#which is why he is a forceghost

[merrysithmas]

when ppl see this & this, directed by the same person, and think the narrative is "anakin is evil" not "anakin is a steward of the balance, a force demi god, as was foretold on Mortis" 😂

[coffeezombiestuff]

Codywan Vampire 2

Obiwan woke up in a weird place. His body felt weird, everything felt weird as he sat up from the dirty floor. It took him a moment to realise, that he could hear nothing right now, not even the beating of his own heart or his own breath….Wait, he wasn‘t breathing at all right now! He hadn‘t even realised. 

Obiwans Hand went to his chest and under his armorplate. No heartbeat. What was going on? Was he dead? Had he turned into a forceghost without knowing it? Where was he? He got up on his feet and wandered through the cave. His lightsaber was missing, again. Or was it still missing? He couldn‘t remember too well what happened. He remembered that he was in Battle, he got wounded and then Cody was there and…

„Cody...“ He gasped and now memories hit him like the giant claw of a rancor. He looked at his wrist. The wound was gone, healed completely, not even a scar was left.

Now he was scared, walking faster through the cave. After a while a cry was to hear and he followed it. That sounded like Cody! Around a corner, he could see his commander, on his knees, face buried in his hands, while a tall man was standing infront of him, laughing loud and cold.

„Whats the Matter youngling?!“ the man said and Run his hand over Codys hair.

„Wasn‘t this what you wanted? The Eternity with your loved one?“ „THATS NOT HOW I WANTED IT!!!“ Cody screamed, moving away from the guy infront of him, a dangerous growl in his otherwise desperate voice.

„I killed him…YOU TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER!!“

„Yes you killed Obiwan Kenobi and I gave him a new life.“ The man growled low and dangerous. „So be more thankfull!“ „What if he will not wake up?!“ Cody asked and Obiwan could see, even from his distance how dark red tears run down his face.

„Oh he already woke up.“ The man said and Cody turned around, his red eyes fixed on Obiwan.

„Obiwan?“ he walked over to the jedi, but he stepped back.

„What have you done to me?“ Obiwans first Question was. Seeing Cody now infront of him, pale, red eyes, long fangs, even Claws on his hands, made him remember how Cody bit him in the neck and…oh by the gods. „You drank my blood…you killed me...“

„No...Obiwan I….I didn‘t wanted this...I didn‘t wanted to hurt you...I…“ More red tears run over Codys Face.

„I never wanted this...I drank your Blood yes, but I never wanted to kill you…“

„What happened to you?“ Obiwan wanted to know.

„Why did you…Cody you are scaring me...“ „I got...turned...You remember that one mission, down in this deep deep Cave?“ „I do remember but...“ Obiwan could remember that something had attacked Cody and bit him there as well, but could that turned him into whatever he was right now? The Brunette bit his lower lip and felt two pointy fangs piercing his lip.

„What did we become?“

„Immortal!“ The strangers came closer to them. He had the same scary features as Cody did.

„It was his wish after all.“ The man pointed at Cody.

„To be with you forever. Now that is possible, you will never age, never get Sick and will never die.“

„Yeah but drinking blood is the price we have to pay!!“ Cody yelled at that guy.

„Thats NOT how I wanted it! Obiwan...please believe me...I never wanted it this way...“ Obiwan looked at Cody, saw the desperation in his eyes.

„I believe you...“ he finally said, getting closer and hugged Cody.

„I still love you...“ Cody wrapped his arms around Obiwan pulling him as close as Possible Tears run down his face, he was sobbing uncontrollably and shaking like a leaf, while his lover stroke softly over his back.

„But you two should leave this place, if you wanna enjoy your immortality.“ the stranger said and turned away from them to leave.

„The young Jedi is here and he and his trooper will not hesitate to eliminate everything that isn‘t normal.“

„What?“ Obiwan looked up.

„Anakin would never kill Cody or me!“ „We aren‘t human anymore Obiwan...We can‘t go back to them...“ Cody turned his Comm on and they heard what Anakin was telling his team.

„You have your heartrate Monitors and your night-vision on?!“ they could hear Anakins Voice.

„Yes Sir.“ A clone, probably Rex, said.

„As you ordered, everything without heartbeat and a too low bodytemperature will be executed at the spot.“

„Very good Rex.“ Anakin said.

„Eliminate these creatures, but be careful not to shoot Obiwan! And lights out, your night-Vision is enough.“

„Yes Sir.“ The connection broke off and Obiwan looked confused at Cody.

„Night Vision? Its not even dark in here...“ „Its because we can see perfectly in the dark...for Humans eyes, its pitch black in here...“ Cody explained and took Obiwans Hand. „We have to leave...they will not see that it is us. They will kill us!“ „So we run away...“ Obiwan mumbled and looked a bit sad at Cody.

„Run away from everything and try to survive like this?“ „I fear….thats our li….Existence now….“

Obiwan sighed sad. That would be hard to leave everything behind. To leave Anakin behind, but he knew, he had no choice.

„Okay...Lets leave this place...“ He hold onto Codys Hand.

„It will be alright, I promise.“ Cody said and softly kissed his cool lips.

They hurried to get deeper into the cave, to another exit through which Cody had Entered the cave earlier.

„By the way Cody, do you found my lightsaber?“ „Of Course my dear. I always find it.“

[krawalito]

I saw the movie. I am so emotional.

Let’s start with the good stuff. Reylo. Honestly they both nail it. Beautiful. Ben solo is just wonderful and heartbreaking. He deserved so much more but he found peace and laughed. But still I hate his destiny. The water scene is so amazing. His rise. Urgh. I was crying. And that’s the good stuff.

The movie was so rushed I literally have a headache. There is no silent moment. This movie is so fast you cannot even process it. Jj wanted to serve everyone which caused all this hectic. Palpatine was a joke for me. You don’t get any explanation why and how he is there. It was discussed for 10 secs. He is back and Rey is his grandchild he killed her nobody parents who were trying to save her. There was absolutely no emotion. He was abusing Ben it’s said. Aaaaand that’s it. What a waste. He has an army the final order. How and from whom we will never know. Hux was the best. Honestly. But his screentime was 2 min. Rose? Where is rose? Screentime 2 min. Finn was unfortunately annoying for me. I loved him but he was a jon snow you are my queen guy in this movie. All he was doing was shouting Rey. Nope waste of an awesome character. Finnrose is dead btw. Poe was great. He really was. Loved him. Jannah was sweet. But instead of giving rose more screentime they had this Dominique guy which was useless? This movie was packed with action. It was an action movie. That’s the genre. It didn’t touch me at all. Only Bens and Hans moment. It was beautiful. Leia had an own lightsaber and was training with Luke many years ago and was training Rey. She called her master. I didn’t need that at all. Sorry guys just nope. Rey really ends up alone on tattoine calling herself skywalker. Luke and leias forceghosts appear. But it was cheesy. Sorry nope. She had her original white dress on. Nahhh fanservive I didn’t need. And that’s the story. There is no other plot. It’s only jumping from one planet to the other. And fighting. That’s the movie. No depths. The only emotional moment you see in this movie is Ben solo. He is btw a forceghost bc he disappeared. Only forceghosts do. So he lives somewhere with his mother and uncle and inside Rey. The kiss beautiful. Really. But that’s it. There is no story. The visuals are awesome but too much is happening. My eyes are in pain.

Reylo and Rey and Ben scenes carry the whole movie. That’s the only plot actually. The others are accessories. Sorry to say that but that’s the truth. Still don’t feel anything emotionally. It’s not Star Wars. It’s not a very bad movie but it’s just a movie. Nice pics and two awesome actors with an awesome story. Reylo rules. And Poe.

Here is my rating. 5 from 10. and these 5 are bc reylo and Poe. That’s it.

And again I love Ben solo he is the best character in SW of all time. Together with Han actually.

[mara04world-blog]

Star Wars deserves better

Let me know what you think!

So that’s my imagined scenario how they could fix this awful situation (if it’s even that awful – I like to think positive). Some pointers first: Ben had a prophecy to fulfil and only he could do it, after Anakin declined the offer of the Father. The dyad is still there and Rey is his counterpart in the realm of reality. There is balance after TROS but maybe we will see Abeloth in the future?

After his disappearance Ben would still have a job to do/prophecy to fulfil. Because to be clear I’m not very satisfied that he would be only a force vessel to drain – even if it was out of love. (Maybe it would be ok with some mourning and a real finish to his story – but even in the cinema I was perplexed because it didn’t feel like an end.)

So as we all know the emperor got back even after maybe being blown to pieces. At least he fell pretty deep and still survived. I don’t think he died and got resurrected. Maybe there was a clone – like in the legends - in which he transferred his life force into. What would be your opinion, if it was Ben’s duty to make sure, that the life force of Sidious really becomes one with the cosmic force once and for all? I know it’s not in everyone’s favour that I speak of the life force of Sidious or any Sith to become one with the cosmic force, but what other possibilities are there. Why should it be different for darksider – the force (energy) is the same and according to Qui Gon all energy from the Living Force, from all things that have ever lived, feeds into the Cosmic Force. It’s a lightside ability to become a forceghost but not the becoming one with the force per se. How he will get that done is also up to our imagination. Maybe he really has to drag his “soul to hell”.

