#Especially sw writers

[david-talks-sw]

What's 'Star Wars' about?

A while ago I got an 'Ask' that concluded with "what is Star Wars about, if not the Jedi, right?" And weirdly enough... I have to disagree.

I mean... to me? Yes. Star Wars is about the Jedi. A Jedi-less, Sith-less, lightsaber-less Star Wars movie or series will struggle to get me on board (which is why I was surprised that I loved Andor so much).

But if you read everything George Lucas said, if you think about the Jedi's place in his two trilogies... they're not front and center, right?

Sure, there's Luke Skywalker... but he's a learner, in the Original Trilogy. Same goes for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in the Prequels. They're going through character arcs.

Otherwise, the Jedi are either used as mentors to the protagonist...

... or to deliver exposition...

... but they're mostly vectors Lucas uses to present his thesis.

Functionally-speaking, the Jedi are important in that they embody the Buddhist philosophies the movie's themes are based on.

But when it comes to the plot, they're secondary. That's because the the themes of these films are bigger than the Jedi themselves.

So the question becomes... what's are the themes?

The primary goal of the Star Wars films is to inspire kids to start thinking outside the box and teach them a set of values and psychological motifs that have been passed down through mythology and fairy tales.

These values can be summed up in the dichotomy between greed and compassion / selfishness and selflessness / pleasure and joy.

We all have both aspects and need to strike a balance between the two. After all, being greedy ultimately comes from fear and being afraid can happen to all of us. Problem is, unchecked fear can lead to anger, hate and a whole lot of suffering.

The more selfish you are, the more you want things and the more you're afraid that you'll lose everything you have, you'll get angry when someone tries to take it and that will hurt everyone around you.

In other words, fear is the path to the tempting/addictive Dark Side.

Thus, seeing as we'll be inevitably tempted by the Dark Side and give in at some point (because nobody's perfect), we should aim to be as selfless and compassionate as possible for our own good... but also for the greater good, because we're all connected to a life energy. You can call it Qi or God; in Star Wars it's known as the Force.

As such, we all form a symbiotic circle and working with that in mind is better than putting ourselves first and draining from everything and everyone around us.

But we also need to be careful because there will be people who give in to that selfish side and will try to control everything. When the time comes, we must stand up for what's right.

So that's Lucas' thesis.

If I had to sum them up, the six movies illustrate it as follows:

The Prequel Trilogy is about the consequences of greed, explored through Anakin on a smaller scale and the Senate on a larger one.

The Original Trilogy shows the triumph of compassion, through Luke, Leia & Han and the Rebellion's fight against the Empire.

Lucas talked about it multiple times, the Prequels are about how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and how the Republic becomes the Empire, and in both those cases, it happens because they're greedy.

The Senate is greedy in the more classical sense. They could give a shit about "symbiosis", no they're taking bribes, letting corporations dictate policy, using loopholes to keep themselves in power and halting any meaningful progress out of fear that the new status quo will conflict with their own self-serving goals.

Anakin's greed manifests in a different way. He turns to the Dark Side because of his attachment. He wants to stop Padmé from dying... but not because he wants to save her, rather he wants to save himself from feeling the pain of loss again and will do anything to not have to live without her, her own wishes and the natural cycle of life and death be damned.

In both cases, they cave under pressure orchestrated by Palpatine, but nobody puts a gun to their head. They make a deliberate choice that comes from a selfish place, and neither one takes personal responsibility for it, they blame others, the Separatists in the case of the Senate and the Jedi in Anakin's case.

The Republic becomes an Empire with thunderous applause, betraying the people it was meant to protect.

And when faced between doing something he knows is right and giving in to his selfish desires...

... Anakin elects to do the latter, thus betraying his family and leaving the Force in darkness.

These selfish choices impact the galaxy as a whole, including the only characters in the trilogy who were doing their best to be compassionate and live in symbiosis: the Jedi, Padmé and Bail.

These champions of the Light Side are stuck playing catch-up or helplessly witnessing the events unfold, throughout the trilogy. They're playing by the rules and Palpatine uses this to his advantage.

Thus, as the galaxy tears itself apart because of Palpatine's manipulations, the Jedi and Bail are ignored and gradually weakened until they're either rendered irrelevant or killed.

A new order is born, one built on blood, lies and greed: the Empire.

But a new hope remains.

While before, the Jedi and people like Bail stood alone as everything around them became willfully corrupt... now, a Rebellion inspired by their legacy has banded together to overthrow the current order. But they don't fight for power or personal glory, they fight for altruistic, compassionate reasons. There's a sense of general responsibility that moves them, they're all doing their part.

On a larger scale, we focus on the Rebels, who are tired of seeing people suffer and decided this needs to stop. They have gone from being passive, to proactive.

On a more personal scale, we see the evolution of Luke, from naive farmer to a hero, and guess what? More and more selfish people - like Han or Lando - are inspired to join the Rebellion, after seeing the exploits of Luke, Leia, or even Ben.

It all culminates in the final film, wherein:

The Rebels band together with the Ewoks - literal teddy bears whom the Empire, in their arrogance, never even considered to be a threat - to destroy the Second Death Star and free the galaxy from imperial tyranny.

At the same time, Emperor Palpatine pressures Luke, who is tempted by the Dark Side like his father was.

But instead of giving in to his selfish desire to kill Darth Vader for all the horrors he's done...

... he finds the strength to rise above it, instead showing compassion for his father, which, in turn, inspires Anakin to do the same.

He faces a choice, like he did in Palpatine's office, two decades prior...

... and this time he chooses right.

Children teach you compassion. Anakin lets go of his fear and anger, and saves his son at the cost of his own life, finally bringing balance back to the Force.

Good triumphed over evil. Its champions achieved victory by being selfless, hopeful and fighting together / helping each other.

And that's it, that's how the movies thematically tie together.

As you can see, the Jedi aren't that directly impactful on the overall plot, because it revolves around Anakin, Luke and the respective factions/institutions around them.

But what the Jedi do bring to the table is their ability to teach and inspire others, both in-universe and out. They're spiritually impactful.

The Jedi are the epitome of compassion, and it's partially through them that George Lucas teaches his values to the audience.

#to be clear: Star Wars doesn't HAVE to be about all this #This is just me trying to summarize what Lucas said in all his interviews and speeches #The post-Lucas Star Wars transmedia franchise made the Jedi more central than they were originally meant to be; especially in the Prequels #You see this in interviews from current SW creators /writers #but also small stuff like renaming the Prequel era “Fall of the Jedi” when it was originally named the “Rise of the Empire” era #meta #george lucas #star wars #jedi order #the force #anakin skywalker #luke skywalker #prequel trilogy #original trilogy

[aq2003]

you know the nature of star wars to me is that they will drop something so mid or bad or uninteresting and make me go "what the hell this sucks. i don't care about any of this. im so tired of star wars can they stop" and then they will drop something so exquisite and stunning and a masterpiece of art and i'll go "i love star wars with all of my heart and all of my soul it means so much to me and it's the best thing ever in the whole entire world" and this goes around in a violent cycle. i am being thrown around like i'm in a washing machine

#the period of time where tbb and mando s3 were airing and i could not care less abt either of those #vs the absolute drug high i got from watching visions s2 #and it all took place in the beginning of 2023. #stars war #obv this post is framed in a kinda joking manner but also the SHEER DIFFERENCE in imagination and quality #between visions and a lot of the recent (canon) sw stuff. like good god #this is why you let creators other than filoni or favreau tell stories that have a deeper meaning than #hitting your action figures together mindlessly or building up to a Crossover. ESPECIALLY writers and directors of color #like i know the ahsoka show will come out and i will loop back into 'im so sick and tired of star wars' again

[varpusvaras]

Still in complete awe of how people forgot or completely ignored Bo-Katan's racism and dehumanization of other (marginalized) people because girlboss yaaas.

