#to be fair reg is the one who died

[marypsue]

Was talking with @seiya234 about Sam Vimes and the idea that seems to come up in some fan circles with some regularity that after his death, Vimes will become the 'God of Coppering' or in some other way some part of him will continue to protect the city/the Watch after his death. She mentioned that she thought the idea was kind of king-ish - the whole idea "that someone will keep swooping in and saving the day" - and that Vimes would haaaaaate that, and I agree.

However. It's true. Part of Sam Vimes will keep protecting Ankh-Morpork long after he dies.

It's the part of him he gave to Carrot, the part that Carrot uses to check himself every time he starts to get frustrated with the limitations of what he can do as a Watchman and wishes he could just - make people be better.

It's the part of him he gave to Angua, the quiet faith that of course the beast within can be brought to heel, of course it's never easy but it's always worth it.

It's the part of him he gave to A. E. Pessimal, a small dull man living a small dull life whose eyes were opened wide one terrifying night to how much of a difference one small dull man's small dull life can make to the great churning wheels of the world.

It's the part of him he gave to the grags and to Mr. Shine, the proof that the truth is worth digging for and worth hauling up into the light, that it's possible to look beyond hatred and mistrust.

It's the part of him he gave to William de Worde, the knowledge that nothing is really worth doing unless someone, somewhere, would really much rather you weren't doing it.

It's the part of him he gave to Reg Shoe, that keeps Reg believing in the necessity of fighting for a better world even when it seems absurd and impossible and foolish to try.

It's the part of him he gave to Sham Harga, who knows every now and then, a man just needs some burnt crispy bits.

It's the part of him he gave to any number of strangers in the street, a sense of what fairness and justice can look like, even in something as small as a night patrol.

It's the part of him he gave to Sybil, the very best part of himself.

And it's everything of himself that he gave to Young Sam, who has a chance now to make his own impressions on a thousand thousand lives.

It's not just A part of Sam Vimes that will linger after his death, protecting the city he loved and hated in equal parts, the city that was his. It's a thousand thousand parts, that he left behind sometimes aware, sometimes intentionally, sometimes without even realising. And it's not something inherent within Sam Vimes and Sam Vimes alone, not something special about him or that only he could do. It's what everyone does, leaves parts and pieces of themselves behind. A thousand thousand parts of Sam Vimes are still out there, still saving the city, little by little, in quiet unglamourous ways, day after day after day.

If anything can be saved by a part of someone who's gone, it's like this.

And I think Sam Vimes would be proud of that.

(And also swear about it quite a lot when he realises this also implies that technically he's a factor in the lives of crime that some of the many, many people he's arrested over his long career have gone on to lead, but alas. We don't get to choose ALL the ripples we make in the world.)

[palant1r]

death note characters ranked by how much they fuck, from least to most:

L: im sorry but this bitch died a virgin. you know im right. we can talk about lawlight gay sex all we want and its very fun but there is NO way his relationship with light actually went beyond psychosexual mind games that they both found far more sexual than actual sex. he does not leave his weirdass computer floor room he is NOT on tinder. this guy had watari make him a special fleshlight that jacks him off in 3 seconds every time he experiences horniness so he can get back to work

near: same as L, really. the only reason he's ranked higher is because he hangs out with a bunch of sexy americans and could theoretically have had an opportunity at some point

Ide: asexual king. could have sex but simply has no interest in it.

light: divorces his mind from his body to an absolutely insane degree. uses sex purely as a method to give misa rewards for killing a bunch of people. this barely ever happens

misa: only ranked higher than light because i feel like she had sex at least once before meeting light and light was absolutely a virgin at that point

mikami: he has scheduled sex that he pencils into his planner about once every month or so

takada: with how she reacted to light's advances, it's clear that this is not a woman who is accustomed to pleasurable sex. girl go get some better dick its not worth it.

aizawa: on one hand, he is married. on the other hand, between the investigation and having a young child in the house, i doubt they're boning down on the reg

mello: i know people will get mad at me for ranking him this low. because like, look at him. he LOOKS like he FUCKS. but im sorry. he doesnt. he goes after his goals with the singleminded focus of a bear on cocaine presented with a dumpster full of salmon and sex simply does not play into those goals. however he would fuck to FURTHER those goals he just wouldnt even enjoy it because hed be thinking about Beating Near the whole time but like, in a heterosexual way

soichiro and sachiko: you KNOW old man yagami is a freak. that man is not normal and he's gonna dick his wife down crazy style. however he is also working long nights all the time

matsuda: between his need to be around other people and his neglected shelter dog rizz, i think its fair to say matsuda is having a fair amount of sex

matt: to mellos chagrin, matt fucks

mogi: this man is coveted in the tokyo gay scene. dick is bomb AND he makes breakfast in the morning. this man FUCKS but he minds his own business about it

[actuallyitskal]

i really love the idea of regulus black faking his death.

regulus who was too smart to think voldemort made only one horcrux. who knew the only way to find and destroy all of them was to disappear.

so he makes everbody, including james and his brother, believe that he's dead.

he goes to that cave, steals the lock and gives it to pandora. her and dorcas work on destroyjng it, while barty and evan keep playing deatheaters as a way to keep voldemort busy. regulus focuses on finding rest of horcruxes.

when the girls succeed and find the right way to destroy the locket, he has already located all of them. obviously harry still doesn't exist, so it's not so tricky anymore.

they destroy all of them, and then regulus comes back to fight voldy.

exept once again, he's not stupid. he has two kings man by his side, and shitlot of potion making skills.

voldy dies from a poison, even tho it looks like regulus killed him in a fair fight.

reg becomes a hero, all of his friends live, he makes up with his brother and lily has enough time to figure out that she's a lesbian.

jegulus reconnect, marylily happens, everybody's alive, harry has four parents.

everybody is happy, second wizard war never happened.

[legobenkenobi]

Bad Batch episode three Cody rant-

yes, Cody DID learn a lot from Obi-Wan, such as how to negotiate properly, but i think it’s also important to recognize that that’s just who Cody is and who he always has been.

Cody has ALWAYS been undeniably kind and has ALWAYS had a good sense of right and wrong. this is why he’s universally loved by every single clone we see- the Batch who hated regs loved him from the start, including Crosshair. every battalion we saw him interact with has always had a DEEP respect for him because he is, fundamentally, a GOOD person. he’s one of the best people we see in all of Star Wars.

that’s not something he learned from Obi-Wan. thats just who he is. and i think that’s something Obi-Wan really loved about him.

Cody is to the bone a kind and caring person. he is extremely loyal to those he loves and there is nothing that matters more to him than those he considers his family- that’s why he was calling his troops by their name, even when no one else was. that’s why he was genuinely distraught when Nova died, and had to be bodily pulled away from him even thought his own life was at risk. that’s why he was kind to Crosshair even though no one else was willing to even sit with him.

Cody is his own person, just as Obi-Wan is his own person, and while they absolutely have a lot of similar traits, those aren’t things they gained from each other.

Cody didn’t suddenly start being kind because Obi-Wan taught him that- we know he’s been like that since he was taking Rex under his wing on Kamino, and did the same with every other troop he encountered. he’s just an intrinsically caring and deeply kind brother. he didn’t decide to start vying for peace because he thinks Obi-Wan is dead. Cody’s ALWAYS been a fair person tries to hear everyone out. that is just who he inherently is, just as that’s who Obi-Wan inherently is, and that is the reason they love each other so much.

i think the reason this episode was so good at showing just how good of a person Cody is comes from the fact that he is alone. he is entirely in command. there is no Obi-Wan there, there’s no one he has to listen to, he is the sole commander here. and yet, even at the pressure of his superior officer, he doesn’t loose his morals at all, and consistently shows how kind and sweet he is. he isn’t doing that because of Obi-Wan, he’s doing that because it’s who he is, even with the inhibitor chip.

of COURSE he would question the Empire and leave as soon as the chip started wearing off, and of COURSE he’d carry the guilt of Order 66 squarely on his shoulders. he is a great example of someone who knows right from wrong and people who ever questioned him don’t understand his character at ALL.

[eldritchelfwriter]

Thoughts on religious trauma and leaving religion in Baldur's Gate 3 and real life

It is rare to see religious trauma in popular media - in fact, I struggle to bring any other examples to mind besides Shadowheart's journey in Baldur's Gate 3.

I was so excited to see an experience so many go through finally being acknowledged to the world at large. Leaving religion is an experience I have had myself, and the fanfic that I'm writing over on A03 is partly influenced by those experiences.

So what stacks up from Shadowheart's journey in Baldur's Gate 3 with real life?

Firstly we see in Act 1 and Act 2 that Shadowheart is subtly suffering from cognitive dissonance - holding two or more opposing ideas in mind at the same time.

For Shadowheart this is a tension between her religious dogma and what she (mostly unconsciously) really feels, or in actions that don't line up with her beliefs (see her "there'll be penance later" line after saving the refugees at the party, and her surprise at how good it feels to care about them). There is a rare line that can come up in Act 2 where Shadowheart says she is distracted and "it's almost like I'm conflicted about something" which shows that her cognitive dissonance is slowly coming into her awareness. Cognitive dissonance is a common experience for people trapped in unhealthy religion but not enough on its own to leave. It's something that takes a lot to even be aware of, but there's also plenty to keep people from acknowledging it. For Shadowheart we see an extreme response from the religion: the uncurable wound, punishing her whenever she goes off the Shar-approved trajectory as a sick example of attempted behavioural modification.

