#rebels maul does not look this old

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

confession: i liked a lot of things about this movie. what i did not like, in the slightest, was the maul cameo.

i could go off for a big ol droll paragraph about it, but i could also just summarize with 'his costuming sucks and they made him smile super creepy and play with his lightsaber like he's a child with a toy, not an elite wizard assassin trained with a saberstaff since childhood.'

why is he playing around with his staff on screen? it's not even a bored, idle fiddling. he's like wooo~ look at my liiiiiightsaaaabrrrrr. it's fuckin comical, not intimidating. boo.

[just-prime]

Ahsoka is so slow I could cry. She was trained by Anakin and presumably Obi-wan and several other Jedi, and Rosario can hardly do an actual lightsaber twirl, let alone make me believe she could survive Ventress, Maul, Grievous, or Vader, survive order 66, or run in a way that looks fast. Bo-Katan moves faster, Shin moves faster, Sabine moves faster, Ezra moves faster, even Ewan's lazy twirls while walking around and not actively engaged in battle in the prequels were roughly as fast as Rosario's in an actual duel.

It's also canon that in this era, in a less prequels flashy version of standard Jedi abilities, a Jedi can leap SEVERAL feet. Luke in ROTJ- even GROGU can jump higher, while Rosario's feet are consistently glued to the ground. Her choreography and speed are so inconsistent with this established era and people keep writing it off and praising it as her fighting like a samurai now, even though it makes NO sense for her to, given who trained her. She isn't A New Hope Obi-wan, nor sad cave dwelling Obi-wan who hasn't stretched or lifted a weapon in a decade, and a 44 year old Jedi is still supposed to be in their prime.

I truly wonder if part of it is that they can't keep her lekku on properly if she does a flip, and they are shorter because they were meant to be more practical, but I'm really not seeing a character agile enough to need stunt modified lekku.

If they couldn't bring this to life in live action convincingly, it should have remained animated and each passing week demonstrates this more and more.

I'm sorry to anon into your inbox like this, but your post about the last episode has been so refreshing, and I've felt like I've been watching a completely different show than other people and don't know how they considered any of the actors ready. (Rosario has said she was training during filming). Thank you for your brutally honest take, you're spot on on all counts.

Couple of things.

A) I agree with everything you just said. Always feel free to come and rant into my asks.

B) I HAVE BEEN ANTI TINY LEKKU SINCE MANDO S2. It's laughable that we've seen cosplayers with more Rebels accurate headpieces. And of course everyone defends it with the 'it wouldn't be fair to the stunt person to have them try and do flips in that' and it's like NEWSFLASH Ahsoka isn't doing flips anyway!!! And sure, they probably stuck Rosario in a 5 week sword training class, but she's clearly not had to do any serious combat training given how clunky her fights are. And again, this was also a problem back in Mando s2, only she was in the middle of a foggy woods, so it was easier to hide the fact that she is incompetent when it comes to fight choreography.

C) "If they couldn't bring this to life in live action convincingly, it should have remained animated" Exactly. This is why every passing day I am increasingly pissed that this show killed and ate the animated Rebels sequel series that was in fucking development. Everything about this show, from Ahsoka, to Hera (hell, even TBoBF cameos like Cad Banes) prove that Disney is not willing to shell out for a decent makeup and/or CG designer. No shade to the artists that are currently working on it, they are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. What I mean is they didn't have anyone on set that was in a high enough positions to say 'Hey, have any of you heard of contouring?' Like, just looking at the alien makeup of the OT...which somehow holds up better than state of the art Disney budget makeup. It's just fucking embarrassing at this point. There is no reason everyone should look as flat as they do, but it's no surprise that they do when mary elizabeth winstead is celebrating that her makeup only took an hour. Sure, it's understandable that you don't want to be sitting in the makeup chair every morning of hours on end, but in the end you are an actor who signed up to play an alien...Suck it up buttercup.

D) I totally understand how hard it is to be not liking this show right now. The amount of people who've told me that "well, clearly it's just not made for you" after I point out a simple fact that a character is out of character is painful. Looking at twitter after each episode as everyone seems to think Filoni is creating the second coming is painful. Because it really does feel like we're watching a different show than them.

Okay, I think I covered everything. Thank you again for your kind words and your wonderful rant!!!

[antianakin]

It's so interesting to look at just HOW BLIND Ahsoka's loyalty towards Anakin truly is.

She is told point blank by Maul that the Sith Master is planning to make Anakin his new apprentice, and her reaction is NOT to warn anybody that this is a potential problem for them to look into but simply to reject the possibility so entirely that it's not even worth warning anyone about. She's so absolutely convinced of this that she dooms the entire Jedi Order and the Republic they serve by keeping it secret in order to protect Anakin from even a SUSPICION of him going dark.

She then HEARS Anakin betray Mace, she hears Anakin turn on Mace and side with Palpatine just moments before Order 66 goes out. And while it's mildly understandable that she could come to other conclusions from that without any more knowledge and just assume Anakin died, she continues to refuse to believe that Anakin became Vader when she senses him despite that evidence.

She spends a YEAR trying to disprove what she already knows to be true, what she could put together from Maul's claims, her vision on the ship just moments before Order 66, and sensing his presence in Rebels. She goes ahead and tells Ezra that what would've surprised people about him was his KINDNESS, despite the fact that she is actively looking for proof that Anakin DIDN'T genocide the Jedi because she's like 99.99% sure that he DID and she's desperately telling herself that no, Anakin was KIND, he would NEVER commit genocides.

This is someone who put her in a training regime where she is knocked out for hours at a time by her own men, forced her into training after being knocked out without a rest beforehand, and left her on the ground after being knocked out with no attempt at making sure she was safe or comfortable. This is someone she has WATCHED go nearly apoplectic with rage more than once, someone she has seen keep himself from murdering people by the skin of his teeth.

And when she comes face to face with him, a year after looking for proof, despite all evidence she's got pointing her to one super obvious and irrefutable conclusion, she LETS HIM convince her that he's NOT Anakin, that he KILLED Anakin, because her blind loyalty to Anakin will let her believe anything rather than face the truth she's on some level known since she was seventeen years old.

AND THEN, after getting all of that loyalty thrown back in her face, after her worst fear is confirmed true and Anakin decides to keep TRYING to kill her, that blind loyalty leads her to decide she'd rather die than live with this truth. She'd rather die FOR HIS SAKE, to keep him from having to be alone, than run away from him again.

Anakin could do quite literally anything to Ahsoka and she'd forgive it. Anakin DOES do just about every possible horrific thing to Ahsoka he COULD do and she's more worried about not abandoning him than anything else still. Ahsoka can recognize he's a Sith who has done horrific things to her and everyone else but because he's ANAKIN, her loyalty is still first and foremost to him and his happiness and his wellbeing. She will abandon the Jedi again, abandon Kanan and Ezra, before she abandons the person actively trying to kill her.

It's so interesting to see that, the one time she DOESN'T do this is in the Wrong Jedi, when she leaves him behind and puts her own needs first.

And THAT'S what she seems to consider her greatest mistake. Not leaving the JEDI, not TRUSTING Anakin at all, but abandoning Anakin when she was at her lowest. Because her blind loyalty to him won't let her see it as anything but a betrayal of ANAKIN.

Ahsoka CANNOT see him for what and who he is, she CAN'T. She's been ignorant of it before, but she also intentionally blinds herself to it over and over again.

