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tangents-within-tangents · 8 months ago

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Thoughts on Echo as amputee/disability representation

First and foremost, I am not disabled or an amputee and I don’t claim to speak for those communities (and if I was I couldn't speak for everyone). What little I do know mostly comes from this youtube channel (@oakwyrm), this post, and other research I’ve done for my writing (and like one amputee I kinda knew in passing). By all means correct me and add to the conversation, I just have some thoughts I want to share because I haven’t really seen this discussed anywhere

Overview

So Echo is interesting. He is a triple amputee which is pretty rare in media. His disabilities come from extremely traumatic circumstances: injured in a near-death experience, imprisoned and dehumanized as an experiment with no autonomy over what happened to his body.

There are a few moments in the shows where Echo is treated… questionably. Like this bit where Rex uses him as an example of the Separatists' evils to convince the locals to fight back:

To be fair, yeah Echo’s treatment does prove that the Techno Union is not neutral like they claim. The modifications that everyone is gasping in horror at here obviously weren’t made with comfort and accessibility in mind, nor with Echo’s consent. But you still just want to be sure that “They took away his freedom, his humanity, they tried to turn him into a machine” is about using him as a living computer, not the fact that he is missing limbs.

The Batch is also pretty insensitive toward him and his trauma imo, which is weird considering they've supposedly also faced discrimination for their mutations

Disabled people do have to deal with stuff like this in this day and age so I guess it can speak to those experiences. I think especially him being mistaken as a droid (and Hunter going along with it (bruh)) might resonate with some people.

Aside from that stuff, Echo isn't really treated any differently as a character/person which is really good (as low of a bar as that is).

We get this moment in CW where Echo contemplates that yeah things are gonna be different now

While also (imo at least) showing that he is still the same person regardless, evidenced by the fact that he just echoed Rex :,) I also think it's significant that he joins the Bad Batch on his own terms and we're given a really emotional scene to specifically show that he's not just like 'lumped in with the other misfits' but that it is his choice to go where he feels his place is.

A lot of people, myself included, are disappointed that TBB didn't have more time to explore Echo's PTSD, but I think the one panic attack scene we did get is really good. Even thought it's minor it at least is an appropriate reaction from a guy who was medically tortured (which is more than I've come to expect from Star Wars shows lol)

And it's really sweet to see Omega showing Echo some empathy and consideration.

It would have been nice to see more of his adjustment period, and other side effects like chronic pain and maintenance, but there’s a lot of daily life stuff the show never had time for (i.e. we don’t know if he removed his prosthetics to sleep, but we also never saw him sleep anyway). His disabilities might take on a background role (much like the character himself sadly) but for the most part they aren’t invisible or erased, nor do they define his character and arc.

Physical Appearance

Okay this one is bit dicey, bc on the one hand, yes complaints that Echo’s paleness (most likely caused by burns from the explosion or chemical burns from the cryo-chamber) is whitewashing are totally valid. But I also think you can draw comparisons to real life conditions that affect pigmentation/complexion (like you know burns). So while I understand why a lot of fanart will depict him with his original skin tone and with hair, consider that there are real people who have to live with temporary or permanent changes to their appearance, and the idea of “fixing" him by making him look more like his old self can be problematic.

It's also interesting to note that Echo could act as a reversal of the 'disabled/disfigured = evil' trope. He's pale and bald and wears black and red, which is so often visually associated with villains, but we all know Echo is the bestest boy™

The Headpiece

Echo’s headpiece is interesting because within the show we don’t actually ever learn much about it (idk if there is more info in books or whatever bc i don’t have them so?). He didn’t have it in CW so we know it didn’t come from the Techno Union and therefore Echo probably had more choice with it. We don’t know its exact purpose but it’s most likely related to his scomping abilities. When he is hacking with his scomp in CW, before he has his headpiece, it’s clearly very mentally straining:

We don’t see him struggling like this in TBB once he does have it (though that could be bc he got more used to it over time). There doesn't seem to be much of an impact when he removes his headpiece in s3 ep14-15, except that he gets stuck in the ports every time he uses his scomp which is not something we’ve seen before:

There might not be an exact real-world equivalent, but the headpiece is some kind of accessibility aid. It means that someone specifically designed a device to help him adapt to the changes the Techno Union made, as well as a helmet that integrates it. It’s removable and visually very present, much like a cochlear implant would be. (A lot of people actually headcanon it to act partially as a hearing aid, since it makes sense that Echo’s hearing would have been damaged in the explosion, but there isn't really any indication of this in canon.) The headpiece is never really acknowledged in the show, but I think that's a good thing. It's something he needs/wants and it just exists, completely normalized, and that's pretty cool 👍

Legs

Sigh... So from the very first episode of TBB I was really disappointed that the animation team or whoever completely visually erased Echo’s prosthetic legs (I think we all were, honestly, if fanart is anything to go by). It’s one thing when he’s in armor because he would probably want to protect his prosthetics, but we literally see him in his blacks and there is no indication whatsoever that he lost his legs even though it was not left up for debate at all in CW:

Like ??????!?

This is just really strange to me! Idk what went on behind the scenes with this decision but I don’t really see why it would be that much harder to animate or anything since it’s 3D and they've done it before. We do see some pretty sophisticated cybernetic technology in Star Wars canon that mimics real limbs:

But Luke’s fancy hand is technically 20ish years from now, so Anakin and Maul are more of a representation of what level we could expect here

So yeah, for no apparent reason, his leg amputation is effectively, visually and narratively nonexistent. Which is not great 👎

Arm!

The scomp on the other hand (uh lol!) is the complete opposite and I kinda love it!

At first I, like many others, thought it was a bit odd that they didn’t give Echo a prosthetic arm. Losing hands is basically a Star Wars tradition at this point, so robotic arms/hands are well established within the worldbuilding:

We aren’t necessarily given a canon reason for why Echo doesn't get a cybernetic arm (again unless it's in some lore book I haven’t read, sorry). General fanon explanations I’ve seen are that he either couldn’t because the Techno Union wired the scomp too far into his nervous system, and/or the resources to give him one were deemed too expensive for a clone (what about his legs tho?), or that he chose not to, usually because he thought the scomping was useful.

Regardless, I actually really love this choice (and it's the whole reason I made this post), because here's the thing: There’s a lot of problematic tropes out there that either erase/cure disabilities or compensate them with perks (like how pretty much any blind character is actually not blind by some sort of magic power). With amputees that is done with robotic arms. The character is still an amputee or course, and there is still value in that representation, if this story from Mark Hamill that makes me tear up is anything to go by:

but for the most part these characters function like anyone else, just with a limb that looks a little different. It’s no more than a video game skin, an able-bodied actor with a green screen glove. It “cures” the disability, or it actually makes the character even stronger than usual:

It usually makes sense within the world of the story, but the reason it’s not so great in my opinion is that in the real world we just do not have technology anywhere close to that yet. Prosthetics can more or less replace any mobility from lost legs, but not for all the complexities of a hand (and even if they could the average person wouldn’t be able to afford it).

I think it's actually really super cool that Echo’s scomp bypasses the canonically-established amputee erasure and functions much like a stump would irl. He integrates it into his movements and everyday life and it’s (as far as I know) a lot closer to an everyday amputee’s experience.

It doesn’t define his character, it doesn’t hold him back, he lives a full life, the other’s don’t treat him any differently, and he’s still a total karking badass

The only additional thing is that he sometimes uses it as a weapon (which given his story, I think it’s cool to see him taking back autonomy in a way, and we only see that like twice)

And also the scomping, which could be seen as the 'added/compensating superpower' trope. But narratively it's no different than if he was plugging in with a hacking gadget of some kind (he didn't necessarily "need" to lose his arm for it) and it’s not like Echo is completely defined by this skill. Personally, I think it's well worth the positives of him actually having a visible and realistically impactful amputation.

I see a lot of posts or comments out there that say stuff like “how come Echo doesn’t get a hand?” or fanworks that do give him one and I just think it’s a bit of a shame. If he did get a robotic hand, it just would have disappeared the same way his legs and Anakin’s arm did (aside from that one time he got yoinked by a magnet). When Echo did “get a hand” in the last two episodes there were comments like “yay he finally got a hand! but it doesn’t even work” but I was actually so relieved that it didn’t! Bc for one thing that wouldn’t make any sense, he grabbed it off a droid, it wasn’t designed to implement with his scomp, that would be really complicated. But more importantly because it again refused to erase/cure his disability! It functioned like a real-world cosmetic prosthetic (useless beyond appearance) which is exactly what he needed it for, so that he could blend in better with his disguise.

And he continually took it off throughout the episode and ditched it at the end. He only used it for the necessity of a stealth mission, he doesn’t feel the need to visually “fit in” in his daily life.

And, last but very much not least, he made a dad joke and from my intel that is very accurate representation!

TLDR: Echo’s scomp is actually really cool from an amputee representation perspective, especially within Star Wars, and I think that deserves some appreciation

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thegreymarveljedi · 1 month ago

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Positive

(Wrecker x Jedi! Reader)

Here is a fic that I am actually quite proud of! I wrote this for another fandom again but I made it into a Star Wars Fanfic because I am much more connected to start wars than I am this other fandom anymore.

This is a Wrecker story because I think our gentle giant needs some love! He deserves to be happy especially after everything the batch has gone through. This also takes place post! Tantiss but before the time jump. Also, Tech is alive in this because NO. I STILL REFUSE TO BELIEVE MY BOY IS DEAD.

Another side note is that Dalia, Pabu’s nurse, is actually a character from a Hunter x Reader series written by @hugmekenobi . If you haven’t checked out their work before do it!! It’s worth your time and love!

And as always, things work the way I need them to in this story. Don’t question it🤫

Warnings: mentions of anxiety and panic attacks, pregnancy, injury, hurt/comfort, tears, FLUFF, babies, giving birth, Crosshair deserves love, Tech is an over explainer, Wrecker and the boys deserve a break, lots of use of Mando’a, Wrecker being a gentle giant, this is just a lot of fluff okay?

Words: 6.7K

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Positive.

That was the only thing running through my mind as I sat in the fresher with Phee standing behind me.

Positive.

The 3, 8'' white sticks in front of me were telling me something that would dictate the rest of my life forever.

"Oh my fucking God..." I whispered to myself over and over again as Phee squealed with delight behind me. She had no idea what sort of internal battle I was facing.

Should I be happy? should I be scared? Excited or what? I didn't know what to think; what to feel. It wasn’t the ideal time for this especially since Wrecker wasn’t here. He and the rest of the Batch had left for a few rotations to help Echo and Rex. The Batch was retiring but Wrecker and I had only just got married. We hadn’t talked about starting a family yet.

Suddenly everything felt so overwhelming that I started to hyperventilate. The walls felt constricting and it was getting harder and harder to breath.

Phee noticed my panicked and immediately took charge, helping me to my bed as she called to Lyana and Omega to run to the kitchen to get water and an ice pack for me.

“(Y/N) hun, you need to breathe! Follow my breathing," Phee instructed me, placing both hands in my shoulders gently and having me make eyes contact with her. I did just that as she breathed with me, showing me how to match hers. Soon Omega and Lyana entered the room, both looking concerned, Omega more worried than she needed to be.

“What happened? Are you okay (Y/N),” Omega asked. I didn’t speak a word yet as Phee continued to coach me through the breathing exercises. After another few minutes, eventually my breathing evened out and I drank the water that the girls had brought me. Phee had me lay down, adjusting the pillows and placing the ice pack on my forehead.

“Give her a sec Omega,” Phee whispered gently, helping her onto the bed along with Lyana. We all sat in silence until it finally seemed to register in my mind. 'I'm pregnant.' I just stared up at the ceiling with the ice pack on my forehead in thought, not really paying attention to the three ladies that sat on my bed.

"(Y/N)?" Omega asked cautiously, taking one of my hands in both of her’s. All I could respond with was a 'hmm', "are you okay? What happened?"

I sat up and looked at Omega then to Phee and Lyana, tears in my eyes and some already streaming down my face. Omega instantly hugged me while I cried my heart out, stroking my hair and trying to understand what was going on. It took a while but I finally managed to calm down and talk properly, taking Omega’s hands in mine again.

“I’m pregnant Omega,” I said and she gasped, looking at me intensely before she cheered. She stood up, hopping around the room for a minute before she noticed that I didn’t share her sentiment. She frowned and came back to the bed, looking to Phee and then to me with a curious look.

"I don't know how to feel. I don't know what I'm going to do. Yes Wrecker and I have been together for a few years and we’re married now but I don't know if he's ready. Hell I don't know if I'm ready. We haven’t spoken about starting a family yet, we haven’t even fully settled into married life! How am I supposed to tell him that I pregnant?" I said as tears returned and threatened to fall again.

"Aww honey," Phee said and pulled me into another hug. Omega and Lyana joined in as they worked to comfort me.

