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slimeyslimeyballsack · 4 years

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If You Only Knew, You'd Hate Me: Chapter Two

Pairing: Bucky Buchanan x OMC (Zebediah Kaskitt)

Summary: Bucky and Zebediah had a fleeting interaction years ago and Zeb has been hung up on the boy ever since. Even with his arrogant and dismissive exterior, Zeb still tries to make a connection.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse, shitty parenting, racism, the Zebs were super cute in this chapter

Taglist: @btrmuffins @diagnosed-crazy @lykenbcrn

Let me know if you want to be tagged

Part One

He woke up with Zebina over him. He couldn't really focus on anything. There was an argument going on. Bina was taking him somewhere, probably the nurse, if she would see him. He was right. She argued with the nurse a little bit before setting him down on the bench in the back and shutting the curtain. She looked at him. She was talking to him.

"Focus. Hey, Zeb. Look at me. Focus."

"My head hurts. Just let me sleep it off."

"No. No, Diah. You have to stay awake you could have a concussion. I need you to answer some questions for me. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm in the nurses office."

"What were you doing before this?"

"I had cheer practice."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"One."

She asked him several more questions before shining a flashlight at him and making him walk across the room.

"Well, you're not showing many symptoms besides a headache and some sensitivity to loud noises. But I'd say that's fair with the fall you took. Make sure to tell me if you're experiencing symptoms anytime within the next few days, okay? Have some water."

She gave him the water and sat next to him. He leaned his head on her shoulder.

"There goes cheer." He sighed.

"Hey, not necessarily." She rubbed her hand on his back.

"I just wanted to impress Bucky."

Zeb looked down at their laps at the strand of Zebina's hair he was playing with. There was a knock on the wall and Addison peaked her head in.

"Hey, Zebediah, right?"

He nodded.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded again.

"Well, I thought you did excellent before the accident. And," she pulled put a pair of pom poms from behind her back. "You made the squad."

Zeb jumped up into her arms.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He took the pom poms and looked back at Zebina, who in turn gave him a grin. He turned back to Addison when she spoke up again.

"For now, I want you to just step the moves. And when you're feeling better you can join back in. Give me your phone number so I can message you about cheer stuff. We have cheer initiation tonight. We're making t-shirts. I understand if you can't come."

"Good job man."

Zed popped his head in. She smiled and turned to him, waving before they left. Zebediah waited before he heard the door click before he turned back to Zebina whisper shouting his excitement.

He decided to go to initiation. Not like it was actually a decision to make. He was going that was it. He couldn't not go. His head felt better. It didn't ache anymore. The doctor wouldn't see him. He had other patients that were more important. Zebina said that his wrist was probably sprained though. She wrapped his had and he was basically good to go.

Zeb tried his best to decorate his shirt with one hand. He was lucky it was his left hand that was hurt, otherwise, he would be having a lot of problems. A cute little shrimp with pom poms decorated the front with Seabrook at the bottom, and he needed to write his name on the back. If he looked across from him, which he did, frequently, he could see Bucky's immaculately designed t-shirt complete with sequins and gems. The shirt was on the ground but Bucky was missing.

"Does anybody have any extra green?"

"I do."

Zeb went to stand, green dye in hand. He was struggling to find an angle to place his legs so he could stand without putting pressure on his injured hand. Finally standing up, Zeb still managed to trip over his feet, and into someone, effectively dying their shirt green and knocking them both over. Several gasps were let out and Zeb looked up to see the missing Bucky. He gave an awkward grin before Bucky shoved him off. Zeb quickly stood up. Bucky shifted his disbelieving gaze from his shirt and Zebediah multiple times.

"I can't believe you, zombie."

He spoke more with shock than disdain. The Aceys, ever-present, rushed in to help him.

"Who do you think you are?"

"I've got it, Lacey. Hey, monster, why don't you watch where you're going next time, okay? Because I don't need another little attention seeker around here."

Bucky walked closer as he spoke. Zebediah was frozen, he couldn't even speak to defend himself. Addison stepped in between them, giving a stern look to Bucky.

"You two need to go into the other room and sort out your differences. You're not coming back in until you can get along."

Zeb nodded agreeably and made to exit, but Bucky was not having it.

"What? I didn't do anything wrong. Punish him not me."

"I am not having you ruin our fun time. I'll come get you when you can act like civilized people."

She ushered the two out into the hallway and shut the door on them, but not before giving Zeb a look. What was that look? It was weird.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows at him. He sat down against the wall, watching Bucky pace back and forth. It made him anxious. He tapped his toe. Bucky eventually tired sat down a couple feet from him. The two sat in silence for a long time. Zeb's eyes jumped over when Bucky moved to leave the hall.

Bucky knew Addison's house well. He made his way to the laundry room and carefully took the pink polo off, assessing the damage. His shirt was still damp. He figured he might be able to clean it up enough to avoid notice from his parents. He scrubbed the shirt the best he could before placing it in the wash. He hadn't brought his jacket leaving him to sit in the chilly room shirtless, hoping someone wouldn't walk in and see him. If his parents saw the stain he would be in deep shit. The shirt came out clean and Bucky quickly dried it to a wearable state. He moved back to his spot in the hall.

Bucky recognized the zombie. It was the guy who always compliments him. It was always such a bittersweet moment in his day. The guy was a zombie, the very thing he'd been brought up to hate. Of course, he loved the praise. The praise made him feel accepted. It made him feel worthy. Maybe this was why he decided to talk to him. Maybe it was because he knew he had been an asshole. Either way, he opened his mouth.

"Shirt came clean. So, no harm no foul."

Zebediah gawked. This was the first time Bucky had said anything remotely kind to him. To Bucky's surprise, he smiled at him. Even after Bucky's outburst this boy still was able to smile at him. How? It made Bucky feel even worse about the way he acted.

"I'm sorry." He said before he even knew what was coming out of his mouth.

"It's okay. It's really my fault. I deserved it."

"No, you didn't."

This was how zombies were made to feel. This was how he made them feel. Bucky was rude to him every day and he still managed to be kind to him.

"I'm Zebediah."

Bucky looked over at the earnestness in Zebediah's face. He seemed so genuinely kind, something Bucky hadn't been in a long while.

Bucky hadn't been genuinely anything in a long while. But here was this guy that, ever since zombies were allowed at the school, had been in his corner, even when Bucky had spat on him. It wasn't like everyone else either. It wasn't the blind obsession of a cheer rockstar. He didn't ask for autographs, and he didn't put the pressure of losing on Bucky. It was genuine concern. 'I hope you have a good day.' 'I didn't see you eat lunch. Remember to stay healthy.' He treated Bucky like a person. He treated him better than any human, aside from Addison, ever had.

How was Bucky supposed to just admit he was in the wrong? He couldn't. He couldn't do that. It was a blow to his pride. And if his parents found out he didn't know what would happen. He had never so blatantly disrespected them before. Even now he was at the risk of someone seeing them and reporting to his parents.

The door opened and Addison beckoned them both in. They didn't talk for the rest of the evening. Bucky still had a reputation to uphold.

Zeb got a text from Addison about the cheerleaders running a carwash on Saturday. He was elated. He was ecstatic.

"Bina, I'll get to see him shirtless. I think I'm gonna drool. Oh God, that would be so embarrassing."

Zeb hung over his bed upside down on the phone with Zebina.

"Oh my God Bina. I don't have a swimsuit. You're coming with me to get one for tomorrow. I'll see you in five."

He hung up before she could protest and quickly got presentable for shopping. Be didn't have a swimsuit because 'why would he need one? He was a zombie'. He called to his dad. His pa was still working, but Dad didn't work. He had gotten into an accident he said 'about killed him again'. Dad gave him some money for the swimsuit.

"Have fun. Don't rile up the humans please."

"I won't." Zeb was already halfway out the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something."

He turned around and hugged his dad, wrapping his arms as far around him as they'd reach. He mumbled a 'love you' before racing out the door.

Zebina was already waiting for him on her porch. They walked toward the gate, no guards waited for them. It wasn't too long ago when they weren't allowed on the other side unless they had jobs that took them there. Zeb's pa was a garbage man and collected trash from the other side of the wall.

When he was little Zeb would ask his pa to tell stories of Seabrook. Everything sounded so perfect over there. So different from here, where the ceiling leaked every time it rained and that rainwater had to be collected so they could use it. Here, where every house looked like a lawn sale. He had Pa describe what it was like and he imagined a life where he, Dad, and Pa lived. Maybe he could have a little sister, and he could play with the neighbors. And they could eat yummy food, and he could have a doggy, and Dad and Pa wouldn't have to fight about money anymore.

When Zeb was old enough to understand that the curfew was bullshit, he started sneaking past the guards. He didn't do it to be rebellious. It wasn't even some sort of stick it to the institution situation. Zeb just liked to look at the houses. He did what he made his pa do when he was younger. Every time he went he'd make a new life in a different house.

After he met Bucky, the daydreams were usually about him. He'd make up a new personality for this mysterious boy and the life they'd live together. Everything was made perfect when he was able to go to Seabrook High. The more he learned about Bucky the more complete his fantasies were.

He didn't know why. He didn't know what about that scared kid in the alley had piqued his interest so much. He especially didn't know how he stayed so fond, especially after seeing the way he acted in front of people. He supposed it was because he knew it was a front. Zebediah wanted to see past the facade. He wanted to get to know Alley Boy.

They were making progress. Bucky had shared kind words with him. He had apologized and even took the blame off of Zeb. It was a start. And Zeb would have the opportunity to talk to him again tomorrow. He'd been chipping away slowly for the past two years, and it seemed that the pace was picking up.

The two arrived at a relatively nice shop. Seabrook Seashop, it exclusively sold swimsuits and things to use at the beach. Everything was so colorful. A little bell rang when they walked in. A sharply dressed employee behind the counter turned to them. His smile immediately dropped and he glared at them. He made his way around the counter, briskly walking toward them. This wasn't a good sign.

"You are not allowed here. I'm going to kindly ask you two to leave. I will call the Z-Patrol."

The man spoke loud enough for the entire store to hear. Everyone was staring at them. Zeb could feel the eyes on them, the sneers making it perfectly clear that they were not wanted.

"Sorry, sir. We're leaving right now."

Zebediah was frozen. Zebina guided him out of the shop. It pissed him off to no end that stuff like this was still happening. It wasn't supposed to be. It was against the law. But the police weren't going to do anything. If anything, they'd support the people who did this. They were not here for zombies. They weren't here to help them.

They wandered around for a while. Usually, they could ignore the glares, ignore the people who crossed to the other sidewalk, but after the run-in at the seastore, everything seemed so glaringly obvious.

They finally found a beaten down thrift store, embarrassingly close to the wall. How they hadn't seen it before, Zeb had no idea. It was empty besides bored teen at the counter, half falling asleep behind a stack of books that had yet to be put away.

It was easy to get lost in here. Shelves upon shelves of oddities lined not only the walls but filled the room. The clothes were in another room off to the side. There was another room beyond that that they didn't go into. That adventure would be for another day.

There were not a lot of trunks to choose from once you got rid of the mysterious stains, speedos, holes in unsavory places, and just downright ugly patterns. Then, when narrowed it down it left three pairs: rubber duckies, dinosaurs, and ice cream. The lack of people in the store allowed the two to let their guard down. Zeb managed a little fashion show.

"What about these ones?"

Zebina held up a pair of yellow swim trunks with a hole in the crotch.

"You'll certainly get his attention." She held the trunks up to his waist.

"Ew, Bina. You are so gross."

Zeb took the trunks and threw them at her. They landed on her face.

"Just pick a pair of trunks."

He ended up going with the pink and blue dinos. They found themselves back at Zeb's house. Zeb's dad had brought up a snacks and the two laid on his bed listening to a vinyl. Zebina was rambling about some smart person thing. His mind started to drift again.

Zeb wouldn't mind opening up a shop. Something in between the Seashop and the thrift. He could buy a bunch of novelties: clothes and knickknacks. He could stand behind the counter. Everyone would be welcome: humans, zombies, werewolves, aliens even. If aliens exist. It could be by the beach so he could look out the window and see it. A little bell would chime every time someone came in. Maybe he'd have a cat. Like how book stores and cafes have them.

"Zebediah Kaskitt." Zebina was waving a hand over his face. "Do you ever listen to a word I say?"

"Not usually." He grinned.

A pillow smacked his face and he was shoved off the bed.

"Oh, it is on."

He took the pillow in his hands raining fire on her.

"Abuse! Abuse!"

She managed to weasel her way out from under him, finding his autographed Bucky poster. She held it up to her face.

"You wouldn't hurt me now would you?" She smacked her lips. "Oh, Zeb. Oh, Zeb, I love you so much. I'm a jerk to everyone but I'd change for you."

"You know what?"

The two dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"I can't breathe."

The rest of the night consisted of greasy food and random chatter. The encounter at the Seashop was gone from their brains.

"Hey, Addy."

Bucky walked up to Addison, who was busy setting things up for the car wash. They were both early. Bucky was clad in clothes too hot for the day. A thin, turtleneck, Seabrook jacket, and a pair of sweats.

"Can I work money today?"

Addison turned to him. Her attention immediately went to his split lip and eye.

"Fell."

That was a lie. Somebody told his parents about his little interaction with Zebediah. His dad had a fit. It was the worst he has ever gotten. In the end, the shirt was ruined anyway. He could never get that much blood out of it.

"You need to tell somebody. You could stay with us." There was a silence between the two. "Can I hug you?"

Bucky nodded. She carefully snaked her arms around him, resting her hands on his shoulders. She was careful not to put pressure anywhere. Addison had tried to tell her parents about what was happening. Dale confronted his brother, gave him a soft scolding. He couldn't make a big fuss; they didn't need that kind of attention. Well, the soft scolding his father got earned Bucky several bruises.

People were starting to show up. Bucky struggled to open the tin with the money. He couldn't do anything today. He could barely get his damn clothes on. How was he supposed to do anything productive? A grayscale hand took the box from him.

"Let me."

It was Zebediah. Bucky flinched. It wasn't his fault. He just knew his parents would find out. They would have to be together for the next several hours. How he was going to explain this to his parents, he didn't know. And that scared him.

The two sat in silence for most of the morning, only speaking to customers when they came through. Bucky would find himself staring. Zed would make an effort to organize the money perfectly. He was using both hands but every now and then he would twist it a certain way and it would jerk back slightly. You couldn't really tell unless you were looking. He would mark something down sometimes. His eyebrows would furrow and his hair would fall into his face. He was almost handsome, the more Bucky looked at him the more he saw that. Which was ridiculous. He'd snap out of it, embarrassed and angry at himself for even considering the thought.

Every now and then he'd catch Zebediah looking at him. He wouldn't look away though; he'd smile at him. He really did have the softest hazel eyes. Bucky really needed to stop thinking like that. That was dangerous thinking. He was a zombie; besides that, he was a guy.

A familiar car drove up to their table.

"Isn't this your fifth time through here Zed?"

Zebediah chuckled and waved him through. They watched Zed drive over to Addison. The two shared a conversation that Bucky couldn't hear, but the joy on their faces was evident.

"Isn't it nice?" Zeb sighed.

Bucky cocked an eyebrow at him.

"They're so in love and unashamed of it."

He turned around to look at them. They laughed and Addison splashed water on Zed and they were just so unabashedly in love.

"Yeah, it kind of is."

The rest of the day went smoothly. Zed came through a couple more times. Zeb and Bucky made unassuming small talk. Bucky tried his best not to look at him when they talked. The Aceys and anyone bitchy enough to tell his parents were all enjoying themselves too much to pay them too much mind.

By the time the day was over their tins were filled to the brim. Bucky ached at the thought of having to help clean up. Except he didn't have to. Every time he would go to do something Zebediah would swoop in the way. 'I got this.' He would say, snatch whatever Bucky had, and shoo him in the general direction of a chair. He hadn't even done anything and they were already done cleaning up. Bucky was in awe as he got into his vehicle. Zebediah had just done everything for him, given him a smile, and left. That genuine kindness that Zebediah gave out. He needed that. He would find a way to get more of that kindness.

