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navybrat817 · 10 months

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The Pull of Gravity

Pairing: Shifter!Bucky Barnes x Shifter!Female Reader Summary: Bucky has a chat with Steve about his new friend. Word Count: Over 2.3k Warnings: Shifters, flirting, tension, teasing, slight possessive behavior, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). A/N: More Wolfie and Little Red! ❤️ Beta read by @whisperlullaby (thank you!), but any and all mistakes are my own. Dividers by the amazing @firefly-graphics .❤️Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

One of the most important rules of the eastern territory was that nothing and no one was allowed to disrupt the sanctuary of the land. It was a place for Bucky and the other shifters in the pack to shut out the rest of the world and be themselves without judgment or fear. They deserved a home with peace and security.

Watching you in the garden, he wondered if you were going to shake things up.

What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t know you. Other than that you're a little badass fox who can help in getting rid of a body. And spirited and beautiful and-

"Talk," Steve said.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at his best friend's authoritative tone. Growing up, Steve's growl was worse than his bite. That was only because he was so small. A late bloomer, his wolf form was one of the largest and strongest he had ever seen. And he was an affectionate punk.

"I'm not a dog. I don't speak on command."

Steve sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "Would you mind explaining why there's a fox playing in our flowers? I'm sure there's a good reason and I'd love to hear it," he said, not as entranced with you as he was.

Good. One of us needs to be logical.

It took a moment for Bucky to respond since he was too busy watching you roll around, bringing a small smile to his face as your red fur blurred through the petals. “A hunter was tracking her near the border of our land and she handled it before I stepped in,” he said.

"The body?"

"Buried and we covered our tracks," he told him. Even if someone managed to find the man, no one would be able to trace it back to them. It wasn't the first time they had to put someone in the ground.

“She was alone?” Steve asked curiously. Bucky nodded in confirmation. “What was she doing there?”

“The hunter was killing smaller animals in the western territory, so she lured him here. She figured a larger creature could handle him if she couldn’t,” he explained, his gaze soft as he watched your tail flick.

"Smart strategy, if not dangerous. What if you hadn't stumbled upon her? She could’ve been hurt," he said.

Bucky had a hard time not smiling as you sat up to stare at his friend. "I think she can handle herself," he admitted, as much as he didn't want to. He liked to think you needed him in some capacity.

"Did she follow you here?"

“No,” he answered, clearing his throat a little as he crossed his arms. “I may have asked her to come here.”

Steve gave his friend a thoughtful look. He was a man who thrived on doing the right thing, but he also didn’t want to compromise the safety of the place they made their home. "Why did you do that?"

Bucky glanced at you before he looked away. “I offered to get her safely back to the border after we buried the body, but…” he trailed off as he thought back to the conversation he had with you.

"Well, that's that," you said, brushing the dirt off your hands. You weren't afraid to get your hands dirty as the two of you buried the man, along with his bow and arrows. "Finished up quicker than I thought."

"Not eager to leave, are you?" he asked casually, wiping his head with the back of his hand. He wasn't ready to take you back.

"As much fun as it is to put hunters in the dirt,” you winked, stretching your arms above your head with a hum. He wasn’t sure how he managed to concentrate without staring at your chest. “I figured you'd want to lead me back so I can be on my way and you can go home quicker."

"The shifters I live with are used to me being out late," he said, stretching a bit himself. "I'm sure they'd like to meet you."

"I doubt that," you said, looking behind you. "Ready?"

Bucky's brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't they want to meet you?" he asked.

"Because I'm a stranger who killed a hunter in your land," you said, your expression blank. "Can we just go?"

"Okay," he said, ignoring the sinking feeling of you brushing him off. He understood that some foxes by nature preferred to be on their own, but he thought it would be nice for you to meet others like yourself. "So, what is your way once you get past the border?"

“Why? You planning on paying me a visit?” you smiled. "Take a roll on the dirt with me?"

In more ways than one.

"I'd offer a roll right now if we didn't need to get going," he smirked. As much as he didn't want to, he could see you itching to leave. “You said you came from the west, but is that where you’re living?” he questioned, curious to know even though you had no reason to give him an answer.

“It’s where I’ve been staying, but I'll likely move on soon.”

Bucky’s stomach dropped, hoping you wouldn't go too far away. “When are you going to leave?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” you snapped, putting your hands on your hips. You didn’t back away or appear guarded, but the slight defense in your voice gave away that you didn’t want him prying. “Why do you want to know so badly?”

Bucky shrugged a shoulder, but it felt anything but casual. “You said you were used to going it alone, but maybe I want to make sure you’re safe. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yeah, it is. Because it's always ulterior motives or people looking out for themselves,” you said, kicking a bit of dirt toward the grave with a flash of fury in your eyes. He wondered what happened to give you that mindset, but knew it wasn’t the time to ask. “I’ve been on my own for years and I’ve been just fine, thank you."

"The thing is, you don't have to be," he said, taking a slow step forward as surprise filled your beautiful eyes. He had a feeling that if he moved too quickly or invaded your space, you’d run. And it wouldn’t be the fun kind of chase. "I don't know your story and you don't owe it to me, but I do want to help if you need it."

"I didn't mean to snap at you, okay?" you said, your tone softer as your arms dropped to your side. He kept still when you moved close enough for him to feel the warmth radiating from your body. "I can sense that you aren't a bad guy and I appreciate that you want to help, but I’m not your responsibility, Wolfie.”

“I know you’re not,” he said, his hands itching with the need to touch you. “But maybe I’m not ready for you to go yet, Little Red.”

"Why is that?" you whispered, placing your hand on his cheek as his heart raced, your scent invading his senses once again.

Bucky couldn't say he felt a pull toward you. It would sound crazy. He had to word it carefully. "I just want to get to know you a bit more and, maybe, there's a part of you that wants to get to know me, too."

Your soft expression shifted to something a bit more sultry. "Not ready to let me go and you haven't even had sex with me," you teased.

Bucky didn't kiss you, but he did lean in close enough to feel your breath mingle with his. "If we have sex, you won't want to let me go."

Cocky, but true.

"I knew I liked you, Wolfie," you smiled, your playful demeanor back in full swing. "And maybe I wouldn't mind seeing your place, if you're really offering. It doesn't mean I'm staying though."

Maybe I can convince you to stick around.

"Let's go then."

"But what?" Steve asked.

"I just thought it would be better if she stayed here for the night instead of letting her go off by herself," Bucky replied, not wanting to say more on the subject as you continued to stare at them.

"But she doesn't want to meet the others?"

"Maybe after she gets some rest," Bucky said, though you weren't acting tired at all. "I'm trying not to overwhelm her."

“Does she realize we’re talking about her?”

Bucky smiled when you barked, loudly. "Yeah, she knows."

The blonde held up his hands when you barked again. “I mean no harm. I’m just trying to get some answers.”

You stretched before you trotted over to Steve’s feet and looked up at him, not blinking as you assessed him. Bucky wondered what was going through his friend's head. The guy was massively built, like him, but you stared him down like his size didn't matter.

"I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you," he said, reaching a hand out to pet you before he decided against it.

Smart move.

Seemingly satisfied with what you saw after a moment, you went to Bucky and carefully climbed up his leg and side. Steve’s eyebrows shot up, not bothering to hide his surprise as you gracefully curled in the brunette’s arms. It had to be quite the sight.

"Are you not going to shift?" Bucky asked.

You yawned and closed your eyes like you didn't hear him.

Why aren’t you showing Steve your human side? Are you nervous to meet everyone? Or are you just being careful?

“I’m not just going to stand here and hold you while we talk, Little Red,” he said, a slight growl in his voice. Instead of jumping out of his arms or cowering, you huffed and lightly nipped his forearm. It didn’t hurt. If anything, he liked it. “Fine. I’ll hold you.”

Steve covered up his laugh with a small cough when you nuzzled against Bucky with a satisfied hum. “Little Red, huh?”

“It’s what she said to call her. Well, what I can call her,” Bucky said, stating your real name.

"She seems to like you," Steve mused.

You gently barked, a happy sound, and moved your head to his chest.

"I like her, too," he said, running a hand along your fur as he glanced down at you, your eyes crinkling as you stared back.

Fucking adorable and probably two seconds away from biting my chin.

"And she's just staying for the night?"

Bucky didn't give him an answer as you tilted your head. He didn't want to say "yes" and make you think you weren't welcome. He also didn't want to say "no" and pressure you to stay.

As if you sensed Bucky's dilemma, you sprang free from his hold and landed gracefully on your paws. He stepped back to give you room when your bones began to shift, your red fur gone within moments as your naked human form appeared. Steve averted his eyes as you stood, the gentleman shifter he was since he didn't know you. He was thankful he didn't have to growl at his best friend to look away.

Even though I have no claim over you.

"Nice to meet you, too, Steve. I like this place," you said, giving Bucky an amused glance when Steve continued to look off in the distance. "Will he not look at me? I'm sure it's nothing he hasn't seen before."

"Just being polite," he said.

"I'm not after you bit me," Bucky said, wondering how much lust was in his eyes when he saw your nipples harden in the breeze.

You rolled your eyes, ignoring his heated gaze. "Relax. It was a love bite and you enjoyed it."

Just a little.

"And, Steve, I'm curious. Will anyone get mad if Wolfie and I fuck in the flowers?" you asked, giggling when he chortled.

"Um. Natasha might ask that you put new seeds in if you make a mess of it."

Really, Steve?

Glancing below Bucky's waist, you smirked, a hint of arousal in the air. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be a mess. And I doubt he'll have any trouble filling a hole with seed," you said. Before Bucky could drag you over and pin you down, you turned and went back to the garden with a swish of your hips. "But maybe later. For now, I'm making you both flower crowns."

Fucking tease. You're going to drive me crazy.

"I'm not wearing a flower crown!" Bucky called after you.

"Yes, you are!" you called back.

Yes, I am.

"She's, um, bold," Steve commented, clearing his throat again as he finally turned his head. "And did she call you Wolfie?" he asked, not covering up his laughter this time when Bucky snarled.

"Tell Sam and I'll rearrange your face," he threatened.

"I'd like to see you try," Steve said as his laughter died down. "She can stay as long as she wants."

"Just like that?" Bucky asked. Was he sure? He knew it was a lot to have someone unfamiliar there.

"Just like that," he nodded. "You like her and I trust your judgment. And, like I said, she seems to like you, too. I have a feeling that doesn't come easy to her."

"Thanks," Bucky said. It meant a lot that he was willing to take a chance on you. "And I have that same feeling."

"I wonder why that is."

Bucky watched as you chose a few flowers, your eyes narrowed in concentration as you made a crown. "I don't know, but I hope she knows she's safe here."

His home was his kingdom. He had freedom and his friends who were practically family. But as you looked over at him with a smile, he didn't realize he was missing a queen to run along beside him.

Until now.

