#star wars the bad batch intro story

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Fight to the Very End

Summer of Bad Batch Post-Credits Collection | Prompt: "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

Summary: Echo, recently rescued from Skako Minor, learns about Fives' fate. POV: Echo Rating: PG Word Count: 2,087

Read on Ao3

(See end of the work for notes)

           He was told the ship was called the Marauder, and he was now sitting on one of the rows of passenger seats near the racks, idly watching the clone named Tech pilot the ship away from Skako Minor, the one called Wrecker lounging in the co-pilot's seat after Tech told him his assistance wouldn't be necessary. The sniper, Crosshair, was silently cleaning his rifle, leaning up against the ladder leading to the gunner's mount; Hunter, the sergeant of Clone Force 99, was sitting in one of the seats by the computers near the rear of the ship, engaged in light conversation with General Skywalker with Rex listening in. 

           Echo released a small sigh. Only a few hours ago he had been stuck in cryostasis, a prisoner of the Techno Union and the Separatists, embedded as a key component of a computer algorithm. One would think that being released from such conditions only to immediately need to run for one's life would be ample grounds for complaining about how unfair the universe was; instead, Echo had found himself feeling only immense gratitude. He had never before felt so alive, and the adrenaline rush as his years of training as a soldier had kicked back in had done wonders in propelling him forward through one high-stakes scenario after another on Skako Minor.

           He had to admit he was a little tired right now; he had quickly gotten the hang of walking on the rather substandard prosthetic legs the Techno Union had seen fit to provide him with - truth be told, now that he thought about it, he was rather surprised they had given him prosthetics at all - but he knew he was malnourished and deconditioned after being in stasis for so long, and he had started feeling the effects of this rather quickly after climbing to the clifftop with Crosshair and the General to help fight off the Separatist forces that had come after them. Still, he had managed to stay on his feet all through the fight, the aftermath, and walking to the ship that would finally take him far away from the nightmare he had experienced in Purkoll.

           It wasn't until he sat down on the passenger seat that his body made him all too aware of the strain he had just put it through, and he briefly wondered if he'd be able to get back up unaided when they reached Anaxes. 

           Exhausted though his body may be, though, his mind was still alert and observant, and he couldn't help but begin to wonder what changes must have taken place in the GAR and the Republic during his months of imprisonment. After all, while he had gathered that the rescue op had been unsanctioned, he had to wonder why certain...

           "The other generals will be glad to see you," Rex said, facing Echo and pulling him from his thoughts. "General Windu and General Kenobi are both on Anaxes." 

           Echo nodded before asking, "Where's Commander Tano? I would have thought she'd insist on coming on a mission like this." 

           "Ah, well," Rex began awkwardly, shooting a glance at Skywalker, "Commander Tano left the Jedi Order a while ago. She no longer serves with us." 

           Echo's brows furrowed in confusion, but he knew better than to push for details now, in front of General Skywalker who was now watching the two of them with a closed expression on his face. "She's still alive, though, right?" 

           Rex nodded. "As far as we know." 

           Echo nodded back, relieved by this answer but still experiencing a horrible sinking feeling in his gut as he steeled himself for his next inquiry... there was one other who would never have accepted being left out of this particular mission, and since choosing to leave the GAR wasn't a viable option for this other individual...

           "Rex... Fives is dead, isn't he?" 

           The stricken look on Rex's face answered the question; but the captain still spoke anyway. "Yes, Echo, he died a few months ago. Look, it's... it's a long story." 

           From the corner of his eye, Echo noticed the general's face harden as he turned away; but Echo, grappling with the revelation even though he had known what the answer would be, kept his attention fixed on Rex, waiting for him to continue speaking; and when he didn't, Echo prompted him. 

           "Well, what happened? What... how did it happen?" he said, the words nearly catching in his throat. 

           Rex shook his head. "You don't want to know, Echo." 

           Echo sat back, stunned and confused by this assertion. "Of course I do. Fives is - was my brother. I need to know..."

           "No, you really don't," Rex snapped, his voice rising. Abruptly catching himself, he let out a long breath before falling into silence, fixing his gaze on the ground.

           Echo's throat felt like it was closing up as he thought of all the possible scenarios that would lead to Rex reacting this way. "Fives..." he swallowed in a vain attempt to try speaking above a whisper. "He… he didn't die in a battle involving the Separatist algorithm, did he?" 

           Rex's head shot up as he looked at Echo in shock. "No, that's not what happened at all," he said; and the touch of bewilderment in the captain's voice, as if wondering how Echo had come to such a conclusion, provided ample assurance that he, Echo, hadn't played any part - intentional or not - in Fives' demise. But then, what could possibly have happened that Rex was so adamant in not discussing the details? 

           "Then why won't you tell me what happened?"

           Rex shook his head, looking more run down than Echo had ever seen him. "Like I said, it's a long story, and it's... complicated." Rex took a breath before adding hesitantly in a lower tone, "Just... Fives thought... He tried..." Rex sighed again before continuing, "Look, all you need to know is Fives thought he was doing the right thing, and he died trying to save his brothers. That's all." 

           Echo, finding the pain and remorse in Rex's eyes unbearable to witness, looked directly to the General for more answers; but General Skywalker just shook his head and looked away again. 

           Peripherally, Echo was aware that the members of Clone Force 99 were exchanging glances with each other, though they stayed silent. 

           And in the thick, oppressive, uncertain silence, it occurred to Echo that it really didn't matter what had happened. Knowing wouldn't bring Fives back. Nothing would bring Fives back. 

           The urgency, the panic, the fear in Fives' voice when he had shouted "Echo, look out!" were indelibly etched into Echo's memory. He had been unaware of their significance then - there had barely been any time to process the warning; but now he knew these were the last words he had ever heard, would ever hear from his brother. Fives had been there for him, fighting by his side when the explosion had occurred. But he hadn't been there for Fives when Fives had died. 

           "Just tell me this," Echo said quietly, looking again at Rex. "Did he die alone?"  

           "No," Rex said, eager to reassure him though still barely able to meet his gaze. "No, I was with him. The General and I were both with him." 

           By this point the shock and grief had set in, and Echo was barely aware of his nod to Rex in acknowledgement of the answer. 

           He should be used to this by now. He had seen so much death already, lost too many brothers to count in this war. His heart should be completely scarred and calloused over, numb to the pain of bereavement. But no, he wasn't numb, and the pain was the worst it had ever been - it felt like his heart had been ripped entirely out of his chest, leaving a gaping black void where Fives should have been. 

           No one spoke for the rest of the journey back to Anaxes - or rather, if they did, Echo registered none of it. He sat unmoving on the passenger seat, staring unseeingly at his scomp arm. Rex had recently said things could be just like old times. But that was impossible. He knew that now. Things would never be the same again. 

