#so im glad tfa has it

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

Love how TFA is willing to show us the Autobots and Decepticons picking up humans like they're misbehaving kittens

[margoshamangolord]

heheh.,,, seeing the smalll influx of tfa beachcomber art is very fun, your post about him having a tummy is SO REAL

guards give that bot some tummy

RRRRRRRDRTratfaffRRARARAGAGAGGRGRGGGAGAGGAGAGGAGGAGFFAAGFAGAGGAFFAFFA CHEWS CHWES SCREAMS RIPS BITES CHEWS RAAAHAHHAHAHHHHHHH AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH IM SO GLAD

I think beachcomber has one of the cutest aesthetic designs in tfa (probably because of his cartoonish similarly to humans while being robot enough) and i think his hips forward posture and softbody-ish waist really play into that gosh gosh

He looks like someone i could have met on the street as a kid with that fashion

I'm going to become a #1 beachcomber lover and make him very popular and make so much art

[skelltan]

im so glad comics have moved on from the "first issue? time to instantly introduce a gaggle of heroes and villains for you to memorize in the span of 20 pages" thing

its not just transformers its in so many comics like the various 90s image stuff and it sucks every time

specifically the image stuff kinda has to do with the fact they wanted to create the most awesome characters to make money off of asap, especially when x-men already has that many characters from their long history and they need to catch up

i don't think there's anything inherently wrong with introducing two teams in fast succession, it just SUCKS when its done bad

compare the marvel transformers comics to how beast wars or tfa introduce their cast. i was going to list giant size x-men 1 and new mutants issue 1 as examples as well, but whilst they are somewhat better, they also kind of suck because its far too formulaic in terms of "here is this character. this is what they do."

[elvesofnoldor]

AGONY AND FEAR

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

I'm from Eastern Europe and everything you said is so true!!! I have never in my life seen someone wearing IM shirt/backpack/anything else on these areas (especially my country). It's always Cap (more with teens/grown-ups) or spiderman (more with kids) or it's just something with all of them but never IM alone.

Hello there fellow European 😊🤗

I'm glad to hear that, it doesn't seem like IM has a huge fanbase outside online spaces. I guess it comes to show that the writers did a wonderful job in TFA with Steve's character and that the whole wealthy middle-aged white man with access to high tech who answers to no one and is a damn paragon of Main Pain™ and toxic self-righteousness doesn't land among most people.

Even Stan Lee himself said this a while back (x):

In an interview from 2013, Lee admitted he intentionally created Tony Stark to be unlikable as a dare to make readers love someone who wasn't a good guy. He said that readers weren't exactly fans of war and the military when Iron Man was created during the midst of the Cold War.

It's a shame the MCU never quite understood that. If they had framed him as what he was (an anti-hero) he would have been a little easier to put up with and not so insufferable from AoU onward.

And anyway, Steve's shield is beautiful and it looks so much better on a t-shirt than that ugly af arc reactor 😜

[eldritch-araneae]

🔪 Give in to some murderous urges eueb

ASDGFHGJKK

I would absolutely kill TFA Sentinel and Ultra Magnus! I was kinda relieved seeing the latter die in the show.

Also another thing I would kill would sound shocking to anyone else....Bayverse Bumblebee. Or specifically his design!!

I know they tried to make him cute and kid-appealing as usual, but I cant stand his "baby pacifier looking mask"! That's the main reason why I still haven't watched Bumblebee movie. Everyone has a good face, except him :(

Also part of the reason why I dropped watching TFP. Its not the same, but it's inspired by this design, so I don't like it.

Im so glad creators have moved away from this design in shows. I really like how he looks in EarthSpark!)

[whirlybotart]

Bulkhead Week Day 6 - Crossover

When I saw this prompt I'll be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to do bc uhhh any designs that aren't animated are very hard for me to draw... But then I remembered I have my own cont! @transformersyoungblood !!! So for this prompt I did a concept design for him in it! Below I'll talk about him a bit.

OKAY SO BEING HONEST,,, Bulkhead isnt a very major character in yb, hes more of a background character but that doesnt mean he has No development. As u can see he is a jet [and also has one eye but its not bc he got like the empurata process done on him bc empurata isnt really a thing in yb] and I included a little doodle of the jettwins.