And that got me also thinking. Will he be a gatekeeper or more interesting will he become the father (one of The Ones alongside the son and the daughter) because Anakin declined that offer. So then there would be a chosen one to balance the force in the ethereal realm (Mortis) and his other half of the dyad will keep the balance in the galaxy (the realm of realty). Rey wouldn’t train as a Jedi like the PT-Jedis but like the prime Jedi, who I would like to believe, is balanced. Maybe she even became the new prime Jedi with all the voices at the end. I like to think, that maybe even the PT-Jedis knew after becoming one with the force that they did some thinks the wrong way. Even Luke noticed that he got something wrong after the destruction of the temple. Don’t get me wrong on Luke. I love him ever since I was little. So he noticed that he made mistakes and that is the reason he thought the Jedi must die. I guess he tried to build the order too similar to the PT-Jedis. We can talk about the attachment rules all we want, but to think about how no one can be good all the time and every person or Jedi has not so nice thoughts ones in a while is more compelling. And through pain someone can gain strength and everyone acts in anger ones in a while. And thinking about the symbol on Arch-To for the Prime Jedi, I think he got the balance of light and dark right.

And I know a lot of fans will say balance is about the absence of the dark side, than I would say, that was not GL intention – therefore the PT. Because Balance is achieved by the chosen one by destroying the Sith and not the darkside. And just maybe the prophecy is also of destroying not only the Sith but of the PT style Jedis as well (it doesn’t say a chosen Jedi but a chosen one will destroy the Sith). Because both parties had extreme, absolute views on things. I remember Obi-Wan saying “Only a Sith deals in absolutes” but like GL has shown us in the PT the Jedis also had a very absolute way to deal with things - and unfortunately Luke later on too. But he thought his problem was that he didn’t fear the dark side enough. In my opinion his problem was that he feared it. He should have accepted the darkness as part of the bigger picture. “What is there to fear about the dark side”. The passage in TLJ “The island. Life. Death and decay, that feeds new life. Warmth. Cold. Peace. Violence.“ can be seen as a life circle . And there is no light without darkness. When everything is just good, would we still know that everything is good?

So I really think that RJ was on the right track here. I was also shocked and angry about Luke first, because he wasn’t the farmboy Jedi and my childhood hero anymore. And then he died and I was even angrier, but after a while I could live with that. Because to get a nice story about Luke they should have started about 20 years earlier and maybe I wouldn’t have lost my favourite SW girl too – Mara Jade. During my second viewing I noticed, that RJ gave us something instead. Mara and Luke’s forcebond and a way to the same definition of balance I would have thought of. So maybe RJ is the real fanboy here. And with Sidious still lurking around Luke would have to become a PT style Jedi. Therefore he couldn’t become the father, because he was a Jedi –The last Jedi. And I also got the Mara and Luke kind of romance - including the voice of the emperor in the head of one protagonist - just the other way around. (Side note: would it have been easier accepted to have a love story and a living redeemed darksider if the roles were reversed – just look how many fans Mara Jade has)

Of course that’s all stuff that you can’t put EASILY into a film (not even a 3 hour version) and still be a film for GA. A way would be – without changing the movie (that is my intention after all) that Anakin wasn’t only there for Rey, but also for Ben (maybe that can be shown later on). He was there in the pit and gave him the chance to choose, like he got the chance before. And because Ben isn’t selfish, he chose to become the father/the One and furthermore forces Sidious life force to join the cosmic force. And Rey and Ben together keep the ultimate Balance on the realm of reality and on the ethereal realm (Mortis), where the force original is from. Maybe we can see them as Gatekeepers and how closed the gate between them is, is up to discussion.

So another point is, that there wouldn’t even be a problem left with the balance after RTJ, because Anakin could restore balance in the realm of reality, but without a counterpart in the ethereal realm (father), who died alongside his children after Anakin declined the offer, there was no ultimate balance. Sidious the last Sith could survive and gain strength again (took him some time) and Luke had to become a real PT style Jedi and not a choosen one. And I like to think it is not about how many force users are there, it is more about how strong is the light combined and the dark combined with Sith or Jedi (PT) unbalancing and fighting the scale like the extremists they are. I remember that in the Legend there was a race, which was against the Jedi-believes, because they thought that it was unnatural/against balance (unfortunately I can’t remember more). And I hated that thought back when I was young, but I can definitely life with it know. It wouldn’t even have made a difference for achieving ultimate balance if Anakin choose otherwise, because there were Siths and PT Jedis during the reign of the father. It would even have been the wrong decision thinking about that there are no PT Jedis and Sith by the end of TROS.

So why should there be a new father? After the death of the father, the son and the daughter, there is supposed to be balance. Yeah, that got me researching. One easy way out: Because of the mother, who became Abeloth aka. Chaos in short. The dark side and the light side especially when they are balanced is order compared to chaos. Following the Legends with The Ones dead, chaos can reign, because there is no one there to contain it. Even Luke of the Legends believed that the Sith and Jedi must become the new Ones together and keep the balance.

How to go to Mortis? Mortis will draw there visitors in for example through a door/gate. And where do we also find doors? In the world between worlds, which maybe has an access point on Exogol following the interpretations of the VD.

So furthermore speculations about Disney and LFL. I don’t really want to think, that they are dumb. I think they are cunning. This mystical aspect of the force or the events, which could follow TROS need time and explanation. Even the acceptance of the redemption and that Ben was a victim too needs time. And do they make time right now! - Especially with the comics. And here I remembered something I learned in Marketing. Negative PR is 10 times stronger than positive PR and it is still PR. And look at the social media activity right now compared to the aftermaths of a happy ending. The only aspect which they really would have to be careful about is timing. Let the hysteria/negative talk go down a little pit, but not too much and then BOOM-Forcelightning ; ) and of course don’t let it look too planed but also don’t let the masses think, that they are the driving force. Maybe there are answers in the extended cut or the story group will give us something. And just maybe I got some pointers right. Please let me know what you think.

[hegodamask]

i’m back from seeing the tros

here’s my first reactions. i’m very tired (it’s 4am) so excuse the rambling.

(massive spoilers below of course)

the other day i said this movie was either going to be one of my favourite star wars movies or the first one i full on hate.

i don’t exactly hate the rise of skywalker but as i left the cinema i teared up a little as it dawned on me that i really really didn’t like it. i’ve never felt like this about a star wars movie before like i’m just......lost? disappointed?

first of all: it’s rushed. everything happens too fast. moments where i should’ve felt excited or emotional just didn’t land for me. and that hurts. i think part of this is because i sought out spoilers (thanks everyone who peddled the matt smith rumours and got me worried. he’s not fucking in it btw). 

and then we get to the palpatine stuff. the stuff i was most excited about. oh boy....

i hate to say this. i really fucking hate to say this with all of my being. i don’t take any pleasure in saying this at all. but something about ian’s performance in this movie isn’t right. 

i don’t know what it is.maybe it’s because of the makeup he has for most of the movie (if you’ve seen the leaked images you’ll know what i mean). it’s like ian’s trying to act like he’s in the full face palpatine makeup when he instead just looks like himself with white eyes. it just.....feels wrong? i felt a little better near the end where he starts to look more like his old rotj self but even then something wasn’t right. nothing about his return felt satisfying or scary to me.

and don’t get me started on rey palpatine. i used to hate when people would bring up rey palpatine. i thought it was ridiculous. i thought it would never happen. then when i read the leaks i thought “okay. well, if they write it well enough maybe i can come around to it” 

but they didn’t.

whenever someone said to rey “you’re a palpatine” you just can’t take it seriously. it’s laughable. i genuinely giggled when forceghost luke said it. if this is is something they had planned from the beginning (which i highly doubt) then they’ve done an awful job of introducing it. 

oh and palpatine has a son. a son that must be of the same generation as luke/leia/han. so born around the clone wars or early empire time? why? WHY? this is the same palpatine that had plans in place to have his empire destroyed in the event of his death, yet somehow had a son and later granddaughter running around this whole time?? 

also palpatine’s son? rey’s father? he’s played by billy howle. the son from motherfatherson. so there’s that. 

i think this movie has changed things about palps character forever. and maybe we’ll get some interesting stories out of it in the future. but as you can see, i’m not feeling very positive about it right now.

ugh. i sound like the type of star wars fan i can’t stand and i hate that. is it me? is it because i read spoilers? is it because i got my expectations too high the moment i heard that laugh in the teaser trailer? is it because i drank a large coca cola and desperately needed to pee by the time rey got to exegol? 

i don’t know. all i know is on my first viewing, i didn’t like it. and it pains me to admit that.

on a positive note: even though everyone seems to hate it. i really like that rey took on the skywalker name. that’s something i’ve been low key hoping for since the last jedi. imo they could’ve just left it at that and that would’ve been enough for me. 

i’ve already bought tickets to see tros again on friday. i hope i’ll be able to enjoy it a little more for what it is second time around. but at the moment i just feel confused and a little bit upset. 

