#The Rebel Armory

[vivitalks]

more adhd jason grace or die by my sword

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Free Day Thursday

(This is the reunion scene from my Splinter Cell au. It got away from me, so be forewarned: looong post incoming)

Of course there had to be another problem the moment they got back from the race. It wasn’t enough to just let them savor a victory for once. Or, Precursors forbid, let them actually rest. It was always something.

"Radar is picking up a craft headed for the island!" Vin's nervous voice crackled over their radios.

"What size is the aircraft?" Tess asked, shedding her weariness to take command.

"That's the thing...it's not an aircraft at all! There's a ship headed for us! I estimate it'll reach us in, er, er, 3 hours!"

"A ship?" Jak frowned. That was a little unusual.

"Could be Brutter," Daxter suggested, "His fishing boat has to come back for repairs sometime, right?"

"Maybe."

Tess sounded doubtful.

"Can we get some snipers down here? Just in case. We're gonna need em anyhow once the Baron figures out we swapped the Stone for a fake."

"I'll hang around and keep an eye out," Jak volunteered.

With a faint frown, Tess shook her head. "You can tag out, Jak. It's fine. You just came off a mission."

Jak snorted and kicked at the sand. "Mission? Tess, I was just racing! I do that for fun! You and Dax are the ones who actually did all the work."

He rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms, fully intending to patrol the beach until the craft either pulled up or passed by. Sure, he was a little tired, but they couldn't afford to get complacent just because they'd stolen back the Precursor Stone. Besides, the entrance to the Babak settlement wasn't far, and Jak had no intention of leaving it unguarded.

Tess caught up to him in two swift strides. She made sure he'd seen her before reaching out to grab his shoulder.

Unexpected touches were not welcome. She'd been around the block a few times: she knew to announce her presence.

"Hey, no. Don't do that brushing-off thing with me." She stopped in front of him, giving Daxter the opportunity to hop from her shoulder back to his.

"Jak, listen. I promise, I'm saying this because you're my friend and I care about you, not because I doubt you. But every time you have to be in the same vicinity as Errol, that's a trigger. I'm not putting you on any new assignments until you're ready, mentally and emotionally."

Jak laughed harshly. "Errol? Oh he's dead. He's super dead."

Surprise stretched Tess's face, then it slackened with relief. "Did you-?"

The boy looked away for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. Wasn't me. He tried to run me down with his zoomer after he lost the race. Wasn't that hard to dodge. He crashed face-first into a month's supply of eco."

A dark vein pulsed in his temple, and one of his canines showed, sharper than usual, when he smirked.

"He never was much good against opponents who weren't chained down."

Daxter's comforting weight on his shoulder grounded him, steadied his erratic pulse. Jak focused on the sensation of paws on his shoulder, feet braced against his back. He was here, he'd survived, and this time Errol couldn't taunt him anymore. There was a part of him that was angry. Furious, even. It was a quick death, and Errol had deserved far worse. He'd deserved to be chained to the same injection chair that had seen Jak's worst moments, left to the tender mercies of the needle and Jak's own darkness. But now the sadist was beyond his reach.

"Wait." Daxter leaned into his face. "You're telling me that old Coloring Book Face -- the famed racer, the one Krew bet on -- in front of his adoring fans, crashed into tanks of eco like a moron?"

He hopped once and hooted with laughter.

"He blew himself sky high and took his reputation down with him? What a dumb way to go! It's perfect!"

Jak wouldn't have called it perfect. But he could appreciate the level of humiliation Errol had unwittingly dealt himself.

Tess still looked at him with that terrible knowing in her eyes. Sometimes, Jak thought the older girl could see right through him. It was unnerving.

"How are you doing?" She asked, and for once, Jak couldn’t bring himself to lie.

"I'm...here. I don't want to be around a lot of people right now. I..." He shrugged. "I need to focus on something else before I get angry again."

Satisfied, Tess nodded. "Okay. Do you want to be the one watching for the ship?"

Honestly, he did. Jak had a lot to process regarding the death of his abuser. But at the same time, the adrenaline of the race, and getting to challenge Praxis right to his face, still vibrated through his body. He really needed somewhere for all that energy to go.

Sentry duty was quiet, but required focus, and movement. Sig had been right about him needing that kind of activity.

"Yeah. Um, yeah, I got this." Jak stretched and swung his rifle off his back. "Could you just...uh, could you let Sig know I'm okay? I kind of had to blackmail him not to come to the race and snipe Errol when he passed the stands."

"Fair," Daxter observed. He stretched lazily across Jak’s shoulders feigning flippancy. "That woulda been way quicker than he deserved."

Tess shifted her weight and sighed, resigned.

"Okay. I'm gonna get this stone locked up somewhere safe. You let me know if you guys need any food or anything out here."

Jak agreed without really meaning it. The Babak settlement was right there, after all. If he really got hungry, he could just ask Brutter for some scraps. Of course, that was more an excuse to see Mar than anything else, but who was going to tell on him?

With Errol dead, finally dead, that was one less threat to his little brother.

Or at least, it should've been. It didn't feel real yet. Everything had happened so fast-

What if the explosion hadn't actually killed him?

What if some people were actually too evil to die?

Stop, stop it. That blast took out three guards that were just near the eco. Errol went right into the heart of it. If he lived, it wasn’t for long. He can't get me he can't get me he can't get me-

"Jak?"

Jak inhaled sharply and straightened his shoulders. "I'm gonna post up on the ridge over the caves. Keep me updated about the boat's progress, yeah?"

Daxter grimaced. "Uh...Jak, Tess already went inside. You zoned out there for a minute, bud."

Jak winced. "Sorry," he muttered.

His best friend shrugged it off. "Let's get to Our Spot, huh? I think we still have some candy stashed up there that Junior hasn't found yet."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The smog that perpetually surrounded Haven city was, just this once, a blessing in disguise. Thick and oily, it hovered over the water, hiding the boat from sight and muffling the sound of propellers. Rags wrapped around gunstaffs and rifles added to the muted quality of the infiltrators; they weren't here for invasion. It was not yet time to reveal themselves to the city.

Drake shifted the rudder and eyed the monolithic factory rising from the smoke. Ominous looking thing.

Not as ominous as the figure standing at the prow.

Every Wastelander there knew that for the king to leave the city, something had to be earth-shatteringly important. Damas hadn't spoken a word since boarding the vessel, not once during the eighteen hour voyage had he explained their mission. He just watched from the prow with hard eyes, tensed and ready to fight at a moment's notice. There was an air of anticipation about him -- not the look of a man waiting on the edge of battle, Drake reckoned, more like a man waiting for something to begin. Waiting for something important.

A glint of light caught the Wastelander's attention, up near the silhouettes of palm trees near the upper levels of the factory.

Drake tapped the bulwark twice, catching his silent companions' attention. With a hand signal, he indicated "light" and "gun scope" before pointing in the direction he'd seen it.

Damas stepped down from the prow and moved silently to the stern to crouch beside Drake.

"Where?" he mouthed.

Drake raised his arm straight, pointed to the glint that was still appearing from time to time.

Abruptly, the tension melted out of Damas’s shoulders.

"Just where Sig said he'd be," he breathed.

Damas patted Drake's arm. "Take us in. Stay out of sight of Haven. I'll handle the rest."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Up on the cliff, high above the rough waters, Jak watched the boat through the scope of his blaster. He counted at least six figures, though he couldn't make out any details yet.

"Well, it's not KG," he murmured into his radio.

For some reason, it felt wrong to speak above a whisper.

"Is it metalheads?" asked Tess.

"Nope."

Jak squinted. The figures vanished in a patch of smog for a second before reappearing.

"They almost look like-"

With a jolt, Jak sat up. "Sig," he realized.

"Huh? What do you mean they look like Sig?"

"No, I mean-" Jak jumped to his feet and snatched up his gun. "Get Sig! I think he might know these guys, they look like Wastelanders!"

His heart hammered painfully in his ears as he picked his way down the ridge, Daxter clinging to his shoulders for dear life. Wastelanders. In their waters. There was a chance they were on a job for Krew, but this soon after Sig contacted Mar's people?

It couldn't be coincidence. Jak had learned the hard way not to believe in coincidence.

A wrong step nearly rolled Jak’s ankle, and he cursed. Where's your head, Jak? Don't get sloppy.

The truth was, he was afraid. He was eager to find allies, and desperate to find people he could trust around Mar. But he was terrified of inevitably having to justify his existence to Mar’s family. Just the vague possibility of meeting an alternate timeline version of his own father -- a complete stranger -- made him want to throw up.

"Jak?"

Daxter's ears were pinned back against his skull. He was clearly agitated, though Jak couldn't work out whether it was because of him or the boat.

"Are you sure about this?"

Ah. Him. Daxter was definitely upset because of him.

Jak gripped the spiny trunk of a palm to steady himself halfway through their descent. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, like Sig made him practice. In...out. In...out. It wasn't a very impressive attempt at calming himself, but it was better than nothing.

"I...don't know if I want to meet them or not," Jak confessed.

His throat was dry.

"Today was...a lot. Y'know? I can only take being called a freak so much in one day."

Daxter stretched himself to his full length to wrap around Jak’s shoulders. He didn't say anything; there were times when words just weren't enough.

Cognitively, he knew Jak didn't blame him for leaving him to rot in that hell for two years. He even knew that such a thought would never even have crossed Jak’s mind. But that didn’t keep it from haunting Daxter.

For at least a little while, in the latter half of their separation, he'd had a roof over his head. A warm bed. A job, for Precursors' sakes, working for a man who treated him like a person! And that whole time, Jak had been enduring a nightmare Daxter wouldn't have even wished on Gol Acheron.

Guilt ate away at Daxter constantly. What kind of friend was he, living the mediocre life while his best and only friend was being treated like a lab rat? Jak was the only person who'd ever cared about him -- well, before Tessie and Brutter and the Kid, at least -- and he'd left him behind like a coward. Daxter owed Jak so much. The least he could do was be here, now, to watch his friend's back, physically and emotionally.

"Listen, pal," he quipped, hoping Jak couldn't hear how forced it was, "Insulting Orange Lightning's sidekick is a crime punishable by...well, not...not by death, exactly. A very stern talking to- and a wet willie!"

He nodded in satisfaction. "And I'll...I'll...I'll bite their nose! And you know I hate biting. I don't make offers like this for just anyone, y'know."

A little thread of comfort unfurled in Jak’s chest. Daxter hated fighting, and getting dirty, and anything even remotely scary. Knowing that, Jak couldn't help but acknowledge that Daxter didn't run from his darker half. The boy turned ottsel generally stared down his murderous fangs with a look that said "Is that the best you got?" Whatever else happened, at least he had Daxter.

He swung down onto the stairs to the beach and set the morph gun to Vulcan. If things got ugly, he'd need rapid fire.

Maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't get ugly.

But when had Jak ever been that lucky?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He was there.

Damas could see him clearly now, watching them from the beach.

His heart clenched painfully in his chest, and it was all he could do to keep from diving overboard and simply swimming to shore. For the entire voyage, he’d prayed to whatever force might be listening that Sig wouldn’t be wrong. That his – their – hopes wouldn’t be dashed. Having had the possibility of a much longed-for second child placed before him, Damas had struggled with a fear that it was too good to be true. That it was selfish to be hoping for more when it was a miracle that Mar had been found at all.

But now the boat was close enough for him to see the wiry boy, standing with his rifle ready like a second, smaller edition of his own self.

Oh look at him! He’s all me!

An untimely bubble of mirth rose in his chest. He and Phobos had always debated over which of them Mar would turn out looking like the most. She always insisted Mar would look like his father, and he’d always been sure Mar would look like his mother.

Phobos had just won a bet they’d thought would take ten years to settle.

“That’s far enough!” shouted the boy, raising his gun. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Damas laughed.

“Friends of Sig!” he returned through cupped hands, “He called us in!”

The boy – Jak, Sig said he’d named himself Jak – spoke quietly into a small radio, probably seeking confirmation from Sig. Just waiting that long made Damas antsy, and whatever made him antsy made the Wastelanders antsy. Well, not Phobos. Phobos didn’t do “antsy”. She was simply ready.

Then, to their surprise, the orange furry thing around Jak’s shoulders raised its head to shout at them.

“Alright! Come in nice and slow, no funny business!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jak wanted to bolt, but his boots were frozen to the beach.

This wasn’t just a party of mercs Sig knew. That man with the spikes or horns on his brow-

That was the bloody deposed king of Haven!

That was Damas son of Arez!

For all intents and purposes, in another life that had been his father!

And the poor guy probably had no idea. He was here to save Mar, to take him home at last. He didn’t need to know Jak was connected…right?

But then, Jak knew in his heart that he would never be willing to let Mar out of his sight. Not after everything they’d been through together. Maybe he could convince them to take him on as a bodyguard or something. Out in the wastes, maybe there wouldn’t be as much dark eco. Maybe he could suppress the Hunter inside him, and no one would have to know.

“Whoa, hey, what’s Spike doing?” Daxter demanded.

Jak shook away the spiral of thoughts in time to see the ex-king swing himself out of the boat. He landed waist deep in water and pushed forward, leaving his fellow Wastelanders behind. In a distracted sort of way, Jak noted that the man must have been incredibly strong to march through the deep water with no more resistance than a field of tall grass.

His eyes found the man’s face, and he lost his train of thought altogether.

The man was looking at Jak as though he feared Jak would vanish the second he blinked. Like it was Jak he’d been searching for, and not little Mar.

He looked at Jak as if he already knew him.

“Um,” said Jak eloquently.

Now that Damas was out of the water, there was no mistaking him for anything but a warrior. He wore wicked looking mismatched layers of armor, scuffed and worn with much use. Much like the armor, his skin bore thin, silvery scars wherever visible, telling stories of survival. Unconsciously, Jak’s hand drifted to his left arm, where needle tracks clustered like foul constellations. Here was a man who probably had as many scars as he did!

Jak’s pulse hammered away in his ears, so loud that he almost missed it when Damas breathed, “So it’s true!”

Completely at a loss for how to greet a king – let alone a man who might’ve been his father if fate had been kind – Jak stuck out an awkward hand in a half wave.

“Uh…I’m Jak. This is Daxter. You’re…friends of Sig?”

A smile split the king’s face, so wide it threatened to touch his ears. His fingers twitched oddly, like he was trying to hold himself back from something.

“Hello, Jak,” he said. His voice cracked and bounced with each syllable in a herculean effort not to break. “I- we’ve been…waiting to meet you for quite some time now.”

