#i know him being the clone assassin would make it feel like his sacrifice/death was pointless and ruin it

[chaotic-kitty]

Regarding Techs death.....I think I figured out why I've have difficulties comprehending the idea that he is dead. ((Besides not wanting to let him go / denial))

That's because we literally didn't see a body. We saw his goggles, sure, but that's not actual proof. As far as my brain is concerned, he's still falling (cue loki falling meme). Because that's the last we saw of him. We didn't see him take his last breath, or hit the bottom, or drown, or get crushed, or anything. So because we didn't get to see him actually die, we only saw him fall. My brain just does not understand, doesn't comprehend it. It understood the implications (hence the many many weeks of tears and heartache) but that's about it.

And that's one of the reasons I think I need something more with his story, to prove that he lived or that he did in fact die. Because if not, he'll forever just be falling in my memories 😭

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Clone X Theory- Who is he?

Major spoilers for "Infiltration" and "Extraction"

Who is Clone X? This is a question we have all been wondering since he first showed up in the trailer. There's so many of them so it's possible we're seeing multiple ones. But what about the one we saw in today's episodes? The one we focused on as he infiltrated Rex's base? Based on his dialogue and how he kept surviving, I feel he's definitely not some random assassin. One thing I'd like to also point out is that he's an exceptional sharpshooter, as are the other clone assassins. It's possible they got enhancements the way Crosshair did, but it's just a thought.

There are two contenders for the identity of this man: Cody and Tech.

Clone X and the other clone assassin both knew Crosshair, with the latter mocking him about the program. Clone X later fights Crosshair one-on-one. He tells Crosshair that he had his chance and that he chose the wrong side. The emotional weight this would have if we learn it is Tech or Cody. Crosshair had a connection to this person and to see them brainwashed is heartbreaking. And the fact that this person felt that Crosshair abandoned them... this is heartbreaking to think about.

Cody: last we heard of Cody, he went AWOL. At least, that's what Rampart told us and we all know how trustworthy he is. Could it be that Rampart found out about Cody's refusal to kill the senator and had him sent to Tantiss? The answer is probably yes. We also haven't heard from Cody since "The Solitary Clone." No one has mentioned his location at all.

Cody also has a past with Crosshair as seen in both CW and TBB. At the end of "The Solitary Clone," he tells Crosshair that they aren't droids and can make their own decisions. The irony of those being Cody's last words before being turned into an assassin... truly horrifying. We also don't have a fitting end to Cody's story so this could be a possibility.

Tech: the Tech Debate has been going on ever since "Plan 99." There are so many theories for and against his death. For starters, SW does have a bad habit of seemingly killing off characters and then reviving them two episodes/shows later. Gregor and Maul are prime examples of this. Tech staying dead would show that SW does commit to real consequences and keep the emotional weight of his sacrifice.

But, they never talk about him, at least on screen. If Tech were truly gone, I think we would've seen the Batch grieve more, especially Crosshair. Look at Rebels for two seconds. Kanan gets killed and then the following episode is about the Ghost crew mourning his death. We get time to process and come to terms with his sacrifice. Tech doesn't get that. This makes his story feel unresolved. Why would they intentionally keep important conversations regarding a main character out unless they weren't done with him?

There are also smaller details like Clone X limping away. Now, this could be simply due to the fact he got a bunch of rocks thrown on him, but Tech also broke his leg once upon a time in season 2. This is just a stretch though. The voice is also modulated meaning he could be Tech or Cody.

And again there's the fight between Clone X and Crosshair. The writers intentionally paired these two together. Crosshair is a failed attempt at Hemlock's program, but Clone X isn't. Wouldn't it be so heartbreaking if it was Tech and Crosshair was unknowingly fighting his fallen brother? Clone X is very Winter Soldier-coded and having him be someone we and the Batch know personally would only add to it.

Alright guys, that's all I have for now. I have a feeling episode "The Harbinger" will be about Clone X. But who do you think it is? Tech? Cody? A random guy?

[razerback]

the fan overlap is probably incredibly small but season 8 of ninjago reminds me soooo much of alex rider’s whole deal, and not just because we’re dealing with a little blonde blorbo who has to save the world too many times. 

I mean, young teen forced to grow up way too fast after being prepared for a role as superhero is a huge piece of overlap. The propensity to self-sacrifice by running into horrific situations alone. The lost dad, and the unstoppable force that is the drive to get him back or at least find out what happened. 

Scorpia Alex running off to Venice to nearly get himself killed in the pursuit of finding out who his dad was, because no one will tell him anything. Lloyd trapping the gang in the hold of the Bounty so he can escape and take on his father alone, not expecting to fight him (or nearly die) but armed with love because that saved his dad before and surely it can happen again. 

It doesn’t, and they both come out nearly dead (remember the assassination attempt at the end of Scorpia where you thought Alex fucking died until Ark Angel came out? Lloyd on death’s door in the tea shop and eventually revived but without his powers, and the villains ahead are bigger than ever.)

The sequence of Lloyd’s fight being broadcast across the country honestly felt voyeuristic to me, literally sickening. Harumi wants the world to watch Lloyd literally die, which is grimly reminiscent of about five billion scenes in the AR series where Alex’s death is intended to be slow and spectated. Grief’s live dissection, Yassen’s bullfight, Cray’s real life Feathered Serpent, the Muay Thai death match, the crocodile torture scene. And so on.

And then all the times Alex has to sit and get manipulated and/or punished by watching footage of the only people he loves getting fucking murdered? Jack in Scorpia Rising, John in Scorpia, Sabina getting mutilated in Eagle Strike, Alex and Sabina both in the same book watching Cray nuke the whole goddamn planet. And so on!

So normal for these two guys!

So then there’s their nemeses’ obsession with making them feel the pain that they once inflicted. And obviously it’s off the mark: Harumi’s trying to get revenge for her whole fucking life by destroying the world around Lloyd, when a. he wasn’t there when her life went to shit, and b. the whole devourer situation would have been worse if the ninja did nothing yet she’s blaming them for having failed at their attempt. unreal. But she targets him for their similarities. She knows how her background as a parentless “chosen one” has fucked her up and she knows Lloyd’s exactly the same as her, so she’s going to exploit that to make him hurt the way she’s hurt.

Yet it’s the same for Alex: Julius Grief is literally created to be Alex. Literally an evil clone, who looks exactly the same, has identical mannerisms, was groomed all his life for one purpose, had a sickeningly singleminded dad and no affection, has been abandoned by society and left to fend for himself as an adult while he still looks like a 14 year old but with the trauma of about three dozen lifetimes, AND SO ON. So when Julius tries to get revenge (getting mad and getting even) he targets Alex with his rage, and you get that horrific gun battle at the end of Scorpia Rising with two identical boys fighting to the death. But he doesn’t even act out of his own agency: there’s a bigger organisation masterminding all of this and using the kid as a pawn in a greater political and economic ploy. 

That last sentence applies to both Alex and Julius. MI6 carried out a fake assassination attempt on Alex to get him to work for them, Scorpia literally breaks into and out of a secret prison to get Julius and dangle freedom and revenge in front of him as a carrot. 

So, misguided revenge on an identically traumatized emotional twin, voyeuristic violence. And what’s probably an age-inappropriate number of parachutes.

Oh, and don’t forget that flaky adult figure who dies in the story arc before this one, leaving the protagonists abandoned but not before burdening them with a personal mission that’s emotionally loaded and unfathomably difficult. Yassen Gregorovich, meet Master Wu. Go to Venice, find Scorpia, and you will find your destiny. Travel through time to find some guy who lost himself in a time vortex. Flaky adult figures! And both of them had painfully close relationships with the two boys’ dads. huh. 

So it’s just two guys who would die to get their fathers back.

The whole “you say the greatest villains are the ones who got away. So what am I.” bit from Lloyd and then dropping into dead space. then the way that question blurs the line between hero and villain? EXQUISITE. Harumi spends the entire second half of the season trying to cast Lloyd as the destructive one. MI6 spends at least four books, five if you count Never Say Die, trying to gaslight Alex into thinking he’s the delusional one, seeing ghosts around corners and too trigger-happy about hunting someone down. Then in Scorpia, the whole stint at Malagosto has him literally wavering between sides--he’s fully prepared to kill Mrs. Jones in cold blood. What is right or wrong when it’s just you and a world of adversity and you just want to survive?

and as a bonus: that line is the most Alexander John Rider mic drop I’ve seen since I was 14 and eating Horowitz’s books whole while Alex dropped one-liners in the teeth of every single villain monologue. 

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Okay but I would LOVE to here your heretical opinions on Padame if you ever want to share them or any of your other views on star wars prequel characters. Your character analysises are INCREDIBLE and really fun to read <3

Oh boy, are you sure about that? Well, the ask has been made so here, we, gooooooooooooooo!

Padme’s one of those strange characters who appears as one thing but in actuality is quite different. Because she appears as the first thing, and it’s something people really like, most people accept that at face value and if she’s not always consistent--well, she came from a series of screenplays written by George Lucas.

Padme comes across as a very noble, kind, and courageous character who is also quite politically savvy. At fourteen, against all odds, she saves her planet from invasion when the Senate did nothing, secured herself an ally in the chancellor (nevermind him being secretly Palpatine), and even after relinquishing her title as queen remains a major player in the senate for years and is seen as enough of a threat to warrant several assassination attempts (one so bad she has to be guarded by Jedi and sent home to Naboo for several weeks). 

And I’m not saying she’s not any of these things. Padme is very courageous, is one of those odd politicians who... believes she stands for what she believes in (more on this later), and has a remarkable political career.

However, she’s also romantic to the point of being completely and utterly delusional, self-centered, and frankly a little nuts.

(Yeah, you knew you were waiting for me to say something terrible, WEREN’T YOU?!) Right, so what’s wrong with Padme?

Well, if you look closely at a few of her choices, the ones that never seemed to make much sense, then you can look at her other choices and... Well, it all sort of comes together. 

That’s right, I’m talking about “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith”.

Attack of the Clones we have the very lackluster and strange romance of Anakin and Padme.

On Anakin’s end, his infatuation with Padme makes a lot of sense. She was part of the party that rescued him from slavery, she was very kind to him, and was the prettiest girl he’s ever seen in his life. Ten years later, always having harbored a crush on her memory and keeping it alive through whatever news he hears of her, she’s grown into a very beautiful woman and Anakin is by chance introduced back into her life. I get why Anakin falls head over heels for Padme, I’ll get more into this later and how their relationship has some major issues (aside from the obvious), but I understand why he marries this girl out of nowhere even when it could get him thrown out of the Jedi. (As an aside, since this is more of a Padme post, I think Anakin was spurred on in part also by the death of his mother and his massacre of the Tusken Raiders. Anakin’s life was flipped upside down in a very short amount of time, one of his great emotional ties is suddenly gone, and I think he has this internal crisis that culminates in him deciding to marry Padme. Without this, he and Padme may have become lovers, but I don’t think he’d marry her).

On Padme’s end... it’s a little less clear. Anakin has grown into an attractive young man, yes. Take out all of George Lucas’ dialogue, and maybe Padme finds Anakin very charming. However, Padme secretly marries a Jedi she’s known for three weeks. Now, I’d be a bit more forgiving of this, love is love and we can’t always think rationally, but there’s some other things.

Unlike Anakin, Padme hasn’t been spending the past ten years romanticizing her memory of Anakin Skywalker. When they met in Phantom Menace, Anakin was not only five years younger than her, he was nine-years-old. To fourteen-year-old Padme, Anakin was not then dating material and was instead this poor boy in slavery. Which means while Anakin has build up justifying this rapid romance, Padme really doesn’t. What this means is that her romance with Anakin reads a lot more like a romantic fantasy. Cute dashing bodyguard shows up, saves her life, through contrived circumstances they’re sent back to beautiful Naboo where they spend time together, only cute bodyguard is a Jedi and can’t marry, which makes their love excitingly taboo! 

Everything Padme does, before and after this point, lends itself to this overdeveloped sense of romance. Padme wants to be whisked away, wants to have this secret unsustainable marriage with a man who cannot be married, she’s in love with the idea of being in love. Given how little time she spends with Anakin, how little they really know of each other, I’d say she’s more in love with the idea of Anakin than Anakin Skywalker himself. And this isn’t a bad thing necessarily, or at least not a grievous flaw, however, that’s not all. 

Padme chooses to marry Anakin knowing he murdered an entire village of men, women, and children. She marries him almost immediately after the massacre of the Tusken Raiders. Note, she does not learn about this later and have to come to terms with it, she is right there. She is on Tatooine with him and sees him go to do it and then return. 

Padme doesn’t take it... particularly well, that said, she also seems to shove it under the carpet immediately. She, first, marries Anakin within days after this event. She second, never really has a “holy fuck, Anakin” conversation with him. And worst yet, she never confesses to anyone else. Padme is a hypocrite and willing to sacrifice everything she believes in, albeit I believe unwittingly, for her romantic fantasy.

She tells no one about what happened. An entire village was brutally massacred, those who are already poor and oppressed and have no voice, by a man who is supposed to be a protector of all people in the galaxy. I’m sorry, Anakin, but if Padme was who you think she is then she would have to tell the Jedi Order at the very least if not the Republic. Instead, there are no consequences, only Anakin’s descent into guilt and madness as three years pass with it festering in the back of his mind.  Padme does not stand for the poor, for the people, or for justice. She only does so when it does not conflict with her own interests, i.e. her actions regarding the invasion of Naboo. More, I do not believe Padme has the introspection to realize this about herself, she never realizes that not narking on Anakin was very very very bad. Three years pass and she lives the whirlwind romantic fantasy that she and Anakin both want. They’re secret lovers/spouses, meeting up at the oddest hours of the day and... This is three years of this ridiculous affair. Three years to come to terms with the fact that something must change. And then the kicker, Padme gets pregnant, and this is where the extra delusional comes in.

The child should have been a signal of the end. There can be no more secret now. Padme is having a child, presumably out of wedlock, and even if space is very very very different from our society I imagine this would be quite the scandal that could even get her thrown out of the senate. I believe Padme mentions as much to Anakin. More, Anakin is no longer a lover, he is now a father. What’s supposed to happen now? They raise this secret child, instructing them that Anakin is only a father in private, never in public?

Anakin and Padme briefly flirt with the idea of Anakin leaving the order. Anakin even wants to do so, but it... never happens. Now is the time it absolutely should happen. Yes, Anakin’s a big part of the war effort, but he could at least start talking to the Order and they could decide if it’d be a slow or fast exit. 

My theory, Padme’s too in love with the fantasy. Anakin leaving means he’s no longer a Jedi, it means he’ll come to Naboo, be unemployed and be around. Anakin visiting will no longer be this romantic, fraught with the danger of being found out, passionate, short lived event for Padme. It’ll become real life. He’ll be a real, ordinary man, she’ll be a real, ordinary, woman, and that spark of romance will be gone.

I don’t think Padme wants that. 

Which is why, even with the child on the way, we see Anakin and Padme continue to play out this ridiculous secret lovers fantasy. And then, of course, Anakin goes insane off screen.

Padme is told that, once again, Anakin has murdered dozens of children. Of course, this is a terrible thing to be told and she can’t process it. She needs to find Anakin and confront him, but people always criticize Lucas here and feel it’s out of character for Padme to have run to Anakin in sobbing hysterics with no plan of enacting vengence.

Frankly, I think it’s very in character. She did nothing about the Tuskens, remember? I think at the end of the day, the murder of the Jedi children means very little to her. What hurts Padme the most is that the fantasy of Anakin she married is not real. The Anakin she married would never murder the Jedi children, betray the Republic, or do any of what he’s done. And I think Padme only has that strong, iron, will when she knows the world she’s in. With the Trade Federation, her stance was obvious. Her people were being oppressed, butchered, and invaded. In this case, the world she knew no longer exists.

The Republic is gone, perhaps hasn’t existed in thirteen years, as it turns out the senator who had always been her biggest supporter was a Sith Lord. The Jedi are gone, children murdered by Anakin while those in the field are picked off by their own clone soldiers. Padme’s world has fallen apart, and I think that makes it much harder for her to be the girl we saw in Phantom Menace. In time, perhaps, she would have joined the rebellion but... I do think Padme might have also given into despair.

So, yeah, that’s Padme for you.

[dalekofchaos]

If Vader raised Luke and Obi-Wan trained Leia

Let’s say sometime after Mustafar. Darth Vader in his meditation in his castle, Vader felt a presence he hasn’t felt since.....Padme. Since he felt his unborn child through the force. His child is alive. Sidious lied. The Jedi took his son from him. They will all pay. So here is what would happen if Vader sensed, found and raised Luke. 

Darth Vader would’ve killed Owen and Beru instantly and burned the Lars homestead

Obi-Wan would rush to face Vader. Vader would overpower Obi-Wan, mortally wound him and throw him into the burning homestead and use the force to crush the roof onto an unconscious Obi-Wan 

Darth Vader would hold a baby Luke in his hands and  for some reason Luke is not afraid, but drawn to this dark figure. 

Vader would simply say “Luke. Son...”

Vader takes Luke to his castle on Mustafar

Obi-Wan would crawl out of the remains of the Lars Homestead. Injured, but alive. Obi-Wan failed. He contacted Yoda and told him Vader found and took Luke. Yoda will simply tell him “There is another.” All he can do is call Bail for transport to Alderaan. He failed Luke, but he will not fail Leia. 

Bail and Breha would teach Leia about politics and Obi-Wan would train Leia to become a Jedi

Luke would spend his entire childhood to adulthood in the depths of Fortress Vader. Training and submerging himself in the dark side of the force. 

Vader would indoctrinate his son into hating the Jedi. Hating The Emperor and instructing his son that only together could they destroy The Emperor and the last of the Jedi.

By the events of Rogue One/A New Hope. Luke’s training would be complete. “You were weak when I found you. Now your hatred has become your strength. At last the dark side is your ally. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Zhoun. Rise, my son.”  Source 1. Source 2

Luke would be Vader’s assassin. Carrying out assassinations in the name of the Empire. Killing the last of the Jedi. Enemies of The Empire. His identity is unknown to the Emperor and Rebellion, but his reputation would strike fear in the Rebel Alliance. He is simply known as “Vader’s Shadow.”

Palpatine feels a disturbance in the force, but for some reason, he cannot detect Luke. All he can sense is “a shadow”

Luke fully embraced the dark side and is consumed by it. When Master Shaak Ti tries to turn him away from his path, before killing her(What is this her 5th death????) Luke will say “My father’s fate is my own.”

Vader’s final test for his son would be to pit him against his old Padawan. Luke kills Maul with ease as he decapitates him. Luke uses Ahsoka’s need to save her friends against her and when she attempts to save them, Luke cuts Ahsoka down. 

Thrawn would request the aid of Vader, in his stead, Vader once again sends his son. Luke would kill Ezra and save Thrawn. “Lord Vader has need of you, Grand Admiral. Set up the TIE Defenders program in the Unknown Regions and return with a fleet of them.” Thrawn would call off the fleet and let Lord Zhoun deal with the Rebels. Luke would then slaughter the Rebels on Lothal

Sometime after securing Thrawn’s victory on Lothal, as a gift. Thrawn has given Vader and Luke their own personal TIE Defenders. 

Vader and Zhoun would slaughter Cal and Cere. The Holocron is theirs. 

