#he’s such a unique character for Mace to create

[bakugo-th]

I'm shocked that the crew would nix at least 3/5 of the Icebound gang in an optimized redo of the campaign; imo, a large part of their charm is that they have such varied backstories and vibes, and that most of them are there purely by happenstance. They have such a lovely group chemistry, regarding interactions? It makes me curious who/what they'd be replaced with... but akin to what someone in the tags of your post said, I think the story overall would be less satisfactory if more of the characters were like Jornir.

Right! I completely agree! Icebound is my favorite campaign of theirs so far and the crew holds such a lovely place in my heart. The characters that they feel are "out of place" thematically creates that feeling of out of place, sense of dread, and hopelessness really shine though in my eyes at the beginning where they were struggling to survive.

I think they meant to have the party kind of be "on theme" for icebound like how the Edge of Midnight party is all on theme but still unique. Richie was saying that the Icebound crew was the last of the old ways of character creation where they all are just a collection of races, classes, and backgrounds without the understanding of the core theme of the story. Andy said he wanted to re do Beneath dark wings for the same reason, he thinks Skrimm is a more fleshed out character than Felix and would completely rebuild Felix from the ground up which I found interesting as I am watch bow for the first time rn.

Mace said he was still VERY new to playing a long campaign, it was monthly, they were all working and not doing dnd full time so he struggled keeping Taisen characterization consistent. He wanted to re do icebound, I am assuming, to give the campaign and Taisen justice.

I am glad IceBound is the way that it is and that they have grown as creatives from it. Maybe next time they do a hardcore survival campaign we can see a glimpse of what they would have changed without touching the magic they have made so far.

[seeyouslater]

Spoilers for Creep and Creep 2:

Note: I will be switching names for the killer when I start talking about the sscond movie, since that is how he's referred to by other characters.

First off, can I just say, I appreciate how weird and out there these movies are? The cinematography choices in both films work well for the stories they are telling and add to the atmosphere. By not being able to see both characters on screen at the same time, it leaves the audience to guess how the other half is reacting- when it is not audible.

Aaron's decisions throughout the first movie, while addressed later by Josef, baffle me to no belief. I understand (in some way) wanting to get closure and answers. The police are not assisting the capture of Josef and are not taking Aaron's concerns seriously. Due to this I can see where Aaron's mindspace might have been in that moment. He's scared, it's obvious that Josef can freely access his apartment without his knowledge, and Josef's claimed to be and have done several things that have been proven wrong. Aaron wants this to end and maybe a part of him wants to help Josef.

The two things I do not understand is 1. He does not bring a weapon with him. It can be reasoned he didn't want to escalate the situation by bringing one, but I still would have brought at least mace. 2. He turns his back on him! I do not care how harmless this man is, he has threatened you, and I would never turn my back on someone like that.

Remember when I said there were only two things I didn't understand?? Well, I've now realized that's not true. 3. Who is Angela? She answers the phone when Aaron answers and seems to know that Josef is unstable. I was reading some theories on Reddit and they all seem viable. From her being the actual Josef's sister (implying that real Josef can be perhaps as unpredicable as on screen Josef and real Josef's house is used as the next lure-murder scene after he himself gets killed), to her being on-screen Josef's wife/sister, to his accomplice. A third movie is in production, so I hope they explain this and it isn't just a continuity error.

Finally, we get to the second movie. Right out the gate, Sara is iconic and by far my favorite character from both films. She's just so openly accepting and willing to take people as they are, with all their eccentricities. Which is a hazard for what she does on YouTube but alas, I believe it is this quality that saves her.

Sara is able to get Aaron to see a different perspective on his work, life, and most importantly, purpose. Aaron no longer sees killing as his whole life's purpose and starts to remove himself from the narrative of prolific serial killer to prolific serial killer with a unique ending. This ending is what ultimately saves Sara. Instead of just being another one of his countless victims, Sara, by virtue of her being genuinely and honestly herself, has convinced him that she can create a better story than he ever could.

This ending sequence, however, is the one thing that bothers me as far as Sara's behavior goes. She is given the opportunity to run away, and she does not. She charges at Josef, and he's able to get the knife back. After this altercation, he stabs her and starts monologing. He talks about how he will now continue his work as a serial killer, switching from himself killing, to dying, to them both dying, to just her. It is evident that all the work Sara did to get him out of that cycle is gone now. Sara is able to hit him.om the back of a head with a shovel, but yet she doesn't make sure he's dead?? It seems from the framing of the last scene that she doesn't even call the cops?! I get not wanting to kill him (even though he tried to kill her but that aside), as that's never an easy thing to do. She one hundred percent should have called the cops on him though. Then he would be a wanted man and would not be able to come after her like he does. I do like to think that instead of Josef killing Sara, that either she becomes his accomplice or is able to get away/finally kill him, but I doubt that anything other than the first scenario will happen.

All in all, I thought these movies were funny more than anything, and that made it more enjoyabpe than anything. To be able to laugh at it and the absurdity of it all. That's exactly that's how I approach the Scream movies too and it makes it a more enjoyable watch.

[dumbfinntales]

Some time ago I beat a game called Mandragora, with a long subtitle I won't write down. It was another game that I backed on Kickstarter. It's a 2.5D metroidvania, but with deeper RPG mechanics and story. It wanted to be as deep as a Witcher game. Did it succeed? Keep on reading.

The answer is no. The game certainly has a much larger production value than most metroidvanias. Proper cut-scenes, fully voice acted and a clear story to follow. But it's not really as deep, or even as interesting as the stories the Witcher has to tell. The world of the Witcher alone is a lot more interesting. Mandragoras world isn't bad per se, but feels a bit generic. You're a part of an order of inquisitors that hold absolute power. The world is corrupted by some calamity and full of monsters, and you hunt witches. You kill one witch during an important meeting and you end up absorbing her soul and she eventually guides you throughout the game to stop the corruption and beat your master.

I do kinda like the characters and the voice acting, it's very good. Especially the King Priest as he's voice acted by the same guy that does Margit/Morgott in Elden Ring. One voice that stands out is the vampire lord, and not in a good way. His voice just doesn't fit. I don't know what it is about his voice, but it sounds too normal? Or mundane? He has a bit of an accent, but it's not exaggerated. He just sounds off. Your companions at the camp are great as well, I like their interactions.

Story and characters and blah blah blah, how about the gameplay? I enjoyed it, actually. I liked the feel of the combat and the exploration for the most part. There were plenty of secrets to find. The RPG mechanics are great, especially when it comes to creating your character. I made a melee + holy build, a bit like a paladin and focused on one handed maces. I feel like there's plenty of replay value with making hybrid or pure builds, there's a lot to choose from.

Bosses were pretty good too. Although I felt like there were too many repeat bosses. But the unique ones are great and have a wonderful design. The final boss is quite a leap in difficulty, so much so that a lot of people complain about it, but I didn't find it too hard. I do agree that the DPS race mechanic in the second phase is kinda ass though. Oh yeah, I just remembered. Pepper was a pretty shite fight. Your boss is so unthreatening that you gotta put one-shot pits at each end of the arena? I died purely by accidentally rolling too far, not to the boss itself.

Here's some random little things I liked: I really enjoyed the art style and overall look of the game. The ring crafting NPC was hilarious. Some areas were great, like the vampire castle or snow area. Certain side-quests were neat as well, like the one where you gotta taste test some bad ale. I like that our player character is also fully voice acted, and you have some choice on what to say. I like that I got to romance the witch lady a bit :-) Something I didn't like: who decided it was a good idea to make an NPC that's perpetually exhausted and talks painfully slow? I love you Rhys, but goddamn.

Here's some negatives overall: Fall damage was too extreme, the main character has knees of jelly. The crafting mechanic was a bit too much, I really wish you could find more armor and weapons by exploring. You always just find crafting recipes only to realize your stupid NPC isn't high enough level to craft the thing you just found for you. And NPC levels. You gotta use the NPC's to level them up, you can't do certain things if they're not high enough level. That sucks. Why was the unique looking boss Ferryman just a copy of the Caretaker mini-bosses? What a waste of an unique design.

There's quite a bit of negativity surrounding Mandragora. Is it the best thing ever? Not really. But it's a fun game. Maybe something you'd enjoy if you're into metroidvania titles. Maybe on a sale? A bit generic on some parts, but when it comes to RPG mechanics, it a bit more deeper than the rest.

[fhgamesyr1]

Super Meat Boy: Super Meat Boy is a red cube that was born without any skin. His has the unique ability of being able to respawn into a template of himself when he dies which gives him a form of immortality. He is also one of the fastest moving characters in the entire game which makes him useful in speed runs and completing levels quickly.

Castle Crashers: Each Knight from this game has their own ability that they use in the game as a form of magic. The Red Knight uses a mace as a weapon and has an elemental power of electricity. The Green Knight has a giant sword and has the element of poison. The Orange Knight uses a broad axe and has the elemental power of fire. Finally, the Blue Knight has a sheathed sword and the element of Ice. As you progress through the game, you will unlock more characters that each have a new ability to help you.

