#she will return knife to Kanan

[starwarspossum]

Beany morning routine

orig pic

[nonhumanhottie]

Rise of skywalker rewatch

I'm so excited and nervous

Dude the crawl is crazy that's too much front heavy information even for star wars

Kylo in his ratty era I miss his lucious hair

Do the movies ever have holocrons or wayfinders in them before this??

Like I think Palpatine returning could have been slay if they had built it up but nooo

Kylo why would you want another master isn't that why you killed your first?

Everything with Finn and poe is perfect and I love that they're spicer this movie

Oh Leia it's so clear you're not actually in these scenes you're talking to no one

Rey and Poe's fight is one of my favourite scenes it's so fun and fluid

Somehow baby somehow that Palpapussy is back slaying the game

This plot is out of control already and the first act isn't even over

Hux is just ready to fucking kill Kylo and I so stan him for that

Chewie needs some damn conditioner

'I'm just Rey, anywhere else I'd be a slay'

Kylo leave Rey the fuck alone challenge

Now who is this mysterious well dressed man hmmm

I hope they do a comic of Luke and Lando trying to find the wayfinder

'They fly now!' makes me so fucking angry lmao stormtroopers are based on clones who are based on Mandalorians!

'Bones. I don't like bones' is such an underrated line from Poe lmao

'Horrible things happened with this knife' Rey babes you're holdng a weapon that was used to slay younglings

Threepio is great in this so many banger lines

Chewie got got!

Letting my housemate think Chewie died lol

The way the trio hold hands is so precious

Kinda live for Zorii I love someone putting Poe in his place

Zorii and Rey being friends iconic

Casually sneaking onto a star destroyer

Rey has bad communication skills my God call her out

Rey saying 'I don't want this' while Kylo torments here is so gross

Hux just as chaotic as Poe and Finn lmao and so petty I live

How would this blade have even been made like you're telling me the debris hasn't moved in 30 years?

Do love Jannah even though it feels like her choice is taken away by making the Force tell her to do the right thing

Finn and Poe are arguing! The boys are fighting!!

I wish we saw more of evil Rey she's so slay

Love how there's no music where they fight

Dude I fucking hate when Rey heals him like you could have taken out the Supreme Leader!!

Chewie's reaction fucking kills me

Kylo's change of heart is so fast like shut up

Poe looks exhausted but him talking to Lando is so special

Luke and Leia should have told Rey about her lineage if they knew though

Oh I do love Luke and his cheeky little smile

'What our mothers and fathers faught for' yes they did Poe and your mother and father were hot and cool!

Poe is flying with Artoo I love that

I wish Rey wasn't separated from her friends in the final battle

I fucking do love Palps though he's just such a delight

Kylo how did you get here and why aren't you talking??

The knights are like bros before hoes @ Kylo

Truly Han Solo's son not a single fucking brain cell

The 'on your left' of it all

The scream I scrumpt when I heard Kanan's voice I always forget

Yes girl fucking slay Palpatine

I hate the way Kylo holds her get your hands of her fucking waist

The kiss genuinely disgusts me lmao I get such ick vibes

And then Kylo dies and escapes all consequence

Ewoks!!!

Connie and Rose together... perhaps girlfriends?

Lesbian kiss!!! And older lesbians at that we love to see it

he trio hugging at the end is genuinely one of my favourite shots in all of Star Wars I hate that it's in such a bad movie lmao

This ending is sweet. Not deserved, but sweet. I like them being happy. d

[kanerallels]

For my 501st follower celebration, as requested by @auroramagpie here, no. 85 on the list: a The Dragon Prince Au I started and have no real intentions of finishing. Enjoy what there is of it!

Of all the absolutely ridiculous situations Kanan Jarrus had gotten himself into throughout the years, stuck in the middle of the Midnight Desert with little food or water and no idea how he was going to get out was probably at the top of the list. 

He’d had a good enough reason— being chased by Moonshadow assassins and Sunfire soldiers was always a good reason to go pretty much anywhere. But it had been barely two hours before he’d known that he was in big trouble. The scorching heat scrambled his thoughts, but Kanan had known that if he didn’t make it to an oasis by sundown, he would be in big trouble.

It was an hour from sundown when he collapsed.

Facedown in the coarse black sand, Kanan tried to remember why he’d thought sneaking back into Xadia had been a good idea in the first place. Something about research and discovering more about the elves, who the humans had been at war with for years? But all his mind could actually focus on was how thirsty he was.

Made some good time, he thought, attempting to marshall his thoughts. I should keep going. Something in the back of his head was trying to struggle through the fog, to remind him of… something. But his legs were heavy and with the sun getting lower, it was approaching a temperature that wasn’t instantly classified as scalding. It’s a good time to rest, Kanan decided.

And then he heard something hiss and suddenly remembered the other reason sane people don’t travel through the Midnight Desert.

Soulfang serpent! Shoving himself to his feet, Kanan scrambled backwards as a black snake burst out of the sand, its glowing green eyes fixed on him. “Karabast,” Kanan mumbled, racking his brain for a spell, for any possible way of fending this thing off. He’d lost his sword when the Sunfire elves had first caught up with him.

The serpent coiled itself, ready to lunge— and then jerked hard, and crumpled to the ground. Gaping at it, Kanan saw a knife embedded in its spine, pinning it to the ground.

“Are you alright?” someone shouted.

Kanan turned towards the voice— and yep, he was definitely dead or dying, or at least losing his mind, because he was pretty sure he saw an angel flying towards him. 

And that was when he passed out.

He was vaguely aware of time passing, although how much he couldn’t be sure. Once he opened his eyes to see the angel bending over him, her face twisted in concern. The only coherent thought in his mind slipped from his lips before he could stop himself— not that he was sure he could have, even if he tried. “If you’re a dream, I’m not sure I want to wake up.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she spoke Kanan was already sinking back into blissful unconsciousness. His dreams swirled with vipers and elves and the fierce hot sun, swept away by swift and gentle wings.

Slowly, he struggled his way out of the thick fog of dream land, clawing his way to wakefulness. Dragging his eyelids open, Kanan blinked at the light of the sun shining through… leaves?

He pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes, and took stock of his surroundings. Palm trees dotted the sand around him, and at a distance he could see a series of stone spires set in a circle, a transparent blue film stretching between them. This must be one of the oases, Kanan guessed as he spotted the large pool of water a few yards away, glimmering in the sunlight.

Climbing to his feet, he noted that he’d been laying on a makeshift bed, crafted from palm fronds and a cloak. A strangely familiar cloak, he realized— it was his. He’d dropped it, along with his pack and his sword, when he’d been ambushed by the Sunfire elves.

And yet here it was. And as Kanan glanced around, he spotted his pack propped against another palm tree not too far away. His sword had been returned to its sheath and was set next to it. No sign of the other sword, Kanan noted as he moved over to the pack, pausing to rummage through it and make sure everything was still there. Which it was.

He’d only been awake a few hours, and he was already dealing with a number of mysteries. Judging by the position of the sun, it was late morning, so he’d survived the night— assuming it had only been one night. But who had brought him here?

Unbidden, a memory sprang to mind— a beautiful woman with wings and bright green eyes. Don’t be ridiculous, Kanan told himself. He had to have been hallucinating when he’d seen… well. He felt silly thinking she was an angel, but there really wasn’t any other logical conclusion that he could think of.

Doesn’t matter for now, he decided as he strapped on his sword. He’d refill his canteen at the oasis, see what he could scrounge up for food, and then figure out his next plan.

He made his way down to the water, first filling his canteen, then splashing his face and forearms with the cool water. It soothed his sunburn— which wasn’t as bad as he’d assumed it would be. Vaguely, Kanan recalled someone covering his burns in something cool and herbal smelling. Someone was here. But who? And where are they now?

“You’re awake.”

The low, melodic female voice sounded out of nowhere, and Kanan’s heart skipped a beat at the sound. Dropping his canteen, he spun around— and froze. He was staring at the angel from his dream. 

She stood a few yards away, but Kanan could tell she was a little shorter than him. She was also an elf— he realized that a split second after he saw her. So, not an angel, he thought wryly. Her pointed ears protruded from vibrant green hair twisted back in two braids, and her skin was a slightly lighter shade of green. Pale circular marks curved across her face. Her clothing was simple— she wore a leather vest, a white shirt underneath, orange pants and, oddly enough, a leather pad strapped to her shoulder.

And then there were her wings. The feathers were a tawny golden brown, stippled with flecks of green and orange. They were broad and clearly strong and incredibly beautiful.

In fact, she was incredibly beautiful in general, and Kanan suddenly realized that he’d been staring at her for far too long. And that he hadn’t even thought to draw his sword, despite the fact that she wore several knives on her belt. 

She arched a brow at him. “You can still talk, right?”

“Words fail me,” Kanan managed.

Her smile was like a sunrise after a cold night. “So they do.”

Marshaling his thoughts, Kanan said, “I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined you or not, honestly. Thank you, though, for saving my life— do I get a name?”

Tilting her chin up, she eyed him for a moment. “Hera,” she finally said. “And you are?”

“Hera,” Kanan repeated, savoring the word. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kanan. Can you tell me where we are? And how I can best get out of the desert?”

To his disappointment, her smile slipped away, replaced by a frown. “That depends,” she said, folding her arms. “What is a human doing on this side of the Breach? Or did you forget that the elves are at war with you?”

Karabast. Ironically, Kanan had momentarily forgotten about that. “I’m not here to hurt anyone—” he started, stepping forward.

Her hand shot to her belt, plucking a knife from its sheath and holding it at the ready. “Don’t take another step,” she said, locking eyes with him in a steely glare. “Lose the sword, now.”

“Okay, I will,” Kanan said, moving slowly to unbuckle his sword belt as his mind raced. “Look, I promise I’m not here to cause anyone any harm. I just came here to—”

“Steal?” Hera asked, lifting a familiar object— a sword, with a simple hilt holding a blue gem. As she unsheathed it, Kanan could see it glowed blue with heat. “What is a human doing with a Sunforge blade?” she asked coolly.

“Where did you find that?” Kanan asked, deciding to start with the basics as he dropped his belt into the sand.

“With the rest of your dumped gear,” Hera said calmly. “It was unusual enough that, luckily for you, I decided to search a little longer and see if I could find the owner. Not long afterwards, I spotted you.” Returning the blade to its sheath, she added, “And not two hours ago, I bumped into a group of Sunfire elves, searching for a thief.”

Kanan’s stomach lurched, but he kept his face calm. “And you told them that you found me?”

Her gaze flicked away from his, only for a second but long enough that Kanan realized what she was going to say before she spoke. “No. Not yet. I wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself first.”

(Author's note: for what it's worth I'm pretty sure he has a good reason. Do I remember the reason? No, no I do not. It might have actually been a sword that he commissioned, but the Sunfire elves found out that a human was buying it (and a really annoying one at that) and decided it was time to murder him a little bit, as you do.)

[jayne-hecate-writer]

Star Wars thus far including all of the offshoots and fill ins, needed or not.

Ho-hum... Star Wars critique, always a good chance to say something controversial that sets off a snowball of hatred that gathers pace and victims along the way.

So Spoilers ahead... Read at your own peril.

I have just watched the Disney Plus series Tales of the Jedi and was left with mixed feelings. There is no doubt that it is a beautifully done series, with some scenes of real emotional resonance, but there were also some scenes that seemed contrived to a level that was almost silly. Let's start with a breakdown of the series and episode one, the birth of Ahsoka. Infant Ahsoka is strapped to her Mother's chest while the woman goes out hunting and also to teach her infant daughter about the realities of life and death. With the loud crack of a rifle that could not have been healthy for Ahsoka's ears (where ever they would be under her head tails), the woman takes down a creature that looks to be half deer and half kangaroo. With the slowly dying creature breathing it's last breaths, Mummy dearest takes her hunting knife and pierces the creature's heart, while making Ahsoka watch. While preparing the carcass of her kill, from the forest a large space tiger stalks them and after a brief fight, steals Ahsoka away as a tasty snack to be eaten away from her Mother. All does not go well for the creature and after licking it's wounds inflicted by the woman's knife, the animal snarls and steps forward to eat the child, whereupon the space tiger is suddenly tamed by the infant Jedi and returns the child to her parents... Who promptly report and then lose their daughter to a cult of religious maniacs with teachings so unhealthy, they are repeatedly betrayed by or to yet more fundamentalist nutjobs known as Sith lords. The joy of religion.

