#leftovers squad (oc)

[sick-ada]

having half your beak exposed is actually pretty bad

[ask-leftovers-squad]

welcome! this is an askblog for the "leftover's squad" a band/gang/inksports team of growing notoriety in inkopolis city, run by @sick-ada

the ocs featured are CB-808, she/her & Bubbles, he/him (both are agent 8, the purple and pink octolings in the banner) as well as Bola (they/them and agent 4) & Flora (he/she interchangeably, not an agent) who are the black octoling and yellow inkling in the banner

timeline-wise, this askblog takes place a couple months after octo expansion, which itself finished about a month after the splatoon 2 hero mode. CB and Bubbles have moved in with the other two and have settled in fairly well

(to anyone familiar with my ocs, this is following the odd1out au since it's a lot more interesting. this means that bola is agent 4 instead of flora, marie got brainwashed instead of callie, and other consequences thereof)

if you want a specific character to answer your question, specify in the ask, otherwise i'll just pick whichever character will have the most interesting answer. questions that the characters wouldnt be able to answer (e.g., questions about CB and Bubbles' past that they don't remember, design choices, etc.) i'll answer on my main blog

magic anons and in-character asks are allowed, but will be an answered on an "is this funny/would this be fun to draw" basis, so if your ask got ignored there's no need to send it twice

asks about characters outside of the leftovers (e.g., idols, captain 3, neo 3, etc.) will be answered from the point of view of the leftovers, usually with an OOC aside, depending on the ask

STATUS: ASKS OPEN

[renaissance35]

This is like the first but finished second comic sketch of my new cool quirky group called ChicaGia™ (still working on the name😅)

Ugh! You can see my embarrassing past art skills. I thought it looked amazing 🤣

[cyberfairyblog]

Cyberweek Day 7: OC

To end cyberweek here's some tidbits about my self insert pix + selfship lore

Even though he only appeared literally THREE TIMES the whole 22 years, I still ship myself with him. I think he's cool and has a potential to be a recurring ally to the squad. Also I'm a sucker for normal laidback guy x powerful magic woman trope

Technically Coop isn't an oc but there's so much we don't know about his life, I had to make one up. After his return, Coop starts working HQ as the repair guy/mission control. One potential redesign has him look older due to the magnetite. Since he had been infected for so long and so intensely, some of the damage is permanent. That won't keep him from staying off the rails!

Coop was a child prodigy in both inventing and extreme sports, but became a small time mechanic because he didn't care much for the spotlight.

He and Pix met she was assigned a mission in Radopolis where Coop and Hacker were working on an Top Secret project for Motherboard. She was disguised as a Radster, that coop quickly deduced that she was a poser.

Coop was a single father at the time. He had broken up woth a girlfriend from a previous relationship and had full custody of Slider. Pix absolutely fell in love with the boy, he was adorable and was just as passionate about life and skating as his father. She felt bad Coop had all this responsibility, so she often visited them to help around the shop or watch over Slider. Over time Pix grew to be a regular fixture at the shop. Eventually Coop started to enjoy her presence, and one night asked her out on a date.

Pix was nervous but was convinced by her friend to give it a shot. She loved it. Coop had this calming presence that made the night bearable. He wasn't judgemental, and even nervous himself. After a few more dates they made their relationship official but kept it on the down low.

Until Hacker found out...and Oooh. He was PISSED! He had wanted to ask Pix out FIRST!

After Coop's disappearance Pix took over his duties as store owner. She wanted to know the real reason behind his disappearance. She suspected Hacker to be the one behind it but wasn't for sure. She missed coop terribly, so much she lost her taste for skating and magic. It wasn't until meeting the kids she gradually regained her sense of peace. Pix began to play old rock songs Coop gifted her with, and always made sure to pay the bills. The shop was all she had.

Until Slider found the letter inside the picture frame. Pix read and and realized Coop left to protect them. Now he was in danger, time to return the favor.

They did find Coop, but their fight wasn't over as there was still Mecha Hacker to defeat. Luckily with leftover energy from the Transformatron and sheer love for Coop, her family and friends Pix evolved to a bigger form and took Hacker straight on!

Hacker had a huge crush on Pix, in fact her choosing Coop over him was one factor into his turn to evil. But she hates him now. She used to see him as a friend, if a bit weird, so she was disappointed to discover his true nature as a selfish butthole.

Even 22 years later, Hacker still thinks he has a chance XD

Older Doodles of Pix + her and Coop as an elderly couple. They'd be the really chill grandparents XD

[veveisveryuncool]

adeleine appreciation squad!!! time for me to project artist problems all over her and headcanon the heck out of this gal :]

adeleine is the type to go through a set of 24 prismacolors in a week and constantly has to get new supplies (dw, having a king as your friend means unlimited art supplies)

is adeleine’s age ever confirmed?? idk anyways i hc her as no more than 12

after the oil pastel incident, ado only lets kirby and ribbon use her leftover supplies to keep them busy while painting

bandana dee is the exception. bandana dee is allowed free range of adeleine’s supplies. bandana dee has earned her trust.

the first time ado hit art block, she cried for hours on end because she thought she had lost her talent forever

what’s in ado’s notebook? we will never know.....(its old 2014 deviantart ocs)

she loves oversized clothing sososo much

adeleine and ribbon have a weekly friendship bracelet making ritual :]]

i forgot to add it in the doodles, but adeleine’s hands and clothing are perpetually covered in paint splatters. always. 

she’s also always got at least one bandaid somewhere plastered on, hard to avoid injuries when you’re a one-hit KO, and also when you’re the last human and nobody knows quite how to treat your wounds right

OH YEAH last human stuff here we go:

going to shiver star was lowkey traumatizing for her. ado always knew she came from shiver star, sure, and she still holds a couple of memories from there (she was 5 when she came to popstar. why? idk im still working on that). but nothing could have prepared her for the barren, abandoned, frozen wasteland that was left behind. it was as if every last shred of life was torn away, nothing but amalgamations of creatures that she had once read in storybooks floating in test tubes. it was so strange and so scary for her to realize that the beautiful, lush landscapes she held in her mind and in her paintbrush-- her home planet, were gone. 

yikes that was dark what else uhh

when she met meta knight for the first time, she couldnt stop talking about how cool he looked, how his color palette was a perfect complimentary/analogous mix, etc. meta knight took this as a very deserved ego boost

adeleine gives a lot of odd compliments about someone’s geometric symmetry or color scheme

dedede’s not sure what a triadic color scheme is but damn if he isn’t proud of it

IM GONNA STOP HERE ACK THAT WAS LONG I HAVE MANY MORE THOUGH!!!!

[overpopulatedbrain]

El Tigre/OC Crossover blabbering woohoo

I had a dream related to my OCs Laika and Jaime in El Tigre during my nap today. I love the idea of Laika and Frida being friends and Frida getting Laika into mischief and Jaime being a bad influence on Manny. Like Manny is the more wholesome of the two.

-Jaime: *is drawing stick figures with boobs* Manny: Whatcha drawing? Jaime: GAH!

-Frida and Laika up to shenanigans at night and Laika keeps falling asleep.

-Frida playing with leftover ink Laika shot.

-Frida throwing a hissy fit because Laika didn't invite her to see Gorillaz but then later breaking into the concert because of a supervillain fight and Manny has to save the band.

-Frida calling Laika a nerd for being good at school and Laika flipping Frida off only to later have to tutor Frida.

-Jaime showing Manny 2 Girls 1 Cup and scarring him.

-Laika asks about the video and they change the subject. Jaime would always get into trouble at Leone Middle School. “Yeah I beat up that ugly ass Bart Simpson looking kid. He made fun of Laika I had to.” At least once a day you hear in the hallways "Jaime Hildalgo-Alvarez" being shouted by the principal.

-Jaime is like “dude your grandpapi is literally like mine but less dirty and cussy and has a cool ass sombrero. I wish I had your dad, he’s so cool! My dad’s not in the picture and stepdad hates me.” “No he doesn’t!” “Yes he does. You haven’t met him.” “No he doesn’t! Isn’t it like illegal to hate your kids?” “I ain’t his fucking kid.” “Or step kids?”

They meet him and afterwards Manny looks at Jaime sadly while Jaime pouts angrily.

-Jaime would date Zoey Aves for a week not even and then dump her. “Frida’s right-she’s a whiny biiiitch. And definitely Black Cuervo.”

-Ainsley would be nicer to Laika and when she’s not around passive aggressive to the other three. When The Lab shit happens, they’re surprised but not surprised.

-Jaime loves Manny's house so much that he gives his mother and stepdad a hard time when he has to leave. After mouthing off to his stepdad he only stops when it makes Laika nervous.

-Jaime would talk to Manny Frida and Laika less after joining the soccer team because he goes through a phase of trying to be popular.

-Neri Laika Jaime Manny and Frida are all in the same resource classroom.

-Laika helping Manny's mom in the library.

-Jaime would be good friends with Django of the undead and Che but would not like The Golden Eagle Twins Chipotle Jr. Sergio or Zoey Aves.

-Zoey would be mean to Laika for no reason. Actually she would think Laika likes Manny romantically.

-Laika being diagnosed with autism and none of the crew are surprised. At all. Jaime's like "where's my diagnosis?!!"

-Laika coming out of the damn lab and the crew having a big group hug and crying.

-Ainsley would be more mean to the crew post events of The Lab.

-Kari Melba Soledad Ester and Frida would fuck shit uuuuup.

-Frida helping Laika with conversational Spanish.

-Frida having to put the police dogs in her parents' room because Laika's afraid.

-Kari Laika and Jaime helping save the day with their powers. Jaime has a harder time controlling them.

-Jaime loves messing around with Davi and telling him scary shit just to scare him.

-Jaime once calls Manny's mother hot and Manny smacks him upside the head.

-Laika and Neri go through a period of not seeing Manny and Frida in 9th grade due to not having classes together. Laika and her brothers are away for most of this summer at summer camp during that summer. They become friendlier in 10th grade.

-Laika tries to befriend Sophia. It does not go well.

-Frida and Manny are the first peer friend Laika comes out to. Frida blabs however and Manny has to keep Frida's mouth shut about it. Puts a rift in the squad dynamic.

-Kari calling Manny cute at a sleepover in front of Frida and getting the stink eye for it.

-Jaime and Kari singing Spoonman by Soundgarden at El Cucharon.

-Kari and Frida waking Laika and Manny up with guitars. Jaime jumping on the bed screaming at them to wake up.

-Frida's parents love Laika because they feel she is a good role model for their daughter.

