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shadowsong26x · 5 years ago

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EPIX/Rise of Skywalker Reaction Post

So, I got back from seeing EPIX this morning, and I figured I should get all my thoughts down!

Everything spoilery is behind a cut, and this post is also tagged with the spoiler tags I’ve listed here. If you want me to add any additional tags, let me know and I will to this and any future EPIX posts.

Okay, so, before I really get into this, I should mention two relevant contextual things that probably strongly impacted my feelings on this movie.

I’m not super-invested in the sequel trilogy. I love (most of) the characters, I’m not really into the story that’s being told with them.

Given where TLJ left us, I went into the theatre expecting something between A Trainwreck with Some Delightful Moments and A Delightful Trainwreck. Basically, it was going to be a Hot Mess and I knew it, but I was pretty sure there was going to be something to love, even if the film as a whole didn’t delight me (which, honestly, is even where I stand with TLJ, which remains my least favorite film of the series). And, you know what? I got exactly that. A Sometimes-Delightful Trainwreck. I’d say it’s even towards the upper end of that Delightfulness scale.

All right, moving on to actual thoughts. I’m trying to focus on the positive here, mostly because I did overall enjoy this movie, but I also had some Problems with it.

I’m gonna talk about Kylo Ren first, mostly because I want to get this out of the way. I will say that--when I first saw TFA, I thought I could be interested in this character. I thought they were gonna maybe go the burnt-out gifted kid route with him, which would be hella interesting to explore for the child of Heroes like Han and Leia, and the Legacy he had to live up to. Obviously, they didn’t, and while the direction they went is certainly topical, it’s not super engaging, at least to me. I know it is to some people, and far be it from me to harsh anyone’s squee, but he basically doesn’t do anything for me. I personally don’t find him particularly interesting or intimidating.

Basically, I don’t particularly care about Kylo Ren. (I don’t know if I’m quite at the point where, as my roommate puts it, I aggressively Do Not Care, but the Not Caring is definitely a thing.)

Anyway, that disclaimer aside--his arc was okay, I guess? I mean...I think my general feelings on the subject are not that it felt phoned-in, exactly, but that it was mostly there because the writers thought it should be there, rather than it flowing organically from the character(s) involved. It also felt rushed, but that goes back to a problem with the movie as a whole that I will get into later in this post. But, given that, the actual beats that were involved in said arc I thought were effectively done. The bit with Han in the wreckage, in particular, was nice.

As for that Kiss though.

...I mean. I’m actually kind of pleased that the end of the film left the romantic threads dangling? It gave me plenty of OT3 feels (though I felt like, especially in the first third or so, the film was leaning more towards Rey/Poe and Finn/Rose, but there was some later stuff that seemed to hint at the full OT3 with a question mark on where Rose stands.)

But I do have a problem with the fact that the only on-screen kiss between Major Characters was between Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. That being said, I can backfill/justify it in that...you know how some people headcanon that Luke’s initial crush on Leia was some sort of “There is a Connection Here that I Cannot Name and it’s probably supposed to be Romantic given our ages and genders and presumed lack of other relationship so let’s go with that?” Between something like that and the fact that he just gave up his life for her in a very literal way (side note: the Force has always been New Powers as the Plot Demands; but the healing thing was a) if not actually in a canon novel at least strongly implied and b) ALL OVER fanon so even if I had a problem with Random Force Powers suddenly occurring I wouldn’t have an issue with this one; the Force Diad thing was ~handwave plot device~ sure fine whatever). ...anyway, given all of that, I can backfill it to a way where I don’t hate it (i.e., if he’d lived, I don’t think it would’ve been followed up on very much/they would’ve settled into a non-romantic relationship of some kind, whatever that might’ve been). Except that it’s the only one, which kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Then again, he did immediately die, so...yeah, I can live with this. I don’t like it, and I don’t think I ever will like it, but I don’t hate it either and it’s not a dealbreaker for me.

Most of the other problems I have with this film come down to structure and pacing. In that, thanks to where TLJ left us, this move had to do so much to bring the story to any kind of cohesive end, and not enough time to do it in. Trying to squeeze too much plot into too small a space.

(I actually had the same problem with ROTS initially--although that was more due to the PT having pacing issues as its Primary Narrative Flaw; TPM was way too slow; AOTC actually had good internal pacing but couldn’t quite make up for it; and then ROTS was as a consequence of that really rushed. Meanwhile, with the ST, I feel like the writers are relying on “it’s all there in the manual” a little too much, so not really...trying as hard, if that makes sense? To make it all connect within the film, I mean, as opposed to depending on people going into other/outside/supplemental material to connect the dots (still not as bad as the Prisoner of Azkaban movie on that front, but it’s still Bad; and, like, all film versions of novels leave some stuff out, just look at the LOTR films; but POA left out a key plot point and that--is a rant for another post. Back to EPIX). It’ll be interesting to see what kind of deleted scenes come out, or if it’ll grow on me in future watchings. Not that it’ll ever become a favorite, I don’t think, but it might improve in my eyes.)

Anyway, basically, a lot of this felt rushed or like...introduced but not really addressed/wrapped up in any kind of satisfactory fashion? Kylo Ren’s arc in particular, as I’ve mentioned before, plus the Threepio stuff felt rushed and non-consequential, and also with Rey’s arc to an extent (it...again, all the beats worked for me/I thought it was fairly effective, but it really needed two movies to pay off as well as it could have). ...I mean, there are more plot threads I could probably mention here, but those are the three that stuck out the most.

Also, this movie needed More Rose :( I LOVE HER and she was barely here!!!!!

