#apparently among the stars in this bleak future there is not only war but also copious amounts of sass
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I'm literally crying 😂😂😂
Fulgrim:  I heard from a contact on Mars, Jaghatai, that you do strange things to your ships.
Jaghatai Khan: I hear you do strange things to your warriors.
The other Primarchs:
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The Space Marines:
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Fulgrim:
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Jaghatai Khan:
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ariainstars · 5 years ago
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Star Wars: Fatalism Against the „I Wish” Moment
Here it goes again, the question as to why The Rise of Skywalker sucked. Sigh. It just can’t leave me alone, can it?
After the first two chapters, honestly, I was expecting the sequel trilogy to become as good (or almost) as the original one. But precisely the last chapter set the seal on one of its worst problems: the lack of agenda. 
I love musical theatre. And one of its most beautiful sides is that it teaches you so much about storytelling. Now what makes a story, a character truly compelling? The conflict. Without a conflict, something that has to shift the narrative from A to D going through B and C, nothing makes sense. And in a good story, the conflict is set up right from the start. We meet someone and we are supposed to identify with them due to their agency. 
  Heroes With An Agenda 
To name an example, there is “Into the Woods”, one of my favorite musicals which retells some classic fairy tales with own interpretations and unexpected twists; and it opens with an iconic ensemble number called “I Wish”. (If you’re unfamiliar with it, you might want to check out the 2014 film.) We get to know a bunch of people who all want something, and we follow them through the narrative as some of them get their wish (though not exactly the way they expected it); then are confronted with the backlash, the consequences, the price to pay for the things they wanted. 
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With Star Wars now belonging to Disney, it is only legitimate to make a few comparisons with Disney movies.
In The Little Mermaid, Ariel’s song is “Part of That World”, setting up her character as someone who wants for something that fascinates her: the world of humans.
Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, wants to leave his tower and live among other humans, even if only in for a day.
Belle from Beauty and the Beast is introduced to us explaining how she wishes to explore the world outside of the small village she’s living in.
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A somewhat disappointing Disney heroine was Merida in Brave: despite the films’ title, the story fails at making its protagonist compelling due to her lack of agenda. Merida knows what she does not want, i.e. becoming like her mother, because she’s a different kind of girl: but she does not know what she actually wants from life. It is quite fitting that in the end she manages to restore and improve the relationship to her mother but does not really change her, or her family’s or her kingdom’s situation. Merida does not grow up. Her story is nice enough, but not really compelling.
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Disney “princesses” are often criticized for wanting nothing but a partner from life, and sometimes settling down with a man even if that was not their main goal at the start. But we have e.g. Moana, a girl who wants to help her family and her people and to restore balance in nature. Not surprisingly, her story is interesting and convincing.
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Antiheroes With An Agenda 
Perspective is hugely important for a narrative: authors can use it in order to manipulate the audience’s perception of a story in order to make us identify with someone although he is a negative character. Two examples I came across with lately are Joker (Arthur Fleck) and Hannah from the Girls TV series. Both these characters have personal agendas that in the end don’t get their fulfilment. 
We know from the beginning that Arthur will become the Joker, but the film follows him and his social background so closely that we watch everything from his point of view, which makes us sympathize with him despite what he becomes in the end. 
Arthur is poor, mentally ill, in charge of a sick mother, friendless; but he believes he can make a great breakthrough as a comedian. He is at the bottom of the social scale and still believes he can make it to the top; it is only all too clear that he is deluded and that none of the people he admires would move a finger to help him. Though he becomes a criminal, his story is a tragedy; he was born and raised under circumstances that hardly offered him room for a simple, satisfying life. His dreams were all he had. Which is why we feel with him, even if from a moral standpoint we know we shouldn’t. 
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Hannah is a toxic personality if I ever saw one onscreen; but she officially is the protagonist, she’s female who wants a career, she has “friends”, she is “sexually independent”, so as female viewers we will automatically identify with her, or at least try. (Personally, after a while I came to the conclusion that about 75 % of the other character’s problems would quickly find an end if they simply shot Hannah and buried her without a funeral, with a few silver crosses to make sure she never comes back.) 
However, Hannah is not from a poor family, she has an education, she has friends. She has things she wants, nothing she desperately needs, like Arthur needs employment or medication. Her whole attitude is subject to her desire to become a famous writer, so her story is about exploring and observing other people’s weaknesses, often even eliciting them for the worse. I find it interesting that when we learn how she first met Adam, he caught her stealing. Apparently, Hannah never understood that you can’t simply take but also have to give something back. Their relationship is so typical for the story because it looks like Adam is using her (mostly sexually), while she is using him in order to make “experiences”, playing with his feelings instead of giving him the chance to grow and mature into a responsible man. Girls always had a bleak undertone; but by manipulating our perspective making her the pivotal character, the authors made us care about Hannah although she is someone who did not deserve it in the first place.
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My guess: what makes these two antiheroes in the first place, from a moral perspective, is perhaps the fact that both feel entitled to their dream and won’t settle for less. Disney heroes usually get their wish fulfilment because they go through the moment of openly and innocently admitting their dreams without Arthur’s or Hannah’s latent arrogance.
Now to Star Wars... The Classics
One of the reasons why we so easily identify with Luke Skywalker in A New Hope is because he is introduced to us as someone who dreams. He has a personal wish - leaving his home planet, meeting new people, living adventures and contributing to the future of the galaxy. The “Binary Sunset” scene is not iconic without reason: in a musical, this would have been the moment where he would have broken into song. 😊
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Don’t kill me, but Disney’s Hercules reminds me a little of Luke in his first grand scene: he also looks at a sunset, saying that he would go most anywhere to find where he belongs. (Maybe Lucas knew well why he sold the rights to Star Wars to the Disney studios of all places.)
