#then lost him and wanted to team up with Ahsoka

[13ag21k]

I headcanon Ezra as someone who absolutely adores being taken care of and knowing there are people out there who care for him and take notice of his potential, that's why despite everything that Maul does to them and despite his manipulation Ezra still doesn't hate him, Maul still protects him from the Tusken raiders and calls him apprentice and he doesn't use violence with Ezra and maybe I'm looking too much into this but I would've absolutely loved to see them grow a stronger bond where Maul only opens up to Ezra and trusts him and is redeemed slowly. But I kid you not I mostly would be thrilled to see Kanan and Maul argue over the methods the other uses to teach Ezra and constantly tell him to pick a side.

Ahsoka probably sees them all together and frowns, a little amused by the situation she asks: so Kanan is your master?

Ezra: Yes.

Ahsoka: and Maul also?

*insert a shot with Ezra holding Kanan and Maul's hand on each side*

Ezra: yes.

I'm smiling from ear to ear just thinking about Kanan training Ezra and trying to teach him some important jedi technique and philosophy regarding the force and Maul just making snarky comments and constantly correcting Kanan or Maul straight up barges into the room and slames the door open yelling: Ezra it is sith training time, While Kanan's eyes go as wide as saucers "HIS WHAT?" And a whole fight breaks out and Ezra just walks out with a face palm, head hanging low, tired and lowkey absolutely fond of the way these people who could have absolutely anyone as their apprentices to guide and look over chose him and care for him, who only a while ago had no one to trust and rely on, thinking he is alone and unwanted and now there are so many people believing in him, cheering him on and wanting to pass down their wisdom to him.

That's what would've made my heart explode and brain glitch with happiness.

*cue to me crying*

Also Maul calls Ezra "little sith" and Kanan flinches visibly everytime he hears this nickname, Ezra loves it tho.

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

“Anakin Didn’t Care About The Clones”

As a way of pushing back against the idea that Anakin was the only Jedi to treat the clones well, many Jedi apologists have argued that Anakin didn’t care about the clones or that his strategies got several killed, at all. Some even act like Anakin was abusive to Rex by cherry picking certain moments such as asking Rex to keep his marriage secret, running to Padme instead of Rex or Ahsoka after the Blue Shadow Crisis or the time he and Ahsoka threw Rex off that wall on Geonosis. Do people not understand the difference between comedic slapstick and abuse?

Was Anakin’s treatment of the clones perfect? No, all Jedi-clone relationships suffered from power imbalance and the clones being unable to leave as Cut and Slick pointed out and he wasn’t the only Jedi to treat the clones as individuals. What he did as Vader when he used them to storm the temple was despicable and as a former slave, he should have advocated more for their rights. Yet Anakin, before falling, valued the clones as individuals and encouraged free thinking in his men. In legends he struck up an odd friendship with Alpha 17 and gave him his nickname as well as encouraging him to do so for the gen 2 clone commanders he was training who would become Cody, Appo, Oddball, Thire, Bly, Gree, Neyo and Bacara. As Vader, he still held a fondness for Commander Appo and was somewhat dismayed by his death.

As for canon, his friendship with Rex was one of the closest of Jedi-clone bonds. Rex trusted him with his life as he reminisces in Rebels and Anakin was willing to share his secret about his marriage with Padme. Asking your friend to keep secrets, unless actively harmful, is not abuse. Nor is asking your friend who has the equipment to do so to assist in training your student like in TOTJ. It wasn’t just Rex that he cared for though. He encouraged Dogma to take breaks and be less of a stickler as seen in the clip below which also shows him complimenting Rex’s ingenuity and working with him and Fives as a team to evacuate the battalion after being ambushed by Umbarans.

Continuing on, he showed a great degree of concern for Tup when his inhibitor chip malfunctioned and drove him insane, fighting hard to rescue him. He also was willing to help Rex rescue Echo and work with Clone Force 99. Anakin was one of the few, besides Fives, who actually looked saddened by Echo’s apparent death while everyone else was focused on the shuttle. He later jokes with Echo after rescuing him and despite their squabbles earlier, lets Wrecker have fun blowing up Admiral Trench’s ship.

While not as close as Rex, he seemed to have a genuine bond with Fives as well. Sharing the story of his heroics as a child that inspired Fives’ plan of dissent against Krell and Fives admitted that while reckless, Anakin was always leading his men in the front rather than make them do all the work. Fives was comfortable enough to make dick jokes with him as well as share the information he learned about the inhibitor chips. Anakin complimented his quick thinking and while Fives was always vocal about being seen as a person over a number, one thing they shared in common, it’s implied Anakin is the reason he’s very independent and willing to go against orders for what he sees as right. While Anakin may have gotten defensive when Fives accused Palpatine of being behind the chips, he was still horrified by his death. TCW may be an episodic show but one could interpret that Anakin’s behavior in the Clovis arc was the result of having just lost two people close to him, Fives and Ahsoka, and Padme working with someone who endangered her before had him on an edge, not wanting that to happen again.

To say Anakin didn’t care for his men based off a few cherry-picked scenes is dishonest and is argued by people who think he was just bad even before falling. Was he perfect or the only one who treated them as individuals? No but he was not just an abusive, uncaring ass. The first scene in ROTS showed him wanting to go back and help the pilot squad. He gave his men like Fives or Broadside difficult tasks not because he didn’t care but because he knew they were capable. I wonder if, from his twisted point of view, Vader saw a bit of Rex and Fives in Veers and Piett due to their efficiency and ingenuity as military officers. Vader was complicit in the enslavement of the clones during Order 66 and needed to answer for it if he lived but to say his relationships with his men prior to that were abusive when there’s no evidence of that in the movies or TCW is lying just to make him seem like an irredeemable monster.

[tragedy-for-sale]

Bedrock Headcannons: Captain Rex

Bedrock headcannons are headcannons that I regard as a fact in the personality of a character I write about. They range from small details to a huge part of a character's backstory. These headcannons are a constant underlayer in all of my fics that involve these characters.

﹄『❝ Rex ❞』﹃

Rex is the clone that fell out of the gunship with Padme in AOTC and when Anakin found out, his fondness for Rex was instant.

Rex and Padme hang out regularly now. Padme invited Rex over for lunch countless times before Anakin even knew. The two were watching some holodrama talking shit about the characters when Anakin came in beyond confused to see Rex, because how did Rex not tell him this? Anakin panicked thinking he was gonna have to pull out an excuse but Rex just downed his apple juice and told him to sit down because he was blocking the TV.

Anakin was very surprised that Padme didn't tell him that she told HIS Captain they were married. And that Rex didn't bring it up. Anakin feels a little left out because the two of them have inside jokes and matching apple juice glasses.

Rex's favorite drink is apple juice and Padme always has some in her fridge for him.

He is not a loud emotions type of guy. He cannot handle it and wants to evaporate from the situation. He'd be teamed up with Ahsoka and maybe she'd start crying or get really mad and starts yelling. Rex doesn't know how to respond. Anakin will laugh loudly and pull Rex into a side hug and he just shuts down. He doesn't know what he'd say because he's so scared of saying the wrong thing.

Rex is a natural blond.

Anakin had explained to Rex he'd never have a padawan, Rex very much agreed. The battlefield wasn't a place for a child. But then Ahsoka came and at first, Rex resented this grubby little kid who kept asking him for his snacks. But then they'd be on the bridge watching blaster fire and she'd grab his hand, scared of getting hurt. Ahsoka started waking up in the middle of the night and find Rex because unlike Obi-Wan and Anakin, he wouldn't tell her that everything was okay, he'd just sit with her in the dark so she knew she was safe. He didn't know when he started considering Ahsoka his little sister, but she'd always considered him her brother.

Rex has a crush on Anakin that he thinks is quite inconvenient because he thinks Anakin is ugly. But then Anakin will make him laugh or smile at him and Rex feels like his heart is going to stop.

After Ahsoka left the order, Rex reached out countless times. He wanted to talk to her, give her credits he borrowed from Anakin's wallet, tell her to go crash at Padme's because she has a really nice guest bedroom, he wanted to give her hug and tell her that she'd always be his little sister. But she never answered him, she never reached out, she never even said goodbye.

Rex was the first person Padme told that she was pregnant, so for nine months, Rex couldn't say anything to Anakin. Rex thought he might explode. They'd already lost Ahsoka, but in nine months maybe Anakin wouldn't be so unhappy? Maybe his heart wouldn't be so broken? Maybe Ahsoka would come back and they'd be a family again- In nine months, Rex knew everything would change.

Everything did change. Ahsoka came back, but Rex never saw Anakin again and there was no Padme, there was no babies. Their family never healed, it only fell apart.

After Order 66, Rex broke. He didn't have anything left within him. He clawed at the dirt and debris in desperate search for his brothers until his fingers were smashed. He'd search for days and Ahsoka would find him often passed out from dehydration and exhaustion. If he managed to sleep, he'd wake up screaming, he didn't want to scare Ahsoka more than he already had been, so he tried to stop sleeping. But that only scared her more, she couldn't lose him too, she wouldn't survive it. Rex didn't speak, he always had a distant look on his face, he was paralyzed by grief. For weeks, Rex was unable to do anything but sit silently in his grief because if he spoke then he'd yell and he didn't want to yell because then it'd all come out. "Why'd you take my chip out? Why didn't you just kill me?"

﹄『❝ Rex ❞』﹃

[fanfictasia]

Team 27 - Out of Time

Writer: CourtesyTrefflin (@fanfictasia and @disastertriowriting)

Artist 1: @pidgotto.arts (Instagram)

Artist 2: @aceinspaceart (@ace.in.space.art - Instagram)

WC: ~46k

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, Echo, Omega, Anakin, Fives, Ahsoka

Relationships: Hunter & Crosshair, Wrecker & Crosshair, Hunter & Tech & Wrecker & Crosshair & Echo & Omega, Wrecker & Tech, Echo & Fives, Crosshair & Fives, Anakin & Crosshair, Anakin & Hunter, Anakin & Echo, Ahsoka & Omega

Summary: In the quest to find Omega, the remainder of the Bad Batch stumble on an old Republic base while following the trail of what they hope is of a surviving Jedi. Instead, they walk into a Sith trap, and awaken back in the Clone Wars. Finding one another scattered across the galaxy may be more difficult than it seems.

Excerpt

Echo seemed certain this might work. Hunter… isn’t, but it’s the only chance they have. And they have to try. There’s nothing he wouldn’t be willing to try. Nothing he wouldn’t be willing to do.

Anything, so they can get Omega back.

She gave them purpose. They were supposed to take care of her – they would do anything for her. They would die for her.

They… did.

Tech did.                    

Any of them would’ve done it.

And it feels like a part of him died there, too. Wrecker is the only one of the brothers he grew up with who he has left. Tech… used to be the middle. He always was. Now, it’s Hunter. Even if he’s still – somehow – supposed to be their leader.

He feels… empty. The Marauder is quiet, too quiet.

It would be easier if Tech was here. At least that way, everything would make a small amount of sense. They hadn’t even had time to grieve or process before they lost Omega, too.

So, when Echo suggested they go to this now-abandoned Republic base, despite the potential dangers, Hunter didn’t think twice. But now that he’s here, now that he’s inside – he left Echo and Wrecker with the ship, so he could scout out alone, just in case – he knows something’s wrong. He can’t even say what it is, but it’s… something.

He senses it, that energy is pooling to center at a point in… the middle of the room, which doesn’t make sense.

Something in the darkness is shimmering red. If Omega were here, Hunter would tell her to stay back, because it looks… dangerous. He knows it is, but after… after, he can’t even care about that anymore – not so long as they take the chance they have.

He should hold back, should wait. Something is… wrong.

Hunter knows that, so he doesn’t know why he moves forwards, anyway. He can almost hear Tech’s voice in his mind, telling him to be careful, that this is dangerous, and they don’t know anything about the Jedi’s Force abilities, or whatever this object is.

But in the end, he can’t change the past. He can’t turn back time. He can’t… bring them back.

Tech should have been here with them. He would have been, if Hunter hadn’t let them go in blindly after Crosshair. Because for all that they want their little brother back, this isn’t about what they want. It’s about survival.

It’s about Omega. It’s always about Omega.

And in that hope-driven moment, he let himself forget that.

They lost Tech for that. They lost…

Everything.

And there is nothing he wouldn’t do to get them all back.

The energy in the room is shifting, pulsing. The object is… radiating energy. It’s gathering, whirling around it in a violent storm, and…

Hunter doesn’t really remember what happened next.

@clonebang

[kopykunoichi]

Omega has lost so much over this last year.

