Based Off A Little Line In Time Travel Fic Where Elphie Introduces Glinda To Pecan Pie! (and Bc @c-rose2081

I just had a thought

So this one day Rex comes back to Coruscant and he just doesn’t seem to be acting right. No one can quite put their finger on it…but something is just…off.

The next day Cody returns, and it’s the same thing. Something is just…off.

When asked if something’s wrong they both just kind of shrug it off. ‘I’m fine.’

They don’t talk as much. Their habits have changed just a little. No one can figure out what’s happened and it’s driving everyone crazy.

Then Ahsoka goes to talk to Rex and stops mid-sentence.

“…”

“Problem, Commander?”

And she rubs her hand across his head and the blonde comes out and it’s BLACK and ‘Rex’ starts cracking up and ‘Cody’ is almost crying because he’s laughing so hard and everyone realizes they switched armor and Wolffe almost shoots them both because THat wAS SO unNECESSARY.

Curses, Cocoons and Clones part 1

Prologue here: https://alienficsoutofspite.tumblr.com/post/677031338403151872/curses-cocoons-and-clones-prologue

Im aware this part is short but things are going to get busy for me soon and I’m trying to relax when I can so I’ll be slower with updates but in the meantime, please enjoy.

“Sirs…the floors are glowing.”

Hardcase who was supposed to scouting the building with Dogma while the others used the rain to rinse off all the muck off was poking at loose piece of wood. It was slightly hidden by a pillar in the back of the room. Rex barely contained a sigh. Ahsoka peeked at said lose floorboard and gently pried it open. “Wizard! It looks like a cave system.”

“Maybe the people who lived here used it as a means of escape.” General Kenobi suggested

“Or to hide spice.” Rex grumbled. He was NOT in the mood to find some weird cave that may or may not have something that they weren’t supposed to find. Suddenly he was glad that General Skywalker wasn’t here. He was currently on Coruscant spending time with his secret wife as the Chancellor summoned him for some meetings of some kind. Anakin Skywalker would have gone in went no plan and would probably need a rescue.

Unfortunately, Kenobi although more cautious was curious. With Ahsoka on the team Rex was sure they were going on an spontaneous adventure again.

“What do you think Commander Cody?” Asked Kenobi.

Rex prayed that he would say to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.

To Rex’s dismay, The commander took off his helmet and peered down “I think we should check it out in case the Separatists left something important.”

The cave system was thankfully not a maze but it certainly was a complicated one. Rex it reminded uncomfortably of the labs on Kamino. Some of the other vode must have the same thought as their shoulders were stiff like they were being watched by the trainers. The only source of light were these weird bulbs that grew on the stalactites of the cave.

Cody suddenly stopped in front of large opening. “Cody?” Rex was almost afraid to ask

He waved his hand “Sorry I thought…. Nevermind.” He hurried over to Kenobi. Rex and Fives exchanged looks. Even though the helmets they knew how to read a vode’s body language. Something was definitely wrong. Rex turned to the opening. “Want to check it out?” Asked Fives.

“Let’s see what this place is really about.” muttered Rex and walked further into the cave.

“There was more of the weird glowing eggs things in here.” Rex mused to himself. There was, with them growing thicker and bigger clusters. Rex’s eyes wandered to the centerpiece in the middle of the room. It was a small object on a pillar. It was round and porous with vines and flowers growing in the tiny holes. Fives reached his hand towards it-

“Wait!”

But it was too late a thick pollen erupted from the object covering the room in the stuff.

“Fives!”

“Uhhh…..sorry sir?”

Rex groaned it was bad enough being covered in mud.

Rex felt the beginnings of a headache “let’s just go back to the men.”

“Yes sir.”

Fives didn’t argue and as they slowly walked to the others Rex felt his headache worsening. By when he saw Commander Ahsoka and Cody he felt like his entire body was being crushed.

Cody shouted when Rex collapsed. Distantly he was aware of Fives doing the same. The last thing he saw was Ahsoka’s and Cody’s worried faces.

angstpril day 11

i may not be able to do the whole month as i had intended bc life so idk we'll see

-

prompt: "this isn't you."

[summary: cody interrogates rex about ex-padawan tano's location.]

tw: electrocution

-

The cuffs chafe at his wrists, leaving them angry and red. Rex knows there is no point, escape is futile. That doesn't stop him from trying.

"Cody, please." The trooper just stares blankly at him, unyielding. A relic of what was once his brother.

"Tell me where Ex-Padawan Tano is." If he can just get through the programming, he can save Cody. They can leave this white room of hell, and be together, like they were meant to be.

"This isn't you!" The tension in his chest cracks, catapulting the shockwave of emotion into the empty space.

Cody just blinks, unaffected.

"Where is Ahsoka Tano?" His hands yank at the restraints.

Cody's eyes flick to his struggle for freedom.

"Having trouble?"A hint of Cody's old smirk returns. Rex is not glad to see it. Now cocky and smug, it's like an imposter has taken root.

"I'm not telling you anything." It hurts to look at Cody. His eyes are cruel, glinting with unfamiliar malice. The calculating nature once present in his friend has been honed like a knife. Sharp and prepared to strike deep.

"You were the last to see her." There is no way he'll give up Ahsoka. They'll have to pry the knowledge from his cold, dead hands.

She's his last friend.

Cody continues, "I examined the crash-site myself. The Venator is destroyed, but I know she isn't."

"Vod"-

"Don't call me that. I am not a traitor, I serve the Empire." The words reek with bitter irony. Rex knows Cody, the real Cody, would scream with the knowledge of what he's become.

"Cody, I can help you."

"Stubborn as always, I see. It's no matter." Cody stands and walks toward the exit, mumbling about obstinance and loyalty.

He opens the door to talk quietly with the Imperial guard.

