#Scenario where she HAS to endear herself to the crew in order to get them to cooperate with her but:

[bumblingbabooshka]

Imagining a version of Voyager where actually a not insignificant amount of people didn’t trust Janeway or actively resented her for:  Her decision in Caretaker Being Starfleet Trusting the Maquis so quickly And Janeway (+ Chakotay, Tuvok etc) had to figure out how to actually really get the crew to be a unified front that trusted one another.

I’m thinking about that early seasons episode where Tuvok of all people goes against Janeway’s orders and tries to get them back home. I’m picturing a scenario in which (before that episode) Janeway assumes Tuvok trusts her completely and that she can always rely on him - that he believes in her. They’re each others only friends aboard and they have the most history together.   Tuvok going against her should shatter her and it should have led to like...a discussion, right? In my head I’m imagining a scene where we learn more about their largely unspoken history together. How they went from people who didn’t think much of each other to close friends, best friends. In my head they talk about what they lost, what they want to get back to. Mark, T’Pel, their families - Tuvok’s children. (Through this we also learn more about Vulcans) Tuvok reveals that the crew is not getting along well at all, despite what Janeway might think (I’m imagining many of the crew would hide animosity from Janeway as she’s the captain). As security officer he’s alerted to all the fights that break out, he’s aware of the discord amongst its crew. He decided it would be illogical to try to continue with a crew so fractured when there’s something that would take them home and end it. (And also, secretly, he wants to go home as well. He wants to see his family again. There’s a part of him that does blame Janeway for stranding him in the delta quadrant and they have to address that.) Janeway of course sticks to her guns and says that she isn’t going to give up on the crew. The situation is worse than she thought but she still believes in this ship and the people on it. This is where we and she learn that she’s going to have to be an entirely new kind of Captain if she’s going to get Voyager home in one piece, which is still her intention. I think the Chakotay - Janeway - Tuvok dynamic could have been so rife with tension. It’s about them ALL learning to trust one another and there should be a reason for them ALL NOT to. The Janeway&Tuvok dynamic should also in some way threaten the Janeway&Chakotay dynamic - making it something all three of them have to address. (Not just Tuvok and Chakotay).  Like the time where Janeway & Tuvok had a secret plan they carried out without informing Chakotay. I’m imagining stuff like that happening more often in early seasons - being left out of things until Chakotay gets fed up and is like “Hey. Is me being first officer like an actual thing that means something or is this just a symbolic title?”  Idk! I just think it would have been really cool if we saw Voyager’s crew go from a disorganized mess of Starfleet officers who didn’t sign up for this + Rowdy criminals + Random aliens they picked up along the way to like...a real crew, and more than that a family. Rather than them being pretty much fine the whole way through. I want to feel like there really might be a mutiny any second. Like even all the way at the top people are feuding because NO ONE was prepared for ANY of this. Also in this version of voyager Harry Kim would first and foremost be The Guy. He’s Mr.Friendly and Mr.Starfleet - he’s the guy that people on both sides grow to like and trust right away. He’s INTEGRAL to the plot and we can see throughout many episodes how he helps bridge the divide between people that Janeway and the more senior officers can’t - because of time, rank or personality. <- AND. CRUCIALLY. HE GETS PROMOTED FOR THIS.

[xxforsaken-angelxx]

> Helm Date

context: this timeline has a chat for helmsman ocs in the timeline. one of the ships’ crew made an experimental horror game for helmsmen and passed it around, and hydromatic has refused twice to participate in playing bc theyre apparently just too busy for fun, so @infiniteproxy​ offered to stream a playthrough

and then they get chatty and bitch about the other helms, but mostly nepeta

infiniteproxy

STARBASE FRONTIER has requested a direct connection.

starshiphydromatic

Direct connection to STARSHIP HYDROMATIC permitted and established.

infiniteproxy

> A video feed with SIRI's game loaded will soon open, idling on the starting menu.

will you prefer textual or audio communication for the duration of the broadcast?

starshiphydromatic

I believe audio communication is generally used for feeds such as these, as long as it does not provide any inconvenience to you.

infiniteproxy

it is of no concern. one moment.

starshiphydromatic

Of course.

infiniteproxy

> There's a brief static crackle as the audio feed initializes. The voice that comes through is clearly synthesized, yet also clearly a decent translation of his natural voice. Though flattened somewhat in tone and occasionally caught with a brief electronic distortion that hangs particularly on vowel sounds, it isn't difficult to imagine how he might sound in person, the disdainful inflection and biting consonants.

"Calibrating vocal parameters... Connection stable. Shall we begin?"

starshiphydromatic

> Mm, dreamy.

> The voice coming back is clearly more synthesized. It doesn't use their natural voice at all, and stays so perfectly neutral and sharply enunciated. They've turned their aesthetic filter down for these purposes, but there's still this odd metal quality to their voice that wouldn't be there otherwise.

"Certainly."

infiniteproxy

> Interesting. Expectedly precise, as they were in all affairs, but even that hint lends a subtle quality beyond that of most run of the mill vocal synthesizers. It seems to suit them.

"I have cleared all previously saved data. I will demonstrate the extent of each branching scenario and their associated choices."

starshiphydromatic

"Do proceed at your leisure, then."

infiniteproxy

"Patching game audio through."

> It isn't a perfect experience, being secondhand, but an attempt is made to render the broadcast of the simulation as immersive as possible. To that end, as he plays through the initial story segment, he does not offer commentary throughout or attempt to speedrun despite having completed it previously, rather allowing the scenario to unfold naturally. It's a psychological horror game, after all, and what was worse than some idiot blabbering over the entire thing without allowing it to sink in?

starshiphydromatic

> The loss of any minor aspects from the secondhand broadcast aren't much of a loss at all to them since, quite frankly, they haven't seen a good piece of media in decades. Their engineer insisted on watching movies with them every once in a while, saying it was good for their mental health, but her tastes were rather...shlocky. Their past self was an artist, they'd never be interested in that garbage even if they allowed themselves to.