Part Three

#disney zombies #z o m b i e s #disney channel original movie #disneys zombies #disney #z-o-m-b-i-e-s #bucky buchanan #zebediah kaskitt #buckediah #if you only knew you'd hate me #chapter two #tw: swearing #tw: mention of abuse #tw: racism

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gothamslimpestwrist · 4 years

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s1e2 selina kyle

killcount:

“doug” the childsnatcher: “soldier” (homeless guy)

oswald cobblepot: douchebag college bro from the car, probably the other douchebag college bro as well.

jim gordon: quillan’s janitor

“patti” the childsnatcher: cat scratch fever dude w/ no eyes

episode total: 5 total count: 12

the dark knight rises: shit is clearly fucked in gotham. crime families are ruling the city, yes, but honestly that’s the least of it; look at the police force. we see that bo, the first responder, is late to the scene of the crime because he takes protection money from a local restaurant & gave them first priority (in other words, he’s a crooked bitch demanding a racket, AND it gets in the way of him actually doing his job). the cops are pretty much, explicitly, just an extension of the mob at this point.

interestingly, we also see the start of an exploration of the wayne’s corruption; falcone refers to “the wayne empire,” mirroring the way they talk about the crime families And Also setting the waynes up as, like, a picture of the wealthy elite taken to a whole ‘nother level. gotham is the last modern vestige of the city state--and that is the wayne empire. who takes the crown now that the emperor and empress are dead?

in OTHER news, the waynes really fucked bruce over. the murder itself was the lynching pin, causing him to jump over the fucking edge, so to speak, but he is Just A Little Boy! he is so troubled! he’s self harming and alfred yells at him and HITS HIM for being stupid, he’s listening to loud music and drawing fucked up shit, he’s both burned himself and is apparently cutting, and alfred, seeing all of this, refuses to get the boy who saw his parents shot a therapist, because the waynes told him to essentially let bruce raise himself. “the children are thoroughbreds,” basically.

quoth barbara (thinking about essen shushing the child snatcher case in fear of bad press): “i can’t believe the system is so corrupt.” quoth jim (thinking about how he was yelled at for not beating a perp, thinking about the cop/mob connection that demanded he kill a man to prove his loyalty, thinking...): “you have no idea.”

oh! and jim tells bruce the kids need more than money to keep them safe.

sliding scale of barbara kean’s sanity: she seems to be doing alright, but she’s troubled by jim’s troubles. also, this episode sets up some shit that will lead to irreparable damage later on; jim, even when he’s telling her things, isn’t telling her everything. she knows it. she hates it. he specifically hasn’t told her about oswald, which gives her reason to believe he’s a murderer pretty soon. plus, what she does w/ the information he does give her about his work (go straight to the press) gives him immediate reason to start trusting her less... and so they spiral.

sliding scale of ed nygma’s sanity: he’s a little bit more of a lurker this episode. creeps outside the captain’s office until someone notices him, lingers inside until everyone in the room makes it obvious he’s not welcome. he’s trying his best, but he’s not... very... “well liked,” shall we say.

continuity: montoya and allen are looking into the murder of oswald cobblepot. he was their snitch, after all. so that’s problems... many things are subtly set up in this episode: falcone and fish discuss maroni and his anticipated power play (adding another piece to the political chessboard of this season), the atp drug the child snatchers use is established to have been developed for arkham asylum, which is also established to have been closed for the past 15 years AND to have recently been in the works for a reopening, specifically by thomas and martha wayne. and that’s all just offhanded discussion. also related to the atp, when ed is listing the only three places that still stock it, it’s quillan pharma, drakatech (?)... and welzyn, which isn’t relevant at all to THIS episode (quillan’s the one dealing with the childsnatchers) but WILL become relevant to everyone in a few episodes, when welzyn manufactures viper. oh, and naturally the identity of the man the childsnatchers are working for: the dollmaker. hm!! on a lighter note, harvey’s ex-white knight tendencies that we explore in spirit of the goat are foreshadowed here; essen accuses him of leaking the child snatchers story to the press, w/ the reasoning that he’d done it before. after jim & barbara established that it was the right thing to do....

parallels: jim & selina meet in this episode. they are... The Same™. (look, i’ll come back to it later, but even tho my parallel in the pilot was btwn selina and oswald, and even tho they’re the two that are the villain counterparts to our heroes, jim and SELINA are the matched set.) also, this is the episode where fish expresses the wish that penguin wasn’t dead (because she wants him to suffer), but also she tells jim & harvey that she knew it was a mistake to order them killed as soon as she did it. so that means something?

neither here nor there, but gertrud tells montoya & allen how elegant and well dressed oswald is, and bruce comments on the orphans’ scruffy appearances and buys them new clothes... we love a dandy, i guess.

characterization: we meet some irrelevant street kids that selina knew; zeb, smoke, and mackey (corey in the house). i’m basically using the characterization tab as fanfic reference so i might as well record that.

lazlo, fish’s lover, is relevant, in that falcone beats him to get to her. it definitely does affect her, though she says she only keeps him around for exercise. maybe more b/c of falcone’s threat and the fear of what it implies, though.

and gertrud! ozzie’s mom. everyone connected to oswald, even outside (maybe even especially outside) of his mob connections, is a little twisted. she’s no different; she’s clearly a bit out of her head, she mistrusts the police (which i guess we’re supposed to think is suss, though really...Fair and Just), she’s got that almost creepy codependency with oswald while not really knowing what’s going on there. (other examples: elijah, oswald’s gothic horror father, martin, oswald’s lowkey homicidal son, edward, oswald’s fascist dog, jim, oswald’s corrupt boyfriend...) she also seems to think oswald has run off with some painted lady (actually, she says painted slut), which might be indicative of her experiences w/ van dahl and some unstable jealousy more than it is of oswald, who’s... you know.

in other news, jim is all over the map here. he stops harvey beating mackey (and later, quillan, after they’ve already gotten info out of him) and protests that they should leak the story to the press, but he also seems content to keep his mouth shut until barbara takes doing good upon herself. he adapts to the mob shit pretty quick, but expresses disgust w/ the corruption in the system. he gets off on the wrong foot w/ mayor james because he disagrees with locking up the kids w/o a trial, but he doesn’t... step in... either. we see this willingness to compromise and bend the knee that means he’ll never be the hero gotham deserves.

also, not to be a jim apologist on main or anything (ha, ha), but he’s just so... brainwashed. all this, & he still tells alfred that being a cop, which has thus far caused him nothing but pain & misery, is the “best job in the world.” because he thinks he’s helping people. (and he likes getting to feel like a hero... so where do the misguided good intentions stop and the selfish motives begin?) he also kills a man for the first time on screen this episode because for all its examinations of dirty cops... gotham is still, at the end of the day, Copaganda. in an actual moment of me drinking I Love Jim Gordon juice, jim is the one who advocates for bruce going to therapy, and tries to convince him to go personally, even when jim himself is too emotionally stunted for it to help him.

also, backstory: harvey pegs his love life, saying, “high school sweetheart, then a bunch of hoes (read: eduardo dorrance) overseas only made you sad... and then there’s barbara.” he also calls jim a monkey riding a race horse; jim’s face is really good @ that. i misinterpreted the line about high school sweethearts back in the day to mean that barb was jim’s highschool sweetheart. this is on account of auditory processing disorder and also general dumbassery. anyway, the point is that jim is a boring, predictable bitch! whom i love.

...in terms of characterization from the episode that i don’t agree with, i can’t really see oswald writing all the shit that they had on his conspiracy board, lmfao. “crybaby brucie,” “gordon=STOOGE,” & so forth. i pretend i do not see it.

#gotham #text post #meta #jim gordon #season one #selina kyle

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bifinmediasres · 5 years

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Few years before the Clone Wars. Kallus, a Royal Academy student, was finally dragged by his classmates to one of the nightclubs on Coruscant. "Unfortunatelly", a group of strange young purple aliens decided to have a party of their life right next to them.

This took me so long to get to, I'm sorry Nonnie! I hope you enjoy it.

Alexsandr grumbled to himself as he was pushed along the sidewalk, surrounded by a group of his Academy classmates who had dragged him out for a night of socializing. And dragged hadn't been an exaggeration. He'd been in his room reading up on a tactical manual when two of his peers had barged in and literally carried him out into the hall. Alex would have been angry, but he was honestly just impressed. He was easily six feet tall and though not terribly muscular he was fairly sturdy.

From the hall he'd been herded outside along with several more from his class. Between being literally manhandled and trying to be heard over their celebratory shouting, they were several streets away before he managed to ask the cadet nearest him what exactly they were celebrating.

"You!" The young man answered excitedly.

"Me?" Alexsandr asked pointing to himself, "And why am I worthy of celebration?"

The cadet stopped and starred at him for a moment before responding, "Seriously? You just scored higher than any of us on exams! Alexsei you're going places! Head of your own platoon! High ranking placement among the Empire's finest! ISB's top agent, Alexsandr Kallus!"

Alexsandr just laughed quietly and started walking slowly, as if to put distance between himself and the praise being heaped upon him. "You're getting ahead of yourself I'm afraid," Alexsandr replied, "While working with the ISB would be an amazing opportunity, I doubt I'll get the experience. And as for a platoon, I'll take whatever placement gets me away from here the fastest."

"That's our Alexsei," another of his peers chimed in, "Never can tell if it's modesty or a complete lack of faith in himself though."

"I'll never tell," Alexsandr smirked, "Alright since I apparently have no choice in the matter, can I at least ask that we be back before curfew?"

This was met with raucous laughter as his friends proceeded to drag Alexsandr bodily into one of, if not the most, questionable establishment Alexsandr had ever patroned. Worse there seemed to be some sort of private party taking up an entire side of the little pub. As far as Alex could tell they were off worlders, a rough looking lot covered head to toe in striped purple fur. There were nearly two dozen of them and something else Alexsandr noticed, each of them were huge. All of them had six inches on him easily. They were all laughing, at least Alexsandr assumed that's what that sound was, and shouting over each other in a language he wasn't familiar with.

As his group found a couple empty tables and settled in to order drinks, Alexsandr couldn't drag his attention away from the party. He silently took the drink he was given and began nursing it slowly. The cadet sitting next to him for some reason took offense at this, "That's not how you drink Alexsei! First off a toast, to the future of our man Kallus, ISB's future finest. Now," the young man fixed Alex with a grin, "Knock it back, go on! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Alexsandr sighed, "Very well," and did as he was asked, followed by an obnoxiously loud belch, "And now another I suppose?"

His friend nodded enthusiastically and passed him another full glass. Alexsandr briefly thought he ought to pace himself, not being entirely convinced of his alcohol tolerance. But his friends had other ideas and a second drink was followed by a third and a fourth. The fourth was followed by a round of shots. That round of shots was followed by another.

The third round of shots found Alexsandr at the bar to collect drinks for his group. As he stood waiting a member of the group of off worlders walked up and stood next to him. Catching the bar tender's attention he nodded to his group, Alexsandr assumed indicating the need for more drinks. The bar tender nodded in acknowledgement setting the tray of drinks Alexsandr was waiting on in front of him. Alexsandr took the tray and began to turn away, stumbling as he did so.

The purple furred stranger's reflexes were quick however. He wrapped an arm around Alexsandr's shoulders and bent to steady the tray before it fell. Before letting go he made eye contact with Alexsandr and in a rumbling gruff voice asked, "You steady imp?"

Alexsandr just stared silently, his train of thought slowed by the alcohol in his system. Finally he spoke, "Basic?"

Again that rough sound Alexsandr assumed was laughter, "What imps only speak one language? Some academy you got."

The fact that this was supposed to be an insult slowly sank in for Alexsandr and he scoffed, "And how many languages do your people routinely speak? Or is garbled basic your only party trick?"

That laughter again, he laughs a lot Alexsandr noticed. He also tried not to notice how much he enjoyed hearing it. "M' gran speaks 6 but she's a bit of an over achiever. I've got Basic, two dialects of Wookiee and working on the third, and Lasana o' course."

"That's your mother tongue I assume," Alexsandr commented, "Sounds like you're quite the over achiever yourself." Was he actually conversing with this off worlder, he thought. Why? He couldn't answer that. He also couldn't help realizing something about speaking with this person was quickly overpowering his alcohol fueled haze.

The off worlder was laughing again, "Well it's proper for a Captain of the high honor guard to be well spoken."

"And you're what passes for well spoken among your people?" Alexsandr asked.

"Dunno, are you?" Grinning, the off worlder exposed a mouthful of jagged sharp teeth. But Alexsandr was struck by his deep green eyes. He'd never seen eyes like this before and he was slightly transfixed. Alexsandr was shaken from his thoughts about green eyes by the stranger commenting, "You better get back to your party. And I should go make sure my squad don't pummel the stuffin' outta each other. Nice chattin' with ya...?"

"Kallus," Alexsandr supplied.

The off worlder nodded, "Name's Zeb. Good t' meet ya. You be careful getting back tonight. See ya Kal."

"See ya," Alexsandr murmmered as Zeb turned and walked back to his group. Alexsandr quickly did the same. And though there was much more celebrating done, he found his mind occupied by the conversation with Zeb and the warmth that lingered from where his shoulder had been gripped.

20+ YEARS LATER

The galley of the Ghost was filled with laughter as the crew joined together for a night of much needed relaxation. They'd started by eating dinner together, something that hadn't happened in several weeks, and now they were sitting around the table telling stories from before they'd joined the rebellion, including many embarrassing childhood stories. Hera had just finished telling them about her father meeting Kanan for the first time and how disastrous that had gone. As the laughter died down Zeb spoke, "Have I ever told you all about going out with my squad after I made Captain?"

"Oh you mean when you piled in the rented speeder and mooned Coruscant's upper crust?" Ezra asked grimacing, "Yeah we've heard that one."

Zeb barked a laugh, "No that happened after we'd all gotten well and truly drunk. I mean the actual drinking. Tonight reminded me of that, being around people I care about, just enjoying being together." Zeb paused, his mind clearly working on something.

Worried that he was dredging up bad memories Alexsandr took Zeb's hand in both of his and squeezed it gently, "I'm so glad you have those memories my love. I have the same with my first platoon."

Zeb smiled and kissed Alexsandr softly. Suddenly he shook his head, "Right no what I was going to say. At the bar right, on Coruscant the night we were there, this group of cadets from the Academy came in and got mind bogglingly drunk." Zeb paused giggling, "Sasha you should have seen these kids. I swear I didn't know humans could drink like that and not die." He suddenly looked serious, "Karabast I hope that didn't kill any of them. Especially the guy I talked to, nice fella from what I can remember."

Alexsandr sat back heavily in his seat and asked quietly, "What else do you remember about that night? About meeting that cadet I mean."

Ezra nudged Sabine laughing, "Ooh looks like Alex is jealous!"

Zeb turned to Alex quickly, "Sasha it wasn't like that I promise. The guy was Kriffing drunk I'd never...I mean Karabast. It was small talk! My Basic was barely good enough for that!"

"Your Basic was perfectly fine I assure you," Alexsandr said stiffly.

"How would you know?" Zeb asked.

Alexsandr sighed not meeting his eyes, "Because unless another honor guard was celebrating on Coruscant that night, I'm almost certain the cadet you met was me."

Zeb turned slowly and looked Alexsandr over as if he were seeing him for the first time. Suddenly he burst out laughing. After several minutes when he could finally breathe he sputtered, "I can't believe I married Bahkahta boy!"

"I beg your pardon!" Alexsandr cried.

Zeb had started laughing again and the rest of the crew were slowly joining in. All except Alexsandr that is.

"Garazeb do you mean to tell me you gave me a nickname after one encounter?" Alexsandr asked his tone deadly calm.

"And how could I not?" Zeb asked. Turning to the rest of the crew he continued, "He put back four tankards and then did shots! Absolute madman our Sasha!" Zeb grinned wrapping an arm around Alexsandr and pulling him close.

Alexsandr wouldn't look up from the table however. Staring straight down he muttered, "This is positively mortifying. You met me on one of the handful of occasions I've ever gotten drunk. Shab I think that was the first and only time I'd ever gotten quite that drunk." Groaning he leaned his forehead on the table.

Zeb attempted to pull Alexsandr upright but he was intentionally going deadweight, "Sasha knock it off will ya?" Zeb chided, "Look if it helps I remember most of the conversation and," he cut off suddenly as Alex sat up and spun toward him.

"Karabast you mean you actually do remember?" He asked, "Because I barely recall anything. But as you said, I'd had quite a lot to drink."

Zeb nodded, "Would it make you feel better if I actually told the story?"

Alexsandr grimaced looking at the anticipation on his crewmates' faces.

