#and also how from episode 1 part of Rei has known her fate | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

breakingbadfics · 5 years ago

Text

Thought Experiment. Part 1.

or “How would I have done it”

So The Sith Resurgence is a petty bashfic driven purely by a desire to spit in the face of canon, but specifically ReyLo Shippers, specifically the Kylo Ren/Ben Solo lovers of the ship. The plot is hollow, the only characters given any consideration of depth are the romantic leads making the supporting characters even more bereft of substance. and in trying to fix certain things with in the canon it somehow has even less than canon

What does a good version of this look like?

“Course Correction”

So lets start with an easy version of this question. The story is sitting at 35 chapters as of my writing this section of the essay.

Lets say Hypothetically Lily Orchard reached out to me to outline the final arc for the story. How would I do that?

So as of the end of chapter 35 these things happen

Kylo Ren is intending to fake the return of Emperor Palpatine.

Aliana and Rey have just gotten married

Rey’s growth in power has been climbing and causing concern among her friends for her safety.

The First Order know the location of the Resistance’s new base after they survived the events of episode 8

There is still some sort of conflict between Aliana, Rey, and Leia.

Kylo Ren is Angling towards setting up the fall of the republic.

Rey and Aliana are sent to Nathema reinforce the extraction of child recruits from The First Order.

I’m missing something I’m sure, but we’re moving forward from these points.

Chapter 36 begins with Aliana and Rey arriving on Nathema, They do the fighting, clear out the base, begin the evacuations and save a bunch of children. During this The Message is sent out to all First Order bases. The Emperor has returned from the dead.

On Nathema The Message arriving causes a shift in the morale of the fighting and while Rey and Aliana make it out in time along with any resistance back up they had, but everyone is ratttled.

in spite of that Aliana is basically no-selling the threat of The Emperor’s return. and while Rey is also nervous about it Aliana assuages those fears by explaining that, that wasn’t Palpatine at all. Because there was no shock in the force. If Darth Sidious had cheated death, it would have been something everyone force sensitive could have felt, and would have been felt long before the emperor even composed the message.

And so Chapter 36 ends

Chapter 37

With the force bond having been unblocked Kylo Ren was able to detect Rey had left the Resistance base. And in an impulse chose to personally lead an attack on the base. During this he made sure to have The Message from The Emperor sent out

During the attack a lot of casualties occur, but The Core Cast srvives but the big casualty is that Kylo Ren slashed a path through and took out his mother.

the rest of the story is trying to recuperate and then convey that Palpatine’s message was fabricated as propaganda.

during all this it’s decided amongst the remaining resistance that when they make the retaliatory strike it has to be the final blow that sets off the collapse of the first order.

Chapter 38

Aliana and Rey train more, Rey start learning various Sith Techniques.

Captain Phasma leading the last remnants of The Knights of Ren reveal themselves to have been waiting in hiding, they’re further accompanied by a collection of bounty hunters aiming to overwhelm the jedi and the sith through sheer numbers and power.

It is not an easy fight but Phasma’s attack force is defeated and the captain is forced to retreat as one of the sole survivors of this attack. The victory is owed in both to Rey and Aliana’s capabilities as a unit as well as Finn and the remaining Resistance assisting where it counts.

Kylo Ren is continuing his own private solo training and has found a collection of sith holocrons in Snokes original private quarters that have aided in honing his skills..

The First Order itself has made an order for all forces across the galaxy to return to the original coordinates of Star Killer Base.

once the full force of The First Order arrives in one place the plan is revealed that they intend to pull a full final assault on The Republic, intent to basically glass the surface of Corruscant.

Chapter 39

The First Order again.

They are preparted to set out only to find themselves faced with The Resistance and The Sith Fleet having arrived to make their own final attack.

The fight begins

During all this Rey, Aliana, and friends infiltrate the lead ship with intent to find and eliminate the leaders of the first order.

The eventual final confrontation between Kylo Ren, Aliana, and Rey happens.

And Then everythings for a moment as hundred of thousands of Imperial Star Destroyers warp in from nowhere. And start attacking both sides.

A mesage relayed across all channels.

Emperor Palpatine is actually somehow alive, and has arrived to reclaim control of his fleet.

Chapter 40

Emperor Palpatine’s message is simple; he’s returned to take his throne as ruler of the galaxy. To the Resistance he demands surrender so that their deaths may be quick and merciful. To The First Order a message to stand down, declare fealty to him or die.

The entirety of the battle as far as the fleets go dissolves into chaos and immediately Rose and Holdo declare a fall back and as many people in the resistance get out, leaving the first order and imperial forces to engage in a massive civil war.

While this is happening Aliana and Rey are trying to gauge what to do while also fighting Kylo Ren, only for Kylo Ren to get shot in the back of the head by General Hux, who retreats to take his side with the empire.

Aliana and Rey spend the rest of the chapter escaping and being very very angry they were denied the catharsis of killing Kylo Ren

Chapter 41

everyone is panicking.

The resistance is down to their last legs and the entire galaxy is with little hope

meanwhile Hux and Phasma are called forth to see The Emperor personally. where it is explained that even in spite of the unifying desire to re-establish the empire the first order was not the entirety of the remaining imperial forced and some chose to quietly seek out planets known to be inhabited by the dark side of the force. during this a ritual was carried out to allow a suitable individual to become the vessel for the emperor. The Emperor is basically wearing full fitting body armor at all times. but basically he’s inhabiting the body of a Galen Marek clone.

Oh also Hux is executed, because the emperor saw what he did to Kylo Ren who was the acting supreme leader of the First Order, and so determined Hux to be not trustworthy.

The resistance are still having doubts to their abilities now that they’re low on forces. further faith in Aliana is wavering due to the whole “I��d know if the emperor was back” blowing up in her face.

However because Palpatines Message was delivered across the galaxy, and on all channels they get a message from The Senate that basically declares that they’re going all in on the resistance and fully endorsing them. planets from across all systems as well as former rebel alliance members are en route to bolster their forces. it is now a full scale war to snuff out The Imperial Remnant.

Chapter 42.

Aliana and Rey are declared high generals with only Holdo and Rose Tico holding equal authority to them

The Resistance manage to find the current whereabouts of the emperor.

They set out to finally put an end to his reign of terror once and for all.

Chapter 43

Rey, Aliana, and crew launch a strike on Emperor Palpatines personal cruiser.

It’s revealed that Palpatine has “resurrected” Kylo Ren. though no more than a puppet to act as an extention of Palpatines will.

The final fight for the fate of the galaxy and the right to be The one true sith lord begins.

Chapter 44

The fight happens.

Rey fights the husk of Kylo Ren, The final step in Rey Beniko’s empowerment, destroying and ending the life of her abuser, lamenting only in that the soul of kylo ren never occupied the husk so she couldn’t revel in the end of his pathetic existance.

Aliana and Palpatine fight, The right to call themselves the True and Rightful Sith Lord. Palpatine almost wins, even with the act of the fight becoming a one on two drag out brawl between the two lovers and the emperor.

However Galen Marek proper, and Finn arrive, and proceed to even the odds in a 4 on 1 fight.

As one last attempt at a moral blow is Palpatine reveals that somewhere along in the past he set up an arranged marriage with the Beniko line of sith lords something that had been set up several hundred of years back somewhere between lana and aliana’s grandmother. The suitor was a member of his bloodline which he says to be rey. And that in falling for one another they’ve played into his plans to the letter

Aliana, does not care. Murders palpatine, and as to whether or not he was telling the truth. No one cares about that either. taking it as an attempt to fuck with the both of them

Chapter 45

The story ends with the usual “where are they now”

Finn and Poe get married, Rey and Aliana adopt. under the leadership of Holdo and Rose The Resistance slides back into being the officially backed “Rebel Alliance” hunting down the last remnants of the first order and the empire with the full scope of the republic military

The future for Force users is made a little more weird because the sith and the jedi are effectively the same thing trying with what ever opposes them being recognized as extremists of both sides

Somewhere the sole remnants of the first order and empire gather quietly to lick their wounds, lead by “Supreme Leaderl Phasma” as a potential sequel bait

The story ends with Rey and Aliana drinking wine. and a toast to the future.

#The Sith Resurgence #star wars fanfiction #lily orchard

14 notes · View notes

konpithepuppy · 4 years ago

Text

[TRANSLATION: POTATO 06.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI

Proofread by aji10647731 (Twitter)/ @janiappend

Scans not mine

Neither an English nor a Japanese native speaker

Feel free to correct me, thanks

DEGREE OF LOVE

Measuring the degree of love they have for their partner in quiz format. 2 questions that test their relationship and 1 original question for each pair, can they match their answers with each other!? (Interview was done around the 1st 10 days of April)

NAKAMURA REIA x YABANA REI

BEING PIXELATED IN A STREET INTERVIEW?

Yabana: The interview this time is for us pair to match our answers. There are 3 questions in total.

Nakamura: Let us answer after "go". The first question is, "What is the best memory of us two?" Ready, set, go..."my sister..."

Yabana: "Going to an instrument store..." It is clear that we are completely talking about different things (LOL).

Nakamura: Mine is about my sister giving Yabana a jersey. My sister likes Yabana and she gives him advice through me. She gives advice like, "His hair is long, it is better for him to cut it. His hairstyle in summer 2 years ago is good." (LOL).

Yabana: Also, she said, "He always wears shabby sweatshirt," so I received a brand new jersey from her through Reia (LOL). What I was trying to say earlier is the time where the 2 of us went to instrument store to see some bass.

Nakamura: We also did that! After buying the bass, I got it painted by Yabana's father. But, since we both talked about family members, I wonder if this is partially correct (LOL).

Yabana: Let's perfectly match in the 2nd question. "Describe your relationship in one word." Ready, set, go..."a bad companion!"

Nakamura: "Boyfriend-girlfriend!" We didn't match again (LOL).

Yabana: We often talk but we usually endlessly talk about things that won't do any good, right? That is like being bad friends having fun.

Nakamura: We talk about things like our fave musics or fave manga. Our hobbies match.

Yabana: It's just that there is no substance (LOL).

Nakamura: No matter how late at night it is already, Yabana plays with me when I invite him in a game, so I think our relationship is like a boyfriend who cannot refuse to his girlfriend's invites (LOL).

Yabana: I see. Well, playing a game late at night is also a bad thing so this means that this is also partially correct...(LOL).

Nakamura: Right? (LOL). We are at the last question now. "If you are called for another street interview for a television show, are you going to do it?" Ready, set, go..."I won't do it!"

Yabana: "I will do it!"...we didn't match (LOL).

Nakamura: Well, when Yabana appeared in the street interview for 「Getsuyou Kara Yofukashi」, I asked the manager, "Can I also do an interview like that?" And then, I was told, "No, you can't," by the manager.

Yabana: Really? (LOL) I also contacted the manager before the filming just in case, I asked if it's okay to take an interview. And then, since the manager said it's okay, it was a chance to advertise 7 MEN 侍 in a television!

Nakamura: It seems like it is okay for Yabana to do it, but not for me (LOL). But I have a feeling that I want to be on an interview too. Oh, well, next time when the 2 of us got interviewed, I think let's do the interview where I am the only one being pixelated.

Yabana: That's probably suspicious in the contrary! (LOL)

SUGETA RINNE x MOTODAKA KATSUKI

THE PERCENTAGE OF WATCHING EACH OTHER'S TV SHOW APPEARANCES IS?

Motodaka: Our best memory, huh.

Sugeta: Rinne thought of something!

Motodaka: Well, let's say our answers. Ready, set, go!

Sugeta: "When we welcomed Reiwa!"

Motodaka: "Sexy Zone's..." Ah!! Wait, that's my answer too! (LOL)

Sugeta: You're trying to talk about Sexy Zone, right? (LOL) Is it about a concert tour?

Motodaka: Yup. During Sexy Zone's concert tour, only our hotel room was the Cinderella-like (LOL). We were ojousama-like.

Sugeta: That also crossed my mind!

Motodaka: But if we talk about something special, it is definitely the moment where we welcomed Reiwa.

