#also cause they mark their plot important stories but tbh that matters less to me

[chisatowo]

Just realised a lil evil thing I could do in the unit swap au (remembered that it switched which school Mafuyu goes to)

[hanjo-love]

Hai! How you doing lately? Fellow Hange-stan here. I want to know what you think of the writing on Hange’s character arc post time-skip. [P.S. hopefully it’s alright with you if we can continue to discuss about it after you answer if you decide to, that is]. :))

Hello lovely anonie ❤️ I'm so sorry for the late reply, but life has been quite a rollercoaster lately haha

Well tbh, I know this sounds pathetic af after almost two weeks have already passed, but I'm still trying to cope with the last chapter and the ending overall. I'm in the process of gathering my thoughts, deciding if I like it or not. And lemme tell you, it's quite exhausting haha

Every Hange-stan is very much appreciated and welcome here ❤️ looking forward to be exchanging my thoughts with you, ngl it's weird but it also makes me happy that someone's interested in my opinion haha ❤️

Okay so let's start talking but Hanjo ❤️ but beware, a long ass wannabe meta is ahead of y'all haha

Honestly, another thing I've had troubles with accepting and making my mind around was the fact that I didn't like how Yams treated Hanjo in the story overall and mostly past TS. I gotta tag lovely Sav @tundrainafrica cause she described it perfectly in one of her amazing metas and I'm constantly thinking about that so I'm gonna try quoting her now haha :"If the characters are Yams' children, we gotta accept the fact that Hange has always been his least favorite child. But the more Yams ignored her, the more we loved her. In fact, Hange was never a character who even needed a lot of panels or pushing and forcing for us to like her. Hange didn't even need Yams! She was always navigating the narrative by herself and that's why we love her." (Sorry Sav for not quoting you properly 😅❤️)

So what I'm trying to say is: did Yams purposly ignore Hanjo throughout the story? Unfortunately YES. Has this affected her character? Not at all. But it did affect the readers'/viewers' opinion about her, for sure.

It honestly makes me really sad when people hate on Hange and reduce her character to a "bad commander". Like guys... Are we reading the same manga? You don't need to be a Hange stan to realize how much Yams rushed and skipped everything past Marley arc. We know shit about what happened in those 4 years of TS. Just because Yams didn't show us anything, doesn't mean nothing happened in those 4 years. I'm not gonna start talking about how her job as a commander was very, VERY different than Erwin's, but there was something that caught my attention after watching the anime:

I never believed Yams when he tried to show us how Hange was a "bad commander" for not having a plan B to all the mess that was going on. No matter how much Yams tried to prove it (mainly because he wanted us to notice her insecurities and her being overwhelmed by this position and Erwin's legacy), I never bought it. Because we know Hanjo ffs! We know how smart and quick-witted she is and how she is the perfect candidate to take over Erwin's legacy of being the SC's Danchou.

The anime reassured my thoughts, cause if I remember it properly, in that scene we heard Hange's thoughts and at the end of her monologue she said "but what if..." before Eren threw a tantrum again lol

The next scene only added fuel to my fire, cause we've all been speculating about this and the last two chapters actually proved it:

We've been speculating about why Eren was getting his titans marks in this particular scene (dude, Yams made us look like clowns with our theories lmao which btw have less plot holes than the entire last arc of the manga, just saying). Moreover we've seen Eren getting his titan marks again while manipulating his friends' memories in ch138&139. So my conclusion is, Hange DID indeed have a plan B, but Eren decided to wipe that option out of her head in order to achieve his goals. Otherwise this particular scene makes no sense at all, but it was important enough to keep it in the anime.

In conclusion: I did absolutely NOT like how Yams handled Hange's character post TS. She didn't get enough "screen time" and whenever she got some panels, she was mainly shown as an insecure and overwhelmed commander (obviously not in all of her panels, thank God), which she absolutely was NOT. I also felt like most of the times she seemed to be (for Yams at least) just a placeholder between Erwin and Armin. And here comes my biased and petty ass: Hanjo was Yams' best written character. Period. She had so much depth and and potential, but Yams dropped her like a hot potato because he was overwhelmed by her and not able to deal with her character. That's it. That's the harsh truth y'all.

