#as a luke fan i don’t get the fandom’s characterization of him

[darksisterkayde]

Where do people get the idea that Luke was this little sweetheart?? That boy smirked meanly (😈 the epitome of a mini-Daemon) at his scary uncle across the dinner table and had to be held back from trying to claw his face off

[fictiongarden]

Fan Fiction Review: Twilight of the Gods by blueenvelopes

Fandom: Star Wars

RATING: MAJESTIC

Blueenvelopes on fanfiction.net/blueenvelopes935 on ao3 has made something of a second unpaid career writing about Sith lords. Her Sith lords span antiquity right down to Darth Plagueis and beyond. Whatever may draw a person to create over twenty-five fanfic stories mostly about Sith lords, it’s my bet that blueenvelopes is female, older, well-read, and perhaps works in an artistic field. You’d certainly have to be all of those to create the damn-near-perfect masterpiece that drifts around fanfic land under the title Twilight of the Gods.

The story is thirty-nine chapters spanning the time between A New Hope and the end of the original trilogy and will take you several days of dedicated reading to finish. Happily, you will read it on the edge of your seat even though the author tells you how it will end in her copious story notes.

The story appears to have two main themes: One, to get the miserably widowed Darth Vader past Padme Amidala and married off to another wife; and two, to argue against a central premise of Star Wars that the reader may or may not agree with. It also brings back Darth Plagueis as the real star of the show in a capacity that will startle many readers.

Fortunately, when a writer with some talent thinks deeply enough about the paradigm and philosophy behind Star Wars to write thirty-nine chapters of coherent argument against it, the result is usually a well-thought-out and engrossing read. Even if you don’t agree that Snoke is Darth Plagueis or that the whole point of the GFFA isn't to stamp out darkness forever, the characters are so well drawn and the story is so intriguing that you should give it a chance anyway. It’s a hell of a good read whether you agree with blueenvelopes or not.

One of the story’s greatest strengths is the clear, convincing characterization. Darth Vader becomes even more nuanced here than he is in the hands of George Lucas, and that’s saying something. It takes real talent to make paragraphs of solid introspection, which this story features in abundance, just as riveting as an action scene. If nothing else, you will get lost in Darth Vader’s fascinating mind and beg for more when it’s over.

Another well-drawn character readers will enjoy is the Alderaanian art dealer Vader falls for and ends up marrying, a redhead named Astral Sidhu. (Is it my imagination, or is every female OC in Star Wars a redhead?) Unlike many OC In both the fan and professional worlds, Astral is older, in her mid-forties, so she beats many of the fanfic tropes right there. Her art world is so well-drawn and the character is so authoritative in her knowledge of it that we are swept right along into her world. There’s also the vicarious pleasure of being along in Astral’s wedding shoes as she’s recruited to help save the Empire’s second-in-command during a crisis, comes to know him more personally, and then ultimately falls in love with him and marries him. Yes, the sex scenes are included … a bit more realistically than in many other fanfics as well. (Yes, Darth Vader can be impotent … at least now and then.) Vader’s doctor and house staff leap right off the screen as admirable individuals in their own rights, too, although readers may not appreciate seeing fan favorite Firmus Piett trashed in this fic.

Another strength of this fic is the element of surprise. Not to reveal too many details, but who knew this much could go on between Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Plagueis between Empire and Return of the Jedi?

The last point I can’t praise this work highly enough for is the strength of the writing. Not only is this writer at near-professional level (and as the widow of an award-winning novelist myself, I can say that), but the musings of the characters contain so much wisdom and so many truisms about war, about peace, about regret, and about middle age and the slide into life’s decline. You don’t find this kind of thought in fan fic usually, and that makes this a rich and rewarding read.

Of course, even the best-written published novel has its faults, and Twilight of the Gods does, as well.

The most obvious is the oft-repeated fan trope of having an OC stand in for the reader in the vicarious experience of getting intimate with a favorite character. Sadly, this trope is so often done that even when it’s very well done, it can’t escape the unfortunate associations with all the other thousands and thousands of the same thing that came before it. When even the creators of deeply loved film and TV series get accused of writing “Mary Sues” themselves, there’s no getting around it. It’s a plot device that’s not original. Here, at least, it’s well-done and enjoyable.

I say the writing here is “near-professional” quality because it has a number of noticeable flaws. First, and worst, there are too many Earthisms. No one in the GFFA has any idea what a Mary Sue is or what an eggplant emoji is. There’s nothing worse than being all caught up in such a tense, thought-provoking story only to get jarred right out of it when GFFA characters use Earth American slang or suddenly drop out of the high-minded diction for which they are known. The Darth Vader of the screen, for example, would never use the word guy.

Characters sometimes go off on tangents that are wildly out of character. A particularly grievous sequence has Hego Damask worried about his dramatic entrance when everyone has far more important things on their mind, and the Hego/Plagueis of Darth Plagueis fame would never. At least, not out loud or at the length he does here. The long, long chapter notes are a trademark with this writer. Personally, I would never be so brazen as to spend paragraphs and paragraphs believing my work is so good people will want to read pages of me explaining what was in my head as I wrote it. Blueenvelopes does, however, and it seems many agree with her. The danger here is that one may slack off in the work knowing one will explain it in story notes that are long enough to be a whole chapter by themselves. (The story is supposed to do the job, not your “liner notes.”) This, happily, turns out not to be the case, and many commenters are as fascinated with the story notes as they are with the story. If it works, do it. Overall, this story has ambition, scope, great characters, and enough surprises to keep you reading. It’s rich and thought-provoking enough that your mind will come back to it all day until you finish it. For good measure, there’s a happy alternative ending for those saddened by the conclusion.

My conclusion is, faults aside, this is one fan fiction not to be missed. *I will be posting these reviews on ao3 and my Substack, Garden of Deceit. Fan Fiction Review: Twilight of the Gods by blueenvelopes (substack.com)

[gch1995]

My whole problem with so many fans in the SW fandom trying to compare the teachings and methods of the Jedi Order with Buddhist monks who we should normalize when they spout that whole “no attachment” and “peacekeepers of the galaxy” dogma is that they really aren’t like real healthy and legitimate practicing Buddhists and Buddhist monks in their methods of dealing with recruits and enemies at all.

The Jedi, particularly the prequel era Jedi were never like most Buddhist temple monks, so I think it’s time so many fans stop pretending like they really are. I’m pretty sure real Buddhists don’t force their teachings on to others, use children for combat in war, teach them emotion and personal freedoms are “dangerous” altogether, cut them off from family, friends, and outside connections, throw them to the wolves by abandoning and/or shaming them if they decide to leave, and/or dole out bloodshed, violence, torture, and murder in war. There are some elements of them that are rather zen Buddhist in nature with the whole meditation, robes, temples, and “letting go” thing, but they aren’t depictions of what most Buddhist monks are like in either the OT or PT movies.

Fans who point out they were toxic aren’t wrong. The way in which they applied that whole “no attachments” thing was toxic by completely denying them.

The Jedi are not fucking pacifists! If they were, then they’d be like Aang in The Last Airbender who refused to physically harm or kill the Fire Lord because he was pacifist in nature. The Jedi are completely okay with committing murder, mass murder, and other casualties in war against enemies whenever they deem it necessary, including Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi!

Obi Wan cut off Anakin’s limbs when he did that flip on Mustafar, and then left him to burn alive! Yes, Anakin deserved punishment for his crimes, but what Obi Wan left him to was an inhumane fate that was far worse than a death penalty!

Anakin and Mace killed and/or were willing to kill unarmed soldiers!

Mace Windu cut off Jango Fett’s head in front of his 10 year old son!

I love OT!Luke Skywalker, and the people on the Death Star and Jabba’s ship were active threats, so he was justified in killing them. However, he had no problem with blowing up enemy ships with over a thousand people on it.

Anakin wasn’t the only Jedi who used intimidation tactics on enemies to get information in war. I’m also certain Anakin wasn’t the only Jedi and/or fallen Jedi of his time who killed children in war either directly or indirectly, considering the fact that Mace Windu, Yoda, and the rest of the Council were willing to recruit them as child soldiers, bring them into active war zones, teach them how to use lethal weapons from the ages of at least 6, endanger their lives, put them on the front lines in battles, and execute them if they deemed it necessary.

They were allowed to have casual sex with strangers in the PT movies, but not real romances, marriages, or close bonds with family and friends!

I’m not mentioning all of TCW (08-2020) because I do think the characterizations and flaws of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi Council were flanderdized, inconsistent, and OOC the longer the show went on, but Anakin certainly wasn’t the only Jedi who committed needlessly violent war casualties in the clone wars in the Order either They all did.

The point is you cannot have it both ways! The Jedi can’t be “warriors of peace,” “no attachments,” and “Buddhist monks,” while also breaking their own code whenever they deem it necessary by allowing for a preteen under their care to develop a close attachment to the Chancellor of the Senate when he pulls rank for their own benefits, then shame him and guilt trip him for it when he doesn’t want to commit treason against the Chancellor he made friends with because it’s not convenient to play nice with him for power and peace in the Republic for the high council anymore as a young adult. They can’t say “It’s cool to have casual sex with partners, but you can’t have close relationships because ‘attachments are dangerous.’” They can’t also be “Buddhist monks” and “keepers of peace” when they join war, commit murder, commit mass murder, use the clones as slaves, kill unarmed opponents, threaten to wipe out entire planets or races in war in self-defense in combat, teach children how to use lethal weapons, use children as combatants in war, force their methods on to children, and use other violent methods against enemies to stop them in war whenever they deem it necessary.