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This continues through his other two films: Luke always has a strong agenda. He learns the ways of the Jedi through Obi-Wan (who interestingly never actually questions whether he wants that at all) and Yoda, but his first priority always are his friends. Saving who he loves is what drives him on all of the time, even if this may seem foolish at times - like traveling all alone to Bespine where Han and Leia are kept hostage, or wanting to save his father although he is a dangerous criminal. 
  Star Wars In-Between
Rogue One and Solo are well-made, interesting films, too, because the protagonists know what they want. The Clone Wars is one long story explaining Ahsoka’s development from a Jedi to someone who relinquishes the Jedi’s ways. The Mandalorian wants to follow “The Way”, i.e. his code of honor, in order to help as many war foundlings as he can. This is what you need to do in order to make a story compelling. 
  Star Wars Prequels 
One of the weaknesses which I see to this day in the prequels is that we so rarely witness someone’s personal agenda; the stories are more driven by the plot than by the persons. A few desires are hinted at and never pursued. 
“I’m going to be the first to see all of them” (the stars). - Anakin in The Phantom Menace
“At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.” Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace 
What became of Anakin’s desire to explore the galaxy? And revenge from what, if you please? I can understand that the Sith were a byproduct of the Jedi’s rejection of the Dark Side, their weaknesses all projected unto them: but this also is never explored. 
What did Anakin, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon etc. want, after all? When did they ever say or show clearly what they wanted, and what they would do for the purpose? Qui-Gon wants to train Anakin by will of the Force, Obi-Wan wants to train him because Qui-Gon asked him to. The Jedi want to keep the status quo of the Republic and the Jedi Order. There is no actual heart-felt wish from their side. The only person relentlessly pursuing his aims is Palpatine, the mastermind behind the stage. 
Padmé has her political aims, but they are not a really personal agenda for her. She wants to help people who were enslaved or hungry or otherwise suffering, but she does not know such situations from own experience. Her personal wish is having a family, but in her case it is not as passionate as in Anakin’s, who had lost the only family he had with his mother. Add to this that the scene where she talks with Anakin about this desire of hers was unfortunately cut out from Attack of the Clones. 
The compassionate and protective Anakin wants to keep the ones he cares for safe. Interestingly though, the films rarely show us his perspective, we usually rather see other people reacting to him; and since the Jedi always brainwash him not to “let his personal feelings get in the way”, Anakin comes over more as a whiny brat than as a conflicted human being we can sympathize with.
Revenge of the Sith is, though a terrible story, a very well-made film and emotionally very demanding because Anakin finally takes his destiny into his own hands. But it is also not very satisfying, because he wants to prevent things from happening and doesn’t actually have a definite, positive aim in mind. Still when he speaks to Padmé on Mustafar he tells her that he would overthrow Palpatine for her and rule the galaxy according to their wishes; but even in this moment he sounds insecure and confused, and his ideas are everything but clear. 
  The Sequels
The same procedure all over again. Finn wants to get away from the First Order, but where does he want to go? It is only hinted at that he wants a girlfriend (“Do you have a boyfriend?”), and not thematized again. Poe already is a Resistance fighter from the start, no personal aim there either. Rey wants her family back: she does nothing but waiting. On Takodana, we literally see her running from her fate after her vision with the Skywalker legacy sabre. In The Last Jedi, she says she needs someone to show her her place. She says to Luke that she is afraid. Again, she has no agenda.
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Kylo was pursuing Luke, but why? What exactly had happened between uncle and nephew before the fatal night at the Temple, why was Kylo’s resentment so deep? He killed his father because he was coerced; he did not actually want it. Later he wanted Rey, but why, if she was almost always aggressive towards him? 
The Last Jedi finally seemed to make up for all of these lacks. Rose was such a powerful character because while she always did everything in her power for the cause, she never forgot or let go of her personal feelings and desires, like keeping Finn safe, inspiring hope in the Canto Bight children, freeing the fathiers. 
The moment Rey ships herself on the Supremacy, Ben kills Snoke and then both team up against the Praetorian Guards is so powerful because both of them, at last, have an agenda, and they pursue it together. It’s a moment of relief for the audience, what we had been waiting for all along: finding out what all of this was about - the Force working in balance. Naively, many of us then assumed this trilogy would be about Ben and Rey finding balance and a happy ending together.
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Then The Rise of Skywalker made our frustration flare up again. Rey wants to become a Jedi because Leia expects her to; she kills Palpatine because he wants her to do it; the voices of all Jedi encourage her… great. No personal agenda all over again. Ben saves her from death because he loves her, very well. Then he dies. Han, Leia and Luke all wanted him to come “home”, i.e. back to the Light Side, and they died for the purpose. It seems wanting something is dangerous in itself in this galaxy. And Rey ends up alone on Tatooine. Again, what does she want there?
So It Was All... Fate?
Han, Leia and Luke were much more compelling characters than Rey - their aims were sometimes misguided, but at least they had them and they were clearly defined. Even Palpatine has an aim: it is veiled (typically for him), but it is there. He knows that his spirit will live on in the person who manages to kill him. So, he is still more powerful than Rey. It looks like Rey defeated him, but the truth is that he used her naïve faith that she could erase him by killing him in order to reach his own aim: living on in a younger, more innocent person who believes that being a “Jedi”, she is doing the right thing. 
We may of course argue that the Force is behind all of this; but as intriguing as the Force is, it is not a person. When we follow a story, we want living persons to think and feel and suffer and be hopeful and joyful for. It is all very well if characters want different things or maybe want the wrong things; but at least, their wishes ought to be understandable, and if they don’t come true, we would like to know why, instead of being left with... “reasons”. It is hard to identify with a character if we never learn what drives them after all. I daresay it would be more satisfying to see them pursue an aim and fail, than never to understand what they’re about, what their heart’s wish is. 