"As your Captain I think I'm going to have to request that we hear this story," Hera giggled.

Alexsandr groaned, "Provided, as you say, it's not horrifically embarrassing on my part. Please continue."

Zeb cleared his throat, "Right well as I remember it we were standing at the bar waiting on drinks. I'd been watching you and was honestly surprised you could still stand." Zeb flashed a grin at Alex before continuing. "You tripped and I caught you. Figured you'd thank me but, you were caught up in the fact that I spoke Basic."

Alexsandr cringed but let him continue, "We talked for a few minutes about how many languages I spoke, at the time five I think. I teased you about only knowing Basic and said something about the Academy being a joke. Witty banter, ya know my usual." Ezra snorted at that but Zeb ignored him, "I told you to be safe, thanked you for the conversation and that was it."

Alexsandr sat lost in thought for a while but finally spoke, "You left something out. Something I do remember." Zeb cocked his head in confusion and Alex continued, "How every time you laughed, I nearly quit breathing. It was the most wonderful sound I'd ever heard."

Zeb grinned and pulled Alexsandr's hand toward him kissing his knuckles, "Thought maybe my ego made up that part."

Alexsandr shook his head, "No. I think I spent more time listening to you laughing and your friends shouting back and forth than I did talking to the people I was with. It was mesmerizing as a young cadet who, as you pointed out, only spoke Basic."

"I hate that it took so long and happened the way it did but," Zeb grinned, "I'm glad I got my man in the end."

Karabast this was fun to write! Thank you Nonnie! And yes for anyone who caught it, the last line is a Steve Blum reference. Oh and the speeder part was inspired by fan art I've seen somewhere, @mamidlo maybe? I'm sorry if that's wrong, I can't remember at the moment. Again thank you so much for the prompt and I hope you enjoy it!

#asked and answered #asks are open #anon is on #kalluzeb #kalluzeb headcanons #kalluzeb drabbles #kalluzeb prompts #garazeb orrelios #alexsandr kallus

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shadowsong26fic · 5 years

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Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, woohoo!

(And also kind of a NaNo roundup post because that was last month, after all…)

NaNo:

Sooooo I didn’t finish, lol. Not that I was…super expecting to, exactly, but I was hopeful! I think I just missed too many days in a row and lost all my momentum.

In terms of my goals, I was hoping to write:

1. 20-25k on Precipice 2. 20-25k on our faces like a mirror 3. 10-20k on Other Projects. 4. 50-70k total

In terms of what I actually accomplished:

1. 9,241 on Precipice (Sooooooo....about half of what I’d hoped, a little less. But I still got a fair amount done/prepped for upcoming chapters, plus a couple chapters actually posted, even while doing other stuff, so...go me!) 2. 9,043 on our faces like a mirror (Again, a bit less than half of what I’d hoped for, but I got enough done for the story/etc. to take a real Shape in my head. ...ish. See the specific OFLAM stuff later on in the post...) 3. 10,601 on Other Projects (Hey, I actually met this goal! ...barely, but still! Mostly thanks to the Nikita/Rebels crossover, lol...) 4. 28,885 total

Original Fiction:

I got a decent chunk of a big backstory piece for Lux done (in the form of a “then” and “now” set of scenes/vignettes for the five Archangels)--that being said, I’m not sure I actually like what I have there, lol. I know more or less what I need to cover, but the details are fiddly. Also not sure whether I should refer to Lux by her current name, for consistency’s sake, or use a different name (either Lightbringer or just Lucifer) since she does technically reshape her name after being released when the main Apocalypse storyline kicks off…also debating whether Lux should be/present as female way back when--angels don’t really do gender the way humans do in this ‘verse, but the closest human term for Lux would be genderfluid, sooooo IDK. Also also, for the ‘Now’ part…ehhh, I’m not sure I should have this be the first thing I post involving Trixie…but I’ll keep poking at it and see what comes out.

(I’d also planned to work on the big Kesshare character study saturation for The Farglass Cycle this month, and maybe go back to my untitled first-contact story, but neither of those happened, lol.)

Precipice:

We’re in the home stretch! Kinda. So to speak. Probably three to four more chapters in Arc Seven, which I’m hoping-fingers-crossed I’ll finish by the end of the calendar year??? (But given how much other stuff I hope to work on (see Other Fanfic Projects for more details…)

At that point--and I know I’ve said this before, and I’ll probably put it in an A/N in the next chapter or so, but following the end of Milestones, I’m planning to break off into a second/sequel fic, working title Protectors. This is at least in part because length (over 200k wtf I was anticipating 50-75k, maybe 100k, for these seven arcs @.@), but also was sort of planned even without the Length issue, due to some thematic/structure shifts following a six-year timeskip. Which, if you do the math, you can probably figure out where that’ll land us and why I might be structuring it this way…

Anyway, I’ve increasingly realized that there’s some stuff I should probably set up that I’ll need for later arcs in Part 2 involving some Rebels characters, more with the Last Batch, plus a Sith Apprentice who needs to turn up and die (although the gap between Infernalis and the next apprentice I actually care about/have a name and some kind of Plot for is only about four years in my mental timeline, so maybe there isn’t an active Apprentice in that period*…hmmmmm…), some background about the Hands, etc. But I feel like it’s all a little too disjointed for an entire additional arc. So, Arc 7.5, tentatively titled Preludes, is also going to be a thing XD I don’t think I’ll have a fixed schedule for that vs. the main storyline--and, honestly, it’ll probably work more like a collection of one-shots taking place during the timeskip than a proper Arc, but a little more Relevant than stuff that goes in Bonus Content, if that makes sense? It’ll probably be posted alongside at least arcs 8 and 9. Which, incidentally, take place more or less back-to-back and cover a fairly short period of time, but there is A Lot of plot/setup that goes into them. Like. If I tried to do it all as one arc, it’d be at least twice as long as any of the other arcs I’ve done, possibly including Arc Four--certainly over twenty chapters, I think--plus there’s a good (and by good I mean Horrible) place where I can split the arcs, so…we’ll see how that goes.

(…still not sure what to do with Maul, lol. He may just be Sir Darth Not-Appearing-In-This-Fic, or he might turn up in arc 10/11/13, which are the sort of vaguest of the next seven arcs which make up Protectors, in terms of how much I have planned out…)

(*On a semi-related note, I’ve been asked about Inquisitors a couple times in comments lately, and…well, I’ll probably mention this when I reply to the commenter in question, but I figured I’d set it out here as well, in case anyone else was wondering the same thing but doesn’t read other peoples’ comments. Like I’m pretty sure I mentioned at the start, when I plotted out** the bulk of this fic, I hadn’t seen Rebels yet. I’ve since decided to integrate a few characters/plot points (Kallus and Zeb will feature prominently in a subplot in arcs 13 and 14, for example), but, as a rule, characters and plot points from Rebels haven’t been taken into account unless I Really Like Them and/or they’re a good way to fill in a plot hole in a later arc, as with Kallus and Zeb. So, for example, when I include Thrawn, I’m writing more towards Legends!Thrawn in terms of personality, though the two have blended a bit in my head and I do reference specific events in Disney!Thrawn’s personal timeline; and b) more relevantly, I hadn’t made any plans to include Inquisitors, and that…hasn’t really changed. So, I might have them in Preludes, but they almost certainly won’t show up on-page/be super-relevant in the main arcs of the fic, sorry :/ )

(**Loooool I say “Plotted Out” like I’m the kind of author with a Master Plan or at least an outline. But I did have a general idea of the Major Plot Points going in, such as when Rex and Ahsoka would turn up, Luke’s storyline with Lavinia, how many Apprentices I would need to make them work, etc., and I’ve had parts of Arcs 8, 9, and 14 written for like at least two years now, so I know more or less where I’m going--though they’ll be edited once I have more of the connective tissue in place, in case I’ve accidentally Jossed myself…or I change my mind, which is becoming A Possibility with a major event set to happen in Arc 14, so…we’ll see.)

Aaaaaanyway. Exciting times ahead, I hope!

Other Fanfic:

This month, I finally posted another AU outline, woohoo! …I mean, it was a super-niche Nikita/Rebels crossover with a handful of OCs thrown in but who’s counting XD (I do actually intend to finish Let’s Go Steal a Crossover and update the Ventress one at some point but…yeah).

I also put out a Kallus one-shot that I think turned out really well. May do more of those at some point, who knows…

I made some significant progress on our faces like a mirror, as mentioned above! But now I’m waffling a little bit over structure. Basically, the fic covers Bo-Katan’s backstory from the time Satine becomes Duchess, through the Civil War, and eventually leads to Bo’s eventual break with her sister to join Death Watch. It comes in two pretty distinct halves--what I call the Fugitive arc in my notes, which covers the Civil War, and the Breakdown arc, which is everything after her return to Sundari.

So, my original plan was--prologue covering at least part of the final Epic Screaming Match that leads to Bo’s departure; jump back to the Fugitive Arc; and then follow through until we catch up to the prologue, with a coda/epilogue with her and Pre Viszla. The problem is, there’s…really not a lot to connect the two halves??

I’ve got a couple options on what to do about this, but I’m not sure which would be best.

Option One: Keep the structure as-is and just let it be episodic.

Option Two: Keep the structure as-is and find some way to connect the two halves (i.e., a recurring antagonist; I do have an idea of who this could be, but the problem is, it takes away a good chunk of the focus from Bo and Satine’s relationship for the Breakdown Arc…which I don’t really want to do.)

Option Three: Remove the framing device and focus on the Breakdown Arc, and include the Fugitive Arc as flashbacks, since the Breakdown Arc can’t really stand on its own. (The main issue I have with this one is that, if I want to actually write out future chunks of Bo’s life later--meaning, her time with Death Watch, and getting her from TCW to Rebels--I won’t have these flashbacks and I don’t want to change the structure too radically for any eventual sequels? Also, I’m not sure how I feel about a flashback structure for this fic in general…)

Option Four: Remove the framing device and focus on the Fugitive Arc, ending the story with Bo’s return to Sundari. (Two issues with this one--I really do want to go into the Breakdown Arc; that’s where my interest in this story started. Also, due to the constraints of setting and so on, Bo interacts with…like…two canon characters over the course of the Fugitive Arc? And while I don’t really have a problem writing a story that’s essentially a Backstory Epic for a tertiary character, populated by about 90% OCs, I’m not sure anyone actually wants to read that, except as the lead-in to the Breakdown Arc??? But maybe I’m overthinking…)

…so, yeah. Any thoughts/opinions on which option would be Best? (I may make a separate post asking the same question later, but figured I’d lay it all out here, too!)

Also, I’m working on a Secret Santa project, and probably not going to use OFLAM for SWBB, which means I need to come up with and write a different plotline of some kind, so back to the drawing board on that one…

Also also, I do genuinely plan to get Distaff off hiatus At Some Point, especially since I’ve gotten some new comments/responses lately…but given how much else I have on my plate, writing-wise, that probably won’t happen until next year, alas.

Anyway, the long and short of it is--lots of writing planned for this month! Now let’s see how much I actually get done XD

What about the rest of you? What’ve y’all been up to/what do you have planned for next month?

#coming attractions #miscellania #shadowsong writes star wars #shadowsong writes original fic #shadowsong writes crossovers #shadowsong writes self-indulgent bs #feedback greatly appreciated #our faces like a mirror #precipice verse #nano2019

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stairset · 6 years

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Since the series finale is coming up I wanna talk about all my absolute favorite Rebels episodes, in the order they aired bc ranking them would be so hard and I'm lazy, and why I love them because I feel like I owe it to a show that's been a huge part of my life for the last few years and was one of the things that got me through the nightmare that is the teenage years.

Rise of the Old Masters: I think every good show has that one great episode early on that just tells you "this is gonna be a good show, we have a plan" and gets you hooked, and I believe this was that episode for Rebels. Spark of Rebellion was a solid start, Droids in Distress and Fighter Flight were slower episodes to help you get to know the characters a bit more, and then this episode is, for lack of a better term, when shit started getting real. Ezra and Kanan's relationship starts developing, the Grand Inquisitor is introduced in person and makes a great first impression, we get some of our first major Clone Wars connections, etc. It also uses Yoda's famous "do or do not" line to deliver a nice message. "I'm not gonna TRY to teach you anymore. If all I do is try, that means I don't truly believe I can succeed, so from now on, I WILL teach you".

Path of the Jedi: Once again, Kanan and Ezra both have a lot of development here, both as a team and as individuals. The crazy visions that Ezra experiences were some of the darkest and most intense things in the show at the time, and Frank Oz guest appearing as Yoda's voice and Ezra finally constructing his own lightsaber are both great crowd pleasing moments. It also happens to be the first appearance of the world between worlds, though neither Ezra or the audience realized it at the time, which just goes to show how far back the writers planned everything out.

Call To Action: Tarkin makes his debut and calls out our other villains on their relative incompetence throughout the season, even going so far as to, erm, make an example of two of them, and succeeds where they have failed, even capturing Kanan in the process. Despite the cliffhanger, it's a bittersweet ending as the crew does succeed in their mission to deliver a message of hope to Lothal and the surrounding systems. This is where the stakes start to raise, and it shows.

Fire Across the Galaxy: Ending the first season with a bang, the crew rescues Kanan on Tarkin's star destroyer above Mustafar, the stolen TIE from Fighter Flight actually ends up being relevant, the Grand Inquisitor is sent off in the perfect way, the crew joins with Pheonix Squadron, giving us our earliest look at the growing rebellion, and of course the moment everyone remembers, the reintroduction to Ahsoka Tano, and her former master not long after. It was the perfect way to end the first season while getting everyone hyped for the next.

The Siege of Lothal: Everyone was absolutely hyped for the season 2 premiere and it did not disappoint. While many worried that Vader would be toned down for the show, he proved to be as threatening as ever, outsmarting our heroes time and again, kicking Kanan and Ezra's asses, and putting his pilot skills to use by taking on the entirety of Pheonix Squadron himself. And of course there's the unforgettable scene where he and Ahsoka sense each other and James Earl Jones delivers the iconic, bone chilling line "the apprentice lives".

Stealth Strike: This episode was just fun, plain and simple. Kanan and Rex's bickering, Ezra's interactions with Sato, it was all hilarious and entertaining. It was sweet seeing Kanan and Rex finally start getting along, and it also happens to be one of the few times Commander Sato played a major role in an episode. Despite Sato's fairly minor role in the show I always liked him, so seeing him in the action with the lead characters was nice.

The Future of the Force: The Inquisitors are after force sensitive children to ensure that they don't grow up to become Jedi, and it's up to Ezra, Kanan, Zeb and Ahsoka to stop them. Kanan, Ezra and Zeb having to get out of the apartment building with the Inquisitors hot on their trail was intense and lead to an entertaining chase through town, and it all culminated in the elic fight between Ahsoka and the Inquisitors where we see her brandish her white lightsabers for the first time. The episode also serves as a bit of a continuation of the Clone Wars season 2 premiere, in which Sidious hires Cad Bane to help carry out a very similar plot.

Legacy: The episode starts off intense with the Empire attacking the Rebels at their current location after Ezra accidentally gave it away in the previous episode, while the rest is much slower, as Ezra follows a trail of force breadcrumbs to Ryder Azadi, from whom he finally learns the tragic fate of his parents. I think I speak for a lot of people when I expected him to reunite with them, so the revelation of their deaths was a bit of a shocker, and Ezra's reaction, his vison of being with them on a better Lothal, and Kanan's statement that they'll live on in him were all beautifully tearjerking.

Shroud of Darkness: Even though this episode basically exists for the purpose of setting up the season finale, it still stands on its own as a fan favorite, and rightfully so. Our Jedi Trio of Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka see lots of cool, trippy visions in the Lothal temple, including the Grand Inquisitor and the revelation of his backstory, the return of Frank Oz as Yoda (this time face to face), and of course Ahsoka getting confirmation that Vader really is her old master, with Matt Lanter reprising his role. The episode also has a number of iconic shots, including the temple guard avatars surrounding the Inquisitors, Ahsoka seeing Yoda in an homage to The Last Crusade, and Vader entering the Lothal temple at the end to meet with his Inquisitors in person.

Thhe Mystery of Chopper Base: A rather straight forward adventure, featuring the crew having to rescue Rex from some creepy ass spider creatures. Like Stealth Strike, this episode is simply fun. It's got so many great interactions between our main crew. But there's also a lingering feeling of dread throughout because, because you know there gonna be separated soon and that something's gonna go wrong because, well, it's Star Wars. It leads into the season finale perfectly.

