, but the metal still glowed red-hot from the blade of her lightsaber.

Rex had shot the super battle droid before it could do any further damage, but the smell of Ahsoka's burning flesh still haunted him, as did the cry she let out when the droid fell, ripping away the metal that had already fused to her skin. He had called Kix through his HUD system, but the young Jedi was already sprinting away, performing ridiculous and graceful acrobatics as she mowed a path through the droid army. Instead, Rex had only put the medic on standby for when the battle ended or the commander collapsed, whichever happened first.

"Commander… Ahsoka," he altered when she didn't respond to her rank. When her gaze met his own, he said sternly, "We need you and the General out there too much to allow you to take risks like that."

"Skid would be dead if I hadn't gotten in the way," she returned immediately. "A cut and some burns are worth it if it means our men survive."

Our men. Rex wanted to be angry. He had certainly been livid on the field at Ahsoka's reckless disregard for her own well-being, but he understood her reasons. Ahsoka Tano had built a reputation as a Jedi who fights for and alongside her men and - though she took some terrible risks for their sake - they would all cheerfully die for her in return.

Rex sighed, eyeing the confrontational tilt to Ahsoka's chin. "Just- promise me you'll be careful."

She smiled, gratitude and affection glowing in her eyes. "Oh, Rexster, when am I anything else?"

...

Commander Rex.

What had once sounded promising, sounded right, now made something inside of him ache until he never wanted to hear it again. Above all else, Rex was a soldier and that meant going, doing, and living as he was told. He had no say in the actions of his superiors, that was perfectly obvious, or Commander Tano would never have been accused, or tried, or found guilty and expelled. She never would have left and she wouldn't be off in the cold galaxy without him - without anyone - to watch her back. If he had his way, things would never have gone so terribly wrong.

He could still remember with aching clarity how his stomach had dropped after General Skywalker had gone to support Commander Tano in her appearance before the Jedi Council, the one after Barriss had been accused and found guilty. The general had confided in Rex that Ahsoka had been cleared of all charges and would be allowed to return to the Jedi Order. He had said, pride in his voice, that this would likely be considered her trials and she would be with them only briefly before she would be made a Jedi Knight and given her own company.

Rex had immediately formulated a plan to transfer into her company. Even after all that had happened, there was no Jedi he would rather serve under.

But the general had not returned with a bright-smiling Padawan behind him. Rather, he had stormed past Rex initially. Only Rex's confused, "Sir?" gained his attention.

"It's your lucky day, Rex. Looks like I can promote you to Commander after all."

That was it. There had been no further mention of Ahsoka, though her Padawan beads had dangled from General Skywalker's fist as he strode back toward the Jedi Temple. It had taken only hours for the 501st to learn the full story, as clones were trained to horde information and most had become terrible gossips.

'Commander' had become a haunted word since then. It had been two standard weeks since they were called back to Coruscant and told they were receiving mandatory planet-side duties while they processed the loss of their commander. In that time, the men actively avoided talking about her or even mentioning the rank, several conversations halting mid-stream as they remembered Ahsoka's involvement. Several of the men, Rex included, suffered even more because they knew the feisty commander so well and never had the chance to say goodbye.

"Rex?" General Skywalker asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the armrests of the well-padded chair Rex kept on the other side of his desk.

Rex shook his head, half to bring himself back to the moment and half in answer to the general's question. "I'm sorry, sir. I can't accept it. I- I would rather remain a captain for now."

Skywalker bowed his head briefly in acceptance. "I understand. You do know that this leaves an open position in the 501st?"

"I do, sir. If you decide to take another Padawan, I'll be happy to serve under them as a captain."

The general snorted, seeming in a lighter mood than he had been since Ahsoka left. "I don't think the Jedi Council wants me to take another Padawan just yet, especially considering how well I handled the last one."

"Comman- Ahsoka," Rex corrected himself, "was never one to be pushed into doing what she didn't think was right. She left because she has things to figure out, but you took her on when no one else even wanted to try. She never forgot that and I doubt she ever will. If your Padawan thinks you were a great Master, what does it matter what the Jedi Council believes?"

General Skywalker remained silent for so long that Rex began to worry he had spoken out of turn, but eventually, his gaze rose to meet Rex's. "I won't be taking another Padawan, Rex. I also won't be taking applications for a commander from another unit. If and when you want the position, it's yours. For now, the 501st doesn't need a new commander."

Rex nodded slowly and the general excused himself shortly afterward, leaving the clone captain to his thoughts. It was fitting in a way, he thought with a touch of amusement. He had waited so long, pushed so hard, all for a promotion he ended up refusing when it was offered. It was only sheer luck that he had a general who understood.

Rex had meant what he said; he wasn't ready to be a commander right now, not when the wound from Ahsoka's departure still ached.

Commander Rex would have to wait.

…

"Commander?"

Though it broke half of the regs he had drilled into his men, Rex tore off his bucket to stare at the flickering, bluish image of Ahsoka. She didn't disappear with his movement, instead giving him a ghost of the mischievous smile she had worn on a regular basis during her time with the GAR.

"Hello, Rex. I need to speak with Mas- with General Skywalker."

"I'll call him," Rex volunteered immediately.

Confusion crossed Ahsoka's matured face, framed by her more pronounced montrals and lekku. "Can't you just patch the transmission through to him? I don't have much time."

"Sorry, sir," he said, more out of habit than anything. "New regs."

"I understand. Would it be easier for me to contact you again in an hour?"

"No, transmissions are a little spotty here. Better that you just continue transmitting and hold the connection until the General can get here."

Rex hurriedly turned to the nearest vod he could find and signaled him to call the General. From the look on the man's face, he was dying to ask why Rex had lied about new regulations, but wouldn't do so in front of someone he wasn't sure was trustworthy. It was for the best anyway. Rex couldn't really tell a shiny that he only wanted to keep Ahsoka online so that he could be in her presence, even just over a hololink.

Besides, he reasoned, if Ahsoka was calling now, after all this time, it meant she needed something. He wasn't going to risk the general saying no. If Skywalker refused his former Padawan whatever she needed, Rex would help her himself. If he patched the transmission through to the main bridge of the Resolute, he would never know why she had called or what the general had said in response.

