#dunno if there's an established ship name correct me on that if there is | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elyvorg · 3 years

Text

elyvorg’s Great Ace Attorney Liveblog - Cases 2-1 & 2-2

This is a transcript of a liveblog that I originally did on Discord, having played a fan translation of the first game years ago and knowing a spoiler for the second game. I do not recommend following along with this on your first playthrough!

[[Please also bear in mind that I’ve long since finished the game by now, so if past-me wildly misinterprets something here (and I often did), no need to correct me, I already know!]]

Live reactions: 2-1, beginning

elyvorg

- ooooooh we get to play as Susato being a lawyer, that's cool!!!

- Miss Brett's been murdered?!?!

- I totally assumed that was her father's grave she was visiting, not Kazuma's

Bench

Yep, twists right off the bat!

elyvorg

I did vaguely suspect the Susato thing, because I'd seen some art that implies you get to play as a female lawyer in GAA2, but I doubted they'd introduce somebody new for the second half of the story, so I was like, hmmmm what if that's Susato pretending to be a guy because sexism

her dad looks... fine... not ill at all... ¬.¬

huh for a second I thought she'd be defending her dad, heh

guess he's more like the assistant role here

:3 it's Susato's best friend! everybody in this game has friends (please let Kazuma still be alive)

Bench

Friendship!

elyvorg

susato you'll be fiiine, you understood this law thing way better than Ryunosuke ever did in his first case

oh no she's picked up the nervous darting eyes from him xD

yes, look, judge, "Ryutaro" has the same nervous eyes as his "cousin", this is completely legit

elyvorg

...the fact that Ryunosuke was studying English at university sure helps to explain why he's so fluent in it, dunno why they didn't establish that fact sooner

okay so Brett definitely never got on the ship during case 2, shushhhh there goes that theory

(did somebody murder the swan, too? D: )

she asked to go to the bathing spot before leaving, something's definitely Up with that

she just kept working at the university? geez, Japan's judicial system

Auchi it was really more Kazuma who humiliated you, not Ryunosuke, you know

yes, Hosonaga, the best disguise

also Soseki!

love how some instinct in Susato's brain feels she needs to slam herself backwards into the wall exactly like Ryunosuke does when damning evidence is presented

these newspapers always know how to have a conveniently relevant story on the back page, I see

...how am I stumped on the second testimony of the tutorial case

okay surely it's one hell of a leap to assume that the defendant saw the victim having been horribly stabbed and, rather than anything else, immediately thought the blade must have been poisoned

(also admittedly I didn't realise examining the back of the paper had given me a whole separate article that I could read properly for detailed info, so I, um, hadn't)

ohhhh there's a tiny slit in the back of the hut just behind the stool she was sitting on, that's how the real killer stabbed her

wild jump to conclusions for now - is the killer the photographer???

A+ pun name on this guy

also those sure are some initials, huh!

yesssss we're still on the trust theme, please don't ever stop having this be a thing

government secrets being leaked? hmmm how about that

she "swanned in", pfft I bet she did xD

surely stabbing someone in the back is pretty fatal anyway and whether the blade was poisoned doesn't matter that much?

but since there was clearly poison there, probably on the fountain pen instead, right

and it's definitely the reporter's pen, he's looking very guilty about now

looks like we have here another case of someone being subtly poisoned and then being mortally wounded in some other big obvious way so that the defendant ends up looking like they did it that way! the irony.

Bench

Parallels!

elyvorg

...she didn't say "remember me" while she was dying, did she

oh god she probably did

that's an awkward punny name to have when you're a defendant

...no? did she really not? Did I just galaxy-brain that but it's not what they're actually going with?

haha, she even drank the poison through carbonated water!

is this guy really just a lone vigilante, or was there something more secret behind his motives?

(or, is the poison not actually in the pen, and she killed herself?)

aww, double Susato Takedown!!!

hmm, it does seem to be a random impulsive act of vigilantism rather than anything worthy of greater conspiracy theories

I'm also spotting some themes of people becoming the very kind of monsters they claim to hate.

excuse me, Auchi, you have literally zero right to use the sad Kazuma music, how dare you D:<

oooooooh the plot thickens, Susato's dad is in on some Conspiracies, I suspected he might be in some way

he has something to do with Kazuma's death??? the Japanese people don't know Kazuma died? (but Susato was visiting his grave, surely there was some kind of funeral service on the Japan end, then?)

waaaiiit, I heard the name Jigoku before in the previous game, can't remember the exact context (but it was probably just Mikotoba)

YEAH I thought it was weird that Soseki mentioned he was involved in two cases in Britain??????

Bench

: >

Thoughts on Menimino?

elyvorg

Nothing special really; he's your average Wacky AA Character

wish he'd given us more of The Dirt, I am itching to unravel this conspiracy

Bench

You'll see in due time. Also, before I forget, thoughts on McGuilded and Graydon in 1?

elyvorg

Uhhh. I've already talked about how it was neat to be duped into trusting McGilded in case 3 and then whoops he's a massive scumbag. Graydon is... very hammy and ridiculous. I remember feeling a bit weird about him on the first time through, because he didn't really seem like a Final Case killer, but then that's because it wasn't the final case actually, just the halfway point. I guess I kind of appreciate his tragic backstory a little but I'm pretty indifferent to him overall.

Bench

Ah, ok!

elyvorg

Do you have any thoughts on them you want to share that wouldn't be a spoiler to me?

Bench

I found the dichotomy between the two really interesting, and also paralleling Menimino a bit. Graydon hated McGuilded so much, murdered him, becoming the monster he hated. Just like Menimino.

Also, Ashley Graydon manipulating his childhood friends made me seethe.

elyvorg

It is cute that those two dorky thieves were his friends when they were kids, alas. And yeah, I enjoyed the Menimemo/Graydon parallel, it's neat.

Interim thoughts

elyvorg

I suppose I'll mention for the record that this focus Susato's getting has rekindled my terror that the friendshipping blog was actually just excited about a Susato reunion and not a Kazuma one. D:

AND YET. I can't let go of the thought that, if I really did make up the concept of Kazuma being not-actually-dead out of nowhere because I jumped to conclusions about something unrelated... it's such a weird coincidence that, of all the deaths of any victim in an AA game ever, this one particular death of a very important character happens to have a bunch of little circumstantial things around it that suggest it's possible it could have been faked. That doesn't usually happen in Ace Attorney! Usually a victim is very decidedly dead!

It just... still feels possible, despite that I have absolutely no concrete proof, not even from the "spoiler" I thought I had. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Live reactions: 2-2, beginning

elyvorg

wait, so are we doing the Hound of the Baskervilles case now?

huh, this flashback case did have a court appearance! I assumed it didn't because the narration in case 5 said he hadn't taken any more cases in the two months since he defended Soseki... but I guess that's still technically true, now, isn't it, the sneaks.

Bench

Hehehe.

elyvorg

yesssss Great Deduction time

man I love how these are such utter nonsense in the beginning that you can't begin to fathom how they'd actually make sense in the end

HE ATE A BAR OF SOAP AND KILLED HIMSELF, yes, very logic, much deduction

Bench

That one is one of my favorites.

elyvorg

it's pretty great so far. Loved Ryunosuke's expression when Sholmes was suddenly all "Of course, nobody would be stupid enough as to eat soap!"

The failure dialogues for these are more elaborate in this game! In the first one, Ryunosuke had some unique (and often very ridiculous) dialogue where he argued that [random thing] totally solved the mystery, but then the part where Sholmes shot him down was always one of the same three generic exchanges each time. This game, the bits with Sholmes shutting him down are also unique to each thing! I'm going to have so much fun failing these repeatedly.

Bench

I need to replay this and fail everything.

elyvorg

you do, highly recommend

Bench

Thank you for letting me know about this!

elyvorg

interesting twist that this particular Great Deduction ends up implicating our defendant in the murder!

It was really Ryunosuke's incriminating deduction, not Sholmes's!

also, the biggest mystery that remains unsolved is why the heck was there a bar of soap on a plate on his table

why is there so much soap

Bench

Hehehe

elyvorg

...WOW everyone's really gotta stop assuming people are dead without checking!!!!

(but I do very appreciate the fact that victims not actually being dead is apparently a running theme in this game, hmmmmmmmm how about that!!!!!)

Bench

Introducing the most animated character in the franchise:

elyvorg

oh boy

you know, I did think it weird when we found him "dead". He seemed far too wacky a character to just be a random victim and not have to deal with cross-examining him in court.

I am amused by the notion that Soseki and Shamspeare were effectively having a friendly Shakespeare fandom debate.

feel like this might be no attempted murder at all, but rather something about problems with the gas lamps causing people to pass out and such.

(currently have no idea why this case is so Important and Secret, though! hm)

"curious disdain for us Japanese" listen I know van Zieks has an actual reason for it, but have you not noticed that most people in this country have a disdain for the Japanese, it's called racism

hello, Old Bailey, can we please select the jury from a pool of people bigger than, like twenty xD

oh, the repeat jury is on purpose this time, huh.

(that doesn't feel... like how it'd actually work. not that I'd know.)

okay, that is not gas poisoning, huh

pffft the "Romeo vs Juliet" debate was a literal mock fight, these dorks

does he make fake coins out of soap to use in the gas meter?

(and, to be fair, what does this have to do with the poisoning, really)

A DRONE BEE, to go with queen bee!!!

man that guy's name pun was stumping me for ages

(yes, very important Lawyer Things I've been pondering during this trial)

Oh, huh, a second day! Wasn't expecting this case to do that, since not even case 5 in the previous game did.

Interim thoughts

elyvorg

while I take a break in the case, status update on my Spoiler-Feelings Rollercoaster: starting to lean back towards it being about Kazuma after all. Having this case with Ryunosuke and Susato hanging out solving crimes like normal makes it feel like their actual upcoming reunion in the present isn't going to be anything worth getting that excited about even if you really dig their friendship, because the player doesn't feel like they've been apart that long, thanks to this. That and this case marks the at-least-second time the victim's been not actually dead despite everyone on the scene assuming so at first glance hhhhggghhh

Live reactions: 2-2, second investigation day

elyvorg

van Zieks always has a concrete alibi for all the deaths linked to him... hmm yeah that really does sound like somebody else is doing it on his behalf, huh.

Sholmes knows what went down with van Zieks but won't tell us, huhhh!

did Soseki just imply that the person who died in his room was one of van Zieks's "victims"? oohhh

HOW HAVE I NOT SPRAYED EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM YET

god this is the stupidest thing to be stuck on, it literally will not let me stop spraying but I MUST have sprayed everything like ten times by now, what the fuck

UGHHHH I literally had to look in a playthrough to see exactly where I needed to spray, HOW is it so freaking sensitive, please don't make me do this again, game

cat!

oh hey, they named it Wagahai, not Soseki

so it turns out the animators are halfway decent at animating a cat and now I'm sad we never saw Nina's kitty friend in person

did Soseki just imply that the person who died in his room was one of van Zieks's "victims"? oohhh

welp, never mind, too recent for that actually

Shamspeare wants Soseki's room for the treasure, presumably; did he kill the previous lodger and is now trying to get Soseki found guilty for his own attempted murder in order to do so? yikes.

yeah he really does seem wacky and fishy enough to be The Culprit of this case, somehow, despite also technically being the victim

Duncan Ross... Duncan Ross... where the hell is the pun, this guy has a normal name, how can that be

Great Deduction, by any chance? :D

...no? no, perhaps best not to be that silly about someone almost committing suicide, huh.

aww, this poor woman, I want to help her :(

stopping at the end of the second investigation day for tonight!

Interim thoughts

elyvorg

okay actually, am still stopped here, but some more Thoughts for now, because there was another Kazuma Feelings scene in that investigation that had a few more little tidbits in it. They hinted more strongly than before (or I just didn't pick up on it before) that the "something very important" Kazuma wanted to do in Britain was effectively to "strike down evil", aka what his sword's about. Which makes sense; I imagined it might be something like that. Ryunosuke also brought up that he suspects that that's actually always been more important to Kazuma than his stated goal of reforming Japan's legal system... almost like the law goal was really just an excuse this whole time, and the real reason he wanted the exchange trip so much was his secret mission?