It is why any of those defenses that their apologists come up with for their exceedingly rigid “no attachments” and “peace” dogma are bs!

While George Lucas did incorporate elements of some ignorant, shallow, and offensive Eastern religion stereotypes “The way of the Jedi in the prequels is completely right, and Anakin Skywalker was just a bad egg all along.” The messages of Anakin’s and Luke’s stories were that “While it is true that excessive anger, ambition, fear, individualism, and selfishness will lead to the dark side, complete avoidance and denial of personal human freedoms and emotion out of fear of the dark side altogether can be just as harmful to both yourself and others around you by leading you there when you can no longer handle living in total denial of yourself.” The real message of the OT and PT was “Just be true to what you believe in, and don’t let anyone else force you to be someone you’re not” in the OT and PT movies. It is that simple and that complex.

Any true Buddhists would be offended at the Jedi’s way of living and practices in the prequels, and not look at their way as a healthy way to live or the correct way to practice their religion!

However, because an obnoxious and narrow-minded segment of this fandom could never appreciate that, now that Disney has the rights to the franchise, they are trying to normalize the Jedi’s way of life with that whole “Jedi way was always blameless, and Anakin was pure evil” bs by rewriting it all, so it means Anakin’s and Luke’s previously established characterizations and development arcs get thrown in the trash the most by them.

If you guys want to join in this discussion, you can! I’m tagging you!

@tragicfantasy-girl

@myrosecolouredgirl

@mynameisanakin

@lukeskywalking

@caracynthia

@roseunspindle

@fandomexplosion

@fanfictasia

@the-chosen-anakin

@dgcatanisiri

@coolman229

@drygingergood

@ohgodmyeyes

@allronix

@sithaari

@vaderbaby

[mermaidsirennikita]

I agree that Bridgerton starting off with RJP was essential. S2 showed how important casting and chemistry is.

I don’t see it for the rest of the couples though. While I doubt future Bridgerton seasons will flop since the built in audience will return, it’s hard to imagine them garnering a similar response to 1&2.

I think Polin is a flop ship for many reasons (Nicola is pretty and can act…. Luke N just isn’t a leading man in any way; they’ve destroyed Penelope as a character and tbh Colin ain’t much better off). I think, tbh, in order for them to overcome the combined issues of fatphobia and Luke not being this RJP-level hot leading man they would have needed compelling writing and killer chemistry. They don’t have either of those things.

Idek. Genpop didn’t seem any more into the subplots (including Penelope’s) than many book fans were. I’ve seen so many comments about fast forwarding through the subplots. I think the only one that seemed to kinda hit was Theo and Eloise? Which didn’t work for me at all, but I’ve seen people saying they were into it.

Benedict is fun, but I don’t think they made a very compelling case for him as a leading man in S2. Like, I get that a lot of people in the fandom thirst after Luke T…. But I don’t think the Luke T thirst is ANYWHERE near what RJP had going on. And I reference him because he was, frankly, hot and compelling enough to overcome a romance that had a lot of issues and sell the shit out of it. Conversely, I don’t think JB is this otherworldly hot person (though he’s good looking)… and while Simone is, the primary audience for this show is largely into men, right? However, the chemistry and romance novel hero/heroine dynamic was compelling enough to sell S2.

An Offer From a Gentleman has a bunch of hardcore fandom fans. However, generally speaking it’s one of the less well regarded Bridgerton books by romance fans at large, and understandably so. I think they’ll change a lot about it to translate it to TV and Benedict’s altered characterization…. And with a compelling love interest, Luke could potentially sell that. I won’t count him out completely. However, I don’t think anyone is DYING for Benedict’s story, and I think they are teeing up Polin.

I just don’t know how well he could recover a s4 if s3 is about Polin. I could be wrong. Maybe Polin will crush those numbers. But idk. I think Kate and Anthony would have to play a hell of an assist to make that happen.

I don’t see them flipping at this point, but idk. Who knows? I didn’t think S2 would perform as well as it has, but the month is young. Let’s see how the hype sustains lol

[smallblueandloud]

some x-men fic recs

the weekly surge of fandom-related hyperactivity hit a few days late, but i’ve been reading a LOT of fic today and i actually found some xmen authors on ao3! in the wild! with really good takes! i’m so excited about it and i’m gonna post about it even though i’m not sure any of y’all care about xmen because i don’t want to lose them lmao.

GrayJay - really good scott summers takes. excellent scott summers takes. like, oh my god. also some AWESOME rachel summers fics (and scott & rachel fics and rachel/kitty fics). some notables:

SPECTACULAR masterpiece of an epistolary work set between scott finding alex and alex manifesting (scott&alex, scott/jean, charles&scott, i want to write a fic based on this where alex finds out about the xmen by seeing scott in action but that’s a Whole Other Story)

scott and alex and illyana open a pizza parlor (scott&alex, scott&illyana, VERY cool take on illyana as well as the brothers, of course)

rachel and scott-who-isn’t-her-father spend christmas together (scott&rachel, scott/jean, i LOVE this summers family content and i’m obsessed with thinking about the traditions scott and rachel build)

some books in rachel’s library (scott&rachel, rachel/kitty, absolutely fucking obsessed with the fact that rachel inherits scott’s found family)

scott is trans and not much changes (scott/jean, moira&scott, hank&scott, everyone&scott, i am so here for trans scott and i’m so glad it seems to be a popular trope because i’m OBSESSED with it, it’s so good, for a guy obsessed with control and image and-- i’m rambling)

scott and matt murdock have a tradition of pool (scott&matt, scott&logan, besides being a really good take on scott and matt as people it is also possibly the BEST scott and logan dynamic i have EVER SEEN and i’m still reeling from it)

scott and madelyne, in the beginning (scott/madelyne, scott/jean, A GOOD MADELYNE TAKE?? IN MY AO3 HISTORY??? IT’S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK!)

scott and kitty at the very beginning of whedon’s astonishing (scott&kitty, scott/jean, scott/emma, kitty/piotr, kitty&emma [more or less], i’m a fan of everything but most notably the focus on the fact that scott knows how to deal with telepaths and the acknowledgement that kitty and scott don’t actually? know each other that well?? i love it. a good take. an excellent take.)

emma reads scott’s mind (scott/emma, scott/jean, IMAGINE HAVING SUCH A GOOD TAKE ON TELEPATHY. I’M OBSESSED WITH IT. I’M OBSESSED WITH THIS TAKE ON S/E, IMAGINE HAVING A GOOD DYNAMIC FOR THEM?? STILL SHOOK)

(i don’t know if they’re on tumblr but if they are can someone point me in their direction? i want to follow someone who has such excellent ideas and characterizations)

Dain (tumblr at @ndscottsummers) - MADELYNE PRYOR RIGHTS?? GAY RIGHTS?? AUTISTIC SCOTT RIGHTS?? IT’S ALL HERE, FOLKS! some notables:

jean comes back in x-factor #1 and nathaniel essex happens (scott&jean, scott&madelyne, the idea that jean masks her autism by using telepathy lives RENT FREE in my head. this is also the ideal scott-doesn’t-trust-it’s-jean situation right here and i am LOVING IT)

scott comes back to life in house of x #5 (scott/ororo, THIS SHIP is godtier and i don’t know why there isn’t more content for it. only reason i can think of is that this fic can’t be topped. just like... “She asks him how she knows who he is and he answers with the first truth he thinks of: that she is one of the forces that has shaped him, that he may be reborn but the marks she has left on him will never fade.” ARGH)

kitty thinking about how rachel knew her in the future (pre relationship rachel/kitty and i’m OBSESSED with it folks, imagine having SUCH a good grasp of this ship and their complicated time schenanigans)

scott is trans and his team supports him (everyone&scott, i am IN LOVE with everyone accompanying him to the store, do you hear me? in LOVE!!! it’s so good!! it’s such a good fic!! those original five being kiddos and taking care of each other and refusing to leave anyone behind!!!!!)

they also have some AMAZING star wars fics, including two twin fics (luke braids leia’s hair, luke and leia take a break from hanleia’s wedding) that are literally everything i have ever wanted. like if you’ve been around here for more than ten minutes you know that is not an exaggeration. also!! aro luke rights!! my FAVORITE headcanon about luke’s identity and these fics are so GOOD!!!