Oh, these two. Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

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cc1010fox · 2 months

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Cadet Commanders

Cody, pint-sized and worried: Fox! Fox, equally little and worried: Kot'ika! Wolffe, small, but not as worried: You're late. Cody: Am I? Fox, wrapping him up in a hug: Ori'vod said you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago. Cody, leaning into the hug and looking up at his Jedi: I wasn't flying the ship... Obi-Wan: Neither was I. Thire: Traffic on Coruscant delays all landings. We expect people within the hour, not at the exact minute they specify. Cody, puffing up his chest: So I wasn't late. Wolffe: I guess the golden boy is still perfect. Plo: Be nice to your brother, Wolffe. Fox, snorting: Jealous. Plo: I was just telling the Commander here that the boys would be safest at the Temple. Obi-Wan: I'm inclined to agree. Thire: With all due respect, I must insist they remain with the Coruscant Guard. I will release Cody and Wolffe to you, but you will not be taking Fox. Obi-Wan: ...Is there a reason you don't trust us to protect him, Commander Thire? Thire: It isn't about trust, General Kenobi. Fox has never been...comfortable around Jedi. Thorn: You creep him out. Fox, pretty confused to be honest: ...Jedi sound cool...? Thire: Until you actually see what they're capable of. Thorn, whispering to the two Jedi generals: He's actually afraid of Jedi... Obi-Wan: Oh... Plo: Hm...Still, we must examine the boys to determine what has caused this. Rex, approaching: Not without me present. Fox, wide-eyed: Whoooa! Wolffe, look! That ori'vod has jaig eyes! Wolffe: Whoooa! Cody: Be careful. He's kind of mean... Rex, sighing: He thinks I'm picking on him because I told him I am who I am. Thire: Why would you do that? Rex: It's called honesty, Thire. Thire: What if you mess up the timeline, di'kut!?

#Commander Fox #Commander Wolffe #Commander Cody #Captain Rex #Commander Thire #Commander Thorn #Plo Koon #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Vencuyanir ‖ Queue

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starry-crossing-zone · 2 months

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Oh, Captain - Rex (TCW)

Summary: The 501st is getting a new Co-General and Rex wants to be prepared. His brothers, however, dare him to flirt with a woman at 79s the night before. Length: 1370 words Warnings: Unnamed Female Character (Can be Read as OC or Reader); Rex's Horrible Flirting Skills; Fives is a Menace

79s was packed full of clones as usual, though the color scheme of the night was predominantly blue and yellow for the 501st and 212th. They had just finished a battle together in the Mid Rim and returned to Coruscant to resupply before they shipped out again. And in the case of the 501st, they were on Coruscant to pick up their new Jedi general.

It was the only reason why Rex went out that night in the first place.

He had to make sure that all of his men were presentable for their meeting with the new assistant general, who had been assigned to the battalion so that General Skywalker could be called away more often. General Skywalker assured Rex that the new assistant general wouldn’t be that much of a stick in the mud, but Rex didn’t want to take a risk.

“Oh, come on, Rex, you heard the General. The new general’s fun. Have a drink for kriff’s sake,” Fives urged, placing a drink in front of Rex.

“I’m all set, Fives,” Rex replied, pushing the drink away from him.

“Who is the new assistant general, anyways?” Echo asked curiously, leaning over. “The Commander didn’t have a name.”

“I bet they’re a brand new Jedi. Young like General Skywalker,” Jesse stated, earning some nods. “He mentioned that they trained together.”

“It’s not for us to speculate,” Rex replied, earning a sigh from some of his brothers. “We need to be prepared. I don’t want the new general’s first impression of us to be that we look sloppy.”

“Oh, relax, Rex,” Cody spoke up, causing the rest of the 501st to perk up. If anyone could talk some sense into Rex, it would be Cody. “You’re going to be fine. Have a drink. We were just in trenches on a dustball for fifteen rotations. Or maybe make a new friend.”

“Like her,” Fives interjected, smacking Rex on the shoulder.

The entire table turned to watch a humanoid woman take a seat at the bar. A woman alone in a clone bar? It would be about five seconds before she was swarmed. But there was something about her that intrigued Rex. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was just something about her that drew all of his attention without any work at all.

“I’ve never seen her here before,” Echo stated as the woman ordered a drink.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing her around,” Fives spoke up before glancing at Rex. “And looks like you wouldn’t either, Captain.”

“Not all of us think with what’s under our codpieces, Fives,” Rex grunted in return.

“I’m thinking that they are, though,” Jesse pointed out, gesturing to two clones who made their way over to the mysterious woman. “Hopefully her first experience with a clone isn’t one of Fox’s shinies. She’ll never come to a clone bar again.”

Rex glanced over at the woman again before getting up from his seat. Fives looked over at Echo with a shit-eating grin, to which Echo simply rolled his eyes. Rex walked around the bar, nodding to his brothers that he passed, but keeping his gaze on the mystery woman and the two clones that sat down next to her.

But before they got too far into a conversation, she seemed to say something with a seductive smile and his brothers got up and left her alone without a word of protest. Now, downright curious, Rex found his legs carrying him over to the woman. She turned her head and their eyes met for the first time. His heart seemed to stutter as he took the last few steps toward her.

“They weren’t bothering you, were they?” Rex asked, causing the woman to smile.

“No, not at all. I told them that I was just looking for a drink and nothing more. They seemed to do the rest of the math.” She took a sip of her drink, peering over the rim of her glass and practically into Rex’s soul. “Sorry if you were planning on playing hero, Commander.”

“It’s Captain, actually. Captain Rex,” Rex introduced himself, causing the woman’s eyes to widen a small fraction.

“My apologies, Captain Rex.”

And there was that arrhythmia again. Was this woman part-siren or something?

“You can just call me Rex,” he assured her, causing the woman to smile softly. “And what exactly should I call you, ma’am?”

“Anything but ‘ma’am’,” she quipped, taking another sip of her drink. “You’re making me feel a little too old, Captain.”

Kriff, he could get used to her calling him that.

They got to talking. Not so much specifics about themselves, but rather life around them. The GAR, galactic politics, the drink menu. Rex didn’t even realize that he literally didn’t know any basic facts about the woman until she got up to leave for the night.

“Do you come to this part of town often?” Rex asked, causing the woman to chuckle.

“Not usually, but I suppose I could make an exception . . . Captain.”

Rex watched her walk out the door before he was suddenly swarmed by brothers, rattling off question after question. Up until Cody, as the highest ranking officer of the bunch, took control of the situation and asked one simple question.

“What’s her name?”

Rex opened his mouth to reply, but instead winced, causing his brothers around him to groan.

“He’s hopeless,” Fives sighed, shaking his head.

“He was hopeless the second that he decided to follow your advice,” Echo pointed out.

*~*~*~*

Rex walked through the rows of his men, inspecting them one last time while the General and Commander brought aboard their new General. Co-General. Whatever. Either way, Rex wanted to impress them. And that meant that his men had to be in tip top shape. But when he heard the doors to the hangar open, Rex quickly took his place at the front.

Only to nearly drop his helmet when he recognized the woman walking with Anakin and Ahsoka. And when he heard Fives’s giggle, he could only swallow down a choice set of words.

“And here’s our captain, Rex,” Anakin introduced, causing their eyes to lock for the first time since the bar. “The best of the best.”

“I would expect no less,” she replied with an easygoing and mischievous smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Captain Rex.”

“You as well, General,” Rex practically choked out, trying to not sweat through his blacks.

“Rex, this the new co-general,” Ahsoka introduced, adding the general’s name. “She was Master Plo Koon’s padawan and served with the Wolffe Pack.”

“Why’d you leave it, General?” Rex directed towards the new general, who smiled at him.

“The Jedi Council needed someone to babysit General Skywalker and because I value public service above my own sanity—”

“—This whole spiel again?” Anakin complained, causing her to turn to him.

“You're just upset because Admiral Yularen laughed in your face when I told him what happened back on Corellia when you—”

“—Perhaps we should move on to the rest of the tour,” Anakin stressed, causing her to smirk.

“Of course.”

Anakin and Ahsoka led the way through the rows of troopers, though she lingered behind them. Looking over her shoulder, she offered Rex a smile that made his heart stop for a moment all over again.

“I’ll be back to meet the full battalion formally once the rest of my briefings are concluded. If that fits with your timeline, Captain?”

“Yes, of course, General.”

“Great.” She offered him a curt nod before that smirk returned. “And next time we’re at 79s, drinks are on me, Captain.”

The galaxy was testing him today, that was for sure. Rex watched her walk off with Anakin and Ahsoka before slowly putting his bucket back on his head.

“Fives,” he growled out. “You have exactly five seconds before—”

Fives took off in a sprint across the hangar and Rex took off after him. Echo sighed and shook his head before turning to his comms. Sending Commander Cody a message that Rex did learn that the woman that he was flirting with last night was the new general, Echo couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Fives evade Rex.

“Well, this is going to be interesting.”

#captain rex #sw tcw #tcw #captain rex x reader #captain rex x oc #captain rex x jedi reader #captain rex x female reader #rex x reader #rex x oc

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commanderfoxdeservesbetter · 4 months

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Headcannon here, but since the Corrie guard probably has extremely limited/zero access to things like speeders or hover bikes, they picked up parkour?

Just imagine corries learning how to safely descend/ascend various levels without access to things like stairs or ladders, because they know the price of losing the suspect.

And what would the reaction of the GAR be?

AHAHAHAHAH YESSSS

Fox started the trend - he saw a kid do it with their friends and in a moment of desperation, he asked them straight up what they were doing

They showed it to him and in the times he had available, he learned from them how to ascend and descend from buildings to levels safely

Now, he wasn’t about to teach the Corries that until they were doing a patrol and one had him following a suspect and his patrol of shinies that was with him saw and RECORDED him doing parkour and in the end, he was hounded by his men to learn

(Turns out though many Corries were attempting to do parkour without even knowing that’s what it was during patrols because they had no speeders or transportation; Fox just taught them how to do it more efficiently, effectively and safely)

The GAR was never meant to find out. That was Fox’s only rule to the Corries doing parkour: don’t let the GAR find out

Thorn swears Fox broke the rule first. Fox knows it was Thorn who broke it though

Them two were having their monthly parkour competition and were jumping and flipping off buildings and levels for fun. It was the only time they both had time off at the same time together

Bacara and Neyo’s battalions were on leave at the time; hence, Thorn and Fox avoided the 79s

HOWEVER, the Corrie Commanders forgot that Bacara and Neyo like to explore Coruscant whenever they’re together and those two saw Thorn scale a building and flip to another building during their exploration

They also saw Fox curse out Thorn and do a double flip to the same building his SIC was on, almost falling when he didn’t land quite right.

