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kanansdume · 7 months

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Look, I love Kanan Jarrus, I literally named this blog after him. I loved his relationship with Ezra and I AM glad that there was significant mention of Kanan from Ezra.

But.

I hate that Ezra's new lightsaber ended up just... a copy of Kanan's, both in its emitter and its color.

It's lazy. And it's so insulting to just... let Ezra make himself a new one and he just COPIES Kanan's rather than being able to make a saber that was uniquely his and spoke to the person he has become after everything he's been through, from losing Kanan to having to sacrifice himself to surviving Thrawn to spending so long on his own.

Ezra could have had a purple lightsaber, the first live action Jedi since Mace Windu to be given one, which allows him to stand out against Sabine and emphasizes that connection to his lineage through Kanan without being an exact copy of someone else's.

Or Ezra could've had white. This could've been an interesting and meaningful way of actually explaining the white sabers in mainstream Star Wars. Most casual viewers are going to have NO IDEA that the white sabers are "healed" crystals from red sabers. That lore is lost on people who aren't deep in this fandom. Ahsoka just wanders around with white sabers because... it's unique and it makes her look cool. No one's stopped in any of the shows she's been in so far to explain what they are or why she has them. (Yes, I know it came from the book but again, not EVERYONE has read the damn book and if they're going to use that particular piece of worldbuilding in the shows, I feel like they could go to the effort of explaining it on the shows, too.)

Ezra could've found a crystal somewhere on Peridea that had been corrupted by the dark forces of the Nightsisters that permeate the planet (which would also add to the lore of the planet just a little and actually connect it to the Nightsisters better given that it's apparently THEIR homeworld). Maybe he could feel just how broken it was and he could see that it was either red or a really sickly witchy green color and even though the darkness in it repulsed him, the crystal also called to him, so he took it and has been fiddling around with it ever since, for years. Over time, it started to lose its sickly red or green color and became a pure white, but he'd never been able to acquire the right parts to actually make a new saber, so he'd just been carrying around the crystal for a while.

Or Ezra could've used some cool Force powers to yoink away Shin's saber from her during the fight with the bandits and when either Sabine or Ahsoka suggests he keep it since he refuses to take his old one back from Sabine, he says that it just feels... wrong. Something about it feels dark and full of pain and anger. And Ahsoka can explain how she was able to heal the crystals in her own saber so that Ezra is able to do something similar.

Literally anything OTHER than just giving Ezra Kanan's saber recreated would've been more interesting and said something new about Ezra's character and how he's grown and changed.

But nope. They couldn't be bothered to come up with a new design, so he just gets Kanan's saber now. How inspired.

#star wars #ahsoka show #ezra bridger #ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers

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illuminatedquill · 3 months

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The Measure

A Sabine Wren Analysis

Natasha Liu Bordizzo, the actress for Sabine Wren, recently gave an interview discussing Sabine’s narrative arc towards becoming a Jedi (snippets of which can be found here).

I’m not going to discuss the argument whether Sabine should or shouldn’t be a Jedi although, speaking for myself, I’m absolutely for it even though, yes, I’m frustrated as to not knowing the reason why she wants to be one. What I am discussing in this post is the interesting commentary that Natasha provides on Sabine’s battle with the bandits she encounters while on Peridea:

"During the interview, Bordizzo also said the fight with the bandits was a key moment because Sabine started out trying to fight like she always did, and she almost lost. It wasn't until after she drew her lightsaber and had to try to focus on the person she wanted to become that she was able to make a connection. This is not only a great metaphor for life, but it is also true to Sabine's character and honors her history. After all, learning to use the Force through battle is such a Mandalorian way to grow in the Force."

This is a level of nuance that I hadn't noticed before in the fight scenes with Sabine so, naturally, I had to go back and re-watch all of them to see if the narrative arc rings true.

And it does. There's a deeper context to those scenes now that I'd like to analyze and what that means for Sabine's ongoing narrative arc for her character, not only in this season but, potentially, in the next one. For Sabine, it isn't so much the ongoing struggle with touching the Force that is driving her inner conflict - it's the reconciliation between the two natures within her: the inherent Mandalorian nature she was raised on and the newly emerging Jedi nature that Ahsoka is trying to instill.

Let's go to the first one in Ahsoka 1x01, where Sabine duels against Shin.

Sabine's first big fight in the Ahsoka series sees her do something strange: she doesn't pick up her Mandalorian armor or blasters. It's a far cry from the Sabine we know in Rebels who wouldn't be caught dead without her usual armament, especially since it would be specifically useful in a duel like this against a lightsaber wielder.

Sabine grabs her lightsaber first. This is important to note. She effectively eschews her Mandalorian upbringing in favor of the Jedi training, believing it to be the best choice in this situation.

It's a definite sign that things are different for her this time around; Sabine is trying something new. The recent visit from Ahsoka and the promise of finally being able to find her old friend, Ezra Bridger, has reignited a desire within her - to be something else.

