#Clone trooper Torch (oc)

[for-the-sake-of-color]

AAYYEE the 218th's Urban Crisis Response's very own Crisis Company as a revamped Draw the Squad!

after a year and a half worth of drawing practice, I like to think I've come a long ways, though my squad themselves have changed very little

Though if you're new here, perhaps some introductions are in order? Below the Cut

Captain Jet - Leader of the 218th's Crisis Company and Heartbeat of the Family

Captain Jet, formerly known as Corporal Jettison before he lost nearly the entirety of his Company during the first battle of Geonosis, only gained his rank due to the combination of a field promotion and a paper pusher rushing to get the 218th put back together with what forces they could get their hands on after their devastating first deployment, without vetting his Shiny New Promotion through the proper channels. Nevertheless, Captain Jet is dedicated to his soldiers, and to being the Kindest man he can be, not wanting any to suffer the burden of loss and shame he felt as everyone he ever grew up with died in the first week of the war.

Lieutenant Margo - Second in Command of Crisis Company and one of the Finest Technician's money can Make

The first Addition to the newly reformed Crisis Company, Margo left behind her own squad command to be the second to her Captain, Jet. Trusting in his judgement, Margo would follow him to hell and back, though for the first half of the war she largely follows him to a glorified guard posting for the republics embassy and shipping warehouses on Brentaal. She's a fine Leader and an even better Tech, though her specialties lay much closer to Mechanics than to Code-breaking. The only thing that tops her technical skills is her love of having a Fun Time. Body and Mind of a Super Soldier, personality of 'if a frat-boy was a girl'

Specialist Nihlus Brek - Ancient Sith Archivist and a loving Guardian of his squad with a Sadistic streak

After being shown selfless kindness by the Captains personal squad after the loss of his clan and his rough awakening from a forced stasis, with the 'permission' of the Jedi Council, Sith Lord Nihlus Brek now serves in the GAR under the command of Captain Jet, the only man who's orders he follows without hesitation or question, killing or healing as needed for the man he now calls 'Alor and Brother. Though it is true he holds love for his squad, the real secret of his unwavering loyalty is the Blood Oath he swore to Captain Jet, his orders now bound by sith alchemy, Nihlus has given his leader unwavering control over both their destinies.

Sergeant Cynic - Heavy Weapons Expert and Artist with an Attitude

Though an Urban Crisis Response unit doesn't particularly need a soldier who's second greatest passion in life is blowing things up with his rocket launcher, Cynic earn his place on the squad through the power of nepotism. That is, Margo's one condition for leaving her previous squad behind with little complaint, was that she got to bring her favorite brother with. Although his name may suggest otherwise, this pessimist (though he considers himself a 'realist') has a love for all things pretty and colorful, and quite the talent for copying it down in his small sketchbook, always making room for his small assortment of watercolors in his combat kit.

Corporal Lake - Spotter of the Squads Sharpshooter duo and self proclaimed Ethics Committee

Lake is likely the only one of the Captains squad that, once you get to know them, could be described as the republics ideal of a Good Soldier. That is, Lake is one of the few who spares even a second or third thought for the success of the mission and collateral casualties over the lives of his fellow squad mates. He is probably the only one who could say he would not give a thousand lives just to spare those he cares for. Nevertheless, although he has his own personal misgivings over the result of some of their missions, Lake is grateful for his life, for his family, and for the many chances he is given to fight another day. And, as always, his Captains word is Law.

Corporal Torch - Deadeye of the Squads Sharpshooter Duo and resident Troublemaker

"We're here for a fun time, not a long time!" Are common words for Torch to say before getting his ass beat for replacing Cynics fancy face lotion with space Nair or being put on 'Fresher duty for his ballsey yet comedic insubordination. Captain Jet often says the only thing that stops Torch from being demoted to maintenance duty altogether is his skill with a rifle, hitting targets your typical human would have needed the force to even perceive. Though in truth, Jet would not trade Torch's levity and loyalty for the galaxy itself. Torch and Lake are mirrors of one another, by choice, as it brings them great joy to be mistaken for one another by not only natural born humans, but also unfamiliar clones. As some of the last living soldiers from their original bloc of trained sharpshooting specialists, they refuse to be parted from one another, unable to bear the thought of losing the last of their batch.

Field Medic Heron - Resident Healer with a Big Secret

Heron tired of front line Medicine fairly quickly, as his zest for death did not hold up to losing his brothers one by one, upon joining the Urban Crisis Response Specialists of the 218th, his steadfast work and easy bedside manner landed him his place in the Captains squad rather easily, and he took rather well to glorified guard duty. That is, until the fateful day where an assassin droid hidden among their cargo took his leg, though in a feat of the butterfly effect, directly led to the squad meeting their Sith. His secret? On shore leave, Heron likes to kill people. In order to stay in line with both his own ideas of morality and his Captains idea's of ethics, not that Jet hears of his activities from the medic directly, he dresses in plainclothes and limps around, waiting for some unfortunate mugger to make their move. Heron craves the feeling of holding someone on the brink of life, having power over their fate, and then denying them the salvation they seek. And maybe sometimes he takes a bite or two, but that's his business.

Specialist Sprig - Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician and Company Spymaster

Specialist Sprig, formerly of the 398th Ordinance Corps, got his name as a result of a growth tube malfunction in his infancy, leaving him 2 inches shorter than your average trooper. Despite this 'defect' as the Kaminoans would refer to it, Sprig would rank among the top of his batch with his skills in bomb diffusal, having a deft touch and a keen eye for detail. In a cruel and ironic twist of fate, Sprig's greatest fear is dying in an explosion, vaporization, desintigration, you name it. Reassignment to the 218th and his posting of glorified guard duty was a dream come true. Proton bombs vs backyard terrorists? Sprig knows exactly which he would take in an average day. With his keen eyes, sharp ears, and strong memory, Sprig also excels at information collection. His shorter stature and friendly demeanor is often very encouraging for those who have a burden they'd like to share, though one has to keep in mind, he has the ear of the Captain one short comm call away.

[art-of-wackylurker]

[Commission Info]

It's kinda embarassing how long did I take me to finish this but...

Lake and Torch for @king-chaos-world my beloved <3

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Clone rebellion headcannons:

Rex is the main leader of the network with Cody, Howzer, Hunter, Trix and Cobalt being some of the highest ranked, however rank is rarely thrown around, when they aren't on duty everyone is one of the same abd everyone has the same duties

Fireball and Nemec are two of the youngest clones in the rebellion, both having joined their squad after the clone wars ended, this lead to Howzer becoming protective of the pair

Nemec is the Medic of Rex's squad, Kix helps him when Jiag squad are on Base, however they have different bases so Nemec is mainly responsible

When Kix saw Nemec he was reminded of how Red Alert was when he was much younger, and took it upon himself to mentor the young clone when he does see him

Samson is the groups weapons specialist and is literally armed to the teeth, he can be gruff at times but at others he's one of the most chill clones you'll ever meet

Gregor taught Fireball to cook, he tried to teach Nemec as well but it was an absolute disaster, Gregor left him alone for 2 minutes and suddenly the base was almost burned down, Nemec was screaming, sobbing, just trying to get anyone to help

Nemec and Fireball and twins but Nemec is the baby of the squad (even Fireball gets on on it)

Kirk (the red clone) is a mega sports enthusiast and hooked up the transmitter to the TV networks to allow them to relax whenever they can

Daniel likes to shadow Nemec a lot, the two are both absolute tech geeks and once Rex caught them trying to build a nuclear reactor and had to quickly stop them before they hurt someone

Joey on the other hand prefers to hang around Howzer or Gregor, he's always interested in what stories they have of their time in the clone Wars and gets them to tell the stories to the base

Torch (the orange clone) and Greer are both the squads designated scouts, both have very good eyesight and once they caught Nemec and Daniel sneaking to the kitchen in the middle of the night trying to get at Howzer's not so secret candy stash

Crosshair and Howzer for the most part try to get along with one another, but some days they'll bicker like a pair of angry chickens

Samson once punched a CX clone through a wall (he'd do it again immediately)

Nemec absolutely idolises Rex and tries to copy him at times, nearly giving Rex multiple heart attacks, especially one time when he threw himself off a moving speeder

Samson watches a lot of batman...A LOT, Greer thinks he has a problem

Torch is the security director of the base and more than once has caught the younger clones planning pranks...half the time he doesn't stop them because he enjoys a laugh

[matchademi]

Falls: Hey Buddy, I know you wanna get out more. Why don't you go to the town nearby

Buddy (age 15): YES, thank you! I'll be back. Yes, I'll keep my com open. Yeah, I'll keep my head down, and no, I won't get into a fight... unless someone else starts it. *puts his vambraces on quickly before running of their ship into town. After an hour of looking around (and knicking a few things, he hears a voice that reminds him of Omega, he looks around saddened when he doesn't see her realises that other person is a clone, a female clone but that doesn't matter. He follows her for several minutes but trips over something and stumbles out of hiding his newly dyed corrie red hair, doing nothing to hide the teen* kriff it all....Buir is gonna be so mad....

@t3mpest98

[dragonanne]

Title: “The New Guy…Again” (A TCW/GLTAS crossover fanfiction)

Word count: 2,387

Characters: Blight (clone OC), Lara Shey (twi’lek OC), Marseille Tiste (Blue Lantern OC), Kilowog, Plo Koon

Description: A chapter from a Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Green Lantern: The Animated Series crossover story I started working on a couple of years ago. I still kinda plan to write the other chapters, but I wanted to go ahead and post this one since I’m still really proud of it.

Blight sat in the mess, alone in the noisy galley full of clone troopers, glumly ignoring his ration portion while stirring a now-cold mug of caf. None of his brothers would sit with him. It was like being a shiny again, but worse. At least when he was a rookie, the lone survivor of his batchmates, his new battalion had welcomed him cheerfully. But now he felt like a complete outcast.

A green light flashed from the ring on his right hand, accompanied by a short, persistent beeping.

“You had best answer that,” said a deep, patient voice.

Blight looked up into the face of Plo Koon, his jedi general. Blight started to stand, but the general motioned for him to stay seated, then sat down himself.

“Something troubles you, soldier.”

It wasn’t a question. But Blight didn’t know if it was appropriate to unload his troubles on a superior officer, much less a jedi general. However, Master Plo was persistent.

“If you do not intend to answer the summons from your ring, you might as well answer my question.

The young clone trooper sighed, crumbling under the pressure.

“My ring. That’s the problem, general. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know what I’m allowed to do.” He spoke the last sentence with caution, testing the proverbial waters.

Master Plo took a moment to ponder the reply before responding. “What do you believe are your options?”

Blight considered who he was talking with and how careful he might need to be with his words. With any other jedi, he would almost definitely lie—regardless of whether they would sense his deception or not—but with Plo Koon? Honesty would be respected, even rewarded.

“Well, I could stay here, fulfill my duty and my oath to the Republic—and give up the ring. Or I could betray the Republic, abandon my brothers, and go with the lanterns to train as a Green Lantern.” He tried to subtly look up to gauge the jedi’s reaction. He thought the general was frowning thoughtfully, considering the options, but the mask the kel dor perpetually wore made it difficult to tell for sure.

“It is a remarkable opportunity. Which do you believe is the correct course?”

Blight shifted uncomfortably. However friendly and fatherly the jedi was, it didn’t seem smart to discuss possible treason with a general. The silence began to stretch into the realm of discomfort as he attempted to formulate an appropriate response.