In any case, he felt a rare, blissful sense of serenity talking to Ahsoka. If she was here, the part of him that never stopped worrying about her safety could relax. It was a welcome break from the worry.

All too soon, his wrist communicator chimed. "Generals Kenobi and Skywalker incoming, Captain."

Rex frowned slightly but tried to keep the expression from lingering on his face. "The General will be here momentarily, Commander."

Ahsoka smiled slightly at that, but he didn't care for the expression - rather than the pure joy that had radiated from her even during the darkest of battles, her smile was now tinged with a grim sort of cynicism. "I'm not a commander anymore, Rex. I'm only surprised Skyguy didn't make you take the rank as soon as I left."

With a careless shrug, Rex drawled, "I like being a captain. Less responsibility. You know how I am under pressure."

"You mean rock-steady?" Ahsoka retorted with a lighter sort of smile. "You're the best man I know in a rough situation."

"I suggest you don't tell the General that when he gets here. Next thing you know, he'll be finding us a rough situation or two to prove himself…" Ahsoka laughed outright at that and the sound soothed Rex's frayed nerves. "And the reason I'm not lobbying for a promotion is because there is none to be had. The 501st already has a commander."

A furrow appeared between Ahsoka's white brow markings as she mused his words. "Who could be more worthy of the position than you, Rex? You're the best soldier I know!" Her offense on his behalf nearly made him smile, but Rex fought back the expression in case she mistook his next words as anything less than the solemn truth.

"It's you, Ahsoka. You may not be a commander for the GAR anymore, but you'll always be our commander."

Her montrals darkened but her eyes lit up with gratitude.

"All right, Rex," General Skywalker said impatiently, stepping through the door with General Kenobi in tow. "What's so important that you brought us all the way back here?"

Ahsoka turned in the holoimage, glancing back at the two new arrivals. "Hello, master. It's been a while."

It was lucky that the General was so focused on the image of his former Padawan, because Rex couldn't fight the smirk that flitted across his face. The Commander always did like to make a scene and he was glad he hadn't missed it, but he shouldn't have worried. From the look on the General's face, Ahsoka would get whatever she needed from the 501st.

---

A/N - cross-posted as-is, no major edits made. If you liked it, consider reblogging or leaving a comment?

[helaintoloki]

Happily Ever After

pairing: Poe Dameron x reader, Kylo Ren x reader

warnings/notes: the title is very misleading. I didn’t intend for this to get so dark and angsty but. Kylo is kind of a jerk and poor Poe gets roughed up a few times and that’s basically what you need to look out for. the first half is pure fluff

“And they lived happily ever after in a galaxy far, far away.”

“Tell us another story, mommy!” Her daughter Shara begs, and her son stares up at her with hooded, heavy eyes. The poor thing.

“Another night. Right now it’s time for you little ewoks to go to bed,” y/n smiles.

“But I’m not tired!” Shara protests, but she too is beginning to succumb to her sleepiness.

“Goodnight,” y/n laughs softly, pressing kisses to their foreheads before switching off the lights and quietly shutting the door.

“They go down?” Poe asks as he snakes his arms around her waist. She smiles, leaning into her husband’s embrace and shutting her eyes as she lets him envelop her in his warmth.

“Not without a fight,” y/n replies, and she doesn’t have to see his face to know he’s smiling.

“Just like their old man.”

She lightly shoves him away with a shake of her head, but her eyes are sparkling with love and adoration for the man before her. He owned her heart forever and always, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You better get to bed too, mister,” she teasingly scolds, “you’ve got work to do tomorrow.”

“I know, I know. Help plant the yaro fruits then fix the shed out back before taking the kids out to the markets to buy more food,” he sighs before pouting. “Stars, I miss when you were a princess who had people to do things for you.”

“Oh, stop,” you tsk. “You know how much I hated being that girl. I like who I am now. With you.”

Poe’s smile is soft as he allows her to cup his face in her hands, fingers soft and the wedding band on her ring finger cool against his skin. How he got so lucky, he’ll never know.

“I know,” he hums softly, leaning forward to peck her on the lips. Then, with a flirtatious smile, “Wanna fool around?”