I think a key reason Shadowheart is able to start "seeing the machine" behind her beliefs is because the whole incident with the nautiloid has unwittingly removed her from the cult environment that has kept her imprisoned in her own mind for so long. Never underestimate the power of shared routines and behaviours, and their power to keep people in one place without questioning. If you have a friend or family member who gets sucked into a cult, one of the tactics to try and free them is in fact predicated on an environment change that opens them up to being able to question what has been going on without the constant bombardment of indoctrination and behavioural manipulations.

By contrast we start to see Shadowheart in Act 3 making decisions to put a line under her time as a follower of Shar. The fear that she describes, about having to chart her own future is a very real one for a lot of people who leave toxic religion. All the guard rails and scaffolding of religion that makes life certain and safety are suddenly gone, and being the one in charge, after letting others lead you around, can be a very disorientating experience. Especially if the toxic religion in question encourages a significant level of co-dependency. And in all fairness to Shadowheart, it's why I'm particularly proud of her decision, at the end of the final fight, to invite Tav to enjoy the life Shadowheart wants to live - not just mould herself into something she thinks Tav wants.

The Act 3 scene where she is at the statue of Selune, considering how she feels about Selune now is a very powerful one for those who have left a religion. It is hard to suddenly go without all the trappings of daily rituals, a ready made community and easy certainties and some people do find themselves exchanging one religion for another, because of the "easy" comfort it brings. Leaving a toxic religion is very strange for a while when days of religious significance come up - a little like the first time after a bereavement that you experience the birthday of the person who has died. Shadowheart's line about how she sees why "it's so easy to bow" and have your life dictated by a deity is particularly poignant.

Whether Shadowheart still has the incurable wound by the end of the game depends on your decisions, but regardless of your decision, shock and grief over what has been lost and uncomfortable reminders of the past are certainly completely normal.

(Check out the fanfic).

[gods-graveyard]

Hi!

your WIP ‘Till death unites us once more’ sounds really cool and ominous. tell me smth about it if you want.

all my wips (of which there are 3) are vague and generic so i won’t be doing the tag game :/

You know what thats so fair- Though now im even more curious

Till Death Unites us once more was a Jegulus fic but in an no Voldemort AU.

General premise is Regulus dies (or is killed, haven't decided) but his soul cannot rest until he knows that Sirius is safe.

So his ghost remains, though no one can see him he does what he can to try and manipulate things for his brothers sake.

By some miracle, James Potter is a unique type of seer that can see weaker ghosts who struggle to show their form. I.E Regulus.

Cue long ass fic of James finding out the truth of his best friends home life and doing what he can to get him a happy ending both for his sake and the sake of his little brother whose starved off death itself for Sirius.

Of course Regulus no longer has to abide by keeping a public image, not that anyone else can see him either, so he opens up to James. and How could James not fall in love when he gets the chance to know Regulus how he truly is.

Only problem is he's already dead.

Both of them may succeed in saving Sirius, but it's too late for Reg.

Who knows if once his wish is furfilled he will have the strength to stay in this world?

What lengths will James be able to go to be reunited with his lost love?

Will it be enough?

AND thats about all I have structured so far- its definently more angsty than I usually write, but i'm a sucker for a happy ending though I use "happy ending" loosely.

[iamthemoonagedaydream]

I think I'd genuinely enjoy crimson rivers so much more (so far) if james died in the games. Only james.

I don't know if it's just because I'm on a high from Lord of the flies and love the thought that went into every tiny detail, but I think a fic finally about how real the circumstances are for the characters would be a literary masterpiece. Making it seem more real and less happy ending fairytale would just add to it.

James learning to protect Reg while experiencing all these emotions he never even knew he could feel WHILE trying to do his best to change the publics view on the games, for the greater good. He'd learn all the information he could while training to protect Regulus, and only ever himself to just keep Reg alive. Losing his life to a game that is to punish those who are long gone and is in no way fair. A game that was orchestrated to oppress thousands, that others view with glee.

I think what would make it worse, though, is that the scene where James threatens with the venom would play out the same except for when James drinks the venom.

He'd drink it because noone would believe him not to, because noone believed their story on James' part was ENTIRELY genuine. They thought he loved Reg, but didn't believe he'd go to the extremes such as that. What makes it worse is that they thought he was acting for all the wrong reasons. He was acting to cover up his hurt for being put in such a disgusting place. They just thought he was acting because he didn't love Regulus enough.

And of course they need a winner, don't they?

The fuckers would pull Regulus up from the river.

Throughout the fic, we'd get the pov changes like we did in crimson rivers, and then the final blow.

It ends with James' pov just before he takes the potion and the pain he feels as he does, then Regulus'.

Oh, God. Regulus' pov.

It'd describe him panting for air once he emerged from the water, and then a short passing description of the river. The hands. The blood. The blood.

Then he's angry. Why is he on land? What's happening. He was going to die for James. Where is James?

Where is James.

Where is he.

Good question Regulus, where is James.

Amd it ends with Regulus realising he's going to have to live without James. And he's never loved James more.

He's screaming, shouting and bawling as he sees his body being carried away in one of those helicopter things when he realises that he did that for nothing. Because James is now dead.

For Regulus.

[tobiasdrake]

Back in action! Four notes to find and... an amount of time to find them in!

Oh man, last night was a blast. Wasn't anticipating Artificer showing up with a chocolate, gooseberry, and banana pie. What a weirdass combination of flavors. Who would even?

But you know what? It worked.

I don't know why Prophet was so insistent on karaoke when he has the voice of a tortured cat.

Did you know Shopkeeper is a woman!? I've known her for 500 years and never even realized! Not once!

I wouldn't describe that as 'knowing someone for 500 years'. Though it was pretty fun to watch her kick your ass at that old Wheels machine you guys dug out.

Hey, it was my first time playing... anything like that, honestly. And you know what? I didn't lose my temper and start throwing hands, so that makes me a better student than the fucking moon. I'm choosing to be proud of that.

Oh cool. I think this was Yoyo's cottage. That's probably her pear tree with what is clearly a person imprisoned within it, ala Shopkeeper's "magic pear tree that imprisons those who steal from it" tale.

Wonder what ever happened to her? Probably died, I'm guessing. The Three Sisters are a weird metaphysical thing that happened one time but they aren't, like, immortal deities or something. I'm pretty sure they can grow old and die.

That's definitely Pyro. But I can't glide from here. And there's nothing to latch my graplou onto. What is there to...

...

I just had the worst idea ever.

HAHAHAHAHA HOLY SHIT IT DOES WORK LIKE THAT

How is the surface of the lava not melting my tabi?

Oh, they produce a weak little energy field to resist the liquid underneath. I just thought they used buoyancy. I. Realize now. What a stupid assumption that was. These are tabi, not mizugumo.

Nobody wants to talk about how they ended up at the site of their greatest fears. I'm beginning to think it's a masochism thing. They're too embarrassed to admit that they did this on purpose but then got stuck.

What.

What the fuck happened here?

Guys. Guys. Were you seriously waiting for this stupid flower to grow until you died!?

Oh my goddess, you were seriously waiting for this stupid flower to grow until you died. I will be right back, but retroactively.

...actually, while we're at it....

Fuck yes. This is a perfect spot for growing Astral Leaves. In that we know, 500 years from now, absolutely nothing will have changed.

Gonna make some tea and learn... something about... sharper eyesight? I think? I dunno, the elder somehow manages to be impressively boring when he talks. He opens his mouth and awareness flees from my brain.

...

Never mind. You two don't even know what I'm talking about. Point is, I'm going to brew a tea that's so good, I won't have to get contact lenses. ANYWAYS. Now that that's taken care of, let's tend to your dumbness.

Yes, the one that's in the ground over there. I have it right here. Please do not mind the temporal paradox; In any system of physics in which time travel is possible, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an object existing at two parallel points in space but separated by a great length of time between. Paradoxes are overrated.

Happy to be of service.

...out of curiosity, could I get a taste of that stew? I'm super curious to know what's in it.

...you know what, now that I think about it, it's visibly boiling so maybe I'll hold off until it cools.

Oh goddess, I know exactly where this is going. Guys. Guys. Let's not do anything that we're going to reg--

IS MY PELVIS SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE SHRAPNEL!?

Yeah, I had a feeling they'd punched me into one of these. What is this, the crystallized essence of my ruptured spleen?

...so. Yes. That's a yes, is what I'm hearing.

The power thistle made them so strong that their sheer overwhelming might crystallized into the tapestry of reality itself.

Okay. You know what? That's fair. If I was a Gym Bro, I'd wait 500 years for an herb like that too.

[forensicated]

Smiffina Episodes: 480

Smithy gets a call to head to the front office to collect something that turns out to be a bunch of flowers. Gina teases him thinking he's bought them for Kezia, however they're for her! From Peter! And Smithy absolutely LOVES winding her up.

Gina reads the card as Smithy leaves the room, whatever is on it, she's not happy about it as she screws it up and throws it across the room.

