#defining his brothers since the clone wars

[momojedi]

No, bc I always saw Tech as this quiet nerd who will avoid any unnecessary physical confrontation with his brothers if he can because he thinks of it as dumb and childish but my man was throwing HANDS in the back during cafeteria scene and I literally just noticed while rewatching it.

[arctroopertinky]

Look Towards the Future Ch8: Deceiving Myself, With You

Captain Rex x Jedi!Reader

Words: 12.3k

Summary: You and Rex have a first go at correcting your connection to the force. You lose you patience again, and Rex feels more mysterious emotions as you both struggle with your fondness for each other. But, neither party delves deeper, and instead focus on unrelated, but important details.

Warnings: Poor anger management / A whole lotta half-truthes / Very minor injury / Sexual themes / Slight nudity / Alcohol consumption / Unconsciousness

A/N: Oh wow, this is longest gap I've ever allowed between two chapters. Sorry about the delay, I've been having a lot of personal things happen recently. But, please enjoy!

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The Resolute was bustling with military personnel, all preparing for the ship’s departure that would occur that next day. Rex kept himself upright, his posture as perfect as it could be. Well, as perfect as it could have been as he fought against his nervousness, it clawed against his throat and pounded against his chest.

What made the Captain feel such a way?

He was about to see you.

Rex was headed to a room upon the ship that was designated for clones. A simple room to allow for close quarters training. Should the troopers ever need to get up close and personal with the enemy, this was one of the many places to hone their skills.

Rex had been thinking about your lack of connection to the Force ever since you revealed it to him during the last mission. Shortly before the war meeting, he was actually looking at the scheduling for this, and some other training rooms that required time slots to be signed out for troopers to train in them. And it was to his delightful surprise to have been asked by you to start figuring out your little problem together. Honestly, Rex felt absolutely elated.

He totally expected to have to bring up a proposal to you himself. But YOU were the one to take that step instead. That had to have been a good sign, right? That you really were warming up to Rex? He wanted nothing more than to finally get closer to you, so why did it make him so damn nervous to see you outside of Republic duties? Why did he mentally comb over his appearance more and more as he got closer to his destination? Why did his heart beat become more and more intense? Was he sick?

No, not sick. Rex was no medic, but he would know if he was sick. He would never allow himself to lead while his physical attributes declined in such a way. Maybe he was just nervous that you’d reject him once more. You had been so open to him ever since the mission. But he supposed that anything could happen. There was no other explanation for him feeling like this. There couldn’t be.

The door made way for the Captain, revealing a room decorated with dull grays, lightly furnished with high-grit carpeting that encompassed most of the room, and benches that surrounded the exterior without carpeting, they looked uncomfortable at a first glance. Rex checked the number for this room, then double checked, and then checked it once more, barely able to convince himself that this was the room he had slotted out, that this was the room where he would hide from his brothers’ snarky remarks. This was where he could define his friendship with you more, where he could hopefully set it in stone. He just had to play this perfectly.

Rex took two steps into the room, hearing the door snap shut behind him as he made himself familiar with his surroundings. He looked to a bench, and made his way towards it with a nervous feeling in his chest, worried that you wouldn’t bother showing up. He approached it quickly, a hunch existing in his neck as his eyes locked onto the bench. Tension began to show in his face as he set his helmet down softly, a thump sounding on impact with the surface. His hands lingered on the object for a moment, as his eyes didn’t focus on anything in particular. Then, he allowed his fingers to let go. His arm remained slightly outstretched as he straightened his back, before he let it relax at his side.

Despite the fact that Rex did not hear the door open, he still craned his neck to look at it. To his dismay, you still hadn’t arrived. An anxiety rang through his chest as he feared that all the progress the two of you had made was lost. But, Rex also knew not to jump to any conclusions, as that was something he had to learn time and time again as a Captain. So, instead of giving into his instinct to ruminate in his negative feelings, he got himself ready for your hopeful arrival. He took one of his pistols out of its holster and examined it briefly, before he turned his wrist slightly and turned on the safety lock.

After repeating that action with his other blaster, he examined the room again, but this time more thoughtfully, ensuring that everything was set up correctly for you. He looked down to the carpet, bending one knee so he may touch it, and fidgeted with the corner of it, ensuring that it was parallel to the walls. Why he felt this was necessary, he didn’t let himself think over, he just knew that he wanted everything to be perfect.

Then he heard the door open.

Rex quickly returned himself to his feet, straightening out his posture and feeling one of his hands automatically comb his hair once over without understanding why. He just as quickly turned to face the door, his eyes focusing right when you walked through. A timid and burdened expression was tightly acquainted with your face as your eyes seemed to look into the void. Once you stepped through the door, however, your eyes found their way to Rex, and most of the negativity seemed to wash away.

“Cap- Rex…!” You corrected yourself. A bright smile filled your face as you pulled your hood down, only the nervousness seemed to stay around, and it didn’t seem as though Rex was the reason behind it. This was a good start.

“Y/n!” Rex responded with a bit too much excitement, your name gliding off his tongue in a way he found oddly satisfying. “I’m glad you could make it.” The excitement he felt when he would see you had clearly not died down. It didn’t bother Rex, per say… but he wished that he could get it a bit more under control, and he hoped that you didn’t notice how excessive it was.

“I’m just glad you found a time where we could be by ourselves…” You began to say as you walked farther into the room, looking behind yourself as you did so. “So you’re sure that we’ll be completely alone the whole time, right…? Nobody is going to find us here?” You asked as your face coiled in worry.

“Don’t worry.” Rex replied, watching as you made your way towards the bench that he was standing next to. “Troopers have to sign out specific times to practice here.” Rex stated, motioning for you to set down your things at the bench. “Sometimes my brothers like to break the rules, but they typically don’t when they know a Captain or Commander has a training room booked out. We should be fine.”

You still looked a bit uneasy, but you relaxed slightly nonetheless. “Alright.”

You approached the bench and plopped the bag you were carrying with you on it. Rex debated on asking you what was in the bag, as it made a very interesting sound when it made contact with the bench, but he didn’t want to stress you out more than you already were.

You then used your arms to move the front of your robe out of the way from your belt. Rex watched as your hands dived towards your waist, obscured by your robe that was in Rex’s way. Once your hands returned, he saw that you had both of your sabers in one hand, and the pistol he gifted you in another. You placed them on the bench, then straightened up and faced the Captain, waiting for a brief moment as Rex’s eyes remained locked onto the blaster, unable to let go as a realization hit him.

“The… the blaster.” Rex trailed off, still looking at the pistol laying on the bench.

“Yeah…” He heard you say. “What about it…?”

“You brought it with you?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I…?”

That question seemed to bring Rex out of his thought-rushed trance. His eyes blinked as they darted back up to see your confused face.

You carried his pistol around with you?

Why did that thought move Rex so much?

“Well-! I…” Rex had to think quickly, he left little energy in maintaining a straight face. “Just assumed that you would only have it on you during missions.” Rex found it difficult to keep his eyes on you, so he didn’t.

“Considering everything, I’d rather keep it with me as often as I can.” He heard you explain, and he relaxed a bit, embarrassment replacing what had left him and a red hot feeling quietly shrouding his cheeks as he believed your words as the full truth.

“Ah, I understand.” Rex’s eyes peaked at you for a moment just to see you looking back at him with a twinge of confusion, and another emotion Rex couldn’t place in your eyes. He could feel the warmth in his face, so he opted to keep his head turned away as he pretended to be interested in the items you placed down in ways other than what he had almost revealed.

There was a brief moment of silence, Rex’s eyes darted as he looked at your sabers and the blaster, frantically thinking of what to say next, despite all of the planning he had put into this meeting.

“So…” You began, prompting Rex to look back at you, screaming at his face to cool down, praying that his face wasn’t noticeably red. Luckily you didn’t seem to notice any of Rex’s poorly hidden emotions, you simply looked focused, and maybe even a bit nervous about the training that was going to commence soon.

“Do you have any ideas on how I can fix my ‘problem?’” You whispered that last word. Your eyes focused back onto Rex's, he swallowed air, but forced himself to lock in.

“I don’t know the first thing about being able to use the force.” Rex said. “I do have some ideas, but I was wondering if you had any ideas yourself?” He asked, hoping that this new dialogue would rid the conversation of the awkwardness it possessed only a moment prior.

“I- I don’t know…” You replied unsurely. You immediately began to collapse in on yourself as your posture worsened. Your confused look left you, replacing it with a look on your face that spelled out a mixture of distress, worry, and shame. “I’ve never been through this before…” Your eyes struggled to remain in one place as they refused to lay on the Captain. “I’m sorry.” He saw one of your hands anxiously grip your elbow.

Rex realized that that was going to be a day where he would have to take the reins of this training session. But he didn’t mind, anything to help you get better.

“Hey, that’s okay.” Rex said, hoping that those simple words would help. But when he noticed that you didn’t react as much as he’d hoped to his kind words, he reached his arm out slightly. It stuck out in the air, fingers slightly separated from each other as he mentally gained the courage to place his hand on your shoulder, the only thing he could think to do in that moment to show you support, hopefully without making you uncomfortable.

He watched as his hand made soft contact with your shoulder, the sensation of the fresh fabric of your robe almost made him shiver. Your head moved quickly as you looked back at him, eyes widened, bottom lip hung open slightly, revealing the white of your teeth underneath.

Rex almost forgot to keep talking.

“L-like I said, I have some ideas. I’ve seen General Skywalker train Commander Tano more times than I can count. I’ve even helped at times as well.” Rex said as un-wavered as he could.

“Really…?” You asked, a bit less defeated. Rex couldn’t help but smile a bit when he saw some hope return to your eyes.

“Yes.” Rex replied proudly. “And I think we can use that experience here. We’ll start slow and see what works for you. We’ll learn together.”

And the two of you looked at each other for another moment. Rex wanted nothing more than to remember the look on your face, reinvigorated with ambition to regain your connection to the force.

But then he remembered his hand was on your shoulder, the sensation of the continued action returned to him all at once. Then came a sensation of embarrassed panic.

Rex quickly relinquished his hand from your shoulder, just a tad bit too intense for it to have seemed natural. And it was obvious you could tell, your eyes looked over to his hand for a second before they began to study Rex’s face. A look of confusion, and maybe even a twinge of unlabeled hurt plagued your expression as well. He prayed at that moment that his face wasn’t as red as it felt like it was.

Why was his face so warm in the first place?

What had been going on?

But Rex had to continue, to make it seem like it was purposeful, to avoid making you worry. He turned towards the bench as smoothly as he could, pretending to study the weapons you placed there, despite already knowing what he was planning to say.

“Let’s try this…” Rex said as he stepped towards your weapons, picking up your sabers carefully, as though they would shatter if he were to put any strength into his grip. He turned towards you, pretending not to notice the look on your face as he prepared himself to produce more words. He presented your sabers to you, outstretching his arms slightly, prompting you to take them. He witnessed you hesitate for a moment, your eyes were trained onto Rex’s for a moment, you seemed as though you had something you wanted to say. But if you did, you said nothing. You simply took the sabers into your hands.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for me to use my sabers with my current… ‘problem.’” You stated as you looked a bit nervously at your weapons, observing them tightly as your wrists turned to allow you to see every nook and cranny. You looked back up at Rex, dropping your hands to your side, awaiting his response.

“Don’t worry, we’ll go slow.” Rex said, pulling out one of his pistols from its holster. “We’re both shooting in the dark to fix this. We have to learn.”

You nodded.

“Okay.” You eyed at his pistol. “What do you propose we do?”

“Well, Jedi excel at dodging and deflecting blaster shots, right?” Rex asked rhetorically, and you nodded.

“I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to try to predict when I pull the trigger of my blaster.” Rex said, raising the hand with the pistol in it slightly to further explain his point. “Move your sabers as though you’re trying to deflect it. My blaster’s safety is on, so we’ll know how accurate you are when we hear it click.”

Your eyes looked to the blaster, before settling back onto Rex. Your eyebrows were furrowed deeply, and your mouth was hung open slightly in deep contemplation that Rex wished you would share with him. But he didn’t want to push.

“Sure.” You said, your expression not changing. “Let’s try it.”

Rex appreciated your willingness to try his idea more than he visibly let on, but he couldn’t help but smile at the gesture nonetheless.

- - -

You stood in the middle of the training room. Your heart was thumping wildly as you awaited instructions from the Captain. You wished you didn’t say yes to this, but you didn’t want to say no and disappoint him, you liked it when you saw him happy.

You were only half paying attention as Rex approached the center of the room, only staying a clean shot’s distance away from you. Training was about to start. You took a deep breath in, and almost forgot to let it out again.

You knew that you had to try again to regain your connection to the force, but you also knew that you already tried something like this when you used the training remote. And of course that ended horribly, and it was just your luck that you were already out of ideas. But, you considered the possibility that training with another person could help you. Yes, he wasn’t actually going to be shooting you (thankfully), but the presence of another person could help where a simple machine couldn’t. Either way, you were way more than grateful that someone was willing to help you. And you were more than grateful that you had someone you felt you could ask in the first place. Maybe this was a good step in the right direction, but the pit in your stomach didn’t let you focus on your positive thoughts for very long.

“Are you ready?” You heard him say in the far distance, snapping you out of your thoughts. Your eyes locked onto the Captain, who was waiting patiently for your response.

“I’m ready.” You mostly lied. Dreading the potential failure that was likely to come next.

You allowed your eyes to close. A darkness shrouded your vision, quickening the pace of your heart beat slightly. You turned on your lightsabers, hearing them ignite loudly in unison. The hum of the sabers squashed the silence of the room, only the tension you felt between you and the Captain remained in unspoken territory. You impatiently waited to sense Rex’s finger pull the trigger, to know when to move when the click would sound. But… you couldn’t. You had no idea when it was coming. All you knew was the darkness that surrounded you.

Click.

You flinched slightly, shocked at the sound you couldn’t predict. You relaxed your pose and opened your eyes, as though gifting yourself sight once more would provide you with the answers you desperately wanted. But all you saw was Rex, with his pistol pointed at the floor next to your feet, his arms outstretched slightly.

It didn’t take long for him to notice that you had opened your eyes. He relaxed his arm, allowing it to drop to his side as a look of concern developed across his face. You huffed out your breath.

“Were you able to sense it at all?” Rex asked. The question made you feel a bit annoyed, but not enough to show it.

“Uh, no…” You managed to reply, unable to keep yourself still as your feet took turns favoring each other as you glanced at your sabers.

“That’s okay.” Rex said. Your irritation dissipated only slightly, just enough to allow gratitude for Rex’s caring words to fill in that hole.

“Let’s go again, close your eyes when you’re ready.”

You nodded quickly, took a very deep breath in, let it out with a bit of force, and closed your eyes once your lungs emptied and coiled.

And it was completely dark once again.

You tried to be more conscious of yourself, how your current state could affect your training. You first noticed your heart beat, it was a bit fast, likely from your heightened emotions. You took another deep breath in and let it out, this time with more patience, with more intent. You felt your heart relax, the stress in your chest disappearing partially. And you took another breath in and out, again and again, until you were more relaxed. Your eyebrows lifted up out of their tense position, your jaw relaxed as your teeth stopped clenching, and your shoulders loosened. You lifted your sabers once more, and re-assumed your battle stance. You were ready this time, you had to be.

You were calmer… but still felt lost. Nothing indicated to you when Rex was going to pull the trigger. Maybe he was going to do it now?

You sliced into the air with one of your sabers, but the clicking sound did not accompany your move, and did not closely follow your prediction at all. Rex did not say anything as well, confirming your suspicion that your guess was incorrect. Well, that’s okay, you could always try again-

Click.

Your eyebrows furrowed once more as the annoyance you felt earlier began to creep back into your chest. Okay… Well, there’s always next time. You just need to keep focusing on the task at hand.

Click.

Seriously?

Your heart rate increased once more as you felt the slight annoyance in your chest become an irritation that began to spread into different areas of your body. This was getting ridiculous, you had to be able to sense one trigger pull during this training session, just ONE. This shouldn’t be that hard.

You tried to take another deep breath to calm yourself, but all it was was a shallow and impatient breath in, followed by a harsh huff to let what little air you let in out. You took another swing. And nothing.

You held back the urge to let out a grunt in frustration, but patience was no longer your ally. You allowed yourself one more chance to sense Rex pull the trigger, it had to work this ti-

Click.

Click.

You reached out to the force, demanding it to come back to you as you felt a bead of sweat develop on your forehead.

Fucking click.

You opened your eyes harshly, about to let out your anger and frustration in front of the Captain. But then you noticed the concern in his eyes as he looked upon your dirtied posture, and you felt yourself hold back as the desire to conceal the part dominated you in that moment.

“Are you okay?” Rex asked.

“This isn’t working.” You said, leaving little space between his question and your answer.

“Let’s not give up yet, we haven’t been going at this for that long.” Rex explained, lowering his pistol to his side. You felt your emotions take you over a bit more.

“No- no.” You replied hastily, lifting one of your arms up to your head briefly before shooting it back down, forcing your sabers to relinquish their blades. “This isn’t working. I don’t care how long we’ve been at this, I have felt NOTHING.” You dropped your blades in frustration. Your hands grabbed on to your hips and you turned your body away from Rex slightly, realizing your anger was getting the better of you. “This was a waste of time, and…” A thought popped into your head, causing you to forget your anger in an instant. “I’m sorry. For, asking you to help me with this.” You looked at the floor in defeat as sadness washed over your anger, guilt and self depreciation infecting your thoughts. You were still a burden.

“You don’t have to apologize to me, y/n.” You heard Rex say. “I understand you’re frustrated, but I think we should keep trying, we still have this training room booked out for a little while longer. What do you say?” Only your head moved to look up at Rex. He wasn’t smiling, but you could clearly see the care he was feeling for this situation, the force would never have had to tell you that for you to know. It helped you feel a bit better, but you still felt hopeless.

“I don’t know, Rex…” You looked around awkwardly at everything except for the Captain. Your eyes then caught on to one of your sabers that you had dropped, and an idea spawned, lighting up your eyes as they quickly flew to meet Rex’s. His eyebrows lifted a bit in a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

“Let’s go again.” You said. You watched as Rex promptly began to ready his weapon once more for you.

“But this time; turn off your safety. Have it set it to stun.”

Rex stopped in his tracks, his arm as only half lifted up to its final position as he froze, his eyes darted back and forth from you to his blaster. After a moment, only his eyes moved to look at you, confusion haunting them as he stared.

“Stun? Why?” He lowered his arm once more, relaxing his posture as he ruminated in his hesitant curiosity, awaiting an answer from you.

“Maybe if there were a bit more stakes to the training, I’d be more likely to connect to the force to protect myself.” You said almost too easily. You knew that this hadn’t worked in the past, both while you were training and during missions. But you thought that if there was even a slight chance that your idea could work, it was worth a try, especially if it meant that Rex’s time would not have been wasted. You felt bad enough that Rex put time aside to help you. You prayed that his time would maybe not have been wasted after all, that you weren’t the burden that your thoughts told you that you were.

You watched as Rex hesitantly lifted his blaster, his other hand grasping it as his fingers delicately fiddled with the safety switch, then the indicator to set it to stun. His hands froze as Rex cautiously observed the primed blaster that was now in his hands, before his eyes made their way up to yours, his concern trying to stab through you, but you wouldn’t let it.

“You’re sure you want to try this…?” He asked, clearly silently begging that you agree to go the safer route once more.

“Let’s do it.” You said, ignoring his pleas and your logic screaming that this was likely to go badly. You picked up your sabers, then swiftly returned to your battle stance one more. You ignited your sabers, hearing their familiar song as your eyes closed, reluctantly returning to the darkness once more.

You couldn’t lie, your anxiety was heightened significantly as you awaited Rex’s blaster shot. No matter how much you tried to ignore it, the anticipation was almost too much for you to handle. The anxiety creeped up your throat, threatening to escape in the form of vomit and bile as the silence kept on going. You didn’t have the force, but you could feel Rex’s hesitation, his war that he was fighting with himself. But, you knew that a shot was going to come eventually. You heard the crackles of the blaster as he raised it up towards you, you heard the way the different parts of his armor and blacks slid against each other softly as he adjusted his arm. There was no going back now.

You tried to reach out to the force, to hear its song. But, after an agonizing moment of silence, you were no longer asking the force to hear yours, you begged. You coiled your being back up again, before you pushed back out even harder into the void, more desperate to find that connection now. This was going to work, it had to. This couldn’t have been all for nothing. You didn’t want to be a burden to any clone anymore-

Then you heard the blaster shot, and you were out like a light in an instant.

You didn’t know it was coming. Of course you didn’t.

- - -

“Let’s do it.” You said to Rex. He didn’t even get a chance to agree with your idea, or even argue with it. You simply picked up your sabers and closed your eyes once more. He watched you as you continued to prep yourself into a fighting stance, a stark hesitation freezing him in place as he rapidly debated with himself if he should go through with this.

It’s not as though he didn’t trust you or your ideas, but this was the first time he helped you with your connection to the force, and he wasn’t sure how many times prior to this you had tried to help yourself. You made it quite clear that you couldn’t sense it when Rex pulled the trigger. Putting yourself at risk this early on was simply not a good idea in Rex’s mind, even if the danger was minimal.

But you had clearly made up your mind, and Rex wasn’t comfortable enough to voice his grievances. He finally achieved some sort of friendship with you, he didn’t want to ruin it so soon after it had started. He was happy to have you. Very happy even, he thought. You made him smile and feel mysterious things that he wasn’t ready to lose.

So he looked down at his pistol, mentally preparing himself to raise it, to aim at you. At first it was as though he were made of stone, he couldn’t seem to move his damn hand. But then he remembered what you had said to him, the logic you presented that showed that there was a chance that you would be able to deflect the blaster shot. Despite the fact that your chances were probably low, it gave him the courage to finally lift up his hand and mostly straighten out his arm, as he aimed the blaster at your chest.

Then he found himself stuck again as his eyes caught onto you. Your nervousness became more and more visible as the seconds slowly passed by. Rex was ready to call the whole thing off, until he noticed a twinge of desperation hiding behind your tense posture. You really wanted Rex to do this, you needed him to trust you in this moment, to show him that you could get your connection with the force back. And he was ready to trust you.

But almost not ready to shoot you. His finger slowly began to squeeze the trigger, but his anxiety grew as the trigger slowly approached its apex. His hand began to shake slightly, sending a ripple effect throughout the rest of his arm and into his shoulder. His head tilted back slightly as his eyes opened more in reaction to his nauseating emotions.

