#the rian council

[crystalsandbubbletea]

So I'm a system-

If you saw that reblog and ask I sent to Maryland then you probably already know-

"Rian how do you know? You could just be faking it!"

Buddy the people who share my mind with me appeared three years ago. I can't fake something for three years -_-

If you saw my vent posts then it's probably obvious that I may be a traumagenic system-

Because of that, I should probably give a formal introduction to the others-

The Rian Council (That's what I'm calling us lol)

Rian (🧋💎)

-Y'all are probably already familiar with me, after all I introduced myself on my intro post :'}

-When speaking, there won't be colored text

-My emoji signoff is '🧋💎'

Rose (🌌🌹)

-She/Her

-15

-She has a special interest in astronomy

-I (Rian) view her as a little sister

-She's the youngest person in the system (For now... I think there may be a few other people-)

-Whenever she speaks, her color will be this

-Her emoji signoff is '🌌🌹'

Comet (☄️🌕)

-He/They

-19

-He's a bit shy

-Whenever he speaks, their color will be this

-Their emoji signoff is '☄️🌕'

Saturn (🪐✨)

-She/It

-17

-It's special interest is Saturn, and Saturn's moons

-It picked it's name itself

-Whenever it speaks, her color will be this

-It's emoji signoff is '🪐✨'

Nova (🦇🔥)

-He/Her

-18

-Chaos gremlin. Yesterday he argued with Saturn and Comet about which NERF gun is the best

-Whenever she speaks, his color will be this

-Her emoji signoff is '🦇🔥'

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Pairing(s): Rhysand x Reader, Cassian x Reader, Azriel x Reader

Summary: When the bat babies experience nightmares, Azriel coaxes you back to bed with reassurance that he and your other two mates will take care of it. Who better to protect them from monsters under the bed than their powerful fathers?

inspired by the song stolas sings to his daughter in helluva boss

Azriel jolts awake.

Something wasn’t right. His shadows located in the nursery ward sends tremors of agitation.

First things first, he checks to make sure that you were still asleep beside him. There was so much room when Rhysand and Cassian weren't laying in it too. They were up late finishing documents, Azriel taking it upon himself to cuddle up to you for bed. Your day had been full. You had meetings of your own to attend to and councils to hear out. That was a pro to having three mates, there were plenty of babysitters to keep an eye out for your rambunctious triplets.

They were at that sweet age where they were experimenting with their powers and the extent their wings could take them. Lacking wings yourself, you found it tricky to catch them when they misbehave. They could simply fly off, deaf to your half-hearted threats.

Confirming you're still sound asleep, Azriel leaps from the bed and hastily rushes out of the master bedroom. Nearly bumping into Rhysand and Cassian who'd left Rhysand's office in a similar hurry.

Wasting no time, they cleared the quick trek to the nursery wing of the house and throw the door open.

Two beds were empty. Their occupants were huddled together in the middle bed. Dagen, Rian and Baila cling to one another, small little sobs echoing in the dark. It broke their hearts.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Cassian takes the initiative to enter the room and kneel beside their bed. Soothingly rubbing Dagen's back, the little boy releases Rian and instead buries himself in Cassian's expansive chest. The General nearly breaks down himself. Tufts of signature shadows remind Cassian of fuzzy black lint as he brushes his callused fingers past them to envelope Dagen.

"Papa-" Dagen sniffs.

"The room is clear." Azriel murmurs to Rhysand. When that potential threat is cleared, they rush to the other two kids who scramble to jump into their arms.

Baila, face covered in tears and snot, wipes her face on Rhysand's shirt. He didn't care. If it made his sweet girl tell him what happened then so be it.

Through a congested nose, Rian lifts his head from Azriel's shoulder to whimper "It happened again. We all had the same bad dream."

Oh.

The Bat Boys exchange worrisome glances. They'd hoped it was a one time thing. Their first joint bad dream happened five years ago when they were three. It was happening more often now the older they got. Madja didn't possess any helpful information.

"And it was the same one from last time?" Azriel brushes Rian's bangs out of his face. Rian nods and lets Az clean his face with the hem of his night shirt.

Cassian and Azriel avoid Rhysand's gaze this time. The dream was always the same. The triplets couldn't find Rhysand. They search far and wide through Prythian but its like Rhysand vanished into air. Only ever Rhysand was the subject of this dream.

Pressing her small hand against Rhysand's chest, the little girl is relieved when she feels his heart thump back against her palm. Her daddy was still here. It was just a dream and couldn't harm her. Her daddy was there and she would never let him out of her sight again.

Rhysand kisses the crown of her head.

I'm right here, starlight.

She nods and relaxes in his arms.

The fatherly trio spend some time talking to them. They were still reluctant to go back to bed.

"Put your shoes and jackets on." Rhys sets Baila down. "I've got something to show you now that you're old enough to fly some distance."

That perks them up. Happily they obey Rhysand and follow the three males outside of the townhouse. Night still hung in the sky. Multitudes of stars twinkle back down, glittering against the dark.

Dagen and Baila unfurl their leathery wings, enjoying the air that kisses the delicate membrane that separated the 'fingers' of their wings. Rian, taking after Rhysand, conjures his wings with ease to match his siblings and fathers.

"Stay close to us, alright?" Cassian instructs, taking on his general persona. This act caused them to giggle a little bit, knowing how unserious Cassian was a majority of the time.

Azriel reminds them "And if you get tired, let us know. We can't having you falling out of the sky."

"Your mother would kill us." Rhysand jokes (though if he ever did happen to let one of your children die under his watch, you most certainly would end him).

Six pairs of wings take off into the sky. Strong and self-assured.

Baila is mesmerized of Velaris' aerial view. Her fingers traced over the lines of rivers and peaks of buildings. Velaris' inhabitants liked to call her the Princess of Stars.

Dagen and Rian dart around each other in a playful chase, uncaring of the destination.

After a while, the six of them find a place to perch and rest. Each triplet finds a comfortable spot to catch their breath on the lap of their fathers. Baila cuddles up with Azriel, who gently places a kiss on the crown of her dark head. "Are your wings tired, princess?"

"A little." Her small mouth opens into an 'o' shape as Baila releases a yawn.

"Papa," Dagen tugs on Rhysand's shirt. The fluffy whisps of dark shadows that cling to his wings tickle the underside of Rhys' chin. "Why do we always have those scary dreams about you?"

Simpering behind Cassian's chest, Rian nods in agreement. "I don't like them."

Rhysand purses his lips. He didn't have the heart to tell his children that those dreams were perhaps premonitions of what would happen to the high lord in the future. It may not be true, but the nature and frequency of the dreams plaguing his children couldn't be ignored. Glancing at his brothers for help, Cassian offers him a sympathetic shrug.

His silence is enough to scare Rian as the young fae stares at his father. "If we keep having them. . . will they come true?"

"You mustn't think those things," Azriel whispers, finding himself the only one of the three males who could respond. "They are just dreams." His words felt dead and heavy on his tongue, though. He shared the same sentiment with Rhysand. None of this was a coincidence.

Rhysand holds Dagen closer to himself in a protective grip and lets out a low hum that settles down his children. "When you're scared and you don't know where I am, you must remember, no matter what happens to me, I will never be far away from my special little starlings. The three of you will always be protected. Papa Cass, Papa Az, Mama, and so many others will lay their life on the line to ensure your safety."

"Always." Cassian murmurs, his lips pressing to the back of Rian's head.

The stars above heard this promise and took it as a vow. For it would be put to the test in the very near future.

[celebrimborsapron]

The game is Seven Minutes in Heaven. Which two characters are you shoving in the closet together and how do they pass their seven minutes? Give me three rounds of this game (three pairings, repeats ok)

Thanks for the ask @whenimaunicorn !!

I decided to pick one character and pair them them a few different people because I thought it would be fun to write :)

Gil-galad x Elrond

Cirdan x Elrond

Rian x Elrond

Gil-galad x Elrond

The door closes behind the two men and they take up places at opposite sides, as far apart as possible.

"I will never forgive you for this."

Elrond laughs. "It's hardly an unforgivable stain on your reputation- you only look like a good sport."

"I don't mean for that. I mean for this." He steps closer to Elrond for a moment and finds his hand, raising it to his lips and kissing it. "For making me see how it could be if our friends knew about us."

The air rushed from Elrond's lips in a sigh. "We could tell them," he said softly.

"I suppose that's true. It needn't leave our circle- they wouldn't tell anyone if we asked."

"Perhaps we will, then, Ereinion. But not tonight. I don't want to draw the attention away from the party."

Ereinion smiled and squeezed Elrond's hand, stepping back. "No, not tonight. Soon though, we should tell them soon."

Outside the closest Galadriel counted down the minutes.

"That's seven. Should we open the door, or do you think he's got Elrond over that barrel in the back."

"How do you know it won't be Elrond bending Ereinion over the barrel?"

Galadriel laughed. "Call it a hunch. Remember, I've kissed Elrond before."

Celebrimbor spoke up from the corner. "And I've had the pleasure of kissing the king."

All eyes turned to him. "Well, which is it then- whose bent over the barrel in there?" Galadriel asked.

Celebrimbor laughed and took a drink of his wine. "Oh, I'm not going to tell you."

Galadriel huffed and turned away to bang on the closet door, "Okay you two, time's up!"

She completely missed Celebrimbor making eye contact with Círdan behind her back and silently mouthing "Ereinion" at him.

Círdan x Elrond

"So, what do we do now? Seven minutes doesn't seem like much time."

Elrond blushes. "I think most people kiss? Make out? Um."

"I enjoy kissing. Would you like me to kiss you?"

Elrond is stunned momentarily speechless. "You- you want to kiss me?"

Círdan laughs. "Of course Elrond. That's the point of the game, right? Besides, you are the descendant of Melian- you have her otherworldly beauty. Who would not want to kiss someone like that?"

Elrond swallows and nods, standing up straight. Círdan steps up to him and raises a hand to cup Elrond's face.

"Relax Elrond. This is supposed to be fun." He says and leans in, pressing his lips to Elrond's gently, as if he is trying not to startle him. Elrond leans into the kiss, but too soon it is over and Círdan is stepping back.

"That's all?" Elrond can't help the question from slipping out of his mouth. This earns a real laugh from the shipwright.

"For tonight. I told you, I need much longer than seven minutes for anything...more."

A shiver snakes its way down Elrond's spine but then the door opens and he has to compose himself quickly. For tonight, anyway.

Rian x Elrond

The door closes with an audible click and then the silence just...stretches.

Elrond clears his throat but Rian beats him to it, holding up an hand "Over my dead body."

"I wasn't going to suggest we do anying.

"I don't know what you mean."

"We all know how short of a leash the king keeps you on."

Elrond blushes. "That's- there's-" He gives up and looks around for anything- anything- to change the subject.

"Hey, did you tell me you were using new points on your arrows? I feel like you mentioned it the other day but I got busy and forgot to find you after the council."

Rian's eyes light up and she pulls away from the wall, suddenly animated.

"Yeah, you have to see them- a smith in the Gwaith-i-Mírdain made them for me. They're like, twisted? Ugh, I can't explain it- you just have to see them." She grabs his hand and yanks open the closet door, dragging him through it and out of the party while everyone looks on in confusion.

[lasatfat]

Happy Friday! ❛who in the fuck authorized this?❜ for Rian/Varric ~ @lordgoretash

adventuring party dialogue | @dadrunkwriting | @theaceofdragons

I'm hoping this fits the spirit of the prompt, at least? Even though I didn't get the exact line in there. For context: Athim romanced Solas, the twins are his, but he bounced before she could tell him about it. Go figure. That guy has the worst luck.

Planning Permission

It’s been a good five years since Kirkwall’s Chantry was destroyed. A lot of critical infrastructure was damaged by the blast, and the unrest that followed. Up until now, reconstruction efforts had been concentrated on trivial things like the water supply, the docks and sewage systems. By the beginning of 9:43 Dragon, the work is still well underway, but at least the people’s waste is firmly underground in a pipe where it belongs.

The nobles of the city are also tired of worshipping in a temporary wooden building, and now they have a viscount to petition. Negotiations started as soon as he arrived home, and have continued for the four months since then. Varric supposes he can’t complain – according to Bran Cavin, the original plan involved enough marble to eat up three years’ worth of taxes – but the back and forth of ‘too expensive,’ ‘too big,’ or ‘why do you need this much fucking gold’ is really starting to get on his nerves. He had even considered abdicating, but his successor would probably not have the same interest in things like housing Kirkwall’s citizens.

He knows that he’s working too late whenever Hawke comes looking for him. They’ll either drag him to bed, or, increasingly, send for tea and sweets to fuel the midnight politicking. Tonight, Athim decides to join them.

“I can’t sleep,” she laments, as he stands to offer her his chair.

“You okay?”

“I’m under attack, is what I am,” she replies. She sits down, heavily – at six months pregnant with twins, ‘heavily’ is about the only way she does anything these days. “The second I get anything close to comfortable, one of them starts kicking me.” Varric can’t really empathize with that, but he squeezes her shoulder in commiseration.

