#like if they had ezra arrested or killed; and if they had thought about the a reveals for like 2 seconds; it could've been such a good show

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

Pretty little liars would be such a good show if it wasn't terrible

[humankarkat]

@zebsfloppyears asked for more details on Kallus' arc in the MOTW au, and I'm more than happy to oblige.

Kallus starts off as your run-of-the-mill FBI agent sent off to the butt crack of nowhere for a wild goose chase of an assignment, but pretty quickly gets tied up in the whole "monsters are real and the government is collecting mediums for unethical experiments" deal. His arc progresses fairly straightforward for the first bit of the AU, but then we reach the problem of, well. The US government is bad, but it's not "obliterate whole planets just because they looked at us funny" bad.

So when he ends up stranded on the side of a mountain outside a Utah ski resort called Behryn along with a handsome man who also happens to be bigfoot in disguise, that breaks some ice (haha) but it isn't quite enough to fully radicalize him.

But it does mean that, when he wakes up several weeks later handcuffed to the same radiator as Kanan Fucking Jarrus, he's a bit more equitable to working together to get out. Sure, it's a bitch off, how could it not be with those two, but they don't kill each other, and Kallus lets Kanan go once they've dealt with their captors.

So when Hera makes eye contact with him at a party they're both under cover at the next month, she remembers how he spared Kanan. It's not like she could say anything, anyways, since confronting him would break her cover, and if Kallus confronted her it would break his cover, so instead they silently agree to a truce, and unfortunately have a great time together.

And see, now he's fallen into the trap. Now he's actually a bit fond of these people. Now he's willing to give them grace when before he was only doing his duty. Unfortunately, he does still have a duty to perform, so he begrudgingly works with the CIA agent he's been paired with to finally track down and corner Ezra Bridger. Except, then the CIA agent pulls his gun, and Kallus reminds him that Ezra is 16, still a minor, and that they're to take him in alive, because why on earth would they kill a child? But then the CIA agent tells him that his orders were to eliminate their target, and Kallus sighs and pulls his own weapon, but it isn't Ezra he points it at. And Ezra makes it home safe, and he tells them what happened, and oh, maybe that FBI bitch isn't as bad as we thought?

Which is Sabine's first thought when she comes home one day to see a familiar car parked next to the Ghost, the one Ketsu had been driving last year when they'd reconnected, but Sabine really isn't ready for that conversation yet so she turns around and goes back into town to clear her head. And when she sees a familiar mutton-chopped fed sitting on a nearby park bench she remembers how he'd treated Ezra, and she really needs someone to talk to besides the spectres (she's sure they wouldn't understand, since they were the ones who were probably eating dinner with her sorta-ex girlfriend right now), so she plops down next to him. He's confused, yeah, and he asks her if she wants to be arrested, but when she shrugs and says might as well, it's better than going home right now anyways, well, Kallus has sisters of his own, and she's so small sitting next to him, and god dammit if he doesn't ask if she's hungry, tells her there's a pretty good diner around the corner. And Sabine grins at him and says as long as it's on your dime, fed, and all of a sudden they're eating together and talking about their exes and, well. It's all over from there. The spectres have caught him, hook line and sinker.

None of them are surprised, later, when Kallus helps Sabine break those poor cadets out of the Air Force testing facility, or when he tells Kanan and Ezra in the weapons factory that he's been the one supplying their most recent leaks. He may be a fed, but he's their fed.

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Sylvie Playlist

I previously posted my Loki playlist. I also have a Sylvie-specific playlist. Several of these are transferred over from my Loki playlist, because originally I was using my Loki playlist as a catch-all for everything Loki-related, but then decided to create just a Sylvie playlist. Some of them just fit Sylvie, also.

"After the Storm", Mumford and Sons: Either running from the TVA after getting arrested as a child or post-killing Kang.

"Keeping Your Head Up," Birdie: Running from the TVA through all the apocalypses her entire life

"Heirloom," Sleeping at Last: trans-girl Sylvie ("You are so much more than your father's son," because she's not her father's son, she's a girl!) And also being her own person, because she doesn't have a family anymore :(

"C'est La Mort," The Civil Wars: Platonic Loki and Sylvie, and also loving her family.

"Left Behind," from Spring Awakening: She lost her whole family

"Hold My Girl," George Ezra: me @ Sylvie, cuz I love her and she's perfect and she can do no wrong.

"She Used to Be Mine," from Waitress: Fucking hell, this song is perfect for Sylvie, just all of it is quintessential Sylvie.

"Hymn for N," The Cottars: Sylvie and Loki, but again, not romantic, because the very first line is, "I may not have a heart to give you." I don't ship this, but I will acknowledge that Loki thinks that he loves her. And I think Sylvie will acknowledge that he thinks he does.

"Send Me a River," The Cottars: "Send her a river, because she's not where she wants to be." Again, Sylvie just on the run. And also, that shot we get of her in the season two trailer or promotional something or other where she's sitting on that couch with the headphones on, she just looks like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"I'm Still Here," from Treasure Planet: Again, on the run. And also being taken in by the TVA in the first place for being or doing wrong in some, unknown way. Like, she was a child. No matter how you spin it, she couldn't help whatever her Nexus Event was (I mean, I guess unless she'd just killed Thor like Kid Loki, but you'd think if that was the case it would've been her first theory of why she got arrested, rather than that she's a girl...unless she lied about what she thought her nexus event was!!! OOOH, betcha didn't expect to find the beginning of a theory in the middle of a playlist post. Neither did I.)

"Where Do I Go From Here?" from Pocahontas II: Post-killing Kang

"He Who Remains," "Be," and "B-15's Memories," from Loki: All tracks from the Loki soundtrack, either from scenes she was in or plot points she was a hand in or just tracks that at least made me think of her.

"Let It Go," from Frozen (specifically the Broadway soundtrack): I don't know, it just feels like a good song for her.

"Wasteland, Baby!," by Hozier: It's all about the apocalypse

"I Have Made Mistakes," by The Oh Hellos: That's just a Loki song, it fits all the variants

"Fear of Fear," by Passenger: "Fill my past with regret/Wrap my present in brown paper/Fill my future with promises, the promise to come later" Kind of just about time and regret

"Monster," from Frozen (the Broadway soundtrack): It's fitting for Sylvie, because it's this moment of Elsa being like, 'Am I the monster that I was trying not to be, because I've frozen my sister's heart and frozen the only home I've ever known?' And Sylvie was taken in as a child and not really told why, so she's just kind of like 'Am I just a terrible person, inherently? Because I had to have done something wrong if they took me in.' And she's had to make terrible decisions just to stay alive, so I don't think she would ever say now that she's a good person at all, just because of what she's had to do.

"Alone," by Trampled By Turtles: She's been alone her entire life

"If You Run," by The Desert Sessions: She's been running her entire life

"Darkest Days," by Passenger: "See the lights of your town slowly sink and drown," Asgard was reset when she was arrested

"Only Us," from Dear Evan Hansen: So canonically this is a romantic song, but it is on here as a purely platonic song in my interpretation of it.

"I Dreamed a Dream," from Les Mis (but it's the Darren Criss cover, because I love him): It's just a song about all the expectations you have for your life, and now it's all gone to shit, which I feel like is Sylvie.

"The Next Right Thing," from Frozen II: Again, she's fucked up her entire life. She stabbed He Who Remains, and now the timeline is splintering like a tree that's been struck by lightning. What is she gonna do now? The next right thing. Getting hired by McDonald's in the seventies is the next right thing she came up with apparently, I don't fucking know.

"Please Don't Say You Love Me," by Gabrielle Aplin: I mean, Loki: "Don't say you love me, because I might not say it back."

"Let's Fall in Love for the Night," by FINNEAS: Listen. I don't know why I put this. Why are some of these songs kind of selfcest romantic? I'm just noticing this now; I'm kind of mad at myself actually.

"Kingdom Come," by the Civil Wars: "Run, run, run away/Buy yourself another day." That's why.

"no body no crime," by Taylor Swift: I found this on another Sylvie playlist, but it makes perfect sense.

"Flaws," by Bastille: This is Loki and Sylvie platonically.

"Need the Sun to Break," by James Bay: Sylvie on the run, again. Or also right after she kills Kang

"Carry You," by The Native Sibling: Loki talking to Sylvie while she's trying to kill Kang and he's trying to get her to stop

"This Time," by Mandy Harvey: "I'm not the same kid I used to be." She's changing, she's been changed.

[devotedgossamerreader]

Random WSS (2021) Thoughts

I wish I had seen it in theaters, but I didn't, and I've been too busy with school to watch it on Disney+ until now. Here are thoughts written right after watching, during a skim-rewatch, and after watching the behind the scenes and some youtube videos. Full spoilers for this and the 1961 version, please go watch one/both!

Level 1

I really liked it! It didn’t try to change too much and kept the theatrical elements and heart and soul of the story. Loved the recast of Rita Moreno, the 1961 film's Anita, as the shopkeeper

Besides that, the main changes I noticed included watching Chino get arrested at the end (the last shot of the original was of several gang members from both sides watching Maria walk away)

ALSO Maria sang “tonight” instead of “somewhere" as Tony died :(

But I am glad they kept her line “how many can I kill and still have one bullet left for me?” Gets me every time

It seemed like they kept most of the dialogue. I *appreciated* “I forget why I called you”/”Then I’ll stay until you remember.”

When they say “womb to tomb,” instead of replying “birth to earth” they say “sperm to worm.” It’s weird, but I'll allow it because it implies life begins at conception (I'm half joking)

They also added to the main characters which was really nice! In the ‘61 film, Tony’s distance from the Jets was weak and unexplained. This time it’s a core part of his motivation and identity. He almost beat someone to death, and rethought his life while imprisoned, deciding to make something of himself. But he still sees Riff’s perspective, which makes for a thought-provoking exchange between him and Maria. (Riff has no reason to live T_T)

Bernardo is a boxer and we get to see the gym in several scenes

Chino isn’t one of the Sharks, and looks very much like Dean Cain’s Clark Kent. (he was so sweet and I think Maria did him dirty, but then again I don’t understand what he asked her at the dance when she turned back to Tony)

They picked the perfect actor for Baby John and I have no idea where he came from! No other film credits on imdb anyway

I was also won over by all the other casting choices. I was really glad they chose actual Latinx actors, who I unfortunately don’t know, but I was blown away by their performances

Level 2

I love that there’s minimal talking in the intro, as it should be

The Jets entering Shark territory to paint over their Puerto Rican flag mural makes so much more sense than the two gangs just wandering around

THEY PIERCED BABY JOHN’S EAR WITH A NAIL

And then Riff told him “it’ll scar” my heart

Is it “Ice” who looks like Ezra Miller?

The first time I saw Maria and Tony's dance/kiss scene, I did NOT think it was romantic. I was like MaRIa you’re going behind the BLEACHERS with this stranger, what are you THINKing- but I guess that’s part of the story. It’s an adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, faithful to the depiction of them as adolescents (although they’re both legally adults here) who are falling in “love” too quickly- and this is Maria’s first time dancing. She wanted to have a new, exciting experience as a young adult, shown by asking for color on her white dress and wearing lipstick.

The lighting in this movie is so good

I think it’s cute that she starts the dance and he is initially confused before joining her

Did she start to run away, and then he pulls her back, in the original? (no) Idk how I feel about that

I’m glad they speak so much Spanish, but I’m kinda disappointed by how little I understand of it (I took classes for years)

Needing to practice is a nice excuse for them to speak English when they’re all native Spanish speakers. Better than no explanation at all.

Maria isn’t dumb. She’s her own woman who has a job, pays rent, and talks about going to college. She respects her brother when he respects her.