“Do you want me to ask my dad to call them back?” Lyana said, pulling away slightly and I shook my head, not trusting myself with words.

“Can you girls give us a moment?” Phee asked Lyana and Omega, not wanting the girls to be here for the next few questions she was going to ask. They both nodded and hopped off the bed, Omega giving me one last look before she and Lyana left and closed the door.

Phee patted my back as she took a moment to think, “Trust me (Y/N), I have heard Wrecker talkin’ to the other guys and say on more than one occasion that he wanted kids. That's something he's always wanted according to Tech and he wants to have kids with you. He wants to raise them with you and he wants to be there for you,” Phee said making a faint smile appear on my lips. "If you don't believe me just ask Tech or Hunter or even Crosshair when they come back."

“Really?” I asked, wiping my eyes and placing the ice pack back on my forehead and holding it there. She nodded and placed a hand on my knee in reassurance.

“Sometimes I can overhear Wrecker talking to Tech even when he try’s to be quiet. And Tech tells me almost everything so," She said with a chuckle making me giggle a little. I smiled and nodded, giving her another hug before she stood up and left the room, bidding me a good rest as she went downstairs to entertain the girls. I lay there in my bed, thinking about everything I had been through with the bad batch from the start of the war up until now. There had been so much and Wrecker had stuck by me through everything.

I thought about how he was with Omega as well, treating her as if she was his own. That made me chuckle, thinking about how The Bad Batch, had become more of like ‘The Dad Batch’ since Omega came along. I smiled and ran the idea through my head a little more thinking about how maybe Phee was right. Maybe Wrecker would be happy.

~Time Skip~

3 month later

It's been 3 months and I still haven't told Wrecker I’m pregnant. I was now 20 weeks along and I was a bit bigger than I expected. It was getting a little harder to hide from him and the rest of the squad, my clothing changing to hide my stomach as well as my appetite. I was even surprised that Hunter hadn’t caught on yet, or maybe he had but hadn’t said anything.

I was anxious and scared. I didn’t want Wrecker to be angry with me even if Phee and Omega had reassured me that he wouldn’t be. I was thinking of ways to tell the squad; To finally tell Wrecker I was pregnant.

Daily life wasn’t hard on Pabu. Now that the boys were back home from helping Rex, they all settled into the domestic life well. There was no more running from the empire or missions to go on but it was still scary to think of. What if the Empire came back? What if Wrecker went on another mission with the clone rebellion and didn’t come back? I didn't want anyone to get suspicious about my new routine, having had to change a lot of what I was doing to accommodate the coming baby.

Phee had been telling me to take it easy, even if we weren’t going on missions anymore. She warned me not to do anything silly or to lift anything without Wrecker’s help. She was right one day when she told me not to try and move a shelf from the upstairs of our home to the downstairs with the boys help. I should have listened to her.

Everything was going smoothly, I had moved everything off the shelf, cleared the way for myself to move the shelf and I knew where I wanted it. What I didn’t account for was my bladder filling up as quickly as it did or how fatigued my muscles actually were.

I had gotten the shelf to the 3 step from the top before suddenly I stopped, a shooting muscle pain in my lower back that carried through to my stomach. I felt myself cramp up, my body not handling the stress of heavy lifting well. I hadn’t even thought to use the force for this job, my pregnancy hormones clouding my mind a little.

I could hear the front door opening and the sound of Wrecker and Crosshairs voices as the came in. I lost my footing and hold on the shelf, losing my valence and grip as i tumbled down the steps and onto the floor. My head hit the ground as I heard Wrecker call my name, feeling the heavy weight of the shelf land on top of me. The last thing I saw and heard was Wrecker and Crosshair running towards me, yelling my name before I blacked out.

~Time Skip~

The next time I woke was to peoples voices screaming for help and a pain in my stomach and head. My hands immediately flew to my stomach, wanting to make sure I still had my baby.

"We’re loosing them! I need help!"

"She's loosing blood fast!"

"She's awake! Hit her again!"

I looked around the room slowly before feeling my eyes get heavy and I blacked out again.

~Time skip~

I awoke again to a dull throbbing in my head and someone grasping my hand, my eyes still partially closed. When I finally felt awake enough, I slowly looked around and observed my surrounding. I sighed when I noticed that I had been brought to the island clinic, the smell of bacta prominent, though the ocean breeze through the window brought in the smell of flowers.

My eyes wondered to the figure sitting down grasping my hand. Wrecker. He was rubbing gently circles on the back of my hand with one hand and with the other he was gently rubbing your baby bump while humming a soft tune.

Wait...BABY BUMP! I sat up quickly and immediately regretted it when pain shot through my head and my spine. I screamed and laid back down as Wrecker sat up and helped me.

"Don't try and move! It took Tech and one of the other nurses a while but they managed to stop the bleeding and save the babies. You-yo-“ Wrecker couldn't finish his sentence as he broke down crying and held my hand tightly.

I looked away from Wrecker, disappointed in myself. I made the man I love cry. I shed tears and started sobbing, only making my headache worse. Wrecker quickly wrapped me in a gentle hug as we cried together.

When we both managed to calm down, Wrecker looked me in the eyes and held my chin firmly but gently so I couldn't turn away. All he asked was...

"Why?"

I closed my eyes as the tears started to form again. I was too afraid to look at him and see the disappointment and anger in his eyes. Wrecker cupped my cheeks and ran his thumb across my cheek bones, hoping that I would open up to him. His touch was reassuring, even if I felt like the weight of the world was still crashing down on me.

"Mesh’la, why didn't you tell you were pregnant?" He didn't sound angry or upset, though by the tone of his voice and how his life force sounded sad.

By now I was crying again, so much so that I couldn't get a coherent sentence out and it was getting harder to breathe. I felt constricted, my chest felt tight and my hands were getting clammy. My cheeks were heating up and my head began to pound even more.

Suddenly Wrecker kissed me and immediately everything around us disappeared. In that split moment, it was just Wrecker and I, together alone with nothing else around. It was a gentle kiss full of love and reassurance, Wreckers way of telling me not to panic. My breathing evened out slowly and my mind began clear, the force around us helping to ease my pain. Slowly Wrecker pulled away from the kiss and looked at me, love and adoration swirling in his eyes.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at back at him, my eyes conveying a wordless apology. He was smiling at me with a smile that melted my heart, my insecurities telling me that I wasn’t worthy of his love or his big heart and I couldn’t tell he knew what I was thinking. He moved his right hand to my left cheek, running his thumb over it softly. I sighed and moved my hand to cover his on my cheek.

"I didn't tell you because I didn’t know if you wanted kids. We’ve been through so much in just the last year that it didn’t seem like a good time. I was so scared to tell you that I was pregnant and Phee kept telling me that you wanted kids because she heard you talking to Tech and the others about it a few times but I didn't believe her. I was so scared. She told me not to do anything stupid or do any heavy lifting without you because she didn't want me and the baby getting hurt. I should've listened to her and I should've told you,” I looked into his eyes for the last part, tears gathering again but not falling.

Wrecker let out a loud boisterous chuckle, shaking his head with a smile on his face, "No wonder she and Tech kept pestering me about kids."

My eyes widened as I looked at him, my heart beginning to race again, "THEY TOLD YOU!" I almost screamed, instantly regretting it when my head throbbed once more. Wrecker chuckled again and kissed my forehead, smothering my hair gently and being mindful of the stitches I had received, "They didn't tell me out right but they did try to hint at it but I was so oblivious too it."

That made me smile, knowing that Wrecker could be very oblivious at times. But that was something I adored about him, his innocence in certain moments. Wrecker and I sat in silence for a few more minutes before a knock on the door interrupted it, Tech opening the door slowly with the rest of the squad, Phee, Shep and Lyana in tow.

I smiled and told Tech to come in, everyone else following close behind. The room was big enough for everyone to fit comfortably, everyone finding a seat or a place to stand. Omega looked at me and silently asked if she could sit on the bed to which I nodded, making a little space as she hopped up.

"So, you’re pregnant with Wrecker’s kid?" Crosshair drawled on, a toothpick ever present between his lips as he smirked at us. I smiled and moved my hands down to my belly, Wrecker following suit as we both smiled at one another. Crosshair rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face, Hunter chuckling as Tech came over to the medical computer next to my bed.

"Yes she is~" Wrecker said proudly. Omega was beaming as Hunter smiled at his younger brother. Crosshair had a smirk on his face and Tech looked over to Phee with a small smile of his own, the pirate explorer returning it. Tech turned back to the screen and pushed a few buttons before turning it to face Wrecker and I.

“Alright general, according to yo-“

“Tech, we’ve talked about this.”

“I apologize gene-, (Y/N) force of habit.”

“It’s okay Tech,” I said and smiled at him. I hadn’t gone by ‘General’ since the end of the war and even then I wanted them to use my first name, It felt more normal.

"What is it Tech?” Hunter asked, wanting his younger brother to say what he needed too.

"Well, according to these charts, it is safe to say that you are pregnant with twins which is odd considering clones genetically shou-" Tech said and began to ramble on before Crosshair slapped him on the back.

“We get it genius, no need for a long winded explanation,” Crosshair said and Tech grumbled something about just being fascinated as Phee came over and kissed his cheek.

“It’s okay Brown eyes, we can talk about it when we get home,” she said and Tech smiled gratefully, happy to have someone who would listen to his rambling.

Wrecker and I were still grappling with the shock of the news as Omega squealed and hugged me. Hunter patted Wrecker on the back as he stood up and shouted with joy, a huge grin on his face. Shep and Lyana congratulated us both, both of them giving Wrecker a big hug as he went in for one. I laughed at the sight, smiling at my amazing husband. Wrecker came up to me and gave me a hug next, letting tears fall from his eyes as I smiled at him, my own eyes watering as I kissed him.

"Would you like to know the genders?" Tech asked us, looking at Hunter and Crosshair as well as Omega. Wrecker and I looked at each other as the other’s looked at us, all also curious about what we’d say.

"Yes!" We said together, everyone in the room smiling as Tech pushed a few more buttons and then pulled up the results, both descriptions being displayed on the screen.

“It appears that you are having one girl and one boy, congratulations Vod,” Tech said and gave us both a small smile.

“Congratulations Vod. I proud of you,” Hunter said and gave Wrecker a hug, his younger brother smiling and wiping away a few tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes.

“I’m going to be an Aunt!” Omega cheered, everyone laughing along with her. Phee rested her head in Tech’s shoulder as Crosshair gave Wrecker a playful punch to his shoulder, letting his guard down for a moment and allowing himself to feel for his brother. Wrecker didn’t say anything but he gave Crosshair a wide grin and a mouthed ‘thank you’. Omega hugged me, being mindful of my baby bump as well as my head, my injuries still fresh and raw even after some bacta.

Shep and Lyana congratulated us as well, Shep offering to have a party thrown for us as a congratulations. We all talked until the early hours of the morning, everyone slowly but surely leaving the room until it was just me and Steve. The rest of the team had returned to the house that Shep had gifted us when we all made the decision to stay, all of them needing to get rest as well as clean up the mess that I accidentally made.

Wrecker and I sat together, speaking quietly together before I let out a big yawn, the reality of the day finally setting in fully. Wrecker smiled and placed his hand in my cheek, stroking it softly as I smiled tiredly at him.

"Get some sleep cyar’ika, it's been a long day for you," Wrecker said and kissed my forehead, my tired smile growing a little wider as my eyes struggled to stay open, "I'll be here when you wake up,"

I smiled and closed my eyes, squeezing his hand gently. "I love you Jariler, so so much," I said before letting myself fully relax into the bed, sleep coming to me quicker than expected.

"I love you too, Ner Sarad, ner riduur. So much more than words can say,” Wrecker said as I finally fell asleep, feeling his hand in mine and one resting gently on my belly.

~Time skip~

A week later I was placed in a hover chair and with the help of Wrecker along with Tech’s guidance. I was allowed to return to home. When Wrecker helped me through the door, there was a loud roar of applause and cheers, the house filled with familiar faces and voices. My eyes went wide as they swept the room, seeing Echo, Rex, Howzer and all the clones that the boys had rescued from Tantis and a few others. And among those faces was,

“CODY!” You screamed happily and tried to stand, stumbling a little until Wrecker caught you. You smiled gratefully at your husband before Cody came up to you and enveloped you in a hug.

“I thought you were dead,” you whispered as tears sprung to your eyes. Cody had been one of your best friends in the GAR during the war, always by your side when the batch worked with the 212th. When the order had gone out, you were afraid for both he and Obi-wan and until now you didn’t know what happened to him.

Obi-wan had found a way to make contact with you somehow but had told you not to reply and that he was alive and well at the moment. You had wanted to respond so badly, wanted to ask where he was and what happened but you respected the Jedi master to much to go against him.