Another thing I would’ve liked to see is...okay, I really liked the Overlapping Voices bit, but it would’ve been nice to have more Presence from the ghosts? Like...there’s a bit at the end of season 1 of Sailor Moon where she’s in the Final Battle, the other four have died (or just been left behind, if you’re watching the English dub), and their ghosts show up and place their hands on hers and lend her their strength? A visual cue like that would’ve been great and helped the arc feel more complete. Especially since Palpatine had all of his predecessors/Sith ghosts backing him in a more visible fashion. But, then again, that’s a Personal Taste thing and while it would’ve, IMO, made that moment better, not having it doesn’t make it worse, if that makes sense?

(Also, the credits moved too fast for me to track, but I definitely saw Qui-Gon Jinn listed, though I don’t recall hearing him, and I definitely recognized Anakin/Hayden Christensen and Mace/Samuel L. Jackson and Obi-Wan/Ewan McGreggor (and Alec Guinness I’m pretty sure?) and obvs. Yoda/Frank Oz when actually listening, but I couldn’t identify the other voices--anyone have the full list? Was Ahsoka and/or Kanan and/or Ezra involved, or was it restricted to movie-only Jedi?)

But...yeah. Apart from the Kiss being very ....:/ for me, most of my identifiable problems with the film is stuff like this.

I think the other thing I want to talk about in detail is the Rey Palpatine reveal.

So, up until this movie, I was actually in my corner flying my tiny but determined Rey Kenobi flag, and the more I think about it, the more I like Rey Palpatine for some of the same reasons? Like...I don’t remember everything I’d thought through about Rey Kenobi, but it had to do with the cyclical nature of Star Wars, and bringing it back where it started--and we get that with Rey Palpatine, in a nice arc, healing some of the damage her grandfather did, both to this family and to the galaxy as a whole.

That being said--those of you who know me and my fic projects know I’ve been writing a child (daughter) for Palpatine for quite some time now, and I have no intention of stopping, lol. Am I going to take this/Lavinia’s (presumably) half-brother into account in future projects? ...probably not. But I am looking forward to/hoping we get a novel or something about him and Rey’s mother. Because that is actually a story I’m interested in--why canon!Palpatine chose to have a kid, and how said kid managed to break away and got to this point. [...y’know, I actually think Rey Kenobi’s background/thread of descent would be less interesting to me? Since I subscribe to the idea that a) Korkie Kryze is Obi-Wan’s biological son; and b) Obi-Wan had many Friends With Benefits throughout the galaxy and figuring out exactly which one Rey descends from carries less weight for me.]

...okay, I think that’s all the Detaily Bits I want to get into, so here are some bullet points of things that really stuck out to me, in no particular order:

Bawled like a baby re: everything involving Carrie Fisher. Just...yeah. Miss you Space Mommy.

LANDO! I loved his entrance, I loved him adopting Jannah at the end, I loved all of it.

Chewie’s fake-out death was also actually pretty good/well-handled. I mean. First Boom happens and I’m like DDDDDDD: but then I remember how people reacted to his death in Legends and I’m like would they really do it and then DELIGHT.

HUX. Okay. I never really cared about this dude before, and honestly I still don’t really care about this dude but at the same time, those of you who know me know I have a Thing for double-agents and defectors and I LOVE THIS WHOLE ENTIRE PLOT THREAD. I LOVE THIS SHITHEAD TURNING TRAITOR FOR THE MOST VENAL REASONS AND STILL BEING A BAD GUY/EVIL/AN UNREPENTANT JACKASS. THIS WAS PERFECT.

(Also Finn shooting him in the leg instead of the arm as requested was DELIGHTFUL)

SPEAKING OF DELIGHTFUL gotta love Zombie Skeev Palpatine Unliving His Best Afterlife. Was he as Delightful as he is in ROTS or ROTJ? No. Did I still enjoy every minute of his scenery-chewing nonsense? You bet your ass. So happy, Ian McDiarmid looked like he was having tons of fun and honestly what more could I have asked for?

The whole scene on Ahch-To was just *chef’s kiss.* Use of Yoda’s theme with the rising X-Wing, Luke being snarky and kind and beautiful, him emerging from the fire with the saber...just loved it.

LEIA HAD JEDI TRAINING AND HER OWN LIGHTSABER. BB!MARK HAMILL AND BB!CARRIE FISHER’S FACES.

LEIA TRAINING REY. REY CALLING HER ‘MASTER.’

USING THE BOND TO ARM KYLO REN okay like I said I have Mixed Feelings about the arc as a whole but that moment was SO COOL.

Poe’s ex-girlfriend was pretty great, ngl.

JANNAH AND EX-STORMTROOPERS YESSSSSSSS

HINTS OF/SHREDS OF EVIDENCE FOR FORCE-SENSITIVE FINN GIVE THEM TO ME NOW.

D-0 was pretty cute!

All of the Badass Finn.

Also that MOMENT where Finn runs up to Poe like “I NEED TO TELL YOU A THING” and Poe is all “I NEED YOU TO FIGHT WITH ME” and Finn just interrupts himself to thank Poe and they have that “General” “General” moment and it’s SO CUTE I’m love it.

The entire thing at the Lars farm at the end. Just. Burying the lightsabers, seeing the twins’ ghosts, claiming the Skywalker name, Rey having her own saber now. This movie was a Hot Mess but it definitely ended on a high note.

...that’s pretty much what I have for right now. I will probably have more thoughts after discussing it with other people/seeing it again (because I will be seeing it again). But overall...do I like it? Well, it’s Star Wars, which I love and which frankly always has some Super Dumb and/or Frustrating Stuff, and the things I disliked weren’t bad enough to Ruin It for me, so yes, I liked it. Is it my favorite Star Wars/good for a Star Wars movie? ...not really, no. It did have some gorgeous moments, but it doesn’t really hang together. Like the rest of the ST, it relies way too much on It’s All There In The Manual and, between that and the fact that TLJ didn’t do the work necessary to set it up, the movie felt rushed and a little bit...I don’t want to say hollow, maybe shallow is a better word? I mean, I know this is Star Wars and It’s Not That Deep (but the ground is soft and I’m ready to dig or however the quote goes), but this felt particularly shallow even for Star Wars. Like...cotton candy, fairly good/tasty but a little bit prone to melting away and with very little substance holding it together. On that level, I’d actually probably rank it around Solo (which, let me say, I really like)--so, better than TLJ, but still A Hot Mess of a movie. But I enjoyed myself, and I think overall my feelings are middling-to-positive on it. Even if...honestly, even like less than four hours after the movie ending, I’m already forgetting like half the plot points...? Like I said. Cotton Candy.