Side note: these are concept designs so I kinda really,,, didnt try with the jettwins bc Im def gonna change their designs later but yeah-

Anyways, the Jettwins are childhood friends with Bulkhead as on the farm all three of them lived on, they used to go flying together! Because of this Bulkhead is pretty widely regarded as the Third jet twin or at least their adopted brother. The jettwins think of him like that and Bulkhead very much loves them like they r his little brothers >w< Besides that I'd say hes mostly like his TFA Counterpart, hes sweet hes big hes protective and hes got a heart of gold. He's a really great guy and while he's a minor character, I'm glad he's there <3

[benperorsolo]

omg im so glad you're so sure of ben living too bc anytime i talk to my friends about it they're like "how are you so sure????" and im just like ?? how are you not?? as soon as tlj came out i was like oh thank god hes living

I’ve written enough about this, but as soon as TFA dropped the bomb that he was Han and Leia’s kid, he was living. One of the prime examples of obtuseness in this fandom is not understanding that Anakin didn’t die after redemption as punishment; he died because he represented the old generation whose story was finally finished through his redemption, and now he could pass away from this life of constant physical and emotional pain into an afterlife of peace– BECAUSE he had children to carry on his legacy and not just make the Skywalker line a beknighted stump of nihilism that was better off dead. Han and Luke also die in the ST– and it’s not as punishment, ffs. It’s because they, like Anakin, and like Obi-Wan before them, are now the old generation and they must make way for the new– and they are granted the ability to do so once their story is finished with “peace and purpose.”

Redemption is never punished in Star Wars!! I can’t believe this needs to be said!! Redemption is full and complete as soon as the person accepts that they want to do and be better!! That’s why Anakin becomes a Light Sided force ghost after a literal ten (10) minutes of living redemption!! And why Luke gives him a dignified Viking funeral to honor and commemorate him!! What the fuck isn’t clicking!! None of those things are punishments!! The man lived in a living mechanical coffin for twenty years and he is reborn healthy and able-bodied and young again with his beloved mentors and friends!! What sort of punishment is that my dudes!!

Ben has to live because Ben is not coded as an adult, or an older generation. He is solidly part of the new gen. He is constantly being called a “boy” and a “child” and “young [Solo]”. Ben dying is the equivalent of Luke and Leia both dying at the end of ROTJ as far as generational logic goes because there is no one after his generation. He is carrying the entire ability of the Skywalker family to reconcile itself to the future and to kill him would a) not resolve this at fucking all, which is the question the ST is about solving, and b) would send the message that the entire Skywalker line was better off dead and/or not existing. The real uplifting stuff, for a story about hope called the Skywalker Saga.

[hayaosmiyazaki]

🔥 + mcu bc everyone is doing mcu hot takes on twitter so might as well bring it here

what are the hot takes on twitter 👁👁also okay here goes: 

tws is good but so overrated. it’s incredible that people treat it as deep political commentary. also tfa cap will always be the best cap

mcu bucky currently has no personality and he deserves more which hopefully fatws will fix

i dont get the hype abt mcu pietro like....what was the POINT 

im fucking scared black widow is gonna be entirely fight scenes and every character just saying quippy but solemn one liners back and forth I WANT MY NATASHA DEVELOPMENT FUCKERS. I JUST WANT ONE THING 

also why did they give her that braid. why did they give her that red/blonde hair. it was not cute why do they do her like this its sick 

why did they do janet van dyne like that

also even though i hate everything to do w/ how they fucked up jan, the ant man movies are fun and scott & luis are objectively the best mcu best friends after rhodeytony

i loved cap marvel when i first saw it but now i think the storytelling was so sloppy. there was no like...i dont have a better word for it but there was no cartharsis at the end. the whole “what happens when im set free” scene carried no emotional weight bc they just didn’t build up her character enough and she deserved better!!!! they could’ve done so much more with her!!! anyway i pray whoever those 2 directors were arent doing the next cm movie

stevesharon was introduced so awkwardly in the mcu....once again....why is the mcu like this..anyways im glad shes getting more screentime in fatws 

the marvel abc shows kinda suck....aos was good at first but now it’s just. what do these shows have to do with anything

ok this is getting too long so i’ll stop now but. i am bitter

send me a 🔥+ a topic for an unpopular opinion!

[princesssarcastia]

The Rise of Skywalker Review

Well, I actually went to see it!  I wasn’t sure that I would, but I’m honestly glad, because now i’ve got thoughts.

The first twenty minutes or so seemed really slapdash and disjointed, like they wanted to set up things for later but didn’t want to take the time to set them up well.  Everything was really rushed and shallow for that period.

But! This movie had a lot of poe-rey-finn interactions which I enjoyed deeply.  Rey and Poe sniping at each other, Finn and Rey being adorably close and caring, Finn and Poe being adorably close and caring.  They feel like they’ve actually spent time together! Excellent.

