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animatedminds · 3 years

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Star Wars: Visions - Episode 9: Akakiri

And here we make it to the end of the set: the last episode of Star Wars: Visions. It’s been a wonderful ride, and a fine addition to the recent influx of great Star Wars content: really making me itch for more. But all things must be released in The Force in time - which is to say, all things must come to an end, so we reach that finale together, with...

Episode 9: Akakiri Developed By: Science SARU Directed By: Eunyoung Choi This film makes for a fine bookend with The Duel. Like the Duel, the plot of this one is somber and straightforward. And like The Duel, the like entire story is a slow build up to a striking conclusion... this time, due to a terrible twist.

The plot of this one regards a Jedi in an indeterminate time period - perhaps best presumed as during the Sith Wars - returning to his home planet in order to aid the princess of his land, who seeks to reclaim her throne after her aunt joined the Sith and murdered her way into power. The short is mostly a small scale, tightly focused set of traveling scenes as they approach the castle: just the two of them, along with two more comedic but loyal traveling companions. The two muse over their lots in life, reaffirm their resolve, and deal with their feelings for one another, all before the final battle... in which things do not go quite as one might expect.

This, like The Twins, comes across as an abstraction of a story we all know, but unlike The Twins rather than a referential cavalcade this film proceeds like a retelling: a unexpected story that descends tragically into something familiar. I won’t go into all the details of what that story is, but let us just say that it seems no accident that over the course of the story the princess slowly comes to physically resemble the traits of a certain Padme Amidala, and the Jedi a certain Anakin Skywalker.

Like The Duel, this short is another where the straightforward nature of the plot means there isn’t much to say about - at least if is not going too deeply into the spoilers. Visually, this one is stylized towards action: simpler character designs which move with an increased fluidity. Another one that puts a lot of design into its settings and backgrounds: the locations go from rural to increasingly urbanized over the course of the short, with the final locales being rigid, cold and imposing. Thematically, this transition works well for the destinies the characters increasingly wrangle with, a visual progression of peace falling to oppression.

For this review’s obligatory digression, we both start and finish with an awesome fight with a female Sith, something that’s woefully underdone in Star Wars proper. The fight itself was very surprising: there’s a significant size advantage, and I’m always used to bigger opponents in anime being portrayed as less competent than smaller. Size is typically an indicator of brutishness rather than strength in Eastern storytelling, but the short plays with this: our antagonist is not only larger in strength in stature, but larger in control - smarter, and more cunning than the heroes are wholly prepared for. And so it all leads up to the darkest hour: the moment where heroes are made or broken by their decisions. And the decision made may surprise you - or may not, depending on your genre savvy. Though it had the slight misfortune to follow the short I believe to be the best of the bunch - or at least close to the best of the bunch - it is a very good short to end the set on, a similar feel and experience to start and to finish. And so we conclude with the final look at canon potential. None of these shorts have been canon. We all know this, but we all love them regardless. However, in a series like Star Wars, becoming incorporated - or even simply followed up on - is a matter of support: if some of these shorts get enough pull behind them from the audience, you can bet that the studio will at least consider doing more with those particular characters. But it also depends on whether the short fits into the setting - or what the studio wants to do with the setting - as well.

And does this Akakiri fit? I’d give it Good Chances. Not great chances, but decent ones. As I mentioned before in an earlier one of these, Lucasfilm seems fairly hesitant to canonically depict the earliest days of the Republic and the Sith Wars: which is my presumption for why they have been evasive and frankly less than positive about whether upcoming KOTOR remake will be canon. This short taking place in a time where the Sith are a large enough organization that individual defecting to them is a real possibility, there are few other eras where it can fit. But also, the nature of this short as a more overt - if only partial - retelling of a familiar story does give it a bit less of an identity of its own. However, despite that, the characters, the setting and the concept still work very well within the framework of Star Wars: and if they did choose to do so, it wouldn’t take much work at all to give this concept its very own significant niche. And that, in the end, is that. Nine episodes, nine different anime from a slew of different studios. All with their own unique takes on a franchise that’s loved around the world. Would I like to see more of this? You bet: more of certain specific ideas we’ve seen here, and perhaps another season of this with nine more shorts and another entirely new slew of developers

This has been Star Wars: Visions, with an Animated Mind for an Animated Time. May the force be with you: it’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan, so embrace it. Don’t let the hate get you down, and look forward to more Visions like this.

#Star Wars: Visions #Akakiri #Science SARU #Eunyoung Choi #Tsubaki #Misa #Senshu #Kamahachi #Masago #non canon #good episode #good chances #anime #sci fi anime #star wars anime #disney+#visions was a phenomenal series #here's to a second set someday #Animated Minds for Animated Times

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ariainstars · 4 years

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What’s Missing in The Rise of Skywalker or What I Think Star Wars Needs in Order to Work…

This may be pure conjecture on my side… But there’s one thought that’s not letting me go these days.

We have shredded Episode IX to pieces by now and we all know its plot holes and massive problems with character development, coherence, morality etc.

But I’m realizing that there is something that Star Wars has always had at its center… and I believe that without it, it simply cannot work.

The Father Figure.

Remember, the central sentence (and one of the most iconic film scenes ever) is the infamous “No - I am your father.”

So let’s face the saga from this point of view.

The Phantom Menace is not a masterpiece of filmmaking, but a decent film, with an interesting story and a lot of intriguing characters. It works well as a solid introduction to the prequel trilogy.

At its heart we find Qui-Gon Jinn. Gentle, cunning, compassionate and rebellious, Qui-Gon is the ideal Jedi if there ever was one. To Anakin, the fatherless child, he is the first father figure he knows, the first person who is an advocate for him and pleads his cause; not that his mother wouldn’t, but she was powerless to do so. Qui-Gon also has the broad-shouldered, tall frame that will later become one of Darth Vader’s trademarks.

Attack of the Clones is one of the weakest, if not the weakest Star Wars film of all. And I can’t overlook the fact that there is no father figure at its center.

We get to know Jango Fett, Boba’s father, who is however not a main character: his presence is important for the course of the plot, but not the impact of his personality itself.

We also have an interesting insight in Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan. It takes only a few minutes for us to realize that these two are not on the best of terms: Obi-Wan is too immature and inexperienced for the task he has to shoulder, too strict in his adherence to the Jedi Code (possibly due to the other Jedi’s critical eye on them), and Anakin is more powerful than he is despite his youth. As a result, young Obi-Wan does not have much, if any, influence on the events of the story. He may be a good Jedi but as a father figure for young Anakin he is not suited at all.

Revenge of the Sith sees Palpatine taking over the rule as Anakin’s master: it is interesting that before this moment, he used to refer to the Anakin as “Son”, another way of subtly manipulating the young man who was in need of a father figure to look up to.

The film is excellently made and, very fittingly, the unraveling of a human tragedy. Palpatine is the most powerful and also most horrifying father figure imaginable, who offers Anakin enormous power to a terrible price: the loss of everything he ever was.

A New Hope is a very good film in many ways and for a lot of good reasons, not least due to the elderly Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. He is the one who introduces Luke to his powers and explains him - and also us, the audience - the nature of the Force. Without him, we would be dealing with a good but not remarkable science fiction story. The element of magic is introduced by the Jedi who is a mentor to Luke, another young man who longs for a father figure in his life.

To put it mildly, The Empire Strikes Back rocks! I still think of it as the best Star Wars film ever made. It contains everything a film needs to be compelling even on seeing it again and again.

And who is at the core of it all? Darth Vader, the Dark Father, the Evil, Unknown, Malignant Father. Vader is at the height of his power in the film which from his point of view is the hunt for the son he thought dead and now wants to bring at his side at all costs. Vader is terrifyingly powerful throughout the film, he dominates every scene.

Not coincidentally, we see him in his meditation chamber once where he reminds of a king sitting on his throne.

Return of the Jedi is not bad per se but it is commonly (and in my opinion rightly) seen as the weakest of the original trilogy. Yes, I know, the Ewoks are annoying and in Jabba’s palace we already have too many Muppets - it doesn’t work when you want to make your film more child-friendly and at the same time to tell the culmination of a family drama.

But again, what I miss here is a central figure. We see Palpatine holding Vader’s leash, until he is at the last moment defeated by the father desperate to save his son. It is an act that costs him his life and makes Vader and his redemption heart and soul of the story.

But until that moment, we have Palpatine at the center of the plot. Thus, there are two father figures. And I can’t help but noticing that the fact is a little irritating in itself. Similarly to Attack of the Clones, Return of the Jedi seems to waver when it comes to deciding what it is about, what the actual, all-encompassing arc is.

The Force Awakens: Han is thirty years older now and a father figure himself - to a son who felt abandoned by him. Han dominates the key scene: his son is unhinged and conflicted and despite his power, he doesn’t have the events under control.

Han’s decision to give up his life to save his son’s soul is a last, desperate act born from love which parallels Vader’s. Even if at this moment we do not yet realize that he will succeed in the end, we are aware that something momentous has happened on the fatal bridge: an event that was built up for many years and will have enormous repercussions on everyone involved.

Not surprisingly, Han also felt like a father figure for Rey, the other protagonist of the sequels.

The Last Jedi sees an aged Luke Skywalker in the role of the wise old mentor which once was Obi-Wan’s. Though his attitude is not exactly fatherly, Luke is heart and soul of the story. His wisdom, his courage and also the admittance of his failure push the story onto its tragic but heroic ending.

The Rise of Skywalker is disappointing on many levels, but thinking about it again, there is again that certain something that I miss most.

Yes, the Father Figure.

Palpatine is but a creepy old shadow and is not even acknowledged as kin by Rey.

The central and most moving scene is, again, a meeting between Han and his son, finally reconciling.

For good measure

Rogue One is the story of Jyn’s father Galen, his plans for the Rebellion and her daughter living only to fulfill them. Though sad, it is a good and convincing story.

Solo is nice to watch but it does not work as well as Rogue One. My guess is that focuses too much on action and not enough on character development: the film does not make clear enough that Beckett is a father figure for Han, and that it is significant for his personal development to leave him and his mindset behind.

The Clone Wars has Anakin’s relationship with his padawan Ahsoka at the heart. Though from their age difference he is more like a big brother for her, differently to the other Jedi he is protective, respectful and listening with her. Anakin’s attitude proves over and over what a good father he would have been had he had the chance.

The Mandalorian works excellently and it has, again - need I say it? - a father-son relationship at its core. Despite his previous cut-throat demeanor, Dindjarin always makes his little protegee feel safe and lets him develop his powers in his own way and time. In return, the child is his way back to humanness.

This is the most heart-warming and perhaps until now most convincing father-child-relationship we have ever had in the entire Star Wars universe. Is the series so good for its action scenes? I’m not denying that. But that’s not what the story is about: it’s about what makes a good father, even if you are everything but a saint.

And that what is most bitter for me about The Rise of Skywalker.