[sethnakht]

there's an au in my head where vader shows up at jabba's palace before luke but after leia's capture on a tip call from boba fett. leia, captive on jabba's throne, senses his arrival well before she sees him; watching his descent into the throne room, she regrets conjuring the spectre of "powerful friends" to scare jabba. vader has strangled several guards by this point; jabba doesn't care; he receives vader as though they were old business partners, without a translator. vader interrupts jabba in the middle of a self-congratulatory overture - jabba is harboring the leader of the rebel alliance, he says, pointing at leia, and must surrender her immediately. this escalates; jabba offers han instead, vader counters that jabba will relinquish the princess or die, jabba reaches for the controls to his rancor pit, leia averts her eyes, unwilling to key vader into the trapdoor beneath his feet, and suddenly vader is gone and she and the whole throne retinue are sliding, lurching, falling; they're the ones in the pit, and when she looks up, she sees vader staring down at them with an ignited lightsaber, surrounded by poorly aimed blaster fire. she looks away just as he begins to deflect it.

vader has decided to pay boba and lure luke and punish jabba all at once; he leapt over the throne and pushed its occupants with the force, pickled frogs and leia included, into the rancor pit. he still fully intends that leia be made his prisoner - he doesn't want to kill his best line to luke - he simply assumes that since she's survived him, she can survive anything. as it happens, leia does escape the rancor because it feasts on the stunned jabba first, breaking the chain that connected her to him; dodging the panicking attendants, who also end up eaten or mauled, she finds the pit entrance and secures herself by bringing down the threshold gate. if vader's right about leia, though, he's wrong here about luke, who isn't provoked into appearing. becoming impatient - having slaughtered every guard who hasn't fled - vader deprives artoo of luke's hidden saber and decides to draw luke to him where he cannot fail to appear. stuck between gates in the dungeon, leia shrieks and missteps, slicing open her boot and her foot on a misplaced axe; vader has materialized silently, like a shadow that shouldn't be in the desert. he's in a foul mood; ignoring her limp, he pulls her out by the chain still attached to her neck (because he's petty and hasn't forgotten her comment about his 'leash') all the way to his private ship (the nubian j-type that symbolizes and effected his removal from tatooine, the ship he has in the comics). with usual bumbling luck (let's say his restraining bolt no longer works because jabba is dead), threepio trails them and ends up boarding too, commenting blithely about the ship's royal trappings.

well aware luke is on tatooine, vader doesn't leave the planet; flying in a way that leia first thinks is just intended to keep her off-balance, he heads for the lars homestead. lashed to the co-pilot's seat and without a sense of their direction, leia looks at featureless sand and can't help but call up the map in her mind to where obi-wan would have lived. it's popular fanon that vader can't read leia's mind owing to natural mental shields; I could see exploring an alternative where he can sense her strong emotions, where he does swoop in and catch the fish swimming right at the surface - only that what he catches is what she's chosen to sacrifice, or what she sees no reason to hide. what to him is a prize is to her an acceptable loss. so maybe in this au, there's this history between them: on the death star, she'd given up that obi-wan was part of her mission, anticipating that he'd be on alderaan and out of reach, while protecting the location of the rebel base; maybe that's why she survived her interrogation, because vader had gone so distracted with the bait that he'd lost interest in the fish. point being, vader is well aware that she's thinking about obi-wan right at this moment, and leia is chilled to realize, just from the quality of his silence, that she knows that he knows.

but this soon doesn't matter, because she realizes they're being pursued by what's left of jabba's guard and the millenium falcon. vader is possibly an even crazier pilot in atmosphere than in space, performing stomach-turning stunts like killing the ship's engines and going into a freefall dive to get each attacker but the more distant falcon to destroy itself; the falcon he shakes off by heading straight into a massive sandstorm. droid-like as he is, leia realizes he doesn't rely on the ship's instruments when the storm causes half to fail and they still make it past flying debris. after landing, vader orders leia to put on a flightsuit and helmet before they exit into the storm, lest she take unnecessary further damage. freeing herself of the mask the moment they're in an enclosed part of the homestead - which required passing through a courtyard open to the hostile elements - leia is first surprised by vader's choice of an abandoned hovel, then concerned when threepio reveals where they are. the more details threepio spills (the more the limits of his memory banks are revealed to vader), the more uneasy leia becomes. luke's family died because of the empire. but they'd still be alive, she can't help but think, had she not sent the death star plans to this planet. perhaps enjoying this dark turn to her thoughts, vader doesn't interrupt the flow of commentary. evidently unfazed by his own role in murdering luke's family, he prowls through their home as though it were his own castle. leia can imagine he's designing a trap for luke. silently, she implores him to stay away.

luke doesn't come. a massive piece of farming equipment, left unmaintained for too long and violently unmoored by the storm, smashes into vader's ship, taking out an engine. bounty hunters hired by angry hutts try to finish the job; vader kills them, but not before they've set his ship on fire. and vader starts to go slightly more mad than usual; the tatooine sand in his suit and smoke preventing use of his ship's hyperbaric chamber and luke's refusal to acknowledge his psychic pleading/threats and threepio's obviously mindwiped chatter and leia's scorching presence, her immense grief and scorn, her way of judging without having to speak a word - it all warps, and blurs, as he paces like the suit is cooking him from inside, and touches the wall disjointedly, and makes sudden disappearances to repair his ship with cheap moisturizer parts. for her part, leia is judging. she knows why vader wants her alive, and she's angry to be used again as bait, to say the least. and she's also judging her own chances: she's not eaten, not had access to water, she's lost a good deal of blood, her foot is bandaged with dirty cloth, and luke's lightsaber is hanging from vader's belt, tantalizingly near.

she tries to goad vader, to distract him from his ship repairs and the trap he's creating and the second lightsaber on his belt. he's become predictable, and luke won't come. she has no reason to hide her love for luke, so when vader lashes out mentally - jealously pilfering surface impressions of luke from her mind - he can remain blind to her intentions. only vader is paying real attention to her now that he's gotten to taste those memories, she's fed a hunger she hadn't known could devour, and she understands that he's draining her, taking from her, that she's shriveling up from thirst and regret and this connection. he's seeing her value as for the first time and isn't seeing her at all - and when threepio begins crying for help, drawing vader's attention away, leia is certain she is going to die.

vader wants to know when threepio entered her service. threepio is only too glad to answer exactly. leia is too depleted to care about what he shares - better that he spill the secrets of the dead captain antilles than having vader back in her head - she drifts into unconsciousness, and dreams. she's back at the palace in aldera, in the oval garden, where a stone statue of queen amidala had stood watch over beds of white asters. leia had liked to look into the child-queen's solemn face - her mother had often brought her here to tell her stories of amidala's adventures - but in her dream she is facing the statue's back, a meaningless circumstance that somehow chills her. she circles closer and yet can't get around to the front, and the harder she tries the more the details slip from her, until she can't even remember amidala's face. this too, she has lost.

anyway, that's the setup. it escalates from there. vader is paying enough attention to entertain new suspicions about luke's strong feelings for leia; amongst the many other threatening things he does, he finds desert cacti and makes leia drink the nectar. (for all she knows, it's poison, and the spikes on the surface cut her fingers and press against her face like needles.) leia, still certain she is dying, commits to saving luke as her final act, which she believes means killing vader. vader repairs his ship; leia ensures the self-destruct goes off while they're both on it. vader absorbs the blast, keeping leia alive at the cost of compromising his own life support; suddenly faced with the chance to fulfil her wish, luke's lightsaber in her hands, leia finds herself unable to follow through - because vader tells her to do it.

at last, a figure on the horizon. luke is come.

[isagrimorie]

You know what I've wanted but I never thought they'd address in Star Wars Ahsoka?

Ahsoka's tendency to be just as lethal as Anakin. Obi-Wan could never kill Anakin but I believe with all my heart despite loving Anakin and maybe even because she loves Anakin, Ahsoka would have killed Anakin if she were in Mustafar too.

