Star Wars Spooktober Day 1: Costume Contest
Clone Wars Era
Characters: Ahsoka, Anakin, Rex, Fives, Kix, Echo, Bad Batch, Obi-wan, Aayla Secura, Kanan Jarrus (padawan), Depa Billaba, Ki Adi Mundi, Plo Koon, Quinlan Vos, Shaak Ti, Grogu
#no beta we die like padme
Walking down the long hallways of the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka's eyes scanned the paper she clutched in her right hand. It read,
"Coruscant Costume Contest - open to Jedi and Clone Troopers stationed on Corsucant.
Come down to the Grand Meeting Hall in the temple to partake in Hallowe'en fun this Wednesday!"
"Grand Meeting Hall... now where would that be..?" She quietly pondered to herself as she continued making her way down the seemingly never ending hall, looking out for any signs that'd lead her to where the contest was taking place. A strange humming sound akin to that of a fan took the padawan out of her focused thoughts. She turned around toward the noise, a brow quirked. "Rex?!" She questioned incredulously. The corners of her mouth instantly raised, her mouth gaped in surprised amusement. She eyed him, taking in his new appearance. He was plastic clad in a brown inflatable T-Rex costume and had a petite white fan attached to his outfit that was positioned near his right hip. So that was the weird sound...
"Commander. Like my costume?" He addressed the Jedi, walking up to her and stopping about a foot or so away. He outstretched his arms to the side, showing off his puffy outfit. Rex turned around and wagged the inflated tail that dragged along the floor, eliciting a giggle from Ahsoka. He turned back toward her, a smile now on his face after hearing her laughter. She had her left hand clasped lightly over her mouth to stifle any further laughing, her right hand choking out the paper she held against her thigh.
"Yeah, it's dope. But uh, where did you even get it from?" She inquired with crossed arms, lips twitching upward. The young padawan attempted to school her expression and be serious, but failed. "Don't worry about it.- But anyway, what... do you have going on here..? Is this supposed to be a... costume?"
"What? Obviouslyyy, duh. You don't know who I am?"
"Wait, wait! Don't say it, let me guess. Soulja Boy?" "Soulja Boy? What- no! Of course not. Obviously i'm Lil Soka." "Leel Soka?" "No! Lil Soka. Like Little Ahsoka? I'm me! It's my rapper name." Rex inspected her outfit, his eyes roaming her figure up and down. She wore basketball sneakers, crew socks, frayed jean-shorts, an over-sized white shirt, an orange bandanna tied over her left sleeve, a gold chain, black sunglasses, and a backwards baseball cap that hung off the top of her left lekku. He had a self-satisfied smile behind his plastic face shield as he proceeded to make an irksome remark.
"I don't know, looks to me like you're about to Crank That." Ahsoka let out an agitated huff at his purposefully irritating remark.
"Have you even listened to any of my songs?!" Her voice raised a pitch and a decibel or two. She dropped her arms to her sides and balled her fists in frustration, the flyer crinkling even more between her right fingers. "Since when were you a rapper?" Rex quirked an instigative brow up, still smiling. "'Since when'- are you kidding me?! I literally gave you signed copies of all my published music!"
"Signed copies..? Oh yeaaah... I guess you did... Well-"
"Snips! Er- uh, Soulja Boy? Nice costume!" Ahsoka's head whipped toward the afar voice that egged her on. "I'm not Soulja Boy! Why does everybody keep calling me that?" Anakin exchanged an amused glance with Rex, meeting his barely visible eyes through the semi-clear plastic. "So we got Soulja Boy and... Captain Rex the T-Rex?" His padawan groaned with a frown and crossed her arms again.
"Yessirrr" The Captain nodded his head and smiled smugly. The smaller Jedi observed her master's outfit before pondering aloud. "So who're you supposed to be? Peely from Fortnite?" She giggled at her own remark, Rex biting his lip to hold back his chuckle. The tall Jedi put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes with a scoff.
"Of course you would suggest something so childish" Once again, her frown was gone and a scowled graced her face. "Alright then, Skyguy, if you're not Peely then who are you?" She held an angry scrutinizing expression, her pose matching his. "I'm obviously Bananakin. I suppose it's not surprising that such a brilliant costume concept would go over your head." Ahsoka huffed at that rude implication and her features contorted into a look of offense. Rex looked between the two of them and quickly intervened, seeing that Anakin's lack of anger management would likely lead to a heated argument over such a silly topic. "Hey uh, General, do you know where the Grand Meeting Hall is? We were on our way there but uh, we don't quite know where 'there' is." They both looked up at Rex, his face barely visible within the confines of his bloated costume. Their anger dissipated slightly at the change of conversation.
