#ahsoka travels to the past au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gffa · 1 year

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It’s been over half a year since I did a set of STAR WARS fic recs that weren’t pairing-focused, but I have been reading fic along the way! And sometimes you want fic that’s not about ships, no matter how much you love them, sometimes you just want to read about friendships or you want to read some cool worldbuilding or you only want the plot, and Star Wars fandom has been lovely about that. Hell, sometimes you just want to cry about how much you love the Jedi and you want to share that affection with other people, through the incredible experience of telling stores about them, like they were trying so hard and they were right about so many things and they were dying for years to try to help the galaxy, and teaching about how emotional regulation is good actually, and sometimes you want to show that through the disaster trio and sometimes you want to yell about how good Mace Windu is and sometimes you want to love frog grandpa and sometimes you want to get into a fistfight to defend Luminara’s honor and sometimes you want the whole Order sitting down to a family dinner and sometimes you want fic where Anakin and Mace actually get along and so many other things! So, here’s a collection of some excellent fic that I think most people should be able to find at least something to enjoy, whether you’re looking for fun disaster lineage shenanigans or heartbreaking pain because Star Wars Is Pain or some awesome Jedi Order worldbuilding or some all too rare Mace Windu Appreciation fic, I HOPE YOU ENJOY. WHAT KIND OF FIC YOU’LL FIND HERE:

FICS THAT PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE WITH HOW GOOD THEY WERE

CANON-COMPLIANT (MOSTLY, UP TO A CERTAIN POINT, WHATEVER) DISASTER LINEAGE

JEDI CULTURE AND WORLDBUILDING AND CELEBRATION

I AM A PREQUELS ERA BITCH AND I’M MAKING THAT EVERYONE ELSE’S PROBLEM

FOR THE OBITINE SHIPPERS, OF WHICH I AM ONE

MULTIGENERATIONAL STAR WARS IS THE BEST STAR WARS

NOBODY NEEDS THEIR HEART TODAY ANYWAY

FRIENDSHIP WITH CANON ENDED, THIS COOL AU IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND NOW

FICS THAT PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE WITH HOW GOOD THEY WERE: ✦ fill pages with scribbled ink by magneticwave, obi-wan/padme & anakin & cast, 9.8k A year after the Invasion of Naboo, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi is invited by Queen Amidala to return to Naboo and participate in a rite known as the Night of Fireflies. Things kind of snowball from there. ✦ Stars of Tatooine by Be_Right_Back, ahsoka & kanan & mace & rex & obi-wan & cast, 10.5k After the end of the world, Ahsoka more or less kidnaps a child, has to air some old grievances, and tries to find whatever peace the universe can still offer. All paths in the Force lead home, eventually. ✦ A Discussion of Choices by Peppermint_Shamrock, mace & luke, 2k Mace Windu has traveled the galaxy since the fall of the Republic, keeping out of the Empire’s sight and teaching where he can. Upon the request of a ghost of an old friend, Mace finds himself instructing Luke Skywalker, who is still reeling from the truth of Vader’s identity. CANON-COMPLIANT (MOSTLY, UP TO A CERTAIN POINT, WHATEVER) DISASTER LINEAGE: ✦ stars lean in a little closer by gigglesandfreckles, obi-wan & ahsoka, 3.9k Ahsoka is struggling with nightmares after returning from Felucia, but her pesky grandmaster won’t leave her to deal with them alone ✦ Four Walls and Two Jedi by hellowkatey, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 10k Obi-Wan and Anakin get exposed to a deadly virus and must spend two weeks in quarantine battling sickness, ghosts from the past, and worries for the future. ✦ Care, Trust, and the Force (of course) by hellowkatey, obi-wan & anakin, whump, 1.7k Anakin takes a tumble during a battle that brings about a lot of old fears. ✦ Chains Bound and Broken by PhenomenalWoman, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 6.3k Where Anakin goes undercover and learns that being a 9 year-old slave is not the same as being a 22 year-old slave. ✦ Anakin’s Birthday by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin, 1.3k Anakin is about to celebrate his first birthday as a Jedi Padawan and Obi-Wan helps to make it special. Pure fluff. ✦ Not Much Has Changed, Except for Everything by hellowkatey, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon, time travel, 4.4k Anakin is angry at Obi-Wan, and the Force decides to intervene by throwing him back in time. ✦ cause a commotion (jump in the ocean) by loosingletters, anakin & ahsoka, 1.2k Ahsoka worries about finding a Master and instead finds a friend haunting the ponds in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. ✦ still much that is fair by RaineyDay, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & qui-gon & bant & tahl & cast, time travel, 21.1k Anakin Skywalker was used to following the commands of the Force in his daily life. But a lot of the time, that didn’t really mean much. Until the day the Force nudged him to catch a kid falling through the sky- and through time. ✦ unbalanced, triumphant, and trying again by katierosefun, obi-wan & anakin, 2.6k sometimes you just want to go home, wherever that may be. ✦ Haste Has No Blessing by Peach_Bitters (peachybitters), obi-wan & anakin, spanking, 3k Ten-year-old Anakin Skywalker becomes impatient with the speed of his training and defies his master’s instructions. ✦ to be better by gigglesandfreckles, obi-wan & anakin, 1.8k the Council has lost a planet, much to Anakin and Obi-Wan’s dismay. they’ve been tasked with finding it, but after nine hyperspace jumps and a painful discovery, Obi-Wan teaches his former Padawan one more lesson. ✦ And The War Never Sleeps by soft_but_gremlin, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1k As the war goes on, it gets harder to get any sleep. ✦ Keeper of the Force by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & bant & plo & vokara & cast, read the warnings, 93.9k Thirty years before the Clone Wars began, the Force selected its Keeper. Now, in the face of the intense turmoil plaguing the galaxy, the Force acts again. Anakin just wants everything to go back to how it was before, Ahsoka doesn’t completely understand what is happening but is willing to do whatever she can to help, and Obi-Wan’s past comes back to haunt him in a way he never expected. ✦ Moving by SingManyFaces, obi-wan & anakin & plo, 3k Obi-Wan’s new padawan is having difficulty learning to meditate but, together, they find a way to make it work. ✦ unthinkingly by katierosefun, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.1k Ahsoka felt her entire body grow cold as she whirled around for them, opened her mouth to shout a warning— She saw Anakin tense first, saw him lift his face to the sky, and then his eyes met Ahsoka’s briefly—and then she saw him race for Obi-Wan, shove him out of the way, and— Ahsoka’s shout joined Obi-Wan’s. ✦ what they grow beyond by gigglesandfreckles, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & qui-gon, 2.7k Obi-Wan learns there is just as much learning in teaching. ✦ Deepest Rivers by TexasDreamer01, obi-wan & anakin, 1.5k “The deepest rivers flow with the least sound.” - Quintus Curtius Rufus ✦ Inactions Have Consequences by stolen_pen_name23, obi-wan & anakin & mace, 2k Losing Qui-Gon was the hardest thing Obi-Wan ever endured. He can’t bear to do it to Anakin. OR: Obi-Wan tries to keep Anakin at arm’s length. It doesn’t work. ✦ Aftercare by AdaliaK, obi-wan & anakin & quinlan, spanking, 3k When Anakin feels resentful of Obi-Wan after a punishment, “Uncle Quin” steps in and smooths things over between master & padawan. JEDI CULTURE AND WORLDBUILDING AND CELEBRATION: ✦ Festival of Light by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 8.7k During his first year at the Jedi Temple, Anakin learns that even the Jedi celebrate holidays. ✦ Songs for Little Jedi by soft_but_gremlin, mace & jedi, ~1k The initiates are having nightmares, so Mace sings a lullaby to comfort them. ✦ Mace Windu Appreciation Week by Redminibike1, mace & obi-wan & anakin & yoda & qui-gon & ponds & cody & cast, 12.5k Set of unconnected ficlets for Mace Windu Appreciation Week, because he deserves it :) ✦ a thin thread of hope by wrennette, shaak & clones, ~1k Shaak Ti introduces some cadets to one of her favourite crafts, under the guise of training. ✦ everyone comes home by nightdotlight, anakin & mace, 1.1k Anakin laughs, drowsy with the painkillers the IV feeds into his veins, and smiles at Mace. “You’re funny,” he says. “Nobody ever says it, but— you’re funny. I like the jokes you make.” ✦ Masters and Apprentices by silveryink, obi-wan & cody & rex & cast, 1.8k “You’re overthinking this.” Rex stared at his brother. “Okay, but – consider this, what if I’m not?” Cody snorted. “Rex. We’ve had a Padawan Commander before. We’ve also worked with cadets before. We managed with Skywalker, I’m sure that the Jedi shiny will be fine.” ✦ a comedy in four acts by jesuisdeux, obi-wan & yoda & mace & dooku & cast, time travel, 17.2k This was what time-travel is: staring at the dark sockets of skulls everywhere your gaze lands on. Being haunted by ghosts long gone. The apprehension of the slow yet sure approach of the inevitable which is sending chills down your spine. ✦ when the world is on your side by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & feemor & cast, 1k Feemor and his Padawan meet Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan. ✦ rah kat by js71, obi-wan & anakin & aayla, 1.6k “Aay’shee,” Obi-Wan murmurs into her ear, rocking her gently, like when jaieh was off on a mission she couldn’t go on, so her jaieh-raheniel would take turns having her over at their apartments. ✦ Lessons on Attachment by Siri_Kenobi12, obi-wan & anakin/padme & cast, 2.7k “Anakin once told me that a Jedi is actually encouraged to love.” She said after Obi-Wan had settled. ✦ settle down by loosingletters, yoda & jedi, 1.9k Five times Yoda cooks for somebody and one time someone cooks for him. ✦ at our gardens (during the eye of the storm) by gingerbeer, rainsoaked_benevolence (oceans_bluem), obi-wan & shaak & mace & yoda & feemor & cast, 7k Obi-Wan and his (almost full) family gathers to drink tea. ✦ in our kitchen (after the war) by gingerbeer, rainsoaked_benevolence (oceans_bluem), obi-wan & ahsoka & mace & yoda & depa & shaak & cast, 5.4k Or, (almost) all of the Jedi High Councilors (plus Ahsoka) gather to eat dinner together. ✦ with our family (after the dust has settled) by gingerbeer, rainsoaked_benevolence (oceans_bluem), obi-wan & ahsoka & yoda & mace & depa & kanan & quinlan & aayla & shaak & plo & cast, 6.2k Or, after the war ends (for real this time!), the (actually full!) Council gathers to eat mooncakes. ✦ Straw Dogs by Cymbidia, obi-wan & jedi & cast, 2.9k An old Jedi Master imparts some wisdom concerning Mercy, Balance, and the Will of the Force to young Padawan Obi-wan Kenobi and a gaggle of other younglings. It is a lesson that haunts Obi-wan for the rest of his life. I AM A PREQUELS ERA BITCH AND I’M MAKING THAT EVERYONE ELSE’S PROBLEM: ✦ netanalo by js71, cal & tapal & rex & fives, 2.4k The Senate had sent a child to see into the past. A Padawan, Ahsoka’s age, not much older. Rex’s heart pounded in his chest, climbing towards his throat, because damn the Senate, did they know how this would affect the kid, or did they just not care? ✦ what’s in a birthday (another year you live) by Ro29, luminara & barriss & gree & cast, 2.1k The Jedi view life as something precious, and Commander Gree learns he has value for the simple fact that he is alive. ✦ Direct Action by silveryink, luminara & barriss & kix & cast, 4.3k Upon investigating the health of her new battalion, Barriss discovers tumours located in all their heads. It’s a bigger problem than it appears to be. ✦ oh that dissolving light by wrennette, obi-wan/luminara, NSFW, 1.1k Luminara and Obi-Wan enjoy an evening of relaxation together during the war. ✦ I Feel Glad When You’re Glad by Harpokrates, ahsoka & plo, 1k Plo Koon considers his bright young charge. ✦ Non-Attachment and other Misconceptions by art_of_a_diffrent_color, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & plo & mace & qui-gon & cast, 3k wip Plo Koon, fresh off the planet Shili with a two and a half-year-old girl in his custody, is sent to Naboo to collect the body of Qui-Gon Jinn and assess the mental health of his former Padawan. What happens that day changes everything. ✦ Battle Heavy by phoenixyfriend, anakin & padme (past anakin/padme), 2.2k In which things are finalized, and emotions are settled. FOR THE OBITINE SHIPPERS, OF WHICH I AM ONE: ✦ atmosphere level by softredscrunchie, obi-wan/satine & qui-gon, 1k As a joke, Satine tells Obi-Wan she thinks Mandalore is flat. He doesn’t take it well. MULTIGENERATIONAL STAR WARS IS THE BEST STAR WARS: ✦ Faith in Darkness by icarus_chained, luke & grogu & din & anakin & cast, force ghosts, 11.2k Hindsight was perfect. And all nightmares came back, eventually. All nightmares came again. ✦ Paternal Relations by willowcrowned, obi-wan & anakin & luke, 1.2k “No,” Vader says, “I am your father.” Every bit of the pain, the terror, and the rage that have been flooding Luke’s senses is completely drowned out by utter confusion. What, he thinks, the fuck. Oh shit, Luke thinks, Vader is my dad’s ex-husband. ✦ Burdening Fate by Be_Right_Back, obi-wan & din, 2k There’s a wise old man standing in a field next to Din, with knowing eyes full of light. NOBODY NEEDS THEIR HEART TODAY ANYWAY: ✦ somewhere along in the bitterness by CallToMuster, obi-wan & anakin, read the warnings, 3.8k It was probably the twelfth day floating alone in space that Obi-Wan and Anakin realized no one was coming for them. ✦ infinite sadness by billowypants, obi-wan & anakin, force ghosts, ~1k You have always known what your purpose was in this world. Ever since you could think for yourself, you had somehow known that you were meant for infinite sadness. So what is unfolding in front of you right now makes no sense. ✦ this tired old elegy by grumpyhedgehogs, obi-wan & bly & jedi & clones, 2.4k In which Bly is This Close to breaking out of the chip’s control by himself and Obi-Wan shows up to give him that extra push. ✦ programed to dream by ghostwriterofthemachine, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.3k The spaceship Comet-rider is the fastest, most efficient vessel in the galaxy, and is crewed by Separatist-funded pirates. Anakin Skywalker is missing. Unfortunately, these two things are connected. ✦ a trolley problem for jedi by nightdotlight, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & mace & depa & kanan, 4.1k There’s this old problem. You may have heard of it. Something about a trolley, and a person, and a lever. A choice. ✦ premonition by grumpyhedgehogs, obi-wan & anakin, 2.6k Anakin dreams of the future. (It isn’t bright.) ✦ Betrayal by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin, read the warnings, 1.5k Obi-Wan gets to Coruscant earlier than expected after escaping from Utapau. It changes things. ✦ Together or Not at All by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin & padme, 2.7k In the aftermath of the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin crashes, and Obi-Wan and Padmé struggle to keep him alive long enough to get him help, all while trying to face their new reality. The reality of war. FRIENDSHIP WITH CANON ENDED, THIS COOL AU IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND NOW: ✦ strip away my conscience (peel away my values) by gostaks, obi-wan & anakin & palpatine, sith!obi-wan, 1k Obi-Wan Kenobi is an onion—he has layers. Beneath those layers, growing blacker every day, is the seed of the Republic’s fall. ✦ i am his brother, and i love him well by egeria, obi-wan/satine & anakin/padme, modern au, 2.9k Anakin introduces Padmé to Obi-Wan. It goes well. Not that Anakin believes that. ✦ Tolnah kodaih kat delo anohrah'ak by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & jango & boba & cast, 4.2k wip The one where Shmi is Jango’s older half-sister, Obi-Wan is raising a Mandalorian Padawan and Palpatine’s plans get ruined because four-year-old Boba Fett loves his cousin. ✦ No Death, Only the Force by ExtraPenguin, anakin & mace & depa & shmi, body swap, 2.8k Anakin Skywalker is just about to to free his mother from the Tuskens when the Force rudely yanks him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant – and into Mace Windu’s body. Mace, on the other hand, gets tossed into Anakin’s body on Tatooine.

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #mace windu #jedi order #fic recs #star wars fic recs

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kalevalakryze · 4 months

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Yhe'na Det Och'sa

Chapter Four: Oneh Marukki

Summary: The crystal is the heart of the blade.The heart is the crystal of the Jedi.The Jedi is the crystal of the Force.The Force is the blade of the heart.All are intwined: the crystal, the blade, and the Jedi. We are one. Ahsoka Tano wished none of her experiences on anyone, but the galaxy was only growing more dangerous. The Empire is closing in, and there's only so many ways she can teach Shin to defend themselves. Now, three years after Shin joins the Fulcrum crew, it's time to teach her to create her own saber. If she can get past her Gathering on a hostile planet, crawling with Imperial mining operations. AO3 Link: Here! Word Count: 7,708 Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Notes: Don't forget all the art posted in this AU to this point is all thanks to the wonderful and amazing @somewillwin !

The morning of her gathering, Ahsoka had sat Shin down and laid out every detail over breakfast, much to Huyang’s chagrin, “The Empire has its clutches on this planet… are you sure your crystal is down there?”

Swallowing around a mouthful of sugary cereal, Shin nodded their head quickly. “Yeah, I’m sure.. It’s down there,” Ahsoka cast a worried gaze back to the war table, red dots speckled across the hologram, marking Imperial ships in the atmosphere, and several troop movements on the surface.

“Once you’re in the planet’s core, I can’t help you,” Ahsoka warned, treading carefully; She didn’t want to scare Shin, but she also needed them to understand the dangers they would be heading into. Imperial starships surrounded the planets atmosphere, with transport ships moving to and from the surface, delivering materials and transporting troopers and miners back down.

“Approaching Vessel, hold position,” A deadpan voice rang over the speakers in the T-6’s cockpit. Huyang’s chair creaked as he moved to strengthen their cloaking signal. “The Ilum system has been blockaded, you are not permitted travel.”

“This is three-three-seven-six, detachment eighty four of the Imperial Asteroid mining crew, we’ve been tasked with sector seven cresh below the surface of Ilum. Please advise with further instruction.” Ahsoka answered carefully into the communicator, passing along small echoes of a force suggestion through the weakened link.

