#filoni strikes again
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DAVE WHEN I CATCH YOU DAVE-
#filoni strikes again#i cant with these kriffing cliffhangers#the bad batch#the bad batch spoilers#the bad batch season 3#the bad batch season 3 spoilers#not really spoilers but ill tag just in case
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i demand that you immediately change your darth filonious tag don't you know that he is literally a god among mankind for creating characters like ahsoka??? show some respect.
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When 'Star Wars' dilutes the impact of a "Kurosawa samurai standoff"...
It's no secret that one of the major inspirations for Star Wars was Akira Kurosawa movies. The Hidden Fortress influenced the basic structure of the first film, was a basis for Lucas' character archetypes and his use of narrative POVs.
But, really, all of Kurosawa's films were an influence on the making of Star Wars. Including the duels seen in his and other samurai films from the 60s.
Dunno if you've seen a kendo fight, but they're pretty similar.
The duelists size each other up, and there's a lot of mind games going on before the strike actually happens.
If you hold your sword this way, the other guy adjusts his stance.
You move your foot that way, the adversary responds accordingly.
Cinematically, this process allows you to play with a whole treasure trove of elements to build up the drama and suspense. We see this slow-yet-tense approach to dueling reflected all over the Original Trilogy. And we've seen it again in recent Disney-released content.
The perfect and first real example of this in Star Wars is the fight between Ben Kenobi and Maul, in Rebels.
The tension increases more...
... and more until the two fighters move, the music swells...
... and then it reaches its climax.
Beautifully executed.
Dave Filoni's done his homework, it shows, and while it's an awesome homage, narratively it also holds weight. There's a reason why this fight is so quick:
This time, Obi-Wan isn't fighting to avenge the death of his master, he's not fighting to save his own life... he's fighting to protect Luke's. And that means there's no time to fuck about. He'll end the conflict swiftly and decisively, he won't let it come to a prolonged acrobatic fight. So he lures Maul in by making him think he's taking Qui-Gon's form, and strikes true when Maul, increasingly consumed by his own rage to the point of blindness, falls for it.
Again: a wonderful fight and an excellent homage.
Then we get to Luke's stand-off with Kylo on Crait, in The Last Jedi.
An interesting take on the trope, also with meaningful narrative impact. As Rian Johnson writes in the TLJ screenplay:
"This is not like a saber fight. This like an old-fashioned samurai duel."
Here too, the tension gets built up...
... and every time we're close to getting that climax, Luke dodges.
It leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction, which is exactly what Kylo is feeling as he boils with rage.
Suddenly, we do get the climax...
... and a twist. Luke was never actually there. Boom. Those inserts during the build-up phase? If you look at them again they're clues (Luke doesn't leave a mark on the ground, salt doesn't land on his clothes, etc). Luke wasn't engaging because he wasn't actually there, he was buying time for the Resistance to escape.
Okay. Cool.
Next time we see a "Kurosawa" duel... it's here, in The Mandalorian.
Again, a lot of posing, slow movements and patience, as is expected from the trope.
But we know nothing about the opponent Ahsoka is fighting other than her name is Morgan... so no emotional impact, there.
At some point, Ahsoka loses a lightsaber. The apprentice to the Chosen One is struggling against some rando.
We find out later on that Morgan is a Nightsister from Dathomir, and that's cool... but we already know how Jedi-trained folks fare against the Dathomiri.
If you ask me, it feels like manufactured stakes. But that's beside the point. In fact, y'know what? It's fine.
Though the impact of this duel isn't as great as its predecessors, the whole episode is filled with visual homages to Kurosawa's work.
It makes sense that the duel would be too. Also it's the first time we're seeing Ahsoka in live action, in a lightsaber duel, the hype is real. Let's cut 'em some slack.
So we come to the series Ahsoka... where almost every duel in the the show has the Kurosawa posturing and tip-toeing and... I dunno. I was bored?
Like, the primary purpose of this approach to duels is that it's meant to be suspenseful and intense... and now it's not.
Because we know Ahsoka is gonna beat the crap outta these droids...
... so why even bother faking some semblance of "what's her next move gonna be?" suspense? There's a hole right behind her, gee, I truly wonder.
Oh, you think putting her against an Inquisitor's gonna make us fear for her life, wonder if she's gonna get outta this situation unscathed?
She was wiping the floor with two of them at the same time, a decade prior. At 17, she was killing Inquisitors while disarmed.
Do you really expect your audience to fear for her life in a fight against Marrok?
So we get to the fight with Baylan, and the posturing and studying opponent's next move would be welcome here (two Order 66 survivors, knew Anakin, both well-trained former Jedi)...
... if we hadn't literally seen that same dynamic with Marrok who, again, we knew was gonna die.