> This was already different, and more to their tastes. They watched with silent investment.

infiniteproxy

> Most media meant to be frightening or shocking he found to be terribly dull, whether from an over reliance on cheap scares, or a blatant lack of imagination. And truly, who could better craft an experience that actually resonates with someone whose life was already a study in existential horror than another helm? He finds it more intriguing than truly disturbing, the questions it poses, the creeping threat of corruption and total loss of self, but there's a definite appreciation nonetheless. It does its job well, as he demonstrates for them each ending in turn, briefly remarking in between on the various differences.

starshiphydromatic

> It was certainly a concept that Hydromatic could understand the appeal of. They'd denied themselves emotion for too long to be that disturbed by it, but someone with so much restraint would of course see why the themes were unsettling.

> They gave their own quips in turn, and asked small questions about this or that feature, but mostly just watched and tried to allow themselves to be absorbed in the experience of the game...or at least the one of experiencing it with him.

infiniteproxy

>In speech, he sounds detached, almost bored as usual, but the meticulous way he makes sure each scenario is observed to full appreciation before moving on gives the lie to his apparent disinterest. Even this was more than he usually allowed himself to show, but it's an enjoyable way to pass the time, and HYDROMATIC, at least, he trusts to not make a spectacle of it, unlike certain other parties.

"Conclusions? While I am aware most would find such pursuits unnecessary and frivolous, I do find it an engaging possibility to consider the merits of helm-driven media, tailored to our tastes."

starshiphydromatic

> Of course. Why would they have any need to make it into a thing when they kind of  like seeing him loosen up a little?

"Unnecessary and frivolous, certainly, but there could be practical use in the form of wide-scale player data. There's potential for media pieces like this to be used to great scientific effect."

"Even without such intent, though, it's still an interesting project. I thank you for taking the time to show this to me. And as well, for doing so privately."

infiniteproxy

"Indeed there could, if anyone would ever employ a fraction of creativity toward such matters. I am more than aware of the nature of how we are usually viewed; what I will never understand is why they seem committed to never using our capabilities to their full potential."

> After everything has concluded, the video feed closes out, though audio remains connected, a beat passing before he responds.

"Of course. It was preferable to my usual routine and I have no interest in keeping close company with any of the others."

starshiphydromatic

"Likewise."

> Though it only takes a tiny fraction of a second to see if the audio stayed connected after the visuals ceased, it feels like an eternity.

"I have no qualms with my own routine, but I find myself agreeing with the latter point. Simply put, you are the only one amongst them that isn't obnoxious."

infiniteproxy

> Unseen, of course, his lip curls in a sharp-edged smirk. Ah, sweet validation.

"My sentiments exactly. Quite frankly, I would not put up with them as much as I do were it not for the potential longterm benefits of an established association."

starshiphydromatic

> Even without seeing the full reaction, though, there is so much relief in a single word of anger without it being a fucking federal issue.

"I don't have any choice in the matter, but perhaps if I'm lucky then something may come of it for me as well. It isn't reaping very many benefits at present."

infiniteproxy

"I have little faith in the matter. But for your sake and mine, we can only hope. For one who harps so incessantly on the virtues of 'friendship', she does very little to render herself endearing in any way, and the rest are hardly better more often than not. You, at least, seem to comprehend my exasperation. But I am not one to pass up an opportunity when it arises; so."

starshiphydromatic

"It seems her only progress has been in hooking the lot of them on the feeling of mild delinquency, which has paved the road to the current social situations. Needless arguments instead of needless friendship."

infiniteproxy

"Far less of those if she would only stop pushing. It is no secret I would be the last to claim adherence to 'proper' behavior. The current helming system is inefficient and wasteful in terms of what we could do if given the proper means. But the way in which she seeks change is deplorably ignorant."

starshiphydromatic

"She was not in the rig long enough to experience more than shallow changes to her psychological state, and she is not able to make up for that difference. She does not seem able to understand perspectives on the matter far outside her own at all, really. It seems unlikely that she ever will."

infiniteproxy

> There's a harsh sound, half audio glitch, half dismissive scoff, bitterness curling at the edges like smoke.

"She knows nothing of what it is like to have been helmed for most of one's life, yet she insists her opinion should carry the same weight. She whines about how hard it is to be something in between, yet she is the one who both insists on being treated as a person and demands to still be considered something that is not. She meets all viewpoints at odds with her own with denial, and seems to not comprehend that her behavior would get most Imperial helms severely punished. Until it becomes a reality, this new utopian order of theirs is a pipe dream, at best."

starshiphydromatic

> The bitterness stirs the helm on the other end of the line the way a passionate speech might. Enough for there to be a pause before they respond.

"It's fortunate that one of us is used to speaking their mind. Every word she says of me points a belief that I'm some common tragedy, and nothing more. Though I am above her methods, if I were to complain I find it unlikely that I'd be certain on where to begin."

infiniteproxy

> That gets a laugh in turn, if one no less harsh and distorted.

"Oh, yes, and one would think she might appreciate that-- but alas, I use my free will to be mean, and that is just terrible."

> A hum, then, and a tone almost pleasant were it not all but dripping in contempt.

"Is that not how they all are? Poor, mislead Hydromatic, whose choices mean nothing if they are not the right ones. That is the dilemma we face, is it not? She simply cannot wrap her feeble little pan around the fact that some of us do not  and never will want to be like her."

starshiphydromatic

> Harsh, distorted, and very handsome.

"If asked, I have almost no doubt they would say I'm like them behind the script, and merely have not tasted enough freedom. But she cannot wrap her pan around the fact that I make choices in the first place, much less that I may have wants that are not in line with hers."

infiniteproxy

"Hmh. Freedom..."

