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lightwise · 7 months

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Masterlist

Hey there, friend 🌻 You can call me Light or Lightwise ✨ This is my little corner of Tumblr mostly dedicated to Star Wars (especially the Bad Batch, clone boys, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan). I am a photographer and writer in my early thirties who spent her childhood telling stories to herself while riding her bike in circles around her driveway. Little did I know at the time that would be considered fan fiction and that however many years later I would find myself nerding out in the Star Wars fandom and loving every second of it ✨

I write a lot of in-depth analyses and musings, which are tagged with #somelightramblings | #some light ramblings (for a touch of irony, because they are usually anything but light or short :D).

My image edits are tagged with #somelightedits | #some light edits

My fics/writings are tagged with #lightwisewrites | #lightwise writes

I currently do not take fic requests but you can find my writing (a mix of one-shots and long-form WIPs) on here as well as on AO3.

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated 🤗 and feel free to use my edits for headers or PFPs with credit!

This blog contains both SFW and NSFW content, so minors DNI, 18+ only please and thank you 👀

moon dividers by @djarrex 🩷

Btw, I talk mainly about Star Wars with an emphasis on my favorite Bad Batch Boys, but I love many other fandoms/shows/books as well and welcome any conversations/sliding into my DMs to discuss them or other random (SFW) topics!

Key: 🤔 = long analysis 📷 = image edits (alone or within analysis posts) 🫣 = Potentially disturbing or triggering content (mental health, implied violence or dying, etc.) 🔥 = NSFW/spicy content

My Fics

Plan 99 - Short one-shot fic from Tech's perspective. I wanted to show the thoughts that must have been running through his mind as he fell. The love he has for his family. The peace he has in his decision. (from the season finale of TBB season 2)

Tumblr link | AO3 link

Coming soon: Compass and the North Star (long-form fill in the gaps of TBB season 2, focused on Rex and Echo's efforts to free their clone brothers).

Be There - I had to fill in a couple of moments that we didn’t get in S3 E4 - A Different Approach. Hunter and Crosshair's perspectives on trying to find/escaping with Omega and their impending reunion.

Collaborations:

🔥 Sharp Edges - (with @spicy-clones) (ALL of the spiciness, minors do NOT read!)

Tumblr link | AO3 link

Coming soon: Pabu Wedding (with @drafthorsemath)

Inspired by other fics:

The Adventures of Gonky the Cat - Slight spoiler, Gonky is a cat in the modern AU fic Roasted, Brewed, & Served with Attitude (see description below), and I decided to write his backstory/fill in some of his adventures. This is a WIP, currently there are no spoilers in it, but eventually there will be some chapters that give spoilers for later in the story (and will be noted as such).

Gemini Eyes - This one shot fits in as a chapter in between chapters 85 and 87 of Roasted, Brewed, & Served with Attitude (see description below). DO NOT read it unless you have made it that far in Mel's work, otherwise you will have pretty significant spoilers. I had a lot of fun working with Mel's versions of each character, and it's always a joy to write Tech's thought processes and mannerisms.

Fic Recs

Roasted, Brewed, & Served with Attitude - by MelMorganne99 over on AO3. It's a clever, emotional, modern AU with Crosshair x OC (and one of the best OC characters I've ever read). This fic helped me understand and appreciate the nuances of Crosshair's personality and emotional journey, and has given me endless writing inspiration. And the author is one of the kindest, most engaging people I've ever met online. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and read it. There are 99 chapters but they're on the short side and full of snarky humor and sometimes surprising cameos. This is a full blown fix it fic too, although not always in the ways you might expect!

The Vacation - by @staycalmandhugaclone is one of the best Crosshair fics (and smut fics in general) I've ever read. The writing style haunts me and both Crosshair and the OC are beautifully characterized.

More will be tagged soon!

Show/Character Analyses & Edits

The Bad Batch

🤔 Know Your Showrunners

🤔 + 📷 Phee and the Bad Batch

🤔 + 📷 Why Mayday is a Mirror of Rex (How Crosshair Predicted His Own Redemption Arc) + an excellent comment addition.

🤔 + 📷 There is Something to be Said for Freedom (Crosshair in The Tipping Point)

🤔 + 📷 Fennec season 3 TBB Predictions

🤔 They Don't Know

🤔 + 📷 Project Necromancer

🤔 + 📷 Tech and Crosshair Parallels

📷 Hunter and Wrecker

📷 Omega Smiling at Crosshair

📷 Separate / Together

🤔 Thoughts on Crosshair's Hand Tremor

🤔 + 📷 Crosshair's Choice

🤔 There is No "We"

🤔 Crosshair Sighs

📷 Recognition

🤔 + 📷 Omega Is Not Okay

📷 Get Up Here

📷 Return to The Outpost - Images Part 1 | Part 2

🤔 + 📷 Full Circle - The Return to The Outpost

📷 Crosshair Portraits

Star Wars (general)

📷 Huyang and Tech

🤔 The Force - Part 1 and Part 2

🤔 + 📷 Project Necromancer

Ahsoka

📷 Life and Death (Ahsoka series ep 5 + Tales of the Jedi ep 1)

📷 They Reflect Each Other (Ahsoka and Anakin as master and padawan, Ahsoka series ep 5)

🫣 + 🤔 Ahsoka’s Choice (Ahsoka series ep 5)

🤔 The Face of War (Ahsoka series ep 5)

