#if there’s a clone rebellion show i need this to be the plot of one of the episodes

[magicandmundane]

Rex: Hey boys, I could really use your help with—

Hunter, napping on the beach: Retired.

Rex: Seriously—

Crosshair, sipping a margarita: Retired.

Rex: Would you just consider—

Wrecker, playing volleyball with the baby regs: Retired.

Echo: *glares*

Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair: Retired.

Rex: Omega?

Omega, shrugging: Sure, I’m always down to kick some Imperial ass.

Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair: *grumbling, putting their armor back on*

#they’re such suckers for her lmao #if there’s a clone rebellion show i need this to be the plot of one of the episodes #rex they’re RETIRED lol #the bad batch #tbb season 3 #tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb incorrect quotes #tbb memes #clone force 99 #captain rex #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb omega

[local-omen]

bad batch finale thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

first of all damn. like damn. they really did it. those crazy sons of bitches did it. they ended this beloved show in a way that was cathartic, happy, full of tension, and did all the characters justice. my faith in star wars has been restored. i am so happy

—— the tension was unmatched this whole episode. like narratively, killing off tech told us as the audience that no one is safe, there’s no plot armor. so the whole time i was like omg they’re all gonna die but they dIDNT BECAUSE THEYRE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOYALTY AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND THATS WHAT THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT. LOYALTY AND LOVE. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

—— CROSSHAIRS HAND IM SOBBING there is something so heart wrenching but amazing about his 'shooting hand' being taken away from him. it's like the physical embodiment of why he was created but now that he's free of that embodiment, he can choose to be whatever he wants. such a good choice narratively imo

—— that elite task force was badass i'm obsessed with their designs and their fighting styles i kinda wish we got more of them but they were also terrifying

—— crosshair finally made the shot that mattered the MOST. i love him so much. like he seriously means so much to me idec

—— still bummed that tech is actually dead (no he’s not haha loser i’m happy in my delusions). while i do think it’s technically more realistic for clone soldiers bred to die and raised with the expectation that they’ll be killed in battle to lack emotion, i think the lack of emotion this season was to its detriment. however i will say that the “clone force 99 died with tech” line was so good it pretty much made up for it lol

—— THE ENDING WAAA A A AAA A. A A A A. A AAA. A A A A A. A A AAA AAA AAA AAAA A A AAAAAA A A. omega and hera best friends confirmed. they were rebellion pilots together. omega is in the rebellion. like that is just the perfect ending to her character i can’t even. because of course she would. and i love her. i’m so proud of her. she is the heart and soul of this show and anyone who hated her is prolly feelin realllll silly right now

—— damn we’re really just not gonna know who the cx 2 operative was huh. like. he really was just a guy

—— that last shot of tech’s glasses almost got me i fr almost cried. he would be so so so proud of omega. he would be proud of all of them

—— omegas and hunters older designs mean everything to me. just. storytelling through clothes will never not be my favorite thing. her little skull patch 😭🫠 the bandana 🫠🥲

this show means so much to me, truly. it has inspired me artistically, comforted me, and connected me to some amazing people. i don’t even feel stupid for writing all these thoughts about a ‘silly little star wars show’ because damn it this is what art and stories means to people!! this is how powerful they can be! i do not need to hide behind jokes and irony to communicate how much this artistic work means to me!

<3

#big huge rambly post but thank you for reading lol #so happy with that ending #so happy my doubts were proven wrong #the bad batch #star wars #tbb #the bad batch season 3 #tbb spoilers #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #good art is so important #thank you star wars for actually letting them be happy #thanks bad batch. i’ll love you forever

[saturn-sends-hugs]

ok, this has been burning a hole in my notes app and i’m just gonna send it out there:

Why (i think) the Finale was Like That:

to preface, if you liked the finale, good for you!! that’s totally valid and i’m not trying to bash that. but i know a lot of people were left wanting more, and i’m one of them. anyway, to my point:

as silly as it sounds, this show is not written for us.

we’re fans. the producers already know we’re gonna watch the show. they don’t need to convince us to give them our attention, they already have it. why waste time digging into random side characters in the larger Star Wars saga when the average person doesn’t even know who that is?

their real job is to convince outsiders to watch. to get hooked. to see an element they like, probably from the main movies, and tune in, even for one episode. if they can get them hooked with fennec or ventress or hell even rex, that’s a win for them.

the plot lines wrap up in such an unsatisfying way because honestly? they cant waste time focusing more on these characters than they have to. the people writing and designing the show might love them and want to include more meaningful resolutions, but that takes too long and costs too much money. you know what’s cheaper and will satisfy the average viewer? kill the mystery clones, cut off the “trauma hand”, and wrap it all up in a nice little “look, she’s joining the rebellion, guys!” moment because the more bland and broad the ending, the more people will understand it.

i mean, remember the Fives mention? Echo didn’t react, he didn’t even stutter, he literally moved the conversation along like they were talking about where to go for dinner like HELLO. we already know they cannot be bothered to show real important emotional scenes because that would take too much spotlight away from the whole star wars politics plot or whatever were supposed to care about. (honestly, who is watching bad batch for the og trilogy implications? woah tarkin and a couple other empire dudes are talking about project stardust definitely gimme more of that and not any meaningful connection between these characters i love)

it’s scummy, it sucks, it especially kills me that the story is basically lost to corporate greed but let’s be honest, this is Disney’s Star Wars. i could literally just leave it there. meaningful moments will always be sacrificed for shock value and character cameos because the random guy seeing an ad is only gonna watch the show if he thinks “oh cool, tarkin, i didn’t know he was in that show, maybe i should see what that’s about.”

and yes, i know, there absolutely is a ton of love and care poured into this show. i appreciate the effort that went into it. i’m just sad they didn’t have full creative freedom under Disney to give us the story we wanted.

but you know who won’t sacrifice story for money? you know who’s guaranteed to have the fans’ interests in mind? you know who does have full creative freedom and is equally pissed about bad show moments and want to do them better? FANFIC AUTHORS. Fan artists, theorists, even roleplay accounts and every other type of dedicated fandom blog is here for that shit and will reshape things however they want a million different ways because that’s the point. the show simply cannot give us what we want, but we can make it ourselves.

your support, your creativity, and your determination to give these characters what they deserve is how we can solve the problem.

i didn’t really mean to turn all “we’re all in this together” here lol but yknow what i really do mean that. i think supporting the community around you is the best option we have for truly enjoying all of this show’s potential.

tagging a few people cause i value your input!! and let’s be honest i’m probably leaving a few things out that you might be able to expand on: @the-bi-space-ace @inkstainedhandswithrings @phantom-of-the-501st

#once again no shade if you liked the finale #it was basically a happy ending!! that never happens in star wars!! #i was pretty happy with it right up until they killed off CX-2 and i started seeing all the loose ends they just cut off #sometimes literally lol #i’m sorry that was a really bad joke don’t kill me— #saturn sends thoughts #tbb spoilers #tbb s3 #the bad batch spoilers

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

"Infiltration" and "Extraction" Review

Those two episodes were genuinely some of the most terrifying we've seen in the Star Wars. It burned the safety net for me because no one outside Rex, Gregor, and Wolffe are safe. They could start dropping the Batch like flies at any point honestly. Unlike Clone Wars, the Batch don't have plot armor so the show can end their tale by killing them all off. And unlike Rebels, there is no family-friendly rating so yes, this show can be as dark as it wants if it chooses the Rogue One option. We don't know if the Batch will make it. It honestly gave me Game of Thrones vibes (like early GoT when it was good).

Before we get into spoilers, both episodes did great job capturing the danger that everyone was in. The atmosphere was tense and the music did a great job enhancing that. This is why I say the safety net is gone. Our heroes are being closed in from all sides and it's anyone's game now.

Alright, spoiler time

The clone assassins are legitimately terrifying. They were clones that willingly chose the Empire and were subjected to who knows what in order to become what they are now. Worse, Hemlock tried to do it to Crosshair. It's so evident that Crosshair's trauma didn't end on Barton IV, the clone assassin program did something to him. The way he is so scared of the clone assassin when he sees him just hit my feels. I hope he lets his family in whenever he's ready to talk. He's hurting still and he needs all the support he can get. Also, let's add almost drowning again and more brainwashing to Crosshair's list of bad things because he really is the show's punching bag.

Also, Crossdad nation supremacy. I loved his banter with Omega and him constantly looking out for her. He's so naturally protective I can't. This man loves her so so much. It's also so cute when Omega was copying him with the toothpicks. First, she copied Hunter, then she copied Phee, now she copies Crosshair. Can our little ray of sunshine get any cuter?

The interactions with Howzer were also really great. It makes sense why he doesn't trust Cross because he did get hurt at Cross' hands. However, seeing Crosshair interact with Omega changes his perspective. The two begin to understand each other and even have a small conversation about loyalty. I'm glad that Crosshair was willing to open up to Howzer. He's a changed man and he is healing. Crosshair later pushes Howzer out of the way to protect him. It all came full circle at the end when Howzer saved Crosshair from being murdered by Clone X.

Cross aside, the stuff with Rex with phenomenal. It's so cool to see him working with Riyo and even Avi Singh as they try to pass info along. Riyo talking about systems coming together foreshadows the rebellion that starts to bloom over the next several years. Even though the year is 18 BBY, the seeds of rebellion have already been planted; now, they need time to grow. Rex's cause is genuinely so tragic because you know it's only going to come crashing down on him. I think that the end of show will feature the end of the clone rebellion in that it will be destroyed. Rex will be forced to go into hiding like we see in Rebels. Those who survive will do the same (but since we only see Gregor and Wolffe, the chances are limited). Speaking of Wolffe, omg my boy is back! I had a feeling he's with the Empire, but seeing him in his full wolf pack armor and his choice to spare Rex gives me hope. He's not fully gone. The chip is loosing its power over him. Sooner or later, Wolffe will join Rex and his fight against the Empire.

The episode title "Infiltration" was also really clever because it wasn't about the Batch at all, it was about the clone assassin. In any other season, or another show, these two episodes might've been about the heroes infiltrating and extracting some important information or person/object. But no, it's about Clone X infiltrating the heroes and then Echo extracting the heroes before it's too late. That's such a chilling idea. Now, we know the heroes are mostly safe, but it doesn't make it any less tense. The way Clone X slips in so quietly is creepy. We aren't ready to hear about what they did to those clones on Tantiss because if it produces results this efficient, then yikes. I do have a theory on Clone X, but I'll save that for later.

And I think Echo is 100% gonna die. It's so sweet he gave Omega the upgraded bow, but my man is gonna bite it soon.

Overall, these episodes were tense, dark, and truly sinister. The Batch can never truly hide anymore, not even on Pabu. The clone assassins will not stop until Omega is captured and the Batch is presumably dead. Whatever safety and peace Hunter thought they could have is now gone. Whatever happens next, the Batch are truly in for the fight of their lives.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #tbb omega #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb tech #captain rex #tbb howzer #clone trooper wolffe #clone assassin #we're officially in the endgame now guys #get ready for more feels

[nateofgreat]

I got to say, I’m intrigued, I think the set up on both sides of the plot will be interesting.

On one hand you have Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and other clones here and there fighting to track down Omega and Crosshair, while possibly stoking a greater clone rebellion as they go.

And on the other you have Omega, Crosshair, and possibly Emerie Karr (the clone scientist) stuck behind enemy lines trying to escape and figure out what the Empire’s up to at the same time. All the while Omega gets some much needed time to bond with Crosshair and again, maybe Emerie too.

It’s got potential to be both dramatic and heartwarming.

I’m looking forward to it. I know some people are concerned the show will be canceled but frankly I think Dave Filoni’s got a lot of pull in Lucasfilm. I just hope they don’t do away with the whole dynamic in the season opener.

#Star Wars the Bad Batch #The Bad Batch #tbb #sw tbb #tbb spoilers #Bad Batch Hunter #tbb Hunter #Bad Batch Echo #tbb Echo #Bad Batch Wrecker #tbb Wrecker #Bad Batch Omega #tbb Omega #Bad Batch Crosshair #tbb Crosshair #tbb Emerie Karr #tbb Emerie #Emerie Karr

[cosmo-production]

Rayman stuff (i think) would work well in the Sparks of hope DLC: rayman in the phantom show

(CONTEXT; THIS WAS BEFORE IT CAME OUT I WAS SO WRONG)

the obvious picks: barbara and Globox

the two seem most likely to appear because of rayman legends and being the thing that bailed Rayman out of obscurity. being the extra playable characters the game needs when Rabbid Mario and Peach get boring to play. globox being a bulky character with single target-focused damage , barbara is a close combat version of edge.

Raymesis:

the most popular evil Rayman poeple would riot of he didnt get, even some wanting to develop character outside of being a clone and i feel the wacky world of rabbid's is great place to do it, he would be boss fight that acts like a powerful version of Rayman, but he would use darkmess versions of rabbid Mario and rabbid peach. being a creature himself made of dark magic, he interacts with darkmess just fine. this creates a rival battle for ages as Raymesis's team is stronger than you in most aspects but friendly fire is on for all of there attacks, take advantage of that and he will fall easily. at the end the clones melt and Raymesis runs off like an angry diva and can be seen the break room yelling about the lost

the fun stuff:

1st off

dark rayman: an evil doppelganger created to hunt down rayman to ends of the world, mirroring everything ray does until he catches him

this could be a fun minboss fight, using his shadow-like body to phase through attacks that are not from rayman, but there would be props with ray's face on them that the others would set up, he would charge at them like a bull, and leave him open.

maybe at the end he disappears the second somebody asks where he came from. then showing randomly during fights

Fiesta de los Muertos:

Fiesta de los Muertos itself would be great astheic on it own as part of the dlc but maybe the world could be invaded by phantom turn was once an undead party, into a theatrical nightmare realm with the two rulers of land estelia and selena leading the rebellion, with selena in particular keen on collecting phantom's soul, being a ghost with no unfinished business breaking i don't know all the rules of the underworld

dark teensy:

again, a character from legends and origins that is very likely to get in because two games that revived rayman. but every tv show plot in a game needs a intern that the butt of every joke and there perfect for the role.

this would perfect for Phantom and to up his character, a ost that mixes between phantom lyrics and the orchestral becoming one at the crescendo. Phantom gaining more control and power over it as it goes on. the toads that make up the orchestra as npc at start of the dlc but slowly become controlled by the phantom and turn into his mindless yes-man whose only purpose is to preach about phantom, greatness and build up his insatiable ego.

#mario rabbids #mario plus rabbids #mario +rabbids spark of hope #mario + rabbids #mario plus rabbids spark of hope #super mario #rayman legends #rayman in the phantom show #rayman origins #sparks of hope #mario rabbids sparks of hope #shadow rayman #phantom of the bwahpera #rabbid phantom #phan tom #tom phan #Fiesta de los Muertos rayman #raymesis

[buckybarnesss]

agree with you when it comes to misogyny in the fandom (and in general lol) and shipping etc and I wanted to dump this here because it's been bugging me and I have nobody to talk to about it irl that hasn't heard me muttering about it before but why do people seem so anti-romance in general? I see 'Star Wars doesn't need romance or a love story' all the time and I can't help but feel like it falls into the misogyny category a little because romance is seen as something inherently feminine or 'for the girls' ig so people think it's an unnecessary addition to a plot but it can actually affect a character and how they act/think etc so much whether that's for good or bad, hope that makes sense?

obviously not every character needs a great romantic love and Din-doesn't-need-or-want-love enjoyers do your thing but even in the first season he clearly considers Omera and seems open to the idea at least, so people being against Bo just doesn't make sense to me? has she done bad things? well yeah but what character hasn't in Star Wars? and even if it's not Bo I still see it thrown around that Star Wars doesn't need a love story but why? what's wrong with romantic love? there are other shows that they're making/have made that yeah shoehorning in a romance would've made no sense (i.e. Kenobi, I mean I've not watched it but I can't imagine a love story working in that) but the Mandalorian hasn't set itself up to be a show like that?

