#He IS my favorite character who doesn't make it out of Clone Wars. He is a CW only character and I am sad about that

[cluescorner]

Long Post about Savage Opress because I am Normal

Savage Opress, you are everything.

You are at your strongest when you are fighting to protect the people you love. You had to participate in a battle royale and subjected yourself to a fate worse than death in order to protect your brother. You were forced to kill the brother you fought so hard to protect, your last words to him as he begged for his life were 'You make (me) weak'.

You are Frankenstein's monster, a kinslayer. You just have to live with that. Your mistress isn't giving you a choice in the matter.

You were placed under the control of a cruel master/mistress twice in the span of like a week. You were forced to betray your master and (under your mistress's orders) you killed two jedi, making you an enemy of the two most powerful entities in the galaxy. You made these enemies against your own will. You were lightning spammed and abused to the point that you were able to break free of your mistress's control.

You are then attacked by these two random jedi you have never met. They seem intent on bringing you in. They stand besides each other and fight to protect each other. You are reminded of how you did the same for your own brother. You killed that brother.

You run to the only home you've ever known, the same home that treated you as lesser-than and transformed you into what you are now. Your home is destroyed, all of your sisters are dead. You are upset by this. They were the cause of your suffering, but they were still kin.

You are told that you have a remaining brother, one who can make you strong enough to protect yourself. You decide to travel across the galaxy to find him. You killed your last brother, you will do anything for this one.

You seem to create trouble everywhere you are now. You are now incapable of solving problems without violence, so violence is what you become. You become hatred. You had love once, but everything that you loved is dead. Except for your remaining brother. You do whatever you must to find him.

You find your brother. Your brother is delirious and half-dead, but he is your brother and you found him. You can fix this. Your brother sees you too, or at least he sometimes does. You are a reflection of him, of what he was meant to be. You are strong and powerful. Your brother is not anymore, but he will be soon.

Your mother, the same woman who took you and warped you into a monster (that is what everybody calls you now), fixes your brother. Your brother grabs your face and twists it, painfully examining your every pore. You don't begrudge him this. You have done the same to it. Your face isn't yours, but it is the only face you have.

Your brother screams for vengeance against Kenobi, he must have revenge. You must stand by your brother, he is all that is left. You embark on a quest of vengeance against a man you only briefly met.

You become everything your brother needs you to be. You are his protector, his sword, his second-in-command. You have love again and you will do anything to keep it this time.

Your brother is a terrible person. Your brother will massacre a village for the sake of getting Kenobi's attention. Your living brother is nothing like the one you killed. You aren't sure this is a good thing.

Your brother lures Kenobi to the village and you both capture him. Your mistress shows up and immediately sets about belittling you. You are the monster she and your mother created. You are not her thrall anymore, you can fight her now. You do exactly that.

Your mistress and Kenobi retreat, your brother chooses to bide his time. You will wait with him.

Your brother and you infiltrate a ship, finding a fortune of credits. You are happy with this, you have never seen this much money in your life. Your brother's only fortune is the downfall of Kenobi.

Your brother calls you apprentice, decides that is what your relationship is now. You don't see the need for dominance, you are brothers after all. Your brother disagrees and you will subject yourself to this for your brother's sake. You are a reflection of him, of all his past flaws. You are devoted to those you love and able to feel things other than vindictive glee or hatred. Your brother is not anymore, he might never be again.

You think your brother is incapable of love. You love him all the same.

You and your brother next run into Kenobi with another Jedi Master. You do not know her name nor anything about her. You kill her, goring her with your (far larger than they should be) horns and running her through with your lightsaber. Your master is not forcing your hand this time, you can finally choose to make an enemy of the Jedi. You would have been their enemy either way, but the false choice is comforting regardless.

You and your brother corner Kenobi. You think for a moment that you have gotten the upper-hand, then Kenobi cuts your arm off. Your body leaks green magic. Your mother's magic still holds power over you even after everything. You wish it didn't.

Your brother shoves Kenobi away from you and decides to retreat. You aren't sure if this is a sign of affection towards you or if this is a strategic move. Your brother speaks as if it's the latter. You see no reason to believe otherwise.

You manage to escape, but are left adrift in space. You are freezing and slowly running out of oxygen. Your home was warm and full of breatheable air. You are alone with only a brother who calls you 'apprentice' for company. Your home was filled with brothers who called you by your name or by 'brother'. You are alive. Your home and brothers are dead.

You next wake up in an unfamiliar place. You smash all the equipment around you. You are now incapable of solving problems without violence, so violence is what you have become. Your brother informs you that his plans have changed, and now you two will be working with Deathwatch. You have no idea what Deathwatch is or who your brother just made a deal with. You will follow him regardless.

You stand up and hit your head on the lamp above you. You were supposed to be shorter than you are now. Your body is wrong. You look in the mirror and you are not yourself. Your body isn't yours, but it is the only body you have.

Your brother takes over Mandalore. You watch as your brother marches Kenobi into the throne room and prepares to execute the Duchess of this planet.

Kenobi offers sympathy. Kenobi recognizes that your brother never had a choice in joining the dark side. Kenobi had gone to your village and seen what it is like for the nightbrothers. Kenobi, despite everything, is trying to be kind.

You hear your story in Kenobi's words. You never had a choice in any of this. You never stood a chance. Your body isn't yours, your mind has been warped and twisted into serving the goals of another. You only wanted to protect your brother.

Your brother kills the love of Kenobi's life. Your brother has stripped himself and you of any possible chance to take the olive branch Kenobi was extending. You ask if you should kill Kenobi now. You know that stewing in grief and guilt can be a terrible fate. Your brother decides to keep him imprisoned. Your brother is counting on the Kenobi stewing in his grief and guilt. Your brother wants to drag out his suffering for as long as possible.

Your brother is in charge for less than a rotation. Your brother panics and bows before a withered old man, calling him 'master'. Your brother lies and fawns to his master. Your brother's master does not care.

You have never met this man before. You have no reason to fight him. Your brother is terrified of him. Your brother grovels before nobody, but he bows before this man. You don't have to do this.

Your brother needs you. You draw your weapon.

You manage to get a hit in on your brother's master. You are one of very few in the galaxy who can say that. You are at your strongest when you are fighting to protect the people you love.

You are stabbed in both your hearts. Your efforts to protect your brother, your pain and suffering, your love and affection, you, Savage Opress, you don't matter. You didn't know it, but you were fighting the most powerful being in the galaxy.

You never had a choice. You never stood a chance.

You die thinking you were unworthy of your brother. Your brother never said or did anything to make you think otherwise. You die calling yourself apprentice, that is the relationship your brother wanted. Your brother holds your hand as you die, it is trembling. You aren't sure if it is from grief or hatred. You decide it must be the latter. Your brother is only capable of hatred.

You knew your brother was incapable of love. You loved him all the same.

You don't know that you might have been the only thing your brother cared about besides his vengeance. You don't know that when you are unconcious he calls you by your name, he calls you brother. You don't know that he nearly killed the Death Watch soldiers, but stopped when they threatened you. You couldn't know. Your brother never told you.

You don't know that he uses his grief as fuel for his duel with Sidious. You don't know that he switches his ire away from Kenobi and decides that his former master is a more pressing target of his hatred You don't know that he spends the rest of his days trying to find a new apprentice to fill the hole you left and that it never works. You will never know. You are dead.

You died realizing you were nothing like your brother. You never were. Your body shrinks down, you finally look like yourself again. You can't be happy about this. You can't take relief in the fact that all the magic which ruined your life has been dispelled. You can't feel anything. You are dead.

You are right. You are nothing like Darth Maul. Your brother is motivated by hatred, you are motivated by love. Your brother will die having found peace, you died having found nothing but pain and grief and yet more pain.

You are my favorite magical girl and you have suffered so much more than Jesus.

[cenittxnadir]

Logan Howlett Canons

I'm trying to make a list of all the canons I know and I have seen on the comics and authors notes about him. This list has the purpose of giving some ideas for your fanfics, works and your own headcanos. I really just like to ramble about my favorite characters and share what I know :). Maybe I'll do one for Kurt. You know the drill; English is not my first language so they might be some orthographic errors

Logan had two half brothers: Dog Logan and Jhon Jr Howlett -who died quite young-

His real father's name is Thomas Logan (her mom had an affair with him while she was married to John Howlett.)

Logan´s relationship with her mother wasn't the best. He was usually neglected by her, but his dad (John) used to love him very much.

Logan had two best friends as a child: Dog Logan and Rose O'Hara (Theres no info if she's related to Miguel O'Hara. Although she was Irish as well. She was Logan's first love, unfortunately he killed her by accident, and yes, Jean resembles a lot to her, that's why Logan felt attracted to her.

In the comics, Logan got the name Wolverine as a nickname from his workmates when he worked in mine, referring to his animalistic way of work. In the movies he got the name from the legend of Kuekuatsheu.

Logan spent a while leaving with a pack of wolves, part of his mutation allows him to communicate with animals in a basic level

Logan has superhumanly acute sense, like the five of them, his skin is more sensible as well as he tastes (Use this information with caution) he can see in the dark with no problem and can get sensory overloaded pretty easily

In the movies, Logan smokes a lot because this helps him to disguise some smells that for him can be overwhelming. In Logan due to his age and loss of his mutation he doesn't smoke that much because strong smells are not a problem anymore

Against the common belief, Logan its quite intelligent, he's a weapons and computer expert

Believe it or not, he is a skilled pilot and a vehicle expert, he can drive pretty much everything and is good at vehicle repair

He had trained Black widow, Rogue, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Sunspot, Jubilee, Shadowcat and among other in hand-to-hand combat.

Logan is a polyglot. He speaks: English, Japanese, Russian, Mandarin, Cheyenne, Korean, Lakota, Spanish, and Krakoan.

Logan's blood type is O-

Wolverine carries a medical card stating that he is a war veteran who has a metal plate in the head, to help him bypass metal detectors in airports

Logan has used the E-Mail address 'snikt1@xaviers.com' (Love him so much) Also, Deadpool has claimed to have hacked Wolverine's Tumblr account (He knows about us, he is among us, probably he runs a fanfic account, who knows)

Logan have claimed that his biggest and greatest love is beer

Logan burns a lot of calories while healing so needs constant fuel. (He has a big stomach)

Logan had a bunch of biological kids, but the ones that stand out more are Laura, Gabriela (she is Laura's direct younger sister/clone, I love her so much and they like to hang out a lot with Wade) and Daken. They are comics of them together

[antianakin]

Antianakin's Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Fic Rec List

The theme for this rec list is fics that either center on Anakin getting some consequences for his actions or are just generally more critical towards Anakin as a character. Please note that this means these fics will also be critical towards most Anakin ships, most notably Anidala and Obikin.

This list is dedicated to all of the people who have been sending me messages asking for fic recs over the last several months, there's clearly a market for fics that aren't kind towards Anakin.

A lot of these fics take things like the Tusken massacre, Order 66, and Anakin's treatment of Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex very seriously. Please take that as a warning if any of those things might be triggering, and keep an eye on the tags for all of the fics included here just in case.

Here are the categories!

Anakin/Consequences: Anakin experiences consequences for his actions in some way shape or form, but doesn't die.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It: Anakin experiences the specific consequence of dying by the end of the story, usually at the hands of someone he's hurt.

The Jedi Deserve Better: There's a bigger focus on the Jedi recovering, Jedi culture, or the Jedi being philosophically right than there is on anything specifically "anti Anakin" as such, but the story is still critical of Anakin's beliefs and/or behavior.

Helpful terms:

Unfinished: Any fic that is marked as incomplete, or a series where the fic(s) in it are still incomplete and cannot stand alone

Ongoing: Any series marked as incomplete, but the fics in it are marked as complete or can stand alone as they are

There is no specific order to this. I tried to group fics from one specific author together, but other than that, I didn't place anything in any specific position for a reason.