"Tell Lord Vader we shall have her whereabouts by tomorrow. This one is being difficult."

Lord Vader's name sends a spike of fear through his heart, he's heard the rumors. A man cloaked in death, one who leaves brittle, burning carnage in his wake.

But Rex will do anything to protect Ahsoka. Even face Vader head-on.

Rex closes his eyes and prepares himself. He will not break, He will not break, He will not break-

Footsteps move toward the button near the left side of the room, with purpose. The control panel Rex had catalogued immediately after waking.

His eyes jolt open, a last ditch effort to find Cody's. Once, he would've looked to them for comfort, for support. Now it is a desperate plea, hoping to find the last shred of goodness in his friend.

Rising panic meets swift brutality, and Cody places his finger on the mechanism.

Betraying his vod again-

The electrocution starts, and Rex knows no more.

For the prompts, if you're still doing those, maybe 39 with Rex?

I don't really ship him with anyone but maybe in a platonic way how Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-wan have made him feel loved over the years <3

Ahhh you’ve got me twice! I’ve never actually written anything with Rex as the main subject, and I tend to avoid writing Ahsoka (I blame Dave, like I do with many things). As such, I’m sorry if you don’t agree with some of the frustration that has weaved its way through this entire thing. However, it was a lot of fun to try something out of my comfort zone. Don’t ask me why I’ve decided that Rex is the kind of person who wants to scream when he’s unhappy--I just feel like this man is holding it in during the entire war. Disclaimer that I actually have no idea what happened on Melida-Daan.

Prompt list

Previously completed numbers: 9, 10, 45

Please send a prompt! Something from the list, another idea, a song, anything!

Prompt 39:  Things you said when I was crying

Summary: Three times when Rex needed comfort, and three people who tried to provide it.

Rex unclips his kama, tossing it to the ground, before tugging at his pauldron. It doesn’t budge, and he grits his teeth, clawing at the clasp. After much too long, and Rex is about to scream, he finally gets it off, placing it down with deliberately petty gentleness, even though he wants nothing more than to hurl it at a tree. The pressure in his chest expands, like a seismic charge detonating, and he sobs, sinking to the mossy forest floor as the tears finally fall.

The difference between the forest and the images flashing through his mind is almost comical. Eyes open, it’s lush trees and blue skies, tiny flowers and tangled, twisting mushrooms, but when he blinks, it’s barren, grey fields and smoke that smothers him, blood and screams and Cody’s too-steady voice over the comms.

He buries his head in his hands, curled up against the trunk of an ancient tree. A bird trills above his head, light and lovely, but all Rex can hear is Cae, voice strained as Rex lifts his head, saying, I’m sorry I’m sorry I knew it would be me, blood seeping endlessly from the place where his legs had been.

Rex understands what Cody had once told him, about telling someone that they will be okay, everything will be okay, over and over, even though you both know it’s a lie.

“It’s a comfort, even if you know the truth,” Cody had said, in the dark of the planning room, blank face lit up in blue. “It’s easier to lie, in the moment, than to say goodbye.”

He hadn’t explained where he’d experienced it, but Rex had already heard of Wril, who’d injured his spine during a training mission, back on Kamino, and been ripped away by the Kaminoans, because some injuries cost more than a clone was worth. He’d always remembered it, that only he and his brothers would ever care about him, but he’d brushed aside Cody’s words, meaningless advice back then.

Now though, he knows it is true, has chanted the words to Cae as he bled out. And now he also understands the sorrow lingering in Cody’s eyes, the memories of a batchmate torn out of his grasp.

He lifts his head, gasping for air, and his eyes fall on his hands, blood smeared across his skin like ink. Shaking, breath catching, he scrubs his hands on the moss, desperate to lift the stains. It’s on his face, he realizes, rubbing wildly at it with the back of his hand. His forehead, his brow, all across his cheeks--

A branch snaps a few metres away, and Rex’s head shoots up. He scrambles for his blaster, searching the forest for a search party of droids, or a prowling nexu, teeth bared before it pounces.

A figure walks out of the undergrowth, hands raised. It’s General Kenobi, and Force, Rex looks a complete mess, armour scattered across the ground, face probably red and swollen with tears--

“I apologize for startling you. Rex, is it?” Kenobi draws closer, and how the kriff is he so clean? He looks as if there hadn’t been a battle at all, not a hair out of place, even though Rex had seen him, whirling through the fight with Skywalker at his side, like one of the tsunamis that plagued Tipoca City. Kenobi motions at the ground, a silent request to sit, and Rex nods, somewhat too vigorously.

When Kenobi is seated, Rex notices little details that he hadn’t spotted, the fraying sleeves of his robes, the pink stain on his thigh that is definitely blood, the slightly too bright edge to his eyes.

Kenobi looks at him, gaze searching, before he rips at the hem of his tunic, passing the rough fabric without a word.

Rex rubs at his hands, too embarrassed to address the mess on his face, but Kenobi rolls his eyes lightly, taking the cloth and spitting on it, before reaching over and rubbing it over Rex’s forehead, hard enough to work, but gently all the same. It’s a bizarre experience, but it takes Rex back to Kamino, when Wolffe had done the same, after Rex had cut his head open on a rock and the blood had dried along his temple. It’s comforting, to remember a moment of care, when he is receiving it once more.

“I was in a civil war as a child, on this little planet in the Outer Rim,” Kenobi says quietly. “I’d never actually been in war before, despite how much we’d studied it. And it was like a game at first, planning strategies and sharing dreams of what we’d do when we won. But then our base was bombed.

“There had been hundreds of us, all children or teens. But between one minute and the next, we were practically massacred.”

Rex frowns. “You were on Melida-Daan?”

Kenobi chuckles. “Sometimes I forget that you’d have been taught about events like that. Yes, it was Melida-Daan.” He grows somber, leaning forward. “The point is, I get it. There’s something about having them die in your arms. It changes you.”