Hawke pours three cups of the tea, something herbal that Varric probably wouldn’t touch with a bargepole if he had drunk anything else in the past three hours. “Is it the Chantry thing again?” they ask, as he rounds the desk to stand beside them.

“What else would it be?” he replies.

They sit perched on the edge of the desk in comfortable silence, sipping tea, and taking bites of the shortbread Hawke had picked out from the kitchens. It takes one cup for Varric to decide that the plans can wait until tomorrow. After months of bothering their viscount, the city council can wait another day. “Well, I’m going to bed,” he says, putting the cup down. “What about you, Hawke?”

“Oh, try and stop me,” they laugh.

Looking over the desk, though, Athim doesn’t appear to have registered this development. She frowns silently down at the papers, deep in concentration.

“Copper for your thoughts,” Varric says, warmly. She doesn’t answer, running her fingers along the lines on the pages, lines that would later translate to walls and doors and windows. As absorbed as she is, he decides to walk around the desk and rest a hand on her arm.

She glances up, and does a little double-take. “Oh, me?”

“Yes, you,” he says. “You look like you’ve got an idea or two brewing.”

She raises an eyebrow. “You’re asking a Dalish elf for city planning advice. I’ve never even lived in a city before.”

“I’m not asking any old Dalish elf, I’m asking you,” he protests. “I trust you.”

Athim hesitates, but he nods, encouragingly. Apparently, this is the final touch to convince her that he isn’t just being polite. She pushes herself to her feet, awkwardly, and leans over the building plans again. “I was just thinking…what if…?”

She takes a pencil from the table, drawing roughly over the shape of the building as she talks. “You could have the Chantry half the size.” She makes a corresponding line straight down the middle of the building. “Still big enough to house the nobles, but then you have space for something else, like a library, or a school…”

“Or a clinic,” Hawke chimes in.

“Or a clinic!” She points her pencil at them, grinning with the kind of untainted joy she hasn’t shown in months.

Shame he has to cut it down.

“The first dwarf Viscount of Kirkwall halves the size of the Chantry, on the advice of his Dalish friend,” he says. “I don’t think it’s going to go over well.”

Athim’s face falls. She might as well have stabbed him in the heart. “No, you’re right,” she says. But then, her eyes fill with energy again, and she flips the paper over. “What if we built a second Chantry? In Lowtown, so the people have somewhere to worship too. If anything, that’s more Chantry than there was before, it’s just in different places. We could run a school or clinic right out of the building.”

Varric scratches his chin. It’s a great idea, if your motivation is to help people, but he has a sneaking suspicion that the nobles breathing down his neck are more interested in having a fancy building in their neighbourhood. “Listen, I love it,” he begins, “but I’m not convinced the council will go for it.”

Hawke frowns, looking back and forth between them as if waiting for them to notice the strikingly obvious. “Aren’t you two forgetting something?”

“Like what?”

They lean over the desk, face forming into an impish grin. “We know the Divine.”

Construction on Kirkwall’s twin Chantries begins within the month.

[theillustratedwriter]

Sunlit Moonrise | Daechwita Min Yoongi/Agust D x OC (Royalty/Fantasy AU)

Sunlit Moonrise Masterlist

Chapter 1

<Previous Chapter

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!!SUNLIT MOONRISE IS A MULTI-CHAPTER STORY AND NOT A ONE-SHOT SO IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU READ SINGLE CHAPTERS OUT OF CONTEXT. IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PLEASE READ PREVIOUS CHAPTERS LINKED ABOVE TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE STORY!!

Chapter 8: Swords and Skirts

Aine has been perusing the dreary castle for a while, desperately avoiding her room. She wishes to do anything but sit in that room and bask in memories of her mother. Braelyn's unexplained absence makes the whole situation more frustrating. 

No one is shadowing Aine, she figures it is because Vulstis Keep is the most heavily guarded place in the kingdom, and finally decides to sneak off to the armoury despite Sir Davys's earlier warning. His wink makes it seem like the worst that could happen if she gets caught is a scolding from him. That is just embarrassing more than anything. She has not picked up a sword in what feels like an age, and fulfilling that urge to practice swordsmanship is worth the embarrassing lecture.

Aine bustles along the corridor, the vast emerald skirt billowing behind her, swerving around the servants and squires as she navigates down a familiar spiral staircase and exits onto the courtyard. She pauses for a moment at the sight of the large statue of foxes fighting that used to feature in many of her childhood nightmares. Their emerald eyes are barely visible in the pale light of the day but their bared, pin-like teeth are still as menacing as ever. The flowing water feature beneath them retains their hind legs in a constantly wet state. Not many plants grow in this courtyard as the weather in Vulstis is much colder and harsher than in Nocriam, which begs the question as to why the Vulstis Court insists their Ladies wear such revealing outfits. As if on cue, Aine feels a chill crawl up her spine and jumps back into action, instinctively taking the path to the left of the statue.

The armoury is just as she remembers it. Bullseye targets set up to the right. Sword stacking stations to the left. Aine almost giddily skips towards the swords, failing to notice the young man exiting the main armoury shed. 

"What are you doing here, m'lady?" he questions, gently placing the broken bow he was fixing on the floor.

Aine turns around in surprise, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Someone has not snuck up on her undetected in a while. She frantically grasps behind her for a sword handle whilst scanning the man's face. His features are gentle, giving the impression of a child, but the thick angled eyebrows, scarred upper lip and scruffy hair tied lazily into a low ponytail are a giveaway that this is definitely a grown man. She stares into his hazel eyes and immediately pieces everything together.

"Rian?" she asks, still cautious.

"Yes?" he confirms, confused. 

Aine smirks, finally securing a sword and swivelling it around to point it at his throat. Rian's eyes widen.

"Rian Davys, we meet again. Looks like I'm still better than you at...well, everything." Aine teases.

"Aine?!" 

"Obviously. Who else around here has hair as red as mine? Honestly, do you live under a rock?" She lowers the sword and uses it to lean on. 

Rian sniggers. "My father tries to make it that way. The further away I am from King Min, the better. Although, he's a bit of a hypocrite considering he's now Sir Davys of The Royal Council." 

The two laugh at the irony of it all, old friends enjoying the moment as if no time has passed between them. Aine, even for a second, is allowed to be the young adult that she is. The world feels slightly less lonely as she recounts childhood memories of Sir Davys overseeing duelling lessons between Rian and Aine as Ciar Highmarch, Lord Berach Highmarch's eldest daughter, cheered both of them on. Aine would tease Rian everytime she won a duel, but Sir Davys would always remind her to be honourable. Ciar would be the peacemaker and compliment both of them on their performance. Vulstis may not be perfect but King Min really did ruin what was good.

"What happened to Ciar? I haven't seen her around." Aine enquires.

Guilt and sadness carves itself onto Rian's features, and to Aine who is used to seeing this man as nothing but energetic and happy, it is discomforting. "Her father was concerned she was spending too much time with me, a man without status, so he married her off to some Belltorian Lord General. He's trying to do the same with her sister."

Aine's jaw slackens. The elegant and kind Ciar in the military state of Belltoria? They would have eaten her alive by now. But what could Rian and Aine do for her? "Poor Ciar. Her sister? What was her name? She was so young when I was here, and her mother insisted on keeping her at Arionnach Hill." Aine inquires, mind blanking at the youngest Highmarch child's identity. 

"Braelyn. Lord Highmarch is trying to marry her to King Min." 

Aine feels sick to her stomach, but it makes sense. She has been suspicious of Braelyn for a while, and now she knows the reason why. Hopefully marrying King Min will be her karma- that man is incapable of being anything but cold which will make her nothing but miserable. 

"Your father warned me against coming here, by the way. So are you going to at least pretend you tried to protect the armoury?" Aine swiftly changes the topic, challenging Rian to a duel to distract herself from the revolting thought of Braelyn Highmarch being Queen of Vulstis. 

Rian chooses a weapon from the stack and their swords clash, both of them grinning. 

"Bring it on!" 

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

King Min had overseen the entire interaction at the armoury from the grand balcony in his quarters. He continues to peer at the two as the clanging of Aine and Rian's swords echo across the courtyard. He would allow himself to admire Aine's skills if he did not despise her so, especially as she does not seem to let the restrictive dress bother her. If anything, it makes her movements more elegant, as if she is doing some kind of dance. 

King Min sucks his teeth, reprimanding himself for allowing his mind to think something so positive about his enemy. 

"Your Grace." Lord Highmarch announces his presence, to which King Min accepts without even turning to address.

"What is it?" 

"I have come to talk about the situation with my daughter, Braelyn." Lord Highmarch begins.

King Min sighs, glaring from over his shoulder at Lord Highmarch through his scarred eye. Lord Highmarch cowers a little. 

"What about it? She did her job well, we learnt about Caylus's plan to tell Aine to treat me like King Ailill Olom and wrap me around her little finger. She's relieved of her duties as Aine's maid." King Min states nonchalantly, as if that is the end of the issue. 

"She is grateful for your praise, Your Grace. But there is something else I wish to discuss regarding Braelyn..."

King Min raises a questioning eyebrow.

"She has long admired Your Grace from afar but has never been able to get close enough to truly express her affections. With the current conflict with Nocriam, Vulstis is in need of an heir to secure its future. I would like to suggest a marriage between yourself and my daughter, a true Vulstis Lady." Lord Highmarch proposes, bowing at the end for good measure. 

It is silent for a beat, then King Min simply tsks. 

"I do not need nor want a Queen. Tell me, what do you think Caylus Sampson would do once he hears that I have a Queen? It is one more thing that makes me weak, one more thing that can be used against me. That is not what I need right now." King Min sneers, pain flickering behind those dark eyes. Those are not just the words of a King, but the words of very hurt man- the words of Min Yoongi. 

"But, what if, Gods forbid-"

"Your Grace!" Lord Highmarch's reparation attempts are interrupted by a squire bursting into the King's quarters unannounced.

"WHAT IS IT?!" King Min yells, rounding on the squire.

"Caylus Sampson...he's taken Coimeach Pass! The flag of Nocriam flies over its turrets!" the squire informs, out of breath.

King Min stares in disbelief for a moment before taking to pacing the length of his quarters, rubbing his temples. "Get Advisor Hwang."

"I tried...but no one can find him." 

"What? What do you mean no one can find him?! Go again and look harder! Lord Highmarch, make yourself useful and fetch Sir Conall." King Min spits. 

Both men scurry out of the room. This is bad. Caylus Sampson is home, and he is out for blood. He wants his daughter back.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

A/N: King Min is getting too cocky! He's so focussed on Aine that he forgot about her dad! 

It's starting to go down now ho ho ho! Sorry about the wait for this one, I got a new job this week so I've been trying to settle in! I wonder if the other kingdoms will get involved now that King Caylus has actually invaded Vulstis? 

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Sunlit Moonrise Masterlist

[roseaesynstylae]

Heir to the Empire: Chapter 2

"'Luke?'

The voice came softly but insistently. Pausing amid the familiar landscape of Tatooine -- familiar but oddly distorted -- Luke Skywalker turned to look."

Something about the way this chapter begins sticks with me. Opening a story with a dream is cliche, but it works in this context, Obi-Wan reaching out for the last time to bid Luke farewell.

"'I've come to say good-bye, Luke.'

The landscape seemed to tremble; and abruptly, a small part of Luke's mind remember that he was asleep. Asleep in his suite in the Imperial Palace, and dreaming of Ben Kenobi.

'No, I'm not a dream," Ben assured him, answering Luke's unspoken thought. 'But the distances separating us have become too great for me to appear to you in any other way. Now, even this last path is being closed to me.'

'No,' Luke heard himself say. 'You can't leave us, Ben. We need you.'"

This scene has always been bittersweet, but after the release of the prequels and spinoffs and all stories we've gotten with Obi-Wan, it's even more so. We've had all this detail on his life and now he's gone. Luke will never hear about Siri Tachi or Ahsoka or how he said "Hello there" to General Grievous. He won't know about Qui-Gon Jinn and all the adventures they had. I know the point is that Luke doesn't know any of these things, that he's basically winging it with the minimal training he got from Obi-Wan and Yoda, but it's still depressing. With all the expanded universe content, we know all of what was lost with the Empire's rise.

"Then I am alone, he told himself. I am the last of the Jedi.

He seemed to hear Ben's voice, faint and and indistinct, as if from a great distance. 'Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."

I know that this was published decades before The Last Jedi was a twinkle in Rian Johnson's eye, but this is still a little distracting with hindsight.

My personal interpretation of Obi-Wan's final words is that, with so much lost, the Jedi Order Luke will build will be very different. It will try to follow the same principles, but it will take a different shape. Which it did.

"First Uncle Ben and Aunt Beru had been murdered; then Darth Vader, his real father, had sacrificed his own life for Luke's; and now even Ben Kenobi's spirit had been taken away.

For the third time, he'd been orphaned."

Luke doesn't know about Padmé at this point, but it just adds another layer of sadness. He can't even add her name to the list of parents he's lost because she's a cipher to him. He knows he has a biological mother, obviously, but it isn't like he has time to search for her. Later books in Legends make it clear that he had no clue that she was dead and tried to find her, which obviously didn't work out. The prequels just keep adding sadness to everything that was written before they came out.

