#because Luke realized that for as horrifying as Vader had been he still went out of his way to avoid killing him because he was his son

[that-one-kiddo-in-the-back]

Same Star Wars fan who adores The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi here, I massively disagree with your take on Luke in the sequels. I don't believe he was ruined at all, in fact, I fell like it was a natural progression of his character, that behind the legend he is still a flawed human capable of failure. To loosly quote Linkara here when Luke considered striking down Ben Solo: https://youtu.be/9NBhHh_9XXo?t=717

"I get it; (most people) see it as Luke thinking about killing this kid, that his character was ruined ready to murder his nephew when he had tried to redeem Vader just for sensing a little darkness. Hear me out: One: he didn't just sense some darkness, he sensed that he had already been turned. Kylo had already betrayed him at that point and was just looking for an excuse to put it out in the open. Two: He had a moment of hesitation where he turned on his lightsaber and then immediately, IMMEDIATLY, regretted it and felt ashamed. he did nothing, he saw darkness and instinctively wanted to attack. Hell it's a lesson he's still struggling with because he was horrified when Rey looked into darkness and didn't pull away from it. And finally: Yeah he redeemed his father...after getting so pissed off that he sliced off his dad's robot hand, egged on by the Emperor who wanted him to take the final blow just for the idea that he would corrupt Leia and remember: All throughout Return Of The Jedi everyone else was telling him he had to fight had to kill Vader and he resisted all of them and yet he went friggin' berserk on Vader during that scene. The idea that Luke is incapable of that kind of weakness ignores, you know, his moments of weakness and that's just a really obvious example. Recall that even just the thought of his friends in danger got him to abandon his training and race off to cloud city, an act that almost got him killed. Hell, his darkest fear in Empire Strikes Back is becoming Vader, becoming a monster and of course he was going to overreact and run away from that when he feared what he had done. Luke is not perfect, he makes mistakes and sees in himself his own failure and a cycle of pain the Jedi started and his family has perpetuated. Even seeing it in himself as if the mass murders Kylo Ren committed could equal his one moment of weakness. Some people can't accept that because Luke is a symbol of hope for them, of light conquering darkness. I get that but here is the alternative thing you should take away: Not everyone just learns their lesson and then never makes that mistake again. Believe it or not, you're the audience, you're Rey seeing this figure of legend and realizing that they're not some perfect pillar of always being right, always doing the right thing, but Luke is a person who's just as fallible as any of us. I frankly think it's much more inspiring when someone keeps getting back up after failing over and over than it is to see a guy make a mistake and then be super awesome perfect for the rest of their lives. I feel like people only paid attention to Kylo's perspective in this thing, this vengeful evil Luke ready to slay his nephew and forget Luke's perspective on it, his shame and guilt over just the thought of it. You're absolutely right that Luke would not kill his nephew but the thought that he might frightened him just like it had frightened anyone of good conscience. Rey believes that she can sense conflict in Kylo, that they can turn him back to the light and shift the tide in the war. She wants to go to him thinking that he'll turn if she goes. The thing is: Rey believes in the legend of the Jedi and of Luke Skywalker. She thinks history is repeating itself and that Ben solo can be saved like Darth Vader was at the end. She's trying to play act a story she heard, and that is her big character flaw. Look back at The Force Awakens and you can tell her reverence at the events of the Original trilogy, the excitement of rebellions, of the stories about the Jedi, putting on the fighter helmet and imagining herself somewhere else. She doesn't understand that this wasn't a story, it was real people with very specific circumstances and events that got them to where they were. Kylo Ren is not Darth Vader and she is not Luke Skywalker."

So yeah, that is basically Linkara's take on the character of Luke which I just so happen to share. If you disagree, that's fine. More power to you. Each to their own.

Cool, I personally don't agree. I don't think that Luke is this perfect character that can do no wrong.

But to have the mistakes of trying to kill his nephew for already turning to the darkside just made no sense. I'll take that he was acting purely off of his own anger, but it still makes him wanting to bring Darth Vader back from the darkside when everyone else was telling him to "give up" was face palming.

[gch1995]

Hi! Been thinking about Luke and Vader. How do you think Luke went from wanting to die to believing there was good in Vader? What caused that change/acceptance?

I have a lot of sympathy for Anakin/Darth Vader, and I don’t think it’s fair to place blame on just him for becoming such a deeply dysfunctional and horrifying human disaster as an adult, considering how deeply compromised his agency was his entire life under a series of abusive, hypocritical, and oppressive authority figures within a dystopian galaxy’s fucked up institutions. However, that doesn’t mean Luke wouldn’t have still had absolutely every right to hate his father for hurting him, his friends, and the many other people throughout the galaxy either.

Yet, ultimately Luke didn’t hate his father, even after Darth Vader reached out to him through the force by torturing his son’s friends, stalking him, abducting him, terrorizing him, threatening him, and cutting off his hand to try to coerce him to join the dark side in Empire Strikes Back.

Why?

I think the most obvious reason is that, with a little space and time to recover from the trauma that his father put him through in his efforts to find him and recruit him to the dark side, Luke ultimately sensed the good within Anakin beneath the darkness after he revealed that he was doing all this because Luke was his son, his family, who wanted freedom from Sidious and someone better to bond with than that sadistic asshole his current master was.

Also, in spite of how awful and dangerous it was for Anakin to terrorize Luke, cut off his hand, and threaten him like that on Bespin to try to recruit him to the dark side, he intentionally goes out of his way to avoid outright killing his son by going easy on him battle, giving him chances to escape, and trying to recruit him to the dark side to bond with his son and gain freedom, rather than bringing him to the Emperor.

Yes, he’s being awful, cowardly, and selfish in his methods, but Anakin is also trying to more easily avoid the possibility of one of them getting killed by Palpatine or one another by going after his son to try to recruit him to the dark side to overthrow the Emperor because he knows his master will do worse to Luke and/or himself if he finds out the truth about his son still being alive and a Jedi.

In Empire Strikes Back, Anakin also tells Luke “Don’t make me destroy you” when his son skitters away from him in terror. Though he went about looking for Luke pretty obsessively to try to recruit him for the dark side, once his son actually refuses to be swayed to the dark side by his father on Bespin after being abducted, terrorized, and amputated by him, Anakin notably doesn’t keep hunting down Luke to try to recruit him to the dark side or personally kill him for refusing after he runs away in terror in the movie. He’s upset about it, sure, but he really never wanted for Luke to be killed or hurt long term either.

Then, you also have to examine the fact that Luke didn’t really ever view Owen and Beru Lars as his parents. Though they loved Luke, and he loved them, Owen and Beru still never encouraged Luke to view them as his parents either. They were Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen to Luke, but never mom and dad to him. Luke really wanted someone to be able to identify as his parents. Anakin, flawed as he was, was the first person in Luke’s life to identify themselves as one his parents he had been missing his whole life, which is also why he was particularly desperate to bond with his father and inspire him to turn back to the light side.

If you guys want to chime in, you can!

@abla-soso

@fanfic-lover-girl

@fanfictasia

@komikbookgeek

@yoghurtconsumer

[ariainstars]

Luke, You're a Dumbass...!

Thoughts on The Book of Boba Fett, Episode VI

For a Start…

I get it that Mando is a bounty hunter. He knows how to track people down. But still: how did he suddenly know the name of his son’s teacher? And where he actually lives when Luke went into hiding on a remote planet? Luke can’t have told him because once he arrived, he pointedly kept Mando away from Grogu. At least a short explanation would have been nice.

No, I Didn’t Like It.

This is not the Luke we knew from his trilogy. This is “I’m being the perfect Jedi” Luke.

So, Luke has gone all “no attachments” now. Great. I wonder what Leia, Han and little Ben think about it. Or Chewbacca, or Lando. Or his other friends from the Rebellion. When we left Luke in Return of the Jedi, his attachments were strong. They actually were his strength. Where, when and why did he choose not to have any and to be all cool and aloof? We’re not told. We’re just expected to accept that this is the Jedi way.

Did he just say that he is not even in contact with his own family any more - the family he practically brought together? The people he repeatedly risked life and limb for - literally, since he lost a hand when he ran to rescue them on Cloud City? I know many fans are out of their minds with glee now, but how can one even think of rejoicing when Luke Skywalker of all people becomes so cold and detached?

Luke’s greatest strength always was that he was not like the other Jedi but first and foremost himself. Obi-Wan all but killed Anakin and left him to burn in a lifetime of torture although Anakin had repeatedly saved his life, because he was “the perfect Jedi”. It was the Jedi thing to do, not the good thing to do. Luke forgiving although Anakin had done nothing for him, on the contrary, had hurt him and his friends repeatedly, was not the Jedi thing but the right thing to do. It’s all plain to see in the movies.

The Last Jedi was all about the failure of the Jedi. This episode is not epic, it’s tragic because it sets up Luke’s failure, and without an explanation. Why did he change so much during the last years? Where is the sweet, fun, affectionate young man we knew? Did he choose to isolate himself, did Ahsoka or someone else tell him that he needs to be like that, or did something happen that made him decide it would be better this way? The “no attachment” rule was not even mentioned in the classics. It must hurt to get away from everyone you love. Yet Luke seems to be totally fine with it.

Ahsoka is in contact with Luke? When she first met Mando she didn’t even know he existed. Well, since she saw Anakin as an older brother, in a way she’s his aunt. But how did they meet? How did she even learn Anakin had had children? How did she react to that? Did she talk to him about how his father was like before he fell?! She met Vader in Rebels and was horrified on realizing that the man behind the mask was Anakin. Finding out that he has a son who is a good man would have been the foil to that. So much potential for a great story, a great first meeting between them. Nothing.

“So much like your father.” Argh. Dear Ahsoka, Luke is terrified of being like his father. You’re not encouraging. You might have pointed out that he has his mother’s sweetness, too. And that he has his father’s strength and stubbornness but not his violence.

“He was small, but his heart was huge.” Aha. Did Ahsoka not tell him how she was framed once and all the Jedi she had fought and risked life and limb for from age 14 believed she was guilty? Yoda was her sternest accuser. Ahsoka left the Jedi temple after that, that’s why she is living on her own and doesn’t identify as a Jedi. Or does Luke suffer from amnesia? Yoda, like Obi-Wan, expected him to kill his own father and to just let Han and Leia die.

Luke reawakens Grogu’s trauma from the execution of Order 66 and then doesn’t offer any comfort. He tells Grogu that he needs to learn to defend himself, but he doesn’t ask how Grogu survived that night at the old temple in the first place. Someone must have rescued him. Who, when and how? We still are not told. Besides, defending yourself is not always necessary or right. Sometimes you will need and get help and rescue. Learning how to find friends would be more to the point. And Luke used to be good at that.

Luke gives Grogu a training pod and the child rolls it towards him. He wanted to play with that stupid ball, not be shot at. He had to learn how to jump to get out of its way. Great. This is a child, Luke! He wants to do what other children do at that age - be safe, play, eat, sleep. It’s what you most probably did at that age. And you have a nephew who’s roughly the same age. Why don’t you know such simple things? What a sad contrast to the episode “Sanctuary” of The Mandalorian, where Grogu is welcomed by the other children as one of them and there also is Omera, a motherly woman.

Luke did not let Mando near them because he might “tempt” the child with their attachment. For Force’s sake, the man is jetlagged, burnt out with worry, expelled from his fellow Mandalorians, has the impossible task of rebuilding an unknown planet at hand, and you won’t even talk to him? Nice compassion Mr Perfect Jedi, really. R2, a mechanical creature, at least offers him a place to rest.

Grogu is now supposed to choose. Luke all but says that he can’t become a great Jedi master if he doesn’t teach him how to be one. Luke had been trained for a few days, perhaps weeks. How does he know that he is a great Jedi master? He doesn’t. It’s what the Jedi apologist fans believe. They don’t see that Luke was great because he was himself, they’re in awe of his Jedi persona. At least he gives Grogu a choice, all right, contrarily to Anakin who only could remain a slave, and also to himself who was all but pushed into it, “You must learn the ways of the Force”, “You will go to the planet Dagobah to find Master Yoda” etc. Still, the choice is wrong in itself.

Luke doesn’t say so, but it is plain that he wants Grogu to become like Yoda. Which is wrong because the attitude Yoda had and taught in his time was at the bottom of the Jedi’s ultimate downfall. Luke obviously doesn’t know that, at least not yet. Grogu could learn from Luke that being in balance and being compassionate is being more important than letting things float. But except for their short trip, Luke didn’t show him balance, he only made him remember the tricks he had already learned at the old temple.

In one scene Ahsoka asks Mando, “Are you doing this for Grogu, or for yourself?” Why does she ask him? Why doesn’t she ask Luke the same question?

If Grogu chooses Mando, everyone will be like, „How can he not want to be a Jedi?” If he chooses to stay with Luke, „Oh dear, Luke’s nephew is going to kill him!” Grogu does not appear in the comics The Rise of Kylo Ren, and they’re officially canon - but he couldhave died there, because whatever else happens, Luke’s temple will end badly. Whether because he stays with Mando or due to some other reason: Grogu will not carry on Luke’s legacy. Then what was the point of Grogu meeting Luke at all?

Grogu is still a child. He could have trained for a few years and then gone back to his father. There is no reason why he couldn’t have both. We all have to go to school, but we always return home afterwards, to relax and to play. And Grogu is far too small to make such a life-changing decision. He can’t even talk yet.

Luke knows the pain of losing a father you’ve just bonded with. He grew up as a normal child, and he had years where he learned to be a strong and confident person supported by his friends. And yet he openly said to Grogu that if he chooses the Jedi way, he will most probably see his father no more, because it seems that’s the choice he made.

You know from where you recognize a bad teacher? When you expect your pupil to become like you (or someone else) instead of helping him learn to become himself. Obi-Wan was a prime example for that. Luke is making the exact same mistake. And we already learned in The Last Jedi how that set up his failure with Ben, when he openly said to Rey, "In my arrogance, I thought I could pass on my strength."

I don’t mind Luke being back in the story. What I do mind is that he serves no purpose, except, for some viewers, long-awaited fan service. I can hear millions sigh in rapture and saying “This was the Luke Skywalker I wanted to see all my life.”

Really? Episode VI of TBoBF is foreshadowing Luke’s failure. It’s consistent with the sequels, not with the headcanon „the Jedi are always right and do nothing wrong“. Jedi fans and apologists may be out of their minds with joy on seeing Luke being an emotionally detached Jedi master, but this is the set-up for a tragedy.

Had he still been the Luke we know from the classic movies instead of going all „I’m the perfect Jedi“, he wouldn’t have failed. He hadn’t failed his father because at the time he still was Luke from Tatooine. He failed Ben because he had become a Jedi, refusing to give his nephew solace when he would most have needed it. Luke of all people ought to know that there is a huge difference between compassionate and possessive attachments. So should Ahosoka.

Obi-Wan and Yoda were older, had nothing to leave behind and had to keep in hiding when they exiled themselves; Luke is hardly 30 here, he has a family and friends and the galaxy may be in need of him. After his nephew feall to the Dark Side due to his misstep he is in exile because of his shame and guilt; but that will be 25 years from now. As of now, here is no reason at all for him to exile himself and turn his back on everyone he loves. Luke is not being „a great Jedi“ here, he is literally digging his own grave; the grave where his and his family’s hopes will be buried. It’s very fitting that his temple is being built by droid ants: anthills are homes but also graves. Luke is not reforming the Jedi Order the way he apparently did in the Legendsnovels, he is doing the same (wrong) thing they did. And many fans, among them a lot of those who hated Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi and pretended it was a character assassination of Luke, are rejoicing over this. The Luke we see here and now, preaching that for a Jedi it’s wrong to love anyone individually and that emotional detachment is necessary for a Jedi to reach greatness - this is character assassination. What a bitter irony.

Don’t Let Me Get Started: Wasted Opportunities

From the books we learn that Luke founded his temple when his nephew was eleven, which is five years from now. Five precious years wasted when he could have been an uncle to Ben, a teacher to Grogu, a friend to Mando. Before he finally shuts himself up in his temple, rejects his emotions and everything goes to s***.

Bringing Luke back to the story could have been a great opportunity. He could do so much for the galaxy and leave a good legacy so that it won’t all be lost when his nephew falls to the Dark Side.

He could help Mando rebuild Mandalore. He could make Mandalore, “the glass planet”, blossom again with the help of the Force. He could at least teach Mando how to use the Darksaber.

What does he do instead? Make frogs float. Show off with his light saber. Run in the woods flipping over.

There are plenty of other ways he could have left a positive legacy to the galaxy before he handed it all over to Palpatine’s granddaughter of all people, with his blessing. Luke used to be the light of the galaxy, the personification of hope. Then why does he retire to a remote planet far away from everyone he loves, doing nothing to help the populations of the galaxy? Nice hope indeed. All he does is make us Grogu & Mando fans hope that they will come together again, and if that hope is crushed, we will only be all the more heartbroken.

Ben Solo wasn’t even mentioned until now. He’s basically Grogu’s age, they could have become fast friends. From the books we learned that Ben was a good kid, like Anakin used to be. It would further explain his tragedy if he had Grogu as a friend (since both are Force-sensitive) and then suffer from the loss of letting him go. Luke could witness Ben’s “mighty Skywalker blood” when the boy does something desperate with the Force to save his little friend. They could agree never to tell Leia what her son is capable of so she won’t worry, which would explain why she never knew what actually happened that fatal night at the temple. We could hear Snoke’s evil whispering in Ben’s head telling him that he shouldn’t trust Luke.