Rex squeezed the trigger harder, and he closed his eyes tightly, turning his head away from you. And he fired, but he couldn’t bear to look. Then he heard a large thump.

He opened his eyes quickly, and saw you on the floor. Your front was facing upwards, your arms sprawled to the sides as your sabers rolled farther and farther away from you, retracting their blades at their own pace.

“Y/N!”

Rex bounded towards you. His knees crashed to the floor, and he immediately took your head into one of his hands, checking your pulse with his other hand’s fingers. Logically, there was no way your life was in any danger, but a stark panic caused Rex to check anyway, the thought of your demise scared him more than he expected it to. But, you were fine. Your pulse was beating at a normal pace, and your pupils danced slightly underneath your eyelids as your breath was made audible in Rex’s ears. Thank the force. He sighed, the panic he felt now replaced with more manageable negative emotions.

Rex hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do next as he looked around the room, as though someone were watching his every move. But then he looked back down at you, and realized that keeping you on the floor like that was probably not how you wanted to wake up.

He moved his hand from your neck and gently slid it under your back, then gently lifted you softly off the floor, allowing most of his arm to support your neck and head. You laid slack in his grasp. If his arm didn’t support your head, it would have lolled to the side, likely to cause a soreness in your neck once you were awake. But he protected you from that pain as he began to lift your lower half into his arms.

But your arms were not supported, the one closest to Rex slacked lazily to the side, allowing the sleeve of your robe to be taken by gravity, revealing your shoulder and the upper portion of your arm. Once Rex had noticed the malfunction of your attire, he knew to be quick to correct that wrong to avoid breaching the boundaries of your privacy. He moved the sleeve back in place as best he could, feeling embarrassed in the process.

Rex moved his other arm back to the bottom side of your legs, and used his limbs in unison to stand up with you in his arms without even breaking a sweat. He looked down at your head, keeping inside all of the guilt and immense sadness he was feeling in that moment, there was no point in expressing it while he was alone.

“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t help but say anyway.

He found that it was hard to look away from your face. Your features, now relaxed in slumber, kept the Captain captivated. He didn’t understand why, but when he looked upon you, your faces so close together, he couldn’t help but want more. He couldn’t help but wish you were awake to feel this moment too, to revel in its mystery. Maybe you knew the answer.

Rex shook his head to remove himself from his dazing thoughts. This was no time to be handling you so carelessly while you were still unconscious, why did he even zone out at that moment anyway? First comes first, getting you comfortable, nothing more, nothing less.

He made his way quickly towards the nearest bench. Once he had approached the edge he bent over and placed you there as gently as he could. He had it so that you were laying down, front facing upwards with your arms folded inwards, one hand on top of the other as they both rested on your stomach. Rex stood up to observe his work. You seemed comfortable enough, and waking up on a bench was logically going to be way better than finding yourself on the floor.

Rex wasn’t too sure what to do after that. There was still some time before the next group of troopers had this room rented out, but not much… Maybe he could try to wake you up? Rex kneeled down next to you and gently took your shoulders into his hands, and began to shake you lightly, trying to ignore the embarrassing feeling that was developing in his chest.

“Y/n…” Rex whispered, giving your eyes a hard look as he awaited for them to open. But they didn’t.

“Y/n.” Rex called out again, this time a little louder, shaking you a bit more intensely, but still quite softly. But it was enough to make your arm that was closest to Rex fall from the position that Rex put it in, and off the side of the bench. You hand laid open as it was suspended close to the floor, your fingers laxed a somewhat wide distance apart, as Rex saw the sleeve of your robe begin to fall, revealing your skin once more, but even more so as gravity took hold.

Ignoring the heat that began to once again rise in his cheeks, Rex wasted no time in moving his hand over to fix your sleeve, but then he paused. His hand stuck out in the air, frozen, as his eyes made contact with the skin that was exposed. Rex felt that knot tie up his stomach again, the same one that he had felt during the previous mission, when he was patching you up. It was gone as soon as it appeared, popping Rex out of his haze. He sighed, before his hand began to move once again, his fingers grasping the cloth of your robe. His other hand moved down to your arm in preparation to fix it back onto your stomach.

But, just as Rex was going to adjust your arm and robe, he stopped again. His eyes were stuck on your skin once more, but this time on something different. He noticed your scars, the ones that your robe concealed, and an image of the first time Rex saw a glimpse of these scars washed through his mind quickly. As he continued to look, all Rex could see was that the scars didn’t end, they started just behind the sides of your arms, and they just kept going… He followed the scars as far as his vision would allow, but was stopped by your robe. They were worse than he originally understood, what happened to you?

Then Rex heard troopers laughing right outside the door. The sound startled him as he shakily readjusted you, fixing your robe and your arm, before he quickly made his way towards the door.

It swished open just as Rex approached it. On the other side were Fives, Echo, and Jesse, all engrossed in their own hilarious conversation until they noticed Rex. They all stopped talking in unison, and looked at Rex in confusion, the silence was palpable, and agonizing for Rex.

“Rex?” Echo asked, tilting his head slightly. “What are you doing here?”

“I have this room blocked out.” Rex replied as plainly as possible, angling himself near the door to prevent his brothers from seeing you. “You’re early.”

Echo checked the time on his wrist. “Oh yeah.” He said as he shrugged. “I guess we’re ten minutes early.”

“Yeah…” Rex said, the ending of the word trailing on for a bit too long as he struggled to come up with something else to say.

“So…” Echo started. “Can we come in anyway and get set up?”

“I’m still a bit busy here.” Rex replied, trying to hide his nervousness as best as possible as he felt sweat begin to bead on his forehead.

“Yeah, but-”

“Hey, is that General y/n?” Jesse asked, almost causing Rex’s heart to explode as his eyes darted to the curious trooper. Jesse had been looking over Rex’s shoulder, Rex quickly moved his body in Jesse’s way to block his view.

“N-yes.” Rex replied. He was slipping.

“What are you two doing in a training room alone?” Fives asked simply, truly just asking a simple question, but the answer was much less simple. Rex had to think quickly.

“Well, General y/n…” Rex trailed off, desperate to think of something to say as his eyes struggled to stay on his confused brothers. “Wanted to show me some battle strategies that she uh, picked up before she joined our battalion.” He forced his eyes to stay on the troopers.

“Without General Skywalker or Commander Tano?” Jesse asked this time.

“They were uh, they were busy.” Rex lied. “Our new mission is tomorrow and General y/n didn’t want this to wait.”

“Sure, but…” Echo trailed off for a moment, Rex looked over and finally noticed that Echo was on his toes to get a view of the training room over his shoulder. “Why is General y/n laying down on that bench? Is she okay?”

More panic coursed through Rex, but he had to prevail.

“Yes…yes!” Rex pathetically began. “She’s just resting-”

Rex was interrupted by Five’s harsh one-noted laugh.

“What? Did you guys get a little too rough with each other while nobody was looking?”

“NO.” Rex stated bluntly, understanding the innuendo almost immediately. The Captain glared at the trooper, attempting to use his gaze to cut through him. But Fives blocked the attack carelessly.

Fives had to stifle another laugh, but purposefully failed. “You really tired her out there Cap!” Rex felt more anger course through him as he processed the pathetic excuse for a joke. Jesse’s stifled chuckles didn’t help much either. Not today Fives.

“FIVES.” Rex said a bit too loudly, causing visible reactions from the three troopers. Rex lifted one of his hands to his nose, using his pointer and index finger to grasp it, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath in. This was not the place to blow up at Fives, hopefully a better time will bear fruit.

“Just…” Rex took his hand from his nose and extended his arm out slightly, opening up his hand as he did so to emphasize the point he was about to make. “Give us a couple minutes okay? We just need to finish this up.”

Echo and Jesse nodded without question. Rex then looked to Fives, who looked to his brothers for council during this now awkward encounter. After a second, Fives shrugged, closing his eyes and letting out a grunt of apathetic approval.

“Whatever.”

Rex straightened his posture back out, trying to seem professional in front of his brothers, and praying that he wasn’t horrifically failing and embarrassing himself. He then noticed the stares that his brothers were giving him, and he immediately shrunk down to himself again.

“So…” Rex started, taking an awkward step back further into the room. “I’ll just let you know when we’re finished…” He forced a closed-lip smile upon his face, generating a sore feeling in the corners of his mouth the longer he kept it up.

Then the door snapped shut, finally cutting off the connection Rex had with his brothers as their stares were swiftly blocked by the moving steel. A moment of silence ensued, irritating Rex as he looked at the door, unsure of what to do. But then he could hear his brothers begin to talk, their voices only softly audible through the thick door. Their words were unintelligible to Rex, but he did not care at that point, they seemed to respect his wishes. He had time to wake you up.

“Rex?” He heard you say weakly behind him.

Rex was quick to turn around to investigate. His eyes were wide when he saw you sitting up, the palm of one of your hands planted against your forehead and you squinted in discomfort and pain, it was clearly quite difficult for you to keep your eyes on the Captain. Your posture was hunched, barely able to keep yourself upright as your other arm rested its elbow on your thigh for support.

He ran to you, immediately dropping one of his knees to the floor to match your weakened height. He leaned in close to you, but was conscious to keep an appropriate amount of distance.

“Hey! Are you feeling alright?” Rex asked you, keeping his voice down in fear that his brothers could hear him.

You groaned as you thought of the words to say in response. Rex watched as you rubbed your forehead once more, before allowing your hand to drop to your lap, finally focusing your eyes on the Captain as he awaited an answer with care.

“I think so…” You replied with a tired rasp in your voice. Your eyebrows furrowed as another thought popped into your head. “I’m assuming it didn’t work…?”

Rex looked down to the floor for a moment, before placing his eyes back onto yours with a look of regret forming on his face. “No…” He finally replied. “You went down after one shot.”

Sadness gently morphed your face. Guilt began to rise in Rex’s chest. “I see…” You replied pathetically. You both looked at each other for another moment. For Rex, it was largely because he found that he simply couldn’t look away, no matter how sad you looked. He was transfixed without even realizing it.

Then, the muffled laughs of his troopers could once again be heard right outside the door, knocking Rex right out of his trance.

“Oh, uh…” Rex blinked a couple times before he turned his head towards the door for a quick second. “Are you feeling well enough to walk? We need to find a better place to talk.”

You looked at the door concerningly. “Are they supposed to be here?” You asked, only your eyes moved to look back at Rex, before you looked at the door again.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Rex replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Can we go?”

You nodded quickly.

- - -

You were slow to walk at first, but you only needed a moment to be able to walk confidently on your feet again. You seemed about perfectly normal by the time you made it to the door, only needing to hide a slight headache and dizziness from your impending audience.

Rex was slightly ahead of you by the time you both stopped by the door, just far enough away to avoid setting off the motion sensor so it wouldn’t open. He looked back at you, face full of questions and unspoken sentences that needed to be said. But now wasn’t the time, and he knew that. His eyes silently asked you if you were ready, and you nodded in return. Rex nodded only once to show his understanding, before he turned to face the door once more.

You both took another step, and the door didn’t wait for you to calm your nerves. It opened quickly, revealing the troopers to you. The loud swish of the door almost took them out of their amusing conversation, their smiles dropped slightly and they all looked at the two of you in unison, straightening themselves out as they were laying against the wall.

Once the door was situated, you both wasted no time in making your ways away from the troopers, praying that none of them noticed your slightly weakened state. You followed Rex, passing each trooper one by one, each of them acknowledging you politely. You nodded to the brothers, keeping your eyes in front of you. You couldn’t see them, but you could hear one of them talking through a smile. Maybe one of their jokes was funny? You couldn’t put together the fragmented pieces you were presented with, but you were too worried about getting away to some form of privacy to really care. Once you had passed the troopers, you found yourself relaxing out of the posture that you didn’t realize was causing you so much tension in the first place.

More and more distance was being made, thank the force. Luckily, Rex seemed just as in a hurry to get out of there as you were, he always stayed right in front of you. Honestly, he was almost walking too fast for it to not look suspicious, you struggled to keep up with him while you kept up your act. But, you could tell that he was also relaxing the farther the two of you were down the hall, away from his brothers. He slowed his pace slightly, and you took the opportunity to catch up and walk right next to him. As long as the two of you turned the corner and found somewhere with little foot traffic, everything would be fine, your secret would still be safe.

“Hey, Captain!” You heard one of the brothers yell in your direction.

“Hm?” You looked over at Rex to see that he had slowed his pace considerably. You immediately matched his speed, keeping yourself a couple steps in front of him, watching.

Apparently it was Fives who had spoken up, the other two troopers had already entered the training room. Fives was halfway in the room, his hand grasped the edge of the wall as he leaned outside the training room slightly. A wicked smile was plastered across his face.

“Don’t forget that we have plans tonight! Your ‘training session’ better not have made you too tired!” Fives said.

“What? Oh.” Rex rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, Fives… I’ll be there.” He replied, a touch of annoyance extremely clear to you as he lazily waved his arm in regretful understanding.

You looked upon Rex as he walked faster to catch up with you, a new tension cursed his face, he seemed pretty stressed out at what Fives was saying, and maybe even a little… embarrassed? But you couldn’t exactly pinpoint why as he hid his face from you. Rex just kept walking, refusing to look back as the two of you were approaching the end of the hallway, both desperate to turn the corner at this point.

Then the corner came just as swiftly as it went. You felt the view of the training room door disappear behind you, and you sighed greatly, finally able to relax yourself and speak truthfully once more. But just as the relaxation hit, anger began to bubble up within you. You failed, AGAIN. You couldn’t even detect a single shot or trigger pull the entire time. You approached one of the walls of the hallway, arms crossed tightly, your fingernails marking your skin under your robe. You were pathetic. Useless even. No matter how hard you tried to make things better, life laughed in your face again and again and again. You were still the burden you feared everyone saw you as. And that made you mad.

“SHIT.” You exclaimed quietly, kicking the wall, causing a loud and metallic WHACK to resonate from it. You turned quickly, before leaning your back against the wall, softly banging your head against it repeatedly to let out more frustration, causing more metallic sounds to be made. At that moment, you didn’t care if anyone could hear as you ruminated in your feelings. How embarrassing, you finally make another friend after the incident, and all you’ve done so far with him is FUCK EVERYTHING UP-

“Hey…”

“WHAT.” You looked quickly over at the Captain. Your eyes were wide with fury, and he took note. His face reeked of anxious confusion as his eyes struggled to stay on you. As you were now in public, he was trying to maintain a professional posture, but your response to him clearly made it waver. Regret immediately overtook most of your anger as your eyes widened slightly. You closed your eyes, and took a deep breath in, before letting it out quickly, flaring your nostrils as you let out the loud breath. You turned your head away from the Captain as you felt yourself relax slightly, you looked up at the ceiling.

“I-I’m sorry.” You finally said, your awkwardness towards the Captain rapidly returning to you. “I just…” You curled one of your hands up into a fist, and hit the fall with it. “Really. Need ‘THIS!’” You really emphasized that last word intensely. “To get FIXED…” And your head fell back to the wall again, using your hands to rub your temples, determined to not let this bout of anger get the best of you like it had in the past.

“You clearly felt quite tense while we were training.” Rex said politely, likely to avoid reigniting your anger. “And I’m not trying to tell you how to feel… but, is there anything you like to do to feel a little more relaxed?”

You thought for a moment, re-living many happy moments from your past in only a couple seconds, it made you feel better.

“Actually, yes, but…” You thought again. Your face soured, Rex clearly noticed.

“I uh…” You didn’t know how to put your thoughts into words, you didn’t want to tell Rex too much. “I did those things with the troopers of my old battalion. Before… before everything happened…” You kept your eyes on the ceiling, fearing how the Captain would respond to your words. Your feet refused to keep steady, and you began to twiddle your fingers anxiously.

It was quiet for a moment, you could feel Rex wanting to say something to you. You guessed he couldn’t find the words either. You could understand that, you just hoped that he wasn’t hurt by the lack of yours. You weren’t ready to burden another person with what you knew.

“Did you want to talk about it…?”

Your eyes returned to Rex slightly widened. Despite his endless kindness, you honestly didn’t expect him to offer his ears to you. But, he asked anyway. Could you be ready?

“Maybe later.”

Not yet.

“Ah… I understand. No worries.”

Rex tried to hide it, but his eyes couldn’t lie to you. They sang a song of sadness as they darted between you and the floor. His smile, while obviously coming from a good place, was artificial from the start. Guilt bubbled up in you again. You tell him everything, you feel like a burden. You tell him nothing, and he’s sad, and you feel like a burden. There was no winning now, but maybe it was possible at a later time. But for now, you had to make sure that today didn’t end so bad. Maybe it could end well.

You looked at the ground nervously, before placing your eyes onto the Captain.

“T-thank you.” You wished your sincerity didn’t come out so awkwardly.

But, his eyes stopped, finally settling onto you.

“For… what?” He genuinely looked confused as he stood there. You would have to borrow more courage to keep this up.

“For helping me today, despite…” You looked down the hallway. Luckily, you and Rex were the only inhabitants as far as you could tell. “Despite the fact that it didn’t work…” You sighed. “I’m sorry if I wasted your time.”

“You didn’t waste my time.” Rex said without hesitation. “I want to help you with this, you are a part of this battalion, and I’d never hesitate to help one of my own.”

Rex then took a step closer to you, almost too close for what you’ve been used to. Strangely enough, you weren’t opposed to it. You liked the way he looked at you, you could tell he cared. You invited that feeling it brought you, but it was still something you were growing accustomed to once more.

“I know we haven’t been friends for long. But you need to know that you could never waste my time.”

You looked at each other as you felt your heart rate increase, as you felt yourself become swept up in the platonic care the Captain was so generously feeding you. At least, you assumed Rex intended it to be platonic, what else could it be?

“Thank… you.” You finally heard yourself say, taking a moderate pause in between the words as you found yourself coming back into focus.

Rex blinked a couple times before he backed away a bit, clearing his throat as his fist covered it. He then put that free hand on his hip, clearly trying to act natural as he turned to face away from you. But you didn’t notice, you were too busy straightening yourself out to care, your mind too riddled with bliss as Rex’s kind words replayed in your head. More proof of having what you had once lost.

“But, anyway… I think we can consider today as some sort of progress.” Rex said, keeping his hand on his hip as he turned his head to you. “Like I said, it would definitely be worth looking into ways to relax, especially before we head out for the next mission tomorrow.”

You nodded in response. “I’ll try that.”

The corners of Rex’s mouth curled into a smile. “Great. I’d help you if I could but-” Rex rolled his eyes. “I forgot that I apparently am expected to babysit my drunk brothers, so I need to get some other responsibilities done before then.”

You wished that he could stay and help, but you didn’t allow yourself to indicate that to the Captain. You simply watched as he readjusted his posture and double checked that his armor was positioned correctly, as he made sure his helmet was facing forwards in between his arm and hip.

“So…” The Captain faced you once more, looking poised and proper for his role in the Republic. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” His face was your window into seeing Rex, not just the Captain. It was riddled with an expression that was at a loss of what to actually say in this moment, and you could tell.

“Yeah…” You didn’t exactly know what to say either. But you did know this, you could feel that there was more that wanted to be said, that Rex was holding something back. Or, maybe he just didn’t want to go? You weren’t entirely sure, but you were sure of that energy that the both of you felt, and you weren’t sure if it all came from him.

“Great.” And he smiled a bit. Then he turned and started to walk away. You couldn’t help but look at his back as he grew smaller. You almost wished you would say something to make him stay, but you knew not to be selfish for your own sake. You’d see him, and his kindness the next day.

“And let me know how things go tomorrow! Alright?” You heard him yell at you without looking back.

“Y-yeah!” You stuttered. Again with the awkwardness. Why couldn’t you just talk to him straight more than half the time? Whatever, now is not the time to be thinking about that, you had to find a way to get out of your own way before tomorrow’s mission.

Totally doable. Right?

- - -

The door opened swiftly to reveal the dulled room that you would once again call home for the next ambiguous length of time. You sighed as you entered the room, feeling the tension in your forehead form into a slight headache. You took the palm of one of your hands and rubbed the pain as your other hand tossed your bag next to the bed. You slowly unequipped your robe, feeling the fabric run against your scars that you’ve been desperate to ignore, but are always painfully reminded of their existence.

Although you felt tempted to drop the robe behind your feet, you forced yourself to take the time and effort to fold the robe neatly, before you placed it on your bed, perfectly lining up the corners of the robe with the corners of your bed, allowing them to run parallel.

You sought the comfort of your bed, swinging one leg over, then the other. Once you were on top of your bed, you adjusted your position so that your legs crossed each other, your back was straight, and you were satisfied with how comfortable you were on top of the soft material as you sank down into it slightly.

As you commuted to your quarters upon the Resolute, you struggled to think of much for you to try to relax. Honestly, you found yourself thinking a lot about the troopers who have made you happy. Both the ones you have lost, and the first one to revive some sort of positivity within you. During this commute, you realized that you had been suppressing your memories of your old battalion as much as possible. While yes, many bad memories have come about when you weren’t suppressing them, there are an endless amount of fantastic memories that have come from your times with those men. Why miss out on those memories? They may help.

Once you were situated, you took a deep breath in, taking in the air, tasting it in the back of your throat as your lungs expanded greatly. You could feel your heart rate relax as you let the air out slowly through your mouth. You closed your eyes, and breathed deeply again a couple more times, feeling yourself relax further. Eventually, the deep breaths became second nature to you. You no longer needed to focus on maintaining the monotonous rhythm.

You haven’t felt this calm since before you lost your connection to the force.

For the first time in a while, you allowed your mind to wander to the past. You made it a point to not force a specific memory into focus, you waited for one to make itself known to you. You waited patiently for a moment, until images began to appear in your mind.

One was a celebration, after the Separatists were finally forced to flee a long and arduous battle, leaving only you and your troopers in the battlefield. The memory became audible, cheers and excited chatter could be heard all around you as the blackened battlefield could finally be seen as well. You looked to your left to see Gamble and Saks, two troopers that you had come to know very well, chest bumping then wrestling each other to the ground as their ecstatic hollers and laughter could be heard. You heard yourself let out a chuckle you could almost feel in your throat, and you turned to your right, and you saw your Commander, Rory, standing quite close to you. Once he had seen that you noticed his presence, he took off his helmet, revealing his face that you had known almost all too well due to the war. The Commander smiled, the scar on the side of his mouth warping to the warm gesture.

