#this time on star rants:

[collophora]

Fics rec of the week, and especially if you like well-written Wrecker, is the entire work of @electrikworm on AO3 In order:

The Batch have a terrible day

Human Shield

A peaceful moment

(But go read the others too)

[cutie-lumi]

Let's make a deal~ ❤️

[sophiasrant]

The batfam aren't allowed to play hide and seek with each other bc it will get dangerous and life threatening very quickly.

They aren't allowed to play with other people bc the one time they did, all of the bats went missing for a week. The supers ended up having to be called in so they could track heartbeats.

[littlefankingdom]

Justice League meets the Batfam, but they already knew about them because of Batman ranting about his kids.

In the comics, Batman has implemented that Nightwing should be in charge of the Justice League if something happened to him BEFORE he had adopted Dick (so, when his only legal son was Jason). When Dick is called to help, he learns that people think he's Batman's son because of how Batman speaks about him, and how he is proud of nothing in his life but the man Nightwing has become.

So, let's imagine the batfam thinking they are so secretive and mysterious, and "B, it's time for you to trust your friends and colleagues more", and going to the JL to officially present the Batfam, only for them to cut them and be "You're Batman's kids, everyone knows that. He doesn't shut up about you."

Bruce doesn’t realize he does it, btw. He didn’t clearly stated that they are his kids, that he is their dad, he just starts to talk about them and how proud he is, and how competent they are, and how much he cares about them, when the discussion seems appropriate to do so. But for the rest of the JL, Batman talks about three things: the mission, his kids, and his interests if you are close and it's useful rn (him starting to rant about dinosaurs to Hal when they face dinosaurs is cute). They probably tell new recruits "Batman may seem scary, but he is really just a protective dad. Soon enough, you will hear about his kids".

[fatedroses]

And some days, I just wish you wouldn't look at me at all.

[therantingsage]

Ok this is literally the pettiest thing imaginable but why, when the game goes out of its way to say “in vaugarde, the birds say piou-piou”, does the fanbase not have the characters use other French onomatopoeia for animals????

I keep seeing art of the fam going “meow” and “bark” but no!!!! That’s not what they say in vaugarde!!!! They say miaou and ouaf ouaf!!!!

The French onomatopoeia for a rooster crow is cocorico!!!! I can’t be alone in my knowledge!!!!

[tortillakitten]

most relatable character in a video game (except maybe mirabelle but I don't get to see her every inner thought)

i feel so called out by this game because at every step it's pointing at siffrin like "hey you, look at this. don't do this. do anything but this. this is the worst thing you could do" and im just here like "ha ha ha damn thats so me wow thats not a good thing"

I obviously don't have all of his problems (im thankfully not in a timeloop and my entire life hasn't been erased from reality) but i have issues with constantly downplaying my mental problems and just not saying anything so uh...

all of siffrin's breakdowns felt very real to me in like a kind of comforting way? it feels kind of how Isabeau describes siffrin's insults in act 5. I feel called out but also kind of seen? its not a one to one but wow is it similar

is this concerning? yeah probably. im working on it

also if you know me irl and you see this ha ha im good dw about it

[tangents-within-tangents]

Thoughts on Echo as amputee/disability representation

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

Overview

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Physical Appearance

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

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

The Headpiece

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

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

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

Legs

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

Like ??????!?

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

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

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

Arm!

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

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

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

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

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

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

So

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[lovesickeros]

popping in randomly after almost an entire month just to talk non stop about the tsaritsa again everyone sit down.

specifically just thinking about the implications of tsaritsa's ideals originally being about love + the abandonment of those ideals to complete her goal of, presumably, destroying Celestia or whatever she's cooking up. to the point even her people don't love her and I probably don't even remember a time her ideals were of love. now it's all just ice and snow and cold.

which makes romantic fics w her even funnier because she's purposely removed this part of herself and suddenly reader walks into teyvat like they own the place (they do) and I can only imagine her reaction. angry, probably. because why you? what are you doing to her that's caused her hundreds of years of strict adherence to rejecting "love" both from others and to others to just. collapse. absolute shattering of her world and you probably don't even know it bc if nothing else she's good at hiding it. a lot of denial. tries to pick you apart and see what's makes you so different.

and oh she just hates it. she loathes it.

basically one sided enemies to lover trope because she can't stand you for a while but if you stick around she starts warming up to you and it makes it WORSE. so much worse. tries to distance herself but your just everywhere and it gets on her nerves because why does she love you? she isn't capable of love, not anymore. she thought she was.

g-d forbid one of the harbingers or PIERRO notices she'd never live it down. might even consider the implications of just killing you (she doesnt). worse if you know about it and act like a brat she will lose her damn mind

just the tsaritsa being an absolutely horrible mess internally.