Duck_Life - i have never felt more vindicated in being extremely multifandom. i’m still working my way through their VAST archive but like. oh my god. i’m in love. some notables:

series of xmen ficlets (this is cheating, especially since i’m gonna bring some of these up later, but READ THIS. these fics are all fantastic and once you get to, like, part 26? or so? you’re following along with the dawn of x relaunch, which is EVERYTHING i have EVER WANTED, y’all have no idea how much i’ve craved fic about the newest comics. amazing stuff. the best new mutants content ever.)

trans smolverine bonding with kitty and rachel (laura&kitty, laura&rachel, i am obsessed with the idea of trans smolverine - thanks star - and i’m EXTRA OBSESSED with kitty and rachel trying to bond with her and make friends with her and teach her how to be a human being. it’s really good)

jean and scott and logan, without doors between their bedrooms (jean/scott/logan, LOOK. okay. i was gonna go in order, i was gonna do these fics in the order they were written, but i literally sent this fic to everyone that knew what xmen was because i’m SO EXCITED about it. the scott characterization!! the fact of them getting together!! the ideal dynamics!! THE FUCKING SCOTT CHARACTERIZATION!! this fic broke me i am ruined and i regret nothing. thank you op for my life)

i was gonna rec more fics from them but it’s getting late and i should probably finish working my way through the rest of their fic before i rec more but! go read it!! (they also have some EXCELLENT star trek fic. i got sidetracked. this is why i’m not done with the xmen stuff lmao.) i’ll get back to this, hopefully, although knowing me i probably won’t. anyway, go forth and enjoy!

[vynegar]

Hello, I read your Artem's 2nd anniv impression and I agree. It's writing is a bit iffy and subject to criticism but I think some people are overreacting. It wasn't that bad and my god does it not make him a "sex god" or something. One of the things these people keep complaining about the 2nd anniversary cards in general is about the boys especially Artem suddenly becoming "sex gods". That was like ??? 'cause it definitely did not portray them like that. If they had sex, it's just normal because they're couples, y'know. I get that some people are uncomfortable reading intimate scenes but the thing that irks me is the babyfication of the boys especially Artem. Like Artem can't be anything but a "malewife uwu" and must not know how to have sex.

Sorry for the rant. I wanna know if you agree or disagree about the babyfication but please don't be obligated to answer this ask.

hey there, no need to apologize for the rant! i think it's interesting to see other people's responses to my rambling so thanks for the ask ^^

for the babyfication of the boys, idk if it's just bc i don't look at a lot of tot fandom stuff (i basically just lurk the subreddit, briefly look around hoyolab, and follow a few tumblrs), but i feel like i haven't seen that much of it? i would disagree if anyone thought luke and marius’s 2nd anniv cards’s nsfw scenes were surprising, though; luke has been relatively bold after the confession, and marius is... well, marius xD i don’t even remember anything about his scene expcept that it was tamer than the others, so they were both par for the course. vyn was surprising in how pathetically he handled it (i mean this as a compliment, like it fit with the story and was entertaining lol); but we still know for sure that he has those desires toward rosa, and he’s the one who’s always been the most overtly seductive in cards.

and artem... we all know he’s inexperienced in relationships and romance (and presumably sex too). like some other fans, i would also prefer to see more of artem’s awkwardness and inexperience, including in the bedroom if/when it comes to that (gap moe ftw). so maybe that might overlap with the babyfication you mentioned. but, if the scene in 2nd anniv wasn’t one of the first few times they had sex, and it was just the first time we were shown so much on screen (this is probably true for all the cards tbh), then most of it can be explained. like, i still don’t really like the nsfw scene in artem’s card, but the biggest issues for me (probably the possessive lines he said) were still mainly symptoms of the overall weird characterization in the card.

[anidealiveson]

Thanksvember Master Post

Day 1 - Like Coming Home - It has a super rare “wholesome plot twist”! Without spoiling anything too huge, I really like that @julesherondalex took the time to talk about how important it is to take care of yourself first. You can’t love someone else properly, the way they deserve, if you don’t have that same love for yourself. I wasn’t expecting the heartbreaking scene, but the beautiful way in which that topic was was approached neither took away from the story or the joy.

Day 2 - Must Love Dogs - An incredibly fluffy (literally) fic that I loved reading. @rosehallshadowsinger did a really great job weaving Azriel and Elain’s canon personalities into this adorable AU scenario. It is obvious @rosehallshadowsinger took care to create believable personalities for two characters that didn’t get POVs in the books.

Day 3 - Striking Matches -  I have to say that I wasn’t at all attracted to an AU fic about firefighters. I was also not a big Rowaelin fan before that, but I was work procrastinating so I gave it a try. Wellll, 30 parts later, I found myself delighted at the writing and sad it was over. I couldn’t believe how well @shyvioletcat cat was able to entirely re-characterize these two into such a different setting, yet still retaining what made them popular in the books. Aelin was perfect in her role as a snarky schoolteacher irritating the stoic firefighter Rowan. And the descriptions of the kids lining up at the firehouse demonstration and Jake’s adorable prodding was icing on the cake.

Day 4 - Close Quarters -  I really loved the way @lady-therion wrote Nesta in this modern AU. I particularly like how she equates Nesta’s sometimes standoffish attitude as a very relatable personality trait. She has trouble reading people and gauging situations. It’s well written and the dialogue is unique for a plot that is common in ff!

Day 5 - Like A Lonely House - It’s got a colossal I love Lucy level misunderstanding mixed in with a lot of tension and angst. This Nesta that is full of sacrifice and duty and fire is how I imagine the Nesta who feels that she has a stake in the Fae world would be like. @featherymalignancy wove such a captivating new world in Macar, that it felt a lot like being introduced to the 8th court in the ACOTAR world.

Day 6 - Death Dance - There are several takes out there that touch on Nesta in the Ilyrian camps, but I love how @thewayshedreamed interpreted Nesta’s skills on the battlefield as a calculated dance. Nesta has always been a raging storm, but I love how @thewayshedreamed took care to show us a Nesta that channeled that storm into discipline. If SJM never intended to release a Nessian focused book, I would have considered this a satisfying end to their story.

Day 7 - One Night Standards - I love the way @sassyhobbits writes Aelin with her typical extremely sassy exterior, but also made sure to saddle her with a vulnerable side that runs deep. I normally don’t care for slow burns, but I like the pace of her relationship with Rowan here, and that they had to work hard at it. I also like the plot lines that involved their PR stunts and how the public grew to love them as well.

Day 8 - Goose Chasing - Its the most absurd plot of any fanfic I’ve read! The title is not figurative. Its really does involve chasing a goose. @rhysismydaddy did a fantastic job encapsulating the spirit of silly Cassian and grumpy Nesta in a situation they’d likely never find themselves in, yet making it entirely believable. 

Day 9 - Manon Chooses The Worst Babysitter Possible - It’s such a casual and fluffy and hilarious read. It was fun to read about a softer and more delicate Manon. Through this absurd mistake, @sarah-bae-maas did an excellent job really humanizing Manon and postulating a fun in-world domestic scenario. 

Day 10 - My Hunger Knows No Bounds -  @perseusannabeth manages to take a simple concept and weave a sweet narrative. I particularly love how @perseusannabeth incorporated her personal details into it and took the time to share her lovely culture with us.

Day 11 - Knowing me, Knowing you - We never got to actually see Aelin rule Terrasen (well we got a tinyyy bit) in the books. Though this was modern day, @nalgenewhore tells a fun story of what that could have been like.

Day 12 -  Forever (is a long time) - @noodlecatposts takes Elide and Lorcan’s completely polar opposite personalities and spins an interesting (and frankly quite adorable) story. All the rules crack me up. My favorite Lorcan is the one that reminds me of Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls. Currently, he is in the middle of grumpily fixing up her flooded room, so I am sure that my favorite parts are yet to come.

Day 13 - Go Your Own Way - I appreciate @tomtenadia for putting to words a scene that I desperately wanted in ACOWAR or even ACOFAS. A lovely parallel to an equally lovely Fleetwood mac song.

Day 14 - In Which She Makes A Friend - It is no surprise that the fandom wants Nesta to find her place in the Illyrian mountains and even bring about some social change with the female warriors. But the way @bookstantrash got there was such a wonderful and endearing journey. Big fan of the callbacks to how Kaelin was treated and the similarities to a certain Illyrian warrior was when he was younger. We got to see a sweet Nesta, who I’d like to think was attempting to make up for some of her regrets through taking care of Kaelin.

Day 15 - The Ranch - As a huge fan of Sweet Home Alabama, its should be no surprise that I loved this fic by @tacmc . I enjoyed the slow change that we saw in a stubborn Nesta as she opened up to this new way of life and reconnected with her sisters and found a home with Cassian.

Day 16 - Felons - Such a unique interpretation of Nesta and Cassian. I really like the self-sacrificing Nesta angle and @rhysismydaddy did a great job weaving intrigue into the unraveling of what we knew to be a her innocence. I never read The Witness, but this really made me want to.

Day 17 - Of Books and Timber - Cassian offers to build a shelf for Nesta. The way @duskandstarlight goes through the entire range of emotions through Nesta is brilliant. She starts out with cold indifference, but by the end, we get from her a sweet and tender gesture of gratitude. Showing that meeting each other halfway with small gestures is all they ever needed.

Day 18 - You Should Sleep In My Bed More Often - I absolutely loved this quick exchange between Nesta and Cassian after she accidentally injures him. I can’t believe how much I laughed out loud when Cassian said “I need you to protect me closer”. @charincharge​ perfectly captured the teasing childish essence of Cassian and Nesta’s hilarious victim-blaming was so on the nose that I might have thought this was taken right out of ACOSAF.