The existence of Darth Zhoun would only be known to Vader, Admiral Piett and General Veers.(you’ll see why)

Leia had a decade of training. On Alderaan and on Dagobah. Yoda and Obi-Wan together completed Leia’s training. Leia is now a fully fledged Jedi Knight and is ready to lead the Rebellion and confront her father and brother.  art source

Yoda and Obi-Wan would tell Leia the truth. Darth Vader is her father and his secret assassin is her brother, Luke. Due to a decade of training, Leia would prove strong and wise enough to learn the truth of her family.

Also Leia would ask about her mother. “Tell me, what was my mother like, my real mother.” “Your mother was Padme Amidala, a senator, queen and a kind and beautiful..” “Strong, was your mother. Believed in peace and diplomacy did she.” “And my father? Was he always Vader?” “Your mother loved your father. Anakin Skywalker was a good man. But he was consumed to stop the people he loved from dying. His mother was killed by the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine and the Emperor seized the opportunity to turn your father to the dark side. One day, your father was plagued by nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth, The Emperor promised him the power to save your mother, but in doing so Anakin became twisted by the dark side and became Darth Vader.” 

Leia believes her family could be turned. Obi-Wan would object. He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.” When insisting that Luke could be saved. Obi-Wan would be remorseful. “I failed my duty to save Luke, I should have followed Vader and staged a rescue, but you needed to be trained, you were our only hope.” 

Leia would be contacted by Bail requesting aid on Scarif. Yoda gives his blessing for Leia to go. Saying Ready to reveal herself to the galaxy, she is. Obi-Wan would join her as he must confront Vader one last time.

Leia and Obi-Wan get there just in time and they save the Rogue One Crew. Jyn personally gives Leia the plans. Obi-Wan tells her. “What is it?” All Leia can tell her master is “Hope.”

Leia would transmit the plans to the Tantive IV where her father would be there to receive the plans.

Vader and Luke board the ship to slaughter the rebels. Before they can get the Death Star plans back. They are confronted by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Leia. 

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan would duel similar to how they did in ANH aboard the ship. Leia and Obi-Wan are in desperate need to escape

Leia is able to defensively take down her brother, Obi-Wan momentarily stuns Vader and they escape with the plans.

As The Tantive IV is boarded, Leia and Obi-Wan are able to evade detection and hide in the escape pods with C-3PO and R2-D2

In place of Leia captured by the Empire, it is Bail Organa. Bail gives the plans to his daughter and pleads with Leia to leave with Master Kenobi. 

Leia and the droids wander Tatooine for a long walk. All Leia can think is “so much sand. so much fucking sand.”

Leia would store the plans in R2. Just in case something happens.

Leia is guided by Obi-Wan. “We must find passage to save Bail.”

Leia and Obi-Wan finds Mos Eisley Cantina and there they meet Han and Chewie. Leia asks for passage to Alderaan for herself and her droids no questions asked. “Is it a fast ship?” “Fast ship? You’ve never heard of The Millennium Falcon? It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs! I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you.” All Leia can do is roll her eyes and takes Han’s word for it. Leia tells her “Once we get to Alderaan, my father Senator Organa will pay you handsomely. Say 15,000 credits?” Han just smiles that cocky Solo smile and says “you got yourself a deal princess”

Once Leia sees the Falcon. “You fly in that thing? You’re braver than I thought.” Han retorts “She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, Princess. I've made a lot of special modifications myself.”

Leia and Han bicker like an old married couple and Chewie just decided “that’s it I ship it” Obi-Wan would see the writing on the walls. “Oh, this is like watching me and Satine” 

Bail watches the destruction of Alderaan

Leia would convince Han to help her free her father. Han is hesitant, but Leia will insist “my father will be very grateful, I’m sure we can triple the rewar-” Han would say so quickly “DONE!”

Han and Leia are pretty much battle couple goals while taking down Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers in the detention center.

Leia saves her father and embraces him in a hug.

Vader and Obi-Wan duels and Obi-Wan sacrifices himself to save Leia and Bail

Bail is forever in Han’s debt. He saved his life and his daughter’s life. He will pay Han anything. Being indebted to a Hutt is no way to live a life. He pays Han what he’s owed, but asks if he can join the Rebellion after clearing the debt as the Rebellion is in dire need of good pilots. Chewie is all for it, but Han is having none of it, but looks at Leia and says “I’m not saying yes, Senator, but...maybe.” Bail sees that he’s looking at Leia and says “I see” and knows he fancies his daughter.

Leia would fly in her personal Jedi X-wing Starfighter(Just imagine a mix between Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter and an X-Wing) during the Battle Of Yavin IV Leia’s hypothetical ship would look like this(source) but realistically it would be colored blue and white

Han would make the save and Leia would destroy the Death Star(btw Han now will not shut up that he saved Leia, ya know in a way, princess I helped destroyed the Death Star. I saved you from Vader and gave you the confidence you needed to destroy the Death Star. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Leia rolls her eyes and smiles...and blushes. Bail notices this and is happy his daughter is in love but knows she will never admit it) 

Leia would be knocked out and captured by a Wampa. Leia defeats it.

Han would save Leia. “Don’t worry, your worship I’ll save you.” Leia now wishes for death, he would not stop bringing up saving her during the Death Star, but now she owes him twice. Is the force punishing her?

Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun are on the hunt for the Jedi Princess. 

Bail requests Leia and Han to bring Master Yoda back into the fight. 

When Han and Leia escape. Bail stays behind. Darth Vader kills him and Leia feels the loss of Bail and breaks down. 

Instead of bickering and bantering, Han comforts Leia. Leia embraces Han in a hug and a kiss. Leia lets him in.

Leia and Han make it to Dagobah. Leia is very patient with her old master, but Han thinks he should be bigger. “This is Yoda?” Leia confirms and Chewie says so as well an goes “and how would you know that???” “I fought in the Clone Wars, Han” “Well, what do you want, a medal???”

Chewie would embrace Yoda in a hug. Yoda would warmly greet his old friend. “Chewbacca, missed you I did.”

Leia and Han asks Yoda to return to aid the Rebel Alliance. He doesn't have to fight but advise the leaders as what they must do. Yoda is willing, but first he must complete Leia’s training. With this, Leia tells Han to go and pay off Jabba’s debt. and kisses Han goodbye. Han says “When you’re done, meet me on Bespin, I’m going to see an old friend.”

Meanwhile aboard the Executer, Vader and Luke set in motion the plan to destroy The Emperor. Everyone aboard The Executer, especially Admiral Piett and General Veers are loyal to Vader and his son. The Emperor lies in his throne in the safety of the Imperial city, while Lord Vader is a man of action who fights on the front lines with his soldiers. They will stand by Lord Vader and his son, soon more will follow. 

Vader’s call with The Emperor happens as same, but Palpatine says “We have a new enemy. There is a great disturbance in the force. The Rebel Princess who destroyed the Death Star.” “She is just a girl, Obi-Wan and her father can no longer help her. “I have a feeling she is the daughter of Anakin Skywalker.” “How is this possible?” “Search your feelings Lord Vader, you know it to be true.” “If she can be turned, she can be a powerful ally.” “Yes...can it be done Lord Vader? “She will join us or die.”

Vader internally is pissed, but also pleased. Vader tells his son. “A Twin Sister, you have a twin sister. If she can be turned, we will destroy The Emperor and rule the galaxy as a family.” “What if my sister doesn’t join us?” “Then she will die. 

Leia’s training is complete. Yoda dubs Leia the rank of Jedi Master. Leia senses Han is in danger. Yoda tells her to go. “Be here, I shall be. May the force be with you, Master Leia.”

Despite paying off his debt to Jabba, Vader still intends to test Han Solo into carbonite freezing him. And Jabba would be overjoyed to have Han as a decoration. 

Vader orders Luke to bring his sister in the fold or kill her. “As you wish, father.”

Leia is too late. She sees Han frozen in carbonite. 

Leia feels the presence of her brother. They duel and they evenly matched. One wrong move and the fight is over. Luke cuts Leia’s hand off and asks his sister to join him and his father. Leia defiantly refuses. “Vader killed my master and my true father, I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU!” “The Jedi betrayed our father. turned our mother against him and had us separated, luckily he found me and rescued me. With our combined strength, we can destroy the Emperor and bring order to the galaxy as a family.” Leia refuses and falls..

Thanks to Yoda guiding Lando and Chewie, they find her just in time.

Despite not having Leia, Vader and Luke has everything they need to pull a coup on The Emperor

Vader has his son. Admiral Piett. Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Death Squadron. Death Troopers. A legion of TIE Defenders and more and more are drawn to Vader. Vader and Zhoun make their attack on Coruscant. 

Darth Vader and Darth Zhoun face Palpatine. The Throne room is lit up with force lightning and crimson blades. The battle is powerful and raw, but ultimately Luke and Vader overpower The Emperor. There is nowhere where Palpatine can escape to. Not Exegol or anywhere. Vader decapitates his old master. 

Vader broadcasts to the galaxy. “The Emperor is dead. I am now your Emperor. Those who serve me and my son, you will achieve greatness as we bring order to the galaxy. Those who stay loyal to The Emperor, die.” There would be a small civil war, but eventually all those who stayed loyal to Palpatine would be rounded up and killed.

Leia rescues Han. Leia does not resort to allowing herself to be captured. Nor does Leia need to be forced to wear that slave outfit. Leia gives Jabba one chance to free Han. Jabba refuses and since a Jedi would be impossible to be enslaved, he plans to feed Leia to his pet Rancor. That would be Jabba’s undoing. Leia would use animal bond/beast control on the Rancor and successfully tames the beast. After Leia convinces the Rancor to help her, Leia unleashes the beast on Jabba and his men Source

Leia unfreezes Han, rescues Chewie, Lando and the droids. 

In addition to rescuing Han, Leia also rescues Oola and all the slaves in Jabba’s palace.

Leia and Han would fight Boba Fett. With Boba Fett at their mercy, Leia decides to save him. Leia thinking “he could be so much more.” Han makes the decision to save him.  Han and Boba Fett finally bury their rivalry and leave it in the past and shake hands. Boba would declare that Han’s bounty will no longer exists and he won’t chased by him and exits the story. This would work because it would show that Han has grown from the rogue who would shot a man dead without question in ANH to someone who is willing to find an alternate solution to his problems. It’d also give some layers to Boba Fett of being a man of honor.

Yoda dies, but tells her that she is the only hope in saving her brother and stopping Vader. 

With Vader as Emperor, he has no intentions with building a second Death Star. Instead he intends to wipe out the Rebellion from the face of the galaxy. 

Luke feels a pull to the light. After a life of darkness and evil, Luke feels remorse. He sees what his father as Emperor is doing is wrong and if he feels these feelings, it’s all over. 

The Rebellion plans to make one last ditch effort to end the Empire once and for all. A Coup. The battle on the ground would now take place in the Imperial City and the area surrounding the Imperial Palace. The dogfights between X-Wings and TIE Fighters would take place in the skies above instead of in space. The confrontation between Leia,  Luke and Vader and would take place in the Imperial Palace in The Emperor's Throne Room.

Leia would contact Luke in order to get close to the palace.

Leia feels the conflict within her brother. Luke is trying to keep her out. Eventually Leia gets in and pleads with her brother to help him destroy Vader. But Luke takes her before Vader

Vader taunts Leia that the Rebellion will die today, but they can all be saved if she gives in to the dark side and joins her family

Vader forces Luke and Leia to fight to the death. Only one can serve him. Leia refuses to join him, but Vader and Luke are not giving her a choice. 

Leia and Luke’s duel is a mix between Anakin/Obi-Wan and Vader/Luke in terms of how the fight would go. In the end. Neither Luke nor Leia can kill the other. They both deactivate their lightsabers and embrace in a hug. For the first time in a long time, Luke’s yellow eyes turn blue. This ignites the wrath of their father. 

Vader force chokes both his children with full intentions of killing them. The only thing that can save them? Leia remembers on what Obi-Wan spoke about her mother. “Our mother was Padme Amidala.” Vader is stunned and enraged by the mere mention of her name. All Vader can say is “Do. Not. Say. Her. Name.” 

Vader ignites his lightsaber preparing to kill. While Luke and Leia are ready to defend themselves. Luke lands a strike that is similar to Ahsoka’s where Vader’s face is visibly seen

With Vader down. Leia continues to speak about her mother. “She was kind and beautiful. You were deceived and betrayed by The Emperor. He turned you from the most compassionate Jedi Knight to ever live into a dark lord. You do not have to be this way. You are free. You and Luke are free. Padme loved you. Obi-Wan loved you. You are Anakin Skywalker, our father. Call off the fleet and let us bring peace to the galaxy as a family.”

Anakin concedes to his children. 

The war is over. The Empire has ended. Vader agrees to whatever punishment the Rebellion has for him. 

Leia is in charge of Luke. Leia helps Luke on his path of atonement. 

Vader is sentenced for execution. His final request. “Let me see my children one last time.” Leia and Luke are saddened, but Anakin assures his children he has made peace with his fate. His final request from his children is to take his mask off. “ Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes.”

[demigoddreamer]

Addressing Batman’s Abuse

Damian: I killed someone

Bruce(and the rest of the batfamily but mostly bruce): It’s ok it’s because of your childhood, you were raised to be an assassin as long as you didn’t murder anyone innocent and do better next time

Dick: I killed someone

Bruce: well i saved them didn’t count bye

Tim: I killed someone

Bruce: Seriously Tim? ok I’m kinda disappointed but i’ll be ok in a little bit(actually idk cause I can’t recall if tim ever killed someone)

Jason: I killed someone

Bruce: HOW DARE YOU BREAK THE NO KILL RULE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF **** WE HAVE MORALS YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER CRIMINAL, A MURDERER, A MONSTER YOU LET THEM WIN IF YOU KILL

Alright enough with the jokes let’s get serious, let’s talk about the abuse. I have a lot to unpack and if you’re like me who doesn’t have the patience to read long things if they don’t matter then i’m sorry . I can read school stuff but fanfiction more than like 30 chapters irritates me which is stupid because I love to read but the human brain is A FUCKING ANNOYING HYPOCRITE. I love the batbros with all my heart and we hate to see bad stuff happen to them. but Bruce...he can get away with hurting the people who he should see as sons and who in turn consider him a father figure. He is essentially taking advantage of their love for his cause. Because the most important thing is batman and the mission which he will hold above his own children, the people in his life who care about him and support him in his insane crusade. Batman is someone who is consumed by this darkness that causes him to sacrifice everything for the mission. It is stated multiple times that his Robins are supposed to be better than him, they’re not needed as assistants in the battlefield but rather emotional support as they bring a little light to Bruce's pain and vengeful darkness. The Robins become better people than Bruce. 

There are obvious examples of Bruce’s abuse such as his second Robin now Red Hood Jason Todd. Now I may be biased as he is my favorite but I love all the robins dearly so FREAKING much. Jason is constantly remembered as Batman’s greatest failure. Why is that? we are led to believe it’s because Bruce didn’t save him but really it’s because Jason didn’t fall in line with Batman’s code which is where we see the flaws in Batman’s philosophy. Why doesn’t Batman just kill the Joker? Jason makes some very valid points saying that all Joker does is cause pain and he keeps breaking out of prison and causing more pain and it’s a vicious cycle, a revolving door that Batman refuses to end. Joker and Batman are almost obsessed with each other. But Batman refuses to kill Joker saying if he does he can’t come back and Joker will win. It’s a war between numbers and moral high ground. But in reality who cares if Joker wins? It’s vague what does it even mean? Joker keeps on killing and if he was gone the world would be safer? It doesn’t matter if he wins as long as people live. Jason Todd is someone who is constantly hurt by the people who are supposed to love him. An example of this is Batman choosing to save Joker rather than his own son in the Under the Red Hood storyline. Jason is clearly heartbroken over the fact that Bruce refuses to kill the person who MURDERED HIM saying “I thought I’d be the last person you ever let him hurt” Jason obviously has lots of trauma PTSD depression and he probably just wants to feel safe pleading with Bruce to just kill Joker that’s it saying “doing it because he took me away from you” which Batman refuses just saying I can’t. 

Now there’s other instances that make my blood boil such as Batman and Robin #20. Damian died in Batman Inc. and obviously since Bruce can’t ever deal with pain in a healthy constructive way, he goes full dark and rage and sadness. He becomes desperate to bring Damian back, being abusive to Tim even when Batman tried to experiment on Frankenstein to bring Damian back and Tim blew the lab up. But Jason...oh god...Bruce wants Jason on a mission in Ethiopia to bring the people who tried to kill Damian justice . (Talia put a bounty on his head) and then Jason agreed, excited at the chance of working with someone he considers a father again. Jason has ceased his killing he has calmed down from when he tried to hurt them all, his mind was damaged by the lazarus pit and he went insane with pain and rage. From my pseudo psychologist perspective I think he thought hurting them would make his pain cease if he tried to hurt the things that caused his pain it would fix him. Anyway Jason is on kinder terms with them but it’s still rough. They’re not all that kind with him sure he’s made mistakes but they all have and he’s really sorry about it. Anyway after taking those bad guys down they talk about family and trust and faith. Then...Bruce does it and reveals the real reason why they came to Ethiopia. Bruce wanted to bring Jason to the place he DIED. WHERE THERE IS A BUTT TON OF TRAUMA. Jason is just so shocked at first he stands there looking numb. He isn't even angry yet. He stands there feeling the pain of that horrible day saying”You lied to me. this wasn't about taking down those mercenaries. You wanted to bring me here..to the worst place in the world...and here I was starting to believe all your crap about trust and faith” He sounds broken which he is he’s been broken by so many people and now Bruce who isn’t supposed to break him just did by taking advantage of him and bringing him to somewhere of horrible trauma. Bruce reveals that he brought Jason here so he could figure out how to bring Damian back to life explaining “Those killers were the mission but this was something else something I couldn’t ignore I thought bringing you here could jog your memory-maybe retrieve a buried buried deep in your subconscious that could help piece together how you came to life so I” and Jason finishes this saying “-could apply it to getting Damian back. Yeah I get it. Did it ever occur to you I might like keeping whatever the hell happened to me buried deep?”Obviously, Jason doesn’t want to relieve his trauma, he doesn’t want to deal with what happened to him a second time. He just wants to move on but Bruce won’t let him. Bruce doesn’t seem to acknowledge Jason’s trauma nor does he seem to care for his well being. “If you cared about me, you wouldn’t want me to dredge up the one thing I've been trying to forget. I don’t want to remember the most horrific day of my life, all right? You may like wallowing in your tragedies but I’m done looking back” which is true all Batman does is sit in the pain of his parents death and he can’t heal like and he spreads pain to others at this rate the dead parents excuse gets a little old. BUT THEN BRUCE HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY “If you cared about me and what I’ve lost, you’d want to dredge this up! Don’t you see-there’s a chance you can help me erase one of the worst days of my life. You can give me the greatest gift of all and help me figure out how to bring my son back!” Here he uses a lot of pronouns referring to himself, CARED ABOUT ME, I’VE LOST, HELP ME, MY LIFE, GIVE ME, HELP ME, MY SON. Yes Bruce, make it all about you, cause we definitely want you too. You’re a grown ass man and Jason is the more mature person here, honestly all the Robins learn to process grief and heal and grow and they’re just generally better people. Bruce is basically saying I care more about Damian than I care about you and my needs are greater than yours so screw your feelings, your feelings don’t matter. He really only seems to care about himself and he wants to erase his own pain. He doesn’t even seem to consider what Damian would want and what being brought back to life would do to him. Jason knows what it’s like, the pain of it, he’s probably the only person who would understand why someone wouldn’t want to come back. After All of this Bruce doesn’t even apologize and makes some half assed promise for unconditional truth but Jason still accepts this and helps Bruce get Damian’s body back from Darkseid even though he didn’t have to. 