The boys exchanged a bewildered look.

“Me?” Jak stammered, “Don’t you mean M-”

Then he could hold himself back no longer; Damas reached out and clapped his hands to Jak’s arms.

“Just look at you!” He laughed and blinked back a slight glimmer in his eyes. “Look at you! You have my eyes-!”

Tongue-tied, Jak stared numbly into a pair of eyes that were indeed similar to his own. The shade was more violet than blue, but their shape was as unmistakable as the bronze tone of the skin surrounding them.

Why in the name of sanity did this man sound so pleased by the resemblance? Jak was a complete stranger to him! They did not have years of shared memories – like we should have, his mind whispered – and really knew nothing about each other. He wasn’t- He wasn’t the right Mar! He didn’t even look exactly the same as Mar!

“How old are you, boy?” Damas asked him with a weirdly friendly smile, “Fifteen, or sixteen?”

“I…think I’m seventeen?” Jak managed.

But then, he was calculating his age based on Samos’s guess of Mar’s age. And Mar claimed to be four, not five. He could’ve been mistaken, but then, Samos thus far hadn’t been the most reliable of narrators.

“Uh…how old is your son?”

Damas looked taken aback for a moment, but recovered quickly. “Mar is four,” he answered.

Daxter tallied out a few fingers. “So…sixteen, huh? Welp. Turns out you’re not old enough for a driver’s license after all, pal.” Then his eyes lit up. “Hey! This means I am older than you!”

“Wh- no!” Jak pulled an arm free to smack at Daxter and missed. “If you tell Tess-!” He let the threat hang in the air, unsure how to finish it.

The other Wastelanders beached the boat and splashed ashore, good-naturedly grumbling at their king for not waiting.

Wait- they still thought of him as a king?

Jak began to wonder if some Wastelanders were exiled supporters of the House of Mar. Had Mar spent his first years surrounded by people who had chosen the life of a Wastelander over Praxis? That might explain the kid’s seeming lack of self-preservation if this is what he was used to. He hoped they had no expectations of him, because they were bound to be disappointed.

“Come! Come, my friends, come and see!” Damas waved them closer, still grinning broadly. He moved to stand beside Jak and gestured between them. “Look! Who would you say this young warrior looks like most?”

Of the four men and five women in the band, only two managed to overcome their bewilderment enough to speak. The first, a burly man with a drooping handlebar mustache, stumped forward and squinted at Jak.

“I’ll be,” he huffed. “You been hiding another ankle-biter out here, lordship? How’d you keep Praxis from findin’ him when you got exiled?”

The woman, a stern looking fighter with one eye, pursed her lips and folded her arms.

“Well aren’t you just a chip off the old block?” she snorted. “Nice to know Sig isn’t losing his touch.”

This seemed to embolden the others, and in a matter of seconds, Jak was surrounded. Nobody touched him, for which he was supremely grateful, but he was still very uneasy with all these strangers in his personal space.

“Ha! He can’t grow a real beard either, eh, Lordship?”

“Oh don’t you start with me, Kleiver.”

“Now there’s a fighter if I ever saw one. Hey kid, what’s your favorite ammo?”

“Blaster-?” Jak answered in confusion.

“Oh, good choice! Sig teach ya how to use a Peacemaker yet?”

“Of course not, dummy! Look at him! He ain’t even old enough for Arena trials yet, I reckon.”

Jak was getting overwhelmed, and that was never a good thing. When there was too much input at once, when new sounds and faces surrounded him without giving him a chance to process, his grip on the dark eco tended to weaken.

Not here, not now! He pleaded silently with himself.

Noticing his tension, Damas suddenly waved the Wastelanders off. “Give him space! Give him space, all of you!”

He took a step to the side as well, leaving Jak with a ring of emptiness around him as a buffer.

“I apologize, Jak. We’re just…very eager to meet you. Sig has told us much, but I needed to…to see for myself.”

Jak gulped in deep breaths of air, doing his best to slow his pulse before something happened he couldn’t take back. They acted happy for now, but once they saw The Hunter-

Daxter leaped off his shoulder and stood in front of him like a guard. “Alright, alright, one at a time! I know we’re amazing, thank you, thank you. But our boy here functions best with a little thing called personal space. Eesh!”

He pointed at the Wastelanders. “No crowding the heroes, got it? And no insults! Any and all job requests must wait three to five business days for consideration. And under no circumstances will there be any pinching of cheeks!”

One of the older Wastelanders pushed to the front of the crowd and squatted to examine Daxter with some amusement. “You’re a feisty little one,” she said, and poked his midriff with a bony finger. “Not familiar with your species. What are ya, kid? Some kind of talking dogat?”

Daxter shied away from the older woman with a startled yip. “No touch-a the merchandise!” he squawked, and scrambled back up Jak’s leg and torso to sit on his shoulder. “And I’m an ottsel, for your information!”

Through the whole ordeal, one of the Wastelanders had remained silent. She merely stood there, studying Jak intently as though she wasn’t quite certain what to think of him. It was the only sensible reaction of the lot, and that drew Jak’s attention. What held his attention was her hair: coils and spirals of green tinted gold, exactly like his own. Jak had never seen anyone in Haven with hair even remotely similar to his! Hers, of course, was well maintained, and not the unkempt mess his own had been before Sig finally caught him long enough to cut some of it.

Her face was round and smooth, the same deep tourmaline that Jak saw every time he looked at Mar. He saw the curve of Mar’s jaw in hers, and the same solemn quirk in her brow. Jak’s stomach flipped, then dropped with dizzying speed. In his heart, he was fairly certain he knew who the woman was. But he didn’t want to even acknowledge it in his mind. She wasn’t here for him, after all.

He watched her turn towards Damas with an expression of intent. For a moment, they seemed to be having a conversation with just their eyes, much the way Jak used to with Daxter. And then, without warning, the hard look on the woman’s face melted away. She looked back to Jak with something disturbingly bittersweet in her gaze.

“Phobos?” Damas asked softly.

She moved towards them as if in a trance, only stopping when she was mere inches from Jak. She pointed to the chain around his neck.

“Is that your amulet, or your brother’s?” Phobos demanded.

They know! Oh Precursors, what now? What do I do?

“…mine…?”

Phobos nodded, suddenly shaky. A glance to the side revealed that the ex-king was looking a little shaky as well. What the-?

“You were him, in another world. Weren’t you?” she asked, much softer.

Jak swallowed hard, and his eyes dropped. He couldn’t meet her gaze for several seconds. “…yes.”

There were tears in this woman’s eyes when he looked back up, and Jak instantly felt a surge of guilt.

“S- sorry-” he started, but it was drowned out by a somewhat wet chuckle coming from the woman.

Jak would have understood tears. He’d probably cry too if he had to have a monster like him for a son. But under the wetness of her cheeks this woman was smiling. She reached out to steady herself against Damas’s shoulder, and she laughed. A deep, full thunder, rolling up from some holy place inside her as she wiped her eyes again.

“Damas, look at him. He’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, and reached a hand out to gently touch Jak’s face. Rough, calloused fingers traced the curve of his cheekbone, then brushed an errant coil of hair from his face. 

Beautiful?

In the whole of his life, Jak could safely say that no one, not one person, had ever called him beautiful.

As he stood frozen, speechless, Daxter took it upon himself to speak for him. “Well thankee kindly,” he piped up in a ridiculously exaggerated country drawl, “You’re not too bad yourself, missus!”

This had the intended effect of breaking Jak out of his shock. He slapped a hand over Daxter’s mouth in horror.

“Dax no!”

The older woman who had greeted Daxter before burst out laughing.

Jak did not share her amusement. “I- I’m sorry, Dax is just- Gah!” 

He yanked his hand away from Daxter’s mouth and shook it. “Did you just lick me?!”

“That’s what you get!” Daxter snickered.

“Gross!”

Damas chuckled -- it was a warm sound, without any of the bitterness Jak had come to expect from laughter

[tenleaguesbeneath]

There's an interesting moral dilemma I remember from MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, where the horns of the dilemma come from having multiple competing ethical systems pointed at you.

The player character, Ian, is a duke's son who was away at war when the ducal palace was stormed in a coup by their cousin and everyone present was killed. His comrades-in-arms have been treating him as heir apparent (his chief technician calls him "young Duke"), but then he finds out that his sister, Joanna, the actual heir apparent, is alive and leading her own resistance group, but they don't have quite the mechs that he has.

They attempt a joint operation to seize an armory for the final assault on the palace. Joanna leads a distraction force, while Ian spearheads the attack on the armory. The distraction will probably be the deaths of hundreds of rebels, but it's worth it for that armory.

Only, Joanna's vehicle gets hit; she's wounded and lost somewhere in her AO, and her forces are collapsing. When the enemy secures the area, she'll either be killed in action or captured and executed. Also, Ian's window to seize the armory is closing.

Or he could scrub the mission and save his sister.

If he seizes the armory, many of the feudalists he's surrounded himself with will condemn him. He's been claiming to be fighting to avenge his family, but he let his sister die to make his revenge easier. Or maybe he let her die so that when he finishes his path, he takes the throne.

On the other hand, if he goes to rescue his sister, then the hundreds of rebels who died to give him a distraction that he didn't use died for nothing. The enemy still has the weapons in that armory and will use them against the rebels, and the rebels don't.

So if you don't take the viewpoint that Joanna's life is worth thousands of times more than the commoners fighting for the resistance, the right call is to let her die.

But many of the people around Ian do feel that way, and it also looks bad for him if he becomes Duke of Kentares by abandoning his sister. And then there's also his personal stake. She's his sister. She's the last person alive in his immediate family and the closest family member he has who hasn't been involved in murdering his father. He's got plenty of sentimental reasons to want to save her.

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

Here is a Pearlrose question that I find tricky. Why do you think Garnet seemed to not care that Pearl was upset but helped Greg in We Need To Talk? I've had people tell me that she was purposefully pulling Rose away from Pearl because she believed they were so unhealthy together (1)

(the asker goes on to say: “But I preffer the opposite take: that Garnet was actually so clear on Rose's love for Pearl that she did NOT actually realize Pearl was doubting It/ insecure. To her Greg and Rose becoming closer would just add to Rose's life, she had no idea Pearl could feel replaced because It was obvious to her that that was not the case)

oh i know exactly what you’re talking about, i’ve seen this before. i can’t wait to talk about it !

—

how garnet felt about rose’s bond with pearl

first off, i think it’s incredibly important to understand how garnet perceived rose.

“We never questioned ourselves, or her!” — Sapphire, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

“She had to. The Earth belonged to Pink Diamond. Destroying her was the only way to save the planet. For Amethyst to be herself, for Pearl to be free, for me to be together. For you to exist.” — Garnet, Bubbled

during the war, there were two opportunities in which rose could have harmed her. instead she accepted her; she helped her start a new life on earth with the other crystal gems.

of course she trusted all of rose’s choices—not only did she meet her as a leader, protecting garnet was the first choice that garnet ever saw rose make. she also witnessed rose make this decision within the first few seconds of garnet’s existence.

considering that garnet trusted rose and every choice she made (and everything she did during a war) garnet would absolutely trust rose to make her own decisions about her personal, intimate relationships thousands of years later.

sapphire confirms that garnet never questioned rose at all throughout the time she knew her. she felt comfortable as herself and she trusted that, if rose had a problem, especially a personal problem, she would handle that.

garnet was also aware of the fact that there was a lot she didn’t know about their relationship.

“And there they were: Rose Quartz, the leader of the rebellion, and her terrifying renegade Pearl.” — Garnet, The Answer.

during the war, pearl was rose’s second-in-command and confidant. considering that only pearl knew rose was pink diamond, and she hadn’t been rose for long, they definitely had periods of time where they’d disappear for awhile.

in rose’s scabbard, we discovered that rose had a secret armory location that only pearl knew about. later on, when she found out about rose’s lion and garnet mentioned that “rose kept many secrets, even from us” (which could have very well meant her & amethyst) she didn’t hesitate or protest when pearl replied with, “but not from me.” when amethyst yelled, “you’re not the only one who misses her!” that was the only moment where garnet looked taken aback.

garnet would never try to pull two of her friends away from each other, especially knowing that they kept a lot of things private.

since they did—she would also understand that any issues that they had, they’d most likely be solving on their own and behind closed doors.

there was no logical reason for her to judge the relationship, or believe another relationship is “better.”

garnet was also able to see pearl + rose for what they always believed in; what their dynamic was all about. they were always rebels, they didn’t see gems or life on earth the way that homeworld did.

(she likely heard rose refer to pearl as “my pearl” a few times throughout the war and later on as they lived together. i think that early on, garnet had a positive impression of the relationship)

garnet also related to pearl and rose’s relationship. a lot.

“That’s just how I felt when I came here with Ruby.” — Sapphire, Now We’re Only Falling Apart.

in homeworld, sapphire was described as being a “rare, aristocratic” gem. rubies were considered inferior and they are “for” the sapphires, to protect them.

however, when ruby accidentally bumped into sapphire, she spoke to ruby with respect and warmth. she was different from homeworld; she thought differently. she also made small talk, and the first thing ruby learned about sapphire as an individual was that she wished she could see more of the earth.

on the battlefield, ruby and sapphire ended up being the last two out of the group they originally had. sapphire was about to be harmed, but ruby saved her at the very last moment.

she prioritized protecting sapphire over logic, over consequence, over her own life.

so, of course, garnet understood pearl.

“Back during the war, Pearl took pride in risking her destruction for another. She put Rose Quartz over everything: Over logic, over consequence, over her own life.” — Sworn to the Sword

at a time when ruby didn’t expect to escape from homeworld, sapphire ran away and took ruby with her. she was able to explore the earth just like she wanted to, and she did this with ruby.

meanwhile, pearl and rose nearly fused for the first time and had a conversation about their feelings for each other. while sapphire had a moment where she was frozen, rose was frozen in her own way, too.

everything was very new to her, and even a bit overwhelming, in a positive way. homeworld had rules on how to interact with each gem and what to feel. on earth, rose found that she was completely in awe of pearl. she admired her, she would blush because of her. pearl would argue with rose (a diamond) because she wanted to protect her in every way that she could, even when rose told her not to because she cared about pearl. they saw each other as unique, flawed individuals and it felt so natural and right.

so, why question it? the only reason it’s perplexing is because of homeworld’s guilting and disapproval.