Day 19 - The Right Swipe - I really enjoyed this take on the inner circle mixed with the super modern online dating plot. I especially love that @redisriding created genuinely realistic characters (body issues, social anxiety etc). Great read!

Day 20 - Goldfish Prompt - What a fun read. I love how frantic and much personality Feyre had here. I love how dedicated to her fish she was, and how that made her super endearing. Cute read from @azrielsiphons

Day 21 - The One With The Snowstorm -  What I really like is that Cassian actually says that he is sorry for his part in Nesta’s exile. I am not bitter about it, but it was an interesting turn. They need to meet halfway here and I rarely see it so well written as @joysbell has done here!

Day 22 - Prompt - A lovely and cute and sweet prompt written by @crowsvalentine​! I love the ramp up of suspense just to get to the hilarious payoff. Its adorable and worth the quick read.

Day 23 - Fix It -  is one by @thewayshedreamed​ that I love in its simplicity. It’s a small little argument Cassian and Nesta get into, but its still compelling. It’s sweet and super endearing the way the two of them are written and the subtle way they work through it. Great read!

Day 24 - I Do Bad Things To You - The mob angle may have been done before, but I don’t think with as much care and regard that @tswaney17​ has been giving it. I how the canon personalities of the characters translate so well into this modern AU. Its very obvious that @tswaney17​ has done her research. I especially love all the details around Elain as a surgeon. The story is compelling and well written and every chapter has me wanting more.

Day 25 - Love Her Like She should Be Loved - This is an excellent fic that I really loved. @julemmaes did such a great job translating some of the canon tension from ACOFAS into a modern world. It’s ripe with emotion, drama and quite a bit of heart. I love how earnestly Cassian comes to Nesta’s defense even in the face of going against his entire family. I like the reference to some very real psychological struggles. I think a lot of people can relate to it.

Day 26 - Literally In Love - I really enjoy the subtle mystery that follows this entire journey. I enjoy that @julesherondalex keeps us guessing, while simultaneously weaving a sweet and tender story about two shy teachers and just a slew of mishaps worthy of a Shakespearian drama.

Day 27 - The Shadow Bond - I love Azriel, and this is such a wonderful fic by @radientwings​ focusing on how his shadows might work. His shadows are the one thing that I am most curious about him in the series, so it was lovely to read such a well written interpretation of them.

Day 28 - Exes and Oh’s - Just a shout out to @highqueenofelfhame​ for this lovely story about rekindling past love. I like that even though the plot was uncomplicated, the emotions were not. I love that Aelin didn’t have a perfect reason for what she did, but sometimes that is just how things are. This is a story about taking a second chance, whether it’s deserved or not.

Day 29 - Fever - I really love this fic called Fever. I enjoyed how @lady-therion​ portrayed Nesta. She hit the entire gammut of characteristics (snarky, worried, vulnerable, caring, short-tempered, flirty, you name it!) but it really worked here. I found this nurse Nesta to be endearing and relatable and the dynamic between her and Cassian was very sweet. Just go read the damned thing.

Day 30 - Baby Steps - I really really love this fic. @runesandfaes did such a great job in just so few words to show a really sweet moment between Chaol, Yrene and their daughter learning to walk. I love the parallel back to when Chaol was learning to walk and the cameo of the golden couch. So sweet.

[benperorsolo]

I’ve fucking hated the Rey is a Mary Sue take for four years but TROS makes it kind of undeniable because of the way the narrative has no consequences for her character and just treats her like a fan avatar 😬

Uhhh...yeah. Under cut bc bitching, including general bitching about overall characterization.

TROS Rey is the definition of an MS. And to be honest...her character is not as stellar in previous installments as i think the fandom likes to make out. People like to talk about how she fails in TLJ, but I still don’t think she does in a very meaningful way. Sure, she fails to bring Ben back to the light side-- but we know that Rey is morally right in this situation and Ben is wrong, and we know that Ben will eventually also be proven wrong. So, sure, it’s a failure, but only cosmetically. And it doesn’t seem to affect Rey at all afterwards. She definitely sees it as Ben’s failing (and it mostly is) as she slams the door on him; and then in TROS she has moved on from any cogent emotion or self inspection and just tries to kill Ben on principle. 

Yes, Luke is rude to her on Ach-To, but this is again a problem with Luke, and not really Rey. She is doing the right thing by coming there, by talking to Ben, and by trying to help him. And she gets vindicated by all three of those actions. 

She succumbs to the dark side hole in the ground on Ach-To, but again; we know she’s right to do it, and she gets important insight into herself. She finds out her parents are nobody, but this isn’t really a failure on her part --you have no control over your parentage (oh, I guess unless you’re TROS Rey)-- barring the years she wasted on Jakku. But she’s already left Jakku at this point as well. 

A flaw she does have is that she is constantly trying to make others give her a ready made identity and purpose, especially Ben’s family. TLJ positions the narrative well to examine that in the next installment, but then ofc TROS does the exact opposite and gives her like, three ready-made identities. And loneliness would be her other...idk if it’s a flaw, really. It’s not her fault she’s lonely either; she’s not lonely because she alienates others or is rude to them, except in the very light touch they give to concepts like how she is emotionally walled off to her friends about important things, like Ben’s communication with her. But the way the narrative handles this behavior is so inconsistent that I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a flaw-- because we’re evidently supposed to believe that the trio is this great friend group despite how they all hate each other and keep secrets.

The narrative especially in TROS bends over backwards to accommodate her in places where any other character receives untold suffering. Her selfish actions are coddled because of the protagonist-centered morality of the movie. Her characterization in general throughout the trilogy is one where I think previous behavior could either be contextualized well or badly depending on where her arc ended up. TLJ did well to begin contextualizing it better, in a way where she felt more humanized. But her arc was a circle, which means that all of her inexplicable plot armor and luck in TFA was really just that, and it served no greater purpose. And yes, I know all of the arguments people make about how Rey is so good so fast because she fought on Jakku her whole life, and/or because the force bond allowed her to ‘download’ skills from Ben, and all of that, but like...so what? Does it make a good story when a character does those things, even if we can say they were logically informed? 

The writing for her character is very inconsistent --and, of course, it’s not just Rey-- and it’s difficult to discern what is meant as an intentional flaw and what is bad writing making the characterization look bad by accident. And it comes down, as you said, to JJ seeing her basically as an audience avatar before a real person. This is just kind of how JJ writes characters. Finn and Poe suffer from this too. 

I don’t hate Rey. This fandom is entirely too trigger happy to denounce criticism as hate, and any accusation of “Mary Sue-ness” as being from entitled manbabies. But, you know...some of this potential for TROS rot was there in the beginning. TLJ went a long way to nipping the issues with TFA into productive buds. But then TROS came along and really just destroyed the journey. The canon character Rey is at this point is not one I feel like following.

[pacificwanderer]

What are your thoughts on m*ndalorian fans dragging ben into their theory that baby yoda will be killed by ben at luke's temple? I really hate it because they obviously didn't read the comics where it revealed that ben didn't destroy luke's temple. Even the article from esquire that debunked it had iffy wording which just made me more angry. I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy anything SW again.

Hey Nonnie,

I'm pretty pissed off about most things sw related (no hate to anyone who's enjoying, I'm just not there. Still having fun with Reylo though, so I guess I have that).

Anyway, I have a lot of pple and shit blocked on Twitter, but I saw plenty of people going out of their way to correct people about that. When it comes down to it, people either already hate Kylo/Ben or love him. But they know that either way he's popular (and gets clicks), so he, much like Reylo, gets thrown around to attract attention for articles and tweets. So yeah, it pissed me off lol.

Ultimately, we know how the story goes and what really happened at Luke's school. I have no idea what their plans are wrt Ben and the future (or Gr*gu for that matter, they're stupid for separating him and D*n and the sooner they get those two back together, the better. If that's even their plan. A year ago, I'd have thought they knew wtf they're doing, but lol. They might be stupid enough to think that show will stand on its own without that core dynamic, and it sure tf won't). Here's hoping they wise the fuck up regarding Ben's character, because they are literally pushing away money with both hands while trying to bend over backwards to make an impossible to please fandom happy instead of letting it grow and enticing a new audience. But what do I know lol.

I'm excited to see that Rayne Roberts is working with Leslye on The Acolyte, but dlf is gonna have to turn itself into a pretzel and kiss my ass before I'll trust anything they put out. So far, seems like content for old OT men who don't wanna grow up, and I'm just not interested in pew pew pew and nostalgia bait. Make it weird, make it romantic or keep it, ya know? Characterization or bust. So, this whole season of the M*ndo fell flat for me because it felt like a marketing tool for other projects, instead of the bb and dad show that we'd been sold.

ANYWAY. Still big angry and big sad about sw, but trying not to dwell. Happy holidays, Nonnie, and hope you find plenty of fun things to enjoy in the new year (and hope that the new year is better in general lol).

Cheers!

[imbellarosa]

Hiii! I was wondering if you read fanfic?? And if so, what are your fav tropes/works??

Hi!!!! I read A LOT of fic from A LOT of fandoms! My fav tropes are either flat comedy or enemies to friends to lovers or friends to lovers or something like that! I only read happy endings, but I don’t mind some angst in the middle. Idk what fandom you’re looking for so I’m gonna give you a list of some of my all time favs from EVERY fandom, and I’ll add one that I’ve written!