(Luckily, Thorn was there to catch him)

According to Thire, the two weren’t originally going to say anything except Stone accidentally pissed them off when he and Thire was on patrol and Stone bumped into Neyo which caused him to drop the ice cream food he had in his hand to the floor. (Stone denies he bumped into Neyo; swears it was actually Thire who did it but the video cam apparently glitched during that time so there’s no concrete evidence). Either way, Neyo was willing to let it go but the ice cream cost all the credits that Bacara saved up during his missions and he wasn’t about to have his best friend disrespected that way

Hound doesn’t care who did what. What he did do was put up a sign in the barracks that has the words “OUR CCs ARE THE REASON WE CANT DO PARKOUR ANYMORE”

(They still do parkour though. They just become extra careful on not getting caught)

That lasted for about two weeks before Fox threw in the towel when on patrol and saw a suspect right behind Cody and General Kenobi and decided his job was more important than a secret and said “fuck it”

This caused not only the GaR to want to learn how to do parkour, but many Vod who had batchmates in the Coruscant Guard began reaching out to learn why they do parkour, how to learn, and it become spread out in the GAR to have competitions with the Corries (the Corries always won)

Thorn still has on camera Cody’s expression of awe and disbelief as Fox straight up ran, flipped over him, scaled the building next to them a few feet and jump off towards the suspect’s speeder. It’s hearted on his camera roll so he has easy access to it and can show it to Fox when he’s having a bad day

(Fox deletes the video when Thorn doesn’t come back from the Scipio mission)

(He also stops doing parkour until the end of the war)

#star wars #tcw #the clone wars #clone wars #commander fox #commander cody #commander thorn #captain rex #commander bacara #commander neyo #parkour #I love this idea so much - great Headcanon

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yessa-vie · 4 months

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❝HELLO, PRINCESS❞ — park seonghwa & kim hongjoong.

PAIRING. kim hongjoong x fem!reader x park seonghwa

GENDER/WARNINGS. enemies to lovers (without the lovers part). suggestive, but not really?. cursing. slight yandere behaviour. way too much fucking tension, i'm sorry.

SYNOPSIS. once your superiors called you saying they caught two of the leaders of the Black Pirates, you rushed to meet them at the abandon building they were in, but the conversation ended up getting a little out of hand.

WORD COUNT. 3,123.

NOTE. this is based on Ateez lore, also is an idea it's been going on and on in my head since i learned a bit more about their lore, once i saw the MATZ mv, idk, it just cliked and i couldn't stop thinking until i wrote it down. it was supposed to be more, but idk if i'll make this into a series or not, so there's a lot in the open. let me know if you wanna see this as a series (:

UPDATE: i did the series (here's the link).

IMPORTANT. this is a work of fiction, it has zero intent on portraing how any of the people quoted here are in real life.

The Black Pirates had been a problem for a few years now. Your family has always dealt with the rebels in Strickland, you grew up among great leaders, you were trained as one to succeed your parents when you reached a certain age, which would be four years from now, when you turned twenty-eight. Despite this, you had already led persecutions against those who participated in the rebellions since you were seventeen to eighteen years old, shortly after the appearance of the Black Pirates, led by a group called ATEEZ.

You had already managed to meet them at other times, never all in the same space. They were stealthy enough, they had given up their black clothes and fedoras for a while now, making it harder to find them in the crowd, they started to blend in, wear less flashy clothes, although they continued to cause problems to whoever was around.

The guards were no longer able to keep up with them, their incompetence making you laugh every time they returned empty-handed. Which leads to the situation you found yourself in now. Two of the eight members had been captured, or rather, allowed themselves to be captured. You didn't know their names, the few times you met them, there was never much friendly exchange of information.

All except for one. It was at the beginning, when you had your first direct contact with one of the ATEEZ, but curiously he couldn't fully comprehend your words. His stoic beauty didn't help much with the concentration process, especially when he looked so intensely at any information you provided, even if it didn't make sense to him.

He looked like a statue, a beautiful statue, an ancient painting, just like the ones you had seen stored deep in one of Strickland’s main command centers. The Fallen Angel, an 1847 painting by Alexandre Cabanel, a French painter. You knew that it was a copy of the original painting, but it didn't matter, because it was at that moment that you named the first member you had contact with.

Angel managed to escape a while later. The incompetence of the guards is already irritating the superiors. When the recordings were reviewed, the interaction between you and Angel caught the attention of the supervisors, who put you in the Search and Capture Team for all members of the Black Pirates. Over time, more and more interactions took place between you and the leaders, each time more intense and direct than the previous ones.

Angel, Serpent, Fox, Bear, Lion, Cat, Wolf, Squirrel. Each name earned for a specific reason. Angel and Squirrel were the last ones you had come into contact with, but as always, the guards' incompetence caused them both to escape, but not before Squirrel threw a slight wink in the direction of the security camera, knowing that you would see.

A disbelieving smile painted your lips when you saw that recording. Your eyes now saw the same recording followed by the transmission that had just ended, but now the smile was victorious as you walked in the direction where Squirrel and Serpent were, tied to chairs by iron chains.

“Leave us.”

“But ma’am -”

“Are you questioning a direct order?” At no point did your face leave the two chained to the chairs who were still looking ahead. Heads touching at the back. The smile returning to your lips with the movement and noise of boots against the concrete of the place where you were. “Don’t bother us until I call for you.”

The last soldier nodded before closing the metal door behind you. The cameras used by the two were still perfectly placed, but properly disconnected, the drones had been confiscated, some of the Black Pirates that followed them had been captured and were already heading to one of the confinement locations.

Despite the silence that ensued, neither of the two leaders looked at you, but the smile never left their lips. Your eyes passing through every detail of that space, absorbing any trace they left behind, even if deliberately. Over time you learned that everything was a clue, even if you didn't understand it at that exact moment.

As the boots came into contact with the concrete, Serpent opened his eyes, but they didn't find your figure, even as the sound of the boots on the concrete became closer, the pace was slow, not because you wanted to make an impact, no, that wasn't necessary, what you wanted was time to observe all the possible holes they could put any object into to continue the shitty revolution they wanted.

Your steps stopped at the beginning of the stone circle that the chairs were in, one of your feet was placed on top, a long sigh leaving your mouth as your hands rested on your hips on the leather belt of the special outfit. One last look around before your steps continued in front of Squirrel who finally opened his eyes, the smirk bringing a slight irritation, making your blood boil slightly. They thought they were intelligent, what irritated you was that they really were, but the guard wasn't the best either.

“Good to see you again, princess,” he purred the pet name. Your features were controlled, but internally you rolled your eyes. You knew who they were, just as they knew who you were. There was no need for an introduction between you, not since Angel disappeared from the compound he was staying at. “I knew I would see you again, but I didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances.”

“Don’t you like being tied up and having a woman looking you from above?”

You allowed yourself a sly smile, being greeted by another from Squirrel who looked you up and down, the smirk never leaving his lips, making you want nothing more than to wipe that fucking smile off.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I like it, especially if she’s you,” this time you couldn’t hold back a cynical laugh, which mattered little to Squirrel, “but public places aren’t part of my fetish.”

“Funny, because every time we meet you are in public and open places, just like this.” Squirrel refused to answer, making you close your mouth with a small toothless smile, continuing to walk around the stone circle, stopping quickly in front of Serpent, his eyes closed, his head tilted back, leaving the tattoo that adorned his neck visible. “Matz.”

Although you didn't notice the smirk Serpent gave, you saw the movement of his Adam's apple, your eyes quickly moving up to his face, perfectly sculpted, just like the last time you saw him. The brown eyes slightly hidden by hooded eyelids reminded you of the first time you noticed the duality that the leaders possessed, making you change your approach for the third time since you had joined the Search and Capture Team.

“It’s our unit,” his voice was low, gravelly, you ignored the shock that ran down your spine when you noticed his eyes roaming every part of your face and body, his mouth slightly ajar as his damn tongue – that seemed incapacitated to be kept inside his mouth – made small appearances between Serpent's teeth. “We don’t all have a unit name, but we all have units that overlap...” Your eyes fell on Serpent’s tongue that touched the left corner of his mouth, a movement that didn’t go unnoticed by him, causing a sideways smile to appear there. “What is it, princess? Cat’s got your tongue?”

Your mind ignored the automatic connection with the leader you had named Cat, but the millisecond it took for that to happen was captured by Serpent's vigilant eyes, making his eyebrows arch slightly, making his eyes momentarily remember the bobba that you used to take when you weren't searching for them all over Stricktland.

“Why does it matter to you? Are you trying to say that you care about me?”

“First of all, your eyes never left my tongue, so don’t blame me for worrying about losing it,” the lighthearted smile returned to his lips just as the eyelids fell over his eyes, returning the tantalizing look he always had, managing to get under your skin. At your eye roll, the smile only grew, “there are a lot of things I like and still want to do with my tongue, I wish I could keep it for a little while longer.”

"You can barely keep it in your mouth," Squirrel said laughing, it being the most genuine laugh you've ever heard come out of him, being imitated by Serpent, making you watch them for a moment, seeing the duality happen in front of you, the duality which always broke the image you had created of them over time. “What’s the second thing?”

Your eyes continued to dart from one to the other as Serpent stared at you, his eyes wider but still hooded, his smile now shyly present but still there taunting you.

“Second of all, I thought we already made it clear that we care about your well-being princess,” the pet name rolled beautifully in his lips, making shivers run through your body and you martyred yourself for it. Ignoring your body's signals for that simple sentence spoken that way by Serpent, but he – somehow – noticed the effect, letting out a small nasal laugh. “Cute,” he said simply, his body moving away from the back of the chair, his face as close as it's been in a long time, “but I want to know, princess, what are you going to do with us now that you've got us tied up the way you wanted?"

You allowed a smile to appear on your lips, noticing when Serpent's eyes fell on your mouth, using the opportunity to get even closer to him, his mouth mere centimeters away. A warm breath came out of your mouth, and you noticed Serpent moisten his own lips before you turned your face away, moving closer to him, your lips lightly touching his earlobe and you noticed the hairs on the back of Serpent's neck rising, making your smile increase.

“Who said I wanted you tied by iron chains to a chair?” You quickly walked away, boots firmly against the floor as you retraced your steps, standing exactly in the middle of the two chairs, facing the door your team was waiting for any sign of you. Their eyes fell on the cameras that surrounded them. “Wasn’t what you did last night enough?”

Your eyes fell on the two pairs of eyes that were watching you curiously. The security image of Squirrel and Serpent entering a store and destroying the objects there, returning to your mind, the angry screams of your superiors still reverberating in your eardrums, the loss of the work the government was doing, the work and time to be able to replace everything that had been destroyed. To make matters worse, the recording of the destruction they had wrought had already been disseminated, but this was a problem for the Information Transaction Control people, despite their job being Crisis Management, your only job now was the Black Pirates and their leaders.

“Told you she looked tired,” Squirrel said more to Serpent who just nodded, making you roll your eyes at the comment, ignoring when their worried eyes were directed at you, “did your superiors not let you sleep?”

“My job is to catch you, so when you show up in the break of dawn destroying government property,” you sighed, climbing into the circle, standing directly in front of Squirrel, eyes watching your every move, you noticed his movement in the chair as you bent down, hands resting on the arm of the chair, cornering him in some way, but none dared to show any other type of reaction, “I’m the one who has to lose my sleep and go after you.”