And if he comes back, Ben could be the one who finally brings Balance. Anakin fell to the Dark Side never to come out, Luke didn’t fall. Ben fell and came back. If he lived, and Grogu and he met again, he could realize that Ben might be the key to Balance - because he knew all three Skywalkers. Ben could be the good father Anakin wasn’t (Ben even looked like the opposite of Vader). Mando could be an example for him, saving and protecting foundlings. Ben could have witnessed that. And he could have witnessed Luke playing with the foundlings instead of being aloof. This would all lead the path to a fabulous father figure. Grogu could found a new Jedi Order where attachments are not forbidden but Jedi are taught to love and have attachments in a compassionate, not obsessive way.

Ben obviously loved his uncle, else he wouldn’t have been so furious after he felt betrayed by him. The two of them in a relationship while he was small would also have brought out Luke’s playful side again. We didn’t see Leia and didn’t witness her lingering trauma after what she had gone through at Vader’s hands, resulting in her terror of (and for) her son; the big elephant in the room is still not approached. Neither did we see Han Solo being a father.

I know, this is not about them and there isn’t much time in one episode alone. But now that Luke is all set as “the perfect Jedi”, thinking only of his temple, no attachments whatsoever... the door to all of that is closed.

A good Star Wars story inspires viewers to dream, and there is no place for dreams here, because, again, it is all about the past. Ahsoka and Luke speak only about how the Jedi, Yoda and Anakin used to be. Grogu is a child and instead of being the window to a better future, he’s supposed to simply step into their shoes.

So Much for Context

Luke has no connection with Boba. He comes from Tatooine but that is never addressed; if he was meant to be an addition to Boba’s book he could have come to his old home for a while. Maybe meeting Peli, a woman he possibly knew from the past. Or helping Boba and Mando defeat the syndicate. Instead, he’s there as simple eye candy.

Honestly, I was waiting for Boba to meet Omega, who is his sister by blood: Star Wars is about family after all, and this would tie in with The Bad Batch. Instead, we get a Mando and a Luke episode who both have only a very weak link to Boba.

Either Talk Sense, or Be Quiet Everyone

Luke talks a lot about nothing new. Luke and Ahsoka talk and we learn nothing. Cobb Vanth in his first scene: talks way too much. Cobb Vanth in his last scene: is shot at and falls to the ground without a whimper. This time Cad Bane is the one who talks saying nothing.

You know from where you can see that Star Wars is essentially written by men for men? Because people hardly talk with each other. The entire episode is one long monologue - Cobb, Luke, Cad Bane all talk and talk but don’t communicate. So much suffering could be avoided in the saga if people knew how to communicate properly. Maybe some woman could teach them, but women are expected to be badass fighters here. They’re not diplomats, mothers, they’re not wise and learned. A “strong woman” always carries a weapon ready for the kill. Some kind of feminism, really.

Ahsoka could have told Luke that Anakin was prey to an unhealthy attachment. That Yoda was not as wise and good as he seemed. That the Jedi all failed her. Luke could learn from that and indeed reform the Order. Mando could have told him about the Mandalorian who also was a Jedi, so Grogu wouldn’t be compelled to make a choice.

Sigh. No, this wasn’t a good episode. Not by a long shot.

What I Liked

If the planet Luke has chosen for his temple reflects his inner life, it’s a very beautiful analogy. In particular comparing it to Obi-Wan’s desert and Yoda’s swamp. I also liked the contrast for Ahsoka, last time she was on a grey planet all surrounded by dying trees. 😊 But in old age, Luke will be on a green but foggy, distant island, with a destroyed temple in the middle, not a newly built one. And this only adds to the depressive mood of the episode.

[starfanatic]

Luke Skywalker vs Rey... Nobody

I hate the argument that a lot of sequel trilogy stans use whenever anyone criticized Rey or labels her a Mary Sue. It’s probably the weakest argument a sequel stan can ever possibly say to me. (Besides the people hate Rey because she’s a women argument).

Lets compare them shall we?

Luke Skywalker in A New Hope is whiny, inexperienced, and very naive. There is multiple moments in a new hope that proves this. When he was whining about not wanting to stay on the moisture farm and wanting to join the Academy like his friend, Biggs. He constantly was slightly annoying throughout the film, especially to Han. When Han named his price and Luke was like “We can buy our own ship with that!” or when Han was flying the Milennium Falcon and Luke was practically yelling in his ear to go into hyperspace. Han and Luke did not get along at first because of Luke’s behavior. Luke went against Obi-Wan’s orders and saved Princess Leia, not thinking of the consequences. How he could possibly be killed or put in a cell with the Princess. He doesn’t think of a plan to get out AFTERWARDS only the spur of the moment. He was constantly shown to be inexperienced and needed his friends help or HE WOULD HAVE DIED THE FIRST MOVIE. While on the millennium falcon, Obi-Wan taught him things about the force. Maybe not a lot but he knew how to use the simple basics of it. Like sensing the force and letting it guide your actions (as Obi-Wan was trying to teach him before). For once Luke listened and trusted Obi-Wan and destroyed the death star.

Lets do Rey now WHOOP. So far the only personality flaw she seems to have is that she’s also naive? She had the same wide-eyed innocence as Luke had but it’s different and here’s why. Rey never suffers for any of her so-called almost non-existent flaws. Rey is experienced enough to hold her own in a fight against men WAY stronger then her (that’s realistic though but that’s one tool in her belt). She’s bilingual. She can fly the millennium falcon better then Han Solo even though she never flew one before. She is constantly saving people by herself, never the one being saved. (Before y’all bust my balls, Rey escaped that damn starkiller base by her damn self. Luke didn’t and couldn’t). She uses powers that takes years to learn and the excuse is the force dyad. So she downloads Kylo’s skills and training. Great. Magnificent. Rey is on a amazing start. And this is the first movie! She can only get stronger from here.

Luke is more mature and responsible in ESB. He’s a respected hero of the rebellion. Luke still struggles using the force. Even with the training Luke goes through with Obi-Wan he had to truly focus to pull the lightsaber to him. Plus as a common occurrence, he still needed help from his friends. He’s not invincible. He actually gets severely hurt (makes sense). He goes to Dagobah to get trained (because unlike Rey he doesn’t have the “learn force jedi shit that takes years to learn” cheatcode). And then he’s impatient. He wants to learn how to use the force so he can help his friends. Luke is again reckless, impatient, and he’s also insecure in his own belief. Him not believing he can lift the X-wing was why he couldn’t. Against his master’s and Obi-Wan’s orders he decides to save his friends. It’s a noble reason to but it still got him fucked up. He got his hand cut off, he was beaten and humiliated, and then he was told a horrifying revalation that twisted around everything he knew and believed. He was scared of Vader, you can see it on his face, but he did not succumb to fear.

Rey goes to the island to convince Luke to go help them fight the war. Why doesn’t Leia go instead? Who knows. Why does Luke act the way he does? Who knows. Luke dismissed her and was quite rude to her. Rey was having cute little talks with Kylie Renner in their little force dyad BS. She called him a monster and a murderous snake. I like the insults. It fills me with joy! But then she finds out the truth. Rey did do something reckless and stupid but as usual she doesn’t suffer the consequences to her actions. Technically she’s morally superior to Luke because she saw the good in him and felt like she could turn him to the light (after slicing his face open. Ok). Rey decides to give herself up to the First Order thinking Kylo would save her. And he does. So she wasn’t even wrong... Rey fight the very elite guards of the (bootleg emperor palpatine) Supreme Leader Snoke. Reminder, TFA and TLJ are like 3-4 days apart. She had zero training within these days. Luke refused to train her so don’t start that bullshit. Luke trained her for like 5 minutes and none of that training had anything to do with lightsaber dueling. Rey is then told she was a nobody. Now why did Rey cry about this? I truly don’t know. How the hell would Kylo accurately know that Rey’s parents were nobody? Didnt Rey been know this from the force awakens? Eh whatever. She tries to force pull the lightsaber from Kylo Ren and do a dumbass tug a war instead of walking up and grabbing it. It reminds me of JJ and Rian fighting over where the star wars sequels). Anakin must be screaming and yelling from above... or below... idk. The lightsaber then breaks. Rey then saves her friends by showing her once again superior piloting skills that rival or is possibly better then Anakin Skywalker himself. Hitting 3 in one shot? You go girl! She then uses the force to effortlessly move the big ass boulders out of the entrance to save the resistance. Last I remember... Luke struggled to do that with a few way smaller rocks and was also focusing hard to do.

Luke is finally at jedi status! Woohoo! Now Luke first saves Han from Jabba. It shows his very dark side tendencies by choking the guards (like father like son). Luke thinks of a actual plan before going in (CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT). Luke “Chanel Boots” Skywalker goes to Yoda on his death bed. All he wants is answers but Yoda wants to be cryptic as fuck. Luke has been lied to for years by his mentors and his family. Luke’s father isn’t hero Anakin Skywalker but actually a big, asthmatic, merciless, murderous asshole who has a choking kink. Luke then says he cannot kill his own father and Obi-Wan, who believes Vader isn’t a human but a machine, has no faith in Luke. He believes that Luke will fail and the Empire would win. Luke feels the conflict and good in him that nobody else does. He knows that Vader is unloyal to the emperor and he actually cares about his own son. When he is with Han and Leia he realizes he made a mistake and has a bad feeling about it. (*gasp* Luke is not being super reckless). He’s not arrogant (not in anyway) but he’s completely confident that Vader would turn. (He isn’t flawless there is still obvious problem with this plan he has. He fails, the empire wins. He dies, the emperor wins. Vader doesn’t turn, Luke fails. Luke almost succumbs to the dark side and it’s actually plausible he might fully turn. He wants to desperately save his friends and his father has done horrible things to Luke. Luke had every reason to kill Vader. But he doesn’t. He throws the lightsaber away and foolishly puts his life in Vader’s hand. Luke doesn’t save the galaxy because he can make things levitate with the force. He wins because he had the strength to resist the dark side and has so much love and pure good in his heart he saw the good in his father.

Rey starts off with a training session (no idc it’s too fucking late now. 3 movies in? Is she doing reverse character development?) and basically Poe gets mad at Rey for not accompanying them on missions. I still don’t know why she needs training, when she is at a decent strength to fight elite guards, fight kylo ren, and a variety of other things that typically takes a long time to learn. After finding out Palpatine returned, Rey goes on a mission to find the way finder almost like a shitty videogame. I don’t even want to talk about the force dyad anymore because it’s fucking dumb. Rey gets chased by the force order and hear this out, FORCE HEALS (i forgot what the animal was but idrc). Which means Rey had the power to stop the painful truth of death themself. Why am I not surprised? Rey did something that no other jedi nor sith or jedi have ever done this. Anakin went to the dark side to save the ones he love. This movie was just a slap in the face to Anakin. Rey then fights Kylo Ren and lost??? again it seems a little too late and it also didn’t make sense. Rey defeated those guards all by herself with Kylo needed help from her. She’s obviously the better lightsaber duelist but hey, at least JJ was trying to mellow her out a bit. Rey stabs him while our beloved Princess died. She then regrets her decision and as always, doesn’t have any consequence to her actions. By the force I forgot, the whole scene where she is revealed as a Palpatine? Completely invalidates the first two movies but eh whatever. She uses a power that only the elite sith does... something Kylo Ren himself could not do (and he’s on the dark side). Rey “killed” Chewie but actually no she didn’t because Chewie is perfectly fine. Rey is supposed to be all dark and edgy now, “you don’t know me” BS. Yeah I’m sorry I won’t tolerate this because my only allergy is the fish smelling coochie bullshit called the sequel trilogy. Rey got scared of her dark self. Well at least JJ tried? Rey then almost gives up but Luke was like “nah fam you cant”. Rey dies trying to fight Palpatine but then as usual, she gets zero consequence cuz Benny Simp saved her using the force. Then she kissed him... no. No. No. This made my eyes burn like they just threw bleach in my eyes. It made no sense. “A Kiss of Gratitude”? What the shit was that? GIRLS DO NOT INSPIRE TO BE REY.

[ladyvader23]

Darth Vader, Master Hairstylist

This was inspired by @scuddington ‘s post HERE. I absolutely love Scud’s art, and this one just instantly inspired me! 

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The first time Vader learned how important hair was to little children was the day Miss Laena took PTO in the morning for an important doctors appointment. 

He figured he had this. It was just one morning. No big deal. The only difference was that this morning, he’d be the one getting the kids ready for school. That wasn’t hard. He was Darth Vader, Sith, destroyer of Jedi and Rebels alike, Commander of the Imperial Navy! He could handle school. 

He scheduled his own meetings around the conflict, he’d warned the twins repeatedly that he needed them to cooperate, he’d made sure the night before that all was prepared. Bags, lunches, homework. 

Too easy. Maybe he’d reconsider Miss Laena’s salary. 

And the morning did begin smoothly. Until Leia came running to him with a brush in her hand. 

“I gotta be pretty daddy!” She shoved the brush towards him. “Do my hair!” 

Vader froze. He...knew nothing about hair. He knew his wife had been excellent at it. When had she begun to be interested in how she did her hair? He tried to think back, but he couldn’t remember a single time he’d seen her in public without perfectly styled tresses. 

“You are a child. You do not need me to do your hair. Just brush it.” 

That of course, offended Leia. She pouted and glared. “I’m a big girl daddy, and big girls have pretty hair!” 

She literally forced the brush into his hand. 

Well. He’d mastered the Force. How hard could hair be? 

Famous last words. 

First, he was apparently not gentle enough. He tried to comb the tangles that she’d acquired overnight, and each time he did she began screaming “OW!” and crying. Horrified, he decided to instead hide the tangles and figure them out later. He pulled her hair into what resembled a ponytail and stepped back. “There. Now you will be late for school. Let us leave.” 

The hair wasn’t...exactly like it should be. It was crooked, and he wasn’t sure it was tight enough to stay in, but he didn’t want to hurt her further. And he was pretty sure she didn’t want him to try again, because she didn’t argue. 

He forgot about the incident shortly after the kids were dropped off. Miss Laena came back shortly before the end of school. He was in their home’s personal conference room, doing assignments from home, when he heard the front door open and the telltale sound of children running through the home. 

Miss Laena will take care of it. He thought, focusing back on his work…

Until he realized Leia was crying. 

He hated it when she cried. Luke, he could deal with. But Leia? Absolutely not. 

Shoving the datapad aside, he went to investigate. 

“I’m ugly!” She was wailing when he entered the kitchen. Mis Laena was trying to comb Leia’s hair and having a hard time with it. “I’m ugly!!!” 

“Who told you a ridiculous lie like that?!” Vader thundered. Leia was the image of his beloved wife. Both of them were more beautiful than all the stars of the galaxy. 

But to his surprise, Leia wailed harder. “Everyone! My hair was ugly!!!” 

“Your hair does not reflect how beautiful you are. Hair changes daily.” 

Miss Laena winced. “Lord Vader...many children want to feel pretty when they go see their friends at school.” 

“Leia is beautiful already. I do not see what the problem is.” 

“...She is beautiful, but she may not feel that way when she doesn’t like her hair...and other kids might say something if it looks...different.” 

“She is five.” 

“Even five year olds want to feel pretty.” 

Vader thought it was silly. Leia could have no hair and he’d find her just as perfect as she was with it. But judging on Leia’s reaction, she very much cared about how her hair looked. 

It was something her mother should have done. Had she lived, he had no doubt Leia would never have a bad day...or even Luke for that matter (sometimes that boy needed to run a comb through his hair, if Vader was being honest with himself). 

But Padme...was not there. And it was his fault for that. 

So it was up to him to fix it. 

First, he ordered practice manikin heads, the kind hairdressers used to practice. Then, he found online tutorials on the holonet. He watched them carefully, paying close attention to the stylists finger and brush movements. It was not unlike studying lightsaber technique. Both had a certain art to it. 

He just needed to master it. 

The first many attempts didn’t work as planned. Part of it was due to his cybernetics. They were...not made for the delicacy it took to style hair. The first few manikin heads ended up either with hair ripped out, or he’d grow so frustrated when he couldn’t get a braid right, that he’d throw the manakin off the balcony, where it fell into the lower levels of Coruscant below. 

But he was determined. He would not fail in this task. He would not be so reliant on Miss Laena that he would ruin his daughter's day again like that. 

He would be the master hairstylist. 

It took months (and countless manikin heads) to get things to where he felt he could confidently and safely try working on Leia’s hair. 

One morning, before school, he interrupted Miss Laena as she was about to help Leia get ready for school. “I have no need of your services when it comes to Leia.” He informed her confidently. “I will handle it from here.” 

He did not miss the concern that flashed through the other woman, but she wisely did not say anything. “As you wish, My Lord.” 

He entered Leia’s room. She was already dressed, though her hair, thankfully, was still a mess. “Where’s Miss Laena?” She asked, frowning when he was the only one there. 

“I am here to fix your hair problem.” He announced confidently, spotting the brush and summoning it to his hand. 

Leia did not hide her nervousness. “No, that’s okay daddy, I...I can have ugly hair today.” 

“No. You will sit down and allow me to help you.”

“No--”

“If you do not let me help you, I will ground you from your dolls.” It was an unfair threat and he knew it...but he was a Sith. He’d spent an unsithly amount of time mastering the ways of the hairdresser. He was not about to let Leia stop him now. 

Leia pouted, but sat down. “Be nice to my hair, daddy.” She warned as he approached, and he felt her genuine fear. 

Carefully, he placed a hand on top of her head and smoothed her hair down in what he hoped was a soothing gesture...and began. 

He first worked out the tangles. Carefully, in a way he knew wouldn’t hurt her. Once all the tangles were gone, he began to braid. 

The trick, he found, was not to completely rely on his metal fingers. Doing so would result in failure. The trick was to use the Force for anything that was too delicate and precarious for his clumsy hands. With a mixture of the Force and his own now well-practiced hands, he managed to braid her hair into a crown. 

