#purpose of the prequel is to confirm what we all know re ********

[hagbrigade]

see the whole point of animal kingdom was 4 guys all fighting to be mommys number one Candy baby and in the end no one wins… so as you can see succession copied animal kingdom

[tachiisms]

okay so I have seen Siri’s cameo in Brotherhood, and while I’m delighted for her to continue to get little crumbs of mentions in new canon books, I’m also a little disappointed that this mention of her seems to do what was pretty solidified for me with the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which is confirming that they will not be re-canonizing Ferus Olin. (as I mentioned in a previous post: two things can both be truth, 1 that I am enjoying the Obi-Wan show and am glad for everyone who is loving it, and 2 that I am disappointed that they have either fully decanonized Ferus or at least removed his 20 years on Alderaan as Leia’s protector.) 

this is the cameo in Brotherhood, just so you can follow along with my thought process here (probably obvious, but if you have not read Brotherhood and do not want to see anything, please skip this, though there are no spoilers in this since we all know already that Anakin got Knighted after the Battle of Geonosis). 

“...Anakin standing with the rest of the new Jedi Knights while behind them, current Padawans observed. To his left, D’urban Wen-Hurd, the Tholothian notable throughout training for her twin shoto lightsabers. To his right, Keer Stenwyt, Olana Chion, and several others. Across the courtyard stood their mentors, at least the ones available: Moragg Bomo, a Kel Dor with black tunic and blue-tinted goggles, Siri Tachi, Ma-Dok Risto, and more.”

for timing purposes, remember that Ferus resigned from the Order approximately 3 years prior to the Battle of Geonosis, after which it was explicitly stated in Secrets of the Jedi that Siri never took another Padawan. (I’ve discussed before now that it’s notable that this is explicitly mentioned, because Secrets of the Jedi takes place within the first year of the Clone Wars, so Siri has really only been without a Padawan for 3-4 years, and yet we’re directly told that she never took another Padawan, when that isn’t exactly necessary information for the context of the plot, the mission, or even the scene. other Jedi who haven’t taken Padawans -- for example Garen Muln and Bant Eerin, both of whom appear in many of Jude’s books -- are just described without the mention of a Padawan, but never with a ‘they’re alone here because they’ve never taken a Padawan.’) 

so for Siri to be at the Knighting of a Padawan of hers just after the Battle of Geonosis, this would mean that either Ferus does not exist and she never had a Padawan who resigned (which we all know I will not ever do), or it means that she took a Padawan at some point within those three years, but given the timing of the Knighting, it must have been a Padawan who was nearly finished training and whose Master died. 

the second of those two, I could be amenable to, especially considering that one of the Padawans mentioned as being Knighted is Olana Chion. Olana Chion is the baby that Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Adi Gallia, and Siri went to find on Siri’s first mission as a Padawan in Jedi Apprentice: The Fight for Truth. (and as a side note, Olana Chion is also a named background Jedi extra seen in ROTS that Lucasfilms named after baby O-Lana essentially as a thank you type acknowledgment to Jude for how much she did for prequels era media, where they acknowledged that, at the time, Jude had written more prequels era books than any other individual.) the Brotherhood passage does, whether intentionally or not, match up Olana and Siri: Olana is the third of the Padawans that Anakin lists, and Siri is the third of the Masters that Anakin lists. 

considering that Siri was among the Jedi who found Olana (and, additionally, Siri was the one who Olana’s mother handed her to when both parents had thought it through and decided to send Olana with the Jedi), if something happened to Olana’s Master between the time of Ferus’s resignation and the Battle of Geonosis, I could see Siri being able to be convinced to finish her training. (it would be a very hard decision for her, she feels her failure of Ferus very deeply, and it’s always felt to me like at least a little bit of self-punishment, since all of the textual evidence we see of her as a Master shows that she loves teaching, and is a great Master, but that she felt very responsible for Ferus’s resignation, and never wanted to fail another Padawan the way she failed Ferus.) but for Olana, especially if it was Adi who was asking, I could see her agreeing to finish Olana’s training. 

I also think that Siri would have continued to see Olana as her former Master’s Padawan more than her own Padawan, though that she would have treated/trained/protected/cared for Olana as if she were Siri’s own (if that distinction makes sense) since we know that for a Jedi to be responsible for another Jedi’s Padawan is considered a deep responsibility, as shown in this passage of Jedi Quest: the School of Fear, where Obi-Wan is responsible for Ferus on a mission where the Council is sending Siri elsewhere alone:            "You will be responsible for another Jedi's Padawan," Mace Windu told Obi-Wan.           "You know what this means."           "It is as if he is my own," Obi-Wan said, looking at Siri.

so... tl;dr that’s how I’m going to reconcile this retcon. Siri finished Olana’s training on behalf of her deceased Master, but never took another Padawan of her own.

[instarlightss]

Andor Ep. 4 Thoughts

I love Cassian’s little knife. Clean designed nice and thin. Scrappily stored, and pulled from his boot. Seemingly how he later stores his lock picking kit in R1. 

Poncho. Is it Star Wars without a Poncho?  Imperial rain slickers making an appearance as well, seemingly with more decorative topstitching than previous iterations. Hello? Glyn Dillon? Is that you? Is that lost upon the audience who does not replicate costume kits? I feel like I need to go look up and confirm if he was returning or not. All of the orange topstitching on the uniforms of the Corpos screams Glyn Dillon, a name that us R1 costumers scream when we are frustrated. This is factual information and will not be contested. At this point I feel I could make a PHD level thesis on costume design that Glyn did in R1.

Love this fit on Cassian. The denim, the moto detailed pants. Presumably expensive designer boots.

The juxtaposition of “It’s not a problem if you don’t look up.” and  “It’s better to live. Better to eat, sleep, do what you want.” That feature highlight here on Tumblr with Diego talking about how Jyn Erso at the beginning of R1 and Cassian at this point in the timeline would get along makes much more sense. 

KYBER.  An appearance from seemingly two very distinct pieces of kyber and one in which is gifted in a similar manner as it is in r1? I don’t know how to process this currently. Are we, the audience supposed to be self aware and associate the, ...“strongest hearts are made of kyber” to Cassian as well? 

Clem? His adopted father’s name? 

Our rebel cell being mixed of persons of color, thank you. Also more women in leadership roles. Bless.

Lovely shot of Coruscant. Reminiscent of the prequels. 

Love Karn returning to the lower quarters/district and to his mother’s place with his tail between his legs. Zero sympathy for this man. 

So very pleased to see Mothma. I can’t remember verbatim what Genevieve said on the red carpet, as much of that experience happened way too fast. I want to say it was in reference to being ecstatic to see Mon returning and Genevieve said, “...But she’s got the spark. I think so.” She does have a spark, and intrigue. Genevieve plays it very well, the tonal shift in her voice and posturing as she discusses private matter versus putting back on the mask and facade of the smile re-entering that public space in The Gallery. 

I understand that Mon is rightfully feeling under siege, it is a dangerous game she is playing however it’s a bit privileged to suggest that she would be the first to fall. At the very least, she as a faction sort of leader would be regarded as a symbol and as such that symbol would be publicly broken, humiliated in some garish fashion. Akin or how say Rome would treat an opposing leader, paraded about in some fashion. I reference Rome as that is what my history loving brain associated first, which is fair as by far that was indeed an impressive empire. The reality is that persons ranked lower on that totem pole would be the first to fall. Persons like Vel would be the first to fall. 

Spy thriller slow burn is such a good take in the Star Wars realm and I appreciate it very much. It’s such a strange concept to think of it as boring. It is nuanced, it is complex. (As such, thankfully “somehow” a villain won’t simply return.) It is touching on a number of aspects that simply must be too difficult to follow for the crowd that is dismissing it as boring. 

Her outfit though to visit the gallery. Exquisite. The style lines, the tailoring, the draping. Chef’s kiss. 

That extended linger on her removing her brooch as she quietly seems to weigh her decisions. 

