#see them as clones first and foremost

[haine-kleine]

after sitting with my thoughts about the epilogue for some time, I think the thing that broke the story had started right after Dabi's dance. said thing is LOV' utterly out of character treatment of each other and Shigaraki specifically.

them just standing there and passively observing the scene makes absolutely zero sense, if you use anything from their previously established relationships within the organisation for reference. especially with All for One's creepy comments. Spinner even points out shortly before this chapter that AFO!Shigaraki seems nothing like his normal self and this person is not the one he had chosen to follow.

and yes, Spinner does approach screaming Shigaraki and tries to help him, and his concern later leads him to seeing Shigaraki's mutated form in the cave, and on its own this development for Spinner is in line with his character and all around fine. pretty reminiscent of Toga and Twice, too.

(except Spinner is not allowed to really help Shigaraki in any way, unlike Toga was allowed to help Twice, and this entire thing between Shigaraki and Spinner only ends with Spinner's regrets and survivor's guilt instead of anything good or meaningful that isn't meaningless angst porn)

it isn't Spinner approaching Shigaraki that is the issue, it's the other's complete lack of action or even reaction besides appearing mildly disturbed. this is simply out of character for all of them, just judging by Twice's example who had similar breakdowns and wasn't plainly ignored by the others until his fit stops. this reaction makes even less sense, when you take into account the current state of the League. Twice had just been murdered by Hawks, the double agent who had infiltrated the League via Dabi, and Mister Compress had just sacrificed himself to give the League a chance for escape, and was sent to Tartarus immediately after his condition was no longer life threatening. Kurogiri is also being held captive by the heroes. there are only four of them left, with two dead and two captured. and none of them even mention the dead or the captured outside of the context of Kurogiri and his quirk.

this straight out makes no sense if you look back to the Overhaul arc and remember how far Shigaraki and the rest of them were willing to go to avenge Magne's death and Mr Compress' destroyed arm. this was important.

the event had motivated Shigaraki to be a better leader, because he had realized these people depend on him, and he won't let them be hurt under his protection. it had started the seed of self-doubt in Jin which would eventually grow to the desperation that allowed him to overcome the mental block against his quirk in the MVA arc, because he wanted to do everything he possibly could to help the League. it allowed him to make his clones despite the crippling trauma, because he saw Toga's hurt, bleeding body, and he didn't want her to die.

even fucking Giran, a broker whose very profession requires him to care about himself and his own well-being first and foremost, had sacrificed all of his fingers to prevent Redestro from getting his hands on the League. because he wants to protect them, to save them. and then we never actually see his mutilated hands or hear anything from him ever again.

and when Twice actually dies? all we get in response to that are two upset faces from Dabi and Toga's fury. that's it.

i really want to stress how out of character this barely-present reaction is, because Magne's example is right there and when Overhaul had killed her, the League knew each other for no longer than a month. this League has been together for at least half a year, had been through thick and thin together, had spent months on the run, homeless, having no one but each other to rely on, has defeated the Meta Liberation Army, quite literally, with the power of their friendship. they all cared enough about each other and Shigaraki specifically to stay with him during those months they had to fight Gigantomachia with barely any breaks for rest, still homeless, barely scraping by. it was imperative that they all survive through this together, especially for Shigaraki, who had went on this quest of getting stronger at least partly so that he would become a more reliable protector for the League. and when Twice falls victim to the hero who had murdered him in cold blood, because no one except for Dabi was there to save him, Shigaraki doesn't even get to react to Twice's death, and possibly never even learns about the fact.

on topic of Dabi, his reaction being exactly two frames of sad expressions and including the footage of Twice's murder into his broadcast, and ending immediately after that, also makes no sense. Dabi is someone who holds himself accountable and despite his declarations, cares about the League, it's the very reason he was keeping Hawks from the League and sprinted to Twice as soon as he realized Hawks' intentions with him, to protect him. Dabi's unsuccessful attempt to save Twice is another iteration of Overhaul, a combination of Shigaraki and Twice's roles in the tragedy. but unlike Shigaraki, who had steeled himself into taking care of his subordinates and becoming a responsible and strong leader, or Twice who had never forgotten about his role in the incident, Dabi just somehow forgets about the entire thing as soon as the first war is over. Toga is the one whom the narrative allows to actively react to Twice's death and express her grief. it makes sense that her reaction would be the strongest, as she was the closest with Twice, but why are two LOV members no longer allowed to care about the same incident at the same time? why aren't they allowed to protect each other anymore, when Giran, who is not even in the League, had made that sacrifice for them?

These are pretty small things, but it's these instances of Toga and Dabi preventing Machia from being injected with the sedative, protecting the League that are sorely missing in the second war.

and the biggest act of devotion and protection to the League, which was the last time we saw anything like this for them, Mister Compress' last moments with the League.

Mutilating his own body just to buy them five seconds to possibly escape. Because he loved the League, because he wanted all of them to be happy and achieve their dreams, to be free, and to live.

and in return for the favour, not only do they not come back for him like they did for Kurogiri (because his quirk is important for the plot, while Compress' isn't), but none of them mention Compress ever again. same with Twice (with the exception of Toga), same with Magne. from this point onwards, none of them are allowed by the plot to even care about the League of Villains. the interpersonal relationships between two individuals still shine through, occasionally, like Spinner's devotion to Shigaraki (and him alone), Dabi and Toga's pyromaniac trauma lane visit to her house and him giving her Twice's blood, Kurogiri reaching out to Shigaraki in the very end. but what about the League? ahd what about the dead members of the League, or Mister Compress?

somehow, at the point of the final war it boils down to the generalized conflict of heroes vs villains and the morality gymnastics involved in the concept. on its own, this would have been an okay development, if the examples the story was using to prove its point weren't people who had become very close friends and who had lost four people to this war against the heroes.

if the individual conflicts, like Toga's desperation to be acknowledged as human being deserving of affection, Dabi's familial abuse trauma and Shigaraki's lifelong manipulation by All for One not giving him any chance to be saved at all, were the finishing line of the villains' story development, why join them within the League at all? LOV is a separate concept functioning as a collective uniting all these villains, giving them a place to belong and people who give a fuck whether they live or die. except not anymore, because for some reason after the first war this concept is scratched completely.

so why not make them mere acquaintances who sometimes collaborate to bother the heroes together, if the bond between them got in the way of the story and wasn't the point of the story? why prove the depth of their bond with the Overhaul and My Villain Academia arcs? why make Shigaraki develop relationships and a sense of responsibility for these people at all, if in the very end his desire to save these people is denied by the author himself?

the previous arcs have spent a great deal of effort establishing that the villains are human too. they have human feelings, human desires and human relationships. so why is it that in the final arc their ability to experience human emotions towards each other is turned on and off manually by the author? at the very end even the author stops pretending like anything happening to the villains is evaluated on the scale of human experiences (unlike the heroes, whose injuries and deaths are talked about and mourned in great detail) and Kurogiri and Shigaraki are wiped out like plot inconveniences rather than important and well written characters.

honestly? it's ironically meta that the story ended up proving the very point it has spent 400 chapters arguing against.

[david-talks-sw]

Hello. You and GFFA are probably the two most reliable blogs I know when it comes to what GL actually intended with star wars and also have the most on point finger on the pulse of fandom and such without letting the discourse get to you. So I just have to ask. Where does the idea of the jedi being space cops come from in canon? Especially in more left leaning circles. Haven't they seen that there are indeed actual cops in SW? And who are portrayed like how leftists view cops?

Hey there!

Firstly, it's always an honor when someone puts me and Lumi in the same sentence 😃 been a while since I reminded people, but my blog started because I read hers (and a few others) and I was like "oh shit she makes great points!" and started doing the research on my own.

I mostly attribute my rediscovering my childhood love for the Jedi to her early meta posts. Like, you think I'm good, wait til she gets started again! So thank you, for that!

Onto the subject itself: I've seen the notion pop up in all circles. And it's not exactly wrong, it's just not entirely accurate.

You can find a large collection of George Lucas quotes here, about the Jedi's place in the Republic.

You will see that he uses varying terminology and that's what I think partially muddies the waters.

For example, early on, Lucas describes them as "police officers", but years later he says "they're not cops, they're Marshalls of the Old West" but actually "they're mafia dons" or "intergalactic therapists."