📷 Red and Blue (Ahsoka series ep 5)

📷 Anakin’s Clone Wars Robes (Ahsoka series ep 5)

Ahsoka’s Direction (Ahsoka series ep 5)

Mandalorian

The Protector (Satine, Bo, & Din as rulers of Mandalore) + excellent comment additions

Episode Reactions

Ahsoka Series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4

The Bad Batch (Season 3): Episodes 1-3 | Episode 4 | Episode 6 | Episode 7

Headcanons

Hardcase

Wolffe

Crosshair

Tech

Cody

Jesse and Hunter

Random Musings

Psychometry (Ahsoka)

Hunter and Obi-Wan: Similarities

About Me/Tag Games

15 Questions

TBB Asks Game 1

TBB Asks Game 2

TBB Asks Game 3

TBB Asks Game 4

#lightwisemasterlist #lightwise masterlist #masterlist #my fics #fan fiction #headcanons #long analyses #analysis #somelightramblings #some light ramblings #some light edits #somelightedits #lightwise writes #lightwisewrites

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warsamongthestars · 2 months

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You might be wondering why I have such a fit about TBB (and still do!--its a raging coal fire that hasn't stopped since S2 finale, and just kinda, reignites. Alot. )

[ And if you're not wondering, well I'm talking to myself anyway. I'm typing into the magic box with the funny pictures made of light and there's nobody I'm actually on conversing with in my compooter room anyway. ]

[ so i might as well continue to talk to myself, like the mad media person in all the tv shows, and maybe, one of the incorporeal beings of the magic picture box gets either entertained or pissed off enough. either way, screaming into the void ]

Let's talk about story impact.

I'mma say that a story has a beginning, middle and end. It has talking things called characters, and a general story structure called plot. the fiction it exists in called a fictional world building. the beats it writes to called pacing, and its quickening or slowing often matches the scene it wants (like a heart beat).

THat's the sum story.

What the fuck am I on about again with TBB.

Well, imagine that you have the Story sum above, and there's multiple now. Like, hundreds to thousands, all running on a specific world build, sharing the character of the story, as well as the story of the characters. Created all over the course of decades.

Repetition with positive results is going to have favorable impact. Effort given into a creative work is going to be recognized, even if you don't really like the work.

That's the sum logic.

So what the fuck am I on about again with TBB.

Well, let's take an actual example so that I'm not off topic.

Darth Vader is a very significant character to Star Wars. Star Wars is the story and series of stories that have had decades of work. Its a Space Western Opera (because Sci-Fi generally requires actual thought based Sciences attached--thus the magic in space bits aren't Sci-Fi; you're free to add that thoughtfulness though ).

And Darth Vader was one of the characters repeatedly used, and given significance due to in-story reactions and in-story information, as well as unique costuming, and taking 3 actors to do.

Mixing that with consistent character writing that develops as we learn of the character, and whom we additionally watch develop as the story around him changes; with dashes of world-building used also consistently, mixed with high end emotional-cues by the Music performed...

Creates a character that is very important to the series. Enough so, that to see him, is to immediately think "Star Wars".

And Star Wars is culturally historical. More so than the things it was based off of (and potentially ripped from), such as Dune, Valerian, and Metropolis--the only thing that survived that ripping was the Fist Full of Dollars Trilogy.

And its had Decades. As in, your Grand'rents intimately know Star Wars too. Its painted unironically on things, instead of being made fun of for being a Dune Rip Off but with DnD Magic.

But gods damn it, what does this have to do with THE BAD BATCH?

Well have you ever heard of a Fanfic OC?

You know the ones. The super special awesome totally original donut steel characters that a fan writer of a series will make up, in order to either experience the world or save the day or something.

( I know its more complicated than that, I'll get there )

The point is, is that a character in a well known series that spans decades, requires build up so that even the most stubborn of the audience accepts it.

A series that's big enough and large enough and expansive enough, requires itself to turn its characters into mini stories themselves. Because a big world is complicated, and gets complicated as it grows.

Example-- Ahsoka Tano required 3 years before she became intimately accepted as Anakin Motherfucking Skywalker's apprentice.

Because that kind of position is the donut-steel OC position. She wasn't in the films thus she didn't have an impact on Vader.

( I would even make the argument that Prequel Anakin still doesn't make that huge of an impact on Star Wars Vader. )

( Much the prequels ran into the same "donut steel" argument. )

A different example-- Captain Rex.

Captain Rex did not run into the same issues. Why? Because he slotted with a known position that was needed to complete the Clone Wars parts of the Prequel Sagas. After all, there was Commander Cody for Obi-Wan, there was Commander Bly for Aayla, and so on.

Captain Rex had the backing of the concept of the Clone Wars behind him, which does include from the Original Trilogy, as that's where the concept came from first.

As a character, he had to be a little nuts in order to keep up with Anakin, and a little on the hard order side, in order to live up additionally to Vader.

There was years of build up, and he was expected.

[ Its almost as if you have to know your audience and the history behind a story, to make impact--and that if you're coming in out of the blue, you need more prep and build up, in order to have the same amount of impact ]

[ And once that impact is given, we can flow with the story, and even retroactively enjoy the parts it took to make impact. ]

[ Adopt a new story teller's telling, into a story told by someone else, to make a better story ]

BUT WHAT ABOUT--

Ah ah ah, Don't worry. Build up and Impact, remember?