Walk That Mile by purpledaisy- 150k words 1D enemies to friends to lovers road trip AU across the US for a fun, banter-y time with some real communication issues that really get resolved well. People always say that a rom com should have a good answer for “why can’t they be together NOW?” And this one does it really well! No real angst, and a lot of fun. 

Have Love, Will Travel by @kingsofeverything - 97k words 1D YouTubers on a roadtrip AU! If you liked the first one on this list, you’re gonna love this one too! Sweet and long and full of the memories you would make on a road trip. Lots of laughs with this one, and I wish I could see the “Have Road, Will Travel” video series irl! 

Tell Me Now, Tell Me Now by @vanillabeanniall - 55k words 1D Miraculous Ladybug AU but you don’t need to watch the show to ADORE it - I know that I sure do!! Funny and sweet and SUPER ironic, with superheroes and Paris mixed in and great characters! Who wouldn’t love it?

So Let’s Cross the Lines We’ve Lost by thecoloursneverfade - 165k words 1D friends to enemies to friends to lovers uni AU that was one of the first that I read in the fandom and really made me fall in love! Good friends, some angst, hard convos that lead to real growth, and lots of really great characters. This feels real, for a lack of a better word, and is always compelling. 

Ain’t That A Kick in the Head by keysmashlesbian, wreckingtomlinson (karasunonolibero) - 23k words 1D comedy AU ft. football player!Louis, Disaster gay!Harry, memes, frogs, head dives, Blue Coolattas (whatever those are), and a very sassy Red Robin waitress named Fiona. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read it, and I always laugh, and I always find something new to fall in love with. 

Leave it To the Breeze by @hattalove - 82k words 1D GBBO AU. This one feels like a warm hug. It’s gentle, fun, has great characters, believable angst, has you rooting for more than one of the characters to win, and is also hilarious, somehow. I’ve read this fic over and over and over, and I especially do it when I have time before a new season of GBBO. Also, have snacks!! It makes me hungry

The Section by bananaheathen - 11k words 1D Uni AU with grad student TAs, sophomore undergrads, art classes, movie analysis, and final essays as methods of seduction. Also, nicknames, nude models, a Halloween party, and absolutely shameless flirting. I loved it, and laughed the whole way through. 

I’ve Heard it Both Ways by @adoredontour - 26k words 1D Psych AU. I love this one. I love the fic, I love psych, I love the author. I’ve read most of her works, but this one has such a special place in my heart. Go read it!! 

Play it All Night Long by janine_tangerine - 43k words SPN radio AU with DJ!Dean and bartender!Cas, with music, annoying coworkers, sassy siblings, and lots of love. WHOAH WHATS THIS A LIVEJOURNAL FIC??? I know but I read this ages ago, and it has music EMBEDDED WITHIN THE FIC! It was my first introduction to Bob Dylan, who remains one of my favorite artists of all time. 

Crossroads State by Mercy - 51k words SPN slice of life AU with Mechanic!Dean, Teacher!Cas, Law Student!Sam, and lovely lovely moments. All sweet, some tension, but no real angst. I read this forever ago, and still come back and back and back to it. 

Peace and Good Luck to All Men by KismetJeska - 31k words SPN College Au. DO YOU MEAN THE BEST CHRISTMAS FIC EVER OF ALL TIME??? I read this on the first day of December every year, and it makes me laugh every time. Cas falls in love with his sister’s boyfriend, Gabe and Luke are in a seduction competition, Michael is tired of everyone, and Dean doesn’t know what hit him. 

For All You Young Hockey Players, Pay Attention by @thursdaysfallenangel - 144k words SPN enemies to lovers hockey AU. Just. Please go read this. Gorgeous and still one of the best fics in the whole fandom, imo. Cas is the new transfer on Dean’s team, and Dean doesn’t like change. 

The Complete Works of Emmanuel Allen by @violue - 54k words SPN small town AU ft. writer!Cas and local business owner!Dean. Dean meets his favorite author, but does not know it’s him. Shenanigans ensue, with a lovely warm feel. Dean builds a mausoleum and owns cats and lives in the woods. Cas needs a change of scene. Sam thinks everyone needs some more company. 

The Mirror by cloudyjenn - 25k words SPN parallel universe AU. This was one of the first fics I ever read, and I still love it. Dean touches an enchanted mirror and travels through universes in search of an answer to a question he hasn’t asked. Full of love, family, and companionship. 

Asunder by rageprufrock - 24k words SPN AU with Social worker!Dean, Doctor!Cas, Sober!Sam, and RUBY!!! Ugh I love this fic for Ruby alone. This one is more bittersweet. Dean hasn’t spoken to Sam in years due to his struggles with addiction. Sam, now sober, is getting married, and has invited him. Dean can’t face his family alone. 

But It’s a Good Refrain by lady_ragnell - 23k words Merlin Radio AU! Merlin has an anonymous gossip radio show, and someone calls in to put Arthur on blast! Morgana is a fan, Arthur is not amused, and a sort of enemies to lovers thing occurs. Just lovely, and it makes me laugh every time. 

And Like the Cycle of the Year, We Begin Again by @katherynefromphilly - 208k words Merlin canon compliant. This is the Season 6 we should have had. If you’re at all into this fandom, go read it - it’s still an all time fav for me. Hundreds of years later, Arthur walks out of the lake. Merlin has been waiting. 

Give The Dragon a Chili by @supercalvin - 47k words Merlin magical AU based on the story in New Zealand of the cat stealing someone’s underwear. Merlin’s dragon is sort of a thief. 

Fundamental Imperfection by Starlingthefool - 12k words Merlin famous author AU. Arthur likes Dickens. Merlin does not. They get into it on a panel, and twitter stan wars ensue. And enemies to friends to lovers where literary arguments are an expression of love, and stories are magical. 

The Student Prince by FayJay - 145k words Merlin Uni AU. What a classic!! It’s a magical realism royal enemies to friends to lovers AU ft. a dragon in the walls, a lovely gay soc, Gwen as a Muggle, and some really great characters and moments. Do yourself a favor and go read this one. 

Call it Love by @dalek-in-heels - 30k words Merlin RPF. UGH THIS ONE!!! Okay 1.) the author is one of my best friends, and she’s amazing! 2.) lovely fic that takes place at the end of Merlin, and still has one of my all-time favorite misunderstandings in fic ever. “Yogurty Heart” is my favorite way to say I love you. 

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by @watsonshoneybee - 35k words Sherlock AU canon compliant through season 3. This one is sad, but the title is taken off of one of my favorite books, and the writing is gorgeous - as is the characterization. Happy ending, though! I promise! So the journey is all worth it! 

In All of the Lives We Are by @dalek-in-heels - 20k words The Magicians canon compliant through the first half of season 3. Sarah does it again and writes one of the best fics I’ve ever read. Art as therapy, a sweet love story in more than one universe, and finding the will to keep going through the worst days. The writers of the actual show should have read this fic and put it on the screen. This is my canon. 

A Happy Ending? Sure Enough by me (imbellarosa) - 8k words The Magicians canon compliant up to season 4. This is the only one of mine I’m putting on the list, because I still really like this one! You need some context, but not much? Idk, just if you want to see how *I* write! 

[bookswitchcraftandcats]

Why I am going to start writing more platonic content

I am going to focus an writing more friendship aspects of books instead of relationship aspect(though there will still be a lot of that) and here is why. 

So a few weeks ago, I was re reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo for English class. This was my 7th time reading the novel and I absolutely loved it. I also love writing essays and was excited for that aspect, there are so many topics with this book you could write about, the whole idea about following your dreams,  how life isn’t about taking the easy path and it’s about learning along the way, how the people and cultures you encounter influence your worldview, etc. etc.

The essay was on his relationship with Fatima. For those of you who have not read The Alchemist, The main character meets her and  it is the whole love at first sight thing. The girl has like 6 lines total and is a very small part. The  entire unit was overtaken by this concept of a love that wasn’t even super developed or important to the character. The whole thing is that he leaves her and goes to collect his treasure. There are tons of characters to choose from in this book to analyze the main characters interactions with and many of them represent bigger ideas like how believing in something can motivate you and how we all learn in different ways. I was disappointed to say the least. 

I kept thinking about this because I am an over-thinker and that is what I do and started to apply that to fandom and my fan fiction works. Why do we write so much about love? Take The Camp Half Blood Chronicles by Rick Riordan. Percy and Annabeth are friends for 5 books before they have a romantic relationship but so many fan works are about just the love aspect of their interactions. They had great banter and complemented each other well, by writing about their love you lose so much of their characterization and miss a lot of the dynamic of their friendship. A post about the friendship between Percy, Annabeth, and Grover would be so much more in character and could be about their canon interactions and personalities. A lot of Percy’s character is his loyalty and trust in his friends and Luke betraying him is so much more powerful especially from his point of view.   

