Live to Fight Another Day

A post S6 TCW Fanfic about the last months of the war from the povs of Cody, the 501st, Cyborg Echo, and Rex (and Rex becoming force sensitive). Follow for updates, art, author rambles, etc! Feel free to send asks and submissions any time! Read on Ao3 | Ko-fi | Art

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 18)

Before he died, Fives never could have imagined working together with Asajj Ventress. Now, given another chance by unlikely allies, revived with a strange power lighting up his veins, he has to work his way through the ranks of his brothers in the Coruscant Guard, laying a trap to kill the chancellor before the Sith lord can activate Order 66. But having only ever fought on the front lines, the culture of the Guard proves to be a bigger obstacle than he imagined, especially when Fives realizes the most important skill he has to train is the ability to lie to his brothers despite their trust. When given allies and tactics he never imagined, how much of himself is he willing to cast aside for the cause? Loyal to source material and characterizations. Starts after the Fives arc of S6 and diverges from canon.

THATS RIGHT FOLKS it's aNOTHER CHAPTER~~! We are pleased to bring you more Fives feels, more Ezan and Ventress feels, and very importantly, RADAR FEeeeels! Sorry not sorry for loving our nerdy captain OC.

As always, thank you to the people who take the time to comment!! Comments are our lifeblood. Our waters of life, if you will. The ichor that reanimates us from the slow undeath of writers block and procrastination~~~ Preview:

             “He is careless with your gifts, Raisvendys.”

            Fives knew that voice… haunting storm-winds in a canyon. He felt arms around him, soft hair against his cheek. Then his heart beat once—pain. Another heartbeat, and the pain doubled, tripled on the third, until he couldn’t keep it behind his teeth anymore.

             “Nevertheless, he is my daughter.” The second voice came from behind Fives’ head and chest, and he wasn’t sure if the thrum of it soothed or worsened the aching. “And Ezan is yours. You must give them another chance.”

            The first voice came closer to Fives’ ear. “Ezan spends her own life-force healing him. His recklessness endangers her as the last of our kind. I will not forgive such a waste.”

             “Would it not be a greater waste for him to risk nothing? To take the easy path? He gives his all to accomplish our mission. He is resolved.”

            A silence. Fives struggled and failed to open his eyes, his renewed heartbeat pulsing through swollen veins against his eardrums.

Read more on AO3

[cal-sparrow]

Rae and I have been plotting our city-guard-focused ltfad tie-in fic, so naturally Fox is getting a lot more character development and we are REALLY enjoying it. Can’t wait to be able to show you guys more!! I’ll probably be slipping some stuff out before you actually get to read anything lol but nothing spoilery or plot-related, just character stuff. 

[ltfad]

Live to Fight Another Day sketchdump. Most of these were kind of drawn for the discord (link to the discord is at the end of latest chapter).

1. Quickdraw (aka QDpie/Cody and Rex’s batcher/212th’s new battalion commander under Cody) 2. Frey (Tipoca guard at experimental wing), Rex trying to blend in on Antar IV (and being also adorable). 3. Green and Green w triggered chip (His hair is technically shorter than this but idc) 4. Radar (a Coruscant Guard captain), Dogma (Both are subjects of Rex’s visions/dreams) 5. More exile Rex 6. 7723 with kittens (23 in a tank top and 23 with kittens are both CAH cards), Ilu Bai (being a dick)

[cal-sparrow]

Radar and Fox!

Radar hasn’t been in our stories too much but you’ll definitely learn more about him eventually. Right now he’s most in Fox Territory but has been mentioned in Live to Fight Another Day too. He’s a captain in Fox’s personal battalion, a history nerd, and a sniper that uses a slugthrower rifle. He’s a little bit of the Watson to Fox’s Holmes when it comes to detective work.

Fox is hard to get close to but Radar put in the effort to understand how he ticks and now he’s Fox’s closest brother. Radar can be a bit socially standoffish himself. They didn’t meet until after the formation of the guard even though Radar was also in command track on Kamino.

[stories-to-the-end]

Hardcase from the side stories of my favorite Star Wars fic Live to Fight Another Day

[ltfad]

Wow! This is so stunning... The drawing of the crashed ship and the smoke turning into birds!!! I can't believe you did that, it's such beautiful attention to a tiny moment in that fic, thank you! Hardcase being an artist is so important to us and that you put such effort and polish into this art means the world.

[stories-to-the-end]

Fives from the amazing Live to Fight Another Day side story Sisters and Brothers.

