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fulltimereviewer · 5 years ago

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Top 50 Best Transformers Fanfiction Stories 2020

Best Transformers Fanfiction Updates That You Must Read

Since Childhood, I am watching transformers and looking forward to becoming a transformer one day, Grew up by Reading Transformers Fanfiction Stories and was always amazed by the fictions that used to pop out from such inspiring Fanfiction Lovers. Also liking the Transformer Fanfiction Crossover a lot.

If I Start Giving my Opinions about Transformers Fanfiction Lemon and Transformers Crossover fanfiction, I don't think so that I won't end the topic of Transformers Fanfiction Stories even in 24 hours. Lukas Schimik Agreed ! Don't know why everybody hates it, I think it's still my number 1 TF movie! Optimus new look, Lockdown & Galvatron, KsI (bots), Dinobots, cast ( HATED this Sam & Mikeala ) and the TF/human conflict. Still love it. Miguel GC Gamer Age of Extinction is the only film that entertains that I don't skip any parts of the movie and I like all the characters in this film and the transformers designs are great, dino bots are Awsome. Vincent H well....bad taste is also bad taste at the end of the day. I know you younger kids think that everyone is supposed to have an opinion and everything is subjective blah blah blah but if you're a cinephile than the Transformers are objectively bad films. They are cynical cash grabs made to make money in China. Bay and the producers have said as much. I mean you can like whatever you want. If you wanna listen to Teletubbies soundtrack all day that's your right....but that does mean you have shitty taste. It's okay. Not everyone has good taste. urtpro 2 I'm not hating I'm genuinely curious. I certainly like it more than Last Knight but barely lol. I'm curious the reasons why AOE fans consider it one of the better Transformers movies. I will say it was nice to switch up the protagonist and all that since Sam Witwicky had worn out his welcome by the third film. And the actress who played Wahlberg's daughter was smoking hot, so that was a plus too. Oliver Parker I thought the premise of the world hating and hunting the Transformers(regardless of Faction), cuz of what happened in Chicago(in DOTM), was kool, MW was a refreshing Main Hero over Shia tbh, and Lockdown was Badass! Honestly kinda just laughed off the whole Romeo and Juliette law thing as being just a bad movie joke! I’m mean honestly I know there’s no such law, and as such it didn’t really bother me! Just rather thought it was somewhat silly! Yann Labeille Well Lockdown was a pretty good villain for once in the movies. However Galvatron went nowhere after this. Anthony That isn't true. I saw Bumblebee yesterday and I find it Like watching E.T., the movie is just on Charlie, not really much on Bee. The only g1 part is the first 5 minutes of the movie. Too much 80s references. Sometimes is even boring for me. It Was a cute movie but absolutely not my favourite. I still prefere the first one. Aron T-900 I'd rather get vibes from ET and Iron Giant instead of witnessing stupid humor, unnecessary hot shots, dogs humping each other, unrealistic explosions, parents acting like they belong in a cartoon, patriotism and confusing slo-mo action sequences. Cam Rich I preferred the first and third ones as they have so much more action in them making the films actually entertaining, when most of bumblebee is almost like a compilation of ‘cute’ little clips of bumblebee and that annoying girl taking up almost the entirety of the movie. Max Ramirez Personally prefer the 2007 movie because it's just overall more entertaining to me. Also, you can pretty much tell Bumblebee was a movie that was directed towards kids so 2007 wins for me So Sit back and enjoy reading my favorite transformers fanfiction lemon and Transformers fanfiction Crossovers Collection. That I have collected for you guys. I Hope You Guys liked our collection of the best transformers fanfiction stories and updates that we have presented above for all fanfiction lovers out here. Transformers Fanfiction Crossover Stories 2020(Updated) Transformers is America based Franchise that was first seen in the 1980s globally. So the first five transformers Films was directed by Michael Bay. I really believe that this was the boost up for the Transformers Fanfiction Crossover stories that I really liked about among the whole and sole of the transformers fanfiction stories including the lemon version of the franchise. Minaya Rojas Tony: We have a Hulk! Optimus: We have a Grimlock! Porg King VII Bee is here what would Optimus want with that what would he take her hostage IT SOUNDS LIKE HE HAS BEEN BRAIN WASHED BY DESEPTAGONS Siidimus Prime! Except they transform their aliens they have Real blasters Different Voices blood Etc. arfhanisbest The interesting thing is that transformers would actually make for good marvel villains. dave tasca The original transformers comics were made by marvel and marvel had to do with the original transformers tv show so they really should try to get the rights back jovinprime Poop soc This would've been more awesome if gi joe, rom the spaceknight, M.A.S.K., micronauts and the other properties interfere with the whole marvel universe and the transformers both. That would be, not only a big, giant, massive crossover event, but a... gigantic, space-involving, multiversal collusion as well Darkknight329 yes megatron hack the armor with Soundwave and turn it off then they all just step on them but they will throw hulk to cybertron and leave him to the toxic oxygen Dr. Nobody Celz On they are robots what is a snap gonna do I know buckys arm was turned to dust but still they have weapons that can make thanos cheese agnas yes because they’re alive. They go to the allspark when they die, they are alive just like us, just made of metal. Bee is here Tony: We have thanos Optimus: We have your mom Tony:0_0 ok you win now give me my mom Hoping that you guys liked our collection of the topmost fanfics about the transformers fanfiction crossover flavors that we have published above this.

Transformers Fanfiction Lemon Version 2020 Funny Part of the Franchise is that the transformer's movies, on one hand, was loved by the fans and on the other hand there were critics about the direction "Worst Director of all Time". Still, there are some dirty minded people who are always in search of the Transformers Fanfiction Lemon and some people also call it Transformers lemon Fanfiction. Night light I really want to be apart of one of micheal bays movie of transformers Flo Parsons see this is why I love transformers, because the actors ACTUALLY seem like they are having fun, and they are such fun films to watch obert Delgad Even though the movie sequels are not that great, but you have to give Michael Bay a lot of Credit for what he does. fake lol Bay is a genius I mean, I wouldn't be able to figure out the scale of you know the explosions Like the layout nig*a LOL, lol or as you typed if, Lol: an acronym for laugh(ing) out loud or lots of laughs, some say it is Lots of love, is a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to-face communication. Alex Bruh Bumblebee knows how to pick up ladies more than Sam 😂 lala I remember being a kid and having the biggest crush for Megan. Good lord she was so hot Michael ceasar Back than I thought Sam was looking at her belly and so was I saying "Hot belly I guess." hotman 280 Michael Bay while directing: Yeah Megan arch your back, perfect perfect. Get a good shot of her sweat glistening tanned bronze body. Yeah just like that. chief ada Yeah right. That engine is a big block. Fuel injected side draft 8 barrel carburetors. Hell even the headers are up and over side mount. And the damn engine is worth more then the car. As he only paid $4500.00 That damn engine alone cost $20,000.00! Leave the critics aside all I want to know is: How did you people find our transformers fanfiction lemon version? comment down below if you guys liked this collection on some of the best lemon flavors of transformers fanfiction stories. Transformers fanfiction Bumblebee Stories Updated The best part of the Transformers franchise is that bumblebee is the only character that got most of the positive reviews. This can be a reason that people Love Transformers Fanfiction Bumblebee Version a lot. No worries because we have provided some of the best Bumblebee fanfiction stories that you will enjoy reading. Master Yoda "Wasp", "Stinger" or "Hornet" would be appropriate Decepticon sounding names as "Bumble Bee" sounds too friendly. ron 1j2j barricade is a ford mustang and bee is a Chevrolet camero trust me they will not be friends pro gmer yes i do lol they killed ironhide and ratchet and jazz and sideswipe is already missing dnt know if hes alive but hes my favorite hari bhaskar I'm Bumblebee was a Decepticon he'd be dead like the other Decepticons, because boi they sure kill Decepticons like it's nothing. mighty raju Blackout had skills. Shockwave had skills. The Fallen had skills. Yet they all died like they're nothing. Why? Cause they're Decepticons lol. It's simple rlly, they kill off Decepticons like they're nothing that's just how it is lol. habob What about “what if sentinel prime didn’t betray the autobots” I think age of extinction and beyond wouldn’t have happened since sentinel basically destroyed N.E.S.T. And also Rachet and Ironhide wouldn’t have died so the Autobots would have had a great advantage, and then Sam would still be with the autobots since he disappears after DOTMBasically, I’m saying that the Transformers franchise would have dramatically changed if Sentinel didn’t betray the Autobots. ShyGuy 15 In the movies, technically Megatron is an anti-hero. The first movie makes an acception bc he was using the allspark for pure evil, also in Aoe no reason told us what he was trying to accomplish other than detonating the seed. So 2, 3, and 5, he has reasons to his doing Rotf: using the pyramid to kill the sun and repopulate cybertron. Dotm: rebuild cybertron. TLK: kill unicron using cybertron. This is all in my own mind, not sure if anyone else agrees with me Simon Tyson I forget what it was called, but there was a comic book series where Megatron was an Autobot. It basically swapped all the characters so that Optimus, Bumblebee, Iron Hide, etc. were bad guys. Megatron, Starscream, etc. were good guys Dank Starscream If Bayformer Megatron's history is similar to the IDW comics Megatron's history...then that would mean the Autobot government was not all that good, and would be directly responsible for why Megatron turned out the way he did. Because he was a slave to their functionalist system of control, and he would have remained a slave worker miner if he didn't rise up from the lifestyle forced on him and formed the Decepticon faction... Though it seems to me that if this were the case, Bayformers Megatron would still have become a gladiator before forming the Decepticons...and then eventually he found his way into more of the politics of Cybertron after one day meeting with Optimus Prime (Orion Pax at the time) and then they became brothers/friends. In that sense...it would be similar to how the history of the two were from the show TF Prime. They could still keep the part with the whole Optimus being a knight too, somehow... So in short...Megatron really did not start out as a bad guy at all, it was the way in which he reacted to everything that made him turn out a 'bad guy'. She-Venom What if Megatron is a good guy in the movies? Simple answer is right here becuse Optimus accepted become a Prime if he didnt accept Optimus and Megatron wouldnt fight each other and best brothers it was Optimus fault he started the war i think Megatron is a good guy Hoping that you guys liked our collection of the topmost fanfics about the transformers fanfiction crossover flavors that we have published above this. People Love Bumblebee! i love him/her because bumblebee is cool, let me know why do you love Bumblebee and more importantly why do you guys love Transformers fanfiction on Bumblebee. Transformers Fanfiction OC Version Earning a total amount of $4.3 Billion, transformers became the 13th highest-grossing film series in the world. The Transformers Fanfiction Fans Should be happy to know that the Transformers franchise grossed a total of $1 Billion each from two superhit blockbuster movies. Comment Down the names of those movies if you know them. Jack R I think the first one was more epic just cause the fight scenes were cool and it was the first time we saw something like that. But the writing and characters were absolutely horrific. Bumblebee had much better writing and characters especially the character relationship between Bumblebee and the girl which is much better than the relationship between Sam and bumblebee. Dotm Shockwave Yeah I dont know how he put tlk over revenge and extinction. The last knight is incredibly boring and the only remaining aspect left to enjoy (the action) is incredibly dull in it compared to all the other films. There are no good fight scenes. Which is likely why it bombed so hard Ur mom Gai Ok imo the last knight is my fave AND I ONLY like TF5 is cuz bumblebee new form looks good as hell and Optimus prime vs bumblebee AND there is explosions. EVERYWHERE Boss I definitely didn't think it was my favorite. It depends on what you are looking for in a movie. If you like character relationships and a girl and her problems trying to find her way, then you'll like it. If you like transformers actions and interactions, you may not like it as much. Even though the Bay movie didn't focus enough on the transformers, this one did even less The Burden of Bordem I'm a decepticon fan and none of the main decepticons were even given a name in the movie. They were just there to be bad. The Burden of Bordem For me I think this film would have worked much better if they just had Starscream as the main villain, and maybe Barricade hunting bumblebee and give them a more personal relation ship as enemies. But like I said, it end up being a movie about a girl and her relation ship with Bumblebee and enemies getting in their way. bandwon he main character is more fleshed out than the others, Bumblebee I guess is as well, but he can't talk so it isn't by much, the story is standard E.T./Iron Giant, the acting is fine, the directing is probably better than the others, the action is good when it happens, but there is far less than the others, and non of the action reached the peak of the Bay movies. and if it wasn't for the fact there were transformers in it I probably wouldn't have really liked it, but it's enough to get you invested and entertained imo. luke jack You really think anyone's gonna take you serious after you typed "Bumble" Haha the 2007 film and DotM were pretty decent films and satisfying in the end. lisa Speaking as a male, it always annoys me, as a child, that certain plot-line of every terribly written sci-fi (mainly Transformers): "main character is a dick=likable guy" "he has 'relatable' problems, that are only explored in the first 15 minutes of the film" "He start having an abusive/creepy relationship (because that's how well written romance works, right...), with the love interest (they barely explore her name)." "1+ hour action scenes" "world is gonna explode (not really)" "Main Character and Love Interest hook up". People always call me "a pussy", because i want equal rights, and then they go make a video about "how everything is now pandering to women, and everything is Woke"... By your perfect logic... most movies are "pandering to males, and straight people only" imo not like super duper mad, but kinda upset. It was actually kinda funny. But dude, I love what you said about Man of Steel in your DC ranking video. I love that you love Man of Steel. Not many do, and it's seriously awesome! IMO I hope You Guys Like our Collection of the best Transformers fanfiction stories along with transformers fanfiction lemon and transformers fanfiction crossover collection. We know that people will like the Transformers Crossover fanfiction and transformers fanfiction bumblebee version stories. If you like These Transformers Fanfiction Stories make sure you share this on various social media, and you can also give credits to our website. Thank You Also, read Star Wars fanfiction Updates 2020 Read the full article

#transformerscrossoverfanfiction #transformersfanfic #transformersfanfiction #transformersfanfictionbumblebee #transformersfanfictioncrossobver #transformersfanfictionlemon #transformersfanfictionnightmare #transformersfanfictionoc

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nicolemagolan · 5 years ago

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Two Cities, One Galaxy: How Star Wars Connects And Divides Us

Early in 2019, I wrote a personal essay about Star Wars. It centered around SWCC (Star Wars Celebration Chicago) and my experience of watching the live stream in my living room at 4am, when the episode IX teaser and title was unveiled.

It’s about fandom, the internet, and isolation. It’s about how Star Wars impacted my life, and about my relationship with my brother.

It also, eerily, foreshadows the disappointment I would eventually feel about The Rise of Skywalker. So here it is, under the cut. Please give it a read, and let me know your thoughts!

***

My phone blinks 3:30am, April 13th, 2019. In Chicago it’s 10:30am, yesterday. I should be asleep. I should stay present in Auckland, where no one else is awake except the moths gathering on the kitchen window.

My brother is slumped beside me, eyes closed, lost somewhere between sleep and boredom. We sit in the darkness of our living room, outlined by the grey glaze of the television. I’m wearing pyjama pants and yesterday’s T-shirt. An empty bag of chips is screwed up on the carpet, a half-drunk can of Lift Plus sits on the mantelpiece.

I stare at the TV. Waiting. My knee bobs up and down. I glance at my phone, and refresh Twitter. The tweets are coming in a blur: people yelling in caps lock, streaming without punctuation, some of it indecipherable, some of it from me. It’s happening kids / MERRY IXMAS, EVERYONE / I'm trying to remember it's called Star Wars Celebration not Star Wars oh my god I'm so stressed-ebration / I AM READY TO BE EPISODE IXed. The world around me is asleep, but the world under my thumb has never been more alive.

I take another sip of Lift Plus and feel its energy tingle through my bloodstream. Or maybe that sensation is the force.

When I was in class earlier in the day, wearing a Star Wars tee, writing in a Star Wars notebook and drinking from a Star Wars bottle, I was already stewing in anticipation. My mind was in another galaxy; speculation ran through me like shooting stars. My dedication to the Star Wars universe is fuelled not by the incessant marketing or the cheap merchandise, but by the passion I have for stories, space wizards, and the cute-yet-creepy alien bird race known as the Porgs.

Star Wars Celebration Chicago is set to begin livestreaming on YouTube in just a few minutes. A countdown slowly ticks on screen. This will be the first big panel of Celebration, and the one I am most eager to see. The panel is for Star Wars: Episode IX, consisting of a Q&A session with cast members. Our first real, palpable look at the film, at beloved returning characters, and the new additions, to hear from returning Director J.J. Abrams what his vision for IX is.