So, what is exactly my issue with the TBB series.

Its that these mother fuckers had 4 episodes in less than 1 month before their series.

The Bad Batch series is a series of high impact with low reaction. Good music, good animation, set in a known world--but the characters themselves do not have the build up to have impact on anything.

The series itself should have been giving them that build up, and instead, it actually stripped them on impact they initially had.

On a character sheet, the Bad Batch as characters are good. I give them positive review as a "let's go hog wild on the clone concept" They are the limit you can push the star wars clone wars concept before you have to pull back and say "You just wanted you add your fanfic into Star Wars, didn't you?"

( Just as the Prequels made Anakin out to be the limit of the Jedi, rather than just OG Vader's "I turned evil fuck you". )

A long adventure to learn about these characters, just as we learned about Ahsoka and by extension, Rex, would've been required to allow the build up to have the impact that they were clearly introduced to have.

Cos they have a strong introduction... through the eyes of someone else.

We have a series that put them through strafes, when we really didn't know anything about the characters. Even in their TCWs Arc, there wasn't enough about them from their POV that we could summarize a character that would last a series like theirs.

You can't tell me there's a character arc or achetype that TBB didn't invent in order to impose upon characters that do little and aren't allowed to grow from it--or was taken as a side-character role in name any Star Trek episode.

The TBB's high impact story is the going from the Prequel Saga into THe Original Trilogy, from the point of view of the Clone Wars. Its a singificant connecting element of watching the Republic become the Empire. The "Dark Times" as Obiwan "Ben" Kenobi put it, in 1977's Star Wars.

The BBs themselves only had 4 episodes, and they were already pushing disbelief, as they were the limit of the Clone Wars "Clone" Concept, stretched to the last possible point (Cos anywhere beyond that, and we'd be getting into Super Hero territory), and introduced in the Final Season--so all impact they could've had, was already gone from the start because there was no time.

The only way that the current TBB series would've impacted as its era demands, after decades of Star Wars, would be to give it to either Commander Cody (Who was in the Films) or Captain Rex, who was the main Clone of the Clone Wars.

And the only way that the the Bad Batch as characters, could've possibly survived that high impact, is if they had those years behind them--and they don't, they had less than 1 month.

So the Bad Batch as Characters require their own series that lacks high plot impact, in order to survive as characters...

And the Bad Batch show, as a High IMpact Show, requires actual impactul characters to run.

... Do you see the issue now? Or at least one of them?

( I would have gladly accepted a slow paced Bad Batch show that allowed the Bad Batch characters growth, that's what I wanted out of them--I wanted to get to know them. )

( But the current TBB show does not allow that. Story writers can say all the shit they want, but let me remind, if it was important--it'd be in the story itself, it'd be apart of the build up and impact. )

( And there is no impact, and no build up. If I were to put Hunter right next to Vader, he would mean fuck all. )

( And that's one reason I'm so fucking mad about all this. )

#star wars #the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #star wars prequels #star wars original trilogy #star wars clone wars #story analysis and impact #analysis

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canichangemyblogname · 7 months

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I've stumbled across the reblog with "tell me what you think about my fics". This ask may not be exactly how this is meant since, yes, I haven't read fiction by you, but I have read essays by you. Hence, I wanted to let you know that I find your writing thoughtful and smart, with strong strings of argumentation.

I appreciate that you compose these bits that are critical of the source material and fan behavior, especially for TBB. These posts look like they take a lot of time, energy, and consideration, and I suppose the reactions are not always rewarding since TBB fans are probably not too eager to hear what's wrong with the show.

Personally, your thoughts encouraged me to share my own thoughts, which I might not have done otherwise.

Thank you for that!

Okay, so... you sent me this ask on Feb 19th, 2023, and I'm just now getting around to posting my draft 😭. I feel so terrible about that, tbf.

FIRST, thank you so very, very much! I hope to live up to my blog's name: "I write essays for fun." I actually really enjoy analyzing characters, TV shows, books, and movies. It's a fun brain exercise. And it's one way I can utilize my education. I didn't know when I was 18 that my political science and international relations degrees would engender an analytical eye for media. I don't get to write about authoritarianism, free will, philosophy, societal structures, or democracy for work. But, given that our media reflects our sociopolitical and geopolitical conditions, I can explore how the things I learned are portrayed (or not portrayed) in books, movies, and TV.

It's also why I like writing, but I can't ever seem to get past the world-building stage 😂. I love exploring the conditions necessary to bring about a certain society. You start from one detail and extrapolate from there. For example, a writer wants to create a society with equal participation in public life between all genders. What conditions are necessary to achieve this? This question is inherently political.

SECOND, yes. My essays take a while to compose. The longer they are and the more detailed they are, the more time they take. My big essay Machines or Men: Moral Questions Regarding the Clones in Disney’s Star Wars took me a week or so. It took me several days to compose my first RW&RB critique and another day to compose the follow-up. And by "day," I quite literally mean from when I woke up to when I went to sleep. It might also take me a while (like a couple hours) to compose a commentary the length of some of my Andor commentaries or some of my Bad Batch critiques because the concepts I'm engaging with- like fascism, racism, or colonialism- are complex, so require a lot of revision to get the right words or to adequately convey my ideas.

THIRD, I am SO happy that my thoughts encouraged you to share your own. I hope you continue to share. I have really valued your contributions to topics like propaganda, TBB, and the fanfic-ification of modern media. I think you're positively cool and brave for sharing with us.