It would have broken Ahsoka but she would have gone through with it -- I believe she'd have done it too in Malachor, she'd die trying at least.

(source: @padawan-tano from this gifset)

But also at 16 years old, she beheaded 4 Death Watch members SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Even if Obi-Wan can do this move, he wouldn't choose to do this move because he wasn't a Wartime Jedi. I don't remember if this is before or after the Citadel arc. Looking it up, yeah, the Citadel arc happened in season 3, the Citadel mission was one of the hardest missions she's been on in her young life.

There was a reason neither Obi-Wan and Anakin wanted her there, so Plo-Koon, what the hell!? (I love you Plo-Koon but you spoil Ahsoka).

As this meta points out the Citadel arc is when the war gets real for Ahsoka in a way she can't just push away.

It's subtle and it's not called out but Ahsoka basically does something that Anakin did where Anakin stabs a bad guy in the back and the first notes of the imperial march begin to sound.

And ironically it's to save Tarkin.

Ahsoka had to stab an enemy in the back to save Tarkin (of all people, I bet Ahsoka regrets saving Tarkin years later).

The way Ahsoka stares dazedly at the man she killed by stabbing him in the back... The Citadel arc was rough on Ahsoka.

And then Tarkin tells Anakin: "You've trained her well."

No wonder Ahsoka's afraid she was a little too much like Anakin.

It doesn't help that a ghost of a potential future tells her:

(source by @mlmanakin)

“There is a wildness to you, young one. Seeds of the dark side planted by your master. Do you feel it?”

and then later: "There are many contradictions in you... and in him."

And I am so, so excited that we might be delving into Ahsoka's contradictions. She can be the warmest person in the room but god, can she also make the coldest, most pragmatic decisions for war.

Easily one of the coldest was her decision to set Maul free and use him as a distraction during the Siege of Mandalore - Shattered.

(source by @manny-jacinto)

Ahsoka doesn't want to directly kill or maim the Clone Troopers herself, but it doesn't mean she won't use someone else to do it.

If Maul dies in this, it would be one more thing off her hands.

And I don't think people really get what function Ahsoka served in the fledgling rebellion-- she was basically in Luthen's role in Andor. She's not as quick to go to the most expedient solution, but it doesn't mean she won't.

In season 1 of Star Wars Rebels Ahsoka, as Fulcrum, told Hera to leave Kanaan in the hands of the inquisitor, knowing full well what would be done to Kanaan. She was in the Citadel arc where Jedi were imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Ahsoka knew. But she did the cold math in her head -- but if it weren't for Ezra's message that reminded Ahsoka who she was fighting for and why....)

Ahsoka basically did the cold math in her head at the start of 1x04, Fallen Jedi, when she told Sabine they might have to destroy the map and strand Ezra in another universe in order to keep Thrawn from entering their galaxy and restarting another war.

This is why Baylan's condemnations:

Really, really got to Ahsoka.

When Ahsoka told Sabine in 1x03, that anger unbalances her -- it's extra true of Ahsoka.

But I also don't want to discount what Ahsoka's mother taught her about death, how one must respect death but not fear it, and how that might have influenced Ahsoka's understanding of death as a warrior.

Still, I feel Ahsoka has the same fear as Buffy did -- that all this killing has made her cold with a bonus fear that she might be too like her old Master and fall into the dark side.

I'm so excited for 1x05 and see how this will all tie together now that she's seeing Anakin again. Snips and Skyguy have a lot to talk about and resolve.

[circle-around-again]

"Well," Kilindi said, "I guess I'll see you later." She turned away from Maul and began walking toward the courtyard's gate. "Wait," Maul said. ... "I like to swim." (Windham, 87).

Another example of Maul lying through his teeth. He does not like or know how to swim.

Maul is an opportunist and a manipulator. These skills only get sharpened from his time alone, and serve him extremely well as the Shadow. Rebels' Maul is an old conman who many see as out of character, but if you look closely there are common threads of using language as a tool.

I firmly believe that he learnt this from Deenine.

And, dare I say, this may be an inheritance gift from his paternal master.

[threebea]

I'm thinking of that moment in Rebels when Maul meets Obi-Wan again.

Maul : Look what has become of you. ...

Ben Kenobi : Look at what I've risen above.

Maul : I've come to kill you, but perhaps it's worse to leave you here, festering in your squalor.

Maul is ragged, dirty, he's been wandering in the desert screaming out for his old enemy and then he tries to act like it's Obi-Wan that has been lost and lonely and broken and festering this whole time (he was but Maul missed that window by a few years)

Ben Kenobi : If you define yourself by your power to take life, the desire to dominate, to possess? Then you have nothing.

Maul came to Obi-Wan for an ending between them because at the end of the day he really does have nothing. The only thing he has left is Obi-Wan and an empty hatred.

When Maul comes back he's always looking for an apprentice. Savage, Ahsoka, Ezra. Maul is the abandoned apprentice.

And Obi-Wan is the only beacon he has left. Because he hates him but at least Kenobi means there's another person in the universe that knows him that isn't Sidious, the man that made him.

And in the end he asks Obi-Wan for hope.

To be avenged, but not just Maul, both of them.

Because Maul finally sees Obi-Wan isn't who he wanted revenge from. Or maybe it's his own way of forgiveness?

And in the end the abandoned apprentice dies in the arms of the forsaken Master.

[aixelsyd13]

BBS3 Threemiere random observations, speculations, & questions in no particular order...

☆ At one point, for a quick second, Palpatine's eyes reminded me of the old school chimp eye effect from the original print of ESB.

☆ Tech has to be alive, right? Is CX-1 a brainwashed Tech, or a direct clone of Tech?

☆ Saw on X... Omega's crossbow in the poster looks a lot like Boba Fett's blaster. Will they meet? Will he be one of the bounty hunters unleashed to find them? Will Vader be kept on the dark on this, or involved?

☆ I have long assumed Omega was force sensitive, but they haven't outright said it... just that her blood is a match for carrying the "M-Count" successfully. I think we are meant to assume it's the Emperor's.blood, but.... is it? Could be Vader's if he had the higher M-Count. Would Grogu be involved yet, or did he successfully escape with not Jar Jar and wholly avoid capture?

☆ We have confirmation Emerie and Omega are similar clones. Is Emerie Dr. Pershing's mother?

☆ Does Omega play a role in the Rey or Snoke family tree?

☆ Do the new young clones come along for the mission?

☆ Will we see Luke, Leia, Han, Obi Wan, Chewbacca, or some other OT characters in passing/cameos? (Or even Maul, Ahsoka, Hera, Kanan, Zeb?)

☆ Henlock speaks cold & calculated much like Thrawn.

☆ Loved the not-quite Sarlacc, and the vibes from Alien, including the planet name Weyland those crawly things, ans straight-up horror elements.

☆ The vines & the dust particles gave strong Stranger Things vibes... but I know I have seen the "don't step on the vines" trope elsewhere and I can't place it.

☆ Morticia Addams herself, Angelica Houston, voicing that crime lord? Fantastic! I had to Google it. At first I thought it was Katy Segal or Allison Janney.

☆ It's continuing the Clone Wars & Rebels trends of being heavy and dark at times for a "Kids'" show. I love it.

[nonhumanhottie]

Clone Wars Season 7 rewatch - final arc

The final arc. I'm not ready.

Anakin might be on the brink of the dark side but he's still so sassy

Anakin loves Ahsoka so much oh my god

Ahsoka is nearly as tall as anakin

Oh my God... the Ahsoka-painted helmets I wanna die

Rex loves ahsoka so much

I stand by Ahsoka ripping into Obi-Wan

Good luck is the last thing that's said between Ahsoka and Anakin... until Rebels

I love hearing Rex laugh...

