#Rex and many other characters also feature

[kyberblade]

Cover Me (Din x Reader) - Shatter Part 4 | Dincember 2023

A/N: This is Part 4 of Shatter. It’s also my contribution to the wonderful event known as Dincember 2023! All 25 prompts in 6k words. 😮‍💨 All the prompts are in bold. I’m so excited to share it with all of you. It can be read as a stand alone, but it’ll make a lot more sense if you read the other parts first. I hope you enjoy it! Happy New Year! No use of Y/N.

I do not own Star Wars or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Maybe some light swearing and mention of spiders??? Snark, Grogu being the cutest thing you ever did see, Din is a warning in and of himself in this one. Typical show violence. Space swearing. Mando’a. My Mandalorians do what they want. Banter. So much banter. And you’ll probably fall in love with them like I did. (I don’t make the rules.) Let me know if I missed something. (Again, all the prompts are in bold. No use of Y/N.)

Word count: 6,000 (MaGiC. ✨)

Thank you to @fordo-kixed-rex for reading this every step of the way, counting all the words for me when I had a full day, and just being amazing. You’ve been my blessing from this hell site, and I’m not sorry I made you read about spiders so many times. 🧟‍♀️ Also a shout out to @what-the-heckin-heck and @littlemisspascal for just being amazing cheerleaders as I started this process, you guys always make me smile so much and make my little shit voice shut up, so thank you. ❤️

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Xxx

“Is this information reliable?”

“Yes.”

Din hesitated, shifting his weight to one side before he went on. “What about the informant?” His head followed his weight, looking down at you with a dubious tilt.

You sighed, clutching your helmet under your arm a bit too tightly, the leather of your gloves groaning in protest as your hands stretched as far as they could to contain what you really wanted to say. With a roll of your eyes while your own weight shifted the opposite way, you huffed again for good measure, leveling his visor with a look. “Din, I am your head of strategy and tactics. When are you going to let me do my job and trust me?”

“I do trust you,” he defended, his spine straightening with the effort of his words, before his shoulders rounded just slightly with a quietly added, “I don’t trust the situations you get us into.”

You simply stared at him for a long moment, the only sounds Peli’s droids beeping in the background of the hangar somewhere as Grogu chased them with a squeal that echoed off the stone walls, before turning and walking up the ramp of the newly renovated Crest.

“Ti,” he called out after you, voice exasperated but resigned. “Look,” he sighed again, then took a few steps forward, the sand crunching underfoot until he thought better of it, and came to a halt near the bottom of the ramp when you stopped at the top, your back still to him. “I’m sorry. But your sources are usually questionable at best….”

“Your face is questionable,” you grumbled under your breath, not bothering to turn around, but he heard you, huffing softly at the slight. Holding your helmet in front of you with both hands, looking down at your visor needlessly, you sighed to yourself as was the custom in this clan, looking at the wall of the ship across from you. Finally looking over your shoulder just enough to see Din in your peripheral, still at the bottom of the ramp, you felt your features soften. “Get the kid and let’s go. We’re following my lead on who attacked Mandalore.”

Xxx

“You have the worst leads,” you said exasperatedly before pulling the trigger on the controls of the Crest, shooting a rogue ship out of the sky in front of you.

“Me?” Din barked from his copilot seat beside you. “You’re the one who trusted a pirate.” He shook his head, looking back out the viewport. “Two more, left and point three.”

The cockpit had been modified to have two pilots sit side by side, putting you on the right and Din on the left. While the controls had to be slightly recessed to make room for two people, wrapping them around the space slightly more than they had been, it worked much better for the tandem tag team style you and Din often fell into. Everything was in arms reach, or just overhead, and if for some reason one of you were incapacitated, the other would take over.

The kid still had his seat a little back and to the right of the cabin, clapping gleefully at each burst of a fireball that was an enemy ship streaked past the viewport. The rest of the cockpit was taken up with wiring and rerouting for the new controls. Peli really had worked some magic to get it all to fit in the shell of the old Crest.

With a swerve of the steering, you swept the ship to the left, Grogu squealing from his seat behind the two of you, giggling when you pulled the trigger again and caused another fireball in front of you.

“Roll.”

You followed Din’s order without hesitation. 

“No, to the left.”

“I am going left.”

“No, not your left, my left.”

“Din, we are facing the same way!” You yelled. “My left is your left!”

“Then go to the other left!” He barked.

“Right.”

“Why are you confirming again, there is only one other direction other than left-”

“No, I-” you groaned in frustration, entering a tight barrel roll to the right, making the kid let out a grunt as his safety belt held him in place. “First of all, I was saying ‘right’ as in ‘right we agree’.” The stars streaked by outside the viewport in one giant circle as you continued to spiral. “Secondly, there are several other directions besides left.”

He scoffed. “Name three.”

You ended the roll and fired on another ship. “Up. Down. Forward.” You looked across your shoulder at him pointedly, your head tilted slightly back, chin jutted forward toward the viewport. “Backward.”

“That’s four,” Din grumbled, pulling his own set of triggers to down an enemy ship that had gotten too close. The Crest flew through the remaining ball of flames, dousing the cockpit in an eerie glow. 

“We need to get down there,” you pointed at a nearby planet through the viewport, glancing at him just briefly, grinning under your helmet at his slight head shake at your jab.

He punched a few buttons and the readout on the planet came up, the holo spinning above the panel between you both. After a few seconds he shook his head more vehemently. “Maldo Kreis. No. Uh-uh. No way. Been there, done that.” He pressed a button and the holo disappeared with a beep.

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” You pulled the controls back, sending the ship into an ascent to avoid some ships, snorting out a laugh at Din’s abrupt huff of air and Grogu’s ruckus laughter as he squealed in joy. Reaching out, you pulled the holo back up with a press of the same button, only studying it for a second after the beep before Din had pressed it again, collapsing it with a final, hollow beep. 

Ignoring your curious gaze until you turned back to look out the viewport, Din spoke tightly as you sent the ship into another spin to the right. “Crash landed there with the kid once. Don’t need to go back. Once is enough.”

“Is it safe?”

He made a sound of indecision. “Lots of snow. Lots of ice. Very cold.” He sighed. “It was no holiday, I’ll just say that-”

“But was it safe?” You reiterated.

He didn’t answer for a moment. “Giant icicles. Frost spiders….”

Your eyebrows shot up. “Spiders?”

“Spiders.” His tone was flat.

The two of you sat in silence aside from the surging of the engines of the ship and the fire of the enemies. 

“Aw, is the Mand’alor afraid of some little bugs….?” You finally teased, sending the ship into a dive.

“Little-” he scoffed, his voice tight against the force of the gravity pushing against him until you evened the ship back out again. “No,” groaning softly, he settled back into his chair and flipped a switch to his side that released some tracking torpedoes at the enemy ships. “No,” he repeated less emphatically, looking to his right at you as the projectiles hit their mark and ignited, causing a muffled boom through the viewport, accompanied by a soft orange glow. Both the sound and illumination faded before he continued with a mumbled, “But I don’t particularly like them.”

“So it’s no Life Day celebration,” you mused, mulling over his words. Pointing the controls down toward the ball of ice looming larger and larger through the transparisteel, you sighed. “Maldo Kries it is.”

Grogu squealed excitedly.

Din turned to look at him from his seat with the biggest sigh yet. “Don’t worry, kid. We’re going in prepared this time.”

Xxx

“I thought you stocked up on rations last.”

Both you and Din stared at the single crate of food once the ship had touched down and the pirates had quit making pass by’s as frequently. His hands hung limply at his sides while yours were across your chest. You wished you’d taken your helmet off so he could feel the full force of your raised brow when you turned your gaze up to look at him, but you didn’t feel like unwinding your arms from their sternly disapproving hold.

No.

He would break first.

“Me?” He questioned, his weight shifting just slightly to the side and away from you at the accusation. “No. No, no, that was on your list.”

Your arms broke their hold on instinct and you grimaced at them, thankful for the cover of your helmet as you glared at their betrayal briefly before lifting your visor to fully stare at the other Mandalorian. 

“Me?” You pointed to your chest before poking him in his, right in the center of his breastplate. “No. Nuh-uh, don’t do that, Din. You know Peli had me doing final repairs. She sent you to the market with R5 and the kid last minute-”

“To get her some parts!”

The two of you stared at each other.

You reached out and pushed the button on his vambrace that pulled up the holo projection of Peli’s request that hovered right above it. Pointing to the bottom, you waited while he read silently.

Finally there was a quiet, belated, “Oh.”

“What’s that? I’m sorry.” You pulled your helmet off, tucking it under your arm and resting it on your hip. This required eyebrows. “I didn’t get the list, can you read it out loud?”

There was something so entirely…. Domestic about this entire argument, that it almost made you smile. Almost. Who bought the food, who was supposed to take care of this, fixing that, running a little home together, a family, responsibilities…. It was a pattern the three of you had fallen into easily since having to flee Mandalore, and if you’d told yourself that before leaving…. You’d have laughed in your own face. But now…. Now you couldn’t see it any other way. 

This was home. It was ragged, and broken, and quite frankly, falling apart at the seams most days. But it had everything you needed. Every bit of warmth. Every bit of joy, and laughter, and love. You’d quickly become a family. An aliit. And if any pirate scum was going to try and come between you…. They’d soon learn why the galaxy didn’t mess with Mandalorian’s.

Din clicked the list off without answering you. “We need to come up with a solution if we have to stay here long term.” He turned back to the crate, hands resting on his hips. “I wouldn’t think the pirates would stick around that long, but we only have enough for about three days, a week max if we stretch it.”

“That’s about one day if we let the kid anywhere near it,” you grumbled, sighing as you turned to look at the crate as well. “Guard it with your life, Mandalorian.” You looked back up at him, his visor turning to you. “It may very well count on it.”

Xxx

The Crest had a broken hyperdrive. 

Din rounded on you in the main hull, slowly, in a way you didn’t like. It oozed sarcasm. “Okay,” he drawled, “I know I was supposed to get the rations, but you were supposed to fix the hyperdrive.”

You huffed, looking down at your vambraces as you fixed them for no good reason, your helmet jostling under your arm where it once again rested on your hip as you tugged on the armor needlessly. “No-”

“Do I need to look at your list?”

Your eyes whipped up to glare at him through your lashes, his visor tilted just so. Grumbling, you let your arms fall back to your sides as you stared at the wall just over his shoulder. It was fascinating. “I don’t have a list.” You let a scathing breath out through your nose, before your next words came out on a mumbled mutter more to yourself than anything. “Besides, I did fix it. ….just seems like it was temporary.” You got lost in thought for moment, your voice wandering with them. “Maybe that’s what Peli meant by ‘partial’ converter instead of the full-”

“No wonder you forgot.”

Your eyes flew back up to meet the T of his visor once again, wide in disbelief that he’d willingly left himself this open to retaliation. “So what’s your excuse?”

Din hesitated. “Excuse me?” His weight shifted to one side just slightly, as if realization was slowly dawning after the fact.

Grinning, you mimicked him, tilting your head just so. “You had a list, and you forgot, so what’s your excuse?”

Din simply stared at you for a long moment before he turned and walked away, climbing up the ladder into the cockpit in silence.

“Don’t challenge my time management skills, Shiny,” you muttered under your breath, smirking to yourself. “I’m gonna go make a fire,” you called after him in amusement, barely looking over your shoulder his way before turning back toward the cargo hold and putting your helmet on. Once the seal had hissed all the way, you surveyed the ship for something you could use for fuel. “You’re not too attached to these extra capes, are you?”

He was down the ladder in an instant, dropping in one go. “What are you-” Din looked at the box you were staring at across the hull. “That’s a box of ammo.”

“I know,” you grinned at him through your visor. “But now I know I was right and you do have a box of backups somewhere on board.” Pulling the corner of his cape out to the side, you made a tis-king sound. “Think it’s time for a switch, Mando. This one has seen better days. Smelled them, too.”

The Mandalorian snapped the material out of your grip. “It doesn’t smell that ba-”

“Why do you think I put on my helmet?” You teased.

You chuckled, turning away from Din while he grunted at the slight as you lowered the ramp, a blast of cold air rolling up the plank. 

“Just stay inside the ship, it’s warmer,” he protested.