-Laika would always be getting hurt or into trouble because of Frida. Part of the time she'd be getting her ass saved and the other part she'd save the day.

-Laika helps Frida get diagnosed with ADHD and accomodations.

-Jaime and Frida would stand up to assholes bullying Laika.

-Jaime convinces Manny and Frida to apologize to Sergio for being mean to him on his first day of school because Laika was bullied for being a Gorillaz fan in 6th and 7th grade and that story reminds him of that.

[artbot18]

Next posting bios of my drone oc squad! The Relocation Squad! T.R.S! and they got some design adjustments as well! the founder members to start is

Hey it is Piper! the 'nerd' in the bunker of outpost 21. Piper may be similar to all the other worker drones of Chemical-10 in appearance, but her intelligence and engineering skills makes her unique!

She is able to create cool inventions for her home to use from the leftover parts and blueprints made by the human scientists before they went kaput from the solar flare. making home defenses, limb replacements for the workers, tools to help with any issue in the bunker outpost, ect!

Piper has a mother and father, who are leaders of the outpost and were the ones who made the defenses to keep the murder drones away, though despite their job they still care for piper and dote on her,but she was able to show them her ideas to help the outpost, and soon gained respect as well when she implements them.

while the outpost is safe place piper feels it is not going to be sooner or later she has a sense that things will come to the end. and that sooner or later the murder drones will get through the defenses and well kill everyone, a dark thought of her impending doom... well that is not going to happen on her watch, she spent days planning to deal with the threat that will come for them, so she built a weapon that is both useful with and without power, a weapon that can be used quickly when it is needed, a weapon to protect her friends and family, and everyone too! she was this close to be complete and she just needs the final parts to complete it. Though she ran out the final parts and can't find any in the bunker. she has to get outside to get them. so in a risky choice. with help from her friend as a distraction. piper sneaked out, Took the remote for the defenses, sneaked past the people watching the door thanks to her friends distraction, and get out. she planned on going out during the day where interestingly the murder drones don't go out apparently. she spent hours scouring, finding no luck on the part and sees night is coming with the setting sun, right when she has to turn back before it gets dangerous, she accidentally hits a spot that collapse and enters the labs, where she find a certain drone that is in pieces, and has a choice to disassemble or reassemble.

her sword is a double edge clay more, one side pure metal, other side energy blade! and can be compact into a smaller form when needed, one of pipers best weapons made. and she calls it Excalibur (yes she knows she named it after the famous sword in ancient human history sue her all you want, that is her weapons name)

[blue-captain-frankie]

actually im just gonna answer all the questions in one post anyways lmao

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

(i genuinely could not tell you, i think i just randomly came up with and stuck to it)

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

(as of blog canon she is currently technically in her early 30s but being undead because of a parasite complicates age things lmao)

(i have an internal idea of "shes been here for 4 years" but if she crashed at 31 that'd make her 35, so idk)

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

(Clova/@green-captain-clova is currently her only "canon" love interest, so he's the default if someone asks if Frankie has romantic feelings for someone, but unless he's specifically mentioned/brought up i'm pretty open to figuring out new ones? she was already non-canonically shipped with Olimar before i made her blog, so this is not new lmao)

(tbh i'm not particularly attached to any of her ships so far, i just like giving her interesting dynamics with people. the slight ego boost from someone else's character having feelings for her is nice too lmao)

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

(i honestly could not give a straight answer for this one! Frankie likes eating anything i think, though as per her Koppai blood she has a slight bias towards fruit)

💼 - What do they do for a living?

(before Frankie died, she was part of a recon squad called the Four Corner Recon Squad. basically her job was to go either by herself or with a partner to planets that have been discovered but not explored, hang around there for about a week, and then report back so it can be decided if proper explorers should be sent.)

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

(i feel like she might like casual dancing if she tried it, but that's probably because i like to imagine characters dancing XD might also be leftover Olimar vibes)

(otherwise, i'm not sure!)

🎯 -What do they do best?

(in a way, i think one of the things she does best is try to hold herself together under stress. there're things that will inevitably break her, but she has a surprising amount of resilience for someone who's easy to unnerve.)

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

(Frankie loves to swim and relax in water! it's genuinely her favorite thing in general, but especially now that she has gills and has all this clean water. she likes ferrying a small amount of non-blue Pikmin across water too, as a lot of them haven't been anywhere near water before.)

(she hates having to sacrifice Pikmin for... obvious reasons. she also hates having to run away from a fight she started because she thought she could take it.)

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

(a day she spent with her grandpa on Koppai when he took a week off work for once! she was 9 years old, and they met up with her granduncle, Drake. It was her first time boarding a ship, seeing Koppai, and eating fresh fruit all in one day.)

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

(the day she got the news that her grandpa, Omi, had officially been declared MIA. she was 14 and took it extremely hard, especially when her mother told her rather bluntly. Frankie shut herself in her room for weeks...)

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

(sort of? she was created with a specific suit design (both pre and during PNF-404), but for pikposting canon she's now wearing a Rescue Corps suit. so technically she has a "new design" but not a full ass redesign)

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

(i actually have an extremely specific answer to this one!)

(Frankie was originally inspired by this animation meme of the Pikmin 1 bad end set to Bloom by j^p^n. i don’t remember how but she just kinda came into my brain as i listened to the song on loop a lot. the animation of Olimar falling with a broken helmet helped inspire the way she died.)

(she was also born from my want to explore the original pikmin hybrid Olimar, and then Pikmin 4 came out and punched me in the face lmao)

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

(fantasy, psychological horror, adventure, i think!)

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

(she's a stealth trans woman and straight!)

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

(none! closest she has is her 14 cousins who she doesn't know about lmao)

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/ their parents like?

(she didn't know her dad before he died. with her mother, they didn't have much of a relationship, but Frankie tries to remain optimistic(?) that her mother was the way she was (neglectful and aloof) for a good reason.)

(overall has the opinion of "she's not bad, she was just trying her best". ...That doesn't stop her from moving out later, though.)

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

(her story, i think. just the way she's had all these ups and downs and that she's a captain and tries to stay strong but she still has things that'll break completely break her down)

(i also like that shes very easy to use for vents because she deals with self dehumanization and the feeling of being disconnected)

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

(not as often as i'd like! mostly because i'm kinda burnt out on long formal rps and the amount of informal rping i do makes me not feel like drawing her. i do have ideas, just. not the energy.)

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

(i technically already have/am, but she's been revived twice and will get revived again, so that doesn't exactly count. otherwise i dont think so! it'd be really difficult for her to die anyways though, there's two Wraiths and several Pikmin who definitely wouldn't let her.)

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

(Doctors. even before she becomes very "scientifically interesting" she has a phobia of doctors. i have no reason for this, she just does lmao. maybe it's a holdover from gone home au, idk.)

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

(in a way you could say Tion/@tion-posting is, though i'd describe her as more of a foil than being an outright rival, though she's also a bit antagonistic towards Frankie at times.)

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

(according to her Toyhou.se profile, Frankie has existed for two months! she was created on August 9th)

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

(19! i'm currently 20.)

[lordsireno]

Don't trust the new guys

(OC based AU where an Elysian volunteer and Deponian conscript (who are both terrible people) decide to mess with the soldiers of the Organon army)

(TW: injury and death, assholes committing murder and insurrection)

“Lulu! Buuuddy!”

The Organon officer sighed, not looking towards the one who had called his loathed nickname. He wouldn’t give her that satisfaction, which meant she came right up to his visor and poked him in the mechanical mustache.

“Aww come on, don’t ignore me. I came here because I have a gift!”

Lutteral stood from his chair, easily towering over her seeing as she was no taller than an Organon. He hadn’t left Elysium and joined this army to make friends, and the experience had only cemented his dislike for clones. But he had also discovered something else; he disliked Deponians just as much. Unrefined, filthy, crude, and thinking themselves oh-so-important when they managed to get beyond the level of ‘hostage factory worker’ to ‘glorified clone baby-sitter’. Sireno was no different, showing off their bland uniform at every chance, pushing their power beyond what Prime Authority authorised. She was a pain, and he wanted as little to do with her as possible. 

“What could you possibly give me?”

She grinned, “A firing range and a squad of Organon no one will miss?”

That got his attention, though he tried not to let it show.

------------------

“Atteeeen-tion! Officer on deck!”

As Sireno extravagantly strode into the room, ten Organon snapped to alert, saluting the two. Lutteral looked over the clones, thankful his disdain was hidden by his helmet, which they all seemed to be lacking. Seeing the same face creeped him out, and it didn’t help that this group were identical in all details, save for one who had a single strand of hair out of place.

Sireno elbowed him, snickering as she whispered, “Batch 420. They’re pre-protos who have Elysium service clone programming leftover in their brains. Honestly pretty useless as soldiers.”

“And?”

She turned to the pre-prepared gun rack behind them, handing over Lutteral’s preferred sniper and taking a simple handgun for herself. 

“But they should make fun targets once they start running.”

The Organon shifted, looking confused. 

‘Well it has been sometime since my last practice session.’

With a shrug he moved to the back corner of the room and inspected his gun, loading it, taking up position on one knee. Sireno cocked her own weapon, as worried and panicked looks were shared between the clones.

“Ready… Aim… Fire!”

–

There was no reason for the sound of gunfire, as there were no bookings in the range for the rest of the day. But Argus could hear it from his office, and he was determined to find who thought they could break the rules.

What he hadn’t expected to find was a room of wounded and dead Organon.

“What the devil is going on here?!”

The shooting stopped, as Sireno turned with a half hearted salute. 

“Yo Sir, just doing some decommissioning.”

He scanned over the bodies riddled with bullet holes, a few missing limbs where the caliber had blown them clear off. 

“This- This isn’t protocol, this is senseless killing!”

Sireno scoffed, rolling her eyes at the Bailiff, “Use them as training, or throw them away? I think one seems more useful than the other.”

He knelt by one of the still conscious Organon, though they were clutching their wounds for dear life. Argus recognised him as 426, making the batch here the ones who had come in for reassignment, not destruction.

“Who authorised this? Who ordered you to be here?”

Lutteral had quickly hid his rifle behind his back, awkwardly shuffling towards the door.

“Just for the record, I was forced into this barbaric act.”

Argus ignored him, “This is just the reason why Ulysses shouldn’t let outsiders in our ranks.”

As he continued to curse Prime Authorities decision, 426 noticed the shadow that fell over both of them, and instinctively lept into action.

“Don’t you dare!” 

Sireno laughed, grabbing the clone's wrist just as he had grabbed her own knife wielding one. 

