#why are they not on lira san

[somewhat-exhausted]

honestly I’m kinda too pissed about the lack of Zeb and Kallus in the entirety of Ahsoka to say anything about it at all

[martianbugsbunny]

With every passing Wednesday I look back on that cameo in the Mandalorian with a slightly greater sense of fear

[is-that-sand-in-my-waffles]

I can't believe Taylor Swift wrote "Long Live" explicitly about the Ghost crew

[iiiridium]

i really hope they expand on how ahsoka training sabine worked prior to the show. like, since when did sabine want to be a jedi? sure she respected kanan and ezra, and they taught her how to swing the darksaber, but i wouldn't think she'd be too eager to pick up jedi culture, even after the events of rebels. what can ahsoka teach her, beyond the philosophy and martial skills?

besides that, during rebels, didn't ahsoka point out that she didn't super consider herself a jedi, since she walked away from the order? why did she want to mentor sabine in the first place? so far she seems very... stoic in this series, which i'm not in love with

[dndjarins]

headcanoning that jacen syndulla is under the care of his gay uncles kallus and zeb on lira san and thats why none of them have shown up yet in ahsoka

[mossywriting]

Apparently, Kallus wrote a memoir about serving the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, and I have so many headcanons about this I just had to get one of them out

Hey @woottoncreek @jackieparty I did the thing

Bright flames flickered in the fireplace, filling the study with a warm, comfortable light. The sun over Lira San had long since set, but the flames were more than enough to make up for the darkness outside. 

As the door to the study opened, a breeze drifted in, causing Kallus to lift his gaze from the blank page before him. In the viewport’s reflection, he found Zeb stepping inside, balancing two cups of tea on a tray in one hand. In his other hand was a plate with what now must be Kallus’ cold dinner. 

Kallus turned in his chair, grimacing apologetically. “I’m sorry. What time is it?”

Zeb placed the plate next to Kallus with a fond chuckle. “Time for you to take a break.” He pushed away the stylus on the desk to make room for the tray. 

“Yeah.” Kallus dragged a hand down his face. He shook his head before glancing down at the book before him. “I just… It’s really important I get this part right.”

Zeb pushed their old armchair up to the desk, seating himself with a cup of tea. “How far have you gotten?”

For a moment, Kallus was quiet, his eyes staring unseeingly at the page before him. Then, he turned to meet Zeb’s eyes with a small, contemplative smile. “Bahryn.”

A smile mirroring Kallus’ grew on Zeb's lips, and he slowly nodded. “I see. That's… That's pretty complicated stuff.”

Kallus nodded, his eyes returning to the book. Bahryn had been the beginning of many things. It had also been the end of a life he had poured everything into. He wished he could say that end had been a long time coming. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case. Zeb called it complicated. And, well, in a way, Kallus supposed it was; discovering the truth about the Empire and consequently becoming a rebel spy hadn’t been easy, but… Could it really be considered complicated if all it took for him to question everything was one night in the company of an honorable man?

“Bahryn was a lot of things, but honestly? I wouldn't change any of it.” Zeb nudged Kallus with his elbow, his smile turning warm.

Zeb’s touch had Kallus return to the present, where all his choices had already been made. “I could think of a thing or two,” he muttered. To steer the conversation away from the dark corner of his mind he would rather not find himself in tonight, he pointedly placed his hand on his right knee, gently massaging the spot where an ache had been building for the last hour. 

A soft sigh was followed by Zeb’s murmured, “You’re right.” He moved the cane leaning against the desk to the side to scoot closer. “Are you gonna mention your knee?”

“Ofcourse.” Kallus turned to Zeb with raised eyebrows. “How else could I explain why my enemy decided to not just kill me straight away?”

A playful spark entered Zeb’s eyes, and he tilted his head to the side. “Your rugged good looks?”

Kallus snorted, shaking his head. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Zeb shrugged. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.” 