           He, Echo, was the last of Domino Squad. 

           He shouldn't have been the last. He should be dead. But he wasn't, instead he was somehow alive while the rest of his squad was gone. 

           He wasn't sure which was the worse fate.  

           They reached Anaxes, and before Echo fully realized what was going on he found himself in the medical wing being interrogated by medical droids, Rex and the others having been called away to debrief the other generals.

 

           "Are you experiencing any pain?" one of the droids asked. 

           "I don't know… uh, maybe a headache," he said vaguely, knowing he could never explain to a droid what heartache felt like even if there was a medical cure for it. 

           The interrogation soon being over, Echo laid down on the cot for the droids to complete more testing and, wondering where the sudden wave of anxiety was coming from as the droids hovered over him, kept a tight lid on his inexplicable panic by grasping tightly onto the first memory that crossed his mind and focusing on reliving it. 

           Only a week after five cadets had officially been designated Domino Squad, CT-782 had made the first biting comment that landed Droidbait and Echo with their names, much to their outrage; CT-4040 had responded with a quip that annoyed Fives, the only squad member at the time who had self-selected a nickname and didn't want to be called by his CT number; and the resulting brawl had landed them all in the medical wing. One of the trainers, Tulso, had come to chastise them and, exasperated by the continued bickering between them, had shouted, "None of you know when to stop fighting, do you?"

           "Not us, sir," CT-4040 had answered cheerfully. "Whatever happens, we keep fighting to the very end."

           All the others had groaned at this; but apparently the idea had made a lasting impression on Fives, who had started using it with Echo as a sort of battle motto when prepping for missions after they had become ARC troopers. Actually, now that Echo thought about it, Fives had said it just before they had stepped into carbonite for their mission to Lola Sayu.

           "The Citadel," Echo had remarked. "Not sure we'll ever have a mission more dangerous than this one. Unless we go up against Count Dooku himself, I guess." 

           Fives, surprisingly, had been more solemn than usual as he had turned to Echo, hand outstretched for a parting handshake. "Whatever happens, Echo, we keep fighting to the very end, right?" 

           "To the very end," Echo had repeated his typical reply. 

           But Fives had gripped his hand a little longer, looking him straight in the eye. "Promise me, Echo." 

           Echo had looked at him with some surprise before saying earnestly, "Only if you promise, too." 

           "Deal," Fives had said before dropping Echo's hand and regaining his typical confident, adventurous demeanor.

           The medical droids finished up their scans as Echo allowed the memory to draw to a close and brought himself back to the present. Now, one of the droids was telling him they were recommending at least a month's medical leave before being reevaluated for possible return to active duty. 

           Echo was silent as the recommendation sank in and he thought about what to do. 

           He had spent months locked up in a vault, turned into a computer, forced to fight against the Republic, against his own brothers, against everything they stood for. How many clones besides Fives had died while he had been trapped in the algorithm? How many more would die now as the Separatists held the upper hand on Anaxes? 

           He had been found, saved, released from imprisonment, given new life. Fives was gone - he had reached the end and would never return. But it wasn't the end for Echo. Not yet. 

           He shook his head at the droids. "Find me some armor. I need to talk to my superior officers."  

           It was time to make things right, time to turn the tide against those who had held him captive. It was time to make good on his promise to Fives. 

           He would keep fighting. To the very end. 

           For the Republic.

           For all his clone brothers. 

           For Domino Squad. 

           For Fives.

(Notes: Given the circumstances of Fives' death, I assume many of the details were classified anyway; but apart from this, I can't help but imagine that Rex could not bring himself to tell Echo that the circumstances leading to Fives' death included Fives being in a paranoid state, (allegedly) attacking the Supreme Chancellor, going on the run, imprisoning Anakin and Rex, ranting about what was considered a wild conspiracy theory, and ultimately being shot and killed by fellow clones. Since Echo knows nothing about inhibitor chips in "Aftermath," I'm even more inclined to believe that Rex never revealed to him the full details of Fives' death until after meeting up with Echo and CF99 again in "Battle Scars.")

[im-no-jedi]

update about MLWTBB

it’s been a while since I’ve posted any of my stories, and there’s multiple reasons for that. the main one so far has been lack of proofreading, which Ham and I already talked about. sadly, I’m probably going to start posting my work without her edits for the foreseeable future (with the potential of me adding her edits later). another one is that I’m not happy with how I’ve been formatting my posts here on Tumblr. I’ve been using the same intro since I started posting the first MLWTBB over a year ago, and it’s become both redundant and unnecessary imo. finally, I’ve been considering this for a while, but I’d like to start making either graphics or artwork for each of my stories. ideally, I’d have a new one for every chapter (and I might do that at some point), but starting off, I would just have one per story.

all of this has me considering not just how I post my stories going forward, but also potentially reposting my older stories with the new format as well. this would only apply to here and not AO3, which is already formatted completely differently. I would update the masterlist to accommodate this as well, of course, favoring the reuploads over the original versions.

I’m still trying to figure things out, so it may still be a while before I post my next story. I know, it’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything, and I feel bad for that. I have three different stories already complete that have been waiting to be uploaded for months now. and I love this series and think about it constantly, and I have no intention of ending it anytime soon. season 2 has been rattling around in my brain and giving me new ideas for future stuff that I cannot WAIT to share with everyone. it’s just going to be a long time before we get there unfortunately 😅

so yeah, tl;dr I’m reworking how I post MLWTBB going forward and may be reuploading the entire series so far in a better format, which means the next story might not release for a while longer. ironically, the next story would be more fitting to release in May considering the subject matter, but that’s all I’ll say about it 😜

I know this series isn’t very popular, but it’s extremely important to me. it’s rekindled my love for writing and telling stories, and that’s the main reason I’m continuing it. to the few people who’ve read and enjoyed the series so far, thank you so much. what started as a self-indulgent way for me to live with my favorite characters has turned into what I consider my magnum opus, and I can’t wait to share the rest of it with all of you in the future 💙💙💙

[tootalltech]

intro post bc it's about time...

hi. my name is aylo, or roman. this is the only blog i really use which used to be just for the show the bad batch, but has now turned into a multifandom mess + whatever the hell i feel like posting/reblogging

i sometimes post rants about whatever i'm currently interested in! and if you're into the same thing as me then i'd love to talk to you/be mutuals. i'm not online a TON bc getting a social science major still takes some work but yk. i generally respond to people.

my special interest is u.s. law and i am rarely not thinking about it (mostly criminal law and trials). one might even say i have... lawtism (i cannot take credit for this term).

currently fixated on:

hockey. it’s bad. /pos.

not quite as obsessed with atm but still always willing to talk about:

the crucible

town of salem (the video game)

how to get away with murder

succession

legend of zelda

deadpool (the movies specifically)

ozark

the henry stickmin collection

a few good men

star wars

loot: how to steal a fortune

the darkest minds

the familiars

mock trial

lab rats (disney xd)

the land of stories

suits

the same level of obsession but for dc comics so it needs its own category:

gotham (tv)

young justice (tv)

justice league: animated series

justice league unlimited

wonder woman (2017)

batman vs. superman (2016)

the dark knight (2008)

green lantern: animated series

some shows that i have been fixated on before which now cause me great pain to discuss (but technically i can):

the bad batch

the umbrella academy

and then just some bands i like:

joywave (WOOOO)

fall out boy

led zeppelin

foreign air

missio

U2

oingo boingo

iamx

modest mouse

my kid brother

brick + mortar

that's pretty much it! feel free to reach out to me about any of my interests if you ever want. i'm pretty chill i think. unless you get something about law blatantly wrong in front of me (half joking).