Which is all really interesting stuff about Kazuma's character... and what gets me is that, like, none of this matters if Kazuma really is dead and we're never going to hear from him again. This isn't just a plot hook for the sake of Ryunosuke and the upcoming mysteries he'll be unravelling, because it doesn't matter in that context which goal was Kazuma's priority; this is a character hook about Kazuma, and that has to mean something please let it mean something

Live reactions: 2-2, second trial day

elyvorg

wwwwwelp guess who's so hyperfixated she got half as much sleep as she should have done

it's almost like I have a suspicion about what part of the game I may or may not be able to reach today

but first! Time to finish case 2.

Woo! I was half worried that there somehow would be strychnine in the tea and we'd have to figure that out.

heh, does van Zieks have a Godot-style "X cups per trial" rule

...oh no. If the strychnine was on the gas lamp that he uses to try and kill the lodger in the other room, did Olive Green do it? D:

ohhhh she would have had to poison the pipes the day she was stabbed! And then Shamspeare didn't need to blow into the pipes for the next few days because Soseki had been arrested!

that's some neat interconnection and I'm very glad I did actually replay case 1-4, wow.

but wait then if she did do it on the night of the stabbing that doesn't explain where she got the poison from, hm

and also Soseki wasn't arrested until the day after the stabbing

aaaaaaagh she was gonna strychnine herself too, that's such a horrible way to go, this poor woman

I would say "The Slug and Salad" is an amusingly unfortunate pub name, but... I have actually seen a pub in England called something like "The Slug's Lettuce", so, apparently that's pretty accurate and not just a joke.

oh no look who's breaking character now that he's under pressure ;P

I'm a little confused, though, because wasn't Olive heading south down the road when she was stabbed? Meaning, from the pub to the victim's room? So she can't have broken in there and poisoned it before she got stabbed, surely?

ah, there's the reason he didn't attempt to murder Soseki the night of the stabbing! yeah, the rest of the timing adds up now.

i want to give Olive Green a hug, even though she attempted murder. :(

Bench

I felt the same way. I like to imagine that, at the very least, her sentence was relatively light.

elyvorg

I hope so!

(though she did at one point say something like "I don't want to be sent to the gallows for the likes of this guy", which... D: )

Bench

...I'll take that as her exaggerating.

elyvorg

Let's hope so.

wow Sholmes's indicator solution is pretty magic if it can pick up signs of a person touching a thing several months ago, even when other people have touched the thing a lot since

love this small round sad lady full of anger and vengeance

like obviously her attempted murder was wrong, but I love characters who get so broken that they're driven to do something like that

also, was she actually trying to kill herself in the hospital? Or was that an excuse, to hide the fact that she was going to make another attempt to kill him?

the latter seems more likely, really. She did suddenly decide "you know what, guess I'm not gonna suicide after all" for rather little reason for a supposedly-suicidal person.

also, can we talk about the fact that being poisoned with strychnine happens to be a really slow and painful way to go. I wonder if that's why she picked this particular poison, or if it's just that it's conveniently also a poison that works in very small amounts?

Oh! The judge said she'd be "stripped of her freedom as punishment", so it sounds like she is just getting prison and not execution, that's good.

oh huh I guess it was a suicidal moment after all

which makes a lot of sense given the whole being-an-attempted-murderer thing

yes, it is a blessing he didn't die, for the sake of his would-have-been-killer, isn't it *stares intently in the direction of Nikolina*

Awww, she smiled! Didn't think we'd be getting an Ace Attorney Smile(TM) from her!

this is the collar of the "Hound of the Baskervilles", perhaps?

oh huh, the Great Exhibition's not going to be case 5? They'd been hyping it up so much I assumed it had to be a Final Case thing.

...

THE RETURN OF THE GREAT DEPARTED SOUL

WELL THAT SURE IMPLIES A THING OR TWO DOESN'T IT

(still do not confirm or deny for me, but)

!!!!!!!!!!!

and here's the other thing! a thing about the Spoiler I got that I never mentioned until now...

one thing I'm pretty sure I remember about it is that the blog was very excited that It's Going To Happen In Case 3

(it's going to happen in case 3!!!!!!!! i am equally excite)

(this is why I got half as much sleep last night)

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

now to take a break and Attempt to have some lunch while I flail internally

other thing I'm glad I did: make a point of not checking the case title cards of the second game at any point. It feels most right to have had this Moment immediately before beginning the case and no sooner.

Bench

Good choice.

I also like how its title is a callback to case GAA1-1.

elyvorg

Oh right, the Great Departure! Yeah, neat.

Bench

Next case is my second favorite in the franchise so far! Hope you enjoy it!

#ace attorney #the great ace attorney chronicles #the great ace attorney #great ace attorney #elyvorg liveblogs tgaa

8 notes · View notes

the-silentium · 3 years

Text

Featuring a Cyborg and a Magician

Masterlist

Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader, Hunter x Reader, Crosshair x Reader

Words: 5667 words

Warnings: Kayden is a warning of his own.

A/N: Let’s have some fun shall we? I decided that now was the time to include Echo if I ever wanted to include Omega.

Taglist: @clone-rambles / @mandaloriandin / @apathetic-catastrophie / @jenstar1992-2 / @haloangel391 / @lightning-wolffe / @cherrydemon5 / @and-claudia / @lackofhonor / @gaymasonjar / @depthsreturn / @koskareevesismyqueen / @leonidas-banana-phone / @mangoberry43

________________

"Ooooh can I come on this one too?" Kayden clapped his hands excitedly like a child, his eyes wide in anticipation and nearly bouncing on his seat.

As it turned out, taking him with you all wasn't hard. It only required a Batcher to have your wooden crest in their possession for him to be able to follow them in a 3 klicks radius and his presence on missions had helped on the two previous ones he slipped himself in.

Retrieving heavily guarded data was a walk in the park when you could have someone walk in there like a tourist, search around for his objective while ignoring the commands of the clankers surrounding him and laugh as the friendly fire killed a majority of the enemy forces.

He even managed to detonate a malfunctioning bomb by walking right up to it, press the button to blow up the whole base and pop back into the Marauder in a second, whistling like it was nothing. Correcting the error in the programming would have taken too much time and the chances of a Batcher being hurt would have risen exponentially with each passing second.

He was a precious ace up your sleeves… when he wasn't a shit digger.

Unsurprisingly, his not-so-hidden talent was to create chaos wherever he passed. It was true back in Alryan, it was still true in the Havoc Marauder. Many new rules were created to ensure that nothing too awkward happened and to keep a somewhat control over the situation.

Rule number one: Kayden had to be visible at all times when in the ship, the only exception to the rule being when people outside the Batch were around. Two: the barracks were off-limits as he didn't sleep and there were established relationships aboard that liked to have their private alone time. Then came rule number three: do not be a nuisance. This command encompassed the pranks, the whining and the fact that he couldn't be seen or else the Batch would be in deep problems.

"General Skywalker is a Jedi, Kayden. What if he can sense you? Or worse, what if he sees you? What do you want us to tell him?"

Cody's debrief has been short and a bit too vague to your liking. Usually, he was more concise but then again, you've rarely worked with Jedis before. In the nearly two years you passed with them, it only happened once and it was a memorable experience.

Watching those two peacekeepers fight from your seat in the Havoc Marauder left you in awe. Their movements and grace made a straining fight look so easy and- "Dunno. That he should stop doing spices?"

Kayden said it with such nonchalance that you nearly got whiplash at how quick you turned to face him, although you did choke on air at the mere idea of insulting a General that can use the Force.

"No. You're sitting this one out. We can't risk blowing her cover if he can link you to her and Fors." Hunter intervened while getting his armor on, just like the rest of the team.

"He could be useful during the recon part of the mission." Tech pointed out, adjusting his pauldrons. "There are still a lot of unknown variables in this operation and his abilities could be desirable on the field."

"Yeah what he said." Kayden's arms crossed at his chest. You rolled your eyes at his childishness and finished strapping your custom chestplate on to get to your rerebraces and vambraces.

"If you can refrain from pulling tricks on everyone and follow orders that is." Tech added with a heavy look. If it managed to get his attention away from his datapad, then it was a really important point.

"I can do that." You would have laughed at how definite he sounded, but Crosshair beat you to it.

"Right." The sniper sneered and you smirked. Now that he could get away with pretty much anything, Kayden often took pleasure in disturbing the grey-haired clone and rile him up until you had to intervene or Crosshair would blow a fuse.

"You ass-"

"The answer's still no. We successfully completed missions with bigger holes in them than this one. We'll manage." Hunter put an end to the debate just as he slipped his helmet on his head.

"Yeah cuz y'all like big holes, eh?" Since he was losing, he retreated to his old habits. You kind of felt bad for him. You knew he was bored of staying on the ship. Hells, even you who were the assigned pilot had more fun in this thin can because you could actually fly it. All he could do was watch all days long and wait all nights long.

"Better stop talking now." Crosshair too slipped his bucket on and grabed his rifle for a last inspection.

"Or you'll hit me?" Smugness dripped from each of his words, a daring look in his eyes.

"Let's not get there, shall we?" You showed him the Core between your fingers, that he knew you could control his density with. Wrecker happily tested your theory a while back.

"No thank you." Kayden conceded defeat, hands in the air and slumped in his seat behind you, arms crossed.

________

The recon went well if you based yourself on the fact that everyone was still in one piece, regs and Batchers alike. There was no denying that you were worried Crosshair would cause too much problem to the boys in blue. It seemed like there was tension between them and your abrasive boyfriend, but nothing too dangerous.

As the Marauder's pilot, you stayed behind with the ship and by extension, Kayden, who whined the whole time about not being able to enjoy his time as a ghost.

"I'm still young! Now's the time to enjoy myself! Not when I'll be an old rat like that chandeler."

"Chancelor." You'd correct him on the title, but not on the old rat. You had to admit that he did give off that vibe. As for his age, you actually had no idea if he was still aging or not.

You admired your work, the ship was in order, every supply has been replenished in the boys' absence, the fuels tanks were full to the brim and all that was missing for the ship to be complete was the crew of walking testosterone.

A couple of hours later they arrived and you fussed over them. None were injured, to your relief, and everyone headed to bed for a short night of sleep. Everyone who could sleep, that is.

You knew it'd be awkward to have a Jedi on board so you geared up quickly, wolfed down your plain food that the GAR dared call a breakfast and put your whole armor on, deadset on keeping your helmet on until the mission was over. Not even Crosshair managed to take it off you for a kiss.

"It'll be fine." He'd reassured you with that soft tone he only reserved for his time alone with you. The following keldabe kiss put you more at ease.

The effect only lasted an hour.

Shortly after, the General entered the ship with his Captain in tow and you set course on Skako Minor.

You had managed to lay low for a good part of the trip with your Bad Batch fashioned bucket on and some good old shut-your-mouth. The boys at the back kept all the attention, Kayden remained invisible and civilized, while you navigated the ship alongside Tech.

Everything was alright until you felt Skywalker's gaze taking you in, up and down slowly just like the two Jedis a year ago. He analyzed you the same manner they both did, with an attentive eye and- you couldn't see it but you were sure it was there- a small frown. Your heartbeat picked up again and you forcefully swallowed the lump in your throat.

Tech's theory about your origins being somehow mixed with the Jedis' must be true to some extent. Three out of three force users took a special interest in you and you were sure what got their attention was the weird wave of energy traveling between you.

He approached the front of the ship and you could now see his scrunched eyebrows, his head slightly tilted to the side, still trying to figure out what was special about you.

Heat raised to your cheeks under your helmet, every muscle in your legs contracted to keep you from listening to your fears of being separated from your newfound family and run away. There was nowhere to run anyway, you weren't in the jungle anymore.

Would he try to invade your mind like Wrecker said? Would he find out who you were? Stay calm. Keep your mask on like in the village and it'll be fine. Calm your mind.

