[ for all their travels among the stars, there's nothing that matches the feeling of familiarity when they're on coruscant. while there are bad, gritty parts on this vast and advanced planet, it is lit with life of all forms. turn left and a dug will be guffawing with a rodian beside him, face right and dexter jettstar's deceivingly lonely diner will stand out between two tall towers.
anakin can't help but be a tad excited. dex's diner is usually a treat, for when he did something good and well, frankly, he doesn't really recall what he did that might warrant this and it can't be for mission because they haven't been assigned one. so when obi-wan said let's go to dex's, anakin progressed from a confused frown to a wary excitement, carefully held in just in case obi-wan decides they were going to take a detour instead and held his arrogant former padawan at the point of frustration, all to teach a lesson on patience and what not. anakin glanced at obi-wan once more as they strolled towards the entrance. he sense nothing from obi-wan but that feeling of peace and calm that sticks to his master, rarely hinged; obi-wan could be stepping into the most elaborate heist of their career and it would still be just that. he falls back and lets obi-wan take the lead, greet dex and exchange pleasantries, taking the time to himself to survey his surroundings.
that's when it happened; his eyes land on a prize, one that he could make him forget whatever obi-wan might have planned a hundred times over. as if a halo appeared, he found within a glass cage a pleasantly plump cake, yellow to perfection and delicately covered with a full body of whipped cream and further topped with a red berry the likes of which he has never seen before. tearing his eyes off it and shifting his stance to what would be pre-tantrum if he wasn't a jedi knight capable of controlling that kind of thing (right?), he asks his master. ]
Well, we're here. We've met Dex. Would you like to sit down and we can have tea and cake- [ and he adds, with sarcasm else his true desire is revealed ] before we go to Corellia and gamble with the troops? Rex has a good poker face but I bet I could swindle Cody out of all his savings.
[The Jedi have many haunts throughout the galaxy, for certain, let alone Coruscant itself--the home to the Temple, and the Jedi as a whole. But even still, the small restaurant nestled in the Coco Town neighborhood of the Senate District would hardly strike most as one of Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's favorite visits in all of Coruscant--an uncharacteristically, well, questionable place for any upstanding individual, much less a Jedi Master. But it's surprise that Obi-Wan embraces with cheery and unperturbed ease, much the same way he tends to embrace a lot of things in life--and, as far as he's concerned, there's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about anyway. He still remembers his first visit here somewhat, brought along by Qui-Gon to his great bemusement and finding himself inexplicably endeared ever since, both by the food and the Besalisk chef at the head. So the tradition had begun--indeed, this is far from the first time that he's brought Anakin to Dex's Diner.
And, with any luck, this won't be the last time either. Visits to any place involving winding down grow ever scarcer these days, with the war at hand--but still, Obi-Wan fully plans to take advantage of the times they can.
Dex, as always, is glad to see them--and, as usual, Obi-Wan takes up the brunt of the formalities while Anakin surveys the area (a habitual system that's served them well both in and out of wartime situations, really). They drift towards the tables at length and still Obi-Wan's perpetually serene good cheer persists, leaving not a trace of a hint as to any ulterior motives to be had in bringing Anakin here to start--but Anakin, on the other hand, had never been quite as adept at shielding his own sorts of ulterior motives. Turning just in time to find Anakin shifting into that particular sort of stance (a few years and anybody would know that look, really, Jedi Knight or no), Obi-Wan arches an eyebrow slightly...but the cause for Anakin's sudden demeanor remains unidentified for the moment, as the latter speaks up as if on cue.
And that earns a laugh, goodnatured as always in the face of Anakin's sarcasm. Obi-Wan glances around himself, and moves towards their usual table by the wide window overlooking the bustling street out front.] Well, tea certainly does sound like a good idea! I could go for a cup of sapir about now, actually... [He nods to FLO, the droid waitress drawing up to meet them, and she agreeably starts punching into her datapad as Obi-Wan settles into a seat, hands folding neatly on the table and casting Anakin a wry smile.] Patience, Anakin--haven't you done your fair share of swindling last week already? I'd be surprised the Commander has any savings to spare for a second round at all, at this point--and you know as well as I do that dishonesty is not his strong suit. Leave the poor man be! At least Rex would almost stand a fighting chance.
[Absentmindedly he reaches over for the menu flimsy on the table, paging idly through it without really reading it--he's already memorized most of the menu at this point, after all, but old habits die hard.]
But that besides, a journey to Corellia ought not be made on an empty stomach--we all know this. Besides, I believe I do still owe you lunch, after that last battle's droid count. Even if I'm still pretty sure Artoo cheated on the counting that time....
[Maybe it's just been awhile since he last stopped by Dex's. Maybe he's a man of his word. You decide, Anakin--and so Obi-Wan muses along, prodding at the flimsy, still blissfully unaware of Anakin's sudden subliminal pastry experience.] Will it be the usual for you? Nerf steak, of course, and one of those blue milkshakes? Unless you're actually wanting to give a cup of ardee's a try this time--
[ he could hear it before it happened— patience, anakin, an ever repeating line that follows his every course of action. he almost rolled his eyes but years of being in obi-wan's company has him mastering the technique of pretending to look at something else rather than rolling his eyes. there's no hiding the hint of frustration, however. that could be due to various things that's going on in this young jedi knight's life, no reason to look further into it. and he doubts obi-wan would; his master is many things, but his ability to talk about what's bothering anakin is on par with anakin's ability to talk about them.
and it's worked out so far. such is the jedi way, or he suppose, their way. ]
Hey, I always give it back! [ he protests indignantly, any display of betrayal and trickery towards the troops, you know his troops (theirs but...), is unacceptable. he would never treat them like that. unless it was a fair game and there were sore losers around, then he might say it would only be right to teach them a lesson in knowing when to quit. oh the irony is there, he just choses to ignore it. ] Eventually. For example, the last time we were back from a mission, I took Rex out for nerf steaks.