Which leads us nicely into the fall of the grumpy Jedi Knight, Count Dooku, when he sees first hand where the republic is failing it's people, because quite obviously seeing corruption and poverty in politics is all that it takes to drive an otherwise nice Jedi into the embrace of an evil maniac. I will admit that it was interesting seeing Dooku working with his young padowan Qui-Gon Jinn and then later seeing him along side his fellow Jedi Knight Mace Windu, but I am forced to ask, was this something that we really needed? But this was not the most ridiculous aspect of the story thus far, oh no, it is about to get a whole lot more silly. Having seen Dooku repel the attack of Yoda in Attack of the Clones, we get to see him standing off with Yaddle, a woman of the same species as Yoda (Grogu's Mummy? Oh come on, Have you not considered this given that this is Star Wars, where every character is unfathomably related rather tenuously to someone else in the story? It is like Hill-billy space wizards in this saga.) but with the ability to speak clearly in normal sentences. Does this imply that Yoda is perhaps a little brain addled or perhaps maintains his distinctive and often torturous speech pattern by choice, maybe just to be a dick? This is something that our friends at Robot Chicken have previously asked, when in a short skit they had a Clone Trooper asking Yoda to make his commands more precise to save time.

With Yaddle squished by a giant grinning, toothed door and then sliced in twain by Dooku's lightsabre, we move back again to Ahsoka. This is for her to take a combat test, a terribly important combat test no doubt given that there is a lot of the self aggrandised Jedi Council (A small point of irritation, why the fuck was Kanan and his Master Depa Billaba there to see Ahsoka take her test? Oh, she was on the Jedi Council too, but how does this not fuck with the Rebels time line of him meeting Ahsoka for the first time in the future?) there to see it. As always we see Anakin running late and when Ahsoka passes her test, he is his usual toxic self and can barely bring himself to offer her his congratulations on her achievement. Crybaby Anakin instead insists that he offers her some 'real training' in the form of a group of Clones shooting at her, the same Clones she then faces after Order 66. Hearing Jesse apologise to her for stunning her, was both hilarious and heart wrenching, especially when they cut to Ahsoka and Rex on the crashing Venator destroyer from the final show in the Clone Wars series.

I may sound a little harsh with this next statement, but to my mind this was not a scene we really needed in the cannon and the result was that this felt like them pandering to the question of how she was able to survive Order 66, even though we saw her fighting for her life about the doomed vessel. Yes, it was poignant, but did it do anything other than answer a question that was only ever asked by the most irritated of Clone Wars critics? The final episode of the Jedi Tales series presented us with Ahsoka at Padmé's funeral, which they imply was heavily policed by Clone Troopers, none of which we saw in the movie. When she is spotted by Bail Organa, she vanishes into the crowd, only for him to find her several seconds later. They have a brief discussion about fighting the Empire and we see the defeated and spiritually broken young woman, no doubt with major PTSD, setting off with Rex once again. I did wonder if we would see her spending a brief moment with the Bad Batch, but no, she flees to live on a farm that is being crushed by the Empire. But as stated in Kenobi, the Jedi hunt themselves and cannot help but use their force powers to help people and Ahsoka rescues a colleague from an agricultural accident, revealing her abilities to the locals. Obviously, a sullen and put upon young man (does Filoni feel guilty for enjoying so much male privilege that he feels the need to constantly point out that men are toxic snitches who will turn everyone into the Empire?) grasses Ahsoka up to the Empire who dispatch a fabulous and terrifying looking Inquisitor. However, before we could even begin to get our hopes up, he was almost immediately defeated by an unarmed Ahsoka. He was such a great looking character, he deserved more than the end of Maul like take down he was quickly given.

So what was the point of this show? We know that Ahsoka is Fulcrum in Rebels and that she refused to train Grogu in Mando, yet later told Rey that she had all of the Jedi in her during the ridiculous Rise of Skywalker. Maybe this small series was a prequel to her own show which is coming at some point soon in the future? Maybe this is to explain a possible future appearance in the fantastic Andor show? Or just maybe it was some enjoyable story telling by Filoni, about one of his most beloved characters? This is entirely possibly given that Filoni is being hailed as the saviour of Star Wars by many fans and thus he has been given almost a free reign to create whatever stories he likes and to be honest, I am entirely fine with this because whatever he does, he does it with his heart full of the love of Star Wars. Bless his little Cowboy hat. I did very much enjoy the humour of Rex, Jesse and the boys stood in a circle, shooting their collective loads into Ahsoka... Oh God, that has just created a vision in my head that I really did not want, nor can now get rid of. I think that I just brought up some sick into my mouth!

Ahsoka bukkake aside, it was just a bit of harmless fun. Andor however is in every way that a show can be, utterly perfect. If you disagree with me on this point it is because Andor was not made for you, it was made entirely for me and maybe one or two select fans. I swear to you, this show has everything I love. For example I love the slow burning build up in tension with each episode. I love the subtle Easter eggs dropped into some of the scenes. I really love the complete lack of laser sword wielding religious zealots, but most of all, I love Andor himself. He is flawed and angry and clearly gets himself into some very silly situations, but so what he is Cassian Andor, the dark and brooding Rebel Spy to be. It was in the opener of the series where we see him effectively murder two space rozzas, which was beautifully done. We meet the two cops, who were clearly corrupt, in a brothel and right away they are awful to Cassian, clearly hoping to use their power to get one over on some poor sap hoping to get laid. Cassian leaves and is followed out by the rotten rozzas whereupon he fights back and one of them is killed in the brawl. But as the surviving one knelt before Cassian, begging for his life, I felt my own heart stop and his death was fucking brutal. This is dark and gritty and dark, powerful stuff. This is also to my knowledge the first time that Star Wars has talked about sex workers, which is clearly a thriving business in the Galaxy far far away. Given all that we know about the human species and all of the associated quirks, kinks and weirdos, it is bound to happen that some man (so shoot me for being a misandrist!) somewhere is going to froth at the gusset at the chance to screw some space pussy. Mind you, if Asaaj Ventress arrived at my door looking for a hook up, no wedding ring on my finger would stop me!

Andor also gave us the first ever “SHIT!” rather than the more kid friendly “Poodoo”. The harsh defeated way the word was delivered by the actor in a lovely Scottish accent was again just perfect and this was not the only low grade swear word used in this series. If you use subtitles, as I do, you will have noticed that Cassian calls a broken piece of tech “crap”. There is also several uses of the word bastard or variations there of. But shit is a great word and if used correctly in a screen play, there are no other words that can portray such a sudden and catastrophic failure for a character. That one simple word was uttered and suddenly we knew that this character was right up the creek and very much without a paddle. Yes, yes, I know, Star Wars is for kids... So explain all of the murders, decapitations, torture, racism, violence and religious intolerance? Is that really suitable for nice family entertainment? If you said yes and can let that go without further comment, then a simple, well used and perfectly timed “Shit��� is not only welcome, it is to be applauded.

What this current crop of Star Wars is doing though is tying the whole saga together and it is achieving this in ways that are often gentle, occasionally brutal and more often beautiful. Kenobi at moments was heart breaking, but towards the end deeply uplifting. The book of Boba Fett was visual chewing gum, but still a lot of fun. The fabulous Mandalorian storyline is clearly going to tie the original saga to the sequels and I am very happy for it to do that, I quite liked the sequels, well seven and eight mainly. We can all agree that Episode nine was a cluster fuck of a movie that felt more like a platform quest game than a well thought out movie, but it still had some really fun moments and our first real LGBT on screen moment. Which brings me back to Andor and their portrayal of a normal (post genocide of your entire family by a despotic regime!) lesbian relationship. Vel and Cinta are a lovely couple, both complex and loving towards each other. Yet having just watched Episode eight, we see them pushed apart again by the struggle against the Empire and I just know that definitely one or maybe both of them are going to come to a sad end. Broken hearts are a great way to fuel a rebellion.

With four episodes of Andor left to go, I am excited to see where they go next. Obviously it is going to end up with Andor working as a spy for the Rebellion and then his eventual sacrifice along with Jyn Urso. However, we are yet to see him release K2SO from Imperial bondage and we are yet to see him gain his fabulous U-Wing transport. So there is a lot of space for them to fill with story, which can only be a good thing, even if the outcome is so painfully sad for Cassian.

I have mentioned Kenobi in passing and it was a lovely series, completely stolen by the young girl portraying a child Leia. She was fantastic and it would greatly sadden me if we never see her again in role. There is not much more that Kenobi can say, but I am sure that if demand was there, they would provide. However, with Ahsoka still to come and likely put an end to the questions left by Rebels, we still have an awful lot of fabulous Star Wars to look forwards to, including the series Acolyte, which hints at a Dark Side protagonist... I cannot wait.

It is truly a wonderful time to be a Star Wars fan.

[nimsajlove]

My family

To beat my writers block, I wanted to write something about an idea I had after first seeing the bb episode about Hera. I will collect all these storys in an rebels-au. It is very similar to the brothers-au, but without the BIG fix it parts. Order 66 did happen, the Empire rose but at least Ahsoka finds some of her brothers.

ao3         rebels-au

„Seelos huh? Are you sure?“, asked a tired voice and all heads turned to the door. The Ghost, the Marauders, and Ahsoka's little freighter stood around a campfire, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Two crews sat opposite each other in the glow of the fire. Omega, who was sitting between Hera and Echo, looked briefly at Ahsoka Tano, the togruta she had only met a few rotations ago. Her keen gaze slid over the group once before she pushed away from her ship, came down the ramp and plopped onto the floor next to Echo.

Omega had never seen her brother so relaxed. Almost happy! He smiled when Tano thoughtfully ran a hand through his gray curls. Nobody else was allowed to do that! Tech lowered his datapad and took off his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose with two fingers with a sigh. He looked tired but replied, „Of course. After all, the other clones are not too difficult to track down.“ „Mhm…“, Tano replied, leaning her head back. Her blue eyes blinked thoughtfully, Omega had never seen such a intense colour in her life before! Echo next to her grinned a little further and poked her on the side with his artificial hand. „Don't blame him, he's too old to change.“, he joked, it made Omega incredibly happy. The agent suddenly snorted, everyone looked up with surprise in their eyes. The sound of her bright laugh was unexpected, it sounded beautiful. Echo's grin widened, if it was possible at all.

Omega let her gaze wander, it came to rest on her father. Hunter sat between Tech and Crosshair, also watching Echo and Tano. He seemed satisfied with what he saw, his scarred hands rested open and relaxed on his knees and a faint smile curled his lips. When he felt Omega's gaze on him he returned her small smile, even if there was a concerned shadow in his eyes. Omega wasn't sure why, and her stomach jumped at the thought that Hunter might once again know more than she did.

Crosshair, on the other hand, didn't seem like laughing at all, he sat close to Hunter's side and watched the Jedi Hera had brought over. Every little laugh or the raise of a hand made him grumble and show his teeth. The latter only made Omega grin. He might be in a bad mood, but wasn't really looking for trouble. But Kanan... Omega knew Kanan and she had made the careful decision not to tell him anything about her homeworld. Or her brothers and her father, who helped her out every now and then. He seemed to see it as an act of treason, for hours he stared in silence and ignored every attempt of the others to improve his mood. How would he react if he knew, that Boba Fett and Omega were also something like siblings?

„Kriff! Kanan, pull yourself together.“, Hera growled after Kanan gave the clones another particularly sharp and cold look. Omega knew he didn't like clones, but for some reason he seemed particularly disapproving of her family. Omega kept sliding one hand to her blaster pistol, even if she didn't believe that there would actually be an argument... „Kanan, just a word with you.“, Tano growled suddenly and Omega automatically slipped her weapon into her hand. The woman in front of them suddenly had a dangerous twinkle in her eyes and when Kanan stood up stiffly, she stalked around the ship and disappeared from view.

