#and also kanan and ezra's sacrifices

[bberry005]

thinking way too hard about this page from kanan: the last padawan and how much it shows about him as a character during rebels and also how that relates to ezra and their sacrifices at the end of the show

it's clear from the first episode of rebels that kanan has no qualms about attachment in general, which is a stark difference from most of the other jedi that we see. he cares freely and openly and deeply about all the members of the ghost crew. he might care too much at the beginning, but that's part of his journey as a jedi that we see throughout the show.

"you must not grow too attached, too fond, too in love with life as it is now" is a fundamental thing that kanan must remember during season 2 of rebels. because he DID become too attached to his life as it was with the ghost crew running around lothal, and when they join up with the larger rebel fleet, he doesn't like it and dislikes how things are changing. he has to relearn the ability to adapt and change before he's declared a jedi knight in the season 2 finale.

part of being a jedi is loving enough to know when it's time to go, which is something that kanan mastered. he and ezra leave at the end of season 2 to protect the rest of the rebellion, he teaches ezra to let sabine go with her family on mandalore, he helps hera reconcile with her past on ryloth. through love and attachment, kanan also learned sacrifice. he lost everything as he became kanan jarrus instead of caleb dume. he was forced to leave behind all the attachments of his former life in order to survive. he didn't learn to do that necessarily, he was forced into it out of necessity, which is very different than him consciously learning how to let go during rebels.

in rebels, kanan leaves by choice. in season 2, he knows that leaving is necessary to the survival of the rebellion. in season 4, he's standing on top of the fuel tank and holding back the explosion and he probably wants nothing more than to try and go with hera, ezra, and sabine. because that's his FAMILY. he loves them more than anything, but he knows that if he does not let go, they will not survive.

so he does. he sees them one last time, and then he lets them go and sacrifices himself to save them all, and in a way, this was the last lesson he ever taught ezra

its no secret that their sacrifices were meant to mirror each other, but here's the images again for reference

in his final moments, kanan teaches ezra about sacrifice. yes, you must love and feel and experience life, but to be a jedi knight, you must be able to master those feelings and do what you must for the greater good. in his actions, kanan was essentially repeating what depa told him when he was a padawan. "you must not grow too attached, too fond, too in love with life as it is now. those emotions are valuable and must not be surpressed, but you must learn to rule them lest they rule you". ezra fully learns that lesson during "the world between worlds" when he leaves the memory of kanan's death behind in the world between worlds and learns to stop his attachment from going too far.

and also like...kanan's life had FINALLY worked out when he died. hera just said that she loved him, they're back on lothal ready to free their home from the empire, he's figured out this whole jedi thing, and he may or may not know that hera is pregnant with their child depending on your interpretation. but he must let go. he cannot let his love and attachment stop him from doing what must be done for the greater good. he saves them, but he also leads to the empire blowing up their own fuel depot, which is the only reason the rebels can take back lothal. he put his purpose (saving the galaxy) over his feelings (because there was definitely a part of him screaming to go with his family, but he was able to control it in order to see the bigger picture)

the jedi fight for peace and the greater good, which at it's core requires immense selflessness and sacrifice and a clear head acting on logic rather than emotion. kanan and ezra were learning that together throughout the whole show, and one last time, kanan teaches ezra a jedi lesson that he finally figured out through trying to guide ezra through it

"but remember, caleb, the galaxy is far from static, and as it changes, a jedi's role in it too must evolve." jedi were keepers of the peace, then they were generals, then they were scattered teenagers who didn't know what to do in the wake of order 66, and now? now they are rebel fighters, once again getting at the heart of what it is to be a jedi. to be a jedi is to love, to sacrifice, to keep the peace. kanan and ezra show why jedi are KNIGHTS and not diplomats. they fight for peace, but they know it is just that: a bloody, brutal, violent fight, and that those fights require sacrifice in order to keep going. they both embody luthen's line from andor where he says "i burn my life for a sunrise i will never get to see", which is also a perfect way to think about why the jedi fight for peace. they really believe in it, and are willing to lay down their lives to make a peace that will never be achieved in their lifetimes.

(what's also crazy is that in this episode, we're essentially shown that kanan jarrus has found caleb dume again and therefore reconnected with his jedi past but that's a post for a whole other day)

i have so many feelings about this that basically boil down to: rebels is so well written and so underrated and kanan and ezra teach us far more about what the ideal jedi should be than any of the skywalker saga main characters (WHICH IS A VERY HOT TAKE I KNOW but it's my take)

[thehotpilot]

currently in SHAMBLES over the parallel of sabine kneeling before her helmet and cutting her hair off before going on a mission to save ezra and kanan doing the same before saving hera

[nimata-beroya]

All y’all saying Ezra being the mystery inquisitor in Ahsoka would be “detrimental to his character” seem to be conveniently forgetting that the Grand Inquisitor literally told Kanan :

“The Dark Side. It pulls at him, it calls to him. Eventually, he will be consumed by it.”