“Please don’t ever stop!” — Rose, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

“Don’t ever question this.” — Rose, The Answer

ruby and sapphire’s fusion helped pearl and rose, and their conversation helped garnet.

many fans might claim that garnet would try to pull pearl and rose apart because of unhealthy “obsession/dependency” on pearl’s part, but what they don’t realize is that this perception of pearl often comes from her behavior in the timeline with steven.

you know, in her early stages of grief. less than fourteen years is nothing compared to the 6,000+ years that pearl loved her. often what people perceive as obsessive behavior is pearl being fixated on the, in a gem sense, devastating loss of the love of her life.

(& not because she’s a pearl, or her original dynamic with rose. they were both against the beliefs of homeworld and their love only started when they were in a safe environment to genuinely fall in love with each other. because she watched the mistreatment and abuse that rose faced from the other diamonds, then they escaped together. she watched rose almost get killed or be in serious danger on the battlefield, but she managed to save her countless times. she watched rose struggle with trauma and mental health, and only she could fully understand why. she survived so much with her and they had each other, but she still ultimately lost her.)

obviously pearl would appear to be more obsessive when she is fixated on the pain of her early grief.

however, following the war, it’s likely that pearl and rose were very attached to each other.

garnet would understand this because ruby and sapphire are the same way. with the trauma that garnet, pearl, and rose had from the war along with homeworld, there was an understanding that they all held each other extra close, were extra “clingy,” really, because they almost lost each other.

ruby often struggled to care about herself because she was so focused on protecting sapphire.

this was a quick interaction they had in jailbreak:

Ruby: “Did they hurt you?”

Sapphire: “No, no, I’m okay. Did they hurt you?”

Ruby: “Who cares?!”

Sapphire: “I do!”

apart from strong attachments, there were other problems that pearl + rose might have that garnet would understand.

sapphire and rose shared a similar problem, too:

“I keep looking into the future, when all of this has already been solved... As if it doesn't matter how you feel in the present. No wonder you think I don't care!” — Sapphire, Keystone Motel

although rose never had future vision like sapphire, both of them shared a tendency to get stuck in their own minds/daydreams.

sapphire looks into the future so much that she can’t be present, while rose had a lot of dark & painful thoughts about herself. these may not seem similar, but in both cases, sapphire and rose would become withdrawn and struggle with communication in relationships.

they had trouble really hearing and processing pearl & ruby’s words sometimes because of everything going on in their minds. “i need something right now, in the present,” or “can you understand that i love you for you, i know exactly who you are and what you’ve done and yes, you still deserve me and you still deserve love” would be hard to process when your brain is saying the opposite.

garnet would know that they wouldn’t benefit from splitting up, because she related to them. splitting up (especially without communication and making that decision on their own) is not something ruby and sapphire would want.

understanding the differences between gem relationships and human relationships make garnet’s intentions in “we need to talk” more understandable.

“Uh... I-I don't know. I don't understand your human relationships. So... uhm... goodbye!” — Pearl, Full Disclosure

relationships between gems are incredibly different from human relationships.

i think this confuses people sometimes, and i can understand why. they remember that ruby and sapphire are married, but what they don’t remember is that no other gems seemed to get married. most of them don’t understand marriage, and the crystal gems themselves had to learn about it and understand it more.

pearl and rose showed affection for each other in a variety of ways—and yes, some were things they learned about on earth. however, this is love and affection. gems are unlikely to learn about more complicated things, such as human rules and norms when it comes to love.

gems never say that they’re dating, or that someone is cheating on someone else. they do not label themselves as being polyamorous or monogamous. they just love.

gems can definitely be jealous, especially when they were someone’s favourite for a very long time and they’re suddenly becoming close to someone else, in a way that they havent been before. gems can worry about not being a favourite, but this is more difficult for others to see and much more subjective than cheating.

creators confirmed that pearl’s lyric “she chose you” in it’s over, isn’t it was only about how she saw the situation and not about what really happened. this isn’t like humans, picking someone to date over another. rose’s death was very confusing and pearl was simply trying to make sense of it. rose having a child with greg and then no longer being able to live with pearl forever definitely made her feel as if she wasn’t chosen. but both of you helped her begin to process and understand her grief more. rose loved both of them. her death doesn’t change any of that; it happened for reasons related to her, along with wanting to bring life into the world.

i think many fans look at pearl + rose’s relationship from a human perspective. this is one of the reasons why, even after the creators confirmed that pearl + rose were not unrequited, people continue to think that rose didn’t love pearl.

but even if humans can’t understand it, garnet would understand their relationship.

it’s also important to note that pearl + rose fused in we need to talk, before greg planned on trying to fuse with rose. as pearl said, fusion is the ultimate connection between gems.

“She had control when she used her power to drag their fusion into the ocean. But, a fusion like theirs is unstable, bound together by anger and mistrust. If that bond snaps, their anger will take over, and destroy.” — Garnet, Chille Tid

“I embody my... I mean, Ruby and Sapphire's love. I'll always exist in them, even if I split apart. But the strength of that love keeps me together. So I can stay Garnet for a very long time.” — Garnet, Keeping it Together

garnet witnessed pearl + rose’s fusion that day. they fused very casually (whereas the other crystal gems only fuse in deadly situations, according to pearl) and that would definitely tell garnet a lot about their relationship.

garnet understood their relationship. human relationships, not at all.

many fans say that rose couldn’t love / respect anyone until we need to talk, when greg demanded it. he asked her if she’s been in love with other humans before, and she responds with “how would i know?”

this doesn’t mean she’s never been in love before. with the confirmation that pearl + rose was not unrequited, rose being referred to as the love of pearl’s life in the movie, and many scenes in the show… at that point, rose had been in love with pearl, but never in love with any humans.

since human relationships are so different from gem relationships, rose simply wanted to know how greg, as a human, defined being in love.

“Love at first sight doesn't exist. Love takes time, and love takes work. At the very least you have to know the other person... And you literally have no idea who or what I am.” — Garnet, Love Letters

as a close friend & as someone living with pearl and rose, garnet knew and understood them well, but she didn’t know and understand greg yet.

it was only a few months into their relationship. with everything that garnet said about love, there was no reason for her to “root for” or “prefer” rose’s relationship with greg over rose’s relationship with pearl. they didn’t love each other yet, and she knew that pearl and rose loved each other.

rose barely knew him and she barely knew him; while she trusted her friends and everything going on with them, she couldn’t have trusted greg yet.

it’s interesting to me that so many fans have focused on the fact that greg was the first human who rose respected.

while that may be true, i haven’t seen anyone consider how the other humans treated rose. it seemed perplexing to rose that greg wanted to get to know her and build something meaningful.

people focus on how rose couldn’t respect the other humans, but if no one brought that up to her, it’s likely that they didn’t respect her, either. they probably saw her as a fascination, too, and they never even connected enough for rose to start experiencing human relationships.

when garnet saw that greg was trying to fuse with rose, i think she helped him because she realized that he was different from the other humans. special, really. he wanted to know rose, and this fusion/conversation could really help him build something meaningful with her.

garnet never saw pearl be jealous of humans who rose interacted with before, so she simply saw this as being another new bond between rose and a human, but this time, a nicer, more loving one.

before i post this, i have to mention another misconception i’ve seen:

garnet wasn’t looking into the future & seeing/accepting rose’s death & steven’s birth. it doesn’t work that way, especially because sapphire never looked into rose. either way:

“No one can see the future. I can see options and trajectories. Time is like a river that splits into creeks or pools into lakes or careens down waterfalls. I have the map, and I steer the ship.” — Garnet, Future Vision

“Rose hasn't shapeshifted, and she isn't trapped. Steven is a fusion. Rose could be trying to un-fuse.” — Garnet, Three Gems and a Baby

so there you have it. a detailed answer to a very tricky pearlrose question. the opposite take, as described after the question, absolutely makes more sense.

[skellymom]

"Bring Me To My Knees" PART 2

Crosshair/Hunter x Reader Non Gendered SMUT++

Dividers by the talented: @saradika and @4ngelic-wh1spers

Background: Reader and Crosshair are separated from the group during the rescue of Omega and Tech from Mt Tantiss. Two broken people trying to get by in the galaxy. Then two broken people finally dealing with what happened to their group.

Word Count: 2.3K

Warning: Star Wars Canon violence, angst, death of major character, sadness, crying, guilt, permanent injury, stuff blowing up, swearing, kissing, intercourse, heavy petting, bite kind, blood kink, pain kink, spank kink, smutty/lemony content, lovers triangle with Hunter and Crosshair.

FOR CLARITY, HUNTER FLASHBACK SMUT SCENE IN CHAPTER 1. THE CROSSHAIR SMUT SCENE IS IN THIS CHAPTER 2. Broke this up in 2 chapters because I just couldn't stop writing...and 4K might be too much for one sitting.

I purposely wrote the reader in this fic to be of no specific gender. Tried to carefully craft the sexual scenes to accommodate either gender/non gendered/trans/genderfluid/non-binary. Everyone has hills, valleys, sexual organs, nipples, and erogenous zones. I wrote them into the story, but it's up to you dear reader to put your imagination to work. Hope I have done a good enough job that you can enjoy yourself with Hunter and Crosshair without breaking immersion!

To read Chapter 1:

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/744267915687264256/bring-me-to-my-knees-part-1?source=share

The intel proved to be correct. You and Crosshair traveled to an uncharted planet well past the Outer Rim. A quiet unassuming place to start planning a burgeoning Rebellion. 

He piloted. As your ship entered planetary airspace several Rebel ships swooped in as escorts. The Rebel base radioed in to confirm your status. 

“Crosshair, Clone Force 99 and Y/N, civilian. We are Rebel sympathizers wanting to join the Rebel cause and find our lost family and squad members.” You replied. 

“Authenticating data. Hold your position.” 

Silence as you and Crosshair waited on bated breath. 

“You are clear to land. We will perform a customary inspection of your transport. Then check your gunnery and weapons at the docking station armory.” 

“They’ll be taking my rifle OVER my DEAD body.” Crosshair snarked. 

“Toothpick?” 

“Hhm?” 

“It’s your gun, NOT your dick. Let them do their job.” 

He sighed and shook his head. 

Word must have spread fast. No sooner did you land than Omega was out the bay door jumping up and down in excitement. 

Crosshair barely got the gangplank down on the ship. You jumped over the stairs and landed on your hands and knees. Sprung up and ran to her. 

Omega knocked you over with her embrace. You were both laying there crying. She had grown two heads taller and much stronger too. 

Rebel soldiers had come out to check the validity of your claims. They stood aside seeing at least one of their residents recognize you. They had witnessed MANY reunions just like this as people were finding their way to the planet.  

There was more: Wrecker wasn’t far behind. He scooped you both up and hugged you fiercely. 

“AWWW...SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE! MISSED YA HORRIBLY!!!” Wiping away tears. 

Echo approached with Phee. 

Wrecker let you go, and you embraced them both with each arm. 

“Phee...what happened???” Her beautiful hair was gone. Head covered and tied fashionably with a scarf. Burn scar down one side of her face. You noticed one hand had scars as well. 

She shot Echo a strange look, then shrugged and perked up. “It’s growing back. Getting bacta therapy for the scars.” 

“Tech? Hunter? Are they here?” 

Echo answered “Come inside. We’ll get you settled.” 

“Wait, I didn’t come alone.” 

You turned towards your ship. Crosshair was standing at the bottom of the stairs. 

Omega gave him a bear hug. He had allowed her that. Wrecker stood a few feet away watching them.  

Echo took your hand. “Let’s give them some time to catch up.” 

He and Phee led you inside the base past bustling personnel.  

“Wait...I didn’t check my blaster...” 

“That’s ok” Phee patted your shoulder. “We vouched for you. Crosshair though...” 

You approached an open medical station with bacta tanks lined up...recognizing... 

“TECH!” 

He bobbed merrily in the solution, waving at your arrival. 

You stopped to see he was missing both legs...just like Echo. There were scars all over his body, some weren’t present during his rescue. Tech saw your face and immediately started signing in Basic. 

It is no major loss. I will be fine. Only 20 more rotations within this tank, then I shall be fitted for my prosthetics...please...don’t cry. 

Things were starting to come together...Phee’s hair loss and burns...the Marauder being hit... 

“WHERE’S HUNTER???” You yelled it in a panic. 

Echo stepped in and took your hand. “Y/N... he...” The look on his face told you this wouldn’t be good news. Echo’s eyes registered the scarf draped around your neck. 

There was a commotion behind you at the entrance of the base. Crosshair’s voice. Arguing with two Rebel troopers over his lack of compliance regarding check-in. 

“Sir! We need you to...” 

“NOT NOW! Can’t you see MY PARTNER is in distress!!!” 

The trooper grabbed his arm. Crosshair immediately disarmed the man and put his ass on the floor. Then handed the troopers gun to HIS partner sneering, “I said FUCK OFF!” 

The second trooper took the gun and commed for backup. 

Crosshair stalked over gently putting his hands on your shoulders. Fixing Echo with his baleful stare. “Where’s Hunter?” 

Echo fixed you both with his amber eyes. He sighed; his expression was so sad. “I’ll take you to him.” 

Tech tapped on the tank to get Crosshair’s attention. Cross glanced over shocked. He hadn’t recognized who was in there. Then he noticed Tech’s condition. 

I’ll be ok brother. He signed.  

Tech put his hand up against the glass. Crosshair placed his on the other side against Tech’s. 

The trooper’s backup arrived and trained their blasters on Crosshair. He turned and eyed them menacingly. Then dropped his hands from your shoulders, one of which you grabbed. 

“Don’t start any shit, Toothpick. Please, this isn’t the time.” Squeezing his hand firmly. 

He squeezed your hand back and stood down. 

“Break it up Trooper. These are friendlies.” Captain Rex emerged from the back of the squad. 

“But sir, he assaulted one of our Rebel staff. And he refused to check his rifle.” Pointing to Stormpuncher mounted on Crosshair’s back. 

“I’ll handle it, Trooper. You are all dismissed.” 

The Rebel squad eyed Crosshair uneasily as they filed away from the scene. 

“Good to see you both alive and well.” Rex smiled genuinely. “But I’ll let Echo catch you up on everything.” He nodded to Echo and stepped away. 

At this point Wrecker and Omega joined the group. 

“Follow me.” Echo instructed. 

You glanced at Tech as the group started to walk away. He smiled wistfully.  

“I got them Brown Eyes.” She winked at Tech, and he winked back. But he still looked concerned. 

Phee put her arm around your shoulder and walked with you. Crosshair followed at your other side silently. 