No tension was built in either moment, the only thing it achieved was me pressing >> on my keyboard.
It's not captivating anymore, it's just slow and un-dynamic.
Bottom line:
Tributes to Kurosawa are nice. They're part of what makes Star Wars what it is. But c'mon, we get it already.
Lightsaber duelists don't need to tiptoe around each other and change poses at every fight. Because when the actually meaningful duels come up (like the one with Baylan), the impact will be lessened.
The "Kurosawa samurai duel" is artistic and interesting, but it should be used sparingly in order to maintain its charm and not get old and trope-y. AKA too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing.
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Mando's Lover?
Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Actress!reader
Summary: The Mandalorian interview but why are you included? (read to find out 😉)
Date: August 2019
Taglist: @benonlinear, @t-stark35, @heyitsme-2, @elleeeee21, @holmesstrange, @tagakalat, @flyestvenustrap, @oldermenaremyreligion, @cherryred444, @avengersheart, @guacala, @pukka-latte, @hobiismyhopeu, @lilvampirina, @ilovehotdadsandshit
A/N: AAAAA we're almost entering my favourite part of the series, but, I might post some throwbacks before we head to that though so stay tuned and like always, enjoy!! also kind of a late post but you know. hehe
Series Masterlist
The pair are seen on the red carpet during this year’s D23 Expo on The Mandalorian, which was to be released three months from now.
“Ok I'm gonna recreate your reaction to-being-casted celebration,” the interviewer, Ash, said as she shook hands with Pedro. She recreated his celebratory reaction making Pedro watch as she continued.
“That’s right. It was- it was a three-act event react play. Yeah, it was like “Oh thank you thank you”.. pass out,” He said also reenacting with an exaggerated crying look on his face, clearly having fun at what was happening.
She brings the mic closer to her to ask him her second question, “But can you walk me through actually finding out you were cast as The Mandalorian.” Pedro who was once looking at her intently, turned to look downwards remembering how that day went.
“Well I got a call and the actual words were “Jon Favreau wants to talk to you about something Star Wars” and so I said absolutely and I went out to meet him at his offices in Playa Vista and he invited me into a room where he introduced me to Dave Filoni and in this room, it was wall-to-wall, immaculate illustrations of this series which is everything Star Wars-”
He continues to share his precious moments before the final revelation, “-And so being a Star Wars fan myself I was like, “oh what’s this” and “oh I remember that” and “what are you gonna do here” and “what do you want me to do?”” Pedro rambles on about asking them what creature, robot, or whatever role they wanted him to audition for before taking a deep breath.
“-and they looked confused and basically pointed to the- this incredible like silhouette of The Mandalorian. He said you’re the, you’re The Mandalorian. So yeah that’s why I- that’s why I sort of died inside of joy.”
Nodding at his response Ash looks at him,” Who was the first person you ever told when you got the job? Since the role became like a very important one for you.”
Scratching the back of his neck, “Well, y/n was picking me up from Jon’s place, so naturally, I told her fir-actually, I freaked out on her. I kept blabbering on things I can’t even remember you know, it must be the adrenaline I felt at that moment. And then- just then did I call my sister, who is a big Star Wars fan, saying how I’m a part of the huge franchise that she loves and now we’ve done and are about to release the first season, it makes me really happy.” Ending his response with a content smile.
“How could you not? I mean, you mentioned you were a Star Wars fan, so what’s your earliest Star Wars memory? Do you remember like-“ Ash inquired once again, wanting to know more about him and his experience as an interviewer.
Pedro enthusiastically blurted out,” I saw Star Wars- I saw episode four in the movie theatre. I was very young so I don’t remember the experience of being in the theatre for it as well as I do the empire strikes back which is burned into my childhood imagination and I remember like three attempts to get tickets for return of the Jedi and getting my heart broken every time because it was sold out, and then finally getting the tickets and literally you know like staring at the poster being like I’m finally seeing this movie so it was highly present in my childhood. All the toys you know and all the stories yeah.”
“And now you’re in it,” Ash said, seemingly into his history with Star Wars.
Agreeing with her, “And now I’m in it. it’s weird, leading the series”
“Now, back to being an avid Star Wars watcher. What was your reaction when you were first introduced to your now-girlfriend, Y/n L/n, who played the character Sabe in the phantom menace?"
Pedro looks at her with a look that he knows what she was up to and decides to keep it short, "Yeah well like I knew it was her when we first met but I didn’t like barging into her space telling her that I’ve watched her in Star Wars and loved it because that would be weird coming from this guy you’ve never met before. But now, I can say that we’re now also together in another galaxy."
"Did you ever think you would ever meet her in person or like be with her all those years ago?"
