#I don’t care if you like or hated the new prequel film

[sketch-shepherd]

A summary of my frustration with the toxic Lion King fandom in four pictures

And yes this is in response to the new Mufasa prequel

[remythologise]

I don't have twitter and I'm seeing posts but a lot of them involve knowing what I'm looking at...can you pls explain the latest spn/Jensen news, pretty please?

Sure! Explanation of the events of the past week (some of these dates might be relative to my timezone, apologies for any errors):

JUNE 24: News breaks that Jensen Ackles and Danneel Ackles’ production company has a prequel in the works focusing on John and Mary Winchester; entire fandom displeased

Fandom ire at the prequel focusing on John and Mary momentarily overshadows the fact that it seems like Jensen Ackles has the rights to Supernatural (!!!) and has ‘five shows in the works’ of which this is only the first

Showrunner is Destiel fan-favourite Robbie Thompson, responsible for such Absolute Banger Episodes as ‘Meta Fiction’ (see more here)

A lot of blowback from absolutely all sides of the fandom - BiBros et al mad that it focuses on Not The Brothers, Destiel fans mad it focuses on Not Resolving Destiel, everyone largely mad it focuses on John Winchester (widely regarded as abusive) and the ‘epic love story’ of John/Mary (canonically forced by cupid magic)

Various cast members including Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Jake Abel, Ruth Connell and Julie McNiven reply to the article with comments indicating they’d like to be involved

Eric Kripke tweets that Jensen and Danneel are ‘the perfect people’ to take control of this story and Jared is ‘too busy Texas Rangering’ to be involved

JUNE 25: Jared Padalecki tweets about being left out of the loop on the prequel; absolute chaos ensues

See this ask reply for a list of tweets, events and reactions

I’ll also add that this gets large enough to get coverage on Vulture, Variety and other news sources

Robbie Thompson retweets his tweet from 2019 saying ‘I ❤️ you #SPNFamily’ in response to… everything

JUNE 26: A scramble for Jensen, Jared and Eric Kripke to do PR damage control on the Jared issue. Meanwhile, Misha Collins does his best impression of this scene from the Lion King to promote GISH

Eric later deletes all tweets about the issue, which is VERY funny. Man can’t handle the heat!

Very funny contrast between Jared’s ‘have a talk, as we often do’ and Jensen’s ‘miss these talks'

Jensen later changes his twitter header and bio from Supernatural/Dean Winchester to The Boys/Soldier Boys which IS somewhat unfortunate and perhaps deliberate break-up related timing

Jared tweets that he ‘doesn’t want anyone to receive hate or threats’ which is like… Jared YOU started this, YOU tweeted this to your millions of followers

JUNE 26: Jensen Ackles does further damage control by tweeting ‘Canon? we got you’ and linking to this article about what the show might hold, which points out the Problems of John Winchester

See article for further details but this implies Jensen actually does care a lot about doing right by the fans and the narrative canon

This, combined with the fact Robbie Thompson is running it, convinces most Destiel-side fans that the show Might Be Better Than Expected and one CW-approved stepping stone to greater things

BiBros are furious because article is written by ‘known Heller’ Natalie Fisher, who is friends with writers such as Meredith Glynn and Robert Berens

Meanwhile, Steve Yockey references the ‘Steve Yockey is dead?!?’ tumblr meme on twitter in a reply to Ruth Connell

JUNE 27: Gen Padalecki posts an instagram story which may or may not be shady commentary on Jensen Ackles

However, yesterday Danneel Ackles also promotes the Padalecki MLM product on HER instagram - can I just say I simply love the use of a) product promotion and b) instagram stories as tools of warfare and diplomacy

JUNE 28: Various scripts drop thanks to the team at tumblr’s spnscripthunt (go support and fund their efforts if you can!)

Notable changed content includes Castiel telling Dean to ‘parent’ Jack in 14.16 and Castiel texting emojis to Claire in 12.16 (possibly an in-script joke about Dean being attracted to a poodle?)

JUNE 29: News breaks that Chaos Machine Productions was started as ‘Free Will Entertainment LLC’

The name was apparently changed in October 2020 - was that as a result of the 15.19-15.20 filming? Or something else?

The idea that Jensen set up a company called ‘Free Will Entertainment’ to continue telling the story of Supernatural is honestly BONKERS. A lot to unpack here to do with the textual and metatextual narrative of Supernatural that I don’t have time to get into, since there’s about twenty wild implications that could be speculated from that name alone

Stock price on ‘Jackles’ Sexy Silence’, conspiracy that Jensen didn’t like the ending of Supernatural and was quietly plotting to take the narrative under his own control, to bring Dean back to life and possibly to canonise Destiel, reaches historic high

The fact does not go unnoticed that, through coincidence or not, Jensen and Danneel registered the company on a Thursday very close to September 18, the Lazarus Rising/Castiel Anniversary Date when Dean was saved from Hell

JUNE 30: Misha Collins makes a social media post with Castiel art for the last day of Pride Month

Twitter post liked by Robbie Thompson

On his instagram, Misha also puts music on the story of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’ a song made famous by Elvis and then subsequently Destiel AU Fanfic Twist and Shout

“The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as “Can’t Help Falling in Love with Him”, which explains the first and third line ending on “in” and “sin” rather than words rhyming with “you” - Wikipedia knowledge obtained via @jurisffiction

Falling… sin… But we don’t have time to unpack all of that-

JUNE 30: 8.17 Goodbye Stranger script excerpt surfaces with Dean’s ‘I love you’ to Castiel

Fandom has long known that the ‘I need you’ was formerly an ‘I love you’ because Jensen believed Dean saying it in that moment to Castiel was out of character - but we did not have the script to prove specific changes

Additional ‘I forgive you’ not included in the episode - the original scene reads as very romantic, since this was Dean absolving Castiel for past crimes and telling him he loves him in the moments before death, as well as ‘I love you’ of course being what ‘broke the connection’ of Naomi’s control

Notably this episode written by Robbie Thompson, the very man Jensen and Danneel chose to helm their next project

JUNE 30: Misha Collins misses his blanky text

To cap all this off, Misha Collins texts fans a selfie of himself at ‘the spare room at Jensen’s apt in Vancouver’, saying he ‘misses his blanky’, implying he has spent many nights there

It has been an open secret that Misha basically shared Jensen’s apartment in Vancouver since around 2018 due to [redacted dubiously obtained information] but it’s never been publicly stated (to be clear, this does not imply anything other than friendship, as actors in Vancouver often share accommodation and Misha had previously couch-surfed at Jared and Jensen’s places)

Cockles shippers go wild. Does the ‘blanky’ refer to Jensen? Was there a reason to send this on the last day of pride month? Will this man ever shut up?

Hope that helps! May this wild carousel of News About A Show That Ended Eight Months Ago never end!

[unexpectedreylo]

TLJ Revisited

TFA did not blow me away when it came out in 2015.  As a long-suffering prequels fan I didn’t like the anti-prequel dog whistles in the months leading up to the film, I didn’t like a lot of the crazed fanboys gushing how it was the best SW movie ever and thank goodness they wrested it away from that horrible George Lucas.  I didn’t like that Disney took Lucas’s outlines and for the most part trashed them, which publicly made Lucas unhappy.  While watching the flick, I was like a bitter ex noticing every flaw of the new trophy wife.  The story structure was not nearly as good as any of Lucas’s six films.  It was too derivative of ANH.  And worst of all, I had a real yucky feeling about what this trilogy was all about.  There was a nihilistic subtext to the whole thing:  Luke failed as a master, Han and Leia failed as parents, and the only scion of the Skywalker clan was almost certainly doomed for death since he was a bad guy and killed Han Solo.  It seemed like a setup so that new heroine Rey would essentially take over the story.  I couldn’t understand why it seemed I was the only person who seemed to notice this.

Then, five years ago, TLJ came out and for two years I had hope, even certainty, that maybe I’d misread the trajectory the trilogy was taking.

Dammit, I hate being right.

That said, TLJ remains something of a slightly nicked masterpiece.  It is the best film of the sequel trilogy, that’s for sure.  I liked the film when I first saw it.  I was pleasantly surprised and well, we all know how I feel about Reylo.  Yet when I look at what I wrote about the film right after seeing it, it seems like I was still pretty tough on it.  I think in retrospect I was still annoyed by a lot of aspects of TFA and the story elements it introduced.  

So five years on, I thought I would take an honest reassessment of the film.  The good, the great, the bad, and the ugly.

First I want to address the perpetual controversy around TLJ.  The curious thing about TLJ is how much anger it still inspires, to the point of irrationality.  It’s one thing if it’s not your favorite SW film or if you didn’t love it.  It’s one thing if you have problems with it.  But I make no secret of what I think of TROS and I still don’t hate everything about it nor do I spend all of my time complaining about it.  It’s almost as though a lot of the narrative and characterization problems TFA raised were ignored when the film came out and then when they inevitably materialized in TLJ, Rian Johnson got blamed for them.  Luke exiled himself to that island for a reason and Johnson had to find a pretty extreme reason to explain why Luke would take that drastic of an action.  The Luke in exile thing was one of the few aspects of Lucas’s outlines that actually made into the movies; he was set to go Col. Kurtz regardless.  But angry fans don’t care about any of this.  They think Johnson is some iconoclast who’s just tearing down Luke because he can.  Mark Hamill’s public complaints about it didn’t help.  The rest of it was anger over dashed theories over where TFA was going to go next.  Really, it’s nuts.  Who gets this excised over a movie?  How does any honest person sincerely believe Rian Johnson is a mean, hateful person who only wanted to destroy someone’s cherished memories of Star Wars?  

Okay, on to the movie itself.

A lot of what I still find flawed about the film comes from what was flawed about TFA.  The whole galactic set up made no sense to me and while Jason Fry’s TLJ book explains it to some degree, that explanation is missing from the film.  Lucas and Co. were great at worldbuilding while telling a story about a core of characters at the same time.  The sequel guys, not so much.  It’s just Empire vs. Rebels 2.0 without going into the how's or why's.  It still makes little sense to me is Luke saying he didn’t want to be found, he just wanted to live out his days on Ahch-To, yet there’s a map to find him.   

Another problem is how TLJ picks up immediately after TFA.  Johnson didn’t really have much of a choice because of how TFA ended.  So unlike the other SW films, there’s no narrative “breathing” room with this one.  There’s no opportunity for the characters to grow or relationships to build or even for the characters to process what has happened to them.  Compare that with TESB, where you can see Luke being a committed Rebel or a blossoming relationship between Han and Leia.  Or with AOTC, where Obi-Wan has been master to padawan Anakin for 10 years and Padme has become a senator.  I think that serves the Star Wars story better.  This way makes the ST feel like a movie adaptation of a really long book they broke into two or three parts.  And because Johnson had no idea what they were going to do in IX, his hand was forced to put everyone still alive back in their corners at the end of the film.

If I wasn’t going to include more of Rey and Kylo Ren, I would’ve included less of the rest of crew with the exception of Rey’s scenes with Luke.  Simply put, Reylo is by far the most interesting aspect of the sequel trilogy and TLJ’s scenes with them are so compelling it’s easy to lose patience with the other threads.  I don’t mind the Canto Bight stuff or Poe’s catfight with Holdo.  I love Rose.  But there seems to be a requirement that every sequel film must firmly focus on the Rebels because that’s who we’re cheering for.  The problem is that in TLJ, you have two elder Skywalkers with a smaller role and their only scion is “the bad guy” who has less screen time than any of the major heroes.  This continued the problem I had with TFA, that the Skywalkers were kind of side characters in their own saga.  Johnson tries to take Finn and Poe and craft actual story arcs for them but it was always a little unclear as to what their role was in the bigger scheme of things.  I guess we’re supposed to understand Poe is something of Leia’s heir apparent in the Rebel leadership but he’s also the house flyboy.  As I posted in my original review, Poe is Wedge Antilles with a bigger role.  Finn has a kinda clingy relationship with Rey and this bromance with Poe but he has no real connection with Luke, Leia, or Han.  There are good things about his arc in this movie but it doesn’t answer the question, what’s he doing there?  What does he bring to the table?  I wish they’d kept the stormtrooper rebellion in this film or in TROS.  And there’s no indication at all he has any affinity for the Force.  There seems to have been insufficient communication all around as to who these characters are, what they’re supposed to be doing or what they're supposed to become.

I’ll never understand why the sequels avoided any “alien” seen in episodes I-VI like the plague.  I never found the designs in the ST to be anywhere near as good, even factoring in the Rick Baker masks in ANH.

And if I may be so nitpicky, I don’t like the use of “big ass door.”  It seems too much our world, not the GFFA.

Finally, I find it interesting that after noting both sides use war profiteers and Rose delivers an eat the rich (profiteer) speech about Canto Bight, we got a might makes right conclusion where it’s all about kicking the bad guy’s butt.  The war’s on, baby!  Look, if your message is the bad guys are evil and it’s a cancer that needs to be removed from the galaxy, stick with that.  The other stuff is kind of a distraction that ultimately doesn’t mean anything to the narrative.

Okay, on to what I like/love about TLJ.  Namely, it’s a brash, bold, beautiful film that in a lot of ways was just what Star Wars needed.  I really worried this was going to be TESB Karaoke, and thank goodness Johnson had more sense than that.  It’s a movie that parallels TESB and AOTC with occasional nods to each film; Johnson understands the difference between homage and just repeating what some other movie did.  TLJ still feels like its own thing while adhering to the rhythm of the prior trilogies.

Johnson’s wisest decision was to get Adam Driver out of the Kylo Ren mask and take full advantage of Driver’s talent.  Sure, it probably made the marketing department mad but man, what a performance.  Today, I think that the timing of the film’s release and the trophy crowd’s disdain for Star Wars other than for the technical stuff, as well as other factors, hosed Driver out of a deserved supporting actor nomination.  Kylo Ren was popular before TLJ but this film turned him into one of the most memorable and complex characters in the nine film saga.  It also IMO made Adam Driver a bonafide star.

But Johnson is one of those “actor’s directors,” coaxing very good to terrific performances from his other cast members.  Daisy Ridley’s Rey in TLJ is absolutely luminous:  emotional, curious, occasionally funny, vulnerable, impulsive, compassionate, and in the heat of battle, feral.  In her scenes with Kylo/Ben, she meets him toe-to-toe whether as enemies or as allies with the hint of something else brewing between them.  As I’ll get to in my upcoming Reylo Heresies, I think we tend to forget that she commits wholeheartedly to Rey, which for a whole list of reasons isn’t an easy thing to do.  

Well, here’s another heresy for you...I think TLJ remains up there with TESB as Mark Hamill’s best turn as Luke Skywalker.  For all of Hamill’s kvetching and fanboy rage their hero was besmirched by that dastardly Johnson, Hamill did a great job.  Luke’s scenes with Rey are great and his cranky reluctance to embrace his destiny were well performed.  His great sadness at his own downfall and his wise wariness of a quickie conversion for Kylo add new depths to his character.  His final duel with Kylo is an amazing cap to his legend.  A lot of old fans like me were never happy that the ST set up our gang as failures and Luke’s behavior seemed a little harsh to me the first time I saw the movie.  Then through subsequent viewings it didn’t seem so bad.  I guess some fans never got over their initial shock.

Like I said, Johnson admirably sets up character arcs for newbies Poe and Finn while introducing new characters like Rose, DJ, and Admiral Holdo.  I’m happy to see Laura Dern in anything.  What a get.  Same deal for oddball Benedicio Del Toro as DJ.  Kelly Marie Tran got too much stick from idiots on the internet; her Rose is a delightful, charming character who teaches Finn what heroism really means and how to embrace something bigger than himself.  Domhall Gleeson gets some fun moments as General Hux, Gwendoline Christie drops by for a compelling final battle with Finn, and BB-8 is as adorable as ever.

This was Carrie Fisher’s last actual performance in Star Wars and there’s something fragile and vulnerable about her turn in this movie.  Few things can beat Luke’s reunion with Leia on Crait for pure poignancy.

Johnson also excels at visuals.  It’s a beautifully shot movie, whether its the harsh interiors of the Supremacy, Snoke’s red throne room, Ahch-To, or Crait’s salt plains.  The scene where Kylo and Rey touch hands is one of the greatest demonstrations of the need for connection and belonging I’ve seen in any movie.  I also love the part where Holdo goes into hyperspace right through the Supremacy, splitting it apart just as Kylo and Rey “come apart” and the Skywalker lightsaber is split in two.  I could go on and on about the many great shots in this movie.