Omega slid up to Echo, he stared at the ship with furrowed eyebrows. Hunter came closer too. „Should we go?“, he asked softly and Echo shook his head, that was answer enough for Hunter and he sank down on the floor next to them. Echo, however, didn't seem to relax and Omega followed his gaze while her fingers checked the position of her vibro knife without having to think about it. „What's wrong with her?“, she asked softly and Hunter raised a hand in a vague gesture of uncertainty, Echo didn't seem too sure either. „She is very tense, I think the behavior of the other Jedi has just snapped her patience.“, he muttered and Omega raised an eyebrow. Even if Tano had obviously cried herself to sleep on the first night they had spent on the same ship, Omega would never have taken the older woman for someone who just snapped at others.

 „Kanan, these are our friends!“ „They killed my master! And then they tried to kill me too!“, growled the younger Jedi and Ahsoka massaged her temples, she had to stay calm. She was older, she was more sensible. She had to be like a rock in a fast river. „They don't deserve to be here.“ And there went the stone. Ahsoka felt as if lightning had struck her, split her open and exposed all that forgotten anger and fear. She pulled her lips back, revealing two rows of snow-white teeth, and let out a growl. „They saved my brother and met Rex.“, she insisted and Kanan stubbornly pushed his chin out. She had no energy for this! „And you would just trust them like that?“ Tears welled up in her eyes without her permission, it was all too much! She had been looking for Rex for YEARS, for any sign if he was still alive! And then instead she stumbled upon Echo as if he had simply risen from the dead. „With my life!“ The campfire suddenly fell silent and Ahsoka realized that she hadn't been particularly quiet. She and Kanan froze and waited until the others quietly resumed their conversations.

Ahsoka sighed deeply, all of this was giving her a headache. „Please, Kanan. Give them a chance, they're all that's left of my family.“, she asked quietly and Kanan thawed, he noticed that Ahsoka looked incredibly old. He hadn't remembered the responsible but cheeky girl like that. Even if he had met her just a couple of times. „But you are part of the rebellion. A part of us.“, he took to a soothing path, to his horror Ahsoka's shoulders sagged even further and she rubbed her face with one hand, the back of her hand running suspiciously close under her eye. She was a warrior, her scars and armor proved it, and yet she kept her shoulders curled up. Deep sadness and loneliness rolled from her towards him in waves and Kanan had the feeling of drowning in it. That was not fair! Ahsoka was the older of them, she was the leader. The one with a cool head and sharp mind!

Someone tapped the hull of the ship gently and Kanan winced while Ahsoka just took a deep breath and straightened her back. Before his eyes she brushed off all the pain and loneliness, her gaze hardened. Unyielding. This argument was over and Kanan sensed that further contradictions from him would not be tolerated. Then he glanced over at the clone that had joined them. It was the one with the prostheses all over his body, Echo? His gaze was so immensely calm it almost scared Kanan. He just wanted a reason to be angry! Because without that spark of anger, he was actually just terrified!

 „I'll be leaving at dawn.“, Ahsoka decided and fixed her gaze resolutely forward, Echo let out a hum. Somewhere between worried and content, it made Ahsoka's heart skip a beat. Damn it, she was an adult and an agent, and very capable of handling stress in a healthy and sensible way. No need to react like a child as soon as someone seemed to offer her some comfort! „Hera is asking for you.“, Echo informed Kanan, his voice emphasized calm, and watched as the other Jedi marched around the ship. As soon as the observer was gone, Ahsoka held out the loneliness and the panicked pounding of her heart no longer than the blink of an eye. She rushed forward and wrapped her long arms around Echo's center, smelling his familiar scent, and giving up fighting the tears. She was so damn tired.

„Oh vod’ika, it's okay.“, Echo mumbled softly and wrapped his arms around Ahsoka's shoulders. When he put a hand between her montrals she shuddered and buried her nose in the back of his neck, somewhere in the back of his mind Echo registered that she was almost taller than him. He felt as thick drops dripped from her chin onto his neck and his heart contracted convulsively. He had been right, that had been too much in such a short time. „I got you...“ He hadn't had a little padawan with him in years, who clung to his side after the battle and trembled and waited for the others to return as well. But that didn't matter, it was like muscle memory to gently stroke with his artificial hand over her back and waiting until the heavy breaths against his throat calmed down. He rocked them both gently back and forth while standing and Ahsoka let out a small, tired sigh. Relief flooded him, almost as violent as the second he first saw her a few rotations ago. His sister was still beneath the sharp look, the gleaming teeth, and the scars. „I'll bring him back.“, she muttered hoarsely and Echo smiled and leaned his cheek against one of her montrals, she was too big to put his chin in the hollow between. „Of course you will. Who else would?“

[doopcafe]

Star Wars Rebels: Jedi Night (4x10)

Summary: The family gets together to rescue Hera from Governor Pryce. 

Spoilers Alert...! 

Comments: Kanan asks Ezra to lead the mission to rescue Hera because suddenly him having the hots for sexy-tentacles Hera is an issue. Why? Is it because they kissed in front of the kids? (Editor’s note: ‘cause he dies.)

Governor Pryce keeps a torture device in her office like a Bond villian that mixes work and play. Thrawn enters as Pryce is busy electrocuting Hera and he asks Hera to explain a piece of the artwork he stole from her, revealing that Hera once had a brother that died when she was young. He suggests she’s an adversary, which is admittedly a bit generous towards Hera, but—repeating what I said before—this would have been a good direction to take both their characters. 

There’s a weird montage of the family making low-tech gliders to fool the high-tech security equipment employed by the Empire and then Kanan... dry shaves his face with a dull knife. Dude. 

Also, now he looks dumb. He was old and wise looking but now he looks like a punk-ass bitch... why’d you do that bro? (Editor’s note: ‘cause he dies). Also, Kanan’s gonna join the family in their low-tech rescue attempt, but he doesn’t help make a glider during the montage scene? That’s low. The gliders are successful at defying the laws of physics and work exactly as the plot needs them to, depositing the family nearby Hera’s torture chamber. 

Kanan talks all weird and... is this guy going to sacrifice himself? (Editor’s note: Yes). He successfully rescues a drugged-up Hera as Ezra/Sabine steal a shuttle. The escape scene between Hera and Kanan is cute and fun and was a harsh reminder that we simply didn’t get as many of these types of scenes as we should have.

Kanan/Hera... Kanera? Oh, I like that. Kanera directs the OP!glider towards the fuel depot so that they can stand atop an enormous storage tank of volatile fuel for a rescue. This was almost as dumb as when Prequel!Yoda had the escapees travel three days outside the prison to an extraction point on an island surrounded by lava in Citadel Rescue, so I don’t understand why Kanan didn’t just ask “hey, sexy tentacles? Can you fly this thing to the edge of town and set down in the grass for an extraction?” (Editor’s Note: Kanan’s smarter than I am.)

You know, I’m glad the Kanera romance thing works out, but uh... maybe it could have been better built up. As is, I didn’t feel their relationship was really earned well enough. I always just assumed they were already together this whole time, but just kept it professional in front of the kids?

Anyways, Kanan dies. The title is literally “Jedi Night,” which is either a bad pun or an obvious hint to Kanan’s pretend!Death. 

Since this is Star Wars, *sigh* we know he’s probably not dead. As I write this, I haven’t actually seen him return, but I *know* he’s not dead. He’ll be back with spider legs (or, probably, wolf legs). It’s a shame that after Maul, Creamy Sheev, and other named characters returning alive after very clearly dying on screen, it’s a shame that my first feeling upon watching the obvious death of a major character in Star Wars is not the intended emotional effect but is instead “no one’s ever really gone.” This is not really a fault of Rebels, but it’s too bad. 

Also, there’s a subtle bit in there where Kanan’s cataracts clear up just a bit as he’s about to die, in order to see Hera one “last” time with his own eyes before he “dies.” 

In conclusion, Kanan’s fake!dead, I feel bad for Hera. 

[lonelypond]

Moonlight Becomes You:  Apocalypse Midnight Dance Party, Ch. 15

NicoMaki, YohaMaru, Love Live/Love Live Sunshine!, 1.4K 15/?

Summary: Summary: Nico makes food for the lingerers; Yoshiko chooses a more liquid option.

Afterparty

The party was down to You, sitting in front of the fire, looking bored, staring out the windows into the darkness over the Pacific, in a very pretty blue ombre hoodie sweater dress. Nico was leading the way back to the kitchen, Maki following after Dia, probably making sure their head injury case didn’t tilt over into a wall. 

“Hungry?” Nico asked, startling You, who was getting used to silence. “And that dress looks a lot better than those shorts.” Nico winked.

You blushed and stood hastily, as Maki glared briefly before following Nico into the kitchen.

“What do you need, Nico? How can I help?” 

“How about omurice? Do you have eggs? Or leftover rice?” “Instant rice.” Maki offered.

Nico clucked her tongue as Dia settled into the counter where she could watch her parents. Maki fumbled in cabinets, obviously unsure where everything was. You settled next to her, careful to keep some distance.

“Eggs are usually in the refrigerator.” Nico said as she discovered where the pots and pans were stashed.

“I know that.” Maki grumbled as Nico shook her head, rolling her eyes at Dia. It was so familiar and yet so strange. Dia almost dropped her head down into her hands, but held herself back for fear of triggering a group panic about a potential concussion.

“How are you feeling? Did you get any rest?” You asked softly.

Dia felt her eyebrow arch at the familiarity and refused to directly respond, “That is an improvement on those shorts. I hope you discarded them.”

You sighed, “You definitely take after your mothers.”

“What do you mean by that?” Dia snapped, turning to face You.

You shrugged, amusement glinting deep in her sea blue eyes, “”At least your grandmother likes me.”

“Maybe you do better in a professional setting.” You tapped her chest, “Direct hit. I am ever the professional.”

Nico had progressed to chopping onions, refusing to hand Maki a knife so Maki was half keeping an eye on her visitors, watching Nico, and spilling coffee grounds across the counter as she missed the opening of the coffeeemaker by just a few centimeters. Nico reached out a hand to point back to the counter and Maki froze.

“Go sit down. Nico has this. We probably don’t need the caffeine.”

“I always need the caffeine.”

“Me too.” You piped in.

Maki grinned at Nico, hands on her hips, “I wouldn’t be a proper host if I didn’t make coffee for my guests, who are in so much need.” Nico frowned at You, “I think we count as her hostages.” Maki grumbled. “It’s my house.”

Nico shrugged and slid the onions off the cutting board into the wok. 

“Are they always like this?” You leaned in to whisper at Dia, as Nico’s stirring the onions clattered enough to cover her question. Maki had gone back to coffee making.

Dia ignored the question.

You chuckled.

###

Yoshiko, Hanamaru sleeping in her arms, was glad that flying home was automatic, and that no cherubim, four faces angry, multiple swords sharp, were chasing them. No, instead, Yoshiko could focus on the warmth of the person in her arms, the way Hanamaru seemed to merge into her torso, the way that Hanamaru had always just tucked right into her arms. And now, Yoshiko was going to tuck Hanamaru into their bed and forget for at least half a day how bad a decision timedropping Dia seemed to be.

Yoshiko settled softly to Earth, pressing tender kisses lightly through Hanamaru’s soft, fair hair. With a nod the door opened and Yoshiko stepped through, her senses immediately picking up on their visitor. Nozomi. Fallen asleep on her favorite chaise for lounging and watching terrible reality tv shows with Hanamaru. Her long dark hair splayed around her face. Her entire aura sadness. Yoshiko sighed. No sleep yet for the fallen. Yoshiko carried Hanamaru into their bedroom, reached into the cabinet where medicinal tequila was kept, grabbed a bottle, two shot glasses, and returned to the sitting room.

Yoshiko poked Nozomi with the tequila bottle, causing her ‘guest’ to startle. “Hi.” Yoshiko said grimly, “What’s up?”

Nozomi pulled a throw around her, “Didn’t want to go home alone.”

