#Clone Badassery

[lifblogs]

New York’s hottest club is… The Siege of Mandalore!

[niobiumao3]

So...

The Clone X isn't Tech, IMO, unless the writing is really bad. If I had to guess, it's Cody. Reasoning:

* General amazing badassery

* I really do feel like Cross--and the rest of them--would know if he was fighting Tech.

* He talks to Cross, while they're fighting, like someone who was there when Cross was (failing to be) re-educated. Not just heard about it, but watched and was disappointed. Cross would KNOW if Tech was one of them and would have already mentioned it.

* Cross explicitly suggests his defective status is why it didn't take. Ofc he could be wrong but if he's not then Tech would be the same.

* Rex's whole cell just got wiped out and he didn't bat an eyelash in terms of The Fight. But if Cody is a Clone X and invades Pabu? That would fuck him up.

* Cross is clearly INTENSELY upset about these guys. Did he watch Cody get wiped clean? (Wonder if this is what he and Omega are gonna discuss...) That would be particularly traumatic.

* Knife action. Who's our other knife guy? Yeah.

* If that was Tech Pabu would already be toast. We know this guy was only activated to kill the other Clone X, NOT to find Omega. If you had someone from Omega's actual squad would you not send him out the second she escaped? Unless his training wasn't done at that point but that also doesn't make a lot of sense because the guy knew about Cross and knew he'd failed the training. So, his was done, or done enough he'd heard about Cross, but the suggestion is they were in together.

I can't see a way to correct the the last part and have that be Tech, not in any way which is consistent with Hemlock's character and behaviors. There's literally no reason, if that's Tech, for them to not have put him to work if he was available as soon as Omega got away. Edit: one suggestion is amnesia. That doesn't account for Cross being immune because he's a 99 but Tech not being immune. We're back where we started except now Cross is wrong about why they couldn't break him AND Tech has no memories. That seems incredibly convoluted.

So anyways IMO p clear Tech is a) in a prison on Eriadu, b) with pirates, c) skulking around Tantiss and stealing people's clothes. He's not the Clone X though.

Bet he and Phee will arrive together.

[highgroundanimations]

I think we're all curious to know... Who is your favorite canon clone?

@the-bad-batch-baroness

💙 REX! 💙

Rather boring answer going with THE most main character clone, I know. 😄 But having followed along his adventures for years, growing up alongside him & seeing him go through so much, it just kinda feels like he's this old childhood friend.

Also he's just frickin' cool! And the way he cares deeply for his brothers, showing both badassery & vulnerability... you just gotta love him.

(Also I'm currently working on a Rex cosplay! Can't wait to get that finished! 😁)

[dandylovesturtles]

late night posting but I had a thought that spiraled into mostly Disaster Twins banter and I wanted to write it just because of that

I have no plan I’m just going sorry if it just kinda ends

takes place immediately after the events of Evil League of Mutants

———

Donnie’s in his bunk, doing one last nightly check of all his socials, when the curtain to his room is opened and shut. He doesn’t have to look to know who it is - his other brothers have the decency to knock.

“What do you want, Leo?”

He doesn’t answer right away. Donnie hears the sound of his desk chair rolling over concrete and looks down to see Leo making himself comfortable, reclined back so he can see Donnie without craning his neck.

Great. Donnie returns to his phone and waits for Leo to speak.

“I just can’t stop thinking about what happened today.”

“A lot of things happened today, so you’ll have to be more specific.”

“Uh, about Lou Jitsu being our dad, duh! I mean, it’s crazy!”

“Oh, I know.” Donnie actually grins at that, looking up at his ceiling. “Of all the people it could have been! You know, I’ve sequenced all our DNA, and if I go through the data perhaps I can isolate his badassery in genetic form!” He wiggles in excitement. “Maybe I can even make my own Lou Jitsu clone…”

“Okay, cool it on the mad scientist junk for a second,” says Leo, rudely jerking him out of his tiny Lou Jitsu fantasies. “I’m just saying… he’s our dad.”

“Yes, as we’ve established.”

“I mean, all four of us.”

“Good job, Leo, you are two for two.”

“And that makes us brothers. Like… biologically.”

“Yes, very good. You have a fifth grade understanding of biology, gold star.” He looks away from his phone and down at Leo, and feels a sudden rush of panic. “Aaaand you aaare emotional about this… for some reason.”

“Am not,” argues Leo, even though he clearly is. Leo doesn’t cry much, but sometimes his eyes get all big and shiny like he wants to, and now is one of those times.

Donnie cringes. “Are you sure you don’t want to have… whatever conversation this is with Raph or Mikey?”

“No.” Leo scowls. “They’d be all… weird about it.”

“I’m going to be weird about it!”

“Dee, can you just… listen a sec?”

He knows if he tells Leo no after that, Leo will get up and leave… but he feels bad doing that. No matter what reasoning led him to choose Donnie to hear out these feelings, if Leo gets rejected he’ll never tell anyone and just sulk in his room instead.

So Donnie sighs. “Fiiine. But I’m not sharing any emotions tonight.”

Leo snorts, but after a second he starts talking again. “I just… know it shouldn’t matter, because we’re brothers no matter what. But… I don’t know. I always thought, since we’re different species… But now I know we all have the same dad! And it doesn’t matter, but… doesn’t that make you kinda… happy?”

Leo’s looking at him expectantly, and Donnie mulls it over. Does it make him happy? He’s never thought too much about it before, but maybe there is something nice about sharing that connection.

He already said he’s not talking about feelings, though, and anyway… “I already knew.”

Leo is out of the chair and in his face in a second flat. “What do you mean you already knew?”

“Not that Lou Jitsu is our dad, obviously!” He isn’t intimidated by Leo, but he pulls back anyway so he has more room to properly display his annoyance. “But I sequenced our DNA, remember? And it took some work, because of the highly complex processes involved and the fact that we don’t have DNA that is purely human or turtle-“

“Donnie-“

“-anyway, I isolated our human DNA and found enough similarities to determine there was a 92% chance our human donor was the same person. So I already knew that we are biologically brothers.”

Leo gapes at him. “And you didn’t think to tell us that!?”

“I tried to tell you! I laid all my findings out in a powerpoint, and you said, and I quote, “Donald, it’s been fifteen slides already, if you have any more I’m shoving you in a sewer pipe and leaving you for the rats.””

“Hey, don’t pin this on me! You’re the one who didn’t put the important information up front! Effective scientific communication is critical!”

“The point is that it’s all important, and thus impossible to pare down! So if you could just be patient once and a while, you’d actually learn something!”

“Well maybe I just thought you would tell us something this important straight out!”

Donnie is all geared up to keep fighting him on this, but just like how he can tell when Leo is emotional but trying to hide it, he can tell when Leo is hurt and trying to hide it. Arguing doesn’t feel good when it’s like this.

He backs down with a small shrug of surrender. “I just… didn’t think it was that important. I mean, it’s like you said… We’re brothers no matter who our human donor or donors are.”

The hurt slips off Leo’s face as easily as it came, and he smiles just a little. “Yeah?”

“Yes. And if I’m saying it then it’s obviously right.”

Leo rolls his eyes, but he’s still got that smile so Donnie knows all is forgiven.

Leo decides to extend an olive branch too, apparently, because the next thing he says is, “What would you even do with a Lou Jitsu clone, anyway?”

“I haven’t decided.” He looks at Leo, then sighs and scoots over. “Since you’re here, you can help me brainstorm.”

Leo’s smile turns into a full grin, and he pulls himself up into the bunk. It’s a tight squeeze, but they fit.

[mamuzzy]

I only wanted to answer in reblog but it got so long i decided to make a separate post. But it had me thinking about media consumerism and how it could affect the open-mindedness for different shows soooo...

Here is a guide to...