Another one is The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. While these books do have a lot to do with sexuality and I 100% understand writing romantic fan fiction about them what I don’t get is why couples like Gabriel and Cecily would have more content fan works wise then about the friendship and parabatai bond between Simon and Clary. Simon and Clary have like 7 books with the main focus on them including Tales from the Shadowhunters Academy and Gabriel and Cecily have one moment together. Why not write about how it is canon that Simon and Clary set a kitchen a flame while trying to make raisins when they were little. They have so much back story to play into. Cassandra Clare wrote a world where you can have a platonic, sole bonded sole mate and I plan to take advantage of it. 

My final example is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. There is so much focus on the romantic aspects of it I swear if a person just read fan posts they wouldn’t be able to tell it was about 4 deadly teenage criminals breaking into a super guarded government base. This book had an incredible plot and such good character back stories. The focus, in my opinion, should be on the banter between the six of them and the interactions like the whole I’m going to get Wylan’s ghosts to teach me the flute thing. They could also be about how their traumas and hardships got them to where they are and how they are healing and helping each other. 

Just a Disclaimer: As always, these are my opinions and I definitely not saying that all fan work has been corrupted by ideals of love. I am just saying that love is a really big part of fandoms and trying to look at a different aspect of these amazing books. I love fluffy stuff and will keep writing it, don’t worry, but I just want to write some more posts about friendships and the characters themselves. If you disagree with anything I have written, I would love to hear why and how you view romance in fan works. The ask box is open. I think it is very important to have discussions about books and literature, everyone takes a different lesson and it might be one I didn’t see before. Just want to also add that fan works are for you to enjoy and are almost solely about your opinion, your thoughts are extremely different than mine even though we read the same book and I think that is really cool.

Thank you for reading all of this!

Lots of Love,

-Sydney

[circlique]

Nothing wrong with celebrating Canada and America’s birthdays (I’d be a hypocrite to say so as I would draw or write something for them if I had motivation, talent, or confidence) but it’s kinda frustrating that Hong Kong is often forgotten despite being a character that is often talked about in the fandom (though I rarely see him characterized as anything other than stereotypical teen or as a part of HongIce which is a little frustrating). You’d think that current events would’ve made the (1/?)

Fandom more aware of Hong Kong and pay attention to him but apparently not. :/ HK’s great, he deserves love and attention, but alas. I went on the amino today and the featured page really shows the gap in attention between the NA brothers and HK even though his birthday is also 7/2. There’s a bunch for Canada (one for both Canada and America) and then one great HK bday art. There’s probably more for him but it says something. People obviously shouldn’t be forced to do make art when they (2/?)

Don’t want to but it’s a little irritating to see the disparity, especially when, Luke you said in your post, fans of Canada sometimes talk about how he’s forgotten but he’s literally one of the most popular characters in the fandom, and as a country and in show he’s hardly ignored, he just happens to be the similar neighbor to another country that’s talked about all the time. Sorry for venting, just wanted to get that off my chest. (3/3)

I agree, this fandom unfortunately tends to be very north America/Eurocentric. To me it is super strange that HongIce can be one of the most popular ships in this fandom but half the fandom suddenly forgets HK exists on his own birthday. You’d think there would be tons of new HongIce content just for that, but nope. I bet it won’t be an issue on Iceland’s birthday though. :’) No one will forget Iceland. The west-centrism of this fandom is never more apparent than on July 1 though, year after year.

On the amino thing, there was actually lots of HK fanart there! Since there’s a lot of Chinese fans there now, the Asian characters are getting more attention. Although, I what I mentioned in the previous ask about HK’s bday being the day China took it back still makes me uncomfy... I have a Cantonese friend on amino who said she is afraid to go in the public chats anymore because of the Chinese fans, and I’ve seen similar sentiments from others. So it’s a double edged sword I guess.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Reflecting on Agents of SHIELD

So here we are at the end of 7 years. I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the show. There are times when I really haven’t liked the show and there are times when I have loved the show. Unlike many fans in the fandom, I don’t think its a perfect show. It has had more than a few missteps along the way. But it deserves credit on the things it has done right.

I remember the excitement when I hopped on board for season 1. Just coming off Avengers, this was supposed to be the tv spinoff where a whole world of exciting things were supposed to happen, interlinked with the movies. Turns out, it was a huge mistake to market the show like that. Thinking about it know, the potential challenges of that working out were obvious. Movies are written far before tv episodes are so doing that type of synchronization would be extremely difficult even if there weren’t tensions between the tv and movie divisions. In any case, season 1 was a clear case of a show treading water. The first 2/3 of the season was truly dull, barring a few good ones likes F.Z.Z.T. It wasn’t till T.R.A.C.K.S that the show started to find its footing with any sort of quality. The cast also seemed to be getting a handle on things. Clark Gregg smoothly transitioned without a problem as a lead but initially Ward was too blank a slate to really connect to, Skye was really annoying, FitzSimmons were just a bickering couple, and May was just the deadpan badass stereotype. But slowly the actors started to get a handle on things. The first sign of Elizabeth’s talent could be seen in F.Z.Z.T. Ming Na and Brett Dalton started to find more tinges of humanity in their characterizations. Iain really started to open out towards the end of the season and delivered what is still one of the most powerful scenes of the show in his confession to Simmons under water. I will be honest and say that Chloe wasn’t very good initially. It was partly the character and partly that the others seemed significantly better at the dramatic beats. The big Hydra twist gave Brett Dalton a huge boost as a performer. Its as if his handcuffs were taken off and he was suddenly freed and he became the most interesting character on the show for me. The Hydra plot of season 1 may still be the best story arc the show did, rivaled only by the Framework arc. I still don’t know which I rank higher, but that arc was the height of fulfillment that we got from the premise as originally pitched to the fans where the show synchronized with the movie story very well. And it was really the last time it happened. While most of season 1 was unfortunately handicapped, the final arc ended the season on a high which left me with great anticipation for what was next.

As we started second season, the thing that immediately struck me was that the show had completely changed. What again struck me was how Iain and Brett had really become the MVP’s of the show for me. Iain was heartwrenchingly brilliant in the first half of season 2. Again, one of the scenes of the show for me is when Fitz finds Ward in the basement. Brett and especially Iain just acted the hell out of that scene. The story arc of SHIELD vs Hydra was always one of the strong points of the show. That’s where the strength of season 2 lies. They played on the toxic Ward/Skye dynamic really well in those interactions in the basement. Brett really found the perfect balance of creepiness and sincerity in those scenes. In the midst of it all, we got some new additions in Bobbi, Hunter, Mack, and Kyle Machlachlan as Skye’s father and the transformation from Skye to Daisy happened. Honestly, Kyle was the highlight of the new additions in the season. He was there throughout and was kind of the emotional heartbeat of Skye/Daisy’s story in season 2. I wasn’t a huge fan of Mack in season 2. He had this passive aggressiveness towards anyone who wasn’t Fitz. I liked his dynamic with Fitz. Definitely the FitzSimmons stuff was hard to watch with it being so heartbreaking. Little did we know how much more there was to come. Bobbi and Hunter I was largely indifferent to. Bobbi was a badass and Adrianne Palicki is gorgeous but I never got overly invested in her. Hunter was hilarious at times and sometimes annoying. I liked how he was with Fitz. I felt Iain brought out the best in everyone this season. I wasn’t a huge fan of the second half of the season. I think the whole SHIELD vs Real SHIELD arc was pretty dumb and even the Inhumans story could have been better executed. Also, they took a wrong turn with Ward by the end of season 2. They had real potential with Ward being a wild card character who could be on hero’s side or villain’s side depending what benefits him, but instead they made him pure villain by season end.

Season 3 started off ok. Again, Iain was heartwrenching in the season premiere and Elizabeth turned up in full form in her solo outing. I honestly did not care about the whole Will drama. It felt very soap operaish for them to use this to create a love triangle which actually goes nowhere. Again, I felt they didn’t do enough with Ward even though Brett Dalton gave it is all. Certainly it was the most straight up villainous version of the character. Powers Boothe came in and did a great job with all his gravitas as a Hydra leader. It was in season 3 I started feeling Chloe Bennet started stepping up to the plate. In all fairness, one of my issues with some of the initial seasons were that it was so heavily Skye/Daisy dependent and everyone else felt more interesting to follow than her. This season allowed Ming Na and Clark Gregg to show some shades of regret and anger respectively. I was annoyed when they killed Ward because of wasted potential but Brett stepped up to the plate with an excellent turn as Hive. Bobbi and Hunter’s goodbye was sad though, as I said, I never got a personal attachment to those characters. One of the big misfires unfortunately was Lincoln. I have seen Luke Mitchell be compelling in other roles but Lincoln just did not work. Not as a character independently and not as a love interest for Daisy because they shared no chemistry. In a way, his death at the end felt like the writers dumping him and just admitting they didn’t know how to make the character work. We also got introduced to Yo Yo who would last the remainder of the show. It was kind of an uneven season but overall enjoyable. Didn’t reach the heights of the best parts of season 1 and 2 but maybe more consistent overall. I was really sad to say goodbye to Brett Dalton who was my second favorite cast member after Iain at this point.