This is not an exhaustive list of good anti-Anakin fics that exist, obviously. If your fic or your favorite fic isn't on this list, please feel free to rec it yourself in the notes, leave a reply or reblog with a link. I'm happy to read more anti-Anakin fic, especially if it's very Pro-Jedi!

One final reminder: NOTHING IN THIS LIST IS ANAKIN FRIENDLY! If that's going to bother you to read, please just skip this entire list, it's not for you.

Anakin/Consequences:

and the tide rises, the tide falls series by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 119k): When Anakin's actions with the Tuskens on Tatooine become known a few months into the Clone War, Agen Kolar comes in to temporarily take over the 501st while Anakin is sent back to Coruscant to face the Council. I cannot recommend this fic enough. This is the fic that introduced me to Agen Kolar as a real character (as opposed to just one of the random Jedi who immediately die going up against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith) and now he's one of my favorite Jedi of all time. Agen is such a beautiful character and his relationship to his identity as a Jedi gives me just about every feeling I think I've ever felt in my life and the development of his relationships with Rex, Kix, and Ahsoka as the fic continues is such a well-written slow burn. I'd recommend reading more of blackkat's works just in general, too, because they're pretty much all Pro-Jedi and have a delightful tendency to focus on more niche Jedi and clone characters and rarepair ships if you're interested in that.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by @blackkatmagic (27k): Fox is sent back in time, immediately murders Palpatine, and surprisingly nothing but good things follow so he's got plenty of time now to get to the other things on his bucket list, including but not limited to: murdering Count Dooku, murdering Anakin Skywalker, saving Senator Amidala from her atrocious taste in men, and seducing Mace Windu. This fic is BLISTERINGLY funny, Fox's very dry point of view on things and readiness to shoot Anakin at literally any moment literally had me struggling to not laugh out loud at work. This is also an INCREDIBLY pro-Mace Windu fic, with all of the clones, for once, in love with Mace Windu instead of the more popular suspects. It's what he deserves, and Fox agrees.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Time Travelers by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 78k): Fives is stuck in a time loop where he tries to stop Order 66 from happening and his latest plan is to kidnap Mace Windu for his own protection because he's the only person capable of defeating Palpatine. Fives' opinion of Anakin is now INCREDIBLY low, and the constant comparisons to Mace and how much better Mace is, are deeply satisfying. Fives' immense distress and somewhat manic passion don't take away from just HOW competent Fives is, and I really love getting to see a depiction of him that really allows him to fully be both at once and neither one takes away from the other. I love how his relationship to Mace develops from Fives' initial desperation into something so trusting and passionate through difficult circumstances.

in search of a sky for smoke to rise to by @blackkatmagic (7k): Padme has to go on the run after reporting Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens to the Jedi in fear of Anakin's rage. She lands on Sundari to try to hide there and meets with Arla Fett who sparks her interest. Padme gets to be a total BAMF in this which is always fun, and I LOVED Arla in this so so much!

sanguine series by @glimmerglanger (157.5k) (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so the link below is now broken. I am leaving this series in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment): Obi-Wan is a vampire in an AU where vampires exist in the GFFA and this changes some things. The ramifications of what it means to be a vampire in this AU and the biases and prejudices that Obi-Wan has to deal with are so interesting from a worldbuilding standpoint. The way Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan CHANGES because of it is also an interesting thing to see develop in this series.

uncomfortable by @panther-os (1k): When Anakin won't respect Padme's boundaries in the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Padme requests a different bodyguard from the Jedi. Short and sweet and removes the rather unfortunate "yes means no" theme that taints Padme's storyline in Attack of the Clones.

Slices of Happiness series by @feybarn (unfinished, 40k): No Order 66 AU where Obi-Wan takes a short sabbatical after the war to handle his mental health and is joined by some of the clones before he returns to the Temple. It is, as the title of the series says, mostly just little slices of stories as the clones and Jedi heal and reconnect after the war. There's a large emphasis on Obi-Wan healing from Anakin's rejection of the Jedi and having to come to terms with his relationship with Anakin having perhaps been less healthy than he'd realized and learning to enforce healthier boundaries when Anakin gets entitled and selfish.

Wasted Training by @thesecondbatgirl (700): Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin's "training" for Ahsoka from TOTJ. Very short but OH so satisfying to see someone react appropriately to this.

Liberosis by Be_Right_Back (2k): In a No Order 66 AU, Anakin's secret marriage comes to light and the Council asks Anakin to make a choice. This one is a tad softer on the "anti Anakin" aspect of it, but the Jedi are portrayed as entirely within their rights to make Anakin choose which life he wants to live.

Stay by @amukmuk (2k): Commander Thorn has been helping Padme out in a No Order 66 AU as Padme's been dealing with her divorce from Anakin, and Padme finally comes to a decision about her feelings. I am an unrepentant Thornidala shipper, and as many problems as I tend to have with the way Padme's written and the implications about her as a character because of that, I also have a nostalgic attachment to her and wish she could just... have a happier healthier relationship with someone who ACTUALLY loves her and respects her. I would take an entire series of this AU, I'd read a longfic of this AU, but I will also happily accept this short sweet little peek into this AU and let my daydreams do the rest of the work.

The Burden of Secrets by @jedi-order-apologist (9k): In the aftermath of the Deception arc, Ahsoka discovers the truth about the Tusken massacre and confronts Anakin about it. This one is a little lighter on the "anti Anakin" elements, but his choices on Tatooine are very much called out for the horror that they are, as are Padme's for hiding it. The fic also delves a little bit into the Rako Hardeen arc, Obi-Wan's choices in it, and Anakin's reactions to it and how appropriate they are.

Consumed by Greed by virdant (900): Obi-Wan travels back in time to the beginning of Anakin's apprenticeship and tries everything to try to keep Anakin from joining the Sith, and fails until he comes to a crucial understanding about Anakin as a person. The concept of this is absolutely heart-wrenching, thinking about Obi-Wan going back over and over, changing everything about himself and the Jedi in an attempt to save Anakin, only to finally realize that the problem lies in who Anakin is at his heart, and he can't change that. The ending is a gutpunch, but it feels so absolutely true, too.

Justice by virdant (1k): Padme makes a different choice at the end of AOTC and decides to report Anakin's crimes on Tatooine to Obi-Wan instead of marrying Anakin. Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about what he's done in the aftermath and forces him to face the consequences of the choice he made. I really like that the concept here isn't just that Anakin gets kicked out of the Jedi and sort-of set loose upon the galaxy, but that either the Council or Obi-Wan decided Anakin also needed to face reparations ON TATOOINE, from the Tuskens themselves, and that Obi-Wan plans to ensure that it happens. Anakin cannot be a Jedi until he makes as many amends for that as he can, until he recognizes the truth of what he's done and accepts the responsibility for it, and even then there's no guarantee he could be a Jedi afterwards. Either way, the Jedi are not not the only people Anakin has hurt, and not the only people with the right to ask for reparations from Anakin.

The Cost by luvewan (5k): Anakin jumps off the gunship after Padme in Attack of the Clones and deals (badly) with the fatal consequences of that choice when Obi-Wan dies at Dooku's hand before Yoda can show up. So this has been a favorite of mine for just about as long as I can remember, predominantly because of just how tragic it is and the very realistic consequences of the choice Anakin makes here. This fic was written before Revenge of the Sith had come out, so none of the choices Anakin makes in that film are taken into account, but the accuracy with which Anakin absolutely unravels and devolves into darkness because he lets his guilt turn into anger that he turns on other people in the name of justice feels so immensely in character. Seeing it all happen from Padme's point of view as she watches Anakin's descent, knowing she's the reason it happened in the first place, is so devastatingly beautiful.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It:

@glimmerglanger's fics are getting an entire section dedicated to them again. I'd honestly just recommend reading all of glimmerglanger's work, but here's some fics that specifically showcase (deadly) consequences to Anakin below (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so all of the links below are now broken. I am leaving this section in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment):

A Treatise on Breaking and Repairs (60k): Anakin captures Obi-Wan shortly after Revenge of the Sith and it goes very badly for Obi-Wan. This shit's dark, y'all, and things get way worse before they get better, please mind the tags, there's a reason the series is labeled the oof!au. That being said, this fic is sort-of the peak example of what I want out of a really good hurt/comfort story, where both halves of that are equally emphasized.

But What We Make series (ongoing, 125.5k): Cody from post-Return of the Jedi travels back in time to just before Order 66 and this changes some things. My favorite part of this series (so far) is the way Obi-Wan, future-Cody, and present-Cody are all forced to come to terms with their respective traumas and relationships to each other and none of them are handling it perfectly, but none of them are treated as more or less important than the others either.

Convergence Zones (115.5k): A sort-of modern day fantasy Jedi AU where the clones are made of clay and brought to life via magic. It's a little hard to explain in like 20 words or less just read it, it's so great. The collaboration between the clones and Jedi in this is so sweet, and the worldbuilding of the "clones" in this verse is really good.

Haunt Me, Then (31k): Post Order 66, all the surviving clones can see their Jedi as Force ghosts except Cody and the 212th, and when Cody's chip breaks early he helps start a revolution to gain justice for their Jedi. Cody's going through it in this one, too, and things get pretty dark, but this is another really great catharsis fic if you're in the mood for that.

Make Your Bed (Lie in It) (58k): Cody and Obi-Wan share a bunk during the war and this changes some things. I love all the ways in which this AU moves events just SLIGHTLY to the left and then the butterfly effect impact afterwards. The Cody and Obi-Wan relationship development is also just impeccable.

Natural Wonders (56k): Shapeshifter modern AU with nature photographer Cody and park ranger Obi-Wan and a murder mystery they solve together. There's some really cool facts about Yellowstone National Park in this fic as a delightful bonus to the sweet relationshippy stuff and the fun murder mystery storyline.

Greater Than Your Hoarded Gold series by Quietbang (ongoing, 96k): Anakin doesn't burn on Mustafar AU where there is a different kind of rebellion in the galaxy post Order 66. This author focused in on and centered the Jewish elements to the Jedi and brought in more Jewish culture to the Jedi, which is so interesting to read. The shifting perspectives, including totally outside perspectives, on the Jedi and the situation in the galaxy at large, makes for a really cool story with some incredible worldbuilding.

Unmasked by @schizo-fractured (17k): Footage of the Temple during Order 66 is released and this causes a series of changes in the galaxy as they confront what REALLY happened to the Jedi and the person who caused it. This got recommended to me based on a post I made wishing we could've seen Beru and Owen learn the truth about Anakin and what might've changed for them as a result, and while that's not the singular plot of this fic, it is kind-of an example of the underlying theme of the entire thing. It's a nice almost wish-fulfillment style concept where the loss of Anakin Skywalker's good reputation allows the general populace to rise up in defense of those he betrayed in righteous rage. It's time for the galaxy to defend the Jedi for a change.

the time when stars align by @deniigi (7k): Cody accidentally adopts some young stormtroopers post Order 66 and escapes with them to the Rebellion after Vader finds a way to "cure" him of his accelerated aging. Cody goes through so much horror in this fic and is still so SO funny with the way he looks at the world and speaks to his loved ones, allowing this fic to still feel sweet and wholesome despite how awful Cody's life is and has been.

When Night Falls series by Penguin Kiwi (ongoing, 7k): Cin Drallig gets more of a warning in the Force just before Order 66 and is able to put up a defense of the Temple and stop Anakin at the steps. I love these AUs that allow more niche Jedi to shine through, especially when it means they get to defeat Anakin because the Force looked at Anakin's choices and decided to abandon him for a better option. The conversation between Cin and Obi-Wan in the second fic really hits home, too.