HOW TO GET SOMEONE TRAPPED IN THE CLONE HELL

... not entirely a guide but more like an observation.

If we want to look at the problem with the fast-paced media consumer viewpoint, I think starting with the Bad Batch it's actually not a bad idea for someone who never watched Star Wars animated media before. It's sad but cartoons, animations can repulse people to watch things because they link them to child stories, something only a child would watch, also most of the people prefer live action instead of animated stuff. Especially if the said movie/series is quite old. cont. under the cut...

There could be a reason why people are not interested in clones

If a friend, family member, boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever only saw the movies and were not interested in TCW before, had not seen it as a child on TV, they will probably have prejudice against the clones. - They weren't the main characters in the movies therefor we have not seen them interacting that much with the main cast. - But even if you don't know star wars, you will probably know the clones for Order 66, white armored assholes who murdered the jedi aka good guys. And when the movies came out, inhibitor chips weren't in the picture. ---> this observations came while watching TCW with my dad who didn't like the clones because for this exact same reason: the clones basicly serve antagonist without question in a world where rules were set: jedi are good, sith are evil. -> I don't care that it is more complex that. It is what was shown. While he enjoyed the clone-centric episodes, he still stood at his point. They killed the jedi. End of story. - People have different interests :'(((((((

THE CLONE WARS 2003

Why do I recommend this first.

You can always say it's made by the same guy who made Samurai Jack. Strategically speaking Clone Wars 2003 would be a good starting point despite not being canon anymore because TCW is adapting some of the stories shown here. It recaps well what happened between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Also this is the first media where Asajj Ventress and Grievous were introduced, and where you can actually see Grievous in his prime, an absolutely terrifying foe who actually can mop the floor with the jedi. Lots of jedi were introduced here which later also appeared in TCW. Why is this important: Having familiarity with the characters shown in memorable scenes helps that you will recognise them later in other media. Like... Hey it's the jedi dude who stripped in the middle of a fight! Hey, aren't these the same guys who mutated an entire village out of fun who kidnapped Echo??? And so on. TIME: 25 x 5 minutes episodes full of action so it keeps up the interest, and... FORDO. 5 minutes of full clone badassery. While TCW emphasises on the theme that the clones are living, feeling human beings who can die exactly like a human, in CW2003 they are shown like really the badass super soldiers (especially the ARC Troopers) who were bred for war. How much time it takes an episode to watch is an important factor. Because someone who binge watches 10 x 1 hour long netflix series under one day without sleep, drink, eat is not a guarantee that they will be able to sit through 133 x 22 minutes episodes. The sheer numbers will scare them away, nobody has a time watch 133 episodes when you can watch like... 5 different series instead! STORY TELLING COMPARED TO TCW: CW2003 goes for mostly visual story telling instead of talking. It's suspenseful, it's scenic, it's extreme, sometimes silly (rocket-launcher clone in the elevator with zero fuck given is still my favorite) but it's guarantee that you will remember. TCW episodes are varying from episodic to two-to-four episode arcs, it has silly comic relief episodes, it has serious dark episodes, obligatory beach episode, obligatory valentine day episode, obligatory school festival episodes obligatory-just kidding lol , so the lenght of one story can be varying, so is the quality of them. So unless you have a hyperfixation, or are a completionist, or interested enough, the episodes - in psychologycal term -, won't urge you the continue. Because in one 22 minutes episode you got a complete story without cliffhanger it won't make you think, because all the questions asked in the beginning of the episode was answered at the end. It won't rush you to continue, because you know that probably the next episode will be about an entire different conflict. You can stop anytime without the feeling of "just one more episode, just one more episode". Also, it doesn't help that you know how the story will end if you saw Revenge of the Sith. The forementioned uglyness... It took me years to finish TCW. I hated when it came out back in 2009 despite loving Star Wars and CW2003 and only after a decade picked up my interest again, it still took me years to finish it anyway. Back then, I really hated how everything got quickly 3D in neglection of 2D. But can't say it's ugly because it's old, it was ugly when it came out! You really have to force yourself to accept how it looks until you are fine with it, because your eyes got used to it. Also some episodes were boring, not entertaining, I just lost interest and only came back later to continue and I even forgot what happened before. I can't remember most of the arc expect those I was interested in to rewatch it again in the last years. Yes, the quality will improve. Season 7 is beautiful. The visuals of Bad Batch is also beautiful. But between season 6 and season 7, years passed.

THE BAD BATCH

Why do I recommend TBB for someone who ain't got time for shit™:

- TBB season are 16 episodes long. It's friendlier than 133 number wise. - There are only a few main characters to follow. It's important because when there are a large cast of characters, it's easy to get confused who is who and with literal CLONES as main characters, it's hard to distinguish them from each other. I know I can distinguished them, because I'm so fixated on them that every single verbal and non-verbal gesture they make will shoot me into outer space. - The Batch uses popular character tropes, different looks, different voices and tones, so they are recognisable, therefore, you will remember them for the rest of the show. So it will be a chance that you will fall for at least one member of the batch. And then you'll be thirsting mess over one character and eventually you'll be staning all of them, and eventually you will seek out more contents,fanfics, fanarts, headcanons with them that will attract TCW characters or events as well that will lead further deep down into the clone-hell. --> You can start showing the Bad Batch arc TCW where Jesse, Kix, Rex, Cody is also present, so there are plenty of topic and characters to talk about later. Also... Who is this Echo guy, how did he end up here? You can show the Domino Squad episodes, Kamino arc, citadel arc... - This could be a double-edge sword, but TBB are shown resemblance to Delta Squad, Omega Squad and Null ARC troopers. You know Delta Squad from the Video Game, Republic Commando, while the Omegas and Nulls are the main characters of the book series with the same name by Karen Traviss. I say it's double edged, because without these fantastic characters we wouldn't have The Bad Batch, but also I can understand the fans who wanted the Deltas adapted properly instead. - In season 1, the "fillers" add to the story and the characters as well and they won't get episodic-amnesia. (they may have TCW amnesia though... yes, I look at you Echo.) - In Season 1, there is a clear conflict which shadow always lingers even if the plot of the episode does not directly touches it. - Returning characters from TCW like Rex and Gregor could make the consumer ask the questions: who are these guys and why are they important? Rex is cute, is there more episodes with him? Oh yes, my dear prey friend, there is a whole series about him. - I only say season 1 because I'm not entirely satisfied how season 2 were handled while I enjoyed the first one. My hyperfixation for TCW last year literally started with Bad Batch. The trailer was so misleadingly awesome I wanted to watch it before season 2 would come out, but I wanted to finish TCW first (finally!). Season 6 and Season 7 were basicly binge watch and it got me interested again in the previous seasons too.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS 2008 (movie)

Why do I recommend this before TCW - It has Fox - Because sitting through a one-night movie is still easier than watching 133 episodes while maintaining the same quality of the show. - It has Fox - It shows the story how Ahsoka is introduced as Anakin's padawan the first time and we get a glimpse of their initial relationship and dynamic. - It has Fox - Basicly two arc in one movie but the introduced characters stay the same the entire time so you have time to get to know them, recognise them, and later you can remember them. - It has Fox - It has Fox.

TALES OF THE JEDI

It has that one episodes with the clones where they train Ahsoka. Possible questions could be asked: wtf happens at the END? Where is the rest of it? You can instantly show the last arc of season 7. Which would lead to another questions: wtf are the mandalorians, why Maul is here, wtf happening with Rex during O66, why is he hesitating to shoot Ahsoka? Now you can show the Chip conspiracy ARC with Fives! This Fives is a nice guy, is there more episodes of him? Oh boy~

And if they are interested in watching TCW with you..