To be something more. The classic call to adventure that every hero feels before going on their journey.

But, as we all know now, this battle doesn't end well for Sabine. Shin is well-trained and stronger in her capabilities than she is. Sabine is left on the cusp of death, saved only by the intervention of her master, Ahsoka Tano. It puts quite the dent in Sabine's confidence and she struggles to make up for it in the battles to follow. Matters aren't helped by Ahsoka, either, who continues to show a reticence in furthering her training.

It's Huyang who breaks through Sabine's excuses for why she continues to fail with this simple line:

Huyang: The only time you are wasting is your own.

With Ezra's life on the line, Sabine has to decide, once and for all, who she wants to be. There's no more time to waste, no more excuses to be had. She accepts the lightsaber back, but her confidence is still shaken from her duel with Shin.

So, she falls back on old ways. She finds her Mandalorian armor and equipment and wears it once again.

Her reunion with Ahsoka later on is the first time we see the former Jedi Knight express something else other than disappointment with her former Padawan. Which connects to how Ahsoka sees Sabine and her issues, as revealed later on in Ahsoka 1x06 during a conversation with Huyang:

Ahsoka: I don't need Sabine to be a Jedi. I need her to be herself.

Sabine has always been an interesting character because she is simultaneously focused and driven, yet fractured, unsure of herself and her innermost feelings. It's an aspect of her character that was shown during Rebels - especially in the standout Trials of the Darksaber episode - but in Ahsoka we really see her issues stand out in stark relief. Struggling with her training as a Jedi, Sabine's flaws become detrimental to any further progress. This wasn't an issue during her time with the Ghost crew since they operated as a team, with each member covering for the other's weaknesses. But now she only has herself and Ahsoka to rely on, with the latter still not finding it easy to trust her.

Ahsoka hones in on Sabine's true problem: she feels as though Sabine is trying to be something she's not. Not in the sense that Ahsoka doesn't believe that Sabine shouldn't be a Jedi - rather that Sabine is trying to follow in what she perceives to be how a Jedi should fight and act (presumably based upon her experiences fighting alongside Kanan and Ezra), which clashes against her Mandalorian nature.

To be a Jedi is to be in tune with your feelings and yourself. It's not necessarily following some Code but in understanding your place in the wider universe and how you can best contribute to it. And that is something Sabine seems to be searching for during this post-war period: her sense of purpose, her sense of self that goes beyond what she knows. It heavily implies to me that Sabine is dissatisfied with how she currently is and seeks to attain the best possible version of herself.

The problem, as pointed out succinctly by Ahsoka, is Sabine's trying to do that in the wrong way. She's cherry picking parts of herself and the Jedi path, trying to see what works and what doesn't. What Sabine needs to do is embrace all of herself, even the parts she doesn't particularly like.

She needs to be herself. All of herself.

Even with reaffirming her Mandalorian identity and answering the call to adventure, Sabine continues to grapple with balancing her Mandalorian side with the Jedi side. As we reach the climatic events of Ahsoka 1x04, we see that struggle continue with her second duel with Shin - only this time, it's better balanced. Her Mandalorian armor and weapons make up for the gap in skills between the two combatants and Sabine fights the mercenary to a draw this time.

This is pure speculation on my part but it's not a stretch that Ahsoka had always been aware of Sabine's deep feelings towards Ezra (regardless of whether or not you think they're romantic, what Sabine feels towards him is still substantial considering what she did to find him). She approaches Sabine the wrong way in trying to get across how dire the situation is, suggesting that if the outcome is fixed then the best they can do is destroy the map, thus stranding Thrawn - and Ezra - in another galaxy, permanently.

Even though Ahsoka understands Sabine's issues and how she's struggling to find herself in the midst of this new path, the former Jedi Knight doesn't see how this approach is wrong. In not counseling and guiding Sabine through setting aside her personal feelings for Ezra, it made her vulnerable to them. It's a mistake long in the making since she found out Vader's true identity; the Jedi do not forbid emotions or feelings for others - they only forbid the attachments that come with them. Sabine's feelings towards Ezra should have been viewed as a strength, not a weakness.

It's an integral part of being herself, just like Ahsoka needs her to be. But she didn't figure that out until it was too late. Sabine handed over the map to Baylon, and the galaxy's future spun onto darker paths. She's arguably at her lowest point, not only within the series narrative but also her life. And Sabine knows it.

So, what changes for Sabine? How does she come to reconcile the two conflicting natures within her and become fully open to the Force by the series end?

She reunites with Ezra.

I've written before how finding Ezra changes many things for Sabine; how it restores her in so many ways that are hugely beneficial to herself and the path she now walks. He's a part of her that was missing for so long and having him back, alive and well, brings her not only back to her old self but also gives her the confidence and determination to truly step forward in her Jedi training.

There's a lot of expectations that have always been heaped upon Sabine; whether through her family, Clan Wren, or via Ahsoka, her Jedi Master. All of them had a specific version of her that they wanted to see realized. But only one person has ever seen and accepted Sabine for who she truly is, with no expectations placed upon her in return.