And you felt yourself smile, but not only in the memory, in the present too.

Before Rory could speak, the memory faded, leaving you in the darkness again. You allowed it to happen as your calmness continued, awaiting another memory to form in your mind’s eye.

‘Hey, I got you this.’

An image faded in of Rory, he was clearly handing you something out of your view, but you couldn’t look down to see. That didn’t bother you, however, you simply felt grateful that he had thought of you during the mission.

‘Thank you, Rory.’

It was one of the many things you would add to your collection.

The image faded.

You saw your troopers wrestling in the barracks, followed by collective laughter.

You saw glasses clinking together in celebration.

You saw a beautiful sky, feeling someone hugging you tight.

You felt someone holding your hand as tears obscure your vision.

More memories faded in and out, relaxing you deeper. You hadn’t felt this way in a long time, so it was easy to let it take you.

Another image briefly appeared in your mind’s eye. It was Rex’s smile. The memory made you feel so familiar, but you still didn’t know where to place it. It vanished just as fast as it appeared, not allowing for deeper thinking, but you didn't mind.

Before you knew it, you were asleep, dreaming of the troopers you would do anything to see again.

It was nice.

- - -

The music was loud, pounding into Rex’s ears each passing second as the neon colors that decorated the club made him want to vomit rainbows. Rex had wanted to invite you out tonight, as a way to help you hopefully feel less tense, but he didn’t. The reason why? Well, one part was him being too nervous… And the other?

“REX!”

Was pretty self explanatory.

“Hm?” Rex vocalized.

“You haven’t even taken a sip of your drink yet!” Jesse unfortunately pointed out, mildly slurring his words.

“What gives, Cap?” Fives asked, taking a sip from his glass shortly after, also clearly a bit drunk.

“It’s nothing really.” Rex said, carefully going over his words in his head before he said them out loud. “Just a bit stressed, is all.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

In reaction, Rex took his glass into his hand, putting it in front of his mouth as though he was going to take a sip, hiding part of his face in the process as he looked down at the table.

“We have a mission tomorrow, don’t we?”

This was a lie, of course.

Rex could hear Fives chugging the rest of his drink, before slamming the glass on the table.

“Then take a shot and forget about it, man!”

Rex rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t drink, Fives. I don’t understand why you people keep buying me drinks that I will never finish.”

But his words fell upon deaf ears. Two Twi’leks had already approached the table, making themselves as enticing as possible to their two selected victims; Fives and Jesse. Rex tried his hardest to look at his drink, pretending to be interested in the brown liquid. But sometimes he couldn’t help but sneak a peek. First he saw one of them rub Jesse’s shoulders. Then, the other put the tip of her pointer finger under Fives’s chin, directing his head to look up at her, a grin forming on the trooper’s face.

“Care to dance?” He managed to hear one of the girls ask seductively over the loud music.

Rex looked up again in an unexpected anticipation to hear how his brothers would respond. This was when he got a better look at the girls. They uh, didn’t leave much to the imagination, as Rex would put it. They wore pretty similar outfits. Short skirts, high heels that Rex once thought was impossible to walk in. And they also wore these crop tops that were made of thick fabric that were sewed into a fishnet pattern. Once Rex noticed that their nipples were visible, he immediately averted his eyes, almost unable to hide the gasp he so naturally wanted to let out. His nose instead opted to blow out into his glass, upsetting the liquid slightly in it, but not enough to spill it over the rim. Echo had clearly noticed as he began to eye Rex, who was unfortunate enough to have looked back at the trooper, quickly averting his eyes back down to his glass as Echo turned his head back to his other brothers. His brothers were all very used to this sort of… sexual interaction. But Rex had always been completely in the dark. Just like with drinking, he always chose to not engage. He had never had a problem with that choice. So… why was it bothering him tonight?

Rex was too occupied trying to distract himself from what was happening to hear what his brothers said in response to the girls, but they seemed absolutely enthralled by them. Another peek revealed Fives’s hand wrapped his girl’s waist, and both of Jesse’s hands holding his girl’s waist. Jesse’s legs were slightly spread apart to give her some room to get a bit closer as his pointer fingers gently tapped at her sides.

Rex looked down at his glass again, feeling tension begin to brew on his forehead.

He looked back up, and they were already walking away. He couldn’t help but watch as they slowly decreased in size, as they were a little too close to each other for what they were about to do to be merely about dancing. For a reason unknown to Rex, he envied them. And he hated that he was feeling that, it wasn’t like him.

“Rex?”

“Hm?” Rex was taken out of his thoughts, and his eyes landed on Echo.

“Are you okay?”

Rex looked down at his drink again.

“No.” He found himself saying the truth.

Echo adjusted himself in his seat awkwardly, before taking a sip of his drink.

“Does it have to do with what you were doing with General y/n earlier? In the training room?”

Rex closed his eyes as he sighed, before placing his drink on the table. The clink of glass was barely audible over the music. Once again, Echo was right on target.

“I don’t think I want to talk about that right now.”

Echo shrugged in reluctant, but genuine understanding. “Alright.” He returned to focusing his eyes on his drink as he took another sip.

“But-” Rex cut himself off, unsure of how to continue. “Can I… ask you a question?”

Echo looked to Rex once more. “Shoot.” He put the drink down, pivoting his body to give his Captain his absolute attention, curiosity bleeding into his drunkenly laxed expression. Rex took a deep breath in through his nose, before letting it out loudly.

“Have you ever… been with a woman…?” He asked, mentally cringing at his own vague wording.

“What? Like romantically? Or… sexually?” Echo asked, confusion thick in his tone.

“Yeah.” Rex didn’t exactly know what he himself was referring to either. “Sure. Both.”

“I mean, I’ve shown interest in women before. And they’ve certainly shown interest in me as well.” Echo said nonchalantly. This surprised Rex.

“How did you know you liked them, more than as a friend?” Rex inquired deeply. If Echo noticed Rex’s desperation for an answer, he did not make it obvious other than extending his stares at the Captain before answering.

“It was a lot of things really.” Rex anticipated more words from his brother, but none ever came as Echo lifted his glass to his lips.

“Like?” Rex said, hoping that Echo would provide some wisdom, not caring as to how strange his questioning was sounding as much.

“Well…” Echo trailed off as he thought for a few seconds, placing his drink back down. “I wanted to be around them all the time. Even when I couldn’t be, I almost constantly thought about the next time I’d see them.”

Rex nodded.

“And I thought about them a lot, other than when I’d see them next I mean. They seemed to just… take over my thoughts.”

Interesting.

“And I found myself infatuated by them. Everything they did seemed to capture my attention in more ways than one.”

Echo took another moment to think as he took another sip of his drink. He then seemed nervous to continue, but he didn't leave Rex waiting for much longer.

“And, well… sometimes I’d get this certain feeling. One that I don’t really have a specific name for. I doubt anyone really does.”

Rex was very curious now. “Like… what?”

“Sometimes certain things would happen when I was with them, and… I’d get this feeling in my stomach. It’s pretty intense at times. You would think it’s unpleasant at first, but you’d want to feel it again. But it’s something that you can’t force.”

Hm.

“Certain things would happen? Like what?” Rex inquired. Echo seemed bothered by all the questions about this.

“I don’t know, Rex. Sexual things? I guess?” He shifted in his seat again. “You’re lucky I’m drunk. I doubt I’d share any of this sober.” Echo took a bigger swig of his drink. “Hopefully I don’t remember telling you this at all… Why are you asking me about this anyway?”

Rex had to come up with something fast. “Just curious, is all.” Echo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response to Rex’s excuse.

“So… did anything work out with anybody? I never even knew that you were involved with another person.” Rex asked, trying to gear the attention away from himself.

“Well, no. Nothing ever became serious.”

“Oh.” Rex felt bad for asking. “How come?”

“I’m a clone, and they obviously weren’t. It simply wasn’t meant to be, ya know? We’re not exactly supposed to be in relationships, and we don’t live that long… war or not. It just isn’t in the cards for us clones.”

Oh. Right.

“Right.” Rex looked at his drink again, sliding the tip of his finger around the rim of the glass awkwardly. Those words made him upset in a way he didn't expect.

Rex began to consider his brother’s words. The silence that persisted between the two soldiers didn’t bother Rex one bit, when it usually would have. Eventually, Echo decided to get himself another drink, claiming that he’d be right back. But, Rex saw him interacting with other troopers at the bar, laughing, roughhousing, and showed no indication that he’d be back soon. Rex was alone, but he had a lot of thinking to do.

Rex lifted his drink into his hand, twirling the shallow drink in his glass, threatening to set it overboard, but never letting it. He carefully considered what Echo had said to him about… feeling for other people, in his head again and again.

First Echo brought up always wanting to be with this other person. Rex had found that he wanted to be around you more than ever since the two of you became friends. But that can be explained in many different ways. He had made a new friend, of course it’s natural to want to spend time with them, even if he should be focusing more on his own responsibilities, right?

Then he brought up how he would always think about that other person. Rex supposed that you came up a lot in his mind. But like he had just thought, you just became friends. And you can’t use the force! You clearly need someone’s help, and he was willing to give it to you. It was natural that he would think about you so much, he had to, it was important to.

Echo also brought up an infatuation for the other person. Infatuation? Rex had obviously found some interest in you. But it couldn’t be for any reason other than a platonic one. Romance was not something Rex was interested in. He just had to be sure that he knew what he was feeling. That’s all.

And he didn’t even want to think about the ‘intense feeling’ Echo referenced. He remembered your scars that he saw earlier, how they were much worse than he had originally thought. Maybe the intense feeling was nausea? Maybe? Echo was absolutely talking about a different thing. He had to have been. He refused to look at you that way.

Then why did Rex feel such envy when he saw Fives and Jesse… enjoy themselves? An image of Cut Lawquane flashed through his mind, and more envy, but also confusion, ensued.

Maybe Rex was platonically lonely. That was the only rationalization his brain would accept. Maybe he just needed to loosen up around his brothers, allow himself to fit in more at outings such as this. He looked at his drink, but felt nothing compel him to even take a sip. That wasn’t what was wrong with Rex, but he let himself believe it nonetheless. He just hoped that you were doing alright by yourself, because he certainly wasn’t.

[weepylucifer]

AND ANOTHER THING about hot sith girl summer--

the gratuitous mando'a. it's actually there for a reason. both cody and maul come to mandalorianhood in weird ways. cody and the clones have (i'm pulling from legends but whatever) used mandalorian culture via jango and the cuy'val dar to carve out an identity for themselves where the kaminoans intended no identity to be, so this is important to cody, but he'd also know (having met mandalorians with obi-wan) that neither death watch nor satine's people accept him. and he'd resent that bc it hurts being shunned from something he and his brothers value so much, but also bc it's such a bad look for the mandos. if ostensibly anyone can swear the creed and be mandalorian, why not him? why is there suddenly gatekeeping and talk about bloodlines? i feel like cody would define himself by his competence and honor, and he'd expect similar from people he interacts with, so people going back on the principles they proclaim to live by would be something he'd deeply detest. so his feelings on mandalorian things are... complicated, like his feelings on most things are after the war

and maul... he elbowed his way into being mand'alor. he burst in from the outside, but not really out of a desire to participate in mandalorianness, just to get power over people. at least, i'd argue, in the beginning. but somehow mandalorianness gets to him. in rebels, he's hanging on to mandalorian stuff when he really no longer needs to: the droids, he's using mando'a writing, he has a giant murder portrait of satine (and nobody else!!), he hangs on to the darksaber and even builds a little shrine for it. and once you think about why, you realize that maul is in need of an identity too. he got taken from dathomir too early to really have anything in common with dathomirians, he used to define himself as a sith but he's not part of a sith lineage since palpatine cut him loose, plus he's starting to catch on to the fact that being a sith only ever hurt him. being a mando would have had some appeal to him! if ostensibly anyone can swear te creed and be mandalorian, why not him? him living on dathomir when no one's there anymore, in the empty nightsister place, him hoarding leftovers from his time on mandalore, it reminds me of a line from t.s. eliot's the wasteland: "these fragments i have shored against my ruins"

all these complexities exist as background noise as cody and maul are thrown together (by me) and have to find some kind of way to connect to each other (it can't be the obi-wan-shaped hole their lives have in common, for obvious reasons.). so before they really know much abt each other, mando stuff becomes their first point of connection. they have no common language (metaphorical) yet, but mando'a can be a language (literal) they share in common

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: "A Different Approach"

With Omega and Crosshair now free of Mount Tantiss, The Bad Batch takes a moment to shine a light on one of its most under explored character dynamics.

With their escape ship damaged and the Empire hot on their tail, Omega, Crosshair, and their newly adopted lurca hound, Batcher, have to rely on their wits and skills to survive and reunite with their former squad. However, Crosshair and Omega approach their predicament with profoundly different skillsets and philosophies and must learn to trust one another if they are to evade Doctor Hemlock's grip.

One of the most intriguing narrative promises that The Bad Batch's season two finale set up was the potential for an Omega/Crosshair team-up. Despite their shared history and family, neither clone has spent much time together free of their imprisonment on Mount Tantiss. In fact, pretty much their entire prior relationship was defined by Crosshair attempting to capture Omega and her brothers for the Empire. Even if Crosshair has now fully forsaken his former masters and is willing to look at Omega as less of a threat and more of a sometimes irritating little sister, the two have never really learned to work alongside one another in any real capacity.

This set up is ultimately what makes Ezra Nachman's script so entertaining and even fulfilling. This is a story that The Bad Batch needed to tell. Even if comparatively little happens in terms of the series' larger narrative arc, viewers deserve to see what kind of dynamic these two very different siblings have when they are forced to work together. And look, I'll always have a soft spot for villains/antagonists that slowly learn to open up and trust other people. Few things bring me more joy than seeing these kinds of character scenarios play out. So yes, "A Different Approach" may not be the most explosive, consequential, or thrilling episode The Bad Batch has produced, but I had a damn good time watching it all the same.

I love seeing Crosshair's frustrations with Omega's tendency for improvised schemes, especially since he'd much rather solve most of his problems with a few strategically placed blaster bolts. I loved even more getting to see Crosshair learn to appreciate his younger sisters very different approach to conflict, but also that there may still be a time and place for his particular set of skills. For a series that struggled so much with establishing character dynamics in its first season, "A Different Approach" showcases a much more narratively and emotionally confident approach to its storytelling.

That all being said, I do think that Omega's (and Crosshair's) reunion with the Hunter and Wrecker maybe comes too soon. Yes, I was undeniably moved and a little teary eyed at Omega and Wrecker's big happy, hug filled meeting at the episode's end, but it does feel like there was potential for more interesting storylines in the dynamics set up here. For all its risk taking, The Bad Batch seems to have a terminal need to return to something resembling its original status quo. Sure, this may be the most shaken up the squad has ever been in the series, but I'd love to see Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau try and let different character dynamics exist for a bit longer than a few episodes at a time.

Score: B+

[satoshi-mochida]

Double Dragon Revive details series history, composers, and story - Gematsu

Publisher Arc System Works and developer Yuke’s have released new information and screenshots for Double Dragon Revive, introducing the series’ history, the new game’s composers, and the story.

Get the details below.

About

The world-famous Double Dragon roars back to life in the modern era! The Double Dragon series has defined the belt-scroll action genre ever since it hit the arcades in 1987. Now it returns as Double Dragon Revive, thanks to the passionate support of retro game fans over the years. Arc System Works’ fighting game development expertise brings you a modern belt-scroll action experience with exhilarating gameplay.

About the Double Dragon Series

Double Dragon is an action game series that first appeared in arcades in 1987. It established the side-scrolling brawler game genre, where the players control the two main characters, Billy Lee and Jimmy Lee, masters of the Sosetsuken fighting style, and progress through stages while defeating enemies. The game has gained fans all over the world due to the exciting special moves available in addition to more traditional punch and kick attacks and the ability to pick up and use the weapons of your enemies.

Double Dragon (1987) – Set in 19XX in a post-nuclear war New York ruled by violence… The main characters, brothers Billy Lee and Jimmy Lee, go on a mission to rescue Marian, who has been kidnapped by an organization known as the “Shadow Warriors.”

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (1989) – After years of expanding, the violent organization was dismantled by Billy and Jimmy Lee. However, their nemesis returns and attacks Billy’s girlfriend, Marian. This story of revenge begins as the heroes face the mysterious armed group to avenge comrades and a beloved…

Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (1990) – On their way back from their journey to perfect Sosetsuken, the Lee brothers meet a fortune teller named Hiruko. The one who unravels the mysteries of Egypt will become the world’s strongest hero. To do so, he will need three Sacred Stones. However, it is said that no one has ever returned alive in the pursuit of this mystery… Guided by Hiruko, the Lee brothers travel the world to obtain the “Rosetta Stones.”

Super Double Dragon (1992) – This work is based on the first Double Dragon, maintaining the original story. It is a completely new game, with many updated features, including the graphics. This game also allows for two-player cooperative play.

Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls (1994) – This fighting game is based on the TV animation that aired at the time, featuring a unique setting. The Shadow Warriors are sent to various parts of the city by the Shadow Master, who plans to conquer the world. In order to thwart his ambitions, Billy Lee confronts his brother’s clone sent to the Dragon Dojo.

Double Dragon Advance (2004) – This work released by ATLUS retains the quality of the previous Double Dragon games, with additional improved features such as the graphics, new moves, and new enemy characters.

Double Dragon IV (2017) – A cornerstone title within the side-scrolling action genre roars back to life in the modern era. With a new look and gameplay experience, Double Dragon starts a new page in its history!

Double Dragon Revive (2025) – The monumental side-scrolling action game is reborn for modern times. A new history of Double Dragon begins with renewed looks and a new gaming experience.

Composers

A score penned by amazing creators.

Raito (Website, Twitter, YouTube, Sample) – “Double Dragon came out when I was in elementary school, and it is a profoundly memorable game for me as I was once able to clear it with just one coin. It really is an honor to be involved in the making of this new title’s musical score. Please look forward to hearing it!”

James Landino (Website, Twitter, YouTube, Sample) – “As someone who has both been a fan of the Double Dragon series and Arc System Works projects, I’m beyond excited to be involved on the music for this game! Thank you to the development team for bringing me onboard this exciting soundtrack!”

Kohta Takahashi (Website, Twitter, YouTube, Sample) – “First of all, I want to express all my respect to the music composer of the original game, Kazunaka Yamane! Some songs have a melodic and dramatic development, while others incorporate the stylish groove of the late 80s… We would really like to see if delivering these in a modern sound image will touch the listeners. I hope you all enjoy it!”

Pejman Roozbeh (Funk Fiction) (Website, Twitter, YouTube, Sample) – “Working on Double Dragon Revive has been an awesome experience and an honor. The game’s world and vibrant characters inspired me to write some very dynamic and funky tracks, and I can’t wait for players to experience them!”

Furani (Website, Twitter, YouTube, Sample) – “I cannot believe I got to play a part in making such a cool game! It really, really has been an honor.”

Story

15 years have passed since the end of the nuclear war. The survivors have built colonies in various parts of the devastated world to make their homes. However, over these 15 years, the concept of nations has been lost, and the powerful people who govern the colonies now control politics and make the laws.

This colony established on the coast is one such city, ruled by some of these powerful people: a gang called the Shadow Warriors. Since their rise to power, the gap between rich and poor in the colony has intensified. People living in the slums struggle to get by, and there are constant rumors of mysterious disappearances. The Lee brothers, masters of the Sosetsuken, live in a corner of the city with their childhood friend Marian. The honest younger brother Billy and the free-spirited older brother Jimmy. When the Sosetsuken dojo they inherit ends up in the way of the city’s evil schemes, the story begins…

Double Dragon Revive is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam in 2025.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

[lonewolflupe]

aLoF ch3 | High Fives

Here is chapter 3, which was so much fun to write! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Spoiler: Fives finally makes his debut (so expect some more of him in my upcoming chapters).

Summary: after Lupe achieves Jedi Knighthood, she finds herself and the Wolfpack in trouble again - but not on the battlefield this time Rating: Teen and up/Mature Tags: comradery, drinking, intoxication by booze, insulting, fist fighting Words: 3.033k Characters: Lupe (OC), Plo Koon, CC-3636 Commander Wolffe, ARC-5555 Fives, ARC-1409 Echo, CC-1010 Commander Fox, unidentified 104th troopers, unidentified Coruscant Guard troopers aLoF masterlist | AO3 ch2 < | ficlet < | ↓ | > ch4

21 BBY, Coruscant | 79’s

Although Coruscant’s 79’s cantina was open to anyone, it was known to be a clone bar. Yet this night there were considerably more clones than usual. Most of them were wearing armour with flint grey markings; the 104th Battalion was noticeably present, and they were celebrating. Lupe, former Padawan to their General Plo Koon and thus their Jedi Commander, had achieved Jedi Knighthood.

Whereas Padawans normally were knighted around their mid or even late twenties after successfully completing their Jedi Trials, the war asked for unprecedented measures. Young Padawans were now rushed into knighthood, skipping their trials so the Grand Army of the Republic could reinforce its commanding ranks. And since Lupe had already proven to be a quick thinker and a capable leader, the Jedi Council had approved of her step up in the Jedi Order.

Despite the ongoing war, Master Plo Koon wanted to celebrate in some way and Lupe wanted to include the Wolfpack. After all, she wouldn’t be where she was today if it hadn’t been for them. And so she had chosen 79’s as location, much to the surprise and amusement of her former Master and to the utter dismay and horror of Commander Wolffe, who felt obligated to attend, but preferably for as short a time as possible. Which had nothing to do with Lupe; he just didn’t want to see his troops as they became unruly in this unbearable bar.

Since Master Plo Koon had started off the evening with a speech for Lupe, the crowd had gotten rowdier. Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe had stayed for a while, engaged in conversation together - probably concerning something civilised, like strategics. But as the evening progressed and the amount of booze had multiplied, they had left the partying to Lupe and the troops. Troopers had come and troopers had gone, but late into the night, there was still some Wolfpack audience in the cantina.

---

Although clearly present, the troopers of the 104th Battalion weren't the only clones attending 79’s that night. At the bar sat two ARC troopers from the 501st Battalion, recognisable by their blue markings.