“It’s great to see you alive vod’ika,” Cody said as the rest of the batch came up to you both. Crosshair gave Cody a brotherly punch to the shoulder, smiling at the commander who, inadvertently, helped him to open his eyes to the flaws of the empire.

The rest of the night was spent celebrating, music playing, laughter present and stories being told. Everyone congratulated Wrecker and I as we celebrated with food, cake and drinks; non alcoholic for me of course.

I thanked the Shep and the boys for the party as we all sat and watched a holofilm, everyone gathering in the living room. The atmosphere felt so comfortable and loving, like there wasn’t a care in the world. After the holo was over, Hunter took a sleeping Omega up to bed, Crosshair and Tech bidding farewell to the rest of the clones as Shep led them to the island ‘hotel’ for the night. Wrecker and I bid everyone a goodnight as well as Wrecker picked me up, my eyes, drooping slowly as a tired but content smile graced my lips.

Wrecker carried me up the stairs to our room, placing me down on the edge and helping me change out of my daytime clothes. I smiled as Wrecker quickly got undressed himself, throwing both of our outfits into the laundry hamper before helping me lay down and tucking me in. He climbed in after me, gently wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my hair.

"I'm glad you’re home safe Cyare," Wrecker mumbled, placing a kiss to the crown of my head before moving down, burying his head in my neck. I laughed and kissed his forehead, careful not to move too much.

"Goodnight ner Jariler,” I said as my eyes slowly closed, my mind clear of everything but the thought of my little family here on Pabu.

"Goodnight Mesh’la, and goodnight ner ad’ika," Wrecker said and rubbed my belly, his warm hands making me feel so safe and secure. I giggled, placing my hand over his as he rubbed circles on my belly. Time slowed down as I drifted to sleep, my world complete with my husband and my little ones.

~Time Skip~

I made a speedy recovery thanks to the squad, all of them doting on me even when they didn’t need to. It was something they all agreed to do, not wanting me to get hurt again. Wrecker was especially fussy, not wanting me to do anything that he could do for me. It was cute but sometimes suffocating. We talked about it a few times and he always apologized to me but I understood his heart was in the right place.

We all spent lots of time talking about names, everyone throwing in good suggestions as well as some joking ones. Wrecker and I had finally come to a decision regarding the names and we were both very happy with them.

Shep had also been checking in on us, speaking with Hunter and Wrecker about gifting each of the squad members their own home; All of them needing a space to themselves. The houses would obviously be close by one another but Crosshair, Hunter, Wrecker and Tech would all have a place of their own to call home.

The decision had been made by both Wrecker and I when I was about 7 months along, wanting at least a couple months to prep a room for our babies. The squad had been so helpful with it, making us things to add to our home and for the babies.

I was close to my due date now, I felt like I could pop any moment. My feet were sore and I felt sick, but I was excited, the thought that I’d be holding my babies in my arms soon enough. Wrecker had been helping me to get around the house, everything already having been baby proofed as a precaution.

Right now Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Tech, Phee, Echo and I were sat in the living room of mine and Wreckers home, Omega out and about with Lyana. I sat with head against Wreckers shoulder, his hand on my thigh and mine on top of his.

Cross was in the middle of telling a joke when I yelped, my hands immediately flying to my stomach. The others looked at me worriedly before I felt a gush of water between my legs, the waterproof pad under me doing well to keep the couch from getting ruined.

Wrecker put his glass of water down on the caf table and looked at me with worried eyes. "(Y/N)? Are you okay?" He asked cautiously, placing one of his hands on top of mine and the other finding its way to my lower back.

I shook my head and looked at him. "My water broke," I said quietly. Wrecker gasped and began fussing over me as he helped me up off the couch.

"Let’s get you to your room,” Tech said and he and Wrecker helped me up the steps, Echo taking Hunter out of the house for a walk around the neighborhood. It’s not that he didn’t want to be there for his Vod, but his heightened sense wouldn’t allow him to be there with all the smells and noises. Phee wasn’t far behind us as she commed Dalia, the island nurse, that I was in active labour.

Crosshair helped lay me on the bed as Tech got all the necessary equipment ready, Dalia showing up not long after I had been laid down. I smiled at the kind woman, feeling all the nerves and emotions of labour hitting me.

“Alright Cross, out you go,” Dalia said, showing the snarky sniper out of the room.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” he said and walked briskly out of the room and out of the house, hoping to find Hunter and Echo no to far away.

“You too Tech,” she said and Tech pouted ready to protest but it was Wrecker who shook his head in disagreement.

“I want him to stay and keep tabs on (Y/N)’s vitals. As long as you’re NOT recording this,” Wrecker said and looked pointedly at his younger brother. Tech held his hands up in defence and nodded, pressing the button on his goggles to stop recording, Phee coming over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek before she walked over to Dalia to see if she needed any help.

They positioned me to where I needed to be, moving me around a little and getting everything ready that needed to be. Wrecker was by my side the whole time, ready and waiting to support me as I pushed out his babies. And they were expected to be big, I mean look at Wrecker! Thats all you need to do.

I winced in pain as I felt a contraction hit, my head falling back into my pillow as Wrecker held my hand. I was grateful for his unwavering support through everything, he was my rock and my life line.

Dalia positioned my legs how she needed them and gasped as she put her gloves on, “She's already 10cm dilated! Get the towels ready!" She said to Tech and Phee than turned to me, "When the next contraction hits push, okay?" I nodded in response as another contraction hit, this one making me yelp.

"Push!" She said and I pushed with everything I had. Wrecker was by my side the whole time, holding my hand and whispering reassuring word to me as I pushed. I squeezed his hand hard, my grip like durasteel though Wrecker didn’t say anything, he just continued to support me.

Tech was quiet, respectful watching the process and keeping an eye on my vitals. Wrecker was happy to have him there to help in some way, knowing that he needed at least one of his brothers in the room. I screamed as I felt pain in my lower body, my legs shaking at being held open to accommodate a literal child.

"I see the head of baby number 1,” Dalia said happily. I smiled through my pain, groaning as the contractions seemed to ease then get worse for a moment. I pushed hard until I felt the tension in my body ease slightly and the sound of crying filled the air.

Dalia handed baby number one off to Phee who took to her to be cleaned up Wrecker leaving my side for a short moment to cut the umbilical cord. When he had, he was back at my side in a flash to squeeze my hand as our second baby was coming quickly.

Phee came back into the room from the fresher with our baby swaddled in a handmade pink blanket, our baby girl gurgling those newborn sounds. Tech took a moment to look over Phee’s shoulder, the new life leaving him somewhat speechless.

“Fascinating that such a small life can be created from s-“

“It’s a girl!” Phee said, interrupting Techs last word making both me and Wrecker laugh before another yelp left my lips, our baby boy wanting to make his appearance. Dalia reached up and held my leg, prompting me to push again on the next contraction. It hit me like a brick, the pain radiating in my lower half as I squeezed the life out of Wreckers hand. He however, made no sound of protest and instead continued to whisper sweet words to me.

“You’re doing amazing Mesh’la. Almost there. You’re so beautiful ner sarad.”

“You brought our baby girl into the world, our baby boy is almost here.”

“You can do this Cyar’ika.”

"Almost out,” Dalia said and I screamed as another contraction hit me, the tension in my body fully easing after the pain, “and there! Baby number two!"

Dalia smiled proudly as she let Wrecker cut the cord again and handed the baby boy off to Tech, his cries echoing in the room. He swiftly took the little one into the fresher to clean him off, Phee following so she could gently instruct him how. Even if Tech had read every book about labour, children, pregnant women and more, Phee was still there to supervise.

I sighed, my head falling back on to the pillow as my legs gave out, the soiled blanket under me feeling uncomfortable. Wrecker smiled down at me as Tech came out of the bathroom with our Son, Phee following closely with our daughter.

“You did very well (Y/N),” Dalia complimented, silently signalling for Wrecker to lift me up.

“I’m going to lift you up Cyare, just so Dalia can change the blankets okay?” I nodded at Wreckers words, wrapping my arms around his neck as he lifted me. Dalia made quick work of the soiled blanket and sheets, drawing back the covers of the bed and placing new blankets down. Wrecker laid me down on the new blankets, pulling the covers over my body.

Phee and Tech came over and gently placed the babies in my arms, our little boy in my left and our daughter in my right. Wrecker and I smiled down at our two beautiful ad’ikas, Wrecker helping me to adjust them in my arms so I could feed them. Tech turned away and walked out of the room with Phee, saying something about doing the laundry before Hunter and the others came back.

Dalia smiled at us and bid us one more congratulations before she too took her leave, wanting to give us time alone. I smiled down at my babies before my eyes turned to Wrecker, my heart filled with love. He however was busy looking at our babies, the little ones preoccupied with eat at the moment.

“Tech was right,” he began, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, “it is fascinating that such little lives can be created by people.”

“Thanks to both of us.”

“Well Mesh’la you did most of the work. You carried them for so long and made sure to keep them fed and healthy and you’re still doing that now.”

“That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to help.”

“I know. I’m not going to allow you to do anything at least for the next 6 months. Cleaning, cooking, supply runs? You name it and I’ll do it. I’ll help with the babies whenever you need me to,” Wrecker said which made you laugh, the domestic role suiting him greatly.

Before I could respond there was a hesitant knock on the door. I beckoned them in, the door opening to reveal the boys as well as Omega and Phee. Omega’s eyes lit up at the sight of the babies, coming over quickly yet quietly as not to disturb them. Hunter, Echo and Crosshair followed suit, all three seemingly in awe of the little ones. Tech and Phee were the last to enter, coming to stand on the right side of my bed as the others stood on the left.

“Wow,” Omega marvelled. Hunter came and patted Wrecker on the back, his younger brother looking at him with a huge smiles and tears in his eyes.

“Congratulations Vod’ika,” He said and Wrecker wiped his eyes turning to look back at the little ones in the arms of his wife, both having finished eating.

“Do you want to hold our son Wrecker?” I asked quietly, my eyes beaming with love. I watched as his eyes lit up, moving himself to sit on the bed next to me as I carefully manoeuvred our son into his arms. Wrecker was a gentle giant, his body size nothing compared to that of his big heart. He held our son with such care and love omega coming over to see the baby in his arms.

“He’s so small but so big at the same time,” she said, Crosshair snickering at her comment.

“Well he is Wrecker’s ad, of course he’s going to be big,” he said a smile on his face as Echo laughed and Hunter face palmed. Tech shook his head at his twin, about to laugh into a long winded explanation about babies genetics until Phee put a hand on his shoulder.

“Just enjoy being here with your family brown eyes. They want you to be in the moment.”

“Indeed,” he said and adjusted his goggles, watching as Hunter came up to your side.

“What are their official names (Y/N)?”

I looked to Wrecker and we nodded to one another, knowing that our children had the best possible aunts and Uncles to rely on in this life.

“Everett and Celeste. Cuun ad’ika,” Wrecker said proudly, Omega awing at the names as the boys looked proudly upon their brother.

“Congratulations you too,” Crosshair said sincerely, pulling the tooth pick from his mouth and tossing it into the garbage.

“Would you like to hold your niece Cross?”

“Uh- I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“W-well I’m still not g-good with my right hand and I don’t thi-“ Crosshair didn’t finish his sentence as Echo pushed him forward and I gently placed Celeste in his arms.

He stuttered for a moment before Celeste opened her eyes, the hazel brown pools staring up at Crosshair. He had no more words as he sat there with his niece in his arms, holding her perfectly. He was speechless, the little life born from his sister-in-law and brother leaving him in shock.

“I think she likes you ram’ser,” Echo said with a chuckle but much to everyone’s surprise, Crosshair didn’t even acknowledge his brother, to enamoured with the little one in his arms. I smiled as I watched, knowing that maybe this is something Crosshair needed to truly relax.

“Can I hold Everett?” Omega asked, watching the little boy in Wreckers arms open him eyes to reveal bright (E/C) eyes.

“Of course you can kid. These kids need to get to know their aunt,” Wrecker said and carefully placed Everett in Omega’s arms. She held his just like she had practiced with Tech and the others, being mindful of his head.

“Wow. He’s so cute.”

“Oh he’s cute now but he’ll grow up to be big and strong like his buir that for sure!” Wrecker smiled.

The rest of the day was spent with the squad taking turns holding Everett and Celeste. Surprising everyone again, Crosshair even shed a few tears as he had to give up holding Celeste, Hunter wanting a turn.

“You can have her back after Vod but everyone needs a turn.”

“But Hunterrrr,” Crosshair had whined. Actually WHINED to his older brother, giving him a puppy face as he held Celeste close. No one could contain their laughter as Hunter took Celeste from Crosshair with the promise to give her back.