Thematically, TLJ is very much in line with Johnson’s brand of populism.  While the Skywalkers struggle with the weight of legacy, Johnson elevates “regular” Rebels like Rose and establishes that Rey--everyone’s last hope-- is...nobody.  TLJ makes the case that anyone could come from anywhere and be a hero.  Even the “villain” could be heroic for a minute or two if he lets himself.

It also makes the case that the purpose of legends is to inspire those people in the first place.  This is demonstrated at the end of TLJ, unique among SW films in that it doesn’t feature the main characters in its coda.  A slave kid on Canto Bight is inspired by Luke’s story, telling his friends about it as they play with their action figures, then holding up his broom stick like a lightsaber.  TLJ is unique in that it’s the only SW film to basically comment on SW itself.  

As for Reylo, I think TLJ accomplished two things by emphasizing and building upon their relationship.  One is that it made each character more interesting.  Prior to TLJ I found Kylo the most intriguing of the newbies but I wasn’t terribly invested in him or Rey until this film.  The other is putting them together opened so many possibilities.  It’s tragic in retrospect that TROS didn’t take greater advantage of them.  Reylo isn’t just hot or sexy, it’s also mythic.

So that’s my look back at TLJ.  Stay tuned for the heresies!

[silger]

About Jensen's idea

I just want to say a few words about Jensen's situation.

For several days there has been a discussion of his series and... So much negativity is pouring in his direction. I'm shocked! O_O I don't even want to go on Tumblr or Twitter because I've never seen so much toxicity towards Jensen.

Guys, it really scares me that all of you (Jensen's fans, Misha's fans, Cockle's fans and Destiel's fans - all the best we have thanks to SPN) are starting to turn into j2 fans who constantly blame Jensen for something. So much negativity towards him is usually produced only by them.

Yes, Mary and John don't interest me either. Moreover, I DON'T CONSIDER their love story as a "love story" at all (the plan of angels, etc.). They don't really interest me as characters. BUT.

It's not that it's John and Mary. The fact is that it is JENSEN'S CREATION. It's HIS job. It's HIS creation. It is HE who wants to show us and tell us some part of the story that we may not know yet. And the fact is that it's exactly HIS DESIRE and HIS THOUGHTS about it. And I want to see Mary and John through HIS eyes. Not through the eyes of the creators. Namely through the eyes of Jensen performed by Dean. How he sees and feels. Why? I don't care about Mary and John, but I DO care about JENSEN.

Without his participation, I would never have watched "The Boys". You think I miss the blood and guts in superhero movies? Do you think I miss super-humans doing terrible things and pretending to be good people? No, there is enough of this goodness in the world of cinema. I didn't watch "The Boys" because of Eric Kripke (even though I respect him). I only watched it when I found out that Jensen was filming in 3 season. It literally changed everything. Yes, I liked "The Boys", I won't lie:) But the FACT is that I sat down to watch it ONLY BECAUSE JENSEN was shooting there.

We have been supporting Misha for so long in all his endeavors - book, podcast, RoadFood, GISH, other charities and so on. We support him literally in everything he does. We support his opinion during Creation, even when he doesn't answer some questions. We support him even when he evades Destiel once again, starting to say their favorite phrase "everything is open to interpretation". Why? Because we love Misha!

Why doesn't it work for Jensen? What is the problem? Yes, the series will air on CW. So what? This will continue to be released thanks to Chaos Machin. This will be released thanks to Jensen and Dee. This will be Jensen's opinion about the story told by Dean. It's important.

You can hate John and Mary. Okay, I understand, really! You have a right to it, guys! This is true. But how can you say that "Winchesters" is a bad show or a good one if you haven't even seen it yet? We literally have NOTHING on it. No photo, no teaser, no reveal of the plot of the pilot, nothing. So how can you call it bad in advance just because it's a prequel? It's Jensen's idea and he's working on it because he has SOMETHING to tell us.

So why not support him ATTEMPT to do something new in the SPN's world? Moreover, what makes you think that he should shoot Destiel? He never promised it. Moreover, Misha never promised it either. Where did you all even get it from? Yes, I'd like to see Dean and Cas together again. Yes, damn it, I DREAM about it! But if Jensen is afraid to talk about this, then it's not as easy as we all think. And this is HIS RIGHT. You know, he could doesn't do anything at all. He could not even have created Chaos Machin. But he did it, so there's a good reason for it. And I don’t understand why you can’t just calmly wait for the series to come out and after the pilot episode start talking about whether this series is bad or good, and not smash it while we don’t even have a teaser.

The only thing I really care about is how strong the influence of CW will be. I'm afraid that Jensen won't be 100% free in his decisions, in his desires and in his plans. I'm afraid that CW will reject some of his good ideas. THIS is what I'm REALLY worried about, not that the show is about John and Mary. And if you're really Jensen's fan, and if you really love him, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

[hologramcowboy]

Honestly what gets me is that people are still dragging Jared over this after Jensen gave his side of the story, but gloss over the fact that Jensen lied about the deadline leaked the article story he told at his m/g. And then people ignore the timeline of this situation, this podcast was filmed a month before the m/g story. He contradicted himself about the spn commentary podcast story, he admitted that Danneel doesn’t watch spn, only a few episodes, and kinda revealed that she only cared when he got her a role on the show. And then he shifted the blame on Jared saying that he should’ve texted me instead of tweeting right after he said he took responsibility for his actions. This is a stark contrast from Jared’s New York Times interview where he chalked it up to misunderstanding and didn’t once shift the blame to Jensen, like he could’ve. And then saying that Jared was drunk, when Jared has publicly spoken out about his drinking habit, it just seems like he was justifying his actions. And there’s no way that Jensen doesn’t see the hate Jared gets and how Jared antis always bring up the bar incident. He just added more fuel to the fire for AAs and hellers to use. I get this was back in September and that his views/opinions have changed since then, but it doesn’t change the fact he said what he said and he believed it. Which is why I personally believe that he stated he was under the influence to cushion the blow, because he knew what he said was wrong. Also I feel like he could’ve asked Rosenbaum to edit that stuff out, he had enough time to, but I guess he forgot, until it was posted and the hate started for him and Jared started flowing in, which is why he posted the pic later on in the day. This doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of Jensen anymore, I just can’t ignore what he said like AAs and hellers have chosen to do so.

Rant aside I don’t think that prequel will ever happen because all it’s known for is the fallout between him and Jared and it being a terrible idea, receiving negative views before Jared tweeted. The general audience didn’t want it at all.

I too think he meant to cushion the blow and also to remove himself from any responsibility. But it’s a little the equivalent of gaslighting your own fans so bad move, Jensen. ☹ Thank you for expressing your view so beautifully, Anon.

[costellos]

k. so you know that post you made with la squadra realizing theyre hopelessly in love. can i get uhhhhh that with itadori, fushiguro, gojou, and nanami maybe 👉👈

a/n: you sure can! and congrats on being the first to suggest JJK content, I’m honored to write u some of that #goodstuff. also, like the last post, you and your partner are already in a relationship here.

tw: none.

disclaimer: I'm anime-only, so apologies if my interpretations aren’t accurate to the characters!

❥ ┋ ❝ gojo, nanami, itadori, & fushiguro realizing that they’re hopelessly in love!

gojo satoru.

Gojo realizes that he’s hopelessly in love when he finds that sensitive spot on your side.

it was honestly an accident. he was trying to demonstrate the proper hand motions for a specific cursed technique. don’t flare out your elbows, tuck them in. you’ll damage your shoulders otherwise. open up your fists, palms out... but in trying to readjust your elbows, he reached a little too far and pushed a little too hard on that sensitive spot in your ribcage.

the squeak you made in response was adorable. well, hilarious first and foremost, but cute nonetheless. you can’t see his eyes. but that sly grin and furrowed brow tells you everything you need to know: he’s delighted he found such a peculiar quirk.

now whenever he approaches you from behind, he pokes your side. it’s become his way of greeting you. that squeak and your clutching your sides always makes for his grand entrance. he knows you hate it. but he also knows that you’re not going to do anything to stop him.

and he doesn’t mean any harm. he would stop if you asked. it’s just that your reaction shows so much about you. how you click your tongue and scrunch your nose at him. how you always tell him that you’re going to get back at him. it’s so you, wrapped up so nicely in such a small act. he’s not poking you because he thinks it’s hilarious; he’s doing it because he loves that you respond the same way, every time. ↳ “oops, my hand slipped! ...you know, you look really cute when you’re pouting.”

nanami kento.

Nanami realizes that he’s hopelessly in love while watching you interact with the students.

he overhears you show Kugisaki a more effective way of fighting. your student is already incredibly strong, but most of that strength comes from her upper body. by keeping her back straight and her knees bent (“don’t let them slide past your toes!” you tell her), she can place all her power in her quads, launching herself toward cursed spirits with terrifying speed.

she’s saying that the position feels awkward. you laugh in response, nodding and telling her that it takes some time to get used to. yet she’ll get the hang of it eventually, and you’ll be there to guide her every step of the way. she can trust you on that.

he says that he can separate professionalism and sentimentality. he also says that you’re too soft with the students. but hearing you believe so vehemently in these kids, assuring them that they can always rely on you... well. if you could see him, he’d sigh in response.

in truth, he’s envious that you can show so much of yourself to these kids. he’s so tired. working as a salaryman has wasted so many years of his life. being a jujutsu sorcerer hasn’t done him many favors, either. you’ve had your own share of stress. he doesn’t know how you can still show so much kindness to the world — day after day — despite that. but it’s a big part of why he loves you. ↳ “make sure you’re getting your rest. you can’t function properly if you keep pushing yourself.”

itadori yuji.

Itadori realizes that he’s hopelessly in love while watching a b-list movie with you.

you watch a movie with Itadori every Thursday night. take a break from the world for a moment; get out and live life as a normal human being. it helps that the movie theater closest to the school always shows new releases for 500 yen. it’s honestly a steal with inflation worsening by the day, and it gives you a good excuse to get off campus. because this has become a weekly habit, however, there’s only one, new movie waiting for you both: Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark. aka, some shitty, American b-list film.

he doesn’t even have to ask. you know. this is it, this is going to be the pick of a lifetime. and boy, does Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark not disappoint. 

the thing is though, Itadori isn’t even paying attention to the movie. he’s watching you from his peripheral. watching as you laugh at this stupid movie, ooooo’ing at the awful special affects. you squeeze his hand whenever things get particularly ridiculous, and he blushes every time.

no one else will sit down and watch these dumb movies with him. it’s just a waste of time, they tell him. but it’s not a waste of time if you’re having fun, right? who cares if the plot and CGI are some of the worst on the market. that’s what the experience is all about. and judging by your wide smile, cheeks sore from laughing all the way through the movie, you’re the only person who gets that. hell, who gets him.  ↳ “[Name]! the prequels are on Netflix! wanna check ‘em out when we get back?”

fushiguro megumi.

Fushiguro realizes that he’s hopelessly in love when he sees you reach for him in your sleep.

students aren’t allowed to have sleepovers in their dorms. that doesn’t mean that the staff is very good at enforcing it, though. you spend a lot of nights in Fushiguro’s room, sometimes to hang out, sometimes to cram for finals. it started as an accident, with your falling asleep after pulling an all-nighter for a test earlier that morning. Fushiguro didn’t seem to mind. so you took it as your green light.

he’s getting up to use the bathroom when he sees you do it. although you’re still asleep, your hand swishes across the sheets as if you were looking for something. you huff and mumble something he can’t understand. which is.... odd. but what if... he places his hand on top of yours? 

the moment he does, your scowl turns upwards. you readjust your own hand to lace your fingers with his. that’s when it hits him: him. you were looking for him. and suddenly, his face feels unbearably hot.

he’s not used to anyone caring that much about him. sure, Gojo cares about him as a student and Itadori as a friend, but you? that moment solidifies that you see him as your other half. a confidant, the friend you look for even when you’re asleep. all facts that make his heart as warm as his face that night. ↳ “I’ll be back soon. just... be patient.”

[luvliesl]

Ok but like what if the Simon Snow Series had a prequel?

I recently read Rainbow Rowell's interview with Vanity Fair (which I would link if I weren't technologically inept, but I am so anyone interested will just have to look it up sorry) But one of the questions talks about the possibility of Rainbow writing another Simon and Baz related book and part of her answer got me thinking.

“But I would never say I'm never going to write about them again. I think it's likely that I might revisit them someday. But this story is over. If I were to come back to them, it won't pick up the next day.” 

Honestly I tend to get annoyed with people who sit around begging for more books in a series (or a film adaptation for that matter) when it just clearly is not going to happen. Especially since I think AWTWB ended in a good place and I don't think their story needs adding to so I am in no way holding out for a 4th Simon Snow book.

But it did get me thinking, what about a prequel? I know they tend to be pretty hit or miss and a lot of people tend to find them boring or just straight up not like them but in this case I feel like it could be really interesting. 

Just Imagine: 

all of the adventures we know Simon had explained in more depth (chimera, Baz trying to steal his voice, why the goblins want him dead, ALL of the things the humdrum sent) 

But also even more stories and adventures we don't know about or have short little mentions (Simon killing a were dog, him saving Agatha from a well)

All of Simon and Baz’s fights (we need a full pushing down the stairs scene)

Seeing more of Simons magic 

Along with some other non-Watford things like Simons experience in the care homes 

Baz learning about his vampirism and also how to deal with it 

Baz and Agatha's whole thing in the wavering woods 

But mostly the slow descend into Baz falling in love with Simon AS ITS HAPPENING

But also being able to flush out some more of the relationships. 

- Simon and the mage (I know we all hate him but really seeing all the ways he hurt Simon could be both sad and interesting) 

-Simon and Ebb 

-Simon and Agatha (seeing their relationship in full swing would be kinda weird though)

-Simon and that one random nurse who I don't remember her name off the top of my head but it was a great scene 

-Its mentioned in Carry On that Simon is like acquaintances with a lot of students so seeing him interact with outside people

-Baz and his whole family really (Fiona, Malcom, Daphne, his siblings) (also this is the stupidest little tid bit but for some reason I have always been curious about how his family found out he was gay and just how all of that went down)

-Baz and Dev/Niall (the one Dev scene is AWTWB was gold and I need more of Baz having interactions with people beside his family and Simon) 

-Penny and Micah? (I know he is old news now but still) 

-Ebb and Mara the dryad??? 

Literally the possibilities are endless  

In addition we can get the sense from Carry On that their eighth year isn't a very normal year for them. (Baz is gone for a long time, the mage tries to get Simon to leave, Simon and Agatha are on weird terms and then of course winter break and forward everything changes for them in multiple aspects) 

So we never really get to see what being at Watford is really like for them normally or what their personalities were like before since they do so much growing in Carry on. 

I would be lying if I didn't mention that part of the reason I want this is because of the fan fic Rebel Rebel by basic-banshee (which if you somehow haven't read yet go do that like right now) (once again would link if I knew how) Because I loved seeing Baz grow up and the experience of seeing him go through things as they were happening like his father marrying Daphne and then having children or him figuring about about his vampirism. And getting a canon version of that would just be amazing. 

Anyways this was a super long post and I doubt anyone will actually make it to the end but obviously this whole post is just hypothetical and an idea I had, but I felt like it needed to be shared because it would be great. 

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Rumor Has It {Epilogue}

Chris Evans x Famous Reader Uriah “Riah” Tyler

Warning: Cursing, Plot, Fluff, 

Words: 2.2k

Summary: You and Chris have been married for four years after a whirlwind romance. You are both happy and trying to navigate marriage in the public eye while balancing your successful careers. In the entertainment industry, not everything is as it seems, the flash of a camera lens impairs vision. As scandal and flashing lights put a strain on your once fairytale marriage is it possible your Hollywood marriage can stand the test of the rumor mill?

**Inspired by a video seen of Chris and his co-star Ana De Armas on their press tour for Knives Out at TIFF where she kept touching his chest and face standing about five inches apart.

NOTE: DO NOT COME FOR ME. THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

**Loosely Edited/Proofread**

Thank you guys for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊❤️❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If the public ripped Chris a new asshole when the odds seemed ever not in his favor, they massacred Ana once the facts were revealed. When it came out just how low Ana had gone in her efforts to get your husband, the world turned into a colder place. The tabloids ran endless pieces on what a horrible person she was. They were relentless when it came to nitpicking not just her behavior and actions, but they even went in on her acting. You could have said you felt bad for her, but you didn’t. Not one bit.