There was silence on the other end, and a small hand reached forward to take Ahsoka’s into their own, as a Star Destroyer slowly shifted in its place, further opening the gap that would give them room to pass. “Detachment eighty four, you are cleared to land on the surface. Report to your supervisory detail upon departure and detail your lack of efficiency in sending your codes immediately.”

“Yes sir,” The comms went silent as Ahsoka donned her hood and pushed the shuttle forward, thrusters catching as they entered the first wave of the planet’s gravitational pull.

“Well that was certainly lucky!” Huyang exclaimed rather loudly in the heavy silence of the ship as the frozen planets surface came into view, snow pelting the transparisteel as they descended.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” The Togruta answered, suddenly solemn as she watched the planet. The Force, normally brimming with power, potential… greatness, and love was void of it all, like the Kyber was being removed from the planets core. But what for? Ahsoka could not even begin to fathom why the Imperials would need Kyber, they’d killed the Jedi, and many of the inquisitors relied on the Kyber of those they’d killed to bleed and wield against the people that the crystal had once been in service to protect.

“Meht?” Shin questioned as she slid from the seat behind Huyang. Blue eyes brightened minimally when they turned to the brunette with white markings painted on their face, offering the love and compassion, the tether they knew Ahsoka needed so badly in this moment. The Togruta gathered up the small human into her arms, tucking them close into her lap as they approached a secluding landing pad. “Will you be okay?” Shin questioned, forehead pressing against the soft leathery feeling of her lek. “Yes, I’ll be alright, tazi unt. Thank you,” Warm lips pressed to the corner of a marking on their head. “Now let’s get you bundled up so you don’t freeze out there.”

Huyang set the ship down and worked on deploying their cloaking systems to work on the ground as Ahsoka helped Shin into the bundles of different layers to keep them warm, pulling a wool cap over their head to finish the job. “Meht, I can’t move,” Shin’s voice was muffled from all the layers, and Ahsoka couldn’t help but chuckle warmly at the sight of the lanky child in puffed up layers.

“Alright, alright here,” Enough layers were removed so the child could move properly, much to Ahsoka’s chagrin. “Do you remember what we’ve been practicing with the Force? How to keep yourself warm?” “Of course,” Their head nodded as a beaming smile tugged at lips, already chapped from the cool air making it past the filters.

Ahsoka turned away from Shin by the door to double check the small leather bag she’d prepared the night before. “This should contain enough supplies to give you a few days if anything is to happen. We’ll need radio silence across comms and the Force, I can’t be certain that they won’t have radar running to pick up on comm signals, and… I’d rather not think of them having personnel that could sense the Force, either.

“Yes, Master,” Shin took the provided satchel, tucking it carefully against their chest and using hooks in their outermost jacket to stop it from swinging wildly. “It’ll be just like we practiced, I’m sure of it,” She tried to ease some of Ahsoka’s anxieties as she secured a cortosis lined blade into a small holster along the inside of their calf. “Do not get too headstrong, Daaark grut. Impatience for victory will only show you how quickly the tides can turn to defeat,” Her fingers brushed over the warm cap on their head. “Be safe out there, and trust in the Force, little one.” Ahsoka moved so she could kneel before her youngling, taking their hands in her own as she retrieved her shoto from beneath her robes. “And don’t forget, I will be needing this back,” Homage to their first meeting, when she’d promised a sickly child that their salvation was far from some cruel trick.

Small arms wrapped around her middle as Shin threw themselves at her, earning a warm laugh and a warmer hug in return for their efforts. “I will, Meht,” They grumbled into her stomach as she patted their head.

“Lady Tano, we will need to move continuously to avoid Imperial Scanners, there are readings of Probe droids keeping near constant surveillance.” Huyang butted in from the cockpit, yellowed eyes focused on Master and Apprentice before him.

“Thank you, Huyang. Any parting words?” She tucked Shin up under her arm and turned them both to face the suddenly apprehensive professor.

“Come back safe, young Tano,” His eyes flickered in dim light, a feeling of somber recognition flooding his circuits.

“I will, Huyang, thank you- You two stay together,” Then, quieter. “Someone needs to look after ‘soka till I get back,” This seemed to lift the old droids spirits as Ahsoka laughed and led them towards the lowering ramp.

“Go on, get,” A gentle shove to their shoulder had the chuckling pre-teen shuffling down the ramp and into the cold.

Shin was no stranger to sneaking around Imperial troops, except this time, there was something to lose. It had been years now, with Ahsoka and Huyang at their back, offering unending support and wisdom; She couldn’t let them down, this was their first operation alone, and if they were caught, there was always a sinking chance that the Empire could trace her back to the Fulcrum crew, especially with the paint carefully etched into their skin.

She could hear the chatter just up ahead, a fire crackling and snow melted around the camp. The snowflakes didn’t fall as heavy here, so the young Initiate had to take longer strides to walk carefully in the footprints made by white plastoid covered troopers.

“Did you hear they’re bringing more miners in?” A trooper began, vocoder crackling and old, despite the fact that Shin had noticed a transport full of newer armor being sent to the surface.

“It’s none of your concern, clone. The nearby officer spat. Even Shin winced in empathic anger at the way the soldier was addressed by his superior, though the trooper simply sighed and returned to the metal tin of caf he’d been warming over the fires.

Shin’s boot stumbled in a patch of hardened snow, sinking them further than they were meant to go and causing a stumble. The brunette froze, just on the outskirts of the camp. The trooper was quick to pick up on the stumble, and yet, as a black, empty visor faced her, Shin did not feel the void Ahsoka had described the ‘clones’ as taking on towards the end of the war; They’d felt the warmth individual history of a man who’d once donned armor in brilliant teals and greens.

Their eyes met through the helmet, though his hands did not itch towards his blaster once. “Commander, I’m going to begin my patrol early, just in case there’s any Rebels lurking about,” The trooper stood on aching joints; It was clear he was much older than his comrades, bundled inside of their tents on breaks.

Their head jerked towards Shin, urging them onwards as he began his patrol, boots crunching in the snow and effectively covering their blunder as they scurrifed throught the blssedly empty cavern entrance.

Pausing at the entrance, Shin’s head turned back. “May the force be with you,” They spoke into the silence, a sentiment that they had yet to understand the full extent of, but had seen psased beyond the Rebel leaders so often, it had become a second-nature to them.

Progress was painfully slow as they slunk into the ruined caverns.. There were no maps for the labyrinth of icy tunnels, infested with Imperials that should have never been able to lay eyes on the ancient planet’s resource, much less mine it by the ton.

Sticking to the shadows and following the pulsing thrum of the Force, Shin had done their best to avoid as many Imperial patrols as possible, though, as they crawled from a small access tunnel carved away for PIT droids, Shin found herself in a dangerous positon. Three troopers surrounded a water well in a near triangle, each seemng to be staring down separate crystalline corridors.

“Ever think you’d get stuck guarding water?” A stormtrooper complained. “There’s no one here,”

“Quiet down, TK-Eight-Two-Four.” Another snapped, clearly an overheated hotshot, the leader of this poorly assembled squad. “These rebels are sneaky, if you are too confident, you could find yourself-” The force pushed against the hotshot, making it seem as if he’d stumbled in his uppity stupor.

The other two stormtroopers were quick enough to stop what would have been a fatal stumble into the well below, and in the commotion, Shin was able to slink back, warmed by the cackling laughter from the trooper that had been snapped at.

The cold seeped through their coat, though they found themselves adjusting rather quickly to the darkness that greeted them in untouched passages and enormous caverns. Their beath came out in misty puffs, dissipating in the air shortly after passing parched lips. “I can feel you,” The young apprentice whispered into the darkness, boots crunching to the stop in a cavern.

The floor should have been unsteady, but with a few test taps, the child decided it was safe enough to walk further, to follow the siren song of the crystal that had been hers since its formation.

A hum thrummed deep in the cavern, almost as if the world, the Force around her was breathing in beat with her own hammering lungs. The preteen lowered to their knees slowly- “You want me to go down there?” She whispered to the unresponsive world around her. There was a moments hesitation as Shin reached for the ground, feeling the sudden tension in the force like shockwaves up the length of each arm.

Her gloves were removed and stowed in the pack quickly, allowing the cold to bite at pale fingers and color the pink as she felt for the thread of connection that was attempting to reach out to her. “Show yourself… it’s alright… I won’t hurt you.” The youngling promised carefully.

The closer their fingers got to the thick casing of ice below them, the closer her crystal death, the louder the tepid waters below roared, and the more intense her heart seemed to soar… so close!

The brush of her fingers against the ice sent her spiralling, though, noticeably; Shin was not greeted by the frozen water below. Instead, they were… stuck. Thousands of images slipped through her fingers, like a holovid sped up faster than any living creature could comprehend.

Sorting through the distorted images of the thousands that had come before her, their voices muddled together in the echos of the force, voices that she could hear in Ahsoka's stories, to names she'd never spoken. "Your journey will not be free of trials and tribulations, little Tano," When they looked into the ice again, she could make out the shadows of a face.

A Kedlorian with a breathing apparatus secured to his face. He seemed kind and familiar in a way Shin could not know. "But it is the will of the force that finds you here today, like it was the Force's will that your Mother found you on Ibaar." They bristled under the word choice, cheeks heating and making white paint stand out starkly on their face.

A ripple in the force distorted the image. It felt... wrong. Like someone who had passed only in spirit, and was clinging onto the remains of physical life wrong. Still, the distorted presence beamed in it's hallowed glory, putting the youngling somewhat at ease. "You've gotta keep Snips safe for me, alright? Tell her she was right about me."

But Shin could not focus on this long dead Jedi's words, the sound of splintering ice tried to shove her back into her own body once more, and from the view of someone not there, Shin could see herself from their eyes, and watched, unable to move, as deep cracks began to spiderweb across the floor.

The Imperial drills were boring down on the planet, and the old Knight's presence seemed to destabalize whatever Light remained in the section. They found themselves back in their own body in a flash, in the same wrong words of this Jedi Knight. “Ahsoka, I would never let anyone hurt you… ever.”

In the last look they could gleam of the ice before it shattered, she saw yellowed eyes and burnt skin. When the ground broke, it was to the sound of deep, mechanical breathing and the sound of Ahsoka's voice, drenched in pain. "Anakin... I won't leave you... Not this time."

“Then you will die.”

The water was cold as it enveloped Shin, shocking their small body as they struggled to find the surface, watching as dim lights grew darker the further they sank. The roar of water in their ears was drowned out by the sounds of the force, things they had no hopes of understanding. "I am the Sith!" "I am No Jedi. "Somehow, Palpatine survived. "You won't help?" "It seems the Padawan needs one more lesson." “The order is gone. The Dark Side Is About Survival. "I can help you..." Impatience for victory will guarantee defeat."

Their fingers brushed the surface of the water, yet they did not emerge in the caves. Instead, they felt themselves standing planetside, long grass tickling heavy metal armor bracketing her knees. Her body felt too big, the armor weighed too much, and there was a nagging darkness in their mind. "We've been looking for this." She heard herself say, voice raspy like she'd been without water for days. The weight of a ball settled in her palm, though her body moved without consent to hand it off to a spindely droid built for combat as a woman with purple hair approached apprehensively.

"What happened to you?" They voiced, golden eyes squinting as a green saber was ignited against them. Fear filled Shin's veins as a saber ignited in her own hand, scarlett light casting across the battlefield. Shock and horror ignited in her opponents eyes, but before they could focus, or.. Find out why… what, the scene changed.

"I'm sorry," Wrong Shin whispered as the blade sunk into the soft skin of the womans' stomach, spires of their saber stopping just at the singed flesh that the red... orange? beam of plasma was tearing into.

The image shifted again, this time, filling them with adrenaline. Bodies dropped smoothly with each swing of her blade, red plasma tearing through flesh as she took lives without a second thought. Behind them, they could hear heavy footsteps, could feel encouragement through a bond that felt wrong to the child's head. "Please!" A woman begged. With difficulty, Shin could feel their hand clenching tight around the air, the Force bent to their will, choking the life from the woman as she begged and writhed, hot tears streaking down her face until she was no more.

It shifted once more, this time, to Ahsoka standing in front of them. This one, Shin thought, hurt most of all. "Surrender your weapon." She called to them, reaching across a chasm that felt too big. “Meht, what is going on?” She begged to ask, though her vocal chords would not respond as pain, anger, disappointment, and embarrassment burned their way up her throat, causing her lip to quiver and eyes to swing. How could it be like this, when just this morning, the child had sunk into their mother's arms with safety and love? How could Ahsoka look at her with pain and trepidation, regret and hope for someone better? What was she to become?

A killer. Plain and simple. Her destiny was not to save others, like Ahsoka had. She was birthed onto this planet to further the story, to make the heroes rise. She was doomed for failure, but... she could be greater. All she had to do was give in... All she had to do was take the power that was being offered. They would never have to ask for help if they just-

A change in the narrative, the feeling of soft hands stroking against unfamiliarly scarred knuckles. Colorful starbirds and painted armor, whispers in Mando'a, the love of a mother. Leia's laughter that came when Shin asked questions the Princess found amusing. The promise of the Keldorian, Ahsoka's soft ‘tazi unt’ when she thought Shin wasn't listening. The feel of someone's forehead pressing against their own. The wet nose of an animal in her hand, seeking love and attention. "I've got to save you..." A boy called to a man, wrapped in the shell of a monster. "You already have..." The man behind the mask rasped, a man unredeemable by nature, but still found the light in the unstoppable nature of love.

The surface of water broke. Wet fingers scrambled at the snowy expanse of solid ground. Several sets of hands tugged and pulled at her, helping her from the murky depths, grabbing at her arms and helping to haul a sopping, weighted down body into a soft pile of snow on the bank. When they had finally blinked water from their eyes, there was no one around, no footsteps in the snow, and surprisingly, even the drag of their feet to the pile seemed to be gone.

From the corner of her eyes, a twinkle caught her vision, blue and shining, calling for her like meeting an old friend. Huyang had told her what to expect, when she found her crystal. The feeling of coming home wrapping around her, even as cold settled into her bones. The kyber was warm, even through her glove, as she carefully broke it from its icy spire. "It's you," She whispered to the object, teeth chattering as she tucked it close to her heart, just next to where Ahsoka's shoto sat concealed in the depths of the puffed jacket. The aged kyber sung out to Shin's as the cool metal touched the jagged kyber. It was warm and safe, free of harm from the Imperials. She could not save the rest of the kyber, and, with a rumble of the cavern around them, it was clear that they were not meant to.

"I'm sorry," She called to the crystals that would not be found by Jedi. Crystals whose owners were already gone, trapped in the depths of the Dark, or those who had taken their place among the waves of the cosmic force all too soon. When the child turned from them, a shiver ran up her spine, one last message. The sound of a… laser activating in something huge, the sounds of rock and tectonic plates being torn to shreds. “I’m sorry… It’s just me,” They called, refusing to look back; they couldn’t look back, not when they felt the yellowed eyes of the monster staring into her back.

The ramp was covered in snow and ice upon their return. Worn boots scrambled against the slippery surfaces as they struggled to the promise of warmth. A warm blue crystal kept their exhausted legs moving, heated even through the thick, damp gloves that were only useful for keeping the wind from cutting into near frost-bitten fingers.

Their shoulder hit the durasteel door before the hydraulics could engage, creating a loud thump that echoed through the ship and their own body. When it finally opened, snow and cold air drifted into the warm and inviting space within. Home.

“ ‘did it,” The brunette remarked, proudly, extending their gloved hand towards the wide-eyed Togruta that was rising from her seat.

“Shin, oh my makers-” Orange arms wrapped tight around them before the ground could catch them, Shin couldn’t help the way they selfishly sank further into the embrace as Ahsoka pulled them into the ship and let the door slam shut.

“I did it,” They repeated proudly as Ahsoka carried them to the benches, only motioning at Huyang as he emerged from his workshop.

“You did, tazi unt, I’m so proud of you,” Warm fingers danced down their face, warming the frozen streaks of paint where they cracked against small cheeks. “So proud… But why are you wet?”

“Think I’m just cold, went swimming a few days ago, when I got it,” They replied sleepily, snuggling back into the blanket that hung onto the back of the couch, still warm from where Ahsoka had been using it to stave off the chill from her own shoulders. When silver eyes opened to meet lively blue, she couldn’t tell if the shock on her mother’s face was one of amusement, horror, or that they’d impressed her, with the way facial markings furrowed and dark lips parted until the artificial lights caught the white flash of fangs.

“Gotal’ade,” She remarked instead, shaking her head as she worked to help Shin change into clothes that weren’t melting icicles into the fabric she’d put down to make the seats more comfortable. By the time Huyang returned, Ahsoka had Shin where they belonged, tucked safely up under her arm, dozing quietly as they turned the blue tinted kyber around in fingers that still shook from the cold.

“Little Tano,” He greeted as two steaming bowls were placed in front of his sentient charges. Yellow lighted eyes dropped to the crystal in their hand, causing his head to turn. “You’ve found it.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” The Padawan snipped, shifting their weight on the bench so they were sitting on their knees to lean over the table and busy themselves with warm food.

Two sets of eyes watched Shin increadously, one, with white facial markings arched high, and the other slowly turning to look at the girl’s Master. For a droid who could not express emotion, the smugness that radiated off of him was almost enough to have the Togruta breaking out into laughter.

“You know,” Huyang started as spoons scraped at the bottoms of bowls and his sentients were beginning to relax into the almost calm atmosphere. “When a Master accepts an Initiate as their Padawan…” He tried to steer the conversation, though received only identical blank stares from both women. “The Master will braid their Padawan’s hair, or form their silka beads, or, in cases, will help design the marking of Padawanship…”

“Oh..” Ahsoka blinked, cheeks turning a deeper shade of orange in mild embarrassment. “My Master never… Well… We were in an active warzone.” She realized out loud, scratching her chin idly in thought, markings furrowed deeply as she tried to think back to the old memories on Christophis. “I think it was Master Plo and Master Ti who’d helped me, back then…”

Before she knew it, Ahsoka was sitting on the floor with Shin tucked between her legs and Huyang supervising the unsteady twist and turn of dark hair in her fingers. “Makers, why is hair so-” She huffed in frustration as Shin’s fingers tapped idly along her knee. “How do humans do this,” She complained as a small band snapped and smacked into her finger, falling uselessly to Shin’s shoulder.