[jojo-schmo]

I just wanna know, what other fandoms do you like other then Kirby?

Oh thanks for asking!! In terms of fandoms I’m really just active here in the Kirby world right now. And it’s been just lovely. But in terms of other things I like, I have lots :D

Is this a good excuse to show off my figure and pin collection and talk about the other stuff I like? I’m going to take it. If that’s something interesting to you I’ll throw it under the cut here. :D

(I’ve redacted some pins from my personal life that are not fandom relevant) but here’s my little pin tapestry! It’s a work in progress but I love collecting pins!! It’s not the best photo but if anyone genuinely wants to see an individual pin or charm up close just ask :P

So just from this tapestry, I’ve got Kirby of course. And Kingdom Hearts as I’ve mentioned before. But I also play Genshin (as a Childe main hehe), love me some Star Wars (I need to watch the second season of Bad Batch I am just nervous for these characters lol), Jojo, Animal Crossing (Stitches is my favorite villager! Who’s yours?), SpongeBob (I am capable of an entire conversation made up of old SpongeBob quotes), Game Grumps/Starbomb, and up there near the top right is an Ava’s Demon pin from its first Kickstarter, and uhhh -coughing- a Homestuck pin from like 2013 -cough- I took the classpect quiz back then and I was a Mage of Breath plus John is my favorite character

Oh- and along the bottom it’s hard to see but I also really like Steven Universe, Undertale, Our Flag Means Death, Good Omens (not pictured but I hope to own some merch soon), and Breath of the Wild (haven’t gotten to the rest of the series yet but I’m interested in it!)

Here’s some more Kingdom Hearts and also Monsters Inc which I LOVE SO MUCH! Monsters University is my favorite Pixar movie, it’s very sentimental to me. Can’t believe I get to live in a world where Sora meets Mike and Sulley <3

Also my prized Keyblade Conductor Batons that I got at the KH Orchestra tours and are among my most cherished possessions of my life :’)

Finally just another little display. I’ve collected Sorcerer Mickey stuff for a long time. Fantasia had a big impact on me when I watched it as a kid. And also a little lone Mami Tomoe figure who is my favorite from Madoka Magica , and was the first anime I ever watched. (One heck of an intro to the anime scene right??? Lol)

And finally there’s other stuff I’m really into that aren’t pictured like Pokémon and Fnaf and probably lots of others. I do love me some Pokémon tho. Dragonite is my favorite!!!!!! :D

Anyway there’s a little peek into the other stuff I like hehehe. There’s plenty more I’m not thinking of- I just enjoy a lot of media and stories!!

[rarepairdumpster]

INTRO POST

Hello. Our names are Arch and Woods and we write random rarepair scenes together for funsies. Arch decided that, even though we do this as a stress release and for our own personal enjoyment, maybe some of y'all might enjoy it too.

MOST OF OUR POSTS WILL HAVE NSFW OR MATURE CONTENT. Please be aware that this is an 18+ blog run by 18+ people writing about 18+ things. Everything relevant will be tagged above the cut.

What are we currently writing: Viktor/Silco (Arcane) What we have written and will probably write again: Echo/Tech (Star Wars: Bad Batch) Vander/Silco "Zaundads" (Arcane)

Prompts and requests are absolutely welcome but not guaranteed. We write what we vibe with. It's also totally okay to be inspired or take headcanons from our stories/posts/incoherent ramblings. We would appreciate a little tag is all <3

Arch's main (They/Them. 18+) Woods' main (She/They. 18+)

[im-no-jedi]

I wasn't gonna add to this post cause I am FAR from new here, but I've seen some older folks share their info, so I've decided to join in✨

(this got long so I'm putting it under a cut, you're welcome 😝)

hello! 👋🏻 I'm Hannah, a mid 30s woman with a massive love for everything Star Wars! I also enjoy a plethora of other nerdy things, including video games (mostly Nintendo), dungeons and dragons (huuuuuge Critical Role fan!!), other Disney franchises (including Marvel), and various cartoons (AtLA, Gravity Falls, TMNT, Transformers, just to name a few!). I'm the oldest of four, with my younger siblings being @jam-n-ham, @knight-tyme, and my social media averse brother LOL. I was diagnosed last year with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and it's been a very uplifting journey of recovery since then (am currently on Zoloft for the anxiety/depression, and it's been VERY helpful 💙). I'm very artistic and like writing, drawing, and making graphics. I also occasionally make gifs when the urge strikes; several of you have used them in various posts (you may have even seen some of my meme gifs during the TCW era LOL).

my passion project right now is a long-spanning self-insert series of stories set in the TBB show called "My Life With The Bad Batch". it stars, well, me, getting whisked away from my mundane life by our favorite group of defective clones and creating a new life for myself with them. there's romance, humor, drama, domestic fluff, and loooooots of hurt/comfort hehe. it's mostly canon compliant for now, but I feel like I might start veering away from canon come season 3 😅. I started writing the first story back at the end of 2021 and finished it midway into 2022; it was my first time ever finishing a long fanfic like that, and I'm very proud of it! the series now spans across 11 different stories and oneshots, with the twelfth currently in progress, and consists of nearly 270,000 words!! I've even made artwork for it! I haven't touched it since last spring, but I plan on picking it up again now that the hype for season 3 is at peak!! \o/

I've been a SW fan for most of my life, with the franchise in general being part of my entire life due to my parents being og fans (my mom was hype for ANH before it even came out!!). The Phantom Menace was my official intro to the franchise, so I have a huuuuuge affinity for the prequel era. TCW is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I adored the TBB episodes (even the unfinished version LOL). I admittedly was skeptical about an entire show about them, but I quickly fell in love all over again from the very first episode. the biggest surprise for me was Omega, as I wasn't sure if I'd like her or not from the trailers. she has now become not just one of my favorite SW characters, but one of my favorite characters period. the relationship between her and the boys is the best thing ever, especially between her and Hunter. speaking of which, despite Hunter being my favorite of the group from the very beginning, I didn't like, fall in love until the TBB show. and when I say fall in love, I MEAN IT. I haven't felt this way about a character in a LONG time. I would dare say he's at the top of my fictional Husband list, easily 🥰