[ he says proudly until it reminded him of how shocked and hesitant rex was in accepting it. then a bit awkwardly, he rubs the back of his neck and his expression edges on a grimace ] You should've seen the look on his face.... It's like I told him to [ he gestures vaguely and lets it drop. ]
Anyway, thank you, Master. You do owe me lunch because Artoo never lies. [ besides the fact that he's anakin's favourite astromech in the whole wide galaxy, that he's also anakin's wedding present from padme, and that every time he looks at the little dependable droid, he thinks fondly of padme in her senatorial apartments, light years away. ]
And I think I'll be having that cake. [ he tips his head towards the caged cake, then fixes obi-wan with a determined stare and the beginnings of a boyish smirk that hasn't been lost in the war yet. ] Then the nerf steak. And the blue milkshake.
[ a long time ago, he had decided that their line of work, their business as superheroes - it had no place for children. it wasn't a decision he came to himself, it was with jan. a life time ago, he couldn't see himself training, teaching someone as young as the academy kids, he couldn't see himself being a father (albeit in a the oddest way possible, which is only fitting for him, if he thinks about it).
he welcomes jenny back into the compound like she never left, led her pass her old dorms as if expecting her to want to look in and ask to stay for more than a night. he should know better; old sentimentalities catches him and he smiles to himself for a moment then turns to jenny. she was one of his toughest student to handle. looking at her now though, he's proud ]
William's almost to my knee, but he's getting over the counters and on top of the shelves. I'm going to have to make room for a jungle gym for him. So, somethings are new, most of it isn't. There's still a place for you to stay, if you want to stay.
[ if he's honest, he does recall her very clearly. he may have been young, may have almost died when he meet her and died several times afterwards, and he may have been through more states of insanity than he would care to admit but he'd still remember her and the brief kindness shown, even though he wasn't in the position to receive such a thing. the god of thunder, with his fists and hammer, had explained it that much to his naive mind.
still, seeing her here in this ratty little shed of a tavern on a muddy planet full of critters that bear human shape takes him by surprise. not because she's here, but because she doesn't appear to have changed very much, not from where he sits; whereas he feels like he's been changed anew as often as cosmic catastrophe occurs. he's nothing like that child that she was kidnapped by. surely, she wouldn't remember him.
and that is what he bets on.
if he sits still enough, she'll go about her business and she wouldn't recognize the stranger, hiding away his very indiscreet blond hair and gold skin in the corner and occasionally behind his mug of whatever this place counts for alcohol that certainly does nothing to his artificial system. ]
late confirmation of adam warlock's poor life decisions
[ Of all her faults, which even the gods possess, forgetfulness is not one of them. Even if it had been, it would be difficult to forget something so bizarre as that. Most of the time, the people attempting to take her captive, for whatever reason, have a very clear sense of the social niceties they violate by doing so. Prisoner of war? Very clear. Kidnapped to be eaten or forcibly married by giants? Also very clear. But few are the people who can do something like that so...innocently. He hadn't actually intended her harm. He hadn't actually understood anything.
Still, he's changed. For one, she wouldn't expect to find him in a place like this. (She is, of course, Asgardian, and on culture and principle there is probably not tavern in the universe any true Asgardian would not stop in.) In fact, if it weren't for the distinctive features, she might have overlooked him.
And uncharacteristically, it makes Sif hesitate for a moment. Would he even want to speak to her? Would he even remember that time in his life, new as it had been? She doesn't have it in her to embarrass him, even in as dingy and backwater a place as this. But it's outweighed by the curiosity, and she can't stop herself from draining the rest of her mug and slamming it down decisively, decision made and purpose set.
So sorry, Adam, but she's sitting down next to you.
And then there follows an awkward silence, while Sif thinks of something to say. ]
You know I have wondered what had become of you. What you had done since, where you might have gone.
[ She pauses, and then adds: ]
I will admit a place such as this did not seem a likely destination until now.
[ At least she didn't say, you've acquired more clothes since last we met. Which certainly was a contender for a moment or two. ]
[ he had, no doubt, a worried look on his face. he almost always does. when the sway of cosmic influences is within your consciousness, there's little you could do but worry. you also learn to listen, you listen very hard and sometimes lose focus on the physical world, as it is. letting his consciousness seat itself in the cosmic auditorium isn't a hard task but it is distinctively hard to do when someone like sif come along and sit in front of you.
their history is a brief encounter from his earliest days. he was like a child then. he was so foolish to think that people could just be stolen and made to love like that. he was so desperate for the companionship. he was-
he swallows a mouthful of his drink. ]
Drinking isn't why I'm here. I frequent these places to remember a friend. I hope I would find him like how you found me.
[ and it's true, he has no reason to lie to her. and really the one thing she deserves, among many things like an apology, from him would be the truth. ]
I wondered the same, about you. I've seen Thor - or a version of him and a time when he wasn't in the right mind - though he was more interested in fists and hammer than words. But not you. [ adam brush his hair out of his face to face her fully and press his lips to a stern thin line. ] I owe you an apology.
( Gamora understands some things that Adam does in that they normally don’t have a rhyme or reason to them until after they’ve already happened and Adam is as nonplused as he always is. It’s a good system, and one she can’t really complain about. It works for them.