Also...? The Gallery? Such a distracting place and arguably so for what it is hiding. In terms of, you know, culturally significant items cavalierly handled and shipped out to rich buyers to sit on in personal collections devoid of their original context, meaning, purpose reduced to some little token to make a room pretty. Simply to be a conversation starter for some haughtily rich person to seem worldly and cultured.   (what looks like) The Hand of the Daughter, the kalikori. It’s giving the Victoria and Albert Museum vibes.

I’m really hoping she is referencing Ahsoka/ Fulcrum. Strictly speaking as I would like to accept the deleted scenes with Mon, Bail and Padme as canon already thus Bail is a member. And why not? Ahsoka  is getting her stand alone show, this wood serve as a reminder, it would be a good mention although she is certainly also busy primarily looking for Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn (within the context of her show) . 

Another space hoodie, and it’s amazing. 

[booksandwords]

Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

Read time: 102 Days (Intermittent) Rating: 4/5

Contains Stories By: C.M. Stunich, Elizabeth Briggs, Margo Bond Collins, Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape, L.C. Hibbett & N.M. Howell, Lena Mae Hill, Eva Chase, Julia Clarke, Bea Paige & Skye MacKinnon, Amy Sumida, Chloe Adler, AJ Anders & Amanda Perry, Angelique Armae, Joely Sue Burkhart, Caia Daniels, May Dawson, LA Kirk & Lyn Forester, Jackie May, Cecilia Randell, Erin Bedford, Catherine Banks and A.E. Kirk

Overall It took me a while reading this to figure out what was frustrating about it, primarily the stories are first stories or prequels. I would have preferred more stand-alone stories. It is not impossible to create a world in this shorter space but it seems that authors have used it to provide fanservice and some background they wanted but had not written previously. I really hope most of these get published as individually, especially the 1st stories. This is a reasonable collection if you like reverse harem and want something to break up your other reading, none of the stories are taxing. And there is something for all tastes.

See No Devils by C.M. Stunich Disclosure: See No Devils is why I bought Realms and Rebels. I have written a full review which I will post when and if C.M Stunich publishes the story individually. I'm glad I bought it See No Devils is a fast-paced fun ride with brilliant characters that engaged me and made me theorise the significance of characters, of situations. Any story that can do that in 10 chapters is impressive. I loved the characters and the writing, both are amusing and intelligent. This is definitely a series I will be keeping an eye out for. 4.5 stars.

Light the Fire by Elizabeth Briggs Light the Fire is a prequel in the Her Elemental Dragons series (1st book Stroke the Flame). It's not a series I have read but this does make me want to read it, as any entry in an anthology should. The lore is brilliant, there are reverse harems woven into the world, the mythology and I like the fate angle that was used. What really struck me reading Light the Fire is the feeling of fan service, Calla and her men appear in Her Elemental Dragons as supporting characters this feels like something that fans wanted, had asked Ms Briggs for. (Full review is available here.) 4 stars.

Her Big Bad Wolves by Margo Bond Collins Another story with editing issues. Days and names were wrong sometimes. Liam was originally Seth I think and there is one instance where that wasn't changed. And there are continuity issues in the timeline. It is a helluva into a world with decent lore. I would love to spend some time getting to know, James, the pack historian. He is the brains trust and after the alpha the best person to introduce a reader to the world. Has the feel of a prequel if or when the series continues I don't think this will be a necessary read just a pleasant addition. But it did it the nail on the head to a degree S's options are a complete, balanced man. This is common in a reverse harem. (Full review is available here.) 3 stars (.5 loss due to bad editing)

Fifth Soul by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape Fifth Soul feels like a lost opportunity. The harem is 3 men and 1 woman centring on a bisexual protagonist. It is a situation I had thought of but never seen in a stand-alone. Given the authors have a series for this universe (Dragon Soul, Torn Soul protagonist Holly makes an appearance) it could have been published left on its own and done very well because that is a situation that is a fantasy for some. It is lost in here this anthology. It's also odd, the lore isn't explained well, the writing isn't consistent and there is too much focus on a single relationship. It's rushed and disappointing because of that. I can't even make this 2 stars. 1.75 stars

A Nightmarish Mystery by L.C. Hibbett & N.M. Howell I have never read any of the Cats, Ghosts and Avocado Toast series, that put me at a distinct disadvantage reading A Nightmarish Mystery. This story fits between A Vet Vanishes (book #2) and A Devilish Disappearance (book #3) and is admitted fan service, though not the kind of fluff one expects from fan service, this is heavy and dark. It can be read as a stand-alone though that is not its intention. I give props to the authors for creating a situation that allowed for fans to get what they wanted but didn't mess with the continuity of the series. I know from the authors note that A Nightmarish Mystery is different to the series but reading this first does not endear me to the series, does not make me curious to read it. Might that defeat at least part of the purpose of the story? 2 stars.

Twisted: A Fairy Tale Mash-up by Lena Mae Hill Another 1st book in a new series unlike the others though this one is explicitly aimed at the YA market. From the time I read it's intended audience I questioned its place in this anthology, Realms and Rebels seems to be aiming at a more mature audience. But Twisted had more sexual intimacy than a few of the others and some seriously dicey consent. Twisted has a well-executed setup Little Red Riding Hood meets Three Little Pigs. Having the leading man be not particularly likeable was a good thing in the scheme of things but Cayenne frustrated me a combination of her Red Riding Hood nature and her attempted modernity, it rubbed me the wrong way. My biggest issue was the questionable consent she sort of assented to their actions but not strongly enough for my conscience. (My full review of Twisted) 3 stars.

Raven’s Fall by Eva Chase Raven's Fall plays with Odin's raven Muninn, the raven of memory and the idea of shapeshifting. When Muninn transforms she appears as standard with a gorgeous black dress. What I really like is the use of the phrase "what in Hel's name" this is possibly the origins of the curse used now, Hel guardian of Helheim the Norse equivalent of the underworld. The language in Raven's Fall is fantastic, it is beautifully descriptive. The raven, the rogue, the healer and the charmer. They are an intoxicating combination. Muninn's innocence/ naivety is endearing because it is understood, she isn't human she is an immortal who has never experienced humanity's joys. Her men share easily, but their stories broke my heart. Mythology is always a whole lot of fun, make it Norse and it becomes even more bloody and vindictive. Reading Raven's Fall certainly made me interested in reading more of the Their Dark Valkyrie series.

Charms of Attraction by Julia Clarke Fantastic characters. Charms of Attraction focuses on the relationships the protagonist has with not only the men in her life but her sister. The portrayal of the sibling relationship between protagonist Katerina and sister Ana is particularly good. I really liked one date in particular. There is potential in the series, as with so many in the anthology though polyandry in the norm in the society. I will say though this story does really need a warning for those sensitive to domestic or psychological violence situations, violence plays a major role in Katerina's past and is discussed in some detail. 3.5 stars

Hell’s Calling by Bea Paige & Skye MacKinnon The first book in the Infernal Descent series re-imagining Dante's Inferno. I enjoyed the characters and the plot definitely looking forward to reading more. This story establishes the word, the characters, some of the internal relationships but stops short of anything drastic physically. Hell's Calling does for me what an entry in an anthology needs to do It makes me want to read more in the series. I want to know what happens to Ciera, Maro, (Cer)Beres, Plutus & Tris. 4.5 stars

Twisted by Amy Sumida What a brilliant take on the Wizard of Oz. It just works for me, nothing feels out of place. The origins are obvious and the twists are so clean and logical. My full review of twisted

Inconceivable Origin by Chloe Adler I read two chapters and stopped. I found the protagonist insufferable, she rubbed me completely the wrong way. Also, I have major issues with rape, I'm sure that there the author finds a way to write her way out of it (we are talking about magic here) but I can't do it.

On The Edge Of Forever by AJ Anders & Amanda Perry WTH just happened? So much promise, so much build. It was so rushed at the end I got head spin. Actually, the story felt incomplete, there is nothing confirming the status of the story as a first or a prequel, it just ends. I was so happy reading the start of this. It has an interesting lore that the authors did their best to explain as briefly as possible. The men having a pre-existing relationship helped for succinct writing as they could talk among themselves rather than just to her. The protagonist is badass and her familial relationships are brilliant. but their end is disconcerting. It's still a 3.5/4 star story.