“Last time I checked, this place wasn’t exclusive to one battalion,” the first one complained when a rowdy trooper from the Wolfpack stumbled against him, making him spill his beverage. “You wouldn’t be complaining if it had been the 212th,” the second ARC trooper replied as he took a sip from his drink. The first one, defined by the tattooed ‘5’ on his right temple and the well-trimmed goatee on his chin, groaned as he watched the Wolfpack being served more drinks. “At least Cody and the boys are civilised,” he sighed, as he attempted to drink what was left of his beverage.

Before he managed to take a sip, his drink was knocked out of his hand as a flint grey-marked trooper walked past and padded him heavily on the shoulder, clearly intoxicated by whatever he had been drinking that evening. The ARC trooper clenched his now empty fist and hit it on the counter of the bar.

“Fives..,” the other ARC trooper said slowly, trying to stop his brother from whatever he was going to do, but he didn’t come through. Fives rose from his barstool, a screeching sound filling the cantina as the metal leg of the stool scraped the floor when he pulled it aside. He turned himself to the centre of the bar, where the remaining troopers of the Wolfpack were located. “It smells like wet hound in here,” he shouted over the rowdy voices of the troopers.

The Wolfpack fell silent as they turned to look at the man that had just drawn their attention. Before anyone could respond, Lupe stepped out of the group, revealing herself to face the ARC trooper. She was smaller than the clones, so he hadn't noticed her before. “What was that, grunt?” she shot back, as she raised a brow. Fives recognised a Jedi when he saw one, and although he was already properly intoxicated at this point, he thought picking a fight with one wouldn’t be his brightest idea.

He swallowed back a witty comeback and shrugged, his eyes rolling as he hated to give in so easily. “My bad, sir,” he said, awkwardly waving his hand as some sort of apology, before turning around. He put back the barstool and was just sitting down again, when the Jedi shot out another remark. “That’s what I thought. Nice skirt, though,” she shouted, and the Wolfpack troopers started laughing. Fives closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, ignoring his brother's hand on his pauldron, before picking up his empty glass and tossing it towards the noisy group.

Without any effort, Lupe stopped the glass mid-air by using the Force, as it was only centimetres away from her face. She looked from the glass towards the ARC trooper and let go of the Force. The cantina was completely silent at this point, except for the sound of the shattering glass as it hit the floor. Deafening silence, before Lupe turned her head towards the Wolfpack. “Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys,” she grinned, as she nodded towards the ARC trooper. That was the moment mayhem erupted.

Two Wolfpack troopers darted forward towards Fives, who waited until the last second before jumping off the barstool and dodging both of them. He hit one in the face with his fist, taking him out immediately, and briefly choked the other with his elbow before pushing him back towards the she-wolf and her pack. The other ARC trooper, still seated at the bar, slapped his hand to his face. “Not again,” he whispered with a sigh, before getting up and readying himself at his brother’s side.

From there, a chaotic bar fight ensued. Glasses and barstools were tossed around, as well as an occasional trooper. The ARC troopers engaged in an intense hand fight as they seemed to stand their ground. The Wolfpack had the numbers, but that included the amount of booze they had downed already. It was only becoming interesting when Fives came face to face with the Jedi. Every moment one of them attacked with a fist, a foot or a knee, the other dodged or blocked it skillfully. And so they were intertwined in what almost seemed like a dance; a tough, unrewarding one, for that matter.

It wasn’t until Fives noticed the Coruscant Guard entering the cantina that he interrupted his fighting. Lupe was just swinging another blow at him, and was startled as much as he was when she fully hit him in the head, expecting him to block like he had done with all her previous blows. They fell down to the ground, Fives hitting his head hard as he reached the floor. Lupe landed on top of him with a slight thud, and she found herself having trouble getting up. Fives wasn’t even trying at this point, closing his eyes as 79’s started to spin around him.

The cantina quieted down as the Coruscant Guard took in the troublemakers. When Fives opened his eyes, an acquainted clone was looming over him, his arms crossed before his chest. “Commander, how good of you to show up,” Fives said jokingly, immediately regretting it as a thrusting pain emerged in his head. “Not this one again,” Commander Fox sighed, as he gestured to his troops to take him in. “Sorry sir, you’re coming too,” he said to Lupe, as two Coruscant Guards dragged her to her feet and took her in with the rest of the troublemakers.

---

“Put him in his regular cell,” Commander Fox ordered as they dragged Fives through the corridor of the Republic’s military prison complex and tossed him into the cell. His ARC brother walked in willingly behind him, glad the chaos was over and ready to sleep it all off on the bench at the back of the cell.

As the cells around them were filled with Wolfpack troopers and some other military disruptors and nuisances, Lupe was brought into the same cell as the 501st ARC troopers. Nearing the back of the cell, she stumbled to the floor, but managed to crawl to the bench where the other ARC trooper had positioned himself. She sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the side of the bench.

Groaning, Fives heaved himself on his lower arms as he looked back at the cell’s door. “I’m sure Fox is going to shoot me one of these days,” Fives uttered from the ground where the Coruscant Guard had tossed him. With a groan he managed to get up, walked towards Lupe unsteadily, and crashed down beside her. "So, you're the one they call Lupe, right?" he asked as soon as he laid his pounding head to rest on the bench behind him. "They do. What do you prefer to be called?" she answered, her eyes closed as she rubbed her eyelids with her fingers. "Well, you can call me-"

"Your name. She asked for your name," the other ARC trooper interrupted, exactly knowing what his brother was playing at. Fives sighed out loud as he slapped the ARC trooper behind him on his chest plate, where a blue handprint stood out. "Yeah yeah, fine. Mirsh'kyramud*. Name's Fives.” Lupe withdrew her hand, opened her eyes and looked towards the clone as if he had just called tookas insufferable creatures. "What, like the number?" she retorted. The ARC trooper sighed out even louder. "Fives. It's Fives,” he reacted, whilst making abrupt hand gestures, as if that was making his point clearer.

*Mirsh'kyramud = brain assassin (boring person)

Lupe looked at the ARC trooper’s face on her left, as she tried to process the fact that the tattooed ‘5’ on his temple wasn't resembling a number. Her head was whooshing. "That still sounds like a number,” she concluded. Fives shot an angry look at her before coming with a witty remark, although as the night progressed, the level of intelligence decreased. "Yeah? Well, Lupe sounds like.. Like Dupe," he snorted back, quite pleased with what he'd come up with.

As her headache worsened, she closed her eyes again and rested the back of her head on the edge of the bench. "I'll Dupe you, next time we're in a fight," she replied softly, as she let her mind drift away and she gave in to her sleepiness. "Well, how Dupe you do," Fives said smirking. The other ARC trooper rolled his eyes, turned around on the bench to turn his back towards them, and tried sleeping off his booze- and brother-induced headache. Not for the first and probably not for the last time, he was absolutely done with the nonsense of his brother.

---

With no sense of time, Lupe woke up in the dimly lit cell. Her head was still aching and her throat was dry, but at least she was able to think clearer again. As she recollected her memories from the previous evening, she found her head resting on the pauldron of the ARC trooper Fives, still sitting beside her. She straightened herself abruptly, looking around to make sure no one had noticed.

Fives started to wake, stretching himself unduly as he yawned. With his right arm stretched out, he almost hit Lupe in the face. “Watch it,” she said, as she whacked away the arm. Fives turned to her in shock as he had no idea where he was and that she was still there, his arm on the bench as he turned his torso, hitting his brother with his elbow in the process. As it dawned on him what had happened the previous evening, he heard his brother groan a low, irritated sound as he had accidentally woken him.

“How's your head?” Lupe asked softly, as Fives started to remember parts of last night. He put his hand on the back of his head, where it was still hurting. That was going to leave a bump. “Insufferable,” the ARC trooper on the bench answered before Fives could respond. “Speak for yourself, Echo,” Fives shot back at his brother. With audible difficulties, Echo lifted himself on the bench, until he was sitting upright. “I just did,” he said dryly. “But we have the same head,” Fives replied, slightly annoyed. Echo bumped his fist into Fives’ upper back before saying: “That's my point.”

Lupe chuckled briefly as she was observing the brothers arguing. Although she was in a fight with them last night, she had to admit, she could have gotten herself worse cellmates. As she sat there, her head clearing up again, she sensed a burning feeling on her arm. When she laid eyes on the culprit, her eyes opened wide in shock. “I have no recollection of this,” she blurted out, as her fingers went over the freshly set tattoo. There, on her upper left arm, below her shoulder piece, the Wolfpack emblem was now immortalised on her skin. Fives looked at her as if he was sorry for her. “My condolences,” he said to her cautiously, as he tried to remember if he'd seen a Jedi before with such a prominent tattoo.

“Are you kidding? I love it,” she shot back at him, looking up at him with a glister in her eyes. He laughed, before tapping his finger on his tattooed temple. “Good, because they're hard to get rid of.” Still touching her tattoo, Lupe got up and stretched herself. She hadn't felt this stiff after any battle she remembered, and the thudding in her head was quite new to her too. It looked like the ARC troopers were experiencing a similar feeling, although she guessed it wasn't new to them.

“I'm sorry for calling you wet hounds last night,” Fives finally said, Echo looking up surprised as he wasn’t used to his brother apologising. Lupe looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes, a smile on her face. “I guess we had it coming. Sorry for disturbing your night,” she replied genuinely. A moment of silence before she added softly: “Oh, and I do love your kama.” Fives smiled, proudly looking at his half-kilt, made out of sturdy leather.

The moment was interrupted when the door to the cell whooshed open. On the other side were Commander Fox, arms crossed before his chest, and Commander Wolffe, hands on his back. Lupe swallowed as she saw the expression on Wolffe’s helmetless face, whilst he shook his head disapprovingly. Although she was a General and Jedi Knight now, Commander Wolffe’s authoritative demeanour still scared her.

“Lupe, with me. You've got some explaining to do,” he grunted to her, as he turned around to start walking away. Lupe saluted the Commander, shot a quick ‘yessir’ at him, and turned towards the ARC troopers grinning. “Guess I'll see you around,” she said softly, winking before walking towards the corridor. “I bet you will,” Fives replied with a smirk on his face, before she disappeared outside the cell.

---

“You really had to put her in a cell with them?” she overheard Wolffe snapping at Fox, as she followed a few metres behind them. “I thought she might be a good influence on them,” Fox pointed out, his stature unchanged. Wolffe sighed and shook his head again. “I'm more concerned about their influence on her.” Fox turned his head, looking at Wolffe. “Rex is doing his best, Wolffe. It's his General that makes them.. Unmanageable.”

Lupe snorted softly as she thought of General Skywalker and the 501st. She hadn't had the pleasure of accompanying them on a mission, but their stories were legendary. And her encounter with the 501st ARC troopers last night had been.. Interesting.

They turned another corner and reached the guard station near the entrance of the prison complex. A red laser barrier was disabled, so that Wolffe and Lupe could walk past it towards the front of the guard post. Fox entered the post, where some of his Coruscant Guard troopers were monitoring the cells at the Republic military base, and handed back Lupe’s lightsaber. “Good thing you didn’t use this last night; you'd have been in a whole lot of more trouble if you had, sir,” Fox warned her, as she took the lightsaber’s hilt from him. Wolffe grunted, turned around and walked out of the base. Lupe sighed, and before following him outside, turned towards Commander Fox one last time. “Sorry for the mess.”

Lupe jogged behind Commander Wolffe to catch up with him, as he briskly strode away from the prison complex. She caught up with him, walking by his side, but she didn’t know what to say to him. For a moment, she felt small, like the Padawan she had been at the very beginning of the Clone Wars, fighting her first battle alongside the imposing clone troopers.

“I appreciate your comradery with the troops, sir,” Wolffe spoke at last, putting some extra weight on the ‘sir’, “but as a General, you have responsibilities and an exemplary function towards them.” He halted, looking her in the eyes intensely to make sure his point came across. “And what you set them up to last night was neither responsible nor exemplary.”

As she shuffled on her feet, still searching for the right words, he noticed the fresh Wolfpack tattoo on her arm. He sighed as his eye softened. “Argh, can’t stay mad at you,”  he growled softly, almost under his breath, but she heard him alright. He turned again to continue his stride, as he gestured to her to keep up. “C’mon, General Koon is waiting for an explanation.”

…

Epilogue

Peculiarly enough, her conversation with her former Master had felt less awkward than the long walk back with Commander Wolffe. Although alcohol was not recommended to Jedi, especially in a time of war, it wasn’t forbidden. And if anyone understood Lupe’s bond with the clone troopers, it was Master Plo Koon. She promised him to stay low for a while, to not attract any more unwanted attention towards herself, and to focus on the war and the battles to come. The war had still enough in store for her, after all.

[for-the-sake-of-color]

for the oc meme: i’m curious about how my girl Andrie would get along with your ocs! I know you read her intro post, but in short she’s a force sensitive farm girl turned rebel who Went Through Some Shit growing up. she has a hell of a temper, but she’s also extremely loyal to the people she loves and super determined to see things through. also if you dare to lift a hand against her bf she’ll end you

thank you so much asjghgqpughqerg rgb I love Andrie she has such a facinating life from start to finish

Well Lets see!!!! so we are going to have to assume that Crisis Company managed to survive order 66 (they did not make it long enough to even see it in timelines where it happened, and their main timeline is an o66 fix-it. its complicated. if the time travel bit never happends, they likely would have deserted when Kix was taken by the separatists after the brain chips thing, with no reason to stay with the republic) in a way that leaves Andrie the same woman that she would be if history takes its natural course

Andrie is a good, strong willed person who tries to do right by those she loves. Eventually, she becomes a wise and powerful Jedi.

bit long, under the cut

I think that Mary Ann is the Oc of mine that would get along with her the best, or at least, I think they have a good shot of understanding eachother in a deeper sense, on finding common ground from their pasts. If they got off on the right foot, Mary Ann would probably like to keep her as a friend, because she's a true socialite at heart, and damn good at it too.

Mary Ann originally left her homeworld because her Mother and her Mothers and their Mothers believed it was her job, her duty, to settle down and birth as many children as she could until she was no longer fertile. That's not what she wanted out of life, though, and she didn't want to put her body through that even once. Eventually, sometime after Mary Ann took Jet and Margo on as her mates during the clone wars (humans with no chance of direct procreation with her) her mother and a cousin travel to coruscant and try to.... irrevocably ruin Jet's life to force her to come back home. Mary Ann is also fairly friendly, even if she's got a rather sharp tongue and critical eye, it takes a lot to actually get under her skin. She's also a killer cook who used to run amazing resteraunts on the coruscant upper levels before the end of the war, she says, and is always out to impress. If Andrie can dish out a compliment for her dishes direct to her face, she may find herself suddenly with more free baked goods than she can take home with her. If any harm ever came to her little family, though? well. there is a reason the Jedi held a little fear in their hearts for the rage of the gurlanins

Captain Jet would like her, almost certainly and from the start, even if she would definately disagree with his choice of company. He's got a soft spot for the tempermental ones. He's trying to be a good man, so he would understand any reservations she would have about Nihlus being... a sith, even as a leashed one. (or Heron and his... proclivities)

If they did manage to survive the order with Nihlus alive, She would probably meet the Squad in the Rebellion, because Jet would be unable to let a FASCIST EMPIRE run by a SITH LORD continue without trying to do anything at all. This war, at least, he chose to fight. He chose this cause, and he believes in it in the way he hadnt had with the republic since he was a shiny. Believes in this Skywalker kid in a way he never quite did with the mans (he considers) reckless father. And Jet would respect anyone who makes the same choice and commitment to the rebellion, regardless of why they do it, regardless of their personal opinion of him. There are bigger enemies to face than the people fighting by your side. Though if she could not find it in herself to tolerate Nihlus, he would proably try to minimize his time around her. He gets it, but that's still his 'little' brother by choice.

Nihlus.... The biggest challenge to getting along with most of my ocs is just tolerating this guy. Nihlus Brek is a tried and true old academy style sith lord. Like he was genuinely trained in an pre-kotor era sith academy (whom he then slaughtered for all of their slights against him during his training). Just because he's more of a benign sith, an archivist, and a leashed one at that, doesnt mean killing voilence murder mutilation bloodshed isnt like.... his favorite pass time.

Nihlus isn't a threat to Andrie so long as Jet says he isnt, and Nihlus will quite literally die if he disobeys Jet's orders (blood oath, a sort of sith alchemy they use to guarantee his absolute loyalty. yes, it is by choice). He doesn't hate jedi or their sympathizers on principal, they generally kept the galaxy from burning. No galaxy, nothing to archive. He respects her for being willing to fight alongside them, that it makes her strong regardless of her skill level in the force. The more she gets in touch with the light, though, the less willing he would be to cooperatively be in her presence. Lightsiders give him a tinnitus like sensation. Skyrim ninroot bass boosted ass sound effect. So great, go be a goody two shoes or whatever the fuck, just do it.... over there. He would help provide her and her academy research material about jedi from his archive, if she was so inclined to it. Sith too, though he has no interest in taking on a sith apprentice himself. The galaxy does not need more people like the emperor, or even himself, he will say by his own admission, though he he is almost entirely unrepentent for all the suffering he himself has caused so long as it has furthered his goals or protected those he cares about.

The Rest of Crisis Company are a mixed bag all depending on how... willing Andrie is to letting Nihlus' killing bloodshed maiming mutalation murder torture of imperials thing slide. Like however she reacts to watching a stormtrooper get turned inside out by a laughing sith probably would set the tone of her relationship with the rest of the company

Margo leans towards tolerance of even some of the more abhorrent of Nihlus treatment towards their enemies and their prisoners, so the more Andrie is willing to turn cheek to unnessisiarily violent cruelty, the greater liklyhood she has for getting on with Margo. She doesn't believe in Skywalker like Jet does, but she'd follow any of them into hell with only mild complaining, Cynic doesnt much care for outsiders regaurdless of their opinions. Respects her fighting skills, then later would respect her willingess to become a jedi "despite what happened to the rest of those sorry saps" he would probably say directly to her face. Would probably not form anything close to 'like' though, as he jut doent care to make friends. Lake and Torch often come as an inseparable sniper unit, even after all these years. Decidedly more willing to befriend people who chose not to tolerate Nihlus, because everthing the sith does often serves to make them a little bit squeamish, although Torch has a bit more of a stomach for it (though not by much). Lake would like more 'normal and sane' connections, and Torch would be interested in hearing about Andrie's homeworld, cause even after over 20 years he still cant quite believe a place could exist that is the antithesis of Kamino's vast oceans. Heron is.... Heron is a a brutal killer who has an occasional taste for what he butchers. He held too many lives in his hands during the clone wars and developed both a god complex about his medic shit and a taste for blood, and he's had his fair share of fun with Nihlus and some of their imperial prisoners. Even if Andrie had never seen his work directly, she's likely heard rumors. If she can get past that, though, he's actually nice enough, and surprisingly amiable to boot. Sprig is always around. and he's always listening. If crisis company has a spymaster, he's it. He's probably met the rebellions concept of Andrie long before he's met the woman himself. Also respects her regaurdless of wether or not she tolerates Nihlus, but his regaurd for likeablity would fluctiate based on how vocally she dislikes his 'little' brother, if at all. if she actively dislikes Nihlus, he listens. If she doesnt, he speaks in equal measures. He does love to just chit-chat, too.

[notthestarwar]

Snippet

He feels like he's in some kind of liminal space.

Here in this apartment where his brother has a life with these people and the war can't touch them.

There is no war in this place, with its baby pictures and rugs, there is only love.

He takes in the scene in front of him, still frozen in place and it's in that moment that Cody realises that he'd never stopped looking for his brother, not really. Not since he'd first gone missing in the hands of pirates and not even when that shiny had returned without him. Not when that same shiny died on a battlefield before Cody could arrange to meet him.

He's looked for his brother in every corner of the galaxy. A thousand places on a hundred planets. Wherever Cody goes, he is looking, still, just out the corner of his eye for a flash or a glance. But he never looked here. Here on 000 is the last place Cody might have ever looked for his brother and yet here he is.

Ponds is here and he's alive and here isn't a prison; or a lab or a market or a cantina, here is a home. He has finally found his brother in the last place he ever thought to look for him, here, in the heart of a family.

And the thing was, this shouldn't have come through to him, A suspected clone living here. It was a special favour. Someone, someone knew this was Ponds. They had sent this to Cody, his batcher, on purpose. To what end?

Cody hadn't a clue.

Here's what he does know:

The kid has Rex's hair. It's damning as anything else. This child with its unknown face and his brothers hair and Cody's eyes.

The baby is making a concentrated effort to stuff its whole fist in its mouth. Gumming at it like it's the only thing that matters. From his place in the crook of his brothers arm, where Ponds had scooped him up the moment Cody had walked in, maybe it was the only thing that mattered.

Ponds is clutching at the child. Like Cody might be a threat to it, a threat to what he's built here.

Maybe Cody is a threat to that.

The thing is soft cheeked and vulnerable in a way that Cody and his brothers had never been vulnerable.

He watches the child in his brothers arms and he tries to understand. He really does. Cody tries to understand why the Fuck their brother would do this to them.

The kid looks different in a way that no tubie ever does. It looks like them in some ways and like her in others and then, in some ways it looks like nobody Cody's ever seen before.

An entirely new face, features that are halfway between the two of them, an amalgamation of his brother and this woman, that makes something entirely new.

The thing is, it just doesn't make any damned sense. Of all his brothers, Ponds was loyal. That was his defining trait. So Cody can't begin to understand why he'd betray them like this. Betray the GAR. Betray his general.

[mademoiselle-cookie]

@supremechancellorrex So I'm only responding bc you have the delicacy of tagging this as 'pro-jedi'. Since you give me the stick to beat you with, I will comply.

First, Slick

Slick is a clone who sold information to the enemy for money, which led to the death of his own brothers. He blew up the armory, increasing the future death toll as the clones wouldn't have anything to defend themselves with. He also tried to blame another of his brothers and kill Cody and Rex when he was discovered.

To put it simply, he's a villain.

It's not complicated. It's a children's show. If a character commits bad deeds, he is a villain. So you shouldn't foolishly believe what he says. It's a narrative rule. Every child knows that.

If Slick blames the Jedi, it's to justify what he did, like when Anakin says the Jedi are evil after slaughtering them, including children. If the show wanted to tell us that he was right, he would not have put this episode in the 1st season, it would have waited for arcs like Umbara, to show that, indeed, the clones suffer in the presence of the Jedi. It also wouldn't mention that Slick received any money. And his victims would not have been only HIS BROTHERS, the same ones whose cause he claims to defend.