Rex blinks, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. But tears come anyways, building and building until he is sobbing once more. He tries to apologize between tears, but Kenobi waves him away, placing a hand on his shoulder. Rex shudders as a wave of peace rolls through him, grounding him to the present, and preventing his grief from spiraling into panic. He’d known, vaguely, about the abilities of Jedi, but the proof of it is startling, used in such a kind and simple way.

“There’s no need to be sorry, I’m the one who brought it back up. I’d like to help you, if I can. Would you tell me about him? I understand you were batchmates.”

Rex hiccups, nodding. “He—we were. Cae is--was quiet, compared to me. Whenever I wanted to act without thinking, he was always there to calm me down, and to remind me about all the problems with diving in head first. He never really liked fighting, but we made a damn good team. When we found out we were both in Cody’s battalion, we were so excited. They—they usually split batches up completely. I think it was Cody’s doing, keeping us together.” Rex stops, eyes widening.

Kenobi laughs, “Don’t worry, nobody’s going to get in trouble with me. I’m glad that you weren’t alone.”

Rex cuts his gaze away. “Thank you, sir. If I may, why did you come out here?”

Kenobi smiles. “Cody’s worried about you. He wanted to come, but he had to speak with the Council. I said I’d find you.”

“He had to speak to the Council? Without you?”

“You underestimate your brother, my friend. I couldn’t fight this war without him. Besides, I wanted to meet the ARC trooper whom my Commander speaks of with such fondness.”

Kenobi stands, holding out a hand to help Rex up. Rex wonders when Cody grew so close to the Jedi, and how he’d grown to trust him so quickly. From what he’s seen, though, Kenobi might deserve it.

…

Rex’s quarters are barren, when he punches in the new code he’d been given, and steps inside. They look almost as they had when he’d first seen them, bags in hand, Anakin peering over his shoulder. It had been almost exciting then, a new home and a new title, a Captain for the freshly Knighted General Skywalker, but it is not exciting now. The sight of the closest thing he has to a home, stripped bare and left to grow dusty, is almost too much to handle. He drops his helmet to the floor, an act that would make most of his brothers gasp, and moves farther inside.

He’s not quite sure where his things are, or why they were taken. The entire operation on Zygerria had been a mess, a patchwork plan that had quickly dissolved into chaos. It’s not too surprising that they’d cleared his room out, when he and Obi-Wan had gone radio silent. There’s no time for sentimentality, in this war, and if his brothers hadn’t sorted through his things, some natborn officer would have.

Anakin would probably disagree with his flippancy, with how unwilling he was to complete the mission at their expense. Rex wonders, sometimes, how his General can be so good at war, and yet not understand it at all.

He can’t really move his head completely, neck muscles still seized up from the shock collar, so he turns in a circle to take in the entire room. Then, he sinks onto the bed, wincing at the way it stretches the wounds on his back, and takes a deep breath, relishing the way it makes his chest ache.

The silence is deafening, overwhelming, and Rex buries his face in his hands, covering his ears and pressing down until they ring. A lump forms in his throat, days of swallowed words clawing their way back up, and the first tears fall. They’re tears of relief, of safety after giving up any hope for rescue, of returning to the Resolute and to his men, but they’re also tears of long, drawn out hopelessness, of resignation and fear, of watching the confidence fade from Obi-Wan’s eyes, of throwing an electrostaff and hoping that it hurts when it finds its mark.

A sob breaks the silence, almost detached from himself, followed by another and another, until he is gasping for air, mind flashing with images of those electro-whips, of furnaces that burned, of little Togrutas curled up together, looking so much like Ahsoka, back when she was little--

The knock on his door is soft, hesitant, but Rex startles, straightening and desperately scrubbing at his face.

“Rex?” Anakin’s voice is softer than usual, almost meek. “Are you alright?”

Rex doesn’t have a chance to respond, to ask for a minute, before the door slides open.

He feels like a bantha in speederlights, when his eyes meet Anakin’s, and he nearly wants to laugh to see his own expression reflected back to him.

“Rex?” Anakin asks uncertainly, as if he’s not looking right at him. Rex nods, confused, and Anakin steps inside.

He cuts his gaze away as Anakin picks up his helmet, cradling it as he sits down next to Rex.

Anakin is tapping his leg up and down, fingers drumming random patterns onto his knee, and Rex wants to yell, wants to stand up and walk out, wants to get into the shower and feel the burning water on his back and sink to the floor and stop feeling those curious, tentative tendrils as Anakin pokes around his mind in that unintentional way of his.

The silence is tense for what feels like forever, before Anakin finally speaks, “When I lived on Tatooine, water meant something very different than it does everywhere else. Here, people say it’s cleansing, this great flood that washes away dirt and blood until everything is new again. But on Tatooine, water is rare. It meant survival, death and life. Water was a symbol of love, of giving something precious. It was used during weddings, the sharing of a glass, to show their desire to live and die for one another.” He chuckles, “There wasn’t much grey area on Tatooine.” He grows more solemn. “My mother used to say that water is healing, and that love is wishing to take someone’s pain from them. She did it for me, and I’d do it for you, if I could.”

Rex is well aware of how precious this story is, with how little Anakin discusses his childhood, and with the shadows that darkened his eyes the one time Obi-Wan had mentioned his mother. He looks over, wiping his eyes, and says, “I’m grateful, sir.” He accepts Anakin’s words, although he wants to say You can’t take my pain, or Obi-Wan’s. You can’t protect us from our duty, and we don’t want you to. All you can do is be there afterwards. But he’s tired, and he wouldn’t want to make Anakin close up again, after he’d shared a piece of himself, so instead he says, “I don’t know if water is healing, but I do hope it’s cleansing. I’m going to take a shower, if that’s alright.”

