Angstober Day 21

Parched

Gonna write a scene or two for my idea of some clones as vampires because it's in my head and I'm gonna consider it writing practice. Enjoy:

"Rex, you alright?" Rex blinks at Anakin. He's been awake for way too long and he wants nothing more than for this report to be over so he can rest, because that mission was long and slow and he's as exhausted as he is thirsty and this delay is not helping. "Just a little thirsty sir." General Skywalker nods and turns back to the holotable. Cody glances at Rex and subtly taps his wrist. Rex nods. Thankfully the meeting ends shortly after and Cody all but literally drags Rex away. "Really Cody-" "Shut up." Cody replies absently, pushing Rex into his room and following him inside. "How are you and the rest holding up outside of missions?" Rex rolls his eyes. "Mother hen. We're fine. It's the one ration we don't have to really worry about being short of." He finishes taking his armor off, frowns, and says "I could really uses a fresher. I smell terrible." "Drink first. I'm not having you fall over from thirst." Cody sits on the bunk, holding out a raised wrist. Rex rolls his eyes, muttering "mother hen" again, but he sits and takes Cody's wrist so that he can sink his teeth into the delicate veins. Cody barely winces at the bite and watches some of the tension ease out of his little brother's shoulders as Rex drinks, and lifts his other hand to gently run it over Rex's head. "I've got you Rex." Rex hums, gently pulling his teeth from skin to take a breath before sinking back. Cody leans against the wall and lets his brother drink his blood while he turns over the previous mission in his mind, trying to process the reports he'll need to make. When Rex is finished he leans against Cody's shoulder, stealing the small tube of bacta to put it over the tiny marks. "Thanks Cody." "No problem. Come on. You really do need that fresher." "Like you're any better."

I had a sudden urge to write out the moment Nova learns that Rex gets Ahsoka as a Padawan and I guess it spawned this, whoops ^^

Words: about 1k

Warnings: none

No pairings or anything, just brothers being brothers and Kio being cute. Continues a bit under the cut.

———

It’s almost the night cycle on the Serenity when Nova gets an incoming comm from Rex. He’s been diligently cleaning his helmet with a brush, trying to get dirt out of all the small edges while Kio has been softly snoring away on his lap as his wristcomm starts blinking at him.

Which is, for lack of a better word, unusual.

He and Rex usually message before a call, to prevent unplanned interruptions of the others work. They almost never comm each other spontaneously. Nova tries to remember what campaign his brother is currently on, and whether he should be worried that Rex is in some sort of trouble -quickly pushing the thought or worse away. Frowning, he lifts his wristcomm, ready to accept the call when he sees its actually a request for in-helmet.

Careful not to disturb the sleeping Padawan on his lap he shimmies his helmet on, turning off the external speakers. When he accepts the call he is greeted by not only audio, but Rex’s helmet cam as well. Rex seems to briskly walking through the hangar of his General's flagship, brothers milling about around him.

“Rex? You alright?“ Nova asks, worry rising in his throat. He can hear Rex’s rough breathing over the connection and recognizes the first signs of a possible panic attack.

"Do you still have that manual that you and your boys set up?" Rex asks instead, his voice sounding tight.

"Manual? What's going on-"

"They gave him a Padawan, Nova.” Rex brings out, and he sounds like he doesn’t quite believe his own words, “They gave Skywalker a kriffin' Padawan."

Nova feels only slightly guilty about the slow grin spreading on his face as he tries to remember wat Rex had previously said about the matter. He distinctly remembers his brother’s relief when he found out that he would be assigned a Jedi Knight without a young tag along to worry about.

"I thought you said your General didn't want one?" Nova replies, carefully trying to keep his amusement from his voice since Rex is clearly not finding this as funny as he does.

"I did. He did.” Rex says through clenched teeth. His bucket is still moving and slowly a group of some troopers standing next to a tall figure and a clearly shorter figure further ahead come into view.

“I don't think he had a choice in the matter.” Rex continues, “They dropped her off in the middle of a warzone too. What the kriff am I supposed to do with her? She's running into fights half naked." His voice rises in pitch with his last words and Nova barely manages to surpress a snort as he glances down at Kio’s bare arms dangling of the bench they’re seated on. At least his kid wears some leather chest armor.

"So you want advice from me?” he questions instead. Sure, he and Kio get along well, but the situation with General Cos is less than ideal and he doesn’t feel like he is in any position to tell others what to do with a child.

"You've had your kid tagging along from the start, you got experience.” Rex grounds out, “What do I kriffin' do? Skywalker alone is already making me go prematurely grey. Now there's two of them."

