#or whatever tfa swindle called it

[galaxyforu]

gave him some sauce

[anony-man]

Chubformers drabble #98!

Characters: Lockdown & Swindle (TFA)

Word count: 858

Whatever Lockdown says goes was always their adopted motto, especially after a few sparklings and settling in for the long haul. If Lockdown wanted to keep Swindle in for a night due to some bad weather, so be it. If he decided the sparklings needed some time hanging off of their conmech of a parental figure while the ex-bounty hunter decompressed, that was exactly what happened. Lockdown called the shots, and Swindle was more than happy to play along.

Momma Lockdown remained an uncomfortable new title, even after a few of the crazy little things. It never got easier, but Lockdown had his ways of coping and learning. Each step was a clumsy one, and with the various changes both he and Swindle were forced to endure, he was discovering plenty of room for improvement.

Still, it was baby steps until the end, and with every milestone they achieved, something newer and better lingered on the horizon. Their success never went without celebration, however, and tonight, while the bitlets were snuggled in a berth behind a closed door, Swindle was intent on treating Lockdown to a little love and attention.

There was really no better way to embrace change than to face it head-on, and while he knew how difficult it had been for Lockdown to accept the many, many changes over the past few years, he did his best to approach it from a different angle.

Swindle was quite the attentive bot, and he had caught Lockdown fawning over the reflection in the mirror more often than not since their romantic evening some weeks prior. He loved seeing his chubby partner embracing the change, but there was still plenty of room to play.

“Well?” he said, perched on the edge of the berth as he watched the ex-bounty hunter twist and turn in front of the mirror, the lingerie straps hugging his plump frame. “What do you think? Pretty snazzy, hmm?”

Lockdown didn’t respond at first, too busy pinching at his protruding love handles and running his servos over the lace patterned over his chest. It was delicate, sexy even. He could hardly believe he was even wearing it.

“Ah,” he managed to say, the words dying out as he continued to turn and stare at his reflection. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s… nice. I like it.”

Primus, he looked beautiful. He almost wanted to ask just where Swindle had managed to find lingerie like this, but he was simply too caught up in admiring the reflection in the mirror. Thin straps crossed over his body and pulled in all the right directions, framing the soft pouch of his belly and the jiggly fat of his hips and aft. His broadened chest was adorned in a lacy corset of a top, and Lockdown could hardly believe it managed to suit him so well.

It was almost impossible, the way everything fell so perfectly into place, but he liked it—he loved it, really. A small ribbon tied into a bow was the centerpiece against his back, and Lockdown had to crane his neck to catch a glimpse of the sight.

It was perfect, and he had never felt so good.

“I can’t believe it,” he said, having managed to get over his shock and awe long enough to turn back to see Swindle’s beaming face and smug smile. “I can’t even… where the hell did you find this stuff?”

“Secrets of the trade,” Swindle said, earning a snort from Lockdown.

The ex-bounty hunter shook his helm with a chuckle before turning back to the mirror, his gaze drawn to the crisscrossing pattern of straps over his hips. Everything fit just right, yet it still drew just enough attention to the soft curves of his frame. It was sexy but tasteful, and suited him perfectly.

That sneaky Con… Lockdown wasn’t sure how he did it—and really, he didn’t even want to know. It was almost nice, the element of surprise. For all he knew, Swindle could have something greater in store for them.

“You seem happy,” Swindle cooed. “Glad you like it, babe.”

“I love it,” Lockdown said, his servos sliding down the length of his frame, feeling out the dips and curves of his hips and belly. “It’s… slag, Swin. It’s perfect. You couldn’t have done it better.”

“Oh, don’t be so sure,” the conmech said as he pushed himself up from the berth. “I’ve got plenty more where that came from.”

The distance between them was closed in seconds, and Lockdown happily bent his helm low to receive a peck on the cheek. Swindle opened up his chest compartment and pulled out a dainty box, and the ex-bounty hunter didn’t need to look inside to know what it was.

“In case you wanted to try something different,” he said, nudging the box into Lockdown’s servos. “Why don’t you try these on next?”

Lockdown’s smile widened as he lifted the lid, revealing a crimson set of lingerie inside.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” he grinned. “Now, why don’t you get back there and help me take this off? I’m dyin’ to see what else you brought.”