 The support that came out for you and Chris was heartwarming. Everyone seemed to want to wrap the two of you in a cocoon of support and love. You received well-wishes from fans and supporters, and even celebs sent floral arrangements, all expressing their support for you. The narrative that was spun was the diabolical plot of Ana and jilted ex Christiano who concocted a plot that was to end with Ana getting Chris and Christiano kidnapping you. Most of the details were released to the press, though you and Chris had both tried to keep as much of it under wraps as possible. Neither one of you wanted to continue dealing with it. You just wanted to move forward and focus on better things—happier things.

 Because Christiano had broken into your home and attempted to cause harm to its residents, Chris’s actions were seen as self-defense, and Chrisnao’s death ruled an accidental result of self-defense. Though the White family were distraught once they were faced with the severity of Christiano’s actions and continued plans, they didn’t have the heart to put you through any further trauma. You’d suspected it was Christina’s doing, and a floral arrangement from her a few weeks after the incident proved your suspicions.

 You’d been friends with her first, and it was a friendship that survived the end of your relationship with Christiano. This was her way of letting it be known that her brother did wrong. A month after the incident, her statement shed light on Christiano’s mental health and revealed he’d been struggling for several years since the break-up. She made no apologies for his actions and didn’t try to make him seem like a victim. She was adamant about letting the full truth be seen. She did offer an apology to you, Chris, your families, and your children.

 For her part in the plot, her actions of physically trying to kill you, not knowing you pregnant at the time, was what sealed Ana’s fate. She was sentenced to jail, and it wasn’t entirely the sentence of a privileged woman. It was one of a criminal who showed no remorse for their actions. She was given nine years behind bars, and because she was living and working in the US on a visa rather than citizenship, after the completion of her sentence, she would be deported to Spain. 

Even film studios were distancing themselves from her at record speed. All the roles she had been considered for quickly changed their views and voiced wanting you to have the roles. It was sort of poetic to you. She hated you because you were black, and you didn’t deserve all you had, including your career and husband. In the end, she was the absolute furthest from your husband, and now everything that was hers would be yours.

 You and Chris were on a flight to Massachusetts two days after the incident. Neither of you were suspects; there was no reason for you to remain in LA, so you quietly packed up what you wanted and made arrangements to pack up the house for the foreseeable future, then went where both of you felt like you belonged. You left any details about your career plans to your manager to close. Everyone seemed to understand the want you had to step back from work and Hollywood, especially when the news was out that you were going to be parents.

 That was the only thing Chris seemed to care about. He was on a mission to keep you comfortable, happy, and taken care of. From the minute he carried you over the threshold of the home he’d built for you, it felt like a fresh start, a new beginning meant just for the five of you.

 He was there beside you every morning, patting your back as you vomited because of your morning sickness until you were four and a half months along. He was there for every single appointment. He read every book you did to prepare for the remainder of your pregnancy and life with twins. He was there preparing you lunch every afternoon, there massaging your feet and back at the end of every night. He was there to lather on the cocoa and shea butter to your growing belly. He was there to compliment every stretch mark you received because of your quickly stretching skin. He was there to kiss each of them while telling you how much he loved each and every tiger stripe, as he called them. He was even there for you when none of your clothes fit you, and he offered you all his cable-knit sweaters, hoodies, sweatpants, and button-downs.

 When your belly became so big you couldn’t see your feet; he put your shoes on for you. When you couldn’t get up without looking like a beached whale, Chris was there to carry you wherever you wanted to go. There rarely went an hour that went by where he didn’t strip you to worship your body as if you were his scripture, and he worshiped you and you alone. Not a day passed where you didn’t feel loved, desired, and protected.

 Through it all, you decided that therapy was beneficial and a powerful enough tool to bring you back together that you wanted to continue. Dr. Danquah was thrilled having the two of you as clients again and, because of your progress, saw no need for you to see her more than twice a month to keep the lines of communication and the roots of love and passion ever strong. The love you felt for Chris and the connection you felt to each other only deepened throughout your pregnancy.

 Just when you thought you couldn’t love him anymore, he did something to prove you wrong. Every day you found something more to love. If it wasn’t his fun-loving nature that was on display every time he played with Dodger, it was his outdoorsy adventurism with the way he bounded from the bed once the sun rose to drag you on another of his nature walks so he could photograph the trees or the hills. If it wasn’t his romantic side with how he prepared candlelit baths every night that posed as a prequel to dinner by candlelight and the most passionate session of lovemaking, it was his undercover, not so undercover freak antics with him wanting to christen every single room in the house and a few spots outdoors with your lovemaking. At nights when he thought you were sleeping, you heard him talking to the babies as he caressed your stomach. That was what you loved most. His sheer love, devotion, and adoration for his children and the strong protector that resided in him. he was the only one for you.

 “Push Riah.”

 “Don’t fucking tell me to push. You push!”

 Chris snorted, and you wanted to kill him. His hands rubbed your belly before he kissed your jaw from his position behind you in the tub in your bathroom.

 “I can push with you, but you have the babies in you. You have to show them the way.”

 You groaned, and it echoed in the hallowed bathroom.

 “You can do this, Uriah,” Lisa encouraged, giving your shoulder a firm squeeze.

 You looked across to your mother, who nodded, hoping to steel your nerve. Chris kissed your ear.

“Come on, dragonfly. You got this. Bring our babies into the world so we can spoil them.”

 And you can change all the poop diapers?”

 Chris snorted again. “I don’t recall making any such promise.”

 You squeezed his hand with everything you had. He groaned and hissed from the pain.

 “Ah, ah, wow. Okay, I see my error. Yes, all poop diapers that you don’t want.” You released his hand, letting him relax somewhat.

 “Use that, baby. I know it’s hard. I know it hurts, and I’m sorry.”

 “This is your fault,” you pointedly accused.

 “Yes. My fault. I take full blame. I’m sorry.”

 “You owe me so big for this, Evans.”

 He nodded, agreeing with you. that was when the pain intensified at levels that made you regret choosing a natural birth at home.

 “Oh fuckity, fuck. So big, Evans!”

 “You’re crowning. Do you want to come over here and catch your baby, dad?”

 Chris moved from behind you and got into position between your legs. His eyes widened, clearly seeing the baby’s head. The excitement around you was palpable, and it gave you a burst of energy to get the baby out. You grabbed your knees, hunkered down, and pushed because whether you were supposed to or not. Your scream was loud, and the screams of those around you picked up. They shouted to you, encouraging you to keep going and not to stop. The look on Chris's face suddenly changed, and you saw the tears in his eyes.

 “Oh my god, Riah, I can—I can see—oh baby, I can see a face. come on, Dragonfly, one more push.”

 You screeched out and fought through the intense burning you felt, and in seconds the crying of a baby echoed in the bathroom.

 “Aah, oh my god, Riah, it’s a girl. She’s here,” Chris elated as tears rolled down his cheeks.

 You smiled widely as Chris held your daughter and cut her umbilical cord before he placed her on your chest.

 “Oh my god!”

 She was perfect, with a full head of hair that was the color of Chris’s and cheeks so plump you were tempted to pinch them. You only had a moment to place a kiss on her forehead before you felt another stab of pain that made you shout again. The second midwife took the baby from you so you could focus on pushing out her sister.

 “She’s right there, Uriah. You’re doing incredible, baby,” your mother informed.

 “I’m thinking three good pushes, Uriah.  When you feel the urge, push.

 You instantly felt the urge to push and returned to your previous position and pushed as hard as you could. This push was just as painful as the first one, but you felt this push accomplished more.

 “Good push, her head is out. One more, and she’ll be out,” your first midwife said.

 The look on everyone's face was one of anxiety and excitement. The sounds of your first daughter’s cries had died down, and the only thing that could be heard in the room was your panting, screeching, and grunting.

 “Fuuuuuck!”

 You managed to push your daughter out, and her cries filled the bathroom. Soon, it was not one baby crying but both of them.

 “You did it!”

 Lisa and your mother both kissed your cheeks and forehead, happily congratulating you and telling you how well you’d done while the midwives cleaned the babies to bring them to you. When Chris came up beside you, your mothers backed away, giving you a few moments together. Chris kissed your forehead.

 “You’re incredible. You did so good, dragonfly. I’m so proud of you.” He kissed you once, then twice, and nuzzled his nose against yours.

 “I love you so much.”

 “Did someone order two perfect babies?”

 The midwives placed your daughters in your arms.

 “This is baby A; she was born first and her sister.”

 Your tears flowed freely as so much emotion filled you. Love in it’s purest form washed over you.

 “Chris. They’re beautiful.”

 “Of course they are. They look just like you,” Chris said, kissing your temple.

 A comfortable silence fell between you as you admired your newborn daughters.

 “Any decision on names?”

 You smiled and ran your thumb across the baby’s brow in your arm.

 “Yeah. How do you feel about Nova and Rae?”

 Chris’s face lit up as his smile spread so wide that you wondered if his face would split in two.

 “I love them. Nova and Rae Evans,” he uttered. You nodded and couldn’t help but choke up, seeing the emotion on his face.

 “Chasing dragonflies,” he whispered the meanings of the names you’d discussed weeks ago before his lips met yours for a tender kiss.

 With his forehead pressed to yours, he whispered again. “Rumor has it you’re going to be an amazing mom.”

 You smiled and looked at him before pressing your lips to his for a quick kiss. “Rumor has it you’re a DILF.”

 Chris laughed so loud it startled your babies, making them stir and cry. You joined in laughing with him, unable to keep your sublime happiness under wraps any longer.

 “Rumor has it you two will have siblings in record time,” Lisa said slightly above a whisper.

 Everyone in the room laughed, not knowing how true those were most likely were. You and Chris gazed at each other with longing and love in your eyes. When Chris kissed you again, this time taking his time to do it properly, completely and heartily, you knew his mother’s words would be the truest spoken.  

                                             The End!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List:

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@imthatbitchsworld @soul–notforsale @toni9 @someone-really-bored @venustrap04 @chrisevansdaddycap @kittykatlow @live-laugh-love-ki @asiaaisa77 @melanicia @fistmetonystark @livinglifeformemyselfandi @crowngold @allnamesicouldthinkofweretaken @lost- ssoull @give-me-a-million-dollars-pls​ @shar74nett @cltex84 @badbitchhtown @petty-bitch-akira​ @unknownmystery22​ @raveviolet @madixii @almosttherebutnot @rainbowkisses31​​ @smediumsmeatbae @bernie-k @nina1800 @nervousninjatheorist @lo-cheu @creole-mami @acciolove724 @shipatheart @captainchrisstan @ramp-it-up @bforbbgirl @brownskinafro @jhayes6984 @badbo1-evans @msblkfire84 @jovanaprime @poshgirl2 @marvelatthis30 @littlepreciousangel @youremysuperstar @alookintohersoul @cleopatra-knowles​ @xsweetdellzx @cxmfort​ @i-just-like-fanfics @storiestoldbyjazz @jennmurawski13 @imthewarmpenguininthemiddle @ak329​

@koko-michelle @sophiasotherdaughter @maeleeme  @mauvecherie​ @jbrizzywrites​

***There are a few that are bold that I tried to tag but your @ wasn’t coming up. I’m not sure why. Please check that you are taggable. I’m sorry.***

[xlynnbbyx]

Okay I just finished listening to the podcast. First off I can tell it’s been awhile since I watched Smallville cause I forgot about Michael being in it. But anyway besides staring at Jensen I enjoyed the podcast. I could seriously listen to Jensen talk all day and never get bored of him. There was so much discussed I will pick out few things to discuss & give my opinion on it. Now keep in mind these are just my opinions. If you share a different view then me that is fine. But please don’t be hateful or rude about it. Now onto my opinions on a few things from the podcast!

Since this is going to be very long and I don’t want to take up people’s dashboard I am putting a “Keep Reading“ thing here. So read under the cut for my opinion on the podcast.

First off we have him discussing about critiquing episodes of Supernatural kind of like a podcast thing. By the way Jensen was talking I don’t think he thought anything would come of it. As he said he has to stay busy he can’t just stay idle. I think it was something to do cause well it was lockdown. A lot of people did stuff like that to stay busy and not lose their minds.

The bitch Alba comment that seems to have so many people in a uproar. I don’t think people really paid attention to everything he said there. I have heard that during Dark Angel Jessica Alba was hard to work with at times. As Jensen said she was supposedly dating someone who worked on the show and they had a rocky relationship. So there were days Jessica was bitchy to everyone. The reason he said bitch Alba is cause when he came onto set she basically was snarky with him. So instead of taking it or not firing back that is when he said oh look we are dealing with Bitch Alba today. He is not saying she is one now. So I think people are making a big deal out of nothing.

The prequel oh boy I wish it was never brought up. The reason being is how some people are they would be hateful about it. The thing about not saying anything until you get the part is very common. When I was in school I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to go to an acting school in New York. So I took theater classes. That was one of the things my theater teacher told us. Whether it’s movies, tv shows, broadway, or any acting period never say anything until you’re sure you got the part. It’s like if you speak before anything is said you jinx yourself. So that there is very common. Btw clearly my dream never happened. Kind of glad too Hollywood tears people down in the worst way possible.

Anyway getting back on track here before I ramble. Now to me the story that Jensen tells is the exact same one he told at the leaked meet & greet. It was just worded differently than what he said then. But to me it’s the exact same story. But really I wish it wasn’t brought up. But considering it was something that had controversy to it i can see why it was brought up.

There were so many other things discussed in the podcast that I loved hearing. I do think at some points Jensen was in Nesnej mode. 😂 But listening to Jensen fanboy over Karl Urban knowing they are friends now was awesome. Hearing him talk about how he processed the ending of Supernatural discussing how he felt was great. I love how he shows how much he still loves and cares for Dean. He is very protective of Dean and I think that is great! Hearing him say the one time he recalls being really scared was during 9/11. Hearing him say he was in Vancouver filming Dark Angel and all the thought about was going home to his parents and siblings was heartbreaking. I mean we all felt that fear. We had no idea what was going on or why it was even happening. It was like is it going to happen near me? What if something happens to my family & I’m not there to protect them. So many thoughts went through all of our minds then. Hearing him get excited for Rust made me sad. He was so excited about it cause being in a western was his dream. Sadly we know what happened to where that dream for now was cut short.

All in all it was a great podcast very insightful in my opinion. I seen people very critical of Jensen which that is there opinion. I think many were so critical because they went into the podcast with that in mind. Instead of listening fully to what he said many are nitpicking looking for something negative to say. They want something bad to say about Jensen or Jared. No Jensen isn’t perfect and I do wish he worded it better. But people have to keep in mind this was filmed in September 2021. Things could definitely be different now. There still may have been some tension there between Jared & Jensen before they hashed it out. They clearly worked through things and are still best friends. I mean stuff like that happens in any friendship. But you hash it out move on and still respect each other. So please don’t send hate to Jared or Jensen. Don‘t be saying things like well Jared should drop Jensen as a friend or Oh this should happen stuff like that. How Jensen & Jared handle their friendship is up to them no one else. No one can control what they do with their friendship period.

But really it is a great podcast give it a listen if you haven’t. Also please do not send any hate towards Jensen or Jared to me. I don’t want that on my blog. Neither one deserves any kind of hate at all.

[ariainstars]

Thank You, Disney Lucasfilm… For Destroying My Dreams

Warning: longer post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So… I watched The Rise of Skywalker on Disney+ a few weeks ago. Again.

Sigh.

I guess it has its good sides. But professional critics tend to dislike it and even the general audience doesn’t go crazy for it. I wonder why?

  The Fantasy

When his saga became a groundbreaking pop phenomenon in the 1970es, George Lucas reportedly said that he wanted to tell fairy tales again in world that no longer seemed to offer young people a chance to grow up with them. The fact that his saga was met with such unabashed, international enthusiasm proves that he was right: people long for fairy tales no matter how old they are and what culture they belong to.

“Young people today don’t have a fantasy life anymore, not the way we did… All they’ve got is Kojak and Dirty Harry. All the films they see are movies of disasters and insecurity and realistic violence.” (George Lucas)

I’ve been a Star Wars fan for more than thirty years. I love the Original Trilogy but honestly it did not make me dream much, perhaps because when I saw it the trilogy was already complete. The Prequel Trilogy also did not inspire my fantasy.