The group filed through the whole facility: past logistics, maintenance, troop training, mess, quarters, a small prison area (mostly empty), daycare, pet kennel, a few non-descript departments, and finally to the back end of the facility. The group approached heavy double doors. 

There was a sense of dread in your chest. Everyone was quiet. Echo looked heartbroken as he swiped his key card over the lock mechanism.  

The doors opened to the outside. A HUGE garden stretching for over a mile...planted with the bodies of those fallen from the Empire. Headstones, holoshrines, helmets, and all manner of tributes marked each plot. Adults, children, military, civilians, even service animals. Droids who could not be repaired were erected as tribute statuary with holoplaques proclaiming their sacrifice. 

Hunter was there. Laid to rest several rows down from the entrance. 

The realization hit you like a ton of bricks. 

“This isn’t real...” Shaking your head but staring straight ahead at Hunter’s helmet propped up on his plot. “NO... can’t.” Tears running down your face. 

Phee rubbed your back. “I’m SO sorry.” She was crying too. “Broody saved my life. I almost burned to death.” She pulled off the scarf to reveal the severity of her injuries. “I’m the reason he’s here.” 

Wrecker piped up “Noo, that’s not true. He would’ve done it for anyone on that ship.” He hugged Phee. 

Survivor’s guilt. Your heart went out to her.    

Crosshair took your hand and silently encouraged you to step down into the memorial and go to Hunter’s plot. You inhaled and stepped down...then your legs gave out. Crosshair grabbed your right shoulder. Echo ran over and supported your left. 

They led you to the plot. Wrecker, Phee, and Omega stayed behind. 

Soft grass was planted for whomever wished to sit and visit. Hunter’s helmet was surrounded by vivid red Poppies in full bloom. Echo seated you upon the grass. Crosshair kneeling beside you.  

“Can I do anything at all for you both.” He inquired. 

Silence. 

“Uh...I’ll give you some privacy.” 

“Echo?” 

“Yeah?” 

You swept him up in a hug again. “Thank you...for everything.” Tears returning. 

“Oh, of course.” He embraced you back. Holding on for some time. 

Echo patted your back and cleared his throat. He let go and wiped a tear from his face. 

Then he was gone.   

Crosshair sat stone faced staring at Hunter’s helmet bereft of emotion. It was the best he could do at this moment. 

You took off the red scarf, slipped it over Hunter’s helmet, and arranged it as if draped off Hunter’s own shoulders. 

Like he was sitting right in front of you with his bucket on... 

A sudden loud sob escaped. Each exhalation became louder until it ended in a scream. Your face red and pressed into the warm grass. Watering Hunter’s grave with your tears. Freeing the emotion out of the pit of your being. Screaming, sobbing until empty, finally collapsing from exhaustion. 

The afternoon progressed and the sun started to dip down towards the horizon. 

“Hey” Crosshair nudged you from disassociation. “Let’s go.” 

Numb, you let him haul you up under the shoulders. Standing, your vision went snowy and black.   

Crosshair must have carried you to the ship. The next few days were a blur, you slept through most of it. He hovered, fixing ration soup and just about threatening to force feed you. Trading whatever he could for black market sweets just to get ANYTHING into your belly. You barely remember Echo, Wrecker, Omega, or Phee visiting. Or AZI monitoring your vitals, reporting them well within range, that it was “only” grief and would eventually pass. 

Finally, after days in your bunk Crosshair had enough. 

“Soup!” He poked you awake. 

“Whaa?” Weakly turning over, burrowing under the blanket. 

“Get up. You STINK!” 

“Fuck off Crossy...” 

“Get up, or I’m throwing you INTO the refresher. Clothes and all.” 

You ignored him. 

Crosshair reached under the blanket and yanked you up. You caterwauled hurling swears, too weak to fight. But you were strong enough to hold on. 

He opened the refresher door and attempted to set you down. You stuck to him like shit on a Bantha’s behind. It turned into a wrestling match, both of you swearing at one another. One hand pried off him, then another would latch on, finally tearing his shirt to shreds. 

Cross gave up and flipped on the water soaking you both. The cold spray only made you hold on tighter, pressing against his chest for warmth. He gave up, sighed, adjusted the temp to warm. 

“Will you wash my hair?” 

Sighing again. “Yes.” 

You let go and turned your back to him. Crosshair lathered up his hands. 

“Wait.” You pulled the soaked T-shirt over your head and threw it in the corner of the shower. Now you're only clad in underwear. “Ok.” 

He applied the shampoo and did one helluva job massaging it into your hair. You smiled and groaned at the sensation. He finished by twisting the hair into a soapy point atop your head. 

“Will you wash my back and neck?” 

Heavy sigh. But he did. His hands were amazing. 

“Toothpick, will...” 

“I’m NOT washing your dirty ass...or anything else. You can reach.” Cross rinsed his hands and exited the refresher, leaving you to finish the job. 

You finally exited the shower feeling and smelling much better. 

Clean towels and comfy clothing were waiting for you. A non-descript box sat atop them.  

Dried, dressed, brushed your hair and nasty teeth. Then opened the box. The beautiful black and silver scarf from Mel and Marv’s stand. Toothpick paid attention...and had held on to it the whole time. 

You put it on and made your way back through the darkened ship. 

Crosshair was waiting, sitting on a blanket spread out on the floor. There was a multitude of fresh food and rations upon it. Also, a lit candle in the middle. The kind he would razz you about that “smelled like flowers and shit.” 

You smiled. “Is this a date?” Attempting some levity. 

“Sit your ass down and eat.” 

“Thank you.” Caressing the scarf around your neck. 

“For what?” He played dumb. You could see he noticed. 

“Everything. Being there for...” You couldn’t bear to speak it. “Taking care of me, this food...” 

“Can’t have you dying on me. Would have smelled worse than you already did.” 

“Oh...and that shower brawl...” looking up from your food. “THAT was certainly SOMETHING.” 

Crosshair grinned. “You owe me a new shirt.” 

“Do I, now? Well, don’t wear clothes in the refresher when you decide to throw me in.” 

He cocked an eyebrow while biting into a ration bar. 

“Then when I grab something, it’ll be foreplay.” 

Crosshair choked on his food. 

You stuffed yourself full. Satisfied, thanking Crosshair again (who rolled his eyes), and wandered back to your bunk. 

He had changed the bedding out while you were in the refresher. It was clean and the blanket turned over, inviting you to slide in. 

It felt wonderful burrowing into the clean sheets. 

But sleep was elusive tonight. 

The grief was still too much for you both. 

Two people alone on a dark, silent ship. The distance between you palpable. 

“Are...you awake?” he furtively asked with hushed tones in the dark. 

“Umhmm.” Intrigued as to why he asked. Sitting up and sliding your legs off to the side of the bunk. 

Silence. 

You sat there in the dark waiting for an answer. 

More silence... 

(You like a song to go with the following scene? Please check it out. Smutty, but emotional)

...then Crosshairs hand gently smoothing away the hair from your temple. 

You immediately embraced him tightly. 

He falters for just a beat.  Body frozen for what seems like an eternity.  Would this scare him away? 

Then you feel his arms encircle you, lips upon your cheek...kissing down to your lips. 

Unable to hold back any further, you turn your head to meet his lips to yours. 

Mouths opening to breathe into the well of one another.  Sliding upon each other passionately.  Breaths furiously taken in between long heated kisses. 

Then parting quickly to pull the clothing from each other's body.  Almost ripping the cloth away from bare skin.  Occasional moans of longing for skin-to-skin contact. 

Finally free of constraints, he stops to visually take you in... 

...he’s waited SO LONG for this moment. Couldn’t help admiring your strength while rescuing him on Tantiss...but finding out you bonded romantically to Hunter... 

“I... I’m afraid...” Terror and shame on his face. 

This shocks you to hear such words fall from his lips. He’s so VULNERABLE...kneeling next to you proclaiming his feelings. 

You reach out and stroke the side of his face, then firmly grip this chin. “So am I. But it’s just the two of us now.” 

You both stare into the lonely abyss of each other's eyes. 

“And I CAN’T STAND being alone.” 

“Then you WON’T be...EVER” He reaches out across the space between, pulling you to his body. His heat, his need. 

You have your own need, your heat blazes HOT with his deep kisses. Tongues intertwining.  

Then he pulls away to bury his face next to your ear whispering EVERY DIRTY THING he’s going to do to you while nuzzling and nipping your ear. Rubbing his hard cock along your shin, sliding along the wetness it leaves behind. 

You moan loudly...” Oh...fuck me...” 

“Mhmm...” trailing his tongue down your neck. His hands caressing the inside of your thighs. Stopping just short of your sex. Teasing his fingers around it...teasing you into fever pitch. 

Your hand on his shoulder digs your nails into his flesh. He moans in ecstasy from the pain. Trailing down your chest to nip and lick at your nipples. Crosshair stares up adoringly with half hooded eyes. 

His hand casually brushes your sex and trails away. 

Smiling while he teases. 

You grip the edge of the bunk, bracing your feet on the floor, and buck out your hips in the air, gasping, baring your teeth. 

Then he playfully but firmly slaps your sex. 

It pisses you off while turning you on at the same time. The tension building. 

His cock is SO slippery against your leg. The breath coming from him labored and shaky. Tracing your thighs just so closely to where you want to be stimulated, then away again. 

“FUCK ME!” You growl deeply through your teeth.  Something FERAL awakening in you. Shaking, sweating, digging harder into his shoulder. It starts to bleed, and his eyes roll back in his head.  

His facial expression turns intense. He slaps your sex again. You moan louder, then growl again. 

The teasing. It’s driving you INSANE. 

He knows you’re about to lose it... 

Crosshair stops kissing your chest, put’s his snarky, sexy, come-fuck-me-face up to your ear...  

“...Mmm...bite me...” 

Back somewhere in your sexually addled lizard brain registers this could be literal instead of figurative. 

And he slaps you...ONE MORE TIME... 

Without thinking you sink your teeth into his other shoulder. Blood seeping into your mouth. 

Crosshair screams out in fevered sexual ecstasy...frotting his weeping cock furiously against your leg. 

His slapping hand comes back fully on your sex, furiously stimulating... 

...kneading... 

...filling up your intimate spaces... 

...sliding.... 

...you buck your hips tightly against the hand that services you... 

...as the pressure of your molars squeeze the flesh of his shoulder...it’s heavenly pressure...the taste of copper as you suck it down... 

Crosshair’s fevered thrusts of his hips. 

The fevered ministrations of his hand. 

Ragged breaths mixed with groans...whimpers... 

You release your mouth from his shoulder, as you gasp for air... blood trailing down his back from the punctures. Small crimson rivulets running down your chin, neck, across your erect nipples...you fall back...Pressing your head into the bunk...eyes widening...mouth open. His left hand on the small of your back like a spotter, his right sending you over the edge... 

Clenching your abdomen...you feel that tickle...the beginning of... 

Crosshair stops and pulls his hand away. You grab his arm devastated, angry even to be thwarted from your orgasm. 

Breathlessly “I want to FEEL you...from the INSIDE.” It’s not presented as a question. But he’s waiting for your consent. 

You reach down, stroke his sopping wet member. He moans and shudders. Then brush a ghost of a kiss across Crosshair’s forehead as you scoot fully onto the bunk and open yourself up to him. Your seductive gaze is inviting. 

Up off his knees, he slinks over you on the bunk. Staring like a hungry animal.  

For a fleeting moment, you don’t see Crosshair there...just Hunter. Your desire threatens to topple over into grief...all these emotions bubbling up from the surface. That scar will NEVER be totally healed. The sadness that will NEVER totally leave. 

Crosshair watches the subtle changes of your expression and senses this. He understands. While there are differences, it’s his loss too. 

He covers his body with yours, basking in the warmth skin to skin. Then takes your face in his hands. Touching foreheads, he whispers promises for you both in the future. All the things you will do together and the burdens you will both share and support each other through. Every one of them ends with a kiss as a promise.  

“I’m not Hunter...but...I’ll work on being a better man than I was in my past.”  

“I don’t want you to live in Hunter’s shadow. You’re different. Our relationship will be different.” 

Silence. 

“I’m SO SORRY you lost your brother.” 

Crosshair covers his face with his hand. Silent tears spill out between his fingers. 

You say no more and hold him tightly. Knowing it was A LOT for him to even let go like this. Knowing the relationship, he had with especially Hunter was fraught with so much emotional angst. And the heavy burden Crosshair holds about the horrible things he did at the end. 

You both lay there for some time wrapped up together in each other's arms...just being. Crosshair’s head resting on your chest, listening to your heartbeat. You rubbing gentle circles though his hair. 

Finally, he speaks, “Would you like me to finish?” Looking up at you seriously with those intense dark eyes. 

You read him like a book. He knows you too well now. There’s a deep care for one another. But you both know the sex tonight will be for dealing with the grief. That's ok though. It’s an unspoken agreement of how this will help the two of you bond and heal.  

You’ll both drink, fight, fuck, laugh, and all manner of things together while dealing with this shared grief. Whatever gets you by. It’ll bind you both thick as thieves. 

“Yes.” 

He kisses down your body to your sex. Licking, sucking, lavishing you with an intensity that prevents you from lying still. All the while grinding his returned erection into the sheets, soaking them. 

You both begin to get vocal. He adds more stimulation with his fingers, driving you wild. Grasping the bedding, you arch your back again. With the pressure in your core, his tongue wetly sliding over your sex...your breathing reaches a fever pitch...the tingling returns... 

“Crosshair...” 

He stops, sits up, gently pulls your hips to position, and slides his length into you. 

“Fuuuck...” he groans loudly, slowly pulling out, then slowly sliding in...he wants to feel it ALL. No rush. Just the amazing sensation...every inch...of him...against you... 

...sliding out... 

...sliding in... 

His legs are shaking. 

Your breath not just respirations but moans to the timing of his thrusts. 

...sliding out... 

...sliding in... 

Crosshair’s eyes are hooded in desire. He can see you’re about to cum. A crooked, horny smile crosses his face. 

The tingle becomes a wave... 

IT RUSHES THROUGH YOU like beautiful warm surf racing towards your sex... 

...and reaches its destination... 

You arch your back deeper...He’s watching you at the apex of your orgasm. Time seems to slow down for a few seconds. Eyes open with no angst, anger, judgement, spite, sass...his eyes...the window to a man WIDE OPEN at this moment in time. He’s telling you with his eyes what his voice could not.  