"Yeah, I can take you there since we're all going to the same place anyway. Follow me."
Anakin leads the three of them to the Grand Meeting Hall, it was a few minutes walk away. They traveled along a stone path that went through the temple garden. The Captain looks around, taking in the scenery of the lush garden. Clearing his throat, he proceeded to speak.
"Y'know, I've never been this out here before. I think I would've gotten lost without you as a guide." Skywalker smirked at that, a little proud at having a degree of expertise that he didn't. Young Tano then chimed in. "I like the garden, it's buzzing with the living-force," She stuck a finger out, a butterfly gracefully fluttering toward it then perching on top. A bird flew around her and chirped sweetly. This caused her to giggle a bit and the two men to smile at the way life-forms seemed drawn to her.
"But it's been a while since I've been to the Grand Meeting Hall. The last time might've been when I became a padawan."
"Last time I went, I was knighted and my braid was cut. Someday, Snips, you'll have to report there and I'll cut off your padawan braid, like my Master before me."
"Awesome. I'll be so honored when that day comes."
"Well, guys, this is where the fun begins." The General turned to look at his two underlings before slowly opening up the two tall doors of the meeting hall, it reached at least a second story high. Their faces lit up as they saw the inside and entered.
The room was enormous, at least the size of a church but with no rows of seats. At the back was a stage and a row of tables about 6-7 feet away. Seated on the side facing the stage sat at least half of the Jedi Council. It appeared to be the judges table, as the Council was judging the event. If it weren't the gigantic size of the space, the amount of people inside would be suffocating. There were crowds of clones, knights, padawans, and younglings. There were even a few droids that seemed to be partaking in the contest. A bipedal droid walked up to Captain Rex and waved to him.
"Captain Rex! Great to see you here. Or Captain T-Rex I suppose?" The Captain's barely visible face contorted in confusion, clearly not recognizing the blackish grey droid.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" The droid lifted up it's metal face, revealing it's true face.
"It's me, Echo! From the Domino squad? I guess my costume was too convincing."
"Echo?! Oh wow, I genuinely thought you were a random droid. You'll probably end up winning this thing."
"Ehhh, I don't knowww..." The pale clone rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked away bashfully. His put the tip of his screwdriver-like hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner while continuing.
"So, you guys know what I am, but what are y'all? Oh! Bananakin and Soulja Boy?" He pointed to Anakin and Ahsoka as he guessed their costumes. "Yup-" The young Togruta interjected swiftly, face scrunched in frustration. "I'm not Soulja Boy! I'm Lil Soka, my rapper persona. I gave you signed copies too- Nevermind, I'm going to go mingle and see other people's costumes" She stuffed her hands and crumpled piece of paper into her pockets and walked off, the sound of the three lads' laughter fading as she got further from them. Spotting Obi-wan in a brightly colored costume, she headed to him. "What are you supposed to be? A yellow and green di-" Obi-wan quicky interrupted her, clearly knowing where her thoughts were. "Don't you finish that sentence. Anyways... I'm Obi-wan Cornobi. I'm matching with Anakin" The exhaustion in his voice was evident in his voice, pobrecito. "Why'd you guys choose such corny costumes? Oh! Pun not even intended, I truly am a rapper." The girl seemed elated by her own spur-of-the-moment cleverness.
"Ah, I see. You're Soulja Boy, how fun" Kenobi smiled, not even intending to aggravate her.
"I'm not Soulja Boy, I'm- Whatever, nice seeing you, Master." She sighed and looked around for familiar faces.
"Is that a gang of penguins?!" She ran off toward 4 clones dressed in penguin onesies, the squad conversing with each other. One stood with his hands on his hips, then partially turned toward Ahsoka when catching sight of her.
"Ah, Commander Tano, looks like you've dressed up as well." Hunter's deep and brooding voice greeted her.
"Yeah- So what are you guys supposed to be? An arctic gang?" The Sergeant chuckled and crossed his arms, shaking his head with a grin. Before he could answer, Wrecker's gruff voice boomed for all to hear.
"Nooo, we're the penguins of Madagascar! Who're you supposed to be?" Seeing such a big and beefy man in a penguin onesie was a rather comical and amusing sight, Ahsoka had to forcibly restrain herself from giggling. Tech decided to offer an educated guess as to what her costume was.
