#see that scene too lucasfilm

[jyndor]

never gonna forgive rogue one for not having the "good" "good" scene in it

what is the context? why are they lit so dreamily in a sunset? what are they talking about? why are they chilling alone in the cockpit? why can't I see the deleted scenes?

[bri-the-nautilus]

Come To the Dark Side, We Have Hot Guys: A Star Wars Story

Spoilers below for S1 of Ahsoka and the first six episodes of The Acolyte.

I'm writing this with The Acolyte most of the way through airing its first season, with episode 6 having released earlier today. Say what you will about the show, but it's really brought out a lot of the uglier sides of the Star Wars fandom. Everyone and their mother has seen videos or Reddit threads dunking on the Critical Drinker or SWT and their mouth-breathing misogynist audiences at this point, so I don't feel particularly compelled to retread that ground. Instead, I want to talk about the... other side of the fandom, the hypocrisy therein, and how we're all being played for absolute fools by the creative team at Disney Lucasfilm.

Yes, this post is about Qimir.

Now I want to say that I have no problem with villain simping/shipping. Far from it. Most of my posts on this account are me simping for Shin Hati (we'll talk more about her later) or various Soulsborne bosses. Hell, my mutuals and I have a running joke about me having a weakness for evil blonde women. While I personally am too gay for my own good and couldn't care less about men as a concept, I absolutely see the appeal of characters like Qimir and Kylo Ren. I absolutely get why people thirst over them and love making fandom content for them. I think Qimir/Osha has the potential to be a really fun ship, actually. The point I'm making here is not "simping for these characters is wrong and bad," and I want to make that crystal clear before we continue.

That said, let's talk about Qimir, and how the landscape of the show and its surrounding discourse has changed since his reveal. Again, I'm ignoring the chud sphere here, partly because their little corner of the Internet has remained remarkably stagnant since then. The podcast bros still think it's woke, fucking Shadiversity is still whining about fight choreography (which as someone who actually has done HEMA/stage combat, Shad annoys me to no end, but that's an entirely separate can of worms), and it all seems to be business as usual over there. No, the most marked changes have been on the Acolyte-positive end of the fandom space. Here's what the top posts in "hashtag TheAcolyte" on Twitter look like tonight:

You get the idea.

Again, no hate to any of these people. This is tumblr ffs, we've all engaged in a little simping for a morally dubious hot person. I love seeing fans having fun engaging with something, and again I kinda dig the Osha/Qimir ship.

Anyways, if you were around for the Acolyte-positive discourse before the Qimir reveal, and especially the show's marketing and the reponse to that, you'll have noticed a marked difference.

Fans quickly began to see The Acolyte as " the gayest Star Wars ever." Showrunner Leslye Headland is an out lesbian, and her wife was cast as Master Vernestra Rwoh. Archetypical girlboss Carrie-Anne Moss was cast as Master Indara, immediately drawing comparisons to her role in the Matrix movies. Leads Osha and Mae Aniseya are played by the nonbinary Amandla Stenberg. The lesbian witches of Brendok were talked about in press releases before the show aired. Dafne Keen (Jecki Lon) stated in an interview that she portrayed the short-haired, serious Theelin as having a crush on Osha, something that fans were picking up on in their first interactions in the premiere before Keen even gave that interview. While Headland said in a post-premiere interview that she didn't set out specifically to make "a capital Q Queer show," it's an objective fact that no Star Wars movie/show has had as much potential in that area, and fans (especially the queer community) took notice. (For what it's worth, in the same interview Headland commented that she was proud of creating something that so many queer fans identified with.)

The show came out, and Master Indara was killed off in the first sequence, which I'm honestly fine with. It was a good scene and works on a lot of levels. Headland's aforementioned interview came and went. Episode three aired. The lesbian witches turned out to be even gayer than was previously thought possible, and people ate that shit up while the Critical Drinker's brain suffered a major cascade failure. Jecki became a runaway favorite in the premiere and episode four, as did lovable himbo Yord Fandar and the wise, paternalistic Master Sol. In Acolyte-positive circles, this was basically how it went. People thought Brendok was cool, the Yord Horde became the show's biggest social media sensation, Jecki and Sol cultivated devoted followings alongside Osha and Mae, there were a wealth of different ships involving various combinations of Jecki, Yord, and the twins... you get the idea.

Then episode 5 happened.

The writing was really on the wall when the Brendok coven was abruptly wiped out. Introducting such an interesting (and queer) Force-wielding culture only to exterminate them in the same episode was certainly a choice that somebody made. But episode 5 was a shock to the system for many fans, as the show's resident Sith revealed himself and killed Jecki and Yord in some of the most brutal recent onscreen deaths in Star Wars. To be clear, I think this was a great sequence. Two beloved main characters being suddenly and gruesomely killed off was a masterfully executed shock to the system, especially after viewers were lulled into a false sense of security by all the redshirt deaths in the previous scene.

This, understandably, completely changed the landscape of the Acolyte fandom. Virtually overnight, much of the simping and shipping involving Jecki and Yord dried up, and once the dust had settled as far as the "rip blorbo, gone too soon" posts went, what remained were the usual Sol/twins offerings and a wave of Qimir hype. Which is understandable. He's a badass emo Sith boy with a cool helmet who brutally murdered fan favorite characters in front of us and has palpable tension with the female lead. Who wouldn't love... wait a minute.

This feels familiar somehow.

But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all?

And just like that, "the gayest Star Wars" is all about the (straight) sexual tension between an edgy, murderous Sith boy and a light-side girl plagued by dark thoughts whose friends said boy just killed. This is all eerily similar to how the Sequel Trilogy focused on Rey and Kylo while abruptly dropping Finn and Poe's character arcs. Even the fandom discourse is the same. I mean Reylo was so ubiquitous back in the day that it became a derogatory catch-all for good girl/evil boy shipping. Multiple authors now have either gotten their initial start/fame writing Reylo fics, or straight up published legally distinct Reylo fiction after the fashion of Netflix's After. You had the occasional person piping up to say "hey they kind of just left Finn and Poe hanging after TFA, it would've been cool if they got together but at the very least don't relegate them to being side characters/comic relief in separate story threads," and that was it. The same thing is going on with The Acolyte now, only the sequel trilogy wasn't marketed on the strength of being a queer story by a queer creative team. The Acolyte is, which makes it all the more baffling that by the midway point of the first season, all the gays have been buried and the show seems to be heading straight for Reylo 2: High Republic Boogaloo. And the fans are eating it up.

As an interesting aside, I think it's an interesting exercise to contrast the Kylo/Qimir pattern with the broader fandom's treatment of Shin Hati (told you we'd circle back to that), and the ship between her and Sabine Wren. On paper, Shin is very similar to Kylo and Qimir. Villain? Check. Edgy-looking armor? Totes. Emotionally damaged/stunted in some way? Sure looks like it. Tension with the heroine? You betcha. If anything, the only major difference is that Shin isn't as evil as the others. Compare her actions in Ahsoka (clearing out part of a light cruiser with Baylan and making repeated attempts on Sabine's life) to Kylo (oversees multiple war crimes, kills his fan-favorite dad) or Qimir (orchestrates the murders of several Jedi before brutally executing two fan-favorite characters). She's definitely bad, but I struggle to see her as on par with Qimir, let alone fucking Kylo, in terms of evilness.

Which makes it all the more interesting to me that the Shin/Sabine ship has received so much more mainstream skepticism/criticism than the Osha/Qimir or Rey/Kylo ships. "They have no chemistry!" "She's an evil murderer!" "She's a blank slate!" "Sabine is taken!" I may be a touch biased, but from where I sit a large part of the fandom, even the ostensibly progressive side, seems to look down upon Shin/Sabine shippers while swooning for heterosexual variants with far more evil villains.

This isn't a monolith, and I can't stress that enough. I'm not trying to start shit here. Villain shipping is awesome. We support women's wrongs in this house. You do see the occasional person decrying Reylo or Osha/Qimir as toxic, which I think is fairly unnecessary. Like yeah, maybe it's a toxic dynamic, but these are fictional characters. For these specific characters, part of the crowd appeal is the toxic badboy side of things. I don't think we should really spend much energy attacking any fictional ship (between adults, mind you) as toxic, which is why it puzzles me that an as-yet-unconfirmed lesbian ship in a niche show receives such a large proportion of this sort of criticism compared to the canon relationship between two main characters of a blockbuster trilogy.

