His hands shook as he pulled out the small box from where he’d hidden it in the back of his desk drawer. Just a tenday ago, Seventeen had come to Coruscant so he could be present when the Bill was signed, and he’d wordlessly pressed the box into Cody’s hand when they’d had a moment alone. He hadn’t opened it until today. Sitting in the box were three pairs of earrings: one blue, one purple, and one pink. He looked at them, confirmed his current thought pattern, and took out the blue ones. He put them both in and could feel himself relax immediately. He thought about putting the others in his pocket just in case, but ultimately left them on his desk. After so long as “he,” it would probably take a while until anything else felt safe. ----- “Every day you're seeing our existence debated. Transgender people are so very real.” - Elliot Page, TIME Magazine (March 2021)

Anakin wasn’t sure how to ask, so he didn't. Instead, he waited until Master Kenobi fell asleep and stayed up to tinker in the dark, building his own scanner out of parts stolen from the trash. The chip was in his right thigh.

Anakin wasn’t sure how to ask, so he didn't. Instead, he waited until Master Kenobi fell asleep and stayed up to tinker in the dark, building his own scanner out of parts stolen from the trash. The chip was in his right thigh.

“What will happen to me now?” Anakin asks much later, voice very quiet as they make brief, fleeting eye contact in front of Qui-Gon’s blazing pyre. Obi-Wan doesn’t have an answer for him. ----- “I swear to you, Anakin Skywalker, no one is going to own you while I breathe,” she tells him fiercely.