Minit: In this game you control a black and white character named Minit. The game includes two types of items as a form of abilities:

Held Items: The first item is the sword found on Minit's back which can be used to attack enemies and break certain objects. You also use a watering can to complete puzzles to put out fires and make plants grow. During the game you also get to use a camera for a certain puzzle and a mega sword (An upgraded version of the sword).

Passive items: These items are basic forms of pickups, trophies or damaged items. The pickup items are coffee, which helps you to push boxes, flashlight, which creates a ball of light around the character in dark areas, sword thrower, which allows the player to charge up their sword in order to throw it a short distance, fast shoes, which allows the player to run for a certain amount of time. There is also a trophy which you can collect for completing each level. The damaged item in this game is a broken sword which is pretty useless if you are the character.

I would love to use water to grow items and create pick ups, a bit like Minit. In Harry Potter and Hobbit Lego games, I remember the use of water to to create new items or expand existing ones. This can open extra paths in the level or create a short cut.

WEEK 2 TASK DONE!!!

[dukeoftheblackstar]

Tagged by my favorite Wolffe babe @wolffegirlsunite ♥♥♥

1. ride or die ship (your otp): Me/Plo Fett, Me/Jango Fett but otherwise PloKit — Plo Koon x Kit Fisto

2. most annoying ship: this is a toughie. I'll pass.

3. second favourite ship: JangObi ♥ I don't say it a lot but the mere fact that Obi is such a sweetheart/ball of sunshine at most with a dash of spice, is what Jango needs in his life so he can stop brooding omg.

4. favourite platonic relationship: Cody and Rex

5. underrated ship: Maybe Din, imho. Then again, we're all thirsty for Fett genes from Jango to Boba to the clones. I'd say yeah, Din. And PloKit Vader/Boba.

6. overrated ship: reylo — yep.

7. one thing i would change in canon: screen time, really. I love Ahsoka, I do. Love Anakin too. Sure. But it's the goddamn clone wars and we want more clones.

8. something canon did right: I'm not far in so I am not at liberty to say. But I love how they made clones unique from each other. From hairstyle to color, to how they are, how they interact with their brothers, their ranked officers, deal with their own demons, basically.. Humanizing them.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: I struggle so much with writing and publishing because I get neurotic when things don't go or feel right. But this fandom is so damn supportive that I haven't been called out for being disgustingly thirsty for my blorbos. They're so interactive. They tag and talk and are just so inspirational.

What I am proud of is the fact that I my lengthy read reviews are accepted, replied to, and merits being tagged on things I like that I obviously miss. My excessive askjdkajsdakj reviews on fics I read get replied to, get read, and not once was I ever made to feel like I don't belong for being chatty on reviews.

I also do small headcanons for my 104th family and my Boba Fett besties + Jango Fett drill downs. I guess that's it?

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Jango Fett and Plo Koon ♥

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Marshal Commander Fox. I'm stressed, depressed, overwork, underpaid, loves my friends/families, need sleep badly, very soft but has to be hard for my team, and is very much in dire need of sleep.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: Yoda. Mainly his voice. Mace. Because I'm very immature over how he killed Jango. idgafffff.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: It's never to late to come across fandoms and friends who sees you as someone part of the fandom regardless if you're always around or not ♥ This is the warmest fandom I have ever been in and I just love you all so damn much ♥

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I would rather not answer this xD

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: - Jango Fett: I'll Never Love Again - Lady Gaga - Plo Koon: Electric Love - BØRNS - Fox (for an co rp with Fox): I'm a Firefighter - Cigarettes After Sex

Nice!

@starrrgazingbunny @kimiheartblade @blueink-bluesoul @sinisterexaggerator @sithfamily @thirsty-boba-fett-posts @daimyosprincess @acatalystrising @baufraus @wings-and-beskar @what-i-meant-to-say

[cosmicmordecai]

I actually didn’t like that interpretation because I feel you’re boxing in characters with things that fundamentally doesn’t make complete sense.

For example: Mace’s purple lightsaber color isn’t because he uses “dark side tactics”. He was a kid/teen when it was purple. In Legends, he wanted his lightsaber to signify sonething significant and desired to stand out in his own way and won his purple lightsaber crystal as part of his life journey helping out a species before he was an adult. This would be way before he would do any of that in his life that led him to create a unique path as a Jedi. Also, some of the most formidable Jedi seen in the franchise often have Green (Yoda, Depa Billaba, Luminara) and they’re great fighters too. Alternatively, Obi-Wan had a blue lightsaber throughout his life & he’s renown as a diplomat in both canons and he certainly is a strong adherent wanting to use his lightsaber first.

The issue I think that format present is it risks removing agency for characters and assigns characteristics to a characters that won’t be true: Windu’s methodology is unique but he tirelessly traditional, isn’t scared to use his saber, and all his work is to channel his personal short-comings regarding his passionate temperament to sonething positive. That’s completely the opposite of dark side tactics. Anakin is not just a warrior. He’s a capable tactician & and innovative/capable teacher & well with his hands in other areas (droid programming, piloting). He’d qualify for green & yellow lightsaber too iirc how the color coding system works.

They’re fun ideas but ultimately, I think it got dropped because then, you’re tacking on additional hurdles for characterization and I believe it risks having the lightsaber speak too closely to the character rather than the character speak about themselves & a lightsaber /color/ cannot capture the complexity of a character throughout their lifetime.

That’s just my opinion on the matter.

okay sooooo

am I the only one who actually prefers the lore that says that Jedi collect their crystals and then meditate with them and that's what gives the crystal it's colour??? (i certainly hope not)

i know it's a thing in the comic books where characters just pick out a crystal with the color already ingrained into it and there's nothing more to it but I feel like half the reason lightsabers are cool to me is because they actually tell you something about the user, they tell you their preferences in combat, how they view the force and sometimes even how deadly they can be

do I wanna believe mace windu just found a purple crystal or do I wanna believe he got this rare color because he uses dark side tactics but has the ability not to be blinded by them?

the first time I saw Anakin's lightsaber was blue I thought it was very telling about who he was and I believe that it was actually the first hint to his dark tactics and eventually his fall to the sith (even if it was by accident this is my interpretation).

how could the chosen one, the person with the most midi-chlorians, a person who has incredible force potential, uses a blue lightsaber instead of a green one? it is so accurate to his character because blue means you prefer using your saber to using the force in combat, they're also usually the first to pull them out and the ones to do it without hesitating to anyone anywhere.

i just thought it was perfect, that paired with an aggressive style, it was right under their noses

[gffa]

Hidden Empire issue #1 | Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure OH THIS IS A COOL LITTLE WORLDBUILDING THING!! One of the most popular tropes in fic is the idea that Jedi can shield from each other and I find the idea fascinating, because it’s not really clear precisely how the Jedi’s psychic abilities work, but it primarily seems that they’re rarely directly telepathic (Saesee Tiin is listed as a telepath in the character encyclopedia, as his specific talent) and lean more towards being empathic, that they primarily sense feelings and intentions, occasionally flashes of imagery and insight. But it’s further complicated by how each Jedi’s ability is unique to them, their talents depend on what they’re naturally gifted in and what they train hard to achieve, as well as the way Jedi bonds work in canon is more along the lines of, “The better you know this person, the more you naturally vibe with them.  It’s not something to be created or broken, just like you can decide to get to know someone, but you have to spend time with them, and you can’t unknow them once you do.”  Jedi bonds seem to be a forever thing. Strong Force-users are probably better at reading the thoughts of others, Sith users probably just dive straight in and rip thoughts out of people’s heads--like Maul does to Jesse on Mandalore, he just tears right in there and pulls the thoughts out, without care for how it affects the person.  In contrast, the Jedi don’t use the ability that way (the one time they tried, on Cad Bane, they stopped because going any further might damage his mind).  And if you’re familiar with the person, there’s an even greater chance that thoughts will leak through. So, where does that leave shielding?  These are the only two instances that I know of and they’re only supplementary canon, but I think it makes sense.  I love the idea that these might even be two different techniques, because one is coming from a Sith and one is coming from a Jedi. Maul taught Qi’ra to cloud her mind to keep a Force-user from reading her emotions and intentions, to embrace confusion and chaos in her thoughts so that Palpatine couldn’t get a clean grip on her. Mace says he was shielding, which would leave his thoughts still clear to himself, he would still remain calm and centered. One is chaos, one is calm. Both will hide your thoughts from a Force-user looking to see you through the Force, but their motivations and effects are totally different, because the Sith are out of control and they embrace that wildness, even when it means hurting others or themselves.  This small trick isn’t going to hurt Qi’ra or Maul when they use it, but it’s part of a bigger methodology of how they use their emotions and we all know where that leads.  No Sith is ever balanced or content, that’s baked into the premise of embracing the dark side. Meanwhile, the Jedi embrace calm and balance, because the Force works based on the emotions you put into it, so they put calm and clarity into it and receive balance in return.  They shield themselves, not cloud themselves. The difference between the two is small but also extremely important and I love that a lot.