At the moment when he feared he would finally have to speak, despite lacking a tactful answer, the ring resumed its flashing and generated a shimmering miniature apparition of Marseilles Tiste, the Blue Lantern. She looked not impatient, but certainly...expectant.

“Blight, I’m about to take Lara to, um,” she turned to look at someone outside of the range of the holographic projection. “What was the name of the planet?” A muffled voice answered, and she turned back to Blight. “Right, Corhva. I’m going to teach her some basic power ring tricks. Gauge said he would mention it to you. Would you like to come with us?” Her voice was gentle and hopeful.

Blight wasn’t excited to go on a lantern field trip, but he was borderline desperate to escape this increasingly uncomfortable discussion with Master Plo.

“Uh, sure, I mean, I’ll be right there, ma’am.”

Marseilles visibly winced. “I’m not your commanding officer, Blight, just a friend,” she said, reprimanding him gently.

“Right, um, sorry,” he apologized. I’ll be right there.” The hologram disappeared, and Blight rose, saluting Plo Koon. “I apologize, general. Excuse me.” The jedi nodded graciously and when he spoke, Blight wondered if there wasn’t a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Of course, trooper.”

Blight picked up his food tray and deposited it in the appropriate portal before leaving the mess, drawing more than a few sideways glances as he left. The walk down to the hanger where the other lanterns waited for him was awkward and long, as most walks seemed to be lately. Clones were the foremost experts in the galaxy at picking up on the smallest details of an individual—it was how they were able to tell one another apart. So even the small ring on his finger didn’t go unnoticed in the hallways, and everyone on board already knew the dilemma of the clone trooper chosen by the strange, mysterious green power ring. Everyone was waiting to see what he would do next—reject the power and opportunity in favor of loyalty to his brothers and his oath to the Republic or turn traitor and desert.

In truth, the situation had sparked intense debate among his fellow troopers—behind closed doors and over private helmet comm channels, of course. His own squad-mates had argued over him last night. Would he even be breaking an oath by leaving—a true oath? Was he bound by a promise that was never truly his choice to make? At the completion of training, the clones were never given an option to not swear loyalty to the Republic that had paid for their creation, so did the oath actually count? Were they soldiers or slaves? These kinds of questions made his head ache...and his stomach churn. Pleasant or not, it was much simpler to live his life without asking these questions.

His squad-mates seemed split on the issue. And it was tearing them apart. Gauge—a brother he’d not been particularly close to prior to the ring’s appearance—was passionately of the opinion that Blight should take the chance in front of him and forge his own path alongside the lanterns. Blight even suspected that a painful envy ached within Gauge over the opportunity. He knew it hurt his brother that he was so reluctant to seize the chance, but Blight couldn’t help it.

On the other hand, Marker, always stern and borderline obsessive with reg manual compliance, had been clear that if Blight left, he would be a traitor—to the Republic and to his brothers. And he wasn’t the only one. Whichever way he chose, Blight would be hurting someone.

He just wanted to scream! Why was this his decision to make?! He thought back to General Plo. He really, truly did want to ask the general for advice. The kindly jedi had never been anything but good to his troops. So many of them considered him to be the father they had never had. He cared about them—they all knew it. But would he be able to offer the kind of advice that Blight needed? He didn’t need the advice of his general. He certainly didn’t need the advice of a jedi. He needed the advice of a father.

Odd, he thought, that I’m thinking in those terms.

He hadn’t seen many fathers in his lifetime, but he knew some clone troopers considered the men who trained them back on Kamino to be like fathers to them. They would go to their training sergeants for advice like this, so fathers probably did similar things.

But he didn’t have one of those.

His mind was still in turmoil when he entered the hanger where he was to meet Lantern Tiste and Lara. He spotted them immediately, an athletically built human woman and a sturdy, undeniably beautiful young twi'lek woman. They were both dressed in flight suits of blue and black, form-fitted material and were standing next to the intimidating creature that was Green Lantern Kilowog. Blight’s stomach, which had already been doing uneasy flips on the walk from the mess hall, went ahead and dropped to his toes at the sight of Kilowog’s stern expression. As Blight approached, Kilowog eyed him up and down.

“Better suit up, Poozer. That rig ain’t very streamline.”

“Huh?” Blight looked down at his white plastoid armor. It was decorated with the grey markings common among the 104th Battalion, but otherwise was entirely ordinary.

“Your lantern suit,” Marseilles spoke up. “I know you haven’t decided yet, Blight, but while you train with us…” She trailed off, her voice still kind and patient.

“Oh,” Blight caught on. “Right, um...how do I do that again?” He glanced around, seeing how many of his brothers were within earshot or watching. How many would see this as him showing his “true”, traitorous colors?

Kilowog made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a scoffing noise. Marseilles shot him a scathing glance then stepped closer to Blight.

“Take your ring, form it in your mind, and will it.”

He looked at his ring, half skepticism, half hope. “Right...will it.”

For the first time, Lara Shey stepped forward.

“Here, like this,” she said shyly, and her flight suit shimmered and vanished, being replaced by a modest homespun robe. She held her fist up and her blue ring flashed. The robe was replaced once more by the flight suit. Suddenly self-conscious, she ducked her head and stepped back. “It’s easy if you let the ring do what it knows to do,” she finished softly.

“Uh, thanks.” Blight felt his face warm. He didn’t know why, but her discomfort made him feel embarrassed too. He shook off the feeling and held his ring up, staring at it intently, his brow furrowed. Focusing on the deep green of the ring, he tried to feel for it, sense its presence on his hand. He imagined what it was like to be a jedi and reach out with the Force.

But nothing happened.

Then, just as he was about to give up, he took note of a gentle hum radiating throughout his mind and his body. As he focused, it grew stronger. It felt...right. A steady, stubborn assurance. Without thinking further, he released himself to it and a green light shimmered over his armor. He looked down. The white plastoid was gone, replaced by a green and black flight suit—a variation on the theme shared between Kilowog, Lara, and Marseilles’ suits. He recognized the suit from when the ring had first flown onto his finger, but he hadn’t had much time to examine it then.

“Woah.” He didn’t know how else to respond. Marseille was grinning, and Lara was smiling shyly. “Uh, is it always like that?”

“Eh, pretty much,” Kilowog responded gruffly.

Marseille punched him playfully. “Don’t be a kill-joy.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, unless you got anything you want me t’do? I’m gonna go find K’ihr and leave you to teach the rookies how to fly.”

“Right, a quick word before you go.” Marseille walked away with the large sergeant, speaking softly.

Lara moved closer to Blight as they watched the senior lanterns. “I’ve been looking forward to learning to fly. Marse has shown me a few things, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities at first, and then she wanted to wait for you.”

“How long have you, um, been…?”

“A lantern?” Lara finished for him. “The former bearer of my ring was killed in the same battle as yours.”

“Oh.” Blight thought back two rotations to the moment the ring had appeared before him. “I assumed it had been longer. You seem so, I dunno, comfortable with it all.” Lara smiled softly and wrapped her arms around herself.

“It was an answer to all my prayers. The ring—the opportunity it gave me? It was a dream come true. A chance for a new life.”

Blight frowned. He didn’t appreciate the not-so-subtle attempt to persuade him to the oh-so-wonderful lantern side.

“Why? What was so bad about your old one?” He asked.

Lara looked up at him. The look on her face was almost...horrified, and Blight immediately knew he’d said the wrong thing. He began to backpedal.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

Lara hugged herself tighter and looked down again, her expression changing to sad uncertainty.

“No...I was a slave. Sold to a crime clan when I was a little girl.” She looked Blight in the eye. “My life has been filled with unspeakable horrors for as long as I can remember. Being chosen by this ring is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Blight’s stomach sank. He was instantly filled with a shame like he’d never experienced before in his life. He didn’t know how to apologize profusely enough to make up for his blunder. So instead he said, rather lamely, “I’m sorry.”

Lara didn’t respond. He didn’t blame her.

They stood there in awkward silence until Marseille returned.

“Well, kids? Ready for a field trip?” She was grinning.

“Yes!” Lara replied enthusiastically!

Blight didn’t bother replying.

“Excellent! Follow me.”

Marseille motioned for them to follow her towards the open hanger. At the force shield which separated them from the cold darkness of space, she stopped.

“Lesson one: personal force fields.”

A glowing halo of blue light appeared around her and before Blight realized what she meant to do, she stepped backwards through the hanger shield. He began to cry out, horrified, but realized she was standing there on the deck, unharmed and grinning. His jaw just hung open, frozen in the stifled cry and unsure how to proceed.

“The power rings generate an energy field around your body, equipped with its own life support. Power up and c’mon out,” Marseille encouraged.

Lara held her ring hand tenderly and closed her eyes. The blue energy field blossomed into life. She opened her eyes and examined her hands and arms, pleased. Without hesitation, she stepped out to join their teacher. Then they both looked back at Blight. He swallowed. All his life he’d been taught that the easiest way to die was to step through one of those very shields without the proper gear. He looked down at his ring, unsure.

“Will it,” Lara said gently.

Right, Blight thought.

He took Lara’s cue and closed his eyes. He sought out the gentle humming sensation again, grasped onto it, and concentrated. He focused on his own willpower and commanded the energy to appear. A shift in the air quality prompted him to open his eyes. A slight glimmer of green haze danced on the edges of his vision. He lifted his hands. Green energy flickered across them too. He’d done it. He looked up.

“I must be insane,” he said, a slight touch of nervous laughter wobbling his words.

And then he stepped outside, surrendering to the mercy of his ring.

To be continued…

I hope y’all like my silly little fanfic. I actually have the whole story roughly plotted (including the stuff before this) and I’ve even done some concept art for a few characters, planets, ships, etc. Hopefully I’ll share more sometime. I don’t think I’ve shared much of my writing on here before, but I thought it was about time.

[gayskywalkcrs]

56. “I could’ve died and you couldn’t have cared less.” - Fox and Cody

HELLO yes absolutely!! here you go, my love.

(prompts)

words: 3431

notes: stitch, sketch, and zaisam are my ocs. other random clones you don’t recognise are probably some that i made up on the spot, just to avoid killing anyone else you guys are emotionally attached to.

Fox is dreaming. He has to be, because he feels safe, and he's never felt safe on Coruscant before. There's always a creeping feeling of something wrong, like a hand on the back of his neck, or of fingers digging into his mind. For the first time since leaving Kamino as a child, he feels genuinely safe.

It scares him.

He's dreaming that he's back in the Guard barracks, strangely comforting, though sparse as they are. There's a makeshift rug by the beds, made out of old blacks that were too worn out to wear anymore. Fox is lying on his bed, head in Thire's lap as his brother rests his back on the wall. He's running his ungloved hands through Fox's curls, gently untangling the knots that have accumulated under his helmet. Fox has never felt so relaxed in his life, and even in his dreaming state he is close to tears.

"I'm tired," Fox whispers, and Thire hums in agreement.

"You don't sleep enough, ori'vod," Thire laughs quietly, working his fingers through a particularly stubborn knot that's gathered itself in the grey at Fox's temples. "Lean on the rest of us. We can take some of your work."

"It's not just that," Fox says, stretching his arms in the air. He nearly hits Thire in the face, and they both giggle. "I'm so bone-tired all the goddamn time, vod. When we took leave the other month I couldn't remember any of it. I found bruises I don't remember getting. The medics say it's stress, but this is... this is different."