He stepped back, satisfied. “You look like a princess.” He told her, and he meant it. It was hair that would make any royal princess jealous. He was fairly certain that Padme would have been quite proud of him had she seen it. 

Leia looked in the mirror...and smiled. “Wow, daddy! You got good!”

“For you, my princess...though don’t tell anyone I did it.” 

Having redeemed himself, he could have stopped there. He’d mastered enough to impress any five year old. 

But he didn’t stop there. 

Leia soon decided that she’d rather have him do her hair than Miss Laena (something he was secretly pleased about, though he’d never admit it). As she grew, so too did her tastes in hair. Occasionally, she’d be interested in a style he didn’t know how to do. But if she showed him what she wanted, he’d spend what little off time he had trying to figure it out. Once he’d mastered it, he’d try it out on her. Usually he was successful. 

Soon, he began to savor the moments when it was just him and her. She’d sit on the chair, swinging her legs happily while he worked on her hair. Sometimes it felt like they didn’t share as many interests, but when he did her hair, it seemed like it was their own “thing.” It was unsithly, and his Master would absolutely have a heart attack if he ever found out, but he didn’t care. 

Soon though, as Leia grew into a teenager, she began to need him less and less. But instead, their time together was replaced by him teaching her how to do her own hair. He’d always dreamed of teaching his children the ways of the Force, but with Sidious suspicious of that ever happening, he knew this would probably be the closest thing he could get for Leia. 

For now. 

One day, as Leia finished braiding her hair so that it looked like a blooming flower for a Imperial youth party, she paused. “You know. I’ve never told anyone you learned how to do hair.” She said. 

“That is wise.” He tried not to think of what the media would say if they ever found out Darth Vader knew almost as much about hair as any professional hairstylist. 

“Why? I mean. You’re...you.” 

He looked at her for a long moment. She’d grown to be so beautiful, exactly like her mother. And he decided to be honest. 

“Because your mother was not here to do it for you.” He replied. “I did not want you to miss out on that experience.” 

Leia turned, taking him in for a moment. Then, with a smile, she reached out and gave him a rare hug. 

He...allowed it. This time. 

“Thanks dad.” She said. “You’re the best. I don’t care what anyone else says.” 

He didn’t understand how him being good at hair made him the best…

But he’d accept it.

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

I accept PROMPTS for this or any SW AU! 

[rynliadon]

you asked for asks so talk to me about ioree skywalker

THANK YOU she's one of my favorite topics of discussion!

so ioree, for those not in the know, is my (our) star wars oc that I created collaboratively with some friends in the vader's hyenas discord! borne out of post about anakin and vader actually being siblings, I went "actually what if anakin had. an infant sister." and she has since morphed into a character I am deeply attached to.

and, of course, since everything in star wars is about what makes you the most sad, her story is kinda sad. she's less than one years old when tpm happens, and she has almost as high force sensitivity as anakin does, so qui-gon manages to save them both. the council loves taking infants, so no problem, she's going to the crèche. however, because of anakin's "issues" with attachment, he and ioree are never allowed to see each other (similar to how anakin is never allowed to return to tatooine and save his mother).

ioree grows up knowing anakin is her brother, but the most she ever gets to see of him is glances in passing in the jedi temple and whatever happens to be on the news about "The Hero With No Fear." since we know from rebels anakin would make those instructional holos for the younglings, I think that ioree steals as many of those as she can, regardless of the topic, and watches them whenever she can. she gets very good at lightsabering because of anakin's virtual instruction, and because she has a lot of natural talent the way he does.

usually younglings her age get to have specific cultural lessons, and learn about their home planets from jedi masters who are also from there. however, the only other jedi from tatooine that could hypothetically teach her is anakin. so, she doesn't get the same depth in her classes, and only gets a brief overview along with some of her questions answered. this is when she really starts to be upset that she never gets to see her brother, and feels a slowburning kind of rage deep inside.

a specific scenario we came up with that happens during this time is when she gets a mouse droid as her buddy. the temple has little mouse droids moving along most of the time, but one of them had to be taken out of commission because things were falling apart. little ten year old ioree, who'd just watched a holo of anakin explaining how to fix droids using a mouse droid as an example, rescued it. though ioree is usually terrible at technology and math (she's very good at jedi english class), she manages to fix up the droid. she names it SH1-M1, after what the jedi masters had told her about her mother, and usually calls her emone for short. (they're still buddies way into the future 💖)

as she gets older, all of her peers are chosen to be padawans. she waits and waits and waits for the day she'll be chosen to be a padawan. she tries her absolute hardest, she's good at everything, she thinks she's powerful, why hasn't she been chosen? why isn't she good enough? (bird's eye view: most of the jedi masters are apprehensive of ioree because of anakin's reputation. he was notorious for being a difficult padawan, as he was always testing the boundaries to try and figure out what would be the limit, and no one wants another anakin as a padawan.)

the day that breaks the galaxy starts like any other day. ioree, now 14, wakes up early to run through her lightsaber forms. she notices that there isn't anyone around, but that's normal for this early in the morning. no cause for alarm. suddenly she sees a flash of blue light cut down a few of her friends from a distance. she runs as fast as she can, until she finds a room to hide in. a bunch of smaller jedi younglings are huddled in the corner, and, though she'd normally take control and help guide them because she's the oldest, she huddles with them. begging the Force to make the monster leave them alone.

he doesn't.

the monster appears, and it's him. The Hero With No Fear. the brother she's missed her whole life. he looks like a specter of his old self, rage and pain radiating off of him in waves. when he sees her, he freezes, his eyes a horrifying yellow. ioree is paralyzed. nothing is making sense. finally, anakin seems to make a decision, and with a blink of an eye and a blinding flash of blue, everyone but anakin and ioree is dead. "I have something I need to take care of," he says. numbly ioree realizes this is the first time she's heard him speak in person. "but once I do, I'll find you." then with a swish of his black robes, he's gone. and ioree crumples.

obi-wan and yoda find her like that, curled on the floor. they find her not because of her sobs, not because of their own thoroughness in searching. they find her because she is unconsciously unleashing her agony into the force, waves and waves and waves of pain strong enough to knock someone over. strong enough to keep the clones from getting close enough to kill her. obi-wan and yoda are strong enough to bear it, but barely. they get to her and calm her down, bring her to safety with them.

ioree is numb to the world for most of the events of revenge of the sith. yoda and obi-wan disappear for a little while. she's sitting in a room with bail organa. yoda comes back, then obi-wan comes back with a pregnant woman. ioree overhears something about anakin, and possibly that anakin is the father? did anakin have a girlfriend or a wife or something? the woman gives birth, naming them luke and leia. yoda says something about them being too powerful in the force, blah blah, the twins need to be separated. the woman (padmé, ioree hears) fights this as hard as she can, but loses the argument. luke will be sent to tatooine to live with anakin's family, padmé and leia will live with the organas in secret. they even start discussing what to do with ioree. obi-wan offers to bring her to tatooine with him, to live with her family and possibly complete her training. ioree thinks she agrees to this. she hasn't fully registered anything in over a rotation.

the phantom menace-revenge of the sith ioree lives EXTREMELY vividly in my head, I've thought so much about this period of time. after this comes tatooine ioree + rebel ioree but this answer is already so long, I'll go more into that later! tysm for the ask I love talking about ioree!!!!!

[suuung]

Interconeccted, chapter (2)  kylo ren x reader

part 1 is here

warning: this fanfiction will develop darker and sexual themes as it goes on

a story about a young stormtrooper discovering a force bond with her leader, kylo ren

You woke on the cold mattress to the morning alarm. Your thin blanket not succeeding to do its work of keeping you warm during the night resulted in goosebumps that lasted hours. Beds creaked and groaned in protest of the other girls getting up for the day. Although you did not have to worry about food anymore you felt so homesick, you wanted to be back home, you yearned to see Shea again. 

The other, well, prisoners if you must seem to feel the same way. They all feel sick of this, knowing it's either this life or no life at all. You could hear some of them muttering about another cohort of prisoners that got slaughtered because they denied working for the first order. This place was hell. The fact we have to accept we are never leaving this ship to enjoy fresh air and springs again. All we now know is to sleep, eat and kill for the first order. Your heart dropped each morning from your dreams of Shea, to wake up to the cold metal rooms.

Today was something every soldier was frightened about, having to kill innocent people all because of one bad man. You’ve heard tales about Luke Skywalker but your mother has always told you it was all a lie so we obey the first order. You started to put back on your white armour after breakfast. You were expected to leave on the journey to Jakku in an hour.

“ALL STORMTROOPER TRAINEES TO BAY 27” Ran through the intercom.

Bay 27 must’ve been the last ship to board as you were listening to the rest of the cohorts get called. In that place you could be anyone, or perhaps no-one at all with this stormtrooper helmet on. The other soldiers flowed like rivers, never stopping for obstacles but swirling around them to make their way to their bays.

Making your way up to the ship a black figure caught your attention. It was the supreme leader. He was waiting for the dock to open up to board his own ship to go to Jakku. You tried to keep your eyes on him as much as you could without seeming suspicious, and that seemed to fail when the leader cocked his head towards you, just like he had done yesterday. You turned back to face the line of the other stormtroopers so you didn't seem obvious to be staring at him. Still, anxiety crept up as you realized he noticed. You did not know what this man was fully capable of. You wondered if he was a cold hearted fighter like Darth Vader was or does he remain more mysterious about his killings.

You wanted to know who he was, this mysterious man that never showed his face unlike General Hux.

Taking your seat along with the other stormtroopers. You didn’t want to go to this attack, but what other choice did you even have. You hoped nothing bad would happen but you knew in your gut that wasn’t true.

The ship flew fast and took sharp turns, you were scared. You peaked your head forward, the galaxy was beautiful. The stars shine brightly, your glossy eyes making them shine brighter. Colorful planets shun beautifully as well. The galaxy was mother nature's most beautiful value. Soon enough all of the beauty came to an end as the ship roughly landed, the doors opened and you were confused. The general had said all of the stormtroopers in training were not fighting, but you were screamed at by the higher up ranked stormtroopers to get outside and start searching.

“Gather every civilian that will not give you information about his location. We will have them handcuffed.” A royal guard yelled out as everyone stepped off.

You felt so overwhelmed and didn’t want to get killed for not fighting, you followed some other stormtroopers that were searching for the man that had the piece of luke skywalker's location.

You could hear blasters being shot behind you, cries of mothers for their children. Fires erupting and making the smell of the village smoke. Everything started to go up in fast motion, blaster after blaster was being used, yelling at villagers to stay down and not fight back. You kept running, searching for the man, you didn’t want to harm anyone but it seemed like the other soldiers took that into action right away. You ran down a hill, searching in a marketplace that seemed torn and broken, stands from villagers now empty, fruits and merchandise scattered all across the sand. You turned a corner, hands shaking as you held your blaster close to your chest. Searching high and low in what looked like a fruit stand you uncovered a blanket to a child, and her mother both crying with tears in their eyes.

“We don’t know where he is, I swear..”  The mother pleaded, holding her child close to her chest, tears rolling down her face.

You stepped back, afraid and unable to speak. You looked around to see if anyone was around, there was another stormtrooper searching at a stall near you, you crochet down and searched your bag at your side, you had a knife. You gave it to her and nodded. Covering her with the potato sack again. You hesitantly got up, walking around without seeming suspicious. You felt scared someone else would find her, you wanted to protect her.

You began walking around, hearing a blaster shoot behind you, you turned almost screaming at the stormtrooper to stop. He was above her and the child, pointing his blaster at them both as they both shook and screamed. You watched horrified as the stormtrooper tied them both up to bring them to the gathering of villagers. You ran up and shot the stormtrooper in the chest. Watching him fall to the ground on top of them. Tears formed in your eyes, you felt like a monster, it faded as the mother and her child ran quickly. You started to shake as you felt yourself panic.

You frantically ran away, ran as far as you could. Tripping on your own feet you cried. That was until you heard loud yelling from the ships, it sounded like the commander.

A strong force gathered around your body, you could feel it running through your veins, it made you form goosebumps. You felt the force, you felt this same sensation you felt the first day your head hurt and you passed out. You turned around to see the supreme leader pulsating his lightsaber in a villager, then turning his head towards your direction. You stared back for several moments as he kept his composter. You then turned quickly and started to pretend to search for the man. Your heartbeat through your chest, your body felt like it was shutting down. He must’ve known you did something you weren’t supposed to. He knows something.

You turned your attention back when more yelling came from the ships, two stormtroopers threw a man in front of the commander. The man was on his knees and his hands tied behind his back. You and other stormtroopers were surrounding him.

“You know what I've come for.”  The supreme leader spoke.

“I know where you've come from. Before you were Kylo Ren.” The man replied.

Was that his name? Kylo Ren? You have never heard it before, but it sounds similar, similar to the knights of ren.

“You will give the first order of the map to luke skywalker.”  Kylo yelled then brought his lightsaber up in the air, slashing it down on the man and killing him. You gasped.

Suddenly a man shot a blue blaster towards him, you watched it all happen so fast. Pain struck all over your body and you felt weak as Kylo Ren used the force to stop the blaster. It stood still and your whole body hurt, like pressure was being put on it. He flipped the blaster up so it went nowhere. You held your limbs up as Kylo confronted the man and brought him on the ship. Your whole body felt numb and you didn’t know why.

A royal guard ordered the stormtroopers to shoot the villagers. You stood with your blaster up as every stormtrooper around you shot, you pretended to shoot but you just couldn't. You felt so weak and nauseated watching the mothers and fathers get blasted and their children screaming for them.

You looked to the side to see Kylo getting on his ship, and soon enough you were called on the ship. You sat in a seat as the ship took off, going back to the first order ship. You still felt a strong force around you, like something was pulling you towards Kylo Ren. After an hour of putting your bloody helmet off and back on the cold mattress you stared at the ceiling. You were scared, why hadn’t this feeling of the force gone away yet.

Everyone around you was sleeping in their beds. You closed your eyes to suddenly be in a white and grey room. It was like you were teleported there. Turning around you saw Kylo. He stood with his back facing you but his helmet was off and he only wore his pants with his shirt off.

His hair was jet black and reached his shoulders, he had scars and scrapes all along his back, they looked raw. You stepped back, not knowing what was happening. Quickly he turned around to face you, his eyes full of shock. That was the first time you saw his face. He was young, much younger than you expected. He had a long broad nose, black eyes and a sharp chin. He was a tall and big man, his face quickly contorted into anger.

“You.. I saw you. I saw what you did” He spat through his teeth. You didn;t reply as he stepped closer,

“Why are you here.” He yelled, taking another step towards you.

You shook, taking a step back.

“How did you get in my head. How did you use the force you fucking peasnt.” You shook your head.

Regaining concuncis you opened your eyes to be met with the familiar ceiling of your dorm. You turned quickly to look around, the other girls around you sleeping and one even snoring. You began to cry, what had just happened.

You must’ve been in his quarters, but how did you even end up there. You must've been thinking about him too much. Your mind felt like it was going to explode with questions.

You grabbed your thin blanket and cried yourself to sleep.

(tag list: @myworldrightnow

let me know below if you’d like to be added)

[crazyclonefan]

(Un)breaking bond

Characters:

Ahsoka Tano

ghost!Anakin Skywalker

ghost!Obi-Wan Kenobi

Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Summary:

For the first time in many years she feels it again. It was Anakin. Their connection was restored again. His light flashed brightly, so that after a couple of moments it would die out forever. // Ghost!Anakin come to Ahsoka.

“If we survive this, Snips, we will have a serious conversation.”

Ahsoka frowns. She absolutely does not like the new nickname, but it is too late to argue, and there is no time for it. She must protect the new Master while he does something reckless, keep an eye on Stinky and ensure that the first day as a Padawan does not become the last. And besides, wasn’t she the first one who awarded her Master with a new nickname?

“Hey, Snips!” “Hey, Skyguy!”

An endless battles, training and rare hours of respite. But Ahsoka is happy. For the first time she is not being held accountable for the fact that she is not like the rest of the Padawans. Nobody looks at her disapprovingly, if she allow herself to be herself. Anakin is the same. She realizes this pretty quickly, watching him in the temple. Probably, the Council expected to moderate his ardor when she was assighned to him... Well, the Council was wrong. A more chaotic duo could not be found in the whole galaxy.

“Snips!” “Master!”

Ahsoka feels that Anakin become overprotective more and more. He tries to shield her from dangerous missions. Unsuccessfully of course. But Ahsoka knows that he will try again when he feels that the mission may be too dangerous. Mortis has changed a lot.

“Ahsoka ...” “Master...”

Ahsoka feels so alone and betrayed for the first time in her life. The Council, which was supposed to protect, turned away from her in a moment of need. She was persecuted as if the criminal were those whom she had recently called friends. Anakin believed in her, but not the rest of them. There was no apology, there were only words about the possibilities of the Force... Does this need to be said to a falsely accused person?

Ahsoka cannot and does not want to lie to herself. She leaves, trying with all her might not to turn around. She knows how much it hurts him. But can she stay after everything that happened? Time. She needs time to collect herself in pieces anew and to understand who she really is.

“Hello Master. It’s been a while.” “Ahsoka!”

Ahsoka is not sure she is ready to return. She is not sure that she found all answers she was looking for after leaving the Order. She got confused and angry at this whole situation. The Jedi should not turn away from those who need their help. She is tired of the Jedi playing politics, she is tired of being a soldier. She is tired of the war.

“Master Kenobi always says there is no such thing as luck.” “It's good that I taught you otherwise.”

She is overwhelmed with emotions. She wants to tell him so much: that he is dear to her, that she may be back someday. But there is no time. They both know that they are not saying goodbye. They will meet as soon as Ahsoka returns to Coruscant. She didn’t know that she was seeing Anakin for the last time...