Yoshiko put the glasses on the small table, poured out two shots, and grabbed the one closest to her, “One hard drink, one hard truth. Yohane commands the fires to cleanse us.”  Yoshiko took a shook and as the twelve year old tequila burned her throat, she spoke aloud what the shadows of Truth had been whispering to her, “I’m an idiot.” She slammed her glass on the table.

“Probably.” Nozomi took a deep breath, then  grimaced as she downed her shot, “I’m a coward.”

And her glass slammed down.

“Zura” a sleepy yawn came from the doorway and both women glanced up to see Hanamaru blinking at them, “You’re both too noisy.” “Sorry, my sweet.” Yoshiko moved over but Hanamaru shook her head and slid next to Nozomi.

Yoshiko poured another round of shots.

Hanamaru turned to Nozomi, “We’re coming back to your bravery problem.” Then Hanamaru pointed to her partner, “What specifically are you talking about?” 

Yoshiko downed another shot. Another slam and she threw back her head, to stare morosely at the ceiling.  “I don’t understand the prophesy and nothing is clearing.”

“What exactly was this prophecy? Divination is tricky.” Nozomi was curious.

Yoshiko did her best shocked face. “Direct knowledge is only for the seer and Yohane knows too well the slippery labyrinth that glimpses of the future open onto. ” Hanamaru was still yawning. “And can you remember any details?” 

Yoshiko closed her eyes, eyelashes fluttering wildly. Hanamaru liked to imagine they were tiny wings that kept back the glory of reflected celestial fires. “Daughter of the Princess and the Star, same age as her mother, lots of fire and screaming and thunder crying.”

Nozomi held back, “Are you sure you got it right?” “Daughter same age as her mother, pretty simple.” Yoshiko repeated. “Yohane carries knowledge too weighty for mortals, bridging the abyss to...

“Which mother?” Hanamaru asked sharply.

Yoshiko stared, “What?”

“It’s like a Sphinx riddle. Which mother?” “What?” Yoshiko squawked.

Nozomi couldn’t help it. She giggled. Here was the glorious, furious Yohane, who screamed warnings about world ending apocalypses sitting in front of her in torn jeans and a Death Metal t-shirt getting schooled by her mild mannered wife on puzzle logic.

Hanamaru leaned forward, fully awake, “Dia-san has two mothers. Are they the same age? And which one does the prophecy concern.

Nozomi’s giggles continued, “Or maybe she has a sister.” Oh, Nozomi thought, this is what a mic drop moment feels like. Yoshiko eyes has widened in horror and Hanamaru had clutched Nozomi’s hand hard enough to force a wince.

“What?” Yoshiko’s voice had gone shrill.

“Does she have a sister, who might also qualify as a daughter of…” Yohane shot to her feet, leaving the ground, “The abyss reaches out to grab one who once touched the highest of highs, to pull through torment to the…” “It isn’t.” Hanamaru snapped, reaching to grab a rising Yoshiko by the belt loop and pull her down to Earth. “But if you’re still seeing...what you’re seeing, that might explain…” “I can’t...there’s a meeting.” Yoshiko glanced surreptitiously at Nozomi, “Kanan might bring a few new members...and You’s going to need help.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Hanamaru decided.

“But Zura…” “I can ask Riko. She knows Dia, right, didn’t she say part of the prophecy was someone she knew?” “Yeah, that was in the song.” Yoshiko hummed.

“Just a quick afternoon visit. Don’t worry.” Hanamaru had Yoshiko’s hand and raised it to kiss.

“All right, Zuramaru, but be careful.” Yoshiko sounded serious enough to surprise Nozomi.

“Where does Riko live?” 

“There.” Yohane intoned, her arms sweeping in front of her, and Nozomi sensed something waiting, just outside this small, cozy sphere of comfort.

“Whe…” 

Hanamaru now had Nozomi’s hands, and yanked so Nozomi was facing her, “Don’t ask.” Nozomi looked into amber pools that suddenly seemed as ancient as Yoshiko claimed to be. Caught for a moment, Nozomi pulled back before the mood ossified her, “So we’re not coming back to me. I don't ask you, you don't ask me.” “Oh, just ask her out, Nozomi. Yohane commands it.” Yoshiko stood, arms thrown to the ceiling. “Yohane fell for love. And Love’s bedded bosom was soft and welcoming.”

“Zura!”

Yoshiko winked, “Try it.”

A/N: It's a crazy apocalypse party out there so stay safe, stay home, and maybe howl -- or read Casual Lunacy again ; )

[ashlan-zeal]

"Some nightmares don't end when we open our eyes."

Ezra stared at the ceiling of the room. He couldn't even will himself to get out of bed. Everything was wrong. He was still here. In this place. His old place. The crew was nowhere to be found. Kallus didn't recognize him. There were inquisitors on Lothal. His old home was still standing. He didn't have his weapons. He could barely feel the Force.

His breathing became erratic, his heartbeat increased.

-No. No. Don't. Just breathe...- he ordered himself to calm down. He couldn't do a lot about most of the other stuff but if there was one thing he could count on, it was the Force. Trust the Force, right?

Ezra sat cross legged on the bed and cleared his mind. He tried to reach out into the Force but he could barely brush it. It was as if he couldn't "stretch". Soon he found himself sweating from the strain and decided to stop. The Force was there alright... he was the problem.

"Uggh... I don't get it!" he fell back to the bed in defeat. Maybe he had hit his head and was hallucinating all of this? After a while his stomach growled and he finally got up and went over the table. He grabbed one ration knowing that he needed to keep himself fed... Hera would have told him to eat.

He then spotted a damaged pamphlet below the rest of the rations. It was half crumpled but the rations on top seemed to have smoothed it a little. It looked like ‘he’ had placed it like that on purpose. Ezra took it and read it curiously.

Are you looking for new opportunities?

Do you want a new life?

Join the glory of the Empire!

A secure job! Excellent benefits!

Contact your closest-

Ezra crumpled the paper in anger and threw it to the corner of the room. No. It couldn't be. He couldn't have been considering joining. No way.

With renewed energy he started to practically turn the whole room upside down, looking for clues of his situation, why he was here.

Yes, this was definitely HIS room. The clothes were his size and he even found his older clothes on the bottom of the trunk. He couldn't find any weapons, except for a single small knife he took and hid on his belt. No comm or datapad either. He found a secret stash of credits inside a vent he used to hide important stuff when he was younger... not much, just enough for the month.

By the time he ended searching, it seemed like a tornado had gone inside the tower. Ezra sighed still not happy with the results.

"No comms..." he whispered. He needed to contact Azadi, contact Yavin, Hera… Kanan. His heart winced.

He decided to return to the city again to try to find someone who might help him, while staying clear of the Imperial base. He took the bike, his bike, a bike he couldn’t remember ever getting, and headed straight to Old Jo's only to find it closed down. When asking around, people gave them funny looks and avoided the conversation, walking more quickly to leave him behind.

"Karabast," he cursed and kept cruising through the city. While listening to the rest of people in the rundown market and overhearing the troops he realized the Imperial presence was too heavy, both in the ground and in orbit.

-Wait a minute. Kallus… When Kallus was here, when he was Fulcrum, he sent his messages from my tower but there wasn't any transmitter there right now- Ezra suddenly remembered. -Oh, that's right. I had taken my parent's broadcaster to the tower back when we were still operating here. Maybe is still in the house...?-

He gulped. He didn't think he was ready to return to the house but it seemed like he had no other choice. He needed to check if it was still there. He parked outside and entered when no one was looking. The house was untouched... but older and dustier than he remembered. He moved the couch and climbed down.

His heart skipped a beat. The holodisk with his photo was there, just like that first time. It was like he in fact had never came here with Sabine and the others. His lips made a fine line and pushed down his worry.

-Don't think about it, just take the transmitter and go-

The device was bulky and likely broken from what he could remember. It would need repairs. He disconnected it and took all the cables and parts he assumed might be important, slipping the holodisk safely onto his pocket to check later, and loaded everything to the bike.  

Once back in the tower he confirmed the transmitter was broken. He might not be as skilled with electronics as Sabine but he believed he could fix this himself. It would only require more time, a few tools and spare parts. He used part of the money to buy them but that left him dangerously low on money.

-It doesn’t matter, once I contact them, things will be alright-

After a few days Ezra finally finished with the transmitter and didn’t waste anymore time. He set the secret frequency codes to contact the Ghost.

“Specter 6 here. Specter 1 are you there? Specter 2?” Silence. He tried again. “Specter 6 here…”

Ezra spent an hour trying to reach them. Maybe they were outside the Ghost and didn’t have their comms with them. Ezra changed the codes, this time for the Phantom, and got the same results.

The codes to the Fleet. Nothing.

The codes to Yavin. Nothing.

He was sweating cold. He was sure he wasn’t being jammed in this channel. He tried the Fulcrum codes. Ahsoka and Kallus had used several codes when transmitting so it took him a while to remember them correctly and go through each one. He had spent already a whole day without sleeping, just trying to contact anyone.

“By the light of Lothal’s moons… Please… is anybody there? Can anybody hear me?” Ezra said completely tired. Silence. He left the mic on the table and dropped into the chair. That was the last frequency. He gritted his teeth as an emotion of hopelessness invaded him. There was no one out there… or at least they wouldn’t-

“Who is this?” a digitally distorted voice came through startling Ezra. He fumbled to grab the mic again.

“HELLO? It’s Ezra! Ezra Bridger!” he said throwing all secrecy and code names to the side.  “I’m in Lothal! I’ve been trying to contact you guys! I can’t find Azadi and-” he heard a soft click, the connection dropped from the other end. Panic. “Hello? HELLO? Please. PLEASE. Answer me.”

But whoever it had been, didn’t respond again. Ezra was on his own… without knowing what had happened to the others. He pushed down the feeling of anxiety and dried the sudden wetness from his eyes with the back of his hand. Ezra needed to get out of here. If he couldn’t reach them, he needed to find them himself.

With so little money left, he decided to check for a small job around the space port. Luckily for him, he found a hauling cargo opportunity. They wanted young and able bodies... for some reason droids were being restricted in the area. Besides the credits, Ezra was interested on seeing if he could steal one of these ships to escape, but he soon found out most of these ships were bulky, defenseless and slow freighters. He would never make it to orbit before he got shot down.

-Karabast-

After a few days like that he started to get desperate. On his spare time he meditated with the Force making some progress with his ability to connect but was like his whole body and mind had forgotten how to connect. He was starting from zero… no, it was worse than when he started. He also knew he could not push himself too much or there could be dire consequences, specially with the state of mind he was in. He might slip with the darkside and he couldn't take that chance.

From the space port, Ezra also watched the Inquisitor ship coming and going to the imperial base from afar.

-Don’t worry. As long as I don’t show off… I don’t think they even know I’m here- he kept reminding himself trying to keep the apprehension at bay. He felt powerless, unable to face them or escape.

A couple of weeks later, as he was heading to the space port to start his shift, he noticed the hangars were closed.

“What’chu doing here, kid?” Ezra’s boss said, an older woman with short gray hair.

“I… I came to work?” Ezra said confused. Had he missed an announcement or something? To be honest he hadn’t exactly paid much attention other than the types of ships arriving.

“Nuh-uh, I’m not paying double today, just go to the parade like the rest,” she dismissed him. “I might be old, but I can handle one day on my own.”

Ezra’s blood ran cold. He remembered now. It was Empire Day. He had just turned 18.

“Oh”

“Go and have some fun while you are still young!” the Captain laughed and left him outside the hangar. Ezra stood there looking at the doors for several minutes, then he walked back with a blank expression on his face. The people he crossed were not exactly happy but knew they needed a distraction from their lives and crowed the main streets for whatever entertainment it was being offered. Somehow he found himself standing outside a bar. He entered. The place was bustling, but it was like Ezra couldn’t hear them.

The woman attending the bar watched him approach and stare at the bottles on the back.

“Looking for something in particular?” she raised an eyebrow realizing he wasn’t not entirely there.

“No, I just-...” he trailed off.

