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squidthoughts · 9 months

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why doesn't shin leave?

that's the question, right? there are secondary ones, of course – why didn't she kill sabine/was she sandbagging their duel/did she intentionally perform a nonfatal stabbing/was she sent there to interact with sabine at all, or just for the map.... but really, my question at the end of ep1 was:

why is she waiting here at all?

"we've been looking for this," shin says, and that's what, an accusation? conversation-starter? she's here to talk? maybe, okay – except she's actively thieving, so what can she be expecting by sticking around but a fight? so she secures the map and she waits for sabine. to fight her. but the question is still why and in my unqualified opinion i think the answer is found back here:

"ahsoka tano's former apprentice is on lothal."

what do we know about baylan? he was a jedi, once. he witnessed the purge of his order and adapted to a life of survival – he maintains certain jedi traditions, he passes these traditions to his padawan: the braid, the traditional construction of the lightsaber, if not the crystal inside (standing mystery, though). he is nostalgic but not melancholy, connected perhaps to the more elegant and noble history of the jedi but evidently strongly opposed to assuming that title at present.

what do we know about shin? well...almost nothing. except that when baylan speaks, shin listens. she obeys unquestioningly. when morgan speaks, shin watches baylan. they are close; there is mutual trust, though clearly more dependency on shin's side. and she is likely – though not certainly – born after order 66.

i'm confident answers will be forthcoming about shin's past, but in the meantime, working with the (very!!) little we have, assuming the subtle intricacies of the shot direction and ivanna's acting are all intentional, and with the full disclaimer that im brainrotty for wolfwren......i want to answer my original question.

shin has never seen another apprentice before. beyond baylan and inquisitors (apparently), she has probably never seen another lightsaber-wielder before. and yet – her master, while scorning the label of jedi, is steeped in jedi history. he seems to be training her according to some traditional jedi principles (though...what with the mass-murder and the mercenary work, of course we don't yet know the extent of those principles), and it would follow that he would have imparted the history of the jedi as well.

baylan skoll is not a jedi. but ahsoka tano is. or, was. but the antagonist squad refers to her as a jedi, so from shin's perspective it's not just "ahsoka tano's apprentice" on lothal. she is being told there is a real, live jedi apprentice on lothal.

and the jedi are extinct.

we're into the rampant speculation part of the meta now, because what is shin thinking in this moment?

there's a green lightsaber before her – a jedi apprentice before her – or at least the former-apprentice-of-a-jedi, but shin is the apprentice-of-a-former-jedi, and at some point the semantics get in the way of the exhilaration. this is probably (again, this whole thing could get disproven in the next episode or something) the first lightsaber battle shin has ever had with someone who might actually kill her. (i assume baylan wouldn't engage in prolicide while sparring.)

this is, i think, shin at her most excited. on the one hand – it's another apprentice! it's another member of an order (her order??) that was supposed to be wiped out! this is proof of concept maybe, that shin isn't so alone! and on the other hand – this is a test, no? like, the first real test of shin's full abilities, assuming she's never dueled before? again, i wish we knew more about her motivations, but it stands to reason a padawan that powerful and devoted would constantly be looking for ways to both prove and improve herself, right?

and then. sabine. sucks.

she's sloppy and weak and doesn't use the force. she's untrained and undisciplined and slow and gets tired too quickly.

shin starts blocking with one hand. she starts sidestepping sabine's wild swings. there's no way she's is trying to kill her at this point; shin is playing with her food.

i just...think she's disappointed?? like, she was probably expecting so much more from a proper jedi's apprentice, and i think we'd need more information about her to extrapolate what exactly she wants in this scene, but i'd be willing to bet it wasn't this sub-par, former-apprentice bitch-ass fight. (love to sabine but like. she did get her clock cleaned. obviously.)

regardless, i am excited to see how this experience influences the forestfight™ we know is on the way...and also if sabine, like, feels...anything....about being skewered like a county fair corn dog?? i mean trauma or anger or fear or drive or?? bc we know shin wasn't actually trying to kill her, (this is my official stance and im sticking to it) but sabine sure doesn't!!