Sugeta: We went to watch a late-night movie, and since it will be Reiwa very soon, we spent time together. When it became 12 midnight, we went," Ye~y, It's Reiwa now~!"

Motodaka: That was special.

Sugeta: I took a screenshot of the time "0:00" that was displayed in my phone.

Motodaka: For me, I recorded the memory of us when it turned 12 midnight that day.

Sugeta: That was nostalgic~!

Motodaka: The next one is to describe in one word our relationship. Shall we it say at once!? Ready, set, go!

Sugeta: "Consultation partner!"

Motodaka: "Comrade!"...Aah (LOL).

Sugeta: When Rinne is not interactive, right? You always try to symphatize with me.

Motodaka: It is a situation where I'll be made to ask, "Did something happen?" You are little bit annoying type of person (LOL).

Sugeta: Fairly, I am easy to understand.

Motodaka: That makes me slightly sullen (LOL).

Sugeta: What do you mean by comrade?

Motodaka: After we each did different projects, we end up in the same unit.

Sugeta: I see. The 3rd question is about how much we watch each other's tv appearances. Let's answer in percentage. Is that good? Let's answer it?

Motodaka: Ready, set, go..."80%"!

Sugeta: "90%"! That was close ~! Rinne records the quiz shows every week. Since I also want to try appearing in tv shows, so I watch shows that I have the possibility to appear in. I almost watch all of the shows where Katsuki appear too.

Motodaka: Me too, more than the shows where I appear, I overwhelmingly watch more shows where Rinne appear than mine. But I can't watch it in real time so I answered "80%".

Sugeta: Rinne watch the shows multiple times because Rinne loves appearing in shows.

Motodaka: I watch shows where I think I did good in recording.

Sugeta: Certainly! I think if I'm not in good shape during the recording, I will not watch it that much. By the way, I still watch my appearance in 「SASUKE」until now (LOL). Everyone watched it during the rehearsal for ARASHI-san's concert, right?

Motodaka: That was exciting~!

Sugeta: I watch with my family Katsuki's appearance in quiz shows. When Rinne got the right answer even though Katsuki didn't, I noisily go, "Why didn't Katsuki got it right?" (LOL).

Motodaka: That's natural for a quiz show. It's tough but that's my fate...

SASAKI TAIKO x KONNO TAIKI

CLEANING AFTER TAIKO CHALLENGE...

Konno: Our best memory, let's say our answers after the go signal! "Fireworks in Odaiba."

Sasaki: "Amusement park!" Ah~that one~ (LOL). The one where we watched fireworks!!

Konno: That was around 4-5 years ago already, right?

Sasaki: That was close to the end of summer.

Konno: Yabana, me, Sakuchan (Sakuma Ryuto) and you (Taiko) were there.

Sasaki: The fireworks were really beautiful. We could see it from the restaurant. Although it is a beautiful memory, it didn't come to my mind~!

Konno: Well, the amusement park is also a good memory. (Takahashi) Yuto and (Iwasaki) Taisho were there too. Everyone went to places like haunted house, it was really fun~(LOL).

Sasaki: There was a collaboration with 「Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai」right at that time. I wanted to ride Kurosaki-kun's gondola no matter what so I rode the ferris wheel around 3 times. That was fun~.

Konno: Next, "Describe in one word your relationship." Ready, set, go..."close friends!"

Sasaki: "Consulatation partner!" Well, we said 2 different things but they mean the same thing.

Konno: Yeah. Since we are always together, our trust with each other is not just on the shallow level.

Sasaki: Even the things that I can't tell to other people, I talk about those with Konpi (Konno). I generally give positive advices to Konpi. When he consults to me saying, "I want to try this but...," I reply, "I think that's great." I think that we won't know the result until we try it so it is better to freely do it.

Konno: For the last question, with the theme that's only for us 2, "What is the best Taiko Challenge episode?" Let's match our answers time.

Sasaki: Okay. Ready, set, go!

Konno and Sasaki: "Shampoo!" Ye~y! (High five)

Konno: That is a masterpiece.

Sasaki: It has the most number of likes and plays.

Konno: The one with cola is also good but if it's the best, then it's gotta be the content with shampoo.

Sasaki: The content with cola became known but even I myself think that the content with shampoo is a masterpeiece. I planned that 2 weeks before the filming. I thought that I'll do that on my birthday. And then, Akarui Tonikaku-san did that in the variety show.

Konno: What a timing (LOL).

Sasaki: I was troubled, "Uwa, seriously! It overlaps with my plan!", but since I wanted to do it so I took the risk and did it.

Konno: Well, that is the best. I like the part where you poured the water to yourself, but what happened to your room?

Sasaki: It got wet. In Johnny's stages, when we use water, the water flows into the orchestra pit (a space that is lower than the main stage), but in my house there's no such system like that!

Konno: AHAHAHA!

Sasaki: That's why with a drainer similar to the one used in cleaning the windows, I cleaned the room by making the water flow into the veranda. Cleaning the mess afterwards was miserable (LOL).

RECENT HAPPENINGS

Sugeta Rinne: I can now do 70kg of bench press! I thought of doing a bench press that is about my weight, but I am happy that I was able to do 10 more kilos from my weight. Since I still do 3 reps x 3 sets, so I want to increase the number.

Motodaka Katsuki: There are also 4th year undergraduates in the graduate school seminar. It was my first time meeting them recently, and I feel excited that they're my juniors. Until now, there are seniors that I am close with, but I don't have a junior who is close with me. I wonder if they'll be close with me!?

Nakamura Reia: My dad gave me the latest game console for my birthday. The controller is amazing that the vibration changes when the character is walking in grassy place and when the character is walking in soil. I don't have that much games for it yet but I want to play with it a lot.

Yabana Rei: A little while ago, I went to watch Rinne's 「Hidamari no Ki」(the show ended) in Osaka. I wasn't able to go in Tokyo shows but it was really popular so I really had to see it. I also watched Sexy Zone's concert the next day, it was a fulfilling trip.

Konno Taiki: When I'm at home or when I'm on the move, I only listen to western music. In someway or another, it looks like I have a phase for Japanese music and western music, and now I am into western music. I keep repeating the songs that I like more than broadening the songs that I know. There are a lot of songs by male artists [that I listen to].

Sasaki Taiko: I have fully mastered the stores in the suburbs of Tokyo that sell in large quantities! Depending on the store, the proportion varies and that excites me~. For example, 800 yen for 24 bottles 500 mL of water, there are great deals and it is super fun. I also bought toilet paper that I split with my friend.

3 notes · View notes

giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 5 years ago

Text

My pitch for an alternate version of the Star Wars sequel arc (Episodes 7-12):

(NOTE: Aside from some characters being reused, this is completely separate from the actual sequel trilogy)

1) All six movies comprise of one arc but episodes 7-9 and 10-12 can be seen as their own trilogies. Think of this like a TV show season; the first half of the season is different from the second half.

2) The initial main protagonists are Ben Solo and Rey Nebula, Luke Skywalker’s proteges and the top two students of the reformed Jedi Academy. However, there’s a change in protagonists after episode 9, which I’ll explain when I get there. The main protagonists from episodes 10-12 are Nico Palpatine (Emperor Palpatine’s granddaughter), Finn (a former stormtrooper), Poe Dameron (a Mandalorian bounty hunter), and Rose Tico (an inventor from Coruscant).

3) Episodes 7-9 focus on defeating the last of the Imperial forces (renamed “The First Order”) and Luke ordering the capture of Nico Palpatine, the last of Emperor Palpatine’s line. The trilogy is set up like a traditional Star Wars story; Empire and Sith are the villains while the Republic and the Jedi are the heroes. However, in episode 8, we start to see the cracks in the story. Nico, despite being a Palpatine, is revealed to be a scared, severely depressed young woman who is trying to escape her legacy. She’s not interested in the Sith or even avenging her grandfather, she just wants to live her life. In addition, it’s revealed that there’s unrest in the Republic with Leia’s government becoming more unpopular each day. The main concern is that, in their quest to stamp out all traces of the Galactic Empire, people are fearing that the New Republic is on the road to becoming a fascist dictatorship as well.

4) While all that is going on, Luke learns about this “Force boogeyman” who has resurfaced. This boogeyman, known as “The Equalist”, is a legendary figure who is feared by both the Jedi and the Sith. Apparently, they have survived for thousands of years (using the Force to extend their lifespan) and they have an intense hatred towards both orders of the Force. The Equalist is the main antagonist of the sequel series.

5) The big reveal in Episode 9: Rey Nebula, who was presented as the main heroine of the sequel series, is revealed to be “The Equalist”. She entered Luke’s academy with the intention of infiltrating the Jedi Order and destroying it from within, as well as getting close to Luke. In addition, she’s the one who has been influencing the political unrest in the New Republic. The reason for her hatred of the Jedi and the Sith is that she was part of an ancient order of Force users that predated the Jedi and the Sith (think: Dai Bendu). Her order, instead of emphasizing the differences in the Light and Dark sides of the Force, preached a “Grey” interpretation that believed the Light and Dark sides worked in tandem. Rey reveals that her order was destroyed by both the early Jedi and Sith as they felt threatened by the “Grey” interpretation of the Force.

6) Some dialogue I came up with for Rey/The Equalist: “When the universe was first formed...do you think the Creators had a set of morals in mind for the Force? The answer is no...we were the ones who gave meaning to the Force. The problem is...we couldn’t agree which interpretation was correct and, as a result, millions of people died. Over a difference of faith. How pitiful.” / “The Jedi preaches that the Dark Side is evil. The Sith preaches that the Light Side is evil. But yet, despite the differences in your religions...you both agreed that my people were a threat. We were a threat...for believing that the Force was neither good or evil. For our beliefs, you sentenced my people to death.” --> author’s note: If this sounds like Pain from Naruto or Zaheer from Legend of Korra, I admit that they were inspirations for the Equalist.

7) Ben Solo goes from the main male protagonist to the secondary antagonist of the series. Although he starts out as an honorable Jedi, he becomes swayed by Rey’s mission to destroy the Jedi and the Sith once he learns their “hidden history” (namely, the destruction of Rey’s old order of Force users). He also becomes disillusioned by the New Republic when he learns about the war crimes and atrocities that the Rebels committed during the war with the Galactic Empire (history that was also buried by the New Republic). Ben feels betrayed as he was taught that the Jedi and Rebels were pure heroes, leading to him joining forces with Rey. So in this version, Ben’s turn to darkness comes from his inability to see the world through a grey perspective; he’s stuck in a black-and-white moral mentality that makes him unable to comprehend the nuances of war and politics, which then leads to him helping Rey in her dangerous revolution.

8) Nico Palpatine goes from a supporting protagonist to the main protagonist of the series. Although she’s treated with much hostility from Luke Skywalker in the beginning, Luke slowly warms up to her when he realizes she’s nothing like her grandfather. Also, when we get to know more about Nico, we learn that she has a strange connection to the Force. She’s as powerful as Emperor Palpatine but she doesn’t feel a strong connection to either the Light or Dark sides since she was never formally trained. As a result, she’s developed a sort of “Grey” relationship to the Force, just like Rey. However, Nico’s pure heart clashes with Rey’s thirst for vengeance, which leads to them becoming archenemies.

---------------------------> side note: my fancast for Nico is Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing from Iron Fist)

9) Finn, Poe, and Rose are all elevated to co-protagonists in episodes 10-12. They start out as supporting allies in episodes 7-9 but are elevated in importance when they befriend Nico and form her inner circle. So if Nico is the Luke of the sequel series, Poe and Rose share the Han Solo role while Finn fills in the Leia Organa role. In this alternate version, Rose is an inventor who sells state-of-the-art weapons to the New Republic, Finn is a former stormtrooper who has enlisted in the New Republic’s army, and Poe is a Mandalorian bounty hunter who specializes in hunting down Sith lords.

10) Just as a side note, I pictured Finn being more important than Poe and Rose since he also has a subplot where he learns that he’s Force-sensitive.