Anywayzzz, that's it for today's Ted talk lol thanks for the ask dear anonie. Have a lovely day ❤️

[yoursummerfrost]

absolutely interested in your thoughts on longform plot beats if you want to share!

*shows up three weeks late with Starbucks*

So, the first thing about writing longfics is that I try pretty hard in general to not pressure myself into writing something of a certain length. And actually as pretty much all my friends ever can attest to, I tend to underestimate how long something is gonna be xD and I find this is actually helpful, because stories are wonderful at any length and trying to force them to be shorter or longer than they want to be can easily lead to feeling frustrated and discouraged. So, I would recommend practicing some affirmation and acceptance when possible. Specifically, practice telling yourself that your story has value at whatever length it ends up being and that your story will be the length it needs to be in order to get told.

That being said, I think there are probably two main areas that contribute to ending up with a completed longfic. The first is developing the plot itself and the second is developing the motivation and practice to physically complete the writing itself. The rest of the post will be under the cut :)

Plotting

Certain plots will lend themselves to longer or shorter stories. It also depends on your genre, of course. While almost all my fics include romance, I tend to focus the most on the character study aspect when I plot something out. I try to ask myself, "what does this character need in order to grow? how do I want them to change by the end of the story?"

Usually, that growth will be driven by their relationship with at least one other person. Let's take Geralt as an example. Geralt's growth is usually centered around learning to put more trust in others and allow himself to experience his own emotions and desires more fully, because his previous experiences have taught him that trust is dangerous and his emotions will only cause him more pain. 

So, when I flesh out a plot, I'm largely looking for examples of how to demonstrate where Geralt is on that journey. I want to put together a collection of scenes that will subtly demonstrate these kinds of changes. In an early scene, Geralt is resistant to Jaskier's blatant affection. In a later scene, he accepts it begrudgingly--but only when it's offered to him first. By the end of the fic, he permits himself to ask. And I want all of these things to be "shown" more than they're "told."

In other words, while I have it in my back of my mind that a scene's primary purpose is to move us along that journey, the actual scene doesn't necessarily say that on the page. Instead, I write the following three scenes: 1) Geralt claiming he wants Jaskier to go away but making him a drink anyway, 2) Geralt picking up the phone when Jaskier calls him at 3 am, and 3) Geralt calling Jaskier when Geralt can't sleep. 

This can quickly become compounded if you want multiple character arcs in a story. Sticking with the Geraskier example, I probably also want some character growth for Jaskier (or at least some exploration of his refusal to change, because he's a bastard like that). So I'm also trying to add in scenes that will show off that for him. When possible I want my scenes to multitask for me, but sometimes you really need a scene to do one specific thing and that's okay.

When plotting longfic, I really do find it useful to outline. I can sometimes get away without it, but being able to look at this progression planned out in front of me has definitely been super helpful. I use question marks and sarcasm liberally in my outlines. They're also really helpful for answering the "what next?" question because you can stare at gaps in the path and try to figure out what fits there. I also daydream about my fics pretty much constantly, so I’m informally outlining in my head before it ever gets to the page. 

Motivation and Execution

Honestly, the biggest motivating factor for me is having someone I trust who will read the damn thing even before it's finished. It's really lovely to have someone who will occasionally say nice things and offer encouragement, if not also provide some beta as you go. It also helps me stay engaged with the story instead of being distracted by a shiny new idea. Posting as a chaptered WIP can kind of substitute for this, but it doesn't really do it for me in the same way tbh.

So if possible, I do really recommend asking a buddy to read chunks as you go :) it can be scary at first, because it's unedited!! What if they don't like it? What if you totally change something halfway through and ruin the experience for them? That's why it's good to find someone you vibe with to do it, and who doesn't mind living in WIP land with you. But knowing there's someone specific waiting to read more of my writing is incredibly motivating for me. It's a tangible and immediate kind of reinforcement that kudos and comments on a WIP don't really replace. 