“That’s not how you speak to a superior!”

Already weak from injury, she easily flipped him over, pinning him to the ground before driving the knife into his neck. 426 shouted, though it was drowned out by the sudden gunshot whizzing by her face. Sireno spun, throwing a fist into Argus’ forearm, causing him to drop the gun. It didn’t stop his momentum, fist flying toward the Deponain’s nose, though she ducked forward then pushed up, driving her skull into his chin. Recoiling backwards, she drew a new knife from her boot and charged forward, giving Argus only second to deflect the blade from his neck. In that moment, he had height on her, and drove an elbow down on her back. Sireno dropped to the floor with a thud, and he pinned her arm.

“I will have you both recycled for this-!”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

Lutteral swung the rifle like a bat, landing a clear strike against the side of Argus’ helmet, sending him sprawling across the floor, unconscious. 

Sireno coughed, “Ha! Nice hit! You got little league teams in that shiny city?”

“What is wrong with you?!” He screamed, “You realise what we’ve done here?!”

She righted herself, brushing herself off as she looked around the room, “Uh, made a mess?”

“The biggest mess. The Bailiff- oh by the Elders I just assaulted Ulysses stupid favourite clone. My career is over!”

“Oh shut it you baby. You act as though this isn’t your first time committing a bit of treason. You’ll be fine if you follow my instructions. We just gotta get rid of the evidence.”

Sireno stretched, before bending to attempt to lift the Bailiff. 

“Urgh, um, a little help?”

“In making things worse?!”

“Just fucking lift him! There's a trash shoot like two metres down the hall.”

Lutteral wrung his hands, before stooping down to collect the Bailiff’s ankles. It took thirty minutes to move all the bodies, wrangling them into the small hatch being the most laborious part, and then another ten to clean up the blood to the point where it didn’t lead back to them.

“... So now what?” Lutteral questioned as he looked around the mostly clean room.

“Wanna grab lunch?”

He clipped the Deponian on the back of their head, “We just killed a member of Prime Authority. Someones going to start asking questions, and it’ll probably be the Controller himself.”

“So? We play dumb. I’m some lowly junk scab and you’re a prissy sky boy, why would we be involved with the Bailiff? Maybe he ran off with that defective clone squad? Or- oh! Maybe they kidnapped him and are going to offer him as an offering to earn favour with Deponians?”

He crossed his arms, a heavy breath hissing through his filters.

“You think they still have any platypus on the menu?”

“That’s the spirit!”

-

426 groaned. He hurt all over, but it was probably for the best when it seemed to be dividing the pain across his whole body, rather than focusing it just on the holes he’d been given. 

‘Junk- shot and stabbed in one day. At least I’m conscious… and alive, unlike-’

Snapping his eyes open, he scanned his surroundings. The landscape was that of the Deponian hills, scattered with trash and corpses. The rest of his batch. Flashes of the events just past made his wounds ache, but he scanned the group further, his blood running cold when he spotted the red cape caught on some old fencing.  

[sick-ada]

[mandos-mind-trick]

Author Self-Promotion?! OKAY!! ;)

Rule: post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to Ao3. If you have less than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics. I was tagged by the lovely @dangraccoon, thank you!! 

(Sweet baby Jeebus I have 36 fics on Ao3 😬) 

Please heed the warnings and tags on these stories if you decide to read them. Most of them deal with very adult topics, have content in them that is not for everyone or that could be potentially triggering, and/or may be upsetting to some. Please do yourself a favor and check before deciding to read if you do. I try to tag everything, but I may miss stuff, so if what you see seems too much for you, then don’t put yourself through it and read it. 

1. Instinct

Din Djarin x reader/Din Djarin x OC (Depending on which version you prefer)

“I have something for you. A gift, you could call it.”

Din sighs. “What is it?”

“A surprise. But trust me, you want it.”

Din stares at the hologram of the ex-bounty hunter turned daimyo. He could only imagine what kind of gift Boba Fett could have for him. “Fine. I’m on my way.”

2. Experiment

Part of the Midnight series. Tech x reader, implied poly Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest) 

“I need you.”

Tech doesn’t give her much of an option as his hand wraps around her arm, tugging her away from a baffled Hunter and down the hall. They had landed in Tipoca City just a few hours ago. Midnight had gone straight to the barracks as she normally did, wanting to avoid the stares of the regs as much as possible. Half of them hated her presence, hating that a simple civilian had imposed in their space. The other half looked like they were picturing her naked. That doesn’t bother her much, she’s used to those kinds of looks, but it has her worrying. Like somehow they knew she was doing something very forbidden and fucking her squad.

3. Comfortable

Part of the Midnight series. Echo x reader, poly Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest) 

Midnight sits around the table with her boys, enjoying the quiet for once. They were all exhausted still from a hard mission. Even Wrecker was less excitable than normal. They were all focused on eating, waiting for their arrival at the location of their next mission. They were back to back again, with the war continuing, things were getting more and more tense. She can tell things are beginning to shift. Were they coming on the end of the war? Were things shifting for the better or worse? None of the guys had hinted they felt the same, and none of them had mentioned how they thought it was going to end.

With the little they interacted with other battalions and legions, she couldn’t get a good sense of the direction the war was going. It seemed when things were going bad, they were sent on more missions. When the Republic began gaining victories, their missions slowed.

She knows something’s happening. She just can’t place what it is.

“Do you ever compare us?” Tech breaks the silence, looking across the table at her.

4. Codename: Midnight

Part of the Midnight series, no pairing since this is a prequel to the series. 

Her knuckles are sore. Out of everything that could hurt, she’s lucky it’s just her hands. Another night, another fight. Another round of meager pay outs to add to the too-light pouch she kept on her person at all times.

For a winner, she sure does feel like a loser.

She debates stopping to get something to eat, but a quick press of her hand against the small bump of her pocket changes her mind. She’s sure she can scrounge up something in the kitchen of the communal living house. They got the days-old leftovers and bits of food even the unfortunate in the absolute ass of Coruscant don’t want from the restaurant below the house.

Just cut off the bad parts.

That’s what her mother had taught her. Cut off the bad parts and it’s almost like new.

5. Unexpected

Din Djarin & teen OC - platonic relationship, OC is a foundling. 

“What’s going on?” She asks, practically being dragged across the floor by the Nikto. His grip on her arm is tight, likely enough to leave a bruise.

“Shut up.” He hisses at her, shoving her to the ground against the wall. “Stay there.”

The gun fire had started just as she had finished her food. She was lucky it hadn’t been before. As soon as the fight had started, she’d been forced from the table and into the storage room. Someone was attacking them. Were they here for her? For Grogu?

A tiny green hand appears in front of her face and she takes it, the little claws closing around her finger.

“I know.” She whispers. “Me too. It’ll be okay. I promised I’d keep you safe, remember?” She looks into those big brown eyes, Grogu cooing softly at her.

She flinches as the shots get louder. Were they moving closer? She picks Grogu up out of his pram, holding him against her chest. Maybe if she got the chance, she could escape. She could run away, find somewhere safe to hide.

6. Human Studies 

Original Yautja character x OC

Audrey steps slowly through the snow, trying to keep as quiet as she can in the ankle deep snow. She grips the shotgun in her hands tightly, trying to keep them from shaking. Her breath steams out in front of her, heart pounding loudly in her ears. She can hear the scuffling inside the barn as she presses herself against the wall, shadows moving in the light through the open door. Audrey presses the gun close to her chest, taking a deep breath before turning the corner, pointing the shotgun in front of her.

The barn is empty and silent, no sign of anything inside. Audrey takes a step in, eyes scanning the open areas she can see. There’s nothing. She slowly moves forward, checking every stall as she makes her way to the far wall.

She realizes her mistake as soon as she senses something behind her. She turns on her heel, coming to face a creature like she’s never seen before. It’s horrifying, something completely alien. It towers over her, teeth bared as a horrid hissing sound leaves its mouth. Audrey fires at it, the bullets seemingly useless as it charges her. She stumbles back, continuing to shoot until she’s out of bullets. She throws the rifle at it, turning to the wall.

7. I Was Made For Loving You

Eddie Munson x reader

Your thighs chafe a bit, another painful reminder of the shittiest night of your life. Well, it might not have been the shittiest night, but it certainly was high on that list. It’s cold. You’re shivering in your lack of layers. The thin sweater and exposed legs beneath your skirt did little to stave off the cold spring night. It was well into spring in Hawkins, but the nights were still filled with an unforgiving chill.

You were walking along a dark road, one of the many that sprawled Hawkins. The sidewalk and street were still cracked and broken, remnants from a few weeks ago. You had missed it, the whole debacle that had gone down. Your parents had decided it was time for another spring vacation, and you had been in Sweden visiting family while your friends were preventing the destruction of Hawkins once more.

You’re debating jumping a fence to find someone with a pool and risking hypothermia when the van appears. It’s driving rather fast and erratically down the road when it suddenly squeals to a stop on the opposite side of the road from you. You can hear muffled rock music from inside, the music getting louder and clearer as the window rolls down. A familiar curly haired figure appears out the window, calling out your name.

Eddie Munson.

8. Sharpshooting

Part of the Midnight series, Crosshair x reader, implied poly Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Midnight creeps slowly down the hall, walking on her tiptoes to avoid waking the sleeping clones in the bunks. She couldn’t sleep. Even the gentle humming of the ship wasn’t enough to ease her mind so she could drift off for a few hours rest. Instead she found herself lying awake, mind thinking far too much to let her relax.

So she decided to seek out the only other being on the ship that would still be awake.

She finds him in the hull, bent over some project on the floor. She carefully approaches him, sinking to the floor near him, leaning against the worktable.

“What are you doing up?” He asks, glancing at her before looking back to what he was working on.

“Couldn’t sleep.” She says, pulling her knees to her chest. “What are you working on?”

“Your new armor.” He says, holding up a piece of white plastoid. “I picked up a few pieces when we were on Kamino. Thought I’d try repurposing them.”

9. Detonate 

Part of the Midnight series, Wrecker x reader, implied poly Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Midnight wakes rather abruptly when her face smacks into the metal floor with a bang. It startles her, and the other five clones who had all been peacefully sleeping. She lets out a groan, rubbing her forehead. She had rolled right off Hunter’s bunk, landing hard on the floor below.

She rests her face on the cool floor, laying still for a moment. She’s in nothing but her underwear and breast band, her tactical ones. Nothing special as they were stopped on Kamino for a few hours. She only pulled out the special ones when they had a longer layover, or when she knew one of the guys was going to want her...attention.