I have argued over and over that the ways of the Jedi, i.e. sacrificing everything to a cause, and individual aims are naturally opposite to one another. If there will ever be Balance, future Force-sensitive creatures must find a way in between. But again, this is not openly said and the audience has to either resign to the fact that the films are badly made, or to scavenge them for months searching for messages. Of course, there is nothing wrong with using ones’ own brains. But I would like to leave a cinema after a Star Wars film feeling satisfied. The Rise of Skywalker did not only leave many questions unanswered; in many instances, it did not even start posing the questions.
“Into the Woods” is not a story with a happy ending. One of its messages is that you need to be careful about what you wish for, but I think that’s all right if the moral implications of getting one’s wish are explored. Which with the Star Wars prequels and sequels was not the case - people suffer and die for decades, and in the end, the story goes nowhere. The events of the prequels took place because “they were meant to”; same with the sequels. Anakin turned evil because it was his fate, his grandson the same because it was fate, Rey took over the Jedi mantle although she is not in the least suited for it, but it was her fate so we have to accept it. No wonder everyone is disappointed. 
Star Wars saga, what do you have in store next? After more than 30 years, I dearly hope, someone who actually has an aim and purses it this time. And doesn’t have to die in the process, thank you very much.
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himluv · 5 years ago
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Believer
Merry Christmas! Here’s another (kinda long, slightly canon divergent) Solavellan oneshot, because I am hopeless. Set after Perserverance. Also, side note, this is probably one of my favorite things I’ve written for them and hope you all enjoy it!
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Despite the cold, Solas couldn’t shake the memory of the archdemon’s flames. He’d felt them on his neck as he’d run away. He told himself that he had been following her directions, that Cassandra and Sera had fled too. That they would all be dead if they hadn’t obeyed the Herald’s final command.
None of it helped.
He had left her behind to face a a monster right out of the Chant of Light. A being that shouldn’t exist, imbued with a power it had no claim to. He tried to convince himself that it was the loss of the anchor that he felt most keenly, that it wasn’t the thought of never seeing her questioning glances or her smile again that nearly brought him to tears.
But, after the day he’d had, Solas didn’t have the energy to lie to himself anymore. He cared about Riallan, more than he should. More than he thought he could. This world wasn’t real after all. It was a mistake, an errant timeline he must correct. But she was different, vibrant and vital and… everything.
And now she was gone.
Sitting at the edge of the fire, Solas covered his face in his hands and tried to clear his mind. He had to think, to come up with his next steps now that the Herald was gone. Defeating Corypheus and retrieving his orb were still the priority, and without Riallan it would be exceedingly difficult.
“You and the Herald were close, no?” Mother Giselle asked. She stood beside him, staring into the flames.
He cleared his throat, but didn’t look up at her. “No,” he said. “At least, not yet.”
She hummed as if she understood his meaning all too well. “The loss of what could have been often only amplifies the grief for what was.” She sat on the log beside him, crossing her ankles and tucking her legs to one side. “She was kind. Compassionate in a way rarely seen beyond Chantry walls.”
He snorted at that. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I do not mean to belittle your faith.”
She waved his words away. “I know you are not a believer, Solas. Nor was the Herald. And yet, she embodied Andraste in ways I would never have expected.”
He looked down at his hands where they hung between his knees. “She was a marvelous spirit.”
“On that we can agree.” She sighed, rubbing her hands together before holding them closer to the fire. “We must keep her in mind in the days to come. The Inquisition will need grace and fortitude for what comes next. May the Herald be our guide.”
The Revered Mother’s words rang in his head as he watched the flames, and the more he listened to them, the more he was certain Riallan would have hated them. She never wanted to be the holy figure in the humans’ war, she fought the notion at every turn. And yet he knew she would be forever remembered as the Chosen of Andraste, the martyr of Haven.
He stood abruptly, suddenly unable to stand the heat of the fire, or the company it drew. “Thank you, Mother Giselle, for your kind words,” he said and then hurried through the snow to his tent.
He shouldn’t have been surprised to find Cole sitting on his bedroll, but he’d somehow forgotten the spirit in the commotion of the evening.
“You’re hurting,” he said.
“We all are,” Solas said.
“Yes. Fire, fury, fear on blackened wings. They are afraid. Of what came before and what comes after.”
Solas sighed. He did not have the patience for the compassion spirit tonight. In the Fade emotions would make sense to Cole, but here, in a camp full of mortals fleeing for their lives, he would be overstimulated. Grasping for meaning and methods to help heal their pain. And it would be too much.
“Yours is worst,” the spirit continued. “The darkest song, bleak and black with blighted hope.” Cole blinked too-wide blue eyes at him. “You care for her. Wanted her in a way you had not let yourself want in so long.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. “Cole, please. This is not helping.” When he opened his eyes he was alone in the tent, a whisper of an apology shivering in the air. He stared at his bedroll and for once dreaded the thought of sleeping. He had grown so used to visiting her in the Fade each night. He looked forward to her questions, to the shocking realism of her memories.
But tonight he would be alone. After the millennia in uthenera, the concept should not be so frightening. But, after a millennia in uthenera, alone and wandering, her companionship in the Fade had meant more to him than he could say.
“Enough,” he said to himself. A pitiful pep talk, but it was enough to steel his mind and climb into the bedroll and try to sleep.
Three nights he wandered the Fade alone. Three days they trudged through the storm, the weather a fitting symbol of the Inquisition’s morale. They were lost and homeless, hopeless and hollow. The advisors argued among themselves, while her companions quietly checked on one another. Varric and Cassandra spoke with him most, but he was surprised at the care both Dorian and Sera showed him as well. Apparently his burgeoning feelings for Riallan had not been so subtle as he’d thought.