Twilight of the Apprentice: We all remember this one. We all remember our exact reactions to everything in it. Maul is introduced, Ezra starts being tempted by the dark side, the Inquisitors are all killed off, Kanan is blided, and of course Ahsoka and Vader have their climactic duel that was built up for the whole season and did not disappoint, and the last minute or so simply showing the aftermath of everything that happened as “It’s All Over” plays is so effective with absolutely no dialogue. Not only that, but, and I’ve said this before, this episode is also the point where all the big parts of the timeline directly come together. In this episode, Rebels, Clone Wars, the prequels, the originals and even the sequels are all directly connected in a way that they never were before, and it’s not until a later episode that they’re all connected on that same level again. This episode, and subsequently the whole show, is the fulcrum of the Star Wars saga.

The Holocrons of Fate: Maul makes his return and has his sights set on both the Sith holocron from Malachor and Kanan’s Jedi holocron so that he can combine their power to learn any knowledge he desires. This leads to our mind-blowing climax in which Maul learns through the light of the holocrons that Obi-wan is still alive and sets off to find him, while Ezra sees a vision of twin suns, also pointing to Obi-wan, albeit in a less direct way. While the whole episode is entertaining the ending is truly what sets its place as one of the best simply because of the epic factor.

The Last Battle: This episode is simply a half hour of pure unadultered Clone Wars nostalgia and I loved every goddamn second of it. Everything from the battle of Christophsis soundtrack to the return of the droid humor from tcw to General Kalani from the Onderon arc being there to the heroes having to team up with the droids thanks to Ezra being the voice of reason and making them realize they were all just pawns for Palpatine and he is their true enemy, and the yellow Clone Wars style title card at the end with the Clone Wars theme playing during the credits, it’s just a giant love letter to the entire Clone Wars fanbase, a thank you for helping the crew get where they are today. It shows how much they truly appreciate their fans, which shouldn’t be a rare thing with content creators but it is.

An Inside Man: I have a sorta complicated relationship with Agent Kallus, who I guess isn’t an agent anymore but that’s beside the point. I don’t like him that much as I feel his redemption arc could’ve been handled much better and he could’ve done more to earn it, which I’ve talked about before. Yet despite this, I love not only this episode but another Kallus centered episode later on that I’ll get to. This whole episode is intense and excited. Mister Sumar, a minor character from season 1, is reintroduced only to be brutally killed by Thrawn, seeting the stakes for the episode, and establishing Thrawn as an effective villain. While Thrawn’s episodes before this one were more about him simply studying the heroes from behind the scenes, this is the point where he starts taking direct action against the heroes, and does it damn well. He figures out all their tricks that all the Imperials before him overlooked, and Kanan and Ezra only barely get out.

Visions and Voices: Maul returns once again to finish his mind connection with Ezra, leading to the return to Dathomir where the ghosts of the Nightsisters serve as the Guest Appearance Of The Week and posess Kanan and Sabine in rather creepy ways, Ezra also discovers Obi-wan is alive while Maul finds out where he’s hiding, and of course Sabine gets her hands on the darksaber. Like Shroud of Darkness this episode exists just to set up a climactic fight in a later episode, but still stands on it’s own.

Trials of the Darksaber/Legacy of Mandalore: I put these together because they’re basically a two-parter and because I love them for largely the same reasons. These were the first Sabine episodes where she finally got some real, major development as a character. Previous Sabine centered episode seemed to all follow the pattern of “have some dialogue hinting at her backstory that we give away in the sneak peeks then no other answers” and it was frustrating because beyond that those episodes were solid episode, but the way they kept promoting them to be bigger than they were did effect my enjoyment of them at the time. These episode finally resolve that problem and give us payoff to all those hints, and boy was that payoff satisfying. We get the backstory of the darksaber, Sabine training, we’re finally introduced to her family, and the final battle between Sabine and Gar Saxon is simply epic.

Through Imperial Eyes: This is the other Kallus episode that I love despite my “meh” opinion of the character. The banter between Kallus and Ezra is very entertaining to watch, Kallus’s plan for framing Liste as the traitor to keep his cover is very clever, though obviously not clever enough to fool Thrawn, who once again proves to be a great villain and shows that he can hold his own in a physical fight, and of course Yularen appearing was cool.

Twin Suns: The long awaited final showdown between Obi-wan and Maul, who actually finally dies for good, like is really, seriously, legit, for real, in actuality, finally permanently dead, deceased, lifeless, killed, devoid of life, sleeping with the fishes, an ex-person. At first I was in the crowd of people who were like “what the fuck” at how quick he went out, but in analysis I wouldn’t have it any other way. It shows how much Obi-wan has wisened over the years whereas Maul never learned, never changed, and tried the same thing he did on Qui-Gon, and it proved to be his final downfall. The way Obi-wan holds Maul’s body in his arms the same way he did with both Qui-Gon and Satine so many years before, and shows sadness and pity that it couldn’t have turned out differently is absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. The cartoons made Maul such an interesting character, and cemented him as one of my favorite villains, and I couldn’t ask for a better conclusion to this decades old rivalry.

Zero Hour: While not as mind blowing as the previous season’s finale, Zero Hour is still and intense and action packed way to conclude the season. We see the end of Pheonix Squadron and the beginnings of then true Rebel Alliance, Sato gets an epic and heroic send off, the fight in space with Ezra and the Mandos is epic, the Bendu gives us a glimpse of his true power, and Thrawn is as great a villain as ever. The whole thing is simply epic.

In The Name of the Rebellion: We finally saw the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4 in all its glory, Saw makes a return and, as I said when the episodes first aired, I believe the Moral Ambiguity with his character, while still not perfect, was handled better here than in Ghosts of Geonosis, but i don’t feel like repeating myself so just look the post up if you haven’t read it already. Anyway Saw’s interactions with Ezra and Sabine were a lot of fun to watch, like if we’re still giving everyone space fmaily nicknames then Saw is like the slightly crazed but still kinda cool uncle in this episode. All the connections to Rogue One were a ton of fun to piece together, and it was great to finally see a giant kyber crystal that’s actually fully animated. Also Jennifer Hale was in it so that’s pretty neat.

Flight of the Defender: A very simple and straight forward episode. Ezra and Sabine steal the TIE defender prototype, they crash it and hide the hyperdrive, we meet the white lothwolf who helps them get back to their friends. I can’t even really explain why I like this one so much tbh, but I do.

Jedi Night/DUMJE: We all know why these episodes are here. I couldn’t ask for a more epic and heartbreaking send off for Kanan’s character, and I’m glad that they dedicated the entire following episode to showing how the rest of the cast deals with their grief in different way rather than glossing over it and immediately moving on to the Mortis stuff. It’s surprisingly rare for characters to get to properly grieve in this franchise despite death being so common. Obi-wan, Galen, Han, Luke, the entire population of Alderaan, the other characters have to get over these things pretty quickly so it’s nice to see a more realistic aftermath for once.

Wolves and a Door/A World Between Worlds: I’ve made my thoughts on these episodes very clear since they aired on Monday, which is that they are quite possibly the most mind blowing thing I’ve watched in a very long time. The connections to Mortis and callbacks to all the movies and to Clone Wars, the voices in the background, the beautifully animated moving pictures, the return of Ahsoka and the revelation of what happened to her, Sidious making his debute with Ian McDiarmid himself providing the voice, it’s all incredible to watch. Like I said about Twilight of the Apprentice, this episode is one of the few times where we get an idea of just how connected everything really is, that it’s all one big story. No wonder the two episodes are also so tightly connected to each other, they truly are where all the parts of the saga come together in ways they never could otherwise.

#this is quite possibly the longest post ive ever made im just. so passionate about this show ok #its so important to me i just had to make a big huge analysis about why i love it so much #im gonna miss it so much but im glad its gonna get the proper ending it deserves #instead of getting canned while still in its prime like tcw #star wars rebels #shut up tristan

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multi-muse-transect · 7 years

Text

A Hunter and an Apprentice

AU: A botched mission to steal an Imperial experimental slip gate device goes awry and former bounty hunter Mira Wren Bridger is paying the price in the form of a teenage version of herself. Mira belongs to @meldy-arts

Mira Wren Bridger didn’t know what to think. She never believed in the bending of space and time but after what she saw, she doesn’t know anymore. After all, she took on a cult of dark side users with a legendary Jedi and a Jedi who would become her girlfriend. But this takes the cake obviously. Standing in front of her is a teenage version of herself. She never imagined herself with long hair and armor that is tactically compromising in terms of color. When she was her age, she was shooting blasters in the VR room and doing exercises while listening to her music player in break time. It was Kanan’s idea to let her stay in the Ghost since her ship, the Poltergeist, has too much dangerous equipment in it.

(Padawan) Mira looks around the ship to see that nothing has changed much. Sabine’s room is still her room alongside her father’s and uncle Kanan’s as her counterpart silently observes her. Her communicator goes off to show that Blare is calling causing her to pick it up.

“So how’s the little sister go?” Blare asks her.

“She stopped panicking after she was spooked to see me. Her gay version of her.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira replied and snickered.

“Of course, so I take it she’s wandering the ship and checking our stuff out?” The Jedi asks again.

“Yeah of course. She isn’t surprised though. I guess there’s things that are the same in her world.” She replied. (Bounty Hunter) Mira notices that her counterpart is in her room.

“Hey I gotta go, see around....Tonight~” (Bounty Hunter) Mira flirted causing Blare to get flustered.

“S-Sure.” The Jedi logs off as (Bounty Hunter) Mira follows herself into her room. She hears a dark saber discharge causing her to turn to see (Padawan) Mira holding and raising it.

“This.....This is my mom’s.” (Padawan) Mira observed.

“Well currently it belongs to me.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira replied.

“You know what the dark saber symbolizes right?” She asks.

“Yeah though I didn’t know what it meant fully back then and I just thought it was a present.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira answered remembering how she received it from Captain Phasma as a gift for her birthday.

“Where did you get from?”

“An old friend gave it to me and I kept it ever since. I guess that was the first warning that I would become a Jedi or a foreshadowing.” The woman replied. (Padawan) Mira looks around her counterpart’s room. On the wall is an old imperial propaganda poster and also a old stormtrooper helmet on (Bounty Hunter) Mira’s desk. Then turns to her.

“Huh....You seem to like to collect trophies.” She observed them.

“Oh I have a butt load of those in my ship. This is a tiny fraction you get.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira bragged.

“You have a ship?! My dad would never give me a ship until I’m older!” (Padawan) Mira excitedly asks.

“Well my parents were pretty awesome and let me have a ship when I learn my flight lessons. Perks of becoming a bounty hunter! Besides no resume, just need a gun and a certain set of skills.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira replied.

“Jeez, you’re pretty awesome.” (Padawan) Mira complemented.

“My training didn’t come from my parents though, they came from someone else.” She explained.

“Who?” The question irks her. How would she react that she was raised by the First Order? How she was stripped away from her family and forced to become a stormtrooper then rescue and intelligence agent? She can imagine it now and the thought isn’t pretty. But she can’t lie to herself at all. (Bounty Hunter) Mira sighs and walks towards the stormtrooper helmet then picks it up and looks at it.

“.....Kid, do you know how stormtroopers are recruited to the First Order?” She asks.

“Yeah, they’re kidnapped and forced into recruitment. Undergo rigorous training and then they are inducted.....” (Padawan) Mira replied before her eyes widen up realizing what she once was. A silence falls upon them both as the padawan’s eyes are full of sadness as she can feel her sadness and holds back her tears thinking of the pain she went through. (Bounty hunter) Mira sits down on her bed.

“I was a stormtrooper or at least, started out as one. But I was different from the others and treated differently too. I was raised by captain Phasma who was basically my parent. She treated me like a daughter and a soldier. Even I was given special privileges like having a relationship. Something no trooper has. I didn’t feel special though, I felt like every other trooper and did my routine things while living a somewhat normal life.....” (Bounty Hunter) Mira explained her past.

“I participated in training while listening to music on break time, hung out with officers even Kylo Ren, even did semi-missions like breaking up a protests. Heck I had a girlfriend once when I patrolled back at Jakku until I was put into a special weapons facility where a coup happened....It was started by my parents and I didn’t know. Heck I almost killed Zeb for kriffs sake!” She softly spoke and half laughed as her counterpart looks in pity and sadness.

“But everyone who had something to do with my parents, those who saw my face tried to talk to me saying how they missed me. I never believed in any of them cause if I let myself believe my folks were alive, if I somehow believe that they may come back and save me? I’d never have learned to survive or learn the lessons I learned.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira looks deeper into the mask.

“I got back to Jakku and that’s where I jumpstarted my relationship with the girl there. Heck, we were even planning to run away together but...I realized I was going to be the death of her. I would get her in trouble so...I broke up with her.”

“All for the sake of....Keeping her safe.” (Padawan) Mira muttered.

“Believe me, everyday I couldn’t bear the thought of thinking about her. Our meeting. Our friendship. Our love. Our first time....It was burned into my head. But I kept on going, acting like it never happened, quite sure she did the same too. The coup though from last time....I ended it. I formulated a plan to warn First Order command and it got the attention of the First Order Rescue and Intelligence division. The most elite of the order, only a handful of the finest and unique stormtroopers can be chosen and revoke their title as trooper....turned agent. They specialize in civilian rescue and many other things. I was chosen by director Thrawn himself during the on-sight decision day.” She sighed.

“I guess the First Order does care people....”

“Have you seen our base in Aqualae? It’s a paradise. Order has been brought. Anyhow, I became an agent or at least an agent in training. Us agents are given a choice to decide what we are. Agents come in different forms and once they become an agent, their names are given back to them to have that sense of identity. One agent can destroy an entire base in hours. I wanted to make the dark saber have a purpose so I decided to pick my major in being a super commando and minor with saber training with drill sergeant Saim Qua’Deesh, a cyborg Kaleesh similar to Grievous. I graduated and was given the option to have a team so I did choose. Agents like to work alone sometimes but I like to have company. So I was assigned to a team of two people consisting of the son of agent Kallus and the daughter of Maketh Tua who is a pilot. It was only Kallus and I though who took care of things on the ground while she shot anything that flew towards us. But our team began to grow with Zuke and Blackjack, a demolitions specialist and the daughter of the Seventh Sister who is a sniper. We were the best. We fought a murderous cell hellbent on subjugating the citizens as we protected them.....” (Bounty Hunter) Mira softly smiled but her smile turns into a sad frown.

“But with their tactics.....It takes a toll on you. You see unspeakable horrors and atrocities. Losses become common. I’ve fought for years on end as the war went on. But something caught me off guard. I was called in by command to have a session with the supreme leader....And I knew my life was going to get worse from there. He told me that I was....Honorably discharged from the First Order after years of service. Said I needed a break.....At that point, I was scared now. I was offered many recommendations but most of them were desk jobs, most of which I can’t do anything. I had no one to go back to, the girl probably didn’t want to see me again and I would be left jobless. We had a private party obviously. Thanks for your service, see you again....I was even given a ship. A Mandolorian ship known as the Poltergeist and stored many of momentos and weaponry I got there. With a smile and a hug, I left. I decided to use my talents elsewhere. I became a bounty hunter and did my business in Umbra but I had a certain set of codes: No killing of children, trafficking, no murder of Imperial officials, no stormtrooper killing, and most certainly-No business with Hutts.” She remembers how easy it was compared to the insurgents, she would walk through them like they were nothing because of her gear and dark saber also her training.

“I came in quick and fast like nothing. But some people don’t like my code, some like to lie. The only one who did that was a certain Phindian named Moralo Eval. He was involved in the kidnapping of Twi’lek’s and I didn’t know. He got under my nose saying it was a crate full of Relby rifles. I wasn’t until I took a peek when he retrieved it was a bunch of female Twi’lek’s, mainly female, in stasis. So I did what I do. I gave him a refund.....” The moment (Bounty Hunter) Mira clenched her teeth while speaking was that (Padawan) Mira realized she did something horrible.

“I hacked his PA systems, played some easy street on loop then lured him outside....Before I beat him with my fists then kicked him around and finally executed him with my dark saber. He was scum. No one would miss him. I stole his money and freed the slaves before I gave them the money next before I left.” She continued.

