#empire goby

[aquariuminfobureau]

The eleotrid clade of gobies are popular aquarium fishes down under, where a number of species inhabit the freshwaters. As a clade of fishes, the eleotrids are underappreciated by aquarists outside of Australasia. One of the three relatively popular species in the aquarium trade, is the visually striking Hypseleotris compressa, the empire or carp gudgeon, also known as the empire fish.

The range of the H. compressa extends from the northern half of mainland Australia in the south, and up into parts of nearby New Guinea. This stunning goby inhabits slow-flowing and still freshwaters, extending only into the low salinity reaches of estuaries, meaning that this is a freshwater fish. There it lives among aquatic plants and woody, submerged debris, and forages for mostly tiny prey amongst detritus, leaf litter, and vegetation.

According to sources, H. compressa measures up to 12 centimeters or almost 5 inches in length. Although I have never seen one exceeding 3 inches, and a more typical size would be 5 centimeters, or 2 inches. Male H. compressa establish territories in which the females spawn, and the males both guard and tend to their nests until hatching occurs. Spawning occurs during the warmer months. The spawn and hatchlings are tiny, and as far as I know, they have never been reared in the aquarium.

In Australian English, the eleotrid or sleeper gobies are colloquially known as the 'gudgeons', although this word, ironically, first referred to a demersal, northern hemisphere carp of the genus Gobio, that was as familiar to the first white Australian settlers, as are the eleotrids to their naturalized descendants. Within the tree of life, gobies are only very distantly related to the carps, and the eleotrid gobies are very successful in the Antipodean freshwaters.

The type locality for H. compressa is the Clarence River of subtropical New South Wales. There the pH is about 6.7 to 7.7, depending on the time of the year, and the average pH is close to 7. More generally, the rivers and creeks in the surrounding Clarence-Moreton bioregion, have yearly average pH values, from 6.6 to 7.8. as regards their water temperature, they are usually 15 to 30 degrees centigrade.

The iconic and multi-volume Baensch freshwater atlas, claims that this species tolerates temperatures of 10 to 30 degrees. This is not very inaccurate but exposure to ambient temperatures as low as 10 degrees, is both seasonal and temporary. Some sources claim this fish tolerates temperatures as high as 35 degrees centigrade, but temperatures in the creeks where H. compressa lives, are not normally this warm, and it should not be attempted in the aquarium.

H. compressa and similar gobies are carnivores. This species consumes insects and other tiny arthropods, primarily cladocerans and copepods, and is regarded as zooplanktivorous. This fish willingly consumes defrosted foods of an appropriate nature. Sources claim this species eats algae, but this seems unlikely to be deliberate given the general diets of Hypseleotris sp. gobies. They do ingest detritus whilst they are feeding, so the merely incidental ingestion of algae is likely in H. compressa and it's kin.

As a predator, H. compressus is not a danger to adult community fishes, although it is known to eat fish fry, including acts of cannibalism. It is a peaceful aquarium denizen, but such 'gudgeons' do prefer a quiet tank without boisterous, demersal tankmates, such as very active catfishes or loaches. The male fish should not be cohabited together.

[midwestaesthetics]

Gobi Desert, Mongolia and China...

[countriesgame]

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

If you have any fun fact about Mongolia, please tell us and I'll reblog it!

Be respectful in your comments. You can criticize a government without offending its people.

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 33

"Ryloth"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Here we are, back again, my lovelies! I know I said recently that I've been lacking motivation to write this story, but I'm not gonna stop anytime soon. Though, all of a sudden, I was just hit with motivation like a ton of bricks and wrote most of this in the last 2 days!

We're heading to Ryloth, my friends!! This covers episode 11 and most of episode 12 of TBB season 1 and I kinda skip through a couple parts, so hopefully it's not too rushed. Enjoy y'all!!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado

@ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901

@thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink

@l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx

@idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified , @dreamsandrosies

《 Chapter 32

》 Chapter 34

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch meet a young Twi'lek girl named Hera who later enlists their help to save her parents on Ryloth.

A couple months went by and both the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force were being kept busy with all sorts of jobs from Cid. It kept the two squads apart for days, sometimes weeks at a time and their time together was brief, which was a little disheartening for Wrecker and Rina as well as Echo and Lex. Tech and Irys would act indifferent, but everyone else could tell that even they kinda missed each other, too, during those long periods of time apart. Despite all that, they all at least were making money, which was helping them with their survival. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but it was keeping them busy. 

At one point, the Bad Batch were sent off to do a weapons drop with some Twi’leks from Ryloth. From what they’d heard, things on that planet were a bit rough at the moment due to an increased Imperial presence there. They’d heard about more of that happening on other planets since Raxus and wondered if it was another potential Imperial occupation to add to the list. It seemed the group they were delivering weapons to were a couple of freedom fighters who were intent on opposing the Empire, which the Clones warned them would be dangerous.

When they’d met with the Twi’leks on one of Ryloth’s moons, they were surprised to see a young girl with the freedom fighters. One perhaps a year or two older than Omega, with green skin and green eyes bright with wonder upon seeing the Marauder. She went over to Omega asking if she could see inside and, with Hunter’s permission, Omega took her inside the ship. 

Kimber stuck around with the boys to make sure the weapons were sufficient enough for Gobi, the client, before letting them know she was gonna check on the girls and let them know things were finishing up. When she walked in, the two of them were near the back of the ship and Omega was telling the other girl about her room. 

“Well, technically, it’s our gunner’s mount,” Omega told her new friend, “but when we’re not getting chased or shot at, it’s my room.”

“Who’s chasing you? Are you in some kind of trouble?” the young Twi’lek asked.

“I thought you were in trouble. Isn’t that why we’re here?” Omega asked back.

It was then Kimber walked forward, removed her helmet and spoke up, saying as though she hadn’t heard anything, “What are you girls up to?”

The two of them turned to look at her and Omega responded, “I was just showing off my room.”

Kimber looked at the Twi’lek girl, whom she realized was also a few inches taller than Omega, and inquired, “What’s your name, dear?”

“I’m Hera,” the girl answered.

Omega took the lead and introduced Kimber, saying, “This is Kimber. She’s not a Clone, but she’s been part of the squad for a long time.” Then she smirked and added, “She’s also Hunter’s sweetheart and they’re so cute together.”

Kimber’s cheeks went slightly pink at Omega talking about her and Hunter as the two girls giggled. “Thanks, Omega,” she said a bit shyly. She turned back to Hera and commented, “You seemed pretty amazed by our ship when you came over.”

“Oh, I love learning about new ships. They fascinate me. I want to be a pilot one day,” Hera informed her with a big smile.

“A worthy ambition,” Kimber commented. “Well, girls, we’re just about finished outside if you want to wrap things up in here.”

“Okay,” said Omega.

With that, Kimber put her helmet back on and returned to the others outside. A few seconds later, the girls emerged from the ship, both smiling brightly at each other as they waved goodbye and Hera walked away with the other Twi’leks.

“Make a new friend?” Hunter inquired of Omega.

“She’s kind of strange. I like her,” she answered.

“She seemed very sweet,” Kimber added.

Holding up a finger, Omega stated as a matter of factly as she walked back to the ship, “Did you know flying’s about a feeling?”

The boys and Kimber all watched her curiously as she walked away and Tech asked aloud, “What feeling?”

No one really answered as the rest of them followed after Omega back to the ship. 

“She didn’t do anything to my ship, did she?” Tech asked as they boarded.

“Of course not,” Omega answered, smirking and shaking her head. “I kept my eye on her.”

Then Hunter said, looking at Tech, “Excuse me…your ship?”

“Yes. I am the primary pilot of this vessel, so therefore, it is my ship,” Tech responded.

“I am the Sergeant and leader of this squad, so it’s actually my ship,” Hunter retaliated, the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. 

“I fail to see how rank has anything to do with it when I'm the one who flies it almost every time,” stated Tech.

Echo cried out, “Hey, I pilot the ship, too!”

Kimber stepped in and replied, “The key phrase from what Tech said is ‘almost every time’. Except for Omega and myself, you all fly the ship at times; therefore, it is our ship. Got it?”

Wrecker, who had just been listening to the conversation, butted in with, “She's got a point.”

Begrudgingly, Tech responded as he sat in the pilot's seat, “Oh, very well.” Then he started powering up the Marauder to leave.

As everyone moved about the ship, Hunter came over to Kimber. “You're quite the mediator sometimes,” he commented. 

With a shrug, she grinned and said, “I've learned how to handle you boys.”