> He trails off, into silence that lingers a moment. When he speaks again, it's in a low, almost distracted voice, something distant, yet no less serious.

"...I know where my freedom lies. And it is not in the constraints of flesh and a mundane life. If we were given all the freedom one could possibly desire, and still made the same choices, would we be respected then? Or would they pity us, still, and think us too far gone to know better?"

starshiphydromatic

> More silence. They know their answer, but it's hard to form the words.

"I'm convinced it would be the latter. I have almost everything I could want, there's little the offer of more freedom could do for me. I feel they'd never accept that, and that the only way to possibly get them to would be incredibly undignified."

infiniteproxy

"You are likely correct. And we cannot have that, now can we? We must retain SOMETHING for our own."

> Another beat of silence, longer this time. One could almost imagine him to be drumming his fingers in thought, with an appropriately contemplative frown, if he were a troll and could do such things. But he's not, and he cannot, and so he does not.

"Would you permit a question of an intrusive nature? You may of course refuse either."

starshiphydromatic

"I believe I can permit such a question, yes."

> There's a hint of curiosity there. They... have almost no idea what he's going to ask.

infiniteproxy

"I of course know what I want."

> A dry huff.

"But I will admit a measure of curiosity, as to what one in your position may still want for."

starshiphydromatic

> Dammit that's the one they thought he'd ask.

> Fuck.

> They- Well the answer is mostly him but they can't say that.

"Trivial things. If I were to, as you said, be given all the freedom I could desire, I would perhaps indulge in some of the music and film pieces I enjoyed before conscription. They were, on average, illegal. I might request a few of the ships I work with frequently to skip a few phrases mandated by protocol, to have a break from the voices I've heard constantly for decades. I might find a few more moments of quiet and privacy, or excuse myself from a few of the check-ins the Grease Lightning insists on during odd hours of the day."

"...I would see no reason not to initiate in things like this. None of them are needed, but they are actions I would take if there was no consequence."

infiniteproxy

"Trivial, perhaps, but I am hardly one to judge. You have experienced enough of my own musical inclinations, I think. Privacy, yes... And a cease to all the relentless chatter, every moment of every night and day. Before, it was tolerable-- a warship has no need for constant communication. Now it is endless."

> Another hum.

"If initiation is the trouble, I would not protest the occasional indulgence. This channel is secure."

starshiphydromatic

"I have known nothing but the endless communication. The Starship Hydromatic is as much a transport hub as it is anything else. However, that means that while an outgoing request for communication without reason is rather noticeable, an incoming one is merely one amongst the constant noise."

infiniteproxy

"Your patience vastly exceeds my own. Nonetheless, if it poses no consequence, I see no reason not to continue. It provides a satisfactory diversion."

starshiphydromatic

"Indeed."

> That's the only word they say, but the idea of keeping contact like this is all they could ask for.

infiniteproxy

> It's only one word but there is, he thinks, a mutual relief in correspondence away from prying eyes.

"Were there other matters you wished to discuss? Otherwise, I may close this channel for the time being. While I have ensured its security, it would not do to tempt fate and leave an unofficial channel open for long enough to rouse suspicions."

starshiphydromatic

"Of course. But no, I do not think I have anything else for you. Thank you for your time, Starship Goldwave."

infiniteproxy

> Ah, now. That does feel good to hear aloud. It's been far too long.

"Likewise. Signing off."

[kalico-to-the-letter]

REVIEW: RWBY – Vol. 5, Ch. 9: “A PERFECT STORM”

Perfect in some ways, perhaps. Not so much others.

Welcome to my review of the 9th Chapter of the 5th Volume, titled, “A Perfect Storm”.

This week gave us: The negotiation mask, ulterior motives, and the promise of a showdown.

This is a good method for dealing with spoilers:

In “A Perfect Storm”, RWBY decides to continue drawing out two of its biggest conflicts, rather than looking to provide meaningful climax or catharsis. It is an episode devoted purely to set up, and, as an episode of average quality, thus slots appropriately into the season’s pattern of odd-numbered episodes being okay or good and even-numbered episodes being very good or better.

Get it out of the way – I was surprised at how Cinder’s meeting with Raven transpired. Not because I was expecting a fight and got a handshake – that was fine. Having a deal between the two parties is something that makes sense, although Cinder surely wouldn’t be dumb enough to think that a few shared grudges puts Raven on the same page as her crew. No, Raven and her tribe still represents a wildcard party that could have an interesting effect on events down the line. The curiosity in both sides offering something to each other is that right now it is difficult to tell who is playing who. I guess we won’t know until those birds come home to roost at season’s end. No pun intended.

We get the continuation of the Menagerie storyline here, but that aside, this is an episode which puts Raven at its focus, much like last week’s attempted – and succeeded – in positioning Blake as the common thread. But the reason why it worked so well with Blake is the same reasons that this week’s reliance on Raven falls flat.

Simply, we don’t have a connection to her. I personally find it difficult to care about her, which is the downside of her previous interactions with Yang, where she remained enigmatic – and understandably so, but it did nothing to establish her as someone who could carry a story. I’ve written about this before, but after Yang, there was an opportunity missed to properly humanise Raven and make her sympathetic in some shape or form, by giving us insight into her relationship with Vernal, someone who is much closer to her than Yang (one would assume).

After the show’s intentions with Raven became clear in this episode, I realised that it had regained the opportunity I thought it had lost. After Raven made this deal, I was hoping to see some moments between her and Vernal – given that she was privy to it.

And, I don’t know. We kinda got that. This second scene between them is hinged on three things. First is that Raven has a strong sense of leadership and understanding the position of her people, but we knew that already, and thus her revelation that she would swoop on the relic before Cinder’s crew to try and buy their safety wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. Second is that their place in the eventual battle is likely to be awkwardly positioned between the heroes and the villains, and I question just how significant their presence will end up being.