The Jedi Deserve Better:

grow bold in a barren and desolate land by @blackkatmagic (5k): Mace survives Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal and stages a rescue for two clones left in prison who he knows never would've had their chips activated: Slick and Dogma. This has literally the barest mention of Anakin, but that mention is that Mace could easily beat Anakin in a fair fight, so I'm including it anyway. This is another one of those AUs I could read an entire longfic or series for and be eternally happy. There's a follow-up to this fic that's more explicitly Mace/Slick which is by no means ever a ship I had ever even considered before, but it works SO WELL here and gives me some interesting feelings. I'm also just always down for Dogma being treated kindly and getting a happier ending than canon chose to give him.

i am creation, both haunted and holy by @blackkatmagic (800): A'Sharad Hett makes a visit to Kamino where he meets Alpha-17 and finds they share an opinion about Anakin Skywalker. I'm so intrigued by A'Sharad Hett as a character and wish there was more content written about and for him. A'Sharad and Alpha-17 bonding over thinking Anakin Skywalker is an entitled selfish jerk is the best possible beginning to a ship, I'll be honest.

that was a spring of storms by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 9k): When Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, Leia's grief causes herself, Luke, and Bail Organa to travel back in time to 8 months into the Clone Wars, where they are determined to ensure things go a little differently. This fic is only 2 chapters in, so I don't know precisely what kind of consequences Anakin may or may not end up getting, which is why it's in this category, but unsurprisingly neither Bail nor Leia are feeling particularly benevolent towards him and it is so incredibly satisfying. But holy FUCK am I hooked to this entire concept. Bail and Leia's relationship is heart-wrenching as all get out, Bail's protective instincts towards the Jedi absolutely kills me, and I'm so intrigued by these ship tags!

The Crime of Grief Series by @feybarn (ongoing, 34k): Padme goes into labor early while on the way to Mustafar, so neither she nor Obi-Wan ever make it there, and they go on the run with Rex and Ahsoka afterwards instead. Sides are drawn in the aftermath of Anakin's choices that causes friction among them before they can find healing. There's a large emphasis in this series that Anakin's choices are, in fact, HIS CHOICES, and the blame for them cannot be placed on anyone but Anakin, as well as the conundrum of whether it truly matters whether Anakin's got good left in him or not and if it's even worth it to try to save him.

吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? series by virdant (1.5k): A look at Obi-Wan and his experience of Jedi culture through food. Virdant's fics focus in on the Asian influences in the Jedi and builds out their culture from there. Not every fic in this series is explicitly anti-Anakin, but a few of them are more critical of Anakin's view of the Jedi and his unwillingness to understand their culture or point of view.

things the way we want them to be by virdant (600): No Order 66 AU, where a teenaged Leia talks to Obi-Wan about the struggles she's having with Anakin as a father and the future she knows she (and Luke) should've had but weren't allowed. Leia is just absolutely heartbreaking in this, and Obi-Wan's inability to truly help her the way they both want is equally so. It's a devastating look at a possible less happy future even in a happy fix-it AU because leaving the Jedi would never be enough to "fix" Anakin.

Not This Crude Matter series by @talesfromthebitterbeast (53k): The clones have picked up some misconceptions about the Jedi which causes the Jedi to distance themselves from the clones, even after the war ends in a happy fix-it AU. The fics showcase the situation from multiple different perspectives as misunderstandings abound, but is always firmly on the side of the Jedi. I really like the way the Jedi relationships are showcased here, the ways they communicate and lean on each other even in the face of being misunderstood and misrepresented by people they'd hoped would understand them better than anyone else.

Harmonic Oscillation by @jessepinwheel (2k): Originally a short tumblr fic that has since been posted to AO3. Obi-Wan time travels back to the Clone War era and confronts Anakin about what he's done. I always love getting to see Obi-Wan refuse to let Anakin get away with his bullshit and finally see Anakin for the piece of shit that he is.

Released by @jedi-order-apologist (6k): Cody is rescued from the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and has to come to terms with everything he's happened to him now that he's at the end of his life and spent the majority of it brainwashed and enslaved to the Empire. This is a fic I come back to a lot because I really love the way Cody works through what's happened to him and the way he's viewed from an outside perspective via Luke. I also really love how the relationship between Cody and Obi-Wan isn't made explicitly romantic, but is portrayed as immensely important and meaningful to both of them, regardless of how you choose to view it.

Knightrise by @deviantaccumulation (unfinished, 89k): Obi-Wan and Yoda choose not to try to fight Anakin or Sidious and instead retreat to Mandalore to attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as much as they can there under Satine's protection. This is an AU where Maul genuinely dies on Naboo which is a major plus in my book all on its own, quite honestly. There's some interesting political aspects in this for how the Jedi Order attempts to rebuild an actual community within Mandalore, with Mandalore still being a member of the Neutral Systems, and the Empire having risen already and all of the ensuing issues with that.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (unfinished, 46k): Obi-Wan and Yoda find Reva in the Temple and she accompanies Obi-Wan to Tatooine where they have to survive and recover together while watching over and protecting Luke. This is such a brilliant character study into Reva as a young child survivor of Order 66, being taken care of by someone who loves her but is equally as traumatized by the same event and the way that shapes their relationship and Reva's upbringing. I love her SO SO MUCH and I adore her perspective as she struggles to figure out what it means to be a Jedi in a world where being a Jedi openly means certain death but it's the last connection she has to her home, her family, and her culture.

our caches and constellations by johanneb (98k): "Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed." I couldn't come up with a better way to explain the fic than its own summary, but Cody and the 212th pick up Obi-Wan and Luke on Tatooine, while Senator Organa has to figure out how to get himself, Leia, and Leia's "tutor" to a rebel base without their two new Coruscant Guard escorts figuring out exactly how disloyal to the Republic they actually are. I absolutely SLAMMED through this fic, it's so good. Despite some of its heavier themes, it's honestly very sweet and wholesome with lots of cute Luke and Leia, some incredibly wonderful romances, and really interesting worldbuilding for this just slightly to the left version of the gffa. Anakin never makes an appearance in this, but he does get mentioned a few times for his betrayal and his part in the current state of the galaxy, and I REALLY loved that at no point in this fic was it ever important to either twin who their biological parents were.

ring the bells that can still ring by rain_sleet_snow (22k): Reva's been working with the Rebellion in-between the events of the Kenobi show and A New Hope, but when she hears Obi-Wan has made an appearance recently and goes to try to find him, she discovers Luke and Leia instead, with nobody left to train them but her. This fic was like a warm bread roll or a perfectly brewed cup of tea, it was just absolutely wholesome and exactly everything I could have wanted from this concept. The relationships between Luke, Leia, and Reva are both hilarious and sweet while allowing their respective traumas to still remain relevant to their journey together. Their discussions about Darkness, Reva's past, Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Jedi, and the events of A New Hope are all heart-wrenching and really feel so in-character but also so in line with the tone of the original trilogy. I could sit here and list things I liked about this fic all day, but it'd be faster to just read it yourself.

[stars-n-spice]

no you don't understand. I need the Bad Batch to have a happy ending. I need them all to make it out alive. I need them to all be together. I need them to be a family once again. I need them all alive, happy, healthy, thriving. I need them safe and healing and growing.

I need Hunter to be able to be at peace. To become what he so clearly wanted to be at the start of the series; a father. For him to have what he fought so hard for. To know that he's more than a soldier. I need him to be able to relax knowing his brothers, that Omega is safe and will forever be safe. I need need need him to have that peace. To have that kind of life. The life he didn't think he'd get, that no clone ever thought that they would get, but yet...And I need him to grow and learn from these mistakes and be that older brother for all of them I know he can be. Seeing him want a life different than what he was essentially made for that badly for him not to get it is going to absolutely destroy me.

I want Tech to come back. I want it so bad. I know Star Wars can't keep getting away with "killing a character and bringing them back" but what's doing it one more time? Am I biased because Tech is my second favorite Batcher? Yes. But listen, I just need him to return and be reunited with his family. I need him to see Crosshair again. I need him to see and be with Phee again. Yes the build up to his death was great and the send off with his goggles was, in my opinion beautiful, but I just really want him back. I miss him so much. He means so much to so many people and I just want to see him alive and well again.

I need Echo to come back and I need him to stay. Wrecker and Tech might be my favorites, but when it really comes down to it? Echo is my comfort character. When I'm upset and really struggling, what usually brings me back is thinking about what would Echo do? What would Echo say to me to get me through this? Echo means so so much to me and it hurts so much to see him reduced to a background character. It makes me think what even was the point of bring him back just to reduce him to what he is now? And I'm so so scared they're going to kill him off for shock value or to "explain" why he isn't with Rex in Rebels, but that's just so fucking stupid to me after having done nothing with his character since like the middle of season 2 of the Bad Batch. Bring him back, please. And let him be at peace for once too!! Goddammit, all this shit he's had to go through; getting fucking exploded, being a prisoner of war, losing Fives, losing his brothers because his chip malfunctioned, having to see what becomes of clones after everything they sacrificed for the galaxy-Like you already "killed". him off once, there's no need to do it again. Just bring him back and reunite him with the others, please.

I need Wrecker to get to have his family all together. On top of that, I need him to get the recognition he deserves for all that he does and has done. Omega might be the heart and soul of the team but Wrecker's the glue and arguably just as much as the heart and soul too. He's the protector, I'm sure he feels it's his responsibility to keep them together, to keep them safe. I want him to continue living his life knowing that he succeeded in doing so and now doesn't have to worry about something like that because they are safe. They're all together again and they're happy and they're safe. He can relax and enjoy what they used to have before it all went to shit. It's so obvious that he cares so much about his brothers and Omega in his own unique ways. Each of the members of the Batch have their own unique dynamics within each other, but it really seems like Wrecker is the one who has one with each of them. And yeah, he's my favorite so I'm going to be biased and I want him to make it out alive and I want him to be happy goddammit.

I need Crosshair to stay the fuck alive. I need him to continue to heal and grow and be back with his family again. I need him to be reassured and to feel safe and loved again. I cannot take another instance of a character who used to be so lost and broken finally getting healing and some peace only to sacrifice themselves again. To have someone go through so much only start to heal and then rip that away from them? I need him to be at peace. I need him to enjoy all that he's missed out on. I need to see him okay and content and healing and living. I don't think I can deal with seeing all of that being ripped away from him. Please just let the man be at peace for once in his fucking life. I am begging. You don't understand, he's healing; mentally, physically, he's getting better and to just,, take all of that away? Can't just ONE character please get a happy ending?? Like if any one of them deserve to see it through the end, it's him.

I need Omega to get the childhood she was cheated out of. I don't know how many times I've sat and thought about Omega only for me to burst out into tears. She's been isolated for nearly all of her life. At the most, she was free for two years out of her FOURTEEN years of existence. She went through ALL of that before the age Ashoka and Padmé were when they were just STARTING to go through the horrors. Yet she's remained so brave and so strong and so determined. She's endured and survived and I want her to thrive. I want her to have all her brothers together once again. I want her to grow up alongside them. I want her to be able to be a child for once. To experience life through those lenses. I don't want her to have to endure another loss.

I need to see this group of individuals who never really fit in have their place in the galaxy. I need to see them, all created with clear intents and purposes to fight in a war as cannon fodder find new purposes. I need to see these burnt-out kids catch a damn break for once. This family of neurodivergents who spent their entire lives either isolated or distant from everyone else because they were "different" and "special" get that well-deserved ending where they're all safe and happy and have a purpose and a place in the galaxy because fucking hell. I wanna know there's hope for me too.

just AAGUUHHH. I've never wanted a happy ending for anyone more than I want it for the Bad Batch.

[awesomestarfighter]

Whump Isn't Satisfying When It's Not Followed Up On

Another clickbaitey title again, I'm nothing if not consistent.

But I got incensed enough to make another post, so here I am again.

I love the Jedi, and like many fans, one Obi-Wan Kenobi is a huge favorite of mine.

