One of these days when you have time I’d love to hear you gush on what you love about sokabine. I’m in those leiabine mines myself but I’d love to get sold on the ship. 🚢
Gods, you want to hear me gush about Sokabine?! You want me to try and sell you on this ship?!
Heck, I'm going to get totally shut down by the purity police for this. But you asked for it, so ye have been warned!
Firstly, I have to say, this ship didn't even really cross my viewport until I saw the first episode of the Ahsoka series. I'd watched the trailer, I'd seen Rebels, TCW, all the Mando episodes, and it still wasn't really registering in my brain.
Until THIS MOMENT:
Despite all the suggestions of the falling out between the two from when we last saw them at the end of Rebels S4 to now, I was not expecting this kind of tension!
The body language (okay, Ahsoka always likes to cross her arms, 10/10 to Ro for continuing characterisation) - but they're both in defensive stances, closed off with their arms folded. Sabine's got a slight side-on stance as if she's ready to run away (even though she chose to be there) like she's expecting to be hurt again. They try to look everywhere else until they had no choice but to look at each other, yet when they do allow themselves to finally look at each other, it's with a heaviness like they can't look away again. The small talk Sabine makes with Azadi and Huyang, she's just buying time before giving into the fact that she has to talk to Ahsoka. The silence that holds as they just look at each other.
Fuck, it spoke to my very soul. It was an ex-girlfriends meeting again for the first time since their break-up years ago scene, I'll die on this hill.
Everything thereon just seemed to solidify it for me. Sabine following Ahsoka back onto the T-6 (which would have been Sabine's home for however long her first attempt at her apprenticeship went for).
The ship was immaculate. Almost devoid of any signs of life. And yet...
...there's a bunch of Sabine's doodles and drawings in one of the bunks. It seems so out of place on such a clean ship! And for such a breakdown in 'friendship', it's an odd sentiment and reminder to keep, especially in the sleeping quarters.
The conversation that followed, sitting on opposite sides of the table like that, with the vague, probing questions ("So where do you call home these days?"), the long looks, the unspoken pain. It was so perfect. I could just feel Sabine's competing feelings of hurt and hope oozing from her.
I could be here all day going through all the different times that I was sitting mouth-agape at my screen from all the exes-who-aren't-over-each-other moments I was seeing, but I'll try and narrow it down to a few.
Firstly, Ahsoka bolting to rescue Sabine, ignoring Shin with the map who was right there and sprinting to her wounded (ex) padawan's. Lightsaber wounds are self-cauterising; she totally could have left Sabine to be taken of by Huyang and chased down Shin instead, but then we wouldn't have had a show then, I guess?
Next, Ahsoka seems to enjoy checking out her padawan (and particularly her padawan's butt) too regularly to just be coincidence.
(Credit to @reeveskryze for the above gif!)
And don't forget the small but so very gay little hand touches...
In fact, I couldn't believe that whole scene at the start of episode three was real. I felt like I had just spied on something very private and intense.
And by the end, I was melted on the floor too, same as Sabine.
Then, there was that Force connection. Their relationship has been on ice for years, they're in a foreign galaxy, and Sabine's shown about as much Force potential as a sandwich, and yet they managed to achieve this?!?!
Then, after everything she's put herself through (including a lot of self-loathing over the decisions she's made), Sabine chooses to stay with Ahsoka in Peridea. And the look of joy Ahsoka gives her at realising Sabine's decision.
I doubt I've onboarded many people from my word and gif-vomits. It seems to be a ship you either see and vibe with from the start, or it just sails straight past you. I'll spare you from my rant about the lack of Sokabine-shipping in the fandom, or the general lack of Ahsoka-shipping since she was cast as a woman of colour. That's a whole other thing to get me cancelled for. 😂🫣
Anywho, I'm sure that's enough of my gushing. Thank you for entertaining my brainworms.
💜💙🤍
