𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐕𝐄

[honorhunt]

𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐍 — to look into that helmet's concealing visor was to meet a gaze ruthless and unsentimental. he'll fight to survive. and he'll fight well . . . but that was part of the trap that had already seized hold. the cruel irony was that fett was now doomed by his own fierce nature . . . - 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙻𝙾𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙽 𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙾𝚁, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟾

independent & selective 𝐁𝐎𝐁𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐓, the most infamous bounty hunter from a 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐗𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐑, 𝐅𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘. strong content warnings apply: graphic descriptions, body horror, violence, gore, & substance abuse.

𝐈'𝐌 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍

( 𝙲𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙳 - under renovation )    ( 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙲𝙰𝙻𝙻 )    ( 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴𝚂 )    ( 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙴𝚁 )

𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐗𝐘

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[honorhunt]

i’m sorry , put your gun down . — @quietresistance / betrayal

𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐎𝐏 the moment she crossed the ranch’s utilitarian gate. the coterie of gawking tourists couldn’t disguise her unique curiosity. part of his old job description had been making mouths leak blood before trade secrets. fett knew the type well. note-taking eyes that lingered on details that even enthusiasts ignored. blinks were bullet points on a mental notepad, footnotes scribbled themselves under her step count.

      for the entirety of the sanctuary’s operational hours, she studied her target while fett hunted his. a shadow even at sunset when the last of the day’s visitors were trickling into the gravel parking lot. when the last tail light disappeared between the black pines, fett bided his time. nightly ts were crossed, the is dotted until the finale of the day shift yawned themselves out the office door.

      then he waited.

      the hunter pinned her for a snoop. a fool was an unsurprising bonus. ❝ gates closed six hours ago. no one without the head of security’s say-so should be on skywalker ranch property. since that’s me, and i don’t give clearance to rats, gun stays where it is. ❞

      ❝ i’m sure you’re aware that trespassing on land patrolled by eight tonne beasts is a stupid idea. your predecessor in brains thought he could make a quick million by stealing a baby trike. lucky for him, the mother got to him before i did. got a good reason why you decided to help yourself to a private tour? or should we cut to the part where i show you why the last idiot was so fortunate? ❞

[kojiscorner]

The reminder of his former service weapon is a less than welcome one, and he lets out an exasperated groan with a roll of his eyes. "I never got got confirmation, but I wouldn't put it past him. Seems the sort of gaudy monstrosity he'd subject others to."

He thinks back, considering the ways he can recall his 'siblings' making use of the unique feature of their badge of office, as well as his own distaste for it. "I could never understand the ones that used it to fly. I never once knew it to be advantageous, just unnecessary at best."

[honorhunt]

𝐅𝐋𝐘? boba’s lips crinkled, eyes glittered with scrutiny. but then memories long buried filtered through the haze of time. nodding slowly, skepticism turned despondent as violent red blades rotated like propellers on a child’s toy, carrying black-clad harbingers into battle.

      imperials and their grey, starchy sleekness. if the men’s previous employer was indeed the culprit, leave it to vader to have such a cancerous sense of humor.

      ❝ lucky us it wasn’t genetic. ❞ said in the direction of where the old bounty hunter last spotted the current iteration of a brooding black cloak.

      migrating mantas passed through the bilious cloud cover. their sad, eerie cries a reverb that spared the old friends an unusual silence until boba spoke again. ❝ i take it the colors mean something? red, ego. purple, arrogance. and the blues one? saw lots of those. as a boy i assumed it meant ‘boring.’ haven't been convinced otherwise. ❞

[honorhunt]

❰❰ BED ❱❱ our muses share a bed ( coat!boba was a siren song that i couldn't resist ) — @commandsir

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋. his share of the chores he drew out, even insisting on the woman surrendering a number of tasks under the guise of a gruff man doting on his wife. while fire crackled, fett lingered in the common room long after their guests dispersed. immaculate was not a perfect enough word to describe fett’s handiwork. unable to polish the inn’s interior any further without worrying patrons for his sanity, fett retreated outdoors to count the stars.

      the alchemy of risen and dead empires gave tiflis its quilted look. here and there a patch from the pedigree of iberian kings. geometric details from the conquest of seljuks straddled by the stony reliefs of a victorious khanate. even the black death wove its bony fingers across the shroud. yet among the landscape of cobalt, emerald, and burgundy façades, he stood out in his humble attire.

      a glimmer of intrigue from a sliver of open shutters made it difficult to savor the solitude. neighbors were natural born hunters of gossip, as were patrons making use of his roof. bastards vicinal to some fool elsewhere. he would not make for a convincing humorless-yet-happy husband if he strayed from the comforts of his marriage bed for too long. so with a resigned rumble, he’d toss back the cup of nightly poison and skulk to the privacy of a shut door and a settee under a window. meanwhile his partner purred like a panther in the bed. a consequence of the deal fett made with himself. their act as husband and wife ceased at the click of a door.