“Glad we made your life easier and came here, getting caught in the process.”

Squirrel’s cocky smile made you let out a weak sigh followed by a sideways smile, barely noticing when he got closer to you, his face millimeters away from yours, but you refused to move, maintaining eye contact with him, ignoring when you felt his knees touch your leg, ignoring the way he opened his legs enough for him to corner you this time.

Before you could react, he lifted his legs, wrapping yours around his own, pulling you in such a way that you lost your balance, resting on the back of the chair, before realizing an arm wrapped around your waist, while two hands held your wrists. Squirrel had a small smirk and his mouth was slightly open, your breaths were mixing, making it take a while for you to realize that Serpent had left his chair and was now behind you, one of his arms wrapping around your waist, but before you could say anything thing, Serpent's hand covered your mouth, his breath in your ear, making your blood boil.

“We don’t want anything drastic to happen, do we, princess?”

You could feel the smile on Serpent's lips, imagining it was almost a copy of the smile you could see on Squirrel. Despite the quick head movement, Serpent was faster, clenching your jaw tighter, throwing your head back, using his right shoulder to hold your head in place.

“Now princess, don’t be like that, you know us well enough to have expected this to happen somehow,” Squirrel’s legs let go of yours, making Serpent squeeze you tighter against his body, and you cursed under your breath when you realized how firm his body was, the fit was almost perfect to yours, making any movement impossible, “I love our cat and mouse games.”

Squirrel’s voice was low, hoarse, he approached you and Serpent like a predator. The truth is, you should expect it, Squirrel was stealthy, quick and smart, whenever he had been caught there had been a reason behind it; Serpent was slender, charming, but mysterious, never allowing you to see beyond what he wanted to show you. The two of them together and being captured should have told you enough.

The second Serpent freed your mouth, Squirrel placed tape over it, feeling Serpent's hand go down to your throat, fingers still gripping your jaw, mouth close enough to your ear for you to hear and feel every breath and reaction from him. Squirrel looked at you with a different sparkle in his eyes.

“They sent the drone; we have to go.”

Serpent's voice made your entire body shake, not just because of the proximity, or the tone, but precisely because of the information. A drone. The others were close, the drone was the sign that they were running out of time, again you would lose them, but this time it was all your fault.

“Unfortunately, our time is short, but I look forward to our next meeting, princess.”

Squirrel left your point of view, leaving your wrists to be taken care of by Serpent who finally let go of your neck, turning to face you, a place that was previously used by Squirrel. You could hear the other one walking, trying to memorize the paths they used so you could follow them as soon as they released you and you managed to escape the possible restraints they would place on you.

“I'm sorry, princess, but we can't risk it,” Serpent said quietly, the affection he felt on your waist startling you for a moment, trying to ignore how hot that specific part of your body had become, ignoring the shock that that simple movement caused to your body as a whole. “We’ve already risked so much for you.”

Before you could have any kind of reaction, a cloth was placed in front of your mouth, at the same time as the tape had been ripped off. They were going to drug you, but as soon as you realized, the control of your legs disappeared. The last memory was of Serpent's arms wrapping around you and a murmur coming from Squirrel.

All eight of them were eating dinner that Wooyoung had made, Seonghwa and Hongjoong were hungry, considering how long they had stayed in that building, waiting for you and your team. Both of them just hoping that what they did that afternoon wouldn't cause them too much trouble.

Not that the others would say anything, they all knew how each of them felt about you. The problem was what Nightingale would say when they found out how irresponsible they had been, just to be able to stay longer in your presence, to see you again, to feel your skin and scent.

Almost instantly, a message arrived for them, a small alert noise and the eight were quickly on their feet, their eyes scanning the space they were in while Yunho went in the direction of the beeper, opening the message that was accompanied by a small digital bird and everyone already knew what to expect with that.

“You are lucky that I already expect you to do this and I managed to prevent you from being seen, but I need you to be more careful and obey the rules, not flirting instead of helping us reach our final goal. In any case, congratulations on what you managed to do in the last few days, wait for the next contact. If anything, you know how to contact me.”

All eight exchanged glances and sighs. That was better than they could have expected, but it also explained what had happened when Seonghwa and Hongjoong left the building, getting into the car with Wooyoung to go to the complex. For a moment, everyone's thoughts went to you, a simple exchange of looks between the two older ones said enough, they should have taken better care of you, but time was short, Yeosang had already sent the drone, they needed to prioritize their safe exit.

“Do you think she’s okay?”

Jongho's voice was low, his eyes searching the elders' eyes, seeking some kind of confirmation, that he shouldn't worry, but Matz had said how they left you, there was a 50-50 chance that you were okay, and it was what they wanted to focus on.

“We should have kept her further away from the door.”

“For her to possibly roll over and fall over the railing?” Hongjoong fussed a little and Seonghwa just gave him a warning look, noticing the leader of the eight running his fingers through his hair nervously. “She’s going to be fine, worse has happened and she survived.”

The eight nodded, but they knew it was just an automatic reaction, not necessarily one they agreed or trusted, not until they saw you in one piece, even from afar.

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varpusvaras · 17 days

Text

Fox is dead.

He knows he is. His life hadn't been over instantly when his body had been suddenly and violently grabbed and twisted beyond what he could take. He had lied there, after, for a moment longer, knowing nothing but pain and the sinking feeling that he was dying.

He is here, now, not where his body had been left to die, but somewhere else. Somewhere he does not recognise, but knows, still, almost instinctually.

It looks like a grand hall with golden rivers and silver skies, so large that he cannot see how far the walls actually go. He tries to see, but everything is simply too far away.

There are others around him. Fox can see them and hear them moving around, walking past him, stepping around him like they don't see him but still know he is there.

Fox tries to look at some of them. He can see faces, so, so many of them, and if he focuses long enough on one of them, he can see it more clearly for a second, but no more. It is like they are far away from him as well, too far away for him to actually see them.

He watches as they go. They all follow the rivers, each a different one, disappearing somewhere alongside them after a while. Fox knows, somehow, that he is supposed to also follow one of the rivers to somewhere, wherever it may lead him to.

He hears one of them, faintly, if he listens very carefully. It's like the river wants him to follow, but cannot make him do so. Fox also wants to follow, but cannot make himself do so.

He knows the reason as well. He knows that he has done mistakes. Many of them. So, so many of them. He knows some of those mistakes have been too grave for his brothers to forgive.

Fox knows he is not welcome anymore.

The river sighs, and then flows away from him.

Fox stands there, and watches as faces he cannot see walk past him and disappear.

---

He waits.

It is the only thing he can do, after all. Wait.

It's a strange thing, waiting there. Every time he looks somewhere and watches someone, and then looks away for what feels even barely a second, there is already someone else there in their place. He needs to not forget himself, if he wants to not get lost there. He figures that out pretty quickly.

It's cold, there. The rivers look warm and the skies look clear, but Fox cannot feel them. He cannot feel anyone walking past him. They are there, just like he is, but at the same time, it is like they are existing on parallel realities, and only getting a glimpse of what is going on behind the glass that separates them.

Perhaps it's just Fox who sees them. Perhaps no one else sees him.

He tries not to think about that too much.

---

There are a lot of brothers walking around him.

Fox can see their faces clearly. They do notice him too. Many walk towards him, if they see him, and some of them speak to him, if they get close enough.

Fox wonders if they notice him because the Force recognises them as the same, or at least close enough. If the Force recognises them as kin, even when Fox has been casted aside.

His brothers want him to come with them. They can still hear the river, calling them, guiding them forward to somewhere they are meant to go. His brothers try to take his hands and take him with them. Fox had not expected that, if he is being completely honest. He would understand it, if the others were thinking that he was just any brother.

But no. Some of them do recognise him, and still reach for him, even if they are not wearing the Guard red.

"Of course you can come with", one brother in 212th gold tells him. "The Commander always spoke very fondly of you. You are our brother. Of course you can come with us."

He reaches for Fox, and he makes contact, and even when his hand is warm, Fox's legs are stuck on the ground.

The brother looks at Fox with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry", he says. "You are our brother."

"I know", Fox tells him. "I know. Can you say hi to everyone for me?"

"Of course", his brother tells him, and then follows the river away from Fox.

---

The Guards, once they figure out that Fox cannot follow them, want to stay with him.

"You are our Commander", they all tell him. "We're not going to leave you here alone!"

They stay, all of them, as long as they are able to. They hold onto him, like Fox is their anchor, the only thing keeping them from drifting away with the river.

Fox lets them stay with him, for a while, but eventually he tells all of them to go.

"Don't worry", he tells them. "Others will come along. I'll be fine. Say hello to everyone for me, alright? Go now. I'll be fine."

There is always resisting, but eventually, they do leave. They have to. The river is guiding them forward, and they have to follow it. Fox cannot hear the river, and his brothers cannot guide him themselves to it.

Fox stands there, and watches them leave.

---

Stone is the first one to arrive after Fox.

It's strange, to look at him. He looks both like the Stone Fox remembers, and like Stone Fox doesn't quite recognise, Stone who is slightly older and has a new scar across his face.

It's still Stone, though.

Stone stays with him for a long, long time.

But eventually, he leaves as well.

"I'll be fine", Fox says, for the hundreth time. "Say hi to Thorn for me."

"I will", Stone promises. "I will."

---

After Stone comes Hound. He stays for a long time as well, and promises to say hello to Thorn and Stone.

After Hound comes Bly.

Bly puts his arms around Fox and holds him.

"It's not fair", he says, again and again. "It's not fair, this isn't how any of this is supposed to go! It doesn't matter if someone has called you a Dar'vod, you are my brother! That should matter more!"

"I know", Fox says.

"Why are you so calm about this?" Bly asks him. "You are stuck here! You should be with all of us!"

"Bly, please", Fox says. "I can't. Please don't...please don't remind me too much. Please don't."

Bly goes quiet. He still holds onto Fox for a long time.

Eventually, he has to let go.

"It's okay", Fox promises him. "Say hi to Ponds for me."

---

Thire comes last.

Fox knows more time has passed now. It's strange, to look at Thire, and see his youngest brother there, but also someone who is a lot older than Fox ever got to be now.

He looks a lot like Prime before he died, Fox thinks, but doesn't say it out loud.

He also thinks it's a good thing Thire looks so much older than Fox. Fox knows he wouldn't have been able to endure his little brother dying young like Fox had.

"We have a chance", Thire tells him. "There are a lot of people standing against the Empire. Bail and Breha are with them."

Fox almost starts crying then and there. It's been- he doesn't even know how long it has been since someone has said those names to him.

"They're," Fox swallows, and tries again, "they're alright?"

"Yes", Thire says. "They are. I let them take your body, you know? You're there with them."

It's strange, to think about what happened to him after his death. Fox has been here the whole time, not there.

He guesses whatever was left of him there was what was left of him to everyone else, as well.

Fox thinks about it for a while, and then turns back to Thire.

