#benperorsolo

[megashadowdragon]

benperorsolo . tumblr . com/post/621507820460916736/aspiringwarriorlibrarian-swan2swan-the

FILED UNDER: #OP FEELS LIKE A TLJ SUBTWEET #BUT REBLOGGING FOR COMMENT

[itspileofgoodthings]

benperorsolo replied to your post:

The sequel being ben rey-- the loving han solo squad

YEAHHH BOY

[birdscale]

So @benperorsolo deleted all my notes on her tumblr and left only @fluffycakesistainted ‘s one reply to me which i replied but my reply was also deleted for...what?

Because benperorsolo didn’t want people to challenge her? Occasionally answering some dumb asks to maintain your smartass image so you can pull the card “people think they can read text but they can’t” implying you are smarter but when facing the real challenge?

Benperorsolo can disagree all she want, if she didn’t want to argue any further, I respect that. But it’s her dick move when she tried to manipulate and trash my opinion to make herself look smart and avoid confronting the real argument, later drew that gatekeeping card “you don’t understand SW!”

🤷🏻‍♀️fine whatever

[fallen-solo]

benperorsolo

replied to your post

“Leia herself has chosen to sacrifice her son to save the galaxy" is...”

Isn't that kinda...what caused Ben's fall?? Not that Leia actually did this, but that her absences caused by duty to the Senate provided a gap in Ben's life that Snoke exploited. I sweat people just say whatever they want ffs

I mean, yes, when it comes to the circumstances that led to Ben’s fall, what you said is absolutely what happened, but this take was posed as an Episode IX theory (probably should’ve clarified that in my original post). 

Here’s the whole thing for those who haven’t seen it yet. It’s... Wild.... 

You’ve heard it here first, folks: Leia Organa, the embodiment of hope in the galaxy, the woman who lost her husband, her entire family, her whole home planet, is going to engage in single combat with her son, the last living member of her family... “As planned”.

[crmediagal]

Meeeeee

I was tagged by @benperorsolo to do this ages ago (sorry!!!). Thank you! <3

Name: Andrea

Nickname: Andi, Ands

Height: 5’4″

Orientation: Bi

Nationality: American

Favorite fruit: Strawberries

Favorite season: Autumn/Fall

Favorite flower: Roses

Favorite scent: Vanilla

Favorite color: Baby blue

Favorite animal: Foxes, followed very closely by dogs

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Coffee

Average hours of sleep: 6-8

Cat or dog person: Dogs

Favorite fictional character: Severus Snape (obviously)

How many blankets do I sleep with: At least two

Dream trip: Backpacking through Europe

When did I create my blog: 2012. Holy hell... #whyamistillhere

Followers: 1592

Random fact: Until recently, I worked in a mold-infested office that has since been condemned (no wonder I had to start seeing an allergist a few years ago)

Tagging whoever wants to participate because I’m too tired to tag haha

[prixmiumarchive]

Rules: Answer these 10 Star Wars-related questions and tag your favorite Reylo blogs to join in!

Tagging: I have literally no idea which of my followers do more than just tolerate my Reylo shipping so I will leave it to you if you want to tag me. (I know morethanprinceofcats and huntingwendigos blog about Star Wars some but I’m not gonna @ you directly because I feel like maybe the frustrations are strong with these ones. <3) I’m not a real reylo blogger (yet?) until I contribute something, but thank you so much for tagging me @benperorsolo!

1) Who is your favorite Star Wars character of the new trilogy? (excluding Rey and Kylo)

Finn!!! I just love how gentle he wants to be, and him saying “Rebel Scum” was one of the most attractive moments in cinematic history according to every possible definition of the word “attractive.”

2) If you had a lightsaber what color would it be?

Honestly, I really like the color red and it’s disappointing to me that it is almost universally associated with evil in this context. When I was younger and used to play with an even younger cousin with his plastic lightsabers in the yard, I seem to vaguely remember using Yoda’s lightsaber a lot.

3) What is/are your favorite quote(s) from a Star Wars movie?

It breaks my heart, but “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause,” from Padme in Episode III came to me at a time when it became something of a formative rallying cry in the back of my mind for what to be forewarned against.

“Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is central to a Jedi’s life. So you might say that we are encouraged to love,” from Anakin in Episode II also wrecked my teenage self and made me ship Anidala so much that it was my Life for a while. I also think that it’s just a really interesting take on the intersection of certain unfair mandates that get placed on religious orders, a person’s genuine effort and belief, and human emotional need and impulse.

When Rey sighed and said “Lifting rocks,” toward the end of Episode VIII I almost lost it.

“That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate; saving what we love,” from Rose in TLJ as well. This is one of those things that will stick with me and inspire my thinking in the future. It also feels like something I definitely want in the narratives I enjoy on a thematic level.

4) Do you think Kylo/Ben will survive episode IX?

I think literally the only way he dies is if Rey is already pregnant with another Skywalker baby because, like, I don’t think they’re going to kill off the entire Skywalker bloodline... (And I don’t think that will be their solution.)

Also, if Ben died for atonement, it would basically mean that Episode IX is literally the same movie as Episode VI. They wouldn’t have had any narrative progression at all from what happened to topple the Galactic Empire (which might have helped but didn’t stick) to what happens to topple the First Order.

5) What are your top 3 favorite Star Wars films?

This might even be different from the last time I made this list, but I think:

VI: The Return of the Jedi VIII: The Last Jedi II: Attack of the Clones

6) Which droid would you most like to own/have as your sidekick on intergalactic adventures?

R2-D2. I’ve always thought he was cute and the fact that he is apparently a sailor-mouthed sass machine in a way we can’t understand appeals to me. Also durable AF apparently.

7) Which Jedi master would you most like to train under: Luke, Yoda, Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan?

Obi-Wan because I kind of have a crush on him and would listen very attentively.

8) What is your favorite scene featuring Rey and Kylo?

That moment of release of tension when Kylo kills Snoke and Rey stands up and is staring at him. Like, she clearly thought this was how this was going to go and then had all this doubt, and the sort of stunned relief on her face makes me breathe. That whole scene is wonderful and intense. Her hand on his hip was fantastic and super-convincing as someone who was on the fence about the shipping part going in. And even the absolutely heartbreaking part is beautifully performed and interesting.

9) What order did you initially see the saga films in?

So it happened like this. I knew what Star Wars but only in the dimmest of ways throughout my childhood. I was aware that Episode I had come out, but at the time I didn’t go out very much. My neighbor friend’s grandfather was really into it, though, so she was really into the Padme aesthetic and young woman in power thing, so she wanted to LARP at it when I went over to play. I saw bits and pieces of the movie but carefully curated to her interests. I was utterly baffled by her giggling as if it were a sensual taboo that someday Anakin and Padme were gonna get married and make babies because I had absolutely no clue why she knew this or insisted about it. (We were like 9 to make this less creepy.)

Few years later, my cousin who had three kids and was really struggling at the time came over and offered to take me with her and her eldest son to see Episode III because she had managed to procure babysitting for the younger two. It was an opportunity to spend time with someone who could hold a mature conversation and to get me out of the house. I was home-schooled at the time and only a teenager, but she made do. So basically, the first Star Wars movie I ever sat through was Episode III. By that time, the internet had filled me in a bit more about what Star Wars was, but I was still almost lost, but the tragedy of it all drew me in.

I went to Walmart and bought the trilogies on layaway (which was still a thing) -- prequels first, then a boxed set of the original -- and watched them. I fell in love with Episode II especially and it was a good eighteen months of my adolescence. I was into the Original Trilogy, but the Prequel Trilogy had my heart. I’d watch them on a sort of slow loop but watch Episode II far more than any of the rest. 

I got out of Star Wars for a few years because of real life things and other interests. I went to see TFA with my best friend and I was passively interested enough to see TLJ when it came out. Then I finally saw TLJ and feel mildly hyped about Star Wars again for the first time in a decade.

10) What is your ideal ending for Reylo in Episode IX?

I really like the Force Connection, and I want them to find that no matter what they do it cannot be fully severed. I don’t know exactly how, but I want that to be a part of the plot. Snoke believed he was responsible for it, but it lingered after his death, so that was clearly an arrogant misconception on his part.