Or it normally does, only that Adam is taking a very long time to meet at their rendezvous point. She’s not worried - that implies Adam can’t take care of himself and, well. Alright. Adam doesn’t seem to have ever had an ounce of self preservation in him and he’s probably gone and done something incredibly stupid. Fantastic. )
You said you had things to do. ( She mutters to herself, grabbing her sword and swinging herself up into the more shadowed ledges of the building. ) And I didn’t have anything better to do, so I said I would come along.
( Never going to make that mistake again. It takes a few minutes of threatening guards to find out his location and then another, longer amount of time to find him and kill the guards assigned to him. Only Adam Warlock, really, and she half suspects he might be upset at her for breaking him out but really, he’s late and Gamora doesn’t have time for one of his plans at the moment. )
If you wanted to speak to the leaders personally, we’re coming up with a way that doesn’t involve this charade.
[ adam looks up from his containment unit. his hands are locked away from him. as someone who needs his hands to perform his brilliant escape plans, he can say that having a pseudo strait jacket combined with a chains of energy is a real pain. he was late, his plan somewhat failed even though his message was received. unfortunately, he also received a knock at the back of his head. the pain is dull and fading but his agitation hasn't.
he has to admit though, having her there has proven that his self of self preservation has developed to some what satisfactory. and that has to count for something.
adam stands and takes the criticism with a frown. his plan was fine, it worked up to this point and he would point that out except he doesn't have his hands and she has a very big sword so maybe later. ]
Thank you.
[ he lifts his arms as best as he can and points them towards her expectantly. ]
I'll need my hands if we are going to leave this place once and for all.
( Amazing. Her head does something weird when he thanks her - tilting to the side and the line of her mouth becoming less harsh. Huh.. )
Don't make a habit of it.
( Which is to say that he's welcome and she'll come and save his golden hide as often as need be, although she's not consciously aware of the latter part. Not on any level that would register it as important. Grabbing his hands to yank him a bit forward - he can take it, she's not worried - Gamora begins to cut through his bindings. )
Did you at least get what we came for? No one saw me.
( So she can still do... whatever it is that needs to be doing. Probably. )
[ his name is not anakin skywalker. but it was what they saw, what every one saw before they met the blue plasma of his lightsaber. yet he knew in his heart, the jedi that went by the name anakin skywalker no longer exist. like the dead-star dragon in his heart, the jedi he used to be has been crushed under the heel of a new darkness. and in its place stood the hero with no fear, the new lord of the sith.
he doesn't bother uttering his new name out to the jedi he encounters. they are not worth to hear it. this name is his, it is him and everything he is now. and against that, the jedi are nothing.
nothing but traitors, naysayers of peace and order. and he slaughtered them all and finished his first task as darth vader with a face clean of emotions.
it is now silent in the temple.
he took no pride in his killings. the jedi stood in the way of his master's new order; it was only what was necessary. vader marches towards the jedi template's shipyard. the feeling of power and control nested deep into his bones, so much that even the howls in the force could not penetrate that shield. all that mattered, that he was aware of, was this power, and that he needed more of it. it was only when he felt her in the force, a ghost of a grip in his attention, that he stops in his tracks. ]
Ahsoka.
[ he turns towards her. his hand reaches within his the robes that still marked him as a jedi, and retrieves his lightsaber. he makes no further move. this was his padawan. she, too, felt the sharp betrayal of the jedi. and he is convinced that she will join them. ]
[ she probably should have left coruscant by now, found a shuttle to somewhere else, somewhere her face wasn't broadcast as a criminal, and set up some sort of new life there. but something weird and selfish has been keeping her here, learning the hard way how to get by when one's apparently only marketable talents are being able to chop droids into pieces or fix them back up as required. skills gifted by her master, keeping her alive now just as poignantly as they did when she found herself at the mercy of trandoshian hunters.
but her own life isn't the only thing that's been feeling bleaker by the day and when grief and betrayal and suffering overrun any peace she can usually find in the force, ahsoka knows she needs to go to the temple. everything is wrong and dark and in no way does she fell welcome at the structure that was her home for so long. grief tugs at her heart with every shadowed footstep as she works to see and not be seen. where are the jedi? where are their enemies? but she only finds bodies and men who couldn't possibly be the enemy. clones. her clones. they're what she imagines brothers feel like and she can identify nearly every one of them from a distance but something tells her not to interfere with their patrols, so she doesn't. they must be looking for the same disturbance she is, after all. the same sith.
but when she finally finds the disturbance, there is not a sith at the centre, but anakin. skyguy, saviour of the galaxy. her master, who defies being restricted to the role of a jedi to embody the role of hero.
ahsoka has a shitty old bartered blaster peeking out from underneath a traveller's cloak, but she doesn't reach for it, even as he turns to her. her appearance is in line with an undercity lowife prepared not to draw any attention to herself, but her posture is only missing her lightsabers, jedi defender to her very core. ]
Anakin? What's going on here?
[ not what are you doing because she's seen jedi cut down by a lightsaber on her way to him and he's the only one still standing. the math makes her stomach turn, but she can't deny things she can see in front of her. ]
[ he doesn't respond. that should be telling enough. anakin skywalker was animated in life and he is quick and rushed, as if some emergency, an unknown enemy was always on his heels. patience, waiting and observing was never his strength, much to the dismay of obi-wan kenobi and other masters and clones who had the pleasure of fighting along side him. but darth vader strolls, he takes calm steps around her as he watches ahsoka with an air of detachment. his pace is reminiscent of the careful steps they were trained to take when they practice their lightsaber forms. and anakin is never careful.
after a moment of pause, he finally speaks. his voice is deeper than it should, more tonal and the air seems to heat up at the sound. he doesn't answer her question, because they both know what the answer to that is. the bodies of brothers and sisters and the bloodless gash on them is answer enough. ]
You're still on Coruscant... I should have known.