#especially the writers of s3 #they forgot that as well because she now needed to be the good guy protagonist princess who has never done anything wrong #because if someone is a protagonist they can possibly have never done anything bad or be shitty in any way #anyways miss me with that #anti bo-katan #sw

[ct-hardcase]

we were kind of talking about this on twitter but god it really does get to you how few women bell prominently has in his life, and the few that are are just...discarded by the narrative

#I love bell zettifar he's either my favorite or second favorite in thr #(may have been superseded by keeve but they pretty much tie) #a mutual pointed out that Indeera becomes his Master for a year and he pretty much has no thoughts about her after #and I get his distance during because losing Loden (especially this far into them being Master and Padawan—Bell was effectively ready #to become a Knight when he lost Loden) deeply impacted and seeing loden die more so #but after? idk feels weird #and kind of in the opposite vein of 'for a hot minute there thr 2023 didn't have *any* male protagonists' #bell (though indeera and pell are *there*) mostly has significant male figures in his life #which isn't entirely the worst thing? #but even thr 2023 which I mentioned #just added like four men to the cast #and I like them btw! nothing against those guys #but if they can be added to the thr 2023 cast would it kill the writers to give bell a female friend or mentor #again. reading EoD rn and Pell is there but she's not really filling that 'close-knit' niche yk? #He might befriend Vernestra soon but it feels a bit too little/too late for me #sw negativity

[jedi-starbird]

Disaster Lineage Timeline and Ages

Here is a Disaster Lineage timeline that actually makes sense and includes all members, plus their relative ages for each event. For all my fic writers who also get a headache trying to figure them out.

I tried my best to keep the relative ages the same as what Canon or Legends gives us with 2 exceptions (Xanatos and Komari). So while the dates may not be canon accurate for becoming a padawan or Knighting, their ages are. The grey cells mark how old the person was when they died.

I've given permission for this to be on the SW Reference wiki. Here!

Enjoy and hope you have fun with it! Detailed explanations for birth-date changes below the cut!

Buckle in Folks.

OK, so Dooku must be aged up minimum 5 years in order to train Rael before Qui-Gon and so Qui-Gon can train Feemor and Xanatos before Obi-Wan. Rael has to be at least 10 years older than Qui-Gon so that he can be knighted when Qui-Gon is padawan age. Canon has Dooku take on Rael at 22 so I kept that cause it's funny and that means Dooku has to be older than his canon birthday of 102BBY to fit both in.

Neither of Qui-Gon's birthdays work if you want to fit the other lineage members in. This is not at all annoying. 80BBY(canon) has him too young to train both Feemor and Xanatos before Obi-Wan and 92BBY(legends) has him being 17 when he becomes a padawan if Dooku trains Rael before him. 86BBY is my magical average that just barely works. I use fanon that Qui-Gon takes over Feemor's training cause it's the only way to fit him in without making Qui-Gon too old, thus domino-affecting Rael and Dooku.

Does this mean the 4 of them are all knighted between ages 21-23? Yes? Is that insane? Yes, but alas it's the only way I could make the timeline work.

Komari is the only birth-date I've moved for non-math reasons, her actual birthday is 62BBY, same as Nim, but that makes her 18 at Galidraan and I felt that was too young personally. (She kills 20 Mandos singlehandedly there. yeah. wtf)

Xanatos's birthday and death date are the same but I made him older when he fell because Legends has him as 16 and that really feels too young, especially since he was considered for the goddamn Knight Trials when he fell and we know Anakin was considered exceptionally young when he was knighted at 19. It makes for some nice parallels between them. Plus all the shit Xanatos gets up to after he runs off, he should be a little older to pull it off.

#god this took so much math. and I flunked high school maths. my brain is burning. #the main takeaway from this is that Dooku and Qui-Gon are insane people with empty nest syndrome and Rael is somehow the reasonable one #Rael takes on his first padawan at the sensible age of 47 meanwhile Dooku and Qui-Gon are bonkers with their first padawans at 22 and 23 #I tried to solve a fic planning headache and gave myself an even more complicated headache diving into all this #*grits teeth* i love being a star wars fan #disaster lineage #star wars #star wars reference #dooku #qui gon jinn #rael averross #feemor #xanatos du crion #komari vosa #obi wan kenobi #nim pianna #anakin skywalker

[madnessandentropy]

Catra's Abuse of Adora Has No Excuse

I know this is an old series. I know a lot of people don't believe in talking negatively about shows that have already ended and that it doesn't matter anymore.

But it matters to me.

Because spop has framed the abuse victim in this story as the idiot and the one in the wrong, the one who should've just stayed with her abuser and never "left" her, while the abuser gets off scott free and likely continues her actions.

Victim blaming very and real and prevalent, forgiving or defending abusers in real life is very real and prevalent.

This is an important thing to call out and discuss because what you put in your creations affects reality.

Spop IS a kids show, and kids often accept what they're exposed to as the norm or as something to copy. You can't just sweep it under the rug, saying it's just a show.

So that's why I want to talk about Catra and why all the trauma in the world does not sxcuse abusing your partner, or at the very least should not frame your partner as the one in the wrong for wanting to leave you.

Okay.

Catra is a character adored and worshipped by the fandom and defended with cult-like ferocity and obsession (death threats, gaslighting, doxxing, bullying, etc).

Many of her actions are actively ignored and excused by the fans and writiers, especially the main thing about Catra:

Her blatant abuse of Adora

I can hear the cries of outrage now

"You're just homophobic! Of course you criticise the queer couple! You just hate Catra! Catra is a victim of a abuse! They're in a war! Catra said sorry! But Catra loves Adora! You don't know what abuse is!"

And then they write an essay about Catra's sad backstory

In response to this I would like to quote one of my favourite B99 characters Jake Peralta:

Or in this case:

"Cool backstory, still abuse"

I really like Catra.

She's a cool character and an excellent villain. She has a very interesting and complicated psyche, a result of growing up in the Horde. A toxic, abusive environment that gave her attachment issues and likely ptsd and other problems. She lashes out because of her trauma, she is aggressive and rude so that she isn't vulnerable, to avoid being hurt.

There are many reasons for her actions, but it does not excuse them even if the narrative does.

Expecially her actions towards Adora, the person's she supposed to have loved all this time.

As I've said in another post, most abuse in media isn't very subtle because people still don't really take subtle abuse that seriously and often blame the victims. (Which is a whole other kettle of fish)

Not subtle abuse in media often consists of the following:

•Screaming or yelling at your partner, tearing apart their self esteem or threatening them

•Gaslighting/guiltripping them*

•Hitting them or physically assaulting them in any way

•Trying to kill them

•The victim is immensely afraid of/distressed by their abuser

*Note for this: it can depend on the depiction because its either abusive and in your face or romantic and just trying to help you depending on the story and writer

It astounds me to see Catra has done every single one of this things to Adora, and both the fandom and the writers excuse it or say "it isn't abuse, actually"

I'm gonna go through each bullet point and discuss how Catra does these things, mention excuses fans make up for it and point out their errors

Let's go

•Screaming and yelling at your partner, tearing apart their self esteem and threatening them

Catra is not someone who screams her throat raw, but she does yell when she lashes out and does so often at Adora.

She's constantly insulting her intelligence, making her doubt herself, telling her nothing she does matters, calling her weak and demeaning her.

She rips into her and treats her like trash beneath her heel when they were in the fake reality.

Again, we often see Adora repeating a similar rhetoric, believing what Catra and SW say fully or sometimes starting to believe it.

DURING her confession, Catra calla Adora an idiot. While Adora is basically dying, in this crucial moment for both of them, she resorts to insulting her intelligence.

"But her feelings were so obvious and Adora didn't notice!"

Let me tell you, spop has a massive tell don't show problem. This defence could've easily been true IF the writers bothered with evem something small like Catra hesitating to harm Adora or treating her with more care when fighting than with her other enemies, or at the very least treating her kindly.

They have done none of that. Instead they had other characters (E.g Horde Prime) talk about how much she cares for Adora and how strong her emotions are for her.

Literally the only way anyone could've known Catra loved Adora is through these characters giving exposition.

Adora is not an idiot for not realising Catra loved her, because Catra's actions do not show love or even an ounce of basic respect.

Making Adora doubt her intelligence and abilities is not love. Mocking Adora the way she does is not love. Torturing Adora is not love.

Telling Adora that she was a mistake and that "none if this would've happened if you didn't come through that portal" is not love.

Nothing she does to Adora is an act of love.