"Based on your apparel, I'd assume a rapper of some sort. Though, I am not very familiar with many music artists of that genre." He adjusted his glasses as he calculatingly thought aloud.
"I bet I know who she is. And for that, I have a question to ask her. Will you Crank That for us, Soulja Boy?" Crosshair teased, his and Ahsoka's eyes narrowing at each other in a silent stand-off. "I'm not-," The orange togruta let out a sigh, "Why do I bother?" Running a hand over the right side of her head and her lekku, she waved at the chuckling gang of penguins and headed off to find more people she was well acquainted with. She sprinted off, hardly dodging the costumed people in the densely populated venue. She raced along until she didn't dodge someone--or rather, some droid.
"Kriff!" Letting out a curse she toppled over roughly, recognizing the devious white and blue astromech from her position on the floor. He was dressed in a darkly colored waiter's garb, tailored to his cylindrical shape--even a faux mustache adhered to his metal face. Before she could rip him a new one, someone beat him to it.
"Watch where you're going, clanker, you've ruined my costume!" Kix churlishly scolded R2-D2, gesturing to his nurse scrubs that were now drenched in a purplish maroon liquid. The droid beeped a gasp and then rebuked him, pointing an offended metal claw at the uncouth clone.
"Don't try to turn this on me, tin-can, I was watching where I was going! You hit me like a heavy tank. Now how am I supposed to win the contest?" The medical clone boorishly retorted. A short youngling dressed as a janitor quickly ran up to the spill with his mop bucket and silently started mopping it up as if it was his everyday job. Kix and Ahsoka looked at the child with slight bewilderment, until she gets up and starts bickering with him.
"You got hit like a heavy tank? He ran me down! I think I'm gonna bruise thanks to him. At least the juice adds to your costume, you look like a nurse at the end of his shift." Kix huffs, looking down at the shorter event-goer. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? Whatever, I gotta get this out before it stains." He holds his shirt away from his stomach, looking at the damage and walking away. Ahsoka argues with R2 about the collision and shows him where she was already forming a bruise. The now frustrated clone heads off toward the judges' table, seeing more Council members arrive. Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe held autumnal colored cupcakes, the Commander standing beside the General to chat while he sat down.
"What happened to you?" Wolffe playfully inquired, holding back a chuckle at the large spill on Kix's outfit. Responding with a roll of his eyes, he recounted the details of what happened.
"An astromech carrying drinks bumped into me and doused me in this dark juice. I highly doubt i'll be able to get this stain out. Outfit and day instantly ruined." He pulled his shirt a few inches off the skin of his torso to look woefully at the grape juice colored stain.
"Need a nurse's outfit? I have a spare, it was too big for me so I had to wear my backup costume." Kix perked up at the sweet voice and intriguing offer. He turned and looked down a few inches to see Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, a beautiful and vibrantly blue twi'lek. A smile nearly instantaneously graced his features, his face gaining a hint of a rosy color--especially when he saw her costume. Without much question, he nodded frantically to her proposal. He attempted to play it cool and accept her offer
"Yeah, yeah sure. That'll be fine. Alright, yeah that'd be cool, yeah, cool... cool... Thanks so much, man--woman, er.. lady--ma'am... miss," He cleared his throat, "You're a life saver--so uh, what're you supposed to be, uh- exactly..?" He stammered out a question, heat rising to his cheeks as he tried--and failed--to be nonchalant. Sticking his increasingly moist hands into his pockets, he looked at her in the eyes--but only for a second before he glanced away out of shyness. Could she see the beads of sweat forming on his face?
"I'm a Loth cat! A cute one" Her arms lifted, fingers bending into a 'rawr xD' pose near her face. Her features scrunched up and she puffed up her cheeks. The way she spoke was charming, even if she didn't intend to come across so entrancing and captivating. She was dressed a white long-sleeved crop-top that only came down to her upper ribcage. The cuffs of her sleeves were adorned with light pastel orange faux fur, a sort of fuzzy accent. She wore a white version of her typical headpiece, except this one was fashioned with two white cat ears that had the same fur accent. She wore a skirt that was fairly short,--reaching only to her mid-thigh--that was lined at the bottom with the faux fur. Her choice of shoes were fuzzy ugg-like boots, the lower half featuring a gradient to an orange the color of her other fur accents.
"Yeah, definitely--uh definitely makes sense. I mean-- I mean I can see that, yeah it- yeah I see that cat-ness in your costume." Kix continued to stammer his way through a conversation with the bonny lass.