He nodded, but then leaned in closer and whispered, “Though, we both know this is, in fact, my ship.”

She scoffed, grinned even more and shook her head. Sometimes, her Sergeant was unbelievable. She simply gave him a pat on the arm and relented, saying, “Of course, darling.”

The next day, the squad was just meandering through space, not really in a hurry to get back to Cid on Ord Mantell. Mostly everyone was keeping to themselves for the time except for Omega, who was attempting to fix Gonky's prime power source, and Kimber and Tech, who were sitting in the front of the cockpit in the middle of an important discussion…involving music playing on Kimber's music player.

A lively, upbeat tune was playing and Tech's eyebrows furrowed. “This was the music you listened to on Tatooine?” he inquired, seemingly unimpressed. 

“Some of it, yes,” she answered. “It's Max Rebo! He's quite a famous musician, especially on Tatooine. Don't tell me you've never heard of him.”

Nonchalantly, he simply said, “We were raised and trained as soldiers in wartime. We never exactly had the luxury of lounging around and listening to music.”

“Fair, but surely you had to have heard his music playing in 79's or other cantinas you've been to?” she said back.

“It's possible, but I don't have enough data to verify if we have.” 

“Then keep listening and see if it sounds familiar. Maybe you might like it, too.”

“I am uncertain if this particular tune is to my taste. It is rather--”

Just then, the screen in front of Tech started beeping and a box popped up. Kimber quickly switched off the music box and got up from her seat, moving over by Tech to see what was going on. 

Tech observed what was on the screen and stated aloud as Echo and Wrecker also came over, “We're receiving a recorded transmission.”

Turning over her shoulder, Kimber called for Hunter, who was currently with Omega in the back. When he walked in, she informed him, “We've got a recorded transmission coming in.”

Then Tech added, “However, I do not recognize this frequency.”

“Patch it through,” Hunter told him, taking a seat nearest the entryway. 

Tech pressed a button on the console and a hologram appeared in the middle of the area…revealing the familiar young Twi'lek girl they had met the day previous, crouching down and looking around in fear.

"Omega, it's Hera. You have to come back to Ryloth.”

Kimber gasped just as Wrecker asked, “Isn't she the kid from the weapons drop?”

“Hera?” they heard Omega ask aloud, having heard her friend's voice and dashing into the cockpit. 

The message continued on, Hera's voice hushed and anxious, “The Empire's taken my parents and they're after me now, too. I'm sending coordinates. Please hurry. I need your help.”

The recording ended and Hunter questioned Omega giving Hera their comm channel, to which Omega answered that it was for emergencies and Hera's message sounded urgent before insisting they answer her call.

Tech, however, wasn't fully convinced. “Perhaps the situation is not as dire as described. Children often overreact,” he said.

“No, we don't!” Omega argued, frustrated and offended. 

“That's quite the cynical take, Tech,” Kimber commented. She then directed her attention to Hunter. “Omega’s right. Hera sounded like she was in trouble. We need to go back to Ryloth.”

Hunter opened his mouth to respond, but Omega cut in saying, “You heard her and Hera. She needs us.”

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Hunter responded, “Omega, it’s a big galaxy. We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble.

“Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?” Omega asked in reply.

Her response seemed to strike something within Hunter as he was left unable to say anything back and he got a defeated look on his face. Kimber couldn’t help but grin to herself. Like her, Omega knew how to win Hunter over easily. 

With that, they were headed back to Ryloth. 

Luckily, they hadn’t gotten terribly far from Ryloth, so it didn’t take too long to get back. Tech had put in the coordinates Hera had sent to their frequency, which took them into a deep canyon. He carefully maneuvered the Marauder through the canyon until they came to a large cave in one of the walls; one big enough to fit their ship. The Clones and Kimber disembarked from the Marauder into the cave that was lit by a few lanterns and with a few crates spread about. Otherwise, there wasn’t much there. They found themselves greeted by a chirping orange and tan Droid waving his mechanical arms at them; Kimber recognized it as a C1 unit. It was followed by Hera, who told them she didn’t think they would come. After Hunter asked why the Empire was after her, she revealed that she was the daughter of Cham Syndulla, a freedom fighter and leader of a large rebellion on Ryloth, and that the Empire was capturing anyone loyal to him. The cave they were in was his old command outpost and she’d been hiding there to avoid the Empire. 

“What do you want us to do?” Echo asked her.

“Free my parents from the Capitol. That’s where they’re being held,” Hera answered. 

The Clones were all silent and exchanged unsure glances with each other. 

“Boys, why are we even questioning this?” Kimber asked them in disbelief. Why were they being so hesitant to help? This wasn’t like them. 

Hera tried even harder to convince them by begging, “They can pay you if you get them out. Please…I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

Kimber looked to the others and they still said nothing. She wasn’t going to stand for this, not when a child and her family’s lives were at stake. She walked over to Hera, followed by Omega, and laid a hand on her shoulder, saying, “Of course, we’ll help, Hera.” Then she looked back at the others. “Right, lads?” she asked, prompting them to go along with it with a hard look in her eyes.

Hunter released a sigh and replied, glancing down at Hera, “Let’s see what we’re up against first, but no guarantees.”

It wasn’t quite the answer Kimber was hoping for from him, but it was better than “no”. With that, Hera led them through a tunnel system in the canyon and they made their way up into the rocky hills outside the Capitol area. Once they spotted the Capitol, they all got down flat on the ground and took out their binoculars to observe the situation. There was a large crowd of Twi’leks gathered in the square, looking up to the balconies of one of the towers, and multiple Imperial troopers were stationed around the crowd. The C1 Droid--whom Hera had said was named Chopper--using an audio relay, was able to capture the speech being given by an Imperial officer at the moment. 

“Citizens of Ryloth, the shocking attack on your beloved senator has left you shaken, but Orn Free Taa's condition continues to improve, and he will make a full recovery. But the perpetrators of this heinous assassination attempt have been captured.”

“Assassination attempt?” Hunter repeated, glancing suspiciously over at Hera.

“That’s not what happened,” she insisted as the speech continued. 

Right after that, Omega said aloud, “Hunter…Crosshair’s here.”

Hearing that, Kimber immediately started looking for him with her binoculars and, sure enough, there he was, standing in front of the crowd with his rifle at the ready. Her entire body tensed up at seeing him there; her grip on her binoculars tightened and her teeth clenched, remembering their last encounter on Bracca. 

“Great…just what we need,” she groaned, now just angry at knowing their traitorous brother was there on Ryloth along with them.

Hunter signaled to everyone with his hand to regroup away from the edge and to huddle up. Everyone got to their feet and moved back a few feet, out of view from the gathering below. 

“The plasma bridge into the city’s been deactivated,” Hunter stated as they all crouched down and huddled up.

“Well, I say we fly in and blow our way out,” Wrecker suggested.

“The Capitol sensors would detect our ship,” Echo countered.

Glancing back over her shoulder at the crowd below and the Imperial soldiers surrounding them, Kimber commented, “I don’t like the look of this. There are a lot more Imperials here than I expected.”

“Indeed. The troop presence here is similar to that of Raxus. This is a military occupation,” Tech stated.

Echo replied that Ryloth wasn’t a Separatist planet like Raxus and as the two started debating, Hunter suddenly glanced over his shoulder up the mountain behind him before telling everyone to wait where they were and running off. They weren’t sure what he was doing, but about a minute later, there was a sudden metallic crashing sound above them. They all looked up and saw a broken, black Droid-like form fall in front of them, followed by Hunter landing on his feet. It was a probe Droid, its primary eye having been destroyed by Hunter’s vibroblade that he promptly removed from its sparking and smoking remains.

“Oh good…a probe Droid,” Tech sarcastically remarked.

“The Empire will know we’re here,” said Echo.

Tightening her hands into fists at her sides, Kimber added, “And so will Crosshair.”

Hunter gave the order for them to move and they quickly made their way back to the command outpost where their ship was docked. Tech and Chopper went inside the ship to check the Imperial comm channels and see if the probe Droid and sent out any information on their presence on Ryloth.

While they waited, Hera anxiously paced around, hugging her arms. “All my father wanted was peace on Ryloth. Why is this happening?” she asked, downtrodden.

Echo answered calmly, “He’s a voice the people stand behind. That makes him a threat to the Empire.”

“I don’t care about any of that. I just want my parents back,” the Twi’lek girl said in return.

Kimber truly felt sorry for the worried young girl and wanted to say something to comfort her, but in that moment, they heard Chopper chirping and warbling as he and Tech came walking out of the ship.