I hope this has made sense but I basically wanted to air that out and it just came to me reading your answers to other questions that it's probably at least a little misogyny that plays a part in that anti-romance feeling going around or that makes sense in my head anyway

(also Jyn and Cassian soulmates truther here so if people wanna beef about them pls consider not doing that or I'll cry, they're basically built to be perfect for each other so???)

i wanted to publish this before tonight's episode (i just woke up for work 😂).

i agree. it's always when there is some prospect of romance for these kinds of female characters that the "we don't need romance" brigade comes out. like, there's nothing inherently wrong with romance nor is there anything wrong with not wanting romance. it's preference. but c'mon it's not star wars even has a lot of it on screen for major characters. at least healthy relationships or ones that don't end in untimely death.

i can name the actual romances on one hand probably and further discussion is going under a read more out of sake for length and because some minor spoilers for clone wars and rebels.

padme amidala and anakin skywalker ends in tragedy, the eradication of the jedi order and the fall of the republic. anakin turns into darth vader.

hera syndulla and kanan jarrus again ends in tragedy. he sacrifices himself to save hera, sabine and ezra.

bail and breha oranga perish in the destruction of alderaan.

obi-wan kenobi and satine kryze never officially get together as she's dutchess of mandalore and he's a jedi knight. she's murdered by maul to spite him.

vel sartha and cinta kaz external circumstances and cinta's devotion to The Cause of the Rebellion put them on shaky ground.

han solo and leia organa are depicted as a kind of volatile relationship and we never actually really see them be a couple on screen besides some crumbs. by the sequels they are separated.

cassian andor and jyn erso dead before they could really have a relationship.

galen and lyra erso ends in lyra being murdered in front of galen.

owen and beru lars seem to be a relatively normal married couple but than they get brutally murdered by the empire so.

so where's the over abundance of romantic relationships in star wars?

i'd like one couple in star wars that doesn't end in a tragic demise or a "casualties: everyone in the local vicinity" type of scenario.

besides a "strong female character" doesn't have be devoid of romance.

allison argent still says it best "can't i be strong and go to prom?"

#my blog #dinbo #the mandalorian

[heirtotheempire]

The Bad Batch S2 has honestly left much to be desired. I do not understand the people who claim filler does not exist, to me it does. There are absolutely episodes where a character arc (positive or negative) does not progress, where addition to a plot is absent. This may make sense in shows where each episode is a contained story such as in classic Saturday Morning Cartoons, but in a show that claims to be serialized such as TBB, it ends up looking lazy.

Episode 4 for example, titled Faster, is what I would call a good character arc episode. It does not include any overarching plot about the Empire or the Batch as a whole, but shines light onto Tech's attitude and pushes his character to do something he most likely wouldn't do otherwise. And, it even brings up possible issues with Cid, such as her rocky past and potential to hurt the team. The events aren't mentioned again, but it actually explores a handful of characters in a believable and fun way. The mini-arc Tech goes through will (hopefully) be retained. It matches the tone of the series without being too angsty or too wholesome.

Episode 3, The Solitary Clone, is a good story based episode. It dives into how the Empire is treating clones, and its shaky morals. The events that occur do impact future episodes and are mentioned again, because the plot adds to the overarching story about a post-Clone War world with Imperial rule crawling in.

Both these episodes are very very different, but actually contribute to the show and it's characters. While Faster could be labelled a filler episode since it doesn't include the same story themes The Solitary Clone does, I would argue that because of its character exploration, it is not filler.

What IS filler in my eyes, are episodes like number 6, Tribe. The Gungi appearance acts as a cameo, but does not do much other then give The Clone Wars (2008) fans a chance to point at him and go "LOOK ITS HIM" and be happy. A lot of Star Wars has become this, but is a lot more noticable in the live action series (did R5 really have to be the droid Mando picked up...). Cameos are not inherently bad, this is a story that spans many years after all. It only makes sense for characters from other shows to make an appearance. But what matters is how the cameo functions.

Star Wars Rebels has fantastic inclusions of The Clone Wars (2008) and Original Trilogy characters. They have Ahsoka present for a good chunk of the series, but not simply as a draw to get people to watch the show. It expands on her character, she has a duel with Vader, she functions as a teacher to Ezra, and most importantly we see her fight for the Rebellion, something that makes her appearance in Rebels make SENSE and add to her story in a thoughtful way. Similarly, Rex joins the cast as a disillusioned old man who needs to be convinced to join the Rebellion. But even after he does, he acts as a source of conflict for Kanan, which helps both characters with their own long-lasting emotions about Order 66. In short: their long-term roles within Rebels help progress the story and the character arcs the show wishes to portray without feeling invasive or like a gimmick.

Pivoting back to The Bad Batch, Gungi's cameo does none of this. We learn he's in trouble for being a Wookie, the team saves him, and then they fight some Imperial shenanigans on Kashyyyk. Gungi could have been any Wookie, hell he didnt even need to be a Jedi for the story to work. None of the characters other than Omega really 'connect' to the culture on Kashyyyk, theres no thoughtful arcs or progression in the overarching plot, the episode simply exists. Omega and Gungi's friendship is surface level and does not challenge or change anything about Omega, its purely there for the cute factor. And again, it did not even have to be Gungi for this to occur.

Ahsoka being the one to duel Anakin, the one to commit to the rebellion, thats something specific that actually means something for Ahsoka to be doing it. Gungi's story in Tribe is so generic it can be applied to any of the other Padawan children he was with in The Clone Wars if the writers felt like showcasing them instead. It does not mean much for Gungi to be the specific Padawan returning to his home. Perhaps, if the writers actually went into the effects it had on Gungi to return to a place that is theoretically his home, but is not where he grew up nor a place he has memories of... Then maybe it would actually matter that it was his story. He would not be interchangable anymore.

I don't think that enjoying the episode is a bad thing persay, but it is important to understand why some of us may be more critical about this season, or just about any Star Wars media in general. If I wanted to watch a show with no conflict, and everyone was happy and safe, then I would turn on some Cartoon Network show or whatever. Star Wars can be silly and goofy, and it absolutely fails when it takes itself too seriously, but there is a difference between that and just poor writing.

I really do love this show, but more for the potential it has to be great. Episodes such as The Clone Conspiracy, Truth and Consequences, and my personal favorite so far, The Outpost, showcase how fantastic the premise is, how interesting the material present can be. It's kind of a bummer watching thay go down the drain.

#star wars #the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #tbb #tbb s2 #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch season 2 spoilers #tbb s2 spoilers #star wars the bad batch critical #tbb critical #the bad batch critical #i will say i am bias about episodes that touch on imperial stuff lol #i personally want more imperial focused episodes #but that doesnt really matter if the writers don't wanna write about it #not gonna throw a fit about it #i AM going to call out crappy writing tho #if they wrote an imperial based episode but wrote it poorly then id toss it out on the trash too #this aint about what i want out of the show. its about being a decent piece of media.

[gffa]

Stories of Jedi and Sith, a story by story review.  Some mild spoilers but these are character stories, not plot ones, so I didn’t try super hard.  XD "What a Jedi Makes" by Michael Kogge | Yoda Solid.  It’s a perfectly cute and fine story with some bright moments of humor and worldbuilding tidbits, but its biggest weakness is that it’s very much not a story about Yoda, but a young boy trying to con his way into being a Jedi.  If you like The High Republic, you’ll like this, it’s in the same vein. "Resolve" by Alex Segura | Qui-Gon Jinn Good.  My second favorite story in the entire anthology!  I think this is probably Qui-Gon at his very best and while I think M&A does an incredible job of showing what a hilarious Hot Mess Qui-Gon is, if you want to really have the warm and fuzzies about Qui-Gon being a Jedi, as well as some hints about how his relationship with Dooku is playing out, this is a great one to pick up. "The Eye of the Beholder" by Sarwat Chadda | Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi Solid.  There are some absolutely stellar moments in this story, but it’s an outsider POV on the characters, so you don’t really get a lot of character insight, but you do get some incredible feelings about the Jedi and what they mean to people, the hope they deliver to those who need it most, why they were doing that, as much as the galaxy allowed them.  It’s a look at Anakin being at his best, so he’s a little softer than you might be used to, but it works in the context of the story and the ending had me putting a hand over my heart because of gooey feelings. "A Jedi's Duty" by Karen Strong | Barriss Offee Excellent.  The start of the entire book, this story knocked everything else out of the water, not just by being the best one of the bunch, but by actually having insight and impact into Barriss’ story, by doing justice to her struggle to deal with the dark encroaching on her soul.  This Barriss is a gentle, kind soul, she’s a healer at heart, which the Jedi do what they can to foster, they try to gentle her life as much as possible, but they’re at war and they have duties, but they still reach out and help her and it keeps the dark at bay while she reaches back.  This story nailed the balance between Barriss Offee’s beginning of her fall, showing how it came from wounds inside of her that would not heal because they came from unending empathy, and also did justice to the beautiful Jedi Order around her.  JUSTICE FOR BARRISS OFFEE, SHE DESERVED THIS STORY. "Worthless" by Delilah S. Dawson | Asajj Ventress Solid.  Some really good moments of humor with Asajj being just a giant angry asshole cat and some good conflict between her needing the clone’s help that she’s stuck with in a maze and him needing her help, but ultimately putting it after the Barriss story kind of highlighted how it was filler.  Fun, solid filler that you will enjoy for her character!  And a nice look at a clone that you’ll probably fall in love with, I loved him a lot!  But still kinda filler.  (But I may be biased because I thought “The Lost Nightsister” was peak Asajj anthology story.) "The Ghosts of Maul" by Michael Moreci | Maul Solid.  It too is filler but in a way that I think works even better, because it takes a bigger view of Maul’s character arc, where the Force is basically trying to get him to understand that he has more choices than he thinks.  A really good look at the way he rejects the paths out of the dark and some very nicely done little character details and feelings. "Blood Moon Uprising" by Vera Strange | Darth Vader Solid.  It’s not really even about Vader, it’s just a story that takes place during the time of the Empire.  To be fair, I read the book quickly, but I don’t really remember any character insights, it was just a straightforward story about a Rebellion plot and Vader is the only established character.  Perfectly fine read for a mini-adventure!  But it’s not a character piece. "Luke on the Bright Side" by Sam Maggs | Luke Skywalker Solid.  Mostly notable for how HOLY SHIT DID THEY REALLY JUST SEMI-CONFIRM THAT LUKE WAS ATTRACTED TO A GUY IN SUPPLEMENTARY CANON??? Jedi fans will probably not enjoy it as much, the new character’s anti-Jedi thoughts are fairly clearly being set up to be knocked down, but the follow-through doesn’t happen in this story and we’re unlikely to see him again, so it wasn’t as satisfying to me as it could have been.  Otherwise cute but forgettable. "Masters" by Tessa Gratton | Palpatine Good.  I really enjoyed that this was a story about Palpatine being a little low-key obsessed with Yoda, meanwhile Yoda doesn’t really think about him at all, illustrating how the Sith are obsessed with the Jedi, but the Jedi rise above.  There’s some lovely Yoda POV scenes and Palpatine is a fun evil to see!  Worth the read. "Through the Turbulence" by Roseanne A. Brown | Rey Good.  The story balances being an action plot with Rey’s character arc and her frenemies dynamic with Poe, where they have great chemistry in playing off each other, they clash and bicker and don’t really fit, until Rey allows herself to be honest with him about the clouded thoughts she’s struggling with and how he helps her clear her mind.  I loved it for once again reaffirming that you need to be emotionally stable to use the Force, but the soul of the story was on Rey and Poe’s crackling cranky friendship dynamic, they were so fun to see butt heads! OVERALL:  I’d give it a solid 7.5/10.  Some of the stories are skippable, many of them are good, and one is an absolute must-read.  It’s not a long book, I read it in just a few hours’ time, but it sailed along and I found it genuinely fun.  Hell, I enjoyed it enough that I’m going to pick up the audiobook version when it comes out!

#novels #stories of jedi and sith

[thefinalboss387]

Darth Sidious Appreciation Post!

I have SO much love for this character. Palpatine is the main villain of the entire Star Wars franchise, and arguably one of the greatest villains of all time. I felt the need to gush about why I love him so much and what makes him so great. There are a lot of little traits and tropes that I tend to be drawn to in characters, and Palpatine manages to check off pretty much ALL of them. This post will be long, so I’m throwing it all under a cut. Spoilers ahoy!

Star Wars is, as the name suggests, all about a galaxy that is constantly at war. It is a vast, ever-expanding saga, with countless films, books, comics, TV shows, and video games all constantly adding new chapters, new characters, and new perspectives to the story. The lore and history of the Star Wars universe has grown considerably, of course, but during the core story and present time of Star Wars - which spans nine films, and far too many spin-offs to count - Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious, is the main antagonist, finishing off a revenge plan that had been in the works for a thousand years before him.

I’ve always loved villains, but I’ve always had an especially high regard for manipulative, mastermind-type villains, who are revealed to have orchestrated everything on their own behind the scenes. And Palpatine is very much the personification of this type of character. In all three film trilogies - and the eras in the Star Wars timeline that come with those trilogies - Palpatine was in the background, directly responsible for each massive conflict.

In the prequel trilogy, Palpatine came off as a kind, empathetic man. He was a Senator for the small backwater planet of Naboo, who eventually rose up to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic after Naboo was involved in a crisis. However, behind the scenes, Palpatine was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, manipulating events and manufacturing that crisis to garner galactic attention and sympathy to ensure his route to the chancellorship. Once he was in power as the head of the senate and the Republic, he manufactured another, much larger crisis, throwing the entire galaxy into a war where he controlled both sides and benefited no matter the outcome. Publicly, he was the head of the Republic, but as Darth Sidious, he was the leader of the Separatist movement against the Republic. At the end of this war, he declared himself Emperor, with all of the unlimited power that came with it, and threw the entire Jedi Order into extinction.

In the original trilogy, Palpatine has even more political power and influence, having shown his true colors to disband the senate, create super-weapons to scare the masses into obedience, and placing his own sycophants and followers into positions of power beneath him. A rebellion forms to take down the oppressive empire and put an end to Palpatine’s rule. Although he largely avoids the public spotlight, preferring to experiment and plot behind closed doors while his minions do the dirty work, he gets directly involved in Episode VI, Return of the Jedi. Palpatine continues to show his penchant for manipulation and foresight, using spies and false information to lure the rebels into traps and control the narrative.

The sequel trilogy seems to be pretty controversial, especially Palpatine’s inclusion in Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker. Honestly, I was thrilled to see him back, and Rise of Skywalker was one of my favorite Star Wars movies - I know, people usually react badly when I say that. But, for better or for worse, Palpatine reveals himself as the mastermind behind the sequel trilogy, having transferred his consciousness into a decrepit clone body and once more controlling things from behind the scenes. He creates Snoke and puts him in charge of the First Order, a successor to the fallen empire, as a way to secure power and set the stage for his own eventual return to glory.