“Your timing is impeccable,” she laughs but doesn’t protest when his strong arms scoop her up and carry her to bed.

~~~

“Mother, I don’t want to be married,” y/n whispers, vision abruptly cut off by the black veil that is thrown over her face.

“Nonsense. Marrying you off is a grand opportunity for our planet. Don’t be selfish,” the Queen scolds, adjusting the wedding dress.

“But the First Order-“

“I’ll have none of it,” her mother snaps. “You should be grateful Supreme Leader Snoke chose you of all people to marry the Commander. You’re lucky.”

“I don’t love him.”

“I’m aware. You fell for the flyboy,” the Queen says in disdain, “but you didn’t promise your hand in marriage to him, did you? Now stand up straight, you’re not an animal.”

“Yes mother.”

She wakes slowly, eyes blinking carefully as they adjust to the still darkness of the room. The unpleasant dream-like memory is still fresh in her mind, the voice of her mother still echoing in the shadows of her home. Y/N hadn’t thought of her mother in years, let alone her wedding day. What had triggered such a vision in the ex-princess’s mind?

She turns, seeking solace and comfort and warmth in her partner who sleeps peacefully beside her, only he’s not there. Poe’s side of the bed is empty, gradually losing its warmth and indicating that he’d been gone for a while now. Y/N sighs. He’s probably up late with BB-8 again, she assumes.

The little cottage hidden away in the greenery of Yavin 4 is dark and quiet with the still of the night, the children peacefully sleeping in their bedrooms and BB-8 charging in his little station- Wait, then where is Poe?

“Glad you could join us, Princess.”

That voice has her weak at the knees, stumbling and clutching the walls for support as tears begin to well in her eyes. She hadn’t heard that voice in years, hadn’t been in his presence since the wedding. Why now? Why here? When everything was so perfect?

“No...” she breathes, too terrified to turn around and face the ghost from her past. The sight is worse than she imagines, his towering figure looming over her husband. His beautiful face is bruised and bloodied, and at his throat is the unsheathed lightsaber.

“Let him go,” she whispers shakily, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that yet. He has something I want,” the man taunts.

“Y/N, go,” Poe splutters out, blood dribbling down the corner of his lip. “Get out of here.”

“What do you want, Kylo?” She seethes, ignoring Poe’s wishes. She won’t let him win, she refuses to give him the satisfaction.

“My bride,” Kylo replies simply. “Come back home with me. Where you belong.”

“I was never your bride,” she spits angrily. “Our souls were never bonded by the force.”

“Because you ran away like a coward,” Kylo scowls, thumb dangerously close to the ignition button. She jumps, eyes wide in terror.

“Kylo... Ben, please,” y/n begs, tears flowing freely now, “please don’t do this.”

“Join me then, and I will spare his life.”

“Y/N you can’t!”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” She whispers. His only response is an outstretched hand in her direction, and with a deep breath she’s reaching for him, fingers aflame as her skin comes into contact with his gloved hand.

And at his touch comes the tidal wave of memories, beckoned by their reconnecting souls. Flowers, the fields, the nights spent frolicking about together. The destruction, the violence, the chaos, the treaties. The man hidden behind the monster, and the monster acting as the man.

“You’ve made a wise choice,” he says, voice eerily soothing and gentle despite the harshness of the voice modulator. With a brutish shove Poe is released on his hands and knees.

“Poe!” She breathes, attempting to run towards him only to be yanked back into Kylo’s hard chest.

“He’s no longer your concern now,” Kylo reminds her, “and you are no longer his.”

“Poe, I’m sorry,” she sobs, eyes pleading for him to stay put. To stay down. For once in his life to not fight back.

“Y/N, I’ll find you,” Poe promises through tears of his own. His blood is boiling and heart aching in his chest, but he does as her eyes tell him to. The children need their father.

“Mommy?”

And that gentle voice, that melodic little voice causes both of their hearts to drop to their stomachs. So close. If Shara had just stayed put a little longer.

“Oh?” Kylo breathes, and it is unclear whether or not he is angry. “You certainly kept yourself busy while I was away.”

“Please, she’s only a child,” y/n weeps, hand tightly clutching his and desperately trying to keep him back. But he’s bigger, stronger, and she cannot stop him as he approaches the young girl and kneels before her.

“What is your name?” He asks gently.

“Shara,” she replies meekly, still half asleep. “Who are you?”

“An old friend of your mother’s,” Kylo replies. “An old friend of yours.”

“Get away from her!” Poe shouts, only to be flung across the room into the book shelf. Y/N lets out a horrified shriek, rushing to his side. And yet it’s as if Shara sees none of it.

“Would you like to join your mother and I on my ship? I have a special place just for you,” Kylo baits, reeling the naive child into his grasp.

“Okay... what about my little brother Rex?” Kylo’s fists clench slightly at his sides.

“He can come too. Why don’t you retrieve him for me?”

The bouncing five year old is quick to rush and wake her brother, and now Kylo can turn his attention to the couple cowering together in the corner. Despite how battered and broken he is, Poe puts on a strong front and shields y/n from Kylo, gaze mean and hard.

“You didn’t tell me,” Kylo observes.

“That’s because you didn’t need to know,” y/n spits. “They’re not yours.”

“Perhaps not the little one. I’m only bringing him along for your sake. But Shara...”

“Blood does not define family,” y/n breathes shakily. “Poe is her father. Poe was there for everything. You weren’t.”

“Enough,” Kylo seethes, once again taking his anger out on the pilot by knocking him out cold through the force. “Your precious flyboy can’t protect you now. It’s always been me, y/n. Ever since Naboo-“

“I went to Naboo with Ben Solo!” She cries harshly. “And you are not him. I don’t know what you are.”

“The man you love,” he scoffs. “Love won’t save you, y/n. Only the dark side can. You’ll understand in time.”

Shara emerges with the two year old toddler in tow. He’s whining for his mother, soft curls wild from bed head. A striking image of his father.

“Babies, come,” y/n urges, wrapping them both in her arms and holding them close to her chest, away from their father who won’t wake up on the ground. They don’t need to see it.

“It’s time,” Kylo announces. “Take what you must. I’ll be waiting outside.”

“Papa?” Rex whines, and y/n presses a hasty kiss to his forehead.

“Papa is... is on a trip,” she swallows, “he’ll be back soon. And we’re going to take a trip now too. And we’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”

And she could only hope that they would be.

[aion-rsa]

A Comprehensive History of George R.R. Martin’s NFL Draft Takes

https://ift.tt/2QIG9tF

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin loves three things above all else: writing exhaustive descriptions of feasts, killing Starks, and watching NFL football.

When the “A Song of Ice and Fire” creator is not writing the most impactful bit of fantasy storytelling since The Lord of the Rings, he follows his two favorite football teams: the New York Giants and the New York Jets (yes, supporting two teams in the same city is highly unusual and yes, he’s apparently fine with it). 

