#rebellion’s infancy

[b-radley66]

Wonderful commission from @punkzcakes of two Fulcrums. The ‘other’ Fulcrum is an OC known only as Face; she was raised by a Mandalorian after she tried to pick his pocket. Ahsoka realized that she needed to be in more places than she could be. Of course, this is either a discussion of Rebellion Things (tm) or Face trying to get Fulcrum-Prime to audition for dancing at the club. Fulcrum-Prime maintains that she doesn’t need to audition, she has experience dancing on Jabba’s sail-barge, which is a story in itself.

Please, go visit @punkzcakes and if they have commissions available, commission them! They are so talented and great to work with!

[fanfoolishness]

I like to imagine that in the future, people remember the clones. After Palpatine falls for good on Exegol, imagine an explosion of freedom and knowledge in those days after the final defeat: imagine archaeologists and scholars plumbing the depths of Imperial and First Order records, trying to figure out what had happened so it could never happen again. And through it all they find the clones’ story woven into everything, until a new field emerges of Clone Studies, a loose alliance of military history buffs and research biologists and anthropologists and ethicists.

They catalogue the Kaminoans’ research; they review the clone memorials on Coruscant, on Zeffo, monuments as large as a massive wall or as small as a quiet statue, from people throughout the galaxy who were grateful for what they did. They study the great tragedy and betrayal of the chip, finally understanding the scope of Palpatine’s plans and bringing them out into the open, sharing the truth that the clones never chose to betray the Jedi Order and Republic they had served faithfully. They study old war vids and oral histories from people of long-lived species or whose grandparents remembered the clones; they build, memory by memory, a sense of the culture, the camaraderie, the brotherhood, the loyalty. They collect vids of battle songs and in-jokes and an interior language shared among them, springing up over the years.

They find and list their names, self-chosen or given by their brothers: Rex, Fives, Howzer, Echo, Tup, Gregor, Wolffe, Cody, Boil, Waxer, Cut. They study the clones whose differences defined them and knit them into a family whose ties could not be broken, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, Omega. They study the discarded who nevertheless still had value - 99, Emerie, the clones who were culled in infancy for being wrong. There are specialists who devote their entire branch of study to the only male unaltered clone and his infamous exploits throughout the galaxy, so alike his father’s. They study the years of the clone rebellion, a fight that paved the way for the next wave of fighters and the next after them.

The clones are gone. That is undisputed. Their kind came for a little while, and then vanished, burning brightly; their tale was a tragedy, but one unique in all its seeming sameness. There are conferences and holovids and books. There are debates and research firing up young scholars about a time only their great-grandparents can remember.

In the future, after all the clones are gone, there are still stories.

[aithusarosekiller]

Why Jegulus would actually work with their (barely existent) canon personalities:

This isn't a place for a debate so literally don't bother, I'm just trying to articulate to appeal to the 'iT maKEs No seNsE' crowd because while I don't care about canon, some Jegulus haters don't respect you unless you worship it so

-

First: James' benefit from it-

To begin with, you have the superiority complex. As much as fans (and Sirius) like to say that Sirius immediately saw through his parents' beliefs when he was born and was a perfect activist from infancy, this is not true. First of all it's highly improbable and much more likely that he told that sort of tale that in order to convince himself and Harry that he was always good, but he isn't and we see that. He is progressive but he still treats Kreacher incredibly poorly, he uses oppressed creatures as jokes and sees no issue with it (yeah, canon-worshippers, sorry but in PoA there is no remorse for the prank, he laughs about it proudly) so he would have had to grow out of most of the behaviours he did have when he was sorted. He would carry some leftover beliefs from his family that James and the others had to help him unlearn. He would be willing to of course but it was still work. Why on earth would James not have reason to think 'I can do it again! They were raised in the same house they're practically the same.' Sirius had described his brother as weak and idiotic so James sees it as an easy win for his ego and the worth of his name, maybe even in Lily’s eyes.

And even when he falls in love and realises he may not be able to change them? Canonically? James wouldn't care. Not before he was 17 at least. He only ever relies on equality when it matters to him. They bully for no reason but target Snape a lot anyway, they already hate him when James sees the opportunity to stand up for Lily, speaking over her wishes instead of with her. He seems more intent on humiliating Snape and making a scene than actually fixing any issues. He's never truly evil but he's not a perfect virtuous angel. So him staying with someone who's morals are compromised wouldn't feel evil to him, he still thinks he's great and perfect, he just loves people who aren't. Let teenage James be morally grey, it's all he ever has been. It would give a pretty cool exploration of his growing maturity in the later school years. There's no real explanation for it apart from 'well it worked for him getting Lily' (which I hate, he nastily jokes about dating her infront of a crowd in exchange for not physically assaulting her friend and then she marries him? Give them more fucking depth than that, it reminds me of too many creeps I know) so it would be kind of cool to explore what could have set him off down the path of becoming a better person. Maybe age or outside pressure but I like the idea of him having a personal relationship that helped him to grow. He's with someone he can never be open to the public with and it's eating away at him because technically he should call it off but he doesn't bloody want to. When it ends, it's all too much and he chooses to flip his life over. He realises how Lily must have felt having Severus turn around on her and force her to leave him; he looks at the war and social climate with more integrity. He begins to change for the better in response to this upheaval of his life and his heartbreak. Also regulus gave him that snitch he was playing with and nobody can convince me he didn't.

Now for Regulus:

The betrayal is the obvious one, he'd always been tentative and naive according to Sirius. Sirius is under the impression he would've just tried to run when it got scary and we can assume he just misjudged him but wouldn't it be interesting if somebody was there to help him embrace his courageous, reckless side? If James sat there whispering words of victory and bravery to him, planting the seeds for his later rebellion? It could also have begun to place seeds of doubt in his mind surrounding the death eaters, even if they did not come to fruition until later. Even if you think he only changed due to Kreacher being hurt, the disproportionate response of sacrificing his entire life over it in some grand display of power is SO JAMES of him.

Then there's the opportunity to explore him on a more personal level. Who is he outside of his family? Was the locket the only secret betrayal or were there more? How does this impact his relationship with Sirius, regardless of him knowing of it or not? It adds even more layers to the meaning of his name and it helps to explore his own doubts before they are ever apparent to his family. James would likely not feel a sense of betrayal in not telling Sirius due to his ego and the fact that British teen boys are just like that™️ with their friend groups. But would Regulus? He would likely feel guilt anyway, but towards his brother? Did he still see him as a family member, as someone worth telling things to, as someone James belonged to? Well never know the canonical answers to this and that's why it's so FUN to explore. The layers to the secrecy and hope in their relationship is amazing.

What are his lingering feelings like after it ended? Hatred, regret, jealousy? And for James- guilt, sorrow, crushed hope?

The timelines add up too- the mark, James growing more mature, the snitch and the bullying of Snape.

And if your argument is 'they're not gay' tell me what makes you think that. Their personality? There isn't one 'way' to be gay. Prejudices? You think gay people are born holding a rainbow flag and chanting peace and love? So may gay ppl are vile to other marginalised groups. James married a woman? Bi people exist.

You don't have to like it, but don't say it makes no sense becuase it can and neither do half of your hcs about wolfstar and the prank and James' sunshine personality and how perfect jily were- we're all crazy here

[milkywayes]

my vakarian family dynamic hc just got a new and very important addition: garrus was an unplanned child.

and the thought of ANYTHING being UNPLANNED is anathema to papa vakarian. he’s already back on the citadel working (after taking two years to be with his mate and raise baby solana) when he hears the news. it throws a wrench into his carefully-laid plans.

see, papa vakarian is a hierarchy man through and through. he likes schedules, he likes standard operating procedures, he likes making up his mind and sticking to it. he does not like surprises.

garrus is a surprise.

and then he just never grows out of being one.

but it’s not just him. not just the fact that he’s weird and passionate and still wants to be a spectre past the age of 6 and squanders all his incredible potential by insisting on quitting the military before his requisite 15 years are over and then quitting c-sec on a whim and everything that follows.

it’s that the relay 314 incident happens a couple of months before his scheduled birth or at least no more than a year into his infancy. the relay 314 incident, as much as it is only an incident and not a war, which is a big fucking deal and harkens the end of life as they know it—or maybe it’s garrus’ birth that did, depending on how you look at it: a new species on the citadel and the emergence of the first real galactic threats since the krogan rebellions over a thousand years prior and then finally the reaper war. the war to end all wars.

and who’s smack-dab in the middle of all of that? his son. his unplanned, unanticipated, bringer-of-chaos-and-rejecter-of-social-mores renegade of a son.

behold the orb of entropy.