[milotehacegrand18]

I saw a Star Wars video on Tiktok where there was a photo of Hera and Ezra where it said about Hera "she's the mother he couldn't have" and about Ezra: "He's been alone since he can remember" or something like that and no It just bothered me but it's not true, it's just not true. Because the most tragic thing about Ezra's character is that he knew what a loving family was like and lost it, when he was old enough to have memory of them and vivid memories.

It's not like he was an orphan forever, because then it would be difficult for him but he would be absolutely used to it since it would be the only life he knows, but that's not the case, he convinced himself that he was used to it but he really wasn't, because he was an boy who wanted affection and that is why during Rebels loss is something that takes him to the dark side and it is one of his main objectives as a character to accept the possibility of losing someone that is why his sacrifice is so important because it closes the character cycle , Ezra goes from a child who refuses to think about anyone other than himself because if he cares about someone he could become attached to that person and could lose that person to someone who not only managed to accept the loss of someone so important to him. Like Kanan, he is also capable of leaving everyone for the greater good (including passing up the opportunity to have his parents back with him) and still have the hope that he would eventually see them again.

If Ezra Bridger is not one but the character that most encapsulates the concept of Star Wars, I don't know what it is.

[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.

[supersaiyanjedi14]

STAR WARS REBELS APPRECIATION WEEK Day 1: Favorite Character

This is a toughie. If there is one thing that stands out about Rebels, it's the incredibly awesome characters. From a fun, lovable main cast with amazing dynamics and chemistry with each other, to memorable supporting characters that added some great life to the series, to an array of fun and intimidating villains, the characters of this series were a highlight, both the originals made for the show and the returning faces from previous Star Wars series. As such, picking a favorite is no easy task. But, end of the day, there are two that stand out the most to me at least.

Be it as their own characters or as a relationship, Kanan and Ezra were not only the centerpiece of the show, but easily my favorite part of it. From Kanan's end, we see someone who gradually reclaims an identity that was stolen from him by the Empire and that he initially tried to distance himself from for years, eventually coming into his own as a Jedi and refusing to sit by while the evil that scarred him continues its tyranny. For Ezra, we follow the story of a boy who lost his family to the Empire, yet was able to regain it through his relationships with the Ghost crew, slowly transitioning from an embittered street rat to someone committed to never allowing people to suffer the same fate he did. And a massive chunk of their respective development hinged from their dynamic with each other. Through their bond and adventures, Kanan and Ezra not only managed to define and hold to what it means to be a Jedi in a post-Order 66 galaxy, but also helped each other move on and recover from their respective traumas, their relationship being just as much that of a father and a son as it was a teacher and a student.

And that doesn't even scratch the surface of how fun both of them are. Both had their moments of being funny, tragic, heartwarming, and being complete badasses along the way. I loved how Kanan could be a great mix of stern leader, exasperated dad, wise mentor, and wisecracking action hero at any given time. And the fact that, for all his self-doubt and pain, he never really teetered on the edge of the dark side goes to show how one can still be good and kind even the most horrific of circumstances. Ezra was snarky, energetic, and pretty relatable as he got into his various hijinks, and I remember getting excited to see where he would go next and how he would grow form his experiences.

There's a lot of other stuff I could touch on. Kanan's sacrifice in Season 4 being one of the most heartbreaking moments of television I've ever seen. The various parallels and contrasts between Ezra and Luke that made me love him so much. Their relationships with Hera, Zeb and Sabine. I could talk about all of it If I had time to be here all day. For now, here they are. Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus. Spectres 6 and 1, my favorite characters from one of my favorite Star Wars properties ever.

[skywalkerrtno]

If I remember correctly, doesn´t Rex refuse to fight at first in Rebels when Kanan, Ezra and the rest ask him for help.

He excuses himslef saying he is tired of fighting, that his ´´warrior´´ era is over or smth like that.

This contrasts heavily with the Rex we see in the whole Clone wars era, but specially with the Rex we are seeing in The Bad Batch.

As he continues to fight the Empire and rescue his clone brothers. The clones are beginning to rebel against the Empire as they awaken from the inhibitor chips, realizing what the Empire is doing.

Both him and Echo are specially focused on this.

Then what causes him to shift to drastically?

What if the whole bad batch dies and Omega is left alone, or captured again?

Rex loses once again, with them gone, but Gregor and Wolffe being rescued among others he decides its time to retire. He has completed his job and now he deseves to rest +, so they go, together and try to get away from the empire, trying to search for peace in a galaxy that hasnt seen this in a long time.

This would explain in some way why we never see Echo with Rex in rebels. Him, nor any of the other Bad batchers are even mentioned.

Are they dead? Or do they just live in peace in Pabu? Then how do they complete the whole ¨Project Necromancer¨ if Omega never gets captured again?