When they’re getting “married,” he says “even death can’t part us now” and she says “only death can part us now.” foreshadowing

I like the “fight” they added when Tony finds out Riff bought a gun. It’s just as good a place to include “cool” than after the rumble, although I’m glad we got to see Jets & Sharks hiding after that.

I have a problem with the way the knives appeared. I rewatched it three times before I understood what happened. The first one audibly slides across the floor, so Bernardo turns around and whips out his own. I thought they forgot/decided not to include a cut of him picking it up off the ground, but now I realize he had his own, and the first one is then tossed to Riff.

Anita is more sympathetic, shown identifying Bernardo’s body

The girls with the Jets (names?) are now on Anita’s side during her assault, and Valentina is there to rebuke the boys

What did they say to Maria to get her to leave Tony’s body? I have to wonder if some of these lines are too quiet or quick for even Spanish speakers to catch.

Jets and Sharks, European Americans and Puerto Rican Americans, work together to carry him into the drugstore. The music is almost hopeful.

BUT with this new ending shot, Chino being arrested by police we know are corrupt/racist, I'm conflicted.

Level 3

Both Moreno and Spielberg refer to this new movie as a re-imagining, not a remake. I think that Disney could learn from this approach. If you're trying to replace a movie, it won't work.

“We never attempted to remake the ‘61 film, we took all our inspiration based on the original source material which was the 1957 Broadway musical.” That's why "Pretty" is after the rumble, which personally I disagree with

David Alvarez, Bernardo, hadn’t been acting for years but somebody remembered that he won a Tony at 15(?)

I DID know the girl who plays Anita, she was The Bullet in Hamilton! I'm so happy to see her career growing.

Showing the demolition of the neighborhood was kinda new

Mike Faist is my new celebrity crush

I didn’t know the singing was dubbed in the ‘61 film. Natalie Wood wanted to sing the part and they acted like they'd let her, but in the end they went with recordings from Marni Nixon. In this new one, everyone sung themselves, and they did some songs “live.”

Spielberg and Cushner(?) decided not to add subtitles for the Spanish parts “out of respect for the language, it’s our second language in this country.” That’s a nice sentiment, but they forgot that subtitles aren’t just for people who don’t understand the language being spoken, they’re also for the deaf and hard of hearing!! That makes me mad.

After thinking about it, I realized they’re saying they wouldn’t put english subtitles into the movie itself when spanish is being spoken. I agree with that. But I wish I could get the translation by turning on the english subtitles, because the spanish subtitles aren’t accurate (and if they were I still wouldn’t know most of it.)

Time to watch Newsies I guess

[orchestralcollage]

NAME: Ezra Conrad Keane

NICKNAMES: Ez

FACE CLAIM: Barry Keoghan

AGE: 26 (June 25)

SPECIES: Witch

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Agender ; They/He

SEXUALITY: Quoiromantic/Asexual (Sex Averse)

ALLEGIANCE: Neutral

OCCUPATION: Stock Room Worker at Rose Records ; Barback/Runner at Birch Bar

SCARS: several scars and burn marks from years of abuse including one on their cheek ; self inflicted burn marks on the inside of their arms and wrists

TRAITS: Loyal ; Intuitive ; Creative ; Neglectful ; Hesitant ; Obsessive

tw: abuse mention

Last Season on Faerune:

Ezra was born outside of Faerune in Ireland, but he doesn’t remember much about their time there, as he moved to Faeurne with their mother when he was three years old. His mother had grown up in the city, and after living in the human realm for a decade, she had decided she wanted to raise her child near her family and the magic of the Feywild.

Things were good until one day the apartment complex they lived in caught fire. Six people had been killed, Ezra’s mother included. They were only nine years old at the time of the fire. With his only familial options being deemed as unfit, too unwell, to be granted guardianship, he was placed into the foster care system.

During their time in the custody of their foster parents, Ezra, along with his foster siblings, suffered forms of abuse. Ezra’s own had been physical, some of which lead to permanent scars, including one on their cheek. While his mother had encouraged them to learn and explore their abilities as a witch, they’d only just started coming into them before she passed, he was kept from practicing their magic, and even actively punished for doing so when he tried, or they found something ‘witchy’ that belonged to them.

He was 13 when he was placed back into the system after the authorities shut the foster home down, following the arrest of his foster brother, Ryan. The next few years he spent bouncing around from home to home, until finally landing permanently in one at 16 with Tawny and Daniella Ingerman. It was in this home that for the first time since before his mother had died that they were really able to practice their magic. While he wasn’t punished in the previous foster homes he bounced around so much, he wasn’t exactly in a stable position to practice.

At the age of 22 is when Ezra first started losing their hearing. At first it was barely noticeable to him, and it was a gradual loss. They started to attend group therapy, which is where he met, and befriended, one Cameron Romero, and started learning about deaf and hard of hearing culture. At the same time as going, Ezra started trying to find if there was a potion or spell that could stop him from continuing to lose his hearing. When they couldn’t find one, he set to trying to create one himself. Over the past year their loss of hearing has suddenly escalated, leaving him nearly 80% deaf in his right ear and around 40-45% deaf in the left.

After an attempt to heal himself with a potion he'd created on their own, Ezra was left fully deaf in the right ear, and over 50% deaf in the left, as well as hearing a constant faint buzz-like humming sound.

This Season on Faerune:

Ezra hasn't actually thought much about the dome or the Unseelie as they've had enough personal changes to think about over the past year. They continued to become more adjusted to their increased hearing loss and after a few months were finally convinced to get a hearing aid. They just have the one, but they had Sam put some enchantments on it, such as making it waterproof.

They've continued to spend time with their foster siblings and Cam, and more time with Sam, getting to know her and the other helping them with his magic some. They've also been growing in their magic skills, especially when it comes to transfiguration/transformation spells. He is still reluctant when it comes to fire magic, despite it coming quite naturally as well. They aren't quite ready to tackle where this reluctance and fear comes from, which is part of why they haven't gone back to regularly seeing Grace yet.

[jennyboom21]

“Will Smith isn’t the only Hollywood star facing career backlash in the wake of a public outburst.

On March 30, Warner Bros. and DC executives held an emergency impromptu meeting to discuss Ezra Miller’s future with the studio following The Flash star’s recent arrest for disorderly conduct and harassment. According to a knowledgeable source, the consensus in the room was to hit pause on any future projects involving Miller including possible appearances in the DC Extended Universe.

The studio has more than a year before it has to make any hard decisions about a potential sequel to The Flash. Warner Bros. also has avoided making any key decisions on tentpoles ahead of Discovery taking control of WarnerMedia in a $43 billion mega-merger. WarnerMedia chief Ann Sarnoff announced on Tuesday that she is exiting the company as AT&T spins off its entertainment division to Discovery. Last month, Warner Bros. moved the Andrés Muschietti-helmed first installment The Flash — a production fraught with drama — from Nov. 4, 2022 to June 23, 2023.

One insider says Miller had “frequent meltdowns” during production last year on The Flash. While the insider stresses there was no yelling or violent outbursts, they described Miller as “losing it.” “Ezra would get a thought in [their] head and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,'” the insider tells Rolling Stone.

According to the March 28 police report, Miller became agitated after patrons at a Hawaii bar began singing karaoke. Miller shouted obscenities and grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman as she was singing and allegedly lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts. The 29-year-old movie star was arrested and charged on both counts and was released on $500 bail. The incident took place at Margarita Village in Hilo, Hawaii, the day before Miller’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore castmates were celebrating that film’s world premiere in London.

Even more troubling, a local couple filed a temporary restraining order against Miller on March 29. The couple claimed that after Miller’s arrest, Miller burst into their bedroom and threatened them, with Miller saying to the man, “I will burry [sic] you and and your slut wife,” according to the report. The petition also alleges that Miller stole the woman’s passport and the man’s wallet, which included a social security card, driver’s license and bank cards. A judge granted a TRO the following day. The judge is expected to make a decision on whether or not to extend the restraining order by the end of the month.

The Hawaii incidents are the latest in a series of troubling events involving Miller. In April 2020, footage of the actor apparently choking a woman at an Iceland bar circulated on social media. The Justice League star was kicked out of Prikið Kaffihús bar, but no arrests were made. (Miller has never commented on the incident.) Sources say the Iceland footage gave Warner Bros. pause at the time, but Miller was not kicked off Secrets of Dumbledore like castmate Johnny Depp, who lost his libel case against a British tabloid, which had referred to the actor as a “wife beater.”

In January, Miller posted a since-deleted video on Instagram threatening a North Carolina chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. The actor told members of the chapter to kill themselves with their own guns, otherwise “we’ll do it for you if that’s what you want.”

Miller shot Fantastic Beasts and The Flash back to back for the studio in London in fall 2020 and spring 2021, respectively. Given the positive buzz on early footage of The Flash, the film was expected to catapult Miller into a rarified group of actors who can carry a major box-office hit.

But the Hawaii incidents are expected to cause PR headaches for the star and Warner Bros. In the TRO petition, the couple noted that Miller “is famous and wealthy; this makes access to weapons much easier; as well as sending associates to harass the petitioner.”

Miller is known to have a fascination with weapons. During a 2018 cover interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Miller offered to show this reporter the crossbow from the film We Need to Talk About Kevin, in which the teen actor portrayed a high school killer. “You wanna see the real bow and arrow from Kevin, man? ‘Cause I got it right back there. I really do,” Miller said at the actor’s Vermont farm. “People usually don’t want to see it when I ask them. They usually say, ‘No, I prefer to not see that bow and arrow.’ And I say, ‘OK. It’s up to you.'”

During the interview, Miller also defended gun rights. “People need to protect themselves,” the actor said. In fact, Miller, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said they don’t have a problem with people owning semi-automatic weapons. “Nope.” That passage initially appeared in a sidebar story on the actor but was pulled at the behest of the actor’s publicist following a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Miller first burst onto the scene as a teenager in Antonio Campos’ 2008 drama Afterschool, which centered on an Internet-addicted prep-school student who captures the drug overdose of two girls on video. The actor quickly landed at the top of wish lists among the major studios and was paid low seven figures each for both Fantastic Beasts and The Flash stand-alone. But Miller‘s behavior has become increasingly erratic in recent years, putting their career in expensive tentpoles that require lengthy publicity tours in jeopardy.

A source says Miller was never expected to attend the Fantastic Beasts premiere because their publicity plans for the film were limited given that they was saving contractual promotion commitments for The Flash. Fantastic Beasts hits theaters in the U.S. on April 15.

Rolling Stone reached out to Margarita Village, Prikið Kaffihús and the couple who were granted the restraining order but did not receive a response. Reps for Miller and Warner Bros. declined comment.

As for Smith, who also is a part of the DC Extended Universe as supervillain Deadshot, Warner Bros. and DC had been developing a Smith-led stand-alone film for Deadshot but had put it on the backburner long before his Oscars assault of Chris Rock. Smith, whose price tag was $20 million for Warner Bros. King Richard, priced himself out well before his controversy. Despite Smith’s apology to Rock, studios are reevaluating the actor’s involvement in various projects around Hollywood.

[sunnys-rewatch-blog]

S1, E12

"Salt Meets Wound"

TW: Unalive mention

I fucking hope I can get through Emily's coming out. I might need to be un-sober for this. I altered my mental state to watch this episode and I'm still dwelling on my coming out now.

Veronica Hastings might just have enough redeemable qualities. At least she sometimes uses her Karen powers for good.

"Please don't say things like that with my parents, they won't laugh"- Emily, she's not making the joke with your parents. She's making it with you.

