#maybe the most tragic clone?

[anstarwar]

35 ABY

Kix decides to join the fight once again as the First Order unleashes its full wrath, plunging the galaxy once more into darkness and war

On a distant rebel base he runs into a familiar “face.” They spend time reminiscing about the past and old friends not forgotten

[image ID in alt text]

[monrageo]

Saw a lot of Spider-Steve art so I had to jump in. Most art modernised him but I want my 80s, mallrat, neon lights Spider-Man + I wrote his origin story. *POSES FOUND ON PINTEREST*

Also Steve looks great in the classic red and blue but I wanted him to have his own costume so yellow he shall be. Now onto my headcanons.

In a world where Hawkins is a megapolis a teen boy gets bitten by a radioactive spider in 83’ while visiting Hawkins Lab (Think less abandoned more Oscorp/Alchemax) and so it begins. He starts doing small good things around the city, experimenting with his powers.

But he isn’t thinking about being a superhero or anything close to that (I imagine the drawing with the sweats and goggles is his first “costume”). Then he gets with this amazing girl-Nancy Wheeler.

Life is looking up for Steve he’s got these weird powers that get him to be the basketball and swim team captain. He’s popular, he’s got this amazing girl that inspires him to be better and better.

He looses his popular crowd friends, he wants to be better. He starts thinking about the superhero thing and actually goes through with it. He isn’t shouting it from the rooftops but news is getting around that a guy in spandex is busting criminals- Spider-man/King Spider.

Steve gets cocky, thinks he’s on top of the world, untouchable. Then Will Byers goes missing-that’s a whole separate story. Nancy and John start their investigation. Steve gets jealous etc.

In the end a battle breaks out and Steve is unable to save one person-Barbara Holland. His girlfriend’s best friend. That of course destroys Nancy. She doesn’t know Steve is Spider-man, she seeks comfort in him but things are not the same.

There’s this whole thing with Jonathan, the obvious attraction, the compatibility. But also Steve’s guilt, his self hatred. He realises he was too blindsided by his cockiness. Barb’s death is on his hands. He breaks up with Nancy and solely focuses on being the best Spider-man he can be.

That of course costs him friends etc. but when you’ve been through what he has high school drama just seems pointless… and so King Steve falls from the throne.

I imagine the Nancy story line parallels the Gwen Stacy one in the original comics (without the death and clones), maybe Nancy even blames and hates Spider-man the way Gwen did… that also contributes to the Stancy break-up.

Perhaps Nancy becomes hyper focused on catching this Spider-man so he can be held accountable for Barb’s death.

Anyways now Steddie, I think Eddie would love Spider-man / King Spider he’s some guy with spider powers and bright spandex that helps people, super camp, Eddie would love him.

I think Steve starts noticing Eddie in a new light when his lunch table tirades now also include how awesome spider-man is. This unapologetic support makes the now loser Steve feel like it is all worth it-the stress, the pain, the loneliness-

Tough he of course knows Eddie isn’t talking about him, he’s talking about Spider-man, the hero. Not the former popular guy Steve Harrington.

I have many ideas regarding a Stranger things!Spider-verse and which characters could be what. Maybe Barb’s death was something Lizard-like, but upside down version. Like something from the lap infected her? I like the idea of Steve’s father being involved in the labs, perhaps as a Norman Osborn parallel, without becoming the Goblin though.

The goblin/Norman/Harry Osborn storyline could be reimagined with Tommy perhaps??? Then Venom with Eddie (so perfect) or Billy (a tragic end)??

[neon-junkie]

yesyes i agree that the clones are the most tragic characters throughout all of star wars history, but other than being bred to be soldiers, i can't get over how YOUNG they really are. imagine cradling a dying clone in your arms, fully grown, but his face is that of a twenty-something year old. no wrinkles, no grey hair, maybe the odd scar or two. nothing but pure baby face, gushing with blood, swallowing down his last breaths whilst he scolds himself for failing the mission. a child destined for a painful death

[eriexplosion]

So the main reason I think that TBB will have a reasonably happy ending is multifaceted but I think the biggest one is that a lot of the series it's compared to have entirely different focuses but only one requires minimum the majority of the characters to be alive.

It comes down to the central question of the work. Let's look at TCW - this one is super broad because it's essentially an anthology rather than an overarching narrative. It's literally just "what happens between attack of the clones and revenge of the sith." The only thing needed to bring it to a satisfactory close is to go up to the end of the clone wars and segue into ROTS. Which, as a tragic film, does necessitate a bit of a downer ending. But, the ending feels fulfilling even with the tragedy because it satisfies the central question.

Rogue One is much more narrow, how did the rebellion get the death star plans? The reason you can do a total cast annihilation in this one is because the central question isn't character focused at all, it's mission focused. As long as they move the mission forward, the characters dying doesn't make the ending less satisfying. The central question is answered.

So what's been TBB's central question? It hasn't been mission focused, it's not "how do we fight the Empire" and its not as broad as TCW's filling in a multi year gap between movies. It's asking "who are these clones if they're not soldiers" it's asking "how do you heal this family that's been broken by tragedy."

And killing off most of the main cast answers these questions as "nothing" and "You don't." It's like answering "what happened between these two movies" with 'nothing' or 'how did they get the death star plans with 'they didn't.' It negates the central question that we're introduced to, it would render the entire endeavor pointless. Why would we need three seasons to get Omega from 'alone' to 'still alone' why would we build up the desire for the family to heal just to say they never will? Why would we watch them go from broken to more broken to absolutely shattered in a trauma mill? It doesn't answer anything, it just trails off.

I don't even think that the question of how to heal the family can be satisfied if Tech is actually dead. MAYBE if we had more time we could soothe away the trauma of that and still resolve everything. Maybe if his loss was the only one that needed to be wrapped up and processed we could resolve that in the time we have left.