      the pivot of seasons brought cold eurasian nights. pale winds sucked skin dry, left bones brittle with a filigree of chill. surplus blankets ran scarcer as patrons sought comfort like cats. warmth was a luxury fett was willing to cut with cold uncare, it was the routine death of decent sleep he groused for. grey hours roused him with a crick in his neck, party to a silent temper that good coffee failed to tame.

      thus fett now loomed on the threshold of a dark room. an ungainly relief in the dead light, glowering accusations at the woman’s figure cozied in a fabric grave. his legs were rotting wood, sodden mulch ready to crumble under his weight. he was still tempted by the familiar settee but he already too deep in his choice to retreat. in spite of the stillness, fett suspected the woman was aware of him. this march was now a matter of pride.

      fett relinquished his boots but the rest of his workman’s armor remained. shirt, socks, trousers, belt. even his coat stayed exactly where it was, snug on his shoulders. fett entertained no intention of crawling under those covers, frigid cold be damned.

      on his side, fett aligned himself with the edge of the mattress with his back to her. as relaxed as rigor mortis, fett fixated on the wall till his vision sloughed in a haze. blue shadows swam and swirled, shaping un-life from lacuna. muscles were already protesting his awkward posture. accepting no less than a man-sized gap between them, fett compromised by adjusting his pillow. but he might as well have asked a noose to be more agreeable.

      god was desperate for a chuckle if he was resorting to this.

[kojiscorner]

Once he saw the tension somewhat leave the other, his own body fully settled and he permitted himself a small smile; grateful no more energy need be spared on conflict. Whatever sentiments may linger beneath, it bode well that Boba saw fit to prioritize their tender connections. It wasn't exactly a surprise, but it's certainly a welcome resolution all the same.

"I imagine you've seen a veritable rainbow of edges pointed in your direction by now. I know I've made my contributions to the spectrum."

[honorhunt]

❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒 come with an ego. yours had two blades if i remember right, and it spun. ❞ as if the old bounty hunter-turned-mand’alor had any room to cluck about hubris.

      fett canted, the rise in his scarred brows conspiratorial. ❝ tell me, kanu, who came up with that design. it was vader, wasn’t it? ❞ truth be told, the man was still smarting from the hum of that laser blade. it reverberated in the marrow of his stubborn bones, but there was nothing to be done except stew in the insult for awhile. maybe offer this alana a touch of smarm once and in a while to nurse his wound.

[darkestshadeofgrey]

It's merely the hint of a smile Elias levels his counterpart with. Were they speaking of anyone else, the mirth would be full and uninhibited, but circumstances being what they are puts a bit of a damper on proceedings.

"I'd say there plenty good fortune to go around that things escalated no further. The way I hear it; there was a...miscommunication upon first encounter."

[honorhunt]

❝ 𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐅. seems someone was unaware that buckets and wizards can get along. when they want to. ❞ the jab was not without humor. the whorls on his eroded face alluded to disappointment. with a shake of his head and a resigned chuckle from the plunge of his throat, fett dismissed his rumble of opinions for later.

      too many decades under his belt left very little room for grudges. anger and drive that pumped in his veins had cooled. what boba was left with was a cultivation of patience that would have done him a lot of good in his youth.

      ❝ no matter. not the first time a lightsaber’s been wrongfully pulled on me. especially a purple-ish one. ❞

[floating-with-the-stars-deactiv]

[commandsir]

@honorhunt / continued for beta. 🎶

at first it was like a game, lifting away so many surgically folded layers of paper. guessing at the purpose and pretending not to know any greater reasons why boba had angled away to practically drape himself over the deck's railing like wet laundry. if she looked deeper, pain would have radiated from the curve of his spine and pricked at her sensibilities. or sounded alarms. it wasn't that she wasn't interested, but her recent and relatively weightless curiosity still lingered fractionally on her lips. to let go so soon felt unfair. 

once the wrapping exposed its treasure buried within, the response was both immediate and nonexistent.

the distant wind in the trees prompting latent falls of snow hushed. butcher paper drifted soundlessly away. out of sight. within her cold now hands lay the memories of warmth suspended in mottled wood and glass.

parasaurolophus.

how many times would she have to suffer the unearthing of what used to occupy her heart? the cave. the beach. the boat. sand, wind, air, solitude, intimacy, secrecy, privacy. honesty.