11) Episodes 10-12 focus on Nico, Finn, Poe, and Rose trying to stop Rey, Ben, and their faction from destroying the Jedi, the Sith and the New Republic. We learn that Rey’s grand plan is to cause as much unrest in the New Republic as possible, causing the Republic to fall into a civil war. Combined with the ongoing war against the First Order, this would eventually lead to the Republic collapsing into complete anarchy. So as a stark contrast to the original and prequel trilogies, our main villain isn’t a fascist dictator but a vengeance-fueled anarchist who wants to destroy all traces of the Jedi and the Sith.

12) Fates of the OG trio: Han Solo is killed in episode 8 during a battle with the First Order. His death sends Ben Solo into full despair, which Rey takes advantage of. Leia Skywalker is killed in episode 10 by Ben. Leia tries to convince him that Rey is the real threat and, in response, Ben stabs her through the chest (so she gets Han’s death from TFA). Luke Skywalker heroically sacrifices himself in episode 12. He destroys a Death Star-type weapon that Rey had taken control of while still inside.

13) There’s a major time jump between episodes 9 and 10 because Luke Skywalker has taken on Nico Palpatine as his protege Episode 10 takes place six years after episode 9 in order to explain how Nico is suddenly a capable Jedi, as well as how Rey and Ben were able to raise an army while hiding in the shadows.

14) The ending scene of episode 11 is Luke Skywalker naming Nico Palpatine as the next Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. When Nico protests, saying that she should be disqualified due to her lineage, Luke reminds her that his father was Darth Vader. He says something along the lines of, “You may be a Palpatine by blood...but you’ve proven more than once that you are your own person.” He also says that the Jedi could benefit from Nico’s “Grey” view of the Force since she could teach about the Dark Side without falling into it and becoming a Sith.

15) Showdown in episode 12 is split between Nico’s confrontation with Rey and Ben, as well as the New Republic engaging the Equalist Army. Both conflicts are resolved in a way to symbolize that the galaxy is willing to make an effort for peace. First, the New Republic is assisted by the factions that were threatening to break away, signifying that Rey’s plan for complete anarchy has failed and that the New Republic is whole again. Second, after Rey is fatally wounded by Nico, both women decide to sit together in peace and discuss their place in the universe. Before she dies, Rey says that Nico has a chance to be better than her predecessors and to not repeat the mistakes of the past Jedi.

16) Ben survives but is imprisoned for life due to his actions in episodes 10-12.

17) Ending of the series: Nico takes her place as the new Jedi Grandmaster, Finn joins the Jedi Academy, Poe is made a leading general in the New Republic (the first Mandalorian to take on the position), and Rose becomes a Senator.

Some more thematic stuff I forgot to add:

* Aside from being “Grey Force” users, I wanted Rey and Nico to parallel each other in the sense that they both are the result of a hateful environment. Rey’s people were senselessly destroyed since their beliefs were feared while Nico’s very existence made her a target of the galaxy’s hatred.

* In the original trilogy, the main sin was pride. In the prequel trilogy, the main sin was envy. For this sequel series, the main sin is wrath (Luke hating Nico’s existence before getting to know her, Rey’s hatred fueling her anarchist campaign and Ben’s anger after learning the hidden history of the Jedi and the Republic)

* The first half is set up as a traditional Star Wars story in order to set up the contrast of the second half. We go from having a Skywalker as the main protagonist to a Palpatine as the lead, the main villain isn’t a Sith but someone who challenges the beliefs of both the Jedi and the Sith, and the conflict isn’t about toppling an empire but making sure the current regime survives the unrest.

* EDIT: Another thing I forgot to add. The conflict between Rey’s Grey Order, Jedi, and Sith was inspired by real-life religion. Rey’s order is a Pagan religion while the Jedi and Sith can be seen as parallels to Catholicism or Christianity (both orders believe in the Dark-Light belief of the Force, but differ on which side to follow). The destruction of Rey’s order is a parallel to the Inquisitions.

13 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 4 years ago

Text

Star Wars Books: A Guide to Canon Novels in Chronological Order

https://ift.tt/2ZQUc1i

Star Wars has a rich history of tie-in stories, from somber explorations of space politics to weird, goofy adventure. Disney’s revamped canon has been in place for almost ten years, since 2012. The first novel in the new canon, 2014’s A New Dawn, realigned the books with what Lucasfilm would eventually do with the Sequel Trilogy under the new ownership.

If you want to read the canon books in chronological order, where do you start? And where do they fit with regards to the movies? This list includes both adult and YA novels, and does not include audio dramas, direct movie adaptations, or middle grade books. Reading all of the books in chronological order is a big endeavor, especially since more come out every year. Whether you want to start at the beginning or jump around depending on what era you care about, here’s our guide to what’s what…

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Star Wars Books: Before the Prequels

If you’re starting to read in order, The High Republic series is first up. This ongoing series is set about 200 years before anything else. Since the Sith haven’t yet risen to power, it’s an opportunity to show the Jedi at their heyday and the Republic free of corruption. Start with Light of the Jedi, the kickoff, but this series is meant to be able to be read in any order.

Next, two books set up the characters in the Prequel trilogy: Master & Apprentice follows Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, detailing Jedi philosophy and where Qui-Gon and others try to sway or bend it. Queen’s Peril shows how Padmé met her handmaidens and shaped them into the spies and warriors seen in the next movie …

Star Wars Books: The Prequel Era

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

Continuing Padmé’s adventures, Queen’s Shadow shows the teenage queen’s transition to galactic senator. It answers some questions about how the galaxy’s politics work and shows the very beginnings of the Rebellion.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

The Rogue One prequel Catalyst sets up some of the major players in the formation of the Death Star project, forming a backdrop for the movie with author James Luceno’s typical knack for pulling together disparate parts of canon into a consistent whole.

The Thrawn Ascendancy series (two books currently with a third on the way), takes place mostly in the far-off Chiss empire. While mostly a vehicle for Sherlock Holmes-style mysteries in the type of space war that made Grand Admiral Thrawn a famous Legends character, these books also connect to what some major human characters were doing during the Clone Wars.

Dark Disciple is an artifact of the period where it seemed The Clone Wars would never come back to the screen. Based on unused scripts for the TV show, it follows the fate of dark Force user Asajj Ventress.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

After the fall of the Jedi, the galaxy becomes a harsher place. Dominated by evil characters like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, it’s time for stories of the Empire like Lords of the Sith. Vader’s right-hand man gets his own backstory in Tarkin.

But all is not lost: the novel Ahsoka follows the former Jedi into the very early days of the Rebellion as she makes new friendships and works to save a world from destruction. Street kids Han and Qi’Ra start their respective journeys through the galactic criminal underworld in Most Wanted. It’s a direct prequel to …

Solo: A Star Wars Story

As the dark reign of the Empire continues, the good guys try to piece what’s left of their alliance together. A New Dawn, a prequel to the Star Wars Rebels animated series, shows how Jedi-in-hiding Kanan Jarrus met Rebel pilot and spy Hera Syndulla. They’ll both be major players in this era and beyond outside the movies. This book also introduces Rae Sloane, an Imperial commander who is at the center of many of the developments that lead from the Empire to the First Order in the Sequel Trilogy. Two heroes of the Rebellion, Jyn Erso and Princess Leia, get YA backstories in Rebel Rising and Leia: Princess of Alderaan respectively.

One of the most well-regarded books in this era is Lost Stars, which spans the galactic civil war and follows completely original characters. A star-crossed love story, it starts before the Original Trilogy and continues beyond the end.

Another book that spans this era is Battlefront: Twilight Company. Despite ostensibly being a tie-in to the Battlefront (2015) video game, this book also follows standalone characters in a motley infantry unit throughout the war.

The new canon Thrawn series also picks up here, with the first, titular novel Thrawn showing the alien strategist meeting the Empire and showing his tactical skill while also furthering his own plans. Thrawn: Alliances sends him on an adventure with Darth Vader offering flashbacks to Anakin Skywalker, and Thrawn: Treason pits him against an alien menace in the time of the construction of the first Death Star.

Rogue One

Episode IV: A New Hope

Many of the books in this era span multiple movies, so we’ve erred on the side of Wookieepedia and luted the books by where they start. Battlefront II: Inferno Squad follows Imperial commando Iden Versio and her team — also the main characters of the Battlefront II (2017) video game campaign — through Imperial action and some changes of heart.

A relatively little-known title, Heir to the Jedi follows Luke Skywalker as he tries to piece together what it means to be a Jedi. Published in 2015, it’s one of the earlier books in the Disney reboot.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The era between the Original and Sequel trilogies is perhaps the richest when it comes to books filling in the gaps between the movies. With about 30 years in between, there’s plenty of time. And the books have the chance to answer some major questions: How did the galaxy fare with the former Rebellion, now a New Republic, at its head? And why did that New Republic become ripe for attack from a relatively unknown threat in the First Order?

The Aftermath series maps this era out, establishing that Emperor Palpatine initiated the Operation Cinder mass destruction plan after the moment of his death. Detailing some of the political struggles on both the New Republic and Imperial sides, it continues Rae Sloane’s story and establishes some hints as to what the First Order grew from. The Battle of Jakku is a key moment in this era, marking the formal victory of the New Republic over the remnants of the Empire.

The Alphabet Squadron series is military fiction set in the New Republic, using the concepts set up in Aftermath as a backdrop for a much smaller scale story. Former Imperial Yrica Quell and Hera try, and sometimes fail, to keep a volatile band of pilots together against an elite Imperial squadron.

Books

What Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron and Shadow Fall’s Yrica Quell Reveals About the Empire

By Megan Crouse

Books

Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron – 7 Facts We Learned from Alexander Freed

By Megan Crouse

A tie-in to Solo, the novel Last Shot bounces between this era and the Imperial era to show Han Solo and Lando Calrissian’s clash against a criminal with some dangerous tech.

The young adult adventure Poe Dameron: Free Fall fills in the backstory of the titular character, including explaining how he met the drug runners from The Rise of Skywalker.

Bloodline is another major pushpin in the timeline, exploring Leia Organa’s role in the New Republic senate and how dissent there paved the way for the First Order. A brief appearance of a very young Ben Solo is also a point of distinction.

The Mad Max-inspired adult novel Phasma explains why the First Order enforcer is so ruthless.

Episode VII: The Force Awakens

One of several tie-ins created around the opening of the Disney Parks, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire throws readers into the conflict between the Resistance (a splinter group of the New Republic, now all that’s left of it) and the Imperial-derived First Order.

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Resistance Reborn explains where some of the pilots making up The Rise of Skywalker‘s climatic battle came from, but it’s also a sort of capstone on the post-Original Trilogy era of books, pulling on a lot of story threads from Bloodline. Leia, Rey, Poe, Finn, and Rose search for allies in the brief period between the two final films.

A Crash of Fate is another Galaxy’s Edge tie-in, this one a teen romance set in and around the park’s in-universe setting.

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

None of the books have ventured past Episode IX yet. Right now, Star Wars publishing is focusing on expanding the High Republic and the era between the Original and Sequel trilogies, including a mysterious upcoming novel about The Mandalorian. With the new canon here to stay, there’s surely a lot more to come.

The post Star Wars Books: A Guide to Canon Novels in Chronological Order appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3bSTqXh

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

4 notes · View notes

alpha-centari27 · 5 years ago

Link

If you’re unhappy with The Rise of Skywalker, and hoping that the holy grail of the #AbramsCut will make you feel vindicated, here’s some relevant news: The Abrams Cut is probably bullshit, but there might be yet another Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly script for Episode IX, that could be the answer to everyone’s unrealized Star Wars dreams.

According to writer and Hollywood insider Robert Meyer Burnett, at least one version of Trevorrow’s unfilmed Episode IX was called Duel of the Fates, and, even if you loved Rise of Skywalker, this leaked script sounds pretty incredible. On Monday, Burnett dropped a lengthy description of the unfilmed, alternate Episode IXon YouTube, and the details are compelling.

The trouble is of course, in determining the validity of the script Burnett claims to have read. Published on his YouTube channel, “Robservations,” Burnett talks for about 18-minutes about his background before getting into the nitty-gritty of the alleged Duel of the Fates script. Presumably, Burnett is making it clear that he’s been in and around Hollywood for a long time, and it’s not that weird to get your hands on an unfilmed script.