And also, not being very good at deciphering or recognising emotions that are "obvious" does not make you stupid, jfc

"Catra just says those things because she's angry, she doesn't mean them!"

It doesn't matter if she's angry and doesn't mean what she said. She says it. And there's never a scene were she regrets her words.

Her anger is a reason, not an excuse. That behaviour is not okay.

•Gaslighting/guiltripping them

Catra often likes to talk about Adora abandoned her, how Adora kept leaving her alone, and the show shifts to frame this as true and paints Adora in the wrong.

In Season 5 she's asks Adora "Please, just this once, stay?" After Catra herself being the one to run away, to make Adora feel guilty for the very much correct actions she took previously.

Adora refused to return to the Horde which was committing mass genocide and destroying everything in its path and painted as the bad guy for doing this.

Adora told Catra what they were doing. Begged Catra to come with her so they could start a new life. Throughout the series she is giving Catra chance after chance and trying her best to stay with her.

Every time, Catra has been doing the leaving.

Running away, abandoning Adora in the temple, vanishing in a blast or puff of smoke when it covers her.

She does the leaving, and she convinces Adora that it is in fact Adora leaving, and that she is bad person/friend for wanting nothing to do with the Horde.

The portal reality is the worst for me.

Adora is distressed and afraid, feeling like she's losing her mind and that something is wrong with her.

Catra, fully knowing the truth, gaslights her by saying she's crazy and just seeing things. And also is insults her intelligence yet again.

Making Adora doubt her own intelligence is also a form of manipulation and gaslighting.

Blaming Adora for everything that happened in the fake reality is gaslighting.

"But Adora DID leave Catra!"

Yeah. At the beginning after learning the Horde was committing mass genocide and after Catra tazed her twice. Refusing to go back. She was fully in the right. She apologised later and tried to get Catra to join her, so they could both continue being together. But Catra left her over and over again after that.

"The portal reality made Catra happy! It helped her cope with her trauma! She was having a mental breakdown!"

Hmm let me see isn't allowing your partner to continously be distressed and afraid and gaslighting them so you can be happy idk... selfish and abusive?

Yep she was having a break down. She was still in full control of her actions, and no trauma makes that okay in any way

•Hitting them or physically assaulting them in any way

Literally something Catra has done since they were children.

I can forgive the times they were small, because they don't know better and are abused children. But from episode one before Adora even left the Fright Zone Catra was pulling her around by the hair shoving her and over all being very aggressive.

After Adora leaves the Horde Catra: tazes her, tears at her skin with claws that can cut through metal, leaves her with scars, tortures her, kicks her and so much more.

Over and over again. Without a single sign of remorse.

"They were in a war!"

Yeah. Emphasis on the "they". Adora was in that war too. She was always worried for Catra, actively holding back, trying not to hurt too badly, treating her with respect.

Catra did none of that. She didn't even bother to show the slightest remorse or hesitate one second before clawing at her back and face.

Catra, in fact, is less violent with the sort of strangers that are Bow and Glimmer. She tackles Bow to the ground and hisses at him, that's it. Adora? Tearing at her skin, kicking her in the back, grabbing her by the face, torturing her, etc

War is not an excuse

"Catra's backstory! It's how they were raised! She's a victim of abuse copying her abuser because she doesn't know any better! She's lashing out!"

Cool backstory, still abuse.

Okay. She's lashing out. Doesn't excuse it. She is still actively harming Adora, and if she really can't control herself or see the wrong in it like some people claim, then that only supports the fact she is NOT good for Adora.

•Trying to kill them

The portal.

Catra knew what was going to happen.

She knew what she was going to cause.

She looked Adora dead in the eyes and pulled the switch anyways.

She didn't care as long as Adora lost. She is willing to let Adora die in order to win.

"But Catra wanted to die too!"

Okay. That doesn't matter. That doesn't justify anything. Being suicidal does not justify attempted murder.

"But (any excuse)!"

I honest to god do not care.

Just like Adora said:

"I didn't make you pull the switch. You made your choice. Now live with it!"

There is NO conceivable way for Catra knowingly doing what she did just so Adora didn't win to be okay.

She tried to kill the woman she supposedly loved.

That is not excusable.

That is not love.

And what's worse is after Adora begins to accept that Catra will not change and that trying to be peaceful will not work. Being together again is a dream. And the show rips that away.

•The victim is immensely afraid of/distressed by their abuser

Adora is absolutely terrified of Catra, or at the very least a bit afraid of her.

Every time Catra grabs Adora by the face or pins her down, Adora's eyes are wide with fear or at the very least immense discomfort.

In Roll With It, Adora is incredibly distressed and works herself into a complete state because nobody is considering what Catra will do.

"But Adora just wants to see Catra! She's thinking about her obsessively like this, it's a sign of her feelings!"

Adora knows what Catra is capable of. She knows what will happen to them if they aren't prepared. Planning out every possible option because of what could happen is not a sign of her feelings. It's a sign that she knows Catra will show no mercy, and she does not want the mission to fail or her friends to get hurt.

While Catra isn't directly present here, this is all because of her actions. Actions that have a reason, but not an excuse.

It is not healthy or romantic for your love interest to be afraid of you.

Moving on

At the end of the portal incident, Adora stared at Catra with cold eyes that clearly said "You've crossed a line"

It is here that many critics agrees that it's a bit late for Catra to have a redemption, because this truly was above anything else she had ever done.

This was where they could have had Adora move on from Catra and begin unlearning all the negative things Catra and others have embedded in her psyche.

If they did manage to do Catra's redemption right, whether during S5 or before it, I think it would've been best for the two of them to separate. It's made clear with how being away from the Horde and Adora made Catra happier when she was in the Crimson Waste.

I don't think either of then should've been in romantic relationships at all. Horde soldiers don't even know what proper food is, they've never heard of basic things like parties and the like.

I think it would've been better for them to slowly heal in their own time, Adora being happy with her newfound friends and learning the ways of Etheria and Catra staying in the Crimson Waste or somewhere else.

Romance should've been something to come to them when they've both matured and healed, and with different people.

Spop had the perfect opportunity to show that even if an abuser has trauma it is still abuse and it is not selfish to walk away.

It doesn't how sorry they are, it doesn't matter how much they claimed to have changed.

You are not obligated to be with them.

You are not obligated to be their punching bag just so they can be happy.

But spop didn't take that opportunity.

Instead this behaviour is excused or romanticised.

And the fact that the creator says this is based off his own relationship makes me deeply concerned.

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

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and that this wasn't too much of a mess! If you disagree with me, feel free to give your reasons and I will happily discuss with you. If you're just going to call me a homophobe and throw a fit and start fights, you can screw off

Tagging: @spop-romanticizes-abuse

#spop critisism #spop critical #anti spop #anti catradora

[echos-gal]

ok i'm rapidly losing hope that Tech is still alive, and this sucks because it was basically the top thing i desperately wanted from this season. i wanted to see him survive. so here's my exhaustive and embarrassingly long list of reasons why he SHOULD still be alive, and if he isn't, why it was a missed opportunity. obviously no hate to the writers or anything, i love them dearly for creating this show!!!

(if you're a "Tech should stay dead for the stakes/so someone in SW stays dead for once/i hate delusional Tech stans" person, kindly keep scrolling, this ain't for you)

SEASON 2:

right from the start, Romar connects with Tech and calls himself "a survivor." HELLO???

in this same arc, Tech breaks his leg in a fall which he survives. he continues to walk on it, fighting off troopers to save Echo & Omega, showcasing his persistence and grit.

one of Phee's first lines is "better late than dead," and we know she shares a connection with Tech. she flirts with him later in this scene. it would be a shame not to reuse this line, i'm just saying....

Cid still owes Tech for racing for her in Faster. we see Cid looking miserable as she betrays the batch in Plan 99, so her playing a part in his rescue/comeback would be a nice way to show her growth. (i'm afraid there isn't enough time for this, though- as much as i thought a Cid redemption was on the horizon!)

Phee and Tech's departure is awkward, and although we have some context from season 3 (they talked more than we realized), the scene would do best if reconciled in person imo. it felt like it was setting up for something, and feels weird to leave hanging.

