#but instead people want to talk about how the jedi TOTALLY WEREN’T RESPONSIBLE or how the Jedi PERSONALLY MADE ANAKIN DO GENOCIDE

[willowcrowned]

“is anakin at fault for his actions” is the trolley problem of sw fandom to me. there’s no right answer and that’s actually good and useful because it lets us ask complicated questions about free will and trauma and what being at fault even means BUT. and this is crucial. there are also about a million yahoos walking around acting like there is an OBVIOUS right answer and everyone who disagrees with them is a MORAL DEGENERATE and also an idiot

[obwjam]

Ooo how about - 2. “It’s like you’re trying to get hurt at this point.” - maybe with obi wan? xx

“It’s like you’re trying to get hurt at this point.”

oh yes anon this is the STUFF. local sassy man is exhausted, sources say

from this post

———————————————————————-

“It’s like you’re trying to get hurt at this point.”

“Obi-Wan...” you sighed, looking down at your legs dangling in the air. You weren’t too fond of being grabbed, so Obi-Wan’s solution was to use the Force when you fell — and you fell often. “Do you have to do this every time?”

Obi-Wan didn’t even look up from the book he was reading. “Yes.”

“Please,” you rolled your eyes. “I was totally gonna make that jump!”

“It certainly didn’t look like it.”

“You always say that!” you protested, now crossing your arms as you jerked your body to face your Jedi friend. The light of the Coruscant sunset was bathing you in a pink and orange glow. “And you weren’t even looking this time!”

“Even you’d have to admit your track record is less than stellar,” Obi-Wan ignored your comment and smirked, hand barely outstretched as he kept you hovering a few feet from the ground. “Wasn’t it just last week that you tried to swing from the bookcase to the table and ended up on the ground instead?”

You huffed a breath. “That was a miscalculation.”

“And how many more miscalculations until you seriously injure yourself?”

“Come on, you know as well as I do that borrowers don’t get hurt as easily as humans.”

Obi-Wan finally looked up from his book. His expression wasn’t irked like you thought it might be — it was concerned. “(Y/n). That isn’t an excuse to do dangerous things.”

You shut your eyes as Obi-Wan stood up from his chair and kneeled down in front of you, pulling you from midair into his open palm. In all the time you had known Obi-Wan, you still could barely look up at him. The sheer size difference was something you figured you’d never get used to.

You refused to look up at Obi-Wan as he took a seat.

“Your stunts get more and more wild by the day,” he said quietly. “Is something the matter?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” you grumbled. “Why would something be wrong?”

“You know I can tell when you’re lying,” Obi-Wan chuckled. “You’re not the first one to try getting one’s attention by acting out.”

You grimaced as you wrung your hands together.

“It’s not easy, you know. Being around you all the time.”

Obi-Wan tilted his head, trying to get a read on your expression. “(Y/n), what are you talking about?”

“You know! You’re—you’re this great, powerful Jedi master, who—who can move things with his mind and do incredible things. You think just because I’m small that I’m helpless and can’t do anything!”

“Missions are far too dangerous for you, and you know that!” Obi-Wan said sternly, rolling his eyes. It was another one of these conversations. He didn’t even notice your flinch when he raised his voice.

“But I could help!” you cried, standing up and balling your fists at your side. “I could—I could be a spy, or—or I could crawl into places you normally wouldn’t be able to reach!”

“(Y/n), people die on these missions! All the time! The clones who are bred for battle don’t often make it back. I can’t let you take that risk!”

“You don’t let me do anything! Sure, I’ve gotten hurt before, but you get hurt too! Everybody does!”

Obi-Wan groaned. This had to have been the fifth time this week you begged him to take you on a mission. He wasn’t in the mood to keep rehashing his decision, and guilt-tripping wasn’t going to work. “It’s different for you and you know it.”

“Oh really? How come? Because I’m so small, I can’t be trusted? Because I’m just a pathetic little thing you took pity on?!”

It was like all the air disappeared from the room in an instant. Obi-Wan gasped softly while you covered your mouth, utterly horrified that you has let that slip. In an instant, he had gone from annoyed to embarrassed. In the months that had passed since Obi-Wan found you, he had mostly kept you confined to his quarters. He had left you alone when he went on missions, but he figured that was for the best — the fewer giants you had to encounter, the better. He failed to consider the possibility that sheltering you would just make you more afraid.

“(Y/n),” he started, lifting his hands up to his eye level. He could barely see the makings of a tear track on your cheek. “Is that really how you feel?”

You crossed your arms and turned your head down, giving it a small shake.

“No? Then why would you say that?”

Your stomach felt like there was a lead weight resting inside. “People say things.”

“What people? Other Jedi?” Obi-Wan had to suppress the rage that was bubbling up.

“I dunno!” your quavering voice shouted in defense. It was times like these that you hated being confined to his hand. “I just... I hear it sometimes, okay? When you’re not around.”

“It’s not Anakin, is it?”

“No, not him,” you scoffed. “Though he does seem to look at me like some sort of helpless pet.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “He needs to learn some manners.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Sometimes it just feels like you’d be better off without me here.”

Obi-Wan almost screamed. If he ever found out who was saying those things to you...

“(Y/n), what are you trying to say?”

You finally looked up at Obi-Wan and felt a pang of guilt at his hurt expression. You didn’t think he would be so... offended by your words.

“I’m just... I don’t understand why you keep me around. I just get in your way, don’t I? You’re always worrying about me, even when I don’t need to be worried about. I’ve fallen from treetops to the forest floor. This is the safest place I’ve ever been — you —you won’t even show me around the temple! — but you still feel the need to—”

“—to protect you?” Obi-Wan finished. Embarrassed, you nodded.

“Yeah. To protect me. When I never even leave this room. I can’t be the only person you ever saved from danger. You... you have far more important things to do than save me when I fall.”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment as he steadied his breathing. It was never lost on him how small and vulnerable you were compared to the environment around you. Even in the safety of his hands, his curled fingers loomed overhead. How could he not worry when even he was an inherent danger to you? You were his responsibility now — just as Anakin and Ahsoka are. When he rescued you from your old planet, you were injured and afraid. The temporary shelter he promised had turned into a permanent solution because he enjoyed having you around. You were a friend.

“It seems I have failed to properly convey my feelings,” Obi-Wan said softly, almost sounding disappointed in himself. You looked at him, confused.

“You matter to me a great deal. I wouldn’t have let you stay if you didn’t. You’re a wonderful companion and an even greater friend. You’re right, you’re not the first person I’ve saved from this horrible war. It’s... not often that Jedi get the opportunity to let themselves care so deeply for someone. I want to protect you because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let you get hurt.”

You gawked up at him, almost not believing what you were hearing.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, or think any lesser of you.” You could have sworn Obi-Wan’a cheeks flushed red for a moment. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“You... you really mean that?” you blushed, gently resting your hands on his thumb. His hand didn’t seem so imposing anymore.

Obi-Wan didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, I do.”

“It’s just... I dunno,” you frowned. “You travel all across the galaxy. You meet so many amazing and powerful people. Why me? Why do you care about me so much?”

Obi-Wan stroked his beard for a moment. He had never thought about it concretely, but it didn’t take long for the words to come to him.

“Well, for starters, you’re far more observant than I am. And quite good at understanding people and their feelings.” He smiled to himself. “And I must admit, you are very agile. If you were my height, you certainly would have no problem holding your own.”

You rubbed your eyes, foolishly hoping you could conceal how red your face was. No such luck.

“Look, I know I can’t do everything I wish I can. Or act like I can. But I spent my entire life living by myself in a forest. I got by just fine until the war came. I’m—I’m not used to just sitting around all day doing nothing. I... I can help. I want to help! I owe it to you. You saved me, and I should be doing more to show my thanks. Nothing crazy, or-or anything, but maybe I could—”

“Tenacious.”

“What?”

“You’re tenacious, too. I like that about you. It reminds me of...” he trailed off. He didn’t need to say for you to know. “You don’t like to accept the circumstances given to you. You’d rather be the one setting the terms.”

You shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Perhaps I am a bit overbearing at times. But it’s because I care, not because I don’t think you’re capable. But even I can admit when I’m in the wrong.”

You sniffed a laugh. “Can’t imagine that happens all too often.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “No, not really.”

There was a comfortable silence as Obi-Wan thought over what he was about to say. He could only imagine how you felt — ripped away from your home, forced to sit inside all day as you recover from everything you saw and went through. Nobody in their right mind would want to return to the war after being rescued from it, but Obi-Wan supposed he underestimated how you were just his kind of crazy.

“How did you like being in space when I brought you to Coruscant?”

You cocked your head. “Um, I liked it just fine. I was kinda scared, but I thought it went well for my first time on a ship. Why?”

“Well, as you know I’m due to leave for a relief mission to Corvo tomorrow. I don’t suppose you’d like to join me?”

Your eyes lit up. “Really? Yes! I mean—yeah, if—if you’re offering, I’d really — I’d love to.”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Good. The people of Corvo are allies of the Republic, and very kind. If you’re to make Coruscant your new home, it might be nice for you to meet the Corvoian Prime Minister.”

It took a great deal of discipline to contain your excitement, and Obi-Wan knew it. You leaned into his thumb in sort of a makeshift hug, and he flexed his fingers to reciprocate the action as best he could. For a few minutes, neither of you said anything. The moment didn’t need any words.

“Obi-Wan?” you said finally.

“Hmm?”

“How come you changed your mind so quickly?”

He shrugged. “I know when I make a mistake. And I like to fix it as soon as possible so people don’t realize it happened.”

You laughed. “How very humble of you.”

“Oh, you know me.”

“Yeah,” you said, resting your head on his thumb as Obi-Wan leaned back. The sun had just about set and the hundreds of brilliant lights were beginning to pop up along the horizon. You would never get tired of its beauty.

“I do.”

[greyias]

Companion Interview Meme

Tagged by: @a-muirehen — thank you for the tag!

Pick three companions who know your OC/muse well. Answer the questions from at least one of their companions points of view. Replace anywhere it says ‘Grey’ with your OC’s name. Name the three companions who will be answering here: 1. Theron Shan 2. Lana Beniko 3. Kira Carsen Are they ready to be candid with their responses? Don’t worry, this is totally private. Grey will never read it.

(Slight spoiler warning in one answer for Echoes of Oblivion)

1. First Impressions. What was the first impression you had of Grey?

Theron: Look, it’s complicated. Like on one hand, she just had to be hiding something, because she was just so—so—no one is that nice! Or naive. It had to be an act somehow. I was convinced of it, there had to be something wrong with her, some deep, dark dirty secret she was hiding. Because if she wasn’t then that means she was a genuinely good person who actually cared deeply about random strangers and that was just weird. And kind of wonderful. And in retrospect when I look back maybe I just... needed a few reasons to keep people at arms distance. I once told her that I loved her from the moment I saw her. Striding into the situation room like she owned the place and... yeah. That was also true. As I said, it’s complicated. And I’m kind of an idiot.

Lana: I was quite impressed by what I had assumed at the time was a great deal of pragmatism. She was a Jedi, and yet didn’t seem bothered at all by the fact that I was a Sith. In fact, sometimes I think maybe she was... fascinated by it? There was a moment or two where I wondered if... well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now. She has always been a force to be reckoned with. It’s easy to follow someone like that... even if they are a Jedi (and a very impractical one at that. I really should have seen that coming in retrospect.)

Kira: She didn’t know how to take a joke. I mean, I’ve gotten better over the years, but at the start I’d had a tendency to make jokes first, assess the situation later. I’d made some comment about taking no prisoners, and you would have thought I’d just kicked a puppy instead of making a joke. Kind of felt like I had from the look on her face. Luckily, I think we both made better second impressions when we started working together on Coruscant.

2. Grey walks into a bar. No, it’s not a joke - what does she order? If you give her a credit for the jukebox, what kind of music would she put on?

Theron: Something fruity and filled with rum if you don’t stop her. Don’t let her drink the rum. And then because she has no loyalty whatsoever she’ll put on Tai-Vor Swivt on the jukebox and just share my special playlist with the whole cantina. Um. I mean. Her playlist. I don’t like Tai-Vor. I only listen to Heavy Isotope. And things like that.

Lana: The answer depends on the time of day, her mood, and several other factors. I have it all documented in this rubric here. You’ll need to give me more specifics on your inquiry if you want an accurate answer.

Kira: I mean, usually she just orders caf, which almost always gets a dramatic eyeroll from the bartender. So I usually have to order so we don’t get the stinkeye the entire time. And usually she lets me pick the music too -- I kind of suspect she didn’t really know many of the artists. Not exactly dialed into pop culture, that one.

3. How does Grey spend a day off from work?

Theron: Hmm, if I have my way it’s a nice slow morning and any message sent to her e-mail receives a cordial out-of-office message (Lana gets two for each message she sends.) Maybe later we can take a walk in the woods, go pet those stinky Exoboars running wild and ruining the Odessen countryside, maybe we get a little lost along the way. Spend the evening winding down with one of her swashbuckling holoflix. If I don’t have my way someone winds up asking her a work question and then she doesn’t get a day off. Yes. I know the irony of this coming from me.

Lana: If she is onsite at Odessen nowadays she seems to spend it in a mix between time in her quarters, leaving the base to take a walk in the woods, trying to duck surveillance to meditate in her “secret” spot. 

Kira: Back on the Defender, it was just a lot of meditating, practicing her katas, sparring. Honestly, even on her days off she usually just kept trying to make sure we were prepared for the next mission. Although if I invited her to do something normal she’d go along with it. So I may have made sure some of our off days coincided so she would actually take something resembling a break. The weirdo. She seems to have relaxed a little from that here on Odessen. I think that’s nice.

4. What silly superstitions or funny traditions does she observe?

Theron: She meditates each morning, and still observes the Jedi morning fast. Except she totally cheats on her fast and will drink a cup of caf if its hand delivered to her. She’ll warm her hands on the mug as she takes in a big whiff, and this little smile spreads across her face. It causes the freckles on her nose to wrinkle. And maybe I’m the one who hand delivers the caf because its hard to think of a better way to start the day.

Lana: We do not speak of the fruitcake, or any of her other attempted holiday traditions. If we do not encourage her, then maybe she’ll stop. Please, we must all band together, for the good of my digestive tract.

Kira: Whenever we would finish up a mission on a planet, she liked to take off her socks and boots and meditate with her feet sticking into the ground. She even wanted to do it on Quesh but Doc was loud enough on that instance to be able to talk her out of it. She tried to hide it but she looked really disappointed, so I tried to cheer her up by joining her on this weird mud hop at our next port of call. Not sure if I really felt any different but it seemed to make her happy.

5. What does Grey wear to bed? And just how do you know that?

Theron: Traditional night wear is a thin tank top and sleep pants. Let’s just say sometimes there’s less traditional night wear, or sometimes less than that -- but that’s between husband and wife.

Lana: On mission she typically wears something quick to change into her armor. On base she seems to have a standard set of pajama bottoms and sleeveless sleep shirt. How do I know this? Let’s just say I have to keep the Commander on schedule, even when certain people who should know better try and distract her from our very busy day running things.

Kira: She usually was changed and ready for the day before I ever saw her, but sometimes there’d be a late night where she couldn’t sleep, and I’d find her in the Defender’s mess. Pretty simple and spare sleepwear, sleep pants and tank top. Fashion’s not exactly her priority, you know?

6. Your favorite memory of Grey?

Theron: Why do you make me pick? Damn... that’s hard. There’s almost too many to choose, but... I guess it would be just after we got back from Nathema, and I was trying to apologize for everything and... somehow that turned into a proposal. And despite me being a stumbling awkward mess she still said yes and... look. I probably should have picked a different one, I’m not really good at the talking about feelings thing.

Lana: That moment when the broadcast across the galaxy happened after she had tamed the Eternal Fleet, she stood poised and powerful, finally setting the galaxy aright after Zakuul had torn it asunder. It was a moment more than five years in the making and I couldn’t have been prouder.

Kira: That moment when we stood, side-by-side, with everyone else in the Force and turned that creep Tenebrae, and every other of his counterparts into absolute crumbling dust. It almost made up for the fact that I wasn’t there the first two times she sent him packing.

7. A time you very nearly almost kissed Grey?

Theron: I mean, if we’re being technical, I had... thought about it for one moment on Manaan. Just a brief second, as we were saying our farewells before I went into hiding. Our eyes had met while we were shaking hands goodbye and it would have been so easy to just pull her in close and--I didn’t. Of course I didn’t. Not then at least. Now though? I don’t miss a chance.

Lana: I was angry at myself, my weakness, and taking it out on the clutter around the Gravestone. I had been surrounded out in the swamp, and only Koth’s timely intervention had saved me. She had come seeking me out to make sure that I was all right, to check on my injury. And in the low light, she just looked so concerned and guilty, and I’m fairly certain she was leaning in. I would have, you know, if Koth hadn’t been throwing around things and making a racket.

Kira: It was right after my Knighting, and I had snuck a bottle of champagne on board to celebrate. I suspect she hadn’t ever actually tasted alcohol before, judging by her reaction to the first sip. But we kept drinking, and giggling, kind of like we weren’t stuffy Jedi at all. And there was this moment where she asked me about Nar Shaddaa. Not pushy or anything, just... curious about my experiences. She never talks about it, but I don’t think she really knew much of life outside of the Order so she was always cautiously curious. And there was this moment where I was telling her about my first kiss and we kind of leaned in and--nothing happened. At the time I didn’t want to risk making things weird. I... like where we’re at. I’m fine with it.

8. Vacation time! Where do you take Grey for some R&R?

Theron: You know, I just love the sound of that word. Vay-cay-shun. Despite popular opinion I actually do take them, maybe a few more now than when I was single. We have a secret little hideaway that no one else knows about that I like to take her to when things get a little rough or we just need a break from the everything the galaxy is deciding to throw her our way.

Lana: You know, a vacation does sound nice, but someone has to keep things running here, especially when a certain nameless spy whisks our Commander away to fake locales. Seriously, I need a proper itinerary. What if I need to contact them? It’s just rude. Oh right, the question. I suppose I wouldn’t mind visiting some place quiet and out of the way, although I honestly have yet to find a place in galaxy that qualifies because if I take Grey for some reason she always finds someone in trouble that she insists on rescuing.

Kira: I’m not sure if it qualifies as a vacation per se, but I’ve been able to sneak her and one of our other Jedi buddies around base off to Nar Shaddaa for a Girl’s Night. Those are fun, even if we kept getting hit on at the bars. Although that can be entertaining in itself, especially that one time some guy pretended to be a Jedi, and then got this very detailed lecture on how bad an idea that was from Grey. I don’t think I’ve seen a man wilt so fast in my life. I would pay to see that again.

9. Grey’s sense of humor -is it dry, immature, sarcastic, self-deprecating, physical, witty, dark, or…?

Theron: I think it depends on the situation and her mood. It can be very subtle, and sometimes I can’t tell if she’s being serious when she says something ridiculous, or if she’s messing with me. Which... I suppose is fair, because sometimes I do the same to her.

Lana: She loves a good pun, which I find delightful. It’s doubly delightful just to see Theron roll his eyes and groan like he’s being tortured.

Kira: I think a lot of people don’t really get her humor, and honestly it took me a while to realize when she was joking. She likes to let others take the lead when it comes to cracking jokes, but when she does make a zinger, it takes a few seconds for it to land. They’re a lot more sly and subtle than you’d think. My favorite is when she starts to get really frustrated with someone and makes really dry, pointed comments that usually sail right over their heads. She has so many people fooled with that sweet serene Jedi act, they don’t even realize the epic burn until long after the conversation has ended.

Tagging: @confettininjabean, @thewriterandmuse. @shanfamilydrama, @storyknitter, @lumielles, @captainderyn, and @brietopia

[davidmann95]

Hey David? Why is ours such a cruel and merciless God?

mirrorfalls said: (If you don't know what I'm talking about, your inbox should be filling up with more specific deets riiiiight about now.)

cheerfullynihilistic said: THE SNYDER CUT

Anonymous said: You don’t seem to think Superman’s public rep will take another beating from the Snyder Cut coming out. Honestly I thought you’d be way more upset than you seemed on Twitter.

Anonymous said: So uhh, against all thoughts and logic the Snyder cut is being released? Maybe as a mini series? Thoughts?

Anonymous said: SNYDER CUT!