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Bothers (Chapter 17)

Before he died, Fives never could have imagined working together with Asajj Ventress. Now, given another chance by unlikely allies, revived with a strange power lighting up his veins, he has to work his way through the ranks of his brothers in the Coruscant Guard, laying a trap to kill the chancellor before the Sith lord can activate Order 66. But having only ever fought on the front lines, the culture of the Guard proves to be a bigger obstacle than he imagined, especially when Fives realizes the most important skill he has to train is the ability to lie to his brothers despite their trust. When given allies and tactics he never imagined, how much of himself is he willing to cast aside for the cause? Loyal to source material and characterizations. Starts after the Fives arc of S6 and diverges from canon.

Happy May the 4th! Thank you to those who have commented. Truly we would be so ecstatic to get comments on Ao3 or here, a reblog, or anything! It would make us so happy to know people are reading and following this!

Chapter 17 here!

Chapter 1 here!

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 16)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.

This one took SEVERAL rewrites/edits before being ready to share... I'm so glad it's finally here! I hope you guys enjoy it, although as usual, there is some angst... sorry not sorry

Preview:

            “I’m going to do it.”

            Fives had known his answer even before he fell asleep the first day back with Ezan and Ventress. But then it was a matter of making sure he still agreed with himself upon waking up, and waiting for Ventress to leave on another hunt. 

            “Do what?” Ezan asked, but her uneasy glance at him in the bathroom mirror told him she knew already. He had walked up behind her while she was washing her face, her dark hair still rumpled from sleep all through their breakfast of leftovers.

            “Meet the Elder Mother who can teach me the spell of influence,” Fives said. 

            Ezan took a moment to finish rinsing and pressed her face into a towel. “Are you sure?” 

Read more on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 15)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.

What's this?? ANOTHER UPDATE? YES!!! A bit shorter at only two scenes but we are nothing if not character-driven up in here. Thank you everyone who has been just as excited as us!

Preview:

            The weight of credits in the pocket under her shirt was one of Asajj’s new favorite feelings. It meant hot meals shared with Ezan from their favorite restaurants. It meant another bounty successfully brought in, another layer added to a reputation she’d built all on her own, another quiet moment of pride and security in her own skills. It meant freedom, to keep what she’d earned, to be beholden to no one but those she chose to share her resources with. Maybe soon, they could ease up on saving so much and even move to a more comfortable living space. 

            For a moment, approaching the door to their hideout, she allowed herself to entertain thoughts that felt unlikely and unfamiliar. What if there was an actual kitchen? A place with more than one room and a refresher? A place that felt more… permanent. 

            She almost laughed bitterly at herself, and there was still a ghost of an incredulous grin on her face when she stepped inside and saw Fives and Ezan seated on the floor, sharing a large pouch of basic provisions. The clone’s face was discolored beneath a bandage taking up most of the space on his left cheek and jaw. 

            Ezan looked up in surprise. “You’re back early.” 

            “What’s he doing here?” It came out more harshly than she meant it, but her mind was catching up to what this might mean. “He’s not supposed to be back at all!” 

Read more on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 14)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.

Oh my GZoD y'all I can't believe it's been almost two years since I last posted on here but HEY HERE IS A NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!! Scream!!!

Preview:

“Don’t we have enough evidence by now?” Fives stretched and groaned at the desk he’d been parked at for the last six hours. “We have multiple descriptions of the traffickers who actually took the victims. The Jedi Council can take it from here.”

“They could,” Radar muttered, tapping a fist against his own chin. “And Fox is probably going to release most of this to them soon.”

“So what are we still looking for?” Fives sighed restlessly.

Radar paused for a second, looking searchingly at Fives. “Sometimes it pays to take some time and wonder about the larger reasons behind things like this.”

Read more on AO3

[ltfad]

So this is pretty wild but next year will be 10 years since we started writing Live to Fight Another Day (May 20th 2014 was when Chapter 1 was first published on Ao3).

Yikes. I can hardly believe it!

If I'd been able to continue the same momentum as I had when we first started writing it, book 1 would be done and we'd be well on our way into book 2, but alas, life is never that straightforward.

For those interested, here are just some of the major life events that have happened since LtFAD began:

5 job changes for me (including one entire career change) I don't know how many jobs for Cal actually 2 college degrees started and completed (an AA for me and a Master's for Cal) 1 Master's Program started for me just this year 4 surgeries total between me and Cal at least 6 moves (2 or 3 for Cal and 4 for me) 2 weird not-great-for-mental-health relationships beginning and ending

This isn't counting things in our families of origin such as deaths, births, weddings etc though those have also happened, some of them much more significant to us personally than others. The difference between being 24 and being 34 feels huge in some ways and not very big at all in others.