[maximalttigers]

While I am stilling writing up profiles and designing characters for my Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! series 'Hunted Butterfly', I decided to do a quick character lineup of my OCs that I considered to be a part of the main cast. I will have a line up for supporting characters and antagonists. 

I also wrote up some basic info about them as a form of roll call to introduce them to new people. 

From left to right we have; 

Salem- A demon spider-monkey hybrid. Knighted warrior of his home planet and guardian of his godson Reynold Nystrom Jr./Rain, he is Gibson's biological brother. His mysterious knowledge about Dark Ones and his unique combat have helped the Hyperforce team in many ways, they are concerned about his awareness of Dark Ones as he will not elaborate on where he got this knowledge from.

Tech- Commonly going by his nickname, a very skilled mechanic and Chrome's younger brother. He usually works alongside his creator/father in his projects and helping with raising his goddaughter, Sophie Ito. His understanding of new and old technology has helped the Hyperforce team a lot with fighting the war, he and Otto are close mechanic buddies as they work on new projects together while also having a mutual concern for Chrome albeit for slightly distinct reasons.

Chrome- A fully robot monkey mercenary as well as the chosen wielder of the Dark Reaper who fights the Krivark on his home planet. He is Tech's older brother and primary guardian of his goddaughter Sophie Ito; he later becomes Otto's boyfriend. He works to find the answers to many secrets relating to his home but also Eki's past, secretly having a feeling she's more important than what was originally thought to be.

Skyper- The last monkey created by the Alchemist and later became a Formless-Monkey Hybrid due to Skeleton King; he is Antauri's biological younger brother. He's very unique in not just biology but also in his general personality, at times he's mysterious even to himself. These days, he's acting as Eki's self-proclaimed guardian/protector.

Eki- A bionic human girl who was rescued from her 'creator' by the Hyperforce which after some time she becomes a member of the team and Chiro's foster sister. She is learning about life and freedom while adapting to her powers, thankfully for her she has a good support group in her growing development. 

Amy- The botanist of the Hyperforce, using her knowledge to help Gibson craft cures and keep the team safe from dangerous specimens on unknown worlds. She is also Sparx's younger biological sister; She's probably one of the very few who can stop everyone else from killing Sparx but will have her moments where she wants to 'kill' him. While not an occasional fighter, she can hold her own when needed. 

Azure Spear and Ruby Mace- A pair of monkeys who are very much in love to the point where they got married, they live on the same planet as Chrome and work various part-time jobs to keep themselves occupied. Azure is the peacekeeper while Ruby is the warrior, they in a way act as unofficial advisors to the Hyperforce with Ruby more of the fighting type mentor while Azure is the more emotional/mental advisor. They have a good relationship with the Hyperforce team while being old friends of Salem, Chrome and Tech. 

Octavia- A monkey-sea siren/mermaid hybrid and the adopted daughter to the current queen of Atlantia, an underwater kingdom that resides in the Shuggazoom ocean. She acts as the expert of sea life and later becomes Gibson's girlfriend, through her Gibson has learned to relax more and accept the concepts of 'magic' better. She's close to the female members of the team and has a good relationship with the males, Sparx is protective of her's and Gibson relationship. 

Coco- A young female monkey created by an exiled Veron Mystic member and raised as not just his student but also his daughter in a small pocket dimension. Other than the Power Primate, she had light and healing powers. She eventually becomes Antauri's girlfriend (And to Skyper's delight, his sister-in-law). She's honestly struggling to adapt to Shuggazoom but she knows that she'll be ok with the rest of the Hyperforce team with her. 

Kaneki- One and the only surviving prototype of the monkey team who later became a part of the Super Robot as a part of its subconscious and in control of it. When he is discovered and his new body is completed with the updated nano bots, he is fully trusted with controlling the Super Robot when needed and acts as a secondary advisor and guardian to the whole team. It is heavily implied that he and Antauri have developed a form of psychic connection due to the events of 'I, Chiro' while he's lowkey worrisome about Chiro's future. 

That's it for now, hopefully I will have written up the profiles for other characters as well. 

[paperback-rascal]

Another day another screenshot re-draw but also a crossover! Initially I wanted to make this a crossover with The Bad Batch, however couldn’t find the right combination. Then one day the puzzle pieces fell to the right places as I talked with @kalm5​ about Star Wars stuff and we came to conclusion that R2 is, basically a droid equivalent of the best-est of boys AKA a dog.

So if R2 is a dog then Anakin is like... his owner? or rather handler if we take into account TCW’s war setting... Thus the idea was born to crossover The Clone Wars cartoon with another vintage, black & white Polish TV series:

Przygody Psa Cywila (“The adventures of Civvie the dog”?) is a 7 episodes long mini series (30 minutes per episode) targeted at teens. It’s about militia sergeant Walczak, who after loosing his previous working dog, rescued and trained a puppy, he later named Civvie - which is a glorious pun, because it creates a juxtaposition of a “civilian" working in obviously militarized setting - Militia forces (At the time the TV series was made - 1971 - Poland was under a communist regime and didn’t have Police forces per se but a Militia forces that acted as a Police).

Each episode is a self-contained story - first two are dedicated to Civvie’s origin as a working dog, the rest is the “typical” adventures of the duo - rescuing missing kids, dealing with smugglers, chasing run-away prisoners, etc.

Unfortunately the series is not nearly as popular as Four tank-men and a dog, so you might find all episodes on-line, but not with English subtitles (at least I didn’t find such a version).

That a shame, you should feel robbed, because it’s one of my favorite mini-series!

Sergeant Walczak is a street-smart, polite and very experienced dog handler - considered one of the best by his colleagues at work. He has a very unique way of handling dogs - basically treating them almost like human beings. He talk to dogs as if they had had a deeper understanding of what’s going on... and Civvie seems to be above average when it comes to his intelligence: during downpour at the training facility all the dogs were ordered to sit... and sat in the rain totally miserable except Civvie who decided to be both law-abiding and dry - as the dog decided to sit under a small table, when ordered to fetch a stick across the body of water, Civvie didn’t swim for it like the rest of dogs but used a nearby bridge to cross and so on and on.

One they completed the training course at the dog training facility Walczak and Civvie became very tight-knitted - when in one episode Civvie goes missing, Walczak uses everything in his power to find his missing buddy. He basically ends-up in handcuffs and thrown to the jail due to his search for his beloved dog.

If that’s not Anakin’s and R2′s relationship (but translated to officer-working dog relationship) in a nutshell I don’t know what it.

There are also other characters that could have, in some way of the other, SW equivalents, like:

One character in the show just whispers Mace Windu to me. Lieutenant Zubek (who appears in first 2 episodes) is stickler for rules. He is pretty high-up at the dog training facility. Zubek is not really at knives with the sergeant as a person - but rather takes umbrage with Walczak’s rule-bending methods and tries to expose his lack of care to their higher-up (think Candace from Phineas and Ferb but militia setting in ‘70. Poland under communist regime) we only know as “Colonel”.

Colonel is a laid-back head of the dog training facility. He takes everything in stride and is not really bothered by, what in Zubek’s mind are Walczak’s misdemeanors. He understands Walczak’s good-natured way of handling dogs and tries to keep in check Zubek’s law-abiding, narrow mindset. So yeah, he is basically Yoda-esque character, but more... down-to-earth and humorous?

There is, of course, a lot more to The Adventures of Civvie the dog but for now I guess it’s enough of my explanations! It’s already way too long as it is!

===

STAR WARS: The Clone Wars/The Bad Batch © George Lucas/ Dave Filoni/ LucasFilm/ Disney

Przygody psa Cywila (c) Krzysztof Szmagier/TVP

[antianakin]

I don't personally think he'd be any worse than anyone else. Mostly because, as you sort-of mention at the bottom, the true problem is not and never has been the Jedi who teaches him, but Palpatine's intervention in his Jedi training. You could literally put Anakin with any Jedi as his master and the result would be exactly the same. None of them would be uniquely better or worse for Anakin because none of them are able to completely eliminate Palpatine's influence. This is why I made the joke post that arguably the ONLY Jedi who could possibly be "better" for Anakin than anyone else was Jon Antilles, a comic-only character who routinely seems to disappear on missions and be presumed dead for months or years before he just randomly pops up again and spends most of his time AWAY from the Temple. This would likely effectively stop Palpatine from being able to gain access to Anakin easily, but not through any actual effort on Jon Antilles's part.

But also, your argument that what happened in the Council room would impact him negatively would still remain true with ANY OTHER JEDI MASTER to some degree. "If I'm NOT the Chosen One, then everyone fought for me or made exceptions for me for nothing." That remains true even if Qui-Gon himself isn't his Master. You can obviously argue that it'd be something that would impact his relationship with Obi-Wan, it would've impacted a relationship with Mace or Yoda or Plo Koon or Ki-Adi-Mundi.