“The repairs needed have to start outside.” Tugging your own cape around you a bit more snuggly, you suddenly felt a lift of weight off your shoulders as Din removed your jetpack. “What are you doing? I need that in case I have to make a dash-” 

“Be quiet,” he grumbled, setting it gently at his feet before you felt a bit of extra weight coming around your shoulders, and an extra layer of heat. “This will help some. Not much, but it’s better than nothing.” He smoothed the shoulders of his cape over your own before pulling the back to the side and reattaching your jetpack back to where it needed to be. The warmth from his own body heat still clung to the tattered fibers, weaving into your own, bleeding into a pleasant hum of contentment that settled into your very bones. 

Pulling the cape tighter around you, its larger size swallowing you somewhat and acting more like a coat than anything, you tucked your chin down toward your right shoulder as inconspicuously as possible, and took a deep, measured breath. You smiled, letting it out silently through your nose, lifting your head and staring down the ramp at the world of whites and light blues as it continued to assault the Crest with harsh temperatures. “Cozy,” you agreed. “Thank you.”

The weight of his Ambam Rifle came across your shoulders next, resting neatly under your jetpack.

“For safety,” he reasoned at your slight head tilt in question.

You bobbed your head in acceptance. “Safety.” When the moment hung quiet too long, you did what you always did. “I’ll shoot any suspicious snowflakes on sight.”

To your surprise, Din chuckled in response. “Give ‘em hell.” He gave your shoulder a single pat before withdrawing his hands. “Those are not gifts. I want them back,” he teased, wagging a finger near your face when you turned to look at him over your shoulder.

“You got it,” you nodded.

Xxx

The pirate ships had continued to make pass by’s over the next few days, every few hours. One of their dingy little craft would streak across the sky overhead outside of the cave your little clan had tucked away into with the Crest, their comms chatter peppering over the frequency scanner you had running a sweep discretely in the background to catch whatever you could.

You couldn’t for the life of you figure out why they were so persistent. Of all your contacts, pirates were the least proficient, often wrong and just after a few extra credits.

That’s when it clicked.

“Din,” you posed after day three, eyeing the kid to make sure he didn’t get too close to where the rations were hidden after he’d discovered them five times already. “I know why we’re stuck.” Your eyes flew up to his visor where he stood to your left next to the heater; a fire probably would have been warmer but after that first day you decided it would have given off too much smoke and, thus, your location.

“You mean besides the broken hyperdrive?” Din’s voice was droll.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m working on it!” Pressing up onto your palm a bit to sit slightly straighter, your expression turned somber as you held his beskar gaze. “Us.”

You turned back to look at the heater absently, one knee bending to prop up your arm. “Someone’s put a bounty out on us.”

Xxx

You could hear the chitter of the spiders at night. The tapping of their multiple legs skittering across the ice just out of sight.

Standing at the top of the ramp, staring out into the darkness, you sighed when Din came up beside you.

“Anything?” He asked in amusement.

Pulling your helmet off in aggravation, you groaned. “No. They don’t give off heat so this is useless.” You jiggled the helmet before tucking it under your arm. “Kick on the high beams on the side of the Crest for a minute. I want to see in that offshoot over there.”

“That seems like a bad idea.”

“They don’t fly over this time of night, they won’t see-”

“Not the lights,” he corrected. “Knowing what’s out there in the dark.”

“Then call me stupid-”

“I will.”

You glared up at him through your lashes.

With a chuckle, he stepped forward, his boots a hollow thud on the ramp. “Let’s just try this first.” Din reached up and flipped on the light on the side of his helmet. It was a mere candle in comparison to the beams you’d asked for, barely making it to the foot of the offshoot you’d wanted to see into, but that was enough.

Legs. Hundreds of legs standing in place, aside from the slight shift ever so slightly away from the light, stood just at the edge of the beam's field of view.

“What are they waiting for?” You muttered as a shudder ran down your spine. 

A smaller spider about the size of your fist ran out into the snow, sliding to a stop when some of the larger ones closer to your size hissed at it. It made an about face and went back to the group.

“A reason,” Din murmured.

“Do they really need one?” You scoffed incredulously.

His head tilted to the side in thought. “You’re right. They’re probably waiting for something big to happen….” He turned his head to look at you. “And by that I mean someone big to show up.”

You swallowed. “They get bigger?”

A high pitched squeal sounded from deep in the offshoot, a low rumble answering it from further in, and suddenly you understood why the pirates were okay with waiting you out.

“A lot bigger,” Din nodded. 

Xxx

A few more days passed and your clan was surviving on an emergency stash of rations Peli must have stowed away knowing something like this would happen. Grogu had pulled one out after your stomach had rumbled for the fifth time on day three of no food, crawling across the floor with a bag as big as he was.

“How goes the hyperdrive?” Din, lowered to his haunches, asked from his perch above where you were dropped down into a hole in the floor of the Crest, banging away at the engine in hopes it would right itself.

You stopped, peering up at him as you wiped your brow and grease from the engine smeared across your forehead, your eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

“We’ve had a few…. Visitors.”

“With eight legs or two?” You shuddered, thinking of the ice spiders who got closer with every day. Setting the spanner against the engine, you cranked it against the screw to tighten it. “Two I can handle.”

Din chuckled. “Two. But-” He stood abruptly, peering down the open ramp.

“What? What is it?” You released the spanner, leaving it stuck halfway up mid-crank.

Suddenly, Din raised his Amban Rifle and shot, the sound echoing off the ice walls of the cavern, and causing a small avalanche of ice and snow to rain down on the top of the ship.

Lowering your voice accusingly, your hands went to your hips. “What did you do?”

Resting the rifle back along his spine, he looked down at you. “Work faster. We’ve got company.”

As you turned back to the spanner, you grumbled over the ratcheting sound, “If we could just have a droid, I could be helping you.”

“This again?” Din sighed, raising his blaster to aim down the ramp again as you began beating on the stubbornly stuck screw.

“Oh, yes. This. Again.” With a final decidedly hard whack, the screw let loose and oil of some kind began to shoot out from behind it, coating your pristine white armor in purple goo. “Kriff! Dank farrik!” Shielding your face with your hands, you looked up toward Din. “Help me!”

He let off another shot down the ramp, quickly followed by two more, his blaster smoking as he held his aim. “I am helping.”

The growl you let out in frustration had him rolling his head sarcastically. “Kid. Hey, kid.” He jerked his head toward you as he looked across the cargo hold at Grogu who once again had his head stuck in a ration pack. “Put that down and toss her that thing that’s on the crate.”

“Your cape?!” You asked hopefully, applying pressure to the leak with your hand, which only helped to keep it out of your face, liquid shooting out around your fingers.

Din snorted. “You wish.” He shot again. “It’s that coat thing you bought at the market last week. What’s it called?”

“My sweater?” You felt the downturn of your face pull it into something sour. 

“That’s it!” Din slapped his thigh with his free hand. “Your sweater.”

Your features turned from downtrodden to menacing in no time flat. “Din Djarin, give me one of your capes right now-”

The sweater floated over the hole you were in by an unseen force, and fell onto your face unceremoniously.

“Too late,” you heard the other Mandalorian say, his voice muffled through the fabric. “Thanks, kid.” His footsteps started down the ramp before you could rip the material off. Once you had, though, he was already halfway down the ramp, and nearly out of your line of sight, only the tops of his shoulders and up could be seen. “Now get fixing,” he called back up to you, his voice carrying well in the quiet cave, a slight echo tingeing his words the further outside the ship he went. “We’re about to have a full house, and I’m not liking the idea of sharing the last ration pack with a bunch of low life’s and spiders.”

Grogu squawked in protest, not liking the sound of sharing his precious food.

The leak now managed to something closer to a trickle, you grumbled as you worked on bypassing that chamber altogether. “When we get back to Tatooine, we’re getting a droid, I don’t care what you say, Djarin.”

Din groaned, stepping to the side before taking another shot, his head tilting in annoyance. “We can talk about it.”

“We are talking about it. I’m saying we’re getting one. End of discussion.” The engine charged as you flipped to a separate breaker, whirring as it began to come back to life. “There. We need about fifteen minutes for it to fully come back online. In the meantime,” you pushed yourself back up onto the main deck, climbing out and onto your feet. Sliding your helmet on, blasters already in hand, you looked to Din, then down the ramp. “Tell me where to shoot.”

An errant blaster bolt from the mouth of the cave ricocheted off the top of the ship, setting loud alarms blaring from a nearby panel. “What now?!” You moaned, trudging over to the panel to read the latest report. “They took out our long range comms.”

“Well climb up there and fix it! I’ll cover you!”

Shifting your weight from side to side, you could just begin to hear the pirates gathering outside the cave. “Surely the spiders got them by now. I sent a few men ahead to scout the area, make sure it was clear. They should be meeting us here at the mouth of the cave soon. We only need proof they are dead to collect the bounty. You go in there and…. No, I’m not going. I outrank you. You go. No…. No! I said-”

As the pirates continued to bicker, Din looked at you curiously. “What’s wrong? Go fix the comms.”

“That’s on top of the ship, right?”

Din stood up straight, his head tilted in amusement. “Aw, is my head of strategy and tactics afraid of heights?”

“No,” you insisted, standing up straighter yourself before parroting his words from a few days prior about the spiders back at him. “But I don’t particularly like them.”

“We jump to hyperspace without comms and something goes wrong, we are in deep-”

“Fine!” You barked, holstering your blasters with unneeded force. “But they touch one inch of my beskar with their blaster bolts-”

Din shook his head. “They won’t even see me coming.”

Xxx

It all happened so quickly. 

You were atop the Crest, lowered to your haunches using the torch in your vambrace to reattach the antenna, grumbling about getting the next astromech you saw for sale, when blaster bolts whizzed by your head from behind, sending you falling to your seat.

Without thinking, you drew one of your blasters, turned, and shot, watching three pirates drop, one after each shot. 

Rolling over onto your hands and knees, you crawled to the edge of the ship, and looked down to find Din looking up at you.

Both of you spoke at the same time, your “I thought you were covering me?!” overlapping his, “Why are you shooting when you’re supposed to be working?!”

A moment of silence passed before you both spoke over the other again, his “I was covering you, they missed, didn’t they?” overlapping your, “I am working, but this would go a lot faster if you would toss me up a blowtorch, Mand’alor!”

Din sighed. “Fine.” He stepped into the ship for a moment, leaving you to watch for any trespassers. He finally reemerged and tossed the tool up to you. “Keep working.”

You huffed. “Yeah, yeah.” Shimmying back toward the broken comm tower, you called back to him over your shoulder, “Keep shooting.” After pulling out the proper wires to fuse, you turned back to him again. “And next time, read the fine print!”

“The what?”

“On your list! Read everything! Even the fine print! That way we can avoid situations like these.”

Silence, then, “Are you really blaming me for us being shot at by your informants?”

“I’m-”

Skittering across the hull of the ship in front of you made you stop everything you were doing, frozen mid movement, blowtorch inches away from frying a wire beyond fixing. From your seated position, you lifted your eyes only to peer through your visor and spotted eight long slender legs cresting over the top of the ship, coming closer and closer toward you. A body soon followed, smaller than you, but bigger than any bug had a right to be.

Din kept calling your name, his voice raising in volume each time when you didn’t answer, but you ignored it in favor of making sure the bug was dead.

In seconds you’d flipped the switch on the blowtorch back to simply the initial release of fuel before a spark, brought your other arm over behind it, and ignited your flamethrower to send a wall of fire at the menace.

Its squeal of agony was swallowed up in the angry growl of the flames as it went up in smoke, falling off the ship in a twitching mess of limbs.

You turned off your vambrace, but left the blowtorch on for good measure. Its reassuring hiss as it continued to release fuel music to your ears. Should any of its hellish friends come to visit, you were ready.

“The hell?!” Din’s voice called from below. “You’re supposed to be fixing the ship, not blowing it up!” When you still didn’t answer he went on. “What happened?”

Turning off the tool’s supply of fuel, you kept your eyes peeled for any more legs before finally mumbling, “Sweet, sweet justice.”

“Do I even want to kn-”

Another spider dropped down onto the ship behind you, between you and Din, with a thunk. A thin silvery string of web shining like ice from the ceiling still attached to its back as it started to skitter towards you pulled your gaze away for only a second.