You’re staring above right into those eyes as your head presses just a centimeter deeper into the bedding...you inhale DEEPLY as those warm tendrils explode deep at the base of your core.  

Orgiastic moan-scream comes from your mouth so intensely you feel it in the roof of your mouth. Vision fuzzing out slightly. Tiny warm explosions of nerves firing everywhere in your body.  

Crosshair squeezes you tightly, screaming gutturally, eyes shut tight, and shuddering inside you with his own climax. Both of your sensory stimuli shut out to the outside world: Only aware of you both connected at the junction of your bodies.  

And then the orgasm dissipates like a wave being pulled back out to sea. Seafoam settling in and tickling the shoals of your sex.  

You feel warm and tingly...the rush of all those endorphins. He collapses gently on top of you. Gathering each other up in embrace. 

laying in each other’s arms realizing the future is wide open. It's a bit daunting...scary even. But you have each other. And, for now, that will do. 

PLEASE like, comment, and/or REBLOG!

IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED OR DROPPED FROM MY TAG LIST, PLEASE MESSAGE ME! Don't just comment as I might miss it. Thanks!!! <3

[whencyclopedia]

Shays' Rebellion

Shays' Rebellion (1786-87) was an armed insurrection by rural farmers in western and central Massachusetts, sparked by the state government's unpopular response to a debt crisis. The insurrection reached its climax when the rebels, referred to by some scholars as 'Shaysites', unsuccessfully assaulted a federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, ultimately leading to the rebellion's dissolution.

The rebellion erupted amidst an economic crisis and was largely the result of a feud between New England rural farmers and the coastal mercantile elite; when the farmers proved unable to pay debts owed to New English retailers and merchants, their creditors took harsh legal action, often resulting in the farmers losing their property or being thrown into debtors' jail. The farmers believed these judicial actions to be unjust and, in autumn 1786, surrounded courthouses in several Massachusetts towns to halt court proceedings. When the Massachusetts government responded by implementing a severe Riot Act and raising a private army, the protestors turned violent. Under the leadership of American Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays (the namesake of the rebellion) and others, the rebels surrounded Springfield Armory, with the intention of using the weapons within to launch an assault on Boston.

The Shaysites, however, were repulsed when they assaulted the armory on 25 January 1787. The rebels were then mopped up by the private army under General Benjamin Lincoln and the insurrection fizzled out shortly thereafter. Shays' Rebellion highlighted the inefficiency of the United States central government which, under the Articles of Confederation, had been powerless to send federal troops or otherwise intercede to stop the insurrection. The rebellion led many Americans to realize that a stronger central government was necessary, and it influenced the drafting and ratification of the US Constitution.

Debt Crisis

As noted by historian David P. Szatmary, the New England of the 18th century was a society in which aspects of 'rural tradition' and 'commercial expansion' coexisted and gradually came into conflict with one another (1). The vast majority of New Englanders existed within the former category as yeomen farmers or agricultural laborers, who lived in rural communities and often owned the land on which they worked. These farmers enjoyed a subsistence lifestyle, living off their own produce. Whenever they needed something from the market – shoes, for instance, or medicine – they would usually pay with surplus crops rather than in hard currency, which was scarce. If it had been a rough harvest season and the farmers did not have any surplus crops, retailers would often extend to them a line of credit, trusting the farmers to pay them back the next harvest season.

Simultaneously, a growing commercial economy was thriving in the coastal towns of Massachusetts and in the Connecticut River Valley, which relied on trade conducted by merchants. This mercantile class dominated politics in New England and was, therefore, a powerful interest group; indeed, it was partially the grievances of these merchants that had set the New England colonies on the path toward the American Revolution. These merchants had built their fortunes off trade with business contacts in Great Britain and the West Indies, exporting commodities such as timber and rum in exchange for various goods which would then be sold to the shopkeepers in New England's various market towns for resale. Like the yeomen farmers, the merchants did not have much hard currency on hand and were used to conducting business through lines of credit extended to them by their overseas business partners.

At the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, the New England merchants were eager to resume trade with their prewar business contacts in Britain and France. There was, however, a problem; the United States was experiencing a postwar economic depression and lacked a reliable national currency, making British merchants wary of extending new lines of credit to their New English counterparts. British merchants insisted that any future business dealings must be conducted entirely in hard currency and that all past debts must be immediately paid before commerce could resume. The New English merchants were taken aback by these demands but had no choice but to comply, since Britain was one of their only feasible overseas markets.

The merchants of New England did not have the hard currency that their overseas contacts were demanding; in 1786, for instance, Boston merchants collectively owed £80,000 in debt but had less than £25,000 in hard currency between them. To collect the coinage needed to reopen trade, the merchants decided to call in the debts owed to them by the storeowners of New England's rural market towns. But, of course, the storeowners were as cash-poor as the merchants and were forced to demand that their own customers, mostly yeomen farmers, pay up as well. The burden of the credit crisis, therefore, fell squarely on the shoulders of the farmers, who were at the bottom of this debt hierarchy and could not pass the buck downward. When the farmers tried to pay their debts with surplus crops, they were dismayed to learn that only hard currency would be accepted. This came at a time when the New England state governments were already levying high taxes to pay off their own war debts, imposing an extra financial strain on the rural population.

Continue reading...

[yoitsjay]

Symphony of Destruction

Pairings: imperial! Crossbair x imperial fem! Reader

Summary: you were an exceptional elite trooper, and seemed to have caught Crosshairs eye

Warnings: cannon violence, slight angst, sexism, injuries. Loose plot connection

Word count: 2,310

“It's fascinating, I never thought a woman could be so capable on a training course. though battlefields are a whole different idea.” One man said, watching on the sidelines of the training simulator for elite stormtroopers.

You were in the center, currently ducked behind one of the barricades in the training room. The rest of your squad had been stunned by the cannons or assassin droids being used for said training, but you were still up and fighting.

You bit your lip as you searched on your person, muttering curse words when you realized that you ran out of droid charges. But that didn't stop you. Instead you ripped a panel off the wall of the training room, and grabbed a chunk of wires, ripping one which then caused the malfunction and shut down most of the droids.

You hopped out from behind the cover, running up to an assassin droid as you jumped up and cut its circuits with your viroblade, shooting two other droids in the head. dodge rolling out of the way of larger cannon stun shots.

You cut down the remaining assassin droids, and ducked behind cover again, now having to figure out how to take those cannons. You narrowed your eyes, ignoring the murmuring from the sidelines. Though you could feel a pair of eyes piercing into your back.

You ignored it, removing your helmet before bringing your knife to the circuit inside it. You had been a gadget maker before you enlisted in the Imperial army, so turning anything with wires into a bomb was like second nature to you.

Once the helmet started to charge up, you stood up, dodging stun shots before you spin and threw the helmet like a shot put ball, rolling to a covered position again as you watched the helmet hit the cannons and destroy them.

You grinned, running from the cover to the wall that led up to the flag you needed to grab. You jumped from one side of the wall to the other before pulling yourself up to the final platform. However suddenly it shifted underneath you, and started to crumble.

Quickly you shot your blasters grapple to the ceiling and flew upwards as the platform below you fell. You slowly lowered yourself, hanging upside down as you grabbed the flag, turning upwards as you jumped down onto the platform, retracting the grapple and sliding the blaster into your holster.

You looked up and saw clones, some nat born soldiers, and imperial officers clapping for your performance. Your face stayed neutral however as you slid down the platform to the exit door. However you turned around, looking up at the main observing room, seeing Admiral Rampart, and beside him a helmeted man. He must have been the one staring so intensely.

“Congratulations ES-05, you have passed your Elite Trooper exam. Report to my office for more information.” Rampart instructed. You nodded before leaving the room, walking past other stormtroopers and clones as you walked to Admiral Rampart’s office.

You knocked, and entered seconds later, now standing in front of the admiral with your hands at your sides. “You will be placed with CT-9904’s Elite squad, you will be fitted with new armor and new weapons.” He explained and you nodded curtly, taking your new commlink and ID from him.

“You have impressive skill. Where are you from?” He asked, his head on his hands as he stared at you. You purse your lips for a moment. “I’m from Onderon, Vice Admiral.” You answered, hearing him hum. “A rebel diseased land I hear. Good to know you’re on the right side.” He mused before waving his hand, excusing you.

You nodded your head before turning and leaving the room. You took your ID to the armory where your new armor and weapons were waiting. You immediately changed, and armed yourself up. You had two blasters rather than one, and below one of them was a holster for your new viroblade. You were also given a jetpack.

You heard the door to the armory slide open behind you as you were tying your hair up into a braided bun. You glanced back, seeing the same masked man from earlier, however he had his helmet off, and was watching you carefully. You assumed he was the clone commander Rampart had mentioned, so when you finished you turned and saluted. “Commander.” You greeted before lowering your hand, holding your helmet in your arm.

“You have skill. I look forward to seeing it on the battlefield. The Vice Admiral told me you were from Onderon?” The clone asked and you nodded, unsure as to why it mattered.

“We are being sent there to kill Saw Gerrerra on Onderon.” He explained, and something flashed in your eyes but quickly dispersed. “Then let’s kill him.” You stated, securing your helmet on your head.

You followed the clone to the hangar where a ship and the rest of the squad was waiting. You joined the line up, removing your helmet once more as the clone commander studied the group. “We are being sent to kill insurgents on Onderon. Gear up.” He ordered, and in unison you and the other’s placed your helmet on.

You walked onto the ship, finding a more secluded area as you started cleaning your weapon. You felt piercing eyes on you again, looking up to see the Clone Commander in front of you. “What’s your name?” he asked, and you frowned underneath your helmet. “ES-05-”

“No- your birth name.” He pressed, and your eyes went wide. You glanced around, but nobody else seemed to be paying attention. “S-sir? i don't-”

The clone yanked you upwards, pulling you up to the upper part of the ship, letting go moments later as he removed his helmet. “What. is. your. name” He asked again, this time pronouncing each word as he spoke. You slowly removed your helmet, your stoicism faltering before you spoke. “Y/n…” You trailed off with your answer, and he nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“What's your name?” You then asked, catching him off guard. “My- Crosshair.” He answered, and you smiled a bit. “Fitting.” You stated, seeing him smirk a little bit before he slid his helmet back on. You followed, and walked back down to the rest of the squad, taking your seat as you resumed cleaning your weapons.

Eventually you reached Onderon, infiltrating the camp with ease. Saw Gerrera ended up not being there, a part of you was… relieved almost.

However when Crosshair ordered the insurgents to be executed, you hesitated, only briefly before slitting throats and shooting heads of the rest of the prisoners as the other troopers hesitated. One argued back, and Crosshair promptly shot him in the head.

You were dead silent on the way back to Kamino, though after that mission the elite squad was tasked with much else, So you spent your down time in your quarters or in the Mess hall. In that time however, You and your commander, Crosshair, grew very close. You shared stories of what you could remember of Onderon, and living in the city.

In return he shared stories of missions he had during the clone wars… when he worked with his brothers. You could tell it was a sensitive subject so you didn’t pry, and instead comforted him, with a hand on his, or a soft smile.

he had grown to appreciate it in the time he spent with you, wherever mission you went on he was always close by. However on your current mission you had been separated from the rest of the squad, including Crosshair, and now you were surrounded by insurgents who were ready to kill you.

You fought back furiously, but one of the insurgents shot you in the leg and then in the arm. You hadn’t realized that Crosshair arrived at that moment, but when he saw you go down he saw red, and killed the insurgents who were about to land the finishing blow. When they laid dead, Crosshair ran to your side and cursed.

“Hang on Y/n, I've got you.” He muttered as he picked you up in his arms. You cried at the pain that shot through your body, your helmet slipping off your head which allowed you to press your face into Crosshairs armored chest.

Hecarried you back to the ship, grabbing the medical supplies before he stripped off your armor, ignoring the words of the other squad mates. he cut open the fabric of your shirt by your arm, and your leg, giving you bacta shots by the injuries before placing patches over the wounds so they healed better.

You were unconscious at this point, but very much alive because he brought you back in time. The remaining squad members finished the mission, and soon you and Crosshair were back on Kamino. He carried you to the med bay where you received better treatment, and would heal in no time.

While you were sleeping, Crosshair always came and sat by your bedside, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t have… But he had grown so attached to you in these past months…

When you were fully healed, Crosshair was the only one who came to get you, and give you your new armor which you appreciated. It also was the day however, where his brother Hunter had been captured and imprisoned on Kamino. You stood behind Crosshair at every interrogation, being that silent support for him.

Now you stood in a room, facing down Crosshair’s brothers, with the rest of the squad behind you. Crosshair gestured for you to stand right beside him and you did. “You can still surrender, join the Empire, join me.” Crosshair offered, looking back at the squad. “Lower your weapons.” He ordered.

You did, immediately in fact, holstering your blasters on your thighs. The others, however… refused. You saw them raise their blasters to execute Hunter and the others, however Crosshair was quick to fire a shot towards the wall, where it then bounced off and hit several mirrors, killing the remaining squad mates, all except for you.

You clenched your jaw, and you could feel all the clones eyes on you, including Crosshairs. However you just sighed, and grabbed the man's hand. Crosshair turned back to his brothers, but they shook their heads.

A lone squad member, another woman, had alerted Rampart of what happened, and in turn he ordered the destruction of Kamino, despite all the people still on it. Before the bad batch were about to escape from the hangar, Kamino started falling, breaking apart as Ramparts ship fired down on it.

Metal started falling from above, and Crosshair was quick to tackle you out of the way, though more metal fell on top of you and him, knocking you both unconscious.

The next time you wake up, you see clearly in a different place, being held up by one of the clones. You grunt, letting them know you are awake. But you're in no position to fight and you know that. Despite that, once Crosshair wakes you and him work with his previous squad, and help each other get to safety above water.

You and Crosshair seemed to have the same idea when Omega starts to sink when trying to save her droid friend, managing to save her with a grapple, pulling them back up to shore.

Eventually you and Crosshair reach the landing bay with the bad batches ship, and you stand close to him.

“You gave us a chance… so this is yours.” Hunter spoke up to his brother, glancing at you only for a moment. You turned to Crosshair, who was staring at you. You nodded, silently encouraging him to go. However he sighed, shaking his head. “I made my choice.” Crosshair replied.

“We may want different things, but that doesn’t have to make us enemies.” Hunter stated, looking at you. “And you, you should be free to make your own choices. don’t let the Empire make them for you.” He stated, before walking back onto their ship.