But needing to bring Crosshair home, bring Omega home, AND heal everyone from Tech's death in fifteen episodes that also require enough action to keep ten year old boys interested? Yeah, I don't think that's happening. I think the only way that this gets wrapped up in a way that actually holds to the themes of the show is an ending that has the family together, an ending that actually answers the questions we started with, one that said *they're not soldiers, they're family* and that the family is in fact capable of being healed.

[kookoofufu]

Chapter 1098 Spoilers

Well. That was a hell of a read.

First things first, I really hope Oda gives himself a break. I'll wait however long it takes if it means he doesn't kill himself rushing weekly unfinished chapters.

I was right about Bonney not being Kuma's biological daughter but in the worst way possible! Jesus christ I could not predict Bonney as a product of celestial dragon SA. There's a lot going on in this chapter, let's go.

Bonney's real age is fascinating for a few reasons. One: Bonney is 12 years old, 10 pre-timeskip. Meaning she is aged up somehow (due to Vegapunk or her devil fruit), and has either been cured of this rare disease or something else (in the present her blue stone has disappeared and been replaced by jewelry. suspicious. i still think clone fuckery is on the table).

Two: Kuma's weaponization, and most likely the installment of the Warlords themselves, only happened within the last 7 years (5 years pre-timeskip)! The timeline makes me go crazy.

Kuma raising Bonney also makes me go fucking crazy. Not only are they adorable, but Jewelry Bonney and the iconic "where would you like to go" question comes from this period. Asking other people that question may be a representation of Kuma's free will, a way to think of Bonney while in the depths of cyborg hell. And maybe Kuma didn't want to give Bonney his last name in order to protect her :(

It's also ironic that Kuma believes in Nika the sun god of freedom when sunlight killed Ginny and keeps Bonney trapped in her home. The open sky has always been a symbol of freedom in One Piece, so the sun becoming Ginny's enemy (after implying she was trapped underground) is very tragic. There's also this parallel between the dark and stormy sky with Kuma and the bright, dry sky with Ginny as they're on their own ships:

There's a lot I haven't gone over like the Revolutionary Army, King Becori's return, how the WG and Vegapunk might get involved, Nika, the sapphire sickness itself (passed on from celestial dragons??), etc. But we've got time. Break next week, after all.

[r-2-peepoo]

Codywan ‘miscommunication’ has to be the most heartbreaking type because the only way it could be possible with two people who are so intelligent and are such good communicators is literally through a mind control chip.

Cody thinks he killed Obi Wan. Obi Wan thinks Cody betrayed him.

There was no way it could’ve happened without the chip. Cody could only ‘betray’ Obi Wan by having his free will stripped away from him, and the only reason Obi Wan didn’t immediately know what was wrong was because fate pushed them tens of thousands of miles apart. If he didn’t have to watch over Luke, maybe he would’ve learned what had happened to the clones. We’ll never really know.

I’ve always held the belief that Codywan is so tragic yet so compelling because all of the bad things that happen to either of them come from outside sources. They don’t hurt each other, other people hurt them.

Together, they would’ve been as close to perfect as a relationship could be, but they never got the chance to figure that out. All of their conversations about “after the war” were for nothing because the war never completely ended for them. As long as the Empire existed, the war couldn’t ever truly be over and they’ll never be able to know what could’ve happened. In a kinder universe, they would’ve had a chance.

[momojedi]

Bad Batch: Season 3

My Predictions

The final countdown has started and I'm not ready at ALL! Here are some of my predictions for Season 3 and what I could imagine happening!

1. Tech will be back.

Yes, the trope of dead characters returning is incredibly overused. But as many others I have a good reason to believe that Tech might still be alive. Think about it. It’s pretty likely Hemlock managed to locate Tech’s body considering he left us a huge breadcrumb: his goggles.

Why would Hemlock get rid of a genetically enhanced super soldier, especially considering he likely knows how to properly brainwash someone?

I too like to think that Tech might be the black armoured soldier in the front. It’s the same, if not similar armour as Clone X. Maybe these are part of a special type of clone assassins or troopers? Could they be the prototype for the Dark or Death Trooper?

It’s pretty plain to say that Tech will likely come back, though probably not as the Tech we know.

2. Crosshair & Omega Dynamic

We've seen Omega genuinely bond with all of the Bad Batch - except for Crosshair. Despite her trying her best to get to him every time they had the chance to interact, he denied her any kind of response. Whether that would be because he's just too withdrawn or because he refuses to let anyone see his vulnerable side, we don't know so far.

What we do know however, both based on pure logic alone and the fact that we've heard them both involved in a heated debate in the leaked trailer from the Star Wars Celebration last year, is that they likely will spending a lot of time together on-screen now that they're both captives of the Empire.

Hopefully Omega will be able to lift Cross' spirits, he doesn't seem to be doing very well from what we've seen!

3. Ventress will be an enemy!

Asajj Ventress! We all know and love her, so naturally it's incredibly nice to find out that she'll be returning to the screens for the final season of the Bad Batch! Despite they're naturally being some raised eyebrows considering her fate in the Dark Disciple book, I'm curious to see in what way they'll connect the stories!

However, seeing as Ventress could rather be classified as an anti-hero rather than a full on hero, I believe that she won't be helping the Batch but rather fighting them in order to get to what she wants - as she likes to do.

Perhaps she'll end up cooperating when she realises there might be no other solution, but I strongly doubt she'll be any help to them when it comes to following their personal goals.

4. The Fall of the Clone Rebellion

It's sadly no secret that given the events of Rebels and the three remaining clones Rex, Gregor & Wolffe, it's very likely the rebellions aka rescue of the clones didn't go as initially planned.

I could imagine this being explained a bit clearer in the finale, perhaps even leading up to a great fight against the Empire in the end. We can't forget that the series mainly revolves around a rogue batch of clones, so the thought that it might also go out with a clone-centric subject, especially such a big one, isn't necessarily far-fetched.

