#and Ezra too. Ezra as the defender

[sagechan]

the Loth wolf

The white Loth cat and the Loth wolf as like, the embodiment of Lothal. The very planet itself fighting back against the Imperial occupation. No one has seen a Loth wolf in a hundred years, but now that its world is in danger, it returns. "All paths are coming together," says Kanan. "Doom," the Loth wolf says to Ezra. Or is it saying, "Dume," the true name of Ezra's master. Ezra who can see the wolf when no one else can. Ezra who can see what is coming. Ezra who all along has been able to connect with animals, with nature, with creatures the Empire wouldn't give a second thought about stepping over or stepping on, yet these creatures carry in them ancient memory, the world's memory, a memory of freedom, a memory of light. All paths are coming together. Call it the Force, call it Ashla and Bogan, call it the Universe, call it Nature, call it Good and Evil. There are greater forces at work than just the will of the Empire. There are worlds with histories, and the creatures who remember. There is a hill covered in the sweet grass nourished by the good rains, and touched by a slow wind. There is a bright sun rising. And on the hill there is a wolf, marked clear against the rising of the light. The world goes on, as it did long before this evil occupied these lands, and as it will long, long after that evil is gone.

[autism-disco]

in my defernce i woke up at 3 after falling asleep i don’t know when and i needed to get changed so actually this is FINE but i might as well do some work while i’m awake. that is if i needed defending anyway

[jedidruid]

Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age: Lightsabers and Blasters and the Jedi

If there's one concept I love to rotate around in my head, its the Jedi's use of lightsabers and how they rarely use blasters outside of very extreme or fringe situation.

Like, we know its a purposeful choice on their part. It's far far simpler to get good at shooting a gun than it would be to become a master sword fighter. Add the Force into the mix, and the Jedi would become even more deadly warriors in a galaxy where they're already among the best, if not the best.

Obi-wan's time undercover as Rako Hardeen shows that he's able to match the skill of someone know as the "Marksman of Concord Dawn" with little issue. Kanan and later Ezra show just how much of an edge the Force can give in a shoot-out. In the first episode of Rebels, we literally see Kanan drop three or four stormtroopers in rapid succession while driving a speeder bike. All when he's still actively disguising/holding back his connection to the Force. We even see examples of mixing blasters and lightsabers in the Jedi games, with Cere Junda using both at the end of Fallen Order and Cal developing his own style of it partway through Survivor.

Every time we've seen a Jedi pick up a blaster, they can easily match trained soldiers and experienced fighters.

It's easy, and that's arguably why we don't see more Jedi using them.

To be a Jedi, a blaster is a clumsy weapon not because it somehow inaccurate or unwieldy, but because it gives them too few options.

For a Jedi with just a blaster, the only way to defend themselves against other people with blasters is to shoot back. Sure they could try and shoot the weapons out of their opponents' hands, but even then they would have no way to defend themselves or others from numerous shooters, nor would it stop a disarmed enemy from grabbing another weapon and undoing the Jedi's progress.

For a Jedi with just a blaster, the best way, the safest way, to end the fight is always going to be to shoot to kill.

When a Jedi has a lightsaber, however, it gives them so much more flexibility. They can provide cover for their allies or those they are protecting, they can turn blaster bolts back on their aggressors to discourage them from attacking, they can more easily advance to nullify the main advantage of blasters or more easily retreat and escape from any pursers. That's not even mentioning all the practical uses a lightsaber has as a tool outside of combat.

And sure, it's not that blasters in and of themselves don't suit the Jedi way. Stun blasters or emp/electrial blasters could be useful if they suited the situation.

But again, it's not about whats optimal or easiest, its about what those options take away from the table.

If you see someone running towards you with a blaster, you might risk pulling out your own and shooting your way out, depending on how desperate you are. After all, if you are thinking your life could end at any moment on another's whim, it's becomes more enticing to take the initiate and put yourself on even ground.

But if you see someone with a lightsaber? Where the danger at range comes not from being shot, but from your own attacks being turned against you? It might make you hesitant to attack, more willing another way out of the situation, whether through surrender, fleeing, or talking things out.

Does it always work out this? No, of course not. Fear makes people act impulsively, recklessly. But at the very worst, it can make it easier for a Jedi to deescalated and take control of a fight, where a blaster might only escalate the situation beyond anyone's control.

All of this is not to mention how the use of blasters can affect a Jedi's mentality. Cere Junda and Cal Kestis both rely on blasters in their darkest moments, when Cere returns to the Fortress Inquisitorius and when Cal is pursuing someone who betrayed him and killed those he cared about. Ezra's switching to use a proper blaster instead of rebuilding his stunning blaster/saber combo marks a dangerous shift in his thinking.

After all, it's all so easy to shot and kill someone, you barely have to move or think. Aren't some enemies not worth the effort of using your lightsaber? Maybe they're so inconsequential they're not even worthy to die by the weapon of a Jedi... they're less than worthless, less than a real person, they need to get out of the way or be forced out of it, how dare they oppose you!?!?

... ... ...

A lightsaber is a Jedi's weapon because it reflects what a Jedi is.

A lightsaber can be as dangerous to its user as it can be to their opponents. It requires training, self discipline, a sense of purposefulness that a blaster simply doesn't. The Jedi know what happens when they seek a quick and easy path....

A self-imposed limitation. A defensive weapon. A purposeful weapon.

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

[gffa]

Oh. Ohhhh. Ohhhhhhhh. THIS HURTS SO MUCH. Because it's not just for Ezra's sake, it's for her sake, too. Ezra and Kanan come back from their recon mission and Ahsoka is waiting to talk to them and, while she waits, she's listening to a training hologram of Anakin teaching Form IV, eyes closed and just sitting there with him. She was listening to this hologram while waiting, this wasn't a lesson or explanation for Ezra (they called her here, not the other way around, this is one of Ezra's recordings on his holocron), this is Ahsoka spending time with the Anakin she knew, the Jedi she knew, in the only way she can. This is Ahsoka trying to understand how can this person possibly have become the Sith Lord she felt. This is Ahsoka in a meditation position, trying to let go of her own feelings that are clouding her mind, trying to see him objectively, trying to understand him clearly, because she's still carrying the guilt of his loss with her, whether dead as she thought or fallen into a Sith Lord, she feels like it was her fault for leaving, and she's trying to process it without her own biases getting in the way. And so she sits down and listens to Anakin's training holo, and when she explains how surprisingly kind he could be, how he always looked out for his friends--this isn't just Ahsoka trying to defend him, this is Ahsoka trying to understand. How could someone she saw so much good in become what she suspects Vader is? He could cared so much about this friends, how could he have become this? So she listens to this recording and desperately tries to understand.

[wndaswife]

au where you’ve been best friends with taylor for all of college, and moved to los angeles with her after graduating because you’d always wanted to move there together, and after graduation, you find a job interning for a photography studio and taylor finds some jobs modeling

but overtime your lives seem to differ, with taylor beginning to grow into a new online persona with new friends and an entirely new career

it’s been a few weeks since you last saw taylor because you travelled briefly to pasadena for a shoot, and taylor invites you over to her place where she’s hosting a lunch celebrating a new partnership with a huge modeling company

it’s the first time you’re meeting her friends

you’re happy to see taylor but don’t integrate very well with her friends, and you notice quickly how much taylor has changed. her behaviour is different, her humour and her laugh, the kinds of friends she has, and even the way she decorates her place is so… unlike her

it’s all fine, really, until you overhear some of her friends talking about you. they say you’re strange and quiet, and that they can’t understand how the two of you are friends at all. taylor doesn’t seem to defend you at all, saying only passive things like, “well, we met in college,” as if to say it was so long ago when we were closer, and also says things like, “she’s always been like that.”

you don’t mention it to her, and taylor and you talk sometimes over text trying to give brief updates about your lives. she even tries to make plans to go for coffee, but a part of you worries how awkward your meeting will be for how much she’s changed, and you always make excuses not to show up

she asks you about ezra, a guy you had sorta met the last time you were over. she tells you that she thinks he likes her, and wants to know your opinions on him. you say he seems cool. taylor sounds relieved over the phone

they start going out and you start getting busier, travelling for shoots and networking with various photography companies across LA, and taylor starts missing you. her life starts to pick up too, getting deals and partnerships and networking, and in the midst of all of it, often taking a step back and observing herself as she talks about things she doesn’t really care about, acting in ways she can’t even recognize

she thinks of you often when her and ezra are together and she thinks it’s just curiosity. what would you be like in a relationship with a girl? she’s never seen you in one except for once you had an almost-relationship with a girl a few years ago. ezra touches her in ways taylor knows isn’t like how you touch her at all; he doesn’t know how she likes when you place your hand on her lower back with your fingers against the curve of her spine, running up and down its length absently

you’re hardly ever at home, always traveling somewhere for work like you two always wanted to do. one of your most far fetched plans together was to get careers that complemented one another so you’d somehow always be working together

one week when the timing is finally right, taylor sets up a time for you to drop off one of your old cameras at her place. she wanted it to take her own pictures and she knew you had a few laying around. she feels so much loss when the two of you talk, and feels so much distance

i’ve never been good at words, she tells you

oh, i know, you say

but you can’t help her with what she wants to say, you don’t know how she feels — in fact, it doesn’t seem like you know this taylor at all

when taylor gets engaged she invites you to the wedding, she wants you to be her maid of honour. she doesn’t tell you her plans for that at first because she doesn’t want to pressure you. but you’ve just started a project working overseas, and you’re set to leave in a few weeks. it’s a huge opportunity for you

you promise you’ll stop by to give a wedding gift the moment you’re back home

[loth-creatures]

Wolf Ezra's final form

Lothwolfwalkers

I've been frothing at the mouth to reveal this for some time, but I also wanted to put together a synopsis of what I imagine he's been through after getting blasted into the unknown and his time on Peridea. Also will include some lore I came up with for Peridea! This post will likely be edited/added to every so often.

Also! I have a sideblog now @lothwolfwalkers

Ezra's many new scars are mostly from the shattered glass flying around the Chimera's bridge. Thrawn has a matching set. Ezra fell into a very deep meditation upon entering hyperspace, using the Force to keep a bubble of life support for himself and Thrawn. During this time he converses with the Purrgil, and beholds way too much knowledge of the universe for one person to hold in their head. He's probably a little weird after all that; frequently spaces out very badly while experiencing intense visions of things he saw and learned but can't remember.

The Purrgil travel much faster than ships. It takes them three days to reach the other galaxy, whereas it takes the Sion a few weeks (I want the Sion's voyage to be very very miserable for everyone) I'm going wild with the ocean metaphors for space and the Force here; Ships only ever skim the surface of hyperspace, whereas the Purrgil evolved to sink far deeper, where the current is much stronger and farther from time and real space. Sort of like how we can cross the ocean's surface on ships but animals like sperm whales can dive to extraordinary depths on the power of their own biology. To the Purrgil an intergalactic voyage is a hop across the pond.

The Purrgil don't drop the Chimera off on Peridea. They track along the very edge of the galaxy and their first stop is a barren volcanic planet that I've been calling Hel in my head (gonna be leaning into the Norse mythology theme). Although if anything its more like Davy Jones' Locker from POTC: At Worlds End.

The Chimera crashes and is grounded here for several months. All the internal systems are dead, everyone is unconscious after dropping out of hyperspace (like after the jump through the star cluster to Lirasan). Ezra escapes the crash as a wolf, beyond delirious and exhausted, forgetting his human body. It's not long before he's tortured into returning to it. It's also not long before the crew of the Chimera regret that. They could barely contain him for long under normal circumstances, let alone while the ship is in shambles and their resources are limited. He certainly spends some time in the walls and any repairs they've made are severely set back by the time he decides to steal a TIE Defender and leave.

