#Chrono Storm

[arandomtennisplayer]

I know I was rewatching S3 a few days ago but now I’m watching Go CS and I would just like to interrupt your regular scheduled content to say

He is the most important guy ever actually

[vampire207343]

Athanasia Cordelia Potter

What if.... Charlie Swan is the younger half brother of Lily Potter and Petunia Dursley.

When the Potters died after the dark lord Voldemort try to attack their home and the only survival of the attack was their two daughters Athanasia Cordelia Potter The heiress of the house of Potter & Peverell the oldest twin and the youngest Iris Lilian Potter the Girl Who lived.

Athanasia Potter grow up with her grandmother Helena Swan in Washington she is very much loved by her grandmother and Uncle Charlie who was her mother younger half brother. She was given everything she ever wanted and was told tge truth about herself she even learn from her mother and Father old books which she learn etiquette and manner dhe would need when she step back to the wizarding world as a Heiress of two house she required to alot of things like business and politic so as child she learn and master them before she even turn 11 years old. But her magical studies wasn't the only thing she learn she also learn voracious martial arts such as

karate

kendō

Taekwondo

kung fu

Muay Thai

boxing

Kickboxing

Aikido

Tai Chi

Hapkido

Fencing

Okinawan Kobudō

I begain learning at tge young age of 5 years old to keep me busy at all time while it was hard to learn at first but as time pass I gotten use to them and work hard on every 12 martial arts and fully master them all by the time I was 11 years old. But martial arts weren't the only thing that keep me busy learn voracious dance such as

Waltz

Hip hop

acro dancer 

Ballroom

breakdancing

belly dancing 

pole dancing

Learning voracious martial arts and dance made me fit and flexibility at a young age. I also master 6 of all the dance I was taught the only Dance I haven't full master is pole dancing since I haven't everything about pole dancing not by a long shot. I also learn a couple languages such as

French

Spanish

Japanese

Greek

Italian

Latin

Arabic

Which I full master by the time I turn 11 years old and I wanted to learn the Greek languages so bad because I found out the Potter family originated greece before immigrating to England during the 12th century.

While Athanasia Potter grow up love and adored by her grandmother and Uncle her younger twin Iris Lilian Potter was neglected and abuse by their Aunt that she never even know she had a twin sister and a grandmother and Uncle until she turn 11 years old when she learn everything. And their Uncle Charlie gotten custody of Iris Potter after their first year without the knowladge of Dumbledore. But she had to see a mind healer in Washington from the neglected and abuse she had since she was young st tye hand of Petunia and her family that they encouraged their son to bully Iris.

7 years later....

Iris Potter the Girl who lived resuce a vampire by the name of Garrett Williams from the order of the phoenix who wanted to kill him just because he is a vampire and they are a dark creatures which her so call best friend Ron Weasley and hermione Granger didn't agree with Iris saving Garrett's life not one bit but they can't do anything they already push Iris near to her limit especially when they killed her godfather Remus Lupin just because he is a werewolf and made an example out of him and they dare call them light side what a joke.

That after the war she didn't stick around England like everyone was hoping for especially since Garrett changed her into a vampire while she was in death's door

(Iris Lilian Potter with fire orange eyes)

Since he dosen't want to lose his mate he was given no other choice but turn Iris. After she open eyes she join her sister Athanasia and her two bestfriend Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom who were also changed into vampires and during neville and Athanasia's changed their gift made them self known which are quite simlier to one another during both of their change the worst storm came to England along with hurricane touching british soil that people didn't dare come out of their home in fear of drag in by the hurricane or beging hit the couple trees fell down.

Many wizard and witches were force inside their own home until the storm and hurricane stop, the storm only subside nearning the end of their change only when the two newborns open their eyes did the storm ended.

They know that they would have to leave since they would be lable as a dark creature and their inheritance taken so they all took step to insure that never happen by transfer all their account into the main branch of gringotts located in Italy which british ministry of magic and anyone of British soil would be unable to touch their fortune and properties.

With Athanasia now adult in eyes of magic she has full control of her vaults and property and sold all property she has in british soil since she has no desired to return to this god forsaken country again.

As the companies belong to the Peverell, Potter and Black family, she relinquish most of it to the goblin nation only keep three companies one is a Fashion campion, the secound one is a museum and third is a high technology company. Which her two friends Luna and Neville did the same.

With the three Heirs taking their fortune leaving british soil to turn into a economic depression since the three heirs family are one keep continuance but without them their economic meltdown.

With Athanasia & Iris Potter changed into a vampire they faked their death for their Uncle Charlie Swan who is a No-Maj and with their grandmother Helena Swan pass away they wouldn't dared return to Washington any time soon but before her death she gaved all her Jewelry to be split between Athanasia & Iris themself. Which they both kept safe with them at all times.

Luna, Iris, Neville, Athanasia and Garrett stay in Volturi for 5 years since Iris and Athanasia meet the three Kings and the guards Alec, Felix,Jane, and Demetri who found his mate in Athanasia during the War. The four half witches gained the kings and the guards respect with protecting them from their own kind which earn the four's distain for their own kind.

The five years they all stayed in volterra italy, Athanasia gotten close with Marcus which created a parental bond between them and when she's with him he is more alive like he use before his mate died. And in those 5 years she gotten close to Demetri Volturi as well.

During her stay in volterra italy, Athanasia discover that Storm manipluation wasn't the only gift she has Field Manipulation which is a powerful gift since the user can create, shape and manipulate fields that surrounds a single object, including whole planets. These fields include magnetic, electrical, gravitational and even force-fields.

Athanasia wasn't the only one who discover another gift Iris discover Age Manipulation is the only thing Iris is capable of she also has gift of Fire Manipulation the Users can generate, shape, and manipulate fire, the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products, flame being the visible portion of the fire. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will be different. The user can also completely control the temperature of the fire at will.

While we were their we discover Luna's gift which is Chrono Vision which has ability to see the past, present, and future. The user can see any point in time, from only a few seconds or minutes into the future and/or past, up to events all throughout time, whether that be along their own timelines or along the timelines of others.which is alot more powerful than Alice Cullen's own gift which allow her see Vision of the future base on one's decision.

Neville train his gift of Weather manipulation and try to gain control of his gift which took about five years for him to full control his gift like Athanasia and Iris.

It wasn't long before Athanasia and her coven left volterra italy to travel and Demetri went after his mate with the permission of three king to leave which he did. But they all promise to come when their help is need before they said their goodbye.

(Athanasia Cordelia Potter with fire Orange Eyes)

the Potter Coven moved to an Island Athanasia's family own for generation in Greece and they are only ones since it's hidden from the sights from every No-Maj and their's a powerful ancient protection wards protecting the Island and I add my Force field on the Island as well and I also reinforced the wards just incase and no one can enter the Island it self without begin allow in.

With Athanasia beging a alchemist and enchantress mistresses she created something so they don't have hunt humans so offten called a Blood Stone which will turn any water it touch to the first substance it drop on it after it creation be it a potion, alcohol beverage, poison and human blood.

Which her new creation made the Potter Coven have limitless supplies of human blood for their coven to feed on. So they don't really need to hunt humans anymore, but they still do from time to time. And the blood are preserve to make sure to keep it fresh and clean at all times.

Iris Potter manged to discover that if we mix blood with human food or beverage we could consume it without throwing up so if they are in a human town it wouldn't be strange see them not eating anything, Like the Cullen dose when they go human school of all place and it's a miracle non of the humans has notice that they are eating food at school at all.

2 year later...

Jane Volturi called them since they need either Neville or Athanasia's help to prevent Vampires beging expose to human. Since Edward Cullen plan to expose himself to human just so the kings would kill him because he wanted to join his blood singer in death. Which is kind pathetic if you ask them if the girl was his true mate they would have understand him wanting death but the girl is his blood singer not his mate.

They berly made it in time volterra to moved the clouds to cover the sun prevent the shirtless Edward Cullen from exposing Vampires to humans. And the one push him back inside was someone both Iris and Athanasia recognized even if it's been years since they last saw her their younger cousin Bella Swan. Bella the 19 years old is still very much human and the only reason she was able to leave volterra as a human was because Alice Cullen promise that she would change bella herself. And if the two ever get married it would only lead to unhappiness when one of the find their true mate.

Potters visit Marcus which made him happy to see his daughter figure he has miss her dearly. And they gaved a suprising news to him Demetri finally propose to her after 7 years together.

A month later...

(Athanasia on her wedding dress)

Athanasia and Demetri gotten married surrounded by their friends and family and was officiant by Aro himself it was quick and small but Athanasia never wanted a big wedding so she was happy to her wedding.

She wore something blue bridal Tiara her grandmother Helena Swan wore on her first marriage with her grandfather Harnold Evans. Which makes her look even more a queen than she already was without the tiara.

they spent their honeymoon on Mamanuca Islands of Fiji they spent a month their and they got a suprising news that they never thought would happen Demetri gotten his wife and mate pregnant which Suprise even Marcus of the news since they all believe that Vsmpires are an able to have children but here is demetri who manged to get his wife and mate pregnant. It was to this discovery that they know male Vampire are able to procreate with any female who is fertile which female vampires are not except for female of the Potter coven who are still fertile even though they were changed to vampires, they are still part witches which makes them fertile and cable of getting pregnant.

Nothing change in Athanasia that much except she feed alot more human blood than she did before she got pregnant that Luna is overseeing her pregnacy to make sure everything is normal. But beging a vampire her pregnancy is faster than humans that in two months she was ready to pop anytime so Demetri dosen't leave his mate alone.

Athanasia gaved birth on March 7, 2006 on a beautiful girl by the name Dianthus Astria Potter. Their daughter grow alot faster than a normal human by the time 3 days pass since Dianthus was born she was already looking like a 3 months baby instead of 3 days and by the time 5 years pass she was already looking like a 1 years old.

1 year later...

Dianthus Astria Potter is now 1 years old but she look nothing like a 1 years old child she look more 7 years old than 1

( Dianthus Astria Potter, 1 years old and physically 7 years old)

It wasn't long after Dianthus turn 1 years old did she discover her own gift which is Danger Detection The user can sense nearing danger, acute danger, potential immediate danger, or impending danger and sense unwanted or hectic threats to their well-being and the possibility to evade it. The intuition usually regards themselves but may include their surroundings (like a distant car-wreck, friends or strangers).

But Danger Detection wasn't her only gift Age Manipulation this gift might be seen as a weak gift but Users can manipulate age of living beings or objects, causing them to rot and decay by aging them forward, or regressing them by aging them backward. This can be used offensively to decay oncoming attacks to nothingness, turn opponents to dust, or enhancing one's own attributes by entering into their "Golden Age".

And Energy Manipulation the user can create, shape, and manipulate energy, the capacity or ability to cause change or do work, one of the most basic quantitative properties of a system, such as an object or a field of energy. Energy can be transformed (converted) into a number of forms that may each manifest and be measurable in differing ways. The law of conservation of energy states that the (total) energy of a system can increase or decrease only by transferring it in or out of the system, thus the total energy of a system can be calculated by simple addition when it is composed of multiple non-interacting parts or has multiple distinct forms of energy.

Common physicalforms of energyinclude the kinetic energy of a moving object, the radiant energy carried by light and other electromagnetic radiation, and various types of potential energy such as gravitational and elastic.

With how much energy influences as a whole, it would be the ultimate superpower. One who can control energy is probably limited by their vitality & imagination.

It wasn't long before Garrett propose to his mate Iris Potter which she agree she been preparing her wedding for a while now before Garrett even propose that she slready had the wedding dress she want to wear on her wedding day

(Iris Potter's wedding dress)

She also decided what something blue she's wearing the bridal comb her grandmother Helena Swan worn on her 2nd wedding to

Geoffrey swan. The very bridal comb that Bella wanted to wear on her own wedding day but will be unable to since Charlie believe it's lost when Iris died so they got something else to wear on her wedding day with Edward Cullen.

Bella & Edward return months early from their honeymoon when this discover bella is pregnant with Edward's child they know this from Luna but unlike Athanasia's pregnacy the baby that bella seem to be carring is slowly killing her from the inside. They didn't tell the Volturi that bella is pregnant since they thought that the Cullens already did. As the months progrecces until Bella give birth to a daughter instead of the son she was expecting and she was given the name Renesmee Carlie Cullen before Edward injected his venom inside bella's heart.

Jacob black unexpectly imprinted on Bella's daughter.

Luna also saw that in her vision which was unexpected since Vampire and werewolf don't get along with one another.

Bella Cullen née Swan wake up and open eyes as a vampire she was expecting a son when she see her child child instead she see a daughter instead and who also happen to be the imprint of her bestfriend which she isn't taking to well. Which only cause an argument between Bella & Edward and whatever spark of Love edward use to have had with Bella slowly disapear as they argue with one another. She dosen't seem to care for their daughter at all which jacob is worry about his imprint that Bella would do something to Renesmee with back turn so Rosalie dosen't allow Bella to be alone with her which Edward full agree with.

7 years later....

By this time Bella and Edward Cullen are now divorce for 6 years now and bella has always blame her daughter Renesmee for her divorce and why she even blame her death her non existen son the one she wanted instead of her. By that time Edward found his true mate with Maggie who is member of the Irish coven and she the gift of a Lie detection.

With how much Bella blame Renesmee it was no suprise that her daughter never bonded with her as her mother instead see Rosalie as mother and see Maggie as her secound mother beging her father's mate.