Without another thought, you switched the blowtorch back on and lit the bug up with your vambrace, sending it screeching over the edge of the ship, landing at Din’s feet with a satisfying thud.

Turning both the torch and your vambrace off, you walked to the edge of the ship and peered down to see Din staring at the smoking spider. 

The pirates at the mouth of the cave muttered quiet curses, one even swearing a soft, “They have fire?!” and ducked behind large ice drifts in the ensuing silence, their fear palpable as they took in the dead arachnid at the feet of the Mandalorian by the hands of the other Mandalorian.

You smirked. Hopefully this made them think twice before poking someone in beskar ever again. And maybe they would even spread the word to their sleazeball friends.

Watching the tendrils of smoke rise into the air from the corpse at Din’s feet, you kept your voice even. “No. I don’t think you want to know.”

Xxx

Once the shock had worn off for the pirates, the firefight had opened up again, more fast and furious than before.

You laid out on the top of the ship on your belly picking off stragglers who tried to cross the open space between ice drifts, Din laying down cover fire from his perch on the ramp to keep them pinned down. The errant spider here and there kept pulling your attention away, the fuel in both your vambrace and the blowtorch running low.

“Din, if I don’t finish this comm tower soon, we’re just kriff outta luck.”

“The hyperdrive should be charged by now, we could just make the jump.”

“Yeah but like you said, something goes wrong, as a friend of mine used to say, thatsa big pudu.”

“Did you just….”

“I’ll never say it again, I’m sorry. He was Gungan-”

“No, no…. You had a friend?”

Looking down at him over the edge of the Crest, you bent your wrist and let your whistling birds fly, taking out a wave of the pirates to give both of you a slight reprieve. As Din took a deep breath, it was cut short when something hit his helmet with a ting before landing at his feet and disappearing in the snow.

He looked up to you slowly. “Did you just…. Throw…. A….” Din looked down at the ground just to be sure. “Vibroblade at my head?” Bending down to his haunches, quickly, he scooped up the item, then rose to his feet as he stared at it. Din gave no other reaction as he stared at the item for a long moment in silence, until finally, he turned to hold your gaze with a dubious shake of his head.

“Yes,” you confirmed. “I knew what I was doing,” you defended. “You weren’t in any danger.”

He hesitated. “Except from the knife flying at my face!”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re wearing beskar. Don’t insult me next time, then.” You shrugged. “Simple solution, Djarin.”

Din took a step toward the hull of the Crest, his neck craning further back to keep looking up at you. “I’m the Mand’alor. That was attempted murder.”

You scoffed. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

His weight shifted to one side in annoyance. “Did you miss the word attempted?”

You pulled yourself on your belly further over the edge, and effectively closer to him, tilting your head to the right as you looked down at him wordlessly. Finally, after a long moment, your voice lowered to something both playful and menacing, causing Din to take a small step back, “If I wanted you dead, you would be.”

Several spiders dropped down between the ship and the pirates who were scrambling to reassemble into any kind of fighting order. After a moment of decision, they began to move toward the Crest. 

Before either of you could start to shoot, Grogu stepped off the ramp and toward the bugs, holding one hand out. 

“Kid!” Din cried, taking a step forward.

“Mando!” You tried, pulling him to a stop with just your voice. He glanced up at you quickly, and you shook your head before bobbing it toward the kid. “Look.”

When he turned back, Din saw that the spiders had stopped moving, deciding instead to gather round and stare at the tiny green creature.

His eyes were closed in concentration, his face screwed up in focus, until after a moment he blinked them open and gave a slight wave of his hand away as if to shoo a smell.

The spiders rocked side to side for a moment just slightly before they turned and surveyed the pirates.

The thieves who had been smiling at the exchange as if they’d won immediately melted into faces of worry and began backing away.

For each step back the spiders gained several forward until each group was running, one from the other, one to the first.

Din wasted no time, turned to you and said, “Finish it.”

“But I wanna see how it ends….” You groused, sighing at his head tilt in admonishment. “Fine.” Turning, you went back to the antenna, scuffing your foot on the hull of the ship. “Tell me who wins.”

With one last zap the comms were fixed, and the three of you were climbing into the ship, firing up the engines.

“Punch it!” You called, climbing up the ladder into the cockpit.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” Din mumbled, maneuvering the ship out of the cave. 

As he slowly twisted and turned to move the hulking ship out of the ice, you nudged his shoulder while climbing into your seat beside him, flipping over to your controls. “You don’t fly right.”

“Well, somebody had to save our skins.”

Both of you looked at Grogu as you entered the upper atmosphere of the planet, finding him munching on spider eggs he somehow had stashed away in the cockpit for a rainy day. 

You smiled. “Yeah. We both know who saved us back there.” 

The two of you said at the same time, “Me.”

Looking at each other, you both spoke in unison once again, “What do you mean you?!”

Grogu sighed before he giggled softly, mumbling a tired but good natured, “Patu!”

Xxx

Tags: @lam-ila​ @oliviajdjarin​ @peonyophelia​ @what-the-heckin-heck​ @itsavicf @just-shut-up-kid​ @noodlesavailable @mildlyhopeless @multifandomsw​ @professionalfangrrl​ @tizylish  @whoodattt​ @heyitsaloy​ @djarinsimp @athenasproverbs​ @achelois-is-here @snow30285 @jallen0126 @jxvipike​ @kodzuvk @untitledarea @crazyworldofsiani​ @adora-but-ginger​ @momc95​ @babygirlrex0504 @sexysquatch @harriedandharassed @burningfieldof-clover @theclassicvinyldragon @heyitsjaybird What’s This?

#dincember #dincember 2023 #din x reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin fanfiction #star wars imagine #star wars reader insert #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x y/n #din x you #din x y/n #din djarin x you #din djarin x y/n #star wars x reader #star wars x you #star wars x y/n #din imagine #din djarin imagine #mando reader insert #the mandalorain #star wars #din djarin #mando #grogu #grogu x reader #the mandalorian reader insert #the mandalorian imagine #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you

[intermet179]

Theory: Splatoon's story modes are inherently inspired by Metal Gear

WALL OF TEXT WARNING:

Point 1: Agent 3 is the equivalent of Solid Snake. -Protagonist of first game, important to the next ones -Hired by some people -Fight and destroy Weapons of Destruction (Octoweapons/Metal Gears) -Fight Final Mecha that big baddie is controlling (Metal Gear REX, Octobot King; Liquid Snake, Octavio) -Said Big Baddie is of the same bloodline (Liquid Snake, also a clone of Big Boss like Solid Snake)/Animal Group (Octavio, a cephalopod) Octavio is hence the equivalent of Liquid Snake, the Octobot King being Metal Gear REX.

Point 2: Captain Cuttlefish is the equivalent of Big Boss/Nαked Snake. -First Captain/First Snake -Presumed deαd by end of ROTM/Metal Gear saga, but: -Cuttlefish is found dehydrated/"dead" but then is revived by Captain 3's tears -Snake goes to Big Boss' grave at the end of MGS4, but then sees the alive Big Boss beside him -Cuttlefish "hires" and trains Agent 3, Big Boss trains Solid Snake in CQC combat -Cuttlefish is same species as 3, Solid Snake is clone of Big Boss

Point 3: Agent 8 is the equivalent of Raiden/Jack the Ripper -Main Game Plot involves Agent 3/Solid Snake -Born a child soldier (Jack)/Octarian Soldier (8), and finding freedom at some point in time. -Captured by someone at some point in time (Commander Tartar/Solidus Snake) who they kill at the end of their game -Had an old name (Jack, 8's pre-amnesia name is unknown), given new one by mentor character (Raiden is named so by Snake, Cuttlefish assigns Agent 8 with that title) -Fight Big Thing With Laser near/by the end of their game (NILS Statue, has Ink Laser, Metal Gear RAY [MGS2], has Hydraulic Cutter) -Will most likely not hesitate to KΙLL Tartar is hence the equivalent of Solidus Snake aka George Sears, the NILS Statue being MGS2's Metal Gear RAY.

Point 4: Return of the Mammalians is the equivalent of Metal Gear Solid 4. -Final game story-wise with their respective character groups -Characters from all around the series -ROTM would have featured Agents 4 and 8, and does feature Callie, Marie, Cuttlefish, and Octavio as major parts of the story… -…just as MGS4 involves many characters from the other Metal Gear Solid games, such as Revolver Ocelot & Liquid Snake (As Liquid Ocelot), Raiden, and Big Boss -With new characters as well (Deep Cut, MGS4's side characters) -Pilot old enemy thing to defeat big enemy -Solid Snake (with Otacon) pilots the Metal Gear REX to defeat Liquid Ocelot's Metal Gear RAY -New Agent 3 (with Octavio) pilots the Octobot King L3.Gs to defeat Mr. Grizz, the final big bad

Therefore, we can assume (as it's not out yet) that Side Order will be the equivalent of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance -Involves major character(s) from past game, those being Off the Hook, and MGRR being Raiden's post-MGS4 spinoff story -Protagonist is presumably Agent 8, who we've established is the equivalent of Raiden. -Protagonist Octoling (8) is wearing a new outfit, as in MGR after the prologue Raiden has a new cyborg body -Will more than likely touch on some darker themes as Octo Expansion did (while all of Metal Gear is pretty dark) -What's presumed to be a new Octoshot in trailer art, like how Raiden has a new High Frequency Blade with his new cyborg body -Even though Raiden's always wielded an HF Blade, it's just a new version, like how Agent 8 has always had an Octo Shot, this is presumably a new version -Might also have to do with the Octoling themselves as there are flashback-like images in the trailer, and MGR also has Raiden question his own philosophies

#splatoon3 #splatoon 2 #splatoon2 #octo expansion #metal gear rising revengeance #metal gear #metalgear #splatoon 3 #splatoon #octoexpansion #metal gear rising #metalgearrising #metalgearsolid #metal gear solid #putting every tag imaginable #agent 3 #side order #agent 8 #no agent 4 sadly :( #dj octavio #octavio #big boss #solid snake #raiden #raiden mgr #raiden mgs #captain cuttlefish #craig cuttlefish

[tailschannel]

Here's a complete recap of everything featured in this year's Sonic Central presentation

New collaborations with LEGO, an upcoming Sonic Frontiers DLC update, and a first look at Part 2 of Sonic Prime were among the major highlights in this year's Sonic Central presentation.

Here's everything you need to know.

Sonic Frontiers

Details on the second major content update for Sonic Frontiers was revealed in the Sonic Central. Titled "Sonic's Birthday Bash", it's scheduled for a release on 23 June 2023.

Sonic's Birthday: Celebrate Sonic's birthday in Sonic Frontiers with a new birthday theme, including a festive HUD, environment objects, a new birthday skin, and more!

Open Zone Challenges: Explore the Open Zone with all new challanges scattered throughout.

Spindash: The iconic Sonic move makes a return in Sonic Frontiers!

New Kocos: Some Kocos seem to dawn new outfits and some do seem a bit bigger than usual.

New Game Plus.

Sonic Superstars

A new teaser was shown promoting the new Sonic Superstars and LEGO collaboration, featuring LEGO Eggman as a pre-order bonus.

Following the presentation, SEGA dropped new renders and descriptions for all the characters featured in the upcoming game.

Trip: Not much is known yet about Trip, the mysterious girl first encountered by Fang on the Northstar Islands. While a bit clumsy, Trip is heavily armored and has been enlisted by Fang and Dr. Eggman to protect and guide them around the wonders of this uncharted region.

Fang the Hunter (formerly Fang the Sniper): Fang is a springy jerboa that is light on his feet and is always looking for the next big score. A bounty hunter by trade, Fang the Hunter has been known by many different names over the years, likely due to his “WANTED” status with the authorities. Always trying to stay one step ahead, he’s constantly modifying and upgrading his primary mode of transportation, the Marvelous Queen.

You can check out the rest of the descriptions for Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman here.

The official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel also uploaded a new 3-minute video featuring Superstars producer Naoto Ohshima and Sonic Studio creative officer Takashi Iizuka.

They "talk in-depth about Superstars, including inspirations, challenges, and what it's like to create a new character."

