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masterjedilenawrites · 3 years

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Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 1

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. First, 2 platonic chapters for set-up/build-up. And then, the story will split into 2 paths depending on your romantic pairing preference: You and Thrawn, or You and Eli.

Set Up: You are an outcast at the Imperial Academy, which means your only options for friends are the tall and stoic Chiss Mitth'raw'nuruodo and his translator from Wild Space Eli Vanto. The three of you get along, for the most part... Thrawn is obsessed with acing all the exams, Eli is desperate to show up his classmates, and you... well, you just want to feel like you belong somewhere. And hiding beneath it all are your unspoken feelings, longing to be realized, but fearful of ruining the balance of your trio's friendship....

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 1: The Problem

Pairing: None yet, just a nice friendship trio

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of bullying

Length: 2k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

You wound down the hallways of the building with a scowl on your face. You would never grow used to this ridiculously long walk, from your first class of the day to the next, so conveniently located on complete opposite sides of the facility. Whoever had designed your schedule this year was either an utter imbecile or had done so on purpose, just to tick you off. At this point in your education here at the Imperial Academy, you knew either scenario was equally likely. You weren't exactly liked by the staff or your peers, and there were plenty of idiots to go around.

The one saving grace of your journey was that you would eventually cross paths with the only two friends you had managed to make in this elitist hell-hole: Eli Vanto and Mitth'raw'nuruodo.

Eli would be the first, his class letting out just a few corridors away from yours. He was leaning against an alcove in the wall just out of the way of passing traffic, his usual spot. When you rounded the corner, he pushed off and fell into step beside you.

"What happened?" you asked, having noticed he was scowling as well. His resting face usually made him look like a sad puppy, so for him to have such a prominent frown this early in the morning, something really upsetting must have happened.

"Lost the debate," he grumbled.

Ah, you'd forgotten he had that today. You and Thrawn had helped him practice for weeks, covering every possible argument and rebuttal from his opponent on the assigned topic. He had it in the bag, or so you'd all thought.

"What? How? Don't tell me you got stage-fright."

He glared over at you. "No, I wasn't nervous or anything. I did everything perfect. But all Arden had to do was throw in a few snide remarks about my accent and that got the whole class turned in his favor."

Eli started biting down on one of his nails in frustration. You frowned along with him. That was a variable none of you had accounted for while practicing.

"Is Arden the pimply-faced guy?"

"Yeah."

"Hate him," you muttered.

"Yeah."

The two of you paused at the doors of a lift, waiting for the previous occupants to exit before filing in yourselves and punching the button for the next level up. Eli was still chewing on his nails.

"Stop," you exclaimed, swatting his hand away from his mouth. "I told you that's a bad habit."

"Oh yeah, what's this then?" He grabbed one of your hands and twisted it around so you could see the splotches of chipped polish on your nails.

You jerked your hand away and held it defensively against your chest. "There's only so much I can do with this insane caseload, okay? I haven't had time to think about my nails."

"Then why'd you paint 'em in the first place?" he said with a bit of a laugh. Well, at least his mood was improving, even if it was at your expense.

You swatted at him just as the lift doors opened. "Maybe I want to try feeling pretty sometimes, not like some zombie student."

You both were keenly aware that the cadets waiting to board the lift had backed up significantly as you passed, despite not having been in your way at all. They were all whispering too, and by the tone, it was probably not about very nice things. It was always like that, wherever you went. Even if they didn't know your reputations of being from wild, "backwater" planets, they need only hear one of you speak to know you were different. And in these Core worlds, different was inferior.

"You know you don't have to follow our course map, right?" Eli spoke up again, once you'd put some distance between the lift of sneering cadets. "Me, I don't have a choice. Thrawn's determined to graduate in as little time as possible, and I'm the sorry sucker who has to follow 'im. I'd run far away from the guy if I were you. Enjoy your freedom."

Eli complained about the last member of your trio, Thrawn, at least six times a day. And half of those complaints ended with him telling you to make a break for it. You knew he didn't mean any of it; the two of you had spent the last holiday break at a bar, and in his drunkenness, Eli had confessed to being secretly grateful for having met the Chiss. He only complained to cope with the stress.

And you... well, you weren't really sure why they let you hang around. They'd both easily become your closest friends, but you weren't always sure where you stood with them. Maybe they did like your company. Or maybe they just felt sorry for you. They were both friendly enough, allowing you to join them on Thrawn's "fast track" out of the Academy. But you had a feeling that as soon as you all graduated, they'd leave you behind and move on to whatever mission the Emperor had planned for Thrawn in the Navy.

You tried not to think about it too much.

Speaking of your friend, Mitth'raw'nuruodo emerged from a classroom doorway just a few paces ahead. Right on time, as always. His specialized "tactical statistics" class ended several minutes ago, but he had learned to carefully time your path so he wouldn't have to stand awkwardly in the hall waiting. It was for the best; you and Eli may sometimes draw unwanted attention, but poor Thrawn always stood out like a very big, very blue sore thumb.

"We have a problem," he stated, coming up on your other side. You never had to ask Thrawn what was wrong; if he had a problem worth sharing, you would hear about it.

"Hallway problem or 'fresher problem?" asked Eli.

You'd all agreed long ago there were some topics of conversation best had out of earshot from any passerby. And since most scurried out of the refresher whenever Thrawn went in, that became the only suitable place for such conversations, if it couldn't wait until your dorms at the end of the day.

"Refresher," Thrawn said. He looked down at you. "You'll be late for your class."

You shrugged. "If it's important...."

"It is."

You trusted him; he wasn't the type to make up drama or blow things out of proportion. The three of you picked up the pace, turning right instead of the usual left, and slipping into the men's bathroom. Thankfully it was already empty. Eli turned the lock just in case.