The Last Jedi accomplished something that no TV show, book or film had managed in years: it made me dream. The richness of colorful characters, multifaceted themes, unexpected developments, intriguing relationships was something I had not come across in a long time: it fascinated me. I felt like a giddy teenager reading up meta’s, writing my own and imagining all sorts of beautiful endings for the saga for almost two years.

So if there’s something The Rise of Skywalker can pride itself on for me, it’s that it crushed almost every dream I had about it. The few things I had figured out – Rey’s fall to the Dark, Ben Solo’s redemption, the connection between them - did not even make me happy because they were tainted by the flatness of the storytelling reducing the Force to a superpower again (like the general audience seems to believe it is), and its deliberate ignoring of almost all messages of The Last Jedi.

Many fans of the Original Trilogy also were disillusioned by the saga over the decades and ranted at the studios for “destroying their childhood”. Now we, the fans of the sequels and in particular of The Last Jedi, are in the same situation… but the thought doesn’t make the pill much easier to swallow. What grates on my nerves is the feeling that someone trampled on my just newly found dreams like a naughty child kicking a doll’s house apart. Why give us something to dream of in the first place, then? To a certain extent I can understand that many fans would angrily assume that Disney Lucasfilm made the Sequel Trilogy for the purpose of destroying their idea of the saga. The point is that they had their happy ending, while every dream the fans of the Sequel Trilogy may have had was shattered with this unexpectedly flat and hollow final note.

I know many fans who dislike the Prequel Trilogy heartily. I also prefer the Original Trilogy, but I find the prequels all right in their own way, also since I gave them some thought. However, it can’t be denied that they lack the magic spark which made the Original Trilogy so special. Which makes sense since they are not a fairy tale but ultimately a tragedy, but in my opinion it’s the one of the main reasons why the Prequel Trilogy never was quite so successful, or so beloved.

Same goes for Rogue One, Solo, or Clone Wars. They’re ok in their way, but not magical.

The sequel trilogy started quite satisfyingly with The Force Awakens, but for me, the actual bomb dropped with The Last Jedi. Reason? It was a magical story. It had the spark again that I had missed in the new Star Wars stories for decades! And it was packed full of beautiful messages and promises.

The Force is not a superpower belonging solely to the Jedi Anyone can be a hero. Even the greatest heroes can fail, but they will still be heroes. Hope is like the sun: if you only believe in it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night. Failure is the greatest teacher. It’s more important to save the light than to seem a hero. No one is never truly gone. War is only a machine. Dark Side and Light Side can be unbeatable if they are allies. Save what you love instead of destroying what you hate.

Naively, I assumed the trilogy would continue and end in that same magical way. And then came The Rise of Skywalker… which looks and feels like a Marvel superhero story at best and an over-long videogame at worst.

Chekov’s Gun

“Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”

(Anton Chekov, 1860 - 1904)

If you show an important looking prop and don’t put it to use, it leaves the audience feeling baffled. There is a huge difference between a story’s setup, and the audience’s feeling of entitlement. E.g. many viewers expected Luke to jump right back into the fray in Episode VIII, because that’s what a hero does, isn’t it? The cavalry comes and saves the day. And instead, we met a disillusioned elderly hermit who is tired of the ways of the Jedi. But there was no actual reason for disappointment: in Episode VII it was very clearly said (through Han, his best friend) that Luke had gone into exile on purpose, feeling responsible for his failure in teaching a new generation of Jedi. It would have been more than stupid to show him as an all-powerful and all-knowing man who kills the bad guys. Sorry but who expected that was a victim to his own prejudice.

A promise left unfulfilled is a different story. The Last Jedi set up a lot of promises that didn’t come true in The Rise of Skywalker: Balance as announced by the Jedi temple mosaic, a new Jedi Order hinted at by Luke on Crait, a good ending for Ben and Rey set up by the hand-touching scene which was opposite to Anakin’s and Padmés wedding scene. Many fans were annoyed about the Canto Bight sequence. I liked it because it felt like the set-up for a lot of important stuff: partnership between Finn and Rose whom we see working together excellently, freedom for the enslaved children (one of whom is Force-sensitive), DJ and Rose expressing what makes wars in general foolish and beside the point. So if we, the fans of Episode VIII, now feel angry and let down, I daresay it’s not due to entitlement. We were announced magical outcomes and not just pew-pew.

The Star Wars saga never repeated itself but always developed and enlarged its themes, so it was to be expected that delving deeper, uncomfortable truths would come out: wars don’t start out of nowhere, and they don’t flare up and continue for decades for the same reason. In order to find Balance, the Jedi’s and the Skywalker family’s myths needed to be dismantled. Which is not necessarily bad as long it is explained how things came to this, and a better alternative is offered. The prequels explained the old political order and the beginnings of the Skywalker family, and announced that the next generation would do better. The sequels hardly explained anything about the 30 years that passed since our heroes won the battle against the Empire, and while The Last Jedi hinted at the future a lot, The Rise of Skywalker seemed to make a point of ignoring all of it.

  The Skywalker Family Is Obliterated. Why?

Luke was proven right that his nephew would mean the end of everything he loved. The lineage of the Chosen One is gone. His grandson had begun where Vader had ended - tormented, pale and with sad eyes - and he met the same fate. Luke, Han, Leia, all sacrificed themselves to bring Ben Solo back for nothing. Him being the reincarnation of the Chosen One and getting a new chance should have been meaningful for all of them; instead, he literally left the scepter to Rey who did nothing to deserve it: merely because she killed the Bad Guy does not mean she will do a better job than the family whose name and legacy she proudly takes over.

I do hope there was a good reason if the sequels did not tell “The New Adventures of Luke, Leia and Han” and instead showed us a broken family on the eve of its wipeout. It would have been much easier, and more fun for the audience, to bring the trio back again after a few years and pick up where they had left. Instead we had to watch their son, nephew and heir go his grandfather’s way - born with huge power, branded as Meant to Be Dangerous from the start, tried his best to be a Jedi although he wanted to be a pilot, never felt accepted, abandoned in the moment of his greatest need, went to his abuser because he was the only one to turn to, became a criminal, his own family (in Anakin’s case: Obi-Wan and Yoda) trained the person who was closest to him to kill him, sacrificed himself for this person and died. And in his case, it’s particularly frustrating because Kylo Ren wasn’t half as impressive a villain as Vader, and Ben Solo had a very limited time of heroism and personal fulfilment, contrarily to Anakin when he was young.

The impact of The Rise of Skywalker was traumatic for some viewers. I know of adolescents and adults, victims of family abandonment and abuse, who identified with Ben: they were told that you can never be more than the sum of your abuse and abandonment, and that they’re replaceable if they’re not “good”. Children identifying with Rey were told that their parents might sell them away for “protection”. Rey was not conflicted, she had a few doubts but overall, she was cool about everything she did, so she got everything on a silver platter; that’s why as a viewer, after a while you stopped caring for her. Her antagonist was doomed from birth because he dared to question the choices other people made for him. It seems that in the Star Wars universe, you can only “rise” if you’re either a criminal but cool because you’ve always got a bucket over your head (Vader / the Mandalorian) or are a saint-like figure (Luke / Rey).

One of Obi-Wan’s first actions in A New Hope is cutting off someone’s arm who was only annoying him; Han Solo, ditto. These were no acts of self-defense. The Mandalorian is an outlaw. Yet they are highly popular. Why? Because they always keep their cool, so anything they do seems justified. Young Anakin was hated, Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen attacked for his portrayal. For the same reason many fans feel that Luke is the least important of the original trio although basically the Original Trilogy is his story: it seems the general audience hates nothing more than emotionality in a guy. They want James Bond, Batman or Indiana Jones as the lead. Padmé loved Anakin because she always saw the good little boy he once was in him; his attempts at impressing her with his flirting or his masculinity failed. Kylo tried to impress Rey with his knowledge and power, but she fled from him - she wanted the gentle, emphatic young man who had listened to her when she felt alone. Good message. But both died miserably, and Ben didn’t even get anything but a kiss. Realizing that his “not being as strong as Darth Vader” might actually be a strength of its own would have meant much more.

The heroes of the Original Trilogy had their adventures together and their happy ending; the heroes of the Prequel Trilogy also had good times and accomplishments in their youth, before everything went awry. Rey, Finn and Poe feel like their friendship hardly got started; Rose was almost obliterated from the narrative; and Ben Solo seems to have had only one happy moment in his entire life. Of course it’s terrible that he committed patricide (even if it was under coercion), but Anakin / Vader himself had two happy endings in the Prequel Trilogy before he became the monster we know so well. Not to mention Clone Wars, where he has heroic moments unnumbered.

The Skywalker family is obliterated without Balance in the Force, and the young woman who inherited all doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from all this. The Original Trilogy became a part of pop culture among other things because its ending was satisfying. We can hardly be expected to be satisfied with an ending where our heroes are all dead and the heir of their worst enemy takes over. What good was the happy ending of the Original Trilogy for if they didn’t learn enough from their misadventures to learn how to protect one single person - their son and nephew, their future?

For a long time, I also thought that the saga was about Good vs. Evil. Watching the prequels again, I came to the conclusion that it is rather about Love vs. War. And now, considering as a whole, I believe it to be essentially Jedi against Skywalker. The ending, as it is now, says that both fractions lost: they annihilated one another, leaving a third party in charge, who believes to be both but actually knows very little about them.

Star Wars and Morality

After 9 films and 42 years, it still is not possible to make the general audience accept that it is wrong to divide people between Good and Evil in the first place. The massive rejection of both prequels and sequels, which have moral grey zones galore, shows it.

It is also not possible without being accused of actual blasphemy in the same fandom, to say the plain truth that no Skywalker ever was a Jedi at heart. As their name says, they’re pilots. Luke was the last and strongest of all Jedi because he always was first and foremost himself. Anakin was crushed by the Jedi’s attempts to stifle his feelings. His grandson, too. A Force-sensitive person ought to have the choice whether they want to be a Jedi or not; they ought not to be taught to suppress their emotions and live only on duty, without really caring for other people; and they ought to grow up feeling in a safe and loving environment, not torn away from their families in infancy, indoctrinated and provided with a light sabre (a deadly weapon) while they’re still small. A Jedi order composed of child soldiers or know-it-all’s does not really help anybody.

The original Star Wars saga was about love and friendship; although many viewers did not want to understand that message. The prequels portrayed the Jedi as detached and arrogant and Anakin Skywalker sympathetically, a huge disappointment for who only accepts stories of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. The Last Jedi was so hated that The Rise of Skywalker backpedaled: sorry, of course you’re right, here you have your “hero who knows everything better and fixes everything for you on a silver platter”. The embarrassing antihero, who saves the girl who was the only person showing him some human compassion, can die miserably in the process and is not even mourned.

Honestly: I was doubtful whether it would be adequate to give Ben Solo a happy ending after the patricide. I guess letting him die was the easiest way out for the authors to escape censorship. (I even wrote this in a review on amazon about The Last Jedi, before I delved deeper into the saga’s themes.) The messages we got now are even worse.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo

A parent can replace a child if they’re not the way they expect them to be. A victim of lifelong psychical and physical abuse can only find escape in death, whether he damns or redeems himself. An introspective, sensitive young man is a loser no matter how hard he tries either way. A whole family can sacrifice itself to save their heir, he dies anyway.

Rey

Self-righteousness is acceptable as long as you find a scapegoat for your own failings. Overconfidence justifies anything you do. You can’t carve your way as a female child of “nobodies”, you have to descend from someone male and powerful even if that someone is the devil incarnate. You are a “strong female” if you choose to be lonely; you need neither a partner nor friends.

In General

Star Wars is not about individual choices, loyalty, friendship and love, it is a classic Western story with a lonesome cowboy (in this case: cowgirl) at its centre. Satisfied? 

The father-son-relationship between Vader and Luke mirrors the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, saying that whoever we may want to kill is, in truth, our kin, which makes a clear separation in Good and Evil impossible. The “I am your father” scene is so infamous by now that even non-fans are aware of it; but this relationship between evil guy and good guy, as well as the plot turns where the villain saves the hero and that the hero discards his weapon are looked upon rather as weird narrative quirks instead of a moral. 

In  an action movie fan, things are simple: good guy vs. bad guy, the good guy (e.g. James Bond may be a murderer and a misogynist, but that’s ok because he’s cool about it) kills the bad guy, ka-boom, end of story. But Star Wars is a parable, an ambitious project told over decades of cinema, and a multilayered story with recurring themes.

A fairy tale ought to have a moral. The moral of both Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy was compassionate love - choose it and you can end a raging conflict, reject it and you will cause it. What was the moral of the Sequel Trilogy? You can be the offspring of the galaxy’s worst terror and display a similar attitude, but pose as a Jedi and kill unnecessarily, and it’s all right; descend from Darth Vader (who himself was a victim long before he became a culprit) and whether you try to become a Jedi trained by Luke Skywalker or a Sith trained by his worst enemy, you will end badly?

Both original and prequel trilogy often showed “good” people making bad choices and the “bad ones” making the right choices. To ensure lasting peace, no Force user ought to be believe that he must choose one side and then stick to it for the rest of his life: both sides need one another. The prequels took 3 films to convey this message, though not saying so openly. The Last Jedi said it out clearly - and the authors almost had their heads ripped off by affronted fans, resulting in The Rise of Skywalker’s fan service. It’s not like Luke, Han and Leia were less heroic in the Sequel Trilogy, on the contrary, they gave everything they had to their respective cause. They were not united, and they were more human than they had once been. Apparently, that’s an affront.

The Jedi are no perfect heroes and know-it-all’s and they never were, the facts are there for everyone to see. Padmé went alone and pregnant to get her husband out of Mustafar - and she almost succeeded - although she knew what he had done and that he was perfectly capable of it (he had told her of the Tusken village massacre himself) because she still saw the good little boy he had been in him; Obi-Wan left him amputated and burning in the lava, although he had raised Anakin like a small brother and the latter had repeatedly saved his life. But Padmé was not a Jedi, so I guess she still had some human decency. Neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda lifted a finger for the oppressed populations of the galaxy during the Empire, waiting instead for Anakin’s son to grow up so they could trick him into committing patricide. Neither Luke nor Leia did anything for their own son and nephew while he became the scourge of the galaxy, damning his soul by committing crime after crime. On Exegol, Rey heard the voices of all Jedi encouraging her to fight Palpatine to death. After that, they left her to die alone, and the alleged “bad guy”, who had already saved her soul from giving in to Palpatine’s lures, had to save her life by giving her his own. The Jedi merely know that “their side” has to win, no matter the cost for anyone’s life, sanity, integrity or happiness.

Excuse me, these are simple facts. How anyone can still believe that the Jedi were super-powerful heroes who always win or all-knowing wizards who are always right is beyond me. Luke, the last and strongest of them, like a bright flickering of light before the ultimate end, showed us that the best of men can fail. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. But it is wrong and utterly frustrating when all of the failure never leads to anything better. If Rey means to rebuild the Jedi order to something better than it was, there was no hint at that whatsoever.

  And What Now?

The Last Jedi hit theatres only 2 years before The Rise of Skywalker, and I can’t imagine that the responsible authors all have forgotten how to make competent work in the meantime; more so considering that Solo or The Mandalorian are solid work. Episode IX is thematically so painfully flat it seems like they wanted us to give up on the saga on purpose. The last instalment of a 42-year-old saga ought to have been the best and most meaningful. I had heard already decades ago that the saga was supposed to have 9 chapters, so I was not among who protested against the sequels thinking that they had been thought up to make what had come before invalid. I naively assumed a larger purpose. But Episode IX only seems to prove these critics perfectly right.

The last of the flesh and blood of the Chosen One is dead without having “finished what his grandfather started”?

Still no Balance in the Force?

And worst of all, Palpatine’s granddaughter taking over, having proven repeatedly that she is not suited for the task?

Sorry, this “ending” is absurd. I have read fanfiction that was better written and more interesting. And, most of all, less depressing. I was counting on a conclusion that showed that the Force has all colours and nuances, and that it’s not limited to the black-and-white view “we against them”. That’s the ending all of us fans would have deserved, instead of catering the daddy issues of the part of the audience who doesn’t want stories other than those of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. I myself grew up on Japanese anime, maybe that’s one of the reasons why I can’t stand guys like James Bond or Batman and why I think you don’t need “a great hero who fixes the situation” but that group spirit and communication are way more important.