- Watching together as spending time together usually helps. I think discord also has a function where you can stream movies to others. - You don't have to watch it in the exact order the episodes came out - Show arcs. There are lot of clone centric arcs. I literally collected all the episodes where Echo and Fives are present. --> Dad remembered Echo the whole time and he felt sorry for him. I showed the episodes in such order that his story could be followed easely. ------------- I know. I get it. Every episode is awesome. Every character is awesome. They are. They are all blorbos. They are our blorbos.

[iellarenuodolorian]

Gonna rant about a few Bad Batch things real quick…ish

Tarkin wants the Batch eliminated. He’s wanted that since they defected. And now we’ve got this whole thing from Eriadu which makes Tarkin hate clones even more so…I’m expecting Tarkin to play a big part in this season.

The Emperor wants Nala Se to finish up her cloning research. So, in the Celebration trailer we get Rex telling Hunter that “she’s vital to whatever they’re doing on Tantiss”. The “she” in question initially makes me think Omega because Hunter then says “Omega’s been waiting for us, I’m not making her wait another day.” So are they somehow still in contact!?

Is the “she” Nala Se, the chief cloning engineer who is responsible for creating the genotype for all of Jango’s clones and who Palpatine has captured to help make him a Force sensitive clone so he can rule the Empire forever (ya’ll do know that’s his plan right?). Or is the “she” Emerie???? I seriously doubt the last option, but I’m beginning to think it’s Nala Se. And that’s who Ventress is after. And I honestly wouldn’t blame Ventress for wanting to kill her either.

Nala Se will also be a big part of this season. And I SWEARRRRR if she tries to be “good” I will be CONSTANTLY reminding ya’ll that she does NOT care about the clones. SHE IS PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING FIVES 😤😤😤😤 she could have let the secret about the chips out and maybe more of them would have lived and maybe she would have died (because Palpatine killed her for failing him) but THAT WAS HER CHOICE AND FIVES IS DEAD!!!!! I will never forgive her for that.

Dr Hemlock I’ll kill with my bare hands, all on my own. He’s gonna be terrifying, and I’ll be so worked up every time I see him on the screen during an episode. I’m NOT excited to see how dark he is. Maybe this will give me some new ideas about how to torture him as I slowly kill him….I’ve had more than 300 days to ponder exactly what I’d do. It’s a pretty gruesome list. If Cid decides to show her face, I have a similar list for her of what her torture will look like.

One positive hope is that IF Nala Se does decide to switch sides and save the clones that Rex is going to recruit the Batch to help save all the other clones because Omega is somehow the key to getting all of them out and safe and with their accelerated aging turned off.

All I’ve wanted for the Batch to show us is that the clones have ALWAYS deserved better and that after the war, some of them managed to find a small shred of peace fighting for whatever family they found and fighting for a cause THEY chose. Part of me hopes the next show will be the Clone Rehab program and some of them finding a happy ending!?! (can we have a happy ending, JUST THIS ONCE DAVE!?!?) (even Doctor Who has a few episodes where “just this once everyone lives!!!!”)

I will also never forgive them for letting us see Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair working together in ONE MISSION! We got the original four rescuing Echo and the short mission after that where we see them all adjusting to maybe adding Echo. And then we have Kaller, but we don’t get the planning or the initial set up, just the badassery that is them completely destroying a shitload of droids like it’s a walk in the park. And then Crosshair’s chip goes off and everything is wrong. We have ONE halfass mission of all of them together and I feel so short changed on getting to see THE BAD BATCH in action being a whole ass army, just the five of them.

So, Crosshair and Omega might escape, but I still want to know who the 5th enhanced clone is. It’s not Omega, Tech changed his mind in 1.10 about her being enhanced saying that shes the other half of the pure genetic replication of Jango’s original genetic material. Remember, Venress leads another mission on Kamino trying to steal Jango’s DNA code from the DNA vault on Kamino. Omega is vital to some part of Nala Se’s research on making a Force sensitive clone for Palpatine, or maybe something else entirely. So, will we find out who the final member is or was that a throwaway line in 1.1 when Tarkin asks Nala Se how many enhanced clones she has left and she tells him five.

I’m also wondering if Bane will be sent after Omega again when she escapes and if Fennec will be the one keeping an eye on her for Nala Se (like what happened in S1). And Hunter and Bane better not have another showdown, we know Bane survives until after the second Death Star blows up. So that showdown won’t look good for Hunter….again….

It bugs me that Hunter has FINALLY realized that he can’t run and hide from the Empire. Pabu is going to get taken from them, and maybe thats the final straw for Hunter. Echo was right to try and push Hunter to realize that they needed to be gathering allies and resources. If they can keep Omega from the Empire’s hands, that means Palpatine won’t get the clone he needs to be immortal and that the Rebellion stands a chance. And if they have enough resources to keep Omega safe, they can try and relax and give her as normal of a life as possible during the terror of the reign of the Empire.

I read the Legends series “Republic Commando” books before Batch started and had hopes that at least the plot lines of the clone rehab program and figuring out how to turn off their accelerated aging to give the clones a chance at a normal life would be brought to Canon. Instead I’ve gotten nothing but pain and sadness and a broken family. You have 15 episodes to give yourselves a chance to save it all!!

[levi-venn]

The First Toothpick

Chapter 2: "Misfire"

Gen Fic - Mentor/Protege

Characters: Cad Bane, Crosshair (the kid), Tech.

Summary: Cad Bane teaches Crosshair how to be a sniper. The kid picks up some other habits as a result.

Chapter Summary: Crosshair can handle his first jump to hyperspace...until he can't.

Available on AO3 here

Chapters: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch7 | Ch8 (Coming soon)

Crosshair knelt beside his bunk, packing his bag quietly.

The bag had actually been packed for months now. It was a standard bug-out bag filled with provisions, jumpsuits, a short-range comm set, and a first aid kit. Still, he moved the contents around. Checking and rechecking the inventory list. Drawing it out for as long as it took for Fett to look for him.

Behind him Hunter and Wrecker threw each other to the ground on the training mat, punching and tickling each other, challenging the other to say “I surrender” first. Half the time this game ends in exhaustion and no victor…or tears from Wrecker and Hunter relenting to calm him down. 

Pulling out a small box hidden at the foot of his bunk, Crosshair looked through his Max Reebo discs, deciding which ones to bring. Would he have time to listen to music? It calmed him down during the worst storms on Kamino. Where was he going? Would it be loud? Would it be bright?

Am I being punished?

“Where are you going?” Said a clipped Core World accent that his brother, Tech, had been practicing for weeks.

Crosshair didn’t turn around. “Out.”

“That…is evident,” Tech huffed, kneeling beside Crosshair. “Don’t take the discs. If you break them, they’ll be gone forever. It was hard enough smuggling them in.”

Crosshair put the discs away, and instead pulled out a small, torn poster of Figrin D'an And The Modal Nodes. Written in silver marker were the words: “To Crosshair, the best sniper  - Figrin D’an”. Tech said the personalized autograph was authentic, but Crosshair recognized Tech’s handwriting when he saw it, the too-neat s’s, the perfectly circular o’s. 

It was his prized possession.

He refolded the poster and tucked it into his pocket.

“They’re sending me away to train with a bounty hunter.”

“Well, that sounds exciting.”

Crosshair grunted quietly. 

“Is it not exciting?” Tech pressed.

Crosshair recounted his ration bars.

“Crosshair?” Tech asked. 

“Don’t call me that.”

“Well I’m not using what the Regs call you. It’s not accurate.”

“Yeah?” Crosshair snarled, defensively. “I knew your eyesight was bad, but even you saw how shitty I did in the last test. I dropped my rifle! It fell thirty meters and blasted a hole through the scoreboard.” 

Tech flinched a little at the eyesight comment. Crosshair flinched, too.

“My sight isn’t the issue and your name isn’t ‘Misfire’. Mistakes happen. Everyone makes them.”