Thrawn wasted no time diving into the particulars. "I have come to learn our flight instructor, Commander Burdick, intends to sabotage my simulation tests next month. He is acquainted with Admissions Supervisor Aberdeen and understands that a failing mark will require a remedial course before being allowed back into the program. This would set my graduation back several months."

That was a problem. The flight course was one of the longer ones, and mandatory, and you were all so close to finally being through with it. Just one more round of simulation tests and then an actual flight around Coruscant.

Eli was groaning by the door. "You've gotta be kidding."

"I am not," said Thrawn in a measured voice. He knew it was just an expression, but you knew it was one of his pet peeves.

Eli wasn't listening, instead kicking at the tiled floor and mumbling about how this was so typical and why can't we just be left alone.

You turned to Thrawn. "Just you?"

"The ill will seems to be mostly directed toward me. Supervisor Aberdeen does not appreciate the special provisions that have been afforded me on behalf of the Emperor, and has coerced Commander Burdick to indulge in his spitefulness. However, I would not put it past them to also have plans for either of you, as well. They are aware of our... connection."

You were certain he was about to say friendship but changed his mind. Did he not know the word for it? Was he too embarrassed to admit it? Or did he truly not see you or Eli as anything more than connections?

"Okay, but..." Eli was still processing things. "How? What's their plan?"

"I purposefully said the Commander intended to sabotage the tests. He does not yet have a plan."

"So... we stop 'im," said Eli.

"Or," you countered, a mischievous smirk playing about your lips. "We don't."

Eli merely blinked at you, but Thrawn was very interested. "Go on," he encouraged.

"If we learn what the plan is, or maybe even give him a plan of our own, then we can let it play out and ensure he gets in trouble for it."

Thrawn rubbed his chin as he considered. You knew he'd soon slip into his usual routine of pacing and muttering in unknown languages, which could take a while and make you even later for your class. You cleared your throat, drawing his two red eyes back to yours.

"Surely a Commanding Officer wouldn't dare do anything to sabotage you directly," you offered. "He'll either look for some help or pin it on someone else, in case there's an investigation."

Thrawn rubbed his chin again. "You think we should influence the Commander on who to pick to be his... what do you call it, ensipki?"

"Scapegoat," Eli said quickly. It was becoming second nature for him to translate what was left of the holes in Thrawn's understanding of Basic.

"Right, and then we can expose the deception just before the tests," you said. "Before there's time to come up with another plan."

Thrawn's eyes narrowed in thought. "A decent idea, but it would require the education of one of our fellow cadets to be jeopardized. It should not be our first plan."

"But if he's going to use one of them anyway..." you started to protest.

"Then we should seek to expose his connection to that person as well. This is an instructor who is not serving the best interest of several of his students. He should be the only one blamed."

You weren't going to let his logic win this time. As far as you could tell, this was a perfect opportunity to get revenge on your obnoxious classmates. "It's going to be a lot easier to take issue up with the Board against a student than an instructor. We can try to expose both people, but if we can't, then at least we can nail one of them. It's called a scapegoat for a reason."

Eli spoke up before Thrawn could respond, throwing you a meaningful look. "Arden's in his class. Different time, same instructor."

"Who is this Arden?" asked Thrawn.

"The racist asshole who unfairly stole Eli's grade on the debate today," you said. You'd picked your words deliberately, and it did the trick.

"Very well. We have our scapegoat," said Thrawn.

You winked at Eli and he hid a smile.

"So," Thrawn continued, fully invested now. "We will need to push Arden toward the Commander as a viable accomplice. We will need to gain insight into the details of their plan. And then we will need to ensure those details are brought to light at the right moment."

The three of you looked among each other. This was probably the tenth plan this year alone that you'd all devised to take care of some kind of "problem." Just last week Thrawn had discovered misinformation in one of your textbooks that took the three of you on a field trip to the lower levels of Coruscant to find a con-artist who'd sold a quarter-hundred counterfeit materials to the Academy library. You'd only had the weekend to catch up on all the rest of your homework, and here you all were again, ready to jump into another scheme.

You had suggested the idea, so you were already grinning and ready to go. Thrawn had just put together a to-do list, and you could almost see the gears in his head continuing to spin as he determined more points to the plan.

The deciding vote was Eli. Though he often complained about not having a choice, you and Thrawn rarely forced him to do anything and were always respectful if he had a differing opinion. This time, you had a feeling he'd be on board.

He set his hands on his hips and smirked. "Disgracing a shitty classmate and a shitty teacher in order to save our grades? Let's do it."

Next Chapter: The Plan >

#star wars #thrawn #eli vanto #thrawn x reader #eli vanto x reader #choose your own adventure #friendship #romance #mitth'raw'nuruodo

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yeetussfetus · 3 years

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hehe thawn

ok ok ok so ik that this was an idea so long ago but i wanted to write something and like this is all i could come up with pls dont come @ me

Eli looked at his comm, which beeped out a “NOT RESPONDING, NOT RESPONDING” every few seconds. He let out an angry sigh and shut it off, too tired to think. You weren’t responding to any of his calls and he was going to need you on the bridge soon, and he wanted to make sure that Thrawn wasn’t the one who has to go and find you, since Thrawn was always lenient with you about these things.

Truly, he had no idea how a man of such elegance and high standards fell for someone so feral, but oh well. It’s not that you didn’t do your job, it was just more of your personality. He remembers someone describing you as a raccoon in someones trash bin at 3 am, and honestly, that description fit you just well. From waking up in the early hours to make a full course meal, to climbing through the vents instead of walking through the halls, it was a wonder how you even got into the navy. Even more of a wonder on how you befriended so many higher ups.

He turned to the nearest lieutenant, and said, “stay here, I’ll try and find her. If you don’t hear from me by the time Grand Admiral Thrawn comes back, tell him to find her himself.” As he left, he let out a tiny strew of curses towards you and your little stupid antics. Of course, he still was your friend, but he was tired of having to remind you about how to be an adult.