But the one that explains it best, for me, is the following:

"They're not like [the kind of] cops who catch murderers. They're warrior-monks who keep peace in the universe without resorting to violence. The Trade Federation is in dispute with Naboo, so the Jedi are ambassadors who talk both sides and convince them to resolve their differences and not go to war. If they do have to use violence, they will, but they are diplomats at the highest level. They've got the power to send the whole force of the Republic, which is 100,000 systems, so if you don't behave they can bring you up in front of the Senate. They'll cut you off at the knees, politically. They're like peace officers. As the situation develops in the Clone Wars they are recruited into the army, and they become generals. They're not generals. They don't kill people. They don't fight. They're supposed to be ambassadors." - The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020

Bottom line: yes, they're authority figures. But they're not "beat cops" chasing after robbers and criminals.

They're, first and foremost, ambassadors/negotiators/diplomats. They're police for planets and their governments, not the people of the Republic. Again:

They're peace officers.

Now, they can investigate and take more active "police-like" roles during their mandate, but they're not gonna be called upon to investigate a murder (unless that murder is very strange and local authorities are unable to make sense of it).

It's why, when Anakin is talking about "we'll search for the killer, Padmé" Obi-Wan is like "uuuuh... no we won't?"

[hastalavistabyebye]

I've been thinking about it for quite some time (and it's a good thing my blog is so smol because a lotta people ain't going to like this) but we need to be honest for two seconds. Fox wouldn't be hated for killing Fives.

It's not the simple usual take on how Fox didn't fired right away and tried to calm Fives down first, how he was just doing his job. This is true but it goes deeper even.

The clones were taught how to deal with traitors.

We saw it with Rex when he met Cut Lawquane. He was faced with a deserter and his first reaction wasn't one of peaceful understanding at all, quite the contrary. Of course he let him go and live with his family in the end. (Interesting to note that there were no officer present too) But what's interesting is not the conclusion he made, but his instinctual, learned behavior : deserters = traitors = bad.

And during the Umbara arc, we saw that the clones also learned how to form a firing squad. They knew how to do that. Yes, in the end, again, they ended up letting their siblings live but there also was the aspect that they already doubt Krell's orders AND that this situation was clearly, stupidly unfair and wrong. And they didn't like nor trust the general himself already. So it was an easy order to go against. But then again what is interesting is that they knew how to do that.

The idea of the Vode not knowing or even being able to conceive shooting a brother, even less killing one, is very sweet but sadly not true. They are soldiers first, born and trained. They would not look kindly to traitors and deserters. They would also know how to court martial the formers, even (or maybe especially) if it's other clones.

All of this to say that Fox killing Fives after he tried to kill the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic ? The highest ranking person in the entire Republic ? And he was also armed, dangerous and out of control AND didn't listen to attempts at calming him. In all of those conditions, very little people would bat an eye to Fox taking those actions.

The only people that would hate Fox are the people close to Fives -Rex and Torrent, Cody and some of the 212th too maybe, by proxy, and Anakin. The Jedi would frown at this, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka maybe more than the rest and would be more affected, because they were close to Fives too.

But the rest of the GAR ? Well of course some won't see it with a kind eye because there's always people to tell you they would have done better, but globally they wouldn't mind so much. Because what Fox did was something they had been, in fact, trained for.

And even if there was a GAR/Guard divide, it wouldn't be this event that make everything goes from bad to worse. It might be one more critic on Fox, it might not be taken kindly. But in the end it would be more because it's Fox and they don't-like-Fox, more than the killing a brother part.

Okay this is longer than I thought it would be 😅 but my point still is : the Vode are soldiers first and foremost. They don't act under the same values and morals as us at all. They were trained to kill enemies of the Republic. If those enemies were among the Republic didn't change a thing. If those enemies were fellow clones didn't change a thing, they were trained to kill them too. So Fox only doing his job in that instant also means that a lot of other Clone Commanders would have done the very same as him. Maybe not all of them, sure (it can depend from their generals) (which Fox don't have from what we know). But maybe some of them wouldn't even have tried to resonate with Fives at all.

The point is : the GAR wouldn't have hate Fox for this. If they hated him, killing Fives wasn't the reason, nor even the starting point most likely.

[theoryofthemultiverse]

Hoyo‘s Doctors when something hurt you 🩹

physically, not mentally for now :,)

Synopsis: You get hurt by something that has you whining in pain and call for them to help you. (Like, idk an Insect sting, books fell on your head, you tripped in the shower, etc. you name it :)

Characters: Baizhu, Dr. Ratio, Il Dottore

A.N:Thank the 🐝 that stung my damn foot and lost its life to that. It truly inspired me on a painful level.

Anyways, if you guys have more ideas for scenarios for this Hoyo‘s doctors series, my asks and commissions (if it’s called that way 👀) are open :)

~🩹~🩹~🩹~ 🩹~🩹~🩹~ 🩹~🩹~🩹~ 🩹~🩹~🩹~

Baizhu 🐍

Oh this man would be there for you. Rush to your side and calm you down first and foremost. Yet he would try to get what happened out of you fast so he knows if he needed to get something fast to ease your pain. Even if it doesn’t look like an emergency.

After he figured out what’s wrong he will try his best to ease your pain to the best of his ability, either by being there for you and easing it by his mere presence or bringing you things to make it better, or simply both altogether until you’re better.

Dr. Ratio🎓

He would be a little concerned, yet not as much as Baizhu. He is a bit more detached, or more nonchalant because he is confident he can deal with whatever it is that’s giving you troubles. Also trying to keep up the doctor mindset of ‚Don’t panic, everything’s under control’. If it is something he needs medicine or bandages to help you, he’s going to get it and is basically a professional at first aid.

Will pick you up and carry you to a doctor (specialized in medicine) though, if his amateuric professionalism tells him it’s something he can’t take care of.

Il Dottore 🧪

He, or one of his clones would walk by and casually ask you what happened and what you need. Can it be fixed with medicine? Or can it be fixed with mere attention and (played?) sympathy?

In any case he’s probably gonna pick you up, and carry you to the others, in the best case you have a few clones to be there at your every command should you require mere presence to whine about what happened to you. They will sit there and give you sympathy. Honestly it’s kinda funny to some point after they sit there and go like „Oh no that’s awful!“ „Can we bring you something?“ „It shouldn’t have happened to you, your frail body isn’t made of steel like ours, had it happened to us it would be fine now.“

It’s gonna make you feel better for sure to see em there like that trying to make you feel better.

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

I don't. The thing is I am a Star Wars Prequels fan first and foremost, here. I like the original trilogy, it's fine, but that's not what keeps me awake at night.

I don't give a shit about the sith. I don't find them interesting. I was always here for the impossible situations the jedi and the protagonist senators and other kinds of heroes were finding themselves in. The ones without an obvious answer. The ones they could get wrong. The ones they would get wrong because it's a tragedy, and sometimes I like to cry my eyes out over made-up people.

And even after several years of fandom, that's still basically what I want. I want the jedi (and other characters) to be put in the situations. I want them be unsure what the right path is. I like watching them make mistakes.

Some call it nuance, some call it flaws. I'm tempted to just call it being people. That's the sweet spot I'm after: not saints, not devils, just people. People fuck up. People are very varied. They have a culture- does every aspect need to be dissected for faults? Can it not exist even in a state of imperfection?

It can get complicated, maybe. I've encountered plenty the attitude that the jedi are evil because they are humans but are meant to be more than that. I have blocked absolutely relentless commenters of this who would show up on every post with this exact philosophy

… But it can become a subtle distinction. For some time I was blissfully unaware of Filoni's views on the simple basis that the jedi in the clone wars were more real and human than the generic antagonists I tended to see in fanfic.

It is a distinction, though. Human (derogatory) and human (empathetically) are different approaches, which does show up here and there.

The thing about star wars, and the prequels, and the jedi, is that no matter how you try to slice it, the story of a genocide is inextricably woven into a story about jedi. Every one of your #shots fired about their eventual downfall is accompanied by…. a systemic extermination campaign by a nazi allegory……….. and even if that's not something you're willing to contemplate, that's just going to make people uncomfortable. Especially if you start adding talk about a shadowy cabal secretly controlling everything who also steal children etc. Listen, I know that the jedi are fictional. That's not what you should be considering when you say these things.

So you end up with these two fundamentally diametrically opposed stories:

Here's this religious minority who are literally in touch with their divine force. This does not make them gods, so they have flaws, weaknesses, and make mistakes. They are murdered. This is the beginning of an imperial age. (compassion is at the centre of their philosophy. anyone can be compassionate, with or without the force.)