Ezra Bridger.

Rewind to the Battle of Lothal's conclusion; Ezra and Thrawn disappearing into a galaxy far, far away. Sabine and Hera watching his final farewell message to him, listening to what he's asking but not really understanding until later. And then Sabine, with Ezra's private message to her and her alone, realizing what he is truly asking: to find and bring him home.

Reuniting with Ezra in the present, I suspect, helped Sabine remember who she is and allows her to finally embrace the final missing part of herself, literally. Because Ezra Bridger did not ask Sabine Wren the Jedi to come find him. He had no way of knowing the path she would undertake in his absence.

No, Ezra Bridger trusted above all else, Sabine Wren - his closest friend and partner. He asked her to do the impossible, just as she was. He wouldn't have asked her to become a Jedi on his behalf to find him. He didn't need her to have Force powers or know how to properly wield a lightsaber.

He just needed Sabine to be herself and nothing else. That's who he trusted.

And that's who came to find him. Sabine Wren, his friend and partner - as herself.

When Shin and her bandits come to strike at the reunited pair, this growth in Sabine is immediately evident; she's much more confident in this fight, not struggling with the bandits at all in contrast to her first encounter with them. She smoothly switches from her blasters to the lightsaber when the situation demands it.

And then there's this fun scene:

Now that's a Mandalorian Jedi, if I've ever seen one.

The combination of Ezra's Force pull along with Sabine's use of the flamethrower to fend off Shin fully shows how she's combining both the Jedi and Mandalorian natures within her. They're no longer clashing - they're working in tandem to give her an edge in the fight. And she doesn't even have the Force yet.

The past and the future come to a head when Ahsoka arrives, at last. With her renewed faith in herself and in her Padawan, Sabine is finally given the final boost she needs to achieve what was previously thought impossible:

Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano are, arguably, the two most important people in her life at this moment, much like how Kanan and Sabine were to Ezra during Rebels. Both represent different sides of her identity: Ezra, knowing her as the Mandalorian, and Ahsoka, knowing her as the Jedi padawan. When they're brought together and reaffirm their faith in her - Ezra's never wavering during his exile and Ahsoka renewing hers - Sabine can genuinely be herself. And that is what she needed the most to continue with her journey.

Sabine doesn't need to focus on being a successful Jedi or a Mandalorian. That's not the point of her journey. It never was.

She just needs to succeed at being herself. And with Ezra and Ahsoka having faith in her (you know Ezra would be understanding of what she did), then Sabine is more than ready to face the trials ahead and become the best possible version of herself; not strictly Mandalorian or Jedi.

Just as Sabine Wren, whoever she decides that is.

"Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be. A measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are." - Frigga, Avengers: Endgame

#sabezra #sabine wren #ezra bridger #ezrabine #ahsoka tano #ahsoka show #star wars rebels #shin hati #natasha liu bordizzo #eman esfandi #ivanna sakhno #star wars #ahsoka meta

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prol-x · 7 months

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Shin‘s desire to belong

I am really looking forward to the next episode because for the first time we will see Shin on her own, without anyone else by her side.

Every step of the way someone was there. Either her master, a droid, a bandit etc. but she never confronted anyone alone.

That was until she was abandoned by Baylan and Thrawns stormtroopers in the last episode, which was such a heartbreaking moment to watch on it’s own.

I believe that Shin had a traumatizing life before she met Baylan. She probably lost her family when she was very young or never really had one in the first place, so she just wants to belong. However, she concentrates on what she‘s supposed to want (power) instead of what she actually wants (to belong).

I feel like her having someone by her side is not about her not being able to confront someone alone (she is obviously skilled, confident and intimidating) it’s more about the fact of not having to. But now she is alone and I hope we see her being conflicted and thinking about what she should do next, where she should go and who she should fight against. I don’t believe that she would try to find Baylan again after he abandoned her and she failed. I also don‘t think she would go to Thrawn because she is not stupid, she knows his doing meant for her to die, so he does not care at all. But would she go to Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra? I think deep down she wants to but is too proud to admit it. So, who’s left?

#shin hati #ahsoka #ahsoka series #baylan skoll #wolfwren

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lunarspiral1127 · 7 months

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Apologies in advance cause this is a rant and gonna come off as an anti post.

I have to ask. Is Sabine Wren a more likeable character in Rebels? Cause in Ahsoka, she comes off as an annoying brat to me.

The enemy reaching to Thrawn was all her fault. If she didn't take the map to solve it and just stayed and solved it on Ahsoka's ship, Shin wouldn't have found her and stolen the map. If Sabine wasn't so goddamn obsessed with finding Ezra and just did what Ahsoka told her and destroy the map to prevent another war, Baylan wouldn't have gotten it from her by convincing her that he'll take her to him.