Eclipse by Angelique Armae Bastet is a fave deity. I had to attempt to put aside some of my own issues to read this, I try to stay away from titles with any BDSM elements, even light ones. Spanking is part of the makeup of Eclipse. So this is an alright read if you don't mind your mythology being butchered. I liked the characters, to a degree I liked the lore but I cringed at the use of Egyptian mythology it just wasn't working for me. The truly appealing aspect of this story was the relationships, the reader meets the immortal daughter of Egyptian Goddess Bastet, Marcus the Lion, Lucius the Tiger and Horatio the Panther in present-day Manhattan but their relationship has existed since 30 B.C. It is an established, happy relationship. There are intimate moments with two of the three men but not the 3rd that was disappointing. 2.5

Queen Takes Jaguars by Joely Sue Burkhart Absolutely gorgeous. So much sex-positivity. I really loved the confidence and the owning of womanhood. I definitely made want to read more of the series (despite it having a different perspective). There is a whole scene in a hotel which is both hot as hell and emotionally devastating. I really liked the characters and the lore. (Full review is available here.) 4 stars.

Sovereign of Soul by Caia Daniels 3 chapters in I gave up. it didn't grab me and had done an awful job of explaining the lore and wtf was going on. Essentially it felt like a combination prequel and fanservice piece, despite only being a prequel. The series does have an interesting basis for the harem creation though.

Ugly Magic by May Dawson This is one of the stories I skipped for no real valid reason. I stopped 4 chapters in one day and didn't pick it up for about 5 weeks. By which point I was completely lost and it just made more sense to skip it.

At Water’s Edge by LA Kirk & Lyn Forester To me At Water's Edge is more a journey of self-discovery than a typical reverse harem, it feels like it's more about her than her relationship with them. The ending is just gorgeous. The story is quite self-contained. There is a lack of explanation that didn't detract from the enjoyability, I get the feeling there is some serious lore in play. I really like the portrayal of the neriads is perfect, they are quite bratty, teenage girl. 4 stars

My Soul To Keep by Jackie May A nicely written, pleasant story with lovable characters in an interesting setting. The protagonist is window-able, she is quite easy for you to see yourself in. Fairy-tale but in the best possible way. A shared trait to Her Big Bad Wolves by Margo Bond Collins with day by day dating to try and choose a man. 4 stars

Blinded Beauty by Cecilia Randell Odd, not bad just odd, it wasn't gripping for me. Blinded Beauty makes decent use of fantasy themes. it doesn't get bogged down in the lore it just gives you tid bits. Polyandry relationship is a non-issue is just happens, which works well. I quite like the characters though. 3 stars

Indebted to the Vampires by Erin Bedford I skipped this one. I just couldn't. it's short the synopsis just didn't appeal. I can see a way to make it not dangerous but it would be difficult.

Moon Academy by Catherine Banks Again the skipped because the premise really didn't appeal. It is possible it might have worked but by the time I got to Moon Academy I was done. I might come back to the 4 (?) I missed but I don't know.

Demon In Distress by A. E Kirk Demon in Distress is a definite book one, or possibly the working base for a book one. It just comes to a dead stop. After reading it I felt like it shouldn't be in here, I really hope they publish it stand alone. It is a dissatisfying end to the collection. It isn't awful but it does just stop with a clear indication of the future direction. I didn't enjoy it, I did enjoy See No Evil which faces the same issues. 2 stars.

[izzyovercoffee]

So, I might be severely overthinking this, but the fact Sabine seems to be using the darksaber in full-power mode even when sparring (since the colour and sound is the same, and Kanan's using his saber on full power against it) seems to imply it doesn't have a training blade mode? If so, do you think it was always like this, or if some idiot for clan Viszla got rid of the low power mode for symbolic purposes? Or does this say something about Tarre Viszla? Sorry if this isn't coherent.

I’m gonna be honest — I don’t have a particularly good excuse for how long it took me to get to this question. If it helps, I’ve been thinking about it on and off very seriously for … well, a while, and I feel like there’s multiple answers, or many layers to the answer, for this question—all kind of contingent on how you understand lightsabers and lightsaber construction, and mandalorian ethos.

Ultimately, I put forward the idea that it says something about Tar(re) Vizsla — something, specifically about who he is as a person, and how he had to navigate two worlds at once (the Jedi, and the Mandalorians) — and how even though he did, arguably, successfully navigate both worlds, he was still very firmly a mandalorian just as much as he was Jedi.

We’ll start first with lightsabers, and move on to mandalorian ethos.

Lightsabers and Training Blades

So, as it was often written in the companion novels for the Prequel Trilogy, lightsabers come in multiple … intensities. They have a low-power setting and a high-power setting, and some, but not all, lightsabers also have a training setting.

That is, a blade that is intense enough to deliver soft-to-very-serious burns, but not intense enough to cut through skin. Generally, younglings in the temple were given training sabers to use during martial training. 

It’s been a while since I’ve seen The Clone Wars in its entirety, but from what I remember that was, generally, the same thing.

And, also, that is the main reason why building your own personal saber is part of the official process / ritual of entering into the role of padawan. Like other cultures coming-of-age rites, this rite of passage is meant to illustrate a grasp of different routes of education in what’s considered essential to a Jedi (a grasp of electronics, engineering, and careful control of the Force and following the Force’s guidance). 

The practical portion of this ritual of creating a personal lightsaber, however, is that the training saber can be returned to the temple—and, also, that a training saber that cannot cut is of little to no use to a Jedi, padawan or otherwise. 

Ultimately, as I’ve understood it, once a person enters padawan-ship, there’s an implicit acknowledgment that an individual is old enough, or mature enough, to be allowed to handle a weapon that can cause serious injury (or death). 

Of course, that doesn’t mean lightsabers with training settings might not exist—they might. But the creation of the lightsaber is a rite of passage in and of itself.

Which leads me to the next part.

Mandalorian Ethos

Now, as we understand Tar Vizsla, and as he’s been spoken about in canon and companion materials, the fact is that Tar Vizsla was both a mandalorian and a jedi. And that his lightsaber construction involved both his experiences as a Jedi, and his heritage as a mandalorian. 

“…. it is a different kind of sword. It’s not that it’s necessarily more powerful than any other lightsaber — in fact, you can make a strong argument that it’s not. It’s an old, old, old lightsaber. For all I know, it has limitations. It’s obviously not a style that’s been replicated, and you can imagine that’s because Tar Vizsla understood something and added a Mandalorian twist to it that no one’s been able to replicate since. It’s a flat blade of energy, which is bizarre.”

—Dave Filoni, in an interview about SW Rebels, Season Three

This has been pretty much, more-or-less, confirmed in the above quote of course, but I do want to address it.

I’ve spoken at length about how Tar’s mandalorian cultural heritage affected the color of the blade, and that likely is the very reason why it’s the first and last lightsaber created with a black blade — as the color of the saber itself is deeply affected by the person who wielded the blade, and it’s very first activation determines the blades’ color.

The only black lightsaber created by the only (or the first of very, very few) mandalorian jedi, is not an accident — as black, to mandalorians, is the color of justice. But also, like the color itself, the blade of the darksaber is unique in its shape: flat, tapered to a point, shaped more like an actual katana than any other lightsaber in existence. 

But another thing I haven’t touched on is what’s said during that training episode with Sabine, and what Kanan says as well. It is the connection between the crystal and the wielder of the saber that also effects its strength. 

The darksaber drew on Sabine, just as Sabine drew on the saber. There’s a give and a take, a flow of energy, between them in combat. 

That is part of the reason why “only” Force users can “really” wield lightsabers efficiently. And, that is partly where the strength, or the intensity, of the saber comes from. 

And Mandalorian ethos comes in here, in that the approach to weapons that the Jedi take (especially to their own weapon) as compared to mandalorians is very, very different — and that matters, I think. Especially when it comes to the darksaber.

Jedi, when they view their lightsabers, they call it a “tool,” as opposed to a weapon. By referring to it, seeing it, naming it a tool, it’s meant to represent that Jedi are not martial, or violent, by nature. Whether that actually has any weight, I’ll leave for another discussion.