He told them all the same thing. He was fine, though he mourned the loss of the Herald much as anyone else. That he feared for the future of Thedas without her. But he left it at that and denied any personal attachment or grief. The script helped him bottle away emotions he would rather not face at the moment.
On the fourth night the storm broke and the stars shone down on the Inquisition’s camp. They’d taken shelter in some ruins, so he at least had those to look forward to in the Fade that night. It would be a blessed reprieve from the lonesome quiet of his dreams these past few evenings.
He sat at the fire, using the flickering light to draw and hating that no matter what he set out to sketch, it all turned into her. Riallan facing down a dragon. Her vallaslin in abstract against the Inquisition’s heraldry. Her face when she’d spoke to him about his artwork, the shining joy in her eyes.
“Shivering, shaking, shambling,” Cole said. The spirit materialized to stand just in front of Solas, blocking the light. “Everything hurts. Breathing, walking, speaking.”
Across the fire, Cassandra scoffed.
The spirit turned to look at him. “So close. Will I find them in time?”
Solas’ hand froze on the page as his head snapped up to look at the spirit. “For whom are you speaking, Cole?”
Cole turned and pointed away from camp. From the way they’d come. “Her. There.”
He met Cassandra’s gaze across the flames, and then she shouted, “Cullen!”
Solas didn’t wait. He dropped his sketchbook and fade-stepped in the direction Cole had pointed. He arrived first, the advisors close behind him as he turned the corner around a broken pillar and —
There she was, kneeling in the snow gasping for air. A cursory glance told him she was gravely injured. Dried blood streaked her head, face, and neck, while scrapes, bruises and a few burns claimed the rest.
“It’s her,” Cullen shouted as he reached them. “It’s the Herald!” The templar bent down as if to scoop Riallan into his arms, but Solas stopped him.
“I need to assess her injuries,” he said.
“She’s freezing,” Cassandra argued.
“I only need a moment,” he promised. Already his hands traveled over her body, the glow of his magic probing and prodding, searching for where the damage was worst. The power would also soothe some of the pain, though it would only provide meager relief.
At his touch she lifted her head, and blinked at him. Her green eyes were unfocused and dazed. “Solas?” She said. Her voice sounded rough and weak. “Is this the Fade?”
He gave her the tiniest smile. “No, lethallan. You are not dreaming.”
She let out a heavy breath and winced. “I made it.”
Before he could confirm or congratulate her, Riallan passed out and fell forward into his arms.
“Well?” Cullen asked, impatience making his tone gruff.
“Her right shoulder is dislocated, the collarbone broken, she has several cracked ribs, and if the ankle isn’t broken it’s definitely a bad sprain. There’s also high probability of a concussion, dehydration, and damage from exposure.”
Cullen stared at him, his mouth moving but no words coming out. He ran a hand through his hair. “Maker’s Breath,” he finally managed.
“Can we move her or not?” Cassandra asked.
“We must.” He lifted Riallan as gently as he could, but any pain she felt was thankfully lost on her for the moment. “Cole?”
The spirit manifested, startling those gathered.
“Go to Mother Giselle and tell her to make space in the infirmary.”
He nodded, but lingered as he looked at Riallan then back to Solas. “She’s hurting,” he said. “But it’s better now. You’re helping.”
“Hurry, Cole,” he said, but the spirit’s words brought him a warmth he couldn’t deny. The others followed him, hovering and offering assistance when all he really wanted was for them to leave them be. He knew they cared, that they worried for Riallan just as he did, but they were a distraction he couldn’t afford.
Once in the makeshift infirmary tent, he told them as much. Cullen and Josephine bowed out right away, the ambassador looking a bit squeamish. Cassandra planted her feet and prepared to argue, but Leliana silenced her with a hand on her arm.
“You will tell us if you need anything?” The Nightingale said.
“Of course,” he said.
She nodded. “Come, Cassandra. Let him work.”
The Seeker gave one long look at Riallan and then acquiesced. He set to work immediately. Adan and Mother Giselle worked in tandem, following his instructions and offering advice. They had to reset the collarbone, which had begun healing out of place. It was gruesome work, and painful enough that she had cried out even in her unconsciousness.
The sound of her scream and knowing that he’d caused it, would haunt him for a long time to come.
With the collarbone set and magic poured into it to accelerate healing, Solas worked on her shoulder next. Once that was back in place, he and Mother Giselle wrapped her torso, supporting the fractured ribs.
Some small part of his mind noted that Riallan was only half dressed. She lay on the cot in just her breast band and leggings as they worked. His artist’s eye catalogued each detail of her skin, even as he lamented that he saw her under such dire circumstances. Then the moment was over and he resumed his focus to healing her.
It must have been hours later when he finally sat on the cot beside her. He was exhausted. He’d had to replenish his mana with lyrium potions twice, or was it three times? He couldn’t remember. In Arlathan, even such an intense healing session would have cost him nothing; the power was available in every breath he took. But with the veil in place, with his power a mere trickle of what it once was, he struggled now to stay upright.
“Surely, you must believe in the Maker now,” Mother Giselle said. She looked about as tired as he felt, but her face with bright with hope. “He has returned her to us.”
His head was heavy, but he managed to look up at her. “No,” he said, the words thick on his tongue. “I believe in her.”
That wasn’t what the Revered Mother wanted to hear, but neither of them could be bothered to argue the point. She bowed her head slightly to him, and then left him alone with the Herald.
His hands trembled and an erratic humming coursed through him, the after effects of the lyrium. He felt jittery and hollow, rattled and raw. He wiped a hand over his face and only then noticed they were stained with her blood.
“You look like shit, Chuckles.”