"But for Leia, just over three months pregnant, to be spending the bulk of her time here...

[...] The really maddening part of it was that he couldn't sense any such concentration of evil in the Palace. The Council had made a point of asking him about that, in fact, when they'd first considered moving to the Imperial City. He'd had to grit his teeth and tell them that, no, there seemed to be no residual effects of the Emperor's stay.

But just because he couldn't sense it didn't necessarily mean that it wasn't there."

Knowing what ended up happening to Jacen, Luke's concerns seem quite justified, retroactively.

"Awakened in the middle of the night, dressed in an old robe with her hair in total disarray, Winter still looked more regal than Leia herself could manage on her best days. She'd lost track of the times when, as children together on Alderaan, some visitor to the Viceroy's court had automatically assumed that Winter was, in fact, the Princess Leia.

Winter had probably not lost track, of course. Anyone who could remember whole conversations verbatim should certainly be able to reconstruct the number of times she'd been mistaken for a royal princess.

Leia had often wondered what the rest of the Provisional Council members would think if they knew that the silent assistant sitting beside her at official meetings or standing beside her at unofficial corridor conversations was effectively recording every word they said. Some of them, she suspected, wouldn't like it at all."

Leia looks plenty royal. She just has that vibe, even when she isn't in formal dress.

Knowing how much trouble a certain Viceroy caused for Leia's biological mother, the fact that Bail Organa is referred to as a viceroy here is rather funny to me.

I haven't read much stuff with Winter in it, but the way she's described her sort of reminds me of Sabé for some reason.

"Whoever had taken over what was left of Jabba the Hutt's organization must have moved operations off Tatooine."

I take note of this line to say: Han, if you were in Disney's Star Wars, the answer to any questions would be that the man who took over did not move off of Tatooine, sarlaacs can be escaped via use of fire, and you should probably start running.

"As far as he was concerned, the only times when Wedge didn't stick out like a lump on plate glass was when he was sitting in the cockpit of an X-wing blasting TIE fighters into dust."

A wonderful description of Wedge.

That's all. I didn't find too much to comment on.

[intuitifav]

Notes on The New Era of Content Creation

⏳

"Fashion Theorist Rian Phin, who focus's on gender politics, race theory nad internet culture , says. A recent video breaks down the idea of conspicuous consumption and how, for people of colour, opulent dressing can be a way of “constructing an outward identity that commands respect”. "Phin points out that the newer wave of critics- who sit outside the traditional media- could help fashion brands to reach different communities. "That's one of the differentiators between social media criticism and traditional media. Audiences can hear about trends from people within their community and subculture, who better understand the trend's context."

Osama Chabbi

“Despite being born and raised in France, I still see myself as a north African and an Arab. It was important that I saw fashion through that lens because this is how I've experienced it.”

His reviews are heavily designed and colourful, with in-depth analysis of the collections and context around the shows. The creator uses his content to present fashion through his own lived experience.

the use of hashtags on social media makes it exceptionally easier to view and experience different perspectives and points of view. balanced feedback is welcomed by some brands. " Fashion has to remain a safe space for integrity and feedback,' he points out."- Jacquemus

“The success of influencers like Lee is a clear indication that brands should provide influencers/creators with more than just product –– bringing them into behind-the-scenes moments, how products are made, history, and how people experience their brand –– to give them content to work with,” Jewell says.

Hildreth's ambition was to use the TikTok Content as a springboard to traditional media. "But on the other hand there is a power that comes with having a tenured magazine behind you."

"But i feel like today, we're held to a level of accountability where people want to see your name, your face and your thoughts. People want to be able to define who's behind these thoughts and contextualise them"

"There's a new generation of voices giving fashion criticism a software update"

"Notably, many of these creators are people of colour and/or come from working-class backgrounds. This means what they do has reach beyond the typical industry audience of other insiders." 

Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council, " the rise of digital and the influence of social media has changed the way we view and discuss collections," 'What we have seen is the emergence of a younger online audience with an interest in fashion and educational content, eager to get involved." "Gatekeeping"- "The Fashion Industry likes to keep lower-income people out of the picture. 

'Every generation speaks to the world it's living in"

"Despite their position as the new guard, these creators respect their elders."

"Popular culture gives people a way in even if they're not into fashion."

"There are signs that the wider fashion industry is accepting and making room for these new voices, as it did for the bloggers before them. 

When digital culture is most effective, it's about that community. "critics and creators are representatives of something bigger" "The changes in how we view fashion come in cycles. 

"who is our modern-day joan rivers? Who can we trust to tell it like it is without bowing to algorithms or brands?

[celestialconvergence]

🌌 Welcome to the Celestial Conflict Trilogy! 🌌

🚀 Series Overview Prepare for an extraordinary journey through the cosmos with the upcoming Celestial Conflict Trilogy! This thrilling sci-fi saga follows Kael Asteron, a young captain who, alongside his diverse crew aboard the starship Aetheris, will face a mysterious celestial being that threatens the very fabric of their universe.

🌟 Key Themes:

Leadership & Responsibility

Friendship & Family

Sacrifice & Self-Discovery 🔗 Read the full series overview here!

📖 Book Summaries 📘 Book 1: Awakening of Shadows 🔗 Read more about Book 1! Overview: After the sudden disappearance of his mentor, Kael is thrust into a leadership role. He must gather a ragtag crew to confront a celestial being threatening their existence and uncover the truths hidden in the shadows.

📙 Book 2: Echoes of the Past 🔗 Read more about Book 2! Overview: As the crew digs deeper into the celestial mysteries, they confront remnants of Kael's past. Tensions rise, secrets unravel, and they prepare for a confrontation that will test their bonds.

📗 Book 3: Final Confrontation 🔗 Read more about Book 3! Overview: In the epic conclusion, the crew faces the celestial being in a battle that will determine the fate of their universe. Each member confronts their fears, leading to profound sacrifices and powerful revelations.

🌟 Character Spotlights

Kael Asteron Role: Captain Background: A young leader seeking the truth behind his mentor's disappearance. Fun Fact: Loves classic rock music! 🔗 Learn more about Kael!

Elara Role: Engineer Background: Innovative tech prodigy creating powerful tools for the crew. Fun Fact: Collects rare space crystals! 🔗 Learn more about Elara!

Rian Role: Navigator Background: Former pilot seeking redemption while navigating the stars. Fun Fact: Can predict space weather! 🔗 Learn more about Rian!

Mira Role: Security Officer Background: Martial artist protecting her crew while facing her past. Fun Fact: Enjoys cooking exotic dishes! 🔗 Learn more about Mira!

Thorne Role: Diplomat Background: Alien diplomat providing unique insights to the crew. Fun Fact: Communicates with telepathy! 🔗 Learn more about Thorne!

🌌 Celestial Conflict Trilogy: Master Location Guide 🚀

Dive into the fascinating worlds and locations featured in the Celestial Conflict Trilogy! Each place plays a crucial role in the story, shaping the adventures of Kael and his crew. Check out the detailed posts for an in-depth look at each landmark.

Aetheris Station: A bustling home base orbiting a colorful nebula, filled with diverse cultures and intergalactic commerce. 🔗 Read More

Elysium Prime: Known as the "Emerald Planet," Elysium Prime boasts lush ecosystems and rich resources, making it a vibrant hub for exploration. 🔗 Read More

The Nebula Expanse: A treacherous region filled with cosmic storms and stellar anomalies, the Nebula Expanse is both feared and admired by explorers. 🔗 Read More

The Celestial Abyss: An ancient, dark void believed to be the home of the celestial being, steeped in myth and mystery. 🔗 Read More

The Galactic Council Chamber: The political heart of the galaxy, where representatives gather to discuss alliances and important matters. 🔗 Read More

🔗 Explore the world!

✨ Behind-the-Scenes Insights 🖊️ Writing Process: Discover the intricacies of balancing world-building and character development that will bring this trilogy to life. 🔗 Learn about my writing process!

🔍 Character Arcs: Each character’s journey is filled with growth, challenges, and moments that resonate deeply. 🔗 Explore their journeys!

📅 Upcoming Events & Interactions 🤔 Reader Questions: Join the conversation! What character are you most excited to learn about? 🔗 Share your thoughts!

🎉 Upcoming Projects: Stay tuned for exciting announcements about release dates and previews! 🔗 Get updates here!

🌟 Join the Adventure! Thank you for being part of the Celestial Conflict Trilogy journey! Your interest means the universe to me. 🌌✨ Stay connected for updates, sneak peeks, and community discussions. Together, let’s explore the stars and uncover the secrets of the galaxy! 🚀💫

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Hart and Hunter - Chapter 8 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

Julian Hart

"They told me you'd grown up here," Rian Halloran says and it takes me a second to realize he's talking to me.

"They said your abilities would be stunted for it but it seems you've seen through me easily enough."

My heart stumbles into a racing beat and I tamp down on my emotions as best I can, hoping to keep Dane from sensing my alarm.

I have a feeling whatever Halloran has to say is for my ears alone.

"Who told you about me?" I ask.

"The council that sent me here," he replies easily.

"So, you are Fae."

He nods once and lets the rose fall from his hand.

"I am... as are you."

"Are you..." I swallow.

"Did you leave the runes in Wong's and Lagrange's shops?"

He glances at me and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"No. But you've picked up on that, too, eh?"

I nod.

"And recognized them for what they are?"

"Well enough."

"You know what they mean?"

"No but I know someone who does."

"Another Fae?"

I shake my head.

"No. Just someone who knows about runes."

"Hmm. That won't do."

He looks up at the border of orange and red maple trees and the bright blue sky beyond as a flock of crows fly past, rowing the wind with black wings.

"The council wanted you left out of it, given your... family history," he says.

"But I warned them this would happen. You can't hide Fae business from a Fae... even one raised human. It calls to you, just as Faerie itself calls you home."

I shiver.

"What do you know about my family? Who are you and what are you really doing here?"

He smiles.

"It'll take more than a minute to explain and now's not the time for it. Tell you what though... meet me at Lagrange's shop this afternoon, about 3 o'clock and I'll answer all your questions and more."

"Alone?"

He nods.

"Sorry but I've got my orders. Fae knowledge stays between Fae."

"Dane is my... Dane and I come as a set."

Halloran shrugs.

"Does the name Rhiannon mean anything to you?"

I start to shake my head and then remember.

"That was my dad's mother's name."

"Right so," he says.

"There's more I could tell you... much more. But if you want to learn anything from me, you've got to keep this between us."

I frown.

"Why should I trust you?"

He shrugs again and starts walking away to rejoin the others.

"I haven't lied, I'm as much a cop as your wolfman ever was. Besides, if you can suss me out on first sight, your instincts must be keen enough. Trust them, if you don't trust me."

He wanders away to mingle with the crowd.

After a moment of indecision, I follow him.

********

"What was that all about?" Dane asks a short time later, as we walk back to our car.

We'd learned little we didn't already know, except that Jeffrey Lagrange had been reclusive and not particularly well-liked.

It seemed most of those attending his funeral were there out of guilt and a desire not to be seen as completely indifferent to his fate.

"What do you mean?"

"Halloran, obviously. You couldn't take your eyes off him."

I still haven't decided whether and what to tell him and stall for time.

"Well, can you blame me?" I ask.

Even if he didn't smell Fae, surely he'd have noticed an unusually beautiful man.

Instead, Dane gives me a funny look.

"I didn't think the cookie-cutter country club sort was your type," he says.

Now it's my turn to be confused.

"Halloran?"

"Obviously. Cute accent aside, the man's basic as they come."

I glance at him, unsure if he's serious.

Given the similarities I'd noted between Halloran's appearance and my own, either Dane and I were seeing two different things or I'd just inadvertently opened a whole new can of insecurity worms.

"So, what was it?" he presses.

"I... I thought he looked like a celebrity," I say, which isn't a lie.

"I guess I can see that," Dane concedes.

"A cheap Cillian Murphy knockoff, maybe. Doesn't explain how excited you were to see him. What did you two talk about, anyway?"

I bite my lip and wait to answer until we've crossed the street to where we parked and get in the car.

My curiosity is like a terrible itch and Halloran's invitation is the stick to scratch it with... meanwhile Halloran hadn't said I had to keep our meeting a secret... just the reason... and I already know Dane has plans for the afternoon with Ingrid in the city.

"Actually... he's going to take another look at Lagrange's shop later. I'd like to go along."

Dane looks over in surprise.

"He didn't object?"

"No... he invited me."

"Shit. Why didn't Vasquez mention that?"

"I don't know if he talked to her about it."

He nods and snorts.

"Probably wants to see the 'psychic act' in action. You gonna go?"

My heart warms a little at the fact he made it a question.

"Yeah, I think I will. What about you?"

He shakes his head and gives me a smile.

"Ingrid's living for this hair appointment," he says.

"Usually, I'd say murder investigations are more important than hair but lucky for me, I got a partner I trust. Just be careful and stay away from any runes. Got it?"

"Got it," I say and hope it's a promise I can keep.