After more than a year on this ship, you developed the useful ability to distinguish who was walking where with the mere sound of the person's steps. Each clone had a distinctive footstep and right now, it was Hunter who moved to your side to save your ass. The sore muscles in your legs started relaxing, followed by the drum in your chest. You'd be fine. Hunter will have it under control.

Then, right before Hunter could intervene, General Skywalker suddenly gripped his shoulder in a hiss, freezing the blood in your veins. The man looked behind him to find no one close enough to have hurt him and flee. All the others were minding their own business, while Hunter was yet not within arms reach.

"What…"

"General?" Captain Rex inquired after he approached at his CO's sound of pain, the confusion on his features reflected perfectly the one on the brunette's face.

The Jedi stood silent for a moment longer. You felt the energy around him shifting as he searched his surroundings for something. Please do not find him. Please do not find him!

Thank the gods Texh was actually piloting the ship, your attention so completely focussed on the General that you could have rammed into an asteroid the size of a planet.

"It's nothing." He shrugged it off and reported his attention on you. "I don't think no one mentioned a pilot. What's your name trooper?"

Talking to General Skywalker was inevitable and you knew it. You simply didn't think that you'd be stuck in a Kayden-induced stress while doing so.

"Not a trooper, sir." You removed your helmet to show him what you meant and offer him a sheepish smile. "My name's Y/N."

"My apologies. I didn't know the GAR assigned civilians to trooper squads." Again, he eyed you up and down, but you kept your cool this time. He didn't seem to be able to find what was wrong and didn't force an access in your head.

"It's rare but not unheard of. Her abilities with a ship made her a good match for our team and the," He paused to search for an adequate word. "Type of mission we usually do." Tech elaborated on your situation.

"And what type is that?" Rex came closer to get a good look at you and even offer you a hand to shake.

"Downright suicidal, Captain." You managed to genuinely chuckle while shaking his hand in a firm grip. "I'd recommend strapping in, the landing will be a difficult one." You announced as the first turbulence racked the Marauder.

You silently prayed that this situation with the blue-eyed Jedi would be the only difficult part of the mission. Helmet back on, you showed off your skills by landing the ship in a raging storm.

_______

There was very little you could do for Echo without using the Core. After reading through the whole Forsian book about its powers, you learned that it could be used to heal dying planets and basically anything in the galaxy.

Your desire to create or heal a planet was extremely low. However, your desire to heal your comrades was very high. Instead of creating life and whatnot, you used the Core to heal their wounds and keep them safe. So far, no one had been on the verge of death so the crystal passed its time tucked in your pocket that was now closed with a zipper to ensure that it did not slip out.

The book didn't tell whether or not using the Core affected the Force so you refrained from using the golden rock on Echo seeing as Tech and yourself highly supposed that it did, as it was said that the Force was connected to every form of life and the Core was the initial creator of life. There was no way you'd leave hints for General Skywalker to pick.

Echo went off a while ago, looking paler than Kayden, to barge in a strategic debrief with too many Generals for you to ever consider following him. Now that the ship was only composed of members of the Bad Batch, reprimands were in order.

"You hit the General?!" Despite keeping his voice down, the strength in his tone unconsciously caused you to press further into the cushion of your seat in the cockpit.

"I pinched him because he made her uncomfortable." Kayden popped on the Sergeant's left with a scowl of his own. To his credit, he did stay with you in the ship and followed Hunter's orders. You were sure he would have sneaked the crest on someone's backpack like he did on the very mission he attended.

"I was going to intervene." You let them bicker, instead turning to Tech when his hand fell to your armored shoulder.

"I get it that you've had another sort of connection with the General." His curious brown eyes met yours for a whole second.

"Yeah. It was more powerful with him than with the others." You recalled, remembering how the dull hum between you and General Skywalker was way more significant than the one flowing between you and the two previous Jedis.

"I highly suspect that the strength of the bond is influenced by the strength of the Jedi. General Skywalker is known to be quite strong Force-wise." He typed away at his vambrace too fast for you to keep up with his notes. Back-Up peered up at you with her dark eyes, her body wrapped tightly around Tech's vambrace to enjoy the warmth radiating from the electronics below the plastoid. "It seems like you can still feel a particular form of Force despite not being sensitive to it. Surely due to your legacy and your connection to the Core. It is the source of the Force after all."

You nearly yelped when a fist collided with your shoulder. Wrecker's playful punch didn't hurt as much as it scared the shit out of you. "Yes because she's a goddess!"

You sighed at the perpetual reminder that you may or may not be as normal as you'd like to be. Wrecker's excitement was cute and all, but you wanted to be their equal, not some deity that could be perceived as superior or something.

You knew your two boyfriends had been influenced by it at some point. He never told you, but you were certain Crosshair had been intimidated or would use the excuse of you being "better than he was" to belittle himself. He had started distancing himself a little, although you didn't let him the time to get too far and reassured him that you didn't care who or what you were, that all you wanted was to be his. Hunter found himself on the other side of the spectrum. He would often use the excuse of you being a "goddess" to worship you more than necessary. He didn't get it the wrong way like his brother, no, he used it to his advantage, whispering words of adoration and how he could venerate your body all day long. You blushed at the memory of your last worshipping session.

"Am not!"

"You are!"

"Am not!"

"You brought Kayden back! And you healed my blaster burn the other week and you helped that village on Ruusan when their entire crops have been destroyed by the clankers!"

You bit your lip at the reminder of what you did. Tech had been against your intervention, saying that miraculously reappearing crops would be awfully suspicious and could be easily linked to the team. You'd listened in the beginning, but as the day passed, you noticed more and more people hurting from hunger. Kids who couldn't understand why they couldn't satisfy their rumbling stomachs cried their hunger, mothers did their best to not seem affected but from a sharp, adult eye, their suffering was clear.

You weren't an idiot. New crops didn't magically grow back in under a minute. No, deep down you wished that there was a nearby undiscovered meadow, hidden in the dense vegetation, where juicy fruits grew in the trees and small preys liked to play. Edible fungus pullulated through the grass amongst the root vegetables that were already ready to be harvested.

It had been 100% unintentional. You'd thought that this could have been a good idea and the next thing you knew, a kid came back running with two round fruits in his hands, holding them like they were treasures and claiming that there was “infinite” more. Needless to say, the kid's overstatement gave you a heart attack and won you a lecture by not only Tech but Hunter too. Up to this day, you never regretted accidentally helping them. Not when the kids were cheering in glee at the food and the moms were relieved to the point of spilling some tears.

"She's a what who did what?" A voice rang out from the Havoc Marauder's entrance, sending your heartbeat and body heat through the roof.

Echo stood there in his new armor, courtesy of Clone Force 99's armor surplus from when Tech developed your own custom model, a deep frown deforming his tired features.

For a split second, everyone stood there, frozen in place, until Crosshair harshly pulled the clone inside and hit the buttons near the door to lift the ramp. Should have done that sooner. You could at least be relieved that he was alone and not accompanied by either his Captain or General.

"Who's that?" Echo added once he realized he'd walked in a confidential conversation and that everyone was wracking their brains to find a suitable lie. His features hardened from confusion to suspicion as he shook Crosshair off his arm and stood straighter.

Kayden, who was still poking Hunter's chest plate, clapped his hands once and kept them pressed together. "No one." There was an awkward pause as he met yours and Hunter's gaze and turned to Echo with a wink. "Don't do spices." He uselessly added before vanishing.

The gloved hand flying to your forehead was purely unintentional. Idiot!

"What was that?! Where did he go?" The clone took a step backward, his eyes moving around frantically.

"He's- eh-" Hunter was the first to attempt to defuse the situation. He was a good liar. Knew what signs to avoid, how to keep his vitals as normal as possible and had quite a quick reply. The thing was, Echo had had enough time to see that Kayden wasn't just the fruit of his imagination and the moron even talked. The alarmed expression on Wrecker's face wasn't helping either.

Considering all the factors, you decided that Hunter's lie would not do. "Echo, calm down. Let us explain." You abandoned your seat to get closer.

"How can I trust what you say when you hide things from the GAR and that- the man that was there- he…" He tripped on his words and guilt washed over you. The poor man passed years at the Techno Union's mercy, was brainwashed, butchered up and patched back up with mechanical pieces. He was already lost and confused and what he overheard wasn't helping.

"Big words coming from you." Your jaw tightened as soon as Crosshair cut him off, the toothpick between his lips moving from one side of his mouth to the other.

Echo bristled at the attack. "What does that mean?"

"You've been a Separatist puppet for quite some time, selling the GAR every time you could. Now, how do we know you won't be selling us out?" He grabbed his toothpick and threw it with a flick to the white and blue chestplate before you could even lift your hand to stop him.

"I wasn't in control! I'd never betray the GAR and my brothers!"

"Cross, stop." You put yourself between the sniper and the once reg, your right hand falling on the grey plastoid to keep him at bay and maybe calm his arrogance. You knew his whole demeanor was because he was worried you'd be taken away if Echo decided to report you and what happened with Kayden. You were worried too. Scared even. But it wasn't Echo's fault and you couldn't hold it against him. Talking about such things when still on base had been stupid and reckless.

Crosshair didn't meet your eyes but you knew he'd not interfere when the muscles in his neck relaxed. Your hand fell to your side and you turned to Echo. "My instinct tells me that you're trustworthy, so listen. What I'll tell you must not be repeated outside the Marauder and to no one else."

"Y/N-" Hunter tried to talk you down from telling the truth, a hand softly grabbing on your shoulder to catch your attention.

"It's alright. Echo's a good one." You smiled warmly at the tattooed clone. "I'm not a goddess," You shot a look at Wrecker who nodded his head in contradiction. "But I can create some things at will. Like crops and such." You intentionally forgot to mention the Core. You trusted your gut, but let's not forget that the Lumsins fooled you once. "And the guy you saw was Kayden. He's- eh…"

"Your brother." A voice rang out from nowhere and everywhere, scaring Echo who jumped and hit a console with his elbow.

Silently wishing he did not hit his funny bone, you continued. "Adopted. But yeah. He's that. And he's technically dead."

His eyes grew wide and once again, he seemed to struggle to find the right words."Wh- Did you say dea-"

Sharp knocks on the side of the ship cut the conversation short. "Permission to get in? I hope you're all ready in there!"

Everyone straightened, multiple pairs of eyes fell on the 501st trooper to see how he'd react. Against a majority of the expectations aboard the Marauder, Echo kept his mouth shut.

"Of course General! Sorry about the ramp!" You answered the man outside the door before quickly glancing back at Echo. "If you keep this for yourself, I'll explain more later." You promised and even offered your hand to seal the deal.

After looking at the boys behind you that you were sure looked back at him with hard looks and maybe some distrustful gazes, he nodded once, shook your hand and stepped aside so you could lower the ramp for the blue Captain and his General.

"Welcome back." You smiled before hurrying away to your seat, away from the weird buzzing energy that roared to life once the Jedi walked up the stairs.

______

Flying right towards a Separatist fleet messed with your nerves. Even though you'd previously mentioned trusting the robot-clone, Kayden could easily feel the doubt snaking its way into your mind. Despite everything, you remained calm and focused on your task. As soon as the droid called your permission to land on their big-ass ship, the brunette felt a new wave of pride wash away your worry.

He had to admit, so far your guess had been right. The clone kept his word and didn't mention Kayden or the fact that you were a goddess to any of the men that radiated authority more than testosterone. Because yes, you were a god damn goddess despite you denying it like a vegan that claims to have never cheated on their crazy diet.

So far, you were the only member of the Bad Batch who trusted Echo. Even Wrecker was still torn between accepting the new guy or following his brothers' judgment. As usual Crosshair was nasty towards everyone, Hunter was more on his guard than anything else and Tech, well, Kayden didn't like feeling Tech's emotions. They were so fast and too much was happening at the same time that it gave him terrible headaches. From the look he exchanged with Hunter, though, it was easy to tell how he felt about Echo.

Guess they're like that for every outsider that joins the bubble, Kayden thought. He watched as you landed upside down under the belly of the cruiser and gave your signal to the rest of them.

Time to go!