[littlestprime]

Intro

Hiii Im Roddy/Rods/Rodimus/Rodster whatever you wanna call me. I also go by Tabby! This blog is jus here for agere stuff ^^ I’m very new to the community tbh! My blog is purely sfw!!

This is a side blog so I follow/like from main but don’t interact from it.

About me

Actual age: 20s tho i usually regress between 5-10

He/him transmasc

Im fiction kin! Big rodimus kin and tabby (animal crossing) too! I also kin Tailgate, Blades, Starscream, Whirl, and Swindle.

Media I like: Transformers, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Stardew Valley, Story of Seasons, I also like dinosaurs in general

Dni: NSFW/Kink/Map/Nomap/Terf/Transmed/anti-kin/anti-system/anti-lgbt

Comfort characters: Optimus Prime, Starscream, Harvey, Minimus Ambus, Ultra Magnus, Prowl(TFA only), Tabby, Dobie (ACNH)

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

My Thoughts If There Was A Poll That Asked “Would Yo Kiss A Decepticon...?”

[Note: Reading This Is Optional] 

I will try to make this quick, cause the only reason I had decided to sign back in before, because I notice a mistake in the post before this one, and I had to sign back in and edit it....

so yeah my thoughts if there was a poll that asks if you would kiss a decepticon....there could be different answers to this, and one of them being No Way....while others being Yes, Defiantly and Absolutely....

like it being slightly rigged, but also giving only one type of No...

 but if I guess I felt like it, I guess I would kiss a Decepticon, but only on the cheek, and not on the lips, we ain’t dating or have a soul/spark bond or whatever, so no kissy on the lips....

so yeah if I had to pick, I would pick Megatron from Earthspark, or like Knockout and Breakdown from Transformers Prime...

and the precious grape muffin that is Skywarp from Transformers Animated.

but I guess if I don’t feel like giving him a kiss, I could just try to give them the chocolate that is called a “kiss” but isn’t really the real type of kiss...

anyway, if there ever becomes a actual poll like that, I will keep my eye out for it....I don’t really know at the moment how I can do the whole make a poll on here myself, like does it have to do with the Ask Box or what...?

anyway Megatron from Earthspark, is great and he does have to put up with Himbo Prime, TFA-Optimus is more of a cinnamon roll who has no idea that his leaders are corrupted and wanted to brainwash the Decepticons into being docile.

anyway going to go back to having me time, I will sign back on later or tomorrow...and since I know some will ignore the whole “don’t reblog without permission” thing, I ain’t even gonna bother placing it on this post.

so yeah, see ya later and keep a eye out for fan theories and possibly a Crossover Ship Drawing, cause I plan to do a crossover ship drawing either later or tomorrow...

also the whole “kissing a Decepticon” would be platonic, and I guess would only be romantic if I have a small crush on one of them....

and I guess if I think about it, I wouldn’t mind kissing Swindle from TFA, you know just on the cheek, I mean if I wanted to....anyway I know this might be random and weird, but at least it’s better than the mess that had been making me unhappy, so yeah....going to have some me time...

also I might as well give up even hoping a certain thing that has to do with, well now two people instead of just one, to just stop...even if I point out how it makes me not happy, so I am just going to give up hoping for them to stop and actually understand why I put those rules there, at least I’m thankful to those who do listen about it and if they like my posts, they only like/heart it.

so yeah, I really don’t want to get into a fight or even try to get them to stop by pointing it out in a note with the post that I keep saying not to do that...so yeah, anyway with that aside, hope some like the whole possibility if there was a poll that asked “would you kiss a decepticon...?”

and who knows, maybe there will be a poll like that in the future. 

I don’t really have much to say about it, other than I think it would be interesting and about which Decepticons I would freely give a kiss to if I felt like it.                  

[cybertronian-cupid]

...if it's not too late to make a request... bottom s/o having a threesome with tfa lockdown and swindle please?

A salesbot, a bountry hunter and their human; oh anon, writing this one was so much fun!💥~Gregoria🏩

............................. ....................... ............................

They run their fingers over the short purple spike, smearing lubricant over golden detailing. Their hand doesn't even wrap halfway around it. Licking their lips they turn their eyes up with the most pleading, needy look they can muster.

Swindle guides their lips to his spike, servo petting the back of their head.

"Open wide, Sweetcheeks."