Things between them had progressed...awkwardly. None of them quite knew how to approach this new relationship. Wrecker seemed to be having the easiest time, though he was always the most affectionate even before their conversation. Though, he had yet to pass the unspoken barrier that had been put in place. That line that crossed between normal affection and more...romantic or even sexual. Tech and Wrecker had both been toeing that line, Wrecker more often, but the two had yet to cross it.

10. Torment

Original Yautja character x OC

She’s running off pure adrenaline. She’d lost the feeling in her legs and feet long ago. Her blood is pumping in her ears, blocking out all other noise. Not that it mattered. They didn’t make noise. It’s behind her, but she can’t see it. Not that she would bother with the two-second delay looking behind her would cause.

It didn’t matter anyways. They were fully capable of outrunning her. Their stride and stamina outpaced hers ten to one and she knows this. They’re letting her run. They want to see how far she’s willing to go.

Despite the time she’d spent on the planet, the gravity was stronger here than she was used to, and her body was still adapting to the pressure. Just the fact she could run at all was a miracle of human adaptation.

She pushes herself onward, unsure of where she’s headed, but even she’s curious just how far they’ll let her go this time. She never made it any significant distance from camp, yet she insisted on playing this game.

Something whistles through the air, hitting a tree inches from her face. It hadn’t been a miss, just a warning. Despite this knowledge, she can’t help the yelp at the exploding bark. She pushes herself faster, legs threatening to give out at any moment from exhaustion. A second one hits a tree to her left, the third coming straight at her. She drops, crawling forward as it slams halfway through the tree in front of her. She’s quick back on her feet, but a force hitting her back has her flying, hitting that same tree with a crack.

Tags (I know like no one on this blog 🥺):  @hunnythebee, @amyroswell

[daughter-of-melpomene]

Please tell me about your Hazbin Hotel ocs 👀

Um, gladly?? Thank you so much for asking about them!!

So, I have three OCs, and I’ll start with Samuel, who mainly goes by Sam. They’re a fallen angel, a former exorcist-in-training who fell after they began to learn more about Lucifer’s ideas for humanity and agreeing with his and Lilith’s ideology, finally getting kicked out after they threatened Sera to either stop the exterminations or they would make sure all of Heaven knew. They actually met Lucifer and entered into a relationship with him after falling, since he and Lilith were on a bit of a break, but Lucifer eventually left without any warning and then they didn’t see him again until Lilith disappeared and Lucifer contacted them out of the blue to ask if they would be willing to keep an eye on Charlie and protect her. Originally they were furious about the very notion of the request (even if they wound up doing it anyway, because they never really stopped loving Lucifer), but they eventually came to see Charlie as a daughter themself and would do anything to protect her (as well as Vaggie, because as a fellow fallen angel they basically see her as a little sister). They’re very committed to helping Charlie with the hotel but don’t trust Alastor one damn bit, so they do their best not to leave him alone with Charlie, and even though they don’t really drink they become sort-of friends with Husker, and Angel once he gives up flirting with them. They’re a Lucifer ship, since ultimately the two of them decide to work on reconciling when Lucifer shows up to help Charlie and they’ve never really stopped loving each other, and they’re voiced by Okieriete Onaodowan.

Next is Jane Doe, my Husk ship, voiced by Eva Noblezada! She’s kind of based off of the Jane Doe character from the musical Ride the Cyclone, in that she died from being decapitated, showed up in Hell with her head sewn back onto her body, and can’t remember her real name or anything about her life from when she was alive, including why she’s in Hell in the first place (though it’s later revealed that it was because she killed her abusive boyfriend and was found standing over his body by one of his friends, who then killed her). She’s the hotel’s second resident after Angel, because despite not being able to remember why she’s even in Hell she still wants to get into Heaven, even though that’s obviously going to be a challenge due to her situation. She’s very shy and nervous and a bit awkward, and due to her head not really being attached she often suffers from memory lapses, forgetting where her room in the hotel is or trailing off in the middle of a sentence because she’s forgets what she’s going to say, but the others are all very supportive and there to help her through it. One thing that she does know is that she really likes cocktails, though she doesn’t know if it’s leftover from her life or not, and since Husk makes amazing ones she spends a lot of time at the hotel bar sipping on one and talking to him. Obviously they’re very opposites attract in a lot of ways, but they’re super cute when they do get together. (Oh, and she’s also a doe demon, like with deer legs and a little tail and fawn freckles on her face and everything, because I couldn’t resist.)

And lastly, we have my beloved he/they prince Nick Morningstar, an Angel Dust ship, voiced by Ben Platt! (And named after Nick Scratch, one of many nicknames for the devil, obviously.) He’s Charlie’s twin sibling, and definitely the more sensible and realistic one out of the two of them, always worrying about her trusting nature and doing their best to keep her out of the trouble it might get her into (he and Vaggie are the Charlie Morningstar Protection Squad), but they also support her unconditionally and will go along with any and all of her schemes and even volunteers to be in charge of the hotel’s finances once it’s up and running again after the battle with Heaven. He’s also had kind of a celebrity crush on Angel for a while now, but slowly comes to know him better as an actual person while he’s staying at the hotel and promptly makes their crush even worse. (He is definitely planning to either kill Valentino or trick him into giving up Angel’s contract so they can rip it up.) He’s also kind of a loser compared to Charlie - they aren’t half as social or even likeable since he’s kind of a wet cat, their proper demon form isn’t even as powerful as hers - but we love him anyway (and so does Angel, eventually).

Again, thank you so so much for asking about them!! It means a lot, and I’m definitely looking forward to posting more about them, and seeing more about your girl Frannie too!! <3

[tessasocs]

cosmic strings: the crazy bullshit squad + when they ended up

“listen, the Romans are very very protective over their gods and goddesses, so pretend to petition me and you can sneak me out of here no problem,”

{enjoy this teaser for the next chapter}

permanent taglist: @witchofinterest @abbysarcane @foxesandmagic @perfectlystiles @darknightfrombeyond @twinmasks @ocfairygodmother  @erzascarlettitania @iron-parkr

the leftover children taglist: @the-october-reviewer @raging-violets @randomestfandoms-ocs @mystic-scripture @randomfandoming1

[cherrycola27]

SIREN'S SONG

Chapter 11: Rocketman

Paring: Rooster x OC Captain Harper Ann "Siren" Mitchell-Bradshaw

A/N: This chapter was inspired by the Elton John Classic "Rocketman" also special shout out to @marvelsvalhalla for listening to my ideas and helping me come up with the chapter title!

Warnings: Mentions of Ejection, injuries, cursing, drinking, self esteem issues, body insecurities. Jake "Hangman" Seresin... yes Hangman gets his own warning. 18+ Minors DNI

Babes I apologize in advance for this because it is going to hurt

0400 hours came early in the Bradshaw house hold that faithful morning. Harper rolled over as her husband left the bed to get in the shower. "Just a few more minutes please" She called out sleep thick in her voice. "Shhh baby go back to sleep." Rooster whispered kissing her head. "How can I sleep knowing you are leaving me?" Harper pouted. It was true, Bradley, her father and a few other members of the Dagger Squad had been called in for a quick mission. It was supposed to be three days max... get in get out, nothing serious, but there wouldnt be any contact for those three days. Harper protested when she was not chosen, but she knew now that she and Bradley were married there was a slim chance they would be sent out together. So here she sat in bed watching her husband get ready. She wanted to drive him to base, but she had been sick the past few days so Rooster told her no.

She got up and walked her husband to the door. He slipped his ring off and put it on Harper's dog tags. "Hold on to this for me. I will be back for it in three days... keep it safe." Rooster told her. He kissed his wife deeply and much to his chagrin, he left her on the front porch of their home. "I promise I will be back Harper Ann! I love you Mrs. Bradshaw!" He called before leaving the driveway. "I love you too Mr. Bradshaw" She called after him.

An hour later Penny was on her doorstep. Amelia was back in college and with Maverick gone, she couldn't bear the empty house, so the two women agreed to have a sleepover with each other until their husband's arrived. Penny had brought breakfast sandwiches from their local diner. Harper sat down ready to dig in when a wave of naeusa hit her.

She ran to the bathroom and puked her guts out. After that episode, she went to brush her teeth. As she went to grab a new tube of toothpaste Harper noticed an unopened box of tampons. Gears turned in her head. When was the last time she had a period? Could she be? She and Rooster hadn't exactly been trying to get pregnant, but they hadn't exactly been trying to prevent it either.

Harper dug through the medicine cabinet. She knew she had a couple leftover pregnancy tests from the time Phoenix came over when she was late. Harper found the box and quickly torr it open and read the directions. Five minutes later, there were four positive pregnancy tests in front of the woman. "Oh. My. God" she said to herself. "Penny! Harper yelled. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Yeah honey, everything oh..." Penny stopped short as she saw her daughter on the bathroom floor with the tests.

"I think I'm pregnant. Can you take me to the infirmary to make sure?" Harper whispered looking at her mother. "Let me get my things.. meet you in the car." Penny said not missing a beat and jumping into action.

Harper tapped her foot impatiently in the waiting room of the base infirmary. Penny squeezed her hand

"Captain Mitchell-Bradshaw?" A nurse called out. She and Penny practically jumped out of their seats. Harper explained to the nurse that she thought she might be pregnant but wanted a blood test to be sure. And after the blood test came back positive she begged for an ultrasound to be extra sure, and being the Admirals daughter, they didn't tell her no. Penny held her had the first time Harper saw Baby Bradshaw on the monitor. She was about 10 weeks which meant that this baby was Rooster birthday present that kept on giving.

A few hours later the women left base and headed back to Harper's house. "I can't wait for Bradley and dad to get back P, they are going to be so excited" Harper squealed holding her ultra sound pictures.

Over the next three days she and Penny talked about nursery themes and baby names. Harper and Bradley had spoken about children before and they had agreed on naming their kids after their parents, so if baby B was a boy, he would be Nicholas Peter Bradshaw and if baby B was a girl, Caroline Penelope Bradshaw. Penny cried over the fact that Harper thought enough of her to potentially name her child after her. The ladies were all smiles when they got word that the ship had docked and everyone would be home soon. Harper was in the kitchen when they heard a knock on the door. Penny went to answer it.

"Pete! You're home welcome back" She cried hugging her husband. "Is Bradley not with you?" She asked looking around him. That's when she was her husband's face and she knew something was wrong. "Wh... wh... where is Harper?" Maverick stammered.