“father, i’m going to be your worst nightmare”

[sinisterexaggerator]

Rebel With A Cause

Echo x Gen! Reader

Warnings: None. Fluff and a kiss. A little bit of angst in relation to wartime and heartfelt goodbyes.

582 words

Notes: I decided to write a series of "goodbye" ficlets where the reader takes / removes something from each of CF99 as they part ways. I plan to do the others. I wrote Crosshair some time ago.

---

The Rebellion was in its infancy, yet you were amongst those placing themselves on the front lines, determined to make a difference in a galaxy that otherwise seemed uncaring and oblivious. Your native home had been overrun by the Empire and all its lackeys, leaving you to find a greater purpose, one shared with many others; it was something to be proud of, and you had never once looked back.

Neither had this soldier, a clone who had been dealt a rough hand in life, parts of him not man, but mechanical, yet this in no way put a damper on your feelings.

As in times of war, his was another hasty exit, leaving your heart aching and your mouth dry as he strode with purpose, meaning to board the ship that would carry him away.

“Echo!” you called out, desperation coating that single utterance of his name; your legs felt like jelly, even as you forced them to propel you forward. The distance was short, finding yourself to be in the presence of your lover before he could even turn around.

You stood before him and swallowed back your spit, butterflies having taken flight in your belly. Still, you would not allow him to leave without saying farewell; there was always the real possibility he would never return to you, or you to him.

“Officer,” he started, one of his brothers watching from aloft. Your gaze darted upward, and he drifted inside the cover of his ship; you were thankful Rex understood you wanted this time alone.

“Don’t leave without saying goodbye,” you pleaded, unable to stop the tears that were beginning to well in your eyes. That stoic face softened, brows knitting in concern. Echo reached out to you with his scomp, then hastily lowered his arm.

“I’m…” The clone trailed off, unsure of what to say, or how it might be received. You smiled at him, finally daring to take up the one hand left to him.

Carefully, deliberately, you removed his glove. He watched you intently, deep brown eyes rising to meet your face. It felt as if time stood still, the thrum and hum of the rebel encampment behind you all but dying on the breeze; it was welcomed wholeheartedly as it cooled and refreshed your balmy skin.

Gently, you lifted his wrist, setting his hand against the curve of your cheek. This allowed Echo to feel your sorrow as it trickled from you in discrete drops, your lips brushing the inside of his palm as you whispered your one and only wish: “Be careful.”

Echo drew you in, fingers curling behind your ear as his thumb swiped away your tears. His lips met yours, kissing you fervently, and as if his life depended on it.

Words no longer felt necessary, his sentiments expressed through the impassioned swirl of his tongue. You loosed a whimper, Echo pulling back to study the intricacies of your face, those things that made you, you.

“I will,” he affirmed, temporarily placating you. He took up the glove offered shyly back to him, stowing it away, then turned on his heel to board the ramp, one final glance cast in your direction.

This alone would keep you hooked, desiring nothing more than for this blasted war to end, a life spent by his side something that may have already crossed your mind.

[whencyclopedia]

George I of Great Britain

George I of Great Britain (r. 1714-1727) succeeded the last of the Stuart monarchs, Queen Anne of Great Britain (r. 1702-1714) because he was Anne's nearest Protestant relative. The House of Hanover secured its position as the new ruling family by defeating several Jacobite rebellions which supported the old Stuart line.

King George may have struggled with both English and the English, often preferring his attachments in Germany, but his reign was a relatively stable one. His greatest legacy was as a patron of the arts, in particular, his support of musicians like Handel and such lasting cultural institutions as the Royal Academy of Music. He was succeeded by his son George II of Great Britain (r. 1727-1760).

Succession: The House of Hanover

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the end of the reign of the male Stuarts and placed William, Prince of Orange on the throne as William III of England (r. 1689-1702) with his wife, the daughter of the exiled James II of England (r. 1685-1688), made Mary II of England (r. 1689-1694). Mary's sister became the ruling monarch in 1702 as Anne, Queen of Great Britain. When Anne died, so ended the Stuart royal line, which had begun with Robert II of Scotland (r. 1371-1390).

Queen Anne outlived her husband Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708) by six years; she died at the age of 49 on 1 August 1714 at Kensington Palace after suffering two strokes. Queen Anne had had many children, but all died in infancy. The greatest hope for an heir had been William, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1689), but he died in 1700, aged 12. Anne's official heirs, the Hanoverian family, were selected as such in the 1701 Act of Settlement.

The Hanovers were connected to the British royal line as descendants of Elizabeth Stuart (d. 1662), daughter of James I of England (r. 1603-1625) and brief Queen of Bohemia through her husband Frederick V of the Palatinate. The chosen successor – although she was not permitted by Anne to even visit England – was Elizabeth Stuart's daughter Sophia (l. 1630-1714), wife of the Duke of Brunswick and Elector of Hanover (a small principality in Germany the size of Yorkshire). Sophie of Hanover was Queen Anne's nearest relation of the Protestant faith, a vital consideration given that Parliament had already passed a law forbidding a Catholic to take the throne. For this reason, more than 50 other claimants to the throne had been deemed unsuitable. When Sophia died in 1714, her son, George Ludwig, took over the role of heir apparent to the British throne.

Continue reading...

[fis-paprikas]

it's so hard to put my finger on why the ahsoka vs andor discourse sounds so juvenile. But i think the folks saying "not everything can be serious and political, we like lightsabers and fun battles too!!!!" completely fail to realise that's not what the andor fans are taking issue with......

Like we want light-hearted easygoing star wars with jedi and spaceships. the issue isn't tone or content, it's EXECUTION. what's not clicking. andor wasn't good because it was a serious, more realistic portrayal of the rebellion's infancy, it was good because the people making it were skilled and passionate about their work. People don't like it just because it was different to what we had before (although it was refreshing), people like it because it had a tight script, consistent tone, interesting themes and ideas and a wildly talented cast. and everything I've seen from ahsoka looks like nothing more than a hollow cash grab like every other thing disney has made in recent times. It's okay to demand quality from your silly escapist shows i promise

[lamemaster]

Gods Who Kneel

Request: @asianbutnotjapanese- Can you spin the wheel for my baby Fingon please 🥺

Pairing: Fingon x Reader

Genre: Mythology au

AN: Thanks for requesting 🥹I love this au so much.

(What in the Hell is Happening Event)

What makes a fallen God? What strips the divine of divinity? 

For you, it had been the love of a mortal. A harp-bearer whose melodies wove through the temple like moonlight, each note a caress that resonated deep within your divine core. You found yourself drawn to the music, your heart a traitor whispering along with the mournful strains.

Sacrilegious!" the other deities boomed, their voices echoing through the celestial halls. Shame burned at your core, yet a defiant spark ignited within you. How could they understand the yearning that Fingon's devotion had awakened, a longing you barely recognized in yourself?"

While others spouted hate in the title of “Spawn of the Devil.”

Your love for Fingon had made you into a broken God. Yet, never in your life had you ever been this fulfilled. A simple hymn that deserved your blessing instead took your heart. He had played with such bare conviction that even the eons of your existence or the love of your parents could not have held you in the heavens away from him.

He had been yours since infancy, his mind, his heart, forever imprinted with your image. From his first wobbly steps to the man he was now, Fingon had always been your devoted priest, your loyal servant. And now, his love resonated with a desperate yearning you couldn't ignore.

And so, in your love you knelt in front of him. In your form with the light of godhood. An act that led to your banishment from your enraged father. But you were only so much pleased to follow the order.

To join your beloved on the plane of mortals. 

A traitorous smile played on your lips despite the churning in your gut. You were a god, yet banished. Yet, the prospect of a life with Fingon outweighed the celestial throne.

Driven by your love, you knelt before him, your divine form ablaze with the fading embers of godhood. It was a crown slipping, the celestial energy draining from you with each passing moment. You reached for Fingon, the warmth of his hand a stark contrast to your own, which flickered in and out of existence like a dying flame

He hesitated for a heartbeat, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror. Then, with a gentle murmur of your name, he wrapped his arms around your shimmering form. His voice, a mere whisper that spoke volumes, echoed in the silence, "You…came." His words held the weight of the impossible, the knowledge that you might have exposed his mortal mind to a world he wasn't meant to see.