I also love whump. It's one of my favorite subjects to search for in fic.

I do not like how Obi-Wan is whumped in The Clone Wars.

The setup is there, as we see the many, many ways one Obi-Wan Kenobi is whumped in TCW.

. . . But that's it.

That's all the show does to him. It beats him up till he's battered and bruised, and then it just leaves him in the dust.

At the very least it was mentioned he was dunked in the bacta after Landing at Point Rain, but the other examples?

Zilch.

And I know it's an action show, so it doesn't really have time for the much less exciting aftermath.

That would hold up a lot better if we didn't see other characters getting medical attention.

Ahsoka and Barriss, after the worms? Medical bay.

Anakin, after the explosion he held back with his mind and severely injured him? Getting him medical attention is literally the entire drive of the episode, and by the next episode he's still pretty battered.

Mace and Anakin, after they're both pinned under several tons of debris? Medical bay again.

Padme, Ahsoka, Rex, and his brother, infected by a deadly disease? Wheeled away on stretchers because they can't just walk that off.

There might be more examples I'm forgetting, but the point is that when the show goes out of the way to show injured characters getting medical attention, you can't spare a second of thought for Obi-Wan (remember when he's just standing there after Kadavo all bruised and battered? I sure do) then that is a problem.

Specifically, it's a huge problem of Filoni's.

It's not really a secret that he doesn't like Obi-Wan after all. Cody was the only named clone in the movies after all, but we got so little of their relationship in the show. Hell, we got more moments between Obi-Wan and Rex then we ever got between Obi-Wan and Cody.

Even more tellingly, Filoni's an Anakin stan, so of course he doesn't like Obi-Wan. He beats him up and never treats his injuries, he's never mentioned in moments when he theoretically should be (especially Umbara, when he's literally the only other Jedi present on the planet besides Krell) and of course then we have s7, where characters badmouth him and the narrative lets them be right because it's written by Filoni.

I'll always be grateful for the fanfic writers who take the time to write the aftermath of Obi-Wan getting beat up all the time.

When whump is written into something, I want it to be written right.

[meridiansdominoes]

I am LOVING "Dominoes" so far! I can't wait for what's next! Also, I have two questions. What inspired you to write "Dominoes" in the first place and gave you the idea for the story? Secondly, out of all the Jedi that could've possibly confronted Krell to arrest him, what made you choose Unduli and Windu? I understand why Anakin wouldn't be a good choice because he would've straight up murdered that sleemo besalisk on the spot. Not that I would blame him. But I know Obi-Wan is a good negotiator and seeing him sass Krell could've been hilarious! And seeing Plo Koon confront him could've been interesting as well with their completely opposite views on clones. Also, Master Plo doesn't strike me as the type to loose his temper easily. I don't know as much about Aayla so I can't really guess for her. But if she loves Bly, seeing her whoop Krell big time could've been interesting as well. Did you choose Unduli and Windu because they're were the most likely to be able to keep their cool dealing with someone like Krell? Or was it something else? Thanks! Keep being amazing!

Hiya! Thanks for the ask! I got the original idea when I was reading clone wars fanfics a while ago and every time travel fic was mostly Jedi! Not that there's anything wrong with that, and also now there's a ton of clone-centric time travel too, but back in the day it was very difficult to find clone time travel that was well executed. Since the clones had always been my favorite characters, I really wanted something like that, and the more I thought about it the more I became interested in how non-force sensitives and people with very little galactic influence would handle a time-travel situation! I decided to write it myself, using Domino squad because that way I could bring back three of my favorite characters and expand on characters who didn't get any screentime!

As for your second question, I actually chose Mace Windu to go after Krell because I decided that he had the highest chance of defeating Krell in a 1 on 1 lightsaber duel! I don't know how good of a fighter Krell actually is against other Jedi--we never get to see him fight another lightsaber user... maybe he's actually terrible and even Ahsoka could beat him, or maybe he's a monster. Regardless of reality, he's huge, and those dual double-bladed are super intimidating, so I decided he's probably pretty tough. With that in mind, I needed someone who was super competent at lightsaber dueling to take him on, so I chose Mace! It also made sense to me that the council would choose someone fairly important to go and arrest one of their own. I chose Luminara to back him up because, as you mentioned, she's good at staying calm under pressure, and I also felt like I had missed an opportunity to include her on Geonosis, so I wanted to make up for that! I also partially chose her because I'm a big fan of clone commander Gree, and I knew I eventually wanted to write a short about it from his perspective, which I did!

Plo Koon and Aayla both would have been interesting choices as well, you make really good points that their relationships with their clones could have really made them fierce opponents for Krell! As for Anakin... I didn't choose him for a very specific reason that you will find out in a few chapters hehe!

[ch3rr13zk1n]

Hello! *pulls a dumbass idea out of my ass from last night*

It was a bit of an excuse to draw my favorite character as a girlboss but uh basically uhhhhhhhhh

gosh even if its mostly a text post i don't wanna embarrass myself

Uhhhh

ill just paste an explanation of what shorts wars is just in case one silly goober that doesn't know shorts wars accidentally finds this post

Shorts wars is a arg made by a bunch of dudes that make shorts and was created because of the clone accounts ( get it?? ) that steal their content. Basically when it started there were different bunch of QR codes that popped up on their shorts and when our scanned them they took you to a video where a guy named The Boss in a unpleasant gradient says that if they don't quit making shorts and rotting people's brains then they will get replaced. While a few listened, The rest didn't. And the other stuff happened blah blah blah. Anyways i also gotta say one of the creators was a guy named Danno and uh he makes shorts (obviously i mean this is fucking shorts wars what do you expect??) and he has a mascot character named Riggy who is a blue rabbit with red shorts, green eyes and a very interesting kill count.

and Preston/Clone Riggy is a clone of Riggy (obviously)

anyways time to bring out the other explanation

Why the fuck are they a girl here

well uh when i thought more about what Preston wants and thinks it sorta gave me the vibes of "possibly transgender" idk why it got that way but i sorta stuck to it as a bit of a headcanon

like idk man he's stuck in a body that looks like the guy he despises cmon man (ALSO THE DAMN NAME CHANGE!!)

of course, I have to note for the sake of not getting canceled by a twitter user that i don't view trans people as evil people. It just happened to be that i sorta headcanoned Preston as transgender because it felt that way to me

though what the fuck do i even know about trans people I'm not even trans

Also theres some deep very complex lore revealed in season 2 go watch a Datchia short or smth

ok cool anyways here's an explanation of the au

Ahem

Prrston feels like he doesn't matter n betrays the boss, After that he becomes the new uh boss or smth of the company

Preston also self reflects and realizes "Wait fuck maybe i don't wanna be a dude" and transitions

Why this story in particular?

because history repeats itself

especially when there's a possibility that someone from that time influenced what happened..

thats it ig

RAAA

(If you don't like this post then don't bother to say anything about it. I was already sorta insecure about this post existifnf)

(seriously i know i pulled this AU out of my ass and it might not really fit but idc man its my thing and i made the au)

(Also you're allowed to have your own headcannons i don't mind as long as it doesn't hurt anyone :3)

[warsamongthestars]

I've seen the arguments about "Well characters are flawed and shouldn't take the most logical option!"

Well, yeah. Part of making a character run into conflict, is to see how they will react, resolve, not resolve or make the situation worse.

A watchable character ain't a video game PC.

My problem is "This isn't the rational option that this character would take, based on how they are", AKA, this character was written to have these specific points and they are not following these points.

AKA, the set up doesn't match the action / reaction.

For example.

If you have a scene, where you are placing a puppy into a gift box, because you are preparing for a child's birthday... and when the birthday comes, the puppy just rushes in from off screen with no shown scene as to why...

That, is a problem, because it makes the set up that time was spent on, absolutely pointless.

( That scene actually did occur in the Humongous Game "Fatty Bear", an old old 90s PC click-adventure game. Its set up mishap isn't nearly as bad, because well, limited resources for early 1990s, and it is just a cute point-n-click game for kids. A teddy bear sets up a cake for his friend. Frankly, can't get much cuter XD )

Now on to your favorite part--me going after the TBBshow again.

One of the parts of what broke TBBshow for me, when it comes to reasonable character progression, happened in the first 15 minutes, and then continued to drag until it reached the most unreasonable conclusion.

... And that was Hunter not confronting Crosshair.

When it comes to reasonable reaction, character is a set of guidelines to use for the imaginary object being written. If done right, it looks organic enough that we will follow, discuss or blame the character, and not the writer at their keyboard / wizard behind the curtain. This is part of how suspense of disbelief occurs. This is the magic we all scream about when we say "Oh, the Bad Batch should've done this!" instead of "What the fuck, writers?"

( As you can tell, the magic kinda broke for me in the worst way. )

The prior show sets up that Hunter is very close to his batchsquad. Makes jokes, semi-busts balls, instinctual trusts them both on the field and off the field (and gets extremely antsy when having to trust an unknown element--Echo).

This is a man who, obviously, is very comfortable with his squadmates. If something were wrong, he would be the first to get involved and offer vocal comfort (see Hunter trying to comfort Wrecker when his fear of heights start acting up at the worst time).

So what would you say this man would do, if his very close brother and squadmate, started acting off?

Perhaps a confrontation in private?

As the Sergeant and assigned Leader of Clone Force 99, its not just in his character as a brother, but also his Duty as according to his Rank, to confront as he deems fit, abnormal behavior.

As someone who clearly cares about his brothers underneath the quiet exterior (I refuse to call him stoic--he's anything but), that confrontation would probably be a "hey, what's going on man?"

( Hunter shuts down if he gets yelled at or gets confronted in public. See his reaction to Rex yelling at him. )

That, is the reasonable step, that the set up for Sergeant Hunter from Clone Wars, would likely take. I say likely, because as a fictional character, all his actions have to be written down and you have to sell the reactions.

Its just like roleplay. If you were Sergeant Hunter, what role would you play?

What the TBBshow chose to do instead, is ignore the problem. Crosshair acts abnormal, shooting at kids, AGREEING WITH REGS, and Hunter just sorta shrugs his shoulders and they are at Kamino in the next scene like teleportation.

That sounds more like, the Plot wanted the Batch somewhere, without ever confronting Character action at all.

But you'd prolly point out, they were on the cusp of confronting Crosshair later on in that same episode...

... And then it resolves to thinking "Oh my Gods, Omegawd is IN DANGER MY NEWLY INSTALLED PARENT DRIVERS ARE TINGLING".

That is another trip up.

There is not a character rationality here, where Hunter wouldn't have stomped his foot down and kept his confrontation with Crosshair. Maybe out of actual anger, maybe out of concern turned anger, maybe out of Fear (we don't have enough of Hunter from TCWs to show what he would do--so we'd have to make up something reasonable up).

It wouldn't be rational as the stressed caring brother he is, and it wouldn't be rational as a Sergeant.

Especially for some random kid who... had lunch with them once.

This is because the plot demands that Omegawd takes center stage, and has no skill in writing characters beyond stock and cliche.

So what was being seen wasn't, in fact, character rational at all, but instead, was Plot Demands.

They cannot confront Crosshair, becuase Plot wants him to be Evil.

Hunter cannot do anything but Save Omegawd, because plot demands he be the Parent, even though the plot cannot write parenthood either.

( The way it does write parenthood, gives me PTSD flashbacks, and makes me deeply despise TBBshow's Hunter. Like, I dream putting this asshole through the wringer, and calling him out on every piece of bullshit he's ever pulled. I yearn to beat the shit out of him. )

I have a problem with Plot demanding things when Characters can do so much better, with so much more interesting flair.

So, I don't' really take the "But the character shouldn't act logically!" arguments very seriously, because sometimes, a lot of the problem is the Plotting, not the Character.

So, because deconstruction and destructive criticism is easy and far too common, time to pull in the reconstruction using the elements above.