“Everything is gettable,” he claims, pointing out that after a movie is actually made, the interest in unfilmed versions of the movies is less important to the general public. Historically, he has a point, but relative to Star Wars, there’s obviously a huge interest (particularly now). Burnett also goes out of his way to sort of obscure how he got ahold of this supposed early Trevorrow draft of Episode IX, and even “jokes” at several points that “maybe I made this all up.”

On paper, the fact that Burnett cops to maybe inventing the script could scan as an admission that the whole thing is fake. But, the problem is, Burnett’s background indicates he has no reason to lie. Unlike full-time leakers like Jason Ward or infamous fake-Star-Wars-news guy, Mike Zeroh; Robert Meyer Burnett is a legit filmmaker who’s worked in Hollywood as a director for a long, long time. Along with Mark Altman, he co-wrote and directed the 1999 film Free Enterprise; a romantic comedy about two Star Trek fans who happen to meet William Shanter IRL. (It’s a pretty good movie!)

Burnett also is known for his work on DVD and Blu-ray special features and if you own any of the Star Trek series on Blu-ray or DVD, the chances you have at least one or two mini-documentaries produced and directed by him are pretty high. He also appears regularly on the podcast Inglorious Treksperts with Mark Altman (a huge, and respected journalist and producer of sci-fi/fantasy shows like The Librarians and Pandora). So it’s not like Burnett is a fanboy. He may be outspoken about his opinions on the directions of various franchises and has frequently tweeted out scathing viewpoints on the direction of Star Trek since its relaunch on CBS in 2017.

I don’t share Burnett’s viewpoints on Discovery, but even if he’s not everyone’s cup of Earl Grey, the reality is, he’s a guy who has worked in Hollywood for a long time and knows a thing or two about sci-fi franchises. So, the question with this Star Wars Duel of the Fates leak is: Why would he make this up and risk ruining his reputation?

Inverse has reached out to Burnett for clarification on a few aspects of the Duel of the Fates script and he has yet to respond. We will update this piece when he does. But for now, here are six major differences between the alleged Duel of the Fates script and The Rise of Skywalker.

Spoilers ahead.

6. The title and crawl

First off, you can tell right away this would have been a different movie. “Duel of the Fates” obviously references the John Williams composition of the same name, which was such a big deal in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Here’s the alternate crawl:

The iron grip of the FIRST ORDER has spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Only a few scattered planets remain unoccupied. Traitorous acts are punishable by death.

Determined to suffocate a growing unrest, Supreme Leader KYLO REN has silenced all communication between neighboring systems.

Led by GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, the Resistance has planned a secret mission to prevent their annihilation and forge a path to freedom…

5. Luke Skywalker’s role was much bigger

In this version of the story, the ghost of Luke Skywalker would have had an ongoing role throughout the film, and he wouldn’t just have been helping to train Rey. In this version, Luke’s ghost haunts Kylo Ren, too. In fact, Kylo Ren’s very first scene in the movie would have involved the ghost of Luke chastising him for going down the dark path. According to Burnett, Luke’s ghost says: “This is where the dark path leads; an empty tomb.”

This is pretty interesting, and clearly is a direct follow-up to Luke’s threat to Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi: “If you strike me down now, I’ll always be with you.” So, in the Duel of the Fates version, Luke takes that pretty literally, following Kylo Ren around, bugging him about being evil.

Luke also trains Rey in this script, (who is rocking a double-bladed saber from the very beginning) and even has a debate with her about the nature of the “balance of the Force.” In what seems like a meta-criticism, Rey questions Luke’s credibility in a pretty awesome exchange:

Rey: Balance? The dark suffocates the light, light extinguishes the dark. Over and over and over again. How is that balance in the Force?

Luke: I know that anger. My father had it too.

Rey: So says my master and his master before him. A thousand masters so eager to tell us how to live.

This is clearly very different than the chummy Luke and Rey we saw in The Rise of Skywalker.

4. Palpatine is in one scene and he isn’t Rey’s grandfather

The dead speak! Only this time, it’s through a hologram. Just like in The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren does return to the planet Mustafar, but it’s to get a Sith Holocron, not a “Wayfinder.” In this scene, the Emperor reveals to Kylo Ren that he had a back-up plan for Darth Vader if Luke and Vader ended-up being the last two Sith standing. In this recorded message, Palps tells Vader to go the planet Remnicore because there’s a secret Sith master hiding there named Tor Valum.

The Emperor is not alive, and Rey is not related to Palps in this version of the story. Also, the version of Mustafar that Kylo Ren hits-up is very clearly Darth Vader’s castle and not the random woodland area of the planet we got in The Rise of Skywalker.

As for Tor Valum, secret Sith Lord, it’s not explained how the existence of this new character would have been reconciled with the Sith “rule of two,” if at all. But Burnett does say the script describes Tor Valum as “7,000 years old” and “an alien of unknown origin [with] spindly, intense sinewy muscle…very Lovecraftian.” So, basically, a Sith monster.

Notably, Kylo Ren’s face would have been badly scarred by the Sith Holocron and he would have been forced to wear some kind of new mask that was partially made of Mandalorian armor.

3. Duel of the Fates would have returned to two hugely important Star Wars planets

According to Burnett, Unlike The Rise of Skywalker, the important events of Duel of the Fates would have taken place on two very pivotal and famous Star Wars planets: Coruscant and Mortis. In this version, the First Order has constructed a galaxy-ruling citadel on Coruscant, with Hux serving as Supreme Chancellor.

Thanks to Luke Skywalker’s journals, Rey discovers a “Force Beacon,” hidden deep within Coruscant, which would allow the broadcast to be sent out to all the possible allies of the Resistance. A subplot involves Rose, Finn, C-3PO, and R2-D2 heading to Courscant to “light the Beacon.” This feels like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which is weird, but also pretty cool. It’s very clear Rose had a bigger role in this movie as well. (Burnett claims she’s a major character, but based on the summary it’s hard to see how much more dialogue she has. She certainly has more to do, though!)

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and Rey would eventually get to the planet Mortis, where they would basically battle to try and balance the Force. At other points in the script, Luke would point out that Rey was “something new” and not related to anyone and that the “Force chose her” for a higher purpose.

2. Kylo Ren wasn’t redeemed

Although Burnett says Luke, Yoda and Obi-Wan’s Force ghosts would try to “release Ben Solo” in one scene, they aren’t successful and it doesn’t seem like Ben gets redeemed at all. There’s also no overt romance or kiss between him and Rey. It’s also revealed at one point that although Rey’s parents were “nobodies,” that Kylo Ren is actually the one who straight-up murdered them because Snoke told him to do it. (Snoke is not a Palpatine puppet in this version either.)

It’s tough to really see how Kylo Ren would have been redeemed or become the heroic guy we saw in The Rise of Skywalker. Basically, in this version, his journey ends as a giant bummer and in total tragedy.

1. The basic ending would have been similar, but for totally different reasons

Finally, Burnett notes that the idea of “good” Stormtroopers coming to the aid of the Resistance originates in this version of the script, but also says that it’s handled a little more organically. Another subplot early in the script involves the Resistance stealing a Star Destroyer, complete with AT-ATs and TIE Fighters, and then needing an army to operate them. Apparently, the rogue Stormtroopers help fix part of this problem, but, in the end, Lando rounds-up a bunch of smugglers and that fleet of ships seems to help turn the tide against the First Order. Which, though is similar to The Rise of Skywalker, happens for seemingly very different reasons.

Unsurprisingly, the First Order still loses, but the overall conclusion and climax to Duel of the Fates still feels murky. It’s not clear if he only had part of the screenplay or just chose to summarize the ending (or if the whole thing is a hoax) but at this point, it seems like one could imagine a similar ending to The Rise of Skywalker in terms of a space battle, just happening over a decaying Coruscant instead of Exegol (which sounds way cooler).

Is any of this legit? Does it matter? Right now, we don’t know, but if any aspect of what Robert Meyer Burnett presents as Duel of the Fates was ever really under consideration to be the real Episode IX, you have to ask yourself: What happened?

Was Lucasfilm totally against Kylo Ren ending up as such an irredeemable character? Was their pressure from elsewhere to bring in Palpatine back as a legacy villain? For the most part, for all of its specific differences, the broad strokes of this story are relatively the same, at least in terms of the larger galactic politics and the eventual balance of the Force. So we’re in a situation where the Dark side was in the details, and for whatever reason, those details caused a civil war inside of the Disney empire itself.

#the rise of skywalker #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #finn #poe dameron #luke skywalker #rose tico #general hux #this sounds like a more coherent story #but really?#only NOW do the jedi force ghosts try to help Ben #you know at the point when it's already too late or nearly so #why couldn't they or didn't they help when Snoke was manipulating Ben

2 notes · View notes

clairen45 · 7 years ago

Text

Digging into Rey and Kylo’s Spotify Playlists- part 1: episode 7 songs

The Shut Up and Dance with Me post really pushed me to go through the songs from the Spotify playlists and give you the lowdown, as I see it. That these lists even exist is beyond me! And, just to be clear, these lists have been released in 2015 pre-TFA. With no modification, even pre or post TLJ. No added material. If anything, they actually removed some songs from the lists: 2 for Kylo and 3 for Rey. I don’t think the changes necessarily meant that the songs were too revealing or, on the contrary, didn’t fit the characters anymore. It might just be copyright or legal issue or some artistic differences or god knows what. But again, the point of these lists were to get to know the characters a little better. Some characters we already knew of course, the big three ( Luke, Leia, Han Solo), but also Obi-Wan and Yoda, a list for Anakin and a list for Vader, Padmé, Mace Windu, Bobba Fett, Chewbacca... Lists for new characters: Finn, BB8... surprisingly no Poe Dameron. By the way, I think the Dark Side’ list is super interesting! And of course Rey and Kylo. Rey’s list is full of pop, girl empowerment anthem kind of songs, with a few romantic ballads, which already meant something. Kylo’s is of course full of angsty rock. I don’t want to comment on the genre. My mission was less on the musical genres than on the lyrics and how they can shed some light on the characters and their fates. Because, sure, a team chose these songs to let us know about the characters but, honestly, guys, I think somebody let them in on the rough draft of the whole ST. Because post TLJ it is obvious that a lot of songs apply to what happened as far as Rey and Kylo are concerned in this movie. And since we have our bunch of ep 7 songs, and a bunch of ep 8 songs, well, it appears a bunch of songs don’t fit either and could very well give us key information about ep 9. Before I get accused again of “reaching” (LOL), let us be honest: I think they put a lot of care into those playlists. So no, I don’t think coincidences are accidental. And yes, I think it’s fair to speculate about episode 9 looking at the songs. So let’s take the journey and crack these songs together.

There are 53 songs for Kylo (I am excluding the original soundtrack every time) and 54 for Rey. Rey’s playlist also has tunes in common with Padmé, Leia, and Luke. 4 songs in common with Padmé, quite a lot: Smoke and Fire, Rich Girl, Fighter, and Bulletproof. With Leia: Smoke and Fire, and the fact that they both have Love is a Battlefield, except that Leia is Pat Benatar’s song, and Rey’s is Jordin Spark’s song. Same title, different songs. This marks Rey as the “heiress” to these two heroines, which is not surprising. I think it is quite remarkable that she shares so many songs with Padmé, as regards the Anidala inversion we always talk about. Rich Girl, in particular, because Padmé was a Queen, so yes, the rich girl, whereas in Rey’s case the song is ironic. Rey also shares 2 song with Luke: Wild by Troye Sivan (I honestly don’t get what this song does on Luke’s playlist, so that must mean something potentially), and Adventure of a Lifetime. With Luke as a mentor to Rey in ep 8, that would kind of make sense that they would share something. I honestly merely skimmed through all the playlists, but Rey and Kylo seem to be the only one who share songs with other characters (if I am wrong, please correct me). Kylo shares 3 songs, 1 with Anakin (and NOT Vader), Bored to Death, 1 with BB8, Destroy the Map, and one with Mace Windu on You want a Battle (Here’s War). Interesting also. I won’t necessarily comment on that today, because there is a lot to go through, but these are thoughts to save and process later maybe.

