I Can't Believe The Horse Is Back In The Fucking Hospital

the idea of the earthquake hitting right as eddie confesses to being gay is so fucking funny to me. he's been trying to convince himself it's not the end of the world if he's gay and the second he says the words out loud the earth literally splits open

Reunion

(I’m not 100% sure what the etiquette is for formatting, so my apologies if this looks awful.)

Warnings: Angst? Yeah, angst. The usual Order 66 feels. Rex being soft.

This is a character I came up with during the Bad Batch weeks, and I might be posting little ficlets about Miah and her clones, because her heart is full. Enjoy :)

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Miah’s reunion with Captain Rex came mere weeks after Order 66, a time fraught with peril for any who held ties to the Jedi, let alone a Jedi themself. She didn’t know what planet she landed on, only that it had enough people for her to hide amongst. The terror and uncertainty caused by the Great Purge fractured the remaining Jedi, so Miah travelled alone, unsure whether there were other survivors out there, somewhere in the Galaxy. Even the fate of her Master, Obi-Wan, was a mystery to her.

Walking the busy streets in the evening, Miah reflected on what led her there, as she often did; what else existed for her to dwell on, except the past? The present seemed so dark, so bleak and shattered - so far from what it was supposed to look like. 

Underneath the folds of her cloak, Miah’s hand found the amulet Echo gave to her; she screwed her eyes shut, coming to a stand-still in the rain as another wave of grief and pain threatened to topple the young Jedi. These feelings, powerful, and dangerous, acted as constant companions that swarmed to fill the void left in the Force where her friends should be. They made her feel less alone.

She slowly opened her eyes again, tearing them away from the star-dotted sky above, her mind desperately wondering where did we go wrong? 

The wind blew through the street at a howling pace, many bypassers losing their hoods. Miah’s stayed up, and she hoped it wasn’t too conspicuous. Across from her, a man hurriedly tried to cover his head again, but not quickly enough; she watched him turn, saw the flash of blond hair and all-too-familiar features, immediately recognising the man she’d been honoured to call Vod. 

Elation caught her tongue, swelling inside her chest until it was bursting. Finally, Miah thought with a smile, a friend who isn’t dead.

Then, as Rex’s gaze locked with hers, a light sparking in them, Miah’s memory caught up with her emotions. Cold fear dropped into her stomach like a ten-tonne weight, and the smile vanished in an instant. Before she could think about his expression, the way Rex had acted, the clearly out-of-place circumstances they’d reunited under, she turned and fled into the marketplace. 

Concentrating in order to avoid panicking, Miah cursed when she heard his heavy-booted steps falling close behind. Years spent together on battlefields meant he knew her every trick, could predict her every move. The icy hand of dread once more clutched at her heart, but Miah refused it; she would not be responsible for the death of another Clone. Especially not him. 

“Miah! Wait!”

She ducked under a passing merchant cart, continuing to run without any real idea as to where she was going. But this proved to be a fatal mistake when the alley became a dead-end, and Miah stood at the wrong side.

Hands shaking under her cloak, fingers grazing the cool metal of her lightsaber, she turned around - hoping beyond hope she somehow lost him in the crowd. But, no; at the other end of the alley stood Captain Rex, someone Miah used to gravitate toward, now she shrunk away from him.

“Please,” she whispered, holding her hands out as they quivered, silently asking Rex to stop, “don’t...I can’t...not again. Please. Don’t make me do this.”

If Miah had been able to look at the former trooper, she might have noticed the softness in his eyes, the way his steps faltered as Rex saw her fear, and his devastation at seeing his friend so distraught by his presence. But her eyes refused to settle on him, to see the face of a million men, the faces of the Clones she struck down on Coruscant. Her friends.

“Miah,” he said softly, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She made a sound that could have been a sob, but it got stifled and bitten down. “Don’t try and trick me, Rex. I don’t want this. Leave me alone, please, brother.”