Anakin stands swiftly, Rex’s helmet held awkwardly in his hands. “Of course, Rex, I’m sorry for keeping you.”

It feels like there’s a stone in Rex’s stomach, like this conversation has turned into a series of miscommunications. “You didn’t, sir.” He’s not quite sure why he’s comforting Anakin now. “Is General Kenobi alright?”

Anakin looks away, down at Rex’s visor instead. “He’s in the medbay. Cody’s with him. I wanted to find you.”

Rex realizes that Anakin wishes to help, but doesn’t know how to say it. He racks his brain for what to do. “Sir, do you think you could help me get the chestplate off? I can’t reach the clasp.” He hasn’t actually tried to, but he imagines it would pull his muscles quite angrily. Zygerrian armour is way too complicated.

Anakin lights up. “Yes, I can get it!”

Rex hides a smile as Anakin searches for the snap, muttering about bad design and poor protection. When it’s off, fallen to the ground, Rex turns, “I can handle the rest, but I’ll need some help bandaging my back when I’m done showing, if you can?”

Anakin nods energetically. “Yes, of course!” He looks as if he’s going to offer to help Rex with the shower, so Rex cuts in immediately, “Also, do you think you could take a look at my HUD while you wait? The night-vision lens has been acting up.”

Agreeing happily, Anakin sets off to work. Rex feels a bit better, as he heads into the ‘fresher. He guesses it’s alright to accept help from Anakin, since it’s so obviously beneficial to them both.

…

Jesse’s face is bloody, but his expression is almost peaceful. It would almost look like he was sleeping after a battle, having passed over taking a shower like he always did, a stupid habit of his that drove Rex mad. It’s not a troubling sight, really, except for how pale his skin is, and for the steel shaft that gapes from his stomach.

“I should never have left.” Ahsoka lowers herself to kneel beside him.

Rex doesn’t look up, doesn’t respond, instead wiping his hand across Jesse’s helmet, against the Galactic Roundel, the symbol of a Republic that seems to have failed them from the very beginning.

“Oh, Jesse,” she breathes, reaching out a hand to wipe the blood from his head.

“Please don’t,” Rex says, sharper than he meant to. Ahsoka draws her hand back, brow furrowed.

Rex keeps his gaze down. “You can help me with the others, but I’d like to carry him by myself, please.”

“Of course.” Ahsoka stands, but hesitates. “I’m sorry, Rex.”

Rex clears his throat, but his voice is still gruff. “It’s not your fault. Obviously this was far beyond all of us.”

“Maybe, but that’s not what I mean. I shouldn’t have left you. If I’d been here--”

“You wouldn’t have fixed it!” Rex interrupts, looking up at Ahsoka. “The Council was tricked. Anakin, Mace, Yoda, they all believed the Chancellor, because why shouldn’t they. Nothing happened that wasn’t given a perfectly normal explanation. Fives was scared out of his kriffing mind, but it just sounded like he’d lost it.”

“Still, if I’d stayed...I was scared, and I didn’t know what I was fighting for anymore, but everything was falling apart, and I left all of you to try and keep it together without me.”

Rex doesn’t say anything, but he remembers when Anakin had told him Ahsoka was gone, jaw clenched and face closed off, and when Rex had sat in his room afterwards and wondered why he hadn’t mattered at all, wondered how Ahsoka could have left her men without a second thought. But he’d been so happy when she was returning, in hindsight so much like a massiff waiting for its owner, and they’d all painted their helmets for her--

He understands why she left, when he brushes aside all the hurt, but in the end, he had never gotten the same choice. None of the clones had.

Angry tears begin to fall, as he looks down at Jesse again, and he clenches his jaw to stop himself from screaming. “We should have killed them,” he chokes. “They all died anyways, why the kriff wouldn’t we just shoot them?”

Ahsoka falls to her knees, hard, ash rising in a cloud. “I’ve made so many mistakes, Rex, but none bigger than that. I was just so tired of having to make the tough calls. I told myself that I was saving them, but I was only saving myself.”

Rex sobs, pressing his forehead to Jesse’s chest. “I should have killed him. Who was I to act like some kriffing hero, taking the kriffing high road? I’m a soldier, I lead these men, they depend on me to make sure they die for the right reason.”

He feels a pressure on his back, but no presence in his mind, like he would have with Obi-Wan or Anakin. Ahsoka lets him have his grief and his loneliness, but she embraces him tightly when he turns to her. He’s grateful for that, though he’d give anything to know that Anakin is alright, or to hear Obi-Wan’s calm, steady voice. She says nothing as he cries, as he wipes his tears, as he carries Jesse to the hole he’s dug, but she is there, bound to him through their shared mistakes, and that means something, even if nothing else does anymore.

