#and if you want my opinions on the best/most important arcs in clone wars. i got you

[intermundia]

what order is best for the books/movies of star wars? should i watch the movies first? is it needed to read all the books, not skipping any?

so here is my extremely biased personal opinion the order of priority for diving deep into star wars!!

important to note first: i'm not making this long list to be intimidating or prohibitive, but to show how far it's possible to dive in and some promising directions if you choose to do so. you do NOT have to read and watch everything, the movies are the most important part of star wars, everything else is footnotes to them and of lesser importance!

the movies first (originals, prequels, clone wars, rogue one, solo and sequels after if you want)

the tv shows (2008 clone wars, rebels, kenobi show, andor, 2003 clone wars, other disney+ shows like the mandalorian)

revenge of the sith novelization my beloved

some comics (esp. the marvel darth vader comics (2015, 2017, 2020), star wars (2015 and 2020), obi-wan and anakin, dark horse star wars: republic (jabiim arc esp), star wars from the journals of obi-wan kenobi, age of republic heroes and villains, dr aphra)

more favorite novels: darth plagueis, rogue planet, master and apprentice, thrawn trilogies, shatterpoint, wild space, dark lord: rise of the sith, lords of the sith

the other movie novelizations

the YA jedi apprentice and jedi quest series, the rise and fall of darth vader, the life and legend of obi-wan kenobi

other books like kenobi, padawan, dark disciple, approaching storm, ahsoka, brotherhood, the audio drama dooku: jedi lost, tarkin, clone wars gambit, etc.

the shakespeare versions of the movies, the odyssey of star wars

then nonfiction books like the star wars archives if you can get them, the essential reader's guide (very helpful), propaganda, essential guide to warfare, etc.

fans of the original trilogy, the sequel trilogy, and the high republic, the video games.. they will all have different lists, but those are my favorites. and again to stress: the movies (and tv shows to a lesser extent) are the only ones that set up the knowledge base and larger story structure, and the comics and novels play around in that space! have fun and go nuts (i certainly have lol)

[backhurtyy]

I have not watched any space battles in the past like 2 days but I will continue it tomorrow and I hope my billion asks of nonsense went through, esp the one about Anakin being space fantasy Jesus?? I only have 4 left. I also wanted to ask what I should watch after the movies, since Obi the show is happening rn I wanna watch that to know what’s going on but idk if I’ll be confused. Rogue one and madalorian are on my list cause they’re popular, if there’s anything else that’s good or important lmk I know people like clone wars so it’s on my list too, if you have an order preference or something to add or anything lmk. However today I did go to a pride bowling thing to meet and talk to other trans people and while I didn’t do that, I did talk to some older lesbians who were really nice and I SAW other trans people and esp older gay and trans people which is. A blessing honestly. Anytime I see an older gay or trans person i want to hug them and cry. It was a lot of fun, we all sucked at bowling but it was awesome 😌 - 🤍

hihihi sorry i did get your other asks, i’ve just been eaten by work so i haven’t gotten around to answering them but i will after this one!!! also thank you for asking me what you should watch next. here is Nellie’s Complete Guide to the Best Star Wars Experience (under the cut because i can’t be succinct about star wars to save my life)

obi wan kenobi: you don’t need any context other than the prequels (episodes 1-3) to watch this. it is everything. they did my sad little desert hermit right and i am kissing deborah chow on the mouth.

the clone wars (animated show): okay so i have to say. watching the clone wars early on is actually HUGELY important because a lot of characters who are introduced in it are brought into other shows like the mandalorian and the book of boba fett and stuff, and if you haven’t watched it it’s a little confusing cause you’re like. well who tf are you??? when in clone wars they had a nineteen episode arc introducing them and stuff. that being said it is a lot to watch (seven seasons, lots of episodes…). but it’s seriously so good!!! like you get to see the individual things that led to anakins fall, ahsoka who is one of the best characters ever made, lots of obi wan angst, commander cody and captain rex and all the other clones who are just so wonderful and loveable, and just some really good stories. if you wanted you could also just start with some of the more important arcs (clone wars is set up in two to four episode arcs that act as sort of chapters in the larger book of the show if that makes sense) which i could give you a separate guide to lmao. but yeah tldr i recommend watching clone wars early on so that the star wars universe gets pulled together a little more.

star wars rebels (animated show): i can not emphasize my love for rebels more. in my honest opinion it is one of the best piecss of star wars media out there, and it is CRIMINALLY underrated. like yeah okay the animation style is a little weird but. the characters and their relationships more than make up for it. it’s about found family. it’s about love and compassion and hope. it’s about kanan and hera being the most loveable couple in the entire galaxy. it’s about zeb and ezra and sabine being siblings. it’s about rebellion and standing up for your home and learning to help others even when no one has helped you. just. it’s so good. i could go on for days. four seasons, twenty ish episodes in each, eleven out of ten stars from me.

rogue one: the best star wars movie ever made. i haven’t watched it in a long time but. good lord. it broke my heart in two and also patched it back together and kissed my forehead. i need to rewatch it desperately. you could really watch this at any point, you just need the context of the original trilogy.

the mandalorian: MY BELOVED. this is the show that really pulled me all the way into star wars a while back, because it’s just SO. GOOD. like din and grogu are everything and the story telling is so good and each episode just has such life to it and it’s just. it’s incredible (also pedro pascal is very hot as the mandalorian but that’s a separate conversation). quality wise it’s at the top of my list, but again i recommend watching it after at least some of clone wars, because i watched it before and didn’t understand some of what was happening. i’m rewatching it now after having watched most of star wars, and it makes a lot more sense lol.

the book of boba fett: confession i’ve only actually watched the first episode because i was waiting to watch it with my dad and we both got too busy, but the first episode slapped and also temeura morrison and ming na when are incredible so i know the rest of it should be good. the natural flow after finishing season two of the mandalorian is to watch book of boba fett, and i know from spoilers and stuff that it’ll make more sense with the clone wars and stuff beforehand.

here’s this guide to help w chronological order, though it doesn’t include tbobf (just slap it in after the mandalorian):

also that pride bowling sounds so fun!!!! i’m so glad it was fun and that you got that opportunity 💖💖💖 older gays make the community go round

[odekiisu]

Basic Guide to Clone Trooper Armour

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a hard time keeping the terms for various parts of clone armour straight in my mind. So, I decided to make this Guide To Armour, to make my life easier for those times I’m drawing or writing stuff and need to reference what this, that or the other piece is called, how it’s put on or taken off. (I’ve also tried to include/come up with some casual or slang terms for some parts because you cannot seriously expect these guys to use the Right Proper Terminology for everything all of the time.)

This is based on the Clone Wars cartoons, because that’s what I know best. Also, this is just the standard armour of regular troopers; if y’all want something about the possible additions/variations that you could have then lmk and I’ll see what I can put together I guess?

Note: a lot of this terminology is taken from medieval knights’ armour. Many terms are originally French; alternative names provided where possible. I did do a bit of research on medieval plate armour, which is the closest thing I can think of to clone armour, but I am by no means an expert so if you have any input or corrections feel free to @ me. Likewise, if you’ve cosplayed as a clone trooper or stormtrooper, I’d very much like to hear about your experience wearing this stuff, how it moves and how it might be similar or different to the “real thing” so to speak.

Figure 1: Clone trooper armour, front view. Kix got chosen for this because he’s a vain little bastard and loves to be painted. (ETA: this diagram now comes with a second, funnier version.)

(long post under cut)

Figure 2: Back view of armour.

According to Wookieepedia: The armour is produced on Kamino and has UV spectrum markings visible to Kaminoans. It is made of plastoid-alloy composite, and the plates are attached to the bodysuit via magnatomic gription panels. In general, Phase II armour is lighter, stronger and more ergonomic than Phase I, which has been described as heavy and uncomfortable (Wookieepedia also says that it weighs ‘just under forty kilograms’ which sounds like way too much but eh, I’ll roll with it.)

Body glove/bodysuit – the stuff worn under the armour. Provides thermoregulation, some level of protection from things like blasterfire, vacuum, etc. AKA: blacks.

Helmet – The Bucket. Stuffed full of various tech: tracking device, display screen, comlink… Phase I helmets also have life support capabilities, while Phase II helmets do not, requiring an external oxygen supply*. Helmet crest contains comlink antenna. AKA: bucket, I think Rex once called them sun-bonnets, etc… this is the piece likely to have the most slang terms associated with it. Go wild.

* this is according to Wookieepedia; I’m a bit sceptical but I haven’t yet seen the episode it refers to. I headcanon that Phase II is capable of limited life support for emergency situations, but extended missions require external respirators.

Cuirass – there is some conflicting information on whether this refers to just the front chest armour or both front and back. If both, it consists of breastplate and backplate, joined at the sides and shoulders. Shoulder connections appear to be different for Phase I and Phase II: Phase I has a separate piece covering the shoulder seam, implying that it can be opened, whereas Phase II looks like it has an integrated flexible band; it may or may not be possible to disconnect. Either way, the front and back pieces must be able to separate in order to get the whole thing on.

Plackart – belly piece, wraps around the back to protect kidneys as well. Probably flexible to some extent, has been seen to slide down under belt, as demonstrated by Jesse in Figure 3. Might also have to have at least one open-able seam in it in order for troopers to get into it efficiently.

Figure 3: I have no idea how the lower edge of this isn’t stabbing him in the crotch, but *shrug*.

Spaulder/shoulder bell – also known as pauldrons irl, but that term refers to a different item this context (the pauldrons that commanders, captains and ARC troopers wear), so I feel like it might be better to differentiate between them with different terms to avoid confusion. That’s just my opinion though, you feel free to do as you wish.

Rerebrace – bicep plate. Phase I has cutouts in the back to fit pointy elbows (see below); Phase II does not.

Couter – elbow plate. Pointy elbows in Phase I, unpointy elbows in Phase II, as shown on Figure 4. In Phase I appear to be attached to vambraces in the animated version, Phase II is more mobile. I admit, I’m not a huge fan of this word, I kinda prefer elbow plates.

Figure 4: Phase I and II elbows. Am I getting way too into this that it’s gotten to the point of studying clone elbows? *shrug* who knows.

Vambrace – forearm armour. Has wrist-mounted comlink (see below).

Gauntlet plate – covers back of hand. The 212th absolutely calls these “droid-punchers”, no you cannot convince me otherwise. I think I’ve seen fanon that some troopers sharpen the front edge of this plate to do more damage when punching. Decide for yourself if plastoid alloy would do more damage to the metal of a droid’s chassis if sharpened or unsharpened (and therefore sturdier).

Codpiece/crotch plate – covers the front hip and crotch area. Possible slang term, courtesy of @mockingjay34​: cockblock

Skidplate – covers butt and back hip. A lot of troopers probably just call this piece their shebs, and once again you cannot convince me otherwise. Note that in the clone wars cartoon, Phase I armour is triangular in the back and has a sort of erm… diaper shape, in that the codpiece and skidplate are connected in the crotch (I cannot imagine that being comfortable in any situation, but then again, I have Thicc™ Thighs. Do clones have thigh gaps? Also, I would not want to get pinched by the armour joint between crotch and thigh plates).

Figure 5: Sniper Butts! (Featuring Echo and Fives in quite possibly the only comfortable position in this armour.)

In Phase II the crotch and butt pieces are separated, which sounds a lot more sensible, as well as having better butt coverage – think cheeky panties vs full briefs.

Figure 6: Hardcase kindly demonstrating the new crotch plate alongside some significant gaps in his armour… please get yourself some bigger shoulder bells my dude!

I’d imagine that, given the amount of time these guys spend fully armoured, there should be some way of conveniently opening some of this up or removing individual plates for practical reasons (and if any particular trooper wanted to use this feature for… other things, well, that’s their own business).

Cuisse/Thigh plate – covers thighs. Phase I and II have different shapes in the back to account for skidplate shape, with Phase II having significantly less coverage in the upper thigh/butt area, but I guess better range of motion.

Figure 7: Troopers Hardcase and Dogma demonstrating the Butt Cutouts, or Buttouts.

Poleyn/knee plate/knee pad – important for maintaining kneecap integrity. Like elbow plates, appears to be integrated into greaves in Phase I, but moving freely in Phase II.

Greaves – cover shins, nothing fancy.

Boots – boots. Do not appear to be armoured, are soft enough to bend your toes for walking/kneeling/whatever you need bendy toes for.

Belt pouches/boxes/compartments – A place to keep your stuff when out & about. I’m assuming this is a Pocket Substitute. Clones deserve pockets too!

Comlink – Generally four large square buttons and one smaller one (live action has more buttons). They also have comlinks in their helmets. Wookieepedia mentioned that they used wrist comms in the show so that the audience could clearly see when characters were talking to each other. Possibly used for long-range communication, whereas the ones in the buckets could be for shorter range?

Life support/those box things on their back – I have no idea what they’re actually called but these also have different designs for Phase I and II. On stormtroopers they contain a power pack and a small oxygen supply, and I guess it’s reasonable to assume that they have the same life support function for clone troopers. Also read somewhere that they have comlink scanner for long-range communication?

Thermal detonator – why would they all have bombs on their back? Seems unsafe. Also I don’t think I’ve ever seen one used? Idk. These things confuse me.