Am I supposed to think Noel is a bad guy in this situation for blackmailing Ezra? Like...you realize this is more than a reasonable trade-off? This is literally one essay for a class that will not matter outside of the school year. Giving him an "A" isn't signing off on his references to Harvard, you aren't signing over your family fortune to the kid. Yeah, I'm sure it feels like shit to be under some kid's thumb, but I don't know how I'm supposed to feel sorry for someone who started a relationship with one of his students, for the reason of "make her fall in love with me so she'll tell me about Alison." Stop whining or eat shit, Ezra.

The Fields are having both seafood and pot roast to meet Maya. This dinner had to cost, like, $40-$50 easy, just for Pam to mope around and try to find things not to like about Maya. Does this woman not realize that maybe, just maybe, some things are not about you? Oh, I know she gets over it, but I wonder if what happens in the later seasons was some kind of wish fulfillment from here.

Lucas was drunk before he showed up to Hanna's party. The writers really slept on this guy, he could have been the perfect fucking villain and they just looked right past him and said "Nah, we're just gonna do the 'separated at birth for no real reason' again."

Putting Toby on house arrest...not so sure they have enough evidence to do that. I thought you had to be convicted of something to get that, but there's a good likelihood I'm wrong. I don't even think they have enough on him to call him a suspect, not if Brian Laundrie was only considered a "person of interest" in the Gabby Petito case for the entire time he was missing. I don't really want there to be a whole fuckload of focus on the legal process though, because at the end of the day the legal process is not going to find us our culprit.

This "blood on the sweater" thing means absolutely nothing in terms of guilt/culpability. There's a thousand ways her blood ends up on that sweater and none of them mean the person who owned the sweater killed her- namely that she was bleeding at some point while she was wearing it. If she had bled on her own clothes, would they have assumed she kill*d h*rs*lf? Now, if Toby was wearing it, that would be a different story.

But I'm not even sure this blood was properly confirmed to be Alison's, so what do I care? They couldn't even identify her body. I'm not sure what might happen to a bloodstain over the course of a year but I would imagine it would be difficult to get a certain reading- double difficult if the person you're comparing it with is in dry decay and no longer has blood. I don't know how they would match this up (*that doesn't mean there is no way, just that I don't know about it).

[wonderlandleighleigh]

85 Thoughts while watching Return of the Jedi

1. THE HELMETS ARE DUMB

2. I still love the idea that Stormtroopers fucking loved Vader, and all of the commanders were terrified of him. 

3. Vader helmet so shiny.

4. Back on Tatooine. It always comes back to Tatooine, doesn’t it? 

5. 3P0 was so hoping that the door wouldn’t open. He just wanted to go home. 

6. Everyone in Jabba’s palace looks really...gross. I guess that fits, right? Jabba’s palace is super gross, so.

7. I never understood as a child the slavery - and the sex slavery - aspect of Jabba’s palace. Only as an adult have I fully understood just how fucked up this is.

8. Remember kids, Luke has NO IDEA that Anakin was a Hutt slave as a child. Is there any canon stuff where he finds out about that? I’d be interested. 

9. Han’s carbonite face is so fucking dumb. 

10. Man droid torture is no joke. If that’s what they do to droids, think about what they do to people...

11. Oh god, the musical number. Like I thought it was funny when I saw it for the first time when they did the re-releases, but also, it’s this weird dissonance between that and Oola’s death. 

12. Jabba is so much creepier here than in New Hope. 

13. I love all the disguises and subterfuge in the opening storyline. And I love that they took the time to deal with Jabba and the bounty on Han’s head. It’s a nice break from the Galactic War. 

14. I remember watching this for the first time, and when Leia pulls the helmet off and is like “Someone who loves you” I was like OMG! And my shipper heart grew ten times as large.

15. Han is so...moist. Here. Blugh.

16. Ugh. God. Poor Leia. They do a good job of illustrating just how fucking terrible Jabba is, but...god dammit. 

17. Han and Chewie reunion! <3 <3 <3 

18. Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight. Somewhere Mace Windu is looking at all of Luke’s attachments and impulsive behaviors and dry heaving. 

19. THE BIKINI IS GROSS! The only thing good about it is that Leia will eventually strangle Jabba to death while wearing it. Otherwise? Ugh.

20. Luke Skywalker. Jedi Knight. Fashion icon.

21. I always felt bad for the Rancor’s master. He loved his Rancor. And the Rancor was just as much a slave as any of the people in Jabba’s palace. It was probably only fed when there was a person Jabba wanted to kill so it would be as vicious as possible.

22. This trio is so bad-ass. 

23. Luke knows what the Sarlacc is. 

24. BANTHA HERD! 

25. Ugh. The Dune Sea is really fake-looking here.

26. R2 as waiter makes me so happy. It’s so ridiculous. 

27. “Convenient.” 

28. Anakin Skywalker would be so fucking proud of his daughter strangling Jabba the Hutt to death. It’s everything he ever wanted to do to fucking slavemasters on Tatooine. 

29. “Boba Fett. Boba Fett. WHERE?!” 

30. Per Dettiot: Luke went to Obi-Wan’s old hut on Tatooine and found the handbook to make his lighsaber, as well as some kyber crystals. What else he was up to between Empire and Jedi, I’m not sure.

31. Knee. High. Chanel. Boots. 

32. The sheer utter chaos and destruction would make Anakin Skywalker kvell*. 

33. I don’t know if Yoda considers Luke his friend. More like just another snot-nosed apprentice who will eventually disappoint him. 

34. Leave us alone, Palpatine. What a fucking pruny piece of shit. 

35. Yoda’s death is so bitter-sweet for me. I love Yoda. But he made so many mistakes in his life that he never really owned up to. I suppose he felt that his exile was his penance. But I don’t know if I agree. He could have come out of hiding to aid the Rebellion. 

36. Also, he was planning to die without coming clean to Luke about Vader. And that is some horse shit.

37. “Suffer your father’s fate.” At least he’s admitting that Anakin wasn’t solely to blame. That there was manipulation there. 

38. “I can’t go on alone.” Go find Ahsoka and Ezra! You’re not alone!! 

39. The fact that Obi-Wan truly believed that that Anakin had died and Vader took his place. 

40. Yoda and Obi-Wan never moved on from their trauma. They keep reliving their trauma and so they cannot move forward, and so they keep making the same mistakes over and over. Asking Luke to kill Vader is proof of that. 

41. And it really shows that Obi-Wan, even after his attachments to Satine and Akakin and Ahsoka - does not understand family. Luke saying “I can’t kill my father,” and Obi-Wan being like “Whelp. There’s no other way so the Emperor wins.” 

42. There being no mention of Luke and Leia’s mother ANYWHERE except for the one moment later on, drives me CRAZY. Obi-Wan could have told Luke about Padme then.

43. I love that Han and Leia can sit next to each other in a meeting and not have to have arms wrapped around each other. Just being next to each other is enough.

44. GENERAL SOLO! Leia’s face. “Excuse you, how did you suddenly get hotter?” 

45. The painted backgrounds are so beautiful. 

46. Poncho game is strong in this movie. 

47. FLY CASUAL is such a stupid line. I love it.

48. Skywalker twin exasperation is the best. Padme would be proud. 

49. Leia just going for it is so so good. 

50. I know Ewoks catch a lot of shit for...well..being Ewoks. But I love them. They’re adorable! And they have no qualms about eating humans! 

51. “My Son.” I think this is the first time Vader has referred to Luke as his son to someone who isn’t Luke, instead of the “Son of Skywalker.” 

52.  Watch as we realize that Leia has been holding the one brain cell this entire time, and Han, Luke and Chewie get totally clueless. 

53. PROPER. 

54. I love Ewok tree houses. 

55. Remember kids. They were planning to eat Han, Luke and Chewie. 

56. Where the hell did that dress even come from that Leia is wearing??? They just had that lying around? 

57.  I guess they ate the last woman who wore it.

58. I love that 3P0 in New Hope, claims he’s not much of a storyteller, and then in the Jedi like is like a master storyteller lol. 

59. And here, we get the only mention of Padme. And it wasn’t even Padme. It was a handmaiden. I will forever be salty that Padme isn’t mentioned at all because George didn’t think of her until the prequels. Argh.

60. Luke’s unwavering belief in Anakin is so amazing. The sequels did that part of his character so dirty. This version of Luke would never have tried to kill his nephew. 

61. “It is too late for me.”  God dammit, Anakin. The thing is that if he goes with Luke, he is admitting that everything he has done for the last twenty years is all for nothing, and he just fucking can’t do it. So much denial .So much pain. Fuck you, Vaderkin.

62. EWOK ON A SPEEDER 

63. REX! A REX SIGHTING! YES! 

64. Y’all remember that Ewok movie with the blonde child? “Star cruiser crash!!” 

65. Padme would be so proud of Luke’s fashion.

66. Wedge got promoted! Yay! 

67. I love the old Hollywood trick of shadowing the Emperor’s face except for his eyes. 

68. I just. I love that the Empire is defeated by fucking teddy bears. I know a lot of people hate it, but it’s just- it feels so karmic.  They’ve done such terrible things. And to be taken down by these fuzzy, little bastards. *chef’s kiss* 

69. Palpatine hitting in that nerve that Luke has about his attachments. About his hope. Oof.

70. The entire Vader fight is just him trying not to see how much like Padme Luke is. That’s gotta hurt. 

71. Bro. Vader. You do not want to try shit with Leia. Like. No. Fuck’s sake. Don’t try it. She’ll have all of you arrested and then executed. 

72.  Yes Luke. Thow away that lightsaber. Show that wrinky fuck who’s boss. 

73. I love that Anakin gets to make the right choice here. He does what he didn’t do with Mace. He finally realizes all the lies...all the manipulation...that he can make things different. And he does. And it rightfully costs him his life.

74. Vader couldn’t survive. Vader would have been tried for his crimes and either executed or jailed for the rest of his life. The same thing happened to Ben Solo in the sequels. He had to die. Otherwise he’d have to have a real-world ending: Prison or execution.

75. I feel so sad that Anakin became this fucking horror show of a person. It didn’t have to be this way. Fuck. 

76. “Tell your sister...you were right.” 

77. Oh Han no. No no no. 

78. No Han.

79. HAN. 

80. Han’s face when he finds out Luke is Leia’s brother is hilarious. 

81. I wish that Rex and Ahsoka had been there when Luke burned Anakin’s body. I feel like they needed to, for their own closure. And Luke would have felt like he had people who understood. Who loved and knew Anakin before all of this. 

82. AND NOW WE PARTY! 

83. Let’s eat Stormtrooper! 

84. I am SO MAD that all of this will be undone by the sequel trilogy. Ugh.

85. I want them to refilm Hayden now that he’s just about the age Anakin would have been when he died as a Force ghost. I feel like that would be really nice. 

*Kvell -  Yiddish - to be bursting with pride 

[naancydrew]

dads in nancy drew

i wanted to see if there were any reoccurring themes in ND games with dads like there is for moms (dead) so read on if you want to see my messy attempt at cataloguing most of the dads

#1 carson drew. alive, nancy’s dad, rich, widower, we can’t actually call him that much, usually get voicemail, but when we can talk to him he’s a golfball. hmm.