Ben Solo did not get to be the father figure I was certain was his ultimate fate to be: he was Vader’s opposite in so many details, down to his facial figures. Darth Vader was a most impressive villain but a nightmarish father. Kylo Ren never was half as convincing as a villain, which to me made it logical to assume (also since we get to know Ben Solo as an emphatic, caring person) that he was meant to be a good father and his failure came from trying to be something he wasn’t meant to be in the first place.

Anakin had damned himself with the carnage of the Jedi padawans; and in The Last Jedi the Canto Bight children, one of which is Force-sensitive, had been introduced. By becoming the Good Father his grandfather never had the chance to be Ben would have found redemption and purpose. And Rey, having been abandoned herself, would have been an excellent mother figure. (Apart from that, I don’t doubt that Adam Driver could play the role of the affectionate, protective father hands-down.)

It is still a mystery to me why this obvious route was not taken by the filmmakers. Letting the last of the Skywalker blood die without having him fulfill his destiny was the bleakest route the story could take.

I don’t know what’s in the cards with Rian Johnson’s trilogy. But I haven’t given up hope for the saga to finally give us the happy, united family that I am positive always was meant to be at its core.

Tragedies and cautionary tales are well enough. But I believe that after all of the drama, we ought to be in for some joy and fun at last. 😊

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rebelsofshield · 5 years

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Panels Far, Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 9/18/19

Three of the most iconic Star Wars women of the decade highlight a solid week of Star Wars comics from Marvel.

Star Wars Age of Resistance: Rey #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Ramon Rosanas

Next to Snoke, few Star Wars characters in the sequel trilogy are more shrouded in mystery than Rey. While Snoke was never able to define himself as a character outside of questions about his past, Rey has grown to be a great addition to the franchise through her compassion and inventiveness but also her fear and insecurity. Telling a story with Rey in the tight timeline given by the sequel trilogy is a difficulty though. With a post-Battle of Crait world off limits and her time as a scavenger already extensively covered in other media such as Star Wars Adventures and Forces of Destiny, writer Tom Taylor opts for the creative solution of finding an undiscovered story after the destruction of Starkiller Base and Rey’s arrival on Ach-To.

“Alone” follows Rey decompressing from the trials and trauma of her time on the snow covered First Order base and later through her trip and pit stops on her journey to see Luke Skywalker. The result is an issue that is split into two chapters, one focused on character and the other a new adventure showcasing her traits. Of these, Rey’s grappling with the death of Han and bonding with Leia over her future in the galaxy are easily the strongest moments. A particularly poignant sequence sees Rey and Leia discussing Han’s final moments with their faces functioning as frames for a beat by beat recreation of the tragedy. It’s a visually arresting depiction and represents the best artistic moment by Ramon Rosanas in this series.

The second half proves more disappointing particularly in that the limited page count prevents Taylor from fleshing out Rey’s adventure in adequate fashion. It plays well into her knowledge for machines and for her innate compassion for those in need, but it can’t help but feel both too rushed and too large in scale to organically fit into the narrative space that it is forced to occupy. That being said, Ramon Rosanas’s villain is a delightfully creepy design and I wish we got to see more of him.

Score: B

Star Wars Age of Resistance: Rose Tico #1 written by Tom Taylor and art by Ramon Rosanas

Tom Taylor said before the launch of Age of Resistance that Rose Tico’s chapter was his favorite. After reading this issue it is easy to see why. Of the eight Age of Resistance one shots, Rose Tico’s feels the most substantial and offers the most revelatory information into the character and her history. Unlike Snoke or Rey which have histories that are key to the franchise mythology or Finn or Poe who have been covered extensively, Rose Tico is a known character with also a lengthy history that is waiting to be explored. Taylor gets the opportunity here to dig deep into Rose and her sister Paige’s childhood and later their joining the Resistance. As a result, Taylor’s script feels substantial and important and required reading for any reader that wants to know more about the best mechanic in the fight against the First Order.

Unfortunately, it tends to be too much for the limited twenty four page length. Large portions of Rose and Paige’s life such as their early days of rebellion against the First Order, their time joining the Resistance, or even some of their familial tragedy are rushed through and feel like they could have been full issues of their own. Taylor’s script is at its best when he zeroes in on a single moment. The issue’s start showing a childhood flying lesson shared between both sisters is filled with enjoyable sibling rivalry and play and its concluding emotional conversation with Leia is a standout. (In general, Taylor writes a great Leia who manages to balance wisdom with that trademark sense of wit and snark.)

In general, after the abuse that Rose has suffered from rough patches of the fandom over the last two years, it’s a treat to read a comic, flawed as it is, that is filled with such obvious affection and attention for the character. We leave “My Hero” with an apprecation for Rose and for an involving story about family and fighting for causes we believe in.

Score: B

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #36 written by Simon Spurrier and art by Wilton Santos and Cris Bolson

Simon Spurrier’s time on Doctor Aphra has been marked by complex plotting while keeping the series’ trademark character study and dark sense of humor. At its best, like in last year’s stellar “Catastrophe Con” arc, it makes for some of the best storytelling in Star Wars comics and can make for a rewarding piece of spinning plates and multilayered payoff. Taylor presents a new take on this here in “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” which unveils a deceptively complex narrative and is peppered with arc changing reveals.

With the masterplan of Minister Pitina Voor laid out, Aphra finds herself caught in the middle of a twisted galactic coup attempt. It becomes clear with each passing moment just how much Aphra has been used by every party around her and how much her own past deeds are responsible for her actions. However, in typical fashion, the good doctor is not one to be caged and her final act of resistance is about to show itself.

The conclusion to “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” is a complicated read. This isn’t just due to the staggering amount of double crosses and string pulling on display here, but also due to its message and execution. While Spurrier has managed to succeed in the past with these falling domino style finales, “Doctor Aphra #36” struggles.

On one level, it may just be the staging of the issue itself. So much of the pure plot of this comic comes down to two people explaining things to each other in a room while the action happens elsewhere. Wilton Santos, usual stylistic downsides aside, does his best to pepper these with intercut flashbacks, flash sidways, imaginations, etc., but Spurrier’s script can’t help but feel frustratingly static. It also doesn’t help that the plans laid out by Minister Voor are so convoluted that it stretches credibility to an incredible degree. So many independent forces had to work in purely specific ways for us to reach this point and the result robs the big reveals of much of their wait.

Thematically though, Spurrier’s story functions as an entertaining rebuttal and reversal of any familiarity the reader has developed for Aphra’s character. Voor’s masterstroke ultimately comes down to assuming that Aphra follows a predictable pattern and that her behavior follows formula. What Spurrier crafts instead is a fun inversion of this common criticism of her character and it leads to a great moment of personal independence and rebellion by the title character. The result proves incredibly cathartic and fun and makes for the best personal beat for Aphra in this arc and does just enough to keep this finale from being a dud.

Despite its promising features, “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” proves to be the weakest arc of Doctor Aphra’s long comic tenure. Between weak art and an oddly paced and structured story, Aphra sputtered here in a way we haven’t seen so far and as a result we enter into the next arc with mixed feelings. Bringing in a stellar artist like Caspar Wijngaard to tell the story of Darth Vader and Aphra’s long awaited reunion is an exciting choice, but we also learn this week that next arc is to be the series’ last. It’s disappointing to bid Aphra goodbye, but let’s hope that it leads to something equally exciting down the line. Besides, nothing’s better than a good ending.

Score: B-

#Star Wars #Star Wars comics #review #reviews #Age of Resistance #Doctor Aphra #Rey #Rose Tico #Simon Spurrier #Wilton Santos #Cris Bolson #Tom Taylor #Ramon Rosanas

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bidrums · 6 years

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Something about episode 4 that bothered me that I really need to get off my chest

So @strangesurvivals has really good posts about this that honestly made me realize that was exactly what bothered me and they are very put-together posts, so if you want something that’s not as rambling as mine, go check it out. Check it out regardless of what I put on here, because it’s a great blog and they deserve love and attention.

Here’s what rubbed me the wrong way: the stupid Warlock school subplot and the concept of the Alpha.

In a post I made with my general thoughts on the episode, I mentioned that I thought it was interesting about the concept of Supreme vs Alpha but followed it with saying I wasn’t about to start discourse.

Well, I retract that statement and am going to start discourse.

I’ll probably be crucified for saying that Coven wasn’t my favorite season, but it wasn’t. I love the concept and absolutely adore the characters and agree that the season kicked some serious ass, but I couldn’t really jam with the plot. I don’t know why, since I’ve watched and read very similar things, but I just couldn’t really get into it. Sorry. Even though it wasn’t my favorite season, I definitely screamed when they appeared and loved all the scenes they were in. Because they're characters that I love and actresses that I love, and I knew that would up the stakes more than they were already upped.

And then the plot happened.

I make fun of the fact that it started out like Harry Potter with Michael being recruited, but then Ryan took the Chosen One concept a bit too far and decided to call it the Alpha. And I just, no. Just no. No, don’t do that. Don’t do that to Michael. He’s already the Antichrist. That’s more than enough of a role to fill, and he doesn't need some Harry Potter/Star Wars magic Chosen One that’s destined to defeat the Ultimate Evil (TM) on top of being the Antichrist. It’s unnecessary and it took away from that subplot for me. It felt lazy, it felt forced, it felt contradictory, it just lessened the impact of the Antichrist plot and Michael’s harnessing of his powers. At least, the way Ryan did it. I’ll get back to that.

So Michael Potter Skywalker is taken to a magic school to develop his Amazing Magic Powers because something happens that tells The Powers That Be that he’s Super Powerful- more than any of them. Only one of those Authorities is suspicious and hesitant to take this person is because he can smell Big Trouble because This Kid Ain’t Right. But everyone laughs off Cheyanne Yoda Jackson because holy fuck he pulled some Exorcist shit then curled up in a ball crying on the floor he must be The One With The Ultimate Power (TM) we must take this emotionally unstable child in and harness his magic because absolutely nothing will go wrong with taking him in and teaching him to control his crazy strong magic that manifests himself in murder. Cheyanne Yoda Jackson is just being paranoid, he only impaled a guy with multiple knives and blew a guys head up. He may have Much Anger In Him and acts in a way that looks like he’s Demon Possessed, but have you seen his Midichlorian count? We have to bring him in because he might be able to destroy the Sith and bring Balance to the Force and finally dismantle the ever-present fear of Voldemort’s Reign of Terror! Stop being a spoilsport and train him like the rest of us, it’ll be fine! Oh, and we won’t help him adjust to his power gradually in order to make up for the years of training he lost in order to give him the same foundation everyone else has and the skills and trust of the System to not be reigned by his unstable emotions and Much Anger In Him. Nah, throw him in the deep end headfirst, he’ll be fine. In fact, we’ll raise our expectations and push him harder than everyone else and tell him his Destiny from the beginning so he has all this pressure on him. There’s no way he’ll lash out and have a sense of entitlement.