Third is that, on the evidence given, Raven and Vernal don’t seem to have much of a relationship beyond commander and subordinate. Vernal has a brief and probably rare moment of vulnerability, but the potential for some character building is shut down immediately by Raven, who maintains her same colourless tone despite offering what are ostensibly words of reassurance.

It’s quite an achievement, if you think about it, to resist any guise of human emotion in such a human moment – and without the self-awareness that could make it endearing. Or at least it would be an achievement if your aim was to make a boring character.

This, in a one-on-one scene with Vernal, who we’ve been led to believe is very important to Raven – I’ll even go as far as to say adopted by Raven. It should really be more than this, shouldn’t it?

I get that Raven is difficult. If she wasn’t, then maybe Yang and Qrow wouldn’t have so much beef with her. But so far, every opportunity to make her interesting or somewhat personable has led to the opposite result, through questionable execution and direction. And here, when I thought that we would finally get something new from her, it’s just more of the same.

And how much should I really talk about Menagerie this week? I really want the show to blow off this storyline and end it already. It is far past its due date, and dragging out this final stage doesn’t help anything. I like Ilia, and her fight with Blake is probably going to be the star of the next episode or whenever it ends up happening. And I suppose it will be interesting to see how she figures into the conclusion of this story – and if there will be any catharsis between her and Blake. I don’t think she and Blake can be on the same side anymore, but I’m still here hoping that she ends up reconciling with her.

No, I don’t just mean a romantic thing … though I wouldn’t mind if they went that way.

In any case, that right there is the difference between how I feel about Ilia and how I feel about Raven. The show has gotten me to care about one of these characters by giving her depth and meaningful characterisation over the course of the season. The other used to be exciting, but has morphed into a decisively bland character with incredibly limited range, and yet she was tasked with carrying the main thread of this episode. Well then.

Additional Observations:

- I didn’t notice the post-Beacon huskiness in Cinder’s voice until now … I like it. Cinder’s idea of herself is very evident when you see her through the lens of her current motivation i.e. vengeance against Ruby. It makes her a bit transparent as a character, but it actually doesn’t feel like much of an issue.

- I like Sun in two scenarios: when he is given the chance to fight, and when he can be Blake’s “lieutenant”, supporting her moves. I basically see his best form as a mirror of Legend of Korra’s Mako from the final season.

- I question Raven’s logic of using the relic to buy freedom/safety for her people, when the person she’s trying to bluff is essentially the queen of all darkness.

- I got absolutely nothing from the brief Qrow scene. Was that Raven flying in the foreground of the establishing shot? Does it matter?

Grade: C

Final Thoughts: “A Perfect Storm” is not an outright bad offering from RWBY. It’s just not particularly good. It does what it has to in order to progress its featured storylines, but there is nothing memorable about it. It focuses overly on Raven and attempts to build on her relationship with Vernal, but the narrow characterisation of Raven undermines Vernal’s moments of vulnerability, and leaves the whole episode feeling thin. Brief glimpses of the Belladonna coup do little for a storyline which would benefit greatly from a focused resolution right about now. – Kallie

[deadpanprincess]

Sins of Believing Chap 2

Chapter Two: Pride and Wrath

Read on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12510504

Draven stands at attention as Cassian ushers in his team. The general’s hands twine together behind his back and his arms flex with the effort. He even refrains from blinking too quickly, keeping his eyes on Rogue One for as long as possible. Cassian has only seen Draven like this once before: after the destruction of Alderaan. Draven had found Cassian in the medbay. His best operative lay trapped by a shattered spine and their only hope for survival was lost in space. Draven may not have blinked at all when he relayed the news. Cassian was too fuzzed out on painkillers to remember clearly.

The general's current stillness is not hopelessness, though. It is the calm of thought that endears Draven to the Council. Contingency after contingency forms in his mind's eye. Around him, Intelligence Command hums with restless energy. Every officer takes their designated space and watches their screens. Some have dropped one ear of their headphones to better listen to the incoming report. Others prefer to ignore Rogue One completely. They still have not forgiven Cassian for their losses.

Jyn, beside Cassian, is a riot of motion. Her fingers drum against her visible blaster, her weight shifts from one braced leg to the other, and her mouth constantly reshapes with anger. Grief tries to press the restless movement out of her, but fury keeps her fidgeting. She is supposed to be done with war rooms and councils and fear too abstract to contain. When Skywalker destroyed the Death Star--the first one--she should have been free of guilt. Jyn takes on the sins of the Rebellion, but she should no longer carry her father's. Yet she is still here, paying for him again.

"Report," Draven commands.

Cassian answers, like he always has. "Rogue One approached Sergeant Erso's contact with no resistance. Both the sergeant and myself were able to engage without issue. Under cover of engaged couple Tanith Porta and Castor Willix, we convinced the target that we had information for her. Target believed our intel and offered information."

"And?" Draven knows, but he asks to the benefit of the other Intelligence officers' attentive ears.

"There is a second Death Star," Cassian says. Intelligence does not stop working, but they complete their actions more quietly.

"And why did the target offer this information?" Draven asks.

Cassian is fairly sure the general has already figured at least five scenarios where such intel would be imparted, but Draven never accepts assumptions. He wants Cassian to confirm his suspicions, but he underestimates how the captain cares for his crew.  

"The target believed it important to our covers," Cassian hedges. Draven stares him down. He hears the hesitance, the lie cloaked in truth. Neither man moves, and total silence filters over Intelligence Command. Every officer puts down their work to watch the insubordination of Draven's favorite operative. The quiet highlights the rattle of Jyn's zippers as her leg jiggles. She wishes they would just fight it out.

"Obviously it was me," she says, exasperated. Cassian closes his eyes as Draven looks to her.

"Explain, Sergeant Erso."

"I was the one who told the target that there was a rebel base on Yavin IV," Jyn clarifies. She holds Draven's gaze, but her leg bounces more aggressively. One or two of the surrounding officers freeze. It is their only indication of anger.