Martin is fond of expounding upon his fandom in interviews (including this one with ex-NFL defensive end Chris Long) and also documenting his sports pain on his LiveJournal blog, “Not a Blog”. The Westeros story shepherd has been blogging steadily since pretty much the dawn of blogging in 2006. And over the past 15 years, he has marked 235 posts with the “NFL” tag. 

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Martin is using a blog the way blogs were intended to be used – providing professional updates with some informal sports observations sprinkled in. But I’ve personally never been able to get over the novelty of one of pop culture’s most important, sagacious figures, jotting down his ill-conceived sports takes just like the rest of us weirdos. I mean, get a load of this (which is baseball-related, not football):

Grown men wishing to bear the child of their favorite professional athlete is the sort of thing usually left to fringe sports talk radio shows or drunk group text chats. And yet, here is the writer of A Feast For Crows’ genius “broken man” monologue just throwing it out there for public consumption. 

It’s like finding out that J.R.R. Tolkien used to submit his sports takes to The Times in the 1940s. “Yes, Stanley Matthews is talented but I fear his training regimen too rigorous for him to maintain the proper energy for the Three Lions to overcome France this year.”

Sadly, we do not have Tolkien’s football takes (apparently rugby was more his speed anyway). Since we do have Martin’s though, it’s worth examining how his many NFL opinions and predictions have held up over the years, particularly his commentary surrounding the NFL Draft.

The NFL Draft, in which NFL teams select college players to augment their rosters, occurs every year near the end of April or beginning of May. Martin, bless him, frequently likes to record his thoughts on the Jets and Giants’ draft during or after the event. Of the 235 NFL posts on NotaBlog, at least 12 of them deal with the draft. 

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This year’s NFL Draft begins on April 29. A GRRM post about it is sure to come soon after (unless The Winds of Winter is taking up too much of his time). Before George offers his thoughts on this year’s selections, let’s take a trip back through memory lane to grade some of his previous years’ takes. 

Bear in mind, that this list of Martin’s draft takes isn’t truly exhaustive. His blog for the 2020 draft, for instance, doesn’t include too many spicy opinions so it’s left out. But should you want the entire list of George R.R. Martin’s sports musings, I know a guy who wasted countless hours compiling all 235 posts.

George R.R. Martin’s NFL Draft Takes

The Post: April 26, 2019 – Day One The Takes: 

The Jets should have selected defensive end Josh Allen over defensive tackle Quinnen Williams

Daniel Jones at 6 was an overdraft from the Giants. They should have chosen Dwayne Haskins

Analysis: It’s probably too early to tell on George’s first prediction though Williams looks to be the slightly better player now. George’s second take, however, is way off. Not because Giants QB Daniel Jones has been particularly great but George’s preferred QB Dwayne Haskins had a disastrous tenure in Washington, getting released midway through his second season. Cumulative Take Score: 0 for 2 (0%)

The Post: April 7, 2018 – Feeling a Draft The Takes:

The Giants should take Saquon Barkley

The Jets should take Baker Mayfield

Analysis: One of George’s most charming sports quirks is an avowed love of running backs. The running back position isn’t as important in the modern NFL as offenses become more pass heavy. The Giants drafting running back Saquon Barkley was very defensible though and hopefully he will recover from the knee injury that wiped out his 2020 season. George was also dead-on in urging the Jets to take Baker Mayfield. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for yours truly) the Browns took Mayfield with the first overall pick. The Jets took Sam Darnold as a consolation prize and he is already no longer on the team. Cumulative Take Score: 2 for 4 (50%)

The Post: April 29, 2016 – NFL Draft Round One The Takes: 

The Jets did well in taking linebacker Darron Lee over Memphis QB Paxton Lynch

The Giants should have picked pass rusher Shaq Lawson

Running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry will be good.

Analysis: George sniffed out Paxton Lynch’s futility like a Lannister plot. Darron Lee was pretty much a bust but at least he wasn’t Paxton Lynch. The Giants should not have chosen Shaq Lawson – their Eli Apple pick worked out perfectly fine. Here, George once again reveals his great taste in running backs. Though the position may no longer be as important, GRRM is one hell of a RB talent evaluator. Zeke Elliott and Derrick Henry are among the best backs in the league. Cumulative Take Score: 4 for 7 (57%)

The Post: April 27, 2013 – NFL Draft, Day 3 The Takes:

Ryan Nassib is Eli Manning’s successor

Taking Geno Smith will set the Jets back years.

Analysis: Ryan Nassib was not Eli Manning’s successor. Who’s to say if Geno Smith set the Jets back years or if they are just a poorly run organization? Either way, we’ll give that one to George since the team has had only one winning season since picking him. Cumulative Take Score: 5 for 9 (56%)

The Post: April 27, 2012 – NFL Draft, Round One The Takes:

“I am not at all happy with (the Jets) choice of Quinton Couples (sic).”

Cleveland had a good first round.

Ryan Tannehill will be a bust. 

Analysis: George was right to be upset with the Coples pick. Unfortunately, George erred severely in trusting the Cleveland Browns to draft well. He undoubtedly was excited about the Browns drafting one of his beloved running backs, but that running back, Trent Richardson, was out of the league within a few years. George’s Ryan Tannehil prediction looked prescient for the first half of his career. Now – not so much, with the QB turning his career around in Tennessee. Cumulative Take Score: 6 for 12 (50%)

The Post: April 25, 2009 – NFL Draft, Day 1 The Takes:

The Jets and Giants were right to not draft Percy Harvin.

Kenny Britt is the best receiver among himself, Hakeem Nicks, and Brian Robiskie

Analysis: The Harvin concerns were understandable but he had a pretty decent career, all things considered. Hakeem Nicks was better than Kenny Britt. George was surely happy to be wrong though as Nicks is who the Giants drafted. Cumulative Take Score: 6 for 14 (43%)

The Post: April 28, 2007 – NFL Draft, Day One The Takes:

The Jets had a better day than the Giants

Brady Quinn will have a better pro career than JaMarcus Russell

Analysis: George nailed prediction one. The Jets drafted Darrelle Revis, who ended up being one of the best players in franchise history. George also nailed prediction number two but that’s because just about every other player in football history had a better pro career than JaMarcus Russell. Cumulative Take Score: 8 for 16 (50%)

The Post: February 5, 2006 – Super Bowl XL The Takes: 

The Jets should draft D’Brickashaw Ferguson

“So another NFL season is now done, which means that Sunday becomes a work day for me once again. That should please everyone waiting for A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.”