But I am definitely in a much different headspace than I was when I first threw myself into writing this fic. It's not at all an exaggeration to say that this story saved my life in a time when I was very lonely and still grappling with a lot of questions about what my life should be and why I was even alive. There were days when I literally thought to myself, I need to stay alive, I need to make it through this, so I can finish writing LtFAD.

It means the world to me that even now that I'm doing much, much better most days, this story continues to give comfort and a feeling of connection to other people even though it's unfinished. That's the best legacy I can hope for, for this story: connection, comfort... a feeling of knowing others' hidden courage in the hard times and feeling known in turn. Yes, I do still want to finish it. Or at least continue it for as long as I can, whenever I can. It feels like a friend I've carried with me (and been carried by) for the last nine years. I can't promise any sure timeline for its completion, but I just wanted to write this to thank everyone again for loving LtFAD, from the most active commenters to the quietest lurkers whose usernames I've never seen. Thank you so much for existing and for connecting with something we made.

-Rae.

[ltfad]

Hello! I like how you write all the clones as aroace. I have a question about it: How did you figure out/come to the conclusion that the clones were aroace? I have my own thoughts, but I'm curious to hear yours!

The shortest most genuine answer is: because we're aroace spectrum and they just gave us a vibe, and we wanted to. A whole army of representation!! It made us really happy.

And then from that feeling and that desire to make them aroace we also thought it made sense rationally within the story. Because the clones have their own culture. They were raised outside of human norms! And they have been created to be perfect soldiers which means limiting their physical distractions, and there'd be no reason to make them have a reproductive instinct or ability (bad for business in multiple ways from the Kaminoan perspective). [Disclaimer that aroace ppl can have sex drive but that's not the point here].

There have been so many characters that were aroace coded in other works of fiction we loved, particularly A.I. or alien characters, who the writers then forced an allonormative "awakening" on as a part of their "becoming more human" storyline, and it always felt like such a painful thing to us. A betrayal. A way of the world saying yet again that aroace people are less human. So the fact that the clones are so absolutely human (in the sense of being complete, feeling beings with individuality and a complete and brightly shining soul), and don't need to BECOME more human, but are incredible people as they are... us letting them be aroace as I feel they are shown to be in the show... us stubbornly and audaciously being like "yes ALL OF THEM"... it's because of that. It's because we want to celebrate the fact that just like how the clones are such incredibly human people despite every bit of their circumstances trying to say they are not, them being aroace is something they can claim for themselves (though not in those exact words) as a part of their identity without it making them less-than. It's a so-what, just like being grown in a tank. So what? Why does that mean I'm not fully a person? Why does that mean my life is any less meaningful than anyone else's?

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 13)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone  was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister  magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they  pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.

Dogma centric chapter in some ways, ya’ll. And Radar. Good times. Hope you all enjoy!

Preview: 

           “Is it true that no news is good news?” Ezan asked wryly over Fives’ private comm.

          He was out near the spot where Flicker had taken him on his first night as Solar. It was as good a place as any to talk without being overheard, and the walk had helped the restless tension in his chest a little.

           “Yeah, sorry I’ve been a little scarce. But at least I’m not being watched as closely anymore.”

          The area looked and sounded different in daylight, and the metal surface of the pipes reflected heat from the sun. Fives found a ladder and climbed back down into the shade.

           “So you’re focused on this captain now.”

Read it on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 12) 

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone  was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister  magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they  pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.    

YA’LL, we start getting to know Radar a bit in this chapter! And our boy Dogma gets a moment in the spotlight, for better or worse (hehehe). I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I need to do some edits on chapter 14 before it comes out but that’s a month away so here’s hoping life allows me to make that generous deadline. Also I caught up drafting sidefic to where ltfad’s latest chapter stands, but there’s probably a lot of edits and rewrites needed still. Stay tuned!

Preview: 

            It struck Fives, as he was running after Radar in the shade of the crooked trees, that he hadn’t set foot on real dirt in months. Not outside of that other plane where he’d met his elder mother, at least.

            It shouldn’t have been strange to him, not really—he’d spent the first nine years of his life in the sterile, floating city of Tipoca, after all, surrounded by open ocean on all sides, the majority of the rest of his life on starships. But something inside him, something that felt like the ichor smelled, took notice of the life around him, false though its wildness was. They were still real trees, real grasses, real plants and soil and birds, all living together in this self-contained square of a park like an island in a sea of duracrete and metal.