#shin hati #meta #sabine wren #ahsoka show spoilers #ahsoka spoilers #wolfwren #ahsoka show

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awsok · 7 months

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shin hati (and sabine wren)

tumblr tags, raorica / ahsoka, ‘master and apprentice’ / bloodsport, yves olade / norwegian wood, haruki murakami / ahsoka, ‘master and apprentice’ / when rome falls, yves olade / 08-15-21, saintflint / ahsoka, 'far far away’ / 08-15-21, saintflint / ahsoka, 'far far away’ / it will come back, hozier / ahsoka, 'dreams and madness’ / elegy for the four chambers of my brothers heart, steven espada dawson

#shin hati #sabine wren #web weaving #dyn: where have I seen you before?#wolfwrenweek2023 #wanted to examine shin's perspective with this one!#(does that mean there'll be a counterpart with sabine's perspective? only time will tell...)#ahsoka #wolfwrenweek #*#*gif #*weave #lots of sun metaphors here because medieval sources didn't agree on which wolf chased the moon and the sun!#so i thought it would be fun to use both #it's why i used something that referred to the moon in my baylan web weave as well #anyway! happy wolfwren week! really looking forward to seeing everything people have made!!#100

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kanansdume · 8 months

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I continue to be on Senator Xiono's side over Hera's which is a REALLY frustrating position to be in.

Hera, you cannot tell Xiono that he isn't "seeing" the problem when you are literally SHOWING HIM NOTHING. You HAVE nothing to show, so how the FUCK could he see what isn't there? He's not omniscient, and if you have no proof of your claims, why SHOULD he believe you? Just because you used to be a Rebel? They've stated that you are personally invested in this mission, you've used Republic resources like six times to go on a mission that is basically just so you can try to find one person you care about and failed six times, you apparently repeatedly disrespect the orders you're given from Republic leadership, so why should Xiono just... trust you?

This is SO frustrating because it makes NO FUCKING SENSE for Hera to be getting all high and mighty about this when Xiono's RIGHT to question her. This would be a way more interesting plot if it wasn't being presented as just "Hera vs. The Asshole Senator" but an actual nuanced storyline where Hera and Xiono are BOTH RIGHT. Thrawn IS out there and he IS a threat, but Xiono is ALSO right to point out that Hera's abusing Republic resources and disrespecting Republic resources for a personal agenda and has no proof of her own claims.

They COULD'VE gone down the route that Hera is so caught up in this mission that she's sort-of losing her perspective and is now reaping the consequences of those choices. Maybe we see a role reversal where it's SABINE who is trying to talk Hera into being more reasonable about it and let Ezra go or something. But noOoOoOoOo we HAVE to have this whole terrible storyline about how the New Republic SUCKS and is basically the Empire by another name and everyone who runs it are IDIOTS or lazy rich assholes who will drive it into the ground in a few years. Individually, some of the New Republic people are okay, but as an organization, it's too flawed and it needed to catch up with the times to keep from falling.

Sound familiar?

#star wars #hera syndulla #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #ahsoka 2023 #sw ahsoka #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka spoilers #senator xiono #hamato xiono #hera critical #hera syndulla critical #i cannot BELIEVE this show made those tags necessary #fuck the ahsoka show for that in particular

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purplecatghostposts · 1 month

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has anyone asked about don't feed me yet 👀👀👀 i'd love to hear about it - bittersweetresilience

They have not so here’s a snippet!

I thought it would be a little funny if Marinette spends all this time trying to track down Félix/Argos, only to find out that her parents not only found him first but have been giving him pastries for weeks. Plus I thought it would be interesting to write from Sabine and Tom’s perspective and dammit, these kids need more trusted adults in their lives that aren’t just their parents (and sometimes not even that) SO. This is all of that.