Evenutally Bella left the Cullen coven with no backward glace left, which hurt Renesmee even thought she never bonded with Bella she is still her birth mother and it hurts to see her leave but at tge same time glad she left.

(The Home of the Potter Coven)

Dianthus Astria Potter is full grown woman now physically but she is still an eight years old little girl who is very much adored by her family especially her both her parents.

(Dianthus Potter physically 17 years old)

she never once attend No-Majs school since she grew up physically faster than humans so her parents and Aunts & Uncles taught her everrything they know.

She found her mate to the most unexpected person and is the close friend of her father while he was a member of the Volturi guard and that is non other than Alec Volturi.

[deimortiviventi]

Characters modeled after Big Mouth, a terrible idea from Jabroni Mike.

It was really hard drawing this, because I wanted to add more detail, but the whole premise of Big Mouth, is that there's no detail, no shading, and full gormlessness.

[cjbee]

“When Chronos stormed your father’s House, I fled with but three things: Hypnos, because he was there; that family portrait, which pulled at my heart, and you.”

More Hades art: 1 2 3 4

[ohtobeleah]

Chronos // Robert Bob Floyd

Summary: Bob told you that Chronos carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while someone by the name of Pete Mitchell told you over the phone that your husband had been involved in a training accident….Well—you felt as if you'd fallen straight into it.

Warnings: Bob Floyd x Pregnant F!reader. F-18 accident. Medical inaccuracies. Birth. Bob Whump, ANGST. Major character death.

Word Count: 6.1k

Author Note: Today is Monday, for most of you it’s Sunday: Please enjoy this oneshot that’s been a work in progress since the 28th of March. ~ Last minute title name change. I’m posting this at 4am my time so blow this up.

First there was a storm of carbon and molten rock which begat granite and soil. Then, the land shook and it cracked and it rose till it spiked the sky. Forest grew and died and grew a hundred times again. And then people grew and died and grew and died a hundred times again. There were storms and seasons and fences and blood. Wonder and vengeance and a whole lot of regret….

And through every grievance, every war, the land and the sky didn't give two shits about any of it. Bob Floyd knew that as he and his front seater, Natasha Phoenix Trance, fell through the sky in a tin bird designed by man, for man to destroy other men….

That it wouldn't give two shits about them either. 

“Extinguishing right engine!” There were far too many sounds coming from every system possible as Phoenix tried to regain control of the F-18 that seemed impossible to wrangle. All Bob could think about in those utterly terrifying moments was you. 

He’d always made it a promise to come home to you. He knew how much you worried about him, how much the thought of being left behind ping ponged around in your brain. How sometimes you'd stay up all hours of the night hoping that wherever he was and whatever ocean he flew across that he was okay. That he was safe and that he;d come home to you. 

Robert Floyd had made you a promise he had every intention of keeping, but he wasn't so sure he could. 

“Phoenix, Bob! Punch out! Punch out!” Maverick shouted through the comms as he chased the rogue fighter jet down. Bob looked around at all the warnings flashing in his face, there was nothing left to save except themselves. 

“Phoenix there’s warning lights everywhere, we’re in hydraulic failure!” All Bob prayed for in those terrifying moments as his colleagues watched on in pure shock horror from the ground below was that he’d get a chance to tell you he loved you again. 

He always told you that he’d come home, that there wasn’t a chance in hell that he wouldn’t. You knew better than to believe Government Property though, Bob knew you knew that there was always a chance. So he promised in the event of his untimely demise that he’d come back to you and wiggle your earlobe. To let you know he made it safe and sound. That you need not worry about him anymore. 

You promised him the same thing, because working from home was just as terrifying as flying a multimillion dollar fighter jet. 

“I can’t control it!” But as the ground grew closer and closer, Bob knew he wasn’t ready to die, he wasn’t ready to leave you behind and he certainly wasn’t ready to not meet his unborn child. 

“We’re going down, Phoenix! We’re going in! We’re going in!” He wasn’t ready to wiggle your ear. 

“You can’t save it! eject, eject!” Maverick shouted again, he was watching on like he’d been sucked into some kind of timeloop. He’d seen this happen before. Only he lost his best friend when to this day he thought it should have been him. 

“Eject! Eject! Eject!” Were the last three words Bob heard escape from Phoenix’s mouth before he was reaching between his legs to pull at the emergency yellow and black striped handle that sent him flying out of the cockpit. He’d been taught how to handle a situation like this, they all had. Every single naval aviator currently on active duty had been taught what to do when they needed to eject. 

But when Bob's head hit the top of the cockpit? He didn’t care for procedures and protocol and what he should or shouldn’t have done in the moment, all he cared about was you and holding on to whatever consciousness he had left as he tumbled through the sky at a rapid pace. Reaching for his parachute in just the nic of time. 

Knowing if he hit the ground where the land had shook and cracked and rose till it spiked the sky that it wouldn’t have given a shit. It wouldn’t have been all that forgiving and it certainly wouldn’t have mourned his untimely demise. 

So Bob faught until he hit the ground with a not so graceful thud, he hit the ground hard—with an almighty groan as his ribs popped and his head throbbed inside his helmet. 

“Ahhh!” He gasped as he clutched at his stomach, forgetting how to breathe as the darkness of tunnel vision claimed its next victim. Unconsciousness overcoming its latest casualty: 

Bob Floyd. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Bob had asked you once when you were wrapped up in his arms in the dead of the night, listening to the storm raging on outside if you knew anything at all about a Greek God called Chronos. When you had chuckled out a soft no as his lips trailed up your neck and his slightly calloused hands roamed your body like they knew every inch, Bob told you that he carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while someone by the name of Pete Mitchell told you over the phone that your husband had been involved in a training accident….

Well—you felt as if you'd fallen straight into it.

You felt like you'd fallen into the cosmic existence between now and soon to come, plummeting into a realm where time didn’t exist and light didn’t reach. You tumbled into a parallel dimension where nothing made sense, nothing seemed tangible or real. You descended into a world where Bob Floyd wasn’t around. 

“Your husband was involved in an accident during a training exercise this afternoon—“. 

At the sound of Pete Maverick Mitchell’s voice explaining that there had been an accident on base during an exercise—you begun to crack, you started slipping further and further into the unknown because Bob had always said he’d never leave and if he did you’d feel him tugging on your earlobe to let you know he got there safe and sound. 

There was no one tugging on your earlobe though, no soul that had passed on or ghostly figure watching over you. What there was though, was a radiating warmth between your legs. A wetness that shouldn't have been there. 

Had your water just broken? 

“Oh—oh god.” You gasped as you looked down, gripping the side of the kitchen island as you groaned out a prolonged, primal moan. You were in labour there was no doubt about it. “Ahh.” 

“Mrs Floyd? Are you alright?” The voice on the other end of the line asked with a confused undertone as you watched the seconds tick past on the ongoing call. 

“I uh—“ You tried to speak, tried to make sense of what you were hearing, what you were experiencing. Pain in every aspect both physically, emotionally and mentally. “I think my water just broke.” 

“Oh—“ Maverick couldn’t suppress his shock nor could he disguise his sudden state of disbelief. “Oh okay, I’ll uh—I'll have an ambulance come by right away.” You replied with a sharp groan. Doubling over as you felt how hard your stomach had truly become. This was happening, everything was happening all at once and you had lost focus in the pain of both worrying about the state your husband was currently in and the fact your baby was on their way. “Mrs Floyd, someone will be there very soon, I’m gonna stay on the line with you until they arrive.” 

“I need Bob—“ You’d begun to cry as you kneeled on the kitchen floor before you decided that sitting up against the cabinet with your legs outstretched felt a hell of a lot more comfortable. “I need my husband, I can't do this without him.” You felt warm tears streaming down your cheeks as your bottom lip quivered and another painful contraction rippled through your body. Every fibre of your being ignited in a fireball. “Ahhh—I won’t do this without my husband!” 

On the other side of the phone call that had taken a rather drastic turn, Mav looked to Phoenix who was being wheeled into the awaiting ambulance on the tarmac. Bob was next, Pete didn’t have the heart to tell the Weapons Systems Officer that had just escaped death that his wife, who he hadn’t mentioned to a soul beside Phoenix, that his wife’s water had just broken. 

“Phoenix, hey—“ Pete stopped the medics briefly, they looked at Pete like he was risking her life by wasting valuable time. But this was just as important. “What’s Bob's wife’s name?” Pete wanted to know so he could be a little more personal. 

The truth was Natasha didn’t even know, she’d seen the picture of you in Bob's wallet that he’d shown her, but Bob had only ever called you by your nickname. Bob's beloved term of endearment. 

Peach. 

“He’s only ever called her Peach, I don’t even know her name.” Phoenix cried. She was still trying to process what had happened—she felt like the blame was all her own to bear. She’d damn near killed her back seater and she didn’t even know his wife’s real name or that you were pregnant. “I nearly killed him and I don’t even know his wife’s name—“ 

“Hey hey hey.” Mav tried to soothe the clearly shocked pilot. “It wasn’t your fault, it could’ve happened to anyone, Phoenix.” Mav smiled softly as he held the phone back to his ear, he was still yet to call Phoenix's emergency contact, her sister Lily. It wasn’t inherently Mavericks' job to call the emergency contacts listed in Bob and Phoenix’s files, but it was his duty, his responsibility. 

He was going to as soon as he’d informed you, however, Pete wasn’t expecting this call to take the turn it had. “Peach, you there?” 

There was no answer, Simply whimpers. When you’d doubled over in pain in the kitchen you’d left your phone on the island bench top. It was far too out of reach now as you sat trying to breathe through the latest contraction that bodied you. 

“Peach—“ Mav started, but as he did so saw the medics wheeling Bob closer and closer to the ambulance waiting on the tarmac. He couldn’t say anything, not when Bob was still fighting to stay conscious. “Mrs Floyd, someone will be there as soon as they can, I promise.” 

“Bbboooooobb—!” You cried out. “I can’t do this!” It was all too much for you to handle, the immense pressure, the anxiety, the fear of losing your husband. “I can’t fucking do this!” You never thought in your wildest dreams you’d have to do this alone. Bob always said he’d be right with you every single step of the way. And up until right now he had been. 

“Someone’s coming Peach.” Maverick knew you couldn’t hear him, but he couldn’t bring himself to put the phone down. He looked at Bob being wheeled into the back of the ambulance on a stretcher, wondering if his decision to not say anything as of right now was a bad decision. He seemed to always be full of those. 

“Someone’s coming—“

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

By the time Bob was brought back to the North Island Base Hospital, he was very aware that someone would need to call his emergency contact about what had happened. Someone was going to need to call you, he thought it would be best if he was the one who called. 

With a throbbing headache and a few cuts and gashes, Bob let the nurses and doctors tend to his aid without much of a fight. He knew he needed the care, knew it was for the best if he just let everyone do their jobs. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and if he put up a fight they would only keep him admitted for longer. 

“You got a partner Robert? A wife or husband that we need to call?” Doctor Austin asked as he shined a light into Bob's eyes, watching carefully as he followed the light side to side. 

“I have a wife–” Bob mumbled, his head hurt from when he’d hit the ground not so gracefully but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle as he sat up on the hospital bed with his legs hanging off the side. Phoenix was laying with an ice pack over her eyes on the other bed. “She’s um, she's pregnant, could go any day now.” Doctor Austin chuckled as he clicked his pen light off and placed it into his top pocket. Sending Bob an all knowing look. 

“And you thought it was a good idea to fall outta the sky?” Bob's ribs hurt when he laughed softly, cupping at his side as he did so, laughing with the doctor who had cleared him and Natasha of any serious injury. “My good man, I can't say that's a good mix.” But there were still observations that needed to be made and a few more tests just to be sure. He wasn't out of the woods. 

“Yeah I think you might be right doc—“ Bob smiled softly. “But can I be the one to call her? She’ll probably take the news a little better if she heard it from me.” 

“I’ll see what I can do Lieutenant.” Doctor Austin nodded as he picked up his charts and headed out of the room, leaving Phoenix and Bob in the heavy silence of the aftermath of their near death experience. 

“What’s her name?” Phoenix mumbled from behind the ice pack she kept over her eyes. 

“Y/n—“ Bob replied softly as he played with the wedding band that was strung through his dog tags. “We’ve been together since high school.” 

“Why do you call her Peach?” 

“Because she’s as sweet as the peaches from the orchard my grandma used to own.” Bob couldn’t stop himself from bashfully blushing, a hume all consuming crept across the apples of his cheeks whenever he spoke about you. “We’re about to have a baby, the detachment was meant to be my last before I could access my paternity leave entitlements.” 

“Rough last assignment—“ Phoenix chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief. Bob agreed silently, it was a rough last assignment. “You don’t talk about her an awful lot do you?” 

“I would—“ Bob pressed his lips together. “Just no one really asked.” It was then that Phoenix realised that she didn’t know an awful lot about the man who had gone down with her. The man who sat behind her and had her back in the sky. Her WSO. “And I guess we’re not here for all that long anyway so I just kept her to myself, she’s a nice reminder that even after the rough days we’ve been having I get to go home, safe and in one piece to the woman I love.” 

“Do you guys know what your having?” Phoenix didn't mean to pry, but she felt an overwhelming pressure to get to know the person she had been flying with since being requested for this detachment. Bob shook his head in response. 

“Nah, we wanted to keep it a surprise.” Just as Bob was finishing his sentences Doctor Austin returned, his face looked all kinds of pale and worry was written in the deep lines across his forehead. 

