I just want them to get some peace and quiet okay-
Relu should get some sleep. He knows it because the words on the screen of his datapad start to blur, turning into a mess of barely comprehensible letters. He slouches in his chair and closes his eyes for just a moment. He needs rest, but there is so much to do.
A warm hand touches his shoulder.
“Why are you still here?” Merkara asks. “Go to bed. The galaxy won't fall apart in a few hours.”
Relu opens his eyes and raises his head to look at her. He gives her the world's most tired smile.
“War doesn't have breaks. It's not like Arcann is going to stop his Eternal Fleet just because I need a bit of rest. I'm not finished with—”
Merkara interrupts him with a determined shake of her head.
“You are finished for today.”
He doesn't resist when she pries the datapad from his hands, letting her take it away. He doesn't see where she puts it because his gaze is fixed on her face. He likes looking at her. The sight of her fills him with a sense of peaceful contentment, even though his eyes hurt and there is a heavy headache pulsating in his temples.
Merkara sits on the armrest of his chair and Relu reaches for her, pulling her into his lap. Her lips curl in a small smug smile.
She sweeps an errant strand of hair away from his face, her fingers linger as they brush his skin. “How much do you expect to do if you are so exhausted that you can't even see straight?”
Relu lets his breath out in a long sigh.
“I'm afraid,” he admits, running his fingers up and down the length of her spine. “What if I miss something important? What if I'm needed somewhere and don't get there on time?”
What if another crucial moment comes and he is not fast enough? Not clever enough? Not good enough? He is so tired, so awfully tired of constantly being outmatched and feeling as if none of his efforts matters.
“You’re not the only one fighting this war.” Merkara strokes the side of his face in a caress, cups his cheek. “You don’t have to treat it like your sole responsibility. Have some trust in your allies, they can figure it out. You're not alone in this, Relu. You have never been alone.”
She has always had this inexplicable power to dismiss his fears with nothing more than a few words. Sometimes she doesn’t even need to speak, she just touches him and he forgets the world. And she knows about the influence she has on him too well, but Relu doesn’t mind.
He has nothing to say in response, resting his head against her palm. Merkara leans so close to him that their noses touch. The warmth of her body envelopes him like a blanket. The scent of her perfume surrounds him—a soothing mix of lavender and bergamot.
“Just rest,” she whispers. “I'm here.”
But you're not here, Relu thinks suddenly. This realization comes out of nowhere, but it feels right.
“You're not here,” he says out loud, and something tight squeezes in his chest. He remembers through the haze of sleepiness. “You're somewhere in Zakuul. I don't know how to find you, how to rescue you. I have been trying so hard, but I’m not getting any closer. I couldn't even stop them when they took you away.” He chokes on his breath before concluding. “You have been gone for more than two years.”
Every word hurts because it's true. It hurts so much that Relu wants to forget it as soon as he says it. He grabs Merkara by the upper arms, desperation tightens his grip until his fingers are digging into her skin.
Let it be real, he thinks, unable to say it because of an aching lump in his throat. Please. Oh please, let it be real.
Merkara smiles at him sadly, ruefully.
“I'm not here,” she agrees. “But it doesn't mean that I'm not real.”
And Relu wakes up in his chair. His datapad lies on the floor next to his feet, his spaceship cabin is empty and quiet. He is alone.
No need to attack me like this xD Almost every of my character isn’t happy for long periods of time, I do have a tendency of hurting them, guilty. That said, I think Raen is probably the happiest of them. She’s cheerful, optimistic, isn’t bound by duty, isn’t carrying heavy emotional baggages and is just enjoying the life. Her relationship with family is good, friends come easy to her, and even her rivals don’t have much negative influence. That’s not to say Raen is never affected by what’s happening to her or others, but she’s having an easier time dealing with it.
8. Has the perfect come backs
Haven’t really thought of this, so not sure. There those who make their comebacks perfect on purpose bc they live for drama, so it’s painfully obvious (like Auletta or Raen or Bal’sara).
Okay, so those Golden markings Anthony has in your reversed omens AU, which I LOVE with all my heart, by the way, can he hide them or something? Because I noticed that they weren't there in some of the art, so I got curious. Sorry if you answered this already or if the answer is explained somewhere, I'm a bit stupid sometimes and overlook stuff :/. I love all your Good Omens art, by the way. It's gorgeous!
softly, but with a lot of feeling: his tattoos are annoying to draw and i forgot on some of the doodles; they’re always visible bc they’re angel markings (unless he’s wearing his coat, which he does whenever he goes out with Azirafell)
Keeper may be a Snitchin’ Shiny, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t loyal to his vode. Like, seriously. He could be under interrogation for hours, and he’d refuse to budge for anything. He just doesn’t like covering for his vode when it comes to their COs.
A Jedi had to protect him again (from Grievous or whatever) and he stood just a little too close behind them. They accidentally stab him when they move their saber back.
I... Kinda wanna hear more about Xala and Ra'enar's "friendship" now? Like,,, do they hang out (and if so, how many murder attempt are made per hour?)? Do they like, spar together? Beat each other up occasionally?
They are forced to see each other a lot when Ra’enar joins the Alliance. It starts with prejudice because their reputations precede them.
Ra’enar, condescendingly: Well, if it isn’t the Jedi Order’s disgraced errand girl.
Xala, mimicking him with exaggeration: Well, if it isn’t Vitiate’s glorified slave
But Ra’enar is very self-disciplined. If anyone ever saw him lose his temper, they’re no longer alive. He only ever picks a fight with an intention to kill, and there’s no reason for him to want Xala dead as long as she’s useful to their common goal.