Ezra then does the only thing he can. He follows the Purrgil. With no means to navigate and no way to obtain fuel, the only path forward is that of the Purrgil, as fruitless a path as it is, for the Purrgils' destinations are isolated from any form of advanced civilization that might exist in the new galaxy. Ezra is a step ahead in terms of conserving fuel as he can hitch a ride with the Purrgil. However, Thrawn knows Ezra and the Purrgil are their only hope of navigating this strange galaxy, and surgically implanted a tiny tracker on Ezra’s human body while he had the chance. It takes Ezra several months to realize this, as Thrawn is careful about how closely they follow him. When he does, he takes the Chimera on a wild goose chase, trying to run the them out of fuel. By now he's learned he can run alongside the Purrgil as a wolf through hyperspace.

Ezra leaves his ship and body on the most barren useless planets the Purrgil stop by, and continues to follow them as a wolf for as far as he can, trying to map their routes in his head, trying to find the way home. Then doubling back in the ship, zig zagging, going in circles and doing everything he can to cover their tracks. This goes on for about a year. I suppose they must find some form of fuel somehow in order to continue that long, but its inefficient and damaging to the ships.

Thrawn occasionally threatens to recapture Ezra, in order to keep him moving, but doesn't yet know that Ezra knows about the tracker and doesn't want to give it away. Perhaps he does recapture Ezra once or twice. And immediately regrets it. No matter what they do to human Ezra, Wolf Ezra simply can't be contained and tends to short out the entire electrical system as he drifts on and off the ship, straight through the hull in his spirit form. Human Ezra causes lots of problems on the way out when he inevitably escapes. The entire crew just want him dead. But they also know he's their only chance of escaping this exile.

This cat and mouse game takes a massive toll on his own ship though, and by the time they reach Peridea, its completely broken down, out of fuel and will never get off the ground again. At this point Ezra uses the Force to locate and disable the tracker, but has no way to safely remove it from his body, which he's pretty pissed about. He disappears into Peridea's wilderness. The Chimera becomes a grounded fortress and will not lift off again for several years. While Thrawn contacts and makes allies of the Night Sisters, Ezra befriends the Noti and also becomes amicable with many of the bandit clans.

Except I'm not calling them bandits, they need actual names. After googling "old norse word for blank" a few times and taking the first result, I came up with Hundur Ridarri for the howler riders we see in the show, roughly meaning 'dog horsemen' and Vatn Fari roughly meaning 'lake farers' as I imagine Peridea having many massive lakes or seas, and many of the 'bandits' are mariners. Their ships are mostly made from the bones and skin of giant sea creatures, which they also hunt for food.

Wolf Ezra has been known to tow in derelict ships caught in storms or attacked by creatures of the deep, and has ferried survivors of shipwrecks to shore on his back. He is sometimes offered some of their catch in return. He mostly avoids them though, as they occasionally treat with Thrawn and the Sisters.

The Noti on the other hand keep to themselves and are so good at hiding that Thrawn doesn't even know about them. Ezra’s body is quite safe with them and in return he defends them and helps them find food, and is quickly adopted as one of their own. They mostly survive on the washed up corpses of lake creatures, which Ezra can sniff out from miles away, and can tear the carcasses open for them, saving hours of carving through tough skin and bone. Ezra can also stomach it as a wolf but prefers to fish along the shoreline.

Ezra can't stay undetected forever though, he's not exactly inconspicuous as a wolf. As Thrawn now has powerful allies and resources, he's made a project out of capturing Ezra and attempting to study his wolfwalker abilities, something the Sisters are intrigued by as well and keen to experiment on. The Emporer was highly interested even before they knew about healing powers and teleportation. If Thrawn is to return to the Empire, he intends to do so with something to show for it. And a bit of vengeance.

The Sisters do succeed in capturing and containing the wolf briefly several times. One of their smaller strongholds (known as Gleipnir after the string that binds Fenrir in Norse mythology) becomes increasingly dedicated to the project. Ezra always escapes, but it gets harder each time. And if they ever find his human body, it's all over.

Meanwhile, Ezra is still trying to find a way home. He has no way of carrying his human body with him, can only follow the Purrgil so far as a wolf. The further he gets from his body, the more tired and sick he becomes until he simply can't keep up and is slowly and painfully dragged back to his body through the Force. There is no chance of him crossing between the galaxies. But he tries anyway, hoping he can get stronger, run farther before faltering, hoping someday he will make it just far enough to tell someone where to look. He only succeeds in hurting himself. It's too risky to try stealing another ship off the Chimera, as they are actively using their remaining TIEs as bait and he cannot afford to get caught again now that there's a real chance he'd never escape.

The Purrgil may go to Peridea to die, but they don't all die at once; the young escort their elders to their final resting place, the elders in turn show the young where to go to visit their dead and eventually join them.

Back home, Kanan searches for Ezra through the World Between Worlds. He has no luck, as the wbw doesn't extend between galaxies. The new galaxy likely has its own version but they are not connected. Kanan feels in his heart that Ezra is alive, but has no hope of finding him. Meanwhile Sabine often has dreams as a wolf, running through the wbw, following Ezra's faint faint scent, only to run right off the edge of the map and fall to oblivion. Ezra cannot sleep as a wolf without falling straight through reality and onto the paths of the Purrgil, where every minute contains a lifetime and every pawstep crosses light years. It's so very easy to become lost.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

The Impact of Tech's Death: Was it necessary? Was it in vain? Why did Tech have to die?

Disclaimer: This will be a very emotion fueled rant and I'm sorry if my personal feelings get in the way. I love my boys, but there are times when I just sit there and shake my head. I do my best to understand their circumstances, but sometimes the Crosshair girlie in me really can't make sense of things.

The short answer: NO, it wasn't necessary. With S3 now behind us and my rewatch of S2 at its conclusion, it hit me just how little weight Tech's death had on the overall plot.

Let's breakdown the finale a bit:

The lead up: Tech found out that his long-lost brother Crosshair was captured by the Empire and sent to a shady place where no good was to come. He also discovers that Crosshair sent a distress message, warning his brothers to hide. Realizing that Crosshair was in danger, Tech decided to rally the others on a mission to find and track Hemlock's ship, hoping it would lead him back to his brother. The mission is a complete failure, with Tech being forced to sacrifice himself in order to save his family.

The Aftermath: the Batch is discovered by Hemlock, Omega is captured, Hunter cuts his losses, and Crosshair remains a prisoner

Here's the part that really messed with me: Tech's death DID NOT affect Hemlock's capture of Omega and it DID NOT change the ability to track the ship. The only impact it had was that Hunter decided to cut his losses and pull an early retirement. And even when Hunter is like "we're going to get Omega back," he doesn't mention Crosshair once.

Tech died to save Crosshair. Period.

(and the others I know, but this mission wouldn't have happened if Cross wasn't in trouble)

Which brings us to S3 where Tech is hardly mentioned, Crosshair himself is never shown on-screen learning of what happened, and there is no moment where anyone (except maybe Cross) processes their feelings about it. Why kill off a beloved character when their demise has almost no impact on anything? The only thing it really impacts is the speed of which things get done and Crosshair's mental health. It makes no sense. I think there was an interview where DBB said they tried to keep Tech alive, but couldn't write a script where that was the case. Ok? Then go back and talk some more about the plot. Or if you can't avoid killing him off, then show the characters processing it or why Tech's death mattered. The cynical side of me says Tech died in vain. I'm being brutally honest here. Tech could've survived and Cid would still sell out the Batch and Saw's detonators would still destroy the ship and tracker. From a story POV, it's pretty bad when a main character's death barely leaves an impact.

In CW, Fives' death enabled Rex and Ahsoka (and Maul by extension) to all survive Order 66. Satine's death led to Mandalore being thrown into chaos, thus leading to the Siege of Mandalore.

In Rebels, Kanan's death crippled Thrawn's Tie-defender project, made Pryce look bad, and taught Ezra important lessons about sacrifice. For Hera, we got to see her grieve the loss of her lover. Kanan's death mattered. Also, the buildup to Kanan's sacrifice was him becoming Caleb Dume again after everything he went through.

The buildup to Tech's death was great too because it was about the Batch trying to find Crosshair. And while the mission is a failure, it showed that they were willing to go back for someone they lost. They hadn't given up on him. But everything after falls pretty flat and only makes Tech's death even sadder.

Why did Tech have to die? Because he probably would've found Tantiss a lot quicker than everyone else. I really think that's the case and that's pretty bad writing if you ask me. I still love TBB immensely, but I'm willing to call it out when it falls short.

It also really pisses me off as a Crosshair fan that Hunter just completely throws him under the bus. I will let my biases speak for me because it really bothers me and I'm sorry if you disagree. I value your opinion too. I don't know if Hunter subconsciously blamed Crosshair for Tech's demise, but I would've felt a whole lot better if he decided to honor Tech's wish of saving him. Hunter was always going to go after Omega, so why not add Crosshair to the mix? Was it because he still thought Crosshair could be lying? I understand cutting his losses in the moment due to the pain of losing Tech. I get that 100%. But after, he just doesn't bother to think about Crosshair. Would he even have gone after Crosshair if the original last-minute retirement plan came to fruition? Crosshair suffered immensely and who knows what would've happened if he just got left there with no one coming for him. Tech was the only one who supported Operation: Rescue Crosshair. No one else suggested that idea except him. (I know Omega also supports it, but I'm talking about the boys). Yes, I know I'm being harsh and perhaps unfair, but it hurts ok? I know Hunter has no clue what's going on with Crosshair.

But here's why it bothers me so much outside of Crosshair getting the short end of the stick again: It makes Tech's death feel even more in vain because the reason for why Tech died is just forgotten about.

Let that sink in. Tech's death doesn't leave ANY lasting impact on the plot post-incident.

It makes even more frustrated and just heartbroken because of how cruel and unfair losing Tech really was. Had we gotten more time of the Batch processing emotions or taking something meaningful away from it, then that's different. But no. That's not what we got and I am heartbroken by it. At minimum, we should've gotten one scene in S3 where Crosshair (or anyone really) talks about it in a meaningful way. (No, "CF99 died with Tech" doesn't count). Yes, Tech's legacy can be seen through Omega's actions but that's not enough.

All and all, the only real weight Tech's death had was on Crosshair's mental health. And even then, it's only implied instead of said straight out. If Tech hadn't died, then Crosshair probably wouldn't have decided to enact Plan 99. (Or he would've due to other reasons).

In conclusion: Tech never had to die nor should he have died.

[nobie]

I need to talk about Morgan Elsbeth and the connection to Thrawn. Along with some other questionable narrative choices Filoni has made with Thrawn.

I want to preface, this is not going to be a hating Morgan Elsbeth post nor hating on the actress or any bts production of her character. There is enough hate towards characters like this in this fandom and I will not be perpetuating that (take that negativity somewhere else). I only want this to be an open discussion on this part of Thrawn's story.

Morgan is a character that has been placed into Thrawn's canon timeline. She was not written in (everything is written obvs but let me explain). The distinction I want to make between those narrative ideas is, placing a character into a story means they are important in supporting the main character, but no one cares if they are replaced or removed from the story. Writing a character into the story means they are so important to the direct development of the mc, if they are replaced or removed it feels like a piece of that character is missing. Some examples for Thrawn would be Eli Vanto or Ar'alani. Morgan was removed from the story in the Ahsoka series and it didn't even effect Thrawn himself.