The gaggle of people is now completely coming into view of Rex’s helmet cam and Nova can make out his brother’s General easily with his tall stature and floppy hair. He seems to be arguing with a much shorter figure, his arms gesturing wildly. There are some troopers surrounding them, apparently awkwardly waiting for orders to be dismissed. When one of them steps aside to avoid an arm swung at his face Nova gets a good view of the new Padawan.

This time he can’t keep in his laughter. There, arguing with a Jedi General twice her height, is a tiny Togruta girl firmly standing her ground. Judging by the height of her montrals she’s a little older than Kio and like Rex said she’s wearing only some scraps of fabric. She seems to match the General in energy, waving her arms around to get some point or another across.

"That's them?" Nova chokes out, trying to keep himself from shaking too much to not wake up Kio.

"Yeah they've been at it since we got back. Are you laughing at me?" Rex asks him incredulously and Nova has to give himself a second to breathe before he can answer.

"No.” Nova gasps in mock insult, before snorting again, “Yes. Better prepare yourself, she certainly looks like she has spirit."

Rex just grumbles something unintelligible in his ear before muttering, "She's going to be the death of me, I can feel it. "

"So dramatic." Nova mocks dryly and starts laughing again, not able to keep his shoulders from shaking this time. He feels Kio stir and push himself up, a grumpy look on his face from being woken up.

"Who're you talking to?" The kid grumbles and Nova squeezes his shoulder to let him know he needs a second.

"Sorry, vod. I gotta go." He tells Rex, “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out soon enough.”

On the corner of the helmet cam he can see that Rex’s new Padawan has shifted her attention from her Master to Rex and is giving him a questioning look, though Rex himself doesn’t seem to have noticed it yet.

"Just send me that manual, alright?" Rex repeats, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah.” Nova assures him, “Oh, and Rex. Togruta have better hearing than we do."

The cam shifts a bit to the side until suddenly the Padawan is in full view and the audible gasp tells him that Rex now realizes that she may have heard more than he wanted to.

"Ahh, kriff me."

 Curses, Cocoons and Clones: prologue.

Yes this a ANOTHER version of the Moth Au. BUT it’s so cool so I can help myself >:D

The 501st and the 212th for once seem to have luck on their side.

Sure, General Kenobi would argue it was the will of the Force, but honestly Rex didn’t give two shits about what the force did as long there was results.

The recent battles have been better with the campaigns lasting short and they getting their victory swiftly.

Cody although, was uneasy. He had pulled Rex and a few other men to prepare for the worse. Rex was thankful that Cody’s cautious nature have saved many life’s of the Vode but he wished that he would enjoy the quiet. Nevertheless he did not argue with Cody.

Their newest mission was a few of the 501st and 212th was to aid the cleanup of a battlefield that happened on a planet near the Outer rim. The senator of that planet was a stuck-up pain in the ass. However his planet was near an important hyper-space route that the Republic could not afford to lose. So here was Rex and his men riffing through the hot and muggy forest thigh deep in muck.

Commander Ahsoka Tano and General Kenobi were in the lead with the men in tow. The Commander was voicing the complaints of Rex and the others to The General who seem seem to on the fence to be amused and exasperated.

Rex wondered to himself on how that man deals with Skywalker and Tano as a duo. Force knowns how how many times he’s been thrown with their force abilities. He respects him for dealing with one and one-in-training adrenaline addict.

“Sir we are picking up a structure up ahead.” Kix who had hauled himself on a tree into order to get some signal. “There looks like a storm is coming up, so we should probably hold up in there for now.” The general said tiredly. Indeed the fog was uncomfortably thick and it seeped into the cracks of Rex’s armor soaking his blacks. Ahsoka and some of the men perked up that idea.

The hike up to the building was longer then anticipated. Jessie, tripped over a lose root and fell on top of Kix causing them both to be soaked to the bone in mud. Fives and Ahsoka managed to get their shoes stuck and had to fish them out. The rain started earlier then what the radar had signaled. By the time they got there, everything and everyone was covered in a thin layer of mud and wet saved for Kix who landed facefirst when Jessie pushed him.

The building was old made of cracked stone with vines growing of them. Rex noted that the wood that lined the structure was made of living trees growing into the infrastructure. “Interesting.”General Kenobi mused touching the wall. “What is sir?” Rex asked,

“This place…. Feels like an old temple”

“I feel it too.“ Ahsoka chimed in “it’s feels like that temple on the mission with the-“

“I thought we agreed not to discuss that mission-“

“Where Master Obi Wan got stuck dealing with an oversized bird that chased him into a tree and Anakin tried to help only for him to have to climb up that tree.” She finished attempting to hide a grin. Kenobi sighed and half heartedly rolled his eyes.

“If I remember correctly, you also were on that tree by the end of that mission.”