To reconstruct:

IF WE WANT TO KEEP THE CURRENT PLOT... ... Out of fear of what is going on with Kamino, Omega stows away in the Havoc Marauder when the Batch take their first Mission under Admiral Tarkin.

This is set up already, as she has this habit of A) wandering away from Nala Se, B) causing mischief and trouble, and C) really wants to be apart of the squad she saw grow up.

When they confront Crosshair, it gets interrupted when Omega wanders out to see what's going on, and the Batch collectively go "Oh Shit".

Trying to figure out what to do next, the Batch are tend caught by following Imperal Trooper forces, who were on standby due to the local planet being an Insurgency spot and were alerted when the spy droid was shot.

This results in the Batch's capture, and the resulting escape from the Star Destroyer ends up leaving Crosshair behind when its assumed he died in the resulting escape attempt.

(How this is, can be made up. Like, maybe parts of the ship decompressed, maybe he had a lifesign signal and it got damaged, maybe he got overwhelmed by imperial forces, and it looked like he was shot to death).

This cleans up. A). The refusal to talk about Crosshair in the resulting episodes. B). Having Omega with them that doesn't involve jumping parsecs of space.

IF WE WANT TO TAKE A DIFFERENT TURN, BUT KEEP THE PLOT... ... The reason the Batch became so obsessed with protecting Omega, was because of a secondary / alternative chip installed in their heads by Nala Se in order to protect her assets.

This chip can work in conjunction with the inhibitor chip, but not always. Let's called it the OP, or the Omega Protocol.

In parallel, like how Crosshair Inhibitor Chip worked too well, Hunter's OP Chip worked too well. With alternative effects on the rest of the Batch:

Tech becomes distant from learning, focusing entirely on technical skills.

Wrecker's is actually damaged from the blast he took to the head--so the chip misfires and causes memory issues. He knew hand signs once, but now he doesn't.

Echo's is actually a looping program installed not long after he joined the Batch. This has caused irritation, headaches, and long term memory problems--he can acknowledge that Fives died, but he can't quite muster much about it because of the loopback in his head.

Omega is not aware of this secondary chip.

Crosshair was considered a paid price to the Empire, if it meant Nala Se's assets were protected.

How this would resolve... is a story for another time.

IF WE WANT TO SHIFT THE PLOT BASED ON SET UP...

... The Entire Batch, save Echo, fall under the Chip, resulting in a rival team to Echo and eventually, Rex's Rebellion.

... Omega has always been an active participant with the Batch ever since Echo joined, as she's meant to be Echo's assistant. May or may not coincide with the plot above.

... None of the Batch fall under the chip, because deviancy prevents it, and the show is about them on the run.

... None of the Batch fall under the Chip, because of deviancy, and the show is about them starting / joining the Rebellion. May coincide with plot above.

... The Bad Batch show is actually the sister show of the Clone Wars, and starts when the Clone Wars Starts, and ends just before Anaxes.

... The Bad Batch show takes place entirely between Anaxes and Revenge of the Sith.

... The Bad Batch chips activate, and instead, the show is entirely about their missions with the Empire.

... The Bad Batch chips don't activate, but the show is half them having missions with the empire, only to join the Rebellion later on.

... The reason the Bad Batch don't show up later on to steal the Deathstar plans, is because they inevitably died in action.

SHIFTING THE PLOT BASED ON "RULE OF AWESOME":

... The Bad Batch show actually starts with the Bad Batch being sent thousands of years into the past to face off in the Jedi-Mandolorian Wars, KOTOR style.

... THe Bad Batch show is actually about the Bad Batch entering another Galaxy entirely, marking the first Star Wars show that doesn't occur in the Star Wars galaxy.

... The Bad Batch become Force Users, but are inevitably killed by Darth Vader.

... The Bad Batch Show instead is about how the Bad Batch got frozen and were sent Decades into the Future AFTER the OG Trilogy occurred.

... The Bad Batch Show is actually Echo's dying dream as his cybernetics fail him, leaving everyone wondering if it was real at all.

[that-one-kiddo-in-the-back]

This video is about Star Wars... apparently.

Once again, if you don't know me, I'm what Lily would refer to as a Star Wars weeb. I live, breathe, and shit Star Wars. You got it? Good. Let's dig in.

Now, this can't be a Lily Orchard video without her complaining about the thing she claims to love. Now, I have my own problems with the sequel series, mostly that I found it boring and a wasted opportunity to do something a bit different and interesting and felt that they pushed a black man to make room for a white woman. Hell, my siblings even told me that for a week, it was just none stop complaining about Disney owning Star Wars I think the only reason I started to go a bit easy and shut up was when star wars rebels came out but I'll get into my own acceptance of Disney canon in a separate post.

To her credit, she talks about how universal Star Wars is, how it has something for everyone, and if you're someone like me a shit ton of stuff to take all of the money from your account but now we come to Lily not understanding how things work.

She goes into a rant about how streaming services are killing movies and just regularly TV watching, which is true, yes. She's uses Matt Damon's views on streaming she then talks about her all-time favorite movie and the reason she pushes for low stakes storytelling from that time period called John Q. From 2002 which if you don't know, it's about a father who holds a hospital hostage at Gun Point to get them to help his son, who needs a life-threatening heart surgery.

Despite the title, this video has nothing to do with Star Wars. it's more about streaming services with a spit of Star Wars. From 8:37 to 14:48 is nothing about Star Wars and all about streaming and low stakes over high stakes. Despite that, I would argue that John Q, while being more a personal movie of a father desperate to save his son, is a high stakes situation. High stakes storytelling isn't just "The fate of the universe is at risk," and low stakes storytelling isn't just personal drama. John Q stakes are pretty high with taking an emergency hospital hostage where everyone could die if not treated, and the best case scenario for the main character is his son getting treatment while he goes to prison and the worst case being he dies with his son. I hate to break it to you Lily but the movie you say is your all time favorite is a fucking high stakes movie.

Finally, getting back to fucking Star wars. She brings up how Star Wars is a pretty low stakes series simply because of how the story is overshadowed by the family drama that is the Skywalker family, which is turn. I would say that Star Wars can be pretty low stakes, but I wouldn't stay that it is. She talks about clone wars, the "patron saint of the annoying darkness obsessed Fanboys" (A.K.A me) has plenty of episodes of that dig deep into the rot and corruption of the republic and the jedi order but that those are dwarfed by the focus of Anakin and Ahsoka's relationship pointing out that that episode was the series most hard hitting to the fans which is true anyone who watched that episode can tell you they cried their eyes out but that's mostly because that really left an impact on Anakin and one could argue is that's what really made him question the order and when you go back to watch Anakin's descent it makes it all the more heart breaking.

We all know Lily hates serialized TV that's no secret or surprise she'd much rather watch a sitcom over anything else, but the thing is, but she treats serialized shows as moldy bread using the Ahsoka show as an example of losing characters and losing moments for the story to breathe and the fun episodes that do nothing but flesh out a character never mind the fact that Ahsoka and Sabine don't need to have their character fleshed out we already saw that in rebels for Sabine and CW for Ahsoka. I find it kinda funny that she doesn't like the Ahsoka show when that was the lowest stakes show she could ask for a teacher and a student getting back together to help find Ezra while 2 dark side users are also trying to find him so they can find Thrawn hell she even has some lesbians to obsess over but they focus on the force for to long and has too many samurai references dispirit the fact that...

The Jedi are basically samurai!

The jedi takes inspiration from monks and Samurais, so no Lily. Dave filoni isn't some secret Weeb. Blame Lucas if you have to

Something I found interesting is Lily using M*A*S*H and other sitcoms saying they have some depth to them, but we her critics can't see that past the laugh track saying how her favorite All in the Family did a good job talking about drag queens while taking a dump on Rocky horror for their drag queens. Now I haven't seen all in the family or Rocky horror (and I don't plan to), but I have seen M*A*S*H, which is a good sitcom it's pretty funny and a prime example of "laughter is the best medicine" or "if you don't laugh, you'll cry." If you don't know what M*A*S*H is, it's a 70s (1972 to 1983) sitcom that takes place in a medical tent during the Korean War with most of the episodes being about the main group of characters trying to go home but whacky hijinks get in the way the show is all dark humor. Little fun fact if you didn't fall asleep during history class, M*A*S*H was made three years before the Vietnam War had ended, so people didn't care for it until 1974 and you don't have to he a genius to know why it's loved now.

Lily’s main problem with Star Wars is that she's living in the past and won't move forward, and she can't expect that not everyone likes what she likes. Sure, Solo was a flop, but there are still some people who like it.

There is no such thing as peak fiction also applies to Lily herself.

She missed an opportunity to use avatar

[creativemessbyvd]

Snippet “The Scorpion's Redemption” -Cody Day

Halfway through the river, the frog felt the sting of the scorpion and as its venom worked through him, he turned to the scorpion to ask why he had doomed them both. It is in my nature, was all the answer the scorpion could give, before both the frog and the scorpion were lost to the river.

“Now, that is depressing… but what does it mean?”

“Well, the most common interpretation is that we cannot change our nature and to be wary of strangers who show their true colors, lest we are doomed by them.”

“So that's it? Wooley's right, that is depressing.”

“And this is commonly taught to tubies?”

“Fables are our way of passing on wisdom that may be better understood through example, that most of them feature animals is the main reason why they are most favorable for children yes, but for me in particular, this isn't one of my favorites.”

“What are your thoughts on it, General?”

“For me, it is a quite bleak story, considering that most beings are capable of one essential aspect that sets us apart from, say, simple machines.”

“And what's that?”

“Free will. Certainly our upbringing will have an impact on our character and thus on our decisions, but all living beings have free will and with it, the option to choose. Whether to do good or not, that is what sets us apart. I have heard this story be used both to warn of being too trusting, but also have it have a different ending, one where the scorpion doesn't sting the frog and both make it out alive and well, in the end to give the hope that we are not defined by how others perceive us, that we can always choose another path, and that we mustn't in turn be too quick to judge others.”

“I think I like that version much better.”

“So do I, specially now.”

“Because of us?”

“Quite right, Waxer. Most of the galaxy will perceive you all as a machine in an organic body, infinite copies of Jango Fett with no thoughts of your own. But to anyone who spends even five minutes by your side, my friends, it is quite obvious that that is far from the truth. Mind me becoming a bit of a poet but…”

Blue eyes seek his own, settling and giving his chest a warmness he swears must be Force osik.

“You are, each and every one of you, a shining star that is unique for the simple fact that it belongs to you.”

Footsteps, happy chuckles and mutterings as everyone but them leave the room.

“Do you mean that? About us being unique beings?”

“But of course! I would never lie to you or your men of that Commander. Hmm, though for you, I would use a different example.”

“Oh?”

“Many of your siblings are certainly stars but Cody…

You are a sun.”

I think you'll be needing this-you are a sun-the time has come-once the war is over-execute order 66-you are a sun-i would very much like to take you out on a date-yes my lord-you are my sun-blast him-my sun-codycodycodycody

cody

----

No matter how many times he had the dream, he would always wake up feeling sick to his stomach, panting, hyperventilating, like he had run drills for hours. And yet…it was never violent or startling, that final whisper of his name though, that brought him so many emotions he had no option but to immediately run to empty his stomach. He didn't understand. If he were anyone but himself, he would even say that it felt like a ghost, coming to haunt his dreams so he may never sleep soundly again. But he knew that was banthashit, so as he cleaned his mouth and prepared for the day, he would put the dream memory behind him. He had a job to do, and good soldiers follow orders.

----

“CC-2224, you will be in charge of security, anyone caught trying to enter without authorization, is to be immediately terminated.”

“I was brief before arriving planetside that I would be in charge of training, sir.”