“Anakin!”

She feels something terrible has happened to him. But there is absolutely no time to think about it. Order 66 divides her life into before and after, leaving behind only pain and regrets. She no longer feels Anakin.

When she senses him years later, she is horrified. The man who scared the whole galaxy with his name could not be Anakin. She could not believe it. What could happen that day to turn him into a monster?

“Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka turns around, not believing her ears. This is Anakin. The same Anakin, whom she knew and jokingly called Skyguy. The master, whose death she mourned for many years. He was alive. Somewhere deep in those terrible black armor, her mentor's heart still beat. But this impression is fleeting. There is Darth Vader agan, a man who would not stop at nothing to achieve his goal. But ... Why didn’t he fight in full force? Why didn’t he kill her when he had so many opportunities? Ahsoka wants to believe. Ahsoka can't give up so easily.

***

For the first time in many years she feels it again. It was Anakin. Their connection was restored again. His light flashed brightly, so that after a couple of moments it would die out forever.

No one's ever really gone. Obi-Wan and Master Yoda have proven this. Ahsoka knows that he will come. When she feels the slight vibrations of the Force next to her, she knows what she will see when she turns around.

"Ahsoka?"

She turns around. Anakin has not changed at all since their last meeting aboard the Resolute. He’s still young and young, as if his age hadn’t touched him at all.

“You... haven't changed at all.”

Anakin smiles awkwardly.

"And you grew up a real beauty, Snips."

The nickname flies from his lips a little uncertainly. As if he was afraid that she would not want to talk to him.

“Despite all the efforts of Darth Sidious, I'm still here.”

She involuntarily recalls the order of sixty-six and what happened in the world between worlds. If Anakin had not been her mentor, she would not have make it. A smile disappears from his face, giving way to pain and regret.

"I'm so sorry. I will understand if you no longer want to see me and talk to me. I have done many terrible things. Too many people died because of me ... All that I was thinking then was Padme and my child, and I did not think at all about the consequences. I was hoping to save her, but in the end I became the cause of her death ..."

Anakin trails off for a few moments and looks up at Ahsoka.

“I let Palpatine kill Master Windu and ... there was no turning back for me.” I saw the wreckage of the ship on that snowy moon ... I did not want everything to turn around like that. You, Rex and the guys were dear to me, and to lose you like that ...” “Enough.”

Ahsoka closes his eyes, trying to ward off painful memories. After all these years, it’s still hard to remember that tragedy. Yes, probably, partly Anakin was guilty of what happened. But she was no less guilty. It was she who liberated Maul, and he destroyed not only their ship, but also destroyed many innocent lives after that.

“No need to say anything about that moon and the wreckage. I do not want to remember this. "

She sighs. The thought that she could do more to save him did not give her rest all these years.

"It was my fault... I freed Maul to distract clones, but... I did not think about the consequences and... If you want to apologize for these wreckage, then you must apologize for this to Rex. He went through a lot of worse than me. These were his brothers..."

They were silent for a while.

“To be honest, I also need to apologize to you. For leaving you when you needed me the most. If I told Master Yoda that Maul told me about Sidious... Maybe it would have been completely different. I wanted to return to the Order after Master Kenobi defeated Grievous and the war finally ended. I hoped that we would have more time, and I could tell you everything that I did not say then at Resolute."

Anakin hesitantly approaches her and does what Ahsoka wanted to do for a long time. He hugs her so tightly, as if he were not dying at all. It was as if they were back in the days when the Republic and the Jedi Order existed, and they themselves were a Master and a Padawan. Ahsoka no longer holds back tears, hugging him.

“Forgive me, I let you down as a Master and made you go through hell,” he whispers. “I forgive you, Skyguy. If you were not my Master, I would have died on the day that order 66 came. I survived thanks to all that you taught me. All these years, I regretted that we could not say goodbye. I am glad that we now have this opportunity."

Anakin lets her go and shakes her head.

“You need to thank Luke. He believed in me, no matter what ... I could not let Sidious kill him. He is all that is left of Padmé and the best that is left of me. There is Leia, but ... I don’t think she can ever forgive me for everything that she had to endure through my fault."

Ahsoka put a hand on his shoulder.

“She just needs more time.” Let her get used to the idea of who her real father is." “Thank you, Snips.” He sent her a grateful smile. “You, Leia and Luke are the best that I left behind.” "Not only this. You left behind something no less important. You defeated the emperor and restored the balance of the Force. This is much more than any of us could do."

They did not notice how Obi-Wan appeared. He smiles into his beard and puts his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

“Thank you, Master, but could you stop talking about balance? It seems to me that my children and Ahsoka are much more important than that! “Anakin...”

Ahsoka can't help laughing. For a moment, she returned to the good old days, when Anakin and Obi-Wan argued about something, competing in wit and sarcasm. But the impression quickly passes, leaving a place of bitterness. They are both dead and this is probably the last time she sees them.

“It's a pity that we have to say goodbye after such a short meeting,” Ahsoka finally voiced her thoughts.

Obi-Wan smiles at her, touching her shoulder.

“You can always find us by trusting in the Force. No one ever leaves forever.

“I will always be there if you need to, Snips,” Anakin nods.

They disappear, leaving her alone. Ahsoka closes his eyes and listens to the Force. Peace and tranquility. This is exactly what Obi-Wan was talking about. Balance. Anakin’s sacrifice was not in vain. Now everything should work out.

“I will look after Leah and Luke for your sake, Master. I promise. "

[gffa]

You know how some fandoms just keep piling on the fic, so you’re like, “I’ll just wait one more day, so I can read a few more and include them on the list!” and then two weeks later it’s still happening and you finally have to go, “NO, I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT THIS NOW, NOT IN ANOTHER MONTH.” and yet people still keep posting fic? That’s me yelling at STAR WARS fandom about how much wonderful fic there is and that I cannot keep up with it and it’s the best problem to have! Because, oh, this collection has some incredible fic, so many of them that I want to shove right at people and yell at them to read this amazing thing, and how brilliant this fandom is. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Legacy by myrlendi (thehistorygeek), luke & leia & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & cast, time travel, 105k wip    Three months after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker goes in search of a rumoured Jedi temple in a secluded part of the Mid Rim. He finds within the temple nothing but a strange artifact, which unexpectedly brings him much closer to the Jedi of old than he ever thought he would be. ✦ Let’s Try This Again by Nny11, obi-wan & ahsoka & anakin & cast, time travel, 33.5k wip    Anakin’s life is shaken up when he finds a small togrutan toddler hiding in a dingy alleyway, after all, she did create a Force bond with him and is apparently his future Padawan. Wizard! PREQUELS RECS: ✦ A Constituency of One by victoria_p (musesfool), padme & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.7k    Padmé is the one who figures it out. ✦ And the Void Answered Back by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan & anakin & rey & finn & poe & ben & yoda & maz & han & cast, force ghosts, 84.9k wip    (Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events of The Force Awakens) ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & cody & bail & palpatine & cast, 22.1k wip    By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ Dooku Deserves a Break by nny11, dooku & qui-gon & yoda & obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke & cast, 1k    Master, it’s time now. The voice was faint and familiar, and it burned. It’s soothing sound eating away at everything. Pain, pain, pain- It went ignored. ✦ The Past Remains by otherhawk, obi-wan & anakin & cody & mace & plo & adi & depa & cast, 15.6k    The war drags on leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. After a bereaved Master is accused of harming his padawan, Obi-Wan is sent to talk to her, dredging up memories of his own past. ✦ Not the same fate as mine by liv_k, obi-wan & anakin, 2.6k    Excerpts from the journal of a newly minted Jedi Knight. ✦ perfect in so many ways by victoria_p (musesfool), padme/sabe, nsfw, 1k    Padmé knows she’s been selfish. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, obi-wan & bant, 1k    When Bant steps into Obi-Wan’s room in the Halls, it’s like a balm to his nerves. She’s one of his oldest friends, and her familiar presence is so very soothing. He really has missed her, they see each other too rarely these days, what with the war. ✦ Villain of a Different Story by HiNerdsItsCat (HiLarpItsCat), obi-wan/satine & anakin & cast, 73.2k wip    It turns out that there are some perks to being the Chosen One: Anakin finds himself transported five years into the past—only to discover that it isn’t his past, but a completely different one. One where Obi-Wan Kenobi left the Jedi Order, where Qui-Gon Jinn survived… and where Anakin Skywalker is the galaxy’s greatest villain. ✦ Accidental Baby Acquisition: The Obi-Wan Kenobi Way by kitkatkaylie, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 8.5k wip    Shmi Skywalker was desperate, so when she saw a Jedi in the marketplace of Mos Espa she did something that many would judge her for if they knew but just as many would understand. ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k    New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he’ll make some friends along the way. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, mace & cast, 1.2k    “News, I have, from the investigation into the altered mission reports from the Senate.” ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, anakin & ahsoka & background obi-wan & cast, 2.4k    The past and the present blurs together, Anakin can hardly breathe through it. Too many thoughts crowd inside his head and the more he tries to sort himself out, the more of the past he remembers and the more fears for the future it brings up. ✦ Passing by Nny11, ahsoka/barriss & luminara & anakin, modern au, 18.3k    Barriss claims she’s dating Ahsoka, Ahsoka agrees to go along with it, and both of them spend the next 6 months worrying the other will discover their crush on the other. Nobody is really surprised about this fact besides them. ✦ Jedi of Light by Sannah, obi-wan/anakin/padme & mace & yoda & plo & even & jocasta & cast, 9.4k wip    Out of irritation with the war and with permission from the Council, several talk show hosts create a show that airs weekly about the Jedi. They name the show *Jedi of Light,* and go around following Jedi and asking them questions. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ And yet, somehow, a happier ending by liv_k, obi-wan/anakin (pre-slash?), ~1k    He had always known that there would be no happy ending waiting for them at the end of the road. And yet, somehow, he felt that this was happier than what could have been. ✦ The Missing Part by Nightstar269, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & palpatine, NSFW, modern au (of sorts), 109.3k wip    Anakin Skywalker, a student of mechanical engineering, has always felt that his life was lacking something, a feeling that was made much worse with the deaths of his mother first, and of the woman he loved some time later. Still haunted by the pain and heartbreak, he tries to go on with his life as well as he can. When an initiative of the director of the university has the students attending the classes of another degree so as to enrich their knowledge, he will meet someone that will turn his world upside down. ✦ my push and my shove by victoria_p (musesfool), obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, crossdressing, d/s, 1.8k    There wasn’t much Anakin wouldn’t do to make Padmé and Obi-Wan happy. ✦ Collar by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 9.4k    “You have to be sure, Anakin. Once we’re in, we’re in.” “I think I can handle being your sub, Obi-Wan.“ ✦ Shaak Herding for the Troubled and Lonely by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt), obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme & ahsoka & plo & cast, au, 34.3k wip    Disgraced Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was content to live out the rest of his life as a hermit until the Prime Minister appeared at his door, begging him to attend the Skywalker clan’s annual party. ✦ Solstice by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, 8.9k wip    After the events of Equinox, Obi-Wan and Anakin find themselves back at war with enemies both seen and unseen. ✦ Home by little_tales, obi-wan/anakin & qui-gon & shmi & cast, time travel, 6.4k wip    Time travel fix-it story with a bit of a twist. After his death, Obi-Wan wakes up on Tatooine, in the body of his padawan self. But instead of trying to prevent Anakin from Falling, he decides to change the future by stopping Qui-Gon from ever meeting the little Ani. ✦ Tidbits by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, ~1k    Things go a little bit differently when Anakin sees Obi-Wan off on his mission to Utapau. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, nsfw, 1.6k    (The easiest way to kill someone? You just need to kill what they love the most.) ✦ 36 Questions by kenobiapologist, obi-wan/anakin + background anakin/padme + implied obi-wan/anakin/padme, 30.7k    In a study by psychologist Arthur Aron, they found that strangers would fall in love when asked to answer 36 questions together. ✦ Let’s Be Wrong Together by bluebell26, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 3.1k    Anakin Skywalker had a dark secret. He’s been in love with his Master for several years now. He is attached. Yes, attached. It was bad, he shouldn’t, but what his former Master didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. ✦ Untouchable by Blu3sc0rpion, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, non-con issues/themes, 64k wip    A mission on Kraysiss-Two takes a turn for the worse. Ancient Sith designs work against both Obi-wan and Anakin as they desperately try to find a way off world. In the throes of confusion their relationship begins to spiral. They might be able to escape, but can they ever truly be rescued? ✦ Seed by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin + anakin/padme, NSFW, 44k    When Anakin falls prey to a lethal poison, Obi-Wan has no choice but use all his resources to heal him– no matter how reluctant he is in administering the antidote. ✦ Miasma by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin & cody & rex & & kix & cast, dark themes, 20.6k    Obi-Wan never believed his best friend and lover Anakin would die first. But he has. ✦ [iasip music] Anakin Explains to His Darkest Timeline Son That He’s Gay by destiny919, obi-wan/anakin & luke & ahsoka & cast, 2.2k    "Ah, Padawan,” said Qui-Gon. “The crux of the matter lies in that our world is prey to the spectre of compulsory heterosexuality.” Obi-Wan gasped, horrified. “No! Not that!” ✦ Swear On It by dirkygoodness, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s undertones, 6.5k    He squeezes his eyes shut tight against it and holds his breath for a moment, trying to get himself under control. Tonight it doesn’t seem to be working, though, because the images of people he knows and loves hurt and bloody and dead just won’t get out of his mind. ✦ Unexpected by planetary_retrograde, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 2.1k    Obi-Wan’s first instinct when Anakin is hiding something is to help. ✦ Hidden Treasures by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, 3.9k    Ben Kenobi doesn’t look like the type to have tattoos, and Anakin badly wants to see his hidden ink. ✦ He Is the Chosen One by wearethewitches, obi-wan/anakin & cast, fem!anakin, 17.8k    Darth Vader dies. Then, Anakin Skywalker wakes in the body of a dead slave woman in 31 BBY, a year before the Occupation of Naboo. ORIGINAL TRILOGY RECS: ✦ Maker by ambiguously, luke & r2-d2 & c-3po, 1.8k    Threepio’s processor has an error. Luke and Artoo have to figure out why. ✦ does it bother anyone else that someone else has your name? by suzukiblu, multiple pairings across all of star wars, soulmate marks, 2.9k    Drabble series about various soulmates in the Star Wars universe. ✦ brittle, break by glorious_clio, leia & luke & han & chewbacca & rieekan & cast, 8.2k    They’re not on Hoth very long, but Leia stands still long enough for it to leave an impression on her. A very cold sort of impression. ✦ sand into glass by glorious_clio, luke & cliegg & owen & beru, 2.2k    AU where Cliegg is around for Luke’s arrival at the Lars homestead. Luke has a lot to learn from his grandfather. REBELS RECS: ✦ The Starry Crown by bedlamsbard, ezra & kanan & sabine & zeb & chopper & cast, 8.8k wip    Months after Ezra Bridger vanished into the depths of the mysterious Jedi temple on Lothal, he reappears – with Kanan Jarrus in tow. All Hera Syndulla and the other surviving members of the Ghost crew want is to retrieve their missing teammates, but a Jedi who can raise the dead is a prize too great for the Empire to pass up. Palpatine will do anything to get Ezra and the secrets he carries – secrets that may allow the Emperor to control reality itself. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[onlymollygibson]

Trying to Appease Every Single Fan  Backfired Spectacularly: An Analysis of The Rise of Skywalker

Up until The Rise of Skywalker, every Star Wars movie made has added new levels of depth, complexity and fun to the Star Wars canon and enhanced the viewing of previous movies.  The Rise of Skywalker did the opposite, by disrespecting or invalidating key themes and plot elements from previous movies.  (Spoilers below the cut)

Bringing Palpatine Back:

Not only is this a complete invalidation of Vader’s sacrifice in RotJ, but it completely undoes the interesting set-up at the end of TLJ:

What does Kylo Ren (a Darth Vader analog) do after killing his master and not turning to the light?

Can he hold onto power or does someone like Hux usurp him?

Both the Resistance and the First Order have been weakened considerably by the end of TLJ.  How does this play out in the complicated field of intergalactic politics?

These questions will never be answered because Abrams apparently didn’t know what to do without a Big Bad.

Since a redemption arc for Kylo Ren was obviously in the plans, it makes absolutely no sense to have him kill his evil master in TLJ and then go back and have to face his *real* evil master in TRoS.  

If you want to make a satisfying redemption arc in just three movies, you can’t afford to re-tread the same ground twice.  The next step after killing Snoke should have been Kylo Ren ruling as Supreme Leader, without Snoke’s voice in his head, and still feeling empty.  Think Zuko in Season 3 of AtLA, when he goes back to the Fire Nation a hero.  He had everything he thought he wanted, but he realized his victory was hollow and he was on the wrong side all along.  Now that’s a satisfying redemption arc. 

Rey Palpatine

Not only did Rian Johnson have Kylo Ren explicitly state Rey has no place in this story, but she had a freaking force vision telling her basically the same thing. The force vision in TLJ (and arguably a key theme of the movie as well) is rendered meaningless by the Rey Palpatine reveal in TRoS.

Also, we’ve done the whole ‘protagonist finds out they’re descended from the villain’ before, with the whole Luke - Vader reveal.  

You mean to tell me the grandson of Darth Vader died to save the granddaughter of Palpatine?  Seriously?

Kylo Ren dies

The following people died in an attempt to return Ben Solo to the light.

Han Solo

Luke Skywalker

Leia Organa

They succeeded, but only for ten minutes, because the Last Skywalker rose (or climbed out of a hole or whatever - seriously THAT was the title of the movie) and then died two minutes later.