Also there’s battle of the cowl which I desperately try to ignore but what I can tell Bruce *cough* died *cough* at this rate whenever Bruce dies or some crap I’m like ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT??? But sorry back to the topic. Bruce had a message for Jason for everyone else was just like I hope you’re doing well I love y’all live your life for JASON HOWEVER. He was all like you’re a failure not because I didn’t save you but because I don’t like how you turned out. Also you have problems, you’re mentally ill(I know but don’t have to be so awful about it)and there’s a secret I shouldn’t have kept and bye. And he suggests help but WHY DIDN’T HE GET JASON HELP WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER HMMMMM? It’s so obvious Jason’s childhood is full of abuse of course he has bad mental health and all that jazz. Also he puts Jason in Arkham where the Joker is 5 DOORS DOWN. I don’t think I have to say anything but they could literally put him in ANY OTHER PRISON. Why this one idk?

Bruce beat Jason and was probably about to kill Jason in RHATO #25. All beacuse Jason shot penguin and since Red Hood is a criminal blah blah blah Bruce has to do something. Actually he doesn’t as he just assumes Jason killed him which he didn’t also he didn’t seem to consider mind control or clones or whatever and he thought it was a good idea to beat the crap out of his sons. Jason even points this out”You are a character, I’ve never seen you beat Joker that hard and you hate him”...Bruce is beating him harder than the Joker. BRUCE IS BEATING HIS GODDAMN SON, SO HE HATES HIS SON MORE THAN JOKER??? Here we see how Bruce constantly chooses Joker over Jason.

Let's also talk about Dick his first son (I love my circus boi). After Jason died *sob*(i’m gonna cry) Dick is pretty darn sad and Bruce didn’t tell him shit so he’s obv like hey what’s the deal and BRUCE HAS THE AUDACITY TO BE MAD AT DICK. and he tries to kick Dick out of his life and be like leave your key get outta my face and he punched Dick LIKE BOI YOU DIDN’T TELL HIM ABOUT THE FUNERAL OR THE FACE THAT JASON DIED. We already knew it was bad because Bruce and Dick argued like my parents argue which is pretty bad. Lo and behold Bruce doesn’t apologize.

Also Nightwing #30 after Dick was outed as Nightwing and fake died on telelvision. Bruce used like WAAAAAAY excessive force. They were sparring but it got real violent real fast. And Nightwing wasn’t in the right mindset he was traumatized and Bruce totally took advantage of him by asking him to work for Spyral which Dick obv didn’t want to do but Bruce fucking FORCED that crap onto him after something as awful as that and he probably knew Dick would give in eventually that bastard. No, Bruce doesn’t apologize either.

Most recently Batman #71...now see this is Tim’s turn and I love my big brain boi Tim... and when you love a fictional character you know something bad is gonna happen. Bruce’s abuse, it’s kinda worse cause he’s a fucking KID. now Bruce be like let’s meet and shit so most of them are there and some evil villain is doing their thang and Tim is tryin be nice comforting Bruce, telling him that Tim will always be there and that Tim will help AND BRUCE FUCKING PUNCHED HIM. HE WAS JUST TRYIN BE NICE AND HELP YOU FEEL BETTER YOU POS. Now do we see Bruce apologize? NOOOOO. What did you expect? Honestly it’s not that hard it’s a simple sentences even a dumbass like you can manage it

Now I’m not totally familiar with any abuse on Damian but it’s there. Bruce is allergic to emotions, and it’s hard for him to be emotionally supportive and show any affection whatsoever. Showing any semblance of pride to Damian is like me trying to do pushups it’s FUCKING impossible for Bruce to show any compassion toward his son whatsoever (seriously though push ups are a pain in the ass I’m not athletic whatsoever why do you think I waste my time venting on tumblr the only thing I’m good for is being the smart kid in school and even then some people outshine me in that.)...sad but I’m not here to complain about that. Anyway Dick is a BAMF and openly shows Damian hey i’m proud of you and I love you. IT’S NOT THAT HARD BRUCE.

Bruce can’t ever be happy, he doesn’t let himself be happy because he can’t move on from that tragedy that happened to him. And he doesn’t allow anyone around him to be happy either. Shown as when Dick is like hey I can be in love with someone and we can be long term we can be happy together. BRUCE BE LIKE NUH HUH VIGILANTES CAN’T BE HAPPY WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE FOR THE MISSION. Let your son be FUCKING HAPPY. I know I sound like I hate him and maybe I do a bit but I don’t think he’s like completely Joker evil and irredeemable. I just can’t deal with how DC handles abusers like Bruce and having characters enable this behavior. We need to know that Bruce’s behavior is not ok and his children are completely numb to it, it’s normal to them and it’s disgusting. Bruce needs repercussions and he needs to know that he can’t do that to kids who love and trust him.

LINK TO PART 2:

https://demigoddreamer.tumblr.com/post/639314330465222656/addressing-batmans-abuse-part-2

If a loved one is hurting you reach out and seek help. You deserve the world

[daddywanken0bi]

Silent Treatment

gif is not mine

word count: 3.1k

author: Allie

warnings: angst, some gore, talk about death. There aren’t really any, just a lot of feelings.

a/n: phew, okay, first post. Don’t be nervous, Allie, you can do it. Ah! Hi! I’m new to this! Please enjoy!

“Why do I always seem to find you in the infirmary?” You ask a dishevled Obi Wan with a knowing hand on your hip. His gaze flies from the expansive transparisteel to your eyes, a broad grin stretching his face.

“Where else would you find me?”

“I don’t know, elsewhere in the Temple.” You respond, checking your data pad then scanning his body for any injuries. “Or the senate building, perhaps. I don’t spend all of my time here, you know.” He lets out a chuckle.

“I know. But as a Jedi, I nearly always have an excuse to visit the med bay, more so than the senate building.” He remarks, his grin never faltering.

“It seems you live quite an opposite life from me, then.” You gather first-aid materials from the cabinets. “Senator Organa has been piling on the work. It seems the only time I’m not at the senate building is when I’m volunteering here-“

“Is when you’re spending time with me?” He grins playfully. You roll your eyes, but you can’t help the smile tugging at you lips.

“Patching you up, more like.”

“How is the Senator, by the way?”

“He is well.“

“Good.”

“Kind of you to ask about my mentor, Master Kenobi.” You smile as you prep a swab with antiseptic ointment.

“Well, his status tends to reflect onto you. I just want to make sure you’re well enough to fix me properly.”

You toss him another eye roll. His grin remains plastered.

“Now. What is your excuse for visiting me this time?”

“Well,” He began, “Anakin and I were assigned to guard Senator Amidala - there were recent threats on her life, my Padawan and I were the only ones available, you know how it goes. Anakin kept insisting that we investigate the matter, and I had to constantly remind him that we were there to protect, not interrogate. He was still difficult. Although, I’ve come to realize that when it comes to the senator, Anakin gets a little too carried away.”

“Doesn’t Anakin have a habit of getting too carried away?”

“Why, yes,” He chuckles, “However, I fear he has grown rather attached to her…” Obi Wan’s expression morphs, his grin faltering as he gazes at you. But it doesn’t remain long enough for you to decipher it. He shakes his head.

“Anyway, last night an assassin released a pair of Kouhun’s into the senator’s bedroom. Anakin sensed them just before I did. He ran in and killed the bugs just as I jumped out the window to-“

“You jumped out a window?!”

Obi Wan’s shit-eating grin returned.

“I’m alright, darling. I’m alive, aren’t I?” His assuring tone sends butterflies to your stomach. You shake your head and chuckle.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop unnecessarily putting your life at risk?”

“How many times have I visited the infirmary?”

“Obi Wan…” Your tone is stern yet compassionate, and he senses your concern.

“I’m sorry.” He says genuinely as he holds your eyes. You feel the butterflies flit around your insides again.

“Just don’t let me catch you back in here again anytime soon.” You finish patching up his face you don’t say anything about how he needn’t come to the infirmary for a scratch and he nods.

“I promise.”

“If you’ll wait just a moment, the doctor will be in shortly-“

“I think I’m alright,” He hops up from the bed and turns to you. “I only came to see you, anyway.” His eye drops in a wink and he jogs out the infirmary door.

*******

You should be paying attention, Representative Binks just moved to give the chancellor emergency power, but your mind keeps drifting back to what Obi Wan said to you in the infirmary: “I only came to see you, anyway.” You always knew that his injuries weren’t the only reason he visited the medical wing, but he never admitted it out loud before. And the fact that it was accompanied by a wink, well, the butterflies hadn’t stopped dancing since. You think about Obi Wan every day and every night, for that matter the whole week, and your mind is still spinning with thoughts of the suave Jedi. You wonder what he’s been up to, what missions he’s completed, what planet he’s on. And secretly hope he might dislocate his shoulder or sprain his ankle so he might remain in the infirmary for a few days when he gets back…

“Well, this is a terrifying turn of events.” Senator Organa’s words drag you out of your thoughts. You involuntarily hum at his exclamation. The senator turns to you.

“Have you been listening at all?” He asks, you wince.

“Not entirely, Senator.” He only sighs in response

“Will you be volunteering in the med bay this evening?”

“Only tomorrow.” You shake your head.

“Good. We have our work cut out for us. I need to send a message to Padme…” His voice trails as your mind returns to Obi Wan, your mind relishing in the sparkle of his eyes and the joy of his smile and how good his ass looks in those trousers. In all your years of knowing him, you only recently started noticing how handsome he truly is. Sure, he was attractive as a padawan, but it was more his humor and his nature that made you want to be his friend. However, as soon as he cut the braid and grew out his hair, he began to make you weak in the knees.

You would never admit it, though, at least not out loud, and especially not to his face. He is a good Jedi, dedicated to the council and the code. You are not convinced he would break it for an aspiring politician like you. So, you keep your pining to yourself, and cherish the brief moments you share in the medical wing.

*******

Two weeks after Obi Wan’s last visit, you get word of a devastating battle on Geonosis. Hundreds of Jedi dead, and the few survivors are to return in mere hours. Your mind instantly pictures your Jedi, the one you’ve foolishly grown so fond of. Had he been there? Did he make it out? Is he alive?

You tune your ears into the whispers buzzing through Senate. “Master Yoda came in with a clone army.” “Count Dooku is apparently a Sith Lord.” “Senator Amidala along with Master Kenobi and his padawan were captured and sentenced to be executed-“

Executed?! Your mind races against your heart, a neck and neck battle for the finish line. You bolt to the elevator, bouncing your knee and tugging the pendant around your neck, anxiously urging the machine to move faster. It reaches ground level. You don’t even bother looking for a speeder, the notorious Coruscant traffic will only hinder your mission. You run. No, sprint. With your shoes in your hand and the concrete hard on your feet, all you can think about is getting to the Jedi Temple as fast as possible, confirm that your Obi Wan isn’t dead.

The thought makes your heart shrivel inside your chest, and you aren’t sure if it’s the sting of the wind or your pain that pricks tears into your eyes. Obi Wan was permanent for you, a constant in your life. You wouldn’t know what to do if he were taken from you. Who else would brighten your day with only a smile? Who else would bring you such unconditional joy?

You don’t know how long it takes for you to arrive at the temple, but as soon as you do, you B-line for the docking bay, heaving and aching. You immediately spot Padme and Anakin being helped onto stretchers. You get closer and notice Padme has a gash slicing her back and Anakin missing an arm, but no sign of his Master.  

“Where is he?” You pant when you reach them. Anakin looks at you, reassuring yet unsurprised.

“He’s already at the infirmary. He’s in better shape than I am.” He winces and your heart rate slows.

“Oh, thank the Maker.” You exhale and express your gratitude before darting up to the medical wing.

“Miss (Y/L/N), I thought you didn’t have a shift today-“

“I’m here to see Master Kenobi.”

“Oh!” The receptionist’s eyebrows raised. “He’s just inside. He’s been asking for you.”

Asking for you. You barrel into the infirmary and scan the now-filled beds for the familiar strawberry blonde hair. You pan the room, eyes frantic until-

There he is, tucked into the bed furthest on the left, as disheveled as ever. Your shoulders drop in relief and his eyes meet yours. His grin splits his face as you approach him, like your presence is the only treatment he needs. All you can see of his injuries are a few scratches on his face and his arm in a sling. You are sure that isn’t the extent of them, but he’s breathing, and that’s all that matters. But it doesn’t ease the constricting under your ribs. You can tell he senses your concern and his brow creases.

“I’m fine, darling,” His voice is hoarse. “I’m going to be fine. The doc said they’re just flesh wounds.” Wounds. There’s more than one. “A few days in a bacta tube and I’ll be back to normal.”

“I heard you were to be executed.” Your lip unwillingly trembles. “I thought you…died,” You whimper. “I…I thought I lost you.” Your knees buckle. Obi’s smile falters and he reaches for your hand.

“You could never loose me, little one,” He brings your hand to his lips. “Never.”

You tear slips down your cheek and you stare at the hand that so gingerly grasps yours. Seeing him alive and intact should be enough to relieve you, yet you can’t help the nagging, tugging at your heart. What if you really had lost him? What if he was reckless? Or outnumbered? Or worse, what if he decided to play the hero and sacrifice himself? What would have been left of you then? Would he have even thought of you before drawing his final breath? Would he be as broken if the roles were reversed…?

You gently drop your hand from his grasp and you watch as his brow furrows. Without another word, you back away and slowly make your way out of the infirmary.

*******

It’s been days, no, weeks, you lost count since you last saw Obi Wan. This time, however, it’s on purpose that you don’t see him. On the day of his so near brush with death you vow to limit your interactions with your favorite Jedi. It would be easier to forget him that way. You cancel your shifts in the infirmary and dive head first into your senate work. And it’s not like you have to try very hard to do so: Senator Organa is swamped with messages and whatnot since the start of the Clone Wars, and can’t go through it all alone.

On day 15 17 18 locked in the senator’s office, you get a call from a rather frantic receptionist at the med bay.

“Please, Miss (Y/L/N)- there’s an empty bed in wing 5 -we are so short staffed and- the saline packets are already prepped -we could really use your help.”

“I’m sorry, but Senator Organa and I are overloaded with work-“

“If they need you, (Y/N), you can go.” The senator interrupts. Your eyes beg him to provide you with an excuse - you know if the infirmary is overwhelmed, then Obi Wan Kenobi is surely among the patients.

“But Senator, there’s still so much to-“

“Go.” He smiles knowingly. “I’ll be fine.” You fight the urge to roll your eyes. You know the receptionist on the other side of the hologram could hear the exchange with your mentor, so there was no way to wiggle yourself out of this one.

“I’m on my way.”

This time on your way to the temple, you’ll take a speeder.

When you arrive, it’s chaos. 50 clones are packed into the first wing of the infirmary, and you can imagine how many more congest the others. You grab the nearest datapad and quickly start assessing soldiers, determining who can be cleared and who needs to stay over night. You’re just finishing up with your 39th? patient when a familiar voice materializes behind you.

“You’ve been avoiding me, little one.”

You pause, blink slowly and let out an exasperated sigh. You discharge the clone, he was in better shape then most of his comrades, and muster all of the courage you can to face your Obi Wan. He’s banged up, but not nearly as busted as the last time he visited. However his most disturbing injury is that his usually sparkling eyes are shrouded in confusion.

“I haven’t-“

“Don’t lie to me,” He’s stern, “I can sense it.” Hurt flashes in his eyes before fading into selfless concern. He can see you’re struggling, but he doesn’t know why.

“Master Kenobi-“

“Darling, you can talking to me. Whatever is troubling you, please-“

“Master Kenobi, this is hardly the time or place-“

“I’ll come to your apartment tonight, then.” He tries to calm the panic in your voice and smiles warmly. “For a cup of tea.”

You can hardly focus the rest of the day. He looked so small, his usual confidence eluding him. You dare, for just a moment, to entertain the thought that he might be just as terrified to loose you as you are to loose him. But an incorrect stitch on a soldier’s wound immediately shakes it from your mind. As the amount of patients in the infirmary dwindle, the chief medic approaches you.

“Your assistance is no longer necessary, Miss.” He shakes your hand “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“I’m happy to help.”

You make your way back to your apartment just as the sky starts to darken. You realize that Obi Wan never told you what time he would arrive. Of course didn’t, even without a schedule, his timing is always impeccable. You ponder what you might say to him. There’s no way to explain your recent behavior without confessing your feelings to him. But his eyes keep flashing in your mind; desperate, hurt, and confused. Is it at all possible he feels the same way?

You continue with your nighttime routine as if he weren’t coming at all. It’s better than just sitting and waiting at your kitchen table. You allow your body to take over and your mind to relax. The conversation you’re about to have is inevitable, there is no use fretting about it. You’ve been distancing yourself from him this whole time to lesson the pain of loosing him. Whether you lost him to his own mortality or to unrequited love, you are prepared nonetheless. At least, that’s what you tell yourself.

You almost don’t hear the soft knock on your chamber door. You’d been staring into space for longer than you care to admit, lost in the beating of your heart in your throat. Your eyes flick to the door and you swallow the lump you notice forming.

“It’s unlocked.” You announce meekly. The door creaks, and a just as timid Obi Wan steps through.

“You really shouldn’t leave your door unlocked, you know.” He closes it with a soft thud. On any other day, you would have come up with an equally witty remark, but in this moment, all you can do is nod.

“Have you started the kettle?” He asks, already knowing the answer. He meets you in the kitchen and goes straight to the cabinet where the tea kettle lived. He’s been to your place countless times before. But this time, it feels like a stranger is in your flat. You’re silent as he prepares the pot.

“Tell me what’s on your mind, darling.”

“Obi…” You mumble. “I don’t know where to start.” Obi wan pulls two mugs from a top shelf.

“That day, after I came back from Geonosis, I’ve never seen you so upset.” He explains.

“I was.” You revel in how patient he’s being with you. You can feel how desperate he is for answers, but he isn’t pushing you. It’s in this moment you realize how much you’ve missed him, how wrong you’ve been this entire time.

“I was so afraid of loosing you, Obi Wan.” You begin, and your voice cracks. Obi Wan stops prepping the tea. You take a shaky breath. “I understood that the threat was always there, but being so close to actually loosing you…it terrified me. I thought that by limiting my contact with you, that fear would subside, I wouldn’t be so attached to you anymore.” You find his eyes. “I realize now how wrong I was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I realize that I would rather have you in my life and risk loosing you, than not have you at all. I’d rather risk my heart breaking everyday because I know you don’t love me the way I love you-“

You gasp. Your hands fly to cover your mouth. You’ve never said it aloud before. You swore you’d never say it to him. You watch his eyes widen and panic seeps into your veins.

“Oh, Obi Wan, please forgive me. I don’t want-“

In two long strides, his lips are on yours, his calloused hands gently, desperately pulling your face against his. You’re caught completely off guard, worried words muffled by his gesture. You would have fallen if it weren’t for his sturdy grasp.