Sonic Symphony World Tour

Here are the official tour dates for the Sonic Symphony from 2023 to 2024:

Sept 16, 2023 - London, Barbican Hall

Sept 22, 2023 - Paris, Le Grand Rex

Sept 30, 2023 - Los Angeles, Dolby Theatre

Oct 14-15, 2023 - São Paulo, Brasil Game Show

Oct 21, 2023 - Boston, Emerson Colonial Theatre

Oct 28, 2023 - Chicago, Auditorium Theatre

Nov 17, 2023 - Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle

Dec 15, 2023 - San Antonio, Majestic Theatre

Dec 29, 2023 - Atlanta, Cobb Energy P.A.C.

Jan 05, 2024 - Seattle, Paramount Theatre

Jan 06, 2024 - San Francisco, Davies Symphony Hall

Jan 20, 2024 - Washington DC, Warner Theater

Jan 27, 2024 - Kansas City, Kansas City Music Hall

Feb 11, 2024 - Tokyo, LINE CUBE SHIBUYA

Feb 17, 2024 - Toronto, Meridian Hall

Mar 24, 2024 - Montreal, Wilfrid-Pelletier Theater

Mar 29, 2024 - Portland, Schnitzer Auditorium

For more information such as ticket pricing and availability, check out the above links.

Sonic Prime

A new extended clip of the upcoming second content drop of Sonic Prime was previewed. It's scheduled to make its debut on Netflix in 13 July.

With the help of his ragtag group of Shatterverse allies, Sonic battles the Chaos Council for control of the powerful Paradox Prism, one Shard at a time.

Sonic Dash and Speed Battle

A new Classic Super Sonic skin will be joining SEGA HARDlight's flagship titles Speed Battle and Dash soon.

Other things of note, as reported last week:

To coincide with the release of the 2nd season of Sonic Prime, characters from Prime will be playable in Dash, including Boscage Sonic, Rusty Rose, and Tails Nine.

Alongside the Prime characters, Super Silver and an all new Dragon Hunter Lancelot will make their debut in Dash and Speed Battle later this month.

San Diego Comic-Con 2023

With Comic-Con coming this summer, a new pop-up restaurant featuring the blue blur will open near the show floor.

More details will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Merchandise

New Death Egg Set from Jakks Pacific: Based on the Sonic 4 Episode 2 final boss, fight The Egg Heart in the new Death Egg set.

Streetwear brand Hypland announced their collaboration with Sonic the Hedgehog: The limited edition collection features an assortment of graphic tees and hoodies featuring Sonic and his friends meshed into contemporary streetwear designs.

S-Fire Sonic Statue: Pre-order the new Sonic & Shadow statue today with augmented reality compatibility.

Sonic has officially announced a collaboration with the popular shoe brand Crocs. As reported back in late May: it's available in adult and kids sizes, for $49.99 USD and $44.99 USD respectively. Besides the shoes themselves, Crocs will be offering Jibbitz charms. They will be coming in a pack of 5 with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Shadow, offered at $19.99 USD.

Other things of note: a Sonic-themed Playmate cooler from Igloo, a themed guitar from ESP Guitars, and Sonic and Shadow Cable Guy figures.

Sonic Origins Plus

With Origins Plus out, SEGA released a new launch trailer.

With more content than ever before, and a new premium physical version, Sonic Origins Plus is the definitive way to play 16 classic Sonic games in one timeless collection.

LEGO

SEGA officially previewed the Death Egg Robot set, now scheduled for a release in August.

As reported via a leak earlier this month, it contains a Sonic mini figure accompanied with his speed sphere mechanism and the launcher to it; and the Death Egg Robot piloted by Eggman, and Cubot.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central

As reported, the upcoming Samba De Amigo: Party Central will be featuring the world's famous hedgehog as a guest character.

The game will feature two iconic Sonic tunes, Escape From the City and Fist Bump, alongside the City Escape stage itself.

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog

Today's Central presentation made a brief mention of IDW Publishing's upcoming one-shot issue for the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series: Amy Rose's 30th Anniversary.

You can read more details in our report from earlier today.

Sonic Speed Simulator

Despite the developer's controversies, the officially-licenced Speed Simulator got a mention in the Central presentation.

Users can celebrate Sonic's birthday in style with the new Tuxedo Classic Sonic skin, out now.

Lastly...

TailsTube got a shoutout, and voice actor Mike Pollock dropped some fire bars in the LEGO collaboration video.

...and that's all! For news and updates anytime, be sure to follow @TailsChannel where you are on social media.

(Files contributed by the Tails' Channel Newsfeed.)

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sega of america #gaming #sonic central #idw sonic the hedgehog #idw sonic #lego #sonic speed simulator #sonic speed sim #samba de amigo party central #samba de amigo #sonic forces mobile #sonic forces speed battle #sonic forces #sonic dash #miles tails prower #amy rose #fang the sniper #knuckles the echidna #doctor eggman #silver the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #classic sonic #sonic symphony world tour #sonic symphony #sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers update #sonic superstars

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Occupation"

We return one final time to Lothal for the beginning of the end.

Live reaction version.

God, Ezra looks and sounds so stressed. He's nearly at his breaking point when it comes to waiting for the Alliance to help Lothal, hell, even just for news on Lothal. He probably feels like the Alliance has abandoned his people and even if he nominally understands that everywhere is suffering and there are so many other worlds that need help it still hurts that he can't do anything for his planet and people.

Is it a little bit selfish of him? Maybe. But also the Alliance wasn't taking the TIE Defender project nearly as seriously as they should have, if nothing else they should have been replanning the Lothal attack for that ASAP.

A lovely undercurrent this episode is just how concerned for/over Ezra Sabine is, and this is the first instance, her gaze lingering after him when he turns in his seat glumly.

Pretty Yavin is pretty.

Mon offering Ezra the chance to go back to Lothal is pretty much the best solution she could have given him. It's relevant and important to the Alliance, since it involves the TIE Defenders, and it gives Ezra the opportunity to help his people he's been so desperately after. It even works out that the Alliance won't be able to extract them because Ezra is perfectly willing to stay behind Imperial lines there. Which I think Mon knew. She only sounds a little mildly disappointed that the WHOLE Ghost crew is going, likely because Hera's proven to be such a good squad leader and pilot and it would suck to lose contact with her.

But she accepts their decision anyway.

Love that we bring so many characters back for the final season. Hi Vizago!

Rex and Zeb needed to interact more, especially if we get hilarious exchanges like this.

A moment of appreciation for their disguises

And oof that is a visual gutpunch. Ruined Lothal looks almost hellish. Red replaces blue and amber, fires and smoke burn constantly.

The last time we saw Lothal, the mining crawlers hadn't begun stripping the surface of the planet yet, so this gives us a sense of just how much the Empire was ramping up its production. I don't even think they limited it to the factories in Capital City, probably built more facilities in cities all over the planet just to accommodate the workload.

In any case, it's no wonder the Loth-wolves decided to reemerge. This kind of ecological devastation is absolutely certain to arouse the wrath of ancient nature planet-guardians.

And they've built orbital construction stations too, ngl, I'm pretty sure that was deliberate in order to visually remind us of the first time we saw Geonosis. Perhaps to invoke the same sense of borrowed time? Because with how thoroughly they're sucking the planet dry, even if Palpatine hadn't pulled the TIE Defender funding, Lothal would not have been able to sustain that level of production for long. The planet would have become a broken, polluted, empty husk.

:(((((((

Once again Star Wars leaning heavily on the Nature vs. Careless Industrialization theme. (Like half the Visions shorts feature it to some degree, I'm not surprised.)

Right so even though they didn't find Rebels on Vizago's ship, they arrested him anyway because of the pufferpigs and gang-pressed him to work on a mining crawler.

Rebels said government stifling of private industry is unjust. Again. Lol.

Jhothal does not have the countless "occupied territory" holobanners, but it does have video propaganda service announcements playing constantly.

"The Empire wouldn't do anything to Old Jho. The people wouldn't stand for it." Ohhh honey you would be surprised just how much tyranny the average person is capable of tolerating. Also that's probably why they have an enforced curfew now.

We now begin the portion of the episode that I affectionately call the Sabezra Bar Date. XD

Aaaaaand another visual gutpunch. I had to go back and check but even the lighting and paint have been changed to a standard, washed out Imperial gray. Also note that there are no civilians (at least until Jai reveals he's there). This is no longer a functioning small business serving the local community, it's a state-run facility servicing members of the state.

It's sickening.

There is so much arm-touching this episode I was spoiled.

No but seriously, has Sabine ever been this physically touchy with him? She's already hyper-aware of how upset he is about Lothal, perhaps the constant comfortable touching is a way to comfort and reassure him?

-snrk- Still hilarious how they brought back Baron Valen Rudor. For once the Rebels do not ruin his day personally.

"We don't get many civilians in here anymore." Hey. Hey maybe it's because you're a bar and there's a curfew enforced so civilians can't get to the place. Just a thought.

RIP Jho, godspeed.

Head empty, no thoughts, just Kanera. And maybe a little bit the "You could always see me."/Sabine Sees Ezra parallels.

Love this subtle moment so much. Sabine noticing immediately how Ezra's hands curling into tight fists on the counter, gently touching his arm to calm him, get his attention before he does something rash.

Even when they turn to go she puts her hand back around his wrist, holding onto him, anchoring him. <333333

IIIIIIIIII thought there was a curfew in effect are they just going to let the kids... leave?

(Perhaps "going home" is one of the few valid reasons to be out after curfew?)

Jai did, ah... not age well.

FHKASJFHAKS EVEN IN CIVILIAN CLOTHES EZRA GETS PICKED ON BY TROOPERS JEEZ.

Love how even when given the opportunity to divide forces a different way Ezra and Sabine just naturally gravitate to the same team. <3

Also love that the Lothal rebels adapted Sabine's starbird as their callsign. Not to be all Other Fandom Parallels but it makes me think of how the other Districts started marking things with the mockingjay in Hunger Games.

The little wall-bounce parkour and twirl Ezra does taking out that one probe. <3

The despair in Ezra's voice here. Taylor makes it sound like Ezra's about to cry,

Sabine immediately reaching out to him. <3

Again with the touching, this time with bonus talking him out of his negative self-spiral, repeating his own words of hope back to him.

Badass family shot. <3

That Extra little twirl Ezra does as he bats down one last blaster bolt. <3

The beginning of Ryder's misgivings about their chances. Honestly, it definitely feels like the Alliance has mostly given up on Lothal and considers it a lost cause, because even with the proof that the Defender is going to absolutely wreck havoc on them in space combat they still need to be talked into attacking the factories by Hera.

So yeah, understanding Saw and Ezra's frustrations with the bureaucracy of it.

"We've done it before. We can do it again." Help I am thinking back to how Ezra remotivated himself in "Path of the Jedi". "Yeah... again. Been alone before, survived, I can survive this." *sobs*

Apparently Sabine's pep talk worked. :)

Ahhhhh I love this episode so much! The music is great, the animation has lovely subtle soft moments, the action setpieces have so many nice little unique bits (Zeb dragging that probe along the wall was great) and even if seeing Lothal in such bad shape hurts it emphasizes how badly the Spectres are needed.

Ezra did need to return home because, as it turns out, he and Kanan are the only two ones who can actually save Lothal.

Up next, romantic wolf rides! I mean what?

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #kanan x hera #sabezra #rebels rewatch #liveblog

[eelfuneral]

After dealing with my emotions surrounding the season finale and looking at the situation from an objective point of view, I have a very strong suspicion that we have not seen the last of Tech. From both a marketing and storytelling standpoint, it makes the most sense to have this be a misdirection. This post runs a bit long, so I am going to elaborate under the cut.

First off, let’s talk marketing. Star Wars is a huge, merchandise-driven franchise, and The Bad Batch is an extremely successful part of it. It is so successful, in fact, that it remained relevant and popular while the Mandalorian, an absolute juggernaut of a show, was airing! I have also heard, anecdotally, that Disneyland has a hard time keeping Bad Batch merch in stock because it is so damn popular. Tech himself is a fan favorite and major money maker, and D/LF knows this. He is such a fan-favorite that he was frequently featured as the focal point for social media marketing for season 2, and his adorable armor is practically designed to make action figures of him sell. My point is, it wouldn’t make financial sense to kill a main character that sells so much merchandise off so early in the run of a series. Bear in mind that we are only on the second season of the show!