What did/do you guys think?

#star wars spoilers #sw spoilers #epix spoilers #episode ix spoilers #spoilers #star wars epix #star wars episode ix #epix

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staringatthetwinsuns · 7 years ago

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On writing Luke Skywalker as a character with a disability (meta thoughts)

Inspired by this post and the immensely thoughtful reblogs that go with it, I am going to try to consolidate my thoughts, advice, pet peeves, and feels about writing Luke Skywalker as a character with a disability (and perhaps touch a bit on Anakin/Vader). This is something I've actually spent a lot of time thinking about, and I don’t see it talked about very often, but now that I know I’m not the only one who thinks about it, I thought I'd try to share my perspective at least and start a conversation. Please feel free to add to, question, or outright argue with anything here.

First, a disclaimer: I am not an amputee, a doctor, an occupational therapist, or anyone else with relevant personal experience. I have personal reasons for caring deeply about this, but the most important ones are probably just wanting to see my favorite character written well and wanting to see diverse characters represented in fiction in general, so. Take this as you will.

Also, I will say in advance that I mix person-first language ("person with a disability") and identity-first language ("disabled person") here, because I know there are people who prefer both.... apologies/warnings in advance if you strongly dislike or are triggered by either.

So, first things first, and this is really just general writing advice that could apply to any disability or ANY aspect of a character's appearance�� to what extent is is even necessary to address Luke's prosthetic hand in fic? The post I linked to above was really talking about art, and in that case, I suppose you do have to make some sort of choice—to draw Luke with a natural-looking hand like he had in ESB, a black glove as in ROTJ, or a metal hand like in the sequel trilogy. In fic, however, it doesn’t always need to really be addressed at all. Again, this goes for ANY aspect of a character’s appearance, and the golden rule is: Would the POV character (the character whose point of view we are in at the moment) notice or care at this particular moment in the story? You know how it feels weird when you read a bad YA fantasy novel and the narrator says something like "I looked at him with my brilliant purple eyes, which perfectly accented my flawless ivory skin"? That’s unnatural because actual people (even teenagers, shock! horror!) don’t really go around thinking about their own eye color or how flawless their skin is (unless they're incredibly unlikable, and then why would we want to read about them?). They’d be slightly more likely to be thinking about it if their skin WASN'T flawless and that zit they found this morning was bothering them, etc. Cardinal rule: don’t mention anything the narrator or POV character wouldn’t logically be thinking about at the time.

So, whether you even need to mention Luke's hand at all probably depends on a number of factors: Whose POV are we in? When does the fic take place? (Luke's going to be more aware of his new hand between ESB and ROTJ, for example, than decades in the future.) Does anything specifically happen that reminds the POV character of the fact that his hand's a prosthetic?

Which brings me, I suppose, to the next thing: Whether it even counts as a disability at all and the fact that, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T, you still can't really ignore it as if his hand just magically regenerated.

So, first. Is having an amazing cybernetic limb in the Star Wars universe a disability? I say a cautious yes… or at the very least, it's a medical condition on the same level with say, wearing glasses or contacts or having a hip replacement or something in the real world?

I do think it depends on a lot of factors though, and movie canon, at least, doesn’t give us a lot of answers. We don’t really know how much feeling Luke has in his hand… pressure/pain is established, but what about heat or cold? Does it hurt at all (aside from pain sensors)? Is it stronger, weaker, less flexible (more flexible? That's a bit hard to imagine?) etc, than his other hand? I think it PROBABLY counts as a disability and at least counts as something that would affect his daily life in AT THE VERY LEAST small ways. More on that later.

I don’t actually remember what Legends had to say about any of this but again, movie canon doesn’t give us a lot. Here are some of the things I appreciate fanfic writers thinking about, though. (For the record, I am GUILTY AS HELL of overlooking some of this stuff myself in certain fics though, so don't feel bad if you have too… just suggestions for things we probably SHOULD be considering!)

1. How different is the sense of touch or the range of movement in Luke's prosthetic right hand, compared to his left hand? Does it affect the way he does things? Does he favor one hand over the other in certain situations because of this? Does this change as time goes by and any differences become his norm? (I'd personally think there'd be some difference… not necessarily better or worse, but different, and that over time it would definitely start to feel normal.)

2. How different does it look or feel to other people? 1980s-era special effects aside, look at the rest of the technology in the universe. Look at your own hand for goodness' sake. I can’t imagine it’s a perfect replica. Like, I can see the bones and veins in my hand. My fingernails get too long and split and have ragged cuticles. There's no WAY that anyone would even WANT a prosthetic hand that realistic, so. There's got to be some difference. Especially in a romantic or sexual situation, especially fairly soon after ESB, it seems weird not to mention this. I HAVE seen fics that addressed the body temperature issue, either by having the other character be surprised that his hand WAS warm or stating that it wasn't? I guess I personally don't think that heating would be a priority and that it might therefore be cooler than his other hand? Again, definitely not always necessary but, in certain scenes might be important and gets sometimes ignored.

3. There is no f-ing way that Luke’s hand actually ages, so… while I agree that the "Oh all the skin just fell off" idea is stupid, what DOES he do as he ages? Go for the metal model because it doesn’t look the same anyway so it doesn't MATTER if he ages? Get the skin updated to look more like whatever age he is now? Just… have a random 22-year-old-looking hand even though the rest of him is 50?