“Lieutenant Floyd it looks as if your wife was just admitted into the maternity ward—“ Bob's heart stopped beating inside his chest as he listened to Doctor Austin. “It appears that she was contacted earlier about your accident and the shock sent her into labour—“ 

“I uh—I need to see her.” Bob mumbled as he slid off the exam bed and nearly fell to the floor. His knees were so weak from the shock and adrenaline from the accident and now the realisation that he was about to be a first time dad. “I need to see my wife, where is she?” 

“Lieutenant, I know this must be a stressful situation for you but I really advise against leaving until we’ve finished with your own test. We still need to get you in for—“ 

“I won’t miss the birth of my baby.” Bob shook his head in defiance. “No, I won’t leave her to do that alone, she needs me—I know she does because I know how scared she is about doing this alone.” 

“Robert—“

“No no you have to listen to me. I can't let her do this alone because I’ve heard her cry about it in the middle of the night.” Phoenix's heart shattered into a million pieces as she watched Bob plead with the doctor and the nurses that had come in to try and subdue him. “She’s scared I won’t come back one day and today was almost that day and now she’s giving birth to our baby alone after I promised I’d be here for her—“ 

“We can’t let you go, it would be against all my medical advice.” Doctor Austin tried to explain. “I understand the difficulty of the situation Mr Floyd but your health and wellbeing is our number one priority.”

“But you have to let me!! That’s my wife! She needs me! Please—“ You needed your husband, things weren’t travelling all that well in the delivery room. You weren’t ready to have this baby—not if Bob wasn’t there with you. Not if Bob had left you behind, he was too young to die. He couldn’t leave you here by yourself to raise a baby, his baby, on your own. He promised he wouldn’t. 

“Mrs Floyd, you are going to have this baby.” 

“Aahhhhhh! I’m not doing this without my husband!” You groaned out. You were covered in sweat and crying your heart out as one of the labour and delivery nurses held your hand and placed a cool washcloth to your forehead. “I won’t have this baby without him, do you understand me!” 

“Someone needs to contact her husband—“ Everyone from the King of England to the Hounds of Hell could hear you screaming. It had been a rather quiet day for the L&D department. Until the ambulance had brought you in. 

“We can’t reach him, but I’ll try again.” One of the intern labour and delivery nurses replied as she rushed out of the room, she sprinted towards the nurses station in a hurry. So fast she almost went straight past it, she came to a halt with a flustered sigh.“I need you to try contacting Mr Floyd again, his wife won’t cooperate—she’s refusing to give birth to this baby without him.” 

“She knows how having a baby works doesn’t she?” One of the older nurses sitting at the desk rolled her eyes. “That baby, no matter the circumstances, isn’t going to wait for anyone.”

“I’ll let the L&D ward know you’re here as a patient but that’s the best I can do at this stage Lieutenant, I can’t in good conscience let you leave this ward without having run through all the proper medical procedures to make sure you’re fit to return to work.” Doctor Austin wasn’t trying to be the bay guy, if anything he wanted nothing more than to send Bob on his way—but he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing he didn’t do his job to the best of his ability. “My primary priority is you and Miss Trance here.” 

“You don’t understand!” Bob ran his hands through his hair as his bottom lip quivered. He was holding back tears as he looked up to the ceiling—begging whatever God up there that saved him this morning to work just a little more magic. “She won’t have this baby without me, that was the deal—I needed to be there and now that I’m not—“

“She can’t not have the baby Robert.” Doctor Austin sighed, that was the moment Bob knew he needed out. He needed to get to you, he needed to be there by your side and whisper how beautiful and strong and amazing you are for being a whole person into this world. Because if there was one thing you were, it was strong willed, and you weren't going to have this baby without him. That was a promise. “I’ll go talk with L&D and I’ll be right back.” 

“Tell my wife I’m here!” Bob shouted as Doctor Austin left the room, Bob felt like he couldn’t breathe. There was a pressure mounting inside his chest, like an elephant was perched upon his chest. “I’m—I’m here.” He broke. Tears streamed down his grazed cheeks as Phoenix hobbled over. She’d done a little damage to herself but nothing a little rest and recovery couldn’t fix. 

They were lucky—oh so lucky. 

“She's gonna be okay.” Natasha tried her best to comfort the Weapons System Officer she hardly knew, but Bob was long gone. He’d fallen deep into that hole, the one that the Greek God Chronos had created to separate this life from the next one. He was falling through a helpless paradox of anxiety and fear. You were about to give birth and he was going to miss it. As he crouched down as a whale of pain escaped his parted lips, Bob wished for nothing more than to reverse time.

Because if he could just simply reserve time then he wouldn’t have gone into work this morning. And none of this would be happening. 

***~***~***~****~***~****~****~***

“Desmond, she’s not doing well, at all.” Lily, one of your delivery nurses, pleaded with Bob's doctor to just let him come to your aid. “She thinks he’s dead, something about an accident he was in this morning.” 

“F-18 ejection, he hit the ground pretty hard.” Doctors Austin looked in at you on the bed, in the middle of active labour, fighting every urge you had to push. You weren’t having this baby, not without Bob, the love of your life, your best friend, your husband. “He’s fine, but he’s in for observation overnight and I’m still waiting for his result to come back from his MRI.” 

“If she doesn’t see her husband soon she’s going to need an emergency c-section and I for one am not about to place a panicked mother to be under the knife unless it’s critical.” Lily was your voice of reason. You couldn’t plead with Doctor Austin to let your husband go yourself so she did it for you. “If your patient can walk, hold his wife’s hand while she delivers their child and can sign a waiver saying he waved all medical advice then send him down here before she loses this baby.” 

“You L&D ladies think you know everything—“ 

“Just bring me her damn husband before it’s too late.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~**

Bob felt like he’d been condemned to some eternal hell, time froze as the walls of the hospital room he sat in with Phoenix grew closer and closer. He felt claustrophobic for the first time in a long time. 

“How did the two of you meet?” Phoenix tried to keep Bob's mind from going to places too dark to fathom. He needed a distraction from the fact he was here with her and you were delivering his child. All alone. 

“I was never good at history, she was my partner for this assessment we had in ancient history class once, everyone was doing their research on Pompeii but not Peach.” Bob chuckled to himself at the memory. “No she wanted to do Herculaneum and it turned out to be the only project I ever got an A on for that class.” You were just it for Bob. There was something special about your aura. Your ability to draw him close like a moth entranced by a flame. You took his breath away every time you told him you loved him. 

Your love sent Bob's heart clear out of this world. 

“We kinda just never left each other's side since then.” Bob explained as he sat against the wall on the floor with his elbows on his knees. “She’s always been so supportive of what I do even though I know it scares her more than anything to see me walk out that door every morning and she worries endlessly whenever I’m deployed.” 

“Becoming she loves you.” Phoenix wished she knew a love like Bobs, but her time hadn’t come yet. Bob nodded along as he twirled his wedding band around his finger as it hung from his dog tags. 

“Because she loves me.” 

“Floyd—“ Doctor Austin made his presence known as he chucked Bob a blue hospital gown and cap. “Put those on, sign this form that says you're going against my professional medical advice and follow me, you’re needed in labour and delivery.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Push! Y/n dear you need to push—!” Lily tried to persuade you to push when your next contraction hit but you were too far gone. You weren’t ready to be a mother, not without Bob there to be a father. 

“No! No, I'm not having this baby!” It was the hardest thing to hear as Bob came racing down the hall, his entire body ached from bruises, his head felt heavy on his shoulders from his concussion. But he was okay, he was alive. “I’m not! I won’t! I can’t do this without him!” You cried out in pain as you fought the urge to push, you swore your teeth were about to crush under the force of you clenching. A scream so heartbreaking and primal ripped through you as your body began to betray you. You were fighting nature's course and it wasn’t going well.

“She needs to push—she’s losing too much blood.” One of the nurses stated as a matter of factly just as Bob made it to the door. He froze at the sight of you, how could you look so beautiful in so much pain? He thought he was going to pass out as he took steady, slow steps into the room. 

“I’m here—“ Bob cooed as he came up to your beside. “I’m here Peach I’m here.”

“Bob?” You turned in a delirious state to where your husband's voice had come from. “No no I thought you—“

“I’m okay.” He smiled as he bent over to kiss your forehead and splay his hand on top of your head to push your hair away from your face. “I’m here, I told you I’d be here didn’t I?” 

“I thought you died, I thought you were in an accident?” You could barely focus, you felt so light headed that the world felt like it was spinning. “I thought—“

“Hey, hey you need to push alright? You can push now baby because I’m here and I’m with you and I’m fine.” Bob reassured you as you sobbed and nodded as he kissed your lips softly and held your hand. “You’re so strong, you’re so brave, and I love you so much, please push mama.” 

“This baby is coming whether you're ready or not Mrs Floyd so I’m gonna need you to focus so we can get this baby out.” Lily rounded the bed as she positioned herself between your legs. Bob felt you tighten your grip around his head and everything stopped. Time stood still, your screams were all but drowned out by the excitement and fear in Bob's heart. 

“Yes, Y/n good job. I can see bubs head you’re doing so well! Oh your next contraction I need you to push until I tell you to stop.” Lily smiled as you let your head fall back against the bed. 

“You’ve been telling me to push and now you don’t want me to push!?” You hissed. Bob couldn’t help but to chuckle. He was so amazed by your strength. 

“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Lily chuckled. She knew you were close, barreling towards another contraction. She could see it. “Alright this is the one mama, big push for me and bubs will be here in no time.” 

“Bob! It hurts! Make it stop!” You cried out, Bob wished he could take all your pain and experience it himself. He never wanted to see you in such a state, but your baby was coming, the baby you’d made together. You’d created together late one night or in the early hours of the morning he wasn’t too sure. But what he was sure of was that you could do this. “It hurts!!” 

“Push Mrs Floyd!” Lily shouted. 

“Come on peach push! push!” Bob willed you on as you did. You shouted  and cried and squeezed your husband’s hand so hard he thought you were about to break his damn hand. But this was it. Your baby was coming. 

“Okay okay the heads out stop!” Lily guided you as you let your head fall back against the bed in pure exhaustion. You were dehydrated, covered in sweat and ready to give up. “So I lied before, you’re gonna give me one smaller push to help bubs out Y/n and that it’s—you're done.” 

“I can’t.” 

“No peach you can.” Bob cooed. “You can because you’ve come this far.” 

“I’m not even sure if you're here or not.” You sobbed as you reached out to caress Bob's cheek. “I’m not even sure if you're here with me or if I’m seeing things.”

“I’m here, I’m real.” Bob whispered in your ear. “And we’re having our baby Peach, just one more little push and it’s gonna be you and me and our little one against the world.” You nodded softly and you shut your eyes and groaned. “You can do it.” 

“Alright let’s have this baby! One more small push!” Lily announced as another contraction tour through your exhausted body. 

“Ahhhhhh!!” You shouted and Bob swore you bust his eardrum, but it was a small sacrifice as the cries of the world’s newest human echoed off the walls. 

“Congratulations Mr and Mrs Floyd you have a little baby girl.” Lily handed you your daughter the second she was born. Placing her on your chest within seconds of her arrival. 

“Oh Peach, she's so beautiful.” Bob cried as tears streamed down his cheeks. He swore he’d never be able to love someone more than he loved you. But as you held your newborn daughter on your chest he kinda thought he’d been wrong. He could love someone just as much as he loved you. Your daughter. 

“She's perfect, hi b-baby.” Your voice was all but a whisper as your head lulled to the side. You felt dizzy, lightheaded as your daughters cried softened. “I love you.” 

“Y/n? Sweetheart are you alright?” You didn’t reply but you looked up at your husband with a dazed expression, a tunnel had begun to form, edges of a dark black hole crept its way into your mind.

Chronos hole—the one between this world and the next. 

“Peach?” Alarms rang out as Lily removed your crying newborn just minutes earth side from your chest as your eyes rolled into the back of your head. “No no no no what’s wrong what’s happening to her?” Bob asked as he tapped your cheek softly. “Hey, Peach, no stay with me, stay with me.” 

“Her blood pressure is dropping, she’s haemorrhaging.” Lily explained as she and a bunch of other nurses worked around you. “We need to get her into surgery, Mr Floyd.” 

“Sir, step back—“ An older nurse asked as she placed a hand on Bob's shoulder. He did as he watched Lily take a sample of your blood. 

“I’ll head directly to the lab to drop off the sample.” 

“Just make sure her surgeon has o-negative on the ready.” The only nurse replied as Bob stood there, watching as they wheeled you out on the same bed you'd just given birth in. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye, he didn't get a chance to tell you how much he loved you. 

“Uh, do I go with her or?” Bob didn’t know what to do, his whole world had been turned upside down and on its head already today, and again it had just flipped once more. There was one nurse left, he didn’t know her name, but she smiled politely at him. 

“No, you should stay here with your daughter, she needs her daddy now.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

First there was a storm of carbon and molten rock which begat granite and soil. Then, the land shook and it cracked and it rose till it spiked the sky. Forest grew and died and grew a hundred times again. And then people grew and died and grew and died a hundred times again. There were storms and seasons and fences and blood. Wonder and vengeance and a whole lot of regret….

And through every grievance, every war, the land and the sky didn't give two shits about any of it. Bob Floyd knew that as he sat with his newborn daughter in the maternity room of the Miramar Base Hospital designed by man, for man to help other men with westernised medical procedures and treatments…

That it wouldn't give two shits about you either. 