“Hmm, yes, but that has changed. Before we weren't yet sure of the Mandalorians' participation, but now that we have them to turn to, we will be using their expertise over yours. I know that you are the last clone we have that trained under Fett and his own Mandalorians, but nothing will beat having actual Mandalorians to train the Empire's troopers. You and your men are to be security and nothing else, the last of the clone troopers are soon to be brought here. It would have been a waste anyway, there's enough of you to cover the security but not certainly to cover all the training centers anyway. Dismissed, oh and one last thing, try not to take off your helmets too much. Heard the natives are a little too trigger-happy with you clones.”

Cody stood outside the office, looking at his helmet, the visor reflecting a face he had seen on hundreds of men before him for 3 years, now he stood and truly felt alone as he had never before. His batch mates, gone. The last one amongst a handful of others, the Great Army of the former Republic, now Empire. He knew more and more of his siblings marched on every day, but now he got the confirmation. His own batch mates, those he considered his closest brothers, those who had been with him since he had been a fresh tubie, were truly gone. He had been shipped to Mandalore on a promotion for his service, to be a part of the first training center for troopers, the first while the other planned 4 centers were still under construction.

-------------- End of snippet

I really wanted to finish at least the first chapter for Cody Day, but alas, way too much work piled on :( This is for my first chapter of the first story based on my Adopting or Adopted idea, this is the summary of this first story “The Scorpion's Redemption”:

CC-2224 is sent to Mandalore, now under Empire control, to be security for the first of the Storm Troopers' training centers. Plagued with strange dreams at night and by the scorn of Mandalorians during the day, at six months he starts questioning his place in the galaxy. After helping rescue a young orphan by the name of Din, he is noticed by a Mandalorian known as The Armorer, who treats him with actual respect but leaves him questioning everything, including the end of the war. A month later, a civil war breaks out between Death Watch and Mandalorians who oppose the Empire's rule over their home world. 2224 defects from the Empire and manages to escape with young Din right before the planet is glassed. He must now set off to find The Armorer to return young Din to his clan while disguised as a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter. Along the way, he finds himself slowly coming to terms with his involvement at the Purge, but before he can work through it with some alcohol in between jobs, he comes across a young red-headed teen, who is hunted by an Inquisitor for being a surviving Jedi. Cal Kestis wastes no time in wanting to get away, but his injuries and young Din force him to stay. 2224 must now take care of two boys while he searches for their respective people. Can 2224 break through the last of the chip's control to unlock his true memories of the war? Will Cal learn to trust him and, in turn, be able to rekindle his connection to the Force? And what does young Din hide from them both?

This story would be focused purely on Cody, Cal, and Din as they become a family, bc damn if I won't give my blorbos some family.

I still don't know if I will keep the series title as “Adopting or Adopted” but that is how you can find my original post of the whole idea for the series. This would only be of Cody, while the other two would focus on Obi Wan and Vader respectively. If anyone is interested, you are welcome to ask any questions on my main @vestadragon !

Happy Cody Day!

[dorkydegeneracy]

1. Andor

2. Obi-Wan Kenobi

3. The Mandolorian

4. Ahsoka

-----------------------------

5. The Acolyte

5. The Book of Boba Fett

Andor is by far the greatest live action Star Wars project to date, which is a shame because I think it is the least watched of all projects. As someone who loves the political intrigue side of Star Wars, this show speaks to me on a personal level. I understand that most Star Wars fans may not value this aspect of the series. Indeed, I have heard from many fans that this is their least favorite aspect of Star Wars. Nevertheless, I truly believe that Andor is the only show that I can confidently say makes for good television (not perfect of course, far from it). Diego Luna's performance rivals only one other lead actor's performance imo for the best performance in live action Star Wars (more on that in just a second!). Kyle Soller's Syril was a pleasant surprise standout. Overall, the cast delivered in a way that I did not expect.

The other projects imo have writing/cinematography flaws that severely effect the quality and overall enjoyment of the show.

---

Obi-Wan Kenobi ranks second for me in LARGE part because, despite some valid concerns of characterization, Ewan McGregor absolutely nailed his portrayal of Master Kenobi! Ewan is a phenomenal actor. We all know this. His Obi-Wan was a highlight of the prequels, and he tried his very best to hold this show together because he cares so much about Star Wars.

Unfortunately, there are so many questionable writing issues. Chief among them, Reva's character was terribly written and the continued existence of her character damages Obi-Wan's legacy as the protector of the "last hope." Second, the budget was the smallest of all of the shows, resulting in lower quality cinematography and special effects. Lastly, there were too many strange gaffes that made the it hard to take the show serious at times (this includes the trenchcoat fiasco, Flea's portrayal of a kidnapper to name a few).

Other straws that make the show valuable and interesting to me include:

1) Excluding Reva, everything else that happened in the show doesn't present concerns for me in terms of canon compliance. In fact, the way the show ends leaves the possibility of a more introspective character story about Kenobi learning how to communicate with Qui-Gon, and his life on Tatooine.

2) The Obi-Wan/Anakin relationship. One of the key goals of the Prequels and the Clone Wars was to expand on this relationship. It is a fascinating tragedy at the heart of Star Wars. I would have loved it if the whole show was about Kenobi's guilt, seeing him get back in touch with the force, communing with Qui Gon, and Tuscan Raiders. However, the little that we did get was fulfilling, and Darth Vader releasing Obi-Wan from his guilt over Anakin was beautiful.

3) Eventhough there were critiques about having Princess Lei play the key role that she did in the show, Vivien Lyra Blair was very likeable and portrayed the spirit of princess Leia in a new way. Never in a million years would I have said that I needed or wanted to see Leia as a child, but I am glad that I did. She was for sure a highlight.

That's enough about Obi-Wan. It's not like I could possibly convince anybody who thought the show was holistically bad (a valid criticism imo) to find any redeeming qualities.

---

The Mandolorian is a visually stunning show for the most part, and it serves as the foundation of live action Star Wars. Admittedly, I have little significant criticisms with the stories told throughout the series. My biggest issue with Mando, and I will continue to die on this hill, is that I want it to be more about Mandolorians. This is why, believe it or not, season 3 is my favorite season. It finally focused on the show's namesake, and builds on the incredible world of Mandalore, one of the best things to come out of the Clone Wars. I desperately want Mandalore to rise again. It's such an important planet in the canon, and people love all the lore that is associated with Mandalore.

I think Grogu is an amazing character, and I love his connections with Luke and Ahsoka. I love Din Djarin and his role as Grogu's father figure. These characters are very valuable and important, but they should not have been the focus of the show. I want more clan conflicts, and I want to see Mandalore grow! I want flashbacks to Bo Katan's childhood, when Mandalore was thriving! Why has there not been a single mention of Satine Kryze in a show called the Mandolorian? I know the show is not about Satine. Nobody is asking for the show to be about Satine. But Satine is supposed to be Bo's older sister, and there is so much character development to be expounded upon there.

Other than that, I just don't personally have a connection to the Mandolorian in a way that I do with Andor and Kenobi. Seasons 1 and 2 just really weren't my type of show. Season 3 did pique my interests tho.

---

Lastly, Ahsoka! I thought Ahsoka was okay, but it really just confuses me tbh. My confusion stems from two key things: 1) Thrawn was very lackluster; and 2) the world between worlds was even more complicated.

Thrawn in the books and in Rebels is arguably the smartest, most cunning creature in the universe. This is his primary attribute which makes him stand out in a universe of force wielders, aliens, and bots. The Thrawn in Ahsoka made some questionable decisions, and heavily relied on Morgan Elsbeth as his fellow strategist. He also just looked goofy to me, but his skin is blue so I won't harp on it too much.

Unlike some fans, I find the world between worlds to be an interesting addition to the Star Wars universe. The mechanics established in Rebels were relatively straightforward: some sort of plane governed by the force containing various doors to different points in time. The mechanics of the world between worlds were complicated in Ahsoka.

First, Ahsoka entered the world between worlds (WBW) after falling off of a cliff at sea. Was the ocean a magical gateway to the WBW? Did Ahsoka die? Nobody knows. My best guess is that the WBW is probably an astral plane where one's spirit enters, and not their whole corporal being.

Secondly, if the WBW is an astral plane, that means that Anakin's soul was communicating with Ahsoka. Was he trapped there? Is he a force ghost? Do all force ghost reside here? And then Anakin's force ghost shows up at the end! I just have so many questions.

Third, Ahsoka did hop between different points in the timeline, but did so as a younger version of herself, which we have never seen before. Additionally, Ahsoka never walked through a door on her journey.

All of this just makes the world between worlds hella confusing.

I'm not that bothered by Sabine is training to become a Jedi. Let me be clear: her midichlorian levels are insanely low, and had this been in an era during the Jedi Order's prominence she would have been sneezed at. But I can appreciate having a character who is truly like the rest of us train as a Jedi. That was the whole point of Rey being a nobody, which they immediately retconed. No, Sabine being a Jedi isn't necessarily canon compliant, but the force is within us all, right? God knows I wouldn't be sufficiently force sensitive, so I can relate to Satine on a personal level.

---

The last two are set apart from the rest in all fairness because I have not watched them in their entirety. I have watched 10 minutes of Boba Fett, and after hearing what was going on in The Acolyte, I watched detailed recaps of the season because I do think that Lucas Films will be creating more stories that will build on stories established therein. Overall, I don't believe that these two shows are of the same caliber as the rest of the Star Wars live action projects.

[questforgalas]

Sibling moments in the Bad Batch that live rent free in my head

S1E11 "Devil's Deal" and S1E12 "Rescue on Ryloth"

The batch are literally in Devil's Deal for 2 minutes so we be doing a joint watch babes. Special recognition to the introduction of the greatest hair in the GAR, Captain Howzer, and a lot of screen time for my favorite babes who I wish would stop committing war crimes for the Empire

Devil's Deal

Nothing says family bonding like black market weapon runs

"Tech won't let me train until I can recite all the ship's specifications from memory" IS THE MOST SIBLING THING TO EVER SIBLING LIKE NO YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH MY TOY UNTIL YOU CAN TELL ME EVERY FACT ABOUT IT GOOD LUCK IT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU YEARS

You can't tell me Omega doesn't know all the things she's showing Hera because she's 10000% sat in the copilot chair while Tech flew and asked "what's this? and what's this? and what's this?" repeatedly for days and it was probably the best days of Tech's life

"Did you know flying's about a feeling?" and Tech's immediately concerned "What feeling?" while giving concerned eyes at Hunter

Rescue on Ryloth angsty siblings 👏 angsty siblings 👏 angsty siblings 👏

Crosshair babe please stop hunting down children

Hunter's immediate appearance as soon as he hears sparks and a mini explosion happening

Gonky is the best side character of TBB

"You gave her our comm channel?" oh no big bro is exasperated

Hunter getting absolutely owned by the optimism and rose colored glasses of a pre-teen girl

His face is so "god dam it I'm really proud of you right now but I also wish you'd take a break for just one second"

Tech and Wrecker glance Tech and Wrecker glance

After Hera says "I don't have anyone else to ask", Echo mirrors Omega's same facial expressions and head movements behind her, the little empathetic babes

The grumbles after Omega points out Crosshair's there 😂😂

Here's why I'm putting that as a sibling moment - we've seen this squad face down entire cities worth of troopers at this point (Raxus was just 2 episodes ago, and we've seen them take on 3 ships worth of clones too) without even batting an eye. But one sighting of Crosshair and they're all grumbling and that's what throws them in the "we can't pull this off mentality" and I interpret that as coming from the continuing theme of the Batch being so proud of each other's skills and enhancements, they're so in awe of each other, and the only thing that could ever give them a challenge is one of them. He may be their enemy right now, but they still believe in Crosshair's skillset so much that just him makes them decide to abandon the mission

Wrecker's smile at Echo when Hunter drops down on the probe droid

Crosshair seeing a from-above POV scan of the Batch and knowing exactly where they would've been staking out