Bullies. Jocks. Guys angrily asking if we know who their father is. Assorted dudebro nerd-oppressors of America:

You have failed us. You have failed us so hard. What else do we even keep you around for if not to head this shit off at the pass? Shame on you.

Okay, so seriously: I’m actually gonna put most bitching and moaning under a cut, because I know firsthand there are as many as several non-slavering maniacs out there who dug Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and who are simply and entirely reasonably excited that they’re getting this movie after all. I don’t feel like throwing a wall of text at them shitting all over this, so I’ll lead off with I think some fairly even-handed commentary on the real-world circumstances here, rambling speculation regarding the production, and some cautious optimism about the actual movie/s. THEN I’ll get to what I imagine most of you are here to see.

So totally in a vacuum: this is a cool, good thing. I’m the notorious theatrical Justice League-liker, but at best it was a compromised product due to the original creator - who like it or not clearly had an incredibly ambitious personal vision for these characters and their world - suffering a horrific tragedy forcing him off the project, and leaving his final stamp on blockbuster culture and a world he’d devoted years of his life to a flop with his name on it when he couldn’t even truly call it his own anymore. At worst, said tragedy was taken advantage of by suits to ditch him in the home stretch so as to try and shove out something ostensibly more marketable. But now because of a...very loyal fanbase, the man’s getting the opportunity and resources to rise like a phoenix and see at least some of his vision through in a huge way. That’s pretty remarkable.

Not in a vacuum this is fucking horrifying. I’ve already seen folks poo-poohing the reflexive fears that this will ‘set a precedent’, and they were right enough that I deleted my initial tweet on the subject because I didn’t think I could express my own opinion with any nuance in the space of 280 characters. Yeah, nerd whining definitely shaped Rise of Skywalker (another movie I enjoyed in spite of the circumstances of its creation). Hell, Sonic the Hedgehog crunched its CGI team prior to unceremoniously firing them to redesign his model thanks to outcry. That’s already a market force, and just to be clear upfront, if we can’t agree the predominant mode of operation for #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has been a toxic nerd harassment campaign when they spammed posts memorializing deceased actors and chased Diane Nelson off Twitter, we’re not gonna be able to have this conversation. And director’s cuts are you may have noticed also already a thing. But this isn’t changing direction on a project that’s already going to exist no matter what, this is turning back 3 years later on a commercial flop and dumping tens of millions of dollars into it, explicitly in response to that harassment campaign. It’s not *actually* going back and, say, remaking The Last Jedi, but by god to the naked eye it’s gonna be as good as for plenty of fanboys, and probably to some shortsighted execs as well. This is a new thing, and in this context it is a very, very bad one. Hopefully one that won’t amount to anything.

As for the movie itself: what the hell is this thing going to end up being? I assume with this sort of cashola being pumped into it we’re not getting any slapdash greenscreen or storyboarded sequences, but four hours? Is it really just going to be an expanded and revised version of what we saw in theaters, or is this including content that would have been in the originally planned Justice Leagues 2 and 3? My understanding is that those were already compressed into a single Justice League 2 before plans collapsed altogether, were they maybe filming side-by-side and this’ll be the whole shebang? If not is Snyder going to hedge his bets and end this on a clean note, or keep it ending on a cliffhanger in hopes HBO will throw another $250 million his way to keep going? Does DC want to keep going? Would they give into fan pressure on releasing after all what was widely publicized as the first film of a duology or trilogy with dangling threads if they weren’t going to be at least watching the numbers to see the feasibility of returning to this in a bigger way? Not that I think WB execs would piss into Snyder’s mouth if he were dying of thirst at this point if he simply asked to be able to do Justice League 2, but if he floated that if they instead just give him a liiiiiiiitle more money he can finally deliver unto them their very own Avengers - one that they can work on even during quarantine since it’s mostly just VFX work left - and hey if it works out he’s got a sequel or two cued up and ready to go? Maybe they look at their scattered plans and say the hell with it and end up giving this a theatrical release and sequel with Snyder holding the reigns again if this ends up a killer app; stranger things have happened, if not many, and somehow this is already happening in the first place after all. Alternatively, if this succeeds, could they go “thanks and good on ya, totally do another, but it’s gonna be an HBO exclusive so you’re only getting a hundred million, figure it out”? Would Ben Affleck return? How much reshooting will he be willing to commit to even for this? And most importantly, since this is potentially going to be serialized as six ‘episodes’, will We Got This Covered count this as another ‘win’ since their bullshit rumor mill algorithm spit out “Justice League HBO TV show” recently?

As for the project itself: I ain’t subscribing to HBOMax for this bad boy, but once it becomes more widely available I can’t claim I won’t probably watch it. It’s basically a new movie about the Justice League, and if there’s anything I WOULD wanna see Zack Snyder do in the DCU, it’s the movie finally moving past pseudo-realism (aside from some of those dopey costumes) and leaning all the way into godlike superbeings bludgeoning each other through continents. I absolutely wanna see his aesthetic take on the Green Lantern Corps, and New Genesis, and time travel, and all the other weird promises of where his movies were going to go climaxing in a ridiculous super-war across all spacetime. It’s the same reason J.G. Jones was an exciting choice for Final Crisis before he had to leave, seeing a guy known for his work in an ultra-real grungy superhero style starting there and building up to seeing his version of absolutely wild cosmic spectacle. And no, to respond to one of the initial asks, I’m not worried about the impact on Superman. Everyone seems to have accepted this is its own distinct thing whether they like it or not, I think him getting to complete his ‘arc’ will quiet down many of the folks who like to yell at every other version as retro nonsense since now they’ll be able to be smug about having had the best take rather than pining for a lost finale, and I’m not interested in further Superman movies at the moment anyway with Superman & Lois in the pipe (which I was originally paranoid would be endangered by this when rumors first started floating, but if it’s been brewing since November then if they wanted to strike that down to ‘make room’ according to their Byzantine ever-shifting rules, they would have by now). Far as I’m concerned, as long as the other DC movies get to keep doing what they’re doing during and past this - even Pattinson in his corner, however that works - then totally let Snyder work out all his Wagnerian superhero bullshit for another flick or two. If nothing else, maybe we’ll learn what the hell that diagram up there is supposed to mean. And a plea I want to clarify upfront is wholeheartedly sincere: we’re already down the rabbit hole, so let Snyder to literally whatever he wants with his non-theatrically released Justice League. Zero input or veto power from outside parties. If he wants Flash to hang dong or Superman to say fuck or Batman to learn he’s Steppenwolf’s secret dad or Cyborg to learn he needs to eat babies to fuel his machine parts, let him go for it. Whole point is this is now his thing for people who want his thing.

Okay, beneath the cut the filter comes off, so go ahead if that’s your jam.

Hahahahahahaha this is gonna be such a fuckin’ shitshow you guys, Jesus Christ.

They’re giving the dude who did BvS and wants to make an Ayn Rand adaptation someday $30 million to take another crack at this monstrosity! 30 goddamn million smackaroos for four fucking hours of by many accounts roughly the same basic movie, except now presumably with what little coherency, fun, and clean character work the theatrical cut managed to pull off excised in return for weighty staring, ponderous pseudo-philosophical musings, hackneyed symbolism, aimless mythology teasing, and Steppenwolf I understand being decapitated by Wonder Woman at the end rather than taken back to Apokolips. I didn’t even spoiler mark that shit because don’t you dare pretend you care about the fate of Steppenwolf. I won’t have it.

I used to wonder if I was indeed missing the forest for the trees with these movies, that I was so inflexible in my personal image of these characters - even though I appreciate plenty of alternate takes on them and even some stories that bend or break what I consider their ‘rules’, just not these - that I was incapable of grasping or appreciating these films on their own merits as works of art using those archetypes in wildly different ways; even I could see there were good moments and interesting ideas on display despite seemingly failing to come together. No matter how much I personally deconstructed how and why it wasn’t working, I couldn’t do it to my own satisfaction to the point of stamping out that niggling little worry with how many folks whose opinions I respect love ‘em. Until I finally remembered that the Cadmus arc of Justice League Unlimited is totally the same basic story as BvS, centrally driven by an even worse take on Superman, and that’s still one of the best superhero stories of all time. These just stink by any merits, and while I think Justice League absolutely has the potential to be the most *entertaining* of the bunch, it’s not going to magically become *good* in the eleventh hour. Not to lift up Joss Whedon of all people as some kind of savior, I’m on the record that my love for Justice League as-is is some kind of inexplicable alchemical accident, but I promise that there is not going to be one single addition to this movie that’s going to make up for the removal of “Just save one person”.

Also I’m already not looking forward to dudes tweeting “whoa, he’s splitting it up into a serialized narrative, reflective of the sequential nature of the characters’ primitive native pictorial medium! Or mayhap in ode to the pulp film adventure serials which inspired those in turn! Even the Justice League children’s cartoon for dumb babies, which was itself...made up of episodes! That’s three references in the structure of the thing alone! The man’s operating on an entirely different level!” “God, isn’t it amazing how much better he understands the source material than you”, they shall say, about a man who I understand just very confidently referred to Doomsday in his livestream as having destroyed Krypton in the comics. Again, don’t you say they won’t, just the other day I saw folks tweeting they just realized that since Jor-El wears armor over his bodysuit that technically means Superman’s whole costume is underwear which means Snyder’s totally honoring that without putting him in ugly dumb red panties so checkmate, dorks.

(Okay, in fairness, I know Snyder was saying that’s his take on what happened to the moon in the past of the movies and maybe I only misheard that he thought that also happened in the comics, and it’s trivial information anyway. Still sucks though, that seeming out-of-nowhere Jax-Ur shoutout was like the one thing I liked about that otherwise interminable Krypton sequence. And why is there a second Doomsday? You did Death of Superman already!)

And further SPOILER thoughts below on the reported plots of 2 and 3:

It’s also an amazing, perfect sort of narrative synchronicity that the hypocrisy of Man of Steel in presenting Superman as a savior would (will?) be matched by the movies also rejecting that promise long-term. In there, Jor-El’s musings on the capacity of every living thing being capable of good, the closest the film has to a singular moral statement, are proven wrong when Zod has to be put down like a mad dog, and rather than the one who’ll bring us into the sun, Kal-El’s presence draws ruin from beyond the stars to our world. And again in BvS with Doomsday. And again in Justice League 1-3, where in spite of claims by Snydercutters that it’s okay for Superman to be a really lousy take on Superman because it’s totally supposed to take several movies after putting on the costume and calling himself Superman, including his own death and resurrection, for him to really, like, become Superman, man, he remains a liability to the end. His death lures in Steppenwolf, the Kryponian matrix in his genes is Darkseid’s goal, he becomes the villain of the first act of Justice League 3 - possibly of his own free will depending on which version you’ve heard about - and at the final showdown, it’s Batman who sacrifices himself to stop Darkseid and save the world and inspire the rise of superheroism, because Batman, you see, rules, whereas Superman, stay with me here, drools. A letdown given BvS was just about the one major story of the last 30 years to unambiguously conclude Superman is better than Batman, but not a shocker. None of what I understand goes down in these - iconography from the likes of Fourth World, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Death and Return of Superman, Rock of Ages, Final Crisis, and Injustice reused but stripped of all context and thematic weight that gives it meaning (even Injustice is built on the premise of having a ‘good’ Superman to contrast the dictator); Lois being the ‘key’ because of her connections to two men, one she married and one she bears; time travel that even by the very generous suspension of disbelief applied to it in a genre like this operates by two obviously completely different sets of rules in its only two uses, and is then used to write the entire second movie of the trilogy out of continuity in the first act of the third, making one and a half of these movies pointless - is shocking. It’s just more empty notions and unfulfilled promises offered up to a fanbase staking everything on the idea that all the tampering, all the wild swings, all the meandering, it’s all building UP to something, not possibly just a dude who doesn’t understand these characters but wanting to look very clever with them before building up to one more rad punch-up. So yes, make these movies. Let what can be gleaned from them as worthwhile be revealed, leave the rest of it up for examination to be judged as it deserves and let it, finally. Finally. Be done.

[scottymcgeesterwrites]

10 Underrated Movies of the 2010s

1. John Carter (2012)

Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was even produced in 1937, Disney was considering producing an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s A Princess of Mars as Disney’s first animated film. During its pre-production stage, producers weren’t quite receptive to the concept. The story was about a man being transported to Mars, where its gravity gave him super powers, and he fought with four-armed green-skinned aliens. Back then, space ideas were the last things on people’s minds in the ‘30’s. They wanted something uplifting from The Great Depression. Disney didn’t quite scrap the story; they shelved it for later and decided to go with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as Disney’s (and the world’s) first feature-length animated movie. John Carter holds the award for the movie with the longest time spent in “development hell”. For the next 75 years, different directors and producers would try to bring back the classic tale of daring-do on the planet Mars. Growing up reading Edgar Rice Burrough’s novels, I was enthralled to hear that they finally produced a live-action film to be released on 2012 – and it was even near my birthday! March of 2012 marked 100 years since Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars. It was like all the stars were truly aligned for something great. The movie finally came out and it . . . didn’t do well at all. It’s also notable for being one of the most expensive movies ever made – and it was all for nothing. What happened? Most of you reading this may even be unaware of the hero John Carter or A Princess of Mars. I find that the main issue was the problem of John Carter being largely unknown because it has been long overshadowed by Flash Gordon, Superman, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and literally everything else that owes its inspiration to John Carter. Superman got its concept of gravity-granting superpowers from John Carter. Flash Gordon got its human-on-another-planet heroics from John Carter. Star Wars derived nearly everything from Flash Gordon. The domino effect goes on. The further you go, the more people forget the original inspiration, and we live in a world now where people don’t really care about who did it first, but who did it best.

There’s a particular scene in the movie John Carter where the titular hero has to fight monsters in an arena. Many critics were bored of the scene, claiming they saw it already in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones; which is ironic being that the arena scene was written almost a full century before Attack of the Clones. Scantily clad Carrie Fisher in Return of the Jedi? That’s a Deja Thoris reference from A Princess of Mars.

It can be difficult to judge a movie or story by itself aside from other derivative works. When that source material is some obscure adventure tale that is literally older than World War I, you should realize that probably not a lot of people have heard about it nowadays.

The film suffers from two other major points: the runtime and the combination of books one and two of Burrough’s original trilogy. A Princess of Mars is a rather simple tale of a man saving a princess on Mars. Its sequel, The Gods of Mars, goes into more complex matters as the evil Therns are revealed as a group of mysterious aliens controlling all culture and life on Mars for their benefit. The movie John Carter tries to combine the two, and I see why. Modern audiences are uninterested in seeing another adventure tale about a guy saving a princess. Ironically, that would have worked much better in the 1930’s, but the Disney board at the time was like, “Space? What’s that? Mars? What’s this newfangled spaceship business?” John Carter ultimately had the unfortunate and unique experiences of being both too ahead and too dated for its time.

I still highly recommend it because the production value is amazing and it’s still highly entertaining. The score is fantastic (Michael Giacchino), and the performances are great, albeit with some cheesy dialogue. The screenwriters added more depth to the character of John Carter that really pulls some heartstrings, especially during one particular scene where he’s bashing hundreds of aliens to a pulp.Unfortunately, the poor performance of John Carter prevented its sequel and the planned trilogy from ever being produced. At the end of the day, I’m still content with seeing the world’s very first space adventure that ultimately inspired Star Wars finally put on screen. 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I was frankly surprised when nobody else cared about a Solo movie coming out. Having read A.C. Crispin’s Han Solo Trilogy when I was a kid and having overall grown up loving the character, I thought ANY Star Wars fan would be pumped. That was the issue right away before the movie even hit theaters – Nobody. Fucking. Cared. The previous year’s Last Jedi left a sour, divisive taste in the Star Wars fandom. Toxic fans threw their hands in uproar and an entire debacle unseen since the prequel trilogy exploded. Like with Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace, fans had continually harassed and bullied Kelly Marie Tran for playing Rose to the point where she quit Instagram. YouTube videos nearly 30 minutes long were dedicated to bashing the film and “SJW culture” and “virtue signaling”. The entire debacle was a nightmare that makes me shudder to even think about. It was like everyone was tired of Star Wars by the next year. Some people like to say that “Star Wars fatigue” wasn’t the thing because nobody was tired of Marvel movies. I disagree. First of all, I witnessed immediate responses to people’s reactions at the trailer. They said “I don’t care” and “Why do we need that?”. Second, Star Wars and Marvel are two completely different universes. Marvel has a nearly infinite range of various stories with various atmospheres and moods and characters. One Marvel fan can “specialize” in Doctor Strange while another mostly loves Thor. Star Wars follows the same group of characters over the same damn story that we’ve already known for the past 42 years. Like John Carter, Solo had the same problem by being too confident and throwing too much money into its production. Solo also happens to be on the list of the most expensive movies ever made. Its poor performance and inability to make a return on the total costs scrapped the possibility of any more future standalone Star Wars films. Further dissections of why it didn’t work out vary. Some people hate the droid L3-37 and claim unnecessary SJW content. I disagree with that too. In my rulebook, something in a story is not unnecessary unless it proves crucial to the plot; L3-37 is the reason why the Kessel Run worked. Were it not for her fanatic desire of starting a droid revolution, Han wouldn’t have survived. The idea of revolution is also crucial and foreshadows the coming Rebel Alliance. I wonder if people would have had the same reaction to L3-37 if the movie had been released years before the current political situation; if we would have just seen her as a cool, kooky and rebellious droid instead. Solo: A Star Wars Story reveals that Han has always been around instances of rebellion, which he has tried to ignore. It isn’t until A New Hope that he finally gives in for good. I honestly don’t see why some people say it doesn’t fit with A New Hope when it clearly does. One of my favorite parts is when Q’ira tells Han, “I know who you really are.” From the trailer, you would expect her to say “A scoundrel.” But in the film, she says, “The good guy.” The film cements the idea that Han has always tried to look and act cool but deep down he gives in to doing the right thing, which separates him from the other scoundrels at the cantina. It’s because of this adventure that he ends up helping to blow up the Death Star later on. Also, like John Carter, the score is absolutely fantastic. I could go on about it but that would derail the topic for another time. 3. The Gift (2015)

I ended up seeing this movie on a whim by myself after someone bailed on me at the last minute to hang out. I had nothing to do but wanted to do something and checked what was playing in theaters at the time at my local theater. The synopsis hadn’t told me enough about what was really going on while at the same time enticing me. Jason Bateman though really surprised me in this role.I really don’t want to give anything away other than what you can find on the basic synopsis. Jason Bateman is married to Rebecca Hall and the two share a completely content life, until an old school friend of Jason’s starts visiting them. Joel Edgerton plays the school friend, and it’s quite amazing that he both wrote and directed this film too. 4. Prisoners (2013)

This movie was great – and absolutely nobody talks about it. I recall wanting to see a movie with my mom around fall of that year. We realized there was really nothing interesting in theaters. It was a lull where there was nothing really interesting playing. No blockbusters and no Oscar buzz. We chose Prisoners solely based on the fact that we like Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, and I guess we also gathered the general sense that it was a mystery.I became glued to the screen during the entire movie. The story revolves around Hugh Jackman’s daughter supposedly abducted by Paul Dano, who plays a mentally ill suspect. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective tasked with finding the daughter. With Paul Dano being unable to articulate his thoughts, everyone is left distraught on how to solve this case. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal take drastically different routes in trying to find the girl.Out of everything on my list of underrated films here, this was the most nail-biting. Highly recommend. That ending. Whoo. 5. Source Code (2011)

This movie is a real mindbender. It might be so much of a mindbender that it’s the reason why people didn’t talk about it more. They probably just thought, “Huh?” and wanted to rewatch the previous year’s Inception again instead.Jake Gyllenhaal is on a mission to find a bomber on a train in a computer simulation. That’s how it starts at least. . .   Another movie I probably shouldn’t explain too much, but it explored themes about a post 9/11 world and the nature of self. 6. The Big Short (2015)

This movie was a hit and then everybody forgot about it. Heck, I know a bunch of you didn’t even see it. I find this really concerning. Brought to you by the director of none other than Anchorman, Adam McKay directed a very entertaining but distressing take on the Great Recession. It has an ensemble cast of Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale. The movie manages to translate complicated, bullshit concepts in Wall Street into layman’s terms. Every performance delivers, yes, but it was also staggeringly prophetic in what would come a year later in the 2016 election – “I have a feeling, in a few years people are going to be doing what they always do when the economy tanks. They will be blaming immigrants and poor people.” This movie should have seriously started a riot. But it didn’t. Watch it. 7. Spectre (2015)

Many Bond fans hated Spectre, and it’s often compared to the supposed high-and-mighty Skyfall. I beg to differ. Spectre brought back the fun in Bond without also resorting to the really obnoxious misogyny. The Daniel Craig era of Bond films went back to Ian Fleming’s original intention of Bond being more of a “blunt instrument” than the tongue-in-cheek action hero he came to be known in the film series. And that’s okay. But you can’t help but be bored once and a while by the recent trend of “making things gritty in the new millennium”. Spectre brought back the evil Blofeld, Bond’s nemesis. Fans hated it because this movie implies that every other Daniel Craig movie has been tied to Spectre, ruining the standalone nature of Skyfall and feeling like Spectre was a shoe-in.

