#TROS junior novel spoilers

[eirenare]

TFA and TLJ French junior novelizations & TROS English junior novelization (finally got them!): some details + reactions soon

What the title says, I finally got them! :D

Current plan is to post my reactions to the TROS English junior novelization chapter by chapter starting this week (although some stuff I already know about), and to share as well things I find interesting of these 3 books (hopefully 4 soon, if the TROS junior novelization in French gets stock soon).

If you guys want me to post about certain passages/parts of any of these 3 books, about the translations or anything, just ask me and I’ll provide!

For now I’ll say this:

I’m bracing myself for the TROS junior novelization (some of the stuff I’ve seen is... yikes)

the TFA and TLJ French junior novelizations have a VERY nice editing that I’ll post some pics another day: the format is sturdy for being paperback, there’s a little Ben in each of the books’ spines (in TFA it’s him in his TFA outfit with his mask, in TLJ his unmasked TLJ appearence), the movie photos aren’t placed all in 2 pages or more in a row but placed where the actions of the photos take place (there’s one when Ben and Rey’s hands are touching AND the thigh-grab! ♥♥♥ *cries in Reylo*), there are little illustrations of characters silhouettes to mark different parts inside the chapters, on the 1st page of every book there’s the silhouette of a character (in TFA it’s Ben in TFA outfit, in TLJ it’s unmasked Ben and Rey), and the 1st page of every chapter is cool because the background is the cosmos with the chapter title like the rolling start credits and with different ships showing for every chapter (sometimes it’s a Destroyer, a TIE, the Millennium Falcon or an X-Wing)

the TFA and TLJ French junior novelizations, however, have some parts cut or reduced from the original English junior version it seems? The TLJ one doesn’t have one of the parts where Rey remembers the “Stay here. I’ll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise” (the one that she remembers when she’s escaping in Snoke’s shuttle from the Supremacy), and the TFA one lacks another part related to that phrase, specifically the one Rey hears in Jakku after waking up from a dream where she hears it)

[these-are-the-first-steps]

Hey I was reading your posts and don't know If I got It wrong but are you saying that the books are good and a lot better than the movies? I'm asking because I really loved the Second movie but they ruined everything in the third one 😔 so are the books different? Did they make the story better?

Hi there, friend! Before I answer your question, I'd like to go over (briefly) some points that make the books required reading regardless of how well/badly they're written:

-Book writers have access to the film scripts, meaning they get a ton of details and deleted scenes we do not.

-They also tend to have access to previous versions of the Official Script, meaning they may get to see dialogue or moments that got cut or changed, either for time or to make them more 'obscure' etc etc.

-They have access to production notes and other Show Bible material to help them write their book/s that we will never see, and so it's a unique avenue to try and get pieces of that information.

-All of the above then gets conveyed into the book material for us to try and re-piece together from the author's interpretation of it.

This, in a nutshell, is why the books are worth reading, regardless of whether they are good or not.

On a personal note, I thought the TFA novel was a solid C+. I didn't hate it, moments in it were interesting and novel, it included a nice chunk of what I detailed above (which is what I, and all of us, should expect to see in any movie novel), and I actually finished it and went back to re-read moments I liked. So maybe it's bump it up to a B-. For a fantasy book it was a little drab, but I brushed that off as just par for the course for a movie novel.

TFA also had a second novel- the TFA Junior Novel. This was an elementary/middle school version of the TFA novel but with some heavy re-writes in portions to add moments mentioned in the script and also clarify what is ambiguous in both the novel and the film. The TFA Junior Novel is a wealth of good info and was super useful to the fandom during a time of unclear information since it really spelled some things out (like Han blatantly forgiving his son as he died, etc.). Plus it was an enjoyable read that was quick to get through. B+

And THEN there was the 'Before The Awakening' novel which was shelved next to the junior novel, also geared towards the same age range. This novel gives us a prequel to Rey, Finn, and Poe and is a huge source of details and information- like how exactly Rey lived and what her first sweet treat was, who was in Finn's battalion and why that matters when you see the storm troopers who come to confront Finn throughout TFA, and also how Poe got roped into Leia's Resistance movement as a government pilot (spoilers: it's this book that completely invalidates JJ's writing in TROS that Poe was ever a drug smuggler. This book details Poe's timeline before the events of TFA and there was literally no time for him to have done that shit. JJ Abrams literally didn't read his own Show Bible and decided to be racist instead. whatever.). Anyway, it's a good interesting book. A.