Some songs can also fit two, maybe the three, episodes. And also, I have noticed something very interesting in Rey’s playlist: a lot of songs that feature in her playlist seem to be more from Kylo’s POV (like Shut up and Dance). They should normally feature on his list but because they would break away from the others in terms of genre, it is probably how they ended on Rey’s list. I found on Kylo’s playlist 1 song that, to me, should rather feature on Rey’s list, but again, would seem odd in terms of genre.

1.KYLO’S LIST/ EPISODE 7

Kylo’s list also seems way more descriptive about his character, angst, inner conflict, feelings of pain and revenge, than Rey’s list. There is a lot of songs talking about past abuse and family conflict. Sweet Dreams by Marilyn Manson is a good example: “ Some of them want to use you/ Some of them want to get used by you/ Some of them want to abuse you/ Some of them want to be abused”. References to dreams and nightmares in Kylo’s playlist are also quite noteworthy because they tie in with Rey’s visions as described in TFA: she hears voices in her dreams, and when she first sees Kylo, she knows that she has seen him before “in a dream, in a nightmare”. We can also find some parallels with the plot in episode 7: the Jakku massacre, meeting Rey, killing Han... Recurring themes are, without surprise, fire, death, suffering, dreams and nightmares...

This Means War (Avenged Sevendold). That song is packed with so much about his feelings and his introduction in the ST. It goes on and on really. I could quote the whole thing. But here are the highlights :

Hide my face again, harbor in the shadows (duh!) Feel this weight of sin hammering away Die, with the guilt of a thousand AWOL soldiers (The pull to the light) Die, watch the scythe usher me astray (Lor San Tekka’s execution)

The ugly side of me is strong

Carry me to nowhere (Jakku is nowhere!) Lie!Mask the pain Of a child who's forsaken Lie! To myself Praise the new regime (honestly, did they write the song for Kylo?)

I left me long ago Reasons you'll never know No one to miss me when I'm gone With no more words to say No argument to stay. Another post I don't belong (Lor San Tekka: The First Order rose from the dark side. You did not)

No home to call my own No finding someone new No one to break the fall No one to see me through No name to carry on No promise for today No one to hear the call (Oh hon, hang on, the girl is coming!) Buy into the fear (Rey: You are afraid!) My serpent blood can strike so cold (Murderous snake! again) Another thought I can't control (Force bond much?)

Elements of TFA Plot:

Legion of Evil (OFF): “Break down houses”, “ Mystery crews on a murderous spree” (the opening on Jakku, with his mysterious identity) but also “Retaliation against horrible gods/Treasonous snakes with gentlemen's lies/ Waving a false flag to sell the deception” which of course are reminiscent of his line to Rey about the Resistance: “ You mean the murderers traitors and thieves you call your friends ? “. But can also ironically evoke Snoke’s influence on him: he is the treasonous snake with gentlemen’s lies. Or even to him as seen from Rey’s POV in 7 and at the beginning of TLJ: “a treasonous snake”/ “murderous snake”/ “liar”...

The Red (Chevelle) and Evil Eye (Franz Ferdinand), both emphasize the color red, which is Kylo’s color theme.Thunder and Lightning (Motorhead”, “ Maybe you'll die, maybe you'll fly/ Fire in the sky, thunder and lightning”. Heart of Fire (Black Veil Brides): “ I feel alive inside I won't be terrorized, I'll take all the blame/This heart of fire is burning proud/ I am every dream you lost and never found/ This heart of fire is stronger now”. Also the attack on Jakku.

The Map plot: R2 where are U (Flying Lotus): it takes both BB8 and R2 to find Luke’s hideout. This song is also on BB8′s list by the way. Destroy the Map (36 Crazy Fists). Obviously the title is interesting because Kylo gives up on the map and gets Rey instead. The song presents some other interesting points: something that could evoke Starkiller base “ And the clouds don't break when the sun is on empty” , and also something that seems to fit straight into TLJ: “You couldn't hold your mouth to stop the sound/ With all these riches on the tip of your tongue/And I was trying to dampen it all out/You were talking louder than I should here/Producing nothing but all these mirrors”, “ Where the baptized drown/We used to breathe” (Rey in the cave) “This time, our time, we have, we'll last”. So gain some songs can actually fit more than 1 episode.

Failing on Starkiller: beaten up by Rey, never got the intel about Luke... At least I’m known for something (New Found Glory): “ I've figured out my situation/ I am an endless source of useless information/ Give me bad news could be something expecting/ I let my front down/ And I know I will regret it/ /But you don't know that and I'm the one to blame for it/'Cause I'm destined for failure“. More Starkiller: My own Summer (Deftones): “ Hey you, big star/ Tell me when it's over”.

Family and Han:

Refusing his legacy. War on the Palaces (Refused):

I carry history with me I carry hope (I see you Ben You are My Only Hope Solo!!!!) All the nameless faces before us Let's carry them all

I wanna carry the dead (his attachment for Vader instead of the living members of his family) Wage war on the palaces

Bored to Death (Blink 182): “ And it's a long way back from seventeen/The whispers turn into a scream/And I'm, I'm not coming home/Save your breath, I'm nearly/ Bored to death”. Mene (Brand New): “ My father spoke of prophecy/ To think that I believed is self-centered of me/There was something I was trying to say/ But then I choked on it and now it's getting kind of late” (@madandmisquoted did a meta on how Kylo mumbles “I love you dad”+ “It is too late”). Indestructible (Rancid): “ It's so fake now, everything I see right through/I'm ashamed now to say I ever know you” evoke his scene with Han. I don’t wanna Hear It (Minor Threat): “ I don't want to hear it/ I'm sick and tired of all your lies/ I don't want to hear it/ When are you gonna realize.”. Family and mommy issues: Down With the Sickness (Disturbed): “ It seems what's left of my human side/ Is slowly changing in me”, “ It seems you're having some trouble/ In dealing with these changes/ Living with these changes / The world is a scary place/ Now that you've woken up the demon in me”, “ No mommy, don't do it again/Don't do it again/ I'll be a good boy/I'll be a good boy, I promise No mommy don't hit me/ Why did you have to hit me like that, mommy?”.

Conflict

Got the Life (Korn): “Hate, something, someway, each day, dealing with no forgiveness/ Why? This shit inside/ Now everyone will follow/ So give me nothing just feel/ And now this shit will follow/ God begs me, the more I see the light, who wants to see?”. Strife (Trivium): “ I reach for calm/ I starve for a balance unknown/ This burden tortures me deep in my soul” ; “ Guilt buries me alive/ In a coffin criticized/ I shouldered the blame and dug this hole for me to lay in”. Duality (Slipknot). The title says it all, but it definitely applies to the scene with Han: “ You cannot kill what you did not create”; “Pull me back together/ Or separate the skin from the bone/ Leave me all the pieces, and then you can leave me alone” (Can apply to “I’m feeling torn apart”, “I killed your son, he was foolish and weak” ).

The Girl

I know that’s what you’ve been waiting for. There are 2 major songs about Rey in that list and one them has been removed, A Cross and a Girl Named Bless (Evans Blue). That song presents some elements that stretch all the way to 9. I’m including it here, because of the obvious reference to the way they meet on Takodana:

She's holding out for weapons to kill the ghosts inside (She shoots at a ghostlike figure in the forest)

Or at least kill the thoughts she has of killing her mind (Get out of my head!)

She says "I love you" with her hands (TLJ: Smut Hut)

She says "I hate you" with her eyes (You have that look from the forest..)

There's a pretty girl somewhere with a pretty name (What girl?)

But I could never let you know how much this means I swear we'll end this war, because we both know

It wasn't worth fighting for (Major episode IX spoiler)

She, she said to me I will be driving in the wrong direction Did you ever think that maybe your life

Is heading in the wrong direction, baby? (Throne Room Scene)

There's a cross up on the wall See from the corner of your eye When you're down on you knees...and she's begging please So go and lay back down tonight Because you won't know who you are

Until you're down on your knees...your begging please (End of TLJ, Crait)

The other big song is The Answer (Savages):

Wish me luck This was a hard year And I can't see No brighter future Wish me luck I saw the answer It was a girl (What girl?) Will you go ask her (Interrogation scene, the girl is all we need) I saw the answer Will you go ask her Love is the answer

Evil (Interpol): “ Heaven restores you in life/ You're coming with me/ Through the aging, the fearing, the strife/ It's the smiling on the package/ It's the faces in the sand” (the abduction, Rey is literally a face in the sand, the smile...), “You're weightless, semi-erotic/ You need someone to take you there/Sandy, why can't we look the other way?/Why can't we just play the other game?” (he carries her in his arms like a feather, You need a teacher!).

There is also a song there that is all about Rey’s POV on Kylo in TFA. Headstrong (Trapt) screams Rey during the interrogation scene. But, again, they couldn’t have put it on her playlist so it features on his instead.

Circling your head contemplating everything you ever said (getting in HIS head) Now I see the truth I got a doubt (You... are afraid you will never be as trong as Darth Vader!) A different motive in your eyes and now I'm out (escapes the interrogation room) See you later I see your fantasies You wanna make it a reality baby paved in gold See inside, inside of our heads yeah Well now that's over

Back off I'll take you on (Forest duel) Headstrong to take on anyone (Come on, that is SO Rey!) I know that you are wrong Headstrong we're Headstrong Back off I'll take you on Headstrong to take on anyone I know that you are wrong This is not where you belong (Trying to turn him in 8)

I can't give everything away (I won’t give you anything!) I won't give everything away

2.REY’S PLAYLIST/EPISODE 7

JAKKU

There are songs about Rey’s life conditions on Jakku. Poverty in Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani): “ If I was a rich girl/ See, I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl/ No man could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end/ Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy girl”. Of course the morale of the song is “All the riches in the world don’t mean anything without your love”. To remind us that if Rey has dreams it’s mostly about finding love and belonging. Interesting that she shares this song with Padmé who had the riches + the love and still didn’t get her happy ever after, but more on that later...

New Americana (Halsey) about survival of the fittest, the daily struggle of poverty, social divide. That one is also interesting because of its reference to James Dean: “ Young James Dean, some say/ He looks just like his father”. There is also the big reveal about Kylo being Han’s son. I think it’s probably how they first imagined Kylo, as a hypersensitive, rebellious, angsty youth, a character from East of Eden (another reference to Eden). The character played by James Dean, in Elia Kazan’s adaptation of Steinbeck’s famous novel, is Cal, a rebellious son who believes his father does not love him and sees him as evil incarnate. Kylo much?

Daylight (Matt and Kim) can also be about home and Jakku: “I miss yellow lines in my roads/ Some color on monochrone”, ‘Cause the daylight anywhere feels like home”. In TFA she wants to go back to Jakku. Rey is also used to having to fight for her survival: “ Murder lives forever/And so does war/ It's survival of the fittest/ Rich against the poor/ At the end of the day/ It's a human trait/ Hidden deep down inside of our DNA”.

Some songs talk about Rey’s dreams and her feelings of loneliness.Chandelier (Sia): “I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist/ Like it doesn't exist/ I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night,/ Feel my tears as they dry”. How she lives on a day to day basis and feels lonely all the time. Wake Me Up (Avicii):

Feeling my way through the darkness Guided by a beating heart I can't tell where the journey will end But I know where to start They tell me I'm too young to understand They say I'm caught up in a dream Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes Well that's fine by me (stuck waiting on Jakku)

So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself And I didn't know I was lost

I tried carrying the weight of the world (Literally her job as a scavenger) But I only have two hands I hope I get the chance to travel the world And I don't have any plans I wish that I could stay forever this young Not afraid to close my eyes Life's a game made for everyone And love is a prize

THE FIGHTER

Of course songs about Rey, the independent girl, the fighter... Fighter (Christina Aguilera): “ 'Cause it makes me that much stronger/ Makes me work a little bit harder/ It makes me that much wiser/ So thanks for making me a fighter/ Made me learn a little bit faster/ Made my skin a little bit thicker/ Makes me that much smarter/ So thanks for making me a fighter”. Another song shared with Padmé. I know the song is about a guy that cheated on the girl and lied to her, but rather than about Kylo, this song can apply to a lot of people in Rey’s life: her parents, Unkar Plutt, and all the people she’s had to deal with since childhood. There is Run the World (Beyoncé) that could also be foreshadowing for episode ix. Kelly Clarkson’s Miss Independent, with the perfect title for Rey’s episode 7, but the message about love in this song actually fits better episode 8. Roar (Katy Perry): empowerment anthem, plus Rey looks like a lioness at the end of TFA, baring her teeth and snarling at Kylo. Possibly Piece of Me (Britney Spears).