I just thought of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad au where during Umbara it’s Rex that’s injured and he’s begging Kix to leave him behind so Kix can keep outrunning the tanks. And Kix still tells Rex he sounds like General Krell but he’s more frustrated and afraid than angry. Kix manages to group Rex with the rest of the wounded and Rex orders Kix to leave them behind and initially Kix is like no Fucking way I’m leaving you all out here but Rex reasons with him that he’s the only medic with the company right now and he had to keep moving with the group and Rex would keep an eye on and defend the rest of the wounded. At this point Kix knows he’s right so he leaves with them with a bunch of supplies and keeps going with Torrent. At the end of the battle when their recovering everyone’s like oh Kriff where’s Rex?! Did we loose him?! Is he dead?! And Kix speaks up and tells them he’s with the wounded, which spurts Fives and company to try and go back and look for them but in the name of progress and sacrifice Krell forbids it. He temporarily promotes Jesse to captain because i think at the time he was Rex’s lieutenant but mostly because Krell liked Jesse’s attitude more than he liked Five’s. The rest of the arc continues the way it originally did but with Jesse and fives at the lead. Meanwhile, Rex and like 25 other troops are lost in a foreign environment in the center of hostile territory on a planet far from any republic system, dwindling rations and medical supplies trying their best to live off the land for weeks. Rex had found a cave for the men to hide out in and made a camp there. Since he’s the captain and one of the least injured he goes out trying to locate and contact the gar while finding food and supplies. Between encounters with natural predators and Umbaran squads he always comes back more injured than he left. At this time Anakin gets back and he’s also like umm where’s Rex?? When the 501st tells him what happened he’s pissed and immediately goes out into the jungle to find Rex. And he does, just in time too because Rex had gotten his legs caught in a trap and was too injured to walk or fight and was surrounded by enemy Umbarans. Rex and the others wounded are rescued and get shipped of to a medical station for a while. When they get back hella comfort ensues and torrent is never letting Rex out of their sight again. Over the next few months however it’s clear that Rex has developed a significant amount of trauma and ptsd from the experience and is finding it hard to integrate back into and function within the gar.

@one-real-imonkey I loved this post, and as I said in my tags when I reblogged it, I made a drabble. I haven’t edited it, so sorry if it’s wonky, but I loved the idea. I hope you like it!

Dye

Keep reading

September 1st… Rex

Hey, look’s who got a tumblr. Me! I hope you enjoy these little drabbles. I worked hard on these. 

Word Count: 300

Characters: Rex, Anakin Skywalker

Enjoy!!

Rex hated having Jango as his template. One word. Curls. He hated them. That’s why he always buzzed his head as short as he could get it. He hated his curls. 

Keep reading

Fae Moth Au part 1

Based on @waterlily707’s au

Check their art it’s awesome

Anakin cursed

That wasn’t a new thing. Specially since he was lost in the middle of the forest with no cell service. Anakin wondered who was so important enough that both Ashoka and Obi Wan would drag him out in the middle of nowhere.

“It will be fun Anakin” He muttered “They are good people, he said” Anakin threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

“I’m OBi WaN KeNoBi and I LIKE DIrt and TREES and torturing my YOUNGER BROTHER!” He kicked a hollowed tree stump. “Stupid trees.”

A few days ago…

“Anakin, can you take a couple of days off work pleaseeeee? Obi Wan and I want you to meet some people and their realllyyy cool!”

Ahsoka and Anakin were sitting in a cafe in which Anakin spent most of his time programming for his job. Anakin looked up from his programming for a second to look at her. “Yeah sure, if I want to get behind this project.” He snipped

She rolled her eyes “come on! It’s Obi Wan’s friends and-“

“Obi wan has friends?”

“Haha ha, anyway their really cool! And I’d think you would get along with Fives and Rex.”

Anakin frowned “What kinda name is Fives?”

Ahsoka grinned knowing that Anakin’s curiosity would probably get him to come along. “Fives is a good guy… although he tends to attract trouble like a certain someone I know.”

“I don’t know what your talking about.” Anakin said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“It’s settled! You’ll come with us to meet them!” She said cheerfully

Before Anakin had a chance to respond she wrote down an address on his notebook he kept on him to help sort out his programs and scurried off.

Anakin stared at the address before shrugging “what’s the worse that could happen?”

Present day

It was a lot worse. Anakin had now been wandering for an hour after parking his car near a rusted pole that had the address on it. As he trudged through the muddy trail he found that the pathway had slowly disappeared into the surrounding woods. And when he turned back to look at the trail he found it vanished completely.

Now here he was yelling at nothing and kicking some poor tree log, hoping that Obi Wan or Ahsoka would magically show up.

Eventually he came across a stream and attempted to follow it to lead him somewhere.

“Don’t follow that stream” whispered a unfamiliar voice from the trees.

Anakin to his embarrassment later shrieked and slipped on a loose mossy patch only for home to hit his head. Dazed and as he lost consciousness he swore he saw a person coming toward him at a distance.

Part 1 done! I love @waterlily707’s moth au. its so cute! I made it a modern au as well cause idk how to put it in a cannon universe. Part 2 will hopefully come soon if my schedule lets me. Part 1 Is a little short but in part 2 I’ll try to make it longer!

After the Captain

They haunted him at night.

For a while, Rex had convinced himself he was doing okay. He kept moving, place to place, camp to camp, never packing more than he could carry. If it wasn’t in his armor, or tucked into the pockets of his cloak, he didn’t need it. He got up in the morning before the sun, of whatever planet it was today, did. He kept a low profile, watched the gazes of those around him slide over his face without recognition. He collected what he could - bits of data from loosely guarded corners of the networks, bits of food people forgot to chase after, spare parts and necessities from those who forgot to remember them.

In a sense, they’d forgotten him too - him, and the thousands and thousands of people who shared his face. The vode were fading already, sinking to the back of public memory as the Empire hung its gaudy trappings and spread its newly-hatched wings.

But those endless faces never left him alone.

Identical.

Unique. Given the same blank canvas, each person who picks it up will paint something new.

And they had.

He had.

That was the thing. Because he had been one of them, once. There hadn’t been a moment when he hadn’t had someone to turn to, a piece of advice, a shoulder to lean on or a hand to hold or the person next to you, ready to fall in step as you go.

Captain.

They all said it differently, and he did too. It was wry, or joking, affectionate, or sincere, respectful or hopeful or a thousand things he couldn’t name.

For him, it was weighted. Thankful, in a way, desperate, in another. It was the responsibility of all of those faces, all of their newly-painted canvases warped from a galaxy they never knew. But they had never cared, stacking themselves on themselves until someone could make their identity out of the pieces of the others. He could see them without asking their names or finding their faces.

Tup’s smile bled into the horizon, the vod’ika he couldn’t save.