Still looking at his datapad for a second before looking to the others, Tech informed them all, “We’re all over the Imperial comm channels. They’ve increased patrols within the city.”

Hearing that news, Hunter immediately assumed that Crosshair would be expecting an attack and that they’d lost the element of surprise, deeming this mission an automatic failure and that there wasn’t anything they could do. Once again, Kimber was shocked at how quickly Hunter was to give up on helping Hera and she couldn’t help but feel frustrated at him. Why would he not help her? What was stopping him? Hera insisted they couldn’t leave, but Hunter wouldn’t budge, even when she desperately offered to pay them double.

“All the money in the galaxy won’t matter if we’re dead. What you’re asking us to do, it’s not worth the risk,” he told her sternly.

Angrily, Hera spat back, “Not to you,” and she stormed away, Chopper chirping in frustration at them before following her.

Omega scolded Hunter as the others went back into the ship, “You shouldn’t have said that.” Then she started to go after Hera.

“Being strategic means knowing your limitations, Omega,” he told her back.

She stopped in place, whipped around and replied, “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.” Without waiting for anything else, she turned back and ran after Hera.

That left Kimber and Hunter alone outside the ship.

“What is wrong with you?” Kimber asked him right away. “Hera is a child and her parents’ lives are in jeopardy. Why would you refuse to help her?”

“You saw the Capitol. There’s no way we’d be able to infiltrate it,” he said back. “It’s too heavily fortified.”

“And…? We’ve dealt with worse odds than that and still succeeded,” she stated. “You’re telling Omega to ‘know her limitations’, but that’s never stopped us before.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I know you, Hunter, and this isn’t like you. What's really going on? Why are you so reluctant to help Hera?”

He looked away and sighed, frustrated. 

Looking at him, she tried to place what could possibly be holding him back. He'd seemed hesitant when they first got there, but was at least willing to give the situation a once-over. Since coming back from scouting the Capitol, he was completely against it. Something had changed his mind somewhere between then and now. This wasn't anything they hadn't dealt with before and couldn't handle. 

Except for…

“It's Crosshair, isn't it?” she guessed aloud. 

His gaze found hers and he didn’t even try to hide in his face that she had guessed correctly. “After everything he did on Bracca…there’s no telling what he might do anymore,” he said. “I won’t have him find us or come after us again. I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I, but that doesn’t mean we should let the Syndullas suffer,” she replied. “There must be another way.”

“If you have any other ideas, please enlighten me,” he slightly snapped.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she chided him.

Conflicted, he just shook his head and looked to the ground.

Then she thought of something that would potentially change his mind. She fished out the credit necklace from underneath her armor and held it up in her fingers. “Have you already forgotten your promise?”

He looked up, confused at what she was getting at, but then he saw the credit.

She continued, “You told me you made a promise the day you got this credit to fight for the innocents of this galaxy…a promise I, too, took upon myself when you gave this to me.” She let go of the necklace, letting it hit her armor with a small metallic clink, the look in her eyes imploring her beloved Sergeant to see reason. “If we turn our backs on Hera, then we’re forgoing the promise we both made...and this goes beyond just helping the Syndullas. We fight to make the galaxy better for us and for everyone. If we run and hide, then we’re abandoning those we swore to protect. One day, we’ll have to face reality and if we find the galaxy isn’t better, then we will have failed as soldiers. Would you be able to live with yourself if that happened, Hunter? Because I certainly couldn’t.”

Kimber’s seemingly endless conviction even in the face of uncertain odds never ceased to amaze Hunter. He loved and admired that about her so much. He released a breath, calming himself, stepped closer to her and laid his hands on her arms. “I understand what you’re saying, my love,” he said collectedly, “but this is more complicated than that. The Empire knows we’re here and by extent, Crosshair most likely knows. The chances of us getting captured are higher; more than anything we’ve had to deal with before and we’re no good to Hera or her parents if we end up as prisoners, too.”

Even though she knew there was some truth to his words, Kimber was certain there had to be some other way to help; something else they could do. “Maybe the girls will be able to think of something,” she submitted. “Omega is very clever and Hera has already proven to be quite resourceful. Perhaps, if they work together, they might be able to hatch a plan.”

“Hera would have to really know the inner workings of the Capitol in order to pull off any sort of plan,” he stated. 

“This is her home, after all. She could surprise us. You need to have a little more faith in them,” she responded. She rested a hand on the tattooed side of his face. “I know you’re trying to keep us all safe and you have every reason to, but this isn’t about us. This is about a family who needs our help; an influential family, no less, who can help the people here.” She dropped her hand and took a step back. “You and the boys might want to give up, but I won’t. I refuse to. I couldn’t save my own parents…but I can help save Hera’s.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away in the direction the girls had gone, ignoring Hunter saying her name behind her. It hadn’t fully dawned on her why she had felt so determined to help Hera until the last sentence had left her mouth. A young girl was trying to save her parents and a sense of guilt seemed to eat away at Kimber for being unable to save her own parents from the Tuskens what felt like so long ago. She couldn’t bear the thought of another girl suffering the same fate. Not when she could possibly do something about it.

It didn’t take her long for her to find the girls and Chopper and the two of them were sitting on the ground, deep in conversation. It didn’t seem like just a casual conversation, however. This seemed more intense and important.

“You girls okay?” Kimber asked them as she approached. 

They both turned their attention to her and Omega answered. “More than okay. I think Hera and I have a plan to rescue her parents.”

Kimber smirked, seeing now that she was right to have faith in the girls’ ability to strategize. Hopefully, their plan was one that could possibly work. “You do, huh?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

“You don’t believe this can be done either, do you?” Hera asked skeptically.

“On the contrary. I believe you two are very smart and had a feeling you’d be able to think of something if you worked together,” Kimber refuted.

Hera’s eyes widened in surprise and next to her, Chopper let out three low warbles that, to Kimber’s slight shock, sounded a lot like he was saying, “I told you.”

“We can tell Kimber our idea. She might be able to help us,” Omega then told Hera.

“So what’s the plan, you two?” Kimber asked, crouching down next to them.

Getting a look of reassurance from Omega, Hera informed Kimber, “I had the thought of us attacking the Imperial refinery that’s on the outskirts of the city. I’ve been watching it for a while and I know what goes on there enough to plan an attack.”

“Why attack the refinery?” Kimber asked. She wasn’t asking necessarily because she didn’t understand, but more because she wanted to see if Hera understood her own plan.

“It’s been the Empire’s big project here and therefore, very important. If it gets attacked, that should divert all Imperial forces there and out of the Capitol,” said Hera.

Then Omega interjected, “That should give us an opening to get inside and rescue Hera’s parents.”

Kimber bobbed her head, impressed. They knew exactly what they were doing, which she believed they would. “Most refineries are heavily armed for protection. Do you have a way to deal with that?”

“Yes,” Hera responded determinedly. “There are five unmanned perimeter cannons that Chopper can disable. He can easily sneak in and do it.”

Chopper chirped gleefully and flexed his mechanical arms with confidence, making Kimber snicker at him. 

Then she said out loud, more to herself, “If we attack the refinery and take out the cannons, the Imperial reinforcements should definitely get redirected there. Our squad can scale the walls and find a way inside the Capitol. Getting out may possibly be a different issue, but we can handle that.” She smiled at both Hera and Omega. “I’m impressed. You girls know your stuff.”

“See? I knew this was a good idea!” Omega exclaimed to Hera.

Even though she had a smile at Kimber’s compliment, it quickly faded as Hera proceeded to ask, “But will it be enough to convince Hunter and the others? Do you think they’ll get on board with our plan?”

“A sound, strategic plan to infiltrate an Imperial-occupied stronghold and mess things up for the Empire?” Kimber rhetorically asked. She let out a proud scoff. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that they’ll get on board.”

After Kimber, Omega, Hera and Chopper returned to the ship, the two girls immediately pitched their plan to the Clones, complete with hologram projections of the refinery from Chopper to help better visualize what they wanted to do. Kimber watched them with pride as they confidently answered every question the Clones asked with already thought out detail. In the end, it was enough to convince them to take action. Hunter told the girls to be Chopper’s backup, but to stay at a distance. Then he ordered Tech and Wrecker to wait until the cannons were disabled and then move in on the refinery while he, Echo and Kimber scaled the Capitol wall to get in and free Hera’s parents. They’d wait until dark to enact their plan so as to have the most cover as best they could.

As the team all split up to get into their positions, Hunter commented to Kimber, “I guess you were right to have faith in the kids.”