Kallus gave Zeb an incredulous look. It seemed his husband would be the first to get a copy of his memoir once it was finished. Kallus placed his hand over Zeb’s, locking their gazes. “It was everything. And the Galaxy should know it.“

[gffa]

Why does Sabine think Ezra is the only family she has left? Hera and Jacen and Zeb are still around

For me, I've been reading it as a few things sort of overlapping: - Sabine and Ezra grew very close as Rebels went on, they bonded a lot, and she probably still feels guilty that she knew Ezra was going to leave the dome to go to Thrawn's ship and helped distract the others to give him time. With the Wrens having died on Mandalore, it further makes her feel guilty about her part in this war, and Ezra's the only one she can really fight to get back, that she feels she can still do something for him. - Hera and Jacen and Zeb all seem really busy. They're still her family, but Hera's helping set up the New Republic, she has Jacen to look after now, Zeb is gone on Lira San with Kallus a lot of the time or out helping the New Republic, it probably feels like there's not a lot of room for Sabine in their lives anymore. - For the same reason that Ezra was tempted to bring back his parents, despite that the Ghost crew is also his family. Sometimes you miss someone so much you get kind of tunnel visioned about them. I haven't been viewing it as a slight against her relationships with Hera or Zeb, but more that Sabine is feeling purposeless and left behind, even Ahsoka left her behind, too, so part of her feels like Ezra's the only one who still needs her, the only one she has left to give herself meaning with.

[sunatsubu]

@never-ending-fanfic @lost-in-derry

OKAY BUCKLE UP hahaha you picked some FAVS (with plenty of love/hate implied for some of these) 1. kalluswhumpbridalcarry Alright I cheated a liittle bit and did some work on this to make it presentable but only because its an animatic hahh; threw the frames into premiere and did a really quick timing pass. And if you're wondering why the perspective feels so good it's very much rotoscoped 😅 (i think from an episode of Leveraged)

2. kzbpoldance

very indulgent one here, inspired by some amazing art of pole-dancing zeb by @ziggy-starbutts! Y'all know the one ;)

3. kzb_bbballroom

Just a screenshot redraw of the ballroom scene from Beauty and the Beast! I think this was initially inspired by a fun kalluzeb post musing about how either Zeb or Kallus could be the Beast character.

4. kalluzeb_onderan2lirasan

OKAY this one. THIS ONE. *screams* I love the idea behind this so much but execution of it was becoming so painful. So the basic idea was to illustrate the overarching journey of kalluzeb, throughout space and time. In their story, both individually and together, there are specific planets that have particular significance to them, whether it was defining the trajectory of their lives and/or influencing everything about the circumstances of their first meeting and then so much after that as well. Onderon, Lasan, Bahryn, Lira San. I wanted to try doing full on story moment illustrations kind of like the ending credits art from Mandalorian S1. This became pretty difficult very quickly because both composition and color are NOT my strengths. So yea I do keep coming back to this but it is very much slow going T_T (and yes the lasan illustration was re-used from zebnightmares lmao)

[marvin-needs-love]

I was talking to my younger brother (who is ten, mind you) about how much I would love to see Kallus and Zeb in Ahsoka, and how we already got a Zeb cameo in the Mandolorian, but Kal was nowhere to be found, so that means they didn't get to live on Lira San peacefully

AND YOU NEVER GUESS WHAT THIS LITTLE SHIT SAID

"Well, what if they did live on there for a while, but something happened to Kallus and he died, and Zeb feels so much grief and that he has no purpose anymore? So, he joins the New Republic, because he could honestly care less if he died. It means he could get to see Kallus again, and they could finally live together in peace like they always wanted. I mean, why else would he leave Lira San, and where else could Kallus be at, if he's not fighting and working alongside Zeb?"

I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD I ALMOST THREW UP FROM THE THOUGHT

[mymblesbuir]

Kalluzeb Playlist

I've put together a playlist, on Spotify [here] and YouTube Music [here], following Kallus & Zeb's relationship from bitter enemies, through Kallus joining the rebellion, them falling in love, all the way to their happily ever after on Lira San. The majority are from Kallus' POV but not all. There's a very wide range of genres and styles haha

Here are the tracks (with individual YouTube video links), some relevant lyrics from each and my thoughts on including them!

1. 1000 Points of Hate - Anthrax "I hate you and you hate me"

Pretty much self explanatory, this is where they just plain hate each other.

2. Love the Way You Hate Me - Like A Storm "I'd rather be a sinner than a slave / I'd rather be an outcast than just bow down and obey [...] I love the way you hate me"

Still about hating each other, with a hint of why this time. This one's more from Zeb's POV as a Rebel.