He glanced up to see Varric enter the tent. He simply nodded in reply. It was all the greeting he could muster.
“Why don’t you go clean up?” He clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll watch over her for a bit. You should get some sleep.”
Solas opened his mouth to protest but Varric spoke first.
“I’m no medical expert, but my guess is she’s going to be knocked out for quite awhile. Am I right?”
He sighed. “Yes. At least until morning, and even then we should administer a sedative. I should —“ He made to stand, but swayed on his feet.
“Woah, there, Chuckles.” Varric steadied him with a hand on his arm. “The only thing you should be doing is resting. I promise, if anything changes with the Herald, I’ll come get you.”
He wanted to argue, to demand that he stay by her side, but he had the energy for neither. He could barely keep his eyes open as he nodded and left the tent. For a moment he walked alone, weaving through the tents, and then Cole was there with Solas’ arm over his shoulder.
The spirit helped him to bed, the gesture surprisingly tender. “Scared, shimmering hope, so fragile. Exhausted, but proud. Suledin. She has endured so much.”
The elvhen was foreign on the spirit’s tongue, the word sharp where it should be round. It made Solas smile.
“The hurt is less now, for both of you.”
He wanted to say yes, to agree with Cole and smile and feel the joy of knowing Riallan would live. But those feelings would have to wait for the Fade. He was asleep before he could even give them a voice.
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onimiman · 7 years ago
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I Should Have Seen This Coming...
After reading various articles and watching several videos that have been revolving around themes such as nihilism and cynicism that have been interpreted to be core traits in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it strikes me that this is something I should have seen coming around the time I heard that Rian Johnson had been the one to not only direct this film but also single-handedly write it, and it makes me wonder why, in retrospect, Lucasfilm thought this guy was a great choice to direct a Star Wars movie beyond the mere visuals.
I remember back when The Force Awakens was announced and a director had yet to be hired, so certain names were floated around, like Joss Whedon, Guillermo del Toro, etc.; you know, directors who would make sense to direct a Star Wars movie, what with their prior experiences in the sci-fi/fantasy genres. But two particular names that were floated around for potential directors for TFA were David Fincher and, of course, Rian Johnson, and these were names that struck me as odd considering their bodies of work.
Granted, between Fincher and Johnson, the latter still makes more sense to direct a Star Wars film (and I still stand by that even after the debacle that is TLJ), but I’ll get into why Johnson shouldn’t have been involved in TLJ in the first place. But for now, let’s get into why Fincher would have been an, if not terrible then, inappropriate choice for a Star Wars film. Now David Fincher is no stranger to sci-fi; his directorial debut, Alien 3, demonstrates that even when his efforts were hampered by studio executives from crafting a story worthy of the Alien franchise, he knew how to direct a film like that. And the thing was, no matter what you think about Alien 3′s quality, that film is, through and through, a bleak, nihilistic film that very much captures the spirit and tone of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece and then some. Then, when you look at several of Fincher’s other works (namely, his adaptations of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl), the themes of nihilism and pessimism continue to pepper his work, as these core traits are things that Fincher carries from his own personality and worldview into his craft. So I bring all this up about Fincher because when I heard that people (if not Disney/Lucasfilm execs, then people in general) were thinking about him as a possible contender to direct TFA because of his technical skills and experience, I thought, “No, the views that he brings into his work would be totally contrary to what Star Wars is about, which is about, among other things, persistent hope and heroism even in the face of the bleakest of times.” 
Then we get to Rian Johnson. Now the works from Johnson I have seen were his episodes of Breaking Bad (Fly, Fifty-One [the episode where Heisenberg and co. pull the train robbery], and Ozymandias [the episode where Hank dies and Walter’s life completely falls apart) and his 2012 film Looper. Now the commonality between all of these works, and which brings a connection between him and Fincher beyond being potential directors for TFA, are themes such as nihilism, brutality, and pessimism, especially in areas where things fall apart. And also like Fincher’s Alien 3, Johnson’s Looper is a science-fiction film that incorporates such dour, depressing themes into its story, and imo, how he incorporated those themes into Looper, and especially in his episodes of Breaking Bad (which, of course, he didn’t write) worked well for that film and definitely those episodes.
However, it was because of Looper that made me wonder why he would be considered an appropriate candidate to direct TFA, and it really got me scratching my head once he actually got the job of writing and directing TLJ. I thought, “Well, this’ll be a departure from how he would do things.” But then the movie comes out, and when themes like failure and, yes, nihilism are brought up by fans on sites like this and YouTube, it becomes more apparent to me that Johnson was a mistake to write and direct a Star Wars movie. How he incorporates the themes he wishes to discuss are so out of line with what Star Wars is actually about and it certainly makes the characters included in this movie act OOC from how they were previously established in the prior films (I’m looking at you, Luke).
Quite frankly, outside of someone like David Fincher, it would be like if one decided to hire an arthouse director to direct a superhero action movie. I can’t imagine someone like Paul Thomas Anderson, who made such dramatic films like 2012′s The Master and 2002′s Punch Drunk Love, to direct an Avengers movie (which is interesting since he has professed to actually liking superhero/sci-fi action films, yet never directs them). Or how about David Lynch, an arthouse director who’s made movies like Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, direct a Star Wars fil...
Wait... he was considered to direct Return of the Jedi?
WTF?