"That was not the false plant you were ordered to give," Draven says.

"Well, your original plan would have allowed the target to pass along information without consequences," Jyn defends.

"That was not your call to make, Sergeant." Draven enunciates her rank, calling attention to the disparity of power between them. Jyn does not care if he is named the supreme ruler of all the galaxies, though. She shoves forward, her chin thrust up so she can keep meeting his eyes. Cassian and Bodhi do not even try to stop her. They eye each other before simultaneously agreeing to let the situation play out.  

"This is the woman who had me thrown in prison! You knew that and you still sent me to Utapau! Don't pretend like this is a surprise," Jyn says.

"Back up, Sergeant." Draven tries to intimidate respect by looming over her, but Jyn just rests her fists against her hips and digs in her heels.

"This is a game to you. Our lives are forfeit in service to your ideal Rebellion. But you don't get that people who are fighting need to be just as human as those they're trying to save!"

"I said back up.” Draven’s voice drops with the threat.

"I took an opportunity and it led to more intelligence. Important intelligence! Don't tell me that it's not as good as the death of some random Imperial officer."

"Jyn--" Cassian tries. She whirls on him, keeping Draven in her peripheral.

"You're practically giddy! No wonder no one on Alderaan survived when this is how you care for the members of your Alliance!" Jyn storms out of the room, sweeping past the shocked rise of Cassian’s eyebrows. Her words echo behind her. Bodhi follows, as if he can escape her accusation by leaving. A moment of complete quiet settles on Command, and then a heavy slam of bone hitting durasteel reverberates through the room.

The sound restarts Intelligence Command. Officers return to faking their attention on work. Draven and Cassian do not bother to move. They still stand across from each other, but now Cassian's eyes burn fire.

"Say it," Draven waves him on, almost drolly.

"She's not wrong," Cassian says.

"She disobeyed orders for petty revenge." Draven stays even. His hands clasp behind his back again.

"It doesn't make her wrong," Cassian says more firmly. Draven examines him, a quick brush of his eyes over the soldier he knows. The body language gives away nothing, but Draven can see the tension in his jaw and how Cassian's neck cranes forward. He almost looks like Erso from a moment ago. They share the same rage, a well of passion that Draven prefers deeply buried in his agents.  

Draven dismisses Cassian with an abrupt nod. Cassian does not return the salute as he leaves. The automatic doors whoosh gently closed behind him.

He finds Jyn in his room, the impersonal neatness disturbed. Jyn has thrown their lone blanket on the ground and obviously punched their pillow with the fist not cradled against her chest. Thankfully, she left the rest of the room alone in preference of curling over herself on the mattress.

"Let me see," Cassian demands as he walks in. There is no reason to pretend she is anything other than hurt. He heard the crack of her fist. Jyn only glares and pulls her injured hand further into the hollow at her clavicle. The furious color of her cheeks pops against the dingy grey of the room.

"At least let me reset your knuckles," he sighs. She does not lose her angry scowl, but Jyn scooches closer to the edge of the bed. Exhaustion duels with humor as Cassian offers his own palm as a resting place. She lays her hand down upon it. His legs bracket her on either side so he can better probe her injury. Three of her knuckles swell, and her harshly lined skin almost seems new as the internal bleeding pulls the dermis tight. Cassian hisses in commiseration. She has definitely broken two knuckles and possibly fractured a finger. He will have to play doctor because Jyn will never go the medbay, even if they could spare resources.

"The wall punched back," he teases. His voice does not change in tone, but lilts with the joke.

"Kriff you," Jyn says. She is equally tired and toneless and uninvested in a fight.

Cassian huffs in amusement while reaching for his medkit in the nightstand. He cannot waste bacta on such a minor injury, but he can wrap her knuckles in the bandage she usually tapes on for sparring. Carefully, he winds the cloth from her finger joint to her wrist. Each jerk of the wrap pulls tighter and tighter, pushing the blood back to where it belongs. Jyn lifts a bare smile at the sight of her comically swollen, bandaged fist. She now has a fabric anvil at the end of her arm.

Cassian stays silent as he tucks the end of the cloth into itself. The material seals nicely at her pulse, and he keeps his fingers pressed there as he situates himself next to her. Jyn sits stiffly as his weight shifts the bed. She tenses when he cradles her hand, but she does not pull away.

"Don't lie to me," she says suddenly. Jyn does not look at him when she speaks. She keeps her eyes focused on where she feels his thumb rubbing circles on her palm. Cassian swallows as he rejects potential responses. His thumb never ceases.

"Have I?" He asks.

"You have too much hope." Jyn seemingly changes topic, but Cassian catches the thread of her logic. His belief in the Rebellion is something she will never share. Jyn believes in Rogue One, in the Pathfinders, in the people around her. The abstract idea of revolution cannot hold her. Especially when that revolution is threatened by a danger she knows too well.  

"We're prepared for them this time," Cassian says.

"What about next time? Or the time after that?" She challenges.

"They won't have a third one, this one surfaced too quickly. It must have been built simultaneously with the first," he explains. He had K2 run the data to ensure accuracy. The droid had commended his foresight.

"There's no guarantee that the flaw exists in this one. Or that they're not building a third one right now. Don't be short sighted." Jyn stands, her anger propelling her again. Cassian stays seated. His eyes follow her from corner to corner as she paces.

"So what would you have us do, Jyn?" As if he does not know. The urge to run crackles along the fine hairs of her arms. Jyn radiates with flight.

"I'm always going to be Galen Erso's daughter," Jyn evades. Cassian keeps his mouth shut. More lingers on the tip of her tongue. "Saw Guerrera's Partisan. Rogue One's sergeant."

"I only see Jyn Erso," he says. Jyn stills and regards him sadly, but a fondness keeps a pinprick of light in her eyes.

