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fanfic-obsessed · 9 months

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Merge the Timestream AU.

This came about because the amazing @bitter-chocolate-stars muse for the AU idea Merging the TimeStream flew out and bit me. I would highly recommend reading it first, because it is awesome and I could not do it justice.

Now onto the madness.

It is a mission to a Force Temple, old enough that no one knows which side of the Force it was for (or if it was for a specific side). There were rumors that there was an ancient artifact that could change the tides of the War, so The 212th and the 501st were dispatched to get it before the Separatists.

Five people went into the final chamber to search(There was a description of the artifact in the temple. Only four words had been able to be translated-Past, Present, Future, and Knowledge): Obi Wan Kenobi, Anaking Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex.

It was these five people who were caught by the artifact. Each of these five were split into three. The present version of themselves, a future version, and a past version.

I bet you all can see where this is going.

Obi Wan’s past version is from Melida/Daan, two days before Cerasi died. The future is Old Ben, coming directly from his own beheading on the Death Star.

Anakin’s past is nine year old Anakin, hours before he would meet Qui Gon Jinn and Padme Amidala for the first time. The future is Vader (I hope none of you are surprised), a month after he cut off Luke’s hand, and just after he fully realized that it meant his and Padme’s child had always lived.

Ahsoka’s past is three years old, just Found by Plo Koon. Her future is Rebels Era Ahsoka, aka Fulcrum, before she found out that Vader was Anakin.

Rex’s past was a physically four year old cadet, the only survivor of his batch (who were decommissioned because of their blonde hair mutation-Rex’s scores were so high that he was kept). The future is Old Rex, post Empire (I always headcanon that Rex survives to see the end of the Empire because of spite).

Cody’s past is ARC Trainer Cody, after the war had started but before he was assigned to be Obi Wan’s commander. His future had just deserted the Empire and doesn’t even know about the chips yet.

Frankly it likely would have been better if one or more of those people had arrived unconscious. Alas this was not to be.

Upon arriving, Little Ahsoka immediately started crying to the visible concern of both Cadet Rex and Child Anakin (both were concerned about punishment at the noise). Before anyone could even think to do anything, Vader pointed a dramatic finger at Old Ben and went ‘You’ and followed up with ‘Why didn’t you tell me my son lived?’

Old Ben caulked his head, ‘Even leaving aside I thought I had left you for dead for a decade, Darth, why would I trust you with your children after the march on the temple?’

Now Darth Vader rocked back on his heels, “Children?” and then a moment later “Leia Organa”

Old Ben sighed deeply, ‘Surely we can both agree that the fact you tortured your daughter does prove me right to keep them from you.’

‘I cut off Luke’s hand too’ Vader said absently

Old Ben just buried his face in his hands.

Now all of this was with the background tune of little Ahsoka still crying. Former padawan Obi Wan is the one who reaches her first, and picks her up, smoothly herding Cadet Rex and Child Anakin behind him, away from the adults in the room. Former Padawan Obi Wan is radiating a vicious, desperate protectiveness.

The movement caused Old Ben to look away from Vader at the rest of the room. His brow furrows. He looks back at Vader, “Do you remember this?”

Vader’s black mask turns to take in the rest of the room, his breath rasps somehow louder than the crying Ahsoka. At last he says ‘I do not’.

Post Empire Rex snorts and says, with an unimpressed deadpan ‘It is probably Force Shit’.

It takes another half hour to get any kind of semblance of calm and start to piece together what is going on. In spite of the fact that neither Old Ben, nor Vader want to admit who they are (for different reasons), no one in the room is actually stupid.

There is a moment when Rex is obligated to give Old Ben shit for the fact that he told Luke that Vader killed Anakin Skywalker, to which Ben responds ‘I was just passing on what he’ points at Vader, ‘told me’.

At another moment Fulcrum throws up her hands and shoes at Old Ben ‘I thought you were dead, again. Why didn’t you tell me you survived.’ Old Ben blinks at her, ‘Leaving aside I also thought you were dead, my dear, for the last decade I have had the single highest bounty in the empire’ Old Ben looks to Vader, who nods solemnly after a moment, ‘I would have thought that would be telling.’ Fulcrum actually pouts and mutters, ‘I thought that was a plan by the Rebellion to draw Vader’s attention.’

There is just…so much trauma in this room. Like it is possible that this group has the highest concentration of trauma in the entire galaxy.

Deserter Cody appears to be having multiple concurrent panic attacks, his face swinging between Old Ben and General Obi Wan almost constantly. Between the residual guilt of having his general shot at, the horror of the long held belief that Cody had caused Obi Wan’s death, the combination of relief and horror at the news of the chip in his head, the combination of relief and confusion at Old Ben (who is proof that Obi Wan Kenobi did not die on Utapau), the confusion of being confronted with two other versions of himself all culminates in the fact that Deserter Cody is going through some things.

ARC Trainer Cody is going through less, mainly horror at the chips. He is also very much a shiny as far as his reactions to the Jedi are concerned. He is confused at being transported from Kamino, and does not know if he was transported to the future or they were tanspote to the past. Frankly by all measures ARC trainer Cody is one of the most stable people in the room.

Current Cody is sure that his younger self should not meet any members of Ghost Company on the basis that he would never live it down. He is also facing the horror of the chips, confusion at the triplicatation that is going on. His horror is that much deeper than his younger self because he knows and cares for Obi Wan (Light CodyWan for the win). He is also quite worried for his older self.

Melida/Daan Obi Wan is still not sure if he is willing to let any of the adults in the room near the other children. He is also doing slightly better with the fact that he grows up to be a general then the fact that he went back to the Jedi. He is also very much a child soldier with all the trauma therein.

Old Ben is not sure if this would be his heaven or his hell. On the one hand he could feel in the Force that he was before Order 66, all the lives he had felt snuff out were alive and well. On the other hand, there were three Anakins in the room, at least one of which hated him. Also he thought getting beheaded would get him out of dealing with more Skywalker BS.

General Obi Wan Kenobi is more than a little horrified. His connection to the Unified Force means that he is perceiving echoes of Order 66 through the future counterparts AND the variety of trauma that exists in the younger counterparts simultaneously. In addition, both his younger self and Anakin’s younger self are each triggering unresolved trauma.

Padawan Commander Ahsoka Tano is staring at her older self in awe, when she was not staring at Vader in horror. She has also been herded to one corner of the room by Former Padawan Obi Wan, despite the fact that she is 16 to his 14.

Fulcrum makes the decision that she CANNOT deal with the Vader/Anakin revelation at this point and is blocking it out. Instead she is staring at Old Ben. And glancing at her younger self, wondering how much being Anakin’s padawan had damaged her view of the Order.

Little Ahsoka has calmed, now that she was securely held by a warmer than average Cadet Rex.

Post Empire Rex is so, so done. This was supposed to be retirement. Being dragged back to the clone wars is not retirement. It was nice to see Fulcrum again though.

Cadet Rex is the definition of stress. He is not sure what test is going on, nor who these new trainers were but he would not fail.

Captain Rex is not sure what to do with the proof that he would survive the war. Nor the fate of his general as he stares at the tall black clad being.

Darth Vader, in addition to all the issues he always carries, is looking at his younger self covetously. Had he had a way he would have tried to possess his younger self, who has everything he wants. At the same time he wants to sit this younger version down and tell him exactly how to avoid everything that Vader is (It should be noted that Vader has no idea how to avoid all that Vader is). He is also boiling angry at every version of Obi Wan, though distantly looks at the little angry version and wonders if this was a way to get his brother back. The knowledge of Luke’s survival is drawing him back toward the single selfless thing he has done in decades, but he is still very much a Sith.

Child Anakin is deeply confused and frankly ecstatic that he hasn’t blown up yet. It is very clear they are not on Tatooine and nowhere near Watto. He is also not impressed that he somehow escaped slavery only to become enslaved again (in his perception Vader is also chip controlled and thus enslaved).

General Anakin Skywalker is freaked out by Vader, who is radiating a weird greed at him, and also by the implications of everything the future people have said. He is also heartbroken over Palpatine being evil (even Vader agrees, in his own way, that Palpatine is evil). Everything strikes deep enough that Anakin actually decided he needed a therapist (There is something about the casual way that Vader talks about torturing Anakin and Padme’s children that cements that decision).

It turns out that the Artifact is the entire temple, so removing it is not feasible.

Like in the original idea, I am not sure if the past and future versions find themselves eventually returning to their own times, or if they are stuck in the present. Though there is something that is amusing about the Jedi now having to deal with three of each of these five people, one of which is a Sith. Particularly since Vader both wants to kill them all and wants to protect them all (to prevent Anakin’s Fall).

It does change so many things though.

#star wars the clone wars #star wars #fanfiction prompt #star wars au #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #codywan #anidala #bamf obi wan

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seth-shitposts · 6 months

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Fulcrum Trio HC

Besties who help each other work through their trauma, and their trauma has overlapping areas in some parts.

They share a ship, it's the first home they've had in awhile.

It's not uncommon for them to go on missions together. But when they go on missions and things start getting chaotic, only one of them manages to hold onto a brain cell while the other two become more feral. The one who holds the brain cell changes each time.

Cassian is treated as the baby brother and he says he hates it. He'll never admit how much he actually likes it. It took the longest time for him to admit it to himself.

This one was spoken about in comvo with some friends (hi you're probably reading it rn 💙) [ They have platonic cuddle sessions. They're all very touch starved and it starts out as an accident.

Kallus is an octopus cuddler when he manages to drink too much. At first, Kanan had been the one to get trapped, but he managed to slip away. Unfortunately, that means the nearest person would get trapped. Which was Cassian. He just accepted it. There was no way he was going to be able to wrestle out of this two meter man's arms and he wasn't upset about it. In fact, he was very smug about the fact that he cuddled Kallus before Ahsoka did.

Cassian got his payback on Kallus. Cassian cannot hold his liquor nearly as well as Kal and fell asleep laying across his lap. Kallus was not even tipsy, he refused to move. "No. It's illegal." Cassian rarely gets asleep as it is. He was NOT about to wake him. Ahsoka decided that she had enough and sat herself right next to Kallus, laying her head on his shoulder as she gently brushed through Cassa's hair.

After that, the three of them decided to just incorporate it into their routine. It wasn't uncommon for their friends or partners to find the three of them in a puddle of blankets and pillows together.

(Also, any of their partners just as to accept the fact that they're sharing their partner with the other fulcrum counter parts.)

The three of them are usually the reason why there's a weekly supply run made just for Caf.

They have crafts each of them learned when they were younger and they teach them to each other.

On coruscant, since the stars were never visible, especially so far down in the lower levels, stars were a treasured cultural thing. Star-themed nicknames were some of the highest praise or used to emphasize how cherished one was to another. Star maps and holo projectors were an expensive luxury item. Something that was always passed around the youth were paper stars. Kallus was taught how to make them before he even learned how to read or write. The children of the lower levels often sold or traded them for food or other supplies. Pennies for each one. Kallus had made hundreds of thousands of them. When he began to interact with Ahsoka and Cassian more, he picked it back up and would leave them in random nooks and cranies.

On Kenari, Cassian had learned how to braid threads into accessory pieces. Attachments to clothing for special events, bracelets, necklaces, headbands, sashes, even bags. It's something he does occasionally to keep his hands busy. Eventually, he had completed projects but didn't have anything he could do with them. So he gave them away. Commonly, he made braided bands for K2, Bee, and any droid that took a liking to Kallus. (Which kept him busy because "why are there so many droids that decide 'yes. You.' Do you just pick up every droid you see?"

Ahsoka was very young when she came to Coruscant. Master Plo Koon taught her not just about the Jedi Order and training, but little things too. Something that the two of them often did together started out as a way of training but became a shared hobby for them to do as they talked things over or meditated. Master Plo Koon had taught Ahsoka how to embroid and cross stitch with her mind. It was to have a master over precision and patience. It's a practice that Ahsoka never truly dropped. She greatly struggled with it as a youngling and a padawan, but as she got older, she got better at it.

When Ahsoka started teaching Cassian and Alexsandr, she struggled slightly because it was the first time she was doing it by hand rather than through the force, but she enjoyed learning a new way of the craft.

They'll spend hours debriefing over missions, making strategies, or just talking things out as they teach each other their crafts.

That's all i got atm. Will probably add more later.

#star wars fulcrum #fulcrum agents #fulcrum trio #star wars #ahsoka tano #alexsandr kallus #cassian andor #star wars rebels #swr #star wars andor #rogue one

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rinwritesfics · 8 months

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Intolerable

Plot: Wolffe makes your life quite difficult sometimes.

Warnings: In-universe swears

Word Count: 859

Author’s Note: Wolffe. That's it. That's the note.

Wolffe was nearly intolerable. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you weren’t a medic, but you were.

Some of the troopers were really good patients. But some, like Wolffe, didn’t think they needed to be a patient.

“Why are you fighting me on this Wolffe?! You sprained your ankle!”

“Because I don’t need some kriffing medic wrapping it for me when I’m perfectly capable!”

“This is my job!”

“Well, go do it elsewhere!”

It hurt, but you tried not to show it. You took a measured breath. “I get it, you don’t like me. But General Plo decided I was the best fit for his ‘bros,’ so here I am. You don’t like it? Take it up with him.”

“I think I will.”

You softened your voice a little. “At least let me wrap your ankle before you do.”

He looked ready to snap, then stopped and nodded. His energy while he sat on the table was palpable and exhausting to wok around, but finally, the wrap was done. As soon as you had finished, he darted out as fast as he could without crutches. That man was going to wind right back on that table.

You grumbled and turned to the supply cabinet to put usable supplies away. Most of the time, you really did like him. Heck, you might have gone so far as to say you had a crush on him. But first of all, you were a medic, and second, he acted like… well, like that.

The next day, General Plo approached you and you inwardly groaned. Wolffe had done it. You were in for it. You were getting moved, bye bye 104th.

“General Plo,” you greeted, hoping you didn’t sound as nervous as you felt.

As was per usual for the General, he spoke kindly. “Hello, Y/N. I presume you know what I’m here about?”

You deflated. “When do I need to pack my bag?”

The general laughed heartily. “Pack your bag? No! I’m here to congratulate you! Not many make the Commander nervous like that.”

Now you were wildly confused. “Nervous? I thought I pissed him off. I thought you were here to -”

“To send you off? No. This is even more reason to keep you. Keep up the good work. I’m here so I can say I officially discussed this with you.” You couldn’t quite see the smile on his face, but what you didn’t see you could hear in his voice. He was positively delighted at this turn of events, although you were baffled as to why.

Later, a member of the Pack came to see you. And it wasn’t just any member, it was Wolffe himself. He looked like a child whose hand was caught in the sweets jar with the small slump in his shoulders.

You cleared your throat and turned to face him. “Commander, what can I do for you?”

“I came to apologize.”

Your lips parted and you were certain you had misheard him. “Oh.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re a very capable medic.”

“Well, thanks.” Then it occurred to you and you snorted. “Did the General send you to do this?”

Wolffe’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, he did not.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for making an assumption.”

“You should be.” Then he covered his mouth and swore.

“Alright Wolffe, you wanna do this now, then let’s do this now. What the kriff is your Force-forsaken problem? Are you trying to make me resign? Push all the wrong buttons? Well, congrats. You’ve pushed every. Last. One! Now get out of my medbay.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an ass.”

“Congrats for realizing it. Now leave.”

“I always say the wrong thing around you because you make me nervous!”

You stood up straight, back still turned to him. “What?”

“I get nervous around you. Does that make you feel better now? The Commander of the 104th gets nervous around the medic because he’s too damn worried about the future to tell them that he likes them! So he says stupid osik like the di’kut that he is and pushes them away instead, hoping that he will get past it by keeping the medic at arm’s length and ruining any chance he might have!”

You turned around, thinking he’s pranking you, but his cheeks were darkened, his chest was heaving, and he looked like he was about to kick something out of frustration. Then you stormed over to him, grabbed him by the blacks at the front of his neck, and pulled his face to yours to kiss him. As soon as your lips met, his hands went all over, eventually landing one on your lower back and the other on the back of your head to hold you in place. You both fought for dominance of the kiss before you pulled back.