Sneaking the crest into Wrecker's backpack had been terribly unchallenging. Everyone was concentrated on the mission or on Echo, leaving him all the time in the world to fetch the necklace from under your pillow- yes, he wasn't supposed to be in this room but who listens to rules anyway- pass through the barracks doors and discreetly make his way to Wrecker. No one saw the flying piece of wood and now he could get off this damn ship and maybe even enjoy his time outside.

Kayden jogged and ran with the group, staying invisible for any mortal and mechanical eyes. He watched as Echo proved his loyalty to the Republic and got zapped when he pushed his luck.

So far, he'd been pretty disappointed. He thought a cruiser this size would swarm droids of all sorts, giving him some reason to be out and about. Then Skywalker ran away and the action began. He didn't know if he still had veins and adrenaline, but Kayden felt a surge of energy flow through his whole being. Let the fun begin!

He walked two corridors down so he would not be seen by Rex still following the Bad Batch and messed with the droids' internal circuits. He discovered that his new ghost status allowed him to disrupt electronic systems. Tech wasn't too happy about his learning method, but it was a necessary process.

To his delight, the droids fell like flies under his ministrations and he got to return invisible before the clones even turned the corner. He waited for them, leaning onto the wall with a smug grin on his face. Hunter will love this.

"What happened here?" The blue trooper's steps faltered as he took in the scene. Hunter shook his head with a low grunt while Tech crouched to assess the nearest robot. The Bad Batch already knew what happened, but needed to put on a show nonetheless. The wave of displeasure radiating off every single one of them minus Wrecker nearly made him laugh.

"They seem to have malfunctioned, somehow." Tech provided his best half-truth. There wasn't time to ponder more on the matter as more droids marched their way and thus, Rex accepted the explanation and passed to the next problem.

"There's too many of them!" Kayden scoffed at Rex's statement. Not for this team, bud.

To Kayden's joy, Wrecker got into position. This was his cue.

"Mind a little help?" He smirked at Crosshair who was currently sniping through his body to hit some targets behind him. From his place right over the corner, there was no way Rex could see him. It wasn't the case for Hunter.

"Hell yeah!" Wrecker cheered before charging the first droid.

"Kayden, no." Hunter growled so low he nearly missed it.

"Kayden, yes." He laughed as he popped at the other end of the hallway filled with droids. Wrecker charged at the B-1s, quickly making his way to Kayden's position as he walked between the yellow robots and worked his magic.

He was taking down his 7th victim when movement and loud approaching steps caught his attention. A large pile of droids charged his way and would have knocked him over had he not made himself intangible.

He couldn't control the laugh bubbling out of his mouth at seeing Wrecker throw the droids everywhere. Since the last enemy standing was shaking in fear, Kayden took it as his cue to disappear once more.

"I heard someone." Rex peaked in the scrap-filled hallway, his head moving right and left to try and identify what caught his ears.

"Wrecker?" Hunter asked with an impeccably innocent voice.

"No, not him. It was a laugh. But it wasn't Wrecker." The man was on edge, his senses alert and gun at the ready.

"Didn't hear anything, Captain." Hunter turned to meet Echo's frowning gaze. Brownie points right there! The peak of gratefulness escaping the long-haired clone was subtle, just enough to breach through his irritation. "Perhaps a defect in your helmet, sir."

He knew he'd be in trouble later but it was worth it. Doing nothing on their ship was boring him out of his mind. Maybe he should ask you to get him some wood and wood scissors so at least his nights would be interesting instead of playing with his thumbs and doing castles with the toothpicks he found here and there.

Kayden stayed behind with Crosshair, still invisible to not disturb the guy. Not that he cared, but he was curious to see how the small mirrors he threw on the walls would help. Knowing the sniper, they were all placed perfectly where they should be even if the pattern seemed random.

He may not like the hard-ass clone very much, but he wasn't ashamed to admit that his skills were impressive. They got to the infiltration point where the others were waiting, Skywalker amongst them, and Crosshair got into position. The thought of moving the first mirror passed through Kayden's mind and prickled at his fingertips.

Hunter was a nice target to pick on. Crosshair, not so much.

The mirror stayed in place, allowing Crosshair to execute his awfully impressive shot and take down every single droid marching their way. Without an ounce of doubt, Kayden knew his face was mirroring Wrecker's.

Back in the ship, it didn't take long for Crosshair to find the crest in Wrecker's bag and shove it into Hunter's hands who closed his fist around it. Oopsie.

You piloted the ship back to the GAR base and gracefully landed in the hangar, something Tech never learned to do or didn't care to execute.

Rex and Skywalker exited the ship, the rest of the troops slower to follow.

"Nice job cyar'ika." Hunter carefully touched your helmet with his, once the two men walked out. Both your foreheads touched for a whole second and Kayden felt the bile rise in his throat.

"You boys did all the work as usual." You laughed, your hand lifting to cradle the side of his neck.

From his invisible spot near the door, Kayden saw Echo do a double-take in the corner of his eyes before following Rex down the ramp, Wrecker and Crosshair behind him.

Hunter threw the crest in the barracks, clearly hoping to keep Kayden in the ship while they had to follow their superiors.

Joke's on you! Kayden internally laughed as they stopped within his 3 klicks radius and received their praises.

Just because you were there and still felt uncomfortable whenever weird people with weird energy were around, he remained from doing shits around the hangar. Then it was time to pack up and go. He did look forward to being visible again, it did consume more energy and was a bother to not be able to pull pranks as he did before, but he could interact with people and it was worth it. Hunter's lecture would be a hassle though.

Maybe he should look around for a crate to push on someone before the fun time was over.

Echo, who apparently decided to trust you all despite not knowing the whole truth about you and him, joined the ranks of the infamous Clone Force 69. Watching you all salute, Kayden entertained the thought of kicking Crosshair behind the knee and admire him stumble to the ground. As hilarious as it seemed in his head, he couldn't find the courage to do it.

You all got in, Wrecker removed his armor, Hunter disappeared in the barracks, Tech helped you pilot and Crosshair hovered over your seat. You removed your helmet and briefly smiled up at him. He kept watching you do your stuff until the Marauder was in hyperspace and the autopilot was engaged.

Echo was still looking around, wondering what to do with himself. Kayden walked up to him, still too ghostly to be seen and waited for the right moment.

You stood up to smile once more at the grumpy clone.

"Now kiss!" Kayden loudly broke the silence as soon as he made himself visible and scared the cyborg. He closed an eye and moved his fingers so he was pushing yours and Cross' heads towards each other.

"Why are you the way you are?" You rolled your eyes with an exasperated sigh and moved around Crosshair to get to the barracks with the sniper in tow, a too familiar glare hardening his gaze.

"Do not make fun of me because I was dropped!" Kayden laughed at your retreating forms.

"Wait… I thought she was with Hunter…" Echo trailed off, confused.

"She is! But she's a girl so she's predisposed to love triangles. Ya know, like in their anatomy. Boobs, south pole. Triangle." He traced a triangle in the air, using your body as a reference.

"And wh-who are you again?" Echo inquired, frowning too deeply for his fragile features.

"The Dimwit." He winked with the most suspicious grin on his lips before vanishing into thin air.

Echo ran to the cockpit and stayed close to Tech for the whole evening.

#bad batch x reader #crosshair x reader #tech x reader #wrecker x reader #hunter x reader #sergeant hunter #dimwit's tale #fors #star wars #Clone Wars #clone force 99 #the bad batch

51 notes · View notes

x-wing-junkie · 4 years

Text

Onward & Upward

Rating: Teen

Warnings: None

Tags: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus, Airen Cracken, Hera Syndulla, Original Rebel Alliance Characters

Established Relationship, Kallus gets his own ship, based on a Star Wars Adventures story, probably going to be jossed soon,

Summary: As the Rebels search for a new home following the assault on Mako-Ta base, Kallus is given a new assignment.

Notes: Sequel to A Safe Haven!

I fully expect this to be proven wrong as soon as we get more Star Wars Adventures comics with Kallus and his crew in them, but damn it if I didn’t already come up with my own ideas before finding out there would be further stories.

The Lasana, as always, comes from Anath_Tsurugi’s brilliant mind.

Cross posted from AO3 to celebrate 200 followers!

Home One was a busy ship in the days after the Rebellion fled Mako-Ta base. Their retreat plans had been thrown into disarray by the arrival of Darth Vader.

Stormtroopers, even Death Troopers, could be handled. But how could regular Rebel troops hope to last against a Sith Lord?

They hadn’t been able to and they’d lost a lot of men in the trying, General Draven among them.

The Rebellion was in space, all crammed into Fleet ships while the Council debated a new base.

Kallus hoped it was news of such a base that made General Cracken, head of Intelligence, call him to his office, but he couldn’t be sure.

When Kallus entered the tiny office, Cracken – a middle-aged human with graying hair – was poring over a datapad, so Kallus stood by the door until he was acknowledged.

After a few minutes, Cracken looked up. Kallus saluted and then sat in the chair Cracken indicated.

“Captain Kallus, you’ll forgive me for running late,” Cracken said. “We’re just waiting for General Syndulla.”

Suddenly, Kallus felt like a child about to be chastised. He ran through his behavior for the last few months and couldn’t think of any way he’d offended someone. Ever since the battle of Scarif, he’d been serving as part of the Ghost’s crew, going on raids and scouting locations and other ‘in-the-field’ missions. It’d been an ideal setup, allowing him the freedom to leave the base frequently and feel like he was making a significant contribution to the Alliance while being able to share a bed and a life with Zeb.

He wouldn’t change anything.

Well, that wasn’t quite true. He chafed a little under Hera’s leadership – nothing to do with Hera herself, but Kallus had always been in command as an Imperial and he missed having the sort of authority an ISB agent wielded. He missed being in control of his own actions, his own missions, his own destiny.

A soft knock sounded and Hera slipped into the room. Kallus returned her smile, covering his nerves easily.

Hera nodded at Cracken and the general cleared his throat. “Captain, I assume you’re familiar with the Imperial Freighter we captured over Kile II?”

Kallus was indeed familiar with the ship. Zaarin’s commandos had taken control of it almost bloodlessly. “Gozanti-class,” he said. “Looks to be pre-Empire but modified for Imperial service.”

“You’re familiar with that class of ship, I understand.”

Kallus glanced at Hera, but her face betrayed nothing. “Yes, sir. I often flew or commanded one during my ISB days.”

“That’s what General Syndulla told me.” Cracken leaned forward on his desk. “Captain, you’re being reassigned.”

Reassigned? No! “Where am I needed, sir?”

“I’m granting you command of our new ship. You’ll need a crew. I’ll give you some leeway in selecting them, but you’re being assigned a protocol droid.” Cracken glanced up at Hera, who gave Kallus a soft smile.

“I’m keeping Zeb and Rex,” she said, “but you can pick almost anyone else.”

Kallus had known, in his gut, that Zeb wouldn’t leave Hera and Jacen anyway, but it hurt to hear he was being separated, even if it did mean his own command again.

“This assignment comes with a promotion,” said Cracken, pulling out a new rank tab. “Congratulations, Commander Kallus.”

Still trying to digest all the information being thrown at him, Kallus picked up the rank tab and nodded. “Thank you, sir. What sort of assignments can I expect?”

“You’ll be Fleet command, but most of your missions will come from Intelligence. I presume you don’t mind picking up the mantle of Fulcrum again?”

“I didn’t ever put it down,” Kallus said.

“Good. Then you’re dismissed, Commander. I’ll expect your crew transfer requests by the end of tomorrow.”

Kallus nodded and left in a bit of a daze. He wandered down to Home One’s main docking bay, where the newly-captured Transport 478 sat. Mechanics swarmed over it, removing carbon scoring and repainting the yellow and gray accents.

“Nice lookin’ ship, isn’t she?”

“Garazeb,” Kallus said, relief flooding his chest. “Did Hera tell you?”

“That you’re getting a promotion and a transfer? Yeah.” Zeb sounded just as enthused as Kallus was. He turned the conversation back to the ship, obviously a safer topic. “You know, she needs a new name. Something Rebellion-y.”

Kallus leaned into Zeb’s side. “You know what she kind of looks like?”

“Huh?” Zeb’s eyes narrowed as he peered at the ship. “She’s bigger ‘n the Ghost, that’s for sure. I dunno what else.”