Rex zoned out as they chattered. There was a weird feeling in his gut that something was going to happen. Maybe it was the writings on the walls, or maybe it was the creaking of the trees that almost sounded like whispers either way he was sure the 501st’s winning streak had just ran out.

Based off a little line in time travel fic where Elphie introduces Glinda to pecan pie! (and bc @c-rose2081 said Oz could possibly have invented epinephrine🤷🏻‍♀️)

///

“Do you like it?” Elphaba asks, watching carefully to make sure Galinda is actually eating. She figured appealing to the girl’s sweet tooth would do the trick- Galinda nods happily and digs in for another bite. 

“It’s great!” she mumbles around a mouthful. Galinda blushes at her own excitement, and Elphaba can’t stop the fond grin from spreading across her face. Cute.

Galinda only eats about half her actual slice, but she keeps pulling the pecans out from the center to nibble on, so Elphaba will take it as a win. Nuts are relatively healthy, right? Even coated in sugar? 

“I’ve never tasted anything like this before,” Galinda says, licking her lips happily. She coughs lightly and clears her throat. “It’s tingly.”

Elphaba’s brow scrunches in confusion. “Tingly?” She’s eaten pecan pie for years and never once would she describe it as ‘tingly.’

Galinda coughs again, turning her head away to tuck her mouth in her elbow. She nods, waving her fork in the air as if trying to find the right words. “Yeah. It’s sorta…fizzy.”

What? 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Elphaba says, laughing lightly. Leave it to Galinda to totally stump her like that. The blonde had a habit of thinking so far outside the box that Elphaba could barely keep up with the logic. 

Galinda rolls her eyes, clearing her throat again and setting her fork down. She slides the plate toward Elphaba. “You try and describe it then. Tingly is the best I’ve got.”

Elphaba dutifully picks up the fork and takes a bite. She’s had pecan pie several times before, of course, but maybe the cooks at Shiz made it differently or added a special ingredient. Some spices like cinnamon or such could…almost be described as ‘tingly’ if you weren’t used to them. 

Galinda has to turn her head away to cough again, this time nearly doubling over from the effort. Elphaba frowns at her as she chews and swallows quickly. The pie tastes totally normal, but Galinda is starting to worry her. 

“Wrong pipe?” Elphaba asks cautiously. Galinda opens her mouth to say something but gets caught in another round of coughs that turns her face red with effort. She groans lightly, rubbing at her throat. 

“Sorry,” she croaks. “Yeah, probably just went down wrong.” She nods toward the pie on the plate in an effort to distract from the way she’s got tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. 

“What did it taste like to you?”

Elphaba shrugs, not really interested in the pie anymore. Galinda’s face is growing paler by the second and there’s sweat starting to bead on her temple. She clears her throat again and her next few breaths are slightly wheezy. 

“It just tasted like nuts to me,” Elphaba says dismissively. “Are you okay?”

Galinda freezes, staring at her with wide eyes. “Nuts?” she asks. 

“Um, yeah, the pecans. Seriously, Galinda, are you alright?”

Galinda takes in a few shaky gasps, hands starting to tremble as she rubs her throat again. She blinks several times in quick succession as her gaze falls to the pie. “Oh,” she whispers, swallowing hard. 

“I think I’m allergic to nuts.”

what's your favorite gelphie fic?

OOF just one is so hard. here's a few of my favs. though more than being my favorite fics these are my favorite gelphie authors so assume i love everything they've posted!

The Love Club by OrkButch. just delightful. extremely queer and extremely heartfelt. and it has my favorite things ever like grief, healing, learning to be in a relationship, and nuanced portrayals of elphaba & nessa's dynamic. very formative to my perception of book!elphie, i learned a lot about her with this fic even if it's a modern AU!

Wiretapped Life by tinyace. another fic that has aaaaaaall of my favorite things like grief, healing, learning to be in a rel--- you get the gist. also it has nor! more fics should have nor! no but seriously this fic is incredible and has some of the best explorations i've seen on asexuality, aromanticism, gender, queer platonic relationships, and how to navigate a shitload of trauma in a cruel world when you have so much love to give. the gelphie dynamic is so nuanced and the worldbuilding is so intriguing and well done and glinda is a poor little meow meow and agh. could talk about this one forever. also if you've read attrition you will like this one, it has so many similar themes sam and i are always joking our brains are the same lol

The Last True Eminent Thropp by Ridiculous Mavis. ask any gelphie fan who was here before november 2024 for their favorite gelphie fics and they will probably mention ridiculous mavis. read everything on her page, seriously. yes even if it's ff dot net. do it. do it right now. this one is my favorite of hers!