So why bother with leaving the audience on a cliffhanger where Tech appears dead? Two words come to mind: social media. Having a fan favorite’s fate be left up in the air is a great way to generate debate and discussion across social media platforms and keep your show trending for a long time. Trending topics have more eyes on them and often spark the curiosity of people who did not know about them before. Contemporary show runners know that a social media presence is yet another way to advertise a show, and TBB’s has been heavily marketed via social media anyways.

Having Tech’s death be a fake-out also makes sense plot-wise. First off, we didn’t see a body, and television shows often do this when they want to hint that a character may not actually be dead. This is especially true in Star Wars, where characters have survived immolation, explosions, and being cut in half. Big, main character deaths in Star Wars don’t tend to happen until the very end, and we are not quite there yet. We also don’t see much of Tech’s fall, meaning that he could have gotten dislodged from the tram car by an obstacle like a tree or fallen into water.

Second, Hemlock, a character who has been established as a dishonest manipulator of clones, was the one to break the news of Tech’s “death” by giving Hunter Tech’s goggles. As many others have established, Tech’s goggles are the most delicate part of his kit and they have an intact strap. They also sit underneath his helmet, so they would likely have to have been physically removed via human intervention. Hemlock would also see Tech, an enhanced clone, as an irresistible test subject, and Hemlock having Tech gives the writers an easy way to get into the facility where Omega and Crosshair are being kept. If I were a writer who wanted to have one of my super-soldier characters get captured and later help other characters break out of a laboratory with him, then I would go with the genius hacker/engineer.

Having Tech survive would also give us a nice parallel to the first two episodes of season 2. Tech fell and sustained a serious injury from being crushed by a box in a way that could foreshadow his current predicament. A big deal was also made about having a seriously injured Tech rescue Omega, so having a similar thing happen with higher stakes in season 3 would be a nice callback, and Star Wars LOVES callbacks.

Finally, Tech appearing to be dead, seeing the horrors of the Empire’s experiments, and returning to his family would bring additional emotional weight and character development. Losing Tech and then having him come back and tell them about what is happening to other clones just might be the push that Wrecker and Hunter need to join Echo and Rex in their fight against the Empire. Since we are in the very middle of the story, the stakes will have to be raised even further to get to the climax in the final season, and having The Bad Batch actively fight the Empire would be a good way to build up to that. Additionally, this kind of a plot would further reinforce how close this little family is by showing how lost they are without each other and how intense their emotions are when reunited, and that would make whatever happens to them at the very end (happy, sad, or bittersweet) that much more poignant.

And about those tweets from the Kiner Brothers: don’t take them as confirmation of anything. The score is one of the last things that gets added to television shows, so it is very unlikely that they have seen season 3. They also would not tell us over Twitter if they knew Tech’s fate, because they likely would have had to have signed an NDA and The Mouse is infamously paranoid about leaking spoilers. They also reiterated that they are not in the writers’ room in a recent Q&A.

#tbb spoilers #tbb Tech #tbb speculation #tbb Meta

[mamawasatesttube]

So, I'm not a writer, but I am very curious 👀 What do you look for in a fic that features Kon? 👀 What kind of things do you want Kon to do, or experience? 👀 What characteristics of Kon do you absolutely wanna see? 👀 What characteristics of Kon you didn't like but want to see adressed in a fic? 👀 When you're writing, what are three major things about Kon that you MUST INCLUDE NO MATTER WHAT? 👀👀👀 Sorry about the many questions!!!!!

OHHHH this is such a good question okay okay okay. let's see.

what do i look for? primarily, kon having an actual character voice. that's the lowest bar to clear (and yet already takes out... a good chunk of the fics ive seen in the kon character tag 😭😭). he needs to be silly, geeky, deeply kind, earnest, etc. not every fic featuring him will necessarily get into the way he's also existentially lonely and has a Lot of sadness and self-esteem issues (esp after rex leech's roller coaster incident. this has been on my mind today. ough. his self-image never recovered after that one!) but by GOD does he have his issues, so if its a fic going into emotions i want it to do right by his. will def admit thats smth im incredibly picky about.

as for stuff i want him doing? honestly i am here for so much!! i want soft simple character studies. i want action showcasing how fucking powerful ttk can be, especially with a dose of creativity to its use. i want wacky yj space adventures. i want good good whump and hurt/comfort. i want him getting swept off his feet. you could sell me on almost any plot if it's well-written.

re: characteristics... i don't really split them up quite like that, i think! he's a well-rounded character, and that includes both strengths and flaws. ideally, a good fic will include both of these and represent them fairly (like, he's not perfect by any means, and he can do stupid things and struggle with personal issues, but on the other hand very few things tick me off more than portrayals where he's just completely incompetent and dumb as a rock, lmao).

BUT REGARDING MY OWN WRITING. ohhohoohoohooho three things i ALWAYS have to include? a) geek-ass loser (affectionate). i think it is SO endearing and also very humanizing as a quality that he's a trekkie/wendy fan/star wars nerd/etc. b) mixed-race metaphors. they may not be overt depending on the piece but the "child of two worlds that doesn't quite fit into either" thing is Deeply intentional. and c) HES A JUGGERNAUT!!!! i firmly believe adult fully realized kon (a kryptonian, with full kryptonian powers, WITH TTK) is a force of fucking nature. i like this so much and i specifically also always like it when he is at any given moment about 0.4 seconds from freaking the fuck out about how it's Too much strength.

to me, kon is a character made of some very delicious contradictions. he's so painfully human and yet grapples hard with his own personhood and humanity. he's a kryptonian and an alien but he's a child of earth. he's terrified of his own power. he wants nothing more than to protect everyone he loves (and everyone he doesn't love, too). he's always ready to crack a joke or make a silly reference, but he is deeply sad and spent so much of his early life suicidal. he contains multitudes. (and this isn't even getting into my hcs on his gender/sexuality crisis! ksjdhf)

i feel like a gripe i often find myself having when looking for kon fics is that he often gets slotted into the role of "emotional support boyfriend with no personality or role of his own" though, which i guess is why "does he have a distinct character voice?" is my first litmus test for whether i'd want to keep reading or not.

a good kon fic will embrace all his contradictions, i think. (a good fic for any character, really, should show them as well-rounded and three-dimensional.) and i for one love his Problems and Issues, bc man, it's a very fun space to play in! <3

#thank you this was fun to answer!! ive been ruminating on it for a good chunk of the day tbh! #kon #rimi talks #answers #thefantasmarex

[calamity-aims]

20 questions!

thanks for the tags @gaeasun @saltsanford @purgetrooperfox <3 love you guys

How many works do you have on AO3?

75

What’s your total AO3 word count?

238,592 (ooh I'mma celebrate when I hit a quarter million)

What fandoms do you write for?

mostly Star Wars! I wrote fic for some other fandoms early on but we don't talk about those

What are your top five fics by kudos?

your heartbeat's a countdown - crack fic in which the Jedi know the clones are a trap and try to avoid them at all costs

Necessary - a whumpy Voltron Klance fic I wrote after the first season (before the show went to hell)

their days are darker - in which Wolffe doesn't know how to drop anything and Fox is having the worst two days of his life

the broken-hearted rang their steeple bells - tropey Witcher kinkmeme fill that for some baffling reason has tons of kudos

exploitation, hesitation - short oneshot in which Fox assumes General Kenobi is just like his natborn superior officers and reacts accordingly

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to reply to every single one (unless it was just emojis) but then I fell off and now I feel bad :( I read them all though! and they are so treasured! one day I will make it through the backlog

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

ooh see despite writing a lot of angst, I almost always write happy endings, so maybe I'll take no gold, I'll take no silver (please read the tags on that one). maybe spit some blood at the camera is pretty sad too, actually

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

all of them!! yayyyy! even if it's not spelled out, I usually resolve things because that's the world I want to live in! every fic is a fix-it fic

Do you get hate on fics?

not really, mostly just people asking when I'm going to finish, although I have seen people complaining that my version of Fox/Corries is banal and overdone which like yeah. I agree. but my brain won't let me move on.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

hell yeah I do! I don't know what "what kind" means - I write characters fucking, never x reader and rarely OCs; and it's usually somewhat kinky because I just can't not

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've written a few fusions/AUs - elysium is as far as to is a Gladiator AU, everyone wants a double feature is a Pacific Rim AU, and more human than human is a Bladerunner AU. but I've never done a straight-up crossover, although there are a few bouncing around in my brain (namely, the GAR joins the Decepticons and another where Boromir meets Rex and falls in love)

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yeah I've had real problems with people plagiarizing fics, from lifting whole sections of dialogue to copying really specific scenes

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, but one got a podfic

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

yeah I cowrote hold me like a grudge and sometimes a parrot talks (unfinished) with the fabulous @postapocalyptic-cryptic!

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

oh man. I love Quinlan/Fox to death. but I will admit that I was Stucky trash from the very beginning.

What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

ooh there's a lot. Mace/Fox fic, sometimes a parrot talks, deaged Corries, chroma...

What are your writing strengths?

hm. I don't know. I think I'm good at characterization and dialogue?

What are your writing weaknesses?

fukcin plot beyond "there is hurt and then there is comfort". and also explaining more about people's emotions, like, I know what they're feeling but I need to tell other people

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I just use google translate, I'm sorry

First fandom you wrote for?

oh boy oh fuck. The first fandom I ever wrote for was Phantom of the Opera when I was in eighth grade. go ahead and laugh

Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

uhhh. aaa? um. probably unexplain the unforgivable, but I also really liked how a once and future sun turned out

no pressure tags for @postapocalyptic-cryptic @meerlichtz @milfmisspiggy @catboydogma @jaigeye

#calamity answers #calamity writing

[moondrop39-dovewing70]

Monkey Cop: K9 Unit AU (Basically)

Monkey Cop: K9 Unit is a show about a K9 officer and a detective becoming partners and solving many different crimes. This is based off of the show "Hudson and Rex" and a bit of that "NCIS" chaos so their will be many different variety of crime and interesting side stories..... *wink wink*

Always the setting is around Megapolis, the characters all have an important part to play in the show. So lets get into each character shall we?

Sun Wukong is an immortal actor who is very powerful and very skilled, both in acting and being a retired officer of the law himself. He keeps his personality but his powers are a bit down scaled. He is one of the main characters of the show (and Fanfic) and the detective of the show.

Macaque is another immortal actor who is also powerful and skilled in the arts of science and acting. He takes on the role of the detective's forensics team, who works really closely with the detective. His personality is much more open and he gets really eager in some aspects of the show. Over all takes care of the team with his "mom" energy.

MK is a dog trainer to the K9 officer/actor in the show. He is a bit more shy and timid but is much more open to the immortal monkeys and the dog. He helps around in the background and helps the actors with their lines. He is overall a helpful eighteen year old kid who is excited to meet his favorite two actors.

Mei is one of our tech members of the department and an actor. She helps with the cameras and following the digital foot trail of the victims. She is very handy with fixing and following them. She is also one of those badass officers and is overall a bubbly person unless you piss her off.

Red Son is the other tech member of the team and an actor as well. He pushes the team into different leads and thinks outside of the box a ton. He is a strategist at heart and it shows in his acting. He always pushes the thread as to how far he can push the directors.

Pigsy is the captain of the department and an actor. He is a stern actor though and most of the time, he isn't really acting just being himself. He does loosen up but very rarely. Hopefully that might change.

Sandy is part of the forensic scientists team and an actor, helping document and move things as well as give the main team help. He doesn't get a big part in the show but is often helpful off the camera.

Tang is a part of the forensic scientist team and an actor, he does what Sandy does too but also helps with the more historical side of it. He is full of stories and I kinda push the more "NCIS character Ducky" attitude with him.

Now for the OC's of the show/gang:

The K9 Officer: A dog shapeshifter who became friends with MK. Her name is Luna and she was moved from America to China due to a high demand of show dogs for movies. She was moved when she was fourteen and met MK when he was 15.

The Autopsy Personel/Actor: A human named Chan, who is a hard worker. Her eyes are a greyish blue and she became an actor after working in the medical field after two years. She is skilled and can help the audience with explaining what happened.