So I think the conclusion to be made here is this: In spite of the success of TLJ on both the commercial and (professionally) critical sides, if Lucasfilm and Disney hope to have Star Wars continue to be a long-lasting franchise, they must be careful with who they write and direct their films for the future, because a nihilistic pessimist like Rian Johnson would be so inappropriate to the point that they could damage the franchise, as Johnson has done with TLJ. And I speak as a nihilistic pessimist myself, and there are places that can explore such themes in fiction (i.e. Watchmen); hell, I could even see a Star Wars movie working with that PROVIDED THAT IT RECEIVES THE PROPER FOCUS. What do I mean by this? Well, pessimism and nilihism could work in a film focusing on, say, the criminal element of SW, like Jabba the Hutt or Boba Fett; a side element, if you will. But to have this sort of realism in the main saga of Star Wars, where bright, optimistic characters like Luke Skywalker are faced with bleak and grim situations yet soldier through them scarred but alive on both a physical and emotional level, is not productive to the main Star Wars saga.   
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globlenet-blog · 8 years ago
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What Happens When A Terrorist Attacks A Trump Property?
https://clearwatergolfclub.com/what-happens-when-a-terrorist-attacks-a-trump-property/
What Happens When A Terrorist Attacks A Trump Property?
The Long Run Based On Trump
Mix-published from TomDispatch.com
Are you able to doubt which were inside a dystopian age, even when remained as four days from Jesse Trump entering the Oblong Office? Never within our lifetimes are we experienced such vivid previews of the items unfettered capitalism will probably mean within an ever more unequal country, since its form of 1% politics has elevated towards the pinnacle of power a bizarre millionaire and the basket of deplorables. Im referring, obviously, to not his supporters but to his picks for that greatest posts within the land. Included in this are a number of generals prepared to bring us right into a new set of crusades along with a crew of billionaires and multimillionaires ready to make America their own again.
Its already a stunningly depressing moment also it hasnt even begun. At the minimum, it calls upon average folks to increase towards the occasion. Which means mustering a dystopian imagination that suits the age in the future.
I probably have that youre as capable like me of making bleak scenarios for future years of the country (to not talk about the earth). But simply to obtain the ball moving around the eve from the holidays, allow me to provide you with a handful of my very own dystopian fantasies, centered on the possibility actions of President Jesse Trump.
There’s already a massive literature practically a library of writings on the unique president-elects potential conflicts of great interest. He is doing, in the end, own, or lease his name to, various towers, elite courses, clubs, hotels, condos, residences, and you never know what else in a minimum of 18 to 20 countries. That name of his, almost always in impressive gold lettering, soars to striking heights in foreign skies over the planet. Nowadays, actually, the Trump brand and it is conflicts are difficult to flee, from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Dubai to Scotland, India, and also the very heart of Manhattan Island. There, within my own hometown, at a price to local taxpayers much like me in excess of a million bucks each day, law enforcement are protecting him in a major way, as the Secret Service and also the military add their heft towards the growing armed camp in mid-Manhattan. They’re, obviously, protecting the Trump Tower the one out of which, in June 2015, to Neil Youngs Rockin within the Free World, he rode that escalator into the presidential campaign, promising to construct an excellent wall, lock-out all Mexican rapists, making America great again.
That tower on busy Fifth Avenue has become fronted by dump trucks full of sand (to assist safeguard the Republican presidential nominee from potentially explosive attacks) and, using the safety from the president and the family in your mind, the key Services are apparently thinking about renting out a few floors from the building at a price towards the American citizen of $3 million yearly, which may, obviously, go into the coffers of the Trump company. (Hey, no conflict of great interest there and have no idea mention the term kleptocracy!) All this will unquestionably make sure that New Yorks most Trump-worthy building, also known as the White-colored House North, is going to be stored reasonably protected from intruders, attackers, suicide bombers, and so on. But a lot of the imperial Trump brand all over the world might not be quite as lucky. Elsewhere, pads will normally be private hires, not government employees, and also the money readily available for any security plans will, consequently, be much more modest.
With rare exceptions, the attention from the media has centered on just one facet of Jesse Trumps conflict-of-interest issues (and they’re rampant), to not talk about his urge to duck what he may do about the subject, or dodge and weave to avoid a guaranteed news conference to go over them and also the role of his children in the presidency and the companies. The emphasis has generally been in the sorts of issues that would arise from the businessman having a branded name visiting power and benefiting from, or selection in line with the money to make from, his presidency. Media reports have generally zeroed in, for example, about how foreign leaders yet others might affect national policy by basically promising to enhance Trump or his children. They set of diplomats who feel obliged to remain at his new hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue just lower the road in the White-colored House or foreign heads of condition reaching out to him via his partners within their lands or Trump brand deals which are now going through in a variety of countries because of his election victory.
The main focus is nearly almost always regarding how to deal with a president who, not less than the following 4 years, could are in position to profit in your mind-boggling ways from his various functions at work (or just in the position he holds, even when he is doing nothing). Making no mistake, that issue might indeed edge Trumps presidency in to the truly dodgy, not saying paradigm breaking, with regards to a brief history from the White-colored House. But dont call that dystopian.
What couple of people (the key Service aside) are planning on may be the ways that conflicts of great interest could take in the new president by threatening to not enrich, but impoverish him (and the children). Mind lower that path and trust me youre instantly in dystopian territory.
Heres a predicament for you personally:
Its April 1, 2017. Jesse J. Trump has been around office for under 2 . 5 several weeks whenever a nattily outfitted businessman seems to enter Trump Towers Istanbul, which soars in to the skyline from the Turkish capital using the name from the new American president impressively done in gold letters atop certainly one of its towers. Once within the lobby, that man, a messenger in the Islamic Condition who managed to get with the complexs private security screening having a suicide vest shackled by his body, blows themself up, killing a doorman, a burglar screener, and numerous residents, while wounding twelve others.