Crossing his arms, thinking for a moment, "I didn’t really well- but to start it off I didn’t even think I would be able to meet her in any way, since she was like in the spotlight already at such a young age so I didn’t really think about it. That was until we got introduced that is and it was one of the best moments in my life," finishing it off with a shy smile.
“That’s sweet, do you think we’ll ever see Y/n as part of your series, The Mandalorian?”
“Good question but we haven’t thought about it really. But with the number of times she’s been on set they should’ve made a character just for her don’t you think?” Pedro said laughing. “Last question, what role from The Mandalorian would you think y/n would fit in if she were to be cast?” she quickly stated as their time's almost up.
Pedro gave her a teasing knowing look, “Ummm Mando’s lover, no I'm joking. But maybe someone in the ranks, probably not a Mandalorian cause she'll look-" he makes a tiny sign from his hands, laughing at himself, "-wearing the armour. Maybe a Jedi, we don’t know really, she can play herself actually. She’ll take whatever they give her.”
#pedro pascal#pedro pascal x reader#pedro pascal x you#pedro pascal x y/n#pedro pascal x actress!reader#pedro pascal characters#pedro pascal fanfic#pedro pascal fanfiction#pedro pascal fic#pedro pascal fluff#pedro pascal imagine#pedro pascal x female reader#the mandalorian#the mandalorian s3
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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.
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"But the show is about MANDALORIANS! Any Mandalorians! It never says it's about DIN!" is the stupidest fucking take I've seen out of this whole mess
Imagine if The Empire Strikes back cut away from Luke going to rescue Han and Leia to a new tax being levied on the citizens of Coruscant by a greedy Imperial bureaucrat because "they didn't say WHERE the Empire was striking back!"
Or the Original Trilogy ended by cutting away from the Rebel Fleet bravely standing up against the Death Star to a skirmish between a separate Rebel cell being attacked by a TIE fighter patrol because "they didn't say WHICH war in Star Wars!"
Or while Frodo is standing in Mount Doom, the camera zooms in on Vilya on Elrond's finger while he's sitting in Rivendell because "they didn't say WHICH Ring The Lord of the Rings was about!"
The Little Mermaid switches to following one of Ariel's sisters swimming around during the climax because "they didn't say WHICH little mermaid!"
Would y'all have read From A Certain Child's Point of View: The Sanctuary if I skipped all of Grogu's stuff to write from Winta's point of view the whole episode and then said "Haha, I didn't say WHICH child's point of view I was writing!" Or imagine if No Prison Can Hold had everything from Din and Luke's point of view, built up that confrontation, and then that chapter everyone was commenting they couldn't wait to see was Cara Dune calling Leia and explaining the situation and calling in a favor from a fellow Alderaanian and that's how the whole thing was solved. Leia takes Grogu and hands him to Din and Luke and Din never meet.
Previous seasons focused on Din. The advertising was all Din. It's not unreasonable to expect the show to be ABOUT DIN. All you're doing with that stupid fucking take is making excuses for Favroni's shitty writing and Filoni's inability to write anything but the same 3D Clone Wars characters over and over and over again.
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I guess I'm in the minority because I came away from the Ahsoka finale more of a Sabezra shipper than before and more convinced they might be going in a canon Sabezra direction. Nothing ship killing happened in the finale...they are both alive and neither of them are romantically involved with anyone else.
And I'll say this, if Filoni wants Sabine and Ezra to be platonic, as people keep insisting, then he didn't communicate that very clearly, or at all, to the actors and the directors because Ezra and Sabine come across like they are in love. Like seriously Ezra's "I missed you" was pretty darn close to a love confession imo. The way he looked at her and the way he said it had me going "oh he is totally in love with her".
Sure them being separated, again, is a set back but its really a minor one for a scifi fantasy show. When Ezra got stuck nobody knew where he was or even how to begin finding him or if it was even possible. This time around Ezra knows exactly WHERE Sabine and Ahsoka are and HOW to get there. Its been established now that travel between galaxies is indeed possible and it doesn't even appear to be that hard? You just need the coordinates and a powerful enough hyperdrive. Ezra has either already stolen the coordinates from the Chimaera or he's working on a plan to do just that. This separation will be temporary and given that Thrawn is back in the main galaxy now, and there is no OT coming up in the timeline that Ezra needs to be MIA for, I'm betting it will be way, way shorter in universe that the last one. [how long we have to wait to see them reunited I have no idea, everything is so up in the air right now what was the just resolved writers strike and as yet to be resolved actors strike]
The big thing that's giving me pause on canon Sabezra at this moment in time is Sabine apparently committing to becoming a Jedi and her embracing being Ahsoka's apprentice. I just don't now where they are going to come down on the Jedi and romantic attachments thing. I'm worried they might revert back to the Jedi are forbidden romantic attachments angle to align with the BS they established with Luke regarding attachments for the Sequel Trilogy.