Eventually everyone had their turn to hold both babies, both of them being returned to my arms even if Crosshair was reluctant to relinquish his hold on Everett. Everyone was smiling at him, even if after it all he tried to defend himself and slip back into his snarky nature. We had all seen a different side of Crosshair and I couldn’t be more happy.

Soon the squad bid us all a goodbye, one by one leaving our home to let us have some quiet time as a family. Hunter was carrying a sleepy Omega in his arms, Echo following behind as Tech and to almost pull Crosshair out of the room. I laughed as I watched his reluctance to leave, his softer side showing more and more. Everyone wished us congratulations once more before leaving, soon leaving Wrecker and I alone with our ad’ika. Wrecker smiled at me as I smiled back before looking at our beautiful babies.

"I'm so proud of you ner sarad,” Wrecker said and kissed my forehead. I smiled at my adoring husband, the father of my children, thinking about every we had been through together over the past few years.

“Thank you Wrecker. I’m so blessed to have you and our little ones. Thank you for giving me this family.”

“Thank you cyar’ika for giving me a family. Thank you for showing me love and for taking a chance on some silly clone obsessed with blowing stuff up.”

I laughed at that and slowly handed Everett off to his father to be played in his crib, doing the same with Celeste once Everett was down. Wrecker came back over to me and hugged me again, holding a kiss to my forehead before whispering to me, “thank you for this family, ner ca’tra. Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum.”

“Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum, Ner Jariler,” I replied. Wrecker got under the covers of our bed with me, holding me close while still being mindful of my sensitive lower half. We laid there just listening to the ocean outside, the heart beats of one another and the soft breathing of our babies.

Soon we drifted off to sleep, our new family safe and warm in our cozy home.

—————

There ya go! There’s some content and some fluffy Wrecker for the fan out there!

I hope you enjoyed this!

#star wars #sw tcw fanfic #sw tcw #sw tbb #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb echo #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb omega #wrecker x reader #sw the bad batch #the bad batch x reader #star wars tbb #tbb fanfiction #tbb #star wars fanfiction

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asexualenjolras · 1 year ago

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It is one week until Newsies London closes in Wembley, and I got to see it again the other day, so I want to talk about Ryan Kopel and his beautiful portrayal of Davey Jacobs one more time.

I love how Ryan portrays Davey to be autistic. Ryan has said that he plays Davey in a way that exemplifies his quirks, and it really works in this production. It’s what I am going to miss the most. I’ve never felt more seen.

As an autistic person myself, I have always headcanoned Davey as being autistic – in every format of Newsies previously. Ben Fankhauser’s Davey was always autistic-coded to me – his portrayal was one of my favourites. And I was nervous about seeing another actor take on a character that means so much to me ... but Ryan took Davey and made him even more autistic and I am so, so grateful and in awe of his talent.

Let’s talk about Davey Jacobs and his autistic traits, as portrayed by Ryan Kopel in West Endsies:

- Stimming:

Davey is stimming the WHOLE SHOW. And that’s not an exaggeration. He is shown to bounce on his toes, he is constantly fidgeting with his fingers (and standing with those stereotypical t-rex arms) and he runs his hands along his newsie bag, and he does a few little spins when he's excited, and he jumps up and down at one point.

- Difficulty with social interaction:

From the first moment that Davey is on stage, he is shown to be incredibly uncomfortable talking to other people. He is shown to stammer over his thoughts and struggles to coherently converse with the other characters on the stage. He is portrayed as someone that is reluctant to speak, and he stutters and rambles and struggles to maintain eye contact, looking down at his fidgeting hands a lot. Ben Fankhauser made Davey more confident in his ability to share his thoughts, but Ryan’s Davey struggles - both internally and externally - with this.

He is also shown to have a one track mind in conversations. He struggles to see why Jack is having doubts after the rally because he, personally, thinks it was a success. Davey is bouncing around and his tone is so light and he is so confused by Jack's doubts. It's so autistic. It's so relatable.

- Relationship with physical contact:

Davey is shown to struggle when people suddenly touch him, he flinches and wipes the touch away whenever he is uncomfortable. BUT he initiates touch with those that he trusts. He's so physical with Les, constantly holding him and giving him reassurance through taps. He is shown to hug Jack and he hugs Crutchie and it's nice to see.

- Strong moral compass:

Unlike Ben Fankauser’s Davey (who I LOVE), Ryan’s Davey is shown to be more reluctant to join in on the strike – he is a lot more sheltered, and is completely isolated on one side of the stage in that scene. Davey looks down to his feet and looks to be at war with himself. He looks completely defeated when Jack asks if his father would be in the mess he was in if he had a union, because he knows that Jack – this boy that he has just met – is right. But he is so conflicted because he knows that this is going to be difficult, and he’s so worried and so anxious and so questioning about what the right thing is. It’s such a minor part of the show, but it’s there and I love it.

- Autistic joy:

I don’t know how else to word this but the way that we see Davey unmask throughout the play makes me so smiley. We see him go from this uncomfortable, awkward, masked version of himself in the beginning to someone that genuinely feels accepted and like he has a place in this strike and in the Newsie family. The excitement in his voice when he is talking to Jack in Medda’s is UNMATCHED. He’s so bouncy and light and he’s STIMMING and he’s so happy. I love it.

I could go on and on but I won’t. I just really love the artistic differences between Ryan and Ben’s Davey Jacobs’. I love both of their adaptations, but Ryan’s Davey feels so authentically autistic. And I am PRAYING we get to see his Davey immortalised in a pro-shot?! PLEASE?!

Ryan Kopel, thank you so much for giving us this wonderfully autistic Davey Jacobs on stage.

#newsies #davey jacobs #ryan kopel #west endsies #newsies london #autistic davey jacobs #autism #autistic headcanon #autistic spectrum #actually autistic #wembley #i am so not ready to lose this show #i hope it comes back soon #thank you so much ryan #your davey is so important

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 2 years ago

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Errors, “Errors,” and Animorphs

So in a different post I ranted about how a tiny non-distracting unfixable difference between two shirts is not an error in Jurassic Park. IMHO, a continuity gap is only an error if:

It draws attention to itself and distracts the audience

It could’ve been fixed pretty easily in-story

It makes character, plot, or setting nonsensical

Animorphs has continuity gaps of its own. And I have opinions about what we readers do and do not count as “error.” First, an example that’s clearly an error:

I wondered if Tobias had heard my thought. I concentrated. Tobias, can you hear me?

«Yeah,» he said, «I hear you.»

“Did you hear my thoughts before that?” I asked.

«No, I don’t think it works that way. You have to think at me for me to hear.»

—#1: The Invasion

Tobias briefly hearing Jake thought-speak in #1 breaks the rules of the setting; several other books (#2, #23, #31, #33, #46) clearly state that it’s impossible to thought-speak if one is human and not in morph. It’s an easy fix; the re-releases and audiobooks delete this moment, and the graphic novel makes Tobias unable to hear Jake. It distracts the audience; I’ve gotten 5 or 6 separate asks over the years of people going “I was rereading #1, and the weirdest thing...” It’s an error. I can’t say what happened behind the scenes — K.A. Applegate toyed with a thread that was later dropped, or decided to introduce a limitation for plot fuel at a later time. But it’s an error.

Second, an example that I don’t think counts as an error:

I returned to my life, feeling strange and out of place. That night Jake came over. We went outside.

"I tried morphing the Tyrannosaurus," he said. "Nothing. Didn't work."

"You could ask Ax. He may know why."

Jake laughed. "Yeah, but even if he explains it, I still won't understand it."

—MM2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs [Cassie’s narration]

The kids not being able to morph dinosaurs outside of the Cretaceous Era makes a lot of sense in context. The whole book series would fundamentally change if they could use T. rex — that would become heavily a favored morph for many of them. It kicks off all kinds of plot questions that demand answers: Where do the controllers think the “andalite bandits” got dino DNA? What anti-dinosaur measures would they be forced to adopt? Would the Animorphs’ whole strategy change around having those morphs? How would Rachel feel about everyone but Tobias suddenly having a much stronger morph than her? Would they even bother with contemporary animal morphs afterward?

If the kids are morphing dinosaurs all the time after ~#18, then the series loses a lot of its uniqueness. Applegate has said that most of the inspiration for the series was about trying to help kids understand what it would really be like to be inside an animal mind, with as many animals as possible. That’s part of why so many of the plots hinge on giving the Animorphs an excuse to learn a new morph (e.g. #4, #17, #27, #47, #52) so that we can experience the coolness right along with them. That’s why the war is explicitly about fighting for Earth, nonhumans and all (#7, #23, #53). If it’s not a menagerie of six different critters — including one immigrant from space — rolling up to battle, then it’s not Animorphs. No, it makes no dang sense that sario rip morphs stop working once the rip gets unripped. But the series acknowledges it, and it allows us both to have a unique animal-based story (dinosaurs! Heckin dinosaurs!) without ruining its own premise.

Third, one that I find fascinating because it’s kind of right on the margin:

"What I don't get is why I have to be a girl wolf," Marco grumbled.

"We had one male and one female," Cassie explained for the tenth time. "If two of us morphed into the male, we'd have two males. Two male wolves might decide they had to fight for dominance."

"I could control it," Marco said.

"Marco, you and Jake already fight for dominance, and you're just ordinary guys," Rachel pointed out.

—#3: The Encounter

Later, Tobias’s narration uses the word “alpha” to describe Jake’s morphed behavior — howling and peeing to mark territory, challenging another wolf pack to protect his own.

There is scientific consensus right now, as of the 2020s, that the term “alpha” is an inaccurate descriptor of pack-lead behavior, and that dominance fights between adult males are almost nonexistent. That although wolves usually run in a phalanx-like shape with one middle-aged male and female at the point, this isn’t the result of dominance fights but rather an effort to have the physically strongest wolves absorb blows from rogue prey animals or rival predators. That the dominance fights observed in captive wolves in the 1970s were the result of an ecology error, putting wolves from rival packs into single enclosures. Fox (1972, 1973) gave a reasonably accurate description of how wolves behave if you put a bunch of adult strangers in a zoo together: the young adult males fight, the winner of that fight wins first access to food, and the mate of the winner gets the most resources for her puppies.

However, time rolls forward, and advances like hidden cameras (and the resurgence of wild wolf populations) allow us to watch wolves without needing to capture them first. Mech (1999) follows some such wolves around, and quickly realizes that dominance and submission aren’t nearly as important among wolves who chose to make a pack. Stahler et al. (2002) figure out a better way to introduce stranger wolves in captivity, and get full cooperation among young adult males. Nowadays drones and radio collars get 1000s of times the wolf data Fox had to work with, and reveal intense cooperation with little more than play-fighting among puppies.

The Encounter comes out 1997. Mech publishes the first big takedown of the alpha concept 1999.

Did an error occur anywhere in this process?

No, in that Applegate presumably doesn’t own a Time Matrix and published a book based on the scientific consensus at the time about how wolf social dynamics worked.

Yes, in that the error is pretty distracting — I get drawn up short by it every time I reread #3, and I know others have too.

No, in that the error was corrected in the graphic novel adaptation.

Yes, in that the error is still present in the audiobook, and Michael Crouch delivers the moment about Jake being backed into a dominance fight with all of Tobias’s exasperated humor.

No, in that the error allows for some character moments, both silly (Jake peeing on trees) and sweet (Jake being ready to take on an entire rival pack alone, over a rabbit he doesn’t want).

Yes, in that the error takes away from one of the series’ most fundamental purposes, to educate kids about animals.

Anyway, books are great, science is imperfect, and I think the more we all engage with amateur criticism the more we’re all going to learn about what counts as an error in fiction writing with inspiration in scientific reality.

#animorphs #animorphs meta #continuity errors #retcons #fandom #lit crit #3 #1 #mm2 #there's a related question: if the third graphic novel is also set in 1997 #then how does cassie know about the alpha wolf hypothesis being debunked in 1999?#but again #answering that question would make the book worse not better #so i don't worry about it

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loth-creatures · 4 months ago

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What do the supporting characters and minor villains (AP-5, Rex, Sato, Pryce, the Inquisitors, etc) think of the whole wolfwalker thing? Heck, what do Vader and Palpatine think?

Well I went into some detail about what the other rebel characters think of it here.

The villains though. I've been actively avoiding having most of the villains know much about the wolfwalking at all bc it would have consequences I don't feel like dealing with. However.

The Inquisitors have probably encountered Wolf Ezra a couple times. They've never actually witnessed him transform though. They can sense that Ezra and the wolf are strongly connected, but it doesn’t occur to them that they are one and the same. Their reports of a giant wolf creature connected with the Jedi don't get much attention until Thrawn is in the picture. I feel like Vader just wouldn't really give a shit? Like they know Ezra has an affinity for animals, the wolf doesn't seem very significant. Ezra and Kanan only encounter Vader directly twice I think and then he's out of the picture, so he never finds even finds out about it.