Now, who are The-Sith-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that oppress the poor, defenseless Warlocks? The rest of humanity? That was in Coven, and it would be interesting to have a Magneto-type background that ties into his disgust at humanity and proves his “evil motherfuckers” point. Is it the Humans? It’s not? Who is it?

The Witches, of course! Those Nasty, Horrible Women who use their Superior Woman Magic to press the poor defenseless Warlocks who just want to Be Equals and not be molotov cocktailed after those Stupid Women didn’t have the foresight to the potential consequences of trying to foster good relations with the Muggle World and being open about their Mutant status because they’re Mutants, and they’re Proud! We need an Alpha Male to save us from the Uterus! A Level Four! The Manliest Man in all of Manhood who will put those women in their place and take them down from their High and Mighty Egos. In Coven they had thinly-veiled metaphors for racism by having European vs Voodoo magic fights that tried to make us see that the Poor White Girls are just Misunderstood and Blissfully Ignorant that the Voodoo Community is just as Powerful and Valid as the rest of them! And they still have that in Apocalypse, but now they also have Gender Inequality in it, too! But like, not showing the tired, traditional Oppressed Women narrative that a lot of feminists tell. No, it’s the Refreshing alternate view that maybe, there are areas of life where Men are not on top? And that’s bad for them? It’s daring and bold and no one has ever proposed this idea ever! I’m so creative and revolutionary!!!

The Supreme title was interesting to me because there’s always the Head Witch or something like that. But Ryan gave her the title of Supreme, because the one to master all fundamental areas of magic has Supreme Magic that is more powerful. Which makes sense and is pretty refreshing to me, because it felt like an acknowledgement while over-glorifying the title. Because Supreme also sounds like a threat and a title everyone would fight over, so whoever has that title has to constantly watch her back because other people will try to take that for themselves. The title was forged in blood, and it’s a constant reminder of that. And the show does a great job showing how hard and how dangerous that title is. It shows work, it shows strength, it shows earning the title.

That is the complete opposite of the Alpha role. Level Four. Honestly I hate the fact that they rank the students with 4 levels because it’s honestly unhealthy competition in my opinion. But we’re focusing on the Alpha. It’s a stupid concept, it’s a stupid plot device, it’s a stupid mentality, it’s a stupid rank, it’s a stupid title. “But you’re a Christian, isn’t that hypocritical of you because you’re okay with calling God the Alpha?” Actually, that’s not His full title. The full title is the Alpha and the Omega- which is FUCKING GREEK FOR THE BEGINNING AND THE END AND IS A PRETTY ACCURATE TITLE FOR THE FUCKING CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE AND DON’T BRING MY RELIGION INTO THIS I AM NOT GOING TO SAY THAT AGAIN

Anyways, the Alpha thing and why it’s hella problematic. Its real-life counterpart is a hideous mentality that really messed-up men have that leads to entitlement issues that lead to violence- usually against women whose bodies they feel they are owed and believe that their superior “Alpha Male” status demands. Just, it doesn’t matter if that’s what he was imagining- which I doubt given the context- or not, the fictional Alpha Male trope and the real-word damage the Alpha Male mentality causes make this fictional title undesirable and uncomfortable. It also doesn’t imply the hard work that the Supreme title does. Like I referenced in my sarcastic rant, it’s why people hated the Midichlorian thing in Star Wars. I actually asked my dad if they were mad because it wasn’t referenced in the original trilogy. He said, and I paraphrase, “Partly. It’s the implications of them not mentioning it in the original trilogy that we have a problem with. When it first came out, the Force was something that everyone had and that some people were more in tune with than others. But it was in everyone, so everyone with the right training could become a Jedi. You might not be as powerful as the other Jedi, but you can be a Jedi or at the very worst, someone with cool Force abilities that can use the Force. Just not at the level of the Jedi. That was awesome because me and everyone else was saying, “I could be a Jedi! I could learn how to master the Force! Then Episode 1 came out and it said, nah, you can’t. It’s twitch muscles. You have it, or you don’t. Your DNA determines wether or not you can actually use the Force. Everyone has the Force, but you can’t be trained to tap into that power. It was like a slap in the face to the people who spent decades with the fantasy of training to be a Jedi. Since you haven’t had the time gap between movies, it’s less of an issue. But to us, it hurts a lot.” And that’s exactly what the Alpha does. It’s not that Michael is powerful and gradually shows the potential to be the Alpha then proves himself to be able to survive the grueling process to earn that status. It’s just that they see that he’s powerful (which I have no idea how impressive that footage is since we don’t have a great example of how weak everyone else’s magic is in comparison, imo) and assume that because he’s super powerful he’s The One. It just wasn’t as compelling to me as finding out about the Supreme. And yes, the witches do inherently have more magic and yes, the Supreme inherently has more magic, but it’s still like the Jedi. Not everyone is Force-Sensitive, so not everyone can be a Jedi; by extension, not all the Jedi can have the highest rank and there are many nuances and strengths of the people’s Force abilities. That’s something that I thought was interesting in Coven and was a bit disappointed that they didn’t play around with it more, but that’s not what this is about. I’m just showing how the Warlocks could have a similar Nuance even with their ranking system and could’ve had more of a parallel with the Witches.

But they didn’t.

Instead Ryan decided to have some weird social commentary about how women could be as bad as men and whenever they have some area where they’re better than men, they abuse that area and twist the narrative to make themselves the victims; in these areas, the men are now the ones who have to fight tooth and claw to get equal treatment. This is the standard “Women can be just as bad as men given the opportunity!” narrative that hurts legitimate activism to get men the same treatment in areas such as domestic abuse, where the statistics of male victims and the numbers of how they receive justice for it are much different than for women. There was a social study where two actors pretended to be a couple having an argument in public that gets violent, with one partner starting to get more and more physical and the other partner getting more and more in danger of being seriously hurt. When the woman was the victim, people rushed to her aid and got in between them and called him out on his behavior. When the man was the victim, a significantly less number of people did that, and most people laughed it off as the male being “whipped”- or, not filling the male role in the relationship. The power balance is suddenly funny when the woman has more power over the women. Now, I’m not going to go into that discourse, and you have my word on that. Domestic abuse is a horrific epidemic that both men and women face, and statistically women are the victims much more than men. But that doesn’t mean that when men are abused, it’s not that bad as when women are. And so when activist groups push for more awareness of this epidemic and trying to change the narrative of what domestic abuse looks like, we should listen and treat it seriously. But when narratives like the Witch oppression of the Warlocks being used to bring attention to “reverse sexism”- which is bullshit, btw- it lessons actual legit activism and make both activism for male issues and activism for female issues seem less important. Less serious. They become more of a joke and people overreacting than things of actual importance. And it’s just bad writing. There are way better ways to have a Warlock vs Witch narrative that Michael is involved in. Way better ways. Way better ways than “oppressed men might have someone who can overthrow the oppressive women because he’s more powerful and men might be able to reclaim their position of power”.

Honestly, I was mostly annoyed by this is that not only was Ryan- consciously or no- even doing it, but he was doing it where the men were just being whiny and had no real argument. They gloated at Cordelia and tried to provoke her by dangling Michael as “The One (TM) who would overthrow the Witches’ power over them” in front of her to try to get her angry. They act like her refusing to put him through the Seven Wonders is proof that she’s scared of being overthrown. Because cowards act like that. And that when she uses Misty and Queenie as examples of how she isn’t all powerful like they believe and to give examples of how dangerous the world of magic is and how just recklessly going forward can land them in trouble, they just scoff like she’s not really worthy of being the All Powerful and can you believe this chick? She walks around like she owns the place but she can’t even save one of her own kind from being perpetually held in Limbo for eternity with possibly thousands of other souls being held captive and suffering unimaginable things. Some Supreme. She can’t possibly think that’s a good reason to not do the test of the Seven Wonders.

Just- it’s really bad. It’s not a good way to even make this lazy writing a passable attempt. Cordelia telling them about how she tried to save Queenie once she found out she was dead in order- this is what I interpreted from that sequence- to help her pass on or come back to life was a great way to show her character. She’s empathetic, she’s protective, she actually cares about the people she’s supposed to be the authority over. And her regret over not being able to save Queenie hurts because she was supposed to watch over her and be able to protect her from something like that, but she couldn’t. And she is heartbroken because people she loves and cares about are casualties of a dangerous world and she’s helpless to stop those casualties. And when she refuses to let Michael do the Seven Wonders, it’s because she doesn’t want an innocent party that is being put on a pedestal to get killed. She fucking says that she doesn’t want to risk him dying and the fuckwads act like that’s a pathetic excuse!!!!! That was so infuriating for me because it was treated like Cordelia was being unreasonable by the characters and Ryan. I mean, in Coven the Seven Wonders was constantly hammered in as dangerous at every level, and as the stakes are raised, the more it’s hammered in, and the more people get hurt. There are actual consequences, and Cordelia witnessed it from the beginning to the end. So she knows that there’s an 87% chance that Michael will die, and she doesn’t want someone else to die in the process that killed her friends. And she gets more and more angry about people talking over her and ignoring all of her very solid arguments against this until she has no choice other than to give into their provocations and get angry, having to firmly shutting it down and ending it before someone gets hurt and when she gets questioned again, she snaps one of the greatest lines in the season and the show: “BECAUSE I’M THE FUCKING SUPREME!” And the men just look at each other like, “I fucking knew this bitch was too scared of being usurped to agree to our very reasonable proposal to take a vulnerable youngster who’s only just started to control his powerful and unstable magic and force him to go through a dangerous test he has a high chance of dying from just to soothe our wounded egos that we’re grooming several impressionable young men to emulate, women are so unreasonable” and I wanted to punch everyone in the face.

So the thing I mentioned waaaaay earlier in this super-long post: the way Ryan was doing this lessened Michael’s character was done really badly. Here’s an idea on how to go through a less-sexist conflict between the two covens that actually makes him more powerful:

Michael is powerful- more powerful than they’ve seen. Cheyanne Yoda Jackson still gets to be suspicious, and they are inclined to agree. After some debate, everyone except Warlock Yoda agrees that it’s probably powerful, unstable magic that is being handled by a teen with anger issues and an obvious propensity for violence. They can teach him to handle the magic and maybe to control his emotions. Everything’s the same until they do their tests. It’s still after a month or two, but this time it’s after he’s had time to adjust and had some basic rudimentary training that everyone has when they first start. They explain that everyone is evaluated at the beginning to get a feel for their magic, and Michael already seems to have some control of his powers. Not much, but it’s impressive considering how insane they are. They start with the mirror. He does it, and they share shocked glances. That’s something that a lot of people have trouble with after years of training. So they hesitantly do the teleporting. Flawless passing, more shock. Then they ask him to waterbed snow, and they have their happy moment before they almost freeze to death. They see how freaked out Michael is and tell him that he has super strong magic and when you push yourself like he did, it’ll get a bit out of hand. Just be more careful and they’ll talk about where to put him then get back to him, okay? Then they talk about how freaky it is that he can do this with little training, Magic Yoda is suspicious, they shoot him down with a lot of irony because Antichrist. Then one of them suggests that maybe, just maybe, they might be seeing a Male Supreme. Use the phrase, “Male Supreme”. It’s less stupid and worrying. There’s banter about how there hasn’t been a male version, it’s only been a woman, you know how many powerful Warlocks have died trying to do the Seven Wonders, he can barely control snow, you think he can come back from the dead? But then they agree and call the Council.