In the darkened alley, rain fell heavily on them both: the Jedi who fought for so long, she no longer had the energy to raise her lightsaber in defence of her own life; and the Captain who had been turned into an enemy by circumstances beyond his control. Neither moved, and neither was willing to harm the other. But the tension, the shared knowledge of recent occurrences between the former comrades kept them on edge, reluctant to act in case something went wrong.

Finally, Rex slowly raised his hands in the air, his brow furrowed and a deep frown on his face as he took a cautious step forward. “Vod’ika, I swear to you, I’m not a threat. My Inhibitor chip was removed by Ahsoka.”

Miah blinked, almost looking at him. “...Ahsoka?”

A tiny flicker of hope appeared in her voice when she nearly let herself believe it, nearly allowing herself to believe there was one other Jedi alive, because even now, after everything, Miah struggled to think of Rex as anything but trustworthy and loyal. Which he was, but how did she know his chip wasn’t active?

“Yes,” he said, seeing an opportunity to calm her, “Ahsoka survived. I helped her get away. The chips caused it all, the Clones, we didn’t mean to do it, Fives-”

“I know,” she said, “I remember. A purpose bigger than any of us could comprehend.”

Rex nodded, hesitant and unsure of his next move. “I don’t know how to make you believe me.”

Miah finally looked him in the eye, resisting the stinging in her own. “Neither do I.”

Stuck on the path back to each other, they continued to stand in the rain, away from the bustling city crowds and the heaving market. They seemed to exist on the very edges of the throbbing veins of society, which stung when memories of when they were front and centre, back to back, in the very midst of it all crept into their thoughts. A curious thing, how two people so intimately tied to actions determining the fate of the Galaxy could pass unnoticed, two lonesome figures in the evening downpour, nameless faces to be forgotten. 

And yet, to them, forgetting the other’s face was an inconceivable thought; how could they, when the clearest years of their life were spent building an iron trust, a bond forged in battle? Rex had been one of the men to give Miah her name, a gift she never took for-granted, not for a second; and so, placing her faith into that bond, she reached out into the Force, the first time since the shock of Order 66 caused Miah to cut herself off from it, searching for the truth.

“Rex...you’re not lying to me, are you? I really don’t want to hurt you, I can’t…”

The former Captain shook his head, a soft, reassuring smile making its home on his lips. A familiarity surrounded the expression, helping to convince her. “I swear, on the memory of Fives, my inhibitor chip is gone, and I am not going to try to kill you.”

Miah hesitated only a moment, the solemn vow carrying enough weight to lower her defensive stance. She stepped forward, holding out her arm for him to grasp. “I’m sorry, Rex. I know Clones whose chip have been activated don’t speak like this, I just had to be sure…”

He clasped her forearm tightly, reaching over with his free hand to grasp her shoulder. “You have nothing to apologise for, Miah’ika, I understand.” Tears gathered in his eyes, and Rex bowed their foreheads together. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you again.”

Miah laughed softly, cradling the back of his head. “I think I might have an idea, Vod.”

If you gave Bilbo a computer do you think he would be able to figure it out

I don’t know how we’re letting trump get away with all this shit when I truly believe that if you threw a blanket over his head he would think it was nighttime and go to sleep like a bird

well look who it is. my old friend. the conses of my quences.

The hilarious thing about Midsomer Murders is that if you described it to someone who didn’t watch it and mentioned the running joke of ‘the detective inspector hates it whenever his wife starts a new hobby’ you’d think he was a raging misogynist or it was an unhappy marriage played for laughs or whatever

But no no no, Barnaby absolutely adores his wife, it’s just that her hobbies always seem to result in dead bodies and it’s been eleven seasons and Barnaby is very very tired by this point

Steve's Young Daughter He Left Behind, is Scared by Sam and Bucky's Arguing

(Inspired by^)

Their arguing grew louder, more aggressive. Neither meant to escalate it, but Bucky was stressed and upset, and Sam was frustrated with it all. Their situation got increasingly more complicated the more time went on, and that showed no signs of stopping now Zemo was involved.