She lost Nala Se...which was sort of glossed over in her excitement to be with her new bros, but still, that was the only "mother" she knew. And if anyone doubts how important that relationship was to her, just look at how fast she gravitates toward literally *any* female to fill that role.

She lost one brother right off. Yeah, sure, he was the surly, nasty one - but the way he initially was separated from them was not his choice.

She lost Kamino, the only home she had ever known, and as she made clear last week, she is *angry* about it.

Then, she lost Crosshair again, but in a very different way. This time, when they finally had a chance to be a whole family again with every member confirmed to be de-chipped, he chose to leave them. We heard her bitterly tell him "I was wrong about you", but she still felt terrible walking away from him.

And then the unthinkable happened. Echo also chose to leave. Echo, who is probably closer to her than any other brother except Hunter. Echo, who is the emotional anchor of the group, despite being the newest adult member. Echo, who always knows what to say to make her feel better. Echo, who is the most like her in personality - always ready to help someone in need, risk be damned. Like Crosshair, he chose to leave them...to leave her. And though his reasons are noble and selfless, it still hurts. It still feels like rejection.

And today she lost the Marauder, which isn't just a ship, it's a home. Lulu and her little trooper doll were on that ship. Gonky was on that ship. Her first bedroom with the little hanging rope lights that Wrecker decorated for her was on that ship. Echo's blanket that still smells like him was on that ship.

Every time she tries to steady herself, the rug is getting pulled out from under her. And when Tech asked her "what is your issue?" it made her feel like she was the only one struggling with it and it was wrong for her to feel that way. While I'm glad that they talked and that he admitted he still felt something about it, even though he can't express it very well...let's be honest, none of them are expressing their feelings well.

Hunter tells Tech to fix the mistake he made (in how he spoke to Omega), but I wonder if he was projecting a little. Echo left in the first place because Hunter wouldn't quit working for Cid - who clearly doesn't give a shit about them. And now their team is in shambles without him and I wonder if Hunter is questioning his choices. Echo stayed with Rex, but they could have too, it's not like Rex would have turned down the help. I know Hunter wants to keep Omega safe, but give me a break, she was safer in the Senate chamber spitting distance from Palpatine himself than she has been on any given mission they have taken for Cid, with all her sketchy jobs and spotty intel. Now with Cross *and* Echo gone, they are not nearly as formidable or effective. They're stretched thin, and that just makes their missions all the more dangerous.

Honestly, I don't want Echo to come back. I want them to go to *him*. Make some connections with Organa and Riyo, and Ahsoka as Fulcrum (when she comes back to fight). Go look for rebel base locations...on Hoth...whoever finds it first can name it. Go set up supply caches all over the galaxy and steal weapons and supplies from Imperial depots to stock them. Go recruit some new people, especially since Omega's enthusiasm and Echo's conviction is so contagious. Go help Cham and Hera with the Free Ryloth Movement by delivering supplies to them. Keep doing all the flavor of the week missions (I love those), but just do them for a reason that makes sense.

[starcrashx]

IV.

At the end of the day Anakin picked up Obi-wan, Ahsoka and the kids to head home. Luke was excited to tell the other three that they met Galen at lunch time, and that the boy saved them from starving. Obi-wan raised a brow.

"You guys made Galen go into town?!? Alone?" scoffed at the kids the ginger man.

"He isn't little. And he clearly nailed it." shuggered Leia.

"Still! What if he gets lost? Corusant is not a small place like our village." said Obi-wan.

"But he didn't...I hope." muttered Leia the last part when she realised she forgot to check in with Galen if he made it home or not.

"And come to think of it he gave all the money back to me."

Anakin practically stomped on the break.

"Anakin." raised his voice Obi-wan.

"You guys are telling me that he has no money and is probably still wandering in the city?!?" shouted Anakin and wiped out his phone to call his adopted son.

"Skyguy please drive I will call him." said Ahsoka and Anakin slowly put his phone away to start the car again.

Ahsoka rang Galen's phone while her niece and nephew got a lecture from her brothers. Fortunately the boy picked up.

"Hey Galen! Are you home?"

"Of course. Do you need something?" said the boy with his quiet tone of voice.

"What a relief! We thought you got stuck in Coruscant without money." said Ashoka and saw that her older brothers visibly relaxed.

"What? No of course not. When will you guys come home?"

"We are like 3 minutes from home. See you soon." said the girl cheerfully.

"Good it won't go cold. By!" Ahsoka wanted to ask what won't go cold but the boy already put down the phone.

"You two are lucky that Galen can handle himself." huffed Anakin.

"It was a good idea to hand him some pocket money Anakin I will give you that." said Obi-wan.

When Anakin parked the car into the garage he noticed that it was cleaner than before.

"Uhh which one of you cleaned the garage?" asked the man.

"It's your responsibility." said back Obi-wan who just got out of the car.

"Do you guys smell that?" asked Luke when they entered the house.

There was a faint smell of chicken soup in the air along with fried meat.

"Anakin you finally did the mopping!" exclaimed Obi-wan when he noticed the floor was free from dust.

"And apparently Ahsoka did the shopping." muttered Anakin and pointed towards the yard where the laundry was drying.

"Well if it's not some ghost that came to clean our house and cook then I can only think of one person that did this." brushed his beard Obi-wan.

The little team went deeper inside the house to find Rex in the kitchen drinking coffee.

"Rex? What are you doing here buddy?" asked Anakin and tapped the other man's shoulder.

"Wanted to check on the lil guy. I came here to find him struggling to carry two bags of groceries and dog food. I helped him carry them inside and from that moment on he made coffee for me and I watched him cook. He is hella skilled with a knife I will tell you that." said Rex and took a sip from his coffee and pointed to the dining table that was stacked with food.

"You mean Galen cleaned the house, did the laundry and shopping, brought Leia her bow and cooked?" asked Anakin with disbelief.

"And I also folded Luke's clothes and fed AR-2." said Galen who entered the room with an apron on and the said dog trailing behind him.

His adoptive family was stunned. Their silence made Galen worry that he did something wrong.

"I-I'm sorry if I went overboard-"

"Kid Jesus Christ you have been more productive in a day than us three combined." said Ahsoka who was the first to sit down at the table.

"You know how to cook?" asked Obi-wan who was the last one to sit down.

"Well I helped out at the kitchen in the orphanage a lot. I was preparing for the possibility that I won't have a family so I wanted to learn as many life skills as possible." said Galen and sat down next to Rex.

Luke grabbed his spoon and took a sip from the soup. He smiled happily and turned to Galen who was still in the kitchen.

"This is so good! You saved us from starving again." giggled the boy.

The other boy smiled back fondly at him. He thought his cooking was mediocre at best, so he enjoyed the compliment.

"Luke's right this tastes good! But please do us a favour and rest for the rest of the day." said Anakin.

"Just so you know you didn't have to do any of this so that we love you okay?" said Obi-wan.

"I did it because I wanted to make you happy." muttered Galen his voice barely audible.

"We are happy just by you being with us!" smiled Ahsoka and got up from the table.

"Give me a hug my little nephew!"

"Uh Ahsoka about that-" but before Anakin could stop his sister the girl was already in the kitchen.

Galen flinched when the girl embraced him. His hands lingered in the air around his aunt while the girl squeezed his face. When she pulled away Anakin spoke.

"I wanted to tell you Galen is not a fan of physical touches."

But it was too late Galen already felt himself tear up. He wanted to hold it back like all those times before but he found that this time, he couldn't. Hot streaks of tears rolled down his cheeks before he could stop it. Ahsoka visibly got scared that she hurt the boy and took a step back.

"I'm sorry I didn't know! I'm so sorry Galen-"

"You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just... Physical touch always reminds me of her. And I always get the urge to pull away because I always remember her." whispered Galen and wiped his tears off with a napkin that Rex gave him.

"You mean your mom?" asked Luke with sadness in his voice.

"No...my friend, my only friend. June was awesome and much braver than I was. She was murdered in an alleyway while protecting me. I miss her so much. And I can't get rid of the thought that her death was my fault." said meekly Galen and started sobbing harder.

Anakin stood up from his seat and went over to Galen. Obi-wan and the kids also creeped closer to the crying boy.

"I had no idea you were carrying such a huge weight on your shoulders Galen. I don't know what happened back then but I can say this with the most certainly I have. That it wasn't your fault. No matter what happened or how it happened I know for a fact that it's not your fault." said the man.

Galen got off the stool and slowly opened his arms. Anakin also slowly embraced the boy and stroked his back.

"You can tell us anything. We will always be here to help you."

[sonofdathomiir]

Thinking Maul thoughts bc @notevenstars.

How he wants desperately for a Connection with someone (Sidious, Savage, Ahsoka, Ezra) but he’ll never Have it and he’ll always truly be Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill alone. He doesn’t have any social skills whatsoever, and why would he? He wants companionship and to Not be alone, but he doesn’t trust anyone and is totally self reliant - even when he teams up with others like Death Watch - it’s all about Using them to his own ends.

He can’t let go of his anger and hate and fear even if he wanted to. He’s too immersed in the dark side, and just. He’s too proud to admit he’s afraid, and his anger? His hate? It’s literally all he knows, and it’s what’s kept him alive.

Aside from wanting Revenge - Maul amassed power for the sake of Security. And we know how that turned out for him. And it’s just.

He doesn’t ever let go until he dies. Like, it was an anticlimactic death - but that’s what he deserved. No grand battle, it was over quick and with no fanfare - because he just was never That Guy. He was never gonna Be that guy. He was lethal and dangerous and badass, but also he was also a pathetic miserable loser. He was just a pawn, and by that point he knew it and accepted his fate.

The wound that kills him in Rebels was less grievous than his one in Phantom Menace, but rather than cling on to life through anger and hate (again) - he finally let go of it al. because he was tired and he would die with Hope, and finally know peace for once in his miserable life.

Like. If he had killed Obi-Wan, he likely would have sought out Luke (killed Owen and Beru) and made Luke his apprentice. Which would be a fun AU story - but he didn’t know about Luke going into that fight. He figured it out during. Going in, he had no plans for what to do with himself if he killed Obi-Wan. No direction, no purpose. Revenge on Palpatine was a lost cause, Ahsoka was a lost cause, Ezra was a lost cause. He had lost his Crimson Dawn empire, and last ditch Rebels revenge scheme with the Malachor battle station/weapon didn’t work out.

He only went after Obi-Wan because he literally had nothing else going for him. Idk that he even expected to/wanted to survive - or if it was like suicide by cop.

He got his revenge in the Clone Wars, killing Obi-Wan’s lady friend . He could have killed Obi-Wan then, but he wanted him alive to suffer. He explicitly stated didn’t want to kill him. Until he did like 15 years later, because it gave him something to strive for. It gave him that purpose. He conflated it with hope, It being vengeance - up until the very end. Like he says “he will avenge us” and like that was enough for him he could rest easy.

And Obi-Wan tells him, if he defines power by his ability to hurt or destroy - he has nothing. He is nothing. And he knows this. He’s a loser. He looks badass, has a compelling story - but again - he is actually a pathetic a pitiful person. One could say dying at that point was merciful for him, because he got to rest and know peace and hope and die like That - rather than continuing to live the life he had been living.

Again, Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill. It was never gonna happen for him.

And Maul was damned to always be alone. Abandoned by Sidious. Used by his mother. His brother died. Ezra wouldn’t join him. Ahsoka was going to, but she didn’t trust him, and he knew that. Even if he was right, he was also too far gone - and she was Too Good.

He could have let go of his quest for revenge and rebuilt his people after Grievous near wiped them out, but instead he was focused on his crime syndicate.

We see what becomes of his home world in Fallen Order. Nightsisters are thought to be extinct, Nightbrothers are either killed or forced into servitude. By the time of Solo, he goes back there and uses it as a base, and we know that by Rebels, the lingering remnants are all gone. He is the last son of Dathomir. Until we find out there are more Mothers in Ahsoka but that society is so convoluted like.

But if he just. Calmed his tits.

He could have had that companionship and belonging he sought. If he let go of it all, but he couldn’t, because he didn’t know how. And even if he did know, he wasn’t capable. And that is the tragedy of him.

He could have been a hero to his people, preserve their culture, and their race. Lead and protect them. Instead, he abandoned them - as he himself was abandoned. To amass power, not to rule - but to enact revenge, and maintain his own security.

He couldn’t let go of the hate. He was too afraid to, because even though the hate had led him towards this very Sisyphus like existence - it’s what kept him alive.

So like it all makes sense, but is incredibly frustrating??

But what sort of life was it? What was the point of it all? Alexa play Linkin Park, cause in the end it didn’t even matter. So when he dies, he lets go of that hate. When he lets go of that hate, he dies. It’s fitting, and poetic.