"It was a choice," your voice raspy from the toll of transformation. "I chose you. No eternity is worth anything without you." You cupped his face, brushing aside the braided golden ribbons that had always captivated you.

Fate was set in stone. You were his. Just his. Not a God to be shared with anyone.

Fate's decree echoed in the silence. You were his, a celestial being tethered to a mortal man. A tremor ran through Fingon's hand as he grasped yours, the weight of your sacrifice settling on him like a mantle of stars. Could a human heart truly hold the love of a fallen god?

Would he, the man who had dedicated his life to the divine, dare to reach for the hand of a fallen god, knowing the consequences could shake the very foundations of his faith?

That perhaps was your true punishment. To watch a shadow of uncertainty creep into Fingon's eyes as he held your fading form close. A love story born of rebellion, but with an ending yet unwritten, a dance with fate that could either blossom or crumble in the face of an uncertain future.

Fate worse than any banishment or woe.

[scotianostra]

On 21st May 1424 James I was crowned King of Scots at Scone.

James I of Scotland was a complex and colourful king. He was a poet, a sportsman, a musician and a patron of architects.

James survived being kidnapped by pirates when he was just 12 years old - and the following 18 years he spent as a hostage to the Lancastrian kings of England.

In 1424, he made a triumphant return to Scotland and was crowned at Scone, but 13 years later he was brutally stabbed to death, his body dumped in the sewer below the Blackfriars monastery in Perth.

James Stewart was born in 1394, the third son of King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. By the time he was eight years old, he was their only surviving son. His brother Robert died in infancy and his other brother David, the Duke of Rothesay, died in suspicious circumstances at Falkland Castle while he was being detained by his uncle Robert, the Duke of Albany.

After David’s death, James was the heir to the Scottish throne, but he was also an impediment to the royal line being transferred to the Albany Stewarts. Fears grew for his safety and plans were made to send him to France.

In March 1406, he boarded a boat bound for France, but just days into the voyage, the vessel was intercepted in the English Channel by pirates who delivered him to Henry IV of England.

On 4th April 1406, Robert III died and the 12-year-old James was now the uncrowned King of Scots. But he was imprisoned in England and his uncle, the Duke of Albany, became regent in Scotland a position he had no intention of giving up.

James may have been a prisoner, but he was allowed to keep a small household and was treated well by Henry IV. This lasted until 1413 when Henry IV died, his son Henry V became king, and James was transferred to the Tower of London with other Scottish prisoners.

It took another seven years before James’ standing improved enough for him to be regarded more of a guest than a hostage - but it took a third change of monarch in England before James was finally allowed back to Scotland. Henry V died in 1422, and the regency council for the infant Henry VI were eager to organise his release as soon as possible.

Despite opposition from the Albany Stewarts, it was arranged for 1424 when he arrived triumphantly in Edinburgh on Palm Sunday, accompanied by his newly-wed English wife, Joan Beaufort.

Prominent members of the Albany Stewarts were found guilty of rebellion and executed, but a conspiracy against the King began to grow and he reigned for just 13 years before his death.

On 4th February 1437, the King and Queen were in their royal apartments at the Blackfriars monastery in Perth, when a group of about 30 people was let in by one of the conspirators against him. James was alerted and had enough time to hide in a sewer tunnel, but his exit was blocked and he was trapped and killed. He died in a pool of his own blood, stabbed dozens of times.

The assassin, Sir Robert Graham, is said to have screamed after his death: “I have thus slayne and delivered yow of so crewel a tyrant, the grettest enemye that Scottes or Scotland might have.”

James I was buried within the grounds of Perth Charterhouse, but the priory was destroyed in the reformation, now no-one is exactly sure where his grave is.

The last pic is a reconstruction of how the site at Scone may have looked.

[b-radley66]

Author’s Note: Those of you who read the @sl-walker Blackbirds series (if you don’t you should be) may start to recognize a character at the end of this chapter. He is borrowed with permission, with gratitude, and with love for this reality. Spoiler Alert—things look slightly grim, but fear not. You can find her works here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SLWalker/works

Chapters: 9/20 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ahsoka Tano/Original Character(s), Rae Sloane/Original Character(s), Qi’ra/Original Character (s), Original Character(s)/Original Character(s) Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Rae Sloane, Qi’ra, Morgan Elsbeth, Simon Greyshade, Shyla Merricope, Shaak Ti, Plo Koon (cameo), Mace Windu (Cameo), Yoda (cameo), Jame Blackthorn | Bryne Covenant | Taliesin Croft |Tempest (Original Character), Dani Faygan |Ishta (Original Character), Nola Vorserrie |Seoladen (Original Character), Meglann Florlin |Ina|Hammer (Original Character), Phygus Baldrick | Touchstone (Original Character), Null-13 | Drop | Tarre Tredecima |Balor (Original Character), Talle Tredecima | Orla (Original Character), Alyysina Faygan’ii na’ Torstan’ii |Serquet |Sina, Ano Lessi (Original Character), Delilah Sal |ISB-010 | The Untrusted Other (Original Character), Edan Kozume (Original Character), Sulen Gallamby (Original Character), Nathanaan Beten’ii (Original Character) Additional Tags: Hutt Cartels (Star Wars), Crimson Dawn, Nar Kanji, freedom fighting in the truest sense, Slavery, daring greatly, rebellion’s infancy, Love, love of the light, fighting slavery, Espionage, mild swindling in the service of the light, Family, Dysfunctional Family, Found Family, Polyamory, Corellian Family Values, Blackbirds AU (sorta) Series: Part 46 of Rise and Fight Again Summary:

World in Thrall! Ahsoka Tano, Bryne Covenant, and the other Links move to depose the new ruler of Nar Kanji, a Hutt apparently named Geddak, who is kin to an ally of Shyla Merricope’s, Geddan, who was executed for embezzlement on the orders of Ming Lardai. They intend to ally themselves with Kanjiklub, a criminal organization dedicated to freeing the slaves of Nar Kanji, while suborning Imperial officers such as Rae Sloane, and another criminal organization’s representative—Crimson Dawn’s Qi’ra. Along the way the deceptions they give rise to will imperil them all.

Just another day for them.

[kikiiswashere]

Children of Zaun Sneak Peek - Chapter 25

Vander gets protective. Just like a loyal dog would.

In the days following, it really seemed like the whole thing would blow over. That this mild wrinkle within the Children’s ranks had already been ironed out. Until a small group of three older teen boys approached Vander in the early hours of The Last Drop being open.

Their timing was purposeful; only a small handful of beleaguered and elderly Zaunites were peppered around the tavern. Men and women who didn’t want to be talked with or entertained. They only wanted the momentary peace a rocks glass or tankard could offer before they had to get home, go to bed, and live another day. It was a time during working hours Vander was more available. It was a time there were fewer witnesses.

“We need to talk,” one had said. His upper lip quivered as he took in the man-mountain before him.

Vander’s eyes narrowed, and he peered over the group. His customers appeared at ease, so he jerked his head, instructing the young men to follow him. His instincts fizzed as they trailed behind. The hair on the back of his neck pricked up, his muscles coiled and braced.

Vander slid into one side of a shadowed booth. The others toddled in awkwardly with all the grace of new whumplings fighting for space in the nest, shoulders bumping and legs twisting together.

“What’dya need?” he asked once they were settled across from him.

His eyes cut from one face to the next. He recognized them as part of the gaggle that had orbited around Kells, but knew none by name.

“You heard about what happened in the mines a couple days ago,” the one on the right said. He was wiry with curly brown hair and pale skin. Dark green eyes blinked up at Vander under thick lashes.

Had his instincts not been priming his mind and body for some kind of fight, Vander would’ve thought him pretty.

“Aye. I have.”

“Well, what’re you gonna do about it?” The middle one asked.

Vander’s nostrils lifted. This one had limp dark blond hair, a pug nose, and too-round cheeks that were splotched angry-red.

“I wasn’ aware there was something to be done about it.”

“Silco killed Kells!” the one on the left hissed, his dark brown skin radiating vengeful heat. Black-brown eyes blistered beneath his thick, ebony hair.

Vander’s eyes flashed quick-silver. “He didn’.”

“He was going to if the medic he’s been eyeballin’ hadn’t’ve jumped in!” the middle one said, pig-nose flaring. “They probably planned it together.”