Maybe we get a massive sacrifice from some character to save Omega after she has already been used and her blood extracted so this would give the empire whast they want, whilst also saving our poor girl.

I mean, they did say we were gonna cry with this season.

[kanansdume]

Look, I love Kanan Jarrus, I literally named this blog after him. I loved his relationship with Ezra and I AM glad that there was significant mention of Kanan from Ezra.

But.

I hate that Ezra's new lightsaber ended up just... a copy of Kanan's, both in its emitter and its color.

It's lazy. And it's so insulting to just... let Ezra make himself a new one and he just COPIES Kanan's rather than being able to make a saber that was uniquely his and spoke to the person he has become after everything he's been through, from losing Kanan to having to sacrifice himself to surviving Thrawn to spending so long on his own.

Ezra could have had a purple lightsaber, the first live action Jedi since Mace Windu to be given one, which allows him to stand out against Sabine and emphasizes that connection to his lineage through Kanan without being an exact copy of someone else's.

Or Ezra could've had white. This could've been an interesting and meaningful way of actually explaining the white sabers in mainstream Star Wars. Most casual viewers are going to have NO IDEA that the white sabers are "healed" crystals from red sabers. That lore is lost on people who aren't deep in this fandom. Ahsoka just wanders around with white sabers because... it's unique and it makes her look cool. No one's stopped in any of the shows she's been in so far to explain what they are or why she has them. (Yes, I know it came from the book but again, not EVERYONE has read the damn book and if they're going to use that particular piece of worldbuilding in the shows, I feel like they could go to the effort of explaining it on the shows, too.)

Ezra could've found a crystal somewhere on Peridea that had been corrupted by the dark forces of the Nightsisters that permeate the planet (which would also add to the lore of the planet just a little and actually connect it to the Nightsisters better given that it's apparently THEIR homeworld). Maybe he could feel just how broken it was and he could see that it was either red or a really sickly witchy green color and even though the darkness in it repulsed him, the crystal also called to him, so he took it and has been fiddling around with it ever since, for years. Over time, it started to lose its sickly red or green color and became a pure white, but he'd never been able to acquire the right parts to actually make a new saber, so he'd just been carrying around the crystal for a while.

Or Ezra could've used some cool Force powers to yoink away Shin's saber from her during the fight with the bandits and when either Sabine or Ahsoka suggests he keep it since he refuses to take his old one back from Sabine, he says that it just feels... wrong. Something about it feels dark and full of pain and anger. And Ahsoka can explain how she was able to heal the crystals in her own saber so that Ezra is able to do something similar.

Literally anything OTHER than just giving Ezra Kanan's saber recreated would've been more interesting and said something new about Ezra's character and how he's grown and changed.

But nope. They couldn't be bothered to come up with a new design, so he just gets Kanan's saber now. How inspired.

[itsjayro]

While watching a rebels panel & hearing Dave talk about the selfless sacrifice both Kanan & Ezra made it got me thinking about how Sabine chose the selfish path by wanting Ezra back so bad that she put the rest of the galaxy at risk. She already is facing consequences of that cause now she is separated from Ezra AGAIN the one thing she desperately wanted. But there’s more coming & eventually Sabine will have to make the selfless decision. One moment where everything Kanan, Ezra & Ahsoka have taught her all seamlessly clicks. And I’m scared 😅

Edit: apparently this needs to be said THIS IS NOT A SABINE BASH POST!!!!! I love Sabine & I understand what she did. It was very human but not the Jedi thing to do & that’s what this whole post is about. And I personally think as of right now that from a story standpoint they are setting up Sabine to have a Kanan/Ezra moment. If you don’t agree with me cool but leave me alone 😎

Also Natasha literally calls it a “mistake”…. So why we still talking about this?

[ahsoka-its-all-of-us]

On another Rebels rewatch and gods alive Through Imperial Eyes is gripping my heart ;-;

Kallus waking up from an alarm outside. How often do you think that happens? Had the poor man just fallen asleep only to be brutally shaken out of it again?

Also the way he opens his eyes and immediately gets up and checks the situation. Some people are useless in the morning; Alexsandr Kallus is not one of them.

The fact that he’s wearing his full uniform including the gloves (and has his hair perfectly styled) indicates that either he’s so overworked that he just fell asleep like that, or he legit doesn’t own any sleeping clothes and sleeps in uniform so he’s always at the ready in case the Empire needs him. Both options fucking break my heart damn ;-;

His reaction to Ezra calling him “Imperial scum”. The slight flinch. Is he actually hurt by that? Is it because he still views himself as such?

Lyste has been stationed on Lothal for years. Surely he would know what its biggest rebel threats look like? Is the man incompetent or just really bad at recognising faces?