Leia’s scenes felt a little weird, like they were shoehorned in, but i still miss her so I’m kinda glad for her presence anyway.  Having her train Rey, pick up where Luke left off and push her to the finish line, makes me delighted.  Yes, Leia is force sensitive!!  She trained with her brother!!  She knows how to pass on what she learned!!!  She built a lightsaber!!!!!! excellent. (sidenote her lightsaber was sick.  i loved it. i want one)

I also liked how we got to see some diverse planets and terrain.  did they do their best on that front? no.  would have loved to see some more weird-ass alien planets, or even weird-ass terrain that actually exists in the real world, but they’re deathly afraid of being like the prequels, soooo.

The whole thing with the “sith dagger” and C-3P0′s memory was a shit storyline.  Here’s a magic item that will do everything we need! Give you the location of your navigator thing!! Magically fit against the skyline of the wreck of the deathstar, even though it’s an ancient artifact and the deathstar is constantly battered by incredibly powerful waves on an alien planet! ugh.  dumb.

If that droid from the old shipwreck was gonna have that knwoeldge the whole time,,,,,,, why not just let Rey befriend the droid,,,,,,,,instead of doing a “psych! gotcha!” with C-3P0′s memory. 

JJ Abrams being afraid to give real consequences to the new trio’s actions was shit.  Let them kill Chewie!  Let them essentially kill C-3P0! Or leave it out of the equation entirely!!!  These fake-outs cheapen emotional responses and motivations of the heroes of our story.

and hey, speaking of cheapening shit, why the ever-loving FUCK did they bring Palpatine back.  why.  I hate that.  I hated that SO MUCH IT WAS SO DUMB.  SO.  DUMB.  so darth vader redeemed and sacrificed himself over nothing, huh??  Anakin Skywalker, dumb bitch to the end, couldn’t even die right, because palpatine was fucking alive the whole time.  fuccking hell.  any hey, guess what?? Jedi can force-heal people, too! ha ha ha hahahahaha ha h  h a stupid anakin for believing palpatine had unique force powers and turning to the dark side, when really, it was a light-side power all along!!! (kill me)

(side note: healing being a power of the light and not the dark is thematically better, but uh.  see petty retconning below)

Making Rey his granddaughter is inarguably worse than having her be a true nobody, which was my number one pick.  I might even have been fine with it if she discovered it on her own!! But noooo, we need to have Kylo Ren and Luke tell her who she is.  Oh yeah, they knew who she was the whole time, lol! Isn’t that cute, stupid women having to be told who they are and what their legacy is. 

Which also makes her previous conversation with Kylo in TLJ cheap too! Look, I get it, we all hated TLJ, and Rian Johnson’s choices.  But...having Kylo tell Rey who she is twice, in two separate movies, and tell her two separate things each time, and have it be played straight both times, is just.  so.      dumb.   petty retconning of other people’s work is kind of disgusting.

That being said, in this movie I didn’t feel like Rey’s storyline was about anyone but her.  I mean, palpatine elements for sure, but except for being told whose granddaughter she was, she was basically in control of her own destiny.  I liked that a lot.

Rey’s fight with Kylo on the wreck of the death star? *chef’s kiss*.  Amazing.  Incredible.  Lightsaber duels have gotten so much better and I love them.  somewhere inside me my five-year old self is screaming for joy and picking up her toy lighsabers.  Ridley and Driver have, unfortunately, very good chemistry in their scenes together, and the tension while they fought was so good. 

Poe as a former drug dealer makes me tired.  Poe Dameron, who idolizes Leia and had rebellion pilots for parents, was a drug dealer?? You kidding me?? ugh.

Also, if i’m being petty, I hated the way force ghosts could interact with reality. 

Lando Calrissian!! Lando I love you.  I love you so much.  The idea of all those people coming to the Resistance’s aid is pretty cool tbh, and I liked it.  I liked Lando playing ambassador and politician for the resistance. 

I absolutely hated the ““planet-killing-cannon”“ palpatine’s fleet had.  These fucking,  fan-pandering morons just cannot let the idea of a planet-killer go, can they?  It’s not like a shit ton of ships, the biggest fleet in the galaxy, able to blockade hyper-space lanes and entire planets, would be a good enough threat, oh no.  audiences aren’t smart enough to respond to something that complicated, so we need to make it SUPER OBVIOUS, just like in TLJ.  “the death star but bigger/portable” is dumb.

Finn finding other defectors was so fucking cool, I love that for him.  Also, like, Im pretty sure they were all force-sensitive like he is, which I think is amazing.  Confirming Finn’s force sensitivity was the best decision they made in this movie, tbh. 