This situation requires a lot of explaining, but I’ll be brief.

The creative entities of Spectre and Blofeld were tied up in a copyright battle for almost half a century. Back when Ian Fleming was still alive, he was working on a script for Thunderball with a screenwriter named Kevin McClory. Long story short, there was a dispute on who created Spectre and Blofeld – Fleming or McClory. McClory won the dispute and MGM (the producers of the Bond films) were prohibited from using the names and characters of Spectre and Blofeld.

The last time we officially saw the character in name was in 1971’s Diamonds are Forever. Blofeld made a cameo in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only but was never mentioned by name, but you knew it was Blofeld because he was always the man with the white cat. McClory did eventually make his own version of Thunderball in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which was an unofficial Bond movie yet it still starred Sean Connery (crazy, I know).

Fast-forward to when the Daniel Craig era started in 2006 with Casino Royale. Spectre and Blofeld were still under copyright protection of McClory. Instead of using the name Spectre, the writers had to come up with another Specter-inspired evil corporation. So they came up with “Quantum”, the evil company behind the plots of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

BUT THEN, the McClory estate officially settled the matter with MGM in 2013, and Spectre and Blofeld could now be used. The writers jumped on it and that’s why to some Spectre feels like it was a shoehorned at the last minute.In my opinion, Skyfall had more issues being a standalone film. The villain Silva was supposed to be working alone and yet somehow create all these elaborate, time-sensitive plots that was just too much for one man with maybe a few henchmen to pull off. In Spectre, it’s implied that Silva used Spectre’s resources to help him plan his revenge. This would realistically make more sense. After all, it’s in the name: SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. One would go to Spectre in order to enact revenge on someone if one didn’t have the means or resources.

And the whole Quantum being a part of Spectre thing – so what? Quantum was meant to be the same thing anyway. Lastly, there is some dispute on to the nature of Blofeld’s relationship with Bond. Bond suddenly has an evil foster brother now? Some complained about it. I thought it was fine. It gives a reason for Blofeld to go out of his way to torture Bond rather than just shoot him, which is a point always parodied in Bond spoofs. So again, it actually makes sense. I thoroughly enjoyed Spectre. It was virtually not misogynist out of the new Bond films. It treated the main girl, Madeline, very well, as well as the “other” girl Lucia. Yeah, some of the action is dumb and more out of spectacle than realism. It’s still done with the same wit and style of the old Bond films. 8. Shazam! (2019)

Yeah. I get it. Everyone’s tired of the god-awful, insipid DC Cinematic Universe (except for Wonder Woman), which pales in comparison to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Shazam! was finally a very fresh, funny, and lively DC movie. What makes it stand out to me was how it ended up revolving around the main character’s friends standing together with him, rather than just simply being an origin story of one superhero. Nothing felt like it fell flat. The humor was spot on. The action was good. You had a really pained, terrible villain. Some of the plot may be simple but it had a satisfying ending. Shazam! has the same kind of energy as Spider-man: Homecoming, but by doing its own thing and having its own theme of what a family really means. It revels in the genre by literally putting you in the shoes of a child’s wish fulfillment. 9. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

I saw this movie on a whim on Netflix. Nobody has made any fuss about it. I think it was fantastic. It’s a quirky sci-fi comedy with Aubrey Plaza playing a newspaper reporter investigating an ad someone put in the classifieds asking for a time travel companion. She goes along with two other co-workers, played by Jake Johnson and Karan Soni (who later becomes the taxi guy in Deadpool). I have to be honest – I don’t find Jake Johnson that funny. In most things I’ve seen him in, I feel like his reactions are forced. But his deadpan deliveries in this movie are on the spot. Mark Duplass was still relatively unknown at this time, and played the oddball guy who placed the ad and firmly believes he made a time machine. The entire movie only costed $750,000! Movies today need to spend over $10 million in order to try and make something as compelling as this. This movie alone influenced the modern indie film industry by combining forces with Netflix. Maybe Netflix and chill wouldn’t have been a thing if it weren’t for this movie. 10. The Nice Guys (2016)

I saved my personal favorite for last. The Nice Guys is my favorite underrated movie that I have seen this past decade. It has everything I love in a buddy film; wit and style. Written and directed by Shane Black, this movie has some real zingers and hilarious deliveries. Ryan Gosling plays a jittery private detective, who unwillingly teams up with Russel Crowe, who beats up people for a living. The story revolves around a missing girl who is a key witness to a grander conspiracy involving the automobile industry. This is one of those movies that never fails to make me laugh. I can rewatch the same scenes over and over and still crack up with laughter. My only gripe is that the final confrontation can be a bit unrealistic at times, which can be close to breaking that border of “Okay, is this witty satire like Coen Brothers or just outright comedy sketch like The Naked Gun?” So to me it felt a little imbalanced in the last quarter. Still, the rest of the movie really hits the right marks.

[kyberphilosopher]

Chapter Seventeen

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

“You know, some members of the crew were starting to think you weren’t coming back,” Adamus says. He leans against one of the pillars on the ramp, arms crossed as he watches me come closer. His brown locks move slightly with the wind, his cheeks tinged with pink from the cold. It’s then that I’m able to gage out how long his hair actually is. Not terribly, but it may reach his shoulders when wet. Regardless, Adamus is unphased by the cold. He does not shiver, nor buckle.

Yes, I decided to come back. I can’t explain why. One minute, I was watching my golden saber dance, trying to choke back the realization that I’d never be able to lose my memory of the Clone now. But then I’d clipped it to my belt and walked out the door.

“But you didn’t?” I challenge, watching his eyes that are focused on the distance. My new lightsaber hits against my hip with each step, the weight lighter than I’m used to.

The snow seems to calm and slow as I draw nearer to Adamus, though I’m certain it’s just a trick of my eyes. I’m forced to take in his profile- the sharp jaw, the bright irises, the tufts of soft hair coming to a still.

“Of course not,” he says, turning his head to me. There they are- those forever color changing eyes. So bright and piercing, even from my distance. His hair is dusted with snow and the climate has made a few light freckles more noticeable against his skin. “Get a new toy?” He nudges his head to the lightsaber on my hip.

Out of reflex, my gaze drops to his own saber. It hangs against his right thigh, heavy and smooth. I detach my own, running my eyes over the smooth metal. Truly my best work. I toss it into the air lightly before catching it, meeting Adamus’s eyes with a little smirk.

He stands up straight, rolls his eyes, and unfolds his arms. “Come on, we’d better talk now before you change your mind about coming back.”

As soon as the door shuts behind us, I am enveloped in the red arms of Aheka. “Keres!” she cries, nearly knocking me over. Her skin feels hot and smells like medicine and flowers. Adamus stops his strut in front of me to turn around and witness the scene.

This is a hug. We’re hugging. Do something with your arms Keres! Should I hug her back? No, no stop! That looks weird, Keres!

“I was worried you weren’t going to come back. You were gone for over nineteen rotations.”

Nineteen rotations? I was gone for a whole night? I must’ve been lying on the floor of that cave for longer than I’d thought.

But for the record Aheka, I wasn’t going to come back.

To the left, leaning against the arch that acts as the entranceway to the cockpit-nook, Circe smirks. I shoot him a look of asking for help, to which he responds with a shrug. Adamus clears his throat to mask the chuckle threatening to escape his lips. “Aheka…”

The Togruta pulls away from me, hands still holding my shoulders. “Try not to scare people like that again, alright?”

And then, for a moment, the unthinkable happens. I’m glad I came back too. I’m glad I’m seeing Aheka again, who’s been nothing but kind and charitable to me from the moment she met me. I normally hate good people, but it’s really difficult to do that with her. Instead of saying any of that, I just swallow dryly and nod. She leaves to go talk to a man with a clipboard and a medical uniform.

“What she said, kiddo,” Circe says. I raise my eyebrow playfully while Adamus raises his in pure question. “Hey, two Jedi are better than one.”

“I’m-”

“Not a Jedi. I know.” I let out a small smile as I watch one graze his lips as well. It reminds me so much of the rare moments of purity I had with Mur. When it was just him and I, and I would become frustrated with repairs and he would tell me to just breathe. Or when he would sarcastically congratulate me for not blowing up the ship when it was my turn to cook. Circe offers me a wink before going back to collapsing in his pilot chair.

When I turn back to Adamus, his intelligent eyes tell me he’s making a wild assumption about me that just might be true. Regardless, he nods his head as his way of telling me to follow him. I am stiff and still at first, still on my guard.

He leads me through one of the doors on the other side of the control room I haven’t been through before, then down a hallway and to the right. I just keep my eyes trained on his back, suddenly hyper aware that I’m still wearing his jacket. I shift in it uncomfortably, ready to become hot.

Adumus enters a door that leads to a room with a giant window and a few tables. Through the window, a few people train in hand to hand combat and one with a staff. I perk up at the thought of being able to train- the only problem would be remembering how to get here.

Adamus gestures to a table in the corner, which I slide into easily. He takes the seat across from me, neither of us daring to break eye contact.

I am not talking first.

Adamus stays silent, his eyes flickering between my own. “What did Circe mean when he said you weren’t a Jedi?”

I’m taken back, but I refer to let it show. “You know there are way more interesting things in the galaxy to talk about than me.”

“Not to me, there isn’t.”

I’m taken back even more, now. His words are romantic, even though we both know that’s not at all what he meant. Adamus senses his mistake too, leaning back as his eyes widen ever so slightly. Neither of us dare to apologize, because that would make it a reality.

I play with my thumbs under the table, debating my response. “You’re clearly a Jedi. What’s so difficult to understand about someone not being a Jedi?”

“The fact that that would make them a Sith.”

“Not if I’m not a Sith, either. Which I am not.”

Silence. One, two, three seconds go by in silence.

“Hey, how about we play a game?” Adamus suggests, leaning forward in confidence again. I shift in my chair and raise an eyebrow, urging him to continue. “For every question you answer truthfully, you get to ask me a question in turn.”

Oh, this will surely backfire on me. He’s planning something- he’s not stupid enough not to. He’s forcing me into a corner. But, I could use this to an advantage. “I accept.”

Adamus’s fingers drum against the table one at a time. His fingers are long and slender like mine, half covered by fingerless gloves. Unlike mine, however, his hands are large and could fit over mine several times over. “How did you get to Endor?”

“I won a contest.”

Adamus looks at me with a look of disbelief, like he can’t believe I thought I could get away with something. When my face remains unchanging for a few seconds, he sees I’m telling the truth. “What did you just say to me?”

I drum my fingers against my knees under the table. I would only realize later that it was out of nervousness. “I was captured by a group of criminals. While I was with them, they gave me a choice. I just did what I had to do, and they chose the details of my release.” Then I shrug, as if I hadn’t gotten nightmares about the whole thing. “Simple.”

 Adamus squints his eyes slightly, searching for a falsity. He will find none. “And your question for me?”

What’s a good one to ask him?

“Why did you follow me?” I ask lowly, my brows creasing together.

Adamus closes his lips tight, and breathes out. “I saw you by chance. I thought you were a Sith at first.”

"And?”

“You’re not, apparently.” Adamus shifts his shoulders. “So I thought you could be an ally instead.”

I try not to roll my eyes at the boys fantastical fantasies. “But you know I won’t do that, right?”

I watch Adamus smirk. His square shoulders relax a little. “It’s not your turn to ask a question.” Damn him. “So then. You know I have to ask about your name.”

Damn him a second time. A third. A trillion! “Vagor,” I mutter, looking down at my lap.

“Is that your first name, or your secondary?”

"Second. My first name is Keres.”

There’s quiet. Adamus is searching for something in my position again. Then his cheeks scrunch up with dimples, and a calm smile washes over his features again. I need to note these things. Adamus smiles when he thinks he knows something. Aheka swallows when she’s nervous.

“Isn’t that a pretty name,” Adamus quips. Then he narrows his eyes before widening them. “You should really see your face right now.”

Shut up. Shut the kriff up, I think as I grit my teeth silently. I’m already pissed at myself for coming back at all, and now Adamus is trying to push luck by antagonizing me. What’s his deal? More importantly, what’s the question to ask that’ll sort it out for me?

“Your turn then,” the boy reminds me.

I need time. I can’t think of social plans like I can battle strategies. “How long have you been with the… what do you call it? The rebellion?”

“One year, seven months, and four days,” he answers immediately.

So, he’s been keeping track.

“They found me on Nar Shaddaa. It was just a few of them at that point. They wanted me to be the leader,” Adamus explains.

“Did you not want to?”

He shifts in his seat, thinking of the words. “I don’t know. Probably not.”

My brain starts to memorize all the details of Adamus’s face right then and there. I can still hear the pitch of his voice in my skull. It’s smooth and crisp. Not terribly deep but nowhere close to high pitched. He still feels strong to me. But I suppose he still feels soft too. A little more charismatic, but it feels more like something he had to learn through diplomacy than a natural trait. Not that I mind.

“Were you very young then?”

Adamus breathes in, thinking. “Not really.”

Now my brain is trying to determine his age. Adamus can’t be more than twenty years of age. I can feel that fact in my gut. But he seems older than me. I can tell from the way he thinks and carries himself. He feels somewhat mature.

“So if you’re not a Sith, then where’d you get the lightsaber? Steal it?”

Yes.

"No. I found it on a body. It was blue when I got there.”

Which isn’t a total lie. I did find it on a body (of a Jedi I killed), and it was blue (before I turned it red). I’m remaining truthful.

“How did it turn red?” Adamus asks with creased brows. They’re knitted in such a way that suggests true confusion, not a false mockery of the feeling.

And, because I’m truthful as ever, I tell him. “I don’t know. One minute it was blue in my hand, the next it was turning red. I couldn’t tell you what happened.”

Silence. The boy is thinking again. “You made the crystal bleed,” Adamus states factually. My eyebrows knit together, just as his did a moment ago, in the way that encourages him to go on. It’s genuine confusion too, which angers me to admit to myself. It feels like I’m conceding defeat to my enemy.

No, I can’t call him an enemy anymore. Ever since I decided to come back from Ilum, I signed a contract. This contract says that I’ve willingly made myself allies. Voluntarily. All on my own. I can’t complain much about it if I chose it. Still, it’s hard not to see Adamus as an enemy. Any kind of radical organization puts me on edge.

“Every lightsaber is powered by a crystal. I think you know that, Vagor. Sith, and you, I guess, are able to make the crystals bleed and turn red. You learn about it as a Jedi. My only question is, how’d you do it?”

“What do you mean by that?” I question in return.

“You made your lightsaber crystal bleed, but how?”

Should I tell him the truth? If I do, he’ll place me under further speculation. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole ship voted to put me under surveillance. I might be signing a death warrant just by vocalizing just how much rage and guilt I’m able to possess. I have to lie.

"I don’t know,” I say with a steady tone. “I didn’t mean to. I was just holding the saber, and it changed. I remember the world very calm, though.”

“Are you sure?”

Can he… see through my lie? No, I’m too practiced in the art for even a Jedi to see through it that fast. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Adamus’s eyes tells me he’s not completely convinced, but he knows there’s nothing more he can do about it. I’ve got him caught in a web of social constructs spun by himself.

“So then, Vagor,” he speaks. “Where were you born?”

It wasn’t his turn to ask a question, but I let him anyway. I shrug, and tell the truth. “I don’t know.”

At once, his eyebrows set themselves lower in disbelief and confusion. “You don’t know? How would you not know where you’re from?”

I shrug again. “I stayed on Coruscant for a while. Then Ilum, then Bracca. I don’t know where I was born.”

“Right.”

Ah, what question to ask him. Adamus, you clever minx. You know you need this information out of me, and you know I need to know about you. You’re backing me into a corner that relies on give and take. It seems a simple little conversation, but in reality, he has thought it through. Good to know.

I decide to play it safe. “Where are you from then?”

“Mandalore,” he says flatly.

I haven’t heard much about Mandalore. At least, I haven’t heard much good about Mandalore. It’s beautiful, but certainly attracted a lot of attention during the Wars. Sometimes I could swear I could hear a calling from that place, like someone was reaching out to me for something. But, even if I had wanted to go, I wouldn’t have had a ride anyway. “Did you like it?” I ask instead.

“It’s not your turn to ask a question. So tell me- what were you doing for all those years alone? You weren’t a Jedi or a padawan, and apparently you weren’t a Sith. So what was it?”

There’s a small flame of anger sparking in the pit of my stomach. I have the urge to tell Adamus to eat Bantha dung and kill him, but that’s not in the cards. “Hunter,” I tell him blandly.

“Mm,” he hums. “No, I don’t buy it. What else were you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“No family? Friends? At least your parents were with you, right?”

Maker, no need to rub it in.

It’s a fair assumption that I would be reliant on at least one other person in my youth. I would’ve had to have been to learn how to read and write and speak and operate. But I don’t remember anyone of the sort. I can kind of imagine my father, if I try hard enough. I have no clues on my mother. I’d never considered siblings before, but I don’t have any memories of them either. No friends. I’ve never liked people all that much anyway.

A flash of realization and another feeling I can’t name runs through Adamus’s eyes. Shock? Betrayal? Pity? All of the above?

I lean forward quickly, staring deep into his eyes daringly. I want to piss him off just as much. I want to see the exact moment he snaps. “No. I was alone.”

Adamus swallows dryly, guilt lacing his features as he responds. “So were you there during the Purge.” His voice has become low and his eyes have completely pierced mine.

The one with the yellow striped helmet.

“Yes,” I say, my voice coming out hoarser than I’d expected. “I was there.”

“Were you very young?”

“Yes.” I was thirteen. I’d wanted to go out and gather some food. I killed someone for the first time that day. I have a scar on my left harm from a blaster shot. The one who gave it to me had a yellow striped helmet.

“And I should’ve died,” I confess.

Adamus swallows. “I-”

He begins but doesn’t finish. A man in a vest with flushed skin and a smock bursts through the door, chest heaving for air. “Sir!”

Adamus tears his eyes away from mine with a jump. “We’re receiving a transmission from someone named Brendul Hux. He’s asked to speak to you, sir.”

Adamus’s shoulders relax as I watch him gather his breath and his thoughts. “I’ll be right there,” he says, a little less commanding than normal. The man murmurs a ‘yes sir’ and shuts the door behind him.

I don’t know where to go from here. It feels unnatural to just begin speaking again. We’d been so caught up in ourselves and each other, we’d forgotten the environment around us. Was this his intention?

“My name is Acer,” he begins to say as he stands up. His broad shoulders rise into the air with his stocky build. Up close like this, I can see he has a body was made for sports. “Acer Adamus.”

“Hello Acer,” I mumble so only the Jedi can hear. He does hear.

“Hello, Vagor,” he replies in kind. Then he leaves me after a minute of staring.  

I do wonder why he lied about his name, but I understand it deep down. There are few reasons why someone would lie about that- because they are on the run, because they hate their name, or because there is a bad memory associated with it. I suspect it to be the latter. All in all, I’m glad I talked to Adamus- Acer- more. I will most likely be stuck with him for the long haul now, so it would prove favorable to know what kind of person I’m dealing with.

Calm, level-headed. Respected by everyone here as far as I can tell. He was a Jedi padawan, so he probably never knew his family. Adamus must be trained in the ways of the force and lightsaber combat then. He was kind enough to give me his jacket… which I’m still wearing. He’s smart enough to understand that he has to know who I am in order to trust me. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll decide to hate him a little less. No. He’s still a captor. I don’t trust him anymore than I did before.

The winding hallways aren’t as confusing as I thought initially, I just wasn’t paying attention. I get back to the control room soon enough, although it’s mostly empty by now. There are a few people cluttered around the holotable, but from what I can see they’re all tired and on the verge of yawning. Without realizing, I look for Aheka. Seeing her horned form nowhere in sight, I proceed to make my way to the cockpit instead.  