As far as an ending goes in terms of relationship arc, I would like it if we kind of have an inverse scene to the throne room scene where clearly our heroes would probably not be as slimy as Snoke but basically that Rey gets to insist to the Resistance that they spare him in spite of Leia and in spite of everything. Then i want him to have an opportunity to prove her right.

[megashadowdragon]

What do you think about the takes the Fisrt order or imperium represent "nazism" or at least a fascist system? Lindsay ellis once said that maybe Disney didnt put an ideology for the First order because then it would be very obvious it stands for an old fascist system and buying Stormtrooper merchandise as well as Palpatime or anything would be viewed as strange.

Okay, first, the only comment on the Empire relating to a real political system Lucas has ever made was that it represented his disgust with American Imperialism. So.

Second, the idea that anyone should be concerned about people buying merchandise for the fictional evil empire is deeply stupid. This is the Victorian Gentleman of the internet once again raising the spectre of ‘hysteria’ and fundamentally failing to understand how people interact with fiction and what the difference is between fiction and reality.

The First Order (and the Empire, of which the FO is just an expy) has no ideology because it’s not meant to stand in for any actual political system or be a realistic depiction of any real regime. It is not a comment on systems of government and it is not meant to be in any but the most broad imaginable ethical sense. Actual politics are not the point. The point is good vs evil. The iconography invoking various totalitarian regimes is there to tell you that they’re bad guys bent on oppression, it’s a visual shorthand which conveys everything you need to know to grasp the conflict at hand. What’s being reinforced about the Empire/FO in these motifs is its mass conformity and total submission to an authoritarian strong man, the repression of individual agency and responsibility. As ever, this is a metaphor about fear and selfishness. Fear allows the Empire to come to power, fear sustains it; fear and complacency. These are universals meant to provide the external threat to show the impact of our characters’ choices.

Because, again, SW is a story about individuals and their individual journey to ethical adulthood. Everything that happens in the war plot is in service of that interior journey. The world of SW is a metaphor.

If people want to have an adult conversation about fascist symbolism and problematic attitudes towards the history of oppressive regimes in Hollywood cinema, they should consider interrogating how the Nazis have been reduced to a generic, dehumanised bogeyman whose only necessary quality is vaguely defined evilness.

The social Darwinistic values and ‘scientific’ racism of Nazi ideology are not an incidental feature. That is what Nazism is. Blowing up planets with a giant space laser as a show of force because you’re a Saturday morning cartoon villain is not comparable on any level to even the idea of the Holocaust never mind the reality, and people invoking such comparisons ought to be fucking ashamed of themselves. I shouldn’t have to explain why pointing to any and all extremely generic villainy and saying ‘they are literal Nazis, enjoying this action-adventure film makes you a literal Nazi apologist!!!!!’ is far more offensive than cosplaying a Stormtrooper or shitposting to r/EmpireDidNothingWrong will ever be.

And I know this shit is hypocrisy all the way down, because if there were legitimate moral concerns about the people who buy a Darth Vader action figure thinking he’s someone to literally emulate in real life instead of a fun pretend power fantasy, these same people would object just as strongly to merchandise of any given superhero and most of the ‘heroic’ sw characters.

People with genuinely regressive politics who want to read the story to support their worldview do not see themselves as the villains. They see themselves as the heroes. Even the actual literal Nazis painted themselves as valiant underdogs rebelling against an enemy which was both impossibly entrenched and strong, running the world, but also inherently weak because their beliefs and people are inferior. That is scapegoating 101. That is the authoritarian playbook.

Identifying with villains presented as villains instead of uncritically accepting the hero as an avatar actually requires the modicum of narrative sophistication and self-awareness necessary to realise you’re being told a story that isn’t real and has a subjective pov in the first place.

[spock-in-awe]

Check out this beautiful artwork! Artist is @tattoosbylily (on Facebook).

I also humbly present a fic I wrote to go along with it.