The 501st love Ahsoka so much hmmmn

Maul you bad bitch he's so calculated but so messy at the same time

Idk how they haven't figured out who Sidious is... when they're also suspicious of Palpatine

Jesse noooo

I love the way Maul sits in his throne bisexual disaster king I love this sassy stupid man

Ahsoka sweetie don't trust this loser. His predictions are all correct but don't trust him

'You have Kenobi's arrogance' Maul knows Obi-Wan and Anakin raised her!!

'You're all going to burn we're all going to die' God he knows what the audience does and no one else does!!

Idk how old Bo is supposed to be but she looks so young

Even Rex can see Mace's citizen comment was rude af

Ahsoka being a child soldier and Rex being a soldier against his choice but them still being good people hurts my heart

It doesn't matter how many times it happens, order 66 still stabs me in the gut every time

The clones in their painted helmets shooting Ahsoka... cruel irony

Maul getting bossed around by a teenager... accurate

Rex calling Ahsoka kid... my heaarrrtt

Maul is truly a horror villain

Rex crying is a bridge too far I wanna jump off cliff

Maul learns what he can about teenagers and then uses that to terrorise Ezra years later lmao

Ahsoka burying the men who watched her grow up...

Vader and the blue lightsaber... he already regrets his choices but he knows he can't turn back

This ending still messes me up

[moooosh]

one thing about me is i am not watching ahsoka

read more for my great concept

this is very much an au. like very much. and also. very long.

so ezra and thrawn are stranded for about a year, and they’re not just in one place, they move from planet to planet trying to get to the ascendancy. you’ve probably read it many times, they become unlikely allies and then maybe perhaps friends. ezra also finds a kyber crystal, but doesn’t build the lightsaber since something is telling him not to. either they get to the ascendancy or it gets to them but that’s where they end up for the next five years. during their year thrawn taught ezra cheunh and very much how to be a strategist and tactician. thrawn wanted them to get along, but didn’t expect such close camaraderie to come out of it. girl let’s face it, if there’s one thing ezra can do it’s make friends. and ezra was also not the only one learning here, thrawn definitely loosens up and starts understanding the rebellion and how they had so much heart. and ezra brings out something (fatherly tendencies) in thrawn, and thrawn learns to let his guard down, at least around ezra. the alliance was formed before the genuine trust was, but once they get to the ascendancy the trust is definitely there. they make a goooood team. thrawn plans and ezra carries out, improvising on the way (ar’alani and eli hate this and thrawn pretends to).

ezra stays to help the chiss with the grysks, and also to see what’s up with the navigators. it takes a while before he can spend any time with them, but the constant risking his life against the grysks does help build trust with ar’alani. on one of his missions he finds another kyber crystal and this time he does build the lightsaber, and it’s like mauls but can also break apart into two. (if you think this is over powered maybe consider that i love him and he deserves it). he pretty quickly forms a bond with one of them (the one in the art, she’s unnamed if u have any ideas tell me) and she’s not his padawan by any means, but he does train her.

anyway five years pass and he sees his work there is done, and leaves (his new home) the ascendancy with his not-padawan. he’s ecstatic to go back home, but there’s also this great fear that he won’t be needed anymore. everyone’s excited to see him and asks him about where he’s been, but he never quite tells the truth. he thinks they won’t trust him if they learn he’s been out working with one of the rebellions greatest enemies for years. and let’s face it, some rebels probably won’t trust him, so he keeps a tight lid on what happened. he’s better at hiding things now, but sometimes he’ll look up over his shoulder for advice or approval and be met with nothing, and he can never quite hide his disappointment. there’s no one he can share his sadness with either, how do you tell someone you miss (your weird uncle) your old greatest enemy (your older brother), when they’ll never really understand it. the only person who understands is his not-padawan, and you can’t really rant to a 9 year old. what people notice more, though, is how much he’s changed. he’s more serious. stands up straight during meetings, giving input that no one else would have thought of, saving the rebellion on multiple occasions. and it’s not that thrawn made him smart, he was always been smart. but he used to rely on being underestimated. and the chiss don’t appreciate that, they appreciate strength. he had to be more upfront about his strength and intelligence over there, and it carries back to the alliance. he’s sharp, wins arguments and changes minds, and hera can’t be more proud of her kid but also can’t be more confused at where he learned that. he tells her, more than others, but he leaves out the times thrawn would carry him back from fights he shouldn’t have picked, and they way he taught him how to win them next time. they also don’t get how he’s become fluent in two more languages in six years, the one he talks to that girl in and the one he curses in (sy bisti, learned it to listen in on thrawn and eli and it became one of his biggest regrets). he knows he’s back where he belongs, but it’s hard, especially when there’s some other jedi around now. he does not exactly get along with luke. luke luke is very much in awe of him, he’s always heard of this other jedi who made a great sacrifice, and just wanted to meet him. ezra knows he’s really not what luke expects, he’s not a perfect jedi at all, he’s a grey one. he tries not to be around luke so he doesn’t disappoint him, but helps him train when asked. his fighting style has also changed, become less of a lightsaber form and more of a mix of everything that influences him. the chiss techniques always get him a win, no one has a clue what he’s doing when he pulls them out. he’s also not what jacen expected either, but it a much different way. ezra’s been working with kids for five years, and jacen was not expecting an expert older brother. that’s all i’ve really got, feel free to do what ever with this, just tell me cuz i wanna see.

oh also they have great healthcare on ar’alani’s ship and that’s where ezra got his top surgery

[quackitytheduck]

Ok I am fascinated by this but also how does the darksaber from the Mandalorian fit into the lightsaber lore? I haven’t seen the third season but I know the saber has significance to the Mandalorian people. Does it mean anything to the Jedi or is that color in any way connected to the dark side? Also there are 8 diff color options for lightsabers in Fallen Order: all the ones you mentioned plus cyan, magenta, and indigo. Very interesting but I’m sure it’s more for aesthetics than story building

yeah i only watched charlie (of the slimecicle variety) play it for a couple of highlights vids so idk the full extent but apparently its really good so thanks for lmk that's cool

the darksaber was created by the first mandalorian ever inducted into the jedi order about 1000 years bby i cant quite remember, and it was kept there until this whole thing bw the mandos and the jedi so that first jedi mando's clan took it back after the fall of the old republic, then maul killed that guy and he had it for a really long time, then it got lost and sabine wren the mandalorian found it in the nightsisters lair during the events of rebels and she trained w it under kanan jarrus another ex jedi, and she became the official wielder after killing some empire guy icr, and then found bo katan kryze the mandalorian who she thought worthy to lead the mandalorians so she gave it to her. then im p sure that's around where the mandalorian show starts

not a lot is known ab the mando-jedi war it's shown in a few flashbacks in rebels but i never finished rebels. so. uh. anyways. it was never established why the darksaber is that color but it def has a kyber crystal, so my theory is that there's something about the mando way and faith that makes it like that, like how yellow was most often for jedi temple guards n stuff. the jedi took custody of the darksaber bc they were under the impression that since the first jedi mando (his name was pre viszla btw i just looked it up) the jedi deserved to keep it under their protection and their protection only which is a very old republic thing to do if u ask me

tldr:

1. the jedi thought they had authority over the darksaber bc a dual mando-jedi created it, but during the fall of the old republic the mandos took it back. and when sabine wren had it she trained under kanan jarrus the ex jedi during rebels

2. the darksaber is unique bc it's not exclusively wielded by force users, it's a mandalorian cultural thing. it's got it's own story and really isn't alike anything else despite having a kyber crystal.