Vander shot up from his seat, knuckles hitting the table with a crack! as he braced his arms and loomed menacingly. The three young men collectively jumped, and hunkered back into the booth. The vinyl at their backs crackled as if in warning. Gone were their indignant expressions, replaced by utter shock and fear as they beheld the behemoth lording over them. Vander’s body and wrath blocked out the little light that reached into the booth’s alcove.

“Listen up,” he hissed, his voice all growl and warning grit. He bared his teeth at them and loomed closer. They shrank further. “Kells died ‘cause he made a stupid, evil decision” – it wasn’t his place to speak about Katya’s assault, so he kept it firmly tucked down his throat – “n’ he got what he deserved, frankly speakin’.” He leaned closer, broad shoulders hunching up threateningly like a crest, “This conversation is over. ‘N if I catch a whiff of any of ya tryin’ to rustle up more problems, you’ll be the first bodies I test my gauntlets on. Savvy?”

After a beat, all three reluctantly nodded and crawled out of the booth, scampering for the door.

Vander stalked back behind the bar rubbing his temples, mind spinning like a top.

It was one thing to fight with Topside. It was another for it to happen amongst the Children. This burgeoning rebellion wouldn’t withstand in-fighting. Zaun would bleed out, wouldn’t make it past its infancy, and be buried by Piltover again. The Children of Zaun needed to stick together, Brothers and Sisters arm-in-arm; an impenetrable wall of scrap metal, zeal, and will.

Then the threat he’d delivered to those three yellow-bellied malcontents . . .

“‘N if I catch a whiff of any of ya . . . .”

A wince creased Vander’s face. He didn’t suppose threatening Brothers and Sisters did anything for morale or loyalty. There was the chance that he had just made things worse. He shouldn’t have done that. He needed to keep his temper in check.

That was difficult when his Brother was concerned. Vander was protective of Silco, loyal to him – perhaps even more so than he was to Zaun. Although, Vander felt they were often one in the same. Yes, they had dreamed up the idea together, small and squatted behind minecarts, but Silco latched onto the idea like it was air. Cleaner and purer than anything in Piltover. He had always led the charge from there on out. And Vander would be at his side.

“Yer as loyal as a dog to ‘im, Van,” Benzo had said one night, long before the Children of Zaun.

He had said it with a certain amount of distaste that had Vander’s brow curling questioningly.

“He’s my best mate. ‘Course I am.”

Vander’s heart and shoulders softened at the memory. But immediately tensed again when he recalled what the blond teen had said.

“He was going to if the medic he’s eyeballin’ hadn’t’ve jumped in!”

Vander’s hand dropped heavy onto the bar top, gathering empty glasses and crumpled napkins. The comment had been innocuous, and utterly meaningless. The shithead had only meant to implicate Katya. But that little throw-away barb had slid under Vander’s ribs as if expertly laced.

“Oi! Vander!”

A customer in need of a refill pulled the barkeep from his spinning thoughts. Landed him right back into the moment like someone dropping a melon off Old Hungry. Grateful for the distraction, Vander went back to work.

[historicalsagsimmer]

Just a Recap of What you Missed •STORY POST•

THE BEGINNING •

This is one of our Founders Bellaflor Calliot . She has just had her first child Meredith Calliot . The year is about 1301 and life for Bella and her husband Louis Jon has taken a great turn. They had just moved away from family in the bay in search of a new life in Henford - On Bagley. Although they are alone they are in love and know that eachother is all they need. Time skip>>>>

The year is 1303 now and Bella has noticed that everytime she’s tending the garden or taken out the trash she feels tired/ nauseous. A month later a little bump started to show through and soon Bella and Louis Jon were having a baby girl who they would eventually call Ella. Time skip>>>>

The year is now 1305 and life seems good for Bella and Louis Jon they are now actively trying for a baby boy who will be the heir to throne of carrying through the next gen of Calliots!!! What a special duty to take on. But things for the Calliots became not so pleasant when their little girl Meredith became very sickly very fast. Time skip>>>>>

LATE 1305 Bella is indeed pregnant but because it is the 1300s Bella doesn’t have the luxury of knowing what this baby will be but her and her husband are almost sure this will be their boy. After months of fighting with a deadly disease Little baby Meredith died from her sickness at age 4 . A little moment of silence for baby Meredith RIP you will be missed. 2 hours after discovering Meredith was unresponsive Bella went into labor from shock of her baby girl’s death. A healthy baby boy was born into the following hours of the next morning . They named him Phillip and he will be the heir to the next gen !! Time skip>>>>

The year is now 1312 and Ella and Phillip are big and healthy they made it trough infancy and toddlerhood. They are now children (Ella 10) and (Phillip 8) . They have a great relationship with their mother and father and although Ella was very young when Meredith passed away she still has little memories of her big sister. Although so much time has passed (8years since Meredith’s passing) Bella finds no comfort . Every day she see’s her other children it is bitter sweet because she feels as though she’s missing a child . Forever frozen in time Louis Jon and his wife try not to ever forget their first child. Every year on her birthday they cook her favorite meal attend a church ceremony in honor of baby Meredith. Bella feels as though she will never come from under this heart ache. Time Skip>>>>>

LATE 1312 a messenger came with a message for all the men of age in Henford On-Bagley stating that the rebellions are planning on attacking soon. With this being said there would be a war and the town would need all men of age to fight and defend alongside the current ruler King Patel. If they win the war all surviving men will be given the title Noble and so will their family members. Making them eligible to marry other royals and have a better life with a check every week. If the soldier does not make it back their family will still be granted the Noble title giving their wife the chance to re-marry and have a better life with a higher ranking sim. Bella was upset, anxious and devastated. War could mean she could loose the love of her life, the father of all her children. She couldn’t bare thinking about re-marrying what would the kids think? They were still so young they loved their father. So Bella cooked the children’s favorite dinner. Over dinner Louis and Bella explained what would be happening to the children.

NEXT MORNING.. It was 5am and time for Louis to go to off to war. He was both honored and terrified at the same time. I mean he loved the idea of fighting for his village and what he believed in but leaving his family behind and possibly not returning was too much to bare. His beloved Bellaflor what would she do alone with two young children. The night before Louis was too anxious to sleep so he painted a picture of how Bella looked the day they met in case he didn’t return. He needed her to always remember how much he loved her. Time skip>>>>

1 week after Louis departure to war Bella notices that she doesn’t feel well. Ella wanted to help her mother more since she was the oldest. Both children were equally devastated about their father being away and sometimes they heard their mom crying at night. They couldn’t tell rather it was from their father’s absence or the death of their big sister which happened when they were both too young to understand. Which ever it was they hoped for better days. Time skip>>>>>>

Tis was now early 1313 and Bella has found out some exciting news she’s expecting baby #4 !! This news was very bitter sweet. She was expecting but the man she loved and helped create this seed she was carrying was not able to enjoy this exciting news with her. Bella hopes for a girl who will resemble Meredith she knows there was no bringing her back but this pregnancy made her long for her husband and her baby girl who she felt like she lost in the moment. Time skip>>>>

MID 1313 : Bella gave birth to a brown haired baby girl who she’d decided to name Luanne after her husband Mr. Louis Calliot. She had missed Louis so much and she could not wait for this war to be over. She and Ella headed over to the village to get produce and news on the rebellions and war. She overheard a lady saying that the rebellions were losing the war and that eventually they’d have to surrender. This was great news to Bella’s ears maybe Louis would be returning soon.

[theharellan]

Past/Birth, Present/Life, Future/Death.

DA4 spoilers

Note: go to source to copy/paste because I deleted some questions for the sake of not repeating myself.

Past/Birth:

- Does your muse know their name day? Which one? Solas remembers being born on a cold day, the bare branch of a tree cast a shadow that would become his chain. - What's their sign? (Which month were they born in?) Haring, aka December. His sign would be Capricorn. - What is your muse's background? Spirit taken flesh, he was Wisdom first, his body moulded from the blood and bones of Titans. - Where are they from? The Fade. Dreams. They didn't have names when he was willed into being, his nature growing around the burgeoning wisdom of the dwarven people. - Is your muse born with any distinguishing characteristics (heterochromia etc) or disabilities? None. - Do they discover anything strange about themselves in childhood? Everything felt strange, even the most normal aspects of a physical body took time for him to adjust to. He thinks infancy must be a blessing, to learn how to live while the mind is still in a state of ignorance of its own existence.