(Kudos and comments are wonderful. It's just a different kind of satisfaction.)

Another important aspect is finding time and energy to write, which isn't always easy. About a year ago, I actually started writing on Google docs on my phone in between meetings/classes at school and it was a total game changer. Getting in fifty or a hundred words a few times throughout the day really adds up! Obviously this doesn't work for everyone depending on your resources and general life situation. I'm very lucky that I work in a field that allows me that down time.

No matter how your time is spent day-to-day, I do find setting attainable goals for when you're able to write to be helpful. Learning what's attainable takes a little bit of trial and error as well as self-reflection. Generally speaking, I like to write every day and I try to write at least 1k each day. On average, that's attainable for me personally.* When I'm feeling blah and like the words aren't happening, I gently nudge myself by saying, "Just try to get to 1k. If you're still not feeling it after that, you can stop." I almost always get to 1k, because I was kind and encouraging to myself and knew that 1k was realistic even though I wasn't ~in the zone.

That just happens to be my number. Remember that all progress is progress, and the goal is to feel rewarded and accomplished by meeting the goal. If you think your attainable goal is 50 words, that's fantastic! You'll write 50 more words than you would've if you felt too discouraged to try at all. Writing stamina is also a thing, and you might find that after a while 50 becomes 100 becomes 200. 

It honestly really helps that writing is usually fun for me! I see a lot of posts on Tumblr about how writing is terrible and we all secretly hate it and I do find the humor in them, because I do have those moments. But deep down, most of the time? I'm writing something that I find fun. I'm writing an idea I care about and makes me smile (or laugh evilly, depending on the angst levels) and I hope other people will find fun too.

In all things, I believe honoring negative emotions and thoughts is important. Acknowledging that it can be frustrating to write, that you're tired of your WIP or feel stuck, etc, is helpful so you can address it. At the same time, I think a big factor that contributes to how often I, a massively neurodivergent pal who has 73382 ideas at any given time, am able to so often finish longfics is that I have worked really hard to focus on the positives too. Things that I am enjoying writing or the fun scene that's coming up if I finish the one that's annoying me. 

*I've been feeling super uninspired for the past two weeks or so and have written way less than average in that time. I'm working on a fic I objectively really care about and it's still like pulling teeth! So I’ve knocked my goal down to 200 words a day. And that's okay. Clearly my brain and the rest of me need a break. I wanna normalize that, too.

[miky91ftw]

The Stravaganza Series: An attempt at in-universe timeline (2/3)

See part 1 and the general premises here: [X]

hey everyone! It took me a while, but I was finally able to re-read and annotate both City of Flowers and City of Secrets, thus compiling the second part of the Stravaganza series timeline. Although the death bell tolls like crazy in these two chapters (especially in CoF), luckily the space-time continuum is pretty much stable, and time flows at the same speed on both end of the gate, allowing us to trace a perfect one on one correspondence between the events in Talia and what is going on in London.

This said, let’s get started with the analysis without further ado:

CITY OF FLOWERS

General timespan: from early March 2005/1579 to late April 2005/1579 (approx. 2 months). To commence, let’s fix some points to orient ourselves: Easter in 1579 falls on April 19. The day Sky stravagates for the first time coincides with the last day of Carnevale in Talia, Martedì Grasso (Shrove Tuesday), which happens exactly 40 days before Easter. Thus, we can pinpoint March 10 as the day when the story starts to move (despite the wedding being in the works supposedly for a couple of months at least). 

After Easter, we know that the weddings, the Nucci massacre and the flooding of the Argento rivers all happen on the following Tuesday (April 21). These are the most important dates for the overall plot, but, taking into account that (aside from the short Devon holiday) Sky stravagates almost daily, we can deduce most of the dates for all the other notable events in the book, such as:

Sky performs his epic coup de theatre, calling Nick Falco and revealing his status as Stravagante the day right after his first Stravagation, on March 10*, 2005 (England Time)

On March 11 (Talian Time) Sky and Suien visit Colle Vernale, while everyone else is freaking out about the weddings.

