never leaving tumblr bc whenever i get sad abt my edits not doing well on tiktok someone likes the cody one (literally the first one ive done in almost a DECADE) and i'm relieved
i audibly said
Random urge to draw Tech in a suit so-
something something gideon humming "we'll meet again" to mabel (likely in his prison cell) something something having to hear bill sing it to ford while dancing until he drops something something
A thread of Fundraiser of Congo and Sudan
Gfm to support Congolese non profits like focus Congo and Friends of the Congo
Help @/Godlessdyke's family escape Genocide
Another Gfm that supports friends of the Congo to help Congolese people and Children!
Help Leon, a Congolese refugee and his family
Help 4 Sudanese families
Support Rasheed's family journey to safety
Help Hiba's family
Support Isra's education in Egypt
Support for Sudanese Refugees in Cairo
yes im rewatching tcw again mind ur business
secondest one shot ever. echo's been growing on me recently icl y'all.
gif credit :)
rating/cw: teen, irl swears/star wars swearing, vague mentions of drugs, canon violence
3.6k words, gender neutral pronouns, zero use of y/n
i might keep this one going if i think up anything else. may or may not be based on my experiences at my own gig.
reblogs are always appreciated :)
The sun shone fiercely over the city, baking the industrial landscape in amber and gold. It was the closest that the durasteel and brick would ever get to being a part of nature, and in a way, the old buildings seemed thankful. Thankful to be unmoving against the planetâs own turmoil. To stand straight, stiff, and unforgiving against the gales that whipped through the streets like wind tunnels.
You very much wish you could be a building right now.
Contrasting to your surroundings, you were very much bothered by the sun in your eyes and wind in your hair. You squinted and kept a hand over your eyes as you puttered through the streets, gauging movement and distance by the tiled stonework on the ground. Your hair whipped at the corners of your face, always just out of reach when you went to swipe them away, giving way to a mood that the sun beating down on your neck was not helping.
Just a few more paces, a lock, and an alarm. You thought to yourself, mentally calibrating for the tasks following.
You were opening your store. At least, thatâs what youâd tell anyone if they bothered asking. In reality, you were opening a store you were hired to manage. You were hired as a friendly, trustworthy face that was more or less just responsible for making sure nothing got stolen. The real owner, on the other hand, rarely could bother to make an appearance. So, by all customer accounts, itâs your store. The thought of this brought warmth to your chest.
Pride, albeit in fake ownership, but pride in your work nonetheless.
You found yourself at the front of the store. Large, ornate marble slabs stacked up to the door. Marble steps that were once a hallmark of the city, that dotted every home, now lay cracked, chipped, and closer to oyster gray than marble white.
You trudged to the front glass door. Opening it with a whine, the door found purchase on your hip as you flipped the plastic door sign to âOpenâ. You glance over at the keypad, and punch in your door code - 0501.
Immediately upon stepping into the small, darkened room, youâre greeted with shrill chirps. The piercing tones shot through the still air and bounced off the walls.
âYeah yeah, I know, Iâm coming.â You gripe, talking to the ancient security system that by no means would actually respond. You walk towards the corner of the small shop, eyeing a white panel with a dimly lit green screen. You grimace as you punch in your security code, trying not to become overstimulated by the alarm.
âDisarmed. Ready to arm.â A feminine robotic voice declares, and you hum in content as you turn around and begin to open up your store.
Flip those lights, plug that in, unlock the window guard, count the cash.
The mental list flashed through your mind, though it was almost immediately pushed out by a myriad of other thoughts. Your mind was abuzz, just like any other day. You glanced around at the small, cramped storefront. Your eyes raked the shelves, not looking for anything in particular, simply cataloging with your eyes. Your store sold mainly spaceship parts, among other things; though judging by the dust collecting on the deflector shield projectors, youâd almost be led to believe that no one on the planet had even scraped the sky.