The TLJ novel was so boring I actually stopped reading a 1/3rd of the way through and never finished it. Commentary from friends on tumblr seemed to suggest that it actually did have some nice juicy bits in it that were worth reading, so I always meant to pick it up again but just never did. Maybe I should? It's still on my bookshelf. No rating for lack of completion. I remember looking for a TLJ Junior Novel when the books started to come out but never found one. I'm not sure if they put one out for TLJ or not. If so, I'd love to buy it and give it a read.

The TROS novel I did not buy because I was so fucking mad at the movie. I should buy it, though. I meant to buy it. But every time I saw it in the bookstore I was so filled with rage I couldn't bring myself to throw money at it. HOWEVER!!! The TROS novel was written by a reylo supporter! Excerpts from it show very very nice moments with some nice detailing. However, due to the rushed production of TROS, the movie firing probably its entire AD department after their director got fired, and subsequent constant overhaul of the story up until the day before it premiered, I don't expect a lot of the points above to be included in this particular novel. TROS was a trashfire of a production, and if I remember correctly, this book came out WAY late as a consequence. However, I can't say for certain because I haven't picked it up yet. I do still want to pick it up, if only out of respect for the author who did her best after being handed a pile of shit and taking so many hits on twitter for being pro-reylo. It's the least I can do.

I also have no idea if TROS ever made a Junior Novel. My guess is no.

The comics are also pretty good. They follow the movies more closely since the panels mimic the frames from the films but then you have other one-off series that go off the beaten path, like 'Rise of Kylo Ren' where we finally find out what happened at the temple, etc. etc.

And then you have all the non-narrative stuff like the art books, magazine articles, PR interviews, twitter, etc etc etc So basically, all this to say that even if the books feel a bit bland to you, if you're there to mine all those sweet sweet gems of lore, information, and story clues, it doesn't matter! Read 'em anyway! xD This got long- sorry dude! But I hope this helps explain some! <3

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 31/31 Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[onwardintolight]

Canon Catchup

With TROS coming out soon, I’ve been doing a lot of catchup on canon material that I’ve missed, particularly that which I think will be most relevant either for the movie or for Resistance Reborn (which I finished yesterday and will talk more about below). I will avoid major spoilers, as excited as I may be about some of them, haha, but I wanted to write out a few of my thoughts here while they’re fairly fresh.

A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova and Galaxy’s Edge by Delilah Dawson—these don’t seem quite as relevant to TROS, but I read these two Galaxy’s Edge tie-in novels a few months ago and I thought I’d say a few words. I REALLY enjoyed the A Crash of Fate; it was such a lovely, heartwrenchingly beautiful story that reminded me a little of Lost Stars in the way that it focused in on a friendship/romance between two people who wouldn’t ever be main characters in the movies. The story was told primarily over the span of a single day, and wow did I not expect my heart to be pulled in so many different directions. Definitely one I will read again and again. 

I’m not sure I’ll do the same with Galaxy’s Edge. It was a super fun read, with some great, Indiana Jones-like action sequences, and I’d recommend giving it a go especially if you’re planning on ever going to Galaxy’s Edge—but it also had a few seriously problematic elements that I just couldn’t overlook. For one, NO WAY is Leia going to force Vi to work closely with someone who tortured her, and speaking of torture, many black people have already commented on the problematic nature of the excessive violence Vi undergoes in this book.

TFA and TLJ Junior Novelizations by Michael Kogge—I wanted to get a refresher on these stories, and since I’d never read the junior versions, I decided to give them a try. Overall I enjoyed these quite a bit. The TFA one was way better imho than the adult novelization by Alan Dean Foster, and both had some really meaningful character moments. There was one Leia scene at the end of the TFA one that brought me to tears.