She grinned. “I know I was,” she replied, half serious and half joking. “You really should have more faith, too.”

“If this plan succeeds, then I will,” he said back.

Kimber, Hunter and Echo, after making sure the girls were in position via their comms, they made their way to the outer city wall. Once they reached it, they prepped their climbing magnets.

“Race you to the top?” Echo challenged Kimber. 

“Last one up buys Mantell Mix,” she said in return. 

With that, the three of them began climbing carefully up the wall. As they got closer to the top, they heard the chatter of comms above them as well as footsteps, signifying the nightly patrol. Hunter held up his hand, signaling Echo and Kimber to wait. However, as Hunter kept climbing, the white helmet of an Imperial looked over the edge down at them.

“A little help?” Echo sarcastically asked.

They heard Hunter’s voice and then suddenly the trooper disappeared from view as they heard the thud of a punch hitting armor. Hunter then reached down and pulled Echo up followed by Kimber.

“Ha! Looks like you owe me Mantell Mix, Kim,” Echo snarkily remarked.

“Oh, stow it,” she begrudgingly replied. “You don’t even eat it.”

She heard Echo lightly chuckle as the three of them continued on down the wall and made their way towards the square. 

“Hera said the prison should be underneath that tower,” Hunter informed the other two, pointing to the furthest tower in the square.

“You two head for the prison and break out the Syndullas. I’ll get into the opposite tower and keep a lookout to make sure the Imperial reinforcements head for the refinery,” stated Kimber.

With a bow of the head, Hunter responded, “Understood. Be careful and stay on comms.”

“I will,” she said. 

While Hunter and Echo went one way, Kimber went the opposite, heading for the tower on the other side of the square. She snuck through the edge of the common area to where the large door was. After activating, she lifted her rifle, ready to fight, but luckily the area was empty. So far, so good. She continued on up into the tower, carefully coming around each corner in case there was an enemy nearby, but the tower was seemingly empty, which made things easier. She heard Tech over her helmet comm ask Omega if Chopper had disabled the cannons yet, to which she replied that she and Hera were working on it…and to not shoot down their shuttle.

“That’s something I wasn’t expecting to hear,” she whispered to herself upon hearing that response before continuing up the tower.

Finally, she reached the uppermost office, which was also empty, and she moved across the room, the door to the outer balcony opening up and closing behind her.

“I’m in position, Hunter,” she said over her comm, crouching down and setting her rifle on the railing. 

A few seconds later, she heard an explosion in the distance and couldn’t help but snicker to herself. It seemed the girls had to improvise and she couldn’t be prouder.

“Omega, I am registering multiple explosions near the refinery,” she heard Tech state over the comm.

Then Omega’s voice responded, “That was us. Cannons are down. Do some damage, Wrecker.”

After hearing the sounds of more distant explosions, Kimber pressed the side of her helmet to activate her comm and said, “Hunter, Echo, the refinery has been hit. Reinforcements should be on the move any minute.”

“Copy that,” she heard Echo respond. 

Just as she looked back through the scope on her rifle, she caught sight of the top office doors opening and a trooper walked through, spotting her across the way immediately. Instinctively, she stood up and took up her rifle, ready to shoot, but the trooper, astonishingly, held up his hands by his head. In the dim light, she noticed his armor had blue or possibly teal-colored accents and had a winged pauldron on his right shoulder. It was Clone armor; a Clone Captain’s armor, no less. Seeing him not reaching for his weapon made her hesitate and her rifle lowered slightly, but she kept her eye on him through the scope. Then the unknown trooper surprised her even more by holding up a finger to the lower part of his helmet where his mouth would be and then signaled for her to get down. 

She was about to question why, but in that moment, the door at the base of his tower opened and she saw Imperial soldiers running out towards the shuttles that were docked in the square. Swiftly, she fell back to her knees behind the railing and out of sight. When she carefully peeked back over, the troopers were all powering up the shuttles and climbing inside. Then the shuttles started lifting off the ground and flying away…except for one.

In the headlight of the one remaining shuttle, she saw a lone soldier looking back towards the other tower. She lifted up her rifle and looked through the scope to see who it was and what was going on. She saw the back of a bald head, but a set of black armor and a rifle in his hand that looked familiar. Then his head turned and she realized it was Crosshair, who was now giving an order to his squad that had gotten on the shuttle. She saw one of the soldiers come out and tap something on a datapad while Crosshair gestured to a couple others and then to the tower on the other side. Right after that, all of the troopers on the shuttle started filing out and prepping their weapons.

“Blast it…he’s figured us out,” she groaned out loud. She got back down and spoke quietly into her helmet comm, “Hunter, Echo, we’ve been compromised. I think Crosshair has figured out our plan and is stationing a squad just outside. You’re walking into a trap and need to find another way out.”

She waited a couple seconds, but there was no response.

“Hunter, Echo, do you read me? Crosshair knows. It’s a trap!”

No response except for static feedback in her ears. That sound only meant one thing: their communications were being jammed. Neither Hunter nor Echo would hear her warning about the squad outside. They’d walk right into Crosshair’s trap and their whole plan would fail. She had to get to them quickly and warn them. Since the tower had been empty upon entering, she figured she could easily sneak back out, especially since Crosshair’s squad all had their backs to her. She’d get out and make her way to one of the side entrances that would take her to the other tower. 

She stood up, ready to take off, but stole one last look across the way. The mysterious Clone soldier that had been there was gone...and when she looked down, so was Crosshair.

Immediately, she stiffened. Where had he gone? He wasn’t anywhere to be seen down below. That was a worse sign and an even bigger indicator that she had to get out and fast. She ran through the balcony doors and back into the office, knowing she had to get to Hunter and Echo as soon as possible.

Kimber activated the doors to the office, ready to run…and instead, found herself face to face with Crosshair.

[rebelscum218]

A sad thought I sometimes think about is when the Ghost crew was slowly drifting apart after Rebels, Hera would look back at her leaving her father and be like: this is what it feels like. At that time, Cham had already lost his wife to the Empire, and now his daughter was walking away as well, leaving him alone to carry on the fight in Ryloth. Similarly, Hera had lost Kanan, then Ezra, and then Sabine chose to stay on Lothal, Zeb went off to train recruits, while she and Chopper are all that's left. Of course, Hera had her own legitimate reasons: she wanted to fly and fight for a larger cause, and Cham has never believed in her. They've been going through this issue as early as Season 1 of Bad Batch. (Gobi trusts me to do my part, why can't you?) But at some point, in her darker moments, I think that Hera would sometimes believe that this was payback, and that she somehow deserved it. I imagine how she must have reacted to each loss of the crew, how empty the Ghost feels, how she can't bear to look at Sabine's paintings or clean up their old rooms, how she has to soldier through it all from fighting for the Rebellion to raising Jacen alone.

[digitalagepulao]

since in my Expedition AU i'm shuffling up the team meet-ups, i'm thinking that pretty much the whole team is assembled before they leave the Tang Empire frontier. in the book, Wukong is acquired in a mountain that stands right at the border, and i'm making him the last one in my au

so i'm thinking it goes Bailong > Sha > Zhu > Wukong

Ao Lie eats Tripitaka's horse when he and his disciples stop by the river to refuel their waterskins. the attack scares and scatters them, leading them to get caught by demons. disciples get eaten, and Ao Lie overhears the whole celebration and investigates, and hearing Tripitaka is next on the menu, he goes "oh i fucked up!". So in he goes to rescue Tripitaka and goes "yeah so i'm your disciple now, so sorry about the horse but uuuh how's this?" and boom horse time;

Sha Wujing is recruited as Ao Lie and Tripitaka struggle through the Gobi desert stretch of the track. Wujing attacks their traveling group, which gets them separated and Ao Lie is desperately running around trying to flee from the massive demon that seems to swim in the dunes like water. Tripitaka almost gets eaten but Ao Lie goes dragon mode and flies them out of reach. Due to heaven's parole terms, he shouldn't be in the skies like that so he almost gets arrested before he argues his case, and the local heavenly soldiers go "oh wait, that demon is meant to be a disciple too, Guan Yin came by to tell us, just call him by his byname." boom, Sha acquired and he leads them to an oasis to recover and continue the trip;