“Here,” she served him a golden liquid in a small glass. “Seems like you need this, love.”

Ezra slowly grabbed it and stared at it. He gulped it in one go.

“That’s the spirit!” the woman reached to pat him in the back and served him another one.

Ezra wasn’t sure how long he was there or how much he drank. Trying to numb his loneliness? No. He knew this wouldn’t work. In fact it was having the opposite effect. It brought memories of his friends to the surface. He missed them. He missed so much. But he missed Kanan the most. His smile, his presence, his care. Ezra's heart ached.

“What am I doing? Kanan...” he held back a sob. He didn’t know if Kanan was ok. He had to be ok, right? He had to be. 

He wouldn’t like you are doing this. You know better than this. He heard in the back of his head. He nodded to no one in particular, just left enough credits to cover for his drinks and left the bar.

He was unsure of how he managed to get back to the tower on his own, simply waking up on his bed late at night. It was still a few hours before dawn. Everything was still dark. He sighed deeply. Luckily Ezra's head wasn't hurting so much so he left his bed and simply started cleaning around the room not wanting to go back to sleep again. He had neglected doing chores… It was the last thing on his mind but now he needed to keep himself busy without wondering too much about what happened to his friends. He picked his helmets from the floor and placed them back on a low shelf and then...

He heard the unmistakable sound of lightsabers igniting behind him by the entrance.

-The inquisitors!- was the first thing that came to his mind.

Instincts kicked in. He threw two of the helmets back and rolled away from the door. The helmets got slashed mid air before ever hitting its target, two bright white blades moved through the darkness. Ezra's eyes widened.

“Ahsoka” he breathed in disbelief. She looked older, worn out and hardened.

"Who are you?” she pointed at him with one of her lightsabers. “Speak!" she demanded glaring.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15618783

[tarisilmarwen]

Splinters: Pinpricks

(Ezra’s nights continue to grow worse.  Because delicious angst.

TW: Needles and mentions of drugging.)

---

A needle stabbed into his arm. Ezra felt a heaviness spreading through his body, weighing him down.

"No..." he moaned, fighting against the feeling. How much more sedative could they give him? There had to be dozens of empty tubes on the tray already.

Was it all sedative? came his anxious thought. Or were they putting more poison in him this time?

He couldn't tell the difference anymore.

Pryce's face drifted into view. Her again. It was always her. The other Imperials blended into a faceless mass. She had yet another syringe in her hand and was sliding the tip of it down his cheek, the needle scraping against his skin.

His chest tightened, coiling with fear.

"Do you want this to end, Bridger?" Pryce was taunting. "Just tell me one little thing. Just one thing that I want to know, and I promise." The needle's touch was like an awful caress, deceptively gentle. "It all goes away."

He couldn't even remember anything she'd asked him. He searched through the slog of his thoughts, trying to recall something, anything.

Pryce drew the syringe back, her hand tightening around it like a knife.

The panic squeezed his windpipe.

"Don'—"

The syringe swung down in a harsh stab.

***

Ezra jolted awake with a sharp hiss. He lay frozen in place for several moments. The hum above him made him terrified to look up, until he remembered where he was.

It was the Ghost. Not the Chimaera. Sabine's painting of him falling onto Zeb was on the wall. The thrumming was the air filtration system. He was home.

He was safe.

It still took a long minute for the tension in his body to seep away.

Ezra sat up, hanging his feet over the side of the bunk, head slumping over, hands fisting at the back of his hair.

His nightmares were getting worse. They were more vivid. He woke up feeling the pain from the electrodes, the paralysis from the sedatives and the metal restraints. It took longer for him to calm down out of panic mode upon awaking.

It hadn't been this bad since Malachor and Ezra was beginning to prefer the weeks of hollow guilt and night terrors about red-bladed Sith to this constant reliving of his torture on the Chimaera.

His hands slid around, smearing down his face, as he recalled the details of his dream. His shoulder gave a phantom throb, remembering Pryce jamming in the needle.

That hadn't happened, he was pretty sure. Not how it had in the dream. He knew Pryce had stuck him dozens of times and recalled with uncomfortable clarity her taunt and her teasing his face with yet another needle, but slamming the syringe into his chest like a bladed weapon was an invention of the dream.

At least... he thought it was.

Ezra groaned softly. His memories of the event were murky enough as it was without his brain wholecloth making up new bits to add to the mess.

His nerves were vibrating. His feet twitched, agitated. He already knew he couldn't get back to sleep. If Zeb were there he could've maybe woken him but the Lasat had been called away on his own mission. Ezra already desperately missed his stench.

That left Sabine—who had apparently begged her mother to let her return home and who Ezra still couldn't look at straight—Hera—who Ezra hadn't seen since before being released from the medbay and who was already exhausted from an all-nighter sortie on the blockade around Lothal—and...

Ezra's chest tightened. A million excuses were already bombarding his head. The ship seemed suddenly far too small, the cabin confining. The walls separating his room from Kanan's felt paper thin.

No, he thought quickly. I just... I need some air, is all.

Before he could second-guess himself he was jumping down from the bunk, tramping down the hallway to the cockpit, sliding down the ladder, slamming the button for the ramp, and running out into the night.

***

In the end, Ezra wound up wandering the base for an hour, helping out with small tasks where he could, before returning to the landing field and finding a quiet spot to sit.

The thought of returning to the Ghost still sent a twinge of nausea passing through his stomach.

He attempted to meditate.

Focus, Kanan's instruction repeated in his head like a mantra. Find your center.

He concentrated on breathing. Slow inhale in, steady exhale out. Air moving through him. He searched for that place of tranquility where the Force melded around him, fading out all sound and sensation until there was nothing but peace.

He struggled for a long time, finally opening his eyes with a groan.

The early morning air nipped at him, chilly, and he curled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them with a little shiver.

Kanan found him there hours later.

---

We're getting to the good stuff now, readers!

1. I love Pryce, she's such a bitch. And I was ever-so-delighted that my characterization of her being "hands on" and creepily intimate for Imperial interrogations was shown to be completely accurate. (As per "Jedi Night".) I win for canon compliance again!

2. If you recall from "Cracks In The Mirror", the method they used to torture Ezra kind of fried his brains a little. So his subconscious "helpfully" decides to fill in the blanks for him during his dreams.

3. I realized that I've been spelling the name of Thrawn's ship wrong this whole time and of course had to go back and fix every instance of it in both this and "Cracks In The Mirror".  My bad.

Next chapter is one I'm really excited for. See you next week, readers!

[primasveraas]

Rebels Midseason Trailer Breakdown

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but here it finally is. With less than 2 weeks before the show starts, I have my rabid superfan analysis of the Rebels Season 4 midseason trailer. Warning: long post as I am very excited for the second half of Rebels and have an extensive knowledge of Star Wars to be applied in situations in which it may not actually be required. Thoughts below the cut:

It starts on Lothal. Everything traces back to Lothal. It’s where our story began, and ultimately, where it will end. The show and the trailer are returning to their roots, back to the messages of family, and home and growth. The trailer shows Ezra’s journey with this, again, beginning with shots and narration from seasons past. It’s a reminder of how it all started and how far he’s come.

Then, it’s Ezra’s experience with the Force. We see him on the Jedi Temple on Lothal- against the backdrop of nothingness and stars and strange white lines that he sees when he meets Yoda for the first time- similar imagery appears later on, in the new footage.

Next, Malachor. 

Again, a significant event in Ezra’s life. There began his grapple with the Dark SIde- and as we see in the next shots, it’s continuation. Significant moments are shown, with he Sith Holocron as well as the Bendu, and his attempts to understand the Force, especially with his connections to animals, which, as we know from Season 4, has been important with the Loth Wolves and Loth-cats.

Not to mention we see AHSOKA! It’s been a season and a half without a mention of her, but now she’s in the trailer. It this a coincidence? I think not. It never is. Dave Filoni has promised answers and there are starting to be more and more hints of such a thing. In the flashbacks, there are two shots of her- both involving Anakin or Vader (Malachor where they fought and with the hologram she kept of him (below)).

Back to family. There’s the holo of Ezra and his parents, a shot of Rex, Gregor and Wolffe- who we see return in the new footage. As Qui-gon Jinn once said, everything happens for a reason. Every shot from past seasons is important- each reminder of what was is a hint at what will come to be.

Then SABINE WITH THE DARKSABER- a small but effective reminder of her own journey.

Hera narrates about hope, and again, the trailer returns to the main themes of the show (and Star Wars as a whole): hope and family. For four years, we have watched this small ragtag crew grow together, fight together, inspire and struggle and hope together. These fundamentals are what have made this show so good, and the trailer truly emphasizes this.

Now, is this next shot so innocent? No. Of course not. Those are convors- the birds that have, throughout both Rebels and Clone Wars, symbolized Ahsoka. As this video points out, it as always been present during times where she has had to overcome the greatest struggles in her life.

After that, on to the greater struggle and bigger picture: the fight against the Empire. Ezra and the crew’s losses and wins, their moments of inspiration and fight against the Empire. The importance of what their small team, and hope, can do.

At 1:20, there is the first new footage. Again, as always, it starts on Lothal.

We see characters, new and old! THE CLONES ARE BACK! as hinted by the previous footage. Rex is in a uniform very similar to that of the Rebels on Endor- Filoni has all but confirmed he makes it there. We can only hope.

It’s go time- the words and music carry a sense of urgency and determination.The first words spoken are  Ezra’s: “We can do this together” as we again return to the theme of family and the importance of being together.

Kanan speaks next- I don’t think he’s replying to Ezra, but he says “Let’s go get Hera.” THEN HE CUTS OFF HIS HAIR I AM DEVASTATED.

I figure this happens early on, given that it looks like he’s still in the caves of the wolves. There are faint markings on the wall in the background and the knife he’s holding looks like a shard of rock.

Finally, there is Hera, in a prison uniform but looking healthy and alive. She warns the people guarding her that they’re “in terrible trouble.” She knows Kanan is coming- and he’s not messing around. The little white blur in the screencap above is a stormtrooper being thrown out of the window. When it comes to Hera, Kanan shows no mercy. Pity those who stand in between Kanan and Hera; they will never stand a chance.

So, as evidenced by all the previous times in a Lothal Jedi temple, we are probably back in one- it’s the same designs as the before, the same starry backdrop. In the top right corner, there is a drawing of a snake. This likely doesn’t have much significance, but it does remind me of the pictures in the Lothal caves. Additionally, the triangle shape looks kinda like a one-dimensional picture of a holocron, and no, I am not grasping at straws, I am just analyzing every single thing I see and hoping it means something.

And in this temple, what do we see? A convor!!!!! Hints of Ahsoka, NEW hints of Ahsoka AT LAST!  Not only that, but it’s the same color convor as the one at the end of Twilight of the Apprentice, the one that appeared just before the last shot of Ahsoka Tano we have to date. Not to mention, of course, that this bird has the same color scheme as the Sister from the Mortis arc- yes, the one who gave her life for Ahsoka. She’s coming y’all. There’s no doubt about it.

Ugh, the hair. Hera hates it, and so do I. However, he does look so young. Less like a man weighed down by tragedy and war. More like the man Hera first knew, when he was more free, more innocent, more open and blatantly in love with her (not that he isn’t now). It’s a callback to what once was, to who he was as Caleb Dume, and what could have been, in simpler times, happy and free and just a man who wanted to escape his past with Hera. The young look and short hair a very effectively conveys this message, and I think they are both realizing: that they should treasure and love each other while they still have the chance, before the war prevents that from ever happening.

Back to action! Loth wolves running while a Loth-cat watches on. They have been important figures, both to the plot of the story and in Ezra’s journey with the Force. I have no doubt they’ll remain important ‘till the very last episode. 

EVERYONE IS TOGETHER! The crew, Kallus, Rex and Gregor (Wolffe noticeably absent), Kallus, Hondo, Ketsu, Ryder and what looks like Governor Pryce in handcuffs. What a party. Forces are united! Everyone is brought together for the end, and the series won’t end without a proper goodbye, without doing each character justice.