[yuiyuuji]

My (i guess not) final thoughts on... Foundation

(i know no one will give a fuck about my opinion or will read this but i need to get this out of my system) Boy oh boy. Where do I even start? Never have I watched a show where one half is a masterpiece and the other half is ugly, boring, so predictable and made me furious. I have a history with our dear David S. Goyer. He often has great ideas, great visions but sometimes, more often than not, he is simply not capable in bringing those ideas into being. That is the opinion I have; you don’t have to think the same as I do. Don’t attack me for that. Thank you. The building of the Foundation / Terminus / Revenge and all that boring stuff. Anyways. One of the greatest flaws lies in the most important part. The whole building of the foundation. I am so thankful they had Jared Harris in this story. My heart broke every time when he came back, and they took him away from me again. The problem is that none of the other characters are able to carry the story, to make it interesting. They are dull, boring, predictable, and badly written. Very badly written. And with this, the actors are also bad. A good actor can only work with what he gets but, in my opinion, none of the actors who play a big part in the Foundation / Terminus / revenge arc are any good. Except Dr. Seldon / Jared Harris and they take him away from us. There is not one single character I could built a connection with. Their motives are stereotypical. All the characters are stereotypes. They were seen hundreds of times before. Apart from the bad acting, the story was predictable and boring. The visuals were ugly and more than once I just wanted to skip ahead and not waste my time on this crap anymore. Also. The end with Gaal and Sal? I am so sorry, but this was the most obvious part for me? I am surprised they even made a secret out of it. It made me so furious. Okay, enough of my rambling. Can I say anything good about any of this? No. I can’t. And I am sorry, but it needs to be said: ALL OF THE WOMEN ARE SO UNLIKABLE. Gaal, Sal, Phara, all the others we come across in the parts mentioned above make sick and I despise them. The whole thing with Brother Dawn. Here we start with my conflicted feelings. Although I understand the relevance of what happened with Dawn, I couldn’t care less. I didn’t like him and Azura war terrible. The whole story also suffered from bad writing and poor acting. They made a better job than the ones in the arcs mentioned above but it was just not good enough. Azura and Dawn as characters were unlikable in my eyes. Apart from that, fact is that the story was way too long to get us to the big twist and the plot point in all of this, their story was just like a stupid young adult romance book / story, and I despised it. It was cheasy, cheap and terribly executed. I didn’t feel sorry for Dawn or for Azura. I just hope we will never see that character ever again.

The Cleon arc and Empire. Now give me that good stuff. I don’t think I need to establish why I think that the whole drama with the genetic dynasty, the clones and my dear Brother Day is the best thing the show has to offer. Apart from the acting, the story, and the conflict within it is perfect. Lee Pace is the perfect actor to play Day, I instantly fell in love with him. He is the only character which went through the process of character development. Real development. The only one who was confronted with existential questions and fears. And it is brilliantly executed. All the actors within the Cleon arc are fantastic. Believable. There were moments where they would take away my breath because of how wonderful the acting was. Apart from the fact that the story is interesting, it’s the wonderful acting from all the people who are involved that make this are shine. It feels like all the love from the creators went into the whole Cleon / Empire stuff. I have nothing bad to say about any of it. Only praise. I wouldn’t mind a whole show only about Cleon / the Brothers. Would me more interesting than the other things going on in Foundation.

Other Stuff and a few personal things. So to get this straight out of the way. I like Demerzel but I am certain she is the one who messed up the DNA for the other clones and I guess Day should get rid of her and maybe that is what will happen (: I also think the reason why she killed Dawn was in part because Day made her kill Zephyr Halima. So what made me love Day so much? Apart from the fact that I adore Lee Pace with all my heart … it’s the questions and fears he is confronted with and how he deals with it. Or is unable to deal with it. He fears the change. He discovered that he is nothing more than a soulless vessel. Less than a robot. What is he of not human? Only the echo of a man long gone. Only ideas. Only his will unable to be different, to make his own choices. Or is he in the end able to chance the Empire? I think the fact that they are all corrupted could be a massive chance. To make things better. So built a legacy for himself. To be the first out of so many. Somehow it feels deeply personal form me. Aren’t we all questioning ourselves what footprint we will leave when we are gone? How will people think and talk about us? What legacy we will leave behind? What does it matter? Do we matter or are we only an echo ourselves, unable to chance anything? Destined to wither away, to be forgotten? Day didn’t have any vision in the mother’s womb. Does it affect him? Certainly. But how will it chance him? Will he accept the possibility of chance and overcome his fear, or will he fight against it and go down with the Empire? I could go on and on for hours. All of this is great stuff for discussion so if you wanna talk about it, I am all here for you. For now, I will bring this to an end. I hope they will chance a few things for season two. I hope they will listen to the fans. And I hope they will make it better. Because, as I said in the post before, I want them to make it better.

And let’s be honest, we need more Lee in it. Way. More. Lee. I won’t bother you any further. Have an amazing day. Take care of yourself. Stay safe. Thank you for reading.

  Yours truly

[newdougsblog]

The Tragic Hero Full of Fear

Hello everyone! Before I get into this, I’d like to thank @jasontoddiefor​ for both the name and being the main enabler of this fun piece of writing. I also want to thank all my wonderful friends over on Discord for letting me bounce ideas off of them and helping me. You are all amazing!!

Ok, so let’s get into it!

The first six Star Wars movies (the Original and Prequel trilogies) are commonly referred to as “the Tragedy of Darth Vader.”  But what makes these movies a tragedy? How is Anakin Skywalker himself, the main character of said tragedy, a tragic hero? In this meta/essay, I will discuss how Anakin himself is definitionally a tragic hero and outline his story as it relates to the structure of a classic Greek tragedy.  

This essay will focus solely on Anakin’s character as he is canonically portrayed.

The Hero

Let’s go through the main traits of a tragic hero (as per early literature) and discuss them in the context of Anakin Skywalker.

Possesses immense courage and strength and is usually favored by the gods

Anakin’s courage is evident throughout his entire life, such as when he participates in the pod race in TPM or on the front lines during the Clone Wars. 

While we cannot definitively ascribe Anakin’s abilities to any deity, we can associate them with the Force. The Force is able to somewhat influence the happenings of the universe in certain ways and takes the place of any sort of deity.

Whether Anakin is the “Chosen One” or not, his connection to the Force is stronger than that of any other Force-sensitive being, so he is consequently closer to it than most, if not all, other Force-sensitive beings. 

Extreme loyalty to family and country 

Anakin is consistent in his demonstrations of loyalty to those he has strong feelings for (whether those feelings be romantic or platonic).

His devotion to Padmé surpasses his loyalty to the Jedi, and he is always willing to go to great lengths to ensure their safety and well-being.

Anakin also exhibits a strong sense of devotion to his mother, Shmi. His devotion to her, and by extension her wellbeing, surpasses his duties as Jedi. 

In ROTS, Anakin says, “I will not betray the Republic… my loyalties lie with the Chancellor and with the Senate… and with you” (you, in this case, referring to Padmé). In this quotation, Anakin’s loyalties are made quite clear. At this point, he is not faithful to the Jedi, but to his government, its leaders, and, of course, his wife.

Representative of society’s current values

During the Clone Wars, Anakin is known by the moniker, “the Hero with No Fear,” and is one of the Republic’s “poster boys.” He is charismatic, kind, seemingly fearless (obviously) and a strong fighter, thus representing the values that were important to the Republic at the time. The last characteristic is especially important because of the assurance it instills in times of war. As a representation of the Republic, Anakin’s prowess on the battlefield creates hope for its citizens that victory is possible. 

Anakin also empathizes with the opinion that the seemingly outdated Jedi Code holds them back. In the Citadel Arc, Tarkin remarks that “the Jedi Code prevents [the Jedi] from going far enough to achieve victory.” Anakin actually agrees with this statement, replying that “[he’s] also found that [the Jedi] sometimes fall short of victory because of [their] methods” (Season 3, Episode 19). He shows a sense of allegiance not to the ancient ways of the Jedi, but to the newer, more modern ideals regarding military action. 

Anakin claims to have brought “peace, justice, freedom, and security” to his “new Empire.” While the Empire's interpretations of the aforementioned values are skewed, Anakin continues to represent them as Darth Vader. 

Anakin’s statement to Obi-Wan also mirrors Palpatine’s declaration to the Senate: “In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years.” The people applaud this statement, demonstrating a general sense of exhaustion in regards to the war and a yearning for what this new Empire is promising them.

Lead astray/challenged by strong feelings

Though there are many, many examples of Anakin’s emotions getting the better of him, we’re simply going to list two:

Anakin’s fury and anguish after the death of his mom leads to his slaughter of the Tuskens

Anakin’s overwhelming fear of losing Padmé is ultimately what leads to his Fall.

Every tragic hero possesses what is called a hamartia, or a fatal flaw. This trait largely contributes to the hero’s catastrophic downfall. Anakin’s hamartia is his need for control, which partially manifests through his fear of loss. 

Let’s explore this idea in more detail. 

Though Anakin grows up as a slave, the movies neglect to explicitly cover the trauma left from his time in slavery. However, it is worth noting that slaves did not have the ability to make many choices for themselves; they didn’t even own their bodies. After being freed, Anakin is whisked away to become a Jedi. He does not possess much control over his life as Jedi, for he is simply told what path he is going to take. While Anakin does make this decision on his own, becoming a Jedi is a disciplined and somewhat-strict way of life and not one that allows for an abundance of reckless autonomy as he is wont to engage in. 

(Side note: I’m not here to argue about Qui-Gon’s decision-making abilities, nor do I wish to engage in discourse regarding the Jedi’s way of life. I am simply presenting and objectively stating these facts in relation to Anakin because they are pertinent to my point.) 

During AOTC, Anakin is unable to save his mother from death. As Shmi dies in his arms, Anakin is absolutely helpless. The situation is completely out of his control, and he is forced to contend with the reality that despite all of his power, he cannot control everything that happens. 

He also feels that he has a larger potential for power and is being held back by Obi-Wan: “although I'm a Padawan learner, in some ways... a lot of ways... I'm ahead of him. I'm ready for the trials. I know I am! He knows it too. He believes I'm too unpredictable… I know I started my training late... but he won't let me move on.” Anakin believes Obi-Wan, his teacher and mentor, is holding him back. He expresses a self-held conviction of his status and skills and does not trust the word of his superior. 

In ROTS, Anakin starts dreaming of Padmé’s death. Considering what occurred the last time he dreamt of a loved one’s demise, Anakin is justifiably (or at least justifiably from his point of view) worried. He consequently wants to stop these dreams from coming true in any way possible. His fear of death, especially that of his loved ones, represents his need for control over everything, even things that are uncontrollable. This overwhelming desire leads to Anakin’s drastic actions.

As Darth Vader, he no longer possesses such fears, for everyone that he loved is either dead or has betrayed him. He is the epitome of order and control, eliminating any who disturb this perceived equilibrium. 

However, this changes because of one person: Luke Skywalker. 

Luke reintroduces something that was (arguably) long-absent in Vader’s life, which is interpersonal attachment. Vader yearns for his son to join him by his side. When Luke refuses, Vader continues to attempt to seek him out. In ROTJ, Vader is forced to choose between the Emperor, a man he has long trusted and followed, and Luke, the son he never knew he had. Out of a desire to protect and keep what little family he has left (and likely a sense of “I couldn’t save Padmé but at least I can save her legacy by keeping her child(ren) alive and safe”), Vader defeats the Emperor and saves his son. Though his actions are definitionally heroic, Anakin never truly overcomes his hamartia. 

The Structure of a Tragedy

Classic Greek tragedies follow a specific story structure, which, according to the German playwright Gustav Freytag, is as follows:

We’re going to focus on the three aspects that best represent Anakin’s story as a tragedy: The peripeteia, the anagnorisis, and the catastrophe/denouement. These occur during and/or after the climax. 

The peripeteia is the climax/the turning point in the plot. Said change usually involves the protagonist's good luck and prosperity taking a turn for the worse. 

Within the tragedy we are discussing, the peripeteia occurs when Anakin chooses Sidious over Mace Windu and solidifies his allegiance to the Dark side, becoming the very thing he swore to destroy. It is at this point that things really start to go downhill. He kills children, chokes his wife, fights his best friend, gets his remaining limbs cut off, etc. 

The anagnorisis is the point in the tragedy when the protagonist recognizes their error, seeing the true nature of that which they were previously ignorant of, usually regarding their circumstances or a specific relationship (such as Oedipus’ realization that his wife was actually his mother). In most tragedies, the anagnorisis is in close proximity to the peripeteia. In Anakin’s story, the anagnorisis occurs during ROTJ. After being wounded in his fight against Luke, Vader watches as his son is brutally electrocuted by Sidious. It is at this moment that Darth Vader realizes that Luke was right—there is good in him, and he still has the chance to redeem himself. 

The catastrophe/denouement (since this is a tragedy, we’re going to go with “catastrophe”) is the end of the tragedy. Events and conflicts are resolved and brought to a close, and a new sort of “normality” is established. The catastrophe often provides a sense of catharsis (release of tension) for the viewer. The protagonist is worse off than they were at the beginning of the tragedy. 