At the end of the day, this whole affair has been rather sobering for me on both Disney Lucasfilm and the Star Wars fandom. For all the support the Shin/Sabine ship has received from Ahsoka cast members Ivanna Sakhno (Shin), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger, the other character people like to ship with Sabine), and Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka), I'm rather sour on the prospects of it becoming canon. The sequel trilogy dropped the ball on what many saw as a promising chance for an MLM romance between Finn and Poe in favor of trotting out the "why do good girls like bad boys" dynamic, and The Acolyte, "the gay show" overseen by a lesbian, has seemingly shifted to center a similar dynamic after killing off most of its prospects for a queer relationship among the main cast. Simply put, I think that Disney as an international company based in the frighteningly divided United States is reluctant to commit to anything beyond lipservice in terms of LGBT representation in their movies/shows, which again doesn't leave me feeling optimistic about WolfWren's canon potential. And the fandom takes the bait. People love the damaged evil badboy/good girl dynamic, and when the queer fandom suggests the possibility of a queer ship taking center stage in a show with no other extant relationships, even the more progressive side of the fandom tends to either ignore it or actively push back on its basis in reality until Disney Lucasfilm inevitably puts the kibosh on it. The amount of times I've heard people dismiss WolfWren for the same reasons they now like Osha/Qimir and liked Reylo (before that ship was fleshed out/canonicalized, anyway) is ridiculous, but at the end of the day you kinda feel stupid for expecting anything else. Again, I think Qimir is a cool character and I'm as much of a sucker for villain romances as the next girlie, but seeing how easily the fandom lets dangling heterosexual carrots lead it away from Disney Lucasfilm's broken promises of queer rep is a sobering ordeal.

[projectdrow]

How the Bad Batch can end well

So here are my 5 thoughts on season 3 and what’s to come after. I recommend @eriexplosion if you like reading interesting thoughts, analysis and ramblings, a lot of their recent posts inspired this one.

First of all, the trailer was a work of art. It gave us some really random scenes, but also some very direct information that we can speculate on like crazy, if we want to. Also, the title-episode list comes in handy, I will refer to it.

1.) Episode 1-3 one go

I’ll come back to why the show needs to end before May the 4th later, and that’s another reason for the multiple episode days.

When a streaming service like Disney drops more than one episode, they often do so because they think viewers might be lost, because the single (first) episode does not have the full “boom-bang-drama” potential.

I think we’ll see the liberation of Crosshair, maybe even Omega, in the first three episodes. The trailer makes no secret of the fact that Cross will rejoin the team. So this story will not be the main focus of the whole season and the first episode might built up solely for the climax of the escape/liberation in episode 3. At least something heavy will happen at the end of “Shadows of Tantiss”

2.) Omega as the main character

Omega’s character is a very typical tool in storytelling. Throw a character who knows nothing into an established system, so she learns everything with/for the viewer. Sure, the boys are main characters, too, but Omega is the point of view of the kids(! - I’ll come back to that later)-show we’re watching. She can’t be gone for that long, because I don’t think season 3 will be a “Omega’s adventures on Mt. Tantiss”. I think episode 6 and 7 (“Infiltration” and “Extraction”) the latest will bring her back.

3.) So what’s the story?

Actually, and some might say that’s a big take, a lot of the first episodes will be about Tech. I don’t think I need to elaborate to anyone why it makes no sense for him to be dead and never had.

When we first saw this Clone X, there were some interesting “Undercover-Tech” ideas, but after analyzing the trailer in more depth and especially what appears to be an attack on Pabu led by this Clone, well, I think that’s Tech. And not undercover, no, the full on brainwashed, highly dangerous Imp!Tech. Episode 10 is called “Identity Crisis”, which could very well be Tech’s. But they’ll get him back, don’t worry, also because the second part will be about the BB finally deciding what to do with their lives. Which leads directly to 5.), but first:

4.) (Almost) no one dies

Two reasons. First: We already had that devastating Tech-death scene. He AND Asajj will be brought back from the dead this season. Any further death this season wouldn’t convince anyone anymore, not even the kids.

Second: The kids. It’s still a children’s show. Yes, Star Wars kills of characters in them too, but @eriexplosion made a very good point in this post: That’s not what this show is about. TBB has been about the struggle of Clones finding their place, finding family, finding a meaning. All of that would be for naught, and that’s why I think everyone survives.

Also: The last episode is called: “The Cavalry has Arrived”.

5.) About the future

I think the Bad Batch was intended to be released earlier. As well as the trailer. But with the strikes and Filoni being promoted, their was a lot going on. With the triplet opening and the double episodes, we’ll finish on May 1st. And that would be just to perfect to announce the follow-up-project on May 4th. I see another Clone series on the horizon. The Clones work, the people love them, it’s all there, the characters, the stories, the animation. It’s a safe bet for Lucasfilm. And sure, it would work with Rex, Cody and more as main characters, but the Batch was intended to be and is a stark contrast to the “Regs”, especially if they get Cross and Tech back.

Sure, Omega could be the leading figure again, but… nah. I am writing this because I’m absolutely convinced that we won’t have seen the last of the complete BadBatch after season 3.

Star Wars is about Hope. So I hope.

[barnowl265]

To all Acolyte fans. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying this to hopefully bring some closure. The vast majority of people who watched The Acolyte did not like it. The numbers, reviews, and ratings are all out there to check if you want. Not enough people watched the show to greenlight a second season, and of the few who did, the vast majority didn't like it. This show LOST money, it doesn't matter how much you appreciated it. If the show isn't going to make money, to risk another season would be bad for the property as it's likely to not do well a second time.

I've seen plenty of comments from people who are showing support for getting the show a second season. While I admire the fact that you appreciated the show and want to see it keep going, you're probably not gonna get a second season. I've been a fan of the KOTOR games for years, and fans have been begging for a movie or show that retells its story. Yet, Lucasfilm has given us nothing but a possible remake, which we still haven't seen a proper trailer for yet. If Disney isn't going to deliver a certified moneymaker like a KOTOR movie trilogy for fans who've begged years for it, then they certainly won't deliver a second a second season of a show they already canceled.

I've also seen where you point the blame, other fans. First off, The Acolyte's cancelation isn't something to be happy about. A loss is a loss. It's a loss for the company, the actors, the production team, and every Star Wars fan out there. Hours of hard work gone to waste. No one wants a show to fail, but making a show is like baking cookies. You leave 'em in the oven too long, they get burned. The Acolyte had been delayed several times before release, and we know what happens to shows and movies that face production delays. It usually means the show has lots of problems and will be lacking in quality. The show failed because of various poor decisions being made behind the scenes that hindered its development as well as hiring a director who didn't do any research, tried to retcon at least two extremely important elements of the franchise, and doesn't consider herself a fan. If you wanna blame anyone for this failure, blame Disney's incompetence for letting this go on under there watch, blame the higher-ups at Lucasfilm for fumbling the bag on choosing a director, but the last thing we should be doing is blaming each other. It's not my fault The Acolyte failed, it's not the YouTubers fault, and it's definitely not the actors' fault.

Which also brings me to my next thing. To all the fans who hated The Acolyte. Yeah, I don't like what it did any more than you do, but be more mature about this. This show had people working hard at this for the past few years, give them some grace. The actors, set and costume designers, vfx artists, camera, and sound workers, where just doing their job. They don't deserve to be insulted for that. The show getting canned is heartbreaking enough for them as is. All that hard work and effort, wasted. C'mon guys, we're better than that.

Star Wars is a universe of infinite possibilities. Some of those possibilities have stood out while others fell away, and The Acolyte will unfortunately be a victim of the latter. I'm not looking for a fight, enemies, or an argument. I'm just hoping to bring Star Wars' horribly fractured community together a little bit. It probably won't amount to anything, but I wanted to share my opinion, and hopefully, someone got something out of it. Please, be respectful in the comments.

God bless you all, and may the force be with you.

[wolfwrenbrainrot]

i'm torn.

a few of the problems I had with the ahsoka show (vfx, too many cuts during fight scenes and in general, a rushed season finale) would be fixed if it was animated, but on the other hand we wouldn't have ivanna and natasha!!! if it was animated and they had the same dynamic, i'd probably still ship them 'cause im a sucker for sapphic enemies to lovers and i've always seen sabine as either lesbian or bisexual (nowadays im more inclined towards lesbian!sabine, but it makes no difference to me), buuut ivanna and natasha are the reason why I'm so obssessed with wolfwren. they played them soo well. also, eman esfandi and ray stevenson were great and seeing live action anakin is always a pleasure!! at the end, i'm satisfied.

another cool thing is that with live action more people can get to know the ghost crew and maybe some of them will get to experience the magic of wstching the clone wars and rebels for the first time. this is always a good thing, 'cause honestly both shows are the best star wars out there. even if i sometimes feel the urge to gatekeep lmao

and to my fellow wolfwrens, the set up for next season is promising!!! I don't know if Disney and Lucasfilm would allow it to happen happen but if it gets popular enough, we could at least get crumbles of a reluctant allies to friends to something implied!! (obviously I want them to be canon and get a happy ending, but lucasfilm isn't as progressive as it likes to paint itself and romance in star wars never end well, so I'm not optimistic)

[piglet26]

Rey Solo... Rey from Jakku.... Rey No one... anything but Rey Skywalker.

The Last Jedi simply revealed that Rey was a "nobody" – perhaps the most shocking and least expected outcome for the Rey lineage debate. It was a perfect twist in our heroine story despite people seeming desperate for her to be connected to some man already in the franchise.