Circe turns in his chair to look at me. His Mandalorian helmet is on his head this time, but he quickly removes it to reveal a charismatic look. “It’s you. How are you, not-Jedi?” He flips a little switch on the right side of the console and leans back in his chair expectantly. In that moment, I think he may just remind me of Kip more than Mur.

I roll my eyes without commanding myself to do so and nudge my finger to the helmet. “Aren’t they never supposed to take off their helmets?”

“Beats me,” Circe shrugs. “If you’re so curious, you could ask Adamus. Kid was born there.”

Yeah, Circe, I know. “Are you the pilot?”

“The one and only,” he chuckles lightly. “Turns out nobody else here can fly. Well, I mean Adamus can, but he gets sick. I’ve been trying to train some of the troops but there’s not a whole lot of volunteers.”

I try not to chuckle at the thought of Adamus in a cockpit, head woozy as he tries to contain his vomit. “I can fly,” I say to him. “I’ve flown a tie-fighter and a few gunships. Nothing as fancy as this though.”

Circe’s eyebrows shoot up in interest. “Seriously? What were you doing with those?”

“Stealing,” I retort, bounding over to the other pilots chair. There are a few buttons I recognize on the console, but this definitely isn’t the same as a tie-fighter or Mur’s ship. This is a whole different model, whole different make. Circe sees my confusion and offers up his voice.

“You know,” he sees, wagging his finger. “It’s weird to picture you stealing. But you must be a damn good pilot to fly a tie-fighter. What the hell? I’ll teach you how to handle this bad boy. Don’t worry, not right now.”

A grateful smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “Thanks,” I say slowly. Circe is the only person on this ship who reminds me of something from my past. He reminds me of Mur and smuggling and rough activity. He reminds me of irony and sarcasm and smooth sailing. I’m grateful for it, even though he doesn’t realize what his affect is. I dare not tell him, though. That’s just not in my nature.

“You know, when I was little, I wanted to be like the Jedi so badly,” Circe says, putting his chin his hand. “I just wanted them to take me from where I was born and make me just as strong and glorified as they were. I was born on Nal Hutta, ya see.”

I nod my head in understanding, genuinely listening to his story.

“Eventually I got old enough to realize that they weren’t going to accept me anymore, but I still had hope. Then, one day, they come strutting down the street. Clearly they don’t belong here, I thought. So I gave them advice from the local street rat’s point of view. They thanked me for the help, and I felt like hot bantha dung. Really! Later that week, they arrested my father’s boss and my father with him. But my dad was sick, ya see. They decided to take him to jail anyway, even though they knew he would die if he went with ‘em.”

Cold. Unsurprising, and cold.

“My mother abandoned me not long after that. All thanks to the Jedi, of course.”

I lean forward, ready to lay my thoughts out for the first time. “Every action has a reaction. So how many innocents have they killed or harmed or dragged into conflict under the guise of peace?” My voice trails off into a whisper. “How many people have they abandoned, how much information have they missed? Hero is such a subjective word. I hate it.”

Circe watches me with thoughtful eyes. “They did something to you, didn’t they?”

“That wasn’t really the issue,” I admit. “I was born somewhere they couldn’t be bothered to go to, so they never took me in.” My hands ball into fists at the arms of the chair, displaying my resentment. I’ve never been so emotional or expressive, to be honest. I’m not totally sure how I feel about it. Confused, probably, on top of the anger and sadness. “If they had, maybe my life would’ve been different.”

Circe is quiet only for a second before speaking. “You know, the good part about growing up, is that your life is going to be different anyway. I mean, look at where we are. We were going to be here one way or another. Now we’re just here as ourselves. Maybe that’s the only way we should be here.”  

My brain hums in annoyance- my bodies was of saying ‘enough with the doom and gloom already’. “No need to get so sentimental,” I tease. “Especially with a man of your age.” Luckily, Circe understands my humor quickly and matches me.

Circe mockingly places his palm to his chest, feigning offense. “A man of my age!”

I smile, watching his playful display of pretending to faint as hyperspace whizzes by. Even when he shoos me away to go to bed, I’m suppressing a loud chuckle. My heart doesn’t feel so heavy in my chest as I laugh, and I know this is where my heart truly lies. It lies in the world of humor and laughter and sarcasm. Circe knows that. I like him for it.

By the time I enter my room, everyone at the holotable has cleared out. Exhaustion rests comfortably on my eyes as I think about snuggling under a blanket. I almost consider taking a shower before snapping back to my senses. Wiping my face clean of any signs of joy, I watch it return a few seconds later in the mirror.

Oh, whatever. I enjoy Circe’s personality. I’ll just let myself be as relaxed as I can be, just this once. Just like the last time I was relaxed. Back on Takodana with Talik and Kip and Jarvers. They gave me that terrible drink before Mur came over and suggested a scavenging job. I feel just as happy as I did then, if I was happy at all.

Sighing, I put my head on a little pillow and drape a blue, rough blanket over top of me. I don’t even bother to change my clothes, instead tugging Adamus’s jacket closer without realizing it. It smells like him- how didn’t I notice it before? It smells like the earth and heat and work, but not sweat.  

My eyes shoot open when I hear the soft knocks on my door. I jump out of bed, hand wrapping around the new lightsaber still dangling on my hip. I rip Adamus’s jacket off me, eyebrows furrowed together in aggression. Nobody I’ve encountered at night has wanted to do something non aggressive with me. I’m ready for this.

“Keres!”

Wait a minute. That’s not the voice of someone particularly cruel or vile coming to attack me. In fact, it sounds a lot like Adamus, whisper shouting through the door.

The person knocks again, a little louder. “Keres!”

Eyes squinting tiredly and annoyingly, I shuffle towards the door, unlock it and turn on the lights. The door zips open to reveal Adamus looming over me. He’s not menacing, just taller than me by kind of a lot. His soft brown hair is a little roughed up, and tired circles hang under his eyes. I can see the faded orbs as a sign of how he is in terms of sleep.

“What are you doing here?” I say, rubbing my eyes with a hum of anger. I’m peeved he’s decided to interrupt my sleep.

“The game,” he says, tone urgent. “We didn’t finish the game.”

"What?”

Adamus rolls his eyes and pushes past me, observing his jacket on the floor and the tray that Aheka previously left for me. Sitting on the bench I’ve been calling a bed, his hands ball and un-ball in fists. “Please sit, Vagor. I’m not finished with you until I say so.”

He’d cry later that night.

[grim-on-the-darkside]

George Lucas involvement in The Clone Wars Series

This subject is being talked about by some here on Tumblr, so I thought I’d break open my Star Wars Quote files and share what I could to facilitate others who are already in discussions about it. I hope this aids them in that.

That said, Ohh boy, here we go. =]

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"This series [Clone Wars Series] at least to George is NOT EU, it is a part of Star Wars as he sees it. I think if anything there was a period where Henry [Gilroy] and I had to learn exactly what it took to be a part of George Lucas’ Star Wars, and tell the Star Wars story his way. We had to learn how to look at the Galaxy from his point of view and let go of some of what we considered canon after we found out the ideas were only EU." ~  Dave Filoni 2008

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"This is Star Wars, and I don't make a distinction between [The Clone Wars] series and the films." ~ George Lucas, SciFiNow, October 2011

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"The TV series is exactly like the movies, exactly. I mean, you can see it in the clip. It’s basically just the movies only with cartoon characters. It’s basically a dramatic series, there’s a lot of action, a bit of humor." ~ George Lucas, 2008 Interview about the Clone Wars series.

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One of the main characters in the feature film, a 90 minute introduction to the series that hits theaters August 15, is Anakin's teenage Padawan, Ahsoka. Lucas said:

   "[With Ahsoka] I wanted to develop a character who would help Anakin settle down. He's a wild child after [Attack of the Clones]. He and Obi Wan don't get along. So we wanted to look at how Anakin and Ahsoka become friends, partners, a team. When you become a parent or you become a teacher you have to become more respnsible. I wanted to force Anakin into that role of responsibility, into that juxtaposition. I have a couple of daughters so I have experience with that situation. I said instead of a guy let's make her a girl. Teenage girls are just as hard to deal with as teenage boys are."

~ George Lucas 2008

https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-spills-all-about-clone-wars-at-skywalker-r-5033398

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"I get all my information on the Clone Wars from him. [George Lucas]"

"I can pitch him ideas and say 'lets do certain things', but at the end of the say he will say 'yes' or he will say 'no', and than that is the way it's gonna go."

~ Dave Filoni, 2019

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"The importance of The Clone Wars that cannot be understated is that it was the last huge expansion of the Star Wars universe that came directly from George Lucas." ~ Pablo Hidalgo

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"Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the biggest education on how George Lucas saw his Universe. Over 44 hours of his storytelling compared to the 13 hours or so he spent in live action."

~ Pablo Hidalgo 2018 https://ibb.co/ryvk5K2

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DAVE FILONI: The First Time George Lucas Talked About Ahsoka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAjnLseHQwA

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"In discussions directly with George, he was very adamant about Jango not being Mandolorian, which is the entire reason that scene existed that moment. To have that specificity that Jango was not Mandolorian at least not to Mandolorians."

~ Dave Filoni, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6p9sM7OLFk https://ibb.co/WgCGf1X https://ibb.co/Y2wLHd0

FROM THE FILONI FILES: In the season 2 episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, Mandalorian prime minister Almec made the claim that Jango Fett is not a Mandalorian warrior. This info stunned many fans who always assumed he was pure Mando. Many claimed Almec was lying, others claimed it was a cover-up. This topic came up a few times during our conversations with Dave Filoni. In this compilation, Dave addresses the issue and sets the record straight.

https://ibb.co/x7j5BhK

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This of course resulted in massive retcons of the Expanded Universe version of Mandolorians. This wasn't on accident, this was intentional on Lucas part because he was pissed at some of the liberties and things people in the EU were saying that went against the agreement in allowed the EU to come into existance at all.

Seperate Universes. This wasn’t figurative, this was meant literally, and Lucas said it over and over. Plus he found out they were using the term  'canon' in reference to EU things, and that was a massive no no. Only his direct works were canon. This went against the agreement he made with Howard Roffman, who really didn't keep his side of the bargain officially. They were essentially lieing and being deceitful about the EU's standing. That whole Canon Tier, that wasn't a policy, that was the filing system Leland Chee used for the Holocron. It was only used by Lucas Licensing. It was all a big shame to make people think the EU had more standing in the SWs than it did by the legitimate agreement. Roffman was concerned that if people knew it was a separate universe and it wasn't canon that they would be less likely to spend their money on it because 'it didn't count'.

Roffman couldn't get Lucas to agree to it being one universe, he tried over and over again, but Lucas wasn't having it. This was behind closed doors at the time of course, Roffman comes clean about in a live broadcasted interview with a studio audience when taking questions.

They couldn't get Lucas to budge, and Lucas didn't really care about the retcons he might cause, and there was a lot of fighting over it. But, of course, Lucas was the boss and it was his final say. This had been ongoing thing, it wasn’t something happened overnight.

That's why you have accidental retcons of major story lines, opps... He says what is and isn't canon, no one else.  People weren’t following the guidelines he set, and he had been a pretty good sport about it overall. Again, this wasn’t overnight. It built up over time.

There’s some speculation about the specifics, but that there had been many angry words said, back and forth in the background. Roffman and Lucas apparently had a lot of loud conversations.

“So we would have very interesting skirmishes because we had a bunch of stuff that became to the fans pretty much canon [Head-canon] about what happened after Return of the Jedi, what different places in the galaxy were called, lots of different things and if he was proposing to do something in the prequels that contradicted that we would have long debates which usually ended at least after the first session with "I don't care this is what I'm doing", but after he 4th or 5th session sometimes "Alright 'maybe' we can change it this way."

~ Howard Roffman, 2017

[I’ll be sharing more very important quotes from that Interview with Howard Roffman soon.]

A great deal of the time, Lucas wouldn’t budge. The Mandolorian Storyline in The Clone Wars being one such example of that.

This resulted in Karen Traviss losing her mind over the Mandolorians Lucas made in canon, and she was saying she wouldn't go along with it because they were 'changing canon', which is totally untrue, but she made some public statements about it

"Please also be aware of one basic fact - all writers for a franchise have to follow official canon. You can't go off and do your own thing, or else the book won't get approved and printed. It's that simple. So please don't keep asking me to carry on in the old canon, because I'm just not allowed to."

Karen Traviss EU Author, 2009.

[This is what insanity looks like when you write it down. - Must follow canon, but wont let me carry on in the old Canon? Earth to Karen, please respond. The EU wasn’t canon!! ]

So Lucas shot back thru his head writer on the Clone Wars series, Henry Gilroy whom himself had been an EU author in the Clone Wars comics before being tapped for Canon Clone Wars series who responded, although not directly to her, but in response to her being unwilling to go on and leaving over it.

"It is unfortunate that [EU author Karen Traviss is] moving on because [of] her opinion that canon is being changed. I guess the big problem is the assumption that her work is canon in the first place.  After working with George on The Clone Wars series I know there are elements of her work that are not in line with his vision of Star Wars.."

~ Henry Gilroy, The Clone Wars series Head Writer/ EU Author [Comics] 2009

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To Lucas, the entire Saga is about Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader, of course he was going to be heavily involved in the Clone Wars series, Anakin was one of the major reoccuring characters in it, that's Lucas pride and joy. But I digress....

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“For me and my training here at Lucasfilm, working with George, he and I always thought the Expanded Universe was just that. It was an expanded universe. Basically it’s stories that are really fun and really exciting, but they’re a view on Star Wars, not necessarily canon to him. That was the way it was from the day I walked into Lucasfilm with him all through Clone Wars, everything we worked on, he felt the Clone Wars series and his movies were what was actually the reality of it all, the canon..."

~ Dave Filoni 2017

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"In the same interview, Dave Filoni said that George Lucas told him, that the movies and The Clone Wars television series, were the only thing Lucas considered canon." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_expanded_to_other_media

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"That’s one of the biggest debates in Star Wars, what counts? *The idea of what is canon? When I talk to George I know that he considers his movies, this series and his live-action series canon." ~ Dave Filoni, SW:TCW 2008

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"I always think of the research you speak of as what I knew about the EU before I took this job. As I stated above, working directly with George changes the way you see the EU and everything in it."

~ Dave Filoni 2008

--------------

What do you think about Star Wars: The Clone Wars not following the continuity established previously in books and comics for the timeline between Episodes II and III? Could all those events that are being unfolded ever be folded into a coherent timeline? Some time ago you started a podcast related to The Clone Wars, will there ever be new episodes?

"As far as continuity, I see The Clone Wars as being no different than the arrival of the prequels in 1999. We fans knew that those movies would be a representation of the true Star Wars universe as imagined by George Lucas, and in some cases, it would not perfectly match the stories told by Expanded Universe authors. So, we had to unlearn all we had learned about the Mon Calamari being discovered by the Empire, about Boba Fett being Jaster Mereel, and about the Republic having a standing military.

I think with each episode, we start to get a better understanding about what the real Star Wars universe is like."

Pablo Hidalgo 2010

---------------------

"There's this notion that everything changed when everything became Legends. And I can see why people think that. But, you know, having worked with George I can tell you that it was always very clear -- and he made it very clear -- that the films and the TV shows were the only things that he considered Canon. That was it.

"So everything else was a world of fun ideas, exciting characters, great possibilities, the EU was created to explore all those things. But from the filmmaking world I was brought into, the films and TV shows were it". ~ Dave Filoni speaking about working with George Lucas

This is the actual video of when Dave Filoni said the above quotes during an interview on 'The Star Wars show' [41.40 mark] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcNXPNXOv2A&t=16s

----------------------

"What George did with the films and The Clone Wars was pretty much *his universe ,” Chee said. “He didn’t really have that much concern for what we were doing in the books and games. So the Expanded Universe was very much separate." ~ Leland Chee, 2017 - SYFY WIRE

------------------

“Lucas’ canon – and when I say ‘his canon’, I’m talking about what he was doing in the films and what he was doing in The Clone Wars  – was hugely important. But what we were doing in the books really wasn’t on his radar.”

–Leland Chee, 2018

----------------

Pablo Hidalgo on Lucas and the EU being separate Universes. https://i.redd.it/3fpbkocr43q01.png "He [Lucas] only considers his movies and TV projects as his universe, and told the Clone Wars writers to only worry about those."

[That really says it all.]

-------------------

“The most definitive canon of the Star Wars universe is encompassed by the feature films and television productions in which George Lucas is directly involved. The movies and the Clone Wars television series are what he and his handpicked writers reference when adding cinematic adventures to the Star Wars oeuvre. But Lucas allows for an Expanded Universe that exists parallel to the one he directly oversees. […] Though these [Expanded Universe] stories may get his stamp of approval, they don’t enter his canon unless they are depicted cinematically in one of his projects.”

   -Pablo Hidalgo, Star Wars: The Essential Reader’s Companion, October 2nd, 2012

----------------------

"Canon is only what's on the screen. - Episodes I-VI, TCW and what's to come." Pablo Hidalgo, 2013 - https://ibb.co/S0fYM7q

--------------------

“Working on ‘Clone Wars,’ it was always canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

-------------------

[Orginal commentor] - "Some facebook site just posted a "Bring back GeorgeLucas" petition....wrong on so many levels. With Ep. lll & TCW he went out ona high."

[Pablo Hidalgo]   "Why would he ever come back to these folks? All that love and goodwill from the internet.=]"

[Second commentator] - "I remember the EU fans in the early-mid 00's trashed George endlessly, and now they act like he's their savior."

[Pablo Hidalgo] - *"And yet we are following his model of regarding the EU vs. his canon. Weird."

[Second commentator] - "Well they get the false impression that George was a big EU fan and stood by it."

[Pablo Hidalgo] - "Where do they get this stuff? =] It's like his last 3 movies and six seasons of TCW didn't happen!"

https://ibb.co/Q9GXSbd

----------------------

Q: Hi Mr Chee! I’ve got a question about continuity – are all the various different media of Star Wars (the films, TCW, the video games, the EU) intended to form a single universe, or is the EU intended as a parallel, alternate universe (like, for example, the different continuities between the various Batman comics and films)? I realise that fans tend to each have their own personal preferences, but I was wondering what the official Lucasfilm company policy regarding this was? Many thanks!

"The dual universe question comes up often. I know George Lucas has mentioned it being two universes, but that’s not how I see it. His vision is definitely not beholden to ours, but ours is definitely beholden to his."

Leland Chee 2012

[Nabbed!!! He was still talking his 'singular universe' garbage the week before heh]

-----------------------

“Star Wars continuity, even EU continuity, does not rest on my shoulders. Our licensees submit product directly to either our editors or our product development managers. The Holocron serves as a tool for them to check any issues regarding continuity, and after that, if the editors or developers have any questions, they pass it along to me to check for continuity. At the same time, I am constantly on the lookout to make sure that any new continuity being created gets entered in the Holocron. With regard to the the films and The Clone Wars, I am not involved in continuity approvals though I have often been asked to provide reference material.”

~ Leland Chee

---------------------

"..at the end of the day there is a difference between what you see in the Star Wars films and TV series and what you see in those books." ~ Dave Filoni 2012

----------------------

These are pretty much all about the Clone Wars series, and him working with Lucas on it.

DAVE FILONI: George Lucas's Origin of "Mandalore" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yCjKTHjE0I&t=270s

DAVE FILONI: Is Jango Fett A Mandalorian? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPw08Bimr0Y&t=80s

DAVE FILONI: Working with George Lucas on The Clone Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaq8jRVtfnQ

DAVE FILONI: Incorporating Mandalorians Into The Clone Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whHJc3jX2AE

DAVE FILONI: Learning Star Wars from Lucas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_yLWLdDdQ

[This one is interesting, *if I remember it correctly* in this one he tells the story of how he and Henry Gilroy and Lucas were speaking and Lucas was telling them how things work and he told them that "He was teaching them how to make Star Wars for when he was gone".]

DAVE FILONI: Ahsoka vs Vader Duel Breakdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=196kd-UvGEM

DAVE FILONI: Growing Up With Star Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB0tMecj51s

Dave Filoni on Ashoka vs Vader and Midi-Chlorians - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBKQfbN7Vaw

These are just some of them, there are alot more and even in ones where it doesn't specifically site Lucas in the title, he comes up in all of them at certain points and talks about working with Lucas on the Clone Wars, so if your interested in this subject, it really pays to listem to all of them, they're facisinating insights and you learn so much about so many things both in story and out of story, some really good stuff.