#it's like an object-permanence issue for me #I click the envelope with the notif #get excited #prepare to answer #and then as soon as I click out of my drafts or inbox-center...#I forget to answer or finish it #I had about 100+ drafts at one point #and got so overwhelmed that I just... didn't #and because I stopped answering the tag games and asks #I don't get sent as many anymore #leading to less interaction with others on here #which is why I came here in the first place!#Like... asks and tag games were my thing when I first started #and then I panicked

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frostycatblr-fandom-files · 1 year

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Vague Spoilers for TBB s2ep13 "Pabu"

Soooo CF99 Timeshare, when? Well once Lower Pabu is rebuilt of course and Tech's had A Lot to say about the process cause hey we're not crashing at Cid's Parlor anymore, sounds like?

And speaking of the Trandoshan... Her correspondence sounded... unnatural. Like it was doctored (to me anyways) to make it sound worse than what was actually said. The audio was whack, and I don't think past correspondence sounded like it did in this episode. Something about the message felt fishy, idk. But they've been hinting for a while now that there's some distrust in Cid, and I think they've pretty much taken this opportunity on Pabu to wash their hands of her. Honestly good for them. Kinda makes me feel vindicated in my early guess of her character in a fan fiction I started like more than a year ago (and then got smacked with a nasty case of writer's block for it until very recently), too.

I'll probably be having a dream about tsunamis tonight, too, so that's fun. Think my opinion on Wanda Sykes, I mean- Phee has shifted a bit, too.

#tbb spoilers #the bad batch #tbb #star wars #clone force 99 #tbb season 2 spoilers #(I'm sorry but that's straight up just Wanda Sykes *regular voice* lmao)#frosts fandom freakouts

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skellymom · 4 months

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Please read and support this amazing creator: wild-karrd!!!

Give her some attention, reblogs, faves...all the love!

@wild-karrde

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb #bad batch #clone force 99 #the clones #the clone wars #jedi #fan fic #fanfic #fan fiction #star wars fanfic #star wars fanfiction #star wars fan fic #wildkarrd #support great writers and creatives #the mandalorian #mandalorian #clones

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clonehub · 2 years

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Perhaps I am too gracious with anons like that but in general, the reading comprehension of the star wars fandom genpop is in the toilet. Stop taking everything at face value. I do it too sometimes but at least I can correct course when I need to. In what world can you admit that GL and DFs love of M*A*S*H and other military shows and movies influenced their handling of tcw and star wars in general but you can't see how any single bias they may hold could influence how they write people of color. You can see how GLs studying Anthropology in college influenced star wars. I'm telling you now that whatever racist shit he picked up from Anthropology in the fucking SIXTIES made it into star wars. Anthro now is a lot better but still has shit to deal with. It's been fifty something years.

(it's also only just occuring to me that this man probably remembers parts of the civil rights movement or at least its immediate after math since he graduated in 1967 hold on while I lose my mind)

A lot of fans like to pat themselves on the back for coming up with theories and then maybe part of a theory being right, somehow, eventually, and they think that holds the same weight as being able to draw connections between what's presented on screen and how it is influenced by greater sociopolitical happenings and also by Disney being a fucking corporation before anything else. The basics of media analysis is praised as enlightened but the minute you ask someone to examine why in the world someone would want an elite team of genetically enhanced soldiers to be whiter than the people they look down on, they suddenly don't know how to think and noooo fiction doesn't affect reality and nooooo I can tell the difference between fiction and reality nooooo the writers didn't do it on purpose. Which goes to show a further lack of reading comprehension because nobody's ever accused them of doing it on purpose. And whether it's on purpose or an accident, it's still racist.

But you point out something like this and because of a massive level of insecurity surrounding their chosen interest and also an embarrassing amount of intransigence in general they revert so quickly to "yeah I love this show that I've acknowledged has massive issues it's complicated :/" or even worse, "idc it doesn't have to be good 🤪". The latter is a deflection I hardly entertain because again, were talking about racism not narrative quality (altho tbb is in fact. Bad)

Idk it's just getting more and more frustrating especially as star wars media gets more and more tepid (again, bc of status quo + capitalist effects on art bc Disney is a corporation! We are in the mass production stage of media babey!) The themes and morals are right there and people miss them despite claims that So and So character is actually their son/husband/boyfriend/whatever. Star wars is for everyone except if everyone is racist, in which case then ur making up the racism and also how dare you criticize the unbridled yet horrifyingly milquetoast imaginations of a man who named a tech specialist Tech, don't you know he loves star wars :(

#ch posts #long post #all of this sounds v aggro bc its v late atm sorry #and im playin w words anyways #my brain needs exercise sw is not providing it #arcane rewatches always trigger these kinds of rants tho #there are writers who deserve credit for good shows and im handing that too them!#they absolutely are not a part of this #but. still. you know. *points at post*

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apocalyp-tech-a · 2 years

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An Unusual Alliance, Chapter 40: Silence, Excerpt:

“Why is Forty going with you?” Tech stopped her again, stepping closer.

Layna cursed internally. “I have an idea for a program for her, I want to see if the parts are available and thought she could come with me.” Forty very suspiciously turned away with her hands clasped, thankfully she did not have the ability to innocently whistle. Layna side-eyed the droid.

Tech's eyes shifted between Forty and Layna. “Ah, I see. What is the program?”