Meanwhile, Xala already has a strained relationship with Relu — he made it clear that he won’t tolerate her shenanigans in his Alliance. One more mistake and she’s out, so she has to stay out of trouble. After a few confrontations with Ra’enar, she can write a book titled “How to Avoid Murdering Your Enemies When They're Clearly Asking for It”
So it doesn’t go further than bickering while they’re both helping the Alliance. And the more time they spend in close proximity to each other, the harder it is to remember why they’re supposed to be enemies. They can’t stand each other’s personalities, but other than that? They both feel wronged and betrayed by their factions, their lives have been reduced to the hunt for the man who ruined them. Maybe, just maybe they have more things in common than differences.
They end up talking rather than bickering. They spar and Ra’enar explains to Xala how to use her emotions in a calculated manner instead of blindly lashing out. They work with the Alliance troops and Xala explains to Ra’enar that he can lead by inspiring people instead of being all “If you don't go out there and die for something, then I will kill you for nothing.” They still don’t get along, but there’s grudging respect where scorn used to be.
So, you got that ask about Relu and Merkara's relationships with their crews recently, and in one of the posts you linked you said you wanted to talk about Ashara and Merkara's relationships post story. Please do??? I'd love to hear about that! 💜
Everything goes wrong when Merkara ascends to the Dark Council. She has no interest in fixing the Empire, but she has a long list of people to hunt down. She disappears for days and comes back smelling of blood and death. Ashara doesn’t know how to deal with this, her helplessness turns into fury. She confronts Merkara with righteous anger in her eyes and reminds her of all the plans they had.
Merkara says “I don’t owe the Empire anything. Let it burn for all I care.” Ashara responds “All those people you’re killing ― they’re a symptom of the problem, not the cause. They had the power to hurt you because the system allowed it. You can kill them, but others will come in their place, and they will keep causing the same suffering that you had to go through. It’s not going to end just because it’s over for you. Don’t you see? If you refuse to fix the problem, you become part of it.”
Merkara doesn’t look ashamed ― Ashara has never seen and will never see this expression on her Master’s face. But she seems thoughtful. She disappears again, she’s not heard from for weeks this time. When she comes back, she starts talking about finding more allies in the Republic as if nothing happened. As if Ashara didn’t get to see her with burning yellow eyes and blood-stained hands.
Cautiously, Ashara joins the discussion. She wasn’t important enough in the Jedi Order to have strong connections there, but she knows of some Jedi who might be willing to break rules for peace. She is the one to approach them. If she manages to convince them, they talk to Merkara next, but Ashara gets to make first impressions and represent their cause.
Ashara wants to believe in something so badly. She meets more potential allies and talks with infectious enthusiasm, rambling like a girl in love. She grows so confident that she suggests contacting the Barsen’thor ― she met him once, before he was important. He patiently listens to her, but his face is dark with skepticism and disapproval. Still, he concedes: “Maybe I will talk to your Master, if only to see what kind of a Sith can inspire such loyalty.” His words sting. Ashara tells herself that she’s not doing it for Merkara, she’s doing it because it’s right. But then she returns to Imperial space and catches herself lingering for words of praise, for an approving glance, for a brilliant smile. She feels warmth spreading inside her in response to little bits of validation.
Merkara knows that Ashara will be there to slap her on the wrist. If Merkara gets too drunk on power to see straight, Ashara won’t be afraid to confront her about it. It’s a strangely comforting thought. Ashara pretends to be a perfect Sith apprentice in public and becomes entangled with the Imperial ways, but she still has the strength and clarity to say “No, this wrong.” “No, I will not allow it.” “No, how dare you?”
Together they consider so many possibilities of how the major galactic events might develop. But the threat of Zakuul is hidden out there, they never see it coming. When Merkara disappears during a confrontation with the Eternal Fleet, Ashara feels so lost. She steps out of her Master’s shadow and is immediately blinded by the light. To her horror, she realizes that her life has become intertwined with Merkara’s to the point where she doesn’t even know who she is on her own. So she struggles to find herself. When she hears that Merkara might be alive, she doesn’t go searching.
Merkara doesn’t need Ashara this time. There are other people looking for her and they eventually succeed. Ashara hears the news and crushes the urge to travel halfway across the galaxy to see her Master. Former Master, she corrects herself. Former Master who might not forgive Ashara for giving up on her, might not understand her reasoning. And it’s alright, or so Ashara tells herself when she tastes bitterness on the tip of her tongue. She has learned to be important on her own, to make fully independent decisions, to stop expecting precious little bits of attention in exchange for her achievements.
But when Merkara stands in front of her, beckoning, Ashara can’t help herself. She didn’t have much of a choice so many years ago on Taris. She can choose now, and she sighs with relief when Merkara’s arms come around her. Ashara has come full circle. Ashara has come home.
Soo, this is kinda random but it's something I've been wondering for a while now, but could you make a list on how to pronounce your oc's names? Because I'm not sure I've been reading them right-
Don’t worry, you can pronounce them however you want, most of my OCs wouldn’t even be offended if you get their names wrong! And the majority is pronounced just like it’s written anyway. Here are some that may be confusing though:
Ishalea — ee-sha-le-ah
Xala — ksa-la
Seidala — say-dala
Ateitis — ah-tay-tis
Ra’enar — rah-e-nar
Yla — ee-la
Firie — fi-ri-eh
Xyrha — zeer-ha
Teshe — tesh-eh
Let me know if you’re wondering about the names I haven’t included here ~