3. Bitter Rivals - Sleigh Bells "You are my bitter rival / But I need you for survival"

Obligatory 'Honorable Ones' forced-to-work-together track.

4. Violently (Your Words Hit Me) - Hue & Cry "Wrapped in a cold world of my own devising [...] Violently, you came to me / Said I could be / A different man, a different man [...] A frozen survivor [...] But you chipped away until some poor soul appeared"

Okay, this whole song is so them, it was really hard not to just paste the entire lyrics here. If you don't listen to any of the rest of these please listen to this one.

5. Dare You to Move - Switchfoot "Welcome to resistance / The tension is here / Between who you are and who you could be [...] Maybe redemption has stories to tell"

Another Zeb POV one. Switchfoot are a Christian band so this is probably meant to be about Christian salvation but I don't care, it fits.

6. Metalingus - Alter Bridge "The time has come to change my ways [...] Could you set me free"

I came across this one on a tumblr post by @mayawakening saying what a Kallus song it is and she's so right about it!

7. For Good (from "Wicked") - Collabro "Because I knew you / I have been changed for good [...] And now whatever way our stories end / I know you have re-written mine by being my friend"

I mean come on. I couldn't not put this one! (I picked this cover just because I particularly enjoyed the sound of it.)

8. Stray Italian Greyhound - Vienna Teng "But you had to come along, didn't you? / Tear down the doors / Throw open windows [...] This feeling calls for everything I can't afford to know / Is possible now"

Here we have Kallus realising he has deeper feelings for Zeb but not being at all prepared for them!

9. Hanging By A Moment - Lifehouse "I'm desperate for changing / Starving for truth [...] I'm falling even more in love with you"

I struggled with where to place this in the order — the opening lines feel like they should come earlier, but the chorus has to come after the Feelings Realisation, so I put it here.

10. Beautiful Surprise - India.Arie "Whatever it is you came to teach me / I am here to learn it [...] You are inspiration to my life / You are the reason why I smile / You are a beautiful surprise"

Kallus definitely never expected to befriend Zeb, let alone fall in love!

11. Don't Deserve You - Plumb "Your heart was golden, how am I the one / That you've chosen to love? / I still can't believe that you're right next to me / After all that I've done"

Another one I think is supposed to be about God (all the "you"s are capitalised in lyrics listings), but hey, Kallus pretty much worships Zeb, right?

12. Gravity - Vienna Teng "Hey love / That's the name we've long held back / From the core of truth [...] This is the fate you've carved on me"

I don't know, this one just makes me think of them early in their romantic relationship somehow.

13. Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette "You've already won me over in spite of me [...] I've never felt this healthy before"

Probably neither of them have ever really had a happy healthy relationship before... Kallus certainly hasn't!

14. Too Good to be True - Kacey Musgraves "Please don't make me regret / Opening up that part of myself [...] Please don't be too good to be true"

I think it would take Kallus a long time to stop being in disbelief at Zeb actually loving him back.

15. If I'm Unworthy - Blake Mills "My time before was wasted [...] What if I'm unworthy of the power I hold over you"

Poor Kallus still feeling undeserving.

16. Music of My Heart - Gloria Estefan ft. *NSYNC "Helped me to free the me inside [...] You opened my eyes / You opened the door / To something I'd never known before [...] You got through when no one else could reach me"

Another pretty self-explanatory one I think!

17. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship "Let 'em say we're crazy / What do they know? / Put your arms around me / Baby, don't ever let go"

I'm sure a lot of people thought Zeb was crazy to ever fall for Kallus, but that's not gonna stop him.

18. We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters "Sharing horizons that are new to us [...] We'll find a place where there's room to grow"

Married life on Lira San time <3

[ramblingsofafanatic]

It's time to let go

Summary: Bahryn Fest day 4! Kallus' Bo-rifle finds his way back to him.

Word Count: 1,367

Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios

Warnings: None.

Can also be read on AO3 here!

Fic under the cut:

"Zeb I-" Kallus starts as he re-enters their home, looking forward to a nice relaxing lunch with his bondmate after a laborious morning weeding his garden. He cuts himself off when he sees Zeb sitting at the table with everything laid out and ready to eat - they usually prepare the meals together when they're both home.

"Hey Kal" Zeb greats, smiling the way he does when he's about to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.