“You’re right,” you said, breathing heavily. “He does say stupid shit. And if he wants to keep the medic right in his arms, he’d better start saying nice things.”

“You’re incredible,” he said, trying to pull you back in and you giggled.

“Mm, that’s a good start.” You let yourself get wrapped up in the kiss again.

Taglist is open!

#tcw wolffe #the clone wars wolffe #commander wolffe #tcw wolffe x reader #clone x reader bingo #cfb2023

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frostycatblr-fandom-files · 6 months

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Poets and Painters (Evening) Wolffe x Reader [Mature Fic]

Warnings and Information: In desperate need of just one day to take his and his men's mind off the war, Plo Koon orders that everyone make a stop on a relatively uninhabited planet in a peaceful sector of the galaxy to… have a picnic? Just what does he have in mind? A certain flint-gray Commander is finding it hard to believe that they're just on the planet for a day of R&R in the middle of a war, so he isn't letting his guard down. Perhaps someone will help Commander Wolffe find some way to help him relax before the day is over… 2nd person POV. Reader is undescribed save for minor details like personal touches to a uniform, and has a gender-neutral alias. Allusions to canon-typical violence, mention of injury and loss. Commander Wolffe shows Reader he cares so fucking deeply for his battalion in this segment because that’s important to me, thanks. Plo just being a dad to the 104th Battalion in the background. Swearing. Discussion of more adult themes and some lewd jokes (this is not an Explicit fic but it is Mature; Minors please DNI). Takes place on a fictional planet.

Word-count: 6,915

The sun is beginning to set on Little Archossi. Everyone has opted to stay, save for some of the crew. Only, that's untrue; most of the crew has left. Save for you. If the Clones are staying behind, you feel you should too. These are not your brothers, there is no familial bond that drives you to remain by their side and swear to keep them safe.

For Maker's sake, you're not even armed! one of your fellow crewmates says in an attempt to reason with you. That's of no concern thanks to Soapsuds' generosity. (His spare DeeCee now sits tucked into the belt and waistband of your slate gray uniform.)

(There, now I am armed. Will you be leaving now?)

But you couldn't leave. Part of you burned to know what the peoples of Little Archossi would look like, how this potential first contact would go, what it was General Plo Koon had sensed through the Force… An equally large part couldn't leave Commander Wolffe on his own.

But… that's a silly notion. He's surrounded by his brothers, flanked by his diligent sergeants, Sinker and Boost, and he's been readily communicating with his pilots like Warthog as they perform aerial sweeps following their return to the atmosphere of Archossi after dropping off the civilian crew on the Triumphant.

Commander Wolffe is not alone. So why do you feel like your absence would mean he'd suddenly be without company? Why did this equally large, equally loud voice within you tell you to stay for his sake? If he wanted you here, that would be one thing. But he never expressed any such sentiment. And he probably doesn't need you here because now you're one more thing, one more person's safety, to be concerned over.

Why are you offering to stay with Commander Wolffe, Arcadia?

I feel like he needs my…

You couldn't answer your crewmate. So you shrugged them off and told them to get on the LAAT without you. What the hell were you going to answer with? My help? My risk assessment? My friendship?

(… and again that creeping, all-consuming doubt: were you friends?)

Joining you on the hill, Commander Wolffe turns his face into the fading light and watches the final signs of daylight melt away; golden amber and candy-soft pinks are surrendering to the deep, swallowing blues of the sea, and the rich, dignified purples that often cloak royalty.

"No painting in the galaxy would ever do a sunfall like this justice."

"Perhaps not…" Wolffe murmurs. "But many will try." He says it like he pities the wasted efforts. Or perhaps instead he is quietly sorrowful on their behalf, in his own way.

"I think it's a wonderful thing that they will." you muse with a soft smile, deciding not to tease him for getting poetic (though it would be so easy to, after all the instances lobbied your way) but to agree with him instead. "Finding something inspiring and hoping to catch a little slice of that moment in time forever? It's like… a tangible form of courage."

Wolffe turns his face from the fading light, seeking clarity. "Courage?" he asks you tenderly, dark brow buckling just a fraction above the beautiful, cold silver eye. Figuring it's perhaps a measure of facial paralysis due to a severed nerve or two, you take notice that Wolffe's brow which the scar runs through doesn't lift as high as the other.

Old gods and galaxies… it makes your heart clench and your veins burn with fire in anger just for a moment. Such a mark dealt by the blade of one who shrouds herself in the dogma of the Sith has only added to the overarching tragedy of Wolffe's war service. His brothers, his eye, his paint. How much more would this galaxy rob him of?

His bravery? The willingness to rise from the dust, bare his teeth and say “again”? Would it take his courage, too?

(Courage… how terrible a thing to lose.)

Swallowing your swirling thoughts at long last, you think you should answer the Commander's question. "It takes courage to try…" you offer simply, "...creating art is the marriage of an act of courage and emotion. A little snapshot of the soul, some people might say. Like, for example, when I started sketching you today: it was a test of my courage…"

You explain that while today seems to show evidence to the contrary, it's been a while since making use of more traditional supplies, and you think of your skills as being a bit rough around the edges.

"I also think I can admit now that when you sat down in front of the tree… it kinda pissed me off. Just for a moment." Your nervous laugh breaks any mounting silence that would have built between you as the Commander considers your admission. "I-I, uh, wasn't planning on drawing anyone at all! But you'd finally sat down… and I didn't have the heart in me to ask you to move. Not when you were finally off your feet, and looking a little more… calmer than before when you were pacing. So I made a decision to add you to the sketch. And… you know the rest."

Indeed he did.

The shoulder pad with the icon of the wolf. The request to watch you add the color and ink to the page. How you'd gotten to know each other degree by degree as he spoke of Abregado, of his brothers, showed you he was more than you expected. The buried and measured sensitivity within him. The maroon and the gray paint. His observations that served as compliments of sorts.

You're perhaps too wise beyond your years, Arcadia.

Sketching… stitching little wolf designs into your uniform… How many other talents are you hiding?

Once, a half-joking statement about being able to tame a battle-beaten wolf was offered. ("I'm sure my brothers will start wishing you were around more, if we ever had more opportunities to "do nothing", Arcadia.") You had been watching Warthog assisting with preparing multiple gunships other than his own for takeoff, then. You had made up your mind to stay behind, but you hadn't yet told Wolffe.

Maybe one day… you'd agreed with a wistful smile, one day, when the war is over. We'll have plenty more days like this.

Part of you hoped it would be with him. When he would be free of his inner anxieties, when he was certain his brothers, all of them, were safe… would always be safe… maybe then, you could spend more days with him creating rather than destroying.

"I apologize for pissing you off," Wolffe offers, his voice a welcome interruption to the growing silence, "and now I appreciate your sketch that much more." The sincerity in the sight of his full lips parted in a gracious, charming smile is just enough to make your heart flutter for a mere moment. Mere moments were all he needed before he needed to excuse himself, Warthog was vying for his attention from the portion of the clearing where they had grounded the LAATs.

He'll (unfortunately) have to leave you to enjoy the rest of the natural, wondrous light show on your own.

As he turns on his heel, and starts down the hill, you wonder… Was there always this militant elegance to the way the Commander walked, carried himself, simply existed?

Maker alive… what's gotten into you suddenly?

There's glee and child-like wonder in the clearing, just paces away as you amble around the edge of the forest. Trying to clear your head, you've traded the durasteel halls of the Triumphant for dew-ladden, fragrant grass to pace. (The smell eludes you. It's familiar, yet hard to pinpoint. Is it the freshness of the water or the silky richness of the life-source in the soil under your feet? (Have you been aboard star craft for too long and just forgotten what grass smells like?))

You're trying to make sense of your thoughts, but there's just too much to filter through both internally and externally. While you're trying to figure out a singular thing - if you've made a friend today - it's impossible to miss the way no one can come to an agreement on what the ever-loving fuck these bugs are called.

“I'm telling you, lantern bugs are just as correct as fireflies.” Tack repeats himself with increasing emphasis to an increasingly confused Soapsuds.

“And they can also be called fire beetle?”

“Yes; not to be confused with the flame beetles of Kashyyyk. Those are different.”

Suds stammers in confusion. “H-how?”

“The flame beetles fuckin’ explode.” is all the elaboration Tack feels like supplying, the grim smile a far cry from comfort.

“What about glowworms?”

“Yes…”

“And fireworms?”

“Yes! You can also call them lampyrids and lightning bugs and candle flies. All of them are correct because they're all different common names for the same bug!” Tack promises, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sucks in his teeth.

Bless him, he's been remarkably patient with his brothers, veterans and shinies alike, in answering their questions about what the devil these bugs with yellowed-green lights were, and if they could catch them (or were they like those razorwing moths back on another planet that looked harmless, but had wings laced with a chemical irritant?) and other questions without end.

Yes, they were safe to catch. Yes, his brothers should also be careful not to squish them. They glow thanks to a process of chemicals, enzymes and oxygen, in short. (No really, Commander, I don't mind answering their questions; you don't have to tell them to quit “pestering” me.)

Yes, they are really pretty, in a strange sort of way, Orchid. The Clone researcher could certainly agree with that. “They’re like… Like…” Tack begins to mutter under his breath in thought, searching for the right sort of descriptive imagery and failing. “Fuck, I got nothing,” he admits with a laugh, “I’ve got connections to another researcher Clone in a completely separate unit, and he's really fond of bugs… I'm certain he'd come up with something in no time.”

You've abandoned your walk for the time being, too intrigued by Tack’s trouble, and mention of connection to another researcher like him. “How about something like… “living stars”, for a start, Tack? And who's the other researcher you know?”

Once more, you've opened the door to be teased for potential poetism, but no one takes the bait this time. Instead, Tack and the two brothers who are aging out of being considered shinies look out into the grassy field where the air is softly roiling with maybe hundreds of airborne fire beetles and allow a collective moment of contemplation.

Living stars…

“Yeah, I can see it.” Orchid offers quietly.

Nodding in distracted agreement, Tack offers the answer to your last question best he can. “His name is Cypher, and he's with the… the uh… Sh-shit, sorry Arcadia, I can never remember if he's with a legion or a battalion, officially. There's some weird arrangement going on with this unit being led by one Jedi, with one Clone commander and captain under their command.”

That sure does sound “weird”, you agree. “I didn't think that a Jedi Master would be-”

“Oh that's the thing: they're not a Jedi Master; just a Knight, according to what we know through the rumor mill, anyways.” Tack clarifies quickly (with an apologetic look for interrupting you). “But, yeah, that still doesn't answer why a singular Force-wielder is leading two forces like this. Trying to get answers out of Cypher that don't involve bugs is like trying to pull rancor teeth, too. No idea if it's some kind of grand fuck-up or maybe there… was… a Jedi Master and they were KIA.”

There's a weighted silence in the air now, devoid of the comfort and ease it once had. “That's… horrible, if it's the second case.” you offer solemnly. You admit your knowledge on the Jedi isn't as great as it could be, in all potential, but you think you understand that a Force-wielder with the ranking of a knight doesn't necessarily “need” the tutelage of their masters anymore (at least if you compare them to say, a Padawan?)... It's still a terrible ordeal to lose someone you formed some bond with.

“Not to mention… pretty troubling if it was a grand fuck-up.” Borrowing Tack's words, you have to acknowledge that the circumstances of leading two forces like this means someone is saddled with the task of keeping so many soldiers of the GAR safe. That's an enormous responsibility to shoulder. So many souls… so many brave men to lead. “If it's the first… let's hope whoever is… let's say in charge of directing the Jedi, sends someone else to help them. I know I'd want to make sure someone isn't on their own in a situation like that.”

From time spent in observation of the Clones aboard the Triumphant, when Soapsuds' left hand lifts to shoulder-height, you know that means he's got a question in mind. “Yeah, Suds?”

“Was it surprising to your family when you decided to take a position on a cruiser like ours?”

You shake your head and laugh out loud, the memory of making up your mind and announcing your decision coming back to you. “Oh, stars, no. They weren't surprised that I wanted to help people, but more how I wanted to go about it, I guess. Maybe they expected me to volunteer at a medcenter, rather than… something like this.”

Oh, you can feel it in your heart that this would make for an interesting story to tell, one day. You've definitely given them a decent amount of communication since joining, but it's all been careful and sparsely detailed. No names, ranks or planetary locations. Nothing the Separatists can intercept and use as leverage, or in an ambush.

You doubt the Separatists could glean anything from hearing you complain that one of your crewmates is a little too fond of loud, thrumming music at 04:00, or that no, you still don't like that one particular vegetable no matter how it's prepared, or no, unfortunately you still hadn't had the time to utilize the art supplies you were gifted, but you kept thinking about it.

(You had no reason to believe they were listening; to monitor so many channels of communication takes a lot of time and resources, realistically speaking. But, better to assume they are.)

Hmm… you can finally tell them you used the art supplies today, speaking of them. Handful of doodles, and at least two proper sketches. A flower and a… person?

No, that makes it sound too impersonal and vague, you decide. You drew a flower and a friend.

You were friends. New friends.

You don't have to be good or even close friends with someone for a meaningful connection like the one you've developed with Commander Wolffe today. Even decent friends are capable of creating unique experiences… It's no less heartfelt.

No less heartfelt and beautiful than the way you see so many of the soldiers who have stayed behind romp through the clearing, catching all the lightning bugs they can. Curiosity and childlike wonder abound, especially among the youngest. Giddy despite minor nervousness, shinnies have made a game (of sorts) out of catching as many of these bugs as they can to then “gift” to their older brothers and their Jedi.

Sinker and Boost take these bioluminescent gifts with readiness; thanking their brothers before counting each little bug before releasing them out into the open air once more. The higher the count, the more impressed they act.

When Commander Wolffe accepts them, he chooses to hold onto it for a time - if the firefly allows. Some fly away immediately, others will remain, resting their wings by lazily crawling over his gloved hands for a time, then taking flight. Other times he “trades” a few with his general. Really, on most occasions, he's just off-loading his gifted fireflies to Plo Koon, where each Clone is thanked by name.

“These are from Crash, General.”

He's looking to make his escape from the Jedi’s side, for a moment. The amount of young brothers coming to the highest grassy knoll with their fingers full of fire-bugs must be beginning to overwhelm him slightly. His eyes meet for a moment with your own.

Hello, you, is the silent exchange.

Plo Koon offers the excuse sought by Wolffe; a carefully masked chuckle of mischief (or delight in his own cleverness) is made by the Kel Dor as he hands one of the many lantern bugs clinging to his arm guard to his rather stoic second-in-command. “An excellent find, Crash; a most impressive size. Here, why don't you take this little one given to me by Arcadia? Perhaps they would like to return to their first friend, Commander Wolffe?”

“Certainly, sir.”

It should make you laugh to see how obediently, dutifully, a man like Commander Wolffe carries such a puny little thing in his curled left hand down the hill to you. You can't help thinking he looks too serious with such a no-nonsense expression, reminiscent of a predator determined not to let its meal escape them.

A hungry wolf hoping to wear down a frightfully-footed lamb.

But you are no lamb.

And you recall his promise from earlier when you call out to him, forgoing rank or respectful title in front of his brothers currently nearby. “Not getting overwhelmed, are you, Wolffe? Is that why the General wanted you to give me back the first firefly?”

Soapsuds regards you with eyes wider than a porg to hear you tease his Commander so flippantly. What's gotten into you?! the expression seems to scream between the young and bright brown eyes to the sudden drop of his jaw. Where's your respect?!

If you can tease, you will be teased in kind. But first, Wolffe gives you the singular, small glowworm as he was instructed. “I wouldn't say I'm the overwhelmed one, Arcadia. Taking your own turn to walk around the clearing, making more faces than Suds does listening to Orchid swear.”

You chuckle for a number of reasons, first for the ticklish nature of the bug's feet in the palm of your hand, and second for the comparison. “You noticed that, hm?” Wolffe does not answer right away, you notice. He seems contemplative as he watches the little firebug scuttle across each knuckle of your dominant hand, open its wing-covering (Tack called it the elytra) and take off with a buzzy zwit! into the cooling night air.