"What else has been going on?" He asks, because he already knows that Thire is going to be staying for a while.

So Thire stays, and he tells his stories, until he has nothing else to say.

He promises, like all of Fox's brothers before him, to say hi to everyone for him. He hugs Fox for a long while, before he finally lets go.

Fox watches him leave for as long as he can.

---

The Galaxy is big, and there is always someone dying.

Fox has accepted that to be just the inevitable way of life. Everyone and everything dies eventually, even the stars. He thinks he had heard that from someone while he was still alive.

Still, some deaths are more tragic than others. Some deaths are ones that Fox thinks shouldn't have happened, not at least in the way that they did, no matter the inevitable nature of death itself.

He has seen it all pretty much, by now. Many people have been crying when walking past him, but as far as Fox has seen, they have all always dried their tears before they disappear with their rivers. He has seen anger and despair, both in a way that suits normal lives and in a way that he recognises to suit lives that are ended by the brutality of war. They all seem to always get past it, though, before they continue their journey past where he cannot see them anymore.

Fox has learned that it is normal for there to be a lot of people around him, and for them to be in distress.

But still, he knows something is wrong.

Maybe it's the way the people just seem to appear, all of a sudden, all at once, instead of coming in many rivulets. Maybe it's in the way that people are now moving. Many are still walking towards, around and past him, like they usually do, but many, too many, way too many, are running around, shouting and screaming names, searching for faces with desperation and grief written all over their own, whenever Fox gets to look at them for long enough.

It feels less like a river now, flowing towards their ends, but like a wild rapids, like rogue waves being pushed around against shores that are too small and tight for them.

Fox looks at them more closely.

He has seen it all, by now. Adults, elderly, teenagers, even children. People die at all ages all the time.

But this? There are so many of them, searching for each other. All of them are crying. He sees so many small children, healthy looking, yelling for their parents, for their siblings, friends, anyone, and just as many adults doing the same, searching for their children and parents and anyone they know, and they just keep coming.

Fox tries to look at them, tries to listen at them for long enough to figure out what is going on, but it's even more difficult now, when there are so many faces and voices around him. Something terrible, he can tell, because there seems to be no end for them, and whenever he gets to hear more than one word from any of them, they all sound the same, like they all speak the same language in the same way.

Fox doesn't understand how that can be. How can this many people die like this, all seemingly at once, in one place? He has seen war before, but even the largest massacres had been nothing like this.

He listens to them more, and there is now something familiar in the way they all talk, in a way that suddenly makes Fox go cold, like he was dying himself all over again.

He knows it. He knows the way they are all speaking, he has listened to that very same way of speech so many times.

Suddenly Fox understands everyone around him searching and screaming very well, because he is doing the same now.

Not screaming yet, but definitely searching. He tries to look at all the faces, to see if he sees them, and he prays to something, anything, everything, that he doesn't find what he is looking for.

He doesn't need to look into the faces of people around him to see them, eventually, because in the sea of faces and voices on the other side of a misty window, he sees two more than clearly.

Fox understands the grief in everyone's faces now too.

He is definitely screaming, now.

No words at first, no. Just a sound that makes its way out of him without him being able to control it at all. He sees them hear it, because they stop, and they start to look around, their eyes searching the people around them.

Fox hasn't had to breathe in a long, long time, but now he feels like he is out of air anyway. He drags his voice back in, and pushes it back in where it can be formed into words, and he screams again.

"Breha!" His voice is tearing up at its invisible seams. "Bail!"

He looks at them, and that's the moment they look at him and see him, standing there, in the same place where he has been standing his whole time there.

Fox watches as they start running as well, still looking at him, and then they are there, and Bail is just a little bit closer and throws his arms around him.

Fox stumbles, his legs ripping away from the ground. He doesn't get to wonder about it for too long, because Bail is holding him now. He is warm, just the way Fox achingly clearly remembers him to be, and then Breha is there as well, her arms going between Bail's to hold onto Fox just as tight.

They all stand there, for a moment which length Fox cannot measure, in each others arms.

Breha is the first one to speak.

"Fox", she says, in a way she always used to say his name, and Fox is barely able to keep the tears that have sprung into his eyes from falling.

Her hand reaches up and touches his jaw and then his cheek.

"Fox", Bail says then, as well, and Fox cannot hold it in anymore.

He cries.

He is pretty sure they are all crying.

There is another hand on his face, now, both of them wiping away the tears still falling down.

"Fox", Breha calls him again. "Fox, my love, our love. Look at me."

What else can Fox do, than to do as she asks of him?

It is Breha and Bail, standing there, just like he remembers them, but not quite. When Fox blinks, there are definitely grey streaks in Bail's beard and hair, and there is a long, silvery strand framing Breha's face. More lines around their eyes when Fox looks closer, ones he doesn't remember seeing there before.

It doesn't matter to him, not really. He knows them, still.

It's a strange mix of emotions he is feeling. Relief, of finally seeing them again. Happiness, brought by being held by them again.

Sorrow, for seeing them both there, emerging from the chaos of grief, knowing that they are here with him now, because they are both dead.

"Why?" He asks, because he doesn't know what else to ask. It's one word, but they understand it still.

The same grief is on their faces as well.

"The Empire", Bail starts, and pauses for a moment, like speaking pains him, "has figured out how to build weapons of mass destruction beyond anything we could've imagined. We've been fighting against them for a long time now, and...we finally got caught. Alderaan is no more."

"I don't understand", Fox says. "That doesn't make any sense."

Except it does, in a sense that it explains why there were so many of them all of a sudden, all frightened, like they hadn't had any time to prepare for their deaths. But it doesn't, because Fox cannot, will not believe that there is a weapon that can make a whole planet and everyone on it disappear.

"I know", Breha says, soothing, like she isn't the one who has just lost her own life and everything else. "It's not all lost. Our daughter, she's out there. She has the key to stopping them."

"She will do it", Bail says, and he sounds proud, so proud. "She will. We know she will."

Fox believes them when they say it.

"Of course she will", he says. "She is your daughter, after all. If she is anything like you, she can do anything."

They look at him gently, then.

"Our daughter", Breha repeats. "Our daughter. Just because you weren't there doesn't mean she is any less yours. She carries you with her as much as we did."

"She takes after you very much as well", Bail says, and there is a sparkle in his eyes again as he speaks. "Determined and strong, just like you."

Fox cries again. They don't rush him to stop, just stay there with him and hold him until everything has been spent.

"I wish I would've known her", Fox says. "I wish I would've been there."

"We wish so too", Bail says. "There wasn't a day we didn't wish that you were with us still."

"But you are now", Breha says, brushing her fingers softly over the skin under Fox's eye. "You are with us again. We have all the time now to tell you everything."

That is the moment Fox remembers that he can move again.

He has to make sure. He lifts one leg, and takes half a step back, and then makes the other leg follow.

He can move, but he still cannot hear the river.

"I would love that", he says. "But I...I don't know where to go."

"Don't worry", Bail says. He reaches for Fox's hand, and takes it into his, firmly and securely. "We know. We'll show you."

Breha laces her fingers with Fox's as well, tying herself to him like a safety line on the outside of a ship. They turn to face the golden rivers, meandering towards their ends under the silver skies, and they take Fox with them.

#I was fighting for my life with this one #I literally had to take too crying breaks #every once in a while you have to write something that is very canon compliant #so that you can continue to ignore the canon after it #fox just needed other guides to help him #okay good now that his is done I can go back to my no order 66 fix it :)#sw #tcw #my writing #ficlets #commander fox #bail organa #breha organa #commander stone #commander thire #bail/breha/fox

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antianakin · 1 year

Text

Antianakin's Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Fic Rec List

The theme for this rec list is fics that either center on Anakin getting some consequences for his actions or are just generally more critical towards Anakin as a character. Please note that this means these fics will also be critical towards most Anakin ships, most notably Anidala and Obikin.

This list is dedicated to all of the people who have been sending me messages asking for fic recs over the last several months, there's clearly a market for fics that aren't kind towards Anakin.

A lot of these fics take things like the Tusken massacre, Order 66, and Anakin's treatment of Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex very seriously. Please take that as a warning if any of those things might be triggering, and keep an eye on the tags for all of the fics included here just in case.

Here are the categories!

Anakin/Consequences: Anakin experiences consequences for his actions in some way shape or form, but doesn't die.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It: Anakin experiences the specific consequence of dying by the end of the story, usually at the hands of someone he's hurt.

The Jedi Deserve Better: There's a bigger focus on the Jedi recovering, Jedi culture, or the Jedi being philosophically right than there is on anything specifically "anti Anakin" as such, but the story is still critical of Anakin's beliefs and/or behavior.

Helpful terms:

Unfinished: Any fic that is marked as incomplete, or a series where the fic(s) in it are still incomplete and cannot stand alone

Ongoing: Any series marked as incomplete, but the fics in it are marked as complete or can stand alone as they are

There is no specific order to this. I tried to group fics from one specific author together, but other than that, I didn't place anything in any specific position for a reason.

This is not an exhaustive list of good anti-Anakin fics that exist, obviously. If your fic or your favorite fic isn't on this list, please feel free to rec it yourself in the notes, leave a reply or reblog with a link. I'm happy to read more anti-Anakin fic, especially if it's very Pro-Jedi!

One final reminder: NOTHING IN THIS LIST IS ANAKIN FRIENDLY! If that's going to bother you to read, please just skip this entire list, it's not for you.

Anakin/Consequences:

and the tide rises, the tide falls series by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 119k): When Anakin's actions with the Tuskens on Tatooine become known a few months into the Clone War, Agen Kolar comes in to temporarily take over the 501st while Anakin is sent back to Coruscant to face the Council. I cannot recommend this fic enough. This is the fic that introduced me to Agen Kolar as a real character (as opposed to just one of the random Jedi who immediately die going up against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith) and now he's one of my favorite Jedi of all time. Agen is such a beautiful character and his relationship to his identity as a Jedi gives me just about every feeling I think I've ever felt in my life and the development of his relationships with Rex, Kix, and Ahsoka as the fic continues is such a well-written slow burn. I'd recommend reading more of blackkat's works just in general, too, because they're pretty much all Pro-Jedi and have a delightful tendency to focus on more niche Jedi and clone characters and rarepair ships if you're interested in that.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by @blackkatmagic (27k): Fox is sent back in time, immediately murders Palpatine, and surprisingly nothing but good things follow so he's got plenty of time now to get to the other things on his bucket list, including but not limited to: murdering Count Dooku, murdering Anakin Skywalker, saving Senator Amidala from her atrocious taste in men, and seducing Mace Windu. This fic is BLISTERINGLY funny, Fox's very dry point of view on things and readiness to shoot Anakin at literally any moment literally had me struggling to not laugh out loud at work. This is also an INCREDIBLY pro-Mace Windu fic, with all of the clones, for once, in love with Mace Windu instead of the more popular suspects. It's what he deserves, and Fox agrees.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Time Travelers by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 78k): Fives is stuck in a time loop where he tries to stop Order 66 from happening and his latest plan is to kidnap Mace Windu for his own protection because he's the only person capable of defeating Palpatine. Fives' opinion of Anakin is now INCREDIBLY low, and the constant comparisons to Mace and how much better Mace is, are deeply satisfying. Fives' immense distress and somewhat manic passion don't take away from just HOW competent Fives is, and I really love getting to see a depiction of him that really allows him to fully be both at once and neither one takes away from the other. I love how his relationship to Mace develops from Fives' initial desperation into something so trusting and passionate through difficult circumstances.

in search of a sky for smoke to rise to by @blackkatmagic (7k): Padme has to go on the run after reporting Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens to the Jedi in fear of Anakin's rage. She lands on Sundari to try to hide there and meets with Arla Fett who sparks her interest. Padme gets to be a total BAMF in this which is always fun, and I LOVED Arla in this so so much!

sanguine series by @glimmerglanger (157.5k) (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so the link below is now broken. I am leaving this series in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment): Obi-Wan is a vampire in an AU where vampires exist in the GFFA and this changes some things. The ramifications of what it means to be a vampire in this AU and the biases and prejudices that Obi-Wan has to deal with are so interesting from a worldbuilding standpoint. The way Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan CHANGES because of it is also an interesting thing to see develop in this series.

uncomfortable by @panther-os (1k): When Anakin won't respect Padme's boundaries in the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Padme requests a different bodyguard from the Jedi. Short and sweet and removes the rather unfortunate "yes means no" theme that taints Padme's storyline in Attack of the Clones.