"What did you do?" Kallus asks. 

"Why can't I just do something nice for my husband without him thinking I have ulterior motives?" Zeb asks in return. 

"Start doing nice things just to be nice and I'll stop being suspicious" Kallus says as he eases himself down into the chair across from Zeb. It's not like Zeb never does anything nice for him, Kallus is a lucky man with a wonderful partner. But Zeb's nice things are usually small everyday things like making caf in the morning or getting the heating pad out for Kal's legs on cold rainy days. It's never this - making a meal alone and cleaning up the mess before they've eaten so Kallus can't try and do them after. He's even laid out a new tablecloth that he obviously bought recently because Kal has never seen it before, which means he's definitely done something. What he did remains to be seen.

"I promise I didn't do anything bad this time!" Zeb protests.

“But you did do something.” Kal points out as he serves out the food for the both of them. No use in letting the food go cold because Zeb did something Kal probably won’t be thrilled about.

“Well kind of, Ezra did most the work,” Zeb explains, which just raises more questions. Ezra was just recovered from wild space less than a month ago, they only got to see him in person a few days ago, what could he have possibly been up to in that time that has Zeb trying to apologize. Zeb gets up and goes into the next room before returning with an obviously bo-rifle shaped object wrapped in fabric.

“Zeb, I told you, I don’t want a new bo-rifle. I didn’t - I barely deserved the first one,” Kallus says, correcting himself halfway. This has been an ongoing argument between the two, and Kallus chooses his words carefully as he doesn’t want to get into a fight again. 

He knows that in everyone else's eyes, he got his first bo-rifle honourably, and he didn't question it at first either when he was still an imperial agent. But after everything he's learned since then… he doesn't feel like he ever deserved to touch it let alone wield it for so many years. The idea of getting a new one - one not received honourably in battle but one made for him - made him shudder. They're not even supposed to be used by anyone other than members of the Lasan High Honour Guard, which he most certainly is not. 

He knows Zeb really wants to be able to spar with them again, and Zeb has explained that Kallus already rightfully owned one previously so getting a new one wouldn’t be that big of a deal. He also knows that the people on Lira San dont have the same strict rules or customs surrounding Bo-Rifle’s as those on Lasan did, but it still feels wrong to him. He already fears he's overstepped by living with Zeb in a village of Lasan refugees here on Lira San, he doesn't want to overstep anymore than he already has. No. He refuses to use a new one.

"It's not a new one." Zeb says proudly.

"Zeb, that's even worse," Kallus is starting to panic now. The thought that this is someone's used weapon - that it being left this way meant they didn't die honourably in battle in order to perform the Booshan Keeraw. How was Zeb okay with this? He remembers how angry Zeb was to see he had one, how undeserving he thought Kallus was until Kallus told the real story when they were stranded on that ice moon. 

“What? Oh Kal no- I mean- look!” Zeb rushes when he realizes Kallus’ line of thought. He unwraps the bo-rifle and holds it out for Kallus to take. Kallus stares at it in shock for a second, before slowly reaching out and taking the bo-rifle, his bo-rifle, from Zeb. 

“This is…” Kallus starts but trails off as he gets a better look at it. It’s his, the one he lost when he got caught out as fulcrum and had to make a quick escape. He assumed he’d never see it again, especially after Ezra and Thrawn disappeared along with the Chimaera. 

“Your bo-rifle yea, Ezra brought it back with him and gave it to me when he came to visit, Thrawn had it in his office as some trophy, I had to clean it up of course, that’s why it took a couple days, it’s still a little banged up of course, but it’s yours.” Zeb explains, rambling a bit as he gets progressively more worried at Kallus’ lack of reaction. He was understandably nervous. He knew Kallus wasn’t too keen to have a bo-rifle again, but he’s hoping since this one is already his, it may be the compromise they’ve been looking for. He was shocked when Ezra handed it to him, he hadn’t expected the kid to lug around Kallus’ old weapon for that long - but he did.

“Bridger must really like you,” Kallus says finally.

“What?” Zeb asks, that was not what he was expecting. 

“It’s a weapon of your people’s culture Zeb, I don't see why he’d carry around the weapon of an imperial for that long, especially seeing as we weren’t that close. Plus he handed it to you, not me.” Kallus explains. 