[ his pacing stops. his footing sets in a sure form of his djem so. his hands remain at his side, and he finally raise his head. yellow irises rimmed red stare back at her. ]
The Jedi haven't just betrayed you, they have betrayed us all - the whole Republic. Come with me, Ahsoka.
[ he reaches a hand out. his black glove, incasing the durasteel hand underneath. once again, he's reaching for her to make the right decision, to be at his side. and the part of anakin skywalker that is still there, comfortably hidden but not vanquished completely, urges this on desperately. yes, she is a reminder of the failings of the jedi, and how it led his life to failure her. but she must understand that this is would be different. they would be out of the shadow of the jedi, their rules and their hypocritical politicking. they would be different. ]
It’s no secret that he feels lucky. He says it almost every chance he gets, a fact that he knows isn’t unnoticed. It comes with the sort of time and time-allowed reflection after a life-death experience against an ancient god, entrapped in giant dragon - you know, the thing that they’re suppose to fight when all seems lost to everyone else in Thedas. Alistair’s life has never been the grandest but he gets by; and maybe this relative peace is the Maker smiling down at him for once, for a brief moment. For all their sacrifice and hardships, few can smile on their achievements and call it good. And fewer can do so with the ones they have lived - survived with. Alistair's humdrum thoughts strays and scatters and becomes a general mess when he sees her on the drifting back to their make-shift camp, replaced by a couple of reptitive thoughts: how am I so lucky and what have I done to be so blessed.
"Well, I survived in your absence," he sigh dramatically and brings a hand over his eyes, "It was very trying but I did it. Here I am, still breathing."
Thinking about the love of his life is a rather good distraction from the shearing pain on his left leg. A trap of all things.
"You know what they say," he puts on his best chantry sister (Lelianna, it's Lelianna) voice, "Once you survive fighting an archdemon, metal spikes going through your leg is nothing!"
In the warm glow and steady roar of the well-tended campfire heads were dipped low in conversation as Briar Cousland went over again and again and then once more with the two junior Wardens over their standing supplies. Call it a wont for order the late Eleanor Cousland foisted upon Briar in her formative years to always be certain they had enough elfroot and bandages. As much the daughter of a teryn as she was the child of an infamous sea raider; instilling the notion that one can never be too prepared deep into the bone.
"If we have to barter with that damned dwarf still working the Imperial Highway again I-"
Briar snapped her head in that direction of the sudden interruption. The warm and familiar notes of a voice that rang in her ears like distance Chantry bells in the early hours of dawn over the smell of burning cedarwood.
"Alistair."
A name could swing down from her own lips heavy as killing blow with the wind knocked out of her.
"That's me, the bleeding man you have in your camp!"
He bursted into nervous laugh, pinched an octave higher from the pain. His childhood was riddled with chantry mothers and sisters scolding him to be quiet, calm down, shut up and stay still. But his name from her lips, her voice carried from her heart, it does the trick better than any chantry enforcer can at settling his nerves.
His face softened from the grimace he held and he smiled, or tried to, to eject the concern from her and reassure her that he's alright. "I would say you're a lovely sight or something equally romantic and foolhardy but you always are! I figure you might be tired of listening to me prattle. But that elfroot is looking quite alright. You think you can spare your ridiculously obsessive collection for me, my dear?"
Alistair reached out and gestured at the mangled metal spiky trap that laid next to him. "Now, doesn't that sound a lot better than help, I got hurt while you were away."
[ Everyone in the Order is still whispering about her. Rumours of her deception, her trial of error, the misleading stack of evidence that led the Masters in the wrong. Of course it wasn't the Masters that were wrong, it wasn't the Order that could be wrong. It was everything else about the situation. It was Ahsoka for leaving.
Anakin hated being at the Temple and thanked the stars for the war on all fronts.
Battle with weapons and droids was easy. He could easily lose himself from the constant wrongness he feels, from even the thought of Ahsoka and Padme. There weren't time for those stray thoughts. The war would bring him back into attention before he got there. Being back on Corusant, at the Temple where they had the rare chance of breaks and smiles, the restlessness in his bones inflames and he seeks any means to work it out - in lashing at others, in the training rooms. Battles fought without lifting a single finger and "friends" of circumstances were not easy but he had to trust in Palpatine; he was the only one left he could trust.
He hides from the other Masters in the Map Room. Very few uses these anymore. In fact, very few who would use them were at the temple. Anakin opens a star map, though it is all pretence. He brace his hands on the ledge and stares down - his commlink. It's attempting to reach an old channel. He doesn't know if it'll work but he has to try. He has to talk to her and make her understand that this isn't how it was suppose to happen. ]
[Ahsoka has had a difficult time of it herself. Turns out, growing up in the Jedi Temple all your life leaves you ill-prepared for the realities of living in the regular world as a civilian. Sure, she can defend herself better than anyone, but her street smarts are abysmal. She finds Ventress again and they team up for a time, and Ahsoka learns a lot about surviving on the streets from watching her. But ultimately, the life of a bounty hunter is not something she wants. She needs to be helping people. She just doesn't know how.
She thinks about calling Anakin to check in with him. To let him know she's okay. She really does. But every time she picks up her old commlink to do it, she puts it back down again. What would she say? If she contacted him now, it's possible that all her resolve to leave the Order and find her own way would crumble. No. Better to wait until she's found her feet, and she can contact him with good news.