"You've had memory problems?" Thire asks, hands stilling.

Fox tenses as the atmosphere of the dream shifts. "Small lapses," he backtracks. "Just headaches. I'm not defective." His voice is more harsh than it has any right to be with Thire.

"I never said you were," Thire says carefully. "I've had them too."

"You have?" Fox is surprised - Thire is so capable, so reliable, it'd never even occurred to him that his own problems might be shared. "How much?"

"Rarely," Thire says, gently pushing Fox's head back down into his lap. "I'll be missing a couple of hours of a shift sometimes. It's usually whenever I pull doubles."

"Maybe the medics are right," Fox sighs, rubbing his eyes. "We're all kriffing overworked."

Thire laughs again, but this is a deep, rumbling sound. "You can say that again," he quips, and Fox grins. He opens his mouth to actually say it again, but Thire swats at his forehead. The grin on his brother's face is so genuinely happy that it makes Fox's heart clench, even as he's dreaming. His face falls.

"What's wrong, ori'vod?" Thire asks, looking concerned. "Fox?"

Fox's throat closes up, and he swallows his grief down. "I miss you," he says, voice cracking, and Thire frowns.

"Why?" He asks. "I'm right here."

"No you're not," Fox says, certain as anything, and closes his eyes. When he opens them, Thire's face has shifted: his hair is shorter, his face younger, yet edged with more grief than Thire had ever carried. Fives stares down at him, face contorted in fear. His hands are clenched tight in Fox's hair, and he lets out a high whine of terror, like a wounded animal.

"Fives," Fox gasps, staring into the face of the brother he'd never really known.

"Fox," gasps Fives, hunched over. Fox sits up, heedless of the hands in his hair, and Fives lets go. He brings his hands to his chest and Fox stares in horror as Fives' cuirass starts to smoke. "Why didn't you set it to stun?"

"Wh - Fives, what's happening?" Fox panics, hands frantically trying to hold his brother's chest together.

"Don't you remember?" Fives wheezes, collapsing slowly onto the floor. The bed is gone, and they're in the underbelly of Coruscant. "You shot me."

"Fives!" Comes Rex's anguished shout from behind General Skywalker's stubborn arm. "Force, Fives! Stay with me, brother!"

"Rex," Fives whispers, but Skywalker doesn't let Rex past. Fives is coughing and mumbling and dying in Fox's arms, and Fox comes to a horrible realisation this this dream seems familiar. He's played this out before, the blaster smoking in his hands, Fives dead on the floor, Rex crying as the final Domino falls, face blotchy and red, and then it's Fox's head in Rex's lap, and Rex is calling his name -

"Fox!"

Fox tries to move his arms, hoping he can somehow comfort Rex, but his arms are tied to the bed, and - since when was he in a bed?

Fox opens his eyes.

A brother's face comes into view, fading slowly into focus like a rock in a river. Fox thinks it's Rex, only for a second, but this brother's hair is dark, and there's a scar wrapped around his eye.

"Cody," Fox says, relieved.

"Fox," Cody says, furious.

Ah, shit.

Cody, clad in full armour, helmet held dutifully under one arm, stands up and grabs the first medic he can see - a tired clone, clearly awake entirely on caf at this point, and drags him to Fox's bedside.

"Good morning, Commander," says the medic. Fox notes his dreadlocks, tied back into a style that suits him quite well, actually, and nods in acknowledgement. "I'm Stitch, and I'm just gonna check you for a concussion, okay?"

"He's fucking fine," Cody snaps. "Discharge him already."

Stitch turns, frown deepening. "Marshall Commander or not, this is my medbay," he snaps. "I decide when the patients are released, and Commander Fox is not going anywhere yet."

Cody folds his arms, his Commander glare strong enough to kill a man, but Stitch isn't having any of it. Fox heard a brother say once that Hell hath no fury like a medic ignored, and looking at Stitch he's inclined to agree.

"If you hate it here so much you can either go and do some paperwork or whatever it is you soldiers do, or you can go grab us both some caf. Sir," he adds, seeming to remember he's talking to Marshall Commander Cody, not one of those idiot shinies he's obviously so used to dealing with.

There's a small laugh from further down the ward, and Stitch and Cody send matching glares in the general direction of the culprit. Fox feels sorry for whichever brother is currently in that bed, but before he can think too much about it Stitch is handing Cody an ID card.

"Use this to get the caf," Stitch says. "The Generals get the good stuff."

"Does General... Zaisam know  you've got his card?" Cody asks, peering at the writing.

"Absolutely," Stitch nods, grabbing a rather intimidating-looking little torch. "Gave it to me himself."

Cody looks unconvinced, but holds it in his fist like it's the key to eternal salvation. Fox looks hopefully up at Stitch, who shakes his head.

"Sorry, Sir," the medic says, shaking his head. "You're on water only, at least until you've slept for a solid eight hours."

Fox doesn't think he's slept for a solid eight hours in his entire life.

Cody sends one last glare to Fox, then stands up and walks stiffly out the door. Stitch stares after him, eyes glazing over for a second.

"That man controls two-thirds of the Grand Army of the Republic," he says slowly, "and I've just sent him to get coffee."

The voice from earlier laughs again, and Stitch turns around, brandishing the torch like a weapon. Fox almost considers laughing too, but Stitch does not seem like a man he'd want to cross.

"Shut your di'kut mouth, Sketch, or I'll sedate you," Stitch snaps. Fox winces, but this makes the other clone laugh harder.

"I literally outrank you," says the voice, presumably Sketch.

"Not in my medbay you don't," Stitch shoots back. "Now shut up and go to sleep. Your blaster wound isn't gonna heal itself."

"Yessir," Sketch calls, and Fox can imagine the half-assed, sarcastic salute the man is pulling off. Stitch shakes his head, glowering, then shines his torch directly into Fox's eyes.

"Bloody snipers," Stitch mutters. "Think they know everything." Fox hums in agreement, wincing at the brightness of the torch. Stitch gently tilts his chin, looking at his eyes again. The medic carries an air of softness that doesn't quite seem to fit with how much he glares and snaps at the others, but Fox isn't complaining.

"You don't look concussed," Stitch concludes. "What's your name?"

"Commander Fox," Fox parrots dutifully. "CC-1010."

"Correct," Stitch says, tapping at his Padd. "Next question. What day is it?"

"Ah," Fox says. "Last time I checked it was... Primeday, I think."

Stitch lets out a hiss of air. He nods, and taps something else into his Padd. He mouths the words "memory loss", and Fox sighs internally. "It's Benduday now," he informs the Commander. "Last question for now. How's your head feeling?"

Fox tries to bring a hand up to feel it, but they don't lift more than a centimetre off the bed. He'd assumed that the restraints he'd felt in his dream were just that - a dream - but apparently he has no such luck.

"Fine," he says warily. "I don't think I'm concussed, trooper. Why, should I be?"

Stitch shrugs. "You've just had brain surgery," he points out. "And you took a pretty nasty knock to the head just before that. Concussions can last for up to about a tenday, so I thought I'd check."

Fox stiffens.

"I've had what?"

"Brain surgery, Sir," Stitch repeats, fiddling with a handheld scanner. He points it at Fox's forehead and pulls some kind of trigger, then blinks at the readings. "Performed it myself. You've got a lovely brain, if I may say so. Very wrinkly."

Fox stares at him, then decides to focus on the last piece of information. It seems easiest to deal with.

"Is that... good?" He asks weakly. “Having a wrinkly brain?”

Stitch nods, then thumps the scanner against his hand a couple of times. "A wrinkly brain means you're smarter," he says. "Unlike the good Lieutenant down there, whose brain is smooth as a kriffing pebble."

"Smooth as the hull of the Resolute," Sketch calls cheerfully, and Stitch shakes his head.

"Stop eavesdropping on my patients!" He calls, then turns back to Fox. "As for who authorised the surgery... You'd better wait for Commander Cody to come back. I'm not supposed to talk to you about it."

"It's my kriffing brain!" Fox cries, straining against the restraints. "Why the hell would you just give me brain surgery?"

"You have to wait for the Commander," Stitch repeats, and Fox thinks he looks a little nervous. "Please calm down, Sir. You're okay. We didn't harm you."

"I don't kriffing care about that, I want to know why you peeled my skull open without my permission!"

"Wait for the Commander," Stitch says for the third time, and Fox is just about ready to scream. "He's the one who you need to talk to about this. I'm just the poor bastard with the scalpel. If it helps, you have a wonderful prefrontal cortex."

Fox raises his eyebrows at the last comment, but sits back down on the bed. "Fine," he relents. "Where the kriffing hell is Cody, anyway?"

"Right here," Cody calls, rounding the corner. His helmet is on his head, and he carries a cup of caf in each hand. He reaches the bedside and gives one to Stitch, who looks down at it and sniffs. Stitch winces, then downs half of it in one go. Cody stares in what is, to Fox, an obvious combination of awe, disgust, and admiration.

Stitch shrugs, then raises an eyebrow. "I don't fear God," he says.

"Seven Sith Hells," Cody mutters, then sits back down in the chair he'd been in when Fox first woke up. He takes his helmet off and sips at his caf. "What's the verdict?"

"No concussion," Stitch confirms. "A little memory loss, not to do with the anaesthesia or the surgery. His skull's recovering alright, brain all seems good. Like I said, he's got a lovely prefrontal cortex. His amygdala is even better, but the hippocampus could do with some work."

"I'll take that under advisement," Fox snarks, and Cody glares, folding his arms.

"Stay focused, trooper," he orders. "What else?"

"Memory problems," Stitch says again. "He woke up thinking it was Primeday, which means he's lost two days before the surgery. It was yesterday," he adds, for Fox's benefit. "I'm not letting him out until Centaxday at the very least, Sir, so anything you want to say you'll have to say in here. I can give you a little privacy, but he's my patient and by the Force I am going to make sure he's okay." The look of absolute determination on the medic's tired face makes Fox feel strangely cared for. Cody glares.

"Fine," he spits. "But you make sure that trooper down the hall doesn't hear us."

"Got it," Stitch nods. "I've been looking for an excuse to sedate him."

Fox can't quite tell if he's joking.

Stitch downs the rest of his caf, raising the cup to Cody as a thank you. Cody gives him General Zaisam's ID card back, and Stitch produces a cup of water for Fox from Force knows where. "Drink it slowly," he instructs. "You'll make yourself sick if you don't, and the less vomit I have to clean up today the better."

Fox nods, and he and Cody watch Stitch leave. He draws the curtain behind him, and Fox turns to look at his brother.

Cody looks more tired than Fox has ever seen him. More tired than he had after Kenobi's pretend death at the hands of Hardeen, and Fox is more than aware of how badly that affected him. He looks like a tempest, hands clenching and relaxing with barely-contained fury.

"What have I done?" Fox asks softly, and there's no emotion behind it.

Cody's head shoots up. "How'd you - how?"

Fox shrugs as best he can. "I woke up to find my hands tied to the bed. I can't remember anything for the past week. You keep looking at me like you want to tear my throat out with your bare hands. I've had brain surgery, for fuck's sake. It's not a hard conclusion to come to."

"You really remember nothing?" Cody asks, and he can't quite meet Fox's eyes.

With a thrill of fear, Fox shakes his head. "Last I remember was pulling a double when one of my Guard was sick. I always get tired on doubles."