Present/Life:

- How long has your muse been alive? Do they know? He does not know, and neither do I! I put him as existing pre-history, before time was measured, but it's been millions of years. - What is your muse doing? Presently? Attempting to tear down the Veil and restore the nature of the world, ease the passing of spirits, and amend his mistakes. - Does your muse have a "day job"? Something to go back to when their "cause" is over? No! And there is a reason he refers to it as a din'anshiral. Why he believes he must pay the price. He has existed in struggle so long he cannot imagine what will exist for him if it ever ends. - Who are your muse's closest friends? Iander (they are lovers, too, but friends first, and the difference is not always so stark in Solas's mind), Thora, Wisdom, Cole, Felassan, Miraen, Mythal. - What are your muse's favorite hobbies? Painting, dreaming/research, playing music. - Does your muse have a place that they live? Multiple places? I would say multiple places. Until shortly before the ritual preparation, the Lighthouse was his home, as it was centuries ago. His home has typically been people rather than places, and even those have changed over the years.

Future/Death:

- How long after their "home game" or media will your muse live? FOREVER. If there is one thing DA:TV's ending and I are in agreement with, it is that Solas is outlasting the heat death of the universe. - What are your muse's goals for the future? If you asked him what he will do when the Veil is gone he will short circuit. In conversation with Ian, he might have hopes, but no goals. - Does your muse have plans for building a family if they don't already have one? None. - What does your muse want done with their body when they die? If he dies, he would want it buried beside Ian's, preferable in the same grave. - What kind of funeral rites does your muse believe in? I headcanon the tree burial tradition came from the rebellion, who hoped the roots would hold their bones while the branches lifted their spirit back to the Fade. I wouldn't say he believes in it (most likely his spirit would fracture as Mythal's regardless of where his body lies) but he likes the thought and would like to be buried as the people he was most proud to fight alongside were. - How does your muse want people to remember them? As Solas. To be remembered only as Fen'Harel without any inkling of the person he was is in large part why the Dalish frustrate him in DA:I. Akin to the Inquisitor waking up and finding out their own identity was smoothed away into something more palatable. - Does your muse suffer any long-term illnesses, disabilities, or injuries from the events of their story? How do they cope with those changes in their life? I'm still debating exactly how he will end his story, and if he will possess the same powers as he does at the beginning of DA:TV. The vision in his right eye will take years to fully heal, to say the least, and that would frustrate him given how visual he and his hobbies are.

[kylanfedje]

Disney Star Wars Retrospective - Episode IV: The Disney+ Awakens

“Where do I begin?” is a common question for anyone interested in a new franchise to ask. For most fandoms, it has an easy enough answer, as it’s often the first in the series. But other times, you can jump into a franchise more or less anywhere. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you first gained your appetite for a property, but rather how much of yourself you’re willing to give to it.

I got into Star Wars largely thanks to The Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network, right about the time when season two premiered. I still remember watching the episode “Landing at Point Rain” over and over and over in the wait between new episodes. I just couldn’t get enough of it. The Jedi and the Sith, the Republic and the Separatists, clone troopers and battle droids, lightsabers and blasters…I was hooked.

But when that wasn’t enough, I had the saga films to turn to. At some point, my family purchased a box set of the Original Trilogy on DVD, so those were easily accessible. As for the Prequels, I had either had to DVR them when they aired on TNT or beg my parents to take me to Family Video so we could rent them. Eventually, though, I was able to get caught up on the franchise, and my fate was sealed. I’d fallen in love with Star Wars.

That said, the initial passion I felt towards the franchise began to fade over the next several years. I wasn’t nearly as invested in The Clone Wars by the time its fifth season began airing in 2012, only catching a few episodes here and there. This can be explained by a number of things, but it ultimately came as the result of growing up. As I grew from a shy third grader into an awkward middle schooler, my interests were invariably drawn elsewhere, and Star Wars couldn’t satisfy me any more than it already had. The franchise hadn’t changed. I had. But I never truly forgot where I came from. The movies, especially the Original Trilogy, always held a special place in my hart, and the DVDs remained regular staples for school breaks and family road trips alike.

Perhaps my waning interest was aided by a relative dearth of new content being released at this time. The Clone Wars was essentially the only major piece of Star Wars on the market, with new seasons beginning in September or October and running until March or April of the next year. That left plenty of time between episodes and seasons to get distracted by other things. Video games, blockbuster superhero movies, and after-school activities all competed for my attention, and my interest in Star Wars steadily dwindled as those won out.

But it would soon return. For young Kylan, the Disney buyout represented a new hope for the franchise. The Clone Wars was good, yes; but after five seasons at around twenty-two episodes a piece, the taste of it had grown a bit stale and I was ready for something new—something fresh. It was a bit disappointing when The Clone Wars was cancelled prematurely, but it was an easier pill to swallow when coupled with the anticipation for an all-new series on an all-new network.

I’ve already written at length about Rebels in the first part of this series, but I didn’t mention how closely I followed the series in its infancy. I remember reading all the theories about who “Fulcrum” really was and how some had decoded the modulation on the character’s voice to discover that it sounded an awful lot like Ashley Eckstein, somewhat spoiling the eventual reveal of Ahsoka Tano as a secret agent in the Rebellion. I also remember the excitement when Captain Rex and Commander Wolffe and Captain Gregor made their triumphant return early in season two, and when Hondo Onaka and Darth Maul likewise returned in one way or another.

More than that, there were new movies to get excited for as well, with a trilogy of sequel films on the horizon and a whole host of spin-offs that would keep the adventure going ad infinitum. I still remember tuning into Monday Night Football to watch the trailer for The Force Awakens live as it aired, despite not caring about the game being played in the slightest. And when the movie finally came out, the buzz of sitting in the theater on a cold December morning to watch the film in glorious 70mm IMAX was like nothing I’d experienced before. I did fall off Rebels eventually, but I still went and saw each new film on their opening weekend. I may not have been as committed a Star Wars fan as I once was, but I was still heavily invested in the property as the decade—and the franchise’s cinematic period—came to an end.

The end of 2019 was an interesting time in Star Wars history. That the finale for the first season of The Mandalorian would air within the same week that The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters was surely a deliberate act of “brand synergy” in that the buzz generated by one would beget interest in the other. But in hindsight, it also made for a near perfect baton pass between the franchise’s cinematic and television periods in the Disney era, as there has not been a theatrical Star Wars project released since then. Instead, the franchise has found a new home on Disney’s proprietary streaming service: Disney+.

I’m not sure anyone could have predicted The Mandalorian being the runaway success that it was. A weekly series set in the Star Wars universe and inspired by old cowboy serials and samurai films would appeal to certain subsections of Star Wars and film history nerds. But would the general public want to watch it too? As it turns out, yes. It didn’t hurt that there was an absolutely adorable “Baby Yoda” creature as the eponymous bounty hunter’s ward and sidekick as he hopped from planet to planet, aiding the locals as he sought to find a proper home for his adopted son. But the marketability of Baby Yoda is only part of the show’s success story. You also have to understand how its weekly release schedule helped make it the phenomenon that it was.

Prior to The Mandalorian, few—if any—streaming-exclusive shows aired weekly. Instead, binge-watching was the name of the game. Entire seasons would drop at once, and viewers would often burn through the episodes in the better part of a weekend, in contrast to the usual once-a-week format of scripted television common to network or cable shows. This model cuts two ways. On the one hand, it satiated audience’s lust for instant gratification. On the other, it didn’t allow for much hype or anticipation to build throughout a show’s run. Under this format, shows would often burst onto the scene suddenly and then slowly fizzle out as the audience got their fill and moved on to the next big thing.

This affected the companies producing and distributing the shows as well. Netflix was the top-dog in the streaming market when Disney+ came onto the scene, and it had succeeded largely thanks to multiple well-received original series like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and Stranger Things. Because streaming works on a subscription basis, it would be relatively trivial for someone to either use a free trial to watch that new show everyone’s talking about or buy a month of a given service and then cancel once their done with it. As such, producing consistently quality content was essential for retaining subscribers and motivated companies like Netflix to be always on the lookout for the next big thing, the next original show that would get people talking and investing their time—and money—in their service.

As Netflix’s share price grew and grew, Disney wanted in on that action. But it wouldn’t be enough to simply buy up a Netflix competitor (though they eventually would get Hulu in the 20th Century Fox merger). No, they’d build their own from the ground up—a service dedicated exclusively to hosting the company’s massive catalogue of classic films and television series.