“Do you want help?” Huyang teased, snapping metal fingers closed uselessly. Shin’s shoulders shook, though from lingering cold or laughter, she could not tell.

“I got it,” The older woman grumbled, voice reverberating low in her chest as she squinted at the tufts of smooth hair in her fingers.

“It hurts a human’s head, when you pull,” Padmé instructed, hand resting gently on Ahsoka’s hands, halting the rough movements of a wired up Padawan. “You must be gentle,” She reminded, thumb brushing over young knuckles, scarred from war.

“I don’t-” The teenager huffed as she looked back to the mop of dark curls on her Master’s head. “Okay.. Yeah… I can do ‘gentle.’” Padmé’s warm laughter filled the apartment as Anakin winced back from another harsh tug.

“Hey! Easy, snips! I’m not a ball of yarn!”

“Well, you’re tangled like one, skyguy,”

Huffing, Anakin shook his head like a wet tooka, forcibly removing explorative hands from his hair. “Here, let’s do Padmé’s. My head deserves a break,”

Padmé’s hair had been softer, smoother, straighter, and under Anakin’s careful instruction, a long braid was woven under careful fingers. All the while, the young senator relaxed back into the Padawan, offering quiet tips and praise, or guiding her away when she almost tugged too hard.

Blinking, Ahsoka stared down at the thin braid that rested in her fingers. The fabric of her pants was bunched up in a small fist, and even Huyang was watching her with a bewilderment that couldn’t fit their situation. “Did you feel that?” Shin whispered, though a wheeze in their chest shook Ahsoka from the shocked stupor.

Releasing the braid and shaking away the weight of ghostly hands against clammy skin, Ahsoka reached to tug Shin back into her chest. “You’re burning up, Tazi unt,” She grumbled, lips pressing into a warm forehead. “We need to get you in bed,”

“But I gotta build my saber!” They argued, holding the glowing kyber to the lights to prove their point. “You promised!”

“Shin,” Ahsoka sighed softly, fingers brushing through their hair gently. “You will build your lightsaber, that I can promise, but I need you healthy, you won’t want to put off training once it’s made, and you need rest. Even a Jedi Master wouldn’t be able to accomplish what you just did without some rest.”

The child in her arms pouted as she rose to her feet, though Ahsoka knew she’d won when they sunk into her arms, grumbling quietly in disdain. The logic was sound, and they knew they wanted to be at their best for their first lesson.

“Huyang, can you grab a hydration tablet and the Polybiotic from the kit?” Ahsoka tossed over her shoulder as she ducked past the rising door of the small bunk room they’d cleared away for Shin.

“Really?” They huffed as Ahsoka folded to tuck them into the blankets, propping pillows up under them as Huyang’s heavy feet clattered around the ship, finding the requested materials.

“Yes, really, Shin. You’re going to get sick from this, and I’d rather not have to rush you back to Kaeden hurt when we can prevent it,” She scolded, taking the supplies from Huyang the moment he’d returned. “Thank you,” Her head dipped to the professor as he passed the small container for the thick syrupy medicine over, holding it steady as Ahsoka filled it.

“It tastes like Bantha pee,”

“Now, how do you know what that tastes like?” A facial marking rose teasingly as the young Padawan’s hand smacked against her arm lightly. “Come on, bottoms up,” The cup was held to reluctant lips, earning a steely glare from her stubborn human. “Tazi Unt, it’ll be over in half a second, I promise. Come on,” She coaxed, frowning at the stubborn turn of their head. “Huyang…”

“On it,” The dancient droid clattered off again, though Shin’s head didn’t turn away from their fixed position in pouting at the wall.

The glass of water he’d brought back had tiny particles floating in it, though the crushed sleep inducer went unnoticed by the youngling. “Here, you can drink some of this once you swallow it, and get the taste out faster, alright?”

Another huff, shoulders sagging in defeat as they finally turned back to the older woman sitting across from her. Tiny hands took the offered cup reluctantly, and with one deep breath, the thick liquid was thrown back. Before they could even swallow, Shin was reaching for the glass in Huyang’s hands, swallowing the medicine before all bug chugging the clear liquid as fast as possible. “Easy, ad’ika!” A large hand moved to rub at their back as they sputtered.

“Can we never do that again? Thanks,” They rasped, shoulders sagging back as the glass was taken from their hands. Ahsoka chuckled warmly, dismissing Huyang with a warm smile and a nod of her head.

“Meht?” The vulnerability was back, voice small as the half dose of sleep inducer began working through their already overtired system. “Will you stay with me..?” Even on their return trip, they’d avoided sleep, unsure if slumber would bring back the haze of memories and possibilities that they had yet to properly process… But Ahsoka would keep them safe from wrong Shin, and wrong Jedi Knight, she was sure of it.

“Of course, scooch over,” With some finagling, Shin managed to find space with the cool durasteel wall at their back, and the ever-present furnace of Ahsoka tucked up under their cheek. A small hand brushed against the soft leather of her Lek as Shin turned to press closer to her, fingers cold against warm skin. “Get some rest, du tunguma.”

It took so long for the cold to pass. The days that followed Shin’s return was full of tissues, fever, and a stubbornness that Ahsoka knew had driven her own Master wild, back in the day. They hadn’t been a fan of waiting, now that they had kyber safely in their own hands, never once allowing the crystal to leave their sight.

“Have you been studying the different designs?” Ahsoka questioned on the fifth day. Shin was sat at the table, brows scrunched, paint freshly applied, and silver eyes focused intently on their datapad. Coming around the bench, Ahsoka’s fingers reached to press against their forehead and cheeks, thankful that they felt normal for a human.

When Ahsoka attempted to lean around them to peer at the drawn out schematics, Shin was quick to shut off the screen. “Meht! It’s a surprise!” They scolded, cheeks puffed out as they pushed half-heartedly at Ahsoka’s arm as she came to sit beside them.

Laughing, Ahsoka scooted over to offer them the privacy they needed. “Alright alright! I get it!” Then, dramatically puffing out her own lips, Ahsoka sighed heavily. “You got a crystal and now you don’t need me anymore-“

“You’re being dramatic,” Shin pointed out with a smile. Ahsoka dropped the act when she felt the toe of a soft boot poking against her leg. “I’ll always need you,”

Laughing, Ahsoka reached under the table to bat their foot away from kicking at her. “Sure, sure,”

“Just because you’re my master now…” The Padawan paused, suddenly worrying at their lip. “Well, that doesn’t mean…?”

“Hey hey, don’t think like that,” Ahsoka sobered immediately, reaching across the table to grab their much smaller hand as it picked at the case on their datapad. “I will always be your mother. You’re stuck with me, little hunter,”

Shin relaxed under the touch, turning Ahsoka’s hand in both of hers, soft thumbs pressing into the hardened skin from the years of lightsaber use.

Before they could say anything, Huyang emerged from his workshop for the first time that day. “Padawan Tano,” Her head snapped to the side, beaming up at the ancient professor. “I believe I’ve gathered everything we need. Have you drafted your design?”

“Mhm!” The brunette jumped up from the bench, gathering the datapad up in their arm as they all but ran the short distance. “We’ll be back, no peeking, meht!”

“Of course, wouldn’t dream of it, tunguma!”

“Did you grab the handgrip Senator Organa gave me?” Shin questioned as soon as the doors slid shut, peering at the workbenches that had been granted the light of day for the first time since Shin was brought on board.

“I have, along with a lens assembly and the power cell from Lady Tano,” Huyang stepped around Shin, arms extending from his back and rifling through the thousands of different containers. “Have you brought the emitter from the temple?”

“The temple..?” Brows furrowed, Shin allowed themselves to lean on one of his tool boxes. “Oh! It’s in the- hang on!” The Padawan scurried from the workspace, only offering Ahsoka a smile and a half wave before rushing off to the cockpit.

Ahsoka should have been more concerned by the child rushing to the cockpit, and the sound of panels being moved and the ship’s wiring harnesses being moved, though… the crossword puzzle she’d been picking away at was just getting interesting, and Huyang could handle a hyper padawan for five minutes, right?

When Shin scurried back through, their hands were bunched around something wrapped in the outermost layer of their tunic, clutching it close to their chest to stop Ahsoka from seeing.

“Got it!” They whisper-yelled as the door slid shut behind them. The pieces they’d been gathering over the course of the last standard cycle were laid out on the workbench.

“Excellent. And your Kyber?”

“Right here!” A small chain rattled as they pulled the necklace that the crystal had been hanging on during their cold, unwilling to part with it even in sleep.

The crystal was handed over and carefully removed. “Do you remember what we’ve spoken about?”

“The crystal is the heart of the blade!” They beamed; the mantra had been taught over and over again, although Ahsoka had calmly redirected away from the Jedi, whether from the loss of her people, or the type of war they found themselves in, she’d been been as… intense as the Jedi Huyang may have respected before the Fall.

“Do you recall the old saying? For the Jedi?”

It took a moment for the young Padawan to wrack their brain for the response, chewing on their bottom lip in thought. “The Jedi are the crystal of the Force…? But, Huyang…”

“At the root of it all, young one, the Jedi are the heart of the Force… Your master sees this differently, and I can understand, but the Force will always remember them, they continue on in the cosmic Force of the universe around us, always. The crystal, the blade, the Jedi. You are becoming one,”

“Ahsoka is adamant on not being a Jedi,” Shin pointed out, nervously twisting the chain that held their kyber around their fingers.

“She fails to see how true she has become. The Order was not what it once was when she was part of it, and… events had occurred that we can’t take back. But she will move forward, as will you.”

“I’m gonna help her.” Shin declared as Huyang pulled out a stool for them to climb onto. “With everything both of you have taught me, she is a Jedi.”

The voice box nestled in Huyang’s chest sparked almost warmly as he moved to arrange the pieces. “You’ll do what you must, after all, it is in your lineage…”

Shin Tano was far from a stranger when it came to meditation. While Ahsoka had trouble relaxing fully into the embrace of the Force, Shin could sink into the cosmic power and truly understand. They could feel each piece of their saber as they connected to them in the force.

The hum of the handgrip that had been made by Alderaanian engineers, the mix of metals and rubbers that made the grip soft and sturdy, the white coating around it that would mold to her grip, over time.

The emitter matrix that they’d collected while exploring an old Agricorps center, and the spires they’d plucked for the sole purpose of levelling out the weight of the hilt, ensuring it would be perfect for their preferred saber technique.

Ahsoka had given them a power cell months prior to their gathering, tasking the young Initiate with fixing the cell themselves so it could one day power their own saber. Shin could recall warmly, as they felt the buzz of power inside the charged piece, that they’d completed the task by weeks end, and had only overloaded the circuits once.

The lens assembly had also been a gift from Ahsoka, one that she’d seemed almost attached to. The metal was scuffed and damaged, as if they’d been pulled from a warzone. When Shin’s connection washed over the piece, it came with the ringing of klaxons, the vacuum of a ship being ripped from the sky, and the shouting of identical voices, none of which the youngling could differentiate from the other noise trapped in the silver alloy.

“Don’t forget your activator and the power cell release cap,” Huyang’s voice filtered through their focus, reminding them of the parts they’d chosen from his vast array of lightsaber pieces. They’d been created decades ago, picked apart from battlefields and molded into something new, and now, as Shin’s hand raised towards each piece and rose them from the table, they would find their purpose once again in a new generation of Jedi lightsabers.

Each piece fit together exactly as they’d dreamed, different materials fused together under the fine tuning of the Padawan’s command, twisting and turning under the twitch of small fingers until they clicked just right.

They were unaware of how much time had passed when they found themselves back in their own body, hand dropping to the workbench with a new weight in it. The saber was heavy, strong, and perfectly balanced. “Huyang,” They called quietly, lips parted in awe as they turned on the stool. The droid, never too far away when a youngling had the chance to blow a hole in the ships hull, turning his head quickly.

“Is it what you imagined?” He questioned as they slid off the stool, stumbling under the tingling sensation of legs that had fallen asleep.

“It is…” Silver eyes darkened as they turned the saber in their hands… this was the same saber from the visions… was it a future she was fated to? It couldn’t be, as long as she had Ahsoka, she would write her own destiny. “It’s perfect,” They decided, fingers flexing around the sturdy grip as she beamed up at him.

“Would you like to ignite it now?”

“Nuh-uh, we gotta go show mom,”

When the door slid open, they found Ahsoka resting peacefully at the table, knees tucked together under a warm blanket as she repaired a blaster hole in one of her favorite ponchos. “Meht!” Shin called excitedly as they ran to her, all but leaping over the open back of the bench to put themselves in the spot beside her, Saber much more carefully placed on the table once they’d settled. “I did it!”

Blinking, Ahsoka took half a second to safely stow the needle and thread before turning to look first at Shin, and then the saber. “Oh!” Startled, Ahsoka peered at the weapon’s design. “Tell me about it?” Shin scrambled off the bench, taking their sber with them as Huyang came to perch on Ahsoka’s other side.

“So, the hilt was made on Alderaan, Bail helped me; It’s supposed to be for a speeder’s handlebars, and I asked about it last time, so he had one made! It’s so cool, and it’s really soft but also like- not,” They rambled, fingers dancing over the cool material as they explained it. “Huyang helped me with a few pieces too, besides the ones you gave me! It was kind of hard to find the perfect balance for Makashi, but with these-” They pressed the spires over the emitters into the soft pads of their fingers. “They balance it out perfectly!”

“Where is your activation switch?” Ahsoka questioned, peering at the metal disks that seemed wielded into the metal, unable to be moved, the Togruta couldn’t fathom how they would ignite their saber in a rush.

“Well… The Force, really, I haven’t tested it yet, but it should work… Is that okay?”

“Of course, of course! Tazi Unt, it is amazing! I’ve just never seen such a design.”

“Well…” Twwisting the weapon in their hands as nervousness prickled at their skin, Shin found themselves flexing their fingers into familiar material. “Huyang said that the force would…”

Ahsoka cuts them off with a warm smile. “It’s perfect, Shin. When I was a youngling, I redesigned my first saber hundreds of times in my head before my gathering. But when I made these-" The Togruta rose to her feet to gesture to the slim, chrome alloyed sabers on her hips. "They were something I'd only just felt in my dreams. I allowed the force to design the saber that would fit me, just as you've done now. And I'm so proud of you..."

Anxiety turned to bashfullness as Shin’s fingertip slid along the smooth metal of the round disc that cradled their emitter. Silence hung in the air, not entirely uncomfortable, but filling with the trepidation of actually igniting the saber.

"Have you turned it on yet?"

Shin looks terrified, but Ahsoka offers a lopsided smile. "Nothing bad will happen, promise. If Huyang has already cleared your power supply-" She wasn't too keen on the thought of cleaning up the remains of an exploded hilt, and while Huyang had found humor in it back in the day, she had to hope he would never do that to them.

"Go on," She urges as Shin steps further back away from the table and steadies the hilt in her hands. Icy blue light flickers to light in a twitch of power that makes them lean back from the beam of plasma burning through the ozone around her.

There's a mixture of amazement in her eyes, along with the childish disappointment at the color of the cylinders the plasma was pushed through. "Were you expecting something else" Ahsoka asks, mirth dancing in her tone as she steps behind her padawan and rests a hand on their shoulder.

Shin's saber lowers as silver eyes flicker down to the sabers on Ahsoka's hips. Their lips twitch slightly and shoulders shrug under her hand. "I thought it would be..."

"Let’s hope your kyber never has to suffer the same way mine has, Padawan... You do not need to experience the suffering it takes to turn into this," Though there is a warmth in her tone, that Shin would look up to her so much that they’d expected their own crystal to produce a blinding white blade was endearing. She’d just have to hope that the human would never be expected to face the blood stained brothers of the Kyber that resided in her own sabers.

With a nudge of the force, the saber sank back into the hilt, the smell of burning plasma was cycled out from the filterers kicking on not a moment too soon. “So… How long was I in there, really? Huyang covered the chrono,” The young girl complained as she set her saber back on the table and clambered onto the bench of peer at Ahsoka’s needlework, taking over both her seat and blanket as the woman moved to brew a pot of tea.

“Certainly more than a few hours. How do you feel?” Ahsoka questioned as she rifled through cabinets for a wrapped package of leaves that Cody had once gifted her in celebration. They were old, though the packaging promised that the age would only enhance the flavors of the leaves.

“Excited, really,” They decided as they picked up the needle and continued the stitchwork along the hole for Ahsoka. The thread was only slightly sloppier than Ahsoka’s, though they were getting better each time. “Kinda tired, but mostly excited.”

“It was approximately five hours and thirty nine minutes,” Huyang chimed in as he retrieved his own datapad from a compartment on his back. “Considering you did not add an activation switch, it’s remarkable that you did not take longer.”

“So… I exceeded expectations?” A self-assured smirk pulled at their lips as they pulled their saber from the corner of the table, slipping their finger through the chrome ring on the pommel to attach it to the belt on their waist. It would take time for them to get used to how much heavier it was compared to Ahsoka’s shoto, but they couldn’t wait to begin properly training.

“Of course, tazi unt,” Ahsoka laughed warmly as she prepared the third stoop of the leaves, filling duracrete mugs with the golden ichor of perfectly aged leaves. “Here, try this one, as a treat. My grandmaster would always bring it out for celebrations,”

The tea was warm and rich, it tasted like drinking the happiness of a day spent in the sun on Alderaan; Shin could understand why Ahsoka’s grandmaster would have brought it out, with what they knew. Something light when they were surrounded in the inky darkness that came with war. Silver eyes peered up at her mother, watching how tense shoulders relaxed and she seemed to find a peace in the taste as well.

She would help Ahsoka become a Jedi again, just like she was doing for them. Shin was certain of it.

#Shin Tano AU #Star Wars #Ahsoka Tano #Shin Hati #Huyang #Ilum #Lightsabers #The Force #Force Visions #somewillwin

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antianakin · 3 months

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Maybe it's my personal bias, but a dark Ahsoka trying to get back in to the WBW because the whole mess from Anakin and then never actually processing her feelings, grief, anger etc leading her to thinking she can "fix" everything by "saving" Anakin. Not really thinking of the repercussions.

And have it be that she isn't trying to change the timeline for selfless reasons, but because she wants Anakin back. That misplaced sort of blame that comes when you over idolize someone. It was only Palpatine's fault, she tries to believe, Anakin wouldn't have done this all unprompted.