“A professional Sabacc player would read you like an open book.” Wolffe responds levelly, refraining from mirroring the curious smile with one of his own. (Noted, you think to yourself.) “You clearly had something on your mind.”

To say someone was on your mind as a part of that ‘something’ would be more accurate. At least in large part. Before you say anything to the affirmative, Wolffe offers some reassurance that he's not saying anything with the intention of prying for any information.

“Not that it's any of my business, of course.”

Not that it was any of his business, no, but he had been watching you at least long enough to make an observation, a guess.

“Well, there's been a few occasions where I've been told I'm rather… expressive, so, I'm not terribly surprised.” You offer the response in hopes that it'll keep the conversation from going completely dead; something overly-playful seems like the wrong move to make right now. Something too dismissive would likely be seen through, too.

“You could also say animated, I suppose…” you add with a soft laugh, inspired by the exuberance Orchid shows in tearing after a particularly large firefly that Tack has pointed out rather suddenly. “Or lively or… whatever else. I dunno. Guess it happens more than I'm aware.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Tack promises you, “we've all got our quirks.”

Wolffe nods in agreement to the researcher, a slow roll of his eyes as if to say don't I know it. Adding in a way that's almost an aside, he says, “Comet and Warthog were the ones who noticed. They thought perhaps you might've come to regret staying behind with us.” Here, perhaps subconsciously, his scarred brow lifts when he looks at you again.

Are you? the action says.

You lift one brow of your own, eyes narrowing a fraction. “I haven't.” you promise. (Why? (And are you sure it wasn't you?))

His head bobs slowly, thoughtfully. (Fair.) “Only thought I'd mention it. But I'm glad to hear, Arcadia.”

There's an unusual softness settling into every feature of his face with the last syllable of your name. Something beyond the selfless gratitude typical to hearing someone you care for has had a pleasant day. His brow unfurrows just so. The thumb hooked in his belt just behind his holster - keeping his weapon near - becomes less deliberate now. (Not completely relaxed, but certainly less of a chokehold.)

Not to mention the slight, relieved smile before he turns his concern on one of his brothers.

“Where's your DeeCee, Soapsuds?”

Startled by the sudden addressal, Suds yelps and nearly squishes the large firefly Orchid has caught. “Huh! O-oh I'm letting Arcadia borrow it, Commander. One of the other crewmates, uh-”

Either in the interest of time, or the disinterest in hearing long-winded excuses, Wolffe shortly asks for the firearm tucked into the waistband of your uniform to be returned to Soapsuds. One of the flint-gray commander's own DeeCees is extracted from his belt, no fanfare or fancy fingerwork to make it twirl like Suds had when he offered, and is firmly planted with all the proper weapons-handling etiquette in the palm of your hand. Commander Wolffe's hand is undoubtedly solid - it is not just the form of the blaster that lends to your arm dipping under its weight.

Even through the raven-dark material of the gloves, the body suit, the neutral-colored armor, you know Wolffe is warm, too.

“Here. Why don't you take mine?”

It is not a suggestion.

You don't immediately understand what the big deal is about trading Soapsuds’ weaponry for the Commander's until you spend a little more time thinking about it. Suds has only the one gun with him on Little Archossi, and if the Commander has two, then, it'd only make sense to take his.

As a precaution, you shouldn't be unarmed; that much was agreed upon between the soldier and his commanding officer a ways off in the clearing now. You could catch snippets of their voices, carried on the stiff, evening winds.

“I was only trying to help.”

Suds had not intended to be completely defenseless himself, nor would he be, owing to his training instilled in him on the Clones’ rainy motherworld. Push comes to shove, you've seen your fair share of how proficient these men could be with only their hands. Hands that have hoisted and carried a fellow soldier to safety under enemy fire. Hands that have shown tenderness to the frightened and battle-scarred, civilian and brother alike.

(And that's not without mentioning the many knuckles broken against the plating of the CIS battle units by the brazen (or desperate) men of the Grand Army.)

“I understand that, but you should have considered that we don't know what's out there.”

You're unsure if the Commander is lecturing this brother and young soldier out of disappointment, or out of worry. You've known many Clones who tend to fret after their ‘little’ brothers, each in their own way and fashion. Only too understandable with everything Wolffe has been through and faced (and lost), he must feel some need to really make sure these lessons stick. He will always lose brothers, from the callous to the curious, but if he can ensure as many as possible make it out of this war alive, he likely would.

In this lifetime, in the next, and every heartbeat in-between.

Commander Wolffe cares. About his General.

“... are you angry at me, sir, for giving away my blaster without thinking again?”

About his brothers.

“No, Soapsuds. You were thinking… You… You only meant to look out for Arcadia.”

About you.

Though it feels too private a moment, one between brothers, to witness, you cannot turn away when Wolffe lifts Suds' head hung low and gives him a quiet look. “Your blaster and your name. Never forget.” Soapsuds waits a beat before nodding solemnly; there is a seriousness and severity to his brother's reminder.

Their blasters and their names are among the few things a Clone can own. I own my blaster, I own my breath, I own my Name…

Never will you forget the mantra you've heard multiple shinies, fresh off Kamino, mutter to themselves in isolated halls in the dead of the night aboard the Jedi cruiser. Suds must be one of the few who still repeats this to himself even now.

“I won't.” he promises with an emotional grimace, one that prompts his CO to clutch him to his chest.

He can't. No brother would ever let him forget his name, and a blaster can always be replaced in the event it is lost. There would never be another him. Never another Clone who would twinkle, or glimmer, or burn the same way as him in the Force. Every one of them feels, senses different in it.

(How do you compare, you wonder.)

Would you feel steadfast, seemingly indomitable like them? Or rather you'd be found out as having a bright, sun-like spirit; not merely hot and golden, but perhaps comforting. Maybe flickering and dreamlike, just the way the fireflies are.

You might go your whole life never finding out how you are sensed, never knowing the details in the thumbprint of your soul. You can make your peace with that. You'd sooner exhaust yourself asking after the likes of the Clones, given the chance.

Commander Wolffe releases his brother at last, the hand cradling the back of Suds' neck lifting away last of all as he's freed from a needed embrace. The time for tender doting fulfilled, Wolffe once more cautions his brother to be careful as the evening deepens before turning him loose. “Be sure to watch your step. And keep clear of the trees.” It's totally dark with the sun sunken below the horizon, casting this side of the planet with the deep blues of night. It would be wise to give the forest an even wider berth than before.

After doing some theorizing, the sergeants carried out the test themselves while everyone else had been mesmerized by the emergence of the first fireflies.

You can not see what stares back at you when you peer into the thicket; denser than Kaminoan rainfall, according to Sinker and Boost’s findings.

(Just what the Commander needed… more reasons to worry.)

Soapsuds bobs his head as if to say no, right, makes sense. “I'll, uh… remind Orchid as well, sir.” he promises almost meekly. If he can help it, he won't make his Commander stop whatever he's doing just to wrangle him back into place a second time.

He's not stupid. Soapsuds is just… young. Excitable.

Less experienced. In a moment, perhaps one of mild frustration or fraternal anxiety, Commander Wolffe may have temporarily forgotten that. Which is okay - forgetting is not a crime, much in the same way that being young is not a crime.

Nor should being unable to help your nature…

After some time alone, when you come to check on him, Wolffe casts a nearly pained look in your direction, surmising that you've witnessed the entire encounter. The sloping, pinching squeeze of his eyebrows and the haunted expression suggests maybe he believes he's been too harsh. That he's spent the last five, maybe ten minutes beginning to second guess what he's said - or how he's said it - to an almost-not-a-shiny brother.

No matter how much he's been trying, he's done it again. With every good intention, Master Plo can invite him to relax as many times as he'd like, but it will not come so easily for a soldier.

Commander Wolffe will not relax completely today, because he can't. At least not on his own, not without someone to reign him in should he stray too far beyond briefly conferring with a soldier or two, or sparing a few moments for a visual sweep across the clearing when it had been light out.

“Thought I'd keep up my habit of keeping you company,” you offer quietly, setting yourself down in the lush grass beside him to pull out your sketchbook and pencils, “if that's alright.” You won’t mention the fact that while you were giving Wolffe the space you thought he needed, Sinker had extracted himself from where he, Boost and Comet had steered a giggling mess of Clones a little further off when their retellings of their “sexploits” had become a little more colorful.

You’ve been having better luck than us, Arcadia, Sergeant Sinker had admitted to you, we think you should be the one to keep him company. We’ll keep the lid on things here best we can.

(Force be with you and all that if ‘keeping a lid on things’ involves Orchid and far too many details about sex in any capacity… (Like the time he purportedly ‘froze up’ for a moment when he realized the date he scored himself at 79’s was with an intersex humanoid-species he can't remember the name of.))

You're aiming just to be non-intrusive, out-of-the-way in your company. You're not expecting conversation when you've already done plenty of talking today. You're not even sure what you'll sketch, or if you'll even draw.

Hearing the words “Could I?” out of his mouth is surprising to you. He almost certainly hears that surprise in your voice.

“You wanna give it a try? Uh. S-sure, here.”

The pad is immediately flipped to a clean, unmarked page once it's in his hands; selecting a pencil takes longer, the labels making little sense. Herf. Besh. Herf-Besh. 2-Besh. There's at least two others he hasn't touched yet.

“What does it all mean?” he murmurs more to himself than you. (He takes the 2-Besh at your coaching.) “Level of the graphite’s softness?”

You can only shrug. “Apparently. From what little I know, 2-Besh is most versatile, so that should work for just about whatever you had in mind.” He could fill the page with circles until you've gone cross-eyed for all you care, honestly. There's obviously been a lot on his mind today; there's been a lot on yours too. Whatever it'll take to drive the thoughts nipping at your heels back even for a moment, or even slow or halt altogether that tumultuous tailspin of anxiety for both of you would be a welcomed discovery.

He's made up his mind on what he'll be drawing, but you're not permitted to look. “Not just yet.”

“What? Oh, Wolffe, come o-”

“Ah-ah. Would only be fair.” He didn't see what you had been working on for a few hours, after all, right? The piece the Commander plans to compose is less involved than yours, so it shouldn't take ‘terribly long’. (Okay, that would only be fair, you concede.) You have one of his pistols, so if you wanted, you could walk around the outskirts of the clearing so long as you were mindful of how close you were to the forest.

Maybe not right now. Maybe instead you should keep an unoccupied eye out instead. You both did just hear General Plo begin to caution several men only a few yards away that there was a shift in the Force around the planet.

The inhabitants of Little Archossi might be waking up.

“Good idea.” Wolffe agrees. He'll be quick about it, he promises. You'll have a look before long, though for now, you'll need to find a way to entertain yourself between the intermittent safety checks. Keep your eyes up, keep your ears perked, and sweep your line of sight often. The only thing he won't tell you to do is keeping a closer eye on the shinies. “I don't know how well you know my men; how readily you can tell them all apart, nevermind who is and isn't newer to the battalion.”

You single out a trooper at random - one who's absolutely covered in grass stains and dirt after rolling down a hill in his full armor kit - and in full confidence declare “That's Halogen. I believe he's fond of rotary cannons as opposed to blasters.”

He chuckles once, impressed. “And is Halogen a shiny?” You're good; he wants to see just how good you are. The pencil is flipped in Wolffe's hand and he tediously erases something for a moment.

“He’s not. Waves, the brother he's sneaking up on is, though.”

Another impressed chuckle. You know more than you've let on, perhaps, he admits, but he still won't task you with shiny-wrangling. Leave that to him as their commander. He turns his attention wholly to the spiral-bound book in his hands, occasionally leafing through the previously marked pages until he reaches the first. Comparing? Admiring?

Or is he thinking, remembering?

“Like worship…”

You try not to respond, acting entirely too interested in the busy-work of fixing up your footwear, ensuring all is secure as you wait for those choppy, sweeping skritch!-es to resume.

And with Commander Wolffe nose-deep in the sketchpad, shielding it from your field of view, you find yourself zoning out somewhat. He won’t show you what he’s working on, but from the sheer amount of times he’s glanced your way, you have a possibility in mind.

You turn your gaze skyward for the moment, higher than the fireflies and beyond the misting of stars. “Wow… would you look at the size of that moon?” you marvel under your breath, more to yourself than anyone in particular. Round and bright, she’s certainly the celestial focal point over Little Archossi, and though it will likely be dark, or perhaps partly back-lit, you know the general location of the Jedi cruiser from your position.

Will the moon look just as beautiful from the viewports of the Triumphant, or does she lose all her shining splendor in the spiraling vastness of space?

“I’m not going to howl.”

There’s a beat of silence before the commander either realizes that you had not made the remark he assumed you had, or that you had not reacted to it like he would have guessed.

“Sorry, Arcadia, I…” The graphite pencil halts in his hand as he reigns in his thoughts, sharply exhaling the likely frustration or disappointment. “Terrible joke. There was a trooper named Howell… It was part of a routine with him; he had a fascination with astronomy. Could tell you the name of every moon a planet had. First thing he’d look for every nightfall. “Look Commander,” he’d say, “Look at the size of that moon!” with such palpable excitement, too…”

You can guess why Wolffe’s reply was what it was. You can almost hear how he’d likely say it too, were he less distracted by the sketch in his hands… “What happened to Howell?”

“The half-starved megafauna the droids were using cornered him in a foxhole while we were aiding another Jedi in the Outer Rim. General Plo couldn’t reach Howell in time.” Commander Wolffe's pencil strokes become halting, brisk, as he thinks about this brother. “Without a helmet, it takes roughly 235 kilograms of force to crush a human skull. Or so I'm told.” The afterthought is added in a small, tight voice. A memory he’s jostled loose that’s left a bitter taste in his mouth.

A fist squeezes the material of your uniform over your heart as you infer poor Howell’s fate for yourself. “Fucking shit…” How terrible. You try not to dwell on those thoughts as you glance over your surroundings, even behind you for good measure. (What sort of megafauna is capable of that, anyways?) Nothing appears out of order in the clearing, but there seems to be perceptible activity from the treeline that the Force-wielder is picking up on.

Why else would Plo Koon be steering the Clones deeper into the heart of the clearing with that kind, almost fatherly cautioning; “Why don’t you join your brothers near the hills, son? (Why, General?) In the interest of safety, that’s all.” Every opportunity he has, Plo has his eyes trained on the forest as he moves from cluster to cluster of troopers, directing them to move closer to where Sinker and Boost have positioned themselves, or the Republic gunships at the very least. He’s moving with purpose, his stride unbroken and direct through the ankle-high, fragrant grass.

Something must be awake beyond the trees… You don’t know if you should start feeling concerned by all these precautionary measures, or feel assured. The Commander hasn’t reacted in any noteworthy way as of now, but you know he’s at least noticed your nervous tells once more. Only once he’s taken a more thorough read of your body language - the shoulders creeping closer to your ears, the occasional bob in your throat with every dry swallow, the fistful of your uniform rumpled in your dominant hand - does Commander Wolffe begin to act.

He begins covering and setting the sketchpad aside, just for a moment, to give you and the immediate surroundings his undivided attention. “Don’t hold your breath, Arcadia. The last thing you should do when you’re starting to get nervous is hold your breath.” he advises you, being cautious about his line delivery. Too casual, it comes across flippant at best about your anxieties. Too stern, and it will sound like a lecture. A reprimand. And he’s not here to do that; Wolffe only means to soothe your nerves best as he can - like he tried to do for Suds. “General Plo would be addressing those troopers a little more urgently if he sensed real trouble.”

You bob your head, but want to offer him a questioning look all the same. The Jedi’s behavior seems pretty damn urgent to you. But Commander Wolffe knows the Kel Dor better than you do, so you trust he’s telling you the truth. “That’s good to know.” you reply with a lilt of relief in your voice.

A lilt he of course notices, and takes as a permission of sorts to resume his sketching. He’s nearly done, he tells you, but he needs to clean up one last thing and add another first before he shows you. Then, perhaps, you could help him decide how he should finish this.

“That sure was fast.” You don’t know if surprise or admiration for the speed of his work is more appropriate.