Aftermath: Life Debt and Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig—I’d originally read the Aftermath trilogy as each book was released, but with everything I was hearing about Resistance Reborn, AND with the return of Palpatine in TROS and the promise of finally figuring out what’s been going on in the Unknown Regions, I thought it was a perfect time to revisit it. I skipped the first one (my least favorite of the three, and also my copy is in a box somewhere from when we moved last and the library’s audiobook copies were checked out) and read a synopsis instead to refresh my memory, then dived straight into Life Debt. Both of these books were as good or better than I remember them. I enjoyed them the first time, but I enjoyed them even better this time around. I feel like they’ve gained even more significance now. My HanLeia shippy heart is happy with some of their scenes, and also I rediscovered that I absolutely adore and would probably die for Norra, Wedge, Jas, Sinjir, Temmin, and crew.

Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland—this was a super cute but ultimately rather forgettable junior novel. The best part about it was seeing Rey, Poe, and Rose interacting. I may revisit it sometime after TROS and see if my unexpectedly skyrocketing feels for these characters (see below) makes it better.

The Poe Dameron comic run—I’d previously read the first trade (Black Squadron), the third (Legend Lost), and maybe a tiny bit of the second (The Gathering Storm), and aside from a really poignant bit in Legend Lost I just didn’t find myself very invested. This time around, however, flipped that on its head. Trades 4 and 5 (Legend Found and The Spark and the Fire) completely did me in, and without warning, I found myself 100% invested in Black Squadron. Poe, Jess, Snap, Karé, Suralinda, and L’ulo have officially joined the Aftermath crew in my list of characters I would die for. I just want all my babies to be okay! There were numerous moments in those last two trades (including the AMAZING Annual #2, a must-read for HanLeia new canon fans) which made me cry. I’m not even joking. So good. Well done, Charles Soule.

Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse—Buckle up because I have a lot to say! I HIGHLY recommend reading the Aftermath trilogy, Bloodline, the Poe Dameron comics, and watching the Battlefront II campaign (which I talked about in another post) before reading this because HOLY MOLY. You won’t be lost if you don’t, but it will mean so much more to you if you do. Speaking of crying, I literally lost count of the moments that brought me to tears, and so many were significant because of how all the stories I mentioned and more have been so beautifully interconnected in this one. Wedge and Norra, Zay and Shriv, and so many others—each was given their due and it was amazing. One character’s surprise appearance had me practically on my knees with joy and heartbreak all at once, and I would say more but I’m really trying to keep that promise not spoil you, haha. 

If the Poe Dameron comic weren’t enough to win me over, this book has officially cemented Poe as one of my favorite sequel trilogy characters. Tbh, I’ve had trouble feeling much of a deep connection with any of the sequel trilogy leads—I love them, sure, but not like Leia, Han and Luke, the trio I grew up with. I’ve wanted to love them more, I’ve wanted to be more invested in them, but it just hasn’t happened. I’m really glad I read this book before TROS, because I think this has changed that. I was definitely getting a few OT golden trio vibes with Rey, Finn, and of course, my Boi™ Poe—except they’re completely their own characters, and I’m really starting to love them for who they are.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, it felt really meaningful, and I can’t wait to read it again. 

That being said, when I finished it yesterday I felt a little bit disappointed, like it tasted a little bit bittersweet. I’m still trying to figure out why that is, but I think it may be down to three things: 

1) Though there were a number of fantastic character reveals, there were some obvious people absent and I can’t help but wonder where they are. I hope they’re not dead. I hope TROS includes some of these characters, too. I hope we get the rest of their stories either way.

2) The book is way too short. Especially on the heels of the Aftermath trilogy, this feels like only the first act of at least three. The ending comes way too soon, just after it really seems to get going. This I don’t blame the author or the publishers for at all; they are very limited, after all, in what they can portray leading up to TROS. But it really left me longing for more. This book had such a wonderful focus on character, but in the end, I wanted to see the character arcs get even more resolved than they do here... but I guess they really couldn’t be, and that’s what TROS is for. I just hope the movie does it well! I need all these people to be okay <3