Kallus’s complete astonishment at the idea of Ezra getting captured to warn him, and him not even considering the possibility of Ezra coming to get him out omggg ;-; The Empire clearly doesn’t care about him, so naturally he assumes the Rebellion doesn’t either fuck 😭

Ezra claims not to trust Kallus, but immediately upon being alone together he turns his back on him so Kallus can take off his bindings, before Kallus has shown any intention of doing so. Seems pretty trusting to me ngl

“I’ll be executed for treason!” and Kallus knew that from the moment he first became Fulcrum. He’s been shown to be cool in the face of danger, to be well aware of the risks of what he’s doing and doing it anyway. I think the reason he’s so pissed at Ezra seeking him out isn’t that he fears for his own safety; him keeping his cover is essential for his work as a rebel spy, and he doesn’t want that jeopardised.

“I could say the same to you.” That broke me. Because of his treason, Kallus has no one he can trust. No one. He may have switched sides, but that doesn’t mean the Rebellion trusts him. He’s well and truly alone, and he knows it.

Kanan and Rex being part of the rescue mission as well means that this is a serious operation. They want to extract Kallus, their former nemesis. The moment they realise his life’s in danger they all just jump into action. And fuck you just know Zeb is going insane that he can’t join them. He’s probably the one who talked them into the mission in the first place.

Fuck Kallus is tall 😳

Kallus’s reaction to Yularen 🥹 Little boy just wanting to be acknowledged by what was probably the closest thing he had to a father figure in the Academy, that’s both adorable and sad ;-;

They actually wanna bring Kallus back to Atollon. That shows that, whatever Ezra says, they trust him. You don’t bring a high-ranked enemy officer to the heart of your operations unless you’re convinced he won’t betray you.

“We all make sacrifices.” He says it sarcastically to Ezra complaining about his uniform, but you can hear there’s a deeper level behind it. Kallus is sacrificing everything, his convictions, his position, likely his life, for the Rebellion. And he’s not expecting a thank you, he’s not complaining, so Ezra shouldn’t either.

Kallus reprograms Thrawn’s assassin droids on the fly. That’s fucking impressive damn 👀

Kallus’s conviction when he tells Ezra there’s been a change of plans tells me he never intended to leave with him in the first place. As soon as he’d gotten over the shock over having a rescue mission sent for him, he must have been figuring out this plan to frame Lyste so he could remain undetected, or something close to it.

Ezra is probably just worrying about what the hell he’s gonna tell Zeb when they return without Kallus.

The betrayal in Lyste’s eyes and words as he’s being dragged away and Kallus watching him ;-; Kallus knows he’s likely going to be executed, or at least imprisoned for as long as Thrawn doesn’t know who the real Fulcrum is. Because he knows Thrawn won’t buy it, not for long. You can see it in his eyes when he leaves Thrawn’s office.

Kallus’s reprogramming of Thrawn’s droids is so skilful that Thrawn does not believe it was possible without Ezra's Jedi powers. That’s how good the man is.

Yularen’s disbelief of Kallus’s treason is adorable ;-; He did feel like a bit of a papa to Kallus as well after all 🥺

Also I just wanna point out one parallel: this is the second time Kallus refuses to leave a life-threatening situation to go with the Ghost crew. But this time the rescue party came for him, and this time they show that he’s wanted ;-;

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: sabine and ezra finally share their first kiss. unfortunately, it's on a broadcast to every rebel cell in the galaxy. chapter word count: 1265 a/n: i'm back! this one's gonna be a multichapter fic, so stick around for chapter 2 coming soon! shoutout to the lovely and encouraging @kanerallels for betaing! taglist: @laughingphoenixleader  @accidental-spice  @kanerallels  @piraterefrigerator  @jedi-nurse  @dootchster  @lucasbridger  @redroverrider  @light-umbra  @commander-tech  @jedimandalorian  @notanodinarygirl  {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

Ch. 1 In Which Sabine is Ezra's Best Friend

 Sabine had been looking differently at Ezra the last few days. She wondered if he noticed. He wasn't that same kid they'd rescued on Lothal all those years ago. He'd grown into a fine young man— and to think, all it took for her to notice was almost losing him forever.

 The minute she found out about his plan to sacrifice himself, a number of words to describe him came to mind. Idiotic. Brave. Reckless. Noble. Stupid. Heroic.

 He'd been adamant that the rebellion could stand him, that Lothal would be fine without him, that the rest of their family would be okay without him. In a way, he was right. The Rebellion could get on without him. Lothal could get on without him. The rest of the Ghost Crew would find a way to get on without him.

 But she couldn't.

 She made him promise that he wouldn't go through with it unless it's what it absolutely came to, and they spent the next two days working tirelessly to come up with a plan that would save Lothal without Sabine losing her best friend.

 And somehow, it worked.

 Ezra now stood before his people as a hero, in a ceremony they threw in honor of all the valiant heroes who'd liberated them. A lot of members of their squadron had been asked to give a speech. Sabine had narrowly escaped the draft on that, but Ezra hadn't been so lucky. 