The Ladyblog might be warning her not to interact with supervillains but Sabine sees a kid her kid’s age having a bad day and she is GONNA cheer them up the best way she knows how! I believe I put this one somewhere between Emotion and Pretension in terms of timeline.

#SB Speaks #Ask #WIP Ask Game #sneak peek #miraculous ladybug #felix fathom #sabine cheng #can you tell Emotion is one of my favorite episodes yet

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antianakin · 9 months

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I don’t know if you’re actually watching the Ahsoka series or not, but I was very curious on your thoughts on the newest episode, and the confrontation between Anakin and Ahsoka.

Bro traumatized her again. Lol. 😒🙃

I’m actually kind of satisfied that she showed a little resentment, but I still don’t like that she didn’t cuss him out or something.

Anakin not apologizing is infuriating at first glance, but I also think it fits his character.

It’s funny, if I think about it in a certain way: I wonder if Anakin himself views his “redemption” kind of the same way his fans do. He’s just like, “Why are you still pissed at me? I died stopping the Emperor, didn’t I?” 🙄

The only one I think he’d actually feel sad about is Leia, because of course he’d want his daughter to like him, but she never will now, because he fucking tortured her and blew up her planet.

You know… I don’t really view Anakin’s final moments as a true “redemption” in the eyes of the galaxy. George Lucas has a quote where he says parents are redeemed in the eyes of their children. I guess you could argue that Anakin redeemed himself in Luke’s eyes, but not the galaxy’s own.

And then there’s Leia, who will never forgive him or think of him as her father.

In a way, it’s almost fitting for Anakin, that each of his children represent something for him.

Luke represents forgiveness, and how it’s never too late to do the right thing.

Leia represents his mistakes and sins. As long as she lives, he’ll always look at her and remember the damage he’s done. She’d never let him forget it.

Which is funny, when going back to the recent Ahsoka episode, and how he was acting like a dick to Ahsoka.

Personally, I think he was purposely trying to piss her off to make her fight to not die.

Still though: he’s such a jackass. 😒

Anyways, I guess my main point is that I don’t view Anakin being a Force Ghost shows that he was “redeemed.” I view it more as a type of salvation. Like the Bible story where Jesus is on the cross with two other men next to him. And then one man decides to “believe in him” or whatever, and his soul is saved by the skin of his teeth.

This is kind of how I view Anakin’s act of saving Luke. His soul was saved, because he did a heel face turn at the last second. So The Force was like, “Good enough, I guess.” *Throws up hands*

Anyways, sorry for the long rambling. I hope you don’t mind the message. Haha. 😅 I just have found your blog really therapeutic, because while I like Anakin as the fascinating character that he is, it still just kills me how fandom woobifies him and blames the Jedi for their own genocide.

I don't mind this message at all, thanks so much for sending so many of your thoughts, this was great! It's going to be a long reply back, though, since there's so much to respond to and if you've been going through my blog, this probably won't surprise you.

I AM watching the Ahsoka show, I'm just putting my thoughts about it on a different blog to this one (this blog was created for me to be negative so I usually only review things on here if I KNOW I'm going to be negative about it, but I was hopeful I'd have positive things to say about the Ahsoka show lol).

I think I'm feeling RELATIVELY mediocre about the show. Like I don't hate the whole thing, I can see why it appeals to people, but it's not really hitting at what I would've wanted from a narrative perspective. It seems to be relying on fan service and pretty visuals rather than genuinely good writing to get them through. If you happen to be the fan being serviced, you probably like it fine. But if you are someone more like me, then you might be noticing that there aren't a lot of stakes, the character motivations are weak or missing, the two storylines aren't being spliced together very well, and the dialogue's just not that great. There's also several more nitpicky things that are really pissing me off about the show (the way they're treating Force sensitivity, Sabine being a Jedi at all for no good reason and how her character is being butchered, the very distant and aloof acting I feel like we're getting from everybody, and of course the requisite anti-Jedi bullshit that we can all expect from Filoni at this point).