But the real reason anyone is staying up all night to watch the livestream isn’t to see Abrams dodge spoilery questions. It’s to be amongst the first to witness the Episode IX trailer. The very first teaser trailer. Imagine a choir singing angelic sounds behind that one word and maybe you’ll begin to understand. What I really want is to catch a glimpse of the upcoming film, to learn the title—oh my goodness, the title—along with thousands of far, far away fans; some watching live in the dead of night or crack of dawn. The lucky few are crowded into the panel room itself. I swipe through pixelated and blurry selfies posted with #SWCC. It’s a big auditorium, packed with media, families, and cosplayers, and many are swinging lightsabers above the crowd’s heads. Purple, blue, green, and red beams of light. The stage itself is lit up with a bright blue backdrop.

When I told my parents I was going to camp out in the living room to watch the livestream of Star Wars Celebration, they rolled their eyes. When I asked my brother if he wanted to join me, he cried, ‘Whyyy,’ before revealing his true colours when he showed up on the couch at 2am.

He was all too keen to eat my snacks, but now as time crawls forward, he seems to have come to the conclusion that it is ridiculous to stay up for something you can watch on your phone, from your bed, when you wake up. I have come to the conclusion that he is lying to himself. On the path to the dark side, perhaps.

He’s always joined me on my silly adventures, making fun of me along the way. But the fact that he’s willing to be there is enough, as he is now. Star Wars has been a part of his life as much as mine; we grew up roaring Chewbacca impressions and fighting with cardboard lightsabers; He’d be Darth Maul and I’d be Obi-Wan (so I got to chop him in half every time). Kids would tell me I was a weirdo for liking Star Wars, for playing with Barbies and Darth Vader figurines, blurring the lines between allocated girls’ or boys’ toys. But my brother and I knew: Star Wars is a fun space adventure for whoever wants to enjoy it.

We got older and the movies lost a touch of their magic: the internet revealed the intense hatred shovelled at the prequel trilogy. Little-me had loved the ridiculous Jar Jar Binks, but the middle-aged fans who grew up with the original trilogy saw him as an offence to their childhood obsession. (JUSTICE FOR JAR JAR is the hill I will die on.)

Then Disney bought Lucasfilm and ushered in a new era. I have a series of selfies from midnight premieres—me grinning from ear to ear, my brother with eyes closed and discontented frown (his go-to photo pose)—in the blurry light of the Imax screen on Queen Street. But one glance at his smiling face during the film and you know he loves this galaxy as much as the next fan.

Sometimes that’s the problem: our love for this story is so great and so ingrained, that it can bubble over into endless online debates. Debates become heated, become personal, become hateful. In this era of social media, everyone has a voice, but the ones who spit poison are the loudest. We struggle to find common ground sometimes. But it’s always there, beneath out feet and on our TV screens. We love Star Wars. We love to watch it, re-enact it, dissect it, wear it, read it, and write about it. Whether the common ground we stand on looks like the sands of Tatooine or the lake country of Naboo, it’s all the same galaxy. Even though the galaxy-shattering film The Last Jedi threatened to destroy us, we can find a way to stand together. Because when the fans unite, at movie premieres, or conventions, the fandom can become something worth celebrating.

Like today, right now, 3:59am in my living room.

I look up from my phone. The countdown reaches zero. I hold my breath. A soft echo of music trickles through the speakers, and John Williams’ familiar score wraps around me like a blanket. Goose bumps pop up on my skin.

The Star Wars logo vanishes and the screen cuts to black. I snap up and nudge my sleeping brother’s arm with my toe. He jolts awake, looks at the black screen and scowls.

‘Nothing’s hap—’

He’s cut off by a roaring applause as the blue-lit panel stage lights up the screen. The room around me fades. I’m in Auckland with my brain fuzzy, and I’m transported to Chicago with heart thumping.

My brother jumps up and stands in front of the screen. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’

I babble, ‘butthepanelisabouttostart,’ craning my neck around his legs.

‘Oh well,’ he says. He walks off.

Stephen Colbert is pacing around the stage, babbling on about Dagobah and S-foils, trying to work the crowd up—unnecessary, since we are all waiting for the cast and crew.

I’m leaning forward, straining my eyes, and wondering if anyone actually finds his ‘jokes’ funny. Twitter tells me, yes, they do. The excitement level is high, making everything fresh and exciting, even if it’s a Star Wars pun heard years ago. I almost feel like I could twist my neck and hear people whispering behind me, instead of tweeting alongside me.

The closest thing to this feeling in my own city is Armageddon Expo, the annual convention at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane. Nerds I’ve never met become my best friends. We jam the halls like squashed-up skittles. I don’t know their names but I know who they are. When I’m dressed in Rey’s dusty scavenger outfit, with staff in hand and hair bunched in three bobbles, young girls point and giggle. I wave at them, their eyes wide with wonder, and my heart is full.

The internet fandom space is a mix of tweet-before-thinking garbage and fun bite-sized meta. The real-world fandom spaces, such as Armageddon, are a big geeky party; no one hiding behind an anonymous wall, and no one left out.

This livestream is somewhere in between. I am connected online from where I sit in Auckland. Reading tweets and writing tweets and liking gifs. Yet I am in Chicago, oblivious to the sleeping city around me.

Stephen Colbert brings out Director J.J. Abrams and head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy, and the content we’re all waiting for finally begins. I take in every detail, every non-answer. I enjoy it. I loathe it. Stephen Colbert asks unanswerable questions, like the fate of Daisy Ridley’s character, or how the relationships develop. No word is uttered more than ‘spoilers’.

The cast members are introduced onto the stage; first is Anthony Daniels who plays C-3PO—one of the remaining few original cast members from 1977. He waves hello to the crowd before looking for the cameras. In his charming British accent, he says, ‘On tweets today people were, all over the world, saying “wish I could be here”. And I know we’re on camera, so I don’t know where the camera is, but whoever is in Australia or…’ He pauses for a flicker of a second, ‘…all the other countries around the planet; I wanna give you a big wave, and you are here in spirit. Okay?’

I grin a little wider. Of course he would mention our neighbour, Australia. So close, and yet so far.

In New Zealand, despite the growing connections through social media, I feel isolated. Even in the vast Auckland city, where I easily get lost in the busy roads and busy people. New Zealand is separate. And that’s part of what makes it special.

But the isolation is also part of what makes being part the Star Wars fandom special.

It’s a larger world. Out there in space; out there in the world wide web. Legendary or anonymous, you can be a part of something. You can tell your story; you can make one up. After movie premieres, there is a sense of privilege and power in that none of my fellow fans in America have yet seen the movie. The Last Jedi came here a few days early, and I knew all the things before anyone else. We were isolated again. And it felt so good.

Did I go and post spoilers? No, because I’m not an asshole (you know who you are). But I told people they’re gonna love it. I told them the film is exciting and unexpected and dabbles deliciously in subtext in a way that’s fresh for Star Wars. I sign off with eagerness for the upcoming dissection and discussion of the film.

The next day I’m shocked to learn that many many many people felt it was a ‘betrayal’ of Star Wars. A disaster of a movie. A cluttered mess of a story, an anti-climactic sequel that instead of building on what came before, tore the past to shreds. My brother is one of them.

And the fandom split in two.

But not today. Not tonight. I refuse, and so does everyone on my Twitter feed, because we’re tired of defending Rey, who is not a Mary Sue; and Vice Admiral Holdo, whose purple hair does not make her a lesser fighter; and Rose Tico, who fell victim to dude-bros saying she’s the worst character ever, she ruined their childhood, and Asians don’t belong in Star Wars; until eventually the actress, Kelly Marie Tran, deleted all her social media.

When Kelly walks onto the panel stage, she gets a standing ovation. There are tears in her eyes, and there are tears in mine.

They introduce the new cast members, and display behind the scenes photos, and babble on about the brilliant practical effects. There’s a touching tribute to Carrie Fisher, an awkward bit about Adam Driver’s chest, and the introduction of new droid D-O. When the duck-inspired droid rolls onto the stage, you can hear cash registers ring.

My brother comes back in the room as the panel is winding up. He flops into the chair and sighs. ‘So, did I miss anything?’

‘You missed everything.’

‘So I didn’t miss anything then,’ he smirks.

Stephen Colbert asks J.J. Abrams if there’s anything he wants to leave with the fans. I lean forward. ‘This is it,’ I screech.

This is it. It boils down to this simple, repeated moment in time: the day, or night, or very-early-morning that a Star Wars trailer is about to debut. I am alone, and yet so very not alone, united in a nerdy passion that doesn’t call for such depth of devotion. But here we all are. Here I am. And here’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (omg).

I switch off the TV. The darkness eats my eyeballs.

‘How am I supposed to sleep after that!?’ I yell. ‘Palpatine. Freaking Pal-pa-tine! NO! YES! Why?!’

Silence.

My brother is asleep.

I throw a pillow at him. ‘DUDE! Palpatine is back!’

He mumbles, ‘Haha, lame.’ His eyes don’t open.

I slide down the couch until I hit the hard floor. The Rise of Skywalker. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. I sit there in the lonely living room, and let my thoughts trail off into the dark.

#star wars #writing #my writing #the rise of skywalker #swcc #star wars celebration #star wars essay #personal essay #creative nonfiction #tros #writeblr #sw

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thephantomporg84 · 5 years ago

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Im sorry for bringing up "that"person again but has she ever shown proof that she's played the other games from dmc? Like I only bring this up because she likes flaunting the fact that she bought 5 and she's was a "huge" fan b4 5 but I have never seen her take a picture of the whole collection. I mean if i wanted to prove my point that i wasn't a newbie to dmc, that only played the game just because there was someone that looked like the same character from another series i wrote smut of. Lol

It’s fine, there’s a tag to filter out porg shit (and other non-DMC stuff) in the blog description for anyone who wants it.

I don’t mind if people ask about what’s going on, and it’s totally okay to bring it up! I’ve only gotten irritated when people message me and do this (quite frankly) weird “how was your day/how was work/how’s x” song and dance and then immediately ask about her before I even get a chance to acknowledge the message. I dislike false sincerity very, very much and do not need to be “buttered up” to get information re: porg. I can talk shop without needing to be BFFs or something — you just need to ask.

And even then, that’s mainly directed toward a certain few people who seem to mold their entire personality around miscellaneous internet drama and discourse.

Anyway! You’re fine and you don’t have to apologize for wanting information. She actually did post a picture of her collection a while back along with a copy of The Divine Comedy for some reason, as if that means she’s played them/read it. Which is... a weird mindset, to put it mildly.

I think the two most damning things about her being a ‘huge fan’, to me, are: A.) her parroting back of almost every 12 y/o edgelord criticism of the series I’ve ever heard without expounding on any of these points, particularly the reboot (like she skimmed a few GameFaqs threads from 2013 or earlier and called it a day); and B.) her whole initial argument of ‘V got screwed/torch should have been passed to Nero and V’ and the current ‘Dante and Vergil need to die’ when anyone who’s familiar with the series should absolutely know better.

And fwiw: I don’t have any problem whatsoever with someone wanting to play / watch something for one character / to eventually write smut for the character for whatever reason lol. Or because they think X character is hot for Y reasons. But just be honest and own it. Seriously. Like. I’m passionate and thorough about stuff that I’m into simply because that’s just how I am and I’d be bored otherwise — I just love picking things apart and examining the pieces — but this sort of... ‘culture’ of having to be some sort of die hard fan of everything you express interest in, is annoying.

But that said, I think porg likes to claim she’s passionate and a fan so she can turn around and say shit like this, tbh:

Girl has a lying problem victim complex almost bigger than her anger issues.

#long post #anonymous #replies #porg drama #thephantomporg84 #derelict-stranger #derelict stranger #discourse #discourse tag

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lostxforever · 5 years ago

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All of the asks :)

This took a while lmao

1. what song makes you feel better? - Turnover - Number of the Gate

2. what’s your feel-good movie? - honesty I only watch YouTube when I need to feel good and my favorite YouTubers are Cody Ko and Noel Miller, PewDiePie, Kurtis Conner, Drew gooden and Danny Gonzales

3. what’s your favorite candle scent? - yankee candles midsummer night

4. what flower would you like to be given? - sunflowers

5. who do you feel most you around? - my ex boyfriend lmao also my best Friend and some internet friends I’ve only met once but we clicked immediately

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical). Oh no i had had this question earlier haha and I’m afraid I can’t give any more answers

7. what color brings you peace? - black and pastel colors, depends on my mood

8. tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. - @binge-n-purgatory come back I miss you so much

9. what calms you down? - listening to Holy Fawn (my music for when I get panic attacks, I deeply recommend), the night time and being in bed snuggled up in blankets

10. what’s something you’re excited for? - upcoming concerts with friends, summer

11. what’s your ideal date? - something simple like getting pizza and eating it somewhere nice

12. how are you? - not good lmao

13. what’s your comfort food? - toast with vegan Teewurst lol

14. favorite feel-good show? - again, the youtubers i listed above

15. for every emoji you get, tag someone and describe them in one word. - nah i don’t have That many tumblr friends tbh

16. compliment the person who sent you this number. - you are stronger than you think and you can get through this. If you need to talk, I am here for you 🖤

17. fairy lights or LED lights? - fairy lights

18. do you still love stuffed animals? - i just ordered a pusheen stuffed animal two days ago... so yes...

19. most important thing in your life? - my cat, my friends and music

20. what do you want most in the world right now? - happiness

21. if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be? - you’re a dumb fuck and ruined everything and now I have to deal with the pain lol

22. what would you say to your future self? - I hope you’re in a better place and have learned from your mistakes

23. favorite piece of clothing? - a casey hoodie

24. what’s something you do to de-stress? - drink beer and listen to music

25. what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.) - I guess anything that’s homemade or something that has thought to it is a good gift

26. what movie would you want to live in? - Star Wars 8 as a porg

27. which character would you want to be? - Daenerys Targaryen

28. hugs or hand-holding? - both but holding hands can be sweaty in summer so hugs lmao

29. morning, afternoon or night? - definitely night

30. what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)? - mountains, basements album „I wish I could stay here“, curvy roads, coffee

Thank you SO much for asking me all of these questions, I had a lot of fun and it distracted me from being sad. So thank you 🖤

#ask #THANK YOU SO MUCH #thank you #mutual

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padfootagain · 7 years ago

Text

For A Star

Part 1 : The Mission

This is my first series for Poe Dameron!!! Yes, Star Wars VIII finished to make me fall for him, so here we go!

I am trying to be coherent with what is canon (more or less). Although this is set before episode VII, so there are NO SPOILERS FOR THE LAST JEDI. Only the presence of a Porg, but really, I don't call that spoiler, the cute little things have already spread through the internet I reckon. No spoiler concerning the plot of this masterpiece is in here though. So have no fear.

It's the first time that I write for Star Wars, and I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous (read : completely terrified). So tell me what you think about it.

Oh, and don’t hesitate to tell me if you want to be tagged for this series. I also take requests for Poe from now on, so tell me if you want anything :)

Hope you all like it.

Gif not mine

Word Count : 5884

As he walked down the staircase made of stone leading to General Organa's private quarters, Poe Dameron was wondering what the hell was going on. He had never been summoned by the general in her private chamber. He doubted that it was because he was in trouble. He knew Leia Organa enough to know that if she wanted to shout at him, she would do it publicly. But now he walked in the dark corridor towards a room he had never been to and that he guessed only a few had had the privilege to see, and he was nervous. He tried to deny it, he didn't want to admit this feeling to himself, but his sweaty palms betrayed him.

The truth was, he found her intimidating. Not only because she was one of the heroes of all the stories his parents had told him when he was just a child. There was an aura coming from her. Some kind of... wisdom oozing from her skin, a determination shining in her eyes that forced the admiration of all who met her.

To be fully honest, he liked her. She was the kind of leader that was inspiring enough for him to be willing to give his life for the cause she defended. For proof, he had risked his life several times on missions she had appointed to him already.

He didn't mind though. He was a pilot. At first he had worked for the Republic, and now with the Resistance, but it was the same thing in both cases. Every time he climbed into the cockpit of his X-Wing, he wasn't certain to come back. It had been so for years. And risk was normal to him now. Risk was like a comforting companion that accompanied him everywhere he went, and he wasn't afraid of it anymore. The difference between his work for the Republic and the Resistance was simply the amount of constant risk he was facing now. He was used to it. The cause was worth the short nights and the constant glances thrown over his shoulder. He was fighting for something so much bigger than him, he was ready to do anything anyway.