Slices of Happiness series by @feybarn (unfinished, 40k): No Order 66 AU where Obi-Wan takes a short sabbatical after the war to handle his mental health and is joined by some of the clones before he returns to the Temple. It is, as the title of the series says, mostly just little slices of stories as the clones and Jedi heal and reconnect after the war. There's a large emphasis on Obi-Wan healing from Anakin's rejection of the Jedi and having to come to terms with his relationship with Anakin having perhaps been less healthy than he'd realized and learning to enforce healthier boundaries when Anakin gets entitled and selfish.

Wasted Training by @thesecondbatgirl (700): Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin's "training" for Ahsoka from TOTJ. Very short but OH so satisfying to see someone react appropriately to this.

Liberosis by Be_Right_Back (2k): In a No Order 66 AU, Anakin's secret marriage comes to light and the Council asks Anakin to make a choice. This one is a tad softer on the "anti Anakin" aspect of it, but the Jedi are portrayed as entirely within their rights to make Anakin choose which life he wants to live.

Stay by @amukmuk (2k): Commander Thorn has been helping Padme out in a No Order 66 AU as Padme's been dealing with her divorce from Anakin, and Padme finally comes to a decision about her feelings. I am an unrepentant Thornidala shipper, and as many problems as I tend to have with the way Padme's written and the implications about her as a character because of that, I also have a nostalgic attachment to her and wish she could just... have a happier healthier relationship with someone who ACTUALLY loves her and respects her. I would take an entire series of this AU, I'd read a longfic of this AU, but I will also happily accept this short sweet little peek into this AU and let my daydreams do the rest of the work.

The Burden of Secrets by @jedi-order-apologist (9k): In the aftermath of the Deception arc, Ahsoka discovers the truth about the Tusken massacre and confronts Anakin about it. This one is a little lighter on the "anti Anakin" elements, but his choices on Tatooine are very much called out for the horror that they are, as are Padme's for hiding it. The fic also delves a little bit into the Rako Hardeen arc, Obi-Wan's choices in it, and Anakin's reactions to it and how appropriate they are.

Consumed by Greed by virdant (900): Obi-Wan travels back in time to the beginning of Anakin's apprenticeship and tries everything to try to keep Anakin from joining the Sith, and fails until he comes to a crucial understanding about Anakin as a person. The concept of this is absolutely heart-wrenching, thinking about Obi-Wan going back over and over, changing everything about himself and the Jedi in an attempt to save Anakin, only to finally realize that the problem lies in who Anakin is at his heart, and he can't change that. The ending is a gutpunch, but it feels so absolutely true, too.

Justice by virdant (1k): Padme makes a different choice at the end of AOTC and decides to report Anakin's crimes on Tatooine to Obi-Wan instead of marrying Anakin. Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about what he's done in the aftermath and forces him to face the consequences of the choice he made. I really like that the concept here isn't just that Anakin gets kicked out of the Jedi and sort-of set loose upon the galaxy, but that either the Council or Obi-Wan decided Anakin also needed to face reparations ON TATOOINE, from the Tuskens themselves, and that Obi-Wan plans to ensure that it happens. Anakin cannot be a Jedi until he makes as many amends for that as he can, until he recognizes the truth of what he's done and accepts the responsibility for it, and even then there's no guarantee he could be a Jedi afterwards. Either way, the Jedi are not not the only people Anakin has hurt, and not the only people with the right to ask for reparations from Anakin.

The Cost by luvewan (5k): Anakin jumps off the gunship after Padme in Attack of the Clones and deals (badly) with the fatal consequences of that choice when Obi-Wan dies at Dooku's hand before Yoda can show up. So this has been a favorite of mine for just about as long as I can remember, predominantly because of just how tragic it is and the very realistic consequences of the choice Anakin makes here. This fic was written before Revenge of the Sith had come out, so none of the choices Anakin makes in that film are taken into account, but the accuracy with which Anakin absolutely unravels and devolves into darkness because he lets his guilt turn into anger that he turns on other people in the name of justice feels so immensely in character. Seeing it all happen from Padme's point of view as she watches Anakin's descent, knowing she's the reason it happened in the first place, is so devastatingly beautiful.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It:

@glimmerglanger's fics are getting an entire section dedicated to them again. I'd honestly just recommend reading all of glimmerglanger's work, but here's some fics that specifically showcase (deadly) consequences to Anakin below (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so all of the links below are now broken. I am leaving this section in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment):

A Treatise on Breaking and Repairs (60k): Anakin captures Obi-Wan shortly after Revenge of the Sith and it goes very badly for Obi-Wan. This shit's dark, y'all, and things get way worse before they get better, please mind the tags, there's a reason the series is labeled the oof!au. That being said, this fic is sort-of the peak example of what I want out of a really good hurt/comfort story, where both halves of that are equally emphasized.

But What We Make series (ongoing, 125.5k): Cody from post-Return of the Jedi travels back in time to just before Order 66 and this changes some things. My favorite part of this series (so far) is the way Obi-Wan, future-Cody, and present-Cody are all forced to come to terms with their respective traumas and relationships to each other and none of them are handling it perfectly, but none of them are treated as more or less important than the others either.

Convergence Zones (115.5k): A sort-of modern day fantasy Jedi AU where the clones are made of clay and brought to life via magic. It's a little hard to explain in like 20 words or less just read it, it's so great. The collaboration between the clones and Jedi in this is so sweet, and the worldbuilding of the "clones" in this verse is really good.

Haunt Me, Then (31k): Post Order 66, all the surviving clones can see their Jedi as Force ghosts except Cody and the 212th, and when Cody's chip breaks early he helps start a revolution to gain justice for their Jedi. Cody's going through it in this one, too, and things get pretty dark, but this is another really great catharsis fic if you're in the mood for that.

Make Your Bed (Lie in It) (58k): Cody and Obi-Wan share a bunk during the war and this changes some things. I love all the ways in which this AU moves events just SLIGHTLY to the left and then the butterfly effect impact afterwards. The Cody and Obi-Wan relationship development is also just impeccable.

Natural Wonders (56k): Shapeshifter modern AU with nature photographer Cody and park ranger Obi-Wan and a murder mystery they solve together. There's some really cool facts about Yellowstone National Park in this fic as a delightful bonus to the sweet relationshippy stuff and the fun murder mystery storyline.

Greater Than Your Hoarded Gold series by Quietbang (ongoing, 96k): Anakin doesn't burn on Mustafar AU where there is a different kind of rebellion in the galaxy post Order 66. This author focused in on and centered the Jewish elements to the Jedi and brought in more Jewish culture to the Jedi, which is so interesting to read. The shifting perspectives, including totally outside perspectives, on the Jedi and the situation in the galaxy at large, makes for a really cool story with some incredible worldbuilding.

Unmasked by @schizo-fractured (17k): Footage of the Temple during Order 66 is released and this causes a series of changes in the galaxy as they confront what REALLY happened to the Jedi and the person who caused it. This got recommended to me based on a post I made wishing we could've seen Beru and Owen learn the truth about Anakin and what might've changed for them as a result, and while that's not the singular plot of this fic, it is kind-of an example of the underlying theme of the entire thing. It's a nice almost wish-fulfillment style concept where the loss of Anakin Skywalker's good reputation allows the general populace to rise up in defense of those he betrayed in righteous rage. It's time for the galaxy to defend the Jedi for a change.

the time when stars align by @deniigi (7k): Cody accidentally adopts some young stormtroopers post Order 66 and escapes with them to the Rebellion after Vader finds a way to "cure" him of his accelerated aging. Cody goes through so much horror in this fic and is still so SO funny with the way he looks at the world and speaks to his loved ones, allowing this fic to still feel sweet and wholesome despite how awful Cody's life is and has been.

When Night Falls series by Penguin Kiwi (ongoing, 7k): Cin Drallig gets more of a warning in the Force just before Order 66 and is able to put up a defense of the Temple and stop Anakin at the steps. I love these AUs that allow more niche Jedi to shine through, especially when it means they get to defeat Anakin because the Force looked at Anakin's choices and decided to abandon him for a better option. The conversation between Cin and Obi-Wan in the second fic really hits home, too.

The Jedi Deserve Better:

grow bold in a barren and desolate land by @blackkatmagic (5k): Mace survives Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal and stages a rescue for two clones left in prison who he knows never would've had their chips activated: Slick and Dogma. This has literally the barest mention of Anakin, but that mention is that Mace could easily beat Anakin in a fair fight, so I'm including it anyway. This is another one of those AUs I could read an entire longfic or series for and be eternally happy. There's a follow-up to this fic that's more explicitly Mace/Slick which is by no means ever a ship I had ever even considered before, but it works SO WELL here and gives me some interesting feelings. I'm also just always down for Dogma being treated kindly and getting a happier ending than canon chose to give him.

i am creation, both haunted and holy by @blackkatmagic (800): A'Sharad Hett makes a visit to Kamino where he meets Alpha-17 and finds they share an opinion about Anakin Skywalker. I'm so intrigued by A'Sharad Hett as a character and wish there was more content written about and for him. A'Sharad and Alpha-17 bonding over thinking Anakin Skywalker is an entitled selfish jerk is the best possible beginning to a ship, I'll be honest.

that was a spring of storms by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 9k): When Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, Leia's grief causes herself, Luke, and Bail Organa to travel back in time to 8 months into the Clone Wars, where they are determined to ensure things go a little differently. This fic is only 2 chapters in, so I don't know precisely what kind of consequences Anakin may or may not end up getting, which is why it's in this category, but unsurprisingly neither Bail nor Leia are feeling particularly benevolent towards him and it is so incredibly satisfying. But holy FUCK am I hooked to this entire concept. Bail and Leia's relationship is heart-wrenching as all get out, Bail's protective instincts towards the Jedi absolutely kills me, and I'm so intrigued by these ship tags!