"don't go running off with any pirates or smugglers" could not have just been a throw away line. it set up for him to do exactly that. how fitting would it be if pirates or smugglers actually did manage to pick him up before the empire made it to the railcar crash site?

Hemlock's retrieval of the goggles shows that he sent a team to look through the wreckage. he thought there was a chance Tech survived, and may have him.

i won't go into the logistics, but big falls ARE survivable. in star wars especially. we have no idea what was below the layer of clouds/mist Tech fell through.

SEASON 3:

this is mostly CX-2 centric. their armor is very similar: the jaw/mouth shape, the hexagons over the ears, the rectangles on the chest, and the pouches/pockets.

"domicile." that is all.

CX-2 uses technology more than the other operatives we've seen, and he gets past the encryption on Phee's ship with ease.

"who are you?" was enunciated in the exact same way Tech says it to Trace and Rafa, which i definitely think was intentional.

CX-2 stops to use his rifle scope in the exact same spot where Tech and Phee stood to let down the ladders in the sea surge on Pabu.

he survives a waterfall plunge on Teth, which appears to have fooled Rex's group into thinking he'd died. the writers could have killed him off there and sent a new operative, but they chose to stick with CX-2 pursuing them to Pabu.

it's worth noting that while this CX is designated as "2," Tech's CT number is CT-9902. he is associated with the number even on a visual level: he's a dual-wielder, he wears goggles, he salutes with two fingers.

FROM A STORY PERSPECTIVE:

firstly, i am sorry and i LOVE the writers, but if you want people to accept a character's death, you've got to show his family and friends' grief. we saw no reaction from Crosshair or Phee, no tears from Hunter or Echo. it feels like fans were sadder about Tech's death than the characters in the story.

Tech seems to have been mentioned more in the second half of season 3 than the first half, which works if they want to bring him back in the finale.

the finale is called "The Cavalry Has Arrived." i really don't think you can have the cavalry (aka the bad batch) arrive without every member present. i also don't think it would feel right to play their theme without Tech there. idk, that feels incomplete!

we saw no body, and Hunter received Tech's goggles not from a trusted ally or friend, but from Hemlock. this calls into question the legitimacy of his claim that the goggles were "all he could salvage."

Tech alive and being held on Tantiss would provide a nice parallel to Echo in the first mission where we meet the batch, in TCW. and [ep 14 SPOILERS] we see that Echo is currently looking more like his TCW self, with his earpiece removed.

feels kinda sour that a character who a lot of people related to as neurodivergent representation would die just a few episodes after having a deep conversation with his sister about it.

likewise (and as a white woman i can't speak for WOC), from what i have seen, Black women are rarely the main love interest of a series! Phee is the ONLY love interest in this whole show, and it would suck to just cut off that romance before it could really become something. a lot of people wanted to see TechPhee become canon.

CX-2 is the one who destroys the marauder. it works well storywise for its pilot to have been the one to do that- the person who worked so hard modifying it, flying it, and teaching his sister to fly it. i'll be lowkey pissed if it turns out some random dude blew it up.

it's also CX-2 who invades and sets fire to Pabu. this is emotionally gripping on its own, but if he is Tech, it's even more so.

we have no idea what the operatives go through. Crosshair isn't telling, but it clearly put him in a really bad place. if Tech underwent this conditioning in his post-fall injured state, there's a chance he could come back from it. Emerie is probably the key to this, if they take the CX-2 route.

this show is all about a family trying to stay together as the Empire desperately tries to rip them apart. seeing the whole family together again - even if not everyone survives - in the finale is the satisfaction that the show ideally would go for. the last time they were all together was the season 1 finale. that was about 2 years ago in the show's timeline.

leaving Crosshair and Tech's final interactions be where they parted on the Kamino platform also feels off. Tech was the one who really vocalized the need to rescue Crosshair in season 2's finale. Crosshair, in the meantime, has changed significantly as a person. Tech's comment about Crosshair being "severe and unyielding," and unable to change this facet of his nature, is incorrect. leaving Tech dead would mean that he never gets to see this change in Crosshair, which makes me feel like a deflated balloon.

FROM MY SELFISH PERSPECTIVE!!!

give me Tech with cool scars and slightly disheveled longer hair. this is such a good opportunity for the creators to give him a sweet new look!

we never got to see Tech without his goggles on, despite Phee constantly referring to his eyes. he definitely doesn't have them right now (they're in the Archium), so we could get Mister Big Brown Eyes if he's alive. it's another missed opportunity if not, imo!

the goggles being placed in the Archium was a beautiful scene that makes me tear up whenever i think about it. it's symbolic, it's bittersweet, and it's exactly where the goggles belong. but was it closure for me? not really.

Tech is a character who became a LOT of people's favorite in season 2, including my own. why kill off a fan-favorite with an entire season to go?

yes, i desperately want a Rex and Echo series. yes, i want the batch to cameo in it, and yes... that includes Tech. making up for lost season 3 Tech content 😎

the finale will feature the zillo beast, and Tech loves the zillo beast. FREE HER! REUNITE THEM! he would love to witness her rampage.

FROM A "SURPRISE!!!!!" PERSPECTIVE

it seems like most people think Tech is either CX-2 or dead. it would be a great finale twist if we DID get CX-2's identity, it's NOT Tech, the audience loses hope, and then he shows up. i think this is actually plausible given the other assassin schematics Hemlock was looking at in Point of No Return. Tech might be in Hemlock's grasp, but not an active operative. having an enhanced clone to toy with is something Hemlock would want to keep under wraps. we see him step out of the assassin chamber at the start of that episode - if Tech is anywhere on Tantiss, i think it's here.

i think the writers have expected us to have all lost hope by now, so his finale reappearance would ideally come as a shock. the finale is almost guaranteed to be a very long episode, so we really might have quite a bit of time to explore his return, if it happens.

secret 16th episode: i know, i'm putting my clown makeup on as i type this. but the previous 2 seasons each had 16 episodes, with a two-parter finale. season 3 is just 15, with a single episode finale. TBB formally ends may 1st, so what if we get a may 4th surprise episode detailing how Tech survived? (that or an epilogue leading into a new series, which i think is more likely actually!)

#i definitely forgot some points but i just need to post this and be done with it #feel free to add your own observations 👀 #tbb tech #the bad batch #tech lives #techphee #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers

[vaderkin-is-a-lightning-rod]

Vaderkin Creative Exchange 2024!

Hello and welcome! This is a gift exchange in four steps, organised by the Vaderkin Community (Vaderkin is a lightning rod discord) around Anakin | Vader's character, to increase interactions between writers and artists and give everyone some time to shine!

✒️ Step 1: Writers write prompts for artists, everyone get matched depending on sign up answers.

🎨 Step 2: Artists have one month to draw one or more works from the prompts they received.

✒️ Step 3: Arts reveal. Writers get assigned one or several art pieces and have two months to write a minimum 500 words story inspired from them.

🎨 Step 4: Fics reveal. Drawing festival, every artist can draw fanart over the new stories created from the event (and be reblogged by this tumblr for it).

Sign up here:

All works (art and fic) from tumblr will be reblogged by the Vader Community and all works (art and fic) from ao3 can be added to the event collection. For this, the works need to be tagged properly with "Vaderkin creative exchange 2024", as well as the tag "explicit" if it is explicit (smut, strong graphic violence) work.

Overall, it’s a typical gift exchange, only writers prompts will be in image rather than words, and everyone is strongly encouraged to have fun and try their hand at sketching during the ’drawing festival’.

Schedule:

Sign up opens: Marsh 28th, 2024

Sign up closes: April 27th, 2024

Artists receive prompts & giftee: May 4th, 2024 (as a little sw gift 😉)

Writers receive prompts & giftee: June 2nd-4th, 2024

Artists Submissions: June 4th, 2024

Writers Submissions: August 4th 2024

Drawing Festival: August 2024

Have fun!!

Rules and FAQ below the cut

RULES

- This is an Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader exchange. This character needs to be one of the main characters, or at least have a very strong presence in the artwork/story. Crossovers are accepted.

- Respect your Giftee's Do Not Want (DNW)

- Do not reveal who your Giftee is before the reveal date (June 4th for artists, August 4th for writers). If you have a question, ask as anon through the Giftee's Tumblr or ask one of the event mods (we will serve as intermediary).