On March 12 (TT) Niccolò gets poisoned, and Carlo kills Davide Nucci in retaliation.

Between March 13 and April 6 (the day after Alice stravagates) the events can be placed with absolute precision - this is mainly due to the fact that, while we know that on Easter (March 27, 2005) most of the Barnsbury kids are in Devon for the school break, there are not exact indication of the dates they leave and return to London. Yet, we know that the day after Alice stravagates is less than two weeks away from the wedding, so it should be at least April 7 (TT). This sort of makes sense since we know that all the preparation for the wedding stravagation, the talisman exchange and Alice’s involvement in the operation takes at least a week, at the beginning of which Colin (aka Rainbow Warrior, Sky’s dad) celebrates his birthday (which is stated to be on April 1). Meanwhile, people in Giglia are still freaking out about the weddings.

the Holy Week in Talia starts on April 13 (Monday). On Thursday (16) Jacopo and his family arrive in Giglia, while Alfonso & co. arrives only on Friday (17). Finally, the pope arrives on the day before the wedding (Monday, 20) as he had to stay in Remora to perform the Easter Mass there. On Monday, after the celebrations are over, Niccolò proposes to Arianna (ew.) 

In England, meanwhile, Loretta discovers about Sky’s existence only on April 17, and Rainbow Warrior meets his son on the following day (April 18).

After the bloody events of the wedding, the following week has the Nucci surrendering on Wednesday (April 22, TT), and the fateful duel between Niccolò and Luciano on the Friday (April 24, TT). With the death of the Duca  and the Bellezzan delegation departure, the day after the duel is also the one where Silvia and Rodolfo get married (April 25), thus concluding the main plot of the book.

Concerning the age of the characters during the book, here’s what we can infer from previously known information:

Luciano and Arianna are both 17, turning 18 the next fall. Georgia is 16, and will soon turn 17 (as briefly mentioned in chapter 4). Falco is 15, and will turn 16 in November per my previous headcanon.

As for Sky, we know that he’s in the same year as Georgia, but it is hinted in chapter 17 that he already urned 17. This most likely puts his birthday in the first part of the year, probably between January and February (as Capricorn and Aquarius both fits his character, astrologically speaking XD)

Now, if you think that packing all the action of City of Flowers in a timespan of less than 50 days may seem too intense, get ready for the next entry, aka

CITY OF SECRETS 

General timespan: apparently, people in Padavia run on caffeine 24/7**, as all the main events take place in less than a month, specifically from October 11 2005 (ET) to the night of the Manoush execution, November 4 1579 (TT). Padua is a crazy city, no matter the timeline. 

We can pinpoint the starting date by the fact that Matt’s first Stravagation happens on the night of his 17th birthday, and he arrived in Padavia on the day of Arianna’s 18th birthday (October 12). Since we can infer from the text that, when you stravagate, you arrive in Talia on the day after the one you were back in England, this means that Matt’s birthday is on October 11. This means that Matt was born in the same year as Georgia and Sky, but, since his birthday is after August 31, he is in the year behind them (a search on the web informed me that the threshold for school admission in the Uk is August 31. Can anyone confirm this? FYI, in Italy we go by solar year, aka all children that turn 6 by December 31 are in the same year).

The final date, November 4, marks the Manoush execution, the solar eclipse*** and the  great Padavia fire. We know his as soon as chapter 22, when the date for the execution is fixed two days after the Manoush’s capture, which happens in the night between November 2 and 3. 

Similarly to what happened to CoF, Matt is seen stravagting almost every night, so we can keep count of the passing days to date the main events in the story, mainly:

Rinaldo arrives to Padavia around October 14, and the laws are passed in the following days (most likely on October 16 - a Saturday - which, as stated by Constantin, is considered a working week just like the others in Talia).