Fighting on Lothal! An epic battle comes, no doubt waged by Thrawn.

Thrawn appears once in the whole trailer. This makes me wonder how big of a role he’ll play, but then again, he could just be pushed aside in the trailer to make room for the main themes of the show. Either way, it looks like he’s doing his job of making life hard for the Rebels. No matter the size of his role, there’s little doubt he’ll go down without a fight. His story will likely take a major turn, and because of the significance of his character, we’ll probably get some answers as to his fate. He’s too important to be killed off or finished in a comic or a book, so the best choice is in this show… or in whatever Filoni is working on next.

But Lothal is under attack and Thrawn’s assassin is back too. Obviously, this is not going to be an easy fight. I do believe the Rebels will win, but at what cost, I cannot say. Besides Hera, Chopper and Rex, who have been cryptically confirmed to survive to and past the Battle of Endor, I’m not certain of any character’s survival. Remembering that this is supposed to be a children’s show, I don’t think any of the Ghost Crew will die, but Kanan and Ezra are conspicuously absent from the OT, so it’s more or less a given that something will happen and they have to leave. As for the side characters like Kallus, all bets are off. Anything can happen, but I truly believe that Filoni will do his characters and their stories justice, no matter what happens.

This next really cool shot looks like it’s on an Imperial Star Destroyer or base. Judging by Ryder’s presence and the backdrop, it’s probably still on Lothal. Whatever they’re doing- looks like an infiltration mission- I hope it goes well.

MORE CALLBACKS TO THE MORTIS ARC! Ezra’s stance here immediately reminded me of when Anakin had to choose to save Ahsoka or Obi-wan on Mortis win the screencap below. I noticed the way the light permeates the floor, just like the surface of Malachor, and the golden designs on the edges look like the white designs from inside the Lothal Temple. Again, this is a significant parallel with Ezra and Anakin’s struggle with the Light and Dark side of the Force, as well as what occured on Mortis with Ahsoka.

SHEEV PALPATINE ENTERS! He says Ezra’s name; he is a threat, he is taunting him and he appears in a blaze of blue fire.

HOWEVER he’s not in the flesh!

This shot is really, really brief, but I slowed it down to see better. Ezra, while engulfed in the same blue fire, is in the Lothal temple: he’s in the stormtrooper armor from earlier, and the backdrop is the same too. It took me like 930 times watching the trailer to pick up on this. But there now is the bigger threat- the Emperor knows who Ezra is, can probably sense his past (possibly current?) struggles with the Dark Side, and wants Ezra to join him. I’m not sure if they’ll ever meet face-to-face, but it could mean that Thrawn has orders to capture, not kill Ezra. 

I think this is the King of the Wolves. 

Okay, I have no idea what’s actually happening here. Maybe this wolf is like the Bendu- maybe it has answers, maybe it can guide Ezra, but ultimately, I have no idea of the true significance of the wolves. We’ll have answers soon enough though. 12 days left!

Here is Rukh fighting Kanan! I think is this fairly early on as Hera is still in her prison uniform from earlier (pictured below). The weapon he is using looks like an Electrostaff, like the ones General Grievous’ guards used.

Then, there are shots of more fighting (and Hera being the best pilot in the galaxy) with everyone, from Death troopers to Hondo, Sabine has Ezra’s lightsaber, and the Imperial base flies so that’s exciting BUT THEN

THE BIGGEST AND MOST OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO MORTIS: THIS GIANT MURAL. Given the Lothal mounds behind the Father and that Ezra is still in his stormtrooper armor, this is in the Lothal temple. On the shoulder of the Sister is the Convor, with the same colors as before. I really think, besides Ahsoka, that we will get to see the bigger picture of the Force, as we have with the wolves and the Bendu, and in the Clone Wars with the Mortis arc. Again analyzing shapes, I noticed that there are a lot of circles in this design, similar to the white designs in the previous shots of Ezra in the temple. The left hands of all three figures are circled too- but with my current knowledge, I have no idea if that actually means something. Another continuation in this design is the way the light floods through the background- again, like on Malachor, on Mortis and a little like the stars in the background of the temple.

You know, I’m not sure who this is, but if you zoom in, you can see a nose sticking out from the cowl of the cloak. I’m going to say it’s Palpatine. It’s an identifiable feature.

Ezra says: “I know what we have to do know” which answers his question from the FIRST Season 4 trailer, where he was wondering what to do and how to fight. Ezra has new confidence, and I believe he found it with the Force. The majority of the preceding shots have been centered around his relationship with the Force, and his trust in in could lead to the answers he seeks; whatever they may be.

WOLVES IN THE BACKGROUND EPIC AND CONFIDENT EZRA WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

I’m still not sure. He says “One last lesson” which is really vague and there is so much we don’t know about the wolves. But I truly believe Ezra gains knowledge from the Force and the wolves; there is such great mystery here. Hopefully, all will become clear soon enough.

Then the trailer ends! Really, the overarching message seems to be of family, of hope, and of Ezra’s journey with Lothal and the Force. It’s beautifully done, and I can’t wait to see it played out in the rest of the season. Two weeks to go! 

If you read this entire thing, thank you. I know it’s very long, but please discuss! I want to know your thoughts. Agree? Disagree? Let me know!

[furinjuru]

Eggs and Sandwiches

Written for ChikaRiko Week Day 2, Prompt “Cooking”

It had started off as a simple joke.

 At least, that’s what Chika thinks it was. Jokes are funny, help break up tense atmospheres, and can act as a conversation starter when appropriate. Unfortunately, Dia was the person who made the joke, and unlike Mari, it’s not quite obvious when it’s a joke and when it’s not.

The nine members of Aqours were in the club room, discussing ideas for their next song. Riko, knowing that this might take a while and someone might get hungry, took out her lunchbox and opened it, revealing a variety of sandwiches. She passed them on to everyone else, letting everyone choose whichever they like the most. So far so good. Things began escalating when the box reached Dia, who took one and scrutinized it. Then, she asked,

 “Did you make this yourself?” Riko nodded, and Dia scrutinized it even harder. “...it looks like something from a convenience store.” She joked. It was a reasonable statement; convenience store sandwiches are simple to make and appeal to a lot of people, so even people who can’t cook would be able to make them. Nonetheless, Riko had taken offense to that statement.

 “W-what do you mean?” She stammered. “I totally made this by myself.” That was Riko’s mistake. Dia would’ve dropped it, but her flustered reaction implied that she was hiding something. Dia presses on.

 “Really?” Then, Dia rummaged through her bag and pulled out a sandwich. It had a small logo on its packaging, marking that it had been bought from one of the nearby convenience stores. She unwrapped it and placed it side-by-side with Riko’s. Whether because of sheer coincidence or not, the two looked nearly identical. Mari burst out into laughter, while Riko looked so embarrassed that steam was coming out of her ears. “Riko, is there a possibility that you work part-time in a convenience store?” Dia joked again.

 Utterly humiliated, Riko huffed and crossed her arms. “I-I can cook! Just you wait. I’ll cook something and share it with everyone next week.”

 “Next week?” Dia smiled. “Why next week? Can’t you bring something tomorrow? Unless...you need to practice, since you actually can’t cook?”

 Fortunately for them, Kanan stepped in, preventing the argument from escalating further. “Dia, I’m beginning to think Mari’s a bad influence on you.”

 Dia rolled her eyes. “It’s joke!” She said, complete with Mari’s pose and high-pitched English. Mari couldn’t stop laughing for a few minutes after that. Then, everything was back to normal. At least, that’s what Chika thought.

 During the trip home, Riko approached Chika with a request.

 “So, I actually can’t cook,” she said bashfully. “But if I admit that, Dia would never let me hear the end of it.” Chika nodded in understanding. Those two had some kind of rivalry going on, so it would be a big hit to Riko’s pride if she admitted defeat. “Which is why I need your help.”

 “Huh?” Chika stared, dumbfounded. “My help?”

 “Are you free this Saturday?” Riko asked, and Chika replied with a quick ‘yes’. “Do you think you can come over to my place in the afternoon? I want to try cooking some things, and I want you to try them out.”

 “Definitely,” Chika’s reply came quickly without an ounce of hesitation. Spending the weekend at her crush’s place? Sign her up.

 “Then I’ll see you this weekend?” Riko asked, blushing. Chika nodded, almost as embarrassed as Riko. The two girls got onto the bus, talking to each other on their way home and not thinking too much about the age-old question of, is this a date?

 And that is how Chika ended up in the Sakurauchi household, sitting at their dining table while Riko struggles to prep the ingredients. From her current position, she watches Riko take all of the necessary ingredients from her fridge, placing them on the counter. She checks her phone, wanting to make sure she has all the right ingredients for the hamburger recipe she found online. And just like everything that led up to this point, it started out okay.

 That is, until Riko got to the onions.

 It all happened so fast that Chika couldn’t stop it. Riko held the onion in a way that would’ve made You cringe. She applied a little too much force on the knife when it wouldn’t cut through the onions, and it ended up cutting something else instead.

 Riko lets out a loud shriek and drops the knife on the cutting board. Chika stands up the moment she heard it, running to the kitchen where she sees Riko clutching her palm. “Riko-chan?” Riko turned to face her, tears threatening to form in her eyes. It’s then that Chika notices a little bit of red on her hand. “Oh my god, is that-”

 “There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom,” Riko mutters, moving to the kitchen sink. “It’s in the cabinet. Can you grab that for me?”

 Before Riko even finishes her sentence, Chika runs to the bathroom and takes the first aid kit, returning to Riko in record time. She walks over to Riko, who’s cleaning her hand in the sink. “Here, let me see it.” Begrudgingly, Riko offers her hand to Chika, who carefully holds it while inspecting the injury. “I don’t think that’s too bad? It’s not too deep.” Chika opens the first aid kit, sighing in relief when she finds a guide on what to do. She follows it exactly, not wanting to bring accidental harm to Riko.

 Once Chika is done treating it, placing a small bandage on the wound, she smiles. “There, all better!” She says. Riko stares at her palm, looking defeated.

 “...looks like Dia was right. I can’t cook after all.”

 “Whaaaat? That’s not it.” Chika laughs nervously, hoping to restore Riko’s mood. “You definitely can! You should just go for something a bit simpler. Like...a sandwich! Here, I’ll help you if you want.”

 They start from scratch, although there are considerably fewer ingredients now. In the end, Riko decides on something simple that she likes, a hard-boiled egg sandwich. Chika offers help whenever Riko needs it, whether it be keeping an eye on the eggs so they don’t overcook or making sure the bread isn’t burnt. After a few stressful minutes (for Riko, at least) they have a single sandwich. Riko groans.

 “I never want to cook again,” she says, Chika giggling at her statement. Then, Chika takes a clean knife and cuts the sandwich into two triangle-shaped pieces. She offers one to Riko, who stares at it, confused.

 “We made it together, so I thought it would only be fair for us to share the food, too,” Chika explains. Riko flushes red, but carefully takes the sandwich from Chika. She slowly bites into it, the other girl doing the same as they taste the food. “It’s good!”

 “It...is,” Riko says, surprise tinting her tone. She made this?

 “See? What did I tell you? You definitely can cook. Now, all you have to do is try it out yourself.”

 Riko smiles, thanking Chika for her help. They make a few more sandwiches for their respective families before Chika finally returns to her house. Left alone, Riko seems relieved as she stares at the plate of sandwiches on the dining table. The sandwiches she made with Chika.

 The day Riko is supposed to share her cooking with Aqours, she brings them a lunchbox full of sandwiches, just like last week.

 “...I assume you will claim that you made these yourself?” Dia asks, taking a bite out of one. “It’s good, at least.”

 “Oh, knock it off, Dia,” Kanan says, happily munching on her second sandwich. “Stop messing with Riko. Does it even really matter whether or not she can cook?”

 As the third-years begin to bicker among themselves, Riko notices Chika staring at her lunchbox. Her eyes light up when she finds what she’s looking for, and she claims one of the egg sandwiches for herself. Riko follows suit, the sandwich disappearing little-by-little as she takes measured bites.