Maker have mercy, when he flashes a slightly wolfish smile at you, you’re almost tempted to pinch yourself - just to be sure you haven’t imagined it.

“It helps when you’re inspired.”

That’s certainly true, in your experience. When you feel inspired by something, feel inspired to create something, it feels like little else matters in that moment. You can become a whirlwind of creative thought, so swept up in the progress, that time just seems to slip away.

Before you can ask what it was that inspired the Clone commander, Wolffe has added his last few pencil strokes, and presents you with the page.

It becomes very clear right away what it was that has captured his eye, what it was that inspired him. It’s just as you suspected.

“Is… that supposed to be me?” you utter in wonder.

The figure on the page looks just like you, resembles you at the very least; but the wear is not your own. The slate gray uniform has been swapped for the raven of the bodysuit, and encasing every limb are the segments of Clone armor. The gauntlets sport claw-marks, and you think that partially-hidden phase two helmet at “your” hip has what are supposed to be bare teeth - wolf teeth, no doubt. And the chest plate is clearly modeled after his own, at least in part. Otherwise crisp lines partly ruined by eraser-smudgings, there's a large crack in the direct middle, and in the center there's an attempt at an anatomically-correct human heart.

There is a tiny, tiny little icon of the Wolfpack on the throat of the bodysuit in your favorite color, and that's when you see without further doubts that yes, this is supposed to be you.

If your drawing was described as worship, you find his to be an equally heartfelt act of devotion. You're drawn with such care, it's nearly… you don't even have the words for it.

You find yourself almost choking out your words now. “It is me…”

“And you're welcome to color it as you see fit, Arcadia,” Commander Wolffe says rather abruptly, thrusting the pad into your open hands, “I’m needed to speak with the General.”

Pleading with him to stay is like trying to catch smoke. “Wolffe, wait-” He's quicker to his feet than you expect, trampling the grass underfoot without a moment's hesitation to answer the Kel Dor’s distant summons. He will not wait. He will not explain what the bottom of the page, in tidy, thin Aurebesh means.

Behind the teeth and claws, there is a beating heart.

I now have a taglist form, which you can find -> HERE! <- 🩷 Thank you for your patience as the length of this fic spirals out of my control, haha. Clearly it's no longer just the four initial segments like I once thought. (Hey, it's just more Commander Wolffe content, can we really complain?)

[Masterlist]

[Early Morning] [Midday] [Late Afternoon] [Here] [Deep Night] [Golden Dawn part 1]

[Golden Dawn part 2]

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anakiinhighwalker · 2 years

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Star Wars boys (+ Ventress) w/ a Jedi s/o!

> Obi Wan Kenobi 🪐

Ooooh boy it’s difficult to love this man AND also be a Jedi. If you’ve ever seen the movie Tangled and watch how Rapunzel struggles to accept the fact she went outside of her tower, that’s how Obi Wan is.

A constant struggle between love and duty. Obi Wan loves you, he truly does, but he’s also a Jedi. And he needs to set a good example for all younglings and Padawans. He feels as if he has to live up to that famous mantle of General Kenobi, the man who killed Darth Maul when he was just a Padawan and who sees the lead in combat of the Clone War.

He’s distant :(. Not fault of yours, it’s just Obi Wan has a lot of battles to coordinate, lead, fight and win for the Republic. On top of that he also has to answer to the Jedi Council. And they could easily recognize your relationship with Obi Wan with how soft and warm his Force aura gets around you.

But at night, at the dead of night, when no Jedi travels within the tall and intimidating halls of the Temple, does love show itself. When it’s empty; nothing but its halls of beige and its ghosts of the past is when the true Obi Wan come out. Gentle hugs, tender moments that could never pass as ‘between friends’ if you two were ever caught. The strong, amorous touches and words are nothing but that; amorous. Between lovers.

He loves you with everything. You’re too much for him to give up to the Council or god forbid, another man.

In battles, Obi Wan puts a lot of faith that you won’t need his help or saving. He doesn’t want anyone to see what you two have because he had a moment of weakness and protected you so fiercely.

He’s always in the medbays, checking each soldier and each bed to make sure you’re not one of the injured.

Obi Wan pretends like Anakin doesn’t know, Anakin totally fucking knows. Anakin has known since he was a Padawan because of how much you hung out around Obi Wan before and after the war began. And thank god it’s Anakin because he isn’t any type of snitch!

“Anakin doesn’t know >:(“

“He just saw us makeout.”

There was one time you and Obi Wan went out to a war meeting with Anakin, Ahsoka and Plo Koon. You two were given questioning stares by Plo as he briefed everyone and Anakin looked like he was doing everything in his power to not to laugh.

You were completely left in the dark until you finally noticed how much bigger and baggier ‘your’ robe was. It dawned on you that you were wearing Obi Wan’s robes and barely bothered to notice in your hurry to the meeting room.

Why yes, you did force Anakin into secrecy and made the excuse that you and Obi Wan were simply having a meeting before the actual meeting and mixed the robe’s together.

:) you two r cute

> Anakin Skywalker 💫

It’s like Anakin does not care who sees or hears what he says or does to you. He’s so loose with the rules of “no pda” and “no affection”. You can’t count how many times he’d be hurrying kiss after kiss right before a Jedi Master turns the corner.

He’s very expressive with his love. And that can be so great for silent nights of cuddling or sharing a moment but it’s not so great for trying to keep Anakin from kissing your every face in ‘empty’ hallways. I mean, it’s not like you don’t like feeling his kisses and his hugs. It’s just you don’t want the Council to find out.

Anakin admires your lightsaber in his genius engineering way. You don’t think it’s anything fancy, just a lightsaber with a metal hilt but he thinks it’s beautiful. He likes to barely touch the metal and feel where the metal connects. It sort of soothes him. It makes him think about you and you just soothe his anger, his worries and his emotions.

Fighting in the battlefield makes it difficult to be with Anakin. The war has dampen your mood on a more than once occasion. With what you’ve both seen, there’s been many times you urged your clone comrades back into ships in a retreat, worried for Anakin who was still fighting. There were many times, where Anakin was in such a battle frenzy that you had to clash your own lightsaber with his to keep him from doing drastic or crazy things. As much as he dislikes it, you keep in check (or as in check you can keep Anakin Skywalker) and for that he respects what you do.

He’s a jealous man by nature. He’s possessive and protective. You’re never alone, no, Anakin is always there with you whenever you go into an unfamiliar place or planet. No one will ever get the chance to take you from him and no one will ever put you in danger without meeting the wrath of the Chosen One.

Meditating is made easier for him when you’re with him. It’s hard not be calm with you. He loves it when you look so focused and meditated because then he has an open opportunity to mess with you by tugging your nose gently or whispering things like gossip or jokes to you.

Fiery bf and enjoys the fact that you both get to destroy clankers together :)

> Din Djarin 🗡

He doesn’t understand much about the Jedi but he tries for you!! Like, yeah babe go fight people with your large lightsaber :)

He’s so taken back everytime you use the Force. He’s never really seen anyone besides Luke, Grogu and Ahsoka use it, so he’s always thought of it as more of a mystical thing. Kinda like a mythical power only the most powerful and experienced could use or the most naturally gifted could use. Not really a thing someone so close to him could do. He thinks it’s so incredible you can use it. He admires you.

He keeps your lightsaber maintained and SPOTLESS. His shiny Mandalorian armor speaks for itself. And he’d be extremely careful with your lightsaber because he views it as part of you like how he sees his armor as a part of himself. You appreciate how much he takes care of it.

Din understands that you and Grogu share that special bond that only two Force users have. He never gets jealous of that bond between you two because it’s not for him to say or do anything on something Jedi. He respects your Jedi ways as you respect his Mandalorian ways :).

He’s simply just a wonderful boyfriend.

He would want you to explain things about Jedi and things Jedi do that he doesn’t understand. He gets confused with your prophetic dreams and when you explain, you can’t explain what happens. You swear you can see the curiosity and the intrigue in his Mandalorian helmet.

Doesn’t know how to feel when you tell him some Jedi can read emotions and thoughts. Does that mean you know how much he truly loves you? Will you tell his friends and make him get teased? He can’t have Grogu giggling like a little gremlin because you told the baby yoda how much Din thinks about you.

Don’t tease ur poor boy, he stutters and that does not look super cool and super fly for a super tough Mandalorian.

> Han Solo 🥂

“Hey babe can you uh, use the Force or whatever to gimme my screwdriver?”

Han teases you absolutely. Which, how is that possible? You’re a Jedi! Literally a Force user! He probably asks you ridiculous questions like “what Jedi ghosts do you talk to and which ones your favorite? Do any of them like beer?”

And while yes, Han does tease and make you roll your eyes at his dumb questions and comments, you have to also understand how much Han respects and admires your strength. When you enter combat and Force choke a man for hurting Han? He’s simply in awe at your power.

YOU call HIM babygirl

Even though you’re a strong person, Han still does everything he can to protect you. He may not be a great Jedi Master who could stop everyone with simply Jedi mind trick but he’s very confident in his blaster skills. No matter what, Han will always be your first and last line of defense.

During boring rides in the Falcon, he’d ask you to do some weird/entertaining Jedi trick, like make Chewie’s lunch float or make Han work extra hard fixing some part of the Falcon with Jedi mind persuasion.

He once called you the light to his saber and you almost, almost left him in some star system. And Chewie was contemplating leaving you two both.

Okay but Han is incredibly protective of you. No Inquisitor, no Vader, no Emperor and definitely no Empire will ever put their hands on you. You and Chewie mean everything to him. Han loves you and he’d defy the odds to keep the Empire’s slimy paws off of you.

When you two come across Luke you’re ecstatic to meet him! You bond very easily with Luke about both being Force sensitive and having lightsabers. Han at first feels a little sidelined & jealous but he puts his feelings aside to let you bond with someone like you—something you’ve lacked. Besides, he’s gonna be the one holding you in your shared room. Not Luke.

Loving supportive bf :)

> Luke Skywalker 🧃

You met Luke right after the fall of the Empire so for him to meet another Jedi, it was such a magical and chaotic moment. He was out of it for a while with how you were everything he ever thought about.

You were charmed by his boyish charm. The way he’d talk to you about Obi Wan, the way he’d hear your story out, it was so nice to finally meet another Jedi like yourself! It was an instant bond—a love at first sight moment that happened. And ever since that faithful meeting, it’s been smooth sailing.

Helping Luke make his Jedi school, helping Luke deal with his phantom pain due to the loss of his hand, comforting him after horrible and vivid nightmares of Vader and Sidious, you were there for him. You were the ground he could come back to after getting so caught up in the skies. Rebuilding the Jedi was no easy task and he was so happy to have another Jedi there.

Luke is there for you, too. His love filled that empty spot in you and you feel so complete now. Luke promises you that one day, there will be Jedi taking care of all systems in the galaxy. He will be there to guide them and he will be there to rebuild a Jedi Order for you. You two won’t be alone anymore.

His school attracts multiple students. Of all kind. They are asked to shed themselves of biases and of ideologies for the sake of the new Jedi Order. You are there as the second command; helping the new younglings and even now your own Padawan grow in this new world without the oppressive grip of the Empire.

You and your beloved watch the Jedi slowly come back into the world to simply do good for everyone once more. You loved that you could witness it all, that Luke really kept his promise. You don’t think you’ll ever settle down. Not when Luke is right next to you.

Many nights of telling tall tales of adventure, battles and the Rebellion’s triumph over the Empire to the many younglings and the many Jedi sitting down, eagerly hearing how Master Luke was able to overcome great hardships.

:) you two grow old and watch as your successes pay off with many wonderful and powerful Jedi growing from your once little academy.

> Captain Rex 🌜

Rex calls you soldier (romantically) even when it’s suppose to be ‘Jedi Knight’ or ‘Commander’. You’re not sure why, but you accept it. It’s cute and it feels like your own nickname from him.

He thinks you’re a strong and capable Jedi. He will gladly lead his men into battle if you’re next to him leading the charge with him. The confidence you two have in battle and in combat amazes even Anakin.

There’s a reason General Skywalker’s fleet is so successful. Spoilers: it’s you and Rex ;).

Although you feel really bad for not following Jedi Code, you can’t really complain because the kisses and the strong embraces Rex gives you are worth more to you than any rank or any rule the Jedi have. It’s not really a struggle for you, more like an afterthought.

You are loved by his men. You love to encourage the clones and to tell them all how great they’ll be in battle. Besides Anakin, you’re probably his men’s favorite Jedi. Everytime you walk in, you’re greeted with many hello’s and cheerful smiles. And you enjoy how happy Rex seems to have his men appreciate and care for you.

Pressing kisses to his clone helmet before long battles and before going into missions alone.

Writing little love notes so tiny they can only fit in Rex’s pocket so he could constantly glance at them and have something to fight for.

Echo totally knows. But you’re so lucky ‘No Snitch Skywalker’ taught his men not to be snitches. So Echo just teases you two lovebirds before you two start fighting droids in the frontlines. There was a time where Rex destroyed two droids for overstepping an imaginary line that he considered too close to you. That confirmed Echo’s suspicion of his Captain being involved romantically with you; no clone fights that hard without a reason. Without an emotion playing a part.

10/10 bf :)

> Asajj Ventress 🌹

It’s literally a love game for her. Very playful and very sensual. She probably toys with you more than she does with Obi Wan or Anakin combined.

Catwoman and Batman type of dynamic. She always sneaks away from you before you can truly catch her. But, it’s not like you mind it. You’d never admit it to her, but you love the cat and mouse game you two play together. Ventress thinks you’re just the cutest Jedi.

When she’s betrayed by Dooku, you do everything in your Jedi power to find out if she’s okay. You were so worried until a slender and pale figure stood outside in your balcony. She stood there with an uneasy smile and uncharacteristically soft eyes. Your embrace felt like a home she didn’t really know. And your shared kiss was full of relief and passion.

Despite the games and the running away and the chasing, that soft underbelly of your relationship is everything when it rears its head. The soft moments that Ventress shows; the vulnerability she gives you after a hard few months in her life. It all feels so rewarding after the struggle of gaining her trust and love.

Nobody but you two know about one another. The soft touches in the rough and ugly green streets of lower Coruscant is something only you two share. The sketchy meetings in the sketchiest of alleys just to embrace and catch up. The ‘missions’ you take to see her again.

Ventress is very protective and sorta jealous but not as bad as Anakin. She only calls herself silly and slides those jealous feelings to side so she can really embrace you like a lover. Nobody ever hurts you or even puts a weapon up to you if she can help it. You’re hers and after what she’s gone through and what people have taken from her, she’s got nothing to fear.

She teases you as a ‘bad Jedi’ for violating the code for someone as ‘despicable’ as her. But really, you don’t see it that way. You see it as you finding your other half—just on the wrong team at first!

#star wars x reader #obi wan kenobi x reader #anakin skywalker x reader #din djarin x reader #luke skywalker x reader #han solo x reader #captain rex x reader #star wars #obi wan and anakin #asajj ventress #asajj ventress x reader #jedi order

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jessicas-pi · 10 months

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okay nobody asked but I'm doing it anyway, more Medieval AU Incorrect Quotes

Rex: Ahsoka told me that brown is just navy orange, and I have never been more disappointed with something I agree with.

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Ezra: What goes up but never comes down? Caleb: The amount of stress you're bringing this family.

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Barriss: Stressed. Korkie: Depressed. Merrin: Possessed. Chopper: Obsessed. Caleb: Well-dressed. Cal: Impressed. Ahsoka: Chicken breast. Everyone: ...What? Ahsoka: I just wanted to join in.

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Ahsoka: We have a problem. Rex: No, YOU have a problem. I have a princess who keeps making them.

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Barriss: You know, not every problem can be solved with a sword. Ahsoka: That's why I carry two swords.

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Omega: I love you both, you're the best thing that's happened to me. Cal: We're the best thing that's ever happened to you? Omega: Yes! Merrin: I am starting to feel sorry for you.

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Sabine: I think I might be in love with someone, but I’m worried about telling you who it is, because you’re not going to like it. Ursa: Just rip the bandage off. Sabine: It’s Ezra. Ursa: Put the bandage back on.