Here's this bunch of corrupt overpowered secret police who hold their position by maintaining a mythology of super-humaness, but psyche! Wealthy elites are also degenerate humans, which is of course forgivable in US, but not THEM. They were supposed to be the model minority. KILL THEM

[slotmachines-fearofgod]

i think something i really try to emphasize with a lot of my clone characters is that they’re fully formed people. i honestly don’t read a lot of codywan because there’s inevitably an arc of obi-wan providing cody’s personhood or something similar and idk. idk that just doesn’t feel right to me. the fandom often forgets that these men are soldiers first and foremost meaning they HAVE to be highly intelligent and comfortable with their own egos and sense of self. there’s definitely an identity crisis (because look at them), but that doesn’t mean they’re a blank slate. idk im tired of characterizations that revolve around the jedi giving clones personality or saving them by taking a similar route. clone agency is real!!! and i love it!!! and i want to see more of it!!! the republic employed them specially because they CAN think for themselves and take multiple variables into account and it is widely acknowledged that their personalities formed on kamino and amongst themselves. i’ve lost the point of this rant (if there was one) but yeah. let them be men first and whump vessels second.

[howlingdemon13]

You could use a buddy~!

Guys, you have no idea how happy I am that this is complete! You know I'm gonna be supper obnoxious now that I can turn into a demonic ghost with mommy issues. 🤪 Anyway, some notes and thoughts on this cosplay that no one asked for and no one wants~!

First and foremost, this cosplay is sort of a clonesona. I feel like (if given the chance), Beetlejuice would play around with how his clones look. Obviously on stage it’s impossible to find actors who look identical to the lead, but I like that the fandom has embraced BJ being unable/unwilling to create clones that are a 100% physical match. If that’s the case, I’m sure he throws in a more fem-presenting clone once in a while.

This doubles as a feminine-presenting form for Beetlejuice himself, too (Toonjuice has no issue changing his gender presentation at will in a bunch of scenarios, and I like to think that Musicaljuice would be the same/similar). I guess a version of Beetlejuice that’s female would be fun, but I prefer the idea of BJ shapeshifting to look and present the way he wants to (or to have fun with unsuspecting victims).

Even from the early development of this cosplay all the way back in October, choosing between a dress and a suit was like pulling teeth. I love the suit an unhealthy amount, but I wanted something distinct from other interpretations. That, and I was hesitant to lean into the hyper-sexualized looks I’ve seen from officially licensed offshoots of the character. Beetlejuice, while a self-proclaimed sexual being, doesn’t read as the kind of entity to go from generally masc-presenting all the way to hyper-sexual fem-presenting. Also, where the hell is the grime on all these fem designs???? Why does she look clean? Cowards!

I think BJ would settle on a fem-presenting form in a suit, but I also think he’s just as comfortable in a dress regardless of the pronouns/physical characteristics he’s using at any given moment. He likes his dresses and we love him for it.

Anyway-

I wanted a dress that felt “old” but not dated,so I settled on a shirt dress. They came about in the 1920’s, but didn’t become super popular until the 50’s. The cut of Beetlejuice’s suit is somewhere between modern and a style that would have been popular in the 50’s, too.

I also think shirt dresses are pretty “neutral” in that they aren’t form-fitting and they read more like a shirt from the waist up. I didn’t want anything dainty, but I wanted some movement to the fabric, and a dress does that a bit better than a suit imo. It’s why I love Beetlejuice’s first 15 minutes on stage in the trench coat. I know it’s a callback to when we first see him in the movie, but it adds a ton of secondary movement and looks cartoony when coupled with very exaggerated movements typical of a stage show. It’s why I love watching Collette especially bounce around on stage because istg he knows this (or that him growing up with the cartoon make him really lean into over the top body language and the trench coat just adds to it).

Like, look at that! Are you seeing what I’m saying? If I could animate, that would be a dream shot!

Oops, can’t go 15 minutes without thinking of the silly.

All that is to say that movement and form in an outfit, especially one for a character as chaotic as Beetlejuice, was super important to me. It’s also why I settled on long, curly hair, kept the tie, and added a bow. All of that breaks up patterns, adds movement, and is something I can put moss on. Anyway, this cosplay has a lot of little nods to the musical, cartoon, and film (but is mostly based off of the musical).

Cartoon: bugs!! Toonjuice is sometimes seen with small beetles chilling on his suit (which he inevitably snacks on). I love the idea of Beej being covered in bugs, so I felt compelled to include them on the dress and hat. It's a subtle reference, but one that I really wanted. They’re made out of scrap polymer clay and painted. Here are a few:

Film: The guide hat! It's iconic. I know that the hat made it into very early versions of the musical and promotional materials, but how it got thrown by the wayside is beyond me.

Musical: the grime and disrepair! I was heavily inspired by an early suit that is absolutely covered in moss!

I also added a lot of grime to the shoulders and hem as a callback to later versions of the suit and especially the tour version of it. I also added some x stitches since I really like the way they look on the current tour suit!

Oh, and the banjolele! Can't forget my favorite prop!

Miscellaneous: I love giving supernatural characters pointy ears and fangs, so you best believe I’m going to do the same for BJ. Slightly related, but I love the tour makeup so much. The makeup artists really lean into Beetlejuice being corpsey and I’m here for it (I essentially combine the tour and film makeup to get the look I’m after).

Oh! And snap bracelets! I remember hardcore stimming with these as a kid to the point of destroying them (then it was goodbye snap bracelets), and you cannot tell me Beetlejuice, neurodivergent-coded demon ghost, wouldn’t be the same way. Full disclosure, I had to wrap them around metal bands because these snaps are rubber and the texture is a nightmare for me, but I was determined to include them. They’re also a substitute for Beetlejuice’s watches in the film.

God/Satan, that was a lot of rambling. If you survived all that, thanks for reading!

[fawnfictions]

Omg finally someone's with a request open!!!

So uh, can I get a SWK and Mac (seperately) x FEM!reader who has a trauma every night and gets nightmares from them?

Comfort and fluff!

night comforts

— macaque & wukong x fem!reader

thanku for the request!! <3 im ASSUMING you wanted it to be romantic, but it can be read as a very-friendly platonic relationship LOL

not sure how good these are, but i hope its what you asked for!!

;; romantic, comfort and fluff !!

MACAQUE

- honestly, he probably deals with nightmares, too, considering everything he's been through with Wukong and Lady Bone Demon...

- now, the first time that he stayed the night and slept with you, he kind of brushed it off when you told him that you suffer from nightmares nearly EVERY night, assuming that they were just those silly types of dreams that you'd be scared of in the moment, but would look back at laugh at in the morning.

- BUT, when he's awoken by restlessness beside him in the middle of the night, he realises how wrong he was.

- if he catches you while you're still asleep, he'll try to wake you up softly by saying your name.

- he knows that if he's too rough, you may wake up thinking you're in danger, so he wants to limit your fear as much as possible.

- when you do wake up, or if you're already awake when he wakes up, he'll immediately try to ground you and get you to focus on the present.

- he'll give you space, not wanting to overwhelm you even further, but if you ask for it or reach for him, he'll immediately have you in his arms, leaning against the bed frame/wall and wrapping his tail around you while leaving a kiss on your head.

- he won't ask about the nightmares, or what caused them, preferring to wait for you to tell him yourself when you're ready.

- comforting you and making sure you get back to sleep is his first and foremost priority.

- "c'mon, sugarplum. shh, it's okay, you're safe—i'm here, let's go back to sleep, hey?"

- he'll gently wipe your tears and softly whisper sweet words to you until your breathing evens out into a rhythm and you're quietly snoring <3

- next morning, he won't say anything or ask about it, acting as if it never happened, but will intently listen to you if you do bring it up to him.

- if you confide in him about your nightmares / trauma, he'll sit there and listen patiently, perhaps even adding a joking remark or two to cheer you up if it seems appropriate.

- he'll help you in any way possible if he's able.

- whether thats helping you overcome some sort of phobia, or encouraging you to see a therapist (or Sandy lol)

- if there's nothing he can truly do, he'll feel a bit lost and upset with himself that he can't help you long-term.

- meanwhile, he'll do whatever it takes to be there for you when you wake up with terrible stress.

- if he's physically unable to be there with you at night for whatever reason, he'll leave a clone with you at night—sure, it's not the same as the real deal, and he may feel very a little jealous when he walks in to you and the clone snuggled up, but if it helps you, he's happy.

- and, if you've had a particularly rough night with barely any sleep, he'll stay in bed with you the next morning for as long as it takes for you to be fully rested.