Daisy Ridley has even expressed her frustration with the Rey’s lineage debate multiple times, “I love that Rey is such a great character, they’re like: ‘No, no, she has to be… she has to be-’She’s her own person! Let her be her guys, let her live."

Exactly! Why did people care so much? Maybe initially, it was fun to hypothesize. However, once the reveal came out people actually liked that she was fresh, a brand new start instead of just nostalgia, or, a way to continue on a males legacy. We have Ben Solo for that, or, at least we did.

More than a shocking twist created just to subvert expectations, the Rey “no one” reveal encapsulated The Last Jedi’s perfect message – anyone could be the hero of their own story.  Rey’s realization was that her heritage don’t matter ... all that matters is who she chooses to be now. Rey’s legacy didn't need to be defined by Luke or Leia, which would leave her free to start her own story - hell, Star Wars to have a future. On the other end was Ben/Kylo Ren, who did come from the mighty Skywalker family and hailed as the son of heroes and wanted to escape that legacy.

Then here comes JJ "Nostalgia Kind" Abrams and Chris Terrio. Terrio here “We also thought that Rey’s arc cannot be finished after Episode VIII. You can leave Episode VIII and say, “Well, now, Rey is content. She’s discovered her parents aren’t Skywalkers, or whatever, and that’s fine.” But so much of her personal story was about where she came from, what kept her on Jakku all those years and the trauma that shaped her. We see quite strongly in Episode VII that something mysterious and troubling happened to her. Although she did get some answers in Episode VIII, we didn’t feel that that story was over. We felt that there were still more questions in Rey’s head about where she came from and where she was going. So, that was the other big idea that we had to address in this film. Rian’s answer to, “What’s the worst news that Rey could receive?” was that she comes from junk traders, and that’s true. She does come from junk traders; we didn’t contradict that.” No, you just went back to what you wanted in the beginning.

By the end Rey takes on not only the Skywalker name but she looks over two suns which brings me to the point of this essay...... if Ben wasn't going to be there, then she should have taken last name. Rey Solo.

What's irritating about LucasFilm/Disney is their desire to appease everyone. I don't give a damn about the antis, nor should they. Reylos were a big support group for the films and mightily invested. TROS came off as trying to please everyone. If we really think about, with the exception of the end of Exegol, the Rey and Kylo interactions lacked depth and intimacy. Perhaps it's just not the style of JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio, who did support the pairing.

While I'm 100% convinced Reylo was planned, all the creators seemed very open to adjusting if it wasn't working. Hence why Finn and Poe were both open considerations, especially Finn. I don’t think Adam or Daisy intentionally played up any sexual tension in their scenes together to give us an impression about something in TFA.  I think it just happened.  Early bird Reylos picked up on it.  Some critics, including the one who wrote the TFA review for Time magazine, picked up on it. Rian Johnson picked up on it too and the rest is history.

Leia’s behavior's is odd for entire decades. Being a trained Jedi herself, she could have taught her son - instead she sent him to his uncle( Oh wait, that was a retcon). Han was either helping with the Resistance or off doing something shady. From the novels we learn that Ben heard his parents arguing and talking about him like he was a monster ever since he was a child, and that when he was sent away this seemed to confirm to him that something was wrong with him and had to be fixed. (From the novels we also learn that he actually had no ambition to become a Jedi and wanted to be a pilot - true Skywalker and also Solo that he is -, but he had no say in the matter.)

For both Ben and Rey, their journey is about letting go of childhood trauma and discovering their own independence. Ultimately it's about their pairing being both emotionally healing AND a balance in the force. They are a DYAD after all. I saw all this to say, he is her closest personal connection and impact through the 3 films. Leia is her master but we don't see that, it happened off camera.

Terrio says that the decision to have Rey take on the name “Skywalker” was a way to show that “you can choose your ancestry.” Which is not true and also a strange thing to say considering.

Which brings me to the correction of this tricky trail. Pay Adam Driver want he wants and reunite the dyad.

[ooops-i-arted]

I went to Gina Carano's panel at Fanboy Expo today too. I was hoping for a scrap of Cara content and honestly curious what she was like irl. I did my best to go in with an open mind. (If you've been following me you'll know I am a former fan - loved her as soon as I saw Cara Dune, dove into her other stuff and loved her as a performer and found her MMA career awesome, will not stand for her bigotry and spreading misinformation.) I took notes so everything in quotes is directly what she said, brackets to add context or when I missed exact words.

Panel started with a review of her fighting career, nothing that hasn't been covered before. She was asked "Where would you be [career wise] if not for fighting and acting?" and she said "I don't know, I wouldn't be here." She says she actually dreamed of being in romance movies and wearing pretty dresses, and now she's in action movies, which was actually pretty cute. She always liked sports. The panel person asked "How did you know you were good at fighting?" and she just said "I always knew."

She then talked about being cast in Haywire, Steven Soderergh and his wife saw her fight Cyborg and thought about making a movie around her. She said "They didn't give me an acting coach. They just put me in with all these people. [....] Michael Fassbender gave me a whiskey and sat down and went over the lines with me." (Almost all of her lines in that movie were dubbed over. Her fight scenes in it are amazing.)

About Fast and Furious 6 she said "Now I have to watch all of them? .....I didn't." Which was genuinely funny.

For Deadpool, "Let me tell you about the superhero landing. I'm going to ruin it all." She filmed it by just jumping off an apple box apparently lmao. "The first time I jumped and landed I just heard this wailing of laughter. [The director] said "That was the most anticlimatic thing I've ever seen." She also said Ryan Reynolds would riff and sometimes she'd forget she was in the scene/on camera and break character by laughing.

Mentions of her beef with Lucasfilm/Disney were peppered throughout the whole panel. She said "I have no intention of not doing what my heart desires." Which... okay, if you're a toddler. I wanna punt the principal I had last year into the sun but I remained professional and am now getting a new job. A loooooooooot of the way she said things/her general vibe reminded me of kiddos I got when I worked at an expensive summer camp whose population was mainly rich white kids - kids who had never before been denied anything in their life, and being told no, no matter how kindly, was treated as devastating. (And then they figured it out in a few days when tantruming at me didn't work. Gina, apparently, has not figured that out yet.) (Also for context, if you didn't know, she is a trust fund baby and her family is in Vegas casinos. I highly doubt she is hurting for money.)

Also after seeing Giancarlo Esposito's panel, and how well-spoken he is and how thoughtfully he chose his words even while discussing things like voting and the current state of the world, it just really stood out how she doesn't know how to conduct herself professionally. She's said herself she isn't good at public speaking, which fair, she was a bit soft spoken and shy but I don't just mean that. She doesn't have a "customer service" face like us normal people have to put on at work. She doesn't seem to think she has to. You can be genuine while still being polite - I do it all the time at work, I did it at this panel while asking my question to her, and I'm sure you all know part of life is putting on different "attitudes" for different situations.

She is starting her own production company. She wants to write, star, produce, and direct apparently (unclear if all at once or on different projects, I sure envy her blind confidence tho). She wants to do this because "She's seen where it's gone wrong." (See what I mean about beef peppered throughout?) When asked what her ultimate passion project would be, she said "It's not so much if it's a drama, comedy, or action, it has to have heart and it has to have meaning. It has to have a good story." She mentioned she was working on a movie and series and had some ideas and stories, but no specifics.

She wouldn't stop mentioning God or Jesus either (so I'd bet money she's That Kind of Christian*) and someone asked her "How do you practice choosing roles with discernment [regarding your faith]?" Her answer: "Oh I never think about it." She says she's not a prude but wouldn't do certain things, but she decided this in 2020. She did not elaborate, but apparently "God will let her know when she crosses the line." So I guess we aren't getting any more topless Insta pics lol.

(*I'm trying not to be an ass but as a queer woman, I know That Kind Of Christian when I see it, and she clocked like that hard. Ymmv.)

Finally a Mandalorian question, her favorite and the hardest scenes to film on The Mandalorian. She said the season 2 final scene was the hardest, because it was emotional "and there was more going on the scenes than people realize." The other was when Grogu was choking her. She was holding her breath too hard and passed out. (I honestly thought she was choking when she said that when the episode originally aired.) Brendan Wayne was in the scene with her and was worried, and then she did it again.

I was next, and I first (truthfully) told her that I appreciated seeing someone like her onscreen, because I hadn't looked like Rey/Padme/Leia since I was 16. I then asked "Where do you see Cara's character going in the future, and what detail about her backstory didn't make it onscreen?" She said she thinks Cara is still floating around with special forces, and "Disney could do more with that if they got their head out of their ass." Everyone clapped, I didn't, I kept my hands clasped and said thank you. She did not answer my other question. So unfortunately, no character tidbits about Cara.

Next person asked if Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson [and some other "canceled" actor, I can't remember] know about her and if they'll work with her in the future. She said maybe, she's open to it. "I'm not into chasing people to work." I had to bite my tongue because GIRL YOU ARE CHASING DISNEY DOWN TO REHIRE YOU.