But as for how I felt about Anakin and Ahsoka's scenes in the latest episode this week, I am personally of the opinion that it WASN'T Anakin at all. I know it's left ambiguous, so if people feel like it was truly Anakin in some way shape or form, that's fine, but I think it makes more sense to me personally that it wasn't. This is Ahsoka's manifestation of Anakin in a moment where she's literally drowning and emotionally at something of a low point and has to decide if she's going to live or not and that conflict plays out in her head the way we see it. I'm also open to the idea that this is one of those things where the Force "tests" the Jedi not unlike what we see happen on Ilum and Mortis and the Force is just utilizing Anakin's visage to bring Ahsoka's deepest fears out into the open.

What makes it interesting to me is that then we can look at the interactions as THIS IS HOW AHSOKA SEES HIM. Whether she thinks about it that deeply or not, THIS personality is how she remembers him. The immediate choice to be violent with her and test her fighting skills rather than talk to her more gently, the dismissive attitude he has towards her, the flickering back and forth between Anakin and Vader because she doesn't truly know which one he was most. He wasn't necessarily a great teacher and his way of teaching wasn't very Jedi-like, it's ruthless and merciless and unkind, and we see that reflected in their interactions in this episode, which could be a really interesting look at how Ahsoka still remembers him even if she didn't see it negatively at the time.

So him not apologizing isn't like... an indication of how Anakin might actually handle this interaction if it were truly him so much as just... Ahsoka being unsure sure if he WOULD apologize because she has no idea how much of him was Vader the entire time and Vader would clearly never apologize. I think the Anakin we see by the end of ROTJ probably would apologize at SOME point, especially if we're supposed to see him as redeemed and acknowledging/accepting of his sins, etc. But Ahsoka doesn't know that. Ahsoka probably kind-of knows through Luke that he turned back in his last moments, but she wasn't there for that, she didn't get to see it, and she obviously still has no idea what caused him to turn on the Jedi and become a Sith to begin with. Why did he come back for Luke and not her? Was it because she abandoned him? Did he just not care about her the way she thought? Was there something intrinsically wrong with her that he recognized from the beginning?

There's just too much uncertainty perhaps for Ahsoka to know if he'd actually apologize and she doesn't even necessarily need or want an apology so much as she just wants to UNDERSTAND. Because of course it leads into her doubts about HERSELF and whether being his apprentice (even for as short of a time as it was) has somehow influenced her to be more like him and if she should be worried that she'll go dark or cause a student of hers to go dark. If she doesn't know why HE made that choice, how can she trust herself? It's not entirely dissimilar to the statement she made at the end of the Wrong Jedi arc where she claims she's leaving the Jedi because if the Council couldn't trust her then she isn't sure she can trust herself, either. And now with Anakin going dark, she has to wonder if the Council saw something of that in her when no one else did, saw a future for her that she hadn't been able to see for herself yet.

I think personally I'd just rather look at this episode as the closest we're going to get to a "deep dive" into Ahsoka's psyche and character rather than try to analyze it as like "what does this say about Anakin." It's not Anakin's story anymore, it's Ahsoka's. Or it's supposed to be, anyway.

That all being said, I don't think it went far enough and I do dislike that we didn't get to dive into OTHER aspects of Ahsoka via other relationships in order to round out who she actually is. I don't think we know any more about her at the end of the episode than we did at the beginning. I don't think she really grows or changes through the episode at all. I don't know what the whole "choose to live" thing was about or how it connects to her overall arc because while, yes, she's obviously literally drowning in the moment, "choosing to live" is not something they've been exploring as an issue for Ahsoka throughout this season so far, so it didn't feel like this cool end to her character journey so much as just a really shallow one-liner made to sound badass without anything particularly profound behind it.