A slash across the chest was nothing compared to bisection. If he had channeled his hate and anger again, I’m sure he could have survived that as well.

He chose not to.

In ideal world he would have been a warrior in a matriarchal society dominated by sexy goth witches - like this is what Robbed from him ok. Truly a tragedy.

He could have had the belonging and love he craved, but not only did others fuck it up for him - he fucked it up for himself, because just… he was too far gone/tainted/ruined. He couldn’t find his way “back” because he had never “fallen” in the first place, like a Dooku or an Anakin. He was (Bane VC:) raised in the darkness, shaped and molded by it.

Any positive emotions or ways of expressing them… they didn’t come naturally to him. Witwer said something once about Starkiller that I also feel applies to Maul - in that he wouldn’t know How to meditate. He’s just literally a ball of anger/hate/fear.

And he could never be anything else, because he never had a damn chance. Even when he did, he didn’t. Like. If he had given up on revenge on Malachor, and become the Ghost crew’s wacky uncle instead of blinding Kanan? …fun, but not true to himself. If he and Ahsoka had teamed up against Vader together? If later on, they went off to search for Ezra together? That could have been interesting, I’ll concede. I don’t think he’d willingly become her apprentice, but if she started to rub off on him and he became more merciful and less angry - unconsciously even.

I don’t see Maul as a sexual being per se - I see him as being ace and perhaps demisexual - but if he ever caught Romantic Feelings like. He would have no frame of reference or understanding, it would make him angry and scared and it would be an amusing disaster and he would fuck it up for himself. He doesn’t want or yearn for romance or sexy times, he wants something even more meaningful and deeper than that.

He wants someone who understands him, who makes him feel less alone.

And he never had/will never have that.

This has been a rambly discombobulated Ted Talk.

[niobiumao3]

Hmmmm. Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

My thoughts in no particular order:

Okay so, they answered The Question, and their answer is, 'There's no such thing as being Force Sensitive. Using the Force is like any other skill in terms of people being able to learn, just some possess a natural or early aptitude and some do not. In the same way many (most?) Art Schools wouldn't accept an applicant who has never once attempted a single bit of art, so the Jedi Order only sought out those with obvious talent from an early age.'

This tracks with Ahsoka's comment to Din that if Grogu simply stopped using the Force he would gradually forget how; likewise, not speaking a language or using a skill causes it to atrophy, and re-acquiring it can be difficult.

I'm back and forth on this. On the one hand you can argue Lucas always intended this because you'll notice in the movies proper the term Force Sensitive NEVER ONCE comes up. It's always 'strong with the force' or 'the Force is strong in my family', the same way you'd talk about a family where the parents and kids and grandkids all go into music or something. The concept of it being a Special Thing Someone Has or Doesn't Have is a later bit from the Extended Universe, and was arguably never once canonized.

On the other Lucas never really decried the concept of Force Sensitivity and in fact the midichlorian BS almost made it worse. Except even then he talked about it like 'everyone HAS midichlorians, some just have more than others'. So again with the concept of natural aptitude vs. learning it from nothing.

And on my third hand which I lost in Avengers: Endgame I can get why some people are upset by this development, because it implies well literally ANYONE can be out here using the Force. Does that make any sense?? And I agree it's a bit messy in the world building, because I cannot in fact use amazing artistic skills to literally mind control someone into letting me off without a speeding ticket. (Well, okay, maybe I could, but there's way more steps involved than 'Officer please fuck off' and him just doing it.)

Whatever. Guess what guys: DAVE FILONI SAYS FORCE SENSITIVE CLONES!

NO MARROCK oh you're fine. Damn it he's going to die soon and we won't know anything about him.

Baylan I am going to be so sad when this series is over and you're not dead but they have to kill you off screen.

PURRGILLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

oh shin hates morgan like she fucking despises her and wants to kill her I love it. I love my savage goth wolf girl.

sabine and ahsoka making an awesome team at the pewpew, yes please

Huyang is basically Tech. I said what I said.

The bit where we're explaining the star whales now feels like it needed to be in episode 1 or 2 but whatever.

I am...on the fence about Jacen. The hair looked like...yeah. Does he have pointy ears? That will fix a lot of things.

Are we never going to mention Kanan. What was this with Sabine being like 'omg how can I possibly' her first master was blind!!!!! are we going to act like he's just not real?? ugh anyways.

aaaaah why does the episode end HERE???????? FUCKKKKK

[nubian-nutcase]

Inspection (TCW oneshot)

I CAN SHARE MY SW WRITING NOW >:D I wrote this story literally years ago, but it's one of my favorites and I'm proud of it. So. :)

Summary: When Anakin receives word that a team sent by the senate is coming to inspect his fleet per protocol, he isn’t particularly thrilled. In an attempt to dodge dealing with the team, Anakin decides to instruct his Padawan in the responsibilities of being a general by ordering her to be General Skywalker for the duration of the inspection.

I.e. Anakin and Ahsoka swap roles and chaos ensues.

The bridge of the Resolute was quieter than usual. Many clones sat at stations, sifting through information listlessly. A few stood towards the back, equally engrossed in their work on some data pads. The Force hummed along with the destroyer’s engines. It was a calm end to a calm day.

Anakin hated it.

The Jedi general leaned heavily against the holoprojector at the back of the bridge. His fleet had been stuck in the same plot of space for the past week and he was about to lose his mind. They had pushed the Separatists out of Republic territory and needed to press the offensive, but the senate had suddenly decided that the best strategy was a solid defense.

In other words, they just didn’t want to do anything. Anakin had heard from the most recent HoloNet report (he didn’t care to keep track of senate affairs, but at this point it was his best way of seeing what Padmé was up to) that the senate was frantically trying to draft a new bill that would aid in the war’s funding. He didn’t know much about it, but he knew it meant that they would basically be grounded until the useless morons could come up with the money required to continue the war.

Anakin curled his lip in disgust. He was positive the Separatists weren’t having the same problems. It wasn’t like the senate couldn’t get the money somehow. They just needed to decide upon it and then kriffing do it!

The room spun, and Anakin’s skull felt like it was being pinched by impossibly powerful fingers. He bit back a moan and closed his eyes, leaning forward some more. He’d been staring at the same holograms all kriffing day, watching as reports from the Strategic Information Services trickled in with the latest updates on Separatist activity. He was chomping at the bit to get going, and he’d figured he could spend his time strategizing how best to eliminate all the fleets he saw sitting around waiting to be destroyed. He’d come up with at least four different plans in that time.

Blast it, he couldn’t stand this much longer. When he wasn’t strategizing, he was tinkering; when he wasn’t tinkering, he was sparring with Ahsoka or by himself; when he wasn’t sparring, he was tearing up his boots and the floor by pacing endlessly in the observation deck. He hadn’t slept in roughly two days (at least he thought it had been two days – all nighters made one day blur into the next to a point where he’d lost track). He needed to move, he needed to do something!

Restraining a growl of frustration, Anakin pulled away from the holoprojector (and quickly tried to ignore the sudden wave of dizziness) and headed towards the exit.

“General Skywalker.”

Pausing, Anakin turned and saw Adm. Yularen approaching him. A small flare of hope dared to light itself in his mind, and he faced the man fully. “Yes, admiral?”

 “We’ve received a message from command, sir,” the admiral informed him. Anakin’s hope brightened exceptionally, and he nearly interrupted the man to ask where they were being sent when Yularen continued, “We’re expecting an inspection team from the senate. They should arrive by the start of the day cycle at 0600. I’ll send further details in writing, sir.”

An inspection?! What?! How the blazes was that going to help anything?! Anakin clenched his jaw, biting his tongue. He flinched and nodded in acknowledgement, exiting the bridge wordlessly.

After storming to an empty hangar, Anakin pulled out a data pad and looked at the information sent to him. He grew steadily more annoyed as he read through it, and eventually he found himself rearranging the entire hangar in a fit of energy.

Ahsoka stumbled upon her master as he was moving all the extra storage crates from one end of the hangar to the other for the fourth time. The rather loud clanging noises the crates made when they were unceremoniously dropped had caught her attention in the first place, as well as the ripples through their slowly forming training bond. It had been five months since she’d become his Padawan, and she was fairly certain she’d never seen him go this stir crazy. Then again, she’d never really seen him have to sit still for so long – Ahsoka herself had been sent back to the Jedi Temple on multiple occasions while her master had remained on the battlefront, much to her annoyance.

“Master?” she asked softly as Anakin kicked a defiant crate into its proper spot. “What’s wrong?”

Anakin faced the stack for a while and then sighed heavily, turning around to look her in the eye. “We’ve got an inspection coming.”

Ahsoka nodded. “I know; Adm. Yularen sent a message out to everyone a few minutes ago. We’re not in trouble, right?”

“No,” her master replied, running a hand through his hair.

Ahsoka shrugged. “Well, at least it’ll be something different; we’ve been doing nothing for the past week.”

Anakin grumbled under his breath, and his padawan gave him a funny look in response.

“What’s so bad about the inspection if it’s not because we’re in trouble?” she asked.

Anakin huffed. “This inspection is just the senate pretending to be doing something productive.”

“What do you mean?”

“The entire military is basically grounded until the senate can free up more funds,” Anakin explained, growing angrier as he said it; he couldn’t believe he was talking such nonsense with his Padawan when he should be instructing her on more important things. He wasn’t mad at her so much as the situation, and it was just making his headache worse. “Because of this, it makes it seem like we’re not doing anything to fight the Separatists—which is absolutely true. So, the senate wants to make themselves look good and keep the people happy by sending inspection teams out to put up appearances and act like they’re actually doing something—ensuring proper protocol and all that bantha poodoo. It’s ridiculous and pointless.”

“It’s something different,” Ahsoka argued with a shrug. “And on top of that, it’s a new pair of eyes to look everything over. Don’t you always say we should use everything as an opportunity for improvement?”

“Terrific; you just volunteered yourself to go over all the reg manuals,” Anakin quipped cheerfully.

Ahsoka pouted. “Come on, Master, why me?”

“Because you’re the Padawan.”

The Togruta teenager grew annoyed. “Fine. I will review them, and I’ll show you that this isn’t a big deal.”

“Let me enlighten you to the delights of inspections, Snips,” Anakin said, walking over to her. Adopting a flawless Coruscanti accent with just the right amount of snobbery to it, he demonstrated what was to come. “I see the lighting in this area is rather bright for the night cycle; do you have it at twenty-five percent capacity, as protocol dictates? You know how important it is to follow energy protocols. And tell me, are these crates stacked in alphabetical order? And—”

“It can’t be that bad,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, giving him her typical you’re exaggerating look.

Anakin crossed his arms in retaliation. “Yes, it is.”

The two Jedi had a glaring contest for a few seconds before Anakin was suddenly struck with an epiphany. A mischievous smirk crossed his face, and his body was filled with energy. “You know what? You’re right. It isn’t that bad… in fact, I think anybody could handle it.”

Ahsoka looked a little suspicious, hesitant to acknowledge Anakin’s sudden backtracking. Her expression amused her master to no end.

“Ahsoka, you’ve given me a great idea,” Anakin continued, and Ahsoka’s suspicion only increased. “I think it’s time you start taking on greater responsibilities. From this point forward until the inspection is completed, you’ll be the general in charge.”

Ahsoka blanched. “What?”

“You heard me,” Anakin encouraged, his smile widening. “You’ll be Gen. Skywalker to the inspection team.”

“What’ll that make you?” Ahsoka asked.

Anakin considered it. “I’ll just be some lackey on the ship making sure things are running—”

“You’ll be my Padawan,” Ahsoka interrupted, putting her hands on her hips and mirroring her master’s previous mischievous smile.

Now it was Anakin’s turn to give her a startled look. “What?”

“Well, everybody knows that Gen. Skywalker has a Padawan,” Ahsoka explained as if she were giving him a briefing. “The Separatists and Republic alike have heard of the great exploits of Commander Ahsoka Tano.”

Anakin furrowed his brow, skeptical and exasperated. “They know me, Snips. Even if they do know you, it’s just as my subordinate.”

Ahsoka’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “They still know about me, then. So I, as General Anakin Skywalker, have to have a Padawan to save my sorry asteroid.”

Anakin could practically hear Obi-Wan griping about Ahsoka’s language, and he knew she’d picked it up from him and the troops. Amusement trickled through him, but it was squished by irritation at her remark. She would pay for that. “Fine. I’ll be your precious Padawan who knows nothing but what her brilliant master taught her.”

“Great!” Ahsoka acknowledged, stiffening. Then her irritation dissolved, and the Force rang with delight. “Now all we have to do is switch outfits.”

Anakin jumped. “What?! I’m not wearing your clothes!”

“I think the leggings would look good on you,” Ahsoka laughed. “Or the top.”