She was asked about the lawsuit and if she'd take the role of Cara back if it was offered. She said "I loved playing Cara Dune" and Jon Favreau "really got into her brain" and was happy to see her at Carl Weathers' funeral, but ended with a wishy washy we'll see/God will work in his own way. She did say she still keeps in touch with Bill Burr and "He's my favorite. He's so funny. Gina, we gotta go to a UFC fight some day."

She was asked "Do you have a fight you look back on with fondness?" She said there's only one she doesn't look back on fondly (presumably Cyborg) and rambled a bit about her fights. The person asked the same question again, and she again answered "There's only one I don't look back on fondly."

She did say she's focusing again on getting healthier and training again. She says she was "the only girl they couldn't chase away" back in the day and "I'll be in my 80s shadowboxing in the basement saying I can still fight" which was genuinely cute. She also talked about how she had to figure out eating and weight control on her own, nowadays trainers have nutrition services as sponsors. She said it was tough to drop the weight, it was like losing part of her body. (She didn't always make exact weight in her MMA fights and back then, they didn't have a class heavier than 135 lb iirc.) Muay Thai was her favorite. She recommends jujitsu for women looking to protect themselves, since you end up on the floor, but "I just love to punch. They tell me I punch like a trucker."

She ended with another jab at Disney (she did have people kissing her ass the whole time about Freeze Peach and encouraging this) and "When is someone gonna stop them from treating people the way they've been treating people." Also, God is using Elon Musk, which is one hell of a sentence. And that was the panel. (Terror on the Prairie, her big comeback, was not mentioned once.)

She was very nice and sweet and all, but what really stood out to me was a complete lack of creativity. Her answers were very canned, there was very little I hadn't heard in another interview. She just sounded kinda dim, to be blunt. She didn't elaborate on her answers (she couldn't imagine another career she'd like, for my question she just repeated what Disney had already established, she had no specifics for a passion project/idea, she couldn't recall a specific fond moment from a fight or anything, so on). A lot of Disney bad, God good, I should be able to say what I want, rinse and repeat. She's said for a long while she's passionate about art and telling stories. I am too, so I relate - but I've put in time and practice to be able to make what I do. My impression is she wants the praise and adulation, but without the hard parts that go with it. (Honestly I also think CTE may be a factor. She does NOT sound like she did in interviews years ago. Like after she found out Cyborg (the only fight she lost) was on steroids her response was very graceful and kind.)

This is long and I know you're probably thinking why do you care, but I truly admired her. She was a MMA champ in a time when women weren't seen as being able to do the sport. She was positive about her body and I started getting serious about the gym and being healthier because of her onscreen on Cara Dune. She literally made me realize I'm more than a little gay because she's so gorgeous. Ironically, her behavior nowadays inspires me to be brave and speak up for what I believe in despite being naturally shy. I would still be her biggest fan if she hadn't mocked the queer community and spread misinformation and tantrumed when she was called out on it. I even have some empathy - 18 year old me would have been 100% behind her and supported her. But I listened to other perspectives and learned and grew. She clearly has no desire to change herself, or even try to listen to others. I've made the decision to go no contact with my paternal family since I came out because they're the same way. So it stings to see someone so loudly and proudly be like them and be praised and accepted for it. To look around an entire room and wonder who here is happy with people like me being legislated into silence, or worse. For people to clap when Gina says she won't be forced to be "woke" - aka to respect people who are different, like me. Remember, Disney never asked her to stop believing her MAGA stuff, they just wanted her to act professionally while she was their employee.

In any case, nothing will stop me from loving Cara Dune, and I will proudly wear my new cosplay tomorrow.

[gizkalord]

just gonna run thru my highlights and lowlights of the ahsoka eps. overall, thought it was fine - not offensive, but not grabbing me in the way i want it to.

highlights

-sabine punk intro, she's soooooo everything -sabine vs shin, sabine vs droids, aka i liked all her action scenes -EZRA HOLO!!!! WHERE IS MY SON -"we grew up together" HELLO?????? -hera and chopper banter!! made me laugh out loud when chopper was looking thru his little box of random shit -star map looked very cool, reminded me of kotor -i'm a reasonable hater so i will be the first to admit that ahsoka's make-up and prosthetics look much much better here -i already saw the leaks that morgan elsbeth is a nightsister beforehand, but still wanted to comment on it—hope we end up learning more about her past and motivations, as she's the only canon nightsister survivor other than merrin. -ivanna sakhno bringing lots of intensity to shin - rly want to see more of her story! -star wars continuing to torture us kotor fans..... the rakatan name drop in andor, and now it's eye of sion, the star map, hk droids.... WHERE IS THE KOTOR REMAKE LUCASFILM????????

lowlights

-r*sario's serving nothing with a side of bland i'm afraid -kinda has the same problems as some of the other live-action sw shows where we just kinda jump around from scene to scene... i don't feel like the episode structures flow very well -hera's makeup/look is truly terrible -reserving judgement on the character writing overall. everything feels a little stripped down, and we've been thrown into the middle of the plot without much downtime or side quests to just explore the characters' current headspaces (20 episode seasons where did you go!!!) honestly thought sabine's hair cutting and re-motivation came too fast and didn't feel as earned as it could've been. -related to that, i feel everything is so.... subdued. the colors, the acting -continuing to wish that this all could've been animated.

[daensa-fangirl]

We Missed THIS in Ahsoka Part 6! Filoni Revealed It a Year Ago!

My God!!!

This is the fucking rant against Star Wars Meg and Anti Wolfwren shippers

(You people supported Reylo, Maulsoka but can't stand Wolfwren. Such hypocrisy !!)

Star Wars Meg is telling otherwise that Shin and Ezra will be proxy Mara Jade and Luke for Filoniverse. They can be romantically involved.

I am shooketh to the core by seeing this video. What weed is she smoking?

If Filoni really goes this way , then why so many scenes between Shin and Sabine in the show?

Then he would have just omitted the staring scenes and the hand holding scene . Dave should have just done the almost killing part and shoot the fighting scenes without intense stare as he did before in his animated shows .

If Filoni goes that way that will be a big middle finger to all of Wolfwren shippers as well as Sabezra shippers too ( as they are pissed of us in regarding Wolfwren).

I know Disney won't allow Wolfwren to happen on screen and I don't have hope on them as they are homophobic.

P.S : Some of you people told me to have hope as we saw in Andor , Velcinta is canon and one WLW couple is canon in Lucasfilm's Willow. Thank you for giving me hope.

Uff... I have typed a lot 🤣🤣

That's my passion for Wolfwren

[tremendouskoalachild]

looks like no acolyte trailer this week but i wanna talk about it, so whatever let's go over all the shots from the one leaked in april 2023

sorry for horrible quality but in my defense. literally not my fault

1. Jedi Temple

The trailer opens with several shots of Jedi kids in a lesson, in what I assume to be the Coruscant Jedi temple:

The alien looks to me like a Tarsunt, similar to this background sequels guy. For now I'll assume these kids aren't important characters in the story and mostly serve to introduce the Jedi and/or Lee-Jung Jae's character, who is speaking over these and following shots:

He says: “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We must not trust them. The Force is powerful. It is power we must respect.”

(I assume all these lines and shots are part of the same scene and it isn't some clever editing done for the trailer. It sounds like a reasonable introductory lesson for little kids, is coherent, and the locations match. Also what would be the point.)

There is also a single shot later in the trailer that seems to be in the same room, except with older Jedi, presumably Padawans:

The one that interests me in this shot is the one I assume to be a female Zabrak with light hair (on the right up front). She appears in other parts of the trailer as well.

2. Cantina confrontation

This sequence starts during the latter half of LJJ‘s voiceover and is partially intercut with the Temple shots. We see Amandla Stenberg‘s character walk through a public space (market place? spaceport?) and into what seems to be a cantina/restaurant, with patrons sitting at tables and eating or chatting:

There are many aliens, I think I saw an Iktotchi and/or Ovissian. If anyone knows what that thing slurping soup and the two sitting next to it are please tell me.

The voiceover ends over that last shot of Carrie-Anne Moss' character, there is a brief cut to black, and then we get a short fight between AS and CAM. It mostly looks like AS is attacking with her knife and martial arts skills while CAM deflects, before finally Force-pushing her away. We then get a first close look at Amandla Stenberg's character without her cloak:

The character's hairstyle was described by her actor as "clay-rolled dreadlocks, a North African reference".

At this point we are halfway through the trailer and the Lucasfilm logo comes up. Shots from what seems to be the same scene come up later in the trailer too:

AS is of course playing the main character and CAM is part of the main cast, so I assume this is an important scene, possibly the introduction to at least one of the two characters.

It seems a safe assumption that CAM is a Jedi master, and imo at least possible that she is the character mentioned in the show's synopsis (“A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”) - if so, this could be the unhappy reunion before they reluctantly work together. AS seems to know exactly where she's going, while CAM appears to be waiting for her, either because she invited her/agreed to a meeting set up by AS or a third party, or because she sensed AS coming.