4. Regardless of whatever you go with for #3, either the entire hand or some of its parts must need replacing over time. Anyone who thinks people use the same prostheses for 30 years doesn’t know anyone who actually uses one (or hasn’t known them for very long, anyway), and even if you play the "advanced technology" card.. want to show me a 30-year-old car, airplane, or space shuttle that has NEVER HAD A PART REPLACED EVER? Can he do the maintenance himself (one-handed? Well, at least he has the Force?) or does a medical droid need to do it, etc?

5. What does the REST of the galaxy think about this? The only canon instances of ableism I can think of are Obi-Wan’s "more machine now than man" in ROTJ, and Dooku's not-so-nice thoughts about Anakin's arm in the ROTS novelization (although Palpatine obviously feels differently in the same scene), but… on the whole is there any stigma attached, or not? If so, is Luke more like "screw it," or is he somewhat self-conscious? What do Leia, Han, Chewie, Wedge... whoever else is in the fic, think? I mean, seriously... imagine a loved one losing a limb. You might not CARE (you shouldn't CARE, in the sense of loving them less or differently, and I don't think any of the above characters would either) but it would still be a thing to get used to?

6. Back to technical stuff, just how much of his arm IS mechanical anyway? Definitely seems to be more than he actually lost to Vader. (This Quora post is fascinating.) Again, usually not relevant since Luke never wears anything but long sleeves after ESB (which is a travesty; look at those ARMS on Dagobah), but… might be relevant if he’s naked in your fic? ;)

7. Related to #6, how obvious is the point where the synthskin meets his natural skin? This could probably be barely noticeable (theatrical makeup experience FTW?) but, might not be? Is this the reason he always wears long sleeves? XD I can't imagine synthskin can tan or grow hair or anything, right???

Okay, so assuming you've put the thought into your headcanon for the above (I… really hadn’t either until recently though, and my fics are all inconsistent so… no judgment either way), let me come back to this "minor thing that affects your life in small ways" thing.

I don’t really get the impression that, with Luke anyway, this particular fandom pays TOO MUCH attention to his prosthetic hand to the point where it feels like a fetish. I have read a COUPLE of fics that felt icky that way, but many more involving Anakin/Vader. If anything, it gets kind of over-ignored as a perfect replacement that is exactly like his biological hand in every way.

That's just not possible. It's not. And even if it WERE scientifically possible (in a very cyberpunk-ish world, no less) would anyone BOTHER to make a cybernetic hand with ugly veins, scraggly cuticles, and age spots?

So. Even if you don’t consider it a disability, it’s a THING. I don’t think my wearing contacts is a disability, but I still can't open my eyes underwater, and if I nap in the afternoon my eyes get dry and gunky, and if I drive somewhere and lose a contact I legally and literally CANNOT drive home (never happened but, anxiety FTW?), and don't forget that one time I lived through a major earthquake and all the supermarkets ran out of food because the roads were closed, you better bet I was worried about what would happen if I ran out of One Day Acuvue before the courier services opened back up (actually go to an eye doctor and get that awful glaucoma test? *shudder*). Similarly, someone who can walk normally on an artificial hip or knee isn’t disabled in the same sense that someone who uses a wheelchair is, but they still set off metal detectors and can’t sit comfortably in certain positions. It may or may not be a major thing, but it is a thing… and it does seem weird to me that a lot of writers seem to treat Luke’s hand as a perfect replacement when it CAN'T BE. For example:

1. It's metal in his body. I’ve translated enough medical documents to know that THAT IS A THING. Metal detectors, MRIs, whatever… there are times when metal vs. organic material is a thing.

2. He can't possibly have the same fingerprints, if he has any fingerprints at all. It MIGHT be possible for a planned amputation but… that hand was lost. Any biometric-type military clearance Luke has now has to be reset/redone. Finger vein identification etc. is probably a no-go period. (NEW THOUGHT: Unless the Alliance had his fingerprints on file... doesn't REALLY match up with the rest of the technology of the world, but... cool possibility?)

3. Maintenance. Especially considering if he’s going to live on a water planet with exposed mechanical parts with no one else to help him do maintenance if needed *side-eyes Rian Johnson*

4. Ongoing pain? This is a headcanon of mine anyway. From what I understand, phantom pain comes from the brain sending out signals to a limb that is no longer there, and getting no response. Since Luke’s hand DOES have feeling, I don’t think he’d have that kind of ongoing issue, BUT. I do think there’d be pain right after he got it (again, talk to anyone who’s had a joint replaced?) and I kind of imagine his hand aching whenever he was reminded of Vader or of losing it. Not a necessary thing to work in, I suppose, but that’s a headcanon I use a lot.

5. Identity as a disabled person? I have seen this addressed in some fics, and I agree that it might not have a place one way or the other in a story that has nothing to do with disability, but… I do sort of see Luke being especially compassionate to other veterans or victims of the war, and to people with disabilities in general, maybe especially because he now knows that’s something he shared with his father? I also like it when fics address the fact that not everyone in the galaxy has access to what I assume was the top-of-the-line model for the Alliance’s biggest hero, at that Luke might feel guilt about that, or at least a desire to help others?

6. Vanity/self-esteem? Luke doesn’t seem like a hugely vain person to me but… would he be at all self-conscious about meeting someone new and getting the awkward questions? Does he tell the truth, and if so how much of it? Or does everyone just already know? (That wouldn’t necessarily be LESS awkward though?) Like everything else, this probably depends on when the fic is set.

7. Is there anything he’s not supposed to do, like get wet (especially without the skin, oh dear sequel trilogy)???

I guess on the whole I see Luke as a not-vain person who probably wouldn’t care THAT much about appearances (except everyone does a little, right?), but I do think his hand would be a constant reminder of Vader, for better (after ROTJ) or worse (between ESB and ROTJ). I don’t think it would be as life-changing as losing a limb in the real world today, but I also don’t think he’d go months (or even a day really) without even thinking about it, with zero changes to anything whatsoever.