[dreamerinsilico]

the obligatory “I just saw Rise of Skywalker” post

TLDR: My very low expectations were met.  I didn’t consider it a waste of two hours.

Spoiler-free overview: It had some genuinely good, often funny banter, and a few character moments and narrative beats I thought were good at least in theory, if not necessary in implementation.  

A lot of good actors did their best with a lot of bad writing.  Structurally, I thought the way the ending resolved worked, if you accept the premise of the conflict.  Unfortunately, the premise of the conflict was ridiculous from so many different angles I was rolling my eyes every few minutes.  

JJ Abrams really needs to learn that not every fucking scene needs to be some flavor of highlights reel-worthy bombastic - it cheapens every actual Big Moment when the music and the cinematography and the delivery of the dialogue is trying to communicate “big moment” in every scene.

Spoiler-ridden rambling below the cut:

It speaks to the overall ridiculousness of the film that both my absolute favorite and least favorite things about it are minor details.  :P

My favorite: When Our Heroes asked Hux why he turned on the First Order, I stage-whispered to my brother, “Because Kylo Ren is a dick!” right before Hux said almost exactly that.  It was just such a perfect “...and we all know I’m that petty” detail, but it also really.... it stood out hardcore to me as an anomaly in the Star Wars saga, being basically the one and only case of one character’s shitty treatment of another having direct, major consequences!  There’s plenty of friendship-based loyalty in Star Wars, and obviously a few big turncloak cases (Anakin, Anakin/Vader again, Kylo/Ben) where it was about the person’s loyalty to someone(s) on the other side, but Hux betrays the First Order strictly because Kylo Ren is an asshole and he’s fed up.  (Contrary to every other Empire/First Order character who gets abused by a Sith on the regular.)  A+, most believable thing in all of Star Wars.

My least favorite: FORCEGHOST!LUKE GAVE REY LEIA’S LIGHTSABER, WHICH WAS GREEN, AND WAS LIKE ‘YOU’LL TAKE BOTH OF THESE TO SITH PLANET’ (yes, good, setting up the eleventh-hour Rey-Ben alliance, symbolically appropriate, I like it) AND THEN WHEN SHE WAS FACING PALPATINE AND BEN WAS COMING TO HELP BOTH THE FUCKING LIGHTSABERS WERE BLUE!  IS THIS FINAL-SEASON-OF-GOT-THERE’S-APPARENTLY-STARBUCKS-IN-WESTEROS LEVEL CARELESSNESS, OR DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA FOR SOME UN-FUCKING-FATHOMABLE REASON?!?!?!

*clears throat*  Anyway.  I may have walked out of the theater ranting about that one.

Okay, next on the docket, the Reylo in the room:

It is not and has never been my ship, but in a big-picture sense I don’t actually hate it, and I definitely don’t hate the way their final scene went down.  However, any actual satisfaction I might have taken in their arc is inevitably hamstrung by the fact that Kylo Ren does not, in my opinion, have one good line of dialogue in any movie he’s in, and his characterization has been actively cruel and unsympathetic the whole series, except for a very few moments with Rey, and most of the time with her he’s still being a condescending prick.  “I’m going to find you, and I’m going to turn you to the dark side.”  My dude.  Maybe say literally anything other than that, if your goal is to actually change her mind.  

I actually like (*coughs*  love, more and more obsessively), on a big-picture level, the whole “bonding with your nemesis” thing, as a trope.  But the nemesis needs to have some redeeming qualities other than the ability to look sad and tortured.  With better writing in general, and an antagonist with any actual depth/substance, it could have worked, and worked well.  As it is, I find I’m not mad at it as a thing, but like... what a damn shame.  It could have been great; instead it’s hollow and incredibly under-realized.  Incredibly.  Even setting aside the fact that the set-up was hamfistedly awful (I’m talking about their interactions in the previous movies and this one, where he spends all his time telling her what she Has To Do, Inevitably, and she spends all her time telling him to fuck off), shouldn’t she... have some kind of reaction to his death?  Like, any reaction?  Contemplation after the fact?  Acknowledgement that someone she had a Force connection to so strong they could communicate telepathically wherever they were is now dead?  But no, we’re cutting to triumphant music and the Resistance winning and Rey’s back in the X-wing and Ben Solo will not be mentioned again.

All of it is so damn hollow I’m peripherally kind of amazed at how riled up people seem to have gotten about it.  I just can’t summon an emotion stronger than exasperation.

I can summon an emotion stronger than exasperation for the way the script played Finn’s implied romantic love for Rey for laughs.  Finn Deserved Better; Disney is Terrible.  I’m so glad John Boyega is apparently telling them to piss off regarding future opportunities for him to be disrespected.  

<333 Poe and Finn’s “bickering married couple” dynamic, which apparently both actors have been intentionally playing up to the extent that they were able.  

Rey’s internal conflict, while beautifully acted by Daisy Ridley, did not make any damn sense, just like it didn’t make sense in TLJ.  Of course I get that one of the central themes is birth versus who you choose to be, but like.... she’s never once done anything that should make her or anyone else worry that she’s going to suddenly become a megalomaniacal Sith Lord.  As my brother pointed out, if they’d actually had her accidentally kill Chewie, as we were very briefly lead to believe, that might have lent it some credence.  But as it stands, her fear of herself just feels... completely inappropriate and unreasonable, given that aside from a few short outbursts that had no lasting consequences, she’s never deviated from the compassionate, generous person everyone except Kylo Ren (and Luke, I guess, in parts of TLJ) knows her to be.

I could spend another few thousand words talking about how nothing about Palpatine being Back or the Final Order existing and having planet-cracking weapons on every one of their enormous fleet out in a hidden system no one knows how to get to makes no fucking sense, but let’s just... leave it at that.  I’d rather not.  

It was a typical Disney conglomerate soulless cash-grab that had some entertaining bits, and some bits that could have been fantastic had anyone with power actually cared about telling a cohesive story rather than relying almost entirely on dramatic music and the actors’ facial expressions to make people feel things.

(PS: Where the heck did that yellow lightsaber come from?)

[theshijlegacy]

Rise of Skywalker ramblings

Saw RoS last night and loved it. 

I’d seen the mixed reviews and was a bit apprehensive going in, but was pleasantly surprised in a lot of ways.  It kept some of the spirit of TLJ that I liked while still delivering a lot of the “safer” Star Wars story that I expected.  Being part of a super enthusiastic opening night crowd is always fun too.  And it’s nice to see that I’m not the only person who liked the whole 7-8-9 trilogy!

Spoileriffic thoughts below.

--Rey Palpatine was one of the theories I’d kicked around, but it would have been nice if she really was nobody, like the Force doesn’t care who you’re related to. Timeline-wise she would have been better off as his great-granddaughter but I completely buy Sheev having lots of kids and/or having some later in life.

--I’d been running with the “Skywalker is the new name for Force user” theory for a while, but I’m OK with Rey adopting it as her last name.  She doesn’t have to be a Palpatine and the name of the family that saved the galaxy is continuing.

--HOLY CRAP FINN IS FORCE SENSITIVE.  I would love it if that was what he wanted to tell Rey.  (Best answer from Reddit: “I’m in love with Poe and don’t know how to tell him!”)

--Ben Solo didn’t make it to the end!  I was convinced he’d get a redemption arc and live happily ever after. Props to JJ/whoever for going in that direction, especially with the Jedi fadeout.

--The opening crawl getting right to "oh hey the emperor isn't really dead.” So happy they didn't drag out the “when-do-we-see/hear-the-emperor???” mystery

--Sheev Palpatine and his motherfucking contingencies for contingencies, plans-within-plans shit.  This guy was a thousand steps ahead of everyone else, all the time.  Got a glimpse of that in Empire’s End too.

--LOL the tank of Snoke clones.  Sheev loves his clones, in both canon and legends!

--Poe’s lightspeed skipping.  Poe being an ex-spice runner.  Poe and Zorii!  Poe in general.  Poe is great.

--Luke/Leia training flashback!!  Leia's lightsaber!!!!  Which she presumably built herself!!!!!

--3-way Finn/Poe/Rey hug.  And the sound of a thousand fanfics being composed…

--More First Order defectors who had been kidnapped as children.  (Also a plot point in Empire’s End, complete with a 6-year-old-ish Armitage Hux ordering around a group of kidnapped-and-brainwashed child recruits)

--Hux being the mole, not because he agrees with the resistance, but because he hates Kylo Ren.  I bet he was hatching a plan as soon as Snoke was killed.

--Force-healing onscreen!  And it wasn’t just “Force magic” (which I also would have been OK with), it was actual taking life from one to give to another.