Per Aspera Ad Astra (Through Hardships Towards the Stars) by show_me_the_universe. this one is still unfinished but i have enjoyed it so much! gelphie are so cute and so teenagers and they go through so much and their dynamic with each other is the sweetest thing. also has great dynamics between the charmed circle which it's also one of my favorite things :)

Aftermath by narta_shall_survive. another one where glinda is a poor little meow meow. i read this fic like a year ago and brother it has stuck with me. i love the way glinda is written and it has my FAVORITEEE glinda & crope dynamic. also it blends musical and book in such a smooth way and the prose is so crunchy.

and my saint, she is dancing by Mayverix. this one is extremely clever and soo well written. i adore this author's prose so much. made me ache in the best way possible. the way book!gelphie is captured here is just superb.

oh and of course i love the classics aka gretchenmaurice's works. all of them from the long ones to the most recent ones :)

now!!! i haven't read too many movie fics (yet) but here are two that stuck with me and that i love and have very much informed the way i see and write the movieverse gelphie dynamic.

the faint of heart by Verannode. vampire!galinda. and if that wasn't enough she totally thinks she's in some sort of romcom while elphaba is in a supernatural mystery or something. it's just the best thing ever. the dialogue is so whimsical and hilarious and galinda is incredibly delusional and dramatic and i love her. i've reread this a bunch of times it always makes me laugh.

PERENNIAL by anaphoruh. no joke this fic is one of my favorite ones ever. it's just so. i can't even explain it the way its written scratches my brain in the BEST way imaginable. the prose is so elegant and smooth i want to study it. it's the perfect blend of book and MOVIE which i didn't think was possible. the descriptions are so fun and engaging. the gelphie dynamic is delicious. galinda is insanely rich and elphie is her sugar baby in the most lowkey way possible. i adore it.

now not related to the movie at all. last but not least. there is Emerald City Lies by Beta Nova. listen to me. i would never recommend a fic on ff dot net that was last updated in 2016 if it wasn't worth it. i started reading this fic on a plane and it was so good i literally had to stop reading it so i could savor it. made myself read only one chapter a day and yes it's unfinished and yet i reread it once a year. it's so good.

anyway! thanks for asking <3

Chapter One: The Cadets

Rex woke up with a start and immediately knew something was wrong. He screwed his eyes shut and thought back to the night before. All he had done was sign some reports and pass out onto his bunk after feeling lightheaded. Nothing was wrong then. Something sure felt wrong now. He sat up, yawning and looked to the mirror at the other side of his quarters. And screamed. Jumping up, now wide awake, he stumbled over to the mirror and stared in terrified awe. The cadet in the mirror stared back. His blacks were now about 6 sizes too big and his short blond hair was now sitting around his shoulders. Just like he had it when he was a cadet. “No, no, no, no, no!” He cried, unable to tear his gaze away from his new reflection.

The door to his quarters opened with a small whoosh and the General stood in the doorway, looking around worriedly.

“Rex, are you okay-“ Skywalker stared at Rex who was now very slightly panicking. “Cadet, what are you doing in Captain Rex’s quarters, wait, no, what are you doing on the ship?”

Rex had to say something. He turned to the doorway hesitantly.

“Sir, I’m Rex.” He said, startled at how young his voice sounded. The General stared at the little blond child that was standing in oversized blacks in Rex’s quarters. Rex couldn’t tell if the General believed him or not.

“Wait, wha- how, that’s-“ Skywalker stuttered, visibly confused at the situation. “Rex?!”

“Yes, sir.” He replied, attempting to stand at attention, but only managing to look like he was trying to fix his posture. This is a dream, right? He thought furiously, staring at his now small hands. He looked in the mirror again. He looked eleven years old. He looked his physical age.

The General’s comlink started to aggressively beep at him. Not breaking eye contact with Rex, he answered the call. “Skywalker here.” 

“Anakin, something has happened to my troops.” General Kenobi’s voice came through urgently. “I need you to come to the Negotiator and bring Rex."

"Why?" General Skywalker asked, curiously. General Kenobi cleared his throat and said:

"It appears they have.....turned into children, somehow."

Skywalker looked at his comlink in a mixture of horror and panic. Rex sat down. So it’s not just me. He thought. Then immediately regretted it when Fives, fully grown, came sprinting down the hall, almost crashing into General Skywalker. 

“Sir, I can’t find Echo or Rex!” He doubled over, panting. It was obvious he had run halfway across the Resolute looking for Skywalker when he couldn’t get ahold of Rex. Looking into Rex’s quarters Fives froze, staring at him. Skywalker rolled his eyes and walked over to the end of the corridor, so he could take his call in peace. Fives barely noticed him. 

“Ca-Captain?” He asked cautiously.  Rex sighed.

“Yes, Fives.”