So the day Anakin calls her old commlink finds her packing her things up in her dingy, one-room apartment. She isn't sure what her next move is going to be yet, but she can't stay on Coruscant any longer. That much is clear. There's just no use for her, here. Perhaps she could stow away aboard a ship bound for one of the neutral systems and offer her aid there. Now that she's no longer affiliated with the Jedi, she could certainly be of help in places that sorely need it but dare not ask for it for fear of being dragged in to the war.
Her heart rate skyrockets when she hears the old commlink beeping from inside her desk drawer-- she hadn't packed it yet. There are only a few people she knows who would call it. Heart in her throat, she opens the drawer and takes it out slowly, wondering what to do. Just hang up... she thinks, holding it in her hand. It would be easier, that way.
But the little light keeps blinking. ... She can't ignore it. Eventually, she answers.]
[ He knows that voice. He could recognize it while being half asleep.
His breath gets caught somewhere in his throat and his chest tightens. He didn't think it would work. Ashoka could have been anywhere in the galaxy, her comm could have been destroyed, thrown away. But she kept it, it and their channel. He held that slight chance of hope close. Anakin had felt the want to talk to her and all of that want latched on to the commlink. He never felt like thanking the Force more than this moment. He lurched forward at her voice then closed his mouth.
What does he say?
Her Master misses her? That he needs her by his side just as much as he needs Obi-Wan and Padme?
What if- No.
There were too many what ifs. He doesn't have time for all those. Always a man of action, Anakin stops thinking and blurts out as fast as he can. ]
Ahsoka! Ahsoka, listen to me. Please don't cut me off.
[ poe's jacket is a surprisingly good fit. It's a miracle how two strangers from opposite sides would share this jacket and find it fitting. finn tugs at the sleeves of it, not noticing the cold that comes with hyperspace travel. he was raised in this kind of environment, the cold doesn't even register.
the millennium falcon is actually warmer than the usual first order ships. maybe it's the rusted up wiring and power cells leaking quietly. or maybe it's because he's sitting beside a remarkable girl he had just meant.
he sneaks a glance at rey then nudges her with his shoulder. gently. they've both been through a lot. ]
( it might be warm for him, but for rey? it's freezing. she's currently got her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs, letting her head rest on top of her knees as she shivers.
she's glad to be away just as much as she knows she needs to go back -- what if her family comes and she's been gone? they won't find her, she won't find them, she'll never find them--
but she has finn. the first person who's ever asked if she's okay, and continues to surprise her in new ways. she shoots him a small, strained smile. )
It's cold. How are you not cold?
( does the resistance come with the ability to protect oneself against the cold? if so maybe she should join. )
[ he looks at rey and frowns. seeing people with faces - normal civilian faces, bare and helmet-less, unset by stern expresses and stiff uniforms - is still something he's trying to get used to.
the smile on her face feels so foreign. he forgot people could make those expressions and not be cruel. ]
Me? No.
[ in the adrenaline rush of... everything, he just looks at her wildly and eyes slightly wide as he takes his - poe's jacket off. ]
Here, take it. You look like you need it more than me.
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for BANANAKIN SKYWALKER
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anakin can't help but be a tad excited. dex's diner is usually a treat, for when he did something good and well, frankly, he doesn't really recall what he did that might warrant this and it can't be for mission because they haven't been assigned one. so when obi-wan said let's go to dex's, anakin progressed from a confused frown to a wary excitement, carefully held in just in case obi-wan decides they were going to take a detour instead and held his arrogant former padawan at the point of frustration, all to teach a lesson on patience and what not. anakin glanced at obi-wan once more as they strolled towards the entrance. he sense nothing from obi-wan but that feeling of peace and calm that sticks to his master, rarely hinged; obi-wan could be stepping into the most elaborate heist of their career and it would still be just that. he falls back and lets obi-wan take the lead, greet dex and exchange pleasantries, taking the time to himself to survey his surroundings.
that's when it happened; his eyes land on a prize, one that he could make him forget whatever obi-wan might have planned a hundred times over. as if a halo appeared, he found within a glass cage a pleasantly plump cake, yellow to perfection and delicately covered with a full body of whipped cream and further topped with a red berry the likes of which he has never seen before. tearing his eyes off it and shifting his stance to what would be pre-tantrum if he wasn't a jedi knight capable of controlling that kind of thing (right?), he asks his master. ]
Well, we're here. We've met Dex. Would you like to sit down and we can have tea and cake- [ and he adds, with sarcasm else his true desire is revealed ] before we go to Corellia and gamble with the troops? Rex has a good poker face but I bet I could swindle Cody out of all his savings.
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And, with any luck, this won't be the last time either. Visits to any place involving winding down grow ever scarcer these days, with the war at hand--but still, Obi-Wan fully plans to take advantage of the times they can.
Dex, as always, is glad to see them--and, as usual, Obi-Wan takes up the brunt of the formalities while Anakin surveys the area (a habitual system that's served them well both in and out of wartime situations, really). They drift towards the tables at length and still Obi-Wan's perpetually serene good cheer persists, leaving not a trace of a hint as to any ulterior motives to be had in bringing Anakin here to start--but Anakin, on the other hand, had never been quite as adept at shielding his own sorts of ulterior motives. Turning just in time to find Anakin shifting into that particular sort of stance (a few years and anybody would know that look, really, Jedi Knight or no), Obi-Wan arches an eyebrow slightly...but the cause for Anakin's sudden demeanor remains unidentified for the moment, as the latter speaks up as if on cue.