“Ex-imperial.” Zeb says, the correction as much of a habit to him as Kallus still referring to himself as an imp. 

“Right, yea, ex-imperial. Point still stands” Kallus amends, and Zeb’s ears fold back as he thinks it over, he wants to argue Kal’s points so badly, but he can’t find any points to make. Damn him, it frustrates Zeb to no end when Kal is right - or at least when Zeb can’t articulate why he’s wrong.

“Relax, love, does it really matter how it got back here?” Kallus says as he starts inspecting the rifle in more detail, there’s some visible wear upon close inspection, but overall Zeb did a really good job in cleaning it up. Zeb’s ears pick back up as he realizes Kal isn’t mad. 

“No, I guess not, does this mean…” Zeb asks, trailing off as he watches the fluid movements of Kal changing the bo-rifle between the different configurations. Watching Kal be so confident with a weapon of his people was doing things for him and it’s much harder to ignore now that there’s no hatred of the man to focus on instead. 

“Yea, I’ll keep it. It’s time to let go” Kallus says softly. It would be hard to argue against keeping a bo-rifle Zeb has already made him agree was rightfully his while trying to get him a new one. And even though he knows that it may not have been brought back for him, it was brought back for Zeb and who is Kallus to deny him this. 

“So we can start sparring with them?” Zeb asks hopefully as he watches Kallus get up and move to place the bo-rifle next to where Zeb keeps his own by the front door. 

“Yeah, though I may be rusty with it. It took me longer to learn how to use a bo-rifle than any other weapon, and it’s been a long time since I’ve used one”” Kallus says as he returns to the table and they resume their lunch.

“We’ll see about that.” Zeb says, and later after they’ve finished eating and cleaning up the small mess in the kitchen, they do just that.

“Rusty my ass” Zeb says with a laugh, as Kallus offers a hand to help him back up. Kallus just laughs as well as they get into position for another round.

[martianbugsbunny]

Are you seriously telling me that all of that work happened just to separate Zeb from Kallus.

I used Zeb's appearance in the Mandalorian as a reason he would definitely show up again! "Oh, why would they put all that effort and time and money into creating a live-action model for him if he was only going to appear in the Mandalorian briefly and then not be in the Ahsoka show, aka Rebels Season 5? That would be ridiculous!" Yeah keep laughing past-Martian, it did go down like that. I thought there had to be some deeper reason he was there, like setting the groundwork to appear again later, because why would he be pulled away from a pretty conclusive happy ending in Rebels just for some two-bit meaningless cameo in a show he had no connection to? Where's the logic in that? How does that make any sense? But no. That's all it was. And on damn top of it all, Kallus was never mentioned once in Ahsoka. Not once. Zeb is inexplicably away from Lira San with a job training recruits with no explanation as to how he decided to do it or how long he's been doing it or if Kallus is with him or even if Kallus is still alive.

All that time and effort was put the hell into trying to create a version of Zeb post-Rebels where he is explicitly not living on Lira San and there is no Kallus by his side.

[lasats-are-lovely]

You understand my fear!!! I'm low-key excited to see Zeb but I'm also panicking like, "EXCUSE ME WHY ARE YOU NOT HELPING YOUR HUSBAND WITH HIS GARDEN ON LIRA SAN?" (At least we still have Steve voicing Zeb and that man is carrying our ship on his back bless him)

I feel safe in the fact that Steve is ride or die with Kalluzeb, so like if the writers try to go out of their way and no-homo Zeb or Kallus he’s gonna speak against it. And since like… *a lot* of the people who worked on rebels shipped kalluzeb I don’t think Filoni would go out of his way to be like “actually no they are STRAIGHT and they like WOMEN!” because that goes against the wishes of so many people

But like… do I think they’re gonna make it explicitly canon? No, because Filoni stated that was never his vision and I doubt he’s changed his mind. Ahsoka is gonna be mainly about Ashoka, and her and Sabine finding Ezra. And originally I was skeptical that zeb was even gonna be in Ahsoka at all, though I’ve changed my mind from how expensive the cgi looked in those 10 seconds of screen time he had. Disney wouldn’t spend that much money on a rig unless they were gonna do something with it. So like… I’m genuinely curious about what’s going to happen because at this point I have no idea.