- not that he's complaining, anyways; he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't be happy lazing around in bed with you all day.

- overall, he puts comforting you as his first priority, and will do whatever it takes to protect you, both physically and emotionally <3

WUKONG

- unlike Macaque, this mystic monkey doesn't suffer nightmares as much.

- not to say he never gets them, he does sometimes, but he has his other monkeys there to cheer him up whenever he wakes up in terror at night.

- so, when he's woken up by you, having a nightmare, he's not as confident as Macaque in knowing how to help.

- if you're still asleep, he'll try to wake you up as quickly as possible, unable to watch you struggling for any longer than necessary.

- he's a very touchy-feely person, so he'd immediately have his hands wrapped around your shoulders.

- without realising it, his tail is wrapped around your waist and pulling you as close as possible.

- if the two of you are on Flower-Fruit Mountain, there'll no doubt be at least a couple of monkeys in the room with you, who waste no time in chirping concernedly at you.

- you'll find a monkey climbing and perching on your shoulders, grooming and picking through your hair, while another tries to snuggle up between you and Wukong.

- sensing your stress and unsure what to do, you may find that one of the monkey's attempts to give you a piece of fruit (which Wukong takes and discreetly discards, because it's midnight and he'd prefer you to go to sleep first, and eat in the morning).

- he'll ask you what the nightmare was about, and if you want to talk about it.

- if you don't want to, he'll accept the answer but will probably pester you in the morning, wanting to help you, worried that you're hiding your stress from him.

- if you do tell him about it, he'll keep you in his arms and comfort you all the while.

- "everything's okay, peaches. it was just a dream, nothing bad'll happen to you or anyone else while i'm here..."

- when you're ready to go to bed again, he'll keep you close as you fall asleep, protectively snuggling into you and the monkey's that won't leave out of concern.

- he will, also, do whatever he can to help you with these nightmares, going as far as preparing to confront Heaven for some sort of 'cure', until you tell him to stop, lest he cause trouble.

- if you agree to it, he'll ask MK to set you up with Sandy and his therapy cats in hopes that will help.

- although, if all else fails, he may just end up in the Celestial Realm, desperately searching for something more to help.

- ultimately, he's still willing to stay up with you as long as necessary to ensure you get sleep, although it can't be promised that he won't fall asleep again before you (he doesn't mean to, though, and will feel guilty if you bring it up).

- he'll definitely stay in bed with you for longer in the mornings if you've had a particularly rough night, going as far as to cancel a lesson with MK if need be.

- just like Macaque, he'll give you a clone or two if he can't stay for the night, but he knows the monkey's will be there, too, so he isn't too worried.

- he's a little upset if he can't be there to comfort you at night, though, so he'll make up for it with lots of cuddles when he can <3

- cuddle piles with like half the monkey's on Flower-Fruit Mountain is a definite at some point !!

- overall, seeing you sad will always cause his old heart to ache, and will do ANYTHING to cease your pain, even if it causes trouble in the future—he just wants you to be happy :(

[starry-crossing-zone]

The Medic - Echo (TBB) (Part 2)

Summary: Echo returns to his medic for help after the Bad Batch is betrayed by Sid. Length: 2475 words Warnings: Unnamed Female Medic (Can Read as Reader or OC), Canon Angst, Some Body Dysmorphia (Echo); References to the Citadel; Fives is Brought Up; Tears; Happy Ending **Picks up right after Season 2 ends. Written before Season 3 came out but is compliant with it. No spoilers.

Part 1

After Sid’s betrayal, Echo was first and foremost focused on getting somewhere safe to regroup. They needed to heal. They needed to gather information and supplies. And they needed to have a plan. Running after Omega blindly wasn’t going to solve anything.

They needed help.

“Where are we going?” Hunter asked Echo, walking into the cockpit.

“Somewhere safe,” Echo replied, keeping his gaze forward.

“Pabu?”

“No, somewhere different. Somewhere with brothers who can help us. Rex showed me a colony of clone deserters. Some were rescued directly from the Empire, so they may be able to help us.”

Hunter nodded and turned to sit at the computer, slowly typing away. Echo tried not to stare, knowing that the sergeant was still slightly manic from watching Omega be taken away. And Echo didn't need to be a medic to know that Hunter was still in pain from his injuries from their failed mission.

The weight of losing Omega so soon after losing Tech weighed heavily on the Bad Batch. And Echo needed to get them somewhere safe before something else happened.

Pulling out of hyperspace, Echo maneuvered the Marauder down to the same landing patch. Once the Marauder touched down and the landing sequence was complete, Echo stood up.

“I’m going to speak with my contact here. I’ll be back.”

Hunter nodded and Echo disembarked from the Marauder. Walking around the ship, he wasn’t shocked to see some of his brothers lined up with blasters. But when they spotted him, they lowered them. Echo walked forward and greeted them before getting straight to business.

“We were attacked. We need a medic.”

Echo gave her name and the clones nodded before walking off to contact her. Looking up at the Marauder for a moment, Echo followed after them.

*~*~*~*

When she heard that Echo had returned, albeit with a different ship and brothers, she hurried to meet him. Turning NAN back on, she jumped on her speeder and took off, her heart pounding in her chest. If Echo asked for her by name, that had to mean that he was conscious. And not severely injured. Right? But that didn’t make her blood pressure go down.

Slowing her speeder down, she slid off of it and grabbed her medic bag, barely breaking her stride as she ran down the hill. Echo turned around at the sound of footsteps and straightened up when he saw her approaching. She stopped in front of him, managing her desire to throw her arms around him.

“You came back,” she stated softly, reminding him of their conversations after battle.

��I need your help,” he replied, causing her to nod. “We were attacked. Our mission . . . everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. I have two brothers injured and they’re very sensitive right now. We lost two of our own.” Echo looked back at the ship before returning his gaze to her. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“I’ll look at them,” she promised him.

Echo led the way into the Marauder before guiding her over to Hunter. After a brief round of introductions and an explanation of his enhancements, she started her assessment. Working diligently and professionally, she patched him up before reaching into her bag. Pulling out a pill bottle, she turned back to Hunter.

“How does your body take medicine compared to a normal clone?”

“Usually, they give me half or less of the normal dosage,” Hunter explained slowly, causing her to nod. “Tech had it all written out somewhere.”

“What about sleep pills? Did you ever try them?”

“A long time ago. When I was still a youngling.”

“How much did you take then?”

“A quarter of a pill.”

“Then let’s try half a pill,” she prescribed, moving to break a sleeping pill in half.

“I don’t need sleeping pills,” Hunter stated, straightening up.

“You need a bacta chamber, but we don’t have one of those here.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Muscling through the pain will only prolong your recovery,” she replied calmly, breaking a sleeping pill in half. “And right now, the best thing that you can do is have a good night’s sleep. Let your body relax and repair itself.” She held out the half pill to Hunter, who stared down at it. “There’s no shame in accepting help when you need it, Sergeant.”

Hunter stared at the pill for another moment before picking it up. She poured him some water before turning back to Echo. Leaving Hunter, Echo led her down the hall to where Wrecker was sitting. Echo made introductions again before she began to assess him as well.

“You definitely took some hard hits,” she commented, assessing Wrecker’s neck and spine. “Luckily, whoever set your casts did it correctly, so I don't have to redo them.”

“Echo did them,” Wrecker explained, causing her to turn to him.

“You taught me,” Echo reminded her, a bit sheepishly, earning a soft smile in return.

“I remember.”

Giving Wrecker some medication and a pain killer so that he could sleep peacefully as well, she packed up her med kit and made her way off the Marauder. Echo offered to walk her to her speeder, and she accepted. Throwing her leg over it, she offered him a smile that was brimming with anxiety.

“They’ll be alright, Echo. They just need some time to heal.” She let a moment pass before she asked, “Are you sure that you don’t need any medical attention?”

“I’m mostly machine. And metal can take hits better,” Echo replied, causing her to wince. “I’m fine. Thank you for taking care of them.”

“Of course.”

They stared at each other for some time, just silently communicating how relieved they were to see each other again. And in one piece, for another. She wanted to stay. She wanted to speak with Echo. To tell him. But he had just lost members of his squad and she knew that he wasn't in any shape to have that kind of discussion.

And then her alarm went off and she knew that she had to go.

“How long will you be staying?” she asked softly.

“I’m not sure. A few days? However long it takes for Hunter and Wrecker to heal some more.”

“Come visit my hut whenever you can. I’ll give you the coordinates.” She gently grabbed his arm and typed them into his vambrace, before releasing him. “Just . . . before you go.”