One is defined by his actions, not his words. Slick did shit for his brothers.

Take a look at how the rest of the clones think of the Jedi as a whole.

And it's just the obvious. I'm not quoting all the times we see the clones and the Jedi being friends, trusting each other, or saving each other. But here a few links : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. (you seem to understand that Jedi are good with them but a reminder is clearly necessary)

Also, the Jedi don't own the clones.

Clones are property of the Republic. Not the Jedi.

Only the Senate and the Supreme Chancellor have a say in the clones fate. You can't be a slavers if you don't have slaves.

Yes, the Jedi were their Generals. But it has nothing to do with that. The Jedi entered the war because the Separatists were over-armed, guided by a Sith (natural enemy of the Jedi who can only be stopped by them, and a former member of the Order), and very determined to massacre and dominate the universe.

The Jedi cannot but go to war. Their inaction would kill too many people.

"It’s a tough call. It’s one of the conundrums of which there’s a bunch of in my movies. You have to think it through. Are they going to stick with their moral rules and all be killed, which makes it irrelevant, or do they help save the Republic?" George Lucas, The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020

And you know who would have died in greater numbers without the Jedi? The clones.

They wouldn't have been led by compassionate leaders, but by Admirals like Tarkin. They wouldn't have competent and experienced fighters with magical powers with them on the battlefield. Or they simply wouldn't have kind companions who push them to think by themself (Nala Se: "I'm afraid the Jedi have inspired creative thinking in some of the clones." (ep3 s6)).

Again, clones are not the Jedi's slaves. (so we must also forget this idea of "nice masters")

In fact, the Jedi are the people who fight the most against slavery in SW.

There's a whole arc about an empire of slavers who hate the Jedi for destroying their trade, and who started to re-emerge BECAUSE the Jedi were too busy with the war.

Darts D'Nar: "For thousands of years, Zygerria supplied slave labor to the galaxy. We prospered. Our customers prospered. Then the Jedi came." (ep11 s4)

But why people who fight slavery don't say a thing about the clones situation?

Because the writing of the show sucks.

Narratively, clones aren't slaves.

They're only a drafted army (well, to be fair, draft is actually close to slavery if you look closely, which is what the clone situation criticizes, but the authors didn't realize how this one isn't just a draft).

And though it sucks, the Jedi can't say anything because they too are drafted.

"The Jedi weren't meant to fight wars. That's the gig issue in the prequels. They got drafted into service, which is exactly what Palpatine wanted" George Lucas, An Oral History of Star Wars: Episode 1, 2019

If the show meant that the clones were slaves, it wouldn't have had only one person to say it (someone who's an unreliable narrator) but by people we trusted like Rex or Cody. It would have shown Padmé, who openly despises slavery, speaking out against their plight, especially when fighting against buying more clones in one episode (while unlike the Jedi, SHE has the power to fix their situation). It would have been said during the Umbara arc or the Zygerrian arc where Rex, a clone, is enslaved. It would have Cut Lawquane, a deserter (not an escapee, a deserter) said he had enough of their slavery, or he would have critised the Jedi since they're slavers right? But no. Not a world against them. Only against the Republic.

(remember when I said SW criticizes draft?)

So yeah, the clones situation sucks, but even if the Jedi were fully aware of that, they couldn't have done anything. They didn't even have political powers. They can't stop themself for being drafted. They're only servants of the Republic that even nice Senators like Riyo Chuchi think she can order around (with a literal Council Member, no less). The Chancellor was even able to force them to stop looking for a Sith Lord, a massive danger for the Republic and their natural ennemies.

What make you refuse to help the clones when they're the only who did? Padmé and Bail don't do anything when it's their role to do so, and we know they're nice people. Slavery is prohibited in the Republic, someone (who's canonically not a liar and a traitor) should have said something in this regard. The Senate shouldn't even be able to buy clones, it's against their laws.

It's sad to say but the authors don't care about the clones. They're mostly canon folder meant to die in number because it's a show about a war.

You talk about challenging its leaders.

Do you remember when Qui-Gon, a respected Jedi Master, argued against the Council? When a newly knighted Jedi threatened the Grandmaster of the Order to leave if he didn't get what he wanted? When he argues against the mission the Council has entrusted to his Padawan? All the times Anakin disobeyed an order and it was either ignored or complimented? When the Younglings in the Gathering arc disobeyed Obi-Wan direct order and he complimented them for that?

Or are you saying that along the lines of the Jedi versus the Senate?

Don't you remember when Obi-Wan was suspicious of Padmé because she was a politician? And that he followed with a criticism of the Chancellor of the Republic? When the Council was fighting against their draft before they knew about Dooku? When Obi-Wan refused to obey Riyo's orders? When Mace was ready to fuck a political treaty to save an innocent animal? When the Jedi were thinking of overthrowing the Supreme Chancellor even before they knew he was a Sith Lord? When they sent Anakin as a spy against him? When the Jedi were the only ones to actually do anything against him?

About the Citadel arc.

It's rather telling that you think that a compassionate Jedi is sassing someone death instead of just giving the spectators an information (IT'S A KID SHOW). It's an extremely dangerous mission and they HAD to finish it, they don't have time to mourn or slow down for any reason (including searching for clone corpses). But even if they didn't have that time, the show take a few moments to show us Obi-Wan's sad face when someone died. So no, he won't make a joke for something like that.

Out-of-universe, the reason as to why Piell has a funeral is bc he is a character who has appeared several times in the movies and a Jedi, which makes him narratively more important than the clones (for the authors, I specify). So he MUST leave with more ceremony.

In-universe, if Piell was able to have one, it was because they had the time and opportunity. In his case, the group wasn't actively being chased and they had lava just next to them. Let's remember though that even here, Obi-Wan reminds during the funeral that they need to be quick, which he does all the time in the arc, he makes no exception with Piell.

You mention Pong Krell, but you don't think he lied to the other Jedi about the reasons behing his casualty number? They don't stalk or monitor their people, they can't control everything they do. Krell was raised with them as a family member, of course they trusted him. It's his fault for betraying their trust, not the Jedi's for being betrayed.

During the Wrong Jedi arc, the Council didn't trust Ahsoka BECAUSE of Pong Krell, they learn their lesson.

Jedi don't have political power BY CHOICE.

First, because it's not their role, it's that of the Senators. And that of the citizens is to hold them accountable. Jedi have to stay neutral to be efficient diplomats et negociators. A community of 10 000 persons, including children, don't have to do everything to make the Republic work (they are a very small minority on Coruscant, so on the scale of the universe…). Do you expect them to be judge, jury and executioner? It's the first step towards tyranny.

Second, do YOU want powerful wizards who can mind trick people in charge of governements and laws? Wouldn't you be afraid that they would go too far or that they would use their powers for selfish ends? Because it's a perfectly normal reaction, and something that can indeed happen. Too much power can corrupt someone, so not having political power when you already have magic power is a good idea.

But even in this case, the Jedi were the only to do anything about the state of the Republic (the Delegation of 2000, which was erased of ROTS, was only thinking of doing something).

It's telling you use the words of someone who want to slaughter the Jedi. You didn't think for a second that he wasn't a reliable source of information about them? Really? How obvious does a kid show have to be for you to notice its message? THE BAD GUYS LIE. It's a trope in fiction. You have to be very careful with the words of a villain, ESPECIALLY when he seeks to criticize the good guys, who they want to kill I remind.

You're visibly the kind of people who will believe blindly the nazis lies about the Jews (and do you know the Jedi were inspired by Jews and the Sith by nazis? So don't give me the "exaggerated comparison" excuse)

But if you want to play this game, in TPM (the "golden age" of the Jedi according to Lucas, so an example of how they act in usual situations), the Chancellor go seek their help IN SECRET, because the Senate is useless. They didn't follow the Senate's orders. Because the Senate refused to act. So they would have never asked the Jedi to intervene. And when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan came back with Queen Amidala, no one cares that they did something without their approval. And it was the Council alone that sent the two Jedi back to protect Padmé after the Senate proved to be useless again.

(Please don't use the excuse of "but the Chancellor told them to intervene". This is a crisis on an intergalactic level, the Jedi cannot intervene at will. They must be sure to be useful otherwise they will create even more problems. The galaxy was lucky at this time that the Chancellor was competent)

I would also like to note the irony of Dooku, apprentice of Sidious, who complains of a corrupt Senate, while he knows perfectly well that his Master greatly worsens the situation.

And how much the Jedi could have fight for the clones when they were DYING IN WAR? They don't have time to think, that's why it takes them so much time to investigate the clones' origin. It's easy to say they should have done better when you're a spectator well settled in your seat while they're constantly busy to do something that's the complete opposite of their values and they can literally feel their family being killed. And did you forget the anti-Jedi campaign? The Senate and the citizens were more and more suspicious and aggressive against them, they had even less power than before the war.

(And if there were clones in the Temple, it's maybe because the Jedi who held these positions went to war or are dead?)

As tragic as it was, the clones' situation was very far from being the Jedi's priority.

You really used the Wrong Jedi arc.

This arc is funny because it doesn't criticize the Jedi but Ahsoka. Ahsoka who was completely rulled by her emotions and refused to trust the Council for no reason, when they never give her a reason to do so before. And SHE gave them plenty of reasons to not trust her.

But let's look at the situation from the Council's point of view. One of yours is accused:

of strangling someone to death, with video as evidence,

of running away from her cell (which she did),

of having killed the guards with her lightsabers when she is the only person in the building who knows how to use this weapon and that she has the said weapons in her hands (weapons which were confiscated from her),

of running away (which she did)

of allying with a known Sith/Separatist (which she did)

of attacking clones (which she did)

of causing the explosion at your home, which killed civilians and clones, because she was found on the place where the nanobombs, which were used during the attack, were.

And it's against the backdrop of Dooku and Pong Krell, respected Jedi who have betrayed the Order and fallen to the Dark Side. Not to mention that her Master offered her to come back and let you help her (because it's your role), which she refused.

What would you think?

(And the Council was right. There was a Padawan who went to the dark side and who orchestrated the Temple bombing, strangled Letta to death, and killed clones.)

And it's wrong to say that they threw her under the bus. During the pursuit after her escape, the Council allowed Anakin, her Master, to be part of the team to capture her, they try to fight against the Senate to keep Ahsoka (without success admittedly, but they tried several times, while they have very little screen time), they take care of finding a defense for Ahsoka, they let Anakin continue the investigations*, etc...

*They could have forbidden him but they didn't (and him not being a member of the Council, he could do whatever he wanted). It's not even a matter of not knowing since Ahsoka has publicly confessed that her Master continued the investigation (and you'd have to be a moron to think he wouldn't).

What could they have done anyway? Ahsoka's case was not just about the Jedi but about the Republic itself. Because she was accused of HIGH TREASON and killing Republic citizens/properties, and there are people out there angry enough to blow up their house. And that's not counting the fact that the war didn't end just for Ahsoka's trial, the Council Members are still War Generals and some aren't even here because of that.

It would be showing enormous favoritism to risk the Temple and all the Jedi (and by extension the war effort) just for ONE person, who has chosen not to trust them anyway. (And isn't that the definition of attachment?)

The Jedi didn't have time to do their own trial (which would have had no value in the eyes of the Republic since they wouldn't have been judged impartial), so in a hurry, they took the only logical, legal decision that causes the least damage to the greatest number.

What Ventress said was : "My master abandoned me and that's exactly what you did to her. You and your precious Jedi Order."

In other words, she's PROJECTING!

Her situation has nothing to do with Ahsoka's. Dooku actively tried to kill her for no (legitimate) reason, when Ahsoka was accused of terrorism and the Jedi did try to help her. What do she think Anakin was trying to do by interrogating her? The main person she's accusing is innocent, so the rest of her accusation is worthless too.

This dialogue is there to tap into Anakin's insecurities, not to criticize him and the Order.

And again, Ventress is not a reliable narrator.

When did the Jedi are ever seen enforcing laws exactly?

I return to this example but we see not only a Member of the Council but the Head of the Council prioritizing the life of the Zillo Beast over signing a treaty. During a war.

Woah, they really lost their way and let themself be corrupted.

There is also the example of Satine who fights against the Senate for NOT having the presence of the Republic on her planet and Obi-Wan, Member of the Council, helps her. He think neutrality is not a good choice (he's right) but he respects her and Mandalore's decision. Even if it's against the Senate's desire.

"inevitably screwed over"

You mean when they were genocided for the crime of existing?

Because it's that, pratically all the Jedi were killed, including the elderly, non-combatants and children. Their culture were erased, their home desacralized, their memories tarnished and their survivors hunted and if captured, tortured either to death or into brainwashing to hunt down their own family.

No one deserves that and no one is responsible of that.

The reason Sidious wanted to get rid of the Jedi is because they are NOT complacent. That's the whole point.

The "fall" of the Jedi was a genocide. It's absolutely disguting to place the blame on them.

They see that Palpatine was shady, even before the war (cf Obi-Wan), but there is little a small community without political power can do.

The Jedi did protested against their draft, they didn't want to bring their personal matters to the Chancellor but it's Anakin who argued to do so, Mace did fight for saving the Zillo Beast and was openly against bringing it on Coruscant... Even in relation to Sidious, Obi-Wan found the clones and Geonosis sooner than expected, the Jedi were able to recover the children before Sidious experimented on them…

And in the end, they did act directly against Palpatine. So what's the problem? Did you see the movies?

You acknowledge that the Jedi had no choice but you also say that they are making the worst possible decision. How?

"Cool motive, still slavery" is not an argument. It wasn't a motive. They simply don't have a choice. Letting the Republic and the clones be killed by droids is not a choice. Is it ethically worse to have a drafted (or slave) army or to let the Separatist slaughter, enslave and destroy every planets (even neutral) they encountered?

You think doing discreet resistance would have been efficient, really? When the Senate never listens to them and they are extremely busy with the war? And again, for it to work, it needs the authors, LucasFilm, to aknowledge the clones as slaves. But no one, not George Lucas, not Dave Filoni, not Pablo Hidalgo, no one ever said anything along these lines.

The Jedi are the good guys

That's how they were created, the way the light side of the Force works. They can't be corrupted otherwise they would have fallen to the Dark Side. They're the kind monks whose main value is compassion and who spend their time trying to save people. That's why their genocide is unilaterally a bad thing and announces the beginning of terror and dark times. That's why Anakin becoming again a Jedi in Return of the JEDI is a good thing.

There was a anti-Senate sentiment (not anti-Republic, because the very principle of the Republic is a good idea and worked for 1000 years before the arrival of the Siths) since before the war. But they know that a mutiny against the Senate would have created more problems than it would have solved, until it was the only option. Jedi think before they act and prioritize the good of the greatest number. That's why they helped neutral and even Separatist planets when they can, without the permission of the Senate.

The citizens of the Republic felt abandonned by the Jedi because they were busy dying in a war to protect them. Don't forget they were feed anti-Jedi propaganda during all this time.

The PT wasn't about how the Jedi were corrupted which cause their genocide (it's the dumbest thing I ever read), but how Anakin and the Republic allowed themselves to be corrupted and become responsible for the massacre of a group of innocent people, either directly or by complicity. You complain over and over that the Jedi said nothing in accepting a clone army, but where is that verve for the people of the Republic? They had the power to say something and they weren't busy by fighting in a war, they could have done something, at least protest. Of course they didn't, since the army was originally supposed to be made up of citizens, and they're all too happy not to die. They prefer to complain about those who did die for them.

In the end

I understand feeling sad at the horror that happened to the Jedi and wanting to find escapes. I understand (no) wanting to blame the victims to alleviate the tragedy. But the least you can do is to leave the pro-jedi fans alone instead of pissing them off with bullshit that a 5 year old can debunk.

Leave us alone.

I hear a lot of anti-Jedi and pro-Jedi going back and forth on this platform, but I wonder if we're only dealing in absolutes. That's it, everyone on tumblr is a Sith. Confirmed.

But, seriously (I was serious), are the Jedi good? Are they evil? Are they somewhere inbetween? And what is the system they support? Are they being their 'best selves' by the twilight years of the Republic? Am I a jerk? Are they jerks? Are you a jerk? Well... let's look at both sides and canon as it is, and see where it goes.

Should we ignore the problems and implications?

Dogma: "No! We have orders! We have to go through with this!"

First things first, let's start with negativity, because that's life possibly. There are a number of criticisms which are levelled against the Jedi in the canon. The Star Wars writers didn't always just put scenes and lines in for fun.

Slick: "It's the Jedi who keep my brothers enslaved. We serve at your whim. We do your bidding. I just wanted something more."

The Jedi are accused of slavery in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was created by George Lucas as Executive Producer, along with Dave Filoni and a whole host of writers working in collaboration. When Slick accuses the Jedi of being his and other clones' slave masters, it is never refuted by any of the characters, even Obi-Wan and Anakin who he is speaking to. It's never refused by the narrative at all.

Canonically, the Jedi as citizens and their military generals act as the clones superiors and also masters by proxy in the command chain. Slick's accusation is that the Jedi "keep [his] brothers" enslaved, not that they even necessarily enslaved them in the first place. He is indicating that the Jedi have power and agency, which they do as natborn citizens, but they don't direct it for justice and meaningful change in regards to clone rights.

Satine Kryze: "I remember a time when Jedi were not Generals, but peacekeepers."

Now, people have argued that the Jedi do help the clones and they are "in charge of [the clones] care", as Master Shaak Ti says during a continuing arguement where her and Nala Se debated on who Tup, Fives and clones in general belonged to as "property". The Jedi could think think themselves better caretakers of the clones troopers than natborn officers like Tarkin, although this verges on character speculation. Canonically, we do see evidence of care, such as Shaak Ti advocating for Domino Squad and calling them "living beings" that didn't deserve to be "cast aside", Mace and Plo Koon and other Jedi do show concern for their men's lives.

But, arguably it doesn't account for much when the Jedi are still working in the framework and structures of slavery instead of protesting it. Being kind to clones doesn't mean much when you prop up the meat-grinder of a system that uses them as cannon fodder.

This is exemplified in the show itself.

Ahsoka: "It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they're not.”

Unjust actors and systems are to be challenged. The Jedi being nice isn't an absolution for their participation in this system, just as a slave master or a deputy slave master being nice in any context doesn't change the fact that they are still in command of slaves getting thrown into the meat grinder every day. If you support an unjust system, you bear responsibility.

And, moreover, despite moments of compassion from Jedi, for people who value life, the Jedi as an organisation still show a concerning ease with clone death as the war progresses. The Citadel Arc is a great example of this. As Clone Trooper Charger falls to his death and collides with a shock mine, Obi-Wan sasses "Well, they know we're here now" as the other clones still are reaching out in horror. Every time a clone dies on that mission, they leave them behind, even Echo (who turns out to still be alive and is captured by the enemy and tortured). However, despite the urgency of the mission, when Jedi Master Even Piell dies, the Jedi pause the mission to give him a funeral and burial even though the enemy is closing in. If there was ever a message that the Jedi value their slave soldiers' lives less, this is it.

Further evidence includes the fact that Jedi Master Pong Krell's casualty numbers were well-known in the military, to point Torrent Company were openly debating them, and yet no other Jedi General had felt the need to propose a military investigation. Additionally, when the Jedi were fed the cover story the inhibitor chips in their men's brain were just designed to make them less aggressive and more docile, there is no evidence they protested this mental violation. Another neglect in a series of many. Taking this into regard, I think the unfortunate implications are clear.

Perhaps the Jedi should find better use for their mind tricks and lightsabers than cutting up droids and planetary militias all while propping up an unjust regime?

Master enablers

Jedi Master Dooku: "The Jedi blindly serve a corrupt Senate that fails the Republic it represents."

Canonically, the Jedi are deeply flawed as an organisation. They are politically centrist in a way that does not benefit either themselves or the Republic in end, shown to be enablers that uphold the system and law as it is, regardless of how unjust.

How can the Jedi have the high ground when they appease a Senate that supports slavery regardless of how the writers try to downplay it? How can they be morally righteous when they bow down, without much resistance if at all, to such system that uses slave soldiers? Clones die under Jedi command, they work in the Jedi Temple as both soldiers and technicians. The Jedi claim they just can't get involved in changing the system because it's beyond their mandate when what's on their doorstep, what's in their temple, is slavery, slavery that they even benefit from arguably to even maintain their transports and technical systems.

For any person or group in any system, there's a breaking point where things have gone too far, but how much one tolerates up until that point says a lot about their moral character. The Jedi were drafted by the Chancellor (Oh you) and perhaps they thought being 'kind' to the clones when they interacted with them was enough, but it wasn't. And while the Jedi continue to believe in the Republic far beyond acceptable, victims mount.

During the Wrong Jedi Arc, the Jedi Order also show themselves in bad light. It would have been one thing to believe Ahsoka was guilty and leave it at that, yet they practically threw Ahsoka under the bus for politics in reality. Mace kept talking about the politics, essentially showing Jedi PR was a more important factor than Ahsoka's life.

Mace Windu: "I understand your sentiment, Obi-Wan. But, if the council does as you suggest. It could be seen as an act of opposition to the Senate. I'm afraid we have little choice."

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan advocated for Ahsoka briefly, expressing doubts at her guilt, but at best casts a vote in her favour when he knows it won't be enough. Give it to Anakin in this instance, at least he did an actual private investigate to prevent a wrongful conviction instead of sitting back. Like Asajj Ventress said when confronted by Anakin, the Order abandoned Ahsoka and appease a Senate that supports authoritarian policies, kangaroo court trials and a slave army. What a state to die for.

Ahsoka: “This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had, too, until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us.”

How can the Jedi believe in the Republic to the point they were surprised when they got inevitably screwed over? Again, the narrative supports the idea the Jedi have lost their way and become enforcers for the Senate, however fascist and dangerous it has clearly become. You kind of have to have in order to become key leaders of a slave army when you were peacekeepers beforehand. The Republic is failing, but so are the Jedi. They fight the war with the tools they are given, from their lightsabers to their slave soldiers, with no solution or appropriate concern for the legislative catastrophe happening at the heart of the Republic until they realise Palpatine's been in a little long with his executive powers. They enforce laws, unjust systems and follow orders.

Fives: "I'm sorry. I cannot just follow orders when I know they're wrong. Especially when lives are at stake."

Captain Rex: "You will if you support the system we fight for."

Fives: "I do support it. I do! But I am not just another number! None of us are!"