“Hey..” A gruff voice came from the doorway, it took Bob all his light and all his remaining energy to look up from his daughter. The light and life of you. “I uh, I just thought I’d come check in on you and Phoenix.” Mav crossed his arms over his chest as he moved into the room. “How’s your wife doing?” 

“I don’t know.” Bob explained as he rocked his little girl, skin to skin was important so he’d stripped off what he could. “She’s still in surgery.” Pete could see the worry written in the lines of Bob's face. But the little girl who cried against his shoulder had him mesmerised. “Sorry darlin, I got you, daddy’s here.” 

“She’s a little beauty isn’t she?” Mav sat down beside the WSO who’d had a longer day then most. “You get a chance to name her yet? Before—?” Mav didn’t have to say before you went into shock. Your body had been through a lot and the nurses believed if you hadn’t held on so long, held back against what your body was telling you it needed to do then there was a possibility that it could have been a rather smooth delivery. Bob took that personally, the only reason you were holding back was because he wasn't here for you when you needed him the most. 

“No, but we’ll name her after, for now she’s baby Peach.” 

“Your wife’s nickname.” Mav replied softly as he looked up. He knew then and there what was about to happen. 

Bob knew there was a Doctor standing in the doorway. He didn’t dare look up. He knew if he looked up he’d be told the worst news of his life. 

Bob remembered that had asked you once when you were wrapped up in his arms in the dead of the night, listening to the storm raging on outside if you knew anything at all about a Greek God called Chronos. He remembered that you had chuckled out a soft no as he trailed his lips up your neck. Bob told you that he carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while a Doctor by the name of Henry Nardella told him that you didn’t make it through the surgery, that you'd left him and your daughter behind, in a world where nothing made sense without you in it. 

Well—Robert Floyd felt as if he’d fallen straight into it. 

“No, please don't leave me here.” Bob felt like he’d fallen into the cosmic existence between now and soon to come, plummeting into a realm where time didn’t exist and light didn’t reach. He felt like he had tumbled into a parallel dimension where nothing made sense, nothing seemed tangible or real. He’d descended into a world where you weren't around. “No Peach, no.” 

But at the touch of his earlobe, a slight pressure formed at the lobe. So warm and comforting. Bob knew as your baby girl settled in against his chest at the lub dub of his heart beating for you–he knew you were safe on the other side. 

Because you had tugged on his earlobe, just like you promised you would. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

[mydarlingdyke]

immunity

an ellie x fem reader drabble

WARNING: implication of death and similar obscure themes

the soft and passionate make out that you and Ellie shared after knowing you'd been bit. for what felt like hours the girl cried, shook her head and muttered all kinds of words of denial like a prayer; one that no one in the sky above could answer. every no and please she whispered fell on deaf ears as she hastily drew blood from her palm, slapping it onto the bite mark and smearing it, warm and metallic. as if, somehow, the curse of being immune could be passed on to you. in your case, she thought, it'd be a blessing to have.

but she knew she couldn't save you.

she was delaying the inevitable.

her kisses on your cheeks and lips were gentle and so, so passionate. like a glass ornament on a christmas tree, a snowglobe, an icicle beginning to form on the roof covering Joel's porch that december when you shared hot cocoa before ever even acknowledging the way you felt about each other; you were fragile. at least in Ellie's eyes, as you now both sat on the dirty floor of some abandoned building you walked into to find supplies, only to encounter the end of the world as you know it.

the girl held you as if you were made of sand. as if you were slowly, but surely, slipping through her fingers into nothingness. her hands were desperate; on your cheeks, your shoulders, your chest, all the way down to your waist and hips.

god, how she loved those hips. the hips she saw swaying gracefully at the winter dance, one of the many places and moments she realized she was infatuated with you. the hips she loved to see when you walked in your signature jeans, in those playful shorts in summer, in the sweatpants she once let you borrow from her one night after running to her house soaked from the rain...

the same hips she often fantasized of seeing every day for the rest of her life, in every circumstance possible. watch them change; widen, soften, strengthen... to get to witness every new stretch mark form in them as time went by, worshipping every line like a paintbrush stroke from the heavens.

what will I do without you? what will I be without you?

her mind was a raging storm as her only source of love was being pulled away from her. as you pulled away, gasping for air as if Ellie weren't the only source of oxygen you needed. flooded eyes, burnt lips, dirty faces. the sight was something to behold even in this dire situation.

your beautiful face would be lost to the passage of time, forgotten to everyone who knew you... except to her. no, she would summon the wisdom of chronos and the skill of mnemosyne to recall every last detail of your face, of your body, of your words, until the cruel hand of the goddess takes it away from her.

yet her time to contemplate you came to an end as you crashed your lips together one last time. it was rough now; desperation creeping up your spines, the fact that your end was near slowly dawning. thick tears coated the kiss like glossy cellophane, hoping it was strong enough to wrap you together, for all eternity, until your bodies slowly decayed. because after you leave, she's sure to let herself rot beside you.

you swear you could taste her blood on your lips. or maybe... it was your own.

[virgo-dream]

1st Dreamling Nation Fic Exchange: Victorian Soldiers Edition ✨

“A mini bang of fics all written by members of the Dreamling Nation discord server, revolving around the same prompt, in which we were all given the same two pictures and, outside of brainstorming plot ideas together, were left to our own devices to create a story.”

It is with great pleasure that I present this collection of fics, fruits of the first Dreamling Nation fic exchange!

When I made this discord server back in December, during a Christmas induced Big Sad(TM) moment, I could never have imagined the amazing community we were creating, and now, almost a month later, we’ve got more than just these fics to show for what this server has given us. I’m incredibly blessed that one moment of deep sadness led me to meet such great people, and that we can keep inspiring each other and celebrating creativity and this wonderful fandom space that The Sandman has given us.

This event was only made possible by @littledreamling’s gentle guidance and kindness. Thank you, my love! I hope this will be the first of many! 💖

Now, with no further ado, the fics:

⭐️ When I Wake Up, There Are Only Your Eyes to Greet Me, by @virgo-dream

Rating: Explicit / multi chapter / warning: graphic depictions of violence

Five times Sergeant Robert Gadling woke up to Captain Morpheus Apeiron. One time Morpheus woke up to Hob.

A very unlucky battalion finds itself in the command of one Captain Morpheus Apeiron. He doesn't seem particularly worried with their survival, but mostly with ending the war as soon as possible. Sergeant Robert Gadling seems to be the only thing keeping all these young and inexperienced soldiers alive. After one particularly heated fight between them, Hob ends up discovering there is much more to his Captain than meets the eye, but is he seeing Morpheus as he truly is, or through the prism of his own desire?

⭐️ Golden Heart, by @littledreamling

Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter

The first time he had ever clapped eyes on Morpheus Endelas, son of Lord Chronos Endelas, Hob knew the man was no soldier. He had floated through the camp, his feet barely brushing against the dry leaves, his head held high and haughty. There had been a massive red jewel around his neck and a white-breasted raven perched on his shoulder, equally lordly, if a bird could ever be described as such. Hob had simply rolled his eyes. He didn’t know why Lordling Endelas was parading through their camp, but it was also above his pay grade. He was just a first lieutenant, practically still rolling around in the mud with the common soldiers. So he had shrugged and rolled his eyes some more, right up until someone helpfully informed him that Morpheus Endelas was their new Captain. And then he had started reconciling his relationship with God, because the Lordling was sure to get them all killed.

⭐️ Ananke, God of Compulsion, by @aquilathefighter

Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter

Lieutenant Hob Gadling is planning on deserting before his deployment. He has everything planned from faking his death to getting to the US. However, a wrench is thrown into his plan when Captain Morpheus Endeleas asks him to be his assistant for the week leading up to the company’s deployment. Now under close watch by a man Hob thinks despises him, he cannot escape his duty. What will come from a week working closely with Cpt. Endeleas?

⭐️ Tirra Lirra, by The River, by @quillingwords

Rating: Explicit / multi chapter / warning: major character death

Little Hob Gadling meets a strange boy by a river, and their lives become intertwined over decades. A love story set against a backdrop of war. A tale about memories, dreams, and making choices.

⭐️ After The Storm, by @immacaria

Rating: Teen and Up / multi chapter

The war was over. They had won. It was finally over. But Hob knew that at the moment they stepped into London, Dream's family would descend upon them like vultures and try to seperate them. No problem, though, Hob fought four years in the war. The Endeles family would not take Dream away from him.

[happy-beeeps]

Stay.

Summary: When the weight of loss is too heavy for Wolffe to hold, you do your best to shoulder it for him.

WC: 1.1k

Pairing: Wolffe x gn!reader

CW: mentions of death, angst, loss, grieving, alcohol, brief descriptions of canon typical violence

It’s raining when he first shows up. The kind of rain that batters against your transparisteel windows and flashes lightning bright across your room in shattered, drawn out chunks. The concept of having such violent storms with an artificial weather system never really made sense to you, but you supposed whoever’s job it was to run it needed something to spice it up.

The 104th isn’t due to come to Coruscant until the morning, if they were lucky they’d be in late in the evening, and by the time Wolffe had finished briefings and set his gear down, it would be beyond reasonable hours to sneak his way to you. Instead, you did your very best to keep yourself busy, pouring yourself a glass of wine and tidying up your apartment. You’d taken his whole shore leave off of work, and you planned to spend it however he wanted. Wolffe wasn’t overly fond of crowds, but you’d spent dates at 79’s, Dex’s, or just in bed, wrapped up in each other and an overly fluffy comforter.

You allowed the fond memories to swim past your eyes–anything to not think about the fact that you hadn’t heard from him in nearly three rotations.

It wasn’t unusual, his squad was elite, stealthy. It didn’t make it any easier.

There’s another thundercrack, another spray of rain–then raps on your door. The unmistakable sound of hands on the smooth durasteel of your apartment door.

He’s not supposed to be here yet, you check your chrono to confirm. You haven’t even gotten a sip of your wine, and it’s only a few hours away from the dead of night, and there’s still no message from him. Still, it’s a knock at the door, and you’ve been to know to forget you’ve been shopping on the holo until a parcel arrives days later.

When you do finally make your way to the door–the knocks are incessant and quickening, and you hit your solicitor with a bitter “hold on a second!”--you throw it open, hair out of place and mouth pouting at the intrusion.

Wolffe… Wolffe is here. In front of you. In one piece, though accompanied by scratches and cuts, only a few with bacta patches or stitches. His shoulders are slunk low down his back, and he looks like he’s gripping your door jam for dear life.

He doesn’t say anything, not even when you murmur his name in surprise, eyes shooting up and almost welling with tears at the sight of him. He says nothing, but collapses into your arms in one fell motion, gripping your frame tight in his arms, tight enough that it nearly hurts, and sobs.

You’dve sooner bet on a rookie podracer from Mon Cala to win the Boonta Eve Classic than you’d expect to hear Wolffe sob. Now, you’d do anything to make it end. The sound makes you let out tears that threatened to spill from your eyes, and you understand the gravity of this past mission, and you hold him closer. Someone didn’t make it back.

You guide him backwards into your apartment and the door slides shut behind you, and in the stillness of the room he breaks even more, moving to sink down to his knees. You meet him, gripping him even closer, whispering quiet coos and “I’m here’s.” After what feels like eons of suffering, you’re in pain even thinking about how much pain he must be experiencing, he pulls back to look at you. His hands grip each of your cheeks, and you mirror his actions.

You attempt to lighten the mood. “I see two hands, two legs, two feet, one eye. I’ve got you back in one piece.”

He smiles but then shuts his eyes and shudders. “It should’ve been me. I’m the Commander. I’ve let them down.”

“Wolffe, stop, what do you mean? You came home, there’s no way you let anyone down.”

“No, you don’t get it,” he’s shaking his head now, gripping your face gently but with more pressure, as if he’s assuring himself he’s actually here. “They didn’t make it back.”

“Who, Wolffe who?”

His eyes are wide, tears escaping from even his mechanical eye–something you didn’t even know was possible–when he starts. “Mesh’la… Everyone.”

You don’t know how to respond. It feels like the wind has been sucked out of your chest with a vacuum. The tears are slowing now, you know no one hates to cry like Wolffe does, but he just looks numb. Lost. For nearly the first time in your relationship, you really don’t know what to do.

So you do your best.

It’s late, still raining, but you don’t care. You grab two ponchos from the closet by your door and drag Wolffe to the garage connected to your apartment. Your speeder, a sleek white with no roof, has often been your confidant when Wolffe was away. Maybe it will work with him.

The rain is pelting both of you when you peel out of the garage, blurring into the ever constant traffic of Coruscant. You like to fly, not recklessly, not fast, but just the monotony of flying keeps you focused. It’s easy to focus on nothing else but the lanes of traffic and the people around you. You’d contemplated letting Wolffe fly but decided against it—a decision you’re grateful for when you glance out the corner of your eye and see the way his knuckles whiten around their grip on your thigh, or how he stares so intensely out at the busy city.

You say nothing to him, and he says nothing to you. What is there to say to someone who just lost not only his brothers, but his squad. You know it isn’t his fault, there’s genuinely no way he could’ve avoided this, but you know he doesn’t feel that way. He’s going to bare those deaths of his brothers on his shoulders for the rest of his life, and you’ve taken your job to help carry the burden.

You finally ease into a slow, rounding descent towards your garage, and just before the neon bleeds out into the darkness of the space he murmurs out, quietly, “Thank you.”

The walk back to your apartment is still, but there’s less of the uneasiness of before. The weight is there, and it will be forever, but you think he’ll learn to carry it.