A brief moment passed as she thought on it. “All in due time,” she said, probably a little too somberly.

@littlefeatherr

#An Unusual Alliance #Aelfwynn #Ao3 #tech the bad batch #tech tbb #tbb #tech #the bad batch #star wars #fan fiction #the bad batch fan fic #tech fan fic #ao3 writer #tech the bad batch fan fiction

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cafffine · 3 years

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idk exactly how to put this, but I’ve just seen and received so many rebuttals and arguments about unwhitewash the bad batch that are completely missing the actual issue at hand, and I do think some of it may be ignorance so here goes (also I am white and only speaking from the POV as a white sw fan):

The fact of the matter is, Dave Filoni and crew have been trying to include white clones in star wars for years and finally got what they wanted through racist writing and an animation crew with no spine (See the original clone design and their decidedly more European features when compared to Tem, Boba’s repeated whitewashing in TCW, Dee Bradley Baker’s casting, ect).

And, yes, there are some (total bullshit) in-universe reasons why tbb are whitewashed (they’re defective, Echo’s been in cryo-freeze, ect.) but that’s all they are, in-universe bullshit.

These ‘excuses’ for racism and whitewashing being made in the show should not be something that we as viewers feel comfortable accepting or repeating. All explanations provided for tbb’s appearance were made by racists to free themselves of blame and to be used as a shield when being criticized. If your response to UWWTBB includes any mention of ‘canon cloning techniques’ or Echo being tortured or anything that the show has tried to feed us, you’re off-base and need to re-examine why you’re speaking over fans of color.

The actual issue (in its simplest form) is with real life people in the writers room and on the animation team deciding that they wanted tbb to be white men, and the weak loopholes they created in the plot to do so.

We’re not angry that tbb being white isn’t canon-compliant (though, it really isn’t), we’re angry that tbb’s whitewashing was intentional, and expected to be overlooked.

Racism is not something that should be talked about in terms of Star Wars canon, or treated as fandom discourse. UWWTBB is about the genuine harm being done to fans of color, disabled fans, jewish fans, and anyone that has the capability to internalize the biases on screen.

So please, don’t drag the conversation being had by the UWWTBB campaign into fictional explanations made by well-documented racists. Listen to fans of color, educate yourself on whitewashing and the racism that Disney has perpetrated since its creation, sign the petition, and do what you can to support UWWTBB.

links:

unwhitwwashTBB carrd by @/milfcaptainrex

UWWTBB petition

Bad Batch fan survey

#I hope this makes sense but idk you can message me or respond to the post for any further clarification #most of the stuff i’m talking about has been said to me on twitter but it is 100% happening on here too #unwhitewashtbb #tbb #racism #ableism #ask to tag #double shot

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unwhitewashthebadbatch · 3 years

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Disney Email Draft 2

(going under a cut because it's much longer. Here is the Google Doc link for anyone who would like to comment directly)

Reminder that we are encouraging critiques and comments regarding this email!

To Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Jennifer Corbett, and the creative team of Star Wars: The Bad Batch:

We hope this email finds you all well. We are fans of color, disabled fans, neurodivergent fans, and Jewish fans writing out of concern for the portrayal of our communities in the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. For several months now, we have been campaigning on social media to spread awareness about these concerns through #UnwhitewashTBB, a movement we began to raise awareness about the ways in which the series has poorly represented several minoritized groups of people.

Just like the creators of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, all of the creators of #UnwhitewashTBB grew up with Star Wars as the backbones of their childhoods, and for many of us, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was crucial to our development as artists, writers, creators, and lifelong Star Wars fans. We are all firm believers in the phrase “Star Wars is for everyone”, and we would like to see Disney support that message by hearing our plea.

As fans of color, as disabled fans, as neurodivergent fans, and as Jewish fans, we’ve seen ourselves on screen in both good and bad ways, but recently it has been more the latter than the former. One such reason is Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a show whose premise piqued many fans’ interest, but whose main cast has left an increasingly sour taste in the mouths of those who watched.

The series follows an elite squad of clone troopers who have named themselves The Bad Batch, due in part to their series of mutations that gives them an edge over regular clones on the battlefield. These mutations drastically altered the appearance of each of the members to a generally lighter, more Caucasian appearance--one that is inconsistent with how the original Jango Fett actor Temuera Morisson looks. Fans take issue with the implications in the writing and design of The Bad Batch: that in order to be elite, special, and better than one’s contemporaries--in order to have a story worth telling--one must also be white or as close as possible.

Merriam-Webster defines whitewashing as “to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character” The #UnwhitewashTBB movement comes with two carrds explaining the grievances of the fans. A summary for each character is given below:

Sergeant Hunter, the leader, closely resembles Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo character, despite being a clone of a man of color. The importance of his character, the fatherliness he has with Omega, and his centrality to both their Season 7 appearance in The Clone Wars and the series itself sends the message that important people look

Wrecker is the demolitions expert, and he’s the only member of The Bad Batch with features similar to that of a Maori man’s, like Temuera Morrison/Jango Fett. He’s large with broad features, brown skin, and is a stereotype of men of color. His personality as first introduced to the audience was that of a loud, aggressive, impatient, slow man who called frequently for violence/destruction. He falls into the “Loveable Brute” trope, an observation that is supported by statements from supervising director Brad Rau and voice actor Dee Bradely Baker that Wrecker is like a little boy and has a heart of gold.