You and Crosshair are left on Kamino, but not for long as you manage to get rescued by an imperial shuttle, but despite that, you make a decision that changes your life.

You comendeer the shuttle, and land it on a planet, away from the reaches of the Empire. Despite Crosshair’s questioning, you remove your armor, and grab a small bag filled with rations and medical supplies.

“You may want life in the Empire… but I don't… not anymore.” You told him, staring into his eyes. “Come with me.” You begged, seeing the conflict on his face. “I- i cant…” He trailed off, and you sighed. “Alright then… maybe I'll see you again.” You breathed out, turning away.

However before you could leave Crosshair grabbed your arm, turning you back around as he slammed his lips against yours. You gasped, but quickly melted into him, cupping his face in your hands before you sighed and pulled away. “Come find me when you're ready, and we can do that again.” You whispered, before walking away.

-

Crosshair did find you again, fate pulled its strings and he found you on Pabu, living amongst the villagers there. His brothers had known, and you had made peace with them, and even helped them out with some things.

But when Crosshair had been brought back he refused to leave your side, except when he had to go on missions of course. But he loved you, and he admitted that. And you admitted you felt the same.

Now, you sit at the beach with him, holding his hand as you watch the sunset together. You had built him a robotic hand, which he appreciated, and it only made him fall harder for you.

“Marry me” he whispered, and you smiled.

“okay.”

➺

Tag list:

Crosshair tag:

@nyctophobiart

Tbb tag:

@only-my-unexistent-fiances

All:

@moomoog017

[archivalofsins]

So, I'm filling out my mail in ballot and like... Lately I've been getting hit with the cultural differences between myself and others.

So, I'd like to talk about how that may impact how I view Milgram.

It's no secret that I'm African American. Yet, there's a great deal of people that will have assumptions on what that means, how it looks, what I must be into outside of Milgram etc. These things as we've come to know quite well through Milgram, are biases.

As we've discussed before biases aren't inherently bad. Biases in and off themselves are ideas we pick up about society based on our personal experiences. They're like a quick cheat sheet that no one can help but make in their head.

For example- Since I said I was African American. One could assume things about my,

Skin tone

Education

Social Status

Simply based on that knowledge alone. One could assume that I'm dark skinned. An assumption that a good deal of people make when that term is used despite the various skin tones throughout the African American community.

If I were to then respond to that assumption with,

"Actually I'm light skinned." (This is a fact and a example.)

Another assumption would come into play.

"Oh what are you mixed with?"

This would lead to two answers. Nothing, literally everyone in my family is black. Or, "Wow; can you take an educated guess? I did just say I'm African American is there any historical context you could possibly gleam without asking me why my skin tone is what it is. Anything, is there anything coming to mind that may explain? Might rhyme with armory. Might involve a word that sounds like shave?"

Nope damn...the answers still nothing just African American or well if we discuss the history of slavery real quick we get this very complicated non-answer of too many things to count. Including white and Native American. Yet if you ask my dad what they put on his papers when he fought in the war they put negro. Because those other two things matter relatively less than the whole black thing.

So, most of my family history is black and I was raised in the black community. Didn't really stop me from getting that question a lot growing up. Mostly from people within said community. These are the sort of biases I believe are pretty common in most cultures. People will judge others based on how they look and assume things about their background.

This is highlighted in Milgram through Mu. It's brought up multiple times that Mu has been othered because of how she looks. Because she does not look typically Japanese, she looks foreign. She has honey-blonde hair and light grey eyes.

She mentions in a minigram that she doesn't like how rain makes her hair stick up.

People headcanoning Mu's victim as half black when France has the highest black population out of Europe wild.

X X

Hmmm, wonder why that headcanon hasn't been put on her ahn who knows.

Basically, noting that humidity and water makes her hair frizzy. Probably playing a bit into the reason she doesn't portray herself as being soaked in After Pain. Because she finds this aspect of herself to be embarrassing.

This also could subtly imply that she may straighten or style her hair. Outside of that Milgram highlights how different she looks before the series even starts properly. Noting it in her character description on the website.

A beautiful prisoner with overt features that set her apart from other Japanese people. Despite her slender frame, she’s very candid, and the type to rebel against the abnormal circumstances Milgram has presented her. Due to her nature, she will be very wary of Es at first. The way she conducts herself gives a sense of her upbringing. Leading us to speculate that she was probably born into a wealthy family. Perhaps, being born into wealth is why she has such a sense of pride, bursts into tears when clashing with others, and is prone to whining.

My sorry spells must be wearing off./I am always the drama queen.

x

Why won’t you stop hurting me? My heart is all dried up. My sorry spells must be wearing off. But I guess some of it is my fault./ It’s not my fault. I told you I’m queen, and it will never be changed. I’ve got EVERYTHING, everything is as I wish.

And even having it called to attention in the portal timeline.

20/05/31 Mu: Hey, Mikoto-kun, aren’t you scared of this place……? You can’t think of any reason you ended up here, right……? Mikoto: Ahh, yeah. Of course, it’s not like I’m not scared at all. But just between you and me…… I still haven’t dropped the thought that this could all just be a TV show. I mean, I really haven’t ever murdered anyone. ……and if that is the case, we’re definitely being monitored. For like a prank setup or something. Wouldn’t it be super uncool and embarrassing to get angry or lash and have it shown on prime time? Mu: Is that what you think……? A prank, huh…… I hope that’s all it is…… Mikoto: Ah! If that is the case, then you’ll probably be super popular since you’re so cute, Mucchan! There’s a lot of girls out there who make their big break coming off reality shows like that!

Like the fact that Milgram lays all of this out from the beginning along with the way it follows through on it is really good. Because it isn't just building as it goes or adding pockets of tidbits of character information on as the trials progress. It's all been there and still is there rewarding people for going back and looking, if they feel like it.

Through bringing to the forefront how different Mu is from those around her Milgram subtly highlights another form of discrimination in Japan. Racism.

Then it does this really interesting thing when it comes to her core friend group in particular.

Milgram makes a point of having all of Mu's close friends be individuals who for one reason or another would not be considered to look stereotypically Japanese. Milgram manages to do this without even giving Mu's friends faces.

Even highlighting in their insect forms through giving them different hair colors from the rest.

Just like Mu herself.

Q.11 Who do you want to see right now? Mu: I miss my friends too but most of all, Papa and Mama.

In her second voice drama Mu says,

...Warden-san. I think you're really doing something bad. Isn't it a bad thing to act like there has to be something wrong with someone for them to get bullied? Oh? No matter the circumstances, it's always the bullies who are in the wrong! Isn't that obvious? Warden-san you're so smart but you didn't even know something like that? maybe you should take some lessons on morals or something. ... Besides even if I've done something wrong, there's nothing that can justify bullying. Warden-san I thought you were nicer than this.

Not one thing that can justify it not even others doing something wrong. Meanwhile Mu's first trial character voice line,

It's your fault....for doing horrible things to me...

Mu goes on to say this in response to Es asking why does she think she was bullied after that,

"How would I know? I mean I'm from a rich family, and I'm an eye-catcher too... It was probably out of some kind of envy or prejudice, right?"

Plus, Mu's stance on bullying quickly changes when it's brought to her attention that Es believes she may have been a bully before she bullied. As she states,

"Leaving behind all that stuff you said about me possibly having been a bully myself- not that any of that's true of course!"

Sorry it was an easy shot.

Can you believe she said this right before this mv came out? Wild. Prisoners stay lying in their voice dramas. Never incriminate yourselves, always lie to authority figures. Double down on the lies if you need to. No one owes honesty to individuals or systems putting them in terrible predicaments.

Lie like you and honesty had a falling out. Lie like being honest betrayed you worse than it did Kazui. Keep lying. Honesty sorry that's a luxury I can't afford right now. I'm in my lying arc trust me at your own expense.

Be Mikoto trial two and gaslight the audience into believing that everything Milgram uncovered was actually a dream trial three. It will work better than you think Mu.

Like naw be more dishonest actually. The realest thing all the prisoners have ever done was just blatantly lie and not back down from said lies. They're all like fucking prove it go on prove it! What do you have mystical songs where I go I did that shit and I'll do it again?! That's not substantial enough evidence.

That could have been an over-exaggeration done to better highlight my artistic vision- Fuck you and your song extractor bring in some actual proof or piss off. This machine was provided by your facility how do you know it's providing accurate unbiased information. The facility had already deemed us guilty of something on incarceration this isn't fair or trustworthy.

Meanwhile if they're innocent what a great and interesting machine you have here.

Sure. So, if I'd gotten payback for how my bullies treated me then that'd count as revenge right? And if you believe that was my only option then don't you have to forgive me? ...Uh...I'm not really sure what you're trying to say? You see~ If you think that me bullying someone back after being bullied is the natural course of action, then wouldn't it be bad to bully me back in return? ... "But if you were like. "I won't forgive you Mu revenge is bad!" Then wouldn't that imply that it's also bad for me to bully someone back after they bullied me?" I think I'm kinda...starting to get your point...maybe. Warden-san are you maybe not all that smart after all?

Since the way Mu talks is rather quick and confusing purposely Es has difficulties understanding what she's saying. Despite the fact that she is just reiterating that since she's already been forgiven it would be best if Es kept to that verdict. Because Es has already set the precedent that killing out of revenge or in response to a slight is forgivable. Changing her verdict now won't change that precedent.

Meaning Mu has every intention to bully someone for bullying her again if necessary because Es has stated that the appropriate response to being picked on is picking on that person back. In a way Mu is saying that's what trial one cemented that treating people who have caused direct harm to your or others is completely okay actually.

So, it's best not to start problems for others others at all. So, if Es wants to change their verdict and pick on Mu now that would be no different than what happened to her.

This isn't even a veiled threat. Because she's just saying since you've realized that bullying is the appropriate response to bullying then you shouldn't pick on me because the obvious response would be me picking on you and you don't want that right? Or,

"If you want to betray from jealousy. I’ve told you what’s gonna happen."

The thing is the way I view Mu's story is subjectively changed based on my experiences as and African-American.

When I view her story I don't see the simple one of bullying. I see a story about prejudice and the othering of mixed and biracial individuals in Japan. How the mistreatment these individuals face when younger can lead to them bullying others later in life.

The fact that kids like that are often exposed to discriminatory treatment from a young age by peers and adults due to their overt physical differences. Something that can lead to a great deal of bitterness and self-loathing. Even internalized othering.

Q.08 Which of the other prisoners is most like you? Mu: I don’t think there’s anyone? They’re all weirdos.

This can be done to make oneself feel less than others or to cope and convince oneself that they are more special than those around them and everyone is just jealous actually. Mu falls into the later category. However, the later category is commonly used in response to discrimination of some sort.

Because it's easier and healthier to respond to others making fun of ones immutable traits such as physical characteristics by going they're just jealous. The other option is attempting to changing how you look entirely which for a lot of people won't work anyway. From that angle it's no suprise that in high school Mu would start doing something that may just have been done to her for much longer by girls who probably resembled those who picked on her a great deal or were people who used to pick on her.

Q.02   What scares you most? Mu: Painful things, scary things. Also embarrassing things. Q.07 What is your favourite place? Mu: Mama’s hometown of Nice. The sea there is beautiful.

As someone who grew up in the states a pretty diverse country. Well Mu saying things like her favorite place is her mothers hometown has a different ring to it. Because in Nice the way Mu looks wouldn't be considered odd or draw attention. Whereas in the place she grew up she can easily tell that the way she looks gets her both positive and negative attention.

I've said this before and I'll say it again the fact that Mu stands out due to her mixed ethnicity is just as a part of her story as being a bully is. The fact that she surrounds herself with people who are similar to her (seemingly mixed as well).

Well it really puts this spin on her story. Not just making it as simple as bullying it but turning it into this story of long term accepted bullying and what that cycle can lead to. If Mu was bullied and treated as different because of her looks and families wealth at a young age. Then she gets into this high school with other people with those experiences. It wouldn't be farfetched for her to want to use the opportunity to get revenge on the people who treated her poorly before and take advantage of the system that allowed it.

In order to lessen the impact of the idea of her being a bully which she denies as ever being true she states it would be fine for her to be one under Milgram's logic if it was in response to being bullied in the first place. That it's fine as long as it's revenge. A mindset many victims of bullying who become bullies later have. That it's fine to do because no one said it was wrong when it was happening to them. It's okay if they do it because if they do then it can't happen to them.

This especially puts an interesting spin on her first cover song and trial song.

Especially these lines,

Otome Dissection

There's been a lot of analysis of this song for a long while. For now, I want to analyze it from the angle of the singer dissecting themselves. An angle that the song has been taken from before. Given the visuals in the mv near the end.

The more overt ones.

Along with when the signer is shown pretending to call someone and closing their own body bag.

All after the line "Let's see if our climax had been a let down. Ever since that night."

Now if we phrase Otome Dissection as the singer singing to themselves that would make it more interesting in the context of Mu's case and the way it can relate to ethnicity. Because I think Otome Disssection manages to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of self-loathing, dejection, and hopelessness that being a minority can make a person.

The song highlighting how the singer has found something that makes them feel good as long as it hurts. Something that's validating and invalidating all at once. A way a lot of people feel about exploring or expressing their culture/ethnicity in a place where it's marginalized or stereotyped in some way. The feeling can be just as isolating as it is liberating simply because at times even when people want to do this there's not much community around them locally.

Plus, taking an interest in it won't make discrimination stop. At the end of the day people are still going to put you on a pedestal or hate you because of how you look. Though it can still be fulfilling. Also highlighting how one will dissect themselves, cutting themselves down to be more acceptable in an environment that didn't want to accept them to begin with. Again, going back to how it only feels good when it hurts.

They only get acceptances when they're burying parts of themselves. Yet, still desiring to be loved for everything they are the good and the bad and trying to convince themselves that they love who they are despite everything around them making it feel as though it'd be better,

If I had just disappeared.

All that self-loathing and disdain turns into boisterous self-confidence. Because it's feels like the only way that person can survive. Yet they still need this constant outwards validation because they don't know if they're allowed to be here. Even though they feel like they should be it doesn't feel like they are.

I want to feel “alive”, is it ok if I breathe? Tell me./I wanna feel shame, ever since the night when I realized it's good as long as it hurts.

Yet no amount of validation is enough because the person can't validate themselves. They're always going to be afraid of being found out then hated or the other person finding someone else.

Hey, what if If I am a bad girl- Don’t hate me./I actually had a dream you fell in love with someone else. Please tell me it's not true. Come on love me please?