So why create this character and push a narrative that makes her seem like the most important part of the story? Like without her Thrawn wouldn't be able to get back to the galaxy? Thrawn is a genius, a warrior, and a survivor. He could've figure that out himself, or with the help of Ezra (an established character that the audience loves). Instead he's had to rely on Morgan.

This is where my qualm with Dave Filoni comes into play. I love Filoni's work he has created some of my favorite stories in the Star Wars franchise. But he does one thing that I despise. Ignores the work of amazing authors. In this case Timothy Zahn. I can't say for sure that he hasn't read the Ascendancy Trilogy or the Thrawn (2017) trilogy, but it feels like it when analyzing Filoni's characterization of Thrawn. If he did read those books or least consulted Zahn on them he would know Thrawn's true motives for what he does. He is a protector for the greater good. He goes against many higher powers to make the right choice, not the good or bad choices. He shows the characters around him time and time again that he will always do what is right even if it means his downfall. He is not a villain in his own story just himself, not good or bad, the one in the middle. He evolves, learns, observes, and understands things on a completely different level. And we only see a sliver of this characterization in Filoni's story. I understand the narrative built around Thrawn being the ultimate villain for the ghost crew because a good story like this should have an interesting dynamic between protagonist and antagonist. But the fact that you'd have to read his books to know who he is, is a clear indication to me that his novel characterization wasn't researched enough.

It also shows me that Filoni favors the legends version of Thrawn more. Especially with the inclusion of Pellaeon in Tales of the Empire and not Eli Vanto. Who could have easily been placed into that role. Although, he his Thrawn's aide he can and has done things like that for Thrawn.

Now in Tales of the Empire we see that he isn't the original creator of the TIE Defender. Trying to place Morgan into a characters story that is so beloved [Thrawn] feels so forced through this idea that she created the TIE Defender. Why would someone who is trying to get revenge for her people go to the Empire with an idea like this. If she is so angry why she is relying on someone else's power to get her revenge? And even when she got in the good graces of the Empire with Thrawn what came of it? The Defender project was ruined, shouldn't her allegiance to Thrawn be in ruin too. The deal they made implied she would get what she wanted, but she never did and was still loyal to him. Thrawn does have this quality about him though, you'd follow him off a cliff, the gravity in which he attracts people to his cause is so alluring. But that still doesn't explain where Morgans revenge story went. And in the end she really does feel like a character that can be replaced.

Trying to make a character that was placed into the story important to the audience does a disservice to the story as a whole. Thrawn has an established world of characters in the novels that are readily available to use in the narrative. So why aren't they in it? Eli especially in one I cannot ignore the absence of. From the moment Thrawn is found in exile Eli does not leave his side. Eli follows him into battle again and again. Even after realzing his initial career choice will amount to nothing now that Thrawn has taken over his duty in the Imperial Navy. Thrawn himself says "you hold my words in your hand, and their meanings," and although that was in relation to his survival with the Empire it still held true throughout the story. Eli is an extension of Thrawn, whatever is said to Eli is said to Thrawn and vise versa. So where is he?

(Ok that's all my ramblings for now. Hopefully this made sense. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the tags or replies. Thrawn was the first sw novel I read, I'm fiercely protective of him. So when his characterization is kinda ruined like this it upsets me. But I'm always excited to see him in any media and hear that silky voice of his, thank you lars.)

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I really wish the part of the right wing online culture wars that's retroactively decided that the DC Snyderverse was amazing would calm the fuck down a bit. Look, I get it, James Gunn is making some questionable decisions and there were aspects of the Snyder movies that were really good. I think the Snyder cut of Justice League is a legitimately good movie and I'll defend the choice to have an "edgy" and "grimdark" tone because the DCEU needed to do something to differentiate itself from Marvel. But let's not pretend these movies weren't massively flawed adaptations.

Superman murdered Zod. Batman murdered countless people. They did this because Zach Snyder specifically said in an interview that when he sees rules for characters like "Batman doesn't kill" the first thing he wants to do is break them. He didn't do this for any artistic reason or because these things needed to happen for the story he was telling. He did them because of a childish impulse to change established characters defining character traits on a whim.

He race swapped Perry White. He gender swapped Jimmy Olsen. He race swapped Aquaman. I'm sure there were more I can't remember off the top of my head.

Whatever modern day shit bullshit issues there are, and will be, with James Gunn's adaptations, those same flaws were in the Snyderverse too.

The writing in the Snyderverse was also pretty bad and cringe at times.

"You have to save Martha!" "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME??"

"Do you bleed?"

Basically any line Ezra Miller's Flash had.

I'm not saying this to shit on the Snyderverse or to act like James Gunn's DC movieverse is going to be great just because there was one (1) good superman trailer. But come on, guys. We don't have to act like we love something just because it stands opposite to something we hate, or we think we'll hate. It's perfectly acceptable to have nuanced opinions about media.

[redskull199987]

Love me again

Ezra Bridger x fem!Jedi!reader

Word count:2.1k

Warnings: !SPOILERS! for Ahsoka Ep. 6, minor injuries, canon typical violence, you can maybe notice that I was a bit pissed at Sabine-

Summary:After being knocked out by Baylan Skoll, you regain your senses on his ship as a prisoner on your way to find Ezra…and Thrawn

Part I (you are here), Part II

Masterlist

“Ezra…please, don´t go”

“We will see each other again, I promise.”

“Ezra…”

“I love you, Y/N”

Your head was pounding, as you slowly came back to your senses. Memories of conversations long ago haunting your dreams and making you want to wake up again.

“Ezra…”, you mumbled, as your eyes slowly opened, the world before you still blurry.

“Easy there, you hit your head pretty hard”

As you finally managed to gain your full consciousness again, you realized that the person in front of you, very much wasn´t Ezra. It was Sabine. You looked at her with confusion written all over your face, as you slowly sat up.

“Sabine? Where are we?”, you mumbled, taking in your surroundings. It looked like you were in a small prison cell. Only a bench adorned the dimly lit room. Taking another look at Sabine, only confirmed your suspicion.

“We were captured.”, Sabine finally said, after a few moments of silence, “By Baylan. We are currently on the way to the place where Ezra is.”

“And Thrawn.”, you mumbled to yourself, as bits and pieces of what had happened on Arcana came back to you…

Fear filled your eyes, as you arrived at the battleground. Ahsoka was fiercely fighting Baylan Skoll, trying to obtain the map.

“Ahsoka!”, you yelled, as you grabbed your own lightsaber, joining in to the battle.

Just in time, you jumped forward, preventing Ahsoka from being cut in half and pushing Baylan back a few inches.

“Get the map!”, Ahsoka instructed and you nodded at her, ready to sprint towards the small orb, but before you could reach it, a blazing red blade appeared right in front of you, blocking your path.

“Not so fast”, Baylan mumbled, preparing to strike, but you managed to block him beforehand. Your lightsabers colliding in an explosion of colors, as your green blade pushed against his red one. And those few moments were already enough for Ahsoka to lunge forward and grab the map. A scream of pain left her lips, as the glowing orb burned her skin and she dropped it to the floor.

Momentarily distracted by your companions' actions, Baylan managed to push you back. You only had seconds to react, but you were too slow. You felt the burning pain in your hand, as Bayllan hit you with his lightsaber, causing you to drop your own. You looked up at him, thinking that he would kill you right then and there. But instead of impaling you, he used the force to send you flying against one of the gigantic stone pillars, knocking you unconscious almost immediately.

You heard Ahsoka yell your name, but what happened afterwards was not known to you. 

“Where is Ahsoka?”, you finally asked, after a few minutes of thinking. Sabine looked at you with sorrow in her eyes:”She…She was fighting Baylan, when I arrived, but he knocked her over the edge of the cliff. I don´t know if she's alive or not.”

“And then what?!”, you pressed, trying not to think about the possibility of Ahsoka being dead,”Did you just give them the map and left her behind?”

“I had no choice!”; she tried to defend herself, walking up and down the small room, even if that were only a few steps.

“I thought she was dead! You were laying there, also possibly dead. I was alone and this was the only way to ever see Ezra again!”, she explained, finally looking at you, still sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

“Sabine…”, you began, taking a slow breath in,”Believe me, out of all people that you know, I am probably the only one who understands how much you want to see Ezra again, but preventing Thrawn from returning to our galaxy is more important. We can´t let him start another war. That's not what Ezra wanted. He made this sacrifice, so that Thrawn would forever be exiled and now, we have to make sure, it stays that way.”

Before Sabine could say anything, the door to your prison cell opened and two Storm Troopers entered.

“Time to get up!”, one of them said sternly, as he grabbed your arm, harshly pulling you to your feet, while the other grabbed Sabine.

It took you a few seconds to gain your footing, the blunt force that had caused your knockout on Arcana still affecting you. As the Trooper realized you were struggling to stand, he pushed you forward, causing you to stumble to the ground again.

“Get going already!”, he yelled, as you slowly stood up again.

“Hey, she's injured!”Sabine yelled, but the Troopers ignored her. As you were finally standing on your feet again, the Trooper grabbed your arm again and they both started escorting you and Sabine out of the prison cell. 

After a few minutes of walking in silence, you finally reached your destination. You couldn`t believe your eyes, as you took in what was in front of you. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn himself was standing there, waiting for you and Sabine. He looked exactly like you remembered him. His red eyes bored into your skull, as he looked you both up and down. 

“Sabine Wren”, he said, as you came to a halt in front of him,”And Y/N L/N”

“Thrawn…”, Sabine said quietly, looking at him with the same disgust in her eyes, as he held for her.

“What a delight it is after so long to see familiar faces.”, Thrawn continued, not one ounce of emotion in his voice,”I understand it is you I have to thank for my escape from exile.”

“Where is Ezra?”, you finally spoke, ignoring his question entirely.

“Ah yes.”, he smiled, looking down at you,”The desire to be reunited with your long lost Lover…”, he briefly turned around to Sabine,”...and Friend.”

He paused, looking to the ground for a second:”How that singular focus will reshape our galaxy.”

“Just answer the question.”,Sabine interrupted him, anger lacing her voice. 

“No need for hostility.”, Thrawn smiled, as calm as someone who was about to start a new war, had ever talked.

“I´m aware of your agreement with Baylan Skoll, and I intend to honor it.”, Thrawn continued to explain as he turned away from you. You eyed Sabine from the side, as she had never told you about any agreement.

You watched how a Storm Trooper with a patchwork armor of white and gold walked over to you, taking off your cuffs.

“You shall have provisions, a mount, and our latest intel on Bridger´s whereabouts.”,Thrawn revealed.

You furrowed your brows in confusion:”So, that's it? You´re just gonna let us walk out of here?”

“You two helped my cause. Now I shall help you.”, Thrawn explained with a little bow of his head,”You should know, though, that once my starship departs, you´ll be stranded here forever. It's also quite possible that your friend…is dead.”

You shook your head, a sarcastic grin lacing your features. You knew that he had to be up to something. He would never just let you walk out of there.

“If you survived, I'm sure he's doing just fine.”, Sabine suddenly said, her voice sounding like venom.

Thrawn seemed to be agitated by her statement and stepped towards her concerningly slowly:”You have gambled the fate of your galaxy on that belief.”

“You wouldn't understand.”, Sabine countered, staring up at Thrawn with nothing but hate in her eyes.

Even though you knew what she meant, you couldn't help but agree with Thrawn. You had to find Ezra now or else, everything would be lost. You needed to turn this battle to your favor or the galaxy would fall into darkness.