Smithy and Gina are investigating an old lag, Jimmy Collins, who hasn't gone back to prison after a home visit. They find him at his wife's house - despite her claiming innocence - and Smithy chases him outside where he gets in his wifes car and drives off - causing Smithy to do a rather impressive bounce!

To be fair though, it's not only Smithy who's having a bad day in this episode...!

Reg's famous hypochondria is back in action as Gina finds Diane waiting for him in the yard after she and Smithy have brought Jimmy's wife in. He's complaining of a gippy tummy that has 'knocked him sideways' . Gina tells him to go home or get to work but stop complaining.

Jimmy's wife tells them that he'd said he had 'a thing to do' that morning and then he'd go back to prison but he didn't tell her what that thing was. She says he left the house with her at 8.30, she went shopping and then the police arrived as she got home. Reg is only too happy to trawl through the CCTV looking for Jimmy's movements but Diane keeps begging him to go home because she wants to go out and about.

Reg finds Jimmy on the CCTV and he's clearly been hurt, holding his jacket to his side and limping towards a chemists where he steals bandages and painkillers.

Gina takes delivery of another parcel from Peter - his gifts have gone up in the world as this time it's a dress, shoes and shawl. "The mans got more money than sense!" Gina is horrified though Smithy is very amused. "Er, that's something you wouldn't hear most women complaining about!" Nikki arrives with a further delivery, tickets for the ballet! "As if someone likes me wants to see a bunch of blokes in codpieces prancing around the stage!" Smithy can barely hold his laughter in. "I'm not going!" she insists, even when Smithy points out that the tickets are around £500 for the two given it's a private box!

Look at that little shit...!!

Jimmy's car is found covered in blood, his last known associates are either in another country, in prison, or dead. If he is planning a job it's either by himself or with a new team he might have met during one of his home visits. However, given the amount of blood he appears to be losing, he can't have gotten far.

Diane asks Smithy if she can be paired with someone else because Reg is still refusing to go outside and she claims it doesn't need two of them to watch the CCTV. Smithy gently explains that he's not doing it on purpose, it's simply how Reg is processing Honey's death and that he wants to be at the station and in amongst the team. She sighs but gives in and goes to sit back with him.

June shouts down to Smithy and Gina after she's received the blood results from her stabbing case. There's two sets of DNA on the knife that stabbed the school boy that morning. The boy who was stabbed and Jimmy Collins. She knows Collins is the name of the prisoner they're searching for so they join forces to find out what the hell is going on. June explains that a school boy, Tom Ryan, has admitted stabbing the victim, Martin Clark and that Clark confirmed it but June didn't believe them then and really doesn't now. Tom has gone to youth court, Martin is still at St Hugh's and Jimmy's wife is back in the interview room. She tells them that she hasn't heard Jimmy mention anyone by Martin's name. She does however recognise Tom's name as the son of Jimmy's best friend who has died. He promised Tom he'd help look after him and has kept his promise.

Gina goes to Tom's mums house... and finds Jimmy there who tries to hold her hostage. Smithy realises after Diane and Reg update him on the CCTV and he rushes to get to Gina. In the mean time, Jimmy tells the two women that Martin Clark was bullying Tom. He followed Tom to school to make sure he was ok and then he was going to go to prison but then Martin appeared and started picking on Tom. Jimmy went to his aid, Martin got lippy and produced a knife and stabbed him - Jimmy lashed out and stabbed Martin in the struggle by accident. Jimmy told Tom to run, he picked up the blade worrying about Jimmy's fingerprints and threw it on the roof before running off as Jimmy made him go with him. Gina explains that Tom is saying it was him - and that Martin verified that. Jimmy nods and shows the wound on his side that is bleeding badly as he weakens, saying he wouldn't want them to know about it. Gina collapses and Smithy calls again. She tells him she's fine but that they need an ambulance immediately for Jimmy.

Smithy gets Gina to the car and tells her to go meet Peter. She thinks it's too later but he insists it's fine, he'll do the paperwork and that she should stop making excuses and go and enjoy herself. Peter has sent a limo to collect her and it's waiting outside as Smithy and June watch Gina approaching. "Those shoes won't stay on long!" June muses, watching poor Gina struggling in the heels. "... Let's hope the dress does!" Smithy grins.

[sorchaivy]

TL;DR - Sir Terry Pratchett continues to be an amazing presence in so many lives, and will do so for as long as his books (over 70 of them!) are read and loved. So pretty much as long as literate humanity continues to exist, I reckon.