#2 ezra wickford, dead, eccentric,  adopted dexter, disowned him but then forgave him,  left puzzles for his son, rich

#3 william and joe akers, dead, jeff akers’ grandpa and dad, william worked with mickey malone and jeff is ashamed of his connection, went broke trying to find treasure

#4 darryl trent, dead, joy’s dad, eccentric, widower, left puzzles for his daughter, broke

#5 meryl humber, dead, frances humber’s dad, forbid her for seeing her outlaw bf and then arrested and had him hanged

#6 cashmeer valentine, dead, dirk valentines dad, disowned son for being outlaw

#7 hugh penvellyn, alive!, jane’s dad rich, divorced and remarried,

#8 alan penvellyn, dead, hugh’s dad, rich, neglected his son because he wasn’t an initiate but was grandpa of the year for jane

#9 Mr Crandall, dead, emily crandall’s dad, unnamed, died in a battle in WWI

#10 BIG ISLAND MIKE, alive, pua’s dad, first dad suspect!!, in debt, scamming king, i would call him eccentric, widower

#11 ollie randall, alive, freddie’s dad, suspect, kinda broke, i shot and then i missed, and then i shot and i missed again, wife not with him bc she can’t handle the cold

#12 claude bolet, dead, henry’s dad, died in car crash with wife

#13 brendan malloy, dead, fiona’s dad, died in accidental explosion of his own doing that also killed his wife

#14 mr shimizu, ???, miwako and yumi’s dad, no mention of him at all, widower

#15 Franz Mittelmeier, alive, lukas’s dad, is present during the mystery but non intractable

#16 Austin Neely, alive, jessalyn thornton’s dad, not mentioned at all, is he searching ?? the wiki calls him an ex significant other of clara...hmm

#17 ????, ???, clara thornton’s dad, his existence is a mystery

#18 roger drummonds, dead, charlotte and harper’s dad, rich, died in plane crash with wife

#19 james lawrence, dead, ???’s dad (elizabet’s ancestor), idk if you’d call him rich but he left behind a treasure, killed by mob with wife, wrote the most beautiful song for his daughter and his descendants

#20 gunnar tonnisson, alive, edda’s dad, suspect, the ultimate sad dad, widower and dad of a dead child. makes me sad every time

#21 judge danforth, alive, jason’s dad, suspect, not sure if we know what his first name is?? also not sure about his wife

Hmm. i thought i would see more of a pattern of missing dads. most of these dads are dead, yet the dad being dead is only really an important plot point once, (darryll trent) while a mom being dead is used much more. yes, i know, a good chunk of these dads are historical and so obviously dead....but STILL.

also interesting is that there are definitely not as many widows are there are widowers, when a dad dies it’s usually in an accident with his wife. a lotta couples dying together.

also a lotta rich dads!!!!! and when they aren’t rich, their debt is usually the reason for them being a suspect.

[tigereyes45]

As the War Ends

Can be read on AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24603022

________________________________________________________________

Kallus stands at attention as Mon Mothma talks. Her usually short stature made much larger by the war room’s projection holograph system. Zeb was with Hera watching her live. Leaving him alone with the rebels of Lothal. Many had accepted him but there were still a few who clearly felt uneasy around him still. Foolishly Kallus had thought the air of constant tension would disappear after the liberation of Lothal.

Mon Mothma cheers with the invisible crowd as the heroes who stopped the emperor and his right hand man, Darth Vader are gifted medals. Suddenly, collectively, as if they had all been holding their breaths, the room erupts in a joyous encore. All the rebels of Lothal who had just watched silently join in on the celebration. All their years of work paying off, not only for their planet but for the galaxy. The holograph goes out before they could see a medal be placed on the wookie. By that point Kallus was the only person still watching anyways. The room had turned into a whirlpool of bodies. Hands pat his back, as bodies shove past each other for the doors. Holding onto the table in front of him was all Kallus could do to not be swept away in the commotion.

With the room cleared after a few minutes of utter chaos, he could finally breathe. The temperature in the almost empty room plummets as it's many heat sources flee to find other ways and places to celebrate. They deserved it. Kallus pulls out a chair for himself. The Empire was defeated. The force he had spent so much of his life serving was gone. It would be difficult for the foot soldiers to recover from it's lost. The many people who had never really known a life before the empire would be lost for a time. Just as he had been when he left. Many of them would be arrested and charge as they should be. Only a few would get off easy. Even the ones that did wouldn't be as lucky as him. If he hadn't ended up on that moon with Zeb his life would be very different.The ringing of his comm terminal brings his wandering mind to a halt. Looking down at his wrist, a small holograph of Zeb's face hovers right above it. The lasat had a talent for reaching out at just the right moment. On the moon, catching many of his secret messages as fulcrum, his defection, and far more when they were on Yavin 4. At one point Kallus entertained the idea that Zeb was force-sensitive once. A connection that allowed him to just know when he needed to hear his voice. Of course he wasn't. If he had been Kanan would have been able to sense it. Which meant that it was luck, and perhaps a basis of understanding that results in his fortunate timing.

Kallus pushes past his hesitation and answers. When his figure appears Garazeb was looking at something behind him. Cheers and fireworks sound off from his side. They were muted comparatively to the shouts coming from down the hall. Undoubtedly they were louder around him. He hadn't even noticed that Kallus had answered yet. A brown furry hand clasps Zeb's shoulder. It shakes him gently. Casually it gestures towards Kallus before disappearing back out of view. Zeb's ears stand high as he looks surprisingly at him. He smiles back at the shocked man. He looks as if it had been Kallus who called him.

"Kallus!" Even the fur on his ears was standing up.

"Hello Zeb. How is the celebration?"

"It's goin' fine." Rubbing the back of his neck, Zeb looks down towards the ground. The static-y blue holograph fitz out for a moment. "How is the kid doing?"

Kallus smiles warmly. It wasn't often that Zeb was nervous. "He's fine. Fell asleep about an hour ago. I have my communicator tuned into his room so that I'll hear him the moment he wakes up." He makes a big show of looking around the room. "Actually the partying just started over here. The noise could wake him up any moment.  I should probably go."

"Wait!" Adorably Zeb reaches out as if he could stop him with his hand. Kallus tries not to laugh as he quickly retracts his arm. Zeb folds them back over his chest. He puts on a determined expression. Kallus leans back in his chair. The smug smile never leaving his face as he leans back. Zeb keeps his glare on something in the distance that he can't see.

"With the war ending and all I figured," He cuts himself off with a sigh. "Hera and Lothal won't need us around as much once the dust settles." Kallus nods in agreement. The next couple of months would be chaotic. Afterwards the two of them would be hard pressed to find work to keep them busy. There wouldn't be much need for an ex-imperial officer, and a lasat guard on Lothal.  If Hera and Sabine left then Zeb would probably go with them. Would he? There was still the search for Ezra, but it wasn't his place to invite himself.  He could wait. Waiting not hard, it's just the not knowing that's difficult.

"There's a place I want to take you." The words are blurted out in a rush. Kallus would have assumed Zeb was drunk with the way he was running his words together.  But he wasn't. Not only had he been speaking perfectly clear before, but Zeb had a bad habit of leaning back whenever he was drunk. A habit he picked up from trying to keep himself from falling over when drunk. All it managed was to assure he would just fall backwards instead, but Zeb was folding inwards. His hand was scratching the back of his neck, and his eyes had avoided him up until now. This wasn't a drunk Garazeb. This was a nervous one.

The lists of possible jobs he was complying in his head stops. A familiar heat rises in his face. He had resigned himself to waiting. Kanan had been kind once to take him in, but truly he didn't expect it twice. Even though he and Zeb had grown quite close.

"Where?" His voice was quiet. Far too quiet to really be heard over the cheers. Somehow Zeb manages despite that.

"It's a surprised. Someplace important." Zeb stops talking and leans a little closer to his comm device. Did he really expect a no? Well if their roles were reversed Kallus would ask expecting a no as well. When his answer doesn't come immediately Zeb adds, "Important to both of us." He start waving his hands around. "But you can't ask where it is, or look at the maps until after we get there. It has to be a surprised."

Kallus sighs deeply, pretending to be annoyed rather than moved. "Zeb if this is a plan to go back to that moon I'd rather not."

"It's not." He doesn't try making a joke. There's no quipping line in solidarity over their disdain for that place. In fact he was leaning even closer now. His face was stern and nervous. The two emotions constantly fighting in the way his cheeks were, or how his lips curled.

Kallus sits up straight. Slowly he brings the holograph closer to his face. "I'll pack my things."

"Really?" Zeb sounds incredulous. "You would just come?"

"Well if you lot were going to kill me you would have done it by now. Should we tell Hera that she'll need to find another set of babysitters?"

Zeb's face slowly shifts from the surprised expression he had been so fond of tonight to a genuine smile.  His body slowly starts to shake as he nods. "Yeah, yeah. Yeah! I'll tell her. She knew I was asking you anyways! Sabine could still help out, and we can come back. I'll have to tell her too." His excitement was contagious. Kallus channels his nerves into his legs. They quickly start to bounce erratically as he watches Zeb loudly cheer on the other side. A group joins in his cheering from his side. "I didn't expect you to just say yes!"

"Then don't make me regret this." He was joking but Zeb just kept nodding. He balls his fists up and smirks.

"You won't. See you soon. I'm gonna go get Hera now. We'll be right back!" With that the holograph cuts off.

"Didn't even give me a chance to reply."

Kallus leans back in his chair. Resting his feet up on the table his muscles start to relax. Tonight was a very good night indeed. He still wasn't going to go out and celebrate with the rest of the base. He had to get back to Jacen after all. Now there was packing to do too. His mind wanders as he leaves the control room. The halls were filled with small groupings of people here and there. All enjoying the hard-won victory. What place could possibly be important to both of them? There was the moon. Most of the ships they had been on together have been blown to bits. Not that he would have to pack if they were just visiting a ship. No it had to be a planet, but which? He dwells on the question for the rest of the way. His mind only returning to the moment as he opens his bedroom door to find a young Jacen sitting quietly on his bed. With a smile the child had been patiently waiting for his return. How he managed to not set off the motion detectors or noise monitors Kallus chucks up to the fact that he was probably at least partially force-sensitive like his father.

"Are you hungry Jacen?" The child eagerly nods.

Kallus steps off to the side and holds his arms out. "Let's go get some food then." Instead of running out the room past him, Jacen stops at his legs and holds his arms up. Kallus smiles and picks him up. "I have it on good authority that your momma's coming back tonight." He cheers throwing his arms up. Kallus readjusts him on his hip. He had already had dinner, but a snack as they wait should be fine.

[svudrabbles]

Imagine you’re Olivia’s daughter, and you get caught in a school shooting  TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF SCHOOL SHOOTING (SOMEWHAT GRAPHIC), AND RAPE

It was a day like any other, or at least it was supposed to be. You woke up with your mother at six in the morning, got showered, got dressed in your uniform, packed your dance bag, ate a rushed lunch, and your mom drove you to school. You kissed your moms cheek quickly before hopping out of the car, and racing into the school.

Olivia went her way to the precinct.

Everything was normal, until around twelve in the afternoon.

You were in fourth period, Math. The teacher was out, and you had a substitute which meant the class was pretty much partying the entire time. You had music on blast. You and your two best friends, Dina and Ezra, were dancing along to the song. Dina had her phone on recording you three on a livestream on Twitter.

Everything was pretty much normal. The only thing out of the ordinary was the gun shots you heard in the distance.

“What the fuck was that?” Dina’s voice wavered.

The teacher began shouting. “Turn off the lights, and hide behind the wall.”

Ezra turned the lights off, another student shut off the music, and the class huddled up against the wall. The screams and the gunshots progressively got closer. Everyone was absolutely horrified. Your classroom was at the end of the hall, and when you heard footsteps approaching, you felt a dark sense of impending doom come over you.

The door opened, the light from the hallway pooling over the floor. The kid with the AK-47 entered the room, and flipped on the light. He looked at the group in the room, and started shooting. First, the teacher, then a couple of classmates.

That was, until you jumped in front of the gun, and you noticed who was behind the trigger.

Peter McCane. A ninth grader in your dance class outside of school stood in front of you, his pale face splattered with the blood of your fellow students. Tears pooled down his cheeks. “Y/N…”

“Peter, what are you doing?” You asked softly.

He lowered his gun a bit, gulping. “I had to. I had to.”