Deathridge arrives to Padavia on Friday 15, where he holds his first lesson at the University. We know that the third lesson is the following Friday (October 22), so the second lesson must have taken place between these two days (I’d say either on Tuesday 19)

The aforementioned assumption are strengthened by the fact that the Monday after Matt’s arrival is a holiday, more specifically St. Luke’s day, falls on October 18.

The day after the third lesson (thus, Saturday 23 October) we are introduced to our favourite red-haired bastard prince, the problematic fave™️ of the saga, Ludovico Vivoide. 

Given that the day of St. Raphael falls too on a Monday in Talia (October 25), we can place on the day before (Oct. 24, ET) Ayesha’s encounter with Jago, followed the day after by Matt cursing his “rival” with the Evil Eye. The situation gets solved on the 27, with Lucian returning briefly in England and meeting his parents. After he returns to Talia, on October 28 he manages to do well at his lecture, eventually sealing his fate as far as Filippo di Chimichi is concerned.

Also, sometimes around the 25, our favourite spy Enrico gets captured by Lucian, who forces him to take a bath, despite his protest. One of the highest moment of the saga, tbh.

The day after the lecture (Friday, October 29) we are introduced to Doc. Angeli and we know about the public dissections held at University. Luciano will be saved from Angeli’s unknowing tolls the following Thursday, on November 4.

To conclude, the final arc of the story takes place between Halloween (October 31, in England) and the three days of the Manoush festival. While Matt falls asleep in his room and the party at Chrissie’s goes on, the boy is kidnapped and beaten up in Padua (November 1, day of the Dead). Filippo accidentally stravagates, is scared by Ayesha, and finally everything gets solved before morning (November 2) arrives. 

As said before, the Manoush are captured on the night of November 2, the trial takes place the morning after (Nov. 3) and the execution is set for the 4th.

The events in the epilogue stretched between November 4 and January 1st 1580, the day where Bino is born in Giglia. Although he is “a little ahead of his time” we can infere that he was conceived right after the wedding, no later than April****. 

Aside from that, the epilogue informs us that Barbara and Marco get married, Matt gets his driving licence and we can only hope that Luciano finally manages to study for more than two days without being interrupted. As i said, CoSe is a wild ride. Go read it.

ADDENDUM 1: By the end of the fourth book, the character’s ages are: Luciano and Arianna > 18 Matt and Georgia > 17 Sky > 17, possibly already 18 Nick > 16

ADDENDUM 2: FOOTNOTES

*: the reason why I believe that the arrival day in Talia is the one right after the starting day in England, as explained, can be inferred mostly by looking at the CoSe timeline. 

**: it IS a university city, after all.

***: look, the moon phase seems to be pretty much on pair between worlds, but there is no records of a partial moon eclipse on November 4, 1579 (none that I’m aware of, at least). We can, however, headcanon it as Doctor’s Deathridge illusionary magic extravaganza, as A) they needed a distraction/something to cause a sensation among the crowd and solve the situation B) he’s actually a proficient astronomer, and knows how this kind of phenomena looks like, and the effect they have on people C) he’s Rodolfo’s master, and heaven knows what sort fo great magic he is actually capable of D) the fact that he used a mass illusion without telling the others but knowing that Luciano and co. would still be able to use it as a tool to free the Manoush is objectively cool as heck. 

****: or, it could have been conceived before the wedding, who knows 👀

IN CONCLUSION: THAT’S ALL FOLKS SEE YOU FOR PART 3 IN [redacted] MONTHS!

[hauntedfalcon]

TLJ reflections now that I’ve finally seen the damn movie

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS and LONG POST

I want to preface this by saying that we as fandom, any fandom, have thoroughly sold ourselves that line about how fanworks are the reclamation of our modern myths now that said myths have been fully commoditized. I felt powerful the first few times I saw that quote circulating. Then I started to feel tired, because every Johnlock shipper from here to space was using it in part to imply that they were, like, super progressive and important. Also, it has been used to justify some notion that fandom creates canon, and I’ve never agreed with that. 