The fact that they didn't retcon the fact that Kanan was a Jedi, as I feared they would, and the fact that Carson didn't say "wait how can Jacen's father have been a Jedi? I thought Jedi weren't allowed to have families" gives me hope. And the obvious, to me anyway, "romantic coding" with Sabine and Ezra in Ahsoka gives me hope. But then I remember that they had Luke make Grogu chose between being a Jedi or seeing Din again in the Book of Bobba Fett and I get worried.
#sabezra#ashoka show#ezra bridger#sabine wren#long post#yes i'm still very bitter at what they did to luke in the ST#and it's had to watch them setting him up for that in the new content#as much as I wish they'd just retcon#the whole ST#I don't think they will#you can already see them laying the groundwork#for the ST in the mandoverse
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I'll say it again. Andor is the best Star Wars show.
And that's because they didn't let Dave Filoni anywhere near it.
The show is called 'Ahsoka' but is actually an unaired season of Rebels. It ought to have been called 'attempted massive retcon at unwise forward speed' or 'Sabine has abandonment issues and makes poor decisions.' There are good scenes (possibly from another show, which one is anyone's guess) strung together with tired plot devices. Thrawn was chucked into this mess because there was no other way to move the plot. I did dig on some of the details like the signs of age and hard living and the obvious condition of the Chimaera. Other than that - pfft.
Turning to Thrawn - I am an unabashed fan of the Zahn-authored 2017 Trilogy and the HTTE trilogy (except the ending). He is complex neither all good or all evil. He is an antagonist and protagonist at once. Someone to root for and also against. Did he contrive his exile to join the Empire and possibly take it over in order to protect his people? It's possible. I don't think we'll ever find out, though. That being said, I don't think we're going to get much more from two more episodes.
One of my friends said that Filoni writes for children's shows, and it's true. The characters are almost cartoonish, not understandable as adults, but as kids understand adults to be. Perhaps I am expecting too much from an eight-episode MCU-kin show, but there was time to develop Sabine, or FFS Ahsoka (you know, the protagonist?), to fill in whatever has gone on in the past nine years since the Battle of Yavin, five years after Endor. For Sabine and Ezra, there should have been more feeling in that scene than the swell of the music.
A lot of the blame rests with Disney, and the paranoia-controlled process to stamp out leaks at all costs. There is a continuity to writing a script, working out the story boards, reading the script, and then shooting that is entirely lacking in franchise-oriented product. Franchise oriented product is formulated to sell merch and streaming subscriptions, and to drive bodies into theme parks. It's marketable.
The writers' and actors' guild strikes are ongoing. I'm content to wait - writers and actors have been getting screwed, fucked, and buttered without mercy for years. There is a new intensity to the talks as the studios start to sweat.
Final note: I love Thrawn, but the ageism of a vocal part of the fandom makes me want to still be around when these people hit 50. Age and illness and injury HAPPEN. Our bodies do not work as well when joints break down, we get hurt, or sick. Even when he regain functionality, it doesn't all come back. Even when our lives are saved, there are still sequelae. It's made me think less of some folks.
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*AHSOKA SPOILERS EP 4*
Dave Filoni to all our Marrok theories that have been discussed for the last 3 months:
Dave Feloni strikes again
#we were bamboozeled#but I’m ok with that#I’m lowkey glad it wasn’t star killer#Dave is probably laughing maniacally in a corner as we speak#Ahsoka spoilers#Star Wars marrok#Ahsoka ep 4#star wars ahsoka#star wars#marrok#dave feloni#Ahsoka tano#Sabine wren#Hera syndulla#star wars chopper#jacen syndulla#he really turned into a cloud of dust#he went poof#it’s actually funny#I love it#it couldn’t have been Ezra for the world#we were all delulu
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[initial reactions] Star Wars Ahsoka 1x06 - Far, far away
Why is this show only 8 episodes??? I want to spend more time in Peridea!
Peridea, where Purgill comes to die, and the homeworld of the Witches of Dathomir. I get it now when House of R posited one of the reasons why Filoni loves Tolkien is that the setting is always in places with ruins and structures of once great empires because this is what Peridea is.
Also, there are more threatening powers in this new galaxy, as hinted by Baylan. He wants to break the cycle of the Jedi rising and falling and all its folly. Baylan claimed that he trained Shin 'to be more'.
And interestingly, Sabine 'reeks of Jedi,' but Baylan and Shin don't.
Thrawn is here! I believed he'd be shown in the last episode of the season but no! Filoni once again zigged when I thought he would zag and we're seeing Thrawn - weathered and his opinions on Force users changed.