3. the color is not a dark side thing, no

[book-of-baba-fett]

For the OC ask game!

Talia: 2, 7

Storm: 14, 20, 24

Edgy/Misc OC Ask Meme

Thanks so much for asking, Alli!! These are all really good questions for these characters.

2. What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

So when I designed Talia, I purposefully wanted her to be shorter in stature and not look as physically tough just because she plays into that a bit in her combat style, how she would be underestimated or how she could easily work in undercover situations because she wouldn't be suspected. That does shift a slight bit when she gets her scar from Maul, just because it's more obbvious but she cans till use that to her advantage. I also think Talia is the type who is good at pushing through whatever she's struggling with, atleast on the outside. Someone could look at her and not know if she was upset or worried about something because she's good at putting on a brave face, that only falters with people she really trusts (like Rex.)

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

I had originally planned on her being a Mandalorian Jedi! I was playing Kotor 1 and 2 when I was in the early brainstorming stages, and also watching Rebels and the idea of Mandalorian Jedi were really sticking in my head and I wanted to explore that a bit, but my idea for her shifted. I've also had some other plot details and such that shifted a lot as i've written this (it's been a two year process which is INSANE). But a lot of the overall has stayed the same.

14. How does your OC want to be seen by other characters?

I don't think Storm ever put a lot of thought into how he wanted to be seen by others, besides maybe as a capable cadet when he was training. Some of that shifted after the incident with Maul and losing member of the 412th; he out in extra work after that so he could still be seen as a strong command figure, and kinda shelved his own guilt over it. Storm succeeds in portraying himself how he wants to be seen; most know him as a steady, strong, and reliable man, and what Storm really wants to be seen is as someone good who tried his hardest for his men, and Talia.

20. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

So this is an interesting question for Storm, because I haven't gotten into much of his story with his love interest, Rhys yet. Storm isn't the type to get jealous in the way that if Rhys were hanging out with someone else or mentioning and old lover. What he gets jealous of, even if he wouldn't admit it, is the way other couples can have a normal relationship, that they can go on without thinking about the war and be happy but circumstance overshadows his and Rhys's whole relationship.

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

So Storm started out as a member of the Wolfpack: he was promoted to Captain after the start of the war when Talia was knighted with the goal that he would head her battalion. HIs entire trajectory would have changed then: he missed the Malevolence because he was in command training.

There's also a big AU I have for Storm, but I can't say yet because SPOILERS. BUt yeah. We haven't seen the end of him in cannon.

[daughter-of-sapph0]

my thoughts on mando chapter 19

I'm not trying to be contrarian, and I'm definitely not defending Disney and Jon and Dave on their dumb decisions. but I think a lot of people really missed the point of this episode.

so the episode starts with Din and Bo leaving mandalore when they're attacked and Bo's castle is destroyed. the blind rage that Bo gets into against the tie fighters is her seeking revenge for what the empire did to her and her people. it's not Bo being stupid and reckless. she has suffered and loss so much at the hands of the empire, now even her home is gone. she wants revenge.

then we focus on pershin and him being introduced to the new republic. let me remind you all that pershin is a bad person. he's a eugenicist who worked for one of the worst moffs in the empire. this episode was not about his redemption. if you thought that he was trying to redeem himself, you're just as fooled as the new republic was.

pershin was a cloner. we see in the bad batch that the empire is trying to perfect cloning in the way the kaminoans did. (I haven't watched the new episode this week, so I don't know if that gives us any more info) so it's implied that his research was stolen from the kaminoans. and as we see in that one episode from season 2, it's also implied that his cloning tech is gonna be used to create snoke and the Palpatine clone.

I know we all hate "somehow Palpatine returned". this show is trying to expand on that, give an explanation. sure that won't fix the rise of skywalker, but it will sort of improve the overall lore of the universe. if you're looking at the overall story, it helps it feel connected. I understand that a lot of people don't care about that. and that's fine. you don't have to like the fact that most of this episode focuses on pershin. but I'm trying to explain why it focuses on him, not why you should like it.

anyway, we can see that Elia is pretending to be nice to pershin, all so that she can get him arrested. because, like Bo Katan, she wants revenge against the empire.

again, we aren't supposed to like pershin. just because he has anxiety and says "whoopsie, sorry for doing eugenics and genocide and illegal cloning. I was just following orders. pwease forgive me uwu" doesn't mean he's automatically a good person. a redemption like that doesn't just happen off screen. he's literally a space nazi. and the program his in is literally space operation paperclip.

the new republic is flawed. they're not outright evil. but they are trying to recreate the republic that was filled with corruption and shady practices, even without Palpatines influence. they're decommissioning both empire and rebel ships while there are still tie fighters causing chaos and shit. they're censoring any information and technology that would help them because it was used by the empire. the new republic is far far better than the empire. but they aren't perfect. and neither was the old republic. when it comes to government systems like this, there are no completely "good" sides. this episode was ment to show you how the new republic has issues. but if you actually think it's just as bad as the empire, you need to watch andor again.

anyway, we get back to Din and Bo arriving at the covert. they meet a bit of resistance from Paz, and I'm sure that will lead to something later. and then the armorer immediately forgives them both. reminder that she has stated multiple times that Bo Katan is a traitor and her rule directly led to the fall of mandalore. the armorer was probably part of mauls army of mandalorians, judging by her helmet shape. realistically, she has no reason at all to forgive Bo. but she does. and Bo is immediately accepted into the watch. not forced, but welcomed to stay and leave whenever she wants. yes, Bo is currently homeless, but she has other allies. fennec, Boba, Ursa wren. if she wants to leave the watch, she has other places to stay. so stop calling the children of the watch the "salvation army".

personally, I agree that this episode was less than stellar. the way that Din immediately completes his quest to be redeemed without even questioning why he's staying with the watch or what the point of redemption is. the fact that he finishes his quest in 3 episodes. and I'm not super enthralled by the majority of this episode focusing on pershin. I wish it would have cut back and forth like andor does all the time. and I am not one to judge people's opinions. you can think whatever the hell you want. I'm just a dumbass with a phone and a blog.

[halfagonyandhope]

when the skies catch fire │ch. 29

first chapter (x); previous chapter (x)

The days bleed together, forming weeks and then months. 

Ahsoka stores away her green saber and yellow shoto. “They reminded me too much of Anakin,” she explains to Satine one day between intelligence briefings. A day later, Satine finds her meditating, two red kyber crystals floating before her. Satine watches, awed, as the red drains from the crystals. They’re now a bright white. Soléa, who is cradled snugly against Satine’s chest by a lavender scarf, looks on, going suddenly quiet.

Ahsoka opens her eyes.

“They were Maul’s crystals,” she says, answering the unvoiced question.

Satine just nods. Ahsoka places the crystals into new lightsabers. Like her other sabers, there is a main blade and a shoto, but the similarities stop there. Both new hilts are curved, graceful.

Ahsoka stands and ignites the blades. The white light illuminates the room.

---

Satine helps Padmé cut her hair, and the endless curls fall to the ground. After, Padmé’s hair reaches just past her jawline. She ties half of it up - the other half is too short - and Satine is reminded of Qui-Gon.

Padmé gives her a soft but strong smile. “To new beginnings,” she says, and Satine squeezes her hand.

---

Obi-Wan’s healing isn’t linear. He takes steps forward and then steps back. On one good day, he remembers intelligence that helps the rebel cell track down and extract Korkie Kryze, who had been in hiding on Concordia since his attempt to break his aunt out of Mandalore. Obi-Wan, using a cane to help him stand, is by Satine’s side in the hangar when Bo-Katan’s ship lands. 