Confident (Demi Lovato) fits well with Roar. That one screams end of TFA with beating Kylo down.

It's time for me to take it I'm the boss right now Not gonna fake it Not when you go down 'Cause this is my game And you better come to play

I used to hold my freak back

Now I'm letting go

I make my own choice (accepting the saber)

Bitch, I run this show So leave the lights on No, you can't make me behave

So you say I'm complicated

That I must be outta my mind But you had me underrated Rated, rated

What's wrong with being, what's wrong with being

What's wrong with being confident?

There is the teaser song about Rey’s origin. That’s Not my Name (The Ting Things). Well, in TFA everybody is asking about her identity, about “the girl”, wo that would make sense to have this song. Rey might not even be her name after all, though she is old enough when her parents sell her to remember it; Does it mean we will l get a new name in ix? Maybe. Or just Rey Solo. I think the song is really there for the fun about the possible identity of Rey...

THE ESCAPE

Songs about Rey leaving Jakku and becoming a pilot. Obviously: Starships (Nicki Minaj) because “starships are meant to fly”. Boom Boom Pow (The BEP): “ I'm on that supersonic boom/ Y'all hear the spaceship zoom”. Alive Tonight (Grace Potter), for these lines: “In the dark of the desert/ I saw a man with a sign, it said/ People get ready, 'cause it's all over/ It's all gonna end tonight, well” ( On Jakku, Lor San Tekka is the man with the intel about Luke promising that “this will begin to make things right”, and eventually this sign gets to Rey through BB8 at dusk in the desert). I also like these lines: “ You wanna get in on the action, you want/ Everyone to listen to you, oh/ You're just living in a prediction/ And that don't, that don't make it true, no” which fits the fact that things will not be as simple as Rey thinks. Also about the end of Rey’s time on Jakku, The Dog Days are Over (Florence+ the Machines): “The dog days are over/The dog days are done/ The horses are coming so you better run”. These lines are great: “Leave all your love and your longing behind you/ Can't carry it with you if you want to survive”, about giving up on Jakku and close to Maz’s line about “the belonging you seek is not behind you”.

MEETING KYLO

Now, with songs that reflect on meeting Kylo... There is Gibberish (Max): “ But then I caught you creepin'/ Secrets that you were keepin”, which could fit the interrogation scene. Or the title could just refer to the fact that Rey seems to understand every language she meets (BB8, Chewie...). LOL. Obviously, the beautiful Yes Girl (Bea Miller):

I got you figured out, you need to have control You think that I don't know you, I know you, I know Trying to tell you now, I've been doing what you want But I won't be your yes girl, no, not anymore

And these even better lines: “ And now you're my favorite sin, oh/ Cause I'm either on your side or you're a mile away” (which fits TLJ better). There is Focus (Ariana Grande): “ I can tell you're curious/ It's written on your lips/ Ain't no need to hold it back/ Go ahead and talk your shit/ I know you're hoping that I'll react/ I know you're hoping I'm looking back/ But if my real ain't real enough/ Then I don't know what is” (again, mood for the interrogation scene). Also like that line: “ Let's find a light inside our universe now/ Where ain't nobody keep on holding us down”.

That one seems really more to me from Kylo’s POV when Rey leaves for the MF at the end of TFA. We Come Running (Youngblood Hawke):

Headed for the open door Tell me what you're waiting for (Rey is coded as the waiting one) Look across the great divide (the ground falling apart between them) Soon they're gonna hear The sound, the sound, the sound (Boom goes Starkiller) When we come running Never go where we belong (obviously, they parted ways when they should be together) Echoes in the dead of dawn (Force bond foreshadowing echoes?) Soon they're gonna know The sound, the sound, the sound When we come running

And also that one: Force of Nature (Bea Miller). That one really fits Kylo in TFA as he starts falling for Rey during their duel on Starkiller: I don't know why but my hands are shaking I can see you coming and I stand here waiting (Didn’t put up much of a fight, honestly) Yeah I get tongue tied in the conversation (Lost the interrogation scene fight) It's an F'd up, bad, sick situationI tried to tie my heart down, board up all the windows Oh but it's too late now (Too late is classic Kylo) I let you get too close (like inside my head) I know I should take cover, hide inside these four walls But baby I surrender, it all'Cause you're a force of nature (Marry Me Face) Look at what you've done I can taste the danger but I don't wanna run So pull me to the ground and I won't put up a fight (End of the fight) I'm a caution taker, but baby you're a force of nature Baby you're a force of natureI feel your lips move in and they take me under (The Force? Mesmerized in looking at her) You know just what to do, how to make me want you And I know I'll be broken when it's over Oh but I can't help but pull you closerI'll be here 'till we collide I don't care if I survive So crash into me one more time

Say what you want, but this beautiful ballad is all about Kylo’s feelings for Rey!

BONUS: THE INVERSE ANIDALA SONG?

There’s an intriguing tune in Kylo’s playlist. Incorporeal (Tiger Army).

I’m gone I died long ago but my spirit still roams (Incorporeal) Unwanted in heaven, forgotten in hell as on earth (Incorporeal) I don't want to stay here, it seems that I'll never be free Oh can you hear me? (no) And so It has come to be that I must wander forever (Incorporeal) Many things I have seen, empires that rise and then fall (Incorporeal) A life you live long is simply a moment to me A tiny drop of water in the sea of eternity There's no place for me everywhere that I go Only seems to bring upset and harm There's one thing that I want and one thing only Release into the great beyond Don't want to remember when I was alive When I held my true love in my arms For like you I once was, and like me you shall be When you Feel a chill in the night perhaps it's me saying hello (Incorporeal) You're so much like my love though she lived in a long ago time (Incorporeal) I long to see her, the day when my soul's laid to rest The peace that I can not find in life, I can find in death

Honestly, this song makes me want to scream!!! Heavy reincarnation theme. Especially when you cross that with Rey sharing 4 songs with Padmé. And with the fact that Anakin (not Vader) and Kylo share a song. And the song I mentioned, Rich Girl. Rey is the inverse Padmé already, right? She’s the younger one in the couple, and she is poor with a low status. Again, Padmé has everything (the riches and the guy) and didn’t end up happy. By sharing songs, it might be another hint that Rey will succeed where Padmé didn’t.

This is it for 7, guys. It is quite a beast. 34 songs left to go through in Rey’s playlist, 25 for Kylo.

#rey and kylo spotify playlists #those playlists have a tale to tell #reylo #reylo fandom #reylo evidence #reylo meta #inverse anidala

278 notes · View notes

violent-optimism · 7 years ago

Text

The Case for Kylo Ren’s Redemption (Long Post)

When The Force Awakens came out, the fan base of Star Wars found itself divided into two ideologies.

One half claimed that Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) could be redeemed, and was destined for a fate similar to his Grandfather; someone who despite all the wrong he had done, saw the light in the end.

The other half said the exact opposite; that Kylo Ren could not be redeemed because he had killed his father and had strayed too far from the light.

Now, after the release of The Last Jedi, it seems that audiences have now (for the most part) completely sided with the latter argument. Common phrases with this group include: “He’s been given too many chances!” “If Luke and Leia don’t believe he’ll come back, then he never will”, and “He doesn’t deserve to be redeemed”.

And yet, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and explain why I believe these remarks are untrue. This is my complete opinion and by no means does anyone have to agree with me. These are just my thoughts on the subject.

My main point (or thesis) is that I believe Kylo Ren/Ben Solo IS redeemable and by the end of Episode IX he will turn back to the light.

I’m going to examine different scenes from The Last Jedi in order to verify my argument. Let’s start with an early scene from the film:

After receiving extremely harsh verbal (and physical) attacks from his master, Kylo is boiling with rage and is hell-bent on proving Snoke wrong about his unbalanced heart. He leads an attack force to the Resistance Cruiser where he has the perfect chance to wipe out the Rebellion General, his mother Leia. Target locked and in sight, it should seem easy. Except…he hesitates.

After sharing what is undoubtedly a strong connection between Mother and Son, Kylo appears obviously conflicted before slowly letting his thumb off the trigger. Despite having killed one parent already, he just can’t do it. When the other fighters close in for the attack that seemingly kills Leia, Kylo appears distraught by this action; as if wishing there was something he could have done to stop it.

And here is clue number 1 that foreshadows Kylo’s redemption. Even the rage that was fueled by Snoke’s lecture was not enough to convince Kylo to pull the trigger. Somewhere deep down, he still cares about her. It is Leia’s undying love for her son that ultimately saves her from being attacked, at least until the other fighters come in.

Onto the next scene, let’s examine a scene that practically gift-wrapped Kylo Ren’s redemption arc, courtesy of Rey.

As we all know, later in the film Rey has a vision of Ben’s future. It is extremely clever that the audience is never shown exactly what this vision is, because it allows for interpretation and speculation. Furthermore, if Rian Johnson did have a specific image in mind, he doesn’t want us to know exactly what it is; not yet at least.

However, much to the audience’s dismay, we find out later that Rey’s vision was wrong, and Kylo only wants a powerful empire for himself (and her). We think to ourselves, how could a force vision be wrong? When Luke saw images of his friends suffering on Cloud city, he was correct. So how could this remarkable young woman with incredible power see something that will not happen? It is my belief, that Rey was right after all, but what she saw is not going to happen until much later.

In contrast, Kylo’s vision already came true. Rey did “turn” in a way and fought alongside him, just as he said. He also tells Rey the truth (supposedly) about her parents, something he could not have known otherwise.

My point being, if his premonition is true, than Rey’s must be as well, only it’s not going to happen until the events of Episode IX. Now, if I’m wrong about this, I feel it would be a great disservice to the overarching plot. Story wise, it would be completely pointless for Rey to envision a future that did not exist. There has to be some merit to it, otherwise, why would she have seen it?

Getting back on track here, let’s go over one more scene from the film, towards the very end.

The battle of Crait is over. Luke Skywalker and Rey have single-handedly helped save the last of the Resistance from the First Order.

However, this is a war after all, and lives must be sacrificed. After an emotional passing, Luke disappears from the physical world to join the Force. He is perfectly content with his last efforts and knows that the Resistance (and the Jedi) will live on.

By complete contrast, Kylo Ren has failed in every possible way. Embarrassed and defeated in front of the entire First Order, he seeks a moment alone in the Resistance base. He finds the golden dice that used to belong to his Father, shortly before re-connecting with Rey through the Force as she is boarding the Falcon.

For those of you who currently own the HD copy of this film, pay close attention to Kylo’s facial expression. As he locks eyes with Rey, it’s almost like he is silently pleading with her. “Please, help me…take me with you” his eyes seem to say. He appears guilty for everything he’s done to her. After a brief moment of contemplation, Rey slams the button, abandoning him without mercy. “You’re on your own” her expression says.

As the connection is severed, Kylo jolts slightly, feeling the cold sting of isolation. This, coupled with the passing of his Uncle and the last reminder of his Father fading away, he truly realizes just how alone he is. The final shot of Kylo Ren shows him kneeling with his head hung low, he seems to be contemplating his fate.

I find this scene to be the most compelling in regards to my argument. There really appears to be genuine sorrow and regret in Kylo’s features. I could be wrong, but this scene looks like the beginning of what could be his true redemption.