I think gffa said that one of the things you can tell about this show is that it's been percolating in Filoni's mind for so long that there's things he's leaving out because they're just totally obvious to him now and he's forgotten that the audience won't know some of it without being told or shown. If Ahsoka was depressed or suicidal or something like that, it never came across in the first four episodes. She barely seems to be struggling at all to me, personally. So maybe that's what Filoni wanted us to understand about her, maybe that was the intention, but it just didn't quite make it from his head into the writing or onto the screen.

And I keep going back to the Obi-Wan Kenobi show and the way they handled his character arc. They started him at a really low point where he's so CLEARLY depressed and just moving through life without actually living or finding any way to be happy. They spend so much time showing us how OUT of character Obi-Wan is in order for the pay off by the end and the slow growth of his character throughout the six episode story to feel satisfying. And while he's out of character in his depression, it's done in such a way that that's the POINT. We all know WHY he's out of character, we know what's causing him to be that way, it doesn't need to be explained because it didn't happen off-screen, it's literally the plot of an entire trilogy of films. It felt like a pretty natural extension of the state we last saw him in and it allows him the ability to actually have a journey that makes sense.

We've gotten NONE OF THAT for Ahsoka. Her relationship with Sabine is nonsensical and comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her weird thing about Padawans comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her aloof attitude is coming out of nowhere and does nothing to help us understand the state of mind she's in. She never seems to be acting SO out of character that it tells the audience how much she's struggling, but she's also SO flat that she no longer feels much like the Ahsoka everyone knew and loved from The Clone Wars. They're inventing new problems for her to have that make no sense instead of giving her a journey to actually deal with the problems she already had and hadn't gotten any resolution for. And they're unable to actually connect her problems from before into the Rebels storyline in a way that makes any real sense or feels genuine and meaningful for either Ahsoka or Sabine, so both storylines are getting half-assed and butchered in the attempt.

Personally, I think Ahsoka should've had a season set closer to ROTJ or even before it, just after she gets off of Malachor and 2-3 years prior to ANH, to explore her immediate reaction to Anakin's betrayal and have her overcome that on her own. Use original characters primarily, throw in Bail Organa or something if needed just to give her a quick plot, but let it be about AHSOKA. And only once her journey to finding herself is complete do we then move on to the Search for Ezra, which should be focusing WAY more on the Rebels characters than we're actually getting and should not involve any of the Rebels characters (except maybe Jacen) learning to be Jedi. Ahsoka would be a side character in this story because she has now had her story told and we can let Sabine and Ezra and Jacen and Hera be at the forefront of the story. (I also think we could've done something with Sabine that wasn't being a Jedi or her entire family being murdered off screen so she has an excuse to do a characterization 180 and act like a bratty teenager all over again.)

If I had to just change THIS episode a little, I have a few alternatives I've been thinking about. For one, I do just think we should've gotten to explore OTHER relationships beyond Anakin to emphasize the other things that Ahsoka is that aren't just "Anakin's Padawan." Rex, Barriss, Plo Koon, even Kanan or Ezra to try to make that connection to Rebels. She's been a friend, a commander, a rebel, a student, a mentor, an ally, a Jedi. She's been so many things that have nothing at all to do with Anakin and I think that might've been nice to explore as well. Yes, Anakin was important. Yes, she's fucked up about it. But that's not ALL THAT SHE IS. So I think starting off with her fears about Anakin is great, but then have her move on and sort-of go through it a little like Charles Dickens' A Christmas Story to show that she's more than this, too. This probably would've worked better if it had been a two parter thing rather than one 30-40 minute episode, depending on how many characters you wanted to throw in.