            “So we’re in enemy territory now,” Radar murmured, stepping past the line of small neon-green ribbons tied to the trees.

            “Yes, sir,” Fives confirmed in a careful undertone.

            “We should split up to give us greater odds of avoiding capture,” whispered Radar, turning his head back and forth as they crept along.

            Fives had been afraid of that. Radar had only just started responding to Fives’ gestures of friendship enough to agree to come to this game with the civvies, and the whole point of bringing him was to get to know him better. If Fives and Radar spent most of the game apart, how were they supposed to talk?

Read it on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 11)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone  was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister  magic, a technicality like being dead won’t get in their way as they  pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.    

Okay so remember a certain scene in LtFAD proper where a certain commander and another certain commander get a little feisty in the hallway? Yeah, we might be getting a different POV of that in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy the feels!

Preview: 

          Fives had gone swimming. It had helped, a little… but out of the pool and in the shower, the thoughts and questions came back, that feeling of some cornerstone of stability cracking.

          There was only so long he could sit in the barracks and try to distract himself by reading Kona’s datapad. It was still a dead brother’s possession, and made him wonder where Rex’s things were now. And his own—and Tup’s. They’d written each other so many letters over the months they’d been friends, but now even if he could have safely sent one, Tup would never receive it.

          With Julian still glancing nervously at him every few minutes, Fives sighed and opened a blank page. It was hard to get the first few words out, and he erased them and wrote them again several times before they began to rush out of him.

          I don’t know why I’m worrying about the words right now. No one will read this, but there’s an upside to that… I don’t have to worry about bringing anyone down. So, Tup, I’m pretending you’re going to get this, and that you’ll know just how to take it. I miss you.

Read it on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 10)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone  was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister  magic, a technicality like being dead won't get in their way as they  pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.  

mmmmmboy things were going wrong last chapter and they don’t really get much better in this one... just a rough day, week, etc for our boy all around....

Preview: 

           The laundry room only had one small maintenance corridor leading off it. Otherwise, there were always the circulation vents. The small lifts designed to bring the clean and folded clothes back up to the living quarters were too small for a human body to fit.

          Fives hurried to the only door in the room and found the corridor beyond narrow and difficult to maneuver with Kona’s body on his shoulders. But in he went, panting from the lieutenant’s weight. He had no way of knowing how far the poison had permeated the building. He could still smell it, but that could just be residue or even his imagination. He hoped the other guardsmen were alright.

          Here the corridor forked, and Fives followed the wafting of air from the right into a large room that looked like a combination storage area and loading dock. The cargo doors were open, and at the sight of movement, Fives shrank back behind a small forklift for a moment before he saw that only droids were present, shuttling various travel bags and boxes of foodstuffs off a pallet on the floor.

           Kona’s body was slipping off his shoulders. Fives carefully shifted his own weight against the nearest wall and jostled the lieutenant until he was more secure, watching the droids to find the right moment to break from cover.

Read it on AO3

[ltfad]

Clone Wars Fic: Sisters and Brothers (Chapter 9)

The fifth plot thread of Live to Fight Another Day, but stands on its own quite well. When Fives died in the warehouse on Coruscant, someone  was watching. Fives has information they want and with some Nightsister  magic, a technicality like being dead won't get in their way as they  pursue vengeance against the one who wiped out their clan.  

It’s time for another installment of a good clone’s misadventures on Coruscant! Time to meet that lieutenant from Fox’s battalion and see where that might lead~~

Preview: 

           Staggered shifts meant odd timing for some meetings. Coming in from patrol on the third day back, Fives wasn’t thinking about anything except food until someone grabbed his shoulder.

          “Whoa.” He turned to see Dogma frowning at him with another guard trooper at his elbow. His stomach dropped: this was it. Dogma was about to haul him off to some interrogation room so Fox could drag the truth out of him.

           “This is Lieutenant Kona,” Dogma said brusquely. “Lieutenant, this is Solar.”

          “I hear you want to learn more about senatorial security.” Kona wore his helmet, so all Fives could really distinguish of him was the exaggerated cockiness—almost grandiose like an announcer—in his voice. “Well, you asked the right lieutenant! You can come on down and sit with us once you’ve got your food.” Kona jerked a thumb in what Fives assumed was the general direction of his usual table.

           “Oh, thank you, sir!” Fives’ voice went staccato from surprise, and his heart lifted in relief.

          Kona chuckled and put his hands on his hips, relaxing out of the façade. “To be totally honest, I don’t know what you want to learn, and I might not have all the answers, but there’s no harm in asking. Just make it fast. Our shift starts in half an hour.”

Read it on AO3