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Ahsoka: You can de-escalate any situation by simply saying, 'Are we about to kiss?' Ahsoka: Doesn't work when your bodyguard catches you sneaking out your window tho :/

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Ketsu: You seem familiar, have I threatened you before?

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Ahsoka: I really like this whole ‘good guy, bad guy’ thing you guys have going on. Skira: It’s not an act, it’s just that I’m mean and Adenn isn’t.

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Makheta: Rex is playing hard to get. Makheta: Little does he know, I'm a master at playing hard to get rid of.

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Barriss: This is a mistake Ahsoka, enthusiastically: A mistake we're going to laugh about one day! Barriss: But not today Ahsoka, still enthusiastic: Oh, no. Today's going to be a mess

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Cal: Goodnight moon. Cal: Goodnight tree. Cal: Goodnight ghosts only I can see.

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Korkie: Can you please be serious, for five minutes? Ai-kel: My record is four but I think I can do it.

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Caleb: So how was your day, kids? Ezra: We almost got surprise adopted! Caleb: What? Sabine: We almost got kidnapped. Caleb: Oh, okay. Caleb: WAIT WHAT?!

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Ahsoka: My crush isn’t picking up on my hints. Rex: What hints have you given them? Ahsoka: Well, I think about him a lot. Ahsoka: And sometimes I even think about talking to him.

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Merrin: When someone points at your black clothes and asks whose funeral it is, having a look around the room and saying 'I have not decided yet' is typically a good response.

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Plo Koon: How many children do you have? Shaak Ti: Biologically, emotionally, or legally? Plo Koon: Fair question.

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*At 3AM* Makheta: Why do we have different blood groups? Ahsoka: So mosquitoes can enjoy different flavors.

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Caleb: Come on, I wasn’t that drunk last night. Zeb: You were flirting with Hera. Caleb: So what? She's my wife. Zeb: You asked her if she was single. Caleb: Zeb: And then you cried when she said she wasn't.

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Omega: I’m going to defeat you with the power of friendship! ... And this knife I found.

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Ezra: In my defense, I was left unsupervised. Hera: Wasn't Sabine with you? Sabine: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised.

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Rex: Nothing in life is free. Makheta: Love is free. Korkie: Knowledge is free. Ahsoka: Friendship is free. Ai-kel: Everything's free if you don't pay for it. Everyone: ... Rex: That's illegal- Ahsoka: No, let him finish!

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Ai-kel: When I first met you, I did not like you. Lux: I'm aware of that. Ai-kel: But then you and I had some time together. Lux: Uh-huh? Ai-kel: It did not get better.

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Ahsoka: Am I in trouble? Rex: Take a guess. Ahsoka: No? Rex: Take another guess.

#You Cannot Stop The Quotes #incorrect quotes #kanera #sabezra #man i should do some drawings of my ocs so you know what they look like #(ai kel and makheta are both togrutas btw)#star wars medieval au

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lbibliophile-sw · 11 months

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Guess Who

Also on AO3 [680 words] For @jedijune - week 5: tragedy averted Inspired by The Guessing Game by Kelpie_Mist

Master Vos shrugs at the assembled Council members.

“That’s all we’ve got. We know that the Sith has been playing a long game. We know that they have ties to the Separatists, if only through Dooku. We know that they have high-level influence or authority in the Senate and the GAR. We know that there is a growing Darkness centred on this hemisphere of Coruscant. But beyond that, we’re at a dead end. We’d have just as much luck throwing darts at a list of names. A list consisting, mind you, of half the Senate, two-thirds of the GAR admiralty, and most of the adults in the Order. I’ll keep looking, but at this point we need a miracle.”

Master Vos leaves, and there is a long moment of silence as the Council processes the situation. It is hard not to feel hopeless.

“Very well then, if we are all to be suspects, I accuse Ki-Adi of being the Sith Lord. You stole the last seaweed cookie in the refectory yesterday. Surely a sign of great evil.”

No.

Everyone jumps as the Force chimes in response to Kit’s joke, chuckles running around the room as the tension breaks.

“Really Master Fisto, what an accusation! How does the saying go, ‘you snooze, you lose’? If we are attempting wild guessing now, then we might as well start at the top. Master Yoda, just how long have you been hiding as a Sith in our midst?”

No.

“Offended, I am. Sith, I am not. Too much work, all that scheming is. Particularly when deployed, a certain someone is, and leave me with his flimiswork he does. Sith Lord, Master Windu is, hm?”

No.

“It was your turn and you know it. But if we’re talking about headaches, I’m calling out Skywalker as the Sith. I’m tired of the migraine I get any time that walking shatterpoint enters the room.”

…no.

Everyone straightens to attention.

“That… was a very tentative ‘no’.”

“Does that mean that Skywalker is involved?”

“Is the Sith Lord close to him?”

YES.

As the ringing dies away Obi-wan shifts uncomfortably, everyone in the room either looking at him or studiously avoiding doing so.

“Obi-wan?” It is Depa who breaks the awkward silence. “For the record’s sake, I have to ask. Are you the Sith Lord?”

No.

“See, I always told you I was incorruptible.” His smug smile can’t hide the worry in his eyes.

It is Saesee who speaks next.

“If not the Master, then perhaps the Padawan? I hesitate to re-open wounds, but with the timing of Ahsoka Tano’s leaving the Order, could she be…?”

No. “Little ‘Soka would never! And she is far too young besides.”

The Force and Plo object at the same time, prompting a ripple of guilt and regret through the group.

“Look outside the Order, we must. Married, Skywalker is. A different bond, that could hide. The Sith Lord, Amidala could be?”

No.

Obi-wan glares.

“Really. Are we just going to start listing everyone Anakin spends time with? Who’s next; Admiral Yularen, Captain Rex? Madame Nu, Master Drallig, the rest of this room? Dex? Are you going to start listing out every single one of his troopers? You might as well suspect the Chancellor of the Republic while you’re at it!”

Shaak Ti leans forward in her seat, blue hologram flickering as she frowns.

“Why haven’t we suggested him yet? He fits all the criteria Master Vos brought us. He has been mentoring Skywalker for years. And I know that we have repeatedly raised concerns at the increasing scope of his emergency powers. Is Chancellor Palpatine the Sith Lord?”

There is absolute and deafening silence in the Force.

With a growing sense of dread, they all focus their attention and Mace repeats the question.

“Is Sheev Palpatine, current Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, the Sith Lord and Master we have been searching for?”

Very faintly, as though straining to be heard through the empty void of space or thick clouds of choking darkness, the answer reaches them.

YES!

#jedijune2023 #jedi council #the force #the force as a lie detector #darth sidious revealed #bingo fill #fanfic

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antianakin · 5 months

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@theneutralmime

So again I'm going to hit this in a few parts because I think there's a few different things happening depending on the situation.

Plo's insistence that they will be found in the Malevolence arc is serving two purposes: he's presumably choosing to have faith in the Force which could be telling him to keep hope, AND he's saying what needs to be said to keep his men's spirits up. If they go into this fight believing it's hopeless anyway, then the chances are a LOT higher that they'll end up dead, whereas if they keep a little more faith in their chances of being found, it'll give them the best chance possible. He's also just trying to lift up the clones' self-esteem in GENERAL because they're mentioning that they're "expendable" which is why they have no hope in being rescued. It's not that they think the situation is completely unsalvagable, but that nobody would bother risking their lives to save a few clones when there's so many of them and they can be so easily replaced. What Plo is doing here isn't that far off from what Yoda does just the episode before with Thire, Jek, and Rys: he's affirming that he sees the clones as PEOPLE worthy of caring about and fighting for, not because they're tools he needs in the war but just because they're THEM. There is nothing else Plo can do in this situation aside from keeping them alive as long as possible, and the best way he can do that is to keep their hopes up and keep them fighting. So regardless of whether he personally believes their chances of discovery are high or not, their best chance is for Plo to convince the clones he believes they'll be found.

ANAKIN'S reaction is completely separate from that (unless you believe that Plo is sort-of listening to the Force which is telling him to keep up hope and that that's possibly coming from Anakin and Ahsoka's choices here). Anakin is basically just bending the rules here because he can tell Ahsoka cares about this. I don't personally believe Anakin would've ACTUALLY gone after Plo in this situation if Ahsoka hadn't been there and being so vocal about her feelings on the matter. I think Anakin likely would've recognized the situation as a pretty foregone conclusion and continued on in his own mission. Keep in mind that this isn't the first attack by the Malevolence and in the other situations, there were no survivors. There's no actual reason to believe Plo is alive this time and it's a LOT more logical to assume that he didn't make it. Ahsoka is being emotional because she's young and she cares about Plo and wants to abandon her own mission in order to go check on someone she cares about, which is something that could potentially have dire consequences in other areas.

What Anakin does is try to find a loophole of sorts that allows them to still complete their original mission while accomplishing this other task, too. And while this logic works out for him, it assumes that nothing is going to happen to his fleet on the way to their final destination while he's gone. He is, effectively, abandoning his entire battalion in order to go save ONE PERSON (because I don't for a SECOND believe he cares about the 104th, he only cares about Plo because that's who AHSOKA cares about). If the 501st had gotten attacked mid-route somehow or they'd had issues along the way, they were left without either Jedi General or Commander to help them out. Yes, Plo and his three men would've died, but losing an entire fleet (which would be in ADDITION to losing Plo's entire battalion) would be far worse in the long run.

And this is why Anakin keeps getting away with acting like this. He takes massive risks in the name of emotional attachments that COULD have dire consequences but he manages to just keep getting lucky, which he convinces himself means that he was RIGHT. But that's not how it works, it's not the same thing. And eventually, that kind of thinking is going to lead him down the wrong path and he won't get so lucky.

You can also look at this situation like the trolley problem. Ideally, they'd like to just stop the trolley before it gets to either line with people on it. But if they CAN'T stop the trolley in time (and they have no control over which line it goes to), and the trolley's now hit that line with one person on it, is it better to go check and see if that one person survived being hit or is it better to go get the other people off the trolley line so they DON'T get hit by a trolley at all? It's possible another trolley might never come down, it's possible that that one person is still alive and could survive if only they're attended to in time. But it's also just as possible that a second trolley might come down and hit those other people on the other track while you're off saving that one person who's already been hit.

Now let's look at Luminara on Geonosis during the factory explosion. Here we get a more direct comparison between how a REAL Jedi handles the possibility of losing someone they care about and how ANAKIN handles the possibility of losing someone he cares about. The main difference for me here is the way they ultimately end up treating EACH OTHER. There's zero evidence that Luminara WOULDN'T have supported Anakin's attempts at finding them, and in fact there's actually evidence to support that Luminara was ALSO trying to look for them when she knelt down on the ground to meditate (something Anakin, like most of the fandom, tends to misinterpret as Luminara dropping to her knees in grief). When Anakin sees what he THINKS is Luminara losing herself to emotion, he's completely capable of being compassionate and reaching out to comfort Luminara, but when she responds that she's actually okay and will deal with Barriss's death if it happens, his compassion EVAPORATES. Almost like it was never even there and wasn't truly compassion in the first place (it's not that selfless if it's only offered when she adheres to HIS idea of how to properly grieve). And he never gives her the benefit of the doubt after this, never tries to understand her perspective AT ALL. All he does is continue to provoke her and harass her and then when they DO find Barriss and Ahsoka, Anakin IMMEDIATELY chooses to throw Luminara under the bus and accuse her of not caring about her own padawan RIGHT IN FRONT OF BARRISS.

Luminara, by contrast, continuously reaches out to Anakin to offer HIM compassion. Even in the face of his being a complete and utter asshole, his anger and selfishness towards her, she recognizes that this is Anakin GRIEVING the possibility of having lost Ahsoka, and so she offers selfless comfort ANYWAY. Even as he lashes out at her, even as he rejects her comfort and advice, she keeps offering it. Because she's a TRUE Jedi while Anakin is only a Jedi in name and nowhere is that more obvious than in this super direct parallel.

And you can compare this later to the advice Plo gives Anakin about Ahsoka during the Padawan Lost arc where he says that all Anakin can do at this point is trust that he's given her enough training to find her own way home. When there's nothing Anakin can truly do to help, he just has to trust in Ahsoka and trust in the Force to guide her. He has to trust he's been a good enough teacher. And in both the Geonosis episode with Luminara and the Padawan Lost arc with Plo, Ahsoka DOES manage to save herself. Anakin isn't really the person who does anything to save Ahsoka on Geonosis because he has no idea where to even start looking and it's a large area to search and they don't have enough time to search everywhere. Ahsoka sends a signal that gets through to the others, though, and THAT'S what saves her. It's something Anakin taught her before, sure, but nothing Anakin is doing right now in this moment is helping and THAT'S what Luminara is trying to impress upon him. All they can do right now, just like Plo and his men with the Malevolence, is trust in the Force and WAIT. Luminara is keeping herself calm, focused, and centered because getting emotional isn't going to help Barriss. Anakin getting emotional certainly doesn't help Ahsoka.

This is also a lesson we see pop up in other areas, as well. We see Obi-Wan getting taught a similar lesson during AOTC where he has to just trust he's taught Anakin well enough that he can manage his own obstacles and fix his own mistakes on a solo mission. He has to let go of his worries and doubts enough to let Anakin go because that's just how growing up works. And while we as the audience know that there's absolutely good reason to worry about Anakin being able to handle a solo mission, the Jedi aren't wrong to advise Obi-Wan to give Anakin room to make his own mistakes so he can grow. Also, in the episode JUST PRIOR to the one with Luminara, Landing at Point Rain, we see Anakin dealing with the loss of a loved one in the RIGHT way. Obi-Wan's ship crashes and Anakin is stuck far away and they don't know if Obi-Wan is injured or even alive. But Anakin is also still with Ahsoka and their troops, trying to get to the original landing site. Anakin COULD run ahead and try to get to Obi-Wan's ship to help him, but he'd be abandoning everybody else in order to do so and there's tons of enemies between them and the landing site, so the chances that they'd make it without his help are slim at best. So when Ahsoka starts getting emotional about wanting to help Obi-Wan, Anakin has to be the one to teach her this and tell her that they can't just go running off when it means abandoning other people to die. All they can do is protect the people they have the ability to protect and trust that in the Force and in Obi-Wan's own abilities.

So it's not like Anakin doesn't KNOW how he's supposed to handle this situation. He literally does EXACTLY what Luminara does JUST THE LAST EPISODE and teaches this exact fucking lesson to his own Padawan like the day before. And yet, when he's losing it and someone else is having to remind him about it, he can't take his own advice. He forgets everything he's ever learned and instead becomes a complete asshole to someone who has done nothing to deserve it.

So the lesson here isn't that you should never do anything to try to help people that MIGHT be dead, it's about prioritizing and knowing what it is you CAN do in the situation. With Plo, Anakin and Ahsoka CAN go save Plo, sure, but it means making a concession somewhere else. They prioritize saving Plo over staying with their own battalion. Plo has to prioritize keeping his men alive which means he has to choose to be optimistic even in the face of low odds because all he CAN do is keep fighting to stay alive as long as possible. Anakin can't REALLY do anything for Ahsoka when the factory explodes because he just has too little information to act on and this drives him NUTS. AHSOKA can work on sending a signal to him, but all Anakin can do is WAIT and have faith that Ahsoka will find a way out. Anakin's not so good at the faith thing, though, just canonically. Anakin doesn't like letting go of that much control in his life (or the lives of people he cares about). Luminara, however, CAN let go of the need to have control over everything and is doing what little she CAN do, which is reaching out with the Force to see if she can sense where Barriss is and keeping herself calm and focused.

Anakin IS wrong both times. The fact that things work out for him both times doesn't make him right in either instance. Remember, the exact things that cause him to make the choices he does HERE are the same things he uses to convince himself it's okay to commit a genocide against the Jedi later in order to save Padme. It's the exact same reasoning, he just gets lucky these times and gets LESS lucky later.

#star wars #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #luminara unduli #plo koon #barriss offee #jedi #pro jedi #attachment #attachment ≠ love

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isagrimorie · 8 months

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You know what I've wanted but I never thought they'd address in Star Wars Ahsoka?