3) It doesn’t shy away from grief, struggle, and the mental cost of war. Honestly, that’s part of why I love it so much, but I think that’s also part of why it left me feeling a little melancholy. The Resistance is in such a seemingly hopeless place, and while things do get better over the course of the book, there’s still such a terribly long way to go.The First Order rains merciless terror on anyone or any planet who gives even the slightest hint of opposing them or of aiding the Resistance. The whole galaxy is afraid. Poe struggles deeply with guilt and with how to make up for the horrible mistakes he made in TLJ (this is not brushed off in the slightest, not by the book or by the characters in it, and I appreciate that). Rey is confused and still unsure of her place in things. Characters are faced with the fact that they will almost certainly die because of their choice to join the Resistance, and it’s heavy. And Leia. Oh, Leia. I am deeply grateful to Roanhorse for her very realistic portrayal of Leia as someone who has lost so incredibly much (most recently her husband and brother), most definitely has PTSD, and probably is dealing with a bit of depression. Leia is weary. Leia struggles to keep stepping forward, struggles to figure out the next step for those she leads. Leia struggles to keep hoping. The battle between hope and despair in the face of terrible loss and terrible odds is very much felt in this book. But as ever with Leia, hope always wins in the end. By the end of the book, you can still feel the struggle, but hope wins. 

I think that because I personally relate so much to Leia, reading some of that was hard. Not because I feel like it’s contrary to who Leia is, but because I resonate with it so much and because it reminds me in a particularly strong way of some of the struggles I’ve dealt with that I’d like to forget. It’s no wonder that my heart felt heavy after I closed the book. But along with that, I also see how Leia perseveres, how she’s finally gotten to a place where she lets herself rely on and be comforted by others, and how she accomplishes the seemingly impossible just because she damned well refuses to give in to despair, no matter how tempting it may be. It reminds me that I, too, can accomplish incredible things despite all my struggles, despite the odds stacked against me.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. Resistance Reborn hasn’t quite come up to the level of Bloodline or LPOA in my personal ranking, but with future rereads, it very well might someday. 

This book—along with all of this reading—has put me even more on the edge of my seat for TROS than I was before, if that’s possible. I desperately want it to be the best ending possible for the Skywalker Saga and for all these characters who’ve become so beloved to me. I’m trying to temper my expectation—TFA still isn’t especially my jam, after all, and while overall I’m a fan of the ST (the TROS trailers made me cry, for goodness sakes), I have a somewhat complicated relationship with it in general—but goddammit, I’m hoping anyway. There’s so much beautiful setup in the new canon EU, such a deliberate focus on character, and so many hints that this might reach through the whole saga and bring together something bigger than we can imagine. 

I’m hoping anyway.

[cosmo-gonika]

I think someone in the entertainment industry once said that film studios usually wait till the very end to send spoilery books and stuff to the publishers because they are worried that the employees working for these publishers might leak things. So even if Matt hadn't debunked the junior novel thing, it was pretty obvious that no library employee would have access to TROS spoilers this early in the year. Nobody spoiled TLJ books so early either.

I perfectly agree with you, which is why I wanted solid proof to debunk.

[aimmyarrowshigh]

The romantic subplot definitely isn’t “Poe keeps awkwardly hitting on Rey,” it’s “Poe and Rey keep broaching and avoiding feelings for each other because they’re in the middle of a war and it’s not convenient to deal with it right now,” and it’s much less Han/Leia-bicker-ish than TROS, tbh [but I’m also reading it from an I’d-rather-die-than-see-r*ylo lens, which means, like, enjoying Poe and not just seeing him as “an obstacle to r*ylo, who therefore should be dead,” unlike J*nny N*cholson, who has been licking Kylo’s toes for months for some reason].

BUT it also involves a gross Jedi Mind Trick kiss, which is cruel given that their initial conversation one-on-one in canon is about how they’re “torture buddies” BECAUSE OF having their minds fucked with by the Force, so like, nty. (The other kiss, your classic “we’re kissing to hide our faces from our stormtrooper pursuers NO WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE’RE KISSING BECAUSE WE WANTED TO THAT’S AWFUL IT WAS ALL FOR THE REBELLION!” variety, was cute and better than Rey having to randomly kiss her abuser for LITERALLY NO COMPREHENSIBLE REASON, but w/e).

Poe was horrifically mischaracterized in TLJ, but Poe and Rey’s dynamic in the PD comic (to a lesser extent) and Spark of the Resistance (with actual intention, for a spoiler-free junior novel) set up for what DOTF was going to run with in terms of them having a sort of “we mutually enjoy the way the other’s face looks but it’s a WAR RIGHT NOW AND WE’RE BUSY LEAVE IT ALONE” way.