***

The precinct was relatively slow today. Everyone was sitting around doing paperwork from their previous case. That was until Captain Cragen ran into the precinct from his office.

“Liv.” He looked at her, his eyes full of worry.

She looked up, eyebrows knit in confusion. “Captain…what’s wrong?”

“There’s a shooting.” He stated. “A school shooting.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay…what’s that got to do with SVU?”

“It’s Y/N’s school.” He stated, flipping the television on.

Fox News was showing a live video feed. Olivia turned toward the screen, and sure enough, Y/N Benson was in the crooked frame standing next to the shooter.

***

“Peter, come on. Tell me why you had to.”

He started sobbing, kicking the door shut but kept a tight grip on the gun. “Ricky Cummings.” He screamed, looking behind you. “Fucking beloved Ricky Cummings.”

Your thumping heart beat so fast against your chest you thought it was going to explode, but you kept calm outwardly. You looked behind yourself, and a terrified Ricky was backed against the wall, tears pooling down his cheeks. “Is it okay if I stand, Peter?”

He nodded. “Whatever.”

So you did, shoving your hands into your skirt pockets. “What did Ricky do?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t fucking matter, Y/N!”

“Well.” You inhaled deeply. “Clearly it does to you. So tell me, Peter. Tell me what happened.”

He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with his forearm. All of a sudden, he looked like the child he was. “Stormy Marks asked me to prom. She’s a senior…I’m just a nerdy freshman. I thought…I thought she liked me. That night, I went to her house to pick her up. We took prom pictures…my mom was so happy for me. It was supposed to be the greatest night of my life.”

You nodded sympathetically. “Okay. Go on, Pete.”

“When we got to the dance…I was so excited. All her friends were treating me really well. Stormy asked if I wanted to go with her to the supplies closet…”

“And everyone knows that’s where hookups go down during prom.” You sighed.

“Yeah.” He muttered. “When we got there, Stormy shoved me in and locked the door. When I turned around, Ricky was there. He laughed, told me I was an idiot if I really thought Stormy wanted to go out with me. That I was just a submissive little cunt that needed some pity…that he’d show me what a submissive cunt I was.”

You knew exactly where this was going. You took a slow breath.

“He ripped off my pants, and raped me.” He screamed. “He fucking raped me, Y/N, and I couldn’t do anything about it! For weeks everyone laughed at me, everyone mocked me, called me a pussy. They didn’t care. They didn’t care, they didn’t care, they didn’t care! But they’re going to care. They’re going to fucking care!”

***

At this point, SWAT was on the premises, a plethora of ambulances, the fire department. The entire SVU squad sat outside of the school, watching the feed on their phones.

“She’s keeping him talking.” Nick said to Olivia. “Y/N is a smart girl, Liv. She’s going to be okay.”

“I should be in there!” She shouted. “I should be in there protecting my baby!”

“Look, Liv.” Amanda nudged her shoulder. “She’s just like you. She’s protecting her friends, and she’s going to get out safely. Okay?”

***

“So…you wanted revenge.” You stood slowly, walking toward him. “You wanted them to feel pain just like you did.”

“I shot everyone…everyone.”

“Who is dead, Pete?”

“Most of the 12th grade classes. There were some stragglers…” He responded. “They evacuated 9th, 10th, and 11th…”

You took a deep breath. “Peter, I get it. I understand your pa-“

“You don’t understand a god damn thing!” He screamed, pointing the gun at your head.

Your hands flew up. “Peter. Listen, okay? Can you listen to me?”

His eyes glowed with anger now, his hands shaking on the trigger.

You exhaled slowly. “When I was in ninth grade I was raped too. By a senior, who I was dating for awhile. When I said I didn’t want to have sex with him, he raped me, and he broke up with me. Then, he told all of his friends, and they mocked me until the day they graduated. I never told anyone either, Peter. I was scared. I was so scared of the humiliation, I was scared he’d hurt me again. I was so, so scared. I wanted nothing more than to make them pay, but…”

Peter’s face softened again. “But what?”

“Peter, this isn’t the way. This wasn’t the way.”

“I want him to pay for what he did to me!” Peter screamed something fierce, his entire face red. He pushed passed you, and walked over to the terrified teen that huddled against the wall.

“P-Please.” Ricky pleaded. “Please d-don’t shoot.”

“I asked you to stop too.” Peter growled. “You just kept going.”

You touched the boys shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Peter. Listen to me. Killing him isn’t going to do anything, you know that?”

“Of course it will! He can never hurt anyone again!” Peter spun on his heels, the gun against your abdomen.

“So, what? You kill him, and that’s it? He doesn’t suffer? He doesn’t think about his choices, day in and day out, in a prison where he will be raped day in and day out?” You asked softly. “And you? You rot in a prison cell too?”

“No, because I’ll be dead.” He spat. “As soon as this fucker dies, just like Stormy, I will kill myself.”

You shook your head. “Peter. Listen to me, okay? Ricky can pay for what he did to you. He can pay, justly, and rightly, but you have to do this the right way. I never got to. I was never brave enough. But you can’t kill him. You can’t kill anyone else. Not even yourself.”

Peter began wretching, and vomited all over the floor. Then, he began sobbing again. “After all of this…I never even got that dance…never got a dance with a beautiful girl.” He sat on a chair to the desk beside him, gun still clutched in his hands.

“Pete. Here are your choices.” You said softly, sitting on the table of the desk. “You kill everyone in this room, and then you die, and no one pays for anything, and you cause everyone else pain and anguish…or you drop your weapon, I can give you one last dance, and we can walk out of here together. Alive.”

“They won’t let me out of here alive.” Peter shook his head. “I’m a school shooter…they wouldn’t…”

“I’ll sit right in front of you, Pete. My mom? She’s a detective. She’s probably out there right now.” You smiled at the thought of your mother, who was probably terrified out of her mind. “She won’t let anyone shoot me. I’ll be your body guard. I’ll be your bullet proof vest. I promise, you’ll get out of here alive. Just let everyone go…let everyone leave.”

Peter sniffled, and looked over to Ricky. “W-What about him?”

“Let me call my mom.” You said softly. “He will be arrested as soon as he hits the grass of the front lawn. Okay? Is it okay if my mom comes up here and takes him away?”

“No…not your mom.” He shook his head. “Someone who works with her, fine, but…not your mom.”

“Okay.” You said, very disappointed but trying to hide it. “Fine. Her partner, Nick. He’ll come in.”

“F-Fine.” Peter mumbled. “But no games!”

You slid your phone out of your pocket and into your shaking hands. You clicked on Nick’s contact. It hardly rang before he answered.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asked, clearly panicked.

“I’m okay. There are three dead, but everyone else is safe and unharmed. Peter says he’s going to let everyone go now, except for me. You have to come up here and take them out, okay?”

“Okay, sweetie…okay. You’re doing amazing, Y/N, you’re doing incredible.”

“Nick?”

“Yes, baby?”

“There’s a student here. Ricky Cummings. You’re going to arrest him for the rape of Peter McCane.”

“Y/N…”

“Nick.”

“Okay. Okay.”

You hung up, and slid your phone back into your pocket.

Only moments later, and Nick entered the room. You sent him a tearful smile.

“Okay kids. Come on, run, get out.” Nick said, and the students started piling out.

Dina, unnoticed, rested her phone against the wall so the livestream could continue.

Everyone ran out, except for Ricky, who had pissed himself.

“Ricky Cummings.” Nick grabbed his forearm, and hoisted him up. “You are under arrest for the rape of Peter McCane…” He continued to mirandize him as they exited the classroom.

Peter began to sob mercilessly, dropping the gun beside him. You brought the small boy into your arms, holding him against yourself.

“Okay, okay.” You cooed. “He’s gone. He’s gone, Pete.”

“I’m sorry.” He sobbed into your chest. “I’m so sorry..they’re all dead because of me…b-because of me…”

“Shhh.” You shushed. “Come on, Pete. Let me give you that dance.”

You stood, and helped him onto his feet. You took out her phone, and went to Spotify, playing “Baby It’s Cold Outside”

“I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside

I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside

This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in

So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice”

Peter let out his hand for you, and you took it. He wrapped his shaking arms around your waist, you wrapped your arms around his neck. You could smell the blood on him, and you began silently crying.

***

The dance felt like it had gone on for hours, but the song ended. He sniffled, pulling away from you. “Thank you…Y/N. I’m ready to go now.”

You grabbed his hand, crying as well. “Come on, Pete. Let’s go.”

You lead him down the bloodied halls, almost tripping over the dead students and teachers that cluttered the floor. Down the stairs, the front doors. You pushed open the double doors, and Peter stayed up against your back.

“It’s okay!” You shouted. “He’s unarmed!”

One of the swat men ran over to the two, and grabbed you, running away with you toward the SVU squad.

Another SWAT guy grabbed Peter roughly, and cuffed him.

The man dropped you in front of your mother, who brought you into a bear hug that had the two of you on the ground weeping.

“Oh, my baby. My sweet, sweet baby.” Olivia sobbed into your neck. “Oh my sweet girl.”

“I’m okay, mommy.” You weeped. “I’m okay.”

Olivia sat on the grass, holding you in her lap tightly. You was too big for this, but Olivia couldn’t help but be brought back to when you were just a little girl. So small, always wanting to be curled around your mommy.

“Liv.” Amanda knelt down to the two of you. “We have to get her to the hospital.”

Olivia looked up, sniffling.

“I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me.” You stated.

“We still have to go.” Amanda said sadly.

You nodded, going to get up. Olivia held on tighter.

“Mommy.” You smiled softly. “I’m okay. I’m safe. We’ve gotta go…I’m not leaving.”

The older woman nodded. The two of you sat up, Olivia’s hand never leaving yours.

***

After the long, horrible day you’d had, you went back to your apartment. The squad was there, all too worried for the Bensons to be anywhere else.

You had taken a very, very long shower. You dressed in black leggings, and an oversized hoodie. You walked out of the bathroom, and everyone stared at you with pity.

You burst into sobs, hot tears running down your cheeks.

Nick leapt forward, grabbing you in his arms, hoisting you up into his grasp. You wrapped your legs around his waist, crying loudly into his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” You wept. “I’m so, so, so, sorry.”

“For what, my love?” Olivia asked, rubbing your back gently.

“I didn’t tell you about my assault.” You sniffled. “I didn’t tell you, and you had to find out during a tragedy like that!”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Amanda spoke. “You had to do it. You had to talk him down, get to his level. You got out of there alive.”

“I should’ve said something earlier.” You cried desperately. “I was so scared you’d hate me, mommy.”

Nick let you down to your feet. Olivia grabbed you, leading you to the couch, where she placed you in her lap once more that day. She wrapped you up tightly in her arms. “I could never hate you, lovey. You’re my miracle. The best thing to ever happen to me, understand?”

You nodded.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. No one can ever hurt you again, do you understand me? I love you so much.”

“We all love you.” Captain Cragen spoke.

“We’re your family, baby doll.” Amanda squeezed your leg. “You’re safe, and loved.”

You nodded. “I love you guys too…”

[strawberryjamus]

Ezra, holding up a fancy bottle: is this whiskey or perfume?

Story, grabs it and drinks it all: it's perfume

-

Stella: Who was supposed to wash the dishes today?

Mica: Nobody washes the dishes! We eat food directly off the coffee table and you know it!

-

Mica: Based on statistical evidence, I think I'm immortal.

Stella: Why?

Mica: I haven't died yet.

Stella: That's... not how that works.

-

Mica: Jellyfish have survived 600,000 years without brains.

Ezra: A ray of hope for Alexi

-

Alexi: I wish we could block people in real life.

Stella: A restraining order.

Story: Murder.

-

Story: in my defense, i was left unsupervised.