Anakin huffed. “I’ll wear your battle armor, thanks.”

“No, we’re not in battle.”

“I’m not wearing a tube top!”

Ahsoka lost all composure at the thought of it, irritating Anakin all the more.

“You still have to wear the beads, though,” she eventually said, pushing past the argument.

Anakin restrained a sigh. “All right, all right, hand them over.”

Smiling triumphantly, Ahsoka removed her Padawan braid and held it out for him to take. Then she paused, realizing that he wouldn’t have anywhere to hang it, and she took off her entire headdress. Anakin, who had been hoping she wouldn’t come to that conclusion, was all the more annoyed for it. He snatched it irritably, but he refused to put it on just yet.

“So what are we going to do?” Ahsoka asked, suddenly serious. “I mean, when the team arrives everybody will introduce us as Master and Padawan… and it’s not like the records don’t talk about what we look like or our genders or anything.”

“Relax, Padawan,” Anakin assured her. “These people are coming from the senate; they’re not military. The only information they’re armed with are regulations.”

“They’ll also be armed with whatever HoloNet’s been spouting,” Ahsoka pointed out. “And I don’t think they haven’t mentioned your gender.”

Anakin waved a careless hand. “Propaganda, my dear Padawan. SIS wanted to make sure the Seps couldn’t figure out who the real threat was.”

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“No, I mean you should say my dear Master,” Ahsoka corrected him, smiling slyly and crossing her arms. “You are my Padawan, after all.”

Anakin felt his eyebrows twitch in annoyance and he huffed. “Not yet.”

“You said from this point until the inspection is complete.”

“I’m amending it,” Anakin frowned. “From the point just prior to the team’s arrival until the inspection’s complete.”

“That could be anytime,” Ahsoka put her hands on her hips, arguing her point. “The inspection—”

“Isn’t until tomorrow,” Anakin pointed out, satisfied that he had gotten the upper hand once more. “So best study the reg manuals, Padawan.”

Ahsoka huffed and turned to leave. “Fine. I’ll see you in the morning, Padawan.”

Anakin grumbled and wandered over to his ship, tinkering on it. Artoo eventually joined him and the two silently worked through the night. When his chronometer read 0530 Anakin finally pulled away and cleaned himself up for the day, heading to the bridge to spread the news about the new arrangements for the inspection.

Ahsoka was already there, dressed in her battle armor and wearing her Jedi robe with the hood drawn to hide her youth. She was currently spouting orders to Yularen, who was looking both baffled and irritated, while Rex stood a fair distance away trying to hide a smirk of amusement. When the admiral noticed Anakin’s arrival, he approached him.

“Sir, your Padawan stated that you two are… switching identities for the duration of the inspection?” Yularen said, questioning Ahsoka’s words. Anakin was slightly annoyed that the officer would doubt Ahsoka or think she would make such a silly remark without Anakin’s permission, but he supposed he shouldn’t blame the man too much; neither Master nor Padawan was exactly the orthodox pinnacle of obedience and decorum.

“She’s right,” he confirmed with a small nod. “You are to address her as Gen. Skywalker so long as the inspection team’s here.”

“And he’s Cdr. Tano,” Ahsoka called cheerfully from where she stood. “Speaking of which, my young Padawan, shouldn’t you be wearing your braid?”

Anakin sighed heavily and pulled out the headdress. Rex’s smirk grew and he coughed harshly, looking away and covering his face with his hand. Anakin felt his cheeks flush, and he held back some foul Huttese remarks as he laid the item over his forehead, trying to put it in a spot where it wouldn’t slide around. Yularen, on the other hand, looked more exasperated than ever.

“Sir, may I remind you that the inspection team will be expecting to speak to the real Gen. Skywalker?” he asked, his voice a little tight from annoyance.

“The real Gen. Skywalker is right there, admiral,” Anakin said stubbornly, pointing to Ahsoka. “If you have any concerns over the inspection, you should address her, not me.”

“Sir,” a clone called from farther into the bridge. “The inspection team has arrived. They’re asking for permission to board.”

Deny permission deny permission deny permission Anakin mentally begged, even though he knew that would be pointless.

“Permission granted,” Adm. Yularen sighed, apparently resigned to his fate. “Guide them to Hangar 12.”

Anakin exhaled slowly, trying to release his frustration to the Force as Obi-Wan had taught him. Instead he felt it morph into amusement as he glanced at his Padawan. Well, it got rid of the irritation in either case.

“Master,” he called in a sing-song tone. “Shouldn’t you go meet the team in the hangar? I’m sure they have plenty of questions for you.”

Ahsoka smirked. “Of course I should, Padawan, but you should come along. After all, it’s your first inspection; you have so much to learn about it. In fact, since I have such important matters to attend to—”

“Capt. Rex, won’t the team be expecting the general?” Anakin interrupted to prevent Ahsoka from throwing the responsibility back onto him without the perks of being the man in charge. He would not let this plan backfire.

Rex looked like he’d rather be kept out of this feud, but he did agree with Anakin, smiling apologetically at Ahsoka. “The commander’s right, sir. The team will be expecting you.”

Ahsoka frowned, defeated, but not put out. “Very well. Come along, Padawan.”

Anakin followed her cheerfully and the two silently made their way to the hangar in question. When they entered the shuttle had already landed and the ramp was just lowering. The people disembarking were not clones, nor did they look military in the slightest; their clothing made them look more like techs or aides, which was no great surprise to Anakin. A real inspection team would have had clones and would have never been sent by the senate – it would have been sent by military command.

The one in charge, a male red-skinned Twi’lek, approached both Jedi, looking between the two. It was apparent that he did not know the physical description of either person he was going to meet, and Anakin immediately knew they could pull this plan off.

Everyone was silent for a millisecond, and Anakin gently nudged Ahsoka with the Force, reminding her that as the general she was to start the conversation.

Ahsoka flinched a little but quickly covered it, smoothly saying, “Welcome aboard the Resolute. I’m Gen. Skywalker, and this is my wonderful Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, without whom I could have never accomplished all the victories under my belt.”

Anakin glared irritably at his master.

The Twi’lek grew confused. “I was under the impression that Gen. Skywalker was a man. And aren’t you both a little young to be a general? Where is Skywalker?”

“Are you doubting our competency?” Anakin blurted before he could stop himself, rising to his full height and glowering at the inspector. “Need I remind you that our fleet is among the most successful in the entire military?”

“We’re not here to deduce how many victories you have achieved,” the Twi’lek snapped. “And your competency is in question until we can confirm otherwise. That is the purpose of this inspection.”

“Forgive my Padawan,” Ahsoka quickly said. “He tends to be a little defensive. I think all he was trying to say is that you shouldn’t make such assumptions.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow in her direction, surprised at her self-control; he knew how much remarks about her age bothered her. Then again, his surprise disappeared when she added, “After all, even a Jedi youngling could defeat all of you. Rank is based on skill.”

It took all his energy to not laugh out loud. The Twi’lek flushed, annoyed at the remark.

“So now that we’ve got that cleared up, where would you like to start?” Ahsoka continued, radiating satisfaction at shutting the man up. “My Padawan can take you wherever you need to go.”

Anakin jumped. What? No, no, no, he was not letting her slip out of her responsibilities that easily. “I’ll happily escort you wherever needed, inspector. My Master is very busy and must return to the bridge, but I’m sure that’s the first place you’ll want to check anyway. Chain of command and all, right? I wouldn’t know too much about anything anyway; after all, I’m just the Padawan.”

If looks could kill, Ahsoka would have shredded Anakin into tiny pieces. But looks couldn’t kill, and even if they could, his smug confident smirk would have deflected anything she could toss at him.

“I have many questions for you and the admiral, general,” the inspector said, his body rigid from the earlier insult. “Your Padawan will not suffice.”

“Aw, too bad,” Anakin sighed, though he couldn’t muster up any regret in his tone. “Well, I’ll hold down the bridge, then. Have fun, Master!”

“We’ll go to the bridge first,” Ahsoka immediately said, grabbing Anakin’s arm. “That way you can learn as much as possible, Padawan. Though really, I do think you guys could just ask him – Ahsoka is an extremely intelligent and insightful Padawan, and oftentimes I find myself marveling at how much he can do. In fact, I doubt this ship would run so well without him!”

“Everything I know, I learn from you, Master,” Anakin rebutted with as much convincing charm as he could, though it came out through gritted teeth. “After all, you know far more than I do.”

“Nonsense!” Ahsoka shook her head dramatically. “You’ve been tossed around so much between different masters that you’ve picked up far more experience than I could ever impart.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Anakin almost snapped before he bit his tongue to save face; he’d rather have Ahsoka bashing him a little than have to guide the team through their mind numbing tasks. He would make sure she paid for this, though.

The inspection team watched curiously with a touch of suspicion, and both Jedi quickly realized they were slipping at their little game. Clearing her throat, Ahsoka motioned towards the door. “Shall we?”

As everyone walked to the bridge, the team immediately began to take notes, glancing around the hall and at Force knew what else. Anakin rolled his eyes in exasperation, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to release some energy that was quickly broiling in his chest. Ahsoka glanced at the team a little nervously, and she skipped ahead to speak with Anakin privately.

“Is that normal?” she whispered, nodding towards the team’s extensive note taking.

Anakin nodded, scowling. “If they find a speck of dust out of place they’ll report it.”

“Did we have the place cleaned up?”

Her innocent concern was beyond amusing, and Anakin smiled. “Yularen would have handled that. He takes care of all the useless protocol.”

The group reached the bridge and Rex called for attention on the deck. Everyone saluted and remained still.

And continued to remain still.

Anakin cleared his throat loudly.

Ahsoka jumped. “At ease.”

Everyone returned to their stations, and Yularen and Rex approached the group. Yularen nodded to Ahsoka. “General.”

This alone made the team grow confused once more. It appeared they had half convinced themselves that Anakin and Ahsoka were playing some joke on them, but since the admiral was also acknowledging Ahsoka as the general they were beginning to wonder if it actually was the case. Just watching their utter bewilderment was amusing enough, honestly.

“Admiral, this is the inspection team.” Ahsoka introduced them. “Please accommodate them in any way necessary.”

“We still have questions for you, general,” the Twi’lek noted before she could leave.

Ahsoka stiffened, starting to grow annoyed. Anakin smiled happily.

“Gen. Skywalker?”

Anakin turned automatically at the clone’s voice and then froze halfway. Ahsoka, thankfully, also turned.

A moment passed as everyone stared at the clone trooper, who also shifted his gaze between Anakin and Ahsoka. Then Ahsoka said, “What is it?”

“Eh, sir,” the clone said awkwardly, still looking between the two Jedi. “There’s a transmission for you from Gen. Kenobi.”

Anakin’s eyes widened. Shavit shavit SHAVIT—

“Oh. Is it urgent?” Ahsoka questioned, her voice higher than normal, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest in an attempt to look more confident than she felt.

“Well, he was fairly insistent, sir.”

“By all means, general,” the inspector piped in. “Don’t let us interrupt your day to day duties. Your apprentice might be able to answer some questions until you’re finished with Gen. Kenobi.”

Anakin felt his blood curdle even more. What?!

Ahsoka smirked. “You’re very gracious. I’ll take the call in my quarters, trooper.”

“Master,” Anakin interjected. “This sounds urgent. You should take the call here.”

Ahsoka curled her lips in annoyance. Anakin glared at her. He didn’t care if it blew their cover – he was not going to be stuck dealing with this guy and play Padawan. Besides, he could still make this work. Somehow.

“Master Kenobi can wait the few minutes it takes for me to walk to my quarters,” Ahsoka reasoned, trying to cover her reaction and win this fight.

Ahsoka had a lot to learn. Anakin would never give up that easily. “Master Kenobi wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t important. It would be irresponsible to make him wait.”

Ahsoka’s mouth became a thin line. She was cornered and she knew it. The bridge was silent.

“You’re right, Padawan,” she finally conceded, adding, “Like many other times before, you have proven your exceptional wisdom.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. Oh brother. “I learned from the best, Master.”

Rex coughed loudly in the corner. Anakin glared at him.

“Put him through,” Ahsoka told the trooper, getting Anakin’s attention once more.

The holoprojector came to life with a hum, and Anakin and Ahsoka hastily stepped towards it so they would both be in view when Obi-Wan appeared.

The familiar face of Obi-Wan Kenobi materialized, and he glanced at the two. “Anakin.”

Anakin cleared his throat loudly. “Why, Master Kenobi, it’s so good to see you! My master and I were just getting ready for an inspection, but when they said you were calling we figured it had to be urgent.”