He looked down at his command and saw that you were in… a stormtrooper living area? No, wait, you were in a nearby hallway. What the-

Now more curious than tired, he almost rushed past other officers towards the lower levels of the Chimera, not really caring about how late he was to the meeting.

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Finally, reaching the hallway, he turned and surprisingly, the door was closed. It wasn’t locked, though, so Eli opened it: just in time for a shopping cart to be launched straight at him. He slammed his fist on the control panel again, and the doors shut, and a few seconds later, he heard a loud BANG from the other side of the door.

He opened the door again to reveal that it was none other than you in the cart, and you almost looked happy: almost. But when you turned and saw Eli, you were expecting a tirade of concerned mom friend instincts and for him to drag you back to the bridge, telling you that Thrawn wanted you or that you were late to a meeting. What you were not expecting was for him to enter the hallway, close the doors, and say, “I’m going next, or else I’ll snitch.”

Realizing that he was serious, you said, “Oooohhh, Eli, you know snitches get stitches-”

“Did I stutter.”

“... no and fine, but then give the rest of them a turn.” Eli looked behind you to see maybe 4 stormtroopers who were very confused on why a commander was there and why he was talking to you, but then again, you had asked to join them on their fun, and you worked close with the Grand Admiral of the ship, so it wasn’t the weirdest thing they had seen.

Rushing the cart back to top of the almost slanted hallway, Eli hopped in and grinning like a madman, you launched him down and for once in his life, he didn’t really care about what anyone would think about his unprofessionalism.

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Thrawn was checking the clock every minute, wondering why not only you, but Eli was late, which for you, wasn’t that much of a problem, but for you and Eli? Something was up, or at least, something was wrong. He looked around the room, to see that every officer in the room seemed… tired. Deciding to reschedule the meeting, since it was more of an optional one, he told the officers who arrived to take the rest of the day off, and that the meeting was to be rescheduled another day. Then, he headed out of the office to find you and Eli.

Following both of your comms was easy: what he wasn’t expecting was for you two to be near the stormtrooper quarters. Why would you be there? At this point he was almost concerned about why you would be there. He walked a little faster trying to wrap his head around the fact that you would be there of all places, but hey, it's you, he couldn’t figure you out if you had a list of things you would do on a daily basis.

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Reaching the hallway that your comm stated that you two were in, he hears- a wheel. A few wheels of some kind being dragged away from the door. Then, it suddenly stops. He listens closely and he was able to hear your voice, and then Elis. It sounded like you two were arguing. Of course, he wasn't able to figure out what it was about. Thrawn decided to open the door, and take a look at what you were doing. However, he chose the wrong moment to open the door, because unlike Eli, he didn’t have time to close the doors, as he saw you and Eli in a shopping cart, rolling down straight for him.

Realizing he couldn’t just close the doors, he slid against the walls as you and Eli rushed by him with the shopping cart. He looked up the hallway and saw that whoever you two were with leaving already. He sighed and decided to let it go for them, but of course, not for you two.

He stood back in the middle of the doorway as you hopped out of the cart. Eli tried to follow, but you motioned for him to stay in the cart. He slumped back down in the cart, knowing that he could just pin the blame on you, but instead he just crossed his arms, waiting for you to say something since it seemed like you had a plan. Thrawn straightened up and stared you both down, before asking one simple question.

“Where did you get the shopping cart?”

You held up a hand with your pointer finger, and at first Eli was expecting some bullshit lie, since it wasn’t actually you or Eli to acquire the cart, but it was actually the troopers.

What he wasn’t expecting was for you to grab the handle of the cart and start booking it to wherever Thrawn wasn’t. He felt himself go to one side of the cart then another as you twisted your ways around the halls. Thrawn simply sighed and then, too tired to deal with your bullshit, he started to chase after you two.

Eli looked behind you to see Thrawn running after you two and started to panic. “_____, why the hell is he chasing us?” “For fucks sake, you think I know- wait he's chasing us.”

You looked over your shoulder to see that yes, Thrawn, your boyfriend, was chasing you and Eli through the ship. What was even scarier was that one, he was tall, he did actually look like a murderer, and two, his face was darkened, and the only thing you could see from this far was his blood red eyes.

Enough to scare you, you turned back to continue your way through the ship as Thrawn chased you down the many hallways, and Eli was the one with the most terror in his eyes, since Thrawn seemed to be gaining on the two of you.

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Tarkin walked to the bridge of the Chimera, expecting you to be there. However, surprisingly, you weren’t, and neither was the deformed fruit Thrawn. His mood quickly decreased as he turned towards the nearest officer. “Where is commander _____?” The officer stood there for a second, before he explained, “Well, sir, she is… um…”

Tarkin was about to insult the man for his slowness in responding, when Kallus appeared in front of the doorway. “Commander _____ is pushing Commander Vanto in a shopping cart while they are running from Grand Admiral Thrawn.”

Tarkin turned towards Kallus with a confused look. “What?”

Kallus pulled out a datapad that showed a few security footage that were picked up, showing you pushing Eli in a shopping cart at full speed, while Eli was screaming at something behind you. Suddenly, Thrawn came into view, running straight for the two of you. Tarkin immidialy started to move out of the room, mumbling something along the lines of, “I’m gonna beat that son of a bitch to death” as he walked out of the room.

Kallus stood there for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and moved on with his life. This wasn’t the weirdest thing he has seen happen with you two.

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lmao pls take this i had to shoot myself in the foot to get this /s. anyway if yall wanna send in a ask i guess just send it in. is it technically request?? idgaf just send it in and ill try my best.

oh also big thanks to @fallenrepublick u really helped me get inspired for writings

#my bb thrawn #fics #grand admiral thrawn x reader #thrawn x reader #eliiiiiiiiii

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mortisbane · 4 years

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If you’re still doing the WIP Title Game, would you mind talking about Blackmail AU?