Fives’s laugh echoed in his ears, and something tore in Rex’s stomach every time.

Echo’s hands lingered on his, after the thousandth battle plan, and Rex could only see them shocked thin and wizened and paper-white, abandoned and alone.

Hardcase moved in the corner of his eye, off to his next adventure, and he was gone because Rex hadn’t the strength to stop him.

Kix’s side of the bed was empty, lost to the wind without a word.

Jesse was gone, stolen away, nothing but a body inside of a helmet Rex had helped him paint.

Captain.

There were so many things he could have done. So many things he should have done, would have turned the impossible upside down if it meant saving them for a day, a rotation, a year, a life they never got to live, trauma they never had to have.

Captain.

He heard it in their voices, in Hawk’s voice, in Charger’s voice, in Appo’s and Sterling’s and Koho’s and Vere’s and so many more that he never got the chance to save. He heard it in General Skywalker’s, barely-hidden humor and a kind of sarcastic optimism that infused his steps and his words. He even heard it in Ahsoka’s voice, and he knew she was fine, knew she could take care of herself. But it’s her as barely a Padawan, thrown into a war too big for her, it’s her as a newly-minted commander, it’s her growing into a kind of maturity she shouldn’t have to understand. But he did, because they all did.

It’s Ahsoka’s voice, broken, her hands bloodied and battered from digging their graves. She’s shattered, and there was no one there to hand her a needle and thread and teach her how to sew her scars together.

Captain.

Tup cries, and Fives gasps as his heart fails, and Echo’s hands are cold, and Hardcase closes his eyes before an explosion swallows him whole. Kix’s absence says more than his words ever could, but there’s a ghost of him in all the places he isn’t. And Jesse watches them all. Rex’s mind can imagine what his face looked like, behind his helmet. His eyes glaze and his mouth sets and his newly blank canvas amounts to nothing more than kindling.

Rex wakes up with the salty taste of tears on his tongue. He’s never had to be alone before.

So they haunt him at night, and still he tried to convince himself that he’s okay. He doesn’t deserve not to be. He couldn’t save them. It’s up to him to deal with the ghosts.

He woke before the sun, of whatever today’s planet was. He kept a low profile. He collected what he could.

He kept moving.

*******

oof I hurt myself with this one.

I love Rex. I write for him all the time. But when the prompt was "Captain Rex" I was like....uh....what do I do? (find the full list @clonetober - I can't believe it's been 20 days already.)

It took awhile, but this is what I came up with. What does our boy do after the end of the war?

(it'd be a humanitarian effort to a. give him a many hugs and b. teach him healthy coping strategies.)

something short and ridiculous just for fun. inspired by an idea from @tweenlove-n-hate

///

Listen- Galinda isn’t actually sure how it happens, she swears. All she knows is one minute, Elphaba is there, she is standing in the room as Galinda closes her eyes and clenches her toes and waves that stupid, silly training wand through the air. 

One minute, Elphaba is there. The next, there is nothing but the plant. 

Yes. That’s right. A plant. A small, potted plant, of indiscernible species, rich green in color and with four skinny, slightly pointy leaves sticking out of the dirt. 

Galinda gapes at it, looking around as though waiting for Elphaba to jump out and say “gotcha!” She never does. Heart pounding, panic rising, Galinda steps up to the little pot. She leans down so her face is level with its leaves. 

“Elphie?” she whispers. 

The plant does not answer her, but she swears she sees a leaf wave. Fuck. 

She needs to get Fiyero. 

***

“What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“I mean I don’t know, Fiyero! One second Elphaba was here, and the next- poof! She’s gone! And that is sitting in her place!” 

Fiyero groans, rubbing at his temples. “You turned your roommate into a plant.” 

“I didn’t mean to!” Galinda wails. She’s been going crazy all morning, apologizing to the little plant, moving it into the sun, taking it out of the sun when she worried that would burn it. 

“I don’t know how to take care of a plant, Fiyero, help me!” 

“Oh, well, here’s a thought, how about turning her back into a person!” 

“I’ve tried that!” 

“What about Morrible?”

“Morrible? Madame Morrible? She would kill me!” 

“Well- you may have killed Elphaba!”

“I didn’t kill her- she’s right there!”

“As a PLANT!”

The conversation continues in that vein, none of which is all that helpful. Fiyero eventually leaves, saying he’ll see if he can find anyone who knows more than them about plant care. To care. For the plant. Which is also, possibly, maybe, probably, her friend. 

Galinda has owned exactly one plant in her life. It was a cactus. And it died. 

She may or may not be freaking out. 

***

Taking care of plant-Elphie is stressful. 

She needs water but not too much. Sun, but not too much. The room has to be warm, but not too warm. 

Galinda keeps moving the pot around, trying to find the place where it looks and feels the best. She watches closely for any signs, for the stems to wiggle or the leaves to wave. Something. 

“We have class soon, Elphie,” Galinda whispers. It’s been three hours. She’s already losing hair. 

“I know how much you hate to miss class.” Galinda sighs, tapping her nails on her chin in thought. She could just…bring Elphie with her. Surely, their professor wouldn’t mind. She’s quiet, non-disruptive. She can just sit on Galinda’s desk- that way she’ll still be able to listen to the lesson. 

“Okay, sounds like a plan!” 

Galinda continues to chatter to Elphie as she gets ready, frowning when she realizes that the little red pot Elphie is sitting in will clash with her uniform. “Hm.” Galinda doesn’t have time to wait for paint to dry and she has no other appropriately sized and colored pots on hand. 

Rustling around for her spellbook--cringing as she remembers what happened last time--Galinda flips to the bookmarked page for color changes. This is the first spell she ever mastered. Closing her eyes, she carefully casts the spell on the pot. 

Only the pot. 