Obi-Wan blinked a few times and then furrowed his brow. “Your—your what? A—”

“Anakin must have something important to talk about with you, so I’m going to do my duty as her Padawan and answer some questions for the inspection team. What questions I can, of course, since I have so little knowledge about these affairs—”

“Oh, Padawan, you’re far too humble, you know almost as much as I do!”

“Oh no, no, I would never presume to be that arrogant—”

“Anakin.”

Both Anakin and Ahsoka shut their mouths at the stern tone. Ahsoka lowered her eyes in an admission of guilt while Anakin glared at Obi-Wan defiantly.

Suddenly, Rex piped in. “Commander, I believe the team still needs your help.”

Anakin and Obi-Wan both turned their attention to Rex. Obi-Wan then automatically looked back to Anakin, as if ready to resume his conversation while Ahsoka walked away, but Anakin quickly took the lifeline Rex had thrown him. “Right! I’ll do that.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, even more baffled, but then exasperation settled on his face and he sighed heavily. Anakin walked towards the inspection team, who looked even more suspicious than ever, but still not quite ready to accuse them of anything.

“So what do you need, Master Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked. Anakin flinched; he addressed Obi-Wan as Master, but he doubted the team would know that.

“Well, I was going to talk to… to you about your report concerning the battle over Ryloth – it needs revision.”

Anakin bit back a groan. Great. The last thing he needed was to give Ahsoka more fuel against him.

Ahsoka crossed her arms, suddenly looking delighted. “Really? I didn’t write the report correctly?”

Obi-Wan stared at Ahsoka for a few moments to see if she would back down from the game, but she stood her ground, making Anakin smile. He sighed. “Your phrasing could use improvement.”

“How so? Did I misspell something again?”

Anakin opened his mouth to retort, whirling on Ahsoka, when he remembered the team watching him and bit his tongue so sharply he tasted blood.

This was ridiculous. He was not going to listen to this. “Master, you know Master Kenobi is really picky and just prefers things written his way.”

Ahsoka only half faced him. “Hush, Padawan. The adults are talking.”

Oh that was it, he was going to kill her—

“Padawan, I do have several concerns about the state of this bridge,” the inspection officer said impatiently.

“I’m sure the admiral can address them,” Anakin snarled with such hostility the man took several steps back.

Thankfully, Adm. Yularen did in fact step in to handle the matter, apparently growing tired of the charade. “What concerns do you have?”

Ignoring the impending boring tirade from the team, Anakin stomped over to Ahsoka, who was trying to encourage Obi-Wan to discuss the report.

“We’ll explain later, Master,” was the only thing he said to Obi-Wan before completely cutting the connection and glaring at Ahsoka. “You’d better watch it, Snips.”

Ahsoka smiled smugly, crossing her arms. “I’m the Jedi Knight. I get to say whatever I want.”

“Is that what you think?” Anakin snapped. This girl needed a reality check – if Anakin could say whatever he wanted—

Well. Maybe he did often state his opinion a little loudly. But he didn’t always—there were times where he held his tongue!

He couldn’t think of any right now, but he knew they’d happened!

“So do you normally mess up your reports?” Ahsoka asked.

“I don’t mess up my reports,” Anakin snarled. “I just don’t write them in a standard fashion.”

Ahsoka laughed. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Pretty sure you have an inspection team waiting for you, general.”

Ahsoka looked over at the team to see them finishing their interrogation of the admiral. She sighed.

“Well, Master, I’d best spend my time in the training area now since you’re no longer busy,” Anakin said loudly as the team approached. “After all, my lightsaber skills are still sorely lacking.”

Ahsoka bristled. “Actually, they’ve improved so much you don’t have to worry about training today. I’m quite impressed with your abilities.”

“Pretty sure I still hold the lightsaber backwards,” Anakin said thoughtfully, stroking his chin and hiding a smirk as Ahsoka grew even more annoyed.

“That’s a certain style of fighting,” she corrected him, and Anakin raised an eyebrow, knowing he’d won this round. She caught herself and faced the team. “I apologize for the delay.”

“Bye, Master!” Anakin chirped happily, rushing for the door.

When he finally reached the hall and the door to the bridge closed behind him, he allowed himself to relax and smile.

I win, Snips.

Elated to be free, Anakin went to the engineering deck and hung out with the clones for several hours as they all tinkered on different parts of the ship. Anakin was particularly engrossed in the hyperdrive alongside Twitch when he sensed Ahsoka approaching.

“Padawan, there you are!”

Pausing from his work, Anakin twisted his torso to look down—he was lying on top of the large hyperdrive after all—at Ahsoka, who stood on the catwalk. He was unpleasantly surprised to see the inspection team with her. However, his amusement returned when he saw the haggard look on Ahsoka’s face – he bet she was sick of dealing with them by now.

“Hello, Master,” he greeted with a knowing smile.

Ahsoka’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you were doing lightsaber practice.”

“I did briefly, but I recall you saying I was too good to worry about it today, so then I decided to practice on my mechanic skills. Force knows I need it.”

Ahsoka bristled and then bit her lip to prevent a retort from flying out.

The team leader took this opportunity to pipe in. “I wish to speak to the chief engineer.”

Ahsoka jumped, her eyes widening, and Anakin had to cover his laugh for a cough. Ahsoka knew many of the men in the 501st, but not all of them, and she was particularly unfamiliar with the engineering deck. She had no clue who the chief engineer was.

“Right,” she replied, rubbing her hands together. “Right. The chief engineer.”

Looking around desperately, she pointed to the first clone she saw. “Soldier! Get the chief engineer.”

Anakin curled in on himself, hiding his face from view because he was about to lose it.

The clone, Dune, stared at her awkwardly. “Uh, I am the chief engineer, sir.”

Anakin again coughed, this time in a fit so bad that his head was spinning by the time he was done.

“Well, there you go,” Ahsoka said, embarrassed and likely gesturing to the engineer for the team. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to—attend to important stuff.”

Anakin sensed Ahsoka flee the room and he rolled onto his back, still trying to catch his breath from laughter. Twitch was trying his best to maintain the decorum so typical of clones, but Anakin could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek.

Glancing at his chronometer, Anakin realized it was close to dinnertime. By the time the inspection team finished in the engineering deck, they would either be departing or staying the night, depending on how long it had taken Ahsoka to guide them through the Resolute. Anakin prayed it was the former.

Subtly exiting the area, Anakin headed towards the mess hall and ran into Ahsoka on the way. “Having fun?”

“Shut up,” Ahsoka grumbled. “I didn’t know people could get so picky about the stupidest things.”

Anakin smirked knowingly.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Fine, you were right.”

“Ready for dinner?”

“Yes.”

As they entered the mess, Anakin asked, “So how far along are they?”

“I don’t know. Do they ever shut up?”

Anakin barked a laugh. “Not really, but if you go through all the areas, then you can at least cut them off.”

As the two grabbed their food, the clones acknowledged them with smirks and snickers, and Anakin had to laugh at it all. Today had been crazy.

“How did you like running the ship?” he asked, his stomach tightening at the sight of the rations on his plate.

Ahsoka shrugged. “Hard to tell considering I spent all my time dealing with them.”

“Welcome to the headache of bureaucracy,” Anakin snipped, waving a hand dismissively.

“Regulations are important, though,” Ahsoka tried to reason. “They keep everything universal and they keep people in line.”

“They can also get in the way, and this is a prime example of it.” Anakin corrected her.

Ahsoka bit her lip, looking away uncertainly. “I guess.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments as Ahsoka nibbled on her food while Anakin merely pushed it around with his utensil. Then she asked, “So if the team has to stay the night, does that mean I get to sleep in your room?”

The utensil scraped the plate loudly as Anakin jumped. “What?”

“I mean I’m still Gen. Skywalker right now.” Ahsoka explained, tilting her head to the side and smiling.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever. Sleep wherever you want.”

“And you can sleep in my room!”

Like I’ll be sleeping. “Sure. Wait—I need my pillow.”

“It’s my pillow now!”

“No, it’s mine!”

“It’s Anakin’s—”

“I don’t want you drooling on it!”

Ahsoka huffed. “I won’t!”

Anakin crossed his arms. “Please. My tunics beg to differ.”

Ahsoka’s orange cheeks darkened in embarrassment, and she didn’t know what to say. Anakin felt a little bad for pointing out that he’d helped her fall asleep and stayed with her during the first month or so of their time together, but it wans’t like it was a big deal, at least not to him. He would be damned if he left Ahsoka feeling lost and alone and terrified in the middle of the night, haunted by nightmares of the battlefield.

Pushing the matter aside, he said, “Just eat your dinner. I’ll grab my pillow.”

Mumbling some kind of reply, Ahsoka lowered her gaze to her plate.

“Anakin.”

Anakin nearly jumped out of his skin alongside Ahsoka as Obi-Wan’s Force presence suddenly appeared out of nowhere just as he heard the clipped accent say his name. Leaping up, his foot caught the bench of the table and he nearly face planted into another table before Obi-Wan caught him.

“Master!” he yelped.

“What in the blazes is going on?” Obi-Wan asked, already sounding resigned to whatever insane plan Anakin had concocted.

“We—we were—what are you doing here?!”

“I was going to tell you that I was en route to your location, but you cut me off.”

Anakin blinked. “Oh. Well. It’s good to see you.”

Obi-Wan gave a small smile and tipped his head in acknowledgement as he steadied Anakin. Then he frowned. “You look terrible.”

Anakin swallowed. How the blazes did Obi-Wan always see through him? “I’m fine.”

“Master and I switched places for the inspection team,” Ahsoka explained with an excited smile, not quite catching the subtle change in conversation.

Obi-Wan gave Anakin an appalled look. “Anakin—”

“Hey, it was a good learning experience for her,” Anakin tried to reason, raising his hands in defense.

“Inspection teams suck,” Ahsoka added helpfully.

Obi-Wan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Now let’s talk about that report!” Ahsoka piped up eagerly.

“No, Ahsoka,” Anakin immediately replied. “Finish your dinner. Obi-Wan and I will handle the report.”

Sighing, Ahsoka complied, probably because she was too exhausted from the day to argue any further. Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan and motioned for him to follow. Obi-Wan took a brief look at the table and then accompanied Anakin to the hallway.

“You didn’t eat your dinner,” he remarked.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “It’s fine.”

“I’m fairly certain starvation and sleep deprivation aren’t fine, Anakin.”

“Master,” Anakin begged tiredly, leaning against the wall. “Not now. Please.”

Obi-Wan watched him worriedly and sighed. “All right. Let’s discuss the report. Follow me.”

Reluctantly, Anakin followed his former master, tiredly and confusedly noting where they were going. “This doesn’t lead to the bridge. Or the observation deck. Or… where are we going?”

“Your room.”

“Technically it’s Ahsoka’s room right now.”

Obi-Wan threw an exasperated look over his shoulder. “Should we go to Ahsoka’s room, then?”

Anakin thought about it, scrunching his nose, and then shrugged, too tired to care. Obi-Wan didn’t change direction, and Anakin didn’t argue anymore.

The two continued in silence until they reached the small quarters provided to Anakin aboard the Resolute. It was a standard officer’s room, roughly the same size as his bedroom in the Jedi Temple. A cot was in the far left corner, a dresser along the left wall, and a sink and mirror on the right wall. Obi-Wan pulled at the covers of the cot and looked at Anakin.

“Master,” Anakin grumbled. “I told you I’m fine.”

“We’re going to talk about your report,” Obi-Wan said to appease him. “But you’re going to lie down.”

“But—”

“Now, Anakin.”

Grumbling under his breath, Anakin slipped his boots and belt off and settled on the mattress. At Obi-Wan’s raised eyebrow, he reluctantly slipped his feet under the covers and lowered his head to his pillow. He felt the mattress shift as Obi-Wan sat at the bottom edge. Immediately his eyes felt heavy, and he fought his hardest to keep them open.

“Now, about this report,” Obi-Wan said, his voice suddenly soft as if he were trying to be quiet, “You know you can’t write tricked the idiotic Seppies into believing my surrender so my Padawan could kick their asteroids, right?”

Anakin snorted in a confused response of laughter and cringing. He’d been particularly tired when writing that report and he supposed he’d forgotten to edit it before submitting it. Oops. “I mean it’s not wrong.”

Obi-Wan sighed heavily.

Whatever response his master had in store for him as his eyes suddenly closed and he jumped, rising into a seated position in what felt like a heartbeat.

A warm, gentle hand pressed against his shoulder. “Rest, Anakin.”

“The report—”

“Can wait.”

Trying desperately to find an argument to stay awake, Anakin said, “The inspection team—”

“I’ll handle them,” Obi-Wan assured him softly. “I’m sure you and Ahsoka have done enough damage already, anyway.”