A problem many people who have faced racial discrimination in their environments have is believing that others can like them. Because sometimes from birth all those people are given are reasons why others wouldn't. A list of things that make them odd or different from their peers. So, it's easy to understand why it would be difficult to believe.

After Pain

"I don’t want tomorrow to come. I want to forget yesterday I was miserable, someone please help me."

"If it’s endurance, I’m used to it. It’s just having another taste of it."

When it comes to Futa we see him become the victim of what he dished out after in Bring It On. Lamenting if both sides are losers in Backdraft. Yet, Mu tries her best to hide all the things that hurt and embarrass her. The source of her pain.

Because she doesn't want people to look at it. She doesn't want to replay it. Just like her second cover song further highlights along with her second trial mv.

She even states in the second written interrogation,

Q.01 What were you like as a child? Mu: I think I was pretty normal. I had a lot of friends, and learned a lot.

Yet she also states that she gets walked up to by modelling scouts on the streets because of her looks.

Q.15 What’s your dream for the future? Mu: A model, maybe. I’ve been turning down scouts while I’m still in high school though.

Definitely sounds easy to have a normal childhood with stuff like that occurring.

It's easy to write off Mu as not going through that much and just being a spoiled brat and a bully. However, I feel like that would be ignoring some very compelling parts of her character. Plus, she's not the only prisoners for Milgram to allude to dealing with forms of discrimination.

Plus, it is kind of strange that she would jump from having her friends bully people for her to murder. Like that isn't a very natural progression. Now she could be lying about not doing any of that stuff herself like dumping water on people or beating them up. However the only time we see her actually harassing a student is when they appear to be shaking them down and none of that stuff is occurring.

Then she's only alluded to being around in After Pain after her friends do that stuff. So, I genuinely doubt she was being dishonest about that. None of these feelings on Mu I stated here are new. I always appreciated how her story subtly deals with the ethnicity. I like how it shows a victim of bullying become a bully.

I like that it highlights how cycles of harassment begin. I love how Mu's first inclination is to frame herself as a victim of bullying in this situation because on some level she really thinks this is revenge for all the mean things others may have done to her. I also like that she's unapologetic about it. Plus my own complicated relationship with stuff like that makes me sympathetic to her a bit.

Even still it's Mu we're talking about she's not one to be knocked down and stay down. That's simply just another aspect to look at her under and it's one of the ones I find the most interesting given how I grew up.

I feel like that may just be one of the many things that may go overlooked based on how one grew up. Even though Milgram highlights it in a lot of ways.

Another one that may go over some's head is poverty in general given the cases of Amane and Mikoto. Like people not really understanding why he's so focused on his job or why Amane's family lives where they live etc. It's just interesting how Milgram tries to represent varying demographics. Like there's a plethora of other examples but I've gone over them before.

At least I find it interesting.

[thelostbaystudio]

Hey folks,

the pre-launch KS page of OUTER RIM: UPRISING is live! ORU is a bundle for the sci-fi survival horror RPG Mothership. The bundle is packed with 15+ 100% original entries from seasoned indie Mothership designers. All items are 1 Edition (which means the new one!) compatible. Below is some info on the bundle and pics of some entries.

OrU builds a huge setting, at the fringes of the galaxy, where corrupt corps fight rebel factions. Each item of the bundle can be used independently, but the items are also tied together by a common implied setting, sharing NPCs, story lines etc. A Campaign Handbook acts as the connective tissue of the bundle: adding factions, procedures, locations etc.

Half of the bundle items are written in a system neutral way, and can be used with any RPG.

We've just ignited the pre-launch page here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/outer-rim-uprising, if you dig the project give it a follow, as indie publishers it means a hell of lot to receive the community support.

About this, if you are a blogger, streamer, podcaster and want to talk about this, see drafts or organize an actual play please reach out we'd be happy to help.

Below are some details on a couple of entries, they are sick!

The Hunger in Achernar, zine by D. Kenny (designer of Nirvana on fire)

Survive the void-haunted halls of a cursed derelict; solve the mystery of a missing ship, an experimental hyperdrive test, and a cultist plot; or save the galaxy from a taint leaking through a crack in the universe. Choose one in “The Hunger in Achernar”, a MOTHERSHIP RPG adventure.

BLINK, zine by David Blandy (designer of Eco MOFOS!)

In this short guide to faster-than-light travel, we’ll show you how to bring the mind-bending possibilities of instantaneous jumping between two distant points in space to your game.

Rusted to the Core, zine by Chris Airiau

The androids on Poe-V Station are on strike. Descend through the gas giant’s toxic clouds to uncover how the source of this disruption goes deeper than worker mistreatment. A faction-based adventure.

Surviving Machine parts, zine by Zach Hazard Vaupen

Out in the fringes of the system, a type of cybernetic implants called Machine Parts are popular with those who are savvy enough to find and afford them. Commonly made with recalled corpo tech and stolen military/alien technology, these implants are highly illegal and especially dangerous. This document covers 12 different Machine Parts and their consequences. Can you survive Machine Parts?

Sentience Assessment Procedure, player facing accessory, by Nyhur (Alien Armory) and IKO

SAP cutting-edge, neuro-semantic analysis technology allows management, officials, and security personnel to perform human/android triage effectively. SAP toolkit is portable, works in any-G environment, and can also be performed remotely.

Outer Rim: Uprising Campaign Handbook, zine by all the designers of the bundle

The connective tissue of the bundle

I'll stop here :) that's roughly one third of the items included in the bundle, I'll share more info in the next few weeks

Give it a follow here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/outer-rim-uprising

[christiansorrell]

Outer Rim Uprising is LIVE!

Outer Rim Uprising, a Mothership 1e Mega Bundle by @thelostbaystudio, is live now on Kickstarter! It's a massive collection of all new zines, pamphlets, maps, cards, patches and more from a slew of great third-party Mothership creators.

I co-wrote two pamphlets with Nyhur (Alien Armory)! "Welcome to Cidus II" is an in-universe visitors pamphlet produced by LifeLabor Biosciences for their new gene drone research and production facilty on the acidic jungle planet of Cidus II. It gives visitor guidelines, highlights of the facility's best amenities, upcoming corporate events, and more.

The second pamphlet "The Thinking Fist: A Saboteur's Guide to Cidus II" is a re-worked technical map covered in info about The Thinking Fist, a local rebel group pushing back against the immoral and unethical work being done by LifeLabor Biosciences. It gives you local contacts friendly to the cause, various vulnerabilities of the facility, and more.

In combination, these two pamphlets (both written as in-universe artifacts) can be handed to your players, allowing them to formulate their own plan to join the Thinking Fist and wreak havoc across the Cidus II facility!

You can check out the full campaign HERE!

[noahhawthorneauthor]

Presenting all the artists I have worked with on my author journey thus far. 🏳️‍🌈📚🎨

Because I'm Team Human, and always will be.

Lianne Peterson, fantasyspritestudio on Instagram, is also a crochet artist, which is how I first met her. Back in the day, I made crochet toys and sculptures, and she still does. One thing led to another, and after she read my first book, we collaborated on the Iverbourne Tarot project, which expanded to include other indie artists.

Then we did the special editions together, which includes the tarot art as full page illustrations, and the scene with Lythienne threatening her boytoy—Panrauth, I mean. Also, that fan art of Novak still makes my heart sing. The plant guy is Lysander from the Levena books, and also fan art that I treasure.

@gagakumadraws has done so much work for me, this isn't even all of it. She is an absolute gem of a person and artist, and I'm so thankful to be able to call her my friend. There are the five Iverbourne cards, The Rebel Foxes cover, and so much Arlo and Thatch, from Phantom and Rook. There's the inside of the bookstore, and side characters like Silas (silver hair boi) and Arche.

Art not pictured are beautiful spice scenes, the outside of the bookstore, and a pirate play scene from Phantom and Rook. Oh, and a certain enby wolf shifter all tied up in knots.

@prince-peachie did some character art for me, depicting Novak as he first meet him and when the demon comes out to play. I first fell in love with Peachie's AFTG fan art, and I love everything he does!

The bottom left is Novak and Alvis on the ship, brought to life by @kislurysuje around the time Prince of Sylvan came out. It was one of my first printed pieces of gay art, and I love it so much.

The Moon is Eros from the Iverbourne series, and her card was created by @sholdthebus who I found on Tiktok. She does some amazing work, and has a Pride Armory! Think pride themed pins, like bisexual battle axes.

And my beloveds, @crossroadart-seabear and @foxglovefaun

I love these covers so dearly. The colors, the emotion and detail. Bear did Phantom and Rook, and Fox did Matsdotter and Adrastus. I love that the colors of the sequel echo the first book, and while each artist has their own style, the books look like they belong together. They are both fantastic people, and beautiful artists.

So yeah, fuck AI, and scream about your favorite artists. 🤘✨

[caribbeangirlfolkloring]

Dâaga was one of the leaders of the St. Joseph Mutiny that occurred on the night of June 17, 1837 among the First West India Regiment of the British Army in St. Joseph, Trinidad, which was a part of the British West Indies at that time.

“The soldiers, under Dâaga’s leadership, chanted Yoruba war chants and burned their garrisons to distract the white officers while they continued to the armory and seized weapons. Although these black rebels did face off against their white officers, no white soldiers were killed... Dâaga became a powerful symbol of black resistance in Trinidad.

Dâaga’s name was adopted by Makandal Dâaga (Geddes Granger), a leader of the 1970s Black Power movement in Trinidad, who adopted the name to honor the leaders of the 1837 rebellion. Earl Lovelace also utilized Dâaga as a character in his novel Salt (1996). The auditorium at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus was renamed in Dâaga’s honor.” (Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade)

[3rdeyeblaque]

August 30th marks the 223rd anniversary of the Gabriel's Conspiracy of 1800; a most collaborative effort that would unite enslaved folks, "freefolk", First Nations, poor Whites, and the French army✊🏾

Gabriel "Prosser" was born enslaved on Thomas Prosser's tobacco plantation in Richmond, Virginia,1776. Even as a child, Brother Gabriel was unique; he was considered to be unusually intelligent & unusually large in size. By the age 20, he was 6ft feet 2-3in tall & enormously strong from his years of apprentcing as a Blacksmith. This instinctively compelled even older enslaved folks to view him as a leader.

He and his brother, Solomon, were hired out as Blacksmiths around Richmond, VA, which not only allowed them access to money and a small measure of traveling freedom, but exposed them to labor and leisure time with other hired out workers - from enslaved folk, "freefolk", to white laborers. At the time, talk of the American Revolution, Saint Domingue's uprising, White Workings Class, the small measures of success held by "freefolk", the contempt of the enslaved, and the white merchants routinely cheating them all out of fair pay was prominent. These experiences shaped his mind and molded his ambitions toward revolutionary freedom and prosperity.

Brother Gabriel believed that if enslaved folk rose up against the oppressors, then poor Whites and other oppressed communities would be inspired and join them. His plan was simple: seize Capitol Square in Richmond, take Governor James Monroe as a hostage as a bargaining tool against city authorities. He planned to send an ally to Catawbas Nation to persuade them to join them. It was also believed that he'd hoped to sway members of a French army that had landed nearby would assist them.

Gabriel conveyed his plan to his brother Solomon and another of Prosser Jr.'s slaves. From there they began building his army. They recruited only men as soldiers; majority slaves, "freefolk", and a few poor Whites. Others were recruited abolitionists, French militants, and other strong minded rebels as leaders. They traveled from Richmond to nearby towns throughout Virginia to build their army and allegiances. They amassed an armory of weapons. They began hammering swords out of scythes and molding bullets out of iron.

By August of 1800, Gabriel's army was ready. His plan now included overtaking the town of Norfolk and Petersburg by the conspirators living there. Gabriel announced that they would move come nightfall on Saturday, August 30th. As his lieutenants delivered the news to outlying areas, a rumor of insurrection surfaced among Whites in Richmond, which went largely ignored by their Governor. On August 30th, a torrential downpour flooded the region in what had been described as, "the most terrible thunderstorm every witnessed in the state of Virginia". Though a handful of men gathered at the appointed meeting spot, it became clear that the quickly rising water would make key roads and bridges impassable. Gabriel decided to postpone until Sunday evening, August 31st. To our great disappointment, before they had a chance to carry out their plan, enslaved conspirators in two different locations cracked under pressure and confessed their "masters". Thus, the Governor was alerted and white patrols, later joined by the state militia, began roaming the countryside searching for Gabriel and his army.

Soon, Gabriel and one of his leutenants disappeared. Others eluded capture for several days, but by September 9th, almost 30 slaves were jailed awaiting trial. Gabriel's brother, Solomon, was given up by one of their closest conspiratorsfrom the same Prossner plantation in exchange for a pardon. On Sept 14th Gabriel swam to a schooner called Mary on the James River to see a White man named Richardson Taylor who was a former overseer with a change of heart toward Slavery. He attempted to take Gabriel to freedom, but was thwarted by 1 of 2 Black folk on board who outted him in hopes of receiving the $300 reward for his capture, which would ensure his own freedom. Gabriel was handed over to authorities in Norfolk, VA while their informant was given a mere $50 and remained enslaved.

On October 6th, Gabriel was put on trial and set to be executed the next day. The only time he spoke during his trail was to request a stay until October 10th to be executed alongside his brothers in arms on the date that was set for them. On October 10th, he was executed alone by hanging. By the end of 2mo long trials, 26 conspirators were executed and 1 died by suicide in custody. Virginia paid over $8900 to slaveholders for the executed slaves.

This undoubtedly would have been the most far-reaching slave revolt in U.S. History. The first time in recorded U.S. history when the enslaved, "freefolk", First Nations, and even poor Whites, were united under the banner of freedom. We can only imagine how this would've reshaped the history of Virginia let alone the course of Transatlantic Slavery in the U.S.

We pour libations of water, blow tobacco smoke, speak their names, & offer prayers toward the elevation of Brother Gabriel, his lieutenants, and ally conspirators who risked it ALL for our freedom and prosperity for generations to come.

[tarnishedinquirer]

Case: Morne Massacre pt 3 (Castle Morne)

Entering the castle, I was immediately greeted by the corpses of several Godrick soldiers. This looked a lot worse than Irina could have known. It's interesting that the golem outside didn't defend them, but if it was the castle servants rebelling, then it probably didn't see them as a threat.