Not to mention they’re telling the same story twice.  Again!  And just like with the Rey Palpatine nonsense, they told it better the first time. Darth Vader - manipulated from childhood by a creepy evil dude.  Dies.  His grandson - manipulated from childhood by a creepy evil dude.  Dies.  Recycling old plots is not good storytelling.

Furthermore, the story of Darth Vader becomes much more tragic if his death to save the next generation didn’t really save them, since his grandson became obsessed with his legacy, repeated his mistakes and ended the same way Vader did -with death ten minutes after he turned back to the light.  Only KR didn’t even have another generation to save. 

Lando Calrissian rallies the troops

Remember how emotional it was when no one was around to help Leia in TLJ?  It turns out all she needed last time was Lando Calrissian and a space boom box or whatever he did to get that many people to show up in no time at all.  I mean, I know it was because he went to the Core Worlds, but thematically, you’ve got Lando Calrissian succeeding where Princess Leia failed and it doesn’t sit right with me.

Force Healing

Remember Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the Dark Side to save Padme and stayed on the Dark Side for like thirty years afterwards?  Well he’s in Force heaven watching the scene where Rey heals Kylo Ren with absolute disgust.  “Seriously?  It was that easy?  That would have been nice to know before I threw Mace Windu off a building.”

A particularly egregious way in which TRoS disrespected previous movies was the method in which this movie raised the stakes. 

Remember how absolutely terrified the Rebels were of the Death Star in Rogue One.  Remember that achingly beautiful bittersweet ending?  Well now forty-ish years later, they’re still fighting that same fight, to the point that it’s become a joke.  The bad guys make a planet killer.  The good guys blow it up.  How have we had five out of eleven movies with this same plot?  Every time you tell the same story AGAIN, it cheapens the other times the story has been told. It’s like inflation.

Seriously?  The final battle of the nine-movie saga involves fighting like five hundred Star Destroyers that came out of nowhere with giant Death Star canons strapped on the bottom?

I mean yes, the idea is horrifying, but imagine the directors of Nightmare on Elm Street saying, “Freddie Krueger was terrifying and people loved the movie.  For the sequel, let's have a hundred Freddie Kruegers running around.”  It works with snakes and spiders, but not super creepy people or powerful weapons. 

This is especially true because the Sith Fleet was basically pulled out of thin air, which makes the whole thing feel like Diabolus ex Machina.

It’s made doubly ridiculous because they’re not only absurdly powerful, they’re also easy to destroy.  I mean, seriously, Tie Fighters are harder to blow up than those things.  A single strafing run from a Y-wing and the whole dang Star Destroyer is toast.  This means you don’t really need any battle tactics beyond ‘shoot the giant gun,’ which makes for a really boring action sequence.  Star Wars is famous for its dogfights in space.  I mean, yeah, the tactics are not actually plausible because zero gravity changes warfare in ways they don’t address, but it’s fine because of the Rule of Cool.  

As for the characters and relationships, it’s kind of a trainwreck and nobody is really happy.

Tons of fans are unhappy because Kylo Ren and Rey kissed

Many were opposed to the idea of a villain turning good because he was in love with the hero and that’s exactly what happened in this movie

Others were unhappy because they saw KR as an unredeemable monster and yet he had a (small, not very well executed) redemption arc.  

He never suffered for his past actions or even really talked about them, yet he and the protagonist are in love, so it’s fine.

The fans who wanted a Kylo Ren/Rey relationship were unhappy because of how the relationship played out

The redemption arc wasn’t all that great.  

The whole Rey Palpatine thing means that KR lied to Rey when he asked her to join him in TLJ.  That line was cringey enough when it was true, and now that it's a lie, it’s twice as bad.

They’re a diad in the Force and now one of them is dead?  How is that a happy ending?

A major theme of the sequels was Rey finding belonging and someone who understand her.  KR was sold as a dual protagonist, someone who understands her.  They were on the same side for ten minutes and then he died and Rey doesn’t cry, instead she goes sand sledding and takes the Skywalker name.  Seriously, how is this a ‘satisfying’ ending?

And a few minor things

Why does Rose only get like four lines?  

General Hux had like two minutes of screen time.  For a fan-favorite villain, his ending was disappointing.  He really owned his two minutes, though.  But think, without the Palpatine nonsense, there could have been more time to examine the discord in the ranks of the First Order higher-ups, with some focus on the lack of respect the original Imperials have for the new generation of First Order commanders.  When you raise the stakes with a larger-than-life villain (especially one who was supposed to have died), you run the risk of losing the far more interesting stories revolving around villains who are far more human, both in their powers and in their emotions and desires. 

Did anyone have character growth in this movie?  Because to me it seemed like they were so busy with shots of CGI copy-pasted Star Destroyers in a row, that they didn’t leave time for personal growth or emotional payoff.

Early reviews said The Rise of Skywalker checked all the boxes for a Star Wars movie, but forgot about the heart.  Now that I finally dragged myself to the theater to see for myself, I can’t help but agree. 

[atamascolily]

The cover of Junior Jedi Knights #5: Vader's Fortress by Rebecca Moesta features Anakin and Artoo dodging blaster fire while Tahiri does a bad-ass leap and Darth Vader looms in the background. So I guess this next field trip is to wherever the hell Vader's fortress is located... and given that this book was published in 1997, I'm pretty sure it isn't Mustafar.

Readers, I squealed with delight when I realized they were actually going to Bast Castle on Vjun.

[cut for length and discussion of Dark Empire]

Vjun's first appearance was in Dark Empire, but it's the main setting for Sean Stewart's Clone War-era novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), which happens to be one of the best Legends books ever. Period. Drop everything and go read it now. Stewart's Vjun is a Dark side Gothic horror wonderland full of crumbling castles, crazed nobility, and flesh-eating moss. I love it, and you will, too.

Vjun also appears in various video games, with no less than Kyle Katarn describing it as "a big, dead, important rock". High praise, indeed.

Oh, and if you're curious, Wookiepeedia says Vjun is "pronounced as "VAH-JUHN" in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, but in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, it is pronounced as "VUHN"".... so anything goes, really.

Anyway, so having dealt with his heritage by going to Dagobah in the last book, the logical next step is for Anakin to actually go and visit Vader's castle in person. You know, exposure therapy. Right?

Okay, let's see what the text says.

Anakin, Tahiri and Uldir are hanging out on the landing pad on Yavin IV waiting for Tionne to show up. Tahiri loves Tionne so much, she doesn't mind waiting around, and she wishes she could have gone with Tionne on this latest trip to Borgo Prime and I just... I love their relationship, okay?

Tionne has a new ship - the Lore Seeker! Anakin uses the Force to determine it's in great shape despite its odd appearance. (It has sails to harness solar wind, lol!)

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” the Jedi instructor said with a smile. “I thought so, too. But because the ship was so old, I was able to buy it from a Randoni trader for a song.”

“How much did you really pay?” Uldir asked.

Tionne shrugged.

“Just a song. Really. While I was looking for Jedi legends, I came across an ancient song that told about the very firstRan - doni merchants and the vaults where they hid their wealth. The trader was so interested that she offered me the Lore Seeker in exchange for the song. Now come help me unload my cargo, and I’ll show you some of my other treasures.”

DID I MENTION I LOVE HER???

Also, Tionne got some other stuff, too:

“You may carry this Twi’lek story-chain, Tahiri-each link tells a different part of a story. Please be very careful with it. Uldir, here is a holodisk. It holds a recording of some very old Jedi songs. Anakin, would you please carry this scroll? I’ll take the tapestry.”’

AHHHHHH, I LOVE THIS.

But Tionne found out something else important "in an old fortress on a planet called Vjun" and this is where I started SCREAMING because I know exactly where this is going and this is such a great set-up - especially since none of the kids have a clue.

Of course, they want to go, and Tionne's trying to be diplomatic about it.

“Does anyone live in the fortress?” Anakin asked.

Tionne shook her head.

“Not anymore.”

“Well, if it’s really that important, don’t you think you ought to go find it?” Tahiri said. “And don’t forget that you promised to take me with you this time.”

“I’d like to go along, too,” Anakin added.

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” Uldir said.

Tionne frowned.

“I’m not sure Master Skywalker will approve. It could be a bit dangerous."

LOLOLOLOL, since when has that ever stopped anybody in this series?? But according to Tionne, the danger isn't Sith ghosts or anything like that - it's other people trying to snag a certain treasure first.

And what is this special object? the kids want to know.

Tionne’s face lit with a wondering smile, and she gave a happy sigh.

“It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber!”

ITS A MACGUFFIN! Also, given all of Vader’s issues with Obi-wan, the fact that he kept his old master’s lightsaber in his hidden Gothic Drama Castle is... something. But I digress.

Cut to Luke, being Luke.

Luke Skywalker, dressed in a comfortable black flightsuit, sat on the stone floor in the room where he meditated and did his office work. At the moment, though, Luke was not meditating. Before him in the center of the room stood his barrel-shaped blue and white droid, ArtooDetoo. It was time for Artoo’s routine cleaning. Anakin’s older sister Jaina often helped Luke with this chore, but the Jedi Master didn’t mind doing it himself. He actually found it relaxing. With his tools neatly laid out on the floor and fresh packets of lubricant beside him, Master Skywalker opened ArtooDetoo’s front panels and got to work.

After checking the droid’s numerous electrical connections, Luke added a few gadgets and upgrades Jaina had scrounged up for Artoo: a retractable mirror attachment, a power booster for the comm unit, and a new focusing lens for the hologram projector.

I'm sure NONE of these upgrades will come in handy later on in the book. Nope. Nope. Nope. Move along, nothing to see here, just a boy and his bro-bot.

Ikrit is hanging out on top of Artoo's head during all of this, when there's a knock at the door. Luke asks him to open the door and Ikrit DOES and I don't know why I find this so adorable, but I totally do. More of this, please.

Luke looked up from the packet of slippery lubricant he held in his hand, then smiled when he saw who his visitors were.

“Come in,” he said, “all of you.”

His words seemed to open an invisible dam, because people and noises instantly flooded into his quiet room. Luke laughed as everyone tried to talk to him at once.

“Master Skywalker, I have wonderful news,” Tionne said. “You’ll never guess in a million years,” Tahiri added.

“Can I go with them?” Anakin asked.

“Yeah, me too!” Uldir said.

News of Obi-wan's lightsaber makes Luke have all kinds of Feels (and a handy flashback for those who have forgotten the movies). Luke's like, Oh, yeah, Bast Castle, I've been there before back in Dark Empire when things got weird, and Anakin FREAKS OUT. Tionne's like, huh, maybe that's why my contact said only family had a right to claim the lightsaber then.

Tionne wants Luke to come with her, but Luke is meeting with Leia for pressing NR business, so Anakin volunteers to go as the family rep. I love that Luke looks at Ikrit first, and only says okay when Ikrit nods. Of course Uldir wants to come too, and Luke is about to say no, but Tionne's like "he's just going to stow away, so you might as well and the cargo hold on my ship is too small for him plus our stuff" so Luke caves. DID I MENTION HE'S A SOFTIE?? And with Artoo and Ikrit to help, Luke feels good about it, but again, he insists on the parental permission first.

[Oh, no, I just realized that Luke might not want to go back to Vjun after all the traumatic shit that went down in Dark Empire, and that's ALSO horrifying to contemplate. Like, it's not dangerous anymore, so he's okay with sending Anakin there with supervision, but he might not be eager to re-visit it? MY HEART.]

We skip that scene, though, and jump immediately to everyone in the Lore Seeker, and Tionne teaches them about lightsabers. Nomi Sunrider is namedropped (queen!) but overall lightsabers are reified, and I don't know how I feel about that tbh, even though they are admittedly SUPER COOL LASER SWORDS BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

Fortunately, Ikrit's there to say "Not All Jedi," since I am not, which catches Tionne off guard, since she didn't know he was a Jedi master. Tionne is apologetic about treating Ikrit like a pet, but Uldir continues to be a jerk, especially when Ikrit starts sharing his own personal trauma. And then Ikrit declaims about Anakin and Tahiri's powers, but graciously includes Uldir once Uldir pokes him about it.

The skies of Vjun are stormy, so it's a bumpy ride down. They land outside the castle instead of on the landing pad at the top because the weather is so awful. Anakin did his homework, and explains the situation (Dark Empire recap!):

“Did Uncle Luke tell you anything about the fortress itself?” Anakin asked.

“I don’t know much about it.”

“Well, I found out as much as I could before we left. Apparently Vader built Bast Castle as one of his private strongholds; he was a powerful man. After both he and Emperor Palpatine died, some of the Emperor’s followers brought a copy of Palpatine’s body here-a clone. This second Emperor was defeated too. Since then, the fortress has been abandoned, as far as we know.”

“I still don’t get it,” Uldir said to Anakin. “Why would your grandfather choose to build in such a desolate place?”

Oh, you sweet summer child.

They spy another shuttle, and Tahiri is forced to wear shoes again so they can climb up in the rain. It's basically the Stairs of Minas Morgul from LOTR, only the rain is turning to sleet. Artoo hates stairs and Ikrit rescues him when he falls off - but he can hack the door open, so that's good. The hall has a giant, larger-than-life statue of Darth Vader toppled over on the floor, because... drama.

Then the laser fire starts, and everybody ducks for cover. Artoo uses his newly-installed reviewed mirror to deflect the laster bolts, so they can disarm the automatic security system. Tionne steps in with her lightsaber when Artoo gets shot, and she and Ikrit start tossing random objects to block them while the kids race for the control panels and it's epic. The statue explodes and Artoo manages to hack the system right before he powers down.

Uldir clapped one hand down on Anakin’s shoulder. “Not half bad for a kid,” he said.

Quiet, you condescending fuck. Yes, I know, he's like 14, but he's still obnoxious as hell here.

Anyway, they repair Artoo, except he can't climb any more stairs (I'm so confused how he did it earlier, but okay), and they debate whether to split the party. The smart answer is always "No," but they eventually do anyway, because plot. Tahiri's just happy not to wear shoes. You'll be happy to know that the bathrooms still work. This whole thing feels like an RPG dungeon crawl and I'm HERE FOR IT.

Tahiri notices the floor's texture shifts and that turns out to be a clue and I LOVE THIS. There's a secret pit trap full of spkes, and then suddenly they're attacked by monsters. But eventually, the others find them and deduce that they're holograms. Anakin IDs himself to a door and it opens into a secret chamber... and then this happens:

At the same moment, a puff of smoke erupted in the doorway, and a dark-haired man with a neat beard, tawny eyes, and a deep purple cloak stood before them. The man threw back his head and laughed, although Anakin couldn’t see what was so funny.

“The powerful Mage of Exis Station thanks you,” he said. “I would never have found the lightsaber without your help.” He snatched the weapon from Tionne’s hand. “But I’ll take it now.”

Tahiri starts pestering this guy with questions and he is startled enough to admit he's the Mighty Orloc. Tahiri realizes he's a stage magician, but even so, he manages to open a trapdoor, sending Tionne and Ikrit elsewhere. The kids rush him, but there's smoke and when it clears, Orloc has vanished.

Ikrit and Tionne are fine, and they start looking to rejoin the kids, who are searching for them and/or Orloc. Artoo and Uldir take a tunnel while Tahiri and Anakin go up stairs. Everyone keeps tossing the stale Imperial ration bars they picked up earlier to test for traps, and the RP gamer  in me approves.

“What’s this?” Tahiri asked, pointing to a raised platform that held a huge tube made of black plasteel. Wires and hoses snaked out from the cylinder in all directions. She ran a hand along its smooth side and found some sort of control panel.

“This looks like the tubes they use to bury dead people in space,” Anakin said.

It's actually Vader's bedroom! They find a little hidden hologram of a young Luke and I just... can't even...

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The little hologram of a young Luke Skywalker turned in a slow circle, so that they could see it from every angle.

...Anakin felt a lump form in his throat. “My mom keeps holograms of me and Jacen and Jaina on her desk at work, and Dad has one of me and the twins in the Millennium Falcon. I think Darth Vader was just doing the same thing.”

“So maybe he wasn’t all bad,” Tahiri said in a soft voice.

Anakin starts to feel better about coming to Bast Castle, which is good, because he has Deep-Seated Issues that need to be resolved.

Meanwhile, Uldir sees the lightsaber as a magical talisman that will help him become a Jedi. He abandons Artoo and confronts Orloc, who draws the blade on him. Orloc offers to teach Uldir his powers if he'll come with him. Orloc's looking for the Holocron in Vader's private quarters, and Uldir is tempted, but ultimately turns him down because he realizes Orloc is a fraud.

Anakin and Tahiri find Orloc and Uldir and Tahiri slides down a pole to confront him. Orloc attacks her with the lightsaber. Tionne and Ikrit show up, and Artoo uses a high-frequency blast to distract Orloc long enough for Ikrit to yank the lightsaber with the Force. Orloc disappears, and Uldir mentions the Holocron in Vader's private quarters. So Anakin and Tahiri take them back there.

Tionne's like, let's GTFO, but Uldir suggests they test it, which is a mistake, but Tionne agrees. OF COURSE Orloc comes back and snags it. They chase Orloc through the castle, and there's a lot of trap door shenanigans, but ultimately Artoo helps save the day and they get the holocron back, even though Orloc conveniently escapes.

(Maybe I've been watching too much Scooby-Doo, but I honestly expected Orloc to say "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your talking [lagomorph]!" ...maybe in the next book?)

Ikrit suggests they use the ships in the hangar to fly down to the Lore Seeker instead of walking. Anakin suggests Ikrit keeps the ship, since he seems to enjoy piloting, and I don't know how Ikrit is piloting this thing since he's a lagomorph, but it makes him happy, and they all make it back to Yavin in two ships without incident, which means it's time for the inspirational moral!