--Rey was noticeably better at lightsaber fighting.  She was… not great in TFA.  Only slightly better in TLJ.  Her year of training really shows and I like that we’ve seen a pretty clear progression.

--Rey stopping that transport with some Kyle Katarn shit and Kylo trying to get it back and OH SHIT REY SHOT OUT FORCE LIGHTNING  

--Palpatine: GLADoS edition has been added to my recent “horrifying scene that works but really gives me the creeps” list (also includes flashback to Coulson resuscitation/brain surgery with him repeating “just let me die” on Agents of SHIELD, Brainy getting rebooted on Supergirl)

--Aside from his GLADoS-esque support arm complete with wires, I liked undead-Palpatine's look - missing fingers, whited-out eyes, and his transformation after he stole life from Rey & Kylo.  Especially the red-lined robes.

--Got serious Endgame vibes at the end with all the ships showing up. Husband unit also pointed out the parallel of “I am inevitable”/”I am Iron Man” and “I am all Sith”/”I am all Jedi”

--OMG ALL THE JEDI SPEAKING TO REY.  I didn’t recognize everything at first but I heard Obi-Wan (young & old), Yoda, Mace Windu, Ahsoka(!!!!!), and Anakin.  Per the credits, voices also included Qui-Gon(!), Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Adi Gallia, and Kanan Jarrus(!!!!!).  Two notable absences: Cal Kestis and Ezra Bridger.  I can accept Cal’s fate as TBD since Fallen Order just came out, but this is really good news for Ezra.  I am now super super interested to see where these two have been.

--Kept the Rey/Kylo force-connection deal.  It weirded me out in TLJ but I’m really glad it was kept here.

--Wedge coming back for one last ride!  (and aging pretty well, wow)

--RIP Snap.  :-( I’d grown a bit attached to him after the Aftermath trilogy, but I think Norra and Brentin would have been proud.

-- ForceGhost!Luke has a new attitude; I guess being dead for a while tends to mellow you out.  I am still 100% OK with his character in this trilogy.

--Kylo not being as good at fighting after he dropped the dark-side allegiance – specifically the 6v1 fight against the Knights of Ren before he got the lightsaber.  Like he'd been into it so deep for so long he forgot how to fight without it.

--Han coming back one last time for some Ghost Dad Advice

--THANKS FOR NOT KILLING CHEWIE!!  I was seriously worried

--Rey fights herself!

--Where can I buy a replica of that Sith wayfinder?  I do like shiny force-user crystals/holocrons/etc

--Rey finally builds her own lightsaber!  And it’s yellow.

--TAKE THAT REYLOS: Oh you want a kiss huh?  There’s your kiss!  AND NOW HE’S DEAD.

--That whole scene.  Kylo staring at dead Rey.  Kylo force-healing Rey and bringing her back to life.  And now they’re staring at each other, and I’m thinking don’t kiss you idiots, don’t fucking do it.  FUCK they did.  I actually booed out loud.  (I will not deny being a little bit happy that Kylo died immediately after)

--All of the “are you happy Ep 7 & 8 haters???” stuff: Rey is super powerful because she’s Palpatine’s granddaughter, someone bringing up a “why don’t we Holdo this” argument and getting shot down with good reason, showing Leia’s Force powers with a flashback to being trained by Luke AND having her own lightsaber

--The urgent timeline got kind of.. muddled?  Forgotten?  They had 18 hours or 12 and still had time for all those spacejumps and Lando gathering friends from all over?

--A bit too on-the-nose with some of the ROTJ parallels.  Lando in disguise saving the day on a desert planet! Speeder bike chase!  Emperor taunting Our Hero while their friends are losing a huge battle outside!  A Skywalker dies so Our Hero can live!

--Also wondered if one of the writers played SWTOR: Emperor who really isn’t dead uses Super Mega Force Lightning and tries to jump into Our Hero’s body to take over their mind.

After chewing on this for a day, here’s my ranking of Skywalker/Palpatine saga films from best to worst:

5 > 8 > 9 > 4 > 7 > 6 > 3 > 2 > 1

And including Solo and Rogue One:

5 > Rogue One > 8 > 9 > 4 > 7 > 6 > 3 > Solo > 2 > 1

tbh I’m so far into the “inject all Star Wars content directly into my veins pls” territory that I can’t say I hate any of it, and even the cringiest prequel moments are leaps and bounds ahead of a lot of other junk I’ve watched/read/played.  So much about Star Wars is just FUN, and I will gladly handwave away most of my nitpicks (SpeedForce, I ain’t gotta explain shit) for the sake of enjoying the story.  Even the ridiculous stuff that I poke fun at is still a part of the whole mess; it can’t all be great or even good or OK and that is fine with me.  [NOTE: I have not watched the Holiday Special but the husband unit is weirdly enthusiastic about me doing so; it may happen yet this year.] 

I really like this comment from the A.V. Club.  More cynical than my overall take on the whole shebang but I totally know with where they’re coming from.  I don’t agree with all the responses but it’s a pretty good discussion.

[lurkingcrow]

(2/2)I'm currently reading another fic where old Ben is possessing Councilor Obi-Wan. So. How about. For unspecified reasons/methods, Old Ben (anywhere from just post-66 to post-RotJ ForceGhost) is cosharing (to what extent, you decide, are they separate, or blending) with either CW!Obi-Wan or Padawan/Knight Kenobi. And same with Vader-coshares appropriate Anakin. How aware all 4 personalities R of each other - up 2 U. I'm bad at specifics aren't I. I try to narrow down, yet still go or,or,or.

Why go for “OR” when you can use “AND”?  ;)

Sorry about the delay, corralling this into something doable was a bit of an effort. Even now there’s still an extra scene or two that don’t want to cooperate, so I decided to call it quits and share what I’ve got...

Anakin was five when he went mad.

(“You are not mad child. This is the will of the Force.”)

The voices of course disagree, but Ani knows that the only other people to hear invisible voices that nobody else can are the ones who've spent too long in the desert and ended up addled.

(“Ok, you may have point there... but trust me this is different!”)

When he brings up the issue to his Mom however she just laughs a little sadly and tells him that he's not mad - plenty of children have imaginary friends, and he should enjoy his time with them while he could.

(The voices fall silent, as they always do when she is near.)

Anakin isn't quite convinced. There's something in his heart that tells him something is… not wrong, but not right either. Still, his Mom is really smart so maybe he should talk to them anyway?

And so began his years long relationship with the ghosts in his head.

“You need to get those power converters checked quickly - if Watto ends up using one it’s going to blow up in his face and he’ll take it out on us.” advises the man who claims to be his older self.

Anakin looks from the part in his hand up to where only he can see the outline of a tall man lounging against the wall - the ghosts have become stronger over the years, capable of appearing outside his dreams. It would be nice if they could do more than talk at him though. He looks back at the converter. It looks fine. But then again Big Him hasn’t been wrong about this kind of thing before.

Anakin sighs. “Yeah, ok. At least there's only eight of…”

He cuts off mid word as both he and his other self turn to look beyond the door, where the dark shadows seem to coalesce into another large form.

Big Him glares venomously. “Oh. You’re back.”

The Dark Man seems continues to walk forward, unperturbed by the interruption. The faint echoing hiss of nonexistent machinery fills the back of Anakin’s mind as he nears.

One gloved hand reaches out as if to pick up the part in Anakin's fingers, only to pause as the figure remembers his incorporeal nature.

“You persist in this folly. Why? With my help you could be free of this all!”

“No.” Anakin says firmly, gathering his will and holding his chin high. “You hurt people. It’s not right.”

The black mask regards the boy impassively. “There is little that is right about this accursed planet. You could embrace your power, use it to do great things, and yet you allow this idiotic… JEDI to poison you with his weakness.”

“I am NOT weak!” snarls Big Him, fists clenching. “And it's not difficult to see that the Sith are EVIL!”

Anakin can feel the tension rising in the Force (another thing his ghosts had introduced him to) and steps between the shapes, forcing their attention on him.

“Hey, Big Me? Could you go check on Mom? She should be down at the market by now.”

His older self looks uncertain for a moment, the need to protect their mother battling with the urge to defend Anakin himself. “If you're sure.”

“I'll be fine.”

The apparition disappears, leaving behind only the menacing shadow.

For a moment neither of them speak..

“Why are you so mean? You're him right? The same way that he's me.”

“I am NOTHING like him. Anakin Skywalker was a weak fool.” the Dark Man rumbles.

“But we, you, ARE Anakin Skywalker!”

“No.” Rasps that deep deep voice “ I KILLED Anakin Skywalker.”

Anakin just looks at him sadly.

“And that's why I'm gonna keep saying no.”

*****

Obi-Wan Kenobi is not insane.

He knows this, feels the Force hum with certainty whenever he questions it, and yet he still has no better answer for the apparitions that haunt his waking mind.

“Believe me, if I had any answers for you I would give them. This situation makes no sense to me either.”