"She's trying to save her family, Hunter. I'd do the same for you" BOOM OMEGA COMING IN WITH THE FAMILY FEELS ARROW RIGHT IN THE CHEST

Oh no, this one really hurts after season 2

"We have a battalion of troopers right outside." immediately countered by Crosshair's "That's not enough!" emphasized so much he's jabbing his finger into Rampart's desk. They may be enemies but god these bros are all up in the proud feels

Shout out to Howzer for standing down immediately when Crosshair started glaring at him. Smart guy knows a battle he won't win

"Because he's my brother." this is such a cute Omega episode

Omega's coaching Hera about coming up with a plan is 100% Hunter teachings

"Wh-that was my plan!" sibling 101: never let them have credit

Wrecker and Echo glance Wrecker and Echo glance

the surprised "Really?"s when Hunter gives the ok on the plan like they can't believe their hairbrained scheme actually worked on big bro

Tech's fun smirk when Omega says "Do some damage Wrecker" and Wrecker starts laughing in the gunner seat

Crosshair figuring out the true plan like god dam it they were all so in synch I need a Bad Batch curing the clone wars show immediately I will literally fund it with the $10 in my bank account

The Hunter and Crosshair cut scene stares

Wrecker's high five with Omega on Ord Mantell 😂 he's so proud of his little war criminal sister

Nothing like sibling bonding via showing how to scramble a ship's signature

Tech and Wrecker's smiles at Omega they're so proud of her for making a friend

[redsandspirit]

Matthew Stover ruined Dooku

It is perhaps generally accepted that Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover is one of the best books ever written in the Star Wars universe, if not the best. It's not hard to see why, since in many ways the story is head and shoulders above the movie, and Anakin Skywalker is, in my opinion, better captured by the author than anywhere else in the Expanded Universe. Still, I can't say that I was completely satisfied with the novel. Count Dooku is one of my favorite EU characters and I was saddened by how he was portrayed by Stover.

Xenophobia

Matthew Stover's Darth Tyranus is a terrible xenophobe, who never fails to remind the reader of this even during conversations with his colleagues such as Grievous and Darth Sidious. He deeply believes that creating the Empire of Man is what he was born to do? Seriously? Dooku is so evil in this book that it seems as if he would have been able to carry out all of Palpatine's plans exactly to the smallest detail without the participation of Palpatine himself. I think Stover here erases the complexity of the character that Jude Watson and Sean Stewart were able to create, and that's something we'll come back to.

A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorant rabble and subhuman creatures that made up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would be Authority personified. Human authority. It was no accident that the primary powers of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were Neimoidian, Skakoan, Quarren and Aqualish, Muun and Gossam, Sy Myrthian and Koorivar and Geonosian. At war’s end the aliens would be crushed, stripped of all they possessed, and their systems and their wealth would be given into the hands of the only beings who could be trusted with them. Human beings. Dooku would serve an Empire of Man. And he would serve it as only he could. As he was born to. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

In the novels written before Revenge of the Sith, we saw many important episodes from Dooku's past, and there were no premises for xenophobia. As a child, he was constantly dealing with other sentient species in the Jedi Order, and his father figure was a literal gremlin. One of Dooku's childhood friends was Eero Iridian, who is also not human. Darth Tyranus shows some remorse due to the fact that he and Darth Sidious took advantage of the Troxans (a non-human species) to drain the Republic's resources. This definitely doesn't fit with the way in RotS Dooku gleefully imagines crushing non-humans under the new government.

“These are the envoys from Troxar,” his Master said. How could he know? Dooku didn’t ask. Darth Sidious knew. He always knew.“They are considering surrender,” Dooku said. “They claim they have a resistance planned, ready to rise in insurrection when the clone troops withdraw.” “No!” the flickering figure said sharply. “The war has already damaged the planet too much to make it worth saving. Its only value now is to chew up more troops and resources. Tell them they have to fight on. Promise them reinforcements—tell them you will be deploying a new fleet of advanced droids to retake the whole system within a month, if only they can hold on. Explain that such weapons will not be put in the hands of those who surrender.” “And when the month passes, and no reinforcements arrive?” “Help will come within another month at most. Promise them that, and make them believe it. I’ve shown you how.” “I understand,” Dooku said. How casually we betray our creatures. The hooded figure cocked its head. “Having an attack of conscience, my apprentice?” “No, Master.” He met the hooded figure’s hideous eye. “It was their own greed that brought them to you,” he said. “In their heart of hearts, they always knew what they were getting into.” - Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, 1

Technophobia

The next uncharacteristic trait that was added to the character is technophobia. Anakin Skywalker's prosthetic arm disgusts Dooku, and he almost spits bile while talking to Grievous. The aristocrat hates not only cyborgs, but also ordinary droids, calling them “repulsive” and hoping that they will be destroyed along with the General.

“Which is precisely,” Dooku said meditatively, “why it might be best if I were to kill him, instead.” “Are you so certain that you can?” “Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—” Dooku’s lip curled with cultivated distaste. “Revolting.” “Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.” “Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed.” Dooku flicked a dismissive wave. “He’s no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?” - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Dooku nodded judiciously to himself, frowning down at the translucent blue ghosts slinking toward Palpatine. “Sound the retreat for the entire strike force, General, and prepare the ship for jump. Once the Jedi are dead, I will join you on the bridge.”“As my lord commands. Grievous out.” “Indeed you are, you vile creature,” Dooku muttered to the dead comlink. “Out of luck, and out of time.” He cast the comlink aside and ignored its clatter across the deck. He had no further use for it. Let it be destroyed along with Grievous, those repulsive bodyguards of his, and the rest of the cruiser, once he was safely captured and away. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Why doesn't this make sense? As with xenophobia, the previous books and comics do not contain any hints that Dooku has disdain or hatred towards people with prosthetics and cyborgs. Moreover, when Grievous proposed using Geonosian technology on the Jedi Padawans for experimental purposes, Dooku approved the idea. Not to mention, the Sith Lord enjoyed Grievous' training.

Grievous had been a delight to train, as well. - Labyrinth of Evil, 22

Love and friendship

Next, Stover gaslights the reader by talking about the friendship between Dooku and Lorian Nod. Because if we go back to Legacy of the Jedi, it turns out that Dooku wasn't such a bad friend. He cares about Lorian and tries to be careful with his words so as not to hurt his feelings. Then after Lorian betrayed Dooku by blaming him for stealing the holocron, did Dooku worry about his reputation? Sure, but what unsettled him was that he was betrayed by someone so close to him. Even after what happened, he considers Nod his friend and cannot decide to refuse his request.

He doesn’t remember quite when he discovered this; it may have been when he was a young Padawan, betrayed by another learner who had claimed to be his friend. Lorian Nod had said it to his face: “You don’t know what friendship is.” And he didn’t. He had been angry, certainly; furious that his reputation had been put at risk. And he had been angry at himself, for his error in judgment: trusting as an ally one who was in fact an enemy. The most astonishing part of the whole affair had been that even after turning on him before the Jedi, the other boy had expected him to participate in a lie, in the name of their “friendship.” - Revenge of the Sith, 3

His best friend had betrayed him. Throughout the years at the Temple, he could always depend on Lorian. They had shared jokes and secrets. They had competed and helped each other. They had quarreled and made up. The fact that this person could betray him shocked him so deeply he felt sick. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Dooku didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared to lie, but he couldn't say no to his friend. So he said nothing, and, after a long while, the two friends fell asleep. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Was Dooku the perfect friend? Of course not, and his pride played a role in escalating the conflict, as did Lorian’s envy, but to reduce everything to the words that “Dooku was different and did not understand friendship” I think is a monstrous simplification. The loss of his friend played a big role in Dooku's life, and that's how the story ends.

Lorian had been wrong. Dooku's heart hadn't been empty. He had loved his friend. But he had changed. Lorian had betrayed him. He would never believe in friendship again. If his heart was now empty of love, so be it. The Jedi did not believe in attachments. He would fill his heart with nobility and passion and commitment. He would become a great Jedi Master. Legacy of the Jedi, 6

We further learn that Dooku cannot care about the feelings of other beings and does not even see those around him as entirely real. Now, I don't by any means think that characters with these traits are a bad thing, or that you can't do something interesting with them, but that's not Dooku. We've seen how important his relationships with some of the other characters are to him (there's a whole novel written about him and Yoda), and that he cares to some extent about the feelings of those around him. Moreover, Stover will not explore these new traits, because Dooku will die in the next chapter anyway.

He is entirely incapable of caring what any given creature might feel for him. He cares only what that creature might do for him. Or to him. Very possibly, he is what he is because other beings just aren’t very … interesting. Or even, in a sense, entirely real. For Dooku, other beings are mostly abstractions, simple schematic sketches who fall into two essential categories. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Jedi Order

Stover's Dooku ideal Jedi Order would forcibly remove Force-sensitive children from their families. Perhaps it's just my opinion, but it seems strange in light of the fact that his rejection trauma, as described by Sean Stewart, is related to his parents and the Jedi Order.

And that Fist would become a power beyond any Jedi’s darkest dreams. The Jedi were not the only users of the Force in the galaxy; from Hapes to Haruun Kal, from Kiffu to Dathomir, powerful Force-capable humans and near-humans had long refused to surrender their children to lifelong bound servitude in the Jedi Order. They would not so refuse the Sith Army. They would not have the choice. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Ultimately, I can make the case that the ending of Yoda: Dark Rendezvous may have served to develop Dooku and make him even more bitter, but that doesn't justify the radical personality transplant Matthew Stover performed. And now, I often see these lines used to say that Dooku was always pure evil, had no good intentions and was always pretending, and also see questions like "as a human supremacist, what did Dooku think of Yoda?" And how can we know? All of these things were added to the character at the last minute and didn't match anything we'd seen before. This is not my Dooku.

[chiarrara]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Oh my gosh this is impossible, I like too much and I'm the most indecisive motherfucker. I actually agonized over this, like this is so broad I was trying to think of everything I've ever liked, and what do you mean by favorite, and do I like the story because of the characters or the narrative, and how much do I like them now vs. how much I used to like them. I was doing way too much.

Basically, this is a list (loosely ordered) of my favorite characters (probably) right NOW, either based in recency bias, or in their lasting ability to remain a favorite years later A.K.A. characters that altered my brain chemistry because I'm insane about them:

Yuri Plisetsky - Yuri!!! On Ice

Yuri Plisetsky is my favorite of all time. If the rest of the list isn't quite in order, he's still at the top every time. There are some characters that just click for you and he's one of them. You're gonna start seeing a pattern here with some of these characters so it might just be that I have a type, but either way I love him like he's me. I love to put him in situations. I love to explore his character. I love to imagine his future. And I love his lil face. He's just so determined, and so angry, and I adore him and all his flaws.

2. Otabek Altin - Yuri!!! On Ice

Now listen, he's not a major character, he doesn't have a lot of screen time, but he made a huge, huge impact. It's not a coincidence that I love Yuri P so much, Otabek is so high because of Yuri P. But ultimately, he's one of my all time favorites because of a version of him that exists in fanfiction and fanon. Specifically, I love Otabek because of "From Almaty, With Love", my favorite fic of all time. I love to inhabit his mind, but also I just love him. He's the type of guy who's nothing like me, but I wish I was more like him. Also, I'm just a sucker for the strong and silent type.

3. Megumi Fushiguro - Jujutsu Kaisen

Current biggest projection target. Oh my god how this lil guy has taken over my mind. I watched JJK for the first time in December, but I don't think I really got insane about Megumi until I read the manga and... just check out my tag #megumi fushiguro's gay little hands. He's just so compelling to me. I just love a grumpy teen. I love a troubled little guy. I love how out of touch with his emotions he is. I love that he's insane. I want to put him in every possible situation and see what he does. He's my favorite, I don't know what to say.