They're call ins for Rebel Force Radio, They interview Filoni constantly, theres a ton of of them on Youtube. This should get you started and than you can go from there on your own if you were interested and hearing more. Really good stuff.

--------------------

There’s a lot more, but I think this should serve as a good example of just how pervasive Lucas’ direct involvement in the Clone Wars series was.

Lucas loved it. He saw it exactly like the movies in terms of importance.

[legobiwan]

Master and Apprentice: An Overview of Themes

Okay, so as many of you may have surmised, I adored this book. There’s so much to talk about in it and the ramifications of some of the themes play all the way up to the Sequel Trilogy. 

To be honest, I’m not even sure where to start with everything I want to talk about, but I’m going start here with this basic outline of things I noticed and will dissemble from there over the next few days, weeks, whatever. 

Lineage

“You inherit your parents' trauma but you will never fully understand it.”

So I will preface this part by saying that I am a huge fan of Bojack Horseman and this theme comes up again and again and again in this show. (As does the difficulty, but possibility, of breaking that cycle.)

This book is heavy on the behaviors and prejudices and patterns that get passed on through generations, or in this case, lineages. Dooku’s preoccupation with prophecy touches Rael, which touches Qui-gon, which touches Obi-wan, and of course, ultimately plays a huge role in Anakin’s life. Not only that, but Dooku’s restrained, demanding manner seems to have  rubbed off on Qui-gon, who seemed to be constantly measuring up Obi-wan to an impossible metric and thinking it in his presence, which meant Obi-wan likely felt all of this and presto changeo we have a talented young Jedi who feels he is unworthy. This book really illustrates how Masters are as much parents as teachers, and how whatever issues the parent is dealing with gets passed down and processed, whether it be through rebellion, imitation, or a host of other reactions. Hell, the book mentions Yoda’s master (albeit not by name). I am *dying* to know who they were and what happened there. 

Performance Art

Okay, so one of the initial main culprits is a group of performers who end up being branded as terrorists. First of all, this made musician-me CACKLE, period. But beyond that, there is a running theme of a performative aspect to government, to ceremony (Fanry perfects this), even to the Jedi themselves with their rituals, with their idealistic Code versus reality. Sidious was perhaps the best performance artist of the entire GFFA. And prophecy, to a certain degree, requires performance, requires actors to ingest a script and accept it as truth, and finally meet its demands of life’s stage. Is it foretold because the events must happen or because the actors choose to make them happen?

Prophecy

Which leads me into the thorniest topic of this book. Dooku was obsessed with prophecies. Qui-gon became obsessed with prophecy, to the point of breaking a thousand laws to get Anakin to Coruscant. And then Obi-wan was so devoted to Qui-gon, despite everything, that he told himself he had to believe in the prophecy, for Qui-gon’s sake (back to family issues there.)

How many of these prophecies ended up being self-fulfilling because of the actors involved? (Namely, Qui-gon.) Even when Qui-gon realizes his mistake is trying to control the future instead of accepting it, he goes ahead years later to manipulate circumstances so Anakin can be a Jedi. That’s not accepting the future, he cheated at dice to change the future, to control it. And that action set off an avalanche of consequences I doubt Qui-gon prepared for. In short, Qui-gon is a very fallible character here and shows a fair amount of egotism in terms of his relationship with prophecy. 

I mean, the Force showed Qui-gon that he was “meant to misinterpret” his vision? I don’t even know where to start with the sheer audacity of that statement. Qui-gon doesn’t report his vision to the Council, because he thinks they won’t understand, thinks they’ll get mired in some minutiae of governance and not do anything substantial. And yes, the Council does dither, even Obi-wan notices it, but those controls are there for a reason and Qui-gon just runs roughshod over them, because he thinks he alone has the answers, that he alone can change the future. 

And it kind of comes back to this whole Lineage issue where Dooku had this attitude that he alone knew the truth. I mean, he defects to the Sith partially to rid the Republic of corruption, and look at his Padawans - Rael and Qui-gon, both iconoclasts, both skirting the edge of...something, and it’s almost laughable that Qui-gon gets so upset with Rael’s disregard of certain parts of the Code (the killing of his Padawan part, of course, but also the celibacy part) because Qui-gon lies and cheats and pulls cons across the galaxy and disregards swaths of the Code at will. And you have to wonder, is this because Dooku was too independent, and if Dooku was that independent, how did Yoda’s training of Dooku play into that? 

Then again, while family and upbringing play a huge part in a person’s actions and personality, they are not the only thing, they do not dictate the future. Nor do prophecies. And Qui-gon clings so much to these prophecies, just as Dooku did (and Dooku’s prophecy of choice, he who learns to conquer death will through his greatest student live again is just...it explains a lot as to why Dooku was so devoted to teaching, was so exacting on his students ((although I will never let go of the headcanon that Dooku actually enjoys teaching, because I feel that a personality like his needs someone to impart knowledge to)). 

Prophecy, more often than not, becomes self-fulfilling prophecy, which is an interesting paradox. Prophecies are read, believed to be true, and are enacted by the actions of the very people (beings) who read them in the first place. 

And thus they become prophecy. 

I mean, no wonder Yoda wanted to burn the “sacred texts” by the time The Last Jedi rolls around. Prophecy becomes a way to abnegate responsibility for one’s actions, to deny, whether it’s Dooku seeking to avoid death, Qui-gon proclaiming he is a vessel for the will of the Force, or even Obi-wan claiming Luke as the Chosen One in Twin Suns. (Although, I wonder about that last one, as Obi-wan is naturally skeptical of prophecy. I mean, the Jedi do have the Force and are granted visions, but then again, they make decisions. They choose to turn to the Dark Side, choose to bend to the will of a hazy future which claims no specific actors...and I feel like Obi-wan’s references to prophecy are more an expression of familial love, of tribute to Qui-gon rather than a true belief that Anakin was "the” Chosen One. Obi-wan believed in Anakin himself above all else, even his better judgment.)

The Jinn-Kenobi Express

So...what is going on with these two?

In many ways, this is more of a Qui-gon book than an Obi-wan book, although we get plenty of insight to Obi-wan’s character. And one of the things I really appreciate about Claudia Gray is the fact that she seems aware of the Jedi Apprentice series, the kind of dynamic that created, and weaves this story in a way that does justice to those interactions and the limited time we see Qui-gon and Obi-wan together on screen. 

And the thing is, Qui-gon is kind of a jerk to Obi-wan. From page two of this book, his is questioning Obi-wan, wondering why he hasn’t reached a certain point in his abilities yet (all while deliberately holding him back in areas like lightsaber combat, which is an astounding illustration of Qui-gon’s complete obliviousness to his own actions and ramifications of his actions). And, let’s be honest, Obi-wan is an empath - he wouldn’t be such a talented negotiator and diplomat if he weren’t (because, before anything else, you need to be able to read people, to know and feel their emotions in order to succeed at deals, treaties, and diplomacy). Obi-wan knew Qui-gon was questioning him, could feel it and this harkens back to those JA books where Qui-gon is kiiiind of a total douche, at times. And Obi-wan - rebellious, independent, self-esteem-lacking, so wanting someone’s approval Obi-wan...just falls right into this. It’s kind of an unhealthy dynamic, which resolves itself after Pijal, only to relapse all over again when Qui-gon finds Anakin and pulls his BS on Tatooine. 

Here’s the thing. Qui-gon is not a bad person. I don’t hate Qui-gon, he has good motivations, he wants to make things better. He cares about Obi-wan, seeks advice from his old Master (not knowing Dooku has fallen, my god), tries to free all the slaves he encounters, wants to buck every piece of Jedi and Republic law in order to make the galaxy right. And, you know, I get it. I really do. But there’s idealism and then there’s trying to do the right thing within the systems (no matter how terrible) we have created and inching forward to change because to do otherwise would be to fight yourself in a paper bag. 

Qui-gon is the living embodiment of the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

And Obi-wan knows this, knows Qui-gon is fallible, knows that his devotion to idealism, to prophecy is dangerous and yet he goes along with it anyway because Obi-wan’s greatest failing is his attachment. Obi-wan (the empath) cares too much and he can’t let go - not of Qui-gon, not of Satine, and certainly not of Anakin. 

"Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.“ I mean, I’m not a Kylo Ren-stan by any means, but he’s not wrong. At least, not in a broad sense, not in the way that might have allowed Obi-wan to make some clearer-headed decisions about everything from his relationship with Qui-gon to Anakin to the Council. 

In Conclusion

Dooku cared about his students but possibly feared death and thus possibly made his students his vessels to achieve the goal of immortality, despite enjoying teaching.

Qui-gon cared about Obi-wan as much as he did the betterment of the galaxy but was terrible at expressing it and put too much faith in himself, the Force, and prophecy. 

Obi-wan cared almost too much about everyone but himself, replacing self-esteem with rules and the Code, devoting himself to the memory of Qui-gon and his wishes in his guilt over his survival of the encounter at Theed.

And this writer cares waaaaaay too much about these characters and will most definitely be writing more about this book because, to quote Obi-wan flying a ship in the middle of a ship: AAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGHHHH

[chasholidays]

Snowed in bellarke!

Clarke knows are worse ways to spend Christmas Eve than trapped in a shopping mall with her ex. She could be in a hospital, for example, working like she did last year, or, even worse, there for an actual emergency with herself or a loved one. She could be starving, or homeless, or in some actually bad situation. Hell, she could be stuck here with Finn or Lexa, which would be a thousand times worse than being with Bellamy.

Because, honestly, the worst part of being with Bellamy is that their breakup hasn’t entirely scabbed over, and every time she looks at him, it chips away at her stubborn belief that she’s fine, that she doesn’t regret it.

Maybe Finn or Lexa would be better after all. They would have had an uncomfortable greeting, a quick chat, and then she would have come up with an excuse to go somewhere else. The mall isn’t so large she couldn’t have avoided them, and they probably would have let her.

With Bellamy, she’s already trying to come up with a list of questions to prolong the conversation.

He’s the one who approached her, coming up while she was browsing books, hesitant like he wasn’t sure he’d be welcome. It’s the first time she’s seen him since they broke up almost exactly a year ago, and the sight of him was a shock, but with greetings and the weather sure is frightful pleasantries out of the way, she’s already getting used to it.

She still keeps stealing glances at him, but that’s a different issue.

“You’re not going out to see Octavia this year?” she asks, as they leave the bookstore. It feels like thin ice, skating close to the dangerous waters of their breakup.

“No.” He sighs. “She’s in Norway now, actually.”

“Norway?”

“Apparently she was right about her online marketability. I didn’t think she could actually make a living running around the world posting hiking pictures on Instagram, but she marketed herself, got sponsors–” He shrugs. “I’m not ready for the social media age.”

“I could have told you that,” she teases without thinking, and to her relief, he smiles.

“You did tell me that.”

“I tried, anyway. Still, I’m sorry,” she adds. “It must be tough, having her so far away.”

“It’s got its ups and downs. I don’t know. I think someday we’re going to find a happy medium between how much I need to know how she’s doing and how independent she needs to be, but right now, we’re still working on it.”

“If it helps, that sounded really mature and emotionally healthy.”

He snorts. “Thanks. I’ve been practicing in front of the mirror.” He looks at her hard, considering, and when he asks, “So, who’s the last-minute shopping for?” she thinks it probably wasn’t really what he wanted to say.

But it’s not hard to figure out what that would have been. Not with their history.

“My mom. I was putting it off because I never know what to get her, and she never knows what day it is anyway. I’ll send this late and she won’t even realize I missed Christmas.“

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” he says, deliberate.

“I knew it was Christmas Eve.”

“And did you actually know you were putting off shopping this long?”

He’s trying to make it teasing, but the tone doesn’t entirely land. It’s getting too close to old wounds.

Clarke considers her and Bellamy’s breakup a perfect storm of shittiness. She’d been working herself to death at the hospital, convinced that was the only way to become the success she thought she should be, while Bellamy was dealing with his sister drifting further and further away. Their frustrations hadn’t really been with each other, but she couldn’t be the partner he needed, and he couldn’t be the one she needed either.

After years of flirting, it turned out they’d ended up finally getting together at the worst possible time, and Clarke’s regretted how their short disaster of a relationship went ever since, without having a very good idea of how to fix it. Everything Bellamy had said about her priorities had been true, and even if her life has changed since then, she’s never known how to fix it. The problem certainly wasn’t just that she worked too much; he fucked up too. At this point, she’s half-convinced that they just weren’t meant to be romantically involved. That they had some sort of fundamental incompatibility.

But maybe they could be friends again. Maybe that would be enough.

“I knew, yeah. I kept hoping I was going to find something online so I wouldn’t have to go to the post office.”

He smiles. “Yeah, that’s the real pain. But no luck?”

“I’m not good at online shopping. I need to see my options.”

“But still nothing?”

“Still nothing.”

“So, where are you going next?”

“Best Buy.” She frowns. “What were you here for? You’re always on top of Christmas shopping.”

“One of my coworkers found out I didn’t have Christmas Eve plans, so she invited me to a party. Which is now canceled because of weather, so I’m just stuck out here instead.”

“Sorry.”

“I don’t care that much. I wasn’t really excited about going out.”

“You, not excited about a social event?” she teases, and he laughs.

“I know, it’s shocking. Best Buy?”

The relief that he’s coming with her is so profound it’s almost staggering; she tries not to smile too widely.

“Best Buy.”

*

She buys her mother a FitBit, because it seems like her mother’s kind of thing, and Bellamy stuffs his hands in his pockets, waiting awkwardly for her to be done. Every time he has a chance to leave and doesn’t, her heart soars, and she has to remind herself that they were always friends. Getting along was never their problem.

“You think the food court is open?” she asks.

“Probably. Everyone’s stuck here past closing time, the stores are probably thrilled.” He makes a face. “Sucks for the employees.”

The mall was supposed to close at five, but the storm came in suddenly around four-fifteen, roads became impassable out of nowhere, and now they’re stuck here until the plows can clear the parking lot.

“We can put a twenty in the tip jar,” she offers, and he smiles.

“Can’t hurt. What were you thinking?”

They talk options on the way to the food court, end up at the Chinese place because Bellamy’s craving egg rolls. There are a decent number of people milling around–at least she wasn’t the only one caught off guard by the storm–but they don’t have any trouble finding a table with relative privacy.

It doesn’t exactly feel like a date, but it’s nice.

“Is this going to be a problem with work?” he asks, once they’ve started eating. “When’s your next shift?”

“Tuesday,” she says, and waits for his surprise.

It doesn’t take long. “You actually got Christmas off?”

“No, we’re closed on Christmas.” She smiles a little. “I switched jobs.”

A clump of rice drops from his chopsticks. “Switched jobs?”

“Yeah, I’m working at a clinic now. Fewer hours, less overtime–it’s not perfect, but the work/life balance is a lot better.”

“What does your mom have to say about that?”

She shrugs one shoulder. “She thinks it was bad for my overall career. There are fewer opportunities for job advancement, and the pay is worse. But it’s my life, not hers.”

“And you’re happy?”

“Yeah. It’s so much better.” She worries her lip, trying to calculate the correct ratio of apology to gratitude to regret. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. When you told me I wasn’t happy–you were right, and I shouldn’t have lashed out.”

His mouth tugs up. “I shouldn’t have brought it up in the middle of a meltdown. We were both having a shitty time and decided to make it worse for each other. We both fucked up. But we’re both doing better now, right?” he adds, and there’s a hopeful lilt to his tone.

She thinks there is, anyway.

“I am, yeah.”

“Good. I’d, uh–I’d been wanting to call you. I hated that we just totally lost touch.”

“Yeah, me too. Is it weird that I felt like I had to get my life right first? Either I had to be happy with the job I was in or get a new one.”

“No, I get that.” He taps his chopsticks on the styrofoam container with his food in it. “Maybe we’re just supposed to be–friends when things are going well.”

The hitch in his voice at the word friends is either awesome or heartbreaking, and the fact that he could still break her heart is definitely just scary. Not surprising, really, but scary all the same. It’s probably the biggest reason she never got in touch again, the nagging fear that he wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

“Or maybe we just need to get better at dealing with crises,” she offers.

His whole face relaxes with his smile. “Maybe, yeah.”

The silence that follows isn’t exactly awkward, but Clarke doesn’t know how to fill it. She wants to tell him that she misses him, that she regrets losing him, but it feels like a lot to confess in a mall food court.

The PA crackles into life, postponing the issue. “Attention shoppers. We are still working to clear the road and parking lot. The theater will be opening for special showings of Star Wars: The Last Jedi for any patrons who would like to purchase tickets. We apologize for this inconvenience.”

Bellamy catches her eye. “How many times have you seen that?”

“Just once.”

“Wow, you’re behind. Did you not like it?”

“It’s only been a week, shut up.”

He grins. “So, you want to check it out?”

“If we can’t leave anyway.” She frowns. “You still don’t have a car, right?”

“No, I took the bus. I’ll probably get a Lyft home once we’re cleared out.”

“You don’t have to, I can give you a ride.”

He starts a response and then stops it, frowning. “If it’s not too late, sure. That would be nice.”

“You were going to tell me I didn’t have to, weren’t you.”

“And I know you know that, so–yeah, a ride would be great. I’ll pay for your movie ticket, so we’re even.”

“For the negligible cost of gas, sure. I’ll get candy.”

It’s an easy pattern to fall back into, movies with Bellamy. She remembers what snacks he likes, he knows where she likes to sit. They’ve done this dozens of times, throughout their friendship and relationship, and it feels like getting back into the right groove.

She leaves her hand on the arm rest between them, too, like she used to, and after a minute, Bellamy reaches over and takes it.

After the movie, he lets go, and she’s the one to reclaim his hand, lacing their fingers together as they leave. It can’t possibly be this easy, but she thinks there are worse messages to send than that she wants it to be.

“The parking lot has been cleared, and you’re free to leave,” an exhausted-looking cinema employee tells them, as they leave the theater. “Happy holidays.”

“Happy holidays,” she echoes.

They’re quiet as they make their way out to the parking lot, and once they’re outside, it’s even quieter, the whole world white and soft with snowfall.

“So, uh, I was thinking,” says Bellamy, not whispering, but low, trying not to break the spell of the night.

“What?”

“It seems like neither of us has plans for Christmas Eve. So if you wanted to–” He lets out a quiet laugh, squeezes her fingers. “I miss you so fucking much, Clarke.”

“I miss you too. All the time.”

“Good,” he says, and tugs her in by their linked hands, ducking his head to kiss her, soft and careful, perfect.

Somehow, against all odds, it’s actually an amazing Christmas Eve. And Christmas is shaping up to be even better.

[fringyrasa]

Massive TLJ Spoilers Below (also annoying armchair writer below)

I kind of wish Rey went dark side. 

Now hear me out, I really liked TLJ. I know it has divided the fanbase, but I didn’t have nearly as many problems with it as most. It felt like a lot of ways, Rian Johnson was trying to challenge perspectives and do something different. Seeing the light side and the dark side team up and actually fight together was fantastic and the parallel to the Anakin/Padme scene in RoTS was telling of the difference between the characters. 

However.

If there is one complaint that I can see and somewhat agree with, the movie falls back into familiar and predictable territory once Rey and Kylo go their separate ways. It leads to an end that doesn’t have Luke in the living anymore, but Rey is on the light side with The Resistance fighting the dark side with Kylo and The First Order. For all purposes, we’re right back where we started. But I feel like there was a chance to really shake things up. And probably piss off the fans as well.

If Rey hadn’t reached for her lightsbaer and instead had agreed to join Kylo under one major condition, the film and this trilogy could have gone in a totally different way. Rey has shown signs of her turning dark since her fight with Kylo in the woods. TLJ has her picking up a RED lightsaber and trying to kill Snoke with a primal scream. Not to mention she believes Luke, the greatest light side user ever, was responsible for turning Kylo to the dark. Her joining would have been shocking, yes, but not unbelievable. Rey isn’t quite ready to let everything go and for all Kylo talks, neither is he. But what if Rey joined with the condition that Kylo had to keep to his word, that BOTH the first order and the resistance had to be demolished? What if the people they were close with, Leia and Finn, were to remain unharmed. What if there was a way to destroy both without massive casualties? Rey and Kylo could have literally rebooted the galaxy. 