I first wrote this on the morning that he passed away. It holds true eight years later.

~~~

Because I never can just say something simply, I have to go back and try again.

Which seems fitting. Since it was Sir Pterry (note spelling) who first introduced me to the concept of the "Draft 0". Draft 0 is pretty simple, he said. You just write. You write everything you could possibly need, and an awful lot you possibly won't, and then some more that you certainly won't. You write and write until it's all there on the page, your verbal block of marble.

And THEN you start carving out the piece, the story, the masterwork. Storycraft as sculpture. It's a metaphor that appeals to me.

He said that in a talk he gave at Melbourne University, which Mum took me to see back in, oh, would have been 2006, I think. That was the same talk where I heard the Best Cosplaying Story ever. Where he talked about going into the Outback, looking up at the stars, and realising that Orion was upside down, and what a giddy, marvellous, humbling moment that was. And where I discovered that he thought Sam Vimes was a better man than he was himself (I would respectfully disagree, but in fairness I only ever really met Sam).

Terry Pratchett has been a part of my life since Mum first handed me "Mort" at age 15 and said, "I think you might like this." (She was right.) He had a gift for saying a thing in a way that made it seem like it had always been obvious, and yet was completely revelatory at the same time.

His books helped me walk away from organised religion (and, ultimately, theism full stop). Helped me forge my own moral and ethical codes. Helped me enter the heady world of critical thinking. Helped me find humour and gentle amusement in the foibles and oddities of this weird species we belong to (don't get me wrong, I still get furious at deliberate ignorance, bigotry and cruelty; but simple mistakes and errors don't infuriate me as much as they did before I encountered his affection for the stupidity of people). Helped me when Mum died. Helped me when things seemed to fall apart, and when things seemed to be going so impossibly right that I was waiting for the other shoe (not Reg).

Sir Terry once wrote that a person's life isn't truly ended until the last ripples of their life dies away. Until the clock they wound winds down. Until the words they spoke no longer echo. Until the worlds they wrote no longer spin. Until the Turtle no longer moves.

My sister called to see if I was okay. She said, "He never meant as much to me, but for you, it's like you've lost 1,000 friends all at once."

And I smiled. I honestly did. Right there on the tram. Because you know what? I haven't. They're all still there, in the books on my shelves, in the places in my head, in my bones. And a little piece of him is in every single one. I haven't lost anything, not truly.

His family. His friends. The people who had the privilege (and, possibly, frustration) of knowing him, the man behind the words, the humanest human, who talked and laughed and swore and wept and breathed and ate and shat and slept and snored and sneezed and all the little things that will suddenly mean so much. Because now he is not doing any of them.

Those are the people my heart breaks for now. Not myself. Not those of us who were touched by the works but not the man. We still get to hold him and his memory, and we haven't lost anything at all, not truly. But they have. So spare a moment's thought for the ripple that is a tidal wave passing through their lives right now.

And I hope that, in time, they too can draw comfort from the knowledge that the ripples are still going. That they may never stop.

The Turtle Still Moves.

Vale Sir Pterry. You aten't dead. Not to me.

[jazzy-09]

after death

so, I imagine that regulus is waiting for Sirius in the afterlife because he knows he can't live without James and when he finally dies, I just have a gut feeling that this is how the conversation goes.

Reg: Look who decided to join us.

Sirius: REGGIE

Reg: Ya it's me yay

Sirius: what's got you in a mood

Reg: I just find it funny you could have ended this with one question to me right.

Sirius: what do you mean?

Reg: are you really that dumb.

Sirus: just tell me prick.

Reg: tell you what

Sirius: what the fucking question was

Reg: oh that. Ya the questio-

Reg: wait why should i tell you

Sirius: so you can see my wonderful reaction

Reg: nah i have already seen it

Sirius: wait when

Reg: when i told James

Sirius: just tell me

Reg: fine it was

Reg: 'hey regulus could you tell me who the traitor is' or you could have asked pandora.

Sirius: wait yOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME

Reg: yes next

Sirius: but you hate me

Reg: no i hate people but not yo- wait are you not going to question why pandora knew?

Sirius: no, you tell her everything just like how i told James everything.

Reg: fair point

[thememerman]

Can we just,.,.accept that both Crosshair and Hunter had their reasons for doing what they did?? And honestly neither of them really did anything wrong??

Hunter left Crosshair because he tried to kill them. He didn’t understand anything about the chip, he really thought Crosshair had just lost his mind. And as soon as he learned about it and how to fix it, we immediately jumped to episode 8 where Crosshair tried to incinerate them with a jet engine. He tried to communicate that the chip was affecting him, and Crosshair didn’t care. Hunter couldn’t even get himself or Omega out of that situation unharmed. He had no way to snag Crosshair from his squadron of stormtroopers out for murder. After Bracca, Hunter was focused on getting Omega back because she’s just a kid; she isn’t with the empire, she hasn’t been chasing them down and almost killing them. From Hunter’s POV, the possibility of getting Crosshair to come with them willingly or even at all is looking bleak and even though he knows it’s not Crosshair’s fault, he’s been so overwhelmed with trying to keep the people relying on him safe and right now he doesn’t think Crosshair is relying on him. And honestly, how were they even supposed to know where Crosshair was half the time? He wasn’t on Kamino 24/7 and the Batch isn’t exactly swimming in imperial informants. But that aside, of course he was thinking about Crosshair; Hunter is loyal to a fault and you can just see the emotional pain that flashes across his face whenever Crosshair is mentioned because that’s his little brother and he couldn’t save him and he feels like he failed. Hunter never was and I don’t think ever can be indifferent when it comes to the people he loves. Whether you like it or not, Hunter was trying his best to keep everyone safe and stop running suicide missions because the galaxy was changing and he was trying to change too. He did nothing wrong.

Now Crosshair.

To all of you calling him a Nazi and saying that the animators and writers intentionally lightened his skin just to make a racist show of dominance, stop it. He was referring to their genetic enhancements being superior. That’s it. He’s always hated regs because let’s be fair the regs were never exactly good to him either (AFTERMATH). Now let’s just take a look at how the chip works shall we!! We know from Rex and Wrecker that clones know what they’re doing while under control of the chip and they’re powerless to stop themselves. So we know in Aftermath that the chip was strengthened to an insane degree, and Crosshair could still see himself taking head shots on his brothers and trying to murder them and he couldn’t stop no matter how badly he wanted to. He was powerless. And then the Batch left; at this point he probably understands that his brothers had to go. They’d regroup. They’d know this wasn’t his fault and they’d come back.

Months pass. Crosshair doesn’t know about the solemn looks the Batch exchange when he’s mentioned. Crosshair doesn’t know that they can barely get food for themselves. Crosshair doesn’t know that Wrecker has flat out said he misses him. Crosshair doesn’t know how Tech said “it doesn’t appear he’ll be needing it” with a twinge of sadness in his voice while giving Omega his comm. Crosshair doesn’t know how much Hunter hates himself for leaving and that Hunter was always planning on going back to him someday because someday he’d have the perfect plan and he could save everyone this time. How could Crosshair know?

More time passes. Crosshair probably still has his chip on but he’s still in there, watching himself become more and more important to the Empire. No rescue attempts. Not one. How awful does he have to feel?? They went to get Echo out of Skako with no backup and they didn’t even know Echo and they can’t go back for him? And here’s the Empire, giving him power and some semblance of control. Things are changing fast and now he has nobody but himself to adjust with, and besides, he’s always had an egotistical side so maybe being a commander and putting the regs in their place isn’t so bad to him after all. He’s alone. He adapts or he dies, that’s the job and that’s all he has now.

Onto Bracca!! If Crosshair is telling the truth about getting his chip out, I firmly believe it had to have been after the events of Reunion. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise; “if I wanted you dead, you would be” sweetheart giving the order to have them incinerated and starting to walk away really seems like you wanted them dead and then going from ordering Omega to be executed to telling Hunter that if he cares about her he should let her go and be safe away from them??? You can’t tell me that Bracca!Crosshair wouldn’t have dragged Omega back into the training room and killed her right there just to keep them from choosing her over him. So let’s just assume for now that Crosshair wasn’t lied to and his chip is out (I’m still holding onto a scrap of hope to the contrary because A. there’s no scar B. HE’S STILL HOLDING HIS HEAD and C. my boy isn’t making any SENSE he just killed off a bunch of Imperial stormtroopers to convince the Batch to join his Empire that he cares so much about??) it had to have happened after Bracca I said what I said idc. If the chip is out, I’m sure his head is still an absolute foggy mess because lord only knows what cranking those chips up to full strength several times will do to you, but suddenly he’s realizing that he’s still angry with them. He’s still hurt. He’s still very much alone. Maybe they never cared about him at all.

And don’t get me started on any “if he did any of this willingly he is irredeemable” garbage. How many times did Kallus almost kill the Ghost crew?? I’m sorry, was it not Kallus who ordered the Lasat genocide?? Don’t take this the wrong way, I adore Kallus and his redemption arc was one of the most beautiful things about Rebels but the point is if he can do all of those horrible things for the Empire for years and is still allowed a redemption stemming from realizing everything he thought he was fighting for was a fiction, THEN SO IS CROSSHAIR. With that side note out of the way let’s think about how alone and betrayed Crosshair feels by the Batch and let’s realize that after they left Ryloth, after they left him again, what does he want?? He wants them. He doesn’t want to kill them, he doesn’t want them imprisoned and he doesn’t want to make them pay. He wants to fight side by side with them again, he wants his brothers back. And even though he’s so beyond hope that they still care about him, heck he literally said “don’t make the same mistake twice; don’t make me your enemy” he thinks they were enemies and he still cares about them so freaking much that he went through an entire elaborate scheme to get the whole Batch on Kamino and set up the stormtroopers’ deaths to prove his loyalty that they could have if they just gave him some of their loyalty too. “Loyalty means everything to the clones” is starting to get a really bitter taste innit??