Also to add more spice to this AU. Their are also show ships and ships in general:

Shadowpeach: The show ships them hard and so does the general public.

Freenoodles: The show ship that also became a general ship.

DragonFruit: A ship in general that became another ship on the show.

MKxOC: Ship in general (never appears in the show)

Now with all of this together, I would like to add that these are also featured in the AU and fanfic:

MK is trans.

The Celestial Realm and some of the demons in the original show work as the production company.

Nezha is the vice director of the show.

LGTBQ+

Gore and Violence

Swearing

Angst

Fluff

And Honest to god just so much goodness in the show and off the show.

There you have it. The AU idea is finished. Fanfic will come soon as well as a master list! Thanks!

#lego monkie kid #Lego monkey kid #shadowpeach #lmk #LMK monkey cop #Monkey Cop: K9 Unit AU #LMK AU

[riviifetish]

a wild, lycanthropic beast is on the loose!

“i’ve become insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”

primarily a NSFW blog, i WILL be posting and interacting w dastardly smutty content! ೃ⁀➷

salutations from a world beyond! i am the lustrous, the luminous and radiant REX! ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

my name is Rex !! i am 18 years of age, i use they/him and im unsurprisingly a lesbian… the general rules and guidelines for this blog are as folloowwwss!!

╰┈➤ first of all, I AM DYSLEXIC, in this blog i will be prone to spelling errors !! no beta, we die like real men!!! MEN USED TO GO TO WAR!

⌞ i do and will take suggestions but not requests!⌝

.. there is a good chance that i will forget about this blog and not upload for extended periods of time! ༄’

‘⤷ this blog will be multi-fandom, as i go through many phases in a short amount of time.

➛ I WILL NOT take suggestions for incest, stepcest or selfcest, pedophillia of any kind (ie, DDLG, or ageplay), necrophilia, bodily fluids or excretions like scat or urine, feet*.. or anything along those lines or WEIRDER. (disrespectfully DNI if you write any of said topics.)

‘⤷ i DO take/write suggestions for ‘darker content,’ such as: dub-con*, toxic thoughts/ideas/or relationships (ie, cheating), alcohol and drug use/abuse, and BDSM*…

➛ i do specifically write character x reader (including character x reader x character)— not y/n, god forbid— but i may be willing to write character x character depending on the suggestion..

‘➛ on that note, i also do not take suggestions for specific features pertaining to the reader, other than plus size.

༄ if you dare to find the great nemi on other platforms, you may find me on ao3 under valkyriefetish.

‘’ my masterlists below!!!

complete m.list , henry cavill m.list , fanfic rec m.list .

“nevermore.”

pertaining to the use of * previously… i am able and very much willing to write femdom that involves a pinch of feet. relating to dub-con, i am comfortable writing implied consent and other forms of dubious consent, but I AM NOT, comfortable writing anything more. with BDSM, this particularly includes femdom, such as: pegging, shibari, gags, ‘brutality,’ slut-shaming, humiliation, feminization and so forth….

#navigation

[jurassicparkpodcast]

Fanattik Launches Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Line

Celebrations for Jurassic Park’s 30th Year continue – this time with friends of the Podcast Fanattik announcing a brand-new line of products which have been inspired by the legacy of this iconic line.

Fanattik’s new line comes in the iconic red, green and yellow colours of the classic Jurassic Park branding – and it also incorporates elements which fans will recognize, such as Ian Malcolm and Mr DNA. There are four products in the assortment – plus a host of other complimentary Jurassic Park inspired products which Fanattik have released in the past.

Up first we have the 30th Anniversary Jurassic Park Opening Weekend Ticket. Fanattik have released opening weekend tickets in the past, but this one is adorned with the 30th Anniversary logo and also comes packaged in the gorgeous Jurassic Park colored packaging. This, much like many of Fanattik’s items, will look absolutely fantastic displayed on a shelf.

Following on from this we have the Vehicle I.D. Card – and I love how the Fanattik team packed extra detail into the back of this including reference to both the night vision goggles seen in the film, and also wearing appropriate attire at the park. This is a fun representation of an in-universe item and also features the iconic classic yellow Jurassic Park logo.

Following on from this we have the new coin which joins this assortment – the ‘Life Finds A Way’ coin, featuring the iconic Doctor Ian Malcolm on one side, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex logo and ‘June 11, 1993’ on the other side of the coin. Malcolm is a very popular character in his own right, so it’s cool seeing him immortalized on a coin.

Lastly, we have the limited edition ‘How To Make A Dinosaur’ print – featuring some fun graphics from the Mr DNA animation which features in the original film. I absolutely love this print. It takes inspiration from a fan favorite moment within the film and looks wonderful. I may need to pick this one up!

Overall, the JP30 line brings a handful of cool products to the lineup of merchandise which Fanattik has been offering to fans. All of the items we have mentioned are set to release in June of this year – meaning fans will have the opportunity to celebrate Jurassic June in style!

You can preorder the full line right now at the Fanattik website: https://www.wearefanattik.com/jurassic-park-m30

Let us know what you think of this product line in the comments below, and also on Social Media. As always – stay tuned for the latest news on Jurassic Park’s 30th Anniversary!

Written by: Tom Jurassic

#article #jurassic world evolution 2 #jurassic world evolution dominion malta expansion #jurassic world evolution 2 dlc #jurassic world evolution 2 expansion #jurassic world dominion game #jurassic world game

[wulvert]

SHE'S SO ELEGANT,,,PICTURE PERFECT GRACE. THROWING UP GARLIC BREAD LIKE A CAT HACKING UP A HAIRBALL. she looked so comfy in that one panel being held (🏳️‍🌈) i think thats her peak. i wana be as sleepy as her,,,snnnnzzzz

ALSO IM LOOKING THROUGH THE COMMENTS TO SEE IF I MISSED ANY DETAILS. WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE THINK AVERY IS A MAN. ITS BEEN 53 PAGES????? I LOVE ROTATING GENDER CODED AVERY IN MY BRAIN AS A SILLY SELF-PROJECTION HEADCANON BUT THIS IS BEYOND ME. WHAT DO THEY NEED TO MAKE IT CLICK. "HI ITS ME, AVERY, WOMAN FROM HIT LESBIAN (NOT HETEROSEXUAL) VAMPIRE SERIES PAPERTEETH"??? theres somethign deepr 2 be said about this tht pisses me off nd im too tired to express it correctly. im goign insane sorry. anyways

scarlet's t-rex hands at the end mean so much 2 me!! thnak u,,,i have seen them in ur comics before nd they r so important as someone who does them 24/7. this may also sound weird but i like the extra detail u put into the legs. i do NOT mean this in a strange way oh god. um. u get it i hope.

awesoke page in general im gnna eat it.!!!

literally so sleepy and is held. sure she passed out from fear but thats irrelevant now bc shes unconscious I want to be that cozybut i dont think i ever will be

yeah! uptick of ppl who think shes a man this page- Ig it got featured on a banner again the other day so a few new ppl probs skim read past the part where shes outright referred to as a woman idk. I think the reason it bothers me a bit is bc avery is a character im rly overly attached to bc shes pretty pathetic like me and shes the same flavour of girl as me, which i dont rly relate 2 a lot of fictional women as someone whos kind of a struggle, so its like nice to make them for myself i guess? idk having her makes me feel better. is that a comfort character. i dont know. i care her.- so i feel like ive failed a little when ppl just look at her and go oh, this character is clearly intended by the author to be a man.

I cant rly b mad at ppl who honestly just dont realise though, I'll admit i commit the crime of mistaking cartoon men for cartoon women sometimes- I am a little mad at ppl who say things like its hard to believe shes a girl when they find out .like. shes a vampire. you can suspend ur disbelief far enough to believe shes a vampire. but not enough to believe shes a girl... interesting ...hm ....funny how that works anonymous webtoon commenter.......................

TL;DR: Averys my bbg and im too attached to her.

& no of course! i like giving characters raptor hands, I am for serious when i said i injected the autism myself. & ITSNOT WEIRD DW i like drawing legs even if i make them far too long.

&thank you!!

#asks #avery is vry self projectable onto

[twistedtummies2]

Fifteen Days of Disney Magic - Number 2

Welcome to Fifteen Days of Disney Magic! In honor of the company’s 100th Anniversary, I have been counting down my Top 15 Favorite Movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios! Today, we cover the penultimate pick on the countdown! Today’s entry took a truly concerted effort to create. Number 2 is…Fantasia.

Even more than “Sleeping Beauty,” I would venture to say that “Fantasia” is a film that shows the power of animation as an art form. It was released in 1940, and the imagery that fills the screen, accompanied by some of the finest pieces of classical music humankind has to offer, remains just as powerful and as admirable today as it was back when it was released. Many consider this to be one of Disney’s true masterpieces, and it’s not a surprise why: it’s a simple sort of movie, yet also grand and fantastic in its scope and impact. “Fantasia” started out when Walt Disney had a chance encounter with the famous orchestra conductor and composer Leopold Stokowski. It turned out the two were fans of each other’s work, and they became quick friends. The pair decided to collaborate on the creation of a Mickey Mouse short, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice;” at the time, Mickey’s star was actually starting to fade a bit (amazing to imagine, I know), and Walt thought that the short could help catapult Mickey back to the heights of his stardom. However, the costs of making the short became so great, the team began to think…well, why stop there? It was actually LESS risky in costs, in the long run, to just make a feature film! So was born the genesis of “Fantasia.” The film was, for a long time, referred to as “The Concert Feature,” and in essence, that is what Fantasia is: it is less of a proper movie, and more of an animated concert, or, perhaps, more appropriately, an animated ballet show. The film is made of a series of several animated sequences, each set to a different piece of classical music, intercut with live-action segments that show the orchestra tuning up their instruments as the host of the show – famous music critic Deems Taylor – introduces each separate piece. The film is treated very seriously in its style; there is humor in several of the different animated sequences, to be sure…but for every bit of comic silliness involving Mickey Mouse or a dancing hippo, you have a sequence depicting a T. Rex hunting down a Stegosaurus, or Chernabog and his ghostly minions cavorting atop Bald Mountain on Walpurgis Night. Yet despite the varying tones and stories and characters, the film does manage to have a unified sense of wholeness to it, as the segments are expertly arranged to feel like a perfect package.

The film was highly innovative for its time: not only were the effects used to create some of the animated shots state of the art for the time (and even more remarkable to think about nowadays), but it was also one of the first movies to use a stereophonic sound system during its initial release, called “The Fantasound System.” However, at the time Fantasia was released, it was actually not a major hit. While most audiences who saw it seemed to like it, it was hit-or-miss with critics, and the box office returns themselves just could not make up for the film’s ultimate expense: it was just so costly to create, and its release method so unorthodox, there was almost no way to make a profit. Over time, however, the movie gained more respect. However, even there, it seems to be a film that’s got a slight sort of “niche” following: it seems to be a film for people of a specific crowd. Those who are looking for complex stories, a lot of humorous dialogue, exciting action scenes, and so on are not likely going to be pleased. But for those who enjoy just seeing what animation could and can still do in an artistic endeavor, with a level of craftsmanship and passion that would be hard to find in a lot of movies today, “Fantasia” is the film for you. For me, it’s one of the movies that made me fall in love with animation and its power, and it’s always going to have a special place in my heart. Well, people. Tomorrow’s the big day. Two days till Disney’s founding, and the final entry on this list. I’m going to be honest with you all…I’m cheating with the last one. I warned you all there’d be an exception to the rules, and that exception is my final choice. HINT: “Boys and girls of every age, wouldn’t you like to see something strange?”

#disney #disney 100 #disney 100 special #list #countdown #top 15 disney animated movies #fifteen days of disney magic #number 2 #fantasia #night on bald mountain #the sorcerer's apprentice #i'm only tagging those two sequences because they're on the poster

[battlekilt]

'Ye Ole Lady'

— or "Old Durasteel Sides"

@rochenn

Cody's follow up to his love-letter to the Negotiator. This time, it the Resolute.