Rey was 100% right that turning Kylo would change the war. Snoke was 100% right that as long as Luke lived, there was a chance he could train new Jedi who would be a threat to the first order. Now imagine the first order and the resistance have neither. All they have is their weapons. We saw how fragile the resistance was after the destruction of the republic. The first order isn’t that much better either. They had no base, only a few starships and were dealt a massive blow thanks to Holdo. Eventually both would realize what George Washington did in the american revolution: Eventually, a war will cost too much to go on. One side would run out of money and have to pull out. And yes, I know this all sounds very boring and somewhat like trade disputes, but what I’m saying is that eventually, the first order and the resistance would have to end their war because no one is backing it. The resistance lost their money when the republic was destroyed by starkiller base. The first order lost their money with the death of Snoke. Kylo’s idea of taking them both down wouldn’t actually be so hard in their vulnerable state. And focusing on the cost of the war instead of the numbers, would insure Rey that she could end this war without massive amounts of bloodshed and protect those that were close to her. Without weapons and the money to buy weapons, the war would just have to end. 

You then leave with an entry into the star wars canon that no one has any idea what comes next. You now don’t have a war, but a galaxy ruled by Kylo and Rey and all the problems that would come with that. The First Order and The Resistance want to man a rebellion, but they can’t in their state unless they were to do what Rey and Kylo did and team up as well, which, I mean, can you imagine? Hux and Poe working together? Bitter enemies. Star Wars has been so much about one side vs. the other. Now you have the light side and the dark side together. You have the rebellion and the empire (basically) together. All fighting for what they believe should shape this galaxy. You could even still do the narrative of turning someone back. What would happen if Rey turned back to the light. How would that change the dynmaic between Kylo and her? What if it was a Jessica Jones thing where she just went along with it to end things and try to turn Kylo? What if Kylo turned instead and Rey was now knee deep in the dark? What if they both ended the light side vs. the dark and made one side? There’s so many ways the story could go in a different way than what we’ve seen! 

Basically what I’m saying is I think this trilogy would’ve been better off by doing something radically different. Something unexpected. If TLJ is about lessons through failure and about starting something new and burying the past, it would be more effective if we weren’t left with a third part that is just light vs. dark, rebellion vs. empire, maybe I can turn someone to the light side through love again. And I’m not saying it HAD to have Rey join Kylo for it to be different. It could have done anything. This was just an idea that popped into my head. I just wish for a movie that was exploring new territory and different ideas, that it would’ve made good on it’s theme. 

Also I kind of just want to see Rey and Kylo destroy these two sides and rule as the unstoppable forces they could be. 

[friendlyneighborhoodwhateve-blog]

The Hogwarts Revolution // A Next Gen Story

For my friends in here as always: @always-blame-jefferson , @hannahbakcr and @allthebrighteststars

Also, @lookaroundlookaroundhowlucky , for making me feel the happiest I’ve been in a couple of weeks.

Let me not forget @ravenclaw-nerd-105 for ramdomly geeking out over Harry Potter with me.

Word count: 1900

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

Part 8/ ?

Cast / Masterlist

AN: I’m sorry for the time between chapters for those of you who are reading this story. College has been hell, I’ve just started a new job and I’m pretty sure anxiety has become a permanent resident. That being said, please enjoy these chapter and give me some validation.

-

October Second, 2015

11:35 PM

“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine…” He murmured the mantra, holding onto his legs, pressed against the corner of the room. But he knew it was coming.

How had the night ended so terribly, Albus thought to himself as he watched Scorpius sleep on the infirmary bed with rose by his side. They were all having fun until James showed up, he could feel his breath come out in short puffs, his heart beating erratically in his chest, his head began to swim as thought clouded his mind.

It’s all my fault, my fault, my fault.

If he hadn’t insisted on going to the party, maybe his best friend wouldn’t be in this situation.

What would he do if Scorpius hated him once he woke up, of course Madam Pomfrey had assured him it wouldn’t happen but what if? The tingling in the tips of his fingers increased and he wiped the sweat away on his pants.

The boy’s head rose when the sound of footsteps was heard entering the infirmary. While Lyra went to talk to Rose and Scorpius, Lorcan went to talk to the frightened kid, the older girl was only able to mutter a few words due to the intense anger she was feeling.

“I am going to kill James Potter.”

-

TWENTY SIX HOURS EARLIER

It was another ordinary day at Hogwarts. Well, as ordinary as it got in a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Currently, Teddy was presiding over a meeting with the prefects about the school, it seemed that lately the tension between the houses had risen to a whole new level and Minerva had made finding some sort of solution their responsibility. The group was made up of twenty four people in total: Teddy (Edward actually but calling him by his full names was weird) and Elena Cortez, Head Boy and Girl, Elena was one of the nicest girls anyone had ever met, plus extremely brilliant academically, of course she would be the head girl.

Then there were the prefects, for Gryffindor they were Lorcan Scamander and May Winston in the fifth year, a muggle born girl that was one the triplets best friends, the sixth year prefects were Linda Prince and Christian Cortes, seventh year was represented by Liana Verita and Mason Carter; the Ravenclaw fifth year prefects were none other than Lysander Scamander and Victoire Weasley, secretly everyone hoped they’d somehow end up together, sixth year had Roxanne Weasley and Wes Blythe, it had been a surprise to everyone when the girl had been sorted into Ravenclaw given her parents were both Gryffindors, lastly Hayley Fields and Carlos Valente were the seventh year prefects.

As for the Hufflepuff representatives, they were Augusta Longbottom and Castor Spinnet in fifth year, both of them were incredible people, for year six the representatives were Cassandra Lenn and Spencer Morgan, Molly Weasley II and Rafael Vidal finalized the Hufflepuff representatives. Lastly, for the Slytherin house, fifth year prefects were Lyra Scamander and Lin Pisani, sixth year had Philippa Chou and Rami Nadeau to represent it and to close the group came Tish Diggle and Ezra McKean for the seventh year.

“This week we had four unauthorized duels, three fist fights and the prank the Gryffindors pulled landed three people in the infirmary with allergic reactions.”

On Thursday morning, during lunch, James and his friends decided that it’d be a fun idea to make Puffapods appear on the Slytherin table, an otherwise harmless prank had it not been for the fact that three people had ended up in the infirmary because of it, Lyra included among them; the fumes the plant emitted while blooming triggered a reaction similar to asthma. Lorcan sat beside his sister, who still was a bit shaken. Everyone in the room was infuriated but there was virtually nothing they could do, at least during the day.

“I suggest an integration party.” Said Wes Blythe, soon being followed by murmurs of agreement. “Maybe a costume party where upon entering you are put under a spell to be virtually unrecognizable until a certain time.”

The idea was nice. Maybe without the labels of the houses people would learn that there was more to each other than where they were placed, if everyone could do that life would be much easier.

After the meeting it was decided that the party would be held at the Great Hall on Saturday night, students of every age would be able to attend under the supervision of the prefects and head students. The use of a costume was obligatory but you could go literally as anything you wanted, the magic was that no one would be able to tell it was you. At midnight, the spell would be lifted. After the last details were set, the students sent an owl to Minerva, which she promptly answered with a positive feedback.

“Let’s go to bed everyone, we have very busy day tomorrow.” Not that Teddy himself would actually go to bed, he just had to give a somewhat good example.  Truth was that just like he had inherited his father’s gentle and calm personality, he had also inherited his mother’s lack of ability to behave, it was just better concealed.

He then walked to his best friend, who was still shaken from the sever allergic reaction from the previous day.

“Hey Eddie.” This nickname only surfaced when she was either very tired or sick. Lin, her housemate that had been talking to her until now took his leave and went away. 

“Come on, Ly.”

Lorcan and Lysander watched from a small distance as the pair left, the boy’s right arm draped around their sister shoulder, the girl barely being able to stand upright. Sure James was one of their best friends despite all of his actions but now he had crossed a line. 

-

TWELVE HOURS EARLIER

The last month had been hard for all of them.

Albus  was fairing very well academically, along with his friends Rose and Scorpius but since his father had heard of his sorting, he hadn’t sent a single letter to him. As impulsive as she was, Lyra had nearly sent Harry Potter a howler sevral time, if it wasn’t for Victoire she’d probably have sent at least three. Rose, Scorpius and him had become very good friends but somehow he still felt left out most of the time. 

Not today, today there would be a sort of costume party and after a lot of nagging on his part, his friends had agreed to go with him, neither of them were exactly party people but the idea was rather fun. So Rose would go as Jesse Quick from The Flash, not that she liked the show that much but she loved Jesse’s character; Scorpius as a Jedi, after he had been introduced to Star Wars at one of the Slytherin Movie Nights it was pretty much the only thing he could think about; and Albus was going as Percy Jackson, because he had become his favorite character over summer. Lyra helped the younger kids get ready with Tori, Dominique and a bunch of other people. 

When everyone from year three and under was ready to go, the older ones got ready, Tori was going as Supergirl, Dominique and Michelle were going as Korra and Asami, Lorcan and Lysander thought it would be funny so they were going as Thing One and Thing Two, Lyra was going as Anastasia and Teddy as Dmitri, others like James, Carter or Fred would decide their costumes fifteen minutes before it was time to go.

THREE HOURS EARLIER

Before everything began, Headmistress McGonagall passed by the Hall to check everything, she had to say that the group had impressed her greatly. The ceilings echantment had been temporarily altered to display fireworks instead of the night sky, the tables had been pushed to the far walls and were covered in black tablecloths with colorful tableware. All in all, the hall looked great, they had surely made great choices with the prefects and head students.

It wasn’t long before the students began gathering in front of the doors to enter the party, Lorcan and Lysander were already under the charm that made the person unrecognizable so they had been in charge of putting everyone else under it. The prefects and head students however, were under a different version of the charm, they could recognize themselves between them but to other students they would only look strangely familiar.

James, whose  last minute costume was Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, had only gone to the party for the sake of it. He thought that the whole point of it was ridiculous, if they weren’t supposed to care which house a person had been sorted into, why were there houses in the first place? But then again, his brother had been sorted into Slytherin and he wasn’t all that he had been taught, neither was Lyra or Dominique.

Still, better safe then sorry. During the party he had steered clear of anyone who looked suspicious to him (that meant anyone who looke like a Slytherin), however he did have fun. At about ten in the evening, the girl prefects and Elena, the head girl were sitting in the corner of a table talking about their respective crushes (some of them had far too many, while others had none when Augusta asked Lyra who was her crush.

“Merlin, Auggie, it feels like we’re all the way back in first year.” 

“You didn’t answer her question, Miss Scamander. Is it a certain seventh year Hufflepuff?” Retorted Hayley, the girl was wearing a very extravagant Ursula costume. For some unknow reason, Lyra blushed.

“I don’t know, maybe. The thing is I’m not really certain if I like Teddy in that way, but I could fall for him so easily that it’s kind of scary.”

Lyra and Teddy knew that they woould somehow end up together, it was one of the things you just know deep in your heart, there had never been another option for either of them. 

At about fifteen minutes until midnight, they began going to their positions around the hall to lift the charm. The excitment in the atmosphere was nearly touchable, James was blissfully unaware of the fact that the people he had been hanging out with for the past couple of hours were all in Slytherin. 

When midnight hit the charm was lifted and the reactions wer mostly good but one in particular caught everyone’s attention. James Potter who until now was animatedly talking with the small group around him took a step back, the people around him were people he remembered seeing around the castle wearing green and silver. 

Suddenly, everything he believed wasn’t as clear anymore and everything he wanted was to leave the party. In his haste to leave he ended up pushing several people out of the way, one of them being Scorpius Malfoy. In that moment several things happened, the first one was Lyra yealling James’s name, the second was his arm swinging when he turned around, the third was his arm hitting Scorpius which in turn made the small boy stumble and fall to the ground awkwardly bending his leg. A resounding crack was heard. James disappeared like a ghost.

[andrewdburton]

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000

There’s a lot at stake when you walk through your boss’s door to start the “talk.” You know the one: negotiating more money.

That single conversation is too important for you to just blindly walk in and hope that it all works out. That’s like blindfolding yourself and then trying to shoot a free throw … with Shaquille O’Neal standing in front of you — likely not gonna happen!

But do it right, and a successful negotiation of, say, $5,000 on top of your salary can add up to an extra $68,000 over 10 years. Talk about a Big Win.

There are a ton of resources here at IWT (like here, here, and oh, here) to give you the best chance of success at getting paid what you deserve in your current or new job, including an Ultimate Guide on Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary. And usually we emphasize that the number-one mistake you can make when negotiating more money is that…

…YOU NEVER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Maybe you just accept the first offer that gets thrown at you because you’re afraid the opportunity will slip away…

Or you simply sit there and pray that your boss will notice your good work and give you what you think you deserve (hint: they won’t, or at least typically not what you could get).

In fact, not bothering to ask is only one of four cardinal sins of negotiating your salary, according to our head honcho Ramit Sethi. He was interviewed on national publication CNBC about four mistakes that can really cripple the average person’s annual earnings and morale, and they are:

You don’t negotiate at all (we covered this just now)

You don’t plan ahead

You take advice from the wrong people

You give up after the first attempt 

Ramit sharing his hot take on negotiation via CNBC.

But look: It’s one thing to learn how to negotiate in theory, but it’s another to actually put rubber to the road and test-drive these or anyone’s tips in the real world.

“You think you’re going to walk in and suddenly become a master negotiator?” Ramit says in the CNBC article. Maybe if you’re actually a Jedi who has powers of mind control … Otherwise, you’re up against someone who’s navigated negotiations with dozens or hundreds of people, perhaps for years.

If that’s the case, just what does it take to get a raise? More important, what does it look like in the real world?

We asked our IWT readers to share how they applied negotiation principles to get a raise of $5,000 or more in their new or existing position. Out of the dozen or so readers who were willing to share their stories, we noticed five commonalities that boosted their chance of success.

“When you start to hear other people telling you their negotiation stories, I think you’re going to be confident in negotiating for what you deserve and what you are worth.” — Ramit

1. They hit a point where they weren’t afraid to ask for more

It’s no surprise that when you don’t ask, you never get what you want. This, of course, includes getting more money. Interestingly, some of our readers wrote in and confided in us that they knew they were being underpaid and yet they still didn’t speak up. It’s easy to point fingers and scream, “The answer is so simple: Just say something or leave!”

But there are a lot of forces at play here. In particular: Invisible scripts, our term for the mental frameworks that are so embedded in our everyday thinking that we often don’t notice we have these thoughts. They could hold us back from being willing to grow, including asking for more money.

“I needed to leave, but had a lot of invisible scripts like, ‘I have no real skills, so I can’t work in any other field’ and ‘If I get paid more, I’ll become a greedy corporate schmuck like the rest of soulless business-types out there,’” wrote one reader.

We’ve all felt or thought something like this, and that’s OK. The first step is to be aware of these thought patterns that might keep you from walking into your boss’s door or even pushing back on the first offer.

What do you notice yourself saying in your head when faced with asking for a raise? Is it things like, “I don’t have the experience or skills to prove my value to the company” or “There’s no way I can ask for more than $8,000”?

Be aware of them and ask, “Is that really true?” Challenge it and find the solution to change it.

2. They did their homework and knew what they were worth

If there was a way to tattoo “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” on your arms, we would. Doing all of the prep work before you walk into these conversations is incredibly important.

You should start by pulling salary data on what you should be earning, according to the number of years of experience and your skill set. Places like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are all great places to research average responsibilities and salary range. Compare your current level of experience to this data and think about what your current skill set and experience can bring to the company.

“If you can communicate this effectively, with practice, then you can walk in and have a good shot at negotiating your salary,” Ramit tells CNBC.

Doing your homework and practicing works, as these reader stories can attest to:

“I successfully negotiated a $33,500 raise with an additional $5,500 in continued education benefits (yearly flight training reimbursement) last May. My strategy was not complicated. I reviewed IWT’s negotiation guide, created a document detailing my achievements at the company in the past three years, waited for opportune timing, and then held my CEO’s feet to the fire.

I’ve worked at my company for just over three years now and since day one have positioned myself to be indispensable. I started out as a mechanical engineer and now run the entire engineering department. In the last three years I’ve negotiated a total of $58,500 in raises for myself.”

Amazing. Here’s another:

“I was able to negotiate a salary raise of $6,000 last year. I was very firm from the beginning of the interview process what my ideal salary range was, and when they tried to come in under that with their initial offer, I came back armed with numbers of what it would ‘cost’ for me to walk away from my previous company (monetary value of the accrued sick leave I wouldn’t get paid out for, the disparity in health coverage between the two companies, etc).

And I had also researched other individuals in my current role (thanks LinkedIn!) to see the years of experience they had before coming to the company and pointed out I was more seasoned than a large percentage of them. After that they came up $6,000 on the offer!”

3. They came prepared to negotiate

We have a secret weapon here that we like to teach people. It’s called The Briefcase Technique, and it’s a powerful way to signal to your potential employer or boss that “you know your shit, and you’re invaluable.”

Ramit breaking down the almighty Briefcase Technique.

Check out this story from a reader who 2X’d her salary in a mere one and a half years (which is  incredible!) when she incorporated The Briefcase Technique:

“I negotiated $8,000 upon taking my current job and $5,000 more just three months after. Soon after applying, I had my first interview with the team. Prepped multiple hours for it. Prepared documents on salary. Prepared my Briefcase Technique. But the Content Manager wasn’t present. To me, that meant I would have another interview with her. So I decided not to present my briefcase to people who wouldn’t care and there was no need to talk salary yet.

Expecting a call back for another interview, I instead got an email with an offer: $37,000. It felt good to have an offer, but my research showed that I deserved $50-60k. I also never got the chance to send my briefcase materials, so I replied, saying:

‘I’ve taken a look at the offer letter and wanted to first say thank you! I am thrilled to be considered!!

I want to be transparent though, it looks like we’re pretty far apart on salary, which is understandable as the range wasn’t posted, and we never really had that discussion.

I’m still very excited about the position, working with you, and COMPANY, but from my research it looks like the range for similar positions are in the $48K-60K ballpark — and actually towards the higher end for someone with my qualifications.

I’d like to discuss that range.

Also, I put together a few ideas I’ve been thinking about for COMPANY. They’ve been on my mind since our last few conversations and I realized we never had the chance to discuss them.

Specifically, these are about expanding and engaging the user base, and I wanted to share these with you no matter what happens as I hope they may provide some value to the marketing teams.’”

Pause. This is a great move to show confidence and value. We’d like to point out this reader’s next savvy move, which was negotiate other terms, like working from home one day per week and scheduling another review for more money after 90 days. The story continues:

“The 90 days were up in December and I spent all that time preparing: coming up with and testing solutions to our process bottlenecks and recording results, as well as what my boss and coworkers were saying about me. I prepared all my best info into a sexy report and practiced the negotiation with my fiancé. He was super harsh in our practices, so I was prepared for the worst.

My meeting with my boss was so much easier than the practices. She was so impressed with my materials that she showed it to at least three other people on the executive team. Though I’d asked for $60k, she offered me $50,000 after our conversation: an 11% raise.”

Don’t focus on the numbers or the timeline here. Instead, focus on how prepared she was — so much that she went in expecting to play hard ball. Her potential employer felt this too, and as Ramit has said before, you’ve done something wrong much earlier in the interview process or in your performance if the other party is not willing to negotiate.

Show that you are a Top Performer, and Top Performers know exactly what they can bring to the table.

4. They stood their ground

In negotiations, it’s easy to shrink away and give in, but being firm and unwavering in what you want is key.

“I successfully negotiated a $15,000 raise last year from $45 to $60k.

Part of this big raise was that I was being very underpaid. For the meeting, I brought in my notes that showed the amount of funding I had secured for the company, the amount of overtime I had taken on, and the amount of travel I had to do (much of it unpaid). I was initially offered a $10k raise, but told them that amount would not work for me as the hours required did not make sense at that rate. I wasn’t bluffing, I would not have continued to work there at that rate.

I was calm and firm and direct in what I brought to the role.

One of my bosses responded well, the other did not. I wrote up all the research for him and gave him a copy. I knew I was underpaid and wouldn’t settle for less. They came around and it worked out!”

The reality is, bosses are not there to be your friend. They’re there to make sure they have the best employees, and it’s on you to make sure they know you know exactly how you drive results for them.

5. They understood increases took time and were persistent

This is perhaps a crucial point that is sorely misrepresented in all of the negotiation resources out there: That it often takes time.

Time to develop your skill set and experience.