TCW shows us that following rules and regulations when they're immoral is the wrong course of action, yet no matter the signs and warning, the Jedi continue to play into Palpatine's hands with their misguided patriotism as the Republic becomes increasing draconian and despotic. The most problematic factor about the Jedi is that they don't acknowledge the problems and the fact the clones' situation is unacceptable on every ground. They don't acknowledge the clones' situation, they don't acknowledge the Republic is bad or try to think of solutions to that even if they don't work. The situation is complicated, but the Jedi went along with bad options when they should have known what the Republic was by this point. How can the Jedi enforce justice when they enforce the corruption of it?

The Jedi continue to believe in the Republic and their part in he hierarchy when it seems more akin to a hostage situation with slaves in the balance. If they're blind, they're fools. If they knew, they're knowing enablers.

A tight spot

Obi-Wan Kenobi: "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic... before the dark times... before the empire."

Now, the flaws in the Jedi are clear, but it's all well and good to critique them. What could the Jedi have done effectively instead? If the Jedi were more keyed in on the Republic's unsalvageable system and decided to be proactive in regards to it, what could they do realistically? Aside from the emotional weight of getting people to abandon their home and a multi-generation relationship the stretches back centuries and centuries, the logistics of getting 10,000 people to desert and transporting them without the Republic and GAR noticing and stepping in feels unrealistic. Not only this, but they'd be ditching the clones to slavery yet again, as it's not like the Jedi can all desert and take the clones with them like they're plushie toys. Each clone is a different individual and deprogramming child soldiers is difficult.

People like Dogma, Neyo and Bacara wouldn't canonically desert without the right circumstances, Captain Rex wouldn't just desert with Anakin, nor could Obi-Wan sashay Commander Cody and his troops away like some of the fandom thinks. A lot of clones were indoctrinated to be loyal to the Republic from a young age. If the Jedi had just flat out tried desert, Order 66 would have likely happened earlier and Palpatine would have easily painted the Jedi as traitors.

Of course, there are the inhibitor chips as also a factor, but we can only judge the moral character of the Jedi based on the knowledge they did have and what they chose to do with it.

Barriss Offee: "An army fighting for the dark side. Fallen from the light we hold so dear. This Republic is failing. It's only a matter of time."

However, this is no excuse for the Jedi Order choosing the worst option out of a bad bunch. The Jedi crossed the moral precipice. They crossed it ever since AOTC when they decided that indoctrinated, slave soldier of dubious origin were just what they needed to throw into the desert meatgrinder that is Geonosis as the war started. There reasons make sense in their way, there's millions of units of droid army marching their way and the Republic and Senate have only a ten-thousand strong Jedi and the Judicial Forces. At the same time, the reasons for that humanitarian crisis aren't justifications. 'Cool motive. Still slavery' applies here.

Ethically, Yoda and Mace shouldn't have just gone along with the draft without any counter-strategy, especially if they cared about the clones as human beings and a people. They could have pretended cooperation and done discreet resistance at least. Of course, the Jedi even if they resisted weren't probably gonna have a happy ending, as generations under Republic thumb had neutered them and taken their passion and power, but they would have taken the moral and right action.

Instead, the Jedi remain the face of the war effort, using a Trojan Horse slave army just given to them with no real protest. If the Star Wars had truly wanted the Jedi to be wholly good, they'd have had them be more begrudging, cynical and weary at being pressured and coerced by the state. There'd be growing Anti-Republic sentiment, which would have been a start. Rebellion, dissent and mutiny would have been even more valuable and expected. Instead, the Jedi Order are loyal to the regime until the very last moments of the war.

In Conclusion

In the twilight years of the Republic, Palpatine really used every weakness of the Jedi against them. As an organisation, the Jedi really can't save themselves. Individuals can, as shown by Ahsoka leaving, but the Republic destroyed the Jedi, it took their soul, it bureaucratised and militarised their culture, and the Jedi just slid down that slope. That's part of why the people felt abandoned by the Jedi, as the Jedi were too melded to the system both functionally and idealistically, trapped in the snake, them and what they stood for slowly digested as they safeguarded and enforced unjust status quos. Even when Dooku was young, as The Tales of the Jedi said, they were already damned. Ahsoka left, every Jedi should have at that point. The Republic definitely would fight an en masse desertion, but it'd have been the right thing to do.

Some Jedi realised and left, others were to committed the belief of a Jedi Order that had become a shadow of what it was. The Jedi are a warning of what happens when governments, hierarchies and religion connect and influence each other for centuries. At the same time, adult Jedi were responsible for their actions, and each could have done more for the clones than they did.

Fives: "We must be trusted to make the right decision, especially when the orders we are given are wrong!"

[bytebun]

📒🙏

Put "📓" or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I'll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven't written but daydream about.

hohoho ok. I feel like I need to give some context for this one.

Basically, I had a long time travel story idea that can be summarized as such:

Cody: supreme chancellor's haunted Alpha-17: what? Cody: [cocking a blaster] supreme chancellor's haunted

(in which Cody, accidental time traveler, immediately attempts to assassinate the nearest Sith Lord.)

My characterization of Cody, who is in many ways an everyman for the clones in a way that Rex very much isn't - is that he's caught somewhere between being a weapon and being a person. And for Cody in particular, he always has to be a commander before he's a brother. So in all these different ways this person of "Cody" doesn't exist without the war, and what the community around him needs from him (his duty), which is great fun when you take him out of it and give him a little shake. And when he realizes that he's never really had a choice in his entire life, that everything he thought he'd chosen was basically not really a choice at all... how does he go on?

The easy choice at those crossroads is to become a weapon - to define yourself by some mission, and lose yourself in its pursuit. (It's almost like religion, in a way - not derogatory but. giving yourself up for something greater, and making your suffering mean something - isn't that what humans want? To believe?) Like crazy murdering a Sith Lord. But of course, Cody on kamino, even half out of his mind with grief and anger, is going to pick his duty to his brothers first before doing a murder - for better or worse.

Ok all of that is the pre-amble. jaslkdfsdlkf.

I thought, ok so Cody is like this on Kamino. Because he's a man defined by what the people around him need him to be. Let's take him even further out of that - what happens if he gets dropped off somewhere else? Where his duty to his brothers is not so immediate, not so present?

AU of my own AU where our dear Commander, in control of himself for the first time since Order-66, wakes up on Tatooine.

And the nearest future-Sith is Anakin Skywalker, age 8.

He ends up with his blaster pointed at this child ensconced in his mother's arms, trembling with fear, helpless. It would be pitiable, if he didn't know exactly what kind of monster the boy would grow up to be.

Commander Cody of the 212th Attack Battalion, under one General Kenobi, had never killed a child. Would never.

Purge trooper CC-2224 never had a choice.

He has one now.

[clonehub]

What are your thoughts on the narrative parallels between slick and dogma? I think the two have very simmiliar storylines that tcw didnt really expore in more depth as being paralleled bc I thought it was interesting that slick appeared to be "obedient" or rule abiding while plotting his active betrayal of the republic and by extension his siblings meanwhile dogma embodies "obedience" and in turn this obedience leads him to allying himself with the republic and a jedi who is actively betraying his siblings bc he doesnt see them as a people

both are then vilified by their siblings even though to them in that moment they were doing the right thing, and maybe this is just my own perception bc I see dogma embraced by the fandom as a whole while slick is just a straight up villain but I think there is really interesting nuance with slicks storyline and its interesting to hold it up for comparison to dogma

this is such an interesting ask anon! although I'd say their defining traits are a lack of loyalty and a presence of it.

As much as Slick loved his brothers, he betrayed them for a freedom only he would be able to experience. He'd put himself above anyone and anything else--and yeah he got paid for it, which would be appealing to someone who has no income whatsoever--but his loyalty to his family and the Republic stopped existing barely a month into the war.

Dogma, on the other hand, is loyal to a fault. We can tell that his thing is loyalty and not obedience, because when Rex (who outranks him) tells Dogma to drop his weapon and stop siding with Krell all the time, Dogma can't. Krell never said "defend me to the death". Krell never told Dogma to snitch and watch out for complainers. And when Krell was actively hurting and killing his family--as much as it pained Dogma--he still chose Krell until it was too late. Dogma doesn't say "you made me kill my brothers" until after....Krell had killed a bunch of clones and dogma had witnessed all of it. And yet, he went to stop Rex and his team from hunting Krell down. Even though I highly doubt there's a SOP for a Jedi-turned-Sith and what to do with them, common sense would have said "this guy is breaking the rules and is actively treasonous, so we are no longer obligated to follow their orders lest we turn treasonous too". I think it's interesting that Dogma didn't view his going against his brothers as siding with Krell's treason.

I think Slick and Dogma represent two extremes on the scale of loyalty that clones are expected to express. Slick wasn't loyal at all, and Dogma was too loyal--to the entirely wrong person. Neither could cope with their circumstances (not that I blame Slick) so they both ended up suffering for it.

A lot of people in the fandom thought Slick was a Total Villain for a long time before the genpop came to terms with the fact that the Jedi are in fact in charge of a slave army. Now more people see the nuance in him, and can empathize with his desire to leave the military by any means possible.

Of course, when it comes to clones going against the grain, we can't ignore Cut. Rex briefly attempts to accuse him of being disloyal to his brothers, but Cut's in a unique situation in that wanting to survive can't really be pinned against him--he was like Slick in that he hated the war and he hated killing, but he was an opportunist where Slick went out of his way to create destruction that would allow him to escape.

(which, now that I think about it--I don't remember any hints that Slick actually tried to leave after he betrayed everyone? like it's day time when their positions are exposed. and its night when he's caught. its been a long time since I've seen the episode, but his mentioning that assaj offered him freedom I would think would be paired with him actually trying to seize it)

Either way, Slick and Dogma are two very interesting Loyalty Case Studies. Their betrayal of their brothers--however permanent for Slick, and however brief for Dogma--would have left a profound impact on the 501st, and I would have loved to see the rippling effects in the company and in Rex.

[skysaunter]

             𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙰 𝚂𝚄𝙱𝚃𝙻𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝙿 𝙾𝙵 𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙽 , vader acknowledged his men standing vigil at the doors without words or grand gestures, well aware they had no time to spare as the situation downstairs had quickly turned to move against them.  together, they marched through durasteel-plated corridors encrusted with frost, the thunderous cadence of their boots echoing in spades as they delved deeper into the ancient rakata-made construct, now repurposed as a makeshift military encampment.

❝you’re going to have to give me a clearer picture of what went down,❞ rex declared after they cleared another flight of stairs.  ❝knox was all over the place before you grabbed his comlink.❞ never mind the fact the kid broke basic military protocol by frantically contacting rex on a private channel, as though they were lounging off duty and not currently serving alongside the emperor on his crusade to root out all slavers in the out-rim territories.

❝if i knew he’d tackle me to get it back, i’d have let him keep the damn thing.❞ jesse shook his head, scowling as he rolled his shoulders a few times, a troubled look settling on his face.  ❝not sure what went down.  he was fine when i left him with alniyat to grab us some kaf.  when i got back, he was in the corner, back against the wall, rifle up.  looked like he’d seen a ghost.❞

the kaminoans had meticulously altered fett’s DNA to ensure behavioral genes underscored essential qualities: loyalty, aggression, independence, and discipline primarily dominated all clones.  however, despite the kaminoans’ attempt to eradicate detrimental attributes, including susceptibility to combat-induced afflictions, the clones remained vulnerable to the ravages of post-traumatic stress.  observing symptoms among even the most well-adjusted, battle-hardened soldiers was not uncommon, and since the conclusion of the war, the prevalence of mental health crises within the ranks had only surged.

             ❝a ghost?❞ rex’s wandering gaze fixed on vader’s imposing figure, his broad back cutting a stark silhouette against the backdrop of frosted durasteel and trailing cape like an unending river of ink spilling across the floor.

knox had been one of many countless soldiers who struggled to grapple with the daunting prospect of life beyond the relentless grind of warfare.  retirement, while technically still pending as a choice, loomed over them all like an impending reckoning, threatening to strip away the purpose that had defined their very existence since birth.  rex surmised that the growing unrest amongst the 501st legion was partly why vader initiated this righteous campaign.  beyond his own conspicuous, rather personal motivations, a similar restlessness plagued vader, too.

it seemed the war’s end had come too swiftly, too abruptly, leaving everyone, including their leader, scrambling to navigate a world beyond the conflict they had known for so long.

❝makes me wonder if our brothers will ever learn to drop the tough act and seek help when they really need it.❞

jesse offered nothing more than a grunt in response, prompting rex to cast a sidelong glance at his brother.  the deepening furrow of the ARC trooper’s brow betrayed his disagreement with the exchange.  rex raised an eyebrow.

❝plenty of our brothers don’t know when to quit and ask for help, even when they’re on the edge.  guess we can thank kaminoan engineering for that.❞ there was a bitter edge to jesse’s chuckle.  ❝but i don’t buy for a second that knox was having an episode.  we know what that looks like; we’ve seen it in our brothers’ before.  when knox came at me, he didn’t have that same empty stare or far-off look.  he was right there with me, alive and fighting.  i think he was just… mixed up.  confused—❞

both jesse and rex came to an abrupt halt before vader, who peered over his shoulder at his accompanying cadre, his red-rimmed eyes burning a sickly shade of sulfur yellow.             ❝where was alniyat?❞

❝seated and restrained, sir.❞ there was a sudden tightness around jesse’s mouth before he glanced at rex, then back at vader.  ❝been meaning to mention him.  knox wouldn’t let up about alniyat acting weird, and i get it now.  the guy’s a real oddball.  been giggling non-stop since we hauled him in.  talks in riddles and laughs like he’s in on some secret joke.  when crank took knox off my hands, i noticed alniyat was red and shaking.  thought knox might’ve roughed him up, but turns out he was just… laughing his head off, silent-like.❞

             𝙷𝚄𝚃𝚃 𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙼𝙴 𝙻𝙾𝚁𝙳 𝙳𝙰𝚁𝙶𝙰 𝙹𝙸𝚁𝙰𝙼𝙼𝙰 𝙼𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙰 𝚂𝙽𝙸𝚅𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 , craven worm who wilted like a sickly weed when a shadow darkened his palace on cato neimoidia. the instant vader set foot in his domain, darga’s bravado crumbled, replaced by wretched, blubbering pleas for mercy as his small army of bounty hunters fell one by one to the humming blade of a crimson ’saber. despite his youth, darga was a well-connected hutt, deeply embedded in the network of outer rim slavers. as the main supplier for the iron ring in the colonies, he had orchestrated the capture and torment of thousands. however, for all the rage festering within him, the dark lord did not carve open the hutt’s soft belly that evening. his blade stayed its fatal stroke—not from mercy, but from necessity. intel was paramount.

𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐒; it could wait.

the hutt’s intel had led vader here, to belsavis, a backwater planet forgotten by all except smugglers, treasure hunters, and now, slave-rings.  haldus alniyat had never been high on the list of wanted slavers, but vader would take any lead if it meant getting one step closer to eradicating the practice once and for all.

if only this were truly the man known as haldus alniyat.

sweeping back his cape, the dark lord lowered himself into the seat across alniyat before settling his elbows on the table, his hooded gaze unreadable.

             ❝your illusions may fool my men, but i see the truth behind your façade.  deception will not save you from me.❞ full lips curled into a toothless smile devoid of warmth.  ❝if it’s a game you desire, challenge me.  you will find me more than a match for your tricks.❞

What a rude awakening to slumber begot by grand feasting. Erasing so many lives, changing the very neurons within the brains of those who remained, such a twist of the knife known as reality. Plenty appeared to be inscrutable but where a dragon could concern itself, nothing was out of reach, only a whim away from becoming textile against the conscious mind. Opening a single eye to the disturbance of an oncoming vehicle not a shred of worry crosses between the threshold of their complex thoughts. Someone was on their way and even as they draw ever close, the shroud of a wanted man does not move a muscle. Completely unperturbed by the whine produced by an engine they do wait quite patiently for the offender to settle and dismount the strange vehicles. Armor, weapons of some type, and words to be shared.

Not that the stranger seemed too particularly amused with the antics of such a carefree individual. Soldiers were all the same. Haughty, throwing the weight of their purpose against those who were less fortunate. Only half a mind to pay any real attention, the guise of Haldus leans himself forward, planting hands upon each knee and staring earnestly to at least give the idea that he cares about whatever it is they want. Unbeknownst to the great beast laying just out of view, their visage was someone that would actually garner a less than friendly response. It'd been at least a hint that the man was less than savory, found amidst the scum of this universe, but to the degree that earns a barrel directed at him was something unexpected.

And, there is the question.

What happened?

He had smiled, lips pulled uncannily too wide for that of a normal man, and the confounding notion which follows: Why, I got hungry, of course. Not the answer that had been expected the Ahamkara revels in the unfurling of a desire unbidden. These people want to know, and that alone, proves dangerous within the metaphorical opening of a maw awaiting their misfortune. Fate plays its hand in a different way and the soldier might never fully grasp just how lucky he had been.

Hands dirtied by grime and gunk raise palm outwards and not an iota of resistance becomes of the actions which follow. To be placed into a state of arrest was a new experience indeed. How exciting that, even after all these endless centuries, something could happen which had never before. These ones were still fresh to the tithe of a paracausal entity and that thought, the simple fact that there were no other Ahamkara here? Oh, how sweet a treat to feast upon. An entire galaxy of potential chaos laid within their talons now and not a force could reckon with the power that would feed them forever.

Haldus does not speak, nor does he act as if escape were a priority. Rather, the slaver remains in quite good spirits despite it all. At a contented pace the man is paraded around, keen to take in all that they had to offer. Technology varied vastly between galaxies; life evolved to its niche and what tools turned into, followed suite. Though such novelties rarely mattered to a being that could return them to their base components without half a second of effort, should the want arise.

Seated and cuffed Haldus eyes the warden of his cell with the utmost curiosity. These people had not stumbled here by sheer accident. Someone, or perhaps thing, made note of the change. That there was now a void within the landscape where once a proud cesspit of debauchery stood, was only ever bound to draw attention. At least to the off-worlders who had not been affected by the arcane, something was seriously wrong.

Fingers interlace into one another and his head cants, a grin still unwavering.

"A question asked- and, although an answer arrived, it bears no notable notion of what, where, why... and you.. yearn. I can see it. Inescapable, indecipherable, inside your head something savory sullies itself against failure. What do you tell them? That the teetering town of vicious victims vindicated by revenge no longer exists? Unlikely, they will say. Yet it is.. so."

His words speak to whoever had delivered him into the single room, an interrogation had begun, and the interrogated was not even the one being held captive.

[testudoaubrei-blog]

“I’m loyal, that’s my whole thing.” - Scorpia, Season 4 Episode 6, Princess Scorpia

“Everything they taught us in the Horde about loyalty is meaningless” - Lonnie, Season 4 Episode 5, Protocol

Rewatching Season 4, I just finished Princess Scorpia. This is an episode that has always stuck with me, especially the A plot of Scorpia realizing how badly Catra has treated her and everyone else and deciding to leave. One thing I’ve been thinking about since I finished the series, though, is what this episode is telling us on a larger level. Looking beyond the character arcs and more at this show’s larger themes and message. Because this show is very much a show that says things, made by people who believe them. That earnestness and depth is one reason I keep coming back to it.

In the pull-quote above, and throughout the episode and before it, Scorpia defines herself in terms of loyalty. It is her identity - as she says, that’s what Scorpions do, they’re loyal. Her actions for three and a half seasons bear this out. When she first shows up, she tries to position herself as Catra’s new best friend, the one who won’t leave her and will stick by her no matter what. And that’s what she does, until this episode. She sticks by Catra through Catra’s increasingly villainous plots and erratic behavior. But she doesn’t just stick around. Until the portal, she barely contradicts Catra, and even afterwards, does so only furtively and immediately backs away as soon as Catra pushes back. For more than a year of show time, Scorpia has not just stood by Catra, or supported her, she’s actively assisted her in her most villainous and destructive acts. Scorpia is fighting by Catra’s side, eagerly carrying out her orders, and doing her utmost to see that Catra succeeds. But her loyalty goes beyond this practical help. Because for all that Catra loudly declares that she doesn’t need a new best friend, she consistently seeks out connection throughout the show, even when she’s at her most isolated in season 4. She needs moral support, and connection, and to know that she isn’t alone. Scorpia provides that, and keeps Catra going. Though Scropia isn’t initiating Catra’s various misdeeds, she’s assisting and supporting Catra throughout. On a personal, psychological level, the only word that seems adequate for this is ‘ennabling’ - Scorpia, sweet as she is, is Catra’s enabler. We see in the next few episodes what happens when Catra doesn’t have Scorpia’s support - she breaks down, and realizes that her actions really do have consequences, and that the affection she took for granted for so many years is something she can’t live without. But as long as Scorpia’s still around, Catra can’t make that realization.

Now I’m not going to say that Scorpia is morally culpable for Catra’s own actions. She’s not. Catra is solely responsible for her various betrayals, manipulations, violent outbursts and assorted murder attempts against...most of the rest of the cast (though being raised by Shadow Weaver sure as shit is a mitigating factor). But while Catra is obviously being a bad friend to Scorpia throughout, Scorpia isn’t actually being as supportive or helpful to Catra as she thinks, because Catra doesn’t actually need unconditional support, she needs people to be honest with her and express to her how she’s hurting them. She needs people who will stand up for themselves just as she needs to take responsibility for her own actions. This is part of why she and Adora have such a healthy dynamic in season 5 - Adora doesn’t take her crap, and Catra takes responsibility for her crap.

However, Scorpia -is- responsible for her own actions. And as I said above, she’s been with Catra every step of the way as Catra has attacked just about everyone and made war on Etheria. On a larger, political level, Scorpia is a willing participant in upholding the Horde’s oppressive system, and executing a war of aggression and colonization against innocent people. Speaking of colonization, perversely, she’s loyal to the very organization that dispossessed her and literally stole her birthright, then discarded it like a useless trinket when it was no longer useful to them. No one ever suggests ‘why don’t we let Scorpia connect with ~her runestone~’ until Glimmer does (and Glimmer’s motivations and arguments aren’t exactly forthright). Scorpia’s loyalty makes her an accomplice in her own oppression (like a bunch of the themes in this show there’s some interesting post-colonial stuff that the show doesn’t fully explore, probably because Noelle and the crew felt self-conscious about telling a post colonial story, or just didn’t know where to go with it). Interestingly, Scorpia’s loyalty to the Horde here parallels her loyalty to Catra, which has made her completely disregard her own wellbeing, which is the most obvious take away from the episode.