Korkie races down the ramp before it fully lowers and launches himself into Satine’s arms.

Satine catches Obi-Wan’s eye as she hugs her nephew tightly. She radiates gratitude, unable to find words to properly express it.

Somehow, she thinks Obi-Wan understands.

---

Bail Organa manages to get word to them that the Empire has shifted its focus away from arresting members of the Delegation of 2000.

“Someone must have convinced the Emperor that disappearing that many political figures would lead to a unified, mass uprising,” says Bail via holo. He is out of hiding and back on Alderaan, tending to his wife, Breha, who has recently given birth to a baby boy. The baby in question wails in the background, and Satine has to smile. “Luke says hello,” says Bail, looking every bit the exhausted parent. “Forgive me - I must attend to him.”

Satine nods. “May the Force be with you.”

---

Roughly a year after they’d first sought refuge in the Temple, Satine catches Obi-Wan’s hand and pulls him outside to the hills. Soléa, now three months old, travels securely on Satine’s back. Obi-Wan’s gait is still stiff. Satine hopes that this will improve as his scar tissue heals: Yona has made a great deal of progress on it already using a combination of innovative treatments she’d developed herself as well as traditional herbal remedies. 

Now, as they walk through the morning air, parting the lavender grasses around them, Satine offers Obi-Wan her arm. He grips her elbow with a grateful look, leaning on both her and his cane.

They don’t walk far; they can still see the fields, now dormant, from where they sit. Obi-Wan offers to take Soléa from Satine’s back, and he cradles his daughter in his arms.

Satine smiles.

Then she says what she’d brought him here to say. “You’ve cut yourself off from the Force,” she whispers.

Obi-Wan doesn’t look up. Satine gives him a few minutes, knowing he’ll answer when he’s ready.

And he does.

“You noticed?”

“How could I not?”

He finally meets her eyes. “I thought your Force-sensitivity was only temporary,” he says, clearly intrigued. “I assumed once Soléa was born…”

“There’s much I still need to tell you,” says Satine gently. 

Yes, they had talked often and always upon his return, but they’d also been pulled apart - he’d dutifully attended numerous physical therapy sessions every day, and Satine had formally been elected the leader of the rebel cell not long after Obi-Wan’s return. Between his therapy and her strategy sessions and intelligence briefings, she hadn’t found the right moment.

So she’d had to steal it.

Satine tells her husband everything that Neha had told her about the taala, the Mandalorian Force sect. She tells him about her specific type of Force-sensitivity.

“I think my connection to the Force was amplified when I was pregnant,” she says finally. “But, somehow, it’s always been there. It’s just perhaps more subtle than a Jedi’s Force-sensitivity.”

Obi-Wan reaches over to take her hand. “I did not think it possible to be more in awe of you than I was when we first met, but every day you manage to prove me wrong.”

“And you’ve managed to dodge the question.” Her tone is pointed, but she smiles to let him know she’s not cross. “Why, Obi? I’ve never known you without the Force around you. It’s part of you.”

Soléa reaches up to grasp one of Obi-Wan’s fingers with her tiny fist. Obi-Wan kisses her forehead.

“If I don’t use the Force, then I can’t turn,” he says finally, and his voice breaks softly on the last word.

Satine bites her lip but doesn’t say anything.

He looks up at the sky. “I had to watch,” he begins, “on Kadavo. As enslaved people were tortured. As families were separated. As people were killed. I couldn’t do anything; I couldn’t save anyone - because if I did, more people would suffer. And it would have been my fault.” He takes a deep breath. “I went mad, I think, at least a little. And then, upon my return to Coruscant…they told me I had to die. To deceive everyone I cared most for. I didn’t have time to process Kadavo before I faked my death. And then - again - I had to watch as people died. I had to play a part. And I went a little more mad, in the end.”

“And then you rescued me,” says Satine weakly. The poor man.

He shakes his head, meeting her eyes again. His eyes hold oceans, and she wonders when he will let himself flood. “I think you saved me just as much,” Obi-Wan says. “You helped me let it all go.”

Satine shifts so that her thigh presses against his. “But I am no trauma counselor,” she says.

He lifts a brow, questioning.

“You think I do not know trauma when I see it?” says Satine. “Me, whose first day as duchess was touring the battlefields, watching them pile Mandalorian helmets by the hundreds and sweep bodies into mass graves?” She sighs. “I asked for help, Obi-Wan. And I may not have learned to overcome my trauma, but I did learn to live with it. I’m afraid the Jedi offered you no such opportunity.”

“You would be correct.”

Satine thinks of Qui-Gon and how he’d died in Obi-Wan’s arms. She thinks of Obi-Wan, still a child yet taking on the care of another child. She thinks of the healed fractures on his spine. She thinks of his funeral. She thinks of Anakin. And she thinks of Maul.

And Satine understands Obi-Wan’s fear. 

If Anakin, the strongest of the Jedi, had fallen…what was stopping Obi-Wan from doing the same? How much could one person reasonably be expected to survive, and then be able to continue on?

“Let us speak with Yona and Neha,” she says. “I think they will know how to help.”

Obi-Wan nods.

Satine reaches up to brush his hair into place. It is tidy and trimmed once more, revealing yet more scars upon his neck and hairline.

“To be clear, I am not saying you are weak,” adds Satine. “I am saying that you survived in the only way you knew how. You pulled yourself away. And it probably saved your life.”

He turns, leaning into her palm.

“But you once told me that the Force was like turning on a light. Obi-Wan, I don’t want you to live in the dark.”

His tears drop into her hand.

---

Before they return, Satine takes the Darksaber from her hip and disassembles it. She pockets the ebony kyber crystal but buries the rest of the component parts. Obi-Wan kisses her cheek and helps secure Soléa on Satine’s back.

“I love you,” he says, and she folds him into her arms.

---

Satine scavenges some spare wire and a leather cord fragment. She wraps the wire around the kyber crystal and forms a small loop with the wire, through which she threads the leather cord. After a few minutes, she deems the necklace passable, and she moves to tie it around her neck.

When she passes the next reflective surface, she stops still, startled.

The kyber crystal has turned silver.

---

The Dantooine rebel cell leaders are summoned early the next morning to the conference room. Ahsoka, who is out on assignment, appears via holo, her new lightsabers hanging from her hips. Her eyes search and land on Obi-Wan.

“Master…” she says softly.

Satine reaches for Obi-Wan in the same instant he reaches for her. Somehow they know what Ahsoka will say before she says it.

“There’s been an attack on Stewjon.”

---

end of book 1

[writingforfun0714]

I just finished watching Tales of the Jedi for the 2nd time and I’d like to share my thoughts.

Spoilers for TotJ!!!

The series overall—Animation was ok (I mentioned how Rex/the clone model still looked off here) but overall it was good (especially the environments). THE MUSIC WAS 💯💕 BEAUTIFUL. There were a few things that was kinda like 🤔 but it’s nothing too major and I had some thoughts on what I, personally, would’ve liked to see.

Ep1–Life and Death

—Thought it was good. Baby Ahsoka’s design is similar to the one shown briefly in CW 👍

—The panda dog things were adorable and the food they eat looks SO SIMILAR to Mantell Mix

—The village elder does 3 hand poses (and says something in their native language) when Ahsoka’s mom made a kill, which reminded me of Rebels and the 3 hand poses that opens the portal thing

—Giant cat looked very tiger-y and immediately thought of Jungle Book, though the stories are very different.

Ep2–Justice

—Loved Young Dooku/Quigon duo. Like their designs/interactions, everything, was really good imo

—Dooku wears a cape and not a jedi robe

—Quigon didn’t have his padawan braid but I guess that was time between Padawan/Knight.