“Not Regs, apparently. Just me. I’m the reason they call us the Bad Batch.”

“That isn’t true. They call us that because…” Tech frowned as if searching for an adequate answer. The longer he stalled the worse Crosshair felt. “...Jealousy for one,” Tech said, finally. “ And I heard on some planets people say ‘bad’ when they mean ‘good’. ‘Badassery’ is a word I’ve heard the seasoned clones say many times.”

“You’re making that up.”

Tech tugged at his new goggles magnifying his eyes three fold. “I never make up fun facts, you know this.”

Crosshair didn’t answer right away.

He didn’t trust his voice not to crack.

Blinking away tears was second nature to Crosshair, especially recently with the slew of mistakes he’d been making. He blinked rapidly at Tech, then threw his arms around him in a gruff hug. “Take care of yourself while I’m gone. Don’t let Wrecker push you around. If he gets too rough, tell Hunter.”

“I can fight my own battles,” Tech huffed. “...But I’ll miss you too.”

The door slid open and Crosshair immediately let his brother go. 

“Let’s go, CT-9904,” Fett said. 

Crosshair gave Tech a gentle punch on the arm. “See you soon,” he lied. He had no idea when he’d be back. Maybe months or years . 

What if I never see him again?

“What? Crosshair’s leaving?” Hunter asked, voice muffled through the headlock Wrecker trapped him in. 

Crosshair walked out behind Fett, clutching the straps of his bug-out bag and sniper rifle tightly. He didn’t look back.

“Where’s he goin’?” Wrecker asked as the door closed behind him.

It was hard not to stare at the blue alien walking alongside him. His eyes were perfectly round glowing bulbs set behind mean, narrow slit eyelids. He had no nose, his lips were thin and grim, fangs razor sharp, and his brow was one long ridge that raised and lowered dramatically with his mood. The left ridge raised at Crosshair. 

“What’s the matter, kid? Never seen a Duros before?”

Crosshair looked away. A Duros. He committed this to memory so he could tell Tech all about him when he got back. 

If I come back…

The docking platform’s doors opened and suddenly the Duros was the second most interesting thing Crosshair had seen that day.

Ship designs were an important part of Crosshair’s daily studies, mostly how to take them down in a dogfight. He’s seen hundreds of ships in his lessons. He’s never seen any ship like this. It reminded him of the scorpions of Tatooine, the engine raised like a threatening stinger, wings spread like they’d sprout claws to grab unsuspecting prey.

He almost smiled.

The Duros must have noticed. “Welcome to the Justifier , kid.” 

The ramp came down and Crosshair all but ran inside. His squad had been in simulation pods, but only Reg cadets were allowed trips on dropships. Hunter said they’d have plenty of time to fly in ships later, one day they’d have a ship of their own. For special missions. Crosshair remained skeptical. Hunter said a lot of things.

If Tech were here, he’d probably tell Crosshair exactly what kind of ship it was, the specs inside, how quickly it can prep a jump to hyperspace, the brand of the main compressor and what year it was made.

“Have a seat and strap in. Make yourself comfy, but not too comfy. This here’s temporary lodgings until we get to the ranch.”

Ranch? What’s a ranch?  

Crosshair said nothing. 

Cad hit the control panel and the ramp shrank back into the ship’s belly, the door sliding shut. Crosshair thought - too late - to take one last look at Kamino before it was gone. By the time he turned around, the door was shut. That was it. No goodbyes. 

There was a small puddle at his feet where the cool, crisp rain had collected. 

He put the toe of his boot in it.

It rippled.

“Strap in, kid. This ol’ girl gets a’might bumpy at Jump. Don’t reckon Jango’ll pay me if you’re a splatter on the wall.”

There were four seats in the common area with proper straps. Crosshair climbed into the largest one. There were claw marks on the edges of the armrest. 

“That’s Bossk’s chair,” Cad said, grabbing the buckles and straps, handing them to Crosshair. “He ate the last person who tried to steal his spot.”

Crosshair snorted. 

Cad wasn’t laughing. 

Crosshair’s face fell. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell him who sat here last,” Cad sneered. 

While Crosshair strapped himself in, Cad watched, as if to make sure he did it properly. It was a four strap system that fastened to a disc over his chest. The disc was new, but the straps looked ancient. They didn’t fit crisply like they did in the simulation pods.

“Need help?”

“I know how to secure straps,” Crosshair said, irritably.

“Yeah? All I see are fumbling fingers. Hurry up, before the storm pushes us off the platform.”

Crosshair rolled his eyes, his vision hitting a snag when he noticed the chair across from him was covered in small cuts, the leather melted as if assaulted by a vibroblade. “A.S. Wuz Here.” was carved in the chair back.

“Who is A.S.?” Crosshair asked, securing the fourth strap after a bit of adjusting. It popped out as soon as he let go.

Cad knelt down and batted Crosshair’s hand away, securing each strap then tightening them until Crosshair felt like he was part of the chair. “That’d be Aurra Sing. Be thankful Jango asked me to train you and not her. She hates kids.”

Crosshair raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And you like them?”

“No. Not really.”

“Me neither,” Crosshair said, thinking of the Regs whispering and snickering at him whenever he walked by.

Cad snorted or maybe scoffed. It was hard to tell. “Well, we’re gonna get along just fine then.” He tilted his hat up, his glowing red eyes seemed to give off a menacing heat, or maybe Crosshair was just nervous. 

I want to make people nervous like this. With just a look. A mean look. 

“I got two rules on this ship: Stay out of the cockpit. Stay out of my quarters. Everywhere else is fair game. Follow that n’ we’ll get along fine. Break a rule, you get a trip to the airlock. Sound good?” 

Authority figures often threatened him and his brothers with punishment whenever they broke a rule, but this was the first time Crosshair actually believed an adult would follow through on a threat. 

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t sir me. Bane’s fine.”

Was Fett the only person allowed to call him “Cad”?

Crosshair decided not to ask.

“Yes, Bane,” Crosshair said.

Seemingly pleased, Bane gave a final tug to Crosshair’s straps and stood up. “Brace yourself.”

Brace himself? What did that mean? Panic was starting to sink into his bones. He had never been on a ship before. He had never been in hyperspace before. The clone troopers had armor for a reason when flying their ships. The g-forces could kill them without it. And Crosshair was in a jumpsuit. He wouldn’t get armor until he graduated to adulthood. 

He shut his eyes as the ship started to hum and whirr all around him.

Tech wouldn’t panic. 

Tech would adjust those new goggles of his.

What would Tech say?

Probably say something snarky like…“Obviously, you don’t need armor if Cad Bane is wearing clothes pulled directly out of a ‘Fistful of Credits’ holodrama.”

It made him feel better…

…for all of five seconds. 

There was a high-pitched squeal like a broken valachord, the pressure hitting his chest like Wrecker was sitting on it. 

Two Wreckers maybe…

…three…

Dark space clouded his vision.

I’m fine. Tech would be fine. I’m going to be f-

He passed out.

“Another black eye?” Tech asked, not looking up from his datapad. 

“Same eye, just more black,” Crosshair sneered, climbing past his own bunk and onto Tech’s. “What’re you reading?”

“Who hit you?” 

“Does it matter? Regs are all the same.”

“Hmm,” Tech flicked the holoprojector mode on and a planet, infected with an uninterrupted mass of buildings, floated in front of them. “I’m studying ecumenopolises.”

“What are they?”

“City-planets. Denon, Coruscant, Axxila, they cleared away the natural history of the planet making way for cities built upwards, the height depending on the population growth and class systems in place. Oftentimes the lower-income citizens are relegated to the lower levels of the city, or sent to the hemisphere opposite of the wealthier sectors. Weather patterns on these planets are regulated and usually temperate. 