[captainshyguy]

anyway the clone wars is still the most iconic piece of star wars media ever 

[changqwi-aa]

i sometimes think about this . . . 

            luciano rian acerbi ascended the title of GRAND DUKE without much ceremony because it happened during the war  ,  taking on the title when his father and brother passed  .  he was just suddenly given the title and told to go to the front lines  ,  to protect the land  .  he didn’t even have time to process this . . . and in truth  ,  it was just a missive from the capital that told him he’s now assumed the position and that’s when he knew the worst has happened back home and he couldn’t even mourn  ,  he couldn’t even hold a funeral . . .             leading the soldiers and trying to keep morale up is difficult enough when he’s all but one man and though they’re strong  ,  though they’ve got magic . . . sometimes  ,  it’s the quantity that matters more than quality and he begins to lose more men than the kingdom could provide  .  so luciano resorts to the taboo  .  he had no choice . . . not when it’s just him and a handful of knights against an entire tsunami of soldiers from lionyamar . . . he had to  ,  even if he shouldn’t have  .  because if he falls  ,  then lindea is done for  .               luciano turns to NECROMANCY and raises the dead as extra forces  ,  it would have been reported as a miracle had the handful of knights he had with him hadn’t opened their mouths  .  but they did and that’s how everyone knew  ,  grand duke acerbi used dark magic  .  that was their focus over the fact that he won the war and protected the kingdom  .  that he managed to fight to the bitter end  ,  defending lindea’s freedom  .  the people were afraid  .  a grand duke that used dark magic  ??  a man that wouldn’t think twice about disturbing the dead  ??  they can’t have a man like that in a powerful position  .             as much as he was a HERO  ,  he was labeled a CRIMINAL for breaking the taboo  .  as if he wasn’t punished enough experiencing the backlash of using dark magic and so extensively  (  quite literally raising an army . . . or two  )  ,  luciano had been suffering greatly from the backlash  --  truthfully  ,  he had started experiencing it on the battlefield and as much as he was taught to NOT use his magic when experiencing rebound  ,  he continued  -- and it nearly put him at death’s door  ,  had he not been stubborn in trying to survive so he could at least bury his family . . . had it not been for his best friend  ,  aleric d’oree  ,  trying to offset it with his own magic as no healers would dare help a criminal  .             luciano was ultimately CONDEMNED to spend SEVERAL YEARS in prison to appease the people . . . to soothe the royals and the council that a man like luciano  --  someone who managed to continue using magic despite the heavy consequences  (  a monster with a lot of power  )  and someone who used necromancy  (  a criminal  )  --  wouldn’t be on the streets  .  it’s with aleric’s pleading that luciano’s sentence was LIGHTENED  ,  but only a bit  .               being jailed in the institution for reformation of mages and magical beings meant being stripped of magic and forced to live as a HUMAN  .  with varying levels within the jail  ,  the gravity of the crime determines where a criminal would be held  (  which in turn affects prisoner freedom and amenities and so forth  )  ,  luciano  --  having committed a huge taboo  --  was jailed in the lowest  ,  nearly isolated and only provided the most basic form of amenities  .  which is DANGEROUS to the man when he needs magic to offset his backlash . . . so that meant luciano spent his years in jail in A WHOLE FUCKING LOT OF PAIN AND SUFFERING  .              his best friend tries to get him acquitted and reinstated  ,  but only 1 of the 2 happened  .  luciano was freed nearly halfway through his sentence  ,  coming out haggard and worse for wear . . . barely able to stand and function normally  (  having spent several long weeks being healed in the d’oree mansion by reluctant healers  )  .  the condition for his early release had been that luciano rian acerbi be removed of his title and be exiled  .  the fact that this man is still alive despite the heavy rebound and no one to help offset and heal him  ,  that made him DANGEROUS to the council and to the authorities  .  it only confirmed that if luciano had been capable of what he had done on the battlefield and still survive years without magic  ,  he’s not someone they want nearby  (  truthfully  ,  many wanted him executed  )  .             aleric protests the entire thing  ,  even as he gets instated as the new grand duke  (  only with urging from luciano does he take on the title  ,  but instead  ,  keeps the dukedom name  ,  for he swears to restore luciano’s honor so he may return one day  )  .  luciano AGREES to the exilement terms  ,  but only on 3 conditions . . . 

he gets to bury his family on the acerbi family land and that none of his family loses their honor and dignity as they had nothing to do with his actions

no one is to touch the acerbi land  ,  the house and everything within the gates of the acerbi mansion is to remain as it is for as long as he lives  (  though aleric had already promised this on the side  ,  to protect the acerbi land so long as aleric’s alive  )  .

return his magic to him

            with these two conditions  ,  luciano buries his family and says his goodbyes  ,  packing his things and he leaves . . . setting on his journey across the lands to find a new home  .  once in a while  ,  with the help of aleric  ,  he does manage to sneak back into the acerbi mansion to visit his family’s grave  ,  reminiscence before leaving again  .  people near the mansion can feel a strong presence of luciano’s magic  ,  the man having casted a STRONG protection spell around the mansion as if he wanted to preserve the memories within  .  those not allowed into the property will be unable to enter  ,  only luciano has the ability to change who’s allowed in and out  .  he knows many would come and try to vandalize his home and his family’s grave  , and no one would want to be associated or help keep his home safe  (  aka  --  he knows aleric’s knights had already declined guarding the gates  )  ,  and that no one would respect the decree anyways  .             he knows he’s HATED despite all he’s done to protect lindea from invasion and occupation . . . he went from WAR HERO to CRIMINAL in a matter of seconds  ,  all because he tried to do what he could to prevent the fall of his homeland  .  he just hopes these people find their peace and experience  --  one day  ,  perhaps not on the same scale he did  --  what he did and realize why he did what he did  .  he’s not seeking their apologies when they do  ,  he doesn’t care anymore . . . lindea is no longer his home  .

[dalekofchaos]

Killing The New Republic and Luke’s New Jedi Order killed the Sequel Trilogy

Disney you’re a business, who’s all about money, but then you chose to destroy the New Jedi Order and New Republic, that is definitely killing your billions, even after refusing to put storytelling first and foremost, and then having the audacity to claim “we don’t have source material” never mind the countless series of video games, comics, novels, tv shows and films, merchandising etc. Not to mention all the fucking stuff you could’ve done with the NR in BATTLEFRONT! YOU COULD HAVE MADE WITH THE NEW REPUBLIC AND NEW JEDI ORDER!

But no. Instead you made Leia an incompetent general leading an even weaker  and an on the budget Rebel Alliance. Han’s character arc was dropped, Han and Leia’s iconic romance was broken up and they were both turned into absent parents and Luke’s Jedi Order failed and 30 years of peace was undone pointlessly. But instead you just wanted Rebels vs Empire 2.0, but only this time around it’s dumber. 

Do you know what we could’ve done with The New Republic? Leia as Chancellor. Han and Lando as her Ministers of Defense. Boba Fett, Din Djarin and Bo-Katan leading The Mandalorians together as allies to the New Republic. We could’ve had a House Of Cards/West Wing/Game Of Thrones styled writing for the overall politics of The New Republic. You could’ve made a goddamn fortune on New Republic troopers, armor, weapons, fighters and frigates. Hell, you could even have The New Republic wield their own Star Defenders as opposed to Star Destroyers.  I am well aware that canon demilitarized The New Republic and already made a post on why disarming the New Republic in new canon was stupid.

What should have happened is that the NR commanders the Imperial Fleet and starts protecting systems who join the NR, all while chasing down and fighting any of the Remnants (Moffs, Warlords, Crime Lords, etc) who have grabbed power in the resulting vacuum. We could have seen an evolution of ships from Old Republic to Empire to NR ones. They could have renamed Star Destroyers into Star Defenders. Hell, they could have had a Republic of independent systems, each with their own sizable military, so that power isn't centralized.

Here is what the Sequel Trilogy could’ve been with the New Republic in power.

This could have been an interesting question for the ST. What happens after you win a war? How do you not make the same mistakes or become the thing you fought. What happens in a power vacuum? The NR should have been the dominant emerging power, and the Remnant should have been a small, secretive, unknown order, striking strategically from the UR where they hid, and causing fear and panic to spread in the NR. But no, instead of telling an interesting story, we are force fed the recycled poorly written rehashed Rebels vs Empire and the Rebels are made to be weaker than The First Order. The First Order are a terrorist movement, they should not be reigning after Hosnian Prime’s destruction, ESPECIALLY AFTER LOSING STARKILLER BASE! Concentrating your government and defenses around only one system is really stupid(AND BAD FUCKING WRITING) The New Republic’s forces should have been spread far across the galaxy. So after Hosnian Prime, The New Republic  sees the bigger picture and mobilizes their fleet and unites their forces with The Resistance. Instead The New Republic is stupidly destroyed because Rian wanted the Rebels to be the Rebels again.(lol this movie is fucking dumb) God forbid we get The New Republic fighting the First Order and making the heroes looking strong in force instead of stupidly having all the Rebels fit inside the Falcon. For the love of fucking god I hate this fucking timeline.

As for The Imperial Remnant. Thrawn, and Rae Sloane would lead the fleets and  Darth Plagueis and the Knights Of Ren would would be in command of the dark side.

Do you have any idea how fucking frustrated it was to play The Battlefront games with The Resistance who are just discount Rebels? They look fucking pathetic.

JUST LOOK AT THE NEW REPUBLIC IN THE MANDALORIAN!!!!!!!! SO MUCH POTENTIAL!

Oh and just look at the NR Troopers from Legends and fan concepts

SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL!

As for the New Jedi Order.

Ya’ll were sitting on a GOLDMINE with the New Jedi Order. You murdered the goose which laid thegolden egg. Imagine proper video games, novels, animations, films in that era.  Think about all of the unique characters and designs we could’ve seen, all the unique toys they could have sold, plus they could’ve centered Galaxy’s Edge around becoming a Jedi, building your own lightsaber, and undergoing training at Luke’s academy. I know they have a lightsaber-building thing there currently, but it would’ve made a lot more sense if they could’ve tied it in to the new trilogy with the New Jedi Order. Plus, Mark Hamill was the only one of the major OT actors who was willing to continually reprise his role well into the future, and they reduced Luke’s role to a cameo in 2/3 sequel movies and ruined his character and killed him off in the other one. They could’ve kept Luke around for several more decades and thrown him in to as many TV series, video games, and movies as they wanted to, and people would’ve flocked to see or purchase whatever he’s in, because it’s freaking Luke Skywalker. Destroying the New Jedi Order offscreen and ruining and killing off Luke Skywalker were the two dumbest decisions made with the sequel trilogy. They could’ve made BILLIONS off of this stuff. The continued pre-trilogy and post-trilogy stories, the toys, the merchandising, the video games, the books and comics, everything. What makes matters worse is that as I said, Mark Hamill was the only one who wanted to continue with his role,( Also he is an accomplished voice actor so he would have done well in the animated stuff, which also gives him opportunities to do action scenes without being young) he honestly probably would’ve been willing to reprise Luke up until he was in his 80s or even into his 90s, hell, Billy Dee Williams was just over 80 when he reprised Lando in TROS, and Luke wouldn’t even need an action-heavy role as he got older, as the Grandmaster of the New Jedi Order, he’d be able to have a similar role to Yoda in the prequels and The Clone Wars, where he provides wisdom and guidance the majority of the time, but he every once in a while he steps into battle, while the new characters go on the vast majority of the adventures. They really shit the bed with these new movies, because using the New Jedi Order with Luke as Grandmaster would’ve made them BILLIONS. I truly don’t understand how such a money-hungry corporation could’ve missed out on this, because using the NJO would’ve been like printing money. It’s genuinely baffling.

We could’ve had it all

Source

Source

For story purposes. It could’ve been like this. 

Luke starts to rebuild the Jedi by training his sister Leia. Leia could not fully commit to the Jedi because she had to lead the Republic as Chancellor, but she is made an honorary member on his Jedi Council. Leia would agree to be trained as a Jedi Master. Leia has a Yellow Lightsaber she keeps hidden should the moment arises. Leia’s most powerful force ability is Battle Meditation. After training Leia, Luke eventually encountered The Emperor’s Hand Mara Jade. Their dynamic and romance would be the same as in Legends. Eventually after Ezra Bridger returns, Ahsoka Tano, Cal Kestis, and Ezra Bridger return and join Luke’s Jedi order. The Jedi council would be this. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Mara Jade, Ahsoka Tano, Cal Kestis and Ezra Bridger. The new Jedi Order embrace both the Light and Dark Sides Of The Force instead of repeating the mistakes of the Jedi of old and so balance can be brought to the force. Balance would mean understanding both aspects of the force and you can indulge in your anger and more toxic emotions, but you can’t let them rule you and when you can come to peace with that, that’s when you have balance.

Also, Luke’s Jedi order would include multiple aliens species from Wookies, Twi'leks, Iridonians, Trandoshans, Mirialan and you get the picture. 

Finn would be a mix of Kyle Katarn and Finn Galfridian.