"Dad! Oh I'm so glad you're back I have something exciting..." Harper stopped short "Dad, where's Rooster? Is he not with you? Is he running late" Harper said as panic set in. "Harper, honey, I think you should sit down Doll." Maverick said gesturing to the couch. "No, no, don't pull that shit with me dad.... where is my husband?" Harper said forcefully.

"Harper, there was an accident... Rooster... he... he's missing, but they are doing everything to find him, but we had to come back. I tried to go but they wouldn't let me." Maverick explained with tears in his eyes.

"What do you mean he is missing? How. How does a plane and a person go missing, you said this was a quick mission. Routine, in and out, not dangerous, nothing to worry about. And now you are telling me my husband is missing!" Harper screamed tears heavy in her eyes and rage in her voice. " You told me not to worry! You said everything would be okay! You promised me Maverick!" Harper shouted at her father. "Honey please calm down" he begged "Don't tell me what to do. How could you? How could you do this to him, to me. And you just left him. His plane gets shot down and you just left him. He didn't leave you 5 years ago!" She continued to rage "Harper I wasn't flying!" Maverick shouted back.

"Please calm down Harper, this stress isn't good for the baby!" Penny pleaded with her "Baby?" Maverick asked "Yeah, baby I'm pregnant congrats grandpa Asshole" Harper shot at her father. Maverick tried to hug his daughter to calm her down. She was shaking as sobs and anger wracked her body "Don't fucking touch me!" She shrieked trying to escape his embrace. "This is all your fault!" Harper screamed punching her father's chest. "You promised me he would be okay! You promised you would bring him back. I thought I could never be as mad as they day I found out you pulled his papers, but I was wrong. Hell I might be madder!" Harper raged as she hit her father. "This is all your fault. I hate you Maverick! I hate you! I hate you!"Harper sobbed as she sunk to the floor. Her words becoming unclear as she sobbed heavily.

Maverick didn't know what to do. As he held his daughter he felt like a kid again holding Carole when she found out Goose died. Maverick had spent his whole life trying to make up for that tragic day, but yet here he was holding another Bradshaw woman he carried about telling her that her child's father was gone.

Roosters head was pounding. He gingerly lifted his body from the forest floor. He did a once over of himself and determined nothing was broken but he probably had a concussion. His com was toast his plane was smashed to shit. He flipped open his tracker and sent a signal hoping the navy could find him. He took stock of his surroundings and determined he needed to make a camp. He knew they Navy would have an idea of where he was, so he determined it would be best not to leave the area. He sat down at the base of a tree and pulled his photo of Harper out of his pocket. "I promise I will be home baby" Rooster said talking to it

"Where are the others?" Harper asked her father when she was able to form a coherent sentence." On base.. they..." Harper cut him off "Take me to them... now." It wasn't a question. The father and daughter drove to base in silence. When they arrived Phoenix was the first person they saw "Were you his wingman?" Harper demanded of the woman. "No, no we were back on the carrier." Phoenix told her caught off guard by the tone of Harper's voice. "Who was?" Harper demanded. "H...h... hangman..." Phoenix stammered out. "Where is he?" Harper asked darkly. "Breifing room... but Si" Phoenix didn't get to finish before Harper pushed past her fuming. Phoenix ran after her calling her name, but Harper was a woman on a mission.

"SERESIN YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Harper screamed entering the briefing room. Before he or anyone else could respond, Harper slapped him across the face... hard. When she pulled back the angry red print of her had was there on his stupid perfect Ken doll cheek. "Si, what the fuck" Jake said stunned. "How could you. How could you leave him" She screamed at Hangman. "I didn't leave him. He... he" Jake stammered not knowing how to speak to the raging woman infront of him. "Yes you did! You were his wingman! He trusted you! I trusted you! But I guess old habits die hard don't they HANGMAN" Harper screamed in his face. "Listen Siren I get it, we are all upset about Rooster being missing but you need to calm the fuck down!" Hangman shouted back at her still holding his cheek.

"Don't you dare tell me to fucking calm down asshole. You have no right. Got I could fucking kill you right now. I hate you so much Jake Seresin because YOU are the reason my child is going to have to grow up without a father you son of a bitch!" Harper screamed pointing her finger in Hangman's face as she breathed heavily. The entire room went silent. Jake stood there looking at Harper with a blank expression and his eyes wide. "You're... you're pregnant?" He whispered. Afraid if he spoke any louder he might shatter. "Does... does Rooster know?" He asked.

Harper couldn't do it anymore. She collapsed to the floor sobbing. Hangman caught her before she hit the ground. "No... no he doesn't know. I found out the day you left." She choked out between sobs. Hearing that, Hangman, the cocky, egotistical, full of himself pilot lost it too. He pulled Harper closer to his chest and sobbed with her.

The rest of the squad looked at each other unaware of what to do. Bob was the first to leave his spot and join Hangman and Harper with tears in his eyes. Phoenix and Fanboy followed, then Payback and Coyote. One by one the members of the Dagger Squad joined in on the group hug in the floor.

They were supposed to be the best of the best. The top 1%. The strongest. They didn't show weakness. But there in the floor of that navy briefing room, none of them had ever felt more powerless.

Hangman collected himself and looked at the woman again his chest. Harper was still sobbing. She was holding her stomach with one hand and her tags will Roosters wedding ring in the other. He knew that everything Harper had said was true. He was the reason Rooster was missing Rooster had saved him because he felt like he owed him his life. Jake pulled himself together and made Harper, Maverick, Goose, Carole, and Baby Bradshaw a silence promise that no matter what, he would bring Rooster home.

Babes. Im sorry

Tag List: @marvelsvalhalla @shanimallina87 @tallrock35 @aless-megs

[book-of-baba-fett]

Illicit Affairs - Chapter 15

Captain Rex x OC (Talia Riva)

Previous Chapter

Chapter Summary:  After the bombing, Rex desperately searches for Talia, hanging on to the hope she survived.

Rating: M

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, child in threatening situation, graphic descriptions of injury (blood and burns),

AN: @galacticgraffiti; thank you for always being a wonderful beta reader and supplying the mando'a translations! Also let me know if you need therapy coverage for this chapter.

Ao3 Link:

Series Masterlist

Mando’a Key:  Tion gar gana jaro: Do you have a death wish? Osik: Shit Kyor'la haran: Rotten hell

19 BBY  - Turia – Settlement

Ice-cold, paralyzing fear locked Rex in place as the building in front of him lit up and shook from the explosion, its roof and stone walls falling inward. He burst forward, only to be rocked back when another landing bomb shook the earth around him. His back slammed into the ground, a high-pitched ringing in his ears, but he pushed himself up; he had to get to that building, he had to get to Talia. The Separatist bombers swung back around for another strike, their thrusters roaring over the air and the shouts of his brothers behind him. Rex staggered steps forward but was held back again, strong arms pulling him away from the burning building. Rex tried to fight against the grip but was dragged back into the cover of a crater by the previous run of bombers.

“Tion gar gana jaro!?” Cody yelled at Rex , shoving him back down when he tried to bolt again. It took everything in Rex to not hit Cody in that moment; didn’t he see what had happened? Every moment he wasted was a moment Talia lost if she had survived the explosion…no not if; Rex couldn’t fathom a scenario where she didn’t make it. He had to get in there. He had to find her. Cody was yelling into his comm ordering for air support to take care of the bombers. Talia hadn’t gotten that far into the building, she was right there. If he ran fast enough, he could pull her and the child out before it was too late.

Another bomb struck the ground near the building, its walls shaking and rumbling when they crushed down. This time as he tried to sprint forward, screaming Talia’s name, it was not Cody’s hands who held him back. He felt a pull over his body, unable to move no matter how hard he struggled, only turning his head back to see the remorseful face of Anakin a few yards behind him, his hand raised up as he used the Force to hold Rex back from running into the rubble.

By the time the clone fighters had taken care of the bombers, the settlement was reduced to rubble, craters littering the ground. One good stroke of fortune was that most of the inhabitants had already been evacuated, meaning many were unharmed. But they had lost the homes they had carved for themselves, something meant to be their own safety. The clones didn’t suffer too heavy of losses, the wounded being rounded up for medical care. They were scrounging the smoking rubble, Turia’s rain aiding in putting out the fires to see what survivors they could find. There was still no sign of Talia or Runo.

That gnawing feeling burned through Rex as he dug through the rubble of the building, his armor coated with mud, his vision fogged in his vizor. Only the back wall of the building still stood, the rest had fallen inward. Bursting pipes were spraying water, dancing in the air with the rain, leftover pieces of clothing scorched and tangled with the debris of what was once a home. There was no sign of life, but Rex couldn’t stop searching; he didn’t care that Anakin and Cody had tried to get him away, reminding him that rescue squads were doing all they could. He didn’t care that they had to move on with the march to the capital, all he cared about was even the simplest chance that Talia was still alive. But every bit of rubble pulled away showed no sign of her, and the pit in his gut grew the longer he searched. His eyes were stinging, a weight rested on his chest constricting his breath as his heart pounded heavily. The ringing from the bombs still sounded in his ears, a constant soundtrack as he continued to move rock after rock from where the building once stood. She’s fine, she’s Talia, she always makes it through. She has to.

A meek voice, high in pitch squealed through the silence and the hairs rose on the back of Rex’s neck as he tried to pinpoint the sound. The voice called out again, its words incomprehensible as Rex stepped over the rubble, careful not to shift anything too much, as he followed the small sound. Under a pile of rubble, a little turquoise hand was pushing its way through a crack, the voice speaking again, pleading, and calling out. Rex crouched down, trying to peer in the hole as his heart raced.

“Get these rocks out of the way!” Rex barked at a few troops who dug through debris nearby, reaching for larger pieces of rubble that had settled in the strange formation, almost like a dome. He hurried to pull the rubble away, only for his arm to be grabbed by the little hand and tugged on.

“It’s ok little guy, we’ll get you out of there,” Rex offered, his voice cracking as he tried to reassure the child, but Runo still babbled on, tugging his arm. Rex held his hand through the rubble, and started to pull away pieces in the way with his other hand. A soon as the gap widened, Runo tried to push himself out, gasping and crying as Rex pulled him through. The child was covered in grey dust, but seemed miraculously unharmed as he emerged. Runo coughed as Rex brushed some of the dirt off his clothes, trying to check for any obvious injuries but still the child tugged on his arm, now pointing frantically at the rubble pile, which was now starting to cave in piece by piece. Drenched in a new ice-cold wave of understanding, Rex handed Runo off to another trooper and clamored back to the pile, digging through the rocks frantically so they wouldn’t collapse. He pulled rock after rock, until a larger gap formed, and he caught a glimpse of a dirt coated, shaking hand outstretched against the rocks.