ALSO IS ONE OF THE GREAT MOTHERS CLAUDIA BLACK???? I have to rewatch the credits later.
And we saw Ezra and Oh my... I get it now he looks HOT. Especially with that beard and okay, I kind of ship Ezra and Sabine a bit because of this. He aged and matured well, it didn't translate in the animated series but here?
Hello, sailor!
I love how Sabine went all... Sabine Alone, and she got a dog horse of her own. She might also have an affinity for animals.
But oh, Sabine 'I named a weapon after Duchess Satine' Wren, of House Disaster Lineage... strikes again. Ezra won't be happy with this, he of House Mace Windu.
I love the small scene that we saw of Ahsoka, who might have been riding the euphoria of rebirth but still has unresolved issues, as I mentioned last episode. She's chosen to live and embrace life, but all those issues don't go away. Ahsoka still has concerns, especially about Sabine's decision-making.
There's a really interesting discussion of destiny and fate that might be a throughline through everything and underscore Ahsoka's series. I wonder where they're going with this.
I love how Peridea looks so high fantasy, and it's brought on with the creatures, and really Baylan, Shin fit in but also Sabine with her Mando armor and cloak.
I love the weathered structures and ruins and the mention of the Great Witch Kingdom of Dathomir. Why did some of the Nightsisters migrate to another galaxy? What vast threat is there that they need a whole new Galaxy's distance to escape?
Baylan talks about the cycles the Jedi go through from rise to fall and how disillusioned he is of it-- how he loved the idea of the Jedi but not the reality of their flaws. This episode is the most dialogue-heavy of all episodes. PLEASE FILONI MOVE AWAY FROM FAVREAU'S LITTLE-TO-NO-DIALOGUE APPROACH.
I love that Ahsoka is being treated as this mythic, larger-than-life threat. 'She is coming.' is the new 'Winter is coming'.
I KNEW I KNEW AND TOLD MYSELF THIS WAS THE FIRST OF A THREE-PARTER!
DID I LISTEN TO MYSELF??? NO. OF COURSE NOT.
Sometimes, the wound is self-inflicted!
If the last episode was a love letter to Clone Wars fans, this episode is a love letter to Rebels fans.
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Caught You
AO3 Link
Rating: Safe
Warnings: massive spoiler for Plan 99
Notes: a fix-it, reader is a Jedi in hiding, gender neutral, present tense
Word count: 1499
Alternative title- Fuck you Filoni.
I’m still reeling. Wrote this in one go without editing so sorry if it’s messy. I had another lightning strike idea and needed to get it down.
Tech/ Reader
LAST SPOILER WARNING FOR PLAN 99
——
You find yourself floating through the air, and you know you’re dreaming. Of all the lucid dreams you’ve had, these were your favorite. Time passes as you ‘swim’ between trees, then suddenly you feel heavy, like a boulder. Still lucid, you try to find a place to ‘land’ but you become too heavy and are now plummeting hundreds of feet toward the ground. Moments before you hit the earth, you hear a familiar voice murmur in your ear “perhaps I’ll see the Commander on the other side.” Then everything goes dark.
—
You sit straight up, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. The dream is rapidly fading, but the voice you had heard was still crystal clear in your memory. You can feel something in the Force screaming at you like you’ve never experienced before. As you scramble out of bed and quickly get dressed, you realize two things. The first: You have felt this urgency before, just before you were forced into hiding. The second, and most distressing, the voice had called you Commander. You were only in command for a few weeks, just once with a single group, before suddenly being transferred somewhere else by your Master.
You yank your boots on, practically fly through the narrow cave entrance of your temporary home, and sprint your way down the hill. You ignore the stitch in your side, and only slow down once you’ve reached an unassuming cluster of dead trees. Using the Force, you throw them out of the way, uncovering a speeder that you swore you’d only use in an emergency.
You leap onto it, pray to the Maker that it starts, and nearly sob with relief when the engine growls into life. You quickly take off, knowing exactly where to go without being conscious of it, weaving your way through the dense forest of the mountains with little regard for your own safety.
The Force is guiding you, but still screaming that you need to move faster. You grit your teeth and shift the speeder, going as fast as the machine possibly can. You get a sudden, clear image of what looks like an air tramway, and curse under your breath when you recognize it. That was over an hour away, and you were already moving as quickly as you could. You growl and push the speeder even harder, the scenery around you becoming nothing but a green blur.
—
After some time, you don’t know or care how long, you suddenly hear an earth-shaking explosion. Once the echoes fade away, you’re also able to hear blaster fire. You’re now moving so quickly that the speeder is shaking, and as the sound grows louder, the damned thing starts to lose momentum. You curse loudly, begging the Maker to make it last just a little while longer. The speeder continues to slow. However, you can see the enormous pylons that support the tramway are only a few thousand meters ahead of you.