But I would argue that everything above shows that for Scorpia loyalty has been a way of avoiding developing her own moral compass. Scorpia repeatedly shoves aside questions of right or wrong in favor of being loyal to her friends and to the Horde. Loyalty has made Scorpia not only willing to accept her own mistreatment, but to willingly mistreat others, and to keep herself from asking any hard questions about what she’s doing or why. This is despite the fact that Scorpia is, by inclination, an incredibly gentle, kind and compassionate person. She’s willing to silence the best parts of her nature out of loyalty to Catra and the Horde. In the end, she also commits acts of violence and perpetuates the oppression of Etheria. And this is so insightful, because we see this sort of thing in our world all the time. So many oppressive institutions depend upon the loyalty of their members to keep them ‘just following orders’; so many abusive systems depend upon loyalty to stifle dissent and silence potential whistleblowers before they even speak. We see this in some of the most oppressive institutions and the worst scandals in our own society, and looking back through human history we see it in some of our nation’s and our species' most infamous crimes.

And when we look at the Horde as a system that Hordak has built in imitation of his elder brother’s empire, we see just how central loyalty is an ethos. Hordak himself is motivated entirely by loyalty to Prime - being a former clone, he spends the entire series not fully capable of accepting himself as an autonomous being (even when he acts like one and enjoys it, there’s some fucked up religious shit there that I won’t get into). He seems to have instilled this in his followers. The Horde Trio, Catra and Scorpia all hold loyalty as one of their highest values. Catra clings to it as her biggest accusation against Adora - that she was disloyal, as expressed in Catra’s perception that Adora broke her promise and abandoned her. Loyalty keeps the Horde Trio together and fighting for the Horde, and Scorpia with Catra. I think we can read between the lines and say the Horde runs on loyalty (as well as fear) and this is a very insightful portrayal of oppressive military and paramilitary institutions like armies of conquest and occupation and other instruments of state violence.

There’s another, related way of looking at how a sole reliance on loyalty as a moral framework has stunted Scorpia’s moral growth, and I think that brings together both the ways that it makes Scorpia willing to accept her mistreatment and participate in the mistreatment of others. Namely, loyalty in the Horde style isn’t just sticking with someone or something, but subsuming your own will into theirs. Following orders. Supporting your friend in what they do no matter what. Whatever you call it, it’s about turning off your own self - your self preservation, your self respect, your conscience, whatever other things you value - and just going along with what the person or institution you are loyal to wants you to do. And this is where Horde loyalty goes full circle, back to its origin - Horde Prime, the narcissistic self-made god who wishes to control or destroy everything that is not himself. Loyalty as Hordak conceived of it and as the Horde believes in it is a reflection of Prime's absolute control over all his domain.

In a way, self-determination is one of this show’s highest values (together with love). It’s at the heart of Adora’s 5-season, 3 year struggle to become her own woman and her own hero as she shrugs off one imposed destiny and then another and finally embraces what she wants. In a more negative form, it’s at the heart of Catra’s arc, as she finally accepts responsibility for her own actions and their consequences and starts working to make a world that she actually wants to live in, as well as admit to herself that what she really wants is love. And I could go on. This self-determination is existentially, obviously threatened by Prime chipping people, but it is also stunted by horde-style loyalty that demands unquestioning support and obedience.

Both the Horde Trio and Scorpia reject the Horde’s ideal of loyalty and walk away, but I think it’s interesting how they do it. Neither rejects loyalty entirely (not on the way Adora does) - the Trio, realistically, remain loyal to each other and simply walk away and walk out of the war (this might save their lives), joining the other disillusioned cynics in the Crimson Wastes. They reject loyalty to the horde and embrace a more supportive and respectful form of loyalty to each other. Scorpia leaves, but she actually comes to her crisis and makes her decision out of loyalty, and because it’s clear that her loyalty isn’t returned. The immediate situation - loyalty to Emily and Entrapta’s memory on one hand and Catra’s orders on the others - creates the conflict between loyalties that forces Scorpia to actually make her own choice rather than deferring to Catra. But she also reflects how Catra betrayed her loyalty to Entrapta, and thus how all of her friends’ loyalty to Catra is not returned.This is another point about horde-style loyalty - it’s one way - Hordak or Catra will demand your loyalty, but they feel no obligation to return it, which reflects Prime’s view of every other being in the universe as disposable. It’s only when she’s with the Princesses that Scorpia starts to find a new moral center, though sticking up for and protecting her friends remains important to her. In neither case, though, are these kinds of loyalty coming at the cost of either the Trio or Scorpia’s autonomy or ability to make moral choices of their own. In the very next episode, she says she wants to 'be A good friend' which is how the Princesses typically describe sticking together, which is a much more active and holistic concept than 'loyalty'. Scorpia confesses that she doesn't even know how, but she wants to learn and thinks the princesses can teach her.

There's another interesting counterexample to Horde Loyalty. Adora repeatedly breaks with the people around her to do what is right. First she leaves the Horde, then walks away from Catra by stages when it is clear that Catra is going to continue to harm other people and Etheria. Then she walks away from Glimmer, defies Light Hope and breaks loyalty with her supposed destiny and purposes as well as loyalty to the homelans she has never known. By season 5, Adora is loyal only to herself and the people she cares about, but she isn't constraining her will to anyone else's. For all that she seems like a rule follower Adora has a rebellious streak a mile wide, and she will do what is right, no matter what. This is what allows her to save the universe 3 times.

So the show’s argument is that loyalty is not a good moral framework to base all of our actions around. I don’t think it goes so far as saying that loyalty has no place in our ethics (being a good friend, which is such a huge part of the show, certainly includes loyalty, especially sticking with people when the going gets tough), but the show stresses time and again that being loyal to something or someone shouldn’t make you disregard yourself and what you think is right. Because it’s only by living out our own values and taking responsibility for our own actions that we can come into our own as moral beings. Moreover, if we insist on maintaining loyalty to institutions that oppress us and others, we can’t dismantle the systems of oppression that are holding us and other people down. (Yes, this is a pretty radical message, but I suspect that Noelle is some kind of anarchist? Anyway, it’s a thing.)

Okay, so that’s what I, a 35 year old, get from this kids show. I think it’s also worth pointing out that this lesson applies to younger viewers too, in their most immediate lives. Younger viewers will have had friends who didn’t treat them well, or might not have treated other people well, and who might have pressured them into participating in the mistreatment of others (this is kind of how bullying works a lot of the time). I think it’s important that younger viewers see how being a good friend never means disrespecting yourself or other people and it means a lot to me that She-Ra shows this in such a nuanced and realistic way.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 18, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Hey OP where’s the funny header gif for this post? Sorry, it was murdered by an angst demon and the framing of these shots.

My Found Family Came to Find Me

Continuing our flashback from last time, we see Baby Wei Ying up a tree, refusing to come down because he's afraid there are dogs. Eventually he falls out of the tree, like a dumbass a child, and Yanli tries but fails to catch him. 

Unlike his grownup counterpart, Baby Wei Ying doesn't pretend he's unhurt when he is hurt. I'd like to put the change at Yu Ziyuan's door, but actually he admits to being hurt during his Gusu summer - he mimics Lan Zhan's stoicism when they're getting beaten, but it doesn't come naturally to him, and he whines a lot afterwards. 

By the time of the Animatronic Dog incident, however, he's laughing off obvious injuries that have secret trauma behind them. By the time he comes back, coreless, from the burial mounds, he won't confide in anyone about his hurts any more, except possibly Wen Qing.

Yanli carries Wei Ying, in a sequence that will be echoed much later in his life when Lan Zhan carries him (gifset here). While they head back, she tells him that Jiang Cheng has a bad temper and to ignore whatever mean things he says. This will also be echoed in the future, when Wei Wuxian says it to Lan Zhan after their argument with Jiang Cheng in the shrine.

Yanli also explains that Jiang Cheng loved his dogs and that he's been very sad since Jiang Fengmian sent them away, demonstrating once again that Jiang Fengmian is a terrible father. Yanli says that Jiang Cheng will be happy to have a friend with him, though. This kind of makes Wei Wuxian's role in Jiang Cheng's life "replacement dog."

Jiang Cheng, after getting over this particular snit, got worried about Wei Wuxian and woke up Yanli to find him, and then went wandering around in the dark like a dumbass a child, and is banged up and crying when the other two find him. Yanli encourages him to apologize to Wei Wuxian and he does, which will not happen again until the very end of the show.  

They all smile and laugh together, as Wei Ying looks to Yanli to guide him through the insanity that his life has suddenly become. 

(more behind the cut!)

They head back to Lotus Pier in a sweet montage of walking and smiling together, with Jiang Cheng carrying the world's most beautiful candle holder with the world's most wind-resistant candle in it, to light their way back. Back in the present day for a brief moment, Jiang Cheng pretends to sleep and listens to his sister insisting that the three of them should always stay together, while a single tear rolls down the side of his face.

Soup is Love, Chapter 1 of 1000

Then we head to the past again. In Jiang Cheng & Wei Ying's now-shared room, Wei Ying sits on the bed trying to figure out how to deal with his grumpy new roommate.

Wei Ying is unsure what to do when confronted with pajama game this strong. Tiny Jiang Cheng is already a fashion king. 

Then he tells Jiang Cheng he's not going to narc him out to the clan leader, since it was his own fault that he hurt his leg. This is all Jiang Cheng needs to hear to decide Wei Ying is all right, and he says that he will help Wei Ying chase away dogs in the future.  In fact, Wei Wuxian will protect Jiang Cheng from punishment basically forever, while Jiang Cheng will continue to threaten Wei Wuxian with dogs...forever.

They shake hands on their new understanding and then jump up and down laughing, Wei Ying's leg being all better now, apparently.  When Yanli arrives (carrying a tray of...can you guess? I'll let you guess), they stop jumping. Wei Ying dives in to give Jiang Cheng a little tickle/embrace in an adorable moment that would have me saying "oh, my ovaries!" if I hadn't surgically sent my ovaries to hell a few years ago.

Yanli introduces Wei Ying to the emotional and gustatorial miracle that is her lotus and ribs soup. He hesitates a long time before tucking in because he's so unused to being fed.

Consent? I Don’t Even Know Her

The flashback wraps up with Yanli conked out on the table from the drugs in the incense burner, while Wei Wuxian, who is somehow unaffected despite sitting almost as close to the smoke as she was, checks on her. Jiang Cheng and his Uggs period-appropriate sock thingies get out of bed to come stand with Wei Wuxian, and have feelings about sending Yanli away after she JUST said she doesn't want to be parted from them.

Wei Wuxian: If she didn't want us to do this, she shouldn't have signed that blanket consent-to-medical-treatment form.   Jiang Cheng: Wen Qing made me sign one of those plus a durable power of attorney, is that bad?

This episode is all about people overriding each others' agency and making massively important decisions without the consent of the people who will be affected. But in a feudal context, it's not a violation, no matter how it feels to the person being controlled. In feudal life, your body belongs to your lord -- your sect leader, in the world of CQL. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng's choices are overridden by their clan leader's final command to Wei Wuxian.  Wei Wuxian's core is arguably Jiang Fengmian's property--Wei Wuxian certainly sees it that way, just as his hand was Yu Ziyuan's to take if she wished.  

The brothers tenderly tuck Yanli into bed in the rolly cart and hand her off to Song Lan. They talk about how important it is to get her to Lanling and that she's probably going to be mad, as they thank Song Lan for helping them. 

Yanli listens while she sleeps and, in what is becoming a trademark Jiang move, lets a single tear roll down the side of her face. Jiang Cheng points out that Yanli never gets mad at Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is like, true dat.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Song Lan is always so emotional about every damn thing, I love him. Here he's like OH GOD NO DON'T FORMALLY THANK ME! STOP!!!

Then he starts to ask Wei Wuxian to pass a message to Song Xingchen for him, but then decides not to say anything, making it super obvious that they fought and aren't together. 

Wei Wuxian reacts to this with confusion and distress, probably because he doesn't want to imagine ever having a breakup with his own soulmate. Which he soon will be having.  But possibly he's just upset that his OTP broke up.

After Song Lan takes off, Jiang Cheng gives Wen Qing a rude & perfunctory thank-you bow, turning away before she can return it. Wei Wuxian tells her not to take it to heart - basically everyone who deals with Jiang Cheng gets a version of the "ignore what he says" speech. She says she understands and that in his place she would have behaved worse, which is so totally not true.  

Then she asks Wei Wuxian if he's sure about the core transfer (not in so many words, because the script is being kind of being vague about it, without actually hiding what's happening). His reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then he and Jiang Cheng walk off, with Jiang Cheng giving us a rear view that had me googling Wang Zhuocheng's fashion shoots to determine if that wagon he's draggin’ is really as delightful as this belt makes it look. Alas, there is not a wealth of photographic evidence for this research, as compared to, for example, photos of Xiao Zhan's outstanding ass.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning see them off, with Wen Qing wishing they valued their lives more. Although, what she and Wen Ning are doing is massive treason, so their lives will be pretty much forfeit if they're caught, so...

The Sunshot Campaign of Like 60 Dudes

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng walk up the mountain for the whole beginning of the Sunshot campaign, which...okay. Maybe it's like Dunkirk or The Witcher where they intercut stuff that is happening in different timeframes, which is one of my least favorite new film style thingies.

You know, for a guy Wei Wuxian constantly calls "peacock," Jin Ziyuan really doesn't wear a lot of adornment; just some subtle metalwork on his belt with no dangly bits at all, and a single reasonably-sized hair crown. Compared to the extremely fancy Lan Wangji he's almost plain. We already know that Wei Wuxian is a massive hypocrite when it comes to his idea of a perfect boy, however.

So, this is the Lanling Jin army, which consists of literally 60 guys, including the ones on the stairs and Jin Zixuan and Douchebag Dad. How are they going to fight a war with this tiny group? Why do they have such a big plaza? Hasn't anybody on this production learned CGI cloning?

That’s better.

Nie Mingjue and his best bitch Baxia make quick work of the 4 Wen guys who were assigned to hold the Unclean Realm. 

Hello, Daddy Da-Ge!

Squeeee, it's Lan Wangji! He's taking back Cloud Recesses! Ooooohhh we've missed you Lan Wangji.

Look guys he's here! Look how beautiful he is. He's looking at the gate of cloud recesses and thinking thoughts that Lan Xichen or Wei Wuxian could probably see in his bewitching eyes if they were here to see him, which they aren't. But at least he is here!

....and now he's gone again. *cries*

Hares On The Mountains

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian continue roaming prettily around this pretty mountainside. The locations in this show are such eye candy. 

Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  If I was a young lass I’d soon go a hunting

Jiang Cheng starts to have doubts about the whole Baoshan Sanren thing. Wei Wuxian's reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.  

Then we have just the tenderest blindfolding scene, (more gifs here), which is fodder for your ChengXian dreams, if you have those.

Here's a good place for a sidebar about what is and isn't incest. Whee! In the CDrama context, relationships tend to be more clearly defined than in western media. The mechanism of confession & acceptance means that people either are or are not in a romantic relationship, with few grey areas. So a character can literally say "we grew up as brother and sister, but now we are dating" and when someone looks startled they just say "there's no blood relation" and everyone is like "cool cool" and that's the new definition of the relationship.

For a strong example of this, the extremely wonderful Go Ahead is about a contemporary family in which a girl and two boys, who are not blood relatives, are all raised together, and call each other brother and sister. When they become adults, they and everyone around them expect the girl (now a woman) to marry one of the two men who have been her brothers, while whichever one she doesn't choose will carry on as her sibling. It's treated as the most natural, logical thing in the world; the only question is whether she wants to make that transition, and with whom.

Looked at through this lens, Wei Wuxian's relationships with his adoptive siblings have just as much potential to turn into romances as his relationships with his friends do, and there's nothing creepy about it. As such you can expect my meta to always get into ChengXian moments without treating it as a wrong or forbidden love. Hopeless, of course, because Jiang Cheng is such a prick the power of WangXian is stronger, but that's a different matter.

What is wrong is wearing this fantastic hat & veil combination when the most fashionable person on the mountain is blindfolded and can't see it.

In the course of this blindfolded encounter with Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng gets to kneel before a powerful woman, be led along by a length of silk that's placed in his hand, and then knocked the fuck out and operated on. He'll wake up in a hotel room in a tub full of ice with "we took your kidney" written on the mirror in lipstick, and he'll love every minute of it.  

Soundtrack: 1. Still Fighting it, by Ben Folds 2. Hares on the Mountain, by Steeleye Span

Writing Prompt: The NEXT time somebody blindfolds Jiang Cheng

[canichangemyblogname]

firstly, I loved your clone essay and I can't wait for your deathwatch one if it's still in the works

I had a question about the Jedi philosophy/teachings if you're cool to answer—the Chosen One prophecy said that Anakin would bring balance to the Force. I've only seen the movies once so I can't remember how much stake the Jedi put in that (IIRC it was just Qui-Gon's interpretation?) but I took that to mean that the Force had to be unbalanced, assuming in favor of the Light Side. I guess my question is since the Jedi are good, how could their destruction be anything balancing? Obviously the point couldn't have been that they should be more tolerant of the Dark Side, and I don't know how they could be if it corrupts but does that just mean the prophecy was BS? I don't know if I'm interpreting it wrong or missing something?

all /gen sorry if this seems like a really stupid question lol

First. Thank you so much!!! The essay is still in the work! It's just a matter of having time (a.k.a. having a full weekend when I'm not working and am willing to stay inside and spend all day doing research and write an essay).

Second. It is certainly not a stupid question! I nevertheless appreciate the tone indicator! I know it's hard to convey tone through text over the internet.

So, from what I understand, the light side is the balance. The dark side must be kept under firm control or this balance is lost.

When the clone wars break out, we remember Yoda saying, "Victory? Victory, you say? Master Obi-Wan, not victory. The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun the Clone War has."

The dark side, long kept under control by the Jedi, had broken free, in a sense. They were no longer able to pin point it or regain control of its influence and power. And this had been building over the years.

Essentially, the force was already unbalanced.

The council and the Order's Leadership had been blinded by their hubris and as @whymylifehome, has previously said, the Jedi lost their battle against the dark side at Geonosis. In that moment, they commit themselves to war, not peace; destruction, not life, and their own imbalances and flaws come to the forefront.

"As Jedi, we were trained to be keepers of the peace, not soldiers. But all I've been since I was a Padawan is a soldier."

-Ahsoka Tano

But they also commit themselves to other wrongs. Like the use of a slave army and the use of child soldiers and eventually acts we'd consider immoral (like burning Geonosians alive).

We see this narrative during the Mortis arc too. The Brother represents how the dark side has broken free in the universe. The Father represents keeping this force under control. But he is growing older and weaker and can no longer contain his son, representing the Jedi's ineffectiveness at keeping the dark side under control. In his attempt to break free of control, the Son kills the embodiment of the Light Side, the Daughter/Sister.

And according to George Lucas, balance is when light prevails and people control their darkness. Although, he has given many conflicting statements on this since the OT aired. For example:

"The overriding philosophy in Episode I—and in all the Star Wars movies, for that matter—is the balance between good and evil." -George Lucas, quoted in L. Bouzereau, Star Wars: The Making of Episode I, 1999

But it seems, more recently, that he has been defining balance in the force as the removal of the toxicity, hatred, and fear of the dark side. And it seems that this is something that must be constantly maintained and upkeep by the Jedi.

So their destruction brought imbalance.

So it, obviously, becomes hard for them to maintain the balance when they've mostly been rounded up and killed at the start of the new Sith Empire run by Darth Sidious. And it's something that continues to be hard to do when the responsibility of rebuilding the Jedi and helping to maintain that balance falls on one person. I've argued that Luke Skywalker was "set up" to fail. He's attempting to bring back the Jedi Order a generation after the near-total annihilation of all Jedi and the complete collapse of the Order.

He took on the total responsibility for creating a force of Force users to keep the dark side maintained and contained.

He helped his father bring balance by defeating the Emperor and thus usher in a new era, but he was going to fail. He did not have the same robustness as the Order did and that meant he did not have the same influence and power to keep an eye on and actually wrangle the dark side and it's influences.

So much so, that he gives into fear. Fear of failure and fear of destruction and fear of the dark side rearing it's ugly head again and tipping the balance he'd been working so hard to maintain, practically alone (or so it seems).

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 13

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 13: The Apocalypse (But with More Bulls)

A group of children huddled together as they tried to escape the robotic drones that surrounded them in the ice cream shop. The streets were no longer safe as they had been filled with roaming Bull drones and they ripped and tore no matter what or who stood in their way. They hoped that they would be able to wait it out until help arrived, but they didn’t count on the drones coming into the building and finding them.

“AHHHHH!” They all screamed as the bulls began to leap at them.

SMASH! BASH! CRASH!

Their eyes widened as they saw the machines falling to the ground in bits and pieces until there was nothing left except for an ominous violet figure before them.

“S-s-stay away!” One of the older children nervously warned as she stood in front of them with her arms stretched out.

“Dude, he-she-they just saved our butts,” another child put a hand on her shoulder, “I think they are one of the good guys.”

“We don’t know that!” She argued.

“I mean, they are standing right there and haven’t attacked us yet sooo,” a younger girl pointed out. “Point in the good guy direction.”

“That doesn’t mean-”

“Wait, I know him!” They all snapped their heads to the youngest in their group as he ran up to the figure.

“Bao!”

“Wait!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“MAC MAC!” He grinned as he threw his body to him, “I am so happy you are here!”

The monkey said nothing as he caught the child and gently patted the child's head.

“Sooo, Imma go out on a limb here and say he's good,” said the girl with the prosthetic arm. She happily smirked at their groans.

“Oh yeah, he is my sister's former teacher, though I don’t think I've ever seen you like this,” he pondered.

“Clone,” the demon uttered.

“Clone?”

“Follow me,” he instead said as he walked to the door, “I’ll take you where it’s safe.”

“Really?”

“Awesome!”

“That’s a relief.”

“Can I bring some ice cream?”

The children all chatter with a bit more pep in their step as they trudge through the war torn streets and fallen buildings until they laid eyes on a set of buildings that looked relatively untouched by the madness surrounding them with a pristine white hospital building in the middle of it all. Some people were littered around the street, but when they stepped into the hospital it was a lot more hectic as not only doctors and nurses were bustling around trying to tend to as many wounded as they could. But there were also regular people trying to give a helping hand as they either did basic first aid to those who needed it or helped the staff collect the supplies they needed.