"Yup, cutest costume award right here. I'm already calling it, you'll win cutest for sure." Quinlan Vos comes up from behind Aayla on her left side, patting a firm hand against her back.
"C'mon, let's go get it from my dorm before the pageant begins." She tooks Kix's sweaty hand and ran off with him, mixing with the crowd and practically disappearing.
"So, Kenobi, what's with the corny costume?" Vos teased, tilting his head and leaning a strong arm against the judges' table.
"I'm starting to regret letting Anakin pick my costume," the bearded Jedi sighed and continued, "You know, you aren't even the first to say that. Anyway, what are you supposed to be? A creep?" Obi-wan chuckled and Quinlan frowned before standing up straight. "I'm a vampire. I think it's pretty obvious, it's a classic." He swiftly lifted the edge of his cape and concealed the lower half of his face, cartoonishly quirking his brows and looking around. He lowered his cape and chuckled, standing tall in his dark Victorian garb.
"I think it's pretty boring, overdone." Kenobi put on a bored expression, nearly rolling his eyes at Vos.
"Have you seen like most of your Council members?" He pointed to the others sitting down that were chatting, silencing them with his loud remarks. "Master Mundi is wearing an inflatable cow costume, Master Fisto is dressed as a merman, Master Plo Koon is a werewolf, and Master Shaak Ti is a ghost." "All of my battalion that showed up are dressed as wolves, we're showing pride in our wolfpack. Just wait till you see their performance. "And I'm not just a simple ghost, I'm a ghost bride."
"I think I look dashing," Master Adi Mundi smiled cheekily. "And me, what about?" Everyone turned toward Grandmaster Yoda, who had just arrived and sat down. "Master Yoda, are you... dressed as a baby?!" Obi-wan asked and looked at Yoda incredulously
"Gaga, googoo" Yoda laughed mischievously and shook a rattle he had brought with him. The whole table looked slightly bewildered.
"Begin, let us," Yoda decided. Obi-wan cleared his throat whilst looking at Quinlan. Vos quirked a brow at Kenobi in confusion at what he meant, then he was shooed away by him. Quinlan stuck his tongue out at him defiantly, but walked away.
⊹₊ ˚‧─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆｡ﾟ･ ───‧ ˚ ₊⊹
Contestants went up on to the stage as they were called and showed off their costume. Some had a little performance, like Echo dancing like a robot. A group of clones from the 104th battalion--including Commander Wolffe--went onto the stage and howled, showing their wolfpack pride. Plo Koon cheered eagerly, proud of his men.
Grogu was called to the stage next and wore a brown Ewok costume. He stumbled to the front of the stage and let out a little roar, causing Wrecker to scream loudly. The whole crowd was silent and turned to look at him, who was in the center.
"Was that really necessary?" Crosshair asked coldly before rolling his eyes with a sigh and rubbing the side of Wrecker's left bicep, who was now frowning at Crosshair's harshness, "Don't worry, I've got you, Big Guy" He withheld a chuckle as Wrecker genuinely looked comforted. Wrecker responded bashfully, "Aww, gee thanks."
Grogu tottered off the stage and hopped down the steps. He passed up Caleb Dume, who was standing in front of Aayla Secura. She tapped Caleb's shoulder and he turned around, looking up at her.
"So, what are you dressed up as?" She cooed at him, noticing that he also wore white cat ears and even had white fingerless gloves. "I-I'm a Loth cat. See, I've-I've even got a tail." He turned around shyly, shifting his hips left and right to wag the white tail that swayed behind him. Turning back around, he looked at her costume--particularly her top. "What about, uh, you? Looks like you've- uh- got a similar thing going on, with those ears and... stuff. But like- prettier... or something" She chuckled at him noticing the similar aspects of their costumes.
"I'm also a Loth cat. I was going to be a nurse but the costume I ordered was too big, so I had to come up with something on short notice. That's why I don't have a tail, like you do." Before he had much of a chance to respond, he and his master were called onto stage by the announcer--which was just Ki Adi Mundi with a microphone sitting down at the judges' table. Caleb slowly ascended the steps, but stopped and turned back to see where his master was. She dashed to the steps, pausing upon arrival at his apparent shyness. Taking his hand, they climbed the stairs and went to the center of the stage.
"Hello, I'm Master Depa Billaba and I'm a Loth wolf today," She turned to her padawan and squeezed his hand lightly, a silent sign of unity and security. Her gentle and encouraging expression didn't waver, reassuring young Caleb. Taking in a deep breath, he spoke loudly to the crowd.