 As she does so, an image of the orange-haired girl appears in her mind, warmth spreading throughout her body. Maybe she’ll try cooking more often if Chika is there to help her.

[kerahlekung]

Keluarga 69...

Keluarga 69....

Adik abang,anak penakan,

Takdak keja takleh cari makan...

Mengikut direktori Pejabat Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan 1 Dato’ Haji Noor Azmi bin Ghazali. Manakala jawatan Setiausaha Sulit Kanan (SUSK) kepada Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan 1 pula Encik Muhammad Ubaidah bin Noor Azman serta Encik Noor Azman bin Ghazali sebagai Setiausaha Sulit kepada Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan 1.

Persoalannya... Adakah Noor Azmi dan Noor Azman adik beradik? Adakah Muhammad Ubaidah anak kepada Noor Azman dan juga anak saudara kepada Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan 1 Noor Azmi? Jawatan2 yang mereka duduki itu bertaraf gred 54 atau 52. Siapkan yang membayar gaji dan elaun kepada Muhammad Ubaidah Noor Azman dan Noor Azman Ghazali? Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan 1 atau Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam? - mhdaily

Pesanan ikhlas dari Din...

Pendedahan Transaksi Jutaan USD, Dokumen Bank Antarabangsa Melibatkan Seorang Menteri Kanan gomen PN Di SPRM Putrajaya...

While rakyat queues for water, public 

tankers make special deliveries to VIPs...

Even as dry taps begin to flow in the Klang Valley, frustrated netizens were not amused upon learning that VIPs were allegedly getting special treatment by having water in tankers delivered directly to their homes.

Among the VIPs were Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari and his family. There were also allegations that federal ministers were getting the same special deliveries.

Unlike ordinary Selangor residents who were forced to purchase bottled water or wait in line for water, an Instagram posting by Amirudin's wife, Masdiana Muhammad, which had gone viral, showed an Air Selangor tanker parked right in front of their house with a hose entering the driveway.

"Thank you Air Selangor for sending water.

"I understand you are the frontliner right now, may Allah bless your services," said a part of Masdiana's caption on the photograph.

A separate screenshot from Masdiana's Instagram story posting yesterday also showed her children swimming in their private pool, with the caption: "Bila air takde" (when there is no water).

Netizens who commented on Masdiana's posting, in turn, shared their own photographs of queueing by the roadside to fill up water from public pipes or water tankers. When contacted, Air Selangor confirmed that it had sent a tanker to Amirudin's official residence.

"Yes, Air Selangor did send water to the MB's house," Air Selangor corporate communications chief Elina Baseri told Malaysiakini.

Quizzed whether it was standard practice for Air Selangor to deliver water directly to the menteri besar's house, Elina said: "We don’t just send to the MB’s house. We do our best to send and help all our customers.

"If you noticed in our press release, we even received help from other states because our tankers are not enough to accommodate 1.2 million accounts," she added.

When it was pointed out that the rakyat's unhappiness was due to the alleged double standard by Air Selangor, Elina declined comments and directed further questions to Amirudin's office.

An aide to Amirudin later told Malaysiakini that Masdiana had in a separate Instagram posting today apologised for her initial posts.

"I realise my error in uploading the initial photos that had given rise to various interpretations.

"In fact, there were people saying the tanker was sent to fill up the pool. That is absolutely not true," she said.

Meanwhile, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh took to Twitter and hinted at alleged special treatments given to federal ministers.

"Houses of ministers in Bukit Damansara, I urge to consider requests from other residents there for water tankers.

"Let the tankers move according to the order of the roads there. Wait for your turn," said Yeoh in reference to the area which also covers Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's residence.

The Sungai Selangor Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants had to be closed down on Sept 3 after detecting pollutants in the water.

This is after pollutants were discharged into Sungai Gong that flows into Sungai Sembah which in turn feeds off Sungai Selangor.

Water will be restored in three phases, namely from Sept 5 to Sept 7 under phase 1, Sept 7 to Sept 8 under phase 2 and Sept 8 to Sept 9 under phase 3. - mk

 From immorality to hero: 

Am I the only one baffled by PAS?...

It is insane to think that a politician can be termed a "hero" when he returns from an overseas jolly with his wife and plays Russian-roulette with other people's lives. That politician is nothing but a selfish and arrogant individual, who thinks that his position in government will protect him.

A hero is someone who dedicates his life to protecting others in an effort to make the world a better place. During this coronavirus pandemic, the true heroes are our frontliners - doctors, nurses, hospital cleaners, the armed forces and policemen.

It is easier to get blood out of a stone than a straight answer from a PAS politician. Do PAS MPs have a problem with reality, with reporters' probing questions, with the rule of law, with the ministerial code of conduct, or with upholding their responsibilities as lawmakers?

The ongoing political drama with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali (above), who refused to observe the self-quarantine rules on his return from Turkey, cannot be forgotten.

Instead of censuring him, many PAS politicians tripped over themselves, trying to justify their colleague's abuse of power. On Sept 1, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang skilfully dodged a reporter's question about Khairuddin's transgression, by talking about morals.

Hadi (above) is the last person who should lecture us on morals. He stuck the knife into Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's back when she was nominated by now-dissolved Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to be Selangor Menteri Besar.

Hadi denied having talks about forming a unity government with the felon, Najib Abdul Razak's Umno-Baru, whilst pretending that PAS was a loyal coalition partner in PR.

Last November, Hadi expressed his support for former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad but three months later, Hadi was safely installed as Muhyiddin Yassin's right-hand man after the Sheraton coup.

Khairuddin deliberately put the health and lives of others at risk. He did not act with any morality. Perhaps, PAS or Hadi's definition of morality is far removed from ours. If a DAP politician had failed to observe the quarantine rules, he and his party would have been crucified.

Hadi should come off his moral high ground and realise that anyone who breaks the law, is in breach of the moral code. He said: "If they commit a sin that is contrary with Islam and morals, we will fire them." Isn't breaking the law a sin? As a minister, Khairuddin's conduct reflected badly on PAS.

Politicians who think that politics and morals are mutually exclusive are dangerous people. Remember the former British prime minister, Tony Blair? As a committed and practising Christian, Blair would have believed in the sanctity of life, and yet, he took Britain to war against Iraq, based on a lie. Politics and morals cannot be treated as separate entities.

A few days ago, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin (photo) made the bizarre claim that Khairuddin was a "hero". In addition, Hashim shifted the blame onto Health and Foreign ministries for their negligence.

Hashim's definition of a hero is not the same as ours. Someone who failed to self-quarantine, was economical with the truth and risked the health and lives of others, cannot be considered a "hero".

Last week, PAS' vice-president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man's comparison of Khairuddin with lorry drivers and pilots was both demeaning and unfair. It also showed his lack of understanding of those who work for a living. Both professions are excluded from quarantine but must adhere strictly to the rules imposed on them for doing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lorry drivers and pilots perform a vital role in keeping the economy and nation running, but if Khairuddin was missing from the government, it is doubtful if anyone would notice or feel his loss.

It is incredible that none of the senior PAS politicians showed good judgment and common sense. Instead of putting themselves in the shoes of the rakyat, they hemmed and hawed, and dug a deeper hole whilst trying to justify Khairuddin's crime. Nothing was mentioned about breaking the law, about the lack of professionalism or Khairuddin's lack of humility.

The Islam that was taught by my parents and elders, is similar to the version learnt by many of my Muslim relatives and friends. Those teachings do not gel with the version of Islam promoted by PAS.

Sendiri buat salah dok tunding jari kat orang lain. 

Kepala hotak hang...

Khairuddin's actions cannot be made halal with terms like "morality" or "heroism". He was also economical with the truth. There is another way of seeing the Khairuddin fiasco.

It is not just the story of a minister who broke the law and thought that he could appease the crowd by paying a fine and making an apology. He was only forced to do these, because of the public outrage.

This is also the story of the silence of the majority of Muslims. The ones who are quietly furious with Khairuddin and PAS' lame excuses but dare not speak out.

Where is the public condemnation of the wannabe clerics masquerading as politicians, who have tarred the religion, and the reputation of the Malays? Where are the learned muftis to denounce Khairuddin's wrongdoing?

For years, PAS claimed they were protectors of Islam and defenders of the Malays. Khairuddin has proven them wrong. - Mariam Mokhtat,mk

cheers.

Sumber asal: Keluarga 69... Baca selebihnya di Keluarga 69...

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Star Wars Rebels Just Delivered A Devastating Twist That Changes Everything

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/star-wars-rebels-just-delivered-a-devastating-twist-that-changes-everything/

Star Wars Rebels Just Delivered A Devastating Twist That Changes Everything

3 hours ago

Warning: major spoilers ahead for Episodes 10 and 11 of Star Wars Rebels Season 4, “Jedi Night” and “DUME.”

The final season of Star Wars Rebels is quickly coming to an end, and there simply aren’t many episodes remaining. Rebels finally returned to the airwaves after several months of hiatus with a midseason premiere event that will change everything for the characters in the remaining episodes. A member of the Ghost family is no more. Kanan was killed in the final moments of “Jedi Knight,” and “DUME” featured the rest of the characters attempting to deal with his death.

On the one hand, Kanan’s death probably doesn’t come as a huge shock to longtime Star Wars fans. After all, Star Wars Rebels is fast-approaching the timeline of the original Star Wars trilogy, and the only Jedi who turned up in the original trilogy were Obi-Wan, Yoda, Luke, and technically Anakin by the end of Return of the Jedi. Nowhere was another Jedi knight mentioned, and surely somebody would have introduced Kanan to Luke. Yes, Kanan was always likely to die before the end of Rebels.

On the other hand, the manner of his death in “Jedi Night” may have come as a big surprise to many. There are still several episodes left in the series, and Kanan is one of the lead characters. If he was going to die, viewers might have expected his death to come closer to the very end of the series. Alternately, many of us probably thought that Kanan would be killed by Thrawn or Rukh or even a surprise appearance from Vader courtesy of the Emperor. Instead, Kanan was killed in an explosion.

Now, death via explosion might sound kind of underwhelming for the character who has been the protagonist of some of the most impactful arcs of the series to date, and fans would have had a lot to be upset about if Kanan was killed off in some anticlimactic way. Fortunately, Star Wars Rebels gave Kanan a worthy sendoff that should help us deal with his absence in the rest of the remaining episodes. Here’s what happened.

It was pretty evident from the beginning of the episode that something was up with Kanan, and not just because the previous episode ended his story on a distinct feeling of doom. After meditating alone and then telling Ezra to taking a leadership role, Kanan cut off his hair and shaved his beard with a knife, which… is really one of the biggest signs that Kanan is powerful with the Force. Only a deeply Force-sensitive man could shave his face with a knife without the use of his eyes.

On a more serious note, Kanan was playing things close to the chest, and he got a special final moment with each Ezra, Zeb, and Sabine before setting out on his mission to rescue Hera. He was ultimately successful in rescuing Hera (and her Kalikori), although he lost his lightsaber to Rukh. If the lost lightsaber wasn’t enough of a sign that Kanan’s time was running out, he tried to tell Hera something that was probably along the lines of “Hey, I’m totally going to die soon.” Arguably the final nail in the figurative coffin for Kanan came when Hera confessed her love and kissed him on top of one of the fuel pods at the TIE Defender factory just as Ezra and Sabine flew in to save the day. It was very sweet… until Governor Pryce ordered her men to fire on the containers, blowing up the fuel inside.

The good news is that Kanan sensed the impending disaster with just enough time to jump in front of the explosion and hold the flames back with the Force. The bad news is that there was no way he could hold the flames back and escape with his life. Panicking, Hera tried to jump out of the ship and return to him, but Kanan used the Force to hold her back. His final act was to use the Force to move the ship safely away from the blast. Kanan was killed in the act of saving his family and destroying the fuel depot.

It was heartbreaking to see a man who survived so much die so close to the victory we know is coming in the not-too-distant future with the destruction of the Death Star. Kanan was a Jedi who managed to do what Anakin could not: fall in love and build a family without turning to the dark side. He grew from a guy who could could barely handle a lightsaber with any form in the beginning of Season 1 into a Jedi who could use the Force to hold back an explosion and stop Hera from running to him. Surely he deserved to live, original trilogy continuity be damned!