She blinks one eye open cautiously, carefully, and beams when she sees it’s been a success. The little green plant now sits in a delightfully pink pot. “Perfect!” Galinda cries. She reaches over and pats a leaf gently with a single fingertip. “Pink goes so well with green.”

***

Galinda makes sure to bring Elphie to every class- her friends noting the green girl’s absence but accepting Galinda’s explanation with minimal raised eyebrows and questioning remarks. Galinda keeps a close eye on the pot, making sure it’s not too close to the edge of her desk where someone may bump into it and knock it off. 

In between classes, when usually she’d study with Elphaba, she instead takes some scrap pieces of cloth and stitches Elphie her own little bag, placing it carefully around the pot. She smiles, nodding sharply, and then turns back to her research on reversing spells. 

At lunch, she rocks back and forth on worried heels, eyeing the options and then eyeing the pot. “I don’t think plants eat food, Galinda,” Pfannee reminds her. “Just sun and water.”

“What about fertilizer?”

“Well, that’s to grow, right? How long do you expect Elphie to remain in there?”

He’s right. Galinda sighs. She was meant to go to the library later that day to try and find some new books to help her turn Elphie back. She’s a lovely plant, very pretty really, but Galinda would really rather have a human roommate. 

***

“It’s not working.” Galinda growls under her breath, resisting the urge to run her hands through her perfectly curled hair in frustration. She’s tried every reversal spell she can think of, and Elphie is still a plant. 

At this point- Galinda is going to have to give up and go to Madame Morrible for help. And then she’s really going to want to cry. 

“Oh, don’t be sad, Elphie. I promise I’ll figure it out.”

Galinda has now pinned a small pink bow to Elphie’s pot. Just to make her feel a little prettier. Her leaves were just a touch bland, not that Galinda would ever say anything. She’s not sure why Elphie isn’t a flowering plant. Elphie is much too beautiful to just be a handful of leaves. 

Galinda sighs, slumping down in her chair and reaching over to pull the pot to her chest, one arm wrapped securely around it. “I’ve got you,” she mumbles. “Don’t worry, Elphie. I’ll fix this.”

***

Galinda tries closing her eyes. She tries spinning around. She tries yelling and waving and leaping. She sticks her tongue out. She clenches her butt cheeks. She does just about every trick in the book, wand waving through the air, and she gets no closer to a human Elphie. 

It evening now, and Galinda had almost had a breakdown when she realized there’d be no sun. What if Elphie got cold? What if she got hungry? Plants ate sunlight, right? What if she starved to death overnight?!!

Galinda ends up calling the boys over, getting them to pore over books with her. Elphie sits carefully in front of the stack of books, a pen balanced across the top of her pot because Galinda didn’t want her feeling left out. 

“Anything?” Galinda asks, hours later. 

Both boys shake their heads sadly. Boq leans back on his hands, rolling his neck after hours spent bent over books. Galinda watches him anxiously. She’ll have to tell his girlfriend tomorrow if she still hasn’t fixed this. 

Nessarose deserved to know her sister is a plant. 

Actually. Speaking of--

“Where is Nessa?” she asks. 

Boq blinks at her. “She’s with her father today. He’s in town for something and wanted to meet up, so she’s not getting back until late tonight or early tomorrow morning.”

Oh, right. Elphaba had mentioned something about that. She hadn’t seemed very pleased her father was in town. 

Galinda goes back to her books, muttering spells to herself and glancing up occasionally to see if anything has changed. Elphie remains the same, skinny leaves shining in the lamplight. Eventually, Galinda knows they have to call it quits. 

She’ll need to confess everything in the morning. Dread pools in her stomach at the idea of facing Morrible. 

“Hey, Galinda, I think I figured out what kind of plant she is,” Fiyero calls out. He turns a gardening book around, tapping the page. “She’s an artichoke!” 

Galinda stares, horrified, for all of five seconds before she bursts into sobs. 

***

Perhaps it’s a cruel form of karma. The universe teaching her a lesson for being so very mean those first few weeks of school. 

Galinda shoos the boys out with tears still dripping off her cheeks, slamming the door shut and crossing the room to collapse in front of the little pot. She stares at it, sniffling loudly. 

“I’m so sorry, Elphie,” she says. “I didn’t mean to, I promise.”

Galinda checks how dry the soil is. She inspects the leaves for any spots or discoloration. She triple checks the thermometer telling her how warm the room is. And then, just in case, she wraps the pot in Elphaba’s favorite gray blanket and places it on her nightstand.

She sings to it as she goes about her nighttime routine, voice echoing through the room. Something soft and loving. Something sweet. And then, when there’s nothing else to do, she sits crosslegged on her bed with the pot in her lap, gazing forlornly at Elphie’s tiny leaves. 

The room feels a bit too big and empty with just her in it. She sniffles again, new tears crowding her eyes. She misses Elphaba, even if it’s really only been a single day. Even if she knows Elphie is right here, in her lap. 

It’s not the same. 

Galinda sucks in a shaky inhale. She blinks quickly, wiping at a stray tear with a knuckle. “Hey, Elphie?” she says quietly. “Can I tell you a secret?”

The plant doesn’t respond, but she really hopes its listening. 

“I really missed you today. We didn’t get to eat breakfast together. Or lunch. Or dinner. And we didn’t study after history. And we didn’t nap together after lunch. And we didn’t take a walk in the gardens before nightfall. And- And-” Galinda swallows hard, a real secret sitting behind her tongue. “And I really missed you.”

She had. It’s the truth. Even running around trying to figure this out all day, she kept turning to look for Elphaba. She kept reaching for Elphaba’s hand. She kept opening her mouth to tell her something or ask a question or seek reassurance. She hadn’t realized how important Elphaba had grown to her everyday life. 

How much Galinda needed her. 