And now I just feel hollow. Is there a bigger modern myth than Star Wars? Could there be more thorough reminder than The Last Jedi that no, modern myths do not belong to us, and if we try to stake any claim on them they will be put into the hands of someone who is wholly disinterested in any aspect of them that we value, and they will be fed to us in a form that defies us to create any fanworks about it at all? 

This is the first time I am watching a Star Wars trilogy as it unfolds where I actually care about most of the characters. For better or worse, and probably largely because of the impact of that idea of reclaiming our modern myths, I feel incredibly protective of them. I recognize that my basis for what I expect from those characters is one prior movie and a handful of expanded universe materials, so I wouldn’t say “the real [character] would never [heinous act],” because unfortunately the content of the movie I just witnessed is canon, but I can certainly say that my versions of those characters wouldn’t. 

All that being said:

Paige

Paige

Paige Tico

Paige didn’t even get to speak a line

would it have killed them to have her say “I’m on it Poe” as she went to drop the bombs 

with urgency and resolve and just a hint of fear in her voice 

Paige Tico is a hero 

Poe 

Poe Dameron

Poe was right

#PoeWasRight

Finn and Rose and Poe’s plan actually would have worked if Holdo had spoken to Poe in good faith and given him cause to trust her with that information

I’m still not sure what Holdo’s plan was, she died as she lived, with hair full of secrets 

Poe’s characterization was cocky, for sure, but people have been calling it chauvinist and I didn’t actually pick up on anything despite the efforts to play his concern when speaking with Holdo like a subtle wink wink nudge nudge to all the overqualified women in the audience who have ever had a dude tell them something they knew already 

(also can someone tell me where the line was where Holdo and Leia objectify him? because I was watching and all I heard was “He’s a troublemaker. I like him.” which was... not at all the sort of thing that people were talking about) 

I believe that Rian Johnson believes that Poe is the Han of this trilogy and I believe Oscar Isaac deliberately played all his scenes the opposite of how he could have played them and how Rian probably wanted him to play them 

that being said, my Poe would never get his fellow soldiers killed with recklessness

you could absolutely get Poe to the place he needed to be at the end of this movie without bloodying his hands 

“how did you two meet” was the most Jealous Boyfriend thing I have ever. heard. 

Finn

Finn

why was so much of this movie about Finn being in pain

I don’t like that 

his panic when he couldn’t move after being stunned? I don’t like that 

Rian Johnson is great at writing abuse, both physical and emotional

he’s terrible at knowing when to stop 

like when it’s an interaction between two people who are both supposed to be protagonists :) :) :) 

why wasn’t Finn given anything meaningful to do 

there was an interesting comment somewhere about how this is a movie about heroes failing, all the plans fail, every single one 

but that doesn’t actually make it any less tedious to watch, and as my husband pointed out it’s not what people want in a Star Wars movie

also while this is supposed to be the Empire of the trilogy and there were many call backs, Empire never backed down from the mood it established, while Last Jedi suffered from wildly disparate moods and tried to end on a high note where Empire embraced the low and still made us feel like there was clear forward momentum 

Rian Johnson had no idea what to do with Finn, just no clue how to handle him 

why was he excited about Canto Bight? we just don’t know

on the upside Finn’s immediate concern upon waking being getting to Rey was A+++++++++++++ consistent characterization 

as was the line “Rebel scum,” which indicated not a commitment to the Resistance the way I’ve seen people claim, but a commitment to rebel and as you might guess, I am one thousand percent HERE FOR IT

Rose 

Rose 

Rose Tico

you know how PacRim was in part such a big deal because for once the Asian woman didn’t sacrifice her life to further the white man’s story? TLJ gave us Rose stopping Finn from sacrificing himself and she didn’t have to die in the process 

I can’t believe Rose and Finn doublehandedly destroyed war profiteering 

Rose’s sense of wonder and her jadedness are my two favorite things 

Rose gave away her necklace and her vintage Rebellion ring without hesitation in order to further the cause so I think it’s only fair that in Episode IX someone gives her jewelry 

and by someone I mean Poe Dameron and by jewelry I mean one quarter of his mom’s ring because that my friends is a polycule in the making 

Leia 

why

why what? why everything honestly

why did they go to the effort of keeping her alive when she actually gets blown up in this movie, that was in the plot before Carrie Fisher even died 

what the fuck are they going to do now 

episode IX clearly would have been Leia rebuilding the Rebellion from scratch but uhhhhhhhhhhhh first they have to figure out what to do with the fact that they’re out of Carrie Fisher footage! and solving that problem is clearly going to require them to do one of the several things they’ve already said they wouldn’t do!