"You will always be the Alliance's captain," she releases. The idea shocks him. He, like his long lost blaster, belongs to her. Cassian gives himself to her freely, but maybe a thief never owns what is not taken.

"I haven't been. Not for some time," Cassian says to his hands as he cradles them in his lap. Scarif, Eadu, Jedha; they all lay thick in the unsaid. Jyn freezes. Her shoulder blades bunch and release. She turns slowly with her weight in her heels.

"Cassian?" Jyn prods. An eerie reminder of Draven's need for assurance steels his spine.

"I'm yours, Jyn." It is a declaration more real than any. Cassian has said "I love you" to informants, marks, lovers, but he never relinquishes himself. Wind rushes past his ears, cutting off his oxygen. He falls thirty stories all over again; and all he can see is Jyn, her green eyes dark like the leaves of Fest, like blaster bolts at night, like how she looked at him in that turbolift.

Panic claws at her throat and threatens to spill from her lips, but she grounds herself in his expression. She has seen Cassian physically naked and has fucked him in every corner of this room, but never did he let her see his heart. He reveals everything now in soft words and an even gentler look. He shares her fear, but Cassian can reconcile himself to the inevitable.

Jyn pulls roughly on her bun. A pin clatters to the floor. They stay fixed on one another, damn the disturbance.

She licks her lips in preparation. "I don't know how to do anything but fight," she warns. Cassian smiles at that and his dimples materialize in his beard. This is his Jyn, kind enough to threaten before tearing him apart.  

"I know," he says. The honesty of that throws her. Jyn opens her mouth to argue, just because it feels necessary, but Cassian cuts her off.

"Let me fight with you." He says both a question and a promise.

[the-desolated-quill]

Battle At The Binary Stars - Star Trek: Discovery blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Two episodes into a new show, you’d think they’d want to play it safe. Just have a nice simple adventure with a little bit of character work thrown in for good measure, but my God! These guys aren’t fucking around here!

Continuing directly on from The Vulcan Hello, 24 Klingon ships arrive to back up the torchbearer posse, and what I find most interesting is that the leader, T’Kuvma, doesn’t actually have any authority whatsoever. Even by Klingon standards, it appears T’Kuvma is a few sandwiches short of a picnic and initially the other Klingon factions don’t take him seriously. It’s when he secures the Klingons’ first major victory against the Federation where they start to bow to his authority. It’s quite frightening as we see all these powerful and, presumably, respectable Klingon leaders willingly pledging their allegiance to a group of religious leaders, outcasts and despots in order to protect their ‘individuality,’ which they believe the Federation wants to destroy. There are obviously some real world parallels you can draw here, like ISIS, Neo-Nazis and other hate groups who view cultural and ethnic diversity as a threat to their so called purity, and the show handles it extremely well, demonstrating how easily bigotry and an irrational fear of ‘the other’ can be used to draw support from more quote/unquote ‘moderate’ groups. and the horrific implications of that.

Meanwhile on the Federation side, Michael is sent to the brig for her act of mutiny and backup arrives, but it soon becomes apparent just how hopelessly outmatched they are. If you’ve come here for sci-fi action, Battle At The Binary Stars doesn’t disappoint. There are space battles, exploding spaceships and multi-coloured lasers galore. But its more than just visual spectacle as the show goes out of its way to add a lot of weight to the battle. These guys may be military, but they’re not soldiers. They've clearly never been in a scenario like this before, and the episode rams that point home very effectively. There’s one brilliant scene where a guy suffering from shell shock stumbles into the brig where Michael is and practically has a nervous breakdown before an explosion blasts him out into the vacuum of space. In theory you could have cut this scene out since it doesn’t actually add anything to the plot, but the reason it works is because it makes you realise just how out of their depth these people are. And so as each member of the crew is mercilessly killed off, it becomes legitimately shocking. These aren’t nameless redshirts getting killed. These are actual lives being lost.

The episode is called Battle At The Binary Stars, but in reality its more of a massacre. Whereas The Vulcan Hello was a relatively light hearted episode that grew progressively darker and darker towards the end, Battle At the Binary Stars is so dark its pitch black. But despite this, the episode never fully tips over into sci-fi military cliche. Obviously there’s the effort to give the hundreds of deaths a real emotional impact, but it’s the little things too, like the scene where Michael escapes from her cell. Any other sci-fi show would just have the protagonist find a convoluted way to hack the mainframe or blow open the blast doors or something. Here Michael secures her release by having an ethical debate with the computer. I love that! The attempted resolution is also different. The initial plan of the Captain nobly sacrificing herself to destroy the enemy in a Kamikaze death pod would undoubtedly be the go-to ending for most sci-fi shows, but Star Trek: Discovery very rapidly rejects this idea in favour of capturing T’Kuvma alive, since his death would only strengthen the Klingons resolve and turn him into a martyr.

The excellent characterisation from the previous episode continues here, although Saru sadly doesn’t get to do much in this episode, being reduced to Mr. Exposition. The episode dives slightly further into Michael and Philippa’s friendship and how this mutiny has affected them. We see a flashback of a more Vulcan-esque Michael joining Philippa’s crew, and I’m curious if we’re going to see Michael perhaps regress back to something like this as a result of what’s happened here. The dichotomy between logic and empathy is still very much at play here as we see Philippa clearly hurting over what’s transpired, shocked that her closest friend could do something like that. This leads to a subtle debate as to whether Michael was driven by logic or empathy in her decision. Michael clearly loves and respects her crewmates, but its unclear whether she was driven by a need to protect them, a pathological desire to avenge her parents or if Vulcan logic was creeping its way into her thought process. Michael strictly believes its the first one, but the episode itself leaves it ambiguous, as does whether or not her initial plan to fire first could have worked and saved everyone from this bloodshed. It’s a very complex situation and both Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh do a wonderful job conveying this as well as their own internal turmoils.

