#and then anakin kills krell and everyone lives and no one dies especially not hardcase he is very alive unlike krell who is dead

[frogfrogfrogfrogoose]

Fives, calling Anakin on Umbara: Mom can you pick me up I’m scared.

Anakin: Fives-

Fives: All our men keep dying.

Anakin: I-

Fives: And Krell is being mean to Rex.

Anakin:

Anakin: Guess I’m starting my villain arc early.

[datastate]

give me post-umbara bitter jesse. jesse just glaring at ahsoka and anakin behind their back. they aren’t as bad as krell, certainly, but he can now recognize the offhand carelessness toward their troops-- his people.

give me jesse being upset with rex for just standing by while he was about to die. i live for jesse just feeling bitter toward tup for the mere fact they were close to dogma.

have him know he’s being irrational while still blaming fives for hardcase’s death. have him not care and throw this guilt mercilessly onto fives anyway, especially once fives gets close to tup (”do you not remember what their bastard of a brother did to us?”)

give me jesse unable to find it in his heart to genuinely forgive anyone else other than kix for what happened on umbara. have him make “jokes” that the others finally realize aren’t actually jokes bc this one time he’s gone too far. have them realize hes still angry. let them see he’s not backing down. he was never too afraid, because he had hardcase, and it seemed impossible he’d live without hardcase. so he’s certainly not afraid now, being cast out or killed would return him to his brother.

jesse’s not someone to fall into apathy or tears. he’s someone who is still spiteful and will let you know it until he dies. the others can hate him all they want, he doesn’t care. he wants them to feel as he does, he wants them to face the guilt they all deserve. he holds grudges against everyone on umbara, his hatred toward jedi and authority is bassboosted. he cant fucking stand how useless it all feels even though he knows he should just be happy and settle with the fact that krell was finally fucking dead. but hardcase wasn’t there.

the only reason jesse hasn’t defected is for kix. he’s given up in the republic ideals. (ironic, he knows.) he’s only there for his last brother. the others would never redeem themselves in his eyes because he cant understand how they can just move on.

even kix seemed to move on. it makes jesse sick.

because of jesse’s own failure, hardcase is being forgotten.

that was the thing hardcase was most afraid of. that was half the reason hardcase was always so loud and easily excitable. he wanted to keep a positive memory in everyone’s minds. he wanted to be remembered as a great friend and soldier. he wanted to keep that optimistic pride he wished all clones could hold.

and jesse is so, so fucking frustrated. he has no other way to keep hardcase’s memory alive unless it was through resentful remarks or jests that stung, which isn’t what hardcase wanted. he didn’t want negativity attached to his name. so jesse has to keep quiet while he knows everyone else is forgetting his brother.

it’s infuriating. and beneath it all is guilt. guilt for not acting sooner. guilt for letting hardcase go. guilt for not dying with him.