Mandalorians, contrary to Jedi, don’t look at knives, or swords, or blades, and refer to them as tools — they name them for what they are: weapons. Knives, blades, swords, and so on. 

The difference between the two is that there’s a very healthy respect for the danger and the weight of that danger inherent in carrying a weapon — as opposed to an outright denial of danger in calling the lightsaber a tool, and thus a lack of acknowledgement (or a lack of respect) for its alternative purpose.

This isn’t to say that Jedi don’t have sense or respect for the danger of a lightsaber, but if they cannot name a lightsaber as a weapon even when one of its main uses is as a weapon, however defensively and non-lethally, then there’s an entirely different understanding of what one wants a lightsaber to be, and how one views themselves and the power they wield as a person who wields not just a lightsaber but also the Force.

And Tar … comes from a Mandalorian heritage. In much the same way that his heritage defines the color of the blade, and the shape of the blade of energy as much as its handle, so does it define how the darksaber defines itself as its core. A sword is a tool, but a sword is first and foremost a weapon, and one cannot wield a sword safely without first understanding that it is a weapon—and that no attempt to distract away from its nature will ever change what it truly is.

And so, if it were even possible for some lightsabers to be toned down from high to low to training intensity, the darksaber, itself, cannot be — can never be.

Because Tar saw what the Jedi could not accept when he called on his heritage, what he understood intimately from mandalorian forging, and mandalorian bladework, and that he brought forward in the forging of the darksaber—in the forging of the first and last saber of its kind.

Tar understood that the most important possession of the Jedi was first and foremost a weapon before it was a tool; and it was because of that understanding that the darksaber could not be toned down in intensity. 

And if you watch the scene where Sabine is training with Kanan closely, as she becomes more heated, more passionate, more emotional, her connection with the darksaber improves, and she fights stronger, better, faster. 

I just want to firmly draw a line here and say that I am not implying that mandalorians are inherently darksided—rather, in the culture, in the people, attachment is something that holds the highest priority. Connections with family, friends, loved ones—connections with one’s self and one’s emotions. I just want to not-so-gently suggest that Tar’s saber is better attuned to someone who comes from a mandalorian background, than someone who does not. 

Yes, anyone can potentially use the darksaber, but it’s not meant to be used by just anyone, and it cannot be used to its fullest potential by just anyone.

[robedisimo]

The Last Jedi: six observations and four questions [MAJOR SPOILERS]

[WARNING: the following contains HUGE PLOT SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Please proceed at your own discretion.]

It has been a strange, busy year for franchise sequels. Between Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok and now The Last Jedi, a lot of what has graced our screens has been saddled with a lot of different expectations, and with more than a little anxiety concerning its relationship to vast pre-established canon. In my opinion, all four films handled that task well; however, each of them approached the matter in a very different way.

Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner sequel embraced and expanded its predecessor’s style and themes, for example, while Ragnarok upended pretty much everything in its franchise so far with maniacal glee and an irrevent attitude bordering on outright mockery. Covenant also played fast and loose with established lore, but unlike the third Thor it did so without acknowledging it, “pretending” – thanks to original creator Ridley Scott being at its helm – to perfectly fit into everything that preceded it.

At its heart, The Last Jedi has more than a little in common with the latter two. It – literally, in certain cases – sets fire to certain aspects of the Star Wars canon to make room for a newer iteration of the franchise, but it does so with respect and love, pruning selected parts of the property to allow it to flourish. Its mockery seems instead aimed at its direct predecessor, The Force Awakens, which director Rian Johnson appears to retroactively adjust in order to steer the saga towards his own vision.

That attitude is nowhere more apparent than in the outright derision of Kylo Ren’s mask, which “makes him look like an idiot”. The meta-textual jab at J.J. Abrams’s aesthetic sensibilities betrays a ballsiness bordering on arrogance, as does the U-turn on Snoke’s characterisation, going from grave, sombre Palpatine wannabe to sneering, opulent Bond villain.

Whatever the reasoning behind The Last Jedi’s changes to the franchise, in my eyes the overwhelming majority of them was for the best. But did Johnson’s film really change everything, or was it more of a balanced mix of old and new? Following is a brief list of things that didn’t go as we might have expected and things that most certainly did, as well as some that still may or may not in the near future.

1. Subverted expectations

Leia’s death Given historic Star Wars precedent, it was very reasonable to expect Leia to not survive Episode VIII’s events: Kylo Ren was on a stated mission to forcibly (har har) eradicate his family ties, “mentor”-like characters have a track record of not surviving long into a new trilogy and, well, Carrie Fisher won’t be around for Episode IX. And indeed, The Last Jedi does give Leia a swift and dramatic death scene... only to reverse it immediately by virtue of a plot twist hinging on the character’s previously-undisclosed Jedi training, in a textbook example of a trope which I’m sure must be already defined somewhere on the Internet but which I’m personally more than willing to dub “Secretly Jesus”. It’s a stunning sequence and one that’s proving quite controversial with fans, setting the scene for the no-holds-barred approach to storytelling showcased throughout the movie.

Finn’s sacrifice I’ve written at length about how Finn is the best candidate for Sequel-Trilogy replacement to Han Solo, and so there was good reason to believe that, as he threw himself into a First Order super-weapon, we were in for a rerun of Han’s heroic surrender to frozen doom – I don’t think anyone was expecting Finn to actually die, but by that point The Last Jedi had certainly demonstrated that it was down for pretty much anything – at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Once again, that didn’t end up happening but the spirit was certainly there: just like Han, Finn had spent the whole film – and the whole franchise up to that point – torn between his own good heart and an individualistic penchant for self-preservation; by the end of their respective second chapters, both characters finally embrace their heroic streak. Ironically, whereas Han sacrificed himself to save Leia – culminating in the saga’s first explicitly-stated romance – here it’s the girl who ends up in suspended animation instead, after saving the day and declaring her love.

Rey’s parentage The most (apparently) outrage-introducing aspect of Johnson’s film is also the most interestingly handled. After two years of speculation regarding Rey’s true parents, and a number of increasingly far-fetched theories – Rey is Luke’s, Obi-Wan’s, Qui-Gon’s, Palpatine’s daughter – in The Last Jedi she was finally revealed to have been just a regular Jane Doe all along, an outsider to the Skywalker family saga. Some fans have met this with outcry, partly because they don’t seem to understand that the Sequel Trilogy is still part of the Skywalker arc through Kylo Ren, and partly because of precedent. The reveal of Luke’s parentage in The Empire Strikes Back is the single most iconic moment in the entire franchise, and quite a few people were expecting a direct retread of that. Except a direct retread is precisely what they got. Even without getting into the fact that Kylo could’ve simply been lying, the scene plays exactly how you’d expect: the bad guy extends his hand to the hero, offering a place beside them on the Galaxy’s throne after dropping the unexpected bombshell about their parents’ identity. The scene is almost exactly the same, but in reverse: for starters, the hero has just been in a fight involving the film’s villain; but unlike in Empire, Rey comes out of the fight victorious and having fought on the same side as the villain, not against him. Similarly, the biggest reversal comes in the fact that the bombshell shock doesn’t come in the shape of a twist reveal but rather in the absence of one. The Last Jedi – something it has in common with another piece of oft-maligned fiction that I happen to love, but that’s a story for another time – trades a twist for an anti-twist: “I am your father” becomes “Nobody is your father”. Which isn’t just poetic, it also works on a number of levels. Rey doesn’t have to be connected to everything else in the saga, just like Finn doesn’t have to be Lando’s or Mace Windu’s secret son. In The Last Jedi we finally get to know and love these characters for who they are, not for who they could be. This moment in which the saga is freed from the weight of its own legacy is as earth-shattering and franchise-changing as the ending to Empire was; if not more, because this time around we were prepared for it but were still surprised. We were prepared for anything, and they surprised us with nothing. You can call that cheating. I call that clever.