A giggle escaped Anakin’s lips, and he saw Obi-Wan’s face soften at the sound of it. He still didn’t really want to sleep, feeling like he hadn’t accomplished anything the entire time they’d been floating around doing nothing. He’d needed something to do. But now, with Obi-Wan’s warm, familiar, calming presence humming in his mind, he finally let his exhaustion catch up to him. Obi-Wan always managed to quiet his mind, to make the constant drone of life and death that bounced around in Anakin’s mind settle and melt away for a time. And if anything did finally happen, Anakin knew they were all safe with Obi-Wan there.

Or he would wake up to have to rescue him. Either was a possibility.

“Night, Master,” Anakin mumbled, finally succumbing. Something brushed the hair out of his eyes, and he felt the blankets get tucked around his chin. “Good night, Anakin.”

[brittababbles]

Holy shit.

I’m high so bare with me.

Omega is definitely force sensitive.

I have a new theory about order 66

The chip causes permanent disassociation. Assuming the chip works correctly, or is present at all, it forces the clone to suddenly recall what was functionally a repressed memory that the Jedi were traitors. A fact that would be very horrible if you’ve bonded with a Jedi, as we see the clones do throughout The Clone Wars. We see how close Anakin and Ahsoka are with Rex. We see Obi Wan’s fondness for (and arguably romantic feelings toward) Cody. Now imagine you suddenly know beyond the shadow of a doubt that that person is secretly fighting for the enemy you were raised to believe was evil. How angry would you be? Would you be angry enough to kill?

Crosshair’s fires erratically. He experiences a full disassociation that forgets everything that has happened since leaving Kamino as a cadet. That’s why he didn’t immediately kill Caleb Dunne/Kannan Jarrus when he heard the trigger phrase “Activate Order 66”.

He spends chunks of time in his pre-existing personality at the beginning of the series then his chip’s effects are cranked up to 1000 and he has this sense of knowing that the Jedi are traitors well beyond any way he’s ever known anything before. It’s true in his bones, and his brothers know it too, because they’re good soldiers like him. But Crosshair doesn’t exactly have reigns on his temper, and he’s frustrated with Hunter and Tech and Wrecker. Why are they fighting this? It’s so obvious, to Crosshair, that the emperor is right and the Jedi need to be dead. Because thats what he was built to believe. That’s what the chip tells him. That good soldiers follow orders.

The rest of the group don’t have functioning chips.

Whatever modifications were done to Tech, Wrecker, and Hunter in their brains. I’m pretty sure that whatever they did to Crosshair as an embryo was mostly done in his eyes.

Hunter has enhanced senses (though his vision is nothing on Crosshair. I’ll get to that in a minute). Hunter was built from scratch to be able to track, and notice ambush. The field commander. He was built to be in command of the squad. The captain or commander under their Jedi. He’s the Rex to a possible Jedi commander. A good leader, paternal toward his squad. Hunter’s skill set is to serve as the person who has everyone’s back. All the time. He’s supposed to take care of his men. He’s in charge, sort of. This is where a lot of the conflict between Hunter and Crosshair originates. Hunter was born to have their backs. Crosshair, however, wants that person to be him so badly.

Tech has an intensely powerful memory. He seems to interpret this to mean he’s smarter than the others, but nah, he just never forgets anything. Ever. He remembers everything in precise, clear, perfect detail. Always. Perfect for a scout, and a medic, and a pilot. He never forgets how to do anything once he learns it. He’s flexible, mentally and physically. He’s good with his hands and can create a little gadget out of nothing. You need a fixer on a team like this. Tech is your man.

Wrecker is exceptionally strong and durable. He was designed to take fire, to be able to shield his teammates with his body. He was then trained in hand to hand combat and explosives. So making his skin incredibly difficult to pierce would be important. He’d need to be able to take a blast, a blaster bolt, an attacking animal. He’s the muscle. Doesn’t mean he isn’t smart - I do think he has a bit of a traumatic brain injury from an injury sustained doing that job, where he lost an eye. He has the same synthetic eye as Wolffe, similar erratic behaviors as Gregor. Whatever happened to Wrecker was bad. He’s since been patched up. But Wrecker’s easy come easy go personality never wavered. It can’t when your job is to act like a human shield all the time.

Messing with their brains messed with their chips. They didn’t develop fully. Other parts of their brains are massively enhanced - Tech’s memory, Hunter’s senses, Wrecker’s ability to tolerate pain. But those chips are pretty well destroyed from the outset. Still there. Still possibly a threat until they have them removed. But nonfunctional. (Echo’s on the other hand, has been removed completely, purely by chance, while he was in captivity)

And Crosshair? Crosshair is a sniper. What does a sniper need more than anything to be the best marksman ever? Really, just superior eyesight. Crosshair’s eyesight must be insane. He can probably see at 500 feet what the average person sees at 3. He notices movements nobody else would see. He can probably see any wavelength, and in the dark, and possibly be able to see heat. But nobody ever asks him how he literally sees the world, and given him any basis for comparison. Imagine if you were a clone cadet and your three brothers got - what look like - magical superpowers. But your magical power is just the ability to see a little better than they can. Big whoop, eh? No wonder Crosshair has anger issues.

This was the original model of a smooth working squad, that was meant to be handed to a Jedi to command. Shaak Ti designed this squad, probably based on what she felt through the force from the other Jedi. What the other Jedi wanted and appreciated and hoped for in their soldiers. Then she took the most common features and handed the designs over to the kaminoans. She designed a team /for/ her fellow Jedi. Any Jedi. These boys were built to be the perfect, seamless team no matter which Jedi they were paired for.

(It must be awful being Echo, who was not built for this. No matter how much he tries, he’ll never be one of their batch. He was a Domino, and he’ll never know these guys like he knew Fives, or Hevy, or Cutup, or Droidbait. I think Echo recognizes that he’s older than the rest of the team, but sees one of his brothers in each of them. I haven’t quite pinned who corresponds with whom in Echo’s mind yet, but that’s why he’s so protective of his teammates. The OG Bad Batch are /young/, but they’re still clones. Echo is different now too, and he knows that being different doesn’t change who is family is. He’s the older brother, I think, in time, the rest of the batch will come to see Echo as Echo sees Rex. And Rex sees Cody. I hope that will be rewarding for Echo. He deserves some peace.)

But then the plan changed and a new order came in for clones to replace the Jedi. The Kaminoans are businesspeople with no real stake in the war, so they do it. Plus it’s interesting, really. They tried and tried to create a force sensitive child. And finally they did it. They created someone to replace the Jedi. They created Omega.

Omega’s story will be about another force sensitive kid. It’s the plot of The Mandalorian all over again.

[thats-it-im-fallingdown]

I’ve posted my first time viewing thoughts on season 1 of rebels, now here’s the same for the first half of the second season!

first of all: @intrepidmare commented that the reason why rebels animation gets a lot of flack compared to tcw is because it had a smaller team and budget and less production time, but that it improves in later seasons (hablo un poquito español, lo siento!). i should clarify, i don’t think the animation for rebels is all bad, I’m actually very fond of how much more fluid it is! familiar stuff looks really off to me right now (stormtroopers, lando, obi wan, lightsabers), newer stuff looks better (the grand inquisitor, hera). i didn’t like tcw style at first either. it took me time to get used to it, but i did. i bet that by the end of season 4, I’ll have stopped complaining about it.

Siege of Lothal duology

-they’ve stopped translating karabast into caramba in the captions. huh.

-tua seems more frightened by tarkin than vader? politicians are strange creatures no matter what galaxy you’re in I guess

-it makes sense that kanan doesn’t want to get involved in a wider scale conflict, as a Jedi he probably had more direct experience fighting in the clone wars, so he’s more disillusioned with armies and wars than hera is. of course the small scale Robin Hood stuff is more his speed. also, i love how they feel like real adults with different outlooks on life. sabine and ezra are great, but i can’t stand most teenagers (and i literally am one!)

-alright, I’m at the 10:39 mark and I’m betting now that the secret other reason for lothal’s importance is kaiburr mining. it would explain why a seeming backwater planet is so important to the empire to justify sending vader and tarkin, why there’s a Jedi temple there, and ezra finding a crystal in said temple. maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong.

-all this about what zeb smells like, even from himself, and i still have no idea what he smells like. bad like a wet space dog? something else?

-vader baby! i know it’s a departure from live action, but i like the red eye pieces, they seem more realistic for looking out of

-damn Vader’s tall. i keep forgetting that

-“if that doesn’t kill him what will?” “not us” kanan, you have no idea how true that is

-burning the refugee camp to the ground.. we’re pretty far away from stealing fruit noe

-the way they all go with Hera to fight vader, Hera straight up saying “alright kids do mom and dad proud”… this show was literally designed for me to vicariously experience a unified family. fellow “my dad went to get milk and never came back” kids, children of divorce, and/or people who have been disowned by their families how are we feeling. this show definitely isn’t perfect but it’s some of the best escapism for me in particular. screw that team as family but they’re just close friends, team as family found family is where it’s at

-oooo, ahsoka and anakin back in each other’s orbits. i can’t wait! this is shaping up to be a great season already

The lost commanders, relics of the old republic

-ahh, so this is where filoni gets his reputation for cameos. i can’t really blame him, since as a Star Wars fan and writer myself, i couldn’t say i wouldn’t want to write stuff with my favorite characters. since this is an ensemble show (unlike andor, per se, which benefits from focusing on andor with others in the periphery), my opinion is that it’ll work out as long as our original cast doesn’t get crowded out. aladdin bridger and the rest of his family are who I’m interested in watching at the end of the day after all!

-(I saw that rex was in this one from the episode description) I’m curious as to how/why rex and ahsoka got separated?

-I’m digging Sabine’s new hairstyle, it works for her

-i get that it’s for dramatic tension, but i don’t see why ahsoka isn’t just. telling them who they’re looking for, especially since she’s not going along with them. they don’t know him! if you don’t tell them rex is a clone at least how would they know who they’re looking for?

-sweet walker they’ve got, really reminiscent of the republic walkers. heck, that’s what it is under years of homemaking

-I really like how kanan still doesn’t trust them completely by the end of the arc. he’s moving in that direction, but order 66 is not something that can be forgiven in a day, even taking the chips into account. not being something that’s neatly resolved in an episode it gives it more weight, and kanan feels like a deeper character for it.

Always two there are

-commander fruit. I’m reminded that this show is a gold mine for expanding the worldbuilding in the produce aisle

-the grand inquisitor isn’t dead, is he. no body, cryptic final message, he’s gonna show up again.

-i like how these inquisitors are kind of incompetent. they aren’t getting a full sith course load, and they dropped out of Jedi college. of course they aren’t the best and brightest!

-i may be. unreasonably fond of zeb. i can’t really say why? he’s big. he’s purple. his older brother energy is off the charts. he survived a genocide. he’s comic relief. he smells bad. he’s literally me. he reminds me of one of my uncles. what more can i say?

Brothers of the broken horn

-man this hits a little too close to what being fifteen years old is like. ezra, you have got to get a day planner, they’re silly but they work! that’s also my advice to my ten followers. if you keep forgetting stuff, planner planner planner. no writing it down on scratch paper or making a “mental note.”

-the classic ship in distress trap. very familiar to a Trekkie such as myself, but is less common in the gffa.

-first he’s Jabba the Hutt, now he’s lando Calrissian. forget Jedi training or blaster practice ezra needs to learn how to make up fake names on the fly

-why is the empire shooting at them? they’re bad guys, but i don’t think they’re fire on broken vessels even if they happen to be on one of their checkpoints bad guys

-hondo’s jaw horns have grown with age. makes sense, but looks both strange and inconvenient

-chopper’s homicidal tendencies make him great backup

-how have none of them hit red guy? he’s enormous! he’s bigger than the broad side of a barn and moves just as slow

-fun episode, but i think they could have focused more on how ezra has changed since getting involved with the rebels. the last lines he has with kanan feel like they’re hastily trying to clean up the flaws in the writing at the last minute mark

Wings of the master

-a blockade episode, classic star wars. there aren’t as many distinct episode conventions like there are for Star Trek, but there are a few. the blockade mission is one of them.

-Hera backstory! Hera backstory! I repeat, we have a hera episode incoming!

-i hope we learn more about her childhood on ryloth during the clone wars. I’ve always been interested by the bits and pieces of Twi’lek world building I’ve read, and the ryloth liberation arc from tcw was one i liked. also, i really like hera’s character.

-kanan asks ezra “are you in” about the supply run in the phantom but the Spanish subtitle is closer to “are you with me” (i think. i think that’s how best to translate conmigo)

-quarrie’s a fun character for a one off. biased because I’m an engineering student and he’s an engineer character who actually acts similar to a real one (yes, this is a tony stark callout. we don’t act like that) also, he’s just plain charming

-now that’s a funky ship. i like it!