5. The End of the Mission

And finally, my most tragic prediction: The end of the Bad Batch.

The writers have been making it very clear that season 3 will likely be the darkest season of the show which unfortunately leads me to think that, as much as I'd want it not to be the case, the finale will lead to the ultimate end of Clone Force 99.

I suspect the series to end with the batch ending up together in some way, as the original five, and landing in a tricky life-or-death situation. Perhaps they'll be stuck in a crashing ship with a one-person escape pod or maybe they'll be facing a threatening figure such as Sidious, leading to the decision to sacrifice themselves in order to protect Omega.

Either way, despite season 3 likely becoming a tragic rollercoaster of emotions, I'm glad we had the chance to experience the epic story of the Bad Batch. It's sad to see them go and although these characters have become like a family not only to me, but to many other fans, let's enjoy our last moments with them and let them go out with a bang!

[echo-lover]

Hello there!

A few of my favorite Star Wars headcanons about clones

• Parental instinct

I've noticed that some clones have a highly developed paternal instinct.

I think Cut with his little family is not only one.

Hunter showed concern for childrens safety from the very beginning, like Kaleb and Gungi (surviving Wookie Jedi). He looks after Omega like his own daughter, as do the rest of the Bad Batch. Hunter definitely plays the role od father in his team as a responsible and a little overprotective leader.

Echo is the most mature in my opinion and in my eyes he will always be a mommy.

Waxer immediately felt the need to care for the newly met child and had no problem with hugging or comforting little Numa when she started crying. I just know that he loved children and secretly dreamed of starting a family, but he put himself entirely at being a soldier and protecting those who can not protect themselves.

Even Boil had grown strong bond owith Numa after some time and wanted to protect her at all costs.

I think Rex would also make a great father figure. He felt a strong need to take care of others. He acted as a mentor or an older brother for Ahsoka, and when he met Omega, he immediately got in touch with her. It's worth mentioning how he immediately stood between her and Bad Batch when he found out that the boys hadn't removed their chips yet. He remembered perfectly well what happened during Order 66. I'm sure he felt guilty that he had almost executed his longtime friend who trusted him with all her heart. He also felt responsible for his brothers who died in this tragic event.

I think this paternal instinct comes straight from Jango Fett's genes, who cared for Boba and loved him, and adopt him as his son. Jango asked specifily for him and knew from the very beggining that he want to adopt this kid. The Mandalorian culture is known for being easily attached to children, and they often decided to adopt kids, as fathers and mothers, and raise them like their own.

• Overprotective Hunter

Hunter is, in my opinion, the most sensitive and emotionally mature of the Bad Batch. He can read the feelings of others, especially those closest to him, so he always knew when something was wrong. Perhaps his enhanced senses have something to do with this.

He also has a tendency to be overprotective.

As a leader, he put the good of the squad before his own. I'm sure that running and hiding from the Empire, the constant pressure on his shoulders, was very tiring for him.

Hunter tried to protect Omega and his brothers the best way he could. That's why, the loss of any member of his family was a hard shoot in the heart for him. He sees it as a personal failure, as he failed his loved ones. He may start to think that Crosshair's words as true, that maybe he shouldn't be the leader, but he hasn't told anyone about his feelings and his own doubts.

But I think Echo knew... Echo knew that Hunter was worried and tired of the constant responsibility.

• Hunter and his senses

Hunter is a synesthete. This means that what he feels with one of his senses also affects the others. For example: he sees sounds, he can taste colors or numbers have colors for him. His synesthesia is a side effect of his enhanced senses.

Due to his heightened senses, Hunter also felt pain more intense than the other clones.

I still remember the moment Omega snuggled up to him after rescuing her when she was kidnapped by Cad Bane. Hunter winced in pain for a moment as his chest wound still was fresh. He had been shot with a blaster and almost get himself k!lled, and yet the most important thing to him was Omega. He ignored his own discomfort and focused fully on Omega, making sure nothing happened to his little girl. The expression of pain quickly turned into relief.

• Family

Some time after Omega joined the Bad Batch, they agreed on the role of family members:

Omega is their little sister, of course Hunter play the role of a father, while Echo is hailed as a mother. Our grumpy little bean muttered something about this being stupid idea at first, but in the end he liked being called mommy Echo.

Echo is a great addition to this crazy squad. He is the most experienced and can keep his family in line. It will never stop to amaze me how much good and love is hidden in the heart of a man who has never known a moment of comfort in his life and to whom no one has ever shown love. His physical and mental health were very bad after the events at Skako Minor. There was almost nothing left of the inexperienced Reg from the 501st Legion. Despite this, he will always remain my favorite character in all of Star Wars universe.

Wrecker is basically a second baby and needs to be looked after more than Omega, because if you let him out of your sight for a moment, he'll probably make a big mess.

Wrecker had the mind of a child trapped in the body of a large man. He is strong and could cause fear, but he have a soft heart. He cared for those closest to him, especially Omega. When his little sister was having a bad day and was sad, Wrecker was the first to make her laugh and even shared Lula, his beloved doll, with her.

I like to think that Tech and Crosshair are sort of twins (like Echo and Fives) they're a great duo and I miss their interaction so much. Tech, as the wise one, did not get in the way of the others, offering his advice when needed. Crosshair, on the other hand, although he seems cold and very distant, I think he would quickly like Omega and become a supportive, slightly sarcastic brother to her.

• Crosshair is not as cold as he looks

Crosshair hated being different, and called a freak from the very beggining. All his life he tried to blend in, to do his job well as a soldier, and as a member of the team. He didn't show it, but he was touched by other people's words about their group, different look, and specific abilities. That's why he hated Regs so much, he wanted to prove his worth to them. And also to himself.

