ragedagainst

[ragedagainst]

all it takes is one glance at the security footage for jyn to know that she doesn't recognize this person. it doesn't surprise her ; one of the main reasons she'd moved to night city had been due to her lack of connections in the city -- all her ties to the criminal underground here are few and far between. it's safer this way -- she needs a fresh start.

" never seen 'em, " she says, her gaze lingering on the photograph for a few extra seconds for good measure. can't say she never looked -- though, to be fair, she's not sure she would have admited it had she recognized them. jyn props a hand on her hip, eyes narrowing. " ncpd must really be struggling if this is how they're trying to track people down. "

it  pains  v  to  keep  quiet  ;  the  urge  to  point  out  that,  had  the  other  just  gone  along  with  her  request  in  the  first  place,  they  both  could  have  been  done  with  the  whole  thing  &  moved  on  with  their  day  by  now  very much rattling in the back of her brain .  .  .  but  she  managed  to  keep  quiet,  a  smile  of  professional  courtesy  stuck  in  place  as  a  photo  is  offered.

security  footage,  but  clean  enough  for  features  to  be  made  out  clearly.  a  face  somewhere  between  average  &  attractive,  height  somewhere  between  short  &  tall,  a  completley  forgettable  person  unless,  of  course,  someone  was  asking  you  plainly  if  said  person  had  been  seen.   ❛ ❛  just need to know if they look familiar, & if so, from where. gonna  be  a  long  ass  minute  if  all  you  do  it  stare at her. ❜ ❜

[ragedagainst]

@burnslight : " hand it over. I know you have it. "

eyes narrowing, jyn prepares for a standoff. the bag slung over her shoulder feels heavier with the weight of stolen borrowed goods inside of it. clearly, she hasn't gone far enough under the radar to avoid detection, but when stealth doesn't work, she has no problem cracking heads to get what she wants. not the best strategy in laying low until she can figure out how to get back home but for the moment, it's the only one she's got ; she needs the information stored on the datasticks in her bag . . . and she hadn't been able to resist when she'd found a lone blaster just sitting there, forgotten by a careless owner.

facing off with the man, she crosses her arms over her chest and widens her stance, preparing for the moment that they come to blows ( with her luck, it's not an if -- it's a when ). " i don't know what you're talking about, " she says airily, haughtily, her chin jutting upward. it's not entirely a lie -- he hadn't specified exactly what he wants her to hand over to him. " do you make a habit of demanding things from strangers or am i just that karking lucky ? "

[ragedagainst]

life has been super busy lately so i haven't been on as much but rest assured i WILL be here soon and that IS a threat

[ragedagainst]

PROMPTS FOR LIES, DECEIT, AND SOME VILLAINY *  assorted dialogue, adjust as necessary

would i lie to you?

i've never lied, not even once.

that sounds like a you problem.

you believe me, don't you?

i always get what i want.

i've never led you astray.

you promised you'd let them go.

i'm not playing around any longer.

hand it over. i know you have it.

we can do this the easy way... or the hard way.

have i ever let you down before?

you can trust me.

you were lying the whole time.

you're the reason they're dead.

i've got no reason to lie.

you double-crossed me.

you spat on my kindness. now face my wrath.

that wasn't a very good lie.

i never should have believed you.

i thought you told me everything.

you lied to my face.

well. i lied. good luck with that.

why did you keep this from me?

you should have listened to me when you had the chance.

i honestly thought i could trust you.

the plan is working.

how dare you say that to me.

you know me. i would never lie about something like this.

please, you have to believe me!

i'm telling the truth, i swear!

i told you everything i know!

you gotta believe me!

you're a traitor.

you're just going to leave me here?

had you only listened to me... none of this would have happened.

that's all there was! i swear!

you turned me into this monster.

prove it to me.

what's behind your back?

tell me everything you know.

if you don't tell me the truth, i swear...

that's the last of it! i promise!

you're going to die down there.

ah, ah, ah... it's not that simple.

don't ever cross me again.

you could have just told me the truth.

look what your lie has done.

this is all your fault.

i gave you what you wanted! let me go!

you fell into my trap!

i gave you a chance, and you squandered it.

i blame you for everything.

look at what you've done.

you failed. accept it.

i shouldn't trust you. not after what you did.

you betrayed me.

i'll never look at you the same way.

you won't get away with this.

you're a horrible liar.

not so fast!

i don't believe a word of what you just said.

that's a lie and you know it.

give me what i want, or your friends are dead.

now i feel like a fool for trusting you.

now look what you've done.

over my dead body!

you didn't think it'd be that easy, now did you?