It was absolutely unexpected that Disney, the production company whose trademark are happy endings and family stories, would end this beloved and successful saga after almost half a century on such a hollow note. Why tell first a beautiful fairy tale and then leave the audience on a hook for 35 years to continue first with a tragedy (which at least was expected) and then with another (unexpected one)? And this story is supposed to be for children? Like children would understand all of the subtext, and love sad, cautionary tales. Children, as well as the general audience, first of all want to be entertained! No one wants to watch the legendary Skywalker family be obliterated and a Palpatine take over. The sequels were no fun anymore; we’ve been left with another open ending and hardly an explanation about what happened in the 30 years in between. If you want to tell a cautionary tale, you should better warn the general audience beforehand.

The Original Trilogy is so good because it’s entertaining and offers room for thought for who wants to think about its deeper themes, and also leaves enough space for dreams. Same goes for the first two films of the Sequel Trilogy; but precisely the last, which should have wrapped up the saga, leaves us with a bitter aftertaste and dozens of questions marks. 

We as the audience believe that a story, despite the tragic things that happen, must go somewhere; we get invested into the characters, we root for them, we want to see them happy in the end. (The authors of series like Girls, How I Met Your Mother or Game of Thrones ought to be reminded of that, too.) I was in contact with children and teenagers saying that the Sequel Trilogy are “boring”; and many, children or adults, who were devastated by its concluson. There is a difference between wanting to tell a cautionary tale and playing the audience for fools. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. Who watches a family or fantasy story or a romantic / comedic sitcom wants to escape into another world, not to be hit over his head with a mirror to his own failings, and the ones of the society he’s living in. Messages are all right, but they ought not to go at the cost of the audience’s satisfaction about the about the people and narrative threads they have invested in for years.

This isn’t a family story: but children probably didn’t pester the studios with angry e-mails and twitter messages etc. They simply counted on a redemption arc and happy ending, and they were right, because they’re not as stupid as adults are. I have read and watched many a comment from fans who hate The Last Jedi. Many of these fans couldn’t even pinpoint what their rage was all about, they only proved to be stuck with the original trilogy and unwilling to widen their horizon. But at least their heroes had had their happy ending: The Rise of Skywalker obliterated the successes of all three generations of Skywalkers.

If the film studios wanted to tease us, they’ve excelled. If they expect the general audience to break their heads over the sequels’ metaphysics, they have not learned from the reactions to the prequels that most viewers take these films at face value. Not everybody is elbows-deep in the saga, or willing to research about it for months, and / or insightful enough to see the story’s connections. Which is why many viewers frown at the narrative and believe the Sequel Trilogy was just badly written. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. As it is now, the whole trilogy is hanging somewhere in the air, with neither a past nor a future to be tied in with.

The prequels already had the flaw of remaining too obscure: most fans are not aware that Anakin had unwillingly killed his wife during the terrible operation that turned him into Darth Vader, sucking her life out of her through the Force: most go by “she died of a broken heart”. So although one scene mirrors the other, it is not likely that most viewers will understand what Rey’s resurrection meant. And: Why did Darth Maul kill Qui-Gon Jinn? What did the Sith want revenge for? Who was behind Shmi’s abduction and torture? Who had placed the order for the production of the clones, and to what purpose? We can imagine or try to reconstruct the answers, but nothing is confirmed by the story itself.

The sequels remained even more in the dark, obfuscating what little explanation we got in The Rise of Skywalker with quick pacing and mind-numbing effects.

Kylo Ren had promised his grandfather that “he would finish what he started”: he did not. Whatever one can say of this last film, it did not bring Balance in the Force. What’s worse, the subject was not even breached. It was hinted at by the mosaic on the floor of the Prime Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, but although Luke and Rey were sitting on its border, they never seemed to see what was right under their noses. It remains inexplicable why it was there for everyone to see in the first place.

We might argue that Ben finished what his grandfather started by killing (or better, causing the death of) the last Jedi, who this one couldn’t kill because he was his own son; but leaving Rey in charge, he helped her finish what her grandfather had started. The irony could hardly be worse.

Episode IX looks like J.J. Abrams simply completed what they started with Episode VII, largely ignoring the next film as if it was always planned to do so. We, the angry and disappointed fans of The Last Jedi, may believe it was due to some of the general audience’s angry backlash, but honestly: the studios aren’t that dumb. They had to know that Episode VIII would be controversial and that many fans would hate it. The furious reactions were largely a disgrace, but no one can make me believe that they were totally unexpected. Nor can anyone convince me that The Rise of Skywalker was merely an answer to the small but very loud part of the audience who hated The Last Jedi: a company with the power and the returns of Disney Lucasfilm does not need to buckle down before some fan’s entitlement and narrowmindedness out of fear of losing money. And if they do, it was foolish to make Rey so perfect that she becomes almost odious, and to let the last of the Skywalker blood die a meaningless death. (Had he saved the Canto Bight children and left them with Rey, at least he would have died with honor; and she, the child left behind by her parents, would have had a task to dedicate herself to.)

The only reason I can find for this odd ending is that it’s meant to prepare the way for Rian Johnson’s new trilogy, which - hopefully - will finally be about Balance. We as the audience don’t know what’s going on behind the doors. Filmmaking is a business like any other, i.e. based on contracts; and I first heard that Rian Johnson had negotiated a trilogy of his own since before Episode VIII hit theatres. Maybe he kept all the rights of intellectual property to his own film, including that he would finish the threads he picked up and close the narrative circles he opened, and only he; and that his alleged working on “something completely different” is deliberately misleading.

Some viewers love the original trilogy, some love the prequels, some like both; but I hardly expect anyone to love the sequel trilogy as a whole. What with the first instalment “letting the past die, killing it if they had to”, the second hinting at a promising future and the third patched on at the very last like some sort of band-aid, it was not coherent. I heard the responsible team for Game of Thrones even dropped their work, producing a dissatisfying, quickly sewn together last season, for this new Star Wars project and thereby disappointing millions of GoT fans; I hope they are aware of the expectations they have loaded upon them. George Lucas’ original trilogy had its faults, but but though there was no social media yet in his time, at least he was still close enough to the audience to give them what they needed, if not necessarily wanted. (Some fans can’t accept that Luke and Leia are siblings to this day, even if honestly, it was the very best plot twist to finish their story in a satisfying way.)

I’m hoping for now that The Last Jedi was not some love bombing directed at the more sentimental viewers but a promise that will be fulfilled. “Wrapping up” a saga by keeping the flattest, least convincing chapter for last is bad form. Star Wars did not become a pop phenomenon by accident, but because the original story was convincing and satisfying. Endings like these will hardly make anyone remember a story fondly, on the contrary, the audience will move to another fandom to forget their disappointment.

On a side note, I like The Mandalorian, exactly for the reason that that is a magical story; not as much as the original trilogy, but at least a little. Of course, I’m glad it was produced. But it’s a small consolation prize after the mess that supposedly wrapped up the original saga after 9 films.

We’re Not Blind, You Know…

- Though Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) has Darth Vader’s stature, his facial features are practically opposite to Vader’s creepy mask. This should have foreshadowed that his life should have gone the other way, instead of more or less repeating itself. - As a villain Kylo was often unconvincing; by all logic he should have been a good father figure. (Besides, Star Wars films or series never work unless there is a strong father or father figure at their center.)

- Like Vader, Kylo Ren was redeemed, but not rehabilitated. Who knows who may find his broken mask somewhere now and, not knowing the truth, promise “I will finish what you started”. - The hand-touching scene on Ahch-To which was visually opposite to Anakin’s and Padmé’s should not have predicted another tragedy but a happy ending for them. - The Canto Bight sequence was announcing reckoning for the weapon industry and freedom for the enslaved children. It also showed how well Finn and Rose fit together. - Rey was a good girl before she started on her adventures. Like Anakin or Luke, she did not need to become a Jedi to be strong or generous or heroic. - Rey summons Palpatine after one year of training. Kylo practically begged for his grandfather’s assistance for years, to no avail. Her potential for darkness is obviously much stronger. - Dark Rey’s light sabre looked like a fork, Kylo’s like a cross. - The last time all Jedi and Sith were obliterated leaving only Luke in charge, things went awry. Now we have a Palpatine masquerading as a Skywalker and believing she’s a Jedi. Rey is a usurper and universally cheered after years of war, like her grandfather. - The broom boy of Canto Bight looked like he was sweeping a stage and announcing “Free the stage, it’s time for us, the children.”

Rey failed in all instances where Luke had proved himself (so much for feminism and her being a Mary Sue): - Luke had forgiven his father despite all the pain he had inflicted on him. She stabbed the „bad guy”, who had repeatedly protected and comforted her, to death. - Luke never asked Vader to help the Rebellion or to turn to the Light Side, he only wanted him back as his father. She assumed that you could make Ben Solo turn, give up the First Order and join the Resistance for her. She thought of her friends and of her own validation, not of him. - Luke had made peace by choosing peace. Rey fought until the bitter end. - Luke had thrown his weapon away before Palpatine. Rey picked up a second weapon. (And both of them weren’t even her own.) - Luke had mourned his dead father. Rey didn’t shed a tear for the man she is bonded to by the Force. - Luke went back to his friends to celebrate the new peace with them. Rey went back letting everyone celebrate her like the one who saved the galaxy on her own, she who were tempted to become the new evil ruler of the galaxy and had to rely on the alleged Bad Guy to save both her soul and her body. - Luke had embodied compassion when Palpatine was all about hatred. Where he chose love and faith in his father, she chose violence and fear. - Luke had briefly fallen prey to the Dark Side but it made him realize that he had no right to judge his father. Rey’s fall to the Dark Side did not make her wiser. - Rey has no change of mind on finding out that she’s Palpatine’s flesh and blood, nor after she has stabbed Kylo. Luke had to face himself on learning that he had almost become a patricide. Rey does not have to face herself: the revelation of her ancestry is cushioned by Luke’s and Leia’s support. Rey is and remains an uncompromising person who hardly learns from her faults.

This is cheating on the audience. And it's not due to feminism or Rey being some sort of “Mary Sue” the way many affronted fans claim. Kylo never was truly a villain, Rey is not a heroine, and this is not a happy ending. The Jedi, with their stuck-up conviction “only we must win”, have failed all over again. The Skywalker family was obliterated leaving their worst enemy in charge.  Rey is supposed to be a “modern” heroine which young girls can take as an example? No, thank you. Not after this last film has made of her. Padmé was a much better role model, combining intelligence with strength and goodness and also female grace. The world does not need entitled female brats.

Bonus: What Made The Rise of Skywalker a Farce

- The Force Awakens was an ok film and The Last Jedi (almost) a masterpiece. The Rise of Skywalker was a cartoon. No wonder a lot of the acting felt and looked wooden. - “I will earn your brother’s light sabre.” She’s holding his father’s sabre. - Kylo in The Last Jedi: “Let the past die. Kill it if, you have to.” Beginning with me? - Rey ends up on Tatooine. - The planet both Anakin and Luke ardently wanted to leave. - Luke had promised his nephew that he would be around for him. - Nope. - Rey had told Ben that she had seen his future. What future was that - “you will be a hero for ten minutes, get a kiss and then die? (And they didn’t even get a love theme.) - “The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.” On a desert planet with a few ghosts. What of the ocean she used to dream about? - Ben and Rey were both introduced as two intensely lonely people searching for belonging. We learn they are a Force dyad, and then they are torn apart again. - Why was Ben named for Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first place, if they have absolutely nothing in common? - The Throne Room battle scene in The Last Jedi was clearly showing that when they are in balance, Light Side and Dark Side are unbeatable. Why did the so-called “Light Side” have to win again, in The Rise of Skywalker, instead of finding balance? - Luke’s scene on Ahch-To was so ridiculously opposite to his attitude in The Last Jedi that by now I believe he was a fantasy conjectured by her. (Like Ben’s vision of his father.) - Anakin’s voice among the other Jedi’s. - He was a renegade, for Force’s sake. - The kiss between two females. - More fan service, to appease those who pretended that not making Poe and Finn a couple was a sign of homophobia. - We see the Knights of Ren, but we learn absolutely nothing about them or Kylo’s connection with them. - Rose Tico’s invalidation. - A shame after what the actress had gone through because for the fans she was “not Star-Wars-y” (chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire). - Finn’s and Rose’s relationship. - Ignored without any explanation. - Finn may or may not be Force-sensitive. - If he is: did he abandon the First Order not due to his own free will but because of some higher willpower? Great. - General Hux was simply obliterated. - In The Force Awakens he was an excellent foil to Kylo Ren; no background story, no humanization for him. - Chewie’s and 3PO’s faked deaths. - Useless additional drama. - The Force Awakens was a bow before the classic trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker kicked its remainders to pieces. - The Prequel Trilogy ended with hope, the Original Trilogy with love. The Sequel Trilogy ends on a blank slate. - “We are what they grow beyond.” The characters of the Sequel Trilogy did not grow beyond the heroes of the Original Trilogy. - The Jedi did not learn from their mistakes and were obliterated. The Skywalker family understood the mistakes they had made too late. Now they’re gone, too.

  P.S. While I was watching The Rise of Skywalker my husband came in asked me since when I like Marvel movies. I said “That’s not a Marvel movie, it’s Star Wars.” I guess that says enough.

P.P.S. For the next trilogy, please at least let the movies hit theatres in May again instead of December. a) It’s tradition for Star Wars films, b) Whatever happens, at least you won’t ruin anyone’s Christmases. Thank you.

[whumpbby]

I finished typing and now I feel I have to preface it with a: this is all a monologue about Jedi and Force and Lucas’ inability to show the good story he wants to tell - just a warning. This is in no way meant to contradict the other post with that quote floating around or argue against it - just my own rambling coming to a conclusion I keep struggling with when it comes to SW universe and the ways it makes no sense to me and how I feel deep in my bones that Lucas is a crap storyteller.

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I don’t know why, but for all the interesting concepts Lucas talks about, Anakin’s fall never sat well with me. In time I came to the conclusion I would respond better if the Jedi culture surrounding it wasn’t so contradictory to itself.

And if he wasn’t so heavily leaning on the concept of the ‘pure love’ that is unconditional and undemanding and ‘unselfish’. Tldr: that love does not exist outside of poetry and romance dramas and imagination. Like every other emotion humans feel, love is conditional.

Take the first trilogy - I got that. The Jedi were largely missing and there was not much lore-wise, but the vibe it gave was measured and peaceful and mindful, and all the things that stood against the Empire - that represented the Dark Side in a very concise way. It wasn’t too nuanced, so we could buy it in this very simple ‘princes kidnapped b ya dragon’ story. This is as good as Lucas gets.

But then the prequels happened and Jedi became this weird, extremely specific, but conflicting idea. They are not supposed to take sides in politics - except when they do. They are not supposed to kill - except when they do, with freaking relish. They are not supposed to love or hate or allow emotions dictate their ways - oh, except when they do. And they can have sex - just not sex with someone they want to settle down with (oh boy, is that a signifier of a story written by a guy or what?). All seems to be ‘except when they do, as long as it can be adequately justified to make them look good’.

And I do have an issue with the idea of ‘Anakin was too old to join, he was already attached to his mother’ which is, when you think about it, is insane. Learning to control your emotions and letting go of your wants, Buddhist way, fine.

Aiming to train children to not be attached to their parents? What? How young a child has to be for that attachment forms? How is a meditation and repeating mantras going to help a 5-year old who is missing their mom at the temple? How do you even expect to train a child out of missing their mom??? How is it NOT better to get an older child that can reason above the instinctual and hardwired need for their mother? 

But let’s say Anakin’s attachment to his mother was ‘selfish’ from the beginning - but, that’s the thing, was it? Was it really? They were slaves and she was his only family, okay, obviously that made his attachment stronger and more layered than, say, a normal middle-class Coruscanti kid who could love their mom without constant fear that any day they can be separated forever by someone who didn’t give a shit. In that sense, yes, Anakin was desperately attached to his mom and afraid of loosing her - there was fear in him. Right, I’m there with you, Yoda.

But the movies show us that the way Jedi seem to approach these hard subjects is by not approaching them at all - oh, well, we can’t take him in. He had a difficult childhood and there are issues attached, get him out of here.