Time to prove that your contributions are valuable.

Time to practice your negotiation skills.

You can’t expect to get a $15,000 raise in a jiffy. It might work out for some people — just like some people could win the lottery — but it’s not the norm. Here’s a reader who spent four years making active moves in increasing his salary:

“I took my income from $52k in 2014 to $110k+$15k bonus by early 2018.

I took a new position in 2014 and bumped myself from $52k to $64k in that job change. I did research on the role and company to get the highest starting salary for my role that they have paid. I did a lot of prep for the interviews. Within the year I moved up to $72k based on being a Top Performer in the company.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to open a new office for the firm. I negotiated a raise to $85K on that move, with some pushback from the CEO. I ramped more slowly after that: $92k in 2016, $100k in 2017, and then $110k in 2018.

I have since moved on to a contract role that I got in a week and have a good rate that puts me over $150k. Through the process I have focused on growing my own skills, and understanding customer needs, and communicating clearly on technical topics.”

Taken altogether, keep in mind that when you’re trying to negotiate your salary it’ll take practice, and likely it’ll take time. Even a bump of $5,000 or even being able to push back after the first “no” can be a huge victory and a small step toward more successful future negotiations. Revel in any win — big or small.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[kennethherrerablog]

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000

There’s a lot at stake when you walk through your boss’s door to start the “talk.” You know the one: negotiating more money.

That single conversation is too important for you to just blindly walk in and hope that it all works out. That’s like blindfolding yourself and then trying to shoot a free throw … with Shaquille O’Neal standing in front of you — likely not gonna happen!

But do it right, and a successful negotiation of, say, $5,000 on top of your salary can add up to an extra $68,000 over 10 years. Talk about a Big Win.

There are a ton of resources here at IWT (like here, here, and oh, here) to give you the best chance of success at getting paid what you deserve in your current or new job, including an Ultimate Guide on Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary. And usually we emphasize that the number-one mistake you can make when negotiating more money is that…

…YOU NEVER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Maybe you just accept the first offer that gets thrown at you because you’re afraid the opportunity will slip away…

Or you simply sit there and pray that your boss will notice your good work and give you what you think you deserve (hint: they won’t, or at least typically not what you could get).

In fact, not bothering to ask is only one of four cardinal sins of negotiating your salary, according to our head honcho Ramit Sethi. He was interviewed on national publication CNBC about four mistakes that can really cripple the average person’s annual earnings and morale, and they are:

You don’t negotiate at all (we covered this just now)

You don’t plan ahead

You take advice from the wrong people

You give up after the first attempt 

Ramit sharing his hot take on negotiation via CNBC.

But look: It’s one thing to learn how to negotiate in theory, but it’s another to actually put rubber to the road and test-drive these or anyone’s tips in the real world.

“You think you’re going to walk in and suddenly become a master negotiator?” Ramit says in the CNBC article. Maybe if you’re actually a Jedi who has powers of mind control … Otherwise, you’re up against someone who’s navigated negotiations with dozens or hundreds of people, perhaps for years.

If that’s the case, just what does it take to get a raise? More important, what does it look like in the real world?

We asked our IWT readers to share how they applied negotiation principles to get a raise of $5,000 or more in their new or existing position. Out of the dozen or so readers who were willing to share their stories, we noticed five commonalities that boosted their chance of success.

“When you start to hear other people telling you their negotiation stories, I think you’re going to be confident in negotiating for what you deserve and what you are worth.” — Ramit

1. They hit a point where they weren’t afraid to ask for more

It’s no surprise that when you don’t ask, you never get what you want. This, of course, includes getting more money. Interestingly, some of our readers wrote in and confided in us that they knew they were being underpaid and yet they still didn’t speak up. It’s easy to point fingers and scream, “The answer is so simple: Just say something or leave!”

But there are a lot of forces at play here. In particular: Invisible scripts, our term for the mental frameworks that are so embedded in our everyday thinking that we often don’t notice we have these thoughts. They could hold us back from being willing to grow, including asking for more money.

“I needed to leave, but had a lot of invisible scripts like, ‘I have no real skills, so I can’t work in any other field’ and ‘If I get paid more, I’ll become a greedy corporate schmuck like the rest of soulless business-types out there,’” wrote one reader.

We’ve all felt or thought something like this, and that’s OK. The first step is to be aware of these thought patterns that might keep you from walking into your boss’s door or even pushing back on the first offer.

What do you notice yourself saying in your head when faced with asking for a raise? Is it things like, “I don’t have the experience or skills to prove my value to the company” or “There’s no way I can ask for more than $8,000”?

Be aware of them and ask, “Is that really true?” Challenge it and find the solution to change it.

2. They did their homework and knew what they were worth

If there was a way to tattoo “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” on your arms, we would. Doing all of the prep work before you walk into these conversations is incredibly important.

You should start by pulling salary data on what you should be earning, according to the number of years of experience and your skill set. Places like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are all great places to research average responsibilities and salary range. Compare your current level of experience to this data and think about what your current skill set and experience can bring to the company.

“If you can communicate this effectively, with practice, then you can walk in and have a good shot at negotiating your salary,” Ramit tells CNBC.

Doing your homework and practicing works, as these reader stories can attest to:

“I successfully negotiated a $33,500 raise with an additional $5,500 in continued education benefits (yearly flight training reimbursement) last May. My strategy was not complicated. I reviewed IWT’s negotiation guide, created a document detailing my achievements at the company in the past three years, waited for opportune timing, and then held my CEO’s feet to the fire.

I’ve worked at my company for just over three years now and since day one have positioned myself to be indispensable. I started out as a mechanical engineer and now run the entire engineering department. In the last three years I’ve negotiated a total of $58,500 in raises for myself.”

Amazing. Here’s another:

“I was able to negotiate a salary raise of $6,000 last year. I was very firm from the beginning of the interview process what my ideal salary range was, and when they tried to come in under that with their initial offer, I came back armed with numbers of what it would ‘cost’ for me to walk away from my previous company (monetary value of the accrued sick leave I wouldn’t get paid out for, the disparity in health coverage between the two companies, etc).

And I had also researched other individuals in my current role (thanks LinkedIn!) to see the years of experience they had before coming to the company and pointed out I was more seasoned than a large percentage of them. After that they came up $6,000 on the offer!”

3. They came prepared to negotiate

We have a secret weapon here that we like to teach people. It’s called The Briefcase Technique, and it’s a powerful way to signal to your potential employer or boss that “you know your shit, and you’re invaluable.”

Ramit breaking down the almighty Briefcase Technique.

Check out this story from a reader who 2X’d her salary in a mere one and a half years (which is  incredible!) when she incorporated The Briefcase Technique:

“I negotiated $8,000 upon taking my current job and $5,000 more just three months after. Soon after applying, I had my first interview with the team. Prepped multiple hours for it. Prepared documents on salary. Prepared my Briefcase Technique. But the Content Manager wasn’t present. To me, that meant I would have another interview with her. So I decided not to present my briefcase to people who wouldn’t care and there was no need to talk salary yet.

Expecting a call back for another interview, I instead got an email with an offer: $37,000. It felt good to have an offer, but my research showed that I deserved $50-60k. I also never got the chance to send my briefcase materials, so I replied, saying:

‘I’ve taken a look at the offer letter and wanted to first say thank you! I am thrilled to be considered!!

I want to be transparent though, it looks like we’re pretty far apart on salary, which is understandable as the range wasn’t posted, and we never really had that discussion.

I’m still very excited about the position, working with you, and COMPANY, but from my research it looks like the range for similar positions are in the $48K-60K ballpark — and actually towards the higher end for someone with my qualifications.

I’d like to discuss that range.

Also, I put together a few ideas I’ve been thinking about for COMPANY. They’ve been on my mind since our last few conversations and I realized we never had the chance to discuss them.

Specifically, these are about expanding and engaging the user base, and I wanted to share these with you no matter what happens as I hope they may provide some value to the marketing teams.’”

Pause. This is a great move to show confidence and value. We’d like to point out this reader’s next savvy move, which was negotiate other terms, like working from home one day per week and scheduling another review for more money after 90 days. The story continues:

“The 90 days were up in December and I spent all that time preparing: coming up with and testing solutions to our process bottlenecks and recording results, as well as what my boss and coworkers were saying about me. I prepared all my best info into a sexy report and practiced the negotiation with my fiancé. He was super harsh in our practices, so I was prepared for the worst.

My meeting with my boss was so much easier than the practices. She was so impressed with my materials that she showed it to at least three other people on the executive team. Though I’d asked for $60k, she offered me $50,000 after our conversation: an 11% raise.”

Don’t focus on the numbers or the timeline here. Instead, focus on how prepared she was — so much that she went in expecting to play hard ball. Her potential employer felt this too, and as Ramit has said before, you’ve done something wrong much earlier in the interview process or in your performance if the other party is not willing to negotiate.

Show that you are a Top Performer, and Top Performers know exactly what they can bring to the table.

4. They stood their ground

In negotiations, it’s easy to shrink away and give in, but being firm and unwavering in what you want is key.

“I successfully negotiated a $15,000 raise last year from $45 to $60k.

Part of this big raise was that I was being very underpaid. For the meeting, I brought in my notes that showed the amount of funding I had secured for the company, the amount of overtime I had taken on, and the amount of travel I had to do (much of it unpaid). I was initially offered a $10k raise, but told them that amount would not work for me as the hours required did not make sense at that rate. I wasn’t bluffing, I would not have continued to work there at that rate.

I was calm and firm and direct in what I brought to the role.

One of my bosses responded well, the other did not. I wrote up all the research for him and gave him a copy. I knew I was underpaid and wouldn’t settle for less. They came around and it worked out!”

The reality is, bosses are not there to be your friend. They’re there to make sure they have the best employees, and it’s on you to make sure they know you know exactly how you drive results for them.

5. They understood increases took time and were persistent

This is perhaps a crucial point that is sorely misrepresented in all of the negotiation resources out there: That it often takes time.

Time to develop your skill set and experience.

Time to prove that your contributions are valuable.

Time to practice your negotiation skills.

You can’t expect to get a $15,000 raise in a jiffy. It might work out for some people — just like some people could win the lottery — but it’s not the norm. Here’s a reader who spent four years making active moves in increasing his salary:

“I took my income from $52k in 2014 to $110k+$15k bonus by early 2018.

I took a new position in 2014 and bumped myself from $52k to $64k in that job change. I did research on the role and company to get the highest starting salary for my role that they have paid. I did a lot of prep for the interviews. Within the year I moved up to $72k based on being a Top Performer in the company.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to open a new office for the firm. I negotiated a raise to $85K on that move, with some pushback from the CEO. I ramped more slowly after that: $92k in 2016, $100k in 2017, and then $110k in 2018.

I have since moved on to a contract role that I got in a week and have a good rate that puts me over $150k. Through the process I have focused on growing my own skills, and understanding customer needs, and communicating clearly on technical topics.”

Taken altogether, keep in mind that when you’re trying to negotiate your salary it’ll take practice, and likely it’ll take time. Even a bump of $5,000 or even being able to push back after the first “no” can be a huge victory and a small step toward more successful future negotiations. Revel in any win — big or small.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

[samuelfields]

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000

There’s a lot at stake when you walk through your boss’s door to start the “talk.” You know the one: negotiating more money.

That single conversation is too important for you to just blindly walk in and hope that it all works out. That’s like blindfolding yourself and then trying to shoot a free throw … with Shaquille O’Neal standing in front of you — likely not gonna happen!

But do it right, and a successful negotiation of, say, $5,000 on top of your salary can add up to an extra $68,000 over 10 years. Talk about a Big Win.

There are a ton of resources here at IWT (like here, here, and oh, here) to give you the best chance of success at getting paid what you deserve in your current or new job, including an Ultimate Guide on Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary. And usually we emphasize that the number-one mistake you can make when negotiating more money is that…

…YOU NEVER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Maybe you just accept the first offer that gets thrown at you because you’re afraid the opportunity will slip away…

Or you simply sit there and pray that your boss will notice your good work and give you what you think you deserve (hint: they won’t, or at least typically not what you could get).

In fact, not bothering to ask is only one of four cardinal sins of negotiating your salary, according to our head honcho Ramit Sethi. He was interviewed on national publication CNBC about four mistakes that can really cripple the average person’s annual earnings and morale, and they are:

You don’t negotiate at all (we covered this just now)

You don’t plan ahead

You take advice from the wrong people

You give up after the first attempt 

Ramit sharing his hot take on negotiation via CNBC.

But look: It’s one thing to learn how to negotiate in theory, but it’s another to actually put rubber to the road and test-drive these or anyone’s tips in the real world.

“You think you’re going to walk in and suddenly become a master negotiator?” Ramit says in the CNBC article. Maybe if you’re actually a Jedi who has powers of mind control … Otherwise, you’re up against someone who’s navigated negotiations with dozens or hundreds of people, perhaps for years.

If that’s the case, just what does it take to get a raise? More important, what does it look like in the real world?

We asked our IWT readers to share how they applied negotiation principles to get a raise of $5,000 or more in their new or existing position. Out of the dozen or so readers who were willing to share their stories, we noticed five commonalities that boosted their chance of success.

“When you start to hear other people telling you their negotiation stories, I think you’re going to be confident in negotiating for what you deserve and what you are worth.” — Ramit

1. They hit a point where they weren’t afraid to ask for more

It’s no surprise that when you don’t ask, you never get what you want. This, of course, includes getting more money. Interestingly, some of our readers wrote in and confided in us that they knew they were being underpaid and yet they still didn’t speak up. It’s easy to point fingers and scream, “The answer is so simple: Just say something or leave!”

But there are a lot of forces at play here. In particular: Invisible scripts, our term for the mental frameworks that are so embedded in our everyday thinking that we often don’t notice we have these thoughts. They could hold us back from being willing to grow, including asking for more money.

“I needed to leave, but had a lot of invisible scripts like, ‘I have no real skills, so I can’t work in any other field’ and ‘If I get paid more, I’ll become a greedy corporate schmuck like the rest of soulless business-types out there,’” wrote one reader.

We’ve all felt or thought something like this, and that’s OK. The first step is to be aware of these thought patterns that might keep you from walking into your boss’s door or even pushing back on the first offer.

What do you notice yourself saying in your head when faced with asking for a raise? Is it things like, “I don’t have the experience or skills to prove my value to the company” or “There’s no way I can ask for more than $8,000”?

Be aware of them and ask, “Is that really true?” Challenge it and find the solution to change it.

2. They did their homework and knew what they were worth

If there was a way to tattoo “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” on your arms, we would. Doing all of the prep work before you walk into these conversations is incredibly important.

You should start by pulling salary data on what you should be earning, according to the number of years of experience and your skill set. Places like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are all great places to research average responsibilities and salary range. Compare your current level of experience to this data and think about what your current skill set and experience can bring to the company.

“If you can communicate this effectively, with practice, then you can walk in and have a good shot at negotiating your salary,” Ramit tells CNBC.

Doing your homework and practicing works, as these reader stories can attest to:

“I successfully negotiated a $33,500 raise with an additional $5,500 in continued education benefits (yearly flight training reimbursement) last May. My strategy was not complicated. I reviewed IWT’s negotiation guide, created a document detailing my achievements at the company in the past three years, waited for opportune timing, and then held my CEO’s feet to the fire.

I’ve worked at my company for just over three years now and since day one have positioned myself to be indispensable. I started out as a mechanical engineer and now run the entire engineering department. In the last three years I’ve negotiated a total of $58,500 in raises for myself.”

Amazing. Here’s another:

“I was able to negotiate a salary raise of $6,000 last year. I was very firm from the beginning of the interview process what my ideal salary range was, and when they tried to come in under that with their initial offer, I came back armed with numbers of what it would ‘cost’ for me to walk away from my previous company (monetary value of the accrued sick leave I wouldn’t get paid out for, the disparity in health coverage between the two companies, etc).

And I had also researched other individuals in my current role (thanks LinkedIn!) to see the years of experience they had before coming to the company and pointed out I was more seasoned than a large percentage of them. After that they came up $6,000 on the offer!”

3. They came prepared to negotiate

We have a secret weapon here that we like to teach people. It’s called The Briefcase Technique, and it’s a powerful way to signal to your potential employer or boss that “you know your shit, and you’re invaluable.”

Ramit breaking down the almighty Briefcase Technique.

Check out this story from a reader who 2X’d her salary in a mere one and a half years (which is  incredible!) when she incorporated The Briefcase Technique:

“I negotiated $8,000 upon taking my current job and $5,000 more just three months after. Soon after applying, I had my first interview with the team. Prepped multiple hours for it. Prepared documents on salary. Prepared my Briefcase Technique. But the Content Manager wasn’t present. To me, that meant I would have another interview with her. So I decided not to present my briefcase to people who wouldn’t care and there was no need to talk salary yet.

Expecting a call back for another interview, I instead got an email with an offer: $37,000. It felt good to have an offer, but my research showed that I deserved $50-60k. I also never got the chance to send my briefcase materials, so I replied, saying:

‘I’ve taken a look at the offer letter and wanted to first say thank you! I am thrilled to be considered!!

I want to be transparent though, it looks like we’re pretty far apart on salary, which is understandable as the range wasn’t posted, and we never really had that discussion.

I’m still very excited about the position, working with you, and COMPANY, but from my research it looks like the range for similar positions are in the $48K-60K ballpark — and actually towards the higher end for someone with my qualifications.

I’d like to discuss that range.

Also, I put together a few ideas I’ve been thinking about for COMPANY. They’ve been on my mind since our last few conversations and I realized we never had the chance to discuss them.

Specifically, these are about expanding and engaging the user base, and I wanted to share these with you no matter what happens as I hope they may provide some value to the marketing teams.’”

Pause. This is a great move to show confidence and value. We’d like to point out this reader’s next savvy move, which was negotiate other terms, like working from home one day per week and scheduling another review for more money after 90 days. The story continues:

“The 90 days were up in December and I spent all that time preparing: coming up with and testing solutions to our process bottlenecks and recording results, as well as what my boss and coworkers were saying about me. I prepared all my best info into a sexy report and practiced the negotiation with my fiancé. He was super harsh in our practices, so I was prepared for the worst.

My meeting with my boss was so much easier than the practices. She was so impressed with my materials that she showed it to at least three other people on the executive team. Though I’d asked for $60k, she offered me $50,000 after our conversation: an 11% raise.”

Don’t focus on the numbers or the timeline here. Instead, focus on how prepared she was — so much that she went in expecting to play hard ball. Her potential employer felt this too, and as Ramit has said before, you’ve done something wrong much earlier in the interview process or in your performance if the other party is not willing to negotiate.

Show that you are a Top Performer, and Top Performers know exactly what they can bring to the table.

4. They stood their ground

In negotiations, it’s easy to shrink away and give in, but being firm and unwavering in what you want is key.

“I successfully negotiated a $15,000 raise last year from $45 to $60k.

Part of this big raise was that I was being very underpaid. For the meeting, I brought in my notes that showed the amount of funding I had secured for the company, the amount of overtime I had taken on, and the amount of travel I had to do (much of it unpaid). I was initially offered a $10k raise, but told them that amount would not work for me as the hours required did not make sense at that rate. I wasn’t bluffing, I would not have continued to work there at that rate.

I was calm and firm and direct in what I brought to the role.

One of my bosses responded well, the other did not. I wrote up all the research for him and gave him a copy. I knew I was underpaid and wouldn’t settle for less. They came around and it worked out!”

The reality is, bosses are not there to be your friend. They’re there to make sure they have the best employees, and it’s on you to make sure they know you know exactly how you drive results for them.

5. They understood increases took time and were persistent

This is perhaps a crucial point that is sorely misrepresented in all of the negotiation resources out there: That it often takes time.

Time to develop your skill set and experience.

Time to prove that your contributions are valuable.

Time to practice your negotiation skills.

You can’t expect to get a $15,000 raise in a jiffy. It might work out for some people — just like some people could win the lottery — but it’s not the norm. Here’s a reader who spent four years making active moves in increasing his salary:

“I took my income from $52k in 2014 to $110k+$15k bonus by early 2018.

I took a new position in 2014 and bumped myself from $52k to $64k in that job change. I did research on the role and company to get the highest starting salary for my role that they have paid. I did a lot of prep for the interviews. Within the year I moved up to $72k based on being a Top Performer in the company.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to open a new office for the firm. I negotiated a raise to $85K on that move, with some pushback from the CEO. I ramped more slowly after that: $92k in 2016, $100k in 2017, and then $110k in 2018.