So, you know, yes, obviously Palpatine has things he can use to fuck up Anakin's relationship with Qui-Gon, places where he can seed doubt, but he'd be able to do that with just about ANYONE who'd ended up Anakin's master, there's absolutely nothing uniquely awful about Qui-Gon or his relationship with Anakin that would make him worse for Anakin than someone like Obi-Wan or Mace or Yoda or Ki-Adi-Mundi or Plo Koon, ALL OF WHOM are involved in this series of events and so have much the same history for Palpatine to pull on. Even if he lands with someone uninvolved in the entire affair like Kit Fisto or Shaak Ti, there are going to be things that Palpatine can use to seed doubt, regardless of the lack of relative "history" they have with Anakin.

But remove Palpatine from the equation. Let's assume that TPM still goes generally as in canon, but somehow Palpatine is just... not an issue anymore for Anakin and Qui-Gon lives to take on Anakin. This leaves us with the question of whether Qui-Gon's belief in the prophecy and in Anakin's place within it would negatively impact his relationship with Anakin to the point that it's significantly worse than if Anakin were with anyone else. And I don't personally believe that it would. Qui-Gon DOES believe in it, but he brings it up only when he feels like he HAS to in order to convince the Council to let Anakin be trained and to ask Obi-Wan to take up this mission in Qui-Gon's place, both places where he's clearly desperate and running out of options. This doesn't indicate, to me, that Qui-Gon would constantly be bringing it up to Anakin or even necessarily that he'd allow it to just... fester in their relationship or impact how he treated Anakin.

Anakin himself likely WOULD have some thoughts about it, some doubts about whether he can live up to it or not, worries about Qui-Gon's belief in him, but that is arguably no worse than what he's got with Obi-Wan, who demonstrably DIDN'T believe in the prophecy and agreed more with the Council that he was dangerous. Obi-Wan's LACK of belief would create just as many doubts and uncertainties as Qui-Gon's faith. I don't think one is necessarily innately better or worse in this situation. And if Palpatine is entirely out of the equation, I think Qui-Gon is perfectly capable of helping Anakin overcome some of those doubts and uncertainties with Jedi teachings, the same way he's clearly helped Obi-Wan work through many of his own (Obi-Wan's shock and anger at the events in the Council chamber lead him to react a little rashly and lash out at Qui-Gon a little, but he does ultimately manage to calm himself enough to understand where Qui-Gon was coming from and apologize, an ability he likely gained FROM QUI-GON'S TEACHINGS). Many people, myself included, have pointed out that Anakin was likely entirely capable of learning to apply Jedi teachings to himself if Palpatine hadn't interfered, and I believe that that's no less true with Qui-Gon than it is with Obi-Wan or anyone else.

I've seen the argument that Qui-Gon would've been a bad master for Anakin because he would've been so obsessed with the prophecy that he never would've let Anakin be his own person outside of it and this would've put undue pressure on Anakin as he grew up. But this just doesn't make any sense to me given what we see of him and what we know of him.

Qui-Gon brings up the prophecy all of TWICE in TPM: when the Council rejects Anakin for training, and when he's dying and asking Obi-Wan to train Anakin. He doesn't even harp on it all that much when he DOES bring it up. He says it once when the Council give their decision and then immediately moves to a different tactic when he can tell this isn't going to sway them. He doesn't keep trying to convince them of why the chosen one is important or anything.

And both of these instances are explicitly done out of a desire to ensure Anakin GETS training. Once Anakin is already being trained, there isn't necessarily any indication that Qui-Gon would feel the need to keep bringing it up or pressuring Anakin with that knowledge. Yes, Anakin would know Qui-Gon believes it, but he knows that in canon, too, and he knows Obi-Wan knows about it and that his choice to train Anakin was done in large part because of Qui-Gon's own belief. So I don't know that I believe that Anakin would feel all that much additional pressure under Qui-Gon's tutelage than he does in canon under Obi-Wan's.

Qui-Gon is also just not a particularly chatty person by nature, it seems. He seems like someone who listens more than he speaks and holds back until he feels like it's worth it to say something. We often see him only say as much as he thinks NEEDS to be said and no more (the best example of this is in his conversations with Obi-Wan on Tatooine where he seems to hang up mid-conversation more often than he doesn't). Half the time when he speaks, it's because someone spoke to him FIRST and he's responding or answering a question.

So it just doesn't seem particularly in character for Qui-Gon to be constantly discussing the prophecy or bringing it up to Anakin. He seems like someone more inclined to simply let Anakin come to his own conclusions about the possibility of being the chosen one and what that means to him rather than enforcing his own perspective on Anakin. This could cause Anakin to jump to conclusions that cause problems down the line, but he jumps to conclusions in canon that cause plenty of their own problems anyway, so I don't think Anakin's situation would be all that much better or worse with Qui-Gon than it was with Obi-Wan.

[wild-karrde]

Hey!

My fic rec has to be https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703420

Broken noses, mending fences by Gabriel4sam. a mace/qui fic i highly recommend of such a criminally underrated pair. The writing is funny and unique and its also brilliant characterization of two unpopular characters.

Now THIS is a pair you don't see much of, but when I think about it, I like the idea. Also, the summary is absolutely giving me the giggles:

Qui-Gon is one of the best Jedi Mace Windu knows, but the ratio of the problems he solves and the problems he creates is ridiculous. The logical solution is to go with him on his next mission and try to understand why things explode so much, every time Master Jinn sets foot on a new planet.

@gabriel4sam absolutely has me hooked, I have to say, particularly with the tag "Friends to exasperated colleagues to lovers" hehehe. Thanks for the rec!

Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)

[giggles-and-freckles]

Okay woohoo some fic recs incoming!!!! These will probably be all over the place, but I’ve just got to scream about them for a second!!! PS gonna try to do these more frequently because this is fun!!!

Click below the cut if you dare!

Declarations by Nny11

Summary: A series exploring Obi-Wan and Ahsoka's relationship as Grandmaster and Grandpadawan.

Okay, so this is one of the first fics I can genuinely remember reading with a heavy emphasis on the relationship between Obi-Wan and Ahsoka where I was like 'hey oh my god I love them?’ It was a monumental moment for me because now I am so obscenely ride or die for them and I truly do think back to this fic often with utter fondness. 

A moment I loved: 

“From a certain point of view,” he finally conceded, motioning her to start again. “At least I know you’ve learned something from me!”

“Well I couldn’t learn the secrets of your hair routine!”

the flood comes rushing in by @kenobilovebot

Summary: "I have done this for you. I have put you first." Or, Anakin finds out.

A little bit of sith!Obi-Wan? As a treat? Hm, well...all right!!!!! I don’t want to say too much here because I would really prefer you read it than read any more of my mindless babbling but–it’s good.

A moment I loved: 

He can hardly think around the smothering darkness that has so wholly encompassed his master, so effectively destroying the light that has always been. He’s always been able to reach for it at the worst of times. Now he can’t feel it at all.

a time to say goodbye by Sokaless

Summary: Ezra isn't the only one facing the temptation of change in the World Between Worlds. Just minutes after facing Vader, Ahsoka falls through a portal seventeen years into the past and must relive her final encounter with Anakin and Obi-Wan without drastically altering the future. But Anakin Skywalker taught her many things. How to push her luck was one of them.

This is a short and sweet time-travel fic that finds Ahsoka back in that moment in the hangar with Anakin right before they unknowingly have their last goodbye. She knows more now than she did before and struggles not to say it all. But the theme of learning from loss is really special and powerful and I feel this sad sort of closure when I finish (I say that actively because I have...read this fic several several times). Painful, poignant–all the best things.

A moment I loved:

One last thing she learned from Anakin- teaching a lesson often requires holding your student to higher standards than you hold yourself. 

With the knowledge that she’s holding him to a standard she herself might never reach, Ahsoka tells Ezra, “I’m asking you to let go.”

good morning, sun by @katierosefun​

Summary: “You look miserable.” Ahsoka dropped her hand, spun around. Obi-Wan stood behind her, one arm carrying a cloak and the other half-extended to Ahsoka. [or: After she leaves the Order, Ahsoka has one last encounter with Obi-Wan.]

Let’s see how many of Caroline’s fics I can get away with posting before someone reports me. This one-shot is full of all the good post-wrong jedi stuff. Soka and Obi have a conversation at Dex’s that hurts a lot but also feels real and I will never not respect Caroline for understanding the nuances of the disaster trios intricate and intimate relationships with each other and how they shift and mold around different circumstances. This feels so authentically them that it hurts.

A moment I loved: 

What came out instead was a small, half-choked sound.

When Obi-Wan opened his arms, Ahsoka fell right into them. “It hurts,” Ahsoka said, her voice cracking. “A lot.”