In trying to get back to the WBW having her actually process her emotions and the events and realize she's putting herself and her former master on pedestals to cope. Gradually working on herself.

Or not. Idk having Ahsoka unhealthily cope with grief in a way almost paralleling Anakin (trying to cheat death for Padme and failing anyway) sounds cool to me. Or maybe I'm just exhausted.

This would certainly make a real cool AU! The one thing making me hesitate is that she explicitly says while in the WBW in Rebels that Ezra can't save his master just like she can't save hers and never shows any real inclination towards trying to use it to save Anakin. So if you went with this concept, you'd have to figure out why she changed her mind on it or you'd just have to pretend like that moment didn't happen.

But in general I think that the idea really works! Like, I wouldn't want her to actually MAKE IT to the WBW or anything, I don't want any weird time travel shenanigans for her to mess with, but I think the idea of her TRYING to get back to it so she can fix Anakin, or fix what she did wrong or something could be a really interesting goal for her to have throughout a season where she's dealing with her Anakin feelings. Especially if we assume she's slightly fucked up from Malachor and its Sith bullshit in addition to her regular emotional struggles.

And in the she has to give it up. Like maybe she finds a way to do it, a way to open one of those doors, but doing so would have some sort of consequence and she has to choose between her selfish desire to "save" Anakin and fix what she believes are her own mistakes, or keeping that particular consequence from happening. Maybe people she's grown close to over the course of the story will be killed or put at risk if she opens the door, and she has to let it go, let ANAKIN go, in order to protect them.

That version of Anakin is gone, he's dead, and the version of him that exists now is clearly unwilling to be saved, at least by her, and all she can do is accept that and move on. Let go of her guilt, let go of her fears, just... let go. MAYBE her choice to leave the Order spurred him down that path, but maybe it didn't. Maybe Anakin made his own choices based on things entirely unrelated to her. Maybe if she'd been there she could've helped him, but maybe she'd have just been killed with all the rest. She'll never know and she has to come to terms with that before she can move forward with her life. She might've left first, but Anakin left her, too, and he took everything else she loved with him when he did.

In an ideal world, this would lead Ahsoka to do a lot of reflecting on her past with Anakin as she tries to figure out how far back she'd have to go to "save" him and she realizes just how dark he already was when she knew him and ultimately realizes that HE WAS DARK WHEN SHE MET HIM. There were things that happened to him, things he'd probably already chosen to DO, long before she'd met him that were already taking him down the path to darkness, things she'll likely never know or understand. But it allows her to see Anakin so much more truthfully than she'd ever done before. No longer does she view Anakin through the rosy lens of childhood hero worship, she can see how often he struggled with his own darkness and the ways it impacted their relationship, the way it's continuing to impact her NOW.

There were good moments, and she'd loved him, but he was dark long before she knew him and that's something she HAS to accept about him if she's ever going to let him go. There were things Anakin did to her that weren't okay, there were things Anakin taught her that were wrong and caused her to start down her own darker path, and until she can recognize that Anakin FAILED HER, she'll never be able to find her way BACK. She'll never be a Jedi until she acknowledges this very important and vital truth about Anakin and her apprenticeship under him. He WASN'T a good master and he WASN'T a good Jedi. He was sometimes a good PERSON, but he'd ultimately decided to leave that behind, too. He wasn't the person she'd thought he was and unless she wants to become him, she has to acknowledge where he made mistakes so she can keep from making the same ones herself.

So yeah, I think this idea has a LOT of merit and could definitely be a very interesting path to take Ahsoka on!

#star wars #ahsoka tano #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #god i hate ahsoka claiming he was a 'good master' in the ahsoka show #i think there is a difference between ahsoka acknowledging he had goodness in him and they had good MOMENTS #and ahsoka acting like he was genuinely a good MASTER #they aren't the same thing nor do they have to be #she DIDN'T know anakin #she DIDN'T understand him #and a lot of what anakin taught her is what has caused her the most pain #anakin's teachings are what ultimately led her on a path away from the jedi #anakin's teachings are what cause a rift between her and the jedi #personally i feel like instead of having ahsoka apparently thinking only negative things about anakin #and then having to decide no actually he was good #i would've had her go the OPPOSITE direction to follow up on her rebels personality #ahsoka REFUSES to accept the truth about anakin and wants to save him because she doesn't think he'd have ever chosen this #not without some kind of mind control #and on that path she has to recognize that actually anakin wasn't that perfect kind master she'd chosen to see him as #anakin had darkness and attachments and he struggled with it A LOT #and it was anakin's failure that left her floundering #and she'll only be a jedi herself when she can see anakin for WHO HE ACTUALLY WAS #he was selfish and he was greedy and he was irresponsible and insensitive and impatient #he was a bad teacher and until she can acknowledge that she'll always be walking a path AWAY from being a jedi

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jedi-enthusiast · 4 months

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Ask About My WIPs!

Here's a list of my WIPs and brief descriptions about them, I’m bored and I’d love to answer any questions y’all might have about any of them <3

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The Great War - Series

Codywan, Order 66 doesn’t happen, spanning the entirety of The Clone Wars, angst with a happy ending

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Smaller Battles - Series

A follow-up series to 'The Great War,' multiple single chapter fics, multiple ships, some non-ship chapters

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Ghosts of the Past - Series

Codywan, spans the Kenobi show but rewritten so that Cody is in it, angst with a happy ending- (at least, it’s happy to me)

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Deeper Roots - Stand Alone

Codywan, Modern!AU, small town, secret relationship, secret family, so many shenanigans, some angst but with a happy ending

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A Lesson in Murder Mystery - Stand Alone

Codywan, Professor!AU, murder mystery, some angst with a happy ending

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Troublemaker, Heartbreaker - Stand Alone

Codywan, Boarding School!AU, Straight A Student Cody x Troublemaker with a Heart of Gold Obi-Wan, ft. the kids running the principal- (Palpatine) -out of the school like in Matilda, slight angst with a happy ending

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The Distance Between Us - Stand Alone

Codywan, Zombie Apocalypse!AU, strangers to friends to lovers speedrun, they get separated from their group and have to work together to find them again, ✨there was only one tent✨, angst with a happy ending

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Glass Mirrors - Stand Alone

Ahsoka Centric, Time Travel!AU, Ahsoka show Ahsoka is forced to deal with her trauma healthily via her Clone Wars self giving her a wake up call, Order 66 doesn’t happen, angst with a happy ending

#star wars #sw prequels #the clone wars #ahsoka show #ahsoka show spoilers #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #codywan fanfic #pro jedi #codywan #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #ahsoka tano #ahsoka tano critical

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bettsfic · 1 year

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2023 WIP cleanout

a couple years ago i did a major WIP cleanout and it was very satisfying, and i've been bummed out lately so i'm doing it again to cheer myself up.

i have about 200k worth of unposted/unfinished fic, and i'd like to make a decent dent in that. when i listed out my WIPs i was surprised to find that most of them i'd written past the 50% mark and for whatever reason, the fic went an unanticipated direction. instead of fixing it, i moved on. the problem is that usually the unanticipated direction is something cool and that i want to pursue, but would make the fic longer and more complicated than i want it to be, and more work than i want to put into it. once i get enough distance from a fic, it's a lot easier to see how to get it back on track.

there are many things i set down and never think about again, but if it sticks in my head for longer than a couple months, then i know i need to come back to it eventually.

so this is my accountability thread! and i'm going to lay out the steps i took to triage these fics and get them posted, in case it helps anyone struggling with the same problem.

here are the things on my WIP cleanout list:

(Organic Chemistry isn't on this list because i'm actively working on it, albeit slowly)

Wind of the New World

Annie/Finnick, The Hunger Games (ASE epilogue)

started August 2020

this one is what inspired the cleanout, and as of yesterday it is DONE and POSTED. for the longest time it sat at about 7k when i knew it would be 10k, and i couldn't make myself write the last 3k because somehow it turned into a threesome fic with Gale and it took me a loooong time to let go of that idea. also, it required a lot of canon knowledge, which faded the longer i kept it on the backburner.

to finish it, i:

killed a few darlings (Finnick's crush on Gale)

down drafted the scenes i hadn't yet written

reread ASE while taking notes

rewatched Mockingjay 2 while taking notes

transcribed several scenes of Mockingjay 2

made a punch list of things i wanted to fix/rearrange/expand on

up drafted, dental drafted, and posted

completing it took about 15 hours across 3 days.

Stray

Lumine/Razor, Genshin Impact

started April 2021

this is an alternate beginning to genshin where the traveler finds Razor instead of Paimon. it stalled out at 5k because i wanted it to be rated M and i also wanted the characters to get all the way to Liyue, but both of those things were far more work than i wanted to put into it. so now it'll be rated G and end when they reach Mondstadt. i don't anticipate it will be more than 7k.

Before the Suns Rise

Anakin/Padme/Obi-Wan, Star Wars

started June 2022

this one is nearly 45k and about 95% done. i set it down because 1) i got to the threesome part and writing threesomes is hard, 2) i hadn't watched the Clone Wars or Rebels yet and so i was self-conscious about my knowledge of canon, and 3) i got distracted by Lemon.

another thing that a lot of these WIPs have in common is that they're very closely tied to canon and therefore have Plot and even though i can do Plot, i find it exhausting and a little tedious.

this is a post-Vader, alt-OWK timeline fic. in the 20+ star wars fics i've written, only 5 of them are in any way related to canon, and they're all one-shots. so this one is going to be hard.

i anticipate it'll only take 5k to finish, for a total of 50k and 14 chapters.

Patronage

Seungho/Nakyum, Painter of the Night

started October 2021

this is my Patreon AU that's over 10k already. in it, Seungho is married to Jihwa (and cheating on him with Nakyum) and i wanted to write the whole thing through to their divorce (and Seungho Getting A Real Job), but that is just. a lot. so i'm going to write only to Seungho finally giving in to his feelings for Nakyum, with the knowledge that after season 4 is finished, i may want to continue it as a series and write the latter half as i'd intended.

i'll probably only add 1-2k, for a total of 12k.

In Water Falling

Ahsoka/Rex, Star Wars

started November 2022

this was the first rexsoka fic i started working on when i finished Clone Wars. i got about 10k in, scrapped it, wrote another 15k, scrapped it, and then started focusing on Organic Chemistry. also, i just got very frustrated with it. to fix this one, i think i need to lower my expectations of it, rearrange some plot points, and write the final 2-3 scenes.

maybe 3-4k more? hopefully it'll cap out under 20k.

There & Here

Chishiya/OFC, Alice in Borderland

started February 2023

in my defense, i set this one down, like. a week ago. there's nothing i'm stalled out on; i just have to finish it.

currently 25k, hopefully only 5k more, capping out under 30k. it's 4 chapters.

things i intend to finish later:

Good Bones - this is my Emergency Fic that i'm saving for when i'm too blocked to write anything else

Bomb Time - this is a BOSAS fix-it. i definitely want to finish it, but i'm going to wait until the film comes out in November, so i don't have to reread the book to remember what's going on

#writing update #2023 wip cleanout

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sarcastic-sketches · 2 years

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Order 66 Aftermath

Context for the Kitsune!Anakin AU here and a direct continuation of this.

Order 66 has kicked off and the Jedi are in chaos, along with the rest of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, Padme has been pregnant with Luke and Leia for the past few months.

Despite the casual FWB relationship she had with Anakin - and the emphasis both of them put on being safe with the physical side of it - Force Fated Twins are gonna happen whether you like it or not. Whoops. Padme was not that worried about it when she found out and decided she would like to keep them, especially as they were with a friend she was still in regular contact with. She’s more than financially stable and has a good support network. Anakin was slightly more worried about it because he’s now got a thing for Rex he was intending to commit to after the war and this complicates matters but he’s gotta be upfront about it. Also, all those times he wondered about what it would be like having his own children come back full force.

Rex, however, has no prior expectations of relationships or the implications of having sex within said relationships so he has a complete non-reaction to the news other than how his General feels about it.

Rex: Is this Congratulations or Condolences sort of news? Anakin: Well that answers my next question. Anakin: I’m happy about it Rex: Oh, then Congratulations!

Padme still never goes to see a doctor (only had droids) because she’s worried the parentage would have become obvious. She’s picturing them randomly showing up with tiny little fox ears or tails on a scan and people to be like ‘hmm, wonder who that could have come from?’.

Which is something Obi-Wan picks up on when he comes back to Coruscant after everything and does the rounds to try and find out what the fuck happened. Only to encounter Padme who is still on Coruscant despite everything with a very confused R2. I think Obi-Wan probably knew about the pregnancy too because it genuinely was an accident despite both parties trying to be careful and Jedi having accidental kids cannot be unheard of. So, Obi-Wan’s less ‘I’m so sorry’ about the whole thing and more ‘how are you doing?’ before he then fucks off to find Anakin. Taking R2 with him.

He’s still gonna side-eye his former Padawan hard for why he didn’t just ask to bring Padme to the Temple for a check up. Any child of his would undoubtedly be force-sensitive.

Anakin: She said she was handling it!

Padme retreats to Naboo in preparation to have the babies because yikes the Republic just succumbed into an Empire.

Meanwhile, Anakin has been playing eeny meeny miny mo with which planet to hide out on since he’s travelling with a pack of vulnerable children when Obi-Wan finds him. Given the lack of Skywalker Twins to commandeer his attention in this universe, he teams up with Anakin who feels so much better that the kids now have a Jedi Master because holy shit. Playing with the younglings in the Creche is one thing, being the designated adult is very different. It’s nothing like being a General or a Teacher to Ahsoka..

I’m not actually sure where they go to be honest. Maybe Florrum so Obi-Wan can bully Hondo into keeping them safe because that sounds hysterical. Probably Tatooine though because it’s literally the last place Sidious would expect Anakin to run to and he doesn’t think Anakin would attempt a double bluff. Also Anakin wants to see his mother, sue him.

Owen and Beru are surprised to say the least when not one but two fully grown Jedi tumble out of the massive ship that’s just parked outside their farm. Then they see all the displaced children.

Owen: We are not keeping them all Beru: Not all of them.

She is absolutely going to be adopting at least one though and Owen cannot stop her. Especially not when she has Shmi as back up. Cliegg had died sometime after the events of AotC but Shmi had already grown to deeply care for Owen and by extension Beru so she stayed. They are delighted to hear that there is about to be a new baby Skywalker soon though.

Shmi: I hope you can bring them here. I’d like to see them. Anakin: Mother, of course! Shmi: I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother… Anakin: How do you think I feel?!

There’s probably a joke in there about Anakin at least having a reasonable expectation of children happening so it’s not too much of a shock. Compared to y’know, immaculate conception out of fucking nowhere. He is slightly mollified by this, but then they can both celebrate the fact that this child is about to be born free and he’s going to do his damnedest to keep it that way.

Anakin tries not to make it obvious that he's trying to find Rex and Ahsoka because he knows what Obi-Wan will say but he's not subtle and the kids are nosy and talk loud. But Obi-Wan is totally on board with locating them and trying to see if they can reverse Rex's conditioning if he's still alive. Anakin does not almost throw up at that.

They get lucky though when Ahsoka pings through their bond again and they manage to slice the last known coordinates of the Resolute. It's a tracking mission from there and all the younglings are very eager to help out and make it into a lesson of sorts. They are a little hesitant about looking for a clone after what they faced in the Temple but they are assured by Obi-Wan that they will be safe. They will try to save Rex if they can but he will not let any of them come to harm for his sake.

Anakin is… less sure. Sure he dealt with the clones from his 501st in the Temple before but this is Rex. His Rex.

Then again, if Rex tried to harm any of the kids, Anakin would know it was no longer him in there. And these are His Kids. In the end, Anakin never has to find out how he'd react because Rex finds them and saves them from Bounty Hunters.

I'm just picturing The Team stopping on some planet to pick up supplies and news. Anakin has taken some of the younglings with him into town because they're getting cabin fever and they're trying to be low key. Robes on, hoods up, no lightsabers, and keeping to the edges but Anakin is still highly recognisable (those tails are hard to hide and he still can’t shapeshift them out fully). They get the attention of prowling Bounty Hunters who have a list of unaccounted for Jedi and Anakin's trying to keep himself between them and the kids. Teeth and claws out. Only for a shot to come out of nowhere, nailing one of the Hunters and spooking the other into running. A clone comes out of the dark. A clone with blue painted Jaig Eyes on their helmet.

Rex had been on planet searching for rumours of escaped Jedi that he could then put in touch with Ahsoka, and was planning to steal the Bounty Hunters list. Until he saw who they had cornered. He's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth if the Galaxy just wants to hand him back his General. Who is alive.

Anakin just rips that helmet off and then there’s crying and a lot of kissing before they get back to the ship.

This of course then puts everyone back in contact with Ahsoka. There’s more crying. Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket but the crew is back together (minus Cody, I’m sorry lad, we’ll get you back) and they’re all doing OK. Plus, Anakin managed to save a fraction of the Jedi Order.

A call comes for them a few days later from Bail on the Tantive IV with a set of coordinates. Padme has gone into labour. Ahsoka leads the way immediately, since Anakin is about to be responsible for two more kids and hot damn does she wanna be there for that.

Padme has the babies - surprise twins! - and at first they both seem human, until one of them sneezes and suddenly there’s a different pair of ears on their head (if you’ve ever seen Wolf Children, yeah it’s like that). They are both also incredibly bright in the Force.

Then Padme is handing them off to Anakin.

She can't have two obviously force sensitive children with her on Naboo when it’s the homeplanet of the newly self-titled Galactic Emperor. Especially not Anakin's kids - the former target of said Galactic Emperor - with parentage that obvious. She, Bail, and Mon Mothma are about to build a Rebellion. He can stay with them at the base of operations they are establishing when not in the Senate and help if he wants or he can go into hiding with the twins. Plus, he's had a lot of experience with children because of all the time he spent in the creche. He’ll be fine.

He chooses to stay and help form a Rebellion. Him, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Rex, the little twins. Plus a dozen or so young Jedi.

Rex is suddenly a dad. He takes it rather well, even if he keeps referring to them as ‘tubies’.