The catastrophe within “The Tragedy of Darth Vader” transpires soon after the anagnorisis at the end of ROTJ. Though the realization of his capacity for good is the anagnorisis, the follow-through (via his actions), as well as what consequently occurs, is the catastrophe. As previously discussed, Vader saves Luke by killing the Emperor but does so at the cost of his own life. This serves as the resolution of the tragedy, for the hero’s fate has been confirmed—Darth Vader fulfills his destined role as the Chosen One and, in doing so, brings about his own redemption and dies as Anakin Skywalker.

In conclusion, the categorization of Star Wars as a tragedy is a choice that heavily influences Anakin, the protagonist and hero, of the story. He is without a doubt a tragic hero whose fatal flaw leads to his downfall. In accordance with Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, Anakin’s tragedy is constructed not by personal agency, but by the narrative itself.

Works Cited

“Darth Vader.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darth_Vader.

“Dramatic Structure.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structure.

“Hero.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 19 Oct. 2016, www.britannica.com/art/hero-literary-and-cultural-figure.

Lucas, George, director. Star Wars: Episode III— Revenge of the Sith. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2005.

Lucas, George, director. Star Wars: Episode II— Attack of the Clones. Lucasfilm Ltd. , 2002.

Michnovetz, Matt. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars, ‘Counterattack.’” Season 3, episode 19, 4 Mar. 2011.

“Sophocles: the Purest Artist.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/art/tragedy-literature/Sophocles-the-purest-artist.

“Theory of Tragedy.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/art/tragedy-literature/Theory-of-tragedy.

“Tragic Hero.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/tragic-hero. 

[gffa]

Unpopular Opinion: The Deception arc is the most pointless arc in The Clone Wars. Everything it did for the greater story, later arcs did and did better and the fact that they have already caught the mastermind behind the kidnapping before the arc begins and even have to break him out to get the plot going says it all. And The Box is the most pointless episode in the whole show.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree If nothing else, we got a whole lot of scenes of Obi-Wan being Extremely Competent and I am a simple gremlin making my way in Star Wars, I see Obi-Wan being badass, I lose my mind. To be fair, Moralo Eval isn’t actually the mastermind behind the plot and if he hadn’t been broken out, the true mastermind would have found someone else to do it or else found a way to break Eval out while the Jedi weren’t embedded in the operation. I can see the point of it--the show wanted to fray Anakin’s trust in the Jedi Order through this mission and I think it actually is a great illustration of how the plan wasn’t terribly kind, but it was also important, there were lives on the line, as far as they knew.  It feeds into Anakin’s difficulty in letting go of things, that sometimes he starts from a reasonable place, but because his fears and his anger have bitten into his heart, he can’t see past his own anger, he places people being loyal to him no matter what above everything else, he can’t let go even though it’s justifiable to be angry in the first place. Is that evidenced elsewhere?  Sure, but I like that it’s not just one bad day Anakin has, that one of the things that really works best about TCW is that you get to see how long and grueling and exhausting the war actually is, how many shitty situations with no good choices there are, and it’s not just one thing that Anakin can’t let go of, it’s a multitude. It’s not my favorite arc, but I think it has a solid place in the story and I think it gains an interesting level of chess when you take word of god commentary into account that Dooku knew there was going to be a Jedi involved, that they’d infiltrate his operation, so he was using The Box as a way to try to expose them. Some of the implications doesn’t really work, like what the actual fuck is with that hologram technology, what the fuck isn’t that used more often, if you can look like specific people??  So I do think they just threw that in for Rule of Cool and you can’t take it seriously, showing that they were writing Because Plot Demanded It, rather than that it made sense, but there’s enough good stuff in that arc that overall, I think it has its purpose.

[koskareevesismyqueen]

Echo’s Girl, Part I

Pairing: Echo x f!reader

Description: Becoming clone trooper Echo’s girl

AO3 link here

Link to the optional explicit part coming soon

Rating: teen

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: none

Author’s note: This is more of a set up chapter for reader and Echo’s relationship. I will be posting an optional chapter for 18+ audiences in the next couple of days (please please please only engage if you are over 18 and prepared to read NSFW content). There will be 4 parts and we’ll see Echo next as an ARC Trooper! I hope you enjoy this part – if you do please consider reblogging it to share it with other people.

Part I – Clone Trooper

Your first fieldwork assignment. You were nervous, so kriffing nervous. You knew exactly what you had to do but somehow, being dropped off at the Grand Army of the Republic’s barracks, surrounded by soldiers and weapons and war ships made it all the more terrifying. You weren’t quite sure if you were built to be here. No, you knew you weren’t built to be here. You were a scientist and that’s where you were comfortable, in a lab or in the field conducting research. But with the Republic’s funding your best option was getting transport via the GAR, so here you were. You make your way off the taxi speeder, nervously playing with the straps on your bag as a soldier jogs his way towards you. You gulp. This was getting scarier and scarier by the second. How were you supposed to last on a warship for a week?

“Doctor?” He asks as he steps toward you.

“Uh, not yet but yes,” you say and his brow furrows in confusion, but he holds his hand out to take your bag anyway.

“Captain Rex,” he says with a shy smile, “I’ll take you to meet the rest of the boys. We’ll all be around for the next week until you’ve left us for your mission, so it’ll be good for you to have a few friendly faces.”

You nod and follow along, trailing behind him like a lost puppy, completely and utterly out of your depth but trying hard to stay afloat. He takes you over to a group of soldiers who are milling about, clearly enjoying a few moments of peace.

“Men, I’d like to introduce you to our guest. She’ll be staying with us for the next week until we drop her off for her mission. She’s no soldier so if anyone wants to accompany her, show her around so she can get used to being here…”

One of the soldiers steps forward, white armour with the signature blue decals that match the rest of the men, then his own unique handprint that adorns his chest. He reaches up and takes his helmet off and in that moment your heart stops. Yeah, every single man here looks exactly the same. But there’s something about him. You take a deep breath and smile as all the other men and Rex melt away. You hold out your hand to introduce yourself and he smiles sweetly in return.

“I’m Echo. We’ll load up onto the ship, get your stuff in your room and then once we’re in hyperspace I’ll give you the grand tour.” You follow him, suddenly feeling a little less lost and like you’ve found a little piece of home.

♡

You relax a little more once the ship has lurched into hyperspace. You’re no stranger to space travel but it still makes you feel a little queasy each time. Now you’re comfortably travelling and Echo’s grand tour has started you feel like you can semi settle for the next week at least. If you had to live this life for much longer you don’t think you’d cope, but it’s okay for now. Echo shows you the important spots like medical areas, the canteen, and transports. He even takes the time to show you a few quieter spots where you can get a little peace and quiet if you need it. For a few moments you stand in each spot drinking in the silence and the shades of blue that hyperspace creates, thinking about how peaceful the silence is with Echo. At one point, you tilt your gaze to look up at him and the way the blue falls over his features. He moves his gaze to meet yours and for a moment you stop breathing, worried your little crush was coming on too strong. But he just smiles that sweet, warm smile and gently takes your hand to pull you towards your next destination. He lets go of it as soon as you’re heading the right way, but you feel the lingering sensation of his touch on your palm and will him to hold your hand again.

Kriff, you think to yourself, suddenly disgusted that you weren’t acting like a lost puppy but a love sick one, you’d only been away from normal human contact for a few hours and you were already acting like this?

“That’s pretty much everything. We don’t have much to do during travel time apart from prepping for the next mission and we generally have to stay out of the cafeteria unless it’s our designated time to eat, but I guess I could chat with the service droids and see if you get special exemptions?”

“Yeah, that would be great. I need caf to keep me fuelled while I keep sorting through literature,” you say with a small chuckle as you hold up the data pad.

“So, what’s your research about?” Echo asks as you head back towards the cafeteria.

“I’m monitoring purrgil movements. We know…not a lot about them and now with the war on and more ship movement we need to predict their movements to ensure safety. I’m trying to better understand them, breeding patterns and movements so we can avoid them during ship movements.”

“Oh, so, I guess you’re working to protect the clones in a roundabout way?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’ve never thought about it that way before. I just think of it that I’m protecting the purrgils too. Most people just think of them as a nuisance but they’re beautiful creatures which have been massively looked down upon. It’s sad, and I hope my work can change people’s opinions.”

You walk into the cafeteria and the white walls are a stark contrast to the grey of the rest of the ship.

“Wait here,” Echo says, motioning to an empty table, “I’ll go and chat to the droid.” Echo jogs off and you can’t help but admire him for a second before turning your attention to your data pad. You flick through your schedule, moving around what work you had planned for when to make your schedule for the next week a little more…hyperspace doable. The soft sound of two plastic mugs clinking off the table pulls your attention away from your work and instead to Echo’s warm smile.

“Droid says you can come in whenever. Even gave us hot cocoa now to seal the deal,” he smiles triumphantly as your eyes light up.

You take the mug in your hands, cradling it as you allow the heat to rise through you, then take a deep sip. It’s the kind of rubbish hot cocoa you had on camping trips when you were younger. It’s good.

“Mmmmmm,” you say between sips, “this is amazing. If I ever need something doing while I’m here, I’m coming to you Echo. Your negotiation skills are supreme.”

He lets out a soft chuckle which fills you with a warmth that the hot cocoa never could, and the two of you launch into easy conversation. You tell Echo more about your research and how you got into it, your life on Coruscant and everything that goes with it. He tells you about life as a clone trooper, growing up on Kamino and his brothers. The time passes fast and your schedule for starting up on work goes through the window but you don’t mind at all.

“Hey, Echo,” another clone trooper says as he jogs up to your table. He’s similar looking to Echo of course, but with a tattoo of the number 5 on his temple and facial hair on his chin. You briefly remember seeing him near Echo at the start of the day, although you can’t remember who Rex introduced him as, and assume the two are close.

“Hey, ner vod,” he quickly introduces his brother as Fives.

“We’re going to the onboard 79s tonight,” Fives turns his gaze to you, “you’re welcome to come, save you from being bored to death by this one all night,” he punches Echo in the process, and Echo glowers back at him.

“Yeah, sounds good. Any excuse to get away from doing work anyway.” Not that you had managed to do more than rearrange your schedule so far, which had been pointless anyway as you had ended up spending all afternoon with Echo instead.

“Okay, well we were going to head down in a couple of hours so I’ll see you then. Echo, we’re going to do some training to kill time. You in?”

Echo looks at you uncertainly.

“It’s fine, I should probably get a little work in and take a shower first anyway.”

“Can you remember where you’re going?”

“Yeah, roughly. I’ll find my way.”

“Okay, well as long as you’re still not wondering around the ship lost I’ll come grab you at 1900.”

You watch Echo go with Fives, a small smile creeping across your lips and a giddy feeling searing through your veins.

♡

You’re on fieldwork, you didn’t exactly plan to bring any nice clothes. You have a couple of pairs of leggings which at least flatter your figure and a couple of cropped vest tops that you usually sleep in. When you pair them together you don’t exactly look party ready, but you decide that you look good enough for whatever an onboard bar is like for clone troopers. You pull your hair out of its braids and put on the very small amount of makeup you packed. You decide, all in all you look good. But the nerves are eating you alive right now. Partly at not wanting to make a fool of yourself, but also the fear that you were maybe misreading Echo and making a fool of yourself that way. You shake your head to clear the negative thoughts, then jump at the knock on your door.

You step out and Echo is waiting for you, playing with his gloves and you hope, for a brief second, that he feels as nervous as you.

“You look amazing,” he says, his voice wobbling slightly. He had to be nervous, had to be.

You smile back, “so, this onboard bar?”

“Oh, it’s not much,” he says with a small laugh, “just a corner that was quiet enough for us to find a new use for it. We thought it’d get shut down, but I guess they decided a little down time was good for us.”

And he’s right. When you arrived at the ‘bar’ it’s not a lot at all. A dark space strung with whatever artificial lights had been found around, upturned boxes and storage containers. The bar itself was only obvious because of the sheer number of troopers milled around it. You suddenly feel a little self-conscious, the only female there, and almost as if he can sense it Echo protectively wraps his arm around you. The attention of the gazes pinning you immediately shift and you feel instantly better. Granted, it shouldn’t take a man’s protection to make you feel safe but with Echo it felt too good to deny. He guides you over to the makeshift table where Fives and a few of the other guys from this morning are sat.

“So, how did you manage to put up with this one all day?”

You let out a soft chuckle, “I grew up with 5 sisters, believe me I can put up with a lot.” But you lean back a little and give Echo a soft nudge, resulting in him giving you an affectionate smile. The night goes on and it’s incredibly easy with the boys, especially with Echo guiding you through in moments where you feel unsure. It’s obvious how close they all are, especially Echo and Fives who you now know grew up together. Rex makes a brief appearance although you get the impression that it’s more to keep up appearances and morale than actually wanting to be there. You can’t help but feel that he’s a little preoccupied, although you can’t blame him either.

You’re there for a few hours before you decide to call it a night. After all, you do have work to do at some point and you had spent a whole day away from it. Not wasted, because spending the day with Echo had been fun. But it was still time away from work that you couldn’t afford in the long run.

You turn to Echo, gently squeezing his arm to get his attention.

“You okay?” He asks, the liquid courage clearly showing as he takes your hand and rubs his thumb over your knuckles.