“I know,” Obi-Wan replied thickly. “We’ll take care of it.”

You Haunt All My What-Ifs by @kckenobi

Summary: But then she saw the way Obi-Wan’s lip was quivering, and his eyes were shining, and she realized— He hadn’t called because he needed to tell her. He’d called because he needed her. “Obi-Wan,” she breathed. “Oh, Obi-Wan…” And she wanted to reach out, to hold him. To be his refuge, his shelter, his home. Instead she just watched as he shook his head, palmed at his eyes, apologized. She reached out. Touched the hologram. It flickered. — [Satine and Obi-Wan—then, now, and every echo of what if between them.]

One of the first fics that got me on my Obitine grind!! Just the right mix of angst and angst to create the perfect recipe of absolute sorrow. These characters feel so real I could reach out and hug them–and oh, how I want to after this incredible little fic.

A moment I loved:

And then suddenly she was thinking of every little what if—the other paths they could’ve taken, the millions of ways they could’ve ended up here. She imagined a future where he’d stayed. She saw white weddings, crying infants, painting nursery rhymes on a pale bedroom wall. She saw herself rolling over in the middle of the night, bumping shoulders, feeling his warm breath on her face. She saw family dinners, rushed breakfasts as they hurried the kids off to school. She saw laughter. She saw a lifetime. And at the end, she saw herself old and gray, holding his hand, his eyes the last thing she’d ever see.They had arrived at the end now. But she was not old and gray.

Dying Words by @cloudyskywars

Summary: Anakin is trapped beneath a collapsed building, and has one final conversation with Obi-Wan.

One of my favourite febuwhump contributions from within the mountain of wonderful fics that the second month of the year created!! Some good ol classic Obi & Ani pain. Hint of a deathfic...but mostly just the moments leading up to it. And they...hurt. Also!!! Melanie took the care to make Anakin’s final words be about Obi-Wan, which is very special to me for the reason she includes in her author’s note.

A moment I loved:

“And,” he said, “if you ever see Ahsoka again, tell her she was the best padawan I could have asked for.” His breaths were coming in rapid pants, now, and the room was spinning out of focus. “Obi-Wan?” he asked, voice barely audible. “Yes, Padawan mine?” he responded, his own voice shaky as well. “Thank you for being my Master,” Anakin said.

i’m only me when i’m with you idiots by @renegadeontherunn

Summary: who let Obi-Wan pick the holo? and where's the remote? they might need a bigger blanket. 

[or, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan have leave on Coruscant and holo night is the perfect excuse to all squeeze onto a couch together, bicker, and be, well, a family]

Fluff, fluff, fluff! Yes, please! My dear Fiona does a wonderful job wrapping these three up in a blanket and plopping them in front of a holo for a night of witty banter and so-cute-I-could-melt platonic cuddles. I love these three, I love this fic!

A moment I loved: 

“You met a civilized Padawan? Couldn’t have been ours.”

get home by @curse-of-men

Summary: After a mission goes wrong and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker goes missing, it is up to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano to bring him home.

[or: a Grandmaster and a Grandpadawan go on a road trip to rescue chaos personified]

What? Me? Rec’ing another Obi-Wan and Ahsoka centric fic? HUH? Hehe, I love that Lou says this is the missing Obi & Soka arc in their author’s note because um, did they look into my heart and know that’s what I most desire? Anyway, this three-parter is incredible from start to finish and I demand you all go read it immediately. :-)

A moment I loved:

Making their way to the cockpit, Ahsoka tilts her head into Obi-Wan’s general direction and says: “You know, Master, Anakin would probably think things so far have gone excellently.” Obi-Wan returns her look and sighs.

“Now you surely must get why I am so worried about this.” Ahsoka grins and gestures back and forth in the empty space between them with one hand.

“For what it’s worth, I think we make a good enough team.”

we stand here, together by @nightdotlight​

Summary: Master Depa Billaba and Padawan Caleb Dume.

Windu worries for them, out in the wider galaxy. Waging war, while he and Anakin sit here, waiting.

But he trained Billaba, and Billaba is training Dume. Anakin once took lessons from her, when he himself was a Padawan, and he knows she is skilled enough by far, to ensure that both she and her student make it back to Coruscant safely.

It’s ironic, that when cut off from the Force he can understand other people better than he has in years.

ZOWEE!!!! This fic made me ugly cry on my conference period at school!! Ha! Another fic that culminates in, er...death. But!!!! The lead-up! Ooh, baby! The writing style of this one is also very fresh and unique which I appreciate as someone who essentially reads the same thing eight million ways (by choice, mind you!!!! and loves it every time!!!!). This is just an absolute gem of a fic. Queue: your best crying playlist.

A moment I loved: 

Depa, her Padawan braid hanging from her shoulder, hugs him around his middle and drags him to the training salles. The whole way, her laughter follows them– warm, like summer rain. Like the smallest, most ephemeral moments of happiness.

Her smile feels like a sunset on his back, and Mace smiles back even as they spar, as green and purple clash over and over again in a dance unique to teacher and student.

He does not need to reach out to know the galaxy is at peace. When they take a break from their own spar, Mace feels a light tap on his presence in the Force; when he turns, Ahsoka Tano stands there in training robes, her own Master a few paces behind– and beside him, Obi-Wan Kenobi, face lighter than it has been in years.

Her Padawan beads hang from her headdress; when she smiles at the banter behind her, turning to retort, they catch the light, and the half-formed impression of those beads torn asunder and held in gloved hand is dissipated by the glare.

Only Hope by @tessiete

Summary: The infamous "Year on the Run".In the wake of her father's death, Satine is assigned two Jedi to escort her safely back to Mandalore, but in the chaotic aftermath of a civil war, there is more at stake than one person's survival. Together, they work to unite Mandalore, overcome ancient grudges, and bring peace to a world ravaged by bloodshed.

Man, oh man, do I love a good year on the run fic! And man oh man am I loving the heck out of this one. It’s in progress so go ahead give it a bookmark and a subscription while you’re at it!!!! But the banter! The sass! The (I assume soon to come) pining! The Qui-Gon third wheeling! READ IT! Cannot recommend highly enough.

A moment I loved: 

“...and you’re bound to be hungry.”

“I assure you, I’m not.”

“Well, Obi-Wan is,” Jinn asserts. His back is to his apprentice and so he cannot see the mutinous glance which darts his way. “And as you’ve seen, he’s trouble when he isn’t fed. You have five minutes.”

Goes to Ground by jerseydevious

Summary: Obi-Wan has a question for Anakin following his experiences on Zygerria.

Silly Jedi boys trying and failing to communicate, gosh dang it!!! They get there, eventually, though. :’) Some post Zygerria angst and some tough discussions. HERE. FOR. IT. 

A moment I loved: 

“You are a bad influence, padawan mine,” Obi-Wan said. He gave Anakin that smile, the one that made Anakin feel like he shared a secret with his Master, something only for them.

In Sacrifice, Peace by @ilonga

Summary: “Shh. . .” Anakin says, gathering the younglings around him, reminding Obi-wan of all those whispered arguments where he had insisted to Anakin that yes, he was good with children, he’d be just fine teaching Ahsoka. He can almost feel the terror rising off Anakin from the hologram; Anakin doesn’t know what’s happening either. But he isn’t letting the younglings feel it. “You need to listen to me very carefully, okay? This--” his voice breaks, “--this is going to be scary. But you have to be calm, and strong. Just like Master Yoda taught you.” [Or, the ROTS au where Obi-wan finds a very different type of pain while looking through the Temple's recordings of Order 66.]

PAIN AWAITS YOU HERE! But that is exactly why you should click, kudos, comment, bookmark, and let this fic live in your head rent free like it’s living in mine. Truly couldn’t get it out of there if I wanted to! AND I DO NOT! Yet another deathfic and angst with The Team (TM). Read it, peeps.

A moment I loved: 

“And then?”Obi-wan closes his eyes, pretends he can’t feel the weight of the body in his arms, pretends it’s really Anakin he’s talking to and not some worrying coping mechanism. “And then we fight.” he says.

to hold by @katierosefun

Summary: “What—” Ahsoka looked up and, where she had expected to find a mumbling drunk, she found instead—

“Master Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked, stunned. She straightened, already swinging her backpack around herself again.

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan managed. He was breathing hard, just barely bent over because he was supporting, Ahsoka realized dumbly, Anakin.

Anakin, whose head was lolling against Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Whose face was two shades too pale and eyes fluttering and lips parted in a soundless groan that brought Ahsoka right back to battlefields and med bays and other places that she hadn’t been in a long, long while. [or: after leaving the Order, Ahsoka runs into some familiar faces.]

Caroline at it again with the post-wrong-jedi disaster trio angst comin’ in hot! Some platonic bed-sharing, some confused Anakin, some conflicted Ahsoka, some pained Obi-Wan. Well–strike that. They’re all in pain. But what do we expect, honestly? What do we want, honestly? Pain. We want pain.