The point of this longwinded rant my friends is to beg y’all to stop being so black and white about these two. They’re both human, they both have made mistakes and have regrets, they’re both trying their best to survive in a galaxy flipped upside down. Things played out how they had to and they’re both victims of the real villain of Star Wars, who has always been Palpatine. The fact that there is so much to unpack with these two characters shows how flipping amazing the writers are!! They’re so layered and complex it’s literally like they’re real!! So please. Stop hating on them so freaking loudly. They’re my boys and they both deserve a warm hug and a nap after the season they’ve had

[rishi-eel]

thinking (yet again!) about the differences between the bad batch story reels and the season seven arc and like... some changes just blow my mind because all it did, really, was make the bad batch less likable.  

lets star with the whole “reg” thing. if i remember correctly, in the originals “regs” is said twice. the first instance is by crosshair when taunting jesse in the LAAT. the second is said by hunter: he tells tech (who’s hacking into the cyber center) that he and wrecker are going to “go get the regs” (i.e. rex and jesse). that is, hunter only used it among his squad when the others were not present (much like how cody informs that the bad batch are defective clones out of earshot. these words are descriptors, but there’s also an offense associated to being referred to by them). the idea that hunter has restraint referring to regular clones this way in their faces connects, i think, to how hunter was a tad more apologetic to jesse in the original script. “he means regular clones. don’t take it personal. it’s just that we don’t always follow protocol” carried an actual sense of hunter trying to convince jesse that it’s nothing to do with him.   

it’s interesting, i think, that in a context where you have clones and defective clones, that the bad batch (as defective clones) would find a way to talk about other clones in reference to themselves in a way that normalizes their own existence. it also introduces the idea that the bad batch experience a level of disconnect, and even animosity, in regards to other clones. all that can be conveyed by only using the word twice. the season seven episodes added three more instances, and in all of them the bad batch members comfortably throw the word around the clones who “are regs.” the sense of separateness (which, again, was already established/achieved by using it just two times) is only made stronger (thus more needs to be done to portray a sense of reconciliation or coming together. the reels succeed this to an extent because that barrier wasn’t built up as high). 

so yeah in the original... wrecker didn’t say “we always get shot down when we travel with regs,” he kept quiet as he helped people out of the wrecked gunship (in fact, wrecker lost a lot of subtlety going from the reels to the final eps, which i’ll get back to). hunter didn’t fake-compliment rex with a “not bad, for a reg”! and oh boy crosshair’s comment implying that echo is worthless and expendable because he’s a “reg”... yeah that was not in the reels either. in fact, not only does crosshair not call echo a reg, the meaning of his original dialogue was completely different.

in the original, after hunter voices his suspicions echo might be dead, crosshair suggests that if alive echo could be cooperating with the enemy, making him a traitor. rex takes this as an attack on echo’s character and crosshair explains that no, he’s not intending to insult echo, by saying: “oh i don’t blame him, if i were left for dead, i wouldn’t be so loyal.” and like!!!!! that’s such a radically different line of dialogue because crosshair seems to blame rex for having left echo behind, actually. if you betrayed the republic to survive, or even out of spite, i don’t blame you even if you now present a threat to myself and my family, is such an interesting, empathetic sentiment. and that contrasts with the lack of regard given to rex, making it read like he’s condemning rex for leaving someone behind. crosshair doesn’t seem to understand, as an experimental commando clone, the pressures rex as a legion captain is under, because he’s seen a less expandable (they’re a specially trained four man team, if one dies that’s 25% of the unit gone. is there a replacement for that member? you get the idea). so you’ve got a clash between different povs, but also crosshair being shown as having a set of morals, chief among them being that you do not leave anyone behind. so remember when rex says to move out and crosshair goes “commander cody is in no position to move” yeah i’d say that’s crosshair making sure cody isn’t being left behind. when crosshair saves anakin? that’s because he saw anakin go off on his own and followed him. because you don’t leave people behind. and like... the idea that yeah crosshair is an asshole. he’s unpleasant and that’s deliberate. he doesn’t care if people like him and he’s not trying to be liked. but that he values the lives of other people and looks out for them? that makes an interesting, flawed and multifaceted character. that got lost in the dialogue change because its no longer suggested that crosshair holds these values.

as for what i said earlier about wrecker: he lost subtle, nonverbal moments through the addition of lines that are either anticlimactic or only serve to make him seem loud or ditzy in an exaggerated fashion. he didn’t laugh when the LAAT came down. he was quiet as he helped people out of the downed gunship (no comment about regs!). he didn’t say “boom” when the ship exploded in the background after he flipped it over (the difference? a character moment that’s actually cool and impressive vs something that’s corny). when wrecker comes to crosshair’s aid by picking rex off of him, there was no quippy one liner. there was no need for anything to be said for it to be understood that wrecker is acting as a barrier and it trying to intimidate rex. when he’s afraid to get onto the elevator? that’s conveyed visually through camera angles and through hunter picking up on the fact that he’s scared. he doesn’t scream (if you can call a comical “aah what is that thing oh no its going to get me” a scream) when the organic decimator almost gets him. when they walk across the pipe? wrecker doesn’t whimper or talk to himself for comfort. he is scared of heights, that’s already been established, but he’s also a grown man and a soldier like he’s keeping that to himself? like we see wrecker hesitating to walk on the ledge but doing it anyway because he has to. in a piece of dialogue that was cut, tech said “does anyone want to know the odds of us making it across alive?” to which wrecker (who’s you know already having a bad time) interrupts with “don’t even think about it, tech” (if ur curious, this exchange was replaced with: wrecker: “keep walking tech!” tech: “that’s fine, but if you fall don’t take me with you” which???? uuh weird exchange). also, the fact that wrecker was mostly dealing with his fear silently means that when hunter tells wrecker to hold on because they’re almost there... that’s because hunter knows he’s scared and is checking up on him. basically... any kind of serious moment was cheapened by having wrecker talk in them. now i don’t want to say that DBB is a bad voice actor, but his expertise is making animal noises. he’s not able to do a realistic, deep voice, meaning that whenever wrecker talks he kind of sounds like a joke. it’s fine when wrecker is actual being lighthearted and jokey, but otherwise? the emotion just does not come across as genuine, which breaks the stakes or weakens credibility.  

and god the whole plot point about the bad batch being suspicious of echo was nonexistent in the reels. the “don’t worry, echo says he’s got a plan”/”that makes me feel so much better” exchange between rex and tech is in the original, but tech’s sarcasm isn’t from doubting echo’s allegiance, it’s because they’re planning to land on admiral trench’s ship and echo having a plan (that he himself doesn’t know) doesn’t exactly soothe his anxieties. rex acts like tech’s being a big joker and playfully shoves him, telling him to get on board. which is an interesting interaction because these characters are kind of starting to bond?? as for tech and echo, they kinda become nerdy friends really quick. like when tech warns echo not to send the signal right away because he first needs to make it look like it’s coming from skako minor, echo’s like “oh yeah good thinking tech.” and when echo figures out a way to shut down all the droids at once tech is impressed and lightly shoves his shoulder. again there is none of that “oooh maybe echo’s a traitor maybe he’s with the techno union” shit. like i understand that the writers wanted to up the stakes but it falls flat because the idea of echo being a traitor isn’t credible. it does not seem like an actual risk or possibility. so all it did was make the bad batch seem like assholes, cutting away at some very nice character moments.   

ok this is a long post and you might ask yourself “but tumblr user rishi-eel, why do you care so much about the story reels, this stuff isn’t canon now” and there are a couple reasons, first, i think it managed to tell a better story overall. so the question is: why is that? because you would expect that writers reworking the plot would add improvements and not downgrades. and to be fair, the s7 episodes had a bunch of upgrades, but not when it came to the characterization of the bad batch. another thing to consider is that changes were made in the context of setting the bad batch up as future protagonists of their own spinoff series (something the original arc was not intended to do because there were no plans for a bad batch series). were the characters made flatter and more archetypal to add to marketability? was the reg/defective clone rivalry (and dichotomy, even) amplified because this separateness serves a narrative in which the bad batch are heroes and the other clones villains?  

[yourlocalfictionalenthusiast]

IN LIFE, IN DEATH..

Part Two

Part One

Warnings: swearing

‘Carefully, you reached towards the piano and tried to touch a vase of flowers but they passed right through your fingers. Your entire hand went numb then a tingly feeling spread throughout your body.

Well, two things were for sure.

You were definitely back, but you were definitely dead.’

-

“(Y/n)?”

Alex appeared by your side, pulling your hand away from the vase that you couldn’t seem to stop sticking your hand through.

You had been so distracted, you didn’t realize that the girl had come back until you heard her scream. Alex covered his ears and shouted over the noise.

“Please stop screaming!” He shouted.

She did, but she kept eyeing the four of you suspiciously. 

She was holding a cross out as she slowly stepped into the room. Her eyes were still wide with fear but she stood her ground. “Who are you and what are you doing in my mom’s studio?”

Luke gave her a look of confusion as he stepped forward. “Your mom’s studio? No, this is our studio.”

He yelped as she came at him with the cross. He jumped up on the piano and slid across the surface. “The grand piano is new, and-”

Luke cut himself off suddenly and in a fit of excited giggles, he ran towards the other side of the room. “My couch!”

You watched as he ran his hands over the worn leather, a dreamy look on his face. Despite the situation, you couldn’t help but laugh a little. After your time in the dark room, it was comforting to see some things never change.

Luke’s eyes flickered up to the ceiling, his eyebrows knitting together as he inspected the lights and chairs hanging down and you were reminded that more things had changed than stayed the same.