Maul would find out. I don’t think he would need to see Ezra transform or even see Wolf Ezra at all to know. He can just sense there is something special and different about him, and is curious to learn what that might be. When he does learn, he thinks its awesome and would encourage Ezra to use such a unique power to unethical means but I don’t really have any plans to explore that in depth. Though I do have a friend who has some excellent ideas for an au of the au that does get into it so that might be a thing later.

Thrawn is the one who actually starts investigating in depth all the reports of a giant wolf amongst the rebels from both the Inquisitors and other Imperials. He is very quick to make the connection between the wolf, the Jedi from Lothal, and all the artwork from Lothal that he's been collecting and studying.

Kallus as Fulcrum does his best to scrub and delete reports and footage of Wolf Ezra, the moment Thrawn starts asking for them. This slows his research down a little but in the end doesn't take much to figure out what Ezra is based solely on research into Lothal’s ancient art.

Thrawn's research is probably what puts Ezra on Palpatine's radar. Palpatine's "plan for Lothal" has been forshadowed since S2 but as far as I remember there was never any indication of Palpatine being interested in Ezra in particular until the World Between Worlds episode. I feel that he would be wary of the wolfwalkers' returning, as it's clear from the old art that they function as guardians of Lothal along side the lothwolves and Ezra is proof that they can be powerful. He would certainly preferred they'd stayed extinct. However he also wants to know if they could be useful.

The Empire might have caught some very scant evidence of the wolfwalkers' powers, but regardless some of the artwork Thrawn has studied alludes to things like healing powers and teleportation, and the World Between Worlds situation would probably confirm some of that. So would Wolf Kanan’s survival, even if the Empire had no footage of his escape from the fire, they know for a fact his human form is dead. Yet there is still a wolf.

Palpatine would be frothing at the mouth for healing powers that could aid his immortality scheme, and the power to walk between worlds at will. If the Empire had survived much longer, and wasn't driven from Lothal, if Ezra hadn't vanished and taken the Empire's biggest Lothal expert with him, there would probably be a whole top secret operation dedicated to capturing and experimenting on Ezra or any wolfwalkers at all, once the Empire learned there are more.

#lothwolfwalkers #sww asks #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #swr

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smolbean-17 · 1 year ago

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SEASON 3 THEORIES

Part 1 (Episodes 1-3)

I never made any theories for Season 2, but quite a few of my theories from Season 1 were really close to what actually happened, so I figured I’d give my shot at theorizing Season 3.

I can’t really guess how exactly these plot points will land and in which episode, but I think these things will happen in the first 3 episodes, in no particular order. We’re getting all 3 eps in one night so they’re going to be establishing quite a bit.

Ep1 - Confined

This is the episode where we will see Omega and Crosshair confined at Mt. Tantiss together. Omega has her Season 2 hair, and seems more optimistic than she does later on in the trailer.

At this point I don’t think Omega is treated as a prisoner. I think she’s restricted of course, but it seems to me from the trailer that she’s serving as more of an assistant to Nala Se with limited freedom. Hemlock promised her she’d be treated well, and I feel like he was telling the truth. And maybe Omega has chosen to behave herself (for now) and has made a plan of luring them into a false sense of security so she can find a way out.

And then she sees Crosshair up and alert and not being tortured (and being escorted to another part of the facility? More cloning experiments?) and she decides to escape with him somehow.

Crosshair is disheartened and incredibly sad, maybe because he found out about Tech and perhaps believes his other brothers were captured/killed. Who knows. Someone either screwed with his emotional state before this shot, or maybe he’s just drained from his captivity. But I think it’s the former.

It will show more of the inner workings of what’s going on at Mt. Tantiss, but it won’t reveal too much. I think it will mostly establish what Omega is doing there.

Ep2 - Paths Unknown

As for the boys, we will see that there’s been a passage of time. How much time, I’m not sure. But probably a few months. That’s when we hear Hunter say the famous “Omega’s been waiting for us a long time. I’m not making her wait another day.” (pretty sure that’s all one quote that’s been sliced up)

It’ll establish that Echo has left again with Rex, probably to liberate more clones and look for hints about where Omega is along the way. Hunter and Wrecker are alone. They set up base on Pabu, recruiting help from Phee who is more than willing to help. But they never stay there long, and they run themselves ragged trying to find Omega and not getting any closer. Both Hunter and Wrecker are more angry and determined than we’ve ever seen them.

Ep3 - Shadows of Tantiss

Meanwhile, Omega finally hatches her plan to escape…

Things obviously don’t go according to plan, and she doesn’t get too far before she’s stopped. Just in case, they inject her with a tracking implant…

and she gets imprisoned.

It looks like this little cage situation is the same as this one from the leaked trailer:

Omega’s hair situation is really the only thing throwing me off lol.

So she meets Crosshair again. She tries to get through to him and show him that she hasn’t lost hope. He argues and Omega gets through to him in the way only she can. She finally gets him to agree to an escape.

The episode could end with Hunter and Wrecker getting a call from Rex and Echo that they finally have info on Omega, thus leading into Ep4, A Different Approach (which would make since if you consider they have new information).

So these first 3 episodes will be jam packed with information, and maybe not a ton of action, but will be establishing episodes to move the story along.

Another thing I noticed from the leaked trailer…

Are we getting a flashback(s)? That looks like Hunter’s old armor paint job, and that backpack and helmet to the left is very distinct and only belongs to one person…

I would seriously love to see Clone Wars era Bad Batch again. Maybe flashbacks are interspersed throughout the season for extra exposition/character development/emotional damage. Maybe the first episode opens on a flashback!

Let me know what you think! Part 2 coming soon!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

#the bad batch #star wars #clone wars #sw tbb #tbb #the bad batch spoilers #bad batch #star wars the bad batch #bad batch theories #star wars tbb

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saturn-sends-hugs · 8 months ago

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

Why (i think) the Finale was Like That:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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hugemilkshake · 7 months ago

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OC GUIDE

I decided to make a lil guide to all my ocs so if people want to ask questions or draw fan art they could and they can find it all here! (Just know there is a lot in this post-)

Character list

Facts Facts pt2 things they would never tell someone OC eyes OC RPG some not so fun facts Oc Facts pt3 little things my Ocs do What my Ocs desire songs that remind me of my Ocs Oc Facts pt4

Adele Penguin

Adenosine cookie

Barbecue “Dragon”

Blackberry Shade

Blazing Spice Cookie

Blushing Snail

Bubbling Oil

Bubbly Milkshake

Burnt Caramel

Burnt Macadamia Cookie

Cinnamon Spider

Dark Apple

Decayed Strawberry

Emperor Caterpillar

Gran-Berry Cookie

Grilled Tomato

Irukandji Jellyfish Cookie

Leaf Sheep Slug

Minty Snail

Peach Novius

Pink Mantis

Purple Mold

Powdered Basil

Red Fruit Cookie

Rex Cookie

Snake Tooth

Starfruit Milkshake

Sugar Water

Snake skin

Sugary Jello Cookie

Shimmering Onion

Salt Water Cookie

Scorched Garlic

Tabby Cat Cookie

Wild Basil

Water Cookie

Weeping begonia

White Flower Cookie

Background OCs (only basic lore)

All of the info is here, designs are below

Ivory Fawn

Ceylon spider

Pure Choco Powder

Peach Shade

Dark Kelp Wrap

Moon Dancer

Non cannon OCs

Bubbling Oil

Crushed Garlic

Foggy Onion

Leopard Seal

Sliced Tomato

Info about them ⬆️

—————————————

LORE

White Flower

Grilled Tomato

Scorched Garlic

Burnt Macadamia and Irukandji Jellyfish

Group info

The Patrons

The patrons were baked by a young right after the five beasts were imprisoned but they never got to be ancient hero’s since they had to take care of cookies who survived the beasts

Each one of them has two soul jams so if they started showing and corruption one soul jam could be removed to lessen the corruption or on the off chance they get fully corrupt, half of their power

The patrons live in a secret kingdom in beast yeast with generations of cookies how survived the beasts

These patrons are Bubbling Oil, Scorched Garlic, Grilled Tomato, Shimmering Onion, Adele Penguin and Powdered Basil

Powdered Basil was the first and so far the only one to get corrupt. His replacement for the time being is Adele Penguin

The Entertainer’s

A trio of cookies that consists of Bubbly Milkshake, Dark Apple and Blackberry Shade

BlackBerry Shade is the one who found the group but the other two weren’t really willing to be part of said group

While Dark Apple and Bubbly Milkshake don’t get along, they both agree that the constant noise of the radio and circus acts are not fun

But let’s not forget the one who saw Blackberry Shades raise since the start… she says that it is something you should respect if you enjoy life

The Nomads

While these cookies aren’t necessarily a group there are certain cookies who fall in this category

Two of these Cookies are Starfruit Milkshake and Snake Tooth who will travel everywhere except Beast Yeast

One who stays in the desert is Cinnamon Spider since he’s a bounty hunter

Burnt Caramel travels to places that have a high amount of light magic usage for unknown reasons

Three cookies who stay by The Dragons Valley is Rex Cookie, Sugary Jello and Red Fruit, except Red Fruit will travel to cities, villages and kingdoms outside of The Dragons Valley

Adenosine Cookie is a traveler who tends to linger around the outskirts of kingdoms, towns and villages, some believe they are a grim reaper but that’s not true.

The Dragons Village

This village by The Dragons Valley was founded by The Great Orange-Red Dragon who is also known as Barbecue “Dragon”

This village has several cookie living there, one of them is Gran-Berry who does work for Dark Enchantress and bakes cookies on the side

Now two cookies who hold significance to The Great Orange-Red Dragon is Tabby Cat Cookie and Minty Snail who were childhood friends of the dragon

But one day an odd “cookie” appeared, claiming her name was White Flower Cookie. Now she would have been interrogated severely if she wasn’t blind… but some swear that she’s more than a simple “Cookie”

The Bugs

A fairly new group that has a plethora of bug type cookies on an island that rests of the coast of Beast Yeast

Some cookies who have moved away from the island is Cinnamon Spider and Minty Snail either because there wasn’t many job opportunities or they moved because of family

Currently the cookies that pop up around the shore line are Pink Mantis Cookie, Blushing Snail, Emperor Caterpillar Cookie, Peach Novius and Leaf Sheep Slug

But these cookies have claimed to see a wolf like cookie prancing the beaches of Beast Yeast… this cookie has been known as Wild Basil

But recently, Leaf Sheep Slugs ex has showed up, apparently his name is Blazing Spice? And he’s a little deranged? Well uh that’s cool ig-

I swear I’m normal. Don’t mind that I have a minor obsession with bugs

The H2-Bros

A group of teen that absolutely despise each other. Do they stick together by force or by choice? The world might never know… but what we do know that they travel around together to just bully people. Water Cookie is probably the most tame, but also the one to get bullied the most. Sugar Water is the ring leader with Salt Water being good at making sure they don’t die

The outlaws

Two men walk among side each other as the blistering heat at the sandy winds cover their tacks. Snake Skin and Weeping Begonia.

Rumors state that the two met in one of the very sand storms they use to hide in…

The witch of the woods

A man by the Name of Purple Mold rests in the woods of beast yeast, studding magic and herbs, he’s grown quite fond of a certen Wild Basil, well that’s a lie. If you ask Purple Mold what his opinion is on Wild Basil, he will tell you that “it’s like babysitting a toddler, a very annoying toddler.”

The lovers

On a coastal town in the snowy region, two cookies were in love, but alas, this was a one sided love, Burnt Macadamia felt his heartbreak at the cruel word he heard. But with a heavy heart he accepted this rejection, but a small part of him still yearns for her love…

On the other hand, Irukandji Jellyfish Cookie is focused on vengeance. After her village was denied help from the Dark Cacao royal advisor, she swore Vengeance. Seeking out strength to take the throne from that spineless king

#crk oc #crk ocs

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jasonrae117 · 1 year ago

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Just Another Hollywood Scene

Just in time for the new year! Please enjoy the next installment!

Also on Ao3!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49727071/chapters/133334152

Chapter 3: New News

Damian was heading to Dick’s house to have what he called a celebration, but what seemed to really be a ‘I hope the media takes the news well’ support group. Most of the people that worked in the offices were going to be there so Damian really had no choice but to come.

The costume consult went pretty much as expected and like many of his other ones he’s done in the past. The superhero costume itself was slightly uncomfortable yet manageable and defined his physique. His only complaint was that it was the colors of a traffic light, a little more red and black heavy but yellow and green definitely made their appearances. The costumer, Rita Parr, who had a 1950s vibe told him it’s to reflect his background of being from a circus. Damian snorted, the fact that Dick used his own backstory to fuel this character was still very funny to him, especially when others don’t know it and think it's so absurdly original.