Their mouth opens as wide as possible, jaw aching as soon as the tip of his spike passes their lips. The whole thing barely touches the back of their throat, but their mouth felt like it was going to split halfway through taking it in.

Just thinking of having something like that spreading them open has their legs pressing closer together.

They lift their hands to grip Swindle by his plating, and stop when Lockdown pricks the skin on their thigh.

"No touching," the sound of his spike pressurising has them spreading their legs wide, arms dangling at their sides.

They swallow around Swindle and feel his digits press more firmly against the back of their head. They repeat the motion and he hums, plating twitching with his hips setting a slow pace. The way his spike segments move is too gentle to be called thrusting, but the feeling of any movement from that massive thing has them seeing spots.

The blunt side of Lockdown's hook drags along their inner thigh, and he begins leisurely moving it back and forth between their slick folds. It's smooth and hard and if their mouth wasn't as full and their brains weren't anticipating being properly fucked out, they'd plead with him to stop teasing and give them his spike already.

Turns out no pleading was needed, not with the way they drip down onto his plating. It isn't long before the tip of his already vibrating spike nudges at their swollen clit. The noise they make could be compared to a yelp, and the noise when Lockdown pushes himself inside them fully might pass for a scream of ecstasy. As it is, the pace of Swindle's own mod is increasing, rendering any noises they might be making to nothing. They can faintly register the sharp tip of Lockdown's hook circling their clit. Their legs shake in an effort to stay open and still, when his mod finally starts moving, pace faster than Swindle's by only a margin.

Compared to Swindle and his absolute unit of a spike, Lockdown's would be considered slim, boring even. But the length of it slamming into them made all of the fun accessories on it positively light up. Their insides vibrated by their fifth orgasm, their skin buzzing where Lockdown kissed and licked at it. At some point they feel Swindle guide their shaking hands to the panelling of his valve, and they struggle with releasing the hatch manually. The pink transfluid tingles on their skin, their fingers tracing the smooth texture of silicone and pressing hard on the sensory clusters inside. It isn't long before they are allowed to start thrusting their hand into his valve, the trickle of lubricant from his spike clear sign of just how close he is.

Lockdown grunts, his spike giving a warm pulse when his overload shots through his circuitry, transfluid pumping into them. His hook nudges their hands away and harshly presses into a spot slightly deeper than where their own hands could reach. Swindle bites back a scream and his overload fills their mouth, lubricant pouring down their throat almost too fast for them to swallow.

By the time he manages to pull his spike out of them they are already kneeling on the bed, sagging against Lockdown's chest. The thick liquid dribbles down their chin, jaw hanging wide open and mouth glowing with whatever fancy color Swindle decided to mix in with this new batch of flavoured lubricant. With the smell of it filling the air around them when the last few squirts of his overload splashed against their body, it's a safe bet this is some exotic fruit mix.

They give a groan when Lockdown rubs a digit across their too sensitive clit, shivering with another small orgasm.

"Hey hey hey, go easy on our new investment,"

They are soon picked up by a huge servo, faintly registering their partners continuing their conversation about production costs and bulk pricing, but the details pass them. Lockdown helps them clean up and dry their wobbly limbs, dressing them after they have some sips of water.

"How's your jaw?"

They give him a slow, tired blink, wincing with their jawn.

"Figured that much Gem. Let's get you a heating pad for that."

"One step ahead of you!" a warm square pillow is offered to them by purple digits and they press it close to their body.

"You know, your spike could count as a centerpiece of a prized shareware exhibit." Swindle muses as the two of them climb under the clean insulation covers. Lockdown huffs a laugh, as Swindle cozies into his side, nestling their human on top of the pillows near their helms.

“Mhm, sure thing Swinds,”

They feel a soft kiss to their head and long digits curl around them just before they fall asleep.

[sophygurl]

I love the question memes and my fave kind is the kind @pixiedane​ just tagged me in (thank you!). [Also sidenote: ILU @theawkwardterrier​ for always tagging me in the tagging memes but JSYK I won’t be doing the latest one because I’m just not really a picture person so I don’t really have a lot of pictures saved and the idea of trying to use whatever weird random stuff I might have saved to describe myself would just not work. But you’re the best and I’ll catch ya on the next one!]