"Hi. My name is Caleb Dume and I'm dressed as a Loth cat." He glanced up at Billaba, who looked back at him with a proud smile. They exited the stage hand in hand, Caleb high-fiving Aayla on his way down the stairs. "Good job," She whispered to him as he passed, smiling cordially at him and his master.
"Next, Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. Lady Secura, please come onstage." She heads up the steps at Mundi's call, a frolicsome air in her step. "I've come dressed as a Loth cat as well!" She looked at Caleb--who was standing beside the stage--and waved at him in a bubbly manner. She put up her 'claws' toward the crowd and scrunched up her face again. The crowd jeered, mainly the clone troopers.
"Well, thank you, Lady Secura. Wonderful performance," Master Mundi cleared his throat before calling, "ARC trooper Fives, please come up onto the stage."
Heading off the stage and down the stairs, Aayla passed by Fives. Her buoyant aura diminished out of dumbfounded-ness and her smile fell a little. She stopped mid-step whilst descending the stairs and watched as Fives made his appearance in front of the crowd. She stared with astonishment at his gall. He traipsed stiffly to the center of the stage, facing away the the crowd for a moment before turning around--pretending as if he got confused.
"What... are you supposed to be...?" The announcer questioned with a puzzled tone, soon regretting his inquiry.
"I'm a B-5 battle droid! Get it? Like the B-1 battle droids?" The crowd went silent for a moment, everyone and their mother staring at Fives. Before any of the judges could respond, most--if not all--of the clones in the crowd started booing loudly.
"What's with the booing?" Someone from the crowd threw a cupcake at Fives, yelling, "Clanker!" A clone from the wolfpack (104th battalion) that was standing next to the assailant then jeered, "Yeah, good idea, Anakin. Boo! Clanker!" He threw his own half-eaten cupcake at Fives, the purple icing sliding down his painted cardboard costume. "Hey!" Fives took the cupcake off and threw it back at the crowd. More cupcakes came hurling toward him, along with insults, "Clanker!" "Kriffin' Clanker!" "Get off the stage!" "Separatist traitor!"
"I'm not a Separatist! It's j-" A cupcake smacked him in the face, falling off and onto the floor. He licked his lips and tasted the sweet, green icing. "Ooh, sweet." At the barrage of cupcakes he ran off the stage and the youngling janitor went on with his mop and bucket to clean up the mess. The judges had to rise from their seats and turn backward to calm the riled up crowd.
After a brief intermission, the next person to go up was Anakin, who was very eager to participate. He jauntily sauntered up the stairs and went to the middle of the stage, which was still fairly wet from the janitor youngling's mop.
"What's up guys, I'm Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight. But it'd be better if today you called me-- Bananakin!" He stuck his limbs out and displayed his costume, but the crowd remained silent. He awkwardly went to exit the stage but slipped on the puddle beneath him. His right foot skirted forward, his left one finding its way behind himself. He let out a shrill screech and the crowd erupted into laughter. Kenobi stood instantly and Windu shook his head with a sigh. Mundi held the microphone up to Obi-wan's mouth as he spoke. "Oh no- Anakin are you alright?!" Pulling the mic to himself, he then spoke into it. "Uh oh, looks like he needs a doctor after his banana split. Or rather--a nurse. Everybody give it up for nurse Kix! Paging nurse Kix, come up onto the stage!" The crowd chuckled at Master Mundi's announcement.
Anakin was balled on the floor, writhing in pain. He heard footsteps drawing closer to his head and saw strong legs in front of him. Smirking, he looked up the length of the swole figure that wore a tight nurse's costume, muscular and defined, until his eyes reached the figure's face. His smirk instantly dropped as he suddenly found himself in a staring contest with Kix, who was incredibly red and embarrassed. Losing the battle, Kix glanced away and struggled to maintain eye contact.
"Are... are you alright, General..?" After a few seconds of painful silence, the entire crowd exploded in a fit of laughter. Some whistles--and Wrecker's booming laugh--could be heard coming from the vast throng.
"I-I'm fine. I just... I'm gonna need some ice," He groaned, "And painkillers."
Kix helped Anakin--currently holding his injured pelvis--limp off the stage. Once off it,--and the herd of rowdy event-goers calmed--Mundi announced the next contestant. Though, this time he made sure to warn about the slipping hazard.
"Anybody going on the stage, please be wary of the wet floor. I know you guys didn't like Fives' costume-"
"Boo!"