He knocked on the metallic door, partially rusted, with brown stains all over the steel darkened by time and moist.

"Come in," came the voice of Leia through the ancient door.

The steel loudly cracked as Poe pushed the door open, and he stepped into the room. The general was there, sitting at her table.

"Close the door behind you, " Leia commanded, and Poe obeyed. "Sit down."

Poe took a seat in one of the chairs opposite her around the large circular table. He waited for the princess to speak first, but as silence grew heavier and heavier, he cleared his throat.

"If I may, General," he said politely. "Why am I here?"

An amused smile formed on her lips.

"You're wondering why I asked to see you in my private quarters, rather than with all the rest of the commanders as usual, right?" she asked back.

"Exactly," Poe nodded.

She leaned across the table, her voice barely audible despite the silence that filled the room. He leaned towards her as well to make sure that he would catch her words, her perfume of wildflowers reaching and tickling his nose.

"I need you to do something for me," she said, her tone rushed all of a sudden.

She sounded like she was afraid to be heard by eavesdroppers. But they were on D’Qar, in the Resistance base, they were safe...

"I need you to go and find someone for me," she went on. "You need to bring this person back here safely, and you need to do it quickly."

"Who is it?"

"A young woman, her name is Y/N. She is very important, to all of us."

"Why?"

"Let's say that she owns both skills and knowledge that will be extremely useful in our fight against the First Order."

"This answer is more than vague," Poe protested.

Leia reached for his hand, her eyes softening.

"Trust me. We need her. We need her, and I think she needs us as well."

Poe nodded. Leia's promise was enough for him to do anything.

"I guess that if I'm here all by myself, it's because it's a secret mission, right?" he asked with a small smile.

"Exactly."

"How many pilots can I take with me?" he asked.

"None. You're going alone. Just you, and your droid."

She reached for a map and a few other documents.

"You will take a freighter. All is ready for your departure."

She stared intensely into his brown eyes.

"You must be discreet. No one must know that you are looking for her before she has safely reached this base. Do you understand? The First Order must not know who we are looking for!"

Poe nodded slowly, frowning slightly at the sight of worry painted in Leia's eyes.

"So no explosion, no shooting, no fight," Leia insisted. "You stay away from the First Order, and you bring her here as fast as you can."

"I will, General," he nodded again.

"Don't talk about your mission yet, not even to your closest friends."

"Do you... do you think there's a spy in the base?" he asked, but Leia shook her head.

"No, I don't think there is. But I am so scared that things could go ill... The First Order must not find her before us. And if we are just a few to know, the risks decrease."

Poe nodded one more time.

"Where am I to go, then?" he asked. "And when am I supposed to leave? Today?"

She smiled at him, tenderness transpiring through her graceful frame. He was not arguing. He was not asking about the risks. He trusted her enough to follow her.

"As soon as you are ready, today if you can," she nodded. "You must reach the Mid Rim, and go to Takodana," Leia instructed him. "There, look for Maz Kanata. Her castle is set on the shore of Nymeve Lake. Ask to see her, and only her. Tell her you are coming on my behalf. She will test you, but if you can convince her that you fight for the Resistance, she will help you find Y/N."

"Takodana... I've heard there were mostly smugglers there..."

"Good news for you, as you need to smuggle Y/N here," Leia smiled.

"Are you certain that we can trust this... Maz?"

"I am. She is an ally. And she is one of the few who know exactly where Y/N lives. You will need her help."

"How can I check her identity, be sure that I am talking to the right person?"

She reached for a little golden coin, and gave it to him.

"Tell her that Han and Chewie won this from her the last time they saw her. It should be enough."

Poe put the coin safely in the pocket of his leather jacket.

"Alright then. But are you certain that I need to go alone?"

"Yes, I am sure. Y/N is so important... The First Order must not find her."

"I'll go pick up my pack and BB-8, and I will depart immediately then."

"Thank you."

Poe stood up, picking up the few papers Leia was handing him, and he walked towards the door. But he froze as Leia spoke again, his fingers resting on the rusty doorknob.

"Be careful out there," she said, a smile on her face. "I would be very saddened if I were to lose my best pilot."

He chuckled, nodding again.

"I'll try not to get killed then," he answered.

"May the Force be with you."

He smiled, before opening the door and walking out of the room, striding across the corridor.

He didn't know who this Y/N was, but she meant trouble, that was for sure.

-----------------------------------------

"I know we just came back."

More annoyed beeps.

"BB-8, that's enough! You don't even need to sleep, you're a droid I am the one here who is in severe lack of rest!"

The little round droid emitted more outraged beeping, and Poe heaved a sigh.

"That's not what I meant. Of course you're great. You're the best unit here, and you know it. But we need to go right now. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a bit longer before getting cleaned up properly."

BB-8 let out a few interrogative beeps.

"No, no one is leaving with us. We're going on our own for this one. And not with the X-Wing. We need to be discreet, so no orange flight suit, not too many weapons, and no one involved in this but you and me. Leia was clear on that."

The droid looked up at Poe, rolling before him and emitting more questioning beeps.

"Yes, I know," Poe nodded. "I would have preferred to go with the whole Squadron as well. But if General Organa says that we have to go on our own, then we're going alone."

BB-8 stopped protesting, and merely followed the pilot across the hangar. Poe spotted easily the freighter Leia had talked about. It didn't look particularly in good shape though...

"Are you running away?"

Poe turned around to face his fellow pilot.

"Holidays," he answered.

But Jessika Pava merely laughed in response.

"As if such a thing could exist around here. Where are you going?"

"On a mission," he answered elusively.

She frowned hard.

"We're leaving for a mission? When?"

"No, Jess. I am leaving for a mission, right now."

"Without the rest of us?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I have orders. And I intend to follow them."

"You've received orders to go out there alone?"

He walked back to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I'll be alright. I have a mission to accomplish. And it was asked that I would leave on my own and would not talk about it to anyone before I was back here on the base. Don't worry, it'll merely take a few days, maybe less."

"I don't like the idea of you going alone..."

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself," he laughed, walking back towards the freighter.

"And why are you using this piece of garbage instead of your X-Wing?"

"Because I was ordered to."

"This mission sucks."

"Probably."

He turned one last time towards the brunette who was staring at him, a worried glint in her eyes.

"May the Force be with you," she said, and he gave her a smile in response, before climbing in and closing the door.

He threw his pack in a corner, picking up a piece of paper from the pocket of his leather jacket.

"Alright BB-8," he told his robot as he sat down in the pilot's seat." Let's get this rusty can flying, shall we?"

BB-8 nodded, beeping happily while it checked some commands in the ship system.

Poe started the engines, slowly guiding the large ship out of the hangar, ready to get off.

He heaved a sigh.

"Let's go, BB-8. Let's try to find this Maz first, shall we?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Takodana was a luxurious and green planet, stained with many little lakes. The weather was smooth, and the trees tall and majestic. It seemed to be a rather welcoming territory, compared to the infinite deserts of Tatooine or Jakku.

Although the population - made mostly of pirates, outlaws, smugglers or explorers - made the planet not that welcoming after all.

Set in the Mid Rim, many stopped there before exploring areas of the galaxy that were still unknown, or to escape from the First Order, that seemed to be disregarding the planet completely.

Poe and BB-8 walked towards the tall and ancient building, the stones covered with a green layer of moss brought by the wet climate, set near the shore of a long lake that cut the forest into two parts. Poe looked up at the tall and strange statue that was set above the entrance of Maz's Castle, flags of all colours hanging at the wall of what looked like a fortress. He had to admit that the architecture was rather impressive...

Poe was surprised at first to find so many spaceships surrounding Maz's Castle, but when he stepped into the large hall he understood. The place run by the pirate queen was filled with smugglers, music playing in the air while hushed whispers were exchanged. A few pilots played card games in a corner. Poe rested his hand upon his waist, feeling the shape of his blaster under his jacket. Clearly, he had to be cautious with whom he would speak, most people in this place were not worth his trust...

He had not taken more than three steps into the messy room that a little humanoid walked towards him, and he frowned at the sight of her orange skin and dark eyes, made too big by her pair of large round glasses.

"You're looking for someone," she said, her voice stating a fact rather than asking a question.

"I am," Poe answered cautiously.

"You're looking for me," she went on.

He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm looking for Maz Kanata."

"And you have found her," she smiled. "Come."

BB-8 and Poe exchanged a glance, but the pilot shrugged. At least they could give it a try.

The pilot and his droid followed Maz through the room and down a little corridor, dark and dusty. She invited them inside a large room, in the middle of which a table was set. A large window revealed the top of tall trees and traces of the deep blue sky outside.

She invited Poe to sit down, but instead of sitting on the other side of the table, she took the chair right next to him, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him, as if she tried to read through him until she had reached his very soul.

"How can I be sure that you are Maz?" Poe asked, holding her intense stare.

"I'm the one who needs to be convinced first that you don't work for the First Order, pretty boy."

Next to the two of them, BB-8 beeped in a mocking way at the nickname Maz had given to the pilot, but Poe merely threw an amused glance at the droid, before focusing on the orange female again, studying a bit more her round face carved by time.

"I don't work for the First Order," Poe merely answered.

She turned her glasses, creating a magnifying effect, and she stared into the man's brown eyes for a moment, leaning towards him.

"I'm looking for a woman who lives here," Poe went on. "The Resistance needs her."

"Who do you work for?" she asked, ignoring him.

Poe hesitated for a second, before diving. It was to end either with him walking happily out of this room, or with shots of blasters echoing though the corridor. Anyway, he took the risk.

"For the Resistance."

"And what do you do for the Resistance?"

"I'm a pilot."

She chuckled, taking off her large glasses and placing them to rest on the top of her head.

"You sure look like one, pretty boy."

"Leia Organa sent me."

Maz stared at him again, all traces of amusement now disappearing from her face.

"The general, huh?" she whispered.

She stood up and closed the door, before taking her seat next to Poe again.

"How can I be sure that you're Maz?" Poe asked again.

"You will need faith, like I will need some to trust you," she merely answered. "Faith... faith is the key to many things..."

She lowered her voice.

"What's your name?"

"Poe Dameron," he answered, his tone matching hers.

"Do you have any way to convince me that you're not telling a lie, Poe Dameron?"

He took the golden coin Leia had given him, and handed it to her.

"She told me to give you this."

He waited for her reaction, but an amused smile formed on her lips.

"Oh, I remember this coin," she said, her voice more distant, as if she was lost in her memories for a moment. "Han Solo and Chewbacca won this the last time they came on this planet. What they don't know, is that I let them win!"

She laughed, giving the coin back to Poe. And her story about Han Solo was enough to convince him, it was coherent with what Leia had told him. He decided to trust her. More or less...

"What can I do for the Princess?" Maz asked, and she didn't seem to study him so thoroughly anymore, he guessed he had won her trust, at least some of it.

Poe smiled.

"She prefers 'General' nowadays."

"I have known her way before she became a general though. What do you want, Poe Dameron?"

"I need to find someone. General Organa said that she was here. I need to find her and bring her back to the Resistance."

Maz leaned back into her chair, clearly thinking, her eyes narrowing with her growing hesitation.

"You are looking for Y/N," she said slowly.

"I am, exactly," Poe nodded.

"And why does Leia have a sudden interest in her?"

"I don't know," Poe earnestly answered. "All that she told me was that the Resistance needs her, and that she might need the help of the Resistance as well."

"That is a vague response."

"That's exactly what I told the General, but she didn't tell me anything else."

She seemed to hesitate for a moment. But then she nodded, leaning towards Poe again.

"I will help you," she said. "But you have to promise me that you will look after her. The First Order must not learn about her, do you understand?"

Poe nodded.

"I will."

"Take care of her."

"I will. That's why I'm here. To bring her safely to General Organa."

Maz nodded slowly, before walking to the door.

"STAN!" she called in a shout.

Only a few seconds later, a little boy appeared. Poe guessed that he was around ten, eleven maybe, a pierced cap on his head and worn out clothes on his back. He was wearing an oversized jacket that Poe recognized as an old leather jacket often worn by the pilots of the Republic.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he cried, trying to catch his breath.

"Come in," she told the boy, before closing the door behind him.

She turned towards Poe.

"This is Stan," she said, pointing at the boy. "He will lead you to Y/N."

The boy frowned, looking suspiciously at Poe.

"I thought no one was to see her," the boy said slowly.

"You can trust him," Maz reassured the boy. "He's in the Resistance."

The boy looked at Poe with his eyes suddenly so full of wonder and admiration... the pilot gave him a wink and a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help her," he told the boy.

Stan nodded.

"Are you a pilot?" he asked shyly.

"I am," Poe nodded.

"Do you have an X-Wing?"

"I do," Poe nodded, laughing.

The boy's eyes grew even wider.

"Wow..." he breathed, a dreamy smile on his young lips.

"Now, come on, Stan," Maz hurried the child, bringing the boy back to reality. "This man has more important things to do than answer your questions. Guide him to Y/N, and take the path across the woods, just in case."

The little boy nodded, before guiding Poe and his droid down the corridor again. They walked through the room once more, and no one talked to them. Although, Poe could feel the stares that followed him across the room, and he didn't like them at all.

Once they were outside, BB-8 shared its worry with Poe, and the pilot nodded in agreement.

"I know, I've felt it too," Poe told the droid, whispering so that only BB-8 could hear. "We'd better hurry. The sooner we're gone, the better."

BB-8 emitted a few more worried beeps, while it rolled across the grass, following the boy who was hurrying towards the tall trees.

"He's just a child, it's not really about him that I'm worried," he told the robot by his side. "And Maz told us the right story about the coin. But... those pilots in there..."

BB-8 beeped questioningly.

"Yeah, yeah I think they mean trouble," Poe nodded. "We'd better hurry."

---------------------------------------------

They walked in silence for a while. Coming from afar, some strange noises coming from some kind of birds could reach their ears from time to time. The hushed whisper of water flowing and crashing against large rocks could be heard as well, showing that they were close to a little river that probably disappeared in the lake nearby.

Poe was trying to remember the right path, just in case. He tried to remember the way back to Maz's Castle, but as they walked through the forest, and that all the trees looked the same, it happened to be quite difficult. He silently thanked his childhood on Yavin 4, where he was used to walk through the forest near his home.

"Is your droid a BB unit?" the little boy asked after a long while.

His voice was shaking, he seemed impressed by the pilot he was guiding through the forest.

"Yeah, its name is BB-8."

The droid beeped proudly.

"Do you understand everything it says?" Stan asked.

"I do. Except when he's upset with me and then it's just a mess..."

BB-8 emitted an outraged beep.

"What did it say?" Stan asked.

"That it had always good reason to be upset. Which is true."

He smiled down at the droid.

"I think it's really cool," the boy smiled, and BB-8 beeped proudly in response again.

The droid then turned to Poe, and let out a few approbating beeps.

"And now?" the boy asked again.

Poe laughed.

"Apparently, BB-8 likes you."

The boy grinned at the droid.

"Well, I like you too, BB-8!"

"Is it far from here?" Poe asked, peering over his shoulder, checking that no one was following them.

"No, not anymore, just a few minutes."

Stan looked up shyly at Poe again.

"Sir? I was wondering... When can someone join the Resistance?"

Poe looked down at him, his brown eyes softening.

"I reckon you're a bit young still."

"I want to join!"

"You're just a child. Fighting in a war... it's not your place."

"I can repair a few things. I work for some pilots from time to time when they need to repair their engines, or their droids. Perhaps I could help with that!"

"You're too young. It's not what you should be doing."

The boy looked down at the ground, disappointed, his eyes shining with tears.

"Anyway, what would you parents say if you ran away to join a secret army?" Poe asked, trying to convince the little boy that it was not the right thing for him to do.

"They left me, what do I care about them?" Stan asked back, looking up at Poe again.

The pilot's throat tightened.

"I'm sorry," he breathed.

"I don't remember them," the boy went on. "Maz said that she found me near her Castle when I was very young."

"I see..."

"That's why I want to go away," Stan went on. "I want to fight! I want to be a part of it! Could you... could you take me with you?"

Poe clenched his jaw, looking at the trees before him, fleeing the child's begging stare.

"I'm sorry, Stan," he breathed. "You seem to be a great kid. But you're too young, and it's too dangerous. You... You're why we fight for, you see?"

Stan sent him a questioning look, and Poe looked down at him again, his brown eyes soft but determined as well.

"We're all fighting to have a chance to see your generation and the next coming after you living in a better world than the one we are living in right now."