“Yeah, I was thinking of heading off soon. I have a bunch of work to catch up on tomorrow so I should probably wake up early.”

“Sure, I’ll walk you back.”

“Oh, it’s fine Echo. You stay here, I can find my way back.”

But he’s clearly made his mind up because he links in fingers in yours as he stands up, so you follow.

“Bye guys, it was nice getting to know you all tonight!” You call out as they say they’re goodbyes (and a few whistles in reaction to your’s and Echo’s entwined fingers).

You walk in peaceful silence back to your room, although you can tell that Echo is gearing up to say something. You stop when you reach you door, gently squeezing Echo’s fingers as an almost goodbye. But instead, he takes your other hand in his so the two of you are facing each other.

“I, uh. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed spending time with you today. It’s nice to have a break away from the guys sometimes. And, I really like, uh, you. Specifically.” You smile at Echo’s words, his nerves feeling you with the sweetest feeling. Knowing that he clearly won’t make the move himself, you pull your hands away from his and place them on his cheeks, pulling the two of you together and your lips to lock. For a second, he pauses, clearly a little taken back. But then he gently places his hands on your waist pulling you into him and you deepen the kiss, fireworks exploding through your veins with ecstasy. After a few moments you pull away, willing your legs to keep working and not turn to jelly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Echo,” you say before placing a final soft kiss on his cheek and escaping into your room.

♡♡♡♡♡

[sirikenobi12]

Ooh! For the character ask perhaps do Mace Windu?

Oh!! I could spend days talking about how much I admire and adore Master Windu!!

How I feel about this character:

Well, as anyone who has even glanced at my blog has realized that I am a bleeding-heart Jedi apologist (why do we have to "apologize" for the Jedi anyways?? Sorry, I'll save that for a different blog) and I am extremely pro Jedi Council and of course that means that I have respect for all the members, but Mace holds a special place in my heart.

Mace Windu has the 2nd most important role in the Jedi Order, he's tasked basically with the operations and safety of the entire Order - that's INSANE! I can't even manage my own life, yet he's is responsible for over 10,000 people (not to mention the clone army during the war)?? How this man even functions is beyond me.

Look, I get that from a lot of people's perspectives Mace is "mean" but I will bet dollars to doughnuts that these same people have issues with their Managers or Teachers or Principals or parents. There is a very fine line when you are in any type of leadership role, you can't always be the friend (even if you want to) and I think Mace handles this with such grace. He's stern when he needs to be and so very soft in other moments. You can legitimately see the care in his eyes for his fellow Jedi - I mean the death glare he gives Dooku all because Dooku has betrayed the Republic and was about to execute two Jedi...Mace wasn't having any of it.

He is a strong, intelligent, compassionate black man and we don't see enough of that in media. Not to mention he has a purple lightsaber and that's just about the coolest thing ever!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Um, I'm just not the biggest fan of just shipping people because they are there, if there is a story reason to ship characters I'm totally for it. I think Mace has FAR too much on his plate to even consider a romantic relationship...how would the man have the time??

But, a part of me feels like when they were younger Tahl, Qui-Gon and Mace might've had something together that crossed the friendship line from time to time. ;)

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Yoda. I love the amount of respect these two characters give one another. The weight that is on their shoulders is enormous and they rely on one another and help one another so often...I love them. These two are a team as much as Obi-Wan and Anakin are and I don't think they get enough credit.

That scene in AOTC where Anakin has killed the Tuskens and Mace shows up in Yod'a meditation chamber with tears in his eyes asking what the disturbance in the Force was is one of my absolute favorites - it just shows the level of compassion these two characters have.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

That Mace had Anakin's best interests at heart when he told him to stay in the Council Chambers.

I've heard people say that the Jedi only took Anakin into their ranks in order to "use him as a weapon" against the Sith, well if that were true wouldn't Mace have forced Anakin to come with them to arrest the Chancellor? Mace instead told Anakin "for your own good, stay out of this affair." He did it because he knew it would be devastating to Anakin, and that the young Knight was being tested by the darkside. He did this even though having the Chosen One as backup would've been the smarter move logically speaking.

Adjacent opinion: I also think he was right in not disclosing the Council's conversation to Ahsoka when she was no longer a member of the Order after the siege of Mandalore. No general, anywhere would be allowed to give military intel to a private citizen, he was just doing his job.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I would've liked to see in canon Mace's reaction to the slaughter on Geonosis - maybe in an episode of the Clone Wars where he and Obi-Wan talked about it. I feel like it would've been a huge character moment that would've helped humanize him more to a general audience (but you know, we needed a stupid droid arc...thanks Dave Filoni)

[penstrokes]

#SaveQuicksilver

Long post alert, I’ll put it under the cut so I don’t clog your feeds. Just some things I wanted to say. Not a criticism of the Wandavision finale. 

First off, I want to start by saying that I loved the Wandavision finale. It was equal parts sad and beautiful and true to both Wanda and Vision as characters. I cheered when Wanda became the Scarlet Witch and cried when she said goodbye to Vision and her children. It was an amazing ending to a wonderful show, in my opinion.

That being said, did I wish there was more Evan Peters? Of course I did. Of course I wanted him to be Peter Maximoff from the X-Men universe. Hell, I would even have been happy with him being Mephisto, because at least that means we would be seeing him again in the MCU. He stole every scene he was in and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little let down that he turned out to be...a nobody?

I’ve been hesitant to join the #SaveQuicksilver campaign until now because from what I’ve seen of the hashtag and the campaign, there is a lot of anger, towards Marvel, towards Kevin Feige, towards the creative team behind Wandavision and towards the finale. And this anger scares me. This is the same kind of anger and hatred that leads to stuff like Ahmed Best, the actor who voiced Jar Jar Binks, contemplating suicide, or certain Snyder Cut fans insinuating Disney caused Autumn's death and sending death threats to James Gunn (I want to be clear, most of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement is fantastic. They’ve raised over $500,000 for suicide prevention and I look forward to seeing Zach Snyder’s vision of the movie). Outrage, especially on social media, spreads like wildfire. Sometimes that's good, like for movements such as Black Lives Matter. But for other, less important stuff, like bringing Quicksilver back to life, this anger seems...misplaced. After all, he’s a fictional character, in a fictional world. 

Marvel is always looking for more ideas to make exciting stuff fans would like. It only took a couple viral tweets and a very enthusiastic fanbase to get the ball rolling on a JImmy Woo show, because we are all very excited and had a hundred ideas. Now, we can do that again. Rather than being angry with what we got, let’s get excited about what we could have. 

Cleary, Marvel wants to start afresh with their own version of the mutants and the X-Men, which, after Dark Phoenix, is understandable. And the MCU main universe’s Quicksilver is, as Agatha puts it, full of holes. But that doesn’t mean we are out of options. The great thing about the multiverse is that there are endless possibilities, and with shows like What If? it’s clear Marvel is willing to play around with storylines that don’t necessarily fit into the MCU proper. Also, since shows like Agents of SHIELD, Cloak and Dagger and Runaways don’t really seem to fit neatly into the MCU, they could be retconned to take place somewhere in the multiverse.  

So let’s all come up with a bunch of creative ways to bring Quicksilver, whichever version you want, back into the MCU. And maybe one of these ideas, like the Jimmy Woo X-Files, will get noticed by someone with connections and talent, and go somewhere. Superhero stories, whether in the comics, in TV or on the big screen, are supposed to inspire us to be the best version of ourselves. Some of you were disappointed by the Wandavision finale: that’s ok. But instead of getting mad, get inspired! Let’s use that energy and make something great.

Below is my (rough) idea for how we could bring some beloved characters back:

As the MCU begins to explore the multiverse, there are endless stories to be explored that probably won’t be big enough for a movie or even an entire TV series. Instead, I propose a Clone Wars styled TV show, with smaller arcs in each season, not necessarily all focused on the same cast of characters. For example, one arc can revisit the Agents of SHIELD characters, with Daisy moving into a leadership position for the inhumans. Another can be focused solely on exploring Peter Maximoff’s relationship with Magneto. One story could revisit Robbie Reyes’s Ghost Rider and another could feature Melinda May and Jimmy Woo teaming up on some mission.These stories can be smaller in scale and stake but more intimate and focused on character development. In addition, this allows Marvel to keep what they liked about previous iterations of the character and toss out storylines that they don’t like as much. Finally, the more intimate nature of these storylines would mean you don’t necessarily have to watch 7 seasons of SHIELD to know where the story is going, but also allow the fans who have followed these characters for years to revisit with their old friends. 

Reblog with your ideas!

[danger-xylophones]

In the Quiet Part 2 (Fives x reader)

{masterlist}

Warnings: Angst (because it’s Fives so of course), anxiety, my take on Post-War Fives, my methods for calming down from a panic attack, makeup, family talk, nudity (for like half a second), swearing

Notes: You don’t have to read part 1 to get this but I would appreciate it.

<- Previous

...................................................................

“Do we have to go?” It’s the fourth time he’s asked that damn question today. With an explosive sigh, you lower the eyeliner stylus you had raised to your eyelid till your hand taps against the counter. Sending a disgruntled grimace at your reflection, you answer the antsy man waiting impatiently outside the refresher. 

“Yes, Fives, we do.” You answer in a measured tone, you don’t mean to be snippy but the former ARC trooper has been testing your patience all day by seeking out ways to avoid attending the late night talk show appearance you’d scheduled months ago. In all fairness, he didn’t have to go - you’d been the one to promise an appearance still believing Fives to have passed on. It was something your lawyer, attorney, and pr manager had suggested you do in order to further normalize the integration of clones into society as citizens and decorated war vets. Who better to have do that than the lover of ARC Trooper Fives - the doctor that (with help) exposed the sinister plot unwittingly programmed into the clones in the wake of her lover’s presumed death? To be honest, you felt dirty doing this. It felt like you were treating the avoidance of a tragedy as a publicity stunt - and you weren’t the only one to think this if the raging articles and forums dedicated to slowing your progress down were any indication. Still, if this was the best way to showcase how human the men of the Grand Army of the Republic are then you would do what you had to. Besides, Chancellor Amidala couldn’t do it all by herself despite the backing of the Jedi and a handful of beloved senators. She needed the public on her side too. “I know you don’t like it but it’s the best thing we can do for you and your brothers right now.” 

The integration of the clones was slow going - an uphill struggle from the very start. But, around a year after Fives’s supposed demise on a day you thought would haunt you forever, Captain Rex strolled in with the one thing in the whole galaxy you’d ever longed for: Fives. Alive and looking relatively like himself again and standing in the entryway of your shared home with Kix and a medical droid from Kamino named AZ3. He’d faked his death, as he explained to you later that night, in order to ensure Palpatine lost suspicion of you and Rex, giving you and the captain enough time to discover the truth about the inhibitor chips for yourself. To hide he’d had to keep his hair short and a modified patch meant to mimic skin had been placed over his iconic ‘5′ tattoo to keep his identity obscured. But the worst thing of all (in your opinion) - he had to shave his goatee. From there, with the help of Kix, he’d been reintegrated into the GAR in the 104th as a shiny named Hydan. For months, he hid among the ranks of the 104th the only person aware of who he was being Kix until the day came where Sidious was discovered, the chips were deactivated, and Chancellor Amidala had been instated by a nearly unanimous vote. Only when it was deemed safe enough, did Kix contact Rex and explain what happened who then reunited you and Fives. 

Now, you were an hour and a half away from making your first public appearance as a couple. Fives’s hair wasn’t quite to the length you were familiar with nor was his goatee (it was about as faint as it was the first time you met him after the first battle for Kamino) but now his retouched tattoo shown proudly on the side of his head and the name Hydan had been cast aside. 

“I get that,” Fives huffed as he rounded the doorway and met your gaze in the mirror - a grumpy frown furrowing his brow and pulling his face down, “but I don’t understand why we have to go. I thought Rex did fine in his interview.” He huffed again and leaned heavily against the doorframe with crossed arms. Despite how annoying he was trying to be you couldn’t help but grin at him and rake your eyes over his reflection. Fives was dressed in a pristine, pressed white dress uniform with medals affixed to his breast that glinted in the bright light of the ‘fresher. The insignia for the 501st was pressed into the corner of his high collar on one side, on the other the sign for an ARC trooper. Decorating the shoulders of his uniform were golden pads meant to mimic the pauldrons worn by most ARC troopers. Finally, two golden stripes on either wrist to symbolically pay homage to every fallen soldier.

You snorted his statement, returning your attention to the mirror to finish up your neglected eye. “Babe, he was as stiff as a board and simultaneously more fidgety than a newly deployed shiny.” 

“He still got his point across didn’t he? All this,” he caught your attention by loosely gesturing to the uniform, “is pointless. I mean - don’t get me wrong, doll, you look beautiful but I’d prefer to have you all dressed up for a date not some dumb talk show in front of the whole galaxy.” You didn’t immediately acknowledge the compliment he tossed at you - your focus was too drawn to the sentiment he had just expressed. 