After a few seconds of silence, Thrawn looked over to you, inspecting your face for any signs of disagreement, but you didn't let him see your concerns, so he finally looked back at Sabine:”Perhaps not.”

“We'd rather not waste anymore time.”, you interrupted their little conversation,”What kind of ride you got around here?”

After being given back your belongings, you were escorted to your ride. Much to your and Sabine´s dismay, it wasn't a speeder, but a domesticated creature called Howler. It apparently went by the name Tota. 

You looked at the creature for a few seconds before stepping forward and petting it´s snout. Tota happily licked your hand in response.

“You're injured. You ride.”, Sabine said, patting your shoulder, leaving no room for protest. You only nodded and mounted the Howler, as Sabine grabbed the leash.

“Be warned”, One of the Troopers instructed,”Nomads wander this wasteland and prey upon each other for survival. Here are your weapons.”

He first handed Sabine her two blasters and then her lightsaber, before walking over to you. The man pulled out your lightsaber and you were relieved to see that it was still intact.

He stepped back, ready for your departure:”Die well.”

You eyed him for a second before turning around, as the door in front of you opened. Sabine led the Howler outside and the doors closed behind you. Now, you were on your own.

To say that your ride through this wasteland was eventful, would be an understatement. You were out for maybe an hour or two, as you were attacked by those nomads the Trooper had warned you about. Much to your dismay, Tota jumped in panic and threw you off before running away.

Luckily, You and Sabine had managed to defeat the attackers, before  anything worse could happen. It also didn't take you long to find the Howler again. Sabine was heavily against taking him with you again, but after a bit of convincing, she accepted him and you continued your journey. 

Which led you to where you were right now. Following a small creature you had encountered, hoping they would lead you to Ezra, even though you didn't understand a word they said.

You had grabbed Tota´s leash firmly, to keep them away from the small creatures.

“It's alright, Tota.”, you mumbled, staying back a bit to calm the Howler down. You smiled as one of the people gave you an unknown fruit. You took it, thanking them before trying to feed Tota with it. They smelled it first, before finally taking a bite, judging that it was tasty.

Your eyes widened as you were led to a village. You saw lots of small tents, at least a hundred people running around doing Maker knows what, but most of them were looking at you curiously, as you entered their home.

“I knew I could count on you.”

Your Head shot up as you heard his voice. A few meters in front of You, Sabine turned towards a small hut, presumingly staring at a Person you couldn't see from where you were standing. You watched how a smile unfolded on Sabine´s face before she stepped forward.

And so did Ezra.

You only took in his form as they started conversing. He was much taller now, his long hair hanging around his face, that was adorned by a beard. You watched how the two of them hugged each other,  you finally decided to step away from Tota and closer to them.

“Ezra?”, You said quietly, your voice trembling, as his eyes finally landed on your form. The smile on his face dropped, as seriousness that you never seen on him before, took over.

“Y/N.”, he mumbled and only seconds later, he ran towards you, engulfing you in his arms.

“It's really you!”, You exclaimed, tears in your eyes as you wrapped your arms around him. Ezra happily lifted off your feet, spinning you around.

“It's really me!”, he smiled, as he let you to the ground again. You looked up at the boy you loved. He had grown into a man. You smiled as your hand cupped his cheek. He immediately leaned into your touch, closing his eyes.

“Maker, I missed you so much.”, he mumbled, putting his hand on top of yours.

“I missed you too.”, You smiled and looked into his eyes. His appearance might have changed, but his eyes were still the ones you fell in love with.

“I'm gonna kiss you now”, Ezra muttered and you only nodded, before his lips collided with yours. And that's when you finally felt the relief of having him back again. His beard tickled against your skin, as he poured all his emotion into the kiss and you felt connected to him even through the force. 

You were gasping for air, as you finally parted again. A soft smile now adorned Ezra´s face and he leaned forward to give you another kiss on the forehead.

“I love you, Y/N”, he said firmly. And this time, you got to reply to him. Finally, after all this time.

“I love you too, Ezra.”

[1-have-no-idea]

Playground love

‘Young love, or a small teen / preteen crush, only in a less mushy word or phrase like "puppy love."’

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Authors note: Reader is a teenager so it’s not weird

Character(s): Ezra, reader, brief interactions with Kanan, Zeb, and Hera

Genre: Fluff, romance

Overview: You and Ezra are best friends, and ever since you both joined the Ghost Crew, Ezra has had heart-eyes for the Mandalorian Sabine. You had always been his number one supporter, and as best friends you guys were close. Extremely close. So it wasn’t weird to hold your best friend’s hand, right? And definitely not weird to sometimes wanna kiss them, right? Definitely not… you guys have always felt this way for each other, after all! It’s just how best friends felt for each other. That’s… how it is, right?

Warning(s): Extremely awkward teenagers, second-hand embarrassment, insecurity, Ezra is so oblivious (to be fair, so are you-), Ezra’s a nervous sweat-er, this is literally just fluff with awkward teenagers-

1655 words

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Scene one, sharing a bed: the closer the better!

“Did you see her-? She was so cool–”

“Yeah– I know, I saw, you were all puppy-eyed-”

“No! No, I wasn’t– really-? I was-? No, I wasn’t- do you think she’s into me?”

You and Ezra were both in his new bunk, which happened to be a bit musky due to his large roommate, but it was fine. You’ve smelled worse. (Try sharing a ‘bed’ with the shaggy haired teenager after he came back from a run which included him stealing food.) It was fine though– it was expected. Currently, both you and him had just recently been recruited into the Ghost Crew, and Ezra was in training to be Kanan’s padawan. It wasn’t going well. You know what was going well, though? Him and Sabine’s impending relationship. At least that’s what he referred to it as. In reality, he had no chance with her, but hey. You both were delusional teenagers. It was the blind leading the blind.

“Maybe. I think so. I think.” You responded, shrugging your shoulders while flopping down onto the bed. Ezra following your actions, falling down by your side and pressing his side against yours, a lazy lip trill leaving him. “I think so, too. I think.” He echoed, tilting his head so his face was facing yours, a silly smile perking up on his face. You felt your own pull up just from seeing that boyish smile, before changing the subject. “How was your training today?” Ezra immediately groaned and turned his face away from yours, shaking his head. “A stupid loth cat attacked me when I tried to ‘bond’ with it.” You snorted at that, a laugh escaping you as you sat up, looking down at him. “A tooka?” You repeated, and he huffed, shifting so his head was resting on one of your thighs. “Don’t laugh. I was about to get a lightsaber. Bond with it–”

“Ezra!” You gasped out incredulously, and he scoffed. “Annoying furball was asking for it!” He defended, and you could only sigh at that. You were about to say more, before the door slid open, and a familiar Lasat stepped in, rolling his eyes at the sight of you two. “Get out, you lovebirds. I’m trying to get a nap in, so get out.” Zeb demanded, not even waiting for a response before he grabbed you two by the scruff of your shirt necks and tossed you out of the room.

Both you and Ezra sputtered out protests, before plopping down to the floor with an oomf! “What a jerk–” Ezra commented lowly, sending a dirty look to the now shut door, while you snickered. It didn’t even register in your guys' minds what the Lasat called you, but you guys couldn’t really care less.

“...wait, what’d he call us-?”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Scene two, handholding: every friend does it!

“You two, go to the market. Hera needs some more tools and extra food supplies, but don’t cause any trouble–”

Aaaaaand you two were already rushing out, giggling and stumbling down the ramp in the direction of the market. Kanan sighed, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed and brows furrowed in exhaustion. “Why do I feel like I just made the biggest mistake of my life?” He commented heavily. The previously mentioned Twi’lek only offered him a teasing smile, before nudging him playfully. “You just see yourself in him.” She teased, and Kanan huffed. “I do, yes, but— wait, I—” looking across the vast ecosystem, he spotted you and Ezra’s slowly shrinking figures running hand in hand together.

Oh, that’s what she meant. A strangled, incredulous (and embarrassed) noise left the Jedi Knight, and he whipped towards her. “I do not!” He defended, and she only shrugged, raising a brow at him, an obvious ‘you’re in denial’ look in her eyes.

Meanwhile, you and Ezra were practically vibrating with excitement. “What do we need to get again-?” You asked, peeking over his shoulder to try and see the words written on the piece of paper Kanan had given the two of you. But, instead of Ezra showing it to you, he decided to be a little menace and hold the paper above his head where you couldn’t see it, a cheeky grin growing on his face. “Oh, I don’t know,” he purred playfully, and you groaned, before leaning up and quickly snatching the paper. Ezra yelped and pinched it between his fingers, but your tug was too forceful, thus resulting in the now ripped in half paper. A loud cackle left you as Ezra choked on his air, and you playfully shoved him. “Look what you did! You ripped it!” You shouted, and he protested immediately. “What!? Me?!” He squawked. “What about you? You’re the one who pulled it!” He retorted, and you rolled your eyes. “Only cuz’ you wouldn’t let me see, dummy!” You counterclaimed with a giggle, sticking your tongue out.

Ezra only huffed, before stepping closer to you. “Whatever. But now we’re gonna have to share.” He pointed out, and you shrugged. “Fine by me.” You responded, mimicking him and standing close to him. Both of your hands brushed against eachother, and Ezra took the chance to grab yours, interlacing you fingers together affectionately, and you didn’t even bat an eye. Nothing new. Once again holding hands, the two of you strolled around the market, keeping an eye out for any of the materials or equipment Hera needed.

A vendor behind the two of you sighed happily, shaking their head and smiling fondly. “Ah, young love. I remember that age.” They murmured under their breath, before turning and continuing to sell their products.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Scene three, kisses: just affectionate presses against flesh

“Mmmmmwah!” A very exaggerated noise left you when you pressed a firm kiss to the soft flesh of Ezra’s cheek, one hand on the side of his head and the other pressed to his other cheek to hold him there. Ezra’s eyes widened, and he stiffened, looking at you in shock as you giggled, your lipstick that you had just applied now smeared slightly. You’d thought nothing of it at first, just an intrusive thought. Honestly, you didn’t even know why. You and Ezra had found Hera’s and Sabine’s lipstick, and thought it’d be funny to swatch it, and you thought that a nice way to swatch it would be just to… well, press your marked lips to his caramel skin. His skin was soft. Squishy. He still had a bit of a baby face. Your lips were warm and sticky from the lipstick, and his cheek was cold. It felt nice. Really nice.

You liked it. You liked kissing him. He liked it, too. Now, a stamp of your lips were marked on his skin, and Ezra grinned, sapphire eyes glittering. “What was that for?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. You shrugged. “I dunno. Intrusive thought.” You muttered, albeit a bit shyly, and Ezra grabbed the other lipstick beside you. “Well, to be fair…” Immediately, you perked up, grabbing the stick next to you and hastily applying it while he applied his own, before peppering kisses all over his face before he could get yours, yelps and embarrassed groans and laughs leaving the two of you. Then, before you could continue, he grabbed your own face in his hands and pressed a big kiss to your own cheek, before your nose, your other cheek, your eyelid… you squealed gleefully, pressing against his chest. “Ezra— noo!” You whined, but he ignored you, before finally pressing his lips to yours in a chaste, shy, and inexperienced peck.

He liked kissing you. He did. And you liked it too.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Scene four, contemplation: just friends?

“‘Just friends’ don’t kiss.” You finally admitted, hands wringing together nervously as you and Ezra sat outside of the Ghost. Ezra nodded. He knew. He really did. He’s been thinking about this for a couple of weeks ever since he kissed you. Now questions ran through your minds. And you actually started to think about your actions. They weren’t mindless, they weren’t. But you guys were just friends, so why?