I love TBB because they remind me of my own family. I'm Hunter, @jam-n-ham is Echo, my mom is Wrecker, my dad is Tech, my brother is Crosshair, and @knight-tyme is Omega. we've gone through similar struggles as a family to TBB (even going so far as my brother and I having a rough relationship for several years before reconciling), so that's why I'm really rooting for them to have a happy ending. it's been a LONG road to recovery for my own family, so seeing a similar result for my comfort characters would be the best thing ever. also, this show has helped me come to grips with my own personal struggles, particularly my mental problems. it was because of Tech and Omega's moment in The Crossing that made me finally decide to get an official diagnosis, so I'll forever be grateful for that. my life has literally changed because of this show and these characters; I can't say that about any other piece of media, honestly.

so yeah. if you're like me and can relate to the characters, then just know you're not alone 💙💙💙

If I have to take the title of Most Inconsistent Imagery/Crappiest Graphic Designer on Tumblr, so be it. 😂 But there are so many new peeps I'm seeing on here, and I'd love to hear from you! So if you're interested, would you be so kind as to reblog this with some fun stuff?

What you love about The Bad Batch?

If you're an artist, writer, creator, reader, etc?

What you love engaging with on Tumblr?

Any other fun facts about yourself that might create connections with others here?

💙

[writingforfun0714]

Hi everyone,

Sorry it’s been so long, I’ve been having some writers block. I’ve been trying to work on the block by drawing some fanart that I’ll post on my main @mabrego0714

Here are my WIPs I’m working on IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER so comment/reblog if you have a preference:

—Arcane Sisters of Mine fic Chapter 5

—Bad Batch AU—Jedi OC

—Game of Thrones/Jungle Book crossover

—Clone Wars Clone One-Shots (Day in the Life Of series, Shinies, etc)

—Delta Squad Reader Insert fic

I actually started getting writers block around the midpoint of Ahsoka. I hadn’t really had high hopes but it really fell short for me. I won’t get into it in this post, but because of my dissatisfaction with the show, my faith in Disney Star Wars has fallen. While I did think Rebels was more ‘kid-oriented’ at first, I didn’t hate it and I even grew to love it as a young adult (iirc Rebels is Disney’s first SW content). The Sequel trilogy should’ve been a wake up call.

Then, Clone Wars Season 7 was announced. I thought the animation was beautiful (aside from the horrendous clone model), and the soundtrack/music is incredible. That being said, I have some major problems with the story(ies). I liked the ideas but not the execution.

The Bad Batch’s intro is a perfect example.

It’s clear that the group is quite different in CW S7 than in their own show (which I won’t get into rn since those that have seen my previous posts know I hate tbb). In TCW, they are introduced as a unique clone squad that all have enhanced senses. They are shown to be disobedient and disconnected from the other clones, which makes absolutely no sense. They appear different to the ‘regular’ clones who have a derogatory nickname of ‘regs’. Their mission is to save a ‘reg’ clone who we (the audience) thought was dead: ARC Trooper Echo.

We see Rex’s loyalty to his men through his faith that Echo is alive. Despite being clones, Rex KNOWS the sound of Echo’s voice because of how long he’s served with him. Because of their prejudices, The Batch is skeptical and Crosshair, the sniper, even taunts Rex about Echo’s death. Despite being in the wrong, Wrecker, CF99’s weapons expert and largest of the group, defends Crosshair and attacks Jesse for defending Rex. That clearly set up a good group character arc of learning that all clones are brothers, not just the ones closest to you. At the end of Echo’s story, we learn that CF99 offers him to join the squad and he accepts (despite the group looking down on Echo and judging him once rescuing him).

We don’t learn until TBB that what little progress, if any, towards having a good relationship with clones is gone.

Next we learn about where Ahsoka’s been since walking away from The Jedi Order. It’s assumed she’s been hiding on the lower levels of Coruscant surviving. Her story opens with her speeder bike dying and her falling onto a garage platform belonging to the Martez sisters. Lots of people dislike the Martez sisters story arc due to their attitudes and behaviors. While I don’t hate them like a lot in the fandom seem to, they aren’t my favorite characters and I thought there were a lot of better stories that could’ve been told with Ahsoka.

That brings me to Ahsoka’s character. I get that people change over time and she was obviously still hurt by the Jedi Order, specifically the Council, but I didn’t like how easily she partnered with Bo Katan in the finale and sided with her cause given Bo’s history. She easily dismissed her relationship with Anakin (and Rex to an extent) despite her recognizing everything he did for her. But other than that, I loved Ahsoka meeting/fighting Darth Maul and the O66 moment for her and Rex was so tragic.

I loved the clones but I thought one person would’ve made it next level good: Kix, the 501st medic. I know in Legends he was frozen in carbonite/hypersleep or something and was woken up by pirates about 50-60yrs later, making him the last clone since the others have accelerated aging (aside from Boba/Omega). But I would’ve loved to see Kix either with Ahsoka and her 501st half or at least mentioned about being with Anakin and his 501st half.

So while I generally enjoy CW S7, I definitely prefer making my own interpretation and looking at fan-made art/stories.

Because I enjoyed the animation and music of CW S7, I was excited to see another show that has the same animation about clones: The Bad Batch. This is definitely one of those shows that has great ideas but the execution actually hurts it. They are shown to have lighter skin than the rest of the darker ‘regular’ clones and they all think they are superior to the other clones but especially Crosshair. Again, I won’t get into it, but TBB is a dumpster fire of racism and horrible story telling.

I definitely prefer the live action shows, but even then it’s hit or miss. Like I said, OWK and Ahsoka fell short for me. However I love Andor, Mando and TBoBF.

Which finally brings me to the upcoming Star Wars content animated and live action. SPOILERS—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

First, the Mandalorian movie. I’m more hesitant about this movie despite my love for the show but that’s mostly because of Ahsoka. I didn’t like how Ahsoka was handled and because it left on a cliff hanger, I’m sure it’ll tie into the Mandalorian movie with Thrawn probably taking the role of the villain. I don’t think I really have any expectations other than it’s not bad, though Felony will helm the project so I’m not holding my breath.

Second, the Rey Skywalker movie. I definitely think Disney knows how badly they messed up with the sequel trilogy and will try and redeem Rey’s character. I think it’s an interesting premise. She knows Luke, who had a failed Jedi school, and she chooses to do the same, knowing it could fail like Luke’s but chooses to do it anyway. I’d love for this movie to show a new villain instead of Palpatine/Sith. I could see more Dark Jedi or even Night Sister magic being the main conflict instead.