2. Confirmed tropes

Luke’s goodbye While Luke’s final act of heroism in The Last Jedi is breathtaking in its unexpectedness, his ultimate fate is as traditional as they come. Right after re-enacting Obi-Wan’s “strike me down” scene, Luke pulls a Yoda and peacefully joins the Force. It’s something that by all logic should’ve been reserved for the first half of Episode IX – just as Yoda’s death signalled the beginning of act 2 for Return of the Jedi –, but then again I did mention in my review that The Last Jedi is a bit of an episode-and-a-half kind of deal. Narratively speaking, the film could’ve ended on an Empire-like note right as Rey manages to escape after her lightsabre-breaking, parentage-revealing confrontation with Ben. Instead, Johnson took things one giant step beyond. And that’s a good thing, fortunately: had this movie closed on yet another cliffhanger, we wouldn’t have had the chance to conveniently explain away Leia’s departure from the franchise by means of a – all but inevitable, now – time skip between Episodes VIII and IX.

Snoke’s death Unexpected as it was in its timing, Snoke’s demise was anything but in terms of pure narrative structure: he was set up to be defeated, and he most certainly was. Not just that, but he was defeated in what’s arguably the most traditional way to be found in Star Wars canon: an apprentice turning on his own master when he’s instead supposed to finish an incapacitated opponent. It happened to Palpatine in the Original Trilogy, and it happened to Mace Windu – in a direct reversal of that same scene – in the Prequels. Snoke may not have been an actual member of the Sith order, but his fate certainly conformed to that of historic Dark Side practitioners. What’s more, his efforts to turn Ben Solo into a new Vader definitely paid off... perhaps even too much for his liking.

DJ’s betrayal Benicio Del Toro’s character is more a walking, talking plot device than anything, but he’s an undeniably charming addition to the franchise. Still, for anyone who thought he didn’t get enough development on his first time on the Star Wars scene, his return is pretty much a given. His potential for a face-turn in Episode IX, combined with his introduction as a shifty but useful ally to our heroes, only to grievously betray them while maintaining a measure of relatability, paints a very clear picture: DJ is, quite simply, the Sequel Trilogy’s Lando. There’s probably no easier cross-trilogy comparison in all of The Last Jedi, in my opinion. And to be frank, it’s a pretty entertaining one.

3. Still-dangling plot threads

What role do Luke’s relics play? The Last Jedi includes more than a few deep-lore easter eggs, many of them hidden on its characters. Snoke, for example, wears a golden ring whose stone – as one can read in the Visual Dictionary companion book – comes directly from the Dark Side pit originally lying beneath Vader’s fortress first glimpsed in Rogue One. Luke carries not one but two of these significant relics. The first is a Jedi compass, a MacGuffin introduced in the recently-released Battlefront II video game whose exact purpose wasn’t really disclosed, although one might speculate that it’s through it that Luke managed to find the ancient Jedi planet of Ahch-To. The second is Luke’s pendant, apparently housing a red crystal of unspecified origins. This particular object became the centrepiece of a fascinating fan theory in the months preceding the film’s release, and while that specific scenario didn’t pan out, the pendant itself did get a suspicious close-up shot which went entirely unexplained. The Visual Dictionary lists it as an ancient “Jedi Crusader” trophy, sparking rumours about the renewed canonicity of fan-favourite Knights of the Old Republic character Darth Revan. Could that be it, or is there more to Luke’s story between trilogies that we have yet to see? And if so, will that be addressed in Episode IX, or is it something that’s bound to be left to exploration in New Expanded Universe material?

Who was Snoke, exactly? Easily the second most controversial bit in the movie, Snoke’s sudden death left a lot of questions hanging. Who exactly was this guy? Where did he come from? Why was he so strong in the Force, and how did he know so much about everyone involved in the previous two thirds of the saga? The fans’ frustration about these unresolved plot points is understandable, and it’s undeniable that Johnson has left quite the hot potato in Abrams’s hands. Still, one must never forget that Emperor Palpatine was just as much of an unknown quantity in the Original Trilogy: character-wise, he was very little more than a cackling, mugging “evil incarnate” trope, blandly intimidating up to the point where his right-hand man killed him by essentially pushing him down a flight of stairs. It wasn’t until the oft-maligned Prequels that good ol’ Sheev took on a personality all his own. On the other hand, that sort of undefined mystery just isn’t viable in the franchise’s current state. After forty years of accumulated, obsessive exploration of the narrative universe’s every nook and cranny, fans are no longer willing to put up with not knowing. And, to be completely fair, relegating Snoke’s backstory to Expanded Universe novels or comic-book series would be a disservice to the portion of the audience that only watches the film instalments – whereas Phasma’s mostly-perfunctory role in the movies is more acceptable, vis-à-vis her much more in-depth characterisation in ancillary material – and a general faux pas from a narrative standpoint.

What about the Knights of Ren? Speaking of dubious narrative choices, another unexpected element in The Last Jedi’s standalone-but-not-standalone structure – the movie works extremely well in isolation, but it’s also perhaps the most interconnected to previous lore that Star Wars has ever been – was the total absence of Kylo Ren’s eponymous Knights, teased in Rey’s “Force Vision” sequence halfway through The Force Awakens. From a purely in-universe standpoint, their uninvolvement with the film’s proceedings makes sense: Episode VIII takes place over a short period of time immediately on VII’s heels, and as such it would’ve been strange for the Knights to come running as a sort of bad-guy cavalry, especially if it were for the sole purpose of being anticlimactically slaughtered barely halfway through the trilogy at the hands of a still-inexperienced Rey. Narratively speaking, however, what we got was a full movie – and two more years of endless wait – going by without the characters being addressed, which is pretty frustrating. So much so, in fact, that some fans have already begun speculating that the Knights actually were featured in The Last Jedi as none other than Snoke’s Praetorian Guards, a truly awful theory that presupposes a shockingly appalling grasp of storytelling on Rian Johnson’s part. One can only hope that with Kylo now positioned as the trilogy’s Big Bad, they’ll serve as the mid-boss-level characters our heroes will have to get through if they want to face the ultimate evil... potentially resulting in the most spectacular lightsabre battle ever witnessed in Star Wars canon.

Where are the other Force ghosts? The question of where Yoda’s Force ghost has been all these days as Luke – and the Galaxy – needed his guidance is easily answered by The Force Awakens, in both title and dialogues: there has been an “awakening” in the Force, at least the Cosmic side of it, with Rey’s and Kylo’s mounting powers. So it’s not hard to imagine that the world of spirits has been a lot less in touch with that of the living over the past thirty years. Nonetheless, that dry spell is now decidedly broken. Obi-Wan whispered in Rey’s ear at least once in Episode VII, and Yoda’s appearance in The Last Jedi showed us a Force ghost with more power and influence over the physical world than ever before – although that may have to do with the peculiar Force-attuned nature of the planet Ahch-To –, and that’s a pretty hard can of worms to re-seal. So the big, looming question right now is: where is Anakin Skywalker’s ghost, and why isn’t he giving his grandson a piece of his mind about his hare-brained scheme for galactic annihilation? Should we expect Hayden Christensen to make a Vader-y return in Episode IX, or will Abrams’s apparent loathing for the Prequels rob us of that long-delayed rehabilitation of his take on the character?

Other questions loom large over the next (and final) episode in the Skywalker saga, of course. Did Kylo lie about Rey’s parents? Will Snoke still exert some sort of influence on the Galaxy’s fate, even after death? How exactly will Leia die? How will the Resistance turn things around to win the day? Will Rey and Poe start a surprise romance? And how will Phasma have ludicrously survived this time?

We’ll just have to wait, I guess. In the meantime, I’m sure Solo: A Star Wars Story will give people a lot more to complain about.

[duhragonball]

I feel like I haven't as active lately, although I guess that's a matter of perspective.  Work's had me busier than normal, and my sleep schedule's all fouled up from that.  Right now my goal is to spend all day writing, and since there's no new episode of Dragon Ball Super to talk about, I'm gonna discuss the four Star Wars novels I re-read. 