Inspired by this beautiful concept from @benperorsolo:

“Rey is Kay, Ben is Ana, but instead of Rey maybe-implicitly-dying at the end, she successfully reunites Han and Ben and then she and Ben develop a friendship and then maybe something more. Rey learns to accept her status as an every(wo)man and Ben struggles to reintegrate himself into society and his family. They grow increasingly close as they help each other navigate their place in society-- for Rey, finding meaning and agency in being a nobody, and for Ben, finding meaning as part of a group. Also imagine for a second that Ben has developed an ability to implant memories in real-time in a replicant, and Ben and Rey learn to ‘share memories’ this way.“ 

[megashadowdragon]

on reys arc

@benperorsolo​ do you mind that I am screenshotting your tweets

twitter . com/benperorsolo/status/1280589697690079232

[itspileofgoodthings]

benperorsolo (yes it's a little bit of narcissism hour but I long for ur poetry) (Maria in a word: effervescent)

AJSKKSKSJS I love this. Friday night always is a narcissism hour and THANK YOU. I am a shaken can of soda always.

your word is charismatic. (alternatively, calm/practical/logical)

my fave thing about you is that you are always holding forth and doing so brilliantly in a way that makes people want to listen (Which is why your inbox is always full) but not in an overflowingly passionate way necessarily (not that you aren’t passionate too) just. you enjoy the talk and the discussion and you are yourself very good at it and very funny and it just. you talk. people listen. charismatic.

also you’re the calm voice of reason for a lot of us nervous reylos (a hard job and I’m sorry! you shouldn’t have to be!) and I appreciate.

[megashadowdragon]

pettypingpongpaddle said: if you really want to delve in the zutara fandom, don’t search for zutara blogs, search for reylo blogs.. at one point they were a part of the fandom until the purist pta moms drive all of us out

New Zutara blog: “Kyle Ro—” Me: “Oh yep here we go”

Followed by a post on why Ben and Zuko are totally different characters because they exist in different genres for different age brackets despite their characters arcs being nearly identical and degree of severity of their crimes equal when adjusted for context

[diariesofareyloshipper]

Shipmas Countdown 2020

Day 5: 8 Maids a Milking - these are 8 of the many Reylo-centric blogs I have loved reading and seeing content from. There are a ton of others, but these are some of my faves!

1. @heart-onxions

2. @hope-lives-in-the-galaxy

3. @kasiopea-star-wars

4. @benperorsolo

5. @reylo

6. @psy-kylo-gy

7. @imperialmarchingthroughthegalaxy

8. @kylorenaissance

What are your favourite Reylo blogs?

[lueminous]

I'm bored so let's try a thing

Use 4 pictures you have already saved to describe yourself

Tagging @extrakyloren @bellesolo @benperorsolo @bennskywalker and @greyjedireylo

[mswyrr]

https://twitter.com/benperorsolo/status/1219348564314247168

[tomswambsgan]

I was tagged by @reylo-rises ( thank you for the tag, christy! )

3 favorite foods: chipotle steak bowl, strawberries, cookie dough ice cream

3 favorite books: wuthering heights by emily brontë, pride and prejudice by jane austen, the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald ( all classics... big surprise haha )

3 favorite artists: van gogh (!), klimt, monet

3 favorite musicians: fleetwood mac, florence + the machine, crosby stills & nash

3 favorite articles of clothing: cardigans, cardigans, and uhhh... cardigans ( jk but not really haha; my mustard cardigan, my high-waisted jeans, my tie-dye scooby-shirt )

3 places I want to go: italy, england, amsterdam

3 things that make me happy: sunflowers, golden hour, my dog :)

tagging: @jakkuvian, @gothrey, @florenepugh, @luminousbensolo, @darksidc, @benperorsolo, @anikns, @hothmess, @oberynmartell, @darlingtaurus, @snips-ahsokatano, @brightrey, @prettykylo, @vehemns, @sgtjyn, @jahkku, @0biwan, & @reysdyad

[megashadowdragon]

tags :  honestly he was pretty near to being Rey's sidekick in TFA too Rian is the only writer who cared enough about this character to let him be his own person his fans hating TLJ and bitching about how it did him wrong is ironic as fuck and what it really tells you is they don't give a shit about the character as a character they want pure flawless action figures to play out their power fantasies they want him to be a Jedi because it's a status symbol not because it does anything for his arc it's the same stupid Jedi = good and Force = superhero complete misunderstanding that led to fucking trosRey TLJ F/nn is an actually strong character no one needs the Force to be a hero but no one cares about humanity and aspirational struggle apparently they just want a cardboard cutout with the right powerups I WILL DIE MAD ABOUT IT I cannot BELIEVE he and Ben never meet again the track was laid RIGHT THERE for such a great resolution and wrap up everything could have been in the best writerly bow nope hacks and nonsense and flashing blue light give us money because you recognise the names and ships