In the Expanded Universe, before the Star Wars continuity was rebooted to make way for the sequel trilogy, Palpatine did resurrect himself in a clone body in one of the many post-Return of the Jedi stories, but the overall narrative of Star Wars largely moved away from Palpatine’s machinations into newer territory, though it still dealt a lot with the fallout of Palpatine’s actions, those loyal to him attempting to reestablish his empire, etc.

Another trait I tend to love in characters, and one that many of my favorite characters ever possess, is when they take on a mentorship role, or have some kind of parental feelings toward other characters. I work with kids, I take my work as a mentor very seriously, and only recently came to realize that I have spent most of my life, even before my current career path, loving characters that also take others under their wing... even though, since I love villain characters, those mentor relationships are usually super toxic and unhealthy. Villains are a fun way to explore the dark side of our psyches, our consciousness, and seeing how horribly those kinds of nurturing relationships can go wrong because of those villains, or seeing how even the most irredeemable sociopaths find some good in themselves in their relationship with their mentee, is also kind of fun to explore. Palpatine has SEVERAL of these toxic mentor relationships - and actually, Star Wars as a whole is full of mentor/student relationships and the idea of leaving a legacy with the next generation, which probably is part of why I have so much love for Star Wars as a franchise.

The Legends novel Darth Plagueis is, so far, the only source to go deeply into Palpatine’s past, and it is sadly now non-canon. In it, Palpatine was a teen when he met Darth Plagueis and was taken in as his apprentice. Palpatine was troubled, hated his family, and actually grew close to his master. Plagueis was seeking to do away with the Sith custom of the apprentice murdering the master to acquire power and take in an apprentice of their own; instead opting to study ways to become immortal and, together with Sidious, rule together forever. Sidious, however, betrayed his master and murdered Plagueis in cold blood.

The first apprentice Sidious had was Darth Maul, a young Zabrak. In the Plageuis novel, Palpatine took him in as an apprentice while he himself was still apprentice to Plagueis, though that may no longer be canon. Maul was practically a slave to Sidious, taken against the boy’s will and tortured and abused into a loyal, brainwashed weapon. Maul was totally obedient to Sidious, but his master never really saw him as a true apprentice - just a blunt instrument to carry out his whims. When Maul died, Palpatine seemed to show no remorse or grief at all. When he resurfaced in the Clone Wars, Sidious saw him as a rival and moved to destroy him with no mercy. (I also need to say, that lightsaber battle in Clone Wars where Sidious dual-wielded against Maul and Savage Oppress is MY FAVORITE FIGHT IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE GAH IT’S SO COOL)

The relationship between Palpatine and his next apprentice, Count Dooku, is one that hasn’t been too deeply explored - at least, not in any of the Star Wars material I’ve consumed. (If anyone out there knows of material that explores this, please let me know, I’d love to see it!) Dooku fell into Palpatine’s clutches at a much older age, having several disagreements with the Jedi Order and how they are run, which Palpatine exploited to bring Dooku over to the Sith philosophy. Dooku was charismatic, and easily able to act as the face of the Separatists and sway people to his side so that Sidious could stay in the shadows, only known to his highest lieutenants. Sidious constantly tested Dooku’s loyalty and made him prove himself - I suspect this was because, given Dooku’s older age and how much freedom he had as the public face of the Separatists, Sidious felt the need to instill the fear of god in him and keep him constantly aware of who was really in control. Dooku was not as brainwashed or dependent as Maul was, he even attempted to find an apprentice of his own at one point, so Sidious needed other methods to keep him in line.

In the sequel trilogy era, Sidious was keeping a very close eye on Kylo Ren, effectively having a hand in raising him from birth to mold him into the weapon he wanted, mostly through Snoke as a proxy. I also have heard that Palpatine has an adopted son named Gallius Rax in the Aftermath trilogy of books, that he mentored and used as a key piece of his contingency plan in the event of his death, but I have not read those books so I unfortunately don’t know much about it - but I definitely am interested and intend to read those.

And then there’s Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. Hoo boy.

Palpatine met Anakin in Episode I, when Anakin was just a child. Palpatine told him that he would be watching his career with great interest.... and he was not lying. For most of Anakin’s life, Palpatine was a mentor to him and practically groomed him. He heaped praise on Anakin, constantly telling him about the enormous potential he had and how much he believed in him. When the Jedi Order pointed out his flaws, Palpatine made it seem like they just took him for granted and didn’t see what he saw. He slowly, subtly, turned Anakin against everyone he knew, and planted himself as Anakin’s only real friend and confidant. He was kind to him, understanding, patient. He preyed on Anakin’s deepest fears and insecurities, making him believe that he had the power and the answers Anakin needed to solve his problems. But then he showed his real colors and Anakin was forced to pick a side, between the Jedi Order he couldn’t trust and the monster who believed in him and had the answers he needed.

When Anakin - as Darth Vader - almost died at the hands of Obi-Wan and is forced to become a cyborg monster, he loses a lot of his value to Palpatine. He also loses the love of his life and his humanity. With nothing else to keep him going but rage and loss and despair, he acts as Emperor Palpatine’s muscle, continuing to serve him but ready to take any opportunity to overthrow and replace him. But, as Emperor, Palpatine now has entire armies at his disposal, countless Imperial officers, a whole legion of Force-sensitive Inquisitors that hunt down the remaining Jedi...

In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine seems very eager to have Luke, Anakin’s son, strike Vader down and replace him as his apprentice. It’s also implied in later movies that Luke striking Palpatine himself down would allow him to possess Luke’s body, as Palpatine later tries to do with his own granddaughter, Rey.

Palpatine is a character that is always on the lookout for his next young, powerful apprentice. He puts up a caring, gentle, fatherly facade to reel them in, but truthfully he doesn’t seem to see anyone as anything more than tools to be used and controlled, and takes no hesitation in tossing them aside once their usefulness runs out, or a shinier new toy comes along.

That duality in his character is fascinating to me. Palpatine is an extremely patient man, his plan to overthrow and take over the Republic was decades in the making, and that whole time he effortlessly gave off that caring mentor facade and fooled an entire galaxy. As Darth Sidious, he was calm, quiet, and heartless, completely detached from emotion or sympathy. Once he took over as Emperor, the Jedi were slaughtered, and there was no reason to hide himself any longer, a whole new side of his personality emerged. He became a cackling, maniacal, croaky monster. There are so many sides to this character.

And it’s worth noting, Ian McDiarmid was phenomenal in the role, clearly enjoyed every minute of playing this character, and chewed the scenery in absolutely every moment of his screentime. Palpatine’s presence and the way he carried himself was very theatrical and extravagant, another trait I tend to love in a lot of my favorite characters. He is just so campy, and there’s a reason so many of his lines have become memes.

Palpatine is basically the devil. He is the ultimate evil of the Star Wars universe, hurting and manipulating so many people in the quest for his own power and immortality. But he is so FUN to watch. His scheming and plotting is super impressive, his relationships are fascinating, and the level of complexity in his character is surprising considering how one-dimensional he initially comes off as.

I love Palpatine. He is, after all, the Senate.

#Palpatine #Darth Sidious #Sheev Palpatine #Emperor Palpatine #Star Wars #There is SO MUCH MORE I could say about this devil toad #But this post is getting long and ranty #Might do a part two someday if I think of much more to say #Palpatine is legit one of my top favorite characters of all time #He's so evil and so problematic #But AMAZING

[silverwings22]

Caught in the Crosshairs: Chapter 49: Alone Together- Fall Out Boy

Series warnings: Smut, mind control, canon typical violence, childhood trauma, language, chronic illness

Chapter Warnings: mistreatment of clones, political plots, talk of genocide, flashbacks

Translations: kama: belt spat osik: shit vor entye, ner vod: thank you, my brother/sister buir: mother/father K'oyacyi: Stay alive

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Seeing Miria studying Mando’a was never going to lose its novelty for Echo. She was sitting on the bridge with her datapad, mouthing words to herself. Omega was up in her room, legs crossed. "Meditating again?" Echo smiled. 

"Gungi and Miri showed me, but it doesn't work for me the same way."

"That's because they're Jedi… well, former, in the General's case."

"I still like it." Omega smiled, slipping down from her seat next to him. "Want to try?"

"No. I don't prefer solitude. I had enough of it on Skako. If not for this squad, I might still be there or worse."

Omega looked over at Miria, who she also knew hated to be alone. "Is that why you joined them?"

"It was where I fit. Where I needed to be." Echo sighed. 

Miria lifted her head, listening in thoughtfully. Sometimes her heart broke for Echo… he'd been thrown around so much by fate. She'd taken back some control in her adventure to Thule. Echo still hadn't had a chance.

"We are receiving a transmission. It is from Rex." Tech called out.

Miria stood up as Omega and Echo followed her to the cockpit. "Put him through, Tech."

Rex's blonde head appeared. "Hey boys. General Halcyon. Any chance I could borrow your squad's expertise for a mission?"

Hunter frowned. "What kind of mission, Captain?"

"It's a simple data extraction, but a crucial one. I can explain the rest when you get to Coruscant."

At that, everyone stiffened. "Coruscant? That's a tall ask, Rex." Hunter muttered.

Miria sat down in her deck chair, hands clasped in front of her as she leaned over her knees. Omega frowned. "What's on Coruscant?"

"It is the seat of the Senate, and therefore the heart of the Empire." Tech clarified. 

"And the ruins of the Jedi Temple." Miria said quietly.

"We can't take Miri anywhere near Coruscant, Rex. She might not consider herself a Jedi anymore, but the Empire isn't going to see it that way." Hunter protested. 

"The Empire thinks we're dead. They won't be looking for us." Echo frowned. 

"And I'd like to keep it that way." The sergeant groaned.

Miria lifted her head. "A data extraction, Rex? How crucial is this data?"

"It could be life or death for clones all over the galaxy." The captain met her eyes. "I can transmit a flight plan to avoid Imperial security, and a safe landing zone."

Echo nodded just a little too eagerly, ready to say they were on the way. Miria gave him a sideways smile. "Alright. We'll meet you there."

"Thanks, General. I'll explain everything when you arrive."

Hunter groaned again when the holo cut out. "Are you sure about this, Miri?"

"I may not be a Jedi any longer, but I'm still Miria Halcyon." She stood up and started walking back to the bunkroom to retrieve her armor. "It's the right thing to do."

Echo followed her back. "So I was right. You do want to fight the Empire."

"Fight them? Echo, I want to rip Palpatine limb from bloody limb." She said mildly, pulling on her thigh plates. "But I can't engage in open rebellion. Not yet."

"Why not? We should be doing so much more." He pressed. "With someone like you fighting, a rebellion might actually-"

"I know, Echo." Miria turned to face him. She'd always looked so small and delicate, but the weeks since Thule had added an edge and strength to her that made her sometimes seem ten feet tall. "I want to. I hope one day, I will. But I cannot be on the opposite side of open warfare as long as Crosshair is in the Empire. He accused me of being his enemy on Kamino. I can't let that be a reality." She set her kama down and put a hand on his arm. "But you can."

"You want me to go with Rex?" Echo blinked. 

"No. I want you to stay and be safe. But I know you, Echo. You want to fight, and I don't have any right to stop you. I took back my life on Thule. This will be what you need to take back yours." She looked at him over her shoulder. "So you have my blessing… on one condition."

"Yeah?" He leaned in as she pulled on her chest plate and secured it. 

"Keep me informed. I'll offer as much help as I can." She explained. 

She might have changed herself on Thule, but some things remained. Echo needed to choose. She needed the information Rex would be able to provide. No matter how much she wanted to surround her friends in bubble wrap, this was the most direct way of giving her access to the fight without betraying the man she loved.

"I'll do what I can, ma'am." Echo whispered. 

Miria stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Take your time deciding. This is your choice." She whispered back. She knew it was too tantalizing an option for Echo to refuse, she'd known it when she spoke. If she'd tried to talk him out of it, he'd have conceded… but she didn't. 

She could only hope she wasn't opening the door for him to walk into a death sentence. 

"Thank you, Miri." Echo mumbled. "I'll talk to the guys once I've decided."

She nodded and let him go, picking up her helmet. "Of course."

They headed back to the cockpit, settling in for the flight to Coruscant.

"You sure about this, Miri?" Hunter repeated as she sat down. "Empire or not, this is going to be hard on you… you grew up on Coruscant."

The eyes staring out the front window were resigned. "I already know what to expect, Hunter. I can do it."

Rex was waiting for them as the Marauder touched down in front of a garage. Omega was holding onto Miria's arm after the flight plan had led them right over the ruins of the Jedi Temple. "Good to see you guys." The captain said grimly. 

Behind him, a very pretty Pantoran woman in pink was standing next to a tall young man with his curly black hair tied back in a poofy horsetail. Miria pulled her helmet off immediately. "Senator Chuchi? Aram?!"

The young man blanched. "Miria?!"

Riyo Chuchi looked between them. "You said you were calling clones, Captain… who's this, Aram?"

"... my cousin? Honest, Senator, I didn't know this was who Rex was calling."

Miria furrowed her brow, looking from Rex to Chuchi and back. "You can trust her, General. She's on our side." The captain assured her. 

Miria relaxed, holding out a hand. "Miria Halcyon."

"I've heard your name… you were on the Jedi council." Chuchi whispered. "It's so dangerous for you to be on Coruscant."

"I was told this was a matter of life or death for the clones. It's worth the risk." Miria nodded. "Rex, what are we looking at?"

"Come inside. There's something I want you to see." Rex waved for them to follow. 

Miria fell into step beside Aram. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on Naboo!" She hissed.

"I wanted to help. After you left last time, I hopped a public transport to Coruscant and started working as an aid for Senator Chuchi. She's pushing for clone rights in the senate." He explained. "I thought… maybe if we could get them with pensions and honorable discharge, you'd be able to find your trooper. If he's not in the Empire, that chip wouldn't have as much influence."

Miria's expression softened. "Oh, Aram… that's incredibly kind of you. Does your mother know you're here?"

"No…"

"She's going to kill us both."

He smiled weakly. "Osik."

They gathered around a table with a body bag on it. Hunter gently tugged Omega back as Rex unzipped it.

"A clone…?" Miria frowned. 

"He was an assassin. I came here to meet a clone named Slip. He said he was in danger, and I was going to get him out. But the assassin got him first, and nearly got the senator and her aid too."

"Why would a clone kill another clone and senator?" Echo mused.

"Slip knew the truth about what really happened on Kamino. We were trying to convince him to testify against Rampart before the Senate." Chuchi explained. "He's pushing his recruitment bill tomorrow morning."

"We were there too. I'll be your witness." Echo volunteered.

"They won't listen to us. We're deserters." Hunter shook his head. 

Echo cast pleading eyes towards Miria. "General?"

"They wouldn't hear me either. I was on the Council, I'd be shot on sight." She shook her head. "We'll need some other proof if we're going to implicate Rampart."

"Slip said he'd backed up the logs on Rampart's Venator." Aram nodded. "If we can present those to the Senate, it would prove his guilt."

Miria's mind whirred, teeth set on her bottom lip. Hunter knew that face… Miria was a brilliant tactician. "Where's that Venator, Rex?"

"Being retrofitted in the Imperial shipyard here on Coruscant." He smiled. 

She nodded. "Then we'll need to move quickly before the vote."

"I'll go back to the Senate and get whatever evidence I can find." Chuchi nodded. 

"You could be in danger, senator." Hunter frowned. 

"I'll go with her to keep an eye on things." Omega offered.

"You won't be able to get into the sector without Imperial security clearance." Chuchi frowned. 

"That won't be a problem." Tech smiled and patted Omega's shoulder. 

Aram grinned. "I'll go with you guys to get the data. All my mother's training should be worth something."