“Looks loud,” Crosshair said, not really understanding what he meant. 

“Does it? Hmm…” Tech never made fun of Crosshair’s short, blunt statements, always considering each word carefully. Crosshair felt heard around his brother, even when he didn’t think anyone was listening. “That makes sense. Your eyes are designed to be sharper than most clones. As a sniper it’s an imperative feature. The bright flashes of lightning are too much for you. ‘Loud’ is a poetic way of looking at this planet. Yes, these cities are loud, especially Coruscant with many reflective solar-powered surfaces on their buildings. I’d hate to be stuck in traffic at dawn or dusk. I can only assume they have polarized shields for their speeders.”

Crosshair gingerly touched his cheek. It was swelling up. “Think we’ll see Coruscant one day?”

“I’m counting on it. It’s the heart of the Republic.” Tech looked up at Crosshair, brow knitting. “If Coruscant turns out to be too loud, tell me. I can construct polarized lenses for you until you grow used to it.”

Crosshair rested his chin on Tech’s shoulder, watching the planets cycle by. “Thanks, Tech.”

“Kid?”

Five more minutes, Techie…

“Hey, kid. Wake up.”

Wake Wrecker up first...

There was a click and a sudden relief of pressure on his chest. Crosshair snapped awake with a gasp, muscles tensing, his hand reaching for his sniper rifle’s strap which…wasn’t there. 

When his vision cleared, two glowing eyes stared at him under a furrowed brow. Bane was sneering again. “Welcome back. Y’know, Jango coulda warned me you’ve never made a jump to hyperspace before.”

“I’ve been in sssimulations,” Crosshair hissed. 

Bane shoved a water bottle into Crosshair’s hands then plopped himself into Aurra Sing’s chair, leaning back. He rested his boot on his ankle, slouching like a holodrama blasterslinger.

Crosshair slouched too…but his legs were too short to pull off the same position.

“Drink.”

Crosshair did, not realizing how thirsty he was until the cold water hit his throat. It’s never cold in the facility. Everything is room temperature. Even the food.

“Guess they don’t add artificial G-forces to the sims, huh? I reckon, this old ship’ll probably hit ya harder than any government-issued starfighter would.”

“It’s no big deal,” Crosshair hissed again, his irritation showing through with the small impediment.

Bane tilted his head, amusement spreading across those thin lips. Somehow, the expression wasn’t as infuriating as the sneers the Regs threw at him. It felt…knowing. Maybe this was a normal reaction to someone’s first hyperspace jump.

“We’ll be on Dantooine in a couple of hours.”

Crosshair perked up. A location. Dantooine. It sounded familiar.

“Is that a…” Crosshair frowned. “An…Acutetopolis?”

By Bane’s blank stare, Crosshair knew he pronounced the damn word wrong. “Nevermind.”

“A what?” Bane asked, brow ridge raised.

Crosshair felt his ears grow hot with answer. “I sssaid nevermind.”

“Starsdamn, kid, you really give up too easy. You wanna know somethin’, just ask again.”

“Is it a city-planet?” Crosshair tried again.

“Ah, an ecumenopolis,” Bane said. “And no. It ain’t. The opposite actually. We’re goin’ to one of my old hideout for yer training. Somewhere you can get a real lesson of what life’s like outside yer little sterile world. By the time we’re done, you’ll be able to snipe shit off a fly’s back.”

Crosshair was a little disappointed it wasn’t a city-planet, but then again Tech hadn’t made him his special goggles yet. And with the promise of being a better sniper? Maybe this wasn’t a punishment after all.

He took another sip of water. 

“So…” Bane reached into his belt and pulled out a toothpick, popping it into his mouth. “You've never been off-planet, but you know about ecumenopolises. What else did they teach ya about the galaxy at large?”

“That’s classified,” Crosshair responded automatically.

“Ya sound like yer old man.”

“My what?”

“Yer dad. Jango Fett.”

“We don’t have parents. I’m a copy of Fett. Engineered to be an elite sniper.”

Bane snorted a laugh. “Well ain't that some rote kraytspit.”

Crosshair wished Tech could tell him what “rote” meant. He stayed quiet.

“So is that why you look like that? Why you sound like that?”

Even the Regs had asked him why his voice was modulated. Someone said he sounded like a rabid rattlesnake. It wasn’t supposed to be a compliment, but Crosshair took it as one. “I’m engineered to be quiet. So I’m quiet.”

“Can’t call out for help then?”

“We have comms.”

“What if you need to shout, though?”

“My blaster rifle shouts for me.”

“Heh,” Bane cracked a smile. “Got an answer for everythin’, huh?”

Crosshair didn’t answer that.

“You ever meet Boba?”

“Who?”

“So…Jango keeps his precious little son away from the soldiers. Figures…”

“I’m not just a solider, that’s what the Regs are,” Crosshair snarled. “I’m in an elite squad. I’m built to be spec…special .” It was a shitty time for his voice to crack, but Crosshair hated that word. “Special”. 

But it’s the word the trainers used. It’s the word the scientists used. If he wasn't Special, he was a failure.

Bane dropped his leg and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. He noticed that slip-up too. “Special, huh? Best of the best?”

“Look out, here comes Misfire.”

All the Reg cadets hit the deck, then rolled over laughing.

“It’s just what they tell me.” Crosshair murmured.

“So ya don’t think yer all that special?” Bane asked.

“The bad batch! Why do they look like that? Why does he hiss like that? Were their tubes cracked? Bet they don’t last past year five.”

Crosshair shrugged, clutching the empty water bottle now. He picked at the label.

“That’s yer problem, kid. Ya lack conviction. No spine. Too embarrassed to ask about city-planets because you fucked up a mouthful of a word like ‘ecumenopolis’, ya get frazzled seein’ droids swarmin’ yer bell tower. Bet your head’s tellin’ ya all sorts of things. A whole heap of voices cloggin’ up your focus. Or maybe it’s not your voice…maybe it's the other kiddos? They got nicknames for ya, kid?”

“My name’s not kid,” Crosshair growled, the bottle crinkling in his grip.

“Oooh,” Bane sneered. “There’s a lil bite to your bark. Alright, fine, but I ain’t callin’ ya by a bunch of numbers. What’d ya wanna be called?”

“Crosshair? Nah, you’re Misfire. And that’s because “Shaky Sniper” is too long.”“We could call him Shaky.”

The whole table erupted in laughter.

Crosshair stopped at the table. He handed his milk to Tech. He calmly placed his sandwich and apple on the table, then tested the weight of the tray.

Satisfied, he slammed the tray into the laughing Regs’ faces. One, two, three Regs fell off the bench seat to the ground. The fourth Reg ran away reporting to the Lieutenant on duty. 

The sight of Regs crying usually cheered Crosshair up, but he was branded “Misfire” now. 

No one was going to see him differently.

“CT-9904,” he tried. 

“Nope. 'Kid' it is,” Cad said, standing up. “Get some rest. Find somethin’ to eat. Soon as we land we’re gonna be up to our eyeballs in fabools. Better be ready.”

What’s a fabool?

Crosshair opened his mouth…could hear Regs laughing at the hiss in his voice...then shut his mouth again.

“Fuck’s sake, kid, stop bein’ yellabellied and ask me.”

“What’s a fabool?”

Bane sneered. “You’ll see.” And with that he climbed up the ladder towards the cockpit, shutting the hatch behind him.

Crosshair grumbled. “Cheeky prick.”

Whatever a fabool was, he hated was gonna hate it. 

And I’m not yellabellied either , Crosshair thought. Whatever that means.

[masterjedilenawrites]

hellooooo!! 1 and 16 for the ask game? with all the violence you would like to inflict >:)

Hiiiii! 👋 Ooh boy, these are good ones. Put up your dukes, I've got things to say! (unless you agree, then let's fight off the haters together lol)

the character everyone gets wrong

I'm going off the beaten path of clones (a bit) for this one... Boba Fett.