Stella: wasn’t Ezra with you?

Ezra: in my defense, i was left unsupervised, too.

-

Ezra: I've kidnapped you because I crave the deadliest game...

Story, nodding: Knife Monopoly.

Ezra: I was actually going to hunt you for sport, but now I'm really interested in whatever Knife Monopoly is.

-

Stella: Remember, when you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world stays the same.

Ezra: So kill two.

-

Mica: Me, I'm dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for.

-

Alexi: you shouldn't be using a straw

Pixel: i know, i know. it's bad for the environment

Alexi:

Alexi: it's just...

Alexi: a really weird way to eat spaghetti

-

Alexi: Anyone else d-

Stella: Depressed?

Pixel: Dead?

Ethel: Drained?

Story: Demented?

Ezra: Disliked?

Alexi: ...Done...with the work. What is wrong with you guys?

-

Stella: Why are Mica and Alexi sitting with the their backs to each other?

Story: They had a fight

Stella: Then why are they holding hands?

Story: They get sad when they fight.

-

Mica: How are you a mom Claire? How can you be a mom if you don't have kids?

Claire:....SHIT

-

Mica: All right, listen up you little shits.

Mica: Not you, Hero, you’re an angel and we’re thrilled you’re here.

-

Stella: Story, we need to talk about-

Story: The building was already on fire when I got here.

Stella: What?

Story: What?

-

Ezra, taping a small knife to a roomba: Be free, my child, be free.

A few minutes later...

Alexi, coming into the room with a small cut on his ankle: WHO THE FUCK-

-

Pixel: I have bad news

Ethel: oh no

Pixel: I'm not a doctor

Ethel: but you just gave me surgery-

Pixel: *whiny voice* bUt YoU jUsT gAvE mE- shut the fuck up, that's why it's bad news

-

Ezra: If I don't change forms every ten seconds I might just die

-

Alexi: i’m a moderate, peaceful man

Stella: just yesterday you threw a chair at Ezra

Alexi: that was a moderate, peaceful compromise from the table i was going to throw at him

-

Alexi: What’s it like being tall?

Alexi: Is it nice?

Alexi: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

Ezra: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

Story: It was one time!

-

Alexi: I think I’m better looking than you Ezra

Ezra: I searched everywhere

Alexi: What?

Ezra: I looked through all my files

Ezra: I searched through my text messages

Ezra: I even checked my closet

Ezra: Yet I still couldn’t find where I asked for your opinion

Alexi:

-

Story, holding a knife with a heated blade:Imagine stabbing someone with this knife.

Ezra: It would instantly cauterize the would, so the person wouldn’t bleed, so it’s not very useful.

Mica: if you want information it is

Ethel: why would you stab a PERSON when you can have TOAST?

-

Mica: Look Alexi, when I text you “we are robbing a bank” your next text BETTER be “are we meeting at your house or my house?” not “have you taken your adhd medicine today?”

Mica: nO ALEXI, I HAVEN’T AND YOU KNOW I HAVEN’T ! BUT I NEED YOUR HELP ! when I text you “we are robbing a bank” I mean WE ARE ROBBING A BANK ! IT’S NOT A NEGOTIATION

Mica: I’ve already written my death note and when the cops ask “what are my demands?” I’ve decided on a helicopter, not because I know how to RIDE a helicopter but because I thought it would be a good bonding experience for me and you because we like that.

Mica: bUT LOOK ALEXI– tuition is due tomorrow and I don’t have the money so you bETTER MEET ME AT THE NEAREST CHASE BANK OUTSIDE MY HOUSE OR ! WE ! ARE ! DONE !

-

Alexi: You're under arrest-

Mica: Aw damn it, I knew I shouldn't have committed all that tax fraud

Alexi: -for being so adorable!

Alexi:

Alexi: What?

-

Alexi and Mica: *staring into each others eyes*

Ezra: *opens a soda can*

Alexi: we were having a moment

Ezra: and I'm having a cola

-

Alexi: *running towards Mica to hug it*

Mica: *moves out of the way*

Alexi: Mica! Why’d you move?!

Mica: I thought you were attacking me.

Alexi: I was going to hug you!!

Mica: Why would you hug me?

Alexi: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?!

-

Claire: Stop it! Do you want me to never talk to you again!?

Mica: ...

Claire: ... what?

Mica: Hang on, I’m considering.

-

[parabellumrpg]

                                                ABEL COSTELLO

                                       THIRTY-EIGHT – CONSIGLIERE – COSTELLO

Abel Costello was born into an incredibly privileged life. Vacations, parties, higher education. Abel didn’t give a fuck about any of it. He was like his father in just about every way. They both had that quick fuse, the dead look in their eyes whenever you pissed them off badly enough. Abel’s father, Gio, was an asset to the mob from a very young age. He was a ruthless assassin, a skill that he’d inevitably pass down to Abel. The rest of his cousins acclimated to the mob life in a different way growing up; their roles carried more weight because their father was the boss. Abel was just eager to get his hands dirty. He didn’t care about titles, didn’t care about money or fame. He cared about the principle of it all. The Costellos were conquerors, and if Abel had anything to do with it— they’d stay that way.

Abel began training at the mere age of fifteen. It was all self defense first— learning how to disarm someone, protecting himself from the enemy. After, he learned how to incapacitate someone in seconds. His father ensured that Abel would be the perfect assassin. Abel exceeded everybody’s expectations.

A lot of his uncle’s associates didn’t take him seriously at first, but Abel quickly silenced any doubts that fell on him or his profession. He was to be taken seriously, even at the age of eighteen. Abel saw no use in furthering his education. He was fully devoted to the mob. It was a dark and narrow path that Abel had chosen. There was no cutting corners, no sugar coating anything. His father was arrested and imprisoned in 2011 for several drug trafficking charges. Abel didn’t know how his father was caught in the first place. Gio had always been so careful, so discreet in his dealings— Abel immediately knew that his father was set up, and it didn’t take long before he found the culprit.

It was a Sinclair. Of course it was. Abel wanted nothing more than to see an end to that family. One way or another, he’d make sure they wound up six feet under. While his relationship with his father had never been typical by any means, Abel knew the value of family. And when one person in the family was hit, they all were. Abel got his revenge, eventually tracking down Kieran O’Connell and killing him without a second thought. Still, killing the person who put his father in jail didn’t change the lengthy sentence that his father would have to serve. No amount of lawyers could change that.

Eventually, Leon Costello emerged as the head of the family. And with his promotion, Abel was assigned the title of consigliere. He and Leon had been close growing up, so advising him was no issue. They were often on the same page about things -- including their disapproval of Luca Costello and Paityn Sinclair’s wedding. It’s been an exhausting task, but after hours of discussion, there was no way around it. Luca had made the decision long before involving anyone in the family. Whether they liked it or not, he was marrying Paityn. It was difficult for Abel to watch his youngest cousin marry the enemy. The people responsible for putting his father in prison. It never sat right with him, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel some joy in finding out that Paityn had been kidnapped on her wedding night. While he does empathize for his younger cousin, he wouldn’t complain if Paityn never made her way back home. Maybe then, things can go back to the way they were.

                                            CONNECTIONS

-- Relationship Status: Single -- Other: Leon, Ezra, Mia, Sofia, and Luca Costello (Cousins)

FC: Ryan Gosling

The role of ABEL COSTELLO is currently TAKEN.

[ashlan-zeal]

"Who says that dreams and nightmares are not as real as the here and now?"

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Ahsoka asked Ezra while they took to orbit. Her small ship had a cargo ID in rule and didn’t have any problems crossing the tight security of the several Imperial ships around Lothal.

“I… We were returning to the base. To Yavin,” Ezra explained staring blankly at the stars.

“Yavin, huh?” Ahsoka’s eyes lit up with interest. “We have prospected the area before but we were still thinking of our options. Most of the other cells refuse to work together.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Ezra remembered there hadn’t been any transmission from his part or… “Wait. What about Mon Mothma? Is she still alive?”

“Oh… She got captured a while back when she left the Senate,” Ahsoka bit her lower lip. That had been a morale blow for everyone. They hadn’t gotten to her on time. Ezra sunk on his seat. Something in the back of his mind told him that maybe if his parents hadn’t heard the transmission they might be still alive in prison, but Azadi was also missing and… he couldn’t sense them. Just like the Ghost crew… all he could feel was either a void or coldness. They had died. He closed his eyes as a few tears rolled down his cheeks, but he hurried to dry them.

“Just before returning to base, we had saved a few engineers and destroyed a huge kyber crystal. Gerrera wanted to-”

“Saw Gerrera?” Ahsoka frowned. “You were working with Saw Gerrera??” she said with disgust and anger.

“A couple of times… we didn’t part in the best terms,” he said a little nervous. “Why?”

Ashoka was scowling looking ahead. “We lost Lothal because of him.”

“What!?”

“After the Ghost Crew disappeared, no other group took their place… things went downhill pretty quick,” Ahsoka explained and took a deep breath. “When they opened that TIE fighter factory in Lothal... a lot of people didn’t have another option and started to work there. Then, it seems Gerrera caught wind they were doing some kind of secret project there and… he used a service droid to blow the fuel depot… on rush hour.”

Ezra’s jaw dropped. “How many dea-?”

“Several hundred workers died. Thousands were injured. He said that whoever was helping the Empire in any way deserved to go down with them. The people of Lothal lost all trust in the Rebels… Several sympathizers were arrested snitched by locals. They didn’t like the Empire but at least they wouldn’t blow their own, they said.”

A ball of anger started to grow on Ezra’s throat. That’s why they were contracting people instead of droids to do menial tasks at the port. He regretted not looking up further when he was back there.

“Gerrera was… not good… but we had managed to talk to him out of doing a bunch of stuff before,” Ezra said in low voice. “But yeah… he was certainly going on that direction”.

The travel through hyperspace to Garel was short. Surprisingly, Garel didn’t seem too different from what Ezra remembered from his early time here. Ahsoka took Ezra to present him to Sato as Jedi-in-training and left it at that. Seeing Sato was… a shock too. His eyes didn’t have that passion he used to have working for the Rebellion. He looked sad and somewhat bitter.

-Oh no...Mart.- Ezra thought. Mart must have been either killed or taken prisoner over Mykapo. -Dammit...the rest of my friends… Zare, his sister, Jai...- they were gone. Even if he was visibly upset he shook Sato’s hand and promised to do whatever it was possible to help them. Ahsoka and he obviously left out the issue of Ezra coming from another reality… no one else needed to know.

“If Ahsoka vouches for you, then I can’t turn you down. If you are going to stay here you will need some new ID and papers for Garel,” Sato said giving him a curious look. “Please, go to this address with our contact. Give her this code…”

Ezra went on his own, while Ahsoka and Sato discussed the state of Lothal, explaining what she had seen and the increased security. Ezra knew the streets in this city so he had no problem to find the house with the contact. He knocked once, then thrice, then once, just as he was told. The door opened a little and he could see a woman peering through.

“Yes?”

“I need help with a poem. I heard you are a good writer,” Ezra said the secret password too. These Rebels were really suspicious and paranoid, always looking over their shoulders, and he couldn’t blame them. The woman huffed and nodded.

“Fine, fine, I can help,” she said with some reluctance and opened the door. Ezra gasped recognizing her.

“Maketh Tua,” he whispered in disbelief. Tua’s face was washed with fear and pulled him inside quickly and looking outside worriedly hoping no one had heard him.

“Don’t go saying that in the open! I’m not Maketh Tua. My name is Rita Zante. Alright??” she pointed at him shaking with fear. “How do you know me? Have they put a hit on my head? Have you seen wanted posters or something?”

“Oh… no. I… I used to live in Lothal,” he tried to find the right explanation. “I lived in Lothal all my life until recently.”