“I don’t think ‘just friends’ hold hands either.” Ezra added.

“Or sleep in the same bed and cuddle.” You continued.

It was silent for a couple of seconds, before you blushed, brows furrowing and your heart feeling a tad tight, along with Ezra’s. So would this mean that you and him have to stop? He didn’t want to stop. He really didn’t. Despite being a dork, you were his best friend, and he was yours. And Ezra, well, he loved you. And you loved him. Not romantically– you didn’t think. You just loved each other. Plain and simple.

“Ezra, I don’t really think we’re ‘just friends.’” You pointed out the obvious. But Ezra nodded. Not giving out a sarcastic reply like how he usually would.

“Then what are we?” He asked, looking at you and trying to decipher your reaction. You were doing the same for him, before averting your eyes, looking a tad insecure and not answering. Ezra didn’t remove his eyes from you, however. “...name, I like holding you.” He suddenly stated. That made you look up at him quizzically, before your features softened. “Me too.”

“I like kissing you.” “Me too.”

“...name, I like you.” He finally confessed. “And I think I always have, now that I think about it.” He muttered shyly, and you observed him with curious and fond eyes. “...I think so too. I like you too.” Both of you just shared a fond glance, shy smiles on your faces, before you scooted closer to each other, leaning your head on his shoulder. He relaxed, and rested his head atop yours, heart banging against his ribcage and his neck and face flushing a soft fuchsia.

…He really hoped you couldn’t smell him. He was sweating again.

[ahsokasupremacy]

Alright, here are my Top Ten funniest guesses (+1 that I bet nobody ELSE will guess) for who Inquisitor Marrok actually is!

You are most welcome to correct me or let me know who YOU think is most probable.

And just to challenge myself, I’m NOT putting Ezra. Because that would be too obvious.

1. Barriss Offee

I’m serious when I say that this is probably the most likely.

We know that she is a very important character in Ahsoka’s life, the writers could be trying to mislead us into thinking that the Force User is a man when really we have no confirmation that they are. Plus Dave Filoni has said in interviews that he refused to have the character make cameos just because he wanted to save her for later. Also, many people already speculated that Barriss became an Inquisitor after Order 66, explaining the double-sided Inquisitor lightsaber.

2. Darth Maul

Their build is a little too skinny for Darth Maul, and also wow, he must really be getting up there. And also, he died in Rebels. But when has that really ever stopped Disney from resurrecting him? I just think they should keep bringing him back. For the bit. I want the opening scroll for the upcoming Daisy Ridley movie to contain the words “Somehow, Darth Maul returned…”

3. Bo Katan

I highly doubt this because her character arc on the Mandalorian is already concluded, but I can kinda see her doing this as like, a side gig. Homegirl is probably broke from paying off Mandalore’s restoration fees. She’s not a Force User unfortunately, but when has that ever stopped her? I like to believe that Bo Katan simply woke up one day and decided to be Force Sensitive and it all kinda worked out for her somehow.

4. Lux Bonteri

If this is the option David Filoni is going with, BOOO. Yet another character who isn’t Force Sensitive. If you really think about it, Dave Filoni probably wants to include someone with an important history with Ahsoka, someone close to her that she held dear and that betrayed her and that she still has lingering feelings for.

Well actually that person is Barriss, and yknow, she kinda went MIA. Sooo the next best thing we could get is Lux, I guess!

5. Anakin (Force Ghost)

Daaaad, what are you doing here?

Well, the ghosts of Obi-Wan and Yoda told him to fuck off and get a job. So here he is. He’s putting in the work! He’s logging onto his Zoom! Ahsoka is gonna be sooo surprised when he finally takes off the mask and reveals it was him along. Just you wait! It’s gonna be so funny!

6. Korkie Kryze

Now we’re really starting to get big brained here.

In Legends, we have Jacen Solo. In the sequels, we have Kylo Ren.

But in the Brand New Republic era? Hark, a new villain arises. Korkie is embittered about being left behind and forgotten by his biological parents, Satine and Obi-Wan. And now he is out for revenge against all the Force Users and Mandalorians who abandoned him. Mwahahaha. We should’ve known he would turn out like this, he’s a ginger after all.

7. Ventress

This would technically make Dark Disciple non-canon? But I don't think Dave Filoni cares, considering he hilariously made the Ahsoka novel non-canon. Ventress is obviously very powerful and capable of dual-wielding and she would make a great candidate for an Inquisitor. Plus her and Morgan Elsbeth are both former Nightsisters so points for rapport.

8. Anakin’s Evil Clone

Hey, I mean Palpatine HAD to start somewhere, right? He didn’t just create Snoke without practice. I like to think he tried making a second Anakin at first, only to discover that Clonakin was a huge pain in the ass and doesn’t wanna follow orders just sit on the couch all day eating the space equivalent of Hot Cheetos.

9. Cal Kestis but he’s evil now

This one pretty much goes against everything we know about Cal but hey, I’ll take a live action Cal cameo any day now. I’ve been on the frontlines defending my babygirl Anakin since day one, don’t even try to lecture me about the ethics of stanning Darksider Cal.

9. Mara Jade

OK no more messing around!! I'm serious this time!

EVERYONE LISTEN CLOSELY!

I think the reason why Dave hasn't made any references to Eli, or Ar'alani, or Vahnya must be because he grew up on the 80s Legends trilogy (not the canon trilogy). Whenever Thrawn is mentioned, there is a direct reference to Heir to the Empire. The same novel where Mara Jade is introduced as the Hand of the Emperor. Coincidence? I think not! Obviously, this must be part of Dave Filoni's master plan to softlaunch the upcoming top secret Thrawn series adaptation.

10. Starkiller

My only real proof is that his name (Marek, Marrok) kinda sounds similar?

Making Starkiller canon would create a whole bunch of problems for the Star Wars timeline. I think his origin story is too Mary Sue-y for even Dave Filoni to try and integrate into current canon.

However, it would be interesting to see a showdown between Anakin's two former apprentices. Interesting, but unlikely.

And finally, for my last guess, I will tell you exactly who Marrok REALLY is. Kathleen Kennedy told me personally, so don't get mad at me! She said it, not me!

11. Luuke (the clone Palpatine made out of Luke's dismembered hand)

This is the ONLY correct answer.

Us Timothy Zahn enjoyers know that this was really Luuke all along. I told you, Snoke isn't the first clone that Palpatine made! I imagine he had a lot of downtime and got bored and decided to fuck around, and that's how we got Luuke.

And yes, I would cast Sebastian Stan to play him because I'm petty AF.

[foxymoxynoona]

Could you do a drabble for Amended where Jungkook & Bella are out with all of their kids having family time and suddenly run into his evil ex from school and she tries to make Bella feel insecure because she is salty🧂 but Jungkook puts her in her place since he regretted not defending Bella from her back then and this is the perfect opportunity to show her he is happy with his family 🙏🏼🥹 ❤️

I have not deleted any of these drabble requests! bet you thougth I'd forgotten but I have not! I just wait for the right moment and inspiration. I hope you enjoy this.

Story: Amended Length: 4321 words CW: language, some innuendo, fluff Timeline: June, Kai is almost 10 months old

“You didn’t have to come,” Jungkook said, hand on her lower back as the sliding doors opened to greet them. “Me and the kids could have handled it.”

“I want out of the house,” Isabella gritted out. “You didn’t have to come.” Jungkook gave her a look, not even bothering with that. No way was he going to let Isabella make a baby supply run by herself, not when he felt like it was his fault they’d run so low on everything in the first place. Usually he swung by the grocery store or Target on his way home from work to grab the diapers, wipes, baby food pouches, Desitin, replacement pacifiers or teething rings or more socks because Kai seemed to have been born with an anti-sock forcefield that made them evaporate within minutes of being put on, but Eomma and Isabella were determined he was going to wear grippy socks as he began toddling around the house. 

Lily sighed dramatically and dangled from the handle of the cart, “I’m boring.”

“You’re bored,” Ezra corrected, then amended, “Actually you’re pretty boring too.”

“Ezra,” Isabella warned.

“Ok guys, we can divide and conquer and get this over quickly,” Jungkook suggested. Isabella admired his pep, even if it was also grating right now. They were all staticky. In the past four weeks they’d passed head colds around twice, with Kai teething and not sleeping on top of it. How could he sleep when he had just discovered how to get to his feet and how much more trouble he could cause in that position? Isabella felt like she hadn’t let the house for anything except work in three weeks, and not even that in four days since she’d been the last –and hopefully the very last– round of the cold. 

Ezra sniffled and Isabella eyed him suspiciously. There better not be another round. It was June! The weather was finally starting to warm up, shouldn’t they be free of colds now? She was not sure that Jungkook was right that the warmer weather made cold viruses thaw out and be active… but she also hadn’t remembered to google it to disprove it yet…

“Kids,” Jungkook warned as Lily’s and Ezra’s bickering bubbled up. Isabella was better at tuning it out. They were all just so restless, and a trip to Baby Depot definitely wasn’t going to fix it, but maybe if they hurried it up here, they could do something fun. Like what? She had no fucking clue, but she’d think of it in the car. Was the ice cream place open yet? Playground? Kai was probably going to be ready for a nap by then though… 

“List?” Jungkook asked Isabella. “Break it out for us, who’s doing what.”

Isabella decided maybe Jungkook’s tactic was right here. Divide and conquer. So she divvied up the list: Ezra on unscented wipes and diapers, Lily on exactly three new baby books, Jungkook on a baby fence they could set up in the yard and maybe a ride on toy because Kai seemed jealous of Ezra and Lily riding their bikes in the driveway during the nicer weather, and Isabella would fill up on baby snacks and formula. Last time Jungkook and Ezra had made the choices and when she had pointed they seemed to have forgotten the beet-banana cereal puffs Kai liked, the two had responded simultaneously “Yuck.” 

Jungkook took Kai, Ezra took the cart, Lily dragged her feet as if she had the worst job in the world even though Isabella knew she’d probably forget herself reading all the baby books and they’d have to go fetch her. The brief silence of standing alone unnerved Isabella. How strange to be alone. 

She grabbed a basket and set out for the baby food aisle. Feeding Kai had been such a different experience from the very beginning, when she’d struggled and then given up on nursing. That had been hard to accept but ultimately it had removed such a major stressor from his babyhood, and made her realize just how much time she had spent stressed about it with Lily and Ezra, worried if they were getting enough, worried why they didn’t like the solid foods she tried to introduce later, worried if she was nursing them at the wrong times and that’s why they didn’t want to sleep through the night, worry if she was eating or drinking the wrong things for them to get secondhand through her milk. Damn it was nice that Jungkook could and did handle so many of the feedings. Nothing sexier than watching Jungkook bounce a baby in one arm and mix a bottle one-handed –except maybe watching him airplane Kai on his shoulder as they passed the end of Isabella’s aisle in search of their items. 

Bottles weren’t the end of Kai’s difference in food. His first solid food had been a dumpling stolen from Jungkook’s plate in a split second at just over five months. He’d quickly learned that grabbing fistfuls of rice was impossible for his parents to wrestle away. Beyond the Asian foods that were a diet staple so young, Isabella also had the time and money and energy to make finger foods for him alongside their meals. She’d about killed herself trying to get the same healthy diet for Ezra and Lily, but also been very reliant on the pouches she could get through food donation programs. Feeding Kai was more joy than stress, and the whole family got in on seeing how he would react to whatever food they had him try. The weirdo had a particular love for lemons –which had Jungkook demanding to know what happened, since he happened to hate lemons, as if Kai would just inherit his exact food tastes!