Now, because I’m not writing Episode IX, I obviously have no idea what they are planning to do story wise. That being said, I hope that Kylo Ren is redeemed. Not only would it make for a feel-good moment, but it would give Han, Luke and Leia’s sacrifices so much more meaning. It would also mean that Rey’s efforts were not in vain.

To conclude, I’m not sure I agree with those who say that Kylo Ren is irredeemable. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it looks like the only direction for his character to go (morally speaking) is up. Besides power, he has no real reason for staying where he is. He is alone, and obviously wants nothing to do with the First Order anymore.

I often feel that most of the fan-base is mirroring Leia’s perspective on this issue. She held out hope for so long, but ultimately gave up in believing that her son would come back. It resounds with the fan-base perfectly. But do you remember what Luke said?

“No one’s ever really gone.”

#Kylo Ren #Ben Solo #My thoughts #just my opinion #the last jedi

2 notes · View notes

starscreamwastaken · 7 years ago

Text

By popular demand, here hare my essays comparing and contracting “The Decent of Inana” with “Last Stand of the Wreckers,” and Cain and Able to Megatron and Optimus in the Aligned continuity. Hope you all enjoy. They’re both pretty short.

“Last Stand of Inanna”

The Descent of Inanna tells the story of Inanna, her descent into the underworld, being tricked, trapped, and eventually freed. Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers tells the story of a group of Autobots who descend on a captured prison, their struggle, their deaths, and the ultimate outcome. While these stories may seem drastically different at a glance, I found a few comparisons between Ereshkigal the queen of the underworld who trapped Inanna, and Overlord the character who captured the prison, as well as The Wreckers and the beasts who free Inanna, and the Autobots and the god who sent the beasts. I also managed to find similarities between Inanna and the prison itself, Garrus 9. Both stories have an intense role of “good” and “bad” however Last Stand of the Wreckers, in the Transformers style, contains more ultimate evil and ultimate good themes. The reason for The Wreckers visit and the Beasts visit also differ in their intention, however accomplish a common goal.

While trying to compare these two works I first tried to equate Inanna to the Wreckers themselves, as both parties go alone into dangerous territory. The Wreckers themselves could be a parallel to the artifacts Inanna brings into protect herself with. Like the artifacts, which were removed in the seven gates, at every point of the Wreckers journey a member of the team is either killed or injured beyond repair, making the odds of the last Wrecker standing escape quite low. However, Inanna reminds me more of the Prison the Wreckers infiltrate. This Prison, Garrus 9, like Inanna, is captured and made a “corpse” by Overlord, the cruel death loving protagonist of the Wreckers story, who I compare to The Queen of the Underworld Ereshkigal. It is likely there is a greater reason behind Ereshkigal taking Inanna, but it appears as though she does it simply because she can, and the ultimate enemy of the Underworld is generally set up to be Heaven, where Inanna hails from and is a representative of (The Descent of Inanna). Overlord takes over Garrus 9 for attention, but while he is there he goes on a killing spree for the pure sake of it. (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers) Making others suffer was literally what he was built for, (Transformers: More than Meets the Eye) and he does it as well as the Queen of the Underworld herself. It takes three years for anyone to be sent to Garrus 9, and in Inanna’s story she tells a servant to send someone after her in three days (The Descent of Inanna). The Wreckers remind me of the beasts in that they are disposable, and hold no greater meaning beyond that of their mission. Not only that, but both are sent by a “holy” figure. In Inanna’s case it is by Enki and in the Wrecker’s case it is by the Autobots, who hold themselves on a pedestal of Righteousness because their leader was assigned by their god, Primus.

The Descent of Inanna and Last Stand of the Wreckers does a good job of blurring the lines between good and evil, while at the same time setting up a character we are meant to root for and one we are meant to root against. The difference, however, is that The Wreckers do have an ultimate bad guy, and in the end he is defeated. Whereas in Inanna, while Ereshkigal loses Inanna, I would not count anything that happens as her being defeated. She is actually quite respected, considering her status. She is still a goddess and is still in high standing, despite what she had done. Overlord, on the other hand, is burned nearly to death in order for anyone to escape Garrus 9, which very few do (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers). Another major difference between these stories is the intent. The Wreckers, unlike the Beasts, do not descend onto Garrus 9 to rescue anyone or liberate it, they go in to get data that would incriminate the Autobots. The only reason they fight Overlord as all is because defeating him was their only way out. While the intent is different the outcome is the same in both stories. One must stay for another to go. The only way Inanna was able to escape the Underworld was if someone took her place. The only way the Wreckers were able to escape Garrus 9 was if they defeated Overlord. In both cases there is an ultimate need to fulfill the ultimate goal.

The Descent of Inanna and Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers, while aesthetically very different, end up being very similar in the end. It is easy to equate certain characters from one story to certain characters in the other. The series of events I find to be very similar, and even though the intent differs, the ultimate goal becomes the same in the end.

“Brother’s Keeper”

The book of “Genesis” has no lack of siblings and their rivalries. The most notorious among them is the story of Cain and Abel, a pair of brothers whose differences lead one to do unto the other the unthinkable. Killing one’s own brother. The older of the two, Cain, is an example of the human at his worst, while Abel is the example of what can happen to man when human is at his worst. These two brothers share a similar story of another pair of “brothers” in a piece of today’s modern media. The quarrel between the Transformers characters of Megatron and Orion Pax, later known as Optimus Prime, follow in the footsteps of these Biblical examples. One, like Cain, is arrogant, and misunderstanding of God’s way and words. The God in this case, is meant as a literal entity, as well as a higher power known as The Council. Megaton, like Cain, presents to this higher power an offering. In their ignorance though, the offer is not accepted, and the higher power shows that it is in favor of Abel, or Orion Pax, as opposed to Cain and Megatron. Both instances result in death.

Cain is the brother who “tills the earth.” (Genesis 4:2) Abel is the brother deemed “the keeper of the sheep.” (Genesis 4:2) Cain’s job implies a heavy amount of physical work, while Abel is a watchful eye meant to keep others safe. Abel is portrayed as being slightly more devout than his brother, in the way in which he works to please God. When an offering is called to be taken Abel picks his best lamb while Cain, not wanting to waste his best crop, gives God scraps of the land. Similar to how Cain does more physical work, Megatron works as a Gladiator before becoming a true revolutionary (Transformers Exodus). Orion Pax, on the other hand, watches and files away information as an Archivist, similar to how Abel watches over his herd. Further, the image of the Shepherd is often associated as a holy figure. A shepherd is often used to refer to God’s “deliverer” of the people. This role that Abel plays, along with his willingness and devotion to God, could have been why God favored Abel over Cain. Orion Pax, like Abel, was also favored, and granted an artifact called “The Matrix of Leadership” turning him into Optimus Prime (Transformer Prime 27) In essence he, too, became a shepherd, and it was his voice that was heard over Megatron’s.

It is no secret that brothers are prone to fighting, especially when brothers differ so much it is not surprising at all. Cain was hard and arrogant, believing himself the better of the two and deserving of more. Abel, on the other hand, can be described as “gentle and timid” and “a dreamer of kind and peaceful dreams” (Weisel 41). Orion Pax, being a young and curious soul, can also be described as soft in the way Abel is a lover of life with an unrelenting want to discover and explore. It is the complete opposite of his soon to be friend, Megatronus. While Cain, throughout his story, is not an advocate of violence like Megatron, both are lead to it through jealousy and rage. Unlike Cain Megatron never succeeded in killing his “brother” Orion Pax, but his anger lead to the destruction of many lives nonetheless. Had Cain not fallen to his knees before God and admitted his guilt, the same fate may have befell him. Megatron and his followers, like Cain, were cast out and cursed to wander for the rest of their lives. Though one wandered and found a wife and settled, the other went on fighting for the rest of their life.

Like the story of Cain and Abel the characters of Megatron and Optimus are meant to represent the ultimate “good and evil.” Cain and Megatron being the Ultimate Evil, and Optimus and Abel being the Ultimate good. The fact that I can find parallels between a story about humans written hundreds of years ago, and story about fictional space creatures written in the twenty first century demonstrates that these themes are universal.

(Cites for both)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Eds. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom and Pheme Perkins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. New Revised Standard Version.

Wiesel, Elie. Messengers of God: Biblical portraits and legends. Bibliophile Library, 1987

(Wiesel, Élie, and Marion Wiesel. Messengers of God: biblical portraits and legends. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005 (?))

Irvine, Alexander. Transformers: exodus. Del Rey, 2010

Dubuc, N. (Writer). (2012, February 18). Orion Pax Part 1 [Television series episode]. In Transformers Prime

Roche, Nick Et Al. Transformers last stand of the wreckers. 681336, 2010

2. Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer (trans). "The Descent of Inanna." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings - 100 C.E., edited by Paul Davis et al., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004, pp. 28-39

3. Roberts, James, et al. Transformers: more than meets the eye. IDW Publishing, 2016

#essays #maccadam #optimus prime #megatron #compare and contrast

3 notes · View notes

elsword-x-aisha-oneshots · 5 years ago

Text

Legacy: Part 1 (A Star Wars Tribute)

Plot:

A/N: This a tribute to Star Wars after Episode 9 and if Elrios was actually part of that universe. I’m a big fan to Star Wars and enjoy all of it, The Prequels, the Originals, The Sequels and the TV shows. I wanted to make something that keeps me calm and assuring that despite all these negative reactions, there’s a few out there that watches Star Wars and loves it.

Also, this is just fanfiction, none of this is canon, just something I want to do. You don’t have to love it or hate it, just have fun reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Elsword, this is purely just for fun. Star Wars is own by Disney and Elsword is own by KOG Games.

Enjoy.

[WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AHEAD]

Anyways, Elsword and his friends were continuing their journey back to Hamel and restore peace to Elrios, when suddenly a meteor crashed near them. Eve managed to get a good look at the meteor and noticed that it looks like a ship. As the gang headed toward the crash site, they spotted a ship in bad condition, along with two robots, a giant hairy creature and a girl.

Ain is no longer with them since their quest was complete and he duty was fulfilled.

Rose returned to her home world and report about her mission.

Lu, Ciel and Laby are staying in the Demon Realm, hoping to rebuild it into a nation, hoping to end the war between Humans and Demons.

Story:

Fire, smoke and electricity was spreading across the crashed ship.

“It’s no good Master Rey,” Spoke one of the robots, a golden human-looking one. “It appears we may be grounded for a while. R2 and I will assist you however we can.”

The other robot beeped, replying to the girl.

“Thank’s 3PO, R2. But it’ll take forever fixing this ship. And since this planet is not part of the Republic’s Database, I doubt the locals and natives here can assist us.”

The Hairy creature roared to the girl.

“I know Chewie, we’ll have to contact the others. Hopefully they can give us a lift. I knew I should’ve taken a look at the scanners. If I hadn’t seen that thunderstorm, we would’ve safely landed.”

As the four were speaking, out at the distance Elsword and his friends were spying on a hill.

“What you guys think?” Elsword ask, “You think they’re demons?”

“Not likely,” Are replied, “I never seen these kinds of demons. Plus, that girl looks human like us.”

“Those two machines aren’t nasod either,” Eve continued. “But they are highly intelligent.”

“You think they came from space?” Chung asked. Everyone looked at him, as if what he asked is impossible.

“It’s possible,” Add replied. “But the only way to know...”

“...Is to ask them ourselves.” Elesis finished.

Everyone nodded and agreed, if they are enemies or allies, only way to know is to confront them.

Later, Rey and Chewie were grabbing equipments out of the ship and started setting up small base camp. As she was putting away the last boxes down, Elesis greeted her.

“Hello?”

Rey, by instinct, grabbed her blaster to her hand but kept it hidden, in case the locals are actually friendly.

“Who’s there?” Rey ask.

“Don’t be alarm, we saw you and your friends and thought you needed help?”

Rey sigh and put her blaster away.

“Unless you folks know how to fix a starship, I’m stuck here.”

“Starship?!” Everyone said.

After a while, Rey explained to them that she’s from space, their world is just one of many worlds to a galaxy. Her starship was called The Milenium Falcon, a freighter that did the Kessel Run in 12 parsec, whatever that means.