For those not familiar with either character. Kyle Katarn, a self taught force sensitive who was a former Imperial Stormtrooper that later became a Jedi Master, Battlemaster and a Jedi Council member. Finn Galfridian, a Jedi who is from Royal background and is part of the New Jedi Order who was being taught by Luke Skywalker Finn could still be a Stormtrooper that chose empathy and to walk away, this results in Finn becoming Force Sensitive and brought to be trained by Grogu. We would later find out that Finn is a lost prince of Royalty stolen by The Imperial Remnant. Perhaps, in this scenario. Finn could be the lost Prince of Naboo. Finn would of course continue fighting in the war, but with Artorias on the New Republic’s side, they will gave more funding and at least another ally. It would also provide Finn the ability to have a home for the Stormtroopers after Finn liberates the Stormtroopers from the Remnant. Finn could allow the Stormtroopers that still want to fight to serve in the Naboo military. The Naboo having weak defenses could greatly benefit from having trained soldiers serve them and if the Stormtroopers would prefer a peaceful life, Finn can offer them a civilian lifestyle away from the judgment the rest of the galaxy would give them for their past, even offering them reparations.

Also, Finn would find love with best damn pilot in The New Republic, Poe Dameron!

Luke and Mara would have a daughter. Kira Jade Skywalker(who of course would be Rey) she would grow up loved, with her family and with the Jedi. They would all truly be With her. 

Ben Solo, Breha Solo(Played by Billie Lourd) and Jaina Solo(played by Millie Bobby Brown) would be the Solo children. Ben, Breha, and Jaina would all grow up close and would thrive as Jedi while their parents would visit and shower them with the love they would naturally receive from Han and Leia as their parents and Han and Leia would stand strong together leading The New Republic

You could have Ben Solo being the most promising of Luke’s Jedi Knights. He can either stay as a Jedi or choose The Imperial Remnant and become Kylo Ren. The Jedi Order is split between the Jedi loyal to Luke and those loyal to Ben. I will say Ben’s fall would be similar to Jacen’s. Because he sensed something terrible coming. The Grysk. He feels that the Jedi and the NR would not be enough. So he gives in to Darth Plagueis and leads the Knights Of Ren. But when The Grysk attack, Ben shows us his true colors and returns to his family to fight The Grysk and unites both The New Republic and Remnant. 

If Ben doesn’t turn to the dark side, Ben would stay true to the Jedi and his family. Ben would lead the Jedi to face the Knights Of Ren and destroy Plagueis.

Together Kira, Ben, Breha, Jaina and Finn would rise together and destroy Darth Plagueis and end the Sith once and for all.

But that’s not the end, because The Grysk would invade the galaxy.

Towards the end of the Trilogy, The NR and FO will join forces to fend off The Grysk invasion. Sloane will call for a cease fire and signing a treaty with Leia, where The NR and FO align their forces and build The Galactic Federation. Building a better galaxy together. Leia's vision for a Republic and Sloane's virtues for the Empire.

We get the legacy characters getting treated with respect, we get the new generation built upon and being prepared for the coming war and are all treated as important heroes, we have a FO treated like strong villains and a stronger threat to unite both forces and we have peace in the end. This is how I think the ST should have been handled.

The theme should’ve been family. It’s about how the Skywalkers and Solos lead and protect the galaxy. How well Han, Luke and Leia became after the fall of the Empire and the upbringing of their children. It should end with all is well with the Skywalker and Solo families. Not end in misery.

As Carrie Fisher said

“It’s about family. And that’s what makes it so powerful.”

We could’ve had it all.

[child-of-hurin]

Dark Narn AU

Recently I mentioned I had some ideas for a Dark Narn AU and @outofangband  expressed curiosity, so I decided to copypaste my notes here :)

The reason this AU was conceived was that I wanted Túrin and Nienor to get buddy buddy with Gothmog and Glaurung…. Literally my motivation for this lmao.

WORD OF WARNING:

1. This is almost 3 pages long on Gdocs 😭 2. This is actually dark, so mind yourself. CW for mentions of nonconsent, manipulation, murder, slavery, the whole nine yards and, of course, incest.

And btw, this relies on my headcanon/understanding that there were mortal slaves in Angband as well as elves.

When teenage Húrin and Huor are cornered by orcs in Brethil, they are in a dense spot. Húrin stays behind to hold the orcs while Huor runs up the hill. Huor would never have left his brother behind, but it’s a mess and he doesn’t realize what happened until he’s being carried away by other soldiers/rescuers and screaming his lungs out for Húrin, who’s pulled back by the orcs and then taken captive to Angband.

There he undergoes some brainwashing by Melkor, who, true to the essence of their Narn interactions, sees he can profit more from corruption than from killing this agent. By this point Húrin is a teen and hasn’t met Turgon yet. He breaks eventually and becomes Melkor’s champion. 

We have Húrin, and now we need Morwen. To keep the chronology, I prefer having her be captured during a raid on Emeldir’s group of refugees, when they’re migrating west to escape the Battle of the Sudden Flame; that can also have Rian either being captured as well, or escaping and following canon and marrying Huor and mothering Tuor, which I prefer for this AU (also casts a shadow on them as… replacements for the true heirs, sort of! Both having dear family members, who are also the eldest and the legitimate heirs, captured by Morgoth). Either after his brainwashing is complete, or during it, she is given to Húrin to marry as a token of Melkor’s regard: Morwen the beauty, the heir of the House of Bëor, the only fitting consort for the heir to the house of Hador, etc. Túrin is born in 464.

Lalaith is born two years later, which is a weird year because that’s when Beren and Lúthien steal one of Melkor’s silms! Angband has never been more somber, but there is talk of hope among the slaves, of which Morwen hears some, as well as the name of Beren her kinsmen who she knows and loves. She’s fiercely proud of him. But then Húrin, who is head over hells smitten with her, but who’s still wary of her loyalties, casually mentions in bed at some point that Beren was killed by Carcharoth (a lie meant to shake her/destroy any hopes of rescue), and that despite the loss of the Silmaril, Melkor is somewhat satisfied that the whole ordeal ended up dividing the elven kingdoms further apart, and confides in her about some of the plans for the following war (Unnumbered Tears).

The very next day, Morwen kills Urwen. She knows how other female thralls fare, and she knows that as soon as Húrin is dead Melkor would have no more use for them. Like canon, better dead than a thrall. To her, killing Urwen is not only a mercy, but an act of love. I think Morwen was about to end her own life too, or maybe end Túrin’s, but they caught her before she did any more. Maybe she locked herself with her children in a bedroom, ready to off all of them, and someone intervened before she could.

This sends Húrin into a rage out of despair because he really dotes on Urwen no matter the AU, and Túrin takes it all pretty hard, as he adored his sister and feels betrayed and confused. Melkor ofc enjoys the opportunity to turn Húrin even more towards him, and encourages him to get another child from Morwen to make up for the one he lost, whether she wants it or not. 

In this AU Niënor is conceived (at least) nine months before the Unnumbered and not nine months later. During all the pregnancy Morwen is watched, to make sure she won’t do anything drastic. Túrin is one of the people keeping tabs on her. Morwen names her Niënor, lamentation, and instead of being offended, Húrin laughs and says it’s an appropriate name for a warrior that shall bring woe to her foes, who will lament upon seeing her. Morwen is forbidden to be alone with Niënor and they are closely watched; as a result, they aren’t very close in this hc, as opposed to canon.  Niënor grows up being reminded that her mother wants to kill her, never wanted to conceive her in the first place.

Both Túrin and Nienor have strong mommy issues. Túrin is always keeping Morwen company and they have a very similar temper, but he tries to keep his visits a secret from Nienor. Nienor loves Túrin enormously but confronts him when she learns he still visits Morwen; also I think she sees Morwen in Túrin a little, too, because they’re so similar. It drives her mad. There’s a lot going on here with sibling competition / possessiveness / jealousy; Nienor doesn’t want Túrin to get along with Morwen, against whom she has a big grudge; she also doesn’t like that Morwen gives to Túrin the love she has always denied Niënor (according to how Niënor perceives the situation). She wants Túrin to choose her but Túrin just evades the question or gets angry and they fight. 

I like the idea of Húrin heading the fight against mortals in the Unnumbered, and him and Huor meeting on the battlefield, and killing each other. 

Túrin is crazy about Nienor, though you wouldn’t guess it by looking. Not only they’re the only mortals around who are equals and thus relatable on any level, he projects a lot of his Urwen grief on her and is very protective and possessive. There’s a lot of unresolved tension that they don’t even acknowledge. When they’re together onlookers get a feeling like there isn’t space for anyone else - though Morwen is an always-felt presence and the only crack in their bond. Túrin is stoic and reserved and his canon obsession with fighting Melkor is changed into a type of family pride. Right now I think he’s really mad that Dor-Lómin was given to the Easterlings and his mistrust of Melkor grows. He’s also concerned with the hidden elf cities, especially Nargothrond and Doriath because of their ties to the Silmaril heist. 

In this AU Túrin (and Húrin before he dies) is buddies with Gothmog who is sort of a mentor to him, and Nienor has a great friendship with Glaurung, whom she rides on sometimes, maybe into battle. 

I had considered the idea of either Túrin or Nienor meeting Gwindor by accident on the woods and goading him and fooling him, following him until they got the path to Nargothrond, while the other sibling followed them from afar. One sibling goes into the town and the other comes with the army down on them, no need for bridges I guess. Or the bridge can be deliberate sabotage. Since I like Nienor riding Glaurung, it can be Túrin who goes in, as in canon - OTOH idk how good Túrin can be with deception no matter the AU, so maybe it is Nienor... though, really, is she any better? Also, would she have a voice in council? How sexist are they? Maybe if she got Gwindor’s ear somehow… idk, thoughts!

Anyway, Finduilas is captured and not killed, though I’m not sure how much better this is. Maybe both Túrin and Nienor take her for consort in a smoking hot, nonconsensual, incesty edain sandwich. 

I haven’t thought ahead of this yet, that’s all I have! They need to have a cool and tragic ending, though I’m still unsure how. I feel like they need to fall with Brethil, but then I’m unsure what happens. Also I really don’t want Túrin and Nienor to have a permanent falling out and dying hating each other, it’s not my thing. I feel like they need to die together, like in canon. 

Things to consider:

>> Tuor and Aerin as kin who are held captive. Do Túrin and Nienor know they exist and are there? If they do, how do they react?

>> Morwen + other mortal thralls, or maybe Morwen + having ELVISH thralls to serve her, which Melkor does to show Húrin how much he honors him bla bla. I love this concept.

>> Húrin and Gothmog banter, Gothmog warming up to the mortal once he sees him being an absolute savage in battle, Húrin and Gothmog competing to see who causes more havoc

>> Glaurung is super mean to Morwen once and that tickles Nienor so much she just gets attached to him. Nienor joking with Túrin that she rides a dragon (Glaurung) and he is ridden by one (the dragon helm of Dor-lómin)

>> Gurthang???? I think Túrin needs a black sword. I’m SUPER attached to the visuals of Nienor using an axe though.

[gffa]

THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY FASCINATING TO ME, because it’s something I think is a huge influence in the way we look at a story--bad faith interpretations. I could sit here and make a case about how Ahsoka says, “In my life, when you find people who need your help, you help them, no matter what.” and point out that she sees the slaves on Kessel and walks right by them, not a single thought for helping them, even though she very much could have. She has physical abilities that could have helped them, even without a lightsaber, she could have broken their restraints, she could have hidden them on the ship and taken off with them.  Yet she never even tries, she just says, yeah, you’d think the Republic would shut this down if they were slaves.  And then keeps on walking. Or with Maul, who is clearly in pain and suffering, she must see it when he screams in terror to JUST LET ME DIE!, yet she never tries to reach out to him.  Even on the cruiser later, she only uses him as a distraction, refuses to give him a fighting chance because “she’s not rooting for him”, that she basically intends use his death for her own escape chance. This is even a parallel to Maul himself, the way he uses the Mandalorians.  “Because Maul—look, he had an Alliance with the Mandalorians and Gar Saxon and he says, ‘Die well.’ Basically, ‘I’ve used you.’  [’You’ve served your purpose.’]  Exactly.  That’s Palpatine, right, when he’s willing to trade out Vader for Luke. It really simply breaks down the dark side of the Force. For me, it’s in you and your actions when you’re afraid, and when you do things to service yourself above other people, and when you have a lack of compassion. ”  --Dave Filoni It is very easy to reach the conclusion that, the way Ahsoka uses Maul, the way he serves her purpose, is her using him, which even Dave himself ties to Palpatine’s tactics, to the dark side, to selfishness, to a lack of compassion. So, why aren’t we jumping on Ahsoka for this?  Why do we cheer her on when she basically says, “Die, bitch.” to Maul?  Why do we feel her frustration and indignation when she sees the slaves on Kessel and does nothing about it?  Why do we feel empathy for her when she refuses to listen to Maul about how Anakin is going to turn, when she could have done something about it?  Why are we sympathetic to her when she doesn’t tell anyone else about what Maul said, even though she was clearly thinking about it during her conversation with the Jedi Council?  Why are we sympathetic to her when she tells Obi-Wan that the people of Coruscant don’t need protection when Dooku and Grievous are attacking, despite what we know they’ve done to other planets, like Mon Cala and Kiros and Ryloth and more? It’s because we understand that Ahsoka doesn’t have to be literally flawless to be sympathetic. Because we understand that she feels torn in other directions, that she’s presented with Shitty Choice A and Shitty Choice B, that she feels her hands are tied, that she realizes that she can’t go rogue in this galaxy because she wouldn’t have the support necessary, that systemic change is the root of the problem/solution and she has almost no power to affect that. We understand that she’s coming from a place of sympathy and we give her the benefit of looking at a situation through her eyes and the choices and limited amount of options before her. And that’s precisely what I argue should be done for the Jedi Order, in the same exact vein.  Why did they join the war?  Why did they have legitimate reason to believe Ahsoka could be guilty?  Why didn’t they go full vigilante against the entire Republic and Separatists?  Why didn’t they have the power and authority that we assume they had? I’ve made a case about bad faith arguments in Star Wars before, how we could do the exact same thing to Din Djarin and Naboo, but we don’t.  How Naboo could be The Most Problematique, if you wanted to make that case in bad faith. And, hey, another example: “Now that they're in galactic obscurity, the Naboo are romanticized, defied. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, the legacy of the Naboo is failure. Hypocrisy, hubris.   At the height of their influence, they allowed Sheev Palpatine to rise to power, to become the Chancellor, to create the Empire, and nearly wipe them out [in Operation Cinder]. It was a Naboo who was responsible for the raising and creation of Darth Sidious.” HOW MUCH OF A HOT TAKE IS THAT?  IT’S OBVIOUSLY BATSHIT. (And, let’s be clear, even Rian Johnson said of Luke’s reasoning in that scene:  "And the truth is, it’s a personal failure.  It’s not religion[’s fault], it’s his own human nature that’s betrayed [Luke].”) So, if we recognize that it’s a batshit take to say Naboo was responsible for the creation of Darth Sidious, that we can recognize that it was Palpatine’s own actions and choices that led to his creation, it stands to reason that we should be willing to extend the exact same logic to the Jedi Order and that, no, they did not create Darth Vader.  The only person that created Vader was Anakin Skywalker himself.