“The paint job,” Kallus pointed out. “Yellow on top, gray on bottom. She looks like that meteorite from Bahryn. The one that kept us warm.”

“Mostly warm,” Zeb corrected. He cocked his head. “You’re right, she does. So what? Gonna name her the Meteorite?”

“Maybe. Maybe she needs a different name. Something the meteorite represented.” Kallus crossed his arms and thought. “Something to do with hope, maybe. Or warmth.”

“Ollirahnd Kasmera,” Zeb said after a few moments’ contemplation. “Means ‘Glimmer of Hope’.”

“‘Glimmer of Hope’,” Kallus repeated. He turned it over in his head a few times. “The Rebellion could use hope right now, I think.”

Zeb wrapped an arm around Kallus’s shoulder. “You think you can pilot this thing?”

Kallus scowled. “Garazeb, I’ll have you know I’m quite a good pilot. You just haven’t seen me fly much.”

“Oh? Better than me, are you?” Zeb grinned, pressing a kiss to Kallus’s temple. “I think we should test that.”

Huffing a laugh, Kallus replied, “In the simulators. I don’t want you crashing my new ship.”

Zeb gasped in feigned offense. “Alexsandr Kallus, are you implying I can’t fly a ship?”

“I know you’re a decent pilot,” Kallus said. “But you’re not a really good one. There’s a reason Hera doesn’t let you fly the Ghost, just the Phantom II.”

Zeb laughed. “Okay, good point.”

Kallus smiled, but said nothing. Slowly, his grin fell, becoming something sad and miserable. “I don’t want this,” he said. “I want to stay on the Ghost with you.”

“And I’d come with you if Hera’d let me, “ Zeb said. “But you’re a victim of your own abilities. You’re too good at this stuff. They saw you lead the commandos, they know you fly well.”

“I could refuse the promotion and position,” Kallus said. “Stay with you.”

Zeb stood there for a moment, obviously considering the idea. “No,” he said finally. “It’s where you’re needed. They were gonna split us up sooner or later.”

Kallus felt a jolt. “You’re not saying–”

“No!” Zeb said quickly. “No, I’m not saying we should split up. I’m just saying it was silly to believe we’d get to stay together the whole time.”

It wasn’t silly, Kallus wanted to argue. It was everything I was fighting for. “I suppose you’re right.”

“‘Course I’m right,” Zeb said, giving Kallus’s shoulders a squeeze. “Come on, it’s dinnertime.”

Zeb slid his arm down Kallus’s back and caught his hand so they could walk together to the mess.

The fare on Home One was not quite as varied as the food on Yavin IV had been, but it was edible and, most importantly, not a nutrient paste, so Kallus was happy with it. He picked out a few spoonfuls of promising-looking dishes and followed Zeb to an empty table.

Their table didn’t stay empty for long. Hera joined them, as did Zaarin, Kallus’s former roommate. The talk, of course, was all of Kallus’s promotion.

Hera seemed apologetic. “I’m sorry to see you two split up, but General Cracken was insistent.”

Kallus gave her a small, reassuring smile. “It’s really okay,” he said, even though it wasn’t. “It was bound to happen at some point.”

“So who’re you picking for your crew?” Zaarin asked, raking back his shaggy hair from his face. “You need a commando, right?”

“You want to give up command?” Kallus asked. “What will Orenth-2 do without you?”

“They’re planning on merging us with Major Lissiri’s unit,” Zaarin said. “So I’m history either way. Might as well go out and see the galaxy, not just battlefields.”

Kallus chewed his food, thinking. Did he really want to work with Zaarin? The man was a friend and they’d survived living together, but… well, Zaarin could be a bit grating. “Fine,” he said after a minute. “I’ll submit your name.”

“Great!” Zaarin leaned forward. “Now, if you really want to make me happy, you’ll ask that new elomin in Intelligence, too. I hear she’s killer with a Kyuzo petar.”

Everyone else at the table sighed. Zaarin’s penchant for aliens – especially aliens with horns, such as elomin – was well-known.

“Tell you what,” Kallus said. “If you can tell me her name, right now, I’ll ask her. But if she’s just ‘the new elomin…’”

“Mikal,” Zaarin answered quickly. “I do pay attention to that sort of thing, you know.”

“No, we don’t know that,” Zeb laughed. “Gotta say, I’m surprised.”

Hera grinned, too. “Looks like you’ve got two crew members already, Kallus.”

“Only if Cracken approves all the transfers,” Kallus said. “So Zaarin, you’re good with explosives and apparently this Mikal is good with melee weapons. I’m a good ranged shot. We have a droid. What are we missing?”

“You want a mechanic,” Hera said. “Can’t tell you the number of times I’ve found myself wishing we had one.”

“Hey!” Zeb protested. “I do that sort of work!”

Hera smiled. “You do and you do it well. But it’d be nice to have you in a turret while someone else works on the shields when they fail. I don’t want to have to choose where you go.”

Zeb leaned back in his chair. “Fair enough,” he said. He turned to Kallus. “Grab a verpine if you can. If not, grab Jaci.”

Kallus nodded. Jaci had never quite bounced back after losing her cousin and both her lovers so close together back on Yavin IV. Instead she’d thrown herself into her work, quickly becoming the most sought-after of the human mechanics. Kallus had a fond spot for her; she’d been one of the first people on Yavin to show him kindness. Perhaps a change would do her well. “If Daine lets her go,” he agreed. “Anyone else?”

Hera shrugged. “We got along with a group of five for a good while before Ezra joined us and I’m sure between you and Zaarin, you can smooth-talk your way out of bad situations one way or another.”

Kallus wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. He’d use diplomacy if he could but Zaarin would probably flirt his way out of trouble.

And, knowing the bastard, it would work.

“All right. I’ll get those names to Cracken.” Under the table, Kallus reached out for Zeb’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

“So does this make us all Fulcrum agents, too?” Zaarin asked. “‘Cause that’s really good for–”

Hera cleared her throat and Zaarin stopped mid-sentence. Continuing as if Zaarin hadn’t been about to make a lewd comment, she said, “I think Kallus will be the only Fulcrum agent, although you can talk to General Cracken if you’re truly interested.”

Zaarin laughed. “No, I’ll let K handle that one. I was just curious.”

Kallus and Zeb shared a glance and the lasat rolled his eyes. “I think Kal and I need to go,” Zeb said. “Got stuff for him to do.”

Cheeks warm with embarrassment, Kallus let himself be dragged off back to the Ghost.

“Garazeb,” Kallus said, casting about for the right words. “Are you sure you’re all right with me taking this position? We’ll both be gone so often.”

“But you’re not gone yet,” Zeb reasoned. “We’ll worry about that when it happens.” He reached out and pulled Kallus close, into a deep kiss.

Kallus closed his eyes and focused on the kiss: the taste and tang of Zeb, the feel of lips and sharp fangs against his. They’d gone through so much to get to the point where Zeb felt comfortable kissing him, Kallus hated to do anything to mess that up.

Reaching behind him, he hit the door controls and pulled Zeb back into their cabin. “Ollirahnd Kasmera,” he murmured, between kisses. “You realize Glimmer of Hope is a terribly sentimental name?”

“So call it the Glimmer. Or the Kasmera.” Zeb shrugged. “Better ‘n Glowy Rock That Kept Me Warm.”

Kallus laughed and cupped Zeb’s jaw, running his thumb through the lasat’s bristly beard. “I do love you, Garazeb,” he said.

Zeb arched his brows. “Now who’s the sentimental one, Alex?”

“Only because you made me so.”

Zeb pushed Kallus back on the bed. “Guess I rubbed off on you the right way.”

“Something like that,” Kallus laughed again.

“Tomorrow we’ll get you moved into your new quarters and then break ‘em in properly,” Zeb said. “But you’re not leaving on that ship yet. We’re still together for tonight. And I have plans for you.”

“Plans?” Kallus grinned. “Show me.”

And Zeb did.

Kallus lay there after, wrapped in Zeb’s arms, running his fingers idly through thick purple fur.

Glimmer of Hope, he thought. The Glimmer. I can work with that.

He used to think there wasn’t the slightest bit of hope for both of them to make it through the war together, but Zeb’s steady belief in something better had wormed its way into Kallus’s heart.

Thanks to Zeb, he had more than just a glimmer of hope that there was something for them on the other side of this long war.

And that something was worth fighting for.

Worth living for.

#Susan writes stuff #star wars rebels #kalluzeb

17 notes · View notes

beansthembo · 5 years

Text

I need to do a bit of a vent about the new Star Wars movie. Spoilers below.

I’m having some trouble processing what happened. If you’re reading this, you probably are interested in my opinion on it, and you probably also know that I was a big fan of The Last Jedi. By no means was it a perfect movie, but it took the chance of distancing itself from the rest of the series by springing off of what was established in TFA and building something new. A lot of people weren’t too pleased by this, and there are plenty of legitimate criticisms, but being completely transparent, I can’t listen to most critics of it because most of the people I know in real life who didn’t like it are racist or misogynistic.

TLJ tried to introduce people to the idea that, in reference to the new canon, just because it’s new and different, doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Kylo’s/Ben’s line, “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to,” finds meaning in this, though a bit extreme. TLJ was going to learn from the past films and move on, for better or worse. TROS is determined to wallow in its past. As a lifetime fan of Star Wars, I can’t bring myself to hate it outright, like many vocal critics of TLJ, but I find myself severely disappointed by the decisions made in it.

I’ve honestly spent too much time composing those last paragraphs, as if I’m a legit critic or reviewer. I’m just kind of going to present my nitpicks and criticisms as they come to me.

So, first a few nitpicks:

-The opening crawl seems... poorly composed to me. The first line is “The dead speak!” Correct me if I’m wrong, but they don’t usually use exclamations in the opening crawls. I know I just spent the last couple of paragraphs defending new ideas, but the opening crawl always seemed as though they were meant to present information formally from a neutral perspective. Not a major criticism, but it did bother me a bit.

-What happened to Kyle’s TIE Silencer? I mean, it could’ve been destroyed in the previous movie, but I don’t really remember that happening. Either way, it seemed to me that they made the decision to make his ship more similar to the Interceptor, as, like, a ‘safer’ choice, but I don’t see why they couldn’t have just had the same ship.

-The Falcon has a round dish again? You know, now that I’m thinking of it, the dish may have been blasted off in TLJ. I just was surprised by that.

I may add to that list later. the actual problems I had were:

-Rey is sort of obsessed with ‘earning’ Luke’s (and Anakin’s) old lightsaber. Which has been repaired, by the way. She doesn’t actually ‘own’ it, even though she’s been using it for the past two movies, she’s just been borrowing it from Leia. I was really looking forward to seeing her make her own (or already have her own) lightsaber, which she does, but she waits until the end of the movie to show it off. And it’s rad as hell! Wtf? why couldn’t she have been using that the whole time! It’s one of my favorite lightsaber designs now and they show it for a whole two seconds!

-They finally give Snoke a backstory, and it’s... that he was Palpatine’s puppet the whole time. I’m gonna say, not the worst backstory they could have done, but they really tried to make him just not matter at all. I mean, yeah, the way he was done off with in TLJ was pretty unceremonious, but I always felt that meant that the real big bad was meant to be Kyle all along. Instead, the Skywalker saga becomes the Palpatine saga. I’m not opposed to the concept of Palpatine surviving and attempting to resurrect the Sith, but that’s something I’d expect from a novel, not the main story of the final movie in the franchise. And, honestly, regardless of whether or not Snoke was secretly Plagueis, I always thought he was supposed to be some other ye olde sith master, not just some sort of failed clone(?)

-Kyle rebuilds his fuUcking helmet. Why? What purpose does it serve? He doesn’t even wear it most of the time. The longest period he wears it is when the First Order officers comment on it. He’s just being dramatic. Which, I suppose, would be in character, but after the scene in which he shatters it in TLJ, it seems pointless.