And that earns a laugh, goodnatured as always in the face of Anakin's sarcasm. Obi-Wan glances around himself, and moves towards their usual table by the wide window overlooking the bustling street out front.] Well, tea certainly does sound like a good idea! I could go for a cup of sapir about now, actually... [He nods to FLO, the droid waitress drawing up to meet them, and she agreeably starts punching into her datapad as Obi-Wan settles into a seat, hands folding neatly on the table and casting Anakin a wry smile.] Patience, Anakin--haven't you done your fair share of swindling last week already? I'd be surprised the Commander has any savings to spare for a second round at all, at this point--and you know as well as I do that dishonesty is not his strong suit. Leave the poor man be! At least Rex would almost stand a fighting chance.
[Absentmindedly he reaches over for the menu flimsy on the table, paging idly through it without really reading it--he's already memorized most of the menu at this point, after all, but old habits die hard.]
But that besides, a journey to Corellia ought not be made on an empty stomach--we all know this. Besides, I believe I do still owe you lunch, after that last battle's droid count. Even if I'm still pretty sure Artoo cheated on the counting that time....
[Maybe it's just been awhile since he last stopped by Dex's. Maybe he's a man of his word. You decide, Anakin--and so Obi-Wan muses along, prodding at the flimsy, still blissfully unaware of Anakin's sudden subliminal pastry experience.] Will it be the usual for you? Nerf steak, of course, and one of those blue milkshakes? Unless you're actually wanting to give a cup of ardee's a try this time--
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and it's worked out so far. such is the jedi way, or he suppose, their way. ]
Hey, I always give it back! [ he protests indignantly, any display of betrayal and trickery towards the troops, you know his troops (theirs but...), is unacceptable. he would never treat them like that. unless it was a fair game and there were sore losers around, then he might say it would only be right to teach them a lesson in knowing when to quit. oh the irony is there, he just choses to ignore it. ] Eventually. For example, the last time we were back from a mission, I took Rex out for nerf steaks.
[ he says proudly until it reminded him of how shocked and hesitant rex was in accepting it. then a bit awkwardly, he rubs the back of his neck and his expression edges on a grimace ] You should've seen the look on his face.... It's like I told him to [ he gestures vaguely and lets it drop. ]
Anyway, thank you, Master. You do owe me lunch because Artoo never lies. [ besides the fact that he's anakin's favourite astromech in the whole wide galaxy, that he's also anakin's wedding present from padme, and that every time he looks at the little dependable droid, he thinks fondly of padme in her senatorial apartments, light years away. ]
And I think I'll be having that cake. [ he tips his head towards the caged cake, then fixes obi-wan with a determined stare and the beginnings of a boyish smirk that hasn't been lost in the war yet. ] Then the nerf steak. And the blue milkshake.
for "dad"
lmk if this is ok!
he welcomes jenny back into the compound like she never left, led her pass her old dorms as if expecting her to want to look in and ask to stay for more than a night. he should know better; old sentimentalities catches him and he smiles to himself for a moment then turns to jenny. she was one of his toughest student to handle. looking at her now though, he's proud ]
William's almost to my knee, but he's getting over the counters and on top of the shelves. I'm going to have to make room for a jungle gym for him. So, somethings are new, most of it isn't. There's still a place for you to stay, if you want to stay.
for Space Jesus
preemptively embarrassed about adam warlock's poor life decisions pt 1
still, seeing her here in this ratty little shed of a tavern on a muddy planet full of critters that bear human shape takes him by surprise. not because she's here, but because she doesn't appear to have changed very much, not from where he sits; whereas he feels like he's been changed anew as often as cosmic catastrophe occurs. he's nothing like that child that she was kidnapped by. surely, she wouldn't remember him.
and that is what he bets on.
if he sits still enough, she'll go about her business and she wouldn't recognize the stranger, hiding away his very indiscreet blond hair and gold skin in the corner and occasionally behind his mug of whatever this place counts for alcohol that certainly does nothing to his artificial system. ]
late confirmation of adam warlock's poor life decisions
Still, he's changed. For one, she wouldn't expect to find him in a place like this. (She is, of course, Asgardian, and on culture and principle there is probably not tavern in the universe any true Asgardian would not stop in.) In fact, if it weren't for the distinctive features, she might have overlooked him.
And uncharacteristically, it makes Sif hesitate for a moment. Would he even want to speak to her? Would he even remember that time in his life, new as it had been? She doesn't have it in her to embarrass him, even in as dingy and backwater a place as this. But it's outweighed by the curiosity, and she can't stop herself from draining the rest of her mug and slamming it down decisively, decision made and purpose set.
So sorry, Adam, but she's sitting down next to you.
And then there follows an awkward silence, while Sif thinks of something to say. ]
You know I have wondered what had become of you. What you had done since, where you might have gone.
[ She pauses, and then adds: ]
I will admit a place such as this did not seem a likely destination until now.
[ At least she didn't say, you've acquired more clothes since last we met. Which certainly was a contender for a moment or two. ]
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their history is a brief encounter from his earliest days. he was like a child then. he was so foolish to think that people could just be stolen and made to love like that. he was so desperate for the companionship. he was-
he swallows a mouthful of his drink. ]
Drinking isn't why I'm here. I frequent these places to remember a friend. I hope I would find him like how you found me.
[ and it's true, he has no reason to lie to her. and really the one thing she deserves, among many things like an apology, from him would be the truth. ]
I wondered the same, about you. I've seen Thor - or a version of him and a time when he wasn't in the right mind - though he was more interested in fists and hammer than words. But not you. [ adam brush his hair out of his face to face her fully and press his lips to a stern thin line. ] I owe you an apology.