There’s not a whole lot to be said about the Blackmail AU. Its an AU where Nightswan discovers that Thrawn and Eli are a couple, which due to the Empire's no fraternization between ranks AND between aliens, is a double whammy of code violations. More than enough to get them arrested and stripped of rank. For Eli, maybe even treason, which could lead to execution without trial. Nightswan takes this information and his evidence to Thrawn, threatening to expose it to the high command, who were itching for an excuse to get rid of him, unless he does everything Nightswan demands. Thrawn could take being removed from the Empire, either the Emperor would save him, or he'd just go back to the Ascendency with this as a failed mission. But there's Eli, he'd lose his carer, his standing in Imperial space, and possibly his life if Nightswan exposes them. So for once, Thrawn has no choice but to submit.

I don’t know if I’ll ever actually do anything with this so I’ll just put what I do have under the cut for anyone to read.

Thrawn and Eli had felt some sort of spark back at the Academy, but neither acted on it, Thrawn for worry of pushing Eli, and Eli because he felt his and Thrawn's time was limited. After being assigned to the Blood Crow, and calming down about being assigned as Thrawn's aide, they both started looking at the prospect of furthering their friendship. Their emotions don't come clear until they're on the Thunder Wasp. It was Eli who confessed his feelings to Thrawn late one night, when their conversations had turned too personal. Thrawn shares his reciprocations. However, they both hesitated knowing the Empire's ban against relationships between different ranks, and Eli looks further into the policy of aliens, making them both too concerned to take the risk with the severity of the latter. However, after Thrawn is given Command of the Thunder Wasp, they finally feel safe enough that they could continue a relationship in secret, being Thrawn's aide made it easier.

However, Nightswan has been keeping close tabs on Thrawn and Eli since the Dromedar incident, seeing Thrawn both as a roadblock and a tool he could use, and Eli an extension of Thrawn's own power, so he never kept them too far from sight. Gathering data and other sorts of information on them trying to find his best weapon to come at Thrawn with. In his many searches, one thing grabbed his attention, something relatively inconspicuous but stood out like a bright indicator. Nightswan, using some of his splicer friends, had tapped into Imperial records, extracting activity he linked to Thrawn and Eli. Particularly one inquiry towards relations between Imperial officers and aliens. Now why would the duo, consisting of Imperial officer and alien need to know that? And that was all the spark he needed to realize what was going on. From there he tailored his searching and information gathering to gather proof of an against regulation relationship between the two.

His proof came almost too easy. No doubt they had become complacent, believing they were in such a situation where they were beyond detection. And they were, but only from the Empire, not from people like Nightswan. Thrawn had taken shore leave, the first and only he'd ever taken since joining the Empire, and of course, requested his Aide join him. To any Imperial officer or member of the high command, the request made perfect sense and roused no suspicion, Nightswan knew better. He tracked down the request, the time of departure and destination with a few paid off favors to his more shady of comrades. Lysatra, an odd place Thrawn would choose to visit during his short shoreleave, far out of the way, no it had to have been for Vanto, who hailed from that world. If Vanto had made the request and subsequent one of taking Thrawn along, that would be suspicious, but when Thrawn, the superior officer did it, it was natural.

Following them to Lysatra was the easy part. Not many ships frequented the area, Nightswan arrived long before their scheduled time, and staked out the docs waiting for them. Dropped off by Imperial shuttle, which stayed just long enough for the duo to unload before leaving. They were already changed into their civilian clothes, and as soon as the shuttle left, they looked just like any other citizen of the Empire. And thankfully for Nightswan, the two wasted no time in dropping their formalities. Most likely thinking they were safe on Eli's home world, a place with no Imperial presence, the shorter Human grabbed hold of Thrawn's hand, and pulled the alien down for a kiss. Nightswan took many pictures the three days the two were on Lysatra. Getting close to the Vanto's residence, where they stayed, was difficult, but with the two senior Vanto's running a business, that left the total in the household most of the day to two. In three days, Nightswan had more than enough proof to have the entire high command arrest Thrawn individually.

But that wasn't his goal, he didn't want Thrawn just out of the picture, no with the power he had, he could control Thrawn. What was better than an intelligent Imperial officer off your back? Said Imperial officer working for you. Nightswan knew how to get Thrawn's attention, he just needed to get the two of them to speak. He got the Thunder Wasp to investigate some illegal dealings on the first planet he could find along their patrol route, that was the easy part. But Nightswan knew Thrawn more than most people around him probably did, their intelligence, their method of thinking and planning, they were similar. And he knew that if he requested dialogue, Thrawn would be eager to accept it. He would regret that. And sure enough, sending a private decrypted message to Thrawn's office, which was far easier than it should have been, Thrawn opened the channel immediately.

"Good evening, Captain." He says the moment the transmission links. Thrawn seems just as calm and controlled as usual, Nightswan couldn't help but smirk, thinking of pulling one over on the damn Imperial.

"Nightswan," Thrawn answers, "Good evening. What has brought you to me?" Nightswan's smile only grew as he transferred over a datafile. He heard precisely when Thrawn received it.

"This." He got a front row seat to Thrawn's pure unfiltered reaction. All of his documentation, all his proof of Thrawn and Eli's fraternization. The alien's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing into a tight glare, Nightswan only smiled.

"How have you come into possession of this?"

"I have my ways. I will submit this datafile, of which I have numerous copies, to Imperial high command, you and your aide will be arrested on charges of breaking Imperial regulations, and your aide may even come under charges of treason. Unless you follow my orders, to the letter and without hesitation, understand?"

"Blackmail? I had believed you to have more honor than-"

"As I see it, this is just my way of outsmarting my opponent. You have until the end of this rotation to agree to my terms or I will send out that datafile." As much as he wanted to watch Thrawn rage, rant, or try and outsmart him back, Nightswan disconnected the transmission leaving Thrawn to stew.