Miria smiled faintly. "She's definitely going to kill us both. But alright."

The shipyard was big and ominous, Miria and her team hiding in the shadows. Aram had surprised her by revealing a set of beskar armor under his blue and pink poncho, which he'd given to Omega to wear during her mission with Chuchi. 

"You're sure you're up for this, Aram? This isn't like Thule, the blasters are real." Miria muttered. 

"I'm sure. At least this I can hit. The Sith spirits were a whole different story." He smiled. 

Rex handed Miria one of his pistols. "I'd rather if you used something with a stun setting, ma'am."

"As would I." She agreed, taking it. "Hunter, do you see a path to the ship?"

"There's not enough cover. We'll never make it." He grumbled. 

Echo lightly nudged Miria and nodded towards a parts barge, the droid driver just finishing loading up. "Not on foot."

"Clever." She nodded. "Eyes on the barge."

Everyone nodded, bodies leaning in to get ready for a sprint. 

"Move!" Miria ordered, just as the thrusters ignited. The team darted for the underside of the barge, grabbing onto the scaffold-like landing gear. Miria locked her legs and flipped to grab Wrecker’s hands when he almost didn't make it, swinging him up with her.

He immediately clung with arms and legs, mumbling to himself. "Don't look down, don't look down."

"He okay?" Aram whispered. 

"He doesn't like heights." Miria shook her head. "Tech, get control of this thing."

"Almost got it. Hold on." The barge lurched when he sliced into the controls, banking sharply.

Rex looked at Wrecker sympathetically. "He's still not any better?"

"This is him better." Echo groaned. 

"Get ready to jump." Tech's warning was a welcome relief, and he dropped them a little lower so they could bail off their stolen ride safely. 

The tuck and roll was a little bumpy, but Miria popped up quickly and checked over her squad. No injuries. 

Six months ago that landing would have had me limping the rest of the mission. She had only time for the stray thought before they were crawling under the Venator to get into the maintenance tunnels. Health was an unending lesson in gratitude, it seemed. She'd have to revel in it later. 

"Wrecker, get that hatch open." Hunter ordered. The heavyweight pulled a plasma cutter from his belt and started up the ladder.

"Haven't been in this tunnels since the war." Echo said mildly. "Gotta say, Rex. Coruscant is the last place I expected you to be."

"I came for Slip… more and more of our brothers are waking up to what's been done to them."

"How many have you been able to reach?"

"Not enough. I have some contacts that I can trust, but help is hard to find."

Echo glanced over at Miria, suddenly understanding. She'd known he wanted to fight, she'd put together what Rex was doing after Bracca… now he knew what she wanted him to keep her informed of.

It wasn't about fighting the Empire itself for her, though he was confident she'd give the aid she promised any way that she could. No, Miria wanted him to keep an eye out for one man, should he wake up the way Rex had described. 

She wanted to know if Crosshair called for help. 

He couldn't help but admire the long game she was playing, now that she had the time. No wonder she said it was a matter of outlasting the Empire. 

"Got it." Wrecker called as the hatch opened. "Oh great. Ray shields."

"I am on it." Tech nodded. 

Miria's foot was tapping as the genius worked. Echo lightly nudged her again. "I think I've made my mind up." He said, voice low.

She looked at him, and he was sure her eyes were sad under the helmet. "I thought you might, once you saw Rex again."

"I'll keep you informed. I know what you're looking for." He patted her shoulder with his mechanical arm as the shields above them dropped.

"Vor entye, ner vod." She nodded. 

They made it into the ship easily enough, stunning a couple clones on their way to the command deck. "Get the data, Tech." Hunter ordered. "It's almost morning."

Tech plugged his datapad in and let out an unhappy noise. "That is unfortunate…"

"You wanna narrow that down?" Rex frowned. 

"In order to transfer the file, I will need to divert power. It will likely trigger a security alert."

Miria glanced out the window at the rows and rows of white-armored soldiers outside. Crosshair could be among them, and it was killing her that she couldn't go down there and drag him kicking and screaming back to the Marauder. "How much time will we have?"

"Not much." Tech shook his head. 

"Wrecker, seal the doors. Tech, divert the power and get the files." She ordered. "Aram, Rex, Hunter, post up and get ready for a fight while I figure out an exit plan."

They moved to her command and the console lit up under Tech's ministrations. 

Aram watched his cousin out of the corner of his eye as she started moving around, taking stock of cover and the number of clones outside. "How's it coming, Tech?" He tried not to sound nervous. This was his first taste of real combat, everything his mother had prepared him for and tried to keep him safe from at once. 

"I am expediting the transfer as quickly as I can."

They all heard clones outside the doors. "Hostiles confirmed on the bridge!"

"Transfer complete." Tech looked at Miria.

"Plans 14, 5, and 86." She said firmly as she spotted air support moving in. 

"All of them?!" Wrecker blinked. 

"All of them. Wrecker, go! Aram, cover him." She ordered. 

Wrecker whooped as the other clones got the blast doors open, barreling through them and stunning everything that moved. Aram covered his back with his blaster, eyes wide but his aim on point. 

"Echo, plan 5. Take out that air support!" Miria joined Rex and Hunter stunning the clones that got past Wrecker. Echo activated the Venator's turrets, shooting down the flyovers. "Tech, get those engines on!"

The sound of the huge ion engines coming online made Miria's skin crawl. The last time she'd heard engines of that size, she'd been inside one. She could still feel the heat and blind panic that shut down everything but emergency signals in her brain. 

"CROSSHAIR BACK UP!"

The ship under them lurched as it broke the moorings under it. "We're never going to make it through. There's too many clones." Rex groaned.

"We're going over them." Miria turned him around. "Head for the life pods."

"Over them?!" Both Rex and Aram yelped.

"Go!" Miria shot over Aram's shoulder and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him along with her to the evacuation deck. 

"These aren't operational." Rex hissed. 

"We only need them to eject. I'll handle it from there." Tech's eyes crinkled at the corners under his visor when he smiled. 

"This should be interesting." Rex grinned and pulled the hatch shut behind him. 

Aram slid next to Miria. "You guys don't do anything halfway, do you?"

"Nope." She pulled him down into a huddle with her and the clones on the floor. "What's the fun in that?"

"Is this fun?" He blinked as they shot into the sky. 

"You've been a Mandalorian longer than I have. You tell me. Brace!"

They crashed into the ground a good distance from the Venator, Rex kicking open the hatch. "Not bad."

"I was 6.4 meters off. Not my best." Tech shrugged.

Miria patted his back. "You did fine. Hurry, the Senate meeting has already started."

They hauled armored ass for the waiting skycar Aram had stashed, and made for their rendezvous point. 

Omega was waiting with one of Chuchi's guards and they handed the data off. "Hurry, sweetheart." Miria nodded. 

She took off like a bat out of hell.

Miria sank into the seat with the guys once she was gone with the guard. Echo nervously cleared his throat as Aram started driving them back to the garage their ship was parked at. "... I've got something to tell you all."

Hunter took his helmet off to look at Echo. "Go on."

Echo straightened his shoulders. "... I'm going with Rex. This was a good start, but more clones are going to need help. Miri's already given her blessing."

Hunter looked at Miria. "You did?"

She nodded, slipping her own helmet off. "Yes. It's important to Echo, and I… I understand where he’s coming from. It's the right thing to do."

"Are you going too?" Wrecker nervously reached for her arm. 

"No. I can't… not yet." She shook her head. "Maybe some day."

"That's not the life I want for Omega." Hunter said immediately. "She deserves better than to be in that kind of danger!"

"Don't I know it." Miria looked at him. "But the truth is, the danger is already here, Hunter. We can't shield her forever. I'm willing to give her all the time we can, but eventually this will become her fight as much as ours." Her voice was firm, not unkind but unwilling to back down. "Little girls don't stay little forever."

She wasn't just talking about Omega. She was thinking of Mayrin, a child not even born yet who'd one day inherit her mother's battle for freedom. Mayrin Halcyon wasn't even born and she'd already started fighting to save her own father. Miria couldn't give up on that fight either. 

Hunter sighed. "Alright… you're right. But for now…" He put a hand on Echo’s arm. "If you ever need anything, you call us. And if you change your mind, we'll be waiting for you to come back."

Echo smiled. "Thanks."

They pulled up to the garage and Echo went to get his things from the Marauder. Miria sat on the hood of the skycar with Aram. "You did very well. Your parents would be proud." She finally said. "I know I am."

"Thanks. Part of me wants to comm Buir and tell her where I am. But she'll probably be furious." He sighed. 

"You should. I'm sure she's worried sick." Miria brought one knee up and hugged it. "If you don't, I will." She wasn't repeating mistakes anymore. She hadn't told Obi-wan what Anakin had done. She needed to tell Irene about Aram's adventures."

"I'll do it. No reason for her to yell at us both." He smiled faintly. "You were pretty impressive back there though. It's easy to forget you were a general."

"I've been many things. Some I never thought I'd be… and some things that I was, I now find I'm no longer." She mused aloud. "But we all grow and change. Some for the better, some not."

"You're wise."

"Not wise enough." She looked up as Chuchi and Omega pulled up in another car. "... Omega's been crying." She slid off the car and darted over, scooping the girl up when she ran into her arms. "Little love, what's the matter?"

"It went wrong, Miri!" Omega sobbed.

Miria looked at Chuchi as the clones and Aram gathered around. The Pantoran looked devastated. "The evidence implicated Rampart, and he was arrested. But… Palpatine got involved. I don't understand, he hasn't been at meetings for weeks."

"What happened?" Miria hugged Omega a little tighter. 

"He used the clones obedience to Rampart's orders to push the recruitment bill." Chuchi whispered. "And… ordered the decommissioning process for the clones."

Miria's blood turned to ice. "Decommissioning…" She knew that only had one meaning in the scope of the Empire’s cruelty. Murder. They'd be shot outright or sent on suicide missions. 

The clones were fated to die. 

Crosshair…

"Palpatine was one step ahead of us during the war, and he's still several steps ahead of us now." Rex sighed. 

"I don't understand. We did the right thing… we told the truth." Omega whimpered. 

Miria stroked her hair. "Palpatine twisted it to his own ends, little love." She felt sick herself. They'd signed the death warrants of millions of men… they'd been deceived, it was no more their fault than Crosshair’s shooting at them had been his. But they'd still done it. 

"What happens to the clones now?" Omega whispered as Miria set her down.

"I don't know, but I'll keep fighting." Chuchi promised her. "I won't give up."

Rex nodded. "There will be plenty for us to do."

Hunter patted Echo’s shoulder again. "Remember what I said."

Wrecker grinned. "Don't have too much fun without us."

"Best of luck, Echo." Tech smiled. 

Omega blinked. "What are they talking about?"

Echo knelt down next to her. "I'm going with Rex. The clones need our help now more than ever. I can't turn my back on them."

"You're leaving? But… we're a squad!" Tears started welling up in her big honey eyes, and Miria had to turn away for a minute before her resolve crumbled and she started begging Echo to reconsider too.

"I know. But I've got to go where I'm needed, Omega."

"But we need you too."

"It's not forever. I'll be back." Echo brushed her blonde hair from Omega's sweet little face. He loved this kid, and it broke his heart to be the reason she was crying. "You keep up with your training while I'm gone, yeah?"

"Y-yes sir…" She wiped her eyes on the back of her shaky hand and threw her arms around him. He looked startled for a minute before hugging her back. 

"Take care of them for me, Omega."

Miria gave Aram's hand a squeeze. "Comm your mother." She cleared her throat and held out a hand for Omega. "Come on, dear… it's time to go."

"You're not going to leave me too, are you Miri?" Omega whispered as they walked to the Havoc Marauder. 

Miria looked over at her for a long minute. "The future is uncertain, Omega. But I don't want to. Neither does Echo." She turned around as Omega let go of her hand and ran up the ramp to Hunter. 

Echo gave her a salute. "Take care of each other, General."

Miria swallowed hard. "K'oyacyi, ner vod. That's an order."

Echo smiled faintly. No, Miria studying Mando’a was never going to lose its novelty for him. 

#eventual smut #explict #orginal character #crosshair #chronic illness #crosshair smut #the bad batch #clone force 99 #caught in the crosshairs

[freedfromthegalactichivemind]

Notable She-Ra Fanfictions List

Welcome.  This is my She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fandom-blog.  I am primarily a fan of Entrapta, Hordak and the Galactic Horde Clones.  I am an Entrapdak-shipper and, in fact, was one of the first, back when it was treated as crack. Formerly shadsiethewriter.  I am Shadsie on Ao3 and elseweb.   I am a fanfiction-writer and I also do fanart now and again.   ________________

A list of my noteworthy personal fanfictions.  I’m not including all of them, since I’ve been fairly prolific.  These are just some on my Ao3 profile that stand out for one reason or another; major series, short-fic collections and tidbits that may be of interest for anyone looking to kill some time.  Ordered by type:   Early Fandom Offerings - Fics done when the show was first airing, Season 1 and Season 2 fics.  Contains interesting material in terms of early fandom impressions and ideas that are interesting when compared to later canon.  

The Havoc Hypothesis - My first for the fandom. Season 1 fic.  Entrapta wreaks havoc in her new home with the Horde.  That’s it. That’s the fic.   Trapped - Entrapta-focused fic written and focused in Season 1. Entrapta during her time left behind in the Horde and rejoining the Rebellion, with all of the problems that entails.  Proposed theory back then, definitely canon-divergent now.   Entrapdak Firsts! 

Fearless - The first Entrapdak (Entrapta / Hordak) fic on Ao3.  Season 2 writing.  Hordak musing about this strange, fearless woman who has just barged into his life.  I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of my exciting new crackship then. It may not be the best entrapdak fic on the site, but as far as I know it’s the first.  The King of Loneliness - Early multichaptered entrapdak fic. Season 2 setting / written.  Canon-divergent from Season 2′s ending.  Hordak and Entrapta work together, grow close and figure each other out.  They end up working on a project together to not only bring the Horde High Command to Etheria (written before we knew anything about clones), but to make pockets of the atmosphere habitable for them.  A tale of war, tragedy, mad science and the price of “getting what you wanted,” but not what you needed. 

Doomberries - This one seems to be popular. Written in Season 3.  Entrapta eats food that was gifted to Hordak as part of an assassination plot.  Doomberries are a type of fruit that will rip your atoms asunder and fade you out of existence. There is no cure but one: For someone to cry for you. Entrapta doesn’t have many friends and the ones she does have are absent, on a suicide-mission to the Crimson Waste.  Hordak is distressed over her, but there is one problem: His species was not built with tear ducts and does not have the capability of weeping.  What will happen?  (Written during Season 3, before Season 4 showed us that Hordak and his kind are, indeed, capable of grief-tears).  This fic is therefore flawed, but it is popular, so it is noted here.  Fun with Shadow Weaver!  

Shadow Weaver’s Storytime - I decided to write the origins of the “Princess Ghost Stories” that Adora talks about.  Watch Shadow Weaver scare the living daylights out of a bunch of children on a Horde training exercise / camping trip!  Dead Doves - Some of my nastier / crueler horror fics. Proceed with caution. 