Season 4 probably stands as the overall best season in terms of quality. Splitting the season into three pods really helped with the pacing with an increased amount of story. It was also the first season since season 1 where SHIELD existed as a functioning public agency and not just a bunch of agents working in secret. Robbie Reyes was incredibly badass as Ghost Rider. His pod was probably the weakest of the season but his presence overshadowed all the regular SHIELD cast members. The villain story was kind of weak but the backstory with Robbie, his thankfully platonic dynamic with Daisy, and the story of the developing technology of AIDA was fascinating. The LMD arc was better because AIDA and Radcliffe became serious legitimate and realistic threats. The acting also was top notch. The finale of this arc, Self-Control, is one of the show’s top episodes where Chloe Bennet was amazing as was Elizabeth and Iain was genuinely frightening as the LMD in the few minutes he had. But Framework just killed it. Brett Dalton coming back was wonderful. I really wished they had found a way to bring back this version to the real world. Iain delivered a seriously terrifying performance as the Doctor. Elizabeth, Chloe, Clark, Henry, Ming Na, John Hannah, and Natalia were all great. But the season’s MVP was Mallory Jansen, who played multiple iterations of the character throughout the season. My one issue with season 4 was I felt that she was built up in the finale a lot but then got taken out too easily. But overall, great season.

Season 5 is where the show kind of lost my interest. I am genuinely not a fan of the season and don’t have much to say about it. I felt it became outlandish and silly, while simultaneously becoming overly grim and morose which just didn’t work tonally for me. The acting continued to be top notch across the board. Iain continued to be a highlight all season with his breakdown episode being one of the most painful to watch. FitzSimmons wedding was lovely and kind of a welcome relief in a very dark season. Clark Gregg, Ming Na, and Chloe Bennet were excellent towards the end when playing out Coulson’s deteriorating health. Natalia also got to have some meaty story for really the first time on the show. But the budget constraints were clearly showing with the entire season being played out in the same grey halls and honestly I just never felt invested in the story. I knew the world wouldn’t end and it just became unendingly morose. Enoch was kind of the highlight in terms of humor in the season. Deke was introduced and I felt the same way as I felt about hunter. He was fun at tmes and other times annoying. The grandson revelation was kind of cool but I feel they have never done all that much with that connection. Maybe if the entire season was half a season’s plot, it would have been more palatable.

Season 6 was a minor improvement though still not great. The villains were again the big downfall of the season. I felt the show showed an inability to let go of Clark. Sarge was really not compelling and not a character that utilized his Clark Gregg’s best traits, which is his easy every man type nature. I could care less about the Shriek and Izel. We got to see May as a badass several times, which was nice but it was the space advanture that I enjoyed more. Whether it was Daisy and Simmons getting high on space mushrooms, or Enoch and Fitz being BFF’s in space, it was the show getting back to having some humor. Certainly a shorter season helped with regards to pacing. But it was still a rather unremarkable season which ended on a promising note.

Season 7 has been the best season since season 4. I feel that the first half the season was awesome. Rediscovering the fun, natural lighting, and better character interplay. Not having Fitz around was a bummer since Iain’s my fav cast member but we got the delightful surprise of Enver joining the cast as Sousa who I absolutely loved on Agent Carter. He has helped fill the void for me. Certainly has brought more than his share of humor and heart to the show. Again, the season’s weakness has been its villains. The chronicoms were initially good physical threats and certainly what they did to Mack’s parents was horrifying, but when Nathaniel Malick took over, the season has kind of stuttered for me. He just doesn’t cut it as a villain, especially for the final season. Chronicoms also don’t really cut it beyond the physical threat. The new additions of Kora and young Garrett are too last minute for me to feel any sort of threat from them. Certainly the time loop episode was amazing and the developing relationship between Daisy and Sousa has completely taken me by surprise. Its a mixture of good writing, good acting, and natural chemistry that this pairing has been something I root for, even though I loved PeggySous. But the show inexplicably got stuck in the 80′ and I really felt they should have gone through the periods to catch up to present day. Certainly the Jiaying story helped with some character reconcilliation for Daisy but I think there could have been more interesting stories had they progressed to more modern times. In any case, that leads to the finale. Hopefully the show ends on a good note. I don’t think it will be everything I want it to be because there are too many things on my wishlist, like a Ward return, which are unlikely to happen. But I hope for that its largely emotionally satisfying. Its been a good, if uneven ride. I would say its probably my second favorite Marvel show after Daredevil, but its longevity shows that it has developed a loyal core of fans. I may not get as emotional as a lot of the core fans, but it will feel weird that there will be no more Agents of SHIELD. It is the end of an era with it being the last of its brand of Marvel shows with all future marvel shows being direct movie spinoffs. I don’t anticipate we will see these characters in this form again, but who knows? Maybe someday?

Edit: My thoughts on finale

Overall, it was.... fine. I don’t know what I was expecting. I liked how the characters ended up but the whole thing felt oddly safe and a little emotionally hollow. They should have been a little braver and genuinely killed a couple of characters. Like I said earlier, there were a lot of things on my wishlist that didn’t happen, but I had kind of reconciled to that. The action was really good, but my apathy for the villains led to me being less interested in the whole story and the whole “empathy being the savior” was a little goofy for my taste. Regardless, far from the worst finale around but also not the greatest but reasonably enjoyable. Kind of like the show in a way, which makes it fitting. 

[kylermalloy]

my Thoughts on rebels

Now I don���t have any hot takes or any controversial opinions to put out here. Rebels is a simple show with a simple plot. There’s not a whole lot to analyze, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to enjoy. Sometimes all you need is a straightforward concept with lovable characters. So let me proceed to squeal about Dave Filoni’s second masterpiece, Rebels.

Spoilers abound!

Before I say anything else...

THEY HAD A BABY I haven’t stopped squealing.

Zeb Okay I’ll start with Zeb, for no particular reason. He was the only main character I hadn’t really heard about or seen much of before I started watching. In the first few scenes with him, I was afraid he’d become his stereotype—the thuggish gorilla who argues all the time, disobeys orders, messes up plans, and borderline betrays his friends. I was so pleasantly surprised when none of that happened. Maybe by virtue of being a kids’ show, these characters don’t have *edgy* or twisted nuances. Zeb is fiercely loyal. He likes smashing heads in and gets grumbly sometimes, but he’s never a hindrance. He’s not just “the muscle”; his ingenuity saves the day on more than one occasion. If anything, his nuances take him the other way—he’s incredibly sensitive and childlike in some ways. Being one of the last of his kind is a major plot point of several episodes, which brings so much depth to him and his psyche. It also informs SO MUCH on his relationship with Kallus. Speaking of...

Kallus I never, ever expected Kallus to be anything more than a season-long plot device. The fact that he stuck around and went through actual character development?? Amazing. The episode where he and Zeb are stranded together is gold. He’s got a sense of honor even as he works for the Empire, sparing the rebels as Zeb spared him. He develops a new set of ideals thanks to our heroes, and he begins to question and regret the things he’s done for the Empire—ethnic cleansing of Zeb’s Lasat people included. And that last scene of them in the epilogue? I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit shippy.

KANERA I know while the show was airing, fans were constantly asking when Kanan and Hera were going to get together. But for me, they seemed to be married from the first episode. Hera calling Kanan “love” and teasing him? Kanan constantly worrying after Hera while simultaneously believing in her ability to do...absolutely everything? Their parenting of Ezra, Sabine, Chopper, and even Zeb? Explicitly referring to them as “the kids” and themselves as “Mom and Dad”? Yeah, they’re married. And let’s not underplay their strengths as individual characters. Kanan—or Caleb—is exactly what you would expect of a Jedi whose training is only halfway complete. He’s cool and awesome, but also riddled with self-doubt and uncertainty. And Hera is the mature voice of reason this merry band of children so desperately needs—except of course when she’s the one rushing headlong into danger, whether to get a fighter prototype or to steal a family heirloom or to save a couple pilots in a suicidally risky move. She’s a perfect blend of mature reason and headstrong determination that makes a true rebel. (Wait a minute...she’s totally Katara! Maybe that’s why I love her so much.)

Now back to them as a couple! Most of the show did nothing to advance their relationship—further reinforcing my headcanon that things were always happening between them behind the scenes. Even though they became official canon in the last season, the appearance of their kid in the epilogue proves I was right—based only on what we saw, there was no time for them to make a baby. Of COURSE there were things going on behind the scenes. 😏 (I found the interview that explains exactly where Jacen came from, and I was equal parts ecstatic and freaked out.)

Did I mention THEY HAD A BABY???

Ezra So apparently there are people in the Star Wars fandom who hate Ezra? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; Star Wars fans hate everything. Except the OT. If you hate the OT you’re a heathen. I can’t really think of a solid reason why people hate Ezra, except for the fact that he seems to be a Luke Skywalker analog. He’s a poor kid with Force sensitivities who gets adopted by a Jedi and becomes a venerated leader of the Rebellion. He also finds an oddball group of friends he comes to call family but eventually bids them farewell after the death of his mentor. They’re not carbon copies, of course—Luke’s an optimistic idealist; Ezra’s a cynic. Luke whines; Ezra snarks. Luke blows up the Death Star and defeats Vader; Ezra completes a series of far more complicated missions and defeats Inquisitors and Thrawn. Again by virtue of him being the star of a tv show instead of just three feature length movies, he gets a lot more time to have his adventures. Maybe there’s some resentment over him getting more screentime than Luke? Maybe it’s because I’m just Not a Luke Skywalker stan. I like him fine, but I don’t hold him up as some perfect saintlike hero. (I didn’t have any problems with his TLJ characterization.) The people who do need to rewatch the OT they hold so dear. Luke’s a beautiful drama queen and you all should love him for that. But I’m here to talk about Ezra! Listen, this child is a disaster and a half—just like Luke, just like Anakin, just like young Obi-Wan. There is nothing to not like about him—except that he reminds you of your favorite characters but he’s not them.