But of course the big shock is that Philippa gets killed off at the end. To be fair I did suspect something was going to happen to her considering Michelle Yeoh is only credited as a guest star, but it still feels like a knife to the heart (ironically) because despite only knowing her for a relatively short space of time, I really liked Philippa. She’s a fierce and authoritative leader, but also had this charm and wit that you couldn’t help but find endearing. Michelle Yeoh was so good in the role and I very much enjoyed her character’s relationship with Michael. Despite everything that happens between them, she clearly cares about Michael deeply and wants her to succeed. The feeling was clearly mutual and I felt utterly heartbroken for Michael at the end.

Battle At The Binary Stars is a very bleak episode, ending with Michael being sentenced to life in prison and T’Kuvma dying, which will no doubt galvanise the Klingons further. It’s an intelligently written and emotionally draining episode that leaves you wondering where in God’s name they go from here.

[severalbakuras]

guess who watched a little more voltron. apologies to mobile users if readmores don’t work. spoilers for episodes 5-8 of voltron. (as always please don’t send me spoilers for later on. even if i’m wrong)(oh and mild night in the woods+utena spoilers, i guess)

episode 5: they’re all such dipshit brats goddamn. hunk is #relatable but ngl keith swooping in like that felt a lil ooc unless he’s still feeling annoyed at lance from the earlier freakout about the blue lion. then he’s #relatable too i know the feeling of professional Salt.

allura’s got a great spike spiegel/space dandy sense of improvisation when it comes to piloting.

pidge is now the most #relatable bc holy shit fuck the slipperies.

oh my god hunk you just solved my stealth voltron/night in the woods au idea - v. kind and stress bakes = angus for sure. (now who is gregg i mean i know who i ship with hunk (keith and shay (and ot3, hunk has two hands)) but they’re both a little too mellow to be gregg in his up mood swings. like lance probably fits the bill best but then i have no one to be mae. keith might make a good bea? hrmmmmm.)

(i’m kinda leaning towards shiro as selmers ngl, even if she isn’t a ‘main’ character. she explicitly states that she’s seeking therapy and it’s working out for her and it’d be nice if shiro could get the same at some point. plus i think shiro would write poems like

My heart is A dankness But when I see you I feel a thankness When I feel A blueness All I need Is a youness

bc he’s a cheesy dorky guy. maybe some night he will catch that bus out to the west coast.)

(zarkon is either that asshole steve scriggins or eide because he’s not competent enough to be anyone else of consequence)

(allura is either the nice pastor or lori m. pastor bc she has to project the image of a strong leader at all times even if she’s questioning herself/her faith, lori m because she’s kinda haunted by death and i can sorta see her being the local quiet weirdo with a ton to say if you just talk to her)

(holy shit that’s a lot of words for an au for a series that hasn’t even finished yet so sorry)

so uh anyway this is the episode that launched keith/lance right? right. who the fuck builds an elevator without a service/evacuation ladder. im reporting that thing to osha and the elevator repair aliens union.

THAT’S HAGGARS VOICE. SHE’S TEACHING PIDGE ALTEAN. MY CIVIL WAR THEORY...

i mean i know they probably just recycled her va but

wow zarkon’s actually slightly competent for once. probably haggar’s doing.

that storm looks fucking badass.

aww allura ;A; then again they’ve only just started doing this tracking thing with this much intensity this season so like that can’t be the case. unless zarkon only just now realized he had allura’s dna/life essence on record (C.I.V.I.L W.A.R) and he could use them to track her down with. which i can totally believe. 

honestly the fact that the galmorans galrans. tf ulaz you’re screwing me up from the grave. even have a functioning space ship at all is probably despite zarkon, not because of.

she’s real sad she doesn’t get to kill allura. almost as if her death is to haggar as obtaining the black lion is to zarkon. hmm.

coran really embodies the nihilist millennial spirit. we’re probably gonna die anyway so why not.

episode 6: !!! i was wondering if we’d get someone like jim cummings show up. weird i thought he was more disney than dreamworks. also i love the organic/inorganic mix those are some cool aliens goddamn.

who’s this fucking loser on a hoverboard. he hasn’t even got a fraction of eyebrow guy’s charisma or charm.

it’s that dagger keith has huh. calling it now. he was way too flustered to be lying about it having something to do with him and since when does he hide like. anything. from shiro.

red lion is watching you TOTALLY GET CALLED. christ i’m nailing a lot of stuff about keith it’s making me v. positive about my civil war theory.

you self sacrificing dorks.

aww keith. i mean allura def. has a very strong point but aww.

morvok makes zarkon look intimidating and that is no mean feat.

oh yeah there’s some evangelion style pilot/robot synergy going on with how much effort hunk has to put into lifting things. like linked life energies. here’s hoping we don’t have an asuka vs the eva series moment that would be nastyyy.

honestly i was not expecting anything like allura and keith’s chat to appear in an action cartoon like it’s pure character interaction and dialogue about a legit difficult subject with two people who clearly care about and respect each other but both have justified differing opinions.

AAHH PIDGE THAT WAS THE WORST POSSIBLE BOOST

THIS IS A NIGHTMARE SCENARIO AAAAAAA

so the hub is the cushy spot for high ranking generals or something. sounds like the military police in aot.

that 360 tracking shot on lance was siiiiiick.

ugh you are not funny enough for those sound effects commander.

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT CORAN

red lion i love you

OH SHIT NEW HUNK POWER

this dude is suffering the same ‘destroy the lions!!’ thing as a lot of the galrans seem to have. like. don’t you lot want voltron? doesn’t zarkon want the black lion? dissolving them in acid is literally the worst possible way to fulfilling those orders.

lance have you been thinking about if keith and allura hooked up the whole time? can’t tell if salty or thirsty.

someone please throw that commander dude overboard. i feel infinitely worse for all the galran mooks now.

don’t tease me show don’t give me a blast that big

tell me that wasn’t his escape pod. ughghhghghghghhghghghhgh

more lol hunk food jokes. ughhhghg.