The rules:

Post the rules

Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

Write 11 questions of your own

And tag 11 people

1. What’s the meaning of your name? Does it suit you?

Rosemary doesn’t seem to have a specific meaning, although of course it’s an herb, and Rosemary is for remembrance, which is hilarious given my memory problems. Mary means bitter, so some name meaning sites say the meaning of my name is “bitter rose” which I guess is a nice combo of sweet and sad, which I would not really classify myself as. So, no, the various meanings of my name do not suit me.

The name itself? Does. I love my name, and while most people can’t be bothered with a 3 syllable name in casual conversation, my preference is to be called Rosemary and not Rose. Rose does not feel like me.

2. What’s a movie you never get tired of?

A lot of movies fit under this category, but the movie I have probably seen the most amount of times and can still watch either in full or in chunks and still enjoy every single second of no matter what is Dirty Dancing. 

3. Your favourite movie soundtrack?

Are we talking soundtrack as in collection of songs used in the movie and put into an album, or as in score for the movie, or?

Because nothing but nothing beats the Star Wars scores for me. Well, original and prequels and TFA anyway - the last two have diverged quite a bit which has felt odd to me but whatever. [Second place would be the scores for the 70/s80s Superman movies - also John Williams of course]

If collection of songs - then we’re back to Dirty Dancing.

Although if we’re considering soundtracks of musicals, then I’m gonna be reduced to flailing and just naming half a dozen or so, so we’ll just pretend that’s not part of the question. 

4. How would you describe your personal style?

Accidental? I pretty much just buy things that I find interesting, and then put things together that seem interesting to me, and then end up with some pretty ... interesting outfits. One of my roommates actually described my look yesterday as “crazy” if that tells you anything.

Think colors that don’t quite match, conflicting patterns, stripey socks, chunky jewelry, and then at times like now at the end of winter when I haven’t shaved my head in awhile - short floppy hair that is sticking up in all directions that I swear I tried to tame but it just doesn’t take. 

5. Name a fictional crush.

Spike from Buffy. Also Buffy from Buffy. And put them together? Double crush. 

6. What’s your motto?

I don’t really have a motto, per se, but I do have a mantra, which is: love, peace, joy, hope. Those are the qualities I try to embody, embrace, spread, whatever. All four are of equal importance to me. 

7. Are you a gamer?

If by gamer, you mean obsessively playing the Sims, then yes. But most people who consider themselves gamers would probably say no.

8. Would you rather spend time on a secluded beach or at a fancy cocktail party?

How about a fancy cocktail party on a secluded beach? Too much sand in the drinks, never mind.

Ah, these are both problematic for me. I don’t do so well with being completely alone, especially without some kind of distraction or diversion. I guess if I had a book with me on the beach, I’d be okay for a little while, but I’d also get uncomfortable super fast if there wasn’t, like, a comfy sofa or something to recline on. 

And I also don’t do well with fancy, or come to think of it with cocktails since I can’t drink any more with the meds I have to take. 

But, if I had to choose, I’d probably pick the party. I’d be dressed inappropriately (probably something with loud colors and polka dots?), and sitting in the corner mostly people watching, and I’d get overwhelmed and head home early, but still. 

9. Recommend a television series.

oohhhoooomygods just ONE?

I’ve rec’d this one many times, but since it just came back for season two last night (I haven’t watched the ep yet - it’s next on my list), I’m gonna recommend Imposters to you all again.

Imposters is a lil show with a small but dedicated fandom on Bravo. 

It stars Inbar Lavi (Prison Break, The Last Ship) as a con woman and Rob Heaps (Home Fires, And Then There Were None), Parker Young (Arrow, Suburgatory), and  Marianne Rendón (Mapplethorpe) as three of the people who she has swindled. Additionally, Brian Benben (Private Practice, Dream On), Stephen Bishop (Being Mary Jane), Chastity Dotson (Pitch, Veronica Mars), and Denise Dowd (Secrets and Lies, Beverly Hills 90210) star. 

The story of season one is that these three scorned exes find one another and begin a quest to find the woman they all alternately view as their loving spouse and the cruel con who stole everything from them. Along the way, they learn some cons of their own, gain back some of their confidence, and of course discover the power of friendship. 

There are many twists and turns along the way which I won’t spoil for anyone who wants to watch season 1 for themselves, but it involves cons within cons within cons and unlikely teammates. 

Also - Uma Thurman as a hitwoman.