 "I really do wish I could thank every one of you," Ezra was saying, standing before not only most of the inhabitants of the planet, but also the hundreds of rebel cells watching via underground holonet, "old Joe, Jai, Ryder, that old lady I pickpocketed a week before joining the fight— but, uh, most of all, I'd like to thank my family."

 He paused for a second to collect his thoughts, a new record for the longest time Ezra could go without talking.

 "We wouldn't be free right now if it wasn't for the sacrifices along the way," Ezra said, "and I know my parents and Kanan would be proud of us."

 Sabine stood close enough to see the tears welling up in Ezra's eyes, but he pulled himself together pretty well as he turned to their captain.

 "Hera, a long time ago you told me that if all I do is fight for myself, then my life is worth nothing. Thank you for showing me something worth fighting for."

 Sabine didn't need to be standing near Hera to know that tears were gathering in her eyes as well.

 Ezra then turned to Zeb and Chopper.

 "Zeb, you're the big brother I never wanted— and still don't want— but always needed. Chopper, though, I could live without."

 Chopper beeped passive-aggressively a few meters away.

 "At least he mentioned you, little bucket of bolts," Sabine thought, "not that he needs to talk about me. Why should he?"

 "And most of all," Ezra said, and he turned to her with a smile on his face as his eyes somehow found hers, drowning her in their depth and intensity, "my best friend, Sabine." His tone lowered, as though, despite the fact that his words were being broadcast across the galaxy, he was only speaking to her as he shook his head and added, "I couldn't've done it without you."

 It was just a simple sentence, but those words clacked around in Sabine's mind for the rest of his speech, even as he turned back and addressed the crowd gathered before them.

 "My best friend."

 She'd known Ezra was her best friend, but she'd never assumed she was his. 

 "My best friend."

 Ezra couldn't go more than ten minutes without making a new friend.

 "My best friend."

 Surely, in all the hundreds of people he called "friend," shouldn't there have been one closer to him?

 "My best friend."

 But no, Ezra had looked her in the eyes and told her and the entire galaxy that she was his best friend.

 "My best friend."

 Still, she needed confirmation.

 As he wrapped up and the crowd began cheering, Sabine pulled him aside, not entirely out of view of the people below, but at the very least out of their primary focus.

 "Did you really mean that?" Sabine asked.

 "That refreshments will be served in the square as soon as we wrap up?" Ezra asked, restating the last words of his speech, "of course."

 "Not that," Sabine took a deep breath, "when you said I'm your best friend."

 "Absolutely," Ezra smiled, then quickly followed with, "I mean, if that's okay with you."

 "Of course," Sabine said, unsure what to call the feeling in the pit of her stomach, "you're my best friend too."

 His eyes washed over her in rich blue waves, powerful enough in small doses, but more than enough to knock her off her feet if she wasn't careful— and today, she wasn't. He started to turn and walk away, but she put a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes overtook hers again.

 "I'm really glad you didn't sacrifice yourself," Sabine said.

 He smiled. "Me too."

 In that moment, all there was in the galaxy was her and Ezra. Instead of taking her hand off his shoulder, she stood there. After a moment, Ezra placed his hand on her shoulder— no, not on her shoulder, on the back of her neck— and he pulled her toward himself. 

 She could've pulled away. She could've punched him in the gut and run. Instead she leaned closer, ensuring that his lips landed on hers. 

 Maybe it was a moment of weakness. Maybe it was all the pent up emotions from the past week— loss, hope, triumph, regret— finding an outlet for release. Maybe Sabine had finally just realized how much Ezra really meant to her, and she to him.

 Either way, she was kissing Ezra Bridger, and in that moment she held zero regrets about it.

 She'd always wondered at how Ezra could ramble, always saying so much in a short span of time. It was no surprise that his kiss did the same, sending a message worth a million rambled words, one she was more than enthusiastic to hear.

 Time stood still and so did they, afraid that if they moved for even a second, the world would move around them, and this perfect kiss would end.

 She couldn't tell which of them sighed a soft "oh," as he pulled her just a touch closer, just like in all the old holofilms.

 Holofilms.

 Crap.

 These speeches were being recorded on holofilms.

 And broadcast across the entire rebel holonet.

 And there was no way the cameras weren't picking this up.

 Sabine pulled away from him quickly, trying her hardest to regain her breath as her hands and lips removed themselves from her best friend. For a second, he looked confused and almost a bit hurt, but he regained himself in an instant, his face turning a shade of red Sabine hadn't known was possible.

 They both turned back to look at the crowds over the edge of the balcony, careful to leave an obvious amount of space between each other. Still facing forward, Ezra leaned his head toward her and whispered, "do you think they noticed?"