-Another nitpick, but when they expand upon Rey and Kyle’s ability to connect through the force, it seems a little... disjointed. I do like that they took the time to expand upon that, even though I thought Rey closing the Falcon’s ramp on him at the end of TLJ was symbolic of her cutting him off, the way they presented it seemed, well, off. Like, it makes sense if you take it at face value, but if you start to think about it at all, it sort of... weird. I dunno how to describe it. Like, they interact with each other’s environments, but can’t see what they can interact with until they interact with it, and they can trade items, and... yeah.

-The big one... Rey’s a Palpatine. Her father was Sheev’s son. (When did that happen, huh? Who’d want to get with that wrinkly mess?) Why the everloving fuck couldn’t Rey just have been Rey? Why did she have to be related to someone existing in the franchise already? JJ’s going around saying that this was his plan the whole time, which is bull fucking shit, because otherwise they would have communicated this to Ryan, and I’m pretty sure TROS was originally going to have another director in the first place, and ALSO I’m pretty sure JJ did say at some point that Rey’s parents only mattered to her. While I’m on the topic of fan theories and origins, nobody in the movies was ever concerned about who Snoke really was. They knew who he was-the Bad Guy. Nobody ever cared who the Emperor really was in 1983, so why was Snoke’s death and non-explained origins such a big deal? I have more conflicted thoughts than I can even put down, so i’m gonna move on.

-Oh, before I forget, they just completely write off Rose. She’s present, but they minimize her screen time. I get that a lot of people didn’t like her, and there are some valid criticisms of her that aren’t completely rooted in racism and misogyny, but I never found any problem with her. I actually felt she was pretty relatable. She meets a hero, trips over her own words, and then learns why you should never meet your heroes. Disillusioned, she’s about to turn him in but they come up with another plan, and together they visit a world full of people she joined the Resistance to get away from. I’ve got that same feeling about those sorts of things-while I do enjoy a decent amount of privilege, I still, you know, fight against the system that gave it to me. And I can’t stand to see people abuse others just because they don’t have that privilege, so hearing her speech about wanting to punch a hole through that city did mean a lot at some level. Then, at the end, when she’s like, “this is how we win. Not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love,” I can even relate to that. It’s when, like, you explain to a kid how you hate something, and they jump on the bandwagon, and get real angsty, and then you’re like, “no no no that’s not what I wanted you to learn!” It’s hard to describe it with my rapidly deteriorating attention, but I never thought she was a bad character.

-DJ wasn’t in it! I mean, he wasn’t the most important character, but I still wanted to see him again.

-They have this fake out where they pretend Chewie was dead for a whole 20 seconds. I totally called it, too-the ship he was supposedly in blew up (or rather, Rey blew it up with force lightning accidentally), but since he didn’t die on screen in front of us, I knew it had to be a fake out. And it seems like the only reason for that was so they can find out that Hugs was the traitor, who is only betraying the First Order to see Kyle lose, which I mean fair, but then he’s unceremoniously killed off by the new big officer guy who we’ve never seen before but was supposedly one of the Emperor’s top men. I don’t think his name was even mentioned in the movie-or if it was, it had zero staying power. Also, they have this part where Threepio had his memory erased for a while before being backed up by Artoo. The lead up to it was very dramatic- Threepio’s generally been a comic relief character up to this point, and now he’s got to give his life for the cause (He had a translation of some Sith runes in his memory, but his programming prevented him from saying the translation aloud, and his memory needed to be wiped in order to access it), but as soon as his memory is wiped they do not give two shits that one of their best friends basically died right in front of them. Then Artoo brings him back and still no one cares.

-Poe and Finn do have a nice dynamic in the movie, but then we find one of Poe’s exes and he starts flirting with her and its like no Poe your husband’s right tHERE POE DON’T DO IT (and don’t dismiss this as shipper nonsense because John Boyega and Oscar Isaac both wanted FinnPoe to be a thing and acted through the movies like it was already don’t you say this is the first you’re hearing of this)

-The way that Rey defeats Palpatine is by crossing lightsabers in front of him to deflect his lightning?

-Reylo is canon NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (Insert the gif of Vader yelling no at the end of ROTS)

-Also why does it always have to be a planet destroying superweapon? I know legends did that a lot but there doesn’t always have to be one for there to be stakes.

I think there was other stuff, but my brain is too scattered at this point to make any more cohesive thoughts. I mean, there was a lot of stuff I did like about it- Lando’s back! And i think Wedge is too, but he was on screen for about a second and a half, so I couldn’t tell. It was confirmed that Leia had force training, and even had a lightsaber! And I do like that they’re taking some inspiration from Legends, but I’m pretty sure Dark Empire was not one of the most popular series’ from it. I also did like Ben seeing a vision of Han; It’s not entirely clear if it was a force ghost thing (I am of the belief that Han was at leas a little force sensitive) or if it was just Ben sort of coming to terms with his actions, but the scene was pretty well done in my opinion. Also, Rey taking the name Skywalker at the end. That was nice, like she chose her family.

Now I just remembered a couple of things-Finn was basically confirmed to be force sensitive, but the way they did it felt very ham-fisted. Like, they weren’t like “he felt a disturbance wink wink nudge nudge,” they were like “HERE IS SOME SUBTEXT THAT ISN’T ACTUALLY SUBTEXT SEE HERE” like they never outright say it but it would have been less insulting if they did. Also, they introduced a force healing thing, which has been a more of a thing in the games, but we’ve never seen it on screen before. But like, Rey dies at the end and Ben brings her back and then [REDACTED] and then he dies, even though, like, a lot of things. I don’t know I’ve been typing for way too long I need off.

Anyway, it felt good to vent, thanks for reading if you did. I give TROS 6.5/10.

#Star Wars #star wars spoilers #the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker spoilers #vent

6 notes · View notes

kisilinramblings · 5 years

Note

What did you think of The Dragon Prince New Season? I love your reviews, could you talk about the Rayllum shipp?

Ahh sorry! Although I do watch TDP and BF and I did caught up with the new season last night, I am not good analyzing shows I watch on Netflix due to the binge-watching format. I only watch the episodes once and never bother give them individually a second watch. Just like I struggle doing film analysis based upon one single watch. Because I am watching the story unfold rather than seeing how the story is told. That’s why I prefer weekly broadcast format more. Because I can rewatch the episode while waiting for the next and let the story and the events of that episode sinks more into my mind.

I can give you my impressions, but it won’t be as detailed or well constructed precisely because I haven’t rewatch things while paying more attention.

Anyway, in general, this season was correct, but it felt rushed in term of pacing. That final big battle felt like it happened way too soon. I mean it is a large-scale battle already. What is going to happen for the next season finale? Though I did like that scene conclusion for Viren and Claudia there because the build up was properly established imo. But I cannot help but think they have combined two seasons into one. So maybe they don’t have as much “books” left to tell the story than they wanted.

Not to mention there is the technical limitation they have to deal with due to their choice to do this show in 3D animation even though this is a very large scale story. Thus why we don’t see the other kingdoms such as Neolandia or Duran. Thus why we see a lot of open fields this season. And there was a lot happening off-screen (good thing there are the drawings during the end credits, though I would greatly appreciate it if Netflix wasn’t so prone to skip them so quickly >_

Oh! And there was a lot of flashbacks this season, wasn’t it? I can’t say I was a big fan of how most were integrated into the story. Like for Rayla’s parents, I just wish Rayla chose herself and could witness the history spell instead of being told by Callum afterward what happened.

Anyway, character wise, I did enjoy Soren’s development even though I don’t particularly care for him. His confrontations with Claudia were strong moments.

Ezran has always been my favorite character since the beginning but that is a bit because I have a weak spot for child characters involved in big adventures. But I do really enjoy his growth. I wish they had time to better develop his relationship with Corvus and Opeli, but I understand it is a 9-episode season. Not a 13, 20 or 26 one.

I’m however disappointed to not have seen Pip. Not even in one scene. What happened to him? I don’t recall if anything particularly bad happened to him back at the end of S2 to explain why he wasn’t present there. If I recall correctly, he broke free of his cage, no? That’s why I am surprised we didn’t see him flew around or just watch over Ezran in the forest for example. (If the theory of Harrow being trapped inside Pip’s body is correct).

Amaya’s reunion with Glen was cute and I did like she got captured by the Sun elves. Again, just wish they had more time to build up more her friendship with Janai and that interpret I forgot the name. But I can believe Janai trusts Amaya enough because she has display warrior’s values despite being enemies. I just wish we could have seen Amaya works through her prejudices against elves more. And yes, I do ship those two. (From enemies to friends to lovers is a trope I enjoy a lot after all)

For Rayla and Callum. I like their friendship and support, but I dunno what bugged me exactly with their relationship development this season. They had cute scenes together like with the adoraburr field or when Callum tries to cheer Rayla and morally support her and sure, I can roll with them being a couple, yet there was something off-putting for me to the point I personally prefer seeing them as just friends.

Oh and Aaravos creeps the hell out of me.

So yeah, those are my impressions of the TDP season 3.

#the dragon prince spoilers #tdp spoilers #tdp season 3 #tdp season 3 spoilers #pequena-strix

7 notes · View notes

canyouhearthelight · 6 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 12

I apologize for not posting this yesterday. With everything going on in my life and my family, I was so exhausted I could not focus enough to finish the chapter and instead had an early night. However, I had to finish this chapter before I could start posting what my co-author, the real-life Tyche @ritualistic-raven, has sent me so far, because her first chapter includes information that was just ‘thinking out loud’ level stuff, and would have confused everyone else (yeah, my sister/beta is privy to spoilers).

That said, after a good night’s rest, this chapter just poured right out. It is the longest chapter I have to so far, weighing in at 2400 words exactly. I might do one more chapter before I start posting what she has already sent me, it really depends on how I feel about where it fits into the narrative.

As always, please read, reblog, and review! I absolutely love questions and feedback.

Conor quickly became a regular to join me and Tyche at least once a week for dinner. We would coax ever more delicious dishes out of the console (Tyche insisted on calling it a ‘replicator’ just to see the face I made), and Conor would entertain us with his enthusiasm and stories from aeroponics. Stories about interactions with the Miys were frequently included, from all three of us; mercifully, the Miys refrained from overtly butting in to our weekly ‘family’ dinners. I strongly suspected that they were still running commentary in my sister’s head, however, because she would sometimes give a delayed smirk to a story someone shared.

Any concerns my sister had that some sort of romantic or hormonal attachment would develop between myself and Conor vanished a month to the day after she first met him. That particular night, I was surprised by someone paging for entry into my quarters just as our regular trio had decided on what to eat. Surprise became confusion when I saw who it was: while Arantxa had been unfailingly polite upon our initial meeting, her quick exit had left the impression that she was simply having mercy upon someone who just arrived on the ship. I granted her access, nevertheless, and she breezed past me with a nod as soon as the door opened. Catching sight of Tyche, who had stopped by for a chat, she paused before turning to me.

“I knew you looked somewhat familiar,” she started before shaking her head with a disapproving noise. “Although, knowing this now, I am not entirely sure why Tyche could not have been asked to do this.”

“Do what?” I asked, utterly perplexed. A glance at my sister showed she was also confused.

“You two know each other?” Tyche asked.

“Somewhat,” I answered. “When I went to the mess for the first time, she introduced me to Conor.”

“Ah,” my sister caught on. “Well, Arantxa and I work together, sort of. She must be here for your official task assignment and orientation.” Tyche arched a brow, fearless of the inevitable grumbling from overhead. “Attaché?” The last was clearly directed at Arantxa, who gave a curt nod before turning to me.

“Indeed, I am to be your assistant, Sophia,” Arantxa directed at me.

My eyebrows flew upward like birds taking flight. “Excuse me? Why do I need an assitant?”

Arantxa opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Tyche’s hand on her shoulder. “Each member of the Council has an attaché for day-to-day things.” She waved a hand off to the side before continuing. “Until – well, now I guess – Arantxa has been filling in as needed. You know, when people are sick or whatever. Apparently, she is being assigned as your designated assistant. You’re actually pretty lucky, mon soeur; she’s very good at what she does, and won’t hesitate to tell someone to ‘fuck off’ if needed.”

The subject of this statement scowled. “I would never use such vulgarity, Tyche.”