Fives looked like he was going to pass out. Then he doubled over laughing.

"Fives!"

"S-sorry-" Fives gasped between cackles. Rex's comm started to aggressively beep from the other side of the room. He got up and immediately tripped on his oversized blacks, which caused Fives to fall to the ground wheezing. Rex rolled his eyes and answered the call.

"Captain!" A young voice yelled from the comlink, "Sir, you have to get to the barracks!” 

Fives stopped laughing. “Echo?!” He called crawling over to Rex and the comlink. 

“Fives! I’m stuck in the vent!” Echo replied, panic growing. Rex sighed as Fives collapsed in a new fit of giggles.

“How did you get in the vent?” 

“Well, I woke up as a cadet and panicked, so I climbed into the vent.”

“But the vents are small enough for a cadet to fit into.” Rex replied, confused.

“Yeah, but not for a fully grown clone!” Mumbled another voice. 

“Don’t tell me Hardcase got stuck in the vent again?” Rex asked already done with day, even though he only just woke up. Fives was now suffocating with the force of his own laughter. Rex ignored him.

“Hardcase got stuck in the vent again.” Echo confirmed, “Please help us.” 

“Yep, Rex out.”

He turned to Fives, who was practically dying on the floor. “Fives, stop laughing and go help your brothers.” He attempted to use his usually commanding tone, but that made Fives laugh harder. Sighing, Rex went over to his small closet, and pulled out a spare cadet uniform. It was regulation to keep at least one cadet uniform in the barracks, just in case a kid got on the ship. Again. Rex shoved Fives out of his quarters and changed.

It had been years since he had worn this uniform and he felt nostalgic, standing in the soft fabric. Grabbing one of his DC-17 blaster pistols, he opened the door and started to walk towards the barracks.

“Oh, hell no.” Fives said, plucking the pistol from Rex’s grasp. 

“Hey!” He protested attempting to seize the blaster that Fives was holding above his head. “Give me the blaster, Fives!” He yelled, now trying to kick the other in the shin.

“Uh uh uh, cadets can’t have blasters.” Fives sung at him, obviously absolutely delighted at being able to tease his Captain with no real consequences. Well, not no consequences.

“Fives,” Rex breathed in his most dangerous voice, “give me the blaster, or you’ll get so many demerits it’ll seperate you from Echo.” It still worked.

“Yes, sir.” Fives replied, handing it over. 

The second they got to the barracks, Rex really wished he was fully grown and not for the first time today. Half the men were running around screaming, and the other half were kriffing cadets. This is really bad. Rex thought as he yelled, “Everyone calm down!”

The commotion stopped. Everyone was looking at Fives, like he was the one who yelled. Rex rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “What is going on here? I take a break for, what five minutes, and all of you are screaming and running around like headless nunas!” 

All eyes were on him now as the men processed what was going on. 

“Captain, is, is that you?” Jesse whispered, uncertainly. Rex sighed again.

“Yes, Jesse, it is me. Now what have you idiots done about Hardcase and Echo being stuck in the vent?”

“Oh, absolutely nothing, sir.” Kosi piped up happily. “We were just laughing our sheds off at him while he struggled.” 

You have got to be kidding me. Of course it was Kosi of all people who said that confidently. Rex could give him 100 demerits and he still would refuse to let it be a big deal.

“So where are they.” Rex sighed. Kosi pointed over to the far corner where a pair of armoured legs could be seen, kicking around pointlessly.

“Oh, great.” Rex muttered as Fives dissolved in laughter once more. “Banjo, Jesse, grab Hardcase's legs and see if you can manage to pull him out."

Banjo nodded and walked over to the vent instantly, while Jesse, still laughing, had to peel himself off of the floor. Rex rolled his eyes again and looked around. "Wait, where's Kix?"

And of the cadets put up his hand from the top of one of the bunks. 

"I'm here, sir." He called, climbing down. Rex stared. He still had that intricate buzzcut, even as a cadet. The Kaminoans probably hated that.

"Kix, shouldn't you be in the medbay?" 

Kix shrugged. I felt really lightheaded and couldn't concentrate, so Overflow said he could cover my shift." Overflow was the new medic that came in with Banjo, Clancy, Kosi and Vibe, and already he showed an impressive knack for knowing when troopers were tired.

"Any other cadets, follow me. We're going to the medbay to get this sorted out." Rex yelled over the laughter that had kicked up again.

About 40 cadets awkwardly waddled over, some had attempted to make their oversized blacks fit, but to no avail. Fives was still suffocating on the ground, Kix looked at him worriedly. 

"Yo, you good." One of the cadets asked, poking Fives.  

"He won't be if you keep poking him, look," another cadet said, kicking the suffering ARC.