The craziest thing about this movie was that Dick was not only directing it, but he is the primary writer too. He didn’t want to come across as too bold and open his sure to be box office smash to criticism because an actor turned director could also write a script well. So he put it under a pseudonym. Damian was quite surprised when he found out, the script was well written, the characters all seemed grounded, and it was more than just an action movie. Dick had found a way to work a compelling romance amongst his characters too. That is why Damian would have begged his brother to be in the movie, of course he didn’t have to, Dick was all too eager to have Damian be a part of it, but Damian would have begged if it came to that.

When Damian’s town car pulled up to Dick’s small mansion, he could already see the cars of about seven others, and by some of the specific vehicles he knew that the majority of the production team leaders were here. And sure enough when Alfred, his family’s butler that Bruce requested help host Dick’s gathering, opened the door, he could already hear some of their voices.

“Welcome Master Damian. Wonderful that you could make it this evening.” The gentle older man stepped to the side, gesturing for Damian to enter.

“Good evening Alfred. I’m afraid I wasn’t allowed to RSVP no to this event.’

“Well, nevertheless, I have brought your favorite bourbon to help you settle in better. Master Grayson is in the theatre room with some of the others. He requested I direct you there upon your arrival.” Alfred walked along beside him.

“Great, already jumping into work talk. I’ll take a double of that bourbon when you get the chance.” Damian shrugged off his coat and put it in the coat closet, politely denying Alfred’s assistance.

Approaching the theatre room, he could already hear the familiar voices of a good chunk of the production team:

Wally West ( Director's Assistant)

Barbara Gordon (Secretary/PA)

Zatanna Zatara (Producer)

Clark Kent (Cinematographer)

Garth Bernstein (Casting Director)

Victor Stone (Sound Designer)

Rex Mason (Production Designer)

Along with Jason Todd, Slade Wilson was also present. Slade Wilson was cast to play the villain and arch nemesis to Robin, Deathstroke. Damian wasn’t a huge fan of the older man, throughout his long tenure of acting he was known to be vindictive, manipulative, and only watch out for himself. He ran his own talent agency poaching other managers of their clients to fill his arsenal. It worked, however, his name and his wealth always convinced the young and naive actors and actresses to buck over to his team. So before him, he had an army of good talent that made him richer and made membership under his agency ridiculously pricey. As for the actors and actresses, Slade saved the best roles for himself and his favorites, so every audition season was cutthroat and everyone sucked up to Slade to gain his favor and potentially better roles. Damian was disgusted by it and was appalled that Dick would include him in his project, but Dick argued that the new movie needed a genius villain and Slade was the best to play the evil man.

He had to agree with his brother, while Slade was unquestionably a terrible man in real life, he elegantly portrayed one even better on the big screen. Once he aged out of the roguish antihero type leading man, he began getting typecast as the man pulling the strings or the mob boss. Slade loved it because people loved his bad guys and he won a multitude of awards for them. It killed Damian to say it, but he was a perfect choice for the role.

Damian took a deep breath and opened the double doors to the large projector screen with luxurious plush red velvet reclining chairs creating three rows facing the front. The various men and women standing or sitting around the room, each with a drink in their hand. They turned their heads to see who the newcomer was. Dick came bouncing toward him while the others raised their glass in acknowledgement, waved, or called out a greeting.

“Hey Dami! I’m so glad you could make it!” Dick embraced him, but really just hugged around Damian’s hanging arms.

“I had no choice in the matter and you know it, now get off.” Damian resisted.

“Well I’m still glad you listened to my threats.” Dick laughed and guided him inside. “We were just going through the final candidates audition tapes, I’ve decided we’re going to decide tonight as a team!”

“We’re casting everyone tonight?” He looked at the screen to find it paused on someone’s audition. An average height, lanky male with blonde hair and green eyes, no doubt someone auditioning for Changeling.

“No, not everyone, but the main team. Well those we haven’t cast yet! We already signed Kori as Starfire, and yesterday we finalized Connor Kent as Super Boy!” Dick practically cheered.

Damian rolled his eyes at the last casting announcement. “Clark’s brother? And I’m the one that gets called out for nepotism.” He crossed his arms.

Clark snorted, “You know I really thought you guys would have been the best of friends back then. Bruce was right though.” He chuckled again, few of the others joining in as well.

“He really does play cocky and arrogant well though, and you can’t play both roles!” Zatanna called out, making the rest burst into laughter.

“Ha ha. You all know he is a diva. Not everyone that fits the description of the character everyday of their real life should be the actual character. We’re actors because we can be things we’re not, not because we can portray ourselves on screen too, that's why we have reality TV trash.”

“Yeah that’s why we cast you as Robin, a leader, noble, maybe a little romantic, hero. You sure aren’t any of that in real life.” Garth hollered, Jason cackled with him. Damian’s eyes narrowed at the pair.

“Oh, but that’s why he’s an actor, because he can sure as hell act like a badass but isn’t one!” Jason added, their laughing continued. Damian dared a glance around the room, seeing Clark trying to hide his enjoyment, Rex’s smile and the way he nudged Zatanna as if they all agreed. Slade was sitting a glass of whiskey in one hand and a smirk on his face. Once his eyes landed on Barbara and Dick who also got caught giggling, he felt his anger start to rise.

“Your own words are biting you in the ass, Wayne.” Barbara snorted, emphasizing the use of his last name and punctuating the snarky comment with a sip from her glass of wine.

“Laugh all you want, you know I’m right. Now can we please just get on with it so I can go home?” He snapped.

Dick, still chuckling, clapped him on the back. “Sure thing. We actually started a bit early and just voted on our Mark Beast A.K.A Changeling! His name in Garfield Logan-”

“The guy from Space Trek?” Damian scoffed.

“The very one! He has a great following and a pretty solid comedic timing. His fans adore him and he’s already got green eyes! The rest will be easy! Plus he is already trained in gymnastics and does parkour, so stunts should be a little easier and perhaps more practical!” Garth chimed in.

“See, watch!” Dick pressed play and the screen brightened to life, displaying Garfield’s audition, followed by some footage of him at a training facility doing parkour and gymnastic routines. In Damian’s opinion, he wasn’t a poor choice, but he was still skeptical.

The group resettled into their chairs and watched clip after clip of auditions, until they narrowed it down and finally selected someone for the remaining roles. After Garfield Logan, they agreed upon Jaime Reyes to play Dan Garret A.K.A Blue Beetle and Donna Troy to portray Wondergirl, or Cassie Sandsmark. Alfred had arranged some catering to come in and supply them with a delicious meal as they were already a few hours deep into deliberation.

It was finally time to face the choice Damian dreaded the most. Who will play the Sorceress? He hadn’t stopped thinking about how important it was that she get along with him and be a good actress herself. The role was the second largest in the movie and could cost them dearly if they choose incorrectly. That and the fact that the office didn’t stop discussing this one girl’s audition for two full days, luckily it died down after that but Damian didn’t want Jason’s new plaything to be involved at all and certainly didn’t want her too close to himself.

Garth, the casting director, had narrowed their choices down to three different women that had been the best of the bunch. The first audition wasn’t memorable, the girl had played it safe, and while it was still very well done, it was missing that certain something.

Damian recognized the second woman instantly, and all he could think of was how horribly wrong the choice would be. Terra Markov, or better known as Slade Wilson’s lapdog. She was his pet, and she also got any audition she could dream of. No doubt Garth was bribed or in some way coerced to give her a shot, because her look did not scream sorceress at all. To give credit where credit is due, she was a decent actress, she just had a temper and her questionable ties with Slade didn’t sit right with him. They still watched her performance and the crowd seemed rather pleased.

“I really like how she delivered that line!”

“Her blue eyes are so pretty!”

“Imagine if we just dyed her hair or used a wig, I think we have a winner!”

Damian looked to Slade who was sitting there with a smug grin on his face. “She is quite talented isn’t she.”

“She’s great, but we’ve got one more. So let’s not make any decisions quite yet.” Dick answered.

“What? You don’t think she is fit for the role?” Slade pushed back.

“No, no. She did very well, I’m just saying we have one left and we should watch it first. Terra is a strong actress, no question why you signed her under your agency.”

“Mr. Grayson, it’d be most efficient to just call it here, everyone approves of her.” A general nodding of heads and agreements filled the room following Slade’s words.

“True, or we can suck up watching five more goddamn minutes like the fucking director wants, and see all the possibilities. Or is it past your bedtime grandpa?” Jason barked.

“You listen here-” Slade was cut off.

Damian had marched over to Dick’s spot in the theatre and snatched the remote out of his hand, he walked back to his place towards the back of the room and away from everyone else and pressed play on the last audition tape.

The slam of the door and the energy that filled the screen silenced everyone. However, no one was more stunned than Damian, who had just realized that the very woman auditioning was the same from the lobby. It was made evident by the large brown coffee stain he caused on her blouse.

Damian watched the audition speechless. This couldn’t possibly be the one everyone was talking about. To his dismay, he had to admit that he was captivated. He knew that she had been late which explained the sudden start to the tape and lack of a slate, but despite what he caused, it seemed to fuel her annoyance of being disturbed by the alarm. She had added some lines and improvised her movements, Damian knew because he practically had the whole damn script memorized.

He almost laughed when she forced a poor assistant to become her scene partner, the shuffle of papers being thrown at the young man caused a few giggles from the small viewing audience. His eyes widened when she pulled her shirt off and he quickly berated himself for appreciating the fullness of her breasts and how prettily they were wrapped in her beige lace bra. While the woman on the screen addressed her apparel, Damian ‘respectfully’ averted his gaze and was curious to see what the others were thinking.

Barbara and Victor were smirking, seemingly appreciating the woman’s strong presence and how she kept going even though the brainless men were stuck on her wardrobe malfunction. Victor and Dick shared a look that confirmed that whatever they were thinking, that they were on the same page. Once the girl appeared back on screen wearing Jason’s signature jacket, the owner proudly grinned and nudged Garth in the chair beside him whose eyes seemed to be glued a little too much on her body. Rex and Clark were happily enjoying the audition and had even put down their food and snacks, fully entranced. What caught Damian’s eye the most was that Slade has shifted his posture, going from neatly relaxed with one ankle resting on the opposite knee, to leaning forward, fingers laced under his chin and elbows planted on his knees merely observing.

Damian’s focus shifted back to the screen, watching her move about so confidently before sitting in a lotus position and chanting lowly.

“Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos.”

Then Dick called cut and jumped in the scene beside her before the tape was stopped seconds later. A few seconds of silence and processing followed before everyone excitedly looked around and began discussing what they had just seen.

“It’s got to be her!”

“Her eyes are so unique!”

“She improvised all that? That’s incredible!”

But all Damian could think about was the war in his head. There was no denying that she was clearly the best, but he knew he already screwed up with her and was certain she hated his guts. He wasn’t sure if they would be able to work together.

“Okay, so that was the fantastic Raven Roth! She is a phenomenal actress whom you might have seen on Skulls as the forensic scientist.”

“I think it has to be her. Even her look is spot on, she is mysterious and cool.” Barbara said.

“I don’t know…didn’t it seem kind of amateurish to just storm in there. That would not fly on set!” Zatana chirped.

“She wouldn’t do that on set, some jerk spilled coffee on her which made her late! I completely sympathize for the poor girl, and to give us a performance this strong? Incredible! Trust me, I’ve seen a lot of auditions over the years.” Damian’s cheeks started to burn at Garth’s words, unknowingly calling him out.

“I for one agree with Mr. Bernstein, here.” The mumbles around the room silenced at Slade’s approval, he never sided with anyone that wasn’t his own talent.

“You do? But isn’t Terra your client?” Dick asked outright, sparing any tiptoeing around the subject.

“Yes, I am not blind and I know when to fold if my hand is not strong enough. Terra cannot out-perform this girl, at least in a role like this. This girl doesn’t seek attention, she demands it with her screen presence, it’s powerful, impactful. Terra’s performance was surface level, good, but inadequate. I’ll coach her about this later. But nevermind that. Miss Roth would be an excellent addition to the cast, as well as my agency. Does anyone know if she’s being represented?” Slade asked the room, Damian noticing a certain look in his eye that he couldn’t quite name.

“Alrighty then.” Dick looked around the room, everyone nodding in agreement to the unspoken question.

Damian felt a weight in his stomach. No way they all almost unanimously chose the vile woman from the coffee shop. Sure she had done well, but they couldn’t see past that? They’d soon find out her temper and Damian would enjoy watching them regret their decision. But still… he’d have to go to work everyday and look at her stupidly, definitely not in any way attractive, face and convince her to like him. It wasn’t fair. Maybe he should speak up? But to speak up would be to reveal himself as the ‘asshole’ and he couldn’t have that. They’d just side with Raven, and he wouldn’t even be able to explain himself. He had to get out of there, he couldn’t risk anyone realizing that he hadn’t given his usually very vocal opinion. Quietly, he snuck out the door just as Dick was finishing his statement.