(Of course, it could be an entirely different situation. Several outlets have reported that LJJ is playing the former master in question, which seems reasonable, since he is the male lead of the show.)

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Future of the Force"

Adventures in babysitting, Rebels edition!

You already know what I'm going to say, I never get tired of the pretty planets in this show.

This baby is named Alora, a bit of a Shout Out to Lucasfilm's underground cult classic Willow. No I have not watched the new show I have... not heard good things.

That it's Alora's grandmother that's the one traveling with her brings up some ah... disturbing Fridge Horror regarding her parents.

My theory: They 100% dead, Inquisitors already shanked them.

Ohhhhh you can tell from the horror in grandma's eyes she knows exactly why they want the baby.

Well nice to know Seventh Sister is equal opportunity Bad Touch.

Aaaaaaand there goes Fifth, murdering all the witnesses.

Zero fanfare, just to punctuate the horror of that moment.

After five episodes of doing other stuff offscreen, Ahsoka finally decides to pay the main narrative a visit. I did and do still appreciate that the writers kept Ahsoka to a minimum, like Vader, knowing full well her presence would overshadow and overpower the others. Despite how easy it would have been to fanservice TCW carryover watchers by giving her tons of screentime, she stays mostly as a tertiary character throughout.

Which is why cramming what is essentially the Rebels sequel material into a show where she's the headliner annoys me.

Ahsoka and Kanan quipping about how neither of them are technically real Jedi is both cute and sad.

Ahsoka still deeply in denial about what she sensed when scanning Vader.

Lol this whole moment. Love Ahsoka's fond little headshake.

Love this city design, got a very St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia aesthetic to it.

Some of that influence in the music here too.

Oh wow, Zeb jumps out of the Phantom before it's even finished landing, lolol what a drama queen.

Bit sloppy to leave the transport hanging in that planet's airspace, unless the Empire plans to blow it up later.

Even without showing any of the bodies you know everyone on that transport is pretty much dead. It's really only the limits of the rating that prevent us from actually seeing them.

Grandma looks a lot paler here, I don't think she survives much longer past this point.

I talked about it before in "Always Two There Are" but I love subtle little bits of continuity like this, Zeb learning binary in order to understand Chopper, since he had such a hard time before.

THIS HITS A BIT DIFFERENT WHEN YOU'RE A PARENT.

All I'm thinking is, "How long have they left that poor baby there?! Oh gosh she must be so hungry. Is there AC in there? Did they change her? I bet they didn't even change her, the bastards."

This whole episode reminds me SO strongly of the arc in TCW when Sidious contracted Cad Bane to steal Force Sensitive children for him. Would not be surprised if they were being used for the exact same purpose.

Is it me or do a LOT of Force Sensitive children seem to be born to impoverished single mothers? I wonder if it's a deliberate narrative choice sometimes, to lean into the adoption metaphor that being given up to and raised by the Jedi Order often is.

He's so empathetic Imma cry.

Chopper's actually doing a decent job of keeping Alora happy lol.

Lol, Zeb being grossed out by the Ithorian baby.

I think he's adorable, personally.

Maybe it's the mom in me but Zeb holding Pypey is just... super cute.

He's actually holding him mostly right, giving him plenty of support.

Pypey is just sensitive enough to recognize the danger the Inquisitors pose to him. :(((((((((

A very fragmented "Shenanigans" cue here, barely more than a few notes. Almost as if the danger is stifling the fun and whimsy that leitmotif usually signifies.

It's Ezra that recognizes the ID9 Seeker and makes Kanan stop, and they move in a very nice synchronized way to hide from it here.

Underrated Papa Wolf Kanan moment: Kanan yanking Ezra back from the hallway junction just before the Inquisitors get within eyeline.

I shouldn't laugh but this whole scene with Zeb and Kanan and Ezra having no clue how to calm Pypey is so relatable.

(Babies be temperamental and sometimes you just gotta hold 'em.)

There are so many little cute background moments of Ezra snuggling Pypey or making faces at Pypey aaaah they're so cute.

The detonator Zeb dropped gets flung back at them, Fifth's doing no doubt.

Kanan keeps putting his hand on Ezra's back on the stairs, it's sweet.

Fifth and Seventh sniping at each other lol.

Here's one of the moments of background Ezra being adorable with the baby.

<333333

Ezra gets agitated when Kanan suggests he's going to be luring the Inquisitors away, ouch, poor boy's still not over the thing in "Call To Action".

Friiiiiick Ezra sensing Pypey's fear and Pypey sensing Ezra's and them stuck in a cyclical loop. :((((((

I too ramble at my infants like this. Lol.

Ezra unlocks the secret to calming babies: Being calm yourself. <3

Obligatory "Seventh's voice actress is married to Kanan's voice actor" mention.

The smoke effects on this show continue to be excellent.

Someone, I think it was @pep-no, theorized that Pypey's special ability in the Force might be compelling honesty. That or connecting with Pypey made Ezra more emotionally open, because he normally would be smarter than to blurt out where the Rebellion is hiding in a spot where he suspects Seventh's seekers might be listening.

(Then again, Ezra tends not to have any kind of filter around people he trusts.)

I definitely think there's room for that interpretation, given Ezra's floating, distracted gaze.

Kanan does really well in his brief clash with Seventh.

Zeb hauling him like a piece of luggage is still funny tho.

I love this environment. Feels very downtown LA.

A very heroic muted trumpet version of Ezra's theme as he steps forward bravely here.

<333333

Protective little badass.

Also love Pypey being entranced with the lightsaber and trying to touch it. Baby no.

I love this cue. I haven't watched enough Clone Wars to discern if it's a carryover theme but it's awesome.

Ezra's confidence in Aunt Ahsoka. <333

*grumbles* Stupid auto anti-epilepsy features, it makes it so hard to see properly here.

I do like how effortlessly Ahsoka deals with the Inquisitors here.

<33333

Chopper spinning the babies, awww.

Love how the ID9 comes to perch on Seventh's palm, it's so weird and animal-like. Like she's holding a jellyfish.

Ciffhanger reveal DUN DUN DUN.

This episode is so cute. It doesn't really effect much, besides emphasizing how dangerous a world it is that new Force Senstives are being born into (even moreseo than when there was a Jedi Order to take them in and shelter and protect them) and leading into the next episode's plot but it's a fun little romp with our characters and I just find it sweet and heartwarming.

Which we needed before the next episode's plot-heavy-ness.

[gffa]

Do you know if any official Star Wars media has been created set in the 10 years between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones? I’m interested in seeing Obi-Wan train Anakin and whatever challenges he faced in that endeavor. Also would like to know more about Padmé’s life during that time, but I think there’s less material about her out there. But if there’s no official material, do you have any fics you’d recommend?

In Disney/Lucasfilm continuity, we have: - Obi-Wan & Anakin mini-series comic (2016, by Charles Soule), which is one of my favorites, the story’s plot is really good, the characterization beats for Obi-Wan and Anakin are good, and the art is out of this world gorgeous.  I’ve read it multiple times and it always impresses me how much I like the overarching story and themes of it. - Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure (2019, by Cavan Scott), which is set probably closer to AOTC than not, is a fairly light-hearted story, but had some really great tidbits here and there.  Including Mace Windu: Theater Nerd, which I will never stop yelling about. In Legends continuity, we have: - Jedi Quest (2001-2004, by Jude Watson), a series of young readers’ books that you have to take them for what they are--written before Revenge of the Sith existed, written for a young audience to have adventures with, so they’ll come off differently to an adult, etc.  But they have some great character moments and neat worldbuilding elements. - Rogue Planet (2000, by Greg Bear), which I haven’t read yet myself, but I’ve heard a lot of good about it. - Outbound Flight (2006, by Timothy Zahn), I haven’t read it yet, but I liked Zahn’s short stories during Anakin’s Padawan time, so I’ve got it on my list. - The Approaching Storm (2002, by Alan Dean Foster), which I’ve read half of it, and there’s some stuff I really like in there, including Anakin’s sub kink being a mile wide, and Barriss dancing scenes and Luminara being lovely.  It’s not a perfect book, but there’s things I really enjoy about it and it’s nice to see the Obi-Wan&Anakin + Luminara&Barriss teams together. I was going to find a recs list I know I did at one point and then realized it was from six years ago and I’m too embarrassed to bring it up, so I will work on a new list, since I know I’ve recommended a bunch of fic during that time! (I’m probably missing some smaller comics or short stories here and there, feel free to mention titles if you’ve got ‘em, everyone.)

[lightwise]

Ahsoka Episode 4 Spoilers/Thoughts

This was...a big one, to say the least.

Also note to self do NOT open tumblr while in the middle of watching an episode or you will be spoiled for that epic ending *sobs* oh well...

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

2/2 Star Wars characters repairing ship wiring on their back...v nice

Sabine, you realize none of you would be in this position if you hadn't squirreled away with the map in your tower...jus sayin...

"Can I count on you?" Yeah I'm gonna say that's a no...