If it does happen it’s gonna make me the happiest person in the world, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up I guess.

[ahsoka-its-all-of-us]

Ngl the Bad Batch season finale still has me emotionally wrecked but I’ll attempt to focus on the new Mandalorian episode now

Episode 5 screaming time

Okay Gorian Shard looks like Swamp Thing and a Lasat had a child and I’m not sure what to do with that

I do kinda dig him. Not as a person, but his puppet. Very good

I’m liking Greef Karga here

Ohhhhh love the score when we see the New Republic base

ZEB

ZEB OH MY GOD

I’M FUCKING SCREECHING

IT’S HIM IT’S ACTUALLY FUCKING HIM

AND THEY DID HIM JUSTICE

Now where’s his husband ;-;

Okay I’m still wrecked about TBB but this does lift my spirits

What is that chick’s game here?

Lol ofc the New Republic would be just as useless as the former Republic used to be

I’m literally not even following the plot anymore I’m just internally screaming about Zeb

This makes me so hopeful for Kallus appearing oh my god

I need the space husbands so badly

God I love X-wings

Yo Paz stay the fuck away from Grogu he’s an angel who’s done nothing wrong

OH

OH PAZ I LOVE YOU AGAIN

Military action my beloved ;-;

Why are pirates always of the same few species?

Fuck jet-packing Mandalorians are sexy 😳💦

YES ARMOURER YOU GO GIRL

I love the Mandalorians

Ngl I am mildly starting to ship Bo and the Armourer

WHAT

THE HELMET REMOVAL WHAT

And not even give us a kiss gdi

Okay but are Moff Gideon and Thrawn working together? Is that what’s going on?

“It’s a fragment of beskar alloy” yeah because didn’t Moff Gideon pay Din with that? The man would have more? Why immediately jump to Mandalorians when after their massacre they can hardly be the only ones with beskar in the galaxy?

So yeah this was a pretty awesome episode but my brain can focus on only one thing

Which is the big purple space pussy

I am CRYING I hadn’t expected him to just show up like that!!!

SHOW US HIS HUSBAND FILONI

SHOW US THE GAYS

Also this does kinda work with my hc that they didn’t fully settle on Lira San but stayed in the fight and I am so ridiculously happy about that ;-;

Or well, Zeb stayed in the fight. I can see Kallus bowing out as soon as it becomes clear that the New Republic is just the same bureaucratic clogging as the former one. He's had enough of that type of shit. Feral thing I love him 🖤

Yo today’s episodes have been a RIDE damn

[granvarones]

The universe and our ancestors have a way of delivering messages that we need to hear, read, and witness. That’s why I find myself offering countless flowers in tribute to Daniel Sotomayor. His legacy in Chicago serves as a powerful reminder that the impact of the AIDS Crisis extended far beyond the coastal epicenters of New York City and San Francisco.

I went back to Victor Salvo’s essay titled “Daniel Sotomayor: Chicago, Illinois August 30, 1958 – February 5, 1992,” which is part of the Art AIDS America Chicago exhibition book. This exhibition documents the impact of HIV/AIDS on the national art space. I’ll give you all the cliff notes to this essay, which continues to inspire my own political advocacy work.

Daniel Sotomayor was not only the first openly gay and nationally recognized political cartoonist but also a co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Growing up in the Humboldt Park Neighborhood in Chicago, Daniel’s heritage was a mix of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. In the four years following his HIV diagnosis in 1987, Daniel passionately fought against the despair of the AIDS crisis until his passing on February 5, 1992.

He shouldered the responsibility of challenging not just the political establishment but also the church, his employers, fellow HIV/AIDS activists, and even friends. By 1991, Daniel had produced 147 political cartoons that addressed both current events and personal struggles. His commitment to truth-telling not only stirred controversy but also laid the foundation for the legacy we honor today.

Despite facing termination from Gay Chicago Magazine and later Windy City Times due to his outspoken activism, Daniel prioritized urgent action amid the ticking clock of HIV and the community’s mounting death toll. His life’s work stands as a testament to what political accountability should entail for leaders entrusted with our protection.

Daniel’s activism was bold. He participated in protests against the Chicago Transit Authority’s refusal to display safe sex messaging and was part of national AIDS actions demanding equal healthcare. His confrontation with then-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley at the Impact Gala in 1991, where he held a banner demanding truth about AIDS, exemplifies his unwavering courage.