[ragedagainst]

every time jyn hears someone call her a hero, she wants to strangle them ( or punch them, or tackle them to the ground, or pull out her stolen blaster -- etcetera ). her actions on scarif hadn't been heroic -- it'd been a last ditch effort to try and save the galaxy from the machine that galen had helped create. her family's legacy. it'd been a suicide mission she hadn't expected to survive, and yet here she is, forced to live when so many others have died -- when a whole fucking planet has been obliterated. it's all she can do not to deck a green, starry-eyed recruit when they nervously approach her with hero worship on their lips ; instead, she turns on her heel and escapes to the nearest empty room . . . only to find it otherwise occupied by one of the people she's done her best to avoid since she's woken up. unable to help herself, she scoffs when the princess speaks, shaking her head and avoiding the other's gaze. " save it for someone who'd actually believe it, " she mutters. " we both know the only reason i haven't been court martialed yet is because i haven't enlisted. "

𝐤𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 against the railing of the ship,    the imperial highness has avoided seeing the lone survivor for unfathomable reasons —  too preoccupied with the rebellion,  too busy searching for anyone who had made it out of alderaan,  too afraid.  too frightened to look another last living remnant — the very people that gave her hope before darth vader’s glove choked her neck so tight leia can still hear her strangled breathing.   only when does she hear the softness of footsteps behind her,   does she rise.    brown eyes first avoid,   an unladylike manner that breha would scold her for      (a fear her father would shield her from.)          slowly, she continues.       ❛    thank you for your service,         the rebellion is in debt to you ❜      she slowly tips her head,        attempting to show a commonality in loss       &        instead an overwhelming sense of anxiety.

@ragedagainst

[ragedagainst]

Josephine Miles, from Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability; "Payment"

[Text ID: "My barbed-wire heart"]

[ragedagainst]

brings my heart so much joy that the swrpc has risen from the ashes (unlike jyn after scarif<3[she's dead btw])

[ragedagainst]

CASSIAN ANDOR & JYN ERSO Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

[ragedagainst]

jyn doesn't make a habit of asking other people for help. if she wants something, she'll take it without asking, damn the consequences. it's what she'd done her whole life, what she'd done to get to scarif, and it's what she plans on doing now. . .if she can get herself a ship off-planet. unfortunately for her ( and luckily for the alliance ), the hanger bay is more empty than usual, with most of the shuttles out completing missions of their own. what she's left with is a handful of engineers and technicians dicking around with repairs on the few remaining ships, and tristan fucking patel, who is clearly doing nothing but having a smoke. weighing the pros and cons of approaching both groups, in the end, it hadn't really been a choice. she doesn't trust either, but she at least knows patel probably won't go to high command and rat her out to make himself look better. as much as he irritates her, he isn't a snitch -- it's one of the few qualities that she actually likes tolerates about him. and should she manage to sway him to her side ( unlikely, she knows ), she can also admit that he's decent in a fight -- at the very least to act as an additional target for imperial blasters.

it's easier for her to stomach facing patel with this request if she tells -- demands -- rather than asks. of course he says no ; he has the upper hand here, the higher ground, and he knows it, wanting to flaunt it by throwing her request back in her face. jyn grits her teeth at his response, hands curling into fists, and forces herself to count backwards from ten before she throttles him. her irritation is tempered some knowing that his droid is likely on her side ; she's listened to buggy try to appeal to patel's ' good ' side on more than one occasion. maybe she's appealing to the wrong side of him here ; she decides to switch courses, to focus on his derision for the alliance instead of his alleged morality ( of which she's seen no proof of so far ).