He’s quiet, shifting on his feet in front of your door. “I should go.”

“Or you could stay a little longer?”

And he does. Following your invitation he follows your hand back into your apartment, to your bed, and into your arms. You spend the rest of the evening tracing small circles onto his back and finally, when you’re certain he’s drifted asleep, you let yourself weep, thanking the maker that Wolffe came home.

[heavenseed76]

This fic is for @starjedi86

Prompt: "You're my home too, you know

Minors DO NOT ENGAGE, there be adult themes here!

The Commander

Your days as a padawan were not what you expected. From the safety of the temple, you were quickly installed on Kamino and learning intergalactic diplomacy, military strategy, training and so much more. The clones were your focus as soon as your Master expressed interest in overseeing their training. It was not the adventure you had anticipated when you were chosen as a padawan, but as you came closer to your trials, it became something of a passion. 

The clones were good men, loyal, trustworthy and engineered with hearts of gold. It was hard not to fall in love with each of them you came in contact with. Their force signatures were unique and beautiful, and it pained you to know most of the would never return to Kamino. Those bright lights would be snuffed out in a matter of weeks. It was truly a test of your Jedi skill not to let that make you bitter. And as the war came to a close, you thought you saw the end of losing men you’d grown fond of.

Oh how wrong you were.

Something terrible was going to happen. You felt it in your gut, a sharp sense of dread in the force. Your master, General Shaak Ti, could feel it too. A storm cloud coalesced around the young clone Omega, Nala Se’s pet project. Master Ti told you to run, to hide, to find a ship and just go. She told you to take the maintenance corridors instead of the main hallways. Take only what you could carry on your person, her stash of credits and your lightsaber. Squeezing her as she embraced your much smaller body against her familiar robes, you fought off your tears. You didn’t look back. 

You hid until it was quiet, taking refuge in a crate filled with rations. You filled your pockets and crammed as many as you could into your already over-stuffed pack of necessities and waited. You waited even though you felt the moment your bond with Master Ti was severed, the moment she became one with the force. Silent tears stained your sweaty face, but still, you waited.

In the hangar, troopers were bringing out gear and supplies that looked like personal belongings. You listened, learning Omega was in the brig. When a lone ship parked outside the hanger and Clone Force 99 entered, you watched and listened.

“Find Omega and meet back at the ship,” Hunter said.

You wanted to warn them that they were being watched, but it was your chance. As the squad was taken into custody, stripped of their gear and marched inside Tipoca City, the urge to run out into the storm and to their ship had you starting to creep out of your hiding place. Patience, young Padawan, you heard your master’s voice in your mind like a cool breeze.

“The Admiral wants their ship brought in and put in storage mode.” The voice of a clone rang out close to your hiding place and you stiffened. Sweat broke out on your brow. You held your breath.

“I’ll bring it in if you want to start reports.” Yet another clone replied, coming closer as he spoke.

You nearly lost control of your bladder. But closing your eyes and pulling on the force, you calmed your racing heart and sat still and silent in your crate, listening to the sound of the ship being brought into the hangar. The two clones chatted about their assignments, and were soon exiting the hangar after the others, leaving you in the damp darkness. Looking at your chrono, you planned. Fifteen minutes and you would close the bay doors to the halls of Tipoca City. Peering over the crate you could see the controls. Then you would load as much of the crate of rations you were hiding in into the abandoned ship and go. The hangar doors to the raging storm outside were still open, the planet beyond cloaked in darkness and the static of heavy rain.

Fifteen minutes later pressed your mind out toward the bay doors, cutting off Tipoca City from the hangar and leapt out of the crate. With haste you turned on the skid and quickly moved the rations to the ship, opening the cargo door and beginning to load boxes into the space. When the cargo space was full you called upon the Force to bring the last remaining cases into the ship. You winced as the gangplank lowered, pausing for a long moment to make sure you were still alone. Only the sound of wind and rain and your own heavy breathing stilled your rabbiting heart and you quickly floated the rations into the ship.

The modified Omicron-class attack shuttle was not a model you had flown before. Taking a look around, you noted that the men who used this ship had made it a home. Posters on the walls and personal touches here and there made it obvious that this was not just a means of transport. A ship was a ship however and this one was a means of staying alive. Sitting down in the pilot’s seat, you assessed the instrument panel and adjusted the yoke to be more comfortable for your smaller frame. The seat protested as it moved from a position it had apparently been in for quite some time. The fuel gauge was reading at nearly full and the emergency reserve was full. Good. You began taking the ship out of full shut-down, restarting the primary generator, hyperdrive and engine. It was rare that a ship was completely shut down. It’s electric generator was usually kept running to allow pilots to jump in and start it up quickly. The generator powered the instrument panel, security functions and allowed the primary flight engines to be engaged. This would take a minute.

It was a minute you didn’t have by the sound of the bay doors opening and the hurried footsteps of several individuals had you whipping your head around.

“Everybody gear up. We’re going after Crosshair. Tech, get this ship ready to go.” The Sargent’s voice was tight. The others could be heard clasping armor onto their bodies. One of them was looking for something in particular.

“You won’t have to go far.” The younger voice was female, but clearly the accent of the clones on Kamino. Omega.

“Is that Crosshair?” A sense of dread and wrongness swirled through the words. You were frozen in place, listening to the clones and feeling something bright fall loose at the seams. Something was being broken: a trust, a brotherhood.

Blaster fire jerked you out of your daze, and footsteps up the gangplank had you reaching for your lightsaber.

“Commander?” A clone wearing goggles stood at the cockpit door, his helmet slipping from his arms. “What are you doing here?”

You floundered for a moment, gaping at him. “Escaping Kamino, same as you.” The two of you regarded one another for a long moment.

“Tech! Get this ship in the air!” The cry from outside had you both in action.

You turned back to the controls and began the start-up sequence. The clone reached over you and flicked a few extra switches over your head.

“Can you fly?”

“Yes, just get everyone on board.” You instructed, priming the fuel tanks and hoping that it really wasn’t necessary. The clone went back to the gangplank, blasters drawn. The engines roared to life.

“What the hell is going on Tech?” The Sargent’s voice was high and panicked.

“We’re on!” The goggles clone called, his voice strained. Tech, then.

You punched the engine and grabbed the yoke, taking no time to take stock of who was on board. You were singularly focused on getting as far away from Kamino as possible.

“Who is flying this ship?” A more gruff voice asked.

“The commander. Master Shaak Ti’s padawan.” Tech replied.

“Hold still!” “Ow!” “You’ll be fine.” “Is this what you were looking for?” “My Lula!” A girlish giggle. You listened, but your focus was flying on flying the ship.

“Commander.” The Sargent’s voice approached you cautiously, slowly sliding into the periphery of your vision.

“Sargent Hunter.” Your eyes slid toward him, finding his face stoic. Cold.

“So you’re our stowaway?” 

You chuckled humorlessly. “I suppose I am. I… I didn’t think you would be back.” Having broken atmosphere with no one following, you switched on the autopilot. Swiveling around in the chair, you faced Hunter fully. “I’m sorry.”

Hunter rubbed his face. He looked tired. Indeed, his presence in the Force was heavy. 

Omega, Tech and a giant of a clone supported by his brothers stepped into the cockpit.

“Commander!” The pale clone with cybernetic modifications stood up straighter, pulling his much larger brother up with him. The bigger man winced and rubbed at his shoulder.

“Ow! Did we steal a Jedi?” The larger clone looked mortified.

“No. I think the Jedi was trying to steal our ship.” Hunter supplied.

You floundered for words.

“I think the Commander was just in the right place at the right time.” Omega chimed in.

You let your relief and gratitude waft over to the girl through the Force. “I’m sorry. I… I needed a way out. I filled the cargo hold with rations… If it’s any consolation.”

Hunter sighed, the others looking to him for direction. “We’re all in the same predicament, I guess. Were you headed anywhere particular?”

You bit your lip and shook your head. “I’m afraid anywhere I go I’ll be recognized as a Jedi. I can’t go back to Coruscant.”

“How about your friends?” Omega asked, turning to the clones. “Could any of them help us?”

“That would be a short list.” Tech readjusted his goggles on his face. “Excuse me Commander, you are in my seat.”

You scrambled out of the pilot’s seat and stood behind it sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Well, there is one place.” Hunter considered. “Tech, set a course for J-19.”

“What’s at J-19?” The pale clone asked, beating you to the punch.

Hunter grinned. “We know a guy.”

A sense of wonder and adventure began pouring off Omega. She walked into the cockpit proper, gazing out the window.

“You’ve never been off Kamino, have you?” You asked delicately.

“I’ve never been anywhere.” She replied. 

Hunter glanced at you. “You’re not going to want to miss this view.” He offered her the copilot’s seat as Tech prepped the hyperdrive.

Waiting until Omega was sat down, Tech counted down to the hyperspace jump. The stretched stars painted her irises in swirling blue light, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Hunter watched the girl fondly. He looked up to find you watching him. He nodded toward midship in a silent bid for you to follow.

***

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo and Omega: your new squad for the foreseeable future. They took your presence on their ship in stride, more than a little grateful for the extra rations. In the interest of transparency, you offered the credits you’d taken from Master Ti’s quarters, which Hunter tucked away in a safe compartment. 

You told them, as calmly as possible, how you felt a great rending tear in the Force, and then there were troopers at the door, yelling about treason. You explained how you skirted the armed men and found your Master distraught, taken her instruction to heart and ran. They told you, as succinctly as they could, about Kaller, Master Billaba and Caleb Dume. Crosshair’s fall into a dark, dark place. Saw Gererra on Onderon. The Empire. It was a lot to take in. Grief, disbelief, despair permeated the air of the ship. 

When you’d finally had enough and couldn’t stop the tears from falling, it was Echo’s warm hand on your back, rubbing slow circles of comfort there as the others drifted away. Echo offered you a blanket, apologizing for not having anything better. You waved him off with a thin smile and took the blanket. Curling up in the seat at the midship computer, you fell into a fitful sleep. You were quite aware of his eyes on you.

Cut and Suu were a surprise. A defector going off to live the life of a father and a farmer and a husband? It wasn’t something you ever considered. But here they were, living a quiet life, and preparing to find something even more remote. Jek and Shaaeha were in awe of you. They pulled you bodily into their game of catch with Omega. You delighted the three of them with Force tricks on the ball, hovering it just above their heads. Taking pity on the giggling children, you floated Jek up to the ball as he howled with laughter. Echo and Hunter watched you from the doorway. Hunter grinned, while Echo scowled.

“You have eyes on you.” Suu said as you helped her pack a small bag of clothing.

Your blank stare made her laugh. 

“Echo tracks your every move, you know.” Sun’s blue eyes crinkled at the corners as she spoke. “They are all very fond of you, but there is something there.”

You floundered for words. “I’m very fond of all of them.”

“Don’t look so scared! You are no longer bound to your old way of life. We all need a little joy in these dark times.” Suu shrugged, “Take what happiness you can.”

You fell into contemplation then. It was broken only by the sound of Hunter yelling at Tech through the comlink.

Later, after getting Cut, Suu and their children on a transport off-world, fighting off a squad of troopers and needing to use your lightsaber to cut the ship free of a mag-boot, it felt like you were back where you started, wondering where to go and what to do.

Echo sat watching you sleep, wondering whether his luck was bad or good. He’d been blown up, but he’d lived and been found. Now, the one person he’d never thought he’d see again was living in close quarters with him. You, the Commander. Like most clones, you were one of the few women they’d ever seen, let alone interacted with, and for a handful, you were a first crush they would never forget. Echo was one such clone. His deep dive into regulation manuals was all about you. What were the regulations on asking you to film night in the barracks? Was he allowed to ask you to spar? If anyone found out he had a crush on you, would he be decommissioned? Would you? For all his squad teased him about how often he would wax poetic about you, he loved you all the more.

Here though, in the Marauder, there were few places where a person wasn’t in close proximity to someone else. Echo tried valiantly to both be where he could be of help to you, and keep his distance. It was a difficult dance. And you knew. It was hard not to feel the attraction, interest and desire rolling off Echo from everywhere in the ship. You couldn’t read his mind, per se, but you could feel all the things he wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding. Everyone else felt a kinship with you, especially after fighting off Fennec Shand on Pantora, but Echo’s affinity for you was loud.

In those first few weeks, finding warmth in the vast vacuum of space was difficult. You knew most of the other Jedi were gone. You hid your abilities as well as you could and the disconnect from the Force was painful. You were uncomfortable in your own skin.

“Why don’t you take my rack, Commander. I have first watch.” Echo offered, extending his hand to where you sat on the floor, trying to rest.

“I couldn’t –” You started.

He finished, “I insist.”

He held your hand all the way to the small sleeping compartment, tucking the thin blanket over your shoulders. You smiled at him, grateful. His pale face turned a lovely shade of pink.

From then on he would take the watch shift before you, and “forget” to wake you for yours. He found you liked tea, rather than caf and somehow snagged you some. And those nights when you couldn’t sleep, he kept you company watching the stars race by in the cockpit. Echo was a perfect gentleman and it was driving you crazy. He would volunteer to stay behind with the ship whenever the squad went to meet with Cid, knowing you were too big of a liability. Cid would sell you out in a heartbeat. A bonafide Jedi would leave her set for life; the bounty for any Jedi was more money than any of you could fathom.

One such night, sitting in the cockpit, watching the Ord Mantell life move on around the ship, you finally opened yourself to Echo. Feeling stagnate and very much alone, you broke the silence.