Ahsoka's tendency to be just as lethal as Anakin. Obi-Wan could never kill Anakin but I believe with all my heart despite loving Anakin and maybe even because she loves Anakin, Ahsoka would have killed Anakin if she were in Mustafar too.

It would have broken Ahsoka but she would have gone through with it -- I believe she'd have done it too in Malachor, she'd die trying at least.

(source: @padawan-tano from this gifset)

But also at 16 years old, she beheaded 4 Death Watch members SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Even if Obi-Wan can do this move, he wouldn't choose to do this move because he wasn't a Wartime Jedi. I don't remember if this is before or after the Citadel arc. Looking it up, yeah, the Citadel arc happened in season 3, the Citadel mission was one of the hardest missions she's been on in her young life.

There was a reason neither Obi-Wan and Anakin wanted her there, so Plo-Koon, what the hell!? (I love you Plo-Koon but you spoil Ahsoka).

As this meta points out the Citadel arc is when the war gets real for Ahsoka in a way she can't just push away.

It's subtle and it's not called out but Ahsoka basically does something that Anakin did where Anakin stabs a bad guy in the back and the first notes of the imperial march begin to sound.

And ironically it's to save Tarkin.

Ahsoka had to stab an enemy in the back to save Tarkin (of all people, I bet Ahsoka regrets saving Tarkin years later).

The way Ahsoka stares dazedly at the man she killed by stabbing him in the back... The Citadel arc was rough on Ahsoka.

And then Tarkin tells Anakin: "You've trained her well."

No wonder Ahsoka's afraid she was a little too much like Anakin.

It doesn't help that a ghost of a potential future tells her:

(source by @mlmanakin)

“There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master. Do you feel it?”

and then later: "There are many contradictions in you... and in him."

And I am so, so excited that we might be delving into Ahsoka's contradictions. She can be the warmest person in the room but god, can she also make the coldest, most pragmatic decisions for war.

Easily one of the coldest was her decision to set Maul free and use him as a distraction during the Siege of Mandalore - Shattered.

(source by @manny-jacinto)

Ahsoka doesn't want to directly kill or maim the Clone Troopers herself, but it doesn't mean she won't use someone else to do it.

If Maul dies in this, it would be one more thing off her hands.

And I don't think people really get what function Ahsoka served in the fledgling rebellion-- she was basically in Luthen's role in Andor. She's not as quick to go to the most expedient solution, but it doesn't mean she won't.

In season 1 of Star Wars Rebels Ahsoka, as Fulcrum, told Hera to leave Kanaan in the hands of the inquisitor, knowing full well what would be done to Kanaan. She was in the Citadel arc where Jedi were imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Ahsoka knew. But she did the cold math in her head -- but if it weren't for Ezra's message that reminded Ahsoka who she was fighting for and why....)

Ahsoka basically did the cold math in her head at the start of 1x04, Fallen Jedi, when she told Sabine they might have to destroy the map and strand Ezra in another universe in order to keep Thrawn from entering their galaxy and restarting another war.

This is why Baylan's condemnations:

Really, really got to Ahsoka.

When Ahsoka told Sabine in 1x03, that anger unbalances her -- it's extra true of Ahsoka.

But I also don't want to discount what Ahsoka's mother taught her about death, how one must respect death but not fear it, and how that might have influenced Ahsoka's understanding of death as a warrior.

Still, I feel Ahsoka has the same fear as Buffy did -- that all this killing has made her cold with a bonus fear that she might be too like her old Master and fall into the dark side.

I'm so excited for 1x05 and see how this will all tie together now that she's seeing Anakin again. Snips and Skyguy have a lot to talk about and resolve.

#ahsoka tano #star wars #star wars: the clone wars #flashing gif #flashing images #ahsoka spoilers #star wars rebels #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka 1x04

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just-dreaming-marvel · 2 years

Text

The Bond Between Us ~ 11

THE BOND BETWEEN US MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,345ish

Summary: Obi-Wan gets summoned to the Jedi Council Chambers, running into you when he gets there.

Notes: There’s a slight mention of the flashback scene from the Kenobi series, if anyone will even notice. The scene will actually show up in the Kenobi chapters. Please send thoughts and comments and what you enjoyed and such! I love seeing it all! Reblogs, comments, and asks are always welcome! Also, I just had to use this gif. I just love it so much.

Obi-Wan was beginning to question how he ever lived without your friendship. He was longing to just walk beside you or talk to you or feel your Force signature. Something. You had been gone for weeks with no word from you and the Council was not willing to disclose any information as well. Every time he tried to reach out to you with the Force, he came up blank. He was starting to think you might have died and nobody was willing to tell him.

It was almost exactly five weeks to the day Obi-Wan last saw you when he was summoned to the Jedi Council Chambers. He was nervous, to say the least, and trying his best to keep his thoughts and emotions in check. When he arrived at the Chambers, the doors were opened to reveal you walking out. Obi-Wan’s eyes immediately did a sweep of you, checking to see if you were okay and in tack. The only notable difference that he could see was the lack of your Padawan braid.

“Y/N,” he gasped. “You’re back. Are you alright? Why have you been gone for so long?”

“Master Kenobi,” you smiled. He tried not to flinch at the formality. “I wish I could answer your questions but the Council is waiting for you.”

“Then will you wait for me to be finished?”

“I’m afraid that I must move my things to my new room.”

“Your new room?”

“Yes, the Council has granted me permission to be closer to the other Jedi. Come find me once you’re finished and we can talk then.”

“Yes, okay.”

Obi-Wan smiled as he watched you walk away. He was happy that you were finally back at the Jedi Temple. Now he only needed to get this Council meeting over with quickly in order to talk to you about why you disappeared for five weeks. Obi-Wan entered the Chambers and stood in the middle. He immediately noticed an empty chair.

“Master Kenobi, thank you for joining us,” Master Windu said.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan responded with a slight head bow. “How may I be of service?”

Several of the Jedi Masters shared a look, not going unnoticed by Obi-Wan.

“Like to offer you a seat on the Council, we would,” Yoda said.

“What?” Obi-Wan breathed out in shock.

“You have shown great strength, leadership, and knowledge in the Force,” Windu complimented. “We would be honored to have you on the Council.”

“Thank you.” Obi-Wan bowed again. “I am honored you find me worthy.”

“Please,” Windu motioned to the empty seat. Obi-Wan took a deep breath as he walked over and took his place on the Council. “Now, there are multiple items on the agenda for today. The first is the war. The Senate and Chancellor have asked the Jedi to be Generals over the clones.”

“Worried, I am about this,” Yoda admitted. “But see no way out, I do.”

“I see no way out as well,” Master Plo Koon said.

“Who would the General’s be?” Obi-Wan wondered.

“Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights would fill the role of Generals,” Mace answered. “Padawan’s would be Commanders.”

“Brings up our question, it does,” Yoda said. “Master Obi-Wan, ready for the trials is your Padawan?”

“You’re considering Anakin for the trials?” Obi-Wan questioned.

“Yes,” Ki-Adi responded. “We need all the Generals we can get.”

“And despite his lack of following orders, Skywalker is a great strategist and leader,” Windu admitted. “As well as strong in the Force.”

“I believe that my Padawan could pass the trials.”

“But ready, do you believe him to be?” Yoda pressed.

“Our former Padawan Y/N, though only interacting with Skywalker a few times in the last ten years, believes that Anakin is ready,” Windu explained. Obi-Wan tried to ignore the pride that swelled in him at the information that you were no longer a Padawan. “Do you believe Skywalker is ready?”

Obi-Wan silently thought for a second. He had just dueled Anakin last week and thought that he wasn’t ready due to how he went about his attacks. You knew of the way Anakin’s emotions controlled him. You had volunteered yourself for a name change and separation because of it. So if you believed Anakin to be ready, there had to be a reason behind it and Obi-Wan would trust it.

“Yes, I do,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Bring your Padawan to us, Master Obi-Wan,” Yoda requested. “The trials, he will start.”

~~~

Over the last five weeks, you had completed your trials, was knighted in a private ceremony with just the Jedi Council, and had been sent on assignment to Kamino. On Kamino, you began setting up how the Jedi would oversee the training of the clones. At first, you had argued with the Council about sending you, especially since you were against this war. But you did not prevail and willing did what the Council asked you to.

During your time away, you missed Obi-Wan more than you cared to admit. In just the short time you had been reunited, you could feel the growth in your bond tenfold. It was part of the reason you had to shield your signature from him. Besides the fact that the Council asked for you to keep your assignment a secret as they figured out how involved the Jedi would be in the war, you had just become a Jedi Knight and knew that breaking the Code would be even more frowned upon now.

You were very grateful to be back at the Jedi Temple. Though having only been gone a few weeks, it felt like a lifetime. Upon arriving back, you were summoned straight to the Council Chambers. There, you reported on your assignment as well as answered questions about how you felt about Anakin being ready for the trials. You had expressed your confusion, saying that only Master Kenobi and the Council could deem him fit or not but they insisted on an answer from you.

So, trusting in what you were sensing in the Force, you told him that you believed Anakin was ready and that Master Kenobi had done a wonderful job in his training. It was then that you were told that Obi-Wan was going to be offered a seat on the Council. You couldn’t help but be excited for Obi-Wan. He deserved that seat and you knew that he would honor and respect it more than another Master would.

After also having been told that you could move rooms, your meeting with the Council ended. When you exited the room, Obi-Wan was walking up. You bit the inside of your cheek as you took in how handsome he looked. You greeted him, knowing that the Council was listening in, and told him to come and find you after his meeting.

You, not so willingly, left him in front of the Council room and went to get your new room sorted. You didn’t have very many personal belongings, a Jedi wasn’t supposed to, so it was easy moving into your new room. You had honestly never been in the part of the Jedi Temple where the quarters were. You just never had any need to. You felt slightly out of place as you made your way to your new room, seeing Jedi walk in and out of rooms while talking to each other. It must be nice, to have friendships like that. You were too distracted by watching the other Jedi interact to notice that you were going to run into someone.

“Woah, watch out where you’re going, Y/N,” Anakin’s voice rang in your ears.

“Sorry, Ani,” you replied, lowering your head in embarrassment.

“What are you doing all the way down here? You’ve never been to this part of the Temple.”

“The Council is letting me move rooms and be closer to the other Jedi.”

“The Council’s favorite finally gets to be part of the regular crowd.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, everyone knows you’re the Council’s favorite. It’s no secret. Don’t worry, no one except me knows why. Well, besides Obi-Wan.”

Something about what Anakin was telling you stood out the most. “I… I’m talked about?”

“Younger Jedi can be the worst gossips.”

“Oh.” You suddenly felt like all eyes were on you. You had the urge to shrink into yourself. “Anakin, would you mind showing me to my new room? I… I would like to get things set up and then meditate.”

“Always work and no play with you. Come on,” Anakin turned around, “I think I know where your room is.”

You anxiously followed Anakin further down the hall. You kept glancing around, feeling like everyone was staring at you.

“Here it is,” Anakin said, stopping in front of one of the many similar-looking doors. “Right where I thought it would be.”

You looked up and saw that a nameplate had been placed on your door. Foolish enough, you had thought that perhaps the Council would have had it say ‘Y/N Skywalker’, but they had it as ‘Y/N L/N’. You sighed.

“Obi-Wan is the door to the right of yours,” Anakin told you.

“He is?” You questioned, failing to mask the excitement.

“Yes,” he chuckled. A beeping sound came from his communicator on his rest. “It’s Obi-Wan. I’ve got to go.”

“Thanks for showing me to my room, Ani.”

“Anytime. See you around.”

You took a deep breath as you turned to face your new door. You stepped up to it, causing it to slide open. Entering, you immediately noticed how quaint it was. There was a small living space and kitchenette to the left with another doorway to the right that you knew led to the bedroom and refresher. Your head snapped back to focus on the hallway when you heard Jedi whispering as they walked by. Unable to think anything but that they were whispering about you, you hurried further into your room, the door sliding shut behind you.

~~~

Obi-Wan was tired, to say the least. The Council meeting had lasted longer than he would have hoped. Anakin and himself had to find the Council on how many trials Anakin would have to take since he had already been and gone through so much. The Council eventually agreed with the Master and Padawan. It was decided that Anakin would start the rest of the trials tomorrow, with Obi-Wan’s guidance. That meant that Obi-Wan only had the rest of the day to see you since he didn’t know how long he could be gone with Anakin.

As he headed for his room, Obi-Wan began to sense your signature. He smiled, believing that you were waiting in his room for him. He passed by the room next to his, having to pause and do a double take when he realized your signature was coming from there and that there was a nameplate on the door with your name on it. Obi-Wan’s smile grew as he went to knock. He paused before his knuckles made contact on the door. Something wasn’t right in your signature. There was an anxiousness and self-consciousness coming from your signature that he had never felt from you before. Obi-Wan quickly grew concerned.

“Y/N?” Obi-Wan called as finally knocked. “It’s me, Obi-Wan.”

You had heard him but didn’t respond. You were sitting on your couch with your legs pressed up against your chest. Your chin was resting on your knees as you stared blankly across the room.

“Y/N,” Obi-Wan tried again. “I can sense you in there… please let me in.” Still nothing. “Fine, I’m coming in myself.” He waved his hand, using the Force to open the door. When he saw your position on the couch, he rushed over. “Y/N? Y/N? What’s wrong?”

Obi-Wan knelt down in front of you. His hands itched to touch you but he wasn’t going to cross any boundaries that you weren’t prepared for. He noticed that your eyes were glazed over and that you weren’t focusing on him. Pushing out his signature, he wrapped it around yours. Your body had an immediate reaction, loosening up from its ridged form.

“Little star…” Obi-Wan breathed out.

“I’m a freak,” you whispered. Even with how close Obi-Wan was, he could barely pick it up.

“What? Did someone say something?”

“They didn’t have to… The way they’re staring and whispering and Anakin said that everyone believes that I’m the Council’s favorite,” your words began to speed up as you heaved breaths. “I’m the Jedi freak who was kept away from the rest of the Order and specially taught and trained. I don’t have any friends or acquaintances. I am all alone.”

“Y/N, slow down, breathe.”

Obi-Wan moved his head to force you to make eye contact as one of his hands went to rest on your foot and the other came up to cradle your face. You looked into his eyes as yours filled with tears.

“I’m the Jedi Temple freak,” you repeated.

“No,” Obi-Wan shook his head, “you are not the Jedi Temple freak.”

“But they keep whispering and staring…”

“They are just jealous, little star. You’ve gotten the best training than any other Jedi ever has. They have heard of your connection with the Force and your fighting techniques. They are simply just interested in you.”

You stayed silent, slow tears beginning to fall down your face. “I didn’t ask to be kept away from everyone… I only wished to do what was right for Anakin… That’s all I’ve ever wanted…”

“Oh, my little star… you are too kind and wise for your own good.” He moved to sit beside you on the couch. Gently, he took your hands and placed them with his in his lap. His thumbs began rubbing the back of your hands. “The other Jedi are going to whisper and stare, unfortunately. Anakin experienced the same thing when I first started training him. He learned to deal with it quickly. I do wish that you had the same opportunity as he did, but I will help you now as I helped him then.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever done anything to cause you to doubt me?”

“Well, no. But we also just became friends again.”

“Again? We weren’t?”

“You know what I mean.”

One of his hands came up to your face. You leaned into his hand. “I promise I will help you get through this, little star. You won’t be alone.”

“Yet, if I am correct, you are helping start Anakin’s trials tomorrow.”

Obi-Wan sighed, letting his hand come back down to his lap. “That is correct.”

“I will be fine, Obi. I will train and meditate, and show them what I am capable of doing. I am sorry you had to deal with me like this…”

“Please do not apologize, little star. I am happy to help.”

You nodded. “Oh my gosh, I just remembered what happened today. You were offered a seat on the Council. Here I am worried about trivial things and you go offered the highest honor that could be bestowed upon a Jedi.”

Obi-Wan shook his head with a small smile. “Your needs were more important than any congratulations I could hear.”

“Well, congratulations anyway. I am so proud of you.”

Obi-Wan’s heart swelled. You were proud of him. “Thank you. And Anakin will be starting his trials tomorrow. I do believe that a lot of it had to do with you.”