- Do not repost your gift content (especially art!) Mind your giftee’s extra request for AI-scraping protection if there is any. If you can, use the ao3 gift function to link to their profile. Otherwise, mention in your work post that this is a gift, with a mention of your giftee username and a link towards their tumblr/ao3/otherwise page, if they gave one.

- Do not use AI to produce your gift, be it to produce the prompts or to produce your art / written work.

- Avoid character bashing, kinkshaming, and ship wars. If one fits in your DNW (ex: You absolutely do not want Obikin content), mention it politely. This is an event for everyone to have fun! The fandom is wide, and there is space for everyone.

If any of the above rules is not respected, mods reserve the right to ban you from this and any future Vaderkin Community events.

By participating in this exchange, you commit yourself to producing one art piece if you sign up as an artist, one written fic if you sign up as writer, or one artwork and one fic if you sign up as both. If you can't complete your work, you must warn one of the mods at least one week before the deadline.

Please don’t forget to comment on your gift, even a small ’thank you’ to the artist/writer is better than nothing and will make everyone very happy!

---

FAQ

Can I draw a comic? Yes, a comic panel will be counted as an art piece.

Can I write a multi chapter story? Sure! Feel free to! But your first chapter must be able to pass as a one shot, and be finished by the writing deadline.

I missed the sign up deadline (27th April), can I still join? No, but you can still join during the Drawing Festival! The final event is open to everyone.

I only joined as an artist/writer but also wanted to participate as the other one. Same answer. The sign up closes in order for us to properly match everyone. But don’t hesitate to join and give gifts for the Drawing Festival!

Someone else also have the same writing prompt/art prompt/giftee as me, is this normal? Yes, this is how we balance the number difference between writers and artists. Prompt interpretation varies from person to person!

Can I do several art/fic works? Sure! In the case of art pieces, it will allow the writer to choose from which picture to draw inspiration from, like receiving several prompts, so several art pieces is highly encouraged!

I cannot finish my work in time, what do I do? Contact us ASAP and tell us your estimated delay. If you are an artist, keep in mind that your gifter cannot begin their writing work before your art piece is published.

I do not wish to participate anymore, what do I do? Contact us ASAP. Please try not to drop out right before the deadline, as we may have to create a work to replace yours.

#Vaderkin creative exchange 2024 #Vaderkin #Star Wars event #writing event #art event #star wars #Darth Vader #Anakin Skywalker #please reblog for signal boost!

[theprincessofpowerremake]

you guys know the s5 scene where catra left adora to die?

here's another thing i noticed.

she's apologizing for dying. while it's really fucked up, it is within adora's character to apologize for something she couldn't control. i can't recall, but she did something similar to glimmer and bow a few minutes prior to this.

however, while the writers may not have intended for this, adora is also apologizing for this:

now, you might be drawing a blank at how this is correlated to her apology, until you remember what exactly catra and adora were talking about here:

adora is about to die.

originally, the conversation was about adora somehow choosing shadow weaver over catra ( which did not happen ), but when catra wasn't winning the argument, she shifted it to be about adora practically being led to her death.

catra's wording starts out as her acknowledging that adora doesn't have a choice in this ( which goes against her earlier reaction to just crying and running away from her when she gets the failsafe ), but then it changes its tune and becomes an accusation of choosing this path, when adora has been forced to take this.

basically, adora is apologizing to catra in the finale as if to prove that catra was right, even though she's literally dying right in front of her.

and catra never apologizes for leaving her.

speaking of which, would this apology even work on catra?

because we all know the real reason she left.

she left because somehow, someway, she twisted the entire conversation and everything related to shadow weaver as adora actively wanting to be around their abusive mother, despite showing multiple cases to catra herself that she doesn't.

adora doesn't like being around shadow weaver. she doesn't like her at all. she may not want the woman to suffer harshly, adora did heal her when she was sick, but she doesn't want to be around shadow weaver if she doesn't have to be.

and catra knows that. there's several instances throughout the show that she's smart enough to see and understand that. she even uses a torture method sw used on her previously on adora and swift wind in the previous season, because she knew it would severely hurt her. especially since catra, for whatever reason, put the electrocution on steroids.

so, it's not like catra has been blind to adora's distaste, she just chooses when to acknowledge it.

catra sees adora eventually dying as 1. choosing to die and 2. choosing shadow weaver over her, in this current scene.

adora has no idea catra thinks this way, so her apology for just dying is not only really fucked up, but is most likely entirely pointless.

these two don't see the same problem. at least, not the exact same one. catra may still be pissed off at adora daring to "choose" the universe over death, for daring to choose the lives of literally everyone on the motherfucking planet over herself, but she's still more upset at adora "choosing" their mother over her.

so, what is adora apologizing for exactly?

yes, for dying, but how does catra see it? knowing catra, the best case scenario is she probably sees it as adora apologizing for being "wrong" ( because she says "no matter what happens, i am staying with you", but then gaslights adora into staying ), and for choosing their mom over her, even though neither of those are true or correlated within the context.

this level of thinking is on par with stans, so i'm not surprised catra herself acts this way.

it sure did hurt my brain when i realized it, though.

#spop #she ra #spop critical #spop salt #spop adora #she ra adora #adora #adoradeservedbetter #spop catra #she ra catra #catra #anti catra #anticatra #anti catradora #anticatradora #fuck catra #fuck catradora

[nimata-beroya]

I keep vaguely thinking of creating a wiki that organises star wars things in ways that are useful for fic writers (unlike Wookieepedia, which is often not in a useful format for what fic writers want). What would you (and folks you follow) want that to look like? Asking you because you have that excellent list of sw resources, some of which would not be possible to move to a wiki but some would. The ideas I've been thinking about are more granular timelines than Woookieepedia has and things like lists of senators that serve at the same time/some way to reference what senators would be around during particular events, but I'm sure there are other things that I'm just blanking on.

Oh m y gosh!! That'd be amazing and extremely helpful!

no, seriously, do it! especially timelines, because that's something that can be confusing at times, and not everyone wants to/can afford to buy Timelines guide book that was released last year I think (or it was this year?), like you said, having lists of coss-reference with characters, places, and/or events would be the best. There are so many things that could be helpful to writers.

Honestly, I don't know what would be the best way to organize all of it, but if there's any other way that I can help you (other than cheering you on) just let me know. I can only imagine how massive a project like this is, and you'll need all the help you can get.

And to my lovely friends, mutuals and followers who are fic writers, what are your suggestions? What would you like to have at your hand's reach for writing your fabulous fics instead of going down the rabbit hole every time you need to research a detail?

Tagging some people who might be interested in pitching some ideas: @photogirl894 @takadasaiko @airlockfailure @thecoffeelorian @amukmuk @thedistantstorm @yukipri @never-ending-fanfic @genericficerblog @heart-of-a-rebel16 @seth-shitposts @mistr3ssquickly @gffa @cacodaemonia

#mare replies #this is an awesome idea!

[adragonsfriend]

Mace Windu: “only imposing if you see him that way”

Fuck it I’m bringing my Othello class into this again.

So we read American Moor by Keith Hamilton Cobb (review, full text is available as a free pdf if you look it up), which is a play that comments on the experience of black men who play the role of Othello as well as of course more generally on the experience of black men in the United States by showing the interior thoughts of an experienced black actor auditioning for the role of Othello in front of an inexperienced white director. There’s this line, it’s not even dialogue, it’s part of the description of what the actor is doing for the pre-show in the stage directions:

“He is a tall man, powerfully built and handsome, and only imposing if you see him that way.”

—American Moor, page 5

Sound like anyone we might know?

This caught my eye because I have noticed a bit of a pattern. Even very well meaning SW media—like Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover and fics that really love him—often goes out of its way to describe Mace Windu as intimidating and imposing.

And yeah on some level a tall man with muscles who knows how to fight might just be imposing, but to be honest I never remember Qui-gon Jinn being described that way, or Ki-Adi Mundi, or really any other tall, male Jedi. Dooku is sometimes described as intimidating, but it is usually framed in terms of either his Sith personality or his skill with a saber, not his physicality. Only some fics go out of their way to even describe Anakin as physically imposing.