“What are we doing, Echo?” You asked, feet up on the dash, hugging your knees.

Echo swallowed a drink from the canteen he had up to his lips. “Waiting for the others.” He side-eyed you.

“We’re stuck in this ship for days on end, all six of us… And I still feel so lonely. You are all so lovely, but there’s this distance, you know? I don’t know if its because you’re used to having a Jedi as a commanding officer or because I’m natborn, or a woman…”

“You don’t feel like you’re a part of this team?” Echo said softly.

You looked over at him and nodded, your throat suddenly feeling tight, tears springing to your eyes. Echo reached over and put him scomp on your shoulder.

“When I came back, from Skako Minor, I didn’t think I fit anywhere either. Sometimes I still don’t. I don’t do well with solitude, never have. But now, with all this,” he gestured to his cybernetics, “Well, lets just say I’m not very huggable anymore.” His smile was thin and sad.

“Is it true what Master Ti told me about cadets making cuddle piles and sleeping in each other’s bunks?” You quipped.

“Cadets?” Echo scoffed. “The Bad Batch did it all the time before Omega. Fives and I used to -” Grief zinged through him, nearly visibly in the Force; he swallowed thickly. “We slept in the same bunk a lot. It helped, with the nightmares.”

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?” Your voice, soft and full of understanding, made Echo want to tell you everything.

He looked out the viewport. “I do. I miss all my brothers from the 501st. But Fives was… special.”

You reached over and put a hand on Echo’s thigh. “I know,” you said, “I know he was.”

Echo met your eyes and smiled.

It was easier then, to sit shoulder to shoulder with Echo, to touch him and silently ask for those little touches that make human beings feel like people. His scowl slowly morphed into an eager, wide-eyed smile whenever you came near. If the rest of the squad noticed, they didn’t say anything.

After a failed mission to Corellia, Tech was too wired to sleep, sending Echo to the back of the ship to rest. Wrecker rattled the odds and ends loose in the ship with his snoring as Hunter slept soundly with a pair of headphones over his ears. Echo crept to the storage locker and grabbed another blanket as quietly as he could. As he carefully started back to the seats at the midship computer, you reached out from his bunk to graze your fingers along his as he passed. He gave a start, leaning down to see you smirking from under your own blanket.

“You can keep my bunk.” Echo said quietly.

You shook your head. “I’m cold.”

Ever the gentleman, Echo shook out the blanket he was holding and began to drape it over you. He kneeled on the thin mattress to better cover you, but as he moved away, you captured his scomp link and pulled him close. 

“I meant, we can share,” you offered, lifting both blankets and scooting as close to the bulkhead as you could.

Echo blinked at you. 

Then he slipped between the blankets next to you, bringing his arm under your head to let you lay against his unarmored chest. It took a moment for you both to find a comfortable position in the tiny space, but as you settled, it began to feel as though you should have always been there, holding his cybernetic arm against your chest as his big hand lay splayed against your back. You could hear his very human heart thumping in his chest. It was a long time before it slowed and you both fell asleep.

Rex was unexpected. It was a balm to Echo’s soul to know one of his closest brothers was alive and fighting. And for Rex, guilt, sorrow and disbelief enveloped you both as he embraced you. He spent awhile with the squad at Cid’s before they brought him back to the ship. You didn’t know each other well, but with so many Jedi lost, just knowing one survived was clearly something he needed to see with his own eyes. He let one traitorous tear fall before he got ahold of himself and was able to explain his involvement with the women you’d met on Corellia. The bubble burst when Wrecker’s recurring headache made an appearance, which had Rex reaching for his blaster, demanding they all get their chips removed. You stood at the top of the gangplank and pulled it out of his hand with the Force, the entire squad startled. You didn’t use your gift often, for fear of detection, but you weren’t going to let anyone pull a blaster on your men.

“You tell us how to get these chips out, Captain.” You said icily, letting Echo pull the blaster out of your grasp. 

“It’s alright cyare,” Echo said quietly, tossing the blaster back to Rex.

A look was exchanged between Rex and Hunter. “I have an idea on how to make that happen. I’ll be in touch.” Rex looked from Echo to you and back again, a grin playing on his lips, before walking quickly out of the hangar.

It wasn’t long until Rex sent coordinates to Bracca. To see the rusting corpses of the ships and transports was a startling reminder of all you had lost. And when Wrecker’s chip activated, you nearly gave up. The gentle giant of a man who had become like a brother in the months since the end of the war turned into a wholly different person, dead set on ending your life. It was the first time since leaving Kamino that you broke down and cried. For Wrecker, for the souls lost in battles fought with these skeletonized ships all around you, for your uncertain future. 

Holding Omega behind yourself, you pleaded with Wrecker. “You don’t want to hurt us Wrecker. We’re your friends. Your family.” The sound of Rex’s blaster cut through your fragile voice and as the big man fell in front of you, a sob of relief and resign left your lips.

And as Echo held you and you all waited for Wrecker to wake, you made a silent promise. No more waiting. No more wasting time. There might not be a tomorrow. So as Echo lay down on the table to get his chip taken out, you pressed a lingering, but chaste kiss to his lips. 

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” you reassured him. He held on to your hand until he fell unconscious.

Turning around, Rex and the rest of the squad just stood there, grinning back at you.

Walking through the Venator with Echo was spooky. Gathering ordinance and information would definitely clear your debt with Cid, but something was setting your teeth on edge. 

“Whatever happened to the plan to find a planet and just lay low? Start over?” You asked as Echo stopped the cart on which you had taken a ride to the armory.

“Cid happened,” he shrugged. “Once we pay her back, we’ll be able to move on.” He began placing empty crates on the cart.

You snorted a laugh. “Cid would sell her own mother for a profit if she could.”

“We don’t know she hasn’t.” Echo smirked as he set a crate down next to you, bringing his face close.

It was like you had been doing it all along, this tantalizing display of affection. Your smiles met, fitting perfectly together in a slow kiss. He bent over onto the crate to lean more fully into it as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Less smoochin, more moochin!” Wrecker’s big voice filled the tomb-like space. He passed you both to grab a large case of explosives. 

Echo met your eyes, delight sparking behind his golden irises as he pulled away.

And then all hell broke loose.

***

Losing Omega to another bounty hunter was devastating. Hunter was very nearly killed. You could do little to assist in finding her, other than offering the guys your strength and hope. It was ultimately your faith in Omega that brought her back to you unharmed; you knew she was a smart, capable girl who could think on her feet.

In the wake of losing Omega and finding her again, the subject of going to ground was once again at the forefront of your mind. Once Omega was safely in the gunner’s nest, you closed the blast door to the cockpit and started the long-overdue conversation.

“What’s the plan fellas? There are bounty hunters after Omega because what, she’s got first generation Fett DNA?” You sat on the armrest of Echo’s seat, rubbing the cold of space from your arms. “We should have taken Cut’s advice and gone off on our own.”

“Can we do that if we still owe Cid?” Wrecker asked.

Tech pushed his goggles up,“Cid is problematic,” he said.

Hunter sighed. “Is it worth it to have Cid after us too?”

Echo sat up in his seat, putting an arm around your waist. “If we can keep off the bounty hunter’s radar, we can stay off hers.”

“This indentured servitude Cid has us in is bullshit.” You swiped a hand over your tired eyes. 

Everyone fell silent, despair and worry permeating the Force around you. Omega was safely ensconced in her little room in the gunner’s nest. Away from you all.

“Wait.” You shook your head as an idea began to form. Everyone turned to you with hope in their eyes. “We’re looking at this all wrong. Why can’t we do both?”

“What do you mean?” Wrecker asked, scratching at his inhibitor chip scar.

“I mean, what if we found a place to lay low, Omega and I? Then you can pull jobs for Cid until she’s paid off.”

Echo shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of separating.”

You smiled down at him. “It would only be for a little while. She and I are your biggest liability.”

“Omega is going to hate this idea.” Hunter said, sitting back in his seat, thoughtful.

Tech looked up from his datapad. “We’ll have to encrypt the the flight logs on the Marauder. Perhaps sell it before we come back.”

“But, you’ll be on your own!” Wrecker looked sick at the prospect.

“We’ll have time to get a proper home set up for you. I still have the credits from my Master.” You rubbed Echo’s shoulders, giving him as reassuring a smile as you could.

“The plan is solid. Selling the ship just before we disappear will give us a little bit of a cushion.” Tech said.

With a heavy sigh, Hunter nodded his agreement. “Let’s research planets to settle down on.”

Parting ways with the men of Clone Force 99 would be bittersweet. There would be no contact until they could come back on their own. After touching down in the northern hemisphere of Sorgan, among the mountains and forests, you all set to work in earnest. You had picked a large clearing near a tributary of a large river. While Sorgan wasn’t completely uninhabited, you were far from any population centers. Tech’s long-range scans picked up several small villages at least two days away on foot. Taking Omega’s medical droid AZI and the GONK droid from the ship to keep on the planet was a measured decision in the interest of safety. If either you or Omega were injured, there would be no other help.

For a week, you all toiled over a small shelter dug into the side of a large hill, reinforced with lumber from the surrounding forest. It wasn’t luxurious by any means, but it would do. Tech set up a security perimeter and Hunter fashioned a culvert that diverted fish from the main stream which made it easy to pluck them out of the water. Echo helped you catalog all the flora that could be eaten, digging up a few berry bushes and plucking edible mushrooms to seed the areas near your new home. 

It was on one such walk on a hot afternoon that Echo finally broke the tension that had been bubbling between you, knowing it wouldn’t be long before you parted. The Sorgan sun was making the ports in his skull glisten like fairy lights as you walked along the newly worn path. 

“I’m going to miss you,” Echo said softly, breaking the comfortable silence. He glanced over to you and was met with your sad smile.

“You’ll make it back to me.” You took his hand in yours. “I can feel it.”

Echo stopped walking and leaned down to kiss you. His lips were soft and tentative on yours. He pulled away and looked into your eyes, his own golden brown orbs serious and steely. He said your name like a prayer before taking your lips again and pushing you against the nearest tree. In only his lower armor, you could wrap your arms around him, feel the lithe musculature of his back under your hands. He held you there, pressed as close as two people could get, as if he could sink into you. As you ran your hands down his abdomen, he sucked in a sharp breath and pulled away, resting his forehead against yours, squeezing his eyes closed tight. You could feel his arousal, his distinct walls thrown up haphazardly, trying to keep his desire at bay. He whispered your name again, this time as a curse.

You threw all caution to the sweet forest wind. “I want you, Echo.” You breathed the words against his lips and he trembled, pressing impossibly closer.

“You can’t just say things like that cyare.” He pressed his cheek against yours.

You pulled Echo impossibly closer. “This might be our only chance.”

His eyes popped open. “I don’t want to claim you as mine and just fly off.” His voice cracked with emotion.

You smiled then. Your beautiful, honorable Echo, holding himself back. “Cyar’ika, I’m already yours.” You pressed up on your toes to kiss him fully.

Something broke inside Echo then, and the air swirled eddies of leaves around you as he reached under your thighs and carried you away from the path. He lay you down on a patch of moss in the sunshine, his adoration clear on his face. You giggled (giggled!) as he hastily pulled off the remainder of his armor and helped you out of your clothes. And when you were bare to each other, he lay down next to you on the forest floor a tiny smile of satisfaction on his lips. His big hand caressed down your body, mapping every dip and curve as it went. His scomp link as cool on the small of your back where you lay in his arms. His body was a work of art, human skin and solid muscle studded with access ports and cybernetics.

Echo was intent on experiencing every cry and whimper he could pull from you as he explored your body with his mouth and hand. Even his cybernetic limb helped hold you down as you squirmed beneath him when his lips found your sex wet and wanting. You came apart on his tongue, chanting his name like a song, his eyes never leaving your face. And as you blinked up at the jewel blue sky and he kissed the inside of your thighs, you knew you’d never have anything or anyone more perfect. The look of utter bliss as you stroked him and then guided him inside you would live forever in your memory. He kissed you breathless, letting you both adjust for a moment, letting you taste yourself on his lips. Then he was moving inside you like he was always meant to be there, making your body sing. His hand was tangled in your hair and his other arm kept your leg hiked over his hip. Birds flew overhead, calling out as if sharing your joy. You could feel the coil tightening quickly inside you both, the end coming much too fast. He tucked his head against your throat, his lips against your ear, hips stuttering.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, ner mesh’la dala,” he rasped into your ear as the coil threatened to snap. “Gar cuyir ner yaim.” He pressed himself as deeply as he could as your bodies both sparked and snapped in bliss.

It was twilight before you found the energy to make the walk back to your little homestead. You wanted to stay wrapped up in him forever, walking back tucked under his arm. As the fire outside your little home came into view, you realized this might be the last time you were together alone for awhile. You wrapped your arms around Echo and looked up into his honeyed gaze. 

“You’re my home too, you know?” You said softly. 

Even in the waning light you could see his cheeks darken to a lovely shade of pink. He simply kissed your forehead and pulled you along to the camp.

Two days later you and Omega watched the Marauder lift off from the emerald green lawn of the Sorgan forest for the last time.