Cody nods, then puts his head in his hands. He breathes deeply, and sighs. "You... Force, I'm sorry, there's no easy way to say this - Fox, you're under arrest for treason against the Republic. You're also under arrest on suspicion of murdering the Chancellor, four members of the Coruscant Guard, and ARC Trooper Fives."

The bottom of Fox's stomach falls out, and he gasps, breathing heavily.

"I - shit, I killed six people?" He whispers. "I killed the Chancellor?"

"Nearly seven," Cody says, and brings a hand up to pull down the collar of his blacks. There's an awful looking cut across his throat, obviously made by a vibroblade. "Four others are in bacta tanks. What the hell happened to you?"

Fox bites his lip and stares at the sheet covering his legs. He killed the Chancellor. The very man he was created to protect. His whole existence, his duty, his entire life, is centred around keeping the Chancellor alive, and he killed him?

Fox doesn't know what to do.

He looks up at Cody, face pale. "I don't remember," he whispers. "I'm so sorry."

""Sorry" is not going to bring Thire back," Cody snaps, and Fox goes dizzy.

When he comes back to himself, he's hyperventilating. Cody is glaring at him, the cut on his neck still exposed. Fox is crying, trying to gasp in deep, shuddering breaths, hands wrenching at the bindings that the him to the bed. "Please tell me you're joking," he whimpers through his tears. "Please. Not Thire."

Cody shakes his head, making no move to try to calm Fox down. "Stone and Hound are in bacta tanks," he continues relentlessly. "Stone has six blaster bolts to the chest. They don't think he's going to make it. Hound took a vibroblade to the thigh and very nearly bled out."

Fox flinches. "Who... who else did I... who else did I..." He can't bring himself to say it, as if saying the words would make it more true than it already is.

"Who else did you kill?" Cody spits. "Crow, Spanner, and one of those shinies that got assigned here a tenday ago. He didn't even have a name!"

That hurts almost as badly as Thire. Fox knows exactly which group of shinies Cody is talking about. A group of eight year olds, fresh from Kamino, all of them just a little too small to fit into their standard armour. Only one of them had a name, and he'd chosen it on the way to Coruscant.

"Parallel, Sir!" He'd introduced himself, saluting smartly.

"Parallel?" Fox had asked.

"I copy noises sometimes. Helps keep me calm. The others wanted to call me Copy, but that got a bit difficult on comms. General Ti suggested Parallel."

Fox had nodded, clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Good luck to the rest of you," he'd said, receiving a small sea of determined smiles in return.

"He was just a kid," Fox whispers. "Fuck, Cody, and I killed him?"

Cody nods. There's not even a trace of sympathy in his eyes. "You were insane," he says. "Covered in the Chancellor's blood, face blank - you didn't recognise any of us."

Fox shakes his head, feeling the tears trickle under his chin. It feels bad. He's not sure what to say - anything he says, or anything he doesn't say, will make Cody angry. The anger is inevitable. And fuck if Fox doesn't deserve it.

He keeps pulling at his restraints, not trying to escape, but trying to ground himself. He can't focus: all his thoughts are on Thire. Thire, who he'd dreamed of, who'd had his hands in Fox's hair. Thire who had looked at him with so much love in his eyes, who'd never been anything less than steadfast and loyal, and Fox had killed him. Worst of all, he thinks, is that he didn't even remember doing it.

"Tell me what I did," Fox begs, voice cracking around the lump in his throat. "Please."

Cody leans forward in his chair, settling his elbows on his knees. "Two days ago," he starts, anger colouring his voice, "you disappeared in the middle of a shift. Security footage shows you took a comm, then made a beeline for the Chancellor's office. He wasn't expecting you, and he turned to kick you out, and - and you pulled a slugthrower on him and shot him six times in the chest, then four more in the head. Then you just... stood there.

"Thire was first to respond. He heard the shots and came to see what was happening. He saw you with the 'thrower, standing over the Chancellor's body, and called for backup. You took him out without even a second glance. When Stone and Hound got there you took them both out almost as quickly as Thire. Stone first, with your blaster, and Hound managed to get that and the 'thrower away from you, and you stabbed him in response.

“I came in with the rest. You weren't responding to any of us. You just attacked us, crushed that shiny's head into the wall like he was made of paper. Crow was next, then Spanner. Both were quick, at least. The rest of us were all pretty badly hurt. You slit my throat, Fox."

Fox is numb and unresponsive. So much death, so much destruction, and he doesn't remember any -

"Order 65," he whispers. "Cody, Cody, I remember. Order 65 states that should the Chancellor be declared unfit to rule, any available troops should detain the new Chancellor by any means necessary, including with lethal force. It got mixed up somehow."

""Mixed up"?" Cody snaps, disgusted. "Fox, you could've killed me! I could’ve died and you couldn’t have cared less.”

“Of course I care,” Fox shoots back, eyes locked on Cody’s throat, but there’s not enough truth behind the words. If what Cody says is true, then Fox wouldn’t have cared. “Fives was right,” Fox realises. “Fives was right.”

Cody wipes tears from his own eyes, standing up fast. He downs his own coffee, slams his bucket on his head and walks out. Fox is left staring at the door, and he’s sure he can feel the blood on his hands.

[smokeybrandreviews]

The Tragedy of Rey Palpatine

I really, really, like Rey Skywalker, in concept. I think she could have been an amazing character and the perfect torch-bearer for the mythos going forward. After The Force Awakens, i was all in with this new trio of characters. Say what you will about Abrams, dude knows how to build a character. He knows how to write a story and Rey’s began wonderfully. She had all of the potential to be held in the same esteem as Mara Jade, Leia Organa, and Ahsoka Tano. Hell, Disney even introduced Chelli Aphra in the Vader comics, another brilliant, female character of Asian descent. Each of these characters were fleshed out, nuanced, and felt real. There is a humanity to them and, i imagine that’s where Abrams wanted to take Rey. Then The Last Jedi happened and ruined almost everything. I think it did a great service for Kylo Ren, overall, but everything else got a big fat Rian Johnson/Kathleen Kennedy sh*t all over it.

Abrams set up a ton of intriguing plots to explore going forward. The hints that Finn may be Force sensitive, the mystery of how Mas got a hold of Anakin’s lightsaber after Vader cut Luke’s hand off in Empire, who the f*ck was Snoke; All threads that could have been elaborated upon to embellish the new characters and give an opportunity to pass the torch on with the new characters. More than anything, the enigma of Rey Skywalker could have driven this trilogy of films in a direction for the ages. The seeds were there for greatness. Why did she hear Obi Wan in that flashback? Why was she spared by the Knights of Ren? Why did Ren know exactly what girl that trooper reported about? The only answer we got was that Rey was the spawn of a Palpatine clone and it was stupid.That reveal was the dumbest sh*t in Rise of Skywalker and there was a lot of dumb sh*t in that movie. Rise spent way too much time apologizing for what Last Jedi did to the mythos and had literally no time to fix the characters going forward. That’s how bad Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson f*ck up.

I like the Last Jedi as a space opera. Hell, i even like it as a Star Wars side story in the vein of Solo or Rogue One. If those events happened in between VII and VIII, cool. But to be a mainline entry? Are you kidding? It just gets so much wrong about the overall lore while simultaneously sabotaging all of the character development and good will fostered by it’s predecessor. The level of f*ckery in The Last Jedi is ind of amazing. At it’s core, The Last Jedi s a fanfic, filled with OC characters, trying to “subvert” expectation to be more than it can or has any right to be. Rian Johnson wanted to make his movie, mythos be damned. Trilogy be damned. Kathleen Kennedy was okay with all of that as long as Johnson pushed her agenda and virtue signaled for all the “Girl Bosses” out there, which he did. The end result was a usual cool, collected, Resistance Ace, Poe Dameron, literally committing treason. We got a regression in the character of Finn, a former Stormtrooper turned rebel scum, a traitor to the First Order who literally got into a lightsaber duel with Vader’s grandson to protect his maybe-love interest, try to runaway like a f*cking coward, only to be tasered into a drooling mess by Rian Johnson’s Jar Jar binx. And the sh*t they did to Luke? That mess is criminal and an entire essay for another time. The Last Jedi f*cked everything up, forcing Abrams to course correct for two and half hours. This sh*t killed any momentum the Disney films had, it killed any semblance of a cohesive narrative going forward, and, worst of all, it murdered any semblance of Rey being more than a poorly written Mary-sue.

These new trilogies had every opportunity to be great. If they had someone with a reverence, a respect, for the source material helming Lucasfilm, they would have been. Look what Filoni has done with The Clone Wars and Rebels. Look what Favreau is doing with Mando. This might be a little glib but, considering Disney is bringing him in for a Star Wars trilogy on their own, look what Feige has done with the MCU? Hell, all things Marvel at this point. When you focus on dope stories and compelling characters, the narrative takes care of itself. When you focus on agenda and pushing divisive material, you can’t help but destroy what you hope to build. Kennedy is letting her ego cut her off at the knees when, if she just reined that sh*t in a bit, she could have been standing tall and walking into the future with her OCs intact. Instead, she has people in her own organization apologizing for her f*ck ups as the value of the legacy property you were gifted, tanks at a hilariously exponential rate. So how do we fix Rey and, effectively fix this entire trilogy?

First off, she needs to be a Skywalker. That is an absolute necessity. I would make her Luke’s kid. That would explain away her proficiency with the Force, the fact she pilots like a champ, and has that hole Force Dyad bullsh*t with Ren, like her dad and aunt kind of have. Rey would be an organic growth of the Skywalker legacy while simultaneously bringing a refreshing conclusion to it with Episode IX. I would build the familial relationship between Kylo and Rey, one representing either side of the Force, both fighting to discover something about themselves within, over the course of this trilogy. I would have made Rey Luke’s kid; A proper Skywalker. I would have made her mother Mara Jade, opening up a whole situation that could have been embellished into at least two spin-off tales with a ton of ramifications going forward. I mean, imagine a story where Luke had to fight off the Knights of Ren AND his nephew before Ben donned the mask, as his pregnant wife ran off into space to avoid the overall destruction of the New Jedi Order. That sh*t writes itself.

You get a side story of Mara Jade and a young Rey on the run, being chased by the Knights over the years, until she leaves Rey on Jakku, ultimately meeting her fate in a last stand battle, like her nephew, at the hands of several Knights on some nameless planet. Or Tatooine, i dunno. That’s an entire film. That’s a brand new, female lead you can explore. It’s organic. It homages the lore. It’s respectful of the overall mythos. It’s literally better than anything Disney has done with the mainline titles so far. Hell, you can even explore how Luke met Mara. Maybe she was one of the reformed Knights. Maybe she was one of the surviving Force Sensitives after Order 66. Maybe she used to be an Inquisitor but turned on Paps once Vader saw the light. Personally, i would skew more toward her being a former Inquisitor, seeking out Luke for revenge but, upon finding him, falls in love after several clashes. That gives Mara depth and allows for her to grow over a novel or two. Maybe a stand alone film. Luke would self-exile after losing to Ren but not because of the L, more because he thinks his wife and unborn kid are long dead. He’s heartbroken and knows he isn’t strong enough to fell his own nephew so Luke runs away. He goes into exile, like Yoda and Obi Wan before him, all the way to Ahch-to, searching for some killer app to finish Snoke before he can really get started. Imagine how much emotional resonance the ending of Episode VII could of held, going this route. Luke staring at Rey with such apprehension and regret. He immediately knows this is his daughter. That she's live. That she's here to ask him to do what he can't.