Crosshair is the sniper on the team, and he’s the most derisive of the “regs”--the regular clone troopers. Taken in conjunction with his appearance (inspired by Clint Eastwood), the various messages being sent by the writing and appearance of the other team members, and his comment about the regular troopers--the he and the Batch are superior and thus should join the Empire--his character pushes forth a message that there is superiority inherent in whitened or fully white features.

Tech, the technology specialist, has incredibly light skin and hair compared to the regular clones. His mutation made him a genius, with an IQ that outpaces that of any other clone in the Republic. Fans of color are upset that Tech’s genius mutation apparently also affected his skin color, as now this creates a direct link between intelligence and appearance/race. Contrast Tech with Wrecker, who is the exact opposite in every way, and this harm becomes only more apparent. In addition to this, many Autistic fans of The Bad Batch have noted that Tech, being “on the spectrum” (according to Dee Bradley Baker) is a popular stereotype of Autistic people: a nerdy-looking white man with a formal way of speaking who’s a genius but dismissive of others’ feelings. Baker also plays Tech with a British accent, further cementing the harmful message that intelligence is in some way connected to ethnicity.

Omega is the newest member of The Bad Batch. Despite being a pure Jango clone, she’s come out looking nothing like Boba Fett--she has lighter skin than he does, as well as blonde hair. Fans are concerned about the connection between genetic purity and light skin/blonde hair, as this is directly harmful to the people of color who don’t sport those features.

Echo is the ARC Trooper of the team, but many fans--disabled fans especially--fear that his series of disabilities have reduced him to the “droid sidekick”. Echo does not have a prosthetic, instead sporting a scomp-arm attachment that allows him to plug into computers but would otherwise hinder him greatly in daily tasks. He rarely is the focus of an episode, and the series has not given him as much attention as it has given characters like Hunter and Omega. Disabled fans worry about the lack of attention given to his medical trauma, and fans of color note that his skin color goes beyond what a brown man who’s been without sunlight for a few months would look like.

The issues do not stop here. Asian fans noticed and were harmed by a Tiananmen Square parallel in 1x10, “Common Ground”--a recreation that was led by an Eastern Asian-coded woman. Jewish fans are hurt by the antisemitic stereotype in Cid the broker, a greedy lizard woman who speaks with an accent commonly associated with New York Jews--and who is played by Jewish actress Rhea Perlman. Black fans were harmed by the whitewashing in Saw Gererra and the one other Black character in The Bad Batch being a Black woman who works for the Empire and burns civilians alive.

The full analyses can be found in the official #UnwhitewashTBB carrd: unwhitewashthebadbatch.carrd.co. We respectfully ask that you read this carrd and give a public statement in response to these criticisms.

Our movement has only gained traction since its inception on March 30th, 2021. A few months later, we wrote and released an open letter on Change.org to be signed by supporters of #UnwhitewashTBB, and every day it gains new signatures and draws nearer to the next milestone. A survey we released over a month ago has received over 1,100 responses and also continues to climb. The latter displays a range of opinions regarding The Bad Batch, but one sentiment stands out: Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Omega, and Echo are written in stereotypical and actively harmful ways. Respondents were shocked at outdated portrayals of Autism, sickened by antisemitic stereotypes, and confused at how, in this current social and political climate, a family-friendly corporation like Disney could greenlight a series that sends a message that is the complete opposite of “Star Wars is for Everyone”. Some sample responses are below:

“I would just like to elaborate on the ableism aspect. As a amputee myself, I don’t like how Echo’s trauma has been ignored. The whole reason he is with the BB is because of what he went through. Losing one limb, never mind multiple, it’s extremely difficult. They made it seem like just because his prosthetic can be of use on missions, that means he isn’t grieving the loss of his actual hand. There is no healing or evolution. It also feels wrong to only address the fact that echo uses prosthetics for the sake of hacking into machinery. Prosthetics are so personal and become a real part of who you are as a person.” - Respondent 130

“...I can't believe Star Wars is still doing this, and that an entire team of animators with a huge budget can't get skin tone right. I didn't even know the clones were supposed to have a NZ Māori accent until a friend told me. That's a big deal, since I live in NZ and hear it every day…” - Respondent 209

“As someone who is neurodivergent myself, Tech and Wrecker just. sting, you know? in a “is that really what you think of us” kind of way. I grew up in an environment where intersectional equality was heavily discussed, and I can still miss things. Having Jewish friends does not mean that Cid’s antisemitic implications can’t go right over my head until someone points them out (thank you).” - Respondent 87

“As a fan of color, its irritating and painful to watch and be brushed off as "lighting issues" and see justifications made by white fans and producers...It also feels very bad to me that TCW spent 7 seasons with several arcs emphasizing that the clones were all as individual as a 'normal' person, but then undo all that with TBB, which centers a group of "special" clones (who are suspiciously white) and have them treat the "regs" as a homogeneous group who are lesser than them, and then expect us to find it within ourselves to put that aside to enjoy the MCs. The way the treat "regs" is very offputting and it made me dislike them since their introduction...Star Wars is no stranger to racist and antisemitic media, but I must say, the blantancy of Sid, a greedy lizard who essentially financially enslaves the protaganists, being Jewish-coded and being protrayed by a Jewish voice actress is really next-level even for Star Wars. As a Jewish fan, it really grates on me.” - Respondent 40