Obi-Wan holds back a sigh of resignation as he washes the last traces of mud out of his hair, long experience leaving him comfortable with his unseen company even within the privacy of his own quarters.  

Why him? Of all the beings in the universe for the Force to choose to experiment with temporal displacement, why did it have to be Obi-Wan Kenobi? He may be strong in the unifying Force, may have had the occasional Force vision, but surely there are more important individuals to bestow this on?

Still, no matter his confusion, there's no reason to take his frustration out on his other self.

“I know. I just wish… anyway thank you, for your advice back there. I dread to think what a fool I would have looked like if I’d gone ahead and greeted the High Chief as I’d intended.”

The bearded apparition winces a little ruefully. “It would not have been the most pleasant of experiences, no.”

Obi-Wan slings his towel over his shoulder and looks at the other him with a smile. “Then I appreciate your willingness to help me avoid it.” His mood dampens a little bit. “I think I’ve disappointed Master Qui-Gon on this mission without adding public humiliation to the mix.”

The ghost looks pained. “I understand completely. With the years of hindsight I would still argue that his response was a little unnecessary, I see his position. The desire to see one's Padawan grow and succeed is a Master's greatest pleasure, and I'm sure the harsh words were not intended as such.”

A dry chuckle emerges from the other corner of the room and Obi-Wan abruptly remembers that  there are in fact three presences inside his private quarters.

“Or perhaps he simply did not think. There comes a time when we must accept that even the most revered Masters are fallible, and can be wrong. You of all people should understand this General.”

The General ( for that is what he is clad in battered armour emblazoned with the symbol of the Order and Obi-Wan shudders to think of the circumstances under which Jedi would become soldiers) flinches as if hit by a physical blow before rebounding and locking his gaze upon entering their eldest iteration with keen intent.

“Perhaps. Of course if you wish to elucidate upon the subject I would be happy to listen, Ben.”

The older, sadder, Jedi Master raises one eyebrow, and silently regards his younger selves.

Ben does not talk often, and when he does it is full of regret and deep loneliness. His silence on the specifics of his past have led to considerable tension with the General - one day Obi-Wan will apparently have a Padawan, a Grand-Padawan even, and the General is desperate for information to prevent whatever tragedy will befall them.

(“No.” Ben says the first time the General pushes. “It will only cause you pain. Our young self is the only one of us with the opportunity to change his future right now. To act rashly is to risk losing what precious little hope remains.”)

Obi-Wan can kind of see both their points. He’s not sure he wants to know what horrors the future holds in store, but at the same time he is desperately curious about the people who will come to mean so much to him.

Still it doesn’t matter. Ben is immovable on this subject.

Realising the current conversation has reached an impasse, Obi-Wan attempts to defuse the simmering disquiet.

“It’s ok, what’s done is done. We need to focus on making sure the next time we’re in a situation like that we have alternatives.”

One heartbeat, two, and Ben’s face crinkles up into a genial smile.

“Ah yes. Have you considered the merits of converting some mission funds into small trade items for emergencies? Sewing a pouch into the band of our trousers would minimise the risk of it being lost, and we wouldn’t need to worry about transactions being traced.”

Obi-Wan takes the moment to finish dressing, mulling the idea over.

“ An interesting idea. Why did I never think of that?” muses the General, idly stroking his spectral beard, a keen glint in his eye.

Ben regards them both,eyes ever so sad. “You never needed to. Until we did.”

And Obi-Wan Kenobi  wishes that he was only mad.

[gffa]

There continues to be so much amazing STAR WARS fic that it’s impossible to scream about all of the good stuff, but I’m certainly going to try and here’s the next batch of fic you definitely should cry and scream and flail about with me! STAR WARS FIC RECS: ✦ wicked thing by imaginarykat, obi-wan/anakin & ventress & cast, nsfw, sith!obi-wan, 100.9k wip    The story of how Anakin exists in a perpetual state of intense embarrassment, Kenobi is enjoying it a little too much, and everything is, generally speaking, a gigantic mess. ✦ Only Ones Who Know by maravilla, obi-wan/anakin/padme, NSFW, d/s, pegging, 3.6k    Or, the one where Anakin gets pegged. ✦ The Nature of Fire by Phosphorescent, anakin/padme & obi-wan & palpatine & cast, 9.1j    “One Jedi, then,” Padmé offered to the others. At least let me speak the truth to my love. At least. Please, she pleaded with them silently. “There is one Jedi—one whom I truly know all of us can trust absolutely …” Her voice trailed off into appalled silence when she realized that she wasn’t talking about Anakin. ✦ untitled by panharmonnium, obi-wan & anakin, 1.3k    two padawans who cannot take care of their clothes ✦ Goreblood the Terrible by BloodyMary, jedi & cast, 1.7k    It has occured to me that so far we lack any sort of folklore/storytelling tradition for the Jedi. So I set out to remedy this. Behold, for Goreblood the Terrible was the result. ✦ The Flaw in the Plan by WingletBlackbird, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    Obi-Wan has to explain the subtleties of Jedi culture when Anakin passes a lesson with flying colours, but fails to see the point of it. ✦ Hearts of Kyber by Elfpen, baze & chirrut & cassian, 1.6k    Cassian, Baze, and Chirrut share a conversation on the eve of their mission to Scarif. Chirrut tells a story about a man he met a long time ago, and Baze and Cassian may or may not believe him. Chirrut doesn’t need eyes to see. Sequel to ‘Strongest Stars’. ✦ Clarity by Orange_Clown, anakin & leia, 1k    By the time that the Imperial Forces landed on Hoth, Leia was the only one left on the base. ✦ The Apprentice Returns Home by BarbaraFett, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & yoda, force ghosts, 2.1k    Ahsoka Tano lived a full and interesting life as a Jedi Padawan, a Commander in the Clone Wars, a Rebel leader, and finally as a peacefully-retired civilian. Now, near the end of her life, she reaches out for the Force and is surprised to find not only comfort, but a warm welcome from old friends. ✦ The Force Awakens: Another Point of View by BarbaraFett, obi-wan & anakin & yoda & mace & cast, force ghost,    ForceGhost!Anakin angsts about observes and reacts to the events of Episode VII. (This is the first angstfic I’ve ever written, and it’s probably not all that angsty.) ✦ Lion Jinn by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 5.7k wip    Qui-Gon Jinn reincarnates as a lion. ✦ untitled by writegowrite, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, ~1k    Prompt: “I have an idea for a prompt. Set in Southern California, Anakin Skywalker is a surf instructor and his newest student is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a two-star Michelin chef and a single parent to Ahsoka.” ✦ The Force That Binds Us by ReaganJenelle, obi-wan/anakin & padme & cast, f!anakin, 4.7k wip    Anakin Skywalker is just fifteen when she and her master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are given orders to protect Senator Padmé Amidala from the assassins sent by the Separatists. After four years, Master and Padawan are reunited. Only Anakin is no longer the girl Obi-Wan sent to Naboo. ✦ untitled by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & jedi, 3.6k    The matter of Anakin Skywalker is put off a little longer, until Qui-Gon is in a better position health wise. Besides, while he is not completely at ease in the ranks of the initiates, Skywalker has settled in somewhat - it will do no harm to wait a little longer. ✦ Is That Really Me? by avada_matata, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.2k    In which Anakin and Ahsoka stumble upon the toy section at the Space Walmart full details + recs under the cut!