“It feels good to be back,” he said with a sigh. Tahiri giggled. “That was certainly more of an adventure than I had bargained for.”

Tionne looked at her two students.

“Are you sorry you came with me?”

Anakin shook his head.

“The trip was worth making. I learned some interesting things about Darth Vader.”

“I learned to trust the Force and not just my eyes and ears,” Tahiri said.

“And we did find a lightsaber and a Holocron,” Anakin said.

“And a new ship for Ikrit,” Tahiri added. “So I think we’re glad we came along, but it may be a while before we go looking for adventures again.”

HAHAHAHA, right, kids. You just keep thinking that.

Ikrit names his ship the Sunrider after Nomi Sunrider, because he, too, stans a legend. Anakin and Tahiri ask if they can take the turbolift up to the Great Temple when Luke starts walking up the outside stairs, and Luke has NO IDEA WHY THEY HATE STAIRS, and... on that note, the book ends, with Luke being VERY confused. [I like that Moesta remembers the Great Temple has outside stairs, but... THE LAYOUT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!]

So, I don't know how to feel about this book. PROS: I love the character details with Luke, Ikrit, Tionne and Tahiri, and I like how all of the adults continue to be responsible while still allowing opportunities for the children to be competent and show initiative. It's great to see Bast Castle, and the whole thing has the feel of a classic RPG dungeon crawl. Yay for Artoo saving the day ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, lol.

CONS: Uldir is annoying, and I wish he'd stop being such a jerk. None of the characters have ever played RPGs and it shows in their lack of genre-savvy. And I guess we'll see Orloc again in the next book, because... it feels like there wasn't much resolution of that particular plot in this book... no resolution to who Orloc actually is, or what or why. I feel like this book is part one of a two-episode plot, and I wasn't expecting that, but okay.

It's unclear if Obi-wan's lightsaber has any further plot significance or if it's just a macguffin. Ditto the holocron. But given the next book is Kenobi's Blade, I suspect Orloc's going to try and snag both, and Uldir is going to have a Not-So-Secret Test of Character about it. (To be fair, he passed the one in this book, so he's not all bad, but he's so obnoxious, it's challenging for me to give him credit where it's due.)

This book also kinda sorta falls into the "Jedi lightsaber fetish" trope, which I hate. Don't get me wrong, I love the laser swords and they are freaking awesome, but I hate how everybody latches onto "Jedi = laser sword" business as a symbol of identity. I know, I know, Star Wars is really ambivalent about whether the Jedi are Space!Samurai or Space!Monks, and I just... lean more towards the latter than the former, I guess?? But like I said, the lightsaber is more of a macguffin here, and Ikrit at least lampshades the issue a little bit, so I feel better about it.  

Also, it just occurred to me it's unclear whether Tahiri hates shoes, sand, or stairs more, lol.

[kalinara]

I know you love Lukey Lou, so I wanted to ask: Why did you like his character arc in TLJ? A lot of people, including myself and Mark Hamill, felt it was poorly written and out of character.

A lot of people who hate TLJ LOVE to pass around Mark Hamill’s extremely out of context quotes about his INITIAL reaction to learning about Luke’s arc.  When he discusses the final product, he is a lot less negative.

But even if he dislikes TLJ, that’s okay, that’s his business.  Death of the Author applies to everyone involved in the creative process, and it’s okay for fans and showrunners/writers/actors to see a character in a different way.

I think though that a lot of critics of Luke’s arc in TLJ miss that it’s just that.  An ARC.  Luke at the beginning of TLJ is not the same person as Luke at the end of TLJ.  He has his own despair and trauma to face.

Luke, in TLJ, doesn’t read all that different from Luke in Legends to me, fundamentally.  It’s just that they’ve faced different things.  There are points in Legends where Luke suffers despair and depression just like he does in TLJ, but there are also other factors going on.  Luke has his order, for one.  And the Yuzhan Vong war.  He has Mara, and Ben (Skywalker), and Jaina.  He has his students and everything else to help him keep from giving in to those emotions.

Luke in TLJ is from a continuity that doesn’t have these things.  He doesn’t have a wife and child.  He doesn’t have his Order.  And Luke has a more personal connection to Kylo’s fall than he had with Jacen’s in Legends.  By the time Jacen had fallen, he’d graduated Jedi training.  He had his own life and issues.  And Jacen never really retaliated (or was the unwitting tool of retaliation) against the Jedi Order itself.  

But as Luke sees it, he’s directly responsible for Kylo’s fall.  He blames himself.  I personally disagree with Luke’s assessment, and I think the Last Jedi does too.  Luke gave in to a moment of weakness and fear.  He had a vision that told him (correctly!) that Kylo was or would become a monster.  A lot of folk hate the idea that Luke would, for one instant, even consider killing his innocent nephew.  But I think they miss or ignore that a) Kylo was a grown adult, not a child, b) the Force vision WAS CORRECT: Kylo DID become a monster that would massacre (multiple!) villages, murder unarmed old men, and be a direct participant in child slavery and genocide, and the most important c) Luke STOPPED HIMSELF.

I don’t personally think it’s out of character for Luke to momentarily give into fear and despair.  If he had ACTUALLY killed Ben Solo, that’d be one thing.  But he didn’t.  He stopped himself.

It’s interesting though to parallel Luke’s reaction to those events with “Ben Solo’s” own, because as much as I’m skeptical of the comic book series’s retcon of Kylo’s responsibility for the destruction of the Jedi Temple.  I do like how it expressly puts Kylo and Luke in the same position.

Ben (a grown adult, I reiterate) wakes up to find his uncle standing over him with a lightsaber.  His uncle doesn’t actually strike, but it’s understandable that Ben lashes out at that moment.  He thinks he killed him.  He’s horrified.  And Palpatine acts.  The Temple is destroyed.

So when you think about it.  Ben and Luke are in EXACTLY the same position in the immediate aftermath of the Temple’s destruction.  As far as I know, neither one of them is aware of Palpatine’s direct role in events.  All both of them know is that they suddenly found themselves in positions causing great fear and anger, they lashed out in said fear and anger against someone that they loved, and as a result everything was destroyed.

Now both characters had the option of going back to Hosnian Prime.  Leia and Han love both characters.  They would have listened to their explanations as to what happened.  They would have been horrified and angry, but they would have forgiven them and focused more on what they could do to help fix things.

But both characters blame themselves for what happened.  And both characters believe that they’ve done something unforgivable.

What’s important though is what happens next.  Now me, personally, I don’t mind the comic retcon because to me, the destruction of the Jedi Temple was always the least of Kylo’s crimes.  It was awful, of course.  But there’s a difference between a sudden act of fear and rage (see also: Anakin’s destruction of the Tuskan village) and the kind of deliberately evil deeds that Kylo Ren does later.

Regardless of whether or not Kylo lashed out and brought down the temple at that moment, he DEFINITELY stood in the middle of Tuanil, looking out at the army he helped to enslave and brainwash, and ordered them to fire on disarmed, pacified civilians.  (If Finn, who was brainwashed and surrounded by commanding officers and comrades who could kill him in a heartbeat, could realize “no, I’m not doing this”, then Kylo, who was GIVING THE ORDER, could have stopped this as well.)

There’s a point where characters have to own their choices.  Even if Kylo didn’t feel like he could go home, he didn’t HAVE to join a organization that’s been enslaving children and planning genocide.  He didn’t HAVE to take part in the violence and murder.  He could have done what Luke did.

Luke went into exile.  And I see fans attack that choice as “cowardly” or “selfish”, but I disagree.  Yes, Luke could have chosen instead to go to Hosnian Prime.  He could have gone to Han and Leia and he didn’t.  He could have tried to hunt down Kylo.  He could have joined in the fight against the First Order.  He could have been a hero here, like he’d been before.  

But we’ve seen what happens when a very powerful man, prone to self-loathing and despair, decides to do the “selfless” thing and become a hero.  That’s the Clone Wars in a nutshell.  What if Anakin had, after Attack of the Clones, looked around and said “Oh my god.  I just lost my mother.  I just massacred a village.  I  can’t be a soldier right now!  I need to deal with the horrible thing I’ve just done!”

We might still have had the Fall of the Republic and Order #66 (Palpatine isn’t one to discard his whole plans), but we probably wouldn’t have had Darth Vader.

And Luke knows that.  He saw what his father became.  And if anything, Luke’s more powerful than Anakin ever was.  Look at what he did on Crait.  We’ve never seen anything like that.  Look at what he can do AS A FORCE GHOST.

Now imagine what THAT would be like on the Dark Side?

I don’t know if I believe that Luke was ever seriously in danger of going Dark Side.  He isn’t prone to externalizing anger and lashing out in the same way Anakin was.  (Leia, I think, might be in more danger of that, depending on circumstances.  But thankfully, Leia has always known how to focus her anger in constructive ways.  She gets that from Padme and Bail.)  But I believe that LUKE believes he was.  And that through his exile, Luke was trying to protect the galaxy.

And that’s the BEGINNING of his story in the Last Jedi.  Because Luke has his own arc there just like Rey and Kylo do.  Luke starts off the Last Jedi in a very bad place: full of despair and self-loathing.  He blames himself for what happened to Kylo.  He’s convinced himself that he had been wrong to try to bring back the Jedi.  (But even then, he’s still preserving the books.)

Folks compare his role to Obi-Wan on Tatooine and Yoda on Dagobah, and I think that’s fair, to an extent.  But there are differences.  Obi-Wan was never in exile.  He was on Tatooine for a purpose.  He ALWAYS meant to teach Luke about his father’s legacy and protect him and train him going forward.   He leaps at the call to go help Leia, and immediately uses that opportunity to sweep Luke along.   

Yoda’s a closer comparison, really.  Since his exile is really an exile.  (Though Rebels shows that he’s not completely inactive.)  But for all that Yoda eventually helps train Luke, his story pretty much ends there.  He doesn’t take an active role after that point.

Even as he trains Rey, Luke has to come to terms with his own very complicated emotions about Kylo Ren, his fall, and the loss of the Jedi Order.  He has to move past his self-loathing and accept that Kylo made his own choices, and that he’s made HIS own choices.  He realizes/remembers that the Jedi are more than just books/old knowledge, they’re people too.  And his “I am not the last Jedi” is a really important moment that a lot of people like to ignore.  (Especially those edgelords who love the idea that TLJ showed us why the Jedi shouldn’t exist, which seriously misses the point of the movie.)

Luke at the end of the movie is not the same person he was at the start.  He’s remembered who he is.  He faces his own failure, and the parts that aren’t his fault.  He reunites with his sister, gets her forgiveness, and goes out to face his nephew without hesitation or self-blame.  He dies, but in the process, he buys them the time they need to escape.  And well, as we’ve seen in Star Wars, becoming one with the Force is not always the end of the story.  :-)

So yes, I like Luke’s arc in the Last Jedi.  It’s hard to watch, because it’s not what I would have wanted for the character.  I don’t like the thought of Luke being unhappy and traumatized, and having lost everything.  But that’s not the end of the story.  Luke at the END of the Last Jedi is everything he was always supposed to be.  He just lost his way a little bit before that.  What matters is that he found his way back.

[intergalactic-nebula]

Till Kingdom Come

Chapter Thirteen

"Rey, darling, close your eyes. You can't find zen if you don't close your eyes."

"And what if I don't want 'zen'?"

"Everyone wants zen, everyone wants inner peace, even my kind. Obi-Wan did this constantly, trust me, it completely relaxes you."

"I'm never relaxed--"

"Think of an island," Satine cut her off and Rey huffed loudly. It was the next evening, and they were sitting on the living room floor on separate yoga mats, Satine sitting in a lotus position with her eyes closed on hers while Rey's eyes were darting around as she chewed on her lower lip on hers. "Stop chewing your lower lip, Rey, you'll make it bleed." Satine gently whacked her arm without even looking at her and Rey jumped instinctually. She wasn't scared of Satine, oh no, in fact, Satine was probably the only other vampire besides Luke that she trusted. They were both pacifists, only doing things they needed to do in dire and desperate measures, and completely and totally down to earth. Satine drank from donated blood bags. It was still human blood, not animal blood, but hey, it wasn't a living human she was sinking her fangs into.

"Think of an island," Satine repeated and Rey huffed once more before assuming the lotus position and closing her eyes. "Think of the gentle crashing of the waves and the warmth of the sand. Think of nature, of life, all around you, Rey." Satine hummed and Rey breathed shakily as she tried to focus. Island...island, island, beach, waves, blue--red. So much red. Too much red. Screaming. The sound of flesh being torn into and--

"Rey," Satine gently grabbed Rey's wrist and her eyes flew open, the brunette looking over at the blonde with a frightened expression.

"...There's something inside of me, Satine, and I've finally realized it's been there all along." Rey whispered in a horrified tone and Satine's expression softened.

"He didn't like his wolf either, dearest one. Much too violent for his liking, he only rarely ever let it out." Wolf. Wolf? Wolf.

"Wolf..." Rey murmured as she looked down and Satine frowned at her reaction.

"You don't ever have to transform Rey, Obi-Wan went years without transforming. He meditated, he found zen, and with zen he could focus more clearly and push it down. I'm going to help you push it down, alright? It must be frantic on the loose, especially when Ben is around you. It seems to have chosen him." Chosen--hang on.

"𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 him? No, no, no, I haven't 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 anything. He's the one that keeps igniting all these weird interactions--"

"Because he most certainly feels it too. I felt it with Obi-Wan, it was almost instantaneous. It was like...a match finally being lit after years of being in complete darkness," Satine smiled fondly and suddenly Rey felt suspicious.

𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵--

"It's how one can tell who their mate is."

Oh. Oh, she said it. She did. She really, really did. This wasn't good. This was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 good.

"U-um, no? I'm not? We're not? I probably didn't even inherit the lycan--"

"What did I say about denial of your bloodline?" Satine sighed and Rey looked at her with a frantic expression.

"S-Satine, I don't want to be mated--"

"Well, obviously you don't. He's a literal child who throws fits when he and Vader don't get their ways. They could be like twins if they weren't grandfather and grandson, they act almost identical--well, Ben is kinder. He's kinder, but he's been so incredibly blinded by Vader that he no longer knows right from wrong in a moral stance." Satine rolled her shoulders as she spoke and Rey began to chew her lower lip nervously once more. "He was a sweet, wonderful child, you know? Pureblood children are just the cutest things, with their big, doe like crimson eyes and little baby fangs. He loved to be held, Obi-Wan would constantly carry him around everywhere he wanted, just as he did with both Luke and Leia, and Ben adored him. They were...also incredibly close," Satine tensed up and Rey stiffened slightly. "Every Skywalker was incredibly close with him. Luke loved him, Leia loved him, Han loved him, Ben loved him, Ahsoka loved him, Padmé loved him...but Vader loved him 𝘵𝘰𝘰 much. It wasn't even love, it was this sick, healthy obsession type of thing where he would never let him out of his sight, and the amount of feeding scars he'd come here with..." Satine's tone turned sad and Rey felt horrible for causing this conversation. "Near the end...Obi-Wan felt suffocated...and rightfully so." Satine finished before looking out towards the window and Rey slowly scooted closer to her.

"Why haven't you left Paris yet? Why are you still near the Skywalkers? You could go far away, like--like Hungary or somewhere--"

"London," Satine murmured and Rey paused. "He wanted to visit London, my home city, and now I can never return because I never brought him there." Her voice became a whisper, and, once again, Rey felt horribly terrible for making Satine feel saddened again.

"...I'm sorry, Satine--"

"Do not apologize for the things you have no control over." Satine cut her off before looking back at her, a strand of her hair flowing down from her messily loose bun. Rey nodded in return and Satine sighed before assuming the lotus position once again. "Now, once again, you're on an island,"

It felt weird without her not in the mansion. He had done it the night before, but it still felt weird not to hear her heartbeat all the way from upstairs as well as he hear breathing. It was also beyond tense in the household simply because of Vader, the man was lurking around with a scowl and snapping at anyone, even Padmé and Ahsoka, who tried to approach him. He was hungry, Kylo knew this. Vader was hungry and he was purposely holding off on feeding until Rey got back so he could--

He shook the thought off before it could sting him even more, the light of the fire from the fireplace in his room dancing in his eyes.

Vader...was most likely going to hurt Rey.

And Kylo was finally, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 having enough of it.

[youremyonlyhope]

The Last Jedi

Here we go. The most controversial Star Wars movie ever (unless Rise of Skywalker has reviews that are just as mixed. I haven’t read any so I don’t know how it’s been received yet.) I actually really really enjoyed the Last Jedi, but I haven’t rewatched it since I saw it in theaters.

Also, unrelated, but literally just a few hours ago I met Oscar Isaac. I was doing a caroling event where I work, and he came by with his son to watch. During one of our breaks, he asked if his son could try the microphone and he held him up so he could whisper and sing stuff into the mic. It was adorable.

I seemed to be the only person who recognized who he was, though one of my co-workers said he had thought so too but he wasn’t sure until I confirmed it. So I went up to Oscar and said hi, asked if he was Oscar Isaac, shook his hand, and thanked him for coming. He says that it was great and that his son loves to sing.

I always joked that I’d bump into Oscar one day since he lives in Brooklyn, but I didn’t think it’d actually happen. And not while I’m wearing a Star Wars shirt and Star Wars socks (which he obviously couldn’t see since I was bundled up in a coat and a scarf and boots but whatever). And definitely not the day before I’m supposed to see the Rise of Skywalker.