Sabine loading her blasters is super cool but also giving me flashbacks to trying to reload staple gun or nail gun cartridges and hoping you don't launch them into your face in the process

Natasha plays Sabine's nervous energy very well and Rosario is showing Ahsoka's own unease, reserve, but also very caring concern, extremely well. I really wish we could see the history between these two--animated in between series anyone??

I wonder why Dave doesn't bring up the fact that Ahsoka owes Ezra her life. It's only focused on what Ezra means to Sabine, but he means a lot to Ahsoka too.

Huyang's lil hands on hips...you can tell he's a full practical build here.

Speaking of...I REALLY want to know if the practical robot was used for this fight scene, or if they switched to someone in a costume/CGI. It seems like the HK droids are people/CGI but I could be wrong about that. Either way, go Huyang go!

It's always a treat to see Mandos and Jedi fighting styles together. And Sabine's Wonder Woman vambrace block was great.

Ahsoka's white lightsabers are so stunning in live action.

"May I make one request of you both?" LISTEN TO HUYANG. HE KNOWS WHAT'S UP. "Stay together." And WHAT ARE THEY NOT GONNA DO SMH

"Mom, how come I have to do what I'm told and you don't" lmao

Jacen is so spunky and I'm so glad Dave is having him be a full part of the series.

Carson Teva my man! And Brendan!

BUT WHERE ARE ZEB AND KALLUS. WHERE ARE OUR MARRIED BOIS

"Faith? I lost that a long time ago" Baylon's backstory pleaseeeee. Who was his master. How far did he get in training. Was he knighted? Did he have a padawan pre-order 66? Where was he during the war? Where was he during Order 66? When did he walk away, and what did he walk away to? What are his goals now? How did he find Shin/why did he want to train her? We desperately need a comic or a book here Lucasfilm

The graphics for the countdown clock (and the droids manning them) are super cool

Shin dear lord can you be any more dramatic

Sabine and Shin running off like rabid wolves while Ahsoka is just like, oh please, do I really have to deal with this right now

Ahsoka > any inquisitor, dead or alive, magic or real, anytime, any place, any age LOL

Ugh the parallels to Obi-Wan and Maul are impeccable.

So I totally knew Marrok would be a nobody/throwaway character but a nightsister necromancer ghost??? Did not see that coming at all. Eerie

Shin seems honestly disturbed by seeing Marrok fall. I wonder if the body that was used was someone she knew or had a connection to.

The lightsaber usage in this show is so interesting and such a unique blend of samurai techniques, OT trilogy techniques, and more realistic stabbing and swiping and slicing motions. I love the choreography and cinematography of Shin and Sabine going at it as well as how the trees and landscape are used in their fight.

Looks like Shin got her dramatics from her master. Sitting there with his hood up for effect lol

Definitely getting flashbacks to Ahsoka's sass in her fight with Maul in TCW.

Baylon's textured armor is so incredible. I want to see him leading a 13th century cavalcade

Can he read people's minds? Or does he do in depth research like Thrawn does so he knows the weak points of his opponents?

“One must destroy in order to create.” No. You are incorrect sir. One must die. One must morph, must change, in order to create. But that is different than destroying.

Again with the one saber. It's such an odd choice for Ahsoka to do that, and it honestly feels like an excuse for Baylon to be able to overpower her later. I don't quite like it.

It is very interesting how Baylon views Ahsoka, and tells her that her legacy is death and broken promises. What exactly does he think her legacy is? Because that is Anakin's legacy, not hers (at least through Rebels). What has happened since then?

He looks so sad, honestly.

There's way too much leaving oneself open to attack in this episode.

The fight scene definitely looks slowed down a little, and it's a little clunky, but man Baylon is brutal with his saber. Again why is Ahsoka not using both of hers to combat is strength??

Either there's a trailer shot that never made it into this fight, or Baylon and Ahsoka fight again. I'm missing where she kicks back against one of those tall rocks and flips over. That was such a cool shot.

I honestly can't believe Shin was able to block the whistling birds lol. That would be an intense hit to the face. Also I love how much of the shots and sparks in these shows are practical. It makes it feel so much more real.

The map burning Ahsoka is wild. It makes sense but very unfortunate.

Hot damn Ahsoka! She definitely was tapping into some anger there. In real life that hit to the back of the head should have seriously injured Shin. Filoni is really being gritty and brutal with the fights in this show, they're raw and dirty in ways that the trilogies were not.

Aaaaaand while I know Ahsoka isn't dead yet (there's no way Filoni would kill off the title character halfway through a first season) holy cow that was heartwrenching

Baylon is a master manipulator. He makes Maul look like a babbling teenager. And yet he doesn't seem to derive any twisted pleasure from it. He just is doing what he thinks he needs to do.

I'm sorry Ahsoka had WHAT to do with Sabine's family dying???? In the Purge??? Ugh geez that's awful.

Gah DAMN it Sabine!! C'mon girl!! Bad decision, bad decision!

WHAT IS THIS GREATER GOOD BAYLON

I would have loved to see Obi-Wan face off against Baylon. The quiet patience and calm strength...too much for one room

He is just not done digging at Ahsoka is he. Again, master manipulator, but why?

Huyang's little magnifying glass!

Dave definitely nailed the lighting in this show. Even if the volume is still apparent in some shots, the lighting is finally dialed in and soft and realistic and atmospheric. That shot of Baylon after decimating the map is epic.

Yeahhh, Hera, ya'll might want to skedaddle right quick before you get....oh, too late....

"Mom? I've got a bad feeling." Me too kid, me too.

"Lady Wren, Lady Tano" *sobbing* Hera make sure Huyang makes it back pls

This transition.

Oh boy

I know what's coming bc I got on tumblr too early but OH MAN

ahhhh it's so gorgeous

it's here, it's finally here and it's BEAUTIFUL (The World Between Worlds, who did you think I was talking about, Anakin? ;)

I'm KIDDING ANAKIN IS BEAUTIFUL TOO OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES

"Hello Snips" I can't I truly can't

"I didn't expect to see you so soon" so is she dead? Dying? Disassociating while drowning? Dave if you kill Ahsoka off in this show I will never forgive you

She is in shock omg look at him she is reunited with her brother, her master, her friend!!

We think--DAVE WHAT DOES VADER THEME MEAN. DAVE, SIR, HOW DARE YOU KNOW HOW TO LEAVE US ON SUCH A CLIFFHANGER IT IS UNFAIR.

Welp I have no idea what to do with myself until next week and we find out what's going on here. I swear if that's not the real Anakin I will be beside myself.

Let's get ready for flashbacks folks. What an episode.

[unexpectedreylo]

The Reylo Heresies #1

Heresy:  Reylo wasn’t planned as a ship.

It’s an assumption among Reylos that the romantic relationship was entirely planned from the beginning and it was absolutely Lucasfilm’s intention they would end up the one true pairing of the sequel trilogy.

I’m here to tell you I don’t think that’s true at all.  Most of what we got was basically an accident, a confluence of factors that added up to something nobody really planned or expected.

What happened was the Jedi Killer--a character from early drafts/outlines that ultimately became Kylo Ren--was meant to be something of an antagonist for the female protagonist who became Rey.  Given that both were gifted in the Force there would naturally be some kind of connection between them, some push-pull, some light side/dark side tension.  Those elements made it in the films.  The oft-posted/retweeted concept art from The Art of TFA shows the Jedi Killer in a Phantom of the Opera type from behind embrace of the female protagonist.  (Weirdly and fortuitously enough it was modeled from a photo shoot featuring Adam Driver some time before he was actually cast.)  This is often used as evidence Reylo was “planned” from the beginning.  Aside from this artwork though there’s nothing suggested in Lucas’s outlines or known earlier drafts of the TFA script that Rey and Kylo Ren were being set up in the same sense Anakin and Padmé or Han and Leia were.  In fact my initial impression after seeing TFA was that Rey and Kylo were cousins!

Any discussion about romance by JJ Abrams or others involved with the TFA when the film came out was very cagey and not very specific.  In fact if anything, TFA flirts but doesn’t get to first base with anybody:  not Kylo and Rey, not Rey and Finn, and not Finn and Poe.  All Abrams did was establish a kind of connection between the dynamic duo but he didn’t realize that if you have a young attractive man and a young attractive woman looking at each other intensely a lot or if you have her faint in his strong arms then he carries her away, people are going to think there’s something going on.  Lightsabers?  That’s just foreplay!

I don’t think Adam or Daisy intentionally played up any sexual tension in their scenes together to give us an impression about something in TFA.  I think it just happened.  Early bird Reylos picked up on it.  Some critics, including the one who wrote the TFA review for Time magazine, picked up on it.  And perhaps, just maybe, Rian Johnson picked up on it too.

I think Abrams was shooting for some vague Force siblings, good twin/evil twin kind of thing.  Johnson IMO saw a thread of something else as a result of the way Daisy and Adam played off each other and didn’t want to just repeat the Luke and Leia thing.  So in TLJ he pushed the relationship more into the romantic territory and let the sexual tension between Rey and Kylo go nuts.  There’s a reason why the number of Reylos exploded after that movie came out, me included.  Johnson pulled every visual trick in the book to make you think there’s more going on than just the Force.  It’s really similar to the arc between Ana de Armas and Chris Evans in “Knives Out” but way more intense.  You could cut the sexual tension with a knife and serve it with tea.  It was also absolutely the best thing about TLJ and the sequels in general.  