Most of the Warlocks’ bitterness towards the Witches stems from two places: 1) Fiona was a bitch and took her Supreme status to exert absolute control of the Council and 2) Cordelia just announced the existence of Mutants Witches and Warlocks without consulting the Council, a decision that they feel should have been unanimous. So there’s some banter about the Seven Wonders and Michael and she doesn’t want to hurt him because of how many powerful Witches and Warlocks have died and he sounds like he’s emotionally and magically unstable and he most likely will die. It also makes more sense for them to be snarky at her because of the above two reasons, and they can invoke Fiona’s name which will make those of us who are familiar with Coven squeal at the mention of Fiona and remember that yeah, that sounds in character, as well as having Cordelia react to the implication that she’s being the same sort of Supreme her mother was. Like, that has waaaaayyyyy less sexism and provides a great conflict between the two schools. It also has a less cliche Chosen One story arc shoved into Michael’s already-established “I’m the Antichrist” story arc and still shows just how powerful and scary he is.

Again, that’s my idea on how it could’ve been better. I just hate that the potential badassery of rivals schools was ignored to have Ryan Murphy pretend to be revolutionary and critical and thinking outside of the box when he’s really condoning a dangerous and sexist narrative that puts characters that are both potentially awesome and badass and established to be awesome and badass into weak storylines that destroy a lot of great character arcs and characteristics of everyone.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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azukibeanghost · 6 years

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Re your post about shipping and r3ylo.. You mentioned you could guess from marketing where they might be going, do you mind sharing what you think? I’m just curious :) esp since you’re a filmmaker

Oh, haha, I’m not actually a filmmaker; it is one of my life plans and I love picking apart stories to see how they tick, and how I could work some of those elements into my own, but I have yet to write or direct a feature.

But nevertheless…

(TLJ SPOILERS AHEAD)

…

If I were to channel my younger self (back when I idolized the most predictable plots ever, thanks to my mostly fairytale-based upbringing) I would say that this sort of yin/yang, opposites-attract, beauty-and-the-beast tale of redemption and hope would absolutely make sense.

- platonic love in Star Wars -

Now, I don’t know if this means that they’re going for a R/K romance; I would definitely prefer if they didn’t, especially given that Kylo Ren is frankly a monster, and all of Star Wars’ romances have made me cringe so far.

In fact, I loved how Rogue One ended without a kiss; the only real romance of that movie was the sort of old-married-couple camaraderie of Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus.

I think Star Wars works better when it’s focused on familial themes, and keeps pairings platonic; just think of how much love exists between Luke and Leia, vs. Han and Leia. Perhaps I’m misreading the writers’ intentions, but that moment when Rose told Finn that she saved him because his life is worth more than sacrificing himself to take out the cannon (maybe a lesson she learned from losing her sister?) felt similar to Rey and Finn’s hug in The Force Awakens, or Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor’s embrace towards the end of Rogue One: warm, platonic, and full of affection or comfort. The way I interpreted it, Rose was so weak that hugging Finn was out of the question, so she mustered her strength for a small kiss instead.

- opposites attract / beauty and the beast -

The K/R relationship, on the other hand, reads a lot less like that kind of familial affection, and more like two characters whose destinies and identities are closely intertwined. If Star Wars had prophecies (…does it?), they would feature in one. They are opposites: light and dark, each trying to tug the other towards their side.

This also connects to the beauty-and-the-beast archetype that we love to repeat in fantasy romances: the good, pure woman believes that the flawed, violent monster is capable of being saved, and through her love he is able to redeem himself and become fully human.

This can be a problematic trope, especially since it’s usually framed so that the woman forgives the man’s abuse; nevertheless, it provides a compelling amount of angst and pining, which often resonates strongly with audiences. (Popular examples include the Dr@rry ship, which tugs on many readers’ heartstrings due to the combination of suppressed feelings + outward antagonism; the enemies-to-lovers trope in fanfic; or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s relationship arc in Pride and Prejudice.) Conflict is often more compelling than simple, honest love… and Star Wars’ most famous romance, between Han and Leia, is proof that the franchise has a fondness for this kind of love-hate tension.

- yin and yang -

Now, I am not really a hardcore Star Wars fan and so I might be forgetting something, but from what I can remember, Star Wars has never really done this kind of two-character dichotomy before, which is a little surprising given that it’s a franchise based around these very yin/yang principles of light vs. dark. If they have, it’s been between a good character and a bad character; Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, perhaps. Light and Dark are seen as opposites, and sort of by extension, good and evil/the Empire and the Rebels are that dichotomy. With Rey and Kylo Ren, there is potential for one (or both) to switch sides; Rey is untrained, and has the potential for darkness (Luke appears to be scared of her power in the trailer), while Kylo Ren is introduced in The Force Awakens as having an internal struggle that hints at the possibility of a redemption arc. They are two sides of the same coin.

(However, from what I understand, traditionally, yin and yang do not reflect good and evil. If yin and yang are two opposing forces that exist in everything, balancing them creates peace; therefore, “peace” cannot be one of the two forces, with “violence” as its opposite – and so “good” cannot be a force, with “evil” as its opposite.

This is particularly interesting when you consider the codebreaker’s point in The Last Jedi, that both sides power the same machine. Both sides use violence against the other, to restore their vision of order to the galaxy; the First Order’s happens to include genocide, but regardless of their moral purity, neither side technically embodies “peace.” So in that sense, they aren’t really opposites on the yin/yang scale.)

Despite this, Star Wars generally frames Light vs. Dark as synonymous with good vs. bad, so I suppose we can still interpret these as being two opposites of the yin/yang variety. So, for the sake of our purposes, yin is Dark/bad, and yang is Light/good.

- the Force as a midpoint between two opposites -

Luke teaches Rey that the Force is not something to be used by either side as a tool, but is instead the force that exists between all opposites – this implies that Force sensitive people are not inherently light/good or dark/evil, and make that choice individually. Rey makes this connection directly when she tells Luke that he was wrong to conclude that Kylo Ren needed to be stopped; she argued that his choice was not yet made… but our two characters view their status as Force-sensitive people in different ways:

Rey interprets this as proof that Kylo Ren has the potential to choose to join the Light side, despite his current status on the Dark side; she sees the conflict within him as a temporary state that can be fixed through his conversion.

On the other hand, Kylo Ren interprets the separation of the Force from either end of the spectrum as proof that he and Rey can exit the system entirely, “leave it all behind,” choosing neither the Light/Rebellion nor the Dark/First Order.

Kylo Ren sees that the two sides tug on each other and create endless conflict, in the same way that he and Rey tugged on the lightsaber and split it in two; he wants to resolve his internal conflict by rejecting the system entirely, and he wants to do that with Rey. Without her, he has no one.

- Kylo Ren’s reasons for wanting Rey to join him -

One of the biggest insights into the difference between Kylo Ren and Rey comes when he tells her that nobody cares about her except for him.

First of all, this statement is objectively inaccurate. Finn, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca have all shown fondness for Rey in the first film alone.

What he really means is that he has nobody who cares about him, except for her. Snoke and Hux treat him like garbage, his underlings probably hate him, he’s killed his father, estranged himself from his mother and uncle, and could never really go back and face them even if they forgave him, what with the guilt from all the people he’s murdered.

But she seems to care. What with their mental Force-Skype connection, and with her alternating between “you’re a monster” and “I saw the conflict in you” [there’s potential for goodness in you], he believes that maybe, just maybe, she might understand and sympathize with him. And he’s isolated himself for so long that he probably interprets this as love. (Hence the cringe-y shirtless scene, which I suppose was his attempt at a physical seduction…?? I guess taking his helmet off in The Force Awakens didn’t excite her enough, so he went all-in and tried to seduce her with the PG-13 equivalent of a dick pick.)

He thinks that maybe she could love him, and that would be enough, and he could leave his shitty past behind and not be alone. He acknowledges that he’s a monster, because he knows that he is; he’s just holding out hope that she will forgive him for his sins, because she keeps talking about how he can still be saved… but the problem is that while his idea of balance (the Force) is a balance between Light and Dark, good and evil, her idea of balance is the peace that will come from a Resistance victory. She wants him to resolve his internal conflict by choosing Light over Dark.

- what Rey wants from Kylo Ren -

I think that the main problem with this ship (as a possible direction for them to go; ignoring what I think about it personally) is that it’s pretty one-sided, and based on unhealthy principles. Rey doesn’t want Kylo Ren in a romantic light at all; he’s mind-raped her, killed her surrogate father-figure (who was his own father, adding to her revulsion at his morality), is a major part of the First Order that has terrorized her world and her friend Finn, has almost killed her friend Finn (remember, she doesn’t know that Finn has woken up), and failed Luke.

Rey wants to save Kylo Ren because she believes that it is the right thing to do, not because she has feelings for him. She thinks that if she can convert a major player on the Dark side to the Resistance, the First Order will be weakened, enabling a Resistance victory. She also might want to prove to Luke that he didn’t fail in his teachings.

- will Kylo Ren convert to the Light side? -

Look at what Kylo Ren does when Rey rejects his offer to go with him and leave the Resistance/First Order conflict behind: he tells Hux that she killed Snoke, then takes command of the First Order and resumes his campaign against the remaining Resistance forces. He fights Luke. Let’s be honest, even though the trailer made it look like he was going to start acting on some hidden inner goodness (hesitating when faced with shooting at Leia; the editing suggesting that Rey was asking him for guidance, rather than Luke), this film made it clear that there is only one thing that could make him turn down the Dark side: Rey.

So, what is the most plausible way to end this character arc?

Well, I see one of two options:

Rey continues to try to drag him away from the Dark side, and he accepts… but only because she has agreed to join him. From her perspective, it’s a personal sacrifice for the good of the Resistance; for him, it’s what he wants. The fight in the red room proved that if Rey is involved, he has the potential to fight against the Dark side. But without her, he immediately snaps back to the Dark like he’s a lightsaber and half of the jedi playing tug-of-war suddenly let go.

He ends the trilogy as a villain, on the Dark side. Now, while this makes sense from a real-world standpoint, I don’t know why they would have spent so much screen time focusing on his internal conflict between Light and Dark if he was just going to end up as a bad guy. Like, this took up most of Rey’s plotline in this film, and regardless of that will-she-accept-his-guidance tease from the trailer, I seriously doubt that Rey is going to turn to the Dark side.