Everyone greeted themselves to the Rey and her friends.

“I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Rey... Rey Skywalker.”

“Skywalker?” Rena ask.

“It’s not really my last name, just a name I took after, for the people I truly consider family...” Rey had a sad smile. Rena knew from that look that she suffered a lot of loss. “I’m sorry to ask.”

“No, I don’t mind. I enjoy speaking about them, The Skywalkers. They were good people, who care so much to their friends and family. This is Chewbacca, an old friend, C-3PO and R2D2.” Chewbacca roar in a friendliest way a Wookie can, 3PO bow and greeted generously and R2 beeped in a cheerful way. “Anyways, if you can, maybe you can help fix up this communication station instead? If I’m able to contact my friends, I should be able to return.”

Add and Eve joined in to help since they were the only one who have some knowledge regarding with technology.

Meanwhile, everyone else started setting up camp and began getting supplies for them.

Rena, Ara and Aisha went to the nearest village to grab some food; Elsword, Raven and Chung put up the tents; And Eve and Add are working along with Rey, Chewie, C-3PO and R2D2 on fixing up a communication tower that can get in contact with someone far beyond the sky.

Later that day, the camp was finished but the communication station is still unavailable at the moment.

Rena suggest it was time for them to rest and it was better to listen to the elf, no one can’t seem to say no to her advices.

“So tell us, if you guys are from space, what’s it like up there?” Elsword ask.

Aisha smack Elsword for being improper, but Rey answer about how there’s more planets out there, worlds fill different kind of people, creatures, plants and all kinds of life-forms. There’s even advance tech that you can ever see in Elrios, so advance that people can travel between planets and across the galaxy without a breeze. How the galaxy is being reformed into a galactic Republic once again after many years of war and struggle that continue for about three generations.

“Wait, so if the galaxy is now at peace and need everyone to restore it government,” Chung said. “Why are you here then? No one in this planet has ever heard of or knew about anything beyond this world.”

“Some of my friends told me that there was a strong presence of the Force here. Though I had to let the force guide me to find me, which ended up with me crashing the ship.”

“The Force?” Chung ask.

“The Force... it’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together. Everyone has it, but only few can wield it. Those few are known as Jedi Knights.”

“There’s knights beyond in space too?” This got Elsword’s attention, however, Aisha punches him for interrupting.

“There are. Only a few of us remain, but they were saved. Thanks to Luke Skywalker, who was also a Jedi Knight.”

“You mention your last name was Skywalker but you’re not related to them,” Elesis said. “Why’s that?”

Rey gave a sad smile and replied, “It’s a long, tragic story. But, it one you may never forget.”

“...Can you tell us?” Aisha ask.

“Unfortunately, I can’t get much into details. I wasn’t there for most of it.”

“Perhaps we can help with that Master Rey,” 3PO said. “R2 and I were there during the Era of Republic before the rise of the Empire. Though sadly, my memory was erased from that time, but R2 still remembers it all. In fact, he even helped with the war effort, watching over young Anakin Skywalker.

R2 chime proudly.

“You were there?” Rey asked. “How come you never mentioned this to me or Luke?!”

R2 beeps and chime.

“It wasn’t your place to tell?”

R2 replied, but everyone was looking confusingly since they can’t understand the little droid. Well, almost everyone.

“Amazing, you were with the Skywalkers for almost three generations,” Eve replied.

Everyone looked at Eve.

“I am the Queen of Nasods, who are also machines. I can understand every language known to machines.”

“A Queen?!” 3PO yelled. “Oh, forgive our rudely manners! R2, behave yourself; we are under the gaze of royalty. Treat her like you would of Princess Leia.”

R2 beeped rapidly, moving around.

Eve replied, “Do not apologize, little one. It’s an honor to meet war veterans themselves.”

“You two must been through a lot together, going through almost a century of war and conflict,” Raven said.

He beeped again while Rey traslate.

“He said he was there from the very beginning, when Anakin Skywalker was found in Tatooine and was sent to become a Jedi, to the final batte of Exegol.”

Rey look back at R2.

“You must have a lot of stories during that time.”

R2 Chimed.

“R2 said he’ll tell us about it. It’s a long story, so you’ll have to sit through it all.

Add got up and headed toward the station.

“I’m gonna go fix that station, I rather work something then listen to fairy-tales about space wizards and wars.”

Chewie roar.

“You sure?” Rey ask.

Chewie nodded and left to follow Add to fix up the Station.

“Chewie is gonna join up with him,” Rey explained. “He doesn’t wanna leave that boy alone. He said he reminds him so much of an old friend.”

Eve looks back at Add, knowing his personality. He hides himself with his selfishness. But, Eve can see through him.

“I’m gonna help you guys understand R2, since it’s your first time seeing a droid like him I presume.”

R2D2 began beeping and chiming, explaining his point of view of it all.

The Story of Skywalker.

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...”

And so the story began.

The story about a young boy, a queen and a Jedi knight who met by fate. How they met from a peaceful planet of Naboo, to the dangerous dessert of Tatooine. How the boy was to be the Jedi knight who will bring balance to the force, but must leave his mother behind. Fearing he would lose her, he vowed to return and save her from slavery. The boy was to be trained by a Jedi Knight who made a promise to train and guide him.

The story about a princess who wish to rid the galaxy of corruption, war and greed. How the galaxy was on a brink of war because of the Sith Lords, hiding in the shadows, plotting their schemes to take control of the Republic and wipe out the Jedi Order once and for all.

How the Clone Wars began.

How the Boy became a Jedi himself and fear of losing those he loves; and the Queen became a Senator and hope to help restore order to the Republic. How the Jedi Knight was sent to find a bounty hunter who was hired to kill the queen, only find out a Clone army was built for the Republic under the Jedi’s knowing. The boy would have nightmares about his mother he left in Tatooine, and would find her. He found out that she was bought and was set free, married to a local farmer. He was told that his mother was captured by native raiders and fear she may by lost. The boy would go out to find her,only lose his mother; fueled by anger, he slaughter the village of raiders, and not just the men, but the women and the children too. The Jedi was suddenly captured by a Sith who was once a Jedi as him. The boy and queen was then captured for saving the Jedi, but was rescued by the Jedi Order and the Clone Army that was found by the Jedi Knight, which led to the beginning of the Clone Wars. The Sith fought the Jedi and the boy and somehow escaped to his master, who was the true mastermind behind the war. And lastly, how the boy and the queen fell in love with each other, knowing that their love will never be approve, for he is a Jedi and she was a senator. The two then got married in secrecy for the Jedi Order does not approve such feat, for it would conflict their emotions and thinking.

How The Jedi Order fallen.

The story of how the two Jedi were sent to rescue the Chancellor from the Sith and the cyborg trained in the jedi ways; only to defeat the sith but the cyborg escaped. How the boy found out his wife is pregnant, and dreamed of her death giving birth and vowing to save her from death and would not lose her like he did with his mother. How the chancellor is attempting to include himself in the Jedi Order’s meetings using the boy as his representative, manipulating him. How the Jedi knight was sent to find the cyborg and defeat him. The boy finds out that the Chancellor is the Sith and has tricked the boy to become one to save his wife from death. He would betray everything he was to become to save the woman he loved from dying. In the end, he betrayed the Jedi Order, destroyed the temple and began the Jedi Purge, killing every jedi, including his master and friend. He has become the very thing he swore to destroy, he became Darth Vader. However, the Jedi knight survived, only to reveal his own apprentice and brother had commence such attack. The Chancellor would then reform the Republic into a Galactic Empire, with him as the Emperor of such Empire. The Jedi Knight knew he must confront the Boy as well as the Queen, who found out he had committed such horror for her. Darth Vader has lashed out his anger at her, causing her to lose conscious as she has accidentally led the Jedi to him. The two brothers had fought, and in the end, the Jedi had won, but could not kill him. The Queen, losing the will to live, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Vader survived, becoming the Sith lord, ruling the galaxy in fear; for he has lost his only light from his own power and hate. Meanwhile, the twins were sent into hiding, separated from each other, for it is safer this way. The girl becomes the princess of Alderaan, soon to become a beacon of leadership and inspire many to fight against the tyranny of the Empire; and the boy, returns to his family in Tatooine, being a local farmboy; who would the gaze out to the twin suns, wishing to be out in the galaxy. The Jedi Knight would watch over the boy, for he believes he will be the one to bring balance to the force... for he will become the beacon of a New Hope...

As Rey and R2 finish the story, she spoke, “It’s getting late now.”

“WHAT?!” Aisha yelled. “You can’t end the story there? What happened? Did the Emperor lose in the end?! Did the twins ever get reunited and fought Darth Vader? What about-”

“It’s getting late Aisha, everyone needs to get some rest while we can,” Rena answered as Aisha pouted.

“The story is not over, not yet. But we have time to continue another time, we’ll need to see if we can contact my friends while we try to repair the ship.”

Rey still wonder how that cloud manage to disable her ship so easily? But she will figure that out later, if you want to return to the temple and report her finding, she’ll need to contact help since the ship requires a large amount of repairs.

Rey sigh, “Poe’s not gonna let me live this down.”

Meanwhile, Elsword still sits at the fireplace in camp.

“Els? You coming?” Aisha ask.

“I will, just need to sit here for a while.”

Aisha was concerned for Elsword, he would normally go to bed first before everyone, but he seem different at the moment.

Aisha sits next to Elsword.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“...kinda, it’s a bit hard to explain.”

While everyone is heading to bed, Chewie and Add continue working on the station, along with Eve and Rey.

“What is it?” Aisha ask.

“...the story that Rey spoke of; for some reason... I felt as if I heard it before... well not really heard it, more like... whispered to me. I only heard bits and pieces of it, but I don’t know what it meant at the time. I thought it was just ”

“Where would you hear this?”

“Back when I let myself be consumed by the El.”

Aisha remember that time, Elsword let himself be consume by the El, trying to save his sister from fate. It worked, but none of us could accept letting Elsword go, especially Aisha. She hides it, but she truly cares for Elsword, they been through so much together, they fought each other more than against enemies but they always had each other back. Elsword and Aisha would rival each other to see who’s stronger. As time goes on, the two became more mature and slowly, but surely, growing a stronger bond toward each other; a bond that becomes more than friend.

Aisha grab his hand.

“You really scared us when you did that.”

“I know... but I had to... I can’t let you guys get hurt...”

The two sat there peacefully, unaware that their hands are still intertwined and Rey can see them

“I see you two are close,” Rey spoke as she walked back into the campfire.

Blushing, Aisha let go.

“Something troubling you?” Rey ask.

Elsword told Rey about his action and the whispers he had heard in the El.

“... I wonder... if that’s it...”

“Rey?”

Rey went back into the Falcon to grab some books out of the ship and brought it to him.

“Tell me Elsword, touch these books. Tell me if you felt something.”

Elsword looked confused but did as he was told. He put his hand on a book containing a symbol.

At first, nothing happened; but suddenly, he felt something. It was hard to tell, but he felt as if he heard whispers, echoes of past warriors, heroes, legends themselves. He could not tell what they are saying, but he knew that these voices are not from Elrios, like the one from the El; but rather, from beyond the stars.

As he let go, the whispers has stopped.

“I did... I heard the echoes, the whispers...”

Rey put the books down.

“What does that mean?” Aisha ask.

“It means, Elsword... you are connected to the Force...”

To Be Continued...

A/N: Hi everyone, this is my first time doing a Star Wars fanfiction so I’m a little terrible at this, but I’ll get better along the way. This will be a three part where each one talks about each trilogy.

I know that some of you are judgmental about the sequel; but to me, I love it. I love all of Star Wars and I want to see more of it. When I see Star Wars, I don’t see it as a fan, but back when I was just a kid watching the saga with my dad from a Hollywood Studios rental DVD’s. I never lost hope, and never will.

Well, I’ll see you all until the next post, shouldn’t be too long. I really had fun reminiscing on the movies, can’t wait to post more.

May the Force be with you.

#star wars #elsword #spoilers #fanfic

0 notes