A moment I loved: 

“Only another dream,” Obi-Wan said. He looked at Ahsoka, his face just barely shadowed. “Seems that it’s passed.”

Another. 

Ahsoka’s stomach twisted. She looked at the hand she was holding. It was strange—she couldn’t remember if she had ever actually held onto Anakin’s hand this tightly before, but now she could feel the familiar callouses, make out just the faintest of old scars. Ahsoka squeezed it once.

Not near as many as I planned to do or have saved and ready to rec, but...this already got, er...quite lengthy. So! Same time, next week! I’ll have some more! (Well, probably not same time and maybe not even next week...but soon.) 

[artsyongallifrey]

help im so confused I don't understand star wars. WHY is samuel l jackson's purple lightsaber 20 chapters worth of star wars lore please explain

Hi! Tumblr doesn’t like to notify me when I get asks! Sorry if this is very late.

Okay, so short answer: nobody else had a purple lightsaber, and since this is Star Wars, we can’t just let that slide without an explanation.

So Mace Windu has the ability to utilize both the Dark and the Light side of the Force. This is a particularly rare ability that he gained in the comic Shatterpoint. At the end of the story, he was gifted the purple kyber crystal that is now in his lightsaber.

And since we had this instance of a very unique lightsaber, it paved the way for more interesting lightsabers to be created. If you keep up with this specific part of Star Wars lore, then it’s really great for learning more about your favorite characters.

For instance, Kylo Ren’s (who still fucking sucks but has a fascinating lightsaber) is actually very poorly built! That’s the reason why the blade is so fucking weird. And the crossguard is actually two exhaust ports because there’s too much energy and it actually isn’t functional for a lightsaber to have a crossguard like that. A Jedi or Sith builds their lightsaber when their training is complete, and his wasn’t. He has no idea what he’s doing. It’s a blade built by an immature child.

So yeah! That’s the short answer on lightsaber lore. It’s weird that I’ve reached a point in my knowledge of Star Wars that I can confidently answer specific questions about it.

[padme-amitabha]

Is Anakin a Mary Sue?

Now it may shock you to learn this but it turns out that Disney Star Wars is kind of a contentious topic. The fandom's been more or less divided between those who like the sequel trilogy and those who like good movies but both groups spend a great deal of time slinging [ __ ] at each other over every form of social media known to man and truly no battleground is more fiercely contested than the protagonist of each trilogy. People who hate the Disney trilogy tend to criticize Rey for being an overpowered, flawless, perfect, invincible and unrelatable character for whom everything just kind of happens with no real struggle or difficulty a Mary Sue if you will.

Meanwhile supporters of the sequel trilogy are quick to leap to her defense usually with one of two potential counter arguments:  1. You just hate strong women 2. So what if she's op as [ __ ] Anakin Skywalker from the prequels was a Mary Sue too and you don't criticize him. You just hate strong women. This argument was brought into sharp focus for me the other day when I was perusing twitter in search of calm, logical, rational discussion about the merits of the sequel trilogy and I chanced upon this little gem of a comment. Ah yes that famously perfect protagonist who wins everything, always makes the right decisions, has a selfless and compassionate personality, and is universally loved and respected by everyone. Well random twitter [ __ ] as it turns out, I am ready to have that conversation right now. So saddle up y'all because the drinker's here to round up this [ __ ] and put an end to this argument once and for all. Let us journey deep into the world of the Star Wars prequels and see if we can figure out whether Anakin Skywalker really is a Mary Sue.

Now in order to do this, we have to nail down what exactly a Mary Sue is. Well according to the dictionary definition it's a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws originally written as an idealized version of an author in fanfiction. Now the finer points of what makes a Mary Sue can vary depending on who you talk to but after consulting multiple sources and drawing upon my own experiences as a writer, there's a few common traits that I think most people would generally agree on:

1.      Mary Sues usually possess skills and abilities that are not consistent with their situation and personal history. They can do stuff they shouldn't realistically be able to and they can do it better than anyone else.

2.      They usually possess flawless idealized personalities that no real person could measure up to they never give in to negative emotions like anger, greed, jealousy, selfishness or arrogance.

3.      They're universally loved respected and embraced by every good character they encounter even when there's no logical reason for this to happen.

4.      They never get seriously challenged, fail at anything or get beaten by anyone, success and victory come easily to them.

5.      They always make good decisions and strive to do what's right in any situation so why is this actually a problem.

Well I think the answer should be obvious, Mary Sues are boring as [ __ ]. If a character has got no flaws or weaknesses and never really gets challenged or tested by anything then what is there to get invested in?

It's the flaws and failings of a character that make them interesting in the first place and their struggle to rise above and overcome these flaws that make them so compelling. If these things are missing from a character, then there's nothing for the audience to latch onto or care about. There's nothing to like or root for. That's the essence of a Mary Sue and that's what we're going to be looking at here. So, with that in mind let's see how Anakin stacks up against this list shall we?

Point number one: Being overpowered and having abilities that he shouldn't. Now this more than anything else is what people tend to latch onto when they criticize Anakin and who can blame them really? On the surface it seems pretty ridiculous to see a nine-year-old boy doing stuff like this autopilot but let's put it into a wider context, shall we? When we first meet Anakin in The Phantom Menace, he's a slave living with his mother on Tatooine. He's spent most of his life salvaging junk and using it to make new stuff that can marginally improve their quality of life. As a result, he's become pretty good with technology. Well that makes sense, I guess. He's even applied these technical skills to pod racing where he's been fairly successful despite suffering at least one major crash that we know about. Again, this kind of makes sense when you consider he's strong with the force which would likely give him heightened perception reactions and understanding of the world around him, you know qualities that are important to high performance racing drivers. Anyway, his racing abilities allow the main characters to win an engine part that they need to repair their ship as well as enough money to buy his freedom. Sensing his importance Qui-Gon Jinn takes him under his wing and begins to teach him about the force. Remember when older mentor characters were allowed to teach the protagonist things? I miss that. He also takes part in a space battle that destroys an enemy mothership at the climax of the movie. Now as goofy as this scene is in its execution, it's not actually inconsistent with Anakin’s abilities and experiences. If you've worked around technology vehicles and ships your entire life and you can pilot a racing pod to a high standard then it stands to reason that you could probably operate other types of spacecraft as well, particularly if you have a droid on board to manage most of the ship's systems for you. However, for the sake of argument let's concede the Anakin in The Phantom Menace is indeed more skilled competent and capable than your average person.

So, what kind of effect would this have on a young man from an impoverished background suddenly thrust into a much larger world of power, politics and opportunity? Well that brings me neatly along to point number two: Mary Sues are supposed to have flawless personalities never giving in to anger, jealousy, resentment, vengeance or ambition. All throughout the second and third movies in the prequel trilogy, Anakin displays an increasingly severe set of personality flaws that begin to undermine his position in the world and his relationship with other characters. He's impetuous and hot-headed, frequently rushing into dangerous situations without waiting for backup or considering the risk to himself particularly when someone he cares about is in danger. Keep that one in mind because it'll be important later. He's ambitious but also impatient, feeling like he's been unfairly held back by other characters, particularly Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this resentment causes a growing rift between the two men that eventually spills out into open conflicts. Rather than taking the longer and harder path to wisdom and understanding, Anakin wants everything right away. He also cares deeply about people close to him and this attachment often manifests in explosive bites of anger and jealousy when he feels that they're being threatened like when his mother gets kidnapped and killed by Tusken Raiders, causing Anakin to go on a violent rampage that escalates into wholesale slaughter. Afterwards even he's shocked by what he did or when he believes that Padme has turned against him by Obi-Wan Kenobi, causing him to lash out violently against both of them. By this point he's been totally consumed by uncontrolled jealousy anger resentment and betrayal. All of the emotions that lead to the dark side of the force. The point here is clear: if you [ __ ] with someone he cares about then mercy and compassion go right out the window.