“I will,” he promised her, causing her to smile.

“Thank you.”

They bid their goodbyes before she rode off into the night. Echo watched her go until the small dust cloud from her speeder dissipated. Returning to the Marauder, Echo stepped into the barracks. Wrecker was already snoring in his bunk, but Hunter still seemed to be awake. Echo silently climbed up into his hammock and settled in for the night.

“That’s her?” Hunter asked quietly, causing Echo to look down.

“Yeah . . . that’s her.”

*~*~*~*

“Jemis! What did I tell you about biting your brother?” she scolded, pulling her son off of his twin. Marching over to the cot, she placed him down in toddler jail and when he started to pout and cry, she kneeled down to his height. “Don’t bite your brother, Jemis.”

Leaving Jemis to sit there for a moment, she turned to pick up her other sobbing son, who was holding out his arm to show her the bite mark. She pressed a kiss to the bite site before cuddling him into her chest and rocking him back and forth.

“I know, Rubem. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

When she soothed Rubem enough for him to focus on his toys again, she walked over to free Jemis from toddler jail. Picking her younger son up, she brought him back to her chest and pressed a kiss to the dark hair atop his head.

“Now, if you stop biting your brother, you’ll stop going into toddler jail, alright?” she promised him, wiping his tears and snot away from his face. Pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek, she set him down beside his brother again. “There, now can we have peace in this house for one moment?”

A knock at the door caused her to whirl around. Tapping NAN in for a moment to watch the twins, she made her way to the front door. She glanced out the window and sucked in a breath when she spotted Echo standing there. Taking a moment to gather herself, she opened the door.

“Hi, Echo," she greeted him nervously.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked, causing her to shake her head.

“No, no, come in.”

Sitting down at the table, Echo thanked her as she ran and grabbed him a cup of caf. They chatted casually, trying to ease into the conversation. They had a long history with each other, but with everything that had happened since the Citadel, it was best to be cautious.

“It’s a lovely hut,” Echo stated, causing her to nod. “Very spacious.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you live here . . . alone?”

“No.”

“Oh,” Echo replied awkwardly, causing her to pick her head up.

“Echo,” she stated, causing him to meet her gaze, “there’s something that I need to tell you.”

Here it was, Echo thought to himself. The moment that she told him that she had moved on and there was no way that they could ever go back to anything like they had before the Citadel. At least she was being kind about it.

“After the Citadel . . . there was more than one reason why I left the GAR. Fives came to tell me about . . . and I sort of passed out. He called Kix, who ran some tests, and Kix diagnosed me with a condition.” Fiddling with her fingers, she looked up at Echo, who was on the edge of his seat with worry. “Pregnancy.”

“You—”

Echo eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he went rigid. Almost like a robot. Pregnant. She was pregnant. Well, she was pregnant. She clearly wasn’t pregnant anymore. She had been pregnant. He sacrificed himself and he left her behind, pregnant and alone. He left her pregnant. He got her pregnant.

Kriff.

“And about six months after I thought you . . . I had our sons.”

“Sons?” Echo finally rasped, causing her to smile and nod.

“Identical twins. Fives thought that it was the funniest thing in the galaxy that a clone had identical twin boys.” Wiping tears from her eyes, she turned back to Echo. “He would have given you such a hard time about it. He actually read through the entire regulation manual to find the section that explicitly outlawed fraternization between civilians and clones.”

“I can imagine,” Echo croaked, struggling to keep his voice level. “Where . . . where are they?”

“Here. In the other room.”

“Can . . . can I . . .?”

She got up and gently grabbed his hand, pulling him with her. Opening the door to the nursery, she released his hand and stepped over the toys. Thanking NAN, she scooped her boys up and turned to Echo, who stood frozen at the door. She hefted her boys up and smiled as Echo stared at them with wonder.

“Our older twin is named Rubem. And our younger twin is Jemis.” Turning back to Echo, she added, “I wanted to name them after Fives in some way, because I thought it was what you would have wanted, and so both of their names have five letters.”

“You know,” Echo croaked, throat clogged with emotion and tears started to stream down his cheeks, “if he was here, he would have joked that they look more like him than me.”

“He definitely would,” she agreed, lips wobbling with emotion.

*~*~*~*

Hunter walked down the path that Echo had, tracing his steps. He talked with some of the other clone deserters that lived here and was gathering leads on where to look for Omega. Wrecker wasn’t in any mood to discuss them, though, so Hunter came in search of Echo.

Looking up, Hunter could see Echo sitting out on a porch. But Hunter wasn’t expecting to see two toddlers on the porch with him.

The medic sat beside Echo with one toddler in her lap, who looked distinctly clone-like, while Echo lifted the other into the air with his human arm. Echo laid on his back and did upside down pushups with his son Rubem, who giggled and squirmed in his hold. Holding Rubem above his head, Echo gently lowered his son until his and Rubem’s foreheads rested against each other.

He had struggled with physical touch ever since Skako Minor. His body had not been his own for so long that he felt protective over it. And also deeply ashamed of it. Ashamed of his grey skin, the metal parts sticking out of his head, all of it.

But Rubem did not care about how he looked. His son simply laughed and grabbed ahold of his dad’s cheeks, smushing his face into Echo’s own. Smiling at the action, Echo turned back to the mother of his children as Rubem continued to headbutt him.

“He’s not the biter, right?”

“No, that would be this little demon,” she replied, setting Jemis on Echo’s chest.

There were a lot of times why Echo wondered if it was all worth it. If all of the suffering and pain was worth it. And after the last few days of his life—kriff, the last few years—he was starting to believe it wasn’t. All of that loss was for nothing. And he was just the last man standing out of sheer bad luck.

But now, holding his sons in his arms, Echo was taken back to all of the times when he knew that it was worth it. His time with his brothers of the Domino Squad. And then his brothers in the 501st. Messing around with Fives. Meeting the future mother of his children. Strategizing with Rex. Joining the Bad Batch. All of the times where he felt like there was nothing in the galaxy that could stop him.

He lost so many of his brothers—too many—but he felt them here now. This was what they had been fighting for. This was who they had been fighting for.

Echo chuckled as he watched Jemis nibble at his skomp. Kriff, this kid was reminding him of Fives. Sharing a look with his partner, Echo smiled as she shook her head at their son’s antics. She smiled teasingly as Jemis looked up at his dad.

“He gets it from your side of the family,” she pointed out to Echo.

“I wouldn’t dare disagree.”

Hunter watched the family interaction from afar. The toddlers in Echo’s arms couldn’t have been anyone other than Echo’s children. Logic was Tech’s business, but Hunter was familiar with the look of a proud father. And he had never seen Echo happier.

Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Hunter turned around and started heading back to the Marauder.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

How did the clone saga happen in the destroyerverse?

First draft, and I left out or glossed over some stuff I’d like to use (like Kindred and some of the other Gwen clones) but basically:

Dr. Miles Warren, devastated by the loss of Gwen Stacy, resorts to experimental cloning technology (based on Dr. Octavius’s research and funded by a grieving Harry Osborn) to revive her. Otto, now a disembodied consciousness hiding out in pieces of his tech rigged up in Warren’s cloning lab, hijacks the project to generate a new body based on his ultimate foe: Spider-Man. A pair of successful Gwen and Peter clones (both with Spider powers due to cross contamination) escape the lab after coming to consciousness and go on the run. Warren generates a new clone, Kaine, to track them down and return Gwen while incapacitating or killing “Peter.”

Curious about the implications of “Spider-Gwen” and aware of Dr. Essex’s “Chimera” Thesis, Warren goes rogue from his benefactors and begins generating experimental “Chimera Spiders” based on whatever genetic material he has on hand. Unbeknownst to Harry, the secret ingredient Warren is using to generate fully adult clones on the fly is actually inert Symbiote bio-material (their “flesh” for a given value of the term) requiring some kind of stabilizing agent that Warren had yet to perfect by the trail stage. Spider-Man (i.e. the real Peter) confronts the escaped clones, assuming simply recreated his original bio-accelerant process in a new spider, only to be shocked to find Gwen and himself under the masks.

The clones escape when Kaine makes his move, distracting Peter. Pete goes to the foremost expert he knows on cloning for help: Dr. Miles Warren. Warren uses Pete’s visit to perform a covert bio-scan in hopes of locating the stabilizing agent needed for the clones as a protein in Pete’s body, unaware that the scan sets off Pete’s Spider-Sense and prompts him to return that night as Spider-Man to investigate Warren’s office. Tracking down Warren’s cloning facility, Pete is attacked by The Jackal, all of the existing clones accidentally released in the struggle. Otto—seeing his chance—bonds his consciousness to a Chimera of himself and Peter, considering it the “Superior” option.