Zhu Bajie gets found after the group has to, head closer to the Northern Tibet range to get their bearings again and, another travel group. Safety in numbers and all, even if they now have a massive demon and a horse dragon tagging along. They find the Gao Village and overhear the troubles along the streets, and when they get some lodging, good old Elder asks for Tripitaka to try his hand at exorcising the demon. Bailong and Wujing tag along just in case. It ends up with a long debacle and lots of praying from Tripitaka, Ao Lie causes a minor flood to get Ganglie to show up and fix the ruined fields, a bit of fighting is had, Wujing and Ganglie get into a little eating bet for him to sign the annulment papers which Gao has a little cry about, a bit more fighting, then they figure out he was recruited by Guan Yin as well, and boom mister Zhu Wuneng is acquired;

Aaaaand for our beloved Sun Wukong, things go rather as usual, the group is tracking along when they get pounced by a tiger. The group makes quick work of it cus of course, which ends up being a hunter's mark and after a small talk, they receive lodging from Boquin. Wujing praises his leatherwork and Bajie bemoans not being able to have a taste of their host's lovely cooking. At night, Boquin overhears the disciples speaking about Tripitaka's need for fake papers after they are outside of the country and their attempts to fake some themselves. He intends to confront them in the morning, but Tripitaka pacifies the father's ghost after prayers and Boquin is now indebted to them, so he promises to lead them to a secret hunter's path so the border sentries won't spot them. The path goes through Five Phases Mountain which no one but the locals dare to tread, which finding and releasing Wukong goes about by the book, with some added horror stories about the Great Sage who wreaked havoc in Heaven centuries past, and the disciples' very reasonable concern and fear of being near such a being, much less have him tag along.

[phoenixyfriend]

curious abt the paprika thing you mentioned in the tags of the tea post. would you be willing to expand on that? :)

The word Paprika came to English through Hungarian in the 19th century, but it came to Hungarian from Serbo-Croatian,* which I speak.

See, the thing is. In Serbian. The original language. This is not paprika:

This is paprika:

A Paprika in Serbo-Croatian, the language of origin, is A Pepper, generally a bell pepper (others get a qualifier, like 'ljuta paprika' meaning 'spicy pepper').

The spice that the Anglophone world is familiar with is aleva paprika, though ngl most packaging also uses 'dimljena paprika' (smoked pepper) or a qualifier like 'slatka mlevena' (sweet ground, as in sweet and processed by grinding).

It's sort of the inverse of the naan bread and chai tea and gobi desert type discourse. Rather than using an existing word as a qualifier for a new product, a qualifier was stripped from the primary noun to use it as a new word.

The doubling might be annoying, but I cannot emphasize how incredibly confusing it was in elementary and middle school to get into arguments with classmates about paprika because as far as I was concerned, paprika was always an entire fresh pepper.

EDIT: Y'all, please stop making this about Dracula. Not only is Romania a separate area with its own etymologies and definitions, but paprika hendl (chicken paprikash) has both the vegetable and the spice, so it's a moot point.

* (What qualifies as Serbian vs Croatian vs Bosnian vs Serbo-Croatian is 90% politics and regionalisms. Serbian and Croatian have more in common than England English and American English. It's the same language with a few different terms here and there. In this case, we're using Serbo-Croatian because it was all still lumped in under the same umbrella until... well, the actual start of the excision of Ethnically Serbian words started in 1941 for Reasons, but quite frankly this is not a post for a topic that dark. Short version: still one language when the Hungarians got the word, I'm guessing through Croatian since it was in union with the Kingdom of Hungary for centuries, in part as a bid to protect from the Ottoman Empire that had taken other parts of the Balkans.)

[heyclickadee]

Still working through that Bad Batch rewatch, and:

Common Ground: Gosh, Raxus is pretty. Also, can we note that Cid was apparently the first contact Senator Singh thought to ask for help? And that Cid was apparently in direct contact with the Senator of Raxus at all?

Devil’s Deal: The (so far) seasonal Batch Lite episode. That said, I do like that they use Hera as a POV character here. We get a lot of Crosshair, and a lot of indications that he’s not acting the same as he was with the chip (the talking out of turn, the slouching, a bit of snark, he’s got that toothpick back for the first time since his chip got amplified. He’s still with the empire but he’s a lot more himself than he’s been since Aftermath), but we can’t quite get into his head yet, so they have another character lead us around situations where he and the other batchers happen to be present.

Also in Cid’s contacts? Gobi. Meaning she was directly in contact with the Senator on the separatist capital world and the freedom fighters on Ryloth, and took jobs from both of them that directly opposed imperial action. No conclusion from that, just taking note.

(I am not making it all the way through both seasons before Wednesday, am I? 😅)

[freesia-writes]

Howzer + Aurelia Ch. 18

Beginning with his shiny days, this story follows Howzer's character arc through some heartwarming romance, action, adventure, yearning, angst, and growth.

Content/Trigger Warnings for Entire Work (individual chapters not labeled): wartime peril, injury, and death; sexual assault up to kissing; relationship passion up to making out and heavy petting; sexual relationship alluded to (smut is posted separately); pregnancy, birthing trauma, and stillbirth (chapters 30-39, can be skipped and still keep up with the story).

Master List of Chapters

Word Count: 2.3k

18. Foundation

Howzer and Aurelia found their paths crossing more often than they had anticipated, as their duties revolved around the same areas... Cham Syndulla was a primary leader of Ryloth throughout the Clone Wars, and even as the Empire had quickly replaced the Republic, it was still a continual transition from Separatist occupation to Republic annexation to Imperial protectorate.

The doonium mine and refinery was a hot spot of Imperial activity; they seemed to be obsessed with getting as much doonium as possible, for whatever huge projects they had going on. Twi'leks and other species from all over were being brought in as "employees", though the circumstances of their employment seemed awfully suspect of being closer to slavery.

Howzer had been tasked with keeping an eye on the Imperial activity and reporting back to Cham, who was navigating a tricky path of politics and civil unrest. Aurelia, on the other hand, felt purposeless even in her Imperial position, as her duties seemed to mostly revolve around being Moss Gowden's personal assistant. He was a greasy sort of person who often said one thing and did another, and she was feeling more and more disillusioned with the whole thing as time went on.

However, the perk of the job was frequent encounters with Howzer, where they were able to have brief conversations under the guise of business. Aurelia was often dispatched to inspect the various "mishaps" that occurred, including a variety of thefts of Imperial shipments as well as entire groups of "employees" who would go missing. It was the same every time, though -- she would gather the information, which was sorely lacking in any real substance, and report it to Gowden, who would shrug and file it away to his superiors. There didn't seem to be any real concern, other than the loss of materials and workers, but it small enough and slow enough to avoid any serious repercussions.

It had been a couple of months of them working together, and Aurelia had to admit that she was finding herself enchanted with this older version of Howzer as much as she had been with the "shiny" from years before. He was simultaneously confident and humble, executing his duties with dignity and efficiency, but lacking all of the attention-seeking neediness of his youth. It seemed that his experiences had shaped him, and his battle-scarred face emphasized the solemnity of his current stage.

He was always polite with Aurelia but didn't seem to pursue her. He appeared to enjoy their conversations, and always had a particular warmth with her, but she found herself yearning for the depth and playfulness they had enjoyed on Coruscant. She felt self-conscious, wondering if his interest in her had been thoroughly diminished over time, but couldn't shake her desire to see if that spark was still there, under the layers of maturity he wore.

Finally, she found her voice. One afternoon, after another "review" meeting at the refinery, Cham had dismissed Howzer for the day, citing a need to work things out with Gobi privately. Gowden shook everyone's hands and turned to Aurelia, asking if she'd be interested in a late lunch together.

"Ahh, you know, I've been feeling worse as the day has gone on... I was thinking I'd get some rest for the inventory check tomorrow," she answered, feeling a slight prick of apprehension at the flash of indignation on Gowden's face.

"Sure, alright. I can come make sure you're nice and comfortable..." Moss said, tracing a hand down her forearm. She hated it, but he had made it clear that rebuffs would not bode well for her employment, so she stood silently. Howzer's helmet tilted a bit, noticing the interaction from behind Syndulla.

"I wouldn't want you to get sick," Aurelia offered, keeping her face carefully neutral.

"Ah, it would be worth it," Gowden crooned, leaning in closer to her ear, "You're gonna give in someday, Aurelia, and realize what you've been missing." His breath was hot against the side of her face, and she leaned away a tiny bit, feeling a bit more courageous.

"No thank you," she said firmly, and turned to head toward the shuttle. Gowden glowered after her, following with a contemplative squint in his eyes.