You rounded a counter to make way to the register. The counter was an upside down L-shape, clear glass panes encasing a durasteel frame with sliding doors on the seller side. A smaller, similar-yet-straight case sat parallel on the right, making a perfect little square entrance for you to swing around. Such large display pieces seemed comically out of place in the small store front, as they essentially divided the room in half. Inside, the three rows that spanned the length of each side of the L were cluttered. Cluttered with trinkets that toppled over one another, as well as a handful of dubiously legal recreational products and their respective accessories. Those, along with the cigarettes in cartons behind you, were probably the only reason the lights above you were even on, albeit flickering occasionally and making a rather unfortunate buzz. You shook your head, and unlocked the small, dingy cash register in front of you.
Methodically counting cash, your eyes wandered to the bay window at the front of the store. Outside of it laid sun-bleached stone streets, with few inhabitants venturing out this early in the morning. Those that did, moved sluggishly from the heat or in a feeble attempt to resist it. Most of them looked familiar, usually having come in and bought something in the past. Or the odd few who follow a stricter morning routine than you do, seeing them stroll by every morning since youâd arrived however many cycles ago.
Same old, same old, huh? You thought to yourself. Monotony creeps up on the best of us, I suppose. You silently laugh to yourself, a quick huff of air leaving your nose.
As if the universe was listening in on your internal monologue, a speeder comes careening down the block, the engine body screaming as the bike chewed through the brake disks like meringue. Atop this banshee was a young girl, cream blonde hair whipping behind her as she screamed with delight. You had hoped it was delight at least, though youâd never heard someone giggling with fear. Immediately following her was another speeder, albeit in much less disarray and in much more control. The pilot was a tall, slender, pale man with some form of plating on his head, covering his ears.
âOmega, you HAVE to brake before you turn, you canât just hit every corner like Tech does!â The man called out, though it was muffled from the glass.
You placed the cash back in the register and paced towards the door. Curiosity was your main driving factor, although if something happened to a child and you didnât do anything⌠Well, you were sure your brain wouldnât let you live it down.
You cracked the large door and peered out through the smaller glass door in front of it. You breathed out in relief, not realizing you were holding it in, as you saw the girl almost entirely unharmed.
âEcho, Iâm fine! Plus, you said it yourself before we grabbed them that they looked like âhunks of junkâ.â The girl made air quotes at her companion to emphasize her point. He, presumably named Echo, sighs in response, barely audible through the door but recognizable by the way his shoulders slumped. You couldnât see it, as his back was to you, but the clone took his one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Wait, one hand?
You had seen your fair share of clones, both on your home planet and where you now found yourself. However, with his back to you, and with your eyes zeroing in on his scomp, you were none the wiser of the man outside your shopâs origins, other than his name probably being Echo.
The girl, which you assumed was named Omega, noticed you standing in your doorway.
âMaybe we can ask them for helpâ She spoke aloud, looking past her companion to look directly at you. You respond in part by opening the door and poking your head out.
âSo, you crash in front of stores often?â You call out to the girl, smiling softly. Her companion turns around at the sound of your voice.
Hello there.
The man, now recognizable to you as a clone, was much more muscular than you had anticipated. With broad shoulders causing his pauldrons to peek out just a hair more. His hair was a buzz cut, the deep blue-black hue of his just-barely-there hair contrasting against his pale skin.
He waved his hand at you.
âIâm trying to not let her make it a habit but someone was recently taught what drifting was. Do you happen to sell speeder parts?â He punctuated his statement with a playful jab to the girlâs ribs, which elicited a giggle.
âAs long as you donât mind wiping dust off of them, Iâm sure I can find something for yâall.â You replied, and you stepped out on the porch to open the door and let the two in. They quickly followed suit and headed towards you.
âIâm Omega by the way, and this is my big brother Echo.â The girl chirped as she walked by.
You smiled and gave your name in response. âPleasure, itâs been a while since Iâve had real customersâ.
âWhatâs a real customer?â She said, spinning around to look back at you once she filed into the small room.
âSomeone actually buying parts, instead of whatâs in the case.â You reply, as you turn your back and begin parsing the shelves for speeder brake parts. Immediately you regret this decision.