The driving problem of this movie was, in my opinion, the exec and creative teams being unable to stick to their guns with Kylo Ren as the big villian.  Twice, people reached out to him for redemption: his father in TFA, and rey in TLJ.  Twice, he rejected that offer, and ascended to Supreme Leader.

But instead of letting him do that, they instead turned him back to the light for little to no discernible reason.  What, his mother dying finally pushed him over the edge?? You kidding me???? He LITERALLY murdered his father in cold blood. i call bullshit. 

And because they couldn’t let kylo be the main villian, they also had to bring back palpatine.  Look man, Adam Driver abso-fuckin-lutely has the chops to be a big bad.  He’s really good at his job, actually, and I believe he could carry the weight of being the scary leader and face of the dark side.  But no, y’all are chicken.

I mean, even though I hated him turning back, driver-as-ben-solo was fucking lit.  He was so good for those, what two minutes?? The tension during his rush to Rey??? Him fucking with the KNights of Ren?? His switcheroo with Rey, the way he nods and bows a little when the Knights all step back, knowing they’re about to get their asses kicked?? Oh my god! It was so fun to watch.  You could tell, even from that much, he’s a cocky little shit, and would have been so fun to watch for three movies instead of three minutes.

Their kiss at the end when he dies?? boo, hiss, no thank you.  Not a fan.  I’ll concede their chemistry as actors, but that was not romantic chemistry between their characters.  nuh-uh no way no how.  gross.

Overall, like a 5/10.  Wildly inconsistent.  I really liked some parts, and enjoyed other parts out of context, and really hated other parts. 

ps— me, watching the ot3 hug Like That™: NOW KISS.

[reylo-love-theme]

Post TROS Meltdown

Disclaimer: these are my personal feelings for the series and may not reflect your opinions. I just need a space to say them. Thank you.

I went into TROS completely blind and with no doubt that Ben would live (due to reading hundreds of fan analyses and predictions based off TLJ and TFA) and I have to say I'm emotionally unsalvagable. Anticipation for this movie got me through the roughest year of my entire life and this heartbreak and loss is what I'm supposed to end off on?

Like the entire movie came out of the left field and body slammed me into the ground.

They did so many fake deaths that I stayed waiting long into the credits for Ben to come back.

I kept hoping for an final scene...

COME ON EVERYONE and I MEAN EVERY mainish or even side character GETS a HAPPY ENDING EXCEPT THE TWO PEOPLE THAT NEEDED IT THE MOST. THE PROTAGONISTS.

What is supposed to be the moral of the story here.

Star wars is a space fairytail about HOPE and LOVE. IT was supposed to be reverse anidala!!! THE BIG THING ABOUT THAT SHIP WAS THAT IT WAS A TRAGEDY.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACTFUL REVERSE IS TO GIVE LOVE AN HAPPY ENDING.

DO YOU SEE THE HOPE IN MY LITTLE EYES. DO YOU?!? *incoherent sobbing*

(Please don't read if you are just going to counter it in the comments. This is solely a personal opinion meltdown and not an attack on anyone or anything. I'm not a words smith and this might come out like senseless rambling but this is a meltdown post hahaha *cries* )

The cinematics and the fighting choreography were incredible. But I went to see the HEART of SW. I went solely to see that happy reylo ending.

Don't even get me started on what they did with Rey (the whole point of her arc was that a nobody can still be stand tall, love, and be a hero)

And Kylo/Ben (can redemption is rewarded with non-death for once?!?) It wasn't even a necessary death! He didn't have to die saving Rey!! They didn't even get like 5 minutes together without fighting?!? Like TLJ set it up perfectly! (Ben defeats Palp with Rey's help and Rey is by his side as he turns back to the light)(How come she called him Ren the entire time until the last scene?! Wasn't she the one who believed most in him?!?). His death had little impact on the audience!! Because there was no previous set up of romance!! There wasn't even happy moments like anidala or hanleia had... There was just...an end in death.

And it wasn't even mourned properly. We only see Rey grieve for all of 2 seconds?

The kiss scene was amazing! The way Ben crawled back to his love was so emotionally powerful! HIS EYES WERE IN SUCH PAIN. Rey grinned! He GRINNED BACK! THEY KISS! HE DIES!! How come no one cared about him afterwards?!? Why is Rey just being like "eh alright thats cool dude".( in the theatre I was so ticked off when someone laughed when he was legit trying to crawl back with broken ribs and a leg) I think it came out so left field for the people who weren't reylo! There was like barely hints that they loved loved each other. (Literally Poe and that girl had more romantic time together!)