Thrawn sits in his office chair for two full hours, trying to think of a plan to stop Nightswan. But without knowing where he is, or where all his copies of this data file were, there wasn't anything in his power he could do. This was one of those scenarios where a Warrior's smartest plan would be to pull back and restrategize. But there was Eli, as well as his own people who were counting on him. Eli certainly would come under high commands hammer, and most likely would receive the worst blow of all, losing his life. Thrawn couldn't be pinned with treason for this, it was a relatively minor transgression, one plenty of officers surely committed in a largely corrupt Empire. But Thrawn already wasn't in any good graces of high command, who had been waiting for Thrawn to slip up so they could finally remove him. Eli however, could be called under treason, for willingly joining with an alien, Imperial Officer or not, if high command could arrest him for treason, and they would, giving them authority to execute Eli on the spot. He couldn't let that happen to him, he refused. But he also couldn't pack up and defect with Eli, his people needed him. All of his time was spent trying to gauge and cultivate the Empire to his needs to aid them, he couldn't leave or it would all be for nothing and the galaxy at large could be open to utter destruction. So, despite the absolute disgust he had for this, Thrawn sent Nightswan a single message response across the transmission line.

'I accept'

Thrawn starts acting differently, not by a lot, but enough for Eli to pick up on it. He's making stupid mistakes, ones Eli knew that Thrawn wouldn’t make. He's overlooking things, and when Eli calls attention to them, Thrawn disregards it. He's acting like any mindless Imperial, completely unlike himself. But not just during work, he seems so much sadder than before, more reserved, like he's hiding something from Eli specifically. In their time alone, all Thrawn does is hold him tightly, like he's afraid Eli will suddenly disappear. This behavior goes on for a time, Eli had hoped Thrawn would get through this weird phase, but it only gets worse with time. After Eli is finally given his promotion to Lieutenant Commander and they move to the Chimaera, Thrawn begins broaching subjects such as Eli leaving the Empire. He doesn't understand why Thrawn would talk like that, sure Eli is very unhappy with the way things seem to be going with the Empire, but he just got his long awaited promotion, why would he leave now?

It eventually dawns on him, that whatever has made Thrawn act this way, it has to do with Nightswan, somehow. He only acts dumb when its missions that involve Nightswan, overlooks Nightswans movements, and had completely stopped asking Eli for updates on him. Whatever this is, Nightswan could be behind it. But why wouldn't Thrawn tell him, didn't he trust him? Eli finally confronts Thrawn about it, corners him in his quarters during one of their few moments of privacy together. But Thrawn doesn't tell him anything, he just pulls Eli into his arms, and whispers in a broken voice, "Please, I don't want to lose you." And it hurts Eli's heart so badly, that he doesn't press him any further. But he hasn't given up on it.

The time comes that the Batonn insurgents must be dealt with. He orders Faro away and is leading Eli to the smuggler freighter he had brought along, some plan in mind for it, when he suddenly receives a message on his datapad. All at once, he calls off whatever they were about to do, citing a change of plans and they’d be calling Faro back and returning to the Chimaera. He knows something's up, and he had one hunch of how to get to the bottom of it.

On their way back, Eli fakes some excuse of needing to retrieve some left behind data cards, a falsehood in its entirety, one That he sees makes Thrawn suspicious, but he's never had a reason to distrust Eli in the past and lets him go. He rushes back to the freighter, going off to do whatever Thrawn's plan had been. He knew that they were going to observe the battle, hopefully whatever Thrawn had suddenly wanted to avoid would be there. He was right, just before the battle was to commence, he spotted another freighter leaving the planet, that was his target. He hailed it, feeling his frustrations and anger outweighing his anxiety. The shuttle opens the channel, and Eli cuts off whatever they were about to say, "I'm Commander Vanto of the Imperial Navy, tell Nightswan I wanna talk with him." There's silence on the other end, no doubt Eli had blindsided them, but he was certain. Thrawn only acted strangely with matters surrounding Nightswan, and if this was the freighter Thrawn had been hoping to catch then they had to be with Nightswan. And if whatever Nightswan was doing could lead to Thrawn losing Eli, then obviously, Nightswan would relish the ability to get Eli on his own terf.

And Eli was right. The man on the other end told Eli to follow him and better not "do anything funny" and began their jump out of the system. Stamping down the last bit of anxiety in him, Eli followed, prepared to get to the bottom of this and solve it, or die trying.

He's brought aboard, searched by pirates and escorted by two back to where Nightswan no doubt would be. He had expected Nightswan to be shocked to see Eli there, or at least confused as to why Eli would suddenly waltz up to him. But he seemed completely calm, and as if he expected Eli to come to him.

"Welcome Commander Vanto." He greets as the two escorts sit Eli down in the chair across from him.

"Nightswan." He sneers. "What did you do to Thrawn?"

"Pardon?"

He gives Eli a coy smile. He slams a hand on the desk between them and hisses, "Cut the Kryate Spit, I know you've done something, and I'm not leaving until I know what." The two escorts move closer to restrain Eli, but Nightswan stops them and waves them off. Once along, he speaks again.

"It's funny you think I'd let you leave here alive."

"I know you will, because whatever you've done, I'm somehow collateral." Nightswan chuckled, lounging back in his chair.

"So Thrawn never told you I take it?"

"No, why else would I be here? Now talk." He barks, Nightswan's calmness really getting on his nerves.

"I don't think you're the one in any position to make demands. But I must say, you are awfully clever, I'm surprised it took you this long to do something."

"Cygni, answer me." The last one had to be hissed out from Eli's clenched teeth,

"Alright fine, I'm happy to get to show you myself." He pulls out his datapad, casually flipping through it before choosing some file and setting it down to display. And Eli's blood runs cold. Because everything makes itself clear in an instant. Nightswan had Thrawn pinned under his thumb with blackmail.