Now, to be fair, this character has been all over the place in canon. There's gaps in his story. There's legends stuff that some people still mix in to things. So I get how there's different takes or preferences or whatever. This is my take, and I'm throwing fists with both fandom and canon material equally (I'm looking at you Book of Boba Fett...)

Basically, long story short, I think the Mandalorian/Din Djarin stole a lot of Boba Fett's characterization. There is a delicate balance to Fett, where you need to play into the ruthless, faceless, mysterious bounty hunter with sick fight scenes and pithy one-liners... while also allowing for some quiet but meaningful moments of growth or change. And Din took all of that, which meant Boba's characterization had to be redirected elsewhere in canon.

And I see a lot more of the fandom latching on to that new direction instead of the characterization he started with prior to all the new shows and storylines. It's almost the opposite to the problem I have with Wolffe fics; there's too much fluffy tenderness and not enough toughness/badassery. Personally, I just don't care for it and will stick to the Boba Fett I've known since I first got into Star Wars over a decade ago.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I can understand the why behind most things, even if they aren't my cup of tea. But, one thing I do struggle to understand... mermaid AUs. What is the appeal there?? Of all the half-animal hybrids, why fish? How do you keep a character in-character when they have to swim around to get anything done? That just seems like it'd change a person. I sure would be a different person if I didn't have legs or a shirt and had to swim against tides and seaweed and whatever else is lurking down in the ocean. *shudders*

Good on anyone who likes them I guess, but I don get iiiiiiit. :/

[seasidemew]

I assume Mundays is asking the mun question idk how these things work X3 BUT who was your favourite character to design, who is your favourite to draw and who's your go to for like getting in the drawing groove?

I think that's the basic idea, but I know other mods do fancier events and stuff.

BUT of the cast specifically, I'd have to say Six was my favorite to design, Eve is my favorite to draw, but Lilith is the one I randomly doodle most for no good reason.

Six was the most fun to design both initially and when I went back to add stripes to the twos. For both her and M1, I found a pixel mewtwo base, gathered a ton of screenshots from their respective films, and went to town on trying to figure out what colors I liked most. I probably still have the psd somewhere, I could show some of that work if anyone was curious. I really wanted to make both of them stand out from the sea of mew/two blogs that existed then (and even more now), but ultimately Six's disabilities ended up being the most interesting thing about either one. Then I added the stripes. Six's specifically are based on the Clone Blastoise from Mewtwo Strikes Back, with some elements of Venusaur's lighter color stripes and the original mew design mixed in. Since Blastoise's markings are mostly on his shell, I took a lot of creative liberties. I initially wanted her to have only the lighter color stripes, but added the darker ones to replicate the points on original mew's tail and feet. She has the most complex stripes of everyone, but finally starting the comic has shown me that they're not that bad once you figure them out.

I just love Eve. Her design is heavily based on an "ancient mew" I made years ago in an attempt to capture the sharp mewtwo-ness of the canon Ancient Mew drawings in the card and the original movie. The perfect missing link. Basically the only changes I made to put her in the blog were to give her a pronounced sternum and refine the shaping of her tail. Plus, the original OC was way more mean and aloof than Eve is. She's fun, she's simple, she's relaxing, she hits all the right notes. I almost said Syn for this, but he's actually a pain in the ass, and I think all of the crackships for him have kind of burnt me out on enjoying him. ... Speaking of which I still have more to do. Oops. Plus, he keeps kicking my ass in Pokken's story mode. To his credit though, he is the one I know most well due to extensive chatting with @mushroom-for-art and such.

Lilith, I love Lilith, I love her hate and anger, I love her badassery, I love her beauty, I want her to rip me in half, I'd thank her for it. She's the reason this blog exists and, prior to the stripes, was the main thing to set this blog apart from the others. Her demeanor is based on the idea that, in the original Japanese script for the film, Mew is written to be a god displeased with the clone made from it. It jokes and mocks and overall doesn't take mewtwo seriously until it realizes how much power its progeny actually has. My headcanon is more that she stopped the battle because she was tired and bored and pissed off, getting mewtwo and the clones to leave so the stupid humans could get out of the way and they could actually finish their battle on her terms. At the moment, I don't know if that rematch ever actually happened or not, though. Anyway, she is usually my go-to because I love her and her character, she's pretty and soft, and she's hard to get right.

Hope that wasn't too long or too dry of a read. Thank you for the ask!

[kuwdora]

Star Wars vid recs

Someone on my twitter feed had asked for some vid recs for Star Wars and I thought I’d share some of my faves over here.

Desperado by fightingarrival Sequel trilogy. Poe/Finn/Rey. The Force Awakens + Rihanna + fightingarrival’s editing = the best thing you will ever see. The VIBES of this vid are incredible and editing will knock your socks off. There’s this transition of the two stormtroopers pulling Poe over to Kylo Ren and it transitions right into a tie fighter—and the shape of the tie fighter matches the way the troopers are holding Poe. Finn reaching for Rey on “not leaving me behind” — THIS VID IS SO GOOD. I have probably rewatched it 1,000,000 times since it debuted at ConTxt in 2018.

Jailbreak by @absolutedestiny. Original trilogy. The criminal hijinks and shenanigans of our rebel scum. This vid is so much FUN and full of the amazing trouble our favorites got into in the trilogy. The editing is so sharp and the lyrics are fabulous.

99 Problems by John Jay. Live action and animated series and films. Obi-Wan has 99 problems and honestly Anakin is all of them but FFFFFFUUUUCK the way these clips land on the beats!!!! I’ve seen this vid being reblogged all over tumblr but I gotta rec a million times because it is so good.  This uses all the live action and animated Star Wars source to AMAZING EFFECT, holy fuck twirl those Light sabers on the beat!!

Sk8er Boi by @ohvienna. Sequel trilogy. Kylo/Rey. This vid is hilarious and perfect and YES this is the Avril Lavigne song. Just trust me on this. You’ll see this and only be able to think of Kylo when you hear the song afterwards. You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid by @rhoboat77. The Mandalorian and Grogu. This vid is a romp and delight and Rho’s pacing throughout the song will keep you captivated with squee and love for these two.

Terrible/Beautiful by @cherryberrynice. Rogue One vid featuring Chirrut/Baze and Cassian/Jyn. Cherry always has amazing song choices for her vids and this AWOLNATION song for these two and this movie is outstanding. Her editing remains absolutely kinetic and visceral and it’s impossible for me not to adore this. The BEATS IN THIS!! The action sequences!!  The tension in this vid is so good.

9 to 5 by eruthros. Lego Star Wars featuring the clone troopers!!!! Honestly you won’t find a cuter Star Wars vid than this.

Last of the Real Ones by @starlady38. Star Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus. This is the found family of my soul and I will always cry during the final episode of the show as well as this vid. These two learned so much about what it meant to become a Jedi and how to be there for each other. My heart is so full when I rewatch this vid. PLUS it’s Fall Out Boy! Amazing combination and amazing editing and so, so lovely.

In Your Head by Darth Porg. This is the Bad Wolves cover of Zombie used to DEVASTATING EFFECT for the clone troopers. Like this vid goes so fucking hard that my soul is fucking shattered. I’ve never recovered from this vid or anything about the clone troopers.

The Light by destina. This is an Anakin/Darth Vader characters study to Adam Lambert’s music, omg. It’s dancey, it’s deadly, it’s damn fucking good. The rage, the yearning, and power of Anakin in this vid is crystal clear with Adam Lambert’s vocals, holy fuck.

One Girl Revolution by bessyboo. Padme and Leia vid!! Warning for bright lights, fast cuts + stuttery/"flicker" cuts. This iconic song for two iconic women. Perfect combination is perfect with amazing parallels and badassery from both mother and daughter.