Or there were hints on Kylo's side but NOT ENOUGH ON REYs. She juat attacked him and attacked him for the whole movie. (Yes I get that she was "struggling with the dark side" or whatever but Kylo was struggling too and he physically never hurt Rey (beyond unintentionally emotionally)) it made me question if Rey even loved him anymore and that was a huge blow. I couldn't sense this girl at all. Like I thought her tears were for Leia and Not BEN who she Literally Just stabbed. That was how shocked cold I was.

(WHY WAsnt he allowed to "love" rey from the begining of TROS instead of just going back to TFA Style KYlo) (It felt so forced and awkward from how he was in TLJ, I kept feeling like Adam tried to salvage it but he had so few lines it was sooo hard (he did a great job with showing his love and redemption of Ben even with the lack of lines though))

NOW HERE IS WHERE IM TRUELY MAD.

What message am I supposed to take away from their love story?

That broken characters do not deserve love? That trying to change results ultimately in death? That you can only been redeemed in death? That your family is willing to help a random member from their enemies bloodline but not their own kid who still loves them very much he literally dropped his saber when his mom died and gets stabbed and he still turns back because of his dad's last words even though he's been mistreated and neglected by his family and manipulated and abused by palp! What was the point of Leia putting down her lightsaber if not to save her son's life?!? Not end it by letting Rey pick it up?!?

Its 2019! Stop making redeemed villains die because you are too cowardly to give them the hard recovery journey afterwards!

As an abuse victim I related personally to his character and I felt cheated because of how cheap his death was treated. The message I had hoped to take away from this work was that it's not too late to save yourself! You get to decide who you want to be, not destiny, not family, not a skywalker curse! You can change your life! Recover from your abuse and heal your damaged heart. Find your found family in someone who believes in you and loves you even when you are flawed. Your bloodline is irrelevant to how you are. You don't have to pay the price for your family's crimes because you are not an extension of your family's will. You are your own person. Keep your love even in dark times because your heart will save you. (Wasnt that the whole point?! Ben solo had a heart! HE HAD A BIG HEART. That was the cause of the whole internal conflict!?? What does it mean that his love for rey killed him(I dont care that its symbolic or whatever, he still died. Thats not a good ending because he literally wasn't shown with his family or even with Rey, he just disappeared ?!?)

Like okay maybe there is a "tenth movie" or book to revive him. Like the openness of the movie leaves that space. But it was a hurtful move because no one would expect that since the trilogy has ended. Everyone fully expected a happy ending to wrap up NINE MOVIES OF TRAGIC LOVE. I mean I'm all for redeemed Ben solo and I'm so glad they at least gave him that and Rey's kiss. I'm only going to rewatch those parts from now on. For me the movie ended when he smiled.

[dracosollicitus]

HI! Me again! Hope you're doing well and thanks again for writing! Also CONGRATS! You always bring a smile to my day with your writing (I swear I've re-read so many of your fics it's not even funny). I was wondering if you have an opinion on which Disney characters can the Star Wars characters fit into?

Hi!!!! Thank you first of all :3 I’m glad the fics bring you happiness and I’d love to hear which one is your favorite to re read (Just bc Im a curious person!!

Aaaaand, I put together SOME Disney headcanons below. This is by no means comprehensive (I didn’t do SWPT or the OT and only stuck with the SWST). If people want, I can make some Prequel/OT Disney ideas too!! For this first set, I did the sequel trio.

I can see other characters/pairings for the trio; I just started with some really clear comparisons!! (I also used TFA and the novelizations as my inspiration bc their characterizations were much clearer there)

For aesthetic and personality reasons, I see Poe Dameron as Prince Eric!

Handsome? Check. Trusty, adorable sidekick? Check.

Absolute trust in others’ goodness? Check. Kind, loyal, and gets into trouble a lot? Check! Saved by a good looking/mysterious stranger who is then (briefly) separated from him, a stranger who he has strong romantic vibes with? CHECK!

And then, for Rey and Finn, may I present: Rapunzel and Eugene/Flynn!

They take turns saving each other; one is ACTUALLY a lost princess (and Flynn/Eugene is actually a prince if you get into the extra media around Tangled and I’ve always believed Finn needed more of a backstory so I always headcanon him as the son of someone powerful who the FO kidnapped!).