You decided you couldn’t take it anymore. You had to get to the bottom of this. And to do that, you needed the boys to focus for more than a few seconds.

“Boys, can I see you over here for a minute?” You said, gently leading Alex and Reggie away and gesturing for Luke to follow before turning back to the frightened girl.

“Excuse us for a second.”

You gave her an apologetic smile and shuffled over to the other side of the garage with the boys in tow. Once you got far enough away, Luke frantically whispered. “What is going on? How did she get her stuff in here so fast?”

“Maybe she’s a witch. I mean, chairs are floating on the ceiling.” Reggie exclaimed. You could feel Alex glaring at him as you placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“There’s no such thing as witches, Reg.” You said.

“You sure? Cause I used to think that there was no such thing as ghosts.”

Alex nodded reluctantly. “That’s fair.”

“Okay,” Luke butted in, “So, we’re going with witch?”

“No!” Alex scoffed. “We’re not going with witch. Look, she’s just scared. Let someone with a softer touch handle this.”

He turned towards the girl and approached her slowly before practically yelling in her face. “Why are you in our studio?!”

“Real soft, Al.” You whispered to him before extending your hand out to her, wincing at the awkwardness once you realized that like the vase, you probably couldn’t touch her either.

“I’m really sorry we scared you. I’m-”

Before you could finish, she jabbed her arms forward until the cross went clean through your chest. The tingling sensation came back in full force and you resisted the urge to shiver.

“Oh my gosh! How did you do that?” Her eyes were wide and unblinking as she stared at you.

“Clearly she doesn’t get it.” Alex said, turning back to the boys and then back to her, obviously exasperated. “We’re ghosts, okay? We’re just four ghosts who are really happy to be home.”

“We’re actually in a band called Sunset Curve.” Luke explained, his tone full of pride like it always was when he talked about the band.

“Tell your friends!” Reggie piped up with his signature line and you snorted. It was nice to know that even in death, Reggie was still the best hype-man.

“Last night was supposed to be a big night for us.” Luke said. “It was supposed to change our lives.”

“I’m pretty sure it did.” Alex interjected.

“This is freaking me out!” The girl shouted, keeping one hand held out towards you with the cross and the other pulling something out of her back pocket which she began frantically tapping on.

“What is that?” Luke asked, and the girl rolled her eyes.

“It’s my phone.” She cursed herself and shook her head. “No! Stop talking to them. They aren’t real. There is no such thing as cute ghosts.”

Reggie flashed her a dopey smile. “You think we’re cute?”

You rolled your eyes and Alex leaned forward. “Who are you calling?”

“I’m googling Sunset Swerve.”

You couldn’t help the surprised giggle that escaped your mouth as the boys groaned in unison. “Sunset Curve!”

Over Alex’s shoulder, you could see the bright screen of her phone as she pulled up an article. At the top was your professional band picture you had taken a year before the Orpheum. Luke was goofing around and playing Alex’s leg like a guitar while you stood by his side, sticking a finger in Bobby’s ear.

“Whoa.” She muttered. “There is a Sunset Curve and you did die. But not last night.”

You tried to keep your composure as she turned to look at the four of you, the fear in her eyes replaced with a small trace of sympathy. “25 years ago?”

“What? No, that’s impossible. After we floated out of the ambulance all we did was go to that dark room where these two cried.” Reggie gestured between you and Alex.

“Well, I think we were all pretty upset.” Alex said in his high pitched voice that usually made you laugh, but the mention of the dark room made you remember your moment with Luke. You turned around to look at him only to find him several feet behind you, eyes focused on a spot on the wall just past you. 

The fact that he was still avoiding you didn’t escape you, but you forced yourself to swallow the sad feeling and focus on the issue at hand.

“But that was just for like an hour.” Luke said. Despite the tension between you, the sound of his worried tone made your heart ache. “We just showed up here.”

The girl sighed. “I’m just telling you what my phone says. You died in 1995 when you were 17. It’s now 2020.”

“So, this is the future?” Reggie asked.

Your head was spinning. There was no way it had been that long, right?

“It’s really been 25 years? I’ve been crying for 25 years, how is that possible!?” Alex shouted. You rubbed his back softly.

“You’re an emotional person.” Reggie shrugged.

“I am not!” He said, his high-pitched voice coming back as he pouted.

Just then, an unfamiliar voice chimed in. “I thought you were too afraid to come out here.” 

You turned around to see a kid standing in the doorway, smiling as he came into the room. “You talking to your ghost friend? Is he hideous?”

“He can see you.” Alex snorted, bumping Reggie with his shoulder.

“No, he can’t.” The girl blurted, receiving a weird look from the younger kid.

She asked him what he wanted and he rolled his eyes. “A normal sister for starters, now stop being weird and come eat.”

The girl blinked at the garage doors her brother had just exited from before looking back at Alex. “He couldn’t see you.”

“Well, yeah. That’s kinda how ghosts work.” Alex said.

The girl huffed and marched towards the doors, spinning on her heels to face you again. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened to you guys, but this isn’t your studio anymore. You have to leave.”

“Wait.” Luke took a step towards her. “We didn’t get your name.”

“It’s Julie.”

“Cool.” Luke smiled. “I’m Luke, by the way, and this is…”

“Reggie! Hey.”

“I’m Alex, how’s it going?”

“I’m (Y/n).” You waved to her awkwardly as Luke stretched out his arms and made a little ‘tad-da’ sound.

“Okay...” Julie said before disappearing out the doors.

“Julie seems nice.” Reggie said brightly, making Alex sigh.

“Did you miss the part where she kicked us out?”

As you patted Reggie’s shoulder, your eyes drifted up to the loft where you could see the outline of more instruments. “Alex, aren’t those your drums?”

Alex followed your gaze and poofed up to the loft. “All of our instruments are up here!”

Luke immediately shot up from the couch where he had been sulking and faced you and Reggie with a mischievous grin on his face.

Half an hour later, you had your instruments set up in the middle of the room. Once it all came together, you could almost convince yourself you were back in the old studio having a normal band practice. The boys must have felt the same way because before you know it, you were singing as loud as you could as Luke played the opening of ‘Long Weekend’

You got lost in the music, smiling and dancing around. Even though it felt like it had only been a few hours since you sang at the soundcheck, it had been 25 years. It was as if everything you didn’t get to feel in all that time started pouring out.

You felt like you were floating - and not in the ghost kind of way. 

It wasn’t until you heard Julie’s annoyed rambles that you came back to reality. You stopped singing and the boys followed, though Luke couldn’t resist doing an extra few riffs on his guitar.

“The whole neighborhood can hear you!” Julie yelled. “I thought I told you to leave.”

“Wait, people can hear us play?” Luke asked. Your stomach fluttered with hope as Julie sighed.

“Yes! And so did my dad and my brother.”

Alex stood up from his drums. “So, only you can see us, but everyone can hear us? What kind of ghosts are we?”

Luke gave him a fistbump. “Who cares, man? People can hear us play!”

Suddenly, the door swung open and a man stepped in.

Julie smiled nervously. “Dad!”

“Hey, I was just making sure you’re okay.” He smiled.

“I’m fine. I just had to turn off the CD player.”

Julie’s dad nodded before turning around and looking at your instruments. “Is this the junk that was in the loft?”

“Junk?” You and Luke scoffed. His eyes flickered to yours but you looked away as the man started tapping on Alex’s drums with his fingers.

“Hey, man! Tell him to stop touching my drums!” Alex complained. Julie just shrugged as the man pointed to the CD player.

“I liked that song you had on.”

“Sweet! We’re Sunset Curve.” Luke cheered.

“Tell your friends!” Reggie said as if he could hear him.

“It’s just an old CD I found.” Julie explained.

Her dad smiled. “Well, it’s still nice to hear you listening to music again. Out here you can play whatever you want, whenever you want.”

Something in his voice was a little sad even with the smile on his face, and you noticed something seemed a little heavier about Julie too. You got the sense that the conversation wasn’t just about music.

He stretched his arms and they went straight through Reggie and Luke’s chests. They both shivered but smiled brightly.

“That’s nice.” Reggie said, which made Julie sigh in frustration.

“Stay out of this.” She snapped and her dad gave her a confused look and started to apologize. Julie shook her head frantically.

“No, no. Not you. You know what? Just give me a minute.” She grabbed her dad’s arm and started leading him out of the garage.

Before he stepped out, he gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. “We’ll figure out this music program thing.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He gave her one more reassuring smile before he disappeared out the doors. 

Julie paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. You were just about to ask if she was okay when she whirled around and glared at all of you. If you weren’t already dead, you’re pretty sure that her stare would’ve killed you.

“He liked our song!” Luke yelled.

“He doesn’t count. He’s a dad.” Alex said.

Julie stomped her foot. “Why can’t you just be normal ghosts? Go haunt an old mansion or something! I heard Pasadena is nice!”

She stormed out and Alex whistled. “I think she’s warming up to us.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Pasadena.” Reggie said.

“I feel bad.” You admitted. “I mean, if I was her, I’d probably be pissed too.”

“I don’t think-” Alex started, but before he could finish, Luke poofed out of the garage. 

“Rude.”

It was quiet for a few seconds before you heard Luke’s voice just outside the studio. You pointed towards the doors and Alex and Reggie nodded.

You closed your eyes and focused on where you wanted to go. Within seconds, you were standing on the pavement of the driveway, facing Julie as she and Luke talked.

“Look, I’m sorry we came into your life.” Luke said. “But what I just felt in there actually made me feel alive again.”

He looked back to the three of you and you nodded.

“We all felt alive again.” Luke sighed. “So, you can kick us out if you want. But we’re not going to stop playing music. I mean, we can play again! That’s a gift that no musician would give up. You gotta know that. I mean, clearly your mom is into music.”

Julie’s look shifted from understanding to sadness. She took a deep breath. “Was. She passed away.”

Luke exhaled. You could tell he was beating himself up a bit as he chewed on his lip. “I am so sorry.”

“Yeah, we didn’t know.” Alex said. Reggie nodded solemnly behind him.

“It’s okay.” Julie shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at Alex. “You haven’t seen her anywhere, have you? Like from wherever you’re from.”

“Uh, no. I mean you’re kinda the first person we’ve seen.” Alex said.

“Yeah, but she’s not dead so that doesn’t answer her question.” Reggie piped up, making Alex roll his eyes.

“I think she knows what we mean.” Alex turned to Julie. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Julie’s gaze fixed on her shoes and she shrugged. “Thanks. Sorry I got mad. You guys are kinda good.”

“Kinda?” Luke scoffed. “That’s just 25 years of rust getting dusted off.”