"Your blue lover has to answer my every demand, or else this file will be sent straight to high command. It's somewhat romantic if I'm being honest, he's more scared of you being executed for treason over this than fearful for whatever they might do to him." Eli stares down at the holo file, picture after picture, recording after recording of him and Thrawn, holding hands, kissing, numerous compromising positions that couldn't be denied, that not even Thrawn could talk his way out of. Emperor or no, this couldn't be ignored. Nightswan gave him a grin, crossing his arms casually over his chest.

"You followed us to Lysatra?" Eli whispers, disbelieving.

"I like to think of it as more, me constructing the perfect weapon against Thrawn."

Eli had a temper issue, he knew he did, his parents had told him, Thrawn had brought it up, his previous instructors had noticed, but he was always in control of himself to pull back his outbursts. But this was beyond any Human's ability.

"You Bastard!" He roars, leaping from his chair and across the desk in one swift move, knocking Nightswan to the ground. He reels back, and clocks him hard across the face with his fist. He does it again, and again and again before Nightswan even has a chance to react. He grabs Eli's next punch, glaring up at him, sneering with blood stained teeth.

"Hit me again and I'll send the file, kill me, and the file is already rigged to send. You are trapped Vanto, Thrawn is trapped. Our game of wits is over, I have all the cards!" Eli is breathing heavy, vision swimming red with rage, but despite it all, he smiles down at Nightswan.

"So you're saying I have at least a few weeks to pack up and defect before the high command gets around to doing anything with that information?" Nightswan's face drops. "Sounds like I have nothing to lose." He gets him across the face with another punch, using the disorientation to snag Nightswan's own blaster from his belt. "This is for Thrawn." He hisses, not hesitating to shoot the man directly between the eyes. Nightswan wasn't bluffing, he wasn't the man to do that, Eli was certain, he was running against the clock now. Thankfully, Nightswan's ship was large enough for Eli to sneak around his pirates, no one in a group larger than two, giving Eli ample opportunity to make it back to the hanger. The ship he'd come in was being searched, but one of the ships left on the farther edges was completely alone. He was able to commandeer the ship, leave the hangar and punch his coordinates in before anyone realized he was the one on board.

Thrawn was waiting for him when he returned, met him in the hangar of the Chimaera, looking at him in a way he never had before. He was angry. But he didn't say anything to him yet, instead, he silently led the way back to his office. Once alone in his office, Eli started.

"He's dead." Thrawn stared at him blankly for a moment. "I killed him Thrawn, and if he was telling the truth, we have limited time before high command receives and reviews his file."

"How could you do this Eli?" Thrawn sighs, some of his anger ebbing, but he was clearly still livid. Eli simply stepped closer to the Chiss, and gave him a hard slap across the face.

"How kirffing dare you keep this from me you daft idiot!" He shouts, grabbing Thrawn's cheeks and turning his head back towards him. Still seemingly in shock that Eli struck him he took a moment to respond.

"Eli I-"

"I know you feel the need to protect me or something, but we're a team Thrawn, a single entity with two minds. Never keep things from me, ever again." Slowly Thrawn nodded.

"I am sorry Eli."

"I'm sorry for hitting you also, even though you deserved it. Now, we gotta go."

"I had hoped that there was another option for us, I was not prepared to give up on the Empire quite yet, but it seems we have no choice now."

"No we have a choice, together at least, now get packing." Thrawn leaned down, and Eli met him half way in a gentle kiss. "Stars, I love you." He sighs, smiling as Thrawn smiles down at him.

"As do I love you Eli."

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sharknadoslutt · 5 years

Note

Can you write some Eli and Sugar angst?

Eli sat on the edge of Vayriel’s large bed, dressed in his dark green Imperial uniform. The Chimera was scheduled to resume station in the mid-rim after some routine repairs in Coruscant and he was due back on the next hour.

Vayriel felt her arms shaking again. It was an uncontrollable reaction when she felt overwhelming anxiety. The Pantoran sat on the far side of the bed, opposite of Eli. Her arms were draped around her legs, her chin on her knees.

“Yet you insist on pushing these things when you know how I feel.” She responded. She fiddled with the hymn of her silk nightgown. “I’ve always been very upfront with how I expected things to be in our relationship..”

Casual and fun.

“I’m aware.” Eli said, a very small trace of sarcasm slipping through. “But that was then… So much has happened since then.”

“I know..” She muttered, turning her head slightly to look at his back.

“Years have happened, in fact. Years.”

“You’re right, puppy..” She whispered.

“We can’t just go back and forth like this forever, ya know.”

This time Vayriel did not respond. The filled the room with saddened silence.

“Maybe you didn’t know that after all.” Eli said, a pitiful self-loathing chuckle following. He then stood up. “Even if you have this fantasy that I would always be on the hook for you, Vayriel, I need you to know it’s not something I can keep doing.” He turned to face the woman loved. “It’s not something I will keep up with, either.”

Vayriel looked back at him with giant golden eyes, surprised at his words. Of course, these were thoughts she had tortured herself over so many times. How long would he actually put up with her indecisiveness? Until now she had just been blissfully hopeful that things work work out. And until now, they had. He’d always taken her back after she needed time away.

The back and forth of their relationship was outlandish and downright ridiculous; the holo-media had made that quite clear. Despite the popular opinion, Vayriel was well aware of this. She was no stranger to the fact that she was sporadic and quick to change her mind about their relationship… but she truly did love him.

She was weak. Weak for Eli Vanto.

But at the end of the day there was one prudent fact that kept her stray of being completely his. The Imperial uniform on his back. The one he wore now as he stood before her very eyes.