"Cut it out, Clancy!" Banjo commanded from the vent.

***     ***    ***

Rex would never live this down. Ever. The second him and the rest of the cadets filed into the medbay, Overflow was doubled over laughing. After a couple of stern looks and half a cantina of water, he managed to regain some composure. 

"What happened?" He asked, completely in awe, as yet another cadet in oversized blacks stumbled into the room. 

"I got no clue, mate." Clancy yelled over Rex's head. Overflow laughed, walking over to his batchmate. He shook his head, still chuckling, he said: 

"Alright, first things first. We need to get you idiots some actual clothes."

Clancy's smile got even wider as he stared in awe at his older brother.

"You don't mean-" he started but was cut off by Overflow's comm. 

"Overflow, why you got, like, 300 cadets in the medbay?" Rex knew that voice anywhere. His youngest batchmate.

"Those 300 cadets are troopers who got....shrunk."  Overflow said, haltingly. Rex could practically hear the smile in his voice as he replied:

“Custom hoodies?”

“Custom hoodies.” 

Tax cheered and disconnected the call. Clancy was jumping and running around yelling: 

“CUSTOM HOODIES!” 

Rex rolled his eyes. This was going to take a while.

This fic is FILLED with OC’s, sorry 😃. I’m not gonna update this if it doesn’t get attention, so yeah.

Curses, Cocoons and Clones: part 5

When everyone woke up they starting to process of packing and heading to the ship so they can leave this god forsaken planet.

Poor Rex and Fives ended up in the pockets of Cody after a long argument of how to transport them. Rex was grateful that they were in separate pockets. The jostling bumped caused him to hit his antenna which sent bursts of nausea and pain through his head.

The mud leftover from the rain wasn’t helpful to their travel. Many of the men slipped, much to their dismay. Ahsoka got one of her boots suck and had to walk the rest of the way with her boot filled with mud.

When they got to the city everyone was tired and hungry. The ship was in the heart of the city. The smell of food that floated in the air made Fives’s mouth water. In vaguely Fives could hear someone mentioned getting food for the rest of them and he agreed.

He was hungry, tired and sore. It was getting to the point the cotton that was left in Cody’s pocket for lighting fires was looking appetizing.

Fives reached out and picked a piece of the cotton. He was so hungry-

Rex finally noticed on what he was doing “Wh- Fives what are-“

Too late, he had eaten half the cotton piece that was in the pocket. Which is seriously impressive since it was bigger then his current size.

“Did-did you just eat half of the cotton”

“….no….”

“I’m calling Kix.”

Several hours later after checking Fives for potential food poisoning. Kix concluded that their diet had changed in the process of transforming and allowed him to finish eating some of the cotton with some moderation. The rest of the crew went to get some clean up. General Kenobi went to get some local food for the rest of them. Rex refused to try to eat the cotton and waited for the food to arrive despite the rumbling that Fives could hear.

The food, when the general came back was flavorful and full of spices. Fives even with the food he already ate chowed down. Rex ate even more with the rice and mild sauce being his favorite. Anakin folded up some bread and put some meat and rice just for them. Kix was careful to see what they had in case it upset their bodies just in case.

When the meal was almost finished, Kix and Jessie bickered over who gets the last piece of flatbread. Fives didn’t have the heart to tell them that Cody and Ahsoka was enjoying it watching them fight.

Fives and Rex where sitting on the edge of the table quietly watching the others. The size difference was….unnerving. Fives hoped that a night’s sleep would help before his emotions start get the better of him.

…………….

Hello!

Uhhhhhh happy mermay? I started this part along with Maelstrom last week cause I forgot it was going to be mermay on the day I planned to post. So I had more done with this rather then Maelstrom for mermay…. So here’s moth au instead!

Whumptober Day 7: The Way You Shake And Shiver

Prompt: Shaking Hands & Silent Panic Attack

Warning: Mentions of Suicide

Summary: Rex isn't doing so great when they're finally on their way back to 000 from Umbara...

[Sometimes in moments of weakness we turn to old coping mechanisms. Whether that's a good thing or not is up for debate... Sometimes it makes it easier to lie to yourself that something broken can still be fixed.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

---

Before Fox had given him his name, Rex had made a list of options just like every other cadet in his age group. It was almost a tradition for most young clones who still only had their numbers. The task of compiling potential names that may one day suit them in some way, shape, or form.

None of the ones he'd considered had ever stuck.

He'd been rather unsure of himself (the sole golden haired child among a sea of dark curls), often made to hide behind his batchmates. Keeli and Jek had both found their names quickly, and they'd been quite indecisive themselves. But they'd never been as nervous as he had been, so finding something to claim as theirs wasn't hard for them in the slightest.

They knew who they were.