“I’m disabled and autistic, and the ableism is appalling to watch. Watching Echo be treated as subhuman for needing machinery to survive makes me feel like having implants to keep my spine from breaking itself would have me be the pitied member of any group. I am disgusted by the blatant antisemitism, as a fair number of my friends are Jewish and it hurts me to think that people can so easily hate others based on internalized stereotypes. Me and my friends have also critically analyzed the fact that, despite being clones of a character portrayed by Temuera Morrison, for some reason the bad batch look nothing like him in any way. No resemblance in any way: just a bunch of someone’s badly worked characters fraught with disgusting writing decisions and design choices that make no sense. It makes me angry to think that the writers for this show, and to an extent any modern writer, would believe that using harmful tropes to make a story is acceptable and someone brings in profit. I tried to watch it out of fact that my family likes Star Wars and we all grew up watching it, but all of these unhealthy assumptions and terrible choices in terms of writing and design leave a bitter and nauseating feeling.” - Respondent 605

In the survey, various questions were asked about fans’ feelings about The Bad Batch. Before reading the carrd, 34.7% of fans answered that writing was their least favorite aspect of the series, with the next being the main characters. Elaborations in the following free write made clear that the whitewashing and stereotypical writing were huge factors of these opinions. One a 1 to 5 satisfaction scale, 68.1% of respondents rated their satisfaction at a 3 or lower--again, due to the whitewashing and other issues respondents perceived in The Bad Batch. When asked to analyze pre-post carrd-reading feelings regarding the above issues, every category saw a marked increase in awareness of the issue at hand. The perceived prominence of the whitewashing went from 81.3% to 91.4% in respondents. The awareness of ableism jumped almost 30%, from 52.6% to 84.4%. The majority of respondents (59%) were not aware of the antisemitism in the series, but after reading the carrd, that statistic flipped to 80.5%, a near 60% increase from the original 26.7%. Regarding the other racist issues, the respondents went from 63.1% to 83.7%.

Fans of color, neurodivergent fans, disabled fans, and Jewish fans have been waiting for the day where we can see ourselves on screen a level of attention and care that makes us feel even more at home in the Star Wars community . If Disney’s message is truly family-friendly, if Star Wars is for everyone, then Disney needs to support these views with not just words, but with actions. Resolve the racism in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, take out the antisemitism, and treat your nonwhite, disabled, and neurodivergent characters--and fans--with the respect and dignity they deserve.

This will not be a benefit solely to the fans who are asking to be represented properly. In today’s time, popular media is facing a reckoning; media that is inclusive of and respectful towards minoritized groups ends up with leagues more popularity, high ratings, and good reviews than those that don’t. A recent and prominent example is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a movie for which the inclusion of Asian-Americans at nearly all levels of production boosted its image and aided in its successful box office release. Black Panther is another prominent example--a movie spearheaded by Black people that completed its box office run at more than five times its initial budget in total revenue. The proper representation of people of color is a two-fold benefit.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch already has beautiful animation that reminds many longtime Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans of their childhood.

It is our hope that you will take our concerns as well as the concerns of others into account, and address the issues that we have outlined in order to better reflect the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to inclusive, diverse entertainment for audiences of all ages. Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Respectfully,

Fans of The Bad Batch

#mod CH #email #disney #star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #swtbb #racism #antisemitism

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sstar-nerd · 3 years

Text

There are three sides of Crosshair fans:

The fans who think that the Batch has no real way of getting Cross back yet and that it’s reasonable why they don’t talk about him as much

The fans who think the Batch has no real way of getting Cross back yet BUT sees that the group has ways of showing they miss someone and that hasn’t been used for Cross a whole bunch.

The fans who think that the Batch should at least TRY to formulate a strategy to get Cross back and that the writers are failing the characters by not showing them missing their brother even a little bit

Me? I’m just a person who has had to stop watching TBB after this week cause I have abandonment PTSD and the Batch not even talking about Crosshair anymore has begun triggering it. I can see the points of all three types of fans and agree with them.

I think the third type of fan is, a lot of the time, a person who has abandonment issues/PTSD who just really wants some closure of their own and they see themselves in Crosshair. It’s something I’d like to see acknowledged by the first type of fans because all they’re doing is arguing against the third fan’s points without seeing why they’re saying it in the first place.

Not EVERYONE who is of the third type has it I’m sure but self projection through fiction is fairly common and it wouldn’t be fair to ignore that.

It’s just something that bothers me in TBB fandom. I just wanna see cute art and silly theories bruh is that too much to ask 😭

#tbb crosshair #crosshair

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

Note

I just read your crosshair post and I agree with everything you said BUT…

Let me put on my own tin foil hat for a sec and talk about….

The burn mark thats supposed to cover the chip removal scar. Doesn’t it seem to be in a slightly odd position? Every other clone has it straight above the angle of their jaw/before the ear. I get that the burn was “placed” on that side of his head by writers for suspense and so it wouldn’t be apparent that his chip is out(thus showing Hunter checking it). But is the message here “oh he has this burn that’s close enough”? Also the scene where he was getting blasted by that engine could have easily scarred his face or at least affect the area closer to his face. I expected it to be over the temple too. But no it’s only that spot. (Now I know people will say “it’s Disney cartoon” so the scarring is minimal due to that)

Then it just kinda surprised me to hear brad Rau go “oh yeah, chip is definitely out, have you seen the side of that guys’d head? Lol” Followed by Jen’s “the eagle-eyes fans would notice all along”. Because now I feel like a clown for thinking I WAS being eagle-eyed and NOTICED that it was in the wrong place to really hide the chip scar. And if I’m correct to assume she meant that it was after Bracca that makes crosshair’s line “a long time ago” even weirder since there is no way Bracca happened that long ago.