Stan nodded slowly, and looked down at his feet again.

"I still wish you could take me away from here," the child whispered. "I still wish you could take me with you."

Poe rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, pulling the child against him.

"One day you'll leave this place," he said, and there was such certainty in his voice that Stan believed him. "I just hope that when you do, all this shit with the First Order will be over."

They walked in silence again for a while, and only the distant singing of birds and the cracking of branches under their feet could be heard.

But then BB-8 beeped again, calling for Poe to look at the dark form that was slowly appearing beyond the trees.

"It's there," Stan nodded, pointing at the shape that slowly took the form of a little house as they approached.

They walked closer and closer to your house. Of course you knew they were coming, and now you were watching them approaching by your window. But as you recognized Stan, you frowned hard.

You were expecting intruders, not friends...

Stan knocked on your door.

"Y/N, it's me!"

You hesitated, before opening the door slowly.

You looked at Poe and BB-8 with eyes full of suspicion.

"Who are you?" you asked, not inviting them inside.

Poe and BB-8 both jumped as a loud shout was suddenly ringing through the air, and they both looked simultaneously at the little bird that was souting at your feet, its black wings partially opened and a fierce expression on its face... although BB-8 could only emit an amused beep, finding the little creature cute instead of frightening.

You shushed the bird, picking it up and setting the animal on your shoulder.

"So? Who are you?" you asked once more.

"They're in the Resistance," Stan whispered. "They came for you."

Your eyes widened, and you stared right into Poe's eyes, but you knew that Stan's words were true...

"Come in," you said, letting them inside your home and closing the door behind them.

The house was warm and comfortable. There was a warm fire in the hearth, and some elegant wooden furniture. And Poe couldn't really explain it but it felt... safe. He felt safe around you. It was stupid, he didn't know you at all, and yet your presence made him feel peaceful, more peaceful than he had felt in years...

"Who are you?" you asked again.

"I'm Poe," the pilot introduced himself, and you shook his hand. "Poe Dameron. I'm a pilot, leader of the Black Squadron. And this is my droid, BB-8."

BB-8 beeped enthusiastically, and a small smile grazed your lips.

"So... You're Y/N, right?" Poe asked softly, his brow eyes studying your reactions carefully.

"I am," you nodded. "But why are you here?"

"General Organa sent me to pick you up and bring you to our base."

You frowned hard.

"Organa? Like... Leia Organa?"

"Exactly."

You clenched your jaw.

"Why would she want me there?" you asked cautiously.

But Poe shrugged.

"She merely told me that you would be useful to the Resistance and that we might help you as well."

"I'm safe here. What use could the Resistance be to me?"

"I don't know. But if the general planned everything in secret to make sure that no one would know where you were, I'm sure that there's a good reason for it."

You stared at him in silence for a while, trying to read through him. Your life, and many others', depended on the decision you had to take now.

Follow him and join the fight, or stay here in hiding?

You couldn't put your life in the hands of the first stranger that walked through your door. You had made a promise a long time ago that you would stay safe. That you would stay away from the First Order, away from Kylo Ren...

But after all, it was Leia Organa who helped you hide on this planet. You owed her your life, and you knew it.

And as you stared in Poe Dameron's brown eyes, you couldn't see any trace of darkness...

So you heaved a sigh.

"Do you give me your word that Leia herself sent you?" you asked, just to be sure.

"You have my word," Poe nodded. "I'm here to make sure that you will reach her safely."

You turned towards Stan, but the little boy nodded.

"Maz trusts him," he said.

You nodded.

"Give me a minute, I'll pack my things," you said. "There is food and water in the kitchen, help yourself."

"Thank you."

Your companion looked at you with eyes full of worry, and you put him down on the table.

"Don't worry, it'll be alright," you reassured him, but the bird protested loudly.

"What is it?" Poe asked, eating an apple and pointing at the little animal on the table.

"It's a Porg," you answered. "His name is Billy."

"Why do I feel like we're taking him too?" Poe asked with an amused smile.

"Of course he's coming!"

The animal turned towards Poe with begging eyes. And the pilot laughed at the sight of the adorable Porg.

"Yes, you're coming too, no need to give me those eyes!"

The Porg flew down the table, and stared at BB-8 with eyes full of wonder.

You were soon ready, and you lifted your bag to put it on your shoulder.

"Let me," Poe interrupted you, taking your bag and swinging it on his shoulder.

You turned to pick up your companion, but it was sitting upon the head of the droid already.

"Now, Billy! That's rude!" you admonished, picking him up and placing him on your shoulder.

BB-8 merely beeped, amused.

"We must hurry," Poe urged you. "We need to leave."

You nodded, taking one last look into your home, your heart tightening...

Everything was happening so fast...

-------------------------------------------------

You hid your face under your brown hood as you came in sight of Maz's castle. Poe had placed a reassuring hand on your back, guiding you to his ship. On your shoulder, Billy could feel your worry, and he was shaking. You had not left the planet in... you had lost the count of days and weeks and months, years even you were sure. You were both excited and terrified at the same time.

Of course you had dreamt of escaping from this planet and join the fight. Of course you were happy to have a chance to leave. But there was his voice ringing into your skull over and over again.

Leave, and hide. Hide somewhere no one from the First Order can find you.

Were you breaking the promise you had made a long time ago by following this pilot to join Leia Organa and her troops?

You hurried towards his freighter, and he guided you inside. You sat down on one of the seats, he put down your pack next to you.

You held Stan tightly in your arms.

"Thank you for everything, buddy," you whispered, kissing his cheek. "Thank Maz for me, would you?"

He nodded his head, but you knew he was crying.

You dried his cheeks.

"Don't worry, when all this is over, I'll come back for you," you said, and he knew you were swearing a vow.

He nodded, before stroking Billy's head. And the Porg's eyes widened and glimmered with tears.

"Come on, we need to go," Poe said, peering outside, a worried expression on his face.

He knelt down before the boy when the child walked towards the door again. He took off the ring that was set around his finger, and handed it to him. When he turned the edge of the ring between his fingers, the emblem of the Resistance appeared, and the boy's eyes grew wide. Stan took the ring, holding it delicately between his little fingers.

"Hold on to it for me, okay?" Poe said with a smile.

But then the amazed glance of the boy changed, and determination appeared in his eyes. He nodded, before striding out of the freighter.

And as he watched the child walking around the ship towards Maz's Castle, Poe distinguished a couple of silhouettes that seemed to be looking at his ship. BB-8's noises were worried all of a sudden.

Poe closed the door.

"I agree," he nodded, whispering so only his faithful companion would hear. "Things are going too smoothly..."

-------------------------------------------------------

You sat down on the seat next to him, joining him in the cockpit, and you exchanged a smile. You had just escaped from the gravitation of the planet, and were about to enter hyperspace.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked softly, waiting for the ship to get further away from the planet.

"Of course," you nodded.

"Why does General Organa want you to be brought at the base?"

You shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"You must... have some special skill or something..."

You didn't answer, merely setting your gaze upon the stars that stained the dark infinity before

you.

He heaved a frustrated sigh.

"I hate it when I have only a glimpse at the plan..." he mumbled.

"Why did Leia sent you?" you asked him.

"I'm the best pilot she has," he answered.

You both laughed, a smirk forming on his face, but you knew it was true.

"I'm in good hands then," you laughed. "You won't make this piece of garbage crash onto a deserted moon... With all due respect towards your... ship."

Poe laughed.

"It is a piece of garbage! And it's not my ship. Just a freighter I'm using for this mission."

"I bet you have a X-Wing."

"I do," he nodded, a proud glint alit in his dark eyes. " A T-70 X-Wing, the best ship you can fly in the middle of a battle."

You kept staring at each other for a moment, both of you silent. For some reason, your instinct told you to trust him...

When suddenly your Porg started to shout.

"Billy?!" you called, standing up and hurrying towards the noise.

BB-8 was already there, trying to pull the grid the little bird was pointing at.

Poe knelt down and helped the droid to pull up the grid, keeping a hand resting on his blaster. There was something hidden in the little hole set for smugglers...

But then a pierced and dirty cap appeared...

"Stan!" you exclaimed.

"What are you doing here!?" Poe added.

He pulled up the child, carrying him out of the little hole he had been hiding in.

"I didn't want to stay there," Stan replied.

He looked up at Poe with begging eyes, closing his little hands on the pilot's leather jacket.

"Don't bring me back."

Poe heaved a sigh, but when he opened his mouth again to reply, he was interrupted by the noise of BB-8 calling for him with beeps completely panicked.

You all hurried towards the cockpit again, and you frowned at the sight of a large ship blocking you the way.

Poe clenched his jaw, putting down the child again and cursing through gritted teeth.

"What is it?" Stan asked, sitting in the copilot seat.

"Trouble," Poe merely mumbled.

You focused for a few seconds, but it wasn't hard to learn who this ship belonged to.

"Pirates."

#poe dameron #poe #poe dameron x reader #poe x reader #star was #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron fanfiction #star wars viii #star wars vii #star wars imagine #star wars fanfiction

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davidmann95 · 7 years ago

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i saw a stars war

First movie the family’s been to at the new theater since we moved, and thankfully it was up to snuff - even the 3D worked, and I had not initially been wild about the only showing we could workably get to being in that format.

I don’t have a review as such, just disconnected snippets of thoughts that’ll go into spoiler territory below the cut, but this was a really damn good movie. Great performances, juggled a lot of plot incredibly effectively, gorgeous, exciting, bold, and with some frame-worthy shots. I have no doubt Abrams’ll pull it all together just fine for IX to finish it off, but now I’m much more enthused at the prospect of Rian Johnson having a trilogy entirely to himself after this sequestered in its own physical and narrative territory from the series up to this point.

* Great as Rey, Finn/Rose, and Poe’s individual plots were, I feel like they didn’t completely dovetail thematically; there were linkages, with the idea of saving over destroying between Finn/Poe and fallen idols in Rey/Finn, but it didn’t totally feel like a whole. Even a touch self-contradictory, with the fire of youth leading them astray being the issue in one plot, while it’s the old fogeys not understanding that their problem is they need to hand over the reigns in another. That said, I expect that’s in large part a consequence of this being the middle chapter of a trilogy and hope Abrams will be able to resolve it, though it’s by no means a ruinous flaw even if he doesn’t.

EDIT: On second thought, there is a pretty consistent theme: we ALL make terrible mistakes, the difference is if we try and become better (Poe reassessing his priorities, Finn realizing he needs to fight rather than flee the First Order even in a morally murky galaxy, Rey getting her head straight in general on the Force and realizing there's never gonna be a partner/mentor/parent out there who'll be able to comfortably place her where she needs to be, Luke realizing his flaws don't need to be the eternal flaws of the Jedi as a concept) or keep doing the same shit (Ren breaks free of his restraints, but only so he can double down even further).

* Speaking of the Finn/Rose plot (and I do like her role in things here, even if I have a bad feeling she was written if not outright conceived at least in part to diffuse the chemistry between Finn and Poe ala the 50s Batwoman being a response to Wertham), who’d have expected a main Star Wars movie basically telling us to eat the rich - or at least run them over with their own space-horses - because capitalist war profiteers enable imperialism? Neat.

* Leia getting to be a literal space princess was bomb, but what the hell are they going to do without Carrie Fisher? The deaths of Han and Luke at Kylo Ren’s hands were clearly setting up her confrontation with her son to complete the set in the finale, and now it’s just hanging. The filmmakers are by no means totally screwed, they have time to figure it out, but I do not envy whoever has to decide how The Finale Of The Biggest Series In The World is going to work now that they’re tragically missing one of its guaranteed, foundational key components.

* Luke’s grand cock-up worked really well for me on a character basis; it’s the same moment as when he lost his shit against Vader when Leia was threatened with corruption and he needed to recollect himself, except this time there wasn’t a chance to backtrack. Ultimately going out to the sight of two suns as on Tatooine was a nice touch too, and Hamill brought it here as much as I figured he would. On that note, while we got his moment of truth when he turned against the Jedi, still relatively little idea as to what prompted Kylo Ren to villainy beyond a general lust for power, unless you take Luke’s peek into his head as a sign that he was simply always fundamentally unbalanced. TFA seemed to imply he saw his rejection of the light as something akin to a moral imperative, and I hope IX fleshes it out just a touch more, even if there’s no need to overexplain it either.

* Not what I’d expected with Rey’s parents even if it was my second guess - I figured they’d be rando merc’d Jedi pupils to invert the Empire reveal ( “I didn’t kill your father, I am your father”/“I’m not the family you probably expected me to be, I killed your family”) - but this definitely works.

* Snoke’s beautiful, ridiculous, comfy, louche-ass dictatorial lounging robe! Ruined! And Snoke got diced too, courtesy of the same twist that undid the villain in the superhero episode of Rick and Morty (this “I am your father”-level kicking-over of the table being of course the one thing I’d been spoiled on, because the internet is bullshit). Some are pissed we’ll now probably never know what his deal was until some tie-in novel fleshes it out, but truthfully: who gives a damn what his deal was? Much like the Emperor before him, he was clever and powerful and bad, and that was all that mattered about him; dancing that dance again would’ve been redundant in the extreme, there was clearly nothing much of substance to him worth spending time spelling out (aside from whatever his longterm plan was, which would’ve been inevitably doomed to fail anyway) given the visibly arch nature of his villainy even in The Force Awakens, and he was too powerful to ever be taken in a direct fight by our heroes sans Luke, if even he could do it. So why not take an RPG to the structure of these movies as they’d been built up to this point, and throw the enemy camp - and the endgame prospect of the entire series - into as much confusion and disarray as the heroes are left in? Suddenly, just as Kylo Ren seems to have sincerely committed to being the bad guy to the end of the line, he’s actually managed to win it all right off the bat, but at the price of having to *manage* it all as it’s falling apart when he has no clue what the hell he’s doing and everyone knows it.

* Rey and Poe going “oh dang, we’re 2/3rds of the new main trio but we haven’t met yet two movies in! Hi!” was nice. Was I alone in getting a sense of it being framed as them liking the sight of one another? I wouldn’t especially be rooting for them to be paired together at the last minute - especially given, again, I feel like it would be partially in response to Finn/Poe’s popularity and a simple attempt at pairing everyone off Very Heterosexually, with Rey in TFA and the rest of this movie mostly just doing her own thing minus any relationship business - but Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac are also both ridiculously gorgeous people, so I wouldn’t complain either.

* I love Porgs, they're great, and Chewie fucking ate one in front of its friends, and all's right with the world.

#Star Wars: The Last Jedi #Star Wars #Rian Johnson #Rey #Luke Skywalker #Kylo Ren #Snoke #Poe Dameron #Finn #PORGS #Opinion

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kylostantrums · 7 years ago

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I’ve seen The Last Jedi three times now, and I think that I’m beginning to understand the film. Rian Johnson took Star Wars in a completely different direction than the previous nine films, and audiences were not ready for it. I certainly wasn’t ready for it. I saw it opening night, in IMAX 3D, and frankly, I was overwhelmed with everything the film threw at me. It is the longest of the Star Wars films, and those two and a half hours were chock full of information, and it was difficult to process it all immediately.

I usually allot my first viewing of a film for pure enjoyment, to take in the film as an experience. I walked out of the theatre on that high you get from seeing an action film in theatres — you know the feeling — and I felt like The Last Jedi was absolutely incredible. After a couple of hours at home, I began to pick out bits and pieces that I realized that maybe I didn’t like. The internet certainly helped me with that. Reviews spanned from high praise to butthurt fanboys petitioning to remove The Last Jedi from Star Wars canon (a completely real thing, I discovered). The second time I see a film, I force myself to analyze and pick out continuity errors, plot holes, cinematic parallels, and interesting elements of the score. I walked out of the theatre after my second viewing almost disappointed. I had only focussed on the negative, over-analyzing even the smallest details. The third viewing, however, I told myself that I was going in to enjoy the film, to pick out elements that I liked, and to objectively question the parts I didn’t like. I rather enjoyed that third viewing of the film — partially because I went with one of my best friends who shares a lot of the same opinions as I do on the Star Wars cinematic universe and had a good discussion about the film before and after.