And like I say, many of these works I’m noting are ones that have very good intentions and otherwise make mainly good, interesting moves with Mace’s character (works that take an explicitly negative view of Mace are a whole other can of worms I’m not addressing here). This is something that is being picked up from a deeply embedded culture of racism, not (in these cases at least) malicious. But that means writers, especially white writers—even if we have great intentions—we have to stay careful and aware of this. Readers aren’t off the hook either. It is through reading, and reading with a lot of love, that this pattern emerged to me.

Keep noticing these things, keep reading, keep writing, and maybe above all, keep revising.

Personally, I’m gonna be going back through my Mace Windu writing to check for this specifically.

#star wars #mace windu #racisim #racial bias #shatterpoint #fanfiction #othello #shakespeare #American Moor #looking for a decent review to link was…ugh #some people have apparently missed the point

[radiosummons]

Real talk: Does the Jedi Order have a tax exempt status?

I know it's somewhat of a meme to make jokes about how the Jedi don't know how to pay taxes, or rather questioning whether they get paid or make any income at all. And, yes, this question is kinda dumb in the sense that whether the Jedi Order has tax exempt status or not, it doesn't effect the over all story or any actual SW lore in any way that actually matters.

I also know that tax exempt status works differently in other countries besides the US (yes, hello, I am American. I hate it here, too). But for the sake of taking this very dumb question at face value, would the Jedi Order:

1) Count as a religious institution in the eyes of Republic law?

2) If so, would their status as a religious institution have any impact on whether they attained tax exempt status from the Republic?

3) What standards and regulations would the Republic IRS have in place regarding tax exemption?

4) Do the Jedi even have an accounting department?

I would peronally argue that, yes, the Jedi Order is in fact a religious institution. On the account of the obvious connection to the Force and heavily coded (if not just downright) religious practices that the Jedi follow.

However, even if the Republic were to grant the Jedi Order the status of a lawfully recognized religious institution, I'm not sure if this would actually lead to them a guaranteed tax exempt status.

According to United States IRS standards and regulations, the Jedi Order could and would also be seen as a religious institution. However, one of the biggest stipulations for retaining tax exempt status is that the religious institution does not attempt to or make any influence on legislative or attempt to influence political campaigns.

(Palpatine voice: Ironic).

Now, if the Republic had similar stipulations, I would argue that, no, the Jedi do not get tax exemption. Mostly because one of the longest known duties associated with the Jedi Order is their role in assisting with galactic diplomacy. It would be literally impossible for them to not get involved in some capacity, especially when their aid is often directly requested (whether by a Republic aligned planet or not).

That being said, this is all going by the standards of the IRS. And at the risk of sounding too jaded, there are hundreds if not outright thousands of religious institutions in the US that should have lost their tax exempt status decades ago. And yet ....

Obviously, this all ultimately depends on what standards the Republic would theoretically have in place for situations like this. And while I would never actually want George Lucas--or any other writer for that matter--to attempt to give us a canon answer, I can't help but wonder.

Even if the Jedi Order was completely self-reliant--which I personally don't think is possible due to them, well, living on Coruscant for thousands of years-just as an example. It just doesn't make sense to me that the Jedi would limit themselves to only what they make in house when they could have easy access to other local businesses, ya know?--whose to say that they wouldn't still be required to pay for taxes like regular citizens?

The Jedi Temple, again, has literally been there for thousands of years. I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility that the Republic wouldn't have sent their own SW IRS agent at least once to audit the Jedi Order.

I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if that Jedi Order would be given a slight form of tax exemption, but only if certain conditions were met. Like, I don't know, what if an official member of the local Coruscantii/Republic government were to make a direct request for the aid of the Jedi. Maybe they'd get a tax write off for all the transportation and housing (or vehicular damage) they'd acrue while on this government sponsored mission?

Or what about this? Business institutions in the US get tax write offs for charitable donations (which the fuckers exploit to hell and back, fuck me). I have to wonder if there was a point in time (maybe the early years of the ye Old Republic) where someone had to bring up the fact that a lot of what the Jedi do could count fall under charitable tax deductions. So if they wanted to continue taxing the Jedi Order, they'd probably have to change up the definition or something.

Idk, man, I'm sort of spit balling random thoughts at this point.

I'd also like to say that I believe the Jedi do, in fact, have an accounting department. Just to keep thing running smoothly in regards to the Temple budget and so on. It would be kinda hard to keep a place that big with that many occupants still around and for that long without having someone keeping a close eye on the Order's spending.

Mostly, though, I just find the idea of the Jedi being audited absolutely hilarious.

#star wars shitpost #sw shitpost #jedi order #jedi #jedi culture #sw lore #for real though #this is a dumb question #but i want to know what other people think #sw meta #i guess #i'm not an irs agent #i'm an insurance agent #so if i got something wrong #pls tell me #this is just a dumb idea #i've had floating in my head #for a while now

[fany-the-bunny]

One of the things that made me completly depise She-Ra and the Catradora ship is the absurd gaslight the writers do to make us care about Catra.

Catradora was a pretty wild shio to say the least, i could never predict where exactly the writers were going for with them but everything was leading to Catra becoming an awful person. She abuses, manipulates, gaslight and hurts Adora multiple times without feeling a bit of remorse about it, and many people try to justify like Catra was only doing it because Adora left or she was doing it because they're enemies, but i don't think "they're enemies and she's in emotional distress" is a good enough reason to beat up a childhood friend/crush, especially if you're doing that for a ideology that yourself assumed to be evil. Another thing that people say to justify Catra is the fact that she was emotionally abused and the one person that loved her leaving was the final straw but that alone doesn't justify, first we need to remember that Adora was also abused as a child by SW and second being abused doesn't justify abusing other people, especially if is the only person that actually seems to care about you. Another thing i get a lot is how Catra viewd the Rebellion as any better than the Horde which is why she didn't left like Adora, but even if she didn't liked the Rebellion why would she stay with the Horde? She herself admit they're bad people and one of the things she says to Adora on the first episode is how she wants to conquer the world with her.

The truth is, Catra was always like that. She was a problematic child that grew up to be an evil person, she's a toxic friend, an abuser and an awful person. There's no justification on her being like that, NOTHING justifys her treatment of Adora and doesn't matter how you try to internelized, there's no salvation for Catra and the fact that the writers try to make us care about her and cheer for her is disgusting.

If you ever come across someone like Catra, cut contact with that person imediatly for your own sake

Edit: oh boy, that sure escalated quickly huh? So much hate and yet none of you tried actually defending the show or countering my argument, ya'll just went to personally attack me as if that would do anything? If you don't like the post just ignore it, is not that hard there's plenty of positive She Ra content you could see instead. Is just my opinion after all, and please stop coming at me saying that i stan groomers or something, cause that's not truth and is something very serious for you to be playing around like that

#anti catradora #anti catra #spop critical #spop critisism #she ra

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Clone X Theory- Who is he?

Major spoilers for "Infiltration" and "Extraction"

Who is Clone X? This is a question we have all been wondering since he first showed up in the trailer. There's so many of them so it's possible we're seeing multiple ones. But what about the one we saw in today's episodes? The one we focused on as he infiltrated Rex's base? Based on his dialogue and how he kept surviving, I feel he's definitely not some random assassin. One thing I'd like to also point out is that he's an exceptional sharpshooter, as are the other clone assassins. It's possible they got enhancements the way Crosshair did, but it's just a thought.

There are two contenders for the identity of this man: Cody and Tech.

Clone X and the other clone assassin both knew Crosshair, with the latter mocking him about the program. Clone X later fights Crosshair one-on-one. He tells Crosshair that he had his chance and that he chose the wrong side. The emotional weight this would have if we learn it is Tech or Cody. Crosshair had a connection to this person and to see them brainwashed is heartbreaking. And the fact that this person felt that Crosshair abandoned them... this is heartbreaking to think about.

Cody: last we heard of Cody, he went AWOL. At least, that's what Rampart told us and we all know how trustworthy he is. Could it be that Rampart found out about Cody's refusal to kill the senator and had him sent to Tantiss? The answer is probably yes. We also haven't heard from Cody since "The Solitary Clone." No one has mentioned his location at all.