Poe is definitely the Leia, and deserved 5000% better than the bullshit racist spice runner retcon of his entire established life canon that got rammed onto him in TROS. If nothing else, at least DOTF didn’t try THAT hard to make him a Han Type and choose the most racist route to do it.

Also @cicaklah -- Kylo is 100% meant to be read as an incel alt-right school shooter in TFA, which like... I don’t understand how JJ straight-up saying “the First Order are meant to be neo-Nazis and their original concept name was the Neo-Empire and ‘First Order’ is an allusion to ‘Third Reich’” still hasn’t gotten through to some people that Kylo is MEANT to be “all of the things to fear in the late ‘00s, politically, following on SW’s grand tradition of the baddies being an overt political metaphor.” And I’ll never understand why TLJ was allowed to redirect his characterization, and therefore those of the actual three main characters in response, so much.* Especially when at the time it was filming, DOTF -- in which he dies an unredeemed genocidal warlord, natch! -- was the working trilogy closer.

* There is no narrative, or character, reason in the actual text of TLJ for Rey to be seeking ANYONE’S approval so badly that she falls victim to Kylo’s gaslighting as quickly and completely as she does. Like, so what if Luke is grouchy and won’t teach her? That’s just every adult on Jakku when Rey was shadowing them to learn how to stay alive. TFA!Rey didn’t seek out Luke to earn approval, and it makes no sense that just “Luke doesn’t seem to like and trust me :(” would be enough for her to forgive Kylo for killing Han and maiming Finn (and mind-raping her). In what world does a Campbellian monomyth introduce the Mysterious Cagey Superior Who Seizes Power Out Of Nowhere And Refuse To Show Respect To Our Known Hero and NOT have her be the spy our known-quantity hero is afraid of? And what kind of fucking hack misogynist creates a female antihero whose entire purpose is to kill herself so a dude learns a lesson (THAT HE ALREADY FUCKING KNEW)??

NEW STAR WARS: EPISODE IX LEAKED CONCEPT ART   REVEALS THE PLOT OF THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT TITLED DUEL OF THE FATES 

For instance, Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) gets to go on an actual mission with Finn, C-3PO and R2-D2 to the key Star Wars location of Coruscant and Palpatine wasn’t brought back to life.

Instead, the Sith Lord appears only as a hologram on Mustafar to Kylo Ren and hasn’t been scheming away for decades building his own fleet of planet-destroying ships..

Duel of the Fates certainly sounds as though it would have been more faithful to The Last Jedi’s reveals. Most notably, Rey’s parents remained nobodies and it was Kylo Ren who killed them, on the orders of Snoke.

The death of Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker has angered fans and he dies in Duel of the Fates too, only this version of Episode IX wouldn’t have redeemed him.

Instead, his whole storyline involves him seeking out that Sith Holocron on Mustafar (much like The Rise of Skywalker). The Holocron then explodes burning up Kylo Ren whose face infuses with his mask. The Holocron leads him to Tor Valum, a secret Sith master who trained Palpatine. Kylo is been haunted by Luke’s Skywalker force ghost.

Kylo Ren trains under Tor Valum, broods a lot and then goes off to one final battle with Rey. Various Force ghosts try to redeem him and fail, so Kylo Ren dies as Kylo Ren and not Ben Solo.

The final battle would have seen the Force ghosts of Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda help Rey to defeat Kylo Ren, and the concept art shows Leia with BB-8 in a direct echo of Leia with R2-D2 in A New Hope, as well as Rey copying Luke’s Return of the Jedi look.

[eirenare]

TROS junior novelization + some light speculation (also: spoilers)

Tomorrow comes out the TROS junior novelization and I’m very very curious but also nervous and I don’t know if ready enough for more feels *heavy sweating*

Apparently the scene on Mustafar is even more expanded than in the non-junior novelization because it says that Ben walks TOWARDS Vader’s castle at a certain point, and when I saw that on TW and wrote a quote-retweet of the author’s post all like “omg Ben’s going to Vader’s castle? Yessss” the author (Michael Kogge, who’s written the junior TFA and TLJ novelizations too) just... liked my tweet