Finn lies about his background upon meeting Rey (much like Flynn tries to hide “Eugene” and play a hero) but he does so for good reason and Rey, like Rapunzel, doesn’t blink and only asks that he stay with her to complete “the mission” (seeing the lights v saving the info stored on BB). Rapunzel, like Rey, canonically adores Finn — and like Rapunzel, can pack a surprising punch.

Rey = trapped on Jakku to hide who she is and her power / Rapunzel = trapped in the tower to hide who she is and her power

Finn = a hero who makes good choices and comes to terms with who he is and gets a “new dream” (family/love with Rey and not mere survival) / Flynn = exact same story arc

(Also I will die with the headcanon that when Rey kissed Finn goodbye she subconsciously healed him a little bit in the Force by loving him purely and giving some of her Life force to him because Rapunzel was the flower and Rapunzel healed Eugene because she loved him so much okay okay I’m upsetting myself)

((Also why didn’t we get more of the TFA dynamic and bonding in TLJ? I think that’s what I’ll always remain most upset about besides the sidelining of Finn and additionally Poe’s character depth to serve .... someone else’s storyline....))

AAAAND here’s one last Disney comparison!

No, I will not be taking notes on this pairing at this time. Ohana means family.

[sheikah]

Have you seen Rise of Skywalker yet? Im looking forward to your opinions!

I did! Thanks for your interest haha. I just wanna quickly preface this by saying that I know that SW is very polarizing and that the fandom can be very toxic, people are passionate about their opinions, etc. I don’t want to step on any toes with my opinions. I don’t often post in depth or candidly about SW because I have friends from all parts of the fandom and I’d hate to hurt someone’s feelings. But these are my opinions! (Under a cut :D)

I loved the movie. At first I wasn’t sure, but I saw it a second time with a friend and I loved it. Does it have plot holes, inconsistencies, and issues? Absolutely. It does. It’s far from perfect and I absolutely understand why so many people have such intensely negative reactions to it. 

But if I’m being 100% honest I just wasn’t one of those people. Yes, it was rushed. But that made it interesting from start to finish. I almost always step out to use the restroom during a movie in theaters. I think it’s a mental thing–I’m constantly thinking of how I DON’T want to step out to pee, so I always have to haha. But I didn’t even think about it once during this movie! I just had that much fun watching it. 

I can acknowledge that it had a lot of weaknesses, though, and I’ll talk about that first. I think most of the issues were a result of the film being the end of a trilogy that was helmed by two different people. It felt confused to me at points because I could see where JJ was trying to stick to what he clearly wanted to explore post-TFA while also trying to pick up where Rian Johnson left off post-TLJ. It’s like they had different visions and JJ was trying to include aspects of both in TROS. In a lot of ways, that didn’t work. I don’t want to go into too many nitpicky details but I can sum up my one big gripe by saying I think Finn was done wrong. 

I think this movie had a lot of big character moments for Rey, Ben, and Poe, but I don’t feel like Finn got his due. I also think that from a shipping standpoint he was treated really unfairly. I genuinely felt while watching TFA that JJ was trying to lay the groundwork for canon Finnrey. In TLJ, Johnson went in a different direction with Finnrose and Reylo. So the problem, to me, is that in TROS JJ tried to follow up with Johnson’s Reylo groundwork while still including nuggets of Finnrey. Watching the film, it seems abundantly clear to me that Finn was harboring feelings for Rey that were unrequited. His devotion to her felt one-sided and the almost-love-confession in the sinking sand seemed to confirm that for me. I realize at some fan panel JJ apparently said that what Finn was really going to confess was that he was Force-sensitive, not that he loved Rey. But any viewer watching the movie without that knowledge would not get that from it imo, so the average viewer is left thinking the writing left Finn in unrequited love with Rey. And the writing completely brushed the Finnrose relationship to the side. I’m a Finnrey shipper so I didn’t really love Finnrose to begin with. But since Johnson started it, I honestly don’t know why JJ didn’t just continue it if he was going to continue Reylo. It seems better than spending time establishing Finn’s continued feelings for Rey only to leave him alone, especially since TLJ ended with Finnrose: it should have been easy enough to pick up their relationship and carry it forward. I know unrequited love exists, and exploring it in fiction can be poignant. But in this case it just didn’t track to me, and felt like a slap in the face to Finn’s character and anyone who was shipping Finnrey, Finnrose, or even Finnpoe. There seemed to be no reason to write Finn’s actions toward Rey the way they did if they weren’t going to put them together. Finn wasn’t together with anyone in the end. And in the same vein, shoehorning in a past romance for Poe with Keri Russell’s character just felt like a cheap way to make sure Finnpoe wasn’t going to happen. Idk. But these were the only aspects I really didn’t like. 