STAR WARS FIC RECS: ✦ wicked thing by imaginarykat, obi-wan/anakin & ventress & cast, nsfw, sith!obi-wan, 100.9k wip    The story of how Anakin exists in a perpetual state of intense embarrassment, Kenobi is enjoying it a little too much, and everything is, generally speaking, a gigantic mess.    Chapter 14: This is an update rec and will focus on this chapter, rather than the fic as a whole. I was really delighted to see this fic updated and I was glad that I slid right back into it, I didn’t even need to refresh my memory of what happened, and it was just as charming and charismatic as ever! The whole chapter was pretty much a delightful embracing of the domestic quiet time, where Anakin adjusts to being around Obi-Wan and Ventress, where they snark at each other in really fun ways, where Anakin is a beautiful disaster that I will always fall in love with again, and I love that it was only about 3.4k words long and yet I felt satisfied with it, that it was just the right amount of time for these characters to spend together in this chapter. I love how well these characters come together, that Anakin just immediately relaxes when he’s with Obi-Wan, that something in him settles to be with this person. It might not have been a long chapter, but it was one that just made me feel like I was in a warm bath, for how comforting and fun this was to read, bless. ✦ Only Ones Who Know by maravilla, obi-wan/anakin/padme, NSFW, d/s, pegging, 3.6k    Or, the one where Anakin gets pegged.    I can’t even tell you how much I adored this absolutely lovely fic, it’s beautifully written and spot on to my iddy wants both, that it was a gorgeous find for me. Anakin who just settles when he’s in subspace, when Padme takes care of him, when Obi-Wan tells him how good he’s being, when they put guidelines and boundaries down for him, these two people he loves most in the galaxy, these two people he trusts. I would have read it just for that aspect alone and been over the moon at Anakin’s characterization! But then the sex! The lovely references to how often Obi-Wan would fuck him while he went down on Padme! The ridiculously hot way Obi-Wan opened Anakin up with his fingers, Anakin so desperate to have something more fill him up and how he didn’t want to think about anything else, just wanted both of his favorite people in him! The ridiculously hot way Padme lined the strap-on up and pushed into him while he sucked Obi-Wan off, how satisfying and pretty the sex was while also making me so happy for Anakin’s character, that all that noise was out of his head. It was a perfect combination of lovely writing, characterization, and sex! I can’t even tell you how good it was for me. ✦ The Nature of Fire by Phosphorescent, anakin/padme & obi-wan & palpatine & cast, 9.1j    “One Jedi, then,” Padmé offered to the others. At least let me speak the truth to my love. At least. Please, she pleaded with them silently. “There is one Jedi—one whom I truly know all of us can trust absolutely …” Her voice trailed off into appalled silence when she realized that she wasn’t talking about Anakin.    Chapter 3: This is an update rec and will focus on this chapter, rather than the fic as a whole. I was excited to see this fic update and I absolutely was not disappointed–the entire chapter was viciously tense, I felt it on a nearly physical level, and just about tripped over myself wanting to get to the next piece of it, because it absolutely does justice to everything Padme is going through in these moments and what she’s trying to work out. The fic does such a gorgeous job of really, really having thought about the events going on here, what Padme was thinking about, what her relationship with Anakin is like, it balances both the good and the bad of it, it shows the genuine love with how it’s falling apart and the foundational problems in it. It shows this beautifully done creeping terror Padme is feeling, it gives such depth and intensity to her character and her views, it shows her limited knowledge is so frustrating here, she just doesn’t have context for a lot of things, so sometimes she’s right and sometimes she’s wrong and sometimes she just doesn’t know. It’s a beautifully written chapter, it’s taking the events we’ve all gone over so often and making them fresh and sharp again for me, it feels like reading a punch to the body, in exactly the way it should. So, so well done and not particularly nice or happy, I don’t know if things will change for the drastically better, ruined in a different way, or what. But it’s a gorgeous exploration of Padme as a character that makes me fall in love with her all over again. ✦ untitled by panharmonnium, obi-wan & anakin, 1.3k    two padawans who cannot take care of their clothes    You guys, I was practically on the floor for this whole fic because it’s so very good, it just has utter charm and sparkle and is delightful. It does such a beautiful job of showing what a handful young Anakin was, how he gets into trouble, why he does the things he does, gives me so many Anakin feelings, while also giving me so many Obi-Wan feelings. This fic clearly adored them both, adored the dynamic between them, knew how to write something that was an absolute scream to read as Anakin grudgingly confessed to why he lost his cloak and how Obi-Wan won’t just let him off the hook and UGH IT WAS JUST SUCH A GOOD PIECE. ✦ Goreblood the Terrible by BloodyMary, jedi & cast, 1.7k    It has occured to me that so far we lack any sort of folklore/storytelling tradition for the Jedi. So I set out to remedy this. Behold, for Goreblood the Terrible was the result.    I maybe screamed a bit, because Jedi worldbuilding!! An oral tradition that’s passed down through their history, that the story changes based on what the person telling it is bringing to the story, and an example of one of the stories told. It’s full of a bunch of cute little details and it does a lovely job of adding a little depth to the culture of the Jedi and makes me think about what other kinds of traditions they had, and just that I really delighted in reading this. ✦ The Flaw in the Plan by WingletBlackbird, obi-wan & anakin, 1.1k    Obi-Wan has to explain the subtleties of Jedi culture when Anakin passes a lesson with flying colours, but fails to see the point of it.    This was really cute and a lot sweeter than I thought it would be, based on the tags! I love the exploration of Anakin’s misunderstandings, that it’s heartbreaking for him and how he came to be the way he is, that of course it would be super complicated a thing to address and he wouldn’t understand why people reacted the way they did, scared for him and worried for him, rather than pleased with him. And I love how patient Obi-Wan is with him, how much he cares about Anakin and explains things to him, how maybe they don’t full understand each other or why the other feels the way they do, but they both care very deeply and are trying. And it’s actually largely very sweet and I love love love these two and their relationship! SO CUTE. ✦ Hearts of Kyber by Elfpen, baze & chirrut & cassian, 1.6k    Cassian, Baze, and Chirrut share a conversation on the eve of their mission to Scarif. Chirrut tells a story about a man he met a long time ago, and Baze and Cassian may or may not believe him. Chirrut doesn’t need eyes to see. Sequel to 'Strongest Stars’.    This was a nice follow up to Strongest Stars (though, you could get the context without it, I think), I liked seeing the connection between the Jedi and the Guardians of the Whills and I liked this as a quiet moment with the Rogue One characters before everything goes to shit. I’m always a fan of the bigger connections in SW and I, of course, love Chirrut who is a delight in this one! ✦ Clarity by Orange_Clown, anakin & leia, 1k    By the time that the Imperial Forces landed on Hoth, Leia was the only one left on the base.    This is an AU that doesn’t really give a lot of detail about the differences here (though, you can gather a fair amount) but it’s not really important, because it’s about a single moment, the tension-laden moment of Leia and her father and the distance and pull between them. I enjoyed this a lot because I definitely recognize this as Anakin Skywalker as Vader, as well as in different circumstances I can see this as Leia. It works well as a oneshot and is an intriguing universe and I just really would enjoy a whole Sith Family Empire, ahhhh, give it to me! ✦ The Apprentice Returns Home by BarbaraFett, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & yoda, force ghosts, 2.1k    Ahsoka Tano lived a full and interesting life as a Jedi Padawan, a Commander in the Clone Wars, a Rebel leader, and finally as a peacefully-retired civilian. Now, near the end of her life, she reaches out for the Force and is surprised to find not only comfort, but a warm welcome from old friends.    Oh, this was a really cute and kind-hearted and warm fic about Anakin’s Force Ghost going to see Ahsoka at the end of her life and asking if she wants help to join them here. It’s such a kind reunion scene with all of them, their family together again and happy to see each other, and it just had this really lovely, sweet charm to it that won me over completely. GIVE ME MORE FORCE GHOSTS AND FAMILY REUNIONS WITH OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, AHSOKA, AND YODA, ahhhhhh. ✦ The Force Awakens: Another Point of View by BarbaraFett, obi-wan & anakin & yoda & mace & cast, force ghost,    ForceGhost!Anakin angsts about observes and reacts to the events of Episode VII. (This is the first angstfic I’ve ever written, and it’s probably not all that angsty.)    Oh, this was such a sweet, kind-hearted fic! It does do the attachment = love thing that’s not what canon means, but it does it in such a warm-heared, kindway (to everyone!) that I couldn’t help getting swept up in it, too, because I just want everyone to be happy! This is a story about Anakin watching over the new generation from the sequels, about still sometimes almost getting lost in the Force, the ebb and flow of it, the cycle of events that keeps spinning around, about Anakin still working towards understanding even as he’s come so very far, and it just was really a nice look at the PT characters watching over the future, concerned for it, but not in a way that broke my heart, instead soothing something over in this really kind, warm way that I adored. ✦ Lion Jinn by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 5.7k wip    Qui-Gon Jinn reincarnates as a lion.    This is definitely crack treated seriously (and knows it) in a way that I always enjoy, because it just embraces the idea and is clearly having a blast with it and is weird in that way that Star Wars is weird. I especially loved the growing relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin here (but of course I would), how it’s not quite there yet, but Anakin understands what he’s saying when he presents the lion, that Obi-Wan will always try to explain things to Anakin whenever he can. I loved that everyone just feels Qui-Gon when they touch the lion and how that shifts things over just a little bit in potentially very interesting ways for future implications (or maybe not, who knows!), and also just straight up that the image of a baby lion is super fucking cute! ✦ untitled by writegowrite, obi-wan/anakin, modern au, ~1k    Prompt: “I have an idea for a prompt. Set in Southern California, Anakin Skywalker is a surf instructor and his newest student is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a two-star Michelin chef and a single parent to Ahsoka.”    This was short but such a good read at a time I needed it yet again. It’s light-hearted and flirty and good and fun, it’s soft without being sugary and just made me feel good. I will take that a hundred times like you don’t even know. ♥ ✦ The Force That Binds Us by ReaganJenelle, obi-wan/anakin & padme & cast, f!anakin, 4.7k wip    Anakin Skywalker is just fifteen when she and her master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are given orders to protect Senator Padmé Amidala from the assassins sent by the Separatists. After four years, Master and Padawan are reunited. Only Anakin is no longer the girl Obi-Wan sent to Naboo.    This fic isn’t very long yet and what’s here is mostly sticking to canon and hasn’t changed much even with Anakin’s gender and sex switched, but it’s solidly written and I’m curious to see where it goes! There are a few smaller changes (Anakin wears a dress to better blend in instead of sticking with his usual outfit), but the first person pov keeps a lot of it from really feeling that much different to canon yet, I suspect it’ll need a bit of time to get things really rolling, but I’m definitely ready for that to happen, the fic has me intrigued already, it’s got a good pacing to it and I think its on the cusp of where the bigger changes will start happening, so I’m ready for it! ✦ untitled by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & jedi, 3.6k    The matter of Anakin Skywalker is put off a little longer, until Qui-Gon is in a better position health wise. Besides, while he is not completely at ease in the ranks of the initiates, Skywalker has settled in somewhat - it will do no harm to wait a little longer.    This entire thing is absolutely fucking wonderful, it’s adorable while still being beautifully true to the characters, it’s a universe where everything works out while still being so damn good. Everything about this is absolutely good and kind and caring from the fic, it’s one of those that warmed my heart to read it, even as it’s sharp and clever and so wonderfully done. Qui-Gon doesn’t die on Naboo, so everything gets put on hold for awhile longer, which means everyone has some breathing room and time to settle, which means everyone has time to warm up to each other, too. Anakin settles in, Palpatine can’t get at him here, Obi-Wan has time to be a Knight, the various Masters start bonding with Anakin (some to see if they’d be a good match, some just to troll others because it’s fun, and they like the kid, too), and then it all works out in one of the most satisfying reveals, that balance of, oh, yes, that works, that’s how it’s supposed to all slide together, and also that sense of fannish flailing I get. I love this at the length it is, I don’t need it to be longer, but if the author did write it as a full 100k fic, I would be there for every single chapter update, because it’s so good and warm and fun and sharp and satisfying. ✦ Is That Really Me? by avada_matata, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 1.2k    In which Anakin and Ahsoka stumble upon the toy section at the Space Walmart    This was a really cute, light-hearted, semi-cracky fluff fic about Anakin and Ahsoka discovering Jedi toys at Space Wal-Mart and having a good laugh about them, then buying a bunch as joke gifts for everyone. It’s just really quietly charming and silly in the way that put a smile on my face and was fun to read!