[skekheck]

All About the Seven Clans: the Stonewood

THIS POST CONTAINS EVERYTHING I COULD FIND ABOUT THE STONEWOOD. SOME INFORMATION WRITTEN HERE ARE FROM OLDER MATERIAL AND MAY EITHER CONTRADICT STATEMENTS OR IS NO LONGER RELEVANT. I WILL DO MY BEST TO STRING IT ALL TOGETHER AS COHERENTLY AS POSSIBLE. IF THERE IS INFORMATION THAT I AM MISSING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I’LL ADD IT!

Clan Index: Dousan Drenchen Grottan Sifa Spriton Stonewood Vapra

The Stonewood, once known as the Woodland Folk in ancient times, lived in the Endless Forest (or in other versions called the Dark Wood). Made strong and resilient from their environment, they were the perfect soldiers and constituted the majority of the skeksis army. While they were a warrior clan, the Stonewood were peaceful who valued gelfling culture and songs. Their hometown, Stone-in-the-Wood, was the site of major historical events throughout Thra’s history. 

The Stonewood totem animal was the Fizzgig and their core elements were fire, the hearth, and keeping of the song and essence of gelfling culture. Their clan color was red, their sigil was beige and green with earthy tones, and their pennant color was red with green and yellow detail. 

Characteristics

The Stonewood were some of the strongest and hardiest of all gelfling. They had an olive complexion with green or greenish-blue tinting. Like gelfling from other clans, Stonewood tints were visible on the face but were restricted to the forehead, temples, and around the the eyes. Hair was black, brown, or a mix of both with highlighted sections of blue and/or green. Styling was very minimal with some braiding and styled up in ribbons or clips, but were mostly kept loose. Eye color tended to be blue or various shades of brown. In the J.M. Lee book series, Stonewood wings came in a variety of colors. Shoni, Rian’s mother, had brown and red wings with two large black eyespots accented by other dapples of orange, gold, tan. Maudra Fara in this version had dark burgundy and gold wings.

Stonewood clothing was described to have browns and other natural foresty shades like greens and grays. They preferred to wear leathered armor over regular civilian clothes regardless of their profession. They were also known to carry light weapons on them at all times. 

Lifestyle

Strength, courage, and hardiness were traits the Stonewood valued and emphasized, especially towards other clans. The Stonewood way was to remain put and endure so they grew strong and prospered. All of these values made them perfect warriors. But despite this, the Stonewood were very peaceful. Much like the Fizzgig, their totem animal, they only fought to defend themselves. There was a heavier focus on the community as well as culture and song. 

The Stonewood had great respect for nature, but were also aware that they lived in one of the most dangerous regions on Thra. They understood that no gelfling was on top of the food chain and had to adapt to an eat or be eaten world. They favored a hunter-defender archetype: to understand the cycle of life and have the knowledge to protect oneself as well as their loved ones. But they chose to abide by the laws of nature and frowned upon things like hunting for sport.

The Stonewood Clan had the second largest population of all seven clans, only succeeded by the Vapra. Thanks to an abundance of resources provided by the forest as well as by other clans and the skeksis, their population flourished during the Age of Division. There were smaller Stonewood villages spread out all over the forest to compensate for the clan’s size. This process was difficult for them to accept as it went against some of their traditional values. The Stonewood were known to be slightly more advanced than other gelfling clans as they had sophisticated weaponry and armament to protect their homes with. 

Daily Routine

A Stonewood’s day started off with the sound of clangs of blacksmith hammers early in the morning. The maudra and her elder council assigned daily tasks to all adult gelfling. Those whose jobs took them outside of the village said their good byes and departed early. The others that stayed met with their groups to discuss the day’s plan. Work continued until sunset when the clan’s hearth is lit for the communal supper with the accompaniment of a song or two. Lanterns full of firebugs were kept alighted for gelfling working nightshifts. 

Aside from nightly songtelling, the Stonewood had other pastimes. The most notable of them were sports and competitions. Regardless of whoever won, all Stonewood showed great sportsmanship and encouraged one another. A popular pastime among childlings were Ipsy battles. During mating seasons, the otherwise peaceful male Ipsy would fight other males for the affection of the female. Childlings would collect Ipsy males and staged battles between them. When the battles concluded the childlings would return the unscathed Ipsy males back to the forest. 

As a large industrious community, the Stonewood Clan had a variety of jobs. There were blacksmiths, woodcrafters, stoneworkers, firekeepers, gardeners, hunters, and a dozen other specialists. Unlike in most clans, songtellers were seen as integral to the Stonewood as other occupations. The clan had unique professions as well. One were wayfinders: they were responsible for helping travelers on their journey and kept them from getting lost within the Endless Forest. Sometimes, a wayfinder would spend days aiding a gelfling. Another was staba-senta or “wood watchers”. They were more keenly aware of the balance of creatures within the wood and were charged with maintaining and upholding it. 

Stone-and-Wood Crafting

Inspired by their environment’s requirements for resilience, the Stonewood turned the trade of stone-and-wood crafting into an art. It was a highly sought out skill for its high difficulty and importance in fortifying the village. Stone-and-wood crafters were able to weave wood, trees, and stone together to create many homes for the clan. It took many trine to learn the skills and even more to execute them. A woodcrafter would spend their entire life growing wood into specific shapes. For stone cravers it took generations to shape a single rock.  

Although some Stonewood used metal swords and the like, hunters and trappers preferred stone tipped spears and finely crafted stone daggers. Stonewood spears, their preferred weapon, were renowned for their durability and perfect balance. 

Stone-in-the-Wood’s Famous Instrument Makers

Among Stonewood’s crafters lived one family who were famous for their instruments. They were often away from the village collecting materials from all over Thra. They built their instruments from ordinary materials like wood and stone, but also mixed unusual ones. Some items included melted crystal sand, Sifan driftwood, fine shards of bone, and hollow feathers. It was said that the materials used in these instruments invoked the voice of Thra itself. Among their instruments, their lyres were the most popular. Even the All-Maudra’s musicians sought them out for their unique sound. Despite being busy, the family took up apprentices so they too could create unique instruments. 

Stonewood Legends: Jarra-Jen

Songtelling and folklore were an important part of Stonewood culture and they had plenty of songs about famous characters and legends to tell every night around the hearth. One of these popular characters was Jarra-Jen the Lightning Born who came from Stone-in-the-Wood. As his epitaph suggested, his birth was heralded by lightning. He was characterized as fearless, charming, and curious with an intensity only rivaled by the forces of nature. Whenever he returned home, he’d always brought treasure and mouth-full of stories from his adventures. Many of his stories were told around campfires and memorialized on the stone slabs found on top of Bolentor’s rise.

Some songs were created to explain the origins of things such as him being the one to plant all seven Great Trees. Others were meant to entertain or teach lessons, whether they were true or not. One favorite epic was called Jarra-Jen and the Horn of Thunder. After passing a series of tasks, Jarra-Jen defeated the tyrant Creghel and freed the gelfling he enslaved. Another song, which was more popular with younglings, was called Jarra-Jen and the Fizzgig King. It taught younglings from digging and accidentally disturbing hibernating fizzgigs during the colder seasons. Jarra-Jen accidentally steps on the Fizzgig King’s tail and was swallowed hole. In order to free himself, the hero tickled the inside of the king’s throat which expelled him. The sound effect of the king’s flatulence was left up to the songtellers to put their own unique signature on the song. 

While Jarra-Jen was a Stonewood legendary figure, his tales were told and celebrated by other clans and regarded as a hero of Thra.

Stonewood Legends: The Hunter

For every hero there was also a villain and no Stonewood villain was as popular as the Hunter. He went by other names like Bone-Mask and Four-Arms, but many agreed that he was a bloodthirsty one-of-a-kind monster who loved hunting for sport and ate his prey whole. Stories about the Hunter were told to older childlings to keep them from wondering the forest at night, like the short song “Beware the Hunter”. Legends of the Hunter were found all over the Endless Forest and surrounding regions, even finding their way in Spriton and Podling stories. “The Hunter’s Knife” was a notable non-Stonewood myth sourcing the Mystic Valley as the Hunter’s birth place and the noises that came from it was his heart (which he carved out to continue his evil deed unrestrained) who desired to return to his body. Some songtellers, like Kylan, told stories featuring the Hunter and Jarra-Jen together.

Not many Gelfling believed the Hunter existed, but the legends were based on skekMal the Hunter. He was an outcast skeksis whose main hunting grounds were the Endless Forest and its surrounding regions. He was as bloodthristy and fearsome as the songs described him. So skilled was he in his profession that he remained undetected by most Gelfling, with the exception being the Dousan who guided him through the Crystal Desert. SkekMal’s prey didn’t usually include Gelfling unless under certain conditions as he, in his own words, considered weak and preferred stronger creatures. This was different in the book series as he hunted indiscriminately. He bathed in gelfling essence to mask his scent which made it easier for him to catch prey.  He also prevented podlings from expanding outside of the forest and Spriton plains as he hunted them down and delivered some as slaves for the other Skeksis. Regardless, skekMal was always a terrifying force and feared by many even by his own kind. 

SkekMal’s reign of terror finally ended at the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood which was his (at least seemingly) first and last public appearance. Before killing Rian, his latest target, his other half urVa the Archer sacrificed his life in order to stop him. As the two were spiritually connected, skekMal died as well.

Diet

A Stonewood diet was varied which included meats from game caught by hunters and the many fruits, vegetables, and other edible plants growing in the dense forest. They would also purchase foods that couldn’t be grown or produced in the Endless Forest. Stonewood dishes were prepared near the clan’s hearth and were commonly roasted, baked, and seared. Food was served in groups and were noted to be jolly, hearty, and unforgettable. 

Peachberries were one of the well known native fruits found in the Endless Forest. It had a sweet and sour flavor that was easy to pick. More dangerous to obtain fruits were that of the bluemouth. The bluemouth was a carnivorous plant that lures prey in with its sweet smelling nectar and were dangerous to Gelfling. The fruit of the Bluemouth Tree was considered a delicacy for that reason. The fruit of the arara (or screaming) tree was less dangerous. As a defense mechanism, it produced poison by screaming. It was deadly to smaller animals, but for Gelfling, it put them in a dreamlike daze.  Other foods included merkeeps, a delicious tuber found in traditional Stonewood foods. 

Stonewoods usually washed down their foods with a cup of cold water from the Black River. Other noteworthy beverages was the Stonewood Brew, a type of alcohol that trickled down from trees into a giant trough called the Brew Trough. Both natives and outsiders alike served themselves or each other with the cups stacked near by.

Stonewood Apothecary and Recreational Poisons

The Endless Forest had the most diverse flora and fauna, including ones that were venomous and poisonous. Stonewood apothecaries had an important role of supplying treatments and antidotes for a variety of inflictions gelfling received. And on the flip side, they found ways to use harmful substances for more benign ones. Even usually fatal poisons could be altered (through fire, water, or soil) and distilled into potable liquids. Plenty of these recreational poisons were traded among themselves and other clans.