The clone “Peter” returns to help Pete fight and unmask Jackal, Dr. Warren escaping the chaos. After the battle, Pete and the clone have a heart to heart and bond over shared memories. The clone picks the name “Ben Reilly” for himself and sets out to live his own life, fighting crime as the Scarlet Spider. Kaine, discovering the power to activate the inert Symbiote flesh in his body, becomes "Chasm" and sets to hunting down Jackal. Gwen is eventually picked up by Harry and the man pulling his strings: Norman Osborn, now with almost none of his human self left and a body strung together from Goblin formula, symbiote matter, and OsCorp bio-cybernetics.

Doppleganger, Guardian, Spidercide, plus new versions of Tarantula, Scorpion, and Spider-Woman (a female Peter clone) all escape into the wider world as well, all operating as super-criminals barring Spider-Woman, who takes up the mantle for Jessica Drew when she retires to raise her child.

[thebottomfromhell]

Hello! I saw that your asks and requests were open so I decided to slide on in! First and foremost, I hope that you are doing well and are remembering to stay hydrated!

Could I possibly request Upper Moon 4 (main body is preferred, honestly, Hantengu is my favorite) with a fem reader? Just a thought given that we are always protecting and taking care of him, what if there is a time he is the one that needs to protect us? No one harms his human and lives to tell about it. He's brave for that moment, and then once that initial shock of it is over, and everything is alright once more, it sinks in for him as to what just happened, and we are back to taking care of him, but honestly, I could see him loving the praise that is being given to him, soaking that in like a sponge, because he was so brave for us and saved our life, of course we're going to reward and take care of him. Bonus if the clones happen to see this all happening (seeing him be the one to take out the threat just like that instead of one of them being sent in to take care of the threat, slack-jawed, I tell you). Thank you and have a great day/night!

Thank you for the concern. It seems most of my requested One-Shot/Drabbles are about Hantengu's main body, not that I mind, he deserves it.

Here we go, I hope you like it. Since what can be considered a threat changes between demon and human, I made human reader.

Hantengu (main body) protects Human Female Reader

Warnings: Death of non-character human, Cannibalism, Slight bullying.

You are not very powerful. You are not a Hashira, nor an Uppermoon. Hantengu, your beloved, is stronger than you, so you would expect him to handle certain things, but in reality he is pretty fragile. His clones serve as compensation to that, they can protect you both, to make sure things are done, do the hard work. In the end, most of the time you have to comfort your partner and little more. Sometimes you have to defend him from the clones, who can and will bully him in their free time.

"Can you stop being so weak? You are a demon! Upper 4 no less! It's embarrasing you can't deal with a low rank slayer by your own! WE ALL KNOW YOU COULD MANAGE IF YOU WANTED, YOU LAZY FUCK!" Sekido complains a lot, even if he himself doesn't do much neither. "Oi! Oi! Hantengu is a scaredy-cat! What is it? Going to cry? Want to look like a pathetic mess for Y/N? Mn?" "He is crying! So cute! So cute! Let me catch him so I can throw him to you, Karaku!" Urogi and Karaku straight up tease him and play too roughly with him, but it seems they are less ill intended than Sekido. And Aizetsu.... "... It's so sad how the Upper 4 demon is so useless. If it wasn't for us and Y/N he would already be dead and forgotten. So pathetic." ... Yeah, let's leave it at that.

But besides the clones? There is really not much to to. The only major threats he has are the sun, which is solved by just finding cover, and the slayers, which are, again, the clone's problem. "Leave him be. He is having a hard time as it is." You comfort him, soothe him, make sure he feels safe, that is mostly your role. You could try to take more of the clones job, but you are not strong enough for that. Also, you love Hantengu, you really do, but even you must admit that he is pretty useless. Not that you mind, you like being able to be in control, and you might be a bit of a masochist, liking a man that is constantly suffering. You are just... a woman of different tastes.

He is safe in the dark, he is safe when he is in small size, in your arms, as you walk him home while the clones hunt and play around. Most of the time is better to leave them at their own shenanigans, specially in days Hantengu is not feeling well. After a breakdown you decided to just take him away and tell the others to fuck off. The thing is... he is safe in the dark, you are not.

While Hantengu has a counted number of individuals that can actually be a threat to him, most of them being other demons, you have most demons to fear. Not only that, when it's dark, you should also be wary of other humans, specially men. You were focusing on comformting your beloved that you didn't notice someone was following you as you walked to your home, you just arrived and closed the door behind you and got ready to go to bed while the demon took a normal size. Knowing the clones they would arrive to hide from the sun. "It's ok, love. Let's go to sleep."

He doesn't really need to sleep, but being able to cuddle with you, head against your clothed breast while you, sleep, being able to hear your heartbeat and breath, is calming. Sometimes he also takes a nap while you are at it. "Ok-ok..." he says, still trembling and sniffing. You carrees his back as he lies on top of you, none of you figuring or minding the precense of a stranger outside.

You wake up sometime later, usually at this hour you rise up to close and cover the windows before going back to sleep, being a rutine by now you can't scape. You do it even when Hantengu isn't here, and now that you notice... he isn't here. His weight and heat is gone, and the more you sense awake you realize... there is a smell of blood. That makes you sit in your bed quickly, but you are still sleepy and too comfortable to move. As you rub your eyes you think that probably the clones returned and brought something to eat. You will have to talk it with Sekido and Aizetsu, because the smell of the corpse is awful. "Why are they always causing troubles?" You mutter to yourself.

You proceed calmy to close the windows in your room and look for the others, but as you go in the hallway you realize the only noise in your house are Hantengus's whimpers. "Hantengu? Are you ok? Where are you?" You ask, but there is no answer. You find him in the kitchen. "WHAT THE-" There is a dead man on the floor of the kitchen, your beloved's hands covered in blood as he holds a broken knife. "He-he-he was trying to steal! He is to blame! He is to blame! I was just trying to protect- " he can't continue as he becomes a sobbing mess. By the look of the kitchen, it seems this man got inside by the window.

The shock is too big for a while, this is the first time someone entered in your house. Once you manage to push it down you go to hug Hantengu, blood honestly being uncomfortable against your clothes, but you tell yourself you can wash it later. "It's ok. You did great. You protected me. Thank you. Well done, you were good to me." And so on as he sobs, calming down against your neck. Yous stay like this until the clones arrive.

"Home sweet ho-.... huh.... this is new." Karaku talks first, also using the window as door, once he is in Urogi does the same. "Food!" He inmediately starts eating the corpse. Sice Aizetsu and Sekido used the door, it takes them a moment to get i to tge kitchen, having a reaction more similar to yours. "What. Happened?" Ask the anger clone. "It seems someone wanted to steal. Hantengu stopped him." Of course Karaku would tease. "Hantengu, eh? Finally grew spine for the sake of your girl? Wanting to be a hero for your lady~?" "No! No! Shut up! Stop bullying me!"

Urogi just chants with his mouth full as he keeps eating. "Hantang's hera! Hantang's hera!" Aizetsu and Sekido look at each other before the anger clone speaks. "Well, it seems you managed by yourself. Congratulations." You chuckle as you pet his back. He sis save you this time. "Poor thief. Probably had a painful death. Who knows why he was here. So sad." Thant only makes Hantengu sob again...

Nothing changes, huh?

[waywardsou2]

In my mind I'm constantly reiterating one thought in my head. The clones are not just clones.

They are people first and foremost amd always will be.

I feel like even a characters with the highest respect for the clones would still see them as clone first and not people. But they are people. I'm sure everyone in the fandom sees them that way and everyone understands. But I can't help this underlying thoughts that within the franchise no one really sees the clones other than clones. Not the Kaminoans, not the Jedi.

The only people I think that sees, the bad batch at the very least, as people before clones are the members of Pabu.

I said in a previous post that I'm so attached to these clones they feel like my brothers this is where that thought comes from, they are tied together.

[star-farer]

burdened backbones

Summary: When peace is found in the most unlikely moment. AU: Imperial Taglist: @kybercrystals94 @fionas-frenzy @padawancat97 @margindoodles2407 @dreamsight73 @comfy-vember

Comfy-vember 2024, Week 2: Verbal affirmation — Loving gaze, Day 7: Eye of the storm — Sleeping on shoulder

A quiet sigh draws him gently away from his thoughts. His shoulder warms with the firm hand that squeezes it. “Your turn to hit the racks, vod.”