I wonder how different the scene will be... I wonder, too, what else is gonna be an exclusive scene, given that it’s confirmed in the book info that it has “exclusive scenes” *scratches chin* There’s minimum 1 exclusive scene more and it probably won’t be something too major, or nothing major, but I’m so curious

My wish list, ranging from less probable to most:

another ending where either Ben lives or there’s a hint to his return or of Rey seeking to bring him back (if there’s any media where they’d do this for now, based on TROS itself, I think it’d be on something junior-related)

more romantic Reylo

more of the “Stay here. I’ll come back for you” phrases (I think I might’ve GREATLY misunderstood a part of this in the TLJ junior novelization and it’s something I’ve been writing about and I want to post, related to World Between Worlds theorizing), since this author basically introduced that “subplot?” in the junior novelizations and it’s only there

to have FINALLY explained how the kriff did Ben know about the Dyad because apparently not even the normal novelization explains it

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 29/30 Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 28/30 Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 25/? Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 24/? Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 22/? Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel) Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 23/? Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 27/30 Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[sinningsquire]

Chapters: 26/30 Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Dopheld Mitaka, Pryde (Star Wars), Bazine Netal, Clan Techie (Dredd) - freeform, Armitage Hux, Zay Versio, Maize Raynshi Additional Tags: Fix-It, TRoS Spoilers, Very Temporary Character Death, They're both canonically dead before the SW tech steps in, Enemies to reluctant friends to eventual lovers, Unresolved and unacknowledged sexual tension, A parade of Star Wars minor characters and locations, Jealousy, Feelings Realisation, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Miscommunication, One hell of Hux's backstory, Post-Star Wars: Battlefront II, Canon-Typical Violence, Force Collector (junior SW novel), First Time, it's literally both of theirs first time, Corruption to the Dark Side Summary:

Hux was past caring who wins. He just didn't want to lose.

[eirenare]

My TROS experience and thoughts (the good, the bad, a bit of speculation, an “old” WIP drawing, and... hopes)

Putting this under a “read more” because, well... this post is a huge walking spoiler

This morning I woke up really, really early to re-watch TLJ with my brother and do stuff before the hour of watching TROS arrived—I remember almost crying watching TLJ, already almost crying listening to that damn TROS song on Fortnite as my brother played it for a while

I was nervous all day long, honestly. I accidentally stumbled the other day into a hashtag on Twitter called “BenSoloDeservedBetter”, and I was already on edge. A lot. Not to mention that I accidentally saw half a comment somewhere on Twitter saying something that had made me doubt

So, yeah, I basically spent all day trying to give myself hope and reassurance while deeply having ONE FEAR. That was: Ben not surviving

You see, I love with every inch of my being Reylo, but—Ben is my favorite character of all Star Wars. Like, I can’t help it, I have a super soft spot for him

I had, like, super high hopes for TROS, and yeah, I liked the movie... or well, most of it (and I got some things right to my delight and surprise, one of them being the throne with Dark Rey sitting in it, but more on that stuff later)

There were funny moments I enjoyed (Babu Frik, Finn joking about Poe’s past as spice runner, C3PO being C3PO...), the scary/terrorific moments were amazing (gods I love Palpatine’s new appearence, all the Sith and eerie stuff, the whispers, the machinery...), the action/fight scenes were cool overall (Rey and Ben fighting together against their enemies after seeing each other and doing the lightsaber trick was amazing, for example, also the jumps, and I loved seeing all the spaceships together), the imagery was sometimes amazing too (Palpatine sending that enormous lighting to the sky, for example) and the emotional stuff weirdly enough didn’t make me cry but had my heart pounding (Leia’s passing, Han and Ben’s parallel scene, Rey and Ben’s healing scene and their last scene...), not to mention I was gripping tightly my bag and jacket to my lap throughout most of the movie, BUT

B  U  T

The fact that Ben didn’t make it out alive left me very, VERY bitter

I have to say, again, that weirdly enough I just... didn’t cry, even when Rey died, not even when Ben died, and he’s my favorite. Most of the times it happens, that my brain’s kind of... messy, when it comes to emotions (it seems that, most of the time, my brain just goes from “step: something happens” to “step: body/voice reaction” skipping “step: feel” in the middle—... although that usually doesn’t happen if the emotions are negative, which sucks specially if you already feel like you yourself are a mess—), so... yeah