“Yeah.” Reggie agreed. “Do you play piano too?”

Julie shook her head, a sad smile on her face as she stared through the studio’s window. “No, that’s just my mom’s stuff in there.”

“No way! She’s an amazing songwriter.” Luke said.

“She was.” Julie tore her eyes away from the garage. “Wait, how do you know that?”

Luke shrugged. “There’s a song on the piano, if that’s hers…Your mom was really talented.”

You nodded and Julie scanned all of you one last time. “I guess, if you need a place to stay…you can stay in there.”

You all cheered and Julie rubbed her temples. “This is just too weird.”

“Thanks, Julie.” You said. The other girl gave you a weak smile before she disappeared behind the gate leading back to the house.

-

An hour later, as you paced around the garage, you got an idea. Your hand flew to the front pocket of your jeans and you turned to Alex. “Hey, Al. I’ll be right back.”

Before he had a chance to ask why, you had poofed away.

It didn’t take long before your feet landed on the doorstep of the house. You wandered inside and it took a full minute of searching before you arrived at Julie’s bedroom door.

You tried to knock, but your hand went straight through the wood. You cleared your throat. “Hey, Julie?”

“Come in.” Julie said.

Carefully, you stepped through the door and into her bedroom. It was decorated a lot like the garage, with bright lights and pretty paintings. Julie sat in the middle of the room on her bed, and even though you probably couldn’t sleep anymore, you wanted nothing more than to lay down and take a nap.

“Hi. I’m sorry to bother you.” You fiddled with the zipper of your jacket. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about your mom.”

The friendly smile she had wavered before she nodded sadly. “Thanks. I’m sorry again for freaking out back there. I guess I just still kinda think of it as her place.”

“Don’t be sorry!” You told her. “Believe me, I wouldn't have handled it as well as you did.

 I know we’re a lot to handle sometimes. And by ‘we’ I mean the boys.” 

You both laughed and Julie shrugged. “They’re not so bad. As far as ghosts go I would’ve expected them to be a lot scarier.”

“It’s really nice of you to let us stay. But I’m sure we can find somewhere else to go. I wouldn't want to intrude on your mom’s space.”

“No!” She said, sitting up slightly against her pillows, “I think it’s what she would’ve wanted.”

“She sounds like an incredible person.” You said. 

“She was.” She nodded. She took a deep breath in, “It’s just kind of hard to talk about her sometimes.” 

You nodded. “I understand. My dad died before I was born. All I really have of him are a few pieces of clothes and this picture.”

You reached into the pocket of your jeans, pulled out a polaroid picture and handed  it to Julie. It was of your mom and dad on the day they got engaged: your mom showing off her ring and your dad unable to stop smiling as he kissed the crown of her head.

It had been on you since the day your mom gave it to you with a box of his old things. The sight of your mom made your heart wince, but you weren’t ready to think about that yet.

Julie smiled as she stared at the picture then pointed to your jacket. “Is that his?”

It was a dark blue hoodie with sleeves that were a little too long for your arms so you had to bunch them up to fit your hands through.

“Oh, uh. No, this is Luke’s.” You explained, trying to fight the blush spreading across your cheeks. “Or at least it was before he waged a war on sleeves.”

Julie laughed again, and you couldn’t help but feel a little lighter.

“Anyway, I know it’s not the same,” You took the photo back and shoved it in your pocket. “But I do know what it’s like to miss someone, and if you ever want to talk about how much it sucks, I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”

She nodded, a grateful smile on her face. “Thanks, (Y/n).”

You nodded and waved goodbye before poofing back into the garage. 

Between working at Cece’s, going to school, and making music, you never had much time to make friends when you were alive. Especially girl friends.

But you were starting to think that maybe you could have one now.

July 1994

“Slow down!”

You yelled over the noise of the crowds, your tone sounding a lot less intimidating than you wanted due to your laughter as Luke dragged you up the boardwalk.

He responded with a smirk over his shoulder while he waved through dozens of excited carnival-goers. The smell of fried food, funnel cake, and fresh ocean air flooded your senses as you tried to stay on your feet. The pace was almost dizzying, and your body was buzzing from the excitement.

You hadn’t realized where he was taking you until you saw an array of flashing neon lights spinning above you. The Ferris wheel.

“Seriously, Luke?”

“It’s tradition.” He beamed, fidgeting excitedly as he got in the line. It was not lost on you that he was still holding your wrist in his left hand. “I mean, can you even remember the last time we did this?”

You didn’t. But you weren’t going to prove Luke’s point for him.

“Next, please.” The ride operator gestured for the line to move up and before you knew it, Luke was shoving you into the cart. It was a faded red one with a ‘7’ painted on the side.

“You know, it’s okay to admit that you only dragged me over here to avoid everyone seeing me kick your ass at Skee ball.” You joked.

The ride started and your cart was lifted into the air while more people got on.

“Excuse you, I dragged you over here because I wanted to spend time with my best friend.” He said sincerely, but you could see the mischief behind his eyes. “Or maybe I wanted to do this!”

Luke suddenly jerked forward, then pulled himself back, making the cart wobble.

“Luke!” You gripped the support bar and glared at him. Once your heartbeat righted itself, you shoved him with your shoulder. “You’re hilarious.”

“About time you admitted it.”

The ride spun around a few times before slowing to a stop just as you reached the top. The sun was gone now, but there were still soft streaks of pink in the sky left behind. The noise of the carnival faded out beneath you and the playful mood shifted into something different as the sky began to darken.

“Are you cold?” He asked, looking back at you for the first time in a few moments. Something in his eyes seemed softer, but you tore your eyes away before you could figure out what it was.

You shook your head and tried to hide the fact that you had goosebumps from the cool night air. Despite Alex’s reminders, you had forgotten your jacket in the car. But you were too stubborn to admit that you needed it, especially knowing how much Luke would tease you for it.

“Dude, you’re shivering.” Luke laughed and rolled his eyes before shrugging his jacket off his shoulders and wrapping it around you.

The material was warm and soft against your skin. It smelled faintly like cinnamon and laundry detergent and suddenly your head felt dizzy all over again. "Thanks, Lu."

You weren't sure what gave you the confidence for your next move, but you ignored the screaming voice in your head as you slid over and tilted your head until it rested on his shoulder. It was something you’d done before out of comfort, but you felt out of your element in this moment.

Some hair on the top of your head ruffled as he took a deep breath and you could hear the soft smile in his voice when he spoke.

“Anytime.”

There was a moment of anticipation, like just before a big drop on a rollercoaster. Neither of you dared break the silence for fear of shattering the moment and the feeling that came with it. Just as it seemed like maybe it would last forever, the Ferris wheel suddenly moved forward and the moment evaporated.

"So." You said, trying to distract yourself from the fluttering in your stomach. "How much do you wanna bet that I actually can kick your ass at Skee Ball?"

-

Taglist:

@ifilwtmfc @instabull

Let me know if you want to be added!

[join-the-joywrite]

But only one of us was standing by the grave (I remember that day)

Alex loses people he loves and blames himself for it.

***major character death 1553 words everyone please direct your complaints to @williexmercer read on ao3 here

All his life, Alex didn't think there was anything worse than losing his best friends. Then he'd died and he figured the worst thing would probably be just one of them crossing over, or only one of them staying behind. 

But then came Willie. 

And god, Alex loved Willie. 

"I could let him go," Caleb said, a taunting edge to his voice. He stopped behind Alex. "Let you take his place." 

Alex stared straight ahead at Willie, who had long since lost the energy to stand. 

"What do you say to that, Alex? A fair deal, no?" 

"No." The weak protest came from Willie and had Alex not been rooted to the spot by Caleb, he would have been by Willie's side already. 

"Alex," Caleb said, drawing out Alex's name, "the clock is ticking. One more jolt could -- oh!" 

Alex watched helplessly as another jolt ripped through Willie. He remembered the feeling not so long ago and he hated that Willie was suffering the same way -- if not worse. 

"What a fighter!" Caleb said, smiling. Alex knew better than to think Caleb was anything but cruelly amused. "You never know which one might be the last. You don't have much more time. Tick tock . . . tick tock." 

Alex had already known when he first figured it all out that he woukd trade places with Willie in the blink of an eye. But Willie had been able to stand, then. Willie had wanted to talk. Willie had sworn to never forgive Alex if he did. 

But how could Alex just stand there and watch? 

As if Willie could read his thoughts, they forced themselves to sit upright. He shook his head, holding Alex's gaze. 

"Tick tock," Caleb reminded Alex. 

Willie shook his head again. If they could, they would beg Alex to stay silent. 

"All it takes is a single word, Alex. Do you want to spend the rest of your afterlife in regret? Or I could make it stop faster. Just a quick little magic trick and poof! No more William, no more pain." 

Alex opened his mouth but no sound escaped. Willie mustered a firm glare. Another slow shake of their head. 

Alex shook his head too. I'm sorry, it said, I'm sorry and I love you. 

"Time is ticking. . . What do you say, Alex?" 

Alex's agreement was on the tip of his tongue when he heard the familiar sounds of his friends poofing in. 

Caleb scowled, knowing he would never get what he wanted with all three ghosts together -- not to mention the fact that they'd brought Julie Molina with them. But Willie was still there, hanging on by a thread. One final jolt ought to do the trick. 

Caleb turned to face Willie. 

Alex, still rooted to the spot, quickly realised what Caleb was about to do and struggled to break free. Luke and Reggie were there to help instantly. Luke tried to pull Alex from his spot. Reggie jumped on Caleb with a banshee screech. 

Alex stopped quite suddenly. He saw, almost in slow motion, as a stream of sparks shot from Caleb's hand as Reggie fell to the floor with a soft thud. Alex heard Julie's muffled voice, almost as though he was underwater, as she screamed and sprinted to protect Willie. 

Everyone stilled, watching the cloud dissipate achingly slow. Even Caleb seemed stunned. 

"What did you do?" Reggie asked softly.  

Luke grabbed hold of Alex's hand. Alex could almost hear Luke's repeated reassurances. They're okay. Julie's okay. Willie's okay. They're okay. 

"What did you do?" Reggie shouted, standing up and shoving Caleb back with both hands. 

"Reg," Alex barely whispered. 

Reggie turned around, hoping to see both Willie and Julie, perfectly all right. But the glimpse he'd caught of Alex's face as he turned already told him he wouldn't like what he saw. 

Julie lay disturbingly still on the floor -- she was just out cold, right? -- and Willie . . . well, Willie was missing. 