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FOR ADAM “SPACE JESUS” WARLOCK;
Or it normally does, only that Adam is taking a very long time to meet at their rendezvous point. She’s not worried - that implies Adam can’t take care of himself and, well. Alright. Adam doesn’t seem to have ever had an ounce of self preservation in him and he’s probably gone and done something incredibly stupid. Fantastic. )
You said you had things to do. ( She mutters to herself, grabbing her sword and swinging herself up into the more shadowed ledges of the building. ) And I didn’t have anything better to do, so I said I would come along.
( Never going to make that mistake again. It takes a few minutes of threatening guards to find out his location and then another, longer amount of time to find him and kill the guards assigned to him. Only Adam Warlock, really, and she half suspects he might be upset at her for breaking him out but really, he’s late and Gamora doesn’t have time for one of his plans at the moment. )
If you wanted to speak to the leaders personally, we’re coming up with a way that doesn’t involve this charade.
( Seriously, Adam. )
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he has to admit though, having her there has proven that his self of self preservation has developed to some what satisfactory. and that has to count for something.
adam stands and takes the criticism with a frown. his plan was fine, it worked up to this point and he would point that out except he doesn't have his hands and she has a very big sword so maybe later. ]
Thank you.
[ he lifts his arms as best as he can and points them towards her expectantly. ]
I'll need my hands if we are going to leave this place once and for all.
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( Amazing. Her head does something weird when he thanks her - tilting to the side and the line of her mouth becoming less harsh. Huh.. )
Don't make a habit of it.
( Which is to say that he's welcome and she'll come and save his golden hide as often as need be, although she's not consciously aware of the latter part. Not on any level that would register it as important. Grabbing his hands to yank him a bit forward - he can take it, she's not worried - Gamora begins to cut through his bindings. )
Did you at least get what we came for? No one saw me.
( So she can still do... whatever it is that needs to be doing. Probably. )
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AHSOKA > o66 / jedi temple
he doesn't bother uttering his new name out to the jedi he encounters. they are not worth to hear it. this name is his, it is him and everything he is now. and against that, the jedi are nothing.
nothing but traitors, naysayers of peace and order. and he slaughtered them all and finished his first task as darth vader with a face clean of emotions.
it is now silent in the temple.
he took no pride in his killings. the jedi stood in the way of his master's new order; it was only what was necessary. vader marches towards the jedi template's shipyard. the feeling of power and control nested deep into his bones, so much that even the howls in the force could not penetrate that shield. all that mattered, that he was aware of, was this power, and that he needed more of it. it was only when he felt her in the force, a ghost of a grip in his attention, that he stops in his tracks. ]
Ahsoka.
[ he turns towards her. his hand reaches within his the robes that still marked him as a jedi, and retrieves his lightsaber. he makes no further move. this was his padawan. she, too, felt the sharp betrayal of the jedi. and he is convinced that she will join them. ]
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but her own life isn't the only thing that's been feeling bleaker by the day and when grief and betrayal and suffering overrun any peace she can usually find in the force, ahsoka knows she needs to go to the temple. everything is wrong and dark and in no way does she fell welcome at the structure that was her home for so long. grief tugs at her heart with every shadowed footstep as she works to see and not be seen. where are the jedi? where are their enemies? but she only finds bodies and men who couldn't possibly be the enemy. clones. her clones. they're what she imagines brothers feel like and she can identify nearly every one of them from a distance but something tells her not to interfere with their patrols, so she doesn't. they must be looking for the same disturbance she is, after all. the same sith.
but when she finally finds the disturbance, there is not a sith at the centre, but anakin. skyguy, saviour of the galaxy. her master, who defies being restricted to the role of a jedi to embody the role of hero.
ahsoka has a shitty old bartered blaster peeking out from underneath a traveller's cloak, but she doesn't reach for it, even as he turns to her. her appearance is in line with an undercity lowife prepared not to draw any attention to herself, but her posture is only missing her lightsabers, jedi defender to her very core. ]
Anakin? What's going on here?
[ not what are you doing because she's seen jedi cut down by a lightsaber on her way to him and he's the only one still standing. the math makes her stomach turn, but she can't deny things she can see in front of her. ]
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after a moment of pause, he finally speaks. his voice is deeper than it should, more tonal and the air seems to heat up at the sound. he doesn't answer her question, because they both know what the answer to that is. the bodies of brothers and sisters and the bloodless gash on them is answer enough. ]
You're still on Coruscant... I should have known.
[ his pacing stops. his footing sets in a sure form of his djem so. his hands remain at his side, and he finally raise his head. yellow irises rimmed red stare back at her. ]
The Jedi haven't just betrayed you, they have betrayed us all - the whole Republic. Come with me, Ahsoka.
[ he reaches a hand out. his black glove, incasing the durasteel hand underneath. once again, he's reaching for her to make the right decision, to be at his side. and the part of anakin skywalker that is still there, comfortably hidden but not vanquished completely, urges this on desperately. yes, she is a reminder of the failings of the jedi, and how it led his life to failure her. but she must understand that this is would be different. they would be out of the shadow of the jedi, their rules and their hypocritical politicking. they would be different. ]
Come with me.
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omg i lost this tag
BRINGS THIS BACK FROM THE DEAD 2 RUIN U INSIDE
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"Well, I survived in your absence," he sigh dramatically and brings a hand over his eyes, "It was very trying but I did it. Here I am, still breathing."