âWhatâs in the case?â Omega piped, and before you can turn around her face is pressed to the glass, memorizing its contents.
âOh!âUh, adult stuff, Omega. You really shouldnât worry about it.â You said sheepishly, and you began to walk over to try and find something else for her to look at, but before you could Echo interjects.
âTheyâre right Omega, you have no business with this kind of stuff. Letâs just focus on the parts we need so we can get back to the ship before too longâ He says, before clasping her on the back. She huffs, but obliges and stands up.
âSo I have the parts youâre looking for, however the brakes come as a complete set. So you may end up with extras if you didnât break the entire thing.â You explain, and waggle a box in the air.
âJudging by the sound when we came in, Iâd imagine weâll probably use the whole kit. I hope we donât scare off too much foot traffic with the repairs.â Echo quipped, accompanied by a soft smile. If you didnât know any better, you wouldâve thought the man was flirting with you.
âFoot traffic?â You fake gawk. âAinât from âround here huh?â
Echo chuckles, and his eyes shone a little bit lighter. The bright honey-brown was rather stark against his skin, making it even more difficult not to get lost in them. The normally-dull blue hue of the overhead plasma lights made them pop out a bit more now that you were inside.
âWell, in any case, weâll be out front for a bit. Appreciate the help.â Echo nodded and began to take his leave with Omega in tow.
âLast I checked the sign out front didnât say charity.â You spoke, holding back a laugh with your teeth on your bottom lip.
Echo stopped dead in his tracks, and paused for a moment to reflect on what you meant. He sighed when it finally dawned on him.
âMy apologies. Omega, take this out front and start taking the speeder apart while I pay for this.â He handed the box to the girl, and she skipped out the door.
Echo walked up to the counter, albeit awkwardly. Like his hips were too heavy. Thatâs when you noticed his legs. Or rather lack thereof.
âThe heat and humidity makes my joints lock up sometimes.â He stated, noting your staring. Your eyes went wide.
âI-Iâm sorry, I didnât mean to stare. I had only noticed your scomp earlier when we were outside.â You said quickly, trying to alleviate any awkwardness. You had just met the man, you werenât trying to immediately make a handsome stranger hate you.
âItâs nothing new for me, though I did appreciate the lack of disgust in your faceâ He joked, self-deprecatingly.
Your eyebrows shot up, a mixture of quizzical and confused. âEveryone in the galaxy has or knows someone with augmentation at this point. What makes yours so gross?â You replied, emphasizing âgrossâ with a sarcastic voice.
The man shrugged. âMost clones donât look like me.â
You nodded. âNot exactly a GAR approved clone preset, I gather?â
âSort of, I guess? I got placed with an experimental clone unit during the war, seeing as how I didn't fit in with the regs anymore.â He responded, now talking with his hands and relaxing his posture. You typed in the total for the engine kit into the register.
âRegs?â You ask, not looking up, but still very much invested in the conversation.
âRegular clones. The âapproved presetsâ as you called them. My unit is nothing of the sort, so I saddled up with them.â He replied with ease, while fishing into one of his waist bags for his credit pouch.
âI see. Well, your totalâs gonna be 635 credits.â You chirp, looking up at Echoâs face, only to watch it drop.
âSix thirty five?â He half whispered, somehow going a shade paler. He had about 350 credits left in his pouch after the sorely needed supply run. However, if he couldn't fix the speeder, it wouldnât matter.
Sensing his trepidation, and also using the moment to steal a few glances at how his biceps push against his armor with his arms crossed, you got an idea.
âTell you what. Give me what you got, and Iâll smooth over the rest if you take me to dinnerâ You said in a joking tone, testing the waters.
Echoâs ears tinged pink and his cheeks warmed up at the thought. He pretended not to notice the way you sized him up when you met a few moments ago, but something about your attention on him at that moment made his stomach trip over itself. That feeling piqued his curiosity, but his response was laced with trepidation.