I also would've appreciated seeing her break and shatter at seeing Anakin. I wanted her to be ANGRY, to refuse to forgive him, to throw his betrayal in face. And then by the end of the episode, she lets it go. She's seen that she doesn't need to hold onto that anymore and it doesn't matter what choices Anakin did or didn't make, she's her own person and can make HER own choices. And so Anakin comes back at the end, and she's no longer angry. She can forgive him. I also would've wanted her to have been more snappy and frustrated and angry earlier in the season, as well, so we can TELL there's something simmering underneath that she's trying to keep repressed until it finally boils over in this episode.

The other alternative I came up with was the OPPOSITE idea where Ahsoka is basically just kind-of... in denial about it. She isn't acknowledging her own anger and pain and betrayal at all and she just wants to spend this time with Anakin the way they used to and Anakin is sitting there provoking her and trying to get her to break so she can let it all out. Eventually he gets her to admit it and get angry and yell at him and acknowledge her own pain finally so she can see how it's impacting her relationships in the present day. She's been trying up until now, but as Yoda's always said, sometimes trying isn't enough, and you just have to do or do not. She doesn't reject him at the end of this, but she can at least acknowledge what he did to her and how it's made her feel. You could even include some of her anti-Jedi bullshit in this and have her justifying Anakin's betrayal by saying the Jedi failed him the way they failed her and Anakin pushing back on that idea so that by the end of the episode, she can recognize that she's been blaming the Jedi because she's been uncomfortable with her inability to understand Anakin's choices and it was easier to blame the Jedi than live with that uncertainty.

I've discussed my feelings on Anakin's redemption a lot and they're definitely not in the majority. Personally, I just don't think he's redeemed at all. My definition of redemption is along the lines of "you can fix/undo the thing you broke/damaged" rather than just... "you decided to stop breaking things even if there's no way to fix it." It doesn't mean Anakin can't keep being a better person if he'd lived, or that he can't find redemption in more specific places (like Luke forgiving him for chopping off his hand), but that there is no redemption for what he did to the Jedi, to the clones, and to the galaxy at large. None. It doesn't matter what he does, it doesn't matter that he stopped himself and Palpatine, it doesn't MATTER. The Jedi and the Republic are still gone, the clones were still enslaved, the galaxy is still in shambles and traumatized from 25 years under the Empire.

You aren't the only one who's chosen to separate your definition of "redemption" from something else to make it make more sense. Someone else went for redemption being different from an absolution wherein you are just immediately forgiven of all of your sins because of one act or whatever, while redemption is the process of doing better. If that works for you, go for it. Personally, I just think Anakin isn't redeemed. He cheat coded his way into being a Ghost and the Ghosts don't make any sense anyway. I think it's definitely intended to represent his redemption IN THE NARRATIVE, like that's the point of the visual, but it just doesn't work for me, so I choose not to see it that way. It's ambiguous enough and the Force Ghost lore confusing enough that it's not that hard.

Your interpretation of Luke and Leia as the two sides of forgiveness is intriguing. I do think Leia could get to the point of forgiveness that basically looks like letting go of her anger because the man's dead anyway so there's no real point staying angry and understanding the history that may have led him to become the monster she knew, but that doesn't mean she has to LIKE him or ever consider him a father.

I think you could kind-of throw Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in there as different reactions to Anakin, too. With Ahsoka as someone who sort-of clings to who Anakin used to be and can't truly reconcile the two versions of him that she knew, and Obi-Wan as someone who rises above. Unlike Leia, he did know and love Anakin, but he is also able to let go of his anger and betrayal and accept Anakin for what he is now rather than pining for someone who no longer exists. And Ahsoka is the opposite of Luke as someone who also knew Anakin and loved him, but struggles a lot MORE with the revelation of who he was and his impact on her life. Everyone approaches Anakin and his relationship to them and his choices in a different way.

I wish the Ahsoka show wanted to explore any of that at all lol.