I have since moved on to a contract role that I got in a week and have a good rate that puts me over $150k. Through the process I have focused on growing my own skills, and understanding customer needs, and communicating clearly on technical topics.”

Taken altogether, keep in mind that when you’re trying to negotiate your salary it’ll take practice, and likely it’ll take time. Even a bump of $5,000 or even being able to push back after the first “no” can be a huge victory and a small step toward more successful future negotiations. Revel in any win — big or small.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[mcjoelcain]

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000

There’s a lot at stake when you walk through your boss’s door to start the “talk.” You know the one: negotiating more money.

That single conversation is too important for you to just blindly walk in and hope that it all works out. That’s like blindfolding yourself and then trying to shoot a free throw … with Shaquille O’Neal standing in front of you — likely not gonna happen!

But do it right, and a successful negotiation of, say, $5,000 on top of your salary can add up to an extra $68,000 over 10 years. Talk about a Big Win.

There are a ton of resources here at IWT (like here, here, and oh, here) to give you the best chance of success at getting paid what you deserve in your current or new job, including an Ultimate Guide on Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary. And usually we emphasize that the number-one mistake you can make when negotiating more money is that…

…YOU NEVER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Maybe you just accept the first offer that gets thrown at you because you’re afraid the opportunity will slip away…

Or you simply sit there and pray that your boss will notice your good work and give you what you think you deserve (hint: they won’t, or at least typically not what you could get).

In fact, not bothering to ask is only one of four cardinal sins of negotiating your salary, according to our head honcho Ramit Sethi. He was interviewed on national publication CNBC about four mistakes that can really cripple the average person’s annual earnings and morale, and they are:

You don’t negotiate at all (we covered this just now)

You don’t plan ahead

You take advice from the wrong people

You give up after the first attempt 

Ramit sharing his hot take on negotiation via CNBC.

But look: It’s one thing to learn how to negotiate in theory, but it’s another to actually put rubber to the road and test-drive these or anyone’s tips in the real world.

“You think you’re going to walk in and suddenly become a master negotiator?” Ramit says in the CNBC article. Maybe if you’re actually a Jedi who has powers of mind control … Otherwise, you’re up against someone who’s navigated negotiations with dozens or hundreds of people, perhaps for years.

If that’s the case, just what does it take to get a raise? More important, what does it look like in the real world?

We asked our IWT readers to share how they applied negotiation principles to get a raise of $5,000 or more in their new or existing position. Out of the dozen or so readers who were willing to share their stories, we noticed five commonalities that boosted their chance of success.

“When you start to hear other people telling you their negotiation stories, I think you’re going to be confident in negotiating for what you deserve and what you are worth.” — Ramit

1. They hit a point where they weren’t afraid to ask for more

It’s no surprise that when you don’t ask, you never get what you want. This, of course, includes getting more money. Interestingly, some of our readers wrote in and confided in us that they knew they were being underpaid and yet they still didn’t speak up. It’s easy to point fingers and scream, “The answer is so simple: Just say something or leave!”

But there are a lot of forces at play here. In particular: Invisible scripts, our term for the mental frameworks that are so embedded in our everyday thinking that we often don’t notice we have these thoughts. They could hold us back from being willing to grow, including asking for more money.

“I needed to leave, but had a lot of invisible scripts like, ‘I have no real skills, so I can’t work in any other field’ and ‘If I get paid more, I’ll become a greedy corporate schmuck like the rest of soulless business-types out there,’” wrote one reader.

We’ve all felt or thought something like this, and that’s OK. The first step is to be aware of these thought patterns that might keep you from walking into your boss’s door or even pushing back on the first offer.

What do you notice yourself saying in your head when faced with asking for a raise? Is it things like, “I don’t have the experience or skills to prove my value to the company” or “There’s no way I can ask for more than $8,000”?

Be aware of them and ask, “Is that really true?” Challenge it and find the solution to change it.

2. They did their homework and knew what they were worth

If there was a way to tattoo “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” on your arms, we would. Doing all of the prep work before you walk into these conversations is incredibly important.

You should start by pulling salary data on what you should be earning, according to the number of years of experience and your skill set. Places like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are all great places to research average responsibilities and salary range. Compare your current level of experience to this data and think about what your current skill set and experience can bring to the company.

“If you can communicate this effectively, with practice, then you can walk in and have a good shot at negotiating your salary,” Ramit tells CNBC.

Doing your homework and practicing works, as these reader stories can attest to:

“I successfully negotiated a $33,500 raise with an additional $5,500 in continued education benefits (yearly flight training reimbursement) last May. My strategy was not complicated. I reviewed IWT’s negotiation guide, created a document detailing my achievements at the company in the past three years, waited for opportune timing, and then held my CEO’s feet to the fire.

I’ve worked at my company for just over three years now and since day one have positioned myself to be indispensable. I started out as a mechanical engineer and now run the entire engineering department. In the last three years I’ve negotiated a total of $58,500 in raises for myself.”

Amazing. Here’s another:

“I was able to negotiate a salary raise of $6,000 last year. I was very firm from the beginning of the interview process what my ideal salary range was, and when they tried to come in under that with their initial offer, I came back armed with numbers of what it would ‘cost’ for me to walk away from my previous company (monetary value of the accrued sick leave I wouldn’t get paid out for, the disparity in health coverage between the two companies, etc).

And I had also researched other individuals in my current role (thanks LinkedIn!) to see the years of experience they had before coming to the company and pointed out I was more seasoned than a large percentage of them. After that they came up $6,000 on the offer!”

3. They came prepared to negotiate

We have a secret weapon here that we like to teach people. It’s called The Briefcase Technique, and it’s a powerful way to signal to your potential employer or boss that “you know your shit, and you’re invaluable.”

Ramit breaking down the almighty Briefcase Technique.

Check out this story from a reader who 2X’d her salary in a mere one and a half years (which is  incredible!) when she incorporated The Briefcase Technique:

“I negotiated $8,000 upon taking my current job and $5,000 more just three months after. Soon after applying, I had my first interview with the team. Prepped multiple hours for it. Prepared documents on salary. Prepared my Briefcase Technique. But the Content Manager wasn’t present. To me, that meant I would have another interview with her. So I decided not to present my briefcase to people who wouldn’t care and there was no need to talk salary yet.

Expecting a call back for another interview, I instead got an email with an offer: $37,000. It felt good to have an offer, but my research showed that I deserved $50-60k. I also never got the chance to send my briefcase materials, so I replied, saying:

‘I’ve taken a look at the offer letter and wanted to first say thank you! I am thrilled to be considered!!

I want to be transparent though, it looks like we’re pretty far apart on salary, which is understandable as the range wasn’t posted, and we never really had that discussion.

I’m still very excited about the position, working with you, and COMPANY, but from my research it looks like the range for similar positions are in the $48K-60K ballpark — and actually towards the higher end for someone with my qualifications.

I’d like to discuss that range.

Also, I put together a few ideas I’ve been thinking about for COMPANY. They’ve been on my mind since our last few conversations and I realized we never had the chance to discuss them.

Specifically, these are about expanding and engaging the user base, and I wanted to share these with you no matter what happens as I hope they may provide some value to the marketing teams.’”

Pause. This is a great move to show confidence and value. We’d like to point out this reader’s next savvy move, which was negotiate other terms, like working from home one day per week and scheduling another review for more money after 90 days. The story continues:

“The 90 days were up in December and I spent all that time preparing: coming up with and testing solutions to our process bottlenecks and recording results, as well as what my boss and coworkers were saying about me. I prepared all my best info into a sexy report and practiced the negotiation with my fiancé. He was super harsh in our practices, so I was prepared for the worst.

My meeting with my boss was so much easier than the practices. She was so impressed with my materials that she showed it to at least three other people on the executive team. Though I’d asked for $60k, she offered me $50,000 after our conversation: an 11% raise.”

Don’t focus on the numbers or the timeline here. Instead, focus on how prepared she was — so much that she went in expecting to play hard ball. Her potential employer felt this too, and as Ramit has said before, you’ve done something wrong much earlier in the interview process or in your performance if the other party is not willing to negotiate.

Show that you are a Top Performer, and Top Performers know exactly what they can bring to the table.

4. They stood their ground

In negotiations, it’s easy to shrink away and give in, but being firm and unwavering in what you want is key.

“I successfully negotiated a $15,000 raise last year from $45 to $60k.

Part of this big raise was that I was being very underpaid. For the meeting, I brought in my notes that showed the amount of funding I had secured for the company, the amount of overtime I had taken on, and the amount of travel I had to do (much of it unpaid). I was initially offered a $10k raise, but told them that amount would not work for me as the hours required did not make sense at that rate. I wasn’t bluffing, I would not have continued to work there at that rate.

I was calm and firm and direct in what I brought to the role.

One of my bosses responded well, the other did not. I wrote up all the research for him and gave him a copy. I knew I was underpaid and wouldn’t settle for less. They came around and it worked out!”

The reality is, bosses are not there to be your friend. They’re there to make sure they have the best employees, and it’s on you to make sure they know you know exactly how you drive results for them.

5. They understood increases took time and were persistent

This is perhaps a crucial point that is sorely misrepresented in all of the negotiation resources out there: That it often takes time.

Time to develop your skill set and experience.

Time to prove that your contributions are valuable.

Time to practice your negotiation skills.

You can’t expect to get a $15,000 raise in a jiffy. It might work out for some people — just like some people could win the lottery — but it’s not the norm. Here’s a reader who spent four years making active moves in increasing his salary:

“I took my income from $52k in 2014 to $110k+$15k bonus by early 2018.

I took a new position in 2014 and bumped myself from $52k to $64k in that job change. I did research on the role and company to get the highest starting salary for my role that they have paid. I did a lot of prep for the interviews. Within the year I moved up to $72k based on being a Top Performer in the company.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to open a new office for the firm. I negotiated a raise to $85K on that move, with some pushback from the CEO. I ramped more slowly after that: $92k in 2016, $100k in 2017, and then $110k in 2018.

I have since moved on to a contract role that I got in a week and have a good rate that puts me over $150k. Through the process I have focused on growing my own skills, and understanding customer needs, and communicating clearly on technical topics.”

Taken altogether, keep in mind that when you’re trying to negotiate your salary it’ll take practice, and likely it’ll take time. Even a bump of $5,000 or even being able to push back after the first “no” can be a huge victory and a small step toward more successful future negotiations. Revel in any win — big or small.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Money https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[paulckrueger]

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000

There’s a lot at stake when you walk through your boss’s door to start the “talk.” You know the one: negotiating more money.

That single conversation is too important for you to just blindly walk in and hope that it all works out. That’s like blindfolding yourself and then trying to shoot a free throw … with Shaquille O’Neal standing in front of you — likely not gonna happen!

But do it right, and a successful negotiation of, say, $5,000 on top of your salary can add up to an extra $68,000 over 10 years. Talk about a Big Win.

There are a ton of resources here at IWT (like here, here, and oh, here) to give you the best chance of success at getting paid what you deserve in your current or new job, including an Ultimate Guide on Getting a Raise and Boosting Your Salary. And usually we emphasize that the number-one mistake you can make when negotiating more money is that…

…YOU NEVER ASK IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Maybe you just accept the first offer that gets thrown at you because you’re afraid the opportunity will slip away…

Or you simply sit there and pray that your boss will notice your good work and give you what you think you deserve (hint: they won’t, or at least typically not what you could get).

In fact, not bothering to ask is only one of four cardinal sins of negotiating your salary, according to our head honcho Ramit Sethi. He was interviewed on national publication CNBC about four mistakes that can really cripple the average person’s annual earnings and morale, and they are:

You don’t negotiate at all (we covered this just now)

You don’t plan ahead

You take advice from the wrong people

You give up after the first attempt 

Ramit sharing his hot take on negotiation via CNBC.

But look: It’s one thing to learn how to negotiate in theory, but it’s another to actually put rubber to the road and test-drive these or anyone’s tips in the real world.

“You think you’re going to walk in and suddenly become a master negotiator?” Ramit says in the CNBC article. Maybe if you’re actually a Jedi who has powers of mind control … Otherwise, you’re up against someone who’s navigated negotiations with dozens or hundreds of people, perhaps for years.

If that’s the case, just what does it take to get a raise? More important, what does it look like in the real world?

We asked our IWT readers to share how they applied negotiation principles to get a raise of $5,000 or more in their new or existing position. Out of the dozen or so readers who were willing to share their stories, we noticed five commonalities that boosted their chance of success.

“When you start to hear other people telling you their negotiation stories, I think you’re going to be confident in negotiating for what you deserve and what you are worth.” — Ramit

1. They hit a point where they weren’t afraid to ask for more

It’s no surprise that when you don’t ask, you never get what you want. This, of course, includes getting more money. Interestingly, some of our readers wrote in and confided in us that they knew they were being underpaid and yet they still didn’t speak up. It’s easy to point fingers and scream, “The answer is so simple: Just say something or leave!”

But there are a lot of forces at play here. In particular: Invisible scripts, our term for the mental frameworks that are so embedded in our everyday thinking that we often don’t notice we have these thoughts. They could hold us back from being willing to grow, including asking for more money.

“I needed to leave, but had a lot of invisible scripts like, ‘I have no real skills, so I can’t work in any other field’ and ‘If I get paid more, I’ll become a greedy corporate schmuck like the rest of soulless business-types out there,’” wrote one reader.

We’ve all felt or thought something like this, and that’s OK. The first step is to be aware of these thought patterns that might keep you from walking into your boss’s door or even pushing back on the first offer.

What do you notice yourself saying in your head when faced with asking for a raise? Is it things like, “I don’t have the experience or skills to prove my value to the company” or “There’s no way I can ask for more than $8,000”?

Be aware of them and ask, “Is that really true?” Challenge it and find the solution to change it.

2. They did their homework and knew what they were worth

If there was a way to tattoo “DO YOUR HOMEWORK” on your arms, we would. Doing all of the prep work before you walk into these conversations is incredibly important.

You should start by pulling salary data on what you should be earning, according to the number of years of experience and your skill set. Places like Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are all great places to research average responsibilities and salary range. Compare your current level of experience to this data and think about what your current skill set and experience can bring to the company.

“If you can communicate this effectively, with practice, then you can walk in and have a good shot at negotiating your salary,” Ramit tells CNBC.

Doing your homework and practicing works, as these reader stories can attest to:

“I successfully negotiated a $33,500 raise with an additional $5,500 in continued education benefits (yearly flight training reimbursement) last May. My strategy was not complicated. I reviewed IWT’s negotiation guide, created a document detailing my achievements at the company in the past three years, waited for opportune timing, and then held my CEO’s feet to the fire.

I’ve worked at my company for just over three years now and since day one have positioned myself to be indispensable. I started out as a mechanical engineer and now run the entire engineering department. In the last three years I’ve negotiated a total of $58,500 in raises for myself.”

Amazing. Here’s another:

“I was able to negotiate a salary raise of $6,000 last year. I was very firm from the beginning of the interview process what my ideal salary range was, and when they tried to come in under that with their initial offer, I came back armed with numbers of what it would ‘cost’ for me to walk away from my previous company (monetary value of the accrued sick leave I wouldn’t get paid out for, the disparity in health coverage between the two companies, etc).

And I had also researched other individuals in my current role (thanks LinkedIn!) to see the years of experience they had before coming to the company and pointed out I was more seasoned than a large percentage of them. After that they came up $6,000 on the offer!”

3. They came prepared to negotiate

We have a secret weapon here that we like to teach people. It’s called The Briefcase Technique, and it’s a powerful way to signal to your potential employer or boss that “you know your shit, and you’re invaluable.”

Ramit breaking down the almighty Briefcase Technique.

Check out this story from a reader who 2X’d her salary in a mere one and a half years (which is  incredible!) when she incorporated The Briefcase Technique:

“I negotiated $8,000 upon taking my current job and $5,000 more just three months after. Soon after applying, I had my first interview with the team. Prepped multiple hours for it. Prepared documents on salary. Prepared my Briefcase Technique. But the Content Manager wasn’t present. To me, that meant I would have another interview with her. So I decided not to present my briefcase to people who wouldn’t care and there was no need to talk salary yet.

Expecting a call back for another interview, I instead got an email with an offer: $37,000. It felt good to have an offer, but my research showed that I deserved $50-60k. I also never got the chance to send my briefcase materials, so I replied, saying:

‘I’ve taken a look at the offer letter and wanted to first say thank you! I am thrilled to be considered!!

I want to be transparent though, it looks like we’re pretty far apart on salary, which is understandable as the range wasn’t posted, and we never really had that discussion.

I’m still very excited about the position, working with you, and COMPANY, but from my research it looks like the range for similar positions are in the $48K-60K ballpark — and actually towards the higher end for someone with my qualifications.

I’d like to discuss that range.

Also, I put together a few ideas I’ve been thinking about for COMPANY. They’ve been on my mind since our last few conversations and I realized we never had the chance to discuss them.

Specifically, these are about expanding and engaging the user base, and I wanted to share these with you no matter what happens as I hope they may provide some value to the marketing teams.’”

Pause. This is a great move to show confidence and value. We’d like to point out this reader’s next savvy move, which was negotiate other terms, like working from home one day per week and scheduling another review for more money after 90 days. The story continues:

“The 90 days were up in December and I spent all that time preparing: coming up with and testing solutions to our process bottlenecks and recording results, as well as what my boss and coworkers were saying about me. I prepared all my best info into a sexy report and practiced the negotiation with my fiancé. He was super harsh in our practices, so I was prepared for the worst.

My meeting with my boss was so much easier than the practices. She was so impressed with my materials that she showed it to at least three other people on the executive team. Though I’d asked for $60k, she offered me $50,000 after our conversation: an 11% raise.”

Don’t focus on the numbers or the timeline here. Instead, focus on how prepared she was — so much that she went in expecting to play hard ball. Her potential employer felt this too, and as Ramit has said before, you’ve done something wrong much earlier in the interview process or in your performance if the other party is not willing to negotiate.

Show that you are a Top Performer, and Top Performers know exactly what they can bring to the table.

4. They stood their ground

In negotiations, it’s easy to shrink away and give in, but being firm and unwavering in what you want is key.

“I successfully negotiated a $15,000 raise last year from $45 to $60k.

Part of this big raise was that I was being very underpaid. For the meeting, I brought in my notes that showed the amount of funding I had secured for the company, the amount of overtime I had taken on, and the amount of travel I had to do (much of it unpaid). I was initially offered a $10k raise, but told them that amount would not work for me as the hours required did not make sense at that rate. I wasn’t bluffing, I would not have continued to work there at that rate.

I was calm and firm and direct in what I brought to the role.

One of my bosses responded well, the other did not. I wrote up all the research for him and gave him a copy. I knew I was underpaid and wouldn’t settle for less. They came around and it worked out!”

The reality is, bosses are not there to be your friend. They’re there to make sure they have the best employees, and it’s on you to make sure they know you know exactly how you drive results for them.

5. They understood increases took time and were persistent

This is perhaps a crucial point that is sorely misrepresented in all of the negotiation resources out there: That it often takes time.

Time to develop your skill set and experience.

Time to prove that your contributions are valuable.

Time to practice your negotiation skills.

You can’t expect to get a $15,000 raise in a jiffy. It might work out for some people — just like some people could win the lottery — but it’s not the norm. Here’s a reader who spent four years making active moves in increasing his salary:

“I took my income from $52k in 2014 to $110k+$15k bonus by early 2018.

I took a new position in 2014 and bumped myself from $52k to $64k in that job change. I did research on the role and company to get the highest starting salary for my role that they have paid. I did a lot of prep for the interviews. Within the year I moved up to $72k based on being a Top Performer in the company.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to open a new office for the firm. I negotiated a raise to $85K on that move, with some pushback from the CEO. I ramped more slowly after that: $92k in 2016, $100k in 2017, and then $110k in 2018.

I have since moved on to a contract role that I got in a week and have a good rate that puts me over $150k. Through the process I have focused on growing my own skills, and understanding customer needs, and communicating clearly on technical topics.”

Taken altogether, keep in mind that when you’re trying to negotiate your salary it’ll take practice, and likely it’ll take time. Even a bump of $5,000 or even being able to push back after the first “no” can be a huge victory and a small step toward more successful future negotiations. Revel in any win — big or small.

5 factors that helped these readers successfully boost their salary over $5,000 is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Surety Bond Brokers? Business https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-a-raise/