 Down below, a holo projector of their video stream, with text below it that said "INSTANT REPLAY," showed a recording of their kiss, blown up to about seventy five times larger.

 "Yeah Ezra," Sabine said, using a facepalm as a guise for hiding her blushing face from any further holocam recordings, "I think they noticed."

[flilisskywalker]

I guess what keeps me up at night is asking what's the point of Sabine's search for Ezra, like... as an emotional arc.

(This text is an adaptation of the thread I wrote on Twitter)

Because when I rewatch the fourth season of Rebels, I get the impression that they are paired together in many episodes as a way to prepare us for a hurtful goodbye between the two at the end of the show, which is to me the same reason why they decided to go heavy on confirming Kanan and Hera's romance because they knew he was going to die.

I don't really know if the parallels between Sabezra and Kanera are intentional considering how Filoni talks about the former, but Ezra does become Kanan (even has a whole stretch arms sacrifice) and Sabine does become Hera (Deep grief for losing him) and not in a "The kid got this from his/her parent." sense, but in the sense of that the situation is really similar, which is interesting because it wasn't like this originally.

Ahsoka made Sabine's grief towards Ezra not being by her side all the time a thing.

Instead of simply letting Sabine's mission be about bringing Ezra home like in the original animated epilogue, Filoni complicates things a little bit by implying that Sabine is not doing this for Ezra, but for herself. Beyond that, almost every character notices how devoted she is to him and it even confuses some of them.

Thrawn, for example, has studied Sabine. He is well aware that Ezra is her compatriot and friend and yet... he is confused by her choice. Sabine states "You wouldn't understand." and then accepts to be stranded on Peridea just to see Ezra again. Once she found him and even after hearing he wants to get home, she did not say a word about Thrawn being his only ticket home. Instead, she simply enjoys time with him.

If you know Sabine Wren, you know that she would never ignore a huge Imperial threat and put in danger people like Hera, who is definitely an older sister type of role model to her, or feel that Ezra is the only family she has, so I do understand why people think she is very distant from the original show.

There might be a reason for all of this. A reason that I'm not sure Filoni wants to dive into, but the way he's been writing Sabine, the vagueness every time Ezra is the conversation's topic, feels like she has fallen in love with him during his absence and honestly? This makes far more sense than any other explanation.

We've seen in Star Wars before, fiction in general, that love is blind. Sabine's focus on finding Ezra is described by Baylan as something that blinds her. Not only this would justify her out of character attitude, but also the parallels with Kanan and Hera.

Star Wars live-action TV shows this year have been interesting to decode. In both The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1, there's a lot of subtle implications that characters want to build a life with somebody.

Mando does this in Chapter 22 - Guns For Hire, an episode surrounded by romantic love, where a droid bartender tells Din and Bo that human life is so short and then they look at each other. They want to be together, but that has not been verbalized yet. It is still very much in the subconscious.

Ahsoka does it in Part 7 - Dreams and Madness, by showing Sabine's lack of urgency regarding Thrawn and simply enjoying Ezra's company. It really implies that this was what her mission was all about: Be with Ezra. Her real desire is build a life with him, but that desire is still in the subconscious.

I believe Favreau knows all of that when it comes to Din and Bo.

BUT DOES FILONI KNOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO SABINE AND EZRA?

[antianakin]

Sith Ahsoka AU where Ezra doesn't come get Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds (or misses her maybe) and so Ahsoka and Anakin fall through the Sith Battlestation. Ahsoka's connection with Mortis and the Daughter combined with the exploding power of the Sith Battlestation end up glitching and backfiring on Anakin when he tries to kill Ahsoka and he dies instead, while Ahsoka lives but only just.

Palpatine arrives on Malachor to pick up Anakin's pieces and put him back together again only to discover he's too late this time. But Ahsoka is lying there on her last breath, broken enough both physically and mentally to succumb to Palpatine's torture and manipulations and powerful enough to be worth the effort. Yes, she'd make a workable replacement for this loss. And of course everyone who knew her thinks she's dead, so they're not going to come looking for her or try to save her until Palpatine's work is done and he's prepared to present his new and improved apprentice, Darth Malis, to the galaxy.

Ahsoka doesn't re-appear until shortly after the Rebels finale, after Kanan's died and Ezra's disappeared, but still before the events of Rogue One. The plans still make it to Leia and everyone on Scarif dies, but this time it's Ahsoka on the Death Star, capturing Leia and waiting when Obi-Wan arrives with Luke and Han.

And Obi-Wan isn't expecting her at all. He'd been able to feel that Anakin died, but certainly had no way of knowing that Ahsoka had even survived Order 66 let alone that she'd been captured by Palpatine and tortured into becoming his new Sith Apprentice in Anakin's place. He wasn't expecting Anakin to be waiting anymore, but the last thing he could've expected was Ahsoka. He's so glad she's alive, but this is the worst way to discover that fact, and it's a little difficult to be calm in the face of this revelation.