“The Council wanted an answer and I gave the one the Force was telling me to.” You paused, feeling around Obi-Wan’s signature for a moment. “You are concerned about Anakin’s readiness for the trials.”

“I am,” he sighed. “He just still has a lot to learn. His emotions control him. He is not mindful of his thoughts. He is more focused on victory than anything else in a fight, which causes him to lose.”

You nodded along as he spoke. “All of your concerns are valid, Obi. I honestly wouldn’t have told the Council that Ani was ready if the Force hadn’t told me to do so. But for some reason, he needs to go through the trials right now.”

“I wish that I had your connection with the Force, little star.”

“It is both a blessing and a burden.”

“You still haven’t told me why you were gone for so long.”

You sighed. “I passed my trials and then the Council quickly knighted me afterward.”

“I can’t believe they didn’t let you have a regular knighting ceremony.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t need everyone staring at me like they’re doing now.”

“Did your trials take you that long to complete?”

“No,” you shook your head. “I was faster than they ever thought was possible. Making the Council very proud. After my knighting, they immediately assigned me to go back to Kamino.”

“Kamino? Whatever for?”

“I started the oversight of the training of the clones… for this war we’ve gotten ourselves mixed up in.”

“They sent you?”

You nodded. “Yes. They wanted someone they could trust to go.”

“And they couldn’t trust a Master? Or themselves?”

“I do not know, Obi-Wan. I only did as I was told.”

“Will you be stationed on Kamino during the war?” Obi-Wan was slightly hoping you would say yes, it would be safer for you than the frontlines.

“No.” You could feel the worry building up in Obi-Wan’s signature. “I will be a General on the frontlines.” Obi-Wan looked away. “I will be fine, Obi-Wan. I am able to take care of myself. I’ve done it for a while now.”

“Yes, but this is different, Y/N.” He looked back at you. “This is war.”

“I know that this is war. The Force reminds me with every breath I take. I can feel it all around, slowly building in the air until it will eventually not allow me to breathe anymore. I can promise to take care of myself the best that I can, but can you and Anakin promise the same? I know you both and have heard stories of how chaotic things can get on assignments with the two of you. I know that Jedi are not supposed to feel fear, but I do fear what may happen to the both of you. I don’t know how I would be able to go on without Anakin…” You squeezed his hand that was still holding yours. “Without you…” You nervously met his gaze.

“That is my fear as well, little star. I guess we must promise each other to try our best to prevent the other from fretting.”

“I guess so…”

You two sat there, staring at each other. Your signatures were still tangled with each other, trying to ease each other's fears.

“I should go,” he whispered, keeping eye contact with you. “I have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you should go,” you responded softly. Obi-Wan made no move to go. “Or… we could sit here and you could help me try to sleep? My mind is still struggling to believe I’m not the Temple freak.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Alright. I can say a little longer.”

The logical, Jedi part of Obi-Wan was screaming at himself. He was breaking the Code, even if he was just “helping a friend”. He really knew there was more behind it. Obi-Wan didn’t care at the moment, he just wanted to help you. Besides, he would just stay until you were asleep, then he would go to his own room. So, slowly, he reached around you, putting his arm around your shoulders, and pulled you into him. You carefully rested your head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat underneath you.

“Thank you,” you whispered, eyes already drooping.

Obi-Wan kissed your head. “Of course, little star.”

next chapter >

TAGLIST IS CLOSED - Taglist Information

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starryevermore · 1 year

Text

all those chickens ✧ commander wolffe

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: Star Wars request? reader making Gen Z references while infiltrating a base and everyone is just “wtf” but as soon as they stop it’s all hands on deck coz reader is just silent and that ain’t normal so ⭐️PaNiC⭐️ turns out…there was a lil porg and they turned comms off to save it - anon

pairing: commander wolffe x fem!reader

summary: wolffe does not understand all of the strange references you make to the culture of your home planet, earth. but, when you go silent on a mission, wolffe finds himself worried at the lack of communication.

word count: 1,835

warnings?: reader is from earth, i’ll be honest there’s a fair mix of both millennial and gen z references in this but whatcha gonna do about it, not proofread

Commander Wolffe didn’t pretend to understand you. Trying to understand you was like trying to understand the Force—it only ever gave him a migraine so intense he would rather listen to C-3PO talk for hours on end without interruption. Or, perhaps, that was a bit extreme—no one could listen to that droid talk that long without wanting to bash their head through a wall. But, nevertheless, whenever Wolffe attempted to understand the strange things you would say, the references you would make to a culture only you were familiar with, it left him with more questions than answers.

After all, why were you doing something for the vine? What the hell was a “no bones” day and why was it being determined by a geriatric animal? (A pug? What the kark was a pug?) Why did you pick up a glass of blue milk and mutter “what is wrong with you? why are you blue?” before laughing like you told the most amazing joke in the galaxy? And never mind the words and phrases themselves you would use—“rizz”, “stan”, “yeet”, “bussin’”, “vibe check”, “I’m weak”, “main character energy”, “borg”. And don’t get him started on how you would end words with “-ussy”!

It was one of the very few times that Wolffe questioned the Jedi General Plo Koon in his decision to have you join them. In Wolffe’s view, no matter what benefits you might bring to fighting the war, it was all substantially lessened by the fact that you didn’t make a bit of sense half the time. And don’t get him started about how you always seem shocked when he or his brothers didn’t understand whatever bantha shit you were going on about.

“You wouldn’t last a day on Earth,” you’d muttered once when he questioned why you put on an accent and said “airport? I’m not going to the airport.” when Wolffe said you needed to report to the hangar.

“I would sooner walk into an active battle zone without any weapons than I would step foot on your planet,” he’d said.

“Weird flex but okay.”

He didn’t miss the flash of hurt on your face, though, he said that. It was that day that he learned your planet, in a galaxy far, far, away, had been destroyed and you were one of the very few survivors. And, well, while Wolffe might not have experienced a loss on the scale of billions, he did know loss. And he knew a thing or two about trying to keep the memory of lost loved ones alive. So, while he might not have understood every strange thing you said, he didn’t give you as much of a hard time about anymore.

That said, it still confused the hell out of him everything you referenced something from your culture. Even now, as you joined the 104th on a mission and kept going on and on about things Wolffe could never dream of understanding. For a brief moment, you had even ran ahead of them, chasing after a group of porgs, until Wolffe ordered you back to his side. He couldn’t let you run out into a trap, after all.

“Look at all those chickens!” you said, looking out the porgs roaming around. The little buggers seemed to have infiltrated the Separatist base on their own. It was almost funny, actually, imaging the little critters annoying the clankers.

Comet looked at you, his head titled. His bucket shielded his facial expressions, but Wolffe was almost certain that Comet was looking at you like you said that the porgs were rancors or something equally wild. “Those are porgs?”

“It’s a reference to something on the foliage app,” Sinker said. He looked at you for confirmation. “Right?”

“It’s called Vine,” Wolffe grunted. When he looked back at you, he saw a smile on your face. His heart stuttered. (Why? You smiled all the time. It was almost annoying, how smiley you were.) “What?”

“You remembered. I thought you didn’t care when I babbled on about Earth things.”

“I neither have to care nor understand what you’re talking about to listen to you,” Wolffe said.

“I think you care,” you said. You bumped your shoulder against his. “You act like a big, strong wolf, but really you’re a sweet, little puppy. All bark, no bite.”

Wolffe barred his teeth, snarling at you, but it did little to stop the laughter echoing throughout the Wolfpack. You lifted your chin, smiling widely at him. Then, you raised your arm, your hand resting on top of his bucket, before you tapped it once, twice—pat, pat!

The Wolfpack’s laughter turned into near howls. Comet nearly doubled over. Booster slung an arm around your shoulder, tugging you closer to him. A spark rose in Wolffe’s chest. He wasn’t sure what he was more upset by—your teasing or one of his brothers touching you.

“Warthog, Y/N, go find the control room and extract the information we need. The rest of us will deal with the clankers,” Wolffe grunted, trying to stamp out his frustration as they neared the control room in the Separatist base.

He had no right to be upset, after all. Why would he? You were another member of his squad. You were a friend. That was it. Surely, there had to be some other reason that Wolffe was so bothered by this. Maybe it had something to do with it being so long since they were on leave. Maybe he was just missing companionship in general, and that was making him feel things toward you. You were, after all, the only woman he saw on a day to day basis. Yes. That’s what it was. It was nothing personal.

…Right?

Wolffe kept his focus on scouting ahead, ignoring the laughter from his brothers. As he put some distance between himself and you, Comet jogged up to join him. Kriff. This wasn’t going to be good.

His younger brother bumped his shoulder against Wolffe’s, and practically crowed, “Oh, Wolffe! You’re such a little puppy!”

“Watch it,” Wolffe growled. His grip on his blaster tightened, his knuckles turning white. “Focus on the mission.”

Sinker laughed. “C’mon, vod, how can we take you seriously when you’re all bark, no bite?”

“Oh, lay off him,” Boost said. Wolffe wanted to believe his brother was on his side, but Boost was, perhaps, probably the worst about teasing him. He knew Wolffe long enough to know all the ways to get under his skin, and he always took full advantage of it. “He just cares so much, he doesn’t know what to do with himself!”

Wolffe stomped ahead, feeling something akin to a petulant child, as his brothers’ laughter echoed around him. Why did they have to make this something it wasn’t? Why did they act like there was something there?

But, why was there this…uneasy feeling settling over him? Wolffe’s hand dropped to his comm. You hadn’t said anything for a long time. Why was that? Usually, he couldn’t get you to shut up. You always had some sort of commentary, whether it be those ridiculous Earth references or it be you just babbling on about whatever it was you were doing at the moment.

“Y/N, do you copy?” he asked into his comm.

Silence.

Panic settled deep in his chest. He repeated the question a second, then a third, time. He never got a response.

“Warthog, is Y/N with you? She’s not answering her comm.”

“Uhh…”

Wolffe almost preferred the silence. An unsure answer…Well, that usually meant there had been some sort of trouble. And if you were caught in that trouble…Wolffe shuddered at the thought. You were part of his squad. You were someone he was supposed to look out for. Wolffe wasn’t sure if he could stand it if something happened to you. He didn’t want to lose another member of his squad.

But…Well, it went deeper than that, didn’t it? If something happened…If he never got to see you smile again, if he never got to hear you laugh, if he never was left scratching his head at some strange thing you said, Wolffe’s life would feel incomplete. He would miss you. He would more than miss you. He would tear apart the entire galaxy if it meant getting revenge on whoever would hurt a hair on your head.

“Yes or no, trooper?” Wolffe barked.

“Well, she was just here, sir. And now…she’s not.”

“What the kark is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know! I just looked up and she was gone!”

“Well, find her!” Wolffe snapped.

As Wolffe turned to look for you, too, he shot at a couple of clankers that had rounded the corner before taking off in search of you. Kriff. Was he the only one whose brain fully formed? Why the hell would you just wander off like that? Why the hell wouldn’t Warthog immediately report that? Why the hell didn’t Warthog keep a closer eye on you? Anything could happen out here!

“What’s wrong?” Comet asked, firing at a clanker, as he saw Wolffe double back. “Are we retreating?”

“Warthog lost Y/N,“ he growled.

“Damn. Better go find your girl then,” Comet said.

“She’s not—just, watch my six, okay?”

Thankfully, he didn’t need to go far. As he neared the control room, he saw blaster fire and a clanker fall, then heard your voice as you said, “There ya go, baby. Evil droid is all gone!”

“What the kriff do you think you’re doing?” Wolffe asked when he got nearer.

“Was saving this little fella,” you said. You were cradling the porg in your arms as if it were a baby. When you looked up at Wolffe, your eyes were wide, your lips in a pout. He fought the urge to reach out, grab you by the face, and kiss you until you couldn’t breathe. “Can we keep him, please? He could be the mascot of the 104th!”

“…I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that.”

“He’s just a baby! Say hi, baby!” you cooed. You lifted the porg, which squawked in Wolffe’s face.

Wolffe reached out, grasping your arm in his hand, and began tugging you away. “C’mon, we got what we needed. Let’s get outta here.”

“But the baby—”

“…Take it up with the General.” Wolffe paused, then took a moment to look you over, make sure that you didn’t earn any injuries in your impromptu rescue mission. “And, Y/N…?”

“Yes?”

“…don’t ever go silent on me like that again.”

A smile tugged at your lips. “Even if it means you have to listen to my silly little Earth references?”

Wolffe almost held back, almost didn’t say what he was thinking. But, well…He really didn’t like it when he thought something had happened to you. And so he said, “I would rather hear your strange references than never hear from you again.”

And he meant every word.

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toomanybandstocare · 1 year

Text

{A Small Army}

Program: With requests and paperwork assignments falling from two generals, you feel overwhelmed by the lack of support to help finish the additional work. Too afraid to make another mistake, you throw yourself into your tasks unaware of the watchful eyes of those around you. If you won't ask for help yourself, then Wolffe will remind you of the people around who care and want to help. And he'll take the time to explain just how much you mean to him and how much he's willing to do for you, if you let him.

Pairing: Commander Wolffe x GN! Reader

Side Pairing Ref: Fives x OC! Kiva

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Length: 4110w

Warnings: Some swears, Overwhelming/Anxious emotions (no outright panic attack, but reader does show beginning symptoms), Petnames (Riduur, Cya'rika, Partner, Love), Reader gets pick up and carried for a little bit before being placed back on their feet

Counselor Note: I had a conversation with @twistedstitcher27 about how communication isn't typically shown in literature, and got inspired to write my own :) If you're a clone wars fan (18+ only) definitely check out their work!

Camp Resolute Masterlist

“I expected more from you,” General Plo Koon sighs as you shrink before him.

The command center hums in silence as everyone tries not to look at the two of you. Their quick glances burn into your skin as you stand before the Triumphant’s general. The thick atmosphere suffocates you.

“I- I’m, sorry, general,” you begin in a hurry. “I can make up that surveillance report in just a few moments. I can get started,” you fumble with your words as General Koon raises his hand to stop you.

“That’s quite alright,” he says. “I’m sure you have more work to keep up with, so just head back to your console. I can prepare one before the meeting quickly”. General Koon pats your shoulder with a nod as he walks past you to leave for the council meeting.

Forcing a deep breath through into your lungs, you move to your systems console. Chatter slowly grows as your fellow officers try to return the command center to its usual flow. However, the pained smiles and sympathetic looks sit heavy with you. As you sink into your seat and slowly wish it could eject you into space, a light hearted chuckle comes from just behind your shoulder.

“I know I don’t need to tell you this, but I wouldn’t take it personally,” Kiva reminds you. He rests his hip against your console desk, and he looks at you with a genuine smile.

“Glad to ever be your source of amusement, Kiva,” you huff. His teasing helps relieve some of the aching tension that rooted in your shoulders. You tear your gaze away from his, and your small smile melts as you boot up the computer systems. “Real talk?”

Kiva’s posture straightens as he looks at you in all seriousness. In a low voice he responds, “Real talk”.

“I keep mixing up the generals’ requests, and I feel like I’m losing my mind with everything stacking on top of each other,” you admit. Your fingertips dance across the keypad as your eyes flicker between Kiva and the holoscreen. “I was up all night working on the survivor assessment for General Kenobi, and I guess-,” your voice trails off as a corporal walks past you to the command console.

“You got lost with the pile of work handed off to you, and the surveillance report slipped from your mind,” Kiva concludes.

Those words hold nothing but the truth, yet they punch you in the chest. Only able to nod your head, you pull up your schedule and task list to cross reference the day’s priorities.

“I just don’t understand why General Kenobi hasn’t been assigned a new civilian officer yet,” Kiva ponders. He grabs the empty chair from the next console over to join you at your station. “Have you mentioned this to Wolffe at all,” he gently asks as he leans on the chair arm. His words become even quieter as he refers to the Commander.

You shoot him an annoyed look before continuing on with the report on Felucia’s ecosystem. “Why would I need to share this with the commander,” your cool voice rings clear with your opinion on the matter. “I’m more than capable of handling some paperwork”.