Smiling at all of this, Isabella perused the “quick” meals available –the little trays of cut up turkey and mashed potatoes and peas or macaroni and cheese they kept stocked for quick meals when they needed to be out the door for kids’ activities. She actually looked forward to that kind of busy again. Being stuck at home with sick kids, managing without a sick husband, or languishing with her own sickness knowing Jungkook was carrying more of the load solo had been frustrating, to say the least. Now it was back to normal, for a whole two weeks until the kids got out of school for the summer. Time moved so quickly.

Healthy healthy, we’re all healthy now, what’s good for immune support? She mused, chucking her selections into the basket until it grew heavy on her forearm. She still needed to get the formula too. What a great feeling. She had grown used to not having to count coins after years of living in what felt like luxury with Jungkook, but she wondered when the day would come that she stopped noticing that she wasn’t thinking about it. Would she ever truly take it for granted?

She heard the shriek of a baby and glanced over her shoulder as a toddler sprinted past –not hers. The little girl ran to her parent in another aisle, out of Isabella’s view and concern, but the glance trailed her vision across another woman in the aisle, heavily pregnant and staring right back at her.

“Isabella,” she greeted evenly.

“Jasmin,” Isabella returned, mirroring her tone. She looked casually back to the food, feeling prickles of displeasure along her scalp but not wanting to let Jasmin know she felt any which way about seeing her. Pregnant, huh? Isabella would admit only to herself she wasn’t thrilled to learn of any positive developments in Jasmin’s life. She didn’t want to be petty. Much. 

To her surprise, Jasmin followed up with, “How’s it going?”

“Good.” Isabella knocked a few more things into her basket before reciprocating, “How about you?”

Was there hesitation in Jasmin’s voice, or was she only waiting for Isabella to look at her before she rushed out, “Great. Things have been busy.” 

“I imagine so.” 

“I’m due in six weeks,” Jasmin volunteered and Isabella didn’t know whether to hide or convey her feelings of I could not care less and never want to see you again. Jasmin continued regardless, “I feel as big as a house! But Daniel says it didn’t go to my face, probably because of all the prenatal pilates I did.”

“I… didn’t know you did pilates,” Isabella said because of everything suddenly happening, that felt like the most surprising thing, even more so than Jasmin suddenly chatting her up with a tone that didn’t sound totally nice but also not totally bitchy. Obviously she was trying to brag, but Isabella was around a lot of pregnant women and that was pretty normal… oh geez, had she done that too?

“I have for years, since I moved to LA. Daniel wanted me to take a rest but I wasn’t about to let this baby ruin my body.”

Isabella couldn’t resist it, she shrugged and said, “I’ve had three and don’t feel ruined at all, but I can’t imagine the pressure you live under when that’s your thing. I’m glad you’ve found something to help–”

“I wouldn’t say it’s my thing– what do you mean by that?” Jasmin asked, head tilting. “Caring about the way I look?”

“Being fit and attractive and all that,” Isabella offered. She meant it as an insult but suspected it didn’t sound that way in her voice, but that Jasmin was likely looking for the insult anyway.

“Oh,” Jasmin laughed, “I guess my style has changed.” It was clearly Isabella’s cue to notice for real just how fully Jasmin’s style really had shifted. She’d come from money but made such an effort to be cool and anti-everything in high school. Isabella couldn’t recall what she’d worn the last time they ran into each other in the jewelry store. “I guess soon I’ll be dressing like you.”

Isabella heard it as an insult and felt her haunches raise as she resisted the urge to look down at her own outfit, as if Jasmin had any power to make her feel unworthy. So what, black leggings and a heather gray top from a six-month Stitch Fix subscription she’d let Mikayla talk her into might not be the height of fashion, but fuck off maybe?

“Because I am so fucking sick of maternity dresses,” Jasmin continued as if there hadn’t been an uncomfortable pause. “Even the tailored ones. It’s not about showing off my body, I just feel… I can’t believe you did this twice but it was probably easier since you were so young, hm?”

“Um… I’ve done it three times,” Isabella said again. “And…” She didn’t know how to respond to this because, try as she might, she couldn’t find anything mean in it. Jasmin just seemed to be…sharing? Maybe it was a little barbed but… definitely nothing compared to her old hostility.

“Three times?” Jasmin clarified. She glanced at the baby foods in Isabella’s basket, mouth open, before realizing, “Oh, you and… you had another one?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. Three is– I can’t imagine. I’m definitely done after this. Daniel said he’d like two but he can be pregnant next time if he wants it so bad,” Jasmin said, and laughed and gave Isabella this look like you know what I mean? 

Isabella stumbled over her answer, “I think Jungkook would have liked more too but… three is good.”

“Three is great,” the very man said from behind her, shuffling noisily into the aisle with Kai supermanning on his shoulder and the awkward babygate in hand while he kicked a box ahead of him. “Hi,” he said breezily to Jasmin, then to Isabella, “I got the pink and purple little scooter thing for him instead of the red one since his bouncer was blue so he doesn’t get weird ideas about colors for boys or girls.”

“Oh. Great.” Isabella nodded. This was actually something they had agreed on before Kai was born, so she did not understand why he was clarifying that now. 

He set the babygate down and flipped Kai into his arms, their precious son squealing with deep belly giggles about it, exacerbated by Jungkook’s fingers tickling his belly.

“Wow. He’s cute,” Jasmin commented, watching every movement Jungkook and Kai made. Isabella would have loved to read her mind just then. Kai was really fucking cute, and so was Jungkook, and the two of them together were painfully cute to witness. Was Jasmin thinking how that could have been her? Wondering if having such a cute baby was the only reason Jungkook had gotten together with Isabella? Wishing her husband could compare in any way to Jungkook (Isabella was sure he could not)? 

Or was she simply seeing her future, when the baby in her own belly would be out in the world and giggling upside down playing with his dad?

“He is,” Isabella belatedly added. “We lucked out, each kid was just so much better than I imagined. Everything worked out so well.”

Jasmin flipped her hair over her shoulder and agreed, “Daniel always says that, how you know it’s not the end until things have worked out.”

“Daniel is her husband,” Isabella explained to Jungkook.

“Well, fiance,” Jasmin said and flapped her hand with a honking big ring on it, as if she both wanted them to see and not see. “I didn’t want to be pregnant at the wedding and have guests thinking that’s why we got married, so we’ll do it in Bali next year.”

“Oh, that’s a big trip with a baby,” Jungkook mused. “We didn’t take the kids to Korea until they were older, now Kai will have to wait for a bit. I think he’d drive us nuts on the plane, he wants to move all the time.”

“Maybe you can fly private,” Isabella suggested, not sure what else to say. She trained her gaze on Kai, wishing she could just scoop her son up and skip away from this awkward conversation. 

Jasmin laughed, “Ok, Daniel is a C.O.O. but we aren’t that rich. Maybe in a few years. He’s been so successful and now he and my dad are thinking about a joint venture together. It’s… you know, work stuff,” she said with a grin. “I won’t explain venture capital.”

It must be a jab, and yet Jungkook didn’t seem to feel it, just agreed, “Good, I don’t have the brain cells to spare because apparently I have more kiddie books to memorize– Lily, that is way more than three,” he called as Lily shuffled down the aisle, at least eight books stacked precariously in her arms. 

“Yeah I know but I can’t decide if Kai needs to learn colors or numbers or letters or shapes first and those books are cute but kind of boring, so I think we should get him these ones about bugs and sharks too.”

Jungkook clicked his tongue and flipped Kai again and then gave Isabella a playful look, lips pursed until he asked, “What do you think, Mom, it’s a good point.” 

“We already have so many books,” Isabella reminded him.

“Yeah but maybe if I’d read more, I wouldn’t have done so much dumb shit as a teenager,” he pointed out. 

“I don’t think literacy was your problem,” Isabella countered.

Jungkook laughed and in a surprising twist, asked Jasmin, “What do you think?” 

Jasmin could not have looked more flustered. Isabella couldn’t understand what was going through her head at all right now as she looked between the four of them and stammered out, 

“I think… that… reading is good. Maybe I should have read more too.”

Lily shuffled through the books in her arms, then handed over a board book with the suggestion, “Here you go, you should get this for your baby. It’s a good one. I already read it.”

“Oh. I guess… ok…” Jasmin glanced at the cover of the book but mostly at Lily, probably trying to figure out whether Jungkook was actually her biological dad or not. Lily always thought it was funny when people thought he was and didn’t bother to correct them because why bother? She loved mysteries and unknowns.

“Why did you pick that one up, we already have that one,” Jungkook realized. 

“I was too lazy to put it back.”

Kai mirrored Jungkook’s laughter, and Isabella too rolled her eyes and snickered and didn’t stop Lily as she wedged the books into the basket on her arm. All of them

“Where’s Ezra with the cart?” Isabella wondered. Being on edge near Jasmin was wearing her out and she was ready to be gone from this confusing encounter. Was she paranoid or did the way Jasmin kept looking between them mean something? It wasn’t bad, but that made it even more alarming. Jasmin was not behaving like she should.

“Ezra!” Jungkook called. Kai’s eyes went wide, then he laughed and let out a loud babble, clearly trying to mimic the yell. 

“Appa!” Ezra called back from a few aisles over.

“You must all be very… busy,” Jasmin said. Kai suddenly decided he wanted Isabella to hold him and tried to leap from Jungkook’s arms, but in doing so saw Lily and decided he wanted his sister to hold him instead.

“Don’t set him down,” Isabella warned, “He’ll take off.”

“He started walking early,” Jungkook explained to Jasmin. “You’ll think they’re terrors once they start crawling because they’re so damn fast, but just wait.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that…” She trailed off as Ezra appeared with the cart at the far end of the aisle, lanky frame riding the footbar as he pushed it along. 

“They didn’t have the wipes we usually get so I got a different kind,” he announced. “They’re still unscented though. Kai-Kai, do you want to ride in the cart?” Ezra asked, hunching down in front of his little brother wedged in Lily’s arms.

In the moment of watching her kids –and checking the label to make sure the wipes were genuinely unscented so as not to aggravate Kai’s skin or cause Jungkook to whine about the overpowering scent– she started as Jungkook’s hand slid up her back on his way to grab the basket of baby food and books she’d set on the floor

“Is that everything? Can we get out of here? Monkeybars are calling my name,” Jungkook announced as he set the basket in the cart.

“Noooo,” Lily whined.

“Look, I’m sorry that you still can’t beat me in a monkeybar race. Get good,” Jungkook teased.

“Daaaad,” Lily scowled and punched his arm playfully.

“What did I tell you, thumbs out,” he corrected, but her thumbs were out and she used them to give him two thumbs down and stick her tongue out. “Yeah I’m leaving you in the monkeybar dust.”

Through all this Jasmin just watched, until Isabella joked, “Something for you and Daniel to look forward to.”

“I don’t know yet if we’re having a boy or a girl,” she said. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“Either one is good, and they’ll surprise you either way.”

Lily set Kai down, exactly as she had been told not to do. Kai took his little uncertain toddling steps away –not even that fast, but Lily and Ezra playfully pretended like he was zooming full speed, slow-running after him and shouting, “Catch that baby!” Kai clearly thought he was really hauling ass and getting away with something.

Jungkook’s hand slid around Isabella’s waist, a firm but subtle hold as he stared after the kids, a bright smile on his face. Isabella appreciated the touch but also felt embarrassed for Jasmin to see it, ike she might think this was a performance for her. It might be, but it also wasn’t. Jungkook was a handsy guy.