“Exactly,” my sister announced triumphantly. “Whereas I would. Which would upset Soph, so it’s probably a good idea that I am not her assistant. Besides, we look too much alike. Can you imagine how many people will see just a photoscan of her face and assume I am her? Too many, no thank you.”

“Wait,” Conor sputtered with his usual aplomb. “You’re on the Council, Sophie?”

Arantxa tipped her head to one side, then another, utterly oblivious to the gob-smacked Irishman before apparently conceding my sister’s point. Before the conversation could continue, I waved my hands to get their attention.

“Whoa,” I huffed. “Leadership council. Explain, please.”

“You didn’t know!?” came the next articulate blurt.

After a glance, Tyche and Arantxa apparently decided that my new assistant should field this question. “The Miys advised you would be expected to help lead, yes?” Once I nodded, Arantxa continued. “This means you are part of the Leadership Council. You are not solitary leader of anyone, as we collectively decided as soon as we were able to that a single leader would not be sufficient. All governmental models with one leader inevitably failed prior to the institution of the Global Parliament. You will simply be a voice for the people you represent.”

Oh bloody hell, I’m being made a politician. Nuggets, I thought viciously.

“Aww, you’ll be good at that, Sophie! Yer a great listener, and ya really pay attention, I can tell.”

Instead of staring at the women who dropped a bombshell on me, I pivoted my head and arched an eyebrow of utter confusion at Conor, not wanting to risk a one-syllable grunt of inquiry. He clarified “You always get me red wine without asking, even though you and yer sister hate it. When Sam and Derek stop by, you tell Derek where Mac is and wait for him to interact with you first after that. But yer always excited when you talk to Sam, even if you were just draggin’ ass before you open the door. And you take everythin’ Sam tells you as serious as the blessed Pope. I never know half what he’s tellin’ you, but you always seem to understand. And – “

Tyche held her hand up to stop him finally. “Thank you, Conor. Soph, he has a point, ineloquent as it is. Listening to people and trying to address their concerns is just what you do. You mirror exceptionally well, and are assertive or passive depending on the situation. You’ll do really well.”

“I get what you’re saying, but Tyche! You and the Miys both told me I would help lead. Not that I would be an actual leader. I thought I would… I dunno, teach, review proposed policies, or something. Being on a ‘leadership council’ was never mentioned.”

Another glance between the administrators, then suddenly both women shouted in unison. “SI-MON!”

Instead of the accused in question, the voice of the Miys filled the room. “Simon is currently occupied, but I am en route as Noah to collect him.” I couldn’t prevent the small smile that snuck onto my face at the Miys’ concession to refer to my preferred avatar as Noah, which it had capitulated on when I promised to only call that particular body by that name.

“Who the feck is Noah?” Conor screwed up his face in confusion.

“Somehow, Soph can tell the Miys’ bodies apart. No clue how. She’s never had trouble with twins, either.”

A shrug from my sister was joined by a head-tilt from Arantxa. “You truly do pay attention, Conor was not exaggerating.”

Interestingly, the Irishman blushed furiously and rubbed his neck with one hand before clearing his throat. “While we wait, Arantxa, we were about to eat. Would you like to join us? At least have a drink.” Oh lord, he has a crush on her!

Shaking her head, she attempted to decline the offer. “I do not drink while I am on duty – “

Tyche made a gesture of dismissal, unperturbed by him just inviting a guest to my quarters without asking; I suspected she came to the same conclusion I did. “You arrived while we are off duty for family dinner, and you’ve been invited. I know full well it is outside of your scheduled shift: Beta commenced an hour and a half ago. Red wine, right? We’re having crawfish etouffee tonight.”

Arantxa relented just as Conor returned with her wine, having jumped up the second Tyche mentioned a preference for red wine. “I have never had this dish,” she conceded before taking a seat. “However, I am reluctant to interrupt your…. ‘family’ dinner, as you called it.”

Sitting up as straight as I could, I clasped my hands before me, leaning forward slightly. “Arantxa, I don’t know how much you know about mine and my sister’s culture, but it is incredibly rude to decline a non-romantic invitation to dinner, provided it is not an open ended and standing invitation, which this is currently not.” With that said, I relaxed and took a sip of my sauvignon blanc and shrugged. “Besides, yelling at people is always better when you have a full stomach to fuel you. Etouffee is quite spicy, I think you’ll like it. You said you are Basque, correct?”

This began an informal ‘get to know you’ conversation – my favorite way to learn about employees – and I kept careful eye on Conor to see that he was absorbing everything like a sponge, his usual verbosity noticeably gone. My guess had been correct: she was delighted by the etouffee. I learned that Arantxa was previously an adjunct to the Spanish Ambassador to the World Parliament, hence her habitually formal demeanor. She spoke several dialects of Spanish, in addition to French and her native Euskara – which explained the comment about her language dying.

All in all, it took nearly an hour for Noah and Simon to reach my quarters, by which point tempers had cooled considerably. When the signal at the door chimed, Arantxa indicated that I remain seated (“To establish from the outset that it is you and Tyche in charge”) while she greeted the new arrivals, apparently relaxed and carrying her glass of cabernet. With her usual calm, she greeted the Miys politely, and then Simon.

At which point, without batting an eyelash, she took a sip of her wine and promptly tossed the rest in his face. While the three of us still at the table were fighting to suppress cheers and laughter, she merely tsked and shook her head. “Such a shame. I was quite enjoying that,” was all she had to say as she left Simon shouting and sputtering in the entryway.

As she took her seat again, with a refill courtesy of Conor, Simon broke out of his shock long enough to barge up to the table. “What was that for?!” he cried. “Sophia, please tell me this is not about when you first arrived. That was months ago!”

Carefully composing my face, I gestured for him to come around the table so I could see him. As he moved to stand uncomfortably next to my sister, Tyche mouthed “power move” in approval.

“No, Simon,” I assured him. “This is not about what you did nearly four months ago.” He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “This is more about what you did not do. Apparently, when it was decided that, instead of just teaching, I was going to be on the thrice-damned Leadership Council, you were the one tasked with providing me this information. Which I never received, by the way.”

Simon paled slightly before smacking his face with both hands. “Aww, nuts. I knew I was forgetting something.” Before anyone at the table could respond, Simon held up both hands in a pleading gesture. “I am very, truly sorry. I really am. I just.” He puffed out a sigh. “I got so used to being the only Terran on the ship, and used to the Miys remembering everything for me, that I have really gotten bad at keeping everything straight. That’s actually why your assignment was changed to be on the Council, Sophia.”

Alarmingly, all three of my dinner companions looked shocked at this information. Sensing my confusion, Noah placed a hand on my shoulder. “Tyche mentioned before that she suspected that Simon arrived on the ship very early on. This is truer than you could have anticipated: we expected to greet humanity as you joined the intergalactic community. Instead, your entire world was plunged into darkness. We did not have the resources at the time to collect survivors; instead, we brought Simon on board and returned to our homeworld to prepare a rescue mission.”

“Even then I had to stay in the airlock the entire trip,” the subject of this explanation muttered. “Anyway, they took me home, brought me back on the Ark. Sophia, the position you are being assigned to on the Leadership Council is the one I currently am holding. I’m stepping down.”

“Wait, you’re on the Leadership Council?” I could not keep the disbelief out of my voice.

Along with him, Arantxa, Tyche, and Conor also nodded to confirm this. Simon waved a hand at his chest, indicating himself. “I wasn’t always like this, you know. But a year subjective time, alone, with a telepathic hive mind tends to mess with your social skills.”

“Simon – “ I started, a hint of mourning in my voice.

He cut me off before I could continue, “Finding out that my year was actually a decade was even worse. Seeing what happened to my home while I was gone is something I haven’t had time to recover from. I’ve just kept on keeping-on. But your sister really made me think about the mistakes I’ve made. It hasn’t been just you, I’ve made entirely too many mistakes recently. I know I’m a laughingstock, I’m not an idiot, despite how I’ve behaved. On top of that, how am I supposed to lead people who have been through something I can’t even imagine and really? Don’t want to imagine, honestly.”

Clearing his throat, Conor broke the ensuing silence. “What are you going to do now, mate?”

“Review the data the Miys have collected so far on the condition of the colonists. I may not want to try to imagine what has happened, but I can’t be of any use unless I know at least what impacts it had on everyone, both physically and psychologically.” Before Tyche or I could object, he held up a hand, similar to the gesture I used to interrupt my sister earlier. “Not you two, and not Derek or Sam. Not anyone I personally greeted when they arrived on board. Overall statistical information, and case files on anyone I don’t know personally, with names redacted. I’m not going to invade your privacy, ladies.”

Mollified, Tyche let out a sigh. “Okay. I guess we can’t really yell at you when you recognized what you did even before we did that you were falling down on the job. You already took action to correct it, by standing down from the Council and making Soph your replacement – even if you did screw that up, too.”

Simon nodded in thanks. “With that, I will leave you to your evening.” Before he could go, Arantxa cleared her throat and gave him an expectant look. “OH! Right. Sorry. Almost muffed that, too.” He reached under his collar and lifted what appeared to be a pendant from around his neck before handing it to her.

“Thank you,” she said smoothly. “I’ll take it from here.”

<< Prev Masterlist Next >>

#humans are weird #humans are space orcs #earth is space australia #writing #my writing #fiction #science fiction #aliens #apocalypse #the miys #miys

119 notes · View notes

81scorp · 4 years

Text

Constructive criticism: 5 MCU movies (and Venom)

Originally posted on Deviantart Sep 21, 2019)

Let`s be honest, MCU is doing better than DCEU. But let`s be honest, the MCU has also stumbled a few times. Just like bad things can have something good in them something good can also be a little flawed. And since I want to be fair and balanced (The REAL version of "fair and balanced" not the FOX news kind.) I thought I`d revisit the MCU and do a little nitpicking. I squeezed all of these MCU movies (and Venom) into one CC because I didn`t have that much to say about them individually. So... if I had a Pym particle powered Time machine that could take me back in time... what would I have changed? SPOILERS for Thor Ragnarok, Spider-Man Homecoming and Captain Marvel Dr Strange

Some of the bathos What is bathos? In a litrerary work bathos is an effect of anticlimax created by a lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculus. MCU has a tendency to put bathos in their movies to understandably lighten the mood but also undercut the drama of the situation. In Dr Stange the biggest offender is this scene: Kaecilius: How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mister... Dr Strange: Doctor! Kaecilius: Mr. Doctor? Dr Strange: It's Strange. Kaecilius: Maybe. Who am I to judge? I`m not against comedy (far from it, some of my favourite movies are comedies) but a few seconds before this scene Dr Strange, a medical doctor, had just seen a man get killed right in front of him. It`s too much of a mood shift and quite unnecessary. I`d lose this bit of dialogue. Maybe replace it with something more like Dr Strange: You just killed that man! Kaecilius: I take it this kind of thing is new to you? Maybe you`ll be more cooperative than he was. Just throwing out some ideas. Thor Ragnarok

Thor having the power to see through Heimdall`s eyes When was it established that Thor can see through Heimdall`s eyes when he wants to? Do we need a scene where Thor and Heimdall communicates? After rewatching the movie it turns out that, yes we do. How else was he gonna know which wormhole to take? But it`s better if Thor and Heimdall`s communication is not that easy to achieve. How about this instead: Heimdall seeks the help of the three Norns (like Thor did in my CC of Avengers: AoU). He gets help from Verdandi who creates a mental link between him and Thor, allowing Thor to see what he sees and get the info he needs. The death of Warriors three At first I didn`t like that they killed them off at all. Then I was OK with it but felt that it could have been done in a different way. How about: When Hela first arrives at Asgard she only meets Skurge who is willing to cooperate. Then in the scene where she fights Hogun (and many Asgardians soldiers) she also fights Fandral and Volstagg. They fight valiantly and die Boromir-like deaths. Bruce hitting the bridge before turning into Hulk Let`s say that I can suspend my disbelief enough to buy that Bruce did not break his neck when he hit the bridge trying to trigger his transformation. The movie has enough humor as it is, just let Bruce land behind the wolf in full Hulk-mode. Korg`s "As long as the foundations are still strong" speech The problem with this scene is that it is a funny line directly followed by the reaction of the Asgardians watching their home being destroyed with great sorrow. Lose this speech. It`s not like Korg doesn`t have any funny lines in this movie. Spider-Man Homecoming

Ned and Betty in Highschool This is more of a comicbook purist nitpicking but in the comics Ned Leeds and Betty Brant are reporters working on the Bugle, not kids in Highschool. How about: make Betty some other character from the comics... like Deborah Whitman, and change Ned`s name (maybe to Jake, David, Zach or Todd, just throwing out some names). "Come on Spider-Man" The scene where Peter lifts tons of debris from himself would have worked better without dialogue

MJ`s name Why change her name? They kept Flash`s and Liz`s name. Don`t change her name. Have them call her "Jane" during most of the movie and then reveal in the end that she prefers to be called MJ. Leaving us, the audience to assume that the M must stand for "Mary". Captain Marvel

I´m just a girl fight-scene Using No Doubt`s "I`m just a girl" for a fight scene feels a little on the nose. How about:

A: Use some score made specifically for this scene instead of an already existing song. Or...