I loved the many displays of Rey’s incredible power. I loved seeing Rey use the Force to heal, just like we saw Baby Yoda do in that week’s episode of The Mandalorian. I thought the scene where she accidentally used Force lightning was chilling and interesting foreshadowing for Rey Palpatine, even though I don’t really love that she’s a Palpatine. That being said, as a scorned Dany fan, I really enjoyed the message that who you are by blood should not define you. GoT ultimately ended with the message that your family and your family’s legacy are inescapable, grim realities. TROS had a much more hopeful message. This is also an important message to me personally because I have a lot of baggage with my father and his side of the family. It’s something I’ve struggled with. I never want to be like him. That aspect of Rey’s inner conflict was really beautiful to me and I think Daisy portrayed her struggle with darkness very well. I also thought her vision of dark!Rey was terrifying and really well done. The scene of her looking in the mirror at herself under Ahch-To in TLJ was probably my favorite scene of that movie so I liked seeing JJ utilize similar imagery there.

I loved seeing the trio together on a mission. The chemistry between Daisy, John, and Oscar is excellent and the comedy and wholesomeness between them is what made the movie so fun and memorable imo. I would have been happy with an OT3 for their characters, but c’est la vie haha.I loved the fan service. What can I say? I’m a fan: I like to be serviced lol. I know it was cheesy to some people, but Force Ghost!Luke lifting his X-Wing out of the water for Rey made me tear up. It was a nice callback to the moment with Luke and Yoda on Dagobah. Speaking of callbacks, I also loved the final shot with the binary sunset on Tatooine. I’ll admit I don’t really get why Rey has BB-8, or why she’s alone, or why she would choose to live in a place that even Luke wanted desperately to leave… but the visual and musical parallel to ANH got me right in the feels in the best way.

I loved seeing Ian McDiarmid return as Palpatine, who was as delightfully evil as ever. I don’t really understand how or why Palpatine had to come back, and I am not satisfied with the explanation for Snoke. But the Emperor is a classic and an iconic character I love. Having him as the ultimate baddy was satisfying in its own way. I also thought everything abot Exegol and the Sith fortress was terrifying and visually stunning. Even the sound effects of the lightning, and the way that blended with ominous music, was really interesting to me. I loved almost every sequence that took place on Exegol.

Lastly, (and this is the part I have been nervous to post about haha) I liked Ben Solo. I am not a Reylo shipper. That’s not something I talk about really because I have a ton of Reylo friends and I really treasure those people. The last thing I want to do is hurt their feelings or make them feel unwelcome on my blog. But In TFA and TLJ I didn’t really see that many redeeming qualities in Kylo Ren, and I certainly don’t ship him with Rey. I liked the character as a villain from the first moment I heard Adam Driver’s epic voice and saw Kylo Ren freeze Poe’s blaster bolt in stasis using the Force. I thought he was cool and I loved the crazy sound effects and unstable appearance of his unique lightsaber. But I just didn’t really romanticize him at all. I also thought TLJ ended on a pretty definitively negative note for the character. He told his men in no uncertain terms to blow the Falcon out of the sky with Rey in it. And I didn’t think killing Han and trying to kill Luke was something he was going to come back from. I didn’t really want “Bendemption.” 

I say all this because I think this is one of the reasons why TROS impressed me so much. When it actually happened, I was happy that Kylo was redeemed as Ben. The scene with Han reminded me that above all, this is Han and Leia’s son. No matter how much of a villain I thought Kylo Ren was, I didn’t want Han and Leia both to die and for their son to die in disgrace without ever having made amends for the things he’d done. I couldn’t love Han and Leia the way I do without hoping for some semblance of peace for their family. And when he took off the Kylo Ren getup and dressed more like a regular guy, when he adopted some of Han’s personality, when he stormed into Palpatine’s lair on Exegol blaster blazing, and most of all when he wielded a Jedi’s lightsaber alongside Rey, I loved it. I really, truly loved it. And for someone who went into the movie theater expecting to hate that aspect of the story, I think that speaks volumes. They won me over. They made me like Ben Solo. I don’t really think it’s a great social message for the real world in 2019 to forgive him despite all he’s done. But if I divorce it from real-world implications and just treat it like Star Wars, I’m actually glad it happened the way it did. Leia deserved to have her death mean something. She gave the last of her strength to reach out to her son. Not to Kylo Ren, but to Ben Solo. She and the audience both deserved to see Ben Solo before the end. And for him to make the ultimate sacrifice for Rey was, to me, the best possible way he could go out. I found it to be a very compelling end. His death made me surprisingly sad, but it was a noble death.