#Kitsune!Anakin #rexwalker #Anakin Skywalker #Captain Rex #Padme Amidala #obi-wan kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #star wars #star wars writing #star wars au #sw au #can you tell this is my comfy time AU?#made this it's own post so it's neater when searching the tag on my blog #I have one more post written up for this AU and then it's just having fun with specific events in TCW but with Anakin as a Kitsune

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jessicas-pi · 3 months

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OOOH WIP ASK GAME tell me about Rebelvengers assemble, Graveyards and Ghost Towns, and they were CELLMATES, and even more adoption! If that's too many you can just choose your favorites from those, or tell me about something Time Heals related

OOOH

Okay so. For Rebelvengers ummm yeah I think I'm gonna ramble/infodump a little!

After the invasion of earth, Ahsoka is taken back to Asgard to be tried. As she's more obviously under some kind of mind control, Obi-Wan is lenient to her, and only sentences her imprisonment until she can be cured.

Kanan intersperses old-timey slang with vine references. Hera pretends it's not funny.

Sabine learned ballet as part of her Widow training. She first befriended Ezra when he asked her to teach him. They do ballet together now. Sometimes they coerce Jyn or Cassian into helping them out when they need more characters. They choreograph their own dances, which usually have a concerningly dark plotline involving betrayal, murder, and the death of all the main characters. Though one time they did do a ballet adaptation of Frozen (2013). Ezra was Elsa.

After the invasion of Earth, Ezra lowkey moves into Syndulla Tower. He lives in the vents for a week before Hera finds him. He admits that it's just nicer here than at SHIELD headquarters. Hera promptly invites him and Sabine and Zeb to move in... and reluctantly adds that, "Well, I suppose the Captain can come too, if he has to."

And Thrawn is a Frost Giant.

---

Graveyards and ghost towns... a snippet, perhaps?

Hera gently interrupted them, stepping into their circle and putting a hand on Ezra’s shoulder as she spoke to the other two. “Zeb, go get an extra chair from the living room. Sabine, help him to a plate.” The kids dispersed, and Hera turned to Kanan, stepping close and speaking in a low voice. “Where did you find him?” “I didn’t,” Kanan admitted. “Chopper did. We were taking the shortcut past the graveyard and Chop took off running, barking up a tree… I got there and looked up, and there was the kid.”

---

and they were CELLMATES!!

“Do you ever feel it?” Grey whispered, voice dry. It was so soft, the stormtroopers guarding their cell probably thought it was just her breathing. Ezra replied just as quietly. “Feel what?” “This planet. It’s hurting.” He almost asked if she was going a little crazy, because how could a planet hurt, but he stopped. Thought about it. “Yeah. It is, isn’t it?” She slid closer, pressing against him like she needed the contact to ground her in reality. “This used to be a sacred world, Ezra. Now it’s dying, and I’m helping to kill it.”

---

Even More Adoption! This is a VERY cracky AU where Rey time travels to the past and promptly gets adopted by the ghost crew (minus Sabine, who is on Krownest) and she and ezra and sabine have a groupchat full of chaos. Also Sabine is force-sensitive and doesn't know it (but she finds out.)

partner in crime I can’t believe you actually didn’t know You had to know, right? Sabine How would I know IF NOBODY TOLD ME partner in crime How else could you always sense when I was about to get into trouble??? Sabine Your vibes!! partner in crime vibes that you were sensing with the force Sabine Ok Well then Anything ELSE you want to tell me?????? [partner in crime is typing] … [partner in crime is typing] partner in crime we have a force bond also rey is borrowing your room [several people are typing]

#thank you for the ask!! :)#rebelvengers AU #the dumpsterverse #and they were cellmates #even more adoption au #fic snippet #fic sneak peek

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kanerallels · 10 months

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For my 501st follower celebration from this ask, a fic for @ladywren7! Au #73, the Time Travel Au. Rated G, with major character death implied

The first time it happened, he didn’t really understand.

One minute, he was on the bridge of the Chimaera, facing off with Thrawn. Or, rather, he was defeating Thrawn. And launching himself into the unknown with a ship full of enemies and a handful of purrgil as backup.

Generally speaking, it wasn’t Ezra’s best idea.

But it was the only one he had. It was the only way out for his home. Sometimes, you had to make the sacrifice. Like Kanan had taught him.

So he’d done it. And as hyperspace had rushed to meet them he felt this awful twist, and—

He reeled backwards, his head spinning. Every bone in his body hurt, like he’d been shoved into a small space he didn’t really fit in. Stumbling backwards a little, he caught himself on the low wall behind him and gasped for breath. Ow. What just— wait.

As he blinked the spots out of his vision, Ezra registered the familiarity of his surroundings. He wasn’t on the Chimaera any more. He was on a rooftop in Lothal.

What? Frowning, Ezra cautiously stepped forward, looking around. There was something strangely familiar about this particular rooftop, like he knew it somehow. Is this real? Or is it just a Force vision? He was too familiar with those to totally rule that possibility out. Swiping his hair out of his eyes, he started towards the roof’s edge— and then froze again.

His hair. His hair was supposed to be short. Cut close to his scalp.

So why was it long enough to brush his jawline? Like he hadn’t had a haircut in months. Like… when he’d first met the crew.

No way, Ezra thought. That’s impossible. But he remembered how he’d rescued Ahsoka, and how the hyperspace jump had felt, like he was being shoved into a too small space.

Or… a too small body?

Reaching up, he touched his cheek where the two scars from the Inquisitor’s lightsaber were. But his fingers met only smooth skin. Oh, crap. Does that mean—

Taking a step forward, he peered over the edge of the roof— and saw the ponytailed figure of Kanan Jarrus. His dead master. Looking years younger than the last time Ezra had seen him.

This was the day he’d first met him. Somehow, Ezra had wound up in the past.

He did his best to keep up after that. Followed along with events similarly to how they’d gone the first time through. But it was so much harder to just toss Kanan a snarky salute and zip out of there, instead of hurling himself into his master’s arms. His master, who he missed so much.

Still, Kanan didn’t remember him— Ezra’s prevailing theory was that only people on the Chimaera, or possibly only him and Thrawn, since they’d been most directly involved with the purrgil, could remember what happened— so he played along. Pretended like his heart didn’t leap with joy at the sight of Sabine, and Hera, and Zeb. Force, he was even glad to see Chopper.

He stuck to the timeline as long as he could.

And then, he didn’t any more. Ezra figured he was here for a reason. It was his job to figure out that reason, and help as many people as possible.

So he saved lives. He helped them evade the Grand Inquisitor, and Gall Trayvis. He tried to save Kanan at the comm tower— but his master wouldn’t leave. Ezra reluctantly let him, knowing they’d get him back. And they did.

He managed to prevent Minister Tua from dying, and got the Rebellion important intel. He played mediator on Seelos and kept them out of the way of the two new Inquisitors. When the question of a base came up, Ezra nudged them towards the planet where Chopper picked up AP-5.

He hadn’t been sure if it was the right idea. But when they made it to Malachor, and he ran into Maul again, Ezra let him come with. But when Kanan voiced doubts, he made sure his master knew he agreed. “Just stay out of his way,” Ezra begged him. “Be careful, okay? Trust that I can keep myself out of danger.”

A confused Kanan had agreed— and somehow, made it out with his eyesight intact. Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. The months between Malachor and Kanan’s return had hurt, and he knew it would still hurt, even knowing what he did.

Things had gotten… a little confusing at that point.

Mainly because Ahsoka made it out alive.

And Ezra was pretty sure that was something he did.

So he did a little casual snooping, while Kanan and Hera reunited, and everyone else tried to figure out what was next. And it turned out that the Ahsoka who was here? This wasn’t the Ahsoka who’d been fighting with them the past few months.

This was the Ahsoka from Ezra’s timeline. And she had her memories, same as him.

She still needed a little catching up, but it was nice to have someone else who knew what was going on.

Unfortunately, there was someone else who knew what was going on. Sort of. And he showed up right on time, in all his red-eyed, blue-skinned glory. Thrawn had his memories, same as Ezra. But he seemed to be playing it safe, just to see what Ezra would do.

So Ezra kept going, kept saving people. He handled Maul, made sure Sabine found the darksaber, supported her through that. (And still teased her a little. This was the one area he was better at something than her— was he supposed to resist it?)

And when Thrawn’s fleet found Atollon, Ezra was ready. He made sure everyone escaped safely, even Commander Sato. And when the crew, plus Kallus, made it out, he let out a sigh of relief. Maybe this could be better this time.

But then. Lothal came. Hera still ran the blockade, the Rebellion still refused any real help until the last minute, and Pryce still caught Hera.

Ezra did everything in his power to convince Kanan to stay. But his master wasn’t about to let the woman he loved be in danger and do nothing.

So, for the second time, Ezra lost his master. And despite everything, despite all his frantic working and planning, he still wound up on the bridge of a Star Destroyer. Just him, Thrawn, and the purrgil.

But then he woke up as Kanan helped him and the crate of blasters onto the Ghost. And that was when Ezra realized it.

He was stuck in a time loop. This wasn’t a second chance. This was a “get it right and you get your second chance, otherwise you’re stuck reliving this over and over again”.

So Ezra went to work.

It didn’t really go as planned. For one thing, Thrawn seemed to have put this together, too. And he had decided to hound Ezra as long and hard as he could, ruining every plan he could. But Ezra was stubborn, too. He would go through this loop as many times as he had to— a loop that he quickly became aware was growing smaller with every go round. Every time he woke up, time had passed since his previous awakening— in order to get it right.

He grew bolder. Prevented bigger things, or at least he tried to. Some things seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance, like Kanan going blind. He got rid of Inquisitors and… well, he tried to get rid of Maul. He seemed to be pretty consistent, though.

But Thrawn kept throwing bigger things at him— more Inquisitors, more troops, more everything. And Ezra was finding it hard to keep up on his own.