You'd spend the a good chunk of Episode VIII building that relationship. Showing Luke being cold and stand-offish because he knows Rey is his kid and he regrets his choice to run. He knows that Mara survived for years without him, probably dogged by First Order assassins. That the woman he loved, died alone after abandoning her child to strangers on a backwater planet somewhere in the galaxy. He knows this adult woman standing before him, is his and Mara’s living legacy and he doesn’t want her anywhere near the conflict to come. She’s demanding to be trained. He’s dismissive and curt, until the Dyad with Ren kicks in. Just being on the Force rich planet of Ahch-to increases Rey’s sensitivity, allowing Snoke to tether her to her cousin. When she goes straight to the dark, that’s Ren’s influence. When she cracks the rock and wigs Luke out, that’s Ren’s influence. In order to combat that growing corruption, Luke decides to train Rey to combat the dark. We actually show look acting like a master, teaching Rey sh*t instead of just, you know, “go cut that rock”. We show her learning from Luke, growing in confidence with her abilities. This entire sequence can take the place of literally all of the Canto Bight nonsense. No one liked any of that and it kills the momentum of the entire narrative going forward. Replace it with Rey actually being trained and you not only give her an opportunity for much needed character development, but you give Luke so much more of an arc and a means to have him bow out with substantial grace. If you decide to go the “Luke Dies at the end” route. Personally, i would have nixed Leia in VIII considering things and moved forward with Luke as the survivor but that's another story. I'd have to rework all of VIII and I don't feel like doing that right now. Leia’s death would devastate Ren, flooding him with a boost in the Dark Side, enough to slay Snoke and raise him to Supreme Leader without the need of Rey’s help. This would lead into a version of Colin Trevorrow’s version of Episode IX, which i think is a superior narrative overall but we’ll get there when we get there. Maybe.

The climax of the Last Jedi could be exactly the same but now it has so much more depth. It has so much more resonance for the trilogy going forward. Luke’s sacrifice would mean something  as we watched him slowly come to terms with his daughter being the hope going forward, effectively replacing him in the narrative. Most fans would be okay with this as, even though he never tells Rey he’s her father outright, the audience kind of knows. It’s hinted at. The reveal can come in IX somehow or in his last regards to Leia. He apologizes for Kylo but reassures her that, even if he passes, her niece will carry on the fight. Luke tells Leia of Rey's parontagem she says “I know” like her husband, and promises to continue Rey's training to best of her abilities. Kylo gets his shadows chase. Luke’s last words have so much more impact. We have an emotional investment in Rey because the torch had been properly passed. I, personally, would rework the majority of the plot while i’m at it. I’d fix Poe, continue exploring Finn and his connection to the force, and find a way to make Rose Tico relevant without being trite. I mean, you can have the Canto Bight stuff but draw it back considerably. It doesn’t need to be an entire third of the whole f*cking movie.

I like the character of Amilyn Holdo, too, but her arc was stifled by nonsense politics and shallow development. All of that mediocrity kind of made her an easy target to hate, a lot like Rose. In my story, she’d still take the helm from Leia in Last Jedi but would have had an appearance in Force Awakens. She didn’t need to have a ton of facetime, maybe a shout out at the round table toward the end of VII or getting off the ship at Mas’ bar with Leia. Hell, a f*cking holo transmission would be enough of a mention, Holdo just needed a presence in that movie to be legitimized for the next. Rose was fine as is, she just needs more agency and not that bullsh*t, half-assed, love triangle that was literally dropped like a hot track on Soundcloud in the middle of a chase movie. That sh*t was stupid and it doomed Rose before she had a chance to even get started.

Episode IX would start like Rise, Kylo slaughtering his way toward the wayfinder, but revealing that planet was Mustafar instead of whatever planet he was on originally. Ren has been planetside for weeks, searching for the wayfinder dealy and the planets dark side alignment is taking it's toll on him.  The mcguffin is deep in the wreckage of Vader's demolished castle, the deep subdivision and what not. Kylo makes his way to it, fighting dark side shades of his grandfather in Anakin form, goading him about his weakness, feeding into Ren's inadequacies about being weaker than his pap-pap. Kylo finds the mcguffin and takes off toward the Outer reaches in an effort to unlock more power. After the climax to VIII, Rey returns to Ahck-to to find Luke gone and the growing pull to the dark within her as the Dyad is wide open and Ren's spiral is pulling Rey along toward the drain, too. She feels him getting closer to full Sith, all of that pain and rage, multiplied considerably by his anger toward his grandfather's shades. Kylo basically flies to the outer reaches to find a Lost sage of the Darkside. It's not a Jedi or a Sith, but a being that thrives in the Dark, like whatever Maul is, but gigantic and monstrous. He learns from that creature, all the while leaving Hux to command the Last Order in his stead, second by General Pryde. The two of these cats have a battle for power, Pryde suspecting Hux of being a traitor, Hux trying to stave of attempts for his seat at the head, all the while pounding the Rebels as they continue to fight. The Knights of Ren are off, clashing with Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Rose as they search for another means to find a way to Rey, as she has the map and R2 with her on Ahck-to where she is training for the final battle. The majority of the film continues to follow the basic plot of IX, mcguffin chasing and what not, with Finn, finally adept enough in the force, to adequately take Rey’s place in those narrative spots.

We have the whole montage of training on both worlds; Force ghost Luke showing Rey more advanced techniques and Ren taking on a full-on, Vader shade, like Luke, in the Outer Regions or whatever. Eventually, the remaining main characters decide to split up as the pressure of the Last Order continues to deplete their resources. Finn fixes Anakin’s lightsaber and begins to train with it under the tutelage of Mas, who is all in with the Rebels now, as they go after the other mcgiffin on Endor. He still meets the other former stormtroopers or whatever and they still help in the final battle but, instead of Rey and Kylo, it Finn and a few Knights of Ren. Maybe two, I dunno. Anyway, he beats them with Anakin's saber, gets the mcgissin and returns to the Rebel base, stormtrooper backup in hand. Poe and Lando try to drum up support for a final strike on the Last Order’s base and you get that whole shtick with Keri Russell's character. I'd take her helmet off, too. Why the f*ck  would you hide Keri's face? Shes adorable! Finn and Lando try their best, but it seems like a no-go so Lando stays to work his magic as he and Chewie return to the Rebel planet. Rose can return to the Rebel planet and take charge of strategy or whatever as Leia secludes herself within the base. I dunno. Rose is kind of hard to place because she has no discernible talents but I imagine anything is better than what they did to her originally. Anyway, Rey is able to develop enough self-control to force the Dyad closed, cutting Ren's influence off from her but, at the same time, her influence off from Ren, completely. That's gonna have big ramifications later.

Around the end of the second act, Ren sees a force projection from his mother pleading with him to turn back to the light but he waves her off. Like her brother, Leia uses the last of her strength in this effort and she dies, pushing Ren over the edge, forcing him into full Sith. Since Rey closed the Dyad, Ren has no semblance of Light to keep the Dark at bay and he just absorbs SO much of it. It multiplies his strength in the Force and Ren is able to slay the Dark Sage, take it's power, and return to his fleet. Sh*t, the sage might be an actual Sith, Like, the people Sith and Ren kills him, effectively exterminated the race. Yeah, I like that. I like that a lot. Anyway, Ren arrives to find Hux is the traitor so he allows Pryde to kill him. Pryde takes command and they raise their newly constructed, massive, fleet along with a brand new flag ship. Mobile, lightspeed ready, and far more deadly than any planet cannon, Ren is ready to begin his march of devastation. Our heroes arrive on the First Order hideaway and the battle ensues. Finn boards the flagship, clashing with the remaining Knights of Ren, his hit squad of former Stormtroopers at his side, as Rose uses her tech skills to drop the shields or whatever they were doing with horses on that spaceship at he end of IX. Rey arrives on the planet, Ren sensing her returns to the surface, to face off with each other. Ren is brimming with the dark, Rey knows he;s too far gone to save and she resolved to do what is necessary to end his tyranny. She ignites Lukes green lightsber, which upsets Ren and then Leia's  yellow saber, which sends Ren into a legit rage. Yeah, Rey dual-wields now because it's cool. Poe does his whole lone ranger whatever as he's the last of the vanguard and sh*t. All is lost.

The reinforcements show up in the nick of time and sh*t happens. Big ass sky battle with spaceships and explosions and sh*t, while Finn, Rose, and that black chick accomplish their task on the flagship. Shields dow, sh*t stats blowing up, fun times. Rey gets wrecked by Kylo, who is all the way Dark, no redemption, yellow rage eyes and everything. She’s getting dumped on until she forces the dyad open, allowing Ren to see the Force ghosts of Jedi Masters of old, as they all appear behind Rey, including Leia, Luke, and Mara Jade. They speak that bullsh*t, lay hands on Rei's lightsabers giving her a jump in power, and Rey defeats Ren in a harrowing duel. It has to end in a lightsaber clash. How can it not? Finn wrecks the remaining Knights and the flagship falls as the Rebel fleet overcomes the last of the Last Order. Ren is defeated, dying slowly, lamenting his choices. In his last moments, as the Force ghosts fade, the last few left are his mother, uncle, and grandpa. The last thing Ben sees as he dies is the face of the man he’s chased for so long. Poetic. Tragic. Requisite celebration on a jungle planet ensues while Rey is off, giving Ben a proper Jedi bonfire. Finn approaches, objecting to the respect shown, but she tells him that, in the end, Ren was still a Skywalker. If Vader can be forgiven, so could Ben. The two watch as the flames rise into the night sky. We get a scene of a shadow tracing the insides of Uncle Owen’s joint on Tatooine, generators firing on, mechanics coming to life. Rey is seen, all by her lonesome, igniting her new, personal, lightsabers; Gold, I guess? Is that what color they were supposed to be? A young kid arrives, inquiring about why the old Lars place is lit up for the first time in decades. He asks her name. She hesitates, looking over her shoulder to see the force ghosts of Anakin, Leia, Luke, Mara, and Ben; Her entire family. She gives a knowing smile and answers, “Rey. Rey Skywalker.”

This is just a rough outline of how i would have written this trilogy. I might embellish a little bit, maybe write it up as a proper fan fiction, but i don’t know. There’s a lot to unpack and i don’t really want to spend the time actually fleshing out this narrative but, i believe this is far superior to anything Disney has done. It fixes Rey, sets up Ren as a actual antagonistic force, kills anything resembling a Reylo romance, returns agency to Finn and Poe, fixes Rose, makes Mas a factor, and wraps everything up nicely. You get answers to the questions from before, the Knights of Ren have a presence throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and even divisive characters like Holdo get a shot at relevance outside of agenda. More than anything Rey being a Skywalker feels earned. It feels organic. It feels right. This is the bookend the Skywalker story deserved, not the rushed, politic laden, ego trip we got.

[smokeybrand]

The Tragedy of Rey Palpatine

I really, really, like Rey Skywalker, in concept. I think she could have been an amazing character and the perfect torch-bearer for the mythos going forward. After The Force Awakens, i was all in with this new trio of characters. Say what you will about Abrams, dude knows how to build a character. He knows how to write a story and Rey’s began wonderfully. She had all of the potential to be held in the same esteem as Mara Jade, Leia Organa, and Ahsoka Tano. Hell, Disney even introduced Chelli Aphra in the Vader comics, another brilliant, female character of Asian descent. Each of these characters were fleshed out, nuanced, and felt real. There is a humanity to them and, i imagine that’s where Abrams wanted to take Rey. Then The Last Jedi happened and ruined almost everything. I think it did a great service for Kylo Ren, overall, but everything else got a big fat Rian Johnson/Kathleen Kennedy sh*t all over it.