But Disney+ wouldn’t just be home to the nostalgic media of your childhood. It would also feature “original” content—original in the sense that they were made specifically for the service—in the form of spin-offs of your favorite Disney properties. But, to differentiate itself from the competition, new episodes of these series would air weekly, rather than entire seasons dropping all at once like they did elsewhere.

While this may have frustrated viewers who’d grown accustomed to the instant-gratification model Netflix had pioneered, it ultimately benefitted both the show and the company behind it. It should be said that The Mandalorian had an excellent pilot episode that perfectly establishing who our titular hero is and what he’s about, while also ending with the show-stopping reveal of “Baby Yoda” and Mando’s relationship to the character as the show’s emotional thrust. You didn’t have to be a Star Wars fan to be hooked. And, because you had to wait a whole week for the story to continue, it allowed fans to talk to others about how great it was. And people listened. Word of mouth quickly spread, and viewership steadily rose as more and more people wanted to see what all the fuss was about for themselves. They would sign up for Disney+ to watch the show, maybe at first taking advantage of a one-week or one-month free trial, but with eight episodes airing over the course of nearly as many weeks, the show’s length eclipsed the trial window and would effectively force people to pay for at least a month’s subscription if they wanted to see how it ended. Savvier viewers may have tried to wait for the entire season to finish releasing before getting the free trial, then marathon the show in a matter of hours, but social pressures would encourage them to jump in sooner rather than later. You didn’t want to be the only one left out of the conversation when everyone else in the break room was chatting about Mando’s latest adventure with Baby Yoda, so you’d bite the bullet and buy in.

In the end, the weekly release model introduced to streaming by The Mandalorian and Disney+ helped create a solid base of subscribers for the platform, as well as generate a steady and reliable viewership for streaming Star Wars television. Combine that with the one-two punch of Solo flopping and The Rise of Skywalker closing out the saga films, it was all too easy for Disney to see their shiny new streaming service as the future home for the franchise. Better yet, you wouldn’t have to share any of the revenue generated from these ventures with those pesky theater chains, always demanding a cut of the profits from any film of yours they exhibited. With Disney+, they owned both the means of production and distribution—a capitalist’s wet dream.

As a result of all this, the Star Wars films in development at the time—namely the long-rumored but as yet unconfirmed Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett spin-offs—quickly switched gears into being television shows. The latter became The Book of Boba Fett (2021), a spin-off of The Mandalorian following the character’s reintroduction in the show’s second season. The former, meanwhile, would ultimately come in the form of a six-episode limited series released in May and June of 2022. These shows, however, received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike upon their release, with many lamenting their slow pacing and poor story construction. Much of these problems boiled down to the fact that their stories were initially developed as two-hour long feature films that had been stretched to fill five-to-six hours of television, meaning their runtimes were padded with superfluous fluff that might otherwise have been left on the cutting room floor.

That said, there were still bright spots amid these lesser entries to the canon. Season two of The Mandalorian was generally well received, particularly among diehard fans, as it not only saw the return of Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), but also featured the live-action debuts of both Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). And to top it all off, the season ended with a young Luke Skywalker rescuing our band of heroes from an impending attack and taking the young Grogu (Baby Yoda) to train as a Jedi.

That was at the end of 2020. The Book of Boba Fett followed roughly a year later, beginning at the tail end of 2021 and wrapping up in February 2022. Obi-Wan Kenobi came out only a few months after in May 2022. Then, August would see the release of Andor, a spin-off of Rogue One that tells the story of how Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) joined the nascent Rebellion against the Empire. The Mandalorian then returned again for its third season in March 2023, which was then followed in August of that same year by Ahsoka, a live-action continuation of Rebels where Ahsoka Tano teams up with Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla to find Ezra Bridger after he disappeared into hyperspace with the Grand Admiral Thrawn at the show’s conclusion.

That’s a lot to unpack, but here we go. The first few years of the Disney+ era was more or less a continuation of the annual winter release cycle of the preceding cinematic era, with the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett beginning in November or December. But starting with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the pace of new releases nearly doubled, with two new seasons of television dropping in 2022 and 2023 respectively. The motive for this is relatively simple: subscriber retention. With a year transpiring between the release of new seasons, it wouldn’t be too much work for fans to cancel their subscriptions during the months when The Mandalorian wasn’t actively releasing, then re-up before the next season’s premiere. So, to keep fans from leaving, Disney likely encouraged Lucasfilm to produce more content for the service and thus give Star Wars fans more incentive to hold onto those subscriptions between seasons.

The effects, meanwhile, are a bit more complicated. On the whole, it’s somewhat evident that this more aggressive release model directly contributed to the overall dip in quality across the shows produced since it was implemented. Particularly in the technical aspects, shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka appear much cheaper than the first and even second seasons of The Mandalorian, which both debuted prior to this accelerated timeline becoming the norm. Even The Book of Boba Fett and season three of The Mandalorian were not exempt from this trend, as they too were widely criticized for bearing many of the same flaws as their contemporaries. However, standing above all of this is Andor, which miraculously avoided falling victim to this trend. This has as much to do with the show’s production history relative to its counterparts than anything else.

The show was first revealed to be in development in 2018, meaning it had at least four years to gestate before coming to fruition. Moreover, it was planned from the beginning as a series, unlike The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, allowing its writing team to properly construct their plots and character arcs for the medium of television, rather than the forced reworking that the other two had to overcome. The Book of Boba Fett’s apparent production timeline is particularly revealing, with the show evidently not being fully greenlit until sometime in 2020 and ultimately releasing by the end of the following year, giving it—at best—two years for pre-production, principal photography, and editing before reaching audiences.

Ahsoka, meanwhile, falls a tad closer to Andor in terms of its assumed production schedule. Having been announced alongside The Book of Boba Fett, we can infer it began development around roughly the same time. But since it would not come out until August 2023, it had a bit more time to come together before the cameras started rolling. That said, it still seemed to be plagued by many of the same issues in quality as its counterparts, suffering from lackluster production design, visual effects, and cinematography, to name a few.

Part of the reason for this might be that the creative resources—the VFX artists, prop builders, set designers, costume designers, etc.—were split between multiple projects and thus couldn’t give any one show the proper time or attention necessary to make them look the best they could. And even for the people in the “above-the-line” roles—the directors, cinematographers, editors—the faster release schedule left little room for delays in production and might therefore have encouraged them to shoot things more economically than they would if they’d had more time. Aiding this was the development of “the Volume” a form of digital matte painting/rear projection where environments could be simulated in real time and captured in-camera alongside the actors’ performances, as opposed to being added in post like with blue- or green-screen technology. But the Volume is just as much a crutch as it is a useful tool for artists in bringing their vision to life, and many of the shows released in this period reflect that. The Volume is often best utilized when: a) the effects team can fully detail the rendered background; b) the cinematographer can properly match the lighting on set to the backdrop; and c) there are sufficient props and set decorations to blend the tangible and digital staging as one seamless environment. But, as these productions show, they likely did not have enough time or money to ensure all of these pieces were in place, resulting in a set of projects that are generally lacking in creative verve, except (of course) for Andor, the exception that proves the rule.

But the adverse effects of this ceaseless barrage of content have not only been felt by the shows themselves. The fans have likewise suffered to an extent under the weight of so much Star Wars in so little time. For newcomers and established fans alike, the amount of time you need to spend either catching up or following along with the new material is staggering, especially when compared to how it was in the years between the buyout and the launch of Disney+ and The Mandalorian. Five Star Wars films were released between 2015 and 2019. Their combined runtime nears around 710 minutes, or 11 hours and 50 minutes, including credits—a long marathon, but nothing unreasonable. Then, from 2019 to 2023, five live-action Star Wars shows premiered on Disney+, one of which (The Mandalorian) received multiple seasons. Altogether, it would take you approximately 1 day, 19 hours, and 39 minutes to watch every single episode of each series without pausing.

So what does this all mean? It’s created an environment where it’s not only encouraged but practically imperative to dedicate more time than ever to watching new Star Wars content, lest you be left behind as the franchise plugs along. Before Disney+, that meant watching a new movie every now and then, and for the more diehard fans, tuning into The Clone Wars or Rebels depending on what year it is. However, these longer TV shows were generally ancillary to the core saga; you didn’t need to watch either of them to follow the live-action film releases (for the most part—see my analysis of Rogue One and Solo in part two of this series for more detail).