So, since I assume they must have some reasoning behind this K/R storyline, and the amount of focus that has been placed on the two characters and their relationship (to the point of minimizing the role of Finn, who was arguably the main protagonist of The Force Awakens, or at least a co-protagonist, with Rey), I would guess that they’re going somewhere with this, and that somewhere just might be a romance. I would really appreciate it if they didn’t, though.

#mara does meta #thanks for the ask! it was really fascinating to ruminate on #star wars meta #meta

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sunokasai · 6 years

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Impression - “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”

I am not a die hard “Star Wars” fan who knows every bit of lore or all of the old extended universe (that unfortunately is not canon anymore… thanks for that, Disney…) and I admit that I also do not watch the animated series. But I grew up with the old trilogy, having watched these movies countless times. I watched the Prequels more than I would like to admit. So of course the new trilogy had me excited. And “The Force Awakens”, despite its flaws, managed to get me excited again. “The Last Jedi” launched, the second movie of the new trilogy, and I’ve had a good night’s sleep and a whole day to sort my thoughts and feelings on this movie. And with this: SPOILER WARNING! If you have yet to watch “The Last Jedi” – or really any of the other movies – do not continue further. This will contain spoilers!

First things first: I did enjoy “The Last Jedi”. It was fun to watch and overall it was a positive experience, but it left the movie theatre with a lot of thoughts and kind of torn. Hours later I still feel that way. I think by now I can explain why. And funnily enough it all comes down to one thing: when there is light, there is also shadow. The plot is interesting and intriguing and a lot different from what we are used to. Throughout the original trilogy the rebellion had been presented as something small and yet it seemed that whatever they did was crowned with success, even when luck played its part. Episode 8 presents us with a completely different approach, especially after the big success in episode 7. The former Rebellion, now the Resistance, is completely outmatched and trapped, loses one fighter and one ship after the other until, from a once strong fleet only a couple people survive. The plan to have Finn and Rose enter the enemy ship - one that I belief would have succeeded if this were the original trilogy – goes horribly wrong and in the end it is pure coincidence that they survive. To me, this shows how different the two trilogies truly are. Even if they started out rather similar. The plot revolving around Rey, however, does not have as much of an impact to me as I think the creators intended. In fact, it has none. And that is because this plot is so closely connected to Rey’s growth as a character. Character development - something Rey lacks with this episode. To me, the Rey at the beginning of episode 8 is still the same Rey we see at the end of it. She is still the lost child that looks for her place in the galaxy, looks for guidance. The influence of her parents still hangs heavy over her head at the end of the movie, especially after she discovers the secret regarding them, causing her to lose the one well defined driving force for her character. At the end of the movie Rian Johnson (producer) wants to present the new light and dark to us: Kylo Ren as the dark and Rey as the light. But to me it feels as if this is not yet the role Rey should have. She feels forced into it because she herself has yet to accept that role, especially as the “last jedi”. She is not yet a jedi. For the moment, she is still just a girl from Jakku that is force sensitive who can wield a lightsaber and lift stones. In contrast, “The Last Jedi” also presents to us one of the strongest character developments a “Star Wars” movie has to offer in the role of Poe Dameron. At the beginning of the movie we are once again reminded of what Poe is: the rebellion ace, a hot-shot that gets into an X-wing to blow things up as the way to solve a problem. Even if there are sacrifices made along the way, Poe thinks of those as heroes. Throughout the movie he has to learn that sometimes blowing things up is not the right approach, that it would lead to more sacrifices than necessary. And this development gets presented really well: we have a Poe Dameron that fights a battleship of the New Order almost on his own, risking (and losing) a whole fleet of the rebellion, not backing away. At the end we see a Poe Dameron who does back away in order to save the remaining forces. Unfortunately, Finn takes his place as the reckless hot-shot, willing to sacrifice himself for a small piece of hope. Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any character development because he does. At the beginning of the movie there is only one thing on his mind, he exactly has one motivation: Rey. Getting Rey to safety when she returns is his number one priority. So much that he almost manages to leave the rebellion to take away a transponder that Leia gave Rey to guide her back to the rebels. While later, facing of Captain Phasma, he does identify himself as a rebel. That is thanks to the new character Rose who shows him what they should fight for during their mission and that it is something worth fighting for. One of the biggest controversy of “The Last Jedi” is the former last Jedi himself, Luke Skywalker. While I’ve read a lot of opinions that this doesn’t feel like Luke, that this can’t be him because he would never be so broken… I honestly do think that yes, it does make sense for him to have become what he is in this movie. Luke had to become a Jedi quickly due to everything in the original trilogy. He lacks most of the training younglings would have underwent during their training, even if he started to look into the old Jedi traditions on his own. He faced the dark side at its presumed peak and upon his shoulder laid the weight of having to raise a new generation of Jedi all by himself. A task he ultimately failed with, also because he was not yet fit to be a teacher (something Yoda hinted at when he burned the ancient tree). More than that he had lost Ben Solo, son of his twin sister and his best friend to the dark side. A dark side that seems much stronger than what he faced in Darth Sidious and Vader. If that does not break one, having failed at what one thinks to be their destiny, I don’t know what would. With this in mind, the Luke presented here, especially with the way he ‘teaches’ Rey, becomes understandable. He still has a lot to learn, as evidenced by Yoda’s appearance. And it is thanks to Yoda that he regains his trust in the force. Also by starting to trust and believe that Rey, despite knowing that the same power of the force that resides in Ben Solo also resides in her, will choose the right way. And it is this trust that leads him to be the one spark of hope for the rebellion that helps them escape. My biggest personal issue lies within the dark side of the force, namely Snoke and especially Kylo Ren. Snoke still remains the one mystery. The rule of two only ever allowed two Sith: a master and a pupil. So where does he come from? Who is he? Was he the start of a new Sith cycle and thus the reason we know about nothing before him? We may never know because unfortunately he died at the hand of Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren, who is quite admittedly the biggest contradiction in this new trilogy so far. Episode 7 shows us a struggling Ben Solo who aims to be the new Darth Vader. He wears a mask to match his grandfather and also managed to get his hands on Vader’s old helmet. But he is also still struggling with the force because the light and the dark both fight in him. An issue that he thinks he manages to solve by killing his father Han Solo. The initial shots of him in Episode 8 seem to present us the very same Kylo Ren. Until Snoke tells him he will never be like Vader and in a fit of rage her destroys his own mask. A symbol that probably should tell us that this chapter of Kylo Ren is over. The next hour presents us with a still struggling Ben Solo, indicated by his conversations with Rey. With him killing Snoke though, we are presented a whole new Kylo Ren. One that wants to get rid of the past, especially the Sith and the Jedi. Only to have him walk in Snoke’s footsteps two minutes later, declaring that he is the new Supreme Leader of the First Order and underlined by Darth Vader’s own iconic tool: the force choke. To me, the character of Kylo Ren is an undefined mess. It would make sense if being a mess without direction would be the essence of Kylo Ren himself, if that was him as a character. But Johnson tries to present him as a character with a goal, with a belief that the old needs to get destroyed. And it is this, the way the character gets presented and the way they want to present him, that feels redundant. Last but not least: Leia Organa, whom Carrie Fisher had portrayed in an amazing way. There is not much to say about Leia. Throughout episode 7 and episode 8 she was the wise voice of reason, seemingly guiding everything. Thanks to an interview with Mark Hamill we also know that neither episode 7 nor episode 8 were supposed to be “Leia’s movie’s”. The original plan had been that episode 9 would be the one focusing on the character Leia Organa and thus I suspect most of her growth would have been within its plot. We will have to see what happens with that now. It is notable though that we get to see a part of Leia that, while questionable in its execution, is crucial to her character. She also is a powerful force user, not just a force sensitive. Up until now we’ve only seen her feeling things through the force, now we’ve seen her actively using it, reminding us that she is also a Skywalker.

#random rant #star wars #star wars spoilers

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fireflyfish · 7 years

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Tano and Kenobi: Give it the Old Temple Try

Previously on Tano and Kenobi...

Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano and Senior Initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi have grown close over the past two months. Ahsoka is determined to see that her disruptive arrival in the past does not alter Obi-Wan’s destiny, to see that he become’s Qui-Gon Jinn’s. But that may not be what young Kenobi has in mind and no one has really asked for Master Jinn’s opinion on this matter.

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A week came and went and Obi-Wan still did not have a padawan’s braid or a master.

With only two weeks left before he was to be shipped off to Bandomeer, breakfast between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan had turned into a somber affair. Obi-Wan frowned at his Gatalenta porridge and Ahsoka picked at her steamed bun.

She glanced over at Obi-Wan, at his slumped shoulders and downcast blue eyes and felt like even more of a failure than she already was. All of her best efforts had been for naught and now it seemed like Ahsoka’s sudden appearance had upset the balance of the past and had knocked Obi-Wan off the path of his rightful destiny.

She didn’t know how she could make it up to him, short of taking him on as her own Padawan and Ahsoka felt she was nowhere near ready for that kind of responsibility.

But Skyguy was barely 21 when he took you on, and Master Obi-Wan was 23 when he took Skyguy on. You’ve got at least seven years on both of them. You could make this work. You know better than anyone what is ahead of him and what he needs to learn in order to be successful.

Ahsoka ignored the selfish voice in her spirit that had already taken to the young Obi-Wan like a mother gundark to its child. Just because she missed Master Obi-Wan and Anakin did not mean she had the right to rob the young boy in front of her from his rightful apprenticeship with Master Qui-Gon.

Even as the idea of sending her faithful little shadow off into the Galaxy without her was getting harder and harder to stomach. Especially when he would gaze up at her, those familiar blue-grey eyes asking silently, Why do you keep sending me away? Why don't you want to keep me?

Ahsoka let out a groan and rested her head on the table.

“Master Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan murmured, his spirit soft and gentle in the Force. “Would it be alright if we skipped jar’kai this afternoon?”

Ahsoka looked up from her crumpled position, brows raised in puzzlement. “You want to skip your lesson today?”

Obi-Wan’s gaze was focused on his hands as he spoke and she could tell he was trying hard to say something very painful. “I… I will be… if it's not too much trouble, I would like to go to the Parks before… I would like to go to the Parks, if you would be willing to escort me.”

Obi-Wan glanced up at her, his eyes round and begging for this, for this one last bit of fun and time together before everything started rolling downhill and he was sent off to Bandomeer. One last happy memory, please? For me?

The Parks was a sprawling artificial wilderness that served as a source of amusement and wonder for the residents of Coruscant. It was a favorite field trip destination for younglings and Initiates who so rarely had a chance to simply be the children that they were. Ahsoka remembered several such trips fondly.

Ahsoka smiled sadly at Obi-Wan and nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “Sure. We can go to the Parks. On one condition.”

“What's that?” He asked, perking up considerably.

The words that came out of Ahsoka’s mouth were not what she had planned on saying but out they came all the same. “You have to ask Master Qui-Gon Jinn if he will take you on as his Padawan.”