Back in the capitol, Aurelia left the group in the square to head to her quarters. She didn't actually feel sick, but just didn't want to spend any more time with her boss. He gave her the creeps, and while he had never crossed a line, he was constantly pushing it, and she didn't trust that he wouldn't someday. She slipped into the building, made up of a bunch of apartments, and headed for the lift. As it slid shut, and she let out a breath of relief. Before the doors closed fully, however, a gloved hand slipped in the crack, sending them back open.

"Howzer?" she said in surprise as his armored form entered the lift with her, "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you got home safely," he answered, facing the doors with a straight back, a solder at attention. She felt a warmth blossom in her chest, smiling up at him, and when the lift arrived at her floor, he beckoned a polite hand for her to exit before him. As they approached her door and she retrieved her key card, he continued the formal facade. She hesitated, confused at the whole atmosphere of their interaction.

"Would you like to come in for a snack?" Aurelia asked, waiting with bated breath for his reply.

"Sure," he said, and she felt a disproportionate amount of delight as the door swung open and they strolled inside. Her flat was small and simple; it had a balcony with a view of the city, though it was mostly taken up by the various walls of buildings nearby. The morning had been sunny, but the afternoon had given way to a cloudy sky, painting everything in a grey blue light. The apartment had a small kitchen and living room, with one little bedroom down a hallway off to the right. The living room wall was a giant transparisteel door that led out to the balcony.

Once they were inside and the door closed behind them, Howzer's demeanor changed. He pulled his helmet off, shoulders dropping in relaxation. Glancing around the apartment, he set his helmet on a shelf by the door and ventured in a few steps. Aurelia dropped her bag on the kitchen counter, opening the refrigerator to see what she had to offer. Grabbing a myriad of snacks to lay out, she took one last searching look and smiled as she recognized a few bottles of fizz in the very back, pulling them out and holding them up to him.

"Heyyy, there's the stuff!" Howzer said, smiling and leaning against the counter next to her.

"Little throwback for us," Aurelia replied, passing one to him. He popped the cap off with a flourish. "You seemed so stiff on the way up... I was worried I had offended you or something?"

"Ah, I just didn't want to look suspicious, in case that creep Gowden was watching... although I suppose coming in might be suspicious in itself," he said, shrugging dismissively.

"Yeah... he's a bit of a womp rat," she admitted, grimacing at the mention of him.

"Why do you work for him?"

"I don't really know... My parents got me the job hoping it would lead to something important, which apparently is the only way to make them proud in life. But it seems like upward mobility only comes through shady means, and I'm not really interested in that."

"Yeah, well Moss sure seems interested. He touches you a lot," Howzer said, with a slight edge to his voice that made her wonder. Was that protectiveness? Jealousy on his part now? Either way, it felt good.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," she admitted. "Unless there's a bar here that needs tending... although that feels like taking a step backward. Aren't I supposed to be making some meaningful contribution to the world by now?" She hadn't anticipated the conversation taking such a vulnerable turn so quickly, but somehow it didn't feel awkward. She grabbed a bite of the snack nearest to her.

"Yeah, I get that," he commiserated. "All I ever wanted was to be a captain, and it's an honor to serve alongside Cham. I think he's got a good head on his shoulders. But every wave of new leaders, from the Republic to the Empire, has come in with a new agenda for Ryloth. We were put here to protect them from the Separatists, and now it feels like we're still all geared up for war even though we're supposedly under the 'peaceful protection' of the Empire."

"I thought the Empire was really going to get everything in line. All the talk about peace and order... I wanted to be a part of it. It seems like they're trying to do right by the people though, no?"

"You think so? You know the doonium mine and refinery here? That's going to bring all kinds of prosperity and economic wealth to the people?"

"Yeah... It's provided so many jobs!" Aurelia countered, starting to feel defensive at his accusatory tone.

"Jobs!" Howzer spat, standing tall from his leaning position, "Those so-called jobs aren't as voluntary as you think. I see them bringing in the people. They're filed in from the ships in lines, surrounded by troopers. Why is that necessary if they're there of their own volition? And they come in at night, shuffling in with their heads low. All to feed the Empire's endless appetite."

"Why don't you say something about it then, if it's so bad?" Aurelia asked, knowing the answer before she finished the question.

"What do you think they would do?" Howzer demanded, and she knew he was right. "Plus, who am I? I'm an asset, a piece of the military, to be used however they deem fit."

Aurelia sighed, having nothing more to say. She felt similarly trapped, but she had held out some semblance of hope that this new Empire would really turn things around. Taking another sip from her bottle, she motioned toward the living room, "Why don't we talk about less depressing things on our time off?"

"Fair enough," Howzer conceded, with a small smile once again. He ventured to the couch, reclining in the corner. He looked good on her furniture, she had to admit. She brought as many plates and bags of snack foods to the living room table as she could carry in one trip, smiling at him as he clapped in approval. She wanted to plop down next to him but didn't want to be too forward; she was still feeling her way around. Opting instead to curl up in the armchair, she invited him to fill her in on the years they'd been apart.

It felt like a few minutes later, but the cloudy sky had long been replaced by the darkness of night. Somehow, there was something that kept bringing them together, in a way that felt comfortable. Something under the surface, some kind of shared perspective... She couldn't quite put a finger on it.

He had shared the hard lessons he had learned -- the consequences of brash actions and his struggle with the loss of Sprint. There was a sense of regret, a sort of "why him and not me" that was more implied than stated directly. Aurelia could see the impact of these experiences on his personality. He had the occasional spark of passionate indignation or insistence, but for the most part, he was steady and insightful. She realized that she did slightly miss his playful flirtation, however, and wondered if it could be coaxed into returning or it was a relic of the past.

A momentary silence was broken only by the loud growl of a stomach, and they both chuckled, realizing the lateness and the fact that they'd completely skipped dinner. The snacks on the table had been thoroughly pillaged. Howzer stood, stretching his arms wide and arching his back.

"I should head back."

"Yeah, sorry it's so late! I can try to throw together something to eat if you'd like. I feel bad that I kept you from dinner," Aurelia said, feeling a bit embarrassed at her poor hospitality.

"It's fine, I'll grab something on the way," he replied, tilting his head at her. "It was really nice to catch up."

"I agree," she said softly, following him to the door. He paused, with it still closed, and turned back to her.

"I'm glad we keep finding each other," he said, regarding her with warmth and seriousness. She smiled, feeling more confident after their hours of soul-level conversation, and opened her arms, inviting him into a hug. His mouth curved into a small grin as well, and he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her close. It would have been a delightfully comforting thing if she didn't feel as though she were hugging a turtle in its shell. She decided to take a risk, to open a door of sorts, by bringing up something from long ago.

"We never did do anything about that armor, did we?" She pulled away from the hug, grinning playfully in an attempt to lighten the mood in case the little quip didn't land. He laughed quietly, looking down at the floor before back up at her.

"No, no we didn't," Howzer admitted, reaching a hand up to give her cheek the tiniest stroke with the backs of a few fingers. That alone was enough to send tingles through her body, and she took an extra long blink to enjoy it. He dropped his hand, retrieved his helmet from the floor, and gave her one last smile before pulling it on and heading out.

.

Next Chapter

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Homecoming"

Hera's daddy issues, and lots of fanservice for TCW fans.

Oh hey, one of my husband's favorite episodes!

Three guesses as to why.

Yep it's because of the Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier.

Anyway, the need for such a thing is demonstrated right with this opening scene, with an ill-fated A-wing getting blown up as it tries to dock.

The A-wings get a raw deal in this show, seems like any time they need a fighter to blow up they do an A-wing.

:(

You know by now Hera's started to get to know the pilots under her command, so every loss is a little bit more personal now.

Kanan being silently supportive as Hera goes to call home.

Cham appears and cue TCW fans freaking out.

Not sure why we forwent the fanfare this episode, I don't think the circumstances are quite serious enough for it.

Kanan acting all cutely nervous to be meeting Hera's father kjhkjds.

And him getting everyone's names wrong lol, look at their faces. They're all just like, "Dad. Dad, that's not my name."

Numa introduced and though I have only seen the episode where she appears once I understand TCW fandom's base instinct to sob uncontrollably at how big she's gotten.

Cham being all, "NO I won't let you have this carrier I have to BLOW IT UP as a SYMBOL of RYLOTH RESISTANCE!" is absolutely annoying, Sato and Hera are saints for putting up with it.

I love the immediate cut to Ezra helping Hera tune Chopper up, implying he did his whole "follow you out of concern" routine and got invited to stay. :)

This is becoming a familiar sight isn't it? Ezra's role as heart of the team, peacemaker, counselor, and "bridge" is particularly emphasized this season. Not surprising, we collect most of our finale-important assets and allies this season.