" would it help hearing that i don't have the council's approval for this ? " she asks flatly, doing her best to push down her annoyance. " in fact, they explicitly told me not to go. that they're ' handling it. ' " she bares her teeth. " they're not. "

TRISTAN KNOWS PERFECTLY WELL THAT SMOKING IS A BAD HABIT, AND FRANKLY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY HE'D PICKED IT UP. he's known most of his life that the chances of him dying from natural causes are low on the best day, but either way, he's never really considered his health when deciding what not to do and he's not about to start now. not like it'll kill him faster when the jaws of death probably sit at the business end of a tie – or any number of the blasters in this godforsaken galaxy who want him dead. among their number might be the woman who stands not far away in his peripheral vision. even from this angle, she looks tense, though he's not sure that differs from any other day. jyn remains always on her guard, it seems, a trait he can certainly appreciate, all things considered.

he takes a slow drag as he looks out at the hanger from his perch, reclined against the length of a rail, one leg hanging over the side and swinging. buggy, his yellow-trimmed astromech, lingers close beside him, enough for him to briefly set his hand on her newly shined dome as he ashes his smoke over the side. buggy lets out a low whistle that sounds almost like a sigh – no particular binary, but a sound he certainly knows to mean : we should help. it almost makes him laugh. at least erso has nerve, he grants. it's no secret he keeps a ship of his own around that, unlike his x-wing, the rebels don't control ... and can't track. he just can't remember anybody yet having the nerve to ask him to use it. not that he'd call what she did asking.

smoke curls in the air before him as he exhales, slowly, in no hurry, appearing as relaxed as anything. his urgency is earned, after all. a beat or two more passes until, finally, he says simply, " can't. buggy says no. "

@ragedagainst. starter call. accepting.

[ragedagainst]

“This is how I like to remember you— […] the sun ravaging you with light,”

— Darius Stewart, from “Elegy,” Intimacies in Borrowed Light (Eastover Press, 2022)

[ragedagainst]

subtle as it is, sometimes it's better to take a jab at a corpo's reputation than it is to quite literally take a violent jab at them. exposing one of their scandals and laying it out on the front page of the news for everyone to read ? yeah, that'll fucking do it. and though jobs like this aren't her style -- she's never had the patience for that shit -- even jyn can admit ( not that she will ) that rogue's done a good job here.

" never took you for an animal rights activist, " she retorts, kicking back in her seat and eyeing the screen in front of them. the journalist had done a good job : bold headline, large clear image -- no room for any misunderstandings. it's only a matter of time before the damage controls starts -- if it hasn't already. crossing her arms, she lazily rolls her head to the side and looks at the other woman. " what's next ? don't tell me you don't have a plan. "

@ragedagainst ❛ now you’ve rattled the monkey cage. here they come. ❜

a   wide   smile,   tongue   running   across   glistening   teeth.   it   was   past   being   palpable,   the   way   she   felt   ───   it   was   tangible,   something   you   could   reach   out   and   grab,   energy   pulsing   in   waves   like   heat   haze   off   of   a   summer   road.〝 not   so   sure   the monkeys would   appreciate   that   comparison. 〞rogue   would   remark,   knuckles   tapping   out   a   rhythm   on   the   surface   before   them.

there   it   was   in   print,   headline   space   and   all   ───   it   had   only   been   a   little   creativity,   an   artistic   rendition   of   a   certain   public   official   left   on   a   very   public   wall,   the   neck-height   placements   of   [   reds   and   pinks   ]   an equally   clear   message.   in   truth,   it   was   the   least   violent   thing   rogue   had   ever   done,   but   the   other   was   right,  the   cage   had   clearly   been   rattled.   GOOD.

[ragedagainst]

@rookierebel : i think i know why i don't want to leave here.