Thinking about the love of his life is a rather good distraction from the shearing pain on his left leg. A trap of all things.
"You know what they say," he puts on his best chantry sister (Lelianna, it's Lelianna) voice, "Once you survive fighting an archdemon, metal spikes going through your leg is nothing!"
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In the warm glow and steady roar of the well-tended campfire heads were dipped low in conversation as Briar Cousland went over again and again and then once more with the two junior Wardens over their standing supplies. Call it a wont for order the late Eleanor Cousland foisted upon Briar in her formative years to always be certain they had enough elfroot and bandages. As much the daughter of a teryn as she was the child of an infamous sea raider; instilling the notion that one can never be too prepared deep into the bone.
"If we have to barter with that damned dwarf still working the Imperial Highway again I-"
Briar snapped her head in that direction of the sudden interruption. The warm and familiar notes of a voice that rang in her ears like distance Chantry bells in the early hours of dawn over the smell of burning cedarwood.
"Alistair."
A name could swing down from her own lips heavy as killing blow with the wind knocked out of her.
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He bursted into nervous laugh, pinched an octave higher from the pain. His childhood was riddled with chantry mothers and sisters scolding him to be quiet, calm down, shut up and stay still. But his name from her lips, her voice carried from her heart, it does the trick better than any chantry enforcer can at settling his nerves.
His face softened from the grimace he held and he smiled, or tried to, to eject the concern from her and reassure her that he's alright. "I would say you're a lovely sight or something equally romantic and foolhardy but you always are! I figure you might be tired of listening to me prattle. But that elfroot is looking quite alright. You think you can spare your ridiculously obsessive collection for me, my dear?"
Alistair reached out and gestured at the mangled metal spiky trap that laid next to him. "Now, doesn't that sound a lot better than help, I got hurt while you were away."
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resnipstance > post-season 6
Anakin hated being at the Temple and thanked the stars for the war on all fronts.
Battle with weapons and droids was easy. He could easily lose himself from the constant wrongness he feels, from even the thought of Ahsoka and Padme. There weren't time for those stray thoughts. The war would bring him back into attention before he got there. Being back on Corusant, at the Temple where they had the rare chance of breaks and smiles, the restlessness in his bones inflames and he seeks any means to work it out - in lashing at others, in the training rooms. Battles fought without lifting a single finger and "friends" of circumstances were not easy but he had to trust in Palpatine; he was the only one left he could trust.
He hides from the other Masters in the Map Room. Very few uses these anymore. In fact, very few who would use them were at the temple. Anakin opens a star map, though it is all pretence. He brace his hands on the ledge and stares down - his commlink. It's attempting to reach an old channel. He doesn't know if it'll work but he has to try. He has to talk to her and make her understand that this isn't how it was suppose to happen. ]
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She thinks about calling Anakin to check in with him. To let him know she's okay. She really does. But every time she picks up her old commlink to do it, she puts it back down again. What would she say? If she contacted him now, it's possible that all her resolve to leave the Order and find her own way would crumble. No. Better to wait until she's found her feet, and she can contact him with good news.
So the day Anakin calls her old commlink finds her packing her things up in her dingy, one-room apartment. She isn't sure what her next move is going to be yet, but she can't stay on Coruscant any longer. That much is clear. There's just no use for her, here. Perhaps she could stow away aboard a ship bound for one of the neutral systems and offer her aid there. Now that she's no longer affiliated with the Jedi, she could certainly be of help in places that sorely need it but dare not ask for it for fear of being dragged in to the war.
Her heart rate skyrockets when she hears the old commlink beeping from inside her desk drawer-- she hadn't packed it yet. There are only a few people she knows who would call it. Heart in her throat, she opens the drawer and takes it out slowly, wondering what to do. Just hang up... she thinks, holding it in her hand. It would be easier, that way.
But the little light keeps blinking. ... She can't ignore it. Eventually, she answers.]
... Hello?
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His breath gets caught somewhere in his throat and his chest tightens. He didn't think it would work. Ashoka could have been anywhere in the galaxy, her comm could have been destroyed, thrown away. But she kept it, it and their channel. He held that slight chance of hope close. Anakin had felt the want to talk to her and all of that want latched on to the commlink. He never felt like thanking the Force more than this moment. He lurched forward at her voice then closed his mouth.
What does he say?
Her Master misses her? That he needs her by his side just as much as he needs Obi-Wan and Padme?
What if- No.
There were too many what ifs. He doesn't have time for all those. Always a man of action, Anakin stops thinking and blurts out as fast as he can. ]
Ahsoka! Ahsoka, listen to me. Please don't cut me off.
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1/2
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the millennium falcon is actually warmer than the usual first order ships. maybe it's the rusted up wiring and power cells leaking quietly. or maybe it's because he's sitting beside a remarkable girl he had just meant.
he sneaks a glance at rey then nudges her with his shoulder. gently. they've both been through a lot. ]
How are you doing?
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she's glad to be away just as much as she knows she needs to go back -- what if her family comes and she's been gone? they won't find her, she won't find them, she'll never find them--
but she has finn. the first person who's ever asked if she's okay, and continues to surprise her in new ways. she shoots him a small, strained smile. )
It's cold. How are you not cold?
( does the resistance come with the ability to protect oneself against the cold? if so maybe she should join. )
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the smile on her face feels so foreign. he forgot people could make those expressions and not be cruel. ]
Me? No.
[ in the adrenaline rush of... everything, he just looks at her wildly and eyes slightly wide as he takes his - poe's jacket off. ]
Here, take it. You look like you need it more than me.
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