You kind of awkwardly stand and throw all your weight forward onto the speeder, and doing so gives you just enough of a momentum boost that the pylons are now only a few hundred meters away. Then a few dozen. The speeder gives an almighty lurch, nearly throwing you over the steering controls, and suddenly comes to a stop. You leap away from the thing, breaking your fall with the Force, and start running again seamlessly.
You’ve reached the pylons, but keep moving, turning to your right and getting steadily closer to the gut-churning sound of metal beginning to crack, the noise like cannon fire in your ringing ears. You look up, but see nothing through the cloud or fog that has settled over the gorge.
Just when you think your lungs are going to give out, something tells you to stop, and you skid on your heels through the dirt as you come to a halt. You look up above you again and whatever the obstruction in your vision is blows out of the way, giving you a clear, heart stopping view of a lone figure plummeting toward the ground in complete free fall.
Pushing through your fear and panic, you hold your hands, palms out, toward the figure and take a deep breath, focusing only on breaking Tech’s fall.
A rush of air blows over your face, and you unconsciously close your eyes, thinking of anything but the sickening thud you’ll hear if you fail. Your hands suddenly feel heavy, like you had in your dream, and you force your eyes open. You look up, and see him kind of hovering a few feet above you.
You release a breath you didn’t know you had been holding, and when he drops again, you catch him in your arms before falling to your knees. He isn’t moving. On the verge of panic again, you quickly slide his goggles off and immediately forget about them. Fighting to stay calm, you gently lift one of his eyelids and breathe a massive sigh of relief when his pupil reacts to the sun above the two of you. He’s just passed out.
With some effort, you manage to get back on your feet. You glance upward again. It doesn’t look like anything or anyone’s coming after him. You know better than to stick around so close to an Imperially controlled area, and, holding Tech tightly to your chest, begin to make your way back to the speeder.
—
When you reach the speeder, it starts up, but doesn’t move. You curse and kick the thing out of aggravation, then regain your temper. It’ll be getting dark soon, and you both need to be under cover. You glance around and find a decently sized gap within a pile of boulders.
Still holding Tech, you focus on the massive stones, and work with the Force to shift them into a makeshift, but stable, shelter before ducking into the space you’d created. You slip onto your knees and use the Force once again, dragging a large log over the opening between the rocks, plunging the two of you into darkness.
You shift into a sitting position and carefully maneuver Tech so that his head is resting on your shoulder while you hold his body close to yours. You glance over his tool belt and grab a small flashlight, turning it on before sticking the butt end of it into the ground. The light is weak, but still enough for you to see his face.
—
Hours later, you’re on the verge of nodding off, then you suddenly hear the distant sound of voices. There’s a small group of people coming your way. You quickly shut the flashlight off and keep as still as possible.
“Find anything?” One of the voices asks as it grows closer.
“Just these,” a second voice says. You realize that you’d left Techs goggles outside, then remind yourself that that wasn’t important.
“That’s it?” The first voice says.
“Something must have dragged the body off,” a third voice says. The other two voices mumble in agreement, then the first voice tells the others to follow him back.
You focus on them, only breathing normally once you can no longer Sense their presence. Not long after this, you feel Tech shift in your lap. You whip your head back toward him, and he shifts again before waking with a gasp. You can Sense the fear and panic in him, and before he can say or do anything else, you softly hold a hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. Fumbling in the dark with your other hand, you find the flashlight and click it back on.
Tech blinks several times as his eyes adjust to the light, and you carefully pull your hand back, allowing him to speak.
“I can’t see anything, who are you? Where am I?” he says.
You point the light into your own face, hoping he’d be able to recognize something about you, but when he doesn’t react, you whisper your own name.
“That is not possible, they’re dead,” he says, squinting in your direction.
“That’s what I wanted everyone to think,” you say, speaking up a little more. You’re taken aback by how hoarse your voice is; not speaking at all for a few cycles seems to have weakened it.
“You don’t sound like them,” he says, still skeptical.
You get an idea. You softly hold the back of his head, and pull his face closer to yours. The both of you are surprised when he doesn’t try to fight you off. He must be exhausted, you reason.
“Forgive me,” you say quietly, then close the gap between the two of you and kiss him, just like you had when you had last seen him.
He freezes, at first, then sighs into you as he reciprocates. You pull away and he cups one side of your face with a shaking hand. “It is you,” he says, then leans forward and presses his forehead into yours.
————
(Skipping the tag list, I’m not sure if everyone has seen the finale yet)
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!!!Bad Batch S2E11: Metamorphosis spoilers under the cut!!!
That was a good episode. I really enjoyed that one. In my opinion, the previous one was... a little slow. This one checked off boxes I forgot I had.