I surprised myself by not crying in any of Carrie Fisher’s scenes, but when R2 showed Luke the original message? HOO BOY it was raining on my face!!!!

no but the Confirmed Very Powerful Force User Leia Pulls Herself Back from the Cold Dark Vacuum of Space thing? gorgeous! gorgeous scene. gorgeous, breathtaking 

but I’m just operating on the headcanon that she died in her coma and what remained was a tangible Force ghost 

(Yoda bopped Luke on the snoot)

(the dice were a tangible Force projection what the fuck) 

p.s. why didn’t Leia move the damn rocks 

Rey

Rey spend half this movie talking to Krylon in her head but she didn’t even get to speak a line to Finn

they done you dirty Rey

I’m sorry Rey

the thing about this movie is that the people who are going to believe what they want to believe, no matter what, are going to find a way to say “that was misdirection!” 

and for once I’m not (just) talking about Re/ylo, I’m talking about the bit with her parents 

yeah Krylon doesn’t know shit about her parents and he was taking up the mantle of emotional manipulation and abuse that Snoke had just bequeathed 

but Rey coming from literally nowhere is SUCH A GOOD and I’m saying that as an avowed Rey Kenobi supporter 

let her come from nowhere and no one

let her be an example of a hyperpowerful hero in this series who didn’t get that way with midichlorians or bloodline 

let her strive to be great for her own sake, not in relation or reaction to what came before her 

Gareth Edwards

I SAW YOU GARETH EDWARDS, I SAW YOU IN THE TRENCHES, STICKING WITH STAR WARS TO THE BITTER, SALTY END 

that came out wrong 

Luke 

damn Mark Hamill threw everything he had into this and I really respect that when it’s clear from his interviews that he hated everything he had to do

hate that the character was in that position, hate the shitty writing of the intervening time, love the resolution, but tbh if he was just gonna die why not actually physically show up  

the total silence when Holdo jumps to light speed and everything gets reduced to stark iconic images: gorgeous, breathtaking

the hug: gorgeous, breathtaking 

vulptices and fathiers: gorgeous, breathtaking 

the Caretakers: I’d die for them 

Rose converting her FO uniform to biz caj chic on Crait: gorgeous, breathtaking 

Luke and Yoda cracking open a cold one while the Book Tree burns: gorgeous, breathtaking 

everyone’s makeup: bad, they looked either ill or painted

(I don’t actually know anything about makeup but I know I grimaced a lot)

all the many, many moments of bombast that covered over or otherwise distracted us from the few instances of nuanced ideas or potential plot progression in this film: gorgeous, breathtaking 

for half a second Luke was talking about how the light can still exist without the Jedi and I leaned forward in my seat like yes, yessss, but then we had to cut to Creepy Dark Cave on Training Planet Where You Go for Answers But You Only Find Your Own Face 

like Jesus just let the philosophy professor ramble for a little while, it won’t hurt anything and he’ll be in a good mood at test time

anyway this movie sure gave my eyes a lot to absorb and occasionally it activated all three of my feelings

but all it actually accomplished in the context of the trilogy is to kill some people and take some stuff away 

it occurred to me toward the end that there wasn’t anything in the movie I would have to edit out for my kid to watch it, but there’s no way she’d be able to sit through the whole thing

two and a half hours is too God damn long for a Star Wars movie, full stop

ten minutes of concrit from the story group could have led to some interesting avenues to explore and probably tightened it up a lot 

but instead it was painfully clear that no one said no to Rian at any point and what that got us was a movie that was extremely fatiguing to watch