Sorry this might be an inappropriate question: but what do you think about Finn being sidelined? In TLJ and Tros? I don’t wanna go down the hill TAHT it was racism they made Finns character weak, but who knows. Many say he should have become a Jedi there are also the ones who say Finns failing arc began in TLJ as Kylo was on the fore front then.

He was not sidelined in TLJ. He headed up his own plotline and was given a well-rounded character arc which built on his flaws and challenged his worldview. He was given a love interest specifically designed to push his development.

Ben is the OT’s legacy, last Skywalker, the protagonist’s love interest, and the other half of the Force plot. The idea that him being important and developed is ‘stealing’ focus from F/nn is and always has been absolutely fucking ridiculous. He also appears in TLJ LESS than in TFA. Significantly less. Even if the delusional anti feverdream of what TFA was were true, even if he were just The Villain, he would still be a main character and Rey’s relationship with him would still be her most important one. There is no universe in which he’d ever have less time than he did in any competent film.

F/nn being Force sensitive after TFA is a bad writing choice which undermines his character and is profoundly counter-productive both thematically and narratively. His ultimate function in TFA’s narrative, despite his origin not being conducive to this, is to be an emotionally open Everyman who contrasts with Rey and who illustrates the potential for heroism in ordinary people. The story where he becomes a Jedi is a completely different one to what was established in TFA and what its choices set up. Rian followed logically forward from where TFA leaves off and follows the basic structural make-up of ESB and RotJ where the spiritual Force plot and the mundane physical conflict are complementary separate threads which come together at the climax. Rey is the lead of the Force plot, F/nn is the lead of the war plot. They were split up at the end of TFA because they are on different paths and because they need to be apart to grow.

If people want to complain about someone stealing screentime from F/nn, that character is P0e. He started off as a plot device for F/nn’s story and that’s what he should have stayed. If he hadn’t been randomly reinserted after he served his purpose, Rian wouldn’t have needed to create a real personality and conflict for him with flaws and obstacles to overcome. Space for that was borrowed from and tied in with the arc of an actual plot integral character (F/nn).

Luke is in the film a tonne and you could argue it’s overshadowing, but no duh he had to be prominent because we had to explain how he could have abandoned the galaxy (again, TFA wrote Rian into a corner) and obviously his relationship with Ben is going to be key to that. He is Ben’s Jedi master as well as his uncle, he’s the one who lost him and played the pivotal role in creating the situation the ST is about. There is a lot of ground to cover with him that requires a bigger role than Yoda or Obi-wan. This is supposedly a sequel to the original trilogy, so these connections should matter. 

All the major complaints people have about F/nn are factors of what TFA was. His stormtrooper past is irrelevant and basically ceases to exist after the scene where he defects? TFA. Not the protagonist despite marketing people say made them think he would be? TFA. Not Force sensitive? TFA. Never going to be a Jedi? TFA. Not the love interest? TFA.

TROS gave him screentime and alleged Force sensitivity while gluing him to Rey’s hip like the people who bitched about TLJ wanted and it resulted in absolutely zero character arc or heroic qualities for him. And we get the reprehensible narrative that he wasn’t actually just an empathetic person who couldn’t stand the violence and oppression of the First Order- no it turns out he was just able to defect because he was born with the Force. It’s not that he was a strong character who was able to overcome indoctrination from childhood through his own conscience and will, he just had the medichorlians. Who needs agency or struggle, real heroes are born flawless and have victory handed to them. That’s relatable.

TROS also completely fails to link F/nn into the larger story or the spiritual victory, which fulfilling what he learnt in TLJ and his relationship with Rose by having him become a Resistance leader and a significant part of the war resolution while also paying off his mirroring and connection with Ben would have accomplished. But instead he becomes Rey’s sidekick, pining after her while she ignores him, where he wasn’t at all that in TLJ.