And, even when Thrawn or anyone else tries to tell her what her actions have caused, she'd just brush it off and made it about her. Like, god forbid, we can't have her feel any guilt for what she did. I mean, she gave the map to Baylan for him, Shin, and Morgan to get to where Thrawn is and bring him back so that he can start a war on the whole galaxy. Innocent lives would be killed, planets destroyed or conquered, people would be in danger, including Hera and her son. Y'know, her OTHER friends that she still has in her life that she endangered all because she wants to see Ezra. A guy who exiled himself and Thrawn to another galaxy so that Thrawn wouldn't be a threat to his home and friends. He had to leave them behind to keep them safe and be stuck on a planet for over 10 years (I think). Way to undo all of that, Sabine. 🙄

Also, she yelled at a Howler for leaving when bandits shot at them. Like, WHAT THE HELL WAS IT SUPPOSED TO DO?! Seriously, she pissed me off when she yelled at the Howler. I felt bad for the big rat-dog. The big guy looked so sad!

I really really hope someone actually calls her out on her stupidity for real. But, I doubt that's gonna happen.

#anti sabine #sabine critical #anti star wars #star wars critical #ahsoka show critical #ahsoka series critical #anti ahsoka show

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ornithogeek · 16 days

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SPOILER Star Wars Visions :

I think one of many reason I love star wars Visions is because In addition to having boundless creativity it's one of the most Pro-jedi content since the prequels ! I love some Disney content like Rogue One and Andor but it's so refreshing to see again Jedi doing concrete stuff to save people of the Galaxy.

The Village Bride: a exiled jedi who decide to help innocent villagers from Robbers

Ninth Jedi: a good echo to the quote of Obi-Wan "your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them" with the siths look like jedi and the Jedi look like sith

TO-B1: A good father figure who want to protect his droid like a father who protect his son.

The Elder: Taking advantage of a confrontation against one of the last Sith to offer a lesson on the cycle of life and how pressing each moment that we live is is definitely one of the most Jedi moods. Best mentor-student relationship since Kanan and Ezra.

Journey to the dark head : A padawan who overcome his fear by trusting other and being compassionate. And a Jedi Council who respect a local belief.

Bandits of Golak: Awesome grandma

Aau Song: a Jedi showing to a children his potential and learn to her to trust in his powers

#jedi appreciation #jedi #star wars visions #jedi order #andor #star wars #obi wan kenobi #padawan

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h4lftruths4ndhyperb0le · 7 months

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Thrawn and Ezra appearing this week was incredible, but also a moment of appreciation for Sabine being in top form as she took down the bandits. They brought out all of her weapons and I loved it. THAT was the Sabine I know and love from Rebels, using all the tools she has, and doing it well.

#star wars #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #ahsoka series #sabine wren #sw rebels #swr #rebels sabine #rebels ezra #thrawn #grand admiral thrawn #ahsoka spoilers

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kelbzsstuff · 7 months

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So i saw a Twitter post and had to rewatch the scene again to double check on my computer and changed the shadows and low and behold .

Uhhh Sabine what’s that on your neck when you and Ezra are talking huhhhh 😂😂😂 you two must have had an interesting talk

The more logical answer is there’s a slight bruise from either the bandits before or a previous fight or something . But the fanfict that could potentially be made oh boy . But obviously take it as what ever you think and most likely nothing .

#ezrabridger #sabinewren #sabezra #starwarsrebels #ezrabine #starwars #ashoka tano #sabine wren #sabine x ezra #star wars #theytotallyflirting #GetARoom #they are married

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butterfrogmantis · 1 year

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Back on my SP bs with these blorbos, been a while! I started playing TSOT/TFBW again trying to get steam achievements and that lead to rewatching old eps and then with the new eps coming out ... well it’s brainworm again

Butters, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Kyle’s kids (c) South Park

Jezebeth, Pandora, Bubbles, Ethan, Penelope, Bandit and Ezra are mine

#south park #sp style #sp bunny #professor chaos #mysterion #kenny mccormick #Butters Stotch #leopold butters stotch #kyle broflovski #stan marsh #sp ocs #south park oc #south park fan art

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vyrotek · 5 months

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qadirvyrotek · 5 months

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kaaragen · 11 days

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By the Scenic Route

(A short(ish) fic inspired by this conversation with @stellanslashgeode)

Ahsoka glared at her datapad as if narrowing her eyes further would force the information to align in a way she liked. Sat in the Noti pod that was now her base of operations, the data was refusing to comply. However she spun it, twisted it, rearranged it, pleaded with it, argued, and threatened to throw it against the wall, the datapad was resolute.

No purgil migrations would be happening for another two years. Minimum.

Which meant her chances of escaping Peridia were zilch. Nada. Nought.

She sighed and leaned back against the cold metal of the wall, stretching her legs out across her cot, long lekku draping down toward her waist. Months they’d been out here, with no sign of a way out. She’d briefly scouted the space around the planet with Huyang, scoping with the sensors as far as possible, but wherever Peridia was it was the ass-end of it. Nothing was out there for light years.