When I saw Crosshair for the first time, I thought that he must have quite low self-esteem and become nervous in stressful situations. Whenever he took off his helmet, we saw him immediately reach for a toothpick. He felt the need to have something in his mouth to relieve the stress and tension in his body. He always seemed to me to be the type of perfectionist who pays great attention to detail and will practice until he achieves perfection in a specific field.

Despite his specific style, Crosshair wasn't as cold as he seemed. He really cared about Omega, and I'm sure that if they had the chance to spend more time together, Crosshair would like the girl and treat her like his little sister. He will destroy anyone who tries to harm Omega.

I also think that Crosshair secretly loves animals, especially cats. I imagined that it started with Wrecker once bring a white, homeless kitten to the Marauder. The animal started fawning at Crosshair's legs and refused to leave him even for a second. In the end, Cross liked it, petted him and cuddled with him, and even let him sleep in bed with him. Having a pet was a stress reliever for him. He named his kitten Alpine.

• The past still hurts, just as much as before

Echo often had terrible nightmares. We can see in the Bad Batch, that his PTSD was still very strong. Every contact with medical equipment could trigger a severe panic attack and anxiety. Fortunately, Omega was there to support him at the time. I'm always touched that even though Echo didn't know Omega back then, he trusted her enough that her presence really helped him come back to reality and understand that he was safe.

I'm sure that he had nightmares about being tortured and locked at Skako Minor, and also dreamed of Fives. I think because of this he may have even been afraid to fall asleep, and as a result he slept very little.

He missed his brother so much and blamed himself for not being there when he died. Echo was afraid of being locked up and deprived of help, so he tried to get involved as much as possible in the fight against the Empire. I think that was one of the main reasons he went back to Rex.

I also think that Echo and Tech had long conversations and spent a lot of time together while repairing or piloting the ship. They got along the best of the whole team and only with Tech, Echo felt relaxed enough to be able to talk about his feelings and problems he was struggling with. Tech never asked, like the overprotective Hunter, he just listened, and that was enough for Echo to discover a soul mate similar to his fallen brother, Fives.

I imagine one night Tech found out that Echo couldn't sleep and asked him what happened. Echo was so surprised that someone actually asked him how he felt that he didn't know what to say at first. He finally decided to open up and confess what was on his mind. Tech understood him and they became very close from then on. That's why Echo suffered so much after losing Tech. He felt as if he had lost half of his soul again.

I imagine that, Echo was the only one from the Bad Batch to still use Mando'a. He and Fives used to speak this language among themselves. Fives nicknamed him Ech'ika (little Echo). Now, Echo used to call Omega ad'ika. After Fives death, Echo sang an old anthem - Vode an (Brothers all) to honor the memory of his fallen brother. They had learned it when they were still cadets and used to sing it together before going into battle and all 501st knew the lyrics. This is one of my favorite headcanons.

I'm sure that Echo got a tattoo of a five in honor of Fives' death. In this way he always carried his brother with him and wanted to honor his memory.

• Nightmares

Omega took a while to get used to her new home after leaving Kamino. I imagine she often had nightmares that made her afraid to go to sleep alone. Hunter saw that and let the little girl sleep with him. He told her some stories about the planets they had visited on missions, and the bond between them grew stronger. He didn't admit it, but he had fond memories of those times together.

• Fives and his twin

If Fives survived, he would be the first to side with Rex to save Echo. Seeing his beloved brother alive, but connected to computer and badly hurt, he would be both happy and devastated at the same time. Fives would do absolutely anything to be reunited with his beloved twin, even if the whole Galaxy was against him and thought he's crazy.

After being rescued, Fives would make sure Echo was fewling comfortable and help him overcome his PTSD episodes. Then he would join the Bad Batch with Echo, because he didn't wanted him to feel different. Despite some problems, the Bad Batch accepted them as their own and they became very close, like family. I pictured them sitting around fire and how they shared stories from various missions together.

Then Fives saw that Echo was trully happy. He hugged him close, and when Echo asked what happened, Fives simply replied, "I'm just happy you're here, vod'ika. That's all."

• Astronomy lesson

Tech taught Omega astronomy. How to read sky maps and name constellations. They often sat together at night, watching the sky. Hunter would get a little angry when they stay up too late, fearing that both his brother and little sister would be sick, but his anger faded quickly when he saw the smile on Omega's face. Papa Hunter would do anything to make his little girl happy.

• Two captains

Howzer is Rex's twin, like Fives and Echo. They are giving the same vibe. They trained together from an early age, still as cadets, and then the war separated them. They are also very similar in character. Courageous and great leaders, they do not abandon their people until the very end. I feel they would get along pretty well.

• Brothers for life

Cody was like an older brother to Rex. His ore'vod. He trusted him the most of all the clones.They were inseparable from the beginning of the war and became very close after the Umbara ARC. I imagine Cody was comforting a devastated Rex. He knew perfectly well that under the mask of captain's determination there was a lot of pain and suffering after loss of many brothers. They were both good people who saw a lot of evil and death in their lives. They carried mourning in their hearts and finaly were able tolet go all their emotions. It was the first time Rex had let tears flow in his brother's arms. He felt loved and safe, and Cody didn't let him go for a long time. From this moment, they looked at each other a bit differently, carefully analyzing the other's emotions and making sure that everything was okay. Besides being strong and serious leaders, they were caring and loving brothers on the inside.

Also, I just know that they were having small competition. The 501st and 212th were competing against each other as to which legion/batalion was more effective in combat. General Kenobi and Anakin secretly supported this fun game.

• Suffering medic

Kix put a lot of pressure on himself as a medic. He wanted to save as many lives as possible and not let a single soldier die. He always fought to the very end, refusing to rest until the last man was healed. Each death of his brother was equally painful for him and he treated it as a personal failure.

Umbara left a huge mark on him. He failed. So many of his brothers had fallen, and he worked until he was breathless. Only when he was so exhausted, that he could no longer stand on his own, he agreed to take a break.