Thankfully, Ahsoka's not expecting Obi-Wan, either. Palpatine, knowing how Anakin had obsessed over hunting Obi-Wan down and banking on Ahsoka thinking no one would ever come to save her or care for her again as a way to break her, had kept that tidbit of information from her. So Ahsoka is just as surprised to see Obi-Wan alive as he is to see her, and she's incapable of doing anything to keep her emotions from controlling her anymore. She's still powerful, and faster than Anakin was, but she's still living on life support of some kind and Obi-Wan's got more practice at handling this kind of grief and pain, giving him the upper hand in the battle. So when Luke and Leia show up, Obi-Wan doesn't need to sacrifice himself to keep them safe, he can overpower Ahsoka and run back to the Falcon with the others.

Most everything stays the same, because the Emperor figures out who Luke is and still wants him as an apprentice instead because Ahsoka is broken and Luke is more powerful. Obi-Wan is able to bring Luke and Leia to Yoda years earlier, so they both get trained up together (and they know that they're siblings the whole time). A few more Jedi survivors show up to help the Rebellion while Obi-Wan, Luke, and Leia are on Dagobah: Reva, Quinlan, Cal, Kata Akuna, Ezra (who is miraculously found prior to ROTJ because I want him there, maybe my man was resourceful and got himself back sans Thrawn all on his own).

When they finally make it to Endor, Obi-Wan and Leia stay on the ground to help the Rebellion while the others all go to confront the Sith with Luke. Luke strikes the final blow against the Emperor and the Rebellion takes out the shield around the Death Star, throwing everything up there into chaos. Ahsoka flees and they all have to give chase. Luke and Reva try to offer her a chance to change, to come back with them, to heal. Ahsoka doesn't take it, and the next time the Death Star is hit, she lets herself fall deep into the Death Star's mass.

Quinlan offers to be the one to tell Obi-Wan that Ahsoka didn't make it. Obi-Wan mourns, but he's also already mourned her. He could tell that there was very little of the girl he'd known left in the monster Palpatine had made of her. She'd rejoined the Force now and she was at peace. He wished she could have found healing and known how much she was loved before she died, but he can't begrudge her this choice, especially since the choice to kill Darth Malis brought the reign of the Sith to its end and restored balance in the Force.

[a-dorin]

motherhood in star wars

this has probably been discussed before, but the theme of motherhood and being a mother in the realm of star wars media has been on my mind lately.

here is my question: why is theme of motherhood in star wars so fucking tragic?

first of all, most (not all) mothers of force-sensitive children have their children taken from them at a young age so they can join the jedi order. and the worst part is that these mothers never really see their children again because the order forbids attachments. it is so heart-breaking to have your child taken from you to join a weird, cult-like order where you will never see them again. there is a sense of loss and suffering in that aspect.

then we have a plethora of characters who are mothers and DIE (leia, padmé, shmi), who lose their mothers or lose someone close to them after becoming a mother.

padmé amidala literally loses her life to complications of childbirth. she did not even get to experience motherhood before her life was ripped away from her. it's so upsetting to me because of her eagerness to raise her children with anakin and live a life of happiness with her new family.

leia is born an orphan who has no mother (yes i know she is adopted by bail and breha) but she literally comes into this world without her biological mother because her mom dies from the complications of childbirth! then, leia loses her son ben to the dark side, only to sacrifice herself in the sequels. which, causes rey distress because she was a mentor and (sort of) a maternal figure towards her!

shmi skywalker literally loses her relationship with her son after he departs with qui-gon and obi-wan. and she literally also dies after reuniting with anakin once more in aotc. she loses the one thing that meant the most to her (ani - her pride and joy!) and does not get to fulfill her role of raising him into adulthood.

while hera does have an adopted family (zeb, ezra, sabine, chopper) she does not get to experience the life with the family she created with kanan because he literally dies. while she received the ability to be a mother to jacen, she lost her spouse.

why does being a mother in the star wars universe only bring you tragedy, loss, and even your life? what do the writers have against womanhood and motherhood? i am aware there are good portrayals of motherhood in star wars, but 75% of the mothers suffer.

it's infuriating to me, and i am sure it's just rambling, but it truly is so upsetting that we do not have many feel-good, healthy, fulfilling portrayals of motherhood in star wars. women deserve to see it. everyone deserves to see it.

[dtrizz94-blog]

Sabine realize Ezra is the One.

I watch all 4 seasons of rebels consistently and I seen Sabine was being a jerk in the last 2 seasons early on…but in missions she been hiding her face expressions. Also being worried about Ezra in big situations, but then after all that in season 4 in the last final episode called “a family reunion and farewell”, that was the moment that Sabine told for Ezra to get out of the star destroyer, while Ezra sacrifice himself. That was the first time Sabine begged for Ezra. Fast forward 10 years later she still has feelings for Ezra and she never get over the fact she live the mistakes that she made. Quite frankly she realize she should’ve known better..