I contacted some of my friends whose judgement I trusted, asked them what they thought of the film, and came to the consensus that the film was good. Not great, but good. It had some good ideas, some bad ideas, and some good ideas that were executed in bad ways. It deviated from what we believed to be canon. It challenged us to rethink what we knew about Star Wars — the light, the dark, the Force, the Rebellion. I loved that. Turning the tides so that the Rebellion to be at its most desperate challenged the characters of Leia, Poe, Holdo, Finn, and Rose. Reflecting on the history of the Jedi’s failure changed Luke in a way nobody was ready for. We saw a darker side of him we only caught faint glimpses of in the original trilogy. We all expected Luke to be the Jedi we saw him as in Return of the Jedi, but Rey was the shining light in this film. In Empire Strikes Back, Luke believed in the Force, the light, and that Vader could be turned. In The Last Jedi, Rey takes on that role. She believes strongly that Ben Solo can be turned from the Dark side, that Luke can be the hero he was before.

The Force Awakens was a direct parallel to A New Hope. It revived beloved characters. Its plot line was very much the same. The introduction of new characters and the death of Han were the only signals that this was something new. Rian Johnson took the liberty of making it painfully obvious that The Last Jedi is indeed new. We have not seen a Star Wars film like it, and that’s the beauty of it. Of course it has its flaws, but we finally have been given a Star Wars film that is fresh and original. It directly addresses the theme of change, of moving on — as Ben Solo says to Rey, “let the past die.”

What I Would Change

Although I loved the originality of the film, a lot of it simply did not work for me, and for several others. Personally, I believe a lot of the film shouldn’t have made it past the editing room. Below are the parts of the film that I would have cut or changed.

Leia, and Holdo’s Takeover

I understand the need to remove the majority of the commanding officers, to allow for someone new to take charge. However, the scene of Leia floating in space was painful to watch, considering Carrie Fisher’s death, and also a little tacky. I don’t see the point in blasting her into space, and then her using the Force to bring herself back to the cruiser. We know she’s Force-sensitive. We’ve seen that in previous films. We don’t need a reminder. Just knocking her out with a particularly strong blast could have put her into a coma. There are several ways Rian could have written that scene that would be less tacky.

I loved that Vice Admiral Toldo is a woman in charge. Laura Dern played the character wonderfully. However, the character, who Leia was supposed to have taught well, was not very efficient as someone in charge. Poe expressed his frustration with her and she simply insulted and dismissed him without any explanation. No wonder Poe was under the assumption that they were losing hope quickly — Toldo gave him absolutely no reason to believe that she had any sort of plan. If she was a better leader, she would have informed Poe of her intentions. Of course, that would have saved Rose and Finn the trouble of heading off to Canto Bight, but honestly, I wouldn’t miss that scene.

Canto Bight

Okay. Canto Bight was a fantastic political statement, and it helped us get to know the new character Rose. I appreciated Rian’s approach to creating a place where the rich dwell as they capitalize on the war. I loved the costuming and makeup. I loved the music that sounded ever so slightly like Cantina Band. But it was too long. Too much screen time was allotted for this subplot. I would have much rather had Finn and Rose go with TJ — they were desperate, after all — and run into BB-8 with him. The four of them would then steal the ship together. Completely erase the Fathiers scene. Setting them free was a lovely sentiment, but that scene took way too long and put the plot on pause — something you can’t do in a film where time is running out quickly. We understood Rose by the time they were thrown in jail. We don’t need it spelled out for us.

Luke and Ahch-to

I completely agree with Rian Johnson’s choice to change Luke so that he is almost unrecognizable from the Luke we know and love from Return of the Jedi. J.J. Abrams put him alone on an island, removed from the Rebellion and the Force. Rian wrote Luke in the only way that made sense to, given the material. However, what Rian failed to address was the literal map that showed the way to Luke Skywalker which was a main plot point in The Force Awakens. We were given the assumption that the map was to Luke, not to Ahch-to. The remaining piece was even stored inside R2-D2, presumably the last contact Luke had before disappearing. If that is true, why was Luke so angry that he was found? What did he mean by saying that he came to the island to die?

The Porgs. They were obnoxious, and only served as something cute to mass merchandise for children. Their screams were heard throughout the Ahch-to scenes, disrupting what would have otherwise been a serious moment (Luke and Rey’s first lesson). Cut the Porgs.

Luke’s milking scene. Why in the world was that necessary? I understand that, yeah, Luke has to live off the land somehow, and introducing new species to the Star Wars universe is always fun, but that scene made the entire theatre uncomfortable. Cut.

Luke and Rey’s lessons. I loved that Luke decided to give teaching another chance. However, I am disappointed in the lack of it. The Falcon was on the island. Luke even sneaks into it at one point. Why not train Rey with the helmet and probe Obi Wan trained Luke with? We saw it in the Falcon in The Force Awakens. Showing us Luke’s X-Wing in the ocean, and not having Rey lift it with the Force, was a tease.

The dark cave scene with Rey was just odd. I understand what Rian was trying to do with that scene — tempt Rey with darkness, continue the mystery of her parentage — but the execution was all wrong. Rey’s voiceover should have been less spaced out, shortening the scene. The lineup bit was just weird. I have no idea what that was supposed to mean. I don’t know if I would completely cut that scene or rewrite it to be shorter. The cut to her talking to Ben, rather than Luke, was tasteful, though. We all assumed she’d console in Luke but that twist was nice. I did appreciate that. Showing us that Luke still closing himself off is dangerous, because the only other person that can be there for Rey is Ben.

Finn and Rose

Rose and Finn were a lovely pairing. They were excellent counterparts to the other. I understood everything about their relationship up until Rose kissed him. I thought that the two of them helped each other realize their place in the Rebellion, as they supported one another through their journey. However, Rose professing her love for Finn and kissing him was completely unprecedented. There was no build-up to it. There were no hints of romance in the entire film. Her speech before the kiss was nice. Without the kiss, it would have had more emphasis, honestly. It would have taken it to a loyalty level, rather than reducing her character to just a girl in love, which I am very tired of seeing in films. I am hoping that in the next instalment, J.J. Abrams gets rid of any Rose/Finn relationship.

The Ending Scene, and Cinematography

Okay, yeah, Luke isn’t the last Jedi, there are still Force-sensitive people out there that believe in good… But ending on the group is a Star Wars thing. The final shots of Star Wars films have always been group shots. The film was set to cut to credits as the camera panned out to show the Rebellion on the Falcon. I do understand that Rian Johnson is again, creating a film unlike other Star Wars films, but there’s a formula to a Star Wars film that’s in the cinematography. What makes a Star Wars film, well, Star Wars is John William’s brilliant score (I’ll be addressing that later), the iconic animated cuts between scenes, and the general cinematography. The Last Jedi included Williams’ score, so it sounded like a Star Wars film. It did not look like one, though. It had familiar images and characters, but the camerawork and editing was not Star Wars. The transitions were few, and when they did appear, they were too quick to notice. The transitions became elemental of the Star Wars films, used in both the original and the prequel trilogies. Even The Force Awakens and Rogue One used them, and they worked wonderfully to remind us that they were Star Wars films. The lack of transitions in The Last Jedi was disappointing.

What I Would Add

Training

As I said before, I was fairly disappointed in the lack of training between Luke and Rey. Rey is evidently a skilled fighter, as demonstrated in The Force Awakens. I would have loved to see Luke train Rey in lightsaber skills. They share one fight, but it is quick and out of Rey’s frustration. I would have rather seen him training her than fighting against her. Luke could have guided Rey towards the light side of the Force, helping her as she explores the darkness, but he walked away at the first hint of danger. Make Rey lift the X-Wing, dammit.

The Trio

Finn and Rey shared lovely moments together in The Force Awakens. Finn remains fiercely loyal to his friend, attempting to run away in order to keep her safe, and worrying about her throughout the film. However they only share a moment together onscreen in The Last Jedi. In addition, Poe and Finn had fantastic chemistry in The Force Awakens. We did not get to see much of that in this instalment, as Finn left quickly with Rose, leaving Poe on his own on the cruiser. Rose takes Rey’s place at Finn’s side — which I have no complaints about, an Asian woman as a lead character is fantastic. However I was surprised to have what I thought to be our main trio separated for a major portion of the film.

Captain Phasma

I love Gwendoline Christie. I love her on Game of Thrones. I loved her in The Force Awakens. Her resurrection from the last film was short-lived and terribly disappointing. She became a token character cameo. Phasma is a leading woman of power in the Resistance, and deserved a better fight scene than the short one with Finn. Of course we want and need Finn to win, but I would have allotted a much longer screen time for that fight.

John Williams

I’m a third year undergraduate music major, so I can confidently say that I have no right to critique the genius of John Williams. However, I have found something missing from the last two Star Wars scores, a sound that I associate with Star Wars almost as much as the force theme: atonality. The original trilogy’s score is peppered with moments of atonality, and gives it a flavour of Otherworldliness. The best example is the scene where R2D2 and C-3PO are lost in the desert on Tattooine:

Or the opening bit of “Luke and Leia”:

We don’t hear anything like that in the new instalments. I miss that. I feel like those sounds are what really create the feeling of Star Wars, aurally sending us to a galaxy far, far away from here.

Because I’ve Been Complaining Thus Far, Here’s What I Liked

The First 20 Minutes

God. I loved the opening scene, right from the piccolo lick John Williams brought back from the opening of A New Hope. Poe’s conversation with Hux was hilarious, right on par with Han Solo in the detention centre of the Death Star.

The representation of characters in the fighter ships was stunning. I was not ready to see that many people of colour in fighter X and A-Wings. The fighter pilots of Star Wars have been painfully male in the past, and having female fighters in the cockpits was wonderfully refreshing as well. That first 20 minutes set up the rest of the movie nicely. The pacing was good, the action captivating, and the visuals were stunning.

Ben and Rey

There have been mixed reviews on the relationship between Ben Solo and Rey. There are several people out there that maintain the idea that they are going to end up a couple. I strongly disagree with those people, because Ben is a manipulative monster that tortured Rey. But to each their own. The Force connection Snoke established between the two was fascinating. We got to see an intimate side of Ben that we had only seen as a glimpse of when he killed his father. More importantly, we got to see how strongly Rey is with the light side, despite Luke’s fears. She is completely adamant about turning Ben back to the light. Whether it is because she firmly believes in good, or she feels as if she owes it to Leia, she is stubborn and strong. Even her going directly to Ben is in hopes that she can turn him, on Snoke’s ship, essentially the First Order headquarters. We expect Rey to do exactly what Luke did in Return of the Jedi, to turn Ben from the Dark Side. Like Vader, Ben kills his mentor/abuser Snoke, but does not redeem himself. For a few minutes, Rey and Ben fought at each others’ sides, defeating Snoke’s Praetorian Guards. Next was the plot point I was most pleased to see: I had no hope for Ben to turn from the Dark Side, and — although he came close — he did not. His heart was in the right place: kill his abuser, destroy the past, move towards something new. But Rey could not follow him, not while he was still full of darkness. That was precisely what I had hoped for. We couldn’t have a third movie in this trilogy without it.

The Return of Yoda

I did not expect Yoda to return to the big screen. I had hoped that perhaps Ewan McGregor would make an appearance as Obi-Wan. But Yoda made perfect sense in the narrative. Not only did he impart necessary wisdom to Luke, but he was the Yoda we know and love from the original trilogy. The prequel Yoda was too smooth, CGI’d to hell. Frank Oz’s puppet Yoda, crazy laugh and all, was absolutely wonderful to see again.

“The Force does not belong to the Jedi”

I am so glad Luke addresses this in this film. “The Jedi must end” was a huge shock to the fanbase when we first heard it in the trailer last year. I developed a theory — that turned out to be quite close to the events in the film — that the labels “Jedi” and “Sith” are hard to maintain. The Force is a fluid thing, the balance coming from both light and dark.

“THE JEDI MUST END” THEORY

The “balance” between light and dark has too long been divided between the two sides of “Jedi” and “Sith.” Having to choose between the two opposing ideas is unrealistic to expect from a person. Look at what it did to Anakin. We’re probably going to see what it did to Kylo Ren. I think that Luke has come to realize that the “so much more” to it is a balance within an individual; in my opinion, closer to the likes of Mace Windu, mastering all kinds of fighting style – “light” or “dark” – without succumbing to the Dark Side. The books shown in the trailer, are most likely Luke’s, and in my theory would be handbooks/histories for all kinds of ways of the Force. Perhaps early Jedi books that contradict the current ideals of the Jedi. Luke must have realized in his years in seclusion that these labels of “Jedi,” “Sith,” “light,” and “dark” cannot be the only options. He must believe that no person can fully commit themselves to just one side, there must be a grey area he believes in, a full understanding of the Force – from both sides. To truly become a master of the Force it is unfair to limit which parts of it a person can study. I think that Luke has realized this, and like Yoda has decided to be ridiculously cryptic about it.

Rey’s first lesson confirmed my theory, and the fight scene in Snoke’s chambers further affirmed it: there must be balance, but it does not necessarily have to fight one another. Rey and Ben fought as if they had trained together for years, attuned to the other’s movements. That was a beautiful fight scene.

The Score

I know I complained about the lack of atonality earlier, but there are still several aspects of the score that I love. Rose’s theme is perfect for her character. The expansion on the “Jedi Steps” theme in “Ahch-To Island” was beautiful. Revamping “March of the Resistance” became even more epic than before. Williams expertly saturates this film with huge orchestral forces, strong horns, soft and gentle winds, all in the right places. The integration of classic themes — Leia’s Theme, “Han Solo and the Princess,” Yoda’s Theme, the Force Theme — reminded us of the originals. Best of all, in my opinion, was “The Spark” that accompanies Luke’s return. It begins softly, and uncertainly, then enter the Force theme we know and love, flowing right into the rich, aching theme of “Luke and Leia.” Then, “Han Solo and the Princess” returns as Luke gives Leia Han’s dice from the Falcon. By now, we’re all crying, but suddenly — a lick we sort of recognize. Is that the Imperial March? We’re aching for that pulsing note to drop to the tonic then the fifth, as the Imperial March goes, but it denies us that resolution. IT SURE AS HELL SOUNDS LIKE IT. But it’s something different, something new, something… epic. I LOVE IT. John Williams has constructed a piece that reminds us that Luke is the son of Vader, the one who redeemed him, about to face a Vader-wannabe. Will Luke be able to redeem his nephew as he did his father? This music cues us to raise these questions. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

To conclude, I maintain that The Last Jedi was a good film. It lacked certain Star Wars-esque elements, and it carried out some ideas in odd ways, but overall, it was good. Rian Johnson told a story of change and growth, and I very much appreciated that. He challenged the Star Wars canon. He challenged characters in unexpected ways. He challenged the audience. For that, I respect him. I am sure that J.J. Abrams will be able to bring the franchise to a fitting conclusion, as his work on The Force Awakens was more than satisfactory.

Here’s to two years of waiting.

Star Wars, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Review I’ve seen The Last Jedi three times now, and I think that I’m beginning to understand the film.

#star wars #the last jedi

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supremepizzasnoke · 7 years ago

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Last Jedi Thoughts

It was neither as good nor as bad as the internet led me to believe it would be.

Reylo

My biggest source of initial hesitation, but even though I read spoilers saying it wouldn't happen, it seemed pretty clear that it REALLY wouldn't happen now. Rey's biggest character flaw is that she sees the good in people, but I think the movie indicated that Rey's perception of Kylo was right from the beginning: He's weak, he killed his father, and Ben Solo is gone. I think the hope she had that he could be good is gone for good now. As it should be. He's still abusive and not romantic. Who tells someone they're nothing and expects a positive response? Fuck off. Als about Rey's parents, I truly think he was LYING. It's not out of character, and this movie was so thematically about lies and perceptions, I think this was just another Dark Side Lie.

Kylo

I still don't think he's a compelling villain. I don't understand his motivations, and this movie did nothing more to tell me about his relationship with Snoke or how Snoke influenced him as a youth. Nada. He's not mentally ill or complex. He was used, yeah? I guess...but he makes bad choices, which I don't get.

Luke

Most of the negative reviews I read ahead of time were about how Luke's character was completely assassinated in this movie and that he was totally OOC. I guess I could see that? But also he's obviously seen a lot in the last 20 years and had being a Star Wars Legend (TM) really affect his own self-view. I like that he has grown to question the Jedi, who, let me say, he had always been questioning.......I didn't like that whole thing about him almost killing Ben Solo, his nephew, I thought that was stupid. But also all the reviews I read were like OMG HE TOTALLY ALMOST DID THIS LUKE SKYWALKER WOULD NEVER DO THAT and yeah he wouldn't, you're right. BUT HE DIDN'T. He thought about it for, like, a second, and he came to regret that second forever. Also I had a theory that Snoke got in his head, but that's a theory for another post.