"-but now could we refrain from causing another mess, please? Thank you." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"Next up,- ... Li-Little.. Ahsoka..?-" Mundi turns to his nearest council member, "It's Ahsoka, right? I think she wrote a nickname on the form instead of her proper name," Kenobi whispers back, "Yeah, it's her. She's dressed as Soulja Boy, the rapper." Master Mundi nods and grabs the microphone once more to continue announcing.
"Next up, Little Ahsoka as Soulja Boy the rapper." A few people in the crowd cheer, Anakin yells loudly, "That's my padawan!"
Ahsoka stomps onto stage, rather outraged at this point. She took heavy steps to the middle of the stage, a scowl on her orange face. It wasn't very intimidating though, she had a youthful face and looked more like a devious scamp.
"I'm not-"
Out of nowhere, music started playing from the crowd. Everybody turned toward the source, which was Tech with his datapad. It seems he spent his time at the contest searching up Ahsoka's costume--or who people say she's dressed as. 'Crank That' by Soulja blared from his datapad. Wrecker lifted him to sit on his shoulder in one swift motion. Tech was caught off guard but quickly recovered, holding out the datapad blasting the song.
"Crank That, Soulja Boy!" Crosshair jeered calmly, smirking mischievously and crossing his arms over his chest. Ahsoka looked at the crowd with an angry and incredulous expression, irritated to her core. Everybody cheered and encouraged her to Crank That on the stage. Seeing that they didn't seem to be making fun of her and just wanted to have a good time, she decided to indulge them.
"Yoouuuuu!" Most people in the crowd Cranked That in synch with Ahsoka. She stayed on stage until the song was almost over; for the final 'Youuu,' she Cranked That to the stairs and Supermanned down the stairs--almost falling face first into the ground, but making it look intentional so that she can continue aura farming.
Rex rushed over to Ahsoka, affectionately scuffing up her silka bead braid.
"You did so good, Lil Soka." She let out a weary sigh and looked up at him warmly, his expression tender.
⊹₊ ˚‧─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆｡ﾟ･ ───‧ ˚ ₊⊹
Grogu was called to the stage next and wore a brown Ewok costume. He stumbled to the front of the stage and let out a little roar, causing Wrecker to scream loudly. The whole crowd was silent and turned to look at him, who was in the center.
"Was that really necessary?" Crosshair asked coldly before rolling his eyes with a sigh and rubbing the side of Wrecker's left bicep, who was now frowning at Crosshair's harshness, "Don't worry, I've got you, Big Guy" He withheld a chuckle as Wrecker genuinely looked comforted. Wrecker responded bashfully, "Aww, gee thanks."
Grogu tottered off the stage and hopped down the steps. He passed up Caleb Dume, who was standing in front of Aayla Secura. She tapped Caleb's shoulder and he turned around, looking up at her.
"So, what are you dressed up as?" She cooed at him, noticing that he also wore white cat ears and even had white fingerless gloves. "I-I'm a Loth cat. See, I've-I've even got a tail." He turned around shyly, shifting his hips left and right to wag the white tail that swayed behind him. Turning back around, he looked at her costume--particularly her top. "What about, uh, you? Looks like you've- uh- got a similar thing going on, with those ears and... stuff. But like- prettier... or something" She chuckled at him noticing the similar aspects of their costumes.
"I'm also a Loth cat. I was going to be a nurse but the costume I ordered was too big, so I had to come up with something on short notice. That's why I don't have a tail, like you do." Before he had much of a chance to respond, he and his master were called onto stage by the announcer--which was just Ki Adi Mundi with a microphone sitting down at the judges' table. Caleb slowly ascended the steps, but stopped and turned back to see where his master was. She dashed to the steps, pausing upon arrival at his apparent shyness. Taking his hand, they climbed the stairs and went to the center of the stage.
"Hello, I'm Master Depa Billaba and I'm a Loth wolf today," She turned to her padawan and squeezed his hand lightly, a silent sign of unity and security. Her gentle and encouraging expression didn't waver, reassuring young Caleb. Taking in a deep breath, he spoke loudly to the crowd.
"Hi. My name is Caleb Dume and I'm dressed as a Loth cat." He glanced up at Billaba, who looked back at him with a proud smile. They exited the stage hand in hand, Caleb high-fiving Aayla on his way down the stairs. "Good job," She whispered to him as he passed, smiling cordially at him and his master.
"Next, Jedi Knight Aayla Secura. Lady Secura, please come onstage." She heads up the steps at Mundi's call, a frolicsome air in her step. "I've come dressed as a Loth cat as well!" She looked at Caleb--who was standing beside the stage--and waved at him in a bubbly manner. She put up her 'claws' toward the crowd and scrunched up her face again. The crowd jeered, mainly the clone troopers.