Kix sat alone against the wall, looking at his hands, and cried quietly. His hands and armor were covered with the blood of his brothers. Some of them were badly hurt, others didn't make it. Kix wished he were in their place right now and felt guilty. It was hard for him to be the one that survived.

He didn't know how long he sat like that, but at one moment he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and a calm voice that he recognized immediately. It was Jesse. His best friend, his brother... Jesse told him that he did everything he could, that it wasn't his fault, but Kix wasn't convinced.

Then Jesse, seeing how bad his brother's condition was, that he started shaking, without thinking much, he wrapped his arms around Kix, pulling him into a tight hug. The medic did not protest and gave vent to his emotions and helplessness. It was the first time anyone was interested in his health. He had always been responsible for others and now someone was taking care of him. It felt nice, warm... Kix hugged back his brother and they both know that they feel the same way.

[kimbureh]

TBB S2E12 The Outpost, Crosshair & Agency In Suicide

I haven't seen anybody talk about this specific aspect yet, but in truth I avoid reading TBB meta because I haven't finished watching season 2 and don't want to read spoilers.

"The Outpost" is an episode about being trapped in your position, even if you're ready to move on from your role. I've seen it pointed out by others, and indeed it was my first thought also: Mayday talks like Rex. Behaves like Rex. Is capable to adapt to adversary circumstances like Rex. But unlike Rex, Mayday is not given the chance to reform his life. He dies on Barton-4 without fulfilling his true potential. (But Rex has been gifted this chance, while he is acutely aware most clones haven't, and chooses to rectify that as much as he can.) The Outpost of Barton-4 is the epitome of being abandoned and trapped by circumstances. This will be important again in a minute.

Regs symbolize everything Crosshair feels ashamed for. I have talked about this before, but I don't want to pull a Tech and assume that's obvious. So. Crosshair is as grating towards regs as he is (especially in TCW) because of his projected self-hatred. He's a clone too, but at least he is enhanced. "Superior", as he says to Hunter. Showing kindness to Mayday, a reg, is the first step for Crosshair to come to terms with his Clone identity. I interpret Crosshair's arc as one of developing self-acceptance, and treating a reg with kindness is the first step to treating himself with kindness. And it speaks to Crosshair's developing sense of self-acceptance when he pleads (!) with Nolan to please help Mayday (the name here is telling!).

In another meta post of mine I outlined the two possible paths of Crosshair's arc: he either manages to develop self-acceptance and leaves the Empire, or he stays and self-destructs.

In his interactions with Mayday, Crosshair clearly veers into the direction of self-acceptance via Mayday as proxy. But the circumstances don't allow for the second step: leaving the Empire. Think of that tiny backroom in which we meet Mayday and his skeleton crew for the first time. Barton-4 is not a place you leave alive. This place is a frosty tomb, the rows of trooper helmets and the raider left behind in the tunnel are grim witness to that truth. And Crosshair knows this, knows he is trapped in a very real sense on this planet, at the mercy of a cruel superior who sees him as a piece of "used equipment". And so Crosshair picks the other option left to him: self-destruction. He knows he cannot get away with shooting a superior, not when he's weak, without his helmet, trapped on an icy planet with dozens of TK troopers to hold him accountable.

Crosshair's decision is not naive, not entirely hopeless either, it's coming from a place of self-empowerment despite the dreadful desperation. There are a few excruciating moments before Crosshair draws his blaster, moments in which he does the calculations in his mind and realizes there is no way for him to survive this. But he has the freedom to make one last decision: and that is bringing down Nolan with him.

This is Crosshair's tipping point. Through the interactions with Mayday he allowed himself to care for someone again, only for the Empire to immediately take that from him. They took his agency, but in what Crosshair must believe to be his last action, he regains some of his agency and avenges Mayday. In the face of death, Crosshair defends his decision to choose self-acceptance.

A more tragic story could end here; but Crosshair has more homework to do, and it still hasn't been revealed if he really doesn't have his inhibitor chip anymore, or whether he was implanted something else in its stead, and where those searing head pains are really coming from if not from the effects of the (a?) chip. I have a few theories, but we'll see (or maybe we won't).

(pls no season 2 spoilers, I haven't fully watched it yet)

[marvelstars]

Anidala

I am not personally a big fan of their relationship mostly because romance in movies isn´t really my thing, I an more of an Anakin fan but I like them a lot as their individual characters and I believe the perception SW fandom has of them as a couple isn´t fair in many ways.

To begin with, Lucas purposely made their relationship complicated not because they were not suited for each other but because he wanted to give them a sort of Romeo and Juliet romance that ends in tragedy, not exactly because they could not have overcome their problems but because the context in which they lived actively opposed their relationship.

In Anakin´s and Padmé case, they could not get publicy married because Jedi are not supposed to marry and Padmé didn´t want Anakin to leave the Order for her, especially during the clone wars. She is smart politician who knows the kind of low moral it could bring if a member of the Jedi left their Order just after a war began and Anakin wasn´t going to abandon the Order on their own and Obi-Wan to possibly die alone. This is the reason why Anakin had the plan of staying a Jedi until the war was done and then go live on Naboo with Padme.

The fandom usually calls Anakin selfish for his "attachment" to Padme but being in love and wanting to live with your loved one isn´t attachment, this is him being a realist person, he didn´t want to stay a Jedi if that meant he had to leave his wife and (possible/future) children alone and he wasn´t as arrogant as to insist the Order change their own rules to suit his individual case. So it´s a simple decison of I can´t be two things at once if I am going to be married I will eventually leave the Order.