Analysis: George’s first take here was absolutely correct. Ferguson was a Jets stalwart for a decade. Of course, I couldn’t help but share that second, non-football prediction. It turns out the people were not pleased as A Dance With Dragons would not arrive for another five years.  Cumulative Take Score: 9 for 17 (53%)

Bonus George R.R. Martin NFL Takes

And now, a few other George R.R. Martin NFL Takes that have nothing to do with the draft…

The Post: September 1, 2017 – The NFL Is Coming The Take: “I have the feeling that I am going to be starting a lot of blog posts with ‘Life is miserable and full of pain’ this fall, at least where the Jets are concerned.” Analysis: Yup.

The Post: January 15, 2015 Locker Room Shuffle The Take: “(Rex) Ryan’s opening press conference with the Bills was very impressive. He seemed to be the old Rex again, brimming with confidence and swagger, all leavened with a healthy sense of humor. He promised to make the Bills a “bully,” a team that no one will want to play. I believe him.” Analysis: Of all the Jets coaches in Not A Blog history, Rex Ryan might be Martin’s favorite. He believes (pretty accurately) that Ryan did not get a fair shake in New York. But things in Buffalo did not pan out well for Ryan either. He was fired after two seasons and a 15-16 record.

The Post: March 15, 2013 – Free Agency Follies The Take: “Oh, and the Patriots… what a vile thing is Evil Little Bill (Belichick). The way he treated Wes Welker is disgraceful. Man has absolutely no loyalty to anyone. Watch and see, when Tom Brady’s talents start to fade — and they will, it happens to all of them — Evil Little Bill will ship him out as well.” Analysis: I don’t doubt that George was right that Bill Belichick would send Tom Brady packing the moment his talents start to fade. Where George erred, however, is that Tom Brady’s talents are never going to fade. He will never retire or even die. Brady left Belichick and New England in 2020 of his own volition…and promptly won a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.

Jets or Giants: Which Team Makes GRRM More Miserable?

Indulge me on one last bit of George R.R. Martin NFL nonsense. Occasionally, Martin will begin or end one of his football-related blog posts with the phrase “Life is meaningless and full of pain” (sometimes, he swaps “miserable” for “meaningless”).  

This is a notion that many sports fans should know quite well. Following a professional football team is mostly a never-ending series of woe and disappointment. And since Martin supports two NFL teams, he gets to experience twice the level of disappointment. But which New York football franchise causes George more pain? To find out, I tracked every “Not A Blog” post that contains the phrase “life is meaningless/miserable and full of pain” and figured out which team was making his life miserable. More often than not, it was both teams, but occasionally only one team was the culprit. The finally tally is:

New York Giants = 25 blog posts mentioning “life is meaningless and full of pain.”

New York Jets = 23 blog posts mentioning “life is meaningless and full of pain.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

This is a fairly surprising result given that the Giants have actually won two Super Bowls in the time since Martin has been blogging. But it turns out that pain cuts deeper than victory. 

The post A Comprehensive History of George R.R. Martin’s NFL Draft Takes appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3vrI0l7

[prancingpterodactyls]

this is my fic gift to the amazing @kerrigore for the @r76secretsanta gift exchange! he prompted me for some dinosaurs, so hopefully i delivered. if you wanna read it on ao3 instead of on tumblr: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123647

“...So hopefully, this new strain of virus we will utilize as our DNA vector that Dr. Reyes has developed will provide the next generation with an increased resistance to the H7N9 virus, allowing our organisms to live longer and healthier lives and allow our paleontology division to care for the dinosaurs more easily. Dr. Reyes, do you have anything to add?” Thump. “Dr. Reyes.”

Gabriel startled out of his reverie and gave Moira a sheepish smile. “Sorry Dr. O’Deorain. Could you repeat that again?”

Moira gave him an unimpressed look before turning to their coworkers. “That will conclude that week’s lab meeting. Thank you. Dr. Reyes, if you could stay behind for a moment please?” Moira shuffled her papers around as the rest of their coworkers left the meeting room. “You seem distracted today, Gabriel.”

Gabriel winced. “Won’t happen again, Moira. It’s just… personal stuff.”

“I suppose common courtesy dictates that I must inquire about it, as your friend.” She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow while scooping up her papers and tablet, leading them to the main lab. “I’ve been told your beau will arrive back from his latest paleontology expedition within the week. Are you distressed about his arrival?”

“Kind of?”

“I’m unsure of what you mean by that.”

Gabriel sighed. “Jack’s been… distant, lately. The last time I really talked him, I felt like I was talking at my phone instead of my boyfriend. And every other time I tried to call him after that, he basically blew me off.” He slumped his shoulders. “I’ve no idea what to make of it, Moira.”

Moira hummed as she snapped her lab goggles on. “Based on my previous experiences, I would assume Dr. Morrison is trying to end your relationship.”

“You’re not helping, you know.” Gabriel glared at her across the lab bench.

“Was I supposed to? I don’t recall you asking for comfort.”

“Fair enough.” Gabriel fiddled with a tray of electrophoresis gel. “I’m just… confused, I guess. I thought we were doing well, especially after we took a trip out to see my parents in California, who fucking love him, by the way, and he was so reluctant to go on the expedition that Ana had to all but drag him onto the plane, so…”

“I’m afraid I cannot offer any advice pertaining to your relationship,” Moira said apologetically. She threw a pair of gloves at his face. “However, I can assure you that working on your latest project will most likely provide to be a good distraction from your relationship problems. Also, I don’t think Director Ogundimu will be sympathetic to your problems if it’s not allowing you to focus.”

“Fine,” Gabriel grumbled as he scooped up his tablet and lab notebook. “At the last board meeting, did he mention when -- oof.” Gabriel crashed into something -- or someone -- only to be caught in the hands of warm and solid.

“Hey, babe,” Jack said sheepishly. Gabriel flushed and winced as Jack pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Jack smiled a little too sweetly. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hey,” Gabriel breathed. It was amazing to see Jack again, but he wasn’t too keen on seeing him again if Jack decided that he would end their relationship. “I thought the expedition wasn’t supposed to end until the end of this week.”

Jack shrugged. “Ana didn’t need me going rogue on an expedition she’s leading. Plus,” Jack took Gabriel’s free hand into his own and swung it around playfully. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, consider me surprised.” Gabriel gave Jack a tight lipped smile.