“Fives,” you sighed and turned away from the mirror to face the man, “what’s this really about?” Fives shifted on his feet suddenly uncomfortable under your concerned but scrutinizing gaze. There was a long pause where neither of you said anything and Fives couldn’t even meet your eyes. You were the first to make a move, stepping forward carefully till the man was witihin arms reach. “Fives,” you said again, reaching a hand out to rest on his forearm, “baby,” you ducked your head to meet his gaze, “talk to me.” 

He could never resist when you called him ‘baby’. It was one weakness Fives wasn’t even aware he had, the slightest chink in his armor that you always managed to find. And he knew that you knew what it did to him. With a nearly frustrated sigh both at the situation and at his inability to control what he was feeling, he tried to let you see what was going on in his head. “It’s just...” he began before trailing off. Why couldn’t he let you in? You were trying to be there for him and he was just...clamming up. Why? You were always so open with him. You didn’t shut him out - you never had. You’d always bared your soul to him whenever he asked, you’d always trusted him with the most fragile aspects of who you were. So, why couldn’t he tell you? What was wrong with him? It wasn’t even a big deal, he knew that, he knew he was just being stubborn and annoying and you were probably fed up with his attitude - gods, what if you were fed up with him too? What if you were just asking him what he was feeling out of habit? What if you didn’t lo-? 

“Fives!” You called out in alarm. “Fives, baby, take a deep breath.” You quickly lowered your voice after snapping him out of his downward spiral. The former ARC trooper looked up at you, soft chestnut brown eyes blown wide in panic. His breathing had picked up speed, resembling shallow pants instead. Your heart broke. But you had to focus to be able to help him. Carefully, you took a deep, slightly exaggerated breath and released it while gesturing for him to copy you. He did though his breathing was still shallow and shaky. “Good, Fives. One more time.” You took another breath, a little deeper than the last one and Fives tried to mimic you. 

“Shit-Shit- I-I’m sorry, cyare!” He suddenly broke, tears starting to form at the bottom of his eyes. “I-I should have it together, I-I sh-shouldn’t be acting like this!” 

“Fives, baby, it’s okay...” you were floundering, you could feel it. “Can...can I touch you?” 

Fives looked at you like a startled loth-cat kitten but opened his arms all the same. “Please...” he breathed out and that was all it took for you to step forward and wrap your arms around him. His arms locked around you like a vice and you could now feel the violent tremors that ran through him. 

“Baby, what you are feeling is scary and overwhelming...” you began quietly, “but I need you to know that it is okay to feel like this. There is nothing wrong with you,” you let one hand smooth up and down his back, “I still love you, and if you need to let it all out, I am here to help.” His grip tightened around you, so tight that it almost hurt, but you made no complaint and instead lifted yourself up enough to press a kiss to his neck. “What do you need right now, cyare?” 

“I-I-I don’t know...” 

“It’s okay to not know.” You whispered back. A silence fell between you, only broken by the occasional hiccupping breath that would slip from your boyfriend. With each one, you’d just continue to rub his back and calmly press feather-light pecks to wherever you could. You were vaguely aware of time passing, the approach of the catalyst for this latest attack ever-present and looming above you like the shadow of some great monolith, but you paid it no mind. Fives was more important. When a substantial amount of time had passed between hiccups, you gently pulled back just enough to grasp Fives’s forearms but to also rest your forehead against his chest, knowing that he didn’t like to be looked at while he was crying. “Fives...” you whispered to him and waited for an acknowledging hum. “Do you want to try your breathing exercise again?” The tightening of his grip and the feeling of his head dropping onto yours was your only answer. “Okay. In five, hold five, out five. Ready?” You gave him a few seconds before starting to count, slow and steady. You kept a sharp ear out for his breathing, monitoring it for signs of improvement or decline as he breathed in, held his breath, and then released it. You quietly joined him on the third cycle, relying on your internal metronome to keep the relaxed pace. 

The two of you stayed like that for another five or six cycles before Fives finally lifted his head, his breathing practically back to normal. “’m sorry, cyare.” He muttered under his breath with a poorly concealed sniffle. 

“Hush, none of that now, Fives.” You shushed him with a soft smile, reaching up to cup his cheek. He immediately leaned into the touch. “It happens, sweetheart, there’s no need to feel ashamed.” You continued to sooth as your thumb gently ran across his cheekbone. 

Fives’s eyes softened at you as the residual panic began to fade. “It’s just,...” he started again but took a deep breath this time before pushing on, “when I came back, I-I wanted it to be the end of all this; of the war and the chips and the GAR. I just want to settle down with you, move somewhere people can’t find and just not have to worry about anything...” Fives’s gaze fell to the floor as his hand carefully glided up the arm that was holding his face till he could gently pull it away to weave his fingers through yours, “maybe even start a family...” Your mouth fell open slightly at that - the two of you had discussed what you wanted your lives to look like after the war, it was how you ended up calling him your fiance prior to his ‘death’ but most talk halted at marriage. Fives’s eyes flicked up to your face again to dart over your features, taking in the shocked expression now residing there. But he seemed to misinterpret it. “I-I know it’s stupid...”

“No, it’s not. Nothing you just said was stupid.” You reassured immediately. “I want that, Fives. I want that life with you.” A soft, fluttery feeling seemed to engulf your chest, growing and dimming like a soft mood light with every breath. It was nice and warm and lovely and you prayed that Fives felt it too. Going by the shy grin stretching over his lips - he most certainly did. 

The fragile moment was shattered by a loud chirp emanating from the ‘fresher as your alarm started to go off. You had one hour before you had to leave. With an overdramatic eye roll that pulled a quiet chuckle from the still fragile man you separated from him and walked into the refresher to turn off the alarm. Just as you were turning on your heel to face Fives again you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror - full face of makeup minus one incomplete eye, hair still half-heartedly shoved away from your face, and you still in your lounge wear. It was enough to make you laugh. “I’m a bit of a mess, aren’t I?” You hummed. 

“Yeah,” Fives hummed back as he appeared in the mirror behind you. You didn’t have time to be offended though as Fives was already draping an arm around your shoulders. “But you’re a beautiful one.” 

With a scoff, you slapped his chest with the back of your hand while Fives tittered at your reaction. A moment later he pressed an affectionate kiss to your temple. You smiled to yourself as you finally got to finish your makeup. “Could you go get my dress? It’s still in the bag in the closet.” You sent Fives a look in the mirror as your reached for all the products you’d need to style your hair. He made a hum-like sound in the back of his throat and glided out of the refresher, significantly lighter on his feet compared to how he’d been all day. But there was still a heaviness in him, an invisible weight on his shoulders as he slipped from view. You frowned. Maybe he should stay here in the apartment - out of sight. Where he felt safe.

“Cyare?” He quietly called and your shook your head before meeting his concerned gaze in the mirror. Fives was leaning around the doorway with a garment bag slung over his shoulder. One eyebrow was raised at you. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, Fives, just...thinking.” He tilted his head at you but you waved him off in favor of gently taking the garment bag from him and moving to put the dress on. Fives let out a low whistle after you pulled your top off and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at him though the smile never left your face as you moved to the sweats you’d had on. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me get that thing on?” You asked, gesturing to the dress with your head as you kicked off the lounge wear and moved for the hoop. Fives muttered something you didn’t catch before helping you into the blue and white, sweetheart neckline mermaid dress. 

He pulled back and held you by the shoulders to look over your entire image. “Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.” He smiled at you, wide enough for those crinkles you loved to appear at the corners of his eyes. “Think I better go so nobody tries anything.” 

Your face fell so suddenly it startled you. “Fives, I take it back. If you don’t want to go, you do not have to.” Your hands came up to smooth over his chest as your gaze fell to the floor. “I realize it’s a lot and not everyone is for us so if you’re more comfortable staying-” 

He said your name causing your attention to snap to him immediately. His eyes were soft as he focused on you, lips drawn into a thin line, while his hands squeezed your shoulders. “Cyare...no. I want to do this. For my brothers, for you. And if sitting on an obnoxiously long couch in an uncomfortable outfit talking to some wackjob who won’t shut up for two seconds or stop prying is the way to go, then it’s the way to go.” Despite the situation a little giggle slipped from you at Fives’s still evident disdain for talkshow hosts shown through. He smiled at you again before pulling you into a warm embrace with a long sigh. “I’m sorry for all this.” 

“Fives-” You began in a warning tone.

“No, let me finish.” He squeezed you closer. “I’m sorry for all of this - for tricking you, for lying, for forcing you into the limelight, and for being so damn stubborn. You deserve better.” He sighed again and pulled back just enough to press his forehead to yours, keeping his eyes closed as he did so. “I want to be better. I know I’ve been a pain in the ass since I came back and you’re a saint for dealing with me and all this shit I dragged you into and made you deal with. It should’ve been my shit to deal with and...I bolted - faked my death and made you ‘n Rex deal with everything that came after.” He opened his eyes and finally met your gaze, and in the golden depths were smoldering embers of a lifetime of pain - injuries yet to heal. “I’m so sorry, ner kar’ta.” He whispered. 

“Fives,” you began by sliding one of your hands along his arm till you could grasp at his wrist and pull his hand off of your waist to intertwine your fingers with his, “you didn’t drag me into anything. I knew that I was signing up to face the unknown the first time I kissed you.” Carefully you brought your intertwined hands to your face to kiss along his knuckles. “Secondly, think about what would have happened if you hadn’t disappeared. Fives,” You met his eyes, your own burning with severity, “I would have lost you for real.” His grip tightened on your hand but he kept quiet. Not wanting to dwell, you moved right along. “Thirdly, you gave Rex and I a chance to stop Sidious, to stop the massacre of thousands of Jedi. We were able to stop a tyrant because of you. Your sacrifice saved the galaxy, Fives. That isn’t ‘shit’. You’re a hero, cyare. Finally,” your free hand snaked its way up to cup his cheek, “I could never ask you to be better because you’re already so damn good to me. You’re incredible, Fives.” Your thumb stroked his cheek as you took a moment to just appreciate the man in front of you. “Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum.” And with that, you pushed yourself up to seal your lips against his. Fives melted against you, hand releasing yours in favor of wrapping his arm around your waist again while his other cupped the back of your neck to keep you in place. The hand you had against his cheek moved back to tug at his hair. The other that was once held by Fives crept around his shoulders so you could use it to pull him closer. You stayed locked together for a moment more, barely separating to catch your breaths before you were pressing soft, whispering kisses to each others lips. Each one, though light in nature, felt heavy in meaning which made your heart speed and head feel airy. 

You only separated for real when your alarm went off next to you - thirty minutes before you had to be at the studio. Without slipping from Fives’s arms, you reached over to turn the alarm off. The air was charged now, buzzing with a foreign energy you weren’t used to. “C’mon,” Fives eventually whispered, “let’s go greet the galaxy.”

Taglist: 

@apocalypticwafflekitten / @pinkiemme / @cherryxcyarika / @justalittlecloud / @and-claudia 

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hawks’ performance review

So now that a certain super long arc or Hero Academia’s is finally done, I wanted to give 1 final review to the actions of easily it’s most controversial actor (which is an accomplishment to say the least); Hawks. Go over everything, get it all out, & use this as a way of resolving my thoughts on his influence on the arc.

A warning going in; while I consider myself a Hawks fan, I have no intention of going easy on him in the slightest for when he messes up. And spoilers: he didn’t do so hot. So if you’re the kind of fan who doesn’t like a fav getting smack talked, no judgement but this may not be the meta post for you.

Pre-planning:

Now despite my known opinions of his conduct, there is good to talk about; fittingly enough at the very start of the arc with his pre-planning. Hawks did do objectively excellent in gaining the needed information from the PLF and passing it along to his allies. This not only included locations & important dates, but base layouts and enemies of interest. Additionally: his recruitment of Jeanist, while using questionable methods (I still don’t know why he drew a weapon on him), did end up being quite a smart move. I honestly want to give him full marks...however, it was his idea to bolster the invading hero army’s numbers; an idea which became using child soldiers. His roll in that war crime, as well as another point of pre-planning we’ll discuss later, well be held against him; but hey, almost full marks in this category is still kinda good.

But we must also talk about his actual field work; which means we must discuss, one last time...the incident. The bad incident. The society damaging incident. The incident from which his carrier, his dignity, and his respect as a hero can never recover. That incident. This is where the good stops.

Field work/The incident:

See, for all that Hawks did his dirty deeds for the ‘greater good’ no good has yet come from it. The heroes he saved from Twice immediately had to go up against Gigantomachia (just as unstoppable, far more murderous), his actions inspired Toga to kill an old lady, and Dabi used him as evidence that all heroes suck actually. And on a personal level for him (which I do care about, as his fan, make no mistake); he killed one of his only actual friends, burned all his bridges out of the HC’s grasp, and paid for the fuel with his wings. Like, unless the HC drop him for being quirkless, he might be trapped now that he’s shown complete loyalty to their interests. In other words, the direct results of his course of actions were 100% devastating consequences.

Though to be honest; that’s probably how it should be, narratively. The murder of Twice was a failing on Hawks’ part on every level. 1) He broke one of the rules a hero must never break by committing murder. 2) He did this because he failed to non-fatally apprehend a villain, despite that being his job which he is the 2nd best at in the country. 3) Evidence suggests Hawks went in planning to kill Twice if he didn’t take his offer, and in during so let opportunities to apprehend him slip by (for example, by letting him get his last words in instead of retraining or knocking him out. This was before Dabi’s arrival). 4) As a result of his actions, his friend in need of saving died right in front of him.