"I had a mother who loved me" Anakin Skywalker

He already had trouble about the Jedi Order´s possiton on familiar relationships, he didn´t know this when he was made a Jedi as a 9 year old child but he suffered the consequences, his mother being left a slave and lose the chance of seeing her freed and happy with her adopted family. He doesn´t mention this actively but the fact he appreciated and respected the Jedi´s peace keeping ways, their philosphy and ideology doesn´t mean he could not be critical of their stance of keeping their members away from their birth families as part of their tradition, he didn´t want to impose his beliefs but he wasn´t going to follow that tradition when he could live with his family.

So I have the maybe unpopular oppinion that within the context of their relationship, without the stress imposed on it by outside forces, mainly Palpatine and the war, their love was healthy but it´s the kind of love that wasnt convenient for the lifes they led and that in any other universe they could have overcome their situation if Palpatine didn´t deliberately used their relationship agaisnt them to drive Anakin to insanity after a period in which both were emotionally exhausted for living and participating in a war while keeping a secret relationship.

So imo their love and care was good, the children they got out of their relationship was as Anakin said a blessing, the actual attachment, acording to the story only comes to play when Anakin tried to keep Padmé alive at all cost thanks to Palpatine´s manipulations but this wasn´t a decison Anakin made in an usual circunstance, this was a state he fell into after years of war, lack of mental health attention and not being able to sleep for days seeing her die over and over again, knowing for a fact his dreams always became true even if most people didnt believe him.

Lest remember Anakin in the prequel trilogy is a tragic character in the old classic Greek sense, he was a great hero with a fatal flaw that became his undoing. Anakin having prophetic dreams is an active part of the story and his fear of losing Padmé wasn´t irrational, it was him knowing that in many ways, not matter what he did, the people he dreamed dying, died and this was enough to drive him to insanity but in the end, even in this scenario Padmé´s belief in Anakin´s goodness was valid and true, she showing compassion for him after his fall to the darkside wasn´t a flaw it was a strenght and Luke proved his mother right after all those years ago by becoming the one person able to save his father from the darkside, giving way to the end of the Empire, If Padme had gotten Anakin to get back from the darkside 20 years earlier, even if he and her were separated or he was killed after helping defeat the Emperor as a result of Anakin´s actions, it would have ended the Empire sooner.

Outside of this tragic frame, Padmé and Anakin were both idealist children who became outstanding people who truly believed in trying to make a difference with the tools they had, both felt a strong compromise to the Galaxy and to their respective organizations, the Jedi and the Republic but as many other people their age, they also wanted a family and live happily together.

Star Wars is ultimately the story of the Skywalker family facing off Palpatine and his Empire, Padme and Anakin being at different times pupils of The Emperor is actually part of the tragedy, not a result of their love.

[thecoffeelorian]

4/12/2024

Hello again, everyone...

Firstly, I just wanted to say that I think I'm more or less answering my own question from last week, specifically in that I'm hoping to capture all of the moments that canon either didn't think of or else could have included but chose not to, finding other artists and writers who feel as strongly as I do, and then passing all of that missing knowledge onto the ones that want it the most.

For example...I wanted to make sure that Omega and Crosshair weren't secretly (still) chipped, but that moment never came even though Captain Rex himself suggested that everyone not confirmed to be without one was a ticking time bomb.

I wanted to see Omega and Crosshair discuss the loss of Tech onscreen, but even though these two both had a clear relationship with him, that moment never came.

And lastly I want to see CX-2's face to know who he is under that mask...but, tragically, though I'm not the only one who has suspicions, that moment might not come.

This and a growing list of unaddressed content is pretty much the difficulty I've had from the very start of this thing, so...maybe that's my real purpose here. Maybe, alongside a lot of other talented artists and writers, I'm meant to help fill in the blanks for others as well as myself, if only to make the growing list of unresolved issues that this show has had since the beginning not feel so overwhelming any more.

Maybe we were also always meant to start telling our own tales about these mega-corporate creations, and in so doing, change them from some way to rake in more cash and give them more personality, more likes and dislikes, more history, heck, possibly even more life if it means our own lives aren't so isolated and confined to the rules of some CEO in a suit.

So, whether or not we follow their social media accounts, watch their shows, and buy their merchandise...I hope none of us ever stop building our own myths and legends about these heroes. Whatever we do or wherever we go, I hope we don't stop creating.

Now...with that thought in mind, let's get to the weekly picks.

The Bad Batch Fan Art

Omega, Crosshair, and Tech by @doodlingfoolishness

Captain Baja Blast by @evefangirl

CX-2 by @keeradaks

Captain Howzer by @thespianwtch

The Bad Batch Fan Fiction

Consequence by @the-kittylorian-writes

Food Fight by @buckybarnes-and-noble

A Rest by Tanwyn

The Clone Wars Fan Art

Let's go to work by @thassakolti0

Happy Spring by @coline7373

Hardcase by @clone-trooper-cheese

The Clone Wars Fanfiction

Forget Me Not by @jedi-princess-kestis

The Mandalorian Fanart

Paz Vizsla by @gqe-leh

Tales Of The Empire Fanart

Barriss Offee by @raidantra

She's baaack!! by @master-tired

Barriss Offee by @revanknightwoman

And so, in order to support all our writers and artists, please check out the links I included above, like, comment, and reblog as you would with anyone else.

Please also like and reblog this latest installment so that these links can be spread around to as many other fans as possible, just in case not all of them can tune in at the same time. Thank you, good morning, and good luck.

No Pressure Tags: @ilovemedia @gun-roswell @theosb0rnway @ci-avmovies14 @called-me-vicky @saphiranishimurashan @themightychipmunk42 @sharpasanaro @ray-rook @serinzatravel-blog @chefobiwankenobi @smw-on-kamino @here-comes-the-moose @trixie2023 @skellymom @talesfrommedinastation @callsign-denmark @melymigo @groguandthebadbatch @ankossss @littlefeatherr @yeehawgeek and anyone else who might be in search of more of the good stuff.

[battlekilt]

An inescapable tragedy... of surviving...