" is it because you like watching me suffer ? " jyn retorts, burying deeper in the layers of clothing meant to keep her warm in hoth's frigid climate. even bundled up as she is, it's not enough ; the tips of her fingers and toes had lost feeling almost immediately, and her scarf is doing little to keep her nose from going the same route. it's no secret that she hates the alliance's current choice in bases, taking any opportunity she can get for off-planet operations. her and the cold have never gotten along, and after a few weeks on hoth, it feels like she'll never be fully warm again.

from underneath her hood, she glares at bodhi and hunches her shoulders up to her ears to further emphasize her point. her discomfort is obviously not the reasoning behind his statement -- unless he's some sort of secret sadist -- but she's feeling a bit inclined for dramatics right now. she can barely move dressed up like she is -- she feels like a fucking wampa lumbering around everywhere. " do you take enjoyment from this, rook ? "

[ragedagainst]

this post about jyn's brutality is so on point and it's a part of her character that people often overlook in favor of her other traits. she was a literal child solider in a violent revolutionary organization. i've tried to highlight this in my own portrayal by not shying away from some of the more fucked up things she's done in her past -- and will continue to do to see that the empire is destroyed. there are very few things that she considers to be "too far" if it means winning the war.

the original poster mentions her being just as morally grey as cassian and i definitely agree. what's interesting is that the two of them are morally grey in different ways -- cassian's got that cold, calculated type of violence whereas jyn's is more heat and fire, more "i'm going to beat you to death with my bare hands" type of violence. like you're going to tell me she wasn't seconds away from tackling krennic to the ground on the top of the data tower?

[ragedagainst]

THE WOMBATS / OH! THE OCEAN change wording as desired, etc etc.

i'm aware that i'm the problem.

i'm aware that i'm the problem, but that doesn't solve the problem.

your heaven might be a hell.

am i insufferable? i can't tell.

feels like i'm making it a problem.

feels like i'm never gonna solve them.

sorry i'm late. i didn't want to come.

it's not that i hate you, i just hate everyone.

i don't want to socialize unless i'm getting numb.

i'm only hearing every other word.

your life story's none of my concern.

how about we talk about me now.

how about you let me go free now.

the earth keeps spinning 'round.

i should've learnt by now that i was never at the center.

fuck that, i won't surrender.

come and steal a car with me.

show me a dotted line and you know i'll sign it every time.

i dream of the trouble we'll get in.

we try and sit still and feel it all.

we'd rather run away than feel at all.

you know i can't say no.

we don't care if it's trash that fills the void.

let's go vandalize a hearse.

let's sign her up for a ponzi scheme.

she'll be rich in cheap face cream.

throw a bender in a cemetery.

we'll summon the demons that we repress.

every bad idea just feels exactly like a great idea.

so rose-tinted.

we see the same but frame is all different.

don't need to burn it to the ground.

i tend to think in forevers.

my mood swings like the weather.

you think it's worse than it is.

he's got a temper hotter than a star.

all i ever seem to find is mayhem.

back when i thought my serenity was self-sustaining.

some of us rage against the dying of the light.

i toe the party line until i hit my limits and explode.

it's a beautiful day in my neighborhood.

we've got sorrow behind our eyes.

we've got sorrow behind our eyes, but we look so good.

another gut punch. they used to hurt, but now not so much.

do you like what i've become?

i don't really like the terms.

i'll come along for the ride.

let the autopilot drive me into the unknown.

i can take a gut punch.

i'm happy and sad at the same time.

how about a soul crush?

looks like ten zombies had a fight.

to be honest, i'm unfazed.

i'm not cut up but i'm not unscathed.

will i ever feel awake again?

did i ever feel awake back then?

wake up and bounce right back.

whiskey in a bubble bath.

maybe they'll cancel me.

maybe my schemes and plans are just a waste of time.

push away and don't get close.

i can't let them go tonight.

let's spend the day in bed.

let's talk about you instead.

my head is not my friend.

something to take off the edge.

i can't go back again.

i should have stayed in last night.

that's not how it goes.

i'd give all of it away for one fucking peaceful day.

for one fucking peaceful day, i'd give all of it away.

in another pointless fight.

are you gonna give me a sign or blow up without warning?

i need to give it a rest.

i need to be put it to bed.

wow, what a show.

not cheap, but the market's free.

no god, but i'm still on my knees.

i think i know why i don't want to leave here.

i love her but she hates me.

she gets all her pleasure from shattering my dreams.

my fear just keeps her fed.