I think it’s really important that the technology in Star Wars is shown to be helping and healing people, rather than just blowing things up. I LOVE that people have taken that ideal version of a prosthetic limb and made strides toward actually creating it in real life. But I also think that just ignoring the fact that Luke IS a character with a disability (however rendered-minor it is by said technology) does a huge disservice to the character and to diversity in pop culture in general.

So… long story short, I’d love to see more fics that did address this, even if it’s casually and in passing. While there are certainly situations in which the best choice is "it doesn’t matter in this scene," if anything I see Star Wars fics going too far in the other direction… not really considering this as a part of the character and the world?

#meta #luke skywalker #writing fanfic #meta thoughts #disability in fiction #disability in fanfic #star wars #star wars original trilogy #meta thought #cybernetics #disability #representation #not an expert #just a writer #friendly debate welcome

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kaziel · 7 years ago

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why are chiss the way they are? aka canon is stupid and legends/the EU can kiss my ass (pt 1)

or, the chiss should not look Like That and i am pissed off about it. this began because i was mad that people kept calling chiss cold, but instead I did some research and made myself angry about character design.

disclaimer before we begin: i am not a biologist, but i know how to google shit. this post is fueled by rage and caffeine.

Animals built for cold places should have hot blood and animals from hot climates should have cold blood. The opposite would end badly for the poor creature involved. cold blood in cold climate = hypothermia then death. Arctic animals must keep high body temperatures to remain active. Therefore, we can prove that the chiss are not coldblooded creatures (which had been settled already, they’re genetically closest to humans and humans aren’t lizards).

Alright I’m sure we all have some basic knowledge of animal biology here, but I’m gonna jump right in. Animals that live in extreme cold all have one thing in common: insulation (S2). That’s necessary to keep them alive, or they’d end up as ice cubes floating in an ocean. This takes a few different forms, but mainly

blubber

fur

feathers

So the Chiss don’t have feathers, nor do they have fur, and apparently in legends canon, they all have trim figures (S3). Point 1 as to why legends is bullshit and kiss my ass- the chiss apparently have no kind of insulation. Either they have one hell of a body temperature and can burn enough calories to sustain it (unlikely) or it’s just bad writing. Either way, chiss as they are described could probably not be any colder than human body temperature and still expect to survive on an icy death world. Due to this, their skin probably would not feel cold to the touch (addressed more later) unless you were outside in the winter. Which, of course it’s going to be cold- anything skinlike and exposed is going to feel cold.

As chiss are an offshoot of humanity (S3), they probably wouldn’t differ too much from humanity without quite a long time to evolve. Clearly they had enough time to turn blue from glacial minerals (bullshit, but legends supported bullshit) though legends also states that didn’t develop any of the traits in typical cold weather animals. Why? Why is that? If you wanted a skinny, always in-shape species, at least choose a proper environment (like a desert).

Well Cahs, if you’re so pissed about it, what would you have chiss look like? I’m glad you asked! The answer is 100% (slightly freezer-burnt) beef. The fact that fat chiss don’t exist? Bullshit. The trim figures that legends is so fond of would have the poor chiss dependent completely upon heating technology and good thermal clothing to keep warm. According to legends canon, chiss also have a crazy fast metabolism- which actually fits with arctic animals. Arctic animals have fast metabolisms to burn the large amounts of energy needed to stay warm and keep their bodies in the typical range for mammals (95-107 °F) (S2). Once created, Arctic animals must have some way to conserve the heat, otherwise the animal would have find and eat a ridiculous number of calories. This leads us back to our earlier problem: insulation. The key to keeping warm is often muscle and fat, a lot of it. Fat is good insulation and helps keep the body warm in the cold (S1, 2, 7) and it’s a common theme for cold weather animals to have a healthy supply. Examples: Blubber on whales and seals, animals gaining weight before winter. If there’s enough food around it’s easier for mammals to be larger, because heat production is proportional to mass (S5), thus arctic animals are usually larger than their warm weather counterparts.

So let’s assume that if the chiss had enough time to turn blue, they had enough time to adjust the cold hellscape of their planet.

To start with, they’d be larger and stronger than typical humans. Legends supports the ‘stronger’ part, though the average heights (chiss 1.7m vs human 1.77m) are about the same. Legends can kiss my ass; let’s set a new average height of 1.9m, or around 6′2″. Now, a figure without insulation is bullshit in an arctic environment is bullshit, so let’s add some Beef™ to these guys. They’d probably have a good layer of fat, and a decent amount of muscle. Now, as having a whole species share one body type is limiting, boring, and unrealistic (@ legends), there’s a huge amount of body shapes I can think of off the top of my head that could fit the above criteria. What I’m picturing is a strongman, one without the glossy abs (like this guy). Now, looking at features of other cold weather animals like polar bears and seals, they could (and probably should) have thicker/tougher skin. Spilling blood = loosing warmth, and loosing warmth is bad in cold environments. Polar bears and seals also have dark skin; polar bears have black skin, while seals can have dark shades of brown, purple, or black (S6). This is close enough to blue, I guess I’ll let that one and “”glacial minerals”” slide. The polar bear, arctic wolf, and arctic fox are a few notable examples of cold weather animals with fur- white fur. In the case of polar bears, translucent fur that appears white because of light refraction (S6). This fur usually has a downy, thick undercoat, and then a layer of oily, water repellent hair. The thick, water repellent hair is plausible in a human related species, I believe, and would be beneficial in keeping heads warm. I’m gonna go ahead and say they’d have some body hair too, probably a good amount. You can never have too much insulation if you live on (or under the surface of) a literal ice ball. Realistically, they’d overheat pretty damn fast. It’s possibly to tone that down considering humans can withstand a wide range of temperatures and the fancy thermal gear that exists in the star wars universe, but tatooine is probably still off the menu. So in summary chiss would be/have:

stronger/larger than humans

grey/blue skin

translucent/white hair

more muscle and fat

overheat very easily

warm-blooded

For the hell of it, I’m going to throw a better immune system and sharper senses into the mix, along with an arterial heat-passing system that allows for better heat conservation (S5). Chiss would also have some damn good appetites, because they’d need a lot of food with the metabolism they have. Additionally, it’s been confirmed in the new Thrawn novel that chiss have some measure of infrared vision, which is fitting for living in a rather bleak landscape and underground in caverns. Legends says their skin and eyes are more vivid the higher the oxygen content. Sure, whatever, the oxygen content is probably pretty damn high in caves, and glowy eyes are handy. More likely, chiss just have very reflective eyes (good for the above ground brightness) that appear to glow red in darker areas. Like cat’s eyes in the dark.

counter argument: “they’re aliens!!1!” “it’s fiction!!!11!!”