All of his skills, abilities and potential which seemed so overpowered and unnecessary in the first movie in fact serve a very important purpose for his character development. They've generated a sense of superiority, arrogance and overconfidence, and a reluctance to listen to criticism or advice no matter how well intentioned they might be. These are dangerous flaws in his personality all by themselves but combined with his overwhelming emotional attachment to people he cares about it creates a potent cocktail of reckless ambition and deep-seated insecurity that makes him uniquely vulnerable to manipulation something which will later prove disastrous because while Mary Sues are universally loved respected and trusted by everyone, Anakin certainly isn't in the first movie. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Yoda are all against training Anakin to become a Jedi despite his obvious potential because they know he's already too old to be inducted. This lack of early discipline in his life would leave a dangerous gap in his personality, making him unpredictable and less able to control his emotions, two factors which are extremely dangerous for Jedi. These misgivings would carry over to the next two movies where Anakin is elevated to the Jedi high council on Palpatine’s orders but the council itself refuses to grant him the rank of master because they feel he hasn't earned it yet. Now a different man would see this as an opportunity to prove himself by working hard and earning their trust eventually winning them over and gaining the recognition he deserves but Anakin takes this as a personal insult from the council which drives a deeper wedge between him and a Jedi order which he believes will never truly respect or accept him. Wow it's almost like Palpatine knew this was going to happen and engineered the whole thing to pull Anakin closer to him portraying himself as the only one who can help Anakin realize his full potential. It's a surprisingly smart piece of characterization that's completely consistent with everything we know about both men. The higher Anakin rises the more it stokes the fire of his ambition and superiority and the more he comes to see anyone who doubts or cautions him as a threat to his success. This arrogance and overconfidence also causes him to test himself against powerful opponents before he's actually ready for them and unlike Mary sues who easily win every battle they have to fight, Anakin’s recklessness causes an escalating series of losses like here where he tries to take on count Dooku all by himself and it ends with Anakin getting his [ __ ] arm sliced off. But his desire for revenge against the man who defeated him ultimately causes a more powerful and better prepared Anakin to execute him in the following movie, again proving his willingness to give into vengeance and anger even against helpless opponents or here in his climactic confrontation with Obi-Wan where his enemy has the advantage but Anakin presses the attack anyway and well I think we know how that turns out. Just as a side note I love how this carries over to Return of the Jedi. See Luke’s taking the high ground here just like Obi-Wan did.

What we have here is a clear pattern of behavior from a man whose ambitions consistently outstrip his abilities. Rather than demonstrating patience and restraint and taking the slower and harder path to lasting wisdom and fulfillment, Anakin’s inherent character flaws cause him to push himself beyond breaking point with increasingly disastrous consequences which brings me neatly along to the final points: whereas Mary Sues consistently make good righteous decisions and always strive to do the correct thing, Anakin on the other hand demonstrates a consistent pattern of mistakes and misjudgments that ultimately cost him everything. As I've already shown you the flaws in his personality are exacerbated by his powers and abilities making him easy prey for a ruthlessly ambitious man that knows exactly how to flatter his ambitions and prey on his weaknesses this eventually causes him to commit terrible crimes like murdering an entire tribe including unarmed civilians murdering children, executing a helpless opponent, helping to kill a jedi master, trying to murder his own wife, trying to kill his mentor and best friend, joining forces with an evil dictator to overthrow the republic, delivering this scene…

What I’m trying to say with all this is that Anakin Skywalker is the very furthest thing from a Mary Sue that you can get. Trying to label him as a Mary Sue for no other reason than because he's good at lots of stuff demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what a Mary Sue is and also of who Anakin is. The reality is that he's a powerful but deeply flawed man whose unique combination of circumstances and abilities have created a dangerous personality that's vulnerable to manipulation and corruption his greatest strengths ultimately proved to be his most terrible weaknesses with consequences that echo across the entire galaxy. Now I have my own thoughts on the prequel trilogy as a whole and I’d be lying if I said they were great movies but fundamentally I think the story they tell is actually pretty [ __ ] good and I’m just gonna say it: Anakin’s rise to power and fall to the dark side is a damn good piece of character work that Disney would have done well to pay more attention to. Anyway, that's all I’ve got for today. Go away now.

I would argue the prequels are great movies but he makes some very good points. I have seen so many Disney fans claim Anakin is a Mary Sue, when he’s anything but a Mary Sue. 

[swtorramblings]

The Many in the One

For Day 3 of Mace Windu Appreciation Week.

Crossover: There are plenty of interesting works of fiction and fictional characters out there, let’s see Mace interacting with one, or more! Is it someone from another sci-fi series? Or another Samuel L. Jackson character? The sky’s the limit for who he might meet.

Sorry, but romance? Ships? I’d need a much longer run up for anything like that, if I could make it work at all. I should have started earlier in the month, I guess. Well, unless it was set to Disney music. Hmm… So, I went with the alternative. As such, it is quite a bit more far-fetched than the previous stories. Hopefully still all right, though. It’s also longer.

“Unlimited power!” As the last words Mace was ever going to hear, those were especially stupid. And horribly frustrating. He’d protected the Republic all his life. Dying now to this tyrant that had installed himself as its ruler, with the approval of so many, crushed his hopes long before it was going to crush his body. It was almost a relief when he was flung out the broken window. He fell, his final thoughts devoted to trying to find a solution, something that could have been done differently, tormenting him with answers that no one could have known until it was much too late. Then, he had a vision. Wolves, racing in a circle. A way to make another chance, a portal opened in the past, but reaching out to him now, and echoing into the future and the past. He reached for it with his remaining hand, closed his eyes, and pulled. He landed on a path, floating strangely in space. He had expected to be crushed by the fall, still, but looking around, his survival in this strange place was probably the least surprising thing about it. He could sense them out there, all of those that had ever been able to access this place, this world between worlds. In this place, there was only this one moment, so they were all here. Thousands of them, perhaps. Along with several other Mace Windus. He tended to his injury first. The wrist was cauterized, so he was in no danger of bleeding to death, but he wanted to be sure it wouldn’t cause him any further issues, other than having to adjust his fighting techniques. Then he remembered that he had lost his lightsaber along with the hand. He realized also that he was still in shock, from the fight, from the failure. No point in dwelling on it. He set off, exploring this strange place. He found several portals back to the galaxy, but recognized them for the past. He was tempted, to go through one, to warn them, perhaps even to warn himself. As he explored, though, he realized that he would unravel reality if he did so. What had happened was tragic, but he couldn’t risk making it even worse. Then, strangely, he found himself, but not as he had ever been. It wasn’t his past, and he had no future, so who was this? He was certain that it wasn’t just a random resemblance, but truly himself, and yet not. This portal, he could feel, was safe. More, it was necessary. He stepped through. The other him was startled, of coursed, but calmed himself quickly and echoed Mace’s own thoughts from earlier. “Well, you’re not the strangest thing I’ve seen lately.” “No, neither are you. Where am I? Who are you?” “It’s hard to explain. We’re inside a vessel from the far future, where a horrible accident flung it here. I’m Dr. Harry Adams.” “Ah, that does make sense. Mace Windu.” “That’s an odd name.” “I could say the same. Anyway, I’m dealing with time travel right now myself.” “Because of course you are. The problem is, this machine is twisting our own thoughts against us. I’m trying to be dispassionate, but my own fears will add to the others eventually if we can’t get them under control.” He felt it, pulling at him as well. Power to make his thoughts real, if he let it, if he could remain focused, but horribly destructive if he lost control. He smiled at his latest apprentice. “That, at least, I think I can help you with.”

The training took some time, but their unique situation made it possible, still. He didn’t have to train Harry in all the nuances of the Force, or lightsaber combat, strategy, or any of the myriad things a Jedi might need. Only the technique of self-control, awareness, and letting go. Still, it probably took years. Harry was normally too old to have accepted this teaching, but they had the time. Eventually, he shook hands with his teacher, and left the sphere. Mace knew he would eventually have to return to the path. He also realized that he had already done what he was about to do. He was beginning to hate time travel. He returned to the world between worlds, allowing himself to be drawn back. He looked at his new hand, a robotic one similar to the one Skywalker sported, created with the Sphere’s power. It made him uncomfortable, but something had told him that he would need it soon. The other item he’d created while in the Sphere he drew from his belt. As he pressed the switch, the purple light made him smile.

He came to another portal, seeing himself once again, an older man who had endured a great deal, and was using that experience to save others, to force them to act together to save themselves. Moments later, he died, horribly. Mace waited for the scene to start over again. He could appreciate irony, and knew he probably shouldn’t interfere, but this went too far. He was speaking his last words now. “But first, we’re going to seal off this…” Mace jumped through the portal and struck just as the massive aquatic beast emerged from the water, slashing through it with his lightsaber, driving it, badly wounded, back into the water. Then he raised his hand, strained for a moment, and brought down the heavy steel door slamming down to seal this entryway. His counterpart backed away, gaping at him in fear. He tried to smile reassuringly for a moment, but it wasn’t working, so he turned to the others. “All of you, are you going to listen to this man?” They just stared. “I said…” Uncharacteristically, he raised his voice. He preferred calm persuasion, but it seemed like what they would respond to. “ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO THIS MAN?” They all started nodding vigorously. One of them said, “Yes, anything he says.” “Good. Maybe you’ll get out of here alive.” Two journeys, both underwater. He wondered if Master Fisto should have been on this journey, but the job had fallen to him. Still, he liked the idea that he was honoring his old friend here. He hoped he would approve, even if he had to hurt the sea creature. He nodded to himself, who nodded back, and stepped back onto the path.