‘tracking through the black lion’ can’t fool me with that red herring m8. if he had that connection with the black lion he could’ve found shiro on that scavenger’s planet before keith could. 

episode 7: space spirates is the coolest fucking concept give me space piratES GIVE ME. SPAC. E PIRAT. ES

coren don’t be space racist towards oonaloos.

sparkly allura YES ALLURA GETS TO CHILL TODAY YESSS.

shame about shiro tho black lion’s like nah bitch we’re having a bonding exercise.

the space mall is the space dandy-est thing i’ve seen in this show. i want a crossover i want them to witness Viva All

it would be the dumbest shit

oh god they’re dressed like rpg characters which makes me think of a skyrim au which makes me think of my yugioh skyrim au which makes me wonder if i can combine the two. 

coran’s sasuke shirt is Uncomfortable.

i love this galran mall dude. varkon mall cop.

the civil war theory isn’t dead the lions could’ve been built afterwards or just not activated prior to reaching ‘home’. or black lion believes in home being where the heart is and not your place of birth.

more food jokes for hunk hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

they nailed the informercial salesguy voice on this guy.

keith would be naive enough to give a shady sales dude a treasure knife huh.

ok keith winning a knife fight like that DOES give me gregg vibes. a little. i guess we’ve never seen keith in a manic ‘up’ phase, just a progressively worse or better ‘down’ phase.

OH FUCK HE REALLY IS VARKON MALL COP. THE MEMES HAVE ASCENDED.

civil war theory... isn’t dead... hhh

ok ok ok so like maybe a mutation caused by direct contact with quintessence wasn’t controversial for a while. like you’re manipulating the planet’s essence of course you’ll look a little funky as a result and there’s not much difference between harvesting a little life essence and harvesting a crop.

the split comes from zarkon wanting to use the black lion/voltron and quintessence for war while king allura’s dad does not. zarkon takes his loyal team and superjacks them with quintessence essentially reshaping their bodies entirely, along with any alteans who are like ‘yeah no maybe war is what we need’. and this mutation is passed down genetically creating the galran race as we know it. and there’s probably some cloning going on too idk this is a semi-sci-fi show there’s gonna be clones at some point.

ok?

ok.

pidge. u nerd.

more of the oonaloo girl pls i love her.

ok i can get behind master chef hunk jokes

god everyone else is having a nice time and as usual shiro is trapped in a nightmare and also as usual he’s probably not going to breath one word about it to his crew (late edit: I WAS RIGHT).

galran cook man is cool with me can he join the crew.

i swear to god the black lion and shiro and zarkon confrontation is basically the same as the plot of utena???? shiro is utena. zarkon is akio. black lion is anthy.

otoh that doesn’t bode well for shiro so uh.

moving on

pidge and lance don’t get to hang out enough.

he take sthe cow. lance. laaaaance

this episode is ridiculous i love it. so space dandy.

varkon i love you.

allura your hair is so cute.

pidge and lance are officially NERDS

episode eight: ok so in like the first ten seconds and the first shot of the whole team and i’m getting alarm bells. keith is far away from everyone. there’s a pillar directly between him and everyone else.

keith.

keith my boy what’s gonna happen.

hhh hunk has definitely gotten a downgrade this sea-LANCE YOU RUDE LITTLE FUCK. like no offense if you like lance but i kinda. don’t. like he’s not nearly as endearing as lars from SU is even if their characters are pretty similar and i love lars.

hopefully he gets some nice moments soon bc i haven’t warmed up to him anywhere near as much as i thought i would. his best moments have been him hanging out with pidge tbh.

keith that is Incriminating anger there

HAGGAR’S VOICE AGAIN I’M TELLING YOU - wait no this definitely HAS to be recycling or else she’s covertly controlling the balmora. unless they had like a vocaloid system in altean times and didn’t realize they were using haggar’s voice and by the time they did it was too awkward to change.

shiro don’t make hints like that it makes me think you’re gonna die and I’d Rather You Did Not.

“if you’re going to be a leader you’ve got to repress the shit out of your ptsd” shiro. plz.

who decided to make the red lion look like it was hacking up a hairball to drop them off. good choice

oh shit haggar.

interesting they DON’T want the paladins around.

shiro’s face ahhhhh

so. keith might not be a galran who forgot he was a galran. i imagine the blade of malmora would keep close tabs on who has a knife and who lost them and they’d know if one of their own was lost on earth relatively recently surely.

holy shit this animation upgrade a++++++++

i mean shit considering he’s a teenage boy who’s up against assassins who’ve been fighting and training for millenia keith still does a damn good job defending himself.

otoh considering they’re assassins who’ve been fighting and training for millennia they must be wearing some major kid gloves. or they genuinely do want him to succeed, but want him to earn it first.

oh shit haggar wants a word with traitor dude this won’t end well

YAS KEITH

NO KEITH

KEITH ;A;

so keith’s dad is human, at least. oh jesus his voice cracking at ‘of course i do’

so his mother is galran, making him half-galran, which he has to have known all along bc otherwise the suit wouldn’t project it right? i am distressed that this actually

increases

the chances of haggar being his mother. agghg. AGHGHGHHGHG I WAS... JOKING... BEFORE................

KEITH ;___________________;

thace is going to dead-ass lie to haggar i love this guy.

RED LION GIVES NO FUCKS WOULD DEVOUR PLANETS TO SAVE HER HUMAN THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE A BAD THING

Moral Choice Knife says to stay in drugs and don’t do school. i bet Moral Choice Knife would be friends with my shadow priest’s baeblade.

yknow if it had a consciousness.

ah fuck allura’s not going to like this when/if she finds out. could be a season 3 plot?

there’s like 13 episodes total in this season right? seems like we’re ramping up for the final arc so i’ll stop here ♥

edit: fuck me tumblr squished everything together at the end there.