One of the more involved distilling methods were from the poisons created by the arara tree. When produced in smaller quantities, it had a relaxing effect. Apothecaries got the help of experienced harvesters who stealthily picked the fruits off the tree before it had time to produce its signature scream. When given to the apothecaries, the berries were placed into bowls of water and the apothecary would scream in the perfect tone of the screaming tree. The berries would react and produced its slime which dissipated. It was later reduced into a measurable substance and bottled. 

Stone-in-the-Wood, Hometown of the Stonewood

Stone-in-the-Wood was the main village of the Stonewood Clan. Like their namesake, they lived in shell and stone homes interwoven into trees. It was surrounded by mounds of rock and a lake that sat next to the Black River. It had sections for tourists and traders as well as private ones exclusive to Stonewoods only. The Crucible, the clan’s hearth, lied at its center with the Stonewood Great Hall beyond it. 

The Great Hall was the home of the Stonewood Maudra. It had a large chamber where they held court. When a gelfling, or sometimes podling, misbehaved guards would send them into the Rascal Hole. It was a small jail held down beneath the floor of the Stonewood Great Hall and not too far from the maudra’s throne. 

The village was the second largest gelfling settlement. It became a popular tourist and trading site as the village was a necessary stop to go anywhere in the Skarith region. Beyond that, Stone-in-the-Wood was believed to be the original home of the gelfling, making it one of the oldest gelfling civilizations. It was also the location of important historical events in Thra’s history. 

The Historic Battles of Stone-in-the-Wood

Two historical battles took place in Stone-in-the-Wood. The first battle was also the conclusion of the Arathim Wars. When the Arathim were kicked out of their ancestral home by the skeksis for refusing to join the Alliance of the Crystal, they rebelled. The rebellion was a series of attacks throughout the Age of Division until thirty trine before where Age of Resistance series began. The First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood began while Ordon and Fara searched for the dual glaive which was rumored to help end the war. The village was evacuated when the Arathim arrived with Maudra Vala and her warriors there to defend it. At first the Arathim had the upper hand, decimating the gelfling forces and inflicting a fatal wound against the maudra. She survived long enough to see Ordon arriving with the dual glaive. After killing several Arathim, he plunged his sword into an Ascendancy of Silk Spitters and drained them of its essence. Ordon promised to let the Arathim live if they stopped their assault on the gelfling. The weakened Ascendancy gave in and retreated from the village but promised this wasn’t the end. This event officially ended the Arathim Wars. 

The Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood was the first major battle of the Gelfling Resistance. Stone-in-the-Wood previously had a failed assault on the skeksis in both the TV and book series where the Stonewood were thwarted by the skeksis or the Arathim. The survivors of that failed assault returned to join Rian and his small rebellion ready to fight the skeksis. There were casualties on both sides, including three skeksis and Maudra Fara who sacrificed her life protecting All-Maudra Seladon. But it also brought the return of Mother Aughra and unity of all inhabitants of Thra when the other six gelfling clans and their former enemies the Arathim proclaimed their support of the resistance. This was the gelfling’s first major victory fighting the skeksis. 

Bolentor, the Pride of Stone-in-the-Wood

Also known as the Stone Tower, it was a large mount of rocks weaved together by vines, roots, and trees. The stone’s rise was where Stone-in-the-Wood was positioned. Its top was covered in talking stones featuring the dream-etched legends and folklore of the Stonewood Clan. It told of Jarra-Jen’s adventures, stories of Gyr the Songteller, and Aughra’s teachings. Strangely, many of the rocks that constructed the mound originated from other regions of of Thra like the Claw and Grottan Mountains. Speculation were all over the place from a giant moving the rocks there to being petrified droppings of an enormous bird. 

A favorite theory came from the song called Maudra Melyff the Rock Singer. Though the gelfling in the tale was actually unnamed, many agreed that she fit the description. According to the song, the maudra was so lonely that when she sang the mountains were moved and offered their boulders to keep her company. A different version of this tale was found in the book series and the maudra was named Maudra Ynid the Tree Singer. Similarly alone, she wept at the heart of the Endless Forest and with the Cradle Tree’s blessing, stones multipled from the Earth and became Stone-in-the-Wood. She was also said to be the sister of Mesabi-Nara, one of the Drenchen’s first maudras. 

The Stonewood had a name-day tradition that revolved around Bolentor and was considered a rite of passage. Younglings whose sixth name-day anniversary landed within the same season were sent to climb Bolentor without the guidance of adults with a chisel in hand. Once they reached the top, they found a stone and carved a sigil into it. That sigil became the sign of their name which was memorialized among hundreds of others before them. 

The Crucible

At the center of Stone-in-the-Wood was the Crucible, both a monument and hearth. Like other gelfling hearths, it was the gathering place of the Stonewood during important occasions. It was where the maudra made her announcements and conducted ceremonies. Traders from other regions would come to the Crucible to be welcomed by the village. 

Within the Crucible were dozens of swords and other weapons. It tied with a Stonewood tradition: whenever the clan returned from a battle, their warriors placed their weapons within the Crucible to be melted until there’s nothing left. It was the Stonewood’s way of leaving their aggressive acts and memories behind and go back to their normal lives. In some cases, the melted remains were used as other symbols. After Maudra Vala died, her sword was melted and forged into a crown. Her daughter and successor Fara wore it as a reminder of the battles that were fought, the cost of peace, and to never forget those who lost their lives.

It was one of many examples of the Stonewood’s relationship with their patron element fire. Gelfling from this clan were described to have “fire in their hearts and whose embers never died”. It’s no wonder that the Stonewood gelfling Rian was the one who lit the fires of resistance and sent out his message of rebellion through the Crucible.

The Wall of Destiny

The Wall of Destiny was a giant prophecy that foretold the end of skeksis rule. It was discovered by Jen and Kira when they stumbled upon ruins of a gelfling settlement. At least in the book series, its location resided within Stone-in-the-Wood. In that book’s version of the Second Battle, the gelfling defeated the skeksis through song and their combined singing formed the creation of the Wall of Destiny. 

Another version of its creation happened when both Gelfling and Podling were taken as slaves by the skeksis. Dismayed, they looked into the fires of prophecy. Seven circles of seven Gelfling, (which totaled 49 Gelfling), laid on the hilltops at night. With magic their dreams were made into stone and the Wall of Destiny was created. 

It told the Gelfling their quest: to find the lost Shard and heal the Crystal by the next Great Conjunction. However, the skeksis saw the prophecy too and feared the Gelfling would succeed. To stop them, the skeksis sent their Garthim and Crystal Bats to find and kill all gelfling. However, at least two survived: Jen of the Stonewood and Kira of the Vapra. Jen ultimately became the Gelfling foretold in prophecy that reunited the shard with the Crystal and ended skeksis rule. 

Olyeka-Staba the Cradle Tree

The Cradle Tree was the Stonewood’s patron tree. It towered over all the others within the Endless Forest whose trunk was as wide as the Black River. It was the originator of all other trees and what the forest felt and heard was also heard and felt by the Cradle Tree. It was only a short distance from Stone-in-the-Wood and many gelfling visited it often. Stonewoods sat underneath the tree and hoped to hear its wisdom while others came to inspect it for illness as it determined the health of the entire forest. When one lied beneath it, they would experience a soothing sensation described as being cradled by one’s mother. “The Cradle Tree’s Lullaby” was a popular song sun by Stonewood mothers while rocking their childlings to sleep. 

Like the other Great Trees, the Cradle Tree struggled to keep the darkening at bay. In the book series, the Cradle Tree was so sick with it that it displayed vivid hallucinations which preyed on the fears of the individual. Both Naia and Kylan went through this ordeal with Naia being haunted by apparitions of her brother and Tavra. It also attacked her with vines and roots until she was helped by Kylan. Naia was able to dreamfast with it and healed it of the darkening. 

Relationship With the Skeksis And Other Clans

The Stonewood benefited from the influx of traders and visitors, but it reinforced clan-first mentalities. To preserve a sense of safety, stability, and culture, the Stonewood created public and private sections of the village. The clan was kind and friendly to any outsiders but would treat them coldly if they trespassed on private property, on accident or not. Besides that, they seemed the most susceptible to clan stereotypes, seeing how some were highly suspicious of the Dousan and ignorant of the Grottan. While the Stonewood believed they were tougher and sturdier than other gelfling, outsiders viewed them as aggressive and arrogant.

Being geographically the closest to the skeksis, the Stonewood were frequently called upon to be guards at the castle of the Crystal. In fact, they made up the majority of the skeksis’ army up until the late Age of Division. Plenty of Stonewood were elated to get their recruitment letters as it was seen as one of the biggest honors a gelfling received. Because of this, the Stonewood believed they had a more intimate relationship with the skeksis than other clans. 

That ultimately created some resentment towards the Vapra. Many Stonewoods believed the skeksis were in error by choosing the Vapra as the ambassadors and leaders of the gelfling clans. It wasn’t a secret either as the Stonewood had passionate conversations about the topic. Even Stonewood Maudras would make mention of it while in the presence of Vapran representatives. These vents never went too far as they knew disagreeing with the Vapra was also a disagreement towards the skeksis. Such comments risked their reputation as well as access to resources and valuable supplies. Despite it being a well-known secret, the Stonewoods kept it to themselves. 

Of all the clan relationships, none were more well known than the rivalry between the Stonewood and the Spriton. The severity of the rivalry were different between the TV and book series. In the timeline established by the Age of Resistance, the rivalry was seen more in childlings and didn’t go as far as name-calling and rumormongering. With a mix of the skeksis’ meddling and Stonewood’s overall competitiveness kept this rivalry alive. In contrast to the book series, however, was more serious. The Spriton were a warrior clan in this version and fought over territory with the Stonewood over the trine. 

Legacy of Stonewood: Jen

Although most gelfling were wiped out during the Garthim Wars, their legacies were kept alive by their survivors. Jen was the son of at least one Stonewood parent and seemingly the only surviving member of his clan. He was rescued by urSu the Master who took him to the Valley of the Mystics and raised him in safety. On his death bed, urSu cryptically explained to Jen about his destiny. He was able to succeed in his quest with the help of Kira.

Jen seemed to know some small things about his heritage. He wore the Stonewood sigil on his clothing and was taught how to play the firca. urMaj the Cook attempted to make him gelfling food, but Jen noted it never tasted right  It was possible that what Jen learned he passed it onto future gelfling civilizations and preserved what was left of gelfling culture. 

Notable Stonewood Members

Rian: Son of Ordon and Shoni who lived during the late Age of Division. He was a castle guard who witnessed his girlfriend Mira be drained by the skeksis. Taking the only proof of the skeksis’ betrayal, he was marked as a traitor and wanted by the lords to keep their secret hidden. Rian started as well became the unofficial leader of the Gelfling Resistance. Like his father, Rian ended up wielding the Dual Glaive. 

Ordon: A veteran of the Arathim Wars and the first wielder of the Dual Glaive. He was promoted to be a captain of the castle guards after his victory in the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood. Not knowing that the skeksis were the true perpetrators, Ordon personally requested to seek out Rian in the hopes of curing the supposed sickness that caused his “treachery”. 

Maudra Fara the Rock Singer: The Stonewood Maudra who succeeded her mother Vala during the late Age of Division. She believed in strength and loyalty and did whatever she believed was necessary for her clan. She played a big part in the Arathim Wars as well as being the first maudra who challenged the skeksis when she learned about the truth.

Shoni: Rian’s mother and husband of Ordon who lived during the late Age of Division. 

Jen: The seemingly last surviving member of the Stonewood Clan nearing the end of the Age of Division. Saved by urSu the Master, Jen was raised by the mystics so that he would fulfill his destiny of ending skeksis rule and save Thra. 

Maudra Vala: A Stonewood maudra and mother of Fara. She lived during the late Age of Division and took part in the First Battle in Stone-in-the-Wood where she was fatally wounded.

Thriya: A songteller who lived during an unknown time in the Age of Division. She spent her entire life traveling all over Thra to learn about the cultures and songs of each gelfling clan. 

Mythra: A book series exclusive character. She was the younger sister of Rian who supported him while he was branded as a traitor. She also took part in and survived the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood.

Timtri: Rian’s younger brother who only exists in the book series. 

Maudra Melyff the Rock Singer: Believed to be one of Stonewood’s first maudras. She was credited with the creation of Bolentor which would become the home place of the Stonewood. In some iterations she’s known as Maudra Ynid the Tree Singer and was sisters with the Drenchen’s first maudra. 

Old Ari: An old songteller who lived during an unknown time within the Age of Division. 

[Sources: Song of the Seven Gelfling Clans, the official Dark Crystal website, Shadows of the Dark Crystal, Song of the Dark Crystal, Flames of the Dark Crystal, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Dark Crystal Film, The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance: An Epic Return To Thra, The Quest for the Dual Glaive, Creation Myths, Author Quest: The Gelfling Gathering, Heroes of the Resistance, the Dark Crystal Bestiary] 

[ariainstars]

Star Wars, the Last 20 Years or Can We Please Try to Stop the Blame Train?

I would like to touch a subject that’s starting to grate on my nerves a little.