Time passes slowly when you’re waiting for someone to return. But as you struggle to survive in the forest, with only a growing teenager and two droids for company, the days seem to pass quickly. It’s a strange dichotomy. You struggle with monotony, with the unknown, with longing. You learn a lot about yourself and about raising a child as you wait, time for trial and error you seem to have in abundance. Omega, in her infinite desire to explore, found a krill pond a few hours hike from your home. She promptly endeavored to replicate their habitat closer to home and soon had a deep, square pond dug. It took her over a standard month to see the handful of krill she caught flourish into a sustainable ecosystem, but her patience paid off. You spent your days tending to the little garden next to your home, gathering wild tubers in the forest and trying your hand at different crafts with the natural materials all around you. About two months after the squad left, you found a family of quail on the other side of the stream. They showed no fear and you were able to sneak a few of their eggs away while they roosted in the trees. Until your snares proved useful, the quail eggs were a nice addition to your staple of wild-caught fish.

You didn’t see another human being for six months. Your clothes had gone threadbare and Omega was growing so fast you thought she might have to go naked if any of her clothing got any shorter on her limbs. It was not without trepidation that you ventured to the closest village with what dried fish and quails eggs you could spare to trade. The locals gave you a wide berth as you entered their village late on the third day of your journey, an elderly woman you came to know as Hilde welcoming you. They spoke basic and were very hospitable. They fed you and found you both new clothes. Omega was delighted by the other children, wearing herself out playing tag. Laden with food, seeds and cloth, you left the little village with knowledge and friendship, promising to return with more eggs when you could.

You were content for the first time in a long time as you came to the last few miles of your journey home, Omega chattering about the other children and all she had learned about the krill. She was not to be deterred from learning to brew spotchka, even if she wasn’t allowed any. You were more excited about using the brew to dye your new cloth. But as you came to the well-worn path to home, you stopped. The smell of smoke and dust burned your nostrils and you dropped your laden pack where you stood. Omega’s eyes grew large as she saw you freeze, setting her own pack down in the dust as well. You motioned for her to stay put as you went around the security perimeter Tech had set up so long ago. You got halfway around to where you could see the back of the compound, an unfamiliar freighter having touched down on the other side of the stream. Someone had started a fire in the fire pit and made themselves comfortable. Something was frying over the fire and voices could be heard in the camp.

Just as familiarity washed over you, Omega’s yell echoed across the camp.

“Hunter!”

The man himself came barreling out of your home as Omega came running down the path. She launched herself at him and held on tight.

Wrecker and Tech came into view, all wearing civilian clothing. You came out of your hiding place, your heart lighter than it had been in months.

“Commander!” Wrecker pulled you into a bear hug, lifting you off your feet. You squeezed him back, reveling in his presence and the joy radiating from each of them.

You hugged each of them in turn, Wrecker, Tech and Hunter…. As you pulled from Hunter’s embrace, they all turned toward the stream where two men stood watching the exchange. Crosshair looked you up and down, giving you a courteous nod. Echo, however, was beaming. Suddenly no one else existed. One moment he was backlit in a golden halo by the setting sun and the next you were in his arms, enveloped by the feel and the scent of him. Neither of you realized you were both crying until he pulled back from a soft, languid kiss and smiled down at you, wiping away the tears on your cheeks. You used your thumbs to wipe away his tears. 

“Welcome home,” you said, taking his hand and leading him back to the others.

“Yaim,” Echo said softly, squeezing your hand.

[ranticore]

real pinned post. hi i'm @sanctus-ingenium this is my talking blog

posts are organised by what setting i'm talking about (on browser put a /chrono on the end of the url to read in chronological order)

Inver [the one i wrote a book about, love of my life]

Siren [alien waterworld, GMO humans]

Thera [giant extradimensional bugs]

Ice Storm over Kosa [the OTHER monster setting]

Writing Tag [one-stop shop for all the bits of prose I've posted]

here's my ko-fi where you can find (mostly inver-related) stuff but also some small sketchbooks and pernese dragon bases

more information & larger illustrations can be found on my main blog

[palettepainter]

Nothing brings me more joy then rewatching the LeMillion vs Overhaul fight and pointing out all the flaws with Chisaki in this episode

Overhaul saying how now that LeMillion knows the situation he's decided to play hero and mockingly calling him school boy? Like you weren't that one emo kid trying to start a trend with that doctor plague mask you got at the discount shop

Overhaul turning his back on LeMillion while saying he's going to die down there? I know you're not talking confidence with that ugly ass looking jacket. Your colour sense is on par with a four year old

Him right at the start when he dodges Mirio's quirk and he goes "Filthy..."? Bro I've seen you explode people

Him clearing a path for Chrono's bullet to hit Mirio? Uhm Overhaul Mirio literally phased through the floor to jumpscare you, clearing a path for a bullet won't do shit if he can phase through it

Him putting up his hand to block Mirio's first punch? Nice job Chisaki I see you're really taking into consideration how Mirio's power functions

Mirio thinking how Overhaul is so fast and how it's hard to believe he's just some Yakaza thug? Mirio the guy hadn't even landed a single hit on you by that point and you where matching, if not out matching, him with speed

Overhaul saying how LeMillion couldn't even save Eri after he gets hit by the bullet? Uhm you haven't gotten Eri back either Overhaul don't go singing your praises just yet

Overhaul telling LeMillion he's filthy? Yeah okay dude like you don't look like a wrinkled finger that's been soaking in bath water

Overhaul saying cleanliness is an obsession of his and when someone contaminates him with their filth he looses control? You JUST fused yourself with the unconscious body of your teammate in the middle of a dust storm that I know damn well was filled with grit and debris shut your hypocritical mouth

And to end this post off, let us all appreciate one of my favourite frames in the entire episode:

We love seeing child abusers get whacked

[neon-dynasty]

Campfire Scene

I usually save this bit for last, right before storming the Black Omen.

This is possibly the most iconic scene in Chrono Trigger, and in my opinion, one of the best scenes in any video game. The party reunites with Robo after his four hundred years of labor. Lucca fixes him up and they reflect on their adventures, pondering what it all means and what it's all for. They speculate on the nature of Lavos, and wonder if there were a greater power guiding them. Robo, the machine, suggests that the Entity is showing them the entirety of time in an effort to remember and be remembered.

Mechanically, I wanted this to represent preparation for the final battle. They go through everything they know and have, and arm themselves with knowledge and gear. I designed this card over a year ago, so I don't remember my thought process exactly. I think it may have been a way of representing how they travel through times and flip things around, ultimately using that for their benefit in the fight against Lavos.

I had a very hard time choosing a piece for this card. I ultimately went with this one by Amade thanks to the kind folks on the Chrono Compendium Discord. It shows everyone in deep thought and active discussion, right before Lucca sneaks off in the middle of the night...

Whoever or whatever the Entity is, I've always said that it rewarded Lucca for her dedication to the cause of saving the planet from Lavos. She literally opens the gate for the exact right people to do the exact right things to slay the beast. She's the one who succeeds where the Gurus and Magus failed. All of the paths through time lead to one of seven destinations, each with a connection to Lavos (or the Present). The Entity opens up a special gate just for Lucca to go back and attempt to fix her greatest regret, and absolve her of her trauma.

I wanted to represent Lara in a respectful way, so the graveyard was out of the question, and there's not a lot of cool splashy things you can do with untapping one thing. Considering all of the suspend in this set, I felt that a suspended card was a reasonable choice. (As always, please let me know if this should be changed.) As it turns out, Lara is an active person, and I wanted to reflect that with counters.

This piece by とみ reminds me a lot of Shinkiro's SNK artwork. I think it captures the scene very well, especially with Lara comforting young Lucca after her near-death experience.

[anakinskywalkerog]

My Very Soul (Chapter 12)

Anakin Skywalker x Jedi!Reader

Link to Chapter 11

Warnings: danger oh no, a HUG (!!!!!!), and the beginnings of some rekindled jealousy...

Summary: You, Anakin, and your Masters face a threat from an unknown source; an old friend makes an unexpected reappearance

Word Count: 3.3k

You stood in the lift as it moved slowly upward, toward Senator Farr's floor. You were shaking, and it wasn't from the cold. You tried to put everything you were feeling out of your mind, but it was difficult. Anakin crying, sobbing in his sleep; Anakin yelling at you to get away from him; and then, shortly after, Anakin leaning in toward you, as if he meant...as if he meant to...

       You shook your head to clear it, as you often did, but it didn't help. You felt the whiplash of the evening as if you'd actually been thrown back and forth. You put your arms around yourself in your tunic, wishing you'd grabbed your Jedi robes before you'd stormed out of that room.

       The lift opened and you walked quickly toward the Senator's apartment, where you knew Master Yuma and Master Obi-Wan would be standing guard. Senator Farr had been slightly grumpy about Jedi coming and going from his apartment as if they owned the place, but you'd felt his fear through the Force when he was confronted with the possibility of separatist violence. You waved the lock open with the Force and heard it click, entering the apartment quietly. Master Obi-Wan and Master Yuma, you saw, were standing on the apartment's luxurious balcony, looking out at the city. Their figures were illuminated by the moonlight, and they were talking quietly. As you walked toward them, Master Yuma looked over, sensing your presence, and cut off her speech quickly, looking back to Obi-Wan in warning. Clearly, whatever they had been discussing was not meant for your ears.

       "Is everything all right?" Master Yuma asked you, looking you over, and you pulled your Force presence back into yourself, making sure not to give anything away.

       "Everything is fine, Master," you said with an even voice. "It's time to switch the watch." Master Yuma looked down at her chrono.

       "I suppose you're right," she said slowly, looking to you in confusion, trying and failing to read the hurricane you felt in your mind. You gazed at her, keeping your face stony. She responded with an exasperated look.

       "Obi-Wan," Master Yuma said, turning back to him, "go get some sleep. My Padawan and I will continue the watch until morning." In her words you heard an unspoken threat; you knew you wouldn't escape Master Yuma's scrutiny for long, that she would make you tell her what was going on in your head. Master Obi-Wan looked out at the moon.

       "I really feel I must stay," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, his face illuminated in the low light of the sky.

       "But Obi-Wan," Master Yuma said, "you've got to be exhausted." Obi-Wan held up his hand, quieting her.

       "I will rest in the morning, Yuma. You should go get some sleep." Obi-Wan looked at her kindly, his Force presence exhibiting a lot of complicated emotions. Master Yuma searched his eyes for a moment, and then nodded.

       "See you soon," Master Yuma said to you, and the light touch on your hand she gave you communicated to you that your unspoken conversation was not finished. She turned and left the apartment.       

       "It is truly a pleasure to see you both, again," Master Obi-Wan said to you as you stepped forward to take Master Yuma's position next to him. "I am amazed at how much you've grown, both in your powers and into yourself." You were surprised, but pleased to hear Obi-Wan speaking this way. He wasn't one to give gratuitous praise, you knew. You gave him a small smile.

       "Still," Obi-Wan continued, "I feel in the Force an unknown current, something that makes me apprehensive." He looked away from you, outward, back to the Coruscanti skyline, his eyes glazed with thought. "A part of me worries about the repercussions, of working with you and Yuma again. The paths that might unfold, given this reunion, for my Padawan and myself." You balked at Obi-Wan's turned face. He was speaking so plainly, speaking to you as if you were a contemporary of his, as if he regarded you as an equal. Though his speech was careful, it was clear to you what he was referring to, and you couldn't believe he was being so candid. It was as if he knew everything that had just occurred down in that basement room, as if he perhaps knew more of the situation than even you did.

       "I feel...similarly conflicted," you responded, keeping your speech just as careful. You joined him in looking out at the city beneath you, but you didn't need your eyes to see him. You felt in Obi-Wan his caution, his uncertainty, but also other things, among them a deep love and respect for his Padawan. The strength of Obi-Wan and Anakin's bond was comparable only to your bond with your own Master. Though you knew many Padawans felt deep admiration for their Masters, for you, and for Anakin, you knew, it was more than admiration. It was a familial tie, one that could not be severed, even in death.

       "You have grown in more than just skill, I sense," Obi-Wan continued, still looking outward. "The wisdom you often show surpasses your age. But," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, stroking his beard, "such wisdom can often be a burden, particularly for one so young." Obi-Wan turned to face you, and you mirrored him, looking up at the Jedi carefully. "I trust your ability to handle whatever difficulty may lie ahead," Obi-Wan told you affectionately, putting his hand on your shoulder. You breathed quickly. Though Obi-Wan's words were filled with care and compassion, in them you felt the hint of a warning.

       "A good Jedi must keep her mind open," you repeated your own Master's words, looking down at your feet. "It—it does not do one any good, to dwell too much over questions of the future."

       "This is true," Obi-Wan said, his face curling into a smile. "You are a good person, Y/N. You will make a powerful and discerning Jedi Knight."

       "Thank you," you replied softly, looking up at Obi-Wan, the weight of his fatherly affection warming you like a blanket.

       "Do you think—" you started to ask, but you were cut off by a sharp current in the air, a vibration that cut through you as if you'd been cut by a saber. You inhaled sharply.

       "I sense it too," Obi-Wan said quickly, his lightsaber drawn. The two of you ran from the balcony.

Anakin couldn't sleep. He heard Master Yuma come into the room, knew from the sound of her footsteps that it was her and not Obi-Wan you had relieved from the watch, and for this, he was grateful. With Master Yuma he could feign sleep, pretend just by lying still. He wanted to toss and turn, to pace the room, but he stopped himself, lying on his back with his eyes closed and his arms folded on top of him.