Next, the James Mangold Star Wars movie. Supposedly it’s set thousands of years in the past and will focus on the first Jedi. I think that’s an interesting topic and a great chance to form new ideas as well as bring in Legends/EU content. However, with the mixed reviews of Indiana Jones 5, I’m tempering my expectations accordingly.

I know Taika Waititi has a Star Wars movie coming out as well but idk anything about it other than he wants to have original characters (which I think is good).

I think Shawn Levy has a Star Wars movie coming but again, no details about it since he’s been busy with Stranger Things S5 and Deadpool 3.

I believe Rian Johnson also has a trilogy set in a new place the lore has never explored before but I don’t think this trilogy is coming any time soon.

I believe that’s it for movies so over all I’m hesitant, but that’s because I need more info.

Now for the shows. I’ll start with the new ones.

Lando will obviously focus on Lando Calrissian played by Donald Glover. There’s no info about any idea of when the series will take place but I kinda hope it’s like right before the sequel trilogy.

Skeleton Crew has a good concept of a Jedi in hiding finding 4 Jedi kids and as long as it doesn’t get too family friendly and the writing is good I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. I’ve always thought this was the story they should’ve told with the Jedi Younglings in TCW arc.

The Acolyte is about the growing dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era (~200yrs before TPM). It seems like a noir-detective style show (like AotC) with a Master/Padawan duo investigating a series of crimes. It seems pretty cool and I’m excited for it.

I’m hoping Mandalorian S4 will be better than S3. I really want Din to call Grogu his son. Not his kid, not his boy, but his SON. SAY IT.

Definitely looking forward to Andor S2 the most. I thought Andor was slow at first and a bit complicated due to how many characters are introduced, but I loved the story and the actors had the passion that made their roles believable.

I could not care less about The Bad Batch S3. No matter what happens, I definitely prefer fandom ideas/my own headcanons. I MIGHT binge watch the season once all eps are out but I will NOT be watching on episode release days.

That brings me to the planned animated Clone Rebellion show. I’m assuming it’ll be the same CW style set after TBB S3 and focus on Rex (and possibly Wolffe+Gregor) which leads me to believe we won’t get much in the way of the clone rebellion in TBB S3. If this show uses the same damn clone model I will cut out Disney Star Wars. I don’t mind making my own stories/AU’s/etc, but Disney in general is on thin ice as it is.

Thanks for letting me get all that out. This is basically why I haven’t been writing. I’ve been pretty disappointed with Disney as of late due to their horrible live action remakes, mid-level animated movies like Elemental, Strange World, Lightyear and mediocre SW content.

If you’ve made it through this whole post, thank you for your time and I promise I will post something soon.

-Maisy💙

[idiotic21]

Masterlist...of sorts

All The Stories

Local Idiot loves Star Wars. Local Idiot loves Rottmnt. Local Idiot likes to write too.

Check out Local Idiot's stuff :3

Star Wars

Wanted, The Bad Batch

Intro

Prologue

00

01 - Deal

02 - New Friends

03 - Stranger Danger

04 - Secrets

05 - Terror

06 - The Omega Problem

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Mr and Mrs Hamato

Playlist

Prologue 1

Prologue 2 - Casualties: Mr and Mrs Hamato

Chapter 1 - Denial

Chapter 2 - The Mystic She Thief

Chapter 3 - Smooth Operator's Misdirection

Chapter 4 - Mutant-Yokai-Human

Chapter 5 - Lost in the Mail

Chapter 6 - Exposition

Chapter 7 - Tragedy

Chapter 8 - Too Much Heaven

Chapter 9 - Maybe

Chapter 10 - Fool To Love

Chapter 11 - Sweetest Taboo

Chapter 12 - Dreama a Little Dream Of Me

Chapter 13 - LaCrimosa

Chapter 14 - Maniac

Chapter 15 - Something Stupid

Chapter 16 - Baby Come Back

[fullyfancyfan]

Clone Wars Skippable Guide

Total Episodes Skipped (Excluding Legacy Content): 74

Check Out the Official Viewing Order Here:

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder

Notes:

- The following episodes are skippable; but, if you have time watch the bolded ones as this series has some fantastic standalone stories.

- Episodes with a “/” between them are part of an arc. If one episode is bolded but not the other, it’s because you don’t need to watch all the episodes as any key info is recapped in the intro.

- When Clone Wars was cancelled after Season 6, there were numerous arcs that were in various stages of production. While some of these stories were eventually completed when the series returned for its final season, others were released through alternative mediums (i.e. comics, novel). These arcs were branded Legacy Content and are included in this guide for your convenience.

Seasons 1 –3

Season 3 contained so many prequel episodes, that Star Wars.com had to create a chronology guide (the link is posted above). Thankfully, you can skip most of them and save yourself the headache.

Cat and Mouse 

The Hidden Enemy

The Movie 

– Just watch the Battle of Christopholisis, which comprises the first 20 minutes

Supply Lines/Ambush

Rising Malevolence/Shadow of Malevolence/Destroy Malevolence

Downfall of a Droid/Duel of the Droids

Bombad Jedi/Cloak of Darkness/Lair of Grievous

Jedi Crash/Defenders of Peace

Trespass

Storm Over Ryloth/Innocents of Ryloth/Liberty on Ryloth 

–  Introduces Cham Syndulla who plays a key role in the follow-up series Rebels.

Holocron Heist/Cargo of Doom/Children of the Force 

Bounty Hunters

- Debut of several bounty hunters that reappear throughout the series

The Zillo Beast/The Zillo Beast Strikes Back 

Senate Spy 

- Padame discovers a new droid factory on Geonosis

Legacy of Terror/Brain Invaders

Grievous Intrigue/The Deserter

Lightsaber Lost

Sphere of Influence 

– Tribute to George Lucas (at least the character he played in Revenge of the      Sith)

Evil Plans/Hostage Crisis/Hunt for Ziro

Senate Murders

The Citadel/Counter Attack/Citadel Rescue

Padawan Lost/Wookie Hunt

Season 4 

Water War/Gungan Attack/Prisoners

Shadow Warrior

Mercy Mission/Nomad Droids 

Kidnapped/Slaves of the Republic/Escape from Kadavo

Deception/Friends and Enemies/The Box/Crisis on Naboo

Season 5

A War on Two Fronts/Front Runners/The Soft War/Tipping Points

- Last appearance of Lux and the debut of Saw Gerrera 

The Gathering/A Test of Strength/Bound for Rescue/A Necessary Bond

- Originally intended to serve as the pilot for a Younglings spinoff series

Secret Weapons/A Sunny Day in the Void/Missing in Action/Point of No Return 

Season 6

An Old Friend/The Rise of Clovis/Crisis at the Heart 

The Disappeared Parts 1 & 2

Legacy Content

Son of Dathomir

A 4 part comic series that continues Maul’s story from where we left him in Season 5. Since the comics can be difficult to track down, I’ve posted a link to a fantastic audio version that’s been created.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWAkCt4q3o0

Dark Disciple

A novel that concludes Ventress’ story.