Ezra Bridger did everything for Sabine..

Ezra Bridger saves Sabine 7 times on missions rescuing Sabine’s father at mandalore.

Ezra gives a gift for Sabine with tie fighter, to spray painted.

Ezra deserves all the credit for everything he has done before he went to hyperspace.

Through 10 years Sabine Wren had a ton of regrets about the fact she never had a chance to tell the real truth for Ezra Bridger with her true feelings. the same thing that Hera Syndulla never had a chance to tell the late Kanan Jarrus the fact that she’s pregnant.

Sabine really needs to look in the mirror and realize that Ezra Bridger is the ONLY REAL ONE.

How bad Sabine wanted to get Ezra back to her heart..

if Sabine want Ezra back?, GO GET HIM BACK!!!

[supersaiyanjedi14]

SABEZRA WEEK: Day 7 (Nov 3): Someone Else’s POV

*My AU: The boy who was lost and the girl who was broken through the eyes of a fallen knight.

When Kanan looked at them, he could see the people he had guided.  These two he had led throughout their eventful and perilous lives and careers, helping to mold them into the people they were today.  Ezra most especially stood out; Even by the standards of the bond of a Master and Padawan, legendary for its unique strength, theirs has been especially powerful and important for the both of them.  Despite having no personal frame of reference for it beyond the Masters of the Temple who had raised him, Kanan would never deny the assessments of the people who commented on it; Ezra was very much the son he never had.  But Sabine was just as special.  Behind the colorful armor, the bombastic explosions, and the battlefields she scourged, Kanan could still see the guarded girl who came into his life.  He had been a rock to steady herself, a coach to motivate her, and at times a much-needed companion to let her know she was not on her own.  In some ways, Kanan figured that Sabine had been something of a test run for when he eventually came upon Ezra.  He could practically hear Master Billaba muse about the mysterious ways of the Force’s will in this case.

As their mentor, Kanan had watched both of them grow up.  So it was only fitting that he could also see how they grew to each other.  At first, he would have to admit, he had been amused by the schoolboy crush Ezra had shown, coupled by Sabine’s aloof annoyance as she put him down.  As the years passed, he saw their relationship change into something far more profound.  Teammates on a job, companions on the battlefield, the closest of friends in their down time, all building to a unique, beautiful progression to mutual respect, unbreakable trust, and finally affection and love.  While there had been an annoying few individuals expecting him, as a Jedi, to object to his Padawan’s relationship, often in the same breath questioning what he had with Hera, Kanan had been quick to correct them.  Ezra and Sabine saw each other as partners and companions to live with and respect, not objects to be jealously possessed.  They were people first and foremost, especially to each other, as it was those people they had forged their bond with.  Ezra and Sabine knew love, not attachment.  And that more than anything solidified how Kanan could see how they had both grown over the years, and was a source of more smiles to his face than he could count.

With this on his mind, Kanan looked across the hanger to see the two of them embrace each other tightly.  A week of absence could nonetheless prompt some enthusiastic reunions.  With the fighting in Mandalorian space intensifying, it had seemed exceptionally unlikely that Shysa could spare any of their beskar clad allies to support them at the moment.  It had therefore come as an extremely welcome surprise to see a small flotilla of Gauntlet fighters arrive to aid the New Republic’s invasion fleet building at Borleias.  The technicolor war champion who had convinced Mandalore the Reclaimer to lend the squadron had evidently been very persuasive, especially considering her other family would be right in the thick of it.  The tension and anticipation for the upcoming siege of Coruscant had everyone on their toes, with an air that had not been this thick since they were gearing up for Endor.  Who knew what would happen.  Who knew who would make it out of this one.

Kanan had seen Ezra, Sabine, and their relationship grow over the course of twelve long years, and the love he shared with Hera told him exactly what they were feeling.  They trusted each other to do everything that needed to be done in the coming battle, and were prepared for any sacrifices that might entail.  Ezra and Sabine had both known for years that there was a chance of losing each other, that was simply the reality of war.  But that did not mean it was easy to accept, especially if there had been things that went unsaid between them.  Kanan thought back to just before Jakku.  Nobody had been expecting the fighting there to be as intense as it turned out to be, and Ezra had spent nearly half a week in a bacta tank for his trouble.  Sabine had to be pushed, prodded and shoved to leave the medical bay and get some rest herself.

Snapped back to reality, Kanan saw the pair share a brief kiss before removing themselves from the throng of people around them.  He smiled as his eyes tracked the pair of them making their way to a region of the ship where they could get some much-envied privacy.  He had watched them grow into each other, he had seen them grow together.  He knew these two inside and out, and trusted them to do right by each other.  However they approached this, Kanan knew they would do it maturely and, more importantly, together.