I see your points, I do. However, if chiss are on offshoot of humanity, that means they originally evolved on a human world, with familiar human creatures that followed earth-like laws. If they didn’t, legends probably wouldn’t be so damn insistent on keeping them humans, but instead blue with edgy eyes. Also you want star wars hand waving? look at the “glacial minerals.”

Now, the chiss live underground. They wouldn’t be as exposed to the cold of the planet, however the crust of a planet is pretty damn thick so it probably wouldn’t be too much warmer down there without the help of technology. The chiss are also a very technologically advanced society, and have most likely have properly climate controlled buildings (probably cold for humans tho), good insulated clothing, and probably eliminated most of the need for cold weather traits. However, they were needed at some time. and de-evolution isn’t exactly quick.

So all in all, star wars should check their shit when it comes to biology and y’all with a thing for white hair will be happy.

thanks for coming to my ted talk, goodnight.

(next up: what fucking chemical could turn chiss blue)

SOURCES:

S1- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-arctic-animals-stay-warm/

S2- http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/cold_all_animals.php

S3 - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chiss/Legends

S4- https://www.earthlife.net/mammals/warm.html

S5- https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/5562/how-do-warm-blooded-animals-keep-their-temperatures-constant

S6- http://animals.mom.me/mammals-black-skin-9898.html

dubiously credible

S7- https://weather.com/health/news/do-fat-people-stay-warmer-cold-weather-thin-people-20140103

S8- https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/2ip5ov/do_skinny_people_have_a_lower_body_temperature/

#star wars #chiss #star wars meta #hush cahs

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diaryofasithchick · 8 years ago

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TORONNETFLIX – SURVEY RESULTS (WITH EDITORIAL COMMENTARY)

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Astinus

It all began back in August of 2016 when Jasmine St. Philippe started a petition to bring the Old Republic era of Star Wars to Netflix on change.org.

As she stated in the original petition, “It’s no surprise to anyone that the Star Wars franchise has experienced a massive resurgence lately… However, it’s about time that the stories from over 3,000 years before the Battle of Yavin be told to both new and old fans of the franchise.” I signed on to the petition when there were still fewer than 10,000 signatures, and have watched the number of fans jumping on board climb to well over 100,000 in just a few short months, and the numbers are still growing.

Like the number of signatures on the petition, my own excitement over the idea of a television series based on the Old Republic era has grown rapidly and exponentially as the #TORonNetflix movement gathers support and recognition from all over the Internet. Receiving mentions on popular blogs and sites such as moviepilot.com, honortheforce.com, The Independent and many, many others, the World Wide Web is abuzz with enthusiasm for this project to be made. With its unofficial tag line of “There is always a bit of truth in legends” (an apparent reference to Disney’s reclassification of all the characters and stories that previously fell under the banner of the “Expanded Universe”), Star Wars fans from all over the world from Andorra to Venezuela are taking up the call to support this idea.

However, as I reviewed many of the comments and discussions regarding the topic, I noted that fans have wide and varied ideas of how such a project should be produced. To that end, I put together a brief survey in an attempt to put some real data behind the ethereal notion. With just over 1,000 respondents, here’s what we’ve found so far (along with my own commentary).

DISCLAIMER: Please remember that neither myself, Jasmine St. Philippe, Diary of a Sith Chick, nor any of the individuals involved with this petition, this survey, or any of the other online discussions relating to the possibility of this series being made are officially related to or speaking on behalf of any of the companies mentioned here. This includes, but is not limited to The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd., Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Home Box Office and others, or any of their subsidiaries. As far as we are aware, there are currently no plans to produce or release a television series for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Names of products, services, characters and other intellectual property owned by these companies are used for reference purposes only.

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

First, let’s get some of the basic numbers out of the way. One of the main purposes for this survey was to get a gauge of how feasible it might be to actually bring a Star Wars: The Old Republic television series to a subscription service like Netflix, but I really wanted to find out if other similar services could be viable as well. I tried to include as many individuals as I could without getting overwhelming, and I think we have some good information to work with here.

Approximately 83% of all respondents said that they currently subscribe to Netflix, with the next highest percentage of a bit over 30.5% going to Amazon’s streaming video service. Rounding out the top four are HBO at nearly 26%, and Hulu at 12%. Surprisingly (at least to me) was the fact that over 14% of respondents said that they don’t currently pay for any subscription video services.

As might be guessed by the current subscription figures above, most respondents indicated that they would like the series to appear on Netflix, followed by Amazon, HBO and Hulu. However, the disparity isn’t nearly as wide when it comes to preferred provider as it is for actual subscriptions. The weighted averages were much closer when trying to decide which service would be a better platform for the series, ranging from 7.57 for Netflix to 4.55 for Hulu.

The good news for potential homes of an Old Republic series is that 84.75% of the respondents said that, if the show were released on a service to which they don’t currently subscribe, they’d be willing to purchase a subscription just to be able to watch it. A more impressive number, though, is that of those that identified themselves as not having any subscription services, over 90% said that they’d subscribe to whatever service were to pick this up. Since the current response pool is only about 1,000 individuals, extrapolating these figures out to even just the more than 110,000 supporters that have already signed the petition means that there could be a sizable potential for additional revenue for whatever service ends up getting the nod from Disney, not to mention for Disney itself.