That said, Kanan’s death was also a pretty perfect end to his story. He gave up his life to save others just as his master gave up her life to save him, and he clearly went into the situation expecting — or at least guessing — that he wouldn’t be coming back. Besides, his death via explosion means that he was able to heroically sacrifice himself without falling victim to Rukh or Thrawn or anybody else. We didn’t have to watch him struck down or even see his body. He died with dignity.

For a character whose journey on Rebels always seemed destined to end with death, Kanan got as good a sendoff as we could have hoped. It was never likely that he was going to get a happily-ever-after. At least he got one of the best deaths of the Star Wars saga to date. The quick glimpse of his eyes turning green again for the first time since he was blinded is worth a rewatch on its own! He got to see Hera one last time.

We’ll have to wait and see how his family on the Ghost carries on without him. Hera wasn’t able to contribute to the mission in “DUME” due to her grief at Kanan’s death, but adding him to her Kalikori seemed to give her some degree of closure. We do know that she has quite a while to live without him.

Zeb and Sabine were all about avenging Kanan for most of “DUME,” and Zeb was well on his way to beating Rukh to death to send a message before Sabine stopped him. Revenge is not the Jedi way; to honor Kanan, the Ghost crew may not actively try to avenge him. Ezra hasn’t had much time to really absorb the fact that his master is dead, mostly due to the fact that he got lost in the Lothal wilderness and ended up on a spiritual journey with those mysterious loth-wolves. The only thing we can really be sure of is that the rebels are lacking one of their most powerful assets with the death of Kanan. His final act did help wreak a lot of havoc on the Imperial forces on Lothal, so the rebels have that going for them.

For more on the events of “Jedi Night” and “DUME,” check out our rundown ofbig ways Rebels just set up Rogue One. The midseason trailer for Rebels reveals that there’s a whole lot still in store, and we’re still waiting on Ahsoka. New episodes of Star Wars Rebels air on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney XD. For more viewing options, take a look at our 2018 midseason TV premiere guide. Don’t forget to swing by our picks of Star Wars TV characters that need to appear in the movies. Now that Kanan is dead, we can only hope that he’ll pop up somewhere else.

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[lonelypond]

Moonlight Becomes You: Apocalypse Midnight Dance Party, Ch. 9

Love Live/Love Live Sunshine, NozoEli, NicoMaki, KanaMari, YoshiMaru, 1.8K, 9/?

Summary: Most everyone settles in for a quiet night.

INTERLUDES

Pacing, Nico was frustrated and pacing, reminding herself of Eli on growl prowl as moonrise neared, Nico trying not to just throw herself into a wall to see how it sounded. That wasn’t how Nico coped, no, Nico did practical things, so taking a rag in hand she began to wipe down the counters. After that, the sliding doors, then maybe she would start chopping things for a stew or something. Not borscht though, Nico made a face, tongue out, gagging, even though there wasn’t anyone to amuse or tease. Beets, beets you could have too many of, and cream, cloying, heavy sweet cream...Eli’s new Russian food cravings were having too much influence on Nico’s meal choices. Tonight though, Nico was opting for a less cloggy choice. If Nico was eating alone, a crisp, fresh salad from locally sourced produce was the ticket...just the lightest dressing. She opened a cabinet, small bowl, olive oil, mustard, white wine vinegar, whisk, then take the chives out of the refrigerator and start chopping. Lift the knife, let it fall, get into a nice, non pacing rhythm, ignoring the people who were ignoring her by not blowing up her phone with apology texts, that was the ticket. And then, after the sensible salad, curling up on the sofa to watch K-Pop weekly roundups and eat strawberry gelato. That was the best way to spend an evening. Really it was. Nico knows all. That decided, Nico hummed as she assembled her dinner.

###

Kanan fell back into her couch, sighing. Mari flounced out of the bedroom, in her third outfit of the day, a bright --somehow -- gray sleeveless sweater dress that her hair fell off the shoulders of like the molten gold of the sun rising out of the sea. From her first sight of Mari, Kanan had never not been captivated by how that glow reflected Mari’s sunniness, inhumanly bright and impossibly brattish.

“How much did you scare Eli?” Kanan asked wearily, having developed over many years the dual capacity for enthusiasm and cynicism about the ‘helpful’ wrenches Mari in fix it mode would throw into the lives of their friends and acquaintances.

“Mio cuore, I’m not cruel. I did nothing to your dancer, except trying to get Nozomi to acknowledge the fact that she couldn’t take her eyes off the poor girl. And I can see why.”

“Mari.” Exasperated, Kanan closed her eyes, stretching her arm out along the couch, knowing what would come next. And there it was, the softest touch of feather soft strands, then the weight of Mari’s head against her shoulder.

“Ah, but you are the only beast for me, bella. We have always been linked by the thread of destiny.” Mari whispered against her ear with a touch of lips as soft as the slightest swell of the sea.

Kanan’s laugh was a bark, “No matter how much you gnaw at it.”

“KANAN.” Mari’s shock was genuine as she threw herself back across the couch, hand fluttering to cover her betrayed heart. Mari’s shock was always genuine when Kanan refused to let Mari charm her way out of confrontations.

“So Eli wasn’t crying because of you?” Kanan’s suspicions continued. The memory of Eli’s red rimmed eyes wouldn’t fade.

“No.” Mari’s dramatics were eclipsed by gentle concern.

“I wonder what it’s like to be surprised…” Kanan hesitated, caught by a sudden realization.

“Huh?”

“I always knew who I was.” Kanan reached her hands out for Mari’s, always so warm, always so willing to pull her out of fogs.

“Oh.” Mari frowned, scooting down the couch as Kanan reached out. “it must be terrifying.”

Kanan had watched Eli’s meticulous, unvarying warm up routine before every one of their rehearsals, the dancer slowly progressing through exercises and positions, always at the same slow speed, always in the same order. “Yeah.”

###

Dia was standing catty-corner to the fireplace, staring at the ocean. She’d only seen pictures of the Malibu estate like this, before the beach had been covered and the rock stairs useless at high tide. There were favorite corners she’d rather be tucked into, but Maki hadn’t invited her guests into the downstairs suites. The decorating was so strange anyway, complete absence of any hint of Nico, which made everything seem cold. Dia shivered, accidentally timed to a cough from You, who still persisted in flashing unforgettable legs in very forgettable, should be trashed shorts. Was this California in the early 21st century? Because, Dia decided, it could keep its complete lack of fashion aesthestic, before she wrenched her eyes from You’s tanned legs to the very worried blue eyes watching her.

“Weird for you, huh?” You chuckled.

“Can’t you find clothes?” Dia snapped, turning even further out to sea.

“Uh yeah, sorry about these.” You gestured at herself, “Wasn’t expecting Yoshiko to drop you into my day like that.”

“Is it Yoshiko or Yohane?” Dia wasn’t really curious, but these questions allowed her to loop around any looming embarrassments or admissions.

“Both.” You shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll explain.”

“I’m not sure she’ll have a chance. Why in the world would I…” Dia started, irritated.

“Don’t you want to get back home?” You parried with a shrewd question.

Dia sighed and sat on one of the chairs parallel to the window, pulling a leg up to rest her chin on, “Of course I do. But maybe this is a dream…?”

“Ooohh, I’ve never been in anyone’s dream with lighting like this.” You struck a pose, hands under her chin, fluttering her eyelashes at Dia.

“Silly.” Dia forced herself not to laugh but a corner of a smile snuck out.

“Ah,” You bounced dramatically to the opposite chair, “Your face does relax.”

Dia tossed her hair back, rolling her eyes so as to not encourage this friendliness. “You have a home, right? Go and get some clothes.”

“Your mother will never let me back in.” You stated flatly.

Dia thought for a long moment, then smiled and shrugged.

You groaned and threw her head back, “You’re all so cruel.”

“All right, Watanabe, everyone in the family is taller than you are…” As Maki entered the space with that announcement, You dramatically threw a forearm across her forehead. Completely ignoring her, Maki continued “so nothing is even near your size, but here’s a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. There’s a bathroom that way.” Maki tossed a pile of clothes in You’s direction and thumbed in the direction of the hall behind her. Turning to Dia, Maki handed her a much neater stack, “My mother has some casual clothes that seem like they might suit you. There’s a guest suite down that hall if you want to get changed there.”

Dia stood, her arms full of a fuzzy mint, tan and blue check jacquard sweater and a pair of black knit leggings with small slits at the ankles. Very much what her mama would consider casual wear and a little too relaxed for Dia, but not as much as if Maki had raided her own closet. “Thanks.”

Maki nodded. “The driver’s gone to get food. She’ll be back soon.” Maki glanced around the room, “The fire makes it nice here, but we can set dinner out on the table.”

Dia remembered so many nights, her mothers curled up in each other’s arms on a much pinker couch, staring into the fire as music played.

“That’s fine. I like it here.” Dia hugged the pile of clothes a little closer; at least her gandmother's perfume was familiar, berries and pale flowers and a clear musk, “I am a little cold though.”

“Mama’s got a shirt jacket somewhere.” Maki swivelled, “I’ll find it.”

Dia found herself wishing she’d stayed in the hospital room. This situation, here at home, but everything and everyone just a step not right, was becoming too disconcerting and she could feel not a head but a whole body ache starting. Maki, her eyes so kind, so watchful but without the deep warmth of maternal concern Dia was used to. Maki might not be the most demonstrative of parents, Dia and Ruby had Nico for that, but Dia’s first glance had met those loving eyes and she had drawn comfort from them since. Passionately perceptive, fiercely stubborn, endlessly generous; everything Dia had hoped to grow up to emulate. But here, Dia was a stranger, Maki was preoccupied with other concerns, and puzzlement flashed across amethyst more often than benevolence. It was going to be a full body headache, Dia thought, reaching a hand to rub her eyes, forgetting she had an armful of clothes, her knees suddenly failing, and You was right there, in a ridiculously large white shirt with black ink kanji that slid off her shoulders and sweats she was keeping up with one hand. The other seemed to be keeping Dia up. How silly.

“What did you do?” Maki’s voice sounded distant even as it echoed angrily around the room. Dia tried to blink, but her eyes wouldn’t open, sleep suddenly sounded perfect as she felt herself being eased down to the couch.

“I came back and she was so pale…”

“She said she was cold.”

“Is that a symptom?”

The voice that wasn’t Mama’s, what was her name again, Legs, You, right, Dia rambled to herself, You had squeaked with worry, that was nice but Dia was fine, she didn’t need any help, just a nap.

###

Hanamaru smiled at Yoshiko sprawled gracelessly over a chaise at the back of the bookstore. As soon as the fallen angel had returned to a comfortable place, the time displacement lag took over and Yoshiko had proven how affected by mortal failings she was now. But the snoring was cute, and the way her midnight hair splayed out against the warm red of the chair reminded Hanamaru of nights when her wife had had some energy left and Hanamaru could remind her of heavenly pleasures other than the celestial.

With a giggle, followed by a sigh, Hanamaru plugged in the refilled electric kettle. No sense remembering those scenes, until Yoshiko had a chance to recuperate. And then, there would probably still be issues to sort out related to the displaced Dia before they truly had time to themselves again

How could Hanamaru help? Too used to Yoshiko’s refusal to admit she needed assistance, Hanamaru realized this, while Yoshiko was safe in a restful oblivion, was the perfect time to do her own research. Perhaps there were some answers to be found in the future. As the tea kettle bubbled, a bright blue light flashing in the darkened room, Hanamaru moved to the locked cabinet, hidden in a jumble of seemingly random bookshelves. Time for her to consult the Book Of Riko, to see if prophecy held any answers someone less impulsive than Yoshiko could puzzle out.

A/N: Howdy.Cats and furniture have been moved; still trying to get back into some form of routine. How's your October? Any Halloween plans? We're doing scary stories and snacks (probably not scary) by fireside next weekend for our next theatrical adventure. I might read some bits of Dracula. 'Tis the season ; )