Hngh that vulnerable little, "More important than family?" Fandom sometimes like to portray Mira and Ephraim as workaholics who had no time for Ezra between their broadcasts and resistance but this little line here, that Ezra would be so quietly horrified at the idea of rebellion being more important than one's own family, suggests otherwise.

Also! "Well, there's nothing more important to me." Throw that shade baby boy, love you for it.

Hhhmgngnll shut uuuuuuuuup Cham. When Ezra was preoccupied with concern over his homeworld he wasn't nearly so obnoxious. And, you know, actually accepted that other people and other worlds need help too.

Hera slipping back into her Rylothi accent when talking to her father. <3

Kanan implying his grandmaster Mace Windu talked to him about Clone Wars adventures. <3

Hera's absolutely sour sulk face. XD

This whole scene really, Gobi teasing Hera about "your Jedi", Kanan gushing about Cham, Hera cutting her father off with the doors twice.

It has all the vibes of "surly adult daughter reluctantly visiting estranged home to show off the grandkids and being annoyed that husband and dad get along so well".

Kanan's fake accent here is kind of amazing.

Hera's devotion to authenticity dislodges and reveals the supply of grenades in Numa's sack. Honestly, Cham reminds me a little bit of Saw with how obsessive he is about his own personal cause. He and Saw are both fighting for a good reason, true, but their attachments--Cham to Ryloth's freedom in particular, Saw to being right about the Death Star stopping the Empire from inflicting more loss at all costs--have blinded them, made them single-minded and selfish, hostile to others and uncaring about their plight.

Ezra, on the other hand, though he's always very worried for his world, his people, still is able to put them aside in order to do things for the wider cause, still able to access his compassion for people outside of his immediate circle.

(This would take a brief backslide in Season 3 after Malachor but come back with internal character development at the beginning of Season 4.)

Lol I knew as soon as that mouse droid got trapped that it would be used later.

Synchronized Force Push FTW.

And I love this moment where they throw each other forward, it's so awesome. Been a while since we've heard the Main Titles theme used to denote heroism too.

Ezra bouncing excitedly once he pulls off the Mind Trick, like Kanan knew he could aww.

Hera's double-take lol.

"I must destroy this ship for Ryloth!" Oh take a chill pill.

This is another case of, "Wow, that's a fast turnaround." but it's way less egregious than Ketsu's turn, since there are multiple other voices chiming in in support of Hera after her speech and all Cham does is take a step back and let Hera have the floor, he doesn't actually help until later.

Sounds like a muted version of the TIE Fighter Attack track here.

Right, so, this moment is touching and all but pulling harder on the yoke wouldn't actually do anything, this is orbit not atmosphere.

Imperial theme here, and then a snippet of "Shenanigans".

Ezra has an idea! Bet Sabine loves it because it involves blowing stuff up lol.

Love the teamwork here with this moment.

Eyyyyy everyone wins! The Rebels get the carrier, Cham gets his symbolic firey ship explosion of justice, way to go Ezra, that was a good idea, nice "bridging".

Hugs! <3

An almost Stargate-esque cue here (no surprise, Kiner worked on Stargate SG-1) which... it's not Hera's theme I don't think, at least I can't find another occurrence in "Wings of the Master". Cham's maybe? It definitely sounds like a leitmotif.

Aaaaaand a nice moneyshot of our spacefamily.

Another quality Hera-focused episode, expanding on her backstory without contradicting what we already knew. (Which I've already talked about was a bit of a problem with Sabine and "Blood Sisters".) Hera doesn't really develop much but then, again, she never really needed to. Still nice to see her reconcile with her father.

Another variation on the Friendship Fetch Quest--though Cham reappears later he's not a crucial asset to the finale like the other allies we gain this season, and once more the most important gain this episode is a ship. That Quasar carrier is going become a familiar marker and staple of the Phoenix Cell and we're going to get very used to seeing it in establishing shots... which makes the great big hero moment in "Zero Hour" it gets hurt a LOT more.

Honestly it's worth watching just for how seamlessly synchronized Kanan and Ezra are getting in combat. :)

[thebrackishtank]

Do you think peacock gudgeon's could be kept in a low end brackish tank (1.003sg)?

My understanding is that Peacock Gudgeons don't have long term brackish tolerance. Please keep in freshwater only! If you want a brackish sleeper goby, look into the related Empire Gudgeon.

[eriexplosion]

Devil's Deal time, I'm excited for this one, ready to catch up with Crosshair post chip frying.

Fuck off Rampart, you slimy creature. I just love how he can be so unerringly polite and nice and calm and also so utterly Offputting doing it. WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE (AN ASSHOLE)

Very excited to see Cham though, I love him. I do wish I had known more about Hera and her family going into this episode only because knowing Eleni is dead by the time of Rebels would have made this episode sooooo much more stressful. I'm retroactively super surprised that she survived the whole two parter honestly.

I want to see the full history between Cham, Eleni, and Howzer he's so clearly intensely trusted I want to see moreeeee.

Honestly just. HOWZER. HOWZER <3

In another fun Coincidence of Watching Order, when I got to rebels and Hera started talking yes I did have a moment of WHY AREN'T YOU FRENCH?

The empire took everything from her. Her home. Her mother. Her accent. (the way they had the accent come in on the episode with her father was really well done so like it ended up being explained but early on I was CONFUSED.)

"Things are a little tense" is such an understatement, Howzer doesn't want to be like THINGS ARE VERY BAD CHAM, VERY VERY BAD.

Anyway Gobi sure is recruiting a child to fight fascism which is a noble goal but perhaps find one a little older, small children aren't known for their spy skills.

The twi'lek ear situation still weird me out. Why do men have human ears what sort of sexual dimorphism is this

Crosshair talking immediately though is such a good first sign that something is Different actually. Because it's just the right amount of ambiguous - he gives his recommendations on needing more than a scout team to deal with the batch in Reunion, while giving his report, but here he full on speaks out of turn when he's not really supposed to be talking at all. Just look at how Rampart reacts to it lol.

Face of a man that forgot Crosshair could talk of his own volition and not just to relay requested information.

"If we need to fight I am as capable as anyone" YOU ARE LIKE TWELVE BBY GIRL.

Also just. It is painful to see him saying how he doesn't want her to have to live a life of fighting like he did, knowing PERFECTLY WELL that she is going to have to and he's going to lose what little he managed to build. MY HEART HURTS A BIT. Their story is just. Sad.

Your father said no more spying, surely that doesn't extend to all rebel activities though right?

Brief appearance of the Boys here to do some simple weapons smuggling.

Omega and Hera are so cuteeee omg. I want them to stay friends over the years please. I'm eternally on team 'give Omega more friends please'

FLYING IS ABOUT A FEELING!

When we're not getting chased or shot at, it's my room! - This line delivery is SO funny.

SERIOUSLY WHY WAS HE SO INSISTENT ON BRINGING A CHILD TO THIS is this his way of forcing Cham to get involved oh my god.

Here's Crosshair with the good old 'non fatal headshot' trick.

I swear that they absolutely intended on killing Taa off and whoever is in charge of keeping this towering pile of events that is the star wars universe even mildly consistent had to be like WAIT HE SHOWS UP LATER HE CAN'T BE DEAD and they had to go with. Yes Crosshair shot him in the head but he got better.

Howzer looks SO CONFLICTED ABOUT EVERYTHING Please give him a hug.

[ardentguilt]

Dash game thingy

Are you named after anyone?

“Uh….no?”

((I guess. My mother got the name from a character in a Tom Cruise movie. I think the movie was Cocktail))

When was the last time you cried?

“What? Me? Cry? Haha. No.”

((4+ years ago))

Do you have kids?

“Oh 8oy. Yeah. 3 from a previous relationship 8ut they’re off doing their own thing nownights and one from a current relationship.”

((Definitely not. No interest or ability to have bio kids but I’m open to maybe one day adopting an older kid if I ever feel ready for that))

What sports do you play/have you played?

“They made us play gru88all as wrigglers 8ut other than that is 8eing a pain in the empire’s ass a sport?”

((Used to do Archery and was freakishly good at it despite being shortsighted and not having glasses back then. Kinda wanna get back into that. Used to run as a kid and was pretty good at it. Also used to do tae kwon do but I don’t do sport nowdays.))

Do you use sarcasm?

“What do you think?”

((Mostly no and if I do it’s not often or usually intentional because autism.))

What’s the first thing you notice about someone?

“Um….I dunno? Is there something specific you should notice first or…?”