“Are you okay?” Jack pressed a hand against Gabriel’s forehead. “You’re not sick, are you? I thought you’d be more excited to see me.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Just went to bed late.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie. He did have trouble falling asleep last night, though, freaking out over whether or not Jack really was going to break up with him or not.

Jack bounced and smiled brightly at him. “So you’d be okay with taking a long lunch with me? My treat.”

“Sure,” Gabriel said faintly, anxiety churning in his stomach. “Eleven thirty’s okay?”

“It’s a date,” Jack said, pressing another kiss on his cheek, waving at Moira as he left the lab. “See you soon, babe!”

“See you soon,” Gabriel echoed back.

Moira hummed thoughtfully behind him. “Based on what what just transpired, I should amend my previous conclusion.”

“Are you going to tell me or do I need to wait for your next publication?” Gabriel asked sarcastically.

“And ruin the surprise?” Moira smirked. “I think not.”

“Dammit, Moira,” he groaned. She patted him on his shoulder.

“On the bright side, you can focus on something prior to your lunch date where Jack may or may not break up with you,” she said sweetly as she sauntered to her own lab.

“You’re evil,” Gabriel called as he set up his next experiment.

“So I’ve been told,” Moira replied. Gabriel sighed and twirled the pen in his hand.

---

“Hey, you ready to go?”

Gabriel pressed a hand to his chest. “Jesus, Jack, I’m holding eight moles of hydrochloric acid.”

“Scary,” he drawled, tugging at Gabriel’s arm. “C’mon, you ready to go?”

“Go to…” Gabriel frowned. Maybe if he pretended to be confused, he could put off the inevitable demise of their relationship.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Lunch, dummy. I’ve got something special planned.”

The walk to wherever Jack wanted to take him was long and unbearable. Jack rocked back and forth on his feet as the elevator dinged quietly.

Gabriel couldn’t take it anymore. “So, uh, how was the trip?”

“Really good,” Jack said, his eyes shining as they left the elevator. “I’m glad Ana dragged me along, I really had a lot of fun on the trip.”

“Oh, nice,” Gabriel said absently.

Jack nodded, swiping his keycard and leading Gabriel through door after door. “I think by the time they get back they’ll have excavated the rest of the skull we found. Which will delay the whole expedition timeline, and I wanted to see you before.” Jack smiled and looked at Gabriel expectantly.

Gabriel smiled belatedly. “Missed you too, babe,” he rushed out. Jack frowned and tilted his head.

“You’re not sick, are you? If you are, I can take you home and we’ll do this again some other time.”

“I’m fine,” Gabriel grumbled. “Where are you taking me, anyways?”

Jack led him to an outdoor arena and held out his arms. “Tada! The dinosaur enclosure!”

“Oh,” Gabriel breathed. As a geneticist and proverbial lab rat, Gabriel rarely had the chance to see their cloning projects, so seeing them grown without being armed with syringes and swabs to collect tissue samples was a little weird.

Gabriel tentatively approached a stray eoraptor hopping nervously along the enclosure’s fence, its bright teal feathers glinting in the filtered sunlight.

“Here,” Jack said, offering Gabriel a small pellet. Gabriel held it out gingerly as the eoraptor curiously poked its head towards the two of them, sniffing at it cautiously before snatching the food out of Gabriel’s hand, crunching on it. “See? Now you can pet it.”

“Hey there,” Gabriel whispered. The feathers weren’t soft or pleasant to stroke, even, but the eoraptor seemed to like it enough. It purred, snuggling its head against Gabriel’s fingers, and Gabriel resisted the urge to squeal.

“Looks like I might have some competition,” Jack joked. He reached for Gabriel’s hand again. “C’mon, there’s more dinosaurs I wanna show you. And something else.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ve been told you’d kill to see a T. rex.”

“Lead the way,” he grinned. If Jack wanted to make him feel better before breaking up, by god was Jack doing an amazing job. Might as well milk this out as long as possible, he mused, only half listening to Jack pointing out different species and occasionally tugged at Jack’s sleeve to get him to stop so Gabriel could take a closer look.

“Enjoying yourself?” Jack asked smugly. Gabriel nuzzled with a friendly stegosaurus and Jack playfully swatted Gabriel away from him. “Don’t get too close to her, what if you give her a disease that’ll wipe out the rest of her family?!”

“Then it sounds like a problem my department would have to deal with,” Gabriel pouted. “Let me have my fantasy of having my own pet dinosaur in the meantime.”

Jack’s phone vibrated and glanced at it before flashing Gabriel a mischievous smile. “Guess I’ll have to leave you and your new pet stegosaurus here while I go check out the T. rex Dr. Winston and Dr. Zhou spotted all by myself…”

“Don’t you dare,” Gabriel threatened. “You promised me T. rexes.”

“Fair enough,” Jack laughed, leading them both into a clearing. “Winston and Mei said the T. rexes usually pass by this area in a few minutes. In the meantime, since I stole you during your lunch hour, I do feel slightly obligated to feed you.”

“And they say chivalry is dead,” Gabriel deadpanned, not at all marveling at the cute picnic display Jack had carefully crafted, complete with what looked like two bottles of wine. He raised an eyebrow. “I hope you aren’t planning for the both of us to finish that.”

“Maybe.” Jack sat on the ground and patted the space next to him. “Sit down. I worked hard on these sandwiches. Validate your f--boyfriend’s hard work.”

“If you insist,” Gabriel sighed, settling next to his boyfriend and allowing him to pour Gabriel a glass of wine. The clearing was almost idyllic, and probably the nicest place he’s ever been broken up at. They sat in near-companionable silence with Gabriel’s leg jiggling up and down, anticipating Jack to turn to him and say, “So, listen…”

“You’re okay, right?” Jack asked, rubbing his leg soothingly. “Mei assured me this would be the best spot to see the T. rexes, and that there shouldn’t be any safety issues.”

Gabriel gave him a tight lipped smile and nodded to assure his (soon to be ex) boyfriend. “Oh, I think I hear them,” he breathed, instinctively grabbing Jack’s hand.

“Yup, there they are,” Jack murmured, leaning his head on Gabriel’s shoulder. “They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

“Amazing doesn’t even cover it,” he breathed. “In the lab, we usually only get to see them until the embryo is almost done developing, so this is definitely something else.”

“You’re something else,” Jack muttered.

Gabriel swatted at his chest and laughed. “Flattery will get you nowhere, didn’t your parents ever tell you that?”

“My parents also told me all my pets ran away into our cornfield, which is why I never saw them again,” Jack protested. “Turns out, they all died and my parents just buried them under their own personal garden.”

“That’s what every parent tells their kid when their pet dies, Jack,” Gabriel said.

“We don’t have to tell our children,” Jack said shyly.

Gabriel hummed before realizing what Jack just said. “Well, first off, we’d need to be married. Otherwise, our parents would kill us both for adopting out of wedlock. Whatever that means.”

“Alright, so how about we get the first part out of the way first?”