And while she was stuck here, Thrawn was back home. Doing who knew what. Yes, sure, she trusted Ezra, trusted Hera and Luke and everyone, but still.

The sound of running feet scuffing through dust twitched her montrals and the sigh was leaving her lips before Sabine even skidded to the open hatch.

“Master!” Sabine shouted, doing nothing for Ahoska’s headache. “The bandits are attacking!”

Ahsoka feathered fingers to her temple. “Sabine, for the love of the Force, can you and Shin find other ways of hanging out...”

Sabine looked affronted, even as her cheeks reddened. “Hang out--what do--they’re murderous, rampaging bandits!”

Ahsoka crossed her arms sourly. “Really? And when was the last time they murdered something more valuable than flowers?”

“I--”

“Never mind!” Ahsoka threw up her hands and stood, storming past Sabine and into the cold light of the village. The Noti looked spectacularly unbothered for people apparently about to be raided, going about their daily tasks of mending the curving, snail-like pods, caring for the children and organising the supplies. A couple poked their eyestalks toward Ahsoka and Sabine but most paid them no mind as Ahsoka strode for her howler, Yoti, snoozing at the edge of the village circle. She gestured and Yoti responded to her presence, yawning and stretching.

“I’m going out,” Ahsoka said, gathering up her saddle and reins and putting them on Yoti, “I place you in full charge of the defence of the village.”

Sabine put her hands on her hips, frowning. “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re welcome Padawan. Enjoy the lightsabre duel. Make sure the plant pots stay safe.” She cracked the reigns and Yoti shot off, bounding across the mottled earth.

“Sheesh...go have a wank or something, don’t take your frustration out on me...” she heard Sabine mutter.

----------------

Ahsoka wasn’t aware of how long she rode, or even where. The light didn’t change much at the best of times, and much of the planet had a drab, hewn grey. But she could pick out some markers to lead her back to the Noti. For everything else, she had the Force.

She breathed deeply. Casting her eyes up into the cloudless day, the pale blue of the sky revealed nothing, save for the purple line cutting across the heavens like a lightsabre blade. Huyang had determined that that phenomenon, whatever it was, was several million lightyears away but was unable to determine what it was. Focusing on it and questing through the Force in the past had brought Ahsoka nothing but a deep, sickly feeling so she’d ignored it since.

What was she going to do? Everything inside her was screaming at her with visions of destruction, death, returning to the galaxy to fine the Empire renewed and everyone she knew gone. Again.

Sometimes she could shut it out. Sometimes she could keep it quiet. But there were nightmares. And during the day, they would intrude into her consciousness, jabbing like needles into her skin.

It was happening again.

She breathed. She let the rhythmic thump of her mount’s stride reverberate. She reached through the echoing pulse of her feet striking the ground. Followed the ripple of its waves into the grass. Followed the pollen leaking from the grass up and up into the air. Followed them as they dappled down, landing across furrowed ground and then some tools and then the sides of a hut and up and up and landing on...

Something...familiar?

She opened her eyes, confused. Ahsoka cast her gaze to the East and directed Yoti to follow a path she hadn’t traversed before. The path led her toward a mountain, where tumbled statues fell across the ground, large stone hands that had once been upraised in triumph now beseeching to anyone passing by. She ignored them, focusing on the horizon getting closer and closer, crossing a small stream.

The curve of the planet unrolled and she came across a small hut with a flat roof, sat at the end of a ploughed field. Several crops poked from the furrows of the ground, some hanging fruits as well as rooted vegetables. Ahsoka swung off the howler, and walked across the field, her eyes never leaving the figure sitting in a cross-legged meditation pose on the hut’s roof.

Ahsoka halted a meter away and stared. “Barriss?”

Barriss Offee, for it was she, cracked open an eye and turned her head slightly. She wore a plain, loose black tunic, a shawl wrapped over her hair, the black freckles of her diamond tattoos across her nose and cheeks standing out from the yellow skin. A few lines streaked her face, but still recognisably her.

“Ah, hello Ahsoka,” she said, closing her eyes again. “My apologies, I’m in the middle of completing an exercise. Would you mind waiting?”

Ahsoka raised a bewildered brow.

Barriss’ eyes flew open and her mouth twisted into a rictus. She toppled off the side of her hut as if she’d had a heart attack.

Thud!

“...Owww...”

Ahsoka looked down at Barriss, rather inelegantly sprawled upside down with her ankles in the region of her ears, wincing at what was an almighty whack to the head when she fell.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ahsoka asked, more in shock than anything else.

“I live here!” Barriss replied. She scooted herself around to a seated position, rubbing the back of her head. She cast a vicious glare at Ahoska, as if she’d missed a ‘private property - keep out!’ sign. “What are you doing here?”

“I...” Ahsoka started and then trailed off. She’d been asking herself that same question, repeatedly. “I...live here too...I guess.”

“You guess? Are you not aware?” Barriss scoffed, getting to her feet. She froze slightly and cast a worried eye at her. “You’re not...you’re not here for...?”