Snoke

I think this was a wasted opportunity to give Snoke and the Knights of Ren much-needed story...Also is that who those Nerds in the red were supposed to be? Luke's former students??? Like, they were cool, but they just existed to die. A waste tbh. I hope IX gives us more on Snoke or reveals this was all part of his plan or some shit because I was not satisfied. I did like that he apparently has the power to alter memories and perceptions, which means I think he lied to Kylo about a LOT of shit.

Finn

My son. I love every minute of him. But I will say, I thought his storyline dragged and was unnecessary. That is the case. In a two-and a half hour movie, this was one storyline that probably could have been cut or at least replaced with something more compelling. I love his relationships with all of the other characters, and it seems like he was wildly underused. But the moments he was on screen were my absolute favorites. Especially his first and last moments wiTh regard to Rey. Also the kiss with Rose was not as bad as I thought? All the reviews seemed to be like THIS WAS A FORCED SHIP TO STOP THE GAY SHIPS!!!!! and yeah in a lot of ways it was that. But also, the kiss was initiated by Rose and not reciprocated by Finn. He seemed surprised. I like their friendship, and I hope he turns her down in IX... BECAUSE I ship Finnrey :/ Biased review, I know, but I'm sorry.

Poe

Like Finn, I felt he was underused. Saw a lot of people call his storyline sexist and I actually have to say that I don't agree...but then again, I'm male, and I am probably seeing this through a biased male lens and I'll acknowledge that right now. However! It felt like most of what Poe was trying to accomplish was more about chain of command and authority problems (and not being told what the fuck was going on) than anything about Holdo being a woman. That being said, Poe fucked up a lot in this movie, and I hope he grows and develops because of it? Like, failure can teach etc etc etc...

Admiral Holdo and Paige Tico

Holdo could have done with development. I would have preferred that to the scenes on the gambling planet. I loved the scene where she sacrificed herself, I thought it was STUNNING but also I wish she hadn't had to? In a movie so full of Rebellion deaths and sacrifices (seriously, so much loss in this movie...) Holdo felt...idk. unnecessary. It could have been someone else. Maybe Ackbar. I mean, he got the shaft too. As for Paige, I really liked her sacrifice, but again, in a movie full of them, it gets muddled. For that matter, it feels unfair that the two biggest losses in this movje are from female characters. One? Yeah okay. But two? Mmm...side eye for Rian Johnson here.

Rose

I love Rose, and I think her story was fine, but in a movie crammed full of so much, it was a bit of a distraction. I also would have enjoyed to have seen her interact with Paige or at least talk more about her. I'm not feeling romance between her and Finn, but friendship and partnership I could deal with.

Phasma

GOD I LOVE PHASMA BUT WHY WON'T THEY JUST GIVE ME MORE!!!! I don't think she's going to come back for the sequel again, but I desperately want her to. She was amazing and I love her...

Leia

I loved Leia, I don't want her to die. But I bet she will. I love the cane they gave her, I love that we got to see her fly through space with the force, love love love love love

Porgs vs Vulptex

I'm still not sold on either of these little guys, but the design on them was pretty good. And Porgs were less annoying than I thought they would be.

BB-8

BB-8 got to do more than Holdo or Rose in this movie, actually. I like the Droid, but I think I need a little less of him...

I think that's it for now. I'll post more as I remember it.

#star wars #the last jedi #sw8 #star wars viii #spoilers #star wars spoilers

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lightandwinged · 7 years ago

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So the more I read about The Last Jedi in terms of spoilers and leaks, the more I’m like

(potential spoilers below cut)

The two big ones that have me side-eyeing the most are (a) the idea that Luke dies as a result of his Force juice running out while he’s projecting himself across the galaxy Because Of Reasons and (b) the idea that Kyle Ron kills Snoke by cutting him in half, and thus takes his place in the Great Circle of Life as leader of the First Order.

(b) is the one that has me more like “...really?” because... look, you built up Snoke to be The Big Bad, more Emperor Palpatine than Darth Vader. And I get if you’re trying to go all M. Night Shamalamadingdong on things and make us all go “wat a tweest!” as it’s revealed that Kyle Ron is the Actual Big Bad, but I’m just getting whiffs of Darth Maul here. Only less so because Darth Maul looked like a badass and Snoke looks like Palpatine’s used bubblegum.

And like... I’m not asking for some extensive trilogy backstory about why Bubblegum McGee is in charge of the First Order and fucks around with Hux and Kyle Ron, but like... we saw a hologram in TFA and I doubt we’ll get more than a few scenes in TLJ because we have to spend time with everyone else (REMIND ME TO RANT IN A FEW SECONDS ABOUT HOW MUCH I HATE HUNTING FOR LEAKS ON THE INTERNET BC IT IS RELATED) so like... ????

Like at least with Palpatine’s few scenes in RotJ, it felt like he deserved all the build-up he got. He spent the whole time pointing out to Luke that he literally orchestrated everything that was happening and gently poking and prodding him towards the Dark Side, a turn that was only averted by Vader stepping in and refusing to let his son go down the path he went down (HAVE I GIVEN MY ROTJ INTERPRETATION IN THE LAST HALF HOUR???). The only thing that really defeated him was the element of surprise: nobody expects the Ewok Inquisition, and bad guys never plan for Love To Win The Day.

And look, I am fine with Kyle Ron dealing a killing blow to Snerk but... an evil person would expect their protege to be the one to deal the killing blow, especially as reports suggest that Crylo Rong doesn’t deal the killing blow to defend anyone or save anyone or because Love (sorry, R3yl0s) but to seize power for himself, which...

I don’t know. As a plot point potentially happening, it doesn’t sit right with me. I may change my mind when I actually see it happen, but I’m like... really?

As far as (a) goes, I 100% figured that Luke would die in this film because it’s all about passing the torch to the next generation &c., but (1) I feel less okay with it now that Carrie’s gone, meaning that if Luke is also gone, there’s no torch passing next film except... idk, Chewie to porgs? R2 to BB8? Something? and (2) it feels like a cop-out for Luke’s character, WHICH MAKES SENSE CONSIDERING ALL MARK HAMILL HAS BEEN SAYING.

Someone (probably on Reddit, but idek anymore) made the point that this trilogy reduced the OT mains to who they were at the very beginning of their trilogy, not to who they became... as if the writing completely ignored anything that came after about the midway point of A New Hope. I haven’t been one to jump on the “LUKE THEY DID YOU WRONG” bandwagon yet because we just didn’t know, but... seeing that his character arc was basically completely mirroring Yoda’s and Obi Wan’s is just weird. I haven’t read anything in Legends, but even in regular canon, it just doesn’t make sense that Luke’s response to baby Kyle Ron making a mess would be to say “welp, I’m a failure now” and pack up to live the rest of his days with hairless Ewok nuns and porgs. It just... his leadership that he developed in the OT and willingness to put aside even his personal feelings and connections for the people he loved; where did that go?

And now, mind, this is all just the most persistent rumors from people who allegedly saw the film. There’s no confirmation yet and probably won’t be for another day or so. For all I know, either everyone’s wrong about these leaks OR they’re done in such a way that I’ll be like “why yes, I see what you were going for here, well done.”

But I was burnt bad by the prequels and my vibrating excitement for them back in 1999-2005. I’m going into this expecting something that will make me very angry and upset, and I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised. MEANWHILE, ON THE HUNT FOR SPOILERS. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaate it. Hate it so much. The easiest venues for finding spoilers are this blue hellsite and Reddit, and both are AWFUL. On the blue hellsite, it’s literally just R////los crowing about how THEY ARE SUPER CANON U GAIZ and I’m like... can u not? I find the ship annoying for about 65 million reasons (can we pls pair Rey with nobody, Kyle Ron is actively the Worst, the fandom makes me bleed, if Rey must be paired with someone can it please be a woman or else Finn, HEY GUYS FINN FUCKING EXISTS, etc.), but it’s also like... the least of what I’m wondering going into this. I lived through the Great Harmonian Ship Wars of the early 2000s. I don’t want to pick through 6000 pages of straw-grasping to find a leak I actually care about.

Reddit at least posts leaks that are relevant overall, but they’re also The Actual Worst because most of the complaints about another persistent rumor (Rey’s parents were nobodies, which... seemed pretty well confirmed, if bothersome, but okay?) are things like “if girl not Skywalker, how girl use lightsaber?” and variants. And then there’s another rumor (that I actually like) of Leia using the Force to survive being tossed into space (by some accounts, flying like Superman, which I’m like... that’s fucking awesome) and the Reddit response also ignores the OT and is like “how Leia use Force if not established by her using lightsaber?” Like come on you troglodytes. Did you miss the end of ESB where she hears Luke calling her through the Force? Or where Luke says “my sister has it” (it being the Force)? Or where she’s pondering over her suddenly understood Force intuition at the end of RotJ?

Basically, they seem baffled that girls do things, and I can’t, y’all, I just can’t.

And naturally, exactly NO leaks discuss Finn, Poe, or Rose. From looking over the visual dictionary and children’s books already released, they actually have a lot to do, but nope, we’re not going to talk about them because we’re racist they’re not as important, I guess?

Hrrrngh.

I’m going to see this movie on Thursday night, for better or for worse, and God-willing, I’ll feel better afterwards. Right now, though, I really want to go find the beatable Kyle Ron action figure and take out some frustration.

#star wars #the last jedi #the last jedi spoilers #mostly these are leaks so they might not be real #but STILL #oh abby some people have war in their countries why are you so angsty about this?#because the rest of my life is all stripes of stressful and this distracts me that's why

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un-enfant-immature · 5 years ago

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The rise of the winged pink unicorn

Claire Diaz-Ortiz Contributor

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Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an angel investor and bestselling author of nine books that have been published in more than a dozen countries. An early employee at Twitter, she was called “The Woman Who Got the Pope on Twitter” by Wired and holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford.

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Latin America takes the global lead in VC directed to female co-founders

Like most investors, I am a little too obsessed with unicorns.

But not just the Silicon Valley kind. As the mother of a five-year-old daughter, my interests also veer in a pink, sparkly direction. So it should not be all that surprising that I recently found myself in a dusty corner of the internet where die-hard unicorn fans go to spread their wings.

It was there, deep in the My Little Pony forums, that one question stopped me in my tracks: “is a male alicorn possible in the future?1”

An alicorn, for those uninitiated to the mythological particulars, is the rare winged, female version of a traditional unicorn.

My Little Pony popularized the term, and the fan forum on which user “Green Precision” asked his question back in 2015 had some interesting answers to the particulars of this philosophical dilemma.

Shadow Stallion responded immediately, “I don’t think a male Alicorn will be possible in the future. Not because its [sic] not wanted or because its [sic] not genetically possible…but generally when male characters are introduced to a show where female characters are prominent, things get ugly.”

Malinter posited, “they probably do but given the female-to-male ratio of Equestria2 they are probably exceptionally rare. The real problem for a male alicorn is not that they exist but where is their place in the world? …Our male alicorn has some pretty big hoof prints to fill in while at the same time not make a trainwreck of established lore.”

Wind Chaser went straight from unconscious bias to conscious bias in their response: “aesthetically a male alicorn just wouldn’t look right, because their bodies are already naturally larger than females, thus the wings would cause an imbalance to the design.”

But it wasn’t all bad news.

“Until it’s proven otherwise, it’s safe to say that something like a male alicorn is possible,” responded Geek0zoid. Crysahis agreed. “Overall yes, I believe there could be a male alicorn it may just take a while to actually happen!”

It doesn’t take a PhD in philosophy from Stanford or the one lone female investing partner at Sequoia3 to posit that these same conversations were probably happening all over Sandhill Road in December of 2009, as male VCs discussed whether female unicorns could actually happen4.

As we move into 2020, though, we’re about to see a pink, winged stampede.

Just look at the recent trends. In 2019, more female-funded unicorns were born than ever before.5 And things are only looking up. (I’m looking at you, ClassPass!)

Public opinion agrees. Alongside TruePublic, where I am an advisor and angel investor, I ran a study asking if people believed we would see more female-led unicorns in the 2020s.6 At the time of this article, 68% of the 6,500 respondents said they believed we would see more, with 30% of women responding “many more” (as opposed to only 16% of men). Only 4% of women, but 9% of men, responded “no, not a chance.”7

Kaben Clauson, founder and CEO, says “to represent Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X, TruePublic needs a weighted sample of roughly one thousand Americans to represent that population of the USA.” This particular study already has 6,500 respondents, making it statistically significant.

In fact, female-founded and female co-founded companies are actually over-indexing for unicorn status despite a lack of investment dollars.

Shelby Porges, co-founder of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, explains: “Recent tracking has shown that female-founded companies represent 4% of all unicorns. That’s astonishing considering that in the past couple of years, they have gotten only slightly more than 2% of all venture funding.” Porges, whose group has mobilized more than 80 venture funds to pledge to invest over a billion dollars into women-founded companies, continues, “It demonstrates why we say, ‘when you invest in women, you’re in good company.’ ”

Here are the three reasons I believe a herd of winged female unicorns (OK, alicorns) is coming down the pipeline in the 2020s:

1. Women invest in women at 3x the rate of men

New data reveals that women invest in women at nearly three times the rate that men do and with the (slow) rise in the number of female investing partners at VCV firms, we are poised to see more and more gender-balanced founding teams getting funding.8 Like one male GP at one of the world’s top VC funds said to me when discussing one of the few female partners at his firm, “she always brings us parenting companies.” It might be cringe-worthy if TechCrunch hadn’t declared 2020 “a big year for online childcare” and that same female partner weren’t about to make a big chunk of cash thanks to all the upcoming parenting alicorns she was smartly funding.

Sophia Bendz, a partner at Atomico who also leads the Atomico Angel Program, said, “I’m confident we’ll see more female unicorns in the next decade because there’s a growing wave of ambitious female founders building incredible products and services. There are also more women in VC now and I’ve seen first-hand the impact having female investment partners can have on increasing the amount of investment into female-led companies. The data shows that women invest in women at three times the rate as male investment partners.”

My study at TruePublic coincided with these findings. When asked if a female investor was more likely to invest in a female entrepreneur, 64% of people responded affirmatively (64% of these individuals were women and 63% were men).9

Jomayra Herrera agrees. An investor at Cowboy Ventures (which thanks to Aileen Lee coined the term “unicorn” in the first place), and a volunteer with AllRaise, a nonprofit promoting women in VC, she says: “As the venture industry continues to diversify, especially as it relates to gender and race/ethnicity, I am optimistic that we will see more female-led and people of color-led unicorns over the next decade. We know that diverse teams not only function better, but they are able to see areas of opportunities that more homogenous teams might miss. I think the next generation of investors are more likely to question conventional wisdom, forms of pattern recognition that may lead to bias, and other structural barriers that have historically left out promising entrepreneurs.”

Camila Farani is a well-known investor in Brazil. As founder of G2 Capital, former president of Gavea Angels and a personality on Brazil’s “Shark Tank,” she says “having diverse points of view at the table makes the decision clearer and more certain. People who think differently than you and have other visions of the market, sometimes can show you what you can’t see by yourself.”

She also reminds us not to forget the impact that angel investors can have. “The investments market is still made up mostly of men, but this landscape is changing gradually. It is interesting to see that angel investing is being the most common choice for women who want to make their first investments.”

This trend of investing more in women isn’t just limited to female investors. Susana Robles has spent two decades leading the charge to invest in women in Latin America and alongside Marta Cruz of NXTP Labs is co-founder of WeXchange, a platform that connects women entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean with mentors and investors.

As Robles says, “I think the world is finally waking up to the fact that there is serious research proving that startups with women co-founders win in all aspects: profitability, as well as greater social and environmental awareness. Investors should want to have this triple win.” She continues, “women tend to return money to investors faster than men, and at the same time, they obtain higher returns. Women are in charge of 64% of all global purchasing decisions on products and services, so having women on C-level positions increases the chance that a startup [will] be highly attractive to a massive market and become a unicorn.”

It also extends to the LPs in the funds. “I also think many investors in funds (mostly DFIs [development finance institutions] but not exclusively) have become more vocal in stating that they don’t want any more to invest in teams led by an all-white, all-male cast who choose startups with all-white, all-male founders.” Jennifer Neundorfer is the co-founder of Jane VC and an investor in Kinside, a parenting app that just raised a $3 million seed round. When describing her fund’s rationale for focusing on female founders, she drops the mic: “we’re going to invest in an under-looked asset class that is overperforming.” Boom.