And what was the point in showing Hunter checking the burn mark? We don’t really see his reaction. We don’t ever see him commenting on it later. It seemed like a big deal to him given how shocked he looked and how insistent he was on knowing when exactly was it removed. (“Does it matter?” “YES!”). And then he suddenly doesn’t care and never brought it up again. Even when they got to a relatively safe location or back to their ship.

I don’t think it’s a good sign that we have to rely on an interview to be sure about such an important plot point. I would be disappointed if this matter won’t be addressed at least in some way next season.

We’re all just passing the tin hat back and forth at this point. This is fine and we're handling the hiatus beautifully lol

But YES to all of that. Every detail here has two (or more) possible readings attached to it, which makes it impossible to figure out what we’re meant to be prioritizing. So, to summarize:

Yeah, despite my own claim that the burn scar is “exactly” where the chip scar would be, there is a slight difference. Is that a significant difference then, or just down to the animators not mapping Crosshair's design down to the inch?

Is the burn mark (almost) precisely where the chip would be to show that there’s a chance it’s still there (you can’t see the surgery scar), or to show that enough damage happened there to make the chip’s removal inevitable?

Yet "enough damage happened there to make the chip's removal inevitable" is a pretty big assumption that the show never set up. So are we meant to view the untold number of clones who suffered other head injuries throughout TCW as evidence that the chip must still be there—after all, they weren’t de-chipped due to head trauma, burns, etc.—or are we supposed to ignore that because #Disney cartoon, not everything is gonna have such long-term consistency?

Is the placement of the burn deliberate and the lack of any other facial scaring suspicious, or (again) is that just because #Disney cartoon doesn’t want to disfigure his whole face?

Is the scene where Crosshair has his chip enhanced another clue—the chip appears to be a bit higher up than others’ in his scan—or just an animation inconsistency?

Was enhancing the chip important, or just used for the drama of that particular scene?

Does Hunter think that the burn is somehow evidence of the chip’s removal, or is he just taking Crosshair at his word?

Is Crosshair’s lack of clarification meant to read as him being evil—he doesn’t care what was the Empire and what was him—or another hint that something else is going on?

Finally, most fans agree that, if the chip is out, it had to have happened after Bracca so… yeah, how is that “a long time ago”? Is that line meant to imply that Crosshair has been misled (perhaps with the Empire lying to him, claiming his chip was removed before the season even began), or are we supposed to believe that a significant amount of time has truly passed (making TBB’s lack of a rescue even worse in my eyes…) Even other evidence we might point to is pretty useless. “Well, it could be a long time because there was enough time for him to heal from those burns.” But is that because time actually passed, or did the Empire us SW’s super science fiction magic to heal him up quick? Idk the canonical time it normally takes burns like that to heal with bacta and I doubt that's consistent across the lore either. But regardless, the SF aspect means that a healed face isn't good evidence for a lot of time passing, like it might be in another genre. For all we know, Crosshair was healed in a few days.

So yeah, what in the world are we meant to make of all this? It’s too ambiguous, too confusing, and each answer—chip or no chip—comes with apparent contradictions. None of that reflects the certainty seen in the interviews. In order to reward “eagle-eyed” viewers, you need to be on top of all those details, both in terms of the writing and the animation. Yet it doesn't appear like the writers were. With all of this combined with the confusion I mentioned in another post regarding side-character clones overcoming their chips with ease… I don’t think this is a good sign either. I love TBB and had a blast watching it, but this particular aspect feels like it could unravel into a tangled, contradictory mess very quickly. The sort of situation where many in the fandom will accept the plot and argue strongly that here, Crosshair's canonical chip situation is supported by X, Y, and Z. Whereas others will point out that yeah, that’s true, but it’s also not supported by A, B, and C. Even if we’re willing to ignore those moments of confusion and disjointedness, it’s a big letdown to feel like you’re following along with what the show’s hinting at… only for the show to turn around and go, “Lol nah. None of that was important.” Shows with twists and reveals—which TBB very much is at this point—are built on the fandom’s investment in the details. If you don’t treat those details carefully, the fandom will quickly begin to resent the expectation that you be invested in the mystery... but not so invested that you "read into things."

Intense flashbacks to the later seasons of Sherlock.

BUT right now for me the larger issue is that even if we don't care about these details, the rest of TBB absolutely should. The fact that Hunter doesn't question what's up with the burn, Tech isn't interested in trying a scan, Wrecker's experience under the chip has no impact on how he approaches this, Omega seems to accept that this is the "real" Crosshair, and Echo doesn't push to rescue him like they did for Gregor... all of that is at the emotional heart of the show and arguably more important than getting a perfect resolution to these chip questions. Obviously I'd prefer to get both, but if we can only have one, I'd prioritize tackling the group's reaction to these events, rather than trying to smooth over every potential inconsistency revolving around the chip. Ultimately, I'm more interested in the show explaining why four brothers and a sister didn't fight for Crosshair when, as far as they knew up until he said otherwise, he was a prisoner of the Empire just like everyone else they helped was.

#TBB #The Bad Batch #Star Wars #SW #mymetas #long post

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