Ahsoka watched Obi-Wan’s face and her heart broke, watched his tempered excitement and curiosity curdle into first disappointment and then ice over into a paper-thin facade of mature acceptance.

“Yes, of course, Master Tano,” he said, withdrawing his hand from hers and sitting up a bit straighter in his seat. “If you feel that is a valuable use of my time today, I shall endeavor to reconnoiter Master Jinn’s whereabouts and… present my candidacy as his Padawan for his perusal and contemplation.”

With each four-syllable word Obi-Wan flung at her, Ahsoka felt more and more miserable, more and more alone in this strange parody of her childhood. She had seen this before, when her master had done something or said something to infuriate Master Obi-Wan but he had never turned that sharp, mean streak on her. He had only ever been kind and caring with Ahsoka.

“Are you angry with me, Obi-Wan?” Ahsoka asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Are you angry that I asked you to talk to Master Jinn?”

Obi-Wan folded his arms over his chest, staring over at the exit. “Of course not, Master Tano. Jedi do not get angry. They release their negative emotions into the Force and proceed forth in harmony.”

Ahsoka sighed and sat up in her chair. “Obi-Wan… please, talk to me. If you keep it bottled up inside, all it will do is fester and bleed. It won't help you, or anyone else for that matter.”

Obi-Wan scowled, actually scowled at the far wall before he turned his head sharply and glared at Ahsoka. “Why won't you take me as your Padawan? What is the point of all of this? Why are you teaching me anything if you don’t want me around? What's wrong with me? What aren't I doing, saying, feeling right?”

His vitriol and anger struck Ahsoka like a smack in the face and she took a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts. How could she explain to Obi-Wan that a part of her wanted him to be her Padawan, to say the hell with what had happened and to chart a new course. To run so hard and so far off the path of destiny that there was no possible way for Palpatine to reach them, to reach Anakin.

But the ghost of Master Obi-Wan was real and solid in Ahsoka’s mind. She could hear his caution, could almost picture his frown of doubt and hesitation. The part of her that was Anakin Skywalker’s padawan practically begged for her to give in to what they both wanted but the parts of her that were Master Obi-Wan’s grand-padawan and Padme’s friend, and that had looked up to Plo Koon, urged patience.

Trust in the Force, she could almost hear them whisper. Obi-Wan will be a Jedi Knight. You know this is foreordained. You just don’t know how.

But none of those whisperings, from the Force or her imagination, would ease her mind or soothe Obi-Wan’s broken heart.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka said, finally. “Master Yoda and I have a good feeling about Master Jinn. Please do this for me and I won’t ask it again. We can spend a whole day in the Parks if that’s what you’d like.”

Obi-Wan gazed up at her and Ahsoka nearly lost her nerve at the hurt on his face. He gave her a long, steady look, as if he were trying to decide how best to handle the situation, to carefully parse together the words necessary to get him out of the conversation. Ahsoka had started to realize that part of the reason Master Obi-Wan was so quiet during her master’s tantrums (and she was also old enough now to realize Anakin had in fact been throwing tantrums) was that he was carefully crafting a reply that would soothe her master’s short temper.

The idea that he felt it necessary to plot, to negotiate his way out of a painful situation with her stabbed Ahsoka in the gut.

“If you want me to, I will do it, Master Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan finally sighed, giving into truth and his own sorrow. “I will try to find him during lunch, if that’s all right.”

“You eat around 1230 hours right?” she recalled, careful to keep her voice neutral. “I’ll be there with bells on if you need help.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and picked up his tray to take it to the trash receptacle. “I need a miracle, Master Ahsoka. Do you have one of those in your pockets?”

And with that stinging rebuke, Obi-Wan walked off, shoulders slumped and gaze focused on the ground in front of him.

The Room of a Thousand Fountains offered no comfort as Ahsoka sat under a fireoak and tried to remind herself that taking Obi-Wan as a padawan would be tantamount to kidnapping him from Master Jinn and his pre-ordained destiny. She tried to close her eyes and find her way into a deeper meditation but she couldn’t stop seeing his crumpled smile and those furrowed brows as he looked away, and called her Master Tano.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She could still remember the delight she felt when Master Yoda told her she was going to be a padawan before she found out who her master was. Becoming a padawan was the first step to becoming a Jedi knight and that had been her only desire at the time.

And here she was, refusing to take him on and acknowledge the potential of one of the greatest Jedi knights in history because he was supposed to go off with Master Jinn.

Who showed zero interest in anything that wasn’t the Living Force or his many plants, according to some of the other knights she had sparred with in the practice salons. Ahsoka had always assumed that Master Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon had bonded, that the Force had somehow brought them together, unlike her and Anakin. That had been the Force too, but that had also been Master Yoda so she assumed their pairing wasn’t typical.

“Nothing we did was typical,” Ahsoka let out a breath and opened her eyes, surprised to find herself confronted with Master Yoda and beyond that, the boots of Master Windu. “Oh! Master Yoda! Master Windu! What a pleasant surprise!”

“You asked me last week what Master Yoda saw in the pairing of Qui-Gon Jinn and Initiate Kenobi and I thought he should tell you himself,” Master Windu said, his voice low and definitive. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a lesson with Depa in fifteen minutes.”

His mission completed, Master Windu strode off into the distance and Ahsoka got the feeling that Master Yoda had been dropped into her hands like a particularly ornery toddler.

“Troubled, are you, Knight Tano?” Yoda questioned, hobbling over to her and settling into a seated position with the soles of his feet touching. “Pain, I sense from you, yes?”

Ahsoka bowed her head, frowning and worrying at the hem of the brown knight’s robes she had been given. Even after two months, it still seemed strange to be dressed like most every other Jedi in the Temple, to let go of her armor and her bracers and the idea that she was one of the only Jedi left in the galaxy.

“Do you think Qui-Gon Jinn is a good match for Obi-Wan, Master Yoda?” Ahsoka spit out, deciding that directness was the best way to bring up the topic. “Really?”

Yoda tilted his head to the side, his ears settling low, a sign that he was truly thinking about something. “Confident in the pairing, I was, before your arrival. Gifted, Kenobi is, but troubled by strong emotions and anger. Too easily attached, he is. But clever and patient, he can be. A good diplomat I sensed in him.”

Ahsoka nodded, agreeing with the ancient master’s assessment of young Obi-Wan.

“Difficult, mastery has been, for Qui-Gon,” Yoda shook his head, curling his hands together in his lap. “Raised one, he has. Lost another, he did. Deep sorrow, I sensed, and regret. Regret for himself and his former padawan. Hope, I had for the union of the two.”

“How so?” she asked, curious. Perhaps there was something there Ahsoka had missed. Someone to bridge the divide between the well-meaning but distant Qui-Gon and the intense and devoted Obi-Wan.

“Light the way, Kenobi would,” the Grand Master said, peering at a far distant waterfall quietly pushing along a stream that flowed through the massive room. “Guide the boy, Qui-Gon would. Find a balance between them, I believed. Now, I do not.”

“What changed?” Ahsoka looked at Yoda’s hands and wondered how many more times in his life would he worry over the wrinkled knuckles. How many times would he run his hand through hair he had lost decades, perhaps centuries ago? How many times would he reflect back at his decisions and wonder if he made the right one?

Was Master Yoda even capable of questioning himself in that manner?

Was he even listening to her?

“Master Yoda?” Ahsoka repeated, leaning forward. “What changed?”

Yoda turned back to her and smiled, a twinkling in his eyes. “Know this, you do. Meditate on the choice before you, you should. Trust in the Force, young Ahsoka. Much time you have, yes, but for Obi-Wan, not so much.”

Yoda slowly pushed himself upright and collected his gimer stick. He raised it to Ahsoka and began to hobble off, leaving her wide-eyed and opened mouth in shock. Crossing paths with a senior padawan who knelt down as instructed, with a dry rasp of a laugh Yoda climbed up his arm and was off.

Stunned and more than a bit confused by Yoda’s cryptic visit, Ahsoka decided to return to her meditations in earnest, hoping to find a way forward, to understand the will of the Force and what it wanted of her and of Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and fell into a breathing pattern, letting her conscious thoughts drift past her mind’s eye as she slowly sank into the dark peace of the Force. With each inhale she fell further down into the gentle, rocking waves of the life around her. She could not pick out the individual life forms but she could feel the strength of the tree behind her, the firmness of the ground and the distant warmth of sunlight on her skin. The breeze tickled across her montrals and she shivered.

When she sensed she could go no deeper, when she seemed to have reached her destination, Ahsoka took out her thoughts and her worries and let them unspool and unravel before her. Questions and pleas bounced free out of her hands and heart as she reached out into the infinite space around and within her, desperate for an answer.

What should I do?

There was no answer, only the muffled sound of a distant surf and the faintest whistle of wind through the leaves overhead. Ahsoka waited, reaching out, stretching her awareness as far and as deep as it could go. Even if it was a wordless plea into the void of the Force, she called and called again.

What should I do? Please… Please help me.

I know you’re out there. She tried one last time, desperate.

Walk. A voice, the Presence from before, answered and Ahsoka found herself on a beach at night, beneath a sky filled with so many stars it seemed almost as if she could reach up and gather them into her hand like sand from Tatooine. The ocean washed in and out, a soothing rhythm to one who was so confused and lost.

Walk. The Presence spoke again and Ahsoka started to make her way down the shore, torn between the beauty of the ocean at night and the star-filled sky overhead. There was something mesmerizing and she couldn’t look away, try as she might, to focus on her question.

Please… I don’t know what to do. Why am I here, now? I know Master Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan as his padawan when he was younger but… but I don’t… I don’t think I want to let him. Ahsoka pleaded her case, hoping for another bit of understanding from whatever concentration in the Force was helping her. I’m wrong, aren’t I? This is attachment, isn’t it? I’m being selfish and robbing Obi-Wan of his true future.

The Presence seemed to stop and Ahsoka mirrored it, even if she didn’t really understand how she knew that a disembodied Force voice could “stop”.

Do you know why you are where you are? the Presence queried.

Ahsoka nodded. To change the future. To save Anakin, the Jedi Order, and the Galaxy.

And you think that you cannot do that as Obi-Wan Kenobi’s master? The question seemed simple enough but she could sense that her disembodied advisor wanted more than a simple “I don’t know.”

But Master Obi-Wan is supposed to be Qui-Gon Jinn’s padawan, Ahsoka insisted, gesturing to the infinite field of stars overhead. If I choose Obi-Wan, if I take him as my padawan, I will change the future. What if that means Anakin is never born? What if that means the Trade Federation invades Naboo and Padme can’t save her people? What if I fail as a master and Obi-Wan doesn’t grow up to be anything at all like Master Obi-Wan?

Ahsoka bowed her head. What if I fail and something happens to him? What if he dies?

And what if you don’t try? came the reply.