“......You’re a monster.” (Padawan) Mira growled.

“I told myself that. I felt my humanity fading away.....I felt like I was becoming something I wasn’t and I accepted it in someway but I hated it. At times I find myself looking straight at the barrel of my own gun knowing I’m living a pathetic and useless existence but somehow I stop myself for some reason. I felt alone....But Kyle Katarn found a way.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira’s voice sounds hopeful. She could feel pity for her, even she wouldn’t last alone by herself.

“Jedi master Katarn?”

“Yes, him. I didn’t care who he was but he gave me a job. To extract a Jedi who was frozen since order sixty six really. At first I saw this as a simple extraction and I didn’t like her pompous attitude to me. But....She was the first to see me as a person not some ruthless killer that parents tell their kids about to make them behave and I...Began to respect for that. Funny thing is that I began to like her and it was scary.....I always feared that if I get close to someone, I’d end up hurting them and I tried my best to distance myself from her also. I guess its her Jedi charm.” She chuckled.

“Maybe that explains why she’s your girlfriend.” (Padawan) Mira joked.

“Probably but get this: I attracted a dark side group that ended up hunting us down. It wasn’t until she kidnapped I actually cared about something in my life and then the truth was given on why Kyle chose me. I was the daughter of....” She makes a gun gesture at her.

“Ezra and Sabine Wren Bridger.”

“Yep! Found out through a force vision, the reason why he didn’t tell was that he feared in my mental state, I would end up killing my parents. So we went off to save the princess.....With help from a group of Mandolorian Jedi’s called the Mandolorian Knights. A secret clan of force sensitives Mandolorians who follow both the Jedi and Mandolorian ways. You could’ve seen it. It was the most epic thing I have ever seen in my life. So we killed the bad guy and saved her. But Kyle had other business and left us though gave us the location of my parents in Lothal. Thus here I am. Mira Wren Bridger, stormtrooper, agent, bounty hunter.....Jedi.” (Bounty) Hunter Mira smirked as (Padawan) Mira is silent and looks at her in awe.

“Any thoughts?” She asks.

“.....I. Am. Awesome.” (Padawan) Mira gasped.

“Yes you are...You know, Kanan told me not to bring to my ship nor I let anyone near it but...You’re an exception. Wanna see my collection?” (Bounty Hunter) Mira asks. (Padawan) Mira’s eyes shine with her jaws dropped and nods.

It’s pretty strange for having two families. Especially for Ezra and (Meldy) Ezra who have no difference in each other except an artificial arm. There is no difference between them whatsoever really except they’re younger. (Meldy) Hera walks towards the ghost.

“I seriously hope she didn’t bring her to her ship.” Sabine sighed.

“She brought her to her ship.” Kanan said while walking out.

(Padawan) Mira looks in awe. Below the ships deck is a room full of old weaponry and armors encased in a glass case for display. Armor ranging from shoretrooper, deathtrooper, imperial stormtrooper, first order stormtrooper, Mandolorian armor, clone trooper you can name it. It was always (Bounty hunter) Mira’s hobby to collect old wartime relics from the past. On the walls are numerous blasters, heavy blasters, rocket launchers, and even swords too.

“Speechless?” (Bounty Hunter) Mira smirked again.

“Woooow.....” Soon (Padawan) Mira’s family heads down alongside (Bounty Hunter) Mira’s too as (Meldy) Zeb whistles.

“Jeez, your kids packing heat. She ever uses’em?” He asks Sabine.

“Nah, there just collectibles....I think......Yeah, collectibles.” Sabine replied.

“So what do you think about yourself?” (Meldy) Ezra asks causing (Padawan) Mira to turn around.

“She is so cool! Like first she was stormtrooperandthenshefellinlovecauseshewasdifferentand-”

“Okay, okay, you can explain it to us when we get back home. Alright kiddo?” (Meldy) Mira asks.

“Sure thing dad.” The family leaves.

“Wait, I have something for you.” (Bounty Hunter) Mira called as she opens a case nearby. Inside is the armor is Shae Vizsla as her family awes.

“I want you to have it. As a momento.” She offers the case to her counterpart with a smile.

“A present from me to you.” (Padawan) Mira accepts the case before smiling then placing it on the ground then hugs her older self before picking it up.

“May the force be with you Mira.” The family leaves as they head outside as a portal opens with Resistance members circling it as they enter before it vanishes.

#star wars rebels #mira wren bridger #sabine wren #ezra bridger #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #zeb orrelios #sabezra

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revelinrebels · 7 years

Text

Get Some Meat On Your Bones

yeh…im not so sure about this title but oh well the first chapter in a small series I wanted to do, If you like this keep an eye out words: 3444 summery: the ghost crew help Ezra get back on his feet after 8 years on the streets other places to read this: (I own these accounts) fanfiction.net AO3 warnings: vomiting, street life, mentions of genocide, depiction of injury, angst basically please give feedback if you can

This would be his first meal on the ghost, Ezra knew he should take it slow, eat just enough to stave away the worst of his huger, then leave the rest for later. Things usually took a bad turn when he ate too much after practically nothing, and the last few days had been rough, between just general bad luck on the streets and his abrupt adventure with the rebels whose ship he now shared, not to mention his brief imprisonment. Those dratted imperials had even gone to the trouble of taking the yogans he had…. earned, and not even bothered to spare him a few ration bars! Ezra pouted. He hoped they choked on the seeds… By the time he had finished sulking over his lost fruits and looked up, he saw Hera handing Sabine a bowl which she accepted with gratitude before retreating to her room. As the colourful girl stepped lightly past him he could smell the food, it smelt like salt and meat with that undertone of starchiness that all rations had, he could almost taste it. His eyes followed the steaming stew and Sabine rolled her eyes, thinking she was the focus of his gaze, but for once, his mind was elsewhere, revelling in the thought of a hot meal. A hot meal! His mouth watered. He couldn’t count how long it had been since he’d had one of those!

Hera soon arrived at the table where he and Zeb sat, as far as possible from one another. Kanan followed soon after, they both carried two more bowls, each filled with the same protein stew. To his obvious dismay, Zeb was forced to scoot closer to Ezra to allow Kanan and Hera room to squeeze in, his face twisted in a dramatic disgusted snarl. Ezra gave a repulsed grimaced in retort and Hera shot them a look that was gone in two seconds flat, melting back into her companionable smile, but it had been just long enough to scare the pants off of the both of them. Ezra deduced that this little “dinner as a family” thing was Hera’s idea given that her gentle smile looked out of place when put next to Zeb’s scowl and Kanan’s face that somehow managed to convey an air of masked awkwardness and acceptance. Kanan seemed to be good at conveying his feeling through only the slightest expression, or maybe he wasn’t, Ezra thought, maybe it was just this force thing the man liked to babble about, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t just emotions the Lothali boy had picked up on either, even in the short time he had known the man, Ezra got the impression Kanan sometimes had a hard time saying no to Hera. He was fairly sure he didn’t need the force to see that though. In the corner of his eye he saw Zeb glance at him. he started to envy Sabine and wonder how she got out of this. His thoughts where completely shattered when a bowl and a spoon clinked down on the table in front of him and the tantalizing sent of food flooded his senses with salty promise. Instantly, his earlier rules of taking it slow were forgotten. Kanan watched his newfound apprentice pick up the spoon with enthusiasm and begin to shovel the stew into his mouth. He was about to just roll his eyes and continue with his own meal before a grim thought wormed its way into his head. Now, he didn’t know much at all about Ezra, and he could admit that, no matter his knee jerk reactions at first, he knew the boy was more than just some reckless punk wanting to cause troubled. When Hera had told him that he was an orphan it had added an extra layer to Ezra’s motives that he hadn’t thought to consider before. He grazed a look at the younger boy, who was still intent on his food, and suddenly noticed the hollowness of the lithe teens eyes and his sunken cheeks, even the way he chewed looked awkward. His mind wandered back to the days he had spent rooting through dumpsters after order 66. He remembered the way hunger had clenched at his empty belly with an iron grip and sowed a weariness into his heart that made him snap and lash out if someone came too near. His hand clenched subconsciously around his spoon. “you okay love?” he heard Hera say softly, he didn’t reply but gave her a meaningful glance that made her soft smile stiffen into a line of concern, before turning to speak to Ezra “hey kid, slow down a little” Ezra glanced up at the sound of Kanan’s voice and swallowed the stew in his mouth with a bit of difficulty, his throat had a hard time with food occasionally. What right did this guy have, to tell him how to eat his food? So, in response he just gave an irritated grunt and shot the Jedi a striking blue glare before pulling his bowl closer almost protectively and eating even faster. Even Zeb glanced at that before going back to his own meal, the genocide of his people had ensured he was no stranger to hunger. They were all rapidly beginning to expect something was going on here.

The stew was amazing, Ezra couldn’t get enough, it was hot and filling, it had been so long since his last bite of food let alone his last decent meal. Ezra couldn’t eat fast enough. But then the stew turned unexpectedly sour in his mouth and his throat refused to swallow the chunks of chewy protein, his stomach, which had once accepted the nutrition thankfully, was churning. He felt the stinging sensation of bile rising in his throat. He stilled his spoon a few centimetres from his mouth. A part of him was hitting itself for forgetting how his stomach had might have shrunk in the last few hungry days. The spoon fell from his hand and into the stew with a plop that splattered the table and caught the attention of the three sentients. Ezra sprang from his seat and ran out the room, grabbing the door frame and using his momentum to skid around the corner and towards the ‘fresher, the location of which he was thankful he knew. It was Kanan who leapt to his feet first followed by the other two, he stalled for a moment, unknowing of what to do. He was quickly snapped out of his daze when the blur of green that was Hera as she dashed past him. He followed hot on her heels. Zeb could only stand dumbfounded, unknowing of what to do, he’d never been any good at this sort of thing but then an idea sparked in his green eyes a and he turned to the small kitchenette in the far side of the room.

*** When Hera turned towards the small room, Kanan lagging a little behind, she saw the door had been left open giving her an immediate view of Ezra hunched over the toilet, throwing up violently. She saw some of it had splashed against his jump suit and the thin white undershirt he wore underneath. He knelt with his legs splayed out every which way and his bangs obscuring his face, it gave her an opportunity to really notice just how sickly he looked, the dry, unhealthy dullness to his hair and the faint rash that seemed to be spreading up his neck. The trembling boy turned his head slightly towards her and Kanan, he looked like he was about to speak to her but snapped his face back towards the toilet coughing and spluttering before once again wrenching, this time bringing up only bile. As the boy coughed and gasped Hera settled down beside him. In some weird, unfamiliar way, Ezra was glad Hera had come, but it also ignited a small spark of fear in his chest, she had an air of gentleness the others seemed to lack, but there was also some sort of anxiety that rose in his throat when he was around her, she was the captain and owner of the ship after all and if she deemed him more trouble than he was worth he’d be dumped back and Lothal without a single yogan stashed away for the fast approaching winter months. They didn’t get much snow on Lothal, but there was a frost that came and settled over the grasslands, hardening the ground and sinking into the bones of those without sufficient shelter. If you didn’t have enough food, you would surely die. What would Hera think of him like this? He was weak and useless, a useless boy that couldn’t even feed himself. He felt her gaze burning into him, why keep him on the ship if he was no use to any- -the thoughts swirling in Ezra’s head dispelled as he felt Hera rubbing a gentle, comforting circle on his back, anything he might have said was interrupted as he once again heaved, but his stomach was empty so all it did was make him choke and splutter, squeezing small tears from his eyes. He gasped in short deep breaths. Ezra heard feet scuffing near the door and gave a sideways glanced to see Kanan still standing where he had been before. He glimpsed Kanan as he stood awkwardly in the door. He had taken his shoulder armour off before dinner and his hair was a little dishevelled from a long day, a few strands had escaped the previously tight pony tail. He had expected the Jedi had come to say something along the lines of I told you so, but then Ezra saw his face, his teal eyes were soft and his eyebrows creased in concern, he wore an almost knowing frown. It was a look of… understanding and empathy. Ezra could most definitely say he hadn’t been expecting that. Kanan stared back at the boy when he caught the deep blue eyes studying him through a drape of greasy blue hair. He let out a sharp breath, at that moment (however inappropriate a moment it was) he felt relief, no matter his insecurity’s and concerns about teaching Ezra, at least he would be fed and sheltered, and in some twisted sense of the word, safe. Hera’s voice brought his attention back to the situation at hand and he noticed Ezra had finally stopped vomiting. He sat next to the twi’lek a hand covering the right side his now pale face. He looked exhausted. “we should get you out of your jumpsuit, and your under shirt as well, I think” he heard her say gently, rubbing soothing circles into Ezra’s back, but then moving her hand away when the boy looked uneased by the simple gesture. He saw her frown but Kanan knew it was because of something other than their newest member’s edginess towards her “I don’t think I saw you bring any more clothes though” he barley heard her murmur, the thought directed at herself. He was trying to think how to solve this new problem before remembering the sleep top he had accidently shrunk a in a wash cycle. “I have something that should fit, hold up a minute” Hera regarded thankfully him with a small nod, but when he looked at Ezra, the boy’s blue eyes swirled with confusion. He found himself dwelling on that as he walked briskly to his cabin Hera watched Kanan leave before turning back to the newly named spectre six. He sat with his knees pulled into his chest and he was fixated on the wall outside that could be seen through the still open bathroom door. He didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the state of his clothes, but Hera was sure it couldn’t be comfortable. He had looked distant but when she shifted so that she was crouching on the balls of her feet his blue eyes darted too her as quick as a pouncing loth-cat. Hera did her best to give the gentlest smile she could “why don’t you get your jumpsuit off and I can wash it for you” Ezra still didn’t speak, but his wary gaze seemed to soften a little. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Hera heard him murmur a quick thanks and reach a hand behind his back to fumble with the zip of his clothes. She breathed a small relived sigh as Ezra struggled to pull his arms from the tight sleeves of his scruffy attire. Talking to the kid in this state was like trying to heard tookas. Kanan rounded the corner as Ezra stepped out of the pile of orange fabric leaving him in his sick tainted under shirt and thin black trousers. He was holding a loose cream coloured sleep shirt that looked small enough to fit his padawan. As Hera gathered the dirty suit off the ‘fresher floor he extended the bundled shirt to the boy. Ezra reached almost tentatively towards the soft material. When he had it in his hands he grasped it so hard his knuckles went white, as if someone were about to steal it, but then his darting eyes glanced towards her and his grip loosened “I will- “he broke off to cough, trying to lose the hoarseness in his throat “-I’ll give it back later” Kanan gave a wry chuckle “it’s not like it fits me, kid” he countered with slight amusement in his voice “besides, it’ll do you as sleep clothes until we can get you other stuff” Ezra had an expression that Hera could only describe as bewilderment. He looked like he was about to say something but Kanan cut him off “better get it on, so we can wash that as well” he suggested, pointing at Ezra’s splattered white under shirt. The blue haired teen blinked out of his daze and began to pull his shirt over his head. Hera did her very best not to gasp. As he pulled up his shirt the stretched fabric slid over the bumps of his protruding spine. A red, dry rash cracked its way down his right shoulder, caking itself on his spine, it stopped halfway down only to be replaced with a fairly new looking dark purple bruise that bloomed across his lower back like Sabine’s water colours. Although he wasn’t starving just yet, he was a good half of the way there and she could have counted his ribs with little difficulty. She didn’t get time to properly examine his array of old scars and new scratches and bumps before he pulled the cream sleep top over his dark mop of hair and let it slide down to cover his torso. When his sunken blue eyes turned to glance at her as she took the newly shed shirt from his hands, all she could see was the grim childhood memory of the hollow eyes of her people, starving in the tight clutches of the war many a cycle ago on Ryloth. She raised her gaze to see Kanan, she knew he had seen what she had, but instead of horror, instead of pity. She was met with something else. Ezra was frankly feeling a little overwhelmed. He was starting to think maybe he had judged these people wrong but then a doubting voice rang out in his thoughts. “No”, he told himself, “they’ll only disappoint you, as soon as winters over you stick to the plan and make a run for it”. But there was another voice that argued in favour of this motley band of rebels, a voice that had always been there, unlike the cold logic that had only developed on the dusty streets of Lothal. That soft humming that usually told him of dangers and traps, but more recently to trust. Right now it shouted to him, “no! no! stay! This is where you should be!” he had always trusted it before, but this was different, he needed more than this to convince him to change his entire way of life, so then the voice said, as if in answer “look up” so he did He lifter his head slightly, only to be met with the glittering teal of Kanan’s gaze, he saw all that he had before, the knowing and the empathy, but now, shining in the depths of blue and green, he felt something new. Respect, and a promise. *** Kanan’s hand on his back between his shoulder blades guiding him to his room didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. He didn’t like touches, people could grab you too easily when you let them get that close. But that paranoia… that fear just wasn’t there as Kanan nudged him through the door and towards the ladder. I’m just tired, that’s all, he lied to himself. “you should rest, take a nap or something, you’re as white as snow on Hoth” Kanan observed and Ezra huffed in agreement already climbing the ladder, hoping to sleep before the building headache he had worsened and his returning hunger came back with a vengeance. Kanan was just leaving as Zeb walked in, holding a glass and a packet of crackers. The Jedi halted in curiosity, looking up at the tall lasat. Zeb shuffled uncomfortably, suddenly looking embarrassed. The clawed paws hurriedly transferred the goods into Kanan’s hands, murmuring something Ezra didn’t catch, before hurrying out the door. Kanan examined the packet before smiling and handing them and the glass up to Ezra “I didn’t think, you won’t have any food left from dinner, you must be starving, not to mention dehydrated” as he said that Ezra was already hurrying to get the glass of water to his lips but Kanan reached up and stilled his hand, lightly gripping his wrist “just do me a favour and take it a little slower this time, alright kid?” the Jedi gave a wry smile and dropped the boys wrist then made his way out the cabin, as soon as he’d left Ezra smiled back. Taking small slow sips from the glass he gave a sigh and began to open the packet. He looked at the salted cracker in his hands and took a small bite of the corner, letting it melt in his mouth Maybe he’d be here a little longer than expected *** “I kind of feel better about all this now, in a kind of twisted way” Kanan murmured into his kaff as Hera blew on her own, trying to cool the hot beverage down. Her breaths sent steam swirling into the air, catching in the glow of the lights above them that had been dimmed to signal the artificial night. They had both volunteered for the graveyard shift and were currently sitting next to each other right where the drama had started a few hours before. “about what?” she asked as she decided the drink was cool enough and took a sip. “this whole training him thing,” he replied, moving his tanned face away from I own mug. She looked up at him and gave a warm smile that meant more to him than she could have ever said, he didn’t even need to explain. He loved that about her, always so smart. “I’m surprised he wasn’t more trouble today, especially with his shirt, I suppose he did look awfully tired” Hera spoke in a hushed voice, trying to keep her words from leaking through the thin walls of the ship and disturbing the others, especially Ezra. “me too-” Kanan agreed, “-he doesn’t really know us yet, I would have been apprehensive of showing stuff like that to you when we first met” he mused, thinking back to the man he had been without her but then the serious atmosphere was shattered as Hera laughed into her kaff. He raised an eyebrow in the pilot’s direction. “Kanan” she exclaimed between giggles “you had trouble keeping your shirt on around me when we first met!” Kanan rolled his eyes and feigned a pout as her giggles died down, melting back into the companionable silence “but seriously Kanan” she said as she turned to look at him “you can do this, you’ll figure it out” her voice was soft and soothing but at the same time determined, she could speak in a way that made him feel he could do anything “and for what it’s worth,I think Ezra will make a great student" Kanan gave a huff and settled his cheek on her covered head “if you say so” he murmured “but first I think we need to get a little meat on his bones”