“Get a medic over here now!” Rex ordered, rushing to catch debris before it fell; Talia must have been using the Force to keep the rubble from crushing Runo, but now as it caved in it seemed her strength was failing. Rex tore through the rocks, freeing as much space as he could, until enough light was able to crack through to reveal Talia’s limp form. A choked sob caught in Rex’s throat, but he swallowed it down as he fought to clear more out. Footsteps sounded around him as more hands joined to free the rubble around Talia. Rex’s heart seemed to stop as more was cleared away; Talia’s face was as covered in the grey dirt as Runo’s was, her lips parted as rattled breaths filtered through. What he could see of her skin was wan, drenched from the rain that had filtered through the rocks and soaked through her robes. From the waist down, the left side of her body was singed, with red flesh peeking through the parts of her clothing that had been burned away from the explosion. Her right arm was under a large fragment of the building's stone walls, bent at an awkward angle and preventing her from moving it. Her eyes were closed, streaks of tears running through the dirt coating her face.

Rex shouted over his shoulder once more, calling for Kix or any medic nearby as the men around him worked to free Talia from the rocks entombing her. His voice was hoarse and ragged as a hand slipped into his; her skin was ice cold and clammy even through the barrier of Rex’s glove. He snapped his gaze down to Talia’s face, her eyes slightly open as they tried to search for him.

“I’m right here,” Rex croaked out, squeezing her hand back. “You’re going to be ok. I’ve got you, you’ll be fine. You have to be.”

The GAR Aid Station had been set up near the 412th’s encampment near the entry to the valley, an easy access point for dropships taking wounded troops who couldn’t be treated in the midst of battle. Once enough rubble had been cleared, and Kix had deemed it safe, Talia was transported to the station via a dropship. Without thinking Rex jumped on with Kix and the other medics, Cody at his heel. Talia was hooked up to a breath mask, fading in and out of consciousness as the dropship jostled them through the air. Cody was communicating with the Generals as they arrived at the station, Rex could feel his brother’s eyes on him as he crouched next to Talia on the gurney, still holding her hand in his even as she wasn’t able to clench it back.

The aid station was an organized chaos – the men of the 212th who had been sent to disable the anti-spacecraft guns had already transported casualties for care; a large part of the field set up for triage greeted the dropship as it landed. As soon as they touched the ground, Kix led the gurney off to one of the shelters, shouting orders to the medics with him as Rex and Cody followed.  

It was like a foreign language to Rex’s ear, Kix talking with the surgeon stationed at the station, working with the other medics and the nurses who worked for the GAR. They crowded around Talia’s body, leaving only a slither of her table at her head open for Rex to stand by, his blood running cold as the dirt and grime was rinsed off her face to reveal just how wan her usually rosy cheeks were, a near lifeless dullness settling over her body, contrasting with the burned skin and blood that stained her robes. Her eyes were open again now, but drooping as they darted around the room, the sparkle usually held there dimmed. Rex was aware of someone telling him he needed to get out of the way, but it was like cotton was stuffed in his ears. The beeping of the medical equipment, the shuffling of the staff, all of it was background. They threw out terms, talking about the severity of the burns, some potential head trauma, fractured bones, risk of hypothermia. How could Talia be hypothermic when half her body was burned?

Talia cried out in pain, breaking Rex from his stupor as the once blurred sounds crashed around him like walls caving in. A nurse had started to peel off the remnants of Talia’s scorched pants away from part of her burned leg, eliciting fresh tears and sobs from a more awakened Talia as it irritated the skin.

“Don’t you numb it first?” Rex barked out, but the nurse didn’t flinch. It almost made Rex more irritated; he was mad, mad at how this had happened to Talia. He needed to scream, because in what universe would this have happened? 

“She’s been given a stim,” Kix informed him tensely, directing Rex’s attention away from the busy nurse. His jaw was set as he tentatively as he dressed a puncture wound on her side.  “It will take a little to kick in and we can’t waste time.”

Talia whimpered under the breath mask and Rex’s temper still flared. Before he could demand more, Kix ordered for help to hold Talia down, reaching for the broken arm and Rex had a moment to press his hands on each side of Talia’s head before Kix pulled. The gut turning crack was met by a throaty, raw scream from Talia’s throat as Kix reset the bone.

“You’re hurting her,” Rex gritted, glaring at Kix, who still didn’t lift his gaze to meet Rex’s. Kix was already bracing the arm in a thick gauze, wrapping it tightly. Talia had fallen limp again in Rex’s hands, her breathing heavy through the breath mask.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have enough to knock her out for this,” Kix answered matter of factly, the slightly perceptible crack in his voice the only hint that his apology was honest. “It’s only going to get worse, maybe you should step out, Captain, I’m just doing my job-“

“Well maybe you’re not doing it well enough!” Rex shouted, unable to hold back his rage. Kix did not stop what he was doing, still wrapping Talia’s arm but now his teeth gritted, his jaw working.

“Rex, get out of here,” Kix ordered, the tone he reserved for the few moments he had ever had to pull rank. Rex let go of Talia’s head, and pushed up from the table, seeing red as he stepped to Kix. A hand pressing on his chest held him back, and for a moment Rex was ready to swing before he was met with Cody’s stern yet understanding eyes.

“He’s right, you can’t be in here, vod,” Cody said with no room for argument. Rex worked his jaw, glaring at his brother when Talia let out a meek whimper again. Rex’s resolve faltered, his eyes darting back down to her, to Kix who now looked up at him with an apologetic but steady face, and once more to Cody, whose expression softened. “I’ll stay with her, go outside.”

Cody’s eyes said all words could not, they were filled with sternness, understanding, accusation, and comfort all at once. Rex gulped, and nodded, slowly backing away from the table. Cody watched as Rex walked out of the room, taking Rex’s former spot at the head of the table Talia was splayed on, glancing down and murmuring softly. 

Rex slumped to the ground on the wall outside the room and stared at the sky. In some cruel, mocking joke of fate, the sky was clearing up, gleams of sunlight peeking through the clouds. Rex was suffocating, even the crisp air of the suddenly clear sky unable to breach his heavy lungs. He hated feeling helpless, he was always in charge, always able to do something. And now the woman he loved lay on a table, hurt and barely hanging on and Rex had to sit outside and wait. 

His hand lifted to his collar, where Talia’s necklace rested. His fingers ran over the raised bumps on the metal pendant, counting each indentation as he breathed in and out. In times of grief or strife, some people prayed, looking for a higher power to give to the answer. Rex didn’t necessarily believe in some Maker, some all-knowing creator of the universe. There was the Force, but for all his time with the Jedi, Rex still understood so little about it, just the words he would catch in passing spoken in riddles that didn’t seem to make sense to him. Maybe it was because it was so natural to them, their connection to it. Talia had even tried to encourage him to meditate to calm his mind, but he couldn’t find any mystical energy field or source connecting them like she would talk about. And at this moment, he hated it even more. Because he needed whatever there was out there, because if there was even the smallest chance that some external Force could be on Talia’s side, to get her through this, she needed it. Rex needed it.

The voices from the room were muffled by the durasteel walls, Rex tried to pick out anything he could, but it was a strain to understand. Their voices were hurried, occasionally a louder yell or barked order coming through; Talia had not made any more sounds and Rex could only hope that meant her sedation had kicked in. He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the prickling feeling in his eyes. He stared over the field with the aid station, temporary shelters for tending to the wounded were set up around him, each of them occupied with another life in danger, brothers being carried on gurneys, some who wouldn’t make it. What was all this for?

A low buzzing sound sounded to his left, followed by a series of low beeps. When Rex turned, he found the small form of D3 floating in the air; how could a droid seem sad? Behind the droid stood the black and gold painted form of Captain Storm. Storm’s steps slowed as he pulled his helmet off; he glanced at the door just beyond Rex and then back at his fellow Captain. Storm’s face was unreadable, apart from the slightest glimmer of pain in his eyes. Storm approached Rex and sat next to him on the ground, while D3 floated around to land on Rex’s opposite shoulder. Storm didn’t say a word, but he rested his hand on his brother’s back, nodding at him and joining Rex’s silent watch.

The sky was hueing orange by the time the door had opened, another day passed. The door to the trauma room opened and Rex pushed himself up, Storm rising just after, to see Cody and Kix standing at the entrance, the latter still wiping blood off his forearm with a towel. His face was lined with exhaustion as he lifted his gaze to meet Rex. Rex’s heart thudded as he approached, a lump in his throat.

“We’ve done all we can with what we have,” Kix started, his tone straightforward. “She’s going to be transported back to the fleet so she can recover in a bacta tank. She’s still in rough shape, but she’ll make it.”

Rex let out a deep breath, a weight releasing off his shoulders as relief washed over him.

“You can go see her, before they take her away,” Cody added, his voice level. His face was masked, not giving any glimpse to his thoughts. “Then we need to get back to the front.”

Rex nodded, for the first time in his life unable to look Cody in the eye. He stepped toward the door, but paused and glanced back at Kix. “I’m sorry, for what I said-“

“It’s ok, Captain,” Kix waved him off. Rex tried to insist again but Kix just rested a hand on his shoulder. Kix, who had seen death on a daily basis in more intimacy than most troopers had developed a thick skin for these things, but Rex could tell he was more worn today.  “I know you didn’t mean it.”

Still feeling guilty, Rex nodded his thanks and continued into the room. The same nurse Rex had yelled at before was tidying up, and had walked out another door before Rex could offer her an apology. Talia was on the table, sleeping through the last of her medication. They had cleaned her up, no more dirt was coating her skin and some of her color had returned. Her arm was wrapped tightly, and her burns covered in dressings. She looked eerily at peace as Rex approached. He leaned over her, his hand caressing her cheek; her skin was still cool to the touch, but not in the frightening way it had been earlier. Her eyes fluttered at his touch, slowly opening and that was when Rex couldn’t hold back the tears he had been fighting off. He tried to swallow it down, but the relief of seeing her looking back at him, and seeing the light behind her eyes again was too much.

He curled over her, his forehead pressing to hers, his breath heavy as he sputtered out, “I thought I lost you.”

Talia’s left hand pressed tenderly against his cheek, holding him as he shook, his tears running over her palm. Her voice cracked out, but Rex couldn’t hear her, and not wanting her to strain herself he pressed his lips to hers. He held himself against her, feeling her breath against his skin, the softness of her hand against his cheek. He would let her go in a minute, let her have the time to heal as she needed, but for now he would grant himself a few more moments assuring himself that she was there, and that she was ok.