The Crime of Grief Series by @feybarn (ongoing, 34k): Padme goes into labor early while on the way to Mustafar, so neither she nor Obi-Wan ever make it there, and they go on the run with Rex and Ahsoka afterwards instead. Sides are drawn in the aftermath of Anakin's choices that causes friction among them before they can find healing. There's a large emphasis in this series that Anakin's choices are, in fact, HIS CHOICES, and the blame for them cannot be placed on anyone but Anakin, as well as the conundrum of whether it truly matters whether Anakin's got good left in him or not and if it's even worth it to try to save him.

吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? series by virdant (1.5k): A look at Obi-Wan and his experience of Jedi culture through food. Virdant's fics focus in on the Asian influences in the Jedi and builds out their culture from there. Not every fic in this series is explicitly anti-Anakin, but a few of them are more critical of Anakin's view of the Jedi and his unwillingness to understand their culture or point of view.

things the way we want them to be by virdant (600): No Order 66 AU, where a teenaged Leia talks to Obi-Wan about the struggles she's having with Anakin as a father and the future she knows she (and Luke) should've had but weren't allowed. Leia is just absolutely heartbreaking in this, and Obi-Wan's inability to truly help her the way they both want is equally so. It's a devastating look at a possible less happy future even in a happy fix-it AU because leaving the Jedi would never be enough to "fix" Anakin.

Not This Crude Matter series by @talesfromthebitterbeast (53k): The clones have picked up some misconceptions about the Jedi which causes the Jedi to distance themselves from the clones, even after the war ends in a happy fix-it AU. The fics showcase the situation from multiple different perspectives as misunderstandings abound, but is always firmly on the side of the Jedi. I really like the way the Jedi relationships are showcased here, the ways they communicate and lean on each other even in the face of being misunderstood and misrepresented by people they'd hoped would understand them better than anyone else.

Harmonic Oscillation by @jessepinwheel (2k): Originally a short tumblr fic that has since been posted to AO3. Obi-Wan time travels back to the Clone War era and confronts Anakin about what he's done. I always love getting to see Obi-Wan refuse to let Anakin get away with his bullshit and finally see Anakin for the piece of shit that he is.

Released by @jedi-order-apologist (6k): Cody is rescued from the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and has to come to terms with everything he's happened to him now that he's at the end of his life and spent the majority of it brainwashed and enslaved to the Empire. This is a fic I come back to a lot because I really love the way Cody works through what's happened to him and the way he's viewed from an outside perspective via Luke. I also really love how the relationship between Cody and Obi-Wan isn't made explicitly romantic, but is portrayed as immensely important and meaningful to both of them, regardless of how you choose to view it.

Knightrise by @deviantaccumulation (unfinished, 89k): Obi-Wan and Yoda choose not to try to fight Anakin or Sidious and instead retreat to Mandalore to attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as much as they can there under Satine's protection. This is an AU where Maul genuinely dies on Naboo which is a major plus in my book all on its own, quite honestly. There's some interesting political aspects in this for how the Jedi Order attempts to rebuild an actual community within Mandalore, with Mandalore still being a member of the Neutral Systems, and the Empire having risen already and all of the ensuing issues with that.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (unfinished, 46k): Obi-Wan and Yoda find Reva in the Temple and she accompanies Obi-Wan to Tatooine where they have to survive and recover together while watching over and protecting Luke. This is such a brilliant character study into Reva as a young child survivor of Order 66, being taken care of by someone who loves her but is equally as traumatized by the same event and the way that shapes their relationship and Reva's upbringing. I love her SO SO MUCH and I adore her perspective as she struggles to figure out what it means to be a Jedi in a world where being a Jedi openly means certain death but it's the last connection she has to her home, her family, and her culture.

our caches and constellations by johanneb (98k): "Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed." I couldn't come up with a better way to explain the fic than its own summary, but Cody and the 212th pick up Obi-Wan and Luke on Tatooine, while Senator Organa has to figure out how to get himself, Leia, and Leia's "tutor" to a rebel base without their two new Coruscant Guard escorts figuring out exactly how disloyal to the Republic they actually are. I absolutely SLAMMED through this fic, it's so good. Despite some of its heavier themes, it's honestly very sweet and wholesome with lots of cute Luke and Leia, some incredibly wonderful romances, and really interesting worldbuilding for this just slightly to the left version of the gffa. Anakin never makes an appearance in this, but he does get mentioned a few times for his betrayal and his part in the current state of the galaxy, and I REALLY loved that at no point in this fic was it ever important to either twin who their biological parents were.

ring the bells that can still ring by rain_sleet_snow (22k): Reva's been working with the Rebellion in-between the events of the Kenobi show and A New Hope, but when she hears Obi-Wan has made an appearance recently and goes to try to find him, she discovers Luke and Leia instead, with nobody left to train them but her. This fic was like a warm bread roll or a perfectly brewed cup of tea, it was just absolutely wholesome and exactly everything I could have wanted from this concept. The relationships between Luke, Leia, and Reva are both hilarious and sweet while allowing their respective traumas to still remain relevant to their journey together. Their discussions about Darkness, Reva's past, Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Jedi, and the events of A New Hope are all heart-wrenching and really feel so in-character but also so in line with the tone of the original trilogy. I could sit here and list things I liked about this fic all day, but it'd be faster to just read it yourself.

#fic #fic rec #star wars #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #jedi #pro jedi #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #captain rex #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #anti anakin fic rec series

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projectnomoho · 11 months

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The Spectacle(d Cormorant) - an informative post about an underrated extinct bird

(Artwork by me. Halfly based on the artwork by Joseph Wolf.)

Just something out of the ordinary from before. I am getting tired from posting all those comics and stuff on here, so here's a repost of my depiction of one of my all-time favorite extinct birds - the life, the moment, the spectacle itself - the spectacled (or Pallas's) cormorant, as well as a bunch of facts about it below this because I care about this bird so much and will protect it with all my life if it still existed.

You may ask, why am I so into this nerdy-looking bird? It's not like it's THAT special or anything - we still have at least 40 other cormorant species alive on earth - 3 of them in the same genus as the spectacled cormorant.

The reason is simple - no one ever talks about it or even has an idea on what it is, even though humans were the sole cause of its extinction. (And believe it or not, cormorant culling IS still a thing, but that's a different story for now.)

(Specimen kept at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.)

Large, stupid, clumsy, ludicrous in looks. That was how others, including Georg Steller, the discoverer of the bird, described the spectacled cormorant. It was, perhaps, the largest of all cormorants known to exist, rivalling the Galápagos flightless cormorant in length, but was way heavier than the latter. Due to its large size, it was probably flightless, but studies of its wings have shown that it was more likely reluctant to do so due to its lack of natural predators (besides Arctic foxes) while residing in its former habitat - the Commander/Komandorski Islands in Kamchatka Krai of Russia. Occasionally, some of these birds would get lost and end up on the Kamchatka Peninsula, which led to its consumption by the locals.

However, it wasn't until the 1820s when their extinction was hastened. The Russian-American Company started to transfer Unangan (Aleut) people to the islands, and, to no surprise, they found this cormorant easy to hunt. As Steller said on his journey in 1741, the spectacled cormorant was also rather delicious, unlike most other cormorants. Along with how it was abundant on the Commander Islands, this was most likely the exact reason why the Unangan people consumed it whenever they could not catch enough fish to sell or feed their families.

That marked the end of the legacy of the spectacled cormorant. It vanished from the islands and the world in the 1850s, and was never heard from anyone ever again.

(Artwork by J. G. Keulemans.)

The reason why it might have been forgotten by man was probably due to there only being six known specimens of this bird collected (all apparently by the same person, Governor Kuprianof), and only one or two of those specimens are currently up for display in the whole world.

The spectacled cormorant died like the dodo, but unlike the dodo, it was quickly forgotten by the people who caused its rapid extinction. By the time we wanted to care about it, it was already gone.

170+ years have passed. People like me still remember this bird, wanting to do anything to bring it back to life, or just imagining it while it was still in its glory - plummeting into the cold seas to catch a mouthful of fish, as it clumsily swims back to the shore to dry its wings. A beautiful bird that met a rather depressing fate.

#extinct birds #bird art #spectacled cormorant #recently extinct #extinct animals #i can't draw backgrounds #extinction #lineless art #digital artwork #informative post #fact post #bird facts #cormorant #seabirds

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bananasofthorns · 5 months

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lunch break

read on ao3

In a rare stroke of luck - or, more accurately, bureaucratic alignment - Cody has leave at the same time as Wolffe, and they manage to talk Fox into taking a break for once in his life to join them for lunch.

Cody also uses the opportunity to finally make good on his promise to Kenobi to introduce him to his batchmates in a non-professional setting - Dex’s, in this case. He hasn’t yet decided if he’s going to regret this decision. Wolffe already knows Kenobi, to an extent, and they at least seem to like each other. Cody thinks that Fox and Kenobi will either despise each other or get along like a LAAT on fire, on fire part emphasized. Reason: they are both pains in Cody’s ass and he, unfortunately, still loves them.

He and Kenobi arrive at Dex’s early and claim a booth in the back; they sit across from each other and Kenobi allows Cody the seat that faces the door, since he has the Force and Cody just has paranoia. Wolffe arrives a minute or two late grumbling about traffic. Cody graciously does not make fun of him for being unable to account the hell that is getting anywhere on Coruscant into his travel times.

They make small talk - about the war, of course, because what else do any of them do with their lives - while waiting for Fox. After ten minutes without even a hint of his presence, Kenobi orders them a large basket of fries. Cody gets himself a milkshake and then resigns himself to the losing battle of keeping Wolffe away from his straw.

Wolffe could ask Dex for his own straw, or even his own milkshake. He does not, because Wolffe is an ori’vod and a bastard. Cody respects Dex too much to start a fight in his diner, but he resolves to make Wolffe spar with him once they’re back in the barracks.

It hits minute fifteen with no sign of Fox. Cody shares a look with Wolffe. They reach for their comms in sync.

If Fox does not respond to their pestering by the time it reaches minute twenty, they will write him off as a lost cause and enjoy lunch without him.

Minute eighteen arrives. There is no response to either of their messages, but there is a flash of familiar red through the windows of the diner’s door. Two flashes, in fact. Cody raises an eyebrow.

Fox and another Coruscant Guard commander that Cody doesn’t recognize slip into the diner with surprising stealth, given that they’re in full armor and there’s a bell above the door. Cody scrutinizes them as they approach.

They’re both limping, though the unfamiliar commander only slightly; Fox’s is much more pronounced even as he tries to hide it. When he reaches their booth, he lifts his arm gingerly to remove his helmet.