I'm a big fan of the Sith.  My favorite characters in the Star Wars movies are all Sith Lords, followed by Luke, Chewbacca, Lobot, and Wat Tambor.  None of that Dark Jedi crap, or whatever Kylo Ren is supposed to be.  I get genuinely irritated whenever I see Sith fanart that includes Asajj Ventress, because even though I like Ventress, but she's no Sith and she never will be.  

Consequently, I never had any use for the "Star Wars Expanded Universe" unless it delved into Sith lore.  This didn't happen a lot, since the Sith were key players in the movies, and there were stricter editorial controls on how they could be used in the books, comics, cartoons, edible underwear, etc.  The Sith would appear in a lot of other media works, but generally they didn't introduce a lot of backstory like the Prequel Trilogy did.  

Fortunately, they did publish some novels in the late 2000's that scratched my itch.  The Darth Bane trilogy expanded on the life of a Sith Lord mentioned very briefly in the novelization of "The Phantom Menace".  In the movie, the Jedi Council initially believe "the Sith have been extinct for a millennium".  When they learn otherwise, Yoda notes that there are always two Sith at a time, "no more, no less".  The novelization connects these two ideas by establishing that there were once many Sith Lords in the galaxy, until a visionary named Darth Bane reformed the order by establishing the "Rule of Two".   While the rest of the Sith were driven to "extinction", Bane and his apprentice, Darth Zannah, continued their order in secret, and the Sith in the movies are the inheritors of their efforts.

For a lot of years, this was all anyone really knew about Darth Bane.  In 2001, there was a short story entitled "Bane of the Sith", and Dark Horse Comics published a miniseries entitled "Jedi vs. Sith", which depicted the climactic battle that saw the destruction of the old Sith order.  Darth Bane was a minor player in the story.  He stayed out of the fighting mostly because he had no respect for the Sith leaders, and so while they were all getting killed in the final act, he was recruiting a child to join his new order.  Mostly, though, these stories simply illustrated the same basic points made in the Phantom Menace novel.  

Published in 2006, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction went further than that by assembling these stories into a Bane-centric story.  The author, Drew Karpyshyn, detailed the entire early life of the character, from his early adulthood as a miner, to a brief career as a sergeant in the Sith's army, to his training in the Sith Academy on Korriban, to his disillusionment with the Sith status quo.  While the events of "Jedi vs. Sith" are used in the novel, Karpyshyn added the twist that Bane was secretly engineering the Sith defeat.  

It's a really good read, because it does a great job establishing an anti-hero as a protagonist.  Bane is one evil dude, but he also has a refreshing sincerity and pragmatism about him.  He's grateful for the opportunity to learn at the Sith Academy, but when he realizes the Order's shortcomings, he refuses to compromise.  His colleagues think he's wasting his time consulting old scrolls written by the ancient Sith Masters, but if you've watched the movies, you know Bane's way works, at least for a thousand years longer than the system he replaced.  As cruel and malicious as Bane is, you can still root for him as a man with a vision.  His opponents can't see past the ends of their noses, and that makes them more frustrating than the atrocities they commit on the battlefield.  

The two sequels, Rule of Two and Dynasty of Evil, mostly focus on Bane as he pioneers his new order.  He trains Zannah to be his apprentice, works to accumulate as many old Sith records as possible, and tries to become as powerful as he can while Zannah tries to decide when and how to kill him and take over.  Re-reading these, I realized they weren't quite as good as they were the first time, mainly because Darth Zannah doesn't have a whole lot going on.  She basically agrees with all of Bane's teachings, so there's not as much conflict between them as there was between Bane and his teachers.   When I finished the last book, I really wanted a sequel about Darth Zannah or her eventual successor, Darth Cognus, but now I'm not so sure it would have been worth the trouble.  Bane had a messianic quality about him because he altered the course of history.  He changed the game, while Zannah and Cognus were just following the trail he had already blazed for them.

This sort of brings me to the fouth book I read, Darth Plagueis by James Luceno.  Published in 2012, Plagueis was sort of a spiritual successor to the Bane trilogy, as it also attempts to expand lore introduced in the Prequel Trilogy.  This time, the story focuses on the "Sith legend" Palpatine shared with Anakin in Episode III.   In the movie, Plagueis was used as a way to suggest that the Sith possessed the means for Anakin to save his wife from dying, and Palpatine deliberately crafts the tale to imply that Plagueis was a somewhat decent fellow who only used his dark side power to protect "the ones he cared about".  

The book exposes that idea as a distortion of the truth.  The only things Darth Plagueis "cares about" in the novel is himself, and his menagerie of test subjects used for his bizarre experiments.  This doesn't come as much of a surprise, since Palpatine always twists the truth to suit his purposes.  Besides, Darth Plagueis wouldn't be much of a Sith Lord if he didn't put himself ahead of the rest of the universe.  The problem is that it's not enough to build a novel around.  The key aspect of Darth Vader, for example, is that he really was a tragic, conflicted villain.  He really did get into the Sith game because he had loved ones he wanted to protect, and he was brought down by this noble quality.  It's that extra complexity that allows Vader to star in six whole movies.  

Plagueis--at least the version provided by Luceno--has no such redeeming quality.  He's just an asshole who doesn't want to die, which isn't particularly innovative as motivations go.  Several other Sith Lords in the Expanded Universe pursued the same goal.  The only hook to Plagueis is that he might have actually succeeded, except we already know he didn't succeed because Palpatine told Anakin that he was killed by his apprentice.  So most of the book feels like an exercise in futility.  Plagueis spends the entire book working on plans and projects which will be abandoned or perfected by his more charismatic sucessors.  In the end, he manages to survive all the way into the events of "The Phantom Menace", which is a pretty brazen retcon, but it serves to demonstrate how he's outlived his usefulness.  Even if he can cheat death, he no longer has a place among the living.  He's reduced to a bit player in his own story, but Plagueis himself never really catches on to this, and it's kind of dull watching him meander through the second half of the book without a clue.  

I struggled with this book the first time I read it, because Luceno seemed determined to namedrop every fictional name, place, species, or event that he could cram into the story.  It sort of suits the concept of the Sith as clandestine power brokers with a hand in everything that happens, but the Sith in the movies never had to go to such lengths to get that idea across.  The second read-through just confirmed my original complaint.  Much of the book is an extended callback to other, unrelated EU stories.  If Darth Maul hurts his arm in a comic book, you better believe Luceno mentions it in the Darth Plagueis novel, even though it has nothing to do with the plot.  

The reason I'm discussing all of this on a Dragon Ball blog is because when I re-read these books, it reminded me just how much of an influence they had over the fanfic I've been writing for the past couple of years.  Like the Bane and Plagueis novels, I'm trying to expand a handful of lines from one episode of DBZ into a fully realized character.  In particular, I always took some cues from the way Darth Bane was a forgotten figure from a thousand years ago, but he still managed to leave a lasting legacy.  And I liked how Bane was a transformative figure to the Sith, but his peers rejected him as a heretic and a fool.  It nicely mirrors the way the Jedi of the prequel era failed to recognize what they were dealing with in Anakin Skywalker.  

Both orders sort of adopted this mediocratic system.  The Sith of Bane's early years were basically warlords, fixated on glory and honor more than the underlying principle of the dark side of the Force.  They thought having lots of Sith Lords working together made them stronger, but it only encouraged individual weakness.  They embraced passions, but without any overriding sense of purpose.  So they'd kill and conquer and make love but they weren't really fufilling their true goals.  The Jedi of Anakin Skywalker's career were obsessed with micromanaging the Force.  They'd take custody of Force-sensitive beings at birth, forbid any and all attachment to the physical world, and basically do whatever they could to suppress emotionalism.  This was all meant to prevent any resurgence of dark side practitioners, except this only exacerbated the problem.  The Jedi never wiped out the Sith to begin with, so trying to prevent a revival of their kind was pointless.  The sterile, unfeeling nature of their order probably did more harm than good.  

In the same vein, I've been trying to establish the Ancient Super Saiyans as similarly transformative figures, since Goku was clearly a repudiation of all the Saiyan culture Raditz boasted about when the Saiyan race was first introduced.  Like the Jedi, the Saiyans tested their people's potential from birth, and showed little tolerance for dissent or new ideas.  Like the ancient Sith, the Saiyans were constantly undermining their own efforts with their infighting.  A strong leader could force them to work together, but only up to a certain point.  More critically, that strong leader couldn't risk letting anyone else rising to his level, which means that his political survival would necessarily be at odds with the natural evolution of his people.  