A failure to save, a failure to apprehend, a failure as a moral guardian, and actions that are the complete antithesis of “Plus Ultra”. (Though I suppose is his defense, he never did go to UA.) While his fans like to portray Hawks’ actions as a “tough call” he made, the fact is that moral & professional failures like that narratively shouldn’t see results.  Any of these would warrant serious reprimands for heroes with 4-digit ranks or 1st year hero students; so for the no.2 hero to perform all 4 failures is unforgivable.

Risk Assessment Review/Was it actually worth anything?:

And see, I’ve been trying my best to keep track of what things would be like if Twice were alive, so I can tell you they haven’t seen results. Nothing major changes if Twice were alive. Despite Caleb’s “points,” Jin couldn’t clone super Shiggy without a chance to get his data, and it’s unlike he was able to clone Machia either given that he didn’t, so he wouldn’t have had a huge effect on proceedings. Likely, he would’ve chilled with Spinner & Compress ‘till capture. He wouldn’t have been able to escape Jeanist either if he was retrained properly (which he would’ve been, as Jeanist is actually good at apprehending villains), since his clones would break before putting any real strain on steel cables.

It’s only after Compress rescued everyone cold a case be made for how Twice might’ve changed things. But that case could not be made easily, as the events following Compress’ escape act were shaped largely by the whims of AFO. So...*shrug*. We have no idea if Twice would’ve been taken or left behind, or if he’d have been in shape to do anything if he was free to act. Though it is worth restating that Jeanist, like Hawks, had the skill and the quirk to counter Sad Man’s parade.

(And of course, all of these assumptions are made going along with the belief that Twice would be free if Hawks hadn’t killed him; which I believe to be a false dichotomy. The reality is that Hawks’ favorable quirk match-up against Twice should have allowed him to apprehend him had Hawks conducted himself as a proper hero. Oh and did I mention he keeps his wings in that scenario? Because he does.)

Conclusion:

Well I think my most surprising finding is that Hawks might actually have a good future in some kind of hero-adjacent desk job since he seems better at that kind of stuff than field work. His main strengths seem to be in long term planning, and secret communication. (Although he did also encourage a war crime, so let’s not give him too much credit here.)

But reviewing his hero work plainly shows that did not go well, to put it lightly. To reiterate his main 4 mistakes that would result in serious reprimands for 1st years; he demonstrated a complete lack of faith in his own abilities to carry out his duty as a hero, he resorted to immoral methods to make up for this, resulting in him not only failing to apprehend a villain, but save a friend in need of help. This resulted not only unnecessary deaths and societal damage they’ll be feeling for a while, but Hawks also might’ve ruined his life in all kinds of different ways.

Overall; yeah he didn’t do so hot, and it’s really changed my opinion of the character from before this arc (back before I was even posting, God this arc was long). I mean, I still enjoy him; but I do now think less of his moral character, and also now enjoy ripping into how bad he is at his job. Regardless, this is all my thoughts on the matter, so hopefully this is the last time I write meta about Hawks for a while...well except for the post I’ve been meaning to make predicting what the future & the HC has in store for him. (Although if that interests you...get comfy waiting; I’m pretty slow at these things.)

[chamerionwrites]

Obi-Wan Kenobi or Saw Gerrera, for the character ask

Tumblr has broken my notifications (is this happening to anyone else?) so I completely missed this ask until now, oops. In exchange please enjoy these long and rambling thoughts about Saw Gerrera.

Why I like him: I mean conceptually he’s just! So great. Guerilla veteran of the Clone Wars, funded and trained by the Republic-that-became-the-Empire (and by Anakin Skywalker specifically) for that sweet dramatic irony. A tragic revolutionary who’s been fighting a desperate battle so long that it’s chipped away at his body and his soul; a story about the destructiveness of war even in a just cause. A man with fierce opinions who’s willing to throw down for them (how else does one become a revolutionary), and thus both admirable and difficult to get along with. A man who’s right about a lot of important things and whose understandable-but-not-entirely-rational paranoia makes his VERY rational and prescient investigation of the Death Star tragically easy for others to brush aside as obsession. And at bottom a man who misses his sister, and Jyn’s surrogate father who obviously loves her and did his flawed best to raise her well under the worst possible circumstances. 

There’s just so many layers of character to sink your teeth into there.

Why I don’t like him: Tbqh it’s a measure of how much I enjoy the character that I still found him sympathetic and interesting after he had Bodhi tortured, because #1 in-universe, not fucking cool dude and #2 out-of-universe, I actually have very few predictable fictional squicks but torture gets under my skin in a way that has almost nothing to do with how graphically it’s portrayed, and is a pretty reliable way to flash-evaporate most of my sympathy and also to make me nope straight out of a work if it’s written poorly enough.

Much as I do enjoy the whole tragic-revolutionary thing, in practice I also have to side-eye DLF for casting the black dude in the cautionary tale about revolutionary extremism. On a balance I don’t think it’s handled terribly, but their track record is so bad that on principle it’s a bit. :/

(The Onderon arc in TCW also makes me want to headdesk repeatedly and violently, but that’s a recurring problem with the show and thus hardly the character’s fault LOL.)

Favorite Scene: It’s very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it but I adore that brief tense standoff he has with Cassian, while Jyn is kneeling shocked on the floor after Galen’s message and Jedha is starting to crumble around them. 

Not to be a nerd on main but I’ve said before that one of the things I enjoy about secondary characters is the almost worldbuilding role they can play. Even in the longest novel you don’t have time to paint an exhaustively detailed portrait of everyone. But a sketch that’s sharp and confident can imply a whole person with a rich history and inner life, and merely by existing outside the center of the story that character also implies a world that exists beyond the edges of the narrative frame. Minor characters are like the shading that makes a circle drawn on two-dimensional paper look like a sphere. 

Rogue One does this very well imo and this is a good example, because there’s a whole mini scene with its own conflict and resolution packed into a couple of seconds with zero dialogue, and you learn a lot a lot from it. Cassian is a very tightly-wound character but not typically a jumpy one - he’s alert to the point of hypervigilance but he’s also very focused and decisive in a crisis, and in fact he spends a lot of the movie being the guy improvising a plan in the midst of chaos and dragging everyone else along beside him by sheer force of determination. But when he barrels around that corner and lays eyes on Saw, he looks for just a second like a man who fears he’s in over his head. He takes a RAPID step backwards and scrambles for his blaster, and his body language from that moment on is that of a man looking for an exit while trying not to take his eyes off a threat. It tells you a whole lot about Saw’s reputation that Cassian - much younger, much healthier, as a rule not easily intimidated, and armed with a gun instead of a stick - so very clearly does not want to tangle with him.

And then they have this great little wordless moment of mutual misunderstanding followed by mutual recognition, because both of them instantly size each other up as a threat but then both of them simultaneously move to defend Jyn. Which in turn simultaneously clues them in that they want more or less the same thing here and turns them into wary allies (and also tells the audience several things about each of them as characters). 

There’s just a lot of storytelling-to-the-square-inch there, and I love that kind of thing. 

Favorite Season/Movie: Probably also RO, but since I’ve already talked about it a lot I’m going to give an honorable mention to Rebels for that one scene where Saw all but sends Mon Mothma a space howler, which tickles me both because I enjoy a little bit of complication and seriousness in my fictional politics and for slightly dark-humored popcorn-munching drama trainwreck reasons (if you take a whole bunch of stubborn and passionate people who are by definition prepared to throw down for their opinions, shove them together, and put them under decades of stress, then...yeah, it’s not entirely surprising to end up with at least one person sending another person a twenty-foot-tall hologram of his head so they can have an excruciatingly public argument. That tracks).

Favorite Line: “You can stand to see the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy?”

Favorite Outfit: I think it’s his movie outfit by default since the cartoon ones didn’t leave any particular impression on my mind; I like the details, especially the battered flag as a cape.

OTP: I’m weak for tragedy and sending someone a twenty-foot-tall hologram of your face so you can shout at each other does kind of scream “acrimonious breakup,” especially since the underlying emotion from both of them in that scene is less straightforward anger than pained and furious disappointment. 

BROTP: Probably unsurprisingly, I have a lot of feelings about him as Jyn’s surrogate dad.

Headcanon: One of many reasons things started to get tense between him and the Alliance is that they reached out to various formerly Separatist-aligned guerrilla groups that went straight from fighting the Republic to fighting the Empire, and Saw (understandably, since the CIS occupied his planet) holds a grudge.

Unpopular Opinion: Occasionally I see people saying that he was right all along and 100% the wronged party in the unexplained but clearly messy political breakup between him and the Rebel Alliance. He was right about a lot of things, and the Rebellion as portrayed in RO clearly does have a wing of insufferable wafflers too timid to take real action against the Empire, and personally my assumption is that there was definitely ego and betrayal involved and nobody exactly covered themselves in glory...but also he tortured somebody right there on screen guys, idk what more you want to suggest that maybe there’s valid reason to side-eye some of his methods. 

(Again, out-of-universe there’s plenty to say here about the way Hollywood likes to frame “good” vs “bad” revolutionaries, but in-universe he does some unequivocally awful things.)

A Wish: As a general rule I’m fascinated by the years immediately following ROTS when what eventually became the rebellion was just starting to organize itself, and I would read the hell out of any story set in that time period.

An Oh-God-Please-Don’t-Ever-Happen: When it was Saw’s turn to be narratively framed as the Good Revolutionary Lucasfilm already gave us scrappy resistance fighters attempting to restore the monarchy (LOL) while the Republic hires pirates to run guns to them, so frankly I think it’s mostly uphill from there.

Five words to best describe him: Unrelenting, bitter, brave, dedicated, lonely

My nickname: Idk if it’s a nickname, but I think I’ve called him Jyn’s Murder Dad a couple of times (usually by way of comparison to Cassian’s Murder Dad).

[twilightofthe]

Which other tcw Arc`s do u think are not in character (like the Clovis arc)?

Oh dear I think I’ve genuinely made y’all think I hate TCW or something.

Nah, look, it’s. The Clone Wars is one of my favorite cartoons of all time and always will be. The way it expanded the SW universe and the Prequel universe in particular was astounding and its complex ideas and mythology and worldbuilding and additions to the established story were wonderful. I adored the new characters it introduced me to.

MOST of the movie characters? I LOVED what they did with them. They didn’t really alter Obi Wan’s character that much at all besides making him way more of a hoe lol. I’d say my only OOC critique of him in the show is that they lean on him too much as the only moral compass character which means his characterization and motives have a tendency to slide around a bit for different episodes that need him to behave differently to do the “right thing” in that particular circumstance, if that makes sense. There IS one particular arc where I feel Obi Wan acts out of character quite often, but I’m saying right now that that leads into an argument I don’t want to get into so I’m not saying 😇

(Ik I ranted a bit about Pads in the last post too but overall I think she’s pretty alright in TCW too! I like her solo plots and her ones bonding with other characters!!!!)

But anon’s question was if I think any other arcs are OOC like the Clovis arc, I’m gonna say yes solely in regards to Anakin being OPC as for any other characters it’s not that big an issue save for the one unnamed Obi Wan offender. While I think Anakin has some individual moments where he’s OOC peppered throughout the series, I’d say the only two arcs that are particularly guilty offenders besides the Clovis arcs are the Deception arc and the Kadavo arc.

Now, the dichotomy of these two arcs is funny to me because the Kadavo arc is unfortunately my least favorite arc in the entire series while— and now THIS is an unpopular opinion —the Deception arc is one of my favorite arcs in the series because I am so SO here for the Obi Wqn character study it is; I think he’s totally in character for it and I love watching what they do with him in it.

However, where they go right with Obi Wan in this, they drop the ball with Anakin unfortunately. Like Anakin’s plot throughout the arc is.... gah, ok so. Ani boy vowing to hunt down and murder the guy who killed Obi Wan in vengeful rage is in character for him, it is, I get that. But the fact that that Vengeful Silent Broodish Rage is literally the only reaction we get out of Anakin the entire fucking arc???? Nah. NAH.

I’m sorry, but if there is ONE universal constant we’ve seen in the movies, it’s that Anakin Skywalker loses his entire shit if he’s faced with losing someone he cares about. We saw it with Shmi. We saw it with Padmé. We saw how emotional he got before he went into Murder Mode, he was kind of a wreck, he CRIED.

Now, TCW has a number one rule and it is that Anakin Cannot show any “girly” emotions whatsoever, ESPECIALLY none of the Dreaded Tears. So they just skip right over the messy emotions part and just have him be silent and cold and Angry. Full of brutish violent anger. Acceptable emotions for an Alpha Male to have. When OBI WAN died.

And I’m sorry, if your logic for Anakin’s muted reaction is just that he doesn’t care about Obi Wan as much as he does about Shmi or Padmé, I gotta STRONGLY disagree. It doesn’t matter if their relationship is viewed through a romantic lease or not, I will die on the hill that they were one of The Most important people in each other’s whole life and their relationship defines the whole prequel trilogy.