But despite your whirring thoughts, your body melts into him, and you allow yourself to be held…kissed. Soon, your mind follows suit, and Obi Wan senses your relaxation. He relinquishes your lips, slow but sure, and eventually opens his eyes to meet yours, wide and searching. You bring your hands to hover above his chest. You’re trying to form words, but they escape you. All you can think about is Obi Wan stroking your hair behind your ear. You accept defeat, unable to express all that you are currently feeling, and place your hands on his chest.

“I am sorry to have been breaking your heart for so long,” He whipsers, “But it baffles me that you think I do not love you.” He rests his forehead against yours. “How could I not?”

“But the code-“

“Code be dammed.”

“But it’s illegal, Obi. You’ll be expelled.”

“Shhh, darling. That’s a conversation for the morning. For now, just promise you’ll never ignore me again. I couldn’t bare it.”

Relief, true relief, relaxes your shoulders and exhales from your mouth. You slide your fingertips along the linen of his tunic to his now shorter hair, pressing yourself closer to him.

“I promise.” You vow against his lips, this kiss gentler and sweeter than the last, lost in the bliss and the warmth that is your Obi Wan.

[vs-redemption]

Darkness (A Hawks One Shot)

Summary: Hawks struggles to live in a world turned to darkness

Warning:  ⚠️This story contains manga spoilers. It also contains dark themes, violence, and character death. I’m actually kind of nervous to post it because I’ve never written anything like this before so please let me know if I need to add a warning or tag something⚠️ 

Edit: I wanted to add that I don’t think Hawks would ever get this deranged. I just wanted to try writing something a little different from the other HawksxReader story I’ve been posting.

It was still early. The morning sun had hardly even started its journey across the sky, but the city it illuminated felt as dark and dangerous as if it were the middle of the night. Keigo Takami kept his face hidden as best he could with a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap as he made his way to his destination. Anybody could recognize him at any time even though he wasn’t ‘Hawks’ anymore. Hawks was the name of a hero, albeit a failed one, but a hero nonetheless. Just because that person didn’t exist anymore, the general public would know the face of the man they once relied on to protect them if they saw it. He didn’t want to tip them off that he was in the area.

“Hey! Get back here!”

A young woman comes dashing out of a nearby convenient store with a heavy looking duffle bag. An elderly man runs out after her shouting, “You have to pay for that!” The woman actually stops and turns around to mock him by giving him the finger. She laughs at the look of outrage on the man’s face before taking off again and disappearing into an alley. The urge to pursue her and return whatever she’d stolen crashed over Keigo with the force of a tidal wave, but he knew he couldn’t act on it. He’d have to add it to the list of countless other crimes he’d stood by and witnessed. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d watched happen, not by a long shot. That’s how things were now though, so he just had to take what little comfort he could in the fact that some part of him still desired to do good. He continued on his way, ignoring the cries of the elderly man who cursed the way people had to live nowadays as he stormed back into his shop.

* * *

It had already been a few years since the villains had won their war and taken over the country. Shigaraki’s first act as king had been to give the surviving heroes an ultimatum; kneel or die. As expected, most of the heroes continued to fight or went into hiding. Keigo still wondered why he’d gone against the grain and chosen to fall at that psycho’s feet. At the time, he’d told himself that there might still be a chance he could find a way to take down the villain empire from the inside. He owed it to all the brave heroes that had lost their lives in that final battle that would’ve never happened had he not failed his mission in the first place. He had blamed himself for the massacre, and called his decision to join the villains a necessary self-sacrifice to atone for that mistake.

He had been kidding himself back then. After all this time, he was no closer to taking down the villains than he was when he started. In fact, he’d only made things bleaker by accepting the task to be Shigaraki’s personal hit man. As soon as the leader of the villains had taken his throne, a team had been put together to search for the remaining heroes. Once they were found, Keigo would be sent in to eliminate them. He probably should’ve backed out then. He could’ve snuck away and went into hiding himself instead of going out and slicing down his former comrades one by one. So why hadn’t he stopped? Why did he continue to accept and complete Shigaraki’s orders?

Maybe he was still in denial, thinking that each time he stained his hands with the blood of a hero it would earn just a little bit more of the villains’ trust. Perhaps one day he’d eventually get close enough to Shigaraki to take him down.

Perhaps it was a different reason though. Maybe shouldering the guilt of botching his final mission as a hero had made Keigo so desperate to prove he wasn’t a failure that he’d accept any type of success, even if that meant doing Shigaraki’s bidding.

There was another possible explanation for the former hero’s actions, but it was the most disturbing of all. Keigo didn’t like to think about it, but perhaps he was still going out to assassinate the last rays of hope for humanity because he had actually started to enjoy it at some point. The thought made him sick to his stomach, but it was always there, lingering over his head in a cloud of self-doubt and disappointment.

* * *

It was well into the afternoon now and Keigo’s back and legs were starting to protest at being in the same position for so long. He’d been crouched behind a pile of wood pallets for hours, watching the large metal door that stood between him and his next victim. According to Shigaraki’s team, there’d been rumors that a hero had been spotted around this area the past few days, but perhaps the information had been false. Or maybe the hero had already moved to a new location.

Keigo passed the time by wondering who he might see step out from behind the door. The villains never told him who he would be killing. It was possible that they didn’t know themselves, but the more likely reason was that they withheld the information just to mess with Keigo’s head. If he didn’t know the name and face of his victims until they were right in front of him, it gave him no time to prepare for any emotional trauma that might come along with the kill. Sometimes Keigo was thankful they didn’t tell him though. That way he wouldn’t have to agonize over taking the life of someone he’d once been close to. Other times though, he wished to know the name just for the mere fact that it was hard to decide how he was going to go about completing his job without knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the target beforehand.

The faint sound of a lock clicking open pulled Keigo’s focus back to the metal door. He reached down to pull his blade from the sheath on his belt and prepared to strike as fast as possible. These jobs would be so much easier if he still had his wings, but he’d adjusted and found ways to win without a quirk. The door opened slowly and a familiar figure appeared. Keigo swore under his breath. It was Ectoplasm.

Keigo had never been close to the pro hero who had also been the math teacher at UA high school once upon a time, but the fact that his quirk allowed him to make clones of himself meant that this job was about to be extremely difficult. There was no way to know if the man he saw now was the real one or not. The revelation of this triggers a memory of another man who could double himself, fleeing from the fight as Keigo’s long red feather came down from above and stabbed him in the back. That’s right, Keigo thinks while shaking his head to try and banish the memory from his mind. He had been a murderer even before he’d nearly been burnt alive and the villains took over. He was going to have to deal with Ectoplasm quickly before any other reminders of his past came back to haunt him.

* * *

The streets were completely dark now as Keigo made his way back to his apartment, clothes tattered and splattered with blood. In the end, he’d managed to take out Ectoplasm. When he’d gone to deliver the body to Shigaraki though, the villains had just mocked him for looking so battered before sending him away. He was a joke to them. Why did he continue to help them?

At times like these, Keigo longed for his wings. He missed the sky which had always been the place he’d felt most in control. He missed the speed that made him feel free and untouchable. He missed the sound of people calling out to him as he flew by, hoping for a chance to interact with their favorite pro hero.

Even then though he hadn’t truly been free. For as long as he could remember he’d been under someone’s boot, always trying to serve them and please them in the hopes that one day he’d get to live the life he really wanted to. So what did it matter if the person he was shackled to now was a villain?

“Hawks.”

Keigo freezes, not only at the sound of the name he rarely heard anymore, but also at the familiarity of the voice saying it. His bad day had just gotten a whole lot worse. He turns slowly to face the person who had risked coming out of the shadows to confront him.

“Tsukuyomi.” The student Keigo had quite literally taken under his wing as an intern way back when stood before him, looking stronger and fiercer than the last time they’d met. It was obvious he’d still been training the past few years in preparation for the day heroes came back to reclaim society. For the first time, Keigo was actually glad for the burn scar marring the left side of his face and his missing wings. At least it meant the kid in front of him could differentiate between the hero he’d once been and the monster he’d become, or had there ever actually been a difference?

“Why did you turn to the darkness, teacher?” The boy asks in his deep calm voice. “Nobody blamed you for what happened with Twice. You did what you had to do. That sin was a redeemable one.” Keigo’s stomach twisted at the words. This kid still thought enough of him to call him ‘teacher.’ Perhaps killing Twice had been something the hero ‘Hawks’ could’ve come back from. But it seemed the former intern still had no idea about what he’d done to Best Jeanist, the hero that had welcomed ‘Hawks’ into his home only to be cut down, stuffed in a bag, and used as a sacrifice for Keigo’s failed mission.

Yes, he was a failure. A failure as a hero and a failure as a role model for this student who had looked up to and trusted him. But how was he ever supposed to have succeeded in a world that had allowed good people to become villains, and bad people to become heroes? The people in charge had promised to make Hawks into a shining hero but had raised him to be a killing machine designed to follow orders without question. They’d ignored broken people who genuinely needed help, and allowed a man who had abused and neglected his family to raise up to be the number one hero. They’d told young aspiring heroes that killing was never okay before sending them into a war zone to watch their teachers and friends get slaughtered right in front of them. Keigo suddenly thought he might understand why he’d chosen to side with the villains. At least Shigaraki had been honest about wanting to destroy the world.

“Tsukuyomi,” Keigo takes advantage of his student’s trust and closes the distance between them, pulling the boy into a one armed embrace. “I’m sorry.” He pulls the bloody blade from his hip and plunges it quickly into the boy’s stomach, removing the weapon just as quickly so he can back away in case he activated his quirk. The boy falls to the ground looking shocked as he desperately tries to cover the bleeding wound.

“Hawks,” the boy still seemed to remain calm as he tried to think of a way out of the situation. “I don’t understand.” Keigo tunes out the sounds of his dying student by assuring himself that this was for the best. If Shigaraki found out he’d talked to a hero and let him escape, everything he’d done so far would’ve been a waste. What was more, the kid would no longer need to live in hiding in a cruel world with the false hope that someday things might be better. In some ways, Keigo could still consider himself a hero. He was saving people by taking away the misery of living in such a harsh reality. It was an easier way to look at it.

Keigo walks back over to his student and picks up the lifeless form, knowing that it would bring him a few steps closer to having the complete trust of the villains. One day, maybe, the darkness would truly be vanquished.

[smokeybrandreviews]

The Tragedy of Rey Palpatine

I really, really, like Rey Skywalker, in concept. I think she could have been an amazing character and the perfect torch-bearer for the mythos going forward. After The Force Awakens, i was all in with this new trio of characters. Say what you will about Abrams, dude knows how to build a character. He knows how to write a story and Rey’s began wonderfully. She had all of the potential to be held in the same esteem as Mara Jade, Leia Organa, and Ahsoka Tano. Hell, Disney even introduced Chelli Aphra in the Vader comics, another brilliant, female character of Asian descent. Each of these characters were fleshed out, nuanced, and felt real. There is a humanity to them and, i imagine that’s where Abrams wanted to take Rey. Then The Last Jedi happened and ruined almost everything. I think it did a great service for Kylo Ren, overall, but everything else got a big fat Rian Johnson/Kathleen Kennedy sh*t all over it.

Abrams set up a ton of intriguing plots to explore going forward. The hints that Finn may be Force sensitive, the mystery of how Mas got a hold of Anakin’s lightsaber after Vader cut Luke’s hand off in Empire, who the f*ck was Snoke; All threads that could have been elaborated upon to embellish the new characters and give an opportunity to pass the torch on with the new characters. More than anything, the enigma of Rey Skywalker could have driven this trilogy of films in a direction for the ages. The seeds were there for greatness. Why did she hear Obi Wan in that flashback? Why was she spared by the Knights of Ren? Why did Ren know exactly what girl that trooper reported about? The only answer we got was that Rey was the spawn of a Palpatine clone and it was stupid.That reveal was the dumbest sh*t in Rise of Skywalker and there was a lot of dumb sh*t in that movie. Rise spent way too much time apologizing for what Last Jedi did to the mythos and had literally no time to fix the characters going forward. That’s how bad Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson f*ck up.

I like the Last Jedi as a space opera. Hell, i even like it as a Star Wars side story in the vein of Solo or Rogue One. If those events happened in between VII and VIII, cool. But to be a mainline entry? Are you kidding? It just gets so much wrong about the overall lore while simultaneously sabotaging all of the character development and good will fostered by it’s predecessor. The level of f*ckery in The Last Jedi is ind of amazing. At it’s core, The Last Jedi s a fanfic, filled with OC characters, trying to “subvert” expectation to be more than it can or has any right to be. Rian Johnson wanted to make his movie, mythos be damned. Trilogy be damned. Kathleen Kennedy was okay with all of that as long as Johnson pushed her agenda and virtue signaled for all the “Girl Bosses” out there, which he did. The end result was a usual cool, collected, Resistance Ace, Poe Dameron, literally committing treason. We got a regression in the character of Finn, a former Stormtrooper turned rebel scum, a traitor to the First Order who literally got into a lightsaber duel with Vader’s grandson to protect his maybe-love interest, try to runaway like a f*cking coward, only to be tasered into a drooling mess by Rian Johnson’s Jar Jar binx. And the sh*t they did to Luke? That mess is criminal and an entire essay for another time. The Last Jedi f*cked everything up, forcing Abrams to course correct for two and half hours. This sh*t killed any momentum the Disney films had, it killed any semblance of a cohesive narrative going forward, and, worst of all, it murdered any semblance of Rey being more than a poorly written Mary-sue.

These new trilogies had every opportunity to be great. If they had someone with a reverence, a respect, for the source material helming Lucasfilm, they would have been. Look what Filoni has done with The Clone Wars and Rebels. Look what Favreau is doing with Mando. This might be a little glib but, considering Disney is bringing him in for a Star Wars trilogy on their own, look what Feige has done with the MCU? Hell, all things Marvel at this point. When you focus on dope stories and compelling characters, the narrative takes care of itself. When you focus on agenda and pushing divisive material, you can’t help but destroy what you hope to build. Kennedy is letting her ego cut her off at the knees when, if she just reined that sh*t in a bit, she could have been standing tall and walking into the future with her OCs intact. Instead, she has people in her own organization apologizing for her f*ck ups as the value of the legacy property you were gifted, tanks at a hilariously exponential rate. So how do we fix Rey and, effectively fix this entire trilogy?

First off, she needs to be a Skywalker. That is an absolute necessity. I would make her Luke’s kid. That would explain away her proficiency with the Force, the fact she pilots like a champ, and has that hole Force Dyad bullsh*t with Ren, like her dad and aunt kind of have. Rey would be an organic growth of the Skywalker legacy while simultaneously bringing a refreshing conclusion to it with Episode IX. I would build the familial relationship between Kylo and Rey, one representing either side of the Force, both fighting to discover something about themselves within, over the course of this trilogy. I would have made Rey Luke’s kid; A proper Skywalker. I would have made her mother Mara Jade, opening up a whole situation that could have been embellished into at least two spin-off tales with a ton of ramifications going forward. I mean, imagine a story where Luke had to fight off the Knights of Ren AND his nephew before Ben donned the mask, as his pregnant wife ran off into space to avoid the overall destruction of the New Jedi Order. That sh*t writes itself.

You get a side story of Mara Jade and a young Rey on the run, being chased by the Knights over the years, until she leaves Rey on Jakku, ultimately meeting her fate in a last stand battle, like her nephew, at the hands of several Knights on some nameless planet. Or Tatooine, i dunno. That’s an entire film. That’s a brand new, female lead you can explore. It’s organic. It homages the lore. It’s respectful of the overall mythos. It’s literally better than anything Disney has done with the mainline titles so far. Hell, you can even explore how Luke met Mara. Maybe she was one of the reformed Knights. Maybe she was one of the surviving Force Sensitives after Order 66. Maybe she used to be an Inquisitor but turned on Paps once Vader saw the light. Personally, i would skew more toward her being a former Inquisitor, seeking out Luke for revenge but, upon finding him, falls in love after several clashes. That gives Mara depth and allows for her to grow over a novel or two. Maybe a stand alone film. Luke would self-exile after losing to Ren but not because of the L, more because he thinks his wife and unborn kid are long dead. He’s heartbroken and knows he isn’t strong enough to fell his own nephew so Luke runs away. He goes into exile, like Yoda and Obi Wan before him, all the way to Ahch-to, searching for some killer app to finish Snoke before he can really get started. Imagine how much emotional resonance the ending of Episode VII could of held, going this route. Luke staring at Rey with such apprehension and regret. He immediately knows this is his daughter. That she's live. That she's here to ask him to do what he can't.

You'd spend the a good chunk of Episode VIII building that relationship. Showing Luke being cold and stand-offish because he knows Rey is his kid and he regrets his choice to run. He knows that Mara survived for years without him, probably dogged by First Order assassins. That the woman he loved, died alone after abandoning her child to strangers on a backwater planet somewhere in the galaxy. He knows this adult woman standing before him, is his and Mara’s living legacy and he doesn’t want her anywhere near the conflict to come. She’s demanding to be trained. He’s dismissive and curt, until the Dyad with Ren kicks in. Just being on the Force rich planet of Ahch-to increases Rey’s sensitivity, allowing Snoke to tether her to her cousin. When she goes straight to the dark, that’s Ren’s influence. When she cracks the rock and wigs Luke out, that’s Ren’s influence. In order to combat that growing corruption, Luke decides to train Rey to combat the dark. We actually show look acting like a master, teaching Rey sh*t instead of just, you know, “go cut that rock”. We show her learning from Luke, growing in confidence with her abilities. This entire sequence can take the place of literally all of the Canto Bight nonsense. No one liked any of that and it kills the momentum of the entire narrative going forward. Replace it with Rey actually being trained and you not only give her an opportunity for much needed character development, but you give Luke so much more of an arc and a means to have him bow out with substantial grace. If you decide to go the “Luke Dies at the end” route. Personally, i would have nixed Leia in VIII considering things and moved forward with Luke as the survivor but that's another story. I'd have to rework all of VIII and I don't feel like doing that right now. Leia’s death would devastate Ren, flooding him with a boost in the Dark Side, enough to slay Snoke and raise him to Supreme Leader without the need of Rey’s help. This would lead into a version of Colin Trevorrow’s version of Episode IX, which i think is a superior narrative overall but we’ll get there when we get there. Maybe.

The climax of the Last Jedi could be exactly the same but now it has so much more depth. It has so much more resonance for the trilogy going forward. Luke’s sacrifice would mean something  as we watched him slowly come to terms with his daughter being the hope going forward, effectively replacing him in the narrative. Most fans would be okay with this as, even though he never tells Rey he’s her father outright, the audience kind of knows. It’s hinted at. The reveal can come in IX somehow or in his last regards to Leia. He apologizes for Kylo but reassures her that, even if he passes, her niece will carry on the fight. Luke tells Leia of Rey's parontagem she says “I know” like her husband, and promises to continue Rey's training to best of her abilities. Kylo gets his shadows chase. Luke’s last words have so much more impact. We have an emotional investment in Rey because the torch had been properly passed. I, personally, would rework the majority of the plot while i’m at it. I’d fix Poe, continue exploring Finn and his connection to the force, and find a way to make Rose Tico relevant without being trite. I mean, you can have the Canto Bight stuff but draw it back considerably. It doesn’t need to be an entire third of the whole f*cking movie.