I’m still freaking out oh my god. Ok. Time to rewatch the Last Jedi.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... This was the first Star Wars movie I’d seen in theaters in like 12 years at this point. Seeing those words on a giant screen again was amazing. “Certain that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker will return and restore a spark of hope to the fight.” I love that line. I love any and all comparisons of Luke to hope. Yes I am biased. But also, restoring the spark is exactly he does in the end so yes, I love it. It’s just now hitting me that we’re picking up exactly where we left off. Having 1 night between the two movies is every different than having 2 years. ...Was that whatsherface from Game of Thrones, Catelyn’s creepy sister? (IMDB says yes) *BB8 beeps* “Happy beats here buddy, come on.” BB8 sort of said the thing! Also, OH MY GOD I JUST MET OSCAR ISAAC AND NOW HERE HE IS ON MY SCREEN WHAT THE HELL. Was today even real? Oh General Hugs. “Skinny guy. Kinda pasty.” Knowing Oscar and Domnhall are friends makes this better. Oh BB8. Very honorable of Billie Lourd’s Lieutenant Connix to make sure she’s in the last ship leaving the base so everyone else leaves before her. I forgot about the chain reaction of bombs destroying their own Resistance ships... You know, Paige dying while dropping the last of the bombs was already emotional. Rewatching it after you know she’s Rose’s sister makes it worse. First Binary Sunset of the movie. General Hugs has a very good upset face that makes me not feel bad for him at all. More like I want to punch him. Snoke can use the Force across the galaxy... forgot about that. I realized I didn’t mention this in the last one, but I remember the crew complaining that when they filmed the end of Force Awakens it was a cloudy day, but then when they went back to the island for TLJ it was super sunny. And now that it’s been pointed out, I noticed it immediately. Luke throwing the lightsaber. I can’t remember if I was spoiled for this but I feel like when I watched it, I wasn’t that thrown off by it. Something else I didn’t mention at the end of Force Awakens is that I LOVE this set. The stone houses are amazing. Oh porgs. Also, that porg looking into the lightsaber always gives me anxiety. The first words we hear Luke say in 40 years are an annoyed “Go away.” which at least is less whiney than the Tosche Station. Oh Chewie’s like “DUDE. WE NEED YOU.” “Wait... where’s Han?” Awww. Throwing in a little Vader’s theme in there. More temper tantrums. People getting mad at Luke calling a lightsaber a laser sword (in a purposefully mocking way) even though George Lucas himself called them that in some interviews. Yes, it’s not a laser sword, but Luke is trying to show how ridiculous he thinks the idea of him taking down everything is by calling a lightsaber that. I remember being like “Luke... no let’s not just milk that thing... oh ew” I do love the shot of Luke using the giant stick to cross to the other cliff and kill the fish. God that’s a steep hill. “No one’s from nowhere.” “Jakku.” “Alright that is pretty much nowhere.” That’s funny. “It’s time for the Jedi to end.” Remember when that line in the trailer made the fandom literally break down? I love knowing that behind the scenes, Carrie had to slap Oscar a billion times. Also, I do not blame Leia at all. So many people were mad about Leia and Holdo demoting Poe, but Poe was too fearless in that moment. Yes, he destroyed the ship and it worked out, but they lost so many people and they already didn’t have many to begin with. It was worth it, but at a very high cost. So I don’t blame her. Heyyyyyy it’s that girl from that Black Mirror episode and what was that other show? Chewing Gum or something? (IMDB says yes it’s Michaela Coel) See and Poe’s already learning a little by asking permission. Of course... later on he doesn’t ask permission... but whatever. Leia’s Theme... causing me pain. Oh, Kylo didn’t kill his mom. We’re supposed to be happy about that? The bar is on the ground. The utter horror I felt the first time the control room was destroyed and Leia was pulled into space. Oh I love the moment when Leia flies in. Because I’d heard that in the books and comics, we get to explore Leia’s Force abilities and stuff but we don’t get it in the movies besides “I feel that Luke’s in trouble.” Which sucks, because she is the “other” if Luke didn’t work out, so she’s just as strong as Luke if she got trained. They should have just trained both kids honestly, why did they pick the boy? Not saying Obi-Wan and Yoda are sexist... but they’re probably sexist. Also, foreshadowing. I actually noticed the hologram of the ship and Leia flying through this time. Oh Chewie. I like the porg that literally has his jaw dropped in horror. Knowing now that the dice were kind of a symbol of Kira (was that Emilia Clarke’s character?) and Han’s relationship makes me not like them as much. Still, cute throwback that they’re still on the Falcon. We can just ignore they weren’t there in Force Awakens (I kept an eye out and didn’t see them) The way Luke laughed when he said “R2!” I just... my heart. “Nothing can make me change my mind” *R2 plays the Leia hologram* I literally just went “AWWWW” out loud because I forgot that that’s why R2 started playing it. Oh my heart. That hurt the first time. Luke standing over Rey, but offering to help her. Parallels. Oh Admiral Ackbar. I love Holdo’s dress. I love the draping. Someone teach me how to make it. “Thank you for making me aware.” Yeah Poe, she already knows. Stop mansplaining. This is literally a case of mansplaining, why would Poe think he’d have to explain to a commander that there’s no fuel? Yeah it’s a little harsh, but is Holdo wrong? All of these fanboys complain about Canto Bight, but forget that it was Poe’s idea. Then they go and say Holdo was too mean should have put Poe in charge. Guys. Poe’s impulsive. We love him, but he’s the ultimate Gryffindor with no fear and will just do anything without considering consequences. I do wish Holdo had been more open like “I have a plan. You don’t need to know all the parts of it. Just let me do what I need to, ok?” instead of “Just follow my orders.” but still. Oh poor Rose. “Doing talking....” Oh she’s so cute. “I’ve had to stun 3 people trying to use this escape pod.” We love a girl who can fight. Yeah. Once again. Not mad at Rose. Finn does have some selfish tendencies, he’s well meaning but ultimately selfish (or at least, only thinking of Rey). So I do not blame Rose for stunning him.

And now I will take a nap since I have to go to a show tonight. And then I will finish the last 3/4-ish of the movie when I get home later.

Annnnd I’m back!

See. Rose has good reason to be mad at deserters. Ok so it wasn’t Poe’s idea to go to the Star Destroyer it was Finn’s. I will give him that. But still Poe went along with it. “That... wasn’t exactly my...” Oh 3PO. I wish Maz had had a bigger scene. More Lupita please. I have one question: from what angle is this hologram filmed? And how does the camera follow her? I guess it’s multiple hologram cameras, but still, it followed her as she rolled and ran around. Also, did Finn call Maz or did Poe call her? Because as far as we know, only Finn knows her. It seemed like they both had the idea to call her, but that Poe had it first. Did Finn tell Poe about Maz? I’m glad they showed Finn handing Poe the binary tracker thing, since for a second I was like “What if Rey had popped up next to Finn on the Star Destroyer?” I’m glad Rey’s first instinct is to shoot Kylo. “Can you see my surroundings?” “You’re gonna pay for what you did.” “I can’t see yours.” Why do I remember that line so vividly? Why does it make me feel so unsettled? Rey, my sweet Rey, I wish you had just told Luke that you saw Kylo. I love Luke’s explanation of the Force. And him messing with Rey was funny. I love when Rey’s reaching out and feeling life, death, peace, violence, etc. And I love Luke saying the Force doesn’t belong to the Jedi, because it doesn’t. The Jedi failed years ago. “You didn’t even try to stop yourself.” Luke’s horrified. But also, Rey’s just like an extreme version of Luke. Yoda knew that Luke’s emotions could make him vulnerable to the dark side, Rey’s already vulnerable. Yeah, I don’t blame Luke for being scared of Rey after he feels like this is Ben all over again. Oh my god. I love the porg that has a metal piece over its head. That actually made me laugh out loud. Poor Chewie.

I just had to refresh tumblr because my draft wasn’t saving. It brought me back to my dashboard. Where there was a spoiler for the new movie and it wasn’t tagged. PLEASE tag your spoilers people.

The water hitting Kylo still confuses me. Say what you will about the Canto Bight plot... the costumes are AMAZING. The costumes literally make the whole side plot worth it to me. Literally I was just in awe by all the costumes during every single scene. And the set! The set’s fantastic too! I literally just paused every single second to take in all of the costumes. Do I care if the Canto Bight trip ended up pointless? Nope! Because it gave me some of Star Wars’ best costumes. Oh... to be an extra in the Canto Bight scene... Just show up... And put on a beautiful outfit... And do nothing else but pretend to drink, talk, and gamble... That’s the dream. Oh hi Mark Hamill! That was cute that they let him voice that little thing. I remember noticing the thing and being like “...is he important?” and nope, it’s just Mark doing an extra voice. Oh I love the Fathiers. Aww and it’s the little Force sensitive boy. I have thoughts about that kid that I can get into later. The way BB8 jingles with the coins. I love it.

Rey: *Does a move with her stick* Rey: *Does the same exact move with the lightsaber* Fanboys: She’s too good too fast! Mary Sue!

As I said throughout all of the Force Awakens, she’s just applying the skills she already had. If anything, a lightsaber’s easier since it’s half the length and she doesn’t have to worry about the back of it hitting her. LOL, remember when we thought this shot was an epic shot of Luke training her? Good times. Oh that poor fish nun. Everything Luke says about the Jedi is true (also did I not say they failed earlier in the post? Luke agrees with me). Rey’s right that a Jedi got Ani to come back from the dark side, but the Jedi’s system enabled him to turn in the first place. Soooooo yeah. Oh Luke. Don’t blame yourself. Kylo was already basically gone. Sure, seeing his uncle standing over him with a lightsaber definitely didn’t help... but it’s not the only thing that made him turn. Who is this captain of the medical ship? He looks familiar. (IMDB says he’s Danny Sapani. I probably recognized him from the Crown) Oh BB8. Finn, did you learn nothing from Rey? Put the cover back on the vent! Awww the Fathiers have such sad eyes... I love the Resistance ring. Can I buy one? Ok. The shot of the bubble egg lady singing felt like it was much longer the first time, but it’s really only a split second. I. LOVE. THE. CANTO. BIGHT. SET. I know it’s a real town in like Italy or somewhere near the Mediterranean. I want to go. I love it. I love that the first thing Luke does when he decides to use the Force again is to seek out Leia. Oh poor Adam became a meme after this. He just has a very wide and bulky body, ok? God Luke looks so scary in Kylo’s flashback. “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.” That reflection scene is so visually stunning. So in a way, it’s like Luke is failing Rey like he failed Ben. He’s not helping her in the way she needs, so she’s being lured by the dark side instead. I love the walls falling around Luke. “Did you do it? Did you create Kylo Ren?” Rey, he already told you earlier that he believes it’s his fault, so the answer from him is yes. I can’t remember if we hear this story of Luke and Kylo one more time after this or not. “Then he’s our last hope.” Ok ew. No. Kylo is not allowed to be compared to hope. Only Luke, Leia, or Obi-Wan can be. Oh for a second I thought that torch was a lightsaber. YODA!!!!! I think I had been spoiled for Yoda showing up. It was definitely still exciting though. “The sacred Jedi texts!” Oh Luke. Oh memes. Not as whiney as I remembered. “But that library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess.” Because Yoda knows she stole the books. Oh Yoda. I love Yoda. Oh Rose. Ok, so I will give it to Poe that at this moment it doesn’t seem like Holdo has a good plan. Abandoning ship isn’t necessarily cowardly, but on the surface it does seem like it puts them in more danger. Literally earlier today I watched a video about the layout of the Millennium Falcon, and the escape pods were mentioned. And I thought to myself, wow that must be something from the novels since we’ve definitely never seen that in the movies. Welp... I was wrong... Rey’s in one now. I was about to be like “Do they not care that an escape pod just docked?” before I saw Kylo. LOL the iron coming down like a ship. I feel like I remember being completely terrified when Rey stepped in front of Snoke. Oh BB8. Bumping into stuff. I remember being super relieved that DJ (has he told us this is his name yet? I can’t remember) gave back the medallion. Captain Phasma! Hey girl hey! Leia shooting Poe is still funny to me. Also Lieutenant Billie Connix is smart.  I love the scene of Holdo and Leia saying goodbye. Also, Holdo’s purple hair with her bright blue eyes is super striking. Good choice. Snoke puts down the lightsaber. Unknowingly sealing his fate. Literally when Snoke reveals he connected their minds, I was like OF COURSE. Because the whole time I’m like neither of them are strong enough to do this. “She was more interested in protecting the light than she was seeming like a hero.” See. And that’s the flaw in both Poe and Finn. And Rey to an extent. They’re thinking about the big picture, but in context of smaller things like seeming like a hero, saving Rey, saving Kylo, etc. But Holdo’s thinking of only the big picture. I knew DJ betrayed them, I just forgot how badly.

And here’s another annoyance (which I was sorta trying to touch on earlier). Everyone hates the Canto Bight plot, yet they complain about Holdo trying to take charge. If Poe just let Holdo take charge and ignored Finn and Rose’s idea, then her plan would have been a complete success. No Canto Bight, no DJ to betray them, all the transports make it to Crait unnoticed, and the First Order eventually destroys a ship that’s empty except for Holdo. They complain about Holdo, but don’t think about the fact that Holdo could have prevented another plot they hated if the main characters had just listened to her.

And then Snoke hits Rey and literally puts the lightsaber back to where it will kill him. Ok literally I just misread a caption that said “Lord Vader” as “Lord Voldemort” and I was very confused. Taking a second to say that I love this set of Snoke’s throne room. Been thinking it forever, but Kylo picking up the lightsaber off the ground and seeing the reflection in the smooth red floor is amazing. Kylo igniting the lightsaber through Snoke is amazing. Also, I typed “Ben igniting” before literally freezing for a second and being like “...ok that’s a lot to unpack” I guess when he does something good my brain thinks of him as Ben instead of Kylo. ALSO, arm #16 and #17, I love that Snoke’s arms were cut off too in true Star Wars fashion. And I am VERY excited to see this fight scene again. I told myself not to pause at all during the Kylo and Rey team up fight, but I paused literally a second into it because Binary Sunset yes.

And my idiot brother and my mom are texting in the family group chat so it’s popping up on my screen throughout this scene. Ugh.

All of these red knight weapons are so cool. And I forgot about the one that gets chopped up... Oh my god one is a sword that transforms into a whip. LOVE. IT. And I love the quick lightsaber ignite through the head. Love it. Woah how is there still 44 minutes? I remember this battle being much closer to the end. I was wondering when the red walls went away, but I rewinded and saw that they had been slowly burning away after Rey made something hit them. Nice touch.

Ugh my brother and mom will not stop texting.

“You have no place in this story.” Wow Kylo, harsh. Oh shoot I forgot about the lightsaber breaking until they started their Force tug of war with it. I’d always wondered what would happen if someone lightsped through something... I want to say that I realized what she was doing before they told us, but now I realize that they basically told us what she would do when the First Order guy said “they’re preparing to hyperspeed.” so I guess I just caught on to the obvious hints.

God that moment still gives me chills. The silence. The way it sort of goes black and white. The multiple angles. So good.

I know for a fact that I spent the rest of the movie from this point on with my hands over my mouth in a constant stake of shock/fear/anxiety. Oh BB8. Some people thought this was ridiculous. But I had just spent the last few months rewatching the prequels before seeing this, and compared to the stuff R2 does, BB8 clumsily controlling a walker is nothing. Oh how I love Gwendoline Christie. I FORGOT THAT WE SAW HER EYE IN THE MASK. I hope Phasma survived. She’s so awesome. Ok my quality is like horrendous right now so I’m gonna refresh. LOL I FORGOT ABOUT GENERAL HUGS NEARLY ATTEMPTING TO KILL KYLO. Oh I forgot how much I love Crait as a set location. OH AND THE ICE DOG THINGS! LOVE THEM! Poe petting BB8 when he comes back kills me. I like those space age two person laptops. “People believe in Leia.” *Binary Sunset plays* My heart. Ok for a second I was like “This first person camera is like a war movie” and then it turns and we see the trench and I’m like “...ok... ok fine but that was very literal.” The red footsteps. Just... guys this set is so AMAZING. Ugh, these red streaks of dust behind them are so amazing. And when Finn passes in front of the camera, it gets covered in the dust and blurs part of the lens. Just like the Rathtar goo in the Force Awakens. I wonder if that’s going to be like... the thing of the sequels. One shot that has the camera lens partially covered by something. Also, I just wasted time trying to figure out if there’s an official name for that or not... oh well. The winding stripes left behind as they weave around... just... amazing. YEAH! GO CHEWIE! GO REY! Oh my god I forgot about the porg roaring. “Oh, they HATE that ship!” I’M DEAD. Look at the salt and how it forms the crystals in the trench. I love it. I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SHOT OF THE CAVE FULL OF THE RED SALT. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. I remember when the trailer had the first shot of the gorilla walkers, and I didn’t notice at first that there were normal AT-ATs next to them, and then I realized these things were twice as big as AT-ATs and I was horrified. See, and now Poe has learned that you can’t always be a hero and is making a good decision. I forgot about Finn’s speeder literally melting as he gets closer. I don’t understand the people who were mad that Rose stopped Finn. I for one was HORRIFIED at just the thought of Finn dying this way and thankful she stopped him. “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love.” The kiss is pointless but I love the line and sentiment behind it. Oh god. Ok. Here come the emotions. Binary Sunset is playing. I was a wreck. And a little of Han and Leia’s Love Theme as she sees the dice. I remember actually noticing that in the theaters and half-sobbing. Oh god the forehead kiss. Oh and he winks at 3PO as he walks by. My heart. This is the specific shot of the gorilla walkers and the AT-ATs in a line that freaked me out. That shot of Luke standing up against all the First Order walkers and ships. Amazing. That shoulder brush though. Kylo’s so dumb, he literally just watched that lightsaber get destroyed, he HELPED destroy it. He should have known something was up, it couldn’t have been repaired that quickly. Purposeful shot of Luke’s feet not moving the salt. That Matrix back bend though. “I will have killed the last Jedi.” He said the title. Also, is that the only time it’s said? Because they say it a lot in Force Awakens but I don’t think so yet in this movie.. “And I will not be the last Jedi.” Ok so now it’s said again by Luke. Purposeful shot of Kylo’s shoe leaving a footprint as he runs to Luke. I’m pretty sure I probably shrieked when he tried to slice Luke in half.