#star wars #ahsoka tano #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #sw ahsoka #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka 2023 #ahsoka spoilers #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical

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shinhatisgirlfriend · 4 months

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One of the things I deeply love but don't talk enough about Ahsoka is just how many women were in that show! Like, we have Ahsoka, Hera, Sabine, Shin, Morgan, Mon Mothma, the Great Mothers - compared to the Star Wars movies I grew up on, that's HUGE. That's progress. When I was a kid, if I wanted to play Star Wars with the boys, they'd tell me my options were limited to Jaina Solo (my beloved), Leia Organa, or Padme Naberrie. The Clone Wars cartoon didn't start till I was a pre-teen. Rey debuted when I graduated high school.

Just the depth of female characters - the options to see yourself in any or all or none of them, not feeling limited to just a few to be seen - it's honestly amazing. The wide range of characters is so so crucial too, as no one character can be a perfect representation - the key to good representation is having a plethora of characters, a plethora of perspectives, of stories.

I know it's not enough - that there's still so much work to be done in the galaxy far, far away, so many other people who deserve to be represented and seen - but it's still, just, wild to me that there's women all over Star Wars now.

#star wars #star wars women #ahsoka show

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kazoosandfannypacks · 21 days

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summary: sabine and ezra finally share their first kiss. unfortunately, it’s on a broadcast to every rebel cell in the galaxy. chapter word count: 1307 a/n: shoutout to the talented and funny @kanerallels for betaing! taglist: @laughingphoenixleader @accidental-spice @kanerallels @piraterefrigerator @jedi-nurse @dootchster @lucasbridger @redroverrider @light-umbra @commander-tech @jedimandalorian @notanodinarygirl {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

Ch. 2 The same thing you just read, but from Ezra's perspective

Ezra Bridger was having the time of his life.

Lothal was safe, he hadn't needed to sacrifice himself to ensure it, and Sabine seemed to think it was pretty important that Ezra didn't sacrifice himself. She'd searched without rest for a plan to keep him from exiling himself to a galaxy far, far away, and somehow it had worked.

Now she stood at his side as he gave a speech to his people— his free people— and he couldn't help but notice the glances she was giving him, hoping he wouldn't come across as tongue-tied as he thought he did.

"I'm really thankful for everyone," Ezra said, "really, I'm thankful. I wish I could thank every one of you: old Joe, Jai, Ryder, that old lady I pickpocketed a week before joining the fight," he cleared his throat, loudly, "but, uh, most of all, I'd like to thank my family."

He looked over to where the rest of the crew stood, trying to ignore the lump in his throat at the empty space next to Hera.

"We wouldn't be free right now if it wasn't for the sacrifices along the way," he finally said, holding back tears, "and I know my parents and Kanan would be proud of us."

Then he turned back towards Hera.

"Hera, a long time ago you told me that if all I do is fight for myself, then my life is worth nothing," he half laughed, and shook his head, "thank you for showing me something worth fighting for."

"Zeb, you're the big brother I never wanted— and still don't want," Ezra said, and before Zeb could pummel him, he followed with, "but always needed. Chopper, though, I could live without."

Chopper beeped in response, something Ezra thought must've been along the lines of "love you too, bro."

"Most of all," Ezra said, and the nervousness of public speaking must've canceled out the nervousness he always felt around Sabine, because he dared to look her in the eyes as he said, "my best friend, Sabine."

She almost seemed surprised as he said it, and she looked at him with an awe in her eyes that he'd never thought she'd give him, almost as though he was her hero instead of the other way around.

"I couldn't've done it without you," he said, his tone quiet, almost unable to get the words out. Though most of the people in attendance couldn't've heard him say it, Sabine did, and that was all that mattered.

He then turned back to the people and finished his speech, finding even more confidence in his words now.

"Five years ago, I never could've imagined we'd be free," he said, "and now we are. The Empire may wave its banners across the galaxy, but day by day their numbers dwindle, as long as people like you and me keep making a stand for freedom."

The crowd cheered, and Ezra figured it would be a good idea to end on a high note before he ran his mouth and got into even more trouble.