 ❝  goddammit. ❞

in times ahead she would look back, unable to recall if she'd whispered or hissed.

turning away could not have caused the profusely detailed burden of hearts' truth to become any less intense, yet every survival instinct told her to. frozen flakes covering the solo's deck dampened the two steps she took toward the door then took back to the same indentations as before

running.... she'd tried that before. and it hadn't fixed a thing.

even as her vision clouded, all the remaining control ahsoka possessed howled for tears to withdraw, every modicum of restraint cranked to eleven and yet she could feel the mechanisms fraying with every twist. emotion was inescapable. with a kind of creeping horror, ahsoka tano had to remind herself that feeling wasn't wrong. being too overcome to think was.

there would be no compromises either way; she had to lock the rest of the way down before breaking. get through the evening and remain stiff and solid and reasonable until she could drive home in silence, shut her door in no one's face and pour a heart full of saltwater onto her pillow in her dark bedroom. for someone who preferred everything well lit, from office to lab to midday air, no light could be suffered to reach the still gaping hole where love used to be. the pitted crack in her heart where, far, far down love still lurked at the bottom like a frightened animal, starved, weak, and never bold enough to exit its hiding place yet too stubborn to die. an ever-present necrosis that didn't expand, though managed to remain in a state of suspended rot. like an obedient dog the frozen infection stayed where she commanded: out of sight. if she paid any more attention to it, she'd be sick. frankly, ahsoka had flatly refused to amputate anymore of herself once the first deed had been done.

but she'd played impenetrable for so long. never let the choice get the best of her. never let heartbreak drive a wedge between her good sense and her life's purpose: the very reason she'd ended everything between them, as a matter of fact.

boba had other plans. if the rot of undying romantics really was shared, he'd let it eat him alive in her presence and ahsoka wasn't sure if it was a curse or compliment. 

holding such an objectively priceless effort in her hands, she could almost sense tendrils of warmth crawling through her veins despite brisk december. if she looked under her sleeves, would there would be tattoos appearing, weaving across her skin like vines? boba's fever was spreading from the wood into her blood without a drop ever spilt. damn boba. she used to hope she'd marry him. or wake up in tandem forever next to the coos and calls of the living fossils they had the honor to steward and shepherd. either would have been fine.

make it stop, make it stop. don't you make me weak, too.

all too recently she'd gotten the impression adequate time had passed to make peace with losing one more home. apparently not.

a one handed grip was too risky for a woman hell-bent on keeping the peace. so ahsoka leaned in to the danger, holding the gift just so near boba's peripherals. half safe, half hovering above the sharp drop to gravel below.

the next hiss she remembered vividly.

❝  now here's what you don't get to do: hand this over like nothing changed. what possessed you ——— ❞

unfortunately, she had no choice in how what would have been her next word cracked. sharply enough to force a pause.

maybe she should have tried to invent some kind, any kind, of imaginary conversation the two of them might one day have because this....felt impossible. conversely, it might have been nothing short of hubristic to think she could have anticipated a situation like this.

ahsoka surrendered to the break, drifting parallel to boba's pose and letting her elbows prop her up, forehead coming to rest against aromatic wood and glowing glasswork once more secured in both palms. a long sigh preceded any words that eventually took shape through the fog of upheaval.

 ❝  any reason you chose to do this now? ❞ a rogue tear skipped down her cheek and into the ether with supernatural speed.  ❝  it's beautiful. i'd have enjoyed it more under difference circumstances. ❞ one thumb had begun rubbing a path along the expertly carved tail that gave way to a knobby driftwood spine. the rhythm of its gentle texture granted her a sliver of focus and calm as she tried actually looking at boba full on. suddenly all she felt was exhaustion.  ❝  this isn't simple to respond to. can you at least understand that? ❞

[honorhunt]

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃 a different collective of nerve endings each time the wrapping rustled. fett focused on his breathing. his knees ready to buckle, tossing him to the ground like one of those filth-sucking bastards who treated everywhere outside their car like a bin.

      measured in, measured out would’ve worked better if his own blood wasn’t playing drums on his skull.

      fett was terrified to look at her, to witness firsthand her reaction. even a positive yield horrified him, because what was boba to do with retribution? at first it was just his eyes darting back and forth, peeking only the ghost of her outline in his periphery. his spying grew more desperate. fingers trembled, a pulse throbbed in a finger each. his stiff neck felt like it’d crack like an egg as morbid curiosity slowly maneuvered his chin in her direction.

      “ goddammit. ”

      fuck. eyelids squeezed shut, brow creased. that was exactly what he didn’t want to hear. what was the plan if she purposefully dropped it? truthfully, he might ship himself along with it.

      as fett just about collapsed in on himself. more of his weight nursed the railing. a comforting foray into the macabre spared him for a fraction of a second from the real life soap opera he willingly casted him in. fett was an imposing man, but not a big one. still, he wondered if the woodwork was more decorative than defensive. if he leaned any deeper, would the life insurance be split between his daughter and replacing the fucking balusters?

      to his horror, tano joined him on the snow capped perch, the parasaurolophus precariously presented mere meters from the abyss. saliva swallowed in self-soothing cut like serrated daggers down the dry innards of his throat.

      “ what possessed you — ”

      you. always you. i’m selfish. i hope you are too.