In a galaxy full of races and issues and the Force being tied to any and all creatures in any and all circumstances - this was the hard line Jedi were drawing. In essence, either only accepting kids young enough to not remember their parents (and I see absolutely no issues whatsoever that could happen here, nope) or with childhoods perfect enough not to have any issues whatsoever. Anyone else? Adults that discovered Force when they were older? Kids like Anakin with hard childhoods? Creatures that were either culturally or chemically wired differently enough that the tight reins Jedi held over their emotions weren’t possible for them? Nope. Go away. You are a bad person in the making.

If you spend a moment contemplating, you will realise this is such a white privileged guy way to think about it. And if you stick your head into the microwave for a couple seconds, you can almost understand how Lucas thought this is something profound and mystical.

No that I think about it... I always thought Sith were freaking clowns - their philosophy makes no sense, their ‘rule of two’ is hilarious, everything about them is just so badly designed and thought out, and who would ever decide to join of that creepy cult of their own volition? It made no sense!

But, as an answer to the egalitarian and contradictory ways of the Jedi - Sith make all the sense to exist. And let’s forget about the Light and Dark (that I don’t believe exist above the ways of personal emotional expression that in time trains the Force around a person in certain ways - like a person can train their brain in and out of anxiety ofr example), but focusing strictly on philosophy - yeah, being a Sith makes sense when any other way is barred form someone by no fault of their own. And barred with an excuse they are a bad seed anyway. 

“You fear/hate/desire hence you can’t access the Force with us” = “Well fuck you, then, I will access the Force in my own way, using these exact emotions!”

Like, Sith are clowns, but Jedi suck in their own very special way and their fall was just waiting to happen.

I get a strange feeling that Lucas created Jedi as a class of a warrior monk in DnD and then scrambled to create their enemies out of the simplest contradictions. Light-dark. Love-Hate. Peace-Fear. Etc. But because Jedi were so simple - once they started to gain popularity and he had to expand their lore and layer on the philosophy, he hit a wall. Or rather, the bottom of the kiddy pool. Because a ‘warrior monk’ is not an a ‘good’ class, but he wanted them to be mostly warriors, but also a force of good in the galaxy, because Star Wars is the same simple story repeated again and again with a new set of characters (regardless of how much fake politics is thrown in to obscure that fact) so this whole universe is basically built on giving Jedi reasons to fight and kill, and adequately justifying them. And then the Dark Side had to catch up by being more ridiculously evil at every turn - accidentally unmasking the way Jedi philosophy falls apart under closer scrutiny.

So like, to make a full circle, the one thing the prequels did well was to show Anakin’s fall (and I am not gonna argue, it was effective and he is a villain of this story) but they also presented - I think against the creator’s intention - why it was pretty much inevitable. Not because Palpatine was there to whisper poison, or because Force itself strived for ‘balance’ (even though the latter is a hilarious idea I love to contemplate) - but because Jedi, as presented in the movies-media around them, as a philosophy and way of life is inherently contradictory and unsustainable from the point of being a, well, a breathing, thinking being.  The ‘selfish love’ argument would work so much better if it wasn’t presented with an example of a kid who was born a slave and the people who saw it as a strike against his character, and did very little to address the specific issues that could arise from that before it was too late. 

Would it fucking kill them to let go of their strict training routine and ensure that his specific emotional needs were met? That Shimi was, I don’t know, NOT A SLAVE. They seem to interfere into politics just fine when need arises - but not when it’s a sandy planet in the ass-end of the universe no one cares about. Then no, we can’t liberate one slave. That would be acting in self-interest - not in the interest of not allowing one of the strongest members of out order to fall into the ruin we have forseen form the beginning. 

It would work better is if Anakin’s ‘selfishness’ was presented as his inability to let Padme leave him for someone else/just leave him - not to be unwilling to let her die.  

Think about it for a moment - he wasn’t presented with the idea of Padme leaving him. With the idea of his mother not loving him anymore. He was firmly and, form his point of view, believably, presented with the idea of both of them DYING. Which actually happened to his mom, solidifying the fear in his mind.

Yes, he was not meant to go on a rampage and kill the ones who killed Shimi - but wasn’t he? The Jedi are not against killing. Only killing in self-interest I guess - when self-interest is not one’s life and their political affiliation or their ‘job’ at hand, that is. Revenge is a no-no, but a military retaliation is a yes-go. Can’t kill anyone who wronged me - but I can kill those who wronged a person who gives me orders. How does that work within a Jedi doctrine? 

How, in good conscience, can you present this scenario, George, and then try to spin it into this big philosophical bullcrap about unselfish love????  Jedi murdered people over political squabbles - but I guess that’s okay because they weren’t invested??? And that’s better?!?!? George! What the fuck! You are such a bloke my head hurts!

In case of Anakin, Jedi were essentially Elsa’s parents. I pretty much despise Elsa and the film she crawled out of, and I personally don’t like Anakin as a character either, so this is not stanning in any way, but their issues scream ‘I was raised by well-meaning idiots’ and shows the level of botched storytelling I just can’t reconcile.

Which, you know what? 

Luke, who spent years studying Jedi ways and taking them into himself? 

I can believe than this Luke would try to kill his nephew at the barest whiff of the Dark Premonition instead of helping him manage his motions in a somewhat healthy way - that seems to be exactly what a real Jedi would do, after all. 

[aylinaliens]

I am officially caught up on Oxygen and I started it yesterday, so that’s a new record. I’m so freaking obsessed! And, I’d love some recs because I need more to watch. My first step into the world of Bls came from My Engineer which was brilliant and frustrating, but I loved it. Now, I’m just looking for more and more and more, and this started in July 😂. I’d love some recs and to pop in randomly to chat about the bls if you’d be up for it because they all kill me ~♉️

Sorry for the delayed response but I wanted to take some time to compile a list of recs for you. I tried to mainly rec ones that are mainly available on YouTube, Viki, Line TV, and Netflix but if you need help finding links to watch them let me know!

I highly recommend these (based on the previous ones you’ve seen or ones that I personally loved):

Cherry Magic: This is a Japanese BL that’s currently airing but it’s so good and easily my favorite of the year. It has a wacky premise but it’s very heartwarming, realistic, and soft.

Like In The Movies (aka Gaya Sa Pelikula): This recently ended like a week ago but it was a masterpiece. GSP accurately depicts the struggle of being the LGBTQ+ community and is just generally really well made in terms of the script, cinematography, and OST. There were quite a few BL’s from Philippines released this year but IMO this was the best.

He’s Coming to Me: Incredibly underrated which sucks because it’s really good. The premise is very unique and it’s another accurate depiction of the struggles that LGBTQ+ individuals have to go through. This is pretty angsty but hilarious/heartwarming/adorable at the same time.

Theory of Love: People either absolutely adore TOL or absolutely despise TOL. I personally adored it because I’m a big fan of angst, flawed characters (oh boy were they flawed), and OffGun so it’s one of my favorites. But fair warning the characters are frustrating. So frustrating that you’ll probably want to reach through the screen to smack them but if you hang on till the end it’s worth it. Plus they just released a special episode like a month ago and it really improved any issues I had with TOL.

The Untamed: this is technically labeled as being a ‘bromance’ because of China’s censorship laws but like...it’s extremely obvious that the two ML’s are more than just platonic bros. In the book it’s based on they were together romantically and the drama does a good job of expressing the love they share with subtle (and not so subtle) looks, dialogue, cinematography, touches, and music. The Untamed is very long and at times confusing but 100% worth it.

History 3 Trapped: This was my first introduction to BL and it spoiled all other ones for me. It’s about a gangster and a police officer who go from enemies to lovers. The plot is messy but the chemistry between the leads + second leads makes up for that.

Where Your Eyes Linger: This is a Korean BL and almost everyone I talked to ended up loving this. Sadly this is really short (only 8 episodes that are 10 minutes long) but it’s worth it. It’s about two childhood friends—one of them is the son of a wealthy family and the other is his bodyguard. It handles the friends to lovers excellently and plus the leads have a ton of chemistry.

Mr. Heart: Another Korean BL that was produced by the same company that did WYEL. It’s also short but it’s fluffy and adorable which is a big shift tone from WYEL but I loved both equally.

Life Love On The Line: Another Japanese BL! It came out this year and I feel like it’s really underrated. It’s based on a short manga so the length of the series isn’t that long (4 ep that are 20-30 min long) but it still manages to effectively tell a beautiful love story.

Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday): I’m only on episode 1 but...woah. People need to stop sleeping on this. It’s a slice of life drama centered around two men in their forties who are already together. It’s wholesome, soft, and makes me feel all warm inside. Please give this a chance okay?

I Told Sunset About You: I haven’t finished this yet but it’s honestly a masterpiece. The cinematography...the OST...the acting...the script...I’m in complete awe of the whole thing.

Gameboys: Another wonderful PINOY BL! It’s set during this year when the pandemic is going on and it was really good—so good that it got a GL spin off (Pearl Next Door, I highly rec this too even if it’s not BL) and a season 2 which comes out next year.

Hello Stranger: Honestly the Philippines are thriving this year because this was another stellar BL! It’s kind of like Gameboys in how almost the whole drama is filmed over video chat/social media but it was very cute. I believe Hello Stranger is also releasing a movie next year.

Ingredients: This is literally just a very long supermarket ad that’s been going on for 8 months now but it’s adorable. It’s a very low stakes fluffy BL where nothing happens plot wise yet you can’t put it down. Plus...they were roommates ;)

Sotus/Sotus S: not one of my favorites but it’s one of the OG bl’s for a reason. So many people loved the first season but didn’t care for the second (but it was the complete opposite for me). This is kind of the one of the most quintessential Thai BLs out there so feel free to give it a try.

History 2 Right or Wrong: Bls rarely center around mature individuals let alone parents so when I found out the premise of this I was sold. Its only 4 episodes so it’s not the most fleshed out thing ever made but it was incredibly adorable, fluffy, and as honest as they can to address LGBTQ+ parenting. Basically it’s about this college student who ends up as a babysitter for his professor (yeah okay that premise is not for everyone so just be aware if you don’t like that kind of thing) and they fall in love. The whole thing is so fluffy and heartwarming!

Ossan’s Love: This is a Japanese BL about this thirty year old office worker who finds himself in a weird love triangle between his married boss and roommate. I know it sounds like a mess and trust me it definitely is but it’s hilarious. It was a wild ride start to finish but I loved (and hated) every second of it.

Diary of Tootsies: Okay this isn’t a typical BL I guess but it’s about three gay men + their lesbian best friend so you know what? I’m including it on this list. It’s hilariously dumb yet also addresses serious topics like homophobia/sexually transmitted diseases. It’s underrated and I’m so sad about it because it’s genuinely a delight to watch.

YYY the Series: do you know those crack videos on YouTube full of memes and references? Yeah. That’s basically YYY summed up. The whole thing makes zero sense because of how chaotic it is but despite how it’s constantly makes everyone ???? it also has a TON of heart. It’s so dumb but it had me reflecting on my life all the time. I really rec this not just because of how hilarious it is but also because it breaks the mold of other BLs! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t have a comedic show and talk about consent and how important healthy communication is in relationships because YYY does it perfectly and so much more.

Dark Blue Kiss: I didn’t love this but you might. It’s a sequel/spin off to like two other series (Kiss Me & Kiss Me Again) but you don’t have to watch the others to understand this. Just know that the leads have been dating awhile before the start of the series.

Great Men Academy: People debate if this is a real BL because the main character is a girl who can transform into a boy but I think it still counts. I really enjoyed this and thought the whole cast had a ton of chemistry between them—it was sweet, funny, and had the right amount of angst.

HIS: this is a Japanese movie (I know you said dramas but I enjoyed this so I figured I would include it too). It’s beautiful, angsty, and sweet. There’s a prequel series this is based on but you don’t have to watch it to understand what’s going on.

I have way more recommendations but I figured I would stop there. Hopefully if you give these a go you enjoy this and my asks are always open if you ever want to talk about BL :)

[himboskywalker]

Thank you for the good review of “Light of the Jedi” I wanted to get it, but was worried it’d be a terrible attempt to “revitalize the Star Wars Fandom.” That said are you worried that Disney might try to buy the rights from the author to try and make pre-prequel movies?

I’m going to express some probably very controversial opinions so dear god please none of you gripe at me.

But I’m assuming and I’m hoping that Disney does expand with pre-prequels era films. I don’t really understand why so many fans are opposed to it when the alternative is just to keep expanding on the Skywalker verse until there’s no soul left. And I love the Skywalker saga and the expansions,don’t get me wrong. I mean the prequels are my favorite and I love the Clone Wars and am immensely excited for the Kenobi series and the other new shows coming out. But they can’t keep making films and shows about the same era forever,and I think the next and obvious step is to start making movies on the Old Republic and High Republic. Too,I mean the way Disney is rolling out the High Republic to me very much conveys that the books are a stepping stone for the fandom to future movies.

I very much want to see Old and High Republic movies! More then want I’m really hoping that’s what’s to come. While I love the clones and the rebels and the smugglers and Mandalorians,my true love of Star Wars will always be rooted in the Jedi versus the Sith. I adore the Old Republic era and absolutely fell in love with the High Republic,and the grandiose scale and potential on screen is super exciting to me. I would love to see a Revan movie get made and so on.

And here’s where my take gets spicy,and please no one think this is a personal attack,because it isn’t. But I find the constant negativity of the fandom when it comes to anything new to be fucking exhausting. I am an optimist,I will always approach the potential of new content with excitement and from a positive perspective. I don’t understand going into something with this,they’re going to fuck it up,perspective because then you’re setting yourself up to be unhappy and disappointed. I like Star Wars,I can usually find something to love in any facet of it,and I absolutely don’t get why everyone else is so determined to be so cynical and to hate new content before it even comes out? It makes me sad. I was one of the only people on here excited when they released the High Republic news,when I felt like everyone wanted to jump on the bandwagon of they’re going to ruin it. Like—why always assume everything is going to be terrible and that you’re going to hate it? I do get that we’ve all been disappointed or burned by our fandoms,like my guys I was a supernatural fan,I 1,0000% get it.

But I don’t agree with the mindset everyone in this fandom seems to take up,which is to hate content before it even releases and to expect the worst and that it will ruin everything? And people will cite how tErRiBlE the sequels were as this justification for not trusting anything but there were aspects of the sequels I loved,there will always be something for me to love. I love to love things,it’s kind of who I am as a person,and everyone else’s negativity will always be a big bummer to me. Which is why I tend to stay in my corner and ignore 99% of fandom,I don’t care that you hate everything about Star Wars Brad,I love my space samurai with laser swords okay. So my answer to what do you think about ——— new content,will always be one of excitement,because I welcome new content with open arms and joy until I’m proven otherwise when I read or watch it myself,not based on everyone else’s negative opinions. You can guarantee that when the mouse sprinkles new content and everyone is furious because Disney is going to ruin everything,I am bouncing somewhere going hOlY sHiT hOlY sHiT mOrE sTaR wArS!!!!

[mr-and-mr-dameron]

Learning to love ALL of Star Wars

I’ve grown a lot the past few years, and with that I’ve came to appreciate a lot more things about what I love. I’ve went from bitter and spiteful about what I don't have to appreciating what I do have, and at the centre of that storm is Star Wars. A franchise I’ve only really been invested in the last year. 

The beginning

So I was always a “fan” of Star Wars, sure. I grew up with the prequels and I was excited when Disney was releasing their new movies. But the past year is where I really got invested and found a whole new love for the franchise. And strangely enough, it was through the simplicity of Lego.  You see, I started watching videos by Brickvault about Lego Star Wars minifigures, and something about seeing the toys I loved as a kid from a modern perspective took me right back to wooshing my Jedi starfighter around my room. From there, I started moving away from Lego and dipped my toe in theories, lore videos and eventually discussion and review videos, the turning point being Cosmonaught Variety Hour.  Now, I have some opinions on the guy now, but Cosmonaught was perfect for me at the time. He was opinionated, entertaining, but most importantly knew his shit, and I liked that. His videos on Star Wars are pretty good, and really helped form my opinions back then... In a bad way... Now I’ll make this clear, this is NOT on Cosmonaught, it was just how impressionable I was as a person back then. I’m just saying how his video affected me on a personal level.  Up to this point I didn’t really understand the hate for the prequels besides the fact they were “bad movies” and “people don’t like them”. Cosmonaughts video on the prequels gave me those reasons, and I finally felt like I got the distaste for those films. However, like they say... A little knowledge can be dangerous, and boy was I about to learn that lesson the hard way... 

