The morning sun warmed Hardcase’s face as he ambled in the direction of Leena’s home. He fiddled with his hearing aid as his mind raced.
“Is this a good idea? Maybe I should just— no. No, I'm going to check on her. She needs someone right now.”
His chest ached as he recalled her face the other night; tear streaked cheeks and a pain so profound in her eyes he was certain he felt it too.
Hardcase didn’t pretend to know what went on behind closed doors in Leena’s marriage to Tech. Based on the information he’d gathered, the split was painful but not really anyone’s fault.
That didn’t make it easier. And Leena was so sweet. The thought that someone so brilliantly filled with life and love feeling pain so excruciating seemed criminal to him. She was so pretty too. Her smile lit up every room she was in. Anyone like that deserved happiness. It didn’t have to be him. In fact he didn’t expect it to be. The ending of her marriage was too fresh. She didn’t need some… silly guy throwing himself at her. However, she did need a friend. And that? That Hardcase could be. He could push those butterflies into a little box in the pit of his stomach and be her friend.
He stopped at one of the planters of community flowers. The blossoms were purple. Purple like that pretty lipstick Leena wore. The thought made him smile and he picked a few. He also noted which planter it was so he could come back later and plant more to replace them, assuming he didn’t forget.
He could see her door. He could do this. He, Jesse, and Fives saved their brothers on Umbara. He could definitely do this. Right?
He took a deep breath and marched up to the door before he could turn tail and run. He rapped his knuckles gently and waited.
His breath caught for a brief moment when she finally opened the door. So beautiful. And then he grinned, proudly holding the flowers out to her.
“Hey there! I came over to see how you’re doing! Thought you could use a friend. And flowers. Because those are both nice and cheer people up.”
Smooth Hardcase, he chided himself for letting his nerves get the best of him.
But then she smiled. And suddenly nothing else in the galaxy mattered because everything most exquisite was looking back at him in her eyes.
(This story was written by the lovely and talented @returnofthepineapple ! Go check out her blog for more awesome stories like this!!!)
||Caption written by my dear friend the lovely @eclec-tech, who also inspired a ton of Sirenian culture/lore!||
I was starting to wonder how long Eesha’s hair would have to be before Dogma figured it out! Let me explain…
Eesha is one of Pabu’s most talented artisans. She makes jewelry from the shells, pearls, and undersea treasures she and her people find while out swimming around Pabu and sells them at the bathhouse her parents run. Eesha and her people are Sirenia, Pabuan natives as at home on the island walking as they are in the water swimming. But Dogma wasn’t walking or swimming when they met.
He was sitting.
Dogma went through a lot before he came to Pabu. First that Umbara nightmare, then the time he spent in the labor camp before he and—well, that’s a story for later. When he came to Pabu, his brothers wanted him to know how much they appreciated everything he had done, so they commissioned Eesha to make him a special necklace. They wanted it to be a sort of medal for him. According to Jesse, Dogma’s face went through half the galaxy’s holoemojis before they were able to convince him that he deserved it.
So, when Eesha walked on the beach one afternoon to find the necklace she made being held by a trooper who could only be the one the boys all thought deserved a medal, she stopped to tell him, “That, uh, necklace you’ve got there is really quite striking.” She let him go on for a while about how exquisite it was and the dedication the artist must have for their craft, but she eventually confessed that she was the one who had made it. According to her, his jaw dropped. I wish I could have seen it!
Dogma and Eesha became instant friends after that. Somewhere between exploring the island together both in and out of the water, movie nights, sick days, being co-parents to Beaky the pterosaur, and talking about things neither of them ever thought they would share with another person, their friendship turned into something much deeper, like what Case and I have. Eesha even started growing her hair out, and that’s where their story gets funny!
Women in Eesha’s culture keep their hair short while they are romantically unattached and only grow it long when they are in a committed relationship to show that they are “off the menu.” My friend Aiko is also Sirenia, and I was there when she and Kix were talking about her hair being long because she grew it out for him. Dogma was there too! He even asked questions! But did he clue in when Eesha’s short and always goes-where-it-wants-to hair started becoming *long* goes-where-it-wants-to hair? No! He was completely oblivious!
It looks like he finally put two and two together and came up with…well, two! 🥰💜💕
Today seems like a good a time as any for a mid-year mini JESSFEST! You know the drill, send me your favorite Jesse art, stories, posts, headcanons, lore, and anything else that reminds you of this fine fella! Be sure to @ me and use #jessfest!
Oooooooo I love JessFest!!! And now I can throw in for the first time too!!! Okay so! For JessFest, I'd like to share one of my favorite Jesse moments: The time I decided to get my nipples pierced!!
Now, some vode asked questions like:
"Why?" Or, "Are you sure?" Or said, "Hardcase, this seems like a terrible idea."
Others called me a “Di’kut with 12 credits and poor impulse control!” (And for the record, Fives, I prefer to call it a “spirit of adventure” but that’s beside the point 😜)
Not Jesse though! Jesse just sighed really hard and came with me anyway.
When the piercer brought out the needle, I discovered I was heaps less brave than I had been about five minutes earlier.
So Jesse held my hand. Like a true brother. A true friend. A true HERO!!
Did he make fun of me afterward? Yes.
Did I deserve it? ALSO YES 😀
Would he do it again? Unfortunately for him, probably!
So, Happy JessFest to the best ori'vod I could ever ask for!!! 💙
I can’t believe it was TWO YEARS ago today that I started this blog! Thank you all SO much for your love and support, everyone!! Your Green Girl loves sooo all! 🥰💜💕
Life on Pabu has been good for this sweet boy! He’s got a lil extra ink, a few more piercings, and some awesome hearing aids compliments of our girl Aiko! 💜💕
For the star wars themed request can I request Captain Rex, Fives, Hardcase and Echo together? Maybe 2 of them asleep on a sofa as the other 2 kinda hold them? If you want to?
kinda different from what u asked for but hey they be napping!!
(also idk about you but i love the implication of echo having rex's mark on both his shiny armour and his arc trooper armour like,, did he ask rex to do that again or does he have a template now. anyway its on his hoodie, too)
If you all couldn’t tell, I'm just completely head-over-heels for Hardcase! With the way I’m leaping into his arms here, you’d think we’d been apart for ages (but really it’s only been a couple hours 😂) He truly means the world to me, and I can't even put into words how much I love and adore him!!
But he’ll be going on a two-week long supply run soon, and it’s already giving me major separation anxiety! It’s gonna feel like an absolute eternity. I'm super relieved that Kix will be accompanying him this time, because at least I know he'll be looked after and have a buddy. But seriously, what am I gonna do without him around for that long?? Sure, he’s been off-world before (and he’s always super careful, never going near the core-worlds) but this is gonna be the longest stretch we've been apart since we started dating, and I'm already counting down the moments until he's back! 🥲
Don't you worry your lovely head one bit about me being away! I'll be back in the blink of an eye, I promise. In the meantime, get ready for a full-on torrent (😉) of communication from my end! I'm talking daily check-ins, probably hourly updates, and who knows, maybe even a comm every five minutes just to remind you I'm thinking of you! Seriously though, I'm gonna miss you heaps too, Love!!
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