      “ beautiful ” was a hot knife to the heart. he felt more fragile than the glass in her hands. ❝ i understand better than you think. ❞ he spoke to the midnight blue. the same shade as the ocean that separated him from the brachiosaurus he betrayed. who died alone and afraid, swallowed by the violent abandonment that was the magnum opus of all his evils. he saw her now in the swirling void beyond the 60-watt halo. not as a phantom, but a solid morph. a gentle titan boba knew all his life. a landmark he navigated by as he fumbled and fumed into manhood.

      like many of her sisters and resurrected counterparts, she’d seen humans as a promise of comfort and care. they made illness go away. made it so she never tasted hunger or thirst or fear. these much smaller beings migrated several times in her life, but always, no matter how many sunsets and rises passed, they returned to keep her safe.

      until they didn’t.

      until he didn’t.

      the matriarch of nublar reared in an attempt to raise her head above death’s grasp. boba listened to her scream as she was entombed in a pyroclastic coffin. a final, sorrowful plea to the sight and scent of a human she recognized as a constant throughout her own life. a guardian she knew protected her in the past, moving further and further away.

      i’m—

      boba’s eyes were on fire. the accusation he thought belonged to a vengeful eidolon was instead the routine nightsong of a surviving sister.

      forcing the treasonous emotions blurring his vision back whence they came, boba cleared his throat and did all the bullshit within his power to avoid sniffling. fett’s monstrous willpower wasn’t enough to accomplish such a feat, so he played it as if it was the cold getting to him.

      now what? what could he possibly say that justified unearthing this particular fossil. fett wasn’t a gambler. he calculated every step, planned for the ambush of variables, and loaded contingencies like bullets, primed to keep him alive.

      so why, as someone who tamed risk into guarantee, did he not plan this far ahead? no, that wasn’t true. boba had imagined what this minefield would look like, but when it came to what it might sound like, any speculation turned to a crescendo of ringing in his ear.

      once boba got it in his head that this was how he’d start his amends, he agonized over the incapacity for prediction. when he wasn’t toiling over his project, boba was stretching his already long work hours thin since he wasn’t getting anything done, torn between dedication and distraction.

      the parasaur. glancing at it, boba steeled himself against the twinge in his chest. he’d been so particular about the exact shade of amethyst glow. countless hours spent with it, now boba struggled to look at it. his eyes trailed back to the hidden horizon. it was a gift he had every intention of following up with a proposal once upon a different lifetime.

      ❝ i considered an olive branch, but i thought you might beat me to death with it. ❞ a joke, mostly.

      sighing much louder than intended, boba’s hands slunk into his pockets. back his neck arched till the bottom of his skull touched the top of his spine. he savored the dark behind closed eyes, his breath a ghost in the freeze. buying time he didn’t have, collecting hieroglyphic thoughts. unable to decipher his own reasons, how the hell could the man offer tano a semblance of adequate.

      ❝ we’re colleagues, again. we’ve kept it civil. watched each other’s backs. guaranteed this place stays a step ahead of disaster. it’s just like old times, except . . . it's all changed. i’m not asking for forgiveness. i’m not an idiot, i know i don’t deserve it. but it wasn’t right, how things ended. deep wounds need real sutures. closure, i reckon that’s the word. ❞

      ❝ i’ve never been good with words. i needed to find a way to say i’m — ❞ regret spread like a disease. infecting his iron fortitude, blistering his stomach lining. nausea clawed like a rotten hand at his insides. the sierras crumbled beneath a stygian tide that rushed around his peripherals. the solos’ manicured deck was a glorified raft, bobbing beneath unsteady legs.

      ❝ sorry. ❞

      thirty years must’ve passed since boba last uttered that insignificant word. probably to appease a very upset mother. ❝ so sorry, ❞ it dissolved on his tongue, leaving him breathless. ❝ but that word’s just not good enough. ❞

      what worth was a sorry weighed against the bodies of terrified creatures driven into the sea. or the six kids he could have spared months of duress if he disobeyed the shadowy cheques that fed his bank account.

      sorry didn’t spare the matriarch the anguish of her flesh melted from her splintering bones. devoured alive by molten terror and tephra, returning her to stone.

      ❝ crush it or keep it, i needed something stronger. and even that doesn’t cut it. but i owed you that much. ❞ he sought the support of the railing again, suddenly drained. somewhere in the indigo treetops, a spotted owl hoohoo’d, mercifully filling the empty air. to snow glistening in the lowlight below boba whispered, ❝ my mistakes’ll bury me before the dirt does. ❞

[commandsir]

💬 a kiss given between ocean waves. / @honorhunt

rising early had never proven difficult in ahsoka’s early years. nor did they in adulthood and ahsoka found herself grateful for it. most of the time. her chosen profession did require criminally long hours which often meant trading quality rest for productivity. caffeine in any form was her gasoline, though she took care to ensure water was never far behind, and when she could sleep, she slept. hard. resurfacing from repose that deep had become uncommon enough that ahsoka ran the risk of not knowing where she was upon waking. not even her own small apartment was safe from that phenomenon. mostly owing to how little she used the place, preferring her office futon - written off unasked with a wink by claire - or the breakroom of a research outpost. 