—Liked the fact that the senator’s son wasn’t upset about being kidnapped. Loved 2 Ton’s design (the droid)

—clearly sets up Dooku’s fall to the dark side.

Ep3–Choices

—The Mace/Dooku duo was something I’ve wanted since seeing them in Attack of the Clones.

—Mace’s design is also changed slightly (like Anakin/Ahsoka/Obi) to keep up with the better technology. How old is Mace? I honestly don’t know and actually expected him to look a bit younger. Like I know he trained Depa Bilaba (Caleb/Kanan’s master) but, to me, he seemed to be the same age as he was in CW.

—Loved that AotC was more of a noir/detective movie and seemed to continue into this episode (Windu/Dooku solving a jedi murder case).

—I think the guard guy that Mace killed was the son of the guy with the different colored eyes. Which means Mace killed someone’s son and left a father without a child and he also killed Boba’s father Jango, leaving Boba without a father. That’s just my opinion/HC and wasn’t confirmed or anything.

—MACE DID NOT STEAL THE COUNCIL SEAT FROM DOOKU! From context, Dooku has no problem doing things his way and explaining it to the Council. That means this has happened more than the one time we saw in context of this episode. I believe Dooku never really had a chance at a seat on the Council. He believed he did. I think his own ego/shortsightedness blinded Dooku into believing he was guaranteed a spot on the Council

—By now it’s clear that Anakin and Dooku have a lot in common (think RotS when Anakin got upset that he wasn’t a ‘master’ but on the Council)

Ep4–The Sith Lord

—This was my favorite episode!

—MASTER YADDLE!!! FINALLY!!! I believe we first see her in The Phantom Menace when Anakin is brought to the Temple on Coruscant and the jedi are testing him. She appears briefly in the background and has no speaking lines if I remember correctly. I know Yaddle has a different story in Star Wars Legends (the Extended Universe—books/video games etc) but I actually really enjoyed seeing her.

—Her relationship with Dooku seemed really important. Dooku was Yoda’s padawan and my own HC is that Yaddle and Yoda are Grogu’s (Baby Yoda) parents. I believe Yoda/Dooku/Yaddle were kind of like Anakin/Ahsoka/Obiwan respectively. Ahsoka is Anakin’s padawan but also had Obi-wan as a friend/mentor just like Dooku is Yoda’s padawan, but also seemed to be friends with Yaddle.

—Also I believe this was the only episode that is set during one of the movies (Phantom Menace). Dooku talks with Quigon about the Sith Lord (Darth Maul) that he and Obiwan encountered on Tatooine before it changes to Yaddle informing Dooku about Quigon’s funeral (after being killed by Maul on Naboo). She is clearly concerned about Dooku, especially when he says he must let Quigon go as he’s one with the Force. She asks him if he ‘can do this’, to which he responds with ‘what choice have I?’

—Dooku’s always been shown to have great control over his emotions (which is why he doesn’t have sith eyes) but despite that, Yaddle’s concern wins out and she follows him to his meeting with Emperor Palpatine.

—DOOKU LOVED QUIGON JUST LIKE OBI LOVED ANAKIN! His convo with Yaddle earlier (about the tree) clearly showed that. And he was RIGHTLY upset that Palpy had him killed by Maul.

—SHE LEFT THE COUNCIL FOR DOOKU!!! SHE EVEN ADMITTED HE WAS RIGHT!! That is love right there. She clearly had a loving friendship relationship with Dooku for her to leave the Council. And what does Obi-wan tell Satine? ‘Had you said the word, I would’ve left the Jedi Order’. Yaddle probably didn’t think of Dooku in a romantic way (I hope), but she obviously cared about him just as he cared for Quigon.

—YADDLE BEGGED DOOKU TO HELP HER BRING PALPY TO JUSTICE.

—THAT WHOLE FIGHT, JESUS!

—Ok, whoever is in charge of ratings sucks cuz there’s no way that this episode was TV-PG. Yaddle’s death was BRUTAL! Like they didn’t really show the blade connecting, but they showed her lifeless body after, made the saber-on-flesh-sound, and showed Dooku beginning the execution move. JESUS Disney. Shit

Ep5–Practice Makes Perfect

—Seeing young Anakin and mullet-Obiwan in clone armor made me SO HAPPY!!!

—The sass is still there!! AAHHH!!!

—Plo Koon sitting with Yoda, Obiwan and Anakin watching Ahsoka proudly was such a dad-move!!!

—And seeing young Caleb/Kanan and Bilaba at Ahsoka’s training test was amazing! And he was so obviously gushing about Ahsoka to Bilaba when they walked out lol

—MASTER SINUBE!!! GRAMPS!!! Was this before or after that Lightsaber Lost ep?!?!

—Of course Anakin was unimpressed with the test and unintentionally taught her how to survive O66.

—Seeing the clones in phase 1 armor again made me flash back to early CW animation.

—ABSOLUTELY LOVED JESSE’S LITTLE ‘Sorry Commander!’ As it was funny in the moment and tragic when you think about the fact that Jesse lead the turned clones during O66 and was going to kill Ahsoka (and possibly Rex too).

—I think this episode is the only one with a time skip. Loved the transition of the stuns and Ahsoka waking up older and seeing the clones in their phase 2 armor.

—THEY MADE ANAKIN’S TRAINING INTO A GAME!!!

—Then skipped again to O66 with Ahsoka and Rex walking into the hangar full of clones ready to kill them (with Jesse out front).

—Gave me Arcane ep7 Ekko/Jinx vibes TO THE MAX!! (Though if I’m being honest, I preferred Arcane’s version though it’s so close lol).

Ep6–Resolve

—Ok so I think out of all of them, this one’s the worst.

—Don’t get me wrong, it was ok, but out of every ep, I didn’t really care for it.

—My fav part/scene was Padme’s funeral and Bail’s convo with her.

—Ahsoka is living in hiding in a small farming village that has Empire presence I guess.

—Ahsoka has to use the Force to save one of the workers, who realizes Ahsoka is a jedi. Her brother rats Ahsoka out and an Inquisitor comes. From what I’ve heard online, it’s the 6th Brother?? Idk so please correct me if I’m wrong (I believe we’ve seen the 3rd Sister-Reva, 5th Brother, 7th Sister, and the 8th Brother briefly)

—So I’ve never gotten into SW Legends (the Extended Universe), but apparently from what I’ve seen online, this episode is supposed to be an animated version of a book called Ahsoka. It’s basically telling the same story 2 different ways.

—That’s pretty lazy 🤔 to me. Like there are so many other story options (even within just Ahsoka) so it still could’ve worked out 3 v 3 (3 Ahsoka/3 Dooku) eps. I’ve never read the book but I believe it’s about Ahsoka’s time after O66 and how she gets her white lightsabers.

—I heard that the female worker Ahsoka saves is actually black/dark-skinned in the book which is blatant whitewashing (I think I also read that the character was also established as queer). She was replaced by a female with fair skin, straight brown hair and light hazel-y brown eyes. SERIOUSLY?! THE WHITEWASHING HAS TO STOP!!! POC MATTER (in the US, it’s Nov so it’s Native American Heritage month! And Nov 1st was dia de los muertos/day of the dead).

—The Inquisitor’s design looked cool af

—The fight was ok. Reminded me a little of Maul v Obiwan but b/c there was no obvious history it wasn’t very impactful. Liked how he faded away though. And from what I read, he’s voiced by Clancy Brown??? Really!? I love Clancy Brown!! Also it seemed like the Inquisitor knew Ahsoka (he knew her name), though Ahsoka made no connection to him.