#swr fanfiction #fanfic #star wars rebels #star wars rebels fanfiction #depiction of injury #vomiting

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odanurr87 · 7 years

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The problem with Star Wars Rebels

At the behest of several friends and acquaintances I decided to start watching the animated series Star Wars Rebels. I had previously watched The Clone Wars, but eventually gave up on it for a variety of reasons that I may explain in a separate post. I am currently on episode 14 of the second season of Star Wars Rebels, yet I feel I am able at this time to try and pinpoint some of the issues I’ve been having with this series.

Let me preface this by saying Rebels is not a bad show, at least I don’t think so. I think all fans, both old and new, can agree it’s entertaining, there’s a lot of humour, and voice acting is very good. Some might even delight in meeting familiar characters from the Star Wars Universe, like Leia, Lando, or the droids, or learning new bits of lore, such as the origin of the Rebel B-Wing starfighter. I do believe that someone (relatively) new to the Star Wars Universe will find more to enjoy in Star Wars Rebels than an old fan like me, but I am trying and I will keep on trying.

Speaking for myself, I come with a lot of Expanded Universe (EU) baggage, and retcons are not something that I take to lightly, especially when they’re gratuitous or badly done. My head is filled with details that fleshed the Star Wars Universe, details provided by the EU, so when I see something in Star Wars Rebels (and in The Clone Wars too) that overwrites that data an alarm goes off at the back of my head and I’m taken out of the experience even if for a tiny bit. The Clone Wars is perhaps the most egregious culprit as Dave Filoni messed with continuity (LucasArts wasn’t owned by Disney then) resurrecting already-dead characters (e.g.: Darth Maul) and completely altering Mandalorian culture, among others.

However, retconning is only (a small) part of the problem with Star Wars Rebels. I believe there are more basic issues with the series that I’ll do my best to outline in this post. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at what happened a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

The origins of the Rebel Alliance... kinda

Star Wars Rebels follows the adventures of a young group of mercenaries turned freedom-fighters 5 years before the Battle of Yavin (BBY). The show starts as a young thief by the name of Ezra bumps into a group, led by Kanan, a former Jedi-turned-mercenary, in the process of stealing supplies from the Empire. These will be our heroes for the remainder of the series. Besides Kanan and Ezra, we have: Zeb, a Lasat male honor guardsman who acts as the muscle; Chopper, an astromech droid that’s in charge of opening every door and repairing everything that doesn’t work properly; Sabine, a Mandalorian who has a penchant for art and blowing stuff up; and Hera, daughter of Cham Syndulla (from TCW), top-notch pilot and sharing the lead together with Kanan.

From left to right: Sabine, Zeb, Hera, Kanan, Ezra, and Chopper.

Comparisons with the gang from the Original Trilogy (OT) are self-evident and are not the focus of this post, nor of this particular point. As the show progresses, we come to learn that his group, while operating independently, does strike against the Empire every now and then. Circumstances eventually force them to make a stand, and thus we learn that they were actually operating as a cell, and that there are other Rebel cells operating throughout the galaxy. In short, what we have is a small window into the origins of the Rebel Alliance.

Putting aside the (non-canon and Force-powered) story of The Force Unleashed, which also depicts the origins of the Rebel Alliance (and is incidentally very good at it), one obvious question comes to mind, do we really need this story? Do we need to know exactly how the Rebel Alliance came together to stand against the might of the Empire forged by Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? To my mind, the answer is no. History has shown us that rebellion is commonplace in empires that abuse their power and oppress their people. Therefore, that a rebellion would surface in the span between Episodes III and IV doesn’t come as a surprise. Would I want this story to be told though? If executed properly, the answer is yes.

Planting the seeds of rebellion.

George Lucas tried to show us some of this in Episode III with a series of meetings between Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Padmé Amidala, and a few other senators, where they discussed the future of the Republic and what they might need to do to save it. Unfortunately, those scenes got cut for the theatrical release. Maybe they were a tad too on the nose, maybe Lucas thought it would remind people of The Phantom Menace’s politics. I am perhaps one of the few who finds that politics are an integral part of the tale of the Republic’s downfall and who believes they don’t have to be detrimental to a story. Just look at the excellent The Legend of the Galactic Heroes for reference. Whether you’re a fan of the light novel series by Yoshiki Tanaka, or the (superior) anime version, it’s a story fraught with history, politics, economics, religion, and warfare, that finds the right balance between all these elements. If Star Wars Rebels were to combine these elements half as well to tell us how the Rebel Alliance was formed, it would make for one hell of a story.

Unfortunately, so far Rebels has made no attempt to do so. There are many basic questions that remain unanswered. For instance, if Hera’s (she’s their commanding officer now, right?) band of freedom fighters is just one cell out of many, does that mean that there’s some sort of centralized power structure? The story seems to suggest the rebels were disorganized before Hera’s group rallied them into action but it’s never really clear. At the same time, it also suggests Hera was already taking orders from some form of command authority back in their early ‘independent’ days. Which one is it?

If there is a commanding body to the rebel movement, is there a larger plan beyond ‘sticking it to the Empire’? How exactly are the rebels planning to overthrow the Empire, if indeed that is their goal? Are we even at the point of calling it the Rebel Alliance? It would appear that at least the rebel group working with Hera is mobile and doesn’t have a base of operations. Is this the same for other cells?

My head is filled with dozens of questions that scream (a bit of hyperbole, okay) to be answered, but the show remains oblivious and chooses to plunge through regardless. To be perfectly honest, I doubt the creators themselves know the answers. It is this internal confusion that throws me for a loop. Perhaps they believe these are trifle questions not worth pondering. I beg to differ. If you choose to tell a story about the origins of the Rebel Alliance, thoroughly exploring said origins is a must; at the very least I would expect it to be internally coherent and not sow confusion every two episodes.

This ties neatly into my second point, which is...

The Force is too strong with this one

When old Ben Kenobi tells Luke how the Jedi were once the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, one has the sense that he’s talking about a distant memory, something that happened a long time ago. Indeed, watching the OT, you get the feeling that most of the galaxy believes that the Jedi were nothing but a myth. General Motti went so far as to question Vader’s sad devotion to that ‘ancient religion.’ Tarkin is adamant that Vader’s the only Jedi left. Even though he’d be proven wrong minutes (and an episode) later, the universe of the Classic Trilogy has all but forgotten the Jedi.

When Luke picks up the Jedi mantle it’s an incredibly boon for the Rebel Alliance. Not only have they now a powerful symbol to rally behind, for the Jedi were considered bastions of the Republic, they also have someone to stand against the powerful Darth Vader. This was further reinforced by the EU. Sometimes a story would feature people who would dabble in the Force, or people who pretended to be Jedi, but in the end, the notion that Luke was the last of them was ever present.

Luke Skywalker, last (hope?) of the Jedi.

The Prequel Trilogy (PT) was the first to create problems for this narrative. After all, the events of Revenge of the Sith take place 19 years before the events of A New Hope. I would hardly think that 20 years is enough time for the galaxy to forget about the Jedi. Even less so when you consider that the Clone Wars would have spread the Jedi throughout the galaxy, making them known even in the most distant Outer Rim worlds.

20 years ago there were thousands of Jedi. Now there are none. Revenge of the Sith tried to explain this through Order 66, just one in a long series of orders drilled into the clone army that instructed them to eliminate their Jedi commanders and every other Jedi they could get their hands on. The film shows us they were mercilessly efficient at that and very few Jedi managed to survive the betrayal, the most notable examples being Obi-Wan on Utapau and Yoda on Kashyyyk. But as the film also shows us, not all Jedi were killed by the clones, either on the battlefield or back at the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan managed to get a message out warning any surviving Jedi of the fall of Coruscant and the clones’ betrayal, and instructing them to stay hidden until... whenever. There’s a very funny deleted scene from Episode III where the clones dress up as Jedi to trick Yoda and Obi-Wan with predictably bad results.

Anyway, as I was saying, no matter how efficient the clones might have been, it stands to reason that some Jedi other than Obi-Wan and Yoda would have survived the purge. Again, going with EU material, the Dark Times comic series show us as much as Darth Vader begins his quest to eliminate any and all surviving Jedi, and he’s very good at it. Any Jedi that might have survived that second purge where probably in hiding during the events of the OT, right?

Wrong. In Star Wars Rebels, Kanan notices that young Ezra is strong in the Force and undertakes the daunting task of training him. So now we have a Jedi Master and Padawan, fighting together with the Rebel Alliance, five years before the events of A New Hope. In fact, the events of season three of Star Wars Rebels take place as close as 2 BBY.

What?

It gets better. Joining them in their struggle in season two is none other than Anakin Skywalker’s former padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who’s also working with the Rebel Alliance! As if that weren’t enough, we also have the Inquisitors, an organization of Force-sensitive agents working for the Empire to hunt down Jedi. By episode 14 of season 2 I counted at least 3 Inquisitors and there are probably more if the “fifth brother” and “seventh sister” quotes are any indication.

Um, well...

There’s more. Darth Maul makes an appearance at some point in season two and definitely returns in season three. Kanan and Ezra travel to a Jedi Temple where they both receive guidance from Yoda himself. Holocrons pop up, and the Bendu monks get transformed into Bendu, a Force-sensitive individual who represents the center of the Force.

...

Where should I begin?

If it was hard for me (or anyone, really) to believe the galaxy had forgotten about the Jedi over the span of 20 years, you can imagine it’s even harder for me to believe they’d forgotten about them over the span of 2 years (and that’s if Rebels ends at 2 BBY, it could end at 0 BBY!). I suppose one could argue that the galaxy is a big place, and that even dozens of Force-powered individuals running around waving their lightsabers like mad might get unnoticed by the galaxy at large. I can see myself conceding this point. There could’ve been Jedi rebels spread throughout the galaxy waging their own personal little wars against the Empire, careful not to attract undue attention to themselves.

Unfortunately, Kanan and Ezra seem to do everything in their power to stay in the Empire’s spotlight. Furthermore, they’re irrevocably linked to the Rebel Alliance, to the point that Princess Leia Organa herself saw the pair wielding their lightsabers and using the Force! Such a tale would’ve certainly spread like wildfire throughout the rebel cells, reaching both the Core and the Outer Rim. The Rebel Alliance had found not one, not two, but three Jedi (so far) to rally around and bring the fight to the Empire... 5 years before they found Luke Skywalker and 9 years before the Jedi, um, returned? Revenge of the Jedi’s starting to sound awfully better now, isn’t it? Pity the Sith got there first.

To further compound the problem is the matter of Ezra’s training. At the rate this is going, he’ll end up having more training than Luke ever did in the OT. He’s had access to a Jedi Temple, two Jedi who’re around almost full-time (Ben died fairly soon and Luke cut short his training with Yoda on Dagobah), two holocrons, and there may be other things I’m not aware of yet. Perhaps Marvel intends to fill the gap of Luke’s training with novels and/or comics? My point is that Ezra seems to be turning too powerful too easily and Disney will have to pull off another Order 66-like stunt if they’re going to get rid of him, Kanan, and Ahsoka by the time Luke arrives.

Will this be Kanan and Ezra’s fate?

We already had an episode in season one where Vader fought more eager, less experienced, versions of Kanan and Ezra and couldn’t (or wouldn’t) defeat them. I believe there’s a similar episode in season two with pretty much the same results. Do the creators intend to go The Force Unleashed route with a final showdown between the Emperor, Vader, Kanan, and Ezra, where Palpatine wipes the floor with the Jedi? The Inquisitors are useless after all. Will they instead go into hiding like their fellows? That would be quite the reversal given everything that’s happened on the show but it wouldn’t surprise me. Not anymore.

A galaxy without stakes

The struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire is more than well documented, at least under EU material. Even if we’re talking canon sources, only recently we had Rogue One, a new Star Wars movie set around 0 BBY that tells the story of how the Rebels got their hands on the Death Star plans that Darth Vader is so keen on getting back in A New Hope.

Rogue One is, in essence, a war drama in the vein of the old World War II films I used to watch, like The Guns of Navarone or The Dirty Dozen, sharing more similarities with the former than the latter. It’s a film that attempts to show us the Alliance’s darker side and the lines they’re willing to cross to defeat the Empire, all the while driving the point that war is not a clean and clear-cut affair, with multiple rebel groups having different goals and methods to go about it, and civilians often getting caught in the crossfire. This movie does not shy away from death, having the largest body count since the Death Star blew up Alderaan in A New Hope. Okay, maybe not that high.

In Rogue One, war is hell.

Perhaps more so than A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, Rogue One succeeds at making the Empire feel powerful and menacing, to the point the Rebels actually consider giving up on the entire endeavour. Indeed, the Rebellion in Rogue One, while an organized force, is no match for the Empire, less so when the Death Star is put into play.