Rex's plot armor ain't all that it's cracked up to be. But he can't get out of it, any more than Fives and Fox could get out of their fate.

Was responding to a comment on my post about the duality of Fives and Fox's fate, written a little over a year ago, and decided to share my response. It grew as I polished it up.

"Long, long ago, in a galaxy far far away..."

We all knew how this would end. We knew that Fives would end in tragedy because had it not, then the tragedy of Order 66 would not happen.

Narratively, Fox functions as Rex's foil, which only further compounds the tragedy of Fives's death because it almost makes Rex a Hamlet-like character.

See, the most pivotal moments we've seen Rex develop led to this moment.

His struggle to question authority were answered when he questioned his orders to drop the issue of the ship, but also what Order 66 told him: The Jedi are traitors—execute them all.

His indecision to act on his independent instincts. A lesson we saw him go through with on Umbara, which Fives had been the opposite end of the spectrum Dogma; the two foils against Rex t0 gauge who he had been, and who he would become.

Both of those lessons, of authority and action through conviction, were seen evolving when didn't back down from Anakin or Cody's skepticism—He had good reason to believe Echo was alive, and he was determined to see that theory through.

Rex's inaction over Fives was mostly due to him not understanding what was happening enough to be able to do anything at all, but also his limited access to do anything, even if knew what to do.

But, it triggered a series of events that was sprung into motion. And that started with the other side of his coin becoming the unwilling executor of such an important brother. This was it, this was the final lesson we see him go through about indecision and skepticism.

The moment of Fives's death sealed the fates of both Rex and Fox.

Fives's death and its circumstances made Rex aware enough of the chip to file his formal complaint—the log he told Ahsoka to find, with the eerie choice of words, "Find Fives. Find him."

When she did so, she learned the secret, and decided she could not let her friend die. It had also given Rex the cognition to fight the chip, if only for a few scant seconds.

Few would ever be spared this tragic fate. We as the audience watch Fives's discovery and fool ourselves that maybe, maybe, what happened long, long ago, might be changed. However, we also know that it would never be changed. His discovery and death did not stop the events of Order 66, but it did end up being what spared Ahsoka, and in doing so, it saved Rex's fate from the same fate all the other Clones suffered.

Had Fives not died, Ahsoka would not be alive, and Rex might have shared her fate—either in the same grisly demise as the rest of the 332nd, or doomed to an Imperial life.

Lives saved, undoubtedly.

The same could not be said for Fox, who never had any choice in whether he took that shot or not; his duty wouldn't let him, and the narrative is much crueler.

Fives's death also made Anakin, who certainly did not carry Rex's same military rationale into his next life, as Lord Vader, bear a grudge set ablaze while he survived solely on hatred in his heart. Unable to act on the few injustices he felt he had inflicted on him, Vader made right what happened to Fives, and satisfied that hatred within... with Fox's death.

Oh, those final sounds. Fives died with the loud crack of a blaster bolt. Fox died with the simple, soft crack of his neck.

However, Rex lived, and I think... both Fives and Fox would see the value in that. Not that Rex was wholly spared.

Remember what Cody had said? Which, in hindsight, seemed another lessons in Rex's life for him to carry on with. It was also... another foreshadow.

Cody wasn't wrong. Rex's plot armor only prolonged the hardest thing.

So many had not been spared this fate. However, neither had Rex. He had the worst of it, if we are being honest. Ask Obi-Wan, after all.

What could possibly so hard about being this tragic fate?

Being a survivor.

[magicalswordgirls]

Heh, I’ll draw a better Aerial next time. The important thing is that I got over my fear of drawing mecha and also over my fear of building plastic models of robots, so thanks, Okouchi! Some headcanons and ranting under the cut. (With spoilers)

For some reason most of my WfM fanfiction has been centered around Aerial/Ericht ever since the theory about Aerial being Eri started circulating during the first season. I’ve been thinking about AU’s where she doesn’t lose her body and instead is an older teenager/young adult who has to deal with a mother obsessed with revenge while also trying to protect her little sister from the consequences of said revenge (and precisely because of that, she ends up questioning herself wether following her mother’s path is worth it or not).

I think that Eri was a character with a lot of potential in the story. She’s this girl who lost absolutely everything, who might be sad and angry about it but can’t do much on her own. She loves her family and even if she also wants to help her mom get revenge, she knows that it’s wrong and she doesn’t want her clone/little sister to get involved in any of it but, yet again, she can’t prevent the fact that her sister is used as a pawn, and she’s also being used, even if her mom doesn’t want to admit it. The dilemma of wanting to help her mom while simultaneously wanting to protect her sister’s innocence is a very compelling part of the story. Also the relationship between the sisters had a lot of potential. Eri could’ve seen Suletta as everything that she wasn’t able to become and that could’ve lead to very complicated feelings. There were a lot of elements that would have turned Ericht into a very interesting and nuanced character and I’m not even mentioning the transhumanism angle, there was a lot that could be explored in that area.

However, as we know, there wasn’t much about this character in canon (even if she was important for both the protagonist and the antagonist of the show). She remained a mysterious figure throughout most of the story and we didn’t get to know much about her motivations. In fact, most of what we know about her comes from the short novel “Cradle Planet”, the anime didn’t bother to put that information in the story and that’s why for most viewers she’s this creepy girl haunting a Gundam who’s almost as big as a jerk as Prospera. To be honest, I was expecting her to be more conflicted during her battle with Suletta or at least I wanted to kow why she was so convinced to follow her mother’s plan. At the end we didn’t get any of that, and she remained as an underdeveloped character.

So yeah, I have the impression that in my head I made up this nuanced and tragic character out of someone that ended up being a Funny Little Guy inside a keychain. Well, I guess this is very common when one starts liking a secondary character from a show. (I always wondered how people would make long essays and fafics about characters that didn't do much in a show... guess I'm that kind of person now).