2. Female founders are creating new billion-dollar markets

Another reason we’ll see more female-founded “alicorns” in the 2020s has everything to do with the new markets that female founders are creating. Hunter Walk of Homebrew was one of the initial seed investors in Winnie, an online marketplace for childcare that recently raised a $9 million Series A. At the time, he saw something that others investors didn’t. Winnie co-founder Sara Mauskopf explains, “Four years ago when we started Winnie, parenting and especially child care were not hot investment areas. This has been changing. It certainly helps that more investors are women and are in the thick of their child-bearing and rearing years.”

Part of what Walk says he recognized was the clear founder-market fit displayed by Mauskopf and her co-founder Annie Halsall. As Mauskopf says, “With Winnie, we saw an opportunity to solve the child-care crisis that other founders either did not recognize or did not care to solve. While everyone else was starting crypto and scooter companies, we were building the first-ever tech platform for $57 billion child care industry. Lack of access to quality child care disproportionately impacts women, so it shouldn’t be surprising that it took a female led team to capitalize on this opportunity.” Expanding on the concept of founder-market fit, Walk says, “I love to come away thinking, these are the absolute right founders to build this business.”10

Bendz, the Atomico partner who specializes in femtech and is also an avid angel investor, agrees. “Often I meet founders that you can tell are at the right place at the right time with the right mindset and the right team. It’s almost like all of the experiences they have had prior to launching a company have been preparing them to create that business at that time. These are the kind of founders who I know are in it for the long haul, and who are going to weather the ups and downs.” As a woman who uses the products and services she invests in, Bendz is also an example of investor-market fit, which I believe will open new markets in the decades to come.

Something else investors like Walk and Bendz believe in? Outsized opportunities. And the potential for outsized opportunities are especially ripe in untapped markets. The rise of femtech is yet another example of how the intuitive success of the concept of founder-market fit ultimately needed more female founders for certain markets to blossom. As Bendz explains, “Throughout a woman’s life there are many big events that have a big impact on our overall health — from childbirth to menopause. I know all women are tired of poor or non-existent solutions for women surrounding those life events, and that’s why we are seeing so many companies launching to better serve women’s needs. When you think about the fact that women have only had the right to vote and educate themselves for 100 years, it’s mind-blowing how long the world was operating with only 50% of the population in control. That’s reflected in the products and services we as a society have funded.”

Women’s consumer products are another area. Ornella Moraes is one of four female co-founders of Brazilian-led Sousmile, which recently raised a $6 million USD Series A led by Kaszek Ventures. “Our brand is a woman,” Moraes says of her dental beauty startup that retails throughout São Paulo. And so are the leaders of the company. At Sousmile, there are four female co-founders and two male co-founders. “More dentists in the world are women than men, so it’s been critical for our team to have more female founders,” she says. In this way, the rise of female founders and co-founders can completely change markets. “We believe this will fundamentally create a different type of product,” says Walk.

3. Emerging markets will take the lead

Finally, certain emerging markets pose a particular opportunity for female founders by over-indexing for both large IPOs and female founders. 2017 was the first year that more of the largest IPOs in the internet sector globally came from emerging markets. Nazar Yasin, founder of Rise Capital, which invests in emerging markets, says “This trend isn’t going away.” After all, most GDP growth comes from emerging markets, where most global internet users live. As he explains, “the future of market capitalization growth in the internet sector globally belongs to emerging markets.” And yet this type of innovation takes resilience. “If you’re a startup in one of these markets, it’s like trying to grow a plant in the desert.”11 In an environment that demands more daily resilience, there is a different appetite for risk and innovation. (I call this resilience innovation.)

Perhaps the easiest example of emerging market innovation fueled by resilience is fintech. Emerging markets and their often unstable economies boast a much higher number of frustratingly unbanked individuals. This brings about innovation. Hanna Schiuma, the Brazilian-born fintech founder of ElasBank, where I am an angel investor and advisor, explains how ubiquitous such fintech innovation is becoming.

“Soon all finance will be tailor-made and fintech will be common ground because all financial services will be technology-intensive.” She also argues that the nature of such an innovation allows the industry to become more innovative, and thus inclusive, which is exactly what is happening with her own women’s bank, launching in 2020. “That means great opportunities to better serve women’s financial needs to offer dedicated products, and to gather female talent to build those products from a diverse and innovative perspective.” Ultimately, “resilience is key for us to build that pool of talent and open the doors for gender balance and financial inclusion.”

Furthermore, data shows Africa and Latin America both beat global averages for percentages of startup female founders. Laura Stebbing is co-CEO of accelerateHER, a global community of leaders addressing the under-representation of women in tech through action. Raised in Southern Africa, Stebbing is passionate about Africa’s rise as a hub of female entrepreneurship.

“Africa has both the highest proportion of women founders at 26% [Latam comes in second]12 and a $42 billion funding gap. There’s clearly no lack of talent across Africa’s 54 countries, so for the investors, corporate executives, policy makers and established founders that aren’t moved by the moral arguments for gender parity, notice the enormous business opportunity. We will start to see a higher volume of resilient, scalable companies emerge as leaders build more diverse networks and ecosystems that support women to unlock their entrepreneurial potential.” Nathan Lustig, founder of Magma Partners, a VC firm in Latin America which invests in female founders above the regional average, explains, “investing in and empowering resilient women entrepreneurs is just good business, and is one of the biggest investment opportunities, especially in emerging markets.”

I believe Latin American can have an edge. I am a Silicon Valley-born investor now living in “Silicon Aires,” where I have been thrilled to see exciting numbers of female founders in Latin America. Susana Robles agrees, and says the reason is in part due to the nature of a committed ecosystem to support one another. “It’s the sheer need that forces you to collaborate.” An ecosystem like Silicon Valley doesn’t have the same need to do so. Of Latin America, Robles says, “In 10 years, we will have created a much more collaborative market than the developed ones.” And that collaboration is leading to great female founders. 2019, in fact, saw more funding going to female co-founders in Latin America than in Europe or the USA.13

This will lead to future alicorns. Ann Williams, COO of Creditas, a Brazilian fintech currently closing in on its own unicorn status, says “the conversion funnel for unicorns works just like any other selection process. We fill the top with a bunch of great women in supporting roles in emerging market startups, these women take their experiences and found rocking new companies. A percentage of these will convert to scaleups raising Series C and D rounds with valuations at $1 billion or higher. And voila! we get women-led unicorns.” She continues, “the odds are with us and I am sure the talent is too!”

Juliane Butty, startup head at Platzi and former regional manager of Seedstars, one of the leading accelerators and investors fostering female entrepreneurship in emerging markets, joins Williams. “We have definitely seen the rise of female founders and investors in emerging markets in the last decade. One supports the other. And we know that success breeds success.”

Perhaps My Little Pony fan Malinter said it best when he suggested how a male version of the alicorn could finally emerge in such a female-dominated space: “The simplest way they could probably add one in would be to make said alicorn the ruler of a neighboring nation.” In the same way, emerging markets may just hold the key for female unicorns.

No matter the region, Robles says “if we keep opening doors to women entrepreneurs who are as ambitious as men in growing their companies, we’ll begin to see many more unicorns with gender diversified teams.” Hanna Schiuma, the Elasbank founder who just might be building the next female-founded unicorn, agrees. “The alicorns are coming. And we’re ready to fly.”

2Equestria is of course where the My Little Ponies and their assorted unicorns, alicorns and friends all live. 3Go Jess Lee! 4Yes, Aileen Lee of Cowboy VC first invented the term in her 2013 TechCrunch piece, but we’re in a unicorn-fueled time machine, people. 8“Do Female Investors Support Female Entrepreneurs? An Empirical Analysis of Angel Investor Behavior,” Seth C. Oranburg, Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh PA, USA and Mark Geiger, Duquesne University School of Business, Pittsburgh PA, USA 12Forthcoming research from TechCrunch/Crunchbase 13Forthcoming research from TechCrunch/Crunchbase

#TechCrunch

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movienotesbyzawmer · 5 years ago

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi

December 18: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

(previous notes: Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Source: UK 3D Blu-ray (this was much easier to come by than a US release, for some reason)

This movie is only 2 years old, a relative infant babe in arms. And I unambiguously loved it when it came out, both times I saw it in theaters and again when it was first released on video. But there have been dark whispers, haven't there. Snobs and haters started flooding the information superhighway with poorly supported condemnation of this perfectly entertaining sequel. Was I wrong? Was I missing some smear of shit on the screen that everyone else could see? Or is Putin up to his old tricks? Excuse me while I pop on my rose-colored 3D glasses and jot down some fresh observations.

Cool first shot, zipping through a bunch of ships that's like some kind of convoy.

Then a bad guy ship shows up and whoa is it neat in 3D.

This first exchange between Poe and Hux is funnier than anything in the prequel trilogy, my goodness was that a refreshing way to start this movie! Love it!

BB8 thunking down into the guts of the X-wing! That's the right kind of gadgety roboty attitude for a Star Wars movie, I tell you.

Bombers, there are bombers. How do bombers work in space? I ask like I'm complaining, but I'm not. I'm sure there's a Lucas-y explanation. And yes I know that Lucas isn't doing this movie, of course I know that, it's like you don't even know me.

Jeez, those bombers are getting totally wasted. Probably because they're full of bombs. BOMBS, see.

This tense scene where the bomber pilot has to kick down the remote control from a precipice, this is great suspense. The pilot sacrifices herself. The first 12 minutes of this movie have a hell of a lot going for it. But also, the look of it is different from all of the others. Stark closeups for instance. Nothing wrong with it, but feels like it's very committed to this director's personal stylistic preferences.

Now we're on Hidden Skywalker Island to find out how this plot thickens. It's a cool contrast from the space battle. And it's got Rey. And Porgs!

0:16:40 - Snoke's proper throne room. With Actual Snoke because it turned out the other one from the last movie was pretend-like. This throne room was put together by a visionary interior designer who really likes red.

Luke drinks some green milk from a plump creature who looks at Rey like she's saying "have some, it's pretty good, seriously you gotta try it, it comes from my nipples".

The scene with Rey and Luke in the book cave, it's good, I think. It's ever so slightly witty, but it makes sense as a way to get past the stubborn impasse the two were in before.

Kylo hesitated to blow up his mom because he's not too happy with his Dark Side family rn. But she's blowed up anyway and it's a pretty visceral image when that happens. Fortunately she is kind of Jesus so it's fine, she's fine, we're all fine here now thank you, how are you?

Hah, the Porgs are shaming Chewy into not eating a dead Porg! Porgs are way less in-your-face in this movie than Ewoks are in that other movie.

Enter Laura Dern! Conveys intelligence and confidence. I bet internet dicks hated her for no good reason. Other than that they are working in a non-descript office building in central Russia. Anyway, her friction with Poe is cool because she's being rational and it's just hard to argue against her points.

0:39:00 - Enter Kelly Marie Tran! Rose! Of course Sergei and Boris are social media bullies about this character. But even though she's coming into this story a little late, she's already gotten some solid character development.

So this is something I'm only realizing because I just watched Empire Strikes Back, but the two movies have similar structures in addition to being middle-of-the-trilogy movies. They both go back and forth between two subplots; one about a Jedi training a rookie on a planet, the other about just the good guys desperately trying to outrun a dauntingly large space fleet of bad guys.

Hah, Porgs getting pesky in the Millennium Falcon, I'd forgotten that.

Not so much with the wipes between scenes in this one but that one at 53:55 was neat.

And now we're in an actual casino! It's the Star Wars universe's version of Monaco. Lots of fun creatures and robots, but shot with a very flashy style that seems more obtrusive than how Lucas just peeks around in the Cantina.

The Master Codebreaker is literally Errol Flynn circa 1925.

1:00:50 - The first flashback of The Luke/Ben Incident. Kinda Rashomon-esque.

Benicio Del Toro. I love the guy, but there is often a sense in his movies that he had a very persuasive conversation with the director to let him do odd quirks with how he talks, and the director just grimaced and hoped it would turn out okay.

They break out of the stables with the racing animals, and stampede their way through the casino, satisfying!

But also, this whole Monaco planet is so like Monaco, so specifically, that it's not very galaxy-far-far-away.

First time we see Luke in the Rashomon flashback with the 'bout-to-kill-Ben look, that is a mighty fine facial expression from Mark Hamill.

1:14:35 - We're at the highly abstract Nightmare Cave sequence. This is a little indulgent, I bet Lucas did not like. He probably didn't like the equivalent sequence in The Force Awakens, but for what it's worth, I super like that one.

Rey and Kylo having a connection, I think we're not supposed to like it, and maybe that's the point? I'm okay with that. As long as it doesn't turn out that they are twin siblings separated at birth and gee what a shocking twist that would be <eye roll>.

I bet it took some discipline to have the Finn/Poe/Rose subplot be relatively simple.

1:29:00 - Weird little coffin craft Rey gets in to go to Kylo's ship. Oh, and the shot of coming out of lightspeed facing the bottom of the Destroyers! Cool!

1:30:55 - Hah! You thought they'd forgotten how to be funny, but then they do that clothes-iron gag. I like it. Reminds me of the coat hanger gag in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

"I know where the nearest escape pods are" "Course you do". Hah.

Snoke telling Rey "I connected you because I knew Kylo was weak" sounds like an internet troll. Am I hung up on that? On internet trolls?

Big hanger full of troops and even flying TIE fighters inside the hanger, looks great.

Very grim situation now… the intended plan completely fell apart, and now the escape transport plan is completely screwed, and Rey is just helpless it looks like. Or is that just what it LOOKS like.

Snoke death is neat. Also neat are his guards' variable, flexible sword things. Also also neat is how the one guard gets tossed into an electro-processer and shoots out red flakes!

1:50:42 - Oh, my favorite thing, a magic battle. As Rey and Kylo try to out-Force each other to Force-get the light saber, it all comes down to who Force-gets better.

But then! Then it DOESN'T suck because they equally Force-get so hard that it just breaks, and then the neatest of all the parts of this movie, LD lightspeed-spearing the master bad guy ship! Awesome visuals and sound.

"You're a bug in the system" "Let's go chrome-dome". That's a pretty Lucas-y dialogue exchange.

As they fly away from the destruction, I love the look, how much detail there is to the wreckage.

Yeah, this final planet has those ice fox things! It feels like this Episode has slightly less zeal for "delightful new creatures", but it's not NO zeal.

Also this is the planet where the surface is salt, but under the salt surface is a mineral that is very red, for reasons of it looks cool, I guess. There's even a mechanic which can't possibly make sense, where these crafts NEED to drag on the surface just a teeny bit. But so what, I like to look at it. I'd rather look at that than look at YOU.

The underground blood crystal cave is a damn fine sight to see.

Not sure I care that much about the quick drama about Finn trying to Kamikaze the big gun and Rose stopping him. Although Rose saying "saving what we love" makes it kinda sweet and now I'm sorry I pooh-poohed it. But she gives him a little kiss, which is the only remotely romance-y thing in this new trilogy so far and do we need that? Whatever, I root for both of these characters.

We just saw the gold dice from Solo. But this movie came out before Solo, so I guess we were all like "dude what the hell is THAT". I wonder whose idea the dice was.

"Do you think that you got him". So, this reminded me when I first saw it of an early Mark Hamill movie called The Big Red One. A war drama with him and Lee Marvin, probably right around the same time as Empire. In that movie, MH shoots again and again and again at a definitely-already-dead German soldier. He just keeps shooting the corpse. Lee Marvin walks up to him as he's doing it and whispers in his ear, "I think you got him". Gotta be a deliberate reference, right? Pretty obscure one if so

Hah, Poe and Rey hadn't met yet, that wasn't obvious until now.

Okay, the final scene. It's a cool final scene, but… okay so the first time I saw it, I definitely didn't notice that the kid levitated the broom all casual-like. But I noticed it in later viewings and was like "oh, how did I miss that". Well I'LL TELL you how, because it is super freaking subtle! It's like it changes every time or something. It is FREAKING me OUT.

But I still really like this movie. It is full of tons of great qualities, and only minor issues. It's surprisingly witty, and has a lot of non-Lucas style to it, which would be a problem if it didn't feel so genuinely inspired. So nice try, Anatoly! Go fuck yourself, Fyodor! You can turn neighbors against each other, Yuri, but you can't make me hate The Last Jedi!