"Well, thank you, Lady Secura. Wonderful performance," Master Mundi cleared his throat before calling, "ARC trooper Fives, please come up onto the stage."
Heading off the stage and down the stairs, Aayla passed by Fives. Her buoyant aura diminished out of dumbfounded-ness and her smile fell a little. She stopped mid-step whilst descending the stairs and watched as Fives made his appearance in front of the crowd. She stared with astonishment at his gall. He traipsed stiffly to the center of the stage, facing away the the crowd for a moment before turning around--pretending as if he got confused.
"What... are you supposed to be...?" The announcer questioned with a puzzled tone, soon regretting his inquiry.
"I'm a B-5 battle droid! Get it? Like the B-1 battle droids?" The crowd went silent for a moment, everyone and their mother staring at Fives. Before any of the judges could respond, most--if not all--of the clones in the crowd started booing loudly.
"What's with the booing?" Someone from the crowd threw a cupcake at Fives, yelling, "Clanker!" A clone from the wolfpack (104th battalion) that was standing next to the assailant then jeered, "Yeah, good idea, Anakin. Boo! Clanker!" He threw his own half-eaten cupcake at Fives, the purple icing sliding down his painted cardboard costume. "Hey!" Fives took the cupcake off and threw it back at the crowd. More cupcakes came hurling toward him, along with insults, "Clanker!" "Kriffin' Clanker!" "Get off the stage!" "Separatist traitor!"
"I'm not a Separatist! It's j-" A cupcake smacked him in the face, falling off and onto the floor. He licked his lips and tasted the sweet, green icing. "Ooh, sweet." At the barrage of cupcakes he ran off the stage and the youngling janitor went on with his mop and bucket to clean up the mess. The judges had to rise from their seats and turn backward to calm the riled up crowd.
After a brief intermission, the next person to go up was Anakin, who was very eager to participate. He jauntily sauntered up the stairs and went to the middle of the stage, which was still fairly wet from the janitor youngling's mop.
"What's up guys, I'm Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight. But it'd be better if today you called me-- Bananakin!" He stuck his limbs out and displayed his costume, but the crowd remained silent. He awkwardly went to exit the stage but slipped on the puddle beneath him. His right foot skirted forward, his left one finding its way behind himself. He let out a shrill screech and the crowd erupted into laughter. Kenobi stood instantly and Windu shook his head with a sigh. Mundi held the microphone up to Obi-wan's mouth as he spoke. "Oh no- Anakin are you alright?!" Pulling the mic to himself, he then spoke into it. "Uh oh, looks like he needs a doctor after his banana split. Or rather--a nurse. Everybody give it up for nurse Kix! Paging nurse Kix, come up onto the stage!" The crowd chuckled at Master Mundi's announcement.
Anakin was balled on the floor, writhing in pain. He heard footsteps drawing closer to his head and saw strong legs in front of him. Smirking, he looked up the length of the swole figure that wore a tight nurse's costume, muscular and defined, until his eyes reached the figure's face. His smirk instantly dropped as he suddenly found himself in a staring contest with Kix, who was incredibly red and embarrassed. Losing the battle, Kix glanced away and struggled to maintain eye contact.
"Are... are you alright, General..?" After a few seconds of painful silence, the entire crowd exploded in a fit of laughter. Some whistles--and Wrecker's booming laugh--could be heard coming from the vast throng.
"I-I'm fine. I just... I'm gonna need some ice," He groaned, "And painkillers."
Kix helped Anakin--currently holding his injured pelvis--limp off the stage. Once off it,--and the herd of rowdy event-goers calmed--Mundi announced the next contestant. Though, this time he made sure to warn about the slipping hazard.
"Anybody going on the stage, please be wary of the wet floor. I know you guys didn't like Fives' costume-"
"Boo!"
"-but now could we refrain from causing another mess, please? Thank you." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"Next up,- ... Li-Little.. Ahsoka..?-" Mundi turns to his nearest council member, "It's Ahsoka, right? I think she wrote a nickname on the form instead of her proper name," Kenobi whispers back, "Yeah, it's her. She's dressed as Soulja Boy, the rapper." Master Mundi nods and grabs the microphone once more to continue announcing.
"Next up, Little Ahsoka as Soulja Boy the rapper." A few people in the crowd cheer, Anakin yells loudly, "That's my padawan!"