“It looks like Raven Roth is our Sorceress!”

He could hear the applause from the hallway but he didn’t look back, he proceeded to the kitchen to grab some water and hide. Feeling the cold water slide down his throat, cooling the anger and frustration within him slightly, Damian took a very needed deep breath. Just then, the last person he wanted to see found him.

“Damian, why’d you leave? We just broke out the champagne to celebrate the completed casting!” Dick held his flute of champagne out, swirling the contents as if to entice him.

“I don’t care for champagne.”

“Suit yourself.” he shrugged and took a large sip. After pulling the glace down from his lips, he leaned his hip against the kitchen island and stared directly into Damian’s eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t speak up in there.”

“I had nothing to say.” Damian tried to sound nonchalant.

“If there’s one thing I know about you Damian, it’s that you always have something to say, especially when it directly affects you.”

Dick was good, he always knew when something was up, and usually Damian reluctantly found it endearing but right now it was definitely not the time. “It’s not like I have a choice in the matter. You all seemed very pleased with her so there is no point in voicing my opinion for it to be met with criticism.” He shrugged.

“Criticism huh? So you didn’t like her?”

Damian opened his mouth to protest but once again, Dick had caught him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he figured he might as well get the interrogation over with. “I had the displeasure of meeting Miss Roth sometime before her audition. She was inconsiderate and rude and I don’t think we need that kind of behavior on set. Oh and she’s Todd’s new plaything which also poses a problem.”

“Oh, I had no idea. She certainly seemed nice and courteous enough when we talked to her. But I suppose she could be putting on an act for her benefit and given that she wouldn’t know that you were already cast she'd have no reason to give you better treatment. I was also under the impression that Jason and Raven had never met prior to her audition.” He rubbed his chin in thought, “I will take this into consideration as we onboard her. I don’t want to react harshly without further investigation. As it stands, she will continue to be our Sorceress with Terra Markov as a potential backup if Raven falls through.”

Damian crossed his arms, frowning slightly. “I don’t think this will end well for me…I mean us.”

“Everything will be fine. I’ll look into it and adjust whatever needs adjusting. I’ll tell Jay to back off and we’ll make sure she’s not a diva. I appreciate you telling me and not brooding to yourself about this like Bruce.

“Yeah, whatever.” He relaxed slightly, dropping his arms in surrender. “I’m going to go back to my place.”

“You don’t want to stay for the rest of the party? We were gonna watch some of the segments announcing your casting!”

Just then the sound of shattering glass echoed in from the entryway. Dick winced and looked back to Damian who barely reacted..

“Absolutely not. I can watch them on my own time”

“Fair enough, thanks for coming anyway! I’ll see you soon!”

“I still had no choice.” Damian called over his shoulder as he headed out the kitchen and toward the entrance. He bid Alfred farewell and departed back to his condo.

Finally settled into the peace and quiet his own space brought him, he started searching for the articles about himself. Most of the articles had received and reported the news positively, stating that the casting choice was a no-brainer and how excited they were to see the cast built around him. A few wireless welcoming but they came from more unpopular sites, and some outlets hadn’t reported anything yet. But the information was still new so it will keep trickling down through the circuit until everyone has given their mostly unsolicited insight.

The one thing that still popped up everytime his name hit the headlines though started popping up right in front of his eyes. It never failed to make him feel less than and unworthy.

Nepotism

#raven #teen titans #raven roth #robrae #damian wayne #damirae #jayrae #dc fanfic #demonbirds #fanfic #just another hollywood scene

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spacemagicandlaserswords · 1 year ago

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The Clone Wars: Return of the Thoughts

I’m over half way through my first watch through of The Clone Wars (I’m part way through the Onderon rebels arc at the moment) and it has been An Experience. I have really enjoyed watching it, even though so much of the story is just pain and despair. If it isn’t already completely obvious from my reaction posts, I have completely fallen for the clones. New hyperfixation unlocked. I love and adore all of them. This brings about its own problems because for a show called The Clone Wars, there isn’t exactly a great focus on the clones. They’ve basically been sidelined in their own show (Hmmm, I wonder where we’ve seen that done to a clone before?). When we do finally get some decent clone-centric episodes, they are all just pain, misery, angst and despair. Which explains why I’ve been dreading watching so many of the various arcs in TCW.

I’ve found that my anticipation of episodes falls into either 'outright dreading', 'generally looking forward to', 'somewhat interested in', or 'fairly ambivalent about'. Out of the three seasons I have left to watch, the only arc I’m actually looking forward to is the opening arc of season 7, because:

a) Baby Bad Batch b) ECHO c) More clones! More clone interactions and personality and character development and depth and emotions and all the things! d) Jesse and his ARC tits running around being an absolute unit e) Kix! *weeps for his beautiful hair* f) Rex being a BAMF as usual but also being all soft and concerned when he gets one of his Domino Twins back after he thought he’d lost them both. g) We even get a bit of Cody too, before he gets squished by a larty and Wrecker has to lift it off him. h) Non-chip controlled Crosshair! He smiles! He laughs! He’s snarky and sarcastic! We finally get to see the toothpick with a soul before it’s ripped out and trampled into the ground by the Empire. i) I think the season 7 premiere is where Obi-Wan cuts an actual missile in half to save Cody, and if that isn’t the most hyper competent way of conveying your love for your space husband, then I don’t know what is.

On the other side of things, there are a number of arcs that I am dreading and almost don’t want to watch.

I’m not overly looking forward to the Mandalore arc in season 5, mainly because we have to watch Obi-Wan watch Satine get brutally murdered in front of him by Maul. Along with being utterly cruel and completely devastating, it’s also another wholly unnecessary fridging of a female character. There’s already enough man pain in this series as it is, we don’t need to add to it by killing off one of the few female characters with depth.

Straight after this is the Jedi temple bombing arc, which I almost don’t want to watch. The way Ahsoka was treated was utterly horrendous and appalling. No wonder she left! What they did to Barriss was just as awful.

Then it’s straight into the chip conspiracy arc, which is just more pain, misery, suffering and death for the clones. First Tup, then Fives, in what seems to be generally regarded as one of the most devastating deaths of the entire Clone Wars series. I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of sobbing at the end of it. I also cannot wrap my head around the fact that Fox is the one to shoot Fives. I cannot believe that a clone would ever shoot another clone. That a vod would kill another vod. It’s just inconceivable. From what I’ve read, the generally received headcanon seems to be that Palps was controlling Fox via the chip or the Darkside. This makes complete sense, is a believable in-universe reason, and is definitely the headcanon that I’ve accepted. Blasters have a stun setting! Fox is the Commander of the Coruscant Guard. He’s a command class clone and he has a kama so presumably he’s got ARC training as well. There’s no way he’d be that sloppy as to not have his blaster set to stun. I know this is leading up to my inevitable internal conflict between fandom Fox and canon Fox (which is already brewing), but that’s another rant for another day. Either way, I'm absolutely dreading watching this arc.

I’m not really looking forward to watching the Rush Clovis arc in season 6. I touched on this in 2.04 ‘Senate Spy’ and I should imagine that this arc involves more of Anakin being abusive and controlling of Padmé, which both @0bianidalas and @coraex basically confirmed in the comments. For a multitude of personal reasons, I am really not comfortable with watching something like this. That said, I should imagine it will be a clear example of Anakin’s further descent to the Dark side and give a greater understanding to how it happened, which I gather was a key reason for the existence of The Clone Wars series in the first place.

Finally, there’s the Siege of Mandalore arc, which is just pain, misery, death and despair for everyone involved. We have to watch another perspective of the genocide that is Order 66, and by all accounts this one seems to be one of the most heart-wrenching and devastating. All of the clones are forced against their will to turn into brainwashed, controlled, mindless monsters. Jesse is turned into the very opposite of everything that he is, stood for, and believed in. Ahsoka is hunted by the very men she thought were her friends. Rex has to shoot his brothers out of self defense and to protect Ahsoka. All of the 322nd die. Rex cries. The only saving grace to all of this is that Rex is finally free, but at what cost. At what cost.

(Editor Me: My heart is already aching just going through the various gifs from these arcs. I'm going to be an absolute wreck I watch the actual episodes.)

After all of this, I somehow have to power through 4 seasons of Rebels before Ahsoka premiers on August 23. I’m probably going to have to binge watch Rebels and come back to it later for the reaction posts but we’ll see. While I have spoiled myself on Rebels in the same way I did for TCW, I haven’t been looking up what happens in Rebels quite as much as TCW. I’ve forgotten a fair amount of what happens so I think I’m going to try and keep myself as spoiler free as possible for Rebels. Hopefully that way I’ll be able to avoid this ‘dreading watching particular arcs’ problem that I’m encountering with TCW.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are moments in particular episodes that I’m looking forward to.

Hondo turns up again in the younglings arc and I am all for more Hondo. My interest in this arc falls somewhere between ‘somewhat interested’ and ‘fairly ambivalent’ but Hondo is an absolute riot and I love his particular brand of chaos. He was hilarious in the season 5 premiere and stole every scene he was in so I’m very glad to see him appear again.

We finally get to meet Gregor! He seems like a fan favourite and I’ve been looking forward to meeting him. If the droids mission is anything like R2-D2 and the reprogrammed B1 droids in the Citadel arc then this should be fairly amusing too so I’m generally looking forward to this.

In a way, I am looking forward to parts of the Mandalore arc in season 5. Obi-Wan in Mandalorian armour! More sass and snark from Obi-Wan is always enjoyable and at least we get to see him rescue Satine before it all goes horribly wrong. I know I’ve made this point before but I also love it when we get to see just how damn good a Jedi Obi-Wan is. There’s a little bit of this in the season 4 finale when Obi-Wan teams up with Ventress to fight Maul and Savage (after he’s thrown about like a rag doll and we get even more Obi-Wan whump. TCW has been a surprisingly excellent source of Obi-Wan whump.) But you really get to see it in the season 5 premiere. At one stage Obi-Wan is dual wielding lightsabers like an absolute madman while fighting both Maul and Savage at the same time. Sir, your lightsaber form is Soresu, what are you doing?

I’m looking forward to ‘The Lost One’ because we get to see a bit more of Wolffe, Plo and the Wolf Pack and I am always happy when we get to see more of them. Even if it's only for a tiny bit at the start of the episode.

As painful as the Siege of Mandalore arc is going to be, there are also some good moments that I’m looking forward to. Rex and Ahsoka reunite after she left the Order. I’ve really been enjoying watching the gradual evolution of their relationship, from Captain and Commander, to colleagues that respect each other, to friends, and then brother and sister. Or ori’vod and vod’ika, if we’re going with the headcanon of clones knowing Mando’a and creating their own culture out of what they can glean from their Mandalorian origins. Rex is definitely ori’vod.

Rex is finally promoted to commander so we get a little bit of Commander Rex for a while, and isn’t that just a delicious thought thot.

Ahsoka essentially gets her own company in the form of the 332nd and they all paint their helmets in a pattern inspired by the markings on her montrals, which is just so damn sweet and adorable.

Rex and Ahsoka fighting side by side, even if some of it is against chip controlled clones.

From what I can gather, this entire arc is mainly about Rex and Ahsoka, with a showdown with Maul thrown in. They both go through the wringer and there’s going to be everything from hilarious one liners, to heartfelt moments, to the absolute emotional devastation that is Order 66 and all that it wrought upon them.

Out of the arcs that are left, they’re a mix of ‘somewhat interested’, ‘fairly ambivalent’ and ‘really not sure what to expect’. I’m fairly ambivalent about the rest of the Onderon rebels arc, which ends in another unnecessary fridging of a female character. At least Steela was more sensible and had more nuance. I could see her evolving into a great leader, in a similar vein to Leia. Saw is just another boring arrogant male who turns into a ‘for the greater good’ monster. The consequences of his actions have disastrous effects for the Empire and the rebels, or anyone who even slightly opposes the Empire. He’s not a good person and definitely falls into the ‘an enemy of my enemy is my friend/temporary ally’ camp.

I’m ‘fairly ambivalent’ to almost disinterested in ‘The Disappeared’ arc. Anything involving Jar Jar Binks is always deeply painful and uncomfortable to watch, a point I’ve made before, so I’m not going to blither on about it again.

The final arc of season 6 just sounds weird and all very ~mystical~ Jedi. Or more Jedi osik as the more cynical of the clones would probably say.

The Ahsoka arc in the middle of season 7 is one I’m really not sure what to expect from. I’m looking forward to meeting Trace and Rafa and I’m all for more women of colour in Star Wars. It’ll also give more context to the episode ‘Decommissioned’ from The Bad Batch and help understand exactly who they are and why they’re coincidentally looking for the same Separatist tactical droid as the Batch. It’ll also be interesting to see what happens to Ahsoka after she leaves the order and get a sense for what she’s been up to and how she’s managed to survive and cope since. I’m not sure if this arc is in chronological order with the rest of the season. Though the last episode does appear to link into the Siege of Mandalore arc, so maybe it is. The official chronological order lists this arc as happening before the Bad Batch arc and after the season 6 finale arc, so I guess that solves that then.