But without the core saga anchoring things, the executives as Lucasfilm have tried to turn The Mandalorian into the basis for the future of the franchise. And while some have enjoyed the direction this has gone, others (myself included) believe it’s ultimately to the show’s—and the franchise’s—detriment. The Mandalorian began as a relatively isolated story set against the backdrop of the wider conflicts happening in the galaxy as the New Republic seeks to assert its rule and eradicate whatever traces of the old Empire remain. It established the expectation that, while Republic and Imperial forces would intrude on Mando’s adventures every now and then, his journey would ultimately be about him finding his place in the galaxy while shielding Baby Yoda from harm. But as the second season drew on, it became increasingly clearer that our Mando was going to take a backseat, the story instead focusing more on the wider conflicts occurring in the galaxy and the legacy characters at the center of them.

It would be one thing if these characters appeared as simple one-off extended cameos that were motivated entirely by the demands of Mando’s journey. But they were not. Rather, they were there to set-up other shows and storylines at the expense of the one already happening. Arguably the most egregious of these was Ahsoka Tano’s appearance midway through season two. There were certainly many fans of The Mandalorian who’d never seen a minute of The Clone Wars or Rebels, and as such had little frame of reference for who Ahsoka was and what she was doing at this point in the Star Wars timeline. This wouldn’t necessarily matter if her presence was in the service of furthering Mando’s storyline, as whatever context uninitiated viewers would need could be handily delivered without too much exposition. But instead, her role is more of a backdoor pilot to her own spin-off series than anything else. The references to Thrawn and Ezra ultimately detract from the overall viewing experience as it left the uninitiated viewer lost and confused as to who Ahsoka was talking about and why she was after them. These people came here to see Mando and Grogu work together to make the galaxy a better place, not be assigned homework for another series that was only loosely related to this one.

Likewise, Boba Fett’s presence, while a more regular and natural fit to The Mandalorian’s overall story, ultimately served to set up a spin-off show of his own, one that was cobbled together from the incomplete standalone film after Solo flopped. But, as fate would have it, even The Book of Boba Fett would not be spared from the same curse that had befallen its antecedent. The show begins by focusing on Boba Fett and his exploits on Tatooine after his escape from the Sarlacc pit and taking over the remains of Jabba the Hutt’s crime syndicate, but by the end, becomes for all intents and purposes Season 2.5 of The Mandalorian. Not only do Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker return yet again, but Mando gets Grogu back from Luke’s training temple and also acquires a modified N-1 Starfighter to replace his destroyed Razor Crest. For nearly two whole episodes, the show’s title character was sidelined in favor of yet more “brand synergy.”

To some within Lucasfilm and Disney, this may have been seen as a stroke of genius, as it seamlessly connected the disparate storylines of the new Star Wars together into one, cohesive saga, while also filling the holes caused by extending a two-hour film into a seven-episode miniseries by using existing characters, props, and costumes to help save on production costs. However, it also caused an inordinate amount of confusion and even frustration among those who’d yearned for live-action media dedicated entirely to the iconic bounty hunter introduced in The Empire Strikes Back when the show became less and less about him as it went on. Likewise, fans of The Mandalorian who weren’t interested in a Boba Fett spin-off would find themselves in a similar boat as the third season of The Mandalorian would begin with Mando not only having found a new ship by also already being reunited with Grogu after separating in the season two finale. Such a critical status quo change occurring in a completely different show between two seasons of one show should be unthinkable. And yet, it happened. Even then, the rest of season three moves even further away from the simple “adventure-a-week” format of the first season, instead devoting more of its time towards Bo-Katan’s attempts to reclaim Mandalore and the efforts of the Imperial Remnants to rebuild in the face of New Republic persecution. Mando still factors into the plot, but it’s hard to say that the show is truly about him anymore, despite it bearing his name.

What this all points to is a phenomenon I like to call the “MCU-ificiation” of Star Wars. I already wrote about how the films of the early Disney era were patterned after the MCU and the problems that caused, but the Disney+ period has been even worse. While Disney and Lucasfilm may have expected audiences to sit for Rogue One and Solo between installments in the Sequel Trilogy, the spin-off films were ultimately inessential to the new iterations of the core saga and could therefore be skipped without missing much. The Mandalorian began similarly. While it existed within the broader Star Wars galaxy, its scope was far more limited than the grand epics of the saga films. But, in the absence of a stable film market—thanks to a combination of Solo flopping and the COVID-19 pandemic hobbling public interest in movie theaters—Disney+ became the main avenue for generating revenue from the Star Wars IP. But it was not enough to have these projects exist as largely standalone ventures. No, they would have to be inextricably linked to one another by copying the MCU’s method of stringing together multiple seemingly disconnected superhero movies into one overarching storyline. And after the runaway success of The Mandalorian’s first season Disney and Lucasfilm decided its second season would serve as a vehicle for launching multiple other projects, hence why Boba Fett and Ahsoka were included as set-up for their own spin-off shows. No longer was The Mandalorian a fun but ultimately inessential jaunt through the Star Wars universe, but rather a critical pillar of the franchise’s future.

The MCU made this formula work, for the most part. In the first phase, you only needed to have seen Iron Man to enjoy Iron Man 2, and films like Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger could be avoided if you weren’t interested in those particular heroes. Likewise, phase two did not require you to have seen Iron Man 3 to follow Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy. Furthermore, you also didn’t need to have seen every film in a given phase before watching The Avengers or Avengers: Age of Ultron, as those films only tangentially reference the events that occurred before them. But phase three changed this with Captain America: Civil War, which was essentially Avengers 2.5 with how many of Marvel’s superheroes factored into its story. However, this was not much of a problem at the time as the franchise had been running for long enough and built up enough goodwill with general audiences that it was assumed that they would turn out for whatever new MCU film released regardless of who’s name was in the title. And they did, making it one of the most lucrative film franchises of all time and turning its two-part finale of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame into two of the highest-grossing films of all time.

In the wake of this, Disney likely felt inspired to see what else in their pantheon of intellectual properties they might turn into a true Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars emerged early on as a key contender, with The Mandalorian serving as the beginning of this experiment. However, the transition would prove difficult, as neither the show nor the franchise around it was properly equipped for it in the way that Marvel comics were, causing certain complications when the new direction butted heads with the audience’s expectations. Historically speaking, the storytelling in Star Wars has largely been driven by epic sagas, not the myriad character-centric storylines coming together intermittently in climactic crossover events that define the MCU and the comic books their based on. When spin-offs have existed in Star Wars, they were largely as supplementary material meant to expand the lore for the dedicated fans who weren’t satisfied with the franchise’s main canon.

Moreover, Star Wars’ relevance in popular culture was largely built by its relative scarcity. For the longest time, it was an incredible trilogy of films that radically altered both its genre and the industry as a whole. But it ended. It didn’t continue into eternity. There were novels and comics, but those were for nerds. The general moviegoing public needn’t concern themselves with those. Instead, they could continue rewatching the old movies and remember the way they felt when they saw them for the first time. That’s why it was such a big deal whenever the franchise would return to theaters, first with The Phantom Menace and then with The Force Awakens after over fifteen and ten years of dormancy respectively. General audiences turned out in droves, wanting to recapture the magic they’d felt when they first encountered that galaxy far, far away.

Would the franchise have been better off if, after The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm and Disney had let shows like The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, and Andor stand on their own for several years? I think so. It would have given the more casual audiences time to miss it, and the diehard fans something to keep them engaged while they waited for the next epic saga to reveal itself, perhaps another trilogy to help bridge the gap between the Original and Sequel Trilogies or something set before or after the Skywalker Saga altogether. You might have even used this as a vehicle for telling the story of Ahsoka’s search for Ezra and Thrawn and the rise of the First Order. But instead, you demanded immediate returns, necessitating the non-stop production of more and more shows that would posit themselves as the essential to the canon in order to maximize viewer—read: subscriber—retention.

The MCU’s history after Endgame also reveals certain flaws in this formula, and it is especially interesting how it mirrors the Disney+ period of Star Wars media, even down to when and how they started. 2019 saw the grand conclusions to both the Infinity and Skywalker Sagas, with Avengers: Endgame premiering in April and The Rise of Skywalker in December of that year. Likewise, they both saw their franchises expanding into the new territory of Disney+ in the succeeding years, with the shows produced for the platform becoming as relevant to the overarching storyline as the films that built it. Only, in the case of the MCU, the films kept coming.  That meant two things: 1) the studios’ resources were being spread across more projects than ever before, resulting in diminishing quality; and 2) audiences grew exhausted by the amount of content they had to consume that wasn’t anywhere near as good as it had been before.