Cody also has a past with Crosshair as seen in both CW and TBB. At the end of "The Solitary Clone," he tells Crosshair that they aren't droids and can make their own decisions. The irony of those being Cody's last words before being turned into an assassin... truly horrifying. We also don't have a fitting end to Cody's story so this could be a possibility.

Tech: the Tech Debate has been going on ever since "Plan 99." There are so many theories for and against his death. For starters, SW does have a bad habit of seemingly killing off characters and then reviving them two episodes/shows later. Gregor and Maul are prime examples of this. Tech staying dead would show that SW does commit to real consequences and keep the emotional weight of his sacrifice.

But, they never talk about him, at least on screen. If Tech were truly gone, I think we would've seen the Batch grieve more, especially Crosshair. Look at Rebels for two seconds. Kanan gets killed and then the following episode is about the Ghost crew mourning his death. We get time to process and come to terms with his sacrifice. Tech doesn't get that. This makes his story feel unresolved. Why would they intentionally keep important conversations regarding a main character out unless they weren't done with him?

There are also smaller details like Clone X limping away. Now, this could be simply due to the fact he got a bunch of rocks thrown on him, but Tech also broke his leg once upon a time in season 2. This is just a stretch though. The voice is also modulated meaning he could be Tech or Cody.

And again there's the fight between Clone X and Crosshair. The writers intentionally paired these two together. Crosshair is a failed attempt at Hemlock's program, but Clone X isn't. Wouldn't it be so heartbreaking if it was Tech and Crosshair was unknowingly fighting his fallen brother? Clone X is very Winter Soldier-coded and having him be someone we and the Batch know personally would only add to it.

Alright guys, that's all I have for now. I have a feeling episode "The Harbinger" will be about Clone X. But who do you think it is? Tech? Cody? A random guy?

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb crosshair #clone assassin #tbb speculation #tbb spoilers

[this-acuteneurosis]

Can I just say how much I appreciate the fact you don't stray much from the movies?

It's just so refreshing to see a fic that is built on a clear, unbiased and simple canon base. This way, as you demonstrated, a writer not only has the ability to further explore the main themes and ideas introduced in the source material, but they can also go ahead and naturally develop their own by branching out on those fundamentals. They can offer their perspective by using the source material to their advantage, instead of working against it or even worse, trying to include all contradicting canon aspects. Part of writing a fic is kind of like offering your input in a conversation/disagreement. You have to listen carefully to what the other person is saying in order to form your answer...If you're listening to a thousand different people who are all saying a different thing (in this case, The clone wars, legends, novels, comics ect), you won't be able to give an answer that makes sense, much less give a structured and stable opinion.

I love how you were like "I know star wars is entering an era of a shit ton of spin off content with seemingly no end and most star wars fans know shit like who chewie lost his virginity to and what the kessel run is but screw this. The movies and maybe some late night wiki research is enough."

And you were right.

It's so funny, because I feel like I do ultimately stray pretty far from the movies. Not in terms of events I guess, but especially the prequels, I reject some of the underlying assumptions of what is said on screen and just treat it like fallible people strongly asserting opinions that no one calls them on. See: everything I ever assert about the Force/Anakin's "destiny."

I do think it helped me to stick with limited material. And it wasn't even because I saw all of this new SW content coming. I've mentioned this before, but when I started writing Don't Look Back (when it was just Like Fire and I naively believed I was gonna be done in 200k words, lol, rip past me) I hesitated a lot because as far as I was concerned, I wasn't a Star Wars Fan.

I'd watched the OT and PT multiple times. I knew that novels and games and cartoons existed, I knew people had consumed them all. I had been reading some SW fic because @mylongsufferingroommate had been sending me stuff they were enjoying and I was having fun with it. But like, I would never have called myself a Fan. I got goaded into writing this fic by people who knew me too well and really wanted a political thriller. I wouldn't have called them Star Wars Fans either.

Limiting myself to the six movies I had watched was a preemptive defense mechanism against a fan base I wasn't sure would want to accept me. My thin skin is my own problem, but every time I think about writing in a new fandom the same sort of nerves take me: what if my fanon is "wrong" and people are mean?

I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you so much to everyone who gave me a chance and encouraged me and were excited and shared that excitement.

And please, for the love of all the sky and stars DON'T GATEKEEP FANDOMS.

Don't tell people their canon is too big (@blue-sunshine-mauve-morning and @chancecraz have amazing fics that are much more compliant than mine to the broader canon, as a quick example), and definitely don't tell people their canon is too small. Walk away if you aren't enjoying something. Give compliments when you like something that is unique in a fandom you're familiar with. Be patient with people, be kind.

I could easily have given this story up if people hadn't been patient with me. I got comments as early as my first chapter from people who were angry with a single thing that I said and felt the need to tell me I was wrong. I could have left. I could have stopped.

I'm glad I didn't. But I wonder how many other people have.

#writing #people are so kind #fandom #stop gatekeeping #please #canon what canon #me just playing around in my own little sandbox #hoping you all are enjoying the show #anxious someone might steal my toys #or knock over my castle #yes I'm still like this #my thin skin problem

[howtofightwrite]

Hello! I have a very particular sort of scene that I've been trying to get right for over ten years now and I can't make it work; I hope perhaps you can help.

A husband and wife duo who have Mixed Feelings about one another are trying to break out of a facility. (He was recently discovered to be a spy, she is a conscripted soldier in the facility. She was sent to escort him to execution but hesitated - I'm not sure where, in the cell, in the hall? - and - he took advantage of this hesitation? she was arrested as a traitor? - I don't know that either, yet - and they end up running through the halls together to escape)

The facility is vaguely sci-fi; think Star Wars Original Trilogy-style weapons, and there is space travel, but technology isn't... wildly advanced. Like it's not all digital and holograms and hand-wavey stuff, it's only a little more advanced than what we have available now. (Like SW OT.)

Point A is them in the cell. Point B is them on a spaceship breaking free.

I cannot get them from Point A to Point B with any kind of plausibility, or without staggering incompetence on the part of the soldiers and commanders in the facility.

They would likely be armed with only her sidearm, unless they happened to grab rifles off of further escorts sent with her?

I'm sorry this is so vague, thank you in advance for any help!

Personally, I’m of the opinion that any scene that’s been marinating in the brain for a long time (especially for years) has deeper structural/internal issues than just putting together action. Just from reading your question, I can feel the way you’ve laid this specific scenario out breaking your own suspension of disbelief. You’ve got several problems that have built up over time and, now, they’re all working against you.

Change if it’s Not Working

One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever got came from being forced to memorize my martial arts school’s Ten Steps to Mastery as part of my first test for black belt. I only remember the first five and I can’t guarantee they’re all in order.

Set a goal

Take action

Pay attention to detail

Practice, Practice, Practice

Change if it’s not working

Regardless of whether you’re practicing a front kick or writing a full length novel, flexibility is important. The more we try to force something to work, the less likely it will. Training flaws into your technique means they’ll be more difficult to correct later. So, don’t forget to stop and look at the larger picture if you feel yourself getting stuck.

Remember, change isn’t failure. Writing is a complex process and not every idea, plotline, character moment, or scene is going to work out when fit into a larger context. And that’s okay.

Outside emotional exhaustion and stress, my writer’s block kicks in when I’ve taken a wrong turn in the narrative or am avoiding a difficult emotional moment that my characters need to face before their story can progress. Something has made me/them uncomfortable and instead of facing it, I’m attempting to avoid the uncomfortable feeling by throwing some other distracting piece, usually action, in the way. I call these moments false notes. I usually hit them when I’m coming at the story from an external perspective (what have I seen other characters do in other stories/films?) rather than an internal one. (What would this character do?)

If something isn’t working, stop trying to make it work. Instead look for what you’re missing, and where the pieces aren’t connecting. It’s usually further back than the scene you’re working on.

My characters are always right. I’m either not listening or going about it the wrong way.

Food for thought.