I haven't really delved into this in my story yet, but I'm getting closer to it, which I guess is why I'm trying to get the idea sorted out in my head.   What I've been driving at this whole time is to establish a Super Saiyan who's clearly beyond her people, but they're too stuck in their ways to appreciate it.  Lord Kaan was skeptical and somewhat afraid of Darth Bane, but he couldn't really get rid of him either.  Mace Windu didn't trust Anakin Skywalker, but he couldn't really do anything about it.  

And that may be what's been holding me back with Luffa's conflict with the Saiyans.  I need them to be able to do something about her, but that flies in the face of the analogy I've just drawn.  Unlike Darth Bane, Luffa has to fizzle out, and get lost in the dustbin of history.   Whatever she's trying to sell to the Saiyan people, it won't get accepted until Goku brings it back a thousand years later.  

On second thought, that isn't so unlike Darth Bane after all.  Something that stuck with me on my second reading was the opening scene of the Path of Destruction.  Before Bane joined the Sith, he was a cortosis miner basically living out the lyrics to "Sixteen Tons".  To offset his enormous debt, he would try to hustle people at card games, using his nascent Force powers to manipulate their emotions.  In the book, this backfires, because he manages to win a large pot one night, but  he inadvertently drives one of his opponents into a murderous rage.  Bane has to kill him in self-defense, and since the dead man was in the Republic Navy, he's forced to leave the planet and join the Sith military to avoid arrest.  

So while Bane had the skill and patience to win the game, he never got to collect his prize.  Even if he had collected, the money would have just gone to his creditors, so it would have made no difference.  At first, it seems like his joining the Sith is a sign of success and greatness, but it really isn't, at least not for him personally.  Bane founded a Sith Order that went on to take over the galaxy, but Bane himself never lived to see it.  For all the work he put into it, he still ended up dying on some backwater planet, which would have been his fate if he had stayed in the mines.  Similarly, Darth Plagueis was trying to bend fate to his will, only for fate to bend back in turn.  Even if he had accepted his obsolesence, he would have been no better off.  

I suppose this is the point to being an idealist.  None of these characters were planning to enjoy a peaceful retirement.  They weren't even trying to accomplish great things in their lifetime.  They were just following their beliefs as far as they could possibly go with them.  The final outcome was irrelevant.  

[listoriented]

Bioshock Infinite

more DLC adventures

When/where/why/what/who/history/stuff: Story time. Bioshock Infinite, Ken Levine/Irrational’s truncated problem child, came out in March 2013 to quite a lot of triumph and acclaim. Swept up in the hype, I bought it from Green Man Gaming (something different) for $50ish AUD a couple of weeks after launch and managed to put aside my Dota addiction long enough to play it through.  And four years later, I have no desire to do so again (I did try, for twenty minutes, which was enough to confirm this). 

So instead I started on Infinite’s DLC, Burial at Sea. It came out in two episodes, the first in November 2013 and the second in March 2014. It turns out I bought the “Season Pass”, which nets you both these things, on new years day 2014 (at the same time as Alan Wake). I’d never considered playing them or even remember hearing much about them, but here, at the final hurdle, was a chance to complete the last Bioshock-titled component that I hadn’t played, for the sake of having done just that, despite my youth slipping away, and this being a franchise for whom my feeling have always been tepid at best. So that’s what I did.

Time: Six hours or thereabouts across both episodes of Burial at Sea.

Se7en thoughts on Burial at Sea:

1. The second episode reworks the Bioshock formula [magic powers + guns = fight] into a stealth-oriented game for the first time. This is good. It is mechanically perhaps as enjoyable for me personally as Bioshock has ever been (save Minerva’s Den). It reminded me a bit of Dishonoured. There is at least one good, tense siege-room bit where you have to try and knock out all the guys who are trying to find you. Let us try not to dwell on how this shift in ethos coincides with the first time in the series that we’re playing as a fem character.

2. The episodes are strangely incongruous, despite theoretically being two halves of the same package. Ep 1 is a short and sudden noir escapade, a bit non-sensical and anarchic in true Bioshock fashion. The second is longer, creepier, more demanding and involved. In both, it’s ‘nice’ seeing a polished representation of pre-war Rapture in Infinite’s clean cartoon style.

3. For a series that has traded in surprisingly confronting violence (both what the player does, sees, and what the player-character is subjected to in a FPV sense, right from the frequent self-injecting in Bioshock-the-First), parts of Episode 2 truly takes the uncomfortable, torturous cake. Some scenes are as manipulatively horrific as anything I’ve seen in gaming in quite some time. And ultimately it feels a bit rotten, a bit of cheap trick. Like, I get the idea of ramping the intensity up to close out the series, but it definitely seems a little needless to me - problematically gratuitous, even. Is it memorable? Maybe. Is it good? No. My guess is that it’s mainly there (along with the heightened levels of terror we/the protagonist go through) to cover for a plot that is difficult to invest in (see below).

4. [BIOSHOCKY SPOILERS AHEAD] Burial At Sea’s overarching thematic purpose is to link the seemingly separate-yet-similar contents and events of Bioshocks 1 & 2 with Bioshock Infinite. It does this 'successfully’, in the sense that, yes, it creates a narrative that follows from Infinite and entwines them with Bioshock-the-First, making it a kind of prequel that ultimately closes a loop, creating a catalyst for Atlas’ return to Rapture and giving him the key to control the player character, along with implicating other similarities of Columbia and Rapture. 

It’s sure a bit of plot wrangling. It comes off as awkward and obvious, but in the greater scheme of things it also feels like an empty achievement, an afterthought that struggles to validate Infinite’s sprawling world of smoke and mirrors. Why do the games need to 'fit’ together when the ideas that keep them there are transparently self-serving? What is the inherent value in the game telling us how it is actually a prequel - surprise! - to another game that we may have played that shares its title and large chunks of chunks of design. Are we meant to be impressed? Why? I’m sorry to say that it mostly comes off like a vacuous exercise in self-congratulation and/or justification.

5. One of the biggest criticisms facing Infinite was its portrayal of Daisy Fitzroy, rebellion leader of Columbia’s oppressed classes. To recap: as Columbia was shown to be an unambiguously racist society, upper class utopia built on the degradation and slavery of its black (and also Irish?) inhabitants, we inevitably feel sympathetic towards the rebellion group, The Vox Populii, and its leader, Fitzroy, because hey, this place is racist poison, burn it down and so on. It’s a no-brainer. But Infinite scuffed it by feeling that we needed to be reminded that power corrupts absolutely, or something, and the game needs us to know that those throwing off their oppressors must necessarily be/come as bad as their oppressors, that Infinite must portray this unequivocally by showing the morphing of Daisy Fitzroy into someone capable of true, unforgivable acts of evil. This is and was a massive problem that sort of undermined Infinite being able to have any position about anything. It’s also been better critiqued elsewhere if this interests you.

Episode 2 of Burial at Sea attempts to address this spectacular misstep by tangentially taking the player back to Columbia to stock up on some stuff and letting them view a secret conversation (gasp!) whereby the aforementioned Daisy Fitzroy is talked into appearing to do a heinous thing by the Luteces for the sake of getting herself killed or…something, which she reluctantly agrees to for...some other reason, look, I don’t really follow how this conjoins the plot so neatly, but the upshot, the clearly not-at-all-to-do-with-anything-else-in-this-episode upshot, is that Daisy is no longer seen to be actually evil, that we now can re-evaluate the scene from Infinite as her just pretending to be evil (for the sake of...destiny? no seriously what’s the logic here again, it totally escapes me), therefore salvaging some of the nihilistic conclusions like, say, all choices and sides in a fight being equally bad, such that Infinite would, in a vacuum, originally imply. 