For the MCU, this resulted in the franchise experiencing some of its first true commercial and critical failures, with audiences balking at screenings of more recent installments like The Marvels, Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and Thor: Love and Thunder. The sheer volume of film and television content being added to the MCU has precipitated a phenomenon known as “superhero fatigue,” where audiences who’d once have turned out in droves for the latest MCU film are no longer willing to invest their time, energy, or money in the franchise’s present or future.

Star Wars has suffered a similar fate in recent years. If it was too much for there to be a single, two-hour film to be released once a year over the course of five years, then the last few years of two-seasons of around eight-episodes of television, with each clocking in somewhere between 35 minutes to an hour, has been nothing short of overwhelming. While some devoted fans have been able to keep up with this, others have fallen behind, with the franchise showing little interest in slowing down to let them catch up.

I am one of those people whom Star Wars has abandoned. I watched the first two seasons of The Mandalorian as they aired. I watched season seven of The Clone Wars and the first season of The Bad Batch when those premiered. I missed The Book of Boba Fett but tuned back in for Obi-Wan Kenobi when that was released. However, by this point, the cracks in the franchise’s state under the business model forced upon it by the demands of Disney+ were too obvious for me to ignore. I wasn’t as enthralled by The Mandalorian’s second season as others were. I found the legacy characters’ appearances more gratuitous than anything, and especially felt that Luke Skywalker’s role in the season finale was the epitome of fan service. While I was initially intrigued by the premise of The Book of Boba Fett, I didn’t watch it for reasons that I can’t now recall, but it doesn’t seem like I missed much. And lastly, Obi-Wan Kenobi left me feeling underwhelmed and dejected.

Because of this, I didn’t watch Andor when it first aired (though I’ve since rectified that mistake). I skipped season three of The Mandalorian all together, and only watched Ahsoka begrudgingly. But from everything I’ve seen and heard from these projects, I’ve been left mostly disappointed by the finished product. To me, Mando season 3, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka are commercial products more than they are works of art. It’s difficult to see their stories as anything more than excuses to have characters we recognize deliver lines to one another in a sterile environment dressed up to look like a familiar location. In the process of trying to appease the fans and win over their money, the franchise has lost its way and begun prioritizing quality over quantity. And as the quality continues to drop, I’ve felt little interest in paying attention to anything new coming out of the Disney Star Wars production mill.

That’s left me in a precarious spot. I still love Star Wars, but not as intensely as I did in that first honeymoon period with The Clone Wars or even in those blissful early years of the Sequel Trilogy, Rebels, and Rogue One. I look at the upcoming slate of Star Wars films and television shows not with excitement, but apprehension. Recent experience has told me that I should expect nothing more than disappointment and fan service to await me. And that’s a shame, because I want to care about Star Wars again. I want to be hyped for the next big thing, but I also want to enjoy the smaller stories taking place at the margins of the galaxy. Only, I’m not sure we can have one and the other coexist under the current regimen of twice-annual streaming series.

Thankfully, Star Wars is more than film and television. There have always been novels and comic books to help expand the lore and introduce new characters, locations, and conflicts to the broader canon. And in 2021, a new era began for the franchise. No longer were we beholden to the strict bounds of the Skywalker Saga. We could forget those stories and characters and explore all new terrain, see the galaxy as it was when the Jedi and the Republic were at the height of their power and influence. Fitting, then, that this new era would be called “The High Republic” and would debut with a novel titled The Light of the Jedi.

I’d never really gotten into Star Wars books before. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe the High Republic could give me the fresh start I needed to fall in love with Star Wars all over again.

[wolfiemcwolferson]

34 34 34 34 !!!

i don't care which pairing but I need to read this!!

love and kisses, immy! x

I had to go and take a deep dive for this, but the prompt here is: There's a ghost here and I'm going to date it.

I hope this is kind of what you were looking for. Piarles because it's us, Immy.

Charles is 17 when he finds out he has magic running through his veins and he fights it until he's 19 and he's failing out of university trying to control it himself before he accepts that he needs training and calls the number on that card that he stuffed in the bottom drawer in the nightstand.

And then his life turns upside down - rapidly and without any real direction.

He trades his architecture texts for books about The Warlock Rebellion of 1589 and his cell phone never works in this pocket realm where this ancient castle is. When he's not running across the campus to get to his fucking potions lessons, he's attempting to integrate himself into this magical world that he doesn't understand with people who have been friends since literal infancy and he's just.

Well, he's exhausted by it.

He's exhausted by the lying to his normal friends and trying to make nice with the magical classmates that might be his friend someday.

He's exhausted by the way the potions professor obviously thinks less of him because he's in a beginner's class.

And he's exhausted by the library not allowing him to get into the transfiguration section like it's got some personal vendetta against him.

That's probably why he snaps. It is why he snaps. Well past midnight when the librarians have left for the night and he should be at home, in the mortal world, sleeping before he has to take an exam the next afternoon, but he's here, leaning his head against a wall of wind asking to be let down one specific aisle.

"You have to ask nicely." A voice from behind says to him and Charles startles, turning to look at the...the ghost leaning against the opposite bookshelf.

He's got that transparent static look to him that all the ghosts have and he's grinning at Charles easily unlike some of the more haunted ghosts.

"It's Lucius." The ghost points behind Charles - presumably at the wall of wind. "He was a librarian in the 1800's. Big on manners. He got himself popped into another realm on accident playing with a transmutation book down that aisle so now he's a bit protective of it with new students."

Charles is blinking fast because none of the other ghosts have ever chosen to speak to him before. None of them have ever so much as looked at him.

"Lucius," the ghost says, "I've got it from here. I won't let him get eaten by anything."

Charles feels the wall of wind disappear from behind him and he blinks again. "Thank you?"

The ghost straightens up, looks Charles up and down and then kind of shoos him down the aisle. "My name is Pierre. And you can thank me by not getting eaten. You don't have to spend eternity with that overbearing asshole and I will never hear the end of it."

"I'm not going to get eaten." Charles bristles because he doesn't need the ghosts treating him like an idiot, but then Pierre starts to laugh - the sound of it electric in Charles' bones - the sound of it making the lanterns ahead flicker.

"Stick with me, new kid. I'm going to save you from yourself." And then he does some kind of flip of his wrist and the exact book Charles had written down in his notes floats down from the top shelf and into his hands. "It's been a long time since a cute boy who wasn't boring was rushing about in this place, so I'd like to savor it."

Charles feels himself blush - the ghost, making him blush - but he sits down and opens the book before the pages start to blow around and they land on again, the correct page.

"Like I said," Pierre, the cute ghost, sits down in the chair next to him, head tilted to the side, "Stick with me and I'll save you from yourself."

"Okay," Charles whispers and when Pierre starts to laugh again, the lights do that thing and he wonders just want he's getting himself into.

[iwillrememberyoumarathon]

Bangel fans, we want to hear from you! As we celebrate this year's IWRY Fic Marathon, we're getting to know each other through our Meet the Fandom series. Answer the questions here to join in.

What is your name?

a2zmom

Where do you hang out?

discord - joyous rebellion

Do you create any fan works?

I write! All can be found here on AO3

Funniest Bangel/Buffyverse moment?

I find Xander's view of Angel and Buffy in The Zeppo hysterical.

What Buffyverse opinion would have you chased through the village with pitchforks?

By the fandom in general - that Buffy and Angel loved each other, still love each other, will always love each other

By the B/A contingent - Angel did fall in love with Cordelia although I don't think it was the same kind of passion he had with Buffy

Share a headcanon you have about Bangel or the Buffyverse?

Angel was always artistic and that's what he and his father originally fought about. Also he had a lot of siblings who died in infancy plus he was not the oldest originally.

How would you have given Buffy and Angel their Happily Ever After?

Read my fic "Days of Future Past" which is currently being posted weekly. I will say no more.

Last fic you read?

The Reunion Trilogy by MCorey1317. Takes place 20 years after NFA. Very much B/A, very long and probably the best action scenes I have ever read.

Slay, Lay, Obey - Angel, Buffy, Cordelia?

Slay: Cordy

Lay: Angel

Obey: Buffy (always)

Fill in the quiz so the fandom can meet you!