Johnson left Rey and Kylo back in their enemies corners at the end of TLJ but the Reylo beast was on the loose and there was no putting it back in the cage.  I’m sure Lucasfilm, Chris Terrio, and JJ Abrams were pulling their hair out because they had no idea how to resolve something they didn’t intend in the first place.  Johnson had been given free reign and I’m sure that will never happen again with any Star Wars feature film.  If one is ever made.

My best piece of evidence that Reylo wasn’t really planned was its near total absence in Colin Trevorrow’s Duel of the Fates screenplay.  In fact, Colin T. forced Johnson to stick in that “Hi, I’m Poe” scene at the end of TLJ to justify a kissing scene with Rey and Poe in his script.  DOTF features Rey and Kylo fighting like Itchy and Scratchy until he’s dying and decides to be nice and tell Rey she was named after a beach in San Diego.  (Solana, in case you’re wondering.)  If Reylo had been planned there would’ve been a lot more than that.

Ultimately JJerio had to acknowledge Reylo even if there was no intent whatsoever to give Rey and Ben a HEA, so we got (let’s be honest) way better scenes between them in TROS than in DOTF.  There wasn’t even a dyad concept in DOTF.  And no kiss.

To summarize, we got Reylo largely from Rian Johnson as well as the chemistry between Daisy and Adam.  Nobody could’ve planned that from the beginning.

[oftincturedwords]

Title: Ties Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Star Wars : The Bad Batch Rating: T+ Chapter Warnings: ¡Spoilers! Crying , Grief/Mourning , Implied Canon Character Death , Angst , Nightmares , Explicit Nightmares , etc. Characters: Crosshair & Omega Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort , Brother - Sister Dynamics , Holding Hands , Crying , etc. Timeline: Based off of Star Wars : The Bad Batch series three trailer ; scene with Crosshair & Omega in cells beside each other Pairings: Gen. None. Word Count: 3034 Overall Summary: Crosshair doesn't allow his gaze to drift towards the cell next to his, the open slates between them allowed him some view of the entrance and within the cell the kid usually occupied. It was too great risk for familiarly to be used as leverage against them. But he can't remain distant when he knows something is wrong. Chapter Summary: Crosshair wakes in the middle of the night to hear Omega crying. He tries his best to help. A/N: These ideas just sprang to my head once I heard of the scene between Omega & Crosshair in the Star Wars Celebration trailer , thus add my apparent enjoyment of causing turmoil for my favourite characters , I couldn't help but write this ficlet up. I wrote it & the next chapter ( which will be posted in a few day ) up in a single night because of the inspiration so here's to hope it's coherent & in-character as I think it is ! Thus consider this a small collection of interconnecting one - shots of Crosshair & Omega whilst they are held on Tantiss. If more ideas come to mind , the chapter count will go up & the tags will be updated. I have no beta this all mistakes are mine. Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Star War : The Clone Wars & Star Wars : The Bad Batch. Neither am I associated with Lucasfilms , Disney+ , nor any of the actors who portray these characters. I make no money off any of my stories , this is purely for entertainment purposes. Read On : ao3 | under the cut

Wakefulness came instantaneously to Crosshair. Much like the times when on a mission he would be woken to take his turn of the watch, a near silent whisper of his name from one of his brothers and he was roused enough to fight if it had been needed. The instincts and habits born during combat, or from combat training, hadn't lessened any in the countless weeks he had spent as a prisoner. For his eyes were open and mind alert before he knew exactly what had woken him.

Drawn from the depths of sleep by the softest of out-of-place noise. A breathy, hiccuping sound that was familiar in the sense he had heard it before. Although the memory of it was distant, it had happened years ago in what seemed like another life, and any recollection was immediately dismissed when it registered that the stifled crying was coming from the kid’s cell.

Tensing at that realisation, Crosshair listened a moment more to the muffled sniffles and shallowly exhaled sobs from the cell directly next to his. They were quiet in a way that was deliberate and purposefully, yet desolate and grieved sounding to the point, he knew there was nothing the kid could have done to stop crying altogether. They were the tears of the emotional wrought, which never heeded logic nor yielded to restraint or threats, they wouldn't stop until they were spent.

Normally, Crosshair would have left the kid alone. He knew he wasn't good with words of comfort at the best of times and the barrier separating their cells, despite the slats that were vented through the durasteel and allowed them to see into each other’s room, it still physically barred any actions of comfort he could offer. Not that they had much to offer in way of amenities anyway, but he could have at least added his blanket to hers or sat beside her until her tears ran dry as he had done before for his brothers.

However, he wasn't sure if it would even work for her if he had been able to do that.

But after what had happened only a handful of days ago, Crosshair wasn't going to leave anything to chance with the kid if he could help it. Just because he thought he knew why she was crying didn't mean he could be wrong, he had been intimately shown that he could and had repeatedly been wrong before. Thus he, quickly yet equally as quiet, turned on his cot until he was laying on his belly and could look towards the apertures between their cells.

The lighting was dimmed to the point of blackness, aside from the red glow the shielding of their cell entrances gave off, but Crosshair had zero issue with seeing that the kid was sitting up on the bunk. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and she had her head buried into her folded arms, all but consumed by the sole blanket they had all been issued that she had lain and tucked over herself.

He could visibly see the blanket shift with every hitch of her breaths and jolt of her small frame. The greyed fabric quavered with the strength of her trembling in-between every jarring sob she fought to restrain and quiet.

“Kid.” Crosshair called out in a whisper, which caused an instant cessation of the repressed sobbing and a stillness to overcome the kid as if his voice had physically froze her on the spot.

Seeing such a reaction had Crosshair’s lips twisting moreso into a frown. The response had been a fearful one, instinctive to the point it was nearly innate. Although, he wasn’t surprised at it given how Kamino raised its clones and their current situation as captives to scientists of even less compassion than those who bred them to begin with. It felt wrong to see, and sparked at that bitterly simmering anger that always burnt within his chest.

“Crosshair?” Came her choked whisper, thick with tears and broken between the syllables of his name, as if she had spoken in the middle of a sob, whilst she tilted her head up a fraction to see over her arms and from under the blanket she had draped over her head.

“What is it?” He asked in way of an answer, his voice a sibilant murmur.

His words again had an instant effect upon her. And he could only watch as she swallowed back another sob, a pair of crystalline tears falling from her reddened eyes and slipping in twin rivulets down her already damp cheeks before she shut her eyes tightly and shook her head in the negative repeatedly. Dropping it back into her arms whilst her whole body shuddered, he heard her give a gasping breath that was only muffled by how vehemently she was pressing herself against her mouth to silence the noise.

The split second all that had taken to occur had sent a lancing of panic through Crosshair’s chest. His mind involuntarily conjured up the images of days prior and brought forth the very same helpless terror he had felt then, thus he’s shoving down his blanket without caring where he lay and throwing his legs over the side of the bunk to get up in the next instant.

Soundlessly crossing the short expanse of the room in hardly the time it would take to breathe his next breath, Crosshair came up to the adjoining wall of their cells that held a small space between it and the end of his bunk that he could crouched down by yet still see through the lower ends of the open slats on the wall. It was less conspicuous to any passing guards if they happened to walk by or check the cameras since it would afford him the sparse few seconds to return to his bunk or appear to be anything other than talking with the kid.

He moved automatically, an ingrained habit to conceal and hide that hadn't left his muscle memory from the years he’d spent in the main barracks on Kamino before he and his brothers had been given their own privately shared quarters. Yet if something were dangerously wrong with the kid, his secrecy wound proved unneeded for he would ensure the guards brought medical up and to her if she needed it. After last time, he doubted he would have to make much of a racket to get them to obey.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his harsh whisper laced with a steeliness that sharpened his tone, the underlying of heightened concern was buried beneath its acerbity.

The only answer he received were the chocked sounds of her muffled weeping.

“Omega.” He called, an urgency within the sole whisper of her name that held every ounce of worry and tension he was feeling.

“‘M not hurt,” She finally answered after a stretched handful of moments, her words a tad garbled by her tears but understandable enough, “Or sick. Just, just had a nightmare.”

Crosshair felt himself practically wilt against the wall before him, a relief it wasn't anything more serious and potentially life threatening washed over him with an immediacy that left him feeling shaky. But he simply breathed out the stress of the last several minutes in a muted exhale, willing his mind away from the images his memories held of a few days ago.

Pausing only a moment to contemplate her words further, nothing physical was wrong, but it didn't make her distress any less. It'd been a few years since Crosshair had helped any of his brothers with nightmares of this extent. Since leaving Kamino they had all dealt with them differently than they had as cadets, never alone still, unless any of them professed the want to be alone after them.