A Death on Utapau/In Search of the Crystal/Crystal Crisis/The Big Bang

A lighthearted adventure with Anakin and Obi-Wan. While the animation was never completed, all of the dialogue was recorded. Originally posted on StarWars.com, the episodes can be found on YouTube. Please note that links are subject to change.

Episodes Can Be Found Here:

A Death on Utapau 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc8ABcsyyoc

In Search of the Crystal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE44YsiNea8

Crystal Crisis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDzzDHFad8Y&t=690s

The Big Bang

https://www.starwars.com/video/star-wars-the-clone-wars-story-reel-the-big-bang

And More!

In the mid-2010s, the Clone Wars crew did a couple panels where they discussed several story arcs that were planned for the series in addition to what’s listed above and below. At the time, the crew didn’t know that they’d get a Season 7.

Untold Clone Wars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yKM6RExLlI&t=2847s

Ahsoka’s Untold Tales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS4sclln5J4&t=1838s

Season 7

The Bad Batch/A Distant Echo/On the Wings of Keeradaks/Unfinished Business

While Ahsoka’s arc (episodes 5-8) isn’t great, I decided to exclude it from the list. Not only does it contain key character development but it leads directly into the series finale.

[mandolinearts]

man this feels like it made for me! i'm going to go with hearts of stars and wonder - my star wars bagginshield au. the full playlist is here! (mild spoilers ahead!)

protagonist intro/theme: i always imagine this story as an animated series in the style of star wars the clone wars - the bad batch main theme fits this very well. it sets the star wars-y tone :)

meeting the family: not exactly the happy tune you expected, but i associate chapters 5-8 with up the wolves by the mountain goats. thorin is not exactly the happiest during this arc, despite being home.

battle scenes: well. it's not star wars if there's not a duel of the fates! that's honestly it,lol

the BIG ROMANTIC moment: this fic doesn't really have that much romance, all things considered. but i definitely think of let love win for that one moment in chapter 9, and har du fyr for the ending.

angsty feels: did you mean 'the soundrack for chapter 7'? well, it's caves, a song ive had associated with order 66 for a while.

no drunken shenanigans, sorry!

the day is saved!: this will sound corny, but when writing the last scene of chapter 11, i had l'homme armee on repeat. yes, that's the soundtrack to yuri on ice. and it's a damn good soundtrack, sue me!

💜

Hello my dear Fellowship! Here’s a fun warm-up. Feel free to reblog and fill in with your own answers. Tag all your writer friends as well! We all have our story playlists, but what is your go-to song for each category? Feel free to specify by story or character!

Protagonist Intro/Theme

Meeting the Family

Battle Scenes

The BIG ROMANTIC Moment

Angsty Feels

Drunken Shenanigans

“The Day is Saved”!

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Three years ago, I was a hopelessly young and naive 30ish year old who had only watched the Star Wars movies, so my only exposure to clones was them being essentially background characters in two prequel movies, and the soldiers who tragically exterminated the Jedi (under Palpatine's orders, of course).

I neither liked nor disliked them. Frankly I didn't think about them enough to like or dislike them.

Then, three years ago, watching the first two seasons of The Mandalorian convinced me to watch The Clone Wars and Rebels. Yoda and then Plo Koon talking to the clones about their individuality and importance piqued my interest and made me start really paying attention to them, the Domino squad story made me invested in certain characters, but it was the Umbara arc that was the definitive turning point for me - I love the clones.

And then I watched the Bad Batch intro story and I loved the clones even more.

So here I am, having finished my fourth complete rewatch (not counting one-off story arc rewatches) of The Clone Wars and working through yet another rewatch of Bad Batch (first complete rewatch since season 3 aired), just thinking about how much my opinion of the clones has changed in the past few years. And hoping against all odds that Disney/Lucasfilm has more clone-centric (or even clone-involved) shows in the works.

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 13 Review: Infested

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Star Wars: The Bad Batch review contains spoilers.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 13

“Infested,” directed by Saul Ruiz and written by Amanda Rose Muñoz, explores the Bad Batch’s criminal underworld home base in an inconsequential but competent episode. Cid (Rhea Perlman) gets a well-deserved stint as a main character in an adventure that feels like a side plot, with choppy bursts of classic Star Wars action not really adding much to the story of the clones as clones. While not every story can be (or should be) as hooked in to the rest of the franchise as Hera’s was last week, “Infested” left the Bad Batch feeling more generic than when it started.

What actually happens is that the clones return “home” to discover that their benefactor/client Cid has been deposed. In her spot sits Roland Durand, the original owner of the pet lizard the gang recovered in a brief intro earlier in the season. He’s a gang member trying to live up to the criminal aspirations of his mother, starting with taking over Cid’s place. What follows is a twisting plan to get the cantina back, involving an expedition into a mine filled with deadly insects who don’t like visitors.

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

The characterization of the Bad Batch remains status quo. Wrecker is afraid of heights, Tech builds things, Hunter doesn’t want to get involved with other people’s problems, and Omega talks him into doing it anyway. This last one is becoming increasingly annoying. We do know Hunter’s reason for hesitating to help here, just like he did on Ryloth: he doesn’t want to put his team in more danger than necessary. Meanwhile, Echo doesn’t believe any of this criminal stuff is a soldier’s job. While Hunter may disagree with Echo on what that means, he might also still miss having the structure (albeit minimal when it came to his team) of the Republic army.

As a motivation, I don’t mind this. It certainly is an explanation for both why Hunter doesn’t go above and beyond for Cid’s jobs, and gestures at both the nature of being a Republic clone and the way that’s having to change under the Empire. But it’s just a gesture, and does more to prove Omega’s open-heartedness by contrast than it does to deepen Hunter’s character. Omega is very sweet, and the repetition of this fact endears me to her (and makes me worry about what dark turn her story might eventually take). But we’ve now seen the same argument in two consecutive episodes, followed by the situation meaning Hunter has good reason to cave pretty easily.

So, not much actually happens. The clones journey into the mine to steal Roland’s spice, therefore setting him up for failure in front of his client, the Pyke gang. At first they succeed, but then discover that the Pykes have no problem using Roland as bait to draw Cid out to deal with her once and for all. At the end, the Batch are back where they started with the bar under Cid’s control.