Master Qui-Gon will take care of him. He’ll raise him and train him and he’ll become a wonderful knight and a Jedi Master to Anakin, Ahsoka said, wrapping her arms around her as the air turned cold. I already know what’s going to happen if I don’t take him as a padawan.

There was silence again and just when she started to wonder if the Presence had left her, it surged back in with the tide. Why do you think you have been returned to this particular time?

Puzzled, Ahsoka shrugged. I… I don’t know. I’m not sure I understand.

Why not before you left the Order? Why not before Obi-Wan’s false assassination? Why not Mustafar or on Naboo in the plasma refinery? Of all the times and places for you to travel to, to be sent to, why did the Force bring you to this time and place?

Ahsoka went silent at that.

Why had the Force brought her back to Obi-Wan’s childhood and not Anakin’s? Why had it returned her to the Temple? Why three months before Obi-Wan was scheduled to age out?

If you want to save your master, to save your friends and family, you must start at the root of the problem, the Presence continued and she got the faintest sense of an exhausted sigh in the Force. Had you arrived at another time, you might have been able to prevent Order 66 and the Purges. You might not. You may have stopped the horror of Mustafar or maybe even some of the more tragic deaths of the Clone Wars.

You might not.

But only by acting here and now can you prevent all of that. You can save your master and the Jedi Order. You can graft a new branch to an aging tree and give it new life, little one.

Ahsoka frowned, her arms folded over her chest a flicker of anger and offense in her gut. Are you saying Master Obi-Wan is the problem?

No. Anakin Skywalker is the bitter fruit of a poisoned tree.

She ran a hand over her face. I don’t suppose it’s too much to ask you to make some sense?

Yes. It is. And for a moment, Ahsoka could almost swear she heard the damn being laugh. There are things you cannot change, little one. Obi-Wan Kenobi will be Anakin Skywalker’s master. As for who is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s master, well, that is up for negotiation. Time only flows one way, Ahsoka. Make the most of this time you find yourself in.

And with another soft susurration of the waves, the Presence was gone and the stars started to wink out, one by one. It would have struck Ahsoka as a rather ominous thing if she had been aware to notice it, but she had already passed into unconsciousness.

Ahsoka awoke to find a well-meaning knight gently prodding her shoulder. She sat up slowly, a little confused and surprised to have fallen asleep during her meditation. The knight, a smiling Zabrak with her hair pulled into a complicated braid, offered her hand to Ahsoka and helped to pull her up.

“You must have been really out of it,” the knight said as Ahsoka got her bearings and waited for the last bits of sleep to blow out of her mind. “The midday chime for lunch went off and you didn’t budge.”

“Thanks for waking me,” Ahsoka replied, bowing her head. “I have to be somewhere at 1230 and I can’t be late.”

The knight stepped out of her way and sent her off with a pleasant “Good luck!”

I’m not so sure what that would mean anymore. Ahsoka mused as she hurried to the lunchroom and Obi-Wan. I guess we’ll wait and see if Qui-Gon accepts his offer.

Ahsoka’s heart ached in her chest and she hurried faster through the hallways.

“Don’t do it,” Quinlan hissed at Obi-Wan as he and Luminara Unduli watched Qui-Gon Jinn eat his lunch at a table in the main dining hall, tucked back in a corner with a few other masters. “Master Ahsoka is going to choose you, Obi-Wan! She has to! She’s teaching you jar’kai and why would she teach you her style of fighting if she wasn’t going to take you as a padawan?”

“You shouldn’t disobey an order by any master,” Luminara observed quietly, although she did peek over at Qui-Gon with trepidation on her face. “But… maybe you could wait until Master Ahsoka arrives?”

Obi-Wan frowned at his plate and tried to ignore the pounding of his heart in his chest. His mind flickered from moment to moment, trying to find something to distract his panic with. He had tied a long stem of a vine fruit into a knot and then molded his mashed Alderaanian tubers into a spiky volcanic mountain range. Then there was the tapping and the compulsive desire to look anywhere but over at the immobile bulk of Master Qui-Gon Jinn, well-known diplomat and peerless swordsman, the former padawan of Master Yahn Dooku, considered the master of Makashi.

And Obi-Wan was supposed to just walk up to him and politely beg him to be his master.

I don’t understand why it can’t be you, Master Ahsoka, he thought, stabbing at his nerf steak listlessly. What’s wrong with me? Why don’t you want me to be your padawan? I know there is a connection there! I can feel it!

So… why do I have to do this?

“Master Tiin just left!” Quinlan announced as he turned back to Obi-Wan. “That just leaves Masters Fua and Ando.”

“And the entire dining hall,” Luminara observed coldly. “It doesn’t seem right.”

“Well it’s this or Bandomeer,” Obi-Wan sighed, pushing himself upright. “And I am not going to Bandomeer.”

Grabbing ahold of a flicker of resolve, Obi-Wan stepped away from his table and slowly marched over to Master Qui-Gon, his hands curled into fists that somehow vanished into his sleeves the closer and closer he got to the master’s table. He tried to run through the short, brief speech he had prepared for this moment. He had shown it to Luminara, who agreed that it was a good one, giving Obi-Wan a bit more confidence.

Obi-Wan came within five feet of the table and caught Master Fua’s eyes first, the dark-skinned man smiling at him and beckoning him closer. “It’s Kenobi, right? Come, come! We don’t bite.”

Master Ando turned to gaze down at Obi-Wan, a tall, thin Munn whose presence was neither warm nor cold. He simply sat and watched, making Obi-Wan feel somehow even smaller and more nervous than he already was.

“M-Master Jinn?” Obi-Wan stammered, glancing up at the broad-shouldered man who was in the middle of taking a long sip of his tea. “Might I have a moment of your time?”

Master Qui-Gon finished his drink and set it down with an exhalation, turning just enough in his chair to face Obi-Wan. “I wondered when you were going to search me out. You’re getting quite the reputation, Initiate Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan went cold then hot and then he froze, his words dying on his tongue, and the speech he had prepared flew right out of his head. He couldn’t think. His mind was stuffed full of wool and the suddenly pressing noise of the dining hall.

“I am, Master Jinn?”

“You are,” Qui-Gon nodded, resting one large arm and hand on the table in front of him. “I have heard you are searching for a master.”

“You have?” Obi-Wan echoed, his eyes falling away to Qui-Gon’s large right hand, resting on his leg. A strange, detached part of Obi-Wan’s mind wondered at how much larger his hand was than Master Ahsoka’s, at how Qui-Gon’s looked like it had been carved out of veined marble and Ahsoka’s from warm, smooth sandstone.

“Yes,” Qui-Gon nodded, his eyebrows raised. “I have chosen to be flattered that I am on your list, even if you have placed me at the bottom.”

“‘List’, master?” Obi-Wan looked up at the master’s face, horrified to see the harsh edges hidden behind his kind words. “There was no list, Master Jinn. I thought that… with you not having a padawan...”

“You are mistaken, Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon said, his body language saying nothing polite. “You did not think, for if you had thought, you would have realized the foolishness of your actions, no?”

Obi-Wan’s blood started to pound in his veins and his ears. He dropped his head again, his eyes locked on the floor as he waited for the next barrage of politely destructive words.

“Have I not made it abundantly clear that I will never take another padawan?” Qui-Gon sniffed, taking a long sip of his tea.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Master Ahsoka wouldn’t cry. She would be strong. Like Master Skywalker. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

Obi-Wan swallowed and nodded, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay. He started to breathe through his mouth lest his nose give him away. He couldn’t cry, not in front of Qui-Gon Jinn, not in front of the whole dining hall, which had gotten suddenly and noticeably quieter.

Just one more week and I never have to see any of these people ever again. Obi-Wan vowed, digging his fingers into the palms of his hands to keep from wiping at his eyes or his nose.

“This kind of behavior is beneath a Jedi, Initiate Kenobi,” Qui-Gon finished with a sigh, turning away from the boy. “Jedi do not grovel for scraps. Nor do they go begging for a foolish reprieve from their destiny. A true Jedi accepts what he cannot change and embraces the will of the Force. Perhaps that is something you should meditate on in your next position. Learning to accept the will of the Living Force and not seeking to defy its teachings.”

Obi-Wan wondered if he were going to faint, if it were possible to simply faint away dead. Was Qui-Gon done? Could he leave? Was everyone laughing at him? Is that what he heard coming from a not-so-distant table filled with upper-level Padawans?

“Oh, there you are!” Ahsoka’s voice rang out over the dining hall, bright and cheerful and just as warm as Qui-Gon’s had been cold. “I am so sorry I’m late, Obi-Wan. Did you already speak to Master Jinn like I asked?”

A large swath of brown wool and cream linen appeared in Obi-Wan’s vision. He felt his body being moved away from Master Jinn and tucked up against Ahsoka’s side, her hand warm on his shoulder. He didn’t know what was going on, only that Master Ahsoka was there and that she had situated herself in such a way that she was between him and Master Jinn.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and inhaled a tight, watery gasp of air. “Yes, Master Ahsoka.”

“Good!” she beamed and Obi-Wan felt her shields wrap around him like a warm, soft blanket, muffling the sights and sounds of the room, the prying presences and the growing cacophony of curiosity, mocking superiority and horrible, terrible pity. “Then it’s time for us to be leaving. Oh! Master Jinn?”

Qui-Gon’s voice was pleasant, if a bit strained. “Yes, Knight Tano? How can I be of assistance?”

“If you have some free time next week, could I still interest you in some sparring?” Ahsoka breezed, her voice sparkling like sunlight on the water but her spirit burning against Obi-Wan’s behind her shields. “Just a few rounds or so?”

Obi-Wan could hear the large man shifting in his seat, hear him clearing his throat. “Ah… yes, I believe so. If you will comm with the time and place, I will meet you there.”

“Excellent!” Ahsoka said, bowing over her left hand as she firmly guided Obi-Wan around and away from Master Jinn. She kept him under her arm as she marched them both out of the main dining hall and didn’t let go of him until they had left the Temple and arrived at the Parks,

It was only once they were out of the speeder and tucked away in a small clearing beneath a sprawling and gnarled smoke tree that Ahsoka turned to examine Obi-Wan’s numbed and humiliated face.

How had this happened? How could Master Jinn have done that to Obi-Wan in front of half the Jedi Order? What was she going to do now? How could she make this up to poor Obi-Wan, who looked like he was going to shatter at any moment? What was she going to do?

For now she would focus on the task in front of her, comforting Obi-Wan from Qui-Gon’s brutal rejection. She would work through what had to happen after that later, when Obi-Wan was feeling a little better and she had a moment to plan.

“I am so sorry, Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka murmured, reaching up to wipe away the tears that were spilling over his cheeks as feeling and emotions started to return to his frozen body. “I am so, so sorry. Come here.”

Obi-Wan found himself too distraught to argue and promptly curled into Ahsoka’s arms and sobbed until there was nothing left but a cold finality in the pit of his stomach.