“Ha, ha, very fu--” Gabriel turned his head to find his boyfriend on one knee with a painfully earnest smile directed straight at him. Jack’s hands cradled a small black box where a simple, golden band nestled in the dark velvet. “Oh.”

“I know it’s kinda early,” Jack rambled, “but I was thinking since we already met each other’s parents and we’ve already talked about getting married and…”

f

“Jack.” Gabriel cut him off with a deep kiss. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Oh,” Jack said with a dopey smile. “In that case…” Jack hauled him in for another kiss. “I love you, my fiance.”

“We’re not getting married in the dinosaur enclosure, right?”

“I’d hope not,” Jack laughed.

Gabriel sighed in relief. “Thank god. I love you, too.”

[cometladyicarus-blog]

Goodnight, darth Vader, Don’t Let the Wampas Bite chapter 8

Ch. 0

Ch.1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

Ch. 7

Ch. 8

“You live on a ship.”

Luke looked up to the Togruta woman and tilted his head. “Why do you say that like that?”

Ahsoka shook her head with a shrug. “I should be more surprised, but Master Skywalker liked his ships back in the war.”

“What kind of ships did Dad have?”

“Junkers, really. Ask him about the Twilight sometime. I’m still not certain it had engines when he took it.”

“What kind of a ship was it?

Leia rolled her eyes. “Luke, it’s a ship, who cares?”

“I asked, I care!”

“Well I don’t! Aunt Ahsoka, Uncle Rex and Dad have told us about Christophsis. Can you tell us about it from your side?”

The former Jedi shrugged and looked up to see Rex dozing in a chair near the doorway. “I guess, but it’s getting late. Why don’t you change into your sleep clothes and get into bed, and then I’ll tell you about my first battle in the Clone Wars, okay?”

“Okay. But Dad still owes us a chapter from our book.”

“Uncle Rex! Uncle Rex!”

The poor clone jolted and reached for his hip and the empty holsters at both sides before groaning. “Blast, I need to stop falling asleep like this.”

“Uncle Rex, Aunt Ahsoka’s gonna tell us about her first battle in the war!”

Rex nodded for a moment before he stopped nodding. “Commander, why are you telling these kids that story? It’s bad enough the gold clanker gets after me for telling my war stories….”

“I was twelve. You were ten. They’re not that much younger. Master Skywalker destroyed a Trade federation ship when he was nine – you said so yourself.”

“They’re Skywalker’s kids, sure, but they’re neither Jedi nor soldiers.”

Leia grinned as she finished arranging her pillows into a support so she could sit up. “We’re going to be Sith. Jedi betrayed the Emperor, Dad tried to stop them, but when he went to end the war, the Jedi almost succeeded in hurting the Emperor again. The Jedi sent a – uh – ass-ass-assin to kill Mom and Dad too. Of-ishy-ally, they did.”

Ahsoka frowned. “Who taught you that?”

“Our teacher at school. And in Pre-school too.”

“He didn’t teach you?”

Luke frowned. “Dad doesn’t like to talk about the end of the War. It makes him sad, and then he gets a whole bunch of broken droid bits that he works on. Sometimes I help. Leia doesn’t like to help.”

She glared at her brother. “I keep them clean and pretty!” She turned back to the ex-Jedi. “You promised to tell us about your first battle in the War.”

“Alright. Rex! I’ll need your help to keep some of the facts straight.”

The thirty-something looking clone looked into the bedroom, half of a messy sandwich in his mouth and a couple canteens in his hands. “Wiff wha?” He offered one canteen to her.

“Christophsis. You know how it started better than I do.” She didn’t open it when she took it, and looked around for a second chair to bring over to where both of the twins could see them without favoritism.

With one hand free, he chewed the bite of the sandwich and swallowed before speaking. “Alrigh’. It’s caf’ Commander. Should keep us awake a bit longer until Lord Vader gets back.” He took the chair Ahsoka had used the Force to bring over and sat, looking very out of place, wearing his armor in the bedroom for children and sitting in a chair meant for much smaller forms, his knees were halfway up his chest as he balanced the half-sandwich on a knee and set an open canteen of caf’ on the floor. “So, the evil Separatists were blockading Christophsis from any ships getting in. Not even trade goods could get through, and the people were starving, sick, and injured.”

“What’s a blockade?”

He smiled, and his eyes seemed to be looking far beyond anyone in the room. “It’s when a number of a military force are used to keep things from getting past them to a place. Like the Stormies out in the hangar are keeping bad guys from getting to your home, except in a blockade nothing good, bad or neither gets in.” Rex paused a moment, shaking his head a little before picking up the story. “So, nothing from off-world was getting to Christophsis, and the blockade fleet was facing off with the Republic’s fleet in the system. We’d sent ships time and time again with relief supplies, but nothing was getting through the blockade. General Kenobi and some of the Republic’s top scientists had developed a top-secret tool to try and get through the blockade with supplies, but there would only be one chance, and they needed everything they could to make it the best chance they could.  

“So they called for General Skywalker, his fleet, and the 501st to come, help out, and trade places so the tired and injured soldiers could get better, and the damaged ships could be fixed up. So we arrived. General Skywalker nearly broke his nose on the top-secret tool….”

The twins were asleep before Ahsoka got to speak, had in fact fallen asleep after hearing how the General got through the blockade, before Rex could tell them again about how he and Cody found a traitor Ventress had bought.

After washing down a mouthful of sandwich, the veteran Captain spoke. “Good seeing you again, Commander.”

“Why am I not being shot at?” She fidgeted with her hand.

Rex shrugged. “Me, my 501st, lot of the others, we took out the chips in our heads that Fives died telling us about. But even then, you weren’t a Jedi anymore. You’re still not a Jedi, and you were taken off of the Order 66 list when you left or something. He thinks the chips were used to make us obey the Executive Order, just in case we had gotten too attached to our Jedi COs. Officially, because you were betrayed by a Jedi, you went into hiding for an undercover mission to look for other Jedi traitors. You still hold rank in the 501st.”

“Rex, what really happened? Why is Master Skywalker a Sith, and in that suit? Who is the mother of those kids?”

He shrugged, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth as he stood to collect the canteen and put the chair back. “Haf th’ ash him. Or d’kiths.”

“Chew, swallow your food, and we can try that again. You had better food manners during the war.”

He washed down the sandwich with caf’. “Didn’t usually have to talk while eating. Or I was eating food that was easier to move around in case I had to talk.”

“You just ate dinner too.”

“Fast metabolism for accelerated aging, Tano, don’t you remember? Anyway, you’ll have to ask Lord Vader. The kids might know some things. There’s always the official records as well. Goldenrod might be happy to tell you all about them. Artoo would be a more reliable source for other details.”

A dark shadow approached the two veterans of another era. “Thank you, Rex. Ahsoka. I did not expect the Emperor to contact me after my meeting.”

“Krayt Drakelings have fallen asleep, sir.”