lately, though, there was another option she took advantage of whenever the opportunity presented itself. sleep came easy there, and not just because of the way the rising sun bounced off morning waves and the breeze carried sounds of quadriped munching and cries of wandering herds from high up the mountain. ahsoka didn’t tell him often enough, but it was the company, too. 

the blinks bouying her to wakefulness in the houseboat were slow but luxurious. long, flat clouds blurred rays of sunshine every few minutes and left the air warm and pleasant. her position was almost too comfortable to check the time on her phone, but curiosity won out in the end, especially since boba didn’t seem awake quite yet.

mornings such as this were usually the kind that kept her stationary and savoring every moment she could watch boba still and at peace. and for good reason. ahsoka had her suspicions that they both behaved similarly when calling slow mornings in the houseboat theirs. after all, those languid hours were precious chances to remember they were still human and could indulge in human joys from time to time. slow waking could still be precious today, even after ahsoka decided it was also perfect for a quiet swim. 

regardless, she leaned gently on her propped elbow to remind herself how boba looked without so many intense focus lines on his forehead. he would always be handsome no matter the state he was in, but something about ten years disappearing from his expression was a marvel to observe. young as the two of them still were, their age hadn’t caught up to their experience. and because of it, she treasured every excuse to see him so peaceful.

ahsoka took immense care not to rouse him as she gingerly slid from between the bedsheets and padded to the adjoining bathroom. there, she made prompt work of twisting her curls up into knots away from her forehead and neck and small enough to fit under her swim cap. her swimsuit she slipped from her overnight duffel for a quick change that would make stage performers jealous. the next feat would be tiptoeing across the rest of the small house and out onto the bow porch without the boat announcing her every move. 

she did alright making it to the railing, as it turned out. the noise of diving would undo all her work so ahsoka passed on it for the moment, choosing instead to hoist herself over the bow to slip from there into the water.

perfection. 

this early in the morning, the water was cool enough to be refreshing, not jarring. faint birdsong accompanied the liquid music of freestyle strokes that took her from the houseboat further toward the center of boba’s cove. ahsoka could still smell the heady mixture of wood and wet leaves and clay from where she stopped to tread water. an aroma that only intensified her gratefulness. 

her job was demanding. demanding and stressful and near constant no matter the hour. work-life balance was unattainable for most, even on holidays. it was labor day today and she’d elected to make it a half holiday instead of a full one, reserving the other holiday hours for a day she might need them more. but ahsoka couldn’t imagine herself in another position or doing anything else. the moments of relaxation she managed to steal only made the long hours easier to survive.

boba was much the same from what ahsoka could tell. like her, he’d been surrounded by the living past his entire life and to be away from it was almost anathema. although, he sometimes behaved as if being human was a suggestion. they both needed to slow each other down every once in a while. 

but of course it didn’t take long for the water to whisper to her signs of life from inside the boat. she’d left her discarded nightclothes and open duffel in plain view for him to see once he noticed her immediate absence. ahsoka smiled, pivoting in lazy paddles so her back was turned to the beach. a minute passed, then another.

not long now.

a splash punctuated the silence, followed by sloshes made by smooth strokes across the ocean’s surface. her back still turned, ahsoka waited, closing her eyes and picturing the distance between her and the swimmer shrinking gradually until – 

wake sloshed over her shoulders and she turned to pounce through the water and grab onto boba, pulling them both under the briny surface. a colony of bubbles rose around them to tickle whatever skin they touched on the way meet the air again. stinging salt water pulled ahsoka’s eyes open despite the momentary discomfort. just barely, she could make out a brown face in the sparkling, shadowy depths and aimed her forehead toward his. the contact was minimal and clumsy, but enough to signal her teasing. she hoped her waterlogged laugh was just as clear to his ears. 

ahsoka released him shortly to pop up for breath. once he followed, the laughter continued almost automatically as she slung her arms and water droplets around his shoulders. 

somehow, boba's warmth transcended season and water-borne chill. like it was innate to his very being. so close to it, ahsoka became a heat seeking missile and dragged herself closer as if magnetized. powerfully enough that she clung tighter to his neck, feet still kicking along for support, and pressed her lips to his. soon enough the heat between them rendered the cool temperature of the water null, and even the gradually growing waves coming from further outside the cove couldn’t dull it.

at first the embrace was soft, luxurious in its slow pace, but ahsoka didn’t see the point in containing herself when there was no one to see. she hiked one leg over his hip and folded like wet paper around him. 