[polis-fandom]

The Last Jedi thoughts

It’s been a week and I’m still on the fence with this movie. Everytime I think I’m getting over the disappointment and starting to enjoy what was good there, I come across some review that’s like “THIS IS THE GREATEST STAR WARS MOVIE EVERRRR!!! ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!” and it flares up again. I feel like I’m in the Gombrowicz’s tale, “how is it breathtaking, when it’s not breathtaking?! how is it beautiful, when it’s not beautiful? how is Rian Johnson a great director, when he’s the worst one since George Lucas?”. I need to get away from any discourse about this movie, or I’ll end up hating it. And it doesn’t deserve my hatred, because it’s not really a bad movie.

Bitter Me: *whispers* Luke Skywalker.

Me:

So I’ll just put my feelings here and move on. Under the cut, ‘cause lots of spoilers and overhelming bitterness, tho nothing new, others said all that already, so ignore as you wish.

“Star Wars: A New Hope” was the first movie I watched in cinema. No, I mean the remastered version from 1997, I’m not that old. But, yeah, Star Wars were the movies of my childhood, and are still among my favourite stories ever. After surviving the rocky Prequel Trilogy during my teenage years, I was excited to be brought back to the universe, and while The Force Awakens was redundant as far as the storyline goes, it won me over with the visuals. I made a conscious decision not to get attached to any of the new characters, because I felt there wasn’t enough to know about them. Besides, in the past Luke Skywalker didn’t became my favourite character until the second movie, so I figured I had the time to fall in love with them until I saw more.

Nice Me: Look at this one, he’s played by your favourite actor.

Bitter Me: That one is garbage.

Bitter Me: I’ll just wait to see the whole story. Maybe others will do something extra.

Nice Me: Like what? Blow up the Starkiller Base? Risk their life to save friends? Talk to Darth Vader’s helmet?

Bitter Me: Lose a limb.

(Btw, did you notice the advancement of the medical treatment in Last Jedi? The guy gets slashed through the back and wakes up mere days later just fine, other barely gets a scar…

Bitter Me: at least they are consistent with that.)

So, going in to see the Last Jedi, I had open mind, no expectations for the story, because Star Wars - aka the series that always makes it to the top of the lists of biggest plot twists ever - and I knew nothing besides what was shown in the trailer. And yet, I made one mistake. I saw someone’s tweet about how it’s the best Star Wars movie since the Empire…

Bitter Me: …and then I spent first hour trying to understand, where did this guy saw that greatness, because it just wasn’t there.

I’ve got the biggest gripes with the editing, cinematography, and directing in general. You see, this series, however bad the movies were, they at least were visually stunning. They had certain style and flow - despite all the action, there were always slower scenes, a bit more nostalgic, giving you time to soak up the visuals and feel the emotion. Johnson fails at that repeatedly. The edit at the beging is very rushed, the scenes chopped, and set-up of some could’ve been better. Even Ahch-too, which was amazingly shot in previous film, here becomes a more of clustered and claustrophobic set.

Nice Me: But there are some magnificient shots. The admiral Holdo launching into hyperspace - absolutely beautiful. The pretorian guards fight - one of the best lightsabers fights. The Crait scenes with crystals and everything.  

Bitter Me: which just angers me more, because if he’s capable of pulling of shots like that, why the whole movie isn’t equally beautiful???

Nice Me: But the Leia in vacuum scene starts beautiful too. I’m ecstatic that we finally have an undisputed proof that Leia is not only force sensitive, but she actually mastered the use of it. It would have been really interesting to see more of her in the next movie, might she have become a teacher Rey needs...

Nice Me:…but then the latter half of that scene is shot in such a way, it comes of as silly and utterly dumb. The guy is just bad at showing visions.

Nice Me: Breath. Just breath.

Bitter Me: …that one was horribly edited.

Nice Me: But the scene at dark place at AhchToo was impressive…

Bitter Me: …as a trick shot with no substance that leads to nowhere. He could have used some of that creative visuals for the Force Skype scenes, they were edited in such bland manner…

Nice Me: …you’re complaining about that because it reminded you of Alina and Darkling having identical force bond in Grisha, down to the shirtless scene…

Bitter Me:… as bad as that was, Bardugo at least gave a good explanation of how it was possible.

Nice Me: Snoke did it.

Bitter Me: I recognize the narrative need to create such connection between them, I just think it could have been done in a more artistic way visually.

Bitter Me: Rian is praised for the daring and innovative writing of this movie. And yet the main plot can be summed as: they are evacuating the rebel resistance base, escape - but not far, cause they can’t enter hyperspace, so they sneak into evil ship and try to turn off tracking beam, and then seek hidding on a nearby planet. Yep, I’ve never seen a star wars movie with a plot like that.

Bitter Me: So what’s so daring here? destroying all the symbols of the star wars franchise? Making Luke grumpy and acting against his very core?

Bitter Me: Look, I’m not so much against making Luke a space hobo hermit, who no longer wants to train Jedi, it‘s possible to have such turn after you tried and failed. But I have everything against Luke trying to murder Ben, because he’s too powerful and tempted to the dark side. Luke did everything he could to save his father, who was far deeper on the Dark side. Luke was himself tempted by it, and resisted it. Luke would have done everything to save Ben, but he would not draw a lightsaber on him…

Nice Me: But he says it was a flitting feeling, just a moment of weakness, he regrets deeply…

Bitter Me: What exactly young Ben Solo had done to lead Luke to even consider such an act? We are only told the dark side was rising in him, and that’s sounds vague as hell.

Look, The Star Wars at it’s core were a story about hope - that there’s good even in a bad person, about redemption, and unwavering familial love. Luke was the embodiment of that, and that scene goes directly against it.

If he so insist on having such a drastic turn for Luke, he should’ve made us understand, how did it happen. We should’ve seen more of young Ben Solo, and their dynamic prior to the break. It would serve both their characters and story overall better than this cheap shot for the shock value, so we, like Rey, would cry: You have created Kylo Ren???

But, honestly, if Rian is oh-so-clever and daring writer, he could’ve come up with a better, more complex backstory for Luke and Ben’s breakdown.

Bitter Me: and besides Luke’s arc here? The big lesson he learns? „the real great master let’s his students grow beyond him.” That’s such a simple one, so obvious, it’s dumb and annoying, not worthy to be Luke’s final arc. He was wiser than that. Luke was never about being great and powerful, he rejected offers to became such through dark side, he left his jedi training because his friends were more important to him. Why would he be afraid of his student becoming more powerful than him?

Nice Me: But Luke is great. Like when he says „what do you expect me to do? show up and wave my lightsaber, and they will all run off scared?”, he might be mocking the heroic ways and everyone’s expectations, but if you look back, he achieved his biggest win in the Original Trilogy by tossing asside the lightsaber and refusing to fight.