However, I don’t always find the discussion of whether something is filler to be useful criticism. Foundational character work can happen in an episode that doesn’t move the plot forward. Something seemingly inconsequential can end up having a big impact later (such as in the season one Rebels episode “Fighter Flight”). The larger problem with “Infested” is that the characterization isn’t particularly interesting (or even present), the action just okay, the Bad Batch mostly just the muscle for Cid’s story.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Roland Durand and Cid’s personalities help elevate the mediocre plot. They’re also the characters who change the most and have the most to lose. Rhea Perlman’s attitude elevates her character’s so-so dialogue, and Cid’s just fun to watch, her big body and bony head providing a distinct shape. She’s far from the The Clone Wars staple of the majority of women characters being some variant of ingénue. Newcomer Roland Durand changes more than one might expect, unfolding from hard-edged crime lord to ambiguously young upstart. His mix of threat and vulnerability are fun. His plight also connects to the wider story a little, as we know the Pykes once worked with Maul’s gang and seem to be thriving under the Empire.

Stories like this can work with the main characters not actually being at the center: look at The Mandalorian, which derives maybe half of its charm from the very fact that Din Djarin does not know what’s going on most of the time. But even without speaking, he tends to have more personality than the Batch do here. Nevertheless, I have reluctantly become a Wrecker fan, with every reminder of his fear of heights — and there are getting to be a lot of them — endearing him to me more.

The action is fine, with staples of cartoon exploration (imposing heights, dangerous creatures, and even a fun sci-fi take on railroad hand cars). After a beautiful few episodes, the animation wavers a bit here. In part that’s because many of the scenes take place in darkness, making it difficult to see what the bugs and people are doing (or to get a look at a minor material upgrade — Wrecker’s snazzy new climbing harness). The insect scenes in particular felt more disorienting than anything else. Even some wide shots of the city don’t feel entirely finished. The music also plays it safe, evoking (and watering down) the Imperial march a little bit for the journey into the caves. (And if the caves were under the city, why did the team have to go so far outside it to recover the spice?)

I wish I had more to say about the Batch themselves in this episode, or that the show was more interested in detailing what they really think. Cid giving the orders is fun, but means that the clones yet again take a back seat in their own show. While the two episodes with Hera pulled on other parts of the franchise to fill in the gap, this one simply maintains the status quo. We know by now that Cid’s bar is a good home base for the gang, regardless of her ambiguously amoral work, so in a way this is an episode about the clones defending their new home in a way they couldn’t for Kamino or the Republic. But I might be reading too much into something that isn’t actually there, doing the work because I want these characters to better stand on their own.

Those hand carts with LED lighting were very charming, though.

The post Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 13 Review: Infested appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2TymI8k

[sobdasha]

library book haul

these are all many months out of date

Conservation of Shadows, Yoon Ha Lee This sci-fi and fantasy short story collection is Good Shit. Plus it includes my favorite short-story-collection thing, aka Author's Notes on the stories, which enhances the experience even more. So: I tried to read this in the previous batch with Lee's other work, but Lee's work requires your full attention and is not suitable for reading in the breakroom at work, where people come up, see you with a book, turn on the TV, and then proceed to ignore the TV the entire fucking time while they talk excessively loudly with the other people in the breakroom. I've been enjoying the fact that they put a real chair in the department so if I don't work the morning shift I can take my break in the department where the din from the customers is, in fact, quieter. And I don't have to walk to the literal opposite corner of the store, wasting time and chronic pain! Anyway. So I waited until I was on vacation, and had large stretches of quite time, to read this, and it was amazing. I did not do the write-up then because I am lazy. However, I am in the middle of rereading now, and I can tell you that these stories only get better the second time around. I was a little worried it'd be like Shakespeare--you have to read several Shakespeares before you finally get into the Shakespeare zone and can actually, like, read the Shakespeare. These stories, on the other hand, remained accessible and are enhanced by having half a clue where the story will go. I like them all, but some of my top favorites: Ghostweight--Lee says this was the second-hardest story to write because it took months to nail the intro/outro of the story. Well, it pays off. The Bones of Giants--Lee says the fantasy equivalent of mecha is to dig up some giant skeletons and apply necromancy. I'm bad at recognizing "zombie" when you don't use the word "zombie", so like the Abhorsen series I don't really consider this "zombie lit which I would hate." Mostly it's just a little soft and when I'm reading I picture big sweeping landscapes, like a Studio Ghibli film or Breath of the Wild. The Unstrung Zither--Lee just talks about the music stuff, but this one feels to me like Gundam Wing if I'd actually finished watching Gundam Wing because Gundam Wing had turned out to actually be anywhere near as interesting as the quantum versions of it I'd imagined. (Thanks to Lee's other stories, I'm now using "quantum" instead of "noodle incident".) Well, now I no longer feel any need to actually go back and watch Gundam Wing. Cool! It's occurring to me that Lee's works mostly fall into the category of: soft; this is the literal cost of genocide and occupation; and both at once. It's a hell of a lot better than ~the glory of war~. Anyway as I said it's all good.

Always Coming Home, Ursula K. Le Guin I actually quit reading this one pretty early on. Not exactly a quit, though. I wasn't in the right mindset; I just couldn't get through it and realized what I was in fact craving was Adventure. So I went on to reread The Prydain Chronicles instead and I'll pick this up again sometime later when I am in the mood for something quiet, reflective, domestic, and not big on plot.

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Last Interviews, ed. David Streitfeld This was interesting! Although I always have mixed feelings when I'm reading about authors talking about the craft. IDK I think it's a me-thing. Like, I pick up this essay expecting the author to tell me what works for them, and then I get annoyed because I decided the author was telling me "this is the only way" when that's bs and now I want to rebel??? Or maybe because Le Guin talked about how even a novel ought to be poetry and as someone who understands the theory of meter but has been flunking everything related to meter or stress since grade school in the practical sense, I find that idea Highly Overrated. I honestly don't remember what else was in here, because I waited for many months to do this write-up. I didn't actually hate reading this though so.