Clone Wars characters I initially started watching this show solely for the characters I already knew from Clone Wars. Ahsoka Tano has been my girl ever since I started watching Clone Wars, and I didn’t even consider watching Rebels until I knew they had undone her death. (If there was just ONE character they could needlessly save via time travel, they picked the right one.) At any rate, she’s perfect in this show. She’s more grown-up, more mature, but still retains that *young and plucky* spirit. (For the record, I usually hate the *plucky* characters. Somehow, she works for me. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t really do that annoying cocky smirk thing.)

But it’s not just Ahsoka. Rex survived! I’m so glad at least one clone (two? Wolffe?) made it out of the war okay. And he’s great here. His constant snarking with Kanan reminded me so much of his banter with Anakin (and I’m sure it reminded him of that too ;-; ) His presence on Rebels isn’t strictly necessary, narratively speaking, but it’s just a nice tie-in to the world we got used to in Clone Wars. It reminds us that this world with the Empire was once the world of the Republic, and there are still clones out there—even if there’s no place for them in this new order. This of course reinforces the tragic narrative of clones as sentient beings created for nothing but combat. And again, I commend both shows for making me feel that narrative so deeply!

Hondo and Maul were two of my favorite antagonists from Clone Wars, so seeing their multiple appearances here filled me with joy. Hondo cracked me up, as usual, and Maul’s farewell was touching and heartbreaking. I almost wish he were still around! There’s still his duel with Ahsoka in season 7 of Clone Wars... 👀 Honestly what surprised me most about those two were the way they were both presented as protagonists. Hondo especially, and Maul does become an antagonist again. But it really speaks to the way all paradigms in the galaxy have shifted after the Republic became the Empire. In Clone Wars, Hondo was portrayed as an annoying hindrance to our heroes. Now with the Empire as an adversary to our main characters, Hondo is an ally. An untrustworthy one of course, mostly in it for the money, but his interests usually lie with helping our heroes, not hurting them. Besides, nothing tops his relationship with Ezra. Their first meeting had me in fits: “You lied to me?? I KNEW I liked you!” (Also I forgot to mention the running gag of Ezra introducing himself as Jabba the Hutt? Genius. And hilarious, since some people actually believe him at first)

THEY HAD A BABY!!!

Thrawn I need to see this guy again. Whether in a continuation where we learn what happened to him and Ezra, or some other moment in time where we see him younger, rising through the ranks of the Empire full of ambition and ideas. He’s quietly menacing, always confident and meticulous. He does a great job of making the rebels feel helpless in their fight, needling their pressure points and taunting them—but he never makes the conflict personal to him. He always remains detached, just a guy doing his duty. He’s just there to pick up interesting art pieces. I love the way he’s acted—always quiet, cultured, practically whispering. I didn’t know he was voiced by Lars Mikkelson until after I watched, but that was a perfect choice. I found the Inquisitors a little flat as villains (antagonists, whatever) and the other Empire ministers and governors not very threatening. Thrawn was the perfect balance (lol) between interesting and a genuine threat.

MANDALORE For all of Sabine’s merits as a character, I love her most in the Mandalorian arcs. The episode where she comes into her power and wields the darksaber is one of my favorites. She’s not a traditional stern, stoic Mandalorian character. She’s a free spirit, incredibly creative and intellectual. Yet she’s also afraid of her mind and what she could create—for years she created weapons for the Empire to feed her hubris. Maybe that’s why she mainly sticks to painting throughout the series. :) Anyway. I look forward to the follow-up detailing her adventures with Ahsoka.

Chopper I rolled my eyes so hard when I first saw Chopper. Everything from his name to his design screamed “kiddie version of R2D2” and I was fully prepared to hate him. I don’t. He’s just like R2, in that every sentence he says sounds like it’s punctuated with about ten different swearwords. It’s hilarious seeing such a cute character being so surly and even threatening on occasions! Chopper kicks some serious butt. He even comes with a tragic backstory!

Lastly, I don’t think I’ve mentioned...

THEY HAD A BABY AND HE’S ADORABLE

[and-look-to-the-stars]

Finn Deserved Better

When The Force Awakens first came out, people said that Finn, a Black character, was just “forced diversity”. Firstly, how can diversity be forced if society is already a diverse entity. Secondly, nothing about Finn was forced diversity; it was simply a Black actor playing a character. Finn provided an interesting view new to the Star Wars fandom: reformed stormtrooper breaking away to join the resistance. He was an interesting character. From his frantic decision to leave the First Order after becoming conflicted over the death of innocents to his loyalty to the person who saved him, Poe, despite not truly knowing him, he showed his true nature as a person who just wanted to do the right thing because he should. However, Finn was labeled as the “bad guy” in the eyes of some. Why? Because of him taking Rey’s hand when she didn’t want it (which by the way was done to get her to safety and didn’t seem to phase her all the much in the end). Holding that thought, turn to Kylo Ren, the actual bad guy of the series. Kylo Ren killed for the First Order. He captured and tortured. Yet, he’s the “poor guy” in the “fans” eyes. While Finn is attacked for being annoying towards Rey at first, Kylo is applauded for being horrible and abusive towards her. Finn is labeled “sexist” for annoying yet harmless comments, but Kylo Ren torturing and killing is seen as okay. People ship R*ylo. In their eyes, Finn is bad for Rey, platonically and romantically. What part of Finn is bad for Rey? Is it when he stopped trying to push a relationship on her after realizing that she needed space and time? Is it him being a genuine friend towards her regardless? Was it him fighting and risking his life for the Resistance? Was it his loyalty to those he cared for? When Kylo is the bad guy, he’s written off as “not that bad”. When Finn is slightly clingy, yet ultimately respectful of boundaries, he is ignored or worse unfairly demonized. Rey is characterized as someone who has focused so long on survival and doesn’t get too close to people. Finn picked up on this, dropping his “you got a boyfriend” game, instead choosing to respect her as a friend, letting her make her own decisions regarding relationships. He didn’t try his little act again and instead focused on the Resistance. He gave her the space she wanted, which allowed her to come out her shell and become more accepting of hugs and other interactions with not only him, but others as well.

Finn was supposed to be the face of a new Star Wars. He was the exploration of the moral codes of Stormtroopers, giving them humanity that people otherwise didn’t think of before. Watching him built excitement for the Sequels; here was a character the audience hadn’t seen before. There he was, doing the right thing because he knew it was the right thing, because he made the decision. Yet, Finn was pushed aside to make way for Kylo Ren, the man who chose to be evil. While I understand his alienation from his parents and Luke attempting to kill him, his decision to torture and kill were his own, there is no excuse for that. Kylo is excused of his actions when he shouldn’t be. Finn is hated for his actions when he shouldn’t be.

People are too quick to judge characters that don’t fit the stereotype of “normal” (which is incredibly flawed as it excludes POC and LGBT+ identities). They are expected to be perfect despite no character being perfect, yet are attacked even harder when a simple flaw is exposed. Finn’s awkward clingy nature, which makes sense for someone who wasn’t even given a real name or treated as a human for majority of his life, is seen as a fatal flaw despite him ultimately working through it after working within Resistance. Yet, Kylo’s definitive fatal flaws (ex: him finding no issue in killing innocent people or torturing people) are weakened for romance sake.

[mandaloriangf]

Honestly, if the TV shows at ANY point try to show the destruction of Luke’s Jedi Order or slowly warp Luke’s characterization in order to show how it was a “logical” progression for him to turn into TLJ Luke, I am IMMEDIATELY tuning out and canceling my Disney Plus subscription

I don’t care if this sounds petty, but I just HATED that development so much. I don’t care if it’s “explained,” the idea of Luke’s Jedi Order getting destroyed so that Rey (BARF) can build a New New Jedi Order, and the idea of Luke becoming a cynical and unfriendly hermit who seriously contemplated murdering his nephew, are just inherently dissatisfying concepts. They literally fly against the very core of the character that George Hamill introduced and that Mark Hamill brought to life. It’s actually one of my biggest fears for the franchise because I KNOW that if Disney “explains” it, then huge portions of the fandom will accept the bastardization of Luke’s character, and perception of him in fandom will forever be tainted. It’s already happened with TLJ — the fandom is now FLOODED with unironic takes about Luke being a child abuser, being coded as a child molester, being labeled as a child murderer, etc because of that awful movie. I don’t care if this sounds silly, but if they ruin my comfort character in the TV shows too, then as sad as I will be about it, I will be done with Star Wars for good

considering what they did with luke in mando im guessing they wouldn’t do that. they’d have to be IMMENSELY stupid to think that would go over well with fans considering the backlash to tlj and the praise for mando.