Anyway, like I said above, I know the movie has a lot of issues. I haven’t even addressed a fraction of the things I could say about this movie–both good and bad. But ultimately I boil it down to how a movie makes me feel. This one left a strong emotional impact on me and I was happy to watch it a second time. I laughed, I cried, I reflected on why I’ve loved Star Wars for my entire life. So I have to say I liked it. Sorry for the giant answer haha :P

[elvesofnoldor]

i remember when operation cinder is introduced in those short one-off comics back when tfa came out, i was kinda relieved that palpatine is dead for good (ha! bitch you thought!) because i heard that old EU has a version where palpatine survived the end of troj and i thought that was pretty garbage and i was like well good thing they didn’t bring that part of legends back eh! and then tros came out and well, rip to us. but also, now that palpatine canonically survived the destruction of second death star (well, he didn’t but also he did, but he didn’t, he did, he didn’t <3), the whole operation cinder thing (which is again mentioned in mando s2) is sort of more nonsensical than it was. why would palpatine allow this to come to pass if he wasn’t dead-dead, was he in comatose at that point that he didn’t stop the order from being passed? I mean, we all know why: KK simply hasn’t plan everything in the sequel trilogy and no one knew palp survived back when tfa came out, but come on, what about an in-universe explanation? 

And while i was glad that operation cinder used to signify that palp is dead for real, the operation itself did not make a lot of sense to begin with? Palp wanted the remaining imperial forces to destroy itself as well as the worlds loyal to the empire just so the selected few can survive and retreat to unknown regions and basically start from scratch there? all for what? because he’s evil and he thinks everybody is expandable and if he dies then his empire is not allowed to survive either? very weird and convoluted thinking, makes no sense from a strategic point of view. even if he believes everyone to be expandable, wouldn’t starting from scratch a huge waste of YOUR OWN resources? wouldn’t you want to ensure imperial forces to want to carry out your plan instead of becoming turncoats cause they don’t want their planets demolished? i mean, in this scenario, he wouldn’t be there to reinforce the operation anymore, and i dont think he intended vader to outlast him either so he wouldn’t be there to reinforce anything either. it just feels like a “muhaha i want this to happen because im EVIL” sort of shenanigan even though it makes very little sense and it’s sort of a dumb thing to do. Perhaps he planned this operation of self-destruction in the case of rebellion victory so that the rebellion (and the new rpeublic) would be fooled into thinking that they have won completely, which makes it easier for his empire to hide and come back from the ashes later. well, if that’s the case, they didn’t explicitly explained it that way in any canon material that im aware of. 

either way i dont like operation cinder because it feels like it largely exists so that some imperial characters can become turncoats. it’s what happened with iden versio in battlefront II single player campaign, and apparently it’s what happened with that former imperial in the mando s2. they turned away from the empire at last because they finally understood they are expandable and their lives matter very little when they see that their own people became the wounded party in the aftermath of its fall. Not because they served an oppressive and tyrannical regime, no, it’s cause their comrades are the ones being demolished they don’t necessarily repent their complicity in serving this fascist regime they turned away from, they turned away because they felt like they and their friends and/or family are not being treated right by the regime they served. In fact this is sort of a common theme in all the imperial turncoat stories in star wars. now, i think a few of stories do break away from the theme to variety of degrees (sinjir from aftermath trilogy definitely is an example and maybe like, one uninteresting rebel pilot character from a novel and that’s sort of it as much as im aware of), most don’t. ex. while i like iden versio as a character, she was one of those imperials who became a turncoat because of operation cinder threatened her homeworld, which is loyal to the empire. she was just a soldier following order until her own is threatened and things have become personal, now and ONLY now does she reconsider her loyalty huh. it’s just not a satisifying story to me. 

[pastelpaperplanes]

No exaggeration, your art has made me appreciate Blitzwing 500 times more than I used to. TFA!Blitzbabe is one of my fav cons now and Blitzbee is an OTP I didn’t know I needed. 💙

o HH HH my ywhat an honor :’))) I’m glad you like my stuff and YEAH blitzbee is the love of my life rn so im so happy for you that you found it too!!

[morethanmeetstheass]

Blogs like this one, where there's so much tfa Blitzwing love, make me feel so happy and accepted you know? Like, I live with DID (the current term for multiple personalities just in case you didn't know) and it is not easy, but knowing that people love even one character that has the same problem as me is so nice so thank you

im really glad to hear that! you go, anon 💖💖💖