Ahsoka stomps onto stage, rather outraged at this point. She took heavy steps to the middle of the stage, a scowl on her orange face. It wasn't very intimidating though, she had a youthful face and looked more like a devious scamp.
"I'm not-"
Out of nowhere, music started playing from the crowd. Everybody turned toward the source, which was Tech with his datapad. It seems he spent his time at the contest searching up Ahsoka's costume--or who people say she's dressed as. 'Crank That' by Soulja blared from his datapad. Wrecker lifted him to sit on his shoulder in one swift motion. Tech was caught off guard but quickly recovered, holding out the datapad blasting the song.
"Crank That, Soulja Boy!" Crosshair jeered calmly, smirking mischievously and crossing his arms over his chest. Ahsoka looked at the crowd with an angry and incredulous expression, irritated to her core. Everybody cheered and encouraged her to Crank That on the stage. Seeing that they didn't seem to be making fun of her and just wanted to have a good time, she decided to indulge them.
"Yoouuuuu!" Most people in the crowd Cranked That in synch with Ahsoka. She stayed on stage until the song was almost over; for the final 'Youuu,' she Cranked That to the stairs and Supermanned down the stairs--almost falling face first into the ground, but making it look intentional so that she can continue aura farming.
Rex rushed over to Ahsoka, affectionately scuffing up her silka bead braid.
"You did so good, Lil Soka." She let out a weary sigh and looked up at him warmly, his expression tender.
⊹₊ ˚‧─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆｡ﾟ･ ───‧ ˚ ₊⊹
The Jedi council (that had been judging the event) stood on the stage to announce the winners. Master Yoda took the microphone and stepped in front of the group to draw the focus to him.
"Multiple title winners, we have. Announce it, Master Fisto will. Collect their sashes, the winners will later." Yoda turns and passes the microphone to Kit Fisto, who swaps spots with him. He held a paper in his left hand and read from it, glancing between it and the audience.
"Voted worst costume by a long-shot, ARC Trooper Fives." The crowd boos and Fisto holds up a hand for them to be quiet.
"Funniest costume goes to Clone Trooper and Medic, Kix!" This time the crowd claps and some people laugh.
"Deemed Scariest costume, Jedi youngling Grogu." Crosshair, who stood beside Wrecker, pointed to someone that stood beside him. Wrecker's eyes followed and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Grogu stood in his Ewok costume and put his paws up. Wrecker screamed and jumped on Crosshair, whose knees buckled under the weight. They both wound up on the floor, a Jedi Knight taking Grogu away from the big clone and scolding him for purposefully scaring him.
"Ahem... Coolest Costume goes to Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano, also known as Lil Soka apparently." A voice then shouted from the audience, "That's my Padawan!" Anakin hoots and hollers for Ahsoka.
"We know. Anyways, cutest costume is awarded to Jedi Knight Aayla Secura." Whistles and claps come from the audience.
"Hah... Now, our final title! Best costume goes to our favorite janitor, Jedi youngling-"
"This is rigged!" A cupcake comes flying from the audience and Fisto dodges it. "Not again, General-" "How did I not win any title? I literally did a banana split! A banana split! My pelvis HURTS!" With some coaxing and heavy reassurance, Rex calmed him down enough to not interrupt the event.
"Title winners, please come up onto the stage"
All the title winners except for Fives went up onto the stage, lined up to receive their reward. Rex rushed up onto the stage and stood beside the winners.
"I'm just gonna hold it for Fives, I'll give it to him tomorrow," he spoke a little breathlessly, having made a mad dash in a big costume to take Fives' spot for him. Mundi nodded, motioning to Yoda that it was time to dish out the awards.
Fisto, Windu, Kenobi, Plo Koon, and Shaak Ti each gave a winner the prize: a colorful sash and crown made out of paper by a group of younglings. Mundi passed the microphone to Yoda and handed Fives' prize to Rex.
"Over now, the contest is. The party and snacks, enjoy." Yoda let out a mischievous giggle, shaking his baby rattle. The winners joyfully headed off the stage and joined the crowd, the rest of the Jedi onstage following suit.
Captain Rex made his way to Anakin and showed him the prize Fives won.
"Seems like the kiddos made these, how touching." The trooper smiled at the simple paper-made prize. Anakin, however, frowned and looked incredibly butthurt, "Wouldn't have even been worth it to win anyway... I'm not jealous." He took a deep breath and sighed before continuing.
"But I suppose this was fun. Oh well, back to war crimes." "Yeah. Wait what-?"