Just as Talia originally predicted, the capital fell in three days. Shortly after Rex left Talia at the aid station, he and Cody returned to the main offense. It was a resounding defeat of the Separatist forces, one of the best victories they’d had in a while.  The Republic forces were preparing to withdraw, a garrison of men staying back as extra defense for the planet. Kenobi and Skywalker were updating the Council, leaving Rex and Cody to spend their time in the latter’s quarters. It was a usual custom for them when they had missions together, once all was said and done they would unwind from the stresses over a strong Corellian whiskey – being a Marshall Commander meant Cody had some ease in ignoring contraband rules. Sometimes they recapped events of battle, maybe taking the opportunity to rant about their Generals’ individual eccentricities. Others it was a time to mourn, sharing fond memories of brothers who had fallen. Today, they were silent.

Cody sat at his desk, his glass sitting half-drunk while he read his datapad, going over the final report Rex had filled out. Rex sat in the chair in the corner of the room, swirling the brown liquor in his glass before he poured it back, swallowing it all. Cody’s quarters were a temporary shelter, it would be taken down as soon as Kenobi came back with the word on their next orders, only to be set up on the next planet, the next siege. Cody sighed, closing the datapad and leaning back in his chair. He grabbed his glass again, took a swig and looked at Rex for the first time since he had come to the room.

“So, tell me, how long have you been sleeping with General Riva?” Cody was not one to mince words. His look wasn’t judgmental, but his eyes were scanning Rex’s face in a way that made the Captain know he couldn’t avoid this conversation.

“About a year now,” Rex answered, leaning over to set his empty glass on the table.

“Osik,” Cody sighed, running his hand down his face. He glanced down at his empty glass, then reached for the bottle on the table, pouring another. “Well, I guess after that display the other day I’m just surprised you’ve managed to keep it hidden for that long.”

Rex didn’t have anything to say. He just watched as Cody finished filling his glass and took another sip of the amber liquid. He felt like a cadet all over again, getting scolded for failing a simulation. Because there was no anger in Cody’s face, just resignation and disappointment.

“I don’t need to tell you how many ways this goes against regulations,” Cody spoke again, leaning in his chair and fixing Rex with a look. “Or how what happened the other day can’t happen again.”

“I know I behaved irrationally-“

“Irrationally? Rex: You tried to run into a crumbling building. When the generals tried to get us to move on so we could continue the mission while the search and rescue team worked, you ignored them. You went on the shuttle back with her without approval,” Cody rattled off, exasperation creeping into his tone. “I went with you when General Skywalker suggested it, saying he and General Kenobi could lead the men and we could meet up with them later. And then you yelled at Kix, the only chance she had at being saved-“

“I know, I fucked up. It won’t happen again,” Rex said through gritted teeth, annoyed at how Cody acted as if those very actions weren’t replaying in Rex’s brain constantly the past two days.  

“Good, because it can’t,” Cody stated bluntly. “What if the word gets out that you’re fucking a Jedi-“

“We’re not ‘fucking’,” Rex couldn’t hold back, “I love her.”

“Kyor'la haran,” Cody groaned, leaning forward to put his head in his hands. He pinched the bridge of his nose and continued, “It would be easier if you were just fucking.”

He sighed, and set his once again empty glass back on the desk, “Out of all the women out there… you had to go for a Jedi, huh? Rex, what really can come of this? If you get caught, you could be demoted, lose your command and be a foot soldier on the front line, or worse; you get sent back to Kamino and get decommissioned.”

Cody’s words were no weightless threat; every clone had heard the stories. Of troopers who acted out of the normal expected bounds and were never heard from again. Those who committed treason, like Slick had or even Dogma were arrested, there had to be a face for such known crimes. But for others, those who just disregarded the regs or broke protocol? They were sent back to Kamino to be re-trained, but no one knew what came of them.

“And for the General – what about her? You two get found out and she’s kicked out of the Order; you know from what happened with Ahsoka that there isn’t a happy ending to this.”

“Cody, both Talia and I know this isn’t easy,” Rex exhaled. His voice was low and gritted with exasperated exhaustion. “But…we care for each other. We want a life outside of this.”

“Rex, you and I know there’s no life outside of this, not for you or any of our brothers,” Cody stated. “Not for a long time anyway. We’re sworn to the Republic, that is what we were made for.”

“Come on, Cody. You have to believe there’s more for us than just this,” Rex’s voice rose. The Cody he saw across the table reminded Rex of a version of himself he once knew, sitting in that very position at the Lawquane’s table. “You can’t tell me that you’ve never thought about a life outside the army for yourself.”

“’Course I have, but that just isn’t an option,” Cody glanced to the side, his jaw working, then he exhaled, “One day, I hope so. But right now, we’re soldiers. And we have a duty. Not just to the Republic, but to our brothers. Would you abandon them just for a woman?”

Rex scowled, frustrated that Cody would even go there; even hinting that Rex would just desert his brothers was a low blow. “Well, even if I'm still in the army, Talia could leave the Order. Then there would be less of an issue.”

“You think she would do that?” Cody asked, raising a brow. “I don’t mean to talk ill of her, in fact, I think she’s a great woman and in any other situation I would want this to work, but do you really think she would leave the Order just so you could be together?

         “Yes, she would,” Rex said firmly, but he wasn’t so sure of his own words. Talia had never expressed that in her wishes, nor voiced it to him as something she had thought of. And that little voice in the back of his head, reminded Rex that Talia had yet to say she loved him too. He didn’t doubt her feelings, but it did weigh on him as he couldn’t help but wonder if they were still on the same page.

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Cody responded, but his tone and the way he scrunched his face showed his doubt. “But this can’t go on anymore.”

“I won’t react like this again, I’ll be more in control of my emotions,” Rex replied defeatedly.

“No, you won’t. Because you need to end it.”

Rex’s head snapped to Cody, anger flaring in his chest. “It’s not that simple.”

“It needs to be,” Cody fixed Rex with a stern look, speaking in the voice he usually had when giving orders; there was a flash of pity in his eyes as he frowned, but he shook his head, took a breath and continued. “I can’t help you when this eventually falls apart, and I can promise it will. Out of respect for you, our friendship, and everything we’ve been through I won’t report this, but think about if this had been a different Commander… As much as you care for each other, something will happen again. And at some point, your emotions will be caught by someone who will have no issue separating you two.”

Rex clenched his jaw, his eyes locked on Cody’s. His gut twisted at his brother’s words; was he right? Back after the island, Rex remembered that doubt he had, about him and Talia’s positions, and how they at first held him back until he said to hell with it and gave into the desire to be with her. Cody was just bringing back all those old fears, and Rex couldn’t ignore the truth behind them.

“I’m sorry, vod,” Cody broke into Rex’s thoughts. His expression was sincere, his face creased as he met his brother’s eyes. “I wish…that there could be something else but-“

A knock sounded on the door and Cody mumbled a curse under his breath. He yelled for the interrupter to come in, a shiny Rex didn’t recognize; there were more and more of them these days. As the trooper informed Cody that they were cleared to move out, Rex sat on Cody’s words, irritation still brewing in his gut as they seeped in. What Cody had said wasn’t new, they were the exact worries that had been in the back of Rex’s mind his entire relationship with Talia; they just carried a deeper threat and meaning when spoken by his most trusted friend.

Talia hated bacta tanks. Having to soak in one overnight always left a strange, medical smell, her hair always a bit greasy and she even felt like her limbs moved weirdly after being in the gelatinous liquid. Still, they worked wonders medically; her burns were healed, apart from some still faintly pink skin running down her leg. She wore a sling around her arm, just so she wouldn’t be tempted to try and overexert herself but she bore no other physical hints as to her injuries. That didn’t help how claustrophobic she suddenly was, unable to be in a too crowded elevator without gasping for air as images of the debris falling on her flashed in her mind.

Talia had been on the venator for the rotation after she came out of the tank, but had communicated with Lileyna on Turia’s surface; the settlement was obviously upset over the loss of their homes and much of what little belongings they possessed. But Lileyna assured her that they would recover; they had experienced adversity before and would be able to resettle. Talia was also relieved to the point of tears that Runo was physically unharmed, apart from a few scratches. She hoped the boy was young enough that this wouldn’t have any lasting mental harm on him, but also knew that he had a strong support system around him to guide him through anything he needed.

Talia took her third shower of the day; it might be a bit wasteful but she couldn’t stand the scent of disinfectant on her skin, and she didn’t have much else to do while the rest of the Forces were in battle. It was agonizing, being sidelined when she was so close to the action; but she knew if she even tried to disobey the medical orders she would be immediately turned back by the combined forces of Rex, Storm, and even Master Kenobi. Now, she just had a lot of time to wait before Anakin and Obi-Wan returned to the venator, when they would no doubt fill her in on their successes. She was ready to leave at a moment's notice, she was probably being sent to some other world in need right after this. One more planet in the seemingly endless path of war.

Three quick knocks rapped on her door and Talia’s spirits lifted immediately; she knew only one person who knocked on her door like that. She quickly made for the door, pushing the release button for it to slide open and she couldn’t hold down back the beaming grin she released at the sight of Rex. He looked exhausted, but she had never been more grateful to see him. She slammed the release button again shutting him into her quarters and flung her good arm around his neck, clinging to him as she sought his warmth, that caring strong presence that had been absent in her recovery but was the one thing she longed for the most.

Instead she was greeted with apprehension, anxiety, guilt, and a cold wall; emotions she had never felt from Rex. She pulled back and looked into his amber eyes; they were staring back at her, roving over her face as if he were committing it to memory. Talia brushed it off as some response to him still coping with her injuries, and pressed on her tiptoes, kissing him as a way to show she was ok. Rex’s hand landed on her hip, his gloved fingers clenching the fabric of her robes and holding tight, as if she were about to disappear in front of him.

“I didn’t think I would kiss you again,” Rex murmured as they separated, his hand toying with the fabric on her robes before releasing them.

“You should have known it would have taken a bit more than a little bomb to keep me down,” Talia mocked but immediately regretted the humor at the glint of pain in Rex’s eyes. Choked sobs rang in her ears, raised voices and a hand clasping tightly around hers came flooding back to her. Talia shook her head out and stepped back, tossing Rex a reassuring smile as she returned to the bed. She had a small bag there, just a few things she kept together on missions, the things she could have ready to go when called on a moment's notice when duty called elsewhere. It was a good distraction for her as she didn’t want to talk about what had happened; when she was in the bacta tank all she had done was relive the fragmented memories of the accident and the treatment. She didn’t need to do it again, not even with Rex.