He saved a brutal man, a version of himself that was a paid killer, with a simple telekinetic trick to divert the projectiles that would have killed him. This also saved this version’s friend, but only for the moment. The other him, though, decided to do better. As a small reward, Mace got a glimpse of something in a case his other self carried, and was comforted for a moment by its golden light. Really, the snakes were no trouble at all. His fragile but brilliant self Mace attempted to persuade from his path, but he was too enamored of his own theories about the way the world worked to be changed. A shame. The leader, the manipulator, the organizer, he also couldn’t save, gunned down in his apartment. Mace eventually replaced him, knowing that his work wasn’t done, learning enough of this strange world to be able to explain how he had lived through the attack that his allies found plausible. It was a good life for a time, though the eyepatch sometimes itched. Eventually, though, after having seen himself in many lives and many circumstances, his own hair grown and gray, he knew his time was nearly over. Through one last portal, before he returned to that moment on Coruscant, he heard his own voice, impossibly helping a young woman, a young Jedi, long after his own death. He knew he had to return to be there when she would need them all, so he went back to that first portal, finally, and fulfilled his fate and his duty with no regrets. Mace Windu became one with the Force, like all before and after him, but had touched the multiverse. How could he have regrets?

[gffa]

Clone Wars EP Dave Filoni breaks down the first episodes of the final season [x]

It’s been a long journey in a galaxy far, far away, but Star Wars: The Clone Wars is finally back. After its unexpected cancellation in 2013, fans had a new hope for the revered series. At Star Wars Celebration in 2015, audience members got to see rough animations (story reels) of a few unfinished episodes, including a plot focusing on imperfect clone soldiers called the Bad Batch. Those episodes make up the first arc of the seventh and final season, which debuted Feb. 21 on Disney+. After the premiere of the first two episodes, EW spoke with Clone Wars and The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni about bringing back the series — and a fallen friend.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When you produced the first six seasons, the pace of production was pretty quick. But for this season, you had years to look back and reflect on the story. As you were looking to bring back these first few episodes was there anything you really wanted to go back and update?

DAVE FILONI: If you go back to the original series, what we put out in 2008, it's such a dramatic leap. But then you realize it's been 11 years since that show first aired, which is kind of striking for me that it's been so long. So there should be dramatic improvements, visually. I think that facial animation, the fidelity of the expression — things like that — we were able to improve in the animation itself. I really feel looking at this show now, it's kind of how >George [Lucas] and I envisioned it to look in the beginning. We just didn't have the tools necessary to actually realize it then. But over time with a lot of training, you know, like any good Jedi I learned my way.

One scene that's a little different from the original story reel of “The Bad Batch” is that it originally opened with a longer extended sequence between Mace, Anakin, Rex, and Cody. In the final version, you added a pretty touching scene between Rex and Cody talking about a lot of the fallen clones. What was the decision to add that scene in there?

I just thought the story was really dragging in the beginning. I felt like there was a whole lot of exposition, one too many scenes where they're saying what they're going to do instead of just doing it. And then I wanted to add a better sense of personal stakes to the story. You know, part of the consideration I had to make when doing this was, how do people even know who Echo is? I'm imagining a lot of people will just watch these 12 episodes and maybe not go back and watch the previous, you know, over 100 episodes where Echo plays a moderate role.

The Bad Batch are mutant clones who are new faces we meet at the top of the season. How did you go about designing the looks for these guys and also new clone hairstyles that I didn’t know were possible?

Yes, we always had this bizarre hairstyle trend with clones where they would pick ways to individualize. And the Bad Batch themselves, that was all right from George. He wanted to explore this idea that there were clones that were a little bit more unique from one another that were like a special forces unit that had enhanced skills. And so the trick for those characters is really making them feel special in what their abilities could be, but not making them superheroes. Wrecker should not be the Hulk, even though we love the Hulk and those types of stories. That's not what Star Wars is. So we had to keep it all kind of within the reality of Star Wars.

I loved the callback to clone 99 from season 3. Was that always the plan to call the Bad Batch "Clone Force 99"?

Yeah. That's where the idea kind of came from story-wise, was that, you know, 99 proved back in the original Clone Wars series to have greater heart and strength than some of the clones that were thought of better warriors, and Cody felt that that was worth exploring. And so he really lobbies the Kaminoans to take a second look at clones that they might deem different.

These first two episodes feature almost entirely clone troopers. Dee Bradley Baker voices all the clones — what was his reaction when he saw the script?

He has a unique skill where he's able to lend his voice to the individual nature of these characters. You forget it's one guy doing it. And I can tell you, it's exhausting for him. Being inside one character's mind is exhausting. And I can't imagine what it's like when he's in a whole squad of guys. And he's got to keep the energy up and he's got to keep the conflict up. And he's arguing with himself.

He and I over the years have had different ways to remember clones. When we were in the series we had certain words that would be like triggering for each of the clones — what their key personality was. The Bad Batch is a little easier, you know, because they're so different.

I think one of the coolest scenes that has ever come out of Clone Wars is the attack on the command center in episode 1 of this season. Do you remember plotting that out?

Yeah, that was really well-directed by Kyle Dulevy. George was always pushing us to think more in terms of what the live-action blocking would be and how a live-action film could do things. And that's where some of those longer takes that hand off action and keep with movement and feel more handheld and operated come from. It's the way to really put the viewer right in there, like you're running alongside the clones.

The way we do Clone Wars, there's no storyboards. So when we plan the scene like that, it's all virtually blocked in the computer. All the staging is done in a privatized system George created called Zviz, which is like a virtual blocking tool for directors. And you can put all the characters on the stage and then you can watch them play out the scenes like you’re watching the morning walkthrough of the rehearsal run, and then you can set up your cameras and so you can follow everybody. There's this virtual camera, and you can tweak the timing to get it to be really perfect.

The animator, Kyle, and his team were really proficient at using it. I know exactly the shot you're talking about. The way I look at it in my mind is that the Bad Batch arc is the most authentic to the way I think Clone Wars was back when we did it. Yes, we improved the animation. We improved the rendering. But it's very much something that we had shot. It's pretty authentic. The middle arc is more of a halfway point, where we tweaked it and we worked on the script quite a bit, but it's still the relative idea of what we were going to be doing cinematically. And then the end is really something like we've never done before in Clone Wars — because it’s the end.

It was so great to see Echo again despite the circumstances. When he seemingly died in the Citadel, did you know then that you wanted to bring him back later?

No, ha. That [death], really more than any of the other ones, we all kind of noticed that people were like, “Oh, man, Echo.” And we thought it'd be interesting that the Techno Union — a creepy bunch of guys on the evil side of things — maybe there's something to be done there. So we started to hatch a plan for if that would even be something that's possible. But it wasn't top of mind when we did the Citadel arc.

Another difference between the story reels in the second episode was this new scene about Anakin slipping away to call Padme, which I thought was a pretty illuminating addition.

When I looked at these 12 episodes, there was no Padme in them, and that seemed like a really huge oversight. That was never the plan, because there were more episodes planned, but we ended up doing these 12. I just thought that was really unfortunate. I talked to the actress who played her, Cat Taber, and I think it was a bummer for her because she'd been so involved in the series over the years.

And again, [this new scene] is important to the story and for people that might be walking into Clone Wars new. Having a scene with Padme actually interacting with Anakin was a very important moment. It also shows people where they're at in their relationship. It shows that he goes to her for advice, that she really gets the relationship he has with Rex, that she needs to remind him that actually that was going out on a limb for him, so maybe you should take it on faith and go on this limb for Rex. And also that she has a big influence over Anakin still and that he trusts her. And it also hints at the timeline. And that's always a tricky one, I think, because you as the viewer have to remember that at this point in Star Wars, we know way more than the characters do.

To be honest, I'd worked so much on Rebels, I had to go back and reread and watch a whole bunch of the Clone Wars era just to turn my brain back on. I had to upload a whole bunch of information to my drive because, you know, I guess I'm getting old and losing some of it, but it came back in time.

You posted an intriguing Instagram last month. It was a picture of Gandalf and Ahsoka. And Gandalf says, “People thought I was dead, too. Look how that turned out…” And, you know, a lot of people assumed Asoka was dead because we hear her voice in The Rise of Skywalker. Are we going to see her again?

Well, you'll see her in Clone Wars if you watch these 12 episodes. [Laughs] I told the truth! I had an answer for once.

Was there anything that you learned from working on and directing in this first season of The Mandalorian that you were able to apply to this final season of Clone Wars?

I think a lot. Working with Jon Favreau has been another extension of my education. There are a lot of things that George had taught me over the years about live-action, and finally here I was in a place where I could apply it. And I'm so fortunate to be working alongside Jon as another mentor and someone who is very experienced to help me through the questions and the challenges that you have in a different medium.

But yeah, it definitely affected me as far as looking back on the Clone Wars with different eyes and saying we could tighten this up, this could be better. You know, some of the things I learned from Jon about just keeping it moving and heightening and transforming things as we go. He brings a great perspective, and one that I've really never had as an actor to every scene and the emotions and the character. And so I've learned a lot from him in the past year about hopefully improving our performances and relating to performances.