there was nothing here in this isolated inlet but them and the sounds of the birds and their beloved prehistoric wildlife chittering miles away. empty but for the smell of the beach, the clatter of waves on sand and driftwood. the way boba’s wet hair felt between her fingers and his warm skin melted every part of her. it was fun, she decided from a great distance, to be weak. to divert from plucking at his lips to pressing a kiss his cheek and nose and backtracking to his lips again. to linger against his forehead for respite and let out a breath of laughter. she’d return to kicking to keep them afloat in a moment but until then, wrapped by waves against the roughly-edged man that had charmed her beyond all reason, it seemed natural to imagine both a neverending present and a future at the same time. her thoughts knit together images of nothing but boba’s presence a hairsbreadth away while contented days filled with working side by side no matter the exhaustion and stress stretched out in front of them. as practical as ahsoka tano was, she could still dream. 

when she pulled back with a small grin at last, searching for the depths of boba’s eyes, the dreams didn’t stop. more accurately they grew, ballooning into words she might one day have to tell him if they grew much larger. 

though, tantalizing as oncoming days might be, there was no harm in dwelling right where she was: with him in so closely in reach. they had the entire morning to hoard like gleeful pirates, and ahsoka would in fact hoard the sight of every shimmering water drop that trickled across boba's torso.

 ❝  i was going to suggest we race, but we'll get there. ❞  not even the water's surface could carry her voice farther than the space between them. not yet. even the innocent iguanas emerging from their hiding places into the sunlight had no right to this.  ❝  good morning. sorry i didn't wake you, it was just a shame to miss a chance to see you as a single shape and not a blur. i hope you slept well. ❞  

[honorhunt]

𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎. the anchor that kept him harbored long enough in his bed to realize just how plush were his pillows, how crisp the sheets, or how the mattress cradled the contours that constantly occupied his attention so perfectly. what use was there in denying her devastating effect on him. a slippery slope of flirtation yielded to a landslide. now the satisfactory solitude of a man who made no distinction between his career and personal life was irrevocably spoiled.

      ancient lullabies and tidal hymns were no longer adequate companions. during nights without her, boba knew no peace. hours stretched past their natural length, defying the tick of the vintage analog smothered by the towers of masrani-backed hardcovers collecting on his desk. quiet festered into thunderous silence. a wound that made him itch and fidget, forcing him to pace the houseboat in search of the source of his disquiet. a disquiet boba refused to name her absence out of a hermit’s pride.

      any attempt to sleep when they were apart was an exercise in futility. rustling fabric accompanied egregious tossing and turning. covers were flung off then replaced. tossed, then retrieved until boba surrendered to a book light in an attempt to make use of idle. which only served to frustrate him more when the man realized he’d read the same sentence fourteen times because his thoughts insisted on drifting to the lack of ahsoka beside him.

      tano. damn her, she ruined him, and he was completely and utterly in love with it.

      when they were together, boba dreamed. dreamed of things other than teeth and spent shells. it was the morning after their first elope from professionalism where boba discovered what rest actually tasted like. closing his eyes with arms enveloped around her, boba sunk into the depths of an alien world far stranger than the crushing black of the ocean floor.

      ahsoka introduced him to the tranquility of nothing. an acquaintance he never expected to make even in death. he assumed only with cremation, the total incineration of every solid material that made up his existence and he was little more than decorative dust, would boba experience the euphoria of fuck all.

      boba actually resisted the call of responsibility when she called his sanctuary hers for the night. resistance he never surrendered to, but on a reckless amount of occasions was boba tempted to ring up wu or dearing. to encourage them to pound bedrock so he could stay in bed and do nothing ( or something ) for the day. ignoring that he was integral to reducing the chances of a family vacation devolving into the end of a bloodline.

      last night, boba was tempted to be the bane of a busy day. with midnight came a labor day, one of the many that littered the company’s international calendar. and in honor of the holiday, boba thought to steal masrani’s top talent away from her workload. but he’d gotten himself distracted, as he usually did around said talent, and missed the chance to tease her with the idea. and any chance to disappoint leadership came and went with the woe of sunrise.

      instead, he slept still as stone. sunken into his off-white silhouette. stirred from the comfortable fathoms of cotton only because the radiance beside him drifted away. a slip of awareness lazily pursued her to the edge of the bed, then stopped, lulled by the still-warm impression that befuddled it.

      the slip blinked again, vaguely aware of a soundless tread through the room. the rest of boba was slow to follow. only when the bedspread cooled sufficiently was he convinced that ahsoka was gone.

      an involuntary spasm woke him. lids parted for a heavy, yet calculative squint. boba propped himself on forearm, taking in the room. dappled sunlight laid like gossamer curtains across the bedspread. singers from the jungle enshrining the cove and the distant aviary reminded him he had functioning ears.

      boba shook off the seductive shackles of the sheets. he found ahsoka’s clothes abandoned, still warm. mischief replaced the grog as he mistook the invitation for a different sort until his keen senses detected movement in the water bordering his home.