Abrams set up a ton of intriguing plots to explore going forward. The hints that Finn may be Force sensitive, the mystery of how Mas got a hold of Anakin’s lightsaber after Vader cut Luke’s hand off in Empire, who the f*ck was Snoke; All threads that could have been elaborated upon to embellish the new characters and give an opportunity to pass the torch on with the new characters. More than anything, the enigma of Rey Skywalker could have driven this trilogy of films in a direction for the ages. The seeds were there for greatness. Why did she hear Obi Wan in that flashback? Why was she spared by the Knights of Ren? Why did Ren know exactly what girl that trooper reported about? The only answer we got was that Rey was the spawn of a Palpatine clone and it was stupid.That reveal was the dumbest sh*t in Rise of Skywalker and there was a lot of dumb sh*t in that movie. Rise spent way too much time apologizing for what Last Jedi did to the mythos and had literally no time to fix the characters going forward. That’s how bad Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson f*ck up.

I like the Last Jedi as a space opera. Hell, i even like it as a Star Wars side story in the vein of Solo or Rogue One. If those events happened in between VII and VIII, cool. But to be a mainline entry? Are you kidding? It just gets so much wrong about the overall lore while simultaneously sabotaging all of the character development and good will fostered by it’s predecessor. The level of f*ckery in The Last Jedi is ind of amazing. At it’s core, The Last Jedi s a fanfic, filled with OC characters, trying to “subvert” expectation to be more than it can or has any right to be. Rian Johnson wanted to make his movie, mythos be damned. Trilogy be damned. Kathleen Kennedy was okay with all of that as long as Johnson pushed her agenda and virtue signaled for all the “Girl Bosses” out there, which he did. The end result was a usual cool, collected, Resistance Ace, Poe Dameron, literally committing treason. We got a regression in the character of Finn, a former Stormtrooper turned rebel scum, a traitor to the First Order who literally got into a lightsaber duel with Vader’s grandson to protect his maybe-love interest, try to runaway like a f*cking coward, only to be tasered into a drooling mess by Rian Johnson’s Jar Jar binx. And the sh*t they did to Luke? That mess is criminal and an entire essay for another time. The Last Jedi f*cked everything up, forcing Abrams to course correct for two and half hours. This sh*t killed any momentum the Disney films had, it killed any semblance of a cohesive narrative going forward, and, worst of all, it murdered any semblance of Rey being more than a poorly written Mary-sue.

These new trilogies had every opportunity to be great. If they had someone with a reverence, a respect, for the source material helming Lucasfilm, they would have been. Look what Filoni has done with The Clone Wars and Rebels. Look what Favreau is doing with Mando. This might be a little glib but, considering Disney is bringing him in for a Star Wars trilogy on their own, look what Feige has done with the MCU? Hell, all things Marvel at this point. When you focus on dope stories and compelling characters, the narrative takes care of itself. When you focus on agenda and pushing divisive material, you can’t help but destroy what you hope to build. Kennedy is letting her ego cut her off at the knees when, if she just reined that sh*t in a bit, she could have been standing tall and walking into the future with her OCs intact. Instead, she has people in her own organization apologizing for her f*ck ups as the value of the legacy property you were gifted, tanks at a hilariously exponential rate. So how do we fix Rey and, effectively fix this entire trilogy?

First off, she needs to be a Skywalker. That is an absolute necessity. I would make her Luke’s kid. That would explain away her proficiency with the Force, the fact she pilots like a champ, and has that hole Force Dyad bullsh*t with Ren, like her dad and aunt kind of have. Rey would be an organic growth of the Skywalker legacy while simultaneously bringing a refreshing conclusion to it with Episode IX. I would build the familial relationship between Kylo and Rey, one representing either side of the Force, both fighting to discover something about themselves within, over the course of this trilogy. I would have made Rey Luke’s kid; A proper Skywalker. I would have made her mother Mara Jade, opening up a whole situation that could have been embellished into at least two spin-off tales with a ton of ramifications going forward. I mean, imagine a story where Luke had to fight off the Knights of Ren AND his nephew before Ben donned the mask, as his pregnant wife ran off into space to avoid the overall destruction of the New Jedi Order. That sh*t writes itself.

You get a side story of Mara Jade and a young Rey on the run, being chased by the Knights over the years, until she leaves Rey on Jakku, ultimately meeting her fate in a last stand battle, like her nephew, at the hands of several Knights on some nameless planet. Or Tatooine, i dunno. That’s an entire film. That’s a brand new, female lead you can explore. It’s organic. It homages the lore. It’s respectful of the overall mythos. It’s literally better than anything Disney has done with the mainline titles so far. Hell, you can even explore how Luke met Mara. Maybe she was one of the reformed Knights. Maybe she was one of the surviving Force Sensitives after Order 66. Maybe she used to be an Inquisitor but turned on Paps once Vader saw the light. Personally, i would skew more toward her being a former Inquisitor, seeking out Luke for revenge but, upon finding him, falls in love after several clashes. That gives Mara depth and allows for her to grow over a novel or two. Maybe a stand alone film. Luke would self-exile after losing to Ren but not because of the L, more because he thinks his wife and unborn kid are long dead. He’s heartbroken and knows he isn’t strong enough to fell his own nephew so Luke runs away. He goes into exile, like Yoda and Obi Wan before him, all the way to Ahch-to, searching for some killer app to finish Snoke before he can really get started. Imagine how much emotional resonance the ending of Episode VII could of held, going this route. Luke staring at Rey with such apprehension and regret. He immediately knows this is his daughter. That she's live. That she's here to ask him to do what he can't.

You'd spend the a good chunk of Episode VIII building that relationship. Showing Luke being cold and stand-offish because he knows Rey is his kid and he regrets his choice to run. He knows that Mara survived for years without him, probably dogged by First Order assassins. That the woman he loved, died alone after abandoning her child to strangers on a backwater planet somewhere in the galaxy. He knows this adult woman standing before him, is his and Mara’s living legacy and he doesn’t want her anywhere near the conflict to come. She’s demanding to be trained. He’s dismissive and curt, until the Dyad with Ren kicks in. Just being on the Force rich planet of Ahch-to increases Rey’s sensitivity, allowing Snoke to tether her to her cousin. When she goes straight to the dark, that’s Ren’s influence. When she cracks the rock and wigs Luke out, that’s Ren’s influence. In order to combat that growing corruption, Luke decides to train Rey to combat the dark. We actually show look acting like a master, teaching Rey sh*t instead of just, you know, “go cut that rock”. We show her learning from Luke, growing in confidence with her abilities. This entire sequence can take the place of literally all of the Canto Bight nonsense. No one liked any of that and it kills the momentum of the entire narrative going forward. Replace it with Rey actually being trained and you not only give her an opportunity for much needed character development, but you give Luke so much more of an arc and a means to have him bow out with substantial grace. If you decide to go the “Luke Dies at the end” route. Personally, i would have nixed Leia in VIII considering things and moved forward with Luke as the survivor but that's another story. I'd have to rework all of VIII and I don't feel like doing that right now. Leia’s death would devastate Ren, flooding him with a boost in the Dark Side, enough to slay Snoke and raise him to Supreme Leader without the need of Rey’s help. This would lead into a version of Colin Trevorrow’s version of Episode IX, which i think is a superior narrative overall but we’ll get there when we get there. Maybe.

The climax of the Last Jedi could be exactly the same but now it has so much more depth. It has so much more resonance for the trilogy going forward. Luke’s sacrifice would mean something  as we watched him slowly come to terms with his daughter being the hope going forward, effectively replacing him in the narrative. Most fans would be okay with this as, even though he never tells Rey he’s her father outright, the audience kind of knows. It’s hinted at. The reveal can come in IX somehow or in his last regards to Leia. He apologizes for Kylo but reassures her that, even if he passes, her niece will carry on the fight. Luke tells Leia of Rey's parontagem she says “I know” like her husband, and promises to continue Rey's training to best of her abilities. Kylo gets his shadows chase. Luke’s last words have so much more impact. We have an emotional investment in Rey because the torch had been properly passed. I, personally, would rework the majority of the plot while i’m at it. I’d fix Poe, continue exploring Finn and his connection to the force, and find a way to make Rose Tico relevant without being trite. I mean, you can have the Canto Bight stuff but draw it back considerably. It doesn’t need to be an entire third of the whole f*cking movie.

I like the character of Amilyn Holdo, too, but her arc was stifled by nonsense politics and shallow development. All of that mediocrity kind of made her an easy target to hate, a lot like Rose. In my story, she’d still take the helm from Leia in Last Jedi but would have had an appearance in Force Awakens. She didn’t need to have a ton of facetime, maybe a shout out at the round table toward the end of VII or getting off the ship at Mas’ bar with Leia. Hell, a f*cking holo transmission would be enough of a mention, Holdo just needed a presence in that movie to be legitimized for the next. Rose was fine as is, she just needs more agency and not that bullsh*t, half-assed, love triangle that was literally dropped like a hot track on Soundcloud in the middle of a chase movie. That sh*t was stupid and it doomed Rose before she had a chance to even get started.

Episode IX would start like Rise, Kylo slaughtering his way toward the wayfinder, but revealing that planet was Mustafar instead of whatever planet he was on originally. Ren has been planetside for weeks, searching for the wayfinder dealy and the planets dark side alignment is taking it's toll on him.  The mcguffin is deep in the wreckage of Vader's demolished castle, the deep subdivision and what not. Kylo makes his way to it, fighting dark side shades of his grandfather in Anakin form, goading him about his weakness, feeding into Ren's inadequacies about being weaker than his pap-pap. Kylo finds the mcguffin and takes off toward the Outer reaches in an effort to unlock more power. After the climax to VIII, Rey returns to Ahck-to to find Luke gone and the growing pull to the dark within her as the Dyad is wide open and Ren's spiral is pulling Rey along toward the drain, too. She feels him getting closer to full Sith, all of that pain and rage, multiplied considerably by his anger toward his grandfather's shades. Kylo basically flies to the outer reaches to find a Lost sage of the Darkside. It's not a Jedi or a Sith, but a being that thrives in the Dark, like whatever Maul is, but gigantic and monstrous. He learns from that creature, all the while leaving Hux to command the Last Order in his stead, second by General Pryde. The two of these cats have a battle for power, Pryde suspecting Hux of being a traitor, Hux trying to stave of attempts for his seat at the head, all the while pounding the Rebels as they continue to fight. The Knights of Ren are off, clashing with Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Rose as they search for another means to find a way to Rey, as she has the map and R2 with her on Ahck-to where she is training for the final battle. The majority of the film continues to follow the basic plot of IX, mcguffin chasing and what not, with Finn, finally adept enough in the force, to adequately take Rey’s place in those narrative spots.