If Jasmin noticed the hand, she didn’t show it, just agreed, “Yes. It’s going to be great.” Isabella found herself hoping that was sincere, that Jasmin felt that way about her life, and Daniel, and this baby she had on the way which may or may not have been planned. She certainly wasn’t going to ask. She of all people knew the planning didn’t dictate the love and joy that came afterwards, and that life had a way of surprising you with the absolute worst but also, sometimes, the absolute best. Maybe Jasmin would wind up being a good mom, the way Jungkook and Isabella had wound up being pretty good parents too. 

Jungkook pulled away to wedge the gate and scooter into the cart, before saying to Jasmin,

“Well, good luck and congratulations. We’ve got to get these kids some ice cream and to a playground.”

“Wait, why the ice cream?” Isabella caught, because that had not been part of the plan.

He dropped his voice lower and leaned in and whined, “Because I want some, it’s finally warm enough outside it won’t give me brain freeze.”

“That’s not how brain freeze works,” she laughed.

“Bellaaaa, buy us ice cream.”

“Yeah yeah, go,” she laughed, “Push the cart, Muscles.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Isabella paused, turning back to Jasmin, belatedly considering that she hadn’t been thinking or feeling anything at all about Jasmin for the last few minutes, really. The thing she’d feared, the jab she had waited for, didn’t come. It was like running into anyone else from high school in the store: a little awkward but inoffensive. 

If Jungkook was making a point right now, he’d done it exactly right, by being playful and casual. This was exactly what Isabella would have wanted Jasmin to see, their family close and loving and happy. It didn’t feel like an act because it wasn’t. Jasmin could see that, she must. Maybe she was jealous or maybe she was just as happy with her C.O.O. fiance and Bali wedding and baby on the way, but Isabella found she just… didn’t really care. Jasmin’s life or feelings had no bearing on her at all. She didn’t even feel the need for any kind of revenge, or confirmation that Jasmin’s life was worse or anything like that. It didn’t matter. Jasmin didn’t need to fail for Isabella to know that her life had taken a major winning turn. She had no envy for anyone. She had exactly what she wanted.

“I hope things go well for you. New babies can be hard but just remember it gets better every week. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

“I know that,” Jasmin said, maybe a little snippy. Isabella snorted. Ok, still a bitch maybe? “Anyway. Have fun with your ice cream.”

“Oh, we do,” Isabella assured her, then strolled off before realizing it might have sounded a little more coy than she really meant it. Uh well, whatever! If Jasmin thought she and Jungkook got freaky with ice cream, so be it. She took the last few steps in the aisle at a faster pace and jumped into Jungkook’s back just before he’d disappeared from view of the aisle. His response was to reach back and smack her on the ass loudly. 

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself, I thought we had a family rule about jumping on people without warning,” he reminded, which they did, and everyone in the family sucked at it. Kids and over-energetic husbands would be themselves, so why couldn’t she get away with it too?

“No that way, that way Kai!” the kids cheered, herding Kai towards the cash registers at the front. Isabella rested her chin on top of Jungkook’s head and squeezed his shoulders before sliding off. Rather than let her go, he threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

“You ok?” he asked.

“I’m very ok.”

“I didn’t know how to handle it,” he admitted. “Never expected to run into her here. I can’t imagine her as a mom.”

“Well… people probably said that about me too,” Isabella pointed out. “Maybe it changes her for the better. She wasn’t as bitchy as she used to be.”

“Was she being… nice?” he asked, incredulous.

“Maybe? I don’t know. And I weirdly… don’t care. I mean, it was fucking high school.”

He kissed her temple and whispered, “Yeah, but I’m still sorry.”

“It’s been one hell of an apology,” she whispered back. 

“Want me to say it again tonight?” he whispered again. “Down… there?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“No. ‘I’m sorry’ is too short. Maybe…all these books you’ve been memorizing?”

“Fuck, I’ll be down there all night!”

“Hm,” she grinned. “Hm,” she said again, and giggled and dove ahead as he swatted at her ass, off to scoop up Kai before he pulled down a rack of toddler sunglasses because Ezra and Lily were distracted by someone’s small dog they’d brought into the store.

[thelegendofmik]

Stop Defending Ableists Challenge (Level: Impossible)

So the other day I made a post listing all the ableist things Jacob Richmond has included in Legoland and Ride the Cyclone.

And the response was abysmal - the amount of "well actually..." kind of responses I got was disgusting and I took down the post because I find it counterproductive to argue with teenagers on the internet. However, I stand by the belief that if you think you are old enough to post publicly on the internet, you are old enough to be held accountable for what you post.

But I think what I had to say was quite important, so I am going to reword it here.

TW here for the discussion of ableism and ableist slurs (they are all censored)

There is ZERO (0) justification for the use of THREE (3) ableist slurs across both works. I don't fucking care if it was the 2000's. The ADA predates both shows and disability activism had existed for decades before that (as yannick very kindly reminded me). So no, it was not ok for Richmond to use those slurs in his works, regardless of the time period. Because there is nothing "correct" (politically, or otherwise) about ableism.

And before you say "Oh, but it was the character who said it, not the writer..."

CHARACTERS ARE NOT SENTIENT BEINGS! They are not created in a vacuum. Their thoughts and actions are often a reflection of the author's own beliefs and morals.

It was not Ocean who decided to use the word cr*pple. It was Jacob Richmond who decided to use it. Same with the r word and sp*z in Legoland. It wasn't Penny and Ezra who decided to use those words, it was Jacob Richmond. Because each character's actions are dictated by the decisions that the author makes for that character. And in this case, the author decided to be an ableist asshole.

Yes, characters can be assholes. They can be complex and nuanced beings. But there are better ways to portray such experiences than being violently ableist (i.e.: without using slurs). And why does the ableist character get complexity and nuance, but the disabled character is simply the sad, disabled kid, with not much else in his personality until he magically becomes abled bodied. Like we deserve nuance and complexity as well, people!

In a 2022 interview with Curtain Call Bway (here), when asked who his favourite character to write was, Richmond responds with the following:

Ocean is definitely my favorite character to write because it’s based on certain people I’ve met and certain aspects of myself too.

Like he literally admits it himself, that his decisions when writing an ableist character were based off aspects of his own personality.

The reality is, disability has never been more than a comedic plot point to Richmond. He has never cared about portraying a realistic disabled experience. He has never cared about disabled people.

And the cherry on top is that his response to yannick-robin being hate-crimed was to rewrite Ricky so that he could be played by an abled and therefore production teams wouldn't have to give a shit about ensuring their spaces are safe and accessible for disabled performers. If he actually cared about disabled people and properly representing our experiences, he would have worked with a disability consultant and fixed the issues within the show. Instead, he doubles down and causes even more harm.

To add insult to injury, he then licensed that script to Sarah Rasmussen and her team of ableist cronies for the DC production. Because him choosing to continue working with Rasmussen and her team just shows that he shares the same ableist values as the McCarter/Arena team.

So by saying that "its the character, not the author", you are defending Richmond and his violent ableism. You are attempting to justify the harm he has done and CONTINUES TO DO to disabled people. YOU. ARE. A. PART. OF. THE. PROBLEM.

Ride the Cyclone and Legoland (in ALL its forms and versions) contains so much ableist violence. This violence has traumatised REAL PEOPLE, but yannick, myself, and other people speaking out are the ones ruining the vibe by calling it out? Be fucking for real people.

Now if only my university papers were this thorough...

[ash5monster01]

Getaway Camp : Eight

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x OC!Fem

Warnings: 18+, mentions of abuse, neglect, mentions of infertility, alcohol use, language, foreplay, sexual innuendos, physical attraction, illusions of smut.

Summary: After spending a day with Ezra, Charlie finds himself in an unlikely place with Valerie but it turns out to be one of the best nights of his life.

word count: 3.1k

Masterlist

Seven ←→ Nine

June 30th 1961

It’s a cool morning, colder than normal, more than likely considering the storm from the night before. Charlie didn’t even make it a step out his cabin before pulling on a sweatshirt. His rowers had gotten good enough he had started to join them and for the first time in his life he actually looked forward to sport than viewing it as a chore. Best part was he got to see Valerie on her lifeguard post every time he passed the dock. It was the best way to spend his mornings. Nothing could make his day better. Other than when he was actually with her.

“Gosh, you haven’t lost that dopey grin once since that girl kissed you” Ezra says from his easy chair. Since it was a chillier day, Charlie somehow found himself in the man’s cabin, helping build a puzzle to pass the time.

“Sorry Ezra, just been a long time since I was happy about something” Charlie tells him earnestly and the older man gives him a sad smile, feeling awful for the hectic life he already had lived. So young and so hurt by the world already.

"Well it's good at your age to be happy about a girl, it's healthy even. Sounds like you got a good one too" Ezra points out as he places another puzzle piece where it belongs. Charlie smiles and nods, already counting down the minutes until she finished her shift and he could snuggle up in his cabin with her. Especially on this cool and rainy day. Yet he wouldn't be surprised if she had some sort of party in mind, enough kisses from her pouty lips and big sad eyes, and he would cave.

"I did, actually surprised I got so lucky" Charlie says, a soft blush on his cheeks. Sixteen year old Charlie viewed woman as objects, something to obtain, and now it was so different. He appreciated Valerie, adored her even. If he ever dared disrespect her he's not sure he could live with himself.

“I’m not, good young men like you always deserve a kind young woman by their side” Ezra tells him with an earnest look, an honesty and strength behind his words.

“I’m not that good” Charlie mutters and Ezra snorts.

“Is anyone boy? We just do our best, it’s the ones who learn from their mistakes that make them good” he says with the point of his finger and Charlie thinks of his father. The man he should be free from and yet there was still that part of him that worked diligently to make him proud and still came up short.

Ezra sees the forlorn look on the boys face, the crease in his brow as he struggles with his emotions. He didn’t know much about the boy, just that he had a hard home life and had been kicked out of school. It wasn’t hard to tell he battled something so much deeper and that was a hard thing to do on your own. So he dared a change of topic. “You hear from your folks at all?”

Charlie flashes a look of surprise, not expecting the question. It takes a few moments for his brain to catch up with what he had just asked. “Just my Mom, I called the day I got here and a few more times after that. I figure I won’t ever hear from my Father again”

“You will, even if it’s something you don’t want to hear. He’s hard on you because he cares, you know that right?” Charlie feels immediately defensive, almost angry this man in front of him is defending his father’s actions. The man who had emotionally abused him his entire life, gave him a sense of worthlessness he still couldn’t shake.

“If he cared he’d call” Charlie sneers, slamming a puzzle piece into place and feeling an anger boil inside him that he hadn’t had in a long time.

“Look, I don’t know him personally, but if I had to guess he’s probably afraid to call in fear of rejection” Charlie scoffs at the notion, damn right amused by the suggestion. His father, king of stocks, afraid.

“Afraid of me, rejecting him? All he’s ever done is reject me. Ship me off to boarding schools, forget me on Holidays, refuse to comfort me when my best friend died. He don’t give a shit that he hasn’t heard from me” Ezra freezes at his words, not knowing all of this. Not knowing the boy probably lost the one person who loved him as he was.

“If I were to guess he probably didn’t know how to face all of that, face you. Angry fathers were once forgotten young men too” Charlie sighs with the shake of his head, dropping his eye line to salmon colored carpet in the living room.

“Yeah well, me and my Dad may never agree and I’ve accepted that. No use fighting for something I finally got to leave behind" Charlie mutters and Ezra takes his defiance as a suggestion to leave it alone for now. After all he never had a chance to be a father but he couldn't gurantee he wouldn't of screwed up just like Charlie's father did. Maybe not as bad and in a world where he did have kids, he hoped that didn't deem him a bad one.