Bitter Me: …and then he goes and does excatly, what he mocked: shows up, wave the lightsaber and scare off the pesky First Order.

Nice Me: And it was EPIC! And the shoulder brush! hilarious!

Bitter Me: yeah, yeah. Btw, was that their first meeting since Luke tried to murder Ben? so he just like that, shows up, mocks Kylo’s powerlessness, fights him and then promises to forceghost hunt him for eternity?

Nice Me: What do you want him to do?

Bitter Me: …I don’t know, APOLOGIZE for trying to murder him?

Nice Me: fine, but this is still about redemption and love and hope. Rose says: That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love. It’s a great quote.

Bitter Me: Then who is saving Kylo? whose there left to love him? Rey, walking off on him, closing door on him? Leia, giving up on him, saying we need to kill him? What mother would say something like that? Leia would say something like that? The princess who was always compassionate, and hugging everyone around? Who spent all the previous film insisting on bringing Ben back?

Nice Me: She says it in a tone that suggests she’s not believing it herself. like she’s trying to convince herself, because others expect that of her, because he’s a threat to them all. And Luke counters it immedietly.

Bitter Me: …It’s still there.

Nice Me: …and there’s still third movie. The story is in progress.

Nice Me: At least Snoke is dead. That was GREAT. He always felt like this unnecessary ouside evil force, that people can conveniently blame for all the bad things done, just kill him and everythings gonna be bright and shiny again. By removing him so early, they made way and time to explore more complex evil inside us, err, characters, or harder to spot like the riches benefiting from the ongoing war. That’s a nice storytelling turn.

Nice Me: And Rey as a random nobody is a joy for my heart, because I’m a bit done with Chosen One trope, where hero’s been destinated for heroics on the qualms of being born a prince or noble or someone powerful. I’ve had hard times connecting with such characters, because I myself never felt born special.

(Bitter Me: Then how did you end up liking Luke, the very icon of Chosen One trope?

Nice Me: Loss of the limb.)

Bitter Me: okay, but that was only told to us, just like Rey’s vision of Kylo’s future. Told, not shown. I mean, given how bad Rian is at visions, it would be cringey, but still it’s a movie, use the visuals to convey the information. Not everything needs to be telegraphed, did we really need that guy liking the rocks on Crait to know it’s salt? Who cares it’s salt? That was distracting.

Nice Me: …that was to bring the attention to the footprint…

Bitter Me: …the big zoom on it did that just fine. The joke was unnecesary.

Bitter Me: Actually half the jokes were unnecessary. The humour was crude, often misplaced and under cutting the drama of the scenes. They say it was needed to balance out the dark themes this movie deals with, but in my opinion the previous movies dealt with the same dark drama, and yet used humour in a less forced nor cynical way. Some say it felt more like a Marvel movie, and true, that’s how it felt.

Nice Me:…but you loved Thor Ragnarok - for it’s humour exactly.

Bitter Me: one, Thor used humour with better placement and sense of purpose, didn’t try to undercut the emotional impact of the scenes with it. Two, it was a Marvel movie - you expect such humour, because that’s their style. Going to the Star Wars you expect Star Wars - great visuals, action scenes, emotions, feelings, not disgusting alien cow. It’s anti-climatic.

Besides, why are we so ashemed of pure emotions and drama, that we need to undercut it with gags and jokes? why there must be a wink, „yeah, we did this serious scene, but we’re not sure we got it good enough, people might mock us for it, better mock ourselves first.” For gods sake, dare to be honest. If it’s serious, heroic, epic, let it be such!

Nice Me: The latter half of the movie was great, tho. Rey using force in non-combat way to move rocks and save friends, nice way to turn joke around into something beautiful. All of them coming together on Millenium Falcon board. Luke’s death with the suns setting, making nice parallel to the sunset at Tatooine long ago at the begining of his journey. That last scene about the power of storytelling, I cried a little, it was so moving…

Bitter Me: … the storytelling about what? Self-righteous jedi deciding who is worthy of forgivness or chance for redemption, and who to finish off while they’re still a kid and asleep? About mothers giving up on their sons? About destroying everything that once was sacred, stripping it of the value? It’s all clever writting, but without understanding the soul of the Star Wars, without keeping it’s core sacred, it came of shallow.

Nice Me: shhh, calm down. It’s just a movie.

Bitter Me: How did we come to the Star Wars being just a movie? just a story? quite ironic, in the context of that ending scene.

Magic is gone.

Nice Me: Come on, Let’s watch it again, maybe you’ll like it better. There’s a cute orange murderball...

Bitter Me: …and my fave actor gets trashed around. Fine, let’s watch it again.

[krawalito]

Let me just add my 2 cents here.

Vader died very similar to Ben. With one Exception that Luke saw him as a forceghost and so did we, the audience. However, did the galaxy knew anything about his sacrifice, his redemption, that he was the father of Leia and Luke? Exactly no one really did. Why am I mentioning this? Because that is another proof (see below) that JJ/Disney/DLF were trying to copy the originals. If you look at it from a subjective point of view that’s exactly what their intention was. Tell the same story to a younger generation to win new Star Wars fans. Plain and simple. Let’s just do it all over again just with some new technical stuff and nice pictures.

Rey - Luke parallel (growing up in a desert, future Jedi, daddy issues, the binary sunset. THE BINARY SUNSET!)

Kylo - Darth Vader parallel (Former Good guy, former Jedi/padawan turning to the dark, seduced by palpatine)

Ben - anakin parallel (Good Boy with strong force power, mommy issues)

Poe - Han parallel (pilot, charming, funny)

First order - the empire

Rebellion - Résistance

Star killer base - Death Star (pick one...)

Reylo - anidala to some extent

Bb8 - r2d2

And let’s not forget the bunch of old people they brought back. Kind of everybody who was still alive? Luke, Leia, Han, chewie, palp, lando....

The ONLY new thing actually was Finn. Great potential but thrown under the bus in TROS. And of course the dayd, also thrown under the Bus in TROS.

So yes Ben deserved better. So much better. The whole sequel trilogy deserved better. And that is why TLJ will always be the most controversial among these 3 because it was trying to go in a different direction and I am pretty sure that if rian would’ve written ep 9 we would’ve gotten a complete different story. Especially with Ben and Rey.

Sorry for my rant here which might have gotten into another direction ☺️

Yes, I'm still mad about The Rise of Skywalker.

And I'm actually just now able to put it into real words.

I was talking (more like ranting) to my mom about how the sequels were incredibly disappointing, especially TRoS, for multiple reasons. The thing I was most angry about was what they did to Ben, and us Reylo shippers. I felt betrayed that they gave us Reylo and then ripped it away from us right after, but I realized today what else made me feel that way.

From the beginning, Kylo Ren was not the "bad" guy. He may have been an antagonist at some point, but we could tell from the beginning that he was conflicted and in a lot of pain, and even Rey didn't completely hate him like pretty much everyone else. The Force Awakens set up this dual protagonist situation, and The Last Jedi carried it even further. And I'm sure that when Kylo Ren offered his hand to Rey to join him in the Dark side, many of us were rooting for him even more to turn back to the Light, or at least find a gray area. In fact, that was my expectation. There were some really interesting parallels made to Darth Vader that couldn't be ignored, and with the whole deal with Snoke, I thought that surely they would change the narrative and actually redeem Kylo Ren.

And you know what? They did. He chose to be good again, he chose to be Ben, and he chose to go after Rey and help her save the world, and it made me so unimaginatively happy that they actually did it.

And then they killed him.

They finally let Ben be happy, and then ripped him from the world. And no one even said another word about it.

That's what really got me; we never see Rey explain what happened, we never see the reactions as people find out that Kylo Ren is gone, the reactions as those who knew Ben as a child hear that he turned to the Light only to die. Not a single word.

That's the difference between Vader and Ben. Vader's sacrifice was his redemption; death was essentially his only option. Ben turned back before he even really knew that Rey was in danger (if I remember correctly). He didn't have to die. But he did.

And I'm never going to forgive Disney or the writers or directors or whoever made that decision.

Because, in the end, Star Wars ends happily. Good prevails. But, unlike Vader, Ben didn't even have a chance. And I think that hurts most of all.

The decision makes no sense to me from any perspective, especially a narrative one. There were so many options and they went with the one that would hurt us most. If Ben had stayed with the Dark side and died as a result, it would've been tragic, but realistic. As realistic as Star Wars can be. And where does that leave Rey? Does she explain what really happened, does she let people beleive what they will? There are too many unanswered questions, too many inconsistencies, too many questionable decisions. I still remember watching it happen, I felt so utterly betrayed, and not in the good writing way.

Ben Solo Deserves Better.

-

If you got this far, thanks for reading all this. I know it's been actual years since TRoS came out, but I don't think I'm ever going to get over this, so I'll probably keep making posts about it. Anyway, if you disagree with my opinions, I'm always up for a healthy debate!

~Dusky Out~