Reggie turned back to Caleb again, who had begun to laugh in amazement and disbelief. Reggie shoved him back again. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" 

Alex nudged Luke, letting go of his hand. As Luke slowly and cautiously approached Julie, Alex collapsed on the floor. He'd had a perfectly good shot at saving Willie and he hadn't taken it. So what if Willie never forgave him? At least Willie would've still been around. And Julie. . . 

Alex pulled his knees up and buried his face in his arms. He knew Caleb had lured him into a trap. He'd have been a little daft not to know that. But he'd come here to try to save one person that he loved and now he had lost two. 

As one, all three boys seemed to realise the same thing. Luke turned to Alex, his hand still holding Julie's. Reggie stopped fruitlessly attacking Caleb. Alex lifted his head. 

Someone had to tell the rest of Julie's family.

Alex still wasn't quite sure what had happened. Everything between that single moment and right now was a dazed blur to him. How long had it been? Weeks or months? Days or years? Time felt . . . different, without Willie. Everything felt a little fake without Willie and Julie. 

Luke didn't even touch his journal, let alone his guitar, for a very long time. Reggie spent a lot of time alone in Julie's empty room. Maybe he was waiting and hoping Julie would turn up, if only to scold him about boundaries and kick him out. 

And Alex? Well, Alex spent a lot of time standing on the fresh green grass, reading Julie's name, carved into the headstone, over and over and over again. If he knew how to find Willie's grave, he would spend some time there too. 

Was it bad that he felt worse about Julie than he did about Willie?

Losing Willie was like dying all over again, but he and Willie had already known that only one of them was going to leave that building. Julie was so much younger and smaller. Julie still could've grown older. She'd had her whole life ahead of her. Neither of their time was supposed to end like that but somehow, Julie's death was worse. Because to Alex, Julie was still just a kid.

Alex couldn't remember how the rest of Julie's family had reacted to the news. He couldn't even remember how they'd found out. Sometimes, as he stood by her grave, he wondered, who had cried? Who had been too stunned to even move? Who blamed him for it, the way he did?

Other times, he wondered what his unfinished business was supposed to be, now. Anything he could think of was unattainable. If it really was something to do with either Willie or Julie -- maybe even both of them -- then what happened now? Would he just stay a ghost forever?

Alex didn't remember the time between their deaths and every waking moment, but he could remember every single second of the last time he saw Willie or Julie. Maybe this was what hell was like. Forever having his regrets burned into his memory. Always regretting his choices, always wishing he could have another chance to change things.

For a brief second, Alex wondered if his unfinished business was to forgive himself for the things he hadn't been able to control. It's what Julie would have told him. It's what Willie tried to tell him. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, Julie was standing in front of her headstone. She smiled. Alex stared, wanting to commit every little detail about Julie's smiling face to memory before reality crashed down on him again. She held out her hand to him. Alex frowned. This was new. Usually, his visions of Willie or Julie just consisted of them smiling warmly at him -- or, on particularly bad days, blaming him.

Or was this not a vision of Julie? Was this her ghost? Alex believed that whatever Caleb had wanted to bring down on Willie had hit Julie too, wiping both of their souls from existence completely. But then he looked at Julie and the twinkle in her eye told him exactly what he -- what everyone -- had always known. Julie had a very powerful and pure soul. If anyone could find a way to just dampen the severity of Caleb's curses, it was Julie.

Alex took her hand and followed her away from the grave. She walked in silence through the rows of headstones, along the pathway, and all the way to the gates. Every few steps, she glanced back and smiled at Alex. Even if this wasn't real, even if Julie was just a vision to guide him along, he was grateful for it. He wondered if Willie had somehow escaped being completely erased too, but even he knew that was too much to hope for.

Julie crossed the threshold of the gates and vanished in silence. Alex stopped. Was this a sign from Julie that he needed to move on? The way Julie said her mom sometimes sent signs? Alex glanced back the way he'd come before leaving the graveyard. Almost as soon as he stepped out and onto the sidewalk did something collide with him. Alex saw a skateboard roll on further.

"You took your sweet time."

[warsamongthestars]

Original Character profile time!

This is Brexpy, the (fanon) 5th Member of the Bad Batch.

His enhancements are Speed, Flexibility and Reflexes; along side a time perception shift and thought process focus (mix Bullet Speed Slow Mo with Sherlock Holmes’ Thought scan from 2009; and that’s it). Weaknesses include: - Nerve Spasms. Occasionally exhaustion takes him, but the adrenaline leaves him a shaking mess. Luckily these events are rare in adulthood, but were problems in his childhood. - Insomnia. The constant needs of movement interferes with his sleep. He has to start taking pills for it. - High Metabolism. Can’t keep up with speeds like that without having to down some major carbs. Doesn’t ever get bigger no matter how much he scarfs. - Low Fortitude. Unlike the rest of the TBB, Brexpy can’t tank hits or hold ground for any length of time. If he can’t think on his feet or react quickly, he goes down fast. - Weak Blood Vessels. Sometimes, the physical pushes he does when performing will burst the weakest blood vessels. He often may remove his helmet with a nose and face running with blood. Sometimes that even includes the eyes. He has a reputation for looking demented on long, stressful missions.

His role in the Bad Batch is Stealth Expert, and Backup Scout. He climbs, he gets into places, he does what he needs to, and he fucks off. This makes him work well with splicing expert Tech, or to cover / be covered by the Sniper Crosshair. He’s more often paired with Crosshair, as Crosshair’s sight can keep up with Brexpy in both motion and distance. Crosshair is often the One-Shot needed to get Brexpy out of a bad situation, and Brexpy can reach the high places Crosshair has to help out if overrun. - TRIVIA: They like being snippy with each other (Crosshair says something bastardly, and Brexpy fires something right back; Crosshair is perceptive, but Brexpy is quick).

He’s backup Scout, as Hunter’s senses regarding electromagnetic radiation and Magnetoreception makes it difficult to navigate urban environments. Brexpy can run and parkour like a sunnuvabitch, making him ideal in on City Worlds and Ships.

Brexpy is the Shortest, at 5′8 feet or 1.73 meters, marking him as possibly the shortest full grown clone (All other Clones are 6 foot / 1.83 meters; even Hunter is 5′11 / 1.83). - TRIVIA: For a while, he feared that his chosen name was going to be “Short Ass”. Luckily, this did not become the case. - TRIVIA: Wrecker has made it a game to get Brexpy in a hug. Brexpy dodges and jumps about, but its often within Wrecker’s space as to make the game “fair”. Occasionally, Wrecker wins, with much loud rejoicing. This mostly came out Brexpy being so Small in comparison to Wrecker. - TRIVIA: Crosshair pulls no punches in making fun of Brexpy’s height. But if any Regs tried, they’d get decked.

His name is actually shortened. His full name is “Break Speed”, but that’s a mouthful. He got it because, in his youth, he had a hard time stopping himself when running, and ended up going body first into walls on several occasions.

His Equipment is primarily a small proto-Bryar Pistol, with illegal overload modification (Like a pre K-16... You know the one, Dark Forces fans), and a Vibroblade. While he is trained in blasters and rifles, his stealth and speed require agile precision or ending conflicts quickly. - TRIVIA: Think of splitting Sev from Republic Commandos into two people; the Sniper side goes to Crosshair, and the melee to Brexpy. - TRIVIA: ... Does this make Brexpy Scorch? Is he gonna be voiced by Carth Onasi?

As a character for TBB, Brexpy fulfills a mix of the Funny Guy with Lancer. In spite of being very active in action with a constant desire to move or dive into whatever curiosity of the day he’s found, Brexpy has seemingly lazily smug attitude.

He’s Rash and Quick to Temper when compared to Hunter and Crosshair’s cool and quiet natures. Both he and Crosshair are Snippy, but where Crosshair Jabs, Brexpy jokes. Though that doesn’t mean that Brexpy won’t snap something at the wrong time, he’s just a lot quicker to feel bad about it.

He’s Moderate intelligence to Tech’s Genius, but often requires Tech to either get to the point or slow down-- Brexpy’s Job can’t take fields of text and still be successful, he doesn’t have time for an entire paragraph.

Brexpy and Wrecker are easily excitable, though to compare, Brexpy is a lot more coolheaded than Wrecker is. Still, they’re prone to competition. You can occasionally catch Brexpy rambling about something to Wrecker.

Between Brexpy and Echo, there’s a lot of arguments. Echo is soldierly, but thoughtful, in comparison to Brexpy’s quick and often automatic reactions. Echo is more a people person, where Brexpy tends to be suspicious around folks he doesn’t know. Echo will follow Regulations and Orders, while Brexpy tends to filter Orders with careful “deafness” and general Common Sense. In Escort Missions, Brexpy often has to act as Echo’s second Hand (While Crosshair is the Eye in the Sky).

Unlike Hunter, Brexpy quickly loses focus or is hyperfocused. He can’t sit still to do paperwork to save his life, tends to nod off in long briefs or during Tech’s lectures. But if he’s on mission, you can nearly expect him to be awake for Days.

As the Stealth Expert, he can be surprisingly Patient and Perceptive, and can even sit still long enough to make insightful observations. He’s made a habit of breaking into places, even if those places are his own bases of operation (He believes that you should always know how to break into your own spaces). - TRIVIA: He was prone to sneaking off and around Kamino, and was infamous for being frustratingly difficult to catch when caught.

As the Primary Melee Weapon User, he’s trained in both the Vibroblade and hand-to-hand combat. He acts and reacts according to his target’s weaknesses, and fights dirty. If he can’t cut you down, he’ll put you down.

Under the Chip, His Stealth expert goes straight into Assassin Territory. He moves fast, jumps fast, reacts fast, and goes in with a Vibroblade. This is a soldier meant to face Jedi face-to-face, and keep up. He goes for the Weaknesses, and he will not relent.

Narrative wise Brexpy is Dead during the currently show timeline (Dubbed the “Dis Line”). He died thanks to complications after his first growth cycle with his enhancement, so he never made it off Kamino. His heart simply beat too fast for his body to keep up, and he dropped.

The picture shown above, where Brexpy is lighting a cigarette on a trophy lightsaber, is the timeline where only He survives and not the BBs. This is the “Luka Line”, where the Dark Forces Saga takes place, and Brexpy is one of the last surviving Clones. His Jedi, were it an official assignment, would first be Morgan Katarn, then inherited Kyle Katarn after Morgan’s death. Brexpy is that one asshole who breaks into a place before Kyle, and lays ammo and Bacta in convenient places, but never cuts down most of the enemies.