"I just hope you don't come to regret that decision" Ezra says before taking a sip from his cup of coffee and picking up a fresh puzzle piece to hopefully find a place for. Much like Charlie just looking for somewhre to belong, a stray piece to a puzzle, hoping he might fit in the world. Charlie stays silent, reeling in his words and trying to fight the anger he feels. Especially the anger towards the older man who clearly just had good intentions. He wanted more control of his emotions especially since they were the very thing that turned his life upside down when Neil had died. The very thing that led him to hit Cameron with all his might.

“Hey what do you say to me meeting this girl sometime though, I’m sick and tired of watching you blush over her. Might as well make her dinner?” Ezra says after a while and Charlie can’t help the smile that cracks across his face.

“Yeah okay, I’ll see if she wants to do dinner” Charlie agrees and Ezra gives a wide smile, hand reaching to clap over his shoulder before focusing his attention back on the puzzle in front of him. This one much easier to figure out than Charlie.

When Charlie makes the trek back to staff camp the heavy clouds begin to drizzle rain. When he’s safe in his cabin it’s finally coming down, dampening the entire camp, and justifying the drop in temperature from the day. Andy is no where to be found, probably in Alice’s cabin and already drinking for the night. A party lifestyle Charlie never thought he’d struggle to keep up with. Either way he hoped Valerie wouldn’t drag him to some campfire he had to get soaked at.

“Ah that came from no where!” the girls squeals, barreling through his cabin door and dripping water. Charlie laughs from his bed, until he spots the denim dress on her form. She so beautiful he’s sure he’ll never get used to it.

“Oh Val, you don’t seriously want to hang out in the rain tonight do you?” he asks and she rolls her eyes, pushing the wet hair away from her face before sliding off her sandals.

“Not exactly” she says, sauntering towards him slowly and making sure he had a perfect view of the cleavage she had on display. It would come in her favor for what she was about to say next.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks as she plops beside him, leaning forward with a mischievous smile. Taking her time as she presses a soft and sweet kiss against his lips.

“What do you say to going to the Hideout tonight?” she asks and Charlie’s so lost in the taste of her it takes him a moment to process. When the question finally hits him his eyes widen, hands reaching to squeeze at her waist.

“And why would you want to do that? You said the Hideout was for lonely people looking for a dance and someone to take home” Charlie says and Valerie giggles, leaning against him.

“Yes but other campers can still go too. Besides I only want to dance with you tonight and take you home. Plus I’m all dolled up, would be a waste if I didn’t get to show it off” Charlie blushes at her suggestion, the image of keeping her in this cabin tonight entirely too taunting.

“Fine but you really should only be showing off for me” Charlie fake pouts and Valerie kisses it away, making the boy roll his eyes. He gives a soft squeeze to her waist, indicating for her to stand which she complies. On his way up he lands a soft smack to her butt before walking to the tall dresser in search of a different shirt.

“Wear that sexy black one again” Valerie coos, snaking her arms around his waist from behind as he digs through the drawer. Charlie snorts but finds the T-shirt anyway. Who would he be to say no to her?

“You gonna take it off this time?” Charlie asks, mostly teasing and Valerie breaks away from him, smirking as he changes the shirt.

“Guess you’ll have to wait and see Ace” she winks and the boy laughs before reaching for the liquor bottle on the desk. Andy must’ve taken the other one so Charlie settles for a long swig before passing it to the gorgeous girl.

“The only way I’ll survive this is with a buzz so drink up V” he tells her and Valerie furrows her eyebrows as she swigs the bottle anyway. Charlie’s tolerance had become much better since the first day of camp.

“Plan on forgetting it all?” she asks, hoping the boy actually looked forward to spending the night with her and not wiping it away with an excessive amount of alcohol and no recollection of her tomorrow.

“Absolutely not, any moment with you I want to remember forever. This is more for the sting of embarrassment I feel every time I see Nate trying to flirt with other women and Chrissy cry about it” Valerie snorts, loving him even more for this answer. How he had picked up on everything so quickly she didn’t understand but she appreciated having someone other than Levi to finally share this all with.

“Fair, now let’s go I want to dance!” she cheers, tucking the liquor bottle under her arm and hand reaching out for his own. Charlie just laughs as he takes it and allows the girl to drag him out of the cabin. The closer they get to the Hideout the easier it is to hear the loud music from inside. Flickers and pink and blue lights flash outside the gaps of the cabin. The outside itself was already intimidating enough but when Valerie has already started to shake her hips, and her hand squeezes his own, he follows her inside without question.

“No shit, Valerie in the Hideout” Nate greets them loudly over the music the second they come through the door. Valerie rolls her eyes and tugs Charlie a bit closer.

“I wanted to dance” she tells her friend, looking for any excuse because the last time she had been in the Hideout she made a decision she regretted immediately. The fact it all turned out okay would never not shock her. Now no mistakes could be made, she could dirty dance with her camp boyfriend and pretend the big question wasn’t looming overhead. The desire to know what would happen to them once camp was over.

“Isn’t that always the excuse?” Nate leans down and asks and based on the way Valerie’s jaw clenches Charlie knows Nate just struck a nerve. Suddenly her hand tightens against his own and starts to drag him towards the center of the dance floor.

“Bye Nate” she mutters, hazel eyes fading into a dark brown. Charlie glances between to two but decides it’s better not to ask. When they reach the center of the crowd Valerie is quick to weave her hand around Charlie’s neck and take another sip from the liquor bottle she had smuggled in.

“You okay?” Charlie asks and Valerie gives a curt nod, moving to set the bottle upon a table nearby before weaving her other hand around him.

“Yes now let’s dance, I wanna see what kind of moves you got Dalton” she says, that same teasing smile finally back on her face and Charlie laughs, his hands settling on her waist.

“I have to warn you, I’m not much of a dancer. Going to an all boys school didn’t provide many dancing opportunities” he tells her and Valerie giggles, the image of a younger Charlie having to dance with another boy amusing her to no end.

“Even if you had, it wouldn’t have been this kind of dancing” she says, head tipping to the crowd and Charlie finally glances around the room. Recognizing the faces of some staff and others not so much, huddled close to their partners, bodies flush together. Charlie can’t help the way his ears tint pink, suddenly feeling like he’s accidentally seen an intimate moment between two other people.

“You’re right, Nolan would’ve never let this fly” and even though Valerie doesn’t know who Nolan is she can only assume it’s someone from his school that had left a strong enough impression. One strict enough that it was his first thought.

“Well what do you say, few more drinks and some dancing?” and even if Charlie isn’t sure the kind of dancing she’s referring to is much like the dirty one he was seeing now, he agrees anyway just for the chance it might be.

As the night progresses and the drinks flow, Charlie comes to find that Valerie isn’t shy on the dance floor at all. He had to count to ten, and try to remember the Presidents in order, just to avoid a hard on at least six times so far. Yet her once wild and damp hair was now wild and curly, soft against his neck while her body was flush against his. She smelled like strawberries and was so warm, it was hard not to imagine her different ways. When she turns and presses her ass straight against his crotch, he’s sure he’s done for.

“You need to relax” Valerie tells him, guiding his hands to her stomach and rib cage. Charlie tries to loosen up, but now with him holding her steady she grinds herself softly back into him, and no amount of presidents or numbers could get him to calm down. Not even the image of Nolan in his underwear.

“I can’t, in fact you might have to walk in front of me on the way out of here” Charlie whispers into her ear and Valerie smiles wide, continuing her movements, knowing exactly what she was doing.

“I don’t mind” Valerie whispers back, voice heavy with lust, and Charlie knows she can feel exactly what’s happening to him right now. Yet instead of shying away Valerie grinds her ass against his length, enjoying to way he stiffens behind her. If there was a version of both heaven and hell, this would be it.

“I should’ve known” Charlie says, a soft growl into her neck and suddenly Valerie feels like a weak mess. Not expecting the possessiveness from him. The way his large hands grasp her body and pull her back into him, how he softly and slowly grinds his hard on against her. She can’t help how her thighs clench together, trying to hide how badly she needs him too. Trying to distract herself she settles into the music, finding a rhythm with his hips, hands lifting behind her and sliding into his hair as his lips find her neck in a hot kiss.

For the first time all night the pair are on the same page, drunk off of each other and the liquor flowing through their veins. There’s no worries about the future or the past. It’s just the two of them, falling in love, and coming to understand one another’s bodies. So when Valerie turns to face him, Charlie pulls her close, mostly to hide his situation, and press his lips against her own. Charlie shamelessly kisses the girl, tongue curling against her own, and memorizing the taste of her. She pulls gently at his hair and suddenly regrets even coming here tonight with the fire so strong between them. They should be alone.

“God where have you been all my life” Charlie breathlessly chuckles when her lips find his neck and she smiles against his skin, knowing she felt the exact same way.

“Waiting for the right moment” is the only response she gives and Charlie smiles, arms coiling around her waist and holding her close in a tight hug.

“What do you say to eating dinner some time with a favorite camper of mine, he’s dying to meet you?” Charlie finds the courage to ask and Valerie giggles, knowing this is quite possibly a version of Charlie wanting her to meet his parents. Show off the girl to someone special, make it more serious.

“I’d be happy too, just give me a day and time” she tells him and Charlie kisses her again, a happiness swelling in his chest that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. The old him climbing the surface and feeling safe again. Charlie couldn’t help but hope this would never change, that the bubble would never burst, and he could stay in this moment forever. Comfortable and happy with someone all over again. It was scary, undoubtedly, but it was also familiar. Like coming home after a long time and knowing that for one moment everything would be okay.

For Charlie he never really had a home and until this moment he never realized for him, home had always been the people he loved. He hadn’t been home ever since Neil died and he got kicked out school. Yet at this very moment, tucked in Valerie’s arms and dancing without a care in a world, he was home again and it didn’t feel as empty. This time, it felt like no matter what happened he would turn out okay. He wasn’t broken, at least not anymore.

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[wondersmithofastronautalis]

Sometimes I wonder if Kanan has any ties to the Lothwolf riders we see in Lothal cave art. Its strongly hinted he’s from Lothal- the cave art showing Jedi taking a child, for example. Plus the fact he shares a lot of physical traits with Ezra- dark hair, tan skin, blue/green eyes, straight nose. And I get feeling you think so too since in your story he and Ezra both have a habit of comparing the feel of the Force to animals- lothcat tails and wasps, etc.

Tying back to the Wolf Riders, the Lothwolves clearly have a vested interest in Kanan (stemming all the back in S4E6 “Flight of the Defender.”) Plus the big Lothwolf named Dume. No idea how he and Kanan are connected but it does make me wonder. Maybe Kanan is descended from the Wolf Riders? Maybe the Wolf Riders had strong connections to the Living Force? But then what is Kanan’s connection to Dume? They share a name but that’s all I know for sure. Maybe the family Kanan is from specifically had the strongest ties to Dume, hence they claimed his name?

Do have any theories, or would that spoil what you have planned for the story?

Honestly I agree that it was hinted very strongly that Kanan was from Lothal, at the very least. I'm not sure about the descendant of the wolf-rider's idea in canon - I really got the impression it was more of a timey-wimey incarnation thing. Now I kind of want to include the descendent idea into CotF, though; it could be very cool, have a reason why the wolves interact with Kanan more than Ezra. (Not that Ezra doesn't deserve main character status, just that I think A Mountain of Grief is kind of ending up being a breather for him, emotionally.)