Your Heroes are Reactively Active

We hear a lot from the writing community about the importance of Active Characters. These are characters who are doing things to move the plot forward. They make choices. They take action. Then, there are passive or, what I like to call, reactive characters. They are characters who react to things in their environment, whatever that is, but they’re not actively making choices. Passive characters get a bad rap in American storytelling tradition (more so than in the wider Western storytelling tradition.)

Passive characters really shine when working with characters who are in settings where they’re struggling to survive. In the real world, passivity is one of the best ways to survive abuse. Any victim of long term or systemic abuse can tell you that standing up and fighting back, especially in situations where you have no power or means to change your circumstances, makes the situation exponentially worse. You’ve got to gray rock it out, suppress, and survive.

Lastly, there are characters I like to call reactively active. These are characters who feel like they’re being active but are actually just reacting to actions taken by other characters. They appear a lot in YA Fantasy, but they’re everywhere. And, because these characters are always reacting to another character’s (usually the villain’s) actions and choices, they get an easy out when it comes to escaping narrative consequences for the things they do. It’s a deceptive sleight of hand used to maintain a character’s moral purity. These characters appear active on the surface, but, underneath, they’re passively reacting to the narrative events inflicted on them. They don’t take action. They respond to action with action.

Let’s get back to your scenario.

We have a husband and wife in some sort of heavily or, at least, decently fortified, military installation. The husband has been outed as a spy, put in whatever functions as a prison or holding cell within the complex, and scheduled to be executed. The wife is a loyal soldier who must now choose between her love for her husband and her love of duty.

This has the makings of some good drama.

The first obvious problem point is that these characters are trying to do too many things at once. They’re coming to terms with their deep feelings of betrayal, experiencing a last minute change of heart, making a snap decision to escape, and rapidly coming up with a plan to escape in the heat of the moment. If this feels unbelievable, it’s because it is and, even better, doubles for putting the characters in a reactive or passive state. The wife character isn’t acting, so much as she’s reacting last minute to the immediate, impending danger. That would be fine if she wasn’t also having to help carry the burden of coming up with The Plan.

There’s the surface level here, where the last minute change of heart is mimicking the kinds of behavior seen in countless other forms of media regarding escape scenes. However, this narrative decision happening in the heat of the moment is also allowing the character to skate over the emotional consequences of her own betrayal. She’s not choosing so much as she’s being forced to make a choice. And that is removing her agency.

If she makes the choice earlier, starts putting The Plan in place with the help of some friends/colleagues (even if it happens largely off page) then executes at the cell, she takes back her agency and retains her status as an active character.

The difference here is in the processing time. Characters can’t plausibly escape fortified lock up without a plan or, really, The Plan.

The Narrative Structure of Last Minute Rescues

The first problem in your scenario is that you have two characters, neither of which are doing the pre-planning legwork required to successfully execute The Plan. Rescues are like heists, they either take a village or require characters who are extremely meticulous and actively manipulating the village to fill in the gaps. (James Bond does Option 2 beautifully, but even he has a team behind him.) Usually, both happen to some degree. The burden is segregated out into different pieces for different characters. Normally, there’s at least three. The character locked up is trying to figure out a way to escape, but comes up short. The one on the outside who is putting together the pieces needed to execute the rescue/get away. And, sometimes, the one on the inside who is experiencing a change of heart, who, at the very last minute, turns heel and assists with the rescue (most often in the turn of misfortune where a piece fails and the rescue is at risk of being bungled.)

All of this additional weight/build up/expectation of the non-existent plan is being put on two characters and crammed into a single scene.

Think about the rescue of Princess Leia from the Death Star for a moment. How many characters are required to make that escape work?

Seven.

All of them. If a single character in the entire group is missing, the whole thing falls apart. Even Threepio is necessary, mostly because Artoo can’t talk. This off the cuff, by the seat of our pants rescue requires all seven characters and they still end up bungling it to kill their samurai master.

You need one to turn off the tractor beam so they can actually escape. (Doing the real work.)

You need one to figure out where the princess is being held, unlock the doors, and figure out where they are.

You need two to bullshit past the guards going in and one to pretend to be a prisoner.

You need one to bullshit past the guards a second time to save the one that can’t talk with the floor plan.

You need the princess to be the one to get them back out because she’s the only one with balls.

And none of it mattered because the escape was a trap all along.

While you don’t need these specific roles for everything, escaping from a heavily fortified facility is not a two man job. That’s where the feelings of implausibility and extreme incompetence are coming from. There aren’t enough characters helping to clear the way or be there as a safeguard for when things go wrong. This feeds into the next problem.

Soldiers, Spies, and Their Squads

We have another unintended scenario brewing at the same time. And that’s the exhausted retail employee going on a rampage and slaughtering their surprised colleagues. This really knifes your tension. By reacting to the immediate danger, the wife is not making an active, conscious choice with full knowledge of the consequences, and those consequences are killing people she knows, respects, is friends with, shares a camaraderie, or who are at least familiar to her. These other soldiers aren’t faceless goons. It’s a lot harder to pull the trigger on someone you know than someone you don’t, especially someone who has the same values that you do.

Soldiers aren’t characters who work alone. They have a squad. They’re part of a unit. They have a support network surrounding them that allows them to do their job to the best of their ability. Spies are the same way. They also have a support network which allows them to act to the best of their ability, even when it feels like they’re acting alone. Spies have handlers and they have assets, their job requires they build their own support networks so they have someone who can get into the places where they can’t. Those people may be witting or unwitting assets but they’re still there.

Both of these characters should have fairly extensive support networks to fall back on when in crisis. They’re in crisis. The crisis is both physical and emotional. Where are their people? Two characters who are social archetypes whose jobs and survival during wartime are reliant on building trust and skillful communication have no one willing to put their lives on the line to help them out? They only have each other? That’s staggering incompetence.

Spies aren’t assassins. They’re social animals. Soldiers aren’t lone wolves. They’re social animals. If there’s a structural failure here, it’s happening with your secondary characters.  Ignoring the importance of secondary characters is a mistake that a lot of new writers make and I can feel those early mistakes being carried forward in this scene. This is what Hemingway meant when he said, “kill your darlings.” If an idea isn’t working, if it’s holding you back, kill it. Look at the problem and your work from a new angle. One good line or one good scene, regardless of your emotional attachment to it, doesn’t outweigh the entire work.

Plans and Floor Plans

If you’re having trouble coming up with a character’s escape, step back and take a look at the facility itself. Whether it’s breaking in or breaking out, you, the author, need to have a clear visualization of the entire picture so you can find the weaknesses or fracture points.

Plans are easier to conceptualize when you know what the dangers are and what defenses have been put in place to prevent what your characters are attempting. Which parts of the fortress are better fortified than others? Where does this military expect to be attacked? What have they done to prevent it? What are the patrols? Who are the techs? How does the military support itself while fending off attempts to damage its resources? Who handles the supply lines?

The boring minutiae of your world is what makes it feel real. Action is dependent on your world building and this goes deeper than just their weapons. The social systems in place guide how your characters fight. It’s there in how they perceive their environment, and how they recognize usable tools. If you build a functional and consistent world, the action will take care of itself because violence is a natural response to environmental threats. Violence seeks to exploit established systems, to gain an advantage over them. If the violence is imagined separately from the environment, the violence won’t feel real because it’s not reactive and it’s not reacting to environmental stimuli. From there, it’s not logical.

Ask yourself, why do we use guns?

Then ask yourself, why do your characters use guns? What does it allow them to do that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise? Or, what does the gun do better than other weapons that makes it the preferred choice?

The answer for the real world and your setting might be the same, and they might be different. Both will influence how the character uses their weapon. How they use their weapon guides how they fight. If you’re lost, ask yourself questions.

For example, let’s take a last look at the prison.

Prisons are built with the expectation of keeping multiple people contained for an extended period of time, preventing them from leaving in the event of an escape, and preventing those who are sympathetic from breaking in to rescue them. What have the characters in your setting (not your protagonists) done to facilitate that goal? What safeguards have been put in place to prevent someone from leaving and entering?

In the real world, prisons are built in a way that two people can’t just walk out. There are points of entry and exit that are designed to be remotely controlled from secure locations and cannot be operated or accessed on the ground. You’d need someone (like R2-D2) who can access the remote functions to get someone past the exits that they can’t open themselves.

-Michi

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