Rex thought he knew who he was. A king with a crown of gold growing naturally upon his skull. A fellow misfit among the CCs that had adopted him. Fitting of a title that had his ori'vod beaming with pride. Fox had made him believe he was a leader.

Fox was a very good liar.

The trip back to Coruscant is a slow one. Umbara long gone from their radar, but still closer than home. Its darkness following the vode well into the flight. The hollowness behind their eyes... It makes his stomach twist and his heart hammer in his chest cavity like there's a parade in town. For once in his life a campaign has left Rex unable to think.

Or rather, unable to process the sheer horror of what he had witnessed. What he had let happen. What he had done.

Little Force Gods what had he done?

So many brothers dead. So many brothers left for dead. So many more dying inside.

He swallows thickly around the lump forming in his throat, and stares ahead unblinkingly. Watching the blue-tinted lines of hyperspace zip by as he considers what's to come, while a voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Keeli whispers for him to take deep breaths, to start counting.

If he counts it'll help ground him. But does he want to stay grounded? When there is too much going on right now?

Three troopers have eaten their own blasters before departure from Umbara. The death tool rising steadily. Many more might follow. Will follow. The guilt is killing them all, and he doesn't know how to help.

They should be incapable of breaking. Should be impervious to diseases of the brain. But Krell has left an infectious mind. One that makes it hard for Rex to breathe even in the safety of this ship.

His eyes sting, his chest hurts, his heart is breaking into a million pieces, and there's a good chance he might throw up.

His hands are shaking. They shook back on Umbara too.

Dogma's hadn't.

He comes back to in the refresher. Jesse and Fives are at his sides. They look shaken and tired, and a little of something else Rex can't identify right now.

Angry? Disappointed?

Disgusted with their oh so great captain who couldn't even take the shot himself? Who'd let so many brothers die needlessly when he could have acted immediately and avoided disaster?

The thought makes him vomit up more bile. Salty shame runs down his face, snot bubbles up in his nostrils, foamy sick lands in the toilet. Rough but gentle hands rub at the small of his back. He knows whatever relationship he had with both Jesse and Fives is strained now. Justifiably so. But they still have his back. They're holding him through a panic attack.

He counts each circle, each finger on his back. Then counts the murmurs he can hear. Then the instances where he hears Kix at the door, checking up on them. Making sure he's not going to eat his blaster like the others who just couldn't bare the guilt anymore.

Counting helps. It helped back when he was a cadet. It still does now.

He can't for the life of him recall how many names he'd compiled before he'd been given his own. Maybe someone else knew. Rex doesn't think he knows anything anymore. But he has to move on, regardless of what happened on Umbara.

He had to believe in the cause.

Blue sounds like a beautiful color

A blind Leo AU one shot

...

One day like others in the deepest of the sewers,the ex-world champion Lou Jitsu, which real name is Hamato Yoshi,was preparing for another one exhaustin day with his four blessings, Raphael the big brother,Donatello and Leonardo,the "twin" brothers,and Michaelangelo the baby brother,they now have 4,3 and 2 years respectively.

Despite being of different species and ages,the poor old rat has a bad memory and very often mistake their names,he had the idea to put them nicknames based of their shells but this was a bad idea because Raph hate being named like "Snapping one" and Donnie like "Soft one".

"They need a colors code" think to himself

While they were taking their nap,Splinter took the oportunity to go outside the sewers and take a lot of colorfull clothes for his babies.

"Sleep well my sons..."He said while climbed the sewer stairs

Hours later,that afternoon,the kids was very playful,Raph crush every fruit of the fridge with his feet to make smoothies,Donnie destroyed the TV, again. His sole defense was to see how it was made, Mikey was painting on all the walls and Leo, he had a lot of fun listening to the chaos his brothers caused but he wanted to be apart of it.

"Leo!! Come here and paint with me!"

"Sure Mikey!" Leo likes the sensation of have paint between his fingers so he just lends Mikey choose the paint and he put his hands on it

"You always let me choose the colors,what color do you like more?"

"Ummm"Leo paused briefly "I don't know,what's your favorite color?"

"Oh!! This one!!"Then Mikey grabed a can of orange paint " It's orange!"

"Like the fruit?"

"Yes!!"

Then the red eared slider began to smell every can of paint "Ugh! everything smells bad!" said,covering his nose

Mikey only laughted "The paint does not smell good, you have to see the colors to differentiate them"

"What is "see" Mikey? Why you can "see" them but I can't?"

"You don't know what is "see"? See is...You know!! See! When you wake up and open your eyes,watch TV,see the music!"

"That's only for you Mikey,You have synesthesia" Said the purple one,who was approaching them

"Oh right!"

"Donnie,You are a nerd,what is "see?"