-why don’t the rebels divide the supplies up on multiple ships? then it would have the same flaws as a video game payload mission

-okay, so it wasn’t a full Hera Episode, but I’ll take it anyways

Blood Sisters

-sabine, the brightly painted mandalorian… selected for a mission which needs a low profile

-and the way they’re finding this courier is by asking a bunch of people in the port an unusual code? that seems like the opposite of low profile too

-ketsu’s haircut is… hilariously bad. good lord, what’s wrong with a buzz cut if you want to keep it practical?

-i like the backstory we’re getting with sabine a lot

-I’m also noticing that basically all of the human characters who aren’t imperial are poc. Star Wars is still allergic to brown eyes, which is kind of colorist (featurist? is there a term for colorism that includes physical attributes that aren’t skin tone?), but credit where it’s due. kallus is the white person who shows up the most. (I’m not including non human characters in this assessment, since coding is more finicky for them when in animation) i only noticed when ketsu took off her helmet

Stealth strike

-“gravity well projectors” look don’t take this the wrong way but this is what i mean when I say Star Wars doesn’t feel like science fiction. Star Trek would have pretended to explain it and dune would meticulously plot out how this changes warfare

-i see that this episode was set up to put Rex and kanan in a Situation. and i am totally on board this conflict is so juicy

-i had almost forgotten how much I like rex, but him knowing the emergency codes brought back memories of his clone wars version.

-i wonder if he ever met luke or leia knowing that they were padme and anakin’s children

-holy shit ezra really did sound like hera for a second when he was breaking up rex and kanans squabbling

-they keep calling ezra jabba even after they learn his real name i feel like my brain is leaking out of my ears

-Ezra’s really gotten good at using a lightsaber

-well. guess ezra shouldn’t have told that stormtrooper he wouldnt die in his escape. seeing as the ship was blown to smithereens

The future of the force

-oh there is something wrong with that baby’s face

-“if i never see one of those things again it’ll be too soon” was translated as “espero no ver otra de cosas por toda la eternidad” which directly (if I’m not mistaken) translates to “I hope to never see one of those things again for all eternity” interesting! i wonder if that means Spanish doesn’t have a more direct equivalent to the English phrase “if I never [x] it’ll be too soon?”

-I’ll remember this show as the one that taught me ayudar (to help)

-chopper the baby exploding pile of bolts

-aww, the ithorian baby is so cute. heck, the ithorians just look way cuter in the rebels style. in live action they’re much slimier (which isn’t bad either!)

-also lugar, which means place. this show is pretty good for picking stuff up since I’ve already taken a class on the basics plus growing up with it in my home, even though I was never allowed to actually acquire it

-ahsoka ex machina

-this is shaping up to be a multi part thing, so I expect that some of my questions will be answered: the empire’s presence isn’t as strong in the outer rim, same as the republic, so how are they tracking these force sensitive infants down, especially after the Jedi (and to a lesser extent the force itself) were wiped from memory? and if they’re taking babies, how many have been partially inducted into the dark side by the fall of the empire? are some of them running around, ripe for stories in which they’re villains with potential for redemption after the fall of the empire? there’s so much potential

Legacy

-no room in the budget for pajamas or blankets i see. aren’t you guys the opposite of cozy

-and this show is responsible for teaching me ghost (fantasma)! i can’t believe i forgot. and fleet (flota), and message (mensaje). don’t worry, this won’t turn into a Spanish vocab lesson!

-I was almost certain Ezra’s parents were dead, or if not would die shortly after because.. well, the same reason beru and lars had to die, it’s the classic story move. but that doesn’t diminish the emotional weight of the reveal that his parents are dead because of how excited he gets when there’s hope, and how he openly cries when it’s left him

-the shot of the plain on Lothal after the scene where Ryder is introduced is beautiful visually. natural land and skyscapes is where rebels really shines

-what a lovely episode! sad, but lovely

And this is where I’m wrapping up for now! I’m halfway through season 2, and legacy is a natural midpoint. Thank you for reading this far, making these posts is pretty fun for me :)

[infinitelyelvish]

I found a Notes file from my descent into emotional turmoil as I watched the last four episodes of The Clone Wars. Enjoy

But why is the logo red. It's supposed to be yellow 😰

Ashoka's talking to Anakin for the first time since walking away 😭

Anakin's having a whole mental break down over seeing her again.

The graphics this season and episode are amazing. The best visuals for the worst to come.

They're all back together 😭😭

R2 is so excited to see her, poor little guy.

Not Bo Katan pulling the Satine card on Obi-Wan.

The whole 501st standing to attention for Ashoka with her colors and markings on their helmets. Is this the last time they're all not affected by the chips?!

HER LIGHTSABERS?! Is Anakin about to give her her lightsabers?!?!

Commander Rex. He deserved that being more than an on the flu decision.

He did give her her lightsabers back 😭

"I took care of them, they're good as new. Maybe a little better" 😭

"Anakin. Good luck." Is that the last time? I'm so nauseous with the impending last time he'll be Anakin and his first time he'll become Vader to her.

I cannot get over how good the animation is. This is so unfair. They need to go back and redo the entire series.

Rex and Ashoka having moments before battle together. I'm unwell. 

Badass landing!!! Let's go!

"Beat you." I swear if Rex dies or becomes a soulless drone😭

the lack of music during the opening sequence and credits is foreboding.

I wonder if the moment may be upon us.

I’m going to be sick

Dooku is dead. It’s coming.

Tell Anakin. Did he? Did he??? 

I keep having tears well up. I’m unprepared. 18 years and I’m unprepared.

They have Jesse. 

At this point is it a mercy of the clone dies before order 66? That way they still have their own faculties?

If anyone had asked me during season one if I thought I’d become attached to the clones the answer was a resounding no. But now I just want to gather them all to me and hide them like they’re all little ducklings who need protecting. 

Why did Maul want Obi-Wan /and/ Anakin?

What was the dream?!

Maul trying to team up with Ahsoka was extremely unexpected!

She’s going to help him?!

He is the key to everything. To destroy.

She knows. She knows. She knows.

I know Anakin. 😭

It’s looks so real it’s feels like live action

She’s become so strong.

We’re all going to die. You don’t know what they’re doing.

Why is it that the site are telling the truth and no one was ever listening to hear it?

2nd to last episode. This is it. I’m already crying.

I wish I was good at something other than war.

Mace Windu over here pissing me off. Ahsoka knows more!!! Get off your high horse and listen to her!!! 

I’ll tell him myself when I see him. 

Rex is a real one  for not sharing what Ahsoka didn’t with the council.

Saying deserved to see her planet be free.

What ever happened to Korkie??? Did he die and I don’t remember it happening?

Is this box actually force user proof?

Rex and Ahsoka traveling through space, one last time.

She’s saluting him.

Is that the last time? Did I just lose Rex as I’ve known him?

It’s happening. 

He’s trying to fight it

He’s gone. He’s sending them to find her.

The droids are so upset, their people aren’t acting right.

Fives!!! She’s looking up what Fives found, FINALLY!!! 

Stupid Kaminoans. Rex told Padme 🥲

Is it now that the troopers have lost their ability to aim?

Tazing Rex, gotta love droids.

Is she going to be able to save him? Can she save him after the order has been given?

It’s not there 😭

“I am one with the force and the force is with me.”

They found jt!!!

He’s back!

Oh my god he’s back.

He’s the only one. How many can she save? Can she save more?

Last episode.

Not the monk singing 

Victory and death.

What victory 😭

They’re only stunning. I love my 501st commanders.

The clones are starting to appear in their white uniforms.

Why is Maul destroying the hyper drive? Now they’re just sitting ducks.

If they weren’t trying to kill us I’d be proud. 

What moon are they by? 

There’s no way. There’s no way they’re getting to a shuttle.

There are too many. Besides I don’t want to hurt them.

Loyal Ahsoka.

Rex is crying!!! I can’t. Please. I can’t. 

I love her so much.

They may be willing to die,  but I’m not willing to kill them.

I love these droids so much.

Mail was an interesting villain but if he’s going to steal this shuttle without Ahsoka and Rex on it then I hope he gets forced choked out.

That was a cool move with the force and double lightsabers.

Not the droids popcorning the clones.the droids!!!!

They’re all gone. The entire 501st. 

It’s just Rex now.

They buried them all of them. Their helmets 😭😭😭

She left her lightsaber. I guess they’re not the same since Anakin was the one to return them.

Who are these droids? Why are they in their Hoth gear? 

Vader.

He found the wreck.

When is this?

He found her lightsaber. Oh my god he knows she’s alive.

Does she know Obi-wan and yoga are still alive??? Does she know that Padme died? Does she know about the twins? I have questions!

[giornosaiyaman]

unpopular opinion TCW time

AV Club’s Kevin Johnson once said he feels TCW starts going downhill post season 2, and I unfortunately agree with him-though he has changed his opinion over time.

For context, I hate Dave Filoni and love Genndy Tartakovsky.

Here is my take on TCW:

The TCW movie is underrated and a solid B+. Yes it has animation issues, but it also functions really well as the series pilot. It does a great job developing Anakin and Obi Wan’s friendship, Anakin and Ahsoka’s relationship, and Ahsoka’s psychology. She’s impulsive, hotheaded, slightly rebellious, and insecure. She really feels like a walking talking avatar of George’s love for teen rebellion-the Korra to Luke’s Aang. Her rebellious nature forces Anakin to mature, just like George wanted when he assigned her to him-yes really.

Throughout the movie, Ahsoka overcompensates for her insecurity. This overcompensation grates on Anakin throughout the film. Eventually, he asks her why she’s acting so unruly, prompting her to reveal her insecurity. This motivates Anakin to reassure her, which again, solidify their big brother little sister relationship and reveal Anakin’s maturity and compassion to the audience.

This scene is hands down the best scene in the film. 

To make matters better, a phenomenal voice cast does a great job brining all of this solid character work to life. Although his British accent could be better, James Arnold Taylor brings so much charm, life, and humor to Obi wan. Matt Lanter injects Anakin with infectious senses of humanity and charisma, and Dee Bradley Baker does masterful work as the clones-even though his casting choice is problematic to say the least.

And of course Ashley Eckstein absolutely shines as Ahsoka. She delivers a truly phenomenal child hero performance, second only to Mark Hamil himself imo. 

Now onto the show proper.

IMO Season 1 of TCW is the best of the bunch. Yeah, it makes some narrative mistakes-it sucks how Filoni nerfed the regular battle droids and grievous-but, for the most part, it didn’t mess with the prior established canon-with the exception of the godawful lair of Grievous-The writing team was-dare I say it-CREATIVE. A Filoni series being creative? What a novel concept.

Back then, the great Henry Gilroy-who worked on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go and Batman TAS-and Steven Melching-who would later work on Transformers Prime-headed up the writing. They alongside Lucas reigned in Filoni. Furthermore, they, alongside talented writers such as the great Paul Dini and Katie Lucas, delivered some really well done one of stories: Tresspass, Ambush, Rookies, Hostage Crisis, Cloak of Darkness, the Malevolence trilogy, Jedi Crash, the Ryloth arc, mystery of a thousand moons and so on. Gilroy-who unfortunately penned lair of Grievous-and Melching had years of experience writing comics and episodes of tv animation under their belts, and you can feel that experience all over TCW season one. It feels like a really well done SW anthology comic in animated form. I wish the entire show was like that. No bloated arcs, no messing with the prior established canon, no rehashing material from Micro series. Just fun, thoughtful, one of episodes. Once Gilroy and Melching left, Filoni took over, and things go to poop.

Not to mention, to paraphrase, Anti Anakin, Ahsoka genuinely shines in season one and season 2-with the exception of lightsaber lost-as the audience surrogate.  Ahsoka works larelgy because the writers try to make her feel like an actual teenager rather than an idealized version of a teen. That said, her depiction can unfortunately come off as somewhat stereotypical and dated by modern standards. Furthermore, the writers occasionally take her “hot headed, rebel teen” character too far-think her stupid interrogation of Gunray for instance. Before we discuss the later seasons, let’s discuss the animation, although the movie and show suffer from stiff, weightless, animation and unimpressive posing, the actual artwork-delivered by the great Killian Plunkett-looks fantastic. When adapting Genndy’s style to 3D, the crew wisely tweaked his designs to look like oil painted wooden puppets-a la Team America-and the style simply works. It fits SW’s living painting aesthetic and pulp sci fi tone like a glove, and it straddles cg animation’s weakness of making human beings look like plastic toys. Furthermore, the crew supports the style with beautiful matte painted environments, and painterly lighting and character texturing-those last two elements were delivered by the truly talented Joel Aron in the later seasons.