I have been waiting for a Zillo Beast follow up for years. I recently rewatched that arc and spent at least half an hour afterwards trying to figure out if there was anything that ever mentioned the Zillo Beast again after, y'know, "You want me to clone the beast?" There was nothing, obviously, although I came across some Zillo-eats-Palpatine fanfics that were very entertaining.
The Zillo-absorbing-energy-for-strength thing actually isn't new. Screencrush's Breakdown Video on YouTube mentions that in the Clone Wars episodes, the Zillo broke free only after absorbing energy from some generators near it, which, whoa, never noticed that. It's subtle, but it's there. (It's at about 9 minutes and 50 seconds into Clone Wars S2E19: The Zillo Beast Strikes Back, if you want to rewatch that part).
Aside from the Zillo Beast, I loved a lot of other parts of this episode, too. Mainly the mention of Echo and Rex, those two are my favorites and just the thought of seeing them again has me screeching. I'm also glad that Hunter is coming around to the prospect of joining the larger fight against the Empire, and all the Tech and Omega moments are just. Healing for the soul.
BUT.
OMEGA IS IN DANGER AGAIN!
Which I honestly didn't see coming. I mean, obviously she'd be in danger, but I didn't think Filoni would sic the Empire on her again. However, I'm glad it happened in the sense that the stakes are raising higher and they're raising faster, and it's all gearing towards a pretty epic finale, hopefully.
Tech: Your concern is not warranted. I will be fine.
Me: yeahhhh the person who goes off alone dies first....
ALSO Tech's "Fascinating" STOPPPP I LOVE THIS MAN HE IS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL I LOVE HIM
#star wars the bad batch#star wars tbb#sw tbb spoilers#sw tbb s2#the bad batch#bad batch spoilers#tbb s2 spoilers#tbb tech#tbb wrecker#tbb hunter#tbb omega
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More Rey films?
Okay...interesting comment from the JCF; the bolded are apparently quotes from Daisy Ridley lifted from Reddit:
From Reddit after a Collider article
>I'm very excited. The story is really cool. I'm waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don't have any other updates. It's not what I expected, but I'm very excited."
>
>"I know the storyline for one film. That's not to say that that's all it is, but that's what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don't know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited."
I really hope they fully utilize her. I'm all for new characters, but Rey has a lot of gas left in the tank as a primary protagonist, and Filoni can now speak more into making sense of her character post ST.
Sounds like its beginning of a new saga with more movies coming.
Is it?
If this isn't 'fake' (these days there are a LOT of red herrings) then DLF apparently want to make a number of films featuring Rey as the protagonist.
There is just one problem: does anyone, apart from her fans on the forums...really want to watch them?
You have to appeal to the general audience as well as the 'groupies.'
The general audience in that infamous poll gave Rey just 5% of the 'who do you want to see most in TROS' question. We ALL know who got the lion's share. And it wasn't any of the so called 'trio'.
The plot thickens. I suggest DLF wait and see the BO results of the Rey film before even considering making more. They haven't made as much as they thought from Indy 5, live action Little Mermaid and of course, TROS.
They refuse to see the wood for the trees.
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Character Analysis: Tech—The Bad Batch, Season 2 (continued):
Plan 99
Spoilers for The Bad Batch: season 2 (after season finale)
Just before the finale of the second season of The Bad Batch, I posted a character analysis of Tech up to that point: https://tikkisfanart.tumblr.com/post/712999818567548928/character-analysis-techthe-bad-batch-season-2
Now that the finale is past (yes, very past, sorry this is delayed), I have a few things to add.
I just have to say, I was so pleased with Tech when he stood up to Hunter in behalf of Crosshair. When he mentioned that he was still their brother and “we do not leave our own behind”, I was so happy! He was aware of the emotions of others around him—not just data—and he expressed his own emotions in his own little way. He addressed Hunter’s concern, understanding why he did not trust Crosshair, but then stood up for Crosshair, despite what he has done in the past. It was a shining moment for Tech.
As the events of the episodes unfolded, I grew more and more anxious about the upcoming sacrifice. I knew it was going to happen, but I was hoping it would have been at least in an event to save Crosshair. In a way, I suppose it was because it happened on a mission to find Crosshair’s location, but the mission ultimately failed. Despite this, his sacrifice was still noble because it saved the rest of the squad. The moment was so heartbreaking! When Wrecker looked at Tech just before it happened, you can just see his pleading expression through his helmet. Oh, the beauty in the animation of that moment! The stillness of the music for that brief second then climaxed as Tech’s sacrifice unfolded! And the fact that they named such a sacrifice after the clone 99! Oh, that was tear-jerking! But something that strikes me so much, is the look of peace on Tech’s face as he fell. Despite his fate, he was at peace knowing that he offered his family a chance to escape and survive. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, New Testament, KJV)
But is this truly the end for Tech? Well, in a way, I would say, "no." His act must live on in the rest of the squad. He must be remembered and honored through them.