âI honestly donât even know where weâd go. Iâve never been planetside here, and Iâm sure you donât want to eat the ration bars let alone smell whatâs on the shipâ
You shrugged. âBeats the stale air here. Plus for as many parts as I carry, Iâve never actually been on a ship.â You felt rather sheepish at your white lie, your eyes scanning the floor.
âThe Marauder it is. What time were you thinking?â Echo asked. You couldnât see it, but his fingers were twitching against his thigh, and the back of his neck was bright red. He hadnât been on a date since he was still with the 501st, and even then it was usually a random one-off with someone he met at 79âs. By then the alcohol would be long gone and he would realize heâd spent the previous night with someone with bantha-shit for brains.
âHonestly? I could help you with repairs and we could head out. Not like Iâd be missing out on any money.â You reply coolly, trying your best to have a âwe can do whateverâ attitude as you leaned your weight onto one hip and cocked your head.
Inside, you were having ironically the same conundrum as Echo. You hadnât been on a date in Force knows how long, your work clothes werenât exactly date material, and holy kriff how did that actually work? You said it on a whim, ready to laugh it off to him and sob into your pillow about it later. Your brain had finally caught up to what you were up to, who you were now going on a date with, what you were doing, how you got there, and how his kid little sister wrecking outside your store was the best thing that couldâve happened.
âAre you gonna help me put this bike back together or are you two gonna flirt all day?!â A shrill voice called from outside.
Right, Omega, kriff.
Both you and Echo flinch and sigh at the sound of her voice. The temperature in the room also seemed to rise a few degrees, even if only for the two of you. You sigh, grabbing the credits Echo left on the counter and lock up the register. You make your way around the counter, and join him as he makes his way towards the door.
Once again faced with his back, your eyes wander down to where his hips meet his metal lower half. Somehow, his blacks tuck neatly into them, or maybe theyâre clipped somewhere, you donât know. You stifle a small laugh at the thought.
As you make your way outside, the thought crosses your mind of Echoâs legs having built in shirt fasteners. Then, before you can stop yourself, you let out a giggle at the thought of Echo having garters for his blacks underneath the armor and over his robotic legs.
Echo turns around at the sound. His eyebrow is raised quizzically, but his eyes betray him. He looks a little sad, worried that youâre laughing at him or Omega or their situation.
Noticing his composure change, you are now forced to have your queries answered.
âHow do your blacks stay on if you donât have them on your lower half? I thought it was like a jumpsuit?â
Echo was bewildered at the question. He cocked his head, and then settled on a response.
âThey just .. fit? Like the shirt sits where itâs, supposed to? And it doesnât move.â He shrugged, never having put much thought into it. âWhat about that made you laugh?â
âI imagined you having little garters or fasteners on the legs underneath.â You quietly replied, looking at the ground, mildly embarrassed.
Now it was Echoâs turn to laugh. His nose crinkled and he squeezed his eyes shut, and you made a mental note of the sound that came out of the sweet manâs mouth.
âVery funny. Echo can you please put this brake back on?â Omega piped up, exasperated. She loved her brother dearly and was very amused to see him interacting with you in such a manner, however she didnât anticipate this would require her soloing her speeder rebuild.
âSorry kiddo, I got you.â Echo crouched down and rested his hands on his knees, surveying what work Omega had done in his leave. She had actually finished about ž of the work, and Echo made a mental note to thank Tech profusely for his tutelage when they got back to the ship.
While he made quick work of what was left of the speeder, Omega busied herself with getting to know you. She plopped herself on your front stoop, and materialized some Mantell Mix from inside her jacket pocket. She threw a handful in her mouth, but before proceeding to chew she primed you with one of soon to be dozens of questions.
âWhyâd you set up shop here?â
You frowned slightly, as there was no fun answer to this question. The Siege drove everyone off of Mandalore, if they survived. This planet just happened to be in the same section of The Rim and was taking refugees. Setting up a shop was never in the cards on your home world, but despite your utter lack of knowledge of retail, you relished the opportunity to do something different. Start completely anew. Though a part of you balked at sharing your past, this young girl seemed wiser than she let on and you enjoyed actually talking to someone outside of the usual âHow are youâ âGood, thanksâ âYour totalâs 45 creditsâ âHave a good dayâ. So, against your better judgment, you indulged her.