The End of Etheria - Season 1 written fic.  Taken from an idea I saw floated around a prompt site.  The Horde experiments with the corrupted First One’s disc-virus, applied to the Runestones through the Black Garnet.  Every Princess and Queen connected to a Runestone begins steadily losing their mind, devolve into tyranny and become the purest and cruelest embodiment of their natural element.  Exactly what it says on the tin.   Set Phasers to Stun - What if when Catra lost her head and tased Entrapta in the back the setting was higher than she realized?  The tale of an accidental murder and the consequences that follow.   The Final Ecstasy - Horde Prime, a clone and a ritual.  (Unless you are prepared for what those words entail, just don’t even with this damn thing)!!! Noteable for being the most decomposed of my dead doves - how deep the rabbit hole can go with me when I feel like writing overdark things for cartoons.  My Best of Hordak Collection - Hordak-centered fiction that I feel particularly proud of. 

An Unexpected Therapist - Someone recced this on TV Tropes. Post-series. The clones are having a difficult time adjusting to their newfound freedom and the concept of independence.  A lost-feeling clone named Pickles seeks Hordak out to make sense of all of this.  He spent a long time apart from the hive mind, after all, and has the greatest sense of independence as well as a steel determination to survive.  No one expects a warlord to become a therapist, but strange things happen on Etheria and it turns out that he’s just what his brothers need.  (Note: The name “Pickles” pre-dates the assignment of the loudmouth canon-clone in the first episode of Season 5 being named that by the spacebat fandom. That thing started with me commenting on a screenshot of the guy by calling him “Pickles!”  Imagine the guy in the story as that guy, or as some other random dude, I don’t care).   Never Let Them See You Bleed - Hordak had been reconditioned before the end of Prime’s War, but being that his defect is genetic, it was never a complete cure. His body begins tearing itself apart again.  Entrapta does everything she can, but is at a loss as he rapidly deteriorates.  She calls Adora in for help.  Adora finds that she cannot call up She-Ra so easily - that there is something blocking the magic.  Perhaps, in her heart, she does not want to heal Hordak.  Their relationship is...complicated... to say the least.  The story of a planetary hero and a dying former warlord getting to know each other.    (Bonus: First appearance of my recurrent OCs, Robin and Jerome. Here, they are not fleshed out, as they were meant to be one-off characters).  

Eighteen - A Hordak-origin story. It follows him from when his free will and defect begins to appear to his accidental exile in Despondos on Etheria and the rise of the early Etherian Horde.  Hordak was of a class of “generals” designed by Horde Prime for special operations.  When a physical defect appeared in one peculiar little upstart, that one, and the surviving members of the batch, numbering eighteen in all, were sent to the front lines to be among the shock-troops of a fiercely-fighting world with the expectation of it being a suicide-mission.  A portal opened in space, taking the battle-cruiser to an uncharted planet.  The clone who would become “Hordak” must devise strategies for survival along with a party of his Brothers.  The Scorpioni people think that these strangers from Heaven were sent to them by the gods. A tale of conquest, family and tragedy ensues from there until a last survivor of the “Messengers from Heaven” stands, along with the last princess of a once proud nation.    Imp! 

Teething Day - Imp sheds his choppers annually.  Babies do not like the feel of teething.  Imp wreaks a hurricane’s worth of destruction on the Horde every year during the time of his shed, chewing up EVERYTHING!  Spacebats!  

Robin and Jerome’s Excellent Adventures - A series focusing on a pair of original characters who are post-series Horde-clones.  While the series has a lighthearted name (I needed something to name it), the series itself tends more toward the melancholy, with sparks of dark humor.  Robin and Jerome are a pair of close Horde Brothers who have adopted each other as brothers in the family-sense.  The life they have chosen for themselves after being freed from Prime and self-actualizing is that of... traveling undertakers.  They have made it their mission to seek out their Brothers who fell in the war and were left unnamed in order to bestow upon them the gift of a name and a sense of identity.   Short Story Collections / Ficlets 

Dog Days in the Horde - A mishmash of various stories written from Seasons 1-2 on, mostly from prompts.  I left it open in case I get small story ideas that don’t fit anywhere else, but I’ve pretty much abandoned it.  All of the stories exist in their own little world.  Mostly Entrapta and Hordak, but all characters, basically.  One of my favorites is “Hot Stuff” which is about the Best Friends Squad and Angella, for instance.  (Note: I deleted a few of the stories I previously had in the collection for personal reasons, so if you remember a particular story where such and such happens and you find that it’s not there, ask me about it, I probably still have it on personal archive).  

Every Overlord Needs a Mad Scientist - Entrapdak Month, 2020.  A variety of stories focusing on Entrapta and Hordak as a couple, from prompts.  Some dark and brooding, some light and funny.  

Seven Days With Nerds in Love - Entrapdak Week, 2022.  Seven unrelated short stories with Entrapta and Hordak as a couple, from prompts. Same deal as above, only Fun Size.  

#spop #fanfiction #she-ra fanfiction #spop fanfiction #my fanfiction #entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #adora #horde clones #spacebats

[proofofburden]

You Know Andor is Not Anti-Capitalist, Right?

One of the many hills I'm going to die on is that Andor barely has a whiff of anti-capitalist themes in the text. Anti-fascist, for sure, but not anti-capitalist.

The reason it seems like I'm obviously wrong here is the prison on Narkina-5 seems like a criticism of for-profit prisons. And look, my politics are such that if you see common threads and think about for-profit prisons and think worse of them, sure, that's great. But it appears to be a public prison (or at least, it's ambiguous) and it's certainly creating public goods for the fascists. The only people we see benefit from Andor's labor are not capitalists, but the fascist state itself. To read it as a criticism of for-profit prisons in modern Democracies is to bring whole dimensions to the text that are unsupported and sometimes even contradicted by that text. It's well done, but the literal criticism is of fascist work camps in service of fascist armies; to be clear, it absolutely rules as anti-fascist art. With a bit of work you can make it comment on capitalism metaphorically, and while I think that intent is bouncing around in there, to make it work well you have to say 21st Century America is like a prison camp and, hmm...I think Andor is doing better than that.

And that's it! People were really impressed with the fact that there were for-profit cops in the first few episodes, but---to the writers' credit---they did not suggest a cozy relationship between capital and fascism. As soon as the rent-a-cops were not useful, they were relieved of duty by the Empire. The text is so disinterested in capital that they don't really talk about the economic consequences of that, but otherwise this is a savvy read of fascism: The real fascists left their capitalists allies out to dry all the time. And Andor doesn't get into it, but capital as a class did worse under fascism because for every Preox-Morlana there were several losing firms.

The main employer throughout the show is actually the fascist state, which is arguably a feature of the story they are trying to tell, but it is a fair representation of the fascist ideal. Preox-Morlana isn't some capitalist dream company either, but rather rent-seeking* off the security powers of the state. In isolation you can read that as anti-capitalist, but again, the text isn't super interested in the capitalist part, but the fascist power part!

I'm interested to see what they do with Mon Mothma's criminal banking storyline next year, but again, this undermines the supposed anti-capitalist storyline as told so far. She needs capital to fund The Rebellion and she's making deals with people outside the fascist state to do it. This certainly isn't pro-capital either because we're not supposed to see these compromises as good. But that's my point: Far from being ideological, it's about the realities of money for uprisings and the compromises people have to make to fight fascism. I'm really impressed that it's avoided ideologically easy answers for her story! (Now, they should sharpen her plot structure for the second season, but that's a whole different post.)

The last reason I'm not willing to see Andor as clearly anti-capitalist is that the show peeks at the ideologies of the people involved in The Rebellion through Saw Gerrera. They are diverse: Separatists, Neo-Republicans, Partisan Front, Sectorists, Human Cultists, and Galaxy Partitionists. What's interesting is that the first is not only capitalist, but the bad kind of capitalists who seized Naboo in Episode I and warred against the Republic during the Clone Wars. The Neo-Republicans want to bring back the Republic, which had substantial capitalist institutions. Yet Gerrera himself with the partisans is an anarchist, almost certainly (but not textually!) against a post-Empire capitalism.

The dialogue about these factions is literally ambivalent: Gerrera is arguing they are "lost", which I think we're to take to mean he wants an ideologically pure revolution. Luthen, whose character has a whole monologue elsewhere about the compromising nature of anti-fascist work, is arguing that the factions have to put aside their differences. Giving Gerrera the refutation and not, say, the remnants of the Trade Federation is not a coincidence; the show is sympathetic to anti-capitalist thought. But from every angle--Luthen's monologue, the fact the Neo-Republicans win, the ambivalence about capitalism elsewhere--the show is suggesting Gerrera does not have the luxury of his own idealism.

The thing the show Andor understands really well is that fascism is totalizing: It comes to touch every facet of every life it rules over and demands they all be bent towards its ends. Capitalism is no exception. The show has no great love for capitalism; there are no good companies in the Galaxy. But even the most evil company we see, Preox-Morlana, is ultimately an (unsympathetic) victim of the fascist state. The prison we see benefits no capitalists. Public employees are prominent. The nascent Rebellion gets in bed with criminal bankers. The worst capitalists from the prequels are opposing the Empire. The Free World in the 30s and 40s had no time and space to oppose capitalism because fascism held all that ground, and though not all its characters see that for the Galaxy, the show does. The show makes no effort to show capitalism as a good alternative to fascism, but it is emphatically not anti-capitalist.

*This is a technical term growing out of Adam Smith's analysis of when a firm gets much of its value from a legal arrangement with the state. The history is that titled nobles would charge rents for capitalists to use the land the crown gave them, typically for coal mining in Smith's day. Preox-Morlana is "mining" the power to enforce the law from it's relationship with the Empire.

[tenaciousdecapitator]

I posted 2,951 times in 2022

12 posts created (0%)

2,939 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sometipsygnostalgic

@vethbrenatto

@sporesgalaxy

@sinorfen

@phoenixyfriend

I tagged 2,951 of my posts in 2022

#good art - 1,208 posts

#cartoons - 1,004 posts

#netflix - 523 posts

#she ra - 478 posts

#entrapta - 478 posts

#she ra and the princesses of power - 433 posts

#video games - 423 posts

#tabletop gaming - 303 posts

#disney channel - 283 posts

#dungeons & dragons - 260 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#tfw youve only known about the existence of  space beyond your moons for like a month tops and youre already qualified for a masters degree

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I can only assume that during the development of Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe, Galactic Cafe managed to get a few seconds into their "So we need some new games for the "Let's play someone else's games" ending-" request before Campo Santo and Psyonix were like "HOLY SHIT, YES, HERE'S THE ASSET FILES, GO NUTS"

61 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

#4

AroAce Hunter and/or Willow theorists when they see Hunter in the previews seemingly dressed as a Borg version of Data from TNG, who was (albeit roughly handled) aspec coded:

AroAce Hunter and/or Willow theorists when they realize Hunter’s cosplay character is named after Chief Engineer Miles O’ Brien from TNG/DS9, who canonically marries a botanist:

102 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

#3

So. I have a theory about this. Blue Pearl commissioned Bismuth to make wedding armor for Yellow Pearl potentially because, after attending a lecture on Medieval Knighthood by Pearl, she finds out about the concept of courtly love. She sees a parallel with it to her own centuries-long relationship with YP, and a wedding theme is cemented. The armor’s cape is green because BP heard about Garnet’s Tux-Dress and wanted a similar result, so she went to Bismuth, who canonically has a method of crafting armor that shifts and grows with its wearer. We never saw what BP’s dress looks like because the Crewniverse wanted to keep its design as open to interpretation as the various other plot prompts that SUF left unresolved, like the continuing adventures of Captain Centi and the Nephrite Crew. All I know is, Vidalia deserves to be maid of honor.

109 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

#2

Entrapta, like Catra, has all the foundations for a corruption arc. Pre-existing deviance, a solid motivation for revenge, climbing up the enemy ranks until she is the head boss's left hand, and then gaining powet over Hordak himself. Like many villain scientists she assists and joins with the good guys from time to time.

What makes Entrapta different is that, through all of this, she ISNT a mastermind, morally grey ends justifies the means scientist. She is in fact a complete cinnamon roll who's hurt by what happened but doesn't hold a grudge at all and has joined the villains because they gave her sense of belonging, and a place to foster her love of science. So you have the top dog villain at the start of season 3 when shes finally got power over Hordak, and she's using it to tell him to love himself, to show him that our flaws are what make us beautiful and they shouldn't be masked, especially if we need help. And in season 5 she's not the sneaky ex villain getting a questionable redemption, she's literally leading the front lines in terms of converting people to the Rebellion, pulling one clone of a million clones out from under Prime and immediately being able to connect with him, being the one to tell Prime to his face he will never understand love, wrecking his brainwashing network, her connection with Hordak leading to Prime's death.

It's... so OPPOSITE to Shadow Weaver, who joined the rebellion about the same time Entrapta overtook Catra in the horde and then disappeared. Weaver has the standard "redemption" arc but doesn't learn a damn thing in her life, has no humility, and is constantly fucking with people's heads underneath her silver tongued words, all stuff Entrapta literally cannot do.

So you have this very compassionate pure of heart character influencing the iron cold leader of the villains, and this incredibly manipulative abusive character influencing the leaders of the heroes.

I think it's interested how shera plays so hard with tropes.

Yes! Exactly! One of my favorite parts about Entrapta’s character is that, in seemingly direct contrast to Shadow Weaver who looks, talks, and acts like a fairy tale Disney villain evil witch 24/7, with even her attempted ‘redemption martyr moment’ just piling more mental scars onto her surrogate daughters,  everything that we’re presented with in the first few minutes System Failure gives us the idea that Entrapta is this typical (albeit sweet-toothed) Mad Scientist soon-to-be-if-not-already-villain. She lives in a classically evil scary castle on a mountain, it’s full of traps, secret passageways, and (conveniently timed) robot zombies, and there’s mutants in the sewers apparently?!? Especially since some fans know her old incarnation was a shallow villain, once she finally crawls out of a vent like a goddamn Xenomorph with welding mask eyes glowing with menace the audience thinks they have her character figured out, and then she subverts these expectations by greeting our heroes with a genuine, cheery, hospitable welcome that still acknowledges the immediate danger they’re facing and her direct involvement in it. And ever since then, all she’s wanted to do is help people and do science (and hopefully make friends with people by doing those two things). Even when she learns She Ra’s most direct and effective weakness, even when she’s given the chance to use that weakness *again* after she thinks the BFS and Princess Alliance left her for dead, she still doesn’t take the opportunity to go full "They laughed at my experiments, but now I’ll show them all! Brand New Day! Muahahahaha!” etc etc. Shadow Weaver WISHES she could’ve climbed the evil corporate ladder as fast as Entrapta did, and ironically she accomplished it by doing the exact opposite approach to SW: Being 100% genuine and honest about her opinions, knowledge, and feelings. And Hordak establishes time and time again that he hates dishonesty in his ranks (mostly because he’s not great at subterfuge and trickery himself) and gains valuable knowledge and self-worth from Entrapta’s genuine honesty. I may be forgetting something, but I’m pretty sure the one and only time Entrapta intentionally, consciously lies about something is that bit in System Failure where she find the lab and says “We’re here! Uh, I mean, of course we’re here, we were never lost.” Of course, just because she never even considers taking steps towards actual, conscious Villainy and Vengeance doesn’t mean we can’t think up AUs where she does go down that path a bit.  One concept that I’ve yet to make into a proper fic is an alternate ending to Season 5 in which she has a more active role in usurping Prime, fully disconnecting him from the other Clones before Hordak does the Darth Vader/Emperor reference, then taking over the Velvet Glove’s army of clones, droids, and drones in order to collect data on the flora, fauna, and magic of Etheria before expanding her DC Brainiac style "data collection” to the rest of the newly entered galaxy. 

anyway thanks for prompting and then coming to my Ted Talk

135 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

So, due to some unexpected yet welcome news presented during tonight’s Owl House charity stream, I made some edits of one particular shared Season 2b screencap. Enjoy, and use with credit! 