I like the character of Amilyn Holdo, too, but her arc was stifled by nonsense politics and shallow development. All of that mediocrity kind of made her an easy target to hate, a lot like Rose. In my story, she’d still take the helm from Leia in Last Jedi but would have had an appearance in Force Awakens. She didn’t need to have a ton of facetime, maybe a shout out at the round table toward the end of VII or getting off the ship at Mas’ bar with Leia. Hell, a f*cking holo transmission would be enough of a mention, Holdo just needed a presence in that movie to be legitimized for the next. Rose was fine as is, she just needs more agency and not that bullsh*t, half-assed, love triangle that was literally dropped like a hot track on Soundcloud in the middle of a chase movie. That sh*t was stupid and it doomed Rose before she had a chance to even get started.

Episode IX would start like Rise, Kylo slaughtering his way toward the wayfinder, but revealing that planet was Mustafar instead of whatever planet he was on originally. Ren has been planetside for weeks, searching for the wayfinder dealy and the planets dark side alignment is taking it's toll on him.  The mcguffin is deep in the wreckage of Vader's demolished castle, the deep subdivision and what not. Kylo makes his way to it, fighting dark side shades of his grandfather in Anakin form, goading him about his weakness, feeding into Ren's inadequacies about being weaker than his pap-pap. Kylo finds the mcguffin and takes off toward the Outer reaches in an effort to unlock more power. After the climax to VIII, Rey returns to Ahck-to to find Luke gone and the growing pull to the dark within her as the Dyad is wide open and Ren's spiral is pulling Rey along toward the drain, too. She feels him getting closer to full Sith, all of that pain and rage, multiplied considerably by his anger toward his grandfather's shades. Kylo basically flies to the outer reaches to find a Lost sage of the Darkside. It's not a Jedi or a Sith, but a being that thrives in the Dark, like whatever Maul is, but gigantic and monstrous. He learns from that creature, all the while leaving Hux to command the Last Order in his stead, second by General Pryde. The two of these cats have a battle for power, Pryde suspecting Hux of being a traitor, Hux trying to stave of attempts for his seat at the head, all the while pounding the Rebels as they continue to fight. The Knights of Ren are off, clashing with Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Rose as they search for another means to find a way to Rey, as she has the map and R2 with her on Ahck-to where she is training for the final battle. The majority of the film continues to follow the basic plot of IX, mcguffin chasing and what not, with Finn, finally adept enough in the force, to adequately take Rey’s place in those narrative spots.

We have the whole montage of training on both worlds; Force ghost Luke showing Rey more advanced techniques and Ren taking on a full-on, Vader shade, like Luke, in the Outer Regions or whatever. Eventually, the remaining main characters decide to split up as the pressure of the Last Order continues to deplete their resources. Finn fixes Anakin’s lightsaber and begins to train with it under the tutelage of Mas, who is all in with the Rebels now, as they go after the other mcgiffin on Endor. He still meets the other former stormtroopers or whatever and they still help in the final battle but, instead of Rey and Kylo, it Finn and a few Knights of Ren. Maybe two, I dunno. Anyway, he beats them with Anakin's saber, gets the mcgissin and returns to the Rebel base, stormtrooper backup in hand. Poe and Lando try to drum up support for a final strike on the Last Order’s base and you get that whole shtick with Keri Russell's character. I'd take her helmet off, too. Why the f*ck  would you hide Keri's face? Shes adorable! Finn and Lando try their best, but it seems like a no-go so Lando stays to work his magic as he and Chewie return to the Rebel planet. Rose can return to the Rebel planet and take charge of strategy or whatever as Leia secludes herself within the base. I dunno. Rose is kind of hard to place because she has no discernible talents but I imagine anything is better than what they did to her originally. Anyway, Rey is able to develop enough self-control to force the Dyad closed, cutting Ren's influence off from her but, at the same time, her influence off from Ren, completely. That's gonna have big ramifications later.

Around the end of the second act, Ren sees a force projection from his mother pleading with him to turn back to the light but he waves her off. Like her brother, Leia uses the last of her strength in this effort and she dies, pushing Ren over the edge, forcing him into full Sith. Since Rey closed the Dyad, Ren has no semblance of Light to keep the Dark at bay and he just absorbs SO much of it. It multiplies his strength in the Force and Ren is able to slay the Dark Sage, take it's power, and return to his fleet. Sh*t, the sage might be an actual Sith, Like, the people Sith and Ren kills him, effectively exterminated the race. Yeah, I like that. I like that a lot. Anyway, Ren arrives to find Hux is the traitor so he allows Pryde to kill him. Pryde takes command and they raise their newly constructed, massive, fleet along with a brand new flag ship. Mobile, lightspeed ready, and far more deadly than any planet cannon, Ren is ready to begin his march of devastation. Our heroes arrive on the First Order hideaway and the battle ensues. Finn boards the flagship, clashing with the remaining Knights of Ren, his hit squad of former Stormtroopers at his side, as Rose uses her tech skills to drop the shields or whatever they were doing with horses on that spaceship at he end of IX. Rey arrives on the planet, Ren sensing her returns to the surface, to face off with each other. Ren is brimming with the dark, Rey knows he;s too far gone to save and she resolved to do what is necessary to end his tyranny. She ignites Lukes green lightsber, which upsets Ren and then Leia's  yellow saber, which sends Ren into a legit rage. Yeah, Rey dual-wields now because it's cool. Poe does his whole lone ranger whatever as he's the last of the vanguard and sh*t. All is lost.

The reinforcements show up in the nick of time and sh*t happens. Big ass sky battle with spaceships and explosions and sh*t, while Finn, Rose, and that black chick accomplish their task on the flagship. Shields dow, sh*t stats blowing up, fun times. Rey gets wrecked by Kylo, who is all the way Dark, no redemption, yellow rage eyes and everything. She’s getting dumped on until she forces the dyad open, allowing Ren to see the Force ghosts of Jedi Masters of old, as they all appear behind Rey, including Leia, Luke, and Mara Jade. They speak that bullsh*t, lay hands on Rei's lightsabers giving her a jump in power, and Rey defeats Ren in a harrowing duel. It has to end in a lightsaber clash. How can it not? Finn wrecks the remaining Knights and the flagship falls as the Rebel fleet overcomes the last of the Last Order. Ren is defeated, dying slowly, lamenting his choices. In his last moments, as the Force ghosts fade, the last few left are his mother, uncle, and grandpa. The last thing Ben sees as he dies is the face of the man he’s chased for so long. Poetic. Tragic. Requisite celebration on a jungle planet ensues while Rey is off, giving Ben a proper Jedi bonfire. Finn approaches, objecting to the respect shown, but she tells him that, in the end, Ren was still a Skywalker. If Vader can be forgiven, so could Ben. The two watch as the flames rise into the night sky. We get a scene of a shadow tracing the insides of Uncle Owen’s joint on Tatooine, generators firing on, mechanics coming to life. Rey is seen, all by her lonesome, igniting her new, personal, lightsabers; Gold, I guess? Is that what color they were supposed to be? A young kid arrives, inquiring about why the old Lars place is lit up for the first time in decades. He asks her name. She hesitates, looking over her shoulder to see the force ghosts of Anakin, Leia, Luke, Mara, and Ben; Her entire family. She gives a knowing smile and answers, “Rey. Rey Skywalker.”

This is just a rough outline of how i would have written this trilogy. I might embellish a little bit, maybe write it up as a proper fan fiction, but i don’t know. There’s a lot to unpack and i don’t really want to spend the time actually fleshing out this narrative but, i believe this is far superior to anything Disney has done. It fixes Rey, sets up Ren as a actual antagonistic force, kills anything resembling a Reylo romance, returns agency to Finn and Poe, fixes Rose, makes Mas a factor, and wraps everything up nicely. You get answers to the questions from before, the Knights of Ren have a presence throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and even divisive characters like Holdo get a shot at relevance outside of agenda. More than anything Rey being a Skywalker feels earned. It feels organic. It feels right. This is the bookend the Skywalker story deserved, not the rushed, politic laden, ego trip we got.

[smokeybrand]

The Tragedy of Rey Palpatine

I really, really, like Rey Skywalker, in concept. I think she could have been an amazing character and the perfect torch-bearer for the mythos going forward. After The Force Awakens, i was all in with this new trio of characters. Say what you will about Abrams, dude knows how to build a character. He knows how to write a story and Rey’s began wonderfully. She had all of the potential to be held in the same esteem as Mara Jade, Leia Organa, and Ahsoka Tano. Hell, Disney even introduced Chelli Aphra in the Vader comics, another brilliant, female character of Asian descent. Each of these characters were fleshed out, nuanced, and felt real. There is a humanity to them and, i imagine that’s where Abrams wanted to take Rey. Then The Last Jedi happened and ruined almost everything. I think it did a great service for Kylo Ren, overall, but everything else got a big fat Rian Johnson/Kathleen Kennedy sh*t all over it.

Abrams set up a ton of intriguing plots to explore going forward. The hints that Finn may be Force sensitive, the mystery of how Mas got a hold of Anakin’s lightsaber after Vader cut Luke’s hand off in Empire, who the f*ck was Snoke; All threads that could have been elaborated upon to embellish the new characters and give an opportunity to pass the torch on with the new characters. More than anything, the enigma of Rey Skywalker could have driven this trilogy of films in a direction for the ages. The seeds were there for greatness. Why did she hear Obi Wan in that flashback? Why was she spared by the Knights of Ren? Why did Ren know exactly what girl that trooper reported about? The only answer we got was that Rey was the spawn of a Palpatine clone and it was stupid.That reveal was the dumbest sh*t in Rise of Skywalker and there was a lot of dumb sh*t in that movie. Rise spent way too much time apologizing for what Last Jedi did to the mythos and had literally no time to fix the characters going forward. That’s how bad Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson f*ck up.

I like the Last Jedi as a space opera. Hell, i even like it as a Star Wars side story in the vein of Solo or Rogue One. If those events happened in between VII and VIII, cool. But to be a mainline entry? Are you kidding? It just gets so much wrong about the overall lore while simultaneously sabotaging all of the character development and good will fostered by it’s predecessor. The level of f*ckery in The Last Jedi is ind of amazing. At it’s core, The Last Jedi s a fanfic, filled with OC characters, trying to “subvert” expectation to be more than it can or has any right to be. Rian Johnson wanted to make his movie, mythos be damned. Trilogy be damned. Kathleen Kennedy was okay with all of that as long as Johnson pushed her agenda and virtue signaled for all the “Girl Bosses” out there, which he did. The end result was a usual cool, collected, Resistance Ace, Poe Dameron, literally committing treason. We got a regression in the character of Finn, a former Stormtrooper turned rebel scum, a traitor to the First Order who literally got into a lightsaber duel with Vader’s grandson to protect his maybe-love interest, try to runaway like a f*cking coward, only to be tasered into a drooling mess by Rian Johnson’s Jar Jar binx. And the sh*t they did to Luke? That mess is criminal and an entire essay for another time. The Last Jedi f*cked everything up, forcing Abrams to course correct for two and half hours. This sh*t killed any momentum the Disney films had, it killed any semblance of a cohesive narrative going forward, and, worst of all, it murdered any semblance of Rey being more than a poorly written Mary-sue.

These new trilogies had every opportunity to be great. If they had someone with a reverence, a respect, for the source material helming Lucasfilm, they would have been. Look what Filoni has done with The Clone Wars and Rebels. Look what Favreau is doing with Mando. This might be a little glib but, considering Disney is bringing him in for a Star Wars trilogy on their own, look what Feige has done with the MCU? Hell, all things Marvel at this point. When you focus on dope stories and compelling characters, the narrative takes care of itself. When you focus on agenda and pushing divisive material, you can’t help but destroy what you hope to build. Kennedy is letting her ego cut her off at the knees when, if she just reined that sh*t in a bit, she could have been standing tall and walking into the future with her OCs intact. Instead, she has people in her own organization apologizing for her f*ck ups as the value of the legacy property you were gifted, tanks at a hilariously exponential rate. So how do we fix Rey and, effectively fix this entire trilogy?

First off, she needs to be a Skywalker. That is an absolute necessity. I would make her Luke’s kid. That would explain away her proficiency with the Force, the fact she pilots like a champ, and has that hole Force Dyad bullsh*t with Ren, like her dad and aunt kind of have. Rey would be an organic growth of the Skywalker legacy while simultaneously bringing a refreshing conclusion to it with Episode IX. I would build the familial relationship between Kylo and Rey, one representing either side of the Force, both fighting to discover something about themselves within, over the course of this trilogy. I would have made Rey Luke’s kid; A proper Skywalker. I would have made her mother Mara Jade, opening up a whole situation that could have been embellished into at least two spin-off tales with a ton of ramifications going forward. I mean, imagine a story where Luke had to fight off the Knights of Ren AND his nephew before Ben donned the mask, as his pregnant wife ran off into space to avoid the overall destruction of the New Jedi Order. That sh*t writes itself.

You get a side story of Mara Jade and a young Rey on the run, being chased by the Knights over the years, until she leaves Rey on Jakku, ultimately meeting her fate in a last stand battle, like her nephew, at the hands of several Knights on some nameless planet. Or Tatooine, i dunno. That’s an entire film. That’s a brand new, female lead you can explore. It’s organic. It homages the lore. It’s respectful of the overall mythos. It’s literally better than anything Disney has done with the mainline titles so far. Hell, you can even explore how Luke met Mara. Maybe she was one of the reformed Knights. Maybe she was one of the surviving Force Sensitives after Order 66. Maybe she used to be an Inquisitor but turned on Paps once Vader saw the light. Personally, i would skew more toward her being a former Inquisitor, seeking out Luke for revenge but, upon finding him, falls in love after several clashes. That gives Mara depth and allows for her to grow over a novel or two. Maybe a stand alone film. Luke would self-exile after losing to Ren but not because of the L, more because he thinks his wife and unborn kid are long dead. He’s heartbroken and knows he isn’t strong enough to fell his own nephew so Luke runs away. He goes into exile, like Yoda and Obi Wan before him, all the way to Ahch-to, searching for some killer app to finish Snoke before he can really get started. Imagine how much emotional resonance the ending of Episode VII could of held, going this route. Luke staring at Rey with such apprehension and regret. He immediately knows this is his daughter. That she's live. That she's here to ask him to do what he can't.

You'd spend the a good chunk of Episode VIII building that relationship. Showing Luke being cold and stand-offish because he knows Rey is his kid and he regrets his choice to run. He knows that Mara survived for years without him, probably dogged by First Order assassins. That the woman he loved, died alone after abandoning her child to strangers on a backwater planet somewhere in the galaxy. He knows this adult woman standing before him, is his and Mara’s living legacy and he doesn’t want her anywhere near the conflict to come. She’s demanding to be trained. He’s dismissive and curt, until the Dyad with Ren kicks in. Just being on the Force rich planet of Ahch-to increases Rey’s sensitivity, allowing Snoke to tether her to her cousin. When she goes straight to the dark, that’s Ren’s influence. When she cracks the rock and wigs Luke out, that’s Ren’s influence. In order to combat that growing corruption, Luke decides to train Rey to combat the dark. We actually show look acting like a master, teaching Rey sh*t instead of just, you know, “go cut that rock”. We show her learning from Luke, growing in confidence with her abilities. This entire sequence can take the place of literally all of the Canto Bight nonsense. No one liked any of that and it kills the momentum of the entire narrative going forward. Replace it with Rey actually being trained and you not only give her an opportunity for much needed character development, but you give Luke so much more of an arc and a means to have him bow out with substantial grace. If you decide to go the “Luke Dies at the end” route. Personally, i would have nixed Leia in VIII considering things and moved forward with Luke as the survivor but that's another story. I'd have to rework all of VIII and I don't feel like doing that right now. Leia’s death would devastate Ren, flooding him with a boost in the Dark Side, enough to slay Snoke and raise him to Supreme Leader without the need of Rey’s help. This would lead into a version of Colin Trevorrow’s version of Episode IX, which i think is a superior narrative overall but we’ll get there when we get there. Maybe.

The climax of the Last Jedi could be exactly the same but now it has so much more depth. It has so much more resonance for the trilogy going forward. Luke’s sacrifice would mean something  as we watched him slowly come to terms with his daughter being the hope going forward, effectively replacing him in the narrative. Most fans would be okay with this as, even though he never tells Rey he’s her father outright, the audience kind of knows. It’s hinted at. The reveal can come in IX somehow or in his last regards to Leia. He apologizes for Kylo but reassures her that, even if he passes, her niece will carry on the fight. Luke tells Leia of Rey's parontagem she says “I know” like her husband, and promises to continue Rey's training to best of her abilities. Kylo gets his shadows chase. Luke’s last words have so much more impact. We have an emotional investment in Rey because the torch had been properly passed. I, personally, would rework the majority of the plot while i’m at it. I’d fix Poe, continue exploring Finn and his connection to the force, and find a way to make Rose Tico relevant without being trite. I mean, you can have the Canto Bight stuff but draw it back considerably. It doesn’t need to be an entire third of the whole f*cking movie.

I like the character of Amilyn Holdo, too, but her arc was stifled by nonsense politics and shallow development. All of that mediocrity kind of made her an easy target to hate, a lot like Rose. In my story, she’d still take the helm from Leia in Last Jedi but would have had an appearance in Force Awakens. She didn’t need to have a ton of facetime, maybe a shout out at the round table toward the end of VII or getting off the ship at Mas’ bar with Leia. Hell, a f*cking holo transmission would be enough of a mention, Holdo just needed a presence in that movie to be legitimized for the next. Rose was fine as is, she just needs more agency and not that bullsh*t, half-assed, love triangle that was literally dropped like a hot track on Soundcloud in the middle of a chase movie. That sh*t was stupid and it doomed Rose before she had a chance to even get started.

Episode IX would start like Rise, Kylo slaughtering his way toward the wayfinder, but revealing that planet was Mustafar instead of whatever planet he was on originally. Ren has been planetside for weeks, searching for the wayfinder dealy and the planets dark side alignment is taking it's toll on him.  The mcguffin is deep in the wreckage of Vader's demolished castle, the deep subdivision and what not. Kylo makes his way to it, fighting dark side shades of his grandfather in Anakin form, goading him about his weakness, feeding into Ren's inadequacies about being weaker than his pap-pap. Kylo finds the mcguffin and takes off toward the Outer reaches in an effort to unlock more power. After the climax to VIII, Rey returns to Ahck-to to find Luke gone and the growing pull to the dark within her as the Dyad is wide open and Ren's spiral is pulling Rey along toward the drain, too. She feels him getting closer to full Sith, all of that pain and rage, multiplied considerably by his anger toward his grandfather's shades. Kylo basically flies to the outer reaches to find a Lost sage of the Darkside. It's not a Jedi or a Sith, but a being that thrives in the Dark, like whatever Maul is, but gigantic and monstrous. He learns from that creature, all the while leaving Hux to command the Last Order in his stead, second by General Pryde. The two of these cats have a battle for power, Pryde suspecting Hux of being a traitor, Hux trying to stave of attempts for his seat at the head, all the while pounding the Rebels as they continue to fight. The Knights of Ren are off, clashing with Finn, Poe, Chewie, and Rose as they search for another means to find a way to Rey, as she has the map and R2 with her on Ahck-to where she is training for the final battle. The majority of the film continues to follow the basic plot of IX, mcguffin chasing and what not, with Finn, finally adept enough in the force, to adequately take Rey’s place in those narrative spots.