So yeah, no, Deception bugs me because they don’t let Anakin mourn Obi Wan at all, only get angry, like we don’t even get a freaking reaction to his death, we just get him yelling his name when Obes falls and his kinda confused-distressed face when he finds Ahsoka crying over the body (and SHE is allowed to cry..........) and then just a flash forward to his brooding sulk at the funeral.

Now, I’m not asking for much, I’m really not. I don’t need him uncontrollably sobbing at the funeral or anything (they already have Satine for that and no I will NOT rant right now about how taking a female character and bringing her back once briefly just to be a man’s Fragile Weeping Widow and then again to be his Helpless Damsel who you then fridge to make him sad is Not Good Writing I’m already writing a whole-ass spitefic about that 🙃🙃🙃)

But ughhhh they could have let Anakin have just a BIT of softness, of upset for losing his fucking best friend. Like, just save Ahsoka the additional teenage trauma and have Obi Wan die in Anakin’s arms instead, hype up them Qui Gon parallels! Give him just like a single fucking tear, just ONE for a moment! Like what y’all did with Rex, remember? He’s still Manly(TM) for crying!!!!!! Maybe make Satine not be the only overly emotional person at the funeral and then afterwards have her and Anakin have a convo where he accuses her of not caring and we can see how she, unlike Anakin, knows how to let those she loves go.

So gah yeah Deception is OOC for Anakin because he doesn’t get to show emotions, and Kadavo...... ugh, so many other people have written very detailed pieces that summarize basically my exact opinions on why I don’t like the arc, but I think a huge part of that is how they downplay Anakin’s trauma as a past slave in favor of, once again, brash, cocky toxic masculinity.

Anakin the former slave would NOT be so easily comfortable and all jokey jokey with letting the sixteen year old in his care pretend to be sold into slavery and he definitely wouldn’t be cracking jokes about how he makes a better slave master. Like I mentioned before, he would Not be able to keep his cool around the slaver Queen so easily. He wouldn’t. This isn’t even just a question of whether his newfound flirting abilities are valid because I actually think they are so long as he doesn’t feel attraction himself, but the pure rage at her being a slaver who sees him as a sex slave would at Most mean he’d be able to barely be restricting himself from murdering her. He would not be that good at it with her specifically

And tbh I do think this arc has several issues so I don’t even quite know how I’d fix it. I know how I’d fix certain issues, but def not all of them.

So yeah agh, Anakin OOC in Deception and Kadavo, other characters are usually p fine. Clone Wars Good Show!!!!

[ariainstars]

What’s Missing in The Rise of Skywalker or What I Think Star Wars Needs in Order to Work…

This may be pure conjecture on my side… But there’s one thought that’s not letting me go these days.

We have shredded Episode IX to pieces by now and we all know its plot holes and massive problems with character development, coherence, morality etc.

But I’m realizing that there is something that Star Wars has always had at its center… and I believe that without it, it simply cannot work.

The Father Figure.

Remember, the central sentence (and one of the most iconic film scenes ever) is the infamous “No - I am your father.”

So let’s face the saga from this point of view.

The Phantom Menace is not a masterpiece of filmmaking, but a decent film, with an interesting story and a lot of intriguing characters. It works well as a solid introduction to the prequel trilogy.

At its heart we find Qui-Gon Jinn. Gentle, cunning, compassionate and rebellious, Qui-Gon is the ideal Jedi if there ever was one. To Anakin, the fatherless child, he is the first father figure he knows, the first person who is an advocate for him and pleads his cause; not that his mother wouldn’t, but she was powerless to do so. Qui-Gon also has the broad-shouldered, tall frame that will later become one of Darth Vader’s trademarks.

Attack of the Clones is one of the weakest, if not the weakest Star Wars film of all. And I can’t overlook the fact that there is no father figure at its center.

We get to know Jango Fett, Boba’s father, who is however not a main character: his presence is important for the course of the plot, but not the impact of his personality itself.

We also have an interesting insight in Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan. It takes only a few minutes for us to realize that these two are not on the best of terms: Obi-Wan is too immature and inexperienced for the task he has to shoulder, too strict in his adherence to the Jedi Code (possibly due to the other Jedi’s critical eye on them), and Anakin is more powerful than he is despite his youth. As a result, young Obi-Wan does not have much, if any, influence on the events of the story.  He may be a good Jedi but as a father figure for young Anakin he is not suited at all.

Revenge of the Sith sees Palpatine taking over the rule as Anakin’s master: it is interesting that before this moment, he used to refer to the Anakin as “Son”, another way of subtly manipulating the young man who was in need of a father figure to look up to.

The film is excellently made and, very fittingly, the unraveling of a human tragedy. Palpatine is the most powerful and also most horrifying father figure imaginable, who offers Anakin enormous power to a terrible price: the loss of everything he ever was.

A New Hope is a very good film in many ways and for a lot of good reasons, not least due to the elderly Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. He is the one who introduces Luke to his powers and explains him - and also us, the audience - the nature of the Force. Without him, we would be dealing with a good but not remarkable science fiction story. The element of magic is introduced by the Jedi who is a mentor to Luke, another young man who longs for a father figure in his life.

To put it mildly, The Empire Strikes Back rocks! I still think of it as the best Star Wars film ever made. It contains everything a film needs to be compelling even on seeing it again and again.

And who is at the core of it all? Darth Vader, the Dark Father, the Evil, Unknown, Malignant Father. Vader is at the height of his power in the film which from his point of view is the hunt for the son he thought dead and now wants to bring at his side at all costs. Vader is terrifyingly powerful throughout the film, he dominates every scene.

Not coincidentally, we see him in his meditation chamber once where he reminds of a king sitting on his throne.

Return of the Jedi is not bad per se but it is commonly (and in my opinion rightly) seen as the weakest of the original trilogy. Yes, I know, the Ewoks are annoying and in Jabba’s palace we already have too many Muppets - it doesn’t work when you want to make your film more child-friendly and at the same time to tell the culmination of a family drama.

But again, what I miss here is a central figure. We see Palpatine holding Vader’s leash, until he is at the last moment defeated by the father desperate to save his son. It is an act that costs him his life and makes Vader and his redemption heart and soul of the story.

But until that moment, we have Palpatine at the center of the plot. Thus, there are two father figures. And I can’t help but noticing that the fact is a little irritating in itself. Similarly to Attack of the Clones, Return of the Jedi seems to waver when it comes to deciding what it is about, what the actual, all-encompassing arc is.

The Force Awakens: Han is thirty years older now and a father figure himself - to a son who felt abandoned by him. Han dominates the key scene: his son is unhinged and conflicted and despite his power, he doesn’t have the events under control.

Han’s decision to give up his life to save his son’s soul is a last, desperate act born from love which parallels Vader’s. Even if at this moment we do not yet realize that he will succeed in the end, we are aware that something momentous has happened on the fatal bridge: an event that was built up for many years and will have enormous repercussions on everyone involved.

Not surprisingly, Han also felt like a father figure for Rey, the other protagonist of the sequels. 

The Last Jedi sees an aged Luke Skywalker in the role of the wise old mentor which once was Obi-Wan’s. Though his attitude is not exactly fatherly, Luke is heart and soul of the story. His wisdom, his courage and also the admittance of his failure push the story onto its tragic but heroic ending.

The Rise of Skywalker is disappointing on many levels, but thinking about it again, there is again that certain something that I miss most.

Yes, the Father Figure.

Palpatine is but a creepy old shadow and is not even acknowledged as kin by Rey.

The central and most moving scene is, again, a meeting between Han and his son, finally reconciling.

 For good measure

Rogue One is the story of Jyn’s father Galen, his plans for the Rebellion and her daughter living only to fulfill them. Though sad, it is a good and convincing story. 

Solo is nice to watch but it does not work as well as Rogue One. My guess is that focuses too much on action and not enough on character development: the film does not make clear enough that Beckett is a father figure for Han, and that it is significant for his personal development to leave him and his mindset behind. 

The Clone Wars has Anakin’s relationship with his padawan Ahsoka at the heart. Though from their age difference he is more like a big brother for her, differently to the other Jedi he is protective, respectful and listening with her. Anakin’s attitude proves over and over what a good father he would have been had he had the chance. 

The Mandalorian works excellently and it has, again - need I say it? - a father-son relationship at its core. Despite his previous cut-throat demeanor, Dindjarin always makes his little protegee feel safe and lets him develop his powers in his own way and time. In return, the child is his way back to humanness.

This is the most heart-warming and perhaps until now most convincing father-child-relationship we have ever had in the entire Star Wars universe. Is the series so good for its action scenes? I’m not denying that. But that’s not what the story is about: it’s about what makes a good father, even if you are everything but a saint.

And that what is most bitter for me about The Rise of Skywalker.

Ben Solo did not get to be the father figure I was certain was his ultimate fate to be: he was Vader’s opposite in so many details, down to his facial figures. Darth Vader was a most impressive villain but a nightmarish father. Kylo Ren never was half as convincing as a villain, which to me made it logical to assume (also since we get to know Ben Solo as an emphatic, caring person) that he was meant to be a good father and his failure came from trying to be something he wasn’t meant to be in the first place.

Anakin had damned himself with the carnage of the Jedi padawans; and in The Last Jedi the Canto Bight children, one of which is Force-sensitive, had been introduced. By becoming the Good Father his grandfather never had the chance to be Ben would have found redemption and purpose. And Rey, having been abandoned herself, would have been an excellent mother figure. (Apart from that, I don’t doubt that Adam Driver could play the role of the affectionate, protective father hands-down.)

It is still a mystery to me why this obvious route was not taken by the filmmakers. Letting the last of the Skywalker blood die without having him fulfill his destiny was the bleakest route the story could take.

I don’t know what’s in the cards with Rian Johnson’s trilogy. But I haven’t given up hope for the saga to finally give us the happy, united family that I am positive always was meant to be at its core.

Tragedies and cautionary tales are well enough. But I believe that after all of the drama, we ought to be in for some joy and fun at last. 😊

[ramenandchill]

Character criticism

Today’s criticism: The entirety of the show Boruto

Hood day/night my children. How are you all? I hope you all are eating your veggies and drinking your water. I hope you all are taking care of yourselves to the best of your abilities and that your all doing well back home, wherever home may be.

Today, we’re going to be tackling the mess that is essentially the anime,Boruto. Basically why it’s not as good as it could be, and why it has potential. I even have an alternative plot for Boruto, and I thought I would share that with you all, my loves.

So first, let’s summarize what Boruto is;

Boruto:next generations is a spin-off show to the Naruto series. A series that once followed the life of Naruto Uzumaki and his fellow friends as growing shinobi, now follows his son Boruto Uzumaki and his friends, who are the next generation of ninja growing up in the shinobi world.

In depth: the setting takes place in a now peaceful shinobi world, where the 5 great nations are no longer at war or no longer have bad blood anymore. Naruto Uzumaki is now the 7th Hokage of Konoha, and Sasuke Uchiha serves as the shadow Hokage, protecting Konoha from the outside. Most of the Konoha 11 have children. These children are learning to be ninja, and are growing up to become extremely powerful each day.

Though this plot sounds very entertaining, it is far from that and the lazy writing shows through many parts of the Anime. Here are some problems I’ve encountered with the plot and characters itself.

1. The children are extremely overpowered- for one, the children in Boruto are too overpowered. One thing that was interesting about Naruto was that we got to grow with the kids and see them develop their powers. Though some were prodigies at a very young age, we got to see them develop even more and we realized that they weren’t too ultra powerful and that they could be beaten. Once we as the audience realized that our beloved Naruto characters were only kids who weren’t all prodigies, the suspense was amped up quite a lot. The chunin exams is a great example. In the forest of death, many of the genin weren’t too powerful, and we saw a lot of genin groups die in the forest of death. We even saw a Sannin, Orochimaru, sneak into the exams and bite Sasuke, which caused the main plot to kick off. A lot of the times, we weren’t sure that our faves would make it out of their life or death situations. But In Boruto, the suspense is not there. We know that most of the kids, especially the 3 main characters, Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki are all powerful. There’s no “if” they are gonna make it out. We also don’t get to see much hit or misses from the children. We don’t get to see their trial and error with learning their parents jutsus and developing their own so it’s hard to grow with them. Their powers ensure that they get out of most situations, and it takes away from the hard work their parents did to reach the level they are at. Their powers look rather more genetic (which I’m sure they mostly are), than actual hard work.

2. The next generation-another problem is that the kids are essentially carbon copies of their parents personalities. They aren’t their own selves, which very much annoys me. I rather see the kids be their own person, rather than adapt ALL parts of their parents personalities. I don’t mind the children having small parts of their parents incorporated into them, but Boruto really takes it to new heights. The personalities are more copy paste. Most of them act exactly how their parents do or once did. One of the few characters this probably doesn’t go for is Mitsuki, as he’s rather pleasant compared to his father, orochimaru.

3. The lack of screen time- this is a minor issue to me, but I don’t appreciate how a lot of the interesting characters like Sarada are glazed over. The other teams besides Team Konohamaru are usually not shown progressing as much, and are given the much shorter end of the stick than the main characters, which is rather annoying.

4. The Konoha 11- the Konoha 11 have been greased so badly. Their powers seem heavily downgraded, and their character designs look awful. A lot of them look like pedophiles and Shino looks like a can of bug spray. Their powers seem very light, compared to in the Naruto series. For example, Shino not being able to control his bugs and messing up, is a regular for the shows gag unfortunately. That’s so unnatural because we know Shino is very serious and calculated and careful, so that gag is not funny at all. Even Naruto, who’s a master at shadow clone jutsu, has reverted back to his childhood. His clones are ineffective but they do it as a gag, which is dumb. They have made some of the Konoha 11 a shell of there former selves, which frustrates me. They were so cool in shippuden and such, but now their once cool and mysterious powers are downgraded for laughs, which aren’t funny.

5. Naruto and sasuke- Naruto and Sasuke are horrible fathers. For people who should want to make the most of family because they never had any, they don’t even spend time with their kids, which is so dumb. Naruto does Hokage work, but nothing is stopping him from making shadow clones to do the work for him, so that he could spend time with his family. Sasuke is even worse to the point where seeing Sasuke triggers Saradas sharingan because of the overwhelming emotion she felt from seeing him for the first time in years(I also hate how Sarada just bonds with him after an episode. Their relationship would need mending and building considering how long sasukes been gone. He doesn’t know much about her, so he should learn steady over a period of time like how it is in real life). That’s awful. They could be there for their families but their not, which is so weird for characters of their backgrounds.

6. The plot itself- the plot itself drags on for very long and in my opinion isn’t interesting. The plot is constantly jumping. The Arcs aren’t that intruiging and follow benign story plots that could only possibly serve as filler. It takes so long to get to the main plot of Borutos story. Here’s a list of the 17(Yes,17) arcs that have occurred in Boruto so far;

I can tell you that a lot of these are pretty much anticlimactic and waste time. Some are cool to sit through, like the time travel arc or Kara Actuation, but some are like the War arc of shippuden. If something’s like the war arc of shippuden, I rather smell someone’s booty than watch that again. So please, you can even read the plots yourself, and find that they aren’t that captivating.

7.The Villains- last but not least, we have the very copy paste villains. Just recently we’ve gotten some newer villains with a new agenda but it won’t be a breath of fresh air for long. For example, we know that so many of the villains such as Momoshiki, have been just copy-pastes of Kaguya. Their a Naruto and Sasuke level threat which we know that both Naruto and Sasuke could beat them any time. I’m bored of seeing Naruto and Sasuke fight villains that we know they will beat anytime. And with the villains point- I bring to you why Boruto has potential. You see, the Kawaki arc(Kara arc) showed that Boruto could turn into a show about a rivalry, and we saw the clip of Kawaki and Boruto fighting at the very beginning of the series. This is cool that a character like Kawaki who is shown in the end to have a strong resentment towards the ninja world for making him what he is, eventually will try to go the mile to end the age of shinobi. We will have to wait for this, sadly and I wished they introduced this sooner.

Alt plot: my alt plot goes a bit like this. Let’s say that the peaceful world is not exactly completely peaceful. The 5 nations aren’t at war anymore but the smaller countries within them aren’t exactly that peaceful. There aren’t a lot of casualties at all, but some people are still a tad bit resentful.

Let’s say that some of the great nations have become docile. The New generation of kids no longer learn how to be ninjas. Instead they go to regular school and for those who would like to be ninjas, there is a fake kitty-program for them to take. It’s not serious enough for them, though. Jonin still go on message delivering missions. The Hokage is still there, all of that.

Now let’s say a character like Kawaki and an organization behind them, a small one, has been wronged by the shinobi world. They aren’t exactly like the Akatsuki, open with their deeds. However, they are internal threats like Danzo almost, who live within the village. Nobody suspects them because they pose as regular citizens in the lands that no longer practice the way of shinobi life as they once did.

Now let’s say this organization start taking out unsuspecting Jonin. One by one, 2 by 2, Jonin are turning up dead left and right. Nobody can really explain their deaths yet, but their deaths are really disturbing. Next, Anbus investigate, but some of them are even taken out too.

The Hokage and village are becoming restless once again. Then citizens start going missing and dying. This doesn’t just happen in Konoha though, this also happens in other nations. This can make a rift between the nations who think that the other nation is sabotaging them, which can influence bad blood again. These villains are tearing up the almost perfect world from the inside out. They bring back people like Kakashi, Yamato, Tsunade, Kurenai, Gai, basically everyone from the old days, and the Konoha 11 for their lines of defense.

People propose that the children should learn to be true shinobi. Some argue that they shouldn’t, but it is decided that the children should learn to protect themselves and their lands. So now, medical ninjitsu classes are taught, ninjitsu, chakra types, genjutsu. The ninja school is rehashed.

Sasuke comes back to the village and is asked if he’s seen anyone enter the village but the answer is no, which gives a clue.

Soon, the children graduate and learn important lessons about friendship and teamwork. We watch them work hard to learn and perfect their parents Jutsus. we watch the trial and error, but we watch them turn out great in the end. They can even have Boruto face off against this villain when he gets older.

They learn from the oldest Shinobis and earn their powers, instead of just having them materialize them and genetically master them.

(p.s honestly Temari and Shikamaru should’ve had twins, one boy and one girl, have them both be smart but have one learn shadow possession and one learn wind style. The boy is obvi Shikadai who learns shadow possenion cuz that’s already cannon, and the girl Tomoe, could learn wind style from Temari. She doesn’t have to be a carbon copy, but she could still learn her mother’s craft.)

Thank you for coming to my ted talk my loves, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Character Critisims.

[rangerslayer-97]

An Analysis of Ahsoka and Windu's Interaction in TCW Finale Season 7 Episode 11 - Why Windu's Comment is in the Right

It's been 28 days since the Clone Wars finale finished. It has been 31 days since Episode 11: Shattered aired. This was the infamous episode that had a good majority raging anger at Jedi Master/General and Council Member Mace Windu.

In the opening 5-6mins, we see the Jedi Council meeting via hologram, the scene we see taking place on Coruscant in Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. Moments after, Ahsoka walks in with Rex. Now, this opinion might put me in the crosshairs of some people who will think differently, but I have an inkling or belief some are misinterpreting this particular scene.

Let me make it clear first: I love Ahsoka. She is one of the greatest characters brought into the Star Wars mythos by George Lucas and brought to life by Dave Filoni and voiced wonderfully by the talented Ashley Eckstein. Do you want to know how much Ahsoka Tano means to me? I wouldn't have come back and embraced Star Wars again had I not discovered her character watching random Rebels clips on YouTube which led me back to the Clone Wars ~2yrs ago.

I greatly thank Ashley Eckstein for bringing me back to the fandom. Back to the main point, separating voice actor/actress from their character. In my point of view, I'm NOT directing it at EVERYONE, but some of those who love or big fans of Ahsoka so much there's no fault in her. Her character had faults in the beginning and she's still a flawed character. Ahsoka is flawed, but so well written, she is relatable and to a certain degree, perfect. That's not what I'm on about. It's about the lash and some giving Windu the slap because of how he addresses and speaks to Ahsoka post-capture and detainment of Maul.

We all know, but to refresh some, Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order, this effectively removing her status as a Jedi Padawan and Commander of the 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic. She chose to walk away and strip herself of everything, military rank and privileges. She is essentially a standard citizen trying to survive and make ends meet of a cruel galaxy, in a dying Galactic Republic. We are well aware, the twilight of the Republic and the Jedi was near, inevitable and unavoidable. So let me reiterate Ahsoka's stance, because this is an important point. Tano is a CITIZEN. She's a CIVILIAN.

Push forward to the Siege of Mandalore, without a doubt, some time has passed and Ahsoka's walkabout took place before the Bad Batch arc, with Republic on shaky battle grounds against the Separatists on Annaxes, which it's sitting on a major hyperspace lane direct to Coruscant (way too close for comfort).

By the time Ahsoka fills in the Council about the status of Maul and Mandalore, here comes the scene that had a lot of people running up the walls of how Windu addresses and treats Ahsoka. Let's remind ourselves of some vital quotes and points. Ahsoka was not a Jedi, she gave that up. She could have chosen to enlist directly into the GAR instead as a commissioned officer or take back her position as Commander via the GAR. Positions and military rank were given to the Jedi by their own status in the Order. Knights and Masters given General, Padawans ranked Commanders (Obi-wan an exception since he had a Clone Marshal Commander).

The Siege of Mandalore was going to be a sticky one despite success because Mandalore is a neutral planet, though it had links to the Republic, but is very much neutral. I won't go into complexities, but visit the YouTube channel Generation Tech, they did a very good exploration into it. I'll avoid politics standpoints for now.

Back to the primary point. Ahsoka stated she only fought in the siege as her duty as a citizen, but as not a Jedi.

"I did my duty as a citizen." - Ahsoka Tano

She also says prior to that statement:

"I will escort Commander Rex when he delivers him to Coruscant." - Ahsoka Tano

Finished with:

"No, not yet." - Ahsoka Tano

This is the key point here. Ahsoka is a citizen. She aided as a citizen, fought as a citizen and she is taking time out to escort Commander Rex and the 332nd back to Coruscant. After that, she would have went her separate ways (but we all know disaster strikes). To make it clear: Ahsoka Tano is a citizen who freely involved herself in what would have been a campaign, part of the Outer Rim Sieges and in extension, Jedi business.

Now, the statement Windu make upon the 'wrapping up' of the meeting.

"I'm sorry, citizen, but these are matters for the Council to discuss." - Mace Windu

And this where lovers of TCW nearly flipped the table. The scenario was read and interpreted as rude and maybe even condescending on Ahsoka, despite her service in the siege. However, I think the scene is being read incorrectly.

Ahsoka openly stated before the High Jedi Council that she is a citizen, only fought as her duty as a citizen. How often in real life do you hear a citizen involving themself in a military campaign? It's almost unheard of, but this is Star Wars and it's fiction, but there is real life influences that make logical sense.

In this case, there is without a doubt somewhere in the regulation handbook of the GAR that under any circumstances are civilians NOT to be disclosed to military information. Military information and even to involved in the Council meeting, it's something not be shared with a civilian. Sharing what is classified information is a MAJOR breach in security. I'm not saying Ahsoka is a spy (though she does become a pretty badass one one in Rebels), but because of her status as a civilian, she cannot be disclosed such information. Heck, even if the boys wanted to see her again, Ahsoka cannot walk into the Clone Barracks anymore. She probably can, unless someone escorts her, people like Rex or a fellow General such as Anakin.

We already know Windu is getting stressed by the war, almost desperate to end the war and we all know the action he takes in the film. Windu does love the Republic, if I'm correct, it was quoted in Stover's ROTS novelisation, he thought he is doing best for the Republic.

Anyways, I think there are those being too harsh on Windu. Think about it again, I'd you were in Ahsoka's shoes, a citizen after fighting in a siege, essentially part of the Clone Wars, neither you would be privy to sensitive information. Windu is stoic as it is, it's not his attitude, it's his tone that came across as condescending. He was only repeating what Ahsoka stated to them, so his mindset was: "alright, you called yourself a citizen, then you shall be treated as such". Yes, his tone might not have helped much, but he is right. Ahsoka could be disclosed what is highly sensitive and classified information. If they did, just because she used to be part of the Order, it is A MAJOR BREACH in security protocol.

To repeat: Windu is correct to tell Tano that she cannot be disclosed what goes on in a Council Meeting or the situation of the war. It is all down due her status as a citizen. It would be a different story if after leaving the Jedi, she reinstated herself by enlisting with the GAR.

Just remember that despite misgivings, Windu is a highly valued member of the Jedi Order and a highly skilled one. He is also powerful in the Force. Before the war broke out in 22 BBY, he was trained as a Jedi Guardian, up to the events of TPM, he was already a Master of the Order and even one of the best swordsman of the time. He was first taught under Grand Master Yoda, then his years as Padawan up to the Jedi Knight Trials learning under Jedi Master T'ra Saa. At a very young agree too, he discovered his rare Force ability to see shatterpoints in the Force. This skill greatly aided Windu at how hissy would his future actions, along with the vulnerability of the opponents he faced. Because of his ability in shatterpoint, Windu even had glimpses into parts of the future of how he works build his lightsaber.

Windu also created one off the most difficult lightsaber forms that the Jedi Order forbade except to even and perhaps even his own student: Master Depa Billaba. Quinlan Vos is another notable practitioner. A counteract style to Form VII: Juyo. He created Vaapad, along with another Jedi Master named Sora Bulq. Quoting Windu on his description when he created the form:

"I created Vaapad to answer my weakness: it channels my own darkness into a weapon of the light." - Mace Windu

Windu had his own struggles with the Dark Side and he channelled that into a form. To use ones own inner darkness and channel it into a weapon of the light and not even fall in the process. It's an opposite of Juyo, the style being more of a 'state of mind' and not just another fighting style. To channel their own darkness and accept the fury of an opponent whereas Juyo as described by Kreia:

"Predictably, he seeks to unbalance you with his erratic attacks. His technique is called Juyo, the most chaotic of the lightsaber forms. This form sacrifices much to bolster offense, leaving one exposed to attack by the Force." - Kreia

This post had gone on long enough, all I'm saying is to maybe read the interaction between Ahsoka and Windu a little bit differently. Windu is correct not to disclose classified information, even council information especially with her status as a civilian. Perhaps don't be quick to judge Windu or even just think twice. Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get out of my head.