It kind of... Well, the tears didn’t start falling until I was watching the credits with my brother (bless his soul for listening to my rambling, and for granting me multiple hugs, for calling my dear “Ben” instead of “Kylo” now, and overall being so patient with me—I didn’t miss the fact that he was looking at my reactions at some points, like when the Reylo kiss, and then Ben dying, because he knows how much I love them), when it registered that it was really the end, and that yes, Ben was... dead. I kept crying as we watched the credits, and then outside of the theater a bit again, and then at home, and I’m now crying as I write this

Look, I loved the Reylo moments we got even though I wanted some more. And although (as I explained above) I was “numb” almost all the time and even while watching the kiss, I enjoyed it and I could “feel” that I was happy and excited about it because my chest was pounding like crazy and my lips were doing that kind of quivering when you can’t quite contain yourself and you’re emotional

(... Yes, living with this brain of mine is a mess, and I don’t even know if this has always been like this or started at some point, because my memory’s also a good mess—I hate this so much)

But then—then I saw Ben fall backwards and start to disappear, and I went from glee and triumph to “oh no” (also: hello there pit my old friend)

I mean... They just went and killed a character that was trying to do good after a life of strife with himself and what he did and did not do, a character that was just starting to go to the light (to see the light)—a character that’s been all his life marked by the abuse he’s been suffering ever since he was in the kriffing womb, therefore not even allowing him to really live. They basically killed... a symbol of hope

It feels sad and discouraging for me, even though what he did was noble

It just stings. And the fact that Rey didn’t see Ben at the end alongside Leia and Luke, when she adopts the surname “Skywalker”? ... Why. They could’ve added him, but no. Why. And I have to say, while I like a lot “Rey Nobody”, I also like the contrast between her and Palpatine, the subversion of dark and light, that even though darkness runs in her veins, she would still choose the light.

(Also, the totally not serious question my brother and I joke about, though: who the fuck decided to have a crazy night with Mr. Raisin Ass and to give him an “heir”?)

To soothe myself, I like to think that since Ben “vanished” into the Force and became one with it, and that since Rey’s kind of “a host” of the Force (?), he’s now always with her and they can feel each other. I like to think that, sometimes, they’ll see each other, be able to be together if only for brief moments—maybe at night, sleeping, Rey would feel Ben wrapped around her (my feels asdbfkffnggjglg)

(You can bet your ass that I’m abso-kriffing-lutely going to write something about this because I NEED IT BADLY)

Another thing that soothes me is that Ben passed away with the biggest, most beautiful smile on his face, and even though I hate that he died, I’m glad he was able to feel that kind of happiness with Rey and that he was able to join the light side in the end—now, yeah, give me Force Ghost Ben at some point in the future at least,  p l e a s e

EDIT (addition of paragraph) — Also: Ben’s face when he looks at Rey every damn time, Ben running to Rey’s rescue with only a kriffing blaster, again the fight they had and when Rey sent him the lightsaber, and then lifting himself up from the pit with all his kriffing injuries and the pain he must have been enduring to then give up his life to save the love of his life—iconic, badass, a true dork in love whom I adore, the kriffing boss. But you know what I missed A LOT, that I realized I didn’t remember it being in the movie after watching it?? The “I DO”. I don’t think I’ve heard its equivalent in Spanish, and that has me pretty much confused and bitter. Like, wtf? If they let that out:  w h y ?

Kathleen Kennedy pretty much hinted that maybe we’ll see “more Skywalkers” in the future, so, yeah *looks sideways at Rey and her ghost husband* Praying that they’d be in that “Project Luminous” of 2020, or later, but just... be somewhere else more

Something that bothers me, though—is there really a balance in the Force, after TROS? Rey’s lineage may be of dark and she may have taken the path of the light, but does that mean the Force is balanced now, or maybe not...? *scratches head* I don’t know, I need a re-watch and to have some serious thinking of this

As I write this post, I’m trembling almost to a shaking point and my chest is hurting. In all honesty, as much as I love Reylo... If I had to choose between Reylo happening or Ben living, I’d choose Ben living