We have the whole montage of training on both worlds; Force ghost Luke showing Rey more advanced techniques and Ren taking on a full-on, Vader shade, like Luke, in the Outer Regions or whatever. Eventually, the remaining main characters decide to split up as the pressure of the Last Order continues to deplete their resources. Finn fixes Anakin’s lightsaber and begins to train with it under the tutelage of Mas, who is all in with the Rebels now, as they go after the other mcgiffin on Endor. He still meets the other former stormtroopers or whatever and they still help in the final battle but, instead of Rey and Kylo, it Finn and a few Knights of Ren. Maybe two, I dunno. Anyway, he beats them with Anakin's saber, gets the mcgissin and returns to the Rebel base, stormtrooper backup in hand. Poe and Lando try to drum up support for a final strike on the Last Order’s base and you get that whole shtick with Keri Russell's character. I'd take her helmet off, too. Why the f*ck  would you hide Keri's face? Shes adorable! Finn and Lando try their best, but it seems like a no-go so Lando stays to work his magic as he and Chewie return to the Rebel planet. Rose can return to the Rebel planet and take charge of strategy or whatever as Leia secludes herself within the base. I dunno. Rose is kind of hard to place because she has no discernible talents but I imagine anything is better than what they did to her originally. Anyway, Rey is able to develop enough self-control to force the Dyad closed, cutting Ren's influence off from her but, at the same time, her influence off from Ren, completely. That's gonna have big ramifications later.

Around the end of the second act, Ren sees a force projection from his mother pleading with him to turn back to the light but he waves her off. Like her brother, Leia uses the last of her strength in this effort and she dies, pushing Ren over the edge, forcing him into full Sith. Since Rey closed the Dyad, Ren has no semblance of Light to keep the Dark at bay and he just absorbs SO much of it. It multiplies his strength in the Force and Ren is able to slay the Dark Sage, take it's power, and return to his fleet. Sh*t, the sage might be an actual Sith, Like, the people Sith and Ren kills him, effectively exterminated the race. Yeah, I like that. I like that a lot. Anyway, Ren arrives to find Hux is the traitor so he allows Pryde to kill him. Pryde takes command and they raise their newly constructed, massive, fleet along with a brand new flag ship. Mobile, lightspeed ready, and far more deadly than any planet cannon, Ren is ready to begin his march of devastation. Our heroes arrive on the First Order hideaway and the battle ensues. Finn boards the flagship, clashing with the remaining Knights of Ren, his hit squad of former Stormtroopers at his side, as Rose uses her tech skills to drop the shields or whatever they were doing with horses on that spaceship at he end of IX. Rey arrives on the planet, Ren sensing her returns to the surface, to face off with each other. Ren is brimming with the dark, Rey knows he;s too far gone to save and she resolved to do what is necessary to end his tyranny. She ignites Lukes green lightsber, which upsets Ren and then Leia's  yellow saber, which sends Ren into a legit rage. Yeah, Rey dual-wields now because it's cool. Poe does his whole lone ranger whatever as he's the last of the vanguard and sh*t. All is lost.

The reinforcements show up in the nick of time and sh*t happens. Big ass sky battle with spaceships and explosions and sh*t, while Finn, Rose, and that black chick accomplish their task on the flagship. Shields dow, sh*t stats blowing up, fun times. Rey gets wrecked by Kylo, who is all the way Dark, no redemption, yellow rage eyes and everything. She’s getting dumped on until she forces the dyad open, allowing Ren to see the Force ghosts of Jedi Masters of old, as they all appear behind Rey, including Leia, Luke, and Mara Jade. They speak that bullsh*t, lay hands on Rei's lightsabers giving her a jump in power, and Rey defeats Ren in a harrowing duel. It has to end in a lightsaber clash. How can it not? Finn wrecks the remaining Knights and the flagship falls as the Rebel fleet overcomes the last of the Last Order. Ren is defeated, dying slowly, lamenting his choices. In his last moments, as the Force ghosts fade, the last few left are his mother, uncle, and grandpa. The last thing Ben sees as he dies is the face of the man he’s chased for so long. Poetic. Tragic. Requisite celebration on a jungle planet ensues while Rey is off, giving Ben a proper Jedi bonfire. Finn approaches, objecting to the respect shown, but she tells him that, in the end, Ren was still a Skywalker. If Vader can be forgiven, so could Ben. The two watch as the flames rise into the night sky. We get a scene of a shadow tracing the insides of Uncle Owen’s joint on Tatooine, generators firing on, mechanics coming to life. Rey is seen, all by her lonesome, igniting her new, personal, lightsabers; Gold, I guess? Is that what color they were supposed to be? A young kid arrives, inquiring about why the old Lars place is lit up for the first time in decades. He asks her name. She hesitates, looking over her shoulder to see the force ghosts of Anakin, Leia, Luke, Mara, and Ben; Her entire family. She gives a knowing smile and answers, “Rey. Rey Skywalker.”

This is just a rough outline of how i would have written this trilogy. I might embellish a little bit, maybe write it up as a proper fan fiction, but i don’t know. There’s a lot to unpack and i don’t really want to spend the time actually fleshing out this narrative but, i believe this is far superior to anything Disney has done. It fixes Rey, sets up Ren as a actual antagonistic force, kills anything resembling a Reylo romance, returns agency to Finn and Poe, fixes Rose, makes Mas a factor, and wraps everything up nicely. You get answers to the questions from before, the Knights of Ren have a presence throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and even divisive characters like Holdo get a shot at relevance outside of agenda. More than anything Rey being a Skywalker feels earned. It feels organic. It feels right. This is the bookend the Skywalker story deserved, not the rushed, politic laden, ego trip we got.

[wondertrevcentral]

I see a lot of well-intentioned fans of Wonder Woman worrying that Steve Trevor’s return somehow negates what he did for Diana. I would like to change this conversation, for Wonder Woman, and for many movies where the impossible is part of the appeal.

At the end of Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor flies a plane full of poison into the sky and detonates it, sacrificing himself, after telling Diana that he loves her and he wishes they had more time to be together. The anguish of watching Steve’s plane explode, and the inspiration of his love, helps to propel Diana into wielding her awesome powers in full. She handily beats the bad guy, her uncle Ares.

Steve’s goodbye to Diana and death are well-staged and effectively wrought. It’s emotional and wrenching, and losing the first man that she loved a hundred years ago has followed Diana into the present day. “Thank you for bringing him back to me,” she writes in a candid e-mail to Bruce Wayne, who had sent her the WWI picture of Diana, Steve, and their trusty companions that kicked off Wonder Woman‘s flashback. The watch that Steve gave her, and that Diana has clearly kept as a treasured memento, rests nearby.

Ever since Wonder Woman‘s sequel was confirmed last year and Chris Pine rumored to be involved in some capacity, we’ve talked here about how they’ll bring the beloved character back: is he but a dream within a dream? A clone? A hallucination? Did Steve’s plane somehow get frozen, preserving him as a young man, as superheroic Steves are wont to do? Godly resurrection? Illusions? Aliens?

Whatever it is that brings back some version of Steve Trevor, it’s likely going to be one of the bigger reveals of Wonder Woman 1984, and I’m guessing our guesses will be off. What it does not do is somehow devalue or change what Steve did out of love for Diana and to help save the world in 1917.

Here’s the thing about death as fictional a plot device: it’s the oldest trope in the book. It’s far older than books—death, and heroes trying to defy it and return a loved one from that state, are among the first stories that humans told each other. Onscreen, in big action movies, death is often used cheaply. We’re so used to it happening we don’t blink when a trenchful of people take heavy fire in a movie like Wonder Woman. A narratively well-earned death like Steve Trevor’s makes more of an emotional impact, sure, and it can make for a more resonant movie-going experience. But the idea that Steve should have to stay statically dead in a fantastical film where anything is possible in order to somehow elevate his actions and what they did to Diana is mind-boggling to me.

Here’s the thing about death: in real life, it is one of the worst things that the people left behind will ever experience. Death is cruel, merciless, and it can leave you feeling like there’s an expanding black hole lodged in your chest for many years. For the rest of your life.

Here’s the thing about death if we could reverse it here like we can in fiction: not a goddamn person on planet Earth would lament lost heroism or sacrifice or any other grandiose romantic bullshit we lay on death to try to make sense of it. Your loved one died to save you but now they’re back again? Sorry, Steve, I’m just not feeling it anymore because of all of that squandered heroism, no one would say ever.

The fact of the matter where Wonder Woman is concerned is that Steve Trevor did what he did in 1917 and it was surely one of the worst things that Diana went through. Having Steve return in some capacity 67 years later does not alter that past. Steve’s death also did not make Wonder Woman a hero. Diana was already a hero, and the loss of him served as a catalyst at a dire moment. That’s what losing someone does: it changes you like a chemical reaction. But it does not create or define you.

We go to see movies like Wonder Woman, Avengers, and Star Wars in order to escape into fictional realities where people get to do the impossible and have abilities that we can only dream about. So often, our heroes rise to the occasion because of a poignant loss, because this is an instinct that we can all understand. Iron Man with Yinsen. Batman and his parents. Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. Captain America with Dr. Erskine and later Bucky Barnes. Spider-Man and his Uncle Ben.

But giving death the slip and coming back from it is also a huge appeal of comic books and their film incarnations. Incredible powers like the use of the Force and the capacity to appear as a Force ghost are part and parcel of what makes Star Wars tick. We want to witness worlds where death can’t quite hold us.

It used to be a longstanding fan and creator expectation in Marvel Comics that nobody had to “stay” dead except for Uncle Ben and Bucky Barnes. Those deaths were seen as being so essential to the narratives of Peter Parker and Steve Rogers that they could not be retconned or revived.

Then in 2005, comics writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting brought Bucky back onto the scene as the brainwashed assassin The Winter Soldier. It turned out that Bucky had not died in World War II after all, but was taken by the Russians, given a bionic arm, and reprogrammed to do their bidding for decades.

Bucky’s return from “the dead” is a perfect example of how such an important character’s revival does not negate the impact that his life and loss created in the first place. In fact, if anything, Brubaker created in The Winter Soldier arc the most tragic and brilliant foil possible for Captain America.

What is more difficult than having to face your best friend turned into your enemy? The film version of Winter Soldier is particularly excellent for the same reason. Cap’s agony at having to fight his old friend, and his unrelenting conflict about it and steadfast belief that Bucky was still Bucky beneath the brainwashing, helped make Winter Soldier into one of the most exciting and moving of the Marvel movies. Their continued melodrama and connection have carried through Civil War and Infinity War, and Bucky is a huge fan favorite. It’s hard to imagine where the MCU would have gone without the Winter Soldier storyline as a part of it.

Yet Marvel has also begun to overplay its hand where these tropes are concerned. They’ve been placing all of their chips on grief as the one failsafe to motivate a hero for too long. It worked so effectively for them before as a critical plot device that Infinity War can be read as a culminating series of attempts at impactful permadeaths in order to galvanize our heroes.

As the Russo brothers and Marvel Studios co-president Kevin Feige gleefully tease that some of the characters lost in Infinity War will really stay dead, they’re missing the point of why we love these films. We don’t need characters that we adore to remain dead for their lives to matter, but we’d like it if their deaths meant something when they happen instead of merely serving as a momentary plot beat.

It’s this kind of cheapened take on death-as-heroic-motivation that makes the Russos open Avengers: Infinity War with the horrific genocide of the Asgardians and the brutal deaths of Loki and Heimdall, just so that Thor is feeling sad and mad enough to go on a reckless quest. Do they know Thor at all? He would have done that anyway.

Will Loki or Heimdall ever return? I’d love that. Loki has also come back from death, not once, but twice, because he still had great things to contribute to the MCU narrative. Good characters in fantastical films don’t need to stay dead, but they do need good plotlines. The problem here doesn’t hinge on whether these characters should come back, but whether they should have died so wastefully in the first place. I don’t go into Avengers for gritty genocidal realism. I want to see them do the impossible.

Does Bucky Barnes’ return to the world cancel out who he was before or the value of how he seemingly died fighting alongside Steve Rogers, Steve’s shield in his hand?  Hardly. It heightened the emotional impact of both characters in the modern day because of what they shared in the past. Thus it would likely be with a reunited Diana Prince and Steve Trevor.

We cannot know the circumstances of how they will come together again, but their history, and Diana having felt Steve’s loss, makes the relationship all the richer and all the more compelling. Their experiences are something that we will never experience, but we can have the chance to cheat death and live vicariously through them.

Source.

[ooc-but-stylish]

The FFXV Dossier

or,

More Proof that the Writers at Square Have No Clue WTF They Are Doing

Ravus Dossier: “Eldest son of House Fleuret, Blood of the Oracle, and older brother to Lady Lunafreya.  His mother was burned alive in the fires that consumed Tenebrae twelve years ago.” 

It wasn’t bad enough that Sylva was run through by Glauca’s sword, she also was still alive after that and then legit died in a fire. Then Luna proceeds to mention her mother not a single time throughout the game, with the motherly presence replaced by Gentiana, the Most Ineffectual Attendant and Friend Ever. They didn’t have to do that to Sylva, but they did.

“Blaming the “cowardly” King Regis for her death,”

He was indeed a coward. No quotation marks needed. Carry on.

"Unfortunately, the Rulers of Yore deemed him unworthy of their power, and singed his left arm as punishment for his hubris."

Less “singed” and more “he got his own arm burnt off, was in incredible pain, and needed a Magitek prosthetic replacement and also his sister saw him burn-- to death, for all she knew-- and didn’t say a damn thing nor make any effort to help him”, but sure.

“The empire’s assault on Altissia was an unequivocal failure that resulted in massive casualties.  As High Commander, Ravus is forced to take responsibilty for this disastrous outcome and is succinctly scheduled for execution.” 

Good of the dossier to clue us in on missable but important character information that would explain later parts of the story or why anyone is anywhere.  

“Yet Lunafreya convinces her brother that his initial impression of the prince was wrong, and he has a change of heart.”

First of all, Lunafreya has no sense of self and her existence is defined by her continued positive relationship with a prince and a king she hasn’t seen in twelve goddamn years. 

Second, this game runs on morality centered on whatever character the narrative wants to fellate. Luna didn’t tell Ravus that she chose to let Regis’s hand go. That gave Ravus the impression that Regis abandoned all of the Nox Fleurets to their fate instead of just two of them (although IMO, that he still abandoned them doesn’t get less bad). 

Third, rather than having writing that examines the flaws of characters perceived or presented as Good People, instead what the narrative does is it twists characters into pretzels to sell that Regis was 100% pure and free of even the perception of wrongdoing, defended by another “sacrosanct” character (Luna) who is never wrong ever and is the best judge of character just because the game says so and look at how nice and good she is. 

Anyone who disagreed with Regis “didn’t understand what he was going through”, even though his actions involved the manipulation and death of someone he was supposed to protect and care for (Noctis) and the sacrifice of many other people on top of that (Insomnian citizens, Luna, Ignis, Nyx, etc.), with all the blame of the events falling onto Noctis, who was deliberately raised not to know about a majority of the things he needed to do in the game nor the true extent of his burden because Regis wanted to “treat him like a normal boy” to make himself feel better about the fact that his son would die young anyway.

So, I don’t blame Ravus for thinking Noctis was an ignorant shit. 

The problem is that at no point is Ravus disabused of the notion that Noctis is that way on purpose nor allowed to act in light of that knowledge. All Luna does is shill for Noct and tells Ravus that he’s wrong and he should change his mind about the guy because he will rise to the occasion in the future. She defends Noctis in a way that more or less admits that Ravus is right about his assessment but that it’s somehow irrelevant. In reality, Ravus is under no obligation to wait for that undetermined future time (10 years later... Ravus would wait a total of 22 years for Noctis to prove himself?) or expect that future behavior/redemption will make up for present misdeeds-- from Ravus’s POV Noctis shows no behavior that lends to the idea he knows what he’s doing or that he’s not just blowing off the fact that Luna is dying for him. 

I still maintain that if Noctis knew that Luna was dying as the price of the covenants, he and Ravus would have seen eye to eye. However, every time someone makes it known that “Luna is dying”, the context is twisted to make it seem like she died because of Noctis and that she possessed the Ring of the Lucii (known to drain life and cause ill health), not because the gods robbed her of her life as part of waking them up-- a reality which makes Noctis a few steps removed from being the cause of Luna’s death. But I digress. 

At the point Ravus “redeems himself” of his negative opinion and shows it, he has no other choice: Luna is already falling apart and near-death so he has to be a LuNoct shipper all of a sudden, and later on Noctis is the last remaining option to save the world that Ravus wanted his sister to live in and give people the future he wanted her to enjoy. Then it turns out that wasn’t even Noctis he was talking to, so he got no closure.

The problem is also that Ravus’s issue with Noctis and Regis is one that the narrative shows he’s not allowed to have. An opinion that Regis is a coward and Noctis is ignorant is some kind of “hallmark of villainy” for this game, because how dare people disagree with the protagonists and have a negative opinion on them! So Ravus needed to be “redeemed” and “see the light” about how great Noctis and Regis are when 

he shouldn’t have had to  

being a stan for the protag is not the same as being a good character

it’s not even the requirement of being a hero, or even a good person

and wow, look at all the good it did him considering he still fucking died. His name is Ravus and they didn’t let him have a gray view of the protagonists. He died and his body was defiled.

Gentiana Dossier: "Gentiana prefers not to interfere with the everyday occurrences of the mortal world" 

Including, of course, a twelve year old Luna being beaten by Caligo. And Luna being murdered by Ardyn the day after Gentiana appeared in Altissia. And Sylva being murdered by Glauca (or rather, BURNED ALIVE in the fire near Fenestala Manor). Those everyday occurrences. Ok.

Crepera/The Rogue Dossier: "One of the guardians of the Old Wall, consumed by the Starscourge and forced to submit to Ardyn’s will.”

Ardyn is such a Sue he can infect spirits now? Ok.

I mean, the Old Wall fell apart when Nyx summoned them to fight Diamond Weapon and Drautos, and calling upon them is a power granted by those who have the Ring of the Lucii, but Ardyn still brought some Kings of Lucis back to possess them with powers antithetical to the ones that could control and awaken them in the first place. This is after he summoned a Wall to cover the Citadel that’s identical to the one powered by the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii when the Crystal already rejected him and he should have no right to its abilities as well as not having the Ring in his possession. Splendid.

"Having lost her father and older brother to the daemons" 

Oh, so the Kings of Lucis could have more than one child! But Noctis doesn't have a sibling because......?

“At the time, however, the thought of a woman ruling the kingdom was preposterous to some.  Thus the Rogue reigned from the shadows, helping Lucis to overcome a difficult era without once revealing her face to the masses.”

Okay, so the sole surviving daughter of the Lucian monarchy is ruling the place but the problem people have with it is her sex? Ok. I mean this is an isolationist country that's already hated by the people outside of it for its practices and general neglect of the neighboring lands but having a woman at the helm is the real problem. My god. But it is good to know that, in a world with massive genocidal water snakes, giants holding up meteors, clones, robots, malarial space herpes, frosty ice giantesses being maids to Discount Female Jesus Figures, all of which exist on a planet smaller than fucking Rhode Island, sexism still remains intact. So good to know. 

Like it wasn't known that the previous King had a son and a daughter? So no shit if the father and son die that the daughter would be left, unless a) a total foreigner would rule the country, for the sake of "muh male dominance" which is shit, b) someone not descended from the Lucian line would rule the country, for the above reason, which is still shit c) the daughter disguised herself as a man and for maximum roleplay got herself a wife too, because people can’t accept a woman being in charge for some reason, but anyway it still makes no sense because the solution after all was that she still does her job, but she does it behind the scenes because she morphed from King of Lucis to Harry Potter whenever the Dursleys have a guest in their house. 