The Prydain Chronicles, Lloyd Alexander These are Peak comfort food to me. All I want to say this time around is, I should write some fics as Alexander's penance for making Eilonwy Very Cool but mistakenly doing so by making her Not Like Other Girls. (Crying and having feelings is gender-neutral in these books; what's portrayed negatively about Eilonwy through Taran's view, despite the fact that she's objectively better than him lol, is her ~chattering~. Which is annoying because not only does Eilonwy internalize that into putting down non-sword-women for "clucking like hens", Fflewddur chatters at least as much as Eilonwy, if not more, and because he's a guy it's never phrased that way even though we're all aware he's super flighty. I really wish this had been done with more nuance, because Eilonwy also has internalized misogyny about things like dresses and washing your hair and sleeping in a comfortable bed, and Fflewddur again is always the first person to be like "um but I would like to be comfy tonight though.") Anyway I just think that after Taran is king, if he wants to go someplace and keep his hands busy to think, presumably the gardens and fields are enough out of the way that this would make your king difficult to find. So instead, I propose that he goes to the spinning and weaving rooms, because that's literally in the castle, easy to find, he knows how to do that shit, Dwyvach schooled his ass good about how work doesn't have a gender in book 4, and he did enjoy weaving, and as a bonus he can realize that "chattering" is not bad and gossip is a good way to learn things you, as a king, probably need to know about the working of your castle, and Eilonwy can join him for bonding and realize this is not so terrible after all, and we will all value these women who spend a lot of fucking time and effort making sure you can have some goddamn clothes to wear. THE END.

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle Everybody really loves The Last Unicorn, by which I think they mean the movie? And I thought that I did as well, even though I remembered exactly nothing from it save for the title when we watched it once in either kindergarten or first grade in place of recess for a week because it was, idk, cold?? raining nonstop??? Anyway I always thought that I loved it and then I finally rewatched it as an adult and it was. Not. Great. And then I forgot and watched it again a few years later and was like Nope, still Not For Me. And now, finally, I decided to get off my bum because for me books are almost always better than the movie, and lo and behold, it is. From what I can recall, the movie is the general plot structure of the book portrayed as an Adventure, stripped of the thoughtful, reflective narration and the deeper narrative themes. Which is 100% why that movie appears to me to be some kind of acid trip. I wish I had read this as an early teen, so that I could have absorbed some of Beagle's writing style, his turns of phrase in simile and metaphor. "His scimitar smile laid its cold edge along their throats," etc. He never really makes it seem like Too Much. (Side note, that's something I notice about Yoon Ha Lee too. Very lush and descriptive similes and metaphors, very much get the job done and are not things you have ever heard before. Although Lee's tend to make me stop and go "wait what???", and catch me off guard. I suspect it's a mix of innovation and cultural difference, whereas for Beagle everything sounds so exactly right and smooth and perfect probably because everyone else has been copying off him for years and I'm familiar with diluted versions. Anyway what I'm trying to say is, I got a bit away from that in my writing, but dang I am gonna have to up my game and purple my prose a little bit more because I really love what these guys are doing!)

Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse Okay so Ann Leckie recommended this book to me, both in a general sense and also in person. And I looked at the description and thought, "Well, it's not my genre but it probs can't hurt me to pick it up and try." And so I finally did. Reading this was an interesting progression (probably most especially for my roommate who gets my live-reading reactions while she's trying to DnD) of watching me go from: "It's not my genre but it's not like the writing sucks so it's not bad" to "Well it is engaging and I do like garbage loner protagonist is a woman instead; I'm not compelled to buy this but I will read the rest of the series as it comes out from the library" to "Oh snap I love it when the critical reviews of a book were actually recommendations for me to read it" to "*weeping* Kai is a soft good boy and I support Maggie and her Emotional Support Shotgun, I will buy ALL THE BOOKS" At one point there was a perfect place, in the midst of a discussion about how you can like flamethrowers and makeup at the same time, Maggie, just because you don't like makeup, etc, to insert a joke about "it's called flaming gay for a reason". BUT in Rebecca's defense the entire scene was great anyway. The whole book was great. It's great. Read it. Oh speaking of the critical reviews, one of them was like "the protagonist claims to be unable to cook and then a few paragraphs later makes a 5 star meal, so this book is garbage." Lol was the reviewer confused because the word "bread" was used, and believes that bread is an art form unable to be accomplished by mere mortals (which, I mean, is how I feel about the idea of babying a loaf of bread all day)? Because bread only has to be "I made a paste of flour and water" which this. Basically was. Fried in a pan. And then the side dish was a can of beans with a can of chiles thrown in for fancy. This is literally the definition of can't cook, because you can't exactly order takeout on the reservation after the apocalypse when you prefer to live in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. I'm just saying, this scene was perfect. Also this was the point in time where I started summarizing all apocalyptic books as "After the events of the year 2020" to my roommate. It. It continues to hold true. Every year for like the past five years we've been saying maybe next year will be better, but I'm gonna be honest, I'm terrified of what 2021 will bring. One final visual: me, unable to pronounce Navajo words to my roommate when reading select passages, and also not being able to spell them on account of not knowing the names of accents in English: "so it's c-h-apostrophe-i accent aigu cedilla-i cedilla-polish l with a line through it…" (not an actual word, I don't remember the actual words, I returned the book to the library long ago, this is for illustrative purposes of my ignorance only)

To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf I tried to read this because Le Guin praised it a lot in The Last Interviews, and it was on the Wizard's Library shelves and I thought maybe I should broaden my horizons. But I quit early on because I, a disaster of run-on sentences, could not parse half of these and I was not invested and if I don't have to read ~classics~ for literature class it probably won't ever happen. Honestly a lot of the contemporary literature I'm reading is better for me anyway.

Sunlight and Shadow, Cameron Dokey This was also on the Wizard's Library shelves and I like fairytale things in theory and despite reading the wiki summary on various occasions I really don't know anything about the plot of The Magic Flute, which is this a retelling of. This book queerbaited me. It's unfair of romances to always put more chemistry between the people who aren't getting together than who are. In this case, both girls and both boys, who were to pair off into het couples. There's literally an entire chapter of Gayna going from "You've ruined everything!" to "I wish I could hate you!" to "Oh no you're hot!" to "And that doesn't actually make me jealous oh shit!" to "Okay I'll help you" to "Oh no she smiled and my heart skipped a beat huhhh!" about Mina. The word gay is even in her name!!! What is the author doing with her choices??? Seriously what is the author doing with her choices, in the author's note at the end of the book I learned Statos (Monostatos) was originally "evil character just because he's a Moor" so Dokey Fixed It by making him just a guy who wanted Things like the rest of the characters want Things and he just happens to come off as bad because he's not aligned with them and also he's very, very white. Noooooo that's not how you do it, that's not how you fix racism, you redeem him while keeping him black. I also, as a rule, dislike first-person-narration-that-changes-each-chapter, especially when you're not skilled enough/don't care to write in such a way that the narrator can easily be identified, so basically for a long chapter and a half I assumed Lapin was a girl and when the Queen of the Night was like "fuck you, boy!" I assumed it was a sick burn and Lapin just ~wasn't pretty~ but it turns out he was, in fact, a boy. Also for a book that points out that you can be perfectly happy settling with a decent person and marrying your not-soul-mate (Lapin's parents and grandparents), it's awfully insistent that the main characters all be properly paired with soul mates. HM. Basically this is marketed as feminist but I think it fell pretty damn short on that mark.