“Ah… I see,” she straightened up regaining a little of her composure. “I see. Alright… that explains that. You almost killed me from the impression… just… don’t go saying my old name around. Ok, if you come for Lothal making your fake ID will be easier for me… just sit there.”

Ezra sat watching her go through some info on her datapad and comparing it to a stack of papers she had in a desk. Maketh Tua was alive here. She had not been killed when trying to defect when they were being chased by Vader. Ezra remembered Yoda’s words:

Your right, someone’s wrong might be.

If he made things ‘right’ it would mean Ahsoka, Sato and Tua would be gone. Who knows how many other people would be affected. He shook his head.

-Just focus on the problem at hand. Helping the Rebellion. I’m still too weak to do anything about it so there’s no point on worrying on...consequences.-

After an hour or so, Ezra had the best fake ID he’d ever seen. For all intents and purposes, he was now a citizen of Garel. He was also given a tiny private room in an apartment building instead of a shared one on their “base”. It was sad to see this Rebellion so far behind of his own. That night, in the privacy of his room, he cried silently, letting all his pain and sadness out. He knew he couldn’t keep it all in or it would lead him closer to the darkside. Holding at the pillow, he sobbed for his friends and he sobbed for Kanan. He cried for how alone he felt and how much he missed him. But he needed to keep going… even if it hurt. And with that, his new life with the Rebellion started from scratch.

During the following days, Ezra would make small ‘milk runs’, help with scouting, spying and all the normal things he could do without the aid of the Force. On the days Ahsoka returned from some secret meeting or mission they would train and meditate together. As soon as he finished his lightsaber (this time with a regular hilt but with his old blue crystal) he started sparring with Ahsoka seriously. Her training style was very different from Kanan’s, making much more aggressive and dangerous approaches. It was harder than what he remembered, or maybe he was just too far behind? She would push his physical and mental limits with the Force. In any case, Ahsoka was impressed. While his connection with the Force was slowly recovering, luckily, his memories for his fighting techniques were almost untouched.

His nights were restless and every day he would wake up feeling worried and alone. His heart ached, but all he could remember from his dreams was a thick darkness and a sense of hopelessness.

-No, I can’t give in. Kanan wouldn’t want me to...- and that gave him just enough warmth to keep going.

One day, Ezra had been tasked on delivering a package to a group on another city in Garel. He took a bike and headed out by himself. He didn’t expect any trouble… but he also never expected to get his life turned around more than already was.

He was driving down the highway, no other transport on sight, when he heard it. He pressed the brakes so fast he almost thrown ahead from the inertia. He looked around and up almost desperately until he saw it.

The Ghost flew overhead.

A chill ran down his spine. He was frozen in shock. Even though it was repainted, he could have recognized the sound of the engines anywhere, in this reality or back home. Then, after a second he accelerated chasing it. It was also heading towards the same city, but it was going much faster and quickly left him behind. He reached into the Force, trying to feel if he recognized who was flying it but it was a stranger. A ball of anger started to form on his stomach. Someone had taken the Ghost for themselves. He rushed through the gates of the city and the streets to the spaceport as fast as he could, but by the time he found the right landing pad, the ship was already leaving.

“NO!” Ezra cursed watching it go. He turned around and saw a bunch Troopers looking at him. They were moving some cargo around. Ezra became very still.

“Do you have a problem?” one of the troopers asked, suspicious of him.  

“Oh… sorry. I just… I just saw that ship and… I had never seen a VCX-100 modded like that. Wow! I mean, it was a  VCX-100 right? I wished I could see it more closely!” Ezra laughed nervously and looking sheepish.

“Yeah, a VCX-100,” the trooper wasn't totally convinced. “You can’t stay here while we load our cargo to the transport. Now scram,” the trooper motioned him to get back.

“Yeah! Sorry! Sorry, sir!” Ezra turned around, his smile immediately disappearing from his face as soon as he was out of sight from them. He went to ask around the port about details on the Ghost, always under the pretense of being a fanatic of modded ships. He even used a few terms he had heard from Hera and Sabine to sound knowledgeable. All he learned was what he feared…

The Ghost, it seemed, was the propriety of the Empire right now. With some more coaxing, he also learned the ship used to make deliveries from Lothal and a few other systems to this port. They said it should be heading for Lothal right now.

Cursing in low voice he delivered the package he was meant to and went back to Ahsoka immediately. She had just left from a talk with Sato when he arrived to their ‘base’.

“We need to talk,” he didn’t even wait for a hello, pulling her aside. He explained everything that he saw and learned. “We need to get the Ghost back”

“Ezra…” she wasn't sure of his idea.

“No, no you don’t get it. If I remember correctly the Holocron AND Kanan’s lightsaber could be still there, hidden away in a secret compartment.”

“The holocron that you said had the coordinates to the Temple on Lothal?” Ahsoka blinked with worry.

“YES! Besides… I have seen what other ships this Rebel cell has in the fleet. They couldn’t hold a candle to the Ghost,” Ezra said with sadness. “Hera would never want the Ghost on Imperial hands. She would have wanted the Rebellion to use it for our cause.”

Ahsoka sighed and nodded. “You are right. Let’s get it back.”

They flew to Lothal that same day, wasting no time. They went into the city taking care to avoid the patrols and went to the edge of the Imperial base. They saw the Ghost on one of the landing pads.

“We can use it to flee. If any ship is capable of crossing the blockade while being chased, it's the Ghost,” Ezra said with resolution.

They both headed stealthily towards the ship… but midway, Ezra stopped in his place, a chill ran down his spine. The Force was trying to tell him something. Trying to catch his attention.

“Ezra?”

“I…” he blinked in confusion, unable to explain what he was feeling.

“HEY!” someone yelled behind him. A Storm Trooper had glimpsed them, attracting the attention of his peers and raised their blasters.

“Dammit!” Ezra barely had time to throw himself to the side to avoid being shot. Ahsoka also took cover, trying not to take her lightsabers out and reveal themselves as Jedi.

Somewhere inside the base, Kallus was tensely reporting to the Inquisitor, who had seemingly lost interest on their talk. Something had caught his attention, but with the mask on, Kallus couldn’t tell exactly what. He dared not to ask because from the moment the new Inquisitor had arrived on Lothal Kallus could feel a great hatred towards his persona from him. Kallus didn’t want to give this man any excuse to cut his head off. At that moment, his comm activated.

“SIR! We got intruders on the west landing port. It seems like they are trying to steal a VCX-100 freighter!”

Kallus blinked. He knew that ship. Before he could say anything, the Inquisitor raised from his seat, igniting his red lightsaber.

“I'll deal will them. Send all available troops to stall them,” the Inquisitor ordered him.

“What-?” Kallus started but the blade came suddenly dangerously close to his throat. He stiffened.

“Do it,” it was the last warning. Kallus felt a chill down his spine and pure hatred coming from the Inquisitor. If he did not comply, he would be killed right there.

“As you wish.”

Ezra was returning fire when he noticed the growing number of Troopers showing up between them and the Ghost… And then they saw a red glow coming out of the doors of the base from their right. An inquisitor was running towards them.

“We will have to fight,” Ahsoka took her lightsabers. “We need to get to the Ghost, NOW.”

“I'll handle the Inquisitor,” Ezra said suddenly realizing their situation.

“What?”

“I can't block all those blasters without better Force reflexes, you know that. My fighting technique is the best thing I have right now. I can hold the Inquisitor back while you clear off a path.”

She gritted her teeth. He was right.

“Don't get killed,” she nodded and stood in the open deflecting blast after blast towards the troopers, knocking them out.

Ezra needed to buy time and not get beheaded while doing it. Yes, his lightsaber technique was mostly intact... but not having his full Force proficiency back was going to be a problem as many of the forms required almost supernatural precision and timing to pull off.

“Stick to the basics. Mix it up,” he murmured under his breath. This wasn't an Inquisitor he had met before so he had no idea of his fighting style. He had a feeling of apprehension on his stomach as he ran towards the Inquisitor.

-Yeah, this is dangerous, but there is no other way!- he told himself trying to dismiss the emotion. Ezra went all out with an aggressive approach, combining Form 1 and Form 2, surprising the Inquisitor who immediately fell back to a defensive style. Ezra was glad. It seemed the Inquisitor had not expected someone like him to be able to bring that into a fight. This was risky, but Ezra was almost sure he would be able to go toe to toe with an Inquisitor of a similar level. He knew he needed to dictate the terms of the fight and not give him one moment of respite... and yet...

Something was wrong.

The more he fought, the more the feeling of apprehension grew on him. Now that he had a better connection with the Force he could feel the alarms in the back of his mind. He needed to stop. He needed to get away. The Inquisitor sensed his hesitation and countered back. Ezra had suddenly lost the upper hand on their duel. In a desperate risky move, Ezra blocked then swirled around, rising his lightsaber, vertically slashing off the mask from the Inquisitors face. The inquisitor had jumped back just in time avoiding getting his face slashed too.

The mask fell. The Inquisitor turned to Ezra ready for more. Ezra saw him and his eyes went wide with horror as his whole body reeled back on a state of shock.

NO. IT CAN'T BE.

Ahsoka felt his fear through the Force, making her look back with worry.

“Ezra?”

Ezra couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

It was Kanan. Short hair. Tattoo marks on his face. Bright yellow eyes… Ezra's lightsaber fell from his hand and he didn't even notice.

“I can feel your despair. The dread…” Kanan narrowed his eyes with an evil pleased smirk.

“EZRA!” Ahsoka’s scream urged him into action but it seemed so far away and he couldn't look back. He could only see and hear HIM, approaching with the red lightsaber.

“Kanan,” Ezra managed to say. His voice was trembling, his body barely holding up. The name made the Inquisitor stop in his tracks and frown, perhaps surprised to hear the name again.

“...Wrong. Tenth Brother,” he shook his head.

“...No…” tears started falling from Ezra's eyes. He felt the world around him collapsing, the core of his being cracking under despair.

“Strange. You are not afraid of dying. What is it then?” Kanan asked curiously but Ezra just looked at him helplessly. “No matter... it ends here.”

“Snap out of it!” Ahsoka yelled running to him and felt a surge in the Force just like that day in the tower.

“NO!” Ezra cried out just as Kanan raised the lightsaber to strike him. Ezra released a huge Force push sending Kanan flying back in surprise. Ezra collapsed in the floor like last time but Ahsoka was there the next second.

“Stand up! We're leaving!” she picked his lightsaber and grabbed him by the wrist pulling him up. She had finished with the troopers blocking them from the Ghost but soon more would follow.

“No... Kanan!” Ezra weakly resisted.

“I can't fight him and defend you at the same time!”

“Kanan!” he was out of himself but Ahsoka was stronger.

“Move!”

“I have to-” he pleaded.

“He's an inquisitor now!” she was almost dragging him away.

“NO!” he cried out in despair, just as he caught glimpse of Kanan standing up with murderous hatred in his eyes. And that sight made something inside Ezra break and he let himself be guided into the Ghost without another word.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618783

[lids-writes]

These Grim Nights, Excerpt

I wrote this for the prompt: I hope you stay with me till the very end. Hope you enjoy!

TW: injury, blood, talk of death

----------

Ezra’s consciousness comes to him in fragments.  First it's the feelings, the pain. It’s always the pain.

It’s a sharp sting above his eyebrow, this time, accompanied with a deep ache in his back, and a cruel throbbing in his head.

Then there’s the warmth, and the weight, of Caleb's body, pressed tight against his own. The blonde is curled around Ezra’s arm, one leg thrown over Ezra’s waist, as if that alone can protect him. His blonde hair is still tied back, though the ponytail is way looser than usual, chunks of hair have slipped from the elastic, and are splayed across the pillow and Ezra’s chest, tickling the sleepy boys chin.