Anyone here knows that I disliked The Rise of Skywalker heartily. And I’m not the only person here or elsewhere who tore it to shreds. But I am reading (again) over and over why and how JJ Abrams, Chris Terrio, Kathleen Kennedy and Co. made this mess. Instead of searching for culprits, this time I would like to point out a few things.

I. Star Wars Prequels

Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best and Hayden Christensen had to endure awful harassment in their time: the audience largely vented their frustration on them because when the prequels hit theatres, they did not get the Star Wars they had wanted. Politics are a dry subject, and young Anakin and the Jedi Council were all too human to be liked by fans who expect coolness in a hero more than everything else; which is probably why Darth Maul is a huge favorite although we hardly learn anything about him and he says almost nothing. Ditto Obi-Wan although he is clearly not suited to train Anakin and it’s him who maims him and leaves him to burn in the lava. (Until I saw the film, I had always assumed Palpatine had tortured Anakin to push him to the Dark Side.) 

The prequels’ messages in general were not liked: the Jedi were not perfectly wise and cool wizards, the Old Republic was stagnant, Anakin was a hot-headed, frustrated young man desperate to save his wife and unborn children. The films do not want to excuse what he did; however they portray him not as a monster but as a human being who was under an almost unendurable pressure for years and years until he finally snapped.

These messages may not be “cool”, but they were realistic and most of all, humane. Portraying the Jedi as well as Anakin as powerful, flawless heroes and the old Republic as a just, prosperous and balanced place would have meant undermining a central theme of the original trilogy: the former generation could not have been all that powerful and wise, else the collapse of their world and the failure of their convictions would not have happened in the first place. It is a sore point, but still twenty years later Obi-Wan and Yoda denied that Vader was human and expected Luke to commit patricide. 

All of this goes to show that the Jedi’s moral standard was flawed and their attitude not rooted in compassion and pacifism the way they claimed. In the end, what they cared about was winning, no matter the cost. In this, they were no better than the Sith.

~~~more under the cut~~~

II. Star Wars Sequels

J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Iger and company were the ones who introduced the Star Wars sequel trilogy and with it its themes, characters, setting etc. to us in the first place: I think we should give them credit where it’s due. Rian Johnson made a very beautiful second chapter with The Last Jedi, but he did pick up where the others had left. 

Kelly Marie Tran made experiences similar to Jake Lloyds or Hayden Christensen’s when The Last Jedi was hit theatres. She was disliked for not being “Star-Wars-y” enough, chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire, and also taking a lot of screen time while many fans were impatiently waiting for some grand scenes from Luke and / or Leia. 

That Episode VIII, the central and most important one, was called “The Last Jedi” cannot be overstated. Luke was literally alone with the heavy task of rebuilding a religious order that was gone and destroyed long before he even learned about it, and at the same time he had to patch together his own family and atone for his father’s sins. This is a crushing burden for anyone to carry. It was important both for Rey and for the audience to meet Luke to see that he was a good man, but still just a man.

When Luke spoke openly to Rey about the failure of the Jedi Order, it was the first time he ever spoke about it that we know of; this wisdom he obviously acquired only after his nephew’s fall to the Dark Side. Luke has understood that the ways of the Jedi were wrong; but he does not know a better alternative. Force users are still born all over the galaxy, and they have to learn to use their powers - only how? Again, Luke is not to blame. How is he to know, when the Jedi of the Old Republic had lost sight of Balance in the Force for so long that they didn’t know what it actually meant anymore? 

Same goes for Leia, the princess without a realm, who tried to rebuild the Republic after the galaxy had been terrorized by the Empire and devastated by war for many years. She assuredly did her best, but she was only human. That she failed her son is of course shocking, but after the horror she had to endure at the hands of her own father it is not surprising that she would be terrified of her son possibly going the same way. Ben, like Anakin, was crushed under a legacy and responsibility that was by far too heavy for him. The tragedy of his life and the disruption - and in the end, obliteration - of his family was another proof for the failure of the ways of the Jedi. 

All of these lessons until now were not learned from. But let’s be honest: how many of us come from dysfunctional families? If we do, was getting away from them enough to heal the wounds of the past? Did we find out what to give our children on their way in life, or did we fail them because we had not elaborated the past enough to make way for a better future? Such problems are very common, and to heal them is complicated and takes time. A “happy ending” e.g. in form of finding a new family is not enough, on the contrary, it can lead to wanting to leave the past behind, leaving wounds unhealed that will fester their way through our lives again, sooner or later. Star Wars always was an allegory of the human mind, even if deeply cloaked in symbolism. The saga also abundantly takes inspiration from the Bible, and I think it’s not coincidentally said there that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. 

As fans, we would have wanted to see films that cemented the Jedi as guardians of the galaxy, with the Skywalker family right at the center. Which in itself is impossible because Jedi are supposed to remain unattached, making the mere idea of a Jedi having a family absurd. If the prequels told us that the Jedi were flawed, the sequels tore down the myth of the Skywalker family. And both trilogies showed that you can’t be a Skywalker and / or a Jedi / Force user and have attachments and a happy family of your own at the same time. At least, not until now. 

 III. Film production

Many fans of old complained because the sequel trilogy implied that the “happy ending” of the original trilogy’s heroes had not been so happy after all and that after having made peace for the galaxy, they had failed to keep it that way. Other viewers however liked the new trilogy and new characters right away and began to root for them. But they, too, jumped on the blame train when the trilogy had ended: expectations were not met, and now director, producers, script writers, cutters etc. are faulted all over again.

The first person coming up with the idea of Han’s and Leia’s only child turning to the Dark Side was Lucas himself. It always was a main theme of the saga that war separates people who actually belong together, like family, couples or close friends; that is not played for mere drama, but because it emphasizes the absurdity of war.

We as the audience do not know how production went - it is very possible that Lucas approved the general storyline, and there is always a whole team on board. It is not easy to purchase such a large and immensely popular franchise; it was to be expected that if things went not the way the audience expected, the Disney studios would be blamed harshly for having “ruined Star Wars”. With the prequels, at least Lucas was still at the helm; it was conceded that maybe he had lost his magic touch with storytelling, but certainly not that he was trying deliberately to ruin his own creation. And the fans who could not praise the Disney studios enough after The Last Jedi came out, now blame them over and over.

The Disney studios have long-term politics to consider and contracts to observe, and we don’t know their contents. We have every right to be disappointed, but I think it’s not fair to blame one or a particular group of persons who are trying their best to satisfy as many viewers as possible. If they simply wanted to satisfy the average dudebro who sees nothing but clichés, two-dimensional characters and Good against Evil - then why did they allow The Last Jedi to be produced in the first place? The studios obviously are aware that there are fans out there who are ready to look deeper in the saga’s themes, who wish to see the Force coming to Balance, who value family, friendship and love over “victory at any cost”, and who do not place the Jedi on some kind of pedestal.

In a sense, The Rise of Skywalker seems like a bow before The Last Jedi: the weakest chapter of the saga followed one of its strongest. Maybe the authors were aware that equaling or even topping what Rian Johnson had created would be next to impossible, so they patched up the open threads of The Force Awakens together with some fan service hoping to be out of the business as quickly as possible.

In retrospect, the infamous podcast with Charles Soule might also be tell-tale: Soule obviously is not elbows-deep in the saga and largely ignores its subtext. Since his The Rise of Kylo Ren comics are quite well-made, I assume that the general storyline did not stem from his own creativity and that he only carried out what he had been advised to do. The production of the whole sequel trilogy may have happened in a similar way. I am not excusing the poor choices of The Rise of Skywalker; merely considering that one or a few persons cannot be blamed in a studio that has thousands of creative minds on board.

I am still hoping for the next trilogy to finally bring Balance to the galaxy, and also into the fandom. Rian Johnson had negotiated the rights for the next trilogy along with The Last Jedi; I assume it is very possible that there was a clause about intellectual property saying that only he would continue Episode VIII’s topics, nobody else. This would at least be an explanation, given the embarrassing, jumbled mess that Episode IX was.

The overall title of the saga assuredly never wanted to inspire the audience to start online wars attacking the studios or the actors or other fans out of the conviction of being entitled to blame someone else’s worldview. The saga’s message is compassion. Both George Lucas and the Disney studios are telling us their story; the idea and the rights do not belong to us. Harping on “whose fault” it allegedly is won’t bring us anywhere; what we can do is make the studios understand that we’re not too stupid not to understand the subtext, the symbolism and metaphysics of the saga beyond the action story. If they listened to the Last Jedi haters, in all fairness they are bound to listen to us, too. 😊

  IV. Will Ben’s story continue?

My husband already warned me years ago that Ben most probably wouldn’t survive, or at least not get a happy ending. As Kylo Ren he had already been the head of a criminal organization for six years at the start of The Force Awakens, but all of that perhaps could still have been condoned within the scope of war. It was the very personal and intentional act of patricide, the killing of an unarmed, forgiving man, who turned him into a damned person. And after the deed, Ben was aware of it. He knew there was no way out for him, he had gone too far.

Many members of the audience did not understand that Kylo / Ben is not an out-and-out villain and that this narrative ultimately was about his redemption. Bringing him back to the Resistance after the Exegol battle alive and by Rey’s side would not have been accepted; how was Rey to explain everything when she hardly understood it herself? How would the audience have reacted to the former head of a criminal organization, a patricide, suddenly standing out as a hero? Remember how in Return of the Jedi Luke asked Vader to come away with him. Now suppose Vader had complied? It would have seemed (and been) sheer madness. Nobody would have believed neither father nor son that the terror of the galaxy had had a sudden turn of heart. Nobody knew that he was Luke’s father; Luke himself did not know Anakin’s backstory; nobody knew what had transpired between Luke and Vader so far. Yes, Ben was young and healthy, but he still had terrorized the galaxy for years and killed his own father. He knew himself that he was damned and could not go back to normality, as Vader did.

Rey was coded as the heroine: narratively, the sequel trilogy was her story. Ben couldn’t become the hero, with or without her, at the very last moment. She usurped power like her grandfather in his time, the Skywalker family was obliterated the way the Jedi were, she takes over another mantle (Skywalker) the way Palpatine did (becoming the Emperor). Balance in the Force never was truly in the cards, it was only vaguely hinted at in The Last Jedi by the Force mosaic in the Ahch-To temple. Balance is a complex and difficult subject; it would have been extremely difficult to develop it in the sequel trilogy together with introducing the new characters and giving the old ones closure.

However: if Ben is brought back in the next trilogy, his sacrifice for Rey will have been his atonement. If his role this time is not that of the villain but of the hero, it would reverse Anakin’s path and make clear that he no longer is the same man. Vader was redeemed, not rehabilitated. His grandson might still have the chance to go that way.

- Luke had promised Rey a third lesson, and it happened. He also had promised Ben to “see him around”, which has not taken place yet.

- On Tatooine, Rey watches the twin suns setting, same as Luke before he met the other half of his soul (his twin sister) again.

- The studios had said that the sequels would be “very much like the prequels”; the prequels were a tragedy where the Dark Side (Palpatine) won that was followed by a fairy tale where the Light Side won.

- The Skywalker saga is closed, so if Ben comes back it would be justified by his being a Solo, i.e. the story of his own family and not his grandfather’s.

- Given the parallels with Beauty and the Beast, the Beast died before the broken spell brought him back, making him a wholly new person - his past identity, purged and redeemed.

- George Lucas repeatedly said that the prequels and the classics belong together as one narrative, with Anakin Skywalker at its center. First news of the next trilogy came up with The Last Jedi. Since there are strong parallels between Ben and his grandfather, we may assume that this six-chapter instalment will be his; Anakin also was left for dead but came back with a wholly different role and name.

- When Anakin was reborn as Darth Vader, he “rose” slowly from the ground, clad in his black armor. Ben fell to the ground abruptly and shed his black clothes, disappearing. This could be another clue. (It was also already speculated that Leia’s body dissolved exactly in this moment because she gave her life-force to her son for him to have another chance to live. Both Han and Luke had done what they could to atone for their remorse towards Ben; this might be her turn.)

- Much as I love Luke Skywalker, I can understand that Lucas did not see him as the saga’s protagonist. The overall arch is not so much about Luke’s heroism than about Anakin’s redemption and atonement. It is unusual because we expect the story’s “hero” to be the one who kills the Bad Guy; and indeed Anakin is, because he kills Palpatine in the end, the twist being that technically he is also a villain though not the archvillain.

- Ben had promised Anakin he would finish what he started. Anakin had been meant to bring Balance to the Force, and he had started a family. Until now, Ben did neither.

- If Ben and Rey are a dyad, i.e. one soul in two bodies, then Rey is in urgent need of her soulmate for her future tasks. She has her friends of course, but none of them gets her the way he did.

So, I still see reason to hope for a continuation, and, hopefully, satisfying conclusion of The Last Jedi’s themes.

  Film production: on a side note…

In the Nineties, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale were the directors both of Beauty and the Beast and Atlantis: two more different stories are hardly imaginable with regard to everything - drawing style, setting, characters, development, music etc. This outcome can’t have been only due to the director’s choices, there must have been a wholly different idea behind both films right from the beginning. Just saying.