We have the whole montage of training on both worlds; Force ghost Luke showing Rey more advanced techniques and Ren taking on a full-on, Vader shade, like Luke, in the Outer Regions or whatever. Eventually, the remaining main characters decide to split up as the pressure of the Last Order continues to deplete their resources. Finn fixes Anakin’s lightsaber and begins to train with it under the tutelage of Mas, who is all in with the Rebels now, as they go after the other mcgiffin on Endor. He still meets the other former stormtroopers or whatever and they still help in the final battle but, instead of Rey and Kylo, it Finn and a few Knights of Ren. Maybe two, I dunno. Anyway, he beats them with Anakin's saber, gets the mcgissin and returns to the Rebel base, stormtrooper backup in hand. Poe and Lando try to drum up support for a final strike on the Last Order’s base and you get that whole shtick with Keri Russell's character. I'd take her helmet off, too. Why the f*ck  would you hide Keri's face? Shes adorable! Finn and Lando try their best, but it seems like a no-go so Lando stays to work his magic as he and Chewie return to the Rebel planet. Rose can return to the Rebel planet and take charge of strategy or whatever as Leia secludes herself within the base. I dunno. Rose is kind of hard to place because she has no discernible talents but I imagine anything is better than what they did to her originally. Anyway, Rey is able to develop enough self-control to force the Dyad closed, cutting Ren's influence off from her but, at the same time, her influence off from Ren, completely. That's gonna have big ramifications later.

Around the end of the second act, Ren sees a force projection from his mother pleading with him to turn back to the light but he waves her off. Like her brother, Leia uses the last of her strength in this effort and she dies, pushing Ren over the edge, forcing him into full Sith. Since Rey closed the Dyad, Ren has no semblance of Light to keep the Dark at bay and he just absorbs SO much of it. It multiplies his strength in the Force and Ren is able to slay the Dark Sage, take it's power, and return to his fleet. Sh*t, the sage might be an actual Sith, Like, the people Sith and Ren kills him, effectively exterminated the race. Yeah, I like that. I like that a lot. Anyway, Ren arrives to find Hux is the traitor so he allows Pryde to kill him. Pryde takes command and they raise their newly constructed, massive, fleet along with a brand new flag ship. Mobile, lightspeed ready, and far more deadly than any planet cannon, Ren is ready to begin his march of devastation. Our heroes arrive on the First Order hideaway and the battle ensues. Finn boards the flagship, clashing with the remaining Knights of Ren, his hit squad of former Stormtroopers at his side, as Rose uses her tech skills to drop the shields or whatever they were doing with horses on that spaceship at he end of IX. Rey arrives on the planet, Ren sensing her returns to the surface, to face off with each other. Ren is brimming with the dark, Rey knows he;s too far gone to save and she resolved to do what is necessary to end his tyranny. She ignites Lukes green lightsber, which upsets Ren and then Leia's  yellow saber, which sends Ren into a legit rage. Yeah, Rey dual-wields now because it's cool. Poe does his whole lone ranger whatever as he's the last of the vanguard and sh*t. All is lost.

The reinforcements show up in the nick of time and sh*t happens. Big ass sky battle with spaceships and explosions and sh*t, while Finn, Rose, and that black chick accomplish their task on the flagship. Shields dow, sh*t stats blowing up, fun times. Rey gets wrecked by Kylo, who is all the way Dark, no redemption, yellow rage eyes and everything. She’s getting dumped on until she forces the dyad open, allowing Ren to see the Force ghosts of Jedi Masters of old, as they all appear behind Rey, including Leia, Luke, and Mara Jade. They speak that bullsh*t, lay hands on Rei's lightsabers giving her a jump in power, and Rey defeats Ren in a harrowing duel. It has to end in a lightsaber clash. How can it not? Finn wrecks the remaining Knights and the flagship falls as the Rebel fleet overcomes the last of the Last Order. Ren is defeated, dying slowly, lamenting his choices. In his last moments, as the Force ghosts fade, the last few left are his mother, uncle, and grandpa. The last thing Ben sees as he dies is the face of the man he’s chased for so long. Poetic. Tragic. Requisite celebration on a jungle planet ensues while Rey is off, giving Ben a proper Jedi bonfire. Finn approaches, objecting to the respect shown, but she tells him that, in the end, Ren was still a Skywalker. If Vader can be forgiven, so could Ben. The two watch as the flames rise into the night sky. We get a scene of a shadow tracing the insides of Uncle Owen’s joint on Tatooine, generators firing on, mechanics coming to life. Rey is seen, all by her lonesome, igniting her new, personal, lightsabers; Gold, I guess? Is that what color they were supposed to be? A young kid arrives, inquiring about why the old Lars place is lit up for the first time in decades. He asks her name. She hesitates, looking over her shoulder to see the force ghosts of Anakin, Leia, Luke, Mara, and Ben; Her entire family. She gives a knowing smile and answers, “Rey. Rey Skywalker.”

This is just a rough outline of how i would have written this trilogy. I might embellish a little bit, maybe write it up as a proper fan fiction, but i don’t know. There’s a lot to unpack and i don’t really want to spend the time actually fleshing out this narrative but, i believe this is far superior to anything Disney has done. It fixes Rey, sets up Ren as a actual antagonistic force, kills anything resembling a Reylo romance, returns agency to Finn and Poe, fixes Rose, makes Mas a factor, and wraps everything up nicely. You get answers to the questions from before, the Knights of Ren have a presence throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and even divisive characters like Holdo get a shot at relevance outside of agenda. More than anything Rey being a Skywalker feels earned. It feels organic. It feels right. This is the bookend the Skywalker story deserved, not the rushed, politic laden, ego trip we got.

[redrikki]

2018 Writing Round Up

In 2018, I wrote 20 stand-alone stories in 8 different fandoms, plus a bunch of short stories I compiled into collections. I also made my first vid!

Star Wars

Once More With Feelings - Anakin dies in his son's arms at the end of Return of the Jedi and wakes up in Obi-Wan's towards the end of the Clone Wars. The Force has given him an opportunity and he plans to make the most of it. (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padmé, Palpatine, Jedi Council)

The Last Truce We Ever Came To - Darth Vader is dead but he won't leave Leia alone. (Leia, Anakin’s ghost)

Dateline Felucia - Embedded with the troops on Felucia, a reporter from HoloNet News paints an intimate portrait of the men of the 212th Attack Battalion. (Obi-Wan/Cody, clone troopers)

Bridal Carry - On Naboo, it's tradition for the groom to carry the bride to their marriage bed. With Anakin's new prosthetic, it's more difficult than it sounds. (Anakin/Padme)

No Place Like Home - Ahsoka’s return to the temple after her first deployment was strange, made even stranger by the fact that it shouldn’t be strange at all. (Ahsoka)

Swordsmith - Ezra puts his lightsaber together. It's not his life, except in all the ways it is. (Ezra, Ghost Crew)

Cloak, No Dagger - In light of the intel from Gorse, Hera and Ahsoka rethink mission protocols while putting on a show for the ISB agent watching them. (Hera, Ahsoka)

Ahsoka the Vampire Slayer - Ahsoka is the Chosen One, the Slayer. The one girl in all the world with the power to fight the forces of darkness, or at least she was until she died. She got better, but now there's a new Slayer in town and things with her Watcher are strained at best. Add in a bunch of zombie mind control bugs and Ahsoka's week could be going better. (Ahsoka, Anakin, Barriss, Luminara)

Burst of Stardust II - Collection of short stories set in the OT and PT (everyone ever)

Rebel Moments - Collection of short stories set in Rebels (Ghost Crew, supporting cast)

The Ocean - Baby’s first fanvid! Padme’s attracted to the wildness in Anakin. 

Agent Carter

That Swell Liberty Gal Carrying a Torch for You - Angie was sure that skinny Steve had been a real swell guy, but there was no way he'd been good enough for her Peggy. A series of conversations makes her change her mind. (Angie, Peggy, Howard)

Because Girls Love Girls (The Soulmate City Remix) - There’s something in the water and the next thing Angie knows, she’s waking up with the name Margaret Carter wrapped around her wrist. (Angie, Peggy)

I’d Even Buy the Wedding Rings - Peggy and Jack must go undercover as a married couple. They just might succeed if they don't kill each other first. (Peggy, Jack, OCs)

Dragon Prince

You Fight Like You Practice - Callum's never been comfortable with swords. Two lessons, two teachers, and one real fight. (Callum, Soren, Rayla)

The Talk - Rayla and Callum finally talk about what happened the night of the assassination. (Rayla, Callum, Ezran)

Dragon Scales - Collection of short stories (Rayla, Callum, Ezran, Soren, Amaya)

Batman Comics

Soulmate City - There's something in the water and everyone wakes up with someone else's name on their wrist. If you think this ends well, you don't know Gotham. (Damian, Bruce, Alfred)

Story in Scars - A newly resurrected Damian tries to get used to his scars. (Damian)

Black Lightning (TV)

Boom Flash, Lightning Crash - If I'm joining your little super hero team, I'm gonna need a cool code name. Post season 1. (Jennifer, Pierce family)

Rapunzel on the Road - Jennifer is miles past done being kept like a princess in a tower. Tag to episode 2.09. (Jennifer, Khalil)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Shadow Over Mystacor - After Shadow Weaver's attack on Mystacor, Adora just wants to relax, but that's hard to do when it's all her fault. (Adora, Glimmer, Bow)

She-Ra (Modesty) Shorts - Collection of short stories (Adora, Catra)

Voltron

Players Only Love You When They’re Playing - Coran kept staring at Romelle like she was walking miracle, but Allura couldn't look at her without thinking of Lotor and his betrayal. (Allura, Romelle, Coran)

Wonder Woman (2017)

After the Glory Fades (The Last Lesson Learned Remix) - Glory fades, but what truly matters remains. Diana takes a moment to remember everything her aunt taught her. (Diana, Antipode, the gang)

[thefoodwiththedood]

OC Fact: In a recent game, Rek rolled so well on a lie check that he convinced a security guard to let him and Korrtak into a crime scene to perform a "wookie atonement ritual," which included, among other things, the guard turning the cameras away, leaving the door open, and closing his eyes.

Tell me a fact about your oc and I will respond with a semi-related fact about mine

Duuude, that’s awesome! Rek’s such a shyster, I love it :D

Hes and Russ did something similar—though to be fair, their success was mostly due to dumb luck and Imperial incompetence, rather than any cunning on their part.

(This is likely gonna be a long story, so buckle up and click that “read more” link to check it out! I’d recommend checking out Russoc’s origin story here first, though, cuz I’ll call back to that a lot in this.

On one fateful Empire Day in 17 BBY, Hes Chaddic (barely 17 years old at the time), and Russoc Dhaalgondt (35 years old, and a rebel for only one week of that) were hanging out in Montellian Serat, watching the Imps parade their arsenal through the city streets. The Angels’ leader at the time, Jussalc’sai’Truertos, had told the entire band of rebels not to try anything at the parade—”too much risk”, as he’d put it. Hes was never one for just sitting around, especially as a rowdy teenager, but begrudgingly she and Russ agreed to lay low. So, for that afternoon, the two just sat on a rooftop and watched the bucketheads meander past them.

It wasn’t how Hes had wanted it to go, though: she’d hoped she and Russ would get to rough up the Imps a bit, just to make ‘em look like the idiots they are. She thought that was just what Russ needed to help him cheer up—ever since he joined the Angels, he’d been a total sad sack. Sure, he pulled his weight and everything, but rather than laugh and have fun like the other Angels, he just seemed to wanna sit alone and be sad. It was so weird to Hes—she remembered him being so happy and kindhearted when she first met him at his veggie stand, but now he just seemed so…lifeless. Probably ‘cause the Imps took his horns, Hes thought to herself—yeah, that was definitely it. So of course fighting them would help—revenge always helps, after all!