I mean, imagine if Hulu were to have this produced as an exclusive series. Their somewhat lackluster 12% in this survey could jump up to over 80% overnight with one well-placed announcement. That could mean an increase of almost 75,000 subscribers based just on the numbers we have so far. Of course, these numbers don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the Star Wars fan base, so the sky’s the limit when it comes to new subscribers.

I myself would gladly subscribe to ANY service that offered a series, mini-series, and/or movies depicting the Old Republic era of the Star Wars universe. I’m already subscribed to nearly all of the services explicitly identified in the survey, so I feel I have my bases pretty well covered, but I’m not ruling anything out at this point.

PRODUCTION STYLE

By and large, a majority (46%) of respondents would like to see Star Wars: The Old Republic produced as a live action television series.

One specific comment regarding this style:

“A show like the CGI Star Wars that are for pre-teens that have been on TV the last few years is a bit of a blowoff. A much more realistic TOR would be very awesome.”

– Sgt. Pepper

CGI animation came in second in regards to production style at 31%. Those that favored a CGI series seem to prefer a more realistic animation such as those produced by Blur for the popular Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG video game:

“I would like to see the style similar to the trailers for the old republic online game”

– Anonymous

“I love watching the trailers of the Old Republic, it’s about time to make a TV series of it!”

– Maddie Ibuna

“Would like to see all the TOR trailers made into something”

– Anonymous

However, some of the CGI advocates would like to see the animation done in the style of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series:

“When I say CGI animation, I mean in the same style as Clone Wars, but I would also be okay with a live-action series.”

– OtakuCat

While still others didn’t have a specific animation style in mind:

“I only say CGI since a live-action of TOR and KOTOR would be very difficult to pull off, given the desired looks of certain characters and the money for costumes and such which might be half-assed for live-action. CGI would be a better pick assuming the animators pick a healthy style that can compliment a more mature and dark side of Star Wars (i.e., not Rebels animation)”

– Anonymous

There were also those who said they had “No Preference” when it comes to the production style:

“For the show’s format, I have said no preference, but I am actually between live action and CGI. Reasons being that live action would appeal to a wider audience, making the show itself more feasible, but all previous canon Star Wars shows have been CGI, and I’m just a sucker for [tradition], as well as liking the stylised approach Lucasfilm animation takes towards all of its CG projects.”

– Brian Holmes

Even so, several of those who identified their preference for CGI stated that they would be just as happy with a live-action series, as long as it wasn’t done “on the cheap”. My preference is a live-action series, but with better production value than some of the other series that Disney has produced for television (I’m looking at YOU, Once Upon A Time). With good writing and acting, the only thing that could cause this series to fail is if the special effects aren’t up to par with the movies. If budget and time constraints would mean that the special effects would suffer in a live-action series, I’d much rather them put the money into a high-quality CGI production.

RATING

It’s clear from the respondents to this question that fans would like to see something more “mature” than what has been produced so far for either television or cinema. At almost 48.5%, the preference seems to be a maximum rating of R / TV-MA, but PG-13 / TV-14 was a close second with 43.25%. Based on the results from this survey, it would seem that anything lower just doesn’t have as much appeal.

A particularly insightful comment from one of the respondents regarding the show’s rating said this:

“…I bet most people said PG-13/R when…let’s face it, no matter what it will not end up being R. But it does need to not be a ‘kids show’…would be an awesome change of pace.

“…the vast majority of fans is WAY older than 18 years old. And so many people would LOVE to see a live action series for adults.”

– arokace

Also, this respondent had this to say about the possibility of the series being produced in a more “mature” format:

“…And with the whole ‘all-age’, family friendly approach… I think it would be fantastic and super exciting to see some darker, more mature content (Empire Strikes Back) in a new series.”

– Andras Balazs

My personal preference would be for PG-13 / TV-14, mainly so that I can share it with my kids more easily. Something with a rating of R / TV-MA, while it might be interesting, seems a bit much for telling Star Wars stories. As one respondent put it:

“I would even accept the show being on a local network like NBC, ABC, CBS, etc… since Netflix and other streaming services tend to make all their shows Mature. But I would love to watch KoToR with my kids and nephews.”

– Anonymous

In my opinion, the show can still be dark and mature without putting itself in a similar category to shows like Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead with regards to violence, language and other content. My fear with going for a rating of R / TV-MA is that the writers and producers will TRY to put content in to reach that rating rather than just let it happen organically. With a lower rating cap, the writers and producers will be forced to seriously consider whether that intense lightsaber battle needs to be as violent as it was filmed, or if they can let the audience simply “feel” the intensity rather than explicitly show it. Of course, I tend to lean way to the Light Side of the Force, so my perception may be a bit skewed on this topic.

DEMOGRAPHICS

And, speaking of Force persuasions, here’s a fun fact: Most of the survey respondents seem to identify themselves as “Gray” Jedi, with a little over 41.25%. Almost 32.5% consider themselves aligned with the Dark Side, and just over 26.25% say they lean with me towards the Light Side.

Other interesting little bits of information gathered from the survey: Only 5.25% of respondents were female. Looks like we need to reach out to more of the Sith Chicks and Jedi Gals that we all know are there.

I must admit that I was a bit surprised to see that a majority of the respondents (35.5%) fall into the 21-29 year-old range. As one who is a bit more advanced in years, I honestly expected the majority to be at least in the 30-39 year-old range. Maybe the young guns just have a bit more time on their hands to take the survey.

COMMENTS

Finally, I asked respondents to include any comments they may have related to the production of this series, including such things as specific characters or story lines they would like to see. So many people provided excellent comments, but I’ll try to summarize these as best I can.