“You? No. Until this moment I had no idea you were here.” Ahsoka frowned. “What are you doing here?”

A dry, mirthless chuckle escaped Barriss’ throat. “What do you think? Hiding. Trying to find some semblance of life away from it all. I had to run to entirely different galaxy to escape my demons.” She paused, her expression falling into a pit. “Seems they found me anyway.”

Ahsoka swallowed. “I’m...Barriss I’m not looking to...” She shook her head. “How did you find your way here?”

“The fairy tales. I always like them. I read up on purgil migration patterns and thought I’d take the chance. Anything was better than...than where I was.” She cleared her throat. “The Inquisitorious...it was...”

“I know,” Ahsoka interrupted. “We found the list.”

She’d spent days staring at it, when she’d seen Barriss’ name among the reports, declared dead some two years after the rise of the Empire. There had been a part of her that had ached. Ached for the loss of closure. For the missed opportunity to talk. But she’d put it away and had largely not thought about Barriss for nearly thirty years.

Now she was suddenly, quietly, back in her life.

She almost couldn’t process it. There was the face she remembered from her youth. Older now, but still her. The person she’d almost died with, multiple times. The person she’d gone through a war with. The person she’d grown up with.

The person she’d felt...

Who had betrayed...

Barriss’ eyes flicked to her, and their gazes hooked into each other for a long moment.

Barriss’ lip trembled. “I...I wouldn’t presume to hope that you’d know...but I want to say that I’m so sorry for--”

“Barriss, stop.”

Just like that, she couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed into a squat, energy draining out of her. Her arms hung limp over her knees and Barriss said nothing, just watched her.

“I’m...I’m so tired.” Admitting it felt strange, but it came with a pulse of truth. She took a deep breath and ploughed through. “I get it. I don’t agree with what you did, but I understand it. I’ve been fighting, constantly, since I was fourteen years old. The Empire has been gone for twelve years and I’m still fighting. Even now, stuck here, all of my thoughts are about trying to get back, trying to keep fighting, and what will happen if I don’t.

“I was angry with you. I’m not going to lie, I spent a lot of hours imagining confronting you in the aftermath of...of it...”

“Did any of them take place in a galaxy far, far away?” Barriss asked weakly.

Ahsoka cracked a smile. “No, but a spectacular number ended with you getting punched.”

Barriss’ face twitched. “Can’t say I wouldn’t have deserved it.”

“But seeing you, now, just makes me think...that I’m too exhausted for this anymore. I’m too exhausted to stay angry. Or anything.”

A long silence stretched between them.

Barriss cleared her throat. “I don’t...I don’t want to give advice but...if you really can’t get back, then perhaps take that as a sign?”

Ahsoka squinted up at her.

“The Force and I...we don’t have the best relationship. I’m trying to find my way back to it, to let it back into my life. But it’s been good out here. It gave me time to think. To decompress. To...” She waggled her hands. “To rest. Maybe you’re getting a signal that you should do the same?”

Ahsoka swallowed. There as a part of her that rebelled at that idea. That couldn’t stand the idea that she should just leave things be. That wanted to rage against the infinite box she was placed in. But...but what good would it do to even return to the galaxy if she was this tired?

Her confrontation with Anakin had told her something; that death wasn’t the right path. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have some rest. That she couldn’t take a break. That she couldn’t let herself truly breathe...

She chuckled softly and stood. Maybe the Force had led her with its pollen path?

“Thanks, Barriss. I think I needed to hear that.”

Barriss smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re welcome, Ahsoka. May the Force be with you.”

Ahsoka nodded and turned to go to Yoti. She reached halfway across the field, before pausing and then swinging back. Barriss stared at her, rooted to the spot, eyes wide and a trembling across her face.

Ahsoka swallowed and opened her mouth--

“Do you want to see my village?”

Barriss blinked. “What?”

Ahsoka squeezed her eyes shut. All the vaunted maturity she’d thought she’d gained over the years fled out of her system and suddenly she was a teenager again, desperate to say something but not knowing how to or even what the something was beyond a vague feeling. But this time the feeling was clear: she wanted her friend back.

She opened her eyes, and there was Barriss and for the first time she saw all the fear that had coagulated in her being. “Do you...do you think we could just pretend that we talked it all out a long time ago? That we moved past it?”

Barriss held still a moment, then she crumpled back against her hut. Her breath came thick and short, and she squeezed her eyes closed. For a moment, Ahsoka thought she was going to vomit, but she seemed to get herself under control.

“I would like that,” she gasped. “I would like that very much.”

A wave of relief, carrying with it a long-buried feeling, settling over her like an old cloak. Not exactly comfy, perhaps, and maybe not fitting right anymore. But comfortable, with the familiar scent providing warmth. She walked to Barriss and lightly put her hand on her shoulder. Barriss looked up at her wide-eyed, hopeful and scared.

“Then let’s do that.” Ahsoka smiled.