The fall

So here I am, knower of all things, the CORRECT things... I’ve watched my fair share of videos from a handful of sources, I know my shit. I’m making my opinions known, and I’ve become that friend.  But whats this! A dissenting opinion!? My boyfriend actually likes the prequels more than the Original Trilogy!? SACRALAGE!! I must prove him wrong! And prove him wrong I...! Did not... In fact, something rather bizarre happened... He convinced me.  I was stubborn at first, but I’ll admit, my wall got broken down at long last. He (bless his soul for dealing with me) managed to get through to me exactly what it was he loved about those films, and it wasn’t just the nostalgia. I had always seen the politics of the Galaxy like most other people did, some boring preachy nonsense that had no place in Star Wars, but I came around to it.  Granted with a little help from the Clone Wars I managed to piece together just what it was there was to like about these films... I wont say they’re perfect, far from it. But internally they have so much more going on compared to the Original Trilogy. The Era has some of the most fun and expandable concepts and ideas in all of Star Wars, and while it may not be as iconic, the visual artstyle of it all is still its own recognizable brand of Star Wars.  And almost like magic (or my phone spying on me) youtube started recommending videos that disagreed with Cosmonaught, and I got my first taste of how his video wasn’t as sound as I thought. Now as a side note: I still like Cosmonaught. He’s a funny guy who like I said knows his shit, but he obviously isnt the be all end all right and wrong which I hadn’t quite learned. I can enjoy his content while disagreeing with it, and I think thats just fine. I find myself disagreeing with a lot of creators I watch now and he’s just joined them.  But hang on, we’re missing something here... A certain... Mouse? Perhaps?

The dark times... The Disney Empire... 

So hop back to modern day for a sec, this timeline pretty much lines up with the end of the Disney movies right? So how do I feel about those? Well... When the first three came out, I liked them. Like everyone else I was loving new Star Wars. As a young art student, I loved Rogue One and TLJ for their stunning visuals, deeper themes and their attempt at something new and fresh. I loved the throne room fight scene, the light speed ram and how Rogue One had such a bitter sweet ending.  But ho ho no one else felt that way! And whether it be peer pressure or my love of dumpster fires my opinions changed like that. I laughed at the Rose Tico and Snoke memes, I hated the Canto Bight subplot and poor Luke being butchered on screen like that, and then there's Rey...  Solo came and passed. I refused to go see it, as I did with TROS which came out around the time I was getting back into Lego, and along with the prequels I was watching video essay upon video essay about why the sequels sucked and how to rewrite them. Some of them coming from a positive place, others... Not so much..  And so my hatred for them grew as I got back into the franchise and came to appreciate the originals for what they done great, and loathing the new films for lacking that same spark. And unlike the prequels, I didn’t really get enough pushback to change my mind. But what I did get was the full brunt of spite and hate the fans had for these new films, and honestly? It was depressing. 

Hate leads to suffering. 

I finally reached my rock bottom. I genuinely reached a point where I debated giving up Star Wars for the sheer amount of negative feelings I had towards the state of the franchise (which might I add is valid if you ever end up feeling that way about something you’re meant to be enjoying). 

I struggled to get past how Disney “ruined” Star Wars, and clearly nothing was going to change. 40 Years of history had been wiped out and the new timeline was a contorted mess, and the amount of discourse and disagreements in the franchise honestly did not help at all. 

Nothing was simple, everything had a catch. You like how Kylo was irredeemable in TLJ? Well he’s redeemed in TROS. TFA is a fun film but it sets up a lot of the things people hated about the sequels so you cant even just head canon that the other two never happened. And then...

Saved by Lego

There was Lego, making the best of a bad situation. It didnt care if you didn’t like that Palpatine was back (somehow), it didn’t care about the clunky prequel dialog, and it didn’t care about the thousands of retcons from the entierety of the franchises existence. 

Whether by contractual force or not: It was pure, distilled Star Wars. 

I loved how a set with Rey could stand beside a set with OT Luke and thats just how it was. It put into context that this was reality, and I could either be bitter about what could have been or accept what was, which wasn’t easy and I’m still not really over it. But I reached a place where I could accept the fun in all of Star Wars, that I liked how some of these characters looked, that these characters all existed in one Galaxy, and it was nice. 

And it led me straight back into... 

Learning to love Star Wars

One of the most important lessons I learned in the past year was trust your gut. Sure, hear out other peoples take on something, and if it changes your opinion all the more power to you. But don’t fight the fact you felt something in that initial reaction. I liked the prequels as a kid, so why don’t I as an adult? Is it because i outgrew them and see them for the disasters they are? Or is it because a someone who watched them as a fully grown adult that grew up with the OT was underwhelmed? 

And to that extent... I rewatched TFA and TLJ with an open mind and an open heart. The result? 

Im indifferent towards TFA. It has fun character moments and has a decent adventure, for what it is its good. But I actually found myself enjoying TLJ after all these years of hating on it. I liked their take on Luke, I liked the mutiny subplot, it didnt push the story forward leaps and bounds but it was a more methodical take on the franchise and for the I liked it. It wasn’t perfect, its biggest flaw is how bleak it can feel and its lack of doing anything interesting with its setting, but it does do a fair amount of decent things and I’ve come to appreciate it for that. 

I’m planning to watch TROS at long last soon, so maybe I’ll update it here. But what I will say is that I hope Lucasfilm don’t give up on the sequel era and characters quite yet. There is still a lot to love here as much as you may not like it, and I hope that they can explore more interesting meaningful themes and narratives in external media that they couldn’t in mainline films cough cough Stormpilot cough cough...

I know not everyone will agree with how I feel now, heck a lot of my problems I had still stand, but I’m at peace with it all now. I just want to sit back and enjoy this franchise for what it is. While I might not forgive Disney for its severe mishandling of... everything (a rant for another time) I’m content just not them supporting to the best of ability.

Star Wars is in such a unique position where each generation has a different stance and appreciation for different parts within the franchise. The prequels were hated until its fans grew up and started defending it, The Clone Wars was hated until its fans grew up and started defending it, and the sequels ended last year, their fans haven’t quite got their voice yet. But I’m interested to hear what they have to say. 

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Reviews: Force Sensitivities

I love Star Wars. I have since i was a kid. It just missed the Trinity of my Childhood, Spider-Man, Godzilla, and Transformers, by inches but i hold it in high regard. I’d say that it’s only a step behind the big three, along with the Alien franchise. I enjoy both franchises for a lot of the same reasons; Expansive lore, impeccable world building, and fantastic characters. I have a strong emotional connections to all things a galaxy far, far, away so the past few years have been difficult to witness. Under the “guidance” of Kathleen Kennedy, i watched my space wizards and cyborg warlocks, decline considerably. I saw all that creativity and inspired storytelling fall by the wayside in favor of identity politics and ego driven agenda.

Then, The Mandalorian dropped and everything changed. There’s been an infusion of quality, a resurgence of the creative, and one of the things to come out of this brand new inspiration is Star War: Visions. Visions is an anthology series of original stories, created by some of the top anime studios in Japan. That, alone, is enough to pique my interests. I love anime and the world Lucas created, lends itself to the medium almost effortlessly. It finally released yesterday and i was able to check out all of them, twice. Is this thing everything i dreamed of? Kind of? Sometimes?

The Duel

The first of the shorts presented and easily the most visually striking. This thing is a CG animation, usually kind of wonky but not so much with this short. I’m more a fan of traditional cell animation but Kamikaze Douga does a fantastic job with the new computer flavor. That expertise is put on full display with this Kurosawa inspired epic, an irony not lost on me. Old Kurosawa films like Yojimbo and Seven Samurai were direct inspirations for Star Wars so seeing it come full circle like this, is very rewarding. Overall, i liked this entry. It’s a great introduction for the anthology and delivers a strong viewing experience.

Tatooine Rhapsody

True to it’s anthology nature, the very next episode delivers something completely different than the last. This entry, made by Studio Colorado, is traditional animation with a heavy, heavy, influence from Leiji Matsumoto. One can definitely make the argument that this is what Interstella 9999 would look like if i had a Star Wars skin and i wouldn’t fight you about it. That’s kind of the art direction being leaned into with this short, that Captain Harlock/Galaxy Express 9999 look. I’m a sucker for that classic aesthetic so i kind of loved it. Didn’t care for the music but seeing a stylized Boba Fett was a real treat. This one is the most original of the anthology, so far from the overall Star Wars theme, and i think that hurts it some. As it’s own thing, though? Fantastic.

The Twins

This one is top tier for me and not just because it’s the first entry from Trigger. This one is good. It’s the first to really nail that more kinetic feel of the prequel lightsaber duels and, if you know anything about Studio Trigger, of course it would. These people gave us Kill la Kill and Brand New Animal. In fact, the overall look of this thing has shades of both Dead Leaves, Gurren Lagann and Promare all over it. It reminds me a great deal of the conflict between the Solo twins in legends. This thing is beautifully animated and tells it’s story with with skill. That said, it’s to one of my favorites. I love Trigger but this one, i think, doesn’t really live up to the Star Wars standard. Still, there is a lot of cool sh*t in here. Kyber powered Sith armor is something to behold, for sure.

The Village Bride

This one is the one for me. I f*cking LOVED this entry. I think it’s the nest of the lot for a lot of reasons. This thing feels the most like a Lucas or Filoni entry into the franchise. It delivers u to an alien world where we get to see the people interact with their surroundings. It delivers a personal conflict juxtaposed against a very real, very, worldly danger. It grounds us with great characters and does so with a beautifully rendered style. For me, The Village Bride is everything i want in a Star Wars story and i need to see more of these characters, more of this world, more of F, herself. She’s f*cking amazing! The Lady Jedi does some sh*t with her lightsaber that left me in awe. Kinema Citrus animated this one in the style of Katanagatari and it really works for this style of narrative.

The Ninth Jedi

This one is real special. It feels right at home in a Clone Wars narrative or something from the Old Republic. I adore the look of this one. Its one of my favorites, after The Village Bride and Lop and Ocho, but is far more action oriented than those to. This one focuses on lightsaber duels and delivers the best of the anthology, in my opinion. This f*cking thing goes hard to deliver that visceral, aggressive, fancifal style you see in the Prequel films  but completely stylized in this wonderfully fluid animation. The overall narrative is pretty simple but loaded with potential and i hope we get a continuation in the inevitable second season of Visions. Production IG really did their thing with this entry and i really hope it becomes something more.

T0-B1

If Astro Boy took place on Tatooine, you’d have T0-B1. This thing really leans into Tezuka’s style and is all the better for it.  I can’t say i really enjoyed the overall narrative but the look of this thing really stays with you. It’s incredibly distinct from everything in this anthology mostly because you don’t see the Tezuka style all too often nowadays but this entry definitely has more heart than most of it’s contemporaries. I was surprised by how much emotion was packed into this little cartoon and can definitely recommend it on the strength of that, alone. While not one of my favorites, i can definitely appreciate what Science SARU delivered.

The Elder

I didn’t like this one. The pacing was too slow and the characters were forgettable. I kind of hated the overall aesthetic and the narrative told was one we’ve seen from this universe a few times. That said, it has a dope ass lightsaber duel toward the end. That’s really the only good aspect of this short, in my opinion. Interestingly enough, this is the second entry from Trigger which makes it incredibly disappointing because they usually kill it. They did not kill it with this one. Not at all.

Lop and Ocho

This one was my second favorite of all nine shorts. It is the most “anime” of the lot and really leans into that genre with gusto. It also feels a lot like Star Wars as far as narrative is concerned. Similar to The Twins, this is a story of forced sensitive sibling, clashing over ideals, told through the crossing of their blades. It’s definitely interesting to watch, especially considering our heroine is an anthropomorphic bunny, something you don’t see too often in the Star Wars universe. I really enjoyed Lop and hopes she garners enough popularity to explore her character further in either a second season of Visions or an actual series dedicated to her personal journey. Geno Studio really impressed with this one.

Akakiri

This one might be the weakest of the lot, until you realize what you’re watching. All of these stories focused on Jedi and their perspective on the world but Science SARU went in a different direction. This is the story of how a Jedi falls. It’s an amazingly emotional watch once that revelation is delivered, putting everything before into perspective. It’s deftly told and works, for the most part, but i feel like this one needed an extra few minutes to develop fully. Still, as the booked to a rather excellent anthology, Akakiri does it’s job well.

The Verdict

This thing is pure Star Wars. It's everything that made Lucas' magnum opus fantastic. Some of these entries hit harder than others, my favorite being The Village Bride, but the overall content in this anthology is f*cking spectacular. I love the different animation styles and how these bite sized stories are told. Some of them take a great many liberties with he world rules whole others are fantastic homages to the genres that make up the Star Wars skeleton. Visions is work of love and passion. These shorts are made with care and not only revere the franchise which came before, but really lay the ground work for potential future exploration, which is what Star Wars has always been about. I still think Mando is the best thing to come out of Favreu's era, so far, but Visions is something very special and is a fantastic example of what can be coming next. If you love Star Wars, you'll love this show. If you left the fandom over Kennedy and her polarizing rhetoric, Visions is a great point to jump back in. Star Wars: Visions is f*cking exceptional and everyone should check it out if they can.

[shnuggletea]

Chapter Two of D-Men is now live! 

The prequel to Feudal Connection’s Best Dark Fanfiction 2020 Cell Mates continues! For the awesome and beautiful event @inuparentsday​, we see Izayoi and Toga finally meet! And get a few more looks into the world before Cell Mates. 

Art by @kirrtash​ for the event can be found here!

Don’t forget the playlist!!!

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Chapter Two

As far as cells went, this was far from the worst Toga had ever been in. After all, he’d been married once. 

He laughed at the joke inside his head; even Miya would have laughed at that one. The monk was nearby, watching and waiting. Or he was supposed to be. The whole point of allowing these humans to capture him was so they would know where they were and what they knew. And just how many of them there were. 

It wasn’t just for his kind, it was for the humans as well. If MiLady and her croons discovered this place first then they would blow it up and call it a gas leak. Accidents tended to happen to humans that knew too much.

Toga wasn’t surprised his weapons were taken but they took his clothes too! Including his jacket! More than just for warmth, the fire rat robes it was made of kept his chest from being easily pierced. It was his armor and he very much wanted it back. Especially with the guys in lab coats coming in close and carrying needles.

He hated needles.

“Are we sure these will even work?” A skinny one with thick glasses asked.

They all looked to the tall guy with long hair. He was the one that ‘greeted’ Toga when he arrived. They’re boss, Toga didn’t so much as sit a little straighter as the tall man stood before him. The only thing that separated them was a thick layer of glass. Did they think the caution stickers on the front of the glass somehow made it stronger? None of them seemed to realize that, if he didn’t want to be here, it would be nothing for him to leave their small prison.

“What’s your name?” The man asked.

Toga eyed the needles again as the men stepped closer. “Well… my enemies call me Fighting Fang. While my friends call me Toga.”

He put it to the humans to decide; friend or foe.

“Will this needle pierce your skin?”

Twerking up a brow, he eyed the man carefully. “Yeah…”

“Good. Dr. Yosh?”

The boss gestured to the skinny one (a Dr. Yosh it would seem) and he stepped up to the glass. Pressing some buttons that Toga could hear and not see, a small hatch in the glass opened up. The cage was just long and deep enough for him to lay down on the raised floor. Miya would bitch at him later but unless he wanted to break out of this cage without any idea how much these humans knew about them then he would have to let them take his blood. 

Just as he said it would, the needle broke through his skin and allowed them to take his blood. Toga wasn’t impervious (hence the need for his armor) he just healed quickly. So quick that most wounds were similar to the needle under his skin like a pin prick. Right now, Toga wasn’t sure which was more annoying. A shot to his gut or the Prick smirking at him. 

“Guess you’ll be calling me Fighting Fang then.” He spoke as calmly as possible to the man in charge as they stared one another down.

“Is that a threat?” Dr. Setsuna asked.

“No. I just don’t like you.”

The jerk laughed and took a small vial of Toga’s blood. “Like I care.”

He had spoken softly as if he didn’t know Toga could hear him. When Dr. Prick looked over his shoulder back at him, he was clearly gaging to see if Toga had heard him. Resisting the urge to flip him the bird, Toga remained as if he had heard nothing. The point was to learn what they knew; not give them more information. 

Maybe he could steal his blood back on the way out? He also wasn’t sure how much it mattered; he and Miya had watched them collect samples of Snowflake’s blood she left behind that night. What was some more blood for them to play with?

“Dr. Hime? You’re still here?”