Obi-Wan Kenobi would never be a Jedi knight.

And next week, he was going to Bandomeer.

#Tano and Kenobi #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #Qui-Gon Jinn #Star Wars #Yoda #Mace Windu #Someone you don't want to mess with #bigger than life and twice as snippy #The Fastest Glacier in the Galaxy #Okay y'all #the THING has happened #Please do not flame me all at once #Please line up in a single file line #So that I can be rotate and be roasted evenly on all sides #I would hate to be burnt and underdone #at the same time #So yeaaaaaah....#Qui-Gon did not aquit himself very well in this chapter #Luminara was right Obi-Wan #The lesson we have learned today is #Listen to the Miralan girl when she says #Yo wait for Master Ahsoka #I'm sure you can all predict what Ahsoka is going to do now #And now I hope everyone has an inkling of what going Full Skywalker is going to entail #But don't forget she has other influences on her and she's also 31 #She's not going to fly off the handle and deliciously stand on a table and challenge Qui-Gon to a duel in the middle of the dining hall #Although she would like to #I PROMISE NEXT WEEK WILL BE MUCH HAPPIER!#MOSTLY

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arielsojourner · 7 years

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I love Luke goes back in time and saves everyone and leading a Jedi reform. I love Darth Vader going back and redoing his life. But what if they went back in time TOGETHER? I know it is implausible. Time travel always is but I just cannot get this plot bunny to leave me alone till I write out an outline at least.

So this is what I have so far: Luke and Vader in the Original Trilogy decide they are going to team up to kill the Emperor/free Vader and because of SOMETHING they end up being back in time together. After a few minutes of “WTF? Where are we?” Luke adapts faster than his father and decides, they will just have to do this now and save everything before it goes to hell. Yes he has “lost” his friends but he has his father and he can make a better life for everyone if Vader works with him. Imperial education *cough propaganda cough* being what it is on Tatooine (to the extent Luke even went through his Imperial home school courses), it is up to Vader to tell them where to go and what to do. They are on the Outer Rim during the Clone War sieges and they end up joining up with the 501st while Pong Krell is leading them.

I see: - Vader ending Krell with extreme prejudice and Luke allowing it.

- Luke focusing on the difference between Clone vs. Storm troopers and being disgusted with Krell and bonding with the 501st by just being the deadly ball of sunshine, sweet cinnamon roll he is. The clones pretty much adopt him and he adopts them.

-Vader wants to just vent his fury on everyone and kill Krell and then kill Palpatine. He could care less about the Order (he won't purge them, he won't be tricked into that again, but there is little love there, there is just enough for those precious few), he just wants Padme and Ahsoka and Luke safe. (He doesn't know about Leia, neither does Luke; they went back in time before Luke went to Dagobah but after Jabba is dead and Han is rescued).

-Vader is so happy to have competent troops. Imperial troops are really hit and miss and so few clones remained after a few years in the ranks. He does miss the Executor and his Admiral though.

-Luke wants to get to know what the Order was like in its heyday but after seeing Krell and with Vader disclosing some of the campaigns of the Clone Wars and how the Order operates, Luke has decided that the Order is not for him, thank you very much. No attachment? Marriage and kids forbidden? To say nothing of only taking toddlers and the fact that the Republic is not the shining beacon that Leia always claims it was (Luke already had his doubts, he grew up in Hutt occupied space after all). He figures the Order is hardly likely to embrace him as a Jedi so he will be a Jedi on his own. He will help his father and defeat Palpatine.

-They will end this puppet war, free the clones, kill Palpatine, and ensure Anakin and Padme live happily ever after. Vader is satisfied in knowing that Padme is happy and alive (he cannot bear to even think of facing her, just knowing his Angel is alive and with Anakin Skywalker is fine by him). He has Luke who will not leave him now or ever. They will make a life together somehow.

-The clones while thankful are also a bit conflicted. Krell is dead, yay! There is a Force user, a red lightsaber, a Sith?! But he is hanging around someone who clearly is a Jedi (such a nice Jedi!) and they are working together. Is this our new Jedi general? But then, Krell was a Jedi and got them killed. Wait, did the Jedi just call the Sith father?!

-The Separatists are routed. Vader and Luke work seamlessly together. They are not the same as Obi-Wan and Anakin, how could they be? Luke's training is minimal (lightsaber forms, what are those? and by Order standards Luke in thought, deed, and existence is heretical to say the least) but his instincts and strength are astounding and as for Vader, just think "Vader Down" but times 100 because Vader is fighting with his son and Padme is still alive and there is still hope. Vader is no longer a slave to any man. He can make things right.

-Luke and Vader get to work on the clone control chips. Vader slices the program and Luke uses field surgery (learned in the hidden rooms on Tatooine doing emergency surgery on escaped slaves) along with Kix and others to deal with the physical reality of the chips.

-Perhaps throw some EU Force use in there and have Luke just experimenting with the Force and figuring out how to use it to help the clones with their accelerated aging or like in the “Darksaber” novel, Luke asking Vader to work with him to literally pick up entire Separatist ships and throw them out of they star system. Vader is a bit stunned by Luke's innovation, but decides he is not going to tell Luke what the Force can or cannot do or be used for and just encourage his son to use it however he wants. With Luke having seen Vader in action and Yoda on Dagobah, he doesn't have any concept of what should be beyond him and working with the "Chosen One" makes them nearly unstoppable.

-Vader has Luke with him, having Luke Fall is irrelevant so long as he has his family with him. Plus Luke is what Vader always imagined a Jedi should be back when he was just a boy on Tatooine. Sometimes Vader thinks of the dreams he had of Jedi freeing everyone and wonders if it was Luke he was really foreseeing.

-Luke decides that with him being a Jedi and Vader nominally a Sith they will just have to command both sides of the war to stop fighting. Fake it till you make it, kind of thing. War is what Palpatine wants so they are just going to decide to stop. Sith love to play games where they win regardless of the outcome. The only way to fight a Sith is not to play the game. The clones can find new vocations (hunting slavers perhaps?) and the droids can be reprogrammed. Vader and Luke have 20 years of technological war time improvements they have lived through and they plan to bring that to bear on both sides of the puppet war.

-The Order starts getting bizarre reports from the front lines. Peace is breaking out, being enforced by Vader and Luke. Jedi teams show up to what they think are war zones and find peace. (details escape me, but just go with it!) Vader knows what will happen next and Luke is so unpredictable Palpatine is caught off guard. All his plans are falling apart.

-I want some Force sensitive clones. Perhaps if the chips are out and the aging fixed, one or two in each division or so has the potential to be Force sensitive. Luke is all for training them. Vader balks for a moment and then just decides to go with it. I see Fives as a Force user and Luke trains them enough to help free their brothers.

-Vader and Luke only use those names. They give no last names and no titles They frequently refer to themselves as father and son to the bewilderment of all.

-They run into some Jedi on a few of their missions. The Jedi are a bit confused by Luke and grow more and more suspicious but when Vader shows up behind him, a black sun of icy cold fire more than a few lightsabers are lit but Luke just stands between them and tells them that "Oh, him? Yes, he is a Sith, no you cannot kill him. Why? Because he will kill you and we don't need that, we are all on the same side here." Vader makes a sound that without his mask would definitely by a snort of derision "No, really father, we are nominally on the same side." "If we are on the same side son, tell the Jedi to put their blades down. I won't have them accidentally hurting you or I will tear them apart and paint the walls with their blood." And Plo or Aayala or Kit or whoever they are meeting is just like "WTF? Are we, are we going to fight? Father, did you say father? Your father is a Sith lord and you are a Jedi? Jedi don't have fathers, well Jedi have fathers but they don't have fathers if you know what I mean." And Luke is all "Jedi have fathers. I have a father. Being a Sith or a Jedi doesn’t mean people don’t have fathers. Now we have more important things to talk about. The war is over because we say it is over so put down your weapons and let us just go about our business."

-And since Jedi don't attack unarmed people (not that Vader is ever unarmed; even without his lightsaber drawn he could kill them all), they just put down their weapons and Luke quietly, inexorably bulldozes them into following his lead, Vader looming over his shoulder, daring anyone to disagree with his smol but mighty son. "My son says we are now at peace and the clone troopers are free. Argue and I will choke you."

-They are not at peace yet, but Luke takes a page out Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's book of proverbs that used to have him rolling his eyes as a kid and one of them was if you keep insisting something is true, it becomes true. Granted his aunt and uncle were talking about having fun while doing his chores, but Luke is nothing if not adaptable. War is over because Luke says it is and Vader agrees with him, so there.

-Ventress joins their little band. Luke figures Yoda was wrong about the "dark side dominating your destiny" with regards to his father so he can just be wrong about every other dark side user. Luke insists Vader can teach Ventress or they can all three of them learn awesome Force things together, just Luke will avoid the dark side, no dark side for him, thank you.

-Luke and Vader take down Savage before Satine can be killed. I think Luke and Satine would get along well and Vader of course would inform Luke about Obi-Wan’s connection with her and I see Luke wanting to match-make, Order rules of attachment be damned. He wants Obi-Wan to be happy. Vader gets a vicious thrill out of how this will torture his old master. Luke plans to rehabilitate Maul too (think Maul from Star Wars Rebels) into his growing band of Force misfits - Vader, clone force sensitives, Ventress, maybe even Dooku, it is all good.

-Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ashoka keep missing Luke and Vader but Palpatine sends Padme into the mix, desperate to figure out what is going on with his carefully constructed Sith master plan. Vader gets one inkling that Padme is on her way and goes into stealth mode (he does have stealth mode, no shut up, he does. Just because he is 7 feet tall and has distinctive breathing doesn’t mean he cannot do stealth). He is still hovering near Luke, he is not leaving Luke alone but he cannot bear to see her see her, to have her see him: her plans to never ever EVER tell her who he is, just watch her from afar. Sigh.

-Luke is all earnestness and light when meeting her. He doesn't know ahead of time that she’s "mom" -Vader still cannot bear to give details other than to say she was his whole world --but he is intuitive and very powerful in the Force so he puts two and two together and is at his dotting farm boy best with her and Padme seeing peace is really happening, throws her full support behind this strange Jedi. Vader stalks them both and not so secretly foils whatever nonsense Palpatine had cooked up for their meet and greet event with large explosions. "Master Jedi, that explosion, don't we need to investigate?" "No, Senator, everything is fine. My companion is keeping up with all the security while we talk. Now what can Naboo do to ensure the sentient rights of the clones are honored now that the war is over? Do you think you could arrange a meeting with me and the Chancellor?"

It is all just piecemeal and I don't think it could ever be coherent enough to be a full story (too many plot holes and character crack) but it is such a wonderfully tasty idea with all the substance of cotton candy I just had to share.

#sw au #star wars alternate universe #luke skywalker sweet cinnamon roll #Luke and vader #father and son save the galaxy #luke and vader save the galaxy #clone wars #luke skywalker #darth vader #clones

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