Fuck, I mean, doesn’t the Rogue wield a big honkin’ shuriken? I thought this "ruling from the shadows" thing was more like her conducting assassinations by moonlight and winning the hearts of her subjects by daylight like a murderous Sailor Moon! The flavor text says she “spurned the public eye”, so you know what'd also be acceptable? Her not being in the spotlight because that’s just part of her personality, but I hear Square has no idea how giving women personalities is supposed to work. A "King of Lucis" that avoids paparazzi like the fucking plague would be A++ but nah, it’s because this fantasy world still needs sexism in it, and this King of Lucis who’s gotten her position by “birthright” and “natural causes” still gives a fuck about social mores. Utter horseshit.

[saltwukong]

In your opinion, what are the best RWBY fight scenes post-Monty?

WHAT IS THE BEST RWBY FIGHT SCENE?! (POST-MONTY)

I don’t think I can count Penny vs. Pyrrha, since some of those animations were leftovers Monty had done. Can’t count Ruby vs. Mercury since that was hardly a fight. Let’s see, what’ve we got? And which one of the forty remaining fights wins?

Enjoy as I completely dramatize this question into a contest, because I’m bored.

RWBY vs. ABRN.

JNPR vs. BRNZ.

SSSN vs. NDGO.

Qrow vs. Winter.

Coco and Yatsuhashi vs. Emerald and Mercury.

Weiss and Yang vs. Neon and Flynt.

Yang vs. Mercury.

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury vs. Amber.

The multiple skirmishes at the Battle of Beacon.

Velvet and Weiss vs. Paladins.

Ruby vs. Neo and Torchwick.

Blake and Yang vs. Adam.

Cinder vs. Ozpin.

Pyrrha vs. Cinder.

Ruby vs. the Beringel

RNJR vs. Geist.

Sun and Blake vs. Sea Dragon.

RNJR vs. Tyrian.

Qrow vs. Tyrian.

Taiyang and Yang sparring.

Skirmish with Ilia.

RNJR vs. the Nuckelavee.

Weiss vs. Ice Wolves.

Yang vs. Ursa Major.

Weiss vs. Lancer Swarm and Lancer Queen.

Yang vs. Branwen Bandits.

Blake and Sun vs. Ilia’s Group.

Ghira and Sun vs. Assassins.

Blake vs. Ilia.

Ghira vs. Albains.

Sun vs. Ilia.

Haven Skirmishes.

Ruby vs. Emerald.

Jaune vs. Cinder.

Oscar vs. Lionheart.

Weiss vs. Vernal.

Everyone else doesn’t count due to not being given enough focus to properly see their fights.

Hazel vs. Ozpin.

Hazel vs. Everyone else.

Raven and Vernal vs. Cinder.

Blake and Sun vs. Adam.

Immediate discards:

RWBY vs. ABRN–good at first, but the finisher involving everyone trying to work together was poorly done and amounted to launching Yang at them.

SSSN vs. NDGO. After great showings by RWBY and JNPR, SSSN does terribly and one member doesn’t even get to fight, and their opponents are literally someone’s OCs. This is the most onscreen fighting they’ve done, and they sucked.

Qrow vs. Winter. While a fun fight, it was unnecessary and enraging.

Coco and Yatsuhashi vs. Emerald and Mercury. Rather than show us the latter overcoming the former legitimately, we are instead treated to Coco and Yats being mercilessly worfed to make Emercury look badass and dangerous without much in the way of fighting back.

Weiss and Yang vs. Neon and Flynt. A bunch of dumb unnecessary pirouetting followed by a stupid self-sacrifice by Weiss (instead of just picking up her weapon) so that Yang can take on two opponents and win.

Battle of Beacon skirmishes, which just looked like everyone not really trying instead of everyone being overwhelmed by a massive threat. 

Sun and Blake vs. the Sea Dragon. While an excellent fight, it was also the scene that revealed to us Sun having followed Blake for potentially weeks without her knowledge or consent.

RNJR vs. Tyrian–RNJR get thrown around without any sense of strategy while Ruby completely forgets she has a Semblance so that they can need Qrow to save them.

Skirmish with Ilia–it only works by having Sun hold down Ilia with four clones (WHY FOUR?! ONE WAS ENOUGH–) to justify his Aura being exhausted (Why??? He summoned three clones earlier that week with no problem–), which in turn was to justify Ilia one-shotting him (WHICH WAS ONLY DONE SO BLAKE WOULD HAVE SOMEONE TO CRY OVER…………)

RNJR vs. the Nuckelavee. A shit fight in which grenades, high-caliber rifle shots, and a broadsword all blip harmlessly off the model of a skinny bony centaur that can’t justifiably be that strong and then a pathetic, aged knife wielded by an aura-less Ren is able to sever its limbs and head.

Yang vs. Ursa Major. A flashback that told us nothing we didn’t already know (Yang relies on her Semblance too much, Ruby relies on her scythe too much, and Yang loves Ruby to death) to show us a fight that Yang should’ve won easily (this is only a little while before Yang goes to Beacon, where she easily KO’d two Ursas at once) and can’t even do so without breaking canon (Yang using her Semblance after her aura was depleted).

Ghira and Sun vs. Assassins, because despite saying he’d help Ghira, Sun is nowhere to be found next episode and Ghira is taking on the Albains alone–after having his aura depleted, while having the least combat expertise in the room, and after discarding perfectly good armor.

Ghira vs. Albains, for the above reasons.

Sun vs. Ilia. I’m not going to applaud Sun taking out the gunchucks for the first time in four years for a ten-second skirmish. Nor am I going to applaud Ghira and two Sun clones all struggling to hold up a section of a wooden balcony with nothing on it when these are supposed to be folks with beyond mere human strength.

Jaune vs. Cinder–I cite Jaune’s loss of control, him stealing a fight Ruby needed, and the missed opportunity of the broadsword reveal.

Ruby vs. Emerald, due to none of the Penny’s death drama being brought up.

Oscar vs. Lionheart. The former is an untrained boy barely having unlocked his aura, and the latter is supposed to be a huntsman headmaster.

Hazel vs. Ozpin. This is the destruction of Hazel’s character in its entirety, plus it’s just overall lackluster.

Blake and Sun vs. Adam, due to the wimpification of Adam and it only being half-animated in the first place.

Preliminary Disqualifiers:

JNPR vs. BRNZ: Showed good strategizing on the part of both protagonists and their opponents, yet at the end, it highlights how JNPR don’t sync as well as RWBY, and BRNZ just sit there and let them talk instead of taking the opportunity for hits.

Cinder vs. Ozpin: Yeah, high stakes and high-scale fighting, but not only is it short, we jump cut to different parts of the fight. Two volumes after we actually see the fight, we still don’t have a good idea of what Ozpin’s specific powers are or how they work, or how the fight ended (yeah, we know Cinder won and Ozpin died, but the actual end of the fight would’ve been nice to see.)

RNJR vs. Geist, primarily because it is again the girls who carry the majority of the weight while Ren and Jaune do much of nothing.

Qrow vs. Tyrian, due to generally only being there to set up Qrow’s Man Pain over his bad luck Semblance that doesn’t make sense in the first place. Missed opportunity to reveal Jaune’s Semblance as well

Blake and Sun vs. Ilia’s group. While it was nice to see Blake trusting Sun for once, it served as probably the least tactful LGBT reveal I’ve ever seen. 

Blake vs. Ilia. While it was well-animated and fairly character-develop-ey, Ilia had far passed the point of forgiveness, souring the fight immensely, especially after the fact.

Weiss vs. Vernal. While it showed how capable someone like Vernal is well, and cut short Weiss’ summoning, it didn’t work well for Weiss given that she seemed to rely too much on it and forgot she had other powers.

Hazel vs. Everyone else. While it was enjoyable seeing him trash everyone in the room single-handedly, including Qrow, it still came at the cost of his character and wasn’t all that well-animated.

Raven vs. Cinder. Despite being an excellent climactic fight, and one that showed the difference skill and experience can make when faced with equal power, I can’t appreciate it because it was sandwiched between the poorest displays of a lack of animation effort I’ve ever seen, and it almost feels like it sucked away most of the budget. Plus, despite the seeming point of the fight, Raven and Cinder still both break their auras at the same time for dramatic effect.

Semi-Finalists: 

Yang vs. Mercury

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury vs. Amber.

Velvet and Weiss vs. Paladins.

Ruby vs. Neo and Torchwick.

Blake and Yang vs. Adam.

Pyrrha vs. Cinder.

Ruby vs. the Beringel.

Taiyang vs. Yang spar.

Weiss vs. Ice Wolves.

Weiss vs. Lancer Swarm and Lancer Queen.

Yang vs. Branwen bandits.

Honestly, any of these could take the cake. All of them were well-animated and provided me no in-story reason to dislike them. If I’m gonna discard any though…

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury vs. Amber… a three-on-one fight against an incredibly powerful opponent. It shows that careful use of abilities and strategic planning can help immensely against even a threat of immense scale like a maiden, and it showcased Amber having the common sense to go after Emerald first despite Cinder being the main villain because after all, Emerald played the Queen in this scenario. However, I have to discard, because this fight revolved around the maiden powers, which are not a plot I’ve so far enjoyed at all and which I understand to have been introduced too early anyway.

Velvet and Weiss vs. Paladins and Blake and Yang vs. Adam… one a one-on-two fight that had to be taken over at the last minute, the other a one-on-one fight that was lost both by Blake and her would-be intervening rescuer. Velvet’s power was amazing, and what really won me over was the heart-shattering but heart-repairing shoutout to Penny Polendina with her blades, proving she was gone, but not forgotten. Weiss finally forced out some summoning at a critical moment: when she intended to defend Velvet at the cost of her own life, and thanks to it, both lived. Adam was a wonderfully, blatantly destructive and evil threat that was fun to hate and proved that no matter how much you think Blake’s moved on from her pre-series trauma it can all come back and collapse when the source of it arrives in person. However, I have to discard because of a lack of follow-through. In the case of Velvet and Weiss, this is essentially the last we’ll see of CFVY before they disappear off the radar forever, going the way that characters do when they are designed for fans. Weiss came to rely on her summons far too much, and we essentially never saw her use another ability again. Blake and Yang is the worst case–Adam’s wimpification in Volume 5 shattered everything his showing from Volume 3 gave us.

Ruby vs. Neo and Torchwick… definitely a strong contender for my favorite fight hands-down. It’s got great music, a fantastic showing of teamwork from fan favorite Torchwick and my favorite Neo, it showed that even someone like Neo can be pressured by a massive spinning scythe, it showed an excellent grasp of strategy on both sides of the fight, and it all took place on top of a gigantic airship in the sky, with Grimm flying around!!! Holy shit! In terms of successfully pulling off scale, this one probably wins! And after Ruby handily dispenses with Neo, guess how she goes for Torchwick, deprived of her scythe?! By zooming back and forth in multiple directions with her speed Semblance. Yeah, it didn’t work, because Torchwick had a counter for it–but the point is that she thought of it! She took advantage of one of her remaining powerful abilities despite being deprived of one of her greatest weapons and her most comfortable one, and did so creatively! That’s what the fuck I’m talking about!!! …Unfortunately, I still have to disqualify it, for reasons stated above–lack of follow-through. We don’t see that kind of creativity with her Semblance (or indeed, much of Ruby’s Semblance at all) again throughout the other two volumes. Tyrian and Emerald would like to say hello. I guess the Geist did okay, but not enough to save its entry.

Ruby vs. the Beringel… another strong contender. Ruby blows us away with just how much her Semblance has improved in a short that is good the entire way through. Ruby speed-blitzes the Beringel (who is really no slouch himself), and then blasts him through a damn tornado. The problem is that the Beringel is the first harbinger of the Nuckelavee–by which I mean, that scythe should be cleaving him apart and for some reason isn’t. Another problem is the end, where she trips him up and then tornadoes him, then slams him down to the ground and shoots him. What exactly stopped her from doing that in the beginning? And again, lack of follow-through. V3E11, the Ruby short, and V3E01 seem to be the last times anyone was willing to animate Ruby using her Semblance. 

Taiyang vs. Yang spar… At the end of the day, this is just a sparring match. It was wonderful to see someone straight-up tell Yang what she was doing wrong, in addition to her finally trying on her arm and attempting to put her foot forward and do some active recovery, as opposed to merely getting more talkative with time. However, at the end of the day, it’s still just a spar. It can’t hold a candle to the massive high-speed, grand scale of the other battles like the ones I just described above. What really makes my heart thud is where we get to see Yang apply what she learned here in actual combat. 

Finalists…

Pyrrha vs. Cinder… The pinnacle, the defining moment of Volume 3. The grand fight that broke so many hearts and was the climax both of Pyrrha’s breakdown throughout the volume and of Cinder’s schemes for glory and power. We finally get to see Pyrrha fighting an opponent who uses no metal whatsoever in her fighting style and thus who is not inherently at a large disadvantage against her. And Pyrrha, using everything she knows about fighting and her surroundings, still manages to give her a hell of a fight! She takes everything Cinder throws at her and manages to turn half of it against her! She still loses, but damn it, she gave it everything she had. Cinder is beaten down by a much weaker opponent thanks to creativity, strategy, and adaptability, just like with the Amber fight. Judging by this fight? If Pyrrha truly had gotten Amber’s remaining half of the Fall maiden powers? Cinder wouldn’t have stood a chance. She’d have been trashed. However… the end of the fight ended the way it did served primarily to unlock Ruby’s power, which was not hinted at whatsoever before then and has only been exposited a little afterward, and has led to a lot of bullshit that I’m not fond of. Thus, I discard it.

Yang vs. Mercury… Overall, a really great fight. You can see the two fighters thinking and adapting to each other, testing the waters, before Yang sees an opportunity and snatches it, nearly sending Mercury off the platform before he regains his footing and goes in to really put her in the position he needs. It doesn’t end the way we’ve been led to expect, either–with Mercury winning. Rather, he throws the fight and Emerald makes it look like he’s attacking her, but she ends up looking like she just attacked a defenseless Mercury. And it wasn’t even to weed out a maiden–Cinder had Yang’s reputation irrevocably ruined on live international television to escalate a city-destroying threat. Overall, I can’t find any glaring flaws–only that it doesn’t stand out as much as the next two. It is kind of tainted for me with the knowledge of Shane’s letter (and it’s not alone on this list) because yeah, it would’ve been much cooler for the bullets to richochet off walls to hit Yang…and harder to animate, I suppose. 

Yang vs. Branwen Bandits… A favorite of mine. I didn’t think I could be so easily wowed by a 41-second fight (it’s probably the shortest fight in the series that isn’t small-scale enough to qualify as a skirmish). This is the fight where RWBY makes good on what we saw in Yang vs. Taiyang–Yang has seriously adjusted her fighting style. She’s calm, collected, and completely in control of herself. By maintaining such a composure, she not only eliminates all of the bandits in under a minute, she doesn’t take a single hit, something we haven’t seen since the beginning of the series–something Pyrrha did during her match with CRDL or Ruby accomplished when slaughtering the Beowolves in her trailer. She ends the fight having completed the goal–KO all of them–and without having had to sacrifice a sliver of health for it. This is a fight that shows character development not through words and exposition, but through body language and action! It is, in a word, flawless. And I don’t even have to be annoyed at it for things that happen (or don’t happen) later–there’s follow-through! In V3E13, Yang again showcases what she’s learned when she keeps her jets calm and detaches her arm for Mercury to stumble with. 

And yet, it’s simply not got the scale going for it, like many of the other fights do, such as the last one on the list.

And the winner is…

Weiss vs. Lancer Swarm and Lancer Queen.

I cannot begin to describe how utterly elated I was seeing this fight, and how much hope it gave me for Volume 5 (which was summarily crushed with the finale). It has a working combo of pretty much every pro on this list going for it and none of the cons. 

Two characters work together and use their skills to survive an onslaught and defeat their opponents (the pilot uses his flying prowess and Weiss uses her huntress skills).

The scale is absolutely amazing–Weiss and the pilot do this while navigating through the skies at incredibly high speed, avoiding their enemies and the dust crystals that could pull them in and cause a crash, and even the pilot manages to kill some Lancers this way.

Weiss is completely in control of herself despite the above, demonstrating her Semblance and dust prowess by keeping herself glued steady to the cargo hold floor with a gravity glyph despite all the turns, loops, and 90-degree angles.

Weiss gets to fight, for the first time, both a horde and a boss, holding off and repelling the garden-variety Lancers with dust blasts, and then utilizing one of her recently-mastered skills in a creative way to take on the Lancer Queen.

Said skill involves having her Arma Gigas summon skydive off the ship to hit the Queen head-on, only to change at the last minute (much like Yang would with Shady Man later) and teleport-spam from multiple angles, before finally finishing it off and adding yet another summon to Weiss’ arsenal. 

All of this, set to the beautiful music Jeff Williams and his team are always ready to rock out with, featuring the final verses of “This Life is Mine”. 

And afterwards, Weiss pulls some quick thinking and utilizes her glyphs–yeah, she’s not even exhausted after this fight like she would be otherwise–to drag the cargo ship off its crash course and soften the landing, saving her own life. And maybe even Pilot Boi’s life as well.

And that is the motherfucking best fight post-Monty fight, hands-down.

[damijon-supersons]

I may have submitted this fic request before but the fic would be about the anniversary of Damian's death coming up and jon is there to make him feel better.

Oh man, this was hard. Damian isn’t exactly good with his emotions so making a dramatic dialogue for him was…tough… XD

Anyway I hope you enjoy this.

Also, sorry if I take like, ages to do prompts. I cant bring myself to write them unless I can think of a cool thing to make it pop.

Superboy and Robin were just about done patrolling from the rooftops when Damian’s voice stopped Jon in his tracks.

“Hey, Jon…”

Jon turned to look at Damian. His friend never called him by his nickname unless something serious came up…or if Damian was teasing him. But Damian didn’t seem like he was in a joking mood.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jon asked cautiously.

“Go on patrol without me tomorrow,” Damian said, a hint of melancholy in his tone. “I have business to attend to.”

“What business?” Jon asked again.

“Damian business,” Damian emphasized with a bit of irritation.

“I thought we agreed that Damian business is also my business?” Jon complained.

“Not this time,” Damian said firmly. He fired his grapnel and leaped off the roof’s ledge, leaving Jon behind.

***

The air was still, save for the soft pitter-patter of raindrops on Jon’s umbrella. The clouds were a murky gray, almost as if the sky was giving off one huge sad sigh. Water seeped in through Jon’s red sneakers, and he remembered a book he’d read where the thirteen-year old detective protagonist said that the feeling of walking with wet socks was the worst. Jon agreed with him.

He walked up the stone steps and searched for the right footpath. All around him, headstones jutted out of the grass like rows of very depressing teeth. It didn’t take long for Jon to find the right place. It was just a simple patch of grass with a seven-foot-tall obelisk as a headstone. He’d have thought that Bruce Wayne, of all people, would have a fancy mausoleum or something built for his family, and not just another square patch of soil like everyone else in Gotham. It wasn’t exactly the most cheerful thing to ask Batman.