-----------------

The ride back was comfortable, the two catching up on the way. Barriss didn’t have much to tell, apart from her “less-than-daring escape” as she put it, and Ahsoka chided her to come up with something more entertaining to tell later. From Ahsoka’s side there was so much.

“So they built two superweapons?” Barriss queried, riding behind Ahsoka on the mount, her hands resting on Ahsoka’s thighs in a light way that suggested she was afraid of touching something scalding.

“Yeah. I think there must have been an underspend in the budget somewhere.”

“And they called this planet killing weapon the Death Star?”

“They sure did.”

“What have they called the solar system destroying weapon? The Sun Crusher? The Starkiller?”

Ahsoka laughed. They crested a rise and came onto view the village, the pods all miraculously undestroyed and unraided.

“Here we are,” Ahsoka said. “It’s not much, but it’s a base.”

“It looks lovely. I’ve traded with the Noti before. Very friendly people. You’ve done well.” Barriss squinted past Ahsoka’s arm. “Are those Scar-Waste Bandits?”

“Yes.” Ahsoka frowned. Alright, this was unusual. Usually the bandits scuttled off after a bit of ritual bellowing and a lightsabre fight between Sabine and Shin, that usually ended with Shin fleeing and threatening vile retribution like some HoloNet serial villain. But this time, they were hanging about. Drinking tea with the Noti, spinning some of the kids in their disc-shaped hats, and generally being pleasant people. Their helmets were off, pale blue skin with green eyes peering out. “This isn’t normal.”

“From my experience, they’re not ones to trade or be pleasant, even when it would be more advantageous to them. But they leave you alone if you give them a sufficiently thorough kicking.”

Ahsoka raised a brow at Barriss, and her cheeks darkened. “They caught me on a bad day and took a potato crop that had just ripened. I’m not perfect!”

Ahsoka slid off Yoti and Barriss followed her through the village. She reached out, trying to locate Sabine and twigged her presence as coming from their pod.

With...someone else...

Ahsoka halted outside of the pod, the hatch door shut. “Sabine?” she called.

Someone swore. There was a fumbling, stumbling noise, two people in a hushed argument. Sounds of items being thrown and clinking against the walls and floor. An isolated curse. And then the hatch popped open and Sabine popped out, flushed and panicked and wearing a light grey tunic that was familiar and also not Sabine’s.

“Oh! Hey, Master, I thought you would be longer--that is, it’s good to see you back!”

“Master?” Barriss queried with a twitch of her lips.

Ahsoka flapped her hand. “What are you doing?” she asked Sabine.

“Uh...well, actually, I’m in the process of negotiating a peace treaty with the bandits.”

“Really?” Ahsoka’s voice dripped with so much sarcasm it nearly pooled at her feet.

“Pretty intense negotiations actually.” Sabine toed her boot into the ground, the ankle and leg above its hem bare.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and let out a suffering sigh. She turned to Barriss. “I don’t suppose I could stay at your place?”

For what might have been the first time in her life, Ahsoka saw a genuine smile cross Barriss’ face. She slid her hand into Ahsoka’s and gently squeezed.

“Come on, I’ll take you home by the scenic route.”

Home. She liked the sound of that word and the implications it held.

Ahsoka squeezed the hand back. “That sounds like just what I need.”

#star wars #fanfic #barrissoka #wolfwren #my writing #fluff #mild angst #hope you enjoy!

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melanie-ohara · 4 months

Text

In The Woods Somewhere

Whumpuary2024, Day 05 - (Alt) Prompt: Stabbed

Something in Sabine's burgeoning connection to the Force draws her out to the woods just as the Peridean sun rises…

AO3 Here

Sabine jolted awake and sat bolt upright in her bunk with a gasp. The lights in the room were turned low and the chronometer told her there were a couple of hours to go before dawn, so she slumped back against the pillows and tried to figure out what it was that had woken her. It could have been a dream, but since Mandalore she never remembered her dreams, and she had a distinct image of a forest in the rain still in her mind. It didn't look like anywhere she knew, but the trees looked distinctly Peridean to her. When they had been on the Ghost together, Ezra had visions through the Force - but they were strong and overwhelmed him while he was awake. There was something, though. Some strange pull she felt that coaxed her out of her bed and out of the ship. Ignoring it just made it stronger, so she sighed and got up.

Ahsoka was probably already awake, so she didn't bother moving quietly when she left in full armour, carrying both blasters and lightsaber. Shin and her bandits hadn't appeared for weeks now, but they were still out there - along with wild Howlers and probably countless other predator species - and it paid to travel prepared. Sabine hopped down from the idling T6 into the Noti camp below it, and made her way to the edge, aiming for the tree line in the distance. Her plan was to walk until it started raining, and then look for a place that matched her vision, but she was still wary: their slow pursuit of Baylan Skoll had skirted around the trees so far, and from what she had managed to decode of the Noti language, they feared the forests as much as the ancient Nightsister ruins. 'The domain of betrayal', if her translation was right. Still, the Noti were pacifists, and Sabine had weapons and armour that far outstripped anything the locals had access to.