Revan is by far the most asked for character: his story, his companions, his enemies, his battles, and his history all come up many times in the comments. Everything from a simple retelling of his story in Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic to a more in-depth historical view of the life of this now iconic character has been requested over and over again by respondents to this survey. Here are some of the specific comments about Revan:

“I would love to see Revan. There is so much hype about him and the Old Republic era and I’d like to find out about it all however I don’t have time and I don’t know where to start finding out about it ALL. So a series would be perfect to show loyal Star Wars fans.”

– Amaan Sajid

“Most of the characters are compelling, but Revan would be awesome to see”

– Wil

“I want to see the story include the Darth Revan era all the [way] up through the Eternal Empire (Zakuul) era. I would also like to see the main characters, Revan, Bastila, Malak, Darth Malgus, Satele, Darth Marr, Lana and Theron, Jace Malcom and more. Those are a few of the icons of the Old Republic franchise”

– Adrian

“Revan. I don’t think anyone will argue here. Explore some element of him, his life and his teachings. As a Gray Jedi, I cannot tell you how essential this would be to my fandom life.”

– Gavin Wilson

“Mainly, I would like to see a story set in Revan’s life. Would love to see what Disney could do with a character like Revan.”

– Matt Wright

One interesting storytelling suggestion that I found in the comments was this:

“Could it be Revan’s story told through the holocron in possession of Bane, while also telling the story of Bane’s era? Uniting both eras in a single series? And also some episodes where the plot revolves around the same place, but different time…”

– Revan the revanchist

As for other characters to include in the series, the Mandalorians, Bane, Exar Kun, HK-47, and Vitiate/Valkorian’s names came up quite a bit. There are so many characters to which we’ve been introduced through games and novels that there’s really no limit to the number of stories that could be told in this era.

Which leads us to potential story lines to be used for this series. Again, Revan’s name ranks at the top of the list. Unsurprisingly, many respondents refer back to the BioWare games as a basis for the stories they would like to see. Whether it’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, or the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, BioWare’s storytelling has left an indelible impression on Star Wars fans everywhere. Most fans would love to see these story lines produced into a high-quality series to be enjoyed for years and decades to come.

It seems that some respondents have already given a great deal of thought to the possibility of this series:

“an interesting idea on how the seasons should go:

Season 1: all about The first Dark Jedi being banished from the order and the enslavement of the Sith species.

Season 2: Jump a few centuries to the times of the first great Sith Lords like Naga Sadal and the first wars with the republic

Season 3: possibly the longest season revolving around the first Knights of the old Republic games And Revan.

Season 4,5,6: i think most of the Major plot points of The Old Republic would fit into here.

Season 7: all the events revolving around Darth Bane and the creation of his infamous Rule of Two.

Season 8: jumping ahead a 1000 years we come to the events of Darth Plageuis killing his master and taking a young Sheiv Palpatine as his apprentice. The series ending in his death and leading into the events of Episode 1 the Phantom Menace.”

– Anonymous

Not to mention those who are so excited about the possibility that they’re willing to jump right in and get started on it:

“I teach writing at the university level and I have a PhD in cognitive science. I would absolutely give up the high salary I make right now in exchange for a crappy living wage if some network brought me on as a writer for the show. So, you know, if you’re ever in a position to pitch this to them, you can say you’ve got people interested in watching it AND making it.”

– Jake

And, on a related note, this respondent chimed in with some suggestions on the writing:

“Rebels is a brilliantly written show and if the writers took the same care writing the Old Republic and added some of the main Sith and Jedi it would be outstanding.”

– Jamie Peake

EDITOR’S OPINION

Just to throw my own opinion into the mix, I’d personally like to see a series for Star Wars: The Old Republic make mention of Revan, and perhaps even have him show up every once in a while, but I’d rather the series spread out rather than focus specifically on one character, or even a single group of characters. I feel the series would do better to take on characters like Nico Okarr, Carth Onasi, Darth Nihilus, Gnost-Dural, Darth Malgus, Shae Vizla and so many others.

I’d love to see an “origin” story of sorts that delves into the Tho Yor Arrival, events on Tython with Ashla and Bogan, the Dai Bendu monks and the creation of the Je’Daii Order, and the schism that resulted in what would become the Sith and Jedi Orders – The Force Wars. We’re talking approximately 36,450-25,750 BBY here, but I think much of that could be done in one or two seasons at most. One season would probably be enough for most fans, but I wouldn’t mind if they spread it out across two seasons.

Eventually, though, regardless of how many seasons it takes to get there, I think it would be great for the series to end up in the same basic time frame as the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. While there very well may be a season or two that occur during the same time as the events in Knights of the Old Republic, I still stand by my previous statement that I believe it would be better to keep Revan as more of a “cameo” character than the main focus.

While Revan is by far one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe, and so many of the stories from the Old Republic era seem to intertwine with his, I feel like his story would be better told in a full-length movie, or (dare I say) a series of movies devoted fully to his journey. Starting with his rise through the Jedi Order, all the way through his fall from and redemption to the Light, then his search for his memories of exactly what happened to him, Revan’s tale is so rich and full that I think trying to do it in a weekly series would dilute it too much. Tell the story of Malachor V, as well as his first visit to Nathema along with many of his other journeys. Show Revan’s relationships and conflicts with Meetra, Bastila, Canderous, Vitiate, Scourge and so many others.

CONCLUSION

Firstly, I’d like to say a huge “Thank You!” to everyone that has already participated in the survey. I’m glad we got this information together, if for no other reason than to possibly get everyone on the same page to some extent. I believe the data collected here provides a good “jumping off” point for anyone that has the influence to make the Star Wars: The Old Republic television series a reality. Perhaps I’ll do another survey down the road, but I must say that I’m pretty encouraged by the turnout we’ve already seen.

– Astinus Starbreeze of the Jedi Order

#reposted from DSC #Posted on November 1 2016 by Astinus #toronnetflix #independent survey #the old republic #star wars #astinus

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