      the mischief remained as boba tracked ahsoka to the deck and found her swimming beyond reach. his first instinct was to backtrack, sneak around to a covered shoreline and surprise her. not wanting to disturb the relaxed mood, he reconsidered. for a moment, boba’s lips parted, her name half-formed when he stopped himself, suddenly aware of the sanctity of the scene.

      no mistake, ahsoka tano’s intensity was intoxicating. whether she was absorbed by her work in his company or passion-deep in a conversation. enrapturing too was the way that intensity melted into a uniquely she brand of bliss when they were alone together. but witnessing the harmony she was feeling with just herself was a more sublime discovery than man’s wresting of extinction from god’s plan.

      damn, she really did outshine the sun. the comparison, in fact, was far too humble. he needed to tell her that more, how beautiful she was. boba just had to figure out how.

      a soft smirk gentled him. his brow unfurled as he leaned against the rail to watch her for as long as possible. he absorbed the way the water moved around as if ahsoka swam among a thousand shimmering diamonds. couplings of bluegreen chromis and purple queens flashed beneath her like sunken gems, startled but undeterred by the bipedal dancer exploring their stage. a sluggish bullethead nearly bumped into her leg, only veering off in a sudden spook. amusement melted boba further. his chin came to rest on a calloused palm as he continued to spectate what wouldn’t last much longer.

      the magic of the scene was destined to be brief. besides, he was expected and entertained no desire to keep her waiting.

      with unusual abandon, boba plunged into the pacific. even under the tropical sun, the deepest and largest of the earth’s oceans maintained a proud nip. the electric current chilled his skin as his vision darkened blue. lead by a chain of bubbles, boba kicked back to the surface and crossed the turquoise distance in perfect butterfly strokes where he found ahsoka waiting.

      the mischief dismissed before returned with impish vigor but boba was immediately outgunned by her ambush.

      boba’s taken aback ack! was submerged with the rest of him as his anchor did as anchors do. deeper into the shallows they went. an eruption of bubbles blocked his view of her but her very literal bubbly giggle was pure clarity.

      enticed, he matched her ascension, breaking the water tension a fraction of a moment behind her. boba tried to school his expression straight but the farce proved impossible. his mouth wouldn’t let him, lips refused to flatline let alone dour. and while his chuckle was quieter, resonating from his chest, it was no less honest than hers.

      ahsoka’s arms went high, his went low, finding a utopian curve to wrap around. he squinted through the briny drip that stubbornly clung to his lashes, enduring the prickle so as to not waste a single moment to look at the siren in his arms.

      as they bobbed in the dichotomy of brisk and heat, boba answered her hope with a prolonged kiss. at its end, he kept her close, blurring where she ended and he began as he pressed his forehead to hers, counting the slow rain running off their skin to return to the mother marine.

      limbs numbed by the intimacy, boba drew back. he cleared his throat of the lingering saltwater he’d swallowed and reclined his head. ❝ hmm, a race? ❞ he repeated with feigned contemplation. one dark brow arched. ❝ are we capable of friendly competition? you and i make for a pair of sore losers. ❞

[honorhunt]

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 still purple with a sun too frightened to set. a low, ghastly moan crawled from the indigo hills that embroidered the horizon, reaching across the seemingly endless flat of sunbaked clay. for miles the desert spread uninterrupted by man. undulating Ss in puddles of sand left behind by unnerved hunters escaping the air’s scarlet taste. long-eared silhouettes huddled in the sagebrush, their black noses twitching restlessly.

      mankind’s only foothold in acres of inhospitable desolation resembled the garrish flavor of its scarce clientele. a towering sign, crowned by a decapitated starburst, displayed a partial name. more than half the letters were gone, remembered only by faded scars too sunbleached to read from the ground. while the survivors spasmed in decades-long deathroes of neon glory. the parking lot look just as depleted. most of the cars parked haphazardly around imaginary lines had seen their heyday when the motel’s googie groove was the charismatic rage.

      the office was sad, the rooms sadder. interiors once boasting a doo wop palette all aged into an antagonistic puce. room numbers were scribbled with sharpie below the peephole on each cyan door. the bygones haunting the creaky walks and the empty pool had company tonight. bleary-eyed silhouettes in various states of undress huddled outside their rooms, drawn from their twenty-a-night caves by the low of indescribable torture. even the front desk with her pilling orange concealer stood gaping, frozen to a half-open door, more awake than she’d ever been in her twenty years of graveyard shifts.

      boba fett was alone in his lack of resemblance to a plastic deer. propped between the hood and the door, boba was a satellite stationed in the dreary parking lot, gauging the mysterious howl. distortion rendered it unrecognizable. even for a man who spent his life listening to preternatural animals sing. regardless, a local who’d probably witnessed more than a fair share of strange resembled an owl shivering in the evening heat. that was more than enough to suspect a revenant was out there in the shimmering distance.