I guess those are my main thoughts on the series as a whole and on each episode as well.

What I’d change:

—ep 6 entirely. I’d actually would’ve loved to see how Ahsoka got her second lightsaber instead of the Inquisitor.

—the whitewashed clone model obviously

—So I loved ep4 and Dooku vs Yaddle, BUT! How cool would it have been if Dooku’s saber slowly changed to purple as the fight went on before turning red as he struck down the Jedi Master?? I’m sure that would absolutely go against how lightsabers turn red, having to do with emotions/feelings and that Dooku is great at controlling his own emotions. I just think that would’ve been cool. Though I’m sure that goes against how he actually got them (assuming it’s explained in Legends or something).

—I loved ep1 and baby ‘Soka. But I also love Plo Koon. Would’ve died to see him discover her and talk with her parents/the village elder.

What I’d like to see going forward, assuming there will be a s2 (w/ 6eps):

—MORE CLONE CONTENT!! Gimme a story about Boil going back to Ryloth with Waxer’s armor (post Umbara) and telling Numa what happened to their ‘nera’. Gimme cadet cody/rex bonding! Gimme 99’s creation and demotion to maintenance!! Would also give Disney yet another chance to change the clone model (though if we do get more clone content I highly doubt they would). Gimme Jango/Boba bonding (bonus points for Omega’s creation) I’d like to know SPECIFICALLY what Jango told Boba to make him hate clones. Gimme Wolffe’s demotion from Marshall Commander cuz he lost the whole 104th on the Malevolence. Gimme more clone domestic-life with the boys painting their armor/being w/ their Jedi generals. Just GIMME MORE CLONE BOYS!!! UNWHITEWASHED!!!!

—You can’t tell me that Tales of the Clones wouldn’t be badass lol

—I’d love to see General Grievous’s backstory. From what I’ve seen online, he’s some sort of warrior-hero/savior to his people but the Empire (I think) turned him into what we know as ‘Grievous’. Also that’s not even his name (I forget what it really is, but b/c Grievous sounds like ‘grieve’ I have a bad feeling that it has to do with his people or something).

—Young Yoda and his master. Yoda talks the way he does b/c of his master, which is why Yaddle doesn’t speak the same way (which makes me feel like Baby Yoda/Grogu will sound just like Mando lol).

—Black Krrsantan (Santo-the black wookie form BoBF) or Chewie’s backstory. I know we get a bit of Chewie from Solo: A Star Wars Story and would honestly prefer more Santo content (I think he fights Obiwan in a comic or something) but idk how likely that would be.

—Samuel L. Jackson has stated that he wants to return to Mace Windu/SW and was quoted saying of Mace’s demise- ‘in Star Wars, people survive getting their hands chopped off all the time. So it’s possible,” (or something like that—point is, he thinks Mace could’ve survived his fall/chopped limb). Would love to see Mace post O66 if he in fact, lives.

—Grogu teaching younglings the Jedi and Mandalorian ways, diving into his backstory pre-Mando. I HC that he’s Yaddle and Yoda’s son. It would also give SW a chance to tell a story post—the Skywalker saga timeline (Phantom Menace all the way through to the Rise of Skywalker), since Grogu can out-live the characters in the sequel trilogy.

—I’d like to see High Republic era stuff. I know little to nothing about that era but from fanart I’ve seen, it looks dope af (I know the new animated show Young Jedi Adventures is supposed to be set during that era, but it’s aimed for preschoolers so obviously I’d like something more adult set in that era—but I’m still going to check it out when it releases! Lol)

—I played the SW computer game The Old Republic so I’d also love anything set during that era as well (Master Satele Shan, Master Orgus Din, etc)

So I think that’s most of my thoughts on Tales of the Jedi. I definitely like it more than Bad Batch but not sure if it’s better than CW (to me they are equal). Thanks to all that have made it through this post. I promise I’ll be back with a fic real soon. Thanks everyone!

—Maisy

[justalittletomato]

When does it hit Cress that he’s about as bad as his father is when it comes to Dani? At least, the part with leaving her behind often to the point of breaking down her self esteem? You (rightfully) dump a lot about Maul being neglectful, but let’s turn our attentions towards his former little Shadow.

Ohh I  am being asked for some angst?! REgarding our little tomato lad? 

Let’s do this! ( I did have one yesterday but then the app glitched and deleted my post) 

If there was a list of things Cress regretted this was going to be one of a long list. 

A letter is given to him, slightly crumpled and wrinkled from being kept inside a jacket pocket. 

Ezra Bridger delivers the letter passed to him from a hopeful little girl who insisted that Ezra give her big brother her letter. 

“She said if I saw you to give it to you…” it was by chance that they’d run into another, rebel cells had begun to sprout like strawberry outshoots, not planted at all just sprouting on their own. 

Her neat hand writing and scented sticker that long lost its scent of orange. The letter was a few months behind. 

Little Danica pens quiet confused, where had he gone? Would he return soon? What adventures has he had? Is the sky truly blue outside thier home of Dathomir? When he came back all would be better… ‘Daddy and you will be back and then you can take me on adventures too. I’ll be bigger and stronger for sure!’

A letter is exchanged every so often, whenever that occurs, sometimes quite far in between.

Its evident in the letters. 

‘ You are going to come home? I know you are upset with Daddy. Are you upset with all of us too? I can help fix things!’

‘ Please. If you come home then he will too. We will be a family again…I;m supposed to start the resolnare soon. You said you’d help me.’

---

The letters stop and one day Cress is caught by surprise at the sight of a small beskar helmet in the distant plane. Dark teal, a slightly clumsy gait and taller than she was before…more than a year ago…

--

The joyful reuinion of Cress and Danica is broken by the reality that Cress has kept away. 

“He wont come home until you do…that must be it,” her small boots kick at the dirt. “ Why would he want to come home.”

“Dani…”

“ Buir can fight, Aster can do everything…he doesnt have to worry about me.”

“Danica?” Cress whispers, “ What happened is between me and him..”

Dani huddles into herself, “ I cant fight, I cant do what you and Aster do, no matter what I do…”

“You just have to be Dani.” Cress whispers gently,

‘Little Dani you have to be careful, Dani you shouldnt, Dani you cant let someone. Cress and Aster. Cress can…Aster will..’

The little Zabraks sobs, “ I dont want to be! I have to be like you! I have to be like Aster! If I am then you or Daddy will come home! I have to be better! I have to be!” 

---

No matter what Cress tries Danica doesnt stop crying and she doesnt stray from the idea….

She has to be more. If she is more she wont be left behind…. If she was special then her family might come home. 

The small girls sobs bring Starlight about, the Mandalorian gently laying beside the sobbing child and holding her close. 

Gently whispered mando’a reduces Danicas sobs to hiccups.

Starlight looks away from their eldest child as they stand and carry their youngest. 

“Buir I….”

“ I don't blame you for being upset with your father and I …but you running off its hurting everyone…”

Danica has cried herself to sleep. Starlight hugs their little one close, “ I fear what has transpired will hurt her forever…”

---

Cress watches as Starlight takes Danica away.

Many years ago, at least how it seemed Dani just hours old had been placed in his arms. 

“Mind her head.” Maul had whispered, “She is quite little.” 

“So I have to be sure she is safe.”

“Yes if you can id be pleased.”

“And love her lots.” 

“ you already do.” 

“Daddy I won't ever let Dani cry.”

Well, he broke that didn't he? He broke many promises. Cress’s sobs make the mirror shake. He let Dani cry, he made her cry….

He holds another letter, this last one tear-stained and blurred, “ Why does everyone go away?”