Somewhere Only We Know by trekkiebeth. Rogue One vid featuring Cassian/Jyn. The wariness and yearning of these characters works remarkably with this cover by Darren Criss. I progressively get more choked up as the vid progresses. So lovely. Standing in the Way of Control by @trelkez. This vid uses footage from all the films and TV shows to highlight our heroes standing up to fascism. It isn’t pretty, it isn’t easy and they get knocked down so many times but the tension and hope in this vid—despite facing death and genocide—is really outstanding.

Home by @collsssss. The Mandolorian and Grogu. This is the sweetest most endearing look at Din Djarin doing his best for Grogu and AHHHH the song just makes my heart swell with warm fuzzies. This vid is so, so lovelyyyyy.

And here’s my Star Wars vids (so far):

Me, Me, Me, a Star Wars Rebels vid featuring Chopper. Just a little indie rock song for my favorite Star Wars droid.

What We Live For, a Star Wars sequel trilogy OT3 vid of fluffiness and adventure. Baby you’re my open road, you can take me anywhere the wind blows, right into the great unknown. We can throw up our hands out the window, this is what we live for. All my Rey/Finn/Poe feelings right here.

One Foot, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. This game was AMAZING and Cal Ketis got me right in the feels. If you liked Star Wars Rebels, you definitely should look up the game or at least the cut scenes from the game because his journey is amazing and I of course had to vid it. The ‘finding yourself/found family’ themes in this game are A++++ and what you will find in this vid of mine.

[blogalreadydoesntexist]

sea beast analysis because you guys liked the sweet tooth rambles

spoilers for the sea beast, obvi !! go watch it its a fucking masterpiece and its on netflix and there might be a sequel in the works

This movie is the (mainly) non-toxic-fandom HTTYD. That's not an insult, god no, it's an ACHIEVEMENT given it's jolt in popularity when it first released. The 'worst' I've seen is people shipping Sarah and Jacob, and even then, their sexualities aren't canon. (yet)

It's a masterpiece that preys upon the viewer's fears of 'the below, the unknown, big creatures that could stomp my head in by accident' etc etc, and- as somebody with such a bad fear of water that if I even think of water under me I have to jump up on my bed- it made me WANT to be there.

It's like being afraid of heights then watching HTTYD, wanting to run off a cliff and fly, but for something a wee bit more accomplishable, being on the ocean.

While you might not see any sea monsters in reality, the designs of a good portion of the sea beasts look very plausible, especially given the atrocities our own waters hold.

Blue, for example. He glows up in the dark, much like an angler fish! He's also able to go on land, and is shown to be an omnivore, eating fruit Maisie offers and some fish he finds.

Another example could be our main good girl, Red.

While she does look similar to Toothless from HTTYD, (god i wish i could find a full body GIF of her) there's a fair couple of stark differences that go against the common ''HTTYD clone'' excuse.

For example! Instead of having floppy, cute little axolotl-like features, she has an entire horn that's made from hard material. The size is also a major difference, along with her face... curves?

She also has a wider mouth than toothless and more cat-like, wild creature eyes, rather than the more rounded, friendly dog appearance of Toothless's eyes.

There's plenty of other beautiful beast designs in the movie, but I wanna take a break from rambling on and on about the wondrous designing and go onto the speaking characters in our story!

-

If you're looking for fem, disabled, and/or POC rep, it's got it!

Sarah Sharpe is canonically referred to as 'the best first-mate' and it's not just because of her looks! She's vastly intelligent, and never reduced to any sexist stereotype, nor is she the only woman aboard! She also has a peg leg, but I sadly cannot find any GIF that shows both her prosthetic and her beautiful badassery clearly.

Maisie Brumble is our protagonist, and she's also a black woman! She's never given push-back over her gender or her race, rather that she's a child. She's the main catalyst to the entire overarching plot of 'maybe the sentient creatures aren't inherently evil.' Something I personally adore about her character is that she was all for killing the beasts in the beginning, much like Hiccup, but she realized through her own experience that they weren't the monsters everything she's read and taken in in her short life has said they are.

There's plenty of other characters (and characters in this group) that I would adore to talk about, but due to time issues, I'm going to split this into 2 parts!

The 2nd part, when it is completed, will be marked right down here !

[littledancingphoenix]

The only character I'm not sure how I'd have them return for my takes on Tekken 4 or 5 is Kunimitsu, admittedly, I'd be more adding her because Tag 1 gave her moves unique to her so she stood out more from Yoshimitsu who she was a clone of at first before Tekken 2 started adding differentiating moves that accounted for her dagger/knife, so it feels a bit wasted she wasn't brought back until Tag 2 and was succeeded by her daughter in 7's DLC.

Best I have is either Kuni returns to get Yoshimitsu's approval and remove the mark of Manji Clan traitor by showing how she's improved in the 20+ years since they last met, or I have Kuni. Jr succeed her earlier and is on a quest to find who her father (not Yoshimitsu) is because Kuni. Sr has settled down/retired but still trained her daughter to be able to do the stuff her mom could.

Oh my lord, anon I have so many issues with Kuni. I don't hate the new Kuni but I think her replacing the original Kuni was insulting on so many levels. Tekken has always had a problem with not showing women actually aging. Or at the very least having it not be as obvious as the male characters. Maybe some people wanted to see an older Kuni still being able to match Raven or Yoshimitsu's badassery! I for one would love to see the original Kuni back! She deserves some appreciation, dammit!!

[b3crew]

REVIEW | "Undead Unluck" - Volume Ten | B3 - Boston Bastard Brigade

Well I have to hand it to Undead Unluck. Ten volumes in, and it still manages to deliver quite a bountiful of surprises. On top of its narrative becoming a lot stronger, its action has become truly S-tier both in presentation and in creativity. Erm, even if said creativity reaches a truly gross level!

Said grossness arrives in the fight between Billy and Andy. After being rescued, Fuuko sets her sights on Spring on top of the tower. Her climb gives Andy the chance to duke it out with Billy, who has a range of techniques that’d make even All For One jealous! However, Andy finds new ways to use his body to aid in his fight, and those techniques are more disgusting than one can even imagine!

Let me ask you readers something: when’s the last time you’ve seen a hero rip his own skin off to save his tail? How about their own scabs to create clones of themself? Well the answer to that is probably “fucking never!”, which makes Undead Unluck the first time you’ll ever see someone do this. Yoshifumi Tozuka holds nothing back in its presentation, with every sickening detail brought to these pages without a care in the world. To quote the webcomic FlorkOfCows: “I am disgusted, but impressed!”

It takes away nothing from the impressive fight between Andy and Billy, as the Union man does all he can to wallop the Under leader. Blood, weapons, street rubble, and back talk are thrown with a grace that shouldn’t even be allowed in such situations! And yet, this manga finds a way to bring all of it together in a feat of badassery not seen since the eighties! Yes, the fight is an acquired taste (or lack of), but it’s pulled off with such terrific tenacity and fortitude.

Click here to read the rest of the review!

[rebelsofshield]

Star Wars The Mandalorian: “The Return” - Review

The Mandalorian’s season three finale boasts fantastic action, but offers underwhelming and safe conclusions to years of storytelling.

Din Djarin and his allies must do battle with Moff Gideon’s forces if they are to retake the Mandalorian homeworld.

If you weren’t aware that executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni had clearly stated otherwise, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that “The Return” may not just be the end for The Mandalorian’s third season but for the series as a whole. In just around forty minutes, Favreau manages to offer conclusions and resolutions to just about every long running story thread that this series has been playing with since it first premiered in 2019. As much as its about explosive battle scenes, “The Return” is just as interested in tying a neat bow around The Mandalorian’s mysteries and conflicts.