Wolffe greets him with, “What the fuck happened to you?”

This is a fair question. There is a large bandage plastered across the right half of Fox’s face, stretching from just beneath his eye to his chin. The rest of his visible skin is so bruised it looks like he went hand-to-hand with a commando droid.

“He got mugged,” the unfamiliar commander offers when Fox stays silent. “I’m Thire, by the way.”

Thire takes the seat beside Kenobi and leaves Fox to the fate of sitting next to Wolffe. He has a mullet, but he makes it look good, so Cody doesn’t hold it against him.

Fox sits, reluctantly, and finally graces them all with the deadpan scrape of his voice. “He’s my babysitter.”

Thire’s smile is as sharp and bright as a vibroblade in sunlight. “Yes. Sorry for joining your lunch without notice - we had to make sure Fox wouldn’t get into any more fights along the way.”

“This was not my fault,” Fox growls.

It is, obviously, an old argument. Kenobi interrupts before it can begin again.

“We’re happy to have you,” he says. “Have you been to Dex’s before?”

Thire blinks at him. He does not comment on the unusual presence of a Jedi in their midst, unlike Fox had, many times, when Cody had first broached the topic. Even now, Fox does not seem very pleased that Kenobi is here.

“I’ve had his food a few times,” Thire responds, which is a non-answer. Cody has become very good at noticing them in his time working as Kenobi’s right hand. “It’s good. This is the real reason I went with you,” he tells Fox.

Fox, eloquent as ever, flips him off.

Dex arrives to take their orders. He greets Fox and Thire with familiarity and does not comment on Fox’s injuries.

When he leaves again, Wolffe keeps the ensuing quiet from stretching into awkwardness by turning to Fox and saying, “I'm serious, vod. What in the depths did you do?”

Fox waves a hand. “Blacked out. Woke up on the lower levels. Got jumped. They got in a few lucky hits,” he gestures to his face, “before I killed them.”

“Just a normal Centaxday, really,” Thire adds faux-cheerfully. “What about you guys? What have you been up to? Besides the war, of course.”

The change of topic is not graceful. Cody exchanges a look with Kenobi. Kenobi raises an eyebrow. Cody raises one back: no, it is not normal for Fox to show up looking awful - this awful, at least. Something bigger is going on here.

“You blacked out?” he asks for both of them.

“It's fine,” Fox dismisses. “Happens to everyone at some point, right?”

He is full of shit and he knows it. Cody tells him so.

More diplomatically, Kenobi adds, “I am curious by what exactly that turn of phrase means, at least in this instance. I’m sure you weren’t drunk, but just to be clear—”

Thire laughs. Fox sighs. “I was not drunk.”

The two of them look at each other and proceed to have a conversation that consists entirely of facial expressions. Gone are the days when Cody could do that with his batchmates; they don’t spend enough time together now, and the only people he can read that well anymore are Rex and Kenobi. He has no idea what Fox and Thire are saying to each other.

Finally, Fox says, casually, “I’ve been losing time since about six months into the war.”

All of Cody’s attention snaps to him. The war has now been ongoing for over two years. This is not what he was expecting to hear at all; Fox has never even hinted at it before.

“Ah,” Kenobi says delicately.

“And you’re just mentioning this now?” Wolffe asks with far less grace.

“Well, I kind of hoped the problem would go away on its own,” Fox shoots back dryly. “Clearly, that didn’t happen.

“I started losing time six months into the war,” he starts again. “A few hours, a day. A few days.”

“The worst one was over a week,” Thire inputs quietly. Fox acknowledges him with another dip of his head.

“Every time, I’d wake up somewhere on Coruscant, usually in the lower levels, with no idea how I got there. If I had all of my gear still on me, it was lucky, and if I was uninjured, it was even luckier. After a few months, I realized I wasn’t the only one this was happening to.”

“It’s all of the commanders,” Thire explains. “Fox and I have them the most often, followed by Thorn. Stone only gets them rarely.”

“So that’s why you look so bad,” Wolffe surmises.

Fox chuckles, low. “Yeah. Woke up way further down than I should’ve been with half my armor gone and in the middle of some natborns kicking the shit out of my body.” He scoffs. “They should’ve made sure I was dead first.”

Cody, Wolffe, and Kenobi all grimace, though the latter’s expression is likely for very different reasons.

“You said you killed them to get away?” he asks. “How many of them were there?”

Fox frowns. “Not sure; it was all kind of a blur, and my memories are always shit after blackouts, anyway. Five, give or take.”

“And you killed them,” Kenobi repeats. “All of them?”

“Yes.”

Wolffe shakes his head, somewhere between fond and amused. “Of course you did, Fox’ika.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Fox and I were the top of the entire command class on Kamino,” Cody explains for Kenobi’s benefit. And, as much as he hates to admit it, “He graduated with the highest score in hand-to-hand combat sims.”

At peak condition, a handful of natborns would be laughably easy for him to take down. This time, he was injured and disoriented and obviously paid the price, but Cody still isn’t the least bit surprised that he came out of that fight on top.

“I see,” Kenobi says, nodding. “You must be a very formidable fighter.”

Fox smirks. Somehow, it just makes him look tired. “I am.”

There’s a rumble of that old, bitter anger in his voice. He hadn’t been happy to find out he’d been assigned to Coruscant instead of the frontlines they’d all trained for their entire lives. Clearly, his opinion has not improved.

Wolffe clears his throat. “Do you know what’s causing the blackouts? Because they sound a little fucked up, vod.”

Thire and Fox exchange a look.

“Well,” Fox says, and then does not elaborate.

“We have...theories.” Thire glances around and lowers his voice. “As far as we can tell, the blackouts only happen after one of us has a meeting with the Chancellor.”

Well, indeed.

Dex sweeps over with their food. They all gratefully take the excuse to process what was just said. Kenobi looks like he’s bitten into something sour, but the expression fades as he takes the first bite of his nerfburger.

In the awkward conversation lull that’s arisen, Thire adds, “I think Palpatine is a Sith.”

Cody jerks his head up and stares. Kenobi chokes.

“Oh?” he manages, strangled.

Wolffe recovers first. “That’s a pretty fucking big accusation.”

Thire shrugs. He and Fox are both eating like they’re starving; Cody takes another, closer look at them and notes the sharpness of their cheekbones. A warning bell pings belatedly in his head.

Kenobi has recovered his dignity. “Yes, it is. I assume you have evidence, or at least suspicions, to back it up?”

“I’ve been around Sith before,” Thire explains between bites. “I was there on Rugosa when General Yoda stopped Ventress from assassinating the Toydarian king. I know what they feel like. The Chancellor feels the same way.”

Kenobi’s raised eyebrow betrays his incredulity. “Forgive me for presuming, but as far as I’m aware, none of the clones are Force-sensitive.”

“This is true.”

“So how is it that you can sense the Dark side on Chancellor Palpatine when none of the Jedi ever have?”

“Maybe he doesn’t bother shielding himself around us,” Fox mutters. He doesn’t look up from his food even when everyone’s attention swings to him. “Trust me, he drops all his other facades, too.”

Thire scoffs. “Yeah. He hates us and he’s not subtle about it. Stone jokes that he’s getting off on our misery.”

He seems to remember who he’s talking to and grimaces. “Uh. Sorry, sir.”

Kenobi does not seem to register the apology and has abandoned his food entirely, lost in thought. Cody passes him a napkin before he can press his fingers to his temples and get grease in his hair. He nods absently in thanks.

“A Sith controlling the Senate,” he murmurs to himself, with an expression like he’s connecting several dots and is severely unhappy with the picture they make. “Well, then.”

Louder, to Thire, he continues, “You do realize I’m going to need something more substantial than your word if I’m to bring this to the Jedi Council.”

Thire and Fox look at each other. Another wordless conversation commences. Wolffe, meanwhile, turns to stare at Cody; what the fuck? his raised eyebrows ask. This, at least, is not hard to understand. Cody shrugs back.

This is not the kind of bonding between the two sides of his life he had anticipated. He is honestly not sure if he’d prefer the possible-friendship possible-immediate-hatred or the sedition.

“I could just shoot him and see what happens,” Fox finally says.

Cody sighs. Wolffe presses a hand to his face. He has never looked more like an ori’vod.

“Please don’t,” Kenobi says, pained. “That could go incredibly badly if you’re wrong.”

“We could ask,” Thire suggests.

This is only marginally better than Fox’s idea.

Cody turns to Kenobi. They have done stupider things before and ended up with perfectly satisfactory results.

“I’ll turn on my helmet cam,” Fox adds. “Is that good enough evidence for you?”

Kenobi pauses and then shrugs like it hurts him to do so. He does not say no. The great negotiator has run out of will to argue; Cody never thought he’d see the day.

<><><>

It is less than twenty-four hours later that Thire, Fox, and a third Coruscant Guard commander that Cody doesn’t know come stumbling up the steps of the Jedi Temple. Thire is clutching Fox’s helmet against his chest. The third commander is carrying Fox himself and yelling for a medic.

Cody does not personally witness that spectacle, but he is there a few hours later in the chamber of the High Council when Thire gives his report. The third commander - Thorn - is with Fox in the Halls of Healing, having refused to move from his sentry position by Fox’s bacta tank. Cody hasn’t even seen him yet, with how quickly the Council meeting was called; all he knows of his batchmate’s condition is how long the list of injuries is.

“Sir, have you heard of the Sith?” Fox’s voice, distorted slightly by the recording, asks.

Palpatine chuckles. It sends chills down Cody’s spine in a way it never has before. The holo wavers, once, before Thire gets control of the shaking in his hands.

“Of course I have, Commander. Who hasn’t, in times like these?”

“Are you one of them?”

It is times like these that Cody both curses and loves Fox’s bluntness. Naked shock flashes across Palpatine’s face before he can control his reaction; the mask of the kindly old man does not return. The Jedi murmur at the poisonous anger in his eyes.

The recording stays steady. Thire does not shake, and neither does Fox, even in the face of darkness.

“An interesting question indeed, Commander. Let’s make sure you don’t remember it.”

Lightning bursts forth from his outstretched hand. Fox falls. The recording glitches and cuts on the edge of his scream.

It is only years of training that keep Cody from flinching. Thire’s knuckles are white on the helmet when he lowers it back to his side.

“Is that enough evidence for you?” he asks quietly, looking at Kenobi but directed at the Council entirely. Yoda’s ears droop. “Sirs?”

It seems it is. Cody has never seen the Jedi Council formulate and mobilize a plan so fast.

Fox is still in the bacta tank, but they let Thire take his slugthrower. The questions have already been asked, and he shoots first.

The Chancellor - the Sith Lord - dies quickly and loudly.

Afterwards, the Force is lighter than it has been in decades, or so Cody is told; he can neither confirm nor deny it, but the war is over, and he imagines the foreign joy he feels at this realization is a similar sensation.

#commander fox #commander cody #commander thire #star wars #the clone wars #tcw fic #banana made a post #banana writes things #this is very goofy i like it a lot

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