And then he did something that he hadn’t tried before. He brought someone else into the time loop with him.

~~~

Sabine knew what Ezra was planning. She’d seen the look in his eyes, and knew the odds just as well as he had. So she’d let him go.

And about five minutes later she’d regretted it.

And so, somehow— she still wasn’t quite sure how— she’d snuck onto the Chimaera after him. She’d made it onto the bridge just as the purrgil showed up, which she hadn’t expected. But Ezra had this really bad habit of making plans and then refusing to share them with others, so it wasn’t really her fault.

Diving under a tentacle, she pushed her way into the bridge, where Ezra had Thrawn pinned. Around them, Sabine could feel the thrumming in the air that was the Force— and something else, as the tentacles surrounding them flashed.

We’re about to jump to hyperspace.

This was his plan?

Ezra was saying something as she moved out into the open. A stormtrooper moved towards her, and Sabine shot him before he could take another step. The sound of blaster fire caught Ezra’s attention, and he looked towards her. His eyes went wide with horror. “Sabine?”

And then they made the jump and everything hurt, in a way that was Wrong. Sabine stumbled backwards, smacking into something. Her stomach churned, and she clenched her teeth, eyes squeezing shut. Don’t be sick. Don’t be.

The turmoil swirling around them seemed to still as Ezra’s voice came again, this time closer. “Oh, boy. Uh, Sabine? Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Sabine mumbled, taking a deep breath. Opening her eyes, she said, “That plan was— AHHH!”

Letting out a very undignified yelp, she leapt backwards from Ezra Bridger. But it wasn’t her Ezra. It looked more like Ezra when they’d first met him— long hair, scruffy clothes and an overall scrawny look. “What the kriff?” she demanded.

“Don’t panic,” Ezra said, holding up his hands. “It’s okay— we just went back in time a little bit.”

“We WHAT? How? Wait, what color’s my hair?”

“Orange and blue,” Ezra told her. “I think this is… right after Zeb and I stole that TIE fighter?”

Sabine rubbed at her face as she blearily took in their surroundings. They were in the Ghost kitchen— but it looked different. Some of the paintings she’d done on the wall were gone, as were some of Kanan’s newer implements. This can’t be happening.

But she took another look at the much shorter Ezra, who was gazing at her earnestly, and knew it was.

“What. Just happened,” she said, propping her hands on her hips. “Particularly how and why, too.”

Clearing his throat, Ezra said, “So, in coming on the bridge of the Chimaera— like I specifically told you not to—”

“You did no such thing. Also, since when do I listen to you?”

“Fair. Well, when you did that, you kinda got yourself… caught in a time loop with me?”

Sabine’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“I’ve been reliving my time with the crew repeatedly,” Ezra said matter of factly. Then he frowned. “Well, kinda. Some parts seem to kinda get skipped over. Like, I’ll go to sleep and you and Ketsu’s mission already happened when I woke up, and I was there. Some things are on autoplay, I guess. But other things aren’t, which is where I change stuff.”

Rubbing her face with one hand, Sabine said, “Okay, let me get this straight. You’ve been time looping your way through the past four years, and changing stuff?”

“Trying to,” Ezra said. The expression that flashed across his face was far, far too old for a fourteen year old to be wearing. Although Sabine supposed he wasn’t technically fourteen.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “It’s because of the purrgil, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah, but Thrawn and I seem to be the only ones who remember anything,” Ezra said with a frown. “Well, except Ahsoka.”

“Ahsoka?”

“Yeah, she… long story short, she gets her memories of the original timeline back on Malachor.”

Sabine lifted her eyebrow at him. “What’s the long story?”

“Really, really long,” Ezra said. “But I’ll tell you someday.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Sabine told him. Starting to pace back and forth, she said, “Okay. So you’ve been changing stuff. Like what?”

“Well, for one, Ahsoka doesn’t always come back with us from Malachor,” Ezra said. “For another… we lose people. Commander Sato, some of the others. I’ve tried to save him in as many loops as possible. In— in some of them, I even kept Kanan from getting blinded.”

The catch in his voice was obvious, and Sabine felt an internal pang at the memory of how much both he and Kanan had been through during those six months. But that hadn’t been the first time he’d handled that.

“Ezra— how many times have you done this loop?”

Ezra’s gaze flicked downwards, and his voice held a note of forced casualness as he said, “Oh, like eighty-six or so.”

“EIGHTY-SIX?”

“SSSSH! The others will hear you!” Ezra hissed. “But… yeah. Not all of them were the full loop, though. Turns out that when you die, the time loop resets.”

Sabine stared at him, shock stabbing through her. “You— you’ve died?”

“A couple times, yeah. First time Thrawn did a little orbital bombardment thing. A couple times the Inquisitors got me, and Vader did once. Oh, and Maul, obviously. And the fight on Atollon, once— what?”

Sabine shook her head. “Nothing, I just— you’ve been doing all this alone?”

Shrugging, Ezra said, “No one else knew. And no one would have believed me. I couldn’t really ask for help.”

“You have it now,” Sabine told him firmly, and a smile crossed his face.

“Thanks.”

“So,” Sabine said briskly. “How do we break this time loop?”

Sighing, Ezra said, “I have a theory. The one thing that’s been the same every time has been… Kanan.”

Sabine swallowed hard, pain shooting through her chest. He’s not dead here. Which means… we can save him. “Challenge accepted,” she said with a shrug. “We have a Jedi to save.”

#501st follower celebration #star wars rebels #swr #ezra bridger #sabine wren #time travel au #hehehehehe i love this time travel au. so much #it's one i would happily write more for someday #writing stories is a kind of magic too

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triscribeaucollection · 3 months

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@foxstronaut: #YEAH SO I DID IN FACT WANT TO SEE IT#this is so good……this au just keeps getting better……….tysm for the link to this post!!#the wider context of the time travel……the fallout of bens betrayal…..#positively eating this up#also if i can ask- what is the ‘shereshoy’ mentioned in ur tag? :0

Shereshoy is the capstone of my Vod'e An Star Wars series, which is ALL about time travel, but I keep copy-pasting the intro scene into different AUs because it is. Definitely one of my favorite bits of writing to date.

Here's the series summary:

Have you ever seen a time traveler dropped into the middle of someone else's butterfly effect? How about several dozen someones? AKA I nabbed all my fave clone troopers and sprinkled them into a much happier galaxy, with a touch of violence on top. As a treat.

Aaand just for laughs, here's the intro scene in question:

---

The Force screamed in the middle of the night, and Ahsoka lurched awake with one overriding thought: not again.

Both lightsabers immediately flew to her hands as she rolled out of bed - boots and outer robes left behind in her sprint for the door. For the first time since constructing her own hab at Luke’s school, Ahsoka regretted putting herself on a neighboring ridge instead of down in the valley among the students.

Even as she ran, the Force flickered with another youngling’s death.

Beams of red light in the darkness, matched to knots of Dark power, drew her forward at even greater speed. Bounding off rocks and trees, the togruta remained nearly silent with every leap; she instinctively shielded herself with the Force to mask her approach, until the moment she burst out over the heads of three Sith acolytes, and let her own power flare.

Their helmeted heads snapped upwards. In the span of two heartbeats, her white sabers slashed, and those same heads fell to the ground, their bodies following after a brief pause.

Ahsoka landed in a battle-ready crouch, positioned defensively over a boy collapsed on the ground. When no further Sith revealed themselves, she deactivated and tucked away one lightsaber, freed hand reaching for the teenager at her feet. “Jacen?”

“I’m okay,” he rasped, heart pounding hard enough her lekku could feel the vibrations. “What- what’s happening?”

“Another Purge,” Ahsoka said, fighting hard to keep her voice level. “Can you feel Ezra?” After a moment’s pause, his face scrunched with desperate concentration, Jacen nodded. “Then let’s go. I’ll watch your back.”

The boy staggered upright, and led her around to the far side of the school buildings: student sleeping huts, a kitchen and meal hall, storage and laundry and library. Most of them bore scorch marks and other damage, while further up the valley, the actual temple where Luke handled meditation and combat training burned.

Storm clouds rumbled overhead, an echo of the fury roaring in Ahsoka’s mind. Twice, cracks of lightning revealed fallen bodies as she and Jacen ran past.

Another set of Sith attempted an ambush, only to falter when they registered her white lightsabers. Ahsoka didn’t hesitate to leap forward and deal with them swiftly, before any attention could be turned to the padawan beside her. Jacen, thankfully, didn’t attempt to join her, nor did he comment afterward - but his Force-presence shivered and pulled in even tighter on itself.

The next enemies they came across were a squad of stormtroopers, concentrating fire on a solitary figure, who deflected incoming plasma bolts and shot back his own with the same weapon. Ahsoka could sense two more younglings hidden behind Ezra’s billowed cloak, and increased her speed.

One trooper spotted her mid-charge. He and his neighbor turned to shoot at the new target, but their bolts went wild, too far off the mark to even require deflection. Ridiculous, Ahsoka could hear in her mind, as she spun and slashed, No brother would have gotten off Kamino with aim like that; do they even bother training these shinies, or just hand ‘em armor and a blaster and a new set of orders?

Faster than droids, but not nearly as fast or coordinated as clones, which meant Ahsoka carved through the stormtroopers within moments. As the last blaster fell in pieces to the ground, she saw Jacen dash past to crash against his favorite teacher with a desperate hug. Ezra wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders, the other still holding his lightsaber. “Ahsoka?”

“Get to my ship,” she ordered, as another peal of thunder rang above their heads, and the first few raindrops began to fall. “Don’t wait for anyone else, just take off and get to safety.”

Expression grim, Ezra nodded, and turned to drop into a crouch. He helped Alora get to her feet, the girl holding Grogu against her chest. “Pypey?”

The teenager shook her head, headscarf gone, face covered in tears. Ezra didn’t waste any more time before hustling her and Jacen off, towards the hidden landing pad where they kept hyper-capable craft. Ahsoka barely waited before hurrying onward again.

She passed more bodies; some students, some stormtroopers, the occasional Sith in black and red armor. The rain began coming down harder, turning the ground slick with mud, dragging visibility down to mere feet and severely impacting how much Ahsoka could sense with her hollow montrals.

But the Force didn’t falter. Every leap took her from one mostly-stable spot to another, following further death knells and surges of power, all the way up to the front steps of the old Jedi temple set into the mountainside. All the way to Luke.

Despite his much smaller stature, he moved like Anakin, and she could feel the intense emotions racing through him. One trooper after another fell, Luke refusing to let any of them put so much as a single foot on the steps into his school, his Academy. More bodies sprawled across the stones behind him; only one still flickered faintly with life.

Ahsoka took over the fight.

She landed ahead and just to one side of Luke, better positioned to defend the one student still gasping for breath. “Go! Take her and go!” Her fellow Jedi hesitated, clearly torn between multiple directions. “She’s dying, Luke, take Jaina and go, NOW!”

His Force-presence flared, then settled, decision made. Ahsoka felt the man lunge, scoop up his wounded student, and bolt into the Temple. She knew he’d follow a secret route out to the far side of the mountain, where an overhang sheltered his old X-Wing. With any luck, Artoo would be waiting, engines already fired up and ready to take off.

Even without luck, Ahsoka would buy them enough time to escape. Raindrops sizzled off her lightsabers as she swept them through the air, evaporating into steam that trailed after her every movement.

And Ahsoka moved.

#star wars #vod'e an series #ahsoka tano #time travel fixit #shereshoy #which was SUPPOSED to be the final installment #but then haat ijaa haa'it happened #and who knows when that will be finished #but that's just individual snippet chapters #the full plot of the series is Done and Dusted

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vodika-vibes · 16 days

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See Rex. This is how you make appropriate punishments for all the mud mischievous the little gremlins are getting into 😉

Poor Rex has big brother vibes. Cody, however, gives off dad vibes. It's why Cody had the right answer and Rex did not.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka head into the Negotiator, looking for Cody and the other clones who were in charge of the surveying teams, only to pause when they see little Ashanii and Dust, wearing clean clothes and both of them using a spare top from someone's set of blacks as a sweatshirts, sitting at a table in the mess hall with datapads in front of them. "What's this?" Ahsoka asks. "Ashanii and Dust are doing math as punishment for mud," Boil replies from where he's on babysitting duty with Waxer, "Ash! You think I don't know what games look like from the outside? Back to your math homework." The little twi'lek pouts, but obviously changes something on her screen, and goes back to math homework. "Cody said that they were just being kids." "I dunno." Waxer shrugs, "Cody said to watch them, so we are. The commander is up on the bridge, by the way. If you're looking for him." And then he sighs, "Dust. If Ash can't play games then neither can you." The little boy scowls, and clutches his datapad to his chest, "I hate math." "It's important. Do it anyway." "Well, let's leave them to their punishment, then." Ahsoka says with a wry smile, "Come on, Obi-Wan. We need to get to the bridge."

#star wars #star wars au #ahsoka travels to the past au

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i-have-zero-social-skills · 17 days

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Chapter One of My Time Travel Fix-It AU

Okay, so the idea for this AU was born when I came up with a concept for a time travel fix it AU where an original character enters the World Between Worlds. Her past is that she was kidnapped by the Empire as a baby to be trained as a Dark acolyte for Sidious. She eventually realizes all the suffering she went through was because of Sidious, so she is determined to get revenge on him. She sneaks into his palace, and finds him performing a Dark ritual to access the World Between Worlds. (This is in season 4 of Rebels). She interrupts the ritual, so her essence is pulled into the World Between Worlds. Then she sees an important moment from Sidious’ past. Him fighting Mace in his office. (This is before Anakin arrives at the Senate building). (Also Kit, Agen, and Saesee are still barely alive but they are slowly dying from their wounds). My OC does something in the World Between Worlds, so the Jedi In Sidious’ office in that moment and the version of Sidious from season 4 of Rebels are pulled back in time as everything is reset to 41 BBY. Ezra and Ahsoka have some memories of the old timeline, but those memories only appear in dreams since Ezra and Ahsoka weren’t born yet in 41 BBY. This is the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53240830/chapters/134725726

#agen kolar #mace windu #kit fisto #saesee tiin #my fic #time travel #fix it fic #star wars fanfiction #the world between worlds #Sith get screwed

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azertyrobaz · 8 months

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Satellites (5/7)

What if Grogu hadn’t returned to Din in The Book of Boba Fett? What if he hadn’t been given a choice? – Modern AU setting: Grogu is now twelve, and he has to rely on his memories as a young child to track down the person who changed his life. The only person he knows who will be able to protect him from the bad man. The bad man who precipitated his separation from the only family he’s ever known. He embarks on a road trip to piece together his past, and reconnect with the people who might help him find his family again.

Read below or on ao3.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

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

Grogu couldn’t let go of his father’s neck. He was still shaking. He thought he’d never see him again. He thought he’d be stuck there forever with all the bad men.

“He doesn't want to go with you,” his deep voice rumbled. He turned around slowly in his arms and saw the other man there. His name was Luke. He looked kind. He’d explained he came from the place where they had sent those tests his dad had made him fill out a few weeks back. The ones Ahsoka had suggested. They’d been easy. But fun. Numbers were fun. Always. But now that he was actually there to take him to his school…

“He wants your permission.”

Grogu stared into his father’s eyes. They were a lighter shade of brown than his but right now they looked completely black. He seemed sad. And scared.

“He is the smartest child I have ever met, but he needs proper schooling and guidance. I can provide both.”

The young boy exhaled deeply. This was going too fast. He’d just been reunited with his dad and he already had to say goodbye? No, he wanted to stay.

“Hey, go on,” his father urged, turning him towards Luke again. He didn’t look angry, he was just waiting for him.

“That's who you belong with. He's like you.”

They’d talked about it. Many times. He was six now and he needed to go to school. They couldn’t travel together anymore, it was too risky and people would ask questions. School sounded okay, especially if he’d get to learn some more about numbers. And school wasn’t forever, right? They’d travel again. Just the two of them. It was only for a little while. It wouldn’t be too scary.

“I'll see you again, I promise.”

Grogu hugged his father one last time. He felt him flinch then hug him back just as hard.

“All right, pal. It's time to go. Don't be afraid.”

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

He couldn’t sleep.

Ahsoka had parked her car a couple of miles away from the address Greef had given him, declaring she was too exhausted to go further, and had promptly closed her eyes. Her breaths were deep and regular. She was either fast asleep or a very good actress. Because nothing was stopping him from grabbing his bag and finishing the journey on foot – she’d probably counted on him doing just that. He didn’t doubt for a second that she was as tired as she said, though. As far as he was aware, she hadn’t slept while they were at Bo-Katan’s place, and she’d done nothing but driving for days.

Grogu didn’t feel like leaving the car just yet. His mind was a whirlwind. He was also running on fumes, but he was too on edge to rest.

His father was right at the end of this track.

Well, his cabin, at least. Which was a start.

It was funny that they basically had to retrace their steps all the way back to Nevarro, even if Ahsoka had groaned at the prospect of the 4+ hours journey. The address for the cabin was about an hour away from the small town, in the middle of a sparse forest, with tiny ponds of clear water here and there. It didn’t even have a name on the map they’d looked at and they hadn’t passed another car since they’d found the barely discernible track.

It was definitely the right spot. The one he’d been searching for all this time. And he was terrified.

Grogu looked at Ahsoka sitting next to him and still doing a good job at pretending (or not) to be asleep. When he’d announced that he’d found his dad’s cabin that morning, there had been no doubt in his mind that she would be the one driving him there. And yet Bo-Katan’s reaction had surprised him. She’d turned into a completely different person once he’d mentioned Moff Gideon – she was on a mission. She had a goal. A crew to assemble. A plan to devise. She’d even given him a stiff hug when they said their goodbyes, Ahsoka promising she’d get Din to call her – her way to apologize for earlier, he guessed.

If they found his dad, he hoped he wouldn’t rush after Gideon immediately. But then, wasn’t that the reason why he had been looking for him in the first place? So that he could save him one more time? Make sure he would never be subjected to his experiments again?

Grogu shuddered and rifled through his backpack. He didn’t want to think about it. When he felt too overwhelmed, he would only be able to relax by writing things down. Compartmentalize. Rationalize. He smiled slightly when he saw what he’d already written and crossed out in his notebook:

New car: yellow convertible Corvette?

No news for 4 years: moved abroad? work with military? bad injury + “retired”?

Boba Fett: be careful –> didn’t follow me

Came to the institute 4-5 years ago: why? turned away but not forbidden to come back

Asked Omera + Ahsoka to take care of me: couldn’t/refused

Give Winta her sweater + money back: ask to keep the sweater?

Luke knows I’m okay

ALIVE

He underlined the last word a few more times. He wanted to write down the address Greef had given him, make it even more real, but he thought it was probably safer not to – his father had gone through a lot of trouble to hide where he was, and enough people already knew the place: Greef himself, who’d actually promised on the phone that he hadn’t revealed it to anyone else, and now Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, and him.

Looking at his notes wasn’t proving very helpful to figure out what he would say to him when he saw him, but at least he felt a little better. The last few days had been eye-opening, in more ways than one, and they had strangely allowed him to get to know the man he called his father better, despite not having spoken to him for six years.

Grogu thought he understood why he’d tried to give him away – partly, at least – but he hoped he’d get the chance to say his piece. Maybe they couldn’t be reunited the way he wanted them too, but he might be able to tell him how he felt, something he’d been incapable to do as a six year old. And he couldn’t help feeling a little hopeful after hearing Bo-Katan’s assumption that he’d grown weary of his line of work. Perhaps there was room for him in his life now?

“There’s something I still haven’t figured out,” said Ahsoka, sounding wide awake and making him jump about a foot on his seat. “Where were you before you reached Nevarro? I tracked you down around Chicago, then all the way to that car mechanic in Nevada, but then I lost you again.”

Grogu smiled discretely and tried very hard not to look at his sweater – Winta’s sweater, the one he wanted to keep – which spelled ‘Sorgan Lothcats’ on his chest and would have been a dead giveaway.

“I was with friends,” he said simply. “I rested for a while, it was nice.”

Ahsoka hummed. “Well, kudos for losing me, I guess.” And she made a big show of shaking his hand, which he thought quite funny.

Looking outside, he realized that their surroundings weren’t so different from Sorgan’s, which wasn’t very far from here either. Sure, the vegetation wasn’t as dense and the trees as tall, it wasn’t as pretty, but it was close. He wondered if his father had consciously – or unconsciously – chosen a similar setting to hide himself from the world.

“Should we go?” Ahsoka asked, and he nodded.

It was time.

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

“Think this is the place?”

They’d reached what appeared to be the end of the track. If it wasn’t for Greef’s clear instructions and coordinates, they would have gotten lost. Several times, they’d made a wrong turn somewhere and found themselves at a dead-end. There was no phone reception so they’d had to rely on Ahsoka’s ancient car GPS.