Somewhere in the distance, less so positioned to draw an eye, another Jedi Starcruiser crept on the edges of the ghastly tableau. Nevertheless, she too drew his attention, and even though she blended in with the pod of other cruisers, Cody knew her on sight. As always, his eyes tracked her, felt her name creep under his thoracic plate, until her name was echoed by the sound of his heart: The Resolute. An older starcruiser retrofitted to match the updated -class model specs, the Resolute was held in less esteem by others. Still, a formidable starcruiser that many Separatists loathed to meet in battle; they called her ‘Ole Durasteel Sides.’ Though, to her crew, she was just ‘Ye Ole Lady.’ She certainly had the right attitude to match such an indomitable Clone Legion, their Jedi Flag Officers, Clone Captain, and the flagship Battalion that shared the Legion’s numerical moniker—the 501st. Like many elderly women up in her years, the Resolute had an attitude. She was foul-tempered, contrary, and seemingly held grudges—be that enemy or ally. She always demanded the attention of her maintenance crews, and anyone else. From Jedi General and Commander, Admiral, Clone Captain, ARC Troopers, Medics, Infantry Troops, Support Crews, and culinary specialists—everyone helped maintain her. Never an envied starcruiser, The Resolute would never be the first choice to host any important guests of State. She may have lacked the Negotiator’s cyclical tankless water system and required her crew to be mindful of water rations, but the scrappy 501st Battalion felt at home with her and would proudly defend her honor. More than that, to the 501st Battalion and even the Legion at large, the Resolute was home. She reflected the tenacious grit, stubborn resolve, and ornery refusal to surrender the 501st had become known for. Though nothing glittering or gilded, she had been given a second chance, and proved her worth with every battle her flag waved victoriously over—just like her men: from her Jedi General down to her lowest Clone specialist. Though, others may cheer when the Negotiator led the charge into battle because of her technological prowess… They breathed a sigh of relief, when, at last, the Resolute sailed out of the great black night, for on her decks stood General Skywalker, Captain Rex, and the men of the 501st.

Yeah, I went hard on world-building lore behind these ships. And others! I indulged in playing with some facts about them, but it really helped serve to deepen the story I'm working to create. The ships are more than just objects and backdrops, they are characters—you can see the influence Star Trek had on me. They mean something to those who work on her, and those who live on her.

Cody's character development over the ships has been fascinating. He starts out with, "I know how the ship works, and how—IT—functions in the interest of the ARMY"; Oh the horror of his words to a Navy officer. To, "SHE! Last it all, OUR SHIP is a LADY!"

Admittedly, some of it has to do with an OC I created for a one-off reason, and is now a standard operating feature. Forsil becomes Cody's Navy dad and mentor, and really helps Cody understand not just the ship in the practical sense, but the sailors that work on it. It really helps Cody build a cohesive relationship between the Army and the Navy, the latter of whom, a well-established military in the Republic, kind of resents this baby Army coming up and stealing all their thunder. Also, muddy boots—MUDDY BOOTS! Grunts wash your boots ASAP. Ok, Cody understands that.

There's other lore that I've created, and in doing so I've setup future story lines about Cody and his great ship. It helps tell the experience of the Clones, the Navy sailors they work with, and also has developed a way for me to show Cody's experience. How he deals and processes things.

But, Cody has been a wonderful narrative operative for me to really extend the dynamic of the Troops and their starcruisers, but also an ARMY Clone coming to not just appreciate his navy cruiser, but come to love her, revere her...

And in time, mourn her.

#au: rexx #clone: cody #kilt's snippets #// sorry for the babbling and oversharing #// this has been a long WIP that I'm eager to share #// but it isn't done #// siiiiiigh #// however what excited me the most #// was the idea of someone else developing a character trait for cody #// that is ALSO about ships of some sort #// cody/negotiator = OTP #// though the negotiator's shipwife is the resolute #// the resolute is that old butch that runs a gay bar in TEXAS #// she's got a shot gun on the wall #// an indeterminate array of weapons under the bar #// she can out drink anyone #// and she delivers knockout blows #// she's stocky & average height #// no they were not from a surplus stores—there might be bloodstains on them #// the negotiator is a 6 foot+ lipstick lesbian from NY #// fine well-done nails #// size 11 louboutins #// and a conceal carry license she uses #// they are both deadly ass ladies who are ready to fight and will #// though if the negotiator breaks a nail #// she gets MEANER #// how DARE #// and what a pair they are

[saltsanford]

AO3 wrapped!

Respond to this with what you would call the top 5 fanfics you’ve read in 2022. Any genre! Any ship! (Bonus points: if you’re a creator, make this a 5+1 and include your favorite fic you wrote in 2022!)

Then leave this in your friends’ asks too. Let’s give creators one more spotlight before the year ends, and share some of what we’ve enjoyed along the way!

YES thank you for the ask, i LOVE talking about my favorite fics i want everyone to read them and discuss them with me like an insane little book club

in no ranking order (this was so hard to narrow down but these are ones that i've read over and over/the first fics that i would rec to a friend who just finished TCW and wanted the good shit):

flowers growing on the edge of a crater by TheTenthSunrise

FIIIIIIIIIIIIVES. au where fives lives and the press figures out he's the one who exposed palpatine as the sith (prior to this his identity was a secret). IT IS. SO GOOD. this fic does a beautiful job of digging into how fives might feel after that whole mess and how the public wants a hero with no real understanding of what any of the clones have been through. fives and echo are the heart of this fic, but every character shines. this is part of a series of one-shots called domino, every fic is fabulous but this one is my particular fav.

i'm tall at heart by mipmaps

thire is one of those "he was in one whole episode and i would die for him" characters for me. i had some loose headcanons about the fact that thire starts as a lieutenant and then becomes a commander, but this fic takes that concept and just FUCKING RUNS WITH IT. fox's desperation to protect thire and NOT promote another commander even though they're all drowning is so, so good. thire's characterization is distinct and fantastic; he is kindhearted and brilliant and feels so real. this is also part of a series including a WIP that i'm currently losing my mind over.

the wounds you see by picklebridge

the umbara arc is my favorite in the series and i need ALL THE FIC FOR IT. this one features kix and rex in the aftermath, and of course gets into the angst of That Line from kix. kix is my boy and he is so good in this, and so is rex, and so is their difficult conversation. there's something about a well-characterized missing moment fic that gets me every time, and this one is a missing moment masterclass.

That Cave You Call a Chest by postapocalyptic_cryptic

speaking of things i need all the fic for, rex after kadavo is also at the top of that list and holy shit does this one deliver. the medbay is packed after the rescue, so cody looks after rex himself. cody's POV is just top-notch here, with this brisk practicality overlaying a deep bitterness and terror. also the hurt-comfort vibes are basically everything i look for in a fic.

their days are darker by @calamity-aims

last but certainly not least is THIS BEAUTY OF A MAGNUM OPUS. wolffe snoops around the coruscant guard after fox shoots fives, starting to suspect something is wrong. this is the fic that made me really think about what the war might look like for the guard and is so lovingly characterized and well-written. the way the tension slowly ratchets up as more and more horrors are revealed + the ways different characters react to what they learn is SO. GOOD. everyone's voice is SO distinct, the hurt-comfort is immaculate, and i am on the edge of my seat every time i reread this despite having done so...several times.

honorable mentions:

stylus-pushing and other workplace hazards by purgetrooperfox

our guard (a docu-holo sponsored by the coruscant communcations bureau) by fortinbrasftw

corrie red by musicmillennia

unchained hearts and homes by thelaststraws

the brother swimming beneath me by svitzian

vode an by epsiloneridani

ahhhh okay i need to stop or i'll be here all night, seriously i read SO MANY amazing fics this year, thank you all

and for the +1, my favorite fic i wrote this year is my WIP, let the river in. this might end up being my favorite fic i've ever written, not only because my writing has come such a long way + i love all of the characters in it so much, but because of how much fun i'm having. i feel like i'm 14 again writing self-insert LOTR fic in my algebra notebook. it's honestly been amazing to find that kind of joy again in my writing. to just...play.

#answered #my txt #thank you for the ask!! #fic rec

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Jurassic Park (Spielberg, 1993)

Scattered observations on the 3D re-release:

I don’t remember at what age I first watched the movie, but when I was ten years old, my parents got me the Special Edition VHS (which included a second cassette with extensive making-of features), at which point I proceeded to watch the movie every single day for…at least a few months, quite possibly a year. I don’t rewatch movies with anywhere near the same frequency these days, so it’s safe to say that I’ve seen this more times than any other movie. The point is, I know this movie like the back of my hand, and in particular, certain musical cues elicit a Pavlovian response from me at this point. And by certain, I mean pretty much all the significant ones, and seeing this for the first time in a theatre, with the John Williams score booming through the sound system, I had chills going down my spine for practically the entire runtime. Okay, maybe the air conditioner played a part too.

This is being re-released into select theatres for its thirtieth anniversary in a 3D version that I believe was actually made a decade ago for its twentieth anniversary. The 3D has obvious benefits for the many scenes of spectacle (all of which are iconic), in particular because Spielberg’s blocking and shot compositions here stress the sense of depth and perspective. (For an obvious example, go to the first T-Rex attack and note how often we look over a character’s shoulder or through a window or have anything in the foreground for scale.) But the visual strategy is so consistent throughout the movie that it bears unexpected benefits in the dialogue scenes. Take the scene where Hammond is talking to the scientists and Ian Malcolm is dropping some cold, hard truths about the folly of man in bending nature to his will. It seems a little more profound with the extra dimension. (On a side note, I guess I took it for granted just how quotable this movie is. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.” “Hold on to your butts.” Etc, etc. The only bad bit of dialogue was Ellie Sattler’s speech about taking power for granted, which shouldn’t have passed the first draft.) Also take the scene where the characters interrupt their tour to go see the triceratops. The big pile of shit is even bigger in 3D. Thankfully the movie wasn’t released in smell-o-vision.

Like a lot of people, I went through a Michael Crichton phase in my teens, and I remember the source novel being one of his better books. But while Crichton is skilled at crafting technobabble-infused page-turners, Spielberg solutions pretty effectively for his shortcomings at character development. Most notably, Ian Malcolm in the book is a know-it-all who has the right opinion 100% of the time and also happens to agree with Crichton on every key issue. This probably holds true with the movie as well, but by casting Jeff Goldblum, the character is allowed to be twitchy, off-putting and alive in ways he isn’t in the novel. (As Hammond remarks, "I really hate that man." He's also allowed to be sexy, as anyone who remembers the scene in the emergency bunker where he has his shirt open can attest.) The same goes for the rest of the characters, who are played by a murderer’s row of character actors. I could just rattle off the entire cast list, but a few choices Spielberg makes I found particularly astute include making Alan Grant initially annoyed by children so that he gets something of an arc, combining the treacherous Ed Regis and the lawyer Donald Gennaro into just the latter and allowing Martin Ferrero to put his comedic talents to use. I also understand that Wayne Knight was cast after Spielberg saw him in Basic Instinct, where he used some of the same tics of nervous muttering, profuse sweating and looking down through his classes in a particular way that he repurposes here with more sinister intent. He also has some of that disgruntled quality from his role in Seinfeld. This is probably the best casting choice in the movie. (On a side note, the further I get in my career, the more relatable Dennis Nedry becomes, and the more common skimping on IT spend seems to be a problem. “Don't get cheap on me, Dodgson. That was Hammond's mistake.”)

The most drastic change in characterization is probably turning Hammond from a POS to a kindly old man. Crichton plays him too obviously as a villain, and certain Richard Attenborough could have pulled that off, but I think Spielberg turning him into a more sympathetic figure complicates the material interestingly. I think as something of a mogul himself, Spielberg identifies readily with Hammond’s motivations, and is willing to seek the beauty in these possibilities and present us with images that might take our breath away. (Exhibit A: The first shot of the brontosauruses, built up with reaction shots, then making great use of the height of the frame and the silhouettes of the actors in the foreground before giving us a complete view.) He wants the park to succeed, even if in the back of his head he knows it will fail. To paraphrase a quote about Samuel Fuller, when it comes to dinosaur parks, only the point of view of someone who has been tempted is of any interest. (Compare this to Jurassic World, where the dinosaurs are readily dismissed with ironic distance, and you’ll see what the difference in worldview offers in basic spectacle.) Spielberg is also technophilic when it comes to capturing computer displays, indicator lights and the like, all captured lovingly while being milked for tension.