“Cody knows,” Rex broke through the silence of the quarters and Talia dropped her datapad on the cot. She picked it up and turned to face him, his face a mask to any guess she might have on his feelings. “About us.”

Talia sighed and turned back to the bed, slipping the datapad in the bag. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Cody’s a smart man, he was bound to figure it out sometime.”

When she faced Rex again, Talia found him frowning at her, his forehead crinkled as he shook his head out. “He was bound to figure it out? Talia, do you realize how serious this is?”

It was Talia’s turn to frown now, anxiety creeping into her gut.  “He didn’t report us, did he?”

“No but…” Rex started, only to pause and glance at his helmet in his hands. “It’s only a matter of time before someone does.”

“What are you saying?” Talia asked slowly, her brows cinched as she tried to meet Rex’s eyes. 

Rex glanced down, his thumb brushing over a scorch mark on his helmet, buffing it out. The rust colored stain only smeared as Rex sighed out a long breath, as if expelling all the air from his lungs before he finally raised his head to meet Talia’s gaze.

“I’m saying we need to end it.”

Talia stared at Rex, her mouth falling open in disbelief as she didn’t recognize the man in front of her, the words coming out of his mouth practically a foreign tongue. Rex stood his ground, the perfect soldier in his armor, his face set straight as he looked back at her. Talia huffed out half a laugh.

“This is a joke, right?” she asked humorlessly, her lungs seized, trapped under the rocks again.

“I’m sorry, but it’s better for both of us-“

“Better for both of us?” Talia’s voice was turning shrill now, a sound she hated in her own ears, but it was uncontrollable. “Tell me, since obviously I’m too naïve to understand; how is this better for us?”

“I’m not saying -,” Rex took a step towards her but stopped, his jaw working as he looked for the words. “There’s just too many risks.”

“And you’re just now thinking of that?” Talia asked in disbelief. “After months, now you’re concerned about the risks?”

“I was at the beginning as well!” Rex fired back, his tone raising for a second before he reigned it back in. “I thought about everything that could go wrong, and I chose to ignore it just so I could have some time with you, but now-“

“Well, I really wish you would have thought that through before we got this far,” Talia scoffed, crossing her arms, and stepping towards him. “Now after you fucked me enough you had your fun; I get it.”

Rex’s eyes flashed and he grimaced as she approached but he stood his ground.

“That’s not fair, you know it’s not like that,” Rex said through a tight jaw. He glanced down at his helmet then back up at Talia, his eyes rounded as he sighed. “I meant it when I said I love you.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it!” Talia exclaimed, turning away so he couldn’t see the tears brimming in her eyes. She was torn between wanting Rex to stay as far away from her as physically possible and wanting him to wrap his arms around her and hold her against his chest. “It���s funny; you’re the bravest man I know, I never thought you would be such a damn coward.”

Rex didn’t answer, and that just made Talia’s temper flare more. Was he really tearing her world apart without even feeling it on his end? Like everything they had could be so easily discarded? At the first sign of trouble, he was just…done? No, she couldn’t believe it.

“The other day you told me you wanted a future with me,” Talia said under breath. She turned her head back to face Rex; he wasn’t looking at her, but instead seemed focused on the void of space out the viewport, his jaw so tight Talia thought it might crack. “A future for us. Was that all a lie?”

“Not a lie, but a dream,” Rex exhaled. He glanced back at Talia, sighed and stepped to the desk, placing his helmet on it and sinking into the chair next to it. He rested his elbows on his knee, clasping his knuckles in front of him. Talia was ready to fire back another witty remark, when Rex spoke again,  “What we want, we can’t have. I’m sworn to the Republic…I can’t have a family as long as I’m serving. And even then... is that really what you want?”

“Rex, I told you I saw that future with you!” Talia answered, frustrated at his self-imposed nobility; a trait she normally admired and had even drawn her to him in the first place. But now he was being so damn stubborn, convinced he was doing the right thing. She approached him where he sat, lowering to her knees and grabbing his hands in hers. “I want that with you, no one else.”

“So you would leave the Order then?” Rex’s words slammed into Talia. She gaped at him, frozen into space as she processed the question. Because in everything; she had never thought of a world where she would leave the Order.

“Rex…” Talia started, her voice suddenly small and unsure, the fire from her earlier retorts gone. “It’s the only life I’ve ever known.”

Rex nodded, understanding in his eyes, but his voice grim as he asked, “So you wouldn’t leave then?”

“I-I don’t know!” Talia pushed herself up. “You can’t just ask me to give up something I don’t know how to live without.”

“But you would ask that of me,” Rex retorted, pointing at her as Talia scoffed and turned away. “The other night you asked if I thought about deserting.”

“I wasn’t telling you to desert!” Talia rolled her eyes, she could feel the frustration radiating off of Rex, only adding to her own ire once more. “I just don’t think it’s fair for you to expect me to be the one to give up everything.”

“Do you know what happens to clone deserters? I would have to be on the run, never able to stay in one place for long because if I was found by the Republic I would be executed.” Rex paused, rubbing his hand over the back of his head. “I’m not expecting you to give up anything, I just- This is what I mean! Where can we go from here? We’re both tied to sets of rules that don’t bend.”

“But is this life really what you want Rex? Serving the Republic, fighting in their wars for the rest of your life?” Talia asked.She worked her jaw, closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to ignore the tension in her head as she tried to fight for what Rex seemed to have given up on.  “Because there will always be another fight. Once this war ends, yes, we might have a few years of peace; but that’s only until the next conflict. Will the Grand Army of the Republic be sent to deal with pirates in the Outer Rim?  Or security as politicians debate trade treaties? You would be happy with a life like that?”

“I have a duty to the Republic, a duty to my brothers. And I can’t just walk away from that.” Rex stated simply and firmly. Always the perfect soldier, at this moment almost to a fault.

“Is that what you really believe or what you were bred to?” As soon as the words left Talia’s mouth, she froze in the spot she was madly pacing in, she turned to Rex, his face a statue of disbelief.

Only the soft hum of the ship's life support systems sounded above them. Rex’s eyes didn’t leave Talia’s; a muted shock and pain etched in them before he closed his face off. He grabbed his helmet off the desk, and rose from the chair.

“Rex wait, I’m so-“ Talia couldn’t finish the words before Rex slid the door shut behind him. She stood locked in place, staring at the cool grey durasteel in front of her, her own cruel words echoing in her head. The tears she had been stopping from breaking free began to stream down her cheeks, and Talia slowly crouched to the ground, allowing them to wash over her.

Talia’s body ached.

Not from any lingering side effects of her injuries, but from the sobs that had racked her body for about an hour straight. She pulled herself together to meet with Anakin and Obi-Wan when they arrived on the ship; if they thought she was out of sorts they didn’t say anything. Her downcast mood could easily be attributed to her recovery. As expected, she was being sent off again, somewhere else in this war that she couldn’t find the reason for fighting at this moment.

She stood in the hangar, off to the side of the shuttle that would take her to the rest of the 412th. It was ready to depart minutes ago, but she lingered outside fumbling with her datapad and pretending to read a report, anything to buy time; he had never failed to see her off before. Rex could never offer a formal goodbye, not without raising suspicion. But he always managed to be in the hangar when she was taking off, giving a nod just before she boarded whatever spacecraft would take her away from him.

But as she scanned the clones in the bustling hangar, there was no sign of the familiar jaig eyes.

“Sir?” A voice called from the ramp behind her. The pilot had stepped out of the cockpit, “We’ve been cleared for takeoff, flight control is pushing me along.”

“Oh sorry, I just..” Talia’s voice fumbled off as she searched for an excuse. She glanced around one last time but no one paid any mind to her shuttle, no familiar warm presence felt in the crowd. Talia gulped and faced the pilot, nodding as she stepped up the runway. “Let’s get out of here.”

--

Next Chapter

A/N:

Cody fans: I'M SORRY BUT WE NEEDED A VOICE OF REASON. Obviously this means Codywan is not canon in the IA universe, but might do a Codywan fluff oneshot as penance.

This is not the end and I don't need mean to leave you all hanging like this, but I am leaving on vacation tomorrow so it might be a couple weeks for an update!

As always, comments, reblogs, and asks would be so SO appreciated!

Taglist: (DM/Comment/Fill out the link in my bio to be added!)

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[venera-787]

Finally decided to show the hl oc of mine that I wanted to make since the last year. Yet this ref is already pretty old... You can ask him questions if ya want ˙ ͜ʟ˙

 Konsantin ------ (Constant, Const), male, 32 year old, 189 cm(6′2 idk), Black Ops, Opposing Force timeline.

 An enduring, calculating, arrogant and uncommunicative man. Personal motives and desires are discarded in the line of duty. Pretty withdrawn. Not married but going to.  A perfect cannon fodder — clearly and unconditionally does the job. Does not expose his actions to morality, pity or anything else Does not stand out from the team. 

 He feels better in a team where there is a commander-in-chief, if there is none, then you should not expect him to want to be in charge.He knows his role as a pawn perfectly well, and strictly fulfills it. But while being in Black Mesa he had to go solo at times.

 Unknown aggressive creatures - that’s what no one warned him about. And he himself couldn’t believe his eyes to the last, preferring not to think about their origin and what those scientists were doing here. Const acts according to the most basic protocol — "if attacked - defend yourself". And does it fine.

 When fighting alone his battle tactics change  — he tries to attack stealthily, hiding in corners and dark places, also resorting to traveling through the ventilation of the complex; tries to avoid direct clashes with groups of Marines, neutralizing them from afar, calculating tactics for a long time during individual skirmishes. Even though he doesn’t belive in aliens he had to watch their behaviour, after they wiped his squad.

Because of that Const alwasy tries to find some leftovers of his people to join the team. That’s all he need to calm down. He fits in the group and takes a fighting position, like a piece of a puzzle. Even if he sees that the team is doomed, he will not retreat without a proper order.

So, what he thinks of Freeman? Not much to be honest. He’s never met him and imagines him as an old crooked man in a fancy suit, whom these idiotic marines can’t kill. They’ve fallen in his eyes even more due to the fact that they couldn’t even kill the powerless scientist properly. He also constantly hears about this “Shephard guy”, who’s also responsible for the Balck Ops team losses. Very well, another “legend” here...

He’ve managed to live up to an urgent order for help in the delivery and installation of a hydrogen bomb. During the launch of the bomb, Konstantin was killed by a marine from the back.

The last thing he could see with bleary eyes was a man in a suit who was busy with the bomb.