... Now, it’s gonna hurt so much more reading “The Rise of Kylo Ren”. Oh, dear

If we set aside Ben’s passing, though, regarding how I saw the movie, I’d say that as much as I enjoyed it overall, it kind of felt like... it lacked things. Explanations and a bit more of worldbuilding, for example? More Knights of Ren stuff (although luckily we’re having them in “The Rise of Kylo Ren” alongside their leader, Mr. Hottie McHotHot aka Ren? Maz explaining how she got the Legacy lightsaber? TROS kind of feels, like... a little incomplete to me. I don’t know if to others it feels that way, but it kinda feels like that for me and my brother

Still I’m aware that, well, it HAS to be difficult to end such a story, and that it can’t possibly be easier to fit a lot in a 2h33 movie, you know? It seems... very complicated, and the stakes were high. So yeah, I understand that (while what I don’t take well at all, I don’t think I’ll ever do, is Ben’s death—it was pointless, and the fact that Rey didn’t show too much feeling about it... it feels weird). And well, the junior and non-junior novelizations will come out in March, so I like to think that we’ll get more details in them (like with the TFA and TLJ novelizations)

... And I really, really need a good rewatch of TROS because I’m forgetting a lot of stuff probably. So yeah, next Thursday if all goes well, I should have a ticket to go and watch it again, except this time in English with Spanish subtitles

A funny thing that happened at the theater, by the way, was that a woman hissed in excitement a pair of rows before us “I KNEW IT” when Rey was revealed to be a Palpatine

Also: I really, really hope that Rey doesn’t stay in Tatooine with how much she loves greenery landscape. I hope she went anywhere else that’s green and lush and was able to lead a nice life, to actually live the life Ben granted her, whatever path she would choose to take—and that Ben’s ghost would kind of like, be around her, you know?

Now, there are some things that made me laugh inside, and that is... that I got some stuff right. An example of that is the fact that Rey mentioned seeing herself sitting on that throne, something that happens in my “Rey of Jakku” fic and of which I was doing a WIP the last days of november (look, that happening was the thing least probable in my mind so... lol):

Also the cannon distroying Kijimi, too, and it seems that about the nature of Rey and Ben’s bond too. Also, when C3PO started explaining about the Pasaana festivity it kind of reminded me of how he started explaining the marriage customs in my “arranged marriage in Pasaana” AU. And I don’t remember now because my head’s pretty much a mess and specially right now (and as I said I really need a re-watch), but I think I recognized other things too

TROS wasn’t what I expected, and on the scales it has both its good and its not-so-good things (being the worst of them, for me, Ben’s death—of which I’m trying to cope by thinking what I said of him being literally with Rey now, maybe sometimes being able to see each other and interact), so... it’s a weird mix of me liking the movie while also not enjoying it nearly as much as I wanted to (as I think I should’ve)

Even though I’m super bitter about Ben, however, thank you to all of the team for working hard on the movie—doing the last piece of the Skywalker saga movies sounds everything but easy

Now, looking forward to the future...

I see myself continuing to write and draw Reylo, honestly. Ben’s death has kind of spurred me further to do stuff, so yeah—gonna keep up with my alternate TROS Reylo fic (“Rey of Jakku”), and I’m pumped to attempt writing other stuff, like... trying to write regarding Force Ghost Ben interacting with Rey, or working on AUs (*looks sideways at the “arranged marriage in Pasaana” AU, “Ice-skating” AU and the “padawan Ben meets mechanic Rey in Batuu” AU)

Will also be looking forward with utmost interest at “The Rise of Kylo Ren”, and to see what the merchandising team and the books and comics have to show in 2020—which means I’ll be dying inside all over again when I see Ben and Rey’s last scene, but well *shrugs* The novels are specially interesting to me. I mean, getting to read how these two felt about each other throughout TROS, and specially at the end? Written by Rae Carson? YES PLEASE

Also, if “Project Luminous” happened to have Rey (and even better yet: Force Ghost Ben appearing), I’d be even more interested in it—a lot more

The experience with TROS was a mix of good and not-so-good things, coupled with the One Fear I had regarding Ben (my baby... oh, how that kriffing stings), but still, it wasn’t that bad of an experience in my case

So, yeah... I think I’ll write some more thoughts later, tomorrow or another day when my head’s clearer (probably will write more when I re-watch), but so far, these are my thoughts on TROS

Rest in peace, darling, beloved Ben... </3 T_T