As the finale of season one had our three scorned exes riding off together into the sunset, I am very excited to see where season two leads us. Seriously, you have to watch this show. 

[But if I may very quickly rec some of my other underwatched faves: 12 Monkeys, Colony, Counterpart, Ghosted, Insecure, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Madam Secretary, People of Earth, Scream, Speechless, Timeless, UnREAL,You’re the Worst - ask me about my underwatched faves plz.]

10. Do you have any phobias?

Boy howdy, do I! I have OCD, which often comes with phobias as part of the anxiety which leads to some of the obsessive compulsions. [FELLOW PHOBES MIGHT WANNA SKIP THIS PART - PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES.]

I have a slight germ phobia which I mostly don’t go deep into because I don’t have the energy to do what I’d need to do to feel better about it so I just make myself not-think about it really hard, but the underlying anxiety is Still There. 

This is especially true of what I call “poop germs” - which is anything that has ever been inside of a bathroom ever. This makes, you know, having to use bathrooms very upsetting and problematic for me, so again, I deploy my aggressive pretending it’s not there as much as I can, but poop germs can cause me to break down into tears on a bad day. Fun times!

I’m also an emetophobe, which means I’m terrified of throwing up - a fun little phobia to have when you have constant low-grade nausea which occasionally flares up to higher-grade, lemme tell ya.

Another biggie is infestation of any kind - so any kind of insect or small animal that comes into my home. Like, I am absolutely fine seeing these critters outside where they belong - I might even oooh and aaah. But the second I see one INSIDE - I’m screaming bloody murder and waking up the entire apartment complex. 

I’ve worked real hard at being less scared of the harmless single bugs that enter a home, especially the kind that EAT other bugs - so for example I am perfectly fine with spiders (being obsessed with Charlotte’s Web as a kid helps), and even centipedes after the initial screaming over how creepy they look is done. And I’ve gotten where I look insects up on websites that identify bugs and talk about them in positive/scientific ways and have stopped panicking about certain bugs and their larvae now as I can tell which ones are and aren’t actually harmful or prone to infestation. BUT. I’m still prolly gonna scream when I initially see them because eaauughhss. 

Those are the main ones, but the fun thing about OCD is that new ones develop all the time if you don’t stay vigilant about letting those obsessive thoughts do their thang, so I try real hard to ignore those news segments and articles about bringing black lights into hotel rooms and about all of the horrible ways people are committing violent crimes these days and other terrifying and/or gross things that might creep their ways into my fear center. 

11. What’s your rarest rarepair?

Oh, good question. I don’t tend to have rarepairs because the way I fandom is deep immersion into canon and not necessarily delving into fanon/fanfic. So even my non-canon ships tend to be ones that the canon itself at least played with a little bit or that the fandom-at-large has talked about enough that I start to see it. lol

I’m having trouble even thinking about a ship I have that could be classified as rare? It would probably be something involving Spike because I ship that fool with pretty much everyone he’s ever shared screentime with because he is just so yummy, and because Marsters was just really good about getting his character to bring interesting things out of whatever characters he was interacting with, and because he’s clearly so omnisexual that he just oozes chemistry with everyone he meets, but like. I’m also definitely not the only one who sees all that about him and also is shipping him left right and center. So. I’ll just toss out Spike/Harmony because I’ve never heard of anyone else who actually liked them together ha!

Phew! That was fun. I hope all of you all who I end up tagging have as much fun with my questions (and if not, feel free to use some of pixie’s).

My questions:

What is your #mood rn?

Tell me the sweetest childhood memory you can think of.

Favorite mythological/fantastical animal/creature.

What is your favorite mode of storytelling - for example, books, movies, TV shows, graphic novels, video games, etc. - and why do you think that’s your fave form?

Star Trek, Star Wars, or Starlord? (this is not a serious question and you may feel free to expound upon all three if you wish)

Favorite type of geographical location to visit, and is it different from where you prefer to live?

Name a character that you love, but who you would probably hate in real life.

Reboots, renewals, and revivals. Are they ruining your childhood or do you love ‘em?

Tell me about your favorite cookie (or other sweet if you don’t care for cookies).

If there is one thing people could just atomatically know about you upon meeting you that would make socializing with you better or easier, what would it be?

A lot of stories based on comics posit the theory that eventually humanity will evolve into at least some humans developing super powers. Suppose this started happening today - what would the results be, do you think?