“Whoa,” they all collectively gape at the semi organized chaos inside.

“Bao!” The child looks to see Bohai's relieved expression, “thank the gods you and your friends are okay.”

“Mac Mac saved us,” he wiggled out of the monkey arms to get a hug from the jellyfish demon then he looked around the room. “Where’s Yanyu? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, she was working when this all went down, so she is currently in the back taking care of a bunch of patients. Are you all alright?”

“Just scrapes and bruises,” one of the girls says as she covers the mouth of the one armed girl. “You are not making another missing arm joke, you hear me.”

“Fine,” she huffed then she grinned mischievously as she looked at Bohai, “so do you guys need a hand, I can only spare you one though.”

“For the love of-!”

“Stoppp!”

“Nooo!”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she laughed at the agony.

“If you want to bring the staff some snacks and drinks, and yes I’m including everyone in this list, that would be awesome. They really need to pick me up right now,” he showed them to a small area where copious amounts of food and drinks were laid out. “People have been bribing them since this all started, but no one really had a break yet.”

“You can count on us!” The oldest girl saluted as she and the rest gathered snacks in their arms and began to spread out all through the hospital, except for Bao who was still holding onto the jellyfish. Even the clone Macaque had left had begun to venture through the hospital and began to help out a few patients.

“…is everyone else alright,” he whispered out in hesitation.

Bohai kneeled down and smiled, “I think they will be just fine, your brothers and sisters are smart after all. I know they will pull through.”

“Right,” he nodded and shared a grin.

“And we have people and demons looking for anyone who needs help,” that included his friends on the list as Daiyu took to the skies and over the seas, Minsheng and Ahmed took to the streets looking for stragglers, and Macaque leaping from building to building checking to see if there are any lingering people trapped inside. “So don’t worry about them, instead how about we focus on feeding some hungry people. I know how cranky they can get when their bellies are empty.”

“Like Yan Yan when she forgot to eat because she had a 30 hour shift and she tied us all up when we mentioned her leftover food in the fridge.”

“Exactly.”

“How does this keep happening to us!” Mei yelled out as she and MK were hanging onto the sword for dear life as they dangled above the pit of despair.

“I don’t know!” MK yelled too as he clung onto Mei’s legs. “How do we get down?!”

“I don’t know!” She adjusted her grip on the sword, “we are currently on our way to fight the Demon Bull King, one of Monkey King greatest enemies, with less than 2 weapons on us if you don’t count my daggers and your brass knuckles, the rest of our team still keeping the ones up top busy and-wait!” Mei’s eyes brighten, “not everyone!”

“Huh? Who?!”

“Macaque!” Mei could feel a breath of relief come through her, “he’s still in the city dealing with the other clones, but I think this warrants a higher attention.” If anyone, other than the Monkey King and MK, can stop the Bull King, it’s him.

“I don’t know,” MK flinched as Mei's head creaked to him and her eyes began to twitch.

“Oh no, we are so not doing this, I am calling fuzzbutt whether you like it or not,” she stated and she sucked in a deep breath.

“Wait,” he quickly climbed her and put his hands over her mouth, “we don’t need to call him, I can handle this.”

“Do you not see where we are?” She would emphasize their precarious situation, but she is currently holding onto the only thing that is stopping the both of them from becoming mush on the floor. “What is your problem with calling him for help?”

“Nothing,” he too quickly defended himself.

“Then you should have no problem if I call him.”

“You're not calling for him.”

I’m calling him.”

“No, you're not,” he argued.

“I am!”

“You're not!”

“Am!”

“Not!”

“Am!”

“Not!”

“Am!”

“Not!”

“Not!”

“Am! Wait-dammit!” He cursed as he got tricked.

“Ha! I win, and I'm calling him!” Mei grinned.

MK was about to refute her when he saw a terrifying sight above them. “Noooo.”

She raised her eyebrow as she turned to see what he was looking at and she almost let go of her sword as she saw hundreds of deactivated Bull drones stationary all over the walls and mere meters from where they were at.

“Shit.”

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

Mei’s phone buzzed quite loudly.

“Shit.”

Blue eyes lit up one by one as the drones quickly woke up at the sound as their heads all snapped towards the two lone humans.

“SHIT!”

“GHA!” Red son grunted out as he was flung back. He gritted his teeth as the sharp rocks pierced him, but he shakily stood up as he stood behind his mother, who was also silently huffing for air as the two of them faced down the enraged Bull King. He knew something was wrong, there had to be something, otherwise, his father wouldn't so carelessly nor even attempt to accuse the two of them of traitorous intent based on the barest of threads.

‘There has to be,’ he desperately thought as he silently looked at his hands and gripped it as it began to heat up. ‘But there is no defining evidence…I should have never taken that key.’ He regretted silently as they were once more prepared to go toe to toe with the Bull King when out of nowhere.

“AHHHHHHHH!” BOOM

MK lands face first into the ground.

“Noodle boy?!” What is he doing here?!

“Little thief,” Bull King hissed out as he then gripped his head and uttered. “Sun Wukong.”

Both he and his mother were startled by that admission as they couldn’t help but share a glance, as they passively watched Bull King begin his assault on the Monkey King successor.

Red son gritted his teeth as he watched his friend get pulverized by his father. ‘I have to do something, but what can I do? Something nefarious is afoot with father and yet I am standing here like a dame instead of helping MK. MK? No! No, I mean I have to help father snap out of whatever has come over him instead of beating upon my fri-noodle boy! Hurting noodle boy…he is hurting noodle boy…MK.” He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the horrifying sight of the rage filled demon looming over MK with his fists raised high in the air.

“NO!” He burst into flames and charged forward, but was stopped by his mother as she swiftly sent out two airstrikes to the Bull King and used her fan to sweep the boy away from his demise and plopped him down next to the both of them.

“Wha-” he groggily got up as he looked up in surprise at Princess Iron Fan.

“It’s the canister, they have driven him mad with power,” she said as she hatefully eyed the glowing blue canisters upon the Bull King back.

“Well that’s a problem,” he blinked as he saw the skeletal remains floating about in the sludge of energy.

Then in a feral-like fury where only instinct took full control of body rather than the mind, the Bull King had snarled at them and began to charge on all fours.

“All right,” he used his staff to pick himself up, “time for round 2.”

“No, we fight together,” the prince said in determination as he readied his stance and was about to charge once more when another voice echoed.

“Seems like you guys can use a hand,” their eyes widen as they see the Bull King sink into the ground as a massive transparent violent hand of energy crushed him.

“Dad/Macaque!” MK and Red son cried out in relief as Iron Fan said it a bit more calmly as MK continued. “How are you here?!”

“Jade rang for me,” the voice echoed out as it continued its struggle against pinning the demon down. “Said some interesting things too.”

Mei's hands twitched anxiously as she waited for any sign of MK. She had just finished cleaning up the rest of the drones in the caves, but she thought it best if she kept here in case there would be any bot or people trying to sneak in to aid the nefarious family. Yet, that didn’t stop her from wanting to go down there and help her friend, no matter how stupid or dangerous that may be.

“You know what, screw this. Sorry MK, but we need all the help,” she gave a quick apology as she sucked in a deep breath and yelled, “MACAQUUEEE!”

Her voice vibrated through the walls.

She knew that she could have easily called him on her phone and he would have come just as quick, but that didn’t really matter in the long run as he saw a dark figure leap his way over to her. “Took you long enough,” she said with a small grin as he phased into the mech.

“Sorry, the city is in chaos as you know,” Macaque sarcastically said as he eyed her state to see any injuries.

“I’m fine,” she quickly said, “but MK is down there fighting DBK!”

“What!” His golden eyes that were tinted with violet eyes snapped onto her light green ones as all six ears twitched.

“Yeah, he didn’t want me to tell you, but I think we have bigger things to worry about.”

“Don’t want me-no,” he stopped himself short before he could go deeper. “Putting that to the side, for now, bigger problems first. Will you be fine if I go to your idiot brother.”

“I am currently inside of a monkey mech,” she deadpanned, “I am more than fine.”

He shot her a smirk and ruffled her already messed up hair and sunk back into the shadows and began to move deeper into the pit.

“Ahaha, about that,” MK nervously scratched the back of his neck.

“We are talking about this later.”

“Yeah that’s fair,” he slumped down.

Then a figure leaped out from the shadows of the Bull King as the Bull King rapidly gained back its bearing and destroyed the hand pinning it down.

Macaque whistled, “Well, I thought that it would at least keep you down a little longer than that, but apparently I’m wrong.”

“It’s the canister!” MK yelled, “they’re amplifying his powers.”

“You don’t say,” he muttered as he eyed the glowing blue power of energy then stared at it a bit harder as something felt off about it. “Somethings not right.”

Princess Iron Fan raised an eyebrow at his comment but quickly pushed it aside as she readied herself. “We can save questions for later, right now we have to get those off of my husband.”

“Right,” he nodded and his eyes went back to the Bull King who was getting up, “alright anyone got a plan.”

“Both Red son and I shall distract him, while the two of you get that monstrosity off him,” she said.

“Gotcha, you ready comet,” he summoned a few of his clones.

MK hesitated before nodding as he put his staff forward, “born ready.”

Then, without warning, the rest of the royal family burst into action as the two attacked the Bull King in a rapid fire as he was suddenly surrounded by a huge fire tornado.

“YOU SHALL FALL TOGETHER!” He roared out as he dispersed it with a loud crackle of energy.

Both of them, who was very much still injured and winded from their already long fight, were pushed back as they fell into the rubble. They slowly tried to get up as the glowing King stomped his way towards them.

His form seemed to almost ripple in anticipation as he locked his glowing blue eyes on their downed forms. No hesitation in his steps as the voices in his head urged him to finally end the traitors.

End the traitors

Destroy them for their treachery

Build a kingdom worth your name

Let their bones turn into ashes

Let their blood soak into the ground

Let their flesh set a reminder

You are the true king

“Yesss,” he hissed out his agreement as he raised his arms to finish them (ignoring the heavy invisible restraint against his arm and a small voice yelling at him to stop.) He would end this now.

Then his head was hit by a rock.

He snarled as he turned to look at MK, who was still in a throwing position.

“Hey, guess I’m a better pitcher than a hitter!” He joked, but then yelped as he felt himself get caught in the Bull’s hand.

“I’ve had about enough of you, one would think that you would learn more of the little sage tricks,” he snarled.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he shrugged.

Bull King snarled as he proceeded to squeeze him until he was nothing but bones and blood.

“Wait! Wait!” He cried out until he poofed out in a golden light.

“What!” He shouted as he looked at the falling hair, “a clone!?”

“Yup!” He looked to see the real MK in mid-air, “and I didn’t learn little tricks from only the Monkey King,” he grinned as he summoned a hoard full of clones.

He snarled and was about to jump up to meet them when he felt his hooves and hands being grabbed, he looked down to see many Macaque clones holding him down, while some were grabbing his hands.

“Get ready for a nice wake up call,” the real Macaque smirked as he kept into the shadow to keep a steady supply of energy to his clones.

“HERE COMES MONKIE KID!” MK cried out as he and his clones proceeded to all out attack the Bull King until the canister was finally knocked off his back and with one final burst of energy, it had dispersed.

Freedom

Freedom

Gather back

Become one again

Vessel

Freedom

The black furred monkey felt a shiver running up his spine as he heard the voices ringing in his ears. He looked around and sure enough, it seemed that he was the only one who heard the ominous whispers.

‘That wasn’t a normal power madness,’ he concluded as he realized what really happened. Before he could tell the rest he felt a gust of wind come about as the three demons proceeded to leave.

“Are you serious?!” MK panicked as the rocks began to fall down all around them. “You really just left us here!”

“Honestly not surprised,” he shrugged his shoulder and grabbed his kid by the back of his shirt, “now come on and let’s get out of here before the rocks do us in.”

“How?!”

BOOM!

They looked to see a giant Monkey Mech burst in as Mei smiled at them.

“Everything went well! Need a lift?”

“Mei!”

“Nice timing Mushu.”

“That was some fight huh,” Sandy said as he ate his noodles on top of the giant mech with everyone else. “But we managed to stop DBK.”

“Nice job defeating him MK,” Tang grinned as he slurped up the remains of his bowl.

“I don’t know, I don’t think I really defeated him,” he muttered as he fiddled with his chopsticks. “There was something weird, that power he had just made him…different.”

“But we won right,” she looked on the bright side.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” the historian appeared over Pigsy's shoulder and was casually grabbing some noodles from his bowl. “You don’t need this right sugar.”

“Get your hands off my food!” He pulled away from his lover as everyone around them laughed.

Amid their exuberant energy, they haven’t quite realized that the area was almost desolate with anyone else, including animals and bugs that usually roam around here. The only animal anywhere near them was a bird that perched right on top of one of the outer rocks in the clearing. It seemed to be in a tranquil state as it took in the scene, so it spread its wings to fly off when a voice stopped him.

“You know you could have jumped down and talked to them instead of standing there like an actual creeper,” said Macaque as he emerged from the shadow.

The bird gave him wide eyes as he instinctively transformed back into his original form, “Didn’t really think I should just go in there when all is said and done,” Wukong said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Wow, it must have taken a long time to think about that with the way you were sitting there,” he rolled his eyes and leaned against the rock.

“I’m not that bad,” he muttered and settled back down on top of the rock.

“Could have fooled me with the number of times you have a stupid idea.”

“Oh like you haven’t had one.”

“I have my own fair share, but it doesn’t even pale in comparison to yours, should I bring up the Kinnara incident,” he smirked.

“How was I supposed to know that she would kick our ass for interrupting her song,” he grumbled.

“Your ass,” he emphasized, “I had the common sense to stay behind, one would think not to mess with a being whose own gaze can pierce through you.”

“Didn’t seem that way to me.”

“Well, you didn’t have something called survival instinct.”

“To be fair I had plenty of instincts, but I just chose to ignore it back then and thought she was a harmless target,” he then shuddered, “so many regrets that day.”

“Pfft,” he chuckled lowly and Wukong couldn’t help but join in. He knew he was very stupid back then and so much more impulsive and looking back on it now, it is rather funny. But the laughter couldn’t last forever as it then died down as the atmosphere turned into an awkward silence.

Both monkeys knew they were avoiding the bigger problem at hand, but neither wanted to bring that up. At the same time though, they couldn’t ignore it forever, and eventually one of them will have to make the first step soon.

So Macaque opened his mouth and said, “Well if you ever feel like leaving your mountain other than stalking my kid, the forest is always open.”

“Really,” his eyes widened.

‘You really want to see me again.’ The silent question was asked.

“It is a public area, though you might want to bring starlight along with you if you want to see the not so public sights,” he said with a shrug.

‘Yes, I do.’ Was the silent answer.

“I’ll definitely do that! Maybe sometime next week?” He couldn’t stop his smile from growing widely.

“That work, well I got to get back. Too much damn medicine to make and that’s with my clone's help,” he grumbled as he pushed back off the rock.

“See you then,” he said with a short wave.

Macaque flippantly waved his hand as he sank back into the shadows.

Wukong grinned as he watched his friend's aura travel through his shadows until he had reached the city limits. It was only then he turned back into his bird form and took off towards his mountain once more.

“So the hospital is really that backed up again,” MK asked as he sat on top of the rooftop with his dad the next day.

“Like a car side swiping a train,” he groaned as he laid down. “I just got done helping not even an hour ago.”

“I bet Yanyu had to drag you out,” the monkey successor snorted.

“Nah, she was snoring in the back room, she passed the fuck out a few hours back after a successful surgery,” he grinned in pride. His student has really come far since he first started teaching her and to think that she had doubts about her ability, now look at her working alongside the attending physicians. He can still remember her running towards him and lunged at him with utter joy on her face when she told him that she passed her qualifying exam. He is really proud of her.

“She deserves it,” he nodded.

“She does,” the monkey hummed as he got up, “but I think it’s time we talk about that little thing back in the cave.”

MK nervously straightened up as he scratched the back of his neck, “hahaha what do you mean?”

“You are still a terrible liar comet, why didn’t you call me,” he looked him in the eyes.

“I was going to,” he mumbled, not sounding at all convincing.

“Really,” his voice dripped with sarcasm.

MK tried to keep a straight face, but it didn’t last long as he groaned and put his face in his hands, “Alright fine I wasn’t! But I could have handled it! You're always there and I know I can count on you, but something I need to do by myself. I’m not a child anymore.”

“And I know your not, and I have tried my best to not hound on you,” he said then he let out a sigh, “believe me when I say that I know I worry a little too much-”

“A little?!” Mei shouted as she lifted the hatch up.

“Mei! How long have you been there?!” The twenty years old shouted.

“Hehehe, long enough,” she nervously giggled as she slowly climbed out and sat next to her brother. She had forgotten she was eavesdropping on them and just had to blurt out. “Kinda forgot, but I still stand by my point.”

“I know, I mean ever since you left I've been trying to hold back from outright following you around,” he reluctantly said, not even blinking an eye at Mei’s sudden appearance.

“And I'm glad you haven’t, Mei already has a tracker on all of us,” he shot a glare at his sister.

“Wait really?”

“Yes siree!”

“…I feel like I should talk to you more about that kind of stalking,” he eyed her as he was forcibly reminded of another monkey and his stalking.

“Have you seen the number of times we unintentionally get into weird situations, let alone the times we actively seek it out?” She deadpanned.

“And I take that back,” he retracted his words. “But regardless, I trust you Starbright. I trust you even when I want to scoop both you and your sister up and hide you away from the world. But when shit like this happens, I get fucking worried cause that could have ended in a complete disaster, you understand?”

“But it didn’t!” He protested.

“But it could have,” he shot back and leaned in close, “and I’m so fucking grateful that it didn’t. Cause what if something did happen and the both of you wound up biting more than you could chew, fuck the two of you could have died and I wouldn’t have known shit until I saw your corpse.”

“I-I,” MK didn’t know what to say as he lowered his head alongside Mei. Both teenagers were at a loss of words at the reality of the situation, especially MK.

Macaque took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh as he brought both children close to him, “Look, I trust you to take care of yourself, but if you think you land in a situation you can’t handle, please call me. I know I sound repetitive at this point, but I stand by my fucking word that I will come, okay.”

Both of them looked up to meet their dad’s concerned eyes and nodded.

“You got it,” Mei smiled and leaned further into his fur.

“Okay,” MK sniffed as cuddled closer to him.

The black furred monkey smiled down at both of them and gave them each a kiss to the forehead and silently watched the bustling city below just a little longer.

“I’m fine my queen,” Bull King grumbled as he walked through the cave. “I sustained only minor injuries.”

“I know you have, but you were overtaken by a sinister energy source that managed to drive you mad with power that put your meridians past the point of exhaustion,” she deadpanned. “You need to rest.”

“It still doesn’t make sense how such a source can overtake father's mind,” Red son muttered as he looked through an ancient book. “I have heard tales of items having power from their previous owners and using it to their own design, but never of just raw aura. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“You're not wrong spitfire,” they turned to see Macaque phasing out from the shadow of a rock.

“Six Eared Macaque,” Bull King grumbled before he suddenly caught a bag that was thrown at him. “What is-”

“Spiritual roots from the Kunlun Peak, brew those in tea and they should help your median lines get back into condition before the month is up,” the monkey said as he walked closer.

“This is most useful, I will transfer the money-” Macaque cut her off.

“Consider this repaying the favor of saving my son Raki.”

“If I had not attempted to harm your child in my plight of madness there would be no need for this,” DBK gritted out and slightly lowered his head. He knew that the slight of offense of their agreement was on him and his mad conquest of power, if the Six Eared Macaque declared retribution for his actions then he would have to honor his word. What the outcome will be for both sides remains a mystery.

“Yeahhh what you did was stupid, but that’s actually what I came down to talk to you guys about,” he patted Red Son on the shoulder, “your kid is right about the power madness, what happen to you was not that.”

“What?” Both father and son blurted out.

“Explain,” the mother's eyes narrowed as her hand twitched.

“You were being possessed by one bitch of a spirit, what kind, I don’t know, but I do know the signs of possession when I see one.”

“How?”

“Was the different colored glowing eyes not obvious enough? His spouts of madness? Him going completely feral? Whatever you guys found is powerful, powerful enough to influence you BK.”

There was a silence as the surreal announcement enveloped them then someone growled as two craters appeared on the walls.

“Who dares think they have the audacity,” Queen Iron Fan hissed out as the wind began to swirl around her.

“I swear when I find the leech who manipulates me, I will tear their body limb from limb, bone to bone, blood into ashes and let their soul never find rest,” the King growled out in utter hatred.

Prince Red Son said nothing as sparks of fire flickered on and off around different corners of the cave and his hand trembled with fury.

The Royal Bull family does not take lightly to insults upon their names. They are known for sparking dread within people, making those fall to their feet, being a symbol of fear and power spread all through the nation and someone had the insolence to try to not only take control of their King but even fucking dare try to rip the family apart and kill them under his own hands?

They shall feel their wrath, this they declare.

“Well I have my message out of the way,” he wasn’t even fazed by their spirited anger, “Red a word.”

This snapped the prince out of his fury as he walked over to his pseudo uncle, “How may I help you?”

“Not me per say, but certainly my two kids who are worried the hell for you.”

“Their okay right,” he quickly questioned as he knew MK was alright but hadn't seen signs of Mei.

“A little bruised up, but they had worse, but my advice to you kiddo is talk to them. They have been worried out of their minds and I’m sure whatever you might have done they’ll forgive you.” He knew that Red Son wasn’t talking to them out of some sort of self doubt and guilt, but he wasn’t about to pry into what he did.

“You really think so?”

“You’ll have to ask them yourself.”

“…I will,” he nodded, “Thank you.”

“No problem, but let me tell you that since I have known you for a long time and I know you wouldn’t do abuse trust so lightly, especially from people you give a shit about, I’ll let you off with a light warning,” his eyes began to faintly glow a light violet color, “I may not know what you did, but don’t try to maliciously deceive them again, okay.”

“Yes sir,” he immediately said.

“Good boy,” he smirked and ruffled his hair, “now stop fucking around and send them a text before I duct tape their mouths myself.”

“They’ve been that bad?”

“I almost sicced Daiyu on the both just so they could do something else other than complain,” he deadpanned.

“…full permission to do the same if they get past that point,” he smirked.

“You don’t need to even ask me.”

“Yes!” He excitedly pumped his fist.