187 notes - Posted March 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #I really went in on the Entrapta posting this year huh #As usual my original post/reblog ratio is incredibly one sided #I suspect disney channel is in the top 3 due to the combined efforts of Owl House Amphibia and Phineas & Ferb #Glad to know my AroAce Lilith post did the most numbers though #Personal stuff #tumblr

[djarinsbeskar]

PREQUEL ARC: PART 2 - THE HOUK

A/N: Part 2 is here! First and foremost, can I just say thank you so much for the reception Part 1 received and to those who (gasps!) actually want me to tag them for updates??? I don’t know how to react??? I’m so touched??????? It’s so motivating and has reminded me why I love sharing my scribbles!

There’s a greater focus on world/character building in this chapter so if it feels a bit rambling or description heavy, I do apologise! Like I said, I’m trying to build some context to the reader-insert before we get to the smut, and I hope that I’ve kept her general enough that she doesn’t cross the line too much into OC territory and becomes unrelatable. As always, constructive criticism is welcome! My style of writing leaves much to be desired so I would love to know if something doesn’t make sense so I can improve and fix it. But enough of that, on with the show!

Pairing: Din Djarin/Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5.2k

Rating: 18+ (NO Minors)

Warnings: Language and slight injury detail.

Plot: You encounter Mando suffering one misfortune after another.

AO3 | Stitches Masterlist | Main Masterlist

8 ABY, Mynock, Dandoran.

The second time you met him, he had dislocated his shoulder after a nasty clash with a Houk.

Your dealing with the Mandalorian on Klatooine had moved to the back of your mind and you rarely, if ever, thought about it. It was merely another encounter with a rough character that needed some medical attention. You wouldn’t have been able to hazard a guess at how many similar characters you saw in a week while you worked at the clinic. Even more so when you’d left Klatooine after becoming disillusioned that the New Republic were actually trying to make a difference.

You had heard stories from the Core and Mid Rim planets. Stories of the investment and progress being made to rebuild after the tyranny of the Empire, of the billions of credits being poured into the development of new ship building centers on Corellia and large, extravagant residencies for government members on Coruscant. Things, you were sure, that were not actually urgent necessities as they were desires. Especially given that the funds you received from that same government to sustain the clinic thinned before drying up completely a few months after your encounter with the Mandalorian.

…Hemorrhaging more credits than is justified for the benefits we’re seeing in return.

The busybody politician with a colorful title and even more colorful robes waxed poetically, hiding the sentiment of disinterest in ways only a politician could. Half-heartedly trying to distract you by his explanations with empty praise and gratitude for your service during the Rebellion and your humanitarian work now, a true embodiment of what the New Republic stands for. He crowed like the colorful bird he looked like, dressed as he was with fine feathers lining the lapels of his robes.

You bristle at the memory of the hologram’s eyes flickering to look at anything besides you, running down the time you had spent weeks trying to get.

That was when the memory of the Mandalorian surfaced, surprisingly. How the day after you treated him you arrived at the medical center and saw  a familiar pouch of credits sitting innocently behind the check-in desk. When you enquired with the receptionist, she told you it was sitting there once she opened up earlier that morning. The only note left being on one of the datapads behind the desk, the scrawling font reading; to help with your work. You had let out a chuckle to yourself as you checked your schedule, wondering if the brutish male you had treated last night really was as cold as he portrayed himself to be.

The memory had incited a righteous anger that a bounty hunter was more willing to support a voluntary clinic than the government that set it up in the first place was.

I thought the Empire were the ones who put a credit limit on what a life is worth. You had hissed in return, interrupting what you were sure was a well-rehearsed and well used speech, before hanging up. You pressed the heel of your hands into your eyes, taking a shuddering breath as you tried not to be nihilistic in thinking that you had spent nearly half your life thinking you could make a difference, when, you were just serving the Empire in different clothing.

It wasn’t a fair comparison; you knew the New Republic was neither as cruel nor as tyrannical and oppressive as it’s predecessor, but you had been made so dreadfully aware that in places like the Outer Rim, people would always be overlooked by those in power because they simply didn’t offer enough to be worth looking at.

The realization was a raw wound to your soul. You had lost brothers and friends to the fight for liberation, but it didn’t seem as though the grass was much greener on the other side. Maybe elsewhere in the galaxy it was, but where you were needed most, the grass was dehydrated and dying under the relentless sun.

With the clinic penniless, your meagre pension from the Rebellion was not nearly enough to keep it functioning. Add to that the reluctance of the other medics to run the clinic alongside you out of their own pocket and the intergalactic beacon for medical aid that alerted anyone in the parsec of where to go being disengaged, traffic stopped. The native Klatooinians preferred their own healers and very rarely, if ever, sought out medics from the New Republic.

For the first time in your life, your path wasn’t clear. If you even had a path anymore.

That was how you found yourself on Dandoran, flying off a week after the last of the medics left Derelkann to the first planet that was habitable to humans. But by the Maker, it was even rougher than Klatooine. The temperate climate and lush greenery were more comfortable for you, but the city you found yourself in, Mynock, was to say the least, undesirable. Having once been Hutt Space, there were still several illegal operations active that kept the city going and you learned early on what areas to avoid and to always carry a blaster with you. But at least where there was activity, there was work for you.

***

You met Biran Sonter the very day you arrived, asking directions to the nearest medical facility, hoping they could use another medic. He was an elderly Mirialan male with a wealth of history behind him, his facial tattoos creased with deep wrinkles and a kindly smile that reminded you of your grandfather.

You were flabbergasted to learn that during the time of the Galactic Republic, he acted as the royal physician to the palace on Naboo.

As you choked on the tea he had kindly made for you at that revelation, you couldn’t ask him quickly enough how he ended up here? On an Outer Rim backwater skughole of a planet and his tale had been sobering. When the Republic first fell, anyone who did not immediately surrender to the rising Empire was terminated. Biran had, at the time, only heard word of the death of the beloved former Queen Amidala and blamed the Empire vehemently. Escaping on one of the last shuttles from the Mid Rim planet before legions of clones descended, he arrived on Dandoran where no one, not even the Hutts cared enough to notice him. All they knew, was that he was an excellent doctor who charged little for his services and kept to himself. That was good enough for them. While he treated a vast number of criminals ranging from thieves to bounty hunters, he was not wholly merciful. He somehow managed to avoid or talk his way out of treating anyone in the organized crime syndicates or known traffickers and killers. It may have gone against a physician’s code to do ones best to save every life, but he like many, made their own code in the Outer Rim.

You fell into a fast and easy friendship with the Mirialan after that, your similar histories of working in the medical field despite being decades apart giving you plenty to talk about. The practice Biran ran in Mynock was always busy and he was only too grateful when you offered to take the weight off his old shoulders and gradually, his clients began to expect to see you most of the day and Biran for a few hours in the early morning. You were never short on work between cantina brawls, accidents and the downright attacks that took place in Mynock and the next eighteen standard months seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, Klatooine a distant memory, as was the Mandalorian you met there.

The night you saw him again, was no different to any other you spent enjoying a quiet drink before heading back to turn in for the night.

You had been in the process of leaving the cantina, recognizing that the later it grew, the rowdier and aggressive the clientele became. You could handle yourself as well as anyone who made their home in Hutt Space, but you knew better than to be blatantly reckless when you were on your own. It wasn’t like you had the squadron you stayed with throughout the Rebellion for backup as you once did, and your closest ally would probably break in half if you pushed him too hard. So no, you were not staying late with Mynocks newest resident of a Houk warlord and the company he seemed to attract.

The Houk in question was a cruel and belligerent brute, a former local warlord by the name of Gappo Teff. His reputation for inflicting punishment disproportionate to any slight committed against him or the Empire was one of the many echoes of the former imperial rule that was still being felt in the galaxy nearly three years after its collapse.

The stories of the chokehold he held over Sullust would make even a hardened soldier’s stomach churn. How he managed to escape the liberation of the planet without being dragged to the noxious surface of Sullust to suffer for the pain he had caused so many, was a mystery. But there he was, sitting like a king in the cantina you found yourself in, bellowing laughter ricocheting obnoxiously throughout the space, not a care in the world that he was a wanted felon.  

It might have been to do with the fact that he was at least seven and a half foot tall, with a mass that could easily fit three of you side by side across him and still not be seen. It might have been to do with the cold, milky blue of his small eyes, sunk into a skull so large it could probably shatter ribs and rupture organs if one were to be headbutted with it. The last thing anyone wanted was those eyes focusing on them. It could have been the heavy artillery modified blaster he kept laying on his lap; the weapon more of a cannon for those of a more regular stature. Whatever the reason, very few bounty hunters and even fewer New Republic guards came to collect him. He was probably one of the most easily found quarries on all Guild registers and New Republic wanted lists and yet, he languished in Mynock as if the Empire had never fallen and his reign was still assured.

Making your way to the entrance, you came up short as someone walked in, your nose coming abruptly close to a reddish-brown durasteel chest-plate. Taking a step back, your eyes did a double take at the familiar unpainted beskar helmet. Subconsciously, you had stepped to the side, the Mandalorian continuing to walk without a word as if you hadn’t nearly walked into him. Mandalorians were a rare sight these days, so you could be forgiven for staring. Though, you were most likely staring for entirely different reasons compared to everyone else in the cantina.

The armor was the same, if not a bit more worn, as was the dark boiled woolen cape and pulse rifle strapped to his back. But it was the gait; how could someone walk both gracefully and arrogantly, almost cocky in his self-assurance that he was in control wherever he went. It explained why he was so determined not to let his injury be known by his walk the last time you saw him. Because you had seen him before, there was no doubt in your mind that this was the same irritable reek of a Mandalorian you met in Derelkann years ago.

He stood in the middle of the cantina, assessing the place as his helmet scanned the area. If you didn’t know any better, you say he was…

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” You muttered to yourself when the helmet stopped on Teff. When you said bounty hunters didn’t bother to come after him, you should have been more specific. Smart bounty hunters didn’t bother hunting Gappo Teff, which explained why the one you knew of was right there looking for him.

A choice lay before you. Leave now and lock your doors until morning… or wait. For what, you couldn’t be sure. But if the Mandalorian wasn’t killed tonight by Teff, he was going to wish he was with the injuries he would probably sustain.

You let your head fall back on your shoulders as you exhaled. Why were you so soft for lost causes and wayward souls?

The Houks bodyguards left much to be desired, crumbling to the ground before they had even drawn their blasters, smoke rising from the blaster wounds inflicted effortlessly by Din.

The bodyguards weren’t what worried Din. Their boss hardly needed protecting, and he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

The groan and screech of the metal table being shoved away by Teff as he stood to his full height made Din grit his teeth, arms open as he boomed, “Ah Mando, I was wondering when you’d try your luck at me. Your reputation is becoming rather infamous throughout the parsec.”

A guttural, wet laugh left the purple skinned quarry as Din remained silent and kept his blaster aimed. Damn, but the piece of bantha crap was big. He quickly scanned his peripheral, but it seemed the residents of Mynock had more self-interest than to trade blaster fire over one warlord, the barkeep casually making his was into the backroom of the bar to keep out of harms way.

“Why don’t you hang up that Guild work and let me make you a better offer.” Teff boomed, taking a swing of his drink, streams of the yellow fluid running down the sides of him mouth as those frosty eyes stayed trained on the bounty hunter.

Din rolled his eyes behind his helmet; negotiations by the quarry were his least favorite reaction to being caught but he knew better than to think he had captured the colossal male yet. Until Teff was either dead or frozen in carbonite, he was a danger. Luckily, the orders were to bring him in dead or alive. Seems the New Republic were fed up with him still breathing. He couldn’t say he blamed them.

“No?” the Houk pushed when Din didn’t respond, “Too bad, you’d have made an excellent addition to my collection.” And with more speed than Din had anticipated from the large male, he charged.

You had the good sense to leave the cantina as soon as the first blaster shot was fired, pulling the hood of your dusty grey jacket over your head while you made your way back to the practice to gather a few things. Things that would be completely obsolete if he died but you wouldn’t think that far. You were a realist, not a pessimist. The Houk might have had the advantage of height and sheer strength, but the Mandalorian was quicker, possibly smarter, and decked with enough firepower to make a starfighter pilot drool.

So, you put the odds about sixty forty in favor of the Mandalorian. Not that you would ever tell him that.

Teff roared in anger as Din rolled out of the way again, shooting his grappling hook to latch onto the Houks shoulder and yanked hard enough to throw the male off balance. Despite his large size however, Teff was able to slide his foot back to catch himself, putting him in direct line with Din.

He was on his feet in no time as the Houk charged at him, lowering his head so that on contact, Din’s left shoulder was thrown back into the wall of the cantina. His breath left him as the impact winded him, a dull but growing pain throbbing from his shoulder before Teff’s vile breath permeated even his helmet and a large hand wrapped around Din’s throat. He could feel his feet leave the floor and the weight of his body pulling downward made the pressure on his windpipe all the heavier.

“Oh well, at least you tried.” Teff gloated, his head leaning closer as if to peer into the visor and that distraction was all Din needed to lift his hand and engage his flamethrower, engulfing the Houk in flames. Din gasped in a breath when he was dropped, the squeals of pain coming from Teff disconcerting as he staggered around the cantina, desperately looking for something to extinguish the inferno his clothing and more vulnerable tissue had become.

Din waited a few more measured breaths before lifting the blaster and shooting the quarry in the vulnerable side of the neck, satisfied with the resounding bang the body made as it fell to the ground, flames still burning bright until he picked up the half-drunk tankard on Teffs table to douse the fire lest he be completely unrecognizable upon delivery.

Din looked around, the cantina was empty; the silence suddenly deafening as he looked back down at the body.

Now, how to get him back to the Razor Crest.

Din sighed.

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

You held up your hands unsurprised when the Mandalorian spun on the ramp of his ship, blaster raised and aimed right at you. He tilted his head slightly, taking you in and you tried not to fidget under the gaze you could feel raking over you despite not being able to see his eyes. What you could see though, was how limp his left arm was hanging to his side.

“The demon medic from Klatooine.” He muttered, finally placing your face and lowering his blaster slowly while you lowered your arms.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” You snorted before nodding to his arm, “And you’ll probably be calling me a lot worse when I tell you that that arm needs tending to.”

He shifted slightly, turning his body so you wouldn’t be able to see. You just crossed your arms across your chest and stared at him pointedly. He held your gaze and was still as a statue. You could play the silence game too if that was how he wanted to do this. It was only a matter of time before one of you broke and you weren’t the one with a dislocated shoulder, so you’d say that the odds were in your favor.

It seemed like time dragged on before, without saying anything, the Mandalorian sighed and turned towards the ship.

You bit down on a smile, but you could still feel it creeping upon your lips as you congratulated yourself on winning. Two nil, you tallied in your head, not bad girl.

The ship… well the ship was a fossil and that was being generous. But it was clean and obviously well taken of, if the tidy hull was anything to go by.

Apart from the charred corpse lying in the middle of course, but those were just details. Easily overlooked. The smell however… that was a different story, but you held back any comments. You still couldn’t fathom how he’d managed to drag a fully grown Houk through the town one-handed, but then you knew that the strength and discipline of the Mandalorians was unrivalled. He could have done it through sheer determination and honestly, you were lucky to have found him at all. But people in Mynock liked to talk, so following the rumors' had let you there relatively easy.

A sigh broke your train of thought, “Let’s get this over with.”