Obviously, seeing this in a theatre helped me to really soak in the set pieces, but as I’ve seen this movie like a hundred times (and quite possible more), this time around I really took note of the timing. There’s the scene where Nedry steals the embryos, which feels like something out of Mission: Impossible. (I know these guys all watch each other’s movies, and I wonder if De Palma pulled a little bit from this scene.) And a particularly strong sequence juggles Muldoon hunting the raptors with Sattler trying to turn the power back on with Hammond and Malcolm’s guidance and Grant and the kids trying to get over the giant fence. It would be one thing if it was played all relentlessly, but I love the way the movie lets you grasp the relationships between the different lines of action entirely visually (the camera panning down the switches a little faster than Sattler flips them) and occasionally lulls you into a false sense of security (Grant having a goof with the kids before they begin their climb). Just a masterclass in editing. This Spielberg guy is a pretty good director, huh?

I’ve seen this movie countless times but this was my first time seeing it in a theatre, and guess what? It’s still great.

#film #movie review #jurassic park #steven spielberg #🦖 #dino droppings? droppings? #if pirates of the caribbean breaks down #the pirates don't eat the tourists #we can discuss sexism in survival situations when i get back #nedry was right #nedry died for our sins #congratulations you've reached the end of the tags #see here i'm now sitting by myself talking to myself #that's chaos theory

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Pete Docter Talks TOY STORY 5, LIGHTYEAR, and More...

Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and director of MONSTERS, INC., UP, INSIDE OUT, and SOUL, spoke with The Wrap recently...

On his way to receiving the Windsor McKay Award at the Annies this year, he talked about his new book, where Pixar is at now, what's up with TOY STORY 5, if he'll direct a feature ever again, his colleagues - such as Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird - going off to pursue other interests, and some reflection on the box office failure of LIGHTYEAR...

I want to talk about his comments on LIGHTYEAR, and what little he could say about TOY STORY 5...

“We’ve done a lot of soul-searching about that because we all love the movie. We love the characters and the premise. I think probably what we’ve ended on in terms of what went wrong is that we asked too much of the audience. When they hear Buzz, they’re like, great, where’s Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex? And then we drop them into this science fiction film that they’re like, What?” "Even if they’ve read the material in press, it was just a little too distant, both in concept, and I think in the way that characters were drawn, that they were portrayed. It was much more of a science fiction. And Angus [MacLane], to his credit, took it very seriously and genuinely and wanted to represent those characters as real characters. But the characters in TOY STORY are much broader, and so I think there was a disconnect between what people wanted/expected and what we were giving to them.”

Docter's assessment of LIGHTYEAR is not dissimilar to how Walt Disney perceived the completed ALICE IN WONDERLAND after it had bombed so hard on its initial release in 1951.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND was the first major flop for the studio, not counting the package features, since BAMBI in 1942. After the runaway success of the more familiar CINDERELLA in 1950, this came as a shocking blow. I feel that Walt and his crew knew that PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, and BAMBI were either impacted by World War II, or the films themselves being ahead of their time (especially FANTASIA, aaaand how!)... With ALICE IN WONDERLAND, already a quite troubled production that spanned a few iterations, it seemed like the consensus was... "The war has been long over... We messed up." Walt made a remark about Alice herself not having heart, and that that wasn't what did it for audiences back when it was released. It seemed like it was too weird for American audiences not familiar with Lewis Carroll's stories, and too much of a bastardization of the original books to British audiences. It seemed like Walt won nobody with that film, and took the failure on the chin.

While Walt withheld most of his animated films from being shown on television, he made an exception for ALICE IN WONDERLAND. The film, in an abridged form, aired as the second-ever episode of the DISNEYLAND anthology program in 1954. No theatrical re-release was in the cards. Walt didn't live to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND enjoy its new life. He had passed away in December 1966, a time when psychedelia and hippie culture and other such things were becoming a thing in America. "Go ask Alice when she's ten feet tall." By the end of the 1960s, prints of ALICE IN WONDERLAND were heavily requested by colleges. FANTASIA had finally turned a profit during its 1969 re-release, and Disney finally gave ALICE IN WONDERLAND a theatrical re-release in 1974, which reportedly got the film into the black after some twenty-three years of existing. It was also one of the first Disney animated features to be given a home video release, too.

Maybe Walt Disney was right, but also wrong about ALICE IN WONDERLAND... Time makes a difference... Just ask other films like... THE WIZARD OF OZ, CITIZEN KANE, BLADE RUNNER, etc. ALICE IN WONDERLAND is now considered one of *the* iconic Disney animated films, it's a favorite of many, its presence in and around the company and the parks and everything else, can't be understated. Much like PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, BAMBI, and SLEEPING BEAUTY, its strengths helped the film stand the test of time.

I feel similarly about Pete Docter's assessment of LIGHTYEAR, though he does stand by the movie, saying "we all love the movie." I don't think director Angus MacLane nor the writers really "asked too much of" the audience, they made a nerdy hyper-specific movie that was viewed by some as too much of a deviation from the character, especially those who were familiar with the TV series BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND. When the movie was first announced during the Disney Investor Day event in December 2020, Docter made it very clear what that movie was: It was a show-within-a-show movie that Andy loved, and why he wanted the Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. They even have that information as a title card in the actual movie... But so many people seemed very, *very* confused on what the movie was. Perhaps the marketing campaign didn't communicate that very well, nor did a weird mishap from Chris Evans when he described Buzz Lightyear as a "real" astronaut that lives in Andy's universe. He's a fictional character in the TOY STORY universe, much like Woody and pals in the WOODY'S ROUNDUP TV show.

So, I wouldn't blame the movie so much, sometimes films just don't catch on with audiences. It's not necessarily the fault of the movie, nor even the audience. Some things just don't appeal, some things come out at the wrong time, the theaters game is ruthless anyways: Make your first impression on opening weekend, right out of the gates, or else the press will be all over your "failure" like vultures. Heck, Brad Bird himself made this gem of a tweet once: "Movies are dreams. The way Wall Street talks about them are nightmares." These ludicrous box office (and even critical reception) narratives are, to me, non-conducive to movies. It's not like LIGHTYEAR was a critical bomb, it had plenty of positive and passing-grade reviews. But this overall narrative of "it was a bomb!" or "it was a big disappointment" overshadows the nuances of these movies, and the elements that DO resonate with those that like them. I was actually quite fond of LIGHTYEAR, even if I didn't think that it was truly spectacular or anything of the sort. And yet, the stuff I love about it? That's all that matters, I own the movie on disc, I'll be repeat-viewing the movie from here on out. I still got *something* out of it. It's not Guillermo del Toro's PINOCCHIO or PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH in my eyes, but hey, I still dug it.

Like, why do you think so many movies made in - say - the 1990s and early 2000s that got negative reception are beloved today by those who grew up on them? And those who appreciated them from the very start? Because times change, tastes change, things get re-evaluated, etc. etc. etc. I feel like with a lot of commentary, exacerbated by Twitter and message board forums and whatnot, basically spells death sentences for movies that don't necessarily hit every beat or live up to certain expectations... LIGHTYEAR worked for some, didn't work for others, but it'll likely hold tight over the next decade or so... And eventually have retrospectives highlighting its strengths, how it was a Pixar film that dared to be a science-fiction space action-adventure, a genre that Western animation often has trouble with. *cough*TITAN A.E./ATLANTIS/TREASURE PLANET/STRANGE WORLD*cough**cough*

So, in a way, I get Docter's humbleness... But it's really not anyone's fault, really. The time just wasn't right for it. Maybe if it was made in 2004, it would've been a blockbuster. Maybe if made far into the future, in maybe the year 2038, it would be a blockbuster. Maybe 2022 wasn't the right year, the right time for it. For what it's worth, it seemed to have a second life on Disney+. Ditto Disney Animation's STRANGE WORLD.

Regarding TOY STORY 5, Docter said:

“Look, it’s great to go back and explore these worlds and these characters, but you want to have a reason, some kind of compelling reason, that you’re making the movie."

"The thing we’ve been really trying to do, and this has been the case for a while, is we’ve been looking at them a little bit like, okay, we’re not planning for the future. When we made the first TOY STORY, we had no idea there would be a TOY STORY 2. We’re just trying to make this movie. But that in making the movie, it takes you places, unexpected places, which is what I love about the creative process. If I knew exactly what I was doing when I started making a movie, there’d kind of be no point in making it. I discover so much along the way.”

"I think it’ll be surprising. It’s got some really cool stuff that you haven’t seen before."

These comments imply that TOY STORY 5 is actually pretty... Well, not far along, but it's been in development for quite some time, and not something hastily cooked up on the heels of LIGHTYEAR's box office failure. I mean, after all, when Disney had announced in a March 2014 investor's call that a third CARS movie was being made, that thing had been in development since 2011 - right after CARS 2 came to theaters. Michael Wallis, the voice of the Sheriff in those movies, confirmed its existence on a podcast in August 2013 and said it would be about Route 99. (Which the movie ended up not being about, but it was indeed the plan early on in development.) If we are to believe Bo Peep's voice, Annie Potts, TOY STORY 4 was on the boards when TOY STORY 3 was being made... Contrary to various Pixar filmmakers saying that they weren't planning on making a fourth film when TOY STORY 3 debuted theatrically in 2010.

"Surprising", "some really cool stuff you haven't seen before"... I made a few posts on here previously that expressed cautious curiosity of TOY STORY 5. If this brings a new voice and new ideas to the table, I'm there. I can take the film or leave it, honestly, but it exists. I remember really not digging the idea of a fourth TOY STORY, until I learned more about it and actually saw the film... So, maybe I'll be seated, maybe June 2026, in the theater and then come out saying "Holy shit, they really ***did*** do it again??" I'd like to see what they've got, at the very least.

Docter also confirmed that next year's INSIDE OUT 2 was pitched to him by its director, Kelsey Mann. That makes me more curious, Docter could very well say "no" to an idea, not so much an INSIDE OUT sequel... So it seems like Docter approves the INSIDE OUT sequel that he is not directing, and how it's going back to ideas that were ditched from the original, namely there being more emotions in your brain than just five...

He also mentioned that Aphton Corbin, director of the SparkShort entry TWENTY-SOMETHING (one of my favorites in the series), might direct a feature. It was previously announced that she had something lined up, but it's not so clear-cut now. "She's playing around and we'll see."

I'll say briefly that I quite like Pete Docter's Pixar. I think his predecessor, John Lasseter, quite frankly needed to go. His mistreatment of women employees a big reason, but also because he was a little too controlling. There isn't a single Pixar film that I dislike (yes, even the dreaded CARS 2), but a lot of the films they made from around 2012-2017 feel like the needle getting stuck. Like them falling back on "legacy", the pictures feeling very Lasseter-approved. So many director firings, too. That hasn't happened under Pete Docter. Lasseter did greenlight ONWARD, LUCA, TURNING RED, and LIGHTYEAR yes, but under Docter, the directors got to make the films that they wanted to make. There's *no way* the TURNING RED we got would've been that very film if Lasseter was still in charge.

Under Docter, it feels like there's a variety in vision and story... LUCA was a very "characters exist" sort of tale that didn't need to be some extravagant adventure or some "meaning of life" kind of thing, it was 90 minutes of two kids in a seaside Italian town who wanted to get a Vespa. You know, sort-of random kid desires. Under Lasseter, there likely would've been some major plot complications mandated along with that cliche "Pixar moment" where the audience has to have their collective hearts slam-banged by a speeding freight train. TURNING RED is about a teen girl who wants to see a boy band and has to deal with a strange problem, and it works perfectly as just that. They feel very character-and-vibes first, and work outward from there. LIGHTYEAR, again, really dug it. Classic old-school style adventure, sci-fi, ego, the inevitability of time, etc. ELEMENTAL looks to be a romantic comedy, less an adventure. Will that too be a vibes-kinda movie? These all feel pretty distinct from one another, and I'm here for it.

So yes, I'm excited to see what's next. ELEMENTAL, ELIO, INSIDE OUT 2, TOY STORY 5... All. Of It.

#toy story #toy story 5 #lightyear #pixar #animation news #unorganized thoughts