This is fine and good and I’m glad the Bioshock people recognised what a terribly-handled part of the story it was in the first place that they’d go to this length to try and account for it, when there was clearly no way of ever actually atoning because there’s honestly no coming back from that and the relevant ‘rewrite’ scenes have, like I say, nothing else to do with the plot, as it can be ascertained, and goddamn they stick out awfully. So yes, I have mixed feelings about this component of Burial at Sea p2, you could say.

6. There’s a really weird bit at the start of Episode 2 where you walk around the streets of the most cartoony idyllic hyper-Paris rendition imaginable. It’s surreal and ridiculous, lasts just a few minutes, and honestly I kind of love it. 

7. I’m glad I didn’t play Infinite through again. I’m glad to have seen this last DLC diversion, even if both episodes have problems and the Infinite project as a whole leaves a bad taste. I feel ever so slightly pleased to have now played all of Bioshock at one point or another over the past ten years, even though the staggered timeline here means I’ve often been left more lost as to the internal significance of numerous story-things as they’ve happened than I perhaps otherwise would have been. Memory is a fickle friend, but also the Bioshock-verse is undeniably full of convoluted waffle, particularly when Infinite + Burial at Sea are brought into the equation. Its been a weird ride; I’ve learned little. Next is A Bird Story. But this month I’m watching movies. 

[movietvtechgeeks]

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Tom Hiddleston gets outacted by a gorilla in 'Kong' review

Kong: Skull Island Review

Let’s face it. I’m not a fan of King Kong, but I do like a good monster movie. I’ve seen the 70’s version which was good, and later King Kong Lives, which was bad and the Peter Jackson remake which was great. I only saw these on TV and cable. Like I said, not much of a fan but with Kong: Skull Island, after seeing the trailer, being a Godzilla fan and knowing what Legendary Pictures is up to, I decided to see it, and all I can say is—It’s awesome! The Film This little review won’t give away too many spoilers, but I’m still inclined to give the obligatory spoiler alert because you deserve to see and enjoy this film. One good thing about this film is that there’s hardly a dull moment. At the start of the film, set in World War II where an American and Japanese pilot crash on the island, they are greeted by the titular character in his gigantic glory. Hey, you’ve seen him in the trailers anyway, why hide the big guy? It’s unlike Godzilla 2014 where we only see his dorsal fins during the opening sequence when the world superpowers were trying to kill him with ‘nuclear tests.' One major criticism for Godzilla was that the titular monster was mostly hidden from the audience. Audiences won’t be disappointed with this one. The characters’ back stories are quickly set up at the beginning which is good. Unlike other Kong films, this one was set in the 70s during the Vietnam War as can be seen by the helicopters used in the trailer. Watching this film, you could say that it’s a mix of Apocalypse Now and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid. Again, the action won’t disappoint. Less than 30 minutes into the film, old Kong gives it to them, and the whole plot is set up where we join the cast on their journey off Skull Island. Also, unlike other Kong films, the great ape stays on the island. The film again is not much of a remake but a re-imagining and more of a set-up for what’s to come. And boy, there will be much to come. The Cast Since I wasn’t a big fan of Kong, I never did any research on who the cast was. The only thing I was aware of was Tom Hiddleston, much known for playing Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be leading the cast. Him and John Goodman who plays the role as William Randa, leader of the expedition. It was a surprise to see the names of Samuel L. Jackson, Hiddleston’s co-alum in the MCU and lastly, future MCU member Brie Larson, who will be playing Carol Danvers or Captain Marvel, in Marvel’s own female led superhero film. Tom Hiddleston plays James Conrad, the British mercenary who will be acting as their guide in the uncharted territory. We’ve mentioned what Goodman’s role is while Samuel L. Jackson plays Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, the leader of the expedition’s military escort and requisite human asshat who wants to capture or kill the great ape. The Vietnam War setting comes into play regarding Jackson’s role, and though most of the time he’s unreasonable, you’ll piece together where he’s coming from. Brie Larson plays Mason Weaver the mission’s photojournalist, to cover or chronicle to the mission and basically plays Kong’s girl. Her relationship with Kong in this film is one of the aspects where the film departs from its predecessors. Then there’s Chinese actress Jing Tin in the role of San Lin, the expedition’s biologist. God, is she pretty. Unfortunately, she’s as pretty as she is useless and more likely, a token Chinese character due to Legendary’s collaboration with Tencent Pictures. But boy, is she pretty, and since Kong is set in the 70s pretty much like a prequel to Godzilla, we may not see her again. Did I mention she’s pretty? Lastly, John C. Reilly plays the American pilot trapped on the island since 1944. The Japanese pilot who has since become his friend died years earlier. He’s the comic relief, the voice of reason and the voice of knowledge in the film. The Easter Eggs There are plenty of Easter eggs scattered in the film. Randa’s organization, Monarch was present in Godzilla 2014 quickly confirming the two films’ shared universe. Goodman even mentions the purpose of the nuclear testing in Bikini Atoll. The film also discusses the Hollow Earth Theory that is upheld by Monarch, where Earth’s monsters like Godzilla and the MUTOs originate. This is an homage to the theory of a large habitat within the Earth which goes way back to the original 1954 Godzilla film. It’s also kind of similar to the premise of Pacific Rim or Journey to the Center of the Earth. The best Easter egg of all within the film, if you are a Godzilla fan comes somewhere within the credits themselves and then later at the post-credit scene. The Monsters The premise where King Kong fights Godzilla is totally cheesy for this writer, but it happened way back in 1962. The thing about Godzilla is that there are many different versions, of varying heights and minor changes in appearance but one thing that’s always contested is the size ratio between the two monsters. Well, in the 1962 film, King Kong’s was upsized for battle, and that is the same thing they did here. They greatly upsized Kong to perhaps times four. But still, Godzilla 2014 still outsizes Kong. They did say in the film that Kong is still growing though it’s kind of hard to imagine given the size of the skulls of Kong’s parents. How far can Kong grow in 50 years in order to be a match for the giant lizard? Anyway, if you set those thoughts aside and see the film for what it is, you’ll be sure to enjoy yourselves. The island is home to plenty of oversized monsters such as the unfortunately unseen giant ants, harmless giant bisons, prehistoric-looking birds, a giant long-legged spider, a giant squid for an ape who likes sushi and the main antagonists aside from Jackson’s Packard, the gigantic Skullcrawlers. Kong protects the island’s human population against these exoskeletal reptilian monsters that come from underground vents which proves Randa’s theory of a hollow Earth.  Like in previous Kong films, the humans have a giant wall, but unlike previous Kong films, the wall isn’t to keep Kong out but to keep the Skullcrawlers crawling in. Expect great human vs. monster and monster vs. monster battles in this film. And lastly, about that awesome Easter egg, I read something awesome like this as the credits rolled up. “Characters Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah are property of Toho Inc.” That was a WTF moment for this author. Were they really planning to use these monsters in future films? Are we to expect an appearance of Rodan or Mothra in future films? If I’m not mistaken, the giant spider in the film is a reference to the monster Kumonga. The awesome end-credits scene will tell it all. The screen will remain dark, and the first sentence will seem to mock you for staying. Keep to your seat. If you’re a Godzilla fan, you won’t regret it. Too bad everyone else in the theater left before I did. Yes, everyone missed out but this geek trained by Marvel to stay after credits. Guess everyone knows by now that this technique is to honor everyone involved in making the film so the audience can have a fleeting glance of a name or two and their respective roles in making the film. The Verdict Though some critics liken Kong to a B monster movie, it didn’t feel like it at all. Perhaps in the future if there are further cinematic improvements it might be. The film was action-packed and entertaining. It’s a definite departure from previous Kong films considering the film is actually an entertaining elaborate setup. I might get flamed for saying that the only sour note here is probably Tom Hiddleston’s performance. He got ripped in this film, that’s for sure. Better for him once he returns as Loki in Thor Ragnarok but I found his performance a bit lacking or perhaps his character just didn’t have much to do really. But he was awesome in his hack and slash scene in the middle of the film. John C. Reilly’s performance was a standout. Jackson, as always was great but sometimes felt mechanical. Jing Tian was pretty. And Kong himself? Even though he’s pretty much CGI, Kong was awesome. Kong is King!

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