(next: The Rise of Skywalker)

#star wars the last jedi

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officialdeathbycinema · 7 years ago

Text

Star Wars Official Trailer Analysis

OK! So i've watched...and re-watched...and rewatched...and analyzed this two and a half minute piece of cinema hypeness, and i've a few things to say if you don't mind...well, I really don't care if you do mind or not because it's 2:10 in the morning and i've been trying to bring my thoughts together on not only a trailer, but two movies as well, so fight me.

So we open to see an Imperial Officer looking silhouette staring at an assembly line. This could be Ben Solo, but for all intents and purposes, i'm going to assume this is the previously unseen "Rose" character, only officially depicted in Funko Pop! form. I'm honestly kinda interested to see what we see in this character, considering she's been so prominently featured in toy sales but no real promotional material for the movie itself (As i'm typing this however, I looked back and it really is just Ben).

Six seconds in and we transition, the change in scenery accompanied by Ces- I mean Snoke's voice over towards Ben, giving the audience a taste of what we have in store when it comes to the new Emperor-type Big Bad. We see a bunch of AT-M6 Walkers in a line for a span of three seconds, which then transitions into an overhead location shot of what i'm going to assume is Snoke's actual lair, which we see Ben and a good number of troopers walking in formation, presumably on the way to see the Supreme Leader (HA, Rocky and Bullwinkle reference!) at thirteen seconds in. Then a profile shot of Ben with his helmet on at fourteen seconds, which leads into him reaching down and picking up a new saber. This being essentially the same saber design, only sleeker, blacker, and more refined.

After that, a few seconds of black, followed by the blasting sound of a saber igniting and we see Rey on Ahch-To. We're gonna skip ahead to thirty-five seconds in, and watch Luke Skywalker take back his saber from Rey. But at thirty-eight seconds, we hear Rey say the line "Something inside me has always been there." Ok, that's a pretty cut and paste line, so i'll move on because that's probably one of the least interesting things to talk about in this trailer. Forty-one seconds into the trailer and Rey is entering the temple tree, where the books are held. Now in the first trailer we saw the insignia of the "Grey Jedi". Think of them as the agnostics of the Star Wars universe. That's obviously an oversimplification, but we can get to that topic later. Maybe when the films come out, but later. Forty-seven seconds in and she's training with a saber, and I'm really wanting to assume she's been here for a few months, and not just a week or two after the first film when this scene plays out (*cough cough, make Rey not a Mary-Sue anymore cough cough*). The force is apparently so strong with Rey that she can make the ground crack beneath her, which prompts Luke to say, in my opinion, a very interesting line.

At fifty-two seconds we hear Luke say the line: "I've seen this raw strength only once before. It didn't scare me enough then, it does now." Couple that with imagery of a building burning, more burning, and Luke's robot hand emerging from debris like he's in The Evil Dead, and people are going to assume one thing. They're going to assume that he's talking about Ben Solo. I however, do not think this is the case. Sure he underestimated Ben, but he wasn't scared of him because he was family, not because he had darkness in him. No, he's not talking about Ben, or Vader, or even Starkiller. No, I think he's talking about Sideous. Because if you remember the original trilogy, Luke was very, VERY headstrong when it came to defeating the dark side, and in turn didn't take the Emperor as a serious threat until it almost cost him his life...but now that he sees that same pure, raw power, it TERRIFIES him. But then it plays into the whole "Old man doesn't want to train young pupil for something that happened to them personally until they reluctantly give up" cliche that this series seems to want to jerk off like Ron fuckin Jeremy...but I digress. From one minute and three seconds in to one minute and eight seconds in, we hear Ben say the words "let the past die" while he subsequently DESTROYS his Darth Fanboy helmet (Which is what i'm going to be calling it from this day on forth). He could be talking about his time as an agent for the light side, or this could be a potential scene beginning a redemption arc for Ben where he tears away from his Kylo Ren persona. But then again, a redemption arc wouldn't be that fun when you can just kill the character before that happens in the slightest....or just have him evil, you know, because evil apparently isn't cool anymore, everything has to be "tragic and misunderstood"...AGAIN, I digress. Then comes a starship battle, and boy HOWDY is Ben one hell of a pilot. He says the line "Kill it, if you have to", which is in relation to the previous line of "Let the past die"...and then at one minute and fifteen seconds, we see General Leia....which basically is an "oh fuck" moment because I'm basically just calling it that she's gonna kick the bucket HARD in this movie, and the news of her playing a "pivotal role" is highly exaggerated.

One minute, seventeen seconds: Mommy senses baby through force, and vice versa...or IS IT? My whole thing about how the trailer is edited is weird, because there are some obvious weaving techniques being put in here to deceive the audience. So how I think this scene is going to play out is that Ben is ordered to destroy the Resistance base on that particular ship, which he does. But you know, since Snoke's whole thing is manipulation of Ben, and losing his mother (since it was explained in the last movie that his bond with Leia was far stronger than his bond with Han) would essentially put him in a state of darkness, making Snokes job WAY EASIER. So Snoke tells Ben "Hey, I don't like this Resistance ship. Blow it up." to which Ben replies "Alright, you've not really sent me astray before, why would you do it now? It's not like you're a manipulative dickbag that looks like a scrotum wrapped in one of Hugh Hefner's robes.". But then Snoke "fails" to mention that Leia is on that ship. She senses him, but since he's STILL not mature enough in the ways of the force (and sometimes this series throws continuity into the wind like Nana's ashes on a late summer evening), He doesn't sense her until it's too late. He doesn't sense her persay...but he senses a lack of her. He feels that classic disturbance in the force. He doesn't know why until later...and he doesn't know that he had just killed his own mother, a woman he loved so dearly, and the reason he was so conflicted about going fully dark side. But now that she's gone...Snoke can take him, and Ben is so distraught...that he listens, and fully accepts his role as not Ben Solo, but Kylo Ren.

BUT THAT'S JUST HOW I WANT THE SCENE TO GO DOWN, I DON'T THINK THE WRITERS ARE GONNA BE CLEVER ENOUGH TO DO IT THAT WAY.

One minute and thirty three seconds...Porg.

One minute, thirty seven seconds, Poe Dameron vs Ben Solo dogfight which is no doubt gonna be really cool. One minute, forty seconds, Finn vs. Brienne of Tarth in a giant Aluminum onsie...I mean Captain Phasma. Probably gonna be really cool, I just want more character growth in Finn since he had a pretty weak arc in Episode Seven (well, at least it was stronger than Rey's).

There's some more lines said by Luke which are pretty uninteresting, but at one minute and fifty-seven seconds, we see our first look at Snoke, and boy was I accurate in my description. You guys remember that scene in Deadpool where they basically just let TJ Miller riff at Ryan Reynolds for three uninterrupted minutes? Yeah, that. But my sister did raise a pretty good theory for this scene earlier, and she said that Rey might be experiencing one of Ben's memories...even though she's probably not.

Two minutes and three seconds, black screen with Rey's dialogue leading us into the most misleading part of the trailer which has the #Reylo shippers up in arms. We hear Rey say the words "I need someone to show me my place in all of this." and then we see Ben raise a hand towards the camera. Now upon first glance, we assume he's offering to take Rey under his wing...but these two shots aren't even in the same scene. The lighting is all wrong for this to be possible for one thing, two the tones of each shot are different as well. The light that is facing Rey camera left is pure, and unobstructed. She's in the temple tree on Ahch-To, presumably talking to Luke and convincing him to train her. But when the camera is on Ben, he's obviously in the tail end of a battle sequence. He COULD still be talking to Rey, but no, the line given is in a completely different scene. So no #Reylo shippers, your beloved character parallel fetish fodder is not canon yet, keep writing your fanfiction. Now that last paragraph could potentially label me as Anti-Reylo, but then again not only do I not care if I am labelled as such, I just don't care about the delicious death threats i'm BOUND to get from subsequently posting this analysis on Tumblr once i'm done posting it to Facebook.

Anyways, the credits roll three seconds after that, we're promised a film on December 15th, and the first week of tickets are probably already sold out as i'm writing this. But overall it was a decent trailer as far as analytical material goes, and I don't really think we need another since the movie is two months off.

So yeah, weeee Star Wars...I think the internet is just RUINING this new trilogy for me.

#reylo #star wars #the last jedi #rey #kylo ren #film criticism

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amytavern · 8 years ago

Photo

Non Solus, 10,645 real and imitation pearls sent to me by 147 people, my own pearls, silk thread, 9″ x 7″ x 6.5″, with table 52" x 18" x 37", 2015 on-going participatory object

Non Solus is made of thousands of pearls, both real and imitation, donated by 147 people from around the US and 13 different countries. Using the internet as a way to dispense information and make a public request, I asked for donations of a single pearl from anyone, anywhere. I received contributions from near and far, from people I know and others I have never met. Many donations included multiple pearls and many were special in some way: a grandmother’s pearl necklace; a single earring, once part of a set given as a gift from a father to a daughter; poppy seed-sized antique pearls acquired when a young Spanish jeweler befriended a retired jeweler. Some pearls came with letters, others did not. Some were packaged in tiny boxes with ribbons, while others were padded in bubble wrap.

Starting with one pearl, the sculpture grew chronologically, donation by donation as each was stitched to the next. Every pearl was photographed, observed, and recorded before it was added to the piece. Non Solus is a on-going participatory object that will never be truly completed, much like how a pearl will grow indefinitely. It is about connection, participation, and collective memory.

Creating this piece was very special, to say the least. I never imagined it would grow into the complex work that it become, and continues to become. When I conceived the piece two years ago and put out my first call for pearls, I really thought a handful of people would respond and that the finished work would be the size of my fist. I never thought it would come to weigh 7 pounds and measure 9″ long! I also did not think I would receive the generous outpouring of care and generosity. I was given some truly unique pearls with heartfelt stories. I often found myself in tears as I opened a new package.

Discussing it in graduate school with peers and professors allowed me to see it in different ways and to inform it or situate it within historical context (Joseph Beuys and his “social sculpture”) and various art theories, movements, and philosophies (archival art, feminism, phenomenology). Learning about these connections served to create a foundation for the work and deepened the meaning for me.

I am especially grateful to all the people who sent me pearls. I can’t begin to express in words how I feel. Thank you to each of you for being a part of this piece.

Participants

Chris Keener, Huron, OH, Terry Taylor, Candler-NC, Lisa Norton, Shoreline, WA, Renee Zettle-Sterling, Coopersville, MI, Amy Hockett, Charlotte, NC, Bonnie Lambert, Helena, MT, Lucia Tremont, Syracuse, NY, Rebbecca Tomas, Seattle, WA, Charlene Schneider, Maineville, OH, Ellen Vontillius, Swannanoa, NC, Denise McCarthy, Houston, TX, Gill Miller, Lancaster Park, England, Shannon Cobb-Tappan, Dunedin, FL, Mark Fenn, Capel Iwan, Wales, Jowita Allen, Chevy Chase, MD, Baba Barnett, Raleigh, NC, Shava Lawson, Seattle, WA, Janna and Leah Marinelli, Traveler’s Rest, SC, Kelly Johnston, Bainbridge Island, WA. Kathy Clark, Reykjavík, Iceland, Laura Siegel, Brooklyn, NY, Jannie Rozema, Wageningen, Netherlands, Rachel Ehlers, Lake Ridge, VA, Tom McCarthy, St. Louis, MO, Anastasia Young, London, England, Jane Wells Harrison, Lenoir, NC, Janet Link, Raleigh, NC, Jenny Baughman, Roswell, GA, Lisa Juen, Utica, NY, Hilary Pfeifer, Portland, OR, Susie Luyet, Paia, HI, Sarah Powell, Oberhaching, Germany, Liz Willis, Pirton, England, Philip Sajet, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jen Townsend, Pittsford, NY, Heather Allen, Raleigh, NY, Raissa Bump, San Francisco, CA, Michael Magno, Brooklyn, NY, Casey Shepard, Los Angeles, CA, Eileen Wallace, Athens, GA, Kathy Brughelli, Middletown, RI, Marianne Dages, Philadelphia, PA, Fritz Maierhofer, Vienna, Austria, Dan Price, Chicago, IL, Mary Quin, Decatur, GA, Claire Sommers Buck, Austin, TX, Linda Callahan, Gloversille, NY, Katie Rosenthal, San Diego, CA, David Chatt, Seattle, WA, Chris Boland, Sheffield, England, Rachel Davis, Milwaukee, WI, Kris Baker, Seattle, WA, Maria Phillips, Seattle, WA, Lori Hawke-Ramin, LaFayette, NY, Michele Tuegel, St. Petersburg, FL, Kelsey Simmen, San Francisco, CA, Erin Wheeler, Johnstown, NY, Crystalyn Brennan, Brooklyn, NY, Elisa Bongfeldt, Berkeley, CA, Stephanie Voegele, Milwaukee, WI, Adrienne Smart, Arlington, TX, Susan Owen, Vilas, NC, Elizabeth Brim, Penland, NC, Meadow Thurston (in memory of), Carolina Apolonia, Middelburg, Netherlands, Rebecca Illet, Cambridge, England, Kathleen Edwards Hayslett, Coralville, IA, Madeleine Veillet, Gaspe, Quebec, Canada, Virginia Hungate-Hawk, Seattle, WA, Tracy Scott, Atlanta, GA, Michelle Smith-Lewis, Seattle, WA, Sarah Rachel Brown, Philadelphia, PA, Jenna Warburton, Seattle, WA, Paul Casey, Seattle, WA, Lisa Macutchan Gray, Seattle, WA, Lori Talcott, Seattle, WA, Catherine Chandler, Portland, OR, Stacey Mosteller and Noreen Coveny, Endicott and Richfield Springs, NY, Holinka Escudero, Mexico City, Mexico, Jane Ponsford, Esher, England, Jan Smith, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, Mary Wolaniuk, Boulder, CO, Christina Carlbaum, Gnarp, Sweden, Louise Perrone, Vancouver, BC Canada, Devon Matlock, San Francisco, CA, Siri Kvalfoss, Tyssedal, Norway, Claire MacDonald, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Emily Kidson, London, England, Michele Wyckoff Smith, London, England, Tara Locklear, Raleigh, NC, Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, Richmond, VA, Natascha Bybee, Seattle, WA, Natalia Araya, Valencia, Spain, Katja Prins, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Diego Richardson Nishikuni, London, England, Andrea Wagner, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Lylli Meredith, Seattle, WA, Elle Sharifpour, San Diego, CA, Miri Admoni, Sde Tzvi, Israel, Bonnie Levinthal, Philadelphia, PA, Lien de Clercq, Antwerp, Belgium, Melody Woodnutt, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Katharina Schneider, Blönduós, Iceland, Karen Vanmol, Antwerp Belgium, Yvette Dibos, San Diego, CA, Devon Clark, Palm Harbor, FL, Amy Sledge, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, Amy Bishop, Aptos, CA, Anonymous, Long Beach, CA, Anastasia Egorova Shelyakina, Illes Balears, Spain, Cathy Woodall, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, Caitlin Skelcey, Urbana, IL, Sam Woehrmann, San Francisco, CA, Rachel Weidinger, Oakland, CA, Hilde De Decker, Antwerp, Belgium, Kit de Sousa, Randolph, NJ, Bette Schuler, Tuscon, AZ, Melissa Lyon, Sherman, NY, Susan Bolding, Hayward, CA, Catherine Chambers, Ísafjörður, Iceland, Jonis Black-Parr, Seattle, WA, Christina Shmigel, Shanghai, China/Bakersville, NC, Nikki Couppee, Oakland, CA, Sara Erkers, Gothenburg, Sweden, Dawn Nakanhishi, Soquel, CA, Kerianne Quick, San Diego, CA, Shane Prada, Baltimore, MD, Mike Holmes, San Francisco, CA, Julia Turner, San Francisco, CA, Tescia Seufferlein, Oakland, CA, Lisa Fidler, Petaluma, CA, Sharon Tavern, Richfield Springs, NY, Elísa Mjöll Guðsteinsdóttir, Reykjavík, Iceland, Brooke Marks-Swanson, South Bend, IN, Lisa Heller, Philadelphia, PA, Kathleen Browne, Ravenna, OH, Megan McGaffigan, Vancouver, WA, Maya Kini, San Francisco, CA, Maria Porges, Oakland, CA, Chelsea Poe, Oakland, CA, Liz Oppenheim, Oakland, CA, Sara Valente, Herkimer, NY, Helga Ragnhildur Mogensen, Reykjavík, Iceland, Zoe Ani, San Francisco, CA

Images by Jamee Crusan.

Thanks for reading.

#amytavern #pearls #nonsolus #connection #donations #particpation #participatory object #socialsculpture

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