As I reflect on Daniel’s life, I am reminded of the ongoing struggle for justice in today’s crises, like the Overdose Crisis. The slow response of political leaders to adopt proven harm reduction strategies echoes past battles fought during the AIDS crisis.

Every day, I carry the heartbreak and the resilience of figures like Daniel, whose battles have paved the way for our opportunities today. Daniel’s legacy teaches us to keep fighting in dark times. As an advocate, I draw strength from the wisdom of AIDS activism, maintaining optimism in the face of political disappointment, with the belief that our perseverance will bring hope to newer generations.

Written by Aces Lira. Aces Lira was a 2019 Gran Varones Digital Arts Fellow. Currently he serves as a project manager focusing on legislative, policy, and administrative advocacy responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Illinois. Working closely with the Getting to Zero IL initiative, he focuses on the efforts to increase access to HIV prevention and treatment services and supports, including implementation of Rapid Start interventions across the state. As a social worker by training, Aces has direct service experience in education, child welfare, and migrant aid which informs his policy advocacy work.

[cxbin-pxrsephone]

As someone who isn’t really in the Star Wars fandom anymore but still likes Star Wars content (and was a hugeeee rebels fan in its hay day), here’s some of my hopes, headcanons and Thoughts for Ahsoka. These mainly have to do with Jacen tbh

- Jacen’s hair is dyed, I’m not sure how genetics work, like at all, but I feel like he would naturally have brown hair like Kanan and maybe that’s the reason he had brown hair in the Lego set, I would think Sabine dies it for him so he can look more like his mom, I think the only trait we see from Hera is more so the green tips of his ears which haven’t been shown yet in live action. Honestly I don’t really mind if it’s not, I mainly just think having Sabine mention dying his hair would be adorable.

- I’d like to think Ezra maybe didn’t know about Jacen or that Hera was pregnant, it would just be interesting to see him be just as surprised about his existence as the rest of the rebels fandom when the finale first aired (because I literally fell of the couch when I saw him, nothing could’ve prepared me for that) it would be super emotional regardless of if he knew about him or not because either way they’ve still never met, and I’m sure Jacen has heard lots about Ezra and would love to meet him irl for the first time

- Zeb and Kallus. That’s it that’s all I need. Like I would love to see Kallus in live action and it would be great to see Zeb again, hopefully with him. I need to know how their honeymoon went on Lira San.

- A kanan reference. A direct Kanan reference. Please. I beg. It’s only been three episodes so there’s certainly still more time and I can understand why he hasn’t been brought up yet, but I’m sure he will at least once

- more disaster lineage from Sabine, obviously her and Ashoka’s relationship is developing and getting better but Anakin/ Ashoka never stopped causing chaos with their masters regardless of how they’d grown, so why should Sabine?

- I need Ashoka’s happiness, please. Her being more stoic and closed off makes a lot of sense given what’s she’s been through, I don’t really see it as ‘out of character’ because like. She’s seen a lot, she’s been through a lot, she’s dealt with a lot, and she’s just not a teenager/young adult anymore, I can see why she is the way she is now, plus there’s over half a decade we didn’t see of her life (that I know of), there’s a lot we don’t know that I hope is explored but even so, It would be nice to see her be happier again even if it’s over something small, we’ll probably get it when her and Sabine find Ezra.

- a Rex appearance! I’ll even take a reference, since it said in the rebel’s epilogue that he survived it would be great to see him as well or at the very least have him mentioned

- I really hope that Ezra doesn’t just show up at the very end, that he’s at least in one full episode. It’s been five years since the Finale and there’s been like, almost no sign as to where he’s been or how he’s been doing since the finale until now so it would be even more painful to have him only show up at the very end and then have to wait even longer for more on him besides the fact that he’d be alive.

- The wren family, correct me if I’m wrong but they weren’t in The Mandalorian? I think? Again I could be wrong I don’t pay that much attention, but if they weren’t in it I wonder where they could be, and if something did happen to them and if so maybe Sabine would mention it or they could have an appearance at some point too, although I really doubt it tbh, it would just be a nice addition also I just wanna see Tristan in live action

( edit, spoiler for episode 4: well. Probably not gonna have that last one 😭😭😭)