I just now remembered that I’d actually kind of wondered if he’d be a Force projection or something when he first showed up. Because I’d just watched Return of the Jedi like a week earlier and saw Obi-Wan do it, so I wondered if Luke was doing it too. Especially when Poe said Luke was distracting the First Order. It passed my mind and was confirmed when Kylo couldn’t hit him. And here’s where I started to feel like my world was crumbling...

Oh god. My eyes are wet. It hurts. But when I watched it the first time, I really felt like my world was absolutely falling a part and ending forever while I watched Luke die. With the stupid binary sunset in front of him just like when he was a teenager and when he was a baby. One of the first things he ever saw was the binary sunset. I was like “This is beautiful, but that doesn’t mean I’m not completely in pain and dying.” That shot from above of Kylo with the stormtroopers, mirroring a shot from the prequels of Ani. Nice. So do they still have that connection even if Snoke’s dead?

HEY! Hey. Those dice were still visible to Kylo even after Luke was dead... was Leia Force projecting them to Kylo? It wouldn’t take as much work as doing it to everyone else at once from lightyears away. One person, your son, would be easier. So maybe... maybe Leia’s the one continuing the projection of the dice. I’m gonna stick with that theory thanks.

Awww BB8 asked Rey about his antenna, just like when they first met. Remember when people were like “Are Poe and Rey gonna be a thing?!?!?” and of course I’d much prefer that over Reylo thanks. The books! Somehow, that obvious shot of the books goes over so many people’s heads. So many complaints about the books getting burned, when they literally show us that Rey saved them. I had never noticed the bunks in the Millennium Falcon either until I saw that video earlier, and I’m glad I got to actually see one in use since Rose is sleeping in one.

Oh GOD the entirety of the Resistance can fit on the Millennium Falcon... that is NOT good.

I LOVE the scene of the kids retelling the story of Luke. I must have already gone in depth about this 2 years ago, but I love it. Luke became a legend in the end. He didn’t necessarily want to be one, but he’s become one. It was exactly what was in the opening scroll, he restored the spark of hope. That subtle use of the Force by that little boy. With Binary Sunset playing. And I love that last shot of him holding the broom up like a lightsaber.

I nearly forgot that they put in “In loving memory of our princess, Carrie Fisher” at the end. That’s what got me to finally cry. 40 straight minutes of covering my mouth in anxiety, then feeling like my world was crashing down around me as Luke died. Having it dedicated to Carrie made me just start sobbing so hard. Watch that happen again tomorrow.

I remember when I left the theater, at first I was like “What if the boys is Rey’s brother?!” but then... I realized that a huge point of the movie went over my head for a second there.

The fandom got so caught up in figuring out who Rey’s parents are, whether it’s Obi-Wan or Luke or Leia or even Palpatine, that they were mad when Kylo said they were no one. But like... guys... not every single Force user is related to the Skywalkers or anyone else we already know. There were hundreds of Jedi in the prequels, because anyone can be Force sensitive. Obi-Wan’s parents were nobody, Qui-Gon’s parents were nobody, Mace’s parents were nobody. They didn’t come from long lines of Force users (at least in movie lore), BECAUSE THE JEDI WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE KIDS. The Skywalkers aren’t even a long line, it’s just 3 generations at this point. So literally none of the Jedi of the past came from powerful Force users (or at least from ones who got the chance to become Jedi) since that literally goes against the code.

Luke found at least 11 other Force sensitive kids to train alongside Ben, their parents were all definitely nobodies since he’s the last Jedi. Ben is an anomaly, Luke and Leia are anomalies, the Jedi don’t have kids! The fandom got so caught up in figuring out who Rey could be related to, that they forgot that for millennia the individual Jedi were not related to anyone.

Anyone can be Force sensitive. Anyone can be a Jedi. Rey is an example of that. That little boy is an example of that. That’s why I love that the little Force sensitive boy was the final shot of the movie. He was meant to reassure and remind us after the Rey parentage reveal that anyone can end up Force sensitive. They don’t need a famous/powerful parent. They can come from anywhere and be anyone. And I love that that’s the final note of this movie.

Some people were not reassured. Some people couldn’t handle the idea that Rey’s powerful just because she’s Rey, not because she’s someone’s daughter. She HAS to be related to someone to be that powerful, right? But every Jedi before her who was just as powerful wasn’t related to anyone, so why does she have to be?

ANYWAY! I was actually worried over the last 2 years that I’d rewatch The Last Jedi and not like it as much as I did in theaters. I still like it a lot. Even the Canto Bight scenes get redeemed by the costumes and the set being so amazing. But I love the message of don’t be a hero, this is bigger than just you. And I love the message that even if you’re “nobody” from “nowhere” you could still be Force Sensitive and you could still be a Jedi. I love Luke’s send off, I love that he does end up reigniting the spark and being a beam of hope again. I love it.

And I’m excited to see the Rise of Skywalker tomorrow.

[tiredbastard59]

I posted 101 times in 2021

30 posts created (30%)

71 posts reblogged (70%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.4 posts.

I added 81 tags in 2021

#star wars - 25 posts

#critical role - 17 posts

#cr spoilers - 6 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 6 posts

#jedi - 5 posts

#the owl house - 5 posts

#cr 3 - 5 posts

#jedi order - 4 posts

#anakin skywalker - 4 posts

#the mighty nein - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 77 characters

#like trying to change mando society to stop tearing itself apart is one thing

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Look I’m not saying it would a terrible crime if we never get to see Ashoka meet Luke and Leia on screen, however I have begun making plans to take several writers hostage if they don’t do so.

26 notes • Posted 2021-03-26 14:22:16 GMT

#4

Someone: prevents me from doing something in any multiplayer game.

Me: WOW bitch. Look at this fucking loser, playing the game like your supposed to.

28 notes • Posted 2021-04-04 17:00:21 GMT

#3

Wait, I made an old post about how Anakin betrayed the clones as well by enabling Palpatine stripping them of any bodily autonomy and freedom.

But it somehow gets even worse when you realize that Anakin was probably aware that order 66 would occur across the galaxy putting the lives of any Jedi(or former Jedi) in danger. Like Obi Wan and Ahsoka. Anakin basically enabled Ahsoka and Obi Wan being attacked or potentially killed(which almost happened to both.) And he also forced Rex to try and kill Ahsoka and then had to kill his own brothers and that all ended with the entire 332nd company dead… ouch.

And not only that he betrayed Padme by utterly destroying the Republic which she loved in and wished to protect. And of course choking her in a fit of rage. So basically Anakin betrayed the four people that he cared the most about and all of whom trusted and believed in him. That alongside murdering children and Jedi and helping to establish an empire that would go on to commit numerous genocides and countless violations of peoples basic rights. And Padme still died.

And that really helps explain why Vader is the way he is. Just imagine knowing you killed kids and innocents, betrayed your closed friends and loved ones, got countless people killed or abused by the empire and for it be for nothing. I mean honestly how can one even think of themselves as not a monster after that?

I still think knowing what your doing is wrong but continuing because you don’t think you can be redeemed is just being a jackass, but damm that self loathing must have been strong.

29 notes • Posted 2021-09-13 03:20:29 GMT

#2

Spoilers for Episode 3 of The Bad Batch:

F in the chat for the trooper who refused to commit war crimes and got killed for it. All I have to say really.

39 notes • Posted 2021-05-14 12:39:53 GMT

#1

You know I just have to wonder how Rex reacted when he learned what Anakin did. Because one of the most horrifying things from what happened to Fives is that he died informing Anakin about the chips.

While he was not believed at the time, once Anakin learned Palpatine was a Sith he must have figured out Fives was telling the truth. He must have realized even if it was just in the back of his head what Palpatine was planning to use the clones for, and he still went along with it.

Anakin betrayed the Jedi and the Clones. He murdered children and forced the Clones to do so against their well as well. He became a slave master in a sense. And I just have to wonder what Rex would think about that. Because I can only imagine the anger learning your former friend not only murdered children and set up an empire, but that he also forced your brothers to help, to murder children and innocents, to murder their friends in cold blood against their will and then once that was done toss them aside. I would have wanted to push Anakins face into lava if that were me because that is one huge fucking betrayal.

79 notes • Posted 2021-04-16 23:45:08 GMT

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[klcthebookworm]

FanFic Friday: Mission on Mimban 3 of 12

Previous Installments

Introduction, One, Two,

What Happens in the Chapter

Luke and Leia find an open tavern, tell the droids to go hide, and they enter to buy some real food with the miners coming off shift. They get through ordering a meal without alerting officialdom. The popular form of entertainment in this tavern is kicking the native sentients around, who are addicted to a liquor and will debase themselves to get any of it. Luke and Leia don't cause a scene with stopping this entertainment.

The waiter realizes Leia's not a miner by her delicate hands, which is kind of impressive, and tells an Imperial civil servant, which makes me wonder if there's a standard credit bounty for turning in suspicious people. Leia starts to panic and leave and Luke slaps her across the face. Leia sits back down and stays quiet as Luke tells the Imperial that he bought Leia and she's his servant. The Imperial believes this story and leaves them alone. Leia, now furious with Luke, tries to leave again but is stopped by an old woman who introduces herself as Halla.

Halla very shrewdly has their number, recognizing that they are strangers to the human population of Mimban and Luke's strength in the Force. Luke senses that Halla has the Force, but Halla claims to be a master. She works hard to move a spice shaker on the table. She offers to help them if they help her, and makes them admit how they crashed on the planet. They establish Luke and Leia's price is stealing a ship so they can leave. She warns them about Grammel, the Imperial in charge of the Mimban mining. Halla wants their help to find the Kaiburr crystal. As proof that the crystal is real, she shows them "a splinter of something that looked like red glass and glowed softly. The color was deeper, richer than red corundum. It had a vitreous luster resembling crystallized honey." When Luke touches the fragment, he experiences an increase in his perception of the Force. "It magnifies and clarifies... in proportion to its size and density, I think."

Luke agrees with Halla that the Kaiburr crystal must be kept out of Imperial hands, and Leia finally agrees to the expedition. They settle the bill and leave the tavern with no more attention paid to them. Then Leia kicks Luke in the shins outside and he lands in a ditch next to the walkway. Luke pulls her into the mud and they start wrestling.

Halla was watching, amused, until several large me came out of the tavern behind her. They paused, their attention also drawn by the wrestling match in the mud. They were all just drunk enough to be dangerous and the longer they watched, the quieter they became.

Much too quiet to suit Halla...

And that's where this chapter ends.

What I Liked

The miasma of narcotic incense and other smokes nearly asphyxiated Luke, and he had to struggle not to cough.

"What's wrong?" The Princess looked worried, though unaffected by the decadent atmosphere. "People are looking at you."

What kind of dive bars has Leia been hanging out in since she's unaffected by the deathsticks and et cetera being burnt in here? But I do appreciate it that it's not the dainty female hacking her lungs out.

Halla is a Force user, granted very weak and untrained. But given how angry Leia is at Luke just then (about to storm off again), I think Halla uses the Force on Leia when she's introduced.

"Hey honey... you okay?" a new voice inquired. Luke looked at the old woman who'd appeared next to the Princess. Placing a firm hand on the Princess' shoulder, she exerted a gentle but unyielding pressure. Still slightly stunned, the Princess sat down slowly.

Luke wouldn't know what to look for in this situation with his complete lack of training, but what else could defuse Leia that quickly?

What I Found Problematic

How the leads react to Mimbanites' abuse that happens right in front of them does bother me. Example One:

The big miner met this pitiful request by putting out a broad foot and kicking the native in the face. Luke winced and looked away. The Princess glanced at him.

"What's wrong, Luke?"

"I can't stand to see anything abused like that," he muttered, "human or animal or alien." He faced her curiously."How can you watch it?"

"I saw my whole world, several million people, destroyed," she responded with chilling matter-of-factness. "Nothing mankind does surprises me anymore, except that anyone could still be surprised by it." She turned her clinical gaze back to the scene at the bar.

Example Two:

Without further prompting the native dropped on its belly. An unexpectedly long, snake-like tongue darted out and began to lick the grime and mud from the man's boots.

"I'm going to be sick," Luke whispered, barely audible. The Princess merely shrugged.

"We have our devils and our angels, Luke. You have to be ready for both."

Wow, how callous can you make Leia sound? This is the same woman who befriended the Ewoks later? This is the same woman who championed alien rights in the Imperial Senate earning the nickname ‘Little Miss Inalienable Rights’? This abuse is making Luke empathically ill, but it should make Leia livid and put her on a quest to find the Mimbanites' hierarchy and pull them into the Rebellion against the Empire. She doesn't even come up with it as an option for Luke to shoot down. She doesn't even mention it as something else to tell the underground about what's happening on Mimban. Granted in the middle of the tavern is not the place to mention your allegiances, but it comes off callous instead of pragmatic.

The slap heard through the tavern; Jake Skywalker has taken Luke's place again. This whole set-up is an infuriating display of 1970's condonation of domestic violence against women. You have a woman of course you have to slap her to keep her in line, as Luke point blank says to the Imperial at the end. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take the scene in order. The waiter, Elarles (new contender for the worst GFFA name) notices Leia's delicate hands and scurries to tattle. Leia points out the tattling to Luke.

"They do suspect!" she whispered tightly. She started to stand. "I've had enough, Luke. Let's get out of here."

"We can't rush off, especially if we're being watched," he countered. "Don't panic, Princess."

"I said I'm leaving, Luke." Nervous, she started to turn and leave.

First, I don't have a problem with the suspicious waiter turning them in and the Imperial scoping out the situation. Being found out is a standard complication for infiltrating a group. But who the hell is this woman freaking out and ready to run away? This is not Princess Leia Organa who lied to Darth Vader's mask maintaining her cover story. It didn't matter Vader had already pierced the cover story, but she sure the hell kept to it. Okay, these two haven't stopped and considered their cover story, but I expected whispering that we need a cover story not this that draws more attention to them.

Without realizing what he was doing, he reached out, slapped her hard across the face, and as heads turned in their direction said loudly, "No favors for you until I'm finished eating!"

One hand went to her burning cheek. Wide-eyed and voiceless, the Princess slowly sat back down. Luke frantically attacked his steak as the uniformed Imperial sauntered over to them, backed by the attendant at a discreet distance.

The only way this violence is justifiable from the HERO of the whole saga and protagonist of this novel is by agreeing that when women get emotional they deserved to be hit. I hope that Foster outgrew this misogynistic mindset by the time he was given the Force Awakens novelization. I think it's reprehensible and nothing Luke Skywalker as we know him would do. So he will not be hitting Mara to get out of this jam.

He thought furiously. "No, she's... uh, I bought her." Leia twitched, stared at him a moment before returning resolutely to her food. "Yes, she's a servant of mine. Spent all my earnings on her." He tried to sound indifferent, shrugged as he returned to his eating. "She's not much, of course." Her shoulders shook. "But she was the best I could afford. And she's kind of amusing to have around, though she tends to get out of line at times and I have to slap her down."

The bureaucrat nodded understandingly, smiled for the first time. "I sympathize, young man. Sorry to interrupt your meal."

I have made the argument that Luke is way more devious than the fandom gives him credit for, but this cover story doesn't make anybody look good. First the author because it looks like "servant" is just replacing "slave" without changing anything that makes slavery in this objectionable. There are other options for the cover story that could explain Leia's hands without using slavery. Second George Lucas because wow, you just couldn't wait to associate Leia with slavery. Third Luke Skywalker for not having any internal repugnance for owning people while selling the cover story. And no, I'm not basing that on the changes made to the Skywalker family history after this story was published; decent people should be horrified about owning people!

Alas this story was written before Leia was given Force sensitivity because Halla refuses to let her touch the fragment. "Touching it would prove nothing to you."

The mud wrestling: what are you IDIOTS DOING?! You are stuck on an Imperial-controlled planet and you both are wanted by the Empire with bounties. You have no fake identities beyond the miner outfits and just what credits Luke has left. So you do the stupidest, most childish thing you can think of? Both of these characters should be smarter than this. So Foster just wants to create a situation so these miners are a threat in the next chapter. That can happen without adolescent mud wrestling.

What Changes in My Fic

Mimbanites' abuse mini-scene is an opportunity to display some growth from Mara. Since she was raised on Coruscant in the Imperial Palace, the only contact she has had with aliens are the ones who have been subjugated as slaves or the ones trying to survive in the ghettoes created on Coruscant. Humans abuse aliens when they can is all she has seen. The equality in the Rebel Alliance ranks is a cultural shock she is soldiering through in her endearing Mara way (which probably isn't helping her reputation any), but Luke's reaction to the abuse puts her perspective in a different light. Actually that may be the best way to sum up their relationship. It gives Luke's empathy something to play off without making Mara callous, like the scene currently does with Leia.

Luke and Mara's cover story won't involve slavery.

Threatening miners will be threatening without being titillated by a mud-covered Leia.

We now have more scenes to fill out the plot events for the first act. Helping Writers Become Authors further explains this breakdown.

Hook 1% mark = Crashing onto Mimban

Set-up 1% - 12%

Inciting Event 12% mark = Finding the Imperial mining outpost

Build-up 12% - 25%

1st Plot Point 25% mark = Luke and Leia agree to find the Kaiburr crystal with Halla