He tries to get a hum of acknowledgement out of his throat, but it gets caught as a rasp somewhere deep in his chest. One horrific moment sees him reliving Wrecker’s hands around his neck. It passes when he buries his face deep in tufts of bright curls, his hold on the girl in his lap tightening.

He almost lost her. He almost lost them all.

How many times is he going to fail?

“Hunter.”

Echo’s voice, ever so soft and kind, makes him turn his face to rest with the tattoo on the little head, one eye glinting at the man he’s come to call ori’vod. He watches Echo turn the co-pilot’s seat and ease down into it, leaning over with elbows on knees.

His expression is open, earnest, as it always has been. It’s one of the many things Hunter appreciates about Echo, his unabashed steadiness and surety, his bold honesty come what may. Still, Hunter can't help but brace himself for what his ori'vod has to say.

“It isn’t just Crosshair and the Empire gunning after us, now. Someone wants Omega badly enough they sent two bounty hunters after her.” Echo pauses, pursing his lips. “You know what this means.”

He does know what it means, even if it makes him shudder and shrink and curl his arms tight around Omega. Their already precarious situation is quickly taking on levels of jeopardy he had prayed it would never reach.

He never wanted this for his squad, never wanted any of this for his aliit.

One wrong move, one misstep, and they could topple headfirst into a world of danger. Like wading through a simulation of traps and snares, no matter which way his foot stretches, there’s always trouble waiting to swallow them whole.

Crosshair was right, he thinks, and a sense of betrayal slides through his stomach like a needle. Crosshair was right. I’m not fit to lead this squad.

He's always tried so hard to fill that impossible role of responsibility. Always tried to do what's best for his squad first and foremost against all odds. He didn't ask to be the leader, the eldest. The mantle is, unfortunately, his to bear.

A moment sees him losing himself to days long past, when he was as young as the child in his arms, when all he had were three defective clones for brothers and the rest of the world all but loathed them. He remembers little of those times, and for good reason. He’d buried them easily enough in some ceaseless pit of his mind.

There are memories that resurface, however, despite his attempts. Of fingernails biting into his palm, of jaws aching with the pressure of clenching them, of burning faces and bloodied knuckles, of tears and terror and pain indescribable, of bright lights and cruel instruments.

But his vod’ike — he’ll never forget his vod’ike. Their screams still echo in his worst nightmares, their wide, pleading eyes haunting him. Once, and only once, he had attempted to defy authority as a naive cadet, to save his brothers from the pain by rebelling. That was the day he learned he could never alleviate their circumstance as defective and experimental clones, only worsen it to the point they would find themselves begging for death’s sweet relief.

He never dared try again, never for fear of hurting his brothers, never for fear of losing everything he held dear.

And when he’d found a way out — a young Empire of deceit and flaws aplenty — after so many years of pain, he’d seized it with both hands, hardly able to believe their luck. The fact that it was Omega, the daughter they had believed gone all these years, who delivered the warning had further convinced his already whirring mind.

Here had been their deliverance served on a silver platter. Here their hopes and dreams all but dropped into his lap.

And then Crosshair’s inhibitor chip had activated, and Omega was captured twice more than his anguished heart could handle. His entire world seems to be collapsing, and all he can do is stand and watch and weep.

His daughter lies asleep in his lap, shaken but safe. He runs his fingers through her hair, still as soft as he remembers it from when she was only a tubie. Those were gentler times, if not easier.

They are, however, in the past.

“You need to rest,” Echo implores quietly, honey eyes creasing in the corners with worry.

Rest? Is that what a man who has failed in every way deserves?

“It’s fine.” He’s glad his voice is just hoarse and not trembling. Small mercies, but he clings to them like a drowning man.

Echo snorts, a wholly unconvincing sound. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.” He stands with a sigh, rubbing one cybernetic leg absentmindedly.

“Alright.” His tone brokers no negation. “Hand her over.”

Hunter’s eyes snap wide open.

“What?”

“You’re injured,” returns Echo sternly, waving a scomp at the bandage wrapped around his shoulder, hidden by Omega’s curled self. His gaze softens, as if acknowledging the fear behind the vitriol in Hunter’s question.

“It’s just me, Hunter. You know I’d never hurt her.”

Shame burns his skin, the heat flaring in his neck and up the sides of his face. Of course he knows this. Echo has never once proven to be a threat to any of them, least of all their ad’ika.

It’s just…he’s nearly lost her.

Twice.

He tamps down the irrational fear beating a mad tattoo against the walls of his heart, shifting forward and helping Echo hook hand and scomp underneath Omega’s arms. She goes up into Echo’s hold with only a sleepy scrunch of her nose and wrinkle between her brows, no protestations on her part. It’s not merely a testimony of her fatigue, but her innate trust in her vode as well.

Her face smooths out the instant her head falls against Echo’s shoulder, a content hum of approval escaping as she resettles. Her lips curl upwards a nudge, arms looping around her ba’vodu’s neck. She looks just like the tubie, the toddler, the child Hunter held all those years ago, small and happy.

And when he looks up at Echo, he knows his fears are unfounded, only love wrought in his ori’vod’s eyes as he gazes down at their Om’ika.

Hunter exhales, a peace washing over him he hasn’t felt in days. Echo glances over at him, the smile for Omega becoming the smile for Hunter. His hand returns to Hunter’s shoulder, warm and firm with the promise of reassurance.

“Get some rest, Hunter. We’ll be alright.”

[someobscurereference]

ive been rereading your ffxv fic "im trying hard to take it back" for literally four years now. please end my suffering and tell me how gladio feels. please. PLEASE. (but only if u want ofc)

(fic) Short answer: Gladio feels insane guilt and spends a lot of his life trying to make this up to Prompto. In the process, they deepen their connection as friends and do begin a relationship probably around the one-year mark of endless darkness. <3

Longer answer: (implications of abuse/violence tw but no worse than in the fic itself; just what others assume to be true even if it's not in the context of this specific fic)

Gladio is a secret romantic at heart who has always envisioned meeting his soulmate, but he's also duty-bound and duty comes first. So even though he reads romance books (amongst other types of books too) and indulges in his head a bit as many people do, he's often put his duty to the crown first and foremost in his mind. He also didn't imagine his soulmate was anyone on this trip and thought perhaps the person he may have been fated to meet died in the assault of Insomnia. Even if they were a refugee, they can't be a priority to him at this moment. His priority has to be Noctis.

Prompto has obviously grown on him over the course of their road trip, but there are aspects of them that don't 100% mesh (as is true with every realistic relationship). That said, Gladio never in a hundred years would want this moment of (understandable but out of line) frustration and anger in the wake of Luna and Altissa to be a permanent mark on Prompto's face. He's genuinely horrified and disgusted with himself for a long time after this and spends most of his life trying to make it up. He feels like a dirtbag about it.

That said, Prompto runs away from him in this moment and they need time to calm down, just as the fic shows. Noctis goes after Prompto, just like in canon. Prompto falls off the train and has his Despair Arc just like in the DLC, now with the added despair of "well, in addition to being a clone, my soulmate hates me. And in addition to the mark of inhumanity on my wrist (barcode), I have a giant hand print of him literally Shoving Me Away on my face. Forever."

Aranea: Well, do you want to die about it. Or do you want to live.

Prompto, eventually like in canon: Live, I guess. But it will be excruciating.

Aranea: That's what living is. We do it anyway. Your friends love you. Get off the floor.

He fights his way through his issues and gets rescued like in canon. Gladio probably tries to talk to him when they all catch up again, trying to apologize, and Prompto tells him to hold off on that for later.

Then, of course, Noctis is eaten by the crystal and "later" becomes much, much later as they evacuate and try to survive in eternal darkness. (Though they also can't Not think about it because it's a giant hand print. On Prompto's face. And every person they meet has Something To Say about it, for better or worse, whether they knew Prompto before or not. Prompto cannot escape it, and when Gladio is not doing Crown Duties he feels he must do in Noct's absence, he's with Prompto, so he also Cannot Escape It either. Even when the person speaking is unaware that Gladio left that mark. It's almost worse when they don't know, but when they see it's Gladio, who is such a big guy who seemingly hit Prompto and left that permanent mark there, some of them get nasty to him and some back off out of fear. Both are horrible. The guilt is eating him alive.)