Tagging:

(and of course, please consider yourself tagged if you wanna do this - I’d tag all of you if I could but I try and just pick folks I think enjoy doing these. if I’m ever wrong - please feel free and ignore the tag. additionally - please remember to tag ME so I can see your responses! also, feel free to re-tag me in this one since the questions differ and you all know how much I love to talk about myself.)

@absolutelyiris, @dianebluegreen, @c-l-ford, @theawkwardterrier, @the-invisible-queer, @brokenyellowcrayons, @knitmeapony, @fatherjerusalem, @swordsandparasols, @dmphelps, @nightlocktime

[culturevulture73]

As a Han Solo fan.....here’s some things I’m sick of reading from people who call themselves “Han Solo fans” (and yes, I’m gatekeeping or judging or whatever. You can skip on out now if you like)

That Han Solo had to be redeemed because X. No.

That the only thing he knew was how to be a smuggler and so he backslid - because that is the biggest bunch of crap I’ve ever read and Abrams and Kasdan can eat a hive of bees for that bullshit, along with “Han and Leia always fought” “Han and Leia didn’t protect Ben enough” “Leia was too busy fixing the galaxy to raise her son” and assorted other shit that wouldn’t have happened without their need to make a villain. Also Driver can shut up about how he thinks Han and Leia failed Ben and stop taking his own personal issues out on them.

That Han’s death is meaningless unless “Ben” is redeemed. First of all, his name is NOT Ben, it’s Kylo. Secondly, Han’s death is meaningless anyway. It wasn’t a sacrifice, it was a murder. It gained nothing. It solved nothing. It saved nothing. Oh, wait, it saved Harrison Ford’s salary for two more films and allowed them to make "Solo” or whatever other garbage the head of Disney films was spewing.

That Han committed suicide. I don’t know why this started, I don’t know what everyone who thinks this is smoking but please explain to me - a) how he managed it b) how he would KNOW THAT KYLO WANTS TO KILL HIM c) how letting Kylo kill him makes ANYTHING BETTER. Operators are standing by but I’m letting them have the next week off because THERE IS NO REASON HAN WOULD COMMIT SUICIDE (also Thanksgiving week)

That Han was a deadbeat dad or an abusive dad. 

If Johnson uses Han’s murder to “crack open” Kylo, he can shut it too. That’s not using Han as anything but a prop. But then again, when Mark Hamill says he can’t figure out why Johnson saw Luke the way he did, I’m sure he will.

Feel free to add things. I just read some crap on Reddit about that line in TFA about Han running out of people to swindle - which BTW is NOT what he was in A New Hope, JJ, or were you too busy cranking up the copy machine to notice - and got fired up and I frankly don’t want to create an account over there and wade through the R/ylos yammering on about how wonderful “Ben” is and how he’s going to come back to the light and be the bestest Jedi EVAH!  I had to read one of them say “maybe Luke is a self-righteous prick” and that was it.

[lj-writes]

Rey and Finn: Responses to political and economic oppression

In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread. -Anatole France

I have written before about how Finn’s decency was an act of subversion against the militaristic totalitarianism he grew up under. There’s another character in TFA who is also kind and selfless in an unjust system, and that’s Rey. The difference is the kind of oppression these two characters lived under, which are diametrically opposed but just as corrosive in their different ways.

Finn was a slave soldier of a totalitarian dictatorship, while Rey was an exploited worker under a capitalist who could rob and swindle people in the absence of law and order. To put it in a simplified way, Finn lived in a system with no freedoms while Rey lived in a system of unchecked freedoms. And while freedom without any restriction might sound like a wonderful thing, in practice it tends to mean that people with power and capital get to restrict the freedoms of people without such advantages.

The only reason I don’t call Rey a slave is because, as Finn pointed out and she doesn’t deny, she was always “free” to leave. Of course, not everyone has Rey’s skills (these being another form of capital) and for them the freedom to leave was meaningless when they had no better alternatives. It’s also worth pointing out that the reason Rey wasn’t leaving and wanted to go back was her amnesia and trauma, which parallels the way many mentally ill people are trapped in exploitative situations due to their illness.