There stood a house. Well, house was perhaps an overstatement. It was a single story rectangular box. The walls were a mix of light colored wood panels and off-white smooth stucco. The flat roof had solar panels, antennas and a satellite dish. Grogu guessed it was completely off the grid. He could see a little vegetation poking here and there to help camouflage it some more. But that hidden away feel was completely ruined by the car parked just outside: a bright yellow vintage sports car.

“This is the place,” he answered Ahsoka’s question, certain.

They stopped on the side of the track, deeming it safer to walk the rest of the way just in case. Grogu’s legs felt like rubber as he mechanically put one foot in front of the other. This is the place. This is the place. This is the place.

“Looks like whoever lives here is on the way out,” she remarked. Too focused on calming his nerves by taking in slow breaths, sweaty palms balled into fists and eyes fixed on his threadbare sneakers, he hadn’t noticed that the trunk of the yellow car was open. Black plastic cases were already piled in the backseat. Sturdy, long cases he remembered very well, including what they held.

And then the front door of the house flew open, and out came a man armed with a rifle, ready to shoot. Ahsoka raised her arms slowly and said something Grogu didn’t hear because he had completely frozen. Fear and anticipation battling inside him to take precedence and preventing him from moving a muscle. The man was tall and broad, that was all he could see from that distance. As soon as the rifle was lowered though, he knew. Just as the man knew. And Grogu started breathing again.

He’d found him.

It only took his father a few strides to reach him, kneel on the floor, and grip his upper arms tightly in his large hands.

“Are you alright?” he asked urgently, the brown eyes which were too soft for the lines on his face and the hard angle of his jaw searching his. His voice was deep and concerned, the same it had always been. The same it had always sounded to Grogu. His hair was longer than he remembered, though. Same brown as his eyes. Shaggy, and curling over the top of his T-shirt collar with a bit of new silver threaded in at the sides. His salt and pepper scruff couldn’t mask that his face had thinned out, and some part of Grogu recognized that the last six years had been hard on him as well.

“Grogu?” he pressed, shaking him now, his grip almost painful, and the boy nodded mutely. His eyes were still taking everything in. Despite the man’s clear alarm, there was no hiding that warmth the boy had always seen on his face. A kindness that didn’t seem fake or put on to trick people intro trusting him.

“I’m okay,” he finally managed to say over the lump in his throat. And for the first time in a long time, he was telling the truth. His father nodded, but still his eyes wouldn’t leave his. Still his grip on his shoulders wouldn’t lessen.

“Skywalker called,” he explained, finally looking up towards Ahsoka. “Said the kid had run away but that you were trailing him. Then Kryze this morning. She mentioned Moff Gideon. They both wanted me to stay put in case you showed up, but I was about to come looking for you.” He angled his head towards his car, and the gun cases started making more sense.

“Luke has your number?” Grogu asked – that was a surprising piece of information.

“Of course he has my number,” his father replied with a frown.

“Can we come inside and talk?” Ahsoka suggested before Grogu had time to ask something else, as if she’d sensed they could be there a while, and his father stood up. He was just as tall as he remembered, which didn’t make sense after six years, but this was one of those things Grogu chose not to question. Same as with the look of resigned patience on his face, because it was the same look he often saw in the mirror.

The small house was sparsely furnished, but it was exactly like Grogu had imagined it: a mix of order and disorder that shouldn’t be possible, and yet worked perfectly. The tiny kitchen directly in front of them was neatly organized, dry food in glass jars on easily accessible shelves, plates and bowls piled just so above the fridge, and yet the counter had completely disappeared under several layers of newspapers, maps, drawings, notepads and empty coffee cups, making it impossible to sit down and eat there. The two bar stools were equally inaccessible, with carboard boxes precariously stacked on top of them.

On the left, the living room, visible through an archway, told a similar story. Bookcases, packed but efficiently arranged on the walls, sofa frayed but spotless, yet a chaotic assortment of knickknacks and abandoned projects on the coffee table. More empty cups. A disassembled rifle. Spare auto parts. Errant socks. Gadgets and electronic gizmos, either in the process of being upgraded or repaired. Doodles on the back of receipts. Like in the kitchen, the place wasn’t dirty. All the surfaces appeared to be clean. Which told Grogu that the layers of clutter were often cleared, before the whole process started again. Most likely when he ran out of coffee cups.

On the right were two closed doors, with more organized chaos on the other side of them he was sure. Visitors were probably a rare occurrence. Ahsoka smiled. His father sighed.

“Coffee?” he mumbled, quickly putting the carboard boxes sitting on the bar stools on the floor. He looked at the mess on the counter and realized there was no easy fix for that so gave up on the idea and walked behind it.

“Coffee sounds good,” Ahsoka agreed.

Grogu wanted to look at everything. Absorb each detail. But his eyes were still following his father’s every move, as if he’d disappear the second he looked away. He’d felt tangible relief at seeing the blue arrows on his hands earlier. They were still just as bright and just as striking. It looked like some of the other tattoos on his arms had gotten an upgrade, though. Same as with the ones he could just see peeking over the collar of his T-shirt. He hoped he’d get the opportunity to look at them more closely later, since each held a story. He remembered how his father had told him years ago how he’d use negative space to cover past tattoos. Past stories. Then create new ones. The blue arrows pointing forward on his hands had been his first tattoos, and the only ones using a color other than black. He’d stuck to black only afterwards since it didn’t require regular touch ups like the blue.

“Do you want some eggs?” his father interrupted his thoughts, and Grogu nodded, realizing he was starving. Ahsoka acquiesced as well. They’d been on the road for a while and it was midafternoon already.

“I’ll get some coffee too if you have milk,” he added and he saw surprise in his father’s eyes. The fact that he wasn’t six anymore was a difficult concept to wrap his mind around, something Grogu understood keenly.

“I have milk,” he confirmed.

“Place like this, I’d expect you to have a cow and some sheep. Goats. A llama. Chickens, too,” Ahsoka joked, sitting down atop one of the cleared stools.

“I’m not that self-sufficient,” his father smiled. “But I did think about it.”

“Sounds like a solid plan for retirement.”

“Yes. That and a vegetable patch. I’d be all set.”

Grogu looked at the two of them and wondered why they’d decided to banter. Had they even seen each other since Ahsoka turned him away at the institute five years ago? Was it because he was there and they didn’t want to broach difficult subjects in his presence? Was it to hide their anger?

“Bo-Katan certainly made it sound like you were considering voluntarily committing yourself to a nursing home,” Ahsoka added – this was of course an exaggeration, but Grogu had also heard the slight resentment in the other woman’s voice earlier that day.

“I’m not surprised,” his father chuckled. A sound that was rusty and almost foreign but not unwelcome. Grogu set his backpack at his feet and sat next to Ahsoka, his eyes following his dad’s every movement as he prepared coffee and made scrambled eggs on the wood stove.

“I’ll worry about Kryze later,” he sighed, handing them their cups and plates since there was nowhere to put them but on their own laps. “I’m sure she’s busy with Gideon anyway.” This he added with a small look in his direction, one that Grogu was sure meant they’d talk about it later. When he wasn’t around. He rolled his eyes but decided he was too hungry to get mad and ate his eggs, which turned out to be a precarious but enjoyable feat.

“You’re okay?” his father asked over the brim of his coffee cup, observing him from behind the counter – something Grogu hadn’t realized he’d been doing since he’d been too focused on his food. The simple question was loaded, but the boy nodded. Yes, he was feeling alright. Yes, he’d had enough food. Yes, he felt safe her. Yes, he trusted him to make things right again.

“I’m okay.”

“Gideon didn’t hurt you?”

“I saw him briefly when I left New York, never since, and he didn’t get the chance to hurt me,” he confirmed. He couldn’t believe how much easier it was to talk about it now that he was here. There was still fear, yes. But it didn’t feel like such a heavy weight anymore.

His father stared into his eyes, making sure he was telling the truth, nodded once, then turned towards Ahsoka. “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

“Sure,” she replied, standing up swiftly.

Grogu opened his mouth to complain, but his father gave him another look, one he remembered very well. “Feel free to look around but be careful with the guns.”

“Alright,” he grumbled, hoping that one word conveyed enough annoyance at being treated like a little kid. But he hadn’t missed the implications behind the man’s statement – he trusted him not to mess with his stuff. More than that, he trusted him with his precious weapons. He’d taught him about gun safety years ago and he still expected him to be careful now.

So Grogu let them have their talk outside – his dad hadn’t said anything specific about him not being allowed to take part in their conversation, but he’d give them a few minutes. He walked behind the counter to set his empty plate in the sink and let his eyes roam over the small kitchen. Everything looked a little worn but well cared for. He liked the fridge in particular: pale yellow and old-fashioned, the kind with a silver handle to pull open the door. He remembered the many pictures that had covered the one at Omera and Winta’s place. His father had only two things displayed on his: a shopping list in his surprisingly neat handwriting and a printed page with what looked like numbers on them. Grogu frowned and moved closer when he though he saw his name at the top of it.

This was his school report. Right there in black and white, the past semester’s grades for each of his classes and his standing. He was first in everything. Had Luke sent it to him? Had his father requested to see the reports? And kept up to date with his grades? Since when? The beginning?

Grogu didn’t know what to think. He felt part shock, part pride. And then he remembered the story Bo-Katan had told him that morning. That one time his father had mentioned him and said his kid was smarter than all of their crew put together. So maybe he’d been aware of his school progress all this time.

Still shaken, he decided to have a quick look behind the two closed doors he’d seen earlier. Maybe it would help him figure out what his father had been up to for the last six years. Behind the first door was a dark bedroom with a neatly made double bed pushed against a wall, a closed dresser he didn’t feel like snooping in, stacks of paperbacks in lieu of a bedside table, and a detailed star chart on the wall. Grogu traced some of the constellations he knew the name of with his finger. It was very soothing.

The last room seemed to be an office, with an old metallic desk against one wall with two laptops on it, and crammed bookcases on all the others. More electronic gadgets here and there, the ever present folded maps, a locked gun safe, and what looked like a CB radio. The one surprising thing about this room was the single bed under the window. Compared to everything else in this house, which was probably second or third-hand, it looked new. Sitting on it proved his assumption – it was extra comfortable, with a fluffy comforter and pillow. The bed sheets were a nice shade of blue and smelled like they’d recently been washed. With a pang of longing, Grogu realized that whoever got to sleep here was very lucky.

Done with feeling maudlin, he stood up, deciding he’d given his dad and Ahsoka enough time to talk on their own. He approached the porch slowly, but one of them had left the front door ajar, which made listening on their conversation easy. He didn’t feel like hiding though – he’d done that once already this morning, and he hadn’t liked the result. So he only caught the end of their exchange before he made his presence known.

“ – what I want has very little to do with whether he should or shouldn’t be here,” his dad said.

“You don’t want me to stay,” Grogu assumed immediately, interrupting whatever Ahsoka had meant to add.

“That is not what I said,” he replied levelly, any trace of guilt absent.

“Then what did you say?” he pushed, feeling another wave of exhaustion crash over him. He couldn’t stop thinking about that bed in the room next door. That comfortable bed that should be his but wasn’t.

“I told Ahsoka that since Skywalker isn’t fulfilling his role anymore, I will, and I won’t fail.”

“What role?”

“Making sure you’re safe.”

Ahsoka sighed and crossed her arms. She seemed displeased about something, but Grogu didn’t care right now. Couldn’t focus on what she was feeling. This moment was too important. He’d rehearsed it in his mind countless times.

“So I can stay?”

The answer took a while. “Until Gideon is caught, yes.”

Grogu held his breath. He looked into his father’s eyes. The moment stretched, but no one moved. No one blinked. No one flinched. The brown eyes remained steady.

“Okay,” the boy said.

Until Gideon was caught. That was plenty of time to convince him.

#the mandalorian #grogu #din djarin #ahsoka tano #fanfic #star wars #mandalorian #modern au #angst with a happy ending #found family #my fics

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kalevalakryze · 5 months

Text

Yhe'na Det Och'sa

Chapter 2: Det Bahko

Characters: Shin Hati, Ahsoka Tano, Professor Huyang, Bail Organa, Leia Organa, Breha Organa, L0-LA59 | Lola, Kaeden Larte Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Shin Hati, Ahsoka Tano & Bail Organa, Bail Organa & Leia Organa, Shin Hati & Leia Organa, Mentioned Ahsoka Tano/Kaeden Larte, Bail Organa/Breha Organa Word Count: 6,110 AO3 Link: Here! Chapter One

As always, special thanks to the people who keep this AU alive, we wouldn't be here without them and their big brains, mwah: @somewillwin , @cmbdragon98 , @mandalorianfleshenjoyer

The route to Alderaan would be long, several days at least to get past all of the jumps that Fulcrum would need to make to ensure safe, Imperial-Free travel.

It wasn’t long before the excitement of hyper-space travel wore off and the small child they’d brought on had started to nod, however, forehead pressing into the safety straps around their shoulders as silvery eyes began to droop.

“Alright, tazi unt, let’s get you to bed,” Ahsoka called quietly as she finally rose from her seat. Both Shin and Huyang blinked up at her.

“Lady Tano, it will be mid-day when we reach Alderaan,” Huyang warned, turning his head to watch as Ahsoka started to undo the buckles securing Shin in place.

“And that’s a long way away, right now,” Shin scorched off the seat as soon as she was free, rubbing at their eyes with the heel of her hand and leaning into the hand that Ahsoka set on her shoulder. “Come on,”

The crew quarters were small; Ahsoka had never had any reason to need more than one bunk, her training area, and Huyang’s area. “It’s not much,” She started, suddenly sheepish as Shin looked around the room. “But it’s home,”

Shin’s lips seemed to twitch at this as Ahsoka leaned against the doorframe of the almost broom closet-esque space. “I have to go make a call, but Huyang and I will be right outside, okay?”

Her hand ruffled through choppy, uneven hair as Shin nodded, smiling warmly at the way they leaned into her touch. Fingers brushing against their forehead, Ahsoka took pause at the warmth. Though… it had been some time since she’d touched a human not out of the need for survival, she couldn’t remember how warm they were supposed to run. “Get comfy, I’ll pop back in and check on you soon?”

Ahsoka only left once she saw Shin shuffle towards the small bunk, the door sliding shut behind her as she stepped into the main cabin of the shuttle, rising the table from the floor and getting her comms set up to talk to Bail.

It didn’t take long for the holo projection of Bail to spring to life in the middle of the room, though a laugh was barely concealed by the Rebel at the sight of him. Hanging off his arm was his and Breha’s daughter, Leia, giggling as she clung to her father’s arm with a little droid hovering by his shoulder, chirping the young princess on. “Good morning Bail, and Leia,” she greeted, folding her hands nearly behind her back as she regarded father and daughter.

“Yes yes, hello Ahsoka!” The smile on his face was tired, though his eyes crinkled in the corners with only the love a father could have for their child as he swung the girl into both of his arms and getting a pout from her. “Say hello, Leia,”

Pouting at being pulled from her human pull-up bar, Leia was quick to perk up again upon seeing Ahsoka. “Aunt ‘soka! Are you coming to visit?!” She squirmed in Bail’s hold until he let her down, crowding the holo-projector with a view of her face close up.

Laughing freely now, Ahsoka nodded; there was always a relief when it came to communicating with Bail and his family, a small moment of herself long forgotten that was allowed to resurface; too much like spending time with Anakin and Padmé. “I am, in fact. And I’m bringing a friend, that I need to talk to your father about, think you can do me a top secret favor?” Leia was still in the dark about the rebellion, for her safety, but she’d never know Ahsoka as a Jedi, or even as someone who knew her birth parents, and that was for the better, to keep her away from the force and do what she could to crowd the child’s latent abilities.

“I need you to find this part for me, there’s this droid I’m workin’ on-“

“I’m on it! Is it the one you were working on last time?”

“It was, thank you for remembering,”

Leia shot off without another word, letting Bail back into view as he shook his head. “The energy that girl has in her,”

“So much like her father,”

Bail’s smile faltered. “Ana-“

“No, Bail, like you.”

The senator took pause as a small smile pulled at his lips, head craning to look at the door Leia had previously retreated through. “What can I help you with, Fulcrum?”

“I found a kid,” The Alderaniaan’s eyebrow rose sharply, though before he could question, Ahsoka raised her hand to continue. “On Ibaar, she… didn’t have anyone,” The Rebel’s arms crossed over her chest, facial markings twisting as she looked away for a brief moment to recome herself.

“And she’s like you,”

“Yeah, is Kaeden still on Alderaan?”

“Yes, I’ll postpone her deployment, I suppose you’ll need her to check her out?”

“Yeah, she’s young, underweight, and I’m certain she’s been living off of trash for too long to be well, much less get any of the vaccines that would help her in space,”

As if on cue, a soft, wheezing cough rang through her montrals, turning Ahsoka’s head in worry. “We’ll be there by mid-day, could you see if she would be ready?”

“It will be done,”

“Thank you, Senator Organa,”

Instead of correcting her once more, Bail simply shook his head and smiled before the blue hologram flickered away.

Spinning on her heel, Ahsoka turned back to the small bunk room, eyes scanning the bunk… that was still neatly made. Panicked, her eyes flitted about the room, to the top bunk she’d used as storage, and finally, to the floor.

“Shin?” She called quietly, watching as the young human shrunk down under their cloak. “Tazi unt?” She called again, watching her press their feverish forehead into the cool steel of the bunk’s base, searching for relief from the heat while curling closer to find liberation from the cold. “Did you fall off the bed?”

When no response came, the Togruta turned to the expert. “Huyang!” Ahsoka hissed through the open doorway, frowning at the quiet sound of discomfort from her small human at the sound. “Humans shouldn’t run this warm, right?” She questioned, making room for the droid to join her.

“Not typically, no. You will need to help her cool off,” Mechanics clinked and whirred as his head moved to study the shivering child. “She will not like it.” He warned with a shudder, no doubt reminiscent of his own rare occasions when a sick initiate would undoubtedly find him before their Master.

Frowning, Ahsoka reached over to gather Shin up in her arms, which did well for waking her up, at least, “Good morning, suun ghe.” She greeted, taking mind to keep her voice low as their head drooped into her shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Cold,” They rasped out, tucking closer to safety Ahsoka walked them to the ‘fresher, perching the small human on the edge of the sink as she moved for the drawer with a cool pack in it, as well as some face wipes to clear off the rapidly drying sweat on their brow.

Huyang followed the two force-sensitive sentients, helping Ahsoka go through the different items in the med-kit as she returned to her youngling. “This is going to be cold, I’m sorry,” The cold pack was activated and chilled in quick order, wrapping a small hand towel around it, Ahsoka pressed it into their head and frowned as they tried to pull away.

There was a time, once, when she remembered the clones doing the same for her; She’d been older than Shin, then, had known how to use the force to burn off her sickness, and yet, when Fives and Jesse had found her overheating, the five-oh-first hadn’t missed a beat in helping her out, even if Togrutan Biology was something none of them could understand.

She remembered a call for Kix, that led to a call with Coric, which included Master Obi-Wan, and while she hadn’t been conscious enough to remember what was said, she recalled enough of how they helped her center enough until she could burn it off. “Huyang, could you start a pot of water to boil for tea? One of the golden packets, and could you grab one of the ice pops from Coruscant too, please?”

Turning from his task in finding a human-safe relief aid, Huyang stared up at her, then back at the fevering child leaning back against the mirror to avoid the cold. “Of course, Lady Tano,” Which… honestly, was the easiest the old droid had ever taken instruction from her, when it wasn’t something to do with the old Jedi Order. “Ad’ika-”

“What do those mean?” Their attention was focused more on the strange names she’d been addressed as, over the sickness burning in her system and the torture of the cold-pack on their head.

“How about this,” Ahsoka pulled the back away, relief clear as day when Shin leaned back in, even going so far as to reach out and brush her fingertips against Ahsoka’s bicep, almost asking her to stay, even as the woman held herself directly in front of the human as the droid clanked out of the room. “I’ll tell you what each one means if you let me help you get cleaned up and cooled down?” She held up the pack again and watched as their eyes flickered to it like it was an enemy. “I promise it won’t be too bad, I won’t hurt you, Shin, never.”

Tentatively, the child nodded their head, watching in trepidation as Ahsoka retrieved a face wipe from the small package and began wiping sweat away from clammy skin. The wipes were cool, but not nearly enough to keep their temperature down.

“Tazi unt, it’s Togruti, my people speak it on Shili and some of the other planets we’ve migrated to, but it’s generally safe to use as most humans have not bothered to learn it - it means little one.” Ahsoka explained to a half-attentive human, wondering herself if they would, like her, ever remember any of the words leaving her mouth, or if they would fade away to the back of her memory.

“Suun ghe means sunshine,” Their nose crinkled at that, and Ahsoka half chuckled as she ran the cool wipe over the bridge of their nose. “You have a problem with that, young one?”