The warrior seemed resigned to his fate as he stepped over the corpse and you followed suit, mind instantly running through the correct procedure and treatment.

“We have to get the bone in the upper arm into the correct position before it slips back into joint, otherwise the force will just break your arm.” You explained as you moved to stand in front of the large warrior when he sat back on one of the many crates pushed against the wall of the ship. You could barely hear the short exhales coming from the modulator and you could only guess that he was holding back speaking, whether in pain or frustration that you had strong-armed him into accepting treatment again.

“But hey, look on the bright side.”

His visor tilted slightly to look at you.

“No droids needed.” You shrugged a shoulder and sent him a grin when he said nothing. When he looked away, you focused your attention back on the problem shoulder; it wasn’t immediately clear that it had been dislocated, the pauldron he wore hiding the jutting ball of the joint that was no doubt pressed uncomfortably against his flesh. What you could see was that his left side was hanging just a bit lower than his right, and the inability to move the arm was a dead giveaway.

“Are you just going to stare at it or actually do what you said you would when you barged onto my ship?” The rasp was closer to you as he turned his head, the rumble of his voice decidedly deeper than you remembered last time. Or perhaps it always had been, and you just hadn’t been paying enough attention, more focused on the very real threat of having a dead body on your hands as the poison spread. You rolled your eyes; or it was all the short and biting commands he only seemed to know how to give as opposed to actually speaking that made you forget the voice. The man could be attractive, if he wasn’t so frustrating.

“I can’t see it properly.” You replied, agitated with him again. He got under your skin too easily, and ruined your cool demeanor.

“You dealt with the problem just fine before.” He snapped back, pain making him cranky.

“You didn’t have a bone out of place last time!” You stopped yourself, sucking in a breath before releasing it to prevent yourself from snapping again.

“At least,” you bartered, “let me remove the pauldron. I can feel around the duraweave to get an idea. I won’t see any more of you than I did last time.”

He didn’t say anything again for a time and honestly, he was the slowest person you’d ever met at receiving emergency medical care. Half the men you treated during the Rebellion would yell until you’d taken care of the worst of their injuries before they even considered if it was what they wanted or not.

“Fine.” Was all he responded, making no move to remove the offending piece so you took that as your cue to feel around the curved metal cautiously, feeling where it attached to his duraweave and releasing it into your hands before placing it down on a separate crate.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” A warning growl echoed in the hull, turning you back to your task with a hum.

It seemed the joint had popped forward, no doubt from caving in as Teff collided with Mando’s shoulder. You leaned forward, your fingers feeling around the area as gently as you could while his breathing came out a little shorter. You sent him an apologetic smile.

“I’m going to have to ask you to stay still, okay? Usually I’d have someone to hold—”

“I can keep myself still, just do it.” He snapped finally, turning to look at you before he looked away again. You said nothing more as you took his gloved hand in yours, turning the forearm over and feeling the hand clench in yours when he hissed.

“Shh, nearly there.” You soothed, moving your hand under his elbow to lift it so it was aligned with Mando’s shoulder. You stood, keeping the arm in place and twisting yourself to stand facing his side.

You were definitely out to get him. There was no other explanation for why he only seemed to be seriously injured in your presence. Din tried to tell himself he was being over-dramatic and irrational, that you hadn’t even been on the same planet when he was injured the first time, but then you opened your mouth and he felt justified in his petulant thoughts.

“On three.” He heard you warn and all he could offer was a single nod; the sooner he got this over with the better.

“One…” You jerked the arm forward and slipped the joint back into place quickly with a sickening crack and searing pain took his breath away before it began to ebb immediately.

“DANK…. FERRICK!” Din yelled as his good arm reached across to grip his left, bending forward as he breathed through the flash of pain. You moved out of his way, waiting for him to look back up at you through the helmet, deep pants making his chest heave. You cocked your head to the side when his eyes found yours, a clear question there.

He groaned as he sat back, leaning his head against the hull, “It… doesn’t hurt as much anymore.” He admitted, thinking that the smile you gave him was somewhat worth the knock to his ego at having to admit such a thing in the first place. And like last time, before he could even worry about the concerning direction that thought had led to, you were fluttering about opening crates and bins as if you owned the place.

“What the hell—” he made to stand indignantly.

“Do you have any spare cloth?” You interrupted, “Your arm needs to be bound for a few days. If you have bacta it might reduce the healing time a bit but honestly, I don’t think dislocations can be rushed despite recent studies. Rushing back to heavily lifting or activity for at least six weeks is a sure way to hurt yourself again.”

You were rambling now as you set a pile of disused yet clean cloth you found on your lap, sitting across from him as he just blinked at this enigma of a woman. Giving him orders in his own ship, were you daft?

Your eyes sharpened and shot to his and he was suddenly glad you couldn’t see behind his mask. His eyes had widened guiltily at the thought that you had read his mind.

“You will do what you’re told, understand Mando?” You warned as your fingers tied a loose sling from strips of cloth you’d pulled apart without even having to look at it, deft fingers looping the material and strengthening it with several more layers woven in for good measure.

“If you insist on getting injured so often, you live with the consequences. And the consequences are doing what you’re fucking told and being happy about it, got it? Sulk if you want, so long as you keep the arm bound and don’t take on any jobs for at least two months.”

He opened his mouth a few times at the audacity, did she have a death wish? He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken to him as if he were no more than a child and it made his blood boil. But just as quickly as the anger arose, it simmered as she muttered while watching her fingers tie off the sling,

“You don’t actually seem like a bad guy, and the galaxy can’t afford to lose anymore… not bad guys.” She seemed unsure of giving out even this level of praise but then again, she only had their first encounter to go by.

He grunted; not sure how to respond. And when Din was uncomfortable, he resorted to silence.

You got to your feet once the sling was suitably strong enough to support the weight of his arm without unravelling or breaking and you indicated to him, “May I?”

He jerked his head up in affirmation and you maneuvered the sling to sit correctly under his elbow and forearm, coaxing him to lift it slightly with a tap before you looped the tied end over his helmet, adjusting the length slightly to fit against him.

“You left Klatooine.” the statement rose from the warrior, his tone quieter than you’d heard him all day. Was he... trying to make conversation? Din told himself that it was merely out of curiosity from seeing you by chance on two totally different planets.

Blinking in surprise, you sat back on the crate in front of him, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back on one of your hands, “New Republic stopped funding the clinic and I realized that they’re all the same when it comes to the Outer Rim.”

He snorted in agreement, honestly, he wasn’t surprised to hear the New Republic had cut their losses on charity. It wasn’t in their nature to funnel money away from the Core planets.

“But it’s not all bad,” you continued, “I work with a doctor here. He’s old now so he should be enjoying his retirement. I’m kept busy and…”

He watched you while he waited for you to finish, surely there was more? But when you just shrugged and sent him a tight smile, he felt an uncomfortable niggle at the back of his neck, a familiarity that made him almost want to smile back even if you couldn’t see it. Almost. But not quite. He was unnerved at the… empathy he had for your situation. He too just… kept busy. It wasn’t towards any end beyond supporting the covert and the foundlings there. But for himself, he just kept working towards some translucent, non-existent goal, one job ended, and another began.

Something in your eyes told him you were doing the exact same thing. It unnerved him to think about.

“Echoy’la…” the word left him without knowing and you blinked,

“Hm?”

He shook his head and stood, grunting a bit at the ache in his shoulder when it jostled a bit, “Nothing. It seems I owe you my thanks again, demon medic.”

“I do have a name you know.” You snorted, letting the previous topic go as it seemed to just make him more awkward and grumpy than he already was. You packed away the medikit and replaced the unused cloth back where you found it.

“Somehow I don’t think it’ll be as fitting.”

“Whatever, sunshine.” You looked over your shoulder at him, the sling looking so out of place as he hooked a thumb in the utility belt he wore. It was amazing that he could still look as intimidating as he did. You gathered your things and started down the ramp leisurely. He followed you silently until he was standing at the entrance to the ship.

“Demon or not… thank you.” He called out as your feet hit the dusty ground of Mynock once again. You looked back over your shoulder and gave a single wave, calling something back to him that did make him smile behind his helmet this time.

As you disappeared into the streets of Mynock, he tested the name you had thrown back to him, rolling the syllables, and testing the vowels as he repeated it to himself.

Pity, he thought. He hated being wrong about anything, but somehow, your name was a much better fit than demon medic.

Not that he would ever admit that to you, of course.

Taglist:

@geannad @ayamenimthiriel​ @sarahjkl82-blog​

#the mandalorian fic #the mandalorian fanfic #din djarin fanfic #din djarin fic #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #mando x you #mando x reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #mando #din djarin #din djarin imagine #mando imagine #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal fic

[phoenixyfriend]

Thoughts on “Auntie Soka and Little Leia” now that I’ve actually got it posted:

Call it a director’s cut! The process of actually writing the thing, and also jokes made along the way. Link to the actual fic.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the energy for image descriptions, even the text screenshots. Might come back that later. Most of this was DMs with @atagotiak​.

This was an entire thing before I even started writing:

Before I decided on ages and stuff Ahsoka, to Jango, who has had zero contact with Kaminoans: Okay I know I'm a Jedi kid so you hate me but this toddler is your clone from the future. Jango, tired: What the FUCK are you talking about. Rex, barely able to talk: Don't you dare leave me with him, Commander! Ahsoka: I'm not going to leave you I just--I'm so tired I'm so fucking tired I haven't slept in five days and someone tried to kidnap Leia two days ago I am so fucking tired I need help

Ben: [twenty years of depression followed by a 'now I'm safe' breakdown over the course of weeks] Sokari: [whatever the FUCK this mess is]

When Ahsoka mentions there only being three other Jedi at the time of her death,  I was thinking Kanan, Yoda, and Obi-Wan (Leia told her about the latter two living past her). She's not counting anyone that received training after the Temple fell, and she didn’t know about Cal.

When Leia says  “I was adopted and raised by one of the founders of the rebellion, a movement built on the desire to instate freedom and democracy in a galaxy that had lost even the pretense.”

Depa: I'm no therapist but I diagnose you with "incredibly fucked up." Ahsoka: yeah, that’s fair

"Why did you pick Depa for--" She's pretty and I'm gay. Also because of the Kanan thing But mostly I'm gay "It's not a visual medi--" GAY

Empty of context beyond general post-fic AU: "Hey Sokari, we need to engage in psychological warfare against this individual and--" "I'm going to break into his office and leave a threatening note on his desk and leave no other sign that I was there. He'll see that his security is nothing and the only reason he isn't dead is because I'm too nice to kill him." "...okay, not what we were planning, but that works. Why is that your first choice?" "I really like breaking and entering, it's soothing." Ben just standing there with a bland smile like This Is Normal.

"We need someone to infiltrate a highly guarded facility in hostile territory." "So we're sending the Torrent kids?" [sigh] "We're sending the Torrent kids."

Rex and Sokari insist on both going by "Torrent" even though Rex could be a Fett. Jango really wants him to be a Fett. Rex has too many grudges to agree to being a Fett for... a while.

I really hope it's blatantly obvious that Ahsoka's not a reliable narrator for some things Ahsoka: Fett could care less if I died Jango: jfc even if you are older than me I can see you're fucked up. Drink your hot chocolate. Hells. She's got good reason to expect him to hate her as a Jedi! BUT. THAT IS NOT REFLECTIVE OF REALITY

We don’t get a lot of actual characterization for Jango, but the way I played him out here is he has never really parsed that Jedi are people before all this. It's a lot harder to treat them as a monolith when the traumatized former child soldier is having regular breakdowns in your shitty little kitchen

Fett: I respect you Ahsoka: No, don't do that

Ahsoka’s vigilantism is something that, in my mind, she's associating heavily with Zygerria and then the clones.

I figured that she never bothered to learn Quinlan’s teacher’s name but in the process of looking up some basic facts (whether he had a surname), I found that Wookiepedia was forced to give us a VERY wide range of possible death in Legends.

Please take a moment to imagine Quinlan's FACE when Ahsoka initially dismisses him. Quinlan has put a lot of effort into being rogueishly charming! It's very useful for his line of work! He knows to expect either irritation or a return flirtation when he acts like this with people his own age! Ahsoka is not flustered OR rolling her eyes and insulting him, she's just ignoring him and it's a bit of a blow to the ego

This just makes me really happy:

This was the initial comment I made, as a joke What if Maul is just. There. On one of the planets they make a pitstop at. What if Maul exists as the walking problem he is, but fifteen, and Ahsoka immediately tries to kick his ass and drag him back to Coruscant. I do not have room for this plot but What If

Despite not having room for this plot, I proceeded to write this plot.

Maul is kidnapped and it’s the best thing that ever happened to him HE'S FIFTEEN HE'S DUMB AS SHIT AND HAS A BAD ATTITUDE AND YEAH HE'S A DARKSIDER BUT HE'S FIFTEEN

Ahsoka: I sense... Maul [takes off sprinting] Rex: [immediately takes Jango's blaster and runs after her] Jango: Wait who Tholme: Who Quinlan: Who Jango: [looks at Leia] Leia: I don't know who that is either! Ahsoka, already wrestling a teenager to the ground: Oh no, you're a child, REX STUN HIM AND GRAB THE CUFFS, I'M SURE FETT OR THOLME HAS SOME

Fighting him isn't even legal, they have NO evidence of criminal wrongdoing, so first she needs to yell until he admits to something she can fight him about

Ahsoka: When I see Maul, it's on SIGHT Maul: WHO ARE YOU

Ahsoka: The Force didn't give me hands just to NOT throw them when I run into That Crafty Son Of A Bitch

Ben, when they arrive, after the tearful reunion: You... you brought Maul. Ahsoka: Well, yeah, he's fifteen and kinda dumb. I figured we could drag him here and force him into therapy, see what happens. Ben: I can't quite tell through the gag, but I think he's threatening to feed you your own spleen. Ahsoka: Lol, yeah.

Ben is absolutely on team "get Maul therapy" and will fight the Council on rehabilitating the baby Sith But also it's like. Here's your daughter! And your niece! And your daughter's QPP! Also your best friend, but baby, and his teacher, and the biological origin of a number of people you cared for deeply! AND ALSO THE GUY WHO SPENT LITERAL DECADES CRAVING YOUR DEATH, FOR SOME REASON

I just really want Ahsoka lovingly bullying Maul She gives him noogies and the horns don't protect him because girl has reinforced gloves

Maul's only allowed a low-power training saber and his fights with Sokari involve Much Taunting by her and Eventual Screaming by him, and everyone pops by to see: 1. Sokari doing the most absurd flips, for fun. 2. The bullshit that is ataru-shien reverse-grip jar'kai in the hands of someone who makes it work 3. What a Sith lightsaber form looks like 4. Just the general nonsense that is the way these two fight

Tia said “Wrt ridiculous flips. I'm remembering that time she beheaded four Kryst'ad at once.” and I just Rex brings up the quadruple beheading at one point to get someone to stop asking questions and the awkward, horrified silence almost makes him regret it. And then Sokari just snorts and makes a joke about how Rex once speared a slaver point-blank and everyone's just like hello??? "are you two okay" "no"

Maul absolutely starts crushing on Sokari after a 'sword under chin' moment and she's just very "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you're fifteen, bye" GO MAKE PUPPY EYES AT OBI-WAN OR SOMETHING

The crushes are the worst part of everything, really, she's an attractive young woman that can kick a lot of ass, and a lot of people are into that! Unfortunately, most of those people are a decade younger than she is, mentally, because all the people her actual age look at her and see a child on account of the 17yo body.