One way to see the contrast between these two systems of oppression is the tragicomical scene where Finn stumbles into Niima Outpost straight out of the desert, begging for water. Horrific as Finn’s former circumstances were, as little kindness as he had been taught to expect from the world, it didn’t occur to him that he couldn’t get a glass of water when he was parched. The First Order had no reason to dehydrate or starve their soldiers, after all, unless the deprivation served some useful purpose such as punishment or making an example. It says something that the inhabitants of Niima did not offer the most basic resources that even an escapee from a fascist armed force took for granted.

(And no, the lack of assistance to Finn was not because Niima Outpost was located in a desert. Many desert cultures in our world developed customs of hospitality to strangers in part because their surroundings were so harsh. There is nothing about being in a desert environment that by itself makes people standoffish to strangers and unwilling to offer aid.)

And how did Rey react to this dog-eat-dog disorder where no one did a kindness for anyone else and it was everyone for themselves? She went out of her way to fight for and save a droid she didn’t even know. She gave up what was an actual feast in her hunger, and spent what was to her precious time away from Jakku where her loved ones might come looking for her. Like Finn, she acted directly against the logic of her surroundings: Finn disobeyed orders in a situation where defiance meant swift punishment, while Rey refused to go along with a brutally exploitative capitalism where only profit and survival counted for anything.

This difference shows in what I see as the definitive moments early on in the movie when these two characters show who they were. For Finn it was when he refused to shoot unarmed prisoners when ordered to do so, and for Rey it was when she refused to sell out BB-8 for her own survival and comfort.

These choices had real consequences for both characters. For Finn it meant immediate danger; for Rey it meant not just hunger pangs but also the lack of a much-needed store of food when she could never be sure when she would get her next meal, and how much of it.

Of course both political and economic oppression, when pushed, converge into violence against the weak. Although the trade for BB-8 was presented to Rey as a transaction, that supposed deal (which was already incredibly unfair–I mean, food in exchange for a fully functional military-grade astrometrics droid?) escalated to robbery once Unkar Plutt decided “no” was not an option. The same lack of governance and order that allowed him to rip the scavengers off and keep them in a soft form of indentured servitude also allowed him to rob these desperately poor people with impunity. In this way, markets without government or rules overlap with totalitarianism in deprieving the vulnerable of their choices and exposing them to violence.

(There are still significant differences, of course. For one thing Rey did not seem overly worried about retaliation, and later wanted to return to Jakku–and probably Niima Outpost, since that was where her family would know where to find her–once BB-8 was safe. This is in contrast to Finn, who knew his life was forfeit if the First Order caught up with him. Of course, Rey could be so confident because Unkar Plutt can’t bring to bear much more force than a few goons she can dispatch easily. For people without her fighting skills, or for those faced with a more dangerous opponent, the situation could be very different.)

Though originally Finn and Rey started with simple refusals to go along, they both had to escalate to more overt defiance because of the pushback their actions got. Finn’s refusal to kill led to the threat of discipline and his choice to escape with Poe; Rey’s refusal of Unkar Plutt’s offer led to his attempt to kidnap BB-8 and her choice to fight back. After these acts of defiance, Finn’s and Rey’s paths converged on helping the Resistance and carrying on Poe’s mission.

Both characters were, however, limited in what they were willing to do because of their personal traumas, which were rooted in the different ways they had been hurt by their upbringing. Finn was very reasonably terrified of the First Order’s willingness and ability to annihilate whatever stood in its way, while Rey feared being abandoned and forgotten all her life. It’s true that her original trauma came from being left on Jakku, but it says something about her isolation at Niima Outpost that no one helped a child who was hurting and alone. Her surroundings were as hostile to a girl starving in body and soul as they were to a man desperate for a sip of water. Both violence and alienation left deep marks on our two leads’ spirits.

As I will discuss in a later essay, the core story of The Force Awakens is the story of how Rey and Finn helped each other heal so they could fight back against the forces that had hurt them. Their acts of courage and decency, though personal at the start, were ultimately acts of resistance that would bring down the political and economic orders that had tried and failed to crush them.

And though the tyrannical First Order is the more visible and immediate enemy, it’s important to remember from Rey’s story how unjust and damaging unchecked markets can be. The fight is not only about bringing down fascism but what comes after: unless the Resistance and their allies can establish communities based not only on political and economic freedom but also mutual aid and justice, they may find themselves fighting the same fight again much as their legendary heroes are.