Galinda brushes a fingertip down a soft leaf’s edge. “I need you, Elphie,” she whispers. “Please.”

Her eyes slide shut, her magic swells, and Galinda hopes and hopes and hopes. But when she opens her eyes, all she sees is the same four leaves, still and unmoving and unchanging. 

What if some spells are never reversible? 

Galinda places Elphie gently on her nightstand again, tucking her blanket around her. She has a cup of water waiting nearby in case Elphie is thirsty in the morning. She’s moved her nightstand so it’ll catch the sun’s first rays through the window. 

Lastly, Galinda reaches over and taps her finger gently against the edge of the pot, pulling on her magic and letting a wave of black coat the outer shell of the pot. After all- Elphie would hate to wear pink pajamas to bed. 

“Goodnight, Elphie,” Galinda whispers. “I love you.”

***

Sunlight wakes Galinda slowly, the blonde humming under her breath as she stretches languidly and cracks her jaw on a yawn. She blinks her eyes open, brow scrunching. Was she forgetting something? 

With a gasp, Galinda shoots up, looking over to her bedside table. Which. 

Is empty. 

Galinda screams. 

It echoes around the room, piercing and shrill, her foggy, freshly-woken mind flooded with panic. She’s still screaming when Elphaba bursts out of the bathroom door, toothbrush in her mouth and eyes wild as she searches the room for a threat. 

“What- What is it?! What are you screaming about?” 

Galinda gapes, mouth wide open. She stares and stares, Elphaba staring, bewildered, right back. And. Then. 

Galinda screams. 

It goes on for long enough that Elphaba dives across the bed and slams her hand over Galinda’s mouth. “Galinda!” Elphaba hisses. “You’re going to wake the whole school! What is the problem?”

Her voice softens then, hand loosening. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Galinda thinks she’s still dreaming, actually. “Y-you’re here,” she croaks out. 

“Um. Yes?”

“B-b-but-- The plant?”

Elphaba blinks, rocking back. After a second, her eyes light up with understanding. “Oh! That little guy. Yeah, I put him over there by the window, see? I about knocked him over when I bumped into your nightstand this morning, which- I don’t know why it was all the way out there.”

Galinda follows Elphaba’s finger to a little black pot on the desk by the window, four skinny leaves and a tiny pink bow. “I see you gave him a makeover,” Elphaba teases. 

Galinda swallows hard, mouth dry and head hurting. “He?”

“Uhhh. Or she, that’s fine. I don’t think plants have a preference.”

Galinda thinks she may combust. “You- you aren’t a plant?”

“What?” Elphaba huffs out a startled laugh. “Um, no? No, I’m pretty sure I’m very human.”

Galinda squeaks, scrambling out of her bed. She sways, blinking spots from her vision as Elphaba reaches for her. “You were never a plant?”

“Nnnoo…Galinda are you okay?” 

Galinda looks at the pot. She looks at Elphaba. She looks back at the pot. 

She kind of wants to scream again. 

“I-I-I thought--”

“Wait.” Elphaba’s lips twitch, laughter bubbling in her chest. “Did you think I turned into a plant? That plant?”

Galinda’s veins are shaking. “Yes!”

“Why in all of Oz would you--”

“You weren’t here! You disappeared! And-and- there was just that in your place!”

Elphaba laughs openly now, nearly doubling over in mirth. “Galinda,” she wheezes. “Galinda, I told you I was leaving and going with Nessa into the city. You were so locked in on whatever spell you were practicing that you weren’t paying me any attention.”

Galinda gapes at her, breathless. 

“I got the plant as a joke, remember? From the gardening club?” Elphaba shakes her head fondly. “You weren’t listening to a thing I said yesterday morning, were you?”

Galinda thinks she’d very much like to be a plant now. 

“So, so you were never--” 

“I can assure you, I was never a plant. I was in the city all day. Nessa can vouch for me.”

A beat passes. All the air gusts out of Galinda and she collapses back to the bed with a groan, flopping onto her back and throwing an arm over her face. “I spent all day--” 

Elphaba laughs again. “Well, I guess that explains the black paintjob. Though- a bow? Really?”

Galinda moves her arm to glare upward. “The whole pot was pink yesterday,” she sniffs. 

Elphaba cocks a single eyebrow. 

“Hey! Pink goes well with green.”

At that, Elphaba grins, rolling her eyes fondly. “It so does,” she finishes. 

She’s still chuckling to herself, backlit by morning light in a way that creates a little halo around her figure. Her eyes are mirthful and bright, her teeth flashing in a smile. She looks so--

She’s so--

Oz, Galinda had missed her. 

“Hey, Elphie?” she questions. She swallows hard, looking at the plant one last time. “Tell me a secret.”

“What?” Elphaba blinnks, thrown. “We only do that at night,” she reminds. 

Galinda gives her a shaky, nervous smile. “You weren’t here last night,” she whispers. “And I really missed you.”

Elphaba softens, reaching out and taking Galinda’s hand when the blonde waves it around in the air. She moves closer, standing over Galinda’s flopped down form. “I missed you, too,” she says gently. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

Galinda smiles, dimple popping and eyes crinkling. A feeling like honey spreads through her, slow and warm. She doesn’t want to wait until tonight. She doesn’t want to wait another second. 

“Hey, Elphie?”

“Yeah?”

Galinda slowly turns their joined hands over, palms up, Galinda’s hand cupping Elphaba’s. There, sprouting in the center of Elphaba’s green palm, is a single brilliant poppy. A little plant magic. For luck. 

“What’s this for?” Elphaba asks. 

“For you.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

The poppy quivers, its petals shaking as Elphaba does. She gapes down at Galinda, emerald eyes wide. Then--

“I love you, too.”

Galinda beams. Elphaba blushes. The poppy dances. On the desk by the window- a little plant stretches just a little taller.