“Clearly,” Kiva laughs, “Since you keep getting piled up with shitloads everyday, because you’re still worried about proving your keep. Just give me some. I don’t have much going on today, and I know you’re overwhelmed with all of this”.

Before you can open your mouth to protest, Kiva rolls his chair to bump you out of his way. His hands fly across the keypad, and what seems like only a few parsecs laters, the comm signal beeps from his console.

Putting his elbow on your console, he rests his head against his palm as he turns to face you with a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Now, we can talk about why you don’t want to tell Wolffe what’s going on,” he pushes.

A sting of guilt prickles in your chest. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell him,” you softly admit. “I just don’t want to add to his worries. Felucia is not looking like an easy operation, and he’s been pulled into almost every mission even if it’s under the 212th or 501st’s lead. He has so much more pressing concerns going on, and I don’t want to add to it when we manage a moment alone”. You pull yourself back to your console system and bump Kiva out of the way as you pull up the task list once more. “What did you send over to yourself?”

Kiva sighs beside you, “Community rehabilitation. Just promise you won’t hide this from Wolffe?”

You hum, not giving a definitive answer. The holoscreen has your complete attention as your work on analyzing the ecosystem’s terrain. Determined to make up for your mistakes, you press on throughout the day. When your commanding officers ask for a check, you provide one with minimal delay. Once the council meeting has ended, you immediately put together a tentative schematic based on their decision, and you have it pulled up on the main holopad by the time the generals and commanders return to the deck. Throwing yourself into your work, you hardly notice the late hour from your chronometer or how most of the other officers have gone off to the mess hall for dinner.

“Hey, you coming?,” the corporal of the 104th calls over to you. Comet sends you an inviting smile, and you can only return a tired smile when you shake your head. “Come on,” he beckons you with a wave of his arm, “I don’t think I’ve seen you leave the deck all day. You need to take care of yourself, you know”.

“I’ll be there in a bit, corporal,” you compromise. Your words start to slur together, and you have to blink away the dryness across your eyes.

“How many times do I have to tell you, call me Comet,” he shoots a teasing smile that doesn’t last long. Comet’s concerned eyes take you in. Your body leans the console for support. Watery eyes cause you to flinch when you blink. Multiple water bottles and snack kits on the ground beside your station. “Just,” he hesitates, “don’t wait too long, alright? The food may be shitty, but it’s something. Join us when you finish up”.

Comet waits for your hum of acknowledgement, and only leaves after he watches you fall back into your databases.

“Come on, Comet,” Sinker says under his breath. He pulls Comet away from your hunched figure. “At this rate, the candle is burning at both ends. We’ll give Wolffe a heads up, but there’s not much more that we can do”.

“I’m this close,” Boost hisses and holds up his thumb and pointer finger barely touching each other between the three of them. The bay doors slide behind them, and their footsteps echo against the corridor. “This close from having Fives tell Kiva to intercept and send half that extra work to me. Just because the 212th is short handed with civilian relief doesn't mean they can dump it all on our civvie”.

It doesn’t take very long for the troopers to reach the mess hall as the corridors lack their usual traffic. Second shift has already begun to take over their posts, and most of the first shift have found their spot in the mess hall. An unspoken understanding drives the three men to search for their leader before finding a place in line for the evening’s dinner options.

There sitting cross-armed at the unofficial CO table, Wolffe watches in disinterest as Commander Cody and Captain Rex argue over which of their men would reach Arc Trooper rank next. This conversation would be somewhat bearable if his riduur was nearby. Usually chatting away with the 501st’s civilian relief officer, he finds a sense of comfort when you’re nearby. His eyes scan the mess hall as a few more groups trickle in, but disappointment only greets him at the door each time. However, the sight of three of his men walking straight to his table makes him straighten up. If it’s about the shiny who keeps starting fights with the 212th’s batch, he wants nothing to do with it.

“Commanders, Captain,” Sinker greets the officers as the three of them approach the table.

Each of the commanding officers take them in with wary eyes. Used to the trouble that their men tend to find themselves in, each dreads what the sergeant’s report will reveal.

“Sinker, Boost, Comet,” Wolffe acknowledges his men, “what is it this time? Colt starting shit he can follow through with?” With a sigh Wolffe begins to stand from his untouched meal.

“Surprisingly not,” Boost stops Wolffe before he can grab his helmet.

Wolffe looks at his men with a cautious gaze. If it wasn’t the shinies acting up, then it’s something far more serious. He slowly sits back down and looks between each trooper. All of whom shift as his eyes move from one trooper to the next. “Who’s in trouble then?” Wolffe asks.

“It would actually be our civilian officer, it seems,” Comet steps forward and meets Wolffe's cold expression. “As the 212th has recently lost their civilian relief officer, General Kenobi has handed off their previous assignments to our’s. From what I’ve been able to observe today and what I’ve overheard from Kiva and other deck officers, our civvie is overwhelmed with the sudden increase of two battalion’s worth of work”.

When you became the topic of discussion, Wolffe’s body froze as worry seeped through his plastoid armor through his skin and into his bones. Everything seemed okay from when the two of you caught up the other night. He tilts his head as he processes the corporal’s words. What is he missing?

“He shouldn’t be doing that though. Regardless of the deployment timeline, we still have enough of a grace period to wait for our new civvie officer,” Cody fills in for Wolffe. Turning to face his brother, Cody sees Wolffe fall further into himself. “Wolffe, why don’t you go check on your officer? I’ll speak with General Kenobi and remind him to split the work between the two relief officers or wait for our new civvie to arrive,” Cody calls out.

Without delay, Wolffe stands up and grabs his helmet. His body moves without thought, and Wolffe’s mind focuses on getting to you. “Thank you for letting us know of the situation,” Wolffe stiffly nods at his squad mates.

All five men watch him quickly walk through the throngs of people and exit the mess hall. They exchange glances before chuckling lightly. This relationship had to be the worst open secret of the GAR.

If anyone thought it odd to see Wolffe so uncollected, no one said a word when he marched past them. His heart races as his boots pound against the metal tiling. Why didn’t he notice you were overwhelmed? A pang falters his heartbeat, and Wolffe sucks in a quick breath. How did he fail you so badly? Practically slamming the holopad, Wolffe hurries through the deck doors just as they open.

“Cya’rika,” Wolffe pants. Desperation crawls up his throat and clings onto his words as he searches the deck. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up as silence blankets over the deck once more.

“Wolffe?” a tired mumble calls from the officers’ consoles.

Wolffe practically throws himself down the stairs and through the scattered chairs in his path. His footsteps fall short when he reaches you. “Love,” Wolffe trails off.

Barely able to keep your eyes open, you peer up at your riduur. You don’t know how long after Comet left that you drifted off to sleep. More report requests filled your inbox and a sudden desire to just stop overcame you. Your body gradually sank onto your console, and the thought of doing anything caused your chest to seize.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at dinner?” you mumble and rub your eyes. When you open your eyes again, Wolffe’s placing his helmet on the console near him as he moves closer to you. His warm eyes take you in with a concerned expression.

“I was, but a few pups told me that my cya’rika feels overwhelmed,” he slowly explains. Wolffe kneels by your side and rests his hands on the tops of your thighs.

Embarrassment burns your cheeks, and you can’t help but try to hide in your arms to avoid his gaze. Comet.

“Hey, hey,” Wolffe gently pulls your arms away and holds your face in his hands. The pads of his gloves softly graze your cheeks as he stares up with complete adoration. “What’s wrong, hm? Talk to me,” he quietly pleads.

The deck hums in anticipation as you try to form your explanation, but no words come to you. Your sight becomes blurry as tears burn your lash line. Opening your mouth, a lump forms in your throat and it constricts your airway. “I’m sorry,” you wheeze.

“None of that now. Let’s get you to bed,” Wolffe’s voice soothes your brewing anxiety.

“I still have-,” you quickly try to push on with your work. A wave of nerves rushes through you.

“Cya’rika, please,” Wolffe firmly stops you. He pulls your face to his, and he rests his forehead against yours. “We can figure this out together. I am here for you, and I want to support you. But I can only do that if you allow me,” he deep rumbles. Those words fill with tenderness as his lips invite you to fall into his hold.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” you choke on a sob.

“You are never a bother,” he states. Wolffe’s hold on your face tightens only slightly. “You hear me? Never a bother. I love you, and I adore everything about being with you. That means the celebrations and strife of life”.

“I know, but-,” you pause. Biting on your lower lip, you focus your gaze down to your lap.

Wolffe waits patiently. The familiar feeling of dread and anxiety from war often nips at the back of his mind. He rubs small circles across your cheeks as he keeps an eye on you. “I’m here,” Wolffe whispers, “I’m here for you”.

“I didn’t want to add to your stress,” you admit. “I know that you’ve had to work with more battalions and join them for additional missions. Each time your ship requests permission to dock, I run down to the hanger just to make sure you’ve come back. Each time you step off that ship looking more worn down than the last time. So for the few moments we can spend together, I just want to enjoy our time and make sure you have a moment of peace”.

When you pull your eyes to meet Wolffe’s gaze, he greets you with the softest smile that causes a flurry of butterflies to tickle your stomach. Your chest rises and falls heavy as you wait for his response. The faint signals and hissing from the deck fill the silence, but the air feels less thick between the two of you.

“Mesh’la,” Wolffe sighs and pulls you into a tight embrace to rest his head against your midsection. His breath fans across your stomach as he peers up at you. Small wrinkles crease at the corner of his eyes as they look at you in warm regard. He takes ahold of your wringing hands in one of his own, and he unlocks them to weave his fingers with yours. “I suppose we need to work on communicating our needs to each other, hm,” Wolffe hums and trails his other hand up your side. Ripples of soothing tingles spread where his fingers drag across your uniform.

“You’d think with such close quarters, we’d be in sync at this point,” you let out a relieved chuckle.

“May I share my perspective, or would you prefer we wait until you’ve gotten some rest?” Wolffe asks. Without breaking eye contact with you, he moves your hand to press a flurry of small kisses.

His lips pause at each of your knuckles, and he carefully rubs your overworked fingers. The tender care causes a sigh to slip from your lips. Your shoulders relax as you watch your riduur with an adoring expression. Wolffe holds your hand up to leave featherlight kisses on the tips of your fingers.

Neither of you rush to carry on your conversation as Wolffe presses one more kiss to the palm of your hand. Then his lips trail to your wrist with a wicked glint in his eye. He nips at the soft skin quickly and beams from your laughter. His deep rumble joins you, and your carefree expressions only calm down when you hold his cheek in your hand.

“Do you have time now?” you ask. A spark of hope soothes the jittering residual nerves from the day.

“For you? I will always make time,” Wolffe squeezes your hand that cradles his face and rubs small circles on your thigh with his other.

Your smile falters, “That’s what I’m worried about”.

“I,” Wolffe pauses. His eyes flicker across your face as he thinks about the best way to properly convey his emotions. Never having the freedom to share his feelings with another in fear of heartbreak, Wolffe wants to prove his trust in you and foster your trust in him. “I have alway wanted to experience a love where I know my partner, my hopeful riduur, becomes my safe haven. A person who I can trust with my mind, body, and soul,” Wolffe slowly explains. Tearing away his gaze, Wolffe pulls your hands together and rubs his thumbs across your knuckles.

“That’s all I ever want to be for you,” you nod your head for him to continue. Eyebrows creased as you take in his sudden change in demeanor.

“And you are,” Wolffe says and squeezes your hands, “You are my everything. The only person I want to see after a long day, because I know my concerns will be heard. My partner who stays up in the late hours of the night just to spend time with me, because my shifts end later than yours. The love of my life who makes my heart swell when I see you hiding at the hanger doors when I come back from a mission,” he shares and shoots you a knowing smile.

“I thought you didn’t notice,” you bashfully confide.

“I will always notice you,” Wolffe holds your gaze, “I search for you in every room I enter, and I only rest easy when I see you close by. I imagine you when we’re away, because picturing you smiling, safe and sound, keeps me going as blasters echo around me. Remembering how stunning you looked on our first date to the observatory, I know I have a person worth fighting for to come home when I constantly question my worth and dispensability. I have a person who sees me as who I am and loves me for the man I am as well as the man I wish to be. When I picture my riduur, I am greeted by visions of you”.

Neither of you know who shed the first tear, but you are the first to pull your hand away from his to gently wipe his tearstained face.

“You mean everything to me, cya’rika. I want to cherish and devote myself to you as you deserve in your partner,” Wolffe’s voice thick with need. A need for you to understand just how much he is willing to do for you if you allow him. He awaits for your word, your permission, to love you so deeply and care for you how he so desperately wants to. “I will only ever do my best to love you wholeheartedly and take care of you. Mind, body, and soul. But I can only do that if you allow me. Please, I want to be with you if you will have me by your side”.

You open your mouth to respond, but Wolffe beats you with a knowing look, “And don’t apologize”.

The two of you erupt into laughter mixed with sniffles and sobs. Steady hands pull you off your station chair, and you find yourself pressing your face into the crook of Wolffe’s neck while settling on his thighs.

“How are you doing?” Wolffe hums. His arms hold you tight to his chest, and he tucks your head underneath his chin.

“I’m exhausted,” you exhale. The weight of the day and emotional whirlwind brewing inside you suddenly dissipates. Fatigue settles in your bones as you pull yourself closer to your riduur.

“Then I think it’s time for some rest,” Wolffe grunts and lifts both of you up from where he kneels. His arms cradle you to him as he moves the two of you away from your console system.

Tucking your legs around his waist, Wolffe nudges your head with his chin before asking, “Grab that for me?”

Leaning away from him, you quickly grasp his helmet in one hand and pull yourself back into his embrace. Your arms drape around his neck as your cheeks warm. “You don’t have to carry me the whole way,” you point out. The idea of the entire GAR seeing the two of you like this makes you feel dizzy.

“Would you like me to put you down?” Wolffe sincerely asks.

“Please,” you nod.

With one word, Wolffe pauses just before the deck entrance to help you unwrap yourself from his hold. His hand steadies you at the waist when your footing wobbles. Looking at Wolffe, your smile blooms into a beaming expression of appreciation.

“Thank you,” you say and press a chaste kiss to his jaw.

“Anything for you,” Wolffe returns. He takes his hand from your waist and offers it to you. When you take his hand, Wolffe walks with you through the entrance and into the corridor. He leads you past the civilian wing, and your heart flutters knowing you get to spend the night in the arms of your lover. “Cody’s going to speak with General Kenobi, but in the meantime, cya’rika, please send some of the additional work to Kiva. We were all worried today after we had realized the load of osik you were dealing with. You have a small army in your corner who has your back. Remember that, alright?” Wolffe squeezes your hand.

“I won’t forget it,” you squeeze his hand in return with a chuckle, “Especially now that I know I have your pups, the 501st troublemakers, and the 212th jokers keeping an eye out for me”.

Wolffe barks a laugh as he uses his free hand to punch in his room’s passcode, and when the door hisses open, he waves his arm in front to invite you in.

The moment you step foot into his room for the first time in what feels like eternity, you take in the space. Hardly anything has changed as your eyes flitter from his bed to his lock box, but what you see on his desk makes you pause. Sitting beside a pile of schematics and datapads dangling off balance from the other objects that take up space, you find a hologram display set neatly into the corner away from the chaos. Every few seconds, a new image of you or the two of you shuffles onto display and ignites more sparks within your heart.

After you place his helmet on top of his chair, you tear your eyes away from the display and find Wolffe taking off his armor beside his bed. No matter where either of you are in the galaxy or how overwhelming life may be in a moment, you have each other to rely on.

Wolffe straightens up to face you, but his head tilts to the side at the sight of your watery smile. “What’re you thinking,” he asks as he takes slow steps towards you.

“I’m just happy to be home,” you say and take him into your arms. One of his hands rests on the back of your head while the other wraps around you.

Wolffe’s chuckle vibrates against your chest when he says, “It’s not what I have imagined for our home in the future, but for now I am more than glad to share it with you. What’s mine is yours”.

“I’m home when I’m with you,” you mumble against his chest.

Wolfee presses a kiss to the crown of your head, “Welcome home, riduur”.

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