       As much as the nightmare had disturbed him, it was his own reaction to you that kept him up now. He was furious with himself. Why had he lashed out at you, telling you to go away, when what he wanted most in the world was for you to do the very opposite? And then, after you had forgiven him for his outburst, why had he chosen that moment to try to kiss you? Anakin pushed the mortification around inside of him, but he could not free himself of its grasp. It had been a horrible moment to choose, to try to lean his face toward yours, to try to make a move that would alter your relationship forever. The problem was that it hadn't been a conscious choice at all, but rather, an impulsive act. It was just like Anakin, to act impulsively and ruin the moment. And then, the way you had run from the room, run away from him, as if you'd been horrified by his actions...Anakin furrowed his brow, wanting to erase the whole interaction from his mind.

       The dream floated around in the back of Anakin's consciousness, tugging at a part of him he rarely let himself focus on...his mother had told him not to look back, when he'd left Tatooine, and he had followed her advice, trying hard not to think of his past life. It was nonsensical, to long for the days of his life when he'd been a slave on that godforsaken sand dune of a planet, especially now that he led the exciting life of a Jedi, a life he himself had always dreamt about. Still, a part of him wished he could open his eyes and wake up in his mother's small slave quarters, get up to help her with the washing, head to Watto's workshop. He missed his mother with every part of him, missed her so much that he wouldn't let himself think of it, wouldn't let himself feel how painful the ache was. Why had he dreamt of her being hurt? Why now?

       Anakin was stirred from his thoughts by a beeping sound, coming from his own commlink and echoing from across the room, where Master Yuma's comm was blinking. Anakin was on his feet immediately, Master Yuma just milliseconds behind him. The beeping had signaled danger.

       Both Anakin and Master Yuma ran from the room wordlessly, through the maze of the basement security hallways, toward the lift. Though you and Obi-Wan were up on the second highest floor, in Senator Farr's apartment, Anakin felt a disturbance in the Force elsewhere, in the middle of the building. This confused him.

       When they entered the lift, Anakin looked at Master Yuma, and she looked back, intuiting that they both had felt this current shift.

       "Floor...five," Anakin breathed, and Master Yuma nodded, punching the button. Anakin urged the lift to move faster. What was the danger? Why weren't you protecting Senator Farr? What was going on?

       The lift doors had barely opened, but Anakin was through them, running through the hallway, Master Yuma trailing closely behind.   

       "That door there!" Master Yuma whisper-shouted, relying on her senses to guide both of them to where they were needed. Anakin waved the door unlocked with his mind, and burst into the unknown apartment, running through the living room.

       They came upon a horrifying scene. It took Anakin a moment to understand the situation, to take it all in: there you were, holding your body flat against a wall, not moving. There was Obi-Wan, near you, his hand outstretched, his eyes fearful. There was a Togruta in the bed, presumably the senator who lived here, sitting up, looking terrified as he pulled his sheets up to his chest. The scene didn't make sense; there was no attacker. Why did everyone look so terrified?

       Master Yuma breathed in quickly, and Anakin, looking harder, saw a very small dart floating in the air in front of your face. It was so small, Anakin thought it could be a trick of the light—the tiny droid, only just bigger than a needle, poised in the air, pointed at you.

       "A pursuer dart," Master Yuma explained breathily into Anakin's ear, reading his confusion. "The shadow of an assassin. So small it can barely be seen, so light, but full of a powerful poison. It can kill in mere seconds." Anakin felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him.

       "Why does it hover?" Anakin asked, his fear spiking as you moved your eyes to meet his, frozen where you were against the wall.

       "It attacks when it senses movement," Obi-Wan said quietly. "It knows the specific DNA of the one it must kill. It reads you when your muscles move."

       "Keep still, my child," Master Yuma breathed, watching you with dread. You moved your eyes to her, looking her in the face with fear and a bit of defiance, as if to say, no duh.

       "Why is it trained on Y/N?" Anakin asked, his eyes wide with fear.

       "There was another pursuer dart," Obi-Wan explained, "that tried to attack our friend, here." He gestured to the Togruta, terrified in his bed. "Y/N destroyed it. This one seems to have picked up her chromosomal mark, and trained itself on the threat, rather than the intended target." Anakin saw a small, needle-sized dart, broken on the floor.

       "So, you fear if you destroy this one," Anakin pieced together, "another might appear?"

       "Precisely," Obi-Wan said, his eyes not leaving you, frozen as you were against the wall. "Please, Anakin, conduct a sweep."

       Anakin and Master Yuma searched the apartment, covering every wall, every window, every small space in which a droid could have breached the security shield around the building. Anakin felt his hands shaking as he searched, his eyes blurred over with his fear. To see something threaten your life, and to not be able to immediately attack it, to immediately dispose of the threat...it was infuriating. It was terrifying. He pushed these emotions away from him, trying to focus on the task at hand.

       "Here, Master," Anakin called from the corner of the living room. A small capsule lay on the floor, with one end that looked like a drill. The capsule lay open, and immobile.

       "Well, that explains how the pursuers got in," Master Yuma said quickly, picking up the capsule and examining it. "And look," she said, holding the small metallic case out to Anakin, "two slots. Two pursuers." They hurried back into the bedroom, where Obi-Wan was standing over you, talking quietly to you, trying to keep you calm and still.

       "We've found the casing," Master Yuma told Obi-Wan. "It looks like it drilled through the shield and perhaps the wall itself. But it is unlikely there is another pursuer." Master Yuma held the capsule out for Obi-Wan to inspect. He nodded. Anakin felt his body flood with relief.

       "Hold still, Y/N," Obi-Wan said quickly, before taking out his saber with a flash. It happened so fast, a normal person would have missed the small dart breaking apart and falling to the floor in pieces. All four Jedi, however, having excellent reflexes, watched as Obi-Wan's blue blade broke the poisonous dart. You breathed deeply, putting down your arms, the anxiety fading from your face.

       "Thank—" you started to say, but Anakin had already crossed the room, pulling you into a deep hug. He couldn't help himself. His relief washed through him, and he couldn't stop himself from folding his arms around you. Miraculously, you didn't pull away. Anakin was so much taller than you, he tucked his head over yours, putting a hand through the hair on the back of your head. Anakin felt as if he'd never truly breathed properly, before this moment. He felt freed of all bad feelings, all fear and insecurity. He felt at home. Finally, you pulled back from him, your face bright red in color. Anakin grinned shyly.

       "Everyone, meet Senator Grano," Obi-Wan said, watching Anakin with a hint of amusement. The senator, who still looked very afraid indeed, held up a small, polite hand.

       "We're very sorry for the intrusion, senator," Master Yuma said, stepping closer to you and putting an arm around your shoulders. Anakin was not the only one who was relieved you were okay.

       "That's quite all right, Master Jedi," the senator said with a shaky voice.

       "But who sent these pursuers? And why attempt an attack on Senator Grano?" Anakin asked, looking to you, searching your face for any sign that you might be feeling the way he did inside. He'd never hugged you before. The feeling lingered on his skin, in his whole self.

       "That is a question I have no answer for," Obi-Wan replied, stroking his beard, looking exhausted. "But certainly something we must discuss with the council."

As you walked with Anakin back toward Senator Farr's apartment, you worked hard to pull your Force presence back, folding it up neatly within yourself, keeping it hidden. Master Yuma and Master Obi-Wan had gone to speak with the council about this disturbing turn of events, and you and Anakin had been sent back into position, to stand guard over Senator Farr, as that had been your original assignment.

       "I wish you wouldn't do that," Anakin said softly, as you reached for the doorknob to let yourself in.

       "Do what?" you asked, confused, pulling open the door and entering the quiet apartment. Senator Farr was still asleep, you knew, in the next room, but the living room was illuminated in gold, the sunrise peeking out from behind the city and covering the balcony with its yellow glow.

       "Pull yourself back like that," Anakin explained, striding out onto the balcony, you following close behind. "In the Force."

       "Huh..." you said, still slightly confused, standing with Anakin on the balcony and watching the sun come up from the uneven Coruscanti horizon, buildings stretching high even in the distance. "I guess I hadn't realized you noticed."

       Anakin held onto the railing, looking out over the city. "It's just," he said, looking down at his hands, "I waited so long, to see you again, to feel your presence...I don't like it when it disappears."

       You didn't know what to say to this. You felt the ghost of the hug Anakin had given you earlier on your skin, felt a shiver run through you.

       "Cold again?" Anakin asked, and you nodded, though you were lying. It wasn't the cold that caused your body to shake. Anakin took off his own robe, wrapping it around you wordlessly. The gesture was sweet. The shaking continued. You felt Anakin's emotions swirling inside of him, as usual, but something felt different in him. Amidst the joy, the affection, the confidence, you felt the beginnings of a current that was unfamiliar to you. It was somehow submissive, somehow fearful, insecure...like reverence.

       "Y/N," Anakin began, "I—"

       The door to the apartment clicked open, and in a moment, you and Anakin had your lightsabers drawn, standing side by side, blue blades mixing with the yellow light of the morning. It took you only a moment to recognize the figure that now entered Senator Farr's dwelling.

       "Henry?" you asked, confused, clicking your saber off, and stowing it on your belt. You felt a darkness enter the Force currents beside you, and, additionally, felt Henry's emotions swelling with joy in the Force. The contrast between these Force impressions left you feeling a bit dizzy.

       "Hi, Y/N," Henry said kindly, walking out onto the balcony beside you and Anakin. "And hello again, Anakin," Henry said politely, though you thought you heard something else beneath his politeness. You frowned.

       "What...what are you doing here?" you asked, squinting as you took in the figure of your friend, a friend you had not seen in years.

       "The council has assigned more Jedi Knights, to protect the senate apartments," Henry explained, smiling at you. "Given the attempted assassination on Senator Grano. I hear thwarting that attempt was your doing," Henry continued, looking at you admiringly. "Impressive."

       "When you say Knights..." you said, the beginnings of a smile gracing your face. "Do you mean...?" Henry nodded, looking down, his smile holding his face hostage.

       "You passed your trials?" you squeaked, and you couldn't help yourself. You hugged him, your face pink. "That's wonderful, Henry, congratulations!" You stepped back. When you'd wrapped your arms around him, you'd felt something else enter Henry's presence, something new, something that made your breath stutter.

       "Congratulations, Henry," Anakin said beside you, his voice quiet, calm, and even. You felt his Force presence moving quickly from emotion to emotion, from anger, to fear, to longing, to hatred. It felt as if the usual storming had turned electric, lightning hitting every part of Anakin's insides, and yours. You looked between Henry and Anakin, holding your breath. This, you thought, might be a problem.

************************************************************************

Henry is back, y'all! AND THINGS GET DRAMATIC IN CHAPTER 13, out now!!!! Enjoy beautiful Skandar:

divider credit to @racingairplanes

taglist: @iyoogi @cluelessgurl @layazul @annadastra @graciexmarvel @galaxiasy @organasith @indigoblues1207 @outoftheregular @katsukiswrld @prettyboyrryy @jellydodger @wildflower57 @lydiamartinslover @em-asian @heavenseraph @iloveinej @leapofblank @sahverah @elsyyie @usuallyunlikelyfox @jadeonce @papadragun @dopejellyfishfury @stxrrielle @lilianashomaresparza @prettylittlecarstairs @deadunicorn159 @atoelicker @arelisskywalker @maythefloorbewithyouanakin @your-local-crzy-lady @dontmindme262 @xenochuguardian @cassiopeiashift @allihavenegativethoughts

[denialcity]

for adoration grow - tobiizu unconventional hanahaki au - 420/?

Tobirama fell silent for a moment, long enough that Izuna's thoughts had the opportunity to drift, focusing on the pain and how he might describe it to the doctor later. 

His attention was brought back by Tobirama clearing his throat, and for some reason he started quoting a poem Izuna recognised instantly despite it being butchered with an exceedingly poor reading style. 

"『At Hase, I prayed to Kannon  To plead with her who made me suffer so But like the fierce storm winds Raging down the mountain  She became colder still—  Of all the things I did not pray for…』"

[for adoration grow tag] / [chrono tag for browser] / [full live WIP document for my patreons here] 

[ohtobeleah]

Skyfall // Bob Floyd

Coming Soon ~ Sneak Preview

Bob had asked you once when you were wrapped up in his arms in the dead of the night, listening to the storm raging on outside if you knew anything at all about a Greek God called Chronos. When you had chuckled out a soft no as his lips trailed up your neck and his slightly rough hands roamed your body like they knew every inch, Bob told you that he carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while someone by the name of Pete Mitchell told you over the phone that your husband had been involved in a training accident….Well—you felt as if you'd fallen straight into it.

[complete-utter-fandom-hell]

THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR THEY TURNED THE MAIMAI INTO A CAR????

"mai miles" 😭😭

I genuinely don't know how you'd play it because you're standing on the hood??? But I want 50. I need a fleet of maimai vehicles we will storm the streets with our swagger

Update: I'm like 45% sure this is an April Fool's joke but the internet isn't revealing its secrets to me so the fact there's a chance it's real scares me

I know you're not actually driving it but assuming the front is the hood you'd be blind to the traffic ahead. This is peak driving. We should all get maimai cars. If you crash, it's as god intended /j

WAIT WAIT UPDATE 2:

OKAY SO IT'S LIKE CHRONO CIRCLE AND THE SPINNY THING IS THE WHEEL AND THE BACKGROUND MV IS JUST THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU AND IF YOU MISS ENOUGH NOTES YOUR CAR EITHER A) EXPLODES B) ACCELERATES CONSISTENTLY UNTIL YOU HIT LIGHT SPEED OR C) YOUR BRAKES ARE CUT

This is the future the left wants..?

Here's the original post in case anyone wants to check it out!