It’s almost a good thing she’s in no place mentally for a relationship.

I just want Ahsoka to wear beskar.... I think that would be Nice........

This AU is also what caused this post.

I'm deeply enamored by the idea that Ahsoka can win fights against "older" padawans pretty much unilaterally, even when they team up 2v1 And then she offers to fight 5v1 "But only if I have permission to fight dirty." Ben approves it, a horror show full of "I fought many wars and will scream in your face or kick you in the balls if that's what it takes" follows She wins. There are no permanent injuries, but her reputation certainly gets weirder. Nobody under the rank of Knight agrees to let her fight dirty again. She just lets that stand because, well, she's not actually a padawan, she's thirty-three.

I’m not going to write this but my brain was EVIL and suggested it:

IT WOULD BE REALLY SAD IDK maybe 9yo Anakin has nightmares about what's happening to baby Ahsoka because bullshit about time-traveling force bonds IDK ANYWAY he cries to Sokari about the nightmares and she's like "oh shit" and it's time to go rescue herself from motherfucker unlimited

It's either that or she's like, expecting to welcome mini-me aaaany day now, for like, several months, before she realizes Something Went Wrong. Anakin’s dreams could even start right as she’s starting to realize something’s off.

Obi-Wan has never had a padawan that doesn't at some point bite Even Luke will, when pushed

OH also once the twins get Baby's First Lightsaber (training sabers, not real kyber), Sokari begs to borrow them for a dumb joke and tells Rex to get on her shoulders for a "Grievous Greeting" and they do The Thing

Jango and Ahsoka wrt Quinlan is just “Do I need to beat him up for you” “You realize I’ve beaten up sith lords before?”

JANGO'S TRYING He's just. "Can we be friends? Can I--can I be the guy that just noticeably gets in the way of a creep on the subway so you can be more comfortable without someone making a scene? I'm fucking trying here, give me a hint."

We didn’t actually figure out Jango’s age until this point. The only reason Fett's age matters is for Quinlan making a Wild Oats quip after Jango says he didn't know about Rex until a few weeks ago, and Fett going "How old do you think I am? And how old do you think the kid is?" and Quinlan getting Very Awkward as he does the math. Rex overhears and lets Quinlan sweat for a bit before saying "I'm a genetically-modified clone someone grew in a tube, he didn't know or have reason to know until he saw me with Sokari." Which is like. Eight additional layers of WTF, obviously, but at least Jango gets to avoid awkward wild oats jokes

Like, you’d expect the rebuttal to be ‘he’s my brother just with a biiig age gap’ or ‘he’s my nephew’

I find it very unfortunate for Quinlan that I've decided his defining characteristic in this context is going to be repeatedly putting his foot in his mouth

He’s trying so hard but "That sounds like a cool thing, maybe I'll ask ab--and it's another fucking trauma."

I'm doing Ahsoka&Jango t w i c e (there’s another fic where I’m doing it)

It’s just a fun dynamic! So much resentful respect.

Like she's twenty seconds away from calling him a bitch at any given time and he's just there like "I don't like you but I do see you move like you're about to tell an entire building to get on their knees with their hands in the air and I can respect that" Also she's probably much less judgmental about using blasters than Obi-Wan is The Maul subplot actually started with me daydreaming about Ahsoka grabbing a blaster for Reasons

I like the idea of Jango just deciding the most Useful thing he can do is help teach the Smol how to fight. He's AWKWARD around Rex and Soka because he doesn't know if there's anything he CAN teach them.

I didn’t actually plan for Tholme to figure out the age thing, he just SAID it and I had to sit there like Wait.

Ahsoka, Rex & Leia: ahhh, children Tholme: you say that like you aren’t children

I liked getting to write Rex's little "I have worked with all of them, and they're all Terrible" He loves them But They once got stranded on a planet that didn’t exist and Ahsoka died and Anakin killed a god.

There was research and discussion as to whether Ahsoka could win against Tholme but seeing as she held her own against Vader, and fought Grievous at that physical age without dying, etc.... yeah, the only thing holding her back was her body not being what she was used to, and she’s had a few weeks go adjust.

“I miss being able to just jump off skyscrapers” is such a jedi thing

Jango: I'll take the gun back if he tries to leave, they can't get far before--WHAT THE FUCK He knows Jedi are scary but he’s still not really used to just how over the top ridiculous they are He knows how to deal with Jedi in battle, not Whatever The Fuck These People Are Doing

Rex isn't even a Jedi, he's just so used to working with them. “Oh yes time for free-falling without a parachute again, same shit as always.”

Tia: I’m imagining Jango freaking out and Quinlan and Tholme being like. Concerned but mostly exasperated Clearly if they’re jumping off buildings it must be serious? But jfc they could’ve maybe communicated a bit more?

Leia: I want to finish my juice Tholme: Quin, stay with her while we go figure out what those two are doing. Quinlan: Wait what

Jango: Oh now he’s jumping off a building too??? Tholme: Sokari, you are not registered! You can't legally jump out windows yet! Jango: What the hell is going on? Is this normal?

We don’t necessarily know how often Ahsoka and Maul ran into each other after Mandalore. There was the later thing on Malachor, but other than that I'm just going with the idea that they ran into each other every year or two and just went for the eyes like feral cats

Ahsoka: I need to kick ass and you're coming with me. Rex: Yeah, okay. [several minutes later] Rex: Whose ass are we kicking?

Ahsoka and Rex

Neloms aren’t a SW fruit to the best of my knowledge, I just wanted to mess around with lemons/melons

Jango: you didn’t think any of this through, did you? Rex: you were there, you know we didn’t "When the Jedi says to jump out a window, I jump out a window."

Tholme’s real composed about stalking the ancient nigh-mythical enemy of his people, very “Life is already so goddamn weird”

This fic has been so heavy on the trauma but then I introduce Maul and suddenly it's the worst kind of comedy Nobody is competent, everyone's a little dumb, the bad guy is just grocery shopping

My propensity for banter has turned this into a six-person buddy cop comedy about Maul buying grapes They spend a significant amount to time ineffectually stalking Maul before Quin suggests the sensible option Quinlan just "You remember this is my literal job and specialty right"

Ahsoka sees Maul and all her brain cells go out the window except "Fight good" Usually she doesn’t need to worry about doing things legally. Maybe she needs to worry about someone seeing her do illegal things but she spent the past 15 yrs in a place where her existing was illegal

I feel like he’s also maybe kinda wanting to reassert that yes he is competent. Bc like. Ahsoka’s been kinda condescending this whole time and also can beat everyone up so. It's not his fault that he's actually the youngest person there, but.

Jango is finding this whole being friendly to Jedi thing a lot more overwhelming than he thought it would be. And overwhelming in different ways.

Maul usually signifies things getting worse and more horrifyingly tragic but he's just a dumb teen that they needed to arrest for his own good.

Quinlan: Look, I'm useful! Ahsoka: I've been through hell, wanna hear? Quinlan: NO. I DON'T. WHY.

Quinlan: I understand the concept of joking about your traumas, I do it sometimes myself! But sith hells that’s a lot of trauma.

Quinlan just wanted her to treat him as a Competent Individual, and here she is whipping out stories about Dying and Gods and the Force insists it's the truth and he just???? And apparently emo darksider over there is a Sith. And just, sure. Why not

A lot of people’s interactions with the time travelling disaster lineage is just

Tholme and Fett arguing and  Ahsoka's just waiting for a moment to pop in with "Hey, when's the last time either of you worked with the other's culture before this mess? Yeah, that's what I thought."

Much like Leia and Ahsoka hurting each other earlier, and Tholme figuring out the de-aging, we ALSO have Fett’s confrontation with Ahsoka being something the characters just did, rather than something I planned.

FTR the only time I managed to trigger myself while writing this fic was the “your behavior isn’t actually acceptable and we’ve all been trying really hard to give you room to recover but you have to at least make an effort to not be a bitch”

Writing about people having PTSD and symptoms of such: Yay! Writing about people having PTSD and engaging in toxic behavior to cope: Shit Ahsoka had... basically my exact reaction. It's "remind yourself that you're in the wrong, that they have a point, and then be overly formal in the apology because fuck if you accidentally make them feel sorry for you when they're the injured party"

Quinlan: Can we be friends? I mean, you're an asshole, but you're really cool. Let's be friends. (He MIGHT be nursing a crush) (Neat mysterious girl who can beat him up.)

Also he realises she's probably nicer when not having a slow-motion breakdown He's like "Huh, you'll probably be less of an asshole once you've gotten therapy."

...also, she pretty and got Nice Biceps

I love writing a good mental breakdown

I was so close to including a "he tried to kill me" just early enough for Jango to wildly misinterpret as her thinking Quinlan tried to kill her. He'd have been very confused, considering Quinlan's the one that called them down in a panic and currently has Ahsoka having her massive breakdown in his lap But

Tia:  I could see Jango interpreting it as idk, Quin resembling someone or for a moment acting like someone who tried to kill her and she had a flashback or something like that

There's absolutely room for a couple reasonable interpretations there And "trapped in a flashback about someone who tried to kill her" is absolutely what's happening! Just. You know. For a different reason. Jango probably wouldn’t assume Quin would hurt her, for one thing he seems to like her, for another even if he did he’s smart enough to pick a way that wouldn’t be so likely to get him caught

I had to step back and actually say “Also I'm just. Wow. I'm really just shoveling QPP Rex&Ahsoka at full speed”

Me, a few weeks ago, joking: Two halves of the same idiot black ops specialist Me, now, entirely seriously: Two halves of the same idiot black ops specialist

Me, belatedly: Oh, Ahsoka being joyfully mean to people was a form of mania she was unconsciously using to build a barrier between herself and her impending meltdown

She went from "just died" to "in charge of Rex and Leia" in like. Two minutes.

Confession: I've been delighting in the mental image of this whole Mess leading Jango to try to retake Mandalore, and Ahsoka loans him a saber for a 1v1 to get the darksaber.

“Can’t I just fight him barehanded? That’s how I did it on Galidraan.” "But the drama, Fett!"

Probably Rex has learned how to use a saber as well, because you never know when you have to borrow a weapon

I later changed my mind to Jango asking her to help, rather than her just sneak-teaching him, but it was funny.

Background nonsense to all this is Ahsoka and Rex, despite Rex being as force-sensitive as a lump of coal, having developed a process where she can extend her sensitivity to him mind-to-mind for weird symbiotic battle trance that scares everyone around them. It’s very similar to Battle meditation.

CONTEXT FOR LEIA BEING WORRIED ABOUT THOLME HIDING THINGS: Tholme is hiding the fact that the Council reached out and told him that the people he picked up might be connected to Ben and Luke, who showed up after the Depa thing but a solid week and change before Jango's ship makes it to the Temple. They asked that he not share that information to avoid getting anyone's hopes up in case the two situations aren't related. Ben and Luke haven't shared enough information for anyone to really be sure if the other three are connected Because the info Tholme has isn't quite the info Jango has, etc. And they can't just say Ben is a future Obi-Wan over comms

I just have a lot of feelings about people trying to do something right and just. Nobody's at fault! Not really! It's just complicated!

Tia: I like how when Ahsoka isn’t doing maladaptive trauma response stuff she’s very mature. And of course she’s had to be but it’s a good like, contrast. Where when she slows down to think about things she’s very sensible

Jango just spends most of this story lowkey wanting Ahsoka to Be His Friend but there's too much baggage that he's only metaphysically responsible for

Local aroace(?) has a squish

Ahsoka: He just wants to get on my good side because of Rex. Jango: I'm pretty sure you could kill an entire army without trying but you wouldn't because you have actual morals and stuff... and when I met you it was because you were killing yourself trying to keep (what appeared to be) children safe... you seem cool please be my friend.......

Ahsoka’s #1 weakness: mountains of trauma Ahsoka’s #2 weakness: she just doesn’t get why so many people think she’s cool and want her to be their (girl)friend

Jango, a 27yo massacre survivor who's killed Jedi masters with his bare hands: [gets lectured on various government structures by a tiny girl that's missing several teeth and needs to sit on books to see the table properly]

Ahsoka was raised in a religious meritocracy but developed all her opinions during a galactic war and then became a vigilante spy, Rex comes from a military cult, Leia is from an inherited monarchy that participates in democracy, Quinlan was originally from what appears to be a dynastic dictatorship, and IDK about Tholme other than that he is also from the religious meritocracy. And in legends Quinlan came to the religious meritocracy after his aunt sacrificed his parents to a vampire cult and then forced him to experience the psychometric echoes of that. There's just. A lot going on.

Leia at least has knowledge about structure and admin in theory that isn't based in either the military or populations under 10k

Jango: I want to be your friend. Ahsoka: Sounds fake.

I am unfairly fond of "Rex destroys a conversation by bringing up his own horrifying childhood and calling it a cult"

"Why does Sokari call you 'Rex'ika'?" "Because she's older than me." "...can I--?" "No."

Nickname privileges are extended ONLY to Ahsoka and older clones. There are no more older clones, so it's just Ahsoka.

Me joking about Star Wars AUs: Would you like a crackship? Me writing actual Star Wars fic: My favorite character type is apparently “too traumatized to have a relationship” so this is at least 90% gen.

I had to pull a scene opening at one point because Ahsoka's skill with not getting shot is actually much less useful than Tholme's clearance levels.

Now I really want a team-up of Ahsoka, Rex, and Jango where they do have to get in a dogfight of the "she flies, we shoot" variety and Fett just has to scream because the speeder thing to catch Maul was one thing, but this....

Ahsoka, before TCW: I know all the traffic rules but I'm not that great at flying! Ahsoka, after TCW: I'm great at flying but if you let me behind the wheel we are absolutely getting arrested.

She went from "knows the rules but doesn't have the skills" to "has the skills but primarily in the form of not getting shot" which! Is delightful! "Bet I can get us through that alley--" "DO NOT"

Jango and Ahsoka are both just very "Is this friendship? Is this camaraderie? My heart's been fried on platonic love by so many murders that I'm not sure anymore." "I've lost a lot of friends. I kind of forgot how to make those."

I have no idea if "hasn't been closer than Alderaan except that one trip to Chandrila" is canon-compliant but ehhhhhhhh It feels plausible enough?

Belatedly realized that I could just explain my optimal Rex&Ahsoka dynamic as just... drift compatible. It's vague enough on the specifics while still digging into the meat of what they mean to each other and how they work together. The terminology is already in existence. I can just use it.

Romantic? Platonic? Familial? Doesn't matter! They're drift compatible.

They are important to each other and that is what matters

I really like the Leia&Quinlan thing. He's just like "This small child needs a friend that isn't super depressed," and decided he's going to be her friend. I keep trying to toss in "Quinlan volunteers to 'baby'sit." She's not much older and she has a Baby Brain, it works out

There's a running bet as to whether Leia will leave the Order the second she turns thirteen, or if she'll let Sokari "train" her for a few years first. And... that’s how I came up with Leia Antilles, Senator of Serenno.

They'll be bullshitting Ben as her new master to "finish out the padawanship" since they can't tell everyone she's really in her thirties and he's conveniently there and already knows everything and was half her master anyway. Like Ben was planning on taking on Luke, but Luke is "six" and even he can't swing that as old enough to be a Padawan, and it's not like Sokari will take more than a handful of years to justify knighthood, sooooooooo

#Ahsoka Tano #Captain Rex #Leia Organa #Jango Fett #Obi Wan Kenobi #time travel #de aging #Phoenix Babbles #Uncle Ben and Little Luke #Auntie Soka and Little Leia #I need to excise the bits that are actually funny on their own