Eli was aware that Vayriel was not the biggest supporter of the Empire. They’d had many talks about it. Though Vayriel was smart and understood her position, never fully letting him know the extent to which she loathed the Empire.

When all was said in done Eli wanted something more from Vayriel that she was ready to give to him; wanted something she was not prepared to give to the Empire.

“I don’t want you to do that…” She finally said, her voice a tiny whimper. She was not one to be so meek like this but for once Vay was at a loss. “You deserve better.”

“Then what do you want, Vayriel?” Eli all but yelled. His voice wasn’t quite that loud but the intensity of his voice made her tremble a bit.

She hesitated, blinking heavily to stop the welling of tears from escaping her eyes.

Eli stared at her, brows knitted in anxiety.

“I want you to quit the Imperial Navy.” She finally choked out.

His expression remained unchanged but the woman knew him well enough to know the gears in his head were quickly turning.

“Excuse me?” Eli finally questioned, his mouth remaining agape.

“I want you to quit, Eli.” Vayriel reiterated, crawling over to the edge of the bed where he stood. “That’s what I want.”

“I-I heard ya the first time-” He was very blatantly flustered. “.. But what you’re asking is o-out of the question, Vay!” His lips twisted into confused frown. “T-That’s my career, there are people who rely on me to-”

“To oppress the galaxy, Eli!” She interrupted with a shout, causing Eli to stop his rambling. “You are too good for them and you know it.” On her knees, at the edge of the bed, she was face to face with her human love. She cupped his cheeks and pulled his face in a bit, her teary eyes desperately looking into his own.

“You dont even believe in them, not really. You never have, puppy. Remember the Wookiees..” Some information he had let slip during a drunken night. “..that’s what they do! It’s all talk of a united galaxy but the tyranny is despicable, Eli, you know this in your heart to be true, I know you do.”

Eli was dumbfounded, never having seen Vayriel so worked up. He’d never heard her speak so candidly about the Empire before either.

“You could just leave.. you could be with me, and we can travel the galaxy.” Her tone weakened a bit, cracking with desperation. “.. We can do anything, puppy, go wherever you want… just leave them.. please..”

“You just spring something like this on me out of nowhere, Vay?!” He finally yelled, snapping his face from her cool grasp. “No indication that’s what you wanted?”

“Yes, but I-”

“No, you dont get to just spring that on me and expect me to just go with it.” He stormed off. “I need some time to think, Vayriel.”

“Eli, wait, no I-” She went to follow him.

“It’s better if you just stay here.” He continued, gesturing for her to stay. “I need some space.. I love you, but I need to think. It’s just..”

The pair remained in silence for a heart wrenching moment before the Pantoran nodded. She sat on her bed. Without another word the man turned around and left her home.

#im sad now #ask #anon #vayli angst to be exact #my ocs #vayriel shooghar

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absolutecreed · 6 years

Text

Snake Wrangler Ch.1

Eli Vanto is suddenly called to Admiral Thrawn's quarters for a pressing question. When he gets there, what he finds is beyond his understanding. And Thrawn's as well. With this new 'modification', they both must find ways to deal with it, and understand it more. Perhaps, along the way, they understand each other a bit more, as well.

(Also posted on AO3!)

******

"Commander? I require some...assistance...in my quarters. Please come as soon as you're able."

Commander Eli Vanto had only received Admiral Thrawn's message minutes ago. Already, he was on his way. There were a few things about that message that didn't settle well with Eli. First, was that Thrawn rarely called him to his quarters. It was normally to his office. Second, and this may have been from him spending so much time with the Chiss, but his tone seemed flustered, almost confused. What was confusing Thrawn? And so much so, that it'd come through his tone of voice?

Something just wasn't right...

Eli tried not to let his mind get away with him. If there was an intruder, and he had somehow snuck into Thrawn's quarters, he could handle it. Eli had faced off against Thrawn in sparring enough times to know that Thrawn could easily hold his own. So it wasn't a surprise attack. Was it something in a report that was confusing him? While Thrawn had learned quite a bit of Basic, some words and phrases still escaped him. Mostly slang, but one didn't find slang often in reports. And it couldn't have been a surprise food or drink Or maybe it could've. Most of the Imperial Fleets were fed the same things, but higher ranking officers (such as Thrawn) did get to choose from an array of meals. Maybe something was mis-ordered? But why would it confuse him so much?

And while Eli had seen Thrawn drink, he'd never seen the Chiss drunk. He had a feeling there'd be more slurring of words, and more Sy Bisti than Basic. Though the thought of a drunk Thrawn brought a smile to his lips. That would be an interesting (perhaps artful?) sight to see...

Eli came out of his thoughts, as he stopped in front of Thrawn's quarters. He hoped that, whatever was going on—or that had happened—that it wasn't serious, and he wasn't too late. Taking in a breath, he pressed the comm button for the room, "Sir? Commander Vanto here. I got your message."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Eli could hear something shifting in the room—an odd sound that he couldn't quite place. Then, finally, Thrawn's voice came through, "You may enter, Commander."

His voice was normal now. But Eli didn't have much time to think on it, as the door slid open, allowing him entrance. Stepping into Thrawn's quarters, he was greeted by a chilly air in his rooms. No surprise there, as Chiss came from quite the frozen planet. Hearing movement in the bedroom, Eli walked further in, peeking in...and had to just completely pause.

It was Thrawn, that much was for sure. He was still dressed in his uniform, his glowing red eyes watching Eli. Though there was something different about his gaze. It was a questioning one, and one asking—almost demanding—an answer. And it didn't take Eli long at all to realize what the problem was. He had to blink a few times, to make sure he wasn't imagining it. And he would've pinched himself if he could get out of his surprise enough to even move.