Now back to the writing.

Season 2 has some really good episodes, but it’s also when Filoni’s gigantic ego, obsession with Ahsoka, and lack of creativity start rearing their ugly heads.

The good stuff in season 2 includes the cad bane trilogy, the boba fett arc, bounty hunters, the Zilo beast two parter, the last 3 episodes of Geonosis-landing on point rain bores me, and the deserter. Unfortunately, it also contains garbage like the mando stuff-I don’t like Karen Travis, but it doesn’t excuse what Filoni did to her, and a direct rehash of microseries in the form of the stupid cat and mouse.

Season 3 has good eps like heroes on both sides, clone cadets, but the cracks really begin to expand here. The show rips off microseries during the mortis arc-Anakin has ANOTHER vision of Vader, really Filoni-Ahsoka begins to transform from a really well done if dated portrayal of a teenager into a downright problematic “hero” whose faults go unpunished by the narrative, the show bastardizes the original backstory of the night sisters, and character assassinates Quinlan Vos.

Season 4 features the show stopping umbara, maul, Ventress,  and Obi wan undercover arcs-that last one loses points for throwing in a pointless Dooku fight.  However, it also throws in THREE unimaginative and pointless Anakin vs dooki fights, rips off microseries AGAIN with the water war arc, and fails to recognize ahsoka’s cold behavior to Anakin during the zygerrian arc.

Season 5 rips off microseries AGAIN during the youngling arc-for the record I like that arc, but also featured the solid if a bit bloated onderon arc, and the maul and Ahsoka arcs.

I want to love those last two arcs, but they are built on some immoral story choices. The maul arc relies on s2′s mando story and the s3 nughtsisters arc-both of which steamrolled the eu. Meanwhile, the wrong jedi arc, which has my favorite moment in all of fiction-Ahsoka leaving the order, character assassinates Barris.

S6 features the eu steamrolling fives arc, the problematic Clovis arc, the ok jar jar arc, and the darth bane disrespecting yoda arc.

Let’s not bother with Rebels seasons 2-4 or TCW Season 7.

It’s a shame that such a talented cast and crew were squandered on a talentless asshole like Filoni.

[thecleverqueer]

Random thoughts during The Mandalorian S3:E1 “The Apostate”

*******WARNING: SPOILERS*******

Last chance. Turn back now. No? You good!? You okay!? You sure!? Okay, then let’s get into this:

*Bo-Katan was right. They are absolutely a cult.

*Holy shit! TF with the giant ass crock in the river?!

*Um. If a massive reptile like that surfaced while I was in the middle of my weird cult baptism, I’d consider that a sign from whatever god or ancestors I worshipped that this shit just isn’t for me.

*Din coming in clutch for his cult.

*Crock guts all over the beach! Yes!

*So… Din and the Armorer are having EXACTLY THE SAME conversation that they had in The Book of Boba Fett… again. Because, oops! We did two whole ass episodes of the Mandalorian (which ironically had no Boba Fett despite him being the titular character) because we felt like the name “Boba Fett” couldn’t hold its own weight in fandom, and now folks are going to be lost and confused. Good work!

*Hmm… space whales… Wasn’t I JUST TALKING ABOUT SPACE WHALES!?!

*Is Din asleep at the wheel? He looks like he’s asleep at the wheel. Is it okay to sleep through hyperspace? Come on, Din.

*Wow. Nevarro has been glammed up!

*We have a tree full of Salacious Crumbs….

*Ooo! We have a street band!?! Holy shit! It’s like Mediterranean Europe!

*Greef Karga is dressed to the nines, and he has TWO droids pulling his train. Jeeze, bruh! Class. Nice touch. Carl killing it!

*Greef: I thought you had completely your mission, but you’re still running around here with the same critter.

Din: It’s complicated.*

TRANSLATION: I met a “Jedi” named Ahsoka Tano that freaked out because Grogu had formed an attachment to me, and she refused to have anything to do with his training. She sent me on a wild goose chase across the galaxy to a mountain top in the middle of nowhere so that Grogu may reach out to other Jedi that may take on the task that she was unwilling to do. The kid was kidnapped by the remnants of the Empire, so I amassed a rag-tag team of bad ass lesbians plus Boba Fett to help me rescue him. It nearly went bad, but another Jedi named Luke Skywalker came, rescued us and took Grogu to some unknown forest planet. I went to see Grogu on that planet with Luke, and damn it if Ahsoka Tano wasn’t there… convincing Luke that training Grogu was a bad idea, so Grogu came back to me. Now here we are.

Yeah. That is complicated….. good job making that shit simple.

*Is that a bowl of strawberry Skittles on Greef Karga’s desk? Those look like Skittles. Skittles are now canon. Space whales and skittles… but no gays (scratch that: Gilroy gave us two gays because he’s got balls).

*Wild theory, but hear me out: Greef arguing with these pirates at the doorstep of the school are currently harboring the kids that are going to show up in “The Skeleton Crew”. Jude Law is in there right now lecturing them about something mildly relevant, but he’s not going to be revealed here. The pirates are going to chase Law and the kids out of town because of this interaction right here, and they’re going to get lost when they veer off the trade route somehow (probably via those stinking purrgil). This is the Mandalorian tie-in. Wait for it.

*Oop! Cara Dune mentioned. RIP… your actress was an idiot.

*He, uh, slick passed Grogu like a basket ball just now. WTF? That’s a baby!

*Ahhhh!!!!!

The Babu Frik species!!!!

HEY HEYYYYY!!!!

*Din (when Grogu starts grabbing at the Babu Frik dude): He’s young.

Bitch, he’s like, 50. WTF!?! He should absolutely know better than to snatch up another sentient being like that. Train your child better, my man!

*Oh Din, don’t teach Grogu to fly. He still poops his pants. This is the real reason Ahsoka noped out of his training. Grogu is still in pampers, and Ahsoka is a 45-year-old auntie that just wants stir unnecessary shit in the galaxy after sleeping for 8 hours a night.

*Woo!!! Space battle!!!!

*Din: (during said space battle) SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

Grogu: *chuckling*

*WTF was that fern pirate guy even!?! Oh my god. He was totally a house fern; a walking, talking, sentient, humanoid house fern. That was your inspiration!?

*Holy Shit!! Bo’s ancestral castle! Yum! It’s got concrete walls, House Kryze banners, an ocean view, greenery, fancy statues and a throne. Yes, Bo! Yes!

*Oh no… Bo is brooding on her throne.

*Hmm. Oddly, she doesn’t have her throne blanket in this scene… which absolutely leads me to believe that she becomes so insufferable later in this season that her wife (I can’t tell you if it’s Koska or Ahsoka, but it’s one of them) kicks her out of the bedroom.

*Good to see that despite what appears to be a pretty nasty depressive episode Bo-Katan is in the midst of, she still a seething bitch. That’s my girl!

*I feel like not giving Bo-Katan some sort of comfort animal for her to stroke while she sat sodding on her throne was a missed opportunity (maybe one of those weird dog creatures that were eating the Mantell mix on Shili in TOTJ would have been cool). Opportunity missed, man.

*Mmm… her hatred… I feel her disdain for Din. Damn. She’s tempering her more violent tendencies though, so this gives me hope that she will indeed survive this season.

*Someone call Ahsoka…. Ahsoka has this way of making brains release serotonin and oxytocin with her presence. Have her fix Bo-Katan!

Final thoughts:

Hmm. Visually, it was beautifully done. Nice sound track. Clearly talented director. The writing was kind of hokey (which, I blame Andor for the fact that I even noticed… as Star Wars was always hokey until Tony Gilroy showed up), but it wasn’t absolutely terrible. I love Pedro Pascal. That goes without saying. Katee Sackhoff did a great job delivering Bo, but she’s done it for so long, I feel like she IS Bo. Still worried for my girl, but not nearly as much as before. Not a bad episode. I’m for it. Good. Good.

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

You said I could rambles about Rexanidala @ you so here we are, i hope you won't regret your choice ❤️

OKAY SO FIRST OF ALL you have the characters aka the canon couple (Anakin Skywalker & Padmé Amidala that i think most people know at least from names?) and then you have Rex aka Captain Rex aka Anakin's right hand man during the Clones Wars and LISTEN in general i love their relationship but if you add poly to it??? -chefkiss-

Like listen you have one of the most powerful Jedi, one of the most badass & kindest Senator & one of the best Clones Officer around there, you put them in a room together, and they lost all their braincell and something ends up in fire. There's so much raw chaos in them. They're so competent but they forget everything when you put them together. They just go and cause so many problem, they're probably the reason why Mace Windu decided to stay bald and why Obi-Wan Kenobi ended up grey that young.

Various exemple of their chaotic energy: the very classic "someone is trying to assassinate me so I'm gonna go into the lion's den and almost get killed, i mean i did take my Jedi bodyguard with me after all—" from one Padmé Amidala; "one of my friends got killed so I'm gonna resolve his murder even if it's not my job" from the same Padmé Amidala; "imma gonna crash this ship on the enemies bc why not" by Anakin Skywalker (self-proclamed best pilot of the Galaxy); "imma gonna give my lightsaber to my very secret wife to prove to her how much i love her and oooops there's a hostage situation and i don't have my weapon anymore" by, again, Anakin; "I'm gonna shot point blank at a clone bc he was acting suspicious and I'm not telling anyone and especially not my superior officer why i did that — hey look it was a droid i was right lol" by Rex; "you know what since droids want to pretend they're us I'm gonna pretend I'm a droid in clone armor" by Rex AGAIN; and, obviously, the whole "Padmé & Anakin are married but it's a secret so obviously we're gonna kiss everywhere, give lovesick at each other all the time, acting all lovey-dovey and/or jealous when with each other, to the point that even our enemies know we have something going on", to the "Rex for some reasons knows about their relationship and is trying to cover for them but he's really not any better than them in the art of lying and/or pretending he has no idea what's going on". They're disasters and i love them <3

ALSO Re: the last part, there's a whole scene where 1) Anakin is like "hey Rex come on we have something to do -wink wink wink-" IN FRONT OF SOME OF THEIR MEN 2) Rex is like "srly, rn now??" And Anakin insists and i swear when you watch this scene without context........ so gay 3) Anakin uses Rex's helmet to call Padmé "in secret" (re: they're so bad at keeping it a secret) and Rex is keeping guard 4) while they are talking, and despite the fact that they haven't seen each other in months and haven't been able to talk to each other a lot, Anakin asks advices to Padmé bc he's worried about Rex and wants to help him 4) Padmé knows Rex & the way he think enough to reassure Anakin and she's also worried about Rex but trusts him 5) LISTEN THEY'RE IN LOVE I DON'T MAKE THE RULES.

Anakin/Padmé is pretty much established but it's like,,,, so easy to add Rex to their couple??? Like, ofc Anakin is close with him, he's his most trusted man and his right hand man!! He knows him & cares for him & trusts him everything and everyone he hold dear!!! But also Rex & Padmé bonded in their own way!! Like, mainly, they got infected by a dead virus together and almost died, which, u know, is always a good way to bond with your future wife <3 And they're obviously friends!! And i absolutely believe they team-up to stop Anakin from doing his most stupid ideas lmao (at least when it's not their brand of chaos and thus they enable him ofc).

ALSO there's Ahsoka!!! She's Anakin's Padawan so obviously she's close to him, and bc she goes to war with him she's also close to Rex (and the rest of their men, tbh it always kills me a little how they all care for each other)!! He gives her advices and takes care of her and supports her!!! And they obviously love each other a lot!!! Rex's love for Ahsoka literally saved her life during Order 66 idkdjdj I'm so normal about it. BUT ALSO she's close to Padmé!!! Padmé is her friend!! She follows Padmé on stupid mission she decided to do herself and uses as justification "Anakin told me to stay with her to learn politic :D" kdjdjdjdj anyway she's at the same time their little sister and their kid and i LOVE IT.

Also there's so much angst potential. Like, Rex survived the end of the war but neither did Anakin nor Padmé. Rex didn't know Luke & Leia were their children. He was robbed of his kids' whole life!!! Rex didn't know about Anakin being Darth Vader either!! (He had a suspicion but no real answer.) How do you want me to be normal about it???

And in a Palpatine-slips-on-a-banana-peel-and-dies au, they can just raise the twins together and they would be even more chaotic that they already are in canon <3 but also i think they deserve it. As a treat.

Anyway i love them so much and we're like five out there shipping them but IT'S FINE. MY LIVE WILL NOT DIE.

thank you <3

(sponsored by the show Star Wars: the Clones War)

Thank you so luch for rambling @ me about ur blorbos i love when ppl are sonpassionate about stuff they love

[thimbil]

Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.