“The what?”

“My children. Rex called them terrors who could kill without knowing they would when they were only two and running off on him. Like Krayt Dragon young.”

“Right.” She shrugged. “So, yeah, I got captured. What’s your big plan, Skyguy? Execute me?”

Vader shook his head. “You’re not a Jedi. Rex, would you update the Commander on the 501st please? I imagine she would like to know what she had been doing officially.”

“One question first – who is the mother of those kids? They said something about assassins going after you and their mother at the end of the war, and you weren’t close to any woman in my memory. Well, maybe Senator Amidala, but you and she had different-“

“Padme Amidala. They are children of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. To the Jedi assassins, Amidala was the enemy for being a politician, even if she did not support turning the Republic into an Empire.”

Apparently Rex didn’t know, since his canteen clattered to the ground and he groaned. “Now it all makes sense. You went after her on the <EMP Ship from the first TCW arc>, then there was the whole Banking Clans thing with her, when the Seppies went after Naboo, blast it all, how did that manage to stay a secret and unnoticed?”

“No wonder she looked at me weirdly when I said you and she thought so much alike.” She nodded. “Rex, he said something about updating me on the 501st?”

“Right, ma’am. Sir.”

Vader waited for the last two allies who knew him from before the armor to leave before looking into the room with his sleeping children.

“I’m not afraid to die. I’ve been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life…. I love you.”

“You love me? I thought we had decided not to fall in love. That we’d be forced to live a lie and it would destroy our lives.”

“I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway.”

Proof she had loved him, and he loves her was in that room. The glowing stars were bright spots in his red vision, but he smiled under his mask. Once his master was overthrown, he might finally be able to see both of them with his own eyes, but for now, he couldn’t let himself be seen outside of his chambers without any part of the suit.

“One day, I will become the greatest Jedi ever. I will even learn how to stop people from dying.”

“Not from a Jedi.”

He frowned at the last two memories as they came to mind. Ahsoka was with the Rebels, if he could convince her to return to the 501st, maybe convince her to use her position to help her rebels, he could feed information to them, wear out the Stormtroopers the Emperor insisted on using….

Luke turned over and muttered something about “bad motivators” and “blue milk.”

He was missing out on time with them the longer Palpatine lived and had him in meetings or out hunting down the last of the survivors of that stupid order. Only the very youngest of the escaping younglings from then were really left, and Kenobi. Part of him wondered if his master truly managed to kill Yoda. He didn’t see the old green Jedi Grandmaster’s body at that time, and he wasn’t quite as good at fighting with a lightsaber or the Force as he once claimed he was.

“I am as good as Master Yoda.”

“Only in your dreams, my young Padawan.”

“So, I have permission to act against the Inquisitors? How nice. I had to rebuild my lightsabers because of them. Twice they dragged me into a droid facility, and one time, both of my lightsabers got cut in half. Damn near took my arm while the machines were at it.”

“Could file for replacement parts.”

“They’re expensive considering how illegal most of them are now as ‘Jedi Artifacts.’ At least I managed to recover the crystals, and Master Skywalker taught me to keep extra parts on hand all the time.” Of course he did, Ma- Kenobi was fond of lecturing him on losing a lightsaber, and he in turn lectured her on not having lightsaber construction materials nearby at all times in case she lost her weapon.

“Where are they anyway? Thought those things were your life, like my Deeces.”

“He took them. Didn’t trust me with them in the speeder, though my leg’s still broken. Or the ship. Or here. Why does he use another ship when he lives on one?”

“Who knows what goes on in the mind of a Jedi, or a Sith.” Rex sounded like he was repeating something he had heard from long ago.

He stepped into the door-less doorway of the guest bunkroom to look at them both. Considering the room used to be a brig, it was repurposed well for a guest room. “I could finish your training, and you could resume your position in the 501st, if you wanted.”

She looked at his mask and frowned. “I’m not a Sith.”

“You don’t have to be.” He’d rather she wouldn’t anyway. The Sith ways didn’t work either as they were.

She crossed her arms and shook her head. “You’re teaching your kids to be Sith. I know how the Sith work – there are only two.”

He sighed, the noise translating poorly from his mask as merely another exhale. Instead he paced the hallway for a moment. “Not really. They’re learning the basics of the Force, but I will not follow Darth Bane’s teachings. I will go to an older Sith Order’s model.”

She snorted. “The Sith Order? They fell apart fighting each other, manipulated by their emotions.”

“Repressing emotions didn’t help the Jedi either, when they were blind to a Sith leading their government.” Her frown deepened, but the pause before her counter argument told him she agreed with his point.

“The Emperor will want me dead.” She had a point, but he was working on that. For now, he could make himself look like he was doing as Dooku once did and training a ‘secret’ apprentice. The Emperor would expect him to do so eventually, why not the student he already had taught?

“I can distract him enough for a while.”

She looked to be considering her options before turning to Rex. “So, Rex, you got used to not taking orders from me. Are you sure you could handle taking orders from someone younger than you?”

He smiled. “You? Younger? Nah, I’m, what, two years younger than you? Three? I still have more experience than you with months of combat service before Christophsis.”

“I won’t be your apprentice. But I’ll be part of the 501st. I don’t kill kids. And I can use a blaster if you don’t trust me with my lightsabers.” She didn’t look away from his mask as she spoke.

Rex paled a moment before forcing himself to smile. “Good to have you back, Commander.”

“I accept the alternative terms of the deal. There will be a uniform for you to wear, and armor, in the morning.”

Hours later, his helmet’s HUD alerted him of a message being sent out on an encrypted signal.

The plan has changed. I have a new source of intel for the cells and will not be out in the field. –Fulcrum out.

He chuckled to himself. She was learning to be a very good leader before the Jedi, and he, turned their backs to her. Of course she wouldn’t simply be taking orders.

And he just gave one of the main inner circle of the Rebels an almost complete free-access over Imperial information. Not truly free access, she would find much still classified to her, but it would likely be more information her spies elsewhere would get.

He did hope she wouldn’t get the 501st killed, however. He was lucky to get many of the original clones that were left under his command. The others in the military could have the Stormtroopers. And the bad knock-off clones who only lived for three years now.

He switched over to view the twins, still asleep.