Far superior at showing this was The Empire Strikes Back during the Battle of Hoth, when the full force of the Empire was brought to bear on the Rebel base. A blockade around the planet was enforced by Star Destroyers while AT-ATs under the command of experienced General Veers led the ground assault against the Rebel forces. The Rebels put up a valiant effort but the outcome had been clear from the start: this battle was already lost; all they could do was delay the Imperial forces long enough for the evacuation to be completed. Even then, the evacuation was no simple affair. The Rebel transports could not evade nor outgun the Star Destroyers around the planet so they had to use Echo Base’s powerful ion cannons to disable them long enough to make the jump to lightspeed.

This is what it took to (temporarily) disable a Star Destroyer in Episode V.

Even our heroes are not safe from the Empire in Episode V. Luke learns a painful lesson when he hastens to rescue Han and Leia at Bespin, losing a hand in a duel with Vader that nearly cost him his life. Han is tortured, frozen in carbonite, and handed over to a bounty hunter. Later, in Return of the Jedi, a more seasoned Luke Skywalker pays the price of underestimating the dark side of the Force, something both Ben and Yoda warned him against. Had Vader not turned against the Emperor right there and then, Luke would’ve been toast. Of course, the Rebellion would’ve won the day nonetheless, right?

It is true that the depiction of the Imperial forces is uneven even among the movies of the OT. For the excellent Battle of Hoth we also have the (underwhelming) Battle of Endor, where the Empire’s forces are defeated by a small Rebel strike team working together with the primitive Ewoks. To be fair though, the size of the garrison on Endor is a lot smaller than the forces deployed during the Hoth battle and the terrain is a lot trickier and particularly well-suited for guerrilla tactics, where the advantage of numbers can be severely hampered. As a side note, there’s also a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi where we see Commander Jerjerrod’s conflict at being ordered by the Emperor to destroy the Endor moon, thereby killing friend and foe alike. No doubt Palpatine intended to use this to leverage Luke into submitting... or forcing him to use the dark side to strike at him. Quite the deviously cunning fellow Palpatine.

Well, that looks impressive.

Still, the sense that the movies and the EU convey is that the Empire, at the time of the OT, has a vast and fairly competent military, but suffers from corruption and internal power struggles, as does any large organization given enough power. Why would anyone expect anything less? The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was perhaps the most effective and efficient military at the time of the Clone Wars, comprised mostly, but not excusively, of highly-trained clones. I’m uncertain whether the clones’ rapid-aging is something that’s still canon (I somehow doubt it), but in any case Star Wars Rebels tells us that the Empire started phasing them out after the events of Episode III, replacing them with regular people, probably drafted from the many worlds of the Republic/Empire.

I’ve seen many people use this argument to explain away things like why the stormtroopers have such bad aim but that’s ridiculous. With the right training and the right tools/weapons, the Empire could still have the most powerful army in the galaxy, and guess what? They do have the right training and the right tools and weapons. Rex himself admits that the Empire did use the clones to train new recruits and pass down their knowledge. The Empire also obviously kept all the vehicles, weapons, and technology they used to fight the Separatists, acquired some new ones, and upgraded others.

There’s a popular, misquoted I believe, phrase that says, “There are no bad soldiers, only bad officers.” Possibly a re-interpretation of a quote attributed to Alexander the Great, “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” Regardless of the exact wording and of who said what, the point is clear: soldiers can only be (shown to be) as good as the person commanding them.

Yang vs Reinhard: Two sides of the same coin.

This is a point that the excellent Legend of the Galactic Heroes illustrates time and again. For all his clever strategies, Yang Wenli cannot help but follow the orders of the corrupt and self-serving, but duly elected, government of the Free Planets Alliance, with disastrous results. All Yang can do is stave off defeat and live to fight another day. On the other hand, the Empire’s own master strategist, Reinhard von Lohengramm, has carte blanche to deal with the Alliance as he sees fit, and surrounds himself with officers that have the talent and skills to defeat his enemy, regardless of their background.

Which is the case in Star Wars Rebels? Well, I guess it’s neither. The Imperial forces in Rebels are depicted as grossly incompetent, there’s no other way around this, hardly better than the battle droids from The Clone Wars. The stromtrooper effect is brought to bear in full force in this show, so much so that even the main characters are forced to comment on how bad the stormtroopers’ aim is. Officers fare no better, being made a mockery of, like missing a shot at point-blank range, and falling into the usual tropes of caricaturesque villainy, like having a fat Imperial officer steal a fruit from a vendor and daring him to stop him.

If I had a penny for every time I’ve seen this scene...

Rebels tries to revert this by introducing mildly competent characters like Agent Kallus, Tarkin, the Inquisitors, Vader, and even Thrawn in season three. Unfortunately, the more these characters are foiled (and they’re foiled a lot), the less effective they are at trying to reinforce the notion that the Empire is a force to be reckoned with. Halfway through season two, Kallus and the Inquisitors are more of a bad punchline than anything else. Tarkin and Vader are better off since their appearances have been few and far between. The only fear that the Empire seems to have sowed so far is among its own, as Imperial officers are made to account for their failure with their lives. It’s difficult to take the Empire seriously if it takes so little to foil them.

Only recently I watched an episode where Princess Leia tries to indirectly deliver ships to the Rebels. The plan is for Kanan and company to steal the freighters while Leia’s delivering supplies. The Imperial officer on the planet, in what shall hence be known as “that time that the Empire did something smart,” aware that Alderaanian ships have fallen into Rebel hands under similar circumstances, secures them with gravity locks and adds a pair of (old?) AT-ATs for further security. The Rebels are initially stumped and grimly reach the conclusion that, at best, they’ll be able to steal one of the freighters but not all three. However, as is the case with the show, they manage to steal all three. The gravity locks are easily disabled by Chopper working together with an escaped Imperial prisoner who just happened to build gravity locks while in captivity; the AT-ATs are easily destroyed by the Ghost (that’s the name of Hera’s ship by the way), while Kanan chops off their legs with his lightsaber; and the stormtroopers are their usual useless selves.

Guess Luke forgot that trick in Empire Strikes Back, and Dark Empire, and pretty much every other story ever.

The Empire’s ineptitude on its own is enough of a problem but there’s another that adds to it, and that’s the familiar trope of plot armor. Yes, our main characters have it, a lot of it. Our small band of freedom fighters can do no wrong or get seriously injured. They can easily defeat the toughest of enemies and they always get away with anything no matter what.

As an example, in that very same episode I mentioned above, at a certain moment a Hammerhead-class cruiser fires at the spot where the Princess, Kanan, and Ezra are standing still. My initial thought was, “How are they going to make it out of that? ‘cause that cruiser is bound to pack a punch.” The end result was nothing but a bit of smoke, a punch no more powerful than if a couple of stormtroopers had fired their blasters. The Hammerhead-class cruiser is not equipped with blasters but turbolaser cannons, and their discharge on ground troops should feel like artillery was raining down on you. However, this is far from the only example where the rules bend around our protagonists.

Perhaps the most egregious example though is the one I saw recently. I was watching episode 13 of season 2, “The Protector of Concord Dawn.” The Rebels are searching for new hyperspace routes not monitored by the Empire and they come upon the idea of using the hyperspace corridor through the Concord Dawn system. While the system has no apparent Imperial presence there is a Mandalorian colony on the planet Concord Dawn and so the Rebels try to negotiate safe passage with them. To make a long story short, the Mandalorians aren’t keen on the idea and shoot down a bunch of Rebel A-Wing fighters. Sabine’s the only one who makes it back to the fleet in one piece whereas Hera also makes the jump to lightspeed... with a half-destroyed A-Wing.

I mean, take a look at that. Are you seriously telling me an A-Wing managed the jump to lightspeed in that state and wasn’t torn apart in the process? Give me a break! And you know what the worst thing is, worse than that even? It was completely unnecessary! Indeed, having Hera captured by the Mandalorians would’ve been the perfect excuse for Kanan to mount a rescue op and return. Hera didn’t need to be safely tucked inside the belly of a Rebel frigate recuperating. But then Sabine wouldn’t have had a reason to seek revenge, would she? More on that later.

At the end of the day we have an Empire that’s less of a threat and more of a joke with every passing episode, and protagonists who can get away with anything with no consequences. A perfect example of this happens early on in the series when Sabine infiltrates an Imperial airfield to blow up its TIE fighter contingent. The reason behind this is unclear, or maybe that’s what I’d like to think, because otherwise the show would suggest she did it for the lolz and because she’s an artist. Right, an artist of death, there’s nothing disturbing about that.

Anyway, the stormtroopers are soon alerted to her presence and, in typical Rebels fashion, she toys with and taunts them until one stomtrooper notices something odd on the wing of a TIE that looks a lot like a bomb. Sabine promptly makes her escape while the bomb blows up on the stormtrooper’s face. I’m not kidding, look, here’s how close the stormtrooper’s face was to the bomb:

And he lived. Yup, he and his buddies lived to tell the tale in their next encounter with Sabine in the airfield where she again blows up the TIEs, thereby reassuring us viewers that Sabine’s actions are completely harmless and that the stormtroopers will live to get blown up again. Isn’t that funny? I’m guessing that showing the shockwave from the explosion chopping the stormtrooper’s head off in a kids’ show would’ve been too funny, right?

All of this, the fact that the Imperials are useless, that the Rebels are invulnerable, that actions have no consequences, it all adds up to one simple, inevitable, truth: there are no stakes in this galaxy. Sure, a rebel fighter will be blown up from time to time, but who cares, you never knew him anyway. But wait, a protagonist gets captured! So what? Getting him out is as straightforward and repetitive as going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters. It’s no big deal, just send in the A-Team, they’ll extract him and blow up half the Empire while they’re at it. There’s a blockade around the planet where the Rebels are at. So what? The A-Team will blow stuff up and escape with no casualties. Who needs a planetary Ion Cannon?

But there are AT-ATs!

Made out of paper apparently.

Inquisitors!

They sure don’t live up to the name.

Darth Vader himself!

One appearance so far and he fails to capture or seriously cripple the Rebels in any way.

Um, Thrawn?

Look, I’m sure the creators thought that they were upping the stakes every time they introduced a new villain but I would question whether there were any to begin with. Like I said before, are we going to go all the way up to the Emperor to finally get things done? For all its faults, the Empire wasn’t that useles in the OT.

In a galaxy without stakes there’s little reason to care about its characters or their struggle and eventually you have to wonder, why is there even a struggle at all? When the show makes me ponder why the Rebellion hasn’t beaten the Empire already you know there’s something wrong somewhere.

What the Rebellion stands for

There’s a traditional narrative that the Rebel Alliance are noble idealists who rise up against the tyranny of the Galactic Empire to deliver peace and freedom to all peoples throughout the galaxy. That’s no secret, the opening crawls of the movies reinforce this by describing the Empire as ‘evil’ and having ‘sinister’ agents, and that ‘dreaded’ Imperial Starfleet, whereas the Rebels are ‘freedom fighters,’ and they have a Princess. Nobody doubts that the Empire are the bad guys here and the Rebel Alliance are the good guys.

Recently, Rogue One attempted to tint that narrative with shades of grey, at least on the part of the Rebels. Yes, the Rebels had spies, and assassins, and bombers, and they did terrible things in the name of the greater good. Our own history tells us that sometimes even the good guys can take extreme measures to end a conflict. Just consider the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The U.S. used a superweapon to raze two cities to force the Japanese Empire to surrender. There was a reason behind the madness though. Oblivious to the development of the atomic bombs, the Allies had been working on a plan, codenamed Operation Downfall, for the invasion of Japan. Projected casualties for this plan were high and some estimates even reached the millions of fatalities on each side.

Depending on how you look at it, where you stand, war can be seen as an abstract, white vs black, a fight between the forces of good and evil. But from the battlefield, things aren’t always so clear cut, it’s not always easy to tell what’s the right thing to do and what’s the wrong thing to do.

Welcome to the harsh reality of war: she’ll be fine.

As I was watching “The Protector of Concord Dawn,” I was struck by Sabine’s anger at how the Mandalorians cut the Rebels to pieces. Hera almost dying now convinces Sabine that the Protectors are bad, what hardens her resolve to seeing them killed. Maybe it’s not said in so many words but the subtext (to be honest, there isn’t much sub) is there. After all, how dare they shoot at Hera when all the Rebels wanted was to negotiate for safe passage... and bully the Mandalorians into submission if that didn’t work. In fact, if memory serves, that was the original plan proposed by Commander Sato, a show of force meant to say, “you mess with the bull, you get the horns.”

Even Kanan, who initially suggests to try the diplomatic approach, soon changes his tune once the Protectors make it clear they won’t help the Rebels. But let’s explain exactly what the Protectors’ role is, shall we? The Protectors of Concord Dawn are a small group of Mandalorian warriors, led by Fenn Rau, who helped train clone troopers during the Clone Wars and even fought with the Republic in a few battles. Disillusioned by the result of the war, Fenn Rau has opted to bend his knee to the Empire, what I guess amounts to making sure no Rebel ship passes through Concord Dawn unscathed. The Protectors don’t have many resources, maybe as much as two dozen fighters, so it’s doubtful the Empire expects a lot of results from them. This means the Protectors are no direct threat to the Rebels unless the latter insist on using the Concord Dawn hyperspace corridor, which they do. As a result, the Rebels blow up most of the Mandalorian starfighters and kidnap Fenn Rau who, out of the blue, decides not to pursue the Rebels nor report their presence to the Empire. That doesn’t get him out of cuffs though.

Using blackmail to get things done. The Empire would be proud.

How was the Rebellion any better than the Empire here? Aren’t they abusing their power as they accuse the Empire of doing? The fact that Sabine was so eager for the Mandalorians’ blood is equally disturbing. What does she think happens to the stormtroopers they shoot or the fighters they destroy? The stormtroopers aren’t droids, the TIEs aren’t unmanned. These are people, good and bad, who are serving the Empire for a variety of reasons. But Rebels isn’t keen on exploring this, is it? Worse, it seems the writers are oblivious to it. Perhaps they expect us to go along with everything the Rebels do just because they’re the good guys?

When Anakin Force choked Poggle the Lesser in The Clone Wars it didn’t make his action any less bad because he was fighting for the good guys and we knew it. Everything in that scene suggested he was doing something bad, that he was drawing closer to the dark side. When Cassian shoots that man at the beginning of Rogue One you know he’s doing something bad, everything in that scene plays to that effect. Cassian’s momentarily disturbed by it and later brings up the subject of all the terrible things he’s done in the name of the Rebellion. At least he acknowledges it, Rebels doesn’t even try to ponder the matter. Kanan and company don’t even stop to consider that perhaps it wasn’t the right thing to do. That perhaps they could’ve left the Protectors alone, that perhaps they could have tried to recruit them at some other time and continue to look for another hyperspace route. What happens the next time the Rebels ask for something and they’re told no, do they take it by force regardless?

These are questions that should naturally occur to any of the protagonists but, sadly, don’t. If they did, it would certainly elevate the show’s value in my eyes. To clarify, It’s not the fact that the Rebels do questionable things that I find disturbing, what I find disturbing is the fact that they don’t find anything questionable about them and that we, the viewers, are not meant to regard them in such a light. They’re the Rebels and their cause is just or, in other words, the ends justify the means.

To be fair, this was just one episode and it may very well be the only one. Turning out script after script for each new episode is probably no mean feat, and some episodes are bound to be tighter than others, but it had me asking all the wrong questions about Star Wars Rebels.

Conclusion

Having written all of this one might be led to believe that Star Wars Rebels is a terrible show, a stain on the popular franchise built by George Lucas and now owned by Disney. But like I said at the beginning of this post, it’s not. Rebels is far from the only show where its protagonists have plot-armour, or the villains are incompetent. It’s not the first show that suffers from narrative issues and it certainly won’t be the last. It’s certainly not the first one to mess with Star Wars continuity, oh no, Lucas was doing a fine job at that before Disney, with as recent an example as The Clone Wars.

What Star Wars Rebels is, is lazy. Its depiction of the fight between good and evil is one we’ve seen countless times before, and one we’ll see countless times hence. It’s easy to show the Imperials as incompetent bullies and the Rebels as invincible do-gooders, and it gets tiresome to watch the same tropes repeat themselves over and over again. One can go as far as saying it insults the viewer’s intelligence when the good guys’ actions are never challenged, even when they may be morally (or otherwise) reprehensible, or when the laws of the universe are knowingly ignored, damaging the narrative for the sake of drama.