It’s a shame that it all feels so rushed and underwhelming. Din Djarin is rescued in a head scratching manner by Grogu in the episode’s first minutes. We learn that all of the eerie clone teasing for seasons was just about Moff Gideon wanting to build an army of Force sensitive clones of himself, something most people assumed as far back as the first several episodes of the series, only to have the clones done away with moments later. Gideon, the series big bad who despite a delightful performance by a renowned actor never really amounted to much, is killed after a drawn out brawl whose only real non-Imperial casualty is the Darksaber (RIP sweet saber). The different Mandalorian factions resettle a Mandalore that is beginning to show signs of life and without internal conflict. IG-11 is returned to life despite having been blown up about three times over. Din Djarin returns to bounty hunting and gets a little cabin on Mandalore where he and his now officially recognized son can live out peacefully.

It’s honestly surprising how unsurprising it all feels. While Favreau managed to script a season that didn’t rely on guest appearance from established Star Wars characters and boasted something resembling a serialized story, the end result can’t help but feel perfunctory and lifeless. There is no conflict between heroes that can’t be solved with some words and a handshake, no showdown with a villain that can’t be ended with blasters and blades. For a season that seemed poised to dig deep into the conflicts of Mandalorian identity and Din’s place in the middle, The Mandalorian’s third season swerved away from engaging drama at every turn, delivering a story that’s about as predictable and risk averse as anything the franchise has produced in quite a long time.

“The Return” is lucky then that the spectacle of it all is so damn entertaining. There are some truly fun and inventive action set pieces here that almost make up for how hollow the narrative is. A sequence that sees an unarmed Din Djarin having to work his way one at a time through different guarded force field panels is a particular highlight. We watch as with each segment he dispatches  another round of Remnant beskar commandos while grabbing what weaponry he can from their corpses. Grab a knife, lose a knife. Grab a blaster, add a riot shield.  It’s a set piece that feels inventive in its deisgn and has a clear goal, creative choreography, and inventive use of place and geography. It’s inspired and plays to the series’ dependably strong stuntwork and gives Din Djarin fans the badassery that they have been demanding all season long.

Similarly enjoyable is the midair jetpack battle between the assembled Mandalorian forces and Gideon’s airborne army.  How could you not find yourself beaming at the sight of a live action Bo-Katan raising the Darksaber in front of a charging force of flying Mandalorians? How fun is it to watch two armies of armored, jetpacked warriors blasting and punching each other into oblivion? It’s giddy, flashy entertainment and the sort of Star Wars action that gleefully makes you forget just how empty everything around it is.

Even the slug out brawl between Din, Bo-Katan, Grogu, Gideon in his new Dark Trooper armor, and the Praetorian Guard is fun. It’s entertaining to see how each character is able to play to their skills here and how even the villains get to make creative use of their different weaponry. Also, even my increasingly cynical heart was won over in seeing Grogu finally getting to take such a direct role in the action. I was even prepared for him to take hold of one of the dropped Praetorian blades and start spinning around like Yoda and I honestly would’ve gladly accepted it.

But when the smoke clears and the bad guys are vanquished, my interest vanished and my attention drifting. My emotional investment in these characters and their saga is so minimal at this point that my biggest interest in the “The Return’s” final moments was to see if The Mandalorian would offer any big tease for it or its spinoff shows’ futures. It doesn’t, which wouldn’t have been a problem if we had been given more to begin with.

“The Return” is flashy, well directed junk food. It’s about as inoffensive and risk adverse as Star Wars can be while offering its most basic pleasures in high budget, well directed fashion. It’s entertaining, but passing. We’ve seen Star Wars, hell even this very show, do and say much more. We can expect better, but if The Mandalorian just wants to be a hundred million dollar plus drive thru meal that you chow down on for several weeks a year, I guess there’s nothing we can really do to stop it. I just hope that Ahsoka gives us something with a bit more substance. I don’t know if I can hold out until Andor season two.

Score: B-

[elionwriter]

THE MANDALORIAN S3 ENDING:

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Ok, so, I think the main take away from this entire episode and season can be summed up in two words: half-baked and Inconsistent.

I swear I nearly screamed at the monitor of my pc 'Oh, so NOW you remember you're a badass!!!??!?!' Din Djarin has been practically useless the entire season and then has two scenes of his original badassery where he remembers that he's a trained warrior since childhood and easily takes down practically barehanded a dozen fully armed and armoured imps. Only to newly forget all that the moment Giancarlo Esposito enters the scene. It's not a videogame!!! Just because he's the final boss it doesn't make sense in any shape or form that Moff Gideon is SO overpowered!

FUCKING RIP TO THE DARK SABRE! WHAT A JOKE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! A JOKE HOW BO-KATAN GOT IT BACK TO HOW IT WAS DESTROYED. It's cool, it's cool. It's not like the dark sabre is a legacy weapon with a special meaning attached to it that has travelled from legends to three canon shows!

Wow...Paz didn't even get an amen from his adopted child....wow

So....after everything....Din is penniless again and goes back being a bounty hunter...I'm guessing, since nobody else seems interested in working, single handedly sustaining of his own pocket the entire mandalorian economy. 😐 Guys, this isn't the hero's journey looping back to a new start....this is: 'Ah, we fucked up entirely our previously set up plot to make Din the Manda'lor. Well, people seemed to like Din as a bounty hunter, let's go back doing that.

Moff Gideon clones.....with force....sure, that's actually very much in character for the man but I feel it's like one more pointless thing to keep the heroes away from discovering that 'the cloning' wasn't actually for him.

DIN GROGU?!?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?! DIN GROGU INSTEAD OF GROGU DJARIN?!?!??! WHY?!?!?!

Also, how is it possible that Din felt so much colder to Grogu in this ending despite calling him his son, compared to last season's ending?!?!

Ahhhhh....the duality of a man:

Din, last episode: Lady Kryze I'll be by your side till the end....

Din, this episode:.....well, it IS the end of the season, bye!

Din in the Harrison Ford meme

Baby boy, baby: R2D2, IG, R5, Peli's BD

Evil: any other droid.....

So.....I guess the title 'the SPIES' plural, was just to create fake tension, huh? Why am I not surprised!

Why is Din having his own little shack on Navarro with a front porch the best thing of the episode?!?! 😂😂😂 At least Din can sit and nap like a proper dad now!

[swirlmup]

//tilts sunglasses which are upside-down on my face

yo

so i was actually pretty late in jumping in to do a scene for this episode. deadlines are spooky to me, so i got all my art for my scene done in an hour so i wouldn’t have to feel anxious about it xD

it’s been quite a while since i last drew in this art style too, what i like to call my stick figure style. sort of nostalgic, but my favorite part is how fast i can get doodles done in it. saved the one speck of color for the flutter of Not!Summer’s cape to really draw the eye and make it pop. twas fun.

speaking of summer.... here’s the redesign we came up with her!

gotta give props to alterbluelady, @themixedcoffee​ ,  jayjaybase, and even my own fiance for all the help putting Summer’s redesign together. Full offense but Summer’s canon design was just... so... minimal effort. Even more of a clone of Ruby than Raven is of Yang. Thus, we set out to make Summer actually look distinctive from her daughter, while of course still looking related to her. As part of redesigning Summer’s outfit, we also decided to come up with a weapon for Summer, using part of Ruby’s crescent rose and combining it with the original concept of Summer using a grenade rifle. But also a spear thingy. The mechanics of her gun was tricky to sort out, but very fun and rewarding! Part of the idea behind the grenades was for it to look like rose blossoms that Summer could throw out to the grimm. Elegance, motherhood, and badassery combined, that’s what we were aiming for with Summer’s redesign.

and yeah, that pretty much covers my art lecture for this episode. Thanks for reading, see you next time!