      without a word to the girl riding shotgun, boba retrieved the rifle behind his seat and refilled the few bullets missing from his utility belt. two pistols joined his on-hand armory along with a thirty centimeter bowie knife to accompany the smaller drop point forever on his person.

      as a loaded a custom shotgun, pulled from a massive lockbox stored under the narrow backseats, fett finally acknowledged his passenger. not with eyes that were fixed to the lethal tools passing through his hands, but with an order. ❝ get that inside, ❞ a jog of his chin motioned the collective of fast food bags meant for the gaggle of mouths left behind while he and the youngest of the bunch went hunting for the closest town. ❝ and get munson out here. ❞

      fett didn’t wait for maxine to reply. he tossed her the keys, slammed the door, cutting off any unnecessary commentary when his instructions were clear, and expected the results to follow him across the lot momentarily.

      he on the edge of the property glaring at the dark blue peaks. the howling continued, growing longer and more mournful with each cry. a shuffle of movement in his peripherals drew a sliding glower to a bald man in a towel fumbling with the keys to a prehistoric sedan. the man rummaged for a moment before he noticed his audience. like a hairless prairie dog, his back straightened as he returned boba’s stolid stare with a boggled imitation.

      ❝ you know what that is? ❞ fett nodded in the direction of the mountains. the bald head shook, water drops shaking from pufferfish cheeks. ❝ then you better get inside. ❞ nothing more needed to be said. what little color the bald man had in his face flushed away, leaving a waxy pallor. the bald man closed the driver side door and nearly lost his towel when he tried to walk away. it took several panicked attempts to free himself from the door before waddling in retreat to his room.

      hmph, was fett’s lukewarm response. not long after another set of steps approached from behind. these sounded more purposeful, and he almost held out the shotgun when he realised there was a girl-shaped mutiny afoot.

                        ❝ i said munson, not mayfield. ❞

a desert motel, one ghost shy of abandoned for @godsdeal

[vuulpecula]

VUULPECULA'S END OF SUMMER POSITIVITY !

✖ @honorhunt - nominated by @paramounticebound

H A C K E T T !!! in a single word: quality. Literally everything you do is so aesthetically pleasing that I just eat it right up. Just like your freaking writing omg ! the fact that you completely built up a Tolkien verse that is so detailed that now it’s just canon in my mind will forever be an inspiration. It’s been at least a year since I read through it and I’m still in awe ( & I need to do that draft omfg ). I won’t lie, I was 100% intimidated by you, and I still kinda am because you are one of my favorite writers, (*ring, ring* hi yes dave? No one except hackett is allowed to write boba now sorry not sorry, bye ) but you are also the sweetest ! I seriously cannot wait to write more with you and dig into the angsty trash pile together <3

[honorhunt]

🌸 If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog. 🌸

i. i am the antithesis of a sweet tooth. desserts are often too rich and overwhelming for me. but i do like mildly sweet foods when tempered with spice! like one of my favorite treats is hot chocolate topped with cayenne and cinnamon. or how at the wedding i just attended, i didn't have a slice of the cake, but i did torment the chai machine.

ii. i am citizen of more than one country.

iii. i was diagnosed with severe adhd and dyslexia when i was 9/10. which has made my lifelong passion for writing a frustrating, triumphant, yet trippy experience.

[honorhunt]

one more week till mortal kombat 1 comes out

one

more

week

[honorhunt]

gdi marrok. went out like such an inquisitor if that was it for him lmao. damn it, dudes, i really hope he’s not actually dead. we finally get someone who makes the helisaber look rad and ahsoka pops him like a balloon

[honorhunt]

dudes i've got the human zoomies after that episode

and that right there is why ahsoka's one of the most powerful force users. why she was perfect as anakin's apprentice. look at our girl go, showing off the caliber of duelist she is

by slicing my man marrok in two. marrok, what kinna eldritch bloodborne gen'dai bullshit are you? he better not be done. i want more of whatever the fuck that lovecraftian shriek was.

[honorhunt]

a very pretty city for munday

bonus tree dinosaurs

[honorhunt]

APPARENTLY today is the day of sending you birthday wishes, so here's something a bit more elaborate than me yelling the other day. YOU, you bringer of chaos and salty vibes, i am so so happy that out paths crossed on this hellsite. you are intensely creative, a show stopping writer, and a most kind and compassionate friend. honestly, i couldn't have gotten through this year without your and puck's support. you mean so much to us, and i know equally so to those who are not on the other side of a computer screen. i hope you have the best of birthdays with all those you love, because you deserve that after all you've accomplished. tavalodet mobarak, my friend! <3

thank you, kitty ♡ it means a lot to have you as a friend. and for as long as humanly possible, i'll be there for you. my thoughts are always with you, and i hope you know how proud i am of you. of how far you've come. how far you'll go. it would be wrong to tell you to "be strong" because you are already so damn mighty. i know you've got this, and may all the love this world has to offer find its way to you. you deserve so much, hermanita, te quiero mucho!