Eventually, enough time passes as the dust settles that they do Talk About It. Gladio apologizes sincerely, for the 500th time. Prompto's like, "Well. It's not like you could have known that this would be The One Time it happened." And then cracks a joke about their soulmate mark being a Prompto's hand print on Gladio's ass from a butt slap in another life, which does help the tension somewhat. (The more Gladio tries to apologize, the more Prompto grows sick of hearing it, so they just have to move on and keep going, as he's learned to do.)

They grow closer over time, especially because there's not a lot of people who have survived to this point and even less later on. They do get together romantically, both because they do like the idea of soulmates (for different reasons) and also because they're living out of each others pockets for years, so there's an affection and dependency that develops there. Also, teenage Prompto always thought Gladio was really handsome and teen Gladio thought Prompto was cute and sincere for a pipsqueak.

When they are out together on dates in normal settings surrounded by strangers after the light returns, Gladio will receive dirty looks for the rest of his life from strangers who see the hand print on Prompto's face and immediately (correctly) assumes it was out of anger rather than a funny accident or something. (Edit: Some people will assume there is a funny story attached. Gladio will not know what to say to this. Prompto will play along.) He will learn to live with this. Prompto is really grateful Gladio is with him despite everything.

[antianakin]

Hey! 👋 Just wanted to send in a message and say thanks for reblogging my post to leave some of your thoughts on it. I hope you didn’t mind the tag. 😅 Half the time Tumblr breaks links to other blogs for me, so I just thought tagging would be easier. I also apologize if it felt like I was calling you out or something about giving points on pro jedi to anti jedi fans?? �� It’s probably just my anxiety, but I still just wanted to clarify in case my words bothered you. I was more just kinda speaking in general to pro jedi fans as a whole.

I definitely agree with your thoughts looking back on it now that the anon might’ve been genuine in the sense they weren’t trolling, but it was clear they just wanted to be told they were right. They didn’t genuinely want to debate. I kinda sometimes look for the best in people even if it’s not there. 🤦‍♀️😂 But yeah… it IS frustrating to have asks open related to answering SW meta posts or fic questions and then just see a kinda benevolently condescending anti/critical jedi ask in there like that.

Getting all the thoughts out helped me cool off from my rage at that YouTube commenter that called Leia a “brat” though for not forgiving Anakin, at least. It’s the little things in life, I suppose. 😌💖😂

I hope you’re doing good! 👍 I do genuinely love hearing your SW takes, whether on Anakin or Jedi or clone stuff in general. I feel like you’re a lot more objective than others can be about Anakin, if that makes sense?? And also just about the clones in general too and your thoughts they might not want to be seen as mandalorians (at least I think I recall you saying that before in a post?), because they’re clones and brothers in arms first and foremost. I personally like the idea of them having mandoa just because I feel like it’s something that would be taught and passed down from the genetic tree of Jango. But I DEFINITELY appreciate the idea that Jango might’ve not been as deified by clones as people believe. 😭 I’m not saying he was the devil, but at the end of the day he plucked out a kid from the thousands he left behind from being his clones, and called it a day.

I wasn't bothered at all, my firmer more negative opinions aren't going to be for everyone! I'm consistently surprised at how many people DO seem to appreciate anything I have to say on the topic, negative or otherwise. I've said this before, but I made this blog as a space for me to express more negative things and I figured that would be kind-of a turn off for people. I'm glad that it's ended up apparently being at least somewhat enjoyable to other people.

It's incredibly funny to hear myself described as "objective" about Anakin given, well, everything. I'm NOT objective about him, obviously, I'm decidedly biased against him. I HAVE tried to approach his character as objectively as I can sometimes if people have asked me to, but I don't like him much and that does color the way I interact with Star Wars and stories he's involved in. People who love Anakin, even if they're extremely pro Jedi at the same time, will often interpret things VERY differently from how I would specifically because they're more inclined to be sympathetic to him and believe the best of him in a way I just can't most of the time.

For the clones, while I've definitely expressed the opinion that they wouldn't want to be considered Mandos before, that's one of my more bitter opinions, one I tend to feel when I'm more annoyed at the whole Mandoclone concept. If I were trying to be more objective about it, I feel less like they wouldn't WANT to be considered Mandos and simply that they AREN'T Mandos. There's never any real indication that the clones feel a connection to that culture aside from like... two little designs on the helmets that could just as easily be explained away in other ways. They never actually speak Mando'a, they never talk about Jango at all, and they don't seem to show a desire to interact with the Mandos when they have the opportunity (Cody and Rex are both around during the Duchess on Mandalore arc, Rex goes to Mandalore with Ahsoka, and Rex/Gregor/Wolffe meet Sabine). Aside from the two tiniest little designs, there's never a single indication that these people ever felt any connection to being Mandalorian at all.

And I personally just find it really boring to just make the clones MandoLite and base their entire culture around one that already exists rather than recognizing that they've got a radically different kind of upbringing that would have caused some VERY different values and traditions from Mandos. They've got their own canonical slang, they've traveling all the time and could be picking up any number of different traditions from the people on different planets (language, food, maybe art and songs and dances and games). I think Mandoclone headcanons often treat the clones as a monolith instead of recognizing that they're individual people in the process of creating their own extremely unique culture. I think the clones deserve more fun and interesting headcanons than just turning them into MandoLite.

[unicornpopcorn14]

No Longer Human- Exclusive Rambling

Sooo I've been thinking about Dazai's ability a lot lately, and I get endless questions that are too intriguing not to share... (Feel free to discuss them w me or even add more questions to the bunch! :D)

First and foremost, does nullifying abilities feel different from one person to another?

Like, is there a certain code for abilities that Dazai senses and decodes when nullifying them? Can he identify a person by just touching them and feeling which ability he just nullified?

Say he's in a dark room with Kunikida, Atsushi and Kyouka. Is touch enough for him to determine who's who? Based on each of their abilities' "codes" (I'm not sure what to call it but you get the gist of it) that he's memorized by now?

The reason I say code, and not the ability itself, is bc it's confirmed Dazai can't figure out an ability by touch (the whole reason Fyodor's true ability was previously unknown), and it's also why I say 'memorized', because coming in contact with a random ability certainly wouldn't be as recognizable as a familiar one; like, say, one of the agency members'. Concurrently, there is a possibility of him getting tricked into thinking an ability is one thing, when it's something else entirely...

Thinking about it, that would explain the green numerals/characters that accompany No Longer Human when activated (See: Gif), as if he's rewriting the ability user's 'program', sort of reverting them back to their 'primal state'.

As a writer, random questions and headcannons often spring up, and you can't help but want to further explore their potential.

So imagine a scenario, where there is a scientist who specializes in cloning people, even people's abilities, for ulterior motifs. A detective agency member is kidnapped for several days, and comes back presumably fine with a convincing story. Though, the moment Dazai touches them, he immediately figures that this is an imposter because the conding is jarring, and it feels different. This isn't what he senses when he nullifies his coworker, no.

But I feel that if that were true, then that means that Dazai constantly decodes the ability while touching it. And the more the touch lingers the longer he keeps absorbing the power, which is the reason I believe his holds never really linger for long,

except, of course, when it comes to Chuuya... (Sigh, these two (⁠-⁠_⁠-⁠;⁠))

On another note, does nullifying abilities in their "fully formed" stage require more energy than in "human form"?

This is more of a headcannon of mine, because I just can't find it possible that nullifying Corrupted!Chuuya, a singularity, is just as easy as nullifying a Chuuya who is not even using his ability. The same goes for Atsushi with his complete tiger form vs his everyday look.

It would make way for some cool complications, and would give No Longer Human some kind of drawback, as is the case with every other ability in that universe.

What if, after a long day of nullifying Atsushi's and Akutagawa's fully-formed feuds (and you know these two have a ridiculous amount of energy), Dazai gets called for a mission with Chuuya and corruption has to be used (much to his own opposition), and the moment he touches Chuuya, a full body jerk emits out of him and he intantly collapses.

Chuuya, in the few seconds he's away from passing out himself, is naturally freaked out by this, thinking he'd hurt Dazai during corruption or something. He fights the overwhelming exhaustion, his scorching injuries, all so he can check that his former partner isn't bleeding somewhere, and when he's assured, his body lets him rest.

(You decide what kind of comfort ensues after the two of them or one of them wake(s) up :3)

I'll probably add onto these hcs or Questions in the future. No Longer Human might be the simplest/most straightforward ability in the series, though that simultaneously gives way for so much depth and nuance (if you're imaginative enough hehe)!!