i'll love her until the bullet's in my head.

divide me up.

you know i'm yours to own.

all that charm and all that pain.

she gets all her pleasure from smothering my dreams.

i'll love her until she loves me back.

judge me all you like.

just trying to pass the time.

she's not good for my health.

be careful what you feel.

i don't even know where i'll be by evening.

i could be sleeping in your car or partying alone.

trying to chase a feeling that hooked me from the start.

got a heavy soul.

the world's not out to get me. i am.

victim of myself.

i can't blame no one else.

i've felt like this before.

they cheat, they lie, they steal.

i don't ever want to leave.

let the grim reaper keep calling me.

wherever i go you'll follow me.

i want your head.

i want your bed.

i want the things i can't express.

i want all your highs, all your lows.

felt just like home.

stop making things so fucking hard.

i'm not living to endure.

you can have me when i am done.

get off of my lawn.

you're trespassing here.

let me sleep in the roses and thorns.

i just wanted you to know that i'm still loving the show.

i just wanted you to know that i want you.

so quick to panic and slow to brake.

what she gives me i'll be sure to take.

reality's a wild ride.

get the fuck off of my lawn.

i'm sure that your intentions are good.

i'm sure that your intentions are good, but mine might not be so pure.

some things i just can't run away from.

you'd never not be happy with a new sugar daddy.

i wish i'd wished upon a star.

i'm thinking all about it all wrong now.

everything i enjoy becomes an obsession until i'm destroyed.

do i have to say it out loud?

i'm too young, i'm too old to figure it out.

most things solve themselves, don't you know?

some things snowball until they explode.

it's gonna be fun until it's not.

plug me in, i'm ready for it.

no more sleeping through another bright afternoon.

never thought i'd have a favorite.

tonight looks different.

i can tell you something you might know but i know you won't like.

the strongest lobsters live and grow in the dark without light.

you do something that i don't want to live without.

you cut through the bullshit.

i think i'm feeling better now.

gonna stay out here forever.

i want to read the words you've read.

[ragedagainst]

once again, jyn takes a second to remind herself that murder is mostly illegal in night city, especially in broad daylight with dozens of witnesses moving around them. all the same, her eye twitches in irritation when the other woman pushes the matter, wondering if she can perhaps get away with a light throttling without anyone else getting involved ( even though the cops most likely wouldn't even do anything about it, but she can't risk it ). but jyn's beginning to get the sense that, even if punches were thrown between the two of them, the other woman would still be trying to shove the damn photo in her face at the end of it. she might as well just get it over with it, to look at the fucking thing and move on with her life.

jyn halts, mouth drawn in a tight line and crosses her arms over her chest. " you have less than one minute to show me the picture and ask your questions. " if it goes over, then she's walking. " starting now. "

v   couldn't   even   be   mad   –   annoyed,   sure!   but   she   was   often   annoyed,   so   this   bitch   sweet   woman   most   likely   didn't   have   much   to   do   with   it.   given   the   sheer   amount   of   people   who   came   in   &   out   of   the   city   on   a   daily   basis   it   was   incredibly   likely   that   the   ‘no’   she'd   received   was   a   great   way   to   avoid   wasting   both   of   their   time.   by   refusing   to   even   entertain   the   idea   of   helping,   the   other   could   avoid   a   long,   drawn   out   process   which   would    would   still   most   likely   amount   to   them   not   being   able   to   offer   any   worthwhile.   *   if   only   they'd   been   a   little   more   polite   about   it.

almost   friendly   smile   remained   in   place,   the   expression   growing   more   strained   as   each   second   ticked   by.   ❛❛  ha,   yeah   –   that's   fair   !   but   if   you   could   just   take   a   little   peaky-poo   at   a   picture for me   i   sure   would   appreciate   it   .   .   .    ❜❜

[ragedagainst]

✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐔𝐍𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇 . ( a collection of lyric - based prompts based on hozier's album . adjust phrasing as necessary . )

i'm holding my world together with a bootstring .

i would do it again if i could hold you for a minute .

my life was a storm since i was born , how could i fear any hurricane ?

heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i .

i miss when we did not need much .