Aside from The Bad Batch arc, there’s no whole episode or arc that I’m actually looking forward to watching. This seems to be the main structure to TCW, hilarious comedic moments and heartfelt scenes interspersed between a whole lot of emotional devastation and heart wrenching endings. I’m still glad I’m finally watching The Clone Wars but the emotional ride from certain episodes and arcs has been something else. I’m so glad fix-it fics exist, because I’m going to need to read so many after all of this is said and done.

I know this might seem like I’m complaining but I’m not. I’m simply being open and honest about my experiences watching The Clone Wars. I am enjoying watching it all, even if ‘enjoying’ doesn’t quite feel like the right word with all of the pain and despair and misery that happens.

I’ve got a lot left to watch and not much time to watch it in but I’m also going to make sure I enjoy it as well. I’ll be sad when it’s finished but I am very happy and glad that I finally started watching The Clone Wars.

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theladyheroine · 1 year ago

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Kingdom Hearts x Star Wars! 🪐

So recently I’ve been getting really into a Kingdom Hearts mood and this is a bit less of a crossover headcanon and more of an idea? I’ve heard that Star Wars is a possible world for KH4 so I figured why not try my own take! This is basically what I think might happen if we were to get a Star Wars World in KH4! Thank you for tuning in!

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ Characters ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

Now for starters, we gotta talk about Luke Skywalker as a party member! He’s the ultimate Star Wars character (please don’t be upset 😅🙏)! I have a feeling Sora might see him as a kinda mentor type figure, seeing as Luke is older than him & he does get a bit more serious by the time of Return of the Jedi. Although he still has that kind, but reckless farm boy attitude so I think he’ll get along with Sora pretty well or even Kairi! While Kairi is a bit more soft spoken, I feel like she’ll connect pretty well with Luke due to his ways with the force & wisdom he’s received from Master Yoda.

Another trilogy character I feel would make it into KH4 is Han Solo! The greatest pilot in the galaxy and his Millenium Falcon would definitely make an appearance. I feel Sora might like him because he's cool but I also feel Han might but heads with Riku just a bit. It's mostly because Riku himself is a bit impulsive in a way, despite being calm and collected he’s also willing to do things his way first. Maybe they both bicker about where to head next or who does what in the ship.

Another thing that might be cool is if Chewbacca were a character you could summon as an ally. Maybe he could launch the characters into the air for some kind of light blast attack or maybe he just goes around smashing obstacles and stuff for you? Kinda like Wreck-It-Ralph but hairier.

Okay next one! This is a bit less tied to KH4 actually, but I thought it would be a good idea for maybe a Birth by Sleep AU! Although real quick, I unfortunately barely started watching the Clone Wars a few weeks ago, but I really liked this idea. 😅 But dw, I know at least the major parts & about Rex & Cody so hopefully this is okay. 😅🙏

Okay anywho, the Clone Wars and/or The Bad Batch is next on my list! Since this period of Star Wars mostly takes place before the empire, or at least right when the Empire takes over, this might tie into Birth by Sleep a bit more since BBS is a KH prequel. Or at least maybe this can be a cool alternate world for KH4 since the Clone Wars series is so popular. Anyways though, I feel Aqua might fit a bit more into the Star Wars universe simply because I feel her calm and noble demeanor resembles that of a Jedi knight. After all, she is a Keyblade master, people might mistake her for a Jedi or at least force-sensitive.

Plus, it might be a interesting balance for the Clone Troopers, since I know that the Clones take their brotherhood very seriously. Aqua and the rest of the Keyblade wielders might compare that to their friendships.

A few other characters I’d like to include is Ahsoka, Master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, although maybe the old man version of him too lol. But these are just a few ideas for the worlds as party members, but I can see the Keyblade weilders helping these guys along in their own personal stories maybe?

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ New Areas & Places ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

Tatooine - This planet I can see as a starting point for the gang, as Tatooine is like a main setting for most Star Wars content even though it's a pretty shady place. I can imagine quests such as helping villagers with their daily tasks, fixing ships, and keeping thugs off the peoples' backs as you navigate. Although, one fight I've heard people talk about is having either Jabba or Sarlacc as a boss fight. Plus, its where Luke Skywalker lives so it might work!

Endor - This one I feel might play a bigger role than Tatooine simply due to its role during the trilogy too. Plus, forest-y planets are also seen alot in Star Wars, which is I think to add mystery I guess? But maybe the gang ends up taking shelter on Endor and happen to run into, say, Princess Leia? And they have to help her and the rebels fight off the Empire!

Coruscant - This one also adds into the whole Clone Wars-BirthBySleep AU, but this might be an option in KH4. Since Coruscant is the capital of the galaxy, I can see maybe it being mentioned at least? Plus, since most of the gang doesn't live in a world with alot of technology other than the datascape, it would be intersting to see them marvel at all the technology there. Plus, maybe they mistake Coruscant for the city Sora's in? Since they don't really know about Shibuya yet.

Okay I think that's everything but thank you for listening! I hope this was fun! I really hope we get a Star Wars world in Kingdom Hearts but I'm thinking about making a few most posts like these for KH4, but anyways thank you!

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scruffyplayssonic · 1 year ago

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Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episode 62: Stuck in an elevator (part 1)

Welcome back to my look at the ArchieSonic comic series, and how it shared a lot of the same story tropes as a typical ‘80s or ‘90s syndicated cartoon! The last few episodes have had a common theme - first the characters were stranded in the ocean, then they were stranded in the desert, and after that they were stranded in the snow. So what have we got this time?

Episode 62: Stuck in an elevator

I mean, being stuck somewhere and being stranded somewhere are pretty much the same thing, aren’t they? But sadly there’s not really any great examples of this very specific topic in ArchieSonic. In fact the only times I can think of off the top of my head where an elevator was even shown was in the non-canon Sonic Colours adaptation in Sonic #219…

…and the times that Robotnik used a sneaky escape elevator to get away when Sonic had him cornered, such as in Sonic #38.

So yeah, short one this week huh? If there’s any instances of being trapped in an elevator I missed, let me know in the comments! Next time-

Just kidding, I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t try a little harder to squeeze some blood from this metaphorical stone. So I went to TV Tropes to see what I could find on this topic. And sure enough, I hit paydirt:

So instead of shaking our heads and tutting at the lack of elevators in ArchieSonic, let’s broaden the topic to cover enemies and/or rivals being locked in a room together, which I feel is in the same spirit.

Our first example is one I’ve covered before: Sonic #24, when Snively, Robotnik, and the Freedom Fighters were all abducted by the alien collector, Carheem of Wheet.

I don’t think there’s any need to retread this one, as I’ve brought it up a number of times for various episodes. Let’s move on.

The next example is a very brief one from Sonic #48. Sonic had been arrested after being framed for the murder of Princess Sally, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Devil’s Gulag.

While he was being transported to the dreaded prison, Sonic found that he was not the only future inmate being taken there. Also along for the ride was Sleuth Dawgy Dawg (no, I’m not kidding on the name), a former intelligence operative who had worked for Uncle Chuck’s spy network but had betrayed the Freedom Fighters when Robotnik made him a better offer.

Mmmm, steak. …huh? Er no, I’m not tempted to go work for Robotnik, what are you even talking about? I think the better question is why was Sleuth still wearing a swatbot disguise when he was en route to the Gulag, considering he’d been arrested 6 issues prior? You’d think the Freedom Fighters would have had time to confiscate the tech and give him a change of clothes, for crying out loud. Anyway, the plane got shot down by swatbots before Sonic and Sleuth could say anything else to each other, so like I said, it was a pretty brief example.

Don't worry, Sonic was fine. He escaped went on to do his best Harrison Ford impression.

Next up is Knuckles #18, an issue in which we saw Knuckles also go to prison. But unlike Sonic he went there willingly, to interrogate Kragok of the Dark Legion. In the previous issue Knuckles had met Tobor, his several times removed great grandfather, a Guardian like himself. Tobor’s tenure as Guardian had been brief, as not long after he was charged with protecting Echidnaopolis, the Dark Legion had escaped the Twilight Zone they’d been imprisoned in and went on the attack.

During the battle Tobor and the then-current leader of the Dark Legion, Moritori Rex, had been transported to the Floating Island and were both buried in the rubble of a collapsing ruin (don’t ask why Echidnapolis wasn’t on the Floating Island at this time, it’s a long story). Not long afterwards Tobor’s father Hawking had arrived and accidentally rescued Moritori, mistaking him for Tobor due to him being badly injured and disfigured.

Tobor had eventually managed to dig his way out of the rubble and exiled himself from the Floating Island in shame.

Did Tobor bother to let his family know that they’d been infiltrated by a leader of the Dark Legion? No, no he did not. Instead he just bummed around on the surface of Mobius for several hundred years until he one day spotted the Floating Island overhead and decided to go check it out, leading to him meeting Julie-Su and then Knuckles. After hearing Tobor’s story, Knuckles decided he wanted more information about it. So he went to interrogate Kragok, who had been incarcerated since Dimitri’s defeat back in Knuckles #9.

Indeed, Knuckles has a massive pair of b- …er, knuckles. Ahem. Anyway, Kragok didn’t want to cooperate, so Knuckles threw out the good guardian approach and switched to bad guardian instead.

…okay, putting aside the AGAB line for the moment to ask something a bit more disturbing - what the hell, Echidna Security Team? Why would a dangerous prisoner be allowed to keep a mechanical arm that can shoot lightning bolts? You would think that when he was arrested that his arm would have been removed and replaced with a non-lethal prosthetic instead, surely? Or hell, just let him manage with only one arm - it’s not like he’s going to need two arms that much inside a prison cell. Or maybe you could rig some sort of EMP field in the cell to disable the arm? I’m just spit-balling here, but anything seems better than letting a prisoner - who I might remind you was the leader of a terrorist organisation - keep a dangerous weapon in his cell.

Anyway, what happened next?

Buggered if I know. A non-specific thing happened and somehow Knuckles and Kragok found themselves trapped in the Twilight Zone - the Dark Legion's former prison. At least at this point Knuckles was able to overpower Kragok and forced him to talk, under the threat of having his face blown off with his own arm.

And what did Knuckles learn from this?

Honestly, not much that hadn’t already been said by Tobor. The main takeaway was that Tobor being replaced wasn’t a freak accident, but actually had been planned by Moritori Rex. This explains how Tobor’s family hadn’t been able to tell that Moritori was an imposter - Moritori had been able to learn everything about Tobor prior to their battle by spying on him for years. We also learned that Moritori was Kragok’s father, but this was later retconned to say that Moritori was actually Kragok’s grandfather instead. Or I guess you could argue that Kragok had just been lying to Knuckles about his parentage, that works too. Anyway, after the exposition dump Kragok and Knuckles managed to escape back to the real world through a portal, but Kragok was intercepted by Tobor (the real one), who yeeted both himself and Kragok right back into the Twilight Zone.

Our next two characters who were locked in an elevator room together are Grand Chief Lupe of the Wolfpack and Queen Hathor of the Felidae, leaders of rival Soumerican clans who had a long history of mistrust and violence caused by territory disputes and both tribes trying to claim ownership of a gemstone called the Ancient Onyx. Dr Eggman’s Dark Egg Legion had previously tried to get their tribes to go to war against each other by stealing the Ancient Onyx, but Sonic, Sally, and Big the Cat had helped to reveal the true villains and negotiate a peaceful co-existence for both tribes.

In Sonic #237 Dr Eggman sent Mecha Sally to abduct both leaders, hoping to undo Sally's efforts by causing each tribe to blame each other for their leader's disappearance and go to war.

Not long afterwards Team Fighters arrived in the Wolf Pack Nation and were informed of Lupe’s abduction by two of her former freedom fighters, Leeta and Lyco. They joined forces to investigate and soon came across Hathor in the jungle, fleeing for her life from Eggman’s forces.

“Emissary” Hathor then explained how she and Chief Lupe had been held captive together.

So yeah, while Lupe and Hathor were still rivals and there was still a lot of mistrust between their two tribes, they were able to begrudgingly put their differences aside to work together on an escape plan. Team Fighters, Hathor, and Leeta and Lyco were able to rescue Lupe and “the Queen,” giving us one of my favourite lines in ArchieSonic:

Sorry, Drago. This queen did not slay. 🙁

Unfortunately Tumblr’s image posting limit means that I’m going to need to make a part two for this episode. I'm attempting to upload both parts at the same time, so if you don't see the other one then treat yourself to a little refresh. :)

#archiesonic syndicated

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