The rain started and the pull got stronger. Ahsoka had told her so often to surrender to the Force when she felt it, but Sabine still found herself trying to resist it: trying to guide herself to a destination she would never find without the help of the Force. It was the Mandalorian in her, determined to make her own way, and while she still hadn't decided the path she wanted her life to take, right now she needed Jedi instincts to find whatever was out there. Something about the pull had changed now - it felt urgent. Desperate, even. Something in the dark between the trees was calling out to her like a distress call. Sabine paused, shut her eyes and took a deep breath, and waited until she could stop second-guessing herself and follow her instincts. When she opened them again, she was already walking.

When she next glanced up from the ground, placing her feet to avoid a series of knotted roots, what she saw in front of her lined up so immediately with the image from her dream that Sabine almost fell over in surprise. At the exact same moment, the tug at her guts disappeared like a cut cord, and she was left standing alone and unsure in the darkness and the rain. Outside the forest, the sun would have risen by now, but under the canopy there was barely enough light to see.

"Hello?" she called, but received no answer. The trees absorbed her voice before the echo could get very far. She doubted anyone would hear her over the rain.

Sabine tried to place her trust in the Force and took a few steps forwards, but when her gut instinct insisted she was going the wrong way, she couldn't help turning back. And there, slumped against a rock between two trees, was Shin Hati. Her hair was starting to grow out and she had pinned it back behind her head, and her clothes and armour had been adapted and added to with bandit equipment, but it was definitely her.

Caution dictated she draw a weapon and approach slowly- after all, Shin was a deadly assailant who had spent their entire time on Peridea trying to kill her. It could be a trap. Sabine dimly recognised that after she had started running towards her, and by the time she had crashed to her knees in the mud by Shin's still form all of her weapons were still clipped to her belt.

"Shin?" she demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking. "Shin, wake up!"

Why did she care? Why was there a roiling, sinking sensation, like a battleship going down, churning through her guts? Why was Shin not moving? Her hair was plastered to her face, which looked even paler than usual, and when Sabine lifted her eyelids she found her eyes rolled back into her head. Her pulse was thready and unstable, but it was there. She wasn't dead, but she was dying.

Sabine glanced down, and saw that Shin Hati had been stabbed.

This wasn't the neat, perfectly circular mark of a lightsaber blade - like the one Shin had given her when they first met - this was a messy, jagged incision that left blood and severed skin behind rather than a perfectly cauterised scar. A lightsaber, even in the hands of whatever Shin and Baylan were, was a Jedi weapon first and foremost, and killing was a last resort. This had to have been a bandit weapon.

A soft cough turned Sabine's attention back to Shin's face, where she saw the briefest flicker of her eyelids. Her throat worked to swallow, and Sabine tried to shake her again.

"Wake up, blast it!" she growled, but Shin remained silent. "Karabast," she muttered, reaching into her armour pouch for a bacta spray and unclipped the cover from the nozzle. "Don't blame me when you're not ready for this," she said, and pressed the tip against the wound in her stomach.

Shin's eyes shot open and she screamed as the bacta started to knit severed veins back together and stem the bleeding. The sound wrenched at Sabine's heart as much as it did her ears, and she gripped Shin's shoulder with her free hand to try and soothe her.

"I know, I know," she said, concentrating on running the device all the way around the rough edges of the wound. "It stings, I know."

Sabine had been unfortunate enough to learn a lot of battlefield medicine during the war, and she knew when someone wasn't going to make it without a full bacta immersion. She didn't know if there was a full-scale tank on the T6, but the alternative was that Shin Hati would die out here, from a wound inflicted by her own allies. 'The domain of betrayal' wasn't a myth after all.

"I have to get you to the ship," Sabine said, trying to sound reassuring and not let on that she wasn't sure that would save her either. The helmet made her sound insincere so she took it off with one hand, scrabbling for a bacta patch with the other. There was no way it would heal Shin's slashed organs or repair her internal bleeding, but it might seal the initial flesh wound enough for Sabine to carry her. She wished she had brought Mirshko the Howler with her, but there was no point thinking about it now.

"Sabine?" Shin's voice was a thin whine that Sabine barely heard over the rain.

"It's me," she said, lifting the tattered remains of Shin's bloodstained robe to press the patch to her skin. The wound was so big the strip barely covered it, but at least the infusion had stopped the more severe bleeding. "You can murder me once I save your life, okay?"

"Took… lightsaber," Shin managed. Her eyes opened for a moment, and a lump rose in Sabine's throat as she saw how bloodshot they were. A second later they closed again, and Sabine worried she had been too late.

"Shin?!" she shouted, and the other woman stirred very slightly.

"It's a trap," she said. "They're… they're coming."

Sabine's blood ran cold.

#wolfwren #sabine x shin #sabine named her howler courage in mando'a #whumpuary2024 #whumpuaryno3 #alternative prompt #stabbed #fanfic #writing #star wars #shin hati #sabine wren #peridea #post canon

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