Ezra mumbles Caleb’s name, unintelligible and hoarse, but the boy wakes up anyways, as if he’s just been waiting.

He’s always waiting.

Caleb’s blue eyes open, then snap shut quickly as the sunlight startles him. Ezra tries to tug his arm free, and only then does Caleb really wake up, as he remembers the other boy’s presence.

Caleb pushes himself up quickly, making the hair elastics weak grip finally give in, it tumbles to the pillow, and Caleb’s blonde hair spills over his shoulder, pieces falling in his face.

Ezra doesn’t usually see him like this, it’s almost enough to make him smile.

Yet, Caleb doesn’t seem to be feeling the same joy, as he stares down at Ezra, his eyes nothing but concern. Ezra sighs, he’s tired of seeing that look in Caleb’s eyes, he’s tired of being the cause of it.

“Ezra,” Caleb whispers, bringing a hand to gently brush Ezra’s temple, just above the source of pain. “Who did this to you?” His movements stop, and his voice grows even quieter, even more afraid. “Was it Lilith?”

“I don’t know.” Ezra mumbles.

Caleb’s eyes fill with hurt. “Please don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.” He insists, tired, always tired. “How did I get here?”

The blondes face fills with a different kind of worry altogether, as his hand falls to Ezra’s shoulder. “Ez, you fell out of my tree, at like 1am.”

“Did I land on my face?”

“No, you...you already had that injury when you got here.” He sighs, and stands. Caleb scans the pillows for his hair elastic for a second before giving up, and grabbing a new one off his dresser.

As he tugs at his hair in the mirror, Ezra slowly sits up, despite his backs protests. He assumes that pain must be courtesy of the fall from the tree he doesn’t remember. His cloak has been tossed at the end of the bed, but he is still in all his other black clothes, his boots tossed haphazardly under the window.

“My scythe-”

“In my closet.” Caleb says, still pulling at his hair. “Had to hide it in case my dad...y’know.”

Came into your room, found out what I was, and had me arrested and killed on the spot?

Ezra wouldn’t blame Mr. Amberson. Maybe it would be better for Caleb, in the long run.

“Please stop thinking.” Caleb mutters, finally satisfied with his hair, he moves on to rooting for something in his backpack at the end of the bed. “Whatever your head is saying, it’s not true.”

Ezra looks away in shame, despite the fact that Caleb’s eyes aren't on him. Carefully, Ezra moves his hands to his forehead, frowning as he meets the large piece of gauze taped just above his left eyebrow, covering half his forehead. He feels like he should thank Caleb, but he doesn’t know how. He never will. He traces his own face with his fingers, lingering for a second on the little scars around his right eye, before his hands falls to his cheekbones, feeling for any traces of-

“I washed them off already.” Caleb says, looking up at Ezra.

“I’m sorry you had to-”

“I know they bother you more than they bother me.” He pulls his green hoodie from his backpack, quickly pulling it on. “I promise you any blood on your face right now is your own.” Caleb stares at the floor, anger in his eyes. “Not that that’s any better.”

But it is, Ezra thinks. Better than those cruel marks that stain his face. What better way to label someone a murderer then to smear it down their face with the blood of those they’ve killed? What better way then to remind them of who they are, of what they’ve done, then to force them to look upon it, every time they stumble across a mirror?

Ezra doesn’t voice his thoughts, he doesn’t need to make Caleb any more upset. 

The blond walks to Shakespeare’s bed, scratching the cats ears until he meows and stretches.

“Wake up, Ezra’s here.” He whispers. Ezra watches the scene and his heart does that familiar ache, the feeling of loving Caleb so much that it hurts. It hurts more than his back, more than the gash on his forehead.

And maybe, maybe it’s not the loving that hurts him, but the knowledge that it’s all too good to last.

Caleb pats the bed until Shakespeare jumps up, happily cuddling up to Ezra. This time, he can’t help the smile that breaks out on his lips.

“There you are.” Caleb whispers, relieved. He beams, and kisses Ezra so quick that the black haired boy doesn’t even have the time to kiss him back before he’s pulling away.

“Hey, wait…come back.” Ezra mumbles, reaching for Caleb's hand. 

“I need coffee Ez, I beg of you, let me go.”

Ezra pulls him back onto the bed, for one more kiss, deeper, and longer than the first one.

Caleb hums, putting a hand on Ezra’s chest and forcing himself to push away.

“I’m making coffee.” He insists. “And Shakespeare doesn’t want to see this, he’s too innocent.” Caleb gestures to the cat, still curled at Ezra’s side, staring up at the boys as if he knows.

Ezra snorts, pushing Caleb off him. “Whatever, go make your coffee.”

Caleb smiles, kissing Ezra’s forehead, then reaching up for the bookshelf above the pillows. “Which one are you reading right now?”

“Romeo and Juliet.”

“Ew, so cheesy.” Caleb teases, fishing it off the shelf and handing it to Ezra.

“I don’t like it either, don’t like how they die in the end.” He mutters. “Don’t like how even though I know it’s going to end bad, I still have hope that it...won't.”

Caleb thinks for a minute. “It’s tragic, yeah.” He says carefully. “But, they’re together, until the very end. There’s something...inspiring about that, I guess. Even if it is tragic idiocy.” He tries to finish with the joke, but Ezra doesn’t laugh, staring at the book in his hands.

“I hope you stay with me, until the very end.” He whispers, so quiet Caleb almost doesn’t hear it. 

“Hey,” Caleb whispers, his face falling, “Don’t say it like that.” He pauses,  “Like the end is coming soon, like it’s...already on its way.”

But it is, Ezra can feel it. The end has been running straight for them since the very beginning.

Its hunting them, chasing them, and they’re getting tired of running.

But they are tragic idiots, and despite it all, they still have hope.

taglist: @mousetache @mountain-c @purpleshadows1989 @xayideink @leicawri @writerzerkvalatieri @burntpyre @emily-ann1559 @dam-those-words @writingqueensworld @commasinsidequotes @little-insanity @angelolytle

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Okay so apparently I am not done with ranting about Jedi Knight and a World Between Worlds so here is another probably stupid long post talking about my thoughts on it all, how I would personally have gotten Kanan out of the picture while still keeping him alive, and my thoughts on how if all of star wars would have fallen apart if he did not die (spoiler alert, it really would not have) how I would have tackled it to make the episode less terrible and forced feeling, so without further ado here we go.

So it’s no secret that Kanan’s death pissed me off and broke my soul and I still haven’t forgiven Filoni and Freddie (he basically demanded Kanan die) for it. In some ways I understand why they wanted Kanan to die, they needed him to be written off in a way that no one could question why he wasn’t in the OT. I might have personally told the complainers to go pound sand because it was written before Rebels so of course they wouldn’t be in it but whatever. Regardless, I’ve always felt that laziness was a huge reason Filoni just went along with killing Kanan, laziness and a desire to just finish Rebels so he could focus on Clone Wars instead which is frustrating but that’s a whole other rant and this is already getting long and I haven’t even started it yet.

Killing Kanan was quick and convenient, and honestly Kanan’s character deserved so much better. Time after time we have seen characters who have suffered and been hurt who finally start to claw their way out and find happiness, only to be cruelly and often brutally killed just as they find that happiness and people praise it for ‘perfectly ending their character arc’ which pisses me off, when people achieve their lifelong dream they don’t suddenly kneel over and die, so why do we have characters who we often painfully relate to die like this? It doesn’t make sense in a time when we demand ‘realism’ in our media about space wizards with glowing swords because that is definitely super realistic and we need to keep it super real (sarcasm). There are so many ways to have written Kanan off without having to kill him, and here are just a few ways.

The easiest and even more convenient way to have gotten rid of him without killing him would have simply been to have had Kanan follow after Ezra in Family Reunion and Farewell and have him help Ezra hold back Thrawn as the Purgill took them away. But that is also pretty lazy and feels a tiny bit forced (less then how they did it as is but I digress). If you want something that feels more organic, Kanan could have very easily been horribly injured in the explosion on the fuel depot and put in a 5 year coma.

Now before you brush it off as stupid or whatever, hear me out. Kanan did not die because it made sense for his character, don’t let what Freddie said fool you, Kanan still had so much growth and potential to give. His death served no other purpose then to get rid of him easily and to make Freddie happy. There was no reason narratively to kill him, not for ‘realism’ because so many had died already and for fucks sake this is at the end of the day a family show it doesn’t need to be ‘realistic’ (it’s also a bit ridiculous to want realism for aforementioned reasons). Not for growth for Ezra, he already lost his biological parents, he didn’t need to watch his adoptive father die (twice!), and definitely not to get him out of the way.

But pretending for a moment Ezra ‘needed to learn a lesson’ why? Why does so much media center learning to grow up around traumatic deaths of parental figures? Do writers think people don’t grow up until their parents die? Are we all children who need to learn until something awful happens to our parents? If this is the case then Freddie I have some really bad news for you. Children learn and grow because of their parents. Good parents teach their children how to grow and be better people. They nurture them and love them and the idea that they only can grow after seeing their parent die horrible needs to well die.

In a time of misery we need hope, we need stories that show us that it is not all pointless, that working hard and staying strong actually means something. That hope isn’t for nothing. We deserve stories of hope and joy not death and pain. But if someone even higher up really needed Kanan to die, it could have been done so much better.

My biggest issue with how the show handled his death was and is the fact that Ahsoka was in essence brought back to life immediately after Kanan was brutally murdered and worse, the way the entire event was framed it was very much implied Kanan was killed for the sole purpose of bringing Ahsoka back, Kanan was basically turned into a human sacrifice for Ahsoka. Her life was deemed more important then Kanan’s because…? She’s a woman, I guess? Her life was in no way shape or form more valuable or important than Kanan’s, no one had any right to decide she was and force Kanan to die for her. That’s wrong, so horrible wrong and I cannot fathom why the fandom is so in love with all of this and how it went down.

All of this could have been so easily avoided though by simply changing the order of the episodes. Had a World Between worlds happened before Jedi Knight, Kanan’s death is no longer a human sacrifice and a painfully tragic death. When looking into the portals in A World Between Worlds and Family Reunion and Farewell, Ezra see’s Kanan’s death and the last moments before his parents are arrested. The entire flow of the episodes would still work if these scenes where flipped and Palpatine showed Ezra his parents the first and then showed him Kanan’s death. In some ways it may have worked even better. If Ahsoka and Ezra where still alone in the World Between Worlds, Ezra could have tried to grab his parents and save them but Ahsoka could have stopped him. Ezra then would not have had a chance to learn to let go because in his head he could still have saved them, he would have worked had Ahsoka not interfered. So when Palpatine presents Ezra with a chance to save his master Ezra would be tempted, he would likely once again reach out to save his master but stop himself and remember the lesson Kanan tried to teach him about sacrifice. Though it would hurt he would let go and foil Palpatines plans.

The line Ezra said about missing his parents in the World between worlds had always felt awkward and forced, and Filoni himself said that’s how Palpatine learned about Ezra missing his parents and tempted him with that. But if he knew enough about Ezra to show Kanan’s death, he should know about his parents and could have showed them to him in the world and then after Kanan’s death he could have shown Ezra his death.

Though I hate Kanan dying, changing the order of the episodes would have massively improved it all and made it much less enraging to have Ahsoka live then to have Kanan coming back mockingly dangled in front of us only for it to be torn away. Kanan, the show, and the fans of the show deserved so much better then we got. The show deserved a well thought out and full final season, not the short rushed one we where given the forced Kanan’s death to happen solely for the sake of so called ‘realism’ and to just tie up lose ends quickly.

What are your thoughts on all of this?