[jbmar]

twitter is crazy because somebody like sunday can say plain as day “i hate the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ because i view myself as weak and understand how other fellow weak people feel, so i want to make a paradise where the weak and strong are equal and everybody can be protected under my watchful gaze” with very clear connotations towards catholicism/orthodoxy, the sacrifice of christ, and ‘the ones who walk away from omelas’ by ursula le guin (a story about a perfect utopian world that only remains such at the expense of a small child below the surface that is left alone to suffer) and be equated to that of a fascist ableist in support of real world eugenics that wants to kill minorities to create a perfect paradise.

tldr; learn to read before you make your ‘informative threads.’

[lunityviruss]

Something I've noticed is that no matter what fandom or community we are in—black people will always always have to make a safe space for ourselves. Every single fandom I was in there were always black people being treated badly by white people and nonblacks and everytime we spoke on it we are told that we are either making it up or causing problems/discourse.

Even in the LGBTQ+ community where niggas preach about being sooo accepting we have to make *our own flags and spaces because we get talked over and forgotten so damn much. You look up queer related stuff and white people show up first (try the trans selfie tag or look up androgynous stuff on pinterest.) You look up queer shows and it's only white people with a black side character or a white person x a black person like we can't exist on our own. White queers calling black people cops for being uncomfortable with certain labels.

Even with fictional black characters they get the same treatment. Marina from Splatoon 2 and Hobie Brown from Spiderman both are victims of nonblack people hypersexualizing them and masculinizing them. Xinyan from Genshin Impact is a complete and utter stereotype of black people—being seen as aggressive and mean and a literal theft. Don't get me started on how yall whitewash the fuck outta them. It's either sexualize them, whitewash them or forget about them completely.

For some reason white people are seen as more aesthetically pleasing compared to Black people and when we look up aesthetics we literally have to type in "black person x aesthetic" or afro punk or afro goth despite us being the creators of some of these aesthetics. Same with cosplaying, white peoples cosplays are seen as more "canon" compared to black people or even people who's race is literally the character being cosplayed.

Fanfiction writers constantly cater to white people despite trying to market their stuff as "inclusive" while black people get shitted on for making character x black reader fics and don't you know weird ass white people still read them??

Yall tell us to make our own things instead of "complaining" about it and we do, then we get hit with death threats and hate. We make our black edits and get told that it's "blackwashing" and the artists get called the n word, we make black movies and our actors get death threats. We make our own original black art with our black OC'S and get told that we're being selfish and "racist" for not drawing other people. We literally cannot exist without you people hating on us and unnecessarily critiquing us.

[Note: If you nonblack or white niggas come up here and being like "well acschually op🤓☝🏾" I will actually hurt you. If you ask "why is this in the x tag" I will hurt you as well. You try n derail and make it about a different race I'm hurting you.]

[joshuamj]

Some Madam Odiles

+ the sprites i references and alt colors

[yurastarry]

it's kinda funny that people hc dr ratio to give his s/o silent treatment after an argument. sure i can kinda see that but him giving his s/o the silent treatment for MONTHS until something bad happens to his s/o????? that's where you draw the line girl, i don't think dr ratio would do that- let alone give his s/o silent treatment in general. sure he can be immature and stubborn during at an argument but c'mon. i can only imagine that after an argument he'll talk about it to his s/o calmly like there's no way he'll leave his s/o that long cs it'll hurt him afterwards

[orangez3st]

Gonna have thesis defense next Monday I need the command batch to cheer me up and help me study 🥹

I can't draw hands

I'd forgot Cody's scar and I completely forgot Fox's facial scars

Gonna bring my bootleg lego command batch as good luck charms (gonna reblog later)

Commander Caf close up below the cut:

Aurebesh translation:

Fox's hoodie: kenough

His caf mug (incomplete): i hate centaxday

[burntblueberrywaffles]

Ok so I’m BACK ON MY BULLSHIT to say that ANOTHER reason why I’m a hater of those "post canon vaderdala BUT somehow Anakin gets completely healed and looks like he did before mustafar" fics, other than the ableism which I’ve already touched upon is that!!!!

That moment where Vader lets her see his face… his vulnerability… how he’s been scarred and destroyed… and her accepting and still loving him??? SUCH UNPARALLELED INTIMACY. Literally gnawing the bars of my enclosure about it;;;;; this is actually one of the main appeal of a post canon vaderdala au AND IF YOU ROB ME OF THAT I WILL BE PISSED

Like wdym "he just looks like anakin again as if nothing happened and him having become heavily disabled is never adressed lol" WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS

Actually FURTHERMORE I’m gonna circle back to the ableism shit, bc I got some pushback the last time I talked about this last year, and I feel like maybe at the time to struggled to properly articulate what bothered me, but basically, for those kinds of fics it comes down to:

"Anakin progressively heals thanks to space technology, representing how he stop hating himself and thinking he deserves nothing more than the torture suit" ok! 👍 while I personally have a huge preference for him remaining at least somewhat heavily scarred and disabled as he gets better treatment, you do you, and I do see the vision!

"Anakin heals entirely and looks like he did before mustafar bc clearly there’s no way Padme could fall back in love with him with Vader's body" I am mentally killing you with laser beams

[in-the-multiverse]

Let him speak ‼️