Sarah-Grace watched them with big eyes, huddled in a thick coat that had been draped over her by said Sokovian fugitive. The material kept her lovely and warm, almost to the point of lulling the girl to sleep. But she hated noise, especially shouting. Usually, her uncle Bucky spoke softly, avoiding making too much noise for her benefit. Same with Sam.

Hearing it now, Sarah curled into the warmth of the coat, trying to block it all out. She knew they didn't mean to scare her, but it was just too much.

Accidentially, she caught Zemo's eyes, then shyed away from them. He scared her a little, despite being nothing but kind to her so far.

"Guys!" He hissed, stepping towards them.

"What?!" Sam and Bucky snapped simultaneously, glaring daggers at him.

"You're scaring Sarah," Zemo said icily.

Their faces immediately softened, and they exchanged regretful glances. Bucky frowned, quickly moving over to kneel in front of her.

"We're sorry, Gracie," he said, voice returned to its soft hum, "I got too wound up. Are you okay?"

She raised her head, whimpering a little. Bucky's heart clenched, deadly afraid to see her scared of him. The idea had plagued him since the moment he realised what Steve did - once the anger dried up enough for other emotions to come through.

With her curly blonde hair and shining blue eyes, lightly flecked with green, she resembled Steve so much it sometimes hurt. Bucky believed she deserved better than him as a parent, but couldn't bring himself to give her up. If he was honest, this female reincarnation of his best friend gave Bucky the will to wake up every day.

She smiled meekly, reaching out to wrap her fingers around his metal hand. "It's okay. Promise you won't argue anymore?"

Sam nodded, crouching down beside them. "Promise. Sorry, sweetie."

She stood from the coat to hug them, her short arms only able to wrap around their necks. They leaned in to hold her, both making mental notes to keep their disagreements more civil from then on.

Over their shoulders, Sarah saw Zemo watching, and smiled at him. He returned it, misty eyed, still turning over the turkish delight in his hand.

Ploop ploop ploop

Aliit

Somewhere along the way, the Bad Batch picked up not only Omega, but another young girl too, though older than the female clone. She reached just below Hunter’s shoulder, and wore a drastically severe, short haircut, that not long ago included a braid.

A former Jedi Padawan, survivor of Order 66, cast into the Galaxy with no protection, and her previous allies, her friends, sent out to hunt the girl down. By some miracle, she managed to avoid them long enough for Clone Force 99 to stumble across her, and none of them had the heart to abandon the rather reckless, passionate little Jedi. So, she became one of their own; an elder sibling to Omega, and a second adopted child to the group.

But the girl, whose name was Mai Kryze, (she claimed the name had no connection to the former Duchess Satine, but Echo thought she looked eerily similar to Obi-Wan-Kenobi,) did not have Omega’s innocent disposition. Mai had seen the war, watched her people slaughtered, and been on the recieving end of the clones’ persecution.

One night, aboard the ship, the crew rested after a particularly arduous mission. Most of them by now were asleep, apart from two: Mai, and Hunter; however, he was only awake because the quiet sniffling from the cockpit refused to be ignored. He tossed and turned for ages, feeling guilty for leaving the girl alone, but unsure of how to help. She gave him a run for his money when it came to keeping emotions close to her chest; though he supposed it was the Jedi way.

Eventually, once the sniffling turned to sob, Hunter left his bunk and carefully worked his way through the ship, not wanting to disturb the others. Especially not Omega. When he reached the cockpit, he saw Mai’s hunched form in one of the seats, curled into a ball as her shoulders shook.

“I know you’re there,” she mumbled, head buried between her kness.