"Thank you all for coming and celebrating. Refreshments will be served in the square as soon as we wrap up the festivities."

Ezra stepped down from the podium so Ryder could give another brief speech. As he stepped down, he felt Sabine's hand on his arm. She pulled him off to the side, and he followed her gladly.

"Did you really mean that?" Sabine asked.

Ezra thought back to the last thing he'd said.

"That refreshments will be served in the square as soon as we wrap up?" Ezra asked, smiling at the prospect of free jogan fruit that he wouldn't have to steal, "of course."

"Not that," Sabine shook her head, "when you said I'm your best friend."

Her words had been quiet and unsure, but he made sure his response wasn't.

"Absolutely," Ezra said, "As long as that's okay with you."

"Of course," Sabine said, "you're my best friend too."

Ezra's knees went weak as her eyes met his. He'd done well so far in his attempts to keep himself from acting on his feelings for her, but he knew that if he lost himself in the corridors of her eyes for too much longer, he'd end up doing something really stupid. To even get to a place where Sabine let him call her his best friend had taken half a decade, and he didn't want his feelings to get in the way of their friendship.

He turned to walk away, but her hand on his shoulder stopped him. He made the mistake of looking in her eyes again.

"I'm really glad you didn't sacrifice yourself," Sabine said, smiling.

Sabine had scarcely smiled at him before, and she'd certainly never smiled at him like this.

"Me too."

For anyone else in the galaxy, everyone else in the galaxy, Ezra had been willing to sacrifice himself, give up everything for their freedom and salvation. But for Sabine, Ezra had done something harder. All it took was one word from Sabine, and suddenly his sacrifice didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. In the moment when she'd found out about his plan and begged him not to go, he would've doomed the whole galaxy just to ensure her happiness. He didn't know why his life meant so much to her, but kriff it all if he didn't want to find out.

Despite the voice in the back of his head telling him to go, Ezra found himself, slowly, like approaching a wild loth deer, reaching towards her, his hand on the back of her neck and pulling him closer to himself. She had more than enough opportunity to stop him, to pull away or punch him in the gut, but she did the opposite. One second, she was a few inches away from him, and the next, her lips were on his.

Despite spending the last few years dreaming about this moment, now that it was happening, Ezra almost couldn't believe it. At first, he almost feared it was a moment of weakness they'd later regret, but the longer this kiss lasted, the more convinced Ezra was that this was the best moment of his whole entire life. He'd known that Sabine was an expert in explosions, but somehow he hadn't expected that same kind of spark to be found in her kiss, frying his entire brain in the most beautiful fireworks display imaginable.

She sighed as he pulled her even closer, and if that moment could've lasted forever, he couldn't've been happier.

But Sabine pulled away from him, quickly and suddenly. At first, Ezra wondered if it was Sabine's silent way of telling him he'd messed up and gone too far, but his senses quickly returned to him. The last minute or two had only been Sabine and Ezra, but now he remembered that there were other people in the galaxy. Trillions of them, in fact.

And millions of them were watching that exact moment.

Ezra quickly stepped away from her, hoping his expression wasn't as telling as he thought it was. They stood next to each other, though with more space in between them than Ezra really wanted.

Ezra leaned his head toward her, casually, trying not to draw attention to himself as they flashed their fake smiles to the people down below.

"Do you think they noticed?" he asked.

Then he saw a holo projector of their live stream down below, displaying a massively enlarged recording of their kiss, text beneath it reading "INSTANT REPLAY."

"This is the last time I let Jai run the holo stream for anything," Ezra thought. He noticed out of the corner of his eye as Sabine hid her face behind her hand, using sarcasm to cover her embarrassment.

"Yes, Ezra," she said, "I think they noticed."

#sabezra #fanfic #fanfiction #kazzy writes #sabine wren #ezra bridger #canon divergence #cw kissing #otp: im counting on you #star wars rebels

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