But do I think he survived? Will we see him in season 3? I am sorry to say, but I do not think so. I want him to have survived, and I want him to come back, but unless he found a way to slow his fall and dodge the falling railcar, I don’t think he would have survived such a fall. He still had his grappling hook, so perhaps he was able to use it to catch himself somewhere along the fall. I know some people think that perhaps Hemlock found him before he perished and is keeping him alive for study. I have thought that myself. The fact that Star Wars is known for the “bringing back characters from the dead” cliché, it is a possible solution. But that is just it. It is cliché. I think that Dave Filoni and the creators are taunting and teasing us with this possibility. It seems to be too obvious a conclusion. Perhaps it is better to just have them honor his sacrifice and leave it at that. Don’t get me wrong. Again, I do want Tech to still be alive and I want the whole squad to be reunited and all alive and together at the end. However, I know that not everything is going to have a perfect, happy, fairytale ending. (I even suspect that there will be at least one more sacrifice, but I have not yet hypothesized who it will be from: Hunter, Echo, or even Crosshair?) Part of life is experiencing sorrows. It is something that helps us grow, and, perhaps, this is something Omega and the rest of Clone force 99 need in order to grow.
Whether or not Tech survived, however they address it in season 3 needs to be respectful of his sacrifice—not diminishing it in any way—and needs to show growth in the other characters. If it is presented properly, either way will be satisfactory—joy in his survival, or closure to his sacrifice.
#the bad batch#season 2#tech#plan 99#sacrifice#star wars#fan art#character analysis#character development#art#illustration#tbb#clone trooper tech#disney#brown eyes
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Did they really give Hera and Ezra the same contacts? Filoni strikes again, he's so afraid to let POC keep their brown eyes for some reason lmao I hate him 😭
I'm not even watching ahsoka and the second hand racist cringe is so exponential like how could you want to assimilate a real man to a children's cartoon character made by an asshole who can't write when papa Lucas isn't holding his hand. Filoni shut the fuck up challenge
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youtube
Doug is still pretty reasonable on Star Wars, but still makes fumbles all the same.
1. Certain points he made elsewhere are absent here when they really needed to be brought up again. For instance, the fact that The Empire Strikes Back and especially Return of the Jedi were NOT near-universally beloved in their day, that general audiences enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker regardless of what Star Wars "fans" think of it, and that the final season of The Clone Wars ran into issues due to both Rebels before it and The Bad Batch after it.
2. He still takes the same bad-faith critic view on The Rise of Skywalker, namely that it's a "retcon of The Last Jedi made in a panic by Disney / Lucasfilm after the backlash", pandering to toxic fans and backfiring since they hated it. All facts on record disprove this, as the bulk of the film's story including Palpatine's return and Rey not being just a "nobody" after all was locked in before The Last Jedi came out and any backlash was known. Doug even says "it would have been good if these ideas were there at the start of the trilogy"...news flash, Doug: they were. Seeds in The Force Awakens were always envisioned by J.J Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan into blooming this way (ex: music from Revenge of the Sith's opera scene playing when Snoke appears, Palaptine being heard in Rey's vision twice). The dissonance felt with The Rise of Skywalker was not a deliberate move due to any backlash; it was the natural and obvious conclusion to having one creator start a trilogy with his own ideas on how it could go, then have a totally different creator with totally different ideas continue it, only to have that first creator who still has those ideas of his return to end it. Hell, CinemaSins gets it!
3. Yeeeah, he's really underselling the backlash to The Mandalorian's third season. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are the new Star Wars content creators that the "fans" have rabidly turned on due to the third season focusing on Bo Katan and the Mandalorian civilization's story rather than Din's. And I agree with this base criticism, just not with the fervor it's given.
4. I love Andor too, but because it shows new, previously underexplored areas of the Star Wars universe and fleshing out characters and storylines leading into Rogue One (plus it's just well made cinematography-wise). Doug just can't leave it at that, though, and has to gush about how "adult" it is (is it a Freudian thing that he's so obsessed with that concept, given what a man-child he is?), intentionally or not giving the impression that he thinks Star Wars should normally be dark and edgy, and fuck that noise and anyone who spreads it around.
5. No mention of the video games and theme park additions that have only come along due to Disney purchasing Star Wars? Y'know, like the Battlefront series or Jedi: Fallen Order? Galaxy's Edge and Rise of the Resistance? Those are further points in "Disney Star Wars" favor that shouldn't be discounted, just like the overall positive financial earnings made.
Finally, in regards to the question posed: Yes. Absolutely.
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