Then Donnie,very exciting,went for makers and a whiteboard,then procced to explain "The vision or visual perception is the ability to interpret visible light information reaching the eyes which is then made available for planning and action. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, or simply sight adjectival form: visual, optical, or ocular"He said while painting "any other question?"

"Yes,what is perception?" Asked Mikey

"So the see thing is relationated with my eyes?" Asked Leo

"Correct!,but you said you cannot difference the colors or...maybe you can't see the colors"

Mikey gasped with fear "Thats horrible!! You can't see none of them?! The rainbow colors?! Red,orange,yellow,green,blue,purple or pink? or more? black or white?"

"Technically, black is the result of the absence of color or the complete absorption of visible light" said Donnie "You're not helping!" screamed Mikey "You neither!!"replied the spiny softshell

"Guys!! What's the problem? I made a lot of smoothies for all of us!" said Raph

"Raph...is is something wrong with me?"asked Leo with tears in his eyes "Why I can't see? Why is so important? I'm sick? i'm a weirdo? Am I a b-bad b-brother?" Asked covering his eyes

The other three brothers don't know what to say...but they know what to do...one by one they hugged him

"We don't know if you're sick" said Raph "We don't think this converts you in a weird"said Donnie "But we know that you're not a bad brother!" Exclaimed Mikey "did you remember when the lair had a blackout and we were so scared to the dark? You're not! You were very brave! and you hugged me all the time!"

"And you can smell when Splinter puts a wrong or spoiled ingredient better than us" said Raph "And maybe you're the worst to hidding after Raph,but you're the best seeking us" said Donnie

"...Thank you guys,that means a lot!,and maybe I can't see,but I can know how you are" then Leo proceeded to touch the face of each of his brothers"Raph, you're the strongest and big of us and you have a lot of thorns...Donnie,you have a big forehead,maybe that's why you're the smartest...and Mikey,your face is always full of fresh paint,I like it!"

"Je,thanks big bro!" Said the box turtle

Then the four turtles kept playing,this time making things that Leo could do.

Later,Splinter came back with a big bag in his back "Oh childrens~!! your father brings you something!"

"No way!! Did You stole Santa's magic coat?!" Asked Mikey very exciting

"What? No,no Mikey,steal is bad for you,anyway,come on here!" He said while opened the big coat with a lot of kids clothes

"Woahhh~!!!" Gasped Raph,Mikey and Donnie

"What?,what is?"asked Leo very exciting

Splinter just smiled and put on a beautiful blue t-shirt on he "Do You like it?"

Leo procced to touch it"Is...soft,and warm,like your clothes...I like it!! can I have more!?"

"Of course,it's enough for all"

"The big is perfect for me!"Said Raph,putting on a big red football shirt

Mikey took a lot of clothes,especially the orange clothes"Everything is awesome!! I can't decide-"

"The purple clothes it's mine!!" Said Donnie, putting on a purple sweater "Purple like atomic lass~"

"What color would you like,Leo?" Asked Splinter

"Dad! He can't choose, he's blind"

"Yeah,I knew Donatello,but you can help him to decide"

"Mmm~ it's very hard,there is a lot of colors"said Mikey "What's the color of My shirt?"asked Leo "Oh!, it's blue!"answered Donnie

"How is the blue color?"

"Is a great color! It's the sky color,the sea color...your eyes color!"said Mikey

"Really?!"

"Yes!! And your shell color too!" Said Donnie

"Then I want it!" Exclaimed Leo very happy

"...My sons,I think you can use all the colors,but maybe...this looks better in only each one of you" said Splinter,tying a mask to each of them"

That's how Slinter begun to differentiate them... unfortnunately,this made he forgot his real names a lot of times,but well,at least Leo has one thing more in common with his brothers.

...

I hope you like it,sorry for grammatical errors,english isn't my first language

Thanks to @simplyfornardo for help me with the errors

❤️💜💙🧡

“I’m not technically on leave.” Rex says, shifting uncontrollably on his feet, “Im just waiting for Anakin to return from his meeting with the Chancellor.”

“You totally have time to hang out with us then!” Cordé replies excitedly, and something about her brilliant smile makes him slightly nervous.

“Well-“ Rex begins, but Sabé cuts him off.

“Oh come on, live a little,” Sabé says, pushing his shoulder, “A little rebellion is good for you, healthy even.” Her tone is sincere, but there’s a wicked grin across her face and a glint in her eyes.

“Fine.” Rex caves, “but if General Skywalker comms me, we leave right away.”

“How about right away-ish?”

-The Right Hands of Amidala, a sequel to Right Hand of the Republic

I’m finally working on this again bc I’ve got too many good Rex jokes and I’m giving them to Sabé-