Thrawn's legs were gone. Not gone, as in amputated and bleeding all over the floor. No...they were replaced with a thick, muscular serpentine body. The scales seemed to shine in the light of his room, and had an iridescent shine to them. The majority of the scales were a bluish shade, similar to Thrawn's skin tone. The underbelly was a stark white. When the snake part of him moved, some of the scales seemed to change color, going from a bluish tint, to black. It was fascinating and gorgeous all the same.

Then Eli snapped back to reality. This was Thrawn's body, somehow changed overnight. He went from having legs, to suddenly having none and having them replaced with a snake-like body. At least from the waist up, he was his normal Chiss self. However, from the waist down...

"Oh boy..." muttered Eli under his breath, his Wild Space accent slipping through for a moment. Standing up a little straighter, he moved in closer, clearing his throat, "What...What happened, sir?"

"Of that, I'm not entirely sure." replied Thrawn, the tip of his tail twitching in what would probably be annoyance, "After I retired to my quarters last night, I woke up and found that my legs had been replaced...with this." He reached down, putting his hand on his snake body, stroking over the smooth scales, "At first, I thought it a prank, that this was perhaps a costume of some sort. But it's most definitely fused with my body."

Kneeling down next to the snake part of Thrawn's body, Eli extended a hand, before hesitating. Looking up at Thrawn, the Chiss nodded, giving him non-verbal permission to go ahead and touch him. Placing his hand against the scales, Eli was surprised to find them warm. Normally the Chiss was cool to the touch—not freezing, per se, but cooler than what a normal human should feel like. But these scales were warm. Did this...transformation...affect how Thrawn's body regulated his temperature? Pressing his palm against the scales, he found that not only could he feel the strong muscles relax and tense under his hand, but there was also a slight pulse. A pulse meant blood flow.

Which meant that this was now a permanent part of Thrawn's anatomy.

As he idly stroked along Thrawn's tail, Eli tried to remember last night's events. There was a retirement party that he and Thrawn were required (read forced) to attend. As usual, Thrawn had plenty of question about the party, though Eli was surprised to learn that Chiss held similar parties, if with a slight few differences. Sometime during the night, the two got separated. Apparently the retiree had summoned Thrawn over, along with a few other higher ranked officers. Eli let them be, until almost an hour passed by. After that, Thrawn had returned to Eli's side, and the two continued to mingle, until the party finally let out. Eli remembered walking with Thrawn, until the two parted ways for their own quarters. He didn't recall Thrawn acting any different. He'd seen the Chiss drink a few drinks, but nothing indicated that he had gotten drugged or drunk.

Unless...

"What's the last thing you remember, sir?" asked Eli, looking up at Thrawn.

"I remember returning to my quarters..." started Thrawn, looking thoughtful, "...And perhaps laying down to rest."

"'Perhaps'?"

Thrawn nodded. The tip of his tail seemed to curl in, almost uncertain, "Perhaps. Once I walked into my quarters, everything was in a haze. I might've consumed too much alcohol at that party..."

"But with your high metabolism, sir, that shouldn't affect you." said Eli, standing up, "If I may, I believe you could drink everyone on the ship under the table."

A hint of a smile twitched at Thrawn's lips, and his tail seemed to relax. A small victory, "...I will ask about what 'drinking under the table' means later, Eli." At that, Eli felt his face flush a bit. It was always a small treat, when Thrawn dropped formality. And his name did sound rather wonderful with Thrawn's accent, "But first, I need to solve this."

He gestured to his new snake body, and Eli nodded in agreement.

"Can you move?" he asked, looking over the long, serpentine body.

Thrawn nodded, hesitating for a moment, before slowly slithering (that was the only word for it, really) around Eli. His long body followed suit. It was then that Eli not only saw those strong muscles moving underneath the scales, but realized how long Thrawn really was.

"I'm still a bit unsure of my body's movements, but it seems as if the muscles can move according to my will." stated Thrawn, stopping in front of Eli. With his lower half being replaced with a snake body, Eli realized Thrawn was much bigger than him now. He was bigger before, but now Eli's head only came up to his chest, instead of around his shoulder. Thrawn seemed to notice this too and blinked, before lowering himself slightly. His pose reminded Eli of a poisonous hooded snake, so it was calming to see him relax. But even so, Eli was still short of his shoulder.

"First things first..." started Eli, gesturing to Thrawn's snake half, "We should probably head to the medbay and see if everything is still in working order. It wouldn't do you any good to suddenly fall ill, because of this...transformation. Plus they might be able to find out what could've caused this."

Thrawn nodded, "A good idea, Eli. Though...how would I arrive there?"

The question confused Eli for a moment, and he looked up at him, "How would you arr--"

Then he saw Thrawn looking at his snake body, and Eli understood. It would be very...shocking...for a half-Chiss half-snake Thrawn to be walking—slithering—down the hall. The rumor mill would explode. Plus word could get out, and Thrawn might find himself punted out of the Imperial Navy. And having gotten this far with his rank...

"I'll make a call to the medbay." said Eli, looking back up at Thrawn, "I'll have them clear the bay of any nurses, and only leave the medical droids. They can't spread rumors. And there's a few routes to the medbay that aren't well traveled that we could use to get there. The less eyes that see, the better. At least, until we fully understand what's going on."

Thrawn nodded in agreement, "I leave it to you, Eli." he said, a small smile gracing his lips, "Thank you for your help."

Eli couldn't stop the blush rising on his cheeks, and he could've sworn the smile grow on the Chiss's lips, "You're welcome, Thrawn. I'll be right back."

Stepping over his coils, Eli stepped out of Thrawn's room, before pulling out his data pad. This was going to be an interesting trip down to the medbay, that was for sure. And as he started to comm the bay, he just hoped that none of the medical droids were programmed to be afraid of snakes...

#Thrawn #Mitth'raw'nuruodo #Eli Vanto #Thrawnto #Thranto #Star Wars #Welp here goes another attempt at this ship!#Featuring my weakness--nagas

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