One of Takemaru’s lab partners stood in the doorway of her lab. She wasn’t leaving until they did. And even then, she was going to take a peek at whatever they were working on. “Yes, of course.”

“Dr. Setsuna has another sample for you to examine.”

More blood. Was there a point to studying this one or would he simply tell her not to worry about it a few hours from now? Izayoi took it regardless. It was a piece of the puzzle and she hoped it would help her understand the samples she had already. 

Extraction, Quantification, then Amplification. Steps she had run so many times in her lifetime that it was muscle memory. It was how she knew she hadn’t made a mistake when again, animal DNA was present with the strange markers that even she couldn’t identify. This time it was canine DNA. 

Was this some kind of joke? Was Takemaru messing with her and wasting her time?! Fuming, she left her lab and stormed over to the one across the hall. The lab assistants were still in a tisy with excitement and all Izayoi could think was that they should have their coffee privileges revoked. 

“Dr. Setsuna!” 

He turned and smirked at her as she stomped over to him. “Dr. Hime, you’re still here?”

Like she was going anywhere with all this bullshit going on. “Yes.” She answered with a hiss of irritation.

“Well then. Since you’re so… insistent, I suppose you can get a peek at our new project.”

She hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Takemaru was bragging and it only made her feel sick as he placed a hand on her shoulder to guide her around. A sickness that grew when she spotted the man that had entered through the loading bay was now in a cell. A cell that wasn’t constructed hastily; it had been there long before the man showed up.

And there was more than one.

The man looked alright, laying out in the cell like it was any other night or as if it were his couch. His eyes found her and he sat up a little straighter in his box but it didn’t allow much movement. It was more than enough for her to feel light headed. 

The blue streaks on his face she saw before. Now in a white t-shirt and pants like a test subject, she saw matching marks on his arms and one peeking from under his shirt on his side. But that wasn’t what had her struggling to breathe. It was his eyes. They were amber. Like crystalized sap that was held up to the sunlight. They glimmered and glowed and stuck to her; as if sticky like sap too.

“Izayoi, this is our new specimen.”

She wanted to glare at Takemaru for his informal tendencies as well as calling a man a specimen. But her eyes refused to leave the strange man. His long, flowing locks didn’t help; he was very handsome. 

Now close, he grinned back at her through the glass and winked. “You can call me Toga.”

Before she had a chance to say a single sound, Takemaru stepped between and started pushing her back. “As you can see, we have a lot to do here and it is already very late.”

“Wait! You can't just lock him up…”

“He volunteered. There is no harm being done here. Now excuse us, Dr. Hime, as we get to work.”

She was shoved back out into the hall and the door was locked behind her. The sound echoed off the walls. 

“Volunteered?” She said to herself. They had no clue she’d been there when they ushered the man in with cuffs on his wrists. 

Izayoi hated lies.

Busying herself with blood samples and other tissues from other cases sent her way; Izayoi bided her time until the sounds of others in the hallway came to her door. It was one am and those bastards were finally leaving. The locks on the door clicked loudly and Takemaru followed behind the others; leaving last. She waited a beat to make sure no one was coming back and rushed to the other end of the hall. There were video cameras in her lab but that was due to the nature of her work. Many of her cases involved criminal activity so she never questioned the need for her and her assistants to be watched. Izayoi had to hope it was a different story for Takemaru’s lab. But with them imprisoning people she had little doubt they were filming in his lab.

Her ID/access card in hand, she swiftly ran it through the reader; not surprised in the least when she was denied access. Glancing around her twice (making sure she was really alone) she pulled out another ID card. Takemaru was so full of himself that he had a bad habit of leaving his card in the break room. Izayoi had intended to give it back to him but after two weeks of his patronizing ways and his ease with getting a new one, she didn’t feel the need to be so… helpful. Instead, she helped herself. 

Takemaru didn’t even cancel the card. How is it an idiot like him got promoted over her? She rolled her eyes at the thought; she lacked an important piece of anatomy and that was it.

Slowly, Izayoi made her way to the back of the large lab; looking for cameras as she went. Not in sight of the ‘cage’ yet and already the man somehow knew she was there. “What are you doing here so late?” Taking the last few steps, she revealed herself and the man wasn’t surprised in the least. “Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be out this late alone.”

“So if I was ugly it would be okay?”

He smirked and gave her a wink. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

His eyes were hypnotic. Maybe that was why he was in here? That didn’t make sense, why would Takemaru care about magnetizing eyes. “I’m not sure you understand the meaning of that proverb…”

“It means that everyone is beautiful to someone. So no, even if I found you unattractive, it still wouldn’t be alright that you were out this late alone.”

Izayoi shook her head. Not because she didn’t like what he had to say but because it was far from the point. “What are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m enjoying this lovely cell. Isn’t that obvious?” He gestured as much as he could to his small surroundings. Which wasn’t much.

“Why?”

He leaned forward until his breath fogged up the glass. “Cause I’m special.”

At some point, Izayoi had gotten closer too, her hands now on the glass between them. “Why does your blood have canine DNA mixed in?” Her eyes danced from his amber eyes to his blue streaks. “They… would have sanitized you… washed the paint off your face…”

His head tilted to the side at her but then he held up a finger; the long claw on the end of it made her shiver. Then he licked the finger and ran the wet digit right through the middle of the mark on his arm. “Not paint. Just skin.”

“A tattoo?”

“Who would get tattoos like this? On purpose?”

“Same person who donates their body to science while they’re still alive?”

He rested his head against the glass and (although impossible) she swore she felt the heat of his skin through the glass on her fingertips. “You got me there, I guess.” He stared up at her through his lashes, watching her every micromovement. “Izayoi, right?” She nodded. “My friends call me Toga.”

“And those who aren’t so lucky?”

He sat up at that and crossed his arms in defiance. “What are you doing here? You don’t strike me as the type to be into freak shows…”

“I came to… get you out.”

He huffed, a broad grin on his face that made his eyes sparkle. “You don’t even know me. I could be a killer.”

Izayoi considered his words carefully as well as his demeanor. “Two blood samples came to my lab tonight. One that had feline DNA mixed in. It arrived before you did. Then I got another sample of completely different DNA. Which I can assume is yours?” He didn’t nod or react in any way but she continued regardless. “Did you kill the person with feline DNA?”

Toga scrutinized her, studying her face. “I didn’t. But I did get you your blood sample if you know what I mean.”

“You hurt her?”

His smirk returned at the mention of a gender. “Clever. And yes. But believe me when I say she deserved it.”

Izayoi couldn’t explain it but she did believe him. He could have been telling her what she wanted to hear though; he was in a cage and at her mercy. “I need to get you out of here now. Before anyone comes back.” She looked at the keypad but there was no card access. You had to know the code. “Any chance you caught the code for this?”

“They didn’t share that sort of thing with me.” She passed him a glare and he chuckled softly. “I did hear the keys. If you press them again, I’ll know which ones are the right ones.”

“If I put in the wrong code it’ll set off an alarm for sure.”

“What if we broke the glass?”

She looked around the lab for something to use. “It’s way too thick, I’m sure. I could maybe try a chair but there’s probably an alarm set to it too…”

Loud squeals filled the air as well as a red flashing light. Izayoi turned back to the glass but it was gone; the large and thick layer was now mostly on the floor in large chunks. And the cell was empty.

“Oops.”

Now she squealed, spinning on her heel to find Toga right behind her, breathing down her neck. “Holy shit!”

His hands went off, showing off his claws again. “Sorry. But I didn’t want you getting in trouble”

Her mind spun as she looked between the man and the broken cell. “Could you get out the whole time?! What the hell?!”

“I was just visiting,” he said casually while slipping his hand into hers, “I’m going to need your help getting a few things.”

His ‘jail break’ was a little earlier than he had originally planned. But the Doctor was so damn cute, he couldn’t help himself and was showing off a bit. She also seemed to know the most about him and his people out of all the others in this place. Which wasn’t much.

Her hand felt so small in his and he was trying to focus on not crushing it. She also wasn’t pulling away from him even with his claws. Dr. Izayoi Hime was intriguing to say the least. And her scent had his other senses in overload. Toga knew better than to get in over his head… for now anyway. He had more important things to worry about, following Izayoi’s scent back to her lab. 

“I’m going to need those blood samples you have.” She shook her head at him and his response (without control) was to pull her closer. Now towering over her, he looked deeply into her fawn colored eyes. “It’s not safe for you to have them.”

Izayoi’s heart skipped and settled quickly. It was clear she appreciated honesty. So how honest would he have to be with her now to keep her safe? Because at this point, he was very attached to her and he didn’t just mean their hands. 

“Cameras…” She didn’t point and he felt like an idiot because he could hear them clearly now as they turned. “If I just give you the samples…”

“I get it.” He held up a claw and placed it to her neck carefully so as not to cut so much as a fine hair on it. “Please, get the samples and trash them.” She moved and he followed, keeping close to her while trying to keep watch. The lights were still going crazy and the siren was really getting on his last nerve. “Do you know where they’re keeping my clothes and the weapons I had on me?”

Dr. Hime finished dumping the blood down the sink and then filled the vials with some kind of liquid solution. “I might know.”

They said nothing more while in the room with eyes and ears. Toga kept his wits this time as they entered a room at the far back of the facility. Only to have Izayoi lead them to an elevator. It was the same one they had put him in when he got here and he had counted the floors. They were on floor twenty out of twenty-four. Toga had no clue how many floors were owned by the scientists but now he knew floor twenty and floor sixteen where theirs as Izayoi led them off on the lower floor.

She took his hand again but when he heard the whir of a camera and yanked her back. With one arm around her neck he felt the situation looked far more threatening for the Doctor. “Sorry about this…” he took a deep whiff of her scent and her soft black hairs tickled his nose, “actually, that’s a lie.”

Her hands were gripping his forearm but they did nothing to hide the small shake she did from his honesty. Nor the thumping her heart did from his closeness. It all made her scent permeate more and she smelt like sweet peach blossoms. 

Izayoi took one hand off him to point. “It’s the room up there but there’s another lock on the door.”

They stumbled up to the door and he pulled it open easily. “Must have forgot to lock it.”

“The building is on lock down,” she hissed when he lied to her, “that means everything locks automatically.”

Once out of the hallway, he let her go completely and began to search. “Well, I was right about one thing. You hate liars don’t you?”

She was stunned at the doorway. “Yes.”

“Guess that means you’re not a fan of that Setsuna guy?”

The little huff she did as well as the roll of her eyes was adorable. “He’s my boss.”

In a small locker along the wall, Toga smelled his scent. He popped open the locker like a can of soda and turned back to Izayoi, her eyes wide. “He’s a dick.”

Toga didn’t give a shit about his shirt and slacks, they were replaceable. So the only thing he grabbed was his jacket; the fire rat robes. “We came all the way down here for a worn out coat?”

He was shoving his arms through it and searching the rest of the space hastily. “Not everything is as it seems.”

“Is that your way of dodging the truth?”

Stopping, he looked back at the perturbed beauty with a grin. “It’s not a lie. I just don’t have the time to explain it more than that.” Izayoi rolled her eyes but no longer seemed pissed. “I have to find my swords.”

“Swords? You go around with swords?! What are you a ninja??!”

Laughter spilled out of him and he causally wrapped an arm around her waist to ‘escort’ her out. “Ninja. I like that.”

Out in the hall again, he held Izayoi tightly to give off a sense of captivity. Toga was certainly taking advantage though, turning her so her curves pressed against him. She had to tilt her head back to look at him; her light browns actually made him shiver when they found his eyes again. “I don’t… I don’t know where your swords are.”

She was whispering and it wasn’t because of the cameras. He was pretty sure they couldn’t hear much over the sirens that continued to irritatingly blare. “That’s okay, we’ll find them together.”

Before she could say anything else, he had the two of them back at the elevator. He was no longer hiding his demon speed; she had already seen his strength a few times. Izayoi looked pale and he felt her go slack in his arms. So he switched to carrying her. Sweeping an arm under her limp legs and lifting her was easy since she didn’t fight him on it. The many floor numbers were before him while Izayoi blacked out in his arms. 

“Alright… if I was a demon sword… where would I be?”

“Demon?” Izayoi murmured.

He doubted she would remember this. As it were, she was likely to think the whole night was all a nightmare. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear. “That’s right, Izayoi. I’m a demon.”

“Demon….”

“A dog demon to be exact. Some call me Fighting Fang while others call me The Great Dog General.”

“Fighting… Fang…?”

She was really out of it and if her heart and breathing wasn’t regulated, Toga would have been concerned. It was all just too much for the sweet Doctor. “Yeah. But as I said before, you should call me Toga.”

He pressed the floor they started on, twenty, and the box lurched. “Toga…”

Izayoi was grabbing his armor tightly in her fist; she was starting to rally. “My friends call me Toga. And you are definitely a friend… at least.”

The elevator was fast and they would be back at her lab soon. And Izayoi was blinking away her confused and overwhelmed sleep. Toga would never be able to explain it other than he felt it was his last chance, his only chance, lifting Izayoi up and gently pressing his lips to hers. It gave him a rush, a shot of adrenaline that had his heart racing and his body tingling. 

Her eyes were wide open when he opened his. She might remember that part but he had no problem with that. “Welcome back.” He smirked.

The ding of the elevator pulled her bright eyes from his and they moved in sync to put her back on her feet. She tried to walk out on her own but he couldn’t stand that; grabbing her and pulling her back like she was in danger. There was nothing to fear, only him. But she didn’t fight him (yet again) as he pressed her to him. 

“What are we doing back here?”

“We aren’t doing anything,” she got his meaning instantly, glaring up at him, “I’m going to find my swords.”

Izayoi shoved him hard. It did nothing but he noted her anger regardless. “There are seconds left until the building will be swarming with cops and other people with guns!”

He huffed. “They really need to work on their response time…”

“It’s the middle of the night and we’ve never had a break in before.”

“This isn’t a break in, it’s a break out.” Gently, he pushed her into her lab. “Stay here and wait for your friends. I’d say I’d see you later but…”

“You’ll never make it.” She said, stepping out of the safety of her lab and up to him.

“I think I’ve proven my abilities tonight. I’ll be fine.”

Her hands shot out and grabbed his arms. It shouldn’t have stopped him but it did. “Toga, listen. You need to leave now or they will keep you forever.”

“Izayoi, I let them bring me here in the first place…”

“And now they know more about you! You don’t think they’ve already set things in motion to make it harder for you?” He really doubted it since Dr. Setsuna had been at many of their battle scenes after the fact, collecting whatever he could and yet he still put Toga in that pointless cell. “I’ll find your swords and get them to you.”

He twerked a brow up at her in true interest. “You? Won’t that break some code of ethics and go against your personal morals?”

“It would be worse if they locked you up again.” 

She was flushed, her skin hot with embarrassment and he felt a need to touch it; to feel the heat. Brushing the pads of his fingers along her cheeks he soon had her blush against the palm of his hand. Her head tilted back again and he instantly thought about her lips on his. They had been soft and warm. Just a peck, he hadn’t gotten a taste but he imagined she was sweet like her scent. 

But he was also running out of time.

Miya was going to kill him, messing around like this and completely forgetting his mission. But Izayoi was a good distraction, pulling her close and whispering into her face. “Alright, Dr. Hime, I will entrust the return of my swords to you. Listen carefully. You can NOT touch them.”

“How am I supposed to get them if I can’t…”

“Then find them and tell me where they are. I’ll come back and get them. Either way, don’t touch them. It will kill you.”

She was shaking her head but he knew she would listen, pulling her the last few inches to plant his mouth on her forehead. She leaned into it, pressing her skin deeper into him. He had to force himself to let go of her and it was a struggle. One he had never felt before; not for anyone as his muscles strained just to push her back enough to break contact. 

“Thank you, Izayoi.”

He caught the small stumble she did when he released her completely; stepping back and speeding away. There was a window at the end of the hallway and he was at it in a blink of a human eye. Looking back over his shoulder, Izayoi was still watching him; her eyes were wide again and her mouth parted. Toga had to force himself again to keep moving away from her, breaking the glass with ease and leaping out of it. Twenty stories was a bit much, even for a demon, so he had to bounce his way down off the building next to him. Rolling to his feet once he hit the bottom, he dared to look back at the window high above. It was nothing for him to make out all the details of the shattered window and marks he had also left on the side of the building.

So he could make out every detail of Izayoi’s astonished face as she hung dangerously out the shattered glass; watching his every move.

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