“Never liked the sun, much,” They admitted with a boneless shrug, finally leaning into the relief that the cool cloth offered as their temperature changed.

“Mm. Perhaps Daaark grut.” They perked at the words, even if they couldn’t understand them. “It means moon hunter… it feels… fitting,”

“Mhmm,” Came a tired agreement as Ahsoka finished wiping off her face and neck.

“Come on, do you want me to carry you again?”

Shin paused, now that they were partially through the brain fog and being given a choice… she wasn’t sure what to pick. No one had ever carried her before, much less touched her like Ahsoka had, or as often… The nod of their head was eager, one that Ahsoka hadn’t missed as she stepped in to gather Shin up in her arms, letting their legs wrap around her waist as their head pillowed against her lek. “Hold onto that ice pack for me, please?” One bony hand clutched the pack to their chest while the other hesitantly reached out to touch Ahsoka’s other lek; they were soft and leathery, not entirely unpleasant.

Waiting for them in the main cabin, Huyang was sitting with a holonovel open in front of him, a book specifically on human sicknesses. In a cup at his side, a bright purple ice-pop sat, faintly glowing in its container as the time worked its magic in softening the treat.

Shin was set carefully on the edge of the bench, where they proceeded to scoot in until their shoulder was jumping against the cool metal of Huyang’s arm. “Have you ever had one of these before?” Ahsoka questioned, nudging the cup closer to the child who shook their head. “It’s gonna be really cold, and really sweet, but it’ll help your fever go down some. Just grab it by that stick and lick it,”

“Some also bite it,” Huyang interjected, only half listening as his eyes scanned his old records.

“Huyang, we are not raising a monster.” The smile on her face said she didn’t truly care how Shin ate the cold treat, so the child decided to try both.

The first lick was freezing, and the ice-pop was dropped back into the cup as their hand covered their mouth. “That’s cold!” They shouted, voice hoarse as she backed away from the table, almost hiding behind Huyang’s arm from the offending treat.

Stifling her laughter behind her hand, Ahsoka shook her head. “Give it a moment,” She promised, watching as the human started to recognize the taste of sugary sweetness, something that called to all kids, even if they’d been so deeply deprived of it for so long.

It took a minute before they slowly poked back from the droid’s arm, eyeing Ahsoka warily as they picked it back up. A gentle finger was brought to their forehead, testing the heat that still simmered under pale skin. She wasn’t as hot as when Ahsoka woke her up before, but she definitely still needed more than they could offer. “Sorry,” She apologized quietly for interrupting, watching warmly as the child licked and ate the ice-pop experimentally.

“We will need to pick up supplies from Senator Organa for a human. We’ve managed to store safe medicines for Rodians, Nautolans, Brylls, Gungans, Umbarans, Twi’leks, and Togrutas, yet we have nothing safe for humans, especially ones as small as the youngling.” Huyang informed as he went down his list.

“Can you add it to the list of supplies for our redeployment?” Ahsoka was standing, stepping back to the bathroom to grab the face wipes again as Huyang listed off all of the items on the list, taking care to list off new items for their addition.

When she came back, Shin was a mess of sticky purple sugar and sweetness. “Look here,” She called, taking a wipe to clean off the stickiness before it could get too bad. “Feeling any better?”

“Mhmm, thank you.” They were drooping again, slowly dozing as Ahsoka helped clean them up again, small frame leaning into the sturdy metal of Huyang as he continued reading as if a feverish human wasn’t using him as a pillar of support.

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed, for real this time,” This time, Shin scooted readily to the edge of the bench, reaching out before Ahsoka was even turned around to pick them back up. “Did you fall off the bunk earlier?” She questioned as she gathered them back up, finding a comfortable spot on her hip for the small human

“I’ve never..” They trailed off as the hydraulics on the door hissed open, staring warily at the enclosed space on the bunk. Every now and then, the straw from the very few farmers on Ibaar was thrown out, and she’d been able to stuff enough in her poncho on the way past the refuse bins on her way back to what counted as home in the maintenance tunnels; it was the softest thing she’d ever been able to sleep on.

“Well, the bunk is a lot more comfortable than the floor,” Ahsoka sat on the edge of the cot, keeping Shin in her lap as she leaned to dig under the pillows. The little tooka toy was hand-stitched, a long project led by Rex and Cody when she’d first become Anakin’s Padawan, and the utmost horror from her men when they’d learned Jedi didn’t really have possessions. “This is scratcher. My Ori’vode - big brothers, gave him to me when I was just a little older than you are now. He helped me through some really tough times during the war, kept me safe when it felt like there was no one else who could.” The fabric was still soft as when it had been made, though the child took pause.

With the touch of fabric came the sound of ghosts in the back of her mind, barking laughter calling for ‘snips’, warm hugs against cold plastoid, hundreds of identical faces that they knew were different, and the weight of the paid beneath it all.

When their vision cleared, Ahsoka was looking at them in wonder. “We’ll work on it, when you’re feeling better.” She promised, already seeing the questions forming on the tip of their tongue. “For now, you need some rest before we land.”

Getting Shin to lay back on the bunk with her was more difficult than it should have been, as they tried to adjust to the thin strip of padding beneath them. Ahsoka let them stay closer to the door, knowing Huyang would be up if something happened that she miraculously could not hear, not wanting to crowd them, but not wanting to be too far away, since their hand still had yet to leave her lekku.

Eventually, the shuffling stilled, too tired to continue fighting for comfort, the small child managed a position they could sleep in, dangerously close to the edge of the bed, with Scratcher tucked awkwardly into their stomach as sickness goaded them back to sleep at last.

When Ahsoka woke, it wasn’t to the ship rumbling in an attack, Imperial forces boarding, or even her comms going off, it was to lazy alarm bells, muffled by the grogginess of sleep and the safety in the force. There was a warm body curled up against her chest, small fingers wrapped loosely around her lek, breathing slow and heavy against her neck.

Predatory instincts began to awaken as consciousness ebbed to the forefront of her mind, eyes blinking open quickly and narrowing at the small form pressed into her. Carefully, Ahsoka’s arms shifted from where they were stuffed under the pillows, one arm wrapping carefully around Shin as her other arm moved to gently pry their hand from her lek, soreness accompanying the sensitive organ.

The small human groaned thickly at the movement as Ahsoka attempted to extricate herself from them. By the time Ahsoka managed to clear herself entirely, the mattress was going cold, leaving Shin attempting to curl into the arm still wrapped around her for warmth.

The hydraulics on the door hissed open quietly, filling the dim room with light and the sounds of Huyang clattering at a counter. “ ‘soka?” Their voice was deep and groggy, congestion clogging their chest and throat in a way that had them sniffling painfully. “Not feeling much better, tazi unt?” She tried to keep her voice comfortably low as the girl shook her head. “Alright, come on, let's head to the ‘fresher and get cleaned up, yeah? Should make it to Alderaan soon,”

Cleaning up a sick kid was not as easy as the cheesy holomovies made it seem when Shin kept running from anything their small, overheating body deemed too cold, which was… everything, unfortunately. Really, she had no clue how the old créche masters would deal with entire groups of younglings who could act in such a manner.

At least the accidental exercise chasing them around the ‘fresher was enough to tucker the kid out by the time Huyang pulled the T-6 into the shipyard. Anxiety buzzed in the air from the child who had never set foot on another planet. When Ahsoka offered a hand as the ramp descended, clammy hands were quick to secure around her own, and their small frame tucked easily into her side, using the many folds of her poncho to gain coverage from the bright late morning sunlight that flooded in.

Waiting for them on the platform stood Bail, Breha, and C3PO. “Where’s trouble?” Ahsoka questioned as she guided Shin from the ship, Huyang following just a beat behind them.

“You know Leia,” Bail shook his head as Jedi and Apprentice came to the bottom of the ramp. “So this is your new addition,” The corners of his eyes crinkled warmly as he caught the scruffy brunette peering over his shoulder. “Ahsoka says you weren’t feeling well,” He was slow in lowering himself to one knee, closer to Shin’s level, as Breha’s hand moved to rest on his shoulder. “I’m Bail, this is my wife, Breha… We can help you,”

When his hand extended towards them, Shin ducked closer into Ahsoka. Instead of reacting in offense, he allowed his hand to drop. “Ahsoka has a friend inside who can help more than we can, but she’s been ignoring her comms,” His eyes flickered to the Togruta, whose boot scuffed the alloyed metal of the landing pad sheepishly. “Think she may need your help to go see her,”

Peeking out at Bail, then up at Ahsoka’s diffident expression, Shin nodded her head quickly. “Who is she?”

Behind her, Ahsoka could hear Threepio and Huayng talking ‘shop’, which… would have been preferable to coming face to face with Kaeden for the first time since Raada. “She’s a doctor, a good one at that,” He promised, rising back to his feet with a quiet grunt.

Taking Ahsoka’s hand once more, Shin tentatively took the first step. “Hold on tight, she’s a runner,” Breha commented with a sly smirk, earning an exasperated sound from Fulcrum.

“One time,” The Togruta grumbled, allowing Shin to lead her by the hand into the buildings that touched the sky.

The floors were not crowded in layers of dirt and grime, the lights were clear, and everyone they passed was kind to their group, even when Ahsoka pulled her hood low over her head, concealing her face from the several different security patrols they’d slipped past.

“Hey! There’s my favorite-” The stranger's voice was warm and chirpy, though they trailed off kind of awkwardly before they could slip up and say something that would get them killed. “Transport captain!” “Smooth, Kaeden,” Ahsoka had brightened under their gaze, even if there was a feeling of nervous energy stirring in the air the closer their group came to the room she was peeking out of. Intimidation kept Shin back, pressed nervously into Ahsoka’s side, using the familiar fabric of her poncho to hide from stunning eyes as the woman scanned their group. “Shin,” Ahsoka called not unkindly as she tried to peel her personal attachment away; with all the eyes on her, the human only pressed herself closer into the one pillar of safety she’d ever had in this world, even as Ahsoka continued to actively make her part. “One moment-” It was a bit awkward, and mildly cramped, as Ahsoka dropped to a knee and pulled the poncho around both of their heads, montrals sticking comically from the top of the fabric. “Hey, are you okay?” The hand that wasn’t being used to keep the poncho up reached out, allowing two tiny hands to wrap around hers, feeling rough fingers smoothing across her knuckles, and the rapid beating of their heart that seemed loud enough to shake their tiny fort.

“ *’scared,”* They admitted woefully, tips of their fingers pressing into the indents in Ahsoka’s hands.

“I bet,” Ahsoka shifted to take some of the pressure from the hard floor off her knees. “But that woman out there, Kaeden? If there’s one person in the medical field I trust, it’s her;” Sure, Kaeden was still very new in her practice, and no where near on Coric or Kix’s levels, but she was a friend. And those were about as rare as a Jedi, these days.

“And I’ll be here every step of the way, we’ll do it scared, together,” Shin ducked into her chest, appreciative of the support, and the strength that Ahsoka was giving them in such a wildly drastic environment to what they knew. “They’re waiting for us-” Someone out side of their fort coughed at that, allowing Ahsoka to exaggeratedly roll her eyes. “Shouldn’t keep them waiting-” Shin’s shoulders squared and chin raised, meeting the group of new faces head on- Ahsoka’s heart warmed at the display of strength; When Kaeden had stepped aside to allow Master and Apprentice into the room, it was Shin who’d taken Ahsoka’s hand and led her in. “Kriff, you’d think this was *my* appointment,” “Not off the table, Tano. You’re not looking so hot either-” Kaeden teased, bidding farewell to the senator as the door slid shut behind them. “Ouch, alright-” Ahsoka helped get Shin up onto the table as Kaeden moved around her. “Jedi, huh; You been taking care of her?” The woman questioned Shin playfully, only receiving a shy twitch of their lips and the bowing of her head. “Well, on behalf of everyone who cares about her, thank you. Someone needed to.” Ahsoka groaned dramatically as she slid into a seat beside the bench.

“Larte, isn’t Bail paying you?”

“Just catching up, Tano; Jeesh!”

A small wooden stick was tossed halfheartedly at Kaeden’s leg in response, warm laughter erupting that helped ease the tension that had been steadily rising in the room.

The appointment went about as well as Ahsoka had expected, Shin had a low-grade case of Mynock fever, was underweight, and was underdeveloped compared to others her age. Kaeden had given them everything they needed to combat this; Shin received the vaccinations they would need to continue traveling through space, taking each shot like a trooper, even if their nails did leave crescent-shaped indents in the tops of Ahsoka’s hands from squeezing so hard.

Kaeden had even been kind enough to give Ahsoka instructions on how to take care of human hair, Shin had seemed to be learning just as much as Ahsoka was, but hey, it got her kid cleaned up properly. They also discussed the varying diets they’d need to work on and even some idea on where to start in teaching Shin more than the ways of the Jedi. “And hey, don’t forget; you ever get over your Jedi hangups-”

Ahsoka laughed as she led Shin from the room. “I know, you’ll be my first call, promise,” Or… one of them, but definitely up there.

“Are you feeling better?” The woman asked as Shin quietly tucked back into her side, reaching down to cover the small hand that was rubbing against the multicolored bandaids taped onto their bicep.

“She was nice,” Shin remarked instead. As they walked, Ahsoka was able to observe the way they started to slowly acclimate, until she was walking almost a foot away from Ahsoka, knuckles dragging listlessly against walls and railing, one hand still wrapped loosely in Ahsoka’s own. “And she smelled nice… And she was really pretty. Does she love you? Do you love her?”

Blanching, Ahsoka forced her eyes straight ahead, cheeks darkening considerably under curious eyes. “She’s dear to me, yes,”

“You love her.”

There was a conviction in Shin’s voice that made even Ahsoka come to terms with it. Reaching across the small gap with her hand not held in their own, the Togruta ruffled her hand through freshly cleaned hair. “Your hair is a mess, you know?”

“Your hair doesn’t exist,” It seemed being properly cleaned, fed, and given medicine had somehow given the kid some snark, which took an unfortunate amount of control to not laugh at.

“Yeah yeah,” Pulling Shin from the railing, a gentle tug sent the small human back into her arms. There wasn’t much light left in the galaxy, but kriff, if the kid beaming up at her was an indication at something better, she’d fight for it tooth and nail. “Hey, I think Bail mentioned Leia having some extra clothes that’ll fit, and she’s got a pretty cool droid too, wanna go check it out?” “Who’s Leia? You mentioned her earlier,” Shin swung their connected hands as they walked, peering through big glass windows every chance she got to take in the dazzling visage of the city beyond.

“She’s Bail and Breha’s daughter, careful, I hear she’s a bit of a troublemaker-” She was interrupted by the chirping of a droid as they passed a window.

“Lola!” A small voice shouted, and a girl came running from an adjoining hall to shove her hands out of the window to the droid to perch in. “Father doesn’t like it when you spy on people,” She scolded sheepishly, though she gave herself away with the smile she beamed up at Ahsoka.

“He doesn’t, it makes him very upset you know,” Ahsoka chided, pulling the young girl into a side hug. Leia was older than Shin by a few years, almost towering over the scrawny kid at her side as she looked to the newcomer expectantly. “Who’re you?”

Nervous eyes skittered between Ahsoka and Leia; The Togruta had to give Shin a gentle nudge to get them to introduce herself. “Shin,” They were timid; Ahsoka wasn’t sure if they’d ever had a name to introduce themselves to anyone before, or if there had been other kids on Ibaar, before her arrival.

Leia seemed to understand, at least, looking the lanky girl up and down before turning to Ahsoka. “Mother said she may fit in some of my old stuff, can I take them with us?” Lola chirped from her shoulder, metal feet tapping excitedtly against the Princess’s shoulder as they eagerly waited.

“Does that sound okay to you, Shin?”

“... You’ll come back?” They weren’t looking at her or Leia. Alderaan was pretty, sure; but she didn’t know it like she did the streets of Ibaar, and she didn’t feel the same connection with the people they’d met here like they had with Ahsoka and Huyang.

“Hey,” Ahsoka was crouching to her level again, finger gently tapping against their chin to get their attention. “I will always come back,” It was a promise she should have made to Anakin, to fill the painful silence when she’d walked away… She wouldn’t make that mistake ever again.

Shin had still seemed uncertain about the truth to these words; They’d been burned before, and the pretty medic had listed lot of work that they would need to put into her to catch her up… If Ahsoka decided they weren’t worth it;

It was Leia who’d pulled them from the spiral as Ahsoka blanched; How someone so small could dig into the vastness of the darkside so fast, so easy in a half second spiral, it had left her reeling. “Ahsoka always comes back, no matter what,” The older girl promised, squeezing the brunette’s shoulder before moving her head in the direction of an adjoining hall as Ahsoka regained her bearings. “Come on, if she tries to go anywhere without you, Lola will zap her!”

The girls disappeared before Ahsoka had even gotten to her feet. “Do you know binary?” “No?” “...Do you want to?”

The clothes Leia had passed off to her were itchy, silky, flowing sleeves that made her skin crawl and dangling pieces that clanked, reverberating through her ears in a way that put her on edge. “Mother doesn’t like when I do this, much;” Leia started explaining as Shin’s nose scrunched up at their reflection. “Stand still-”

Fabric ripped under small hands, until Shin’s arms were free of the unpleasant texture. With the sleeves gone, Leia began adjusting the grey fabric so it sat better on them. “I’ve been trying to learn sewing from the handmaidens, and I think I know exactly what’s going to make this better, but we gotta be quiet, got it?”

Leia looked at them with an intensity burning in her eyes that had Shin nodding her understanding before the words had even registered. “Okay,” They agreed, allowing the older girl to take her hand and drag her from the large ‘bedroom’ that had alone been bigger than even Drell’s cantina on Ibaar.

Leia led her through a small series of hallways attached to the room, muttering about handmaiden’s passages and how there were some she swears hadn’t been touched since the Clone Wars, whatever that was. “Shh!” Leia was pushing Shin back uncomfortably into another hall as two sets of feet approached, coming from a nearby door.

“We’re going to have to build the network more,” She could hear Ahsoka’s voice pour from the open door that Bail’s handmaidens had departed from. “I can’t… I won’t take her into this fight like this, you of all people should understand,”

“Fulcrum,” Bail’s voice was calm, but even Shin could pick up on the desperation in his voice. “If you’re insistent on taking the child with you, you’ll have to tell her eventually; Makers forbid something happen-”

There was a quiet groan from the material of the chair Ahsoka had been sitting in as she presumably dropping back. Shin could feel the heavy sigh in her bones. “I’ll keep her ready, but I am not deploying her into an active warzone, she isn’t even eight standard years, she’s too young for this life. Way too young.”

“Weren’t you?”

“That’s different. I didn’t have a choice, but now, I do,”

“That should be her call to make,”

Leia was tugging on Shin’s shoulder as they pressed closer to the cracked opening of their hiding place. What were they arguing about? Was it her? What fight? Fight the Empire? That couldn’t be done… Fight for the Empire? She’d heard of them taking kids… But Ahsoka was fighting to keep her promise, even with one of her friends? “We should go, Father gets upset when I eavesdrop,”

Moving quietly from their step off the path, Shin followed Leia in deep thought, new boots scuffing pristine carpets and linoleum as they moved through different rooms. “This is where the Tailor keeps all the cool stuff,” Leia spoke up once they crossed into a rather empty workshop. “We really make this yours now.” The devious smile on the girl’s face only lightened Shin’s spirits as she peered across the thousands of different materials all over the room. “Let’s get started.”

When the super-secret meeting was finished, Shin and Leia had met Bail and Ahsoka at the border of the woods. Lola was weaving through the trees, flashing multicolored lights as the girls chased her, trying to catch the droid, calling out different colors each time their fingers brushed a leg or a chipped white underbelly. “Lola! Slow down!” Shin called as she vaulted over a log, pumping their arms as the older girl used longer legs to cover the distance she’d lost.

“Don’t do it! It’s a trap!” Leia shouted, laughter bubbling past her lips as she reached to tug on the navy fabric on Shin’s shoulder, forcing the younger girl to fall behind. Shin laughed as she recovered, allowing the droid to circle them back to the mouth of the forest.

“Father!” Leia called as their running feet slowed. Bail and Ahsoka stood at the mouth of the trail, Ahsoka’s warm smile peeking from under her hood as Bail dropped to one knee, allowing his daughter to pounce into his arms.

“Did you two have fun?” He questioned, reaching to pluck stray leaves and wild twigs from the girl’s braids.

“So much! You guys are gonna come back soon, right?”

Ahsoka spared a glance at Shin, catching the almost hopeful look on their face as the girl plucked at the smooth fabric hanging past a leather belt cinched around their middle. “I think we’ll definitely have to set a date, absolutely,”

“Yes!” Both girls shouted at once, laughter filling the small wooded area once more as Leia jumped from Bail’s arms to wrap around Shin.

The younger girl had faltered at the contact, though she’d sunk into it after a moment with encouragement from Lola, who’d promptly perched herself on Leia’s head. “I can’t wait!” Leia exclaimed when she’d pulled back, allowing Lola to hop over to her head with her own laugh. When they reboarded the ship, Huyang had seemed much more relaxed, mentioning something about an oil bath and Alderaanian mechanics. The handmaidens had already loaded the small container of clothes that Shin and Leia had performed their secret alterations to, leaving it sitting in a neat stack. In a smaller, messier box, she could see a wild array of pieces and a handwritten note from Leia, scrawled on a small piece of flimsi in the messiest writing she had no hope of reading.

A large hand ruffled through the choppy mess of brown hair. “Well, Shin… This is where the fun begins,”

#Shin Tano AU #Ahsoka Tano #star wars #shin hati #Bail Organa #Leia Organa #L0-LA59 #Kaeden Larte #Breha Organa #Huyang #fanfiction #alternate universe

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