But it was more of waking them if they couldn't on their own, then offering a sip-pack of filtered water and sitting nearby until the haunting images faded enough for them to return to sleep. If sleeping again wasn't an option, then staying up till the terror or ill feelings weren't so pressing. Or so Crosshair had always done. He wasn't one for many words, nor comfortingly eloquent, and so he didn't offer much assurances that way. Actions usually spoke louder than words anyway.

Thus Crosshair simply turned around from where he knelt and shifted so he could sit down, cross legged with his back against the thin openings between their cells.

Leaning his head back against them, he quietly turned to sit on the durasteel flooring. It's coldness seeping through the fabric of his trousers to chill the flesh along his legs and arse, but it was negligible and not an unfamiliar sensation since he had camped out on the deck beside bunks and berths multiple times throughout his eleven years of life. Slept even on worse surfaces.

He couldn't be there next to her, but he could still sit with her as close as he their physical confines allowed him to. Attempting to offer her the silent comfort he had afforded his brothers numerous times before; the voiceless succour he’d provided hunter whenever he had migraines so painful he was entirely incapacitated yet couldn't be left alone, the same quiet amity he lent tech whenever his brother would narrate the process of a complicated project whilst he verbally worked through the issue, the soundless presence he had given the reg whenever he sat with him on his bunk during sleepless nights.

With Wrecker it had been less about crosshair offering a silent support and more about rising to meet his older brother’s energy, engaging in and initiating contests and games that they routinely fought for place as victor. It was usually Wrecker who worked to be the calm and steady company whenever Crosshair had needed it.

He wasn't certain what would best work with the kid. His options were limited as is, he knew, especially given there were eyes upon them more often than not, but perhaps this would grant a modicum of solace? If anything he would remain awake alongside her, she wouldn't be alone.

A modified silence reigned around them. No noise except for the distant humming of the buildings’ systems, the air vents cycling and the low humming that always came from the multiple glowing shields that held them all within their prisons. Only accompanied by the smothered hiccuping sobs and wet snuffling that came from the kid as she continued to quietly cry.

“I dreamt of that day on Eriadu,” He heard her speak up suddenly after several minutes had passed, explaining the reason for her upset in a subdued voice, softly heaving a stuttered breath thereafter, “The, the day that Tech...”

Crosshair stiffened at hearing her admission, startled by the onslaught of heartache hearing his little brother’s name had shot through his core. Eyes closing on their own accord, he strove to keep his own breathing even. Measured and counted.

He had been informed of what happened by Hemlock. The kriffing bastard had brandished the remains of Tech’s shattered helmet to him as if it were a trophy meant to be shown off and smiled at with revenance.

Later when he had been returned to his own cell and saw the kid was in hers, looking worriedly over at him, he had whirled on her once the guards had left them alone. Not shouting nor anywhere near loud, but demanded he did. Low and severe, he relaid what Hemlock told him to her and pressed to know if it was true. Yet he hadn't needed any verbal confirmation from her since the expression on her face and the welling of tears in her eyes had told him everything.

Shuddering, Crosshair drew a slow breath against the icy-grip of grief that reached out from his heart to clamp vice-like around his chest, intertwining its talons between each and every rib. It strove to stutter his next inhale and constrict the rest to nothing.

The ire he had initially felt when he had found out had tapered, he couldn't remain angry long enough to stave off the tide of grief anymore these last several days. Extinguished by a resurgence of memories, likely brought up by exhaustion and grief, from their years as cadets and from their graduation onwards to an elite squad in the GAR.

Stupid moments during the dull moments of missions or in-between assignments, idle chatter of conversations he hadn't remembered until now to petty arguments that felt all the more trivial to shared silences of companionship and solidarity.

Recollections of smiling, and outright laughing a few rare times, with his brothers. Of games and tears and jokes and the grittiest of missions where they barely made it out by the skin of their teeth. Memories of every sort, good and bad, had coalesced and come to the forefront of his mind unbidden. Each one worked to erode at his anger and the bitterness he had felt, it all felt frivolous and inane now. Regret had seeped in heavier than ever before, mingling with guilt and his grief to the degree he felt ill with it.

Learning of his brother’s death in an attempt to rescue him and then seeing the kid had been captured only to have her confirm his warning had been received just not followed had twisted something deep inside Crosshair. He had clung to the rage at their continued distrust of him, that they wouldn't even listen to his wanting, and had been snuffed out almost immediately.

For their squad had never been one to follow orders or adhere to any strict rules, anything ‘by the book’ was a joke they all smirked at. He shouldn't have expected anything less, even if the kid was involved. she was off the same stock after all, and living with those four for so long had to have had an influence.

Maker knows Wrecker, Tech, and the reg. held no impulse control if Hunter wasn't actively present. Thus he doubted the kid was any different.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was closer now, directly at his back, so lost to his reminiscence he hadn't heard her get up nor walk over towards where he sat, “I know you’re mourning him too. That's why I didn't want to say anything.”

Her words felt more akin to a hit to the solar plexus than the expression of sympathy that they were. And again he had to work to steady his breathing lest he lose any control over the amount of oxygen he drew in, shoving back against the pressure welling within his own chest.

Focussing instead on the faint sounds from her side of the slatted wall, hearing the soft shuffling of the kid’s clothes along with the dull thumps of her sitting down behind him. The faint warmth he could feel from her back through the slits in the wall told him she had mirrored his posture.

“But I miss them so much.” She said after a breadth of silence between them, nearer a broken whimper that continued through the wobbliness of tears to whisper, “And I want to go home, but when we get out of here and see Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo again, Tech won't— No rescue plan or any amount of credits can bring him back to us.”

Clenching his eyes closed at hearing her words, spoken so plainly and bereaved yet still she held out hope for rescue based upon her use of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’, and she remained adamant in her wish to have him return with her it seemed since she only ever referred to them instead of just herself when it came to escaping or being rescued. ‘We’ never ‘me’ or ‘I’ when she spoke of it. Believing in it so heartedly she didn't seem aware she had used such verbiage.

It brought forth another form of sadness to Crosshair's chest, the grief over knowing Tech was gone nestled beside the misery of knowing her hopes would not be met.

Omega held such belief in their brothers and in everything turning out with them reunited, even if it wasn't better or all right, that they would all see each other again. But Tech had already lost his life in an effort to rescue just him, thus locating this place and infiltrating it was a challenge unlike any they had encountered before. Too many variables to calculate against and the highest of secrecy about this place, along with the Empire’s sheer numbers and degree of control. Add to the fact, Hemlock held a sadistic ambition when it came to his experiments…

It was unlikely they would be found before something worse happened. If they could be located at all, there was an even less chance of everyone surviving that rescue attempt. In one piece or at all. There was little accuracy in her hopes, but Crosshair supposed that was why they were called hopes. They weren't actuality nor truths, simply wishes that were based upon a small shard of reality. And after everything that had been taken from her, he couldn't take that from her. Not yet, not now.

Venting a muted sigh, Crosshair bowed his head and moved a hand of his to reach back beside him through the lower end of the opening between their cells. Although his hands were lithe, he could only reach through to the knuckles nearest his palm before the edges of the slat stopped him, but it was enough for him to brush the fabric of her sleeve.

Pinching the material awkwardly between his pointer and middle finger, he tugged it gently twice to gain her attention towards his hand. Hearing her shift behind him, he released her shirtsleeve to splay out his finger slightly in a deliberate motion. Only a second's pause came from her before a quiet sniffle met the air and he felt her small hand encircle his fingers. And he curled his fingers a slight to ensure she felt his attempt to hold her hand back.

A/N: :))) I have made myself sad now… but another chapter to come , so see you soon with more feels <3 The next chapter will detail what Crosshair references in this chapter about what happened to Omega those days prior.

[isagrimorie]

“I’m not telling people what to do,” Filoni told Vanity Fair of his new role. “But I do feel I’m trying to help them tell the best story that they want to tell. I need to be a help across the galaxy here, like a part of a Jedi Council almost.”

----

“Now I’m what’s called chief creative officer of Lucasfilm,” Filoni tells Vanity Fair, which places him into the development process much earlier and in a much more expansive capacity than his previous advisory duties. “In the past, in a lot of projects I would be brought into, I would see it after it had already developed a good ways.”  Filoni will now work more directly with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and alongside Carrie Beck, a veteran producer turned head of development, to originate and shepherd the next generation of Star Wars shows and movies. After spending many years involved in the creation of Star Wars animation, including the Rebels series, he became increasingly involved in live-action as a producer with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. “In this new role, it’s opened up to basically everything that’s going on,” Filoni says. “When we’re planning the future of what we’re doing now, I’m involved at the inception phase.”

All I can say is it's about damned time.

Love him or hate him, one thing was sure: Star Wars needed a strong singular creative vision behind the scenes. I may have greatly hated the prequels once upon a time but I couldn't deny that it had a strong arc.

Also, I love how Filoni portrays the Force as weird and mystical.

The important part here too, is that Carrie Beck will be right there with Filoni since she's been working with him since Clone Wars!