((No clue. I don’t like to make eye contact so I guess maybe..hair color? Outfit? Never really paid attention before))

What’s your eye color?

“Right is teal 8ut my left is all fucked up and damaged red.”

((I guess green-brown? I’m a weirdo and they’re still shifting every so often but seem to be settling into the green-brown sort of range. Apparently they’re supposed to settle while you’re still a kid??))

Scary movies or happy endings?

“I don’t have any real preference, I don’t mind an occassional scary movie 8ut romantic stuff is mostly just the same things repackaged with different actors so it’s a 8ut 8oring. I prefer action, sci-fi and drama”

((Same as the muse tbh))

Any talents?

“Conditional immortality. I’m essentially an escaped imperial experiment. They fucked me up good and I’m VERY hard to kill and even then unless certain criteria is met I won’t stay dead”

((Where do I start? I’m the weird cryptid of my local town. Deceptive strength for my appearance. I don’t feel most physical pain. I heal abnormally fast. I have abnormal night vision, tongue spines, teeth that keep growing back when removed, hypersensitive hearing, my core temperature is above the norm for a human. I befriend wild animals like a Disney Princess…))

Where were you born?

“8rood Cavern C-1768-Z4, Central Alternia.”

((NSW, Australia))

What are your hobbies?

“Horticulture, 8artending and criminal mischief.”

((Reptiles, minerals and videogames))

Do you have any pets?

“Not at this stage no.”

((2 cats who are siblings Willow & River, an abundance of fish [spotted silver dollars, freshwater angelfish, bristlenose plecos {standard color, super red & albino}, bumblebee gobys, Gourami {golden Pearl, honey, coral blue, neon stripes}, phantom glass catfish, freshwater mussels, mystery snail, tetras {neon, Cardinal & rummy nose}, loach {yoyo & banded kuhli}, Siamese algae eaters and 3 generations of swordtails] and 2 central bearded dragons Spike & Puff))

How tall are you?

“Not counting horn height 8’8” 8ut if we’re including horns it’s 9’5” last I checked”

((Last I was measured it was something like 170-172cm))

Favorite subject in school?

“Eww no”

((School was hell on earth so hometime))

Dream job?

“You know I’ve always wanted to open my own 8otanical store….”

((Working with reptiles, specifically in the area of rescue and rehabilitation. I’m working on qualifications to get there but with that I have obtained currently I’m qualified for volunteer work. Just need a first aid course and snake handling course and I’ll have everything officially to get into it fully))

[stopthatmyhandsaredirty]

Star Ware Rebels Bechdel Test Rewatch- 3x05 ‘Hera’s Heroes’

Plot

When the Empire occupies Hera's home, she decides to personally recover a family heirloom. But a new Imperial commander named Grand Admiral Thrawn is waiting.

Female Characters: 3

Hera Syndulla Sabine Wren, Numa

Male Characters: 7

Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios, Cham Syndulla, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Gobie Glie, Captain Slavin

Droid Characters: 1

Chopper

Does it pass?

Eh, this is another tricky one to judge. There is a group scene at the beginning where Hera, Sabine, and Numa all speak... it’s not necessarily to each other but to the group at large. I suppose I’ll count this one since I was so hard on ‘Holocrons of Fate’. 

Hera sure does go face to face against some heavy hitting villains this season. First Maul, now Thrawn. I consider this our proper introduction to Thrawn on Rebels since he was only teased in the premiere. Here we really get to see how he thinks. 

This is a strong Hera-centric episode. We learn even more about her history and get to see her in her family home on Ryloth. I love all of there scenes with Thrawn. Sabine and Numa are definitely in more supporting roles in this episode, but they get to be in some cool action sequences. 

[castratedtestimonies]

@panheadjeff The fact that comments are turned off on this post should make clear how open to learning about history this person in fact is, but in case the OP is an open-minded person, let's see how well this goes. It is most certainly true that almost every ethnic group in the world, west of about the Gobi Desert, has been subjected to slavery at some point in their distant past, many of these ethnic groups simply did not exist once one goes far enough into the past.

For example, while there are people who clearly define themselves as Greeks and Turks now, these were not clearly separated and independent in any meaningful way only 300 years ago. And under Ottoman rule, boys from Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, as well as many parts of what is now known as the Middle East were taken as slaves to be raised as Janissary warriors-agents.

Another example is the English. Although peasants in Britain had basically no rights, the Daneland introduced certain rights to certain ethnic groups and denied them to others--all of which would nowadays be considered English. None of these groups were slaves at any point. Peasants simply are not slaves.

Another great example are the Slavic peoples. The root of the name is the Roman's referencing the entire ethnic group as slaves. However, to say that it is one ethnic group is extremely controversial. The Kievan Rus did not arrive in what is now Russia until long after the groups in the region became known as Slavs. Many now believe that all Slavs should be united under Russian rule. But these were entirely different groups before the 800s AD. In fact, Ukraine and Russia are having a war over this very question as we speak. Even to this day, pan-Slavic activists and political leaders span the political spectrum, with many believing in outright anarchy as a good solution to this problem. However, to be absolutely transparent here, Slavs have never once, in the history of the world, been slaves in Morocco, to take only a simple example. Or to Arab rulers. Or to Chinese rulers. Most of the history of the Slavs, they were serfs, along with the same social status of many other ethnic groups in the Russian Empire's dominion. Serfs are not slaves, although serfs were born into serfdom and never escaped it. Serfs, much like peasants in most of continental Europe, could marry as they pleased, and when not called upon to serve, had relative autonomy--the difference being that if a serf was called to serve, they were effectively a slave.

Debt slavery is still legal in many, many places in the world. Until very recently, and still in many cases, if your clothes read "made in Singapore," or "made in Philippines", it was likely a piece stitched by debt slaves. To this day, the United States makes explicit allowance for slavery, regardless of race, on the basis of criminal punishment. When the Romans made Slavic peoples slaves, they were not what is called "chattel", meaning that their children were not necessarily slaves, and their race did not necessarily guarantee that they would be slaves all their lives.

Africans whose ancestors were sold as slaves by other Africans to European colonists were literally forced to breed, and all of their children were by definition legally slaves. For almost 400 years, Africans in the Americas were born and died slaves, and their manumission was simply illegal.

So not all slavery is equal.

"Everyone was slaves", well, no, actually many Indigenous groups in Latin America and North America were never slaves, but instead were simply wiped off the face of the planet by slavers and their soldiers. If you care about history--if you really do care about history--posts like this are anathema. Don't pretend to understand history and then falsify it.

ec13133134cf539c.jpeg (474×659)

[digitalagepulao]

So another question (because I may write something for your Trip) He’s more accurate to the fugitive version of his historical self. Has there been any hijinks, funny scenarios, capers or interesting situations that Trip has inadvertently gotten himself into ?

I love that Trip is more human and has more depth then the books (a missed opportunity in my opinion but it is a story with symbolisim) version. 💜💜💜

hbhjadJBDJBWAJHBDA HC YOU SPOIL ME!!!!! TvT <33

I've not yet thought of all the details quite yet cus i need to do more reading on the historical figure. but he does get into hijinks, especially at the start of his journey before he even leaves the Tang Empire.

he had to negotiate and exchange multiple favors to find his way into a travel group along the Silk Road so he'd be able to safely cross the Gobi desert portion (which is where him and Longma recruit Wujing :D). he did have some money him and his brother squirreled away for the trip, but that ran out pretty quickly. and as you can imagine, pickpocketing and thievery are not on his skill toolbelt, so he's had to spend a fair amount of time working for locals for a few coins and a good word put in for him along the grapevine. all as much on the down-low as he possibly can, he can't be found out by patrolling guards after all.

having a dragon prince who turns into a horse as your elder disciple has its ups and downs as well. on one hand, sometimes there's a dragon sunbathing with the graizing horses that nearly spook their host to death. on the other hand, sometimes Ao Lie has to pull some strings with his extended family for the sake of rain at a draught-stricken area.

and since in my AU Wukong is the last to be recruited, Trip and the group have to do without their Heaven-assigned powerhouse for quite a couple months. which leads to some rather... creative methods of buying himself time from being eaten or full-on bailed out of a demon's grasp.

One included a mock-disease cus "oh nooo don't eat me or i'll make you sick too, nooooo" which while smart, was Very uncomfortable for Trip cus, technically speaking it was a minor curse so, it was convincing cus he was sick in a way xDD cue Wujing and Ao Lie showing up disguised as "medics" to "properly tend to the sick monk" and oh no time to bail before the demon realizes go go go---!