we didn't get it right , but we did our best .

when people say that something is forever , either way it ends .

i have never known a silence like the one fallen here .

there's money to be made , whatever is still to come .

i don't want to be anything like this at all .

there are some things that nobody teaches you .

we can celebrate the good that we've done .

if there was anyone to get through this life with their heart in tact , they didn't do it right .

all i needed was someone .

you only feel it when it's lost .

the awful things we do to make our heads feel quiet .

you may never know your fortune .

so far from home to have a stranger call you 'darling' .

i'm a butchered tongue still singing here above the ground .

if i was a riptide , i wouldn't take you out .

knowing that everything ends won't change our plan .

i feel lighter than i have in so much time .

i don't know how the feeling ended .

i know we want this to go easy by being somebody's fault .

how could i fall when i am lifted by every word you say to me ?

if i said that this was drowning , you'd tell me i'm walking on water .

who wants to live forever , babe ?

old and young are welcome to the meal .

how can something be so much heavier but so much less than what it seems ?

we had nowhere to go and every desire to go there .

if i fall , i only pray , don't fall away from me .

all our weight is just a burden offered to us by the world .

getting through still has a cost .

so much of our life is just carving through the dark .

after this i'm never gonna be the same .

some part of me must have died the first time you called me 'baby' .

are there limits to emptiness ?

i wish i was the sunlight , just sitting on the mississippi .

if you need to , darling , lean your weight onto me .

you can't buy this fineness .

some part of me must have come alive the first time you called me 'baby' .

the future's so bright it's burning .

i would do anything just to run away .

i heard once , it's the comforts that make us feel numb .

darkness always finds you , either way .

i know being reckless and young isn't how the damage gets done .

i haven't felt it since then .

i do not have wings , love , and i never will .

one time we would want for nothing , we knew what our love was worth .

i think i'll take my whiskey neat .

i'd still be surprised i could find you , in any life .

i don't need to know where we begin and end .

my name always hits my ears as such an awful sound .

i'm taking no orders , i'm gonna be nobody's soldier .

living the dream , benzos and gasoline .

i wish i could go along , don't get me wrong .

do you think i'd give up ?

i'm infinitely suffering , but fighting it off like all creation .

if you're drunk on life , babe , that's great .

what good would it be on the far side of things ?

i aim low , i aim true and to the ground is where i go .

i wouldn't sell the world , i would hold on for all its worth .

choose between being a butcher and a pauper .

i feel as useful as dirt .

it's the sound of it that brings me here .

when was the last time ?

i want to fade away with you .

whatever keeps you around , it keeps you around .

funny how true colors shine in darkness and secrecy .

when i was younger , i used to guess if there were limits to emptiness .

you know i'm good on my own .

one bright morning changes all things .

i'm sick to my skin , watching the news again .

how could you think i'd scare so easily ?

now that it's done , there's not one thing i would change .

would all things god allows remain above ground ?

i'd walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you .

you treat your mouth like it's heaven's gate .

could this be how every day begins ?

i can scarce believe what i'm believing in .

whatever you choose , you lose in the long run .

your reflection can't offer a word to the bliss of not knowing yourself .

the goal i was aiming for was the wrong one .

you're too sweet for me .

your heart , love , has such darkness .

let the sun only shine on me through a falling sky .

i don't wanna choose between being a salesman and a soldier .

how do you sleep so well ?

i wouldn't sell the world for all the gold and sterling .

the street is for the laughter of young women and men .

you can keep a dream in your mind only to find out it's the hope that's killing you .

each time i'm shocked by the light .

july is still coming , just knowing that gets me through .

maybe i have yet to venture out and see the places i dream about .

no closer could i be to god .

what you live in , it finds a way to live in you .

i want to be so far away from sight and mind .

you know the distance made no difference to me .

i thought you were like an angel to me .

i'd move so fast that i'd outpace the dawn .

all my love and terror balanced there between those two eyes .

i'm still glad i met you .

that moment i knew , i had no choice but to love you .

[ragedagainst]

alexander fre.ed's new st.ar wars book comes out tuesday prepared to be sick of ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!