4. Ahsoka Tano - Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Ahsoka!!! I love her so much!!!!! It's been a while since I watched The Clone Wars, and I'm off the Star Wars hundred million franchise properties train right now, so I haven't watched the new show, and I probably won't because I like her just the way she is in Clone Wars and I don't need any more. She's the coolest girl, she pulls like crazy, she's some variety of lesbian, she's a skilled fighter, she has a great personality, and she's a brown girl for brown girls. Like, little boys get cool characters they can latch onto all the time, she's that for me. Love her forever.

5. Zuko - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ahhhhh, Zuko. I'm gonna try to be normal about him. Best redemption arc ever written in any media ever. He's just so lovable. You get to know him even a little bit early on in the series (The Storm) and it's just...OH. You start to understand. And it just grows and grows from there. He's a sympathetic character (The Blue Spirit), but you don't pity him because you're with him every step of the way as he has to grow and fight through all the pain and conflict inside him (Bitter Work, The Avatar and The Firelord). And he makes the worst mistakes. He makes the wrong choices (Crossroads of Destiny). And he has to earn every little bit of his redemption. And he does. What an incredible character. One of the most iconic voices of all time (Dante Basco, I love you). Also, I just love him. "Hey, Zuko here!" He will always have my heart.

6. Yuuri Katsuki - Yuri!!! On Ice

It is actually impossible for me to pick only two pictures of Yuri Katsuki because he's just so precious in every single one in completely different ways. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to put him on this list because Yuri P dominates my thoughts around YOI so much. But I don't love Yuri On Ice because of Yuri P. When I'm actually in a rewatch, Yuri Katsuki reminds me how much I love and adore him and how much he really means to me. Discovering Yuri, and everything he doesn't show you through his unreliable narrator ass as the show goes on is so so special. And nothing in that show could make me fall in love with figure skating the way "Yuri on Ice" and "On Love: Eros" did. My 2017 Spotify Wrapped was 90% YOI music because I used to fall asleep to "Yuri on Ice" on repeat. I love him so much. He means so much to me. That's all I can say.

7. Rue Bennett - Euphoria

She is me. I am her. This is less about her character, and more about how she allows me to see myself and be seen. My weakest parts. My most painful parts. The worst experiences of my life. I don't think I've ever related to a character or what they have gone through more than I have with Rue. I don't think I've ever related to a character's flaws and worst moments more than I have with Rue. Say what you will about Euphoria, I don't care. It's so important to me because of Rue. At least....Season 1 is.

8. Effy Stonem - Skins (UK)

Are we starting to see the patterns here? Effy Stonem is THE original indie sleaze girl. I wanted to be her sooooo bad. I wanted to be her in Gen 1 (I loved Effy Stonem before Gen 2, I'm not like other girls. lmao, anyway...) Skins was a very formative piece of media for me. There is no world where I love Euphoria without having loved Skins first. Skins and Effy made me want to go to raves in Bristol, wear ripped tights, take MDMA, smoke spliffs and cigarettes 24/7... it was actually such a bad influence, but it means a lot to me. I loved Effy from her first appearance on screen, and I loved her until her last. Kaya Scodelario you will always be famous.

9. Ash Lynx - Banana Fish

Ash Lynx is one of the most complicated and compelling characters I have ever seen. I had a hard time deciding to include him because I don't feel like you can divorce Ash the character from Banana Fish the story, or from Eiji and their relationship. Do I love him as his own character, or do I love Banana Fish in its entirety? But I do love him. He's very special to me. Banana Fish is about him. It's a love letter to him, in a way. You can't love Banana Fish without loving Ash, everyone around Ash loves Ash, even the horrible people who want to claim him. His pain and trauma is so overwhelming, but you as the audience can see the person he is through all of that even if he can't, and you just want him to find happiness and see it for himself someday. And be safe for the first time in his life. A tragic hero who really shouldn't have been in a tragedy. An unfair tragedy. He deserves the world.

10. Kyo Sohma - Fruits Basket

At this point you have to be seeing the pattern. I love a well-written grumpy boy. And I love Kyo Sohma so, so much. I watched 2001 right before 2019 and let me tell you, the vidication... I was absolutely in love with 2001 Kyo, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. He was my little shojo crush, it was fine if he wasn't Tohru's. Then I popped on 2019, and he had the SAME VOICE ACTOR!?!?!? Bro, the way I melted. And then the show went on and I noticed he was being framed a little different than he was in 2001???? I mean, if you want my whole watch through check my #fruits basket 2019 tag. I had a whole journey. Let's be so honest, Kyo is on here because I'm in love with him. But also, he's an amazing character with so much deep turmoil from really really difficult circumstances, and he still manages to be caring and attentive and kind, along with a million other amazing character traits. Most character of all time. I love him so much.

BONUS (Characters I can't believe didn't make this list):

The Entire Skins Gen 1 Main Cast (who I love more than Effy, but I can't pick just one favorite), Suguru Geto (who's creeping up on me more and more as I dive deeper into his character), Eiji Okumura (the other half of AshEiji, and just the sweetest boy alive who's also the biggest ride-or-die I love him), and Victor Nikiforov (out of the YOI cast, he's my least most favorite, but I love him so much and his lil heart mouth. He's a star, he is the moment, give him his flowers).

[sinisterexaggerator]

I need ya'll to see this. I plan to buy this figure one day, too. But every fucking toy / figure blurb seems to reinforce MY IDEA THAT BANE WORKED FOR THE EMPIRE at some point and I will die on this fucking hill, so.

Star Wars Gentle Giant Cad Bane Maquette

"Cad Bane could easily be called a veteran of his craft. He was a menacing mercenary and a ruthless Bounty Hunter. His notoriety placed him amongst the most vile of villains in the Galaxy, and thus a favorite freelancer of the Empire for many of their dirty dealings. "

*Freelancer*

Just like I said all along. Let me refer to an older post where I wrote about a headcanon I had:

Bane was always a Jedi hunter. The Empire eliminated a huge problem for him, technically. They were always getting in his way. It also created a surge of business. I know Bane is not a guild hunter, and that the Empire hired bounty hunter’s who worked primarily for the guild, but I always thought maybe in the beginning, before things got really, really bad … before people realized just how terrible the Empire was (including Bane as he was just after the money), despite being arrested by them for war crimes when they were called "The Republic", could have taken the really shady shit, the down and dirty jobs, the ones nobody wanted, and maybe one of those was going after the bounty on Obi-Wan Kenobi’s head ( possible fic idea?? of course he’s never successful as far as canon >D). This ties into him being unscrupulous. But maybe, just maybe, he encounters a job that’s too disgusting even for his palate. There was a moment where people thought hey, maybe this Empire isn’t so bad. It took the efforts of people like the characters in Andor to really start breaking through to others and exposing them for what they were. Just a thought. The general populace was still kind of oblivious, yeah? Of course, he sees the Empire does nothing to help Duro. Things get worse, more people suffer. Maybe he has personal experiences along the way that help shape his outlook. I love the idea of the pain and angst involved of realizing the choice you made was wrong, but that you can still make it right. Maybe he quits working for those types, and (imho) returns to work for Maul and the criminal syndicates. Maybe he works for Q'ira some after Maul dies, and she is 100% against the Empire. I can see it. Maybe that’s why he comments “Boba is a coldblooded killer who works for the Empire,” because he kept doing it even after they (the empire) were already established as actually evil. That, or he's mocking him straight up because he knows he's just as shitty a person (in the past, anyway ) as he is/was. But JUST LIKE ADMIRAL RAMPART hired a bounty hunter in the Bad Batch to take out Riyo Chuchi under the table against ANYONE’S wishes as he wanted to avoid a scandal, who says people weren’t going to Bane to “do something very discreet and under the table.” Doesn’t have to be Vader or Palps. People did stuff behind their backs all the time - Palps used Rampart as a scapegoat to pass the bill where the Empire created their own military versus keeping the clones. But, before that, who is to say he did or did not know Rampart’s secrets before they were blasted all over the viewscreens and Palps, being the smart ass he is decided, hey, this is a PERFECT opportunity, thus he appeared out of the floor and had him taken away!

In addition, it also mentions this on the Black Series Bad Batch figure, and I don't think it's a stretch at all that Bane would take jobs ( for the right price. ) from Imps, and he doesn't have to be a guild hunter to do so.

*He's a freelancer.*

“The rise of the Empire and the elimination of the Jedi creates a surge of business for the unscrupulous hunter.”

[kanerallels]

So... what SW Legends stuff would you recommend? I've already started reading Heir to the Empire, if that helps?

Ooooh!! Okay Heir to the Empire is the PERFECT starting place, that's where I started too! (I think. I also vaguely remembering reading these Darth Bane books when I was younger, but I digress)

(edit: also, I am not an expert on Legends, so if anyone who knows it better would like to offer any other recs (in a respectful manner that doesn't involve talking about how much you hate the sequels) feel free to add to this post!)

Others that I would recommend would definitely depend on what era you're looking for, but most of the stuff I know is post Return of the Jedi. If it's not, I'll make sure you know! (I'm gonna put part of this under a cut, it got kinda long)

The Hand of Thrawn duology. It's set like ten years after Heir to the Empire, and wraps up the events of those books super well! Plus it has more Talon Karrde, who is my favorite background character ever. The first book is Specter of the Past, by Timothy Zahn!

If you're a Mace Windu fan, Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover was really good! It's set near the end of the Clone Wars, and is about a mission he went on to find his missing apprentice. It was fun to read from Mace's point of view, and see how he's actually a lot more caring than a lot of fans depict him. Also, he headbutts a shocking amount of people. Mace is not immune to the chaos gene that comes with being Force sensitive

Technically, these are kids books and I might only like them because nostaglia, but the Last of the Jedi series by Jude Watson is fun! It's set directly after Order 66, and follows a former Jedi who grew up with Anakin, and the escapades and hijinks he gets up to

The Rogue Squadron books by Michael A. Stackpole are pretty good, especially if you like fighter pilot shenanigans. Rogue Squadron is Wedge Antilles's elite squad of pilots, and the main character is Corran Horn, who is a former Corellian Security member (basically a cop) and gets into all KINDS of trouble. I've only technically read a couple of those books, and admittedly, I don't like them as much as their follow up series. But if you do enjoy these books, you should check out I, Jedi, by Michael A. Stackpole, which is about Corran in later life

The follow up series is the Wraith Squadron books by Aaron Allston. It's also about a squadron Wedge put together, but it's made up of washouts and rejects, and they end up as a black ops division. It's simultaneously really sad and some of the funniest Star Wars I've ever read, and there's a running joke about an Ewok lieutenant

I'm gonna recommend the Republic Commando series by Karen Traviss, but with a caveat. Karen Traviss, for some reason, seems to really, really hate the Jedi. And that is reflected in her writing, but it's almost worth it for the Mandalorians adopting clones and the TRAGEDY. This one is set during the end of the Clone War, through Order 66. It also does not end super satisfyingly, but it's weirdly good anyways. So it's really up to you whether or not you think you can handle the rampant loathing of Jedi

Uhhh let's see, what else. There are so so many Legends books. The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J Anderson isn't the best written, but it gives you a really good look at what Luke's new Jedi Order looks like as he's building (and also happens, timeline-wise, at the same time as I, Jedi)

I think those are the main ones I know well enough to recommend! In my experience, anything by Timothy Zahn or Aaron Allston is pretty good. Avoid Troy Denning at all cost-- he does not, in my experience, write stuff that is particularly admirable, and it can be kinda gross. If you end up with a particular character you like a lot who you're looking for more content of, there's a good chance there's more out there! Feel free to send me any other questions you have, and don't feel pressure to read all of it. No one can possibly be an expert on all of Star Wars, there's just. Way too much of it (of course that's not really gonna stop me from trying)