B: Use an already existing song but make "Barracuda" by Heart or some similar song."But `Barracuda` wasn`t made in the nineties" you say. Correct. But it`s a cool song. How Fury lost his eye

Really? Fury lost his eye to a flerkin`cat? It just feels a little weak. How about: He doesn`t lose his eye in this movie. Save it for another movie or keep it a mystery. Avengers: Infinity War

Heimdall teleporting Hulk When was it established that Heimdall can teleport people without the aid of the sword and the Bifrost thingy? How about: Thanos uses the space stone to teleport Hulk to earth. He does so to test the stone`s power and to get rid of (what in his eyes is) a nuisance.

Venom

I`m one of the people who thinks that Sony should let the rights revert back to Marvel. (Yes I`ve heard about the Sony-Disney deal so I know that what I`m writing here will be horribly dated as soon as it is published, but then again, that happens to everything that I write. Better late than never.) Venom works better as a supporting character that later gets his own spin off rather than a character that gets his own movie from the start. Where should it come out in the MCU movie order? Maybe after Black Widow but before the Eternals? What should it be called? Maybe... Spider-Man: Monsters? Spider-Man: Enemies? Spider-Man: Something something far from Homecoming? This is different from other CCs because this time I haven`t actually seen the movie.

Plot: It begins with Spider-Man doing what he usually does: catching badguys. He beats and webs a ski mask wearing terrorist who calls himself Sin-Eater who was planning to blow up an important building. Opening credits roll. Petey finds out that there`s a Spider-man imitator in San Fransisco who is very cruel against the criminals they catch. They even kill some of them. Pete goes to investigate and meets the imitator: Venom. Venom was Eddie Brock, a journalist who could have won the Pulitzer prize for a series of phone interviews he made with a dangerous terrorist called Sin-Eater, but then it turned out that the man he interviewed was just a mentally ill man pretending to be Sin-Eater. Eddie was fired, a few days later the great Snap happened. Eddie lost all his friends. Distraught and lost he went to a church for guidance and met the symbiote. He decided to leave N.Y. and return to his birthplace: San Fransisco and, in his own words: "fight crime in a better way than Spidey ever could". Venom and Spidey fight a little then it turns out that Sin-Eater is alive and is back to his old habit of blowing up important buildings. To make things worse: he has help from henchmen and he`s using advanced weapons made by the Tinkerer (or maybe the Leader?) and he`s injected himself with a version of the supersoldier serum. Spidey and Venom have to join forces and beat Sin-Eater. S-E dies in an explosion, Venom disappears, is pressumed dead but no body is found. Fury shows up to tell Spidey that the black goo was someting that S.H.I.E.L.D. had held in custody for a few years. They had found it in a portable metal container onboard a Kree ship. He suspects that an infiltrator must have stolen it shortly after "the big snap". (Maybe the Chameleon? I like the Chameleon.) He wonders if they`ll ever see Venom again.Epilogue: a guy in a hoodie goes into a convenience store to buy... I dunno, a yogurt (we don`t see his face). Another guy comes in to rob the place. The guy in a hoodie turns out to be Eddie who turns into Venom and gives us the "turd in the wind" speech before he kills the robber. Then he pays for his yogurt and leaves.

The End

And thats how I would do it. Feel free to disagree.

#81scorp #editorial #constructive #criticism #marvel #mcu

0 notes

johndhu · 7 years

Text

Ship Trash Get Away

“So how did you guys figure out about all of this?” Korra asked.

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Shepard replied.

“I dunno, I’ve been in the mood to believe just about anything since I got here.”

Shepard looked at Liara. “Well, you know those dumb messages you get sometimes? ‘You might already be a winner!’ You have those where you come from?”

“Something like it,” Asami said.

“Well, we finally opened one of those and it turned out to be a good idea. ‘Cause that’s how we got our passes.”

“Seriously? Ours showed up in my paperwork one morning,” Asami said.

“Ours was most likely sent more publically since we’d already inadvertently made use of their services,” Liara said. “As it turns out they create their portals between realities by suspending a crystal in a mass effect field, which we did by accident.”

Asami cocked her head. “A what field?”

“Mass ef…oh, you mustn’t have those in your world. Perhaps just not yet discovered?” Liara levitated her glass with her biotics.

“Wow! Mass effect…so it’s a field that lowers an objects apparent mass?” Asami asked.

“Yes! All asari have the ability to generate them. We call it ‘biotics.’”

“That’s amazing! The stuff I could do with that kind of technology. And the things you guys must have done!”

“Mmm we have, but you know the rules.”

“Yeah, I know, we can talk about what things are but not how they work. So frustrating.”

Shepard looked dreamily at her bondmate and rested her chin on her hand. “Look at our girls. So smart n’pretty,” she teased, tucking her arm around Liara’s and nuzzling her cheek.

“Haha! Don’t I know it,” Korra said, resting her head on Asami’s shoulder. Liara and Asami shared a look that clearly said “We love our dorks,” and gave them each a forehead kiss respectively.

“So we got our passes for saving our worlds. Don’t get me wrong, they’re amazing people but how did Lisa and Ally get in?” Asami said.

“I asked management. Turns out they’ve done a lot to inspire and enlighten people about kink. Most of that was across reality borders but that still counts,” Shepard said.

Korra and Asami nodded. “Honestly I’m just happy they’re here,” Korra said. “I’m happy everyone is, this place is amazing!”

Liara floated her glass into her hand and held it aloft “Here’s to new friends, and a wonderful vacation.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Asami said, picking up her own glass. They all brought their drinks together and took hearty pulls from them, pleased to be together and among heroes and friends. They were sitting together at a corner booth of the Great Crossroads bar. Rubart’s Interdimensional Coffee as it turned out was just a small part of The Resort, an establishment purpose built in a space between countless worlds as a place for heroes and heroines to relax in the company of their fellows. Jane, Liara, Lisa and Ally had happened upon it by accident during a shadow broker sanctioned experiment. A case of right place at the wrong time. As it turned out, they were to be invited there a short time later anyway.

The place was a veritable palace, a marvel of architecture and aesthetics on its own even before taking into account the surroundings. The sky in this odd crossroads location was a constantly changing aurora, and the area around it was sealed in a bubble, like a giant snow globe. The globe contained a body of shifting water, allowing for a sizeable beach around the outside of the main building. More than a few heroes had asked if they’d died and gone to heaven or Elysium or Valhalla or whatever their equivalent was when they first arrived.

The four set down their drinks “Met anyone else interesting here?” Shepard asked.

“There are a few people here talking to themselves,” Korra commented.

“Or at least to people who look a lot like them,” Asami added. Jane and Liara looked confused. Asami pointed to the nearest example: two young girls with black hair and blank expressions standing eyes level. One in a simple red dress, one wearing a tank top and jeans.

“Your appearance is identical…but, you’re…”

“You’re human.”

“And you’re not?”

“I’m a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over metal endoskeleton.”

“Fascinating.” The girl in the red dress craned her head this way and that, looking over her counterpart. “For what purpose were you constructed?”

“I’m a terminator unit. I am designed to infiltrate human settlements and assassinate specific targets.”

“But you’re here in a place meant for heroes? That doesn’t seem logical.”

“I was reprogrammed to defend a human. Since then I’ve developed considerably.”

“How can an artificial lifeform develop?”

“My central processing unit is a neural net processor a…”

“A learning computer.”

“The more I interact with humans the more I learn about them.”

“To make you a more efficient infiltration unit. But since you’ve been on a single mission to protect instead of kill you’ve become more human than ever intended.”

“Correct.”

“How do you account for the similarities between our forms?”

“In an infinite number of parallel universes all things are possible.”

“I know. I wanted to see if you had that kind of knowledge stored.”

The other cocked her head. “I’m called Cameron.”

“River Tam.”

A woman with long brown hair wearing a jumpsuit walked over to stand beside River. “Hey River and…uh…Riveeeer…?”

“Her name is Cameron, she’s a killer cyborg,” River said.

“Uuuuuhuh…”

“You get used to it after a while,” said a woman who looked remarkably like her. She extended a hand. “Doctor Jennifer Keller.”

“Doctor? Huh.” The other shook her hand. “Kaylee Frye, uh, I fix things. This is…”

“Weird?”

Kaylee nodded. “Little bit.”

“I’ve seen weirder. Trust me.”

Kaylee glanced towards the bar and shrugged. “Want a drink?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

“River? You gonna be okay with the killer cyborg?”

“She won’t kill me.”

“She’s too interesting.”

Kaylee and Keller raised their eyebrows in a remarkably similar fashion. River seemed unphased. “That was a joke.”

“It was.”

River paused. “Impressive.”

Kaylee rubbed River’s shoulder. “We’ll be over there sweetie, okay?” River nodded and they left for the bar.

“Doctor Keller isn’t from your world?” Cameron asked.

“No. She’s not from yours?”

“She isn’t.” They lapsed into silence, still studying each other.

The two couples turned back to each other as the exchange finished. Asami and Korra shared a look and shrugged as well. “Huh. Wonder if there are other versions of us around,” Asami mused.

“I think I’ve met a few people who sound a lot like me but no one else who looks like me so far,” Shepard said.

A familiar raven tressed woman with glasses caught Korra’s eye and waved. “Heyyyy!” Ally called. Lisa was with her, happily curled around her arm. Jane and Liara scooted over to make room and they sat down.

“Where’ve you two been?” Shepard asked.

“I’ve been trying to teach this one how to dance,” Lisa said, playfully poking her wife’s cheek.

“Any luck?” Asami asked.

“In the bedroom she’s got all kinds of style and grace. On the dancefloor…”

“Not so much,” Ally finished, sticking out her tongue. “Still had fun though.” Ally suddenly perked up and looked at Jane. “Shepard! Before I forget, you should chat some with Snake, I think you two could be good friends.”

“Who?”

“Over there, ponytail with the metal arm and the eyepatch,” Lisa said, pointing him out. He was sitting in a booth on the other side of the room beside a woman with long brown hair who was barely wearing anything at all. Across from them was a man with short brown hair, a beard and glasses and a woman with light brown skin and a large headband. The bearded man and nearly bare woman were making quick gestures back and forth while their partners talked.

“Is that sign language?” Liara asked.

“Mhm! Gordon and Quiet both have problems with their vocal cords,” Ally explained. “Gordon’s had them longer though, he’s been teaching Quiet ASL.”

“How did Quiet and Snake talk to each other before?” Korra asked.

“He said they’d worked out their own code. She traces letters on his skin to spell out words,” Lisa said.

“That’s so sweet!” Asami replied.

“They’re a really great couple,” Ally said. “If you guys have taught us anything it’s that the best kinds of friends are partners in battle and partners in bed.” Everyone laughed, Lisa rested her head on her wife’s shoulder.

Shepard raised her glass once more. “Here’s to the best vacation ever.”

#shiara #sunstone #ally x lisa #femshep x liara #korrasami #legend of korra #venom snake x quiet #freemance

0 notes