There are no consequences to speak of that invite discussion, no stakes to make us care about the protagonists’ struggle. And it’s important that we care, if not for them, at least for the fledgling Rebel Alliance in their struggle against the mighty Empire. But if our protagonists don’t take the Empire seriously, why should we? Why should I? Might as well be just another day at Tosche Station picking up power converters.

#star wars #star wars rebels

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gyrlversion · 5 years

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Maths graduate who stabbed ex-girlfriend to death is jailed for life

Joe Atkinson (left) was handed a minimum sentence of 15 years today after pleading guilty to the murder of his ex-girlfriend Poppy Devey Waterhouse (right)

The grief-stricken mother of a ‘prodigiously-gifted’ maths graduate has spoken of her agony after visiting the flat where he daughter was stabbed to death by her jealous ex – as he was jailed for life today.

Joe Atkinson, 25, was handed a minimum sentence of 15 years after pleading guilty to the murder of Poppy Devey Waterhouse.

Leeds Crown Court heard how Atkinson was ‘fuelled by jealousy’ when he burst into their shared flat in Leeds and repeatedly stabbed Poppy, 24, on December 14, inflicting more than 100 injuries on her body.

In an emotional impact statement, Poppy’s mother Julie Devey revealed how she ‘kept scraping my hands across the floorboards where she had been left screaming’ after visiting the blood-soaked flat where she died.

‘I just wanted to scoop her up and save her,’ she added. ‘I now live my life with a split screen, on one half I can see the now, and on the other half that horrific scene.’

In a similarly-tearful statement to the court, Poppy’s father Rupert Waterhouse spoke of the ‘great pain’ of not being ‘there for my daughter when she needed me most’.

‘I could only kiss her cold forehead when it was too late and tell her I love her,’ he said, adding how Poppy was murdered ‘by the man that she loved and trusted’.

Prosecutors explained how the pair had been together for three years by late 2018, but had broken up at the request of Miss Devey Waterhouse, an analyst for William Hill, in October.

The attack took place after Atkinson arrived back from his work Christmas party, with the victim suffering more than 100 separate injuries, including 49 knife injuries and 23 stab wounds all over her body.

The attack took place after Atkinson (left)arrived back from his work Christmas party, with the victim (right) suffering more than 100 separate injuries

Leeds Crown Court heard how Atkinson was ‘fuelled by jealousy’ when he burst into their shared flat in Leeds and repeatedly stabbed Poppy (pictured together) on December 14

Poppy’s brother Zeb (left), her father Rupert Waterhouse (second from left) and her mother Julie Devey (right photograph, left) arrive at Leeds Crown Court today

Miss Devey Waterhouse also suffered bruising and injuries consistent with trying to prevent restraint, the court heard.

Following the attack, Atkinson then drove to Leeds, West Yorkshire, to dispose of his clothes and the murder weapon, which has not been recovered by police.

Atkinson did not call 999 for three hours as he was ‘scared’ and when ambulance staff arrived, they found the victim in a pool of blood near the flat entrance.

After being arrested by officers, Atkinson initially blamed the attack on Miss Devey Waterhouse.

The couple were keen travellers who shared photos from their trips abroad to countries such as Morocco, Lithuania and Greece.

The court heard that Miss Devey Waterhouse scored 100 per cent in her William Hill job application, one of only two people to do so.

She was the only applicant to rank in the top 10 for each of the four areas scored and was graded by her bosses as ‘remarkable’, a rank reserved for the top five per cent of employees – she was the first ever employee to get such a grade in their first year.

Her mother Julie said ‘half’ of her had died on the day of her daughter’s murder and she had been living in a ‘dense, grey fog’ since the day.

Poppy Devey Waterhouse is pictured with her younger brother Zeb, who gave an emotional impact statement to the court today

Joe and Poppy had shared a flat together in Leed (police pictured outside the building)

The couple were keen travellers who shared photos from their trips abroad to countries such as Morocco, Lithuania and Greece

Miss Devey-Waterhouse and Atkinson are pictured together during a trip to San Fransisco

She said: ‘Half of me died on Friday, December 14. My baby, my daughter, my life as I know it has ended, has died suddenly, violently and cruelly.

‘As a parent, my basic duty is to keep my daughter safe. I failed and I have kept that failure with me wherever I go.

‘The future does not exist to me. All I see is a dense grey fog.’

‘I could only kiss her cold forehead when it was too late’: Father’s heartbreak at ‘not being there for his daughter on day she needed him most’

Rupert Waterhouse, Miss Devey Waterhouse’s father, said: ‘People who know me know I don’t talk very much.

‘I miss her so terribly and I miss her so very much.

‘What matters is the simple fact that she is my daughter. There is nothing that can compare with the joy of feeling your newborn baby. Unconditional love.

‘She excelled not just I her academic life. She loved what she did. And she did it with an enthusiasm and a smile on her face.

‘December 14. Day zero. The day my life changed forever. I thought I’d been through the greatest pain I’d ever been through inside. I was so wrong.

‘That was the day I was not there for my daughter. On the day she needed me the most in my life I wasn’t there.

‘I could only kiss her cold forehead when it was too late and tell her I love her. I cannot speak to her or see her again. How can a photo of poppy hurt me so deeply and cause me so much pain?

‘This is my life sentence. Every Christmas will mark her death. A family of four, minus one. Is Poppy coming home for Christmas? No, she’s lying in a freezer in Bradford.’

Describes the hours and days following his daughter’s death, Mr Waterhouse said: ‘This can’t be real.

‘I carry a Detective Constable’s card in my back pocket. How can he be telling me all these terrible things? Warning me her face might be too disfigured to identify her.’

Mr Waterhouse said he stills wears a jumper that Poppy gave him for his birthday ‘every day’.

Mr Waterhouse said: ‘I talk to her all the time. Every day. Every Liverpool game will be one she’s not watching. I’ll never have her children wrap their tiny arms around my neck. Call me Grandad.’

Revealing that the family were unable to get into her flat until February this year, Mr Waterhouse said: ‘I collapsed sobbing on the floor where they say she was lying.

‘I saw the wall stubbed back to the plasterboard. The clean patches and the blue forensic paint on the floor gave me a picture so clearly.

‘The man that she loved. Hacking at her neck. Her blood spraying the walls. Her shoes were too drenched in blood to clean. They had to be thrown away.

‘I had two shining stars. But one died. One was killed actually. One was murdered actually. When she was only 24.

‘By the man that she loved and trusted – until her last moments. The man who was Joe, her boyfriend, is now Atkinson, her murderer. Two, minus one.

‘One day I might laugh again. Poppy might not be here, but she’s always with us. They’ll have to invent new maths. Four minus one will make four. Two minus one will make two.

‘That was my beautiful, brilliant daughter. Her life was cut so cruelly and senselessly short. Bye lovely. Bye darling. I love you.’

She described the moment she was taken from her office at work to be told of her daughter’s death and how she clawed at the carpet screaming ‘no, no no’.

She concluded her impact statement in tears, stating: ‘Today we are all here to witness the sentencing of Joe Atkinson, but my life sentence has already begun.’

Mr Waterhouse, the victim’s father, described her as ‘beautiful and brilliant’.

The court heard how she was the only person in William Hill’s history to be given a verdict of ‘remarkable’ at a job appraisal during her first year.

Mr Waterhouse said: ‘She was killed by the man she shared her life with, who she trusted and felt safe with. The man who destroyed all our lives that morning.’

Describing the day he heard his sister was murdered, Miss Devey Waterhouse’s brother Zeb said: ‘The rest of the evening was a blur.

‘I do have one recollection of lying on the leaves in the park opposite screaming at the sky: “Why?” It’s a question I’ve not stopped asking

‘The smell of the mortuary. Seeing her body in the crack in the door. I froze, seeing how still she was.

‘The anger that I felt then and I felt now I’ll never be able to put into words. Never before have I felt hate like this and never before have I felt love like his.

‘But also never before have I felt guilt like this. Guilt for not appreciating the incredible sister I had or telling her how much I loved her.

‘I thought I had more time. Turns out I had my heart set on being a fun uncle.

‘I’ve lost the role model that I’ve looked up to since the day I was born. Every time I achieve something will I be reminded of what Pop could’ve achieved?

‘I’ll never stop telling Pop how much I love her. I hope she knew. I love you Pop and I can’t wait to tell the world about you for the rest of my life.’

Jason Pitter, prosecuting, said: ‘Poppy was a prodigiously talented mathematician, who was described as brilliant and beautiful who, at the age of 24, had her whole life ahead of her.

‘It was a life cruelly taken away from her just before Christmas last year, because this defendant realised he was not going to be a part of this future.’

The prosecutor said, to tears from the victim’s family: ‘He had armed himself with a kitchen knife and murdered Poppy in an unprovoked attack fuelled by jealousy.’

Sentencing Atkinson to life in jail with a minimum term of 16 years, Mr Justice Lavender said: ‘Joe Atkinson, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Poppy Devey Waterhouse.

‘You stabbed her to death. You had been in a relationship for three years and that had ended.

‘You went back to the flat after a night out drinking and got into an argument with her. You went into the kitchen and stabbed her in the bedroom.

‘In your own words: ‘I don’t know how many times I stabbed her. I only stopped when it all went calm and she stopped moving.

‘This was clearly a frenzied and savage attack. Her’s was a violent and terrible death. Poppy was a young woman with so much going for her.

‘She would have gone on bringing joy to others. But you brought an end to that. Why did you do this appalling thing? You are yourself an intelligent young man.

‘The realisation of the ending of the relationship precipitated your prolonged violence. I impose on you a sentence of life.’

An inquest into Miss Devey Waterhouse’s death has been opened and adjourned pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

Miss Devey-Waterhouse achieved 9 A*s and 3 As in her GCSEs, as well as 2 As and 1 A at A-level

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fazzy387 · 7 years

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No body is making any movie in Nigeria at the moment and that's why you have not seen me featured in any lately. I'm trying to re-strategize. Part's of the problem has to do with the problem in AGN and I'm hoping that once the court delivers its judgment, I will take back my position in AGN as President. Then, we will restructure everything in order to restore the industry back to its rightful place.

So you are still in the AGN struggle?

Yes, the struggle is not over until it's over. I and my team are a law abiding people and for us the only way to go about issues that bother around legality and illegality is to go to court. any other measure you take is illegal and criminal and not acceptable. And as we speak now, there is Status Quo the court has ordered that nobody should do business with anybody parading himself as AGN's president. So, having anything to do with anyone claiming to be the president of AGN is doing so at his or her own risk pending when the court will determine the right president of AGN.

What i hear every now and then is that the movie industry is undergoing a lull, what's your opinion?

One can not underestimate that fact. Nollywood is not undergoing a lull as a matter of fact, the industry is dead right now. if you know how much Nollywood has been trampled upon you will know that there is no movie made right now that is structured on the Nollywood you and i use to know. What you see going on right now are perhaps the small boys around the industry in those days making some of the few movies you have around now.

They love the art and since they have not been given any chance decide to call their friends together to do some low budget films. They try to feature a couple of known faces. They are just trying to sustain the business that has been crippled, bastardized, trampled upon and hijacked.

You have been known to always play a bad boy or lover boy role, but i think you are getting more matured even though the look is still there, will your roles in movie change now should a script come your way?

Well like you said, it's true that I'm looking more matured. I will also want you to know that I have now broken into Hollywood too. Talking about the roles I use to play, if i still look the role why then can't I play the role? I just came back from one of the sets of a movie which i did in Hollywood with Hakeem Kazeem who starred in Hotel Rwanda, Jimmy Lewis of PHAT Girls and a host of other top Hollywood personalities. It's titled "Feat of Destiny." It also featured Kera O'Brian of Law and Order. She was my girlfriend and manager in the movie.

You said that Nollywood is dead; don't you think that is too much of a conclusion?

It is dead! By every instrument of measurement Nollywood is dead. If you are an industry that produced a hundred movies monthly in the past and now you don't make seven movies in a month then you have a problem; that's 7/100. That's a failure. Forget the fact that a few like Desmond Elliot, Uche Jumbo, Monalisa Chinda, Stephanie Okereke, Emem Isong and a few others are trying to release movies.

Theirs is just a solo struggle of some artistes who love what they do. You see, those are not even producers; they are the talents. So at the end of the day, the real producers themselves are not making movies any more. Where are the likes of Chico Ejiro, Zeb Ejiro, Fred Amata, Paul Obasele, Jetta Amata, Teco Benson, Fidelis Duker and others? I heard the other day where Chico Ejiro was saying 'people are now going to the Cinemas and the industry is churning out good films', but ask him, which movie has he taken to Cinema in 10 years?

They said Paul Obasele is doing Eko Festival or whatever, what film has he produced in the last ten years? These people are no longer making any input to the industry and that's negatively affecting the industry, yet they are the producers.

The industry is being manipulated by a few who know how the industry works and have decided to joined forces to go to the government in the name of representing Nollywood without even letting others know about their acts.

That's criminal. So by now you should know that Nollywood has stopped making movies in Lagos . That's basically why we've not heard Idumota or Ebinpejo Lane on your TV in a long time. So that's how long it was for Lagos . Equally, Onitsha ; Iweka Road , Pound Road and others. That's how long it was for that area.

The only few people in business now are the Yoruba film makers. And they need to really watch it before they start to face the same problem the Igbo movie makers are facing. Also government was part of the killing. When the existing Nigerian Film Censorship Board Chairman rose up one day and say that if you are a distributor of movies, stop distributing until you pay me 5million Naira.

That was a red alert. He scared them away. Now, what you have now are people watching DSTV Africa Magic yet everyone was watching, no body talked. The movie industry Emeka Mba met in its buoyancy; he came in as the DG of film censorship board and killed it. Do you know that Emeka Mba was the content provider for Africa Magic?

So I guess it's no longer accurate to say Nollywood is the second largest producers of movies as UNESCO positioned it?

We are number two because at the time UNESCO gave us that recognition and that was exactly the time the industry was about going down. You know, we started dying when Africa Magic entered the business.

My colleagues were not in the know of what was going on; they kept wearing dark shades and blowing big grammars on the pages of newspapers.' Africa Magic is wonderful, it's this, it's that, blah, blah, blah.' but today, Africa Magic has taken their product to their end users.

Do you get the logic? The man that buys the 'Akara' (bean cake) doesn't come to buy from you again, he goes to somebody else to buy the Akara which you produce yet you don't get the money. That's how the death of Nollywood started. Now, Africa Magic's networking has gone round the whole of Africa and beyond. And because the film censors board helmsman is getting returns from Africa Magic, there is no way the exploitation can stop.

How can HiTV pay royalty when Emeka Mba is perhaps a friend of HiTV? Almost everybody handling the regulation of the Nigerian film industry is there to play politics and embezzled as much as they can. Now the image of the country which we've managed all these years has been rubbished, misconstrued, maligned, disgraced and tarnished.

What do i mean by that? Now, they make movies on Africa Magic where you have South-Africans answering Nigeria names and acting the roles. And the sad thing about it is that they are treating Nigeria 's core Niger Delta Issues. You hear them using their South-Africa accent to say that Nigerian leaders are corrupt. And I'm asking, what's the DG of the Nigerian censorship board doing?

There is a movie on MNET called Jacob's..... Trouble or what do they call it where they discussed the Niger Delta issues and I'm wondering who vetted that script. What's the rebranding Nigerian message in that script?

An Emeka Ike or any other major Nigerian actor will avoid rubbish the image laundering effort of the government but the country is the case in this movies i just mentioned. Dora Akunyili or Goodluck Jonathan cannot see everything, but he has placed somebody there who has refused to do is job. And the likes of us are not involved in the politics going on so there is little or nothing we can do. We don't even get royalties but go to Ghana, there people are being paid their royalties.

Talking about the 200million dollars promise from Jonathan, what do you think?

Talking about that promise being relistic, i don't want to argue it now. I want to believe that the president did what he did in good faith. In every country of the world there is money set aside for the entertainment industry. Now when you have a movie project that we further contribute to the development of the country, the government we assist you with part of the budget already set aside.

They do that in South-Africa. if the same thing is what is going to happen , beautiful! but my only grouse about it is that i don't know if President Goodluck Jonathan gave that money to his brother Ben Bruce because he kept saying 'my brother Ben Bruce.' Also my question is who and who represented Nollywood that day?

Even if there is a crisis in Nollywood letters should be sent to some core Nollywood stakeholders so we will know who is collecting the money on behalf of the industry

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