âWell, Mandalore doesnât really exist, at least in its full capacity,â You sucked in your teeth. âAnd I didnât trust that old Coruscanti freighter to leave the star system. Plus, the owner of the place doesn't like people too much and would rather just collect a paycheck.â You shrugged.
Upon mention of Mandalore, a thunk came from the speeder. Not loud enough to draw your attention over, thank Force, but enough to be heard. It was Echo dropping a tool. While Kamino wasnât as much of a home to him as he imagined you would regard Mandalore, it was a similar weighty feeling. If all else failed, there was nowhere for either of you to go. There was no home. Sure, The Marauder and your little studio apartment were where the two of you resided, but thatâs not where youâre from. Plus, itâs kind of difficult to compare a ship and a box room barely bigger than the storefront to an entire planet.
âThis isnât your store?â Omega replied, sensing it easier to focus on the latter half of your statement. You shook your head.
âFor all intents and purposes, itâs mine. I run the day to day, order the products, harass people to actually get it delivered, everyone knows itâs me who runs it. But I donât own it, no.â
Omega nodded in understanding, and was immediately buried in thought. Her dark brows knitted together as her brain formulated questions faster than she could ask. She nodded once more, seeming to have landed on a fitting one. But before she could ask, Echo piped up.
âThe brakes are fixed up. We should be able to head back to the shipâ Echo began to get up, but before he turned around he shot a question that you were dreading. Well, more of a statement.
âI thought you said youâve never been on a ship?â
You gawked at him and then trained your eyes to the ground, suddenly very interested in the species of weeds that had taken hold in the cracks of the ground. You didnât have any good excuses, and youâd already been caught in one lie.
âGot you to say âyesâ to the date, didnât it?â You muttered weakly, knowing that this could very well end in him cursing you out and leaving you to your lonely little shop.
Echo sighed. He didnât like lying, but the reason for it warmed his cheeks. He realized you just wanted an âinâ. To hang out with him, of all people. He wasnât used to someone, anyone, making that kind of effort to spend time with him.
âIt did, though Iâd have probably said yes otherwise.â It was his turn to reply coolly and pretend that his heartâs not in his throat for even uttering the words. He coughs in a feeble attempt to clear it. âEither way, are you two ready?â
You nodded and looked at Omega, who responded by excitedly getting up and hopping on her speeder. Echo walked a few feet, and grabbed his own by the handlebars. Before you could ask who you were riding with, he re-parked the bike in front of where you were standing so you could easily step off of the curb and onto the back.
âWhenâd you get smooth?â You chide, grabbing Echoâs shoulder for leverage as you kicked your leg over the side. Your feet found purchase above the altitude controls, gripping the cargo compartment with your legs to maintain balance. You brought your hands down and let them rest in your lap as Echo kicked over the ignition.
âSince I found a reason to be smooth.â
My youngest son, Omar, is 5 years old. Suddenly, blisters appeared on his body. Unfortunately, there is no health care, no medical point, and no hospitals. I'm tired of posting so much to no avail. Our children are exposed to health problems every day. I hope he doesn't stop himself from the severity of the pain. I trust in your humanity. Any amount will make a difference in protecting it.
@bandzboy @el-shab-hussein @appsa @blackpearlblast @nabulsi @nesmamomen
hey i lied about this being finished LOL
texture and value play i quite literally *just* finished. gonna upload some other pieces tonight to get this page up to date with my instagram :3
kix also seems to enjoy the piece so i think i did it right
arcane-style Tech mural
(aka the intersection of my two roman empires)
yall leaving GOLD MINES in these fucking tags god bless
nobody on this earth portrays âpoor little meow meowâ better than crosshair.
Observe.
flash warning on like half of my posts srrycreative - shitposter - all around tomfoolermultifandom
297 posts