Obviously, Ive never visited Trump Towers Istanbul, and so i dont figure out what safety measures have established yourself there in the middle of that already explosive capital, but because of the Trump projects scattered all over the world, you can pick your personal branded building, resort, or hotel. Which initial explosion would certainly be considered a start. Remember it only cost Osama bin Laden a reported $400,000 to stage the 9/11 attacks and lure the Plant administration into some trillion-dollar unsuccessful wars that will help spread terror movements over the Greater Middle East and Africa. So don’t for any second think the leadership of ISIS (or similar groups) wont see the benefits of delivering such messengers inexpensively to obtain underneath the oh-so-thin-skin from the new American president and embroil him in god knows what.
Picture this too: its 2018. China and also the U.S. are in loggerheads over the Taiwan strait, pressures and feelings are rising again in northern Africa, where ongoing American military assaults in Libya and Somalia only have elevated the pre-Trumpian chaos, plus the heartlands from the Middle East where, despite massive American bombing campaigns, ISIS, once more a guerilla group without territory, causes chaos. Additionally, in Afghanistan, 17 years after Americas second Afghan War started, the U.S.-backed government in Kabul is tottering when confronted with new Taliban, ISIS, and al-Qaeda offensives. Massive waves of immigrants all these unsettled lands still endanger an angry Europe, and everywhere anti-Americanism is rising, not inside a generalized sense, but focused in rage around the American president and the much-beloved brand.
Imagine too as it were growing demonstrations, protests, and so on, all targeted at various towers, clubs, resorts, and condominiums within the Trump stable. And think about precisely what a mixture of threatened terror attacks and roiling demonstrations, in addition to growing anger within the Trump name over the Islamic world and elsewhere, might mean towards the profitability from the presidents brand. Now, consider the Trump towers in Pune, India, or even the 75-story tower in Mumbai, or even the six-star luxury resort in Indonesia, or even the tower rising in Manilas Century City (each a higher-finish Trump-labeled project likely to come online soon and all sorts of, except Pune, at past sites of devastating terror bombings). What’s going to their proprietors do if prospective buyers, fearing for his or her comfort, health, or perhaps lives, start to flee? What goes on once the hotels cant maintain their rooms filled, the condominiums lose their bidders, and also the Trump brand all of a sudden starts to empty out?
There’s, obviously, no be certain that this type of factor may happen, however if you simply pause and think about the possibility, it is not difficult to imagine. Next, consider what you know about Jesse Trump, a guy inordinately happy with his logo and sensitive beyond belief. Now, attempt to imagine as well as in Trumpian terms were speaking in regards to a truly dystopian world here what American foreign policy might seem like if, among the fears of resort-goers, golfers, business types, and so on, that brand started to tank worldwide, if raising individuals giant gold letters over any city immediately ensured either mind-boggling problems or staggering security costs (and, at least, a existence of TSA-style lines for consumers).
IMG 1 TT
Indeed, if the Trump brand starts to go belly up, knowing what we do about the president-elect, we would be almost certain to see a foreign policy increasingly devoted to saving his brand and under those circumstances in the words of former Condition Department official Peter Van Buren what might fail?
Now, that is dystopian territory.
Assassin-in-Chief
Allow me to add another dystopian fantasy as to the clearly happens to be an endless string of these. As it were, lets consider the subject of presidential assassinations. With that I do not mean assassinated presidents like Lincoln subsequently, McKinley, or Kennedy. Things I are thinking about may be the modern presidential urge to assassinate others.
Since a minimum of Dwight Eisenhower, American presidents will be in the camp ground from the assassins. With Eisenhower, it had been the CIAs plot against Congolese Pm Patrice Lumumba with John Kennedy (and the brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy), it had been Cubas Fidel Castro with Richard Nixon (and the Secretary of Condition Henry Kissinger), it had been the killing of Chilean President Salvador Allende inside a U.S.-backed military coup, that was even the first 9/11 attack (September 11, 1973).
In 1976, within the wake of Watergate, President Gerald Ford would outlaw political murder by executive order, a ban reaffirmed by subsequent presidents (although Taxation did direct U.S. Air Pressure planes to explosive device Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafis home). Because this new century started, however, the sexiest high-tech killer around, the appropriately named Predator drone, could be equipped with Hellfire missiles and sent into action within the fight against terror, creating the potential of presidential assassinations on the scale nothing you’ve seen prior imagined. Its subsequent missions threatened to produce a Terminator form of the world.
In the behest of two presidents, George W. Plant and Obama, a number of such automatic assassins would enter in the past unique terrain as global hunter-killers outside official American war zones. They as well as their successors, Reaper drones (as with the Harsh Reaper), could be dispatched on mass murder sprees that haven’t yet finish which were largely organized within the White-colored House itself with different regularly updated, presidentially approved kill list.
In this manner, obama, his aides, and the advisors grew to become judge, jury, and executioner for terror suspects (though often enough any man, lady, or child who been nearby) midway all over the world. When I wrote in 2012, along the way, the commander-in-chief grew to become a lasting assassin-in-chief. Now, presidents were given the job of overseeing the removal of countless individuals other lands with a feeling of legality granted them in secret memos through the lawyers that belongs to them Justice Department. Discuss dystopian! George Orwell could have been awed.
So with regards to assassinations, i was already on dark terrain before Jesse Trump thought to ask running for president. But provide the man his due. Little observed by anybody, he might be developing the opportunity of a brand new type of presidential murder not in distant lands but the following in your own home. Begin with his outstanding tweeting skills and also the staggering 17.2 million supporters of whatever he tweets, including numerous people of whats nicely known as the alt-right. And trust me, thats one hell of the audience to awaken, something The Jesse has proven he can perform with alacrity.
In this way, you can already consider him as a type of Twitter hit man. Certainly, his capacity to lash in 140 figures isn’t any small factor. Lately, for example, he all of a sudden tweeted a critique of arms-maker Lockheed-Martin for creating probably the most costly weapons system ever, the F-35 fighter jet. (The F-35 program and price has run out of control. Vast amounts of dollars will be saved on military [along with other] purchases after The month of january 20th.) The companys stock value quickly required a $4 billion hit which, I have to admit, I discovered amusing, not dystopian.