In front of the obelisk, just as Jon had expected, was Damian. He was wearing a simple black shirt and track pants, as if he were just another jogger who just happened to detour into a depressing graveyard. He stared intently at the obelisk, whose inscription looked so faded that there were barely any letters left.

Jon rolled his eyes. Damian didn’t have an umbrella and his usually well-groomed hair was wet and plastered to his forehead. Typical, Jon thought. There’s no better way to look miserable than to visit a graveyard on a rainy day without an umbrella. He approached the boy, but Damian didn’t pay him any attention. Jon put the umbrella over them both.

“Hey,” Jon called out cautiously.

“Hmm,” Damian grunted.

“You’ll catch a cold,” Jon chided.

“How did you find me?” Damian asked without lifting his head.

“You have three brothers and a super awesome butler that I could ask. It wasn’t hard.” Jon hoped that Damian would smile. Damian still looked disinterested.

“Hrrn,” Damian grunted again.

“Soooo,” Jon began, unsure what to say, “That’s where…you were…uh…”

“This was my grave, yes,” Damian said in a monotone. “I was buried here when I…died.” Damian sounded like he almost choked. “Today’s the third year since that day.”

Jon bit his lip as Damian trailed off and went silent. Finally, he couldn’t stand it.

“Come on, let’s get out of the rain.” He grabbed Damian’s hand and dragged him out of the graveyard, ignoring the latter’s indignant protests.

***

Jon’s first thought was to try a café, but he didn’t think Damian would feel like talking if there were any other people around. He needed a place where they could be alone and relaxed. He thought of the quietest, most serene place he could think of. That’s how he ended up flying Damian all the way to his family’s former farm in Hamilton County. Damian didn’t even complain when Jon carried him in his arms, much to Jon’s surprise.

The city gave way to vast plains blanketed by yellows and oranges. The rain hadn’t reached the county, and the autumn breeze swirled with the scent of leaves and hay. Jon set Damian down under the shade of a huge oak tree—his favorite spot on the farm. Damian remained silent as he leaned on the massive trunk. Jon settled beside him and kicked off his sneakers. The texture of the papery grass between his toes always gave him a comforting sensation, a vague memory of home and warmth.

“So, do you always sulk alone on your death anniversary?” Jon asked, trying to sound light-hearted.

“It’s not the kind of thing you forget easily,” Damian said.

Both boys looked at each other when they realized the same thing.

“You sound like Jason!” Jon giggled.

“Now I feel even worse,” Damian said, but he sounded like he was trying to stifle a laugh. The air between them felt lighter.

“Dick told me, you know,” Jon began, “about how it happened. How everyone mourned. How your dad punched Darkseid in the nose to bring you back to life, which was way awesome, by the way.”

“I don’t think that’s exactly how it went down,” Damian smirked. Then, he adopted a more serious expression. “I was immature. I believed myself unbeatable, I went out of my way to find trouble and fight, to prove myself the best. My hubris got me killed.”

“You don’t need to be so philosophical about it,” Jon said offhandedly.

“No,” Damian said casually. “It was actually literal, in a way. I was killed by my own adult clone, one that still held on to its beliefs of superiority and other nonsense from my mother and the League of Assassins.

“I’ve gotten better,” he continued. “Now I know that it’s useless to die trying to prove you’re better than anyone. You should die for something worth fighting for.”

“Idiot,” Jon chided. “Have you tried not dying at all? Maya and Starfire both told me you were practically suicidal, going off trying to sacrifice yourself to anything every chance you get!”

“I’m not afraid to die,” Damian declared.

Jon sighed and stared off into the distance. He watched a flock of birds flying to the west, and the breeze kicked up a few leaves that settled on Jon’s hair.

“Back then, before either of us was born, my dad died, too. He was fighting Doomsday for the first time.” Jon sounded anxious, as if he was glad he wasn’t alive when it happened.

“My mom took it hard. So did everyone who knew my dad. His friends, relatives, and everyone in the world ever saved by Superman.”

“What’s your point?” Damian asked.

“My dad told me that while he was fighting, he was scared. He was terrified.”  Jon said quietly.

“Superman was scared?” Damian repeated, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah. He told me that no great warrior ever goes into battle without being scared. He was scared what would happen if he didn’t fight, or if he lost. He fought because he was scared he’d lose his family to Doomsday. He needed to stay alive to protect us, he didn’t want to die. But in the end, he did.”

“You are not very good at cheering people up,” Damian mused.

“What I’m trying to say is,” Jon said adamantly, “it’s okay to be scared to die. You should be, and you should try your hardest to stay alive for the people that love you.” He gave Damian a meaningful look.

Damian considered his words before he replied. “My life is forfeit to my father’s cause. I’m his heir.”

Jon shook his head. “You’re not your dad. Your life is yours. Have you even talked to your dad for longer than ten seconds? He’s not obvious about it, but he just wants what’s best for you. I bet, if you told him you didn’t want to be Robin anymore, he wouldn’t mind, and he’d even help you find a school and stuff!”

At the mention of ‘school’, Damian’s face wrinkled. “You presume too much, Jon. Besides, outside of being Robin, I have nothing.”

“Sure you do!” Jon huffed. “You have brothers, friends, family…you have me.”

Damian looked Jon in the eye, his expression a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

“Why do you care so much? What am I to you?”

Damian’s gaze was so intense that Jon had to look away. He started picking the grass.

“You’re someone that I’d protect no matter what,” Jon said softly. “I’d fight even if my hands go numb until you get it in that thick head of yours to stop throwing away your life like it’s your answer to everything—until you learn just how important your life is to people who care about you.”

“And if I did?” Damian asked quietly. His shoulders relaxed and his hands fell to his sides.

“Then…” Jon gulped. The sheer honesty of the moment made his heart pound in his chest. “I wouldn’t have to be so scared anymore.”

Damian felt Jon’s hand on top of his own. He held it and gently squeezed.  His friend’s words echoed in his mind: the greatest warriors fight because they’re scared to lose the ones they love.

The two boys spent a few minutes just listening to the oak’s branches rustling in the breeze.

“Don’t tell Jason,” Damian finally said. He sounded much more cheerful.

“That you were getting touchy about dying even more than he does?” Jon asked with a grin. “Maybe for a double scoop of triple chocolate ice cream, I will.”

Damian rolled his eyes. He was smiling.

“Deal.” 

[musefulstranger]

5x09 review-One Fettered Slave

I can’t believe we’ve come to this point.

One episode before the final epilogue and it feels so surreal-i can’t even begin to imagine  how it must’ve been for the people that have sticked to this show for 4 years.

Ep 9 was what i imagined it to be: quick paced, action packed and extremely emotional.

I was scared about the analogy between the Helena moments and the general mythology arc cause they had to show a lot of things- especially after Siobhan’s death- but they balanced it well.

let’s analyze the different thematics:

The Funeral

Siobhan’s funeral  started with Sarah speaking . In an episode that is focused on another character i think the writers did a good choice not showing Sarah’s vulnerability.

She’s suddenly the pillar of the family and eveyone is expecting directions from her. She has to be the strong one there’s no other way. Her grief and feelings are not her priority right now  so she won’t break down. Not in front of Kira, not in front of everyone.

Sarah’s grown so much.This moment says it all

what am i supposed to do?

she can’t afford losing her child as well. She’s the reason she’s keeping it together after all. So she stays with her and comforts her. Something Ms S had done all those years when Sarah was absent.

I also adored the symbolism of her wearing her mother’s jacket.

Sarah taking responsibility, lifting the weights of this family

also congrats for letting Tatiana without make up in her  portrayal of Sarah (or rather the “no make up” makeup ya know) cause it made her emotional chaos more humane… her eyes said it all..

also about her breaking down- i believe we’re gonna see her grieve the way she’s supposed to after everything is finally over. Last episode is Sarah centric so it totally fits to have her moment in the epilogue.

What i didn’t like from the funeral scene was the singing at the beginning, which i found anticlimactic..it would be much better if we could just hear Sara and Felix speaking with no other sound in the background..

Also the fact that 4 days after S’s death they could walk and talk in a house that is a murder scene was totally unrealistic..Police had to be all over the place investigating and all…

Unless Art handled the situation in a way..but still a plot hole is a plot hole

Team working together

Cosima,Felix, Art, Hellwizard, Scott, Rachel ok what a pleasant suprise to see everyone working together. I loved the fact that supporting actors got the chance to actually help the ledas and be useful. Each one helped in their own field.

Cosima helped with the Dyad information and Scotty-Hell with the security system (even if it was kinda weak to hack the security system with such convienience-i’m bypassing that lol)

Even Rachel helped!! Rachel!!! My only complaint was Alison’s minimum participation in this but i get that given the circumstances her involvement  would be extremely difficult

Should i talk about Art??

Cause everything

screams

SACRIFICE

and all this time i ‘ve been crazy rambling about how his chances of surving are veeeery  low…. ep 9 built his exodus cause the final episode will be Leda/Sarah Centric…so be prepared guys…

i get Ebro’s schedule..i trully do..and i was fine with Sardinia..i was fine with Geneva as well cause there was a reason behind it plotwise but we’ve come to the point where there isn’t even an explanation about this…

they didn’t clarify the reason she left… cause it doesn’t make sense when Siobhan’s funeral was 4 days after the gallery party…there wasn’t a reason good enough to justify her absence that’s why the writers didn’t give one…they prefered to let the fans decide which reason was good enough…let’s be real though that was sloppy..and as much as i love orphan black i’m gonna point out  it’s weakening points as well.

Coady+ Mark

So Mark died absolutely clueless…his death matched Ira’s death, both manipulated by their creators, hoping for a cure that never existed in the first place.Too bad that there wasn’t any building up to bring tension and to make us care about those characters… so this scene felt kinda flat at least for me…i believe the reason behind this was cause ob writers didn’t want to make Coady a grey character…. well i for once celebrated her death after this scene

wait it is confirmed that Coady is dead right? I mean Helena beat the shit out of her so it would be  impossible to zombie out ?? or should i be worried??

PT + Rachel!Sarah

oh god PT without his wig is like a bulb with ears lmao

anyway so i loved these 2 together…this is the first time Sarah meets John am i right?

also congrats to the props team and the level of detail they use in each scene…i liked that Sarah didn’t wear the same patch Rachel wears…

a++ to the dialogue about PT perving out on Rachel because in that way Sarah put herself on Rachel’s shoes and actually saw for the first time how they were monitoring her sister and what actually means complete lack of privacy…

also both Susan and PT seem to have a perplexed image as to what a father/mother figure looks like

you don’t fuck your ‘son’/ or watch you ‘daughter’ masturbate and then call them “son/daughter” lol

but it gave me pleasure that Rachel never actually called PT “father” and that’s how Sarah got exposed..

the moment she cut him with the knife i was like “yaaaas finish him lol”

HELENA

FLASHBACKS

omg??

don’t get me wrong the kid was very good/ super talented and all

but how could they do this???

i mean it was SO.FUCKING.OBVIOUS that this isn’t the face of a leda clone you couldn’t concentrate on anything else!

at least i couldn’t! Especially when 2 episodes before they used canonically Cynthia!

i mean

??????

it defies logic?? there’s no excuse??

they could have dubbed the ukranian parts i don’t care if little Cynthia couldn’t play that good that was so wrong in so many levels… it had the “Spongebob takes a bath in the sea” logic lol

and it was really such a shame cause the flashbacks were so amazing..

first of all i loved the whole “pleasures of the flesh are unacceptable in a religious environment” thematic cause it adresses real social issues like the austerity and fake puritanism of social institutions.

the reason behind Helena’s bleached hair was a nice touch even though little Helena should also have some  burn marks after this…we got to know why she has those pink shades under her eyes as well so that was good..

as far as to why her hair is still blonde after all this time…well i choose to patch this plot hole by believing that Helena did this to herself again and again..she bleached/dyed them as a sign of punishment, self harm  and guilt cause that was the way she was raised- a mouthpiece and killing machine of others..

the art department did a brilliant job with the dollhouse and the correlation between Helena’s fixation with dolls back in her Rachel assassination attempt

Tomas took her and hide her the fact  that she’s a copy..she grew up in the illusion that she was special..that she was the original..in fact Rachel and Helena fantasized about the same thing and it is so fascinating to see how they are 2 different sides of the same coin…

Most Heartbreaking moment

Oh god this moment…

what kind of mother could you possibly make?

jesus Tatiana each time you give more and more, i haven’t seen an actor as committed and devoted as you are, you deserve all the praise girl woah

Coady found Helena’s weakness and it is not how she smells, looks or talks…it’s about her capacity of giving a future more bright and beautiful to her children than the one her younger self  had to endure…

and at the end of the day she’s willing to take the bait..  it’s either freedom or death…exactly like Rachel..there’s no middle ground..she won’t leave her children become experiments so that’s why i find super important that we finally get a Rachel Helena scene…there’s a high probability Rachel won’t make it in the finale so at least lets have a last glorious scene with the 3 of them as they try to escape…or so i hope…

THE TWINS

YEEEEEESSSSS

all this crazy rambling about this being a Sarah-Helena season finally came true! Everything came full circle and this moment was SO important like you guys don’t understand…

Sarah finally made up for Helena..she gave her her blood to keep her alive…she put each and everyone of her friends and family searching for her, she made her a priority- drowning her grief -cause she couldn’t lose another one..especially Helena.

And now she will help her give birth..she will be there for her, protect her, give her life even..even tho after the obspoilers fiasco my theory now is that Art is gonna save Sarah…because it is super symbolic .. it would be his second chance and his redemption after losing Beth.. now he’s gonna do it right. Idk it is so foreshadowing… i wonder what Rachel’s role is gonna be..i sure hope she’s the one that’s gonna kill PT but who knows at this point.

Ep 9 set the mood for a very powerful ob series finale..Helena’s inner world was raw and pure and it’s going to  parallel  Sarah’s  final  gut-wrenching episode.The twins are going to set the epilogue and i trully hope their journey will be as magical and  satisfying as this show was  for all of us.

[dimancheetoile]

Give me breath

Written for @shikasaku-week

Day One: Duty/Free Will (or read it on AO3)

At first, the drums. A rhythmic, heavy sound, echoing in the storm that's been raging for the past two days. It's loud and sickening and it calls to the hearts of the warriors, crawling in the mud and blood of their allies, over their corpses lying on the mines.

Then, it's the singing. It's just as loud, but synchronised in a way that speaks of past battles and habits. It's hard to make out the words over the storm and the drums, but everyone knows them. How it tells the story of the children of Fire, of the land they're dying for. The story of those nameless faces who are going to fall for what they stand for.

The shinobi of old times, when the job still meant stealth and assassination, are legends by now. Those that are still trained like this aren't in the front lines of this war. Now is the time for battle, and it's an army the enemy will see marching. What matters now is how many soldiers the generals are willing to sacrifice, how many losses are acceptable if it means winning the war.

Back in the camp, where the decisions are made, only the legends remain.

"That isn't an option, Commander. We need to strike at their heart while the troops act as a distraction."

The sneer of Shikamaru's face would make a weaker man stand down. "And I'm telling you that Konoha won't stand for this. If you still want our help, you'll have to accept that."

"Look at you, with your naive morale and principles! This isn't how you win a war!"

"Raikage-sama, with all due respect, you can go fuck yourself. I'm going to check on my men."

Shikamaru marches out of the tent without a glance for the dumbfounded faces of the people around the table. He is seething with anger, his breath shortening as the rage takes over and he needs—

He almost whimpers when a familiar hand slips in his. Shikamaru doesn't need to look to know who joined his steps towards the encampment. Instead, he tightens his hold and focuses on the calloused knuckles and scars he can feel on Sakura's hardened skin.

"How did it go?"

"It's a clusterfuck," he mumbles, glad that the men are purposefully not looking in their direction. "A is a bastard who wants to send our people to the slaughter, Otokaze does his best, but he's only been in position for two days, so it's not much. Ao is still unaccounted for, and they have yet to find a replacement for him. Kurotsuchi is okay, I guess, but she doesn't want to stand too firmly on Konoha's side, not after when let her grand-father die to protect Gaara." He snorts. "The good it did us."

"Hey, stop it. We had no way of predicting what was going to happen. For now, they agreed to put Otokaze in his place, so let him prove himself."

Shikamaru sighs. "You're right. I'm too close to this."

"I'm always right," she smirks, but doesn't disagree with his assessment.

This war is a mess. After the Fourth and the creation of the Alliance, they all thought they would be done with the fighting for a century or twenty. Of course, the universe disagreed. Shikamaru admits that at least they're not fighting each other this time. But apparently, there is a whole continent on the other side of what they thought was an ocean, and revealed itself to be a mere sea. And the people of this new world would put Kiri's bloodlust and Iwa's warmongering to shame on a bad day.

Suna was the first to fall. Its people found shelter in the Land of Fire, where troops from the Alliance where already gathering. And now, they only have to hold. So far, they're not doing that good of a job. Mei was killed on a raid at the border. Tsunade was in a coma and Kakashi was still missing, so they promoted Shikamaru to Jōnin Commander and acting Hokage, until a better solution presents itself. When Konoha had to make a choice between helping an Iwa an a Suna squad, each protecting a Kage, they went for Gaara. Ōnoki didn't make it, and Gaara sacrificed himself a couple of days ago to protect a civilian camp.

As it is, the Alliance is technically winning. The foreign forces are getting thinner every day and the Alliance medics were far better, allowing for their wounded to come back sooner to the front. But it's hard not to think of it as losing, when the death toll forces Shikamaru to stay awake at night, whispering the names of those that died during the day because of his decisions.

The worst remains to watch his friends losing themselves little by little, exhausted by another war so soon after the last. Most of them are put in positions they never wanted, making decisions that haunt their sleep. Shikamaru will never forget the day Naruto came back, covered in blood and grime, with a child's body over his shoulders. He had yelled franticly for a medic, someone to help the boy, but when a young nurse came to help, they realized the child had been dead for over three days.

And Naruto didn't notice. He was taking life after life with the boy on his shoulders, trying to get back to camp at all cost. That's when they all realized that this is a war, against actual human beings, and not Zetsu clones or mythical creatures from old tales. Naruto's laugh doesn't sound the same anymore.

Shikamaru has been helpless to watch his promotion bloody their hands, hurting the very core of what they are, in order to win. He still can't look Ino in the eyes, and he only manages to stay at Sakura's side because she won't allow him to be a coward and run away from his decisions.

The two women are in charge of the war equivalent of T&I. It's only the two of them, when the Alliance need an information and they can be spared from the battlefield. Sakura is a terrifying force, feared by the opposite side whenever she's spotted in their ranks. Ino puts the nightmares in their enemies' sleep with a smile on her face and a dead look in her eyes.

But outside of the battlefield, they are expert medics who know where to cut to hurt the most, and where to press to make people talk. So they torture, and they interrogate, and they give the Alliance the information they need when they ask for it. And after that, Shikamaru collects the pieces and watches them wither away.

When they reach the center of the camp, the shinobi there stop talking. Everyone looks at the pair they make, respect in their set jaw and determined eyes. Sakura braces herself and swallows her self-hatred to smile at the soldiers. She drops Shikamaru's hand and stops by a wounded kunoichi to patch her up. Shikamaru kneels next to a chūnin he barely knows and asks about his comrades. Slowly, the camp starts to live again, with a new spark in their eyes.

Sakura and Shikamaru go on, healing, talking, torturing and ordering. They do their duty and they die a little bit more on the inside. They have a war to win.