Hunter sat down next to her, awkwardly leaning on his thighs. He knew how to comfort Omega, now he had practise, but Mai never seemed to need any reassurance or comfort. Though he knew it had been an act, sometimes they all forgot, despite being a Jedi, Mai was only sixteen.

She wiped her face, head angled away from him as she tried to control her breathing. “M’sorry if I disturbed you.”

“Don’t be. I’d rather know something was up than sleep while you cried. Wanna talk about it?” Hunter asked, remembering a piece of advice Cut gave.

For a moment, Mai held his eye, uncertainty crossing her own. Then she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring out into space. “During the mission, I...I saw a wanted poster for the Jedi. Only two of the faces hadn’t been crossed out; Master Yoda, and my Master, Obi-Wan. The rest...so many. Even Master Windu.”

Hunter watched her expression contort, an array of emotions flashing across it in an instant. His eyes widened at this, as she never let anything truly register on her face, and now...

Blazing anger reared its head, and Mai clenched her jaw, her hands gesturing wildly. “They’ve destroyed my people, my culture, everything! They’ve taken everything from me, and they won’t stop. Not until every single person in the Galaxy hates the Jedi, until they tarnish our memory forever. I will never be safe, safe enough to practise my beliefs, to help and to be who I trained to be my whole life. I can’t do anything. For anyone.”

She took a breath, calming herself, using the techniques her Master taught her. Anger came rarely to Mai, but when it did, she needed to work hard in order to control it. Brushing hair from her face, she glanced at Hunter.

“I know the Jedi aren’t perfect, believe me, I know. But so many of us were just good people trying to do what was right, to save lives and...I don’t know, try and bring hope to the Galaxy. Everyone makes mistakes, even Jedi, so we didn’t always get it right. But we truly care for each person in the universe, would lay down our lives for them; and yet, this is how the Jedi fall? Betrayed by one of our own, and hunted down by our friends. Sometimes I wonder if the will of the Force isn’t just some joke made up to make us feel better when things fall apart.”

Hunter wished he could take this pain away from her. The way it tore across her face, dug into her heart...she felt differently to others, he knew that. Force users connected with the world in a strange way, more deeply, and when something hurt, that pain ripped them apart. “Kid, I...I don’t think there’s anything I can say to make this any better. I saw Order 66, what happened to our Jedi...we cannot imagine what it was like for you. I’m sorry, truly sorry. The only thing I have to offer is...us.”

Mai raised her eyes to him; they glistened with tears, but her confusion at his words momentarily halted their fall. “What do you mean?”

“You lost a family, your people,” Hunter said, grasping her shoulder gently, “and we can never replace them. But we can offer you a new home, a new family, one where you are still free to be a Jedi. None of us will ever think less of you, or try to change you. Us lot may be a bit odd, but we’ll do our best to look after you, Mai.”

In the dark cockpit, their faces only illuminated by the stars outside, Hunter felt a connection, something had reached out and touched him in the silence. It took seconds for him to realise it was Mai; he recognised the presence, and smiled. She returned it, albeit shyly, and fought back a yawn.

“Thank you, Hunter. I don’t think you know how much it means to me that you all care so much. And I’m sorry I don’t really show how I feel in return...it will take time for me to get used to you guys. You bear your emotions so freely...that was a downside to the Order. No matter how deeply I cared for the people around me, I could never say it.”

Hunter hesitated a moment, then carefully pulled Mai into his arms, cradling the youngster with as much care as he would give Omega. She tensed, and he wondered if he had gone too far, then her arms wound around his middle and she clutched onto him. The way Mai clung to him, Hunter realised she’d probably never been hugged in her life, which only made him hold tighter.

For her part, Mai couldn’t have been more thankful for them. With these men, her new family, she might get the chance to heal, to continue her training in peace, knowing she was protected and cared for, so that one day, she could save them, as they had saved her.

Holding onto Hunter as if he’d vanish if she let go, Mai smiled, recalling a word in Mando’a Cody once taught her. Aliit. She had one of her own, now.