The only thing on this floor was a small armory. Nothing of use, but I noticed something strange about the weapons. They all seemed to be pockmarked, covered in these strange pits. I couldn't identify the source either. It wasn't acid or normal corrosion. And it applied to metal, wood, and leather equally. It was like the material itself was sick.

Perhaps this wasn't even an armory. Perhaps it was a quarantine instead. Best not to risk it.

The only way to the main courtyard was a single elevator, making the front door all but useless for an invading army. Unless it comes from within, of course.

I had some idea what I was expecting before I even got on the elevator. There was an overwhelming charnel stench of blood and offal and rotten meat and burning flesh that only got stronger as I got closer. I was still unprepared for what I saw.

I couldn't believe so many people had ever lived here, let alone died. It was mostly the long-necked commoners, but there were corpses of nobles and soldiers too, stacked as high as a small hill. Still more were impaled or hung.

It probably should've affected me more, but I'd seen horrors like this before in another life. Worse, even. I've seen mounds of vertebrae merging into human forms. I've seen entire civilizations burned in flame of sin. I've seen a rift valley half filled with corpses, where the unborn clawed at my legs.

Or... have I?

I shook off the false memories. At the very least, the prison that once held me had similar horrors on its execution field. That must be it.

I worked my way across the courtyard, first dealing with the scavenging dogs, then the chimeric servants. They were too lost in their revelry to even notice as I picked them off one by one. They were easily felled. Even their leader went down before he could even swing his axe once, though it took nearly half a flask worth of pebbles to do it.

Inside, I found a Claymore in serviceable condition, but also more of those pocked armaments. At least this means the blight isn't contagious.

I climbed up to the ramparts into the middle of a battle. Soldiers and footmen of Godrick were fighting with chimeras, and they were clearly losing ground. Then one of the soldiers peeled away from the battle to fight me instead.

So that's how it's going to be, then. Fine. I'm sitting this one out.

While waiting for both sides to exhaust themselves, I took note of the many gallows constructed on this rampart. I expected them to be ramshackle affairs, like they had just been built since the rebellion started, but they looked sturdy and well-used. Though, the fact they were situated on top of the bodies made me think that they were brought out and placed after most of the long-necks had been killed. So the chimeras slaughtered the commoners, brought the gallows out of storage to hang the footmen, and then tossed the long-neck corpses over the side to be piled up in the courtyard?

This didn't add up.

I took care of the stragglers and continued to a high tower, where I met the castellan, Edgar. Of course he wasn't very forthcoming. No one is. He claimed that he treated the "menials" well and they gave him good service, but they were just waiting for their chance to betray him. "Foul creatures, inside and out."

Even after showing him Irina's letter, he refused to quit his post until the Sword of Morne was recovered. I agreed to help him, and he said he'd meet me behind the castle.

Why were the weapons all pockmarked?

Why were the long-necks killed first?

Why were they butchered while the soldiers were hung?

What is the treasured sword of Morne?

[thevibraniumveterans]

REBELS REWATCH

S1E2 — SPARK OF THE REBELLION; PART 2

Hera continues to explain to Ezra why he needs to rescue the crew. He tells her, “No, it’s too late for them, Hera. We should run now, while—” Here’s the thing though, he starts to sound unsure of himself, because he does not sound cocky anymore. He may say one thing, but his expressions betray him. Hera interrupts him. “You don’t mean that.” Ezra says, “I do! I swear, I do.” He doesn’t believe he does, though, because he struggles to even get that answer out. “Which is why I can’t believe I’m doing this!” It might not be a sudden change of heart, but it’s more of a moral struggle for him. Hera had explained kindness to him, likely something he’s had to let go of years ago. Here, Ezra’s repayment of a good deed is his first step into a larger world.

Ezra reaches Zeb and Karan just in time, saying that Hera sent him, and to run when the the troopers open the doorway. Interestingly enough, while Kanan and Zeb charge forward, Ezra provides cover fire via his energy slingshots. Used to fending for himself, this is the first time he’s helped to stall the enemy, protecting the same people who inadvertently took him in.

While running, Ezra tells his two companions that they should “warn Sabine and Chopper”. Interestingly enough, he could have chosen to name Chopper first and Sabine second, but he doesn’t.

Sabine and Chopper are concentrating on getting the job done. They do not know what’s coming.

The gravity gets disabled, and Ezra and Zeb tussle again amidst blaster fire. Ezra gets captured by the Imperials, and inadvertently gets left behind as his adoptive crew jump to hyperspace. Zeb is regretful.

Ezra sits in a cell and is visited by Agent Kallus. Not one to avoid a conversation, he insults Kallus, even when threatened with the Empire’s visit to his homeworld of Lothal. He says, “They're not gonna come for me. People don’t do that.” It’s evident he’s only ever stuck his neck out for himself because no one else ever did.

Ezra gets his stuff taken away by the troopers, but manages to hold on to the Holocron. Even though it’s the only thing he has to keep him company, he takes a deep breath and tries to quiet his mind. Perhaps he is imagining himself opening the cube since he is shown to previously have failed to do so. Unbeknownst to him, he actually opens the cube, until the message within starts playing. Perhaps Ezra is unconsciously making use of abilities dormant within him. The message ends with, “Trust in the Force,” a phrase also said by Ahsoka to Sabine decades later before she opens herself up to the Force. Back in the cell, however, Ezra may or may not have used the Force to open the cube. It’s not hard to put two and two together.

Back on Hera’s ship, she discusses going back to save Ezra. Zeb disagrees, and Sabine concurs, logically inferring that since they just left, their return would mean the Imperials would “be waiting for us. We can’t save him.” She looks a bit regretful.

In the cell, Ezra convincingly baits the guard troopers to open the cell door for him. They do, and he throws a salute and runs. He ends up in an armory, grabs his bag, and steals a cadet helmet. This is something he would continue to do in the following seasons of Rebels, as well as the last episode of Ahsoka S1. It becomes a habit.

Understanding the danger he’d be in, Ezra exits the armory through a chute in the ceiling. Though this is certainly not the first time he would do this, Ezra mimics a trooper and diverts part of Kallus’ attention elsewhere away from his rescuers. In fact, Ezra would pull the very same stunt decades later minutes after getting on the Chimera.

Hera’s crew touch down, and she orders her team to “find Ezra”. Which is what she would end up having faith in Sabine and Ahsoka to do many years later.

Sabine chides Zeb, saying, “And this time, try not to leave until everyone’s back aboard.” Zeb argues, “That was not my fault!” Right on cue, Ezra drops down from the ceiling directly overhead. How did he find out exactly how to get to the hangar, while in the vents?

Zeb sucker punches Ezra, who argues at Zeb. “First you ditch me, then you hit me?” Zeb replies that the helmet threw him off. Which is absolutely hilarious.

Ezra approaches the pilot’s hold, and thanks Hera twice in succession. Evidently not used to people coming back for him, he subconsciously rubs the back of his head. He tells Hera, “I really didn’t think you’d come back for me.” In slightly different words in Ahsoka S1E8, Sabine admits, “I never thought I’d see him again”. In both instances, they admit to not believing in the possibility of what seems impossible.

Hera says that she can get Ezra home, but he admits to not having parents. Hindsight tells us the Imperials captured and killed them, but at this point, to Ezra, they were as good as gone without an explanation. He shakes this off by telling Hera, “And you’ve got somewhere else to be.”

The rest of the crew walks into the pilot’s hold, but as soon as Sabine walks past, Ezra self-consciously turns away. He tells the crew where the Wookies are being sent, and suggests the crew set course for Kessel. Amazingly, Hera agrees, not leaving any room for further argument. This is interesting because Ezra isn’t quite used to having people agree with him.

The crew lands in the mines, and Kanan signals for Ezra to sneak off undetected. He does so with remarkable ease, and frees the adult Wookies. But there is a young Wookie left. Ezra sees the youngster running from a trooper, and reflects on the fact that that could have been him. He rejoins the crew, and after Kanan reveals himself to be a Jedi, Ezra makes a run for it, going after the child Wookie. He chases the trooper and the child onto a walkway, and makes a Force leap (of, hilariously, 18-20 feet into the air), putting himself between the child and the trooper. It’s only funny here because at this point in time, Ezra doesn’t know he has the Force, but that he is able to perform inhuman feats. Ezra lets loose a barrage of energy bolts, but is unaware that Agent Kallus is behind him.

Note that this is more or less the very first time that Ezra ever rescues a child in need. Perhaps he is doing this because he knows he has been shown kindness, and so, decides to pass it on, knowing that it would only reap benefits.

So Kallus corners Ezra, who retorts with, “I don’t know where you get your delusions, buckethead.” Which is an exact line (barring only the finishing insult) that Leia would use years later down the line on Han Solo in ESB.

Kanan comes to the rescue, and tells Ezra and the child to jump. They do.

In the hold of the Ghost, the Wookies reunite, and Kanan is proud of Ezra. The teenager tells the youngster to “try to stay out of trouble.” Zeb, amused, remarks, “Ha. Look who’s talking.”

Ezra feels a little dejected, and asks Kanan, “So I guess you drop me off next?” Even Zeb doesn’t quite believe himself when he says that would be the case. Something’s changed.

Some time passes, and the Ghost touches down on Lothal. Ezra makes his way down a ladder, beneath (and adjacent to) which Sabine is helping to clean Chopper. Ezra steps off the ladder, looks at Sabine and Chopper once, and gives a small smile. He walks past and away from them, and Sabine watches Ezra retreat. Her unreadable expression gives nothing away.

Ezra birds farewell to Zeb, who jokingly retorts with, “Not if we see you first.” Zeb lightheartedly punches Ezra, who says, “Don’t worry, you won’t.” Ezra doesn’t look too happy to leave, yet Zeb wonders what went wrong.

Down the ramp, Kanan and Hera are waiting for him. Ezra returns the opened Holocron to Kanan, and tells them, “Good luck saving the galaxy” before running off, never once looking behind him.

Ezra returns to his home in the lookout communications tower. Thinking himself alone, he wonders aloud, “What’s the Force?” A faint whistling sound — from this point on often associated with Ezra’s connection to said Force — can be heard. Kanan, who had followed the teenager home, explains what it is. The age old, “It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” Which is the exact wording Ben Kenobi will tell Luke a few years from now. It could be that this statement is a piece of knowledge drilled into younglings at the Order.

Kanan tells Ezra that the Force is strong with him. How’d he open the Holocron otherwise? Ezra wonders what Kanan wants with him, and receives the following response: “To offer you a choice. You can keep the lightsaber you stole, let it become just another dusty souvenir. Or you can give it back and come with us, come with me, and be trained in the ways of the Force. You can learn what it truly means to be a Jedi.” Ezra isn’t typically one that obeys orders, so it makes sense that he is given a choice, one that he can freely choose.

Ezra says, “I thought the Empire wiped out all the Jedi.” Which is kind of true. Kanan states the obvious, “Not all of us.” Ezra looks down at Kanan’s lightsaber, but when he looks back up, Kanan is gone. Which is really odd.

Kanan opens the Holocron again, and Kenobi’s message plays. It gets to a part where he states, “the future is uncertain”, and the shot cuts to Sabine sitting alone in the common hold, contemplatively staring at her helmet.

The message ends, and Ezra arrives at Kanan’s doorway, and hands over the saber. He knows he made the right choice.

[renton6echo]

Day 1 of 30 Days of The Bad Batch

Season 1, Episode 1: Aftermath

Alright. Let's dive into, probably, my favorite episode of the series so far. It's just such a great opening to the characters and the story. What a way to open a series right at Order 66. I just knew we were in for such a rollercoaster from the start of this show. Really, Order 66? That's where you're starting off the show? Force, have mercy on us all.

The biggest gem of this episode is that it's the only one we get where we get to see Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair just be a squad together. If I had my wish, I would have liked to have seen more of that before Crosshair and the rest of the batch split off. It was harder to see what the loss of Crosshair did to the team on an emotional and military tactics level. We didn't get much in the way of their team dynamic apart from Crosshair just being known as the surly, grumpy one. While I do love all the theories around how it was likely Echo who stepped into the role that Crosshair had like like being the peacekeeper between Tech and Wrecker's, it would have been nice to see more of that so we had an idea of what the Batch lost.

I've put my live musings of the episode under this thread for the sake of my followers. Sorry, not sorry!! Ya'll knew what you were getting into following me 👀

Not sure if anyone else is interested in doing this but if you're also re-watching TBB before the season 3 premiere be sure to tag all your musings in the #30 Days of The Bad Batch so I can read them!!

@floundrickthewayfarer @saturn-sends-hugs @the-bi-space-ace

First off, Captain Grey, I wish we had gotten to know you more before your chip activated because you seem like a sassy and salty man. I'm sure you and Rex swapped lots of stories.

Wee Kanan. I remember watching this the first time and having just finished Rebels. I saw and heard Kanan and literally said, "Oh, shit. Please no!! This is so mean." Good times. Good times.

So at what point did they realize they could use Echo's scomp as a melee weapon? It is so badass.

Oooff. That shot of the large canyon separating Kanan and Hunter that symbolizes the break between clone and Jedi *chefs kiss*

I really wish we had more scenes take place in TBB's barracks. So many fun details to dissect.

Will never get over Tech's matter-the-fact "My exceptional mind." Legend.

LOL. Echo's put-out expression when Wrecker notes how ugly Palpatine is! I've never noticed that.

Wonder how well the clones are informed in intergalactic politics. Echo seems to have a real knowledge of the larger political nuance more than the others. He is the first to openly question clones as soldiers of the Empire versus the Republic. I assume the Kaminoans would not have spent a lot of time educating clones on political structures and more on just being compliant with the system they were born into. For most clones, the transition from republic to empire is more or less just a name change, but Echo clearly takes issue with the implications.

Battle simulation time! Honestly, I could watch a whole series of clones just bantering and comming each other in battle. Such a fun, creative way to learn about characters and see them interact with each other. Wrecker and Tech sniping at each other is the best thing ever.

ALSO, Hunter why you whistling at them? You got comms for a reason you dramatic punk.

The implication that Crosshair also cried after seeing a fully stocked armory is just...I need that footage.

I never noticed that most, if all the weapons the Onderon insurgents have are Republic-issued.

Omega liking the batch's smelly barracks? Yeah, she's one of them.

Freaking Tarkin. I'm assuming he was just going to fry all their brains to make the whole batch compliant. Ugh. Poor Crosshair.

Oh, Shock troopers. Worst jobs with the worst rap. Do you think we will get to see Commander Fox in the last season? 🤞🏽

"You were down!" Echo has the best sense of humor.