And so, Hes would set about to get her new friend his revenge. Halfway through the parade, the horns blaring “Glory of the Empire” were interrupted by Hes gasping loudly, and the sudden force of her hand on his shoulder shook Russ from his moping. She pointed off to a stage at the end of one street, where several wanted posters of criminals (namely ones of fellow Devaron’s Angels) were displayed, with a bounty set under each of them. What had Hes so excited was the leftmost poster—her own wanted poster, displaying a bounty comparably higher than anyone else’s. Russ failed to see the humor in this, but he could tell Hes was excited, so he smiled and halfheartedly congratulated her.

Hes smiled proudly, but then stopped as an idea began to formulate in her mind. She went silent as she thought it out, but in a moment she was smiling again, this time with an almost malicious look in her eyes. Russ looked quizzically at her for a moment, but before he could even ask what was up, Hes started to relay her plan: She would be giving herself up to the Imperials. Russ did a double take as she said it, and without hesitation he replied, “You’ve lost your mind!”. Hes wasn’t deterred, though, and she continued to share her idea.

Her plan went as follows: Russ would drag her to the nearest trooper he could find, where he’d say he “caught one of the rebels”. The trooper would of course turn away to take Russ to collect his reward, at which point the both of them would rush him and, if necessary, take him out permanently. Then, Russ would put on the trooper’s armor (his lack of horns would make it so the helmet would fit perfectly), and “escort” Hes back to the nearest Imperial stronghold for “questioning”. Once there, the two of them would just plant thermal detonators everywhere they could, steal as much as they could carry, and escape on whatever ship they could find—and bam! Angels: 1, Empire: 0!

While Russ admitted he liked the idea in theory, he worried how it would work in practice—Hes was a terrible actor, for one, not to mention all the ways they could get killed once they made it inside the stronghold. “Besides,” Russ even said, “Truertos told us it’s not worth the risk”. Hes immediately shot back that Truertos was an idiot, and that it would totally, 100%, without-a-doubt work. Her goading got her nowhere at first, but then she said something about it being revenge for what they took from him—immediately, Russ was on board.

And so, they put the plan into motion—and it went about as well as you’d guess. Russ played his part well enough, but Hes almost got them caught every time she was forced to act like a prisoner: there was a lot of the “Oh, woe is me, I’ve been nabbed by the authorities!” and “Curse you, you Imperial scum! You haven’t seen the last of me!” type of postulating from her. Yet, miraculously, they made it into the Imperial stronghold, and from there they got to work. First, they raided the weapon’s depot and put every remote thermal detonator they had on everything of value. Next, they took all the food, guns, and ammo they could hold in their four combined hands. And somehow, by a combination of not-so-careful sneaking and the mere fact that the Imps were more focused on Empire Day than guarding the facility, they made it to the hangar to make their escape.

Problem was, there was hardly a usable ship in the whole room. All the TIEs were out at the parade, all the shuttles were on lockdown, and there was no way they were gonna try to get their whole haul out on speeder bike. Their only barely viable option was one shitty clone wars-era ship in the back of the room—an old Nubian Freefall-class bomber, which was obviously only being used for spare parts. Russ and Hes debated for a moment about finding something different (as well as how stupid the plan was, according to Russ), but before they could think of a better option, blaster fire and trooper jargon started coming from the corridor behind them. Suddenly, the Freefall looked like a gift from the heavens.

The two quickly hopped on board, dropping all their loot in the cargo hold the second they walked in. Without taking a moment to decide who should go where, Hes ran to the cockpit, while Russ ran to the rear gunner seat. As he got settled in, however, Russ called out to Hes on the internal com: “Hey, Chaddic? You know how to fly this thing, right?” Confidently as ever, Hes called back, “Nope! Not a kriffin’ clue!” Before Russ could protest or suggest he fly, the engines roared to life and the ship took to the sky.

At first, it looked like they were home free—and then the engines started to stall. Instantly the bomber tumbled from the sky, nosediving right towards the parade. Hes began to flip switches and pull levers wildly, and miraculously, the ship’s engines started again just before they hit the ground. Of course, they then had a new problem—the literal army of Imperial forces marching towards them. A barrage of crimson lasers began raining on the ship, leaving literal bulletholes in the fuselage, and just as Hes got the shields working she called back to Russ: “Yo, Dhaaldgondt! Hit the switch on those detonators and start firin’ back, will ya?”

Just then, Russ remembered he was in the gunner’s seat. He pressed the button on the remote detonator he was carrying and began firing back with everything the ship still had, sending troops flying and vehicles exploding as the stronghold explode into a massive orange-and-black fireball. As he watched the carnage erupt before his eyes, Russ felt something awaken in him. He remembered the faces of the flametroopers torching his home—his family burning alive before him. He remembered the fury he felt as he killed them all—the sadness and anger, all rolled together. Now, he was dishing that back out, to all the white-clad sons ‘a bitches who’d taken everything from him—and it felt good.

On Hes’ end of the internal com, she began to hear Russ laughing maniacally, shouting a string of obscenities at the Empire as a whole. Confused, she looked on the ship’s rear camera, only to see a massive plume of smoke and fire where the Imperial arsenal had once stood. Holy shit, she thought, this guy’s goin’ nuts! She worried about him for a second as she flew, but then she realized—this is exactly what she wanted. As bloodthirsty as his fun was, Russ was having fun—whatever bundle of emotions he was feeling now, sadness sure wasn’t one of ‘em. Hes smiled to herself proudly as she flew out over the jungle, leaving the Empire Day parade in smoldering shambles behind them.

Eventually, Hes and Russ made it back to the Angels’ base, where they were promptly scolded by Truertos. He calmed down a bit when they showed off their haul, of course, but he made sure to let them know he was still mad. Neither of them cared, though—they’d made Empire Day into a victory for the rebels, and they had a blast doin’ it. The two then decided to sit together on the nose of the Freefall—Hes was thinking of calling it the “Lady Lucy”, though she wasn’t certain yet—and watch the sunset, laughing heartily at their hard-won victory.

As they sat, Russ suddenly went quiet before turning to Hes. “Thanks, kid…” he said, “For helpin’ me have some fun,”

Hes laughed. “No problem, man, thanks for goin’ along with my shitty plan,” she, too, went quiet for a moment before speaking again. “If you don’t mind me askin’, Russ…what had you so down in the first place?”

With a heavy sigh, Russ decided to tell her his story. He told her about Zolovau, about his daughters, about their farm…about how it was all taken by the Empire. And all because he couldn’t pay his stupid debts—he lost everything, just because his vegetables weren’t selling well. As Hes listened, she almost started crying, because she knew exactly how that felt. She didn’t feel ready to tell Russ she used to be a Jedi yet, but she did say this: “I know what it feels like to have everything taken away…I’m so sorry, man,”

Russ laughed. “Y’know…maybe it isn’t all bad,” he said, smiling just a little, “I’ve lost what I can never replace, but…I have the feeling I’ve found something new, too,”

Hes smiled back, chuckling ever so slightly. “Me too, big guy…me too.”

[deer-head-xiris]

Clone troopers!!! I four clone OCs right now and I love them. Captain Gear, Major Torch, Trooper Arvin, and Trooper Kalt of the 159th. Gear is a long suffering captain that enjoys play Sabacc with the General. Torch is a combat medic that really likes blowing up clankers. Both Arvin and Kalt are new to the 159th and have become the Commander's favorites from the newest batch of shinys.

I LOVE THEM! They all sound super lovely, very cool names too!

[for-the-sake-of-color]

WIP

Doing a carefully rendered background for shits and giggles. You will never believe what the whole thing looks like. 😏

[for-the-sake-of-color]

Kix is less of a nervous first time father and more of an annoyed one.

Torch, stop. You're going to get a crumb in his eye and give the baby an eye infection.

[matchademi]

(In a perfect world where the war ends and Palps chokes on his own spit and dies)

Falls: Commander Fox with zero respect stop stealing my kriffing child!

Fox:he is a Commander. I'm just taking him under my wing

Falls:You took him from my apartment WHEN I WAS STILL ASLEEP

Fox:I left a note

Fall:*loud suffering yell*

Buddy: Buir!! Commander Fox is teaching me how to interrogate people

Falls:*dead pan * I hate everyone

[matchademi]

My clone Cadet oc Buddy/Torch

• He was forced out of his growth chamber a month before he was supposed to, so he is like 9 when Falls finds him

• Falls finds him on Kamino with the Bad Batch. Falls got the both of them out safe

• Buddy as Falls has been calling the cadet tried to bite him several times. Falls is so proud

• Since he is younger then Omega she definitely taken him under her wing

• After Rex meets Buddy he gives Falls a look like 'I blame Cody for this" and Falls just grins putting the kid onto his shoulders

• When Falls and Buddy separated from the Bad Batch Falls went on a hunt for armor that he can give the kid when he is older

• 5 years later Buddy gets gifted his first piece of armor. No he didn't cry (yes he did) and Falls cried like a damn baby

• Buddy has no visible mutations but he does have ADHD

• Buddy dyed his hair red at 15 after learning about Commander Thorn, Falls was fine with it since he had quite a few Corrie Guard friends. Rex always gives a sad almost bitter smile when he sees Buddy after that

• At 16 Buddy got the name Torch after using a torch to set a explosion that saved Falls life

• Torch secretly calls Falls Buir

• Torch has a burn scar all over the left side of his body after using his body to protect a kid while visiting Lathol (hint hint)

• At 20 got his armor he decorated with a mix of blue, red and orange flames

• He met Cody once and smacked him for letting uncle Rex worry for years before letting him explain why

• He has a tear drop peircing in his right ear

• At 24 he met the little kid he saved all those years ago and found out he is a Jedi

• He fought side by side with Ezra many times

• He begged Sabine to explain how she makes her explosive paint

• Torch has a flower painted on his vambrace In blue in memory of his Buir

• He married someone after the fall of the empire and adopted his own kid

Basic run down of his life PLEASE ask me more about him and Falls

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Incorrect Quotes:

Howzer: I'm worried about you Nemec, when was the last time you slept

Nemec: *hasn't slept in weeks and functioning solely on coffee* 5 or 6

Howzer: 5 or 6 what?

Nemec: *confused* 5 or 6

Next:

Samson: I'm going to ask Rex if I can use the flamethrower

Nemec: *preparing the medbay* not this shit again

Next:

Howzer: *in a good mood for once* this'll be a very good day

Fireball: *about to speak*

Gregor: *shoves a muffin in his mouth*

Next:

Nemec: hello, my name is Nemec and I will be your medic for today, just after I have this Capri sun

Nemec: *misses the carton four times, then rips open the carton and drinks it in four gulps*

Shadow: *sweating in sheer terror*

Next:

Howzer: look after the others Rex said-

*insert Daniel and Nemec trying to tame a giant robot they created, Fireball and Gregor binge watching Gordon Ramsey at full volume, Torch and Greer wrestling like gorilla's, Joey and Boba sparring with Cobalt and Trix trying to stop them destroying the base and Kirk and Samson passed out after too much coffee*

Howzer: it'd be easy he said

Next:

*Howzer and Daniel have the base to themselves, Daniel is cleaning while Howzer is on a computer*

Daniel: when I'm cleaning, you seem to be leaning

Next:

Howzer: why did I become a single father of two, what did I get myself into

Nemec and Fireball: curled up on his lap like little kids, fast asleep

Howzer: *shrugs* nevermind, I get it