Also, he appears to possess been inflammed with a Chicago Tribune column that centered on Boeing Chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburgs criticisms of his comments on worldwide trade and China, where that company does significant business. Muilenburg recommended, mildly enough, he back away in the 2016 anti-trade rhetoric and perceived threats to punish other nations with greater tariffs or charges. In reaction, The Jesse quickly took out after the organization, with the cancellation of the Boeing agreement for a brand new high-tech form of Air Pressure One, the presidents plane. (Boeing is creating a completely new 747 Air Pressure One for future presidents, but pricing is unmanageable, greater than $4 billion. Cancel order!) That companys stock similarly required a success.
But giant military-industrial corporations can, obviously, defend themselves. So no pity there. With regards to regular citizens, however, its another matter. Take Chuck Johnson, president of the Indiana U . s . Steelworkers local. He disputed Trump on the number of jobs obama-elect had lately saved at Carrier Corporation. Considerably less, he was adamant (quite precisely), than Trump claimed. That clearly bruised obama-elects giant but remarkably fragile ego. Before he understood what hit him, Johnson found themself the item of the Trumpian twitter barrage. (Chuck Johnson, who’s President of U . s . Steelworkers 1999, has been doing a dreadful job representing workers. No question companies flee country!) The following factor he understood, abusive and threatening calls were flowing in such things as were coming for you personally or, as Johnson described it, Nothing that states theyre gonna kill me, but, you realize, you best keep an eye on your children. We all know what vehicle you drive. Things along individuals lines.
Last year, an 18-year-old university student were built with a similar experience after you have up in a campaign event and telling Trump he wasn’t any friend to women. The candidate quickly continued the Twitter attack, labelling her arrogant, and subsequently factor she understood, because the Washington Publish described it, her phone started ringing with callers departing threatening messages which were frequently sexual anyway. Her Facebook and email inboxes full of similar messages. As her addresses circulated on social networking and her photo exhibited in the news, she fled the place to find hide.
About this basis, it is not hard to create a conjecture. Sooner or later in Trumps presidency, he’ll strike out by tweet in a private citizen (Sad!) who got under his skin. In reaction, some unhinged person in what could be regarded as his future alt-drone pressure will get a gun (which so much more is going to be a lot closer at hands within the NRA-ascendant chronilogical age of Trump). Then, within the fashion from the fellow who made the decision to self-investigate the pizza shop in Washington that thanks, fake news was said to be the middle of a Hillary Clinton child-sex-slave ring, he’ll go self-investigate personally and armed. In Pizzagate, the man, now under arrest, fired his assault rifle harmlessly for the reason that restaurant, whose owner had already received more than his share of abusive phone messages and dying threats. It’s very easy enough to assume, however, quite another consequence of this kind of event. For the reason that situation, Jesse Trump may have given murder by drone a brand new meaning. And really should which happen, what would be the effects from the first presidential Twitter hit job within our history?
Remember, obviously, that, because of George W. Plant and Obama, Trump can also get all individuals CIA drones for he desires to knock-off whoever he chooses in distant lands. But because a possible Twitter assassin, rousing his alt-drones towards the attack, he’d achieve quite a different type of American first.
A Note for The World
And thats simply to edge my way to return world of Jesse Trump, that is, obviously, going to become all of our universes. I believe that his will grow to be the screw-you presidency ever. And trust me, which will end up being dystopian beyond compare or will i mean beyond despair?
Go ahead and take most dystopian issue of: global warming. In recent days, Trump has mumbled sweet nothings towards the put together New You are able to Occasions staff, swearing that hes keeping an open mind with regards to the hyperlink between humanity along with a warming planet. Hes also sweet-talked Al Gore right in the middle of Trump Tower. (I’d a extended and incredibly productive session using the president-elect, stated Gore afterward. It had been a sincere look for regions of mutual understanding… I discovered it an very interesting conversation, and also to be ongoing.) Other things Jesse Trump might be, he’s, first of all, a salesman, meaning he understands how to make a sale and charm nearly anybody, if needed, and reality be damned.
If, however, you need to gauge his actual feelings about them, individuals outer borough sentiments of his youthful years as he obviously increased up feeling one-lower to New Yorks elite, then don’t pay focus on what hes saying and check out what hes doing. On global warming, its screw-you devastating completely and visual payback towards the many vegetables, liberals, and individuals simply concerned about the fate of the world for his or her grandchildren who didnt election for or support him.
The Protector lately did a rundown on his selections for both his transition team and key posts in the administration getting anything related to energy or even the warming from the planet. It found climate deniers and thus-known as skeptics everywhere. Actually, a minimum of nine senior people of his transition team, reported Oliver Milman of this paper, deny fundamental scientific knowning that the earth is warming because of the burning of carbon along with other human activity.
Combine this using the president-elects urge to produce American non-renewable fuels in ways nobody formerly has and you’ve got a note that couldnt be clearer or even more devastating for future years of the livable planet. Consider it as being so dystopian, so potentially publish-apocalyptic, it makes 1984 seem like a nursery tale.
The content couldnt be clearer. If I needed to place it in only five words, they’d be:
Trump to Earth: Drop Dead.
And indeed, happy holidays!
Tom Engelhardt is really a co-founding father of the American Empire Project and also the author of The U . s . States of Fear in addition to a good reputation for the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He’s a fellow from the Nation Institute and runs TomDispatch.com. His latest book is Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and come along on Facebook. Browse the newest Dispatch Book, John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, in addition to Nick TursesNext Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.
Find out more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dystopian-donald_us_585bd9b0e4b0eb5864854137
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