Well, I suppose that I’ll have to stick to my fanfics and headcanons, at least I know that nothing I could write’s gonna be more wild than what actually happened in canon. So there’s that.

…Thanks Okouchi :/.

P.S: I like to speculate what kind of teen/young adult she would’ve been, specially in slightly less tragic AU’s, maybe she’s more like she was in the Prologue or she’s a little bit messed up because she’s shielding her sister from everything that’s wrong with their family. Idk, I just find her very fun to write (although I’m always aware that I might be creating some sort of pseudo OC, man I really wish that canon had given us more material to work with!)

[eriexplosion]

If I could get tooth rottingly sincere here for a second.

The thing is I want TBB to have a happy ending more than I want air. And I know that all the predictions are more trauma, more death, more sadness, maybe everyone gets rogue oned and Omega grows up alone, and I'm not even saying that it's unlikely but god I do not want it. At all.

TBB has been about adapting to change, their changing lives and circumstances, their changing dynamics as a family, the change of having Omega in their lives, losing Cross, everything. But if it actually fully has a tragic ending, it will feel like all that change was for nothing. They were born in tragedy, lived a tragedy, died a tragedy. What's the point?

I am holding out a hope that this is just one long earn your happy ending that ends with them safe together as a family, whether they retire on Pabu or they are going to be doing missions for the clone rebellion, helping to rescue and ferry clones to Pabu as refugees, maybe. I think that the most meaningful thing that any clones can be allowed to do in this story is live. We've watched them be sacrificed by the hundreds for years, I just kind of want them to be allowed to fucking live. All of them, the batch and Omega. If they do a sequel series that follows the clone rebellion in a more general way, if someone dies for good there I can deal with it, but I want at least one story, one series, to show a little bit of change in the clones lives from start to finish.

[anthurak]

At this point, I think most of us are onboard or at least pretty familiar with the theory that Aerial is in fact a brain-uploaded Ericht Samaya, and Suletta is some kind of clone. However, recently I’ve found myself thinking about one particular twist on this theory that feels especially plausible and could definitely push Prospera into full-on Big-Bad/Final Boss territory.

Consider: Eri was brain-uploaded into Lfrith during some kind of accident, and Suletta is some form of clone. And it turns out that Prospera’s big plan hasn’t JUST been about revenge, but also driven by a desperate desire to get her real daughter back. ie; find a way to extract Eri from Aerial. However, all this winds up leading to an ultimately tragic reveal that even Prospera doesn’t expect:

Aerial isn’t actually Eri. Oh, she certainly has some shades of Eri, but it turns out that Eri’s mind wasn’t simply uploaded into Lfrith. Her psyche actually merged with Lfrith’s AI to become someone new. However the mechanics end up being explained, one thing is clear:

There is no Eri anymore, only Aerial. Ericht Samaya is well and truly GONE, and nothing can bring her back.

And of course, Prospera does not take this well AT ALL. Heck, maybe Aerial is pretty dang close to who Eri originally was, but there’s just enough of a difference to send Prospera/Elnora into ‘that’s not my baby!’ mode. And from there, Elnora goes into a full-blown ‘the thing that kept me going the past 10+ years was lie’ breakdown and things only get more messy from there.

The main thing that makes this theory stick out to me is the little detail we learned in Planet Cradle that Elnora can’t actually HEAR Aerial like Suletta can. And by extension, Elnora has never actually talked TO Aerial. That all makes me think we’re building to some kind of reveal that Elnora assumed or simply believed something about Aerial, like that she was always Eri, but it turns out she was WRONG.

It also nicely removes any kind of ‘Aerial is the REAL daughter and Suletta is just a copy’ messiness. It turns out they’re BOTH effectively ‘copies’ of Ericht Samaya, but both have grown into their own identities.

[r-2-peepoo]

Here’s how the Tatooine Husbands arc would work realistically imo.

So Cody obviously has no clue Obi Wan is even alive, let alone where he is. It’s probably gonna be a long time before he actually gets there.

Until then, the next step for him is obviously helping his brothers, which is just a stepping stone to the rebellion, but I think we all know that unfortunately most of the clones probably won’t survive very long. It’s tragic but it’s just realistic (and we will hide in Dave’s walls when it happens!!!).

It’ll be years before he makes it to Tatooine. Truthfully I don’t even have a clue how he’s going to get there. Bail could be nice and just tell him the man he thinks he murdered isn’t actually dead but it definitely won’t be that simple so it’s gonna take forever and Cody will definitely become an important part of the rebellion.

Ideally Obi Wan wouldn’t be stuck in the desert for years, but we all know nothing about the plots of any of these movies was planned ahead of time so ig he’s stuck there now. Realistically someone of his skill and reputation would be a key player in the Rebellion but he’s destined to be a hermit because of ANH which is just the way it is.

I think Cody probably wouldn’t be there all the time but he would be there enough just to check on him and spend some time with him. Just as Obi Wan is watching over Luke, Cody would do the same for Obi Wan. It’s partially paranoia left over from Order 66 but it’s also partially because he still wishes he was Obi Wan’s second in command because at the very least things were simpler back then. But it’s mainly because he cares. He cares so much, not to mention that Obi Wan is the only connection to his old life who he always knows how to find because he’s always in the same place.

He’d also give him updates about Leia and about what’s happening in the rebellion. Maybe Obi Wan will leave Tatooine occasionally to help (but he’ll stay anonymous when he does ofc) which would give us concepts for future seasons of OWK.

Cody would definitely consider staying with him full time. He’s just so tired of fighting because it’s been his entire life but at the same time he doesn’t know any other way to be. It’s all he knows and he feels restless not helping. I think he’d eventually make peace with it when he gets older